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Новые серии «Ну, погоди!» покажут в 2020 году

Новые серии «Ну, погоди!» покажут в 2020 году Знаменитому мультфильму исполняется 50 лет Новый цикл советского мультфильма «Ну, погоди!» киностудия «Союзмультфильм» запустит в начале лета 2020 года. Всего планируется выпустить 26 новых серий, сообщает «Интерфакс». По данным ВЦИОМ, «Ну, погоди!» занял первое место в рейтинге любимых мультфильмов россиян. Первая серия знаменитого советского мультфильма вышла в эфир 6 мая 1969 года. В основе сюжета лежит вечная гонка Волка за Зайцем, который избегает участи быть съеденным. Каждая серия заканчивается словами Волка «Ну, Заяц, погоди!». Режиссером самого мультсериала стал Вячеслав Котеночкин. Роль Волка озвучивал актер Анатолий Папанов, Зайца — актриса Клара Румянова. Мультфильм входит в «Золотую коллекцию» киностудии. Добавить BFM.ru в ваши источники новостей?

Japan gov't wary of nightlife workers leaving big cities, leading to new virus clusters

TOKYO -- As more and more cases of the novel coronavirus are reported among customers and workers at nightclubs and other entertainment establishments in and outside the seven prefectures under the state of emergency, the government has expanded a call for people to refrain from visiting such venues beyond Tokyo and other big cities, to cover all prefectures across Japan. Behind the move lies some employees of those establishments moving out of the capital and other areas to regional downtowns to find new places to work. The government is aware of such outflows of entertainment workers and is vigilant about a possible spread of coronavirus infections to regional areas. On April 7, when the state of emergency was declared for Tokyo and six other prefectures based on a revised special measures law for new types of influenza and other infectious diseases, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe cited nightlife spots during a press conference as an example of establishments asked to refrain from operating under the state of emergency declaration. This was because a host of challenges were reported including the difficulty of tracking down people who came in close contact with coronavirus carriers at nightclubs and other adult establishments where clusters of infections had emerged. The need to respond to mass infections at late-night establishments first emerged as one of the key agendas within the government in late March. At an advisory panel meeting held on March 27 to examine a draft basic response policy based on the revised special measures law, panel chair Shigeru Omi, who is an authority on infectious disease control, stated, "In Tokyo, it has come to light recently that there are infections at nightlife establishments where employees serve customers intimately." In response, the government stepped up information gathering over entertainment quarters mainly in Tokyo. As the April 7 state of emergency declaration covered the three big urban areas centering on Tokyo, Osaka in western Japan and Fukuoka to the southwest, the government expected that late-night businesses across the country would also refrain from operating. As it turned out, however, only a few establishments in the central Japan city of Nagoya and other areas that were outside the state of emergency prefectures suspended their businesses, leaving government officials baffled. There were also reports that nightlife business workers in Tokyo were moving to the cities of Sendai and Sapporo in northern Japan and other regional downtown areas, raising alarm among government officials. The result was the nationwide expansion of the request for people to refrain from visiting nightlife establishments. Late-night entertainment quarters are prone to mass infections as numerous customers and workers gather in closed spaces, and it is difficult to trace people who come in close contact with coronavirus hosts. "As demand for anonymity is strong among visitors to and workers in late-night entertainment districts, it is hard to track down their connections (to infected individuals). Young people also tend to be reluctant to cooperate with our investigations," lamented a senior official at the Cabinet Secretariat. (Japanese original by Shinichi Akiyama and Tadashi Sano, Political News Department)

California Developing Plan to Re-Open as Virus Spread Slows

By Sharon Bernstein and Dan Whitcomb SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - California is developing a plan to ease social distancing rules incrementally as the pace of new cases and hospitalizations from the novel coronavirus appears to be moderating in the most populous U.S. state, Governor Gavin Newsom said Monday. The plan, to be released on Tuesday, will be based on "broad strokes" and any movement to ease public health restrictions will not begin until the rate of spread actually declines, Newsom said. Cases are still "growing, but in a moderate way," Newsom said at his daily press briefing. By Monday morning, 22,348 people in California had been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, including 3,015 in hospitals and 1,178 in intensive care, he said. California is one of nine states to begin planning for the slow reopening of their economies and lifting of strict stay-at-home orders amid signs the worst has passed in the U.S. coronavirus pandemic. The state will join with Oregon and Washington to develop a coordinated West Coast plan, governors of the three states said. In the Northeast, the states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will work with Delaware, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island in coordinating to gradually reopen their economies, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said. However, it was not immediately clear when such efforts might begin. A slowing of the rate of increase in hospitalizations over the past several days has offered hope, but the number of deaths in California has more than doubled over the past week, rising from 343 fatalities on April 6 to 687 by Monday morning. Increases in caseloads across the state have varied. In Los Angeles County, for example, the number of new cases has declined most, though not for all days over the past week, state data show. In Monterey County, however, the number of new cases has risen over the same period. Newsom acknowledged that while the number of new cases appeared to be growing more slowly overall, some parts of the state were still seeing relatively rapid increases. "The experience we're having is very different depending on what part of the state we reside in," he said. California Public Health Director Sonia Angell said some of the variation across the state is due to urban density, as cases moved rapidly in early hotspots. The availability of testing has also impacted the number of cases reported in various regions, she said. (Reporting by Sharon Bernstein and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Bill Tarrant and Dan Grebler)

Ticketmaster Changes Policy, No Longer Offering Refunds On Postponed Shows

As the entire music industry canceled or postponed their live shows for the next few months, ticket brokers were feeling the sting. We already reported on secondhand brokers like Stubhub planning to petition the government for bailout money, but looks like they're not alone. The largest direct seller of tickets in the world, Ticketmaster, feel the same sting, and are struggling to meet refund demands. Rather than take the loss on the chin, Ticketmaster has went ahead and quietly changed its refund policy. Digital Music News reports that previously, Ticketmaster would offer refunds for events that were "canceled," "postponed" or "rescheduled." The new policy now only offers refunds if the show is "canceled," but if it is postponed or rescheduled, you will not get a refund for the ticket from Ticketmaster. The report says that customers on Twitter are saying Ticketmaster is trying to retroactively apply this policy to shows postponed due to COVID-19. Ticketmaster's refund policy page was also updated. Previously, it showed that refunds would be available for postponed shows: The page very clearly no longer states refunds are available for postponed shows: Previously, if a show was postponed, you could either keep the ticket for the rescheduled date, or just get a full refund. Now, instead of offering refunds, Ticketmaster instead gives you the option of selling the ticket yourself on their system, via their "Verified Reseller Program." Yea, uhh, good luck selling tickets to a show people don't even know will happen next year. Update: A new message on Ticketmaster's website reveals new language that shows all hope is not lost for refunds, saying it's ultimately up to the bands: "If an event organizer is offering refunds for postponed or rescheduled events, a refund link will appear on your Ticketmaster account," says the site in its message, putting the impetus on the event organizer as to when refunds may be offered. Otherwise, you are encouraged to periodically check back online to see if the status of your event has changed." Folks are naturally upset. Digital Music News reveals a Stubhub customer has already filed a class action lawsuit against Stubhub for not offering refunds for future postponements, and I can imagine one against Ticketmaster will be coming soon enough. Perhaps all the negative publicity will force Ticketmaster to change course. Yesterday, a new report from a leading national health expert suggested, based on our currently trajectory with recoveries from COVID-19, that live concerts and large public gatherings in general would not resume until Fall 2021 the earliest. [via MetalSucks]

LG V60 ThinQ Dual Screen review: Low-key flagship with a smart price

LG's got a new design language in the works — a fresh take on its phones that's supposed to usher the company into this decade with a clean look and some updated thinking towards flagship hardware. But before we turn the page to that next chapter, we've still got its first big 2020 launch to check out, the 5G-equipped, Dual Screen, 865-packing LG V60 ThinQ. Granted, that's still a pretty steep bill, but compared to a $1,200 Galaxy S20+ or $1,400 S20 Ultra, the V60 stands out with its "mere" three-digit sticker price. We've seen what OnePlus has been able to do and slide in under that thousand-dollar mark — what about LG? Did LG make any serious sacrifices to give us a $900 phone, or is this one of the better flagship deals around? Let's take a look: Specs Chipset Snapdragon 865 Display 6.8" 2460x1080 OLED (also on Dual Screen) w/ in-screen fingerprint reader Battery 5000mAh, QuickCharge 4.0+, wireless charging RAM 8GB Storage 128GB w/ microSD expansion Rear cameras 64MP f/1.8 primary, 13MP f/1.9 117-degree wide angle, ToF HQVGA Front camera 10MP f/1.9 Headphone jack Yes w/ 32-bit quad DAC Software Android 10 w/ LG UX Connectivity Bluetooth 5.1; Wi-Fi 6; NFC Carrier compatibility Sold in the US through Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile Dimensions 169.42mm x 77.72mm x 8.89mm, 213.75g (phone alone) Colors Classy blue, classy white Misc Hardware Assistant button, IP68 rating, balanced stereo speakers Price Starting at $900 w/ Dual Screen ($900 AT&T and T-Mobile, $950 Verizon), $800 without (T-Mobile only) The Good Performance Even with just 8GB of RAM, the V60 sings, and that Snapdragon 865 chip also spells 5G connectivity. Audio LG delivers with both an excellent headphone jack and very satisfying on-device stereo speakers. Value I hate that I'm even talking about a $900 smartphone being a "value" proposition, but compared to what Samsung's up to, LG looks like the more budget-friendly pick. The Not So Good Size The V50 was already pushing my limits of comfort, and the V60 is solidly over that line. And with the added bulk of the Dual Screen case attached? Forget about it. Display I feel like this may be a little picky, but high-refresh screens have really emerged as an increasingly must-have premium feature, and the lack of any such option here is noticeable. Design, hardware, what's in the box A matte-finish metal frame continues to feel just fantastic. The last couple LG handsets I checked out, the V50 and G8X, looked very similar to each other, with smooth edges all around and glass backs that seamlessly blended into a curved, polished metal frame. Not only is the V60 noticeably larger than either of those models, but takes a major departure in terms of its construction. The frame is now much more prominent, with aggressive beveled edges that I really enjoy. I only wish those edges extended for the full depth of the phone's body. Instead, LG accommodates the V60's internals by way a glass back panel that seems to “bulge” out from the much thinner frame. Only on the phone's bottom edge do we get a wider frame that looks more appropriate. Give me that bottom-edge design stretched all the way around and I'd be a happy camper. I imagine many V60 users are going to leave it in the Dual Screen case most of the time, but for those who do pop it out on occasion (which takes a little doing, as it's a much tighter fit than the G8X or V50 before it) the build of the phone itself is really decently done — while it still feels too large for my hands, I can concede that much. After sticking with 6.4-inch screens on the V40 and V50, the V60 pushes us up to 6.8 inches, and that display feels just as big as it sounds. The good news is that panel quality is quite nice, supporting a wide brightness range and delivering consistent output. It's bordering on impractically large at this point, but I can't deny that it looks good. The V60 (bottom) dwarfs last year's V50 (top) The screen conceals the V60's fingerprint scanner, another optical scanner like we got on the G8X. I was not too happy with the performance on that model, but I'm pleasantly surprised with the speed and accuracy I've been getting on the V60. To LG's credit, it didn't just decide on making Dual Screen cases and move on — each time a new phone has come out, that Dual Screen gets a fresh design. The hinges this time around are largely the same type introduced with the G8X, but for the V60 LG takes the important step of upgrading the magnetic adapter you'll need to use the phone's USB port with the Dual Screen attached. The V60 Dual Screen (top) uses a reversible magnetic USB adapter, unlike the G8X (bottom) Last time around, the adapter only offered data connectivity and full-speed charging when connected facing one direction — so much for the reversible allure of Type-C. But with the V60, the adapter finally offers full functionality no matter how it's attached. I still hate that there's one at all, and drastically prefer the V50 Dual Screen's adapter-less design, but this is still an improvement. Included with the V60 you'll get a 25W fast-charger, cleaning cloth, and all the usual paperwork, but that's about it — no bundled earbuds or anything. The Dual Screen accessory comes in a separate box. How you'll get that depends on your carrier — AT&T and Verizon are treating it as a free promotional offer that must be redeemed, while T-Mobile is just bundling it in outright (while also giving you the option to save $100 and forgo the Dual Screen entirely). Software, performance, and battery I'd never go out shopping for an LG phone specifically because of the allure of its interface, but I will offer what's some of the highest praise I can: I don't hate it. The company's customizations are largely unobtrusive, and don't actively get in your way. Compared to the G8X, not only are we stepping up to Android 10 but we also get some improved Dual Screen app support. Of course, this being LG, you'd better get comfortable with the software that's on your phone, as it's anyone's guess when you'll see the next update arrive. Even in bright sunlight, the V60 manages to hold its own. LG very nearly nailed performance with the V60. With a Snapdragon 865 at its core, the phone's ably equipped to handle modern mobile processing needs. What's slightly less impressive is the handset's 8GB of RAM at a time when LG's peers are hitting 12GB. Admittedly, I've yet to reach a place while multitasking where that really felt like it was limiting me, but especially when you're dealing with two screens at once, I wish LG would have erred on the side of caution. Two screens are better (and thicker, and heavier) than one. To tackle the 5G market, the V60 is available in two configurations: one supporting mmWave that will be sold to users on Verizon, and a model that only focuses on sub-6 bands for AT&T and T-Mobile. For my testing I used the phone on T-Mobile, where in the Boston area I regularly get 4 to 5 bars. But even with solid 5G connectivity, you shouldn't expect crazy melt-your-face speeds; in testing I honestly didn't see an appreciable difference over LTE. That said, this is something that falls as much on the carriers as any phone-maker, and I'm finding it difficult to be too picky — cellular data on the V60 is as fast as you'll need. That round opening on the right looks so familiar but I just can't place it... As for audio, LG once again lives up to its reputation. The on-phone speakers are nice and satisfying, delivering clean, loud sound. LG continues to fight the good fight for the noble headphone jack, which returns here with another quad-DAC setup. I only wish the output were a little more powerful, as I started to hit a volume ceiling when paired with a Grado SR80e headset. Like Samsung, LG's got its own mobile payment solution, and just like its competition, LG Pay supports magstripe-emulation technology, letting the V60 interact with card terminals that lack modern NFC support. At least, that's what LG tells me, but the service is still so limited that it only supports cards from a handful of banks — and mine is not among them. The V60's got power for days. Finally, there's this hulk of a battery: a big 5,000mAh component. That's good because it's not just powering the V60's big 6.8-inch display, but also the Dual Screen when attached. Even with that burden, battery life is very comfortable, and you should have no problem seeing well past a day of operation per charge. While wired charging can still be annoying (if you're using the Dual Screen, at least), wireless always works in a pinch. Cameras LG's V series has always been a place for the company to highlight audio and camera performance, and while that's still true with the V60, we don't have quite the same elaborate camera setup as in years past. Both the V40 and V50 offered a trio of cameras around back, and a pair of selfie cams. With the V60, that's knocked back to essentially two on the rear (plus a ToF depth sensor) and a sole front-facer. Despite what Contagion said, this Forsythia's not going to do you any good right now. Despite having fewer options this time around, the camera still manages to perform alright. There's a 64MP main camera you're probably going to want to bin down to 16MP most of the time, as well as a 13MP wide-angle lens. As I've come to expect from LG, the camera offers some very flexible manual controls, and while the software does a satisfactory effort in auto mode, it's not quite up to Pixel levels of processing. With the V60, LG's trying to do more with fewer cameras. Of course, it wouldn't be a flagship camera without a few gimmicks. Maybe the most fun is the 3D Photo Effect portrait mode, which creates the sort of animated “wiggling” portrait you'll see where the fore- and background shift around a little. It's cute at first, but doesn't take a moment until you're distracted by all the processing artifacts and streakiness. And there's an 8K video mode that sounds pretty impressive until you realize you have nothing to play that content on, to say nothing of the fact that it all comes out very dark. If you're looking for more detail, you can crop to a 2x zoom, but things start getting bad as you push beyond that into hybrid territory, and processing artifacts start looking like an AI-generated mess. In the end the camera's fine: capable and versatile, if lacking a little polish. Should you buy it?

To organize in times of crisis, we need to connect the dots of global resistance against Imperialism – Uneven Earth

Sallye Davis (organizer and mother of Angela Davis), Ann Bishop, Alimenta Bishop, and New Jewel movement leader Maurice Bishop, Grenada, 1982. Photo from The House on Coco Road, directed by Damani Baker, Array Films. by Corinna Mullin and Azadeh Shahshahani Writing in the aftermath of the US-led overthrow of the People’s Revolutionary Government of Grenada, the inimitable Audre Lorde lamented the absence of a strong anti-imperialist movement in her seminal essay “Grenada Revisited.” Lorde identified two main factors to explain the dearth of resistance to the blatant intervention by the US in a sovereign state’s internal affairs: 1. a deliberately confused public sphere as “doublethink has come home to scramble our brains and blanket our protest,” and 2. a desensitized “[white] america whose moral & ethical fiber is weakened by racism as thoroughly as wood is weakened by dry rot.” The years following the 1983 invasion of Grenada have witnessed a continuation, and in many ways, deepening, of both: the racism that underpins the violent dispossession to which marginalized communities at ‘home’ and ‘abroad’ are subjected, coupled with the discursive infrastructure of a capitalist dominated media and public sphere designed to obscure and normalize this dispossession as well as to delegitimize resistance. We currently face a combined economic, ecological and health crisis that is in many ways a product of the forms of exploitation and dispossession that Lorde identified in her essay, making it more vital than ever to draw connections in our analysis of and resistance to racial capitalism and Imperialism. Rob Wallace has demonstrated the linkages between capitalist modes of agriculture and the ecological transformations that have enabled the spread of “the most virulent and infectious phenotypes” of pathogens such as those that resulted in the coronavirus. These processes have accelerated in the neoliberal era, spurred on by imperialist circuits of finance capital whose penetration of the Global South was enabled by the removal of “restrictions on the global flows of commodities and capital.” Neoliberalism has entailed a set of social and economic policies rolled out over the past five decades as a response to the crises of racial capitalism, designed to reverse even limited post-Depression working class gains and redistribute wealth upwards. Neoliberal policies including repeated tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, the deregulation of various sectors of the economy (including finance, telecommunication, energy, etc.), and the marketization and privatization of public services (including in the domains of education, social welfare, prisons, etc.) resulted in deindustrialization and the dismantlement of many public institutions that would otherwise have helped to mitigate the current crisis, including health care. The state’s “organized abandonment” was accompanied by a retrenching of its repressive apparatuses, including prisons, borders, and police—or the state’s “organized violence” in the words of Ruth Gilmore. This violence has targeted with criminalization the very Black, Brown, Indigenous, working class, poor and other marginalized and racialized communities who were the most impacted by neoliberal restructuring, extending already existing forms of exploitation, dispossession and exclusion in capitalist core states. Many of the neoliberal policies behind the restructuring of the Global North’s welfare state were originally tested on—and resisted in—the periphery. Many of the neoliberal policies behind the restructuring of the Global North’s welfare state were originally tested on—and resisted in—the periphery, via imperialist institutions like the IMF (International Monetary Fund), the World Bank, and the EU. As part of the attack on the post-independence assertion of Global South sovereignty, structural adjustment programs via enforced spending cuts and privatization engendered state disinvestment in public goods, contributing to the degradation of public institutions, including public health. They have also enforced capitalist patent regimes that limit these states’ abilities to provide affordable and accessible medicine to their populations, ensuring that the Global North benefits from the “monopoly rent…[and] an almost exclusive control of the world market of health.” Neocolonial debt further hinders Global South public health by diverting already limited state resources away from funding health care systems to servicing public debt. Similar to developments in the Global North, one of the few sectors that witnessed an increase in spending during the neocolonial assault on the state in the Global South were the repressive security institutions, also contributing the accumulation of public debt. This neoliberal restructuring combines with the colonial-capitalist assault on Global South ecologies and the destruction of imperialist wars and militarism, to produce “wasted lives”—contributing to an expansion of the “global reserve army of labor,” superexploitation of Global South labor and surplus value extraction. While scholars like David Harvey argue that Imperialism is no longer useful as an analytic category, a look at any number of socio-economic indicators statistically mapped out onto an image of the globe makes clear that the north-south cleavage is still salient when it comes to patterns of accumulation and dispossession. Whether we look at it through the lens of public health, monopoly finance capital, global commodity chains, labor exploitation, unequal exchange, sanctions, climate disaster, or military interventions—there is a stark geographic dimension to how power is divided and exercised across the globe. As in the past, global inequalities today are also reflected and intimately connected to those within the metropole. In the current context, it is poor, undocumented, immigrant, Black and Brown communities hit the hardest by crisis. Not only in terms of being more susceptible to contracting and dying from the coronavirus, as a result of historical legacies of slavery and ongoing structural racism, resulting in a lack of access to adequate health care, nutrition and housing, as well as contributing to conditions as well as often limited capacity to “social distance,” but also because of the uneven impact of its socio-economic reverberations, including loss of employment and housing, as well as being subjected to state violence and surveillance as part of the state’s increasingly securitized response. Similar to the Granada intervention conjuncture so incisively dissected by Lorde, the current moment has also laid bare the interconnections between the Imperialism and racial capitalism. Yet we still falling far short of the kind of political mobilization required, with the parallel analytical phenomenon that some interpretations of Imperialism have been stretched so thin that the concept has lost much of its meaning and urgency. Though there may be several factors that can account for this, central among them is what Lorde, referencing George Orwell, identified as “doublethink.” This refers to a deliberate and systematic politics of confusion that emerged in the late/post-Cold War period, providing a discursive cover for the neoliberal counter-revolution against post-colonial Global South sovereignty. This cover operates through several discursive mechanisms, including through the evasion and distortion of history to disrupt and reverse otherwise obvious connections between causes (settler-colonialism, slavery, racial capitalism, Imperialism) and effects (underdevelopment, de-development, inequality, dispossession). This doublethink equates imperialist violence with the responses it engenders, flattening out different forms of state power, (e.g. by conflating neoliberal and imperially aligned states such as Colombia and Peru with “Pink tide” governments such as Bolivia and Ecuador that have sought to nationalize resources and redistribute wealth, support the struggles of workers and Indigenous communities, and challenge imperialist geopolitical alignments, repeatedly referring to the latter as “authoritarian”). It also normalizes imperialist violence through discursive formations such as the ‘democratization’, ‘humanitarianism’, ‘development’, ‘war on terror’, ‘green transition’, and sets limits on what we are able to imagine in terms of liberation (e.g. whether or not international agreements can be broken and debt erased, regional integration, redistribution, ending private property regimes and reclaiming the commons). It is why for so many people it is “easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.” Faced with this combined health-economic-ecological crisis, there is a renewed urgency to demystify and contest this politics of confusion by strengthening our anti-imperialist organizing. Just as we build solidarity through mutual aid in our communities to fill the gaps- as well as address root causes– left by the neoliberal, racial capitalist state, we must extend our solidarity to support mutual aid efforts in the Global South, where similar and much more severe gaps in the ability of the state to protect people in the face of coronavirus are intimately connected to US Imperialism. These include economic warfare against countries like Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela, to the deepening and expansive tentacles of US military projection across the African continent through the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), including “46 various forms of U.S. bases” and other military interventions designed, in the words of the former deputy of AFRICOM himself to “Protec[t] the free flow of natural resources from Africa to the global market,” and including past and ongoing US directed or backed invasions, bombings, blockades, occupations, covert destabilization military operations and coups in places like Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Bolivia and Venezuela. Conceptualizing Imperialism At its base, Imperialism is a system of domination that blocks real self-determination for states and peoples. It is about externally determining and imposing, often together with the collaboration of elements of a domestic elite, particular modes of industrialization, socio-political forms of governance and border-making/border practices that facilitate labor exploitation and surplus drain in the Global South for the benefit of (largely Global North/western) capital. It is about blocking alternative ways of imagining and pursuing development, value, and of living with one another and with the Earth. The imperialist aim is to obstruct the pursuit of alternative socio-political-economic projects (and sabotage extant ones) that threaten capitalist power. As Ali Kadri reminds us, the state-led developmentalist projects of the post-independence era implemented across West Asia and Africa “did not fail on their own”; it was “implicit and explicit” forms of Imperialism “that shut them down.” Imperialism is about blocking alternative ways of imagining and pursuing development, value, and of living with one another and with the Earth. Imperialism is also always about violence. There is the structural violence that results from what Walter Rodney described as the “paradox” of underdevelopment, where “[m]any parts of the world that are naturally rich are actually poor.” There is also, of course, the material violence. Imperialism is backed up by the threat and often actual shock and awe of military might. We are all too familiar with the long list and typology of imperialist interventions, which include: the invasions, occupations and other forms of imperialist (largely US/French/British/Germany led)-military action witnessed over the past century in places from Vietnam to Iraq, North Korea to Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Chile, Syria and Mali to imperialist backed coups against leftist and/or nationalist governments across Africa and the Americas. Through destabilization, destruction, and currency devaluation, wars and occupations enable numerous forms of extraction and exploitation of natural and human resources. In that sense, they are primary mechanisms of “surplus value and power creation.” This is true not only, as Ali Kadri shows us, in the immediate aftermath of violence, but for years following, as they produce the socio-economic conditions of “underdevelopment” that enable Global North accumulation. Returning to Grenada, Lorde pointed to the outcome (and aim) of the US invasion: “Ministries are silent. The state farms are at a standstill. The cooperatives are suspended…On the day after the invasion, unemployment was back up to 35 percent. A cheap, acquiescent labor pool is the delight of supply side economics.” Imperialist mechanisms Counted among the list of imperialist interventions are the 1,000 military bases and installations the US operates/and or controls across the globe, which have aided in the funding of death squads, coups, and other covert operations. This number far surpasses that of foreign military bases maintained by any other state in the world. There are also the more subtle forms of military domination and imperialist induced vulnerability that come from state dependence on US/European weapons and surveillance systems, training, as well as military “cooperation” with joint military operations, wherein the US outsources risky ventures to Global South “partners.” While much is made of Russia and China as competing powers for global hegemony, it is telling that the US spends more on “national defense” than the other countries included on the list of top 8 military spenders combined The US dominated military-industrial-complex continues to be one of the most visible mechanisms of Imperialism today. While much is made of Russia and China as competing powers for global hegemony, it is telling that the US spends more on “national defense” than the other countries included on the list of top 8 military spenders combined (including France, United Kingdom, Germany, India, Russia, China, and Saudi Arabia). The US dominated arms market also perpetuates financialization of the global capitalist economy as the top arms dealers are all publicly traded. The US continues to dominate with 42 of the Top 100 listed arms companies based in the United States. The speculative role of arms capital was once more on display as major US arms companies saw their stock prices jump following the Trump administration’s assassination of the leader of Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Qassem Soleimani in January of this year In supplying their arms to the Global South, these merchants of death not only provide the conditions to alienate citizens from their states, but also alienate Global South states from one another as they find themselves caught up in conflicts that are not of their own making, nor in their own interest. Perhaps even more pervasive than militarism, economic warfare is one of the most destructive forms of imperialist intervention. Currently, a third of humanity is impacted by US sanctions. Sanctions are a way of disciplining Global South self-determination, as is so clearly the case in Zimbabwe where sanctions first adopted in 2001 were designed to punish the government for its extensive land reform program. Not only do sanctions by design “cause untold death and devastation,” a reality laid bare in the current health crisis, but also, as Lauren Smith demonstrates, “economic sanctions serve to justify and conceal theft, through asset freezes and seizures, at a rate only previously accomplished through invasion and occupation.” US sanctions trigger currency devaluation, inflation, increased unemployment, prices and access to food, power, and industrial equipment, and, of course, medicine. In other words, sanctions are a neocolonial tool designed to “prevent countries from setting in place any form of economic development.” Iran has been the target of one of the most significant and consistent US sanctions regimes, a punishment for asserting its sovereignty with the 1979 Iranian revolution. Though lifted for a short time following the 2015 nuclear deal, Trump’s re-imposition and expansion of sanctions have forced the Iranian economy to contract by 9.3 percent in 2019. To convey a sense of the scale of the impact that the US enforced severing of Iran from the international financial system has had on the Iranian economy, Kevin Cashman and Cavan Kharrazian explain that it would be the equivalent to a 16 percent cut in the US federal budget, or $521 billion in 2018. With at least 58,226 cases of the coronavirus and at least 3,603 deaths recorded since the outbreak, there is no doubt that US sanctions have made it much harder to tackle the pandemic. The country is facing shortages of respiratory-assistance devices and basic medical equipment, such as gloves and masks. With the sanctions impeding Iran’s ability to respond to the health crisis it is facing, the aims of the US’ economic warfare on the country are rendered even more apparent: destabilization and death. In Venezuela, even before the coronavirus outbreak, a report by the Center for Economic and Policy research demonstrated a 31% increase in mortality in the country after the 2017 round of US imposed sanctions, causing an increase of 40,000 deaths in the country. The most recent ramping up of imperialist aggression towards Venezuela in the form of increased sanctions, the deployment of navy ships towards the country and the placement of a $15 million-dollar bounty on the head of President Nicolas Maduro, have all contributed to undermining Venezuela’s ability to confront the coronavirus, and will undoubtedly result in even more deaths. To add insult to injury, US Imperialism has created both the conditions in which Iran and Venezuela have been forced to turn to the IMF for emergency funds to confront the coronavirus as well as the reason for which the IMF continues to block these countries from accessing needed funds. US Imperialism has created both the conditions in which Iran and Venezuela have been forced to turn to the IMF for emergency funds to confront the coronavirus as well as the reason for which the IMF continues to block these countries from accessing needed funds. Sanctions are not only deadly in the sense of blocking access to the medicine, food and finance required by states to provide basic welfare for their population, but also in denying and distorting capital flows and economic transactions, and in enabling the investment of seized assets in Global North banks. They are a major mode of Global South-to-North wealth drain. As demonstrated by a recent report, the U.S. economic blockade has caused over US $138.8 billion in losses to Cuba since the 1960s. Of course, not everyone in the Global North benefits from this wealth drain. As with other examples of imperialist intervention, the inequalities of racial capitalism are in fact exacerbated by sanctions as an economy built on “plunder” is by design one that exploits, dispossesses and wastes lives. Connecting the dots between racial capitalism and Imperialism The above list of imperialist economic interventions includes debt colonialism, currency manipulations, structural adjustment programs, “free trade” deals, and other forms of economic intervention that block Global South development and facilitate Global South wealth drain and Global North accumulation. By dehumanizing, devaluing, and exploiting Global South lives and livelihoods, Imperialism perpetuates white supremacy both within the US and across what W.E.B. Du Bois described as the “global color line.” For Lorde, the seeming indifference of the US public to the imperialist violence committed against Grenada could only be grasped by understanding how “white america has been well-schooled in the dehumanization of Black people” and how such socialization enables accumulation through dispossession under racial capitalism. By dehumanizing, devaluing, and exploiting Global South lives and livelihoods, Imperialism perpetuates global white supremacy both within the US and across what W.E.B. Du Bois described as the “global color line.” The racialized forms of accumulation underpinning capitalism have always been international — from the foundational role of slavery and the dispossession of Indigenous lands and polities to the current formations and relations of power underpinning the globalized and hierarchically organized and racialized circuits of trade and production. These circuits of trade and production are kept in place by imperialist states and the multilateral institutions they dominate, from the IMF/World Bank to NATO, often including different organs of the UN and international law. These same interests, institutions, policies, and practices not only act outward to impact people around the world, but are responsible for criminalizing, exploiting and dispossessing Indigenous, migrant, Black, Brown, undocumented, and poor communities in the US itself. Trump’s framing of Covid-19 as the “Chinese virus,” a framing that was readily echoed by a mainstream media and public sphere long schooled in anti-Asian racism and the (neo)colonial tradition of deploying “health and medical discourses [to] further racist projects of excluding and eliminating those deemed undesirable,” is a reminder of Imperialism’s and racial capitalism’s shared discursive infrastructure. Resisting Imperialism Both this global domination and the resistance to it have always been international. From early forms of radical Black internationalism, including such luminaries as W.E.B. Dubois, Claudia Jones, Paul Robeson, Kwame Nkrumah, Frantz Fanon and Angela Davis, to organizations like the International Trade Union Committee of Negro Workers, the International African Service Bureau, and the Black Panthers, internationalism was an important base of struggles against colonial regimes and white supremacy. There is also the long tradition of what Nick Estes describes “Indigenous internationalism,” through which Indigenous peoples have “imagin[ed] themselves as part of Third World struggles and ideologies, and entirely renouncing the Imperialism and exceptionalism of the First World (while still living in it).” Internationalism informed various state initiatives (e.g. the 1955 Bandung Conference, and 1964 UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), as well as early hybrid state-popular forms of solidarity expressed through institutions such as the Cairo based Afro-Asian Peoples’ Solidarity Organization and its “antecedent,” the African Association, and the Tricontinental Conference. Today, the international peasant and ecological movement of Via Campesina coordinates global resistance to the ravages of capitalist agriculture for a food sovereign future, while the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, Black for Palestine and The Red Nation carry forward the mantle of internationalism in the name of anti-colonial solidarity, Palestinian, Native and Black liberation and human emancipation. Much anti-imperialist organizing in the US today centers abolition, pointing to linkages between US interventions “abroad” and repression at “home,” with a focus on “racialized policing and prison systems” as well as connections between the conceptual and material underpinnings of the carceral-police state in the imperial core and the periphery. The abolition project has assumed a new urgency in the current conjuncture as it is clear that communities targeted by the carceral-police state are the most vulnerable to the current combined crisis. While the imperialist security state devises new mechanisms of control and capital figures out ways to profit from the crisis, resistance is also mounting. Already existing circuits and networks of solidarity are being mobilized, with organizations like the Red Nation calling for human solidarity “not just to stop the most catastrophic effects of COVID-19, but to end this inhumane and criminal capitalist system once and for all.” Others like Cooperation Jackson are building on the increasing radicalism of labor organizing in the face of the crisis to demand a “democratization of the means of production” as well as a redirection of funds spent on defending and expanding the US empire “to Health Care, Social Services, Universal Basic Income and Greening Public Infrastructure and the Economy.” There are also calls originating from the Global South for broad solidarity with demands for reparations and the cancellation of neocolonial debt. While the US practices public health Imperialism, Cuba is leading the way with its public health Internationalism, providing support to states in the Global South (and even Global North), which are struggling because of limited resources and the consequences of neoliberal cost-cutting of health-services to fight the spread and impact of the coronavirus. International solidarity derives from the realization that our own liberation — and indeed, our survival — is fundamentally linked to the liberation and survival of the most oppressed people across the globe. These past and present forms of internationalism have taught us that the struggle against racial capitalism and Imperialism can only succeed if undertaken as a collective. As rising temperatures and sea levels (as well as the rapid spread of the deadly coronavirus) remind us, international solidarity is neither an abstract nor intellectual duty. Rather, it derives from the realization that our own liberation — and indeed, our survival — is fundamentally linked to the liberation and survival of the most oppressed people across the globe. As internationalists, we also have a responsibility to educate ourselves to the greatest extent possible about the popular struggles unfolding in parts of the world where Imperialism is busy at work, in our names, and with our tax dollars. From Algeria, to Haiti, Chile, Ecuador, Lebanon, before the coronavirus health crisis gripped the globe, it seemed the entire world was on fire with popular uprisings resisting the ravages of capitalism and the apparatuses of “organized violence” that are designed to sabotage and manage dissent. Once the virus subsides, these struggles will undoubtedly reconvene with a vengeance, spurred on by the inequalities and injustices exposed and exacerbated by the combined crisis as well as by signaling from imperialist institutions such as the World Bank, which has called on states to “implement structural reforms to help shorten the time to recovery,” that business will continue as usual. Likewise the struggle for Palestinian liberation, where Imperialism and settler-colonialism combine to create the perfectly deadly mix for the unequal spread and impact of coronavirus, accelerating the Israeli project of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population. As we have learned from the successes and mistakes of the past, our anti-Imperialism cannot be a one size-fits-all mode of organizing. It must be based on sound analysis of the particular histories, socio-economic contexts, class composition, ideological underpinnings, and political alignments of both states and movements. Yet it always requires that we resist imperialist military and economic intervention as well as the so-called multilateral institutions that facilitate Global South dispossession and wealth drain. It often means standing in solidarity with Global South popular movements as they resist the collusion of their governments in the exploitation, extraction, dispossession and destruction of peoples, lands, and ecologies facilitated by US provisioned arms, training, and diplomatic cover. By virtue of our geographic location in the belly of the beast, we have a special responsibility to resist all attempts by the US and other imperialist actors to sabotage, divert, co-opt, or otherwise limit the will of popular struggles across the Global South. It also requires that we stand in solidarity with those Global South states that are punished for the threat they pose to status quo functioning of global capitalism because of their geopolitical alliances and support for anti-colonial and anti-imperial resistance. Finally, we must be wary of forms of critique that may have the perhaps unintended consequence of turning people away from anti-imperialist organizing at a time when they are needed the most by claiming that those who focus their analysis and organizing on the role of US power, ignore or undermine Global South agency when in fact the principal aim of anti-Imperialism is precisely to support the building of a context in which meaningful Global South self-determination can be realized. At a time when so much is at stake, we must be as careful as possible to ensure our analyses do not reproduce and reinforce imperialist discourses and power relations. It is the working class, poor, racialized and criminalized communities both in the Global North and South who suffer the most and who are also at the forefront of resistance. As we confront these interlocking health-economic-ecological crises, we must remember that it is the working class, poor, racialized and criminalized communities both in the Global North and South who suffer the most and who are also at the forefront of resistance. True liberation and survival—depends upon centering the needs, struggles and collective leadership of the most vulnerable among us. To do so requires that we continue building on the analysis and praxis of those Internationalists who have come before us. They have shown us that the best antidote to the politics of confusion is a politics that connect the dots between the political-economic systems of human and ecological domination that continue to exploit, dispossess, and kill us. After a commenter’s feedback, some corrections have been made on the history of Grenada’s revolution. The authors would like to thank the editors of Uneven Earth, including Natalie Suzelis and Vijay Kolinjivadi, for their extensive and insightful edits and suggestions, as well as Max Ajl and Setareh Ghandehari for their close readings of the article and feedback. They would also like to thank Zainab Khan, Ramin Zareian, and Chris Tidwell for their research help with the sanctions section of this article. Corinna Mullin is an adjunct professor at the New School and John Jay College (CUNY) and researches on Imperialism, capitalism and the politics/political economy of Global South security states; she tweets @MullinCorinna. Azadeh Shahshahani is Legal & Advocacy Director at Project South and a past president of the National Lawyers Guild; she tweets @ashahshahani.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons - How to get your emergency cloud backup

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is finally out, and thousands of people are flocking to vacation on their own not-so-deserted island. This has brought up an old question anew: how do I protect my island and game save data? Unfortunately, Nintendo received some flack back in February for their questionable approach to save data in the new Animal Crossing game, such as not supporting save data transfers. The only assurance players got from Nintendo was the promise that everyone would get one emergency cloud backup in case of a console being broken or lost. Getting your emergency cloud backup There's just one catch to Nintendo's consolation prize: the emergency cloud backup isn't available yet. It should be released for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers in the future, but at launch, the feature is missing. That means that players who lose or break their Nintendo Switch consoles (we get it, life happens) will be at risk of completely losing their entire island and all of its inhabitants. From the Animal Crossing website: This game does not support the Save Data Cloud functionality of Nintendo Switch Online. However, a limited ability to recover Animal Crossing: New Horizons save data from the server in the event of system failure, loss, or theft will be available to Nintendo Switch Online members sometime in the future. Check back for more details as they are available. It's not clear when the feature will be available, but even when it is, there will be limitations galore. Players will each get one emergency cloud backup for their island, and it's only applicable in the event of the Switch being damaged or lost. This still won't allow you to transfer game information to a new Switch, or play the game on multiple consoles (say, if you had an original Switch on your TV at home and a Switch Lite for when you left the house.) We will, of course, update this space the moment the emergency cloud backup becomes available, with full details on how you can use it to protect your island. Until then, baby your Switch while you're planting flowers, fishing, and making friends with your villagers.

Summer Associate Programs and COVID-19: How Law Firms Are Responding

Home Instant Insights / Making It Work: The Legal Profession in the Age of COVID-19 Chances are your life has been upended by the coronavirus pandemic, whether you’re a partner, associate, in-house counsel, student, professor or legal tech professional. As part of that legal community, you're also resilient, with inventive ways of getting the job done despite very difficult times. In this collection, Law.com reports on what you need to know to keep it all going and how you’re helping others during the crisis. You'll also find a roundup of the latest COVID-19 news affecting legal professionals.

I made some little drawn infographics of notable...

FFXIV Art/RP Blog // That elezen raised by lalafell // Zalera // Nonbinary / Any Pronouns // Main Art Blog @quelfabulous. Follows likes from @fabulousquel

Dwayne Johnson Confirms 'Black Adam' Delay

Filming on Black Adam will be delayed by a month or two confirms Dwayne Johnson on social media. Two weeks ago saw Dwayne Johnson offer they were supposed to start filming in July, but due to the coronavirus, he wasn't sure, and now The Rock's latest update on Monday says filming will get pushed back, with an update on his Netflix movie, Red Notice, also mentioned. "How am I feeling about Black Adam?" said Johnson. "So I was currently shooting Red Notice for Netflix with myself, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot with our writer/director Rawson Thurber and we were shut down because of the coronavirus. So at some time point, we will pick that back up." Johnson continues: "Black Adam, we still plan on shooting probably at the end of summer now. Probably pushed maybe into August, maybe September. So we will see, but I can't wait for that. I have been training so hard for months and months and months and months for Black Adam," he said. "And that is a passion project for me. It's a role that I hold near and dear to my DNA. So, I can't wait. So thank you guys for asking that question." Good choppin’ w/ ya @BroBible. Much needed reprieve -- from the craziness we’re all experiencing. The team is mobilized, ready & can’t wait to start #blackadam. Hopefully, Aug/Sept. https://t.co/t1vh1AhQRz — Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) April 13, 2020 Dwayne Johnson psyched for Black Adam Rumors offer the movie will introduce not one but two versions of the Justice Society Of America including the DC characters Hawkman, Hawkgirl, The Flash, Green Lantern, Doctor Fate, Atom Smasher, and more. Shazam Zachary Levi also recently touched upon possibly battling Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam in the future. "Maybe we’ll get to pay off all of those Captain Marvel/Black Adam epic fights and storylines from the comic books," teased Levi. Black Adam has a December 22, 2021 release date.

Jadusable Wiki

The official database for the Ben Drowned story and ARG (Also known as The Haunted Majora's Mask Cartridge ) NAVIGATION Timelines Characters Videos Websites Interviews ANNOUNCEMENTS TEN YEARS OF BEN DROWNED Good afternoon! On this day ten years ago, Alex Hall posted a horror story on the internet. That story grew and evolved into so much more, and is the foundation upon which this community is built. Without it, many of our paths may not have crossed, and lasting friendships would not have been formed. I just want to say that, from the bottom of my heart, I love this community and am so incredibly thankful to Alex for his contribution to the direction of my life. Now, let's get to some news. This community's got just a bit of new content coming along lately, and I'm excited to share it with you. From the artists of Awakening, a new PMV titled Dead Hearts.wmv will be premiering at 6:00pm EST on September 12. It's a collaborative labor of love from a bunch of talented people, and the work they've put into it is unbelievable. You can catch it on Rosy's channel. will be premiering at 6:00pm EST on September 12. It's a collaborative labor of love from a bunch of talented people, and the work they've put into it is unbelievable. You can catch it on Rosy's channel. Our boy Ryan Geever is working on the next chapter of his Ben Drowned Explained series, which you can find right here. We highly recommend any new fans use these as a guide if you're either unfamiliar with the story as a whole or if you're more suited to listening than reading. series, which you can find right here. We highly recommend any new fans use these as a guide if you're either unfamiliar with the story as a whole or if you're more suited to listening than reading. I have decided to officially reveal this wiki's new sister: Missing Links, a wiki for fan-made Ben Drowned content! We've already got a good team of contributors ready to help build it up, and hopefully we'll be able to bring her up to this wiki's level in the near future. There are a few TOP SECRET projects in the works, things I can't officially reveal to the public, but am excited for regardless. Hell, most are still in the planning stages. We've got some time before these are ready, but I feel the need to tell you that we've got stuff on the way. That's just about where we are at the moment. Where continuing community projects are concerned, Johnisdead (which you can read about here!) has just premiered an incredible update, which I can only describe further by saying, "...whoa." Lots of smaller-scale fan-made stuff has been made lately, and that's just the sort of thing we're planning on filling our new wiki with. If you can't tell, I'm really excited about that. So, I guess that's all we have for now. My friends, it's been a ride. Let's enjoy the rest of this story together and continue to create our own. - CircleHunter (talk) 16:20, 7 September 2020 (CDT) ABOUT THE ARG The Haunted Majora's Mask Cartridge ARG follows the story of a malevolent entity called BEN, which a college student called "Jadusable" discovered in an old copy of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Initially posted on 4chan, the story turned into an alternate reality game when the players unknowingly helped release BEN onto the Internet. In their attempts to stop it, players stumbled across the Moon Children, a cult that somehow had ties to BEN. Various characters and players - Ifrit, Rosa, Alex, and Ryukaki - tried to take on BEN and failed, sacrificing themselves so we may have a chance to defeat him. Keep in mind as you view the wiki: Some of the ARG's information has been lost or destroyed due to websites and forums being lost. Recovery efforts for the remaining missing content are being made. A few relevant videos have been taken down from characters' YouTube channels. They can still be viewed via re-uploads, which can be found on their respective pages. The current incarnations of youshouldnthavedonethat.net and Within Hubris are not a part of the current Awakening story. They are archives of their canon counterparts from 2010 and 2011, and are not supported by Alex Hall.

The 10 Most Popular Shows On Netflix Right Now (April 13)

The show is also the most popular offering on Netflix regardless of medium, beating out all movies and comedy specials, as well. Given that Netflix released a new episode of “Tiger King” on Sunday, this comes as no surprise. In the latest episode, Joel McHale hosted an after-show in which he interviewed a few notable people from the docu-series. To boot, this past weekend’s virtual “Saturday Night Live” had many jokes about “Tiger King” throughout its episode.

Knowledge Fight: #419: Disease Denial and Vampire Affirmation

Today, Dan and Jordan deplatform Alex Jones from their podcast as punishment for him being a huge disappointment. Instead of talking about him, they check in on what Sweary Kerry at Project Camelot has been saying about how things are going with the coronavirus. It turns out nothing might be real, and we may have some side-concerns that the CDC is definitely not equipped to handle.

Хиляди на премиерата на книгата "Пакта: Началото"

Тийнейджърите си имат нова мания и тя се казва "Пакта". Става въпрос за най-успешната общност от популярни български автори на геймплей видеосъдържание. Тяхната първа книга "Пакта: Началото" вече е факт и предизвика истинска еуфория и тълпи от ентусиазирани деца и младежи. Вижте репортажа на Андреа Драганова.

Canadian Premier League forced to cut wages due to global COVID-19 pandemic

Its season delayed by COVID-19, the Canadian Premier League has been forced to reduce wages for players and staff. Players will have 25 per cent of their contracts deferred, while coaches, technical staff, and club and league employees will take unspecified pay reductions “during this challenging time in order to keep as many people as possible employed.” “The Canadian Premier League and its member clubs have been working hard to minimize the impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our business,” commissioner David Clanachan said in a statement Monday. “We were scheduled to start our season on April 11, but were unable to do so. “Despite our best efforts, we are now having to make adjustments to our operations including the wages of our hard-working and passionate players, coaches and employees.” Clanachan has said the eight-team league is running different scenarios on what the 2020 season might look. But the final word on resuming play will come from government and health authorities. “We thank our dedicated players, coaches and staff for helping us share the weight of these difficult challenges,” Clanachan added in the statement. “And we look forward to starting our season and welcoming back our amazing fans when authorities say it is safe to do so.” The league said it had no further comment. Clanachan said last week in an interview that the second-year league, thanks to the commitments of its owners, will survive the pandemic. “As in any business, you do what you have to do and adjust as you go. But we’re in this for the long run,” he told The Canadian Press. “This is a long game here and we’re very focused about what we’re going to build and the legacy we will leave going forward. That’s not changed at all.” And he said the league continues to hear from potential new ownership groups.

[UPDATE: TRUMP SAYS NOT TRUE] – Trump names Ivanka, Jared Trump on council to reopen America

MAJOR UPDATE: Trump said the reports of Ivanka and Jared being on the council to reopen America are not true: DC EXAMINER – President Trump has yet to announce the full list of people who will sit on his coronavirus economic task force, but Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump will not be part of the crew. During a press conference on Monday, Trump was asked whether his daughter and son-in-law, who are both White House advisers, would be part of the White House task force on reopening the economy. Both had been reported to be on the team, but the president denied the rumors, saying, “No, they’re not.” I guess Fox News got this one wrong. You can see the earlier reporting below… – – – -EARLIER REPORTING- – – – President Trump is establishing his council to reopen American and Fox News is reporting that he has named Ivanka and Jared Trump as part of the council. Watch: John Roberts reports that the council will be chaired by former Congressman Mark Meadows, with other members including Ivanka and Jared Trump, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, Chief Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow, US Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Secretaries of Agriculture, Transportation, Energy, Labor, HUD, the OMB Director and the Chairman of Economic Advisors. Roberts notes that it will also include a couple of other people he didn’t name. Roberts also mentioned that thus far, there’s no one from the private sector on the council. Just government types. That may change though as I believe Trump has already mentioned that he will be picking a few people from the private sector. I’m guessing that some will question why Ivanka is on the committee. Honesty, I’m just happy Trump is moving in this direction and even if I didn’t like it, she’s only one person among many. I still think May 1st is too far away to get this going, but nobody is asking me what I think. Thomas Massie believes we are just weeks away from major damage being done to meat/food sector:

Report: Tarvaris Jackson dead in car accident

Former #Seahawks QB Tarvaris Jackson died last night in a car accident in Alabama, a spokesperson for his employer Tennessee State tells me. Jackson, 36, was TSU’s QB coach. Along with Seattle, he also played for the #Vikings and #Bills. — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 13, 2020 The Vikings took Jackson out of Alabama State University with the 64th pick in the 2006 NFL Draft and signed him to a four-year contract. His rookie year was essentially shelved by a knee injury. In 2007, Jackson's only season as the primary quarterback for the Vikings, he threw for 1,911 yards, nine touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. The team went 8-4 in Jackson's 12 starts, but failed to make the playoffs. In subsequent years, Jackson competed with Gus Frerotte and Sage Rosenfels, and ultimately played back-up to the aging Brett Favre. Jackson touched the field in 36 games through five seasons, starting 20, and amassing a 10-10 record. Replacing an injured Frerotte late in 2008, he helped Minnesota reach the playoffs, where they lost in the Wild Card round to the Philadelphia Eagles. As a free agent in 2011, Jackson signed with the Seattle Seahawks, going 7-7 as a starter his first year there. He lost the starting job, but, during a second stint in Seattle, won a Super Bowl as the backup to Russell Wilson. Post-football, Jackson went into coaching, first at his alma mater, and most recently at Tennessee State.

Walking From Budva to Sveti Stefan: The Seven Bay Trail

Depending on what time of year you visit Budva Montenegro your experience will be drastically different. In October, we just missed the busy season. We heard that it turns into a wild party scene during the summer, and the beaches are packed shoulder to shoulder. Looking to escape the crowds? Most people make a visit to the island turned luxury resort, Sveti Stefan. It is possible to drive or taxi easily from town. However, if you’re up for an adventure walking from Budva to Sveti Stefan is the way to go! The Seven Bay Trail is a full afternoon of exploring several different beaches, and ends at the magnificent Sveti Stefan Island. Here’s all you need to know about the walk! Pin For Later ↓ More Montenegro Travel Inspiration Budva to Sveti Stefan on the Seven Bay Trail Start: Budva Montenegro Budva Montenegro End: Sveti Stefan Island Sveti Stefan Island Distance: 9 km 9 km Time Needed: 3-5 hours 3-5 hours Peak Season: May – September May – September Pack: Bathing suit, sunblock, hat, camera, money for food, drinks, and bus or taxi back! Budva to Sveti Stefan Beaches As we said before, Budva Montenegro itself has plenty of action going on at the beach. There is a collection of nice beaches and coves that surround the beautiful old town. Richard’s Head is a small beach directly in front of old town. Mogren is actually two beaches joined together by a tunnel, and about 200 meters to the right of Richard’s Head. Make sure to take a picture next to the famous “Budva Dancer” which sits elegantly in front of Stari Grad. Budva Montenegro wasn’t too crowded when we were there, but we’ve heard the beaches are packed like sardines in the summer. I can not overstate this enough! We had a completely different experience showing up in October. If you head the other way now (to the left of old town) you’ll find a long stretch of beach filled with endless bars and water activities. This is the direction you’ll be walking to start the Seven Bay Trail. → Budva Main Beach Location Rafailovici Beach The next beach you’ll find as you leave Budva Montenegro is Rafailovici. Once you pass through Slovenska Plaza you’ll reach the Duckley Gardens Apartments. It may look a tad sketchy from the outside, but go through the tunnel under the Duckley Gardens complex. Here you’ll see many local works of art and history on display which we thought was pretty cool for a pedestrian tunnel! Here’s where it gets a bit confusing. Coming out the other side you won’t immediately see Rafailovici Beach. It would be great if you could take a right, but there’s a security gate there for a resort hotel. For this reason, you must take a slight left as you’re leaving the tunnel and walk down the relatively unassuming pathway. From the paved pathway, take the first right you can and head directly to the beach. Also named Becici Beach, Rafailovici is a long stretch of white sand with a much more relaxed scene than Budva. You’ll have to walk for awhile, but on the far end you’ll find some wonderful cafes and bars for food and drinks. → Rafailovici Beach Location Kamenovo Beach As you head to the next bay, you’ll see a uniquely structured rock sticking out of the ocean. This was an awesome place to stop and swim in between beaches! After the unnamed rock, you’ll pass through yet another long tunnel. Unfortunately, this one was much darker and not as interesting as the tunnel under Duckley Apartments. Yet, once you finally emerge you’ll be blessed with an incredible view overlooking Kamenovo Beach! Looking out over the beautiful Adriatic Sea, this is the point we finally felt like we’d made it out of the hustle and bustle of Budva. Again, I can imagine the long sandy beach was more crowded in the summer, but we had it all to ourselves that day. → Kamenovo Beach Location Przno Beach Here’s where your trip from Budva to Sveti Stefan gets a little sketchy again. From the end of Kamenovo Beach you must hike the stairs to the highway. It would be awesome if they built a path that stayed on the beach, but for now it is what it is! Once you get to the highway, hang a right and follow the road until you see Przno Bay. In all honestly, walking the highway was a little frightening with cars and buses flying by. I think we even transitioned to a light jog at one point because the road was so tight. Nonetheless, the stairs will eventually appear so take those down to Przno Beach. Maybe the smallest and quietest stop on the Seven Bay Trail, Przno is a welcomed change from the loud music and party scene of the beaches prior. Local seafood restaurants and cafes hug the coast, and the water is crystal clear! This was by far our favorite stop on the Seven Bay Trail aside from the obvious (Sveti Stefan Island). The joyous colors and local vibes of Przno were the perfect mood setter for the rest of our walk. Take a swim, and even snorkel out to a small island offshore before continuing on. → Przno Beach Location Queen’s Beach If you’re reading this on your walk from Budva to Sveti Stefan just know that you’re almost there! It’s a wild walk, but the Seven Bay Trail keeps getting better as you go on. As you walk down the hill from Przno you’ll be able to catch a glimpse of Queen’s Beach. This part of the Seven Bay Trail gets is name because it was a favorite of the wife of former Yugoslavian King Alexander Karadjordjevic. You can understand why she loved it so much as it’s surrounded by gorgeous cypress and olive trees. Unfortunately, this beautiful beach is restricted as it’s part of a private resort. The only way to actually access this hidden paradise is by boat. We weren’t able to see much of the beach, but Aman Resorts also owns Sveti Stefan so you can only imagine how amazing it must be. → Queen’s Beach Location King’s Beach Since there is a Queen’s beach then I think you know the King had one, too! Otherwise known as Milocer Beach, this cove is also part of the collection of Aman Private Resorts. The former Yugoslavian King’s Villa is behind it which you can stay in at a hefty price. You shouldn’t have to pay a fee to get into this beach near Sveti Stefan, but they do charge 25 euros or more for a beach chair in the summer. There is also a beautiful nature park surrounding it which is worth visiting. The bay itself is absolutely stunning, and it’s enclosed by rocks surrounding the multi-colored pebble beach. Would you expect anything different for the summer vacation spot of Yugoslavian royalty? → King’s Beach Location Sveti Stefan Island Finally, we’ve made it all the way from Budva to Sveti Stefan! This magical island has an extensive history that’s perfectly intertwined with that of Montenegro’s coast. Legend has it, a fort was first built on Sveti Stefan Island in 1442. At this time the fort was primarily used to shelter local families from attacks by the Turkish invaders and pirates. It was eventually inhabited by 12 families named the “Pastrovic Clan” who lived there for many years. Local families lived on Sveti Stefan Island up until the early 1900’s when it was turned into a luxury resort like you see today. Sveti Stefan Island boasts three separate churches which are surrounded by the famous stone buildings with red roofs. It is quite the spectacle to see, as people continuously try to stroll into the resort only to be turned away by security. The only way to get onto Sveti Stefan without being a hotel guest is to make a dinner reservation. In the summer you can also pay 80 euros for a lounge chair on the private beach to the north. You’re much better off swimming at the beach for free in front of the Sveti Stefan, and taking in the view from water like we did. If you couldn’t already tell, walking the Seven Bay Trail was both exhausting and quite the adventure. Nevertheless, it was all worth it once we caught our first view of Sveti Stefan! → Sveti Stefan Location How to Get Back from Sveti Stefan to Budva It took us almost 5 hours to do the walk from Budva to Sveti Stefan which included countless beach dips, a massive lunch, and several beach beers. After a full day it was time to make the trip back to town. It was getting dark so walking back was out as an option. So how should you plan to get back? Bus: There is a bus from Sveti Stefan to Budva for €2 per person. The bus is located up on the main road and the schedule changes with the seasons. It’s best to double check the times online if you are planning to do this. Taxi: The second option is the one we decided to do. Walking towards the bus stop a taxi pulled over and asked if we needed a ride. There are also taxi’s that stay near the entrance of Sveti Stefan. For €12 we took a 20 minute taxi ride back to town. As always when traveling, it’s smart to confirm the cost before getting in or at least ask for a ballpark number if it’s a meter. Have any questions on walking from Budva to Sveti Stefan, or want to share your own experience? Let us know in the comments below! Safe Travels, Brigitte & Jake ____________________________ Where To Stay In Budva Montenegro Ultra Luxury (High End) –Hotel Azimut – If you aren’t going to spend $2,000+ a night stay on the luxury island the best next thing is overlooking it. Filled with all the amenities of a five star resort, amazing views, and close to several beaches. Fun Vacation (Mid Range) –Maestral Resort & Casino – Remember the beautiful Przno Beach I mentioned earlier? Well this hotel has it’s own private section of the beach roped off for you to enjoy! Travel Couple (Long Term Travel) – Guest House Villa Jovana – This is where we stayed on our visit to Budva Montenegro, and it was the perfect location only 15 minute walk from old town. The host was very welcoming, and the view from the balcony was awesome. Hostel Life (Budget) – High Hostel – Surprisingly, there are not many hostels in Budva. However, high hostel is just outside the city, and caters to all your backpacker needs. For more places to stay in Budva Montenegro you can explore the latest prices here! *By booking through our website we receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This allows us continue our travels and keep providing great content to our readers! You can also bookmark this link for all your future stays*

50 - Scribe - The Gilded Hero

Anyways: Wash your hands. Avoid going out. Don't risk your health for something silly. "In time, this too shall pass." Hello. Apologies for the delay. I am not sick with the coronavirus or anything like that, but the virus has hit my state very hard and a lot has needed to change in a very short period of time. Work from home has had a surprisingly negative impact on my productive writing hours, among other things. A [Priest] might smite you and a [Paladin] might crush you, but at least they'll be quick about it. A nice swift death, most of the time. See, people tend to get right to the point when they've got Gods looking over their shoulder. Keeps them honest. With a [Sorcerer], or a [Warlock], though... those are an entirely different story. As for what's looking over their shoulders? I don't even want to know. .... The night was ruined, and it was mostly my own damn fault. Standing there, holding my breath, I had one small hope. One which might redeem everything that had just happened, and make the whole night worth it. Trapped there, behind that door, I prayed that I would at least get the small satisfaction of listening to Roggar get a few of his teeth knocked out. I was met with disappointment. Instead, based entirely on what I could hear, I have to assume that Roggar beat the piss out of someone. By my best guess, I think it might have been the man I'd overheard before, named "Posh." Which is a terrible name, but this was turning out to be something of a terrible world, filled with terrible things, and I'd more or less accepted it as a matter of course. Quite a few people tried to stop him- again, from the sound of it. Which then led to him throwing one of them into the door I was hiding behind. The impact, even blocked, knocked the wind out of me, and almost keeled me over. After that, there were more shouts. Someone used a skill that made it sound like a sledgehammer hit the wall. Sharp bits of stone flying everywhere, and someone actually skidded down the hall a good ways... And these events pretty much solidified my decision to wait behind that door until I died of old age. While I felt confident that I could probably set someone on fire, I wasn't nearly as confident that it would kill them before they punched my head clean off my shoulders. And if Roggar was doing this kind of thing to people he liked, I sure as hell didn't want him to notice me. So, I waited. Still, silent... I was one with the door. No longer was I just some silly Hero with a skill that made me harder to notice, I was a part of the timber. I was strands of fiber, long-dead, but put to a purpose... Needless to say: my wonderful night of adventure had quite the damper put on it. I spent an undefined amount of time waiting there, and then another twenty minutes or so stuck beside another door coincidentally opened in a similar manner by several people trying to see if "Posh" was actually going to die, or just sort of going to die. Because, apparently, there was a difference, and that difference was held on a scale against angering the fort's [Healer] by waking them up in the middle of the night. The things you can only learn by experience, I suppose. After some time, though, they did leave. With the sounds of dragging a cloth covered sack of flesh down the hall. I crept out form behind my hiding place and began to walk along with a surpising pace, to wind my way back through the fort, all the way back to my room. There, I sat down, lay back, and found within the span of what felt to only be a single blink, it was morning. Just like that. It was morning. The thought of going out onto the field and swinging a spear around made me want to die. Yet, rise to my feet I did, and without the need to dress myself, at that. Putting on a pair of wool socks and fitting into my boots, I opened the door- To find someone waiting for me. The [Scribe] stood, face wrinkled, expression like that of a sour grape, left in the sun. Thick robes, scent of dust and candle smoke, he eyed me as if I was a stray dog he'd happened upon and found pissing on his garden. "The Baron has returned." He announced, dryly. "Follow me." .... The [Scribe] named Neriah was not happy, and he hadn't been all morning, since arriving at my door and leading me to the Baron's chambers. He wasn't happy at all. Not with what the Baron was asking. Not with my presence. Not with life itself. He didn't have a choice but to accept all of the above, of course, but the old man's expression as he glanced me over made me wonder if the man had sat upon a sharp bit of wood. Or, maybe, several sharp bits of wood. "I predicted as much, and I understand your intentions, Baron." Neriah said, as we waited, just outside the undefined region in which the healer of the fort seemed to have laid claim: Bloodied bandages strewn about the floor, stripped and jagged pieces of armor tossed at random, and stained with deep specks of corruption upon the polished metal surfaces. "As you command, I will see what I can make of him." "Make of him? Lad's no use as a [Mage] if he can't fucking read: I expect results, Neriah." The Baron answered, lip curling as another layer of bandages wound about his shoulder. "Just put him to better use than if he were down in the yard, swinging a stick about. I've heard he's terrible at it." "As have I." Neriah replied, smugly. Under more normal circumstances, I feel that I probably would have taken a little bit of offense. Both to the blatant disrespect to my abilities, and in the manner of conversation that seemed to disregard that I was standing right next to them, in the very same room. But "Normal" was long gone at this point. And, quite frankly: I was terrible. Not by my own standards, true. I honestly had a inkling I'd be relatively impressive if I randomly landed back on Earth with all my abilities. Yet, by this world's standards I was scraping the bottom of the barrel. Especially when compared to the man in front of me. Even if the [Lord] was sitting, half-naked, as a [Healer] fussed about him. Dressing what seemed to be a massive set of bite marks, encompassing his entire torso, along with a deep gash on his shoulder. Like I said, it was best to forget normal. "Watch the bloodly salve, woman." The Baron muttered, as the woman diligently applied some greenish paste to the shoulder wound, working her way down to the cresent of gouges below. Though these weren't deep, the cresent shape dotted along with regular intervals seemed far more terrifying to me: both in the fact that the man seemed to have been entirely clasped in the jaws of some horrifying beast, and that the beast had actually managed to wound the man in the first place. The Baron's strength and presence might have been intimidating, but the idea of being forced to acknowledge there were even more dangerous things lurking out in the world was a concept I found myself actively trying to avoid. Perhaps catching the surprise on my face, the Baron huffed out a short laugh as he raised a open hand of meaty fingers. "The easiest way to kill a monster is where the skull meets the spine. One good hit, lad! That's all you need." He chuckled, closing his fingers into a fist, in a manner that was somehow quite audible. The noise was similar to metal cords, stretching under pressure. "Found I had to approach the method from a different angle, is all." "Risks you do not need to take, my [Lord]. The Guild is more than suitable for such tasks." The Scribe, Neriah, grumbled. "To the pressing matter at hand, though: as the expression goes, I cannot make gold from lead." With a scowl on his face, the [Scribe] seemed keen to avoid looking in my direction. "While I assure you, I will find some responsibilities for him, if he is entirely unable to read..." Neriah trailed off on that statement, as the [Healer] circled past. "Out with it." The Baron prompted, impatiently. "It's just, my [Lord], such teachings takes time. There are many other responsibilities I must attend to. With the Kingdom's Fyrd approaching, this is hardly a recommended time to invest in someone-" "I would appreciate it greatly, if you hurried to the bloody point." The Baron stopped him short. "Speak." "It is a simple request, Sir. If you would allow permission to aquire a Scroll that will grant him the basics, then, perhaps..." The [Scribe] trailed off, as the Baron's expression shifted. No longer impatient, but flat. Blank and clean, like the ocean waters had been near Gregory's shack, before a storm. "A Scroll." His voice growled, as I watched two massive hands curl into massive fists. "By all the Gods. Next you'll tell me that coin grows on trees." The Baron growled, volume increasing by the second. "You realize, I just killed a fucking Hellspawn and half a dozen fucking beasts in the past two days, just to make even with the Guild." "[Lord], Baron, Sir, if I may-" "Just to make EVEN, Neriah." The Baron continued. "To clear the books, so we can hire them again this coming season." "I understand, Sir." Neriah's clear admission of defeat might as well have fallen on deaf ears. "I've brought you a bloody HERO! Not some bumpkin raised in the woods, or some illiterate goat farmer! A fucking HERO!" "I understand, I only asked-" "Nay, you do not ask, you lazy, wrinkled, fool!" Reaching to his beside table, the Baron lifted a heavy book, to throw down at the [Scribe]'s feet with a heavy crack. "Take this, take any other number of binded texts, and bury him in scripts until the sky opens up, or lightning strikes, or the Gods themselves come down and shove the Skill up his ass. Until whatever the fuck else it is that grants his type their miraculous fucking abilities, happens!" The Baron shouted, voice almost deafening as he rounded on us. "Do I make myself clear?" "Perfectly, sir." The [Scribe] croaked, eyes wide in terror. Looking about the room with a similar expression, I found that the [Healer] had already escaped. An excellent decision, on their part, as I wished I could, and continued to wish, repeatedly, as the Baron stared us down for a long moment. Not just a man, but a giant. Even seated on the bed, covered in bloody bandages, his presence instilled fear. "I expect results." He repeated. "So, get me results. Both of you." There was a small moment of shared terror there, I think. Brief as it was, Neriah and I left the room as equals. Then, as they always do, the moment passed. I soon turned to my newly appointed educator, and found that the scowl he'd had before had returned. This time, though, it seemed much worse. So began my education. .... I've always been the kind of person who felt more at home behind a desk, than most anywhere else in the world. Logical thinking, as I liked to generalize it. Give me problems, give me paper, give me a pen, and let me see what I can do. Let me, perhaps- pun somewhat intended, work my magic. With numbers, with puzzles, with questions needing answers... There are aspects of life someone might feel an affinity for, as this was mine. All that said, it's not difficult to imagine that, in some ways, I was thrilled with this assignment. I hadn't been ordered out on the battlefield. I hadn't been told to go and kill a monster, or set a bunch of people on fire- or whatever it was a [Mage] serving a feudal [Lord] might be expected to do in their normal job description. I was told to read books. This was, in theory, an oasis. My oasis. The chance for respite, answers, and mental recovery, before setting back out into the world of shit that awaited me. Here it was. Finally, the chance to throw myself into something I was actually suited for. No more forced confrontations with the Guards, no more wasting my time with weapons, when I could be practicing with my wits. I was being given the chance to learn real, valuable, information. Knowledge that might be almost endless, considering the massive library of dusty tomes and books shelved all around the large room that Neriah the [Scribe] brought us to... And yet, the irony of my unfortunate combination of talents, was palpable. I might comprehend and speak whatever language this world relied upon. I might do so flawlessly, mindlessly translating idioms to their equivalents and all other sorts of madness the normal human mind might stumble with, by the power bestowed upon me by the Passive Skill of [Language of men]. But, despite this: I was completely, and utterly, illiterate. A puzzle, to be sure. Surrounded by books. Dozens of shelves, each filled to the brim with knowledge, capable of answering questions I hadn't even thought to ask- and they might as well have been solid walls of stone. I couldn't read any of them. I couldn't even scratch the surface. Perhaps there was information on Magic, on history, on all manner of things I wished so badly to learn! Yet, they were unreachable. Whatever I'd felt when trying to light a fire, whatever I'd felt when starving at the hands of my captors, or being forced out on the battlefield to die a miserable death: this was somehow worse. And it wasn't long before I found a a deep rooted irritation had begun to build itself. Rising up with each and every failure. "Again." Neriah demanded, slapping his palm on the table. "Again!" My quill worked, metal tip furiously stabbing into the parchment, as my so-called instruction loomed behind me. "Wrong!" The page I was working with, now utterly covered in black ink, was snatched away, replaced with a blank page. "Repeat!" The urge to set things on fire was becoming increasingly difficult to resist. Grinding my molars together didn't seem to be the best coping method, either. Willpower held the line for a good while, though. By my best best estimation, it was eight hours in total: a full morning and afternoon combined, before I found myself silently wishing for the training field. While physical exhaustion might put a damper on one's spirit, it can be mindlessly pushed through, even when mentally exhausted from a lack of sleep. Staring at foreign scribbles in the hopes they open up a world of knowledge, on the other hand, is not nearly so simple a task. The previous nights escapades haunted me, like a curse. "Wrong, again." Neriah hissed, looking up from his own work to stab a bony finger at the symbol on the parchment I'd handed him. "Another." He turned the page over to me, shoving the sheet to me. "Now." My quill moved in repetition of the previous attempt- "Wrong." The [Scribe] hissed again. "You illiterate fool." The sun was waning, in the skylight above the dusty room. The scent of wasted ink, paper, and glue settled heavily, as I valiantly resisted setting the old man to "deep-fry." It was becoming more and more difficult to do, as the hours stretched on, and I suspected it was well within my ability, considering the man was a [Scribe] and not some sort of warrior Class. ... But I was trying to focus on the positives. Which, there actually were. For once. This was what I wanted, I told myself. Almost like a mantra: "This was what I wanted." The Baron had ordered me to go exactly where I would have wanted, saying that I'd have had any real control over the situation. Well away from weapons and danger, surrounded by familiar concepts, and things I might actually have a knack for. I'd spent a large majority of my life on Earth, wrapped up in exactly this: sitting in a classroom, or a lecture hall, or an office. And yet, I'd never considered the problems that come from complete ignorance. Speaking and reading, it seemed, were two entirely different things, and I quickly learned Neriah had little interest in my knowledge of English. My efforts to show him such, only seemed to anger the man further- and his attempts to remedy that "problem" were down right brutal. As it turns out, being able to learn how to read and write an entirely different language isn't nearly as simple as snapping fingers. And, it certainly didn't help that there was almost no effort to teach me much of anything, either. "Repeat the page again." The elderly [Scribe] grimbled, pushing a brand new page in my direction. Of course, I did as instructed. Apparently, this was how I was supposed to learn. Neriah the [Scribe] had selected several different pages of, what I assumed, were basic scripts. Then, he had me attempt to replicate them. No further instruction, mind you, just a quill and some rough looking paper that seemed a step removed from tree bark, and probably wasn't deemed for any purpose other than kindling. Just rewriting the same dense page of foreign letters, over and over. And over. And over. A slog? Yes, that's what it was. Meaningful progress, I found, was not something I came across during this process. Positive reinforcement for the work applied, was mostly nonexistent. Still, my quill worked tirelessly. Much like a very inefficient and somewhat inaccurate copy-machine, or some long-forgotten monk in the mountains of old-age Europe, trying to scribble a copy of some religious text. There I sat, grinding away as I waited for revelation... "You lack the most basic of education. That you can speak properly is nothing but a miracle." The man muttered, rising from his seat. "Repeat the page ten more times before I return." He rose and stepped away, letting the door close behind him. The sound of footsteps traveling off until I was left with silence. What a relief it was. I had little doubt that the man might know his craft, but his craft certainly wasn't in education. It might be complaining, or looking like a moldy grape, but it certainly wasn't teaching. Thankfully, with him no longer grumbling over my shoulder, I found some of the puzzle began to sort itself out. The scripts, initially impossible to discern, did seem to fit a logical set of patterns, that were becoming increasingly recognizable as my quill continued its journey across the parchment. While I had doubts I would make sense of specific meanings without any context, I had a loosely formed concept of simply asking what a word was, and memorizing through brute force. In theory, considering I could speak due to a Skill, I assumed that I could probably learn enough to get myself a foothold to work with. If I applied myself for a few days, chances were I'd be able to start putting the pieces together. Even if they were Tarzan-like sentences... I carried on, determined. A few hours later, a glowstone I hadn't noticed in the ceiling turned on. A few hours after that, I found that the door had locked behind him. Books, as I soon found out, make for terrible pillows.

Trump knew: New York Times lays out solid proof Trump's incompetence allowed U.S. pandemic spread

Among the facts the Times was able to confirm: Trump was told "at the time" of a January 29 memo by trade adviser Peter Navarro warning that half a million U.S. deaths were possible—Trump later denied this. Trump was also personally warned by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Jan 30: Trump called him "alarmist." In February, the Azar-led White House Task Force "gathered for a tabletop exercise" replaying past pandemic wargaming, says the Times. The exercise resulted in the conclusion that "aggressive" social distancing would have to be adopted "soon" to avoid catastrophic effects. But their recommended course of action collapsed—because National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases director Dr. Nancy Messonnier publicly issued those warnings while Trump was still in India, before the task force had been able to get his "consent" for the warning. Trump had a fit, blew up at Azar, and that was the end of the Task Force's ability to get through to the narcissistic incompetent. It was over. Trump put Mike Pence in charge of the group, and "the [new] focus was clear," reports the Times: "no more alarmist messages." Over three weeks were lost, from February to March, with Pence's new mandate to fluff Trump's incompetent public assurances that little action was needed taking precedence over all those prior warnings. All of them. The federal response to a national crisis collapsed, because Donald Trump dismissed all warnings, became furious when those warnings went public without him, and tasked Mike Pence with sabotaging future warnings. Pence's office pushed back mightily against initial reports that government officials had been barred from making public appearances about the pandemic without Pence's approval. In actuality, that was exactly the intent. Mike Pence's job was to act as a firewall between the dire warnings of government experts who knew what was happening and the public, because Donald Trump was angry that those warnings were being made. Pence's use of that power to block administration experts from giving the public accurate advice, instead seeking to elevate Trump's false pronouncements, continues even now: Last week Pence's office told CNN that government experts Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx would be withheld from the network unless CNN agreed to not cut away from task force briefings for realtime factchecking of Trump's claims. "Over nearly three weeks from Feb. 26 to March 16, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States grew from 15 to 4,226," notes the Times. That was the difference. That was the ballgame; in three weeks, the United States had completely lost control of the pandemic. This paragraph, however, deserves special focus. It is the Trump defense, and it is unforgivable. "Mr. Trump’s allies and some administration officials say the criticism has been unfair. The Chinese government misled other governments, they say. And they insist that the president was either not getting proper information, or the people around him weren’t conveying the urgency of the threat. In some cases, they argue, the specific officials he was hearing from had been discredited in his eyes, but once the right information got to him through other channels, he made the right calls." The Chinese government may have misled about the pandemic—but the Trump administration knew about it anyway, from U.S. intelligence reports. Trump was absolutely getting proper information, and being told the "urgency" of the threat: If even trade adviser Peter Navarro was warning Trump directly of half a million possible U.S. dead, it is on Trump that Trump did not find that "urgent." But the last part, the part that seems specifically aimed at deflecting from Trump ignoring the warnings of Azar and the rest of the Task Force because he was upset with them—that is unforgivable. That is not leadership. That is a pissant little hissy-fit in the middle of crisis, an episode of pouting that has now killed over 20,000 Americans. Trump ignored a crisis already unfolding, blocking government action, to demand instead that Americans be fed false reassurances. Trump's personal narcissism committed the greatest act of political terrorism the United States has ever seen. That is not the only conclusion we can draw from the Times' dates, names, and unearthed documents. To be sure, the botched pandemic response was also due to infighting between Trump's myriad incompetent factions, with a "travel ban" being pushed by China hawks after the virus had already landed in the United States even as Azar's team struggled to get Trump's attention. But is absolutely clear that the Trump White House had all necessary information to act on the emerging pandemic in January, and that it was Trump's own pathologies that prevented action from being taken. Trump's intolerance for bad news or unflattering information meant government experts needed to walk on eggshells to even broach the subject; Trump's paranoid insistence on a "Deep State" conspiracy against him meant he steadily ignored expert warnings in the apparent sincere, idiotic belief that government experts were out to sabotage him. In his delusions and incompetence, Trump actively blocked government from executing already-laid plans to prevent the pandemic's spread. It took until mid-March, until the stock market had collapsed, the virus was widespread and states were issuing shelter in place orders until a "shellshocked and deflated" Trump finally absorbed that the reality of mass deaths were not something he could hate-tweet his way around. But it is not over, and he is not done doing damage. He remains paranoid, delusional and defiant, continuing to threaten to "re-open" the economy regardless of expert advice. It is unforgivable incompetence. It is unforgivable arrogance and self-dealing and cheap, nasty careerism, on the part of each and every grotesque administration toady allowing Trump to kill Americans, willingly, through intentional inaction. Mike Pence's eagerness to step in to facilitate Trump's propaganda-laced sabotage of government action is unforgivable. It is unforgivable that Senate Republicans nullified criminal acts by Trump with the explicit intent of allowing him to get away with the same, or worse, a bargain that within months brought on both a pandemic and an economic depression when Trump took them up on their invitation, treating an emerging global crisis as, once again, fodder for self-promotion, falsehoods, and patronage. It is absolutely clear that Trump, Mike Pence, and the rest of the White House knew in January that a deadly pandemic was coming, and that the Trump administration united to allow Trump to sabotage federal response efforts. It is absolutely unforgivable.

Karl-Anthony Towns' mother, Jacqueline, dies after lengthy battle with coronavirus

Jacqueline Cruz, the mother of Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns, died Monday due to complications from coronavirus (COVID-19), a family spokesperson said in a statement. She was 58 years old. "Jackie, as she was affectionately known among family and friends, had been battling the virus for more than a month when she succumbed on April 13th," the statement said. "Jackie was many things to many people — a wife, a mother, daughter, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend. The matriarch of the Towns family, she was an incredible source of strength; a fiery, caring and extremely loving person who touched everyone she met. Her passion was palpable and her energy will never be replaced. "The Towns family is extremely grateful for the outpouring of love and support they have received during this very difficult time." CORONAVIRUS & SPORTS: Get the latest news and information right in your inbox. Sign up here. The Timberwolves also released a statement extending their condolences and writing that "Jackie provided constant and positive energy for (Karl-Anthony) and was beloved by our entire organization and staff at Target Center." The NBA tweeted, "The NBA family mourns the passing of Jacqueline Cruz, loving mother to Karl-Anthony Towns. Jacqueline was beloved around the NBA and a great source of strength and inspiration for the family. We extend our deepest condolences to the Towns family during the difficult time." The National Basketball Players Association said in a statement, "Words cannot express the extreme sadness each of us feels at the news of the passing of Karl Anthony-Towns' loving mother, Jacqueline Towns. Our hearts break for Karl and his family and we send them our love and support at this very difficult time." On March 24, Towns posted an emotional video on Instagram detailing the severity of his mom’s condition. At that time, she was in a medically induced coma. Towns said his mom "keep getting worse, she kept getting worse … she wasn't getting any better.” "Her lungs were getting worse. Her cough was getting worse. She was deteriorating. We always thought that the next medicine would help." Towns said her fever reached 103 degrees. It was a harrowing explanation, and Towns was shaken, saying his mother was confused and saying things he didn’t want to hear. He called his mother “the head of the household, the boss.” He remained positive. "We're going to keep fighting this," he said. "We're going to beat this. We're going to win. I hope my story helps. I hope my story gives the you the correct information." Before Towns went public with his mom’s diagnosis, he pledged $100,000 to the Mayo Clinic to help fight the virus.

Man shot dead after firing at deputies, BSO says

A man at the scene — later identified as 56-year-old Miguel Gomez — then began shooting at the four deputies, who returned fire, killing Gomez. No deputies were injured, and the firearm Gomez used in the shooting was recovered at the scene, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Craig Gilbert, 94, Dies; Created Groundbreaking ‘American Family’

Craig Gilbert, who created what is widely considered to have been the first reality television show, “An American Family,” in 1973 and then all but disappeared from public view amid a storm of criticism and lasting, bitter disputes among its participants, died on Friday at his home in Lower Manhattan. He was 94. John Mulholland, a longtime friend and co-worker, confirmed the death. Mr. Gilbert spent most of his final decades living alone in a small apartment on Jane Street, relying on money he had inherited from his parents. “An American Family” was the last film he made. But in the early 1970s he was the envy of many documentarians, having produced well-received films about the anthropologist Margaret Mead and the disabled Irish writer Christy Brown. He was a producer at WNET, the New York public television outlet, when he came up with an even more ambitious idea, at a time when narrative journalism was on the rise: to follow a real American family for months, capturing moments mundane and emotional in an unvarnished, unrehearsed style known as cinéma vérité.

Uh Oh, The White House Just Gave Dr. Fauci A Vote Of Confidence

Apparently White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci isn’t on the chopping block, despite President Donald Trump retweeting a post declaring it was “time to #FireFauci” on Sunday night. “This media chatter is ridiculous – President Trump is not firing Dr. Fauci,” White House spokesperson Hogan Gidley said on Monday afternoon. The doctor “has been and remains a trusted advisor” to Trump, according to Gidley. But the White House’s rosy messaging about government officials who seem to have fallen from Trump’s good graces is rarely a good sign for the official: Former Cabinet members Rex Tillerson, Jeff Sessions, Scott Pruitt, and David Shulkin were all fired after either the White House or Trump claimed they still had his confidence. Fauci likely drew Trump’s ire after the doctor told CNN “State of the Union” host Jake Tapper on Sunday morning that a faster response to COVID-19 from the government would’ve prevented a number of deaths from the outbreak. “I mean, obviously, you could logically say that if you had a process that was ongoing and you started mitigation earlier, you could have saved lives,” Fauci said. Trump did not issue any social distancing guidelines until several months after the virus began spreading throughout the country, and he has been reluctant to uphold the guidelines for fear that the resulting damaged economy would cost him the election in November.

FT-FA

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they should have just played chess

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders’ live streamed conversation cemented the reality: there is no difference between Biden’s radical agenda and Bernie’s radical agenda. Despite policy agreements from raising taxes on America’s middle class to giving taxpayer funded health care to illegal immigrants to pushing the job killing Green New Deal, Bernie's endorsement of Biden shows that Biden's candidacy lacks energy. I can hardly believe what I am watching. In his conversation with @BernieSanders - @JoeBiden is clearly reading from a TelePrompTer. It's supposed to be a CONVERSATION. I've never seen this happen in my entire life. https://t.co/1GcGvFCIFE — Shaun King (@shaunking) April 13, 2020 Even relying on a teleprompter, Biden still had issues getting through his livestream unscathed. He failed to talk about his 6 policy working groups he is setting up with Sanders without repeating himself. Still waiting on your 6th working group Joe… Bottom Line: What Sanders’ endorsement of Joe Biden solidified for the American people is that Biden and Bernie are two sides of the same radical coin. Elections Joe Biden Read more Blogs

Amid the uncertainty, Andy Ellis means business when it comes to life after rugby

Life after rugby comes at you fast. In Andy Ellis' case, quicker than an Aaron Smith bullet pass. One minute he was in the midst of his farewell season in Japan, the next he was dashing home to be with his family in Christchurch lockdown with nothing but time to contemplate his next move. Lucky for Ellis, his wife Emma and children Scarlett, 10, and Arthur, 5, this is a World Cup-winning halfback who is well organised, not just in his game, but life. He has been working towards this moment for a half-dozen years, as he's compiled a portfolio of investments that seem certain to keep him as occupied as he ever was on the rugby field. In many ways this chirpy Cantab is a poster boy for the "Life After Rugby" concept so heavily emphasised by players' associations the world over. The 36-year-old long-time Crusaders No 9, who played 28 tests for the All Blacks between 2006 and 2015, has long understood that a sharp pass and eye for the gap would take him only so far in life. He may or may not be at the end of that particular road now, with his final season in the Top League for Kobelco Steelers brought to a premature end by the sporting shutdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, he'll take some time to consider if the fumes in his tank have another lap of the rugby track left in them. READ MORE: * Ellis 'lucky' to get out of Japan * Rugby resumption likely to be domestic * Nichol on Crusaders: Lessons learned * PM scolds Crusaders players "I'm 80 per cent there," he said when asked if this was it for him in rugby. "I'll take six months, and if I'm still feeling good … the thing is there are so many cool opportunities opening up in places like the US, I don't want to say 'that's it', and something comes up." Let's just say Ellis doesn't have to go through the rugby slog to provide for his family, having been chipping away at multiple business interests since he first dipped his toe in those waters back in 2015. Ellis is one of five principal investors in rural broadband company Gravity that is doing important things for Kiwi folk in remote parts of the country right now. It's a business he is especially proud of, and working hard for, as the nation comes to grips with the unprecedented coronavirus lockdown. He is also a partner in high-end beef operation Waitaha Wagyu that he formed out of a special relationship developed during his time in Japan and is also a shareholder in two restaurants, Auckland's Mad Samurai and Bar Yoku in Christchurch, that dovetail nicely with the former enterprise. JOSEPH JOHNSON/STUFF Ex-All Black Andy Ellis has a Wagyu beef business he's eager to tuck into. He is, it is fair to say, a busy man as he juggles the requirements of all four (he looks after relationships and partnerships with Gravity, is hugely invested in his Wagyu beef company with his Japanese partner Arato, and is not averse to popping behind the counter of his restaurants when the situation warrants) with the need to stay sharp for his day job. "I am one of those guys who has to be busy," says Ellis in an interview with Stuff from his home in Christchurch. "It does my wife's head in. I'm pretty driven, and I don't like sitting still for too long. I've always liked having things outside rugby – it's nice not to be consumed by it all the time." He has been discussing what comes next with friend and long-time team-mate Dan Carter who similarly made the dash home from Kobe to make lockdown. "At the start it was a little unnerving … now it's almost nice to be forced to have a good think about 'what's next?'" adds Ellis. Gravity, in a way, has taken over. On his return Ellis has been locked in to a busy time with the rural internet provider as they've sought to meet a growing demand from a Kiwi pubic desperate for connectivity. GETTY IMAGES Andy Ellis proved himself on the rugby field and is now doing the same in business. He first got involved in 2015 when he and a friend (now CEO of Gravity) recognised an opportunity in the tech space, essentially investing in a new satellite being launched in 2019 that was going to "revolutionise the way the internet was done" and jumped on board. Ellis has the sales pitch down pat. "We can reach anywhere in New Zealand with speeds the same as urban and pricing is affordable now," he says, with considerable enthusiasm. "With what's happened the last couple of weeks, the phones haven't stopped ringing and we're trying our best to connect Kiwis the best we can. "It's cool. A couple of weeks ago we got a message from this farmer, an old boy who was down in his shed, and he was able fix his tractor by watching a YouTube video. He'd had dialup for 20 years and was emotional about it. That makes me proud. "For me in business it's about more than just the money invested. It's got to have a cool story or something about it. This was always about being able to help people like the tractor guy. For a lot of these communities there isn't a lot of money but to be connected is vital. We're working through that with them now." Then there's the beefier tale. Early in his time in Japan Ellis formed a relationship with his local butcher (who happened to have been schooled in Auckland), one thing led to another and by 2015 they were taking the bull by the horns and starting up a Wagyu beef programme out of New Zealand. "We both wondered why New Zealand, as such a proud farming country, did not do Wagyu, the world's premium beef. Now we've got a beautiful farm in Chertsey, just out of Raikaia, and it's all done with Japanese techniques, the old way, with all the love put into the animals. Six months ago we started processing, and the chefs love it." It's been a real learning curve – "It's not till three years from when the animal is conceived you see if what you've done is right" – with a lot of variables going into a very high-end product. But they're finally entering an exciting phase with production ramping up and export orders on the horizon. Ellis, who's dabbled with landscape gardening, media work and other activities, is asked if he's got a message to young professionals perhaps not thinking yet about LAR. "You're so committed to your rugby, and to be the best you have to be. But it isn't going to last forever … I tried to say yes to as many opportunities as I could, they didn't all go gangbusters but I learnt so much. It's helped me figure out what I wanted to be involved in." Ellis recommends regarding the promos and sponsor activities that are a part of the modern player's lot as a chance, not a chore. He did the former, met people, improved his communication skills, educated himself about opportunities out there and expanded his horizons. He's also asked everyone he could about their experiences post-career. "All you hear is it's really hard, nothing prepares you for it and that part of the way to deal with it is to understand it," he says. Players boss Rob Nichol rightly regards Ellis, a genuine bloke with a heart of gold, as a personification of the message his organisations puts a lot of effort into spreading. "Rugby is not who you are; it's what you do," he says. "A big part of being a successful professional athlete is to develop a great level of self-awareness, a desire to grow personally and to explore careers outside of the game." For Ellis that time is now and, Covid or not, he's as prepared as he can be to pick this thing up and run with it.

About the Division of Corporations

The State of Delaware is a leading domicile for U.S. and international corporations. More than 1,000,000 business entities have made Delaware their legal home. More than 66% of the Fortune 500 have chosen Delaware as their legal home. Businesses choose Delaware not for one single reason, but because we provide a complete package of incorporations services. The Delaware General Corporation Law is the most advanced and flexible business formation statute in the nation. The Delaware Court of Chancery is a unique 220 year old business court that has written most of the modern U.S. corporation case law. Delaware’s State Government is business-friendly and accessible. Our Division of Corporations operates with a state-of-the-art efficiency and our staff provides prompt, friendly and professional service to clients, attorneys, registered agents and others. These factors have all contributed to making Delaware a premier legal home to companies around the world. The Division of Corporations has Specialists in each section to answer questions and assist you in filing your corporate, UCC and tax documents. You may also file annual tax reports and UCC documents online through our e-Corp Internet filing system. The Division of Corporations now offers online Name Reservations, Entity Status and General Information. View all online services. The Delaware Division of Corporations is at your service and we welcome your comments and feed back. You may contact any of the following individuals with questions through the Division of Corporation’s e-mail service. Jeffrey W. Bullock, Secretary of State Kristopher Knight, Deputy Secretary of State and Director of Corporations April Wright, Corporations Administrator Shawn Moore, Technical Support Section Administrator June Bilbrough, Franchise Tax Section Administrator Sandi Pisarski, Corporations Section Administrator Cynthia Kane, Marketing Director Dameon Deputy, Applications Development Manager Help us make your experience better. Please complete our Customer Service Survey.

‘How Is Chris?’: Andrew Cuomo Says Trump ‘Always’ Asks About His Brother And Mother’s Health

Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said President Donald Trump always asks how his family is doing after brother Chris Cuomo was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus. Andrew Cuomo shared the news during an interview with Howard Stern Monday. Stern asked if he thinks Trump is “happy your brother got coronavirus because he works for CNN.” Cuomo replied “no” before Stern elaborated on his question. The NY governor added that Trump also asks about their mother. “He’s been critical of Trump. Do you think [Trump] sits there and says, ‘Oh good,’ like there’s an enemies list or something like that? I feel it’s that vicious,” Stern asked. “The president always makes a point of saying to me, ‘How is Chris? Is he doing OK?’ And that’s not in his usual character,” Cuomo replied according to The Hill. “We’re not chit-chatty when we’re on the phone. But he always makes a point to say that about Chris and always remembers my mother.” “So I don’t think that. I think part of it is genuine, personal feeling of anger and part of it is a little theater that goes with politics, especially the way it’s happening now in Washington.” Chris Cuomo announced that he tested positive for the novel coronavirus March 31. He has continued anchoring “Cuomo Prime Time” while quarantining in his home. Trump has often referred to CNN as “fake news” and has bashed the network in the past. Andrew Cuomo has urged the public to avoid making the coronavirus political and has thanked the president amid the coronavirus pandemic in NY. “When you help my state, I’ll say thank you,” Cuomo said March 30 according to The Hill. “If I believe that New York is not being served … I’ll say that, too.” (RELATED: Cuomo And Trump Both Say Economic Standstill Is Unsustainable, But Differ On How Quickly To Get Back To Business) “Forget the politics, we have a national crisis. We are at war, there is no politics. There is no red and blue, it’s red, white and blue. Let’s get over it and lead by example.”

Make This Stunning Ad Go Viral

Remember the spellbinding speech by Adam Schiff, in which he implored the Senate Republicans to do the right thing and vote to remove Donald J. Trump from power? Schiff argued that Trump is what he is. He is a lawbreaker, a person who has no morals, no respect or even a sense of right and wrong, and it’s been obvious from the beginning. He said, you can’t change him. He will do it again. And his transgressions will be chained to you by history forever. The Senate ignored him with the lone exception of Mitt Romney. Susan Collins said oh, he’s learned a lesson from impeachment. Senators who could have changed the course of history doubled down on their investment in this criminal, this monster, and now the nation struggles with depression and pandemic. Eleven_Films has made this monster ad, which I hope will be seen by everybody around the world but especially by American voters. We must fix this, whatever it takes.

PDR Small Batch Maduro

Customer Reviews thank you thank you, CP. These smokes are almost always on sale and are great for budget smokers or even a seasoned smoker trying new things. Review by Brodey on 8/1/2020 Best Maduro This may be the best Maduro cigar I have ever smoked. The wrapper is shiny with oils, and very smooth. I bought a box of 20 Churchills and with free shipping it was under $60 on special. The taste is absolutely divine. I have smoked cigars that cost five times as much as this but I have not found one that was better. Plus the pricing I got on Cigarpage is impossible to beat. Review by Tod on 4/11/2019 Another Cigar Page Crazy Deal Check out the competition. The robusto sell for over $ 6.50 while Cigar Page had a steal of a deal at $ 1.49 for this good cigar. The wrapper is a deep dark brown with thin veins. The burn is slow cool and even. Good draw. The ligero wrapper adds a bit of strength in body plus a bit of pepper on the finish. But even with it's full body, the texture is smooth and silky. A flavor mix of toasty bread and nuts with some espresso. I am very happy with the bundle I ordered. Once again Cigar Page allows me to buy cigars I would not be able to afford otherwise. Review by Phoenix Cigar Smoker on 10/17/2018 Write Your Own Review Only registered users can write reviews. Please, log in or register

Portes verrouillées et travail forcé dans un CHSLD de Montréal | Coronavirus

Des employés du CHSLD du Manoir-de-Verdun, dans le sud-ouest de l'île de Montréal, ont été contraints de demeurer dans l'établissement pour prolonger leur quart de travail. Selon des informations obtenues par Radio-Canada, la gestionnaire du centre d'hébergement aurait ordonné de verrouiller les portes pour empêcher le personnel de quitter les lieux. C'était prévisible. Le centre d'hébergement fonctionne à la limite du supportable depuis bien avant la pandémie , explique Françoise Ramel, présidente de la FIQ-SPSS, qui représente les infirmières sur place. La dernière fois, c'était le 9 avril , précise la représentante syndicale, lors du passage du quart de travail du matin à celui du soir. Des infirmières ont été retenues une quinzaine de minutes, mais des préposées aux bénéficiaires ont dû faire du temps supplémentaire. Alain Croteau, président du STT-CIUSSS Centre-Sud-CSN, qui représente les préposées aux bénéficiaires, confirme que cette méthode a été utilisée à au moins deux reprises. C'est totalement inacceptable , dit-il. À son avis, la gestionnaire a agi sous le coup de la panique, ce qui donne une idée de la gravité de la situation sur le terrain. La FIQ et la CSN ont dénoncé la situation auprès de la PDG du CIUSS du Centre-Sud, Sonia Bélanger, lors d'une réunion dimanche. Elle leur a assuré que la stratégie de la gestionnaire était maladroite et qu'elle ne se reproduirait plus . Menaces et chantage émotif Les syndicats dénoncent aussi l'intimidation dont le personnel serait victime. Françoise Ramel soutient que des infirmières ont été menacées de sanctions ou d'être réaffectées si elles refusaient de prolonger leur quart de travail. Nous menacer et nous contraindre, ce n'est pas la solution , lance Mme Ramel, pour qui cette façon d'agir accentue la pénurie de main-d'œuvre. Comment puis-je convaincre une infirmière d'aller travailler dans ce CHSLD dans ces conditions? Françoise Ramel, présidente de la FIQ-SPSS Même son de cloche chez les préposés aux bénéficiaires, souvent victimes de chantage émotif, selon Alain Croteau. On les fait se sentir comme si elles abandonnent leurs collègues, ou les résidents, alors qu'elles ne sont pas responsables du problème. Des résidents privés de repas Les difficultés liées au manque de personnel ne datent pas d'hier, rappellent les syndicats, mais la pandémie aurait exacerbé la crise. C'est un CHSLD sur plusieurs étages, c'est un environnement difficile , explique Mme Ramel. Elle assure que jamais une infirmière ne permettrait qu'un résident soit privé de soins, mais elle admet que la surcharge de travail a pu provoquer des interruptions de service. Des bénéficiaires ont pu manquer un repas , dit-elle. Il est important que le public sache que ce ne sont pas seulement les CHSLD privés qui sont laissés à eux-mêmes, précise Alain Croteau. Le CHSLD du Manoir-de-Verdun est un CHSLD public, pourtant les employés sont à bout de souffle! Réaction du CIUSS Ginette Senez, directrice du programme de soutien à l'autonomie des personnes âgées au CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, reconnaît que le système de verrouillage a été actionné à deux reprises pour empêcher le personnel de partir. C'est désolant, on ne fait pas ça d'habitude , regrette-t-elle, tout en apportant certaines nuances à la version des syndicats. Elle affirme que la gestionnaire a agi de la sorte parce que les employés, craignant de devoir faire des heures supplémentaires obligatoires, ont voulu partir avant la fin de leur quart de travail. On ne peut pas laisser les résidents sans surveillance, c'est hors de question, et la gestionnaire n'a pas trouvé d'autre moyen pour retenir le personnel , déplore Ginette Senez, qui promet que cette méthode ne sera plus utilisée. Elle compte sur les renforts de personnel, prévus pour bientôt, pour donner un répit à l'ensemble des employés.

Politico: Brady Registers to Lobby for Comcast

Politico: Brady Registers to Lobby for Comcast Written by John Cole, Managing Editor Another former Pennsylvania Congressman has registered as a lobbyist. Longtime Philadelphia Democratic Party Chairman and former Congressman Bob Brady registered to lobby for Comcast through a firm he set up, Robert A. Brady Consulting LLC, according to Politico. Through his firm, he also consulted for a Philadelphia casino, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Brady didn’t respond to a request for comment from Politico for the story, while PoliticsPA is also seeking comment on this developing story. The Politico report shows that Brady is just the latest of over a dozen former members of Congress who decided to not seek reelection in 2018 to pursue lobbying, with former Pennsylvania elected officials leading the way of the most recent to join the profession. Other former Pennsylvania Congressional representatives that did not seek reelection in 2018 that have become lobbyists, according to Politico, include former Reps. Ryan Costello (R-Chester) for Americans for Carbon Dividends, Pat Meehan (R-Delaware) for Almo Corp., and Bud Shuster (R-Bedford) for Squire Patton Boggs. April 13th, 2020 | Posted in Congress, Front Page Stories, Top Stories | 5 Comments

Rattlesnake Cable Company

Rattlesnake Cable Company / Hilbish Design Give Away I'm super excited to be working with Hilbish Design! For this give away, they were kind enough to provide the Hilbish Design Melvins Pessimiser (retails at $180). This pedal.. is bad ass! We're going to give up a pair of 15' custom cables with nickel plugs. You pick the weave colors. You pick the type (snake head or standard) and you pick the plug configuration on the custom cables. Total retail value of this give away package is $300! Woot! Here is the official description of the Hilbish Design Melvins Pessimiser: This collaboration pedal was developed and designed with the Melvin’s King Buzzo, to capture his unique distortion tones spanning his entire career. The Pessimiser features a wide range 3-band active EQ, with the ability to boost and cut. The Boost control goes from light overdrive to over the top fuzz. The Mix control lets you go from completely clean tones to full on distortion, and everything in between. The Blast control controls your volume, dipshit. Use it on guitar, bass, synth, or as a studio effect. Artwork by Mackie Osborne Controls: Blast - Volume Control Mix - Blend Between Clean & Distorted Tone Boost - Gain Control LOW - Bass Boost/Cut MED - Middle Boost/Cut HIGH AF - Treble Boost/Cut Soft Touch Footswitch Power: 9V 100mA center negative supply only Entry will be closed on Apr 30th. For this give away we're also offering opportunities to earn extra entries. You will see those opportunities after initially entering the give away! Increase those odds!

'So they have something to snuggle': Young girl makes dolls to keep kids company during MRI, CT scans

EDMONTON -- After having surgery at the end of January, a seven-year-old girl is giving back to the Stollery Children's Hospital. "I was lonely in the hospital," said Cecily Eklund. She had a tumour removed from her brain and requires MRI scans every three months to make sure it's gone. "Her MRI lasted for about a half and hour which is a really long time and she really wanted to take one of her dolls in with her," said her mother, Cathy Eklund. "But the dolls that she loves so much have magnetic pacifiers so they wouldn't have been allowed to go in." Cecily asked her mom, who is a doll maker, for help making a doll that she could take into her next test. After making a doll for herself, she realized there might be other kids like her that needed one too. "The other kids with brain tumours and brain cancer," said Cecily. That’s how ‘Cecily’s Blessing Babies’ started with Cecily setting a goal to sew 100 dolls to donate to the Stollery. "So they have someone to snuggle," she said. "She really wanted to give back to the kids and she wanted the kids to have something she really wished she could have had," added Cathy. Cecily created a facebook page to ask others for help reaching her 100-doll goal "We drafted a pattern and a full tutorial on how to make these that people can just download from home," said Cathy. Then she asked her mom to help create another sewing group with step-by-step video tutorials. "She decided it would be a lot of fun with the virus happening for moms to sit down with their kids and learn how to sew a project like this," Cathy said. They’ve had material donations and offers to make dolls from all over the world. Some of her helpers have decided to give the dolls they make to hospitals where they live. "They are going to include a little card and donate them to their children’s hospitals on Cecily’s behalf," said Cathy. A few dolls have already been delivered to the Stollery. "They love them," Cecily said with a big smile. She’s hoping to make as many as possible before her next appointment at the Stollery the end of the month. "And then she’s just going to keep making, I’m fearful, probably gigantic goals where she wants to sew, I don’t know what she said her next goal is, maybe 500," said Cathy. They may have to hold off on donating the finished dolls until the pandemic is over and restrictions at hospitals are lifted.

Author sculpts nuanced portrayal of artist Ruth Asawa in ‘Everything She Touched’

In 1943, when Ruth Asawa and her Japanese American family were interned at the Rohwer War Relocation Center in Arkansas, she had an advocate in her high school English teacher, Louise Beasley. Moved by her student’s drive and incessant desire to sketch and paint, Beasley encouraged the California native to continue her studies after graduating. Among the college catalogs the teacher offered was one from the Chicago Art Institute. “I had never heard of an art institute,” Asawa later recalled. “The classes sounded exciting, but the tuition was beyond my reach.” So Asawa chose the school with the lowest fees she could find: Milwaukee State Teachers College, which charged $25 a semester. Modest means weren’t about to keep the aspiring young artist down. After thriving in Milwaukee and then at the famed Black Mountain College in North Carolina, Asawa went on to forge a singular, seminal career as a San Francisco artist and arts education activist. Best known for her diaphanous, transportingly gorgeous hanging wire sculptures and exuberant figurative art fountains at Union Square and Ghirardelli Square, Asawa made an equally enduring contribution to art in the public schools. A project that began at San Francisco’s Alvarado Elementary School in summer 1968 expanded citywide and grew across the curriculum, culminating in the creation of an arts-based public high school in 1982, fittingly renamed the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts in 2010. The city, thanks in large measure to Asawa’s determined labors, became a model for arts education around the country and beyond. Beasley’s faith in her student was abundantly affirmed. Tempting as it is to view Asawa’s life as an artistic rags-to-riches parable, the story is far more shaded and nuanced. That rich narrative emerges in a scrupulously researched and lucidly written new book, “Everything She Touched: The Life of Ruth Asawa,” by Marilyn Chase, published April 7 by Chronicle Books. While it’s not surprising to learn that Asawa (1926-2013) encountered prejudice and condescension as a woman of Japanese extraction in mid-20th century America, her career was both unpredictably quixotic and solidly rooted in the artist’s essential nature. Once she and her husband, architect Albert Lanier, had settled in San Francisco, the hard-working Asawa began turning out the distinctive wire pieces that attracted the attention of several museums, the Peridot Gallery in New York and critics. No less than the then-powerful Time magazine took notice in 1955. In a review that paired the 28-year-old Asawa with the famed sculptor Isamu Noguchi, the magazine praised the “austerity and calm,” the “openness, delicacy and symmetry” of sculptures that suggested “blossoms, odorless, colorless, outsize, yet refreshing to contemplate.” If the Time review seemed to patronize even as it praised, by describing Asawa as “a San Francisco housewife and mother of three,” the characterization probably didn’t much perturb the artist. In creating with Lanier a brood that eventually grew to six children (two of them adopted), Asawa valued family over fame, community over careerism, colleagues over self-promotion, and emphasized solidarity with friends. After the Peridot first declined to exhibit her drawings and then proved unable to handle Asawa’s increasingly large hanging pieces under its 8-foot ceilings, the artist and the gallery parted ways in 1961. It would be the last time — until late in Asawa’s life, when Christie’s auction house sold some of her work for six-figure prices the artist had never dreamed of — that she would be represented in the art world capital of New York. None of this should suggest that Asawa was either passive or unambitious. When it came time to do battle, she could suit up with the best of them. In one of the city’s most contentious public art commissions, Asawa held her ground over the design of “Andrea,” her 1968 fountain featuring a mermaid nursing a child, at Ghirardelli Square. Lawrence Halprin, the square’s noted landscape architect, vehemently objected, preferring an abstract, upthrust form for the fountain. Chase recounts the Ghirardelli episode with both the wide-lens context of the combustive late 1960s and intimate particulars of an artist’s process. It was Asawa’s Noe Valley neighbor, Andrea Jepson, whose new mother’s body was coated in Vaseline and plaster to be cast for the sculpture. When maternal duty called, writes Chase, Asawa, a mother of six herself, was unfazed. “She simply removed the mold from Jepson’s torso and breasts so she could nurse.” “Everything She Touched” is full of such resonant detail. This first comprehensive Asawa biography traces its subject from her childhood on a Norwalk (Los Angeles County) truck farm to old age, when the artist was hampered but unbowed by lupus and strokes. The internment camp years are vividly rendered. So is Asawa’s artistic flowering at Black Mountain, where she studied with abstract painter Josef Albers, who became a lifelong ally; took Merce Cunningham’s dance classes; befriended the inventor Buckminster Fuller; and supported herself by, among other things, milking cows and churning butter. Asawa’s 1949 wedding to Lanier, a Caucasian Georgia native she had met at Black Mountain, took place in the couple’s San Francisco loft on Jackson Street, nine months after the California Supreme Court legalized intermarriage. Fuller designed the wedding ring. Chase, a San Francisco journalist (who is a contributing writer for The Chronicle, among others) and teacher, spent 18 months combing through some 275 cartons of Asawa’s archival material housed at Stanford University. Scores of interviews with family members, artists and many others fleshed out the portrait. “Ruth was very holistic,” Chase told The Chronicle. “She wanted no boundaries between her art and her life. It was all of a piece.” In one delightful photograph taken by her famous friend Imogen Cunningham, Asawa sits cross-legged on the floor at work on one of her twisted wire pieces with four of her children gathered peacefully around her. Bare-bottomed baby Adam drinks from a bottle in the foreground. “She always wanted her children to see her work,” Chase said. Several of them became artists themselves. Asawa’s life is the second deep dive Chase has made into a period of San Francisco history. In her first book, “The Barbary Plague” (2003), the author chronicled a 1900 outbreak of bubonic plague here that returned in 1907. The cautionary parallels to today’s coronavirus pandemic are unmistakable. Then as now, Chase said, denial, political delay and “the scapegoating of patients” exacerbated the crisis. “It’s strange to be introducing my new book with the first taking on this renewed relevance,” she said. Happily, “Everything She Touched” arrives at a moment when Asawa seems to be enjoying what the author calls a “posthumous renaissance.” The U.S. Postal Service recently announced a forthcoming series of Asawa stamps depicting her sculptures. New York’s prestigious David Zwirner Gallery now represents her. Prices for her work continue to escalate, in some cases into millions of dollars. Here in her spiritual home, the loveliest gathering of Asawa’s work, at the de Young Museum’s gallery at the base of the tower, is closed during the pandemic. But in the mind’s eye, the pieces go on shimmering in that space’s soft light, fragile yet sturdy as nature itself, the buoyant biomorphic forms casting cross-hatched shadows on walls and floors and on visitors stilled to silence in their presence. Everything She Touched: The Life of Ruth Asawa By Marilyn Chase Chronicle Books; 224 pages; $29.95 Related articles Ruth Asawa to be honored with postage stamps depicting her wire sculptures ‘Films of Remembrance’ focuses on Japanese Americans’ time as prisoners Celebrated SF sculptor Ruth Asawa to be honored with Google Doodle

Another lesson about context: Biden and young voters in 2020

ANALYSIS — Today, I thought I’d offer another lesson about why context is so important in political reporting and analysis — and how it can affect our view of the 2020 presidential contest. On April 8, NBC News ran a piece online, “Progressive Youth Groups Issue a List of Demands for Joe Biden,” about a letter from “progressive groups made up of young activists” presenting “a set of aggressive demands spanning policy and personnel to earn their support in the general election.” The article lists the groups and their demands — including likely nonstarters such as “Medicare for All,” taxing wealth and the Green New Deal — in a straightforward way. So far, so good. All interest groups have an agenda, and most try to maximize their political clout by presenting themselves as crucial, even if it involves threats of nonsupport. An article about their “demands” certainly was warranted. But then we hit the bump in the road: The progressive youth letter reflects a major challenge facing Biden ahead of the general election. Young voters aren’t enthusiastic about him, but he needs their support to defeat Trump in the general election and avoid the fate of Hillary Clinton, who saw drop-offs from 2012 among voters under 30 in key states such as Wisconsin and Pennsylvania that decided the outcome.

Weekend storm destroys part of historic Van Horne Trail in Saint Andrews

A strong wind storm destroyed part of the Van Horne Trail in Saint Andrews over the long weekend. Brad Henderson, deputy mayor of Saint Andrews, a town about 100 kilometres southwest of Saint John, said a combination of high tide and strong winds destroyed a section of the trail Thursday night. "It literally just lifted the pavement," Henderson said. To see one storm come in, it really reminds people of the force of Mother Nature and the concerns of climate change. - Brad Henderson, deputy mayor of Saint Andrews The damage impacted about 200 metres of the 2.4 metre wide asphalt trail. Henderson said it was the most scenic part of the three kilometre trail, which connects the town. The section of trail allowed residents to overlook the Passamaquoddy Bay and nearby Ministers Island. "The direction of where the wind was blowing beat down on the shores of Saint Andrews and caused major flooding," he said. "And of course the force of water did some damage." The trail follows the old railway track from the town's Langmaid Park to Katy's Cove, which is where most of the damage occurred. James Donald, owner and creator of the Hiking NB website, said he was saddened to hear about the damage and wonders when people will be able to use the trail again. "It took a long time to get the funding to get the trail pushed through," Donald said. "COVID-19 is probably not going to help any of the funding much for the tourism side of things." The town's historic Market Square, was also washed out over the weekend. Building a long-lasting trail Henderson said he isn't sure how much repairs will cost or when that section of trail will reopen. An engineer will have to assess the area and make sure a new trail can last long term. "Everybody knows that when you build a trail along the bay, or along an ocean, there is some risk." Brad Henderson, deputy mayor of Saint Andrews, said he isn't sure when the trail will be repaired or how much it will cost. (Photo: Kurt Gumushel) The trail was paved about six years ago so it could be accessible for everyone, including people in wheelchairs, people pushing strollers and children learning to ride their bicycles. "To see one storm come in, it really reminds people of the force of Mother Nature and the concerns of climate change," he said. Henderson said the trail was paved about six years ago. (Photo: Kurt Gumushel) With the COVID-19 outbreak and recent damage to the popular trail, Henderson said residents feel discouraged. But he said the community is also resilient. "It was such a rich asset and it offered such a great quality of life for our community."

"It's too early to ease restrictions"

Coronavirus: Mathematical modelling provides new insights into risk assessment Scientists from the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig are simulating the effect of various conditions on the development of the SARS -CoV-2 epidemic in Germany. Their results suggest that the restrictions in social life are effective and that a further slowing of the spread is possible. In order to protect the health system from overload, they urgently warn against easing the restrictions already now. They have published their preliminary results, which have not yet been peer-reviewed, on a preprint server for quick scientific use. © Felipe Esquivel Reed; Lizenz: CC BY-SA 4.0At present, there are increasing demands to relax the restrictions on social life that have been imposed since mid-March. So far, it has remained relatively unclear how effective the restrictions are. Scientists led by the physicist Prof Michael Meyer-Hermann, head of the Department “Systems Immunology” at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, are now describing a method to measure the effects quantitatively and thus provide decision-makers in politics with a basis for assessing the situation. A decisive variable in the description of the spread of an infectious pathogen is the reproduction number. The basic reproduction number indicates how many people an infected person infects on average. It is an important indicator of how quickly an epidemic spreads. Meyer-Hermann and his colleagues now calculated a time-dependent reproduction number of SARS -CoV-2 for different, overlapping time windows of the epidemic course to date. To do this, they extended a classical model from mathematical epidemiology with SARS -CoV-2-specific components in order to describe the spread of the pathogen more precisely. Their results show that the time-dependent reproduction rate of the virus has decreased significantly in all German states since the introduction of the restrictions. At the time of publication, the values for all German states converge towards a value of 1. "However, our data also indicate that this is not a plateau," says Meyer-Hermann. "The value has continued to fall in the last three days since the manuscript has been completed, and this trend seems to be continuing." This means that under the current conditions of social life, the spread may slow down further. "Immunisation of the entire population cannot be achieved while adhering to the capacities of the healthcare system" Michael Meyer-Hermann, head of the Department “Systems Immunology” at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research Meyer-Hermann and his colleagues have also integrated data on the number of hospitalised and intensive care patients into their model so that they can predict the burden on the German healthcare system in different spread scenarios. With a reproduction number of 1, as is currently achieved in most German states, there would be ten thousand intensive care beds permanently occupied with COVID-19 patients for a whole year. According to Meyer-Hermann, the healthcare system can just cope with this situation, but at this rate, only about one percent of the population would have been infected with SARS -CoV-2 after one year. "Immunisation of the entire population cannot be achieved while adhering to the capacities of the healthcare system," emphasises Meyer-Hermann. If the time-dependent reproduction number of the virus returned to its level of a week or ten days ago, the number of intensive care patients would be in the hundreds of thousands within a few months and the healthcare system would be completely overstrained. If, on the other hand, it was possible to reduce the reproduction rate to values well below 1, the spread of the virus would be stopped within one to two months according to the calculations of the infection researchers in Braunschweig. From their point of view, it should therefore be considered whether the restrictions in social life should even be increased in the short term in order to further slow down the spread. "The further we can reduce the reproductive number, the faster the emergency situation will be over, which may even argue for stricter measures," says Meyer-Hermann. It is also not at all clear whether relaxing the measures would not be worse from an economic point of view, because this would prolong the fight against the virus. "We needed the officially imposed restrictions to draw people's attention to the danger posed by the epidemic . Relaxing them now is the wrong signal at this time," says Meyer-Hermann. The HZI department "Systems Immunology" of Michael Meyer-Hermann is located at the Braunschweig Integrated Centre for Systems Biology (BRICS), a joint facility of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research and the Technische Universität Braunschweig. Original publication Khailaie Sahamoddin, Mitra Tanmay, Bandyopadhyay Arnab, Schips Marta, Mascheroni Pietro, Vanella Patrizio, Lange Berit, Binder Sebastian, Meyer-Hermann Michael: Estimate of the development of the epidemic reproduction number Rt from Coronavirus SARS -CoV-2 case data and implications for political measures based on prognostics. medRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.04.20053637. This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review. It reports new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and so should not be used to guide clinical practice. Daily updated values for the SARS -CoV-2 reproduction number can be found under the link: http://secir.theoretical-biology.de Author: Dr. Ulrike Schneeweiß

1992 Core Design

Not only is the Jaguar XJ220 one of my favorite cars, it’s also up there with my favorite racing games on the Amiga. With 32 tracks, varying road and weather conditions and a lush soundtrack – It’s easy to see why this game captured the hearts of many. It was also one the first games I can remember that had it’s very own track editor. We did experience of graphics issues at 17:11 – so I’ll blame my 17th place firmly on that 🙂 Youtube A truly stunning racer that I hold high in my boxed Amiga game collection. Enjoy! Screenshots WTF happened below?!

Juan Williams has the solution for the Joe Biden campaign — adopt the Tiger King platform

It really was only a matter of time. With the overwhelming popularity of a documentary based on a collection of dysfunctional and possibly violent wild animal keepers, someone was bound to inject it into the campaign season. Well liberal pundit from Fox News Juan Williams has taken the whip and declared how the Netflix show ”Tiger King” can be applied to the Joe Biden campaign. In an op-ed published in The Hill, Williams dares to set foot in the wild cat cage, making a bid to steer the Biden camp into the wildlife preserve. “Tiger King” provides the script outline for how Democrats can replace @realDonaldTrump as the leading man in contemporary political culture. @thehill @thehillopinion https://t.co/FymLN7jES2 — Juan Williams (@TheJuanWilliams) April 13, 2020 To say that this shot-glass-deep political theory was met with skepticism is to traffic in kindness. Out of the gate, he was not met with roars of approval. Juan needs a well check — Tom Hart (@Go_CartMotzart) April 13, 2020 Wishing out loud Juan? pic.twitter.com/ch9bF6yMBk — Ray Ray (@1f4e97bebfc64c4) April 13, 2020 Since I understand Tiger King is garbage….. I ssume this article is also — bbnanny (@NanbumHall) April 13, 2020 I’m not taking any political side here, because the bigger picture here is that… ….this article just doesn’t make any sense. — Alan (@DerbyWill) April 13, 2020 Toss Alan some red meat for this. Juan’s point is at the very least here, forced. The amusing part is that he gives us every reason to discount his theory early on the column. He floats his idea by a Washington player and is delivered a rather stark rebuke. When I asked a Washington wiseman about the political message coming from the show’s success, he tried to stop the conversation. “Why do you bring politics into everything?” he asked. This should have been enough to halt Williams from continuing, but instead, he went on what he thought was a profound dose of prolix. He justifies this theory by drawing up the fact that the primary character in the show, the self-proclaimed ”Tiger King” Joe Exotic, had participated in politics…technically. ”The central character in “Tiger King,” ran for political office twice,” informs Williams Yea, in a fashion. Joe Exotic was a perpetual attention fiend and, while he did participate in elections, they were more of the publicity stunt variety. He ran in the Libertarian primary for governor of Oklahoma, coming in a distant third. He also ran for President of the United States. He received 1,000 votes. This is what Juan Williams uses as his justification to prattle on. He invokes Donald Trump’s reality show pedigree and states how this should be used in the upcoming election in judo-like fashion. To flip the script, Democrats need to outdo Trump with a more fascinating show featuring their own heroes and villains. “Tiger King” provides the script outline for how Democrats can replace Trump as the leading man in contemporary political culture. Juan, you're TDS has literally caused you to lose your mind. — Fight for America 🇺🇸 (@Raymc31) April 13, 2020 Juan, I think you totally missed the mark here. 1. “Tiger King” is a slow moving train wreck reality version of the Three Stooges. 2. Joe Exotic’s motivation for running for office was likely to gain notoriety. 3. People’s voting for Joe can be a rebuke of the status quo — William E. Duncan (@billyrduncanay) April 13, 2020 You are supposed to be overwhelmed by Juan’s brilliant assessment here. I’m not sure you were supposed to inject pragmatic political thought. Juan sure did not… Let’s just try not to imagine what might happen with this proposal were ”Biden Exotic” to run with it.

New Zealand LEGO Map

People sometimes have weird ideas. This was definitely one of them. I didn’t even set out to build a LEGO map of New Zealand…it just happened. In January this year I was working on something completely unrelated, based on a quick map I did a bit earlier. I had created a map in Tableau but reached the limits of the tool and was looking for something else. Very quickly it became obvious that QGIS would be the tool of choice for what I wanted to do. I cannot remember the details but at the same time I figured that my original viz looked a little bit like LEGO – and there it was. With the #30DayMapChallenge just finished, I had seen a bunch of LEGO style maps but it sounded like an interesting idea to build an actual map in LEGO. I also thought that I had seen a map in LEGO before. A quick search brought up Dirk’s world map in LEGO. I did another thing! Binned Lat/Lon, coloured by the category with the most properties in this bin. The bar chart shows how many bins for each category/colour. I have a few ideas where this could be going…Let's see pic.twitter.com/AjI917Mwns — Alex Waleczek (@genetis) December 6, 2019 The Planning The first thing I realised was that QGIS was way clunkier than I would have hoped for; that paired with my close to non-existent knowledge about GIS tools caused some frustration. I knew what I wanted to do but I didn’t know the terminology to look for help. It took me 10-15 hours over a weekend to figure out the basics and to get to a point where I had a first draft of an elevation raster for New Zealand. At that point I definitely jumped the gun (more on that later) when I started building the whole model in LEGO stud.io, a piece of software that lets you build virtual LEGO models. The benefit of actually building something was that I ran into a bunch of questions I hadn’t thought of before. A 2 dimensional version is rather simple, with a third dimension I needed to think about how I want to layer the different colours. How do I make the whole thing stable? Do I start on the lowest layer and build up or do I have my baseline in the middle and build down and up? And how the hell would I hang it on a wall once it’s done? I got in touch with Dirk who build the world map and he happily answered some of those and a bunch more questions. By the time I felt like I knew how I wanted to do it, I didn’t like my initial QGIS work any longer though.. 3 stages of planning with different parameters. The third one ended up being the basis for the physical map The Questioning I’m a data person, which probably doesn’t come as a big surprise…This project is a data visualisation of sorts and to be happy with it, I had to be confident it represents the data in a way that makes sense; to me and any other audience. So let’s see: Scale: Each stud (the technical term for one LEGO square) represents 10km in the real world. This results in a scale of 1:1250000. I am happy with this, although I did create patterns for 12km and 15km squares because I questioned whether 10km would fit on our wall…In the end I did it anyway. Colour palette: This was basically just verifying that Dirk’s work would work for me. The colours are a version of a standard colour scheme for elevation maps, which go from green to yellow to brown and white. Although there are discussion about how suitable that is (low areas do not always have green vegetation, etc.) I think that most people will be able to relate to it. Also, the colours Dirk chose are some of the more common LEGO colours which helped keeping the whole project within “a” budget. (more on that later as well). Elevation value: Since each square needs one colour, I have to find one elevation value that represents that value. I started with the median of all values within a 10×10 square. The problem with this was that it ignores outliers (as medians do). I needed to have Mt. Cook (the highest peak in NZ) visible on the map and if I used the median, it wouldn’t show up. It would also “blur” everything so that there wasn’t a lot of difference in elevation. I tried the maximum value in each square and that worked better. It made the high peaks visible but neglected the deep valleys that exist on the South Island. I ended up going through it manually to adjust values. This helped to make for example Arthur’s Pass visible and made Marlborough Sound look more like a sound. Elevation bins: This one was the most technical problem and one I didn’t find a clear answer for. I had my colours defined by how do I ramp them to 1. not break any mapping rules and 2. have the elevation represented in a relatable way. If I create equal bins based on percentiles, all high peaks disappear. If I divide the range of elevation by the number of bins, all the lower elevations blur into one. I ended up manually defining them as 0m-250m, 250m-500m, 500m-1000m and then 500m steps. This worked well to give a good impression of the NZ landscape. This whole process actually took the longest time. I build 3 different base maps for 3 different scales, researched mapping best practise and still learned how to use QGIS but eventually I settled on something I was happy with The (virtual) Build Projects like these, are only possible because somebody put in a lot of leg work before. Stud.io s a virtual LEGO builder, which has (virtually) every brick every produced by LEGO and all of the possible colours. You pick a brick one by one and stack them on top of each other to build whatever you desire. It then integrates with bricklink.com, an online marketplace where people sell their LEGO brick by brick, so once the model is finished, it only takes a few clicks to order the bricks you need (in theory!). In total I built my map around 3 times virtually. I got quicker with each time but it’s still a ton of work! For my first build, I had no regard for the economy of LEGO. Since it’s a marketplace, there is supply and demand and since it’s not run by LEGO themselves (well, nowadays it is, since they bought bricklink) there is limited supply. You can buy single bricks for $20 if they were only produced for one set or you get them for a few cents. Also, some bricks just don’t exist in a certain colour. I also wasn’t quite sure how to layer the bricks to get the land to actually elevate. I could have just layered LEGO plates in each colour on top of each other. While this would have been the most stable way, it also was likely to get much more expensive. I decided to mix between plates and bricks, which also allowed me to use cheaper colours as a filling under the actual colours. So I ended up getting a lot of red and white bricks which are not visible at all, just because it was more economic. With each build I got more sophisticated and for the last one, I had a table with all the bricks I might need, their average price on bricklink and the average price per stud. You can imagine that buying eight 1×1 bricks is probably more expensive than one 2×4 brick. After a lot of manual sifting through the bricklink catalogue I created a palette with the bricks that I found affordable and started building. Price per stud can vary from 0.1$ to 1.0$ Stud.io lets you build virtual LEGO models A test rendering of how to build the elevation The finished digital map A rendering of the digital map Some details rendered The Order Now I said Stud.io integrates with bricklink, which means I can export the list of parts I used and order them on the website. Bricklink even offers to go through all available shops and pick the cheapest parts. However it does not take into account shipping fees and/or thresholds after which shipping is free. Also, in New Zealand there is limited amount of shops available. I can’t complain but especially larger orders of more obscure parts can get either very expensive or they might not have the necessary quantity available. I spent another 10-15 hours structuring my order to consolidate them in as few orders as possible to reduce shipping cost and to take advantage of cheaper prices where possible. Since my family is in Germany, I also had the option to place several orders in Europe, pay for local shipping and then have my family send them over in bulk, which made the shipping much cheaper. In total, all of this probably made a ~500NZD difference at the end. I am quite certain that I could have reduced the price further had I realised that the automatic conversion from Euro to NZD might not have been in my favour… Anyway, I order around 3800 bricks in 12 orders. Following that, some of the stores didn’t have all the bricks in their inventory and I had to source them somewhere else AND the whole world struggled with COVID19, so even though my family sent the bricks before most of the flights where canned and countries went into lock-down, I wasn’t sure I would receive all the bricks any time soon. The (physical) Build Turns out I didn’t have to worry and my bricks were delivered in a reasonable timeframe. I spent some time sorting everything by colour to make it easier for myself, then I set myself up in the spare bedroom and started building. It turned out it was easier than I thought. I had to work around a few errors in my digital models which was fine and I even ended up with a bunch of spare bricks (at the same time I was missing a bunch of bricks that I thought would have been included in my orders). Now I have a 7.8kg LEGO map in my spare bedroom that waits for the lock down to end so that I can buy material to hang it in my living room. Hours of work ~100 hrs Number of bricks ~3800 bricks Dimensions 90cm x 128cm x 3.3cm Weight 7.8 kg Scale 1:1250000 Final thoughts It turns out I am definitely not the first one to approach a project like this. As I mentioned before, Dirk built a world map, as well as a globe. Dan Harris built a map of Scotland and just a few days back, somebody in NZ finished a map of Westeros. It looks like I found a much simpler way to create a map like this than Dirk, while at the same time probably spending as much time as he did anyway. There is an R package (of course there is) which converts an image into a mosaic of LEGO bricks. With a bit of scripting the whole process could – in theory – be automated. However even if it was automated, there is still the problem of brick prices and availability, which means you might save time if you do several different maps but pay a premium for bricks. I am very happy with how the map turned out. In one of my virtual builds I actually included a legend and lat/long markers in the frame, however I decided against it, since the main audience is myself (and I know the details) and although maps usually come with legends, it felt like it cluttered it too much. Now I am keen to see what else I can build in LEGO and how other data points can be “physicalised”. If you have questions or comments, if you want to build your own LEGO map or if you know other examples, get in touch and let me know! Thanks! Update The map got a bit of attention, so by now you can read about it in the NZ Herald and I talked to Adam on his “Project Geospatial” podcast, which is on Youtube and Spotify Southland Canterburry Cook Strait North Island Taranaki and Ruapehu West Coast

Why Patrick Kane would want to be on 2-on-1 with Artemi Panarin most

On Monday, Patrick Kane participated in a Zoom video conference call put on by the NHL that also included New York Islanders center Mat Barzal and Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele. The players were asked a series of hockey-related hypotheticals, including which NHL player they'd most want to be on a 2-on-1 with. Kane, who had 84 points (33 goals, 51 assists) at the time of the NHL pause on March 12, answered Artemi Panarin. "The way he sees the game and the way he plays it was very similar to the way that I saw the game," Kane said. "Just really, really fun hockey. Just kind of playing off each other, kind of hanging out on our sides and almost, like, mirroring each other on what the other person was going to do. "That was probably the funnest hockey that I'ver ever played, was playing with him. I think if I'm coming down on a 2-on-1, throw him a little saucer pass, he's going to bang it in the net most of the time." Panarin was traded from Chicago to the Columbus Blue Jackets on June 23, 2017 after playing two seasons with the Blackhawks. Brandon Saad returned to the Hawks from the Jackets via the trade. The three-time Stanley Cup champ with the Hawks was also asked who the most annoying shot blocker in the league was. "I'd probably have to say (Niklas) Hjalmarsson," Kane replied. "I've seen this guy just eat pucks his whole career. Now he's in Arizona, and that's just how he plays the game. He just wants to block shots. That's how he plays. "It's hilarious to see him block a couple shots and then he'll be hobbling around. Then, he still gets up and blocks the next one, and then he'll hobble back to the bench and be out there for the next shift. The guy's a warrior." Questions on 3-on-3 overtime also elicited some interesting responses from the 2016 regular season MVP. On what player outside the Blackhawks Kane would want to be with in extra time: "I'd be on the wing, so we'd need someone to take a faceoff. Maybe (Auston) Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs) as a centerman. He seems like he's pretty lethal in overtime, where he gets a chance and scores. "Just to kind of round it out, maybe we play with a defensive defenseman or somewhat defensive but still has the offensive ability to make plays. I'd say Drew Doughty (LA Kings)." What player combo Kane would want to watch in 3-on-3 OT: "I guess the first three names that come to my mind would be (Wayne) Gretzky, (Mario) Lemieux and Bobby Orr. Be hard to bet against those guys. You look at Bobby Orr, the amount of points he had in his career as a defenseman is just unbelievable, especially at that time. Maybe changed the way a defenseman played the game. "And, obviously, watching some of those highlights, Gretzky and Lemieux playing on Team Canada back in the day, it seemed like they had a lot of chemistry where Gretzky was feeding Lemieux a lot. So that would be fun to watch." Kane had two goals in Chicago's last game, a 6-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks. Attention Dish and Sling customers! You have lost your Blackhawks games on NBC Sports Chicago. To switch providers, visit mysportschicago.com. Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Blackhawks easily on your device.

UCI-led team designs carbon nanostructure stronger than diamonds

Irvine, Calif., April 13, 2020 - Researchers at the University of California, Irvine and other institutions have architecturally designed plate-nanolattices - nanometer-sized carbon structures - that are stronger than diamonds as a ratio of strength to density. In a recent study in Nature Communications, the scientists report success in conceptualizing and fabricating the material, which consists of closely connected, closed-cell plates instead of the cylindrical trusses common in such structures over the past few decades. "Previous beam-based designs, while of great interest, had not been so efficient in terms of mechanical properties," said corresponding author Jens Bauer, a UCI researcher in mechanical & aerospace engineering. "This new class of plate-nanolattices that we've created is dramatically stronger and stiffer than the best beam-nanolattices." According to the paper, the team's design has been shown to improve on the average performance of cylindrical beam-based architectures by up to 639 percent in strength and 522 percent in rigidity. Members of the architected materials laboratory of Lorenzo Valdevit, UCI professor of materials science & engineering as well as mechanical & aerospace engineering, verified their findings using a scanning electron microscope and other technologies provided by the Irvine Materials Research Institute. "Scientists have predicted that nanolattices arranged in a plate-based design would be incredibly strong," said lead author Cameron Crook, a UCI graduate student in materials science & engineering. "But the difficulty in manufacturing structures this way meant that the theory was never proven, until we succeeded in doing it." Bauer said the team's achievement rests on a complex 3D laser printing process called two-photon lithography direct laser writing. As an ultraviolet-light-sensitive resin is added layer by layer, the material becomes a solid polymer at points where two photons meet. The technique is able to render repeating cells that become plates with faces as thin as 160 nanometers. Bauer said the team's achievement rests on a complex 3D laser printing process called two-photon polymerization direct laser writing. As a laser is focused inside a droplet of an ultraviolet-light-sensitive liquid resin, the material becomes a solid polymer where molecules are simultaneously hit by two photons. By scanning the laser or moving the stage in three dimensions, the technique is able to render periodic arrangements of cells, each consisting of assemblies of plates as thin as 160 nanometers. One of the group's innovations was to include tiny holes in the plates that could be used to remove excess resin from the finished material. As a final step, the lattices go through pyrolysis, in which they're heated to 900 degrees Celsius in a vacuum for one hour. According to Bauer, the end result is a cube-shaped lattice of glassy carbon that has the highest strength scientists ever thought possible for such a porous material. Bauer said that another goal and accomplishment of the study was to exploit the innate mechanical effects of the base substances. "As you take any piece of material and dramatically decrease its size down to 100 nanometers, it approaches a theoretical crystal with no pores or cracks. Reducing these flaws increases the system's overall strength," he said. "Nobody has ever made these structures independent from scale before," added Valdevit, who directs UCI's Institute for Design and Manufacturing Innovation. "We were the first group to experimentally validate that they could perform as well as predicted while also demonstrating an architected material of unprecedented mechanical strength." Nanolattices hold great promise for structural engineers, particularly in aerospace, because it's hoped that their combination of strength and low mass density will greatly enhance aircraft and spacecraft performance. ### Other co-authors on the study were Anna Guell Izard, a UCI graduate student in mechanical & aerospace engineering, and researchers from UC Santa Barbara and Germany's Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg. The project was funded by the Office of Naval Research and the German Research Foundation. About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 36,000 students and offers 222 degree programs. It's located in one of the world's safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County's second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit http://www. uci. edu . Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UCI faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UCI news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists.

U.S. deficit to soar to record $3.8 trillion in 2020, budget watchdog group says

FILE PHOTO: United States money printing plates are seen at the Museum of American Finance in New York October 15, 2010. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A steep economic downturn and massive coronavirus rescue spending will nearly quadruple the fiscal 2020 U.S. budget deficit to a record $3.8 trillion, a staggering 18.7% of U.S. economic output, a Washington-based watchdog group said on Monday. Releasing new budget estimates based on spending mandated by law, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) also projected that the fiscal 2021 deficit would reach $2.1 trillion in 2021, and average $1.3 trillion through 2025 as the economy recovers from damage caused by coronavirus-related shutdowns. The estimates follow the U.S. Treasury’s report on Friday of a $744 billion budget deficit in the six months through March 30, which included minimal impact from the outbreak of the new coronavirus. Officials said significant budget impacts from spending and reduced revenues would appear in April’s budget results. The CRFB, a coalition of former U.S. lawmakers, government officials and economists that has advocated for reducing deficits, said U.S. public debt by the Sept. 30 fiscal year-end would exceed 100% of U.S. GDP, from just under 80% prior to the coronavirus crisis. “These projections almost certainly underestimate deficits, since they assume no further legislation is enacted to address the crisis and that policymakers stick to current law when it comes to other tax and spending policies,” the group said in a statement. CRFB’s projections also assume the economy experiences a strong recovery in 2021 and fully returns to its pre-crisis trajectory by 2025. If that recovery is achieved, public debt would reach 107% of GDP that year, exceeding levels at the end of World War Two. A slower recovery could cause debt to reach 117% of GDP by 2025, the group said. The record for a fiscal year deficit was $1.41 billion, set in 2009. Deficits exceeding $1 trillion followed for three subsequent years before subsiding as the economy recovered. But the deficit reached $984 billion in 2019 and the Congressional Budget Office had projected a $1.07 trillion deficit for 2020. The CRFB started with that pre-crisis CBO estimate and added about $2.2 trillion in spending while subtracting $570 billion in revenue due to reduced economic activity.

Fire Fauci? What a disaster that would be for Trump and US

Michael D'Antonio is the author of the book "Never Enough: Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success" and co-author with Peter Eisner of "The Shadow President: The Truth About Mike Pence." The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author. View more opinion articles on CNN. (CNN) With the novel coronavirus killing Americans from coast to coast, President Donald Trump is hearing complaints from some of his supporters about Dr. Anthony Fauci, America's leading authority on infectious disease. If the pressure prompts Trump to fire Fauci, this would be very bad news. On Sunday, Trump retweeted a conservative who concluded her tweet with the hashtag #fireFauci. And though the part Trump called attention to in his retweet did not directly reference the hashtag, it was enough to raise alarm bells for those nervous about the doctor's standing on the White House task force. On Monday, Steve Bannon, former Trump adviser, spent the majority of the first hour of his "War Room: Pandemic" show questioning Fauci's credibility and mockingly calling him "Yoda." Still, Hogan Gidley, White House deputy press secretary, denied Trump had any intention of firing Fauci. It's important to remember Fauci is one of the leading medical experts on the President's pandemic response team and has been the nation's main source of trustworthy information -- though in the early days of the virus, he, too, may not have known or realized the full severity of the threat. Nonetheless, in the days and weeks since, Fauci has become a strong advocate for following the facts and the science -- even as Trump's slowness to take federal action likely contributed to a rising number of cases and deaths. (Trump's spokesman Judd Deere disputes this, arguing that Trump "took bold action to protect Americans and unleash the full power of the federal government to curb the spread of the virus" and Fauci has even acknowledged that the decision of when and how to act is "complicated.") That Trump would even consider sharing the #fireFauci tweet with over 75 million followers tells us that even after 20,000 deaths, he doesn't understand the first thing about the current crisis. This reckless act comes even as he debates relaxing the restrictions that have slowed the spread of the coronavirus thus far. Every human relationship -- personal, economic, political -- depends on one thing: trust. Having misled the American people for weeks on the severity of the crisis, Trump, like so many leaders struggling to battle the virus, wants to bring our pandemic-stricken country back to normal. And many Americans share his sentiment. But the question is why should we trust him to make that call now? The President began to talk openly about sounding the all-clear signal on March 24, when he said that Easter, then three weeks away, would be "a beautiful time" to return to normal. This musing came just days after he had ceased a two-month campaign of foolishly downplaying the threat -- with memorable one liners like, "We have it totally under control" -- based not on data but on his own feelings. Nonetheless, Trump heeded his medical experts and kept the restrictions in place through the end of April. In January and February, as Trump repeatedly told us everything was fine, he was really saying "trust me" and borrowing the credibility of his office to win us over. To be fair, every man who ever occupied the Oval Office has relied on the extra perception of virtue imbued by the presidency, especially in times of crisis. Even some of those who find much lacking in former President George W. Bush could rally around his leadership in the initial days and weeks after 9/11. And Americans of every sort relied on former President Barack Obama to lead us out of the Great Recession in 2009. Given Trump's troubled business career, the 16,000-and-counting falsehoods he has uttered as President, according to the Washington Post, and the behavior revealed by his impeachment, Trump seems the least trustworthy commander-in-chief in living memory. In considering the President's potential action to end the stay-at-home practices that stemmed the rise of illness and death, the more troubling factors reside, not in his record, but in his leadership style. As former and current White House officials have revealed, the Trump administration is an often-chaotic place where the tone is set by a President who has declared he likes having "acting" and not permanent officials in place so he can move people around more readily. This practice created problems in many of the agencies that were supposed to respond to the pandemic. At the key Department of Homeland Security, according to the Washington Post tracker, just 35% of the top jobs are filled. Trump also has a bad habit of shirking responsibility and blaming his failures on others. It's no surprise, then, that Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, took matters into his hands and sent a plane to China to buy 1.2 million N95 masks. JUST WATCHED Fauci: Earlier shutdown 'could have saved lives' Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Fauci: Earlier shutdown 'could have saved lives' 13:47 In other words, the administration's response -- or lack thereof in the early days -- to the pandemic added to the scope of the American crisis, a fact made clear by Fauci on Sunday. Speaking with CNN's Jake Tapper, Fauci agreed that a faster response "could have saved lives." Fauci, who has said he worries about a second wave of the virus hitting sometime in the near future, has also advocated for a "rolling" approach to returning America to normal, with activities resuming gradually as testing provides more epidemiological data. A rolling approach to restarting life in America is unlikely to create the dramatic economic boom that Trump has talked about lately. He believes that pent-up demand will spur a fast recovery if only enough people can get back to work. The way he sees it, the economy will take off "like a rocket ship." And with the general election only months away, Trump could use a rocketing recovery. Low unemployment, rock bottom interest rates and a high stock market were his big first-term trophies -- but the pandemic took them away. It's no wonder that he plans to announce his reopening task force on Tuesday -- an announcement Trump made at his White House press conference on Friday. The President has promised to stock the new advisory group with top medical and economic experts, but he will make the final call. "It's the biggest decision I'll ever make," he reiterated on Friday Get our free weekly newsletter Sign up for CNN Opinion's new newsletter. Join us on Twitter and Facebook But this is simply not true. Trump faced much bigger decisions, decisions that brought us to the point we have reached now, when he chose to deny, or perhaps ignore, the truth as the pandemic bore down on America. A significant share of the responsibility for the subsequent illness and death belongs to him, and he has yet to express remorse for the choices he made in the early days of the virus. Coldly dismissive as this crisis began, the President wants us to trust him now to tell us when this national nightmare is over. He could win that trust by dealing honestly with the record thus far, demonstrating interest in the facts and the science, appointing true experts to the task force and heeding their consensus. And this approach would actually aid his reelection bid by demonstrating a sense of honesty and seriousness that merits the trust of the American people. But I won't hold my breath.

Candlestick Chronicles: Jerry Jeudy or Ceedee Lamb?

As the draft draws closer, the consensus appears to be that the 49ers will use the No. 13 overall pick to select a wide receiver. Who that wide receiver will be is less of a sure thing. Two receivers top most draft boards: Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy and Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb. Which one of those receivers should the 49ers hope falls to 13? And which should they take if both land in the 49ers’ lap? Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee and Kyle Madson take a look at the draft’s top two pass catchers and assess which one is a better fit for San Francisco? Chris also unveils his full take on Lamb. The guys also go over some of the effects an all-digital draft will have on teams, and how COVID-19 shutdowns in California are impacting their day-to-day lives.

Avalanche — Gecko — Setup Guide. This is a guide on how to setup the…

Many of you must have heard about Avalanche! A blockchain 3.0 project delivered to you by Avalabs. Because Avalance is amazingly lightweight, you don’t need a beefy server to set it all up. 2 GHz or faster CPU, 3 GB RAM, 250 MB hard disk. OS: Ubuntu >= 18.04 Use the method above if you just want to deploy no nonsense. Use the method below for a bit of learning experience. Once you deployed your server its always smart to update and upgrade the base installation. sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade After this completed you might want to restart your server. Once it restarted we are going to install GO wget https://dl.google.com/go/go1.14.2.linux-amd64.tar.gz sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.14.2.linux-amd64.tar.gz After we’ve done this we are going to edit our ~/.profile file nano ~/.profile At the bottom of this file add the following data Change “username” for your linux username export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin export GOPATH=/home/"USERNAME"/go After we save and exit we want the system to load this setting. You can do this by using the following command source ~/.profile Now we are going to check if we installed go correctly. go version You should get the following reply

dontquoteme

I think Whatsapp has given me PTSD. I’m finally over the incessant photoshop jobs and videos that purport to have an explanation of, answer to, or party responsible for, the current COVID crisis. You’ve won, extended family. I just can’t take it anymore. I appreciate the faith you put in this device in the palm of your hands that you barely know how to use. I applaud your belief that the solution to this crisis can be communicated in a poorly photoshopped 1080 by 1080 square. I commend your unflinching resolve in believing any grainy video with text over it, so long as it fits your viewpoint. A truly discerning eye, honed over decades. I’m even more impressed in your ability to simply discount any perspective that is not yours. And when I say “simply”, boy do I mean it. Never have I seen a group of individuals more willing to utilize the old “you weren’t there” shtick. Apparently my thoughts on Jesus’s true birthplace, the rivalry between Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, and whether tomatoes are actually a fruit, are not welcome. Obviously I wasn’t around when tomatoes were invented. To be honest, I do sometimes wonder if even YOU were there, but no, I know your ideals are as pure and clear as the Ganges. That’s why it saddens me to tell you you’ve been duped. The problem isn’t the Muslims. It’s not the Chinese. It’s not the “mainstream media”. It’s you. It’s the fact that you run after any brightly colored image you see, like a dog chasing cars, and share it with a fervorence usually reserved for men in orange tunics. To be certain, the solution to your, and the world’s, problems, shall never come in such a small and haphazardly thrown together package. The whatsapp messages need to stop. So here’s my own personal chain mail: THIS JUST IN FROM THE NATIONAL DIRECTORATE OF COMMON SENSE (NDCS) – Boiling garlic in water and drinking it will not save you from COVID. Chinese food remains delicious. Muslims, as a whole, did not get together in some secret meeting to create COVID. Ditto for the Chinese. Spraying water via a hairdryer in your face to moisten your throat will not save you from COVID. Spicy foods won’t cure COVID! Alternatively, cold foods won’t cure COVID! Drinking cow piss will NOT CURE COVID. Chai, while delicious, is NOT A CURE for COVID. You don’t need to triple toast your bread to kill COVID, your body is already 98.6 you genius. As always, beware of any person in a position of power whose immediate response in this time of crisis is to blame someone else. And for Gods sake NOT EVERY PICTURE WITH A QUOTE OVER IT WAS SPOKEN BY THE PERSON IN THE QUOTE. USE GOOGLE. You’re telling me you’ve immigrated to this country with $8, earned enough money to open 9 Dunkin Donuts, consider your S550 Mercedes Benz your “beater car”, and you can’t do a simple Google search?? And finally, if it doesn’t come directly from a REPUTABLE doctor or the CDC – MISS ME WITH THAT SH*T. NO, ASTROLOGERS DO NOT COUNT. In closing, the only thing spreading faster than COVID is your veiled racism, poor reading comprehension skills, and bullsh*t whatsapp posts. And frankly, I’m over it. Do me a favor and once you’ve read this, please send it in your Whatsapp groups – I promise you won’t die from COVID if you do that*. (*Not a real promise. But it’s not the worst solution right?)

How immersive technology is changing DoD

 Best listening experience is on Chrome, Firefox or Safari. Subscribe to Off the Shelf’s audio interviews on Apple Podcasts or PodcastOne. This week on Off the Shelf, The Booz Allen Hamilton Immersive Technologies Team (Andy Shaw, Sandy Marshall, Elyse Heob, Joel Ward, Sam Hendricks, Shane Mathes, and John Sherman) discuss bringing immersive solutions to the Defense Department. The Booz Allen team highlights how technological advances in virtual and augmented reality are changing the way the department trains, plans and executes. It examines how virtual reality is being applied across a host of training applications, including pilot, maintenance, and IED detection/neutralization. The Booz Allen team also shares how immersive technologies support mission planning, logistics and building/space design. Finally, the team showcases the future of augmented reality capabilities like brain-computer interfaces, emotional detection, and voice recognition.

First Federal Lawsuit Filed Following Wisconsin's April 7 Election

A class-action lawsuit has been filed in federal court by a group of Milwaukee-area residents asking for a partial or full re-vote of the presidential primary and spring election held April 7. This is the first post-election lawsuit filed by voters who say they were disenfranchised by last-minute decisions made by lawmakers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 14 individuals who filed the lawsuit say they are a representation of voters statewide who were unable to vote. "Because of the pandemic, people weren't getting to vote in nursing homes, people, because of legitimate fear of their life, weren't able to get to the polls," said Jay Urban, a Milwaukee attorney representing plaintiffs. According to the lawsuit, some plaintiffs are: Chrystal and Terron Edwards. The two, who are African American, live in Milwaukee and have three children. Terron is diabetic. Their son has spina bifida and their daughter has asthma. The couple ordered their absentee ballots in mid-March but never received them. They did not vote because of the chronic health conditions. Catherine Cooper, of Fox Point. She requested an absentee ballot that never came. Cooper did vote in person in the spring election. She was torn about it because of the health risks of COVID-19; more specifically, her mother, who lives with her, has compromised lungs and other health issues. Kileigh Hannah, of Fox Point. She ordered an absentee ballot on or about March 22 and did not receive it. She has multiple sclerosis and is immunosuppressed, so she is at high risk for contracting the new coronavirus and having life-threatening complications, according to the lawsuit. She did not vote. Kristopher and Katie Rowe, of Glendale. The two completed and mailed their absentee ballots April 1. Upon checking Wisconsin’s online database, there is no record of either of them voting since the Feb. 18 election. Their ballots were never received by election officials and they will not count. The lawsuit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin against Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, could be the first of many in Wisconsin. On Monday, the national and state Democratic Party’s top leaders said every option was on the table regarding the April 7 election, including a recount. "It is hard to imagine a world where none of the candidates end up looking for legal recourse," said Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. "Republican decisions not only endangered Wisconsinites but also sparked a legal cloud." The lawsuit is asking a court order to count "the votes of all those who were disenfranchised April 7." Urban said he would like the court to hold a second election at another date when it is safe for everyone to vote. Knowing that will likely not happen, the lawsuit is asking for a partial re-vote for people who were unable to go to the polls Tuesday and did not receive an absentee ballot. Vos and Fitzgerald couldn't immediately be reached for comment. In addition to Vos and Fitzgerald, the lawsuit names the state, each legislative body, and the Wisconsin Elections Commission, which "had no choice but to implement this illegal scheme, and would be called upon to implement the remedies requested by plaintiffs." Sign up for daily news! Stay informed with WPR's email newsletter. The day before Election Day, Gov. Tony Evers attempted to push back the election until June with an emergency order, but the Republican-controlled state Legislature immediately made an appeal to the state Supreme Court, which ruled 4-2 to strike the order down in just a matter of hours. GOP lawmakers opposed delaying the election, saying it would leave vacancies in important local offices across the state. On April 7, hundreds of people waited in line for hours to vote, particularly in Milwaukee and Green Bay where there were five and two polling places open, respectively. On Monday, Wikler and Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez called on the state GOP and Trump administration to hold a vote-by-mail only special election May 12 for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District race. Perez called what happened Tuesday in Wisconsin "voter suppression on steroids." When asked if the state Democratic Party would be willing to file a lawsuit in order to stop an in-person election May 12, Wikler said "all options were on the table." Absentee Ballots Counted Meanwhile, in Milwaukee, the city's elections commission held an emergency meeting Monday to determine if 390 absentee ballots that had unclear postmarks or were unmarked would be counted. After a nearly two-hour meeting, the commission voted 2-1 to count the ballots. Commissioners Stephanie Findley and Carmen Cabrera voted to count the ballots. Commissioner Jess Ripp voted against it. "I feel very book-ended by the Supreme Court decision," Ripp said. "The court and the Legislature failed. I feel backed into a corner. If they were not post marked, they do not meet the qualifications. It’s tragic, but I absolutely don’t’ see a way around it." The Milwaukee election commissioners’ vote will be closely watched across the state as clerks decide how to handle absentee ballots that were received after the election.

Coronavirus: Livestreamed wedding, drive-through meetings - South Koreans get creative in time of social distancing

SEOUL - A parent had a drive-through meeting with his children's new teachers, while a couple livestreamed their wedding and interacted with their guests online. A company installed transparent protective screens in its staff canteen, while another firm had its job applicants take a test in a football field. Amid the coronavirus outbreak that has infected 10,537 people in South Korea to date, many are coming up with various creative ways to keep themselves safe from the virus. The number of daily new cases has remained below 50 for five days, but the government urged against complacency, reminding the public to stick to a social distancing policy implemented from March 21. It will end this Sunday (April 19). As more people stayed home, hard-hit businesses have been trying to lure customers back by offering all kinds of drive-through services. Inspired by South Korea's highly-successful drive-through virus screening stations, fishmongers and farmers started selling their products at drive-through booths, while restaurants prepared food orders for customers to pick up by car, and public libraries allowed people to drive and collect books reserved in advance. Drive-through cinemas also gained popularity over traditional movie theatres, many of which are closed during this period. Schools also offered drive-through pick-up services for new textbooks, and some teachers took the opportunity to meet parents and students ahead of a new academic year. Entrepreneur James Hwang, 45, drove his two children to greet their new teachers two weeks ago - at the school's car porch. "We just said hello and had a short chat, but it was very convenient to just roll down the window to meet the teacher and it minimises contact with other people too," he told The Straits Times. Fears of mass infections had resulted in cancellations of many large-scale events, including church services and weddings. Groom Ha Ji-soo and bride Park Ji-ye livestreamed their wedding from South Korea on April 4, 2020. PHOTO: KT CORPORATION But one couple found a way to walk down the aisle as planned - under the attentive gaze of some 50 well-wishers, no less. Accountant Ha Ji-soo, 36, and office worker Park Ji-ye, 29, got hitched in Seoul on April 4, in what is now known as South Korea's first interactive livestreamed wedding. Related Story South Korea reports more recovered coronavirus patients testing positive again Mr Ha's parents dialled in from the north-western city of Incheon, while Mr Park's mother logged on from Yangpyeong county, east of Seoul. Friends of the couple also tuned in to watch the 45-minute ceremony helmed by an emcee, complete with two singers performing and loved ones taking turns to convey their congratulations in real time. "Ordinary weddings are formal occasions whereby guests come to eat and leave, not really focused on the celebration," Mr Ha told ST. "But for online weddings, people are focused on celebrating with the wedding couple. I was so touched when my bride's mother read a letter to us." The wedding is part of a campaign by telco giant KT Corporation to use its communications technology to help people overcome problems caused by the pandemic. The company also plans to broadcast a military commissioning ceremony and allow people to shop at traditional markets by following a live video that is linked to an e-commerce app. Contactless services like these have grown in demand due to the coronavirus outbreak, noted professor Choi Se-jeon of Korea University. "Social distancing is not a choice but mandatory these days, casting attention on untact marketing," she told The Asia Business Daily newspaper, referring to the Konglish word that combines "un", which means not, and "contact". "The increased demand for untact services gives rise to opportunities to further develop the trend." KT's marketing promotion manager Seo Je-hak said the company planned the livestreamed wedding for promotional purposes, but it has received so many inquiries that it believes such weddings will become a trend that can outlast the pandemic. "If the untact trend continues, KT's role will get bigger," he said. Other companies, meanwhile, are coming up with innovative ideas to keep their employees safe. Related Story Cosy weddings at home amid coronavirus outbreak Related Story The Life List: Starry nuptials on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic State agency Asan Urban Corporation, for one, held a 90-minute written exam in a football field for 139 job applicants on April 4. Applicants were subject to temperature screenings and had to wear masks and sanitise their hands before sitting at desks placed 5m apart. Photos of the exam went viral, with many people commenting on social media that the scene reminds them of scholars taking state exams during the Chosun Dynasty. Twitter user kobi_ota wrote: "It's not a bad idea, except it is cold and windy outside. They will not be infected since they are seated 5m apart and wearing masks. But they might catch a cold instead." Credit card company Hyundai Card installed transparent screens at its staff canteens to allow employees to interact easily over meals without compromising health concerns. This is in addition to other measures such as allowing staff to work from home and apply for paid sick leave without medical certification. Employees sit behind protective screens in South Korea on April 9, 2020. PHOTO: AFP The company spent about 20 million won (S$23,300) to install 430 screens made of polycarbonate in its dining facilities in cities including Seoul and Busan, according to Mr Chung Sang-wook from the infrastructure team. Related Story Coronavirus explainers: What you should know to protect yourself Related Story Coronavirus visual guide: Interactive graphics on the pandemic "Compared to other places, the canteen can be more vulnerable to the virus because people can unwittingly spread the germs when they sit across the table and talk while eating," he told ST. "Mindful of this, we have been seeking to find the best way to ensure the employees' safety without making them feel uncomfortable. The transparent barrier is the innovative idea to achieve the two goals at the same time." Mr Yeo Jun-seok, 35, who works in the company's headquarters in Seoul, is impressed with the transparent screens. "It's not a fancy, grandiose idea, but it shows the extent to which the company cares about us," he said. "I feel the same way when I see sanitisers in the elevators and meeting rooms."

Live Concerts Won’t Return Until “Fall 2021 at the Earliest,” Health Expert Warns

Lollapalooza, photo by Nick Langlois Large-scale gatherings such as conferences, sport events, and live concerts won’t be safe to attend until “fall 2021 at the earliest,” according to Zeke Emanuel, director of the Healthcare Transformation Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. Emanuel was part of an expert panel assembled by the New York Times on life after the COVID-19 pandemic. The problem, according to Emanuel, is “You can’t just flip a switch and open the whole of society up. It’s just not going to work. It’s too much. The virus will definitely flare back to the worst levels.” As he sees it, “restarting the economy has to be done in stages,” and crowded events will be the last part of our old lives to return. He said, “It does have to start with more physical distancing at a work site that allows people who are at lower risk to come back. Certain kinds of construction, or manufacturing or offices, in which you can maintain six-foot distances are more reasonable to start sooner. Larger gatherings — conferences, concerts, sporting events — when people say they’re going to reschedule this conference or graduation event for October 2020, I have no idea how they think that’s a plausible possibility. I think those things will be the last to return. Realistically we’re talking fall 2021 at the earliest.” So why do we have to wait until the second half of 2021? That has to do with the development timeline of the coronavirus vaccine. And Emanuel isn’t alone in thinking a vaccine will take 12-18 months — in fact, that seems to be the expert consensus. Larry Brilliant, the epidemiologist who led the effort to eradicate smallpox, told The Economist, “I think we will have a vaccine that works in less than a couple of months.” Unfortunately, that’s the easy part. “Then it will be the arduous process of making sure that it is effective enough and that it is not harmful. And then we have to produce it. [America’s Director National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases] Tony Fauci’s estimate of 12 to 18 months before we have a vaccine, in sufficient quantities in place, is one that I agree with.” But Brilliant, who also consulted on the 2011 Steven Soderbergh film Contagion, sounds even more pessimistic than Emanuel. He thinks the COVID-19 virus will still be a problem — at least for a while — after the development of a vaccine. “I just want to mention, once we have that vaccine, and we’ve mass vaccinated as many people as we could, there will still be outbreaks. People are not adding on to the backend of that time period the fact that we will then be chasing outbreaks, ping-pong-ing back and forth between countries. We will need to have the equivalent of the polio-eradication program or the smallpox-eradication program, hopefully at the WHO. And that mop-up—I hate to use that word when we’re talking about human beings—but that follow-on effort will take an additional period of time before we are truly safe.” In other words, the re-opening of society will be slower and more painful than some are anticipating. For now musicians have adapted with quarantine videos and isolation livestreams, as when Willie Nelson announced a digital Farm Aid with Neil Young, Dave Matthews, and more over the weekend. For a full list of upcoming concerts and livestreams, click here. But that’s not going to replace the lost revenue stream for middle-class and rising artists. If you want to help musicians impacted by the novel coronavirus, or are yourself a musician looking for help, check out our pandemic resource guide.

Whitmer: Tough days ahead but normalcy 'on the horizon'

LANSING — The state has tough days ahead in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic, but a return to normalcy is "on the horizon," Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said at a news conference Monday. Whitmer rejected a Monday tweet from Republican President Donald Trump, who said it will be up to him — not the nation's governors — when the economy reopens. The economy "doesn't get opened up via Twitter," Whitmer said. "It gets opened up at the state level." The 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reserves to the states those government powers not specifically assigned to the federal government. Those state powers include ones related to policing and regulating safety and public welfare — all associated with "stay-at-home" orders issued by many governors, including Whitmer, that have shut down most businesses. Trump said in his tweet that decisions about restarting the economy are up to him and the federal government, though he said he planned to work closely with governors in making those decisions. Whitmer said the factors she will be looking at will be a sustained reduction in infection, an enhanced ability to test and trace, sufficient hospital capacity to deal with a resurgence, and workplace protocols to keep employees safe. Whitmer, responding to criticism of her extended and expanded stay-at-home order issued last Thursday, said nobody wants to start reopening the economy more than she does. Republican legislative leaders and some business leaders have said Whitmer's measures are too restrictive and say they should be focused more on what work can be done safely, rather than what work is considered essential. They have also called for a more regional approach to the restrictions, with greater flexibility allowed in parts of the state less hard-hit by the virus. "Every day we are writing the plan so we can re-engage safely, at the appropriate time," Whitmer said. However, "not one of us wants to go through this again," and that's why "we have a few tough days ahead of us." Whitmer, who has previously said the state could see its peak in cases in late April or early May, did not say when she expects the state can start to move toward normalcy. Her present stay home order is scheduled to be lifted May 1. More:Michigan's stay-at-home order: We answer 20 frequently asked questions More:Michigan coronavirus cases soar past 25,000; now at 1,602 deaths Whitmer said it is clear the state's social distancing efforts are working and she is cautiously optimistic the state's projected curve for COVID-19 cases is beginning to flatten. But at this point, she said her main focus must be saving lives, not saving the economy. She said she has not taken any actions lightly and she understands the economic hardship and anxiety some of those measures have created. "It's OK to be frustrated, it's OK to be angry," Whitmer said. "If it makes you feel better to direct it at me, that's OK, too. I have thick skin." But with a demonstration in opposition to her stay home order planned for the Capitol at noon Wednesday, Whitmer urged anyone who protests to do so safely, so they don't further spread the virus or put police officers or other first responders at risk. Whitmer said she understands some questioning why they can buy lottery tickets, for example, but not seeds for their gardens. "I get it," she said, though she did not announce any plans to rectify those apparent inconsistencies. Responding to criticism of her deeming nurseries and garden shops as nonessential, Whitmer said she knows there are many avid gardeners in the state but that the peak planting season is weeks away, especially with unseasonably cool weather. She said the state will do all it can to make sure owners of nurseries and related industries have access to small business loans and other financial aid. She said she expects Michigan's economy will be reopened in phases, but right now it does not make sense to allow some parts of the economy, or some parts of the state, to reopen. "Just because you live in a region with (only) a few cases doesn't mean it can't spread rapidly," she said. And hospitals in those rural areas with relatively few cases are not equipped to handle a surge if one occurs, she said. Doug Rothwell, president and CEO of Business Leaders for Michigan, noted that Whitmer has said she will call on a group of Michigan’s health care, research university, business and labor leaders for advice on when and how to restart the economy. “We’re anxious like most are to get back to 'normal,' but we’ll get there faster if we do it the right way," Rothwell said in a news release. "The governor understands this and we will do our part to help her write the right playbook.” Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.

These 9 Pros Have Made Big Life Changes Because of the Pandemic

These 9 Pros Have Made Big Life Changes Because of the Pandemic In March of 2020, a shock hit the entire world. Coronavirus, known as COVID-19, has turned the entire world upside down, locking people indoors and sending them scrambling for work as stores close, businesses shut down, sports virtually stop and most group activities come to a halt. Everyone is doing their best to adjust to this airborne pandemic. In most places, schools are done for the year. Professionals are working from home instead of commuting into an office. And, unemployment claims have skyrocketed. The U.S. government passed a stimulus package to send trillions of dollars back into the economy. For some, things are only getting worse. But for others, it’s business as usual – in fact, even a chance for improvement. And for some businesses like Amazon and UPS, business has never been better. I spoke to several professionals from a wide variety of industries to find out exactly how the pandemic is affecting them and what changes they’ve made to combat this new “temporary normal”. The answers are as unique as they are interesting. How These 9 People Are Adjusting To The Coronavirus Pandemic Josh is a 33-year-old high school educator and his wife has been exposed to COVID-19 My wife was exposed unprotected to a patient who was coughing and tested positive for COVID-19 just five days later. “In 2016, it was my car’s engine and the washing machine going belly-up in March that set us back a few thousand. Fast-forward to 2019, and my dog decided eating half a pound of cocoa powder would be a good idea two days after my 32nd birthday.” Then in 2020, right after Josh and his wife paid off their student loans, the pandemic hit. And his wife, who works as a physical therapist on the frontlines at a hospital, was exposed to the virus in late March after treating an infected patient. For whatever reason, March just tends to be a tough month for Josh and his wife. “My wife was exposed unprotected to a patient who was coughing and tested positive for COVID-19 just five days later.” And, the CDC has instructed healthcare professionals to continue working, even after being exposed to the virus, unless symptoms begin to develop. To say the pandemic has been challenging for Josh and his wife would be an understatement. He told me that he wasn’t truly prepared for the pandemic (nobody was), and especially for what his wife would be forced to endure as a healthcare professional. Every cough or sneeze was scary. “Financially we were OK – we had a nice-sized emergency fund, stable jobs (which is a blessing in itself), some solid side hustles, and we had successfully paid off six-figures in student loans, which allowed us to be financially stress-free.” But, having a spouse working on the frontline of a killer airborne pandemic is nothing short of terrifying. Josh says that sticking to their core principles and healthy habits is how they are getting through. Things like: daily laundry to keep clothes clean regular daily exercise taking vitamins staying positive Instead of binge-watching television or being glued to the ultra-negative 24-hour news cycle, Josh and his wife are reconnecting with old friends over the Internet and distancing the best they can. Sanjana is a 34-year-old anesthesiologist As a doctor, she’s seen it all. Sanjana’s colleagues are getting sick. Some are even dying, and she’s afraid that she might be next. Life is short. Stuck at home, it’s a strikingly different world for Sanjana. “After losing a week’s worth of sleep at the beginning of this quarantine period, I’ve been forced to cope in other ways,” she said. For example, she’s learned crucial stress relief strategies that she can do right at home – habits she’s building that will stay with her long after the pandemic passes and we’re all back to normal. Things like: limiting her time on social media regular exercise in her home gym strengthening relationships with friends, and weekly FaceTime meetings with friends across the country And, her spending habits have also taken a drastic shift. In the past month, “I’ve saved an extra $500 by staying home,” she told me, and will save another $600 over the course of the year by using her home gym instead of paying monthly gym fees at a more traditional commercial fitness center. Brian is a 50-year-old project manager Brian is a New York-based husband and a dad, blogger and technology professional, and his top priority as the virus began to spread throughout the country was his family. The entire family keeps asking my opinion on when our world will get back to normal. I just don’t know Their daughter was working a hard-to-get internship at Disney World, and they immediately brought her home – devastated. Their son’s high school was canceled for the rest of the year. But now, everyone’s safe. “The entire family keeps asking my opinion on things, like when will our world get back to normal. I just don’t know,” Brian said. “I do remind my family that the world as a whole is being affected, so we’re not in this alone.” Brian works in technology for a large hospital. He started working from home two weeks ago, but all of his normal projects were instantly put on hold. “A slew of virus-related plans took top priority,” he said. “We have worked with the State and FEMA to get several testing, field hospitals, and additional hospital beds up and running over the past week.” Brian’s community has been nothing short of amazing, especially in response to the affect the virus has had on our healthcare workers. “When you couple record-high patient counts, with the dwindling workforce, it takes a toll.” His family is taking more walks with their dogs, catching up on reading and enjoying more of their favorite TV shows. “Having this additional downtime has allowed time to update our google sheets budget with different scenarios”, he said. “I just wish it wasn’t under these circumstances.” Maggie is a 27-year-old writer Maggie, an actor, began her quarantine on March 13th, and living at home with at-risk parents, she’s left the house just three times since that time, usually to pick up groceries for them. The going isn’t easy. “My entire relationship with shopping has been altered and will likely remain fractured for the rest of my life,” Maggie said. Once a lover of perusing stores and getting out, leaving the home now feels akin to going to war. It feels like a huge risk. “I dress in clothes that cover my skin, put on rubber gloves, a face mask, and wear my glasses instead of my contacts. I wipe down every item brought into the house and quarantine dry goods for several days before they’re brought inside. Going to the grocery store is an anxiety inducing experience now.” Every time she leaves, Maggie wonders if she’ll inadvertently bring the airborne killer known as COVID-19 into her parent’s home. It’s a heavy burden, and it’s always there. Maggie is an actor, and her entire industry is in turmoil. Film sets like the one she worked on is shuttered. Union actors like her are scrambling for alternatives. “Until the government changed the unemployment policies, I didn’t qualify for anything. Even still, the state of Virginia has only given me $51 since I was laid off.” Instead of lamenting her luck, she turned her sights to other ways to make money. Maggie now writes at Your Money Geek, an influential website covering entertainment, gaming and personal finance. “I am fortunate,” she told me. “We’re living through a historical event, we’re living through a crisis, we’re living through trauma. And it’s okay to accept it. It’s okay to cry at the grocery store. It’s okay to Skype with friends for six hours. It’s okay to feel.” Kevin is a 26-year-old marketer Like so many others, the pandemic has forced Kevin to take a hard look at his finances and re-evaluate where he’s spending his money. Kevin has not lost his job, so he’s in a good position to switch up his financial life with cash flow still coming in. And, he’s doing that in two primary ways. He’s saving more. “Before the pandemic, I was saving anywhere from 20-30% of my salary,” Kevin told me. “Now, I am aiming to save over 30%, mainly because I am naturally spending less since I’m stuck inside all day (and not traveling or eating out as much).” Kevin said that he builds wealth by investing as much as he can while the market is down, and now’s the perfect opportunity to put that increase in savings to good use. He’s also being more generous. He tips more whenever he eats out, which he cut back from two or three times a week to just once, and always just take-out. “To make up for that and show support where I can, I am tipping above my normal 20%, usually anywhere between 25-40%. It’s small, but I think small acts like this can start to add up,” he said. Kevin’s net worth dropped by 25% over the last several weeks, but luckily, he has an emergency fund with 6-months of living expenses. Sam is a 25-year-old freelancer Sam’s attitude is impressive: challenging times can make you a stronger person and remind you of what’s truly important. “I am fortunate to have two jobs where you work alone as a blogger and freelancer that have been relatively stable during this time,” she told me. But, Sam’s husband John wasn’t so fortunate. Labeled an “essential worker”, he’s still required to work in an office even during the quarantine. The quarantine has made both Sam and John more grateful for the things they have and what normal used to be. Before the pandemic, it was easy to take things for granted, like seeing friends, shopping and working in a safe environment. Just being outside. “Simple things like where to get quarters or leaving the house for groceries all pose a threat now.” It’s tough to do much of anything without worry about whether the virus will be on the things you touch, or if the person next to you will infect you. It’s a whole different world, and it’s scary. “It has made us reconsider how much we have in our emergency fund. We plan to add an additional $15,000 to it within the next couple of months to give us peace of mind.” Daniella is a 30-year-old software engineer As a software engineer, Daniella is accustomed to working from home. Though nothing has fundamentally changed for her, a lot has changed for the company that she works for. “Most of the global offices for the company I work for have closed completely with almost everyone on VPN. At first, it was a nightmare trying to stay on their network but the network team pulled things together so quickly, it was pretty astounding.” Daniella told me that her coworkers are on edge as the company continues to push deadlines and ramp up projects with a staff that may not be as comfortable working from home as Daniella. Daniella’s wife is a network administrator, and that’s a job that is incredibly tough to do remotely. As a result, she’s forced into work every day. She loves the job, but hates the uncomfortable vibes that she gets working around other people in the office. “As folks like me are working from home, we forget about the other half who have to go into work everyday and deal with a whole different side to this new world brought on by Covid-19.” For extra money, Daniella and her wife maintain side hustles, including selling on eBay. In fact, they just sold a guitar on eBay for $1,800 this weekend, and a little extra cash comes in handy right now. Todd is a 32-year-old marketer Todd is in a fortunate place. For three years prior to the COVID outbreak, he was already earning money from home as a marketer for a start up business. As a result, the pandemic did not substantially change his daily workday because Todd was already adjusted to working from home. But now, he’s no longer working alone from home. His fiancé is working from home as well, making it a bit challenging in a small apartment to keep out of each other’s areas. Todd told me that maintaining separate spaces is critical to keeping a productive work environment for both of them. His fiancé works from the bedroom to take calls behind a closed door and he is between the kitchen and the living room. Todd is also investing more wisely now that stocks are down and market uncertainty is at record highs. “I pulled back on more aggressive investing,” he said. “I want to stay with consistent retirement investments and use more cash for my savings account,” he continued. “While I already have about 12 months worth saved, both our jobs could change in an instant. We’ve been fortunate to both have jobs at this point, but I’d rather us be overly prepared.” Scarlett Rose is a pro cosplayer In January, Scarlett’s entire year as a costume player was lined up and ready to go. She was to appear at big conventions and photo shoots, travel all over the world and take on new acting roles. Now, her entire year has been put on hold. Her day job is in Sales and Marketing for a large hotel, which felt a huge impact after the virus’s outbreak, too. “I watched helplessly as we lost over 95% of our business at the hotel in the span of 48 hours,” Scarlett told me. “Not even a week later, I was furloughed from my job until an indefinite date, and the entire hospitality industry was practically shut down.” Instantly, Scarlett had no real cash flow. Like Maggie, she began writing for Your Money Geek, completing her first article about the 19 most addicting games of all time. Initially, writing was a way to bring in some additional cash, but it wasn’t long before her entire life changed. She liked being a writer. “I went from completely panicked and devastated with losing 90%+ of my income, to having some hope that things might be okay.” In fact, she’s considering switching industries. Writing, after all, can easily be done remotely. “Writing legitimately saved me from what felt like a completely helpless situation. I found that if I work hard, and I am dedicated, that I can thrive.” Have something to add? Hit me up on Twitter I am not a financial advisor. Before making big money decisions, speak to a certified financial advisor for a tailored financial plan made just for you.

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Arizona Coyotes furlough 50% of staff, citing coronavirus

The Arizona Coyotes have furloughed half its staff due to the spread of the coronavirus, the company announced Friday. With the NHL season on hold, the team said it was necessary to let go half of the organization’s employees temporarily given the significant impact the pandemic has had on the sports, entertainment, casino and hotel industries. A team spokesman would not release the number of employees affected by the move. “The developing COVID-19 situation is having a huge impact on our community and, like many companies, we are working through the challenges during this unprecedented time,” Coyotes’ owner Alex Meruelo said in a statement. Read more from the Phoenix Business Journal.

Trump thinks disastrous coronavirus pandemic gives him bragging rights

The declaration makes federal funding that Democratic legislators and leaders have been advocating to get for weeks available to states and territories the Federal Emergency Management Agency covers. The United States has already reported at least 21,686 deaths and 546,874 coronavirus cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. In New York, the virus’ epicenter, more than 9,380 coronavirus patients had died by Sunday, The New York Times reported. D'neil Schmall, an ICU nurse in New York City, said weeping in an 8-minute video posted to her Facebook page Tuesday that there’s only so much anyone can take. “I’m tired of walking into rooms and your patient’s dead,” she said. “You just walk into a room, and there’s a dead body in there.” She said she feels “so much sadness” for fellow nurses and patients, “especially the ones that are hanging on by a thread.” Schmall’s heartbreaking story is exactly the kind that should inspire action from elected officials. At the very least, the U.S. president shouldn’t be bragging about himself when people are dying. Trump, however, not only bragged, but he did so on the same day that Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top infectious disease specialist, admitted that if the president had followed expert advice sooner, “you could have saved lives.” RELATED: Dr. Fauci reminds us of the obvious: Earlier coronavirus measures 'could have saved lives' The entertainer-in-chief instead, spent weeks in denial about the virus. When he made his first public remarks about COVID-19 in a TV interview Jan. 22, Trump responded to a question asking him if he had any worries about the virus with: “No. Not at all.” He added: “And we have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine.” By late February, the president had repeatedly made false claims that the situation was getting better, The New York Times reported. "It’s going to disappear,” he said Feb. 27, 2020. “One day — it’s like a miracle — it will disappear.” Well, it hasn’t disappeared. People are still dying, but kudos to Trump for finding a silver lining to further inflate his ego.

【詠春】葉問嫡傳弟子何金銘因新冠肺炎逝世 將詠春傳遍澳門第一人

葉問親傳弟子、澳門詠春宗師何金銘先生，4月9日因新冠肺炎於多倫多逝世，虛齡享年96歲。 何金銘先生1925年於澳門出生。大約30歲時，拜入葉問宗師門下，1960年回到澳門設館授徒。現時澳門不少詠春門人，都出自何金銘先生一脈。 何金銘先生創辦多個詠春組織，包括僑澳詠春體育學院（現澳門何金銘詠春體育學院）、何金銘詠春國術總會等。1990年，他遠赴加拿大傳藝，期後舉家移民當地，並成立加拿大何金銘詠春拳會。近年他繼續穿梭於加拿大、澳門、珠海等地，為詠春拳培養大批人才。 這齣名為《澳門詠春拳之源流》的紀錄片，詳細介紹何金銘先生對澳門詠春的巨大貢獻，堪稱葉問詠春澳門第一人： 穿梭世界各地弘揚詠春 培育大批人才 何金銘先生門下能人輩出，比較有名的包括曾在港台節目《功夫傳奇》大顯身手的雷明輝師傅。雷師傅14歲時拜入何金銘先生門下，曾以詠春拳贏得多場擂台賽事。 另外，世界知名的「Close Range Combat Academy」，其創辦人Randy Williams亦是何金銘先生的弟子。Randy Williams本跟隨何金銘先生的弟子Augustine Fong學習，後來直接得到何的指導。他曾出版多部英語著作及教學視頻，在歐美地區甚具影響力。 昨日，何金銘先生於多倫多的療養院因新冠肺炎逝世，虛齡享年96歲。 【何金銘先生生平點滴，門下人才輩出，點擊圖片觀看】 相關文章 【葉問徒孫】澳門雷明輝：14歲拜師何金銘 師公葉問以腳法最自豪 【訃聞】澳門武術名宿劉惠洪離世 享年93歲 【武編週記】記錄片《守道》：大時代下葉問詠春的兩條路線 【詠春改變人生】羅拔唐尼習詠春學懂自律 戰勝人生低谷 【葉問：終極一戰】宗師的落魄與愛情 走下神壇的真正傳奇 武術詞彙：太極八勁 + 2 + 2 + 2 延伸閱讀 新冠肺炎下的武術搏擊界困境 第二輪抗疫基金力度不足 或現倒閉潮 武備志實用系列 八極拳盧韋斯師傅：大槍武藝基礎三式 扎、封、閉 變化式馬步練習強身健體 在家勤練肌肉與腿力 👉🏻🥋訂閱武備志Youtube頻道 緊貼武術搏擊界最新消息🥊👈🏻

Vox Popoli: An Arkhaven subscription

$1 Ace's Army $3 Lawdog's Legion $5 Rebel's Renegades $20 Collector's Only We haven't set any formal goals yet, but we probably need to be around $3k monthly before we can reasonably commit to providing pure subscriber-driven content, which would result in a) weekly digital episodes, b) gold logo single issues for the subscribers, and c) retail omnibuses (with subscriber's discount). In the meantime, we have begun the episodic offensive. Speaking of which, I'm pleased to be able to announce the first weekly episodes of bothand Alt★Hero . We intend to begin with three weekly series, expanding that to five as soon as the relevant artists are brought up to speed on the new format.This is a critical moment in the war for the comics industry. And while we're too small to be in a position to win that war yet, this is an excellent opportunity for us to gain ground in preparation for the next round. Even if you're not interested in comics, or in a position to subscribe, I would encourage you to subscribe to the various weekly series at Webtoons, as that is a free and easy way to take part in this. I realize that this isn't exactly what some of you have been asking for, but I believe this is a necessary first step towards that.On a related note, an illustrator and fan of a certain French superhero sent this excellent portrayal of Dynamique contemplating the ongoing collapse of establishment comics. I think it is fair to say that it is a matter of absolutely no concern to her.

Timeline: Trump's slow coronavirus response vs. the warning signs

It wouldn’t be until mid-March that Trump would truly acknowledge the gravity of the situation. He would repeatedly say the situation was “under control,” downplay the threat and compare it to the flu. For about two months before that, though, people around him were offering cautions about the pandemic that the coronavirus would become. Below is a timeline of all the reported warning signs, with some of Trump’s public actions and comments interspersed. Much of it is based upon two investigative pieces published by The Washington Post on March 20 and April 4. Dec. 31: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention learn of a cluster of cases in China. AD AD Jan. 1: The CDC begins developing reports for the Department of Health and Human Services about the situation. Jan. 3: A Chinese official officially informs CDC Director Robert Redfield of the outbreak of a respiratory illness in the city of Wuhan. Redfield later relays the information to HHS Secretary Alex Azar, and Azar informs the White House National Security Council. Early January: Intelligence officials begin offering ominous, classified warnings about the virus to Trump in the President’s Daily Brief. The warnings will persist into February. Early January: In a report to the director of National Intelligence, a State Department epidemiologist warns that the virus is likely to spread across the globe and could result in a pandemic, and the Defense Intelligence Agency’s National Center for Medical Intelligence comes to the same conclusion, per the New York Times. AD AD Jan. 8: The CDC issues its first public warning about the outbreak in China, saying that it is monitoring the situation and that people should take precautions when traveling to Wuhan. Mid-January: Assistant HHS Secretary for Preparedness and Response Robert Kadlec instructs subordinates to make contingency plans for using the Defense Production Act, which allows the federal government to compel the production of certain materials in a crisis. Jan. 17: The CDC begins monitoring major airports for passengers arriving from China. Jan. 18: Azar, who had been trying to speak to Trump about the virus, is finally able to meet with him. Before Azar can begin talking about the virus, though, Trump interjects to ask him about a federal crackdown on vaping. AD Jan. 20: Chinese President Xi Jinping says the virus “must be taken seriously,” and Chinese officials confirm the virus can be transmitted via human-to-human contact. AD Jan. 21: The first case of the coronavirus is confirmed in the United States, in Seattle. Jan. 22: Trump makes his first comments about the coronavirus, saying he is not concerned about a pandemic: “No. Not at all. And we have it totally under control. … It’s going to be just fine.” Jan. 23: Chinese officials take the drastic step of shutting down Wuhan. “That was like, whoa,” a senior U.S. official involved in White House meetings later told The Post. “That was when the Richter scale hit 8.” AD Jan. 24: A study published by the Lancet suggests the virus may be carried by people without symptoms. Jan. 26: Chinese health officials say the virus is infectious before symptoms show. “From observations, the virus is capable of transmission even during incubation period,” China Health Minister Ma Xiaowei says. “There are hidden carriers.” AD Jan. 27: Concerned White House aides meet with then-acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to get senior officials to pay more attention to the issue. Joe Grogan, the head of the White House Domestic Policy Council, argues it could cost Trump his reelection and says the virus is likely to dominate life in the United States for many months. AD Jan. 28: Carter Mecher, a senior medical adviser at the Department of Veterans Affairs, writes to colleagues in the administration: “I’m seeing comments from people asking why WHO [World Health Organization] and CDC seem to be downplaying this.” He adds that “no matter how I look at this, it looks [to] be bad. If we assume the same case ascertainment rate as the spring wave of 2009 H1N1 [swine flu], this looks nearly as transmissible as flu (but with a longer incubation period and greater Ro). The projected size of the outbreak already seems hard to believe, but when I think of the actions being taken across China that are reminiscent of 1918 Philadelphia [during the influenza epidemic], perhaps those numbers are correct. And if we accept that level of transmissibility, the [case fatality rate] is approaching the range of a severe flu pandemic.” Jan. 29: A Navarro memo warns of 500,000 or more American deaths and says it is “unlikely the introduction of the coronavirus into the U.S. population in significant numbers will mimic a ‘seasonal flu’ event with relatively low contagion and mortality rates.” AD Jan. 29: The White House announces the formation of a coronavirus task force, led by Vice President Pence. AD Jan. 30: China expands the lockdown beyond Wuhan to the entire province of Hubei, as the WHO declares a global health emergency. Jan. 30: Azar warns Trump about the possibility of a pandemic and that China isn’t being transparent, according to the Times. But Trump dismisses Azar as an alarmist. Jan. 30: A German study published in the New England Journal of Medicine says the virus can be transmitted by asymptomatic individuals. Jan. 30: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross says, “I don’t want to talk about a victory lap over a very unfortunate, very malignant disease,” but he suggests it might give companies pause about sending their production overseas. “So I think it will help to accelerate the return of jobs to North America.” Jan. 30: Trump says of the threat: “We think it’s going to have a very good ending for it. So that I can assure you.” AD AD Jan. 31: Trump announces travel restrictions from China after three major airlines announced they had halted flights. The restrictions take effect Feb. 2. Some time in January: The National Security Council’s biodefense experts begin urging officials to look at what it would take to quarantine a city the size of Chicago, per the Times. Early February: Other White House officials, including deputy national security adviser Matthew Pottinger, join Grogan in calling for a more forceful response. Grogan expresses worry that there aren’t enough tests. Pottinger pushes for expanding the travel ban to countries such as Italy and earns the support of Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. but the plan is resisted by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who cites economic concerns. AD AD Feb. 5: Trump’s impeachment trial ends with his acquittal by the Senate. Feb. 5: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) says that a briefing shows the administration isn’t taking the virus seriously enough and says it isn’t heeding calls for emergency funding. Feb. 7: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the United States has donated nearly 18 tons of medical supplies to China. Feb. 10: Trump says, “I think the virus is going to be — it’s going to be fine.” Feb. 14: A memo is drafted by health officials and the National Security Council about the potential need for “quarantine and isolation measures to combat the virus,” per the Times, but a scheduled meeting to brief Trump on the plan is later canceled. Feb. 19: Trump says: “I think it’s going to work out fine. I think when we get into April, in the warmer weather, that has a very negative effect on that and that type of a virus. So let’s see what happens, but I think it’s going to work out fine.” AD Feb. 21: The White House coronavirus task force conducts a mock response to a pandemic and concludes that mass social distancing will be needed, per the Times. Feb. 23: Another Navarro memo warns of an “increasing probability of a full-blown COVID-19 pandemic that could infect as many as 100 million Americans, with a loss of life of as many as 1-2 million souls.” Feb. 23: Italy begins to see evidence of a major outbreak in the Lombardy region. Feb. 24: As Iran becomes a hot spot, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warns of a possible pandemic. “There is a lot of speculation about whether this increase means that this epidemic has now become a pandemic,” he says. Feb. 24: Trump says: “The Coronavirus is very much under control in the USA. … Stock Market starting to look very good to me!” Feb. 25: The Army’s National Center for Medical Intelligence raises its warning that the coronavirus would become a pandemic within 30 days from WATCHCON 2 — a probable crisis — to WATCHCON 1 — an imminent one, according to Newsweek. The news is reportedly shared with the Joint Chiefs of Staff two days later. Feb. 25: Nancy Messonnier, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, warns publicly about the inevitable spread of the virus and says “we need to be preparing for significant disruption in our lives.” Trump complains to Azar that Messonnier’s comments are spooking the stock market. Feb. 26: Trump says, “When you have 15 people — and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero — that’s a pretty good job we’ve done.” Feb. 27: Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who had received briefings on the threat, tells a private luncheon that the coronavirus is “much more aggressive in its transmission than anything that we have seen in recent history” and “is probably more akin to the 1918 [influenza] pandemic,” in which 50 million or more people died worldwide. Feb. 27: Azar tells the House Ways and Means Committee, “The immediate risk to the public remains low.” He adds: “It will look and feel to the American people more like a severe flu season in terms of the interventions and approaches you will see.” Feb. 28: Mecher emails again, saying, "[W]e have a relatively narrow window” to respond with non-drug interventions, referring to data from the 1918 flu outbreak. He adds: “And we are flying blind.” Feb. 28: Trump says: “It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear.” Feb. 29: The United States records its first coronavirus death and announces new travel restrictions for Iran, Italy and South Korea. Feb. 29: Fauci tells the “Today” show, “There’s no need to change anything that you’re doing on a day-by-day basis. Right now the risk is still low, but this could change.” March 1: Mecher writes that the United States “should have pulled all the triggers for NPIs [non-pharmaceutical interventions] by now.” March 2: Trump presses pharmaceutical executives on the timeline for a vaccine, suggesting it could come earlier than anticipated. They repeatedly correct him, saying, testing will require a year or more — as Fauci had previously told Trump. March 3: The CDC lifts restrictions on coronavirus testing. March 6: Trump wrongly claims during a tour of the CDC that “anybody that wants a test can get a test.” March 10: Trump says: “Just stay calm. It will go away.” March 11: The White House suspends travel from most European countries, as the WHO declares a global pandemic. March 11: Trump says, “I think we’re going to get through it very well.” March 13: Trump declares a national emergency.

25 Fun Facts About Terry Gilliam's TIME BANDITS Along With Behind the Scenes Videos — GeekTyrant

Terry Gilliam’s 1981 film Time Bandits is one of my favorite fantasy films. I loved that movie! I watched it all the time. It was so different, unique, and crazy from any other film that was watching as a kid. It was such a wild and ridiculously adventurous story, and I loved the fact that it revolved around a young kid who embarked on this perilous journey. I also just loved all of the other characters in the story that were introduced. It wasn’t until later as a teenager that I was introduced to the Monty Python comedy troupe and my mind was blown when I learned that Gilliam was the guy behind Time Bandits. It was also cool to learn at the time that formers Beatles musician George Harrison was a producer. You don’t really care about this stuff when you’re a kid, but when you learn these things as you get older, it makes the things you love about the film we grew up on a little more special. I attempted to show Time Bandits to my kids, but it was just too much for them. They just weren’t ready for that kind of awesomeness. I got a lot of weird looks from them! Anyway, I thought it’d be fun to dig into some Time Bandits trivia, and thanks to IMDB, I’ve made a list of 25 fun facts about the film that you may or may not have known. I’ve also included a couple of original trailers and behind-the-scenes videos. In the original script, King Agamemnon was introduced as: "The warrior took off his helmet, revealing someone that looks exactly like Sean Connery, or an actor of equal but cheaper stature." To Writer, Producer, and Director Terry Gilliam's surprise, the script ended up in Connery's hands. He expressed interest in the part, and his agent approached them for the role. Sir Sean Connery suggested that he appear as one of the firefighters near the end of the movie. It was also his idea for Agamemnon to do magic tricks for Kevin. In his book "Monty Python: The Case Against Irreverence, Scurrility, Profanity, Vilification, and Licentious Abuse", Robert Hewison described the dwarves as a commentary on the Monty Python troupe. Fidgit, the nice one, is said to represent Sir Michael Palin. Randall, the self-appointed leader, represents John Cleese. Strutter, the acerbic one, represents Eric Idle. Og, the quiet one, represents Graham Chapman. Wally, the noisy rebel, represents Terry Jones. Vermin, the nasty, filth-loving one, represents Terry Gilliam. While filming the sequence in Sherwood Forest, in which the Time Bandits inadvertently crash into Vincent (Sir Michael Palin) and Pansy's (Shelley Duvall's) carriage, Gilliam had scaffolding built for the actors to jump off. When directing the scene, Gilliam instructed them to jump in such a way as to land around Palin and Duvall without actually falling on them. To better illustrate what he meant, Gilliam climbed to the top of the scaffolding and jumped off, landing directly on top of Duvall. According to Terry Gilliam, David Rappaport believed he got his part for his acting ability alone, without size being a contributing factor. As a result, he didn't socialize with his co-stars. During the Invisible Barrier scene, when the other bandits retaliate against Randall, the actors were expressing their frustrations with Rappaport. In 1996, Gilliam and Charles McKeown collaborated on a script for Time Bandits 2, bringing back most of the original cast, except David Rappaport and Tiny Ross, who had died a few years earlier. Jack Purvis had been paralyzed in a car accident, so his character was written to be in a similar state. When Purvis died, the project was shelved indefinitely. No studio wanted to make this movie, so Executive Producers George Harrison and Denis O'Brien mortgaged their office building in Cadogan Square to raise the five million dollars to make it. Harrison was frustrated with Gilliam's stubbornness, as evident by the lyrics to Harrison's song "Dream Away". Harrison even once told Gilliam he reminded him of John Lennon, because he was so difficult and "bolshie". It was the thing that Gilliam was most proud of that Harrison ever said to him. The cowboys, Greek archers, tank, spaceship (Micronauts Mobile Exploration Lab), and all of the attackers that fight Evil Genius (David Warner) at the end were the counterparts of the same toys seen in Kevin's (Craig Warnock's) room. In some shots, as Kevin runs through Evil Genius' fortress, giant "Lego" blocks can clearly seen as part of the fortress. Keven also mentioned to his parents that the Greeks had to learn forty-four styles of hand-to-hand combat. Gilliam laughed so hard while shooting the table scene with Sir Ian Holm as Napoleon Bonaparte, that he had to leave the set, to avoid ruining any takes of said scene. Gilliam shot this movie in low camera angles throughout, to give the audience the perspective of a dwarf or a child. On his first day of filming, Craig Warnock was reportedly so overwhelmed at meeting Connery, that their close-ups had to be shot separately, until the boy had adjusted to the veteran actor's presence, reportedly at Connery's own suggestion. In his part of the audio commentary, Warnock says he remembers Connery being "very friendly, and down to Earth", and joked that the scene where he rode off into the desert with Connery on horseback, probably made more women jealous than kids. In the published screenplay, there are several black-and-white stills from scenes that do not appear in the final cut. These include the "spider women" sequence and Agamemnon giving Kevin a knife (this is later used when Og takes it from Kevin's satchel to unlock their cage). Other deleted scenes included Kevin waking up at night to find his bedroom flooded with water, and a pirate ship sailing through his window, and the bandits trying to rob a bank in twenty-second century London. Gilliam stated at the 2011 Bradford Film Festival in the U.K., that he believes that all of the cut footage is lost. Gilliam first came up with the idea in 1979. He had wanted to do an entire movie from a kid's point of view. The only problem was he felt he needed to give the protagonist child a group of people of similar height to surround him, because a kid couldn't carry an entire movie. He combined those thoughts with the concept of committing crimes while time travelling, making it possible to get away with the thievery, because it had not happened yet. It took several weeks to train the horse to jump out of the closet. Evil Genius' apparatus on his head was influenced by H.R. Giger's work on Alien, which also featured Sir Ian Holm. Coincidentally, one of Evil Genius' lines is "And the day after tomorrow". Sir Ian Holm appeared in The Day After Tomorrow. The opening credits take the unique approach of listing the celebrity cameos first, in alphabetical order. Holm’s was forty-nine when he played twenty-six-year-old Napoleon Bonaparte. Only one set was built for the scenes on the Titanic. All the shots of the Titanic outside of this set were stock footage. Disney was initially considered to distribute this movie, before Avco Embassy picked it up. The bandits were written as dwarves, so that audiences would accept Kevin as their equal. Kenny Baker baker played R2-D2 in the Star Wars film and all of the other Bandits appeared in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi. Terry Gilliam was not happy at the inclusion of the 'Dream Away' song during the end credits as he wanted to make the film without including any music beyond the traditional film soundtrack score. However as George Harrison, who wrote and performed the song, was the films executive producer, he reminded Gilliam that without his help neither this film, nor the Monty Python film 'The Life of Brian' made two years earlier would have happened without his help. Gilliam was forced to concede and allowed one original song of Harrisons onto the soundtrack. Executive Producer Denis O'Brien was against the ending of Kevin's parents blowing up, and Gilliam had to fight to keep it in the movie. O'Brien was only convinced that the violent ending could stay, after an advance screening of the movie was held for an audience full of children. The first child who was asked what his favorite moment of the movie was, excitedly proclaimed, "The parents being blown up!"

New York Fed says it will reduce frequency of repo operations

NEW YORK, April 13 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on Monday it will reduce the frequency of its operations in the market for repurchase agreements, or repo, over the next month now that repo market conditions are more stable. The New York Fed said it will offer one overnight repo operation in the morning starting on May 4, dropping the afternoon repo offering. The frequency of three-month repo operations will be reduced to once every two weeks from once a week. One-month repo operations will continue to be offered once per week. The New York Fed said it will “continue to adjust repo operations as appropriate to ensure that the supply of reserves remains ample and to support the smooth functioning of short-term U.S. dollar funding markets,” the New York Fed said in a statement. (Reporting by Jonnelle Marte Editing by Chris Reese)

Frankfurt Zoo: Süßer Nachwuchs - Dieses Jungtier ist wirklich selten

Gefährdete Art: Im Zoo Frankfurt ist ein Kiwi-Küken geschlüpft. Ausgebrütet wurde es von Vorzeige-Vogel Kelsey. Zoo Frankfurt wegen des Coronavirus bis zum 10. April geschlossen wegen des bis zum 10. April geschlossen erfreuliche Nachrichten für alle Zoo-Fans gefährdetes Kiwi-Küken geschlüpft Frankfurt - Auch wenn der Zoo in Frankfurt wegen des Coronavirus bis zum 10. April geschlossen bleibt, müssen Fans nicht auf tierische Neuigkeiten verzichten. Auf seiner Facebook-Seite veröffentlichte der Zoo jetzt direkt mal schöne Nachrichten: Am 12. März nämlich ist im dortigen Kiwi-Zentrum ein Küken geschlüpft. Ausgebrütet hat es Kelsey, der "Vorzeigebrutmann" im Zoo. Zoo Frankfurt wegen Coronavirus geschlossen: Vogel-Nachwuchs geschlüpft Und er hat es mal wieder sehr gut gemacht, denn der Jungvogel ist bereits nach 69 Tagen geschlüpft. Das ist sehr schnell. Dabei ist Kelsey gar nicht der Vater des Kükens. Dessen Eltern Kaytee und Mahuru sind noch sehr unerfahren. Weil aber Nördliche Streifenkiwis zu den stark gefährdeten Arten gehören, wollte der Zoo kein Risiko eingehen und schob das Ei kurzerhand Pflegevater Kelsey unter. Mit Erfolg. Zoo Frankfurt wegen Coronavirus geschlossen: Gefährdete Art Die seltenen Kiwi-Vögel sind normalerweise in Neuseeland beheimatet. Sie sind auch auf dem Wappen des Landes zu sehen. Im Zoo Frankfurt leben die nachtaktiven Kiwi-Vögel „hinter den Kulissen“. Das liegt an mehreren Gründen. Exponate, Modelle und Filme erklären was den Vogel so besonders macht. Zoo Frankfurt wegen Coronavirus geschlossen: Immer wieder Neuzugänge In den letzten Wochen hat sich in Sachen Neuzugang im Frankfurter Zoo einiges getan. Erst vor kurzem zogen neue Bewohner in die Gehege des Zoos Frankfurt ein. Die bedrohten Antilopen konnten sich über ein Jungtier freuen, außerdem sind im ehemaligen Exotarium drei Stachelschweine eingezogen. Ende des Jahres 2019 zog im Zoo Frankfurt außerdem ein neues Gibbon-Männchen ein. Der sieben Jahre alte Affe Mohio ist direkt aus dem Zoo im schwedischen Eskilstuna nach Frankfurt gekommen. Zusammen mit der zwölf Jahre alten Elliott soll er nun dazu beitragen, die bedrohte Art der Weißwangen-Schopfgibbons zu erhalten. red & ebb Die Zoos in Hessen sind wegen des Coronavirus seit ein paar Wochen geschlossen. Das sorgt für finanzielle Einbußen, aber auch die Tiere spüren, dass etwas nicht stimmt.

Steve Irwin’s Niece Is Turning Heads With Scorching Hot Bikini Pics

Everyone who paid attention to pop culture during the 2000s knows who Steve Irwin is. Known by many simply as “The Crocodile Hunter,” Irwin became famous as a reality television star for his death-defying stunts with animals. However, he was loved for more than that.

That Time Vice Paid A “Hacker” $5,000 For A Fake Rob Ford Story

At a quarter past noon on November 5, 2013, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford casually admitted — after months of denying it — that, yes, he had smoked crack cocaine. This had most likely occurred, he quickly explained, in one his drunken stupors. Nearly three hours later, as reporters stood crushed against the glass wall of Ford’s office, tensely awaiting entry to what promised to be one hell of a press conference, Vice dropped a bombshell: “Rob Ford’s Office Hired a Hacker to Destroy the Crack Tape.” The story was bursting with jaw-dropping details concerning alleged efforts by Ford’s communications director, Amin Massoudi, to pay a “hacker” to break into a password-protected server in order to find and delete a video of the mayor smoking crack. Loaded with quotes from what it described as correspondence between Massoudi and the hacker, the report, by Vice Canada’s then-managing editor Patrick McGuire, offered an apparently unprecedented view into a political office scrambling to contain a crisis. “The closets are being emptied of skeletons all over it seems,” read one passage from an email attributed to Massoudi. “I’ve never seen the bros [Rob and councillor Doug Ford] this pissed off before.” A hush fell over the reporters gathered outside the mayor’s office. Everyone appeared to be skimming the story at once, another astonishing branch of the Ford saga seeming to sprout before our eyes. It was exactly as plausible as everything that had come before it and everything that would come after. Except that it was false. Just completely bogus. And Vice had paid $5,000 in cash for the privilege of running it. On August 11, 2016, some months after Ford passed away from cancer, the crack video finally became public. A criminal charge had just been withdrawn against an associate of his, and a publication ban no longer applied to the evidence. Late that night, a person who went by “Drunk Superman” on Twitter suddenly offered an admission. “I created a seemingly legit story & sold it for $5000 to a major news org…it got printed worldwide…but 100% of it was bullshit,” he tweeted. “I’m the ‘hacker,’” he said, offering a link to the Vice story. “I really just hacked the press.” Drunk Superman, with the handle @ManuvSteele, was a minor character in the Fordian Twittersphere, a playful troll sympathetic to the mayor. Within that realm, he wasn’t especially obscure. But his confession somehow escaped broader notice, even as he immediately stepped away from Twitter, letting those eight tweets linger at the top of his timeline for the next three and a half years. (They only came down a couple months ago.) I was a staff writer for NOW Magazine at the time, and reached out for an interview. To my surprise, Drunk Superman happily agreed, on the condition I not publish his real name. We decided I could call him “ManuvSteele,” and “Steele” on subsequent reference. A couple weeks later, we met on the patio at Ronnie’s, a quintessential hipster haunt in Kensington Market, where I bought him whatever IPA they had on tap. (They didn’t carry his first choice, Amsterdam Boneshaker.) He was a scruffy white guy in his early 30s, or maybe late 20s. The only words I scribbled down concerning his appearance were “Tupac hat.” Over the course of three hours, he told me everything: about pulling off the deception, how he came to profit from it, and why he now wanted to come clean. But there was a fundamental quandary: If he lied to media then, how could I know he wasn’t lying now? Why, I asked him, should I trust this wasn’t just another con, within a con, like in a David Mamet movie? “I’m not asking for any money,” he said. “I’m asking for a couple pints, maybe.” And also, he said he felt guilty. But not with respect to Vice, or to McGuire, the reporter he duped. Rather, Steele felt bad for the staff in the mayor’s office. “I want to clear everyone’s name out of this, because I faked the whole fucking thing,” he said. “But there was never a proper time for me to actually disclose it.” The story had falsely implicated Massoudi and former chief of staff Mark Towhey in the supposed (and likely illegal) hacking scheme. It also included a suggestion that Massoudi himself had been looking to acquire drugs (“a ball”). Neither Massoudi nor Towhey responded to Vice’s requests for comment prior to publication, but both later put out statements strongly denying the story’s claims. “Allegations made about me in Vice are patently false in their entirety,” Towhey tweeted. “I am completely unaware of any facts that support their story.” Allegations made about me in Vice are patently false in their entirety. I am completely unaware of any facts that support their story. — Mark Towhey (@towhey) November 6, 2013 “The entirety of the story is false, and everything referenced therein has been fabricated,” read part of a three-paragraph missive Massoudi sent to Vice and at least two outlets that were looking to report on its claims. “It is telling that the story neither quotes any named sources nor provides any independent corroboration of the alleged hacker’s information. The story does not meet even the most basic of journalistic standards.” The denials were forceful but not altogether out of character for the staff of an office that routinely dismissed genuinely accurate media reporting in similar terms. Massoudi, now principal secretary to Ontario Premier Doug Ford (and who had been Doug’s executive assistant at City Hall when the supposed communications with the “hacker” began), did not respond to my requests for comment. And Towhey, who later wrote a book about his time in the mayor’s office and recently left a job as editor-in-chief of Sun News, tells me that he has “no particular interest in revisiting this old, false story.” But as for why he didn’t respond when Vice first reached out for comment, Towhey offers: “It’s hard to win an argument with a liar.” Steele fully acknowledges he lied. “Yeah, 100%, I did lie to Vice about it,” he told me. At first, I was deeply wary. But over time, my doubts about his meta-story have been gradually resolved. I’ve spoken to a number of people who’ve independently corroborated key elements of his account, including that Vice paid him $5,000 in cash. He also showed me evidence in person, such as messages within the Twitter app on his phone, that — while not impossible to falsify — would be much more difficult to manufacture than the bits and pieces he gave Vice. And Vice had already quietly appended an update to their story, five months after its original publication, stating that a forensic investigation by the City of Toronto disproved the veracity of one particular email that had ostensibly been sent from Massoudi’s official City Hall account. I never got around to writing about any of this in 2016; it wasn’t especially timely, and I had others things to deal with. But with Canadaland’s recently-wrapped Cool Mules series offering a longform look at how Vice’s culture and attitude left it vulnerable to exploitation, I’ve found an excuse to tie up some loose ends. “I’m not a fuckin’ hacker” “They’re supposed to be like the standard in journalism, especially now, like they’re one of the best investigative reporting bureaus in the world,” Steele told me in 2016. “They’re the ones who had gone to North Korea and they’d gone to all these weapons markets and done their research there.” He seemed to have held Vice in genuinely high regard, and was almost dismayed by the ease with which he was able to put one over on them. “I think they were more unethical than I was, because they didn’t do the proper research. They were willing to pay for a story that could be verified as fake.” ManuvSteele considers himself a libertarian but not a “hardcore” one. Asked in 2016 if he considered himself a Ford supporter, he said, “I like a lot of his policies. I like shit disturbers. I am one myself.” The germ of the hacker story began in June 2013, in shit-talking Twitter DMs with an acquaintance. In an act of pure chest-puffing, Steele took to claiming he had some sort of inside track on the Ford tape. While Gawker’s effort to crowdsource $200,000 towards its purchase had been successful, the outlet’s source was now telling them it was “gone.” A defining characteristic of this period in Toronto history is that it felt like any given thing could possibly be true and any given event might conceivably unfold; like a first-time viewing of 2001: A Space Odyssey, the saga seemed to have no limits as to what might happen next. Steele found himself in the Financial District, where an intermediary handed him two envelopes, each containing 25 $100 bills In that context, the idea that a random Twitter bruiser might have access to a website hosting the video, if only he could crack the password, would hardly have been out of the question. And so the conversation in Steele’s DMs gradually turned toward getting a piece of the cash. He reached out to Gawker, stringing them along, off and on, for months. He claimed Ford’s office recruited him to find the video because they’d been impressed by his discovery, during the 2010 municipal election, that an unflattering edit to Ford’s Wikipedia page had come from an IP address traceable to the parent company of the Toronto Star. Gawker, however, was only interested in paying for the video itself; the encrypted, unwatchable RAR file Steele claimed to have found on the server didn’t exactly warrant a bounty. But both in 2016 and in more recent communications with me, Steele has been firm in his assertion that his interest in the money was secondary. Frustrated by what he saw as the media’s reliance on unnamed (or as he put it, “anonymous or unknown”) sources in reports on the mayor, he wanted to see if he could plant a fake story and pull the rug out after. The cash, he said, “was just the cherry on top.” While things stalled with Gawker, Steele’s Twitter acquaintance — who remained under the impression that he was telling the truth — suggested they approach Vice, where he knew the managing editor, McGuire. The pitch would be: all of the information, including server login info and encrypted video files, for $5,000. As a matter of principle, news organizations generally refuse to pay for information, specifically because it creates a market for false information. They will, however, sometimes pay for photos and videos. (The Star later shelled out $5,000 for the Rob Ford “Hulk Hogan” video, and the Globe put down $10,000 for images from the second crack tape.) What exactly Vice agreed to buy isn’t clear. Steele says that all of his direct communications with the outlet were through a long-gone Hushmail account, as well as some phone calls he conducted from an anonymized number. He also maintains that they never knew his real identity. “I just wanted to see if I could plant something,” he said. “And then all of a sudden, I’m being offered money for it. So I actually took some time to set it up properly, because I know Vice is really well-known for their investigative reporting.” Doing it “properly” mostly involved creating some Yahoo accounts to forge correspondence between himself and Massoudi. “I just put it together as much as I could,” he said. “Sat there for like three to four hours in total, typing emails back and forth to myself.” Because he couldn’t easily backdate all the emails — just the ones threaded in replies — he made sure the messages made reference to specific recent events, and then took screenshots with the email headers conveniently out of frame. He also set up a free server at goonies.bugs3.com, its name a reference to the Dixon Goonies gang that had just been raided by police and whose members were rumoured to be in possession of the video. He loaded to the server a pair of hefty files — his friend’s skateboard videos, impenetrably encrypted. “I’m not a hacker, I’m not, like, an IT whiz or anything like that,” he told me. “But it was basically anything anyone with a little bit of computer knowledge could have really done, if they had the ambition to.” Steele soon found himself at a square in the Financial District, where an intermediary handed him two envelopes, each containing 25 $100 bills. He went straight to the Eaton Centre, he told me, and put a deposit on the forthcoming PS4. Vice didn’t end up running the story that summer. The absence of the email headers proved a sticking point for McGuire’s superiors in New York, and Steele’s excuse (that he had shut down the account before he approached Vice) left something to be desired. “The unnamed source claims to have deleted the very evidence he or she is now trying to pawn over the Internet,” Massoudi noted in his public statement. “Any alleged evidence is clearly fabricated.” But when, on Halloween, Toronto’s police chief confirmed his force had recovered the video — reconstructed from a deleted file on a computer seized in the raid of the Dixon gang — Vice apparently considered its qualms to have been sufficiently addressed. “VICE exhaustively compared the emails allegedly from Massoudi with public notes and comments Massoudi left on his Facebook profile,” McGuire wrote in the story. “Both were rife with grammatical errors, poor spelling, and had a similar tendency to overuse elipses [sic].” Vice had also tried to confirm the authenticity of the one message supposedly sent from Massoudi’s official City email account, but discovered it was outside the scope of access-to-information laws. That confirmation, the story said, “is the only thing that would prove the transcript’s legitimacy beyond a shadow of a doubt. (VICE believes the transcript to be real.)” They published a few hours after Ford admitted to smoking crack. Soon, @ManuvSteele was dining out on Twitter, strongly hinting he’d been the story’s source. Among the nuggets he shared was an image that could conceivably have been a still from the crack video but was in fact an old, accidental photo of his thumb. Rather than pulling the rug out, Steele was doubling down. There was, after all, no longer any doubt that Ford had smoked crack and that police possessed a gang-connected video of him doing so. The reveal, he reasoned, wouldn’t have quite the same punch. When a reporter from one of the national networks reached out, Steele saw a chance to repeat the grift, asking for $10,000 for material he hadn’t shared with Vice, including, he implied, the video itself. The network agreed, booked a room at a Howard Johnson, and prepared to shoot an interview with him in silhouette. But when it became evident that the only videos Steele could show them depicted his friends skateboarding, the news team packed up their cameras, took their money, and left. Gawker followed up around the same time. “We spent like a grand on supercomputer processing time, trying to crack the password on an encrypted file he said he got off some skating web site, in the hopes it was the tape,” John Cook, the site’s editor at the time, and the first person to report on the crack video, tells me in a message. “Never went with his story because I had no reason to trust him, but the idea that we had an encrypted version of the video was too much to not try something…” Run This Town, the recent film featuring Damian Lewis as a freakishly plasticized facsimile of Ford, is not a good movie. It displays little sincere interest in, or curiosity about, politics or journalism, instead treating the Ford saga as a convenient vehicle to explore tenuously connected themes of millennial dissatisfaction. I regret to inform you that this is an official promotional still from the Damian Lewis–as–Rob Ford movie: pic.twitter.com/8lCg82nDwd — Jonathan Goldsbie (@goldsbie) February 28, 2020 But there is one thing it gets almost right, possibly by accident. (Spoilers.) The film’s protagonist is a young journalist named Bram Shriver, who one day lucks into a tip about a video of Ford smoking crack. Far from being a male incarnation of Robyn Doolittle, the actual newspaper reporter who got the real-life tip, Shriver is just barely competent. He wants so badly to play investigative reporter, to have a scoop, to contribute breaking news to the Rob Ford civic universe, that he lets himself be driven by confirmation bias and ego. Eventually, he persuades his editor to hand him $10,000 in cash to purchase the video from the seller. When Shriver returns to his office with a thumb drive, he discovers the video on it will not in fact play. (The movie is fuzzy on whether he’s been conned or the file is simply corrupted.) The film concludes with him scooped, humiliated, and fired. “Everyone was just so hungry for any little story that it was like, ‘Okay, I’m giving you the information. You guys could check it out. But no, you guys are so hungry for any information, to be the first ones to get the new exclusive,’” Steele said. Patrick McGuire, who reported the story, was later promoted to overseeing all content produced by Vice in Canada, including for its Viceland TV channel. He’s now Red Bull’s global head of music, based in London, UK. He didn’t respond to my requests for comment. Vice, meanwhile, acknowledged, but did not respond to my questions. I wanted to know about any policies they had around paying for information (and how those may have evolved over time), and any steps they might take in light of the news that their source had admitted to a hoax. “I could probably go and do this again with someone else,” Steele boasted to me in 2016. “It wasn’t that hard, and I’m no hacker. “I mean, I’m not a fuckin’ hacker. I just know a little bit more than the average squirrel.” As of this moment, the piece remains on Vice’s website, unmodified since the one small update in 2014.

Arizona Hospitals Open On-Site Grocery Stores For Employees

Health care workers in the Valley will have easier access to food and supplies as three hospitals have converted their on-site cafeterias into grocery stores for employees. St. Joseph’s Hospital, Chandler Regional and Mercy Gilbert Medical Center are all part of the new plan to assist employees, some of whom work 12 hours or more in a shift. The hospitals are working with local vendors to provide items that have become hard to find. Derek Daniels is the director of food and nutrition at St. Joseph’s, whose store is open from 6:30 in the morning until 11:45 at night. He worked with two other Dignity Health administrators on the plan. “In the midst of this crisis for a health care provider, that's what it's all about," Daniels said. "It is demonstrating the organization's commitment to the staff itself, who is on the frontline, and helping them fulfill their basic needs.” The stores will have fresh produce, packaged meals and home supplies. Daniels says the plan will continue throughout the pandemic. → Read The Latest News On The Coronavirus Disease

About Last Friday.

We’re sorry for not delivering an awesome customer experience. Unfortunately, we got hit with coordinated bot attacks on FiGPiN.COM during the ECCC Exclusive + AF Bundle public sale. The software that we had in place to fight these bot orders misidentified many legitimate orders as bot orders and auto cancelled them - that was NOT part of our plan. We were inundated with tickets, emails, DM’s and even phone calls from fans who were upset, freaked out, confused and just unsure as to what had happened. We are going to fix this. If you have any kind of issue with your order - please contact us at support@figpin.com. If you’ve already contacted us, please don’t send in additional requests, we have a small team working non stop - every single support request will be answered and addressed. We are looking at every single order that was cancelled on a case by case basis to determine how to correct it. If your order was cancelled, you will absolutely get a refund. The system just takes a few days to complete the transaction. We have people who did use bots contacting us and telling us that they were legit orders! That’s not helpful at all, it’s not awesome in any way. We are also getting some nasty emails. Our team doesn’t deserve that - especially these days when everyone is under extra stress. If you choose to use abusive language with our team, then you will go back to the back of the line, period. For people concerned with unlocks in the App on their AF Bundles or ECCC FiGPiNS - all this merchandise will ship out at the same time, so don’t worry about how long it will take to get your support ticket resolved - you will all have a fighting chance at 1st to Unlock! :-) On a more positive note, we have a drop happening tomorrow of a very special FiGPiN. We will do our absolute best to give everyone a fair shot at buying what they want. We cannot promise perfection, but we can tell you that we are working very hard to make it as smooth as possible for our fans. Our mission as founders is, and will always be, to make the absolute best product imaginable. We want the experience of collecting FiGPiNS to match the quality of the product itself. Amado Co-Founder

New order requires Ohio nursing homes to notify families of COVID-19 cases

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WJW)– Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced a new state order on Monday that requires long-term care facilities to notify residents and families within 24 hours of a resident or staff member being infected with COVID-19. Previously, the Ohio Department of Health strongly encouraged facilities to notify families, but now it is required. The health department will be providing a list on its website where a person has tested positive. “It’s not the fault of nursing homes. Most nursing homes are doing an outstanding job,” said Dr. Amy Acton, director of the Ohio Department of Health. The Cuyahoga County Board of Health investigated a cluster at ManorCare Health Services in Parma. Main Street Care Center in Avon Lake had 17 confirmed cases and five residents died from COVID-19 at Glendora Health Care Center in Wooster. In March, the governor barred visitors from nursing homes, except in end-of-life situations, to stop the spread of the virus.

‎YepNoteS: Simple notes & lists

Fair Go Freddy , I’m always on the lookout for a decent new note taking app. Initially on inspection this offering piqued my interest. However there are two concerns for me here ... 1. The swiping needed to perform everything is constant, annoying and on many occasions, ineffectual. ... 2. There is mention on the actual App Store product page that the app is ‘free for one month’. This eludes to the product being subscription based. This subscription based model of marketing is a Non- sustainable and aggressive marketing practice and hopefully it is banned from the App Store in the near future. Having said all that the product GUI is pretty, very pleasing and is a fresh new style of taking notes. If all the swiping was replaced by a more effective control method like the ‘tapping’ of an area which is a technique of which we are use to, and the subscription service or any mention of it were removed l would gladly pay 5 or 10 bucks as a ‘one off’ payment to use this visually gratifying and promising idea. 2 stars removed for the 2 concerns.

Stream RETURN OF THE KILLER TOMATOES (1988) free! - CineMania Streaming

Return of the Killer Tomatoes! is a 1988 American parody film directed by John De Bello. The first sequel to the 1978 film Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, the film stars Anthony Starke, Karen Mistal, and John Astin, as well as George Clooney in an early role. The film has developed a cult following. In the film, c razy old Professor Gangreen has developed a way to make tomatoes look human for a second invasion. Director: John De Bello Writers: Stephen Andrich (as Stephen F. Andrich), John De Bello Stars: Anthony Starke, George Clooney, Karen M. Waldron

Carjacking, Attempted Murder Suspect Killed In South City Police Shooting

DALY CITY (CBS SF) — A suspect who allegedly stabbed two men, including an off-duty San Francisco police officer, as he attempted to carjack a vehicle at a South San Francisco gas station early Sunday was killed after a wild pursuit in a stolen police car ended in a fatal officer-involved shooting, authorities said. South San Francisco police said the incident began around 5:30 a.m. at Chevron station at 110 Hickey Blvd. Investigators have since determined the suspect had attempted to carjack vehicles from two different victims, stabbing one of his victims with a knife at the station. An off-duty police officer from the San Francisco police department, who witnessed the attack, attempted to intervene and was also stabbed. The off-duty officer, who was armed, shot the suspect in self-defense. Chevron station crime scene Arriving South San Francisco officers attempted to take the suspect into custody but he continued to fight despite being wounded. Attempts to apprehend him using Tasers were unsuccessful and the suspect was able to gain access to one of the responding officer’s patrol cars and flee the scene. A pursuit ensued and the suspect was chased to the Kaiser Permanente medical facility on Hickey Boulevard in Daly City, where he attempted to drive through the gates into the parking garage. Authorities said the suspect then rammed a pursuing police vehicle before exiting the stolen vehicle. He confronted officers with a knife and refused to comply with multiple commands to surrender. The officers were forced to shoot the suspect and he was declared dead at the scene. Both the victim of the carjacking and the off-duty San Francisco officer were transported to local hospitals for treatment of their injuries and are expected to recover. No South San Francisco police officers were injured during the incident. The South San Francisco and Daly City police departments and the San Mateo County district attorney’s office are investigating the incident. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the South San Francisco police department at (650) 877-8900 or the anonymous TIP line at (650) 952-2244.

No. 202.15: Continuing Temporary Suspension and Modification of Laws Relating to the Disaster Emergency

No. 202.15 E X E C U T I V E O R D E R Continuing Temporary Suspension and Modification of Laws Relating to the Disaster Emergency WHEREAS, on March 7, 2020, I issued Executive Order Number 202, declaring a State disaster emergency for the entire State of New York; and WHEREAS, both travel-related cases and community contact transmission of COVID-19 have been documented in New York State and are expected to be continue; NOW, THEREFORE, I, Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 29-a of Article 2-B of the Executive Law to temporarily suspend or modify any statute, local law, ordinance, order, rule, or regulation, or parts thereof, of any agency during a State disaster emergency, if compliance with such statute, local law, ordinance, order, rule, or regulation would prevent, hinder, or delay action necessary to cope with the disaster emergency or if necessary to assist or aid in coping with such disaster, I hereby temporarily suspend or modify, for the period from the date of this Executive Order through May 9, 2020 the following: Paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 5-6.12 of Title 10 of the NYCRR, governing bottled or bulk water products sold or distributed in New York, to allow bottled and bulk water product facilities currently certified in in New York to temporarily, if their stock of regularly used labels has been depleted, distribute bottled or bulk water products without an assigned New York State Department of Health certificate number shown on the product label and use labels authorized in any other state. Once labels showing the assigned certificate number have been obtained, their use must be resumed; Section 6808 of the Education Law and any regulations promulgated thereunder, to the extent necessary to permit a manufacturer, repacker, or wholesaler of prescription drugs or devices, physically located outside of New York and not registered in New York, but licensed and/or registered in any other state, may deliver into New York, prescription drugs or devices; Section 6808 of the Education Law, Article 137 of the NYCRR to the extent necessary to allow that a New York-licensed pharmacy may receive drugs and medical supplies or devices from an unlicensed pharmacy, wholesaler, or third-party logistics provider located in another state to alleviate a temporary shortage of a drug or device that could result in the denial of health care under the following conditions: The unlicensed location is appropriately licensed in its home state, and documentation of the license verification can be maintained by the New York pharmacy. The pharmacy maintains documentation of the temporary shortage of any drug or device received from any pharmacy, wholesaler, or third-party logistics provider not licensed in New York. The pharmacy complies with all record-keeping requirements for each drug and device received from any pharmacy, wholesaler, or third-party logistics provider not licensed in New York. All documentation and records required above shall be maintained and readily retrievable for three years following the end of the declared emergency. The drug or device was produced by an authorized FDA registered drug manufacturer; Sections 6512 through 6516, and 6524 of the Education Law and Part 60 of Title 8 of the NYCRR, to the extent necessary to allow individuals, who graduated from registered or accredited medical programs located in New York State in 2020, to practice medicine in New York State, without the need to obtain a license and without civil or criminal penalty related to lack of licensure, provided that the practice of medicine by such graduates shall in all cases be supervised by a physician licensed and registered to practice medicine in the State of New York; Subparagraphs (ii) and (iii) of paragraph (b) and paragraph (c) of subdivision (4) of section 2801-a of the Public Health Law, and subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (c) of subdivision (1) and paragraph (c) of subdivision (2) of section 3611-a of the Public Health Law, to the extent necessary to limit the Department of Health’s review functions to essential matters during the pendency of the COVID-19 health crisis, and to toll any statutory time limits for transfer notices pertaining to operators of Article 28 and Article 36 licensed entities for the duration of this declaration of disaster emergency, and any subsequent continuation thereof; Sections 43 and 45 of the Religious Corporations Law to the extent necessary to allow Protestant Episcopal parishes to postpone any annual election and notice to the parish of such election during the state disaster emergency absent formal resolution and ratification by meeting; Environmental Conservation Law Articles 3, 8, 9, 13, 15, 17, 19, 23, 24, 25, 27, 33, 34, 35, 37, and 75, and 6 NYCRR Parts 552 , 550, 601, and 609 to the extent necessary to suspend the requirement that public hearings are required, provided that public comments shall still be accepted either electronically or by mail, to satisfy public participation requirements; State Administrative Procedures Act Section 202(2)(a) to the extent necessary to extend the expiration date of notices of proposed rulemakings until 90 calendar days after this Executive Order, as it may be continued, terminates; Environmental Conservation Law Article 70, as implemented by 6 NYCRR Parts 621 and 624, and Environmental Conservation Law Article 17, as implemented by 6 NYCRR Parts 704 and 750 for processing permit applications, to the extent necessary to suspend public hearings provided that public comments may be accepted as written submissions, either electronically or by mail, or that any required appearances may be done so by teleconferencing or other electronic means; 6 NYCRR Part 375 and Environmental Conservation Law Article 27 to the extent necessary to suspend for the duration of this Executive Order public meetings prior to a selection of a final remedy at inactive hazardous waste disposal sites and public meetings at certain brownfield cleanup program sites, provided that written comments on proposed remedies may be continue to be submitted and will be evaluated in remedial decision; Section 3635 of the Education law, to the extent necessary to delay the April 1 requirement that parents must file transportation requests with their school district in order to obtain transportation for their children for the following school year; Sections 6512 through 6516 and 8510 of the Education Law and 8 NYCRR Subpart 79-4 to the extent necessary to allow respiratory therapy technicians licensed and in current good standing in any state in the United States to practice in New York State without civil or criminal penalty related to lack of licensure; Sections 6512 through 6516, 8402, 8403, 8404, 8405 of the Education Law and 8 NYCRR Sub Parts 79-9, 79-10, 79-11 and 79-12 to the extent necessary to allow mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, creative arts therapists and psychanalysts licensed and in current good standing in any state in the United States to practice in New York State without civil or criminal penalty related to lack of licensure; Sections 3400, 3420 through 3423, and 3450 through 3457 of the Public Health Law, to the extent necessary to permit funeral directors licensed and in good standing in any state or territory of the United States to practice as a funeral director in New York State upon the approval of, and pursuant to such conditions as may be imposed by, the Commissioner of Health, without civil or criminal penalty related to lack of licensure in New York State, provided that such funeral director shall practice under the supervision of a funeral director licensed and registered in New York State; Section 3428 of the Public Health Law to the extent necessary to permit a funeral director licensed in New York State, but not registered in New York State, to practice in New York State upon the approval of, and pursuant to such conditions as may be imposed by, the Commissioner of Health, without civil or criminal penalty related to lack of registration in New York State, provided that such funeral director shall practice under the supervision of a funeral director licensed and registered in New York State; Section 1517 of the Not for Profit Corporation Law, Sections 203.3, 203.6 and 203.13 of Title 19 of the NYCRR and Section 77.7(a)(1) of Title 10 of the NYCRR, to the extent necessary to allow persons deputized by the Commissioner of Health to be agents authorized by a funeral director or undertaker to be present and personally supervise and arrange for removal or transfer of each dead human body; Section 1517 of the Not for Profit Corporation Law, Sections 203.3, 203.6 and 203.13 of Title 19 of the NYCRR and Section 77.7(a)(4) of Title 10 of the NYCRR, to the extent necessary to allow persons deputized by the Commissioner of Health to be agents authorized by a funeral director or undertaker, or a county coroner, coroner physician and/or medical director for those deceased human bodies within their supervision, to personally supervise and arrange the delivery of a deceased person to the cemetery, crematory or a common carrier, with a copy of the filed death certificate; Sections 4140 and 4144 of the Public Health Law, Sections 1502, 1517 of the Not for Profit Corporation Law and Sections 203.1, 203.4, 203.8 and 203.13 of Title 19 of the NYCRR and Section 13.1 of Title 10 of the NYCRR, to the extent necessary to permit the State Registrar to register death certificates and issue burial and removal permits, upon the request of a local registrar and upon approval of the Commissioner of Health; IN ADDITION, by virtue of the authority vested in me by Section 29-a of Article 2-B of the Executive Law to issue any directive during a disaster emergency necessary to cope with the disaster, I hereby issue the following directives for the period from the date of this Executive Order through May 9, 2020: Any local official, state official or local government or school, which, by virtue of any law has a public hearing scheduled or otherwise required to take place in April or May of 2020 shall be postponed, until June 1, 2020, without prejudice, however such hearing may continue if the convening public body or official is able to hold the public hearing remotely, through use of telephone conference, video conference, and/or other similar service. For the period from the date of this Executive Order through May 9, 2020, the Department of Taxation and Finance is authorized to accept digital signatures in lieu of handwritten signatures on documents related to the determination or collection of tax liability. The Commissioner of Taxation and Finance shall determine which documents this directive shall apply to and shall further define the requirements for accepted digital signatures. Section 8-400 of the Election Law is temporarily suspended and hereby modified to provide that due to the prevalence and community spread of COVID-19, an absentee ballot can be granted based on temporary illness and shall include the potential for contraction of the COVID-19 virus for any election held on or before June 23, 2020. Solely for any election held on or before June 23, 2020, Section 8-400 of the Election Law is hereby modified to allow for electronic application, with no requirement for in-person signature or appearance to be able to access an absentee ballot. G I V E N under my hand and the Privy Seal of the State in the City of Albany this ninth day of April in the year two thousand twenty. BY THE GOVERNOR Secretary to the Governor

Buch ve motivaciones políticas en el envío de 1,714 millones de mascarillas a Cataluña

El consejero del Interior de la Generalitat, Miquel Buch, ha acusado este lunes al Gobierno central de “jugar con la historia de los catalanes” al enviar 1.714.000 mascarillas para ser repartidas entre las personas que mañana martes vuelven al trabajo tras relajarse el confinamiento por la Covid-19. Para el consejero, que el número de unidades coincida con el año del asedio de Barcelona por parte de las tropas borbónicas es hacer referencia “a una cifra nefasta”. Pese a la coincidencia, desde la Delegación del Gobierno niegan cualquier mensaje oculto. Una portavoz del ministerio de Sanidad ha explicado que la cifra responde a cálculos poblacionales y epidemiológicos, si bien no se ha explicado exactamente la fórmula utilizada. “Quiero enviar un mensaje al Gobierno de España. Así no. Si a alguien se le ocurre que la próxima cifra de mascarillas, pruebas o lo que sea tenga que ver con el 1939 [fin de la Guerra Civil e inicio de la dictadura franquista], no se lo permitiremos. No se puede jugar con la historia de los catalanes”, ha dicho Buch en la rueda de prensa diaria del Ejecutivo catalán para informar de la lucha contra la pandemia. El consejero, que deliberadamente usa el castellano para referirse al Gobierno central en lugar de seguir las recomendaciones de la Política Lingüística de la Generalitat, ha recordado que “en política sabe que las casualidades no existen" y ha insinuado que se busca comparar la emergencia actual con la invasión borbónica, justo “en un proceso que se está llevando por delante a muchas personas a las que no les hemos podido ni decir adiós”. L'última cosa que necessita una emergència sanitària és que hi hagi fanàtics entre els responsables públics que l’han de gestionar. Els catalans i catalanes no ens mereixem passar aquesta vergonya aliena. Cal una rectificació del Govern.pic.twitter.com/SfSxfK2csv — Ada Colau (@AdaColau) April 13, 2020 Desde la noche del pasado domingo ya algunos consejeros y altos cargos del Govern criticaron el número de mascarillas enviadas, después de que trascendiera la nota de prensa del Gobierno central en la que se informaba del número de mascarillas. “No tienen ningún respeto por Cataluña”, tuiteó el consejero de Políticas Digitales, Jordi Puigneró. A las críticas se ha sumado este martes el expresidente de la Generalitat y huido de la justicia española, Carles Puigdemont. “Quien decidió enviarnos exactamente 1.714.000 mascarillas sabía que jugaba con una cifra que para los catalanes es sensible e importante”, ha dicho en esa misma red social, dando así por buenas las dudas de Buch. De acuerdo con esa nota, Barcelona recibe 1.264.000 de protectores faciales; Tarragona, 180.000; Girona, 172.000 y Lleida, 98.000. La suma es de 1.714.000 mascarillas, del total de 10 millones que adquirió el Gobierno y con las que busca evitar el contagio entre los trabajadores que esta semana vuelven al trabajo tras levantarse algunas restricciones del confinamiento y que tienen que utilizar el transporte público. En vídeo, el Gobierno desmiente que la cifra de mascarillas repartidas en Cataluña tenga que ver con la entrada del ejército de Felipe V en Barcelona. (VÍDEO: ATLAS) Entre el 10 de marzo y el pasado 9 de abril, Cataluña ha recibido un total de 7,3 millones de mascarillas para los servicios sanitarios por parte del ministerio de Sanidad, dentro del polémico programa de compras centralizadas que se puso en marcha una vez se decretó el estado de alarma. Se trata del 18,9% del total, muy por encima de lo que reciben zonas más pobladas pero con menos incidencia del coronavirus, como Andalucía (9% del total). Desde la Delegación del Gobierno en Cataluña niegan mala fe. En la nota original del ministerio de Sanidad, de hecho, el desglose de las piezas se hacía por provincia, no por comunidad autónoma. Una portavoz de Sanidad ha explicado que “el criterio que se aplica es por número de habitantes y necesidades epidemiológicas”, sin especificar las fórmulas. Si se compara el número de habitantes con las mascarillas entregadas por comunidad autónoma, el promedio ronda el 20%. La ministra de Política Territorial y Función Pública, Carolina Darias, se ha referido a la polémica y ha pedido que antes de buscar responsables entre las distintas Administraciones se tejan “complicidades” y ha añadido que las afirmaciones de Buch “no conducen a nada”. Hace seis años, la Generalitat conmemoró por todo lo alto el tricentenario de la caída de Barcelona ante las tropas de Felipe V, con una gran agenda de actos y debates en los que se ponía en énfasis en la “pérdida de libertad de los catalanes”. Críticas de ERC y Colau Las palabras de Buch han sido censuradas tanto desde las filas de Esquerra Republicana como de los comunes. En Twitter, la alcaldesa de Barcelona, Ada Colau, ha pedido al consejero que rectifique. “La última cosa que necesita una emergencia sanitaria es que haya fanáticos entre los responsables políticos que la tienen que gestionar”. La líder de los comunes ha calificado de “vergüenza ajena” el episodio. El diputado Gabriel Rufián, por su parte, ha tirado de la ironía para cargar contra Buch. También a través de Twitter, el jefe de filas de los republicanos en Madrid ha publicado un vídeo con las declaraciones del titular de Interior y ha escrito: “No, no es Polònia”, en referencia al programa de sátira política de TV3. La jefa de la oposición en Cataluña, Lorena Roldán (Ciudadanos), también ha salido a criticar al Govern. “1.714.000 oportunidades para frenar el contagio. 1.714.000 personas protegidas. Eso es lo que yo veo. Otros, sin embargo, no ven más allá de su sectarismo y su obsesión”, ha escrito en sus redes sociales.

Powder Mage, 5e Fighter Archetype

In place of a firearm, you can also fire a bullet from your hand without the use of a weapon, but you make the attack roll with disadvantage. You are considered proficient when making these attacks and you use the properties of an improvised weapon. At 18th level, your reflexes allow you to get the draw before anyone else. When you roll for initiative, and are not surprised, you can use your reaction to immediately draw a firearm and take the Attack action. You can only target creatures inside of your powder trance and you can not activate your powder tricks on these attacks. Powder Tricks To use your powder tricks, the target must be within range of your powder trance, otherwise nothing happens when you expend a marked point. Powder tricks only work if you use a firearm and expend a marked point. Arcing Shot. On a miss attack roll, you can burn an extra shot of black powder and adjust the bullet while within your powder trance range. Your attack now ignores half and three quarters cover and, unless the target has natural armor or magical armor, like from a spell or magic item, their armor class is 10 plus their Dexterity bonus. You do not switch targets when using this trick and you must use your original attack roll to determine if the attack hits. Blast Back. When you hit a creature with an attack, you can blast them back with an extra shot of black powder. The creature must make a Strength saving throw, on a failed save they are pushed back 15 feet and take additional damage equal to your Wisdom modifier. At 18th level, they take additional damage equal to two times your Wisdom modifier. Detect the Else. As an action, you can consume a shot of black powder and cast the detect magic spell. This effect lasts for 1 minute and doesn't require concentration. Disarming Shot. When you see another creature about to use a firarm or similar object that uses black powder, like a grenade or cannon, you can use your reaction to cause the powder to not go off or for it to misfire. If you cause the powder to misfire, the wielder must make a Dexterity saving throw or take 2d6 plus half your fighter level in fire damage as it explodes in their hand. On a successful save they take half damage. This does not destroy a firearm or similar object, but does destroy single-use explosives like grenades. Exploding Shot. When you hit a creature with an attack, you can expend an additional shot of black powder and have it slam with greater force. The creature must make a Constitution saving throw and you roll double your weapon's normal damage. On a failed save, they take the full damage. On a successful save, they only take half damage. Flashbang. When you take the Attack action, you can forgo one of your attacks and instead expend a shot of black powder and disorient a target. They must make a Constitution saving throw or they are blinded or deafened (your choice) for 1 minute. They can repeat the saving throw at the end of their turn, ending the effect on a success. Line 'em Up. When you hit a creature with an attack, you can expend another shot of black powder to attempt to damage another creature with the same attack. Choose another creature directly in line of the original target and you. If the original attack roll would hit the second creature, it takes half as much damage as the original attack. You can continue making this attack for each creature behind the original target so long as they are in a straight line, each taking half of the initial damage. You can target a number of creatures up to your Wisdom modifier and this trick ends early if your original attack roll would miss, there are no more targets inside of your powder trance or in line. Powder High. When you take the Attack action, you can forgo one of your attacks and instead consume a shot of black powder. This gives you temporary hit points equal to half your fighter level + Wisdom modifier. Precision. When you make an attack roll against a creature, you can add half your fighter level to the attack roll. You can use this trick before or after making the attack roll, but before any effects of the attack are applied. Rapid Fire. When you take the Attack action, you can make an additional attack. All of your attacks for this turn have disadvantage. At 10th level, you can make two additional attacks and at 18th level you can make three additional attacks. Your Attack action ends early if you must reload your weapon and you forgo any additional attacks. Scatter Shot. As an action, you throw a number of bullets equal to your fighter level into the air and expend enough black powder to shoot the bullets forward from you in a 30-foot cone. All creatures with in that cone must make a Dexterity saving throw or take damage equal to 2d6 + your fighter level. On a successful save, they take half damage. At 18th level, the damage increases to 4d6 + your fighter level. Shell Shocked. When you hit a creature with an attack, you can expend an additional shot of black powder to create a louder shot and frighten your target. You add your Wisdom modifier to the attack's damage roll, and the target must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, it is frightened of you until the end of your next turn. At 18th level, they take additional damage equal to two times your Wisdom modifier. Shoot From the Hip. When you take the Attack action, you do not suffer disadvantage on attack rolls made this turn against a creature within 5 feet of you. They Shot First. As a reaction when a target you see makes an attack roll against you, you can make your own attack roll so long as they are within range of your weapon. If your attack roll is higher, the opponent's attack only deals half damage to you if their attack roll hits. In addition, if your attack roll would hit the target, they take damage equal to your Wisdom modifier. At 18th level, they take damage equal to two times your Wisdom modifier. Two Bullets. When you make an attack roll, you can make an additional attack roll against another creature within 30 feet of your target. You make this additional attack roll with disadvantage and on a hit you deal the same amount of damage as you did to the original target creature. This consumes two bullets and two shots of black powder.

Something To Do On the Way To the Grave: Fisher's "Depressive Hedonia" and Getting Some Hobbies (Fisher's Ghosts, part 2) — Broken Hands Media

Obviously, these things require effort. These things frequently require financial outlay. God knows, I have spent kind of a lot of money, proportionately, at the delightful yarn store that opened up dangerously close to my house. Obviously, getting supplies to make stuff typically requires money, and the physical ability to do so; finding the time to write stuff requires time and writing materials; consuming media critically and thoughtfully requires the emotional energy to engage meaningfully with that media. I am very aware that there are barriers to entry, both quantitative ones like money and time, and qualitative ones, like having the emotional and mental energy, and the absence of physical or emotional pain, to consume media thoughtfully. I’m not making a moral judgement here. I have spent a lot of time without one of the several resources mentioned above for various things; I read maybe three or four books per year for pleasure for several years after finishing college and entering the workforce (at Gap, Incorporated as a sales associate, for $10/hour, and an OSHA-violating car wash, for minimum wage and tips) because I simply lacked the emotional energy to do so. And really, I only started prioritizing it as I now do because I noticed that reading books made me feel better: they provided some relief from the mental health issues with which I continue to struggle, and, as someone who is extremely prone to defining my self by the stuff I do, they reinforced a key aspect of my identity that was forged in childhood. Basically, I started reading for pleasure again for medicinal purposes, is what I’m saying, which I feel does something to the barrier to entry for me personally: because I had long identified myself as “a reader,” it was easier for me to want to return to that particular hobby. I don’t think my experiences there are universal, but maybe they rhyme. ※ In the chapter of Capitalist Realism I’m discussing here (and really it’s just the first couple of pages of that chapter), Fisher quotes Deleuze’s famed “Postscript on the Societies of Control.” He cites Deleuze’s delineation of the difference between societies of discipline and societies of control, with the intention, of course, of demonstrating that we currently live in a society of control, in which we police ourselves with never-ending “training” or “education” that really only serves to move the bar ever-farther along. I’m reminded of Hugo William’s delightful description of deadlines: “the light under the door that isn’t there when you open it, only another door, another deadline.” Such is life in the society of control. But in that same essay, Deleuze suggests that elements of liberation and oppression vie with one another in any kind of system, and that’s the part that I want to talk about. I’m going to go out on a limb here: in spite of all my involvement with a variety of crafts over the years, to say nothing of my semi-mystical relationship with words, these things alone cannot cause the kind of change that, at this point, is not only desirable but absolutely necessary. We’ve got ten years on a good day, and no amount of craftivism or emphasis on the value of the humanities is going to turn that around on its own. I wish they could. But if these things in and of themselves will not save us, what will? Despite the social emphasis — discussed by Fisher, by Deleuze, by a bunch of conservative dickbags as well — on kicking responsibility down the road, it’s ultimately going to be us who save us. We have to do it ourselves, however that can be made to happen. The various forces — so nebulous that they seem to exist purely in the realm of the spirit, manifesting on the physical plane through bad bosses and rising costs of living — that control and contort our lives in myriad ways are invested in us not doing our best unless it is to their benefit. It’s an old saw, but they want us sick, sad and tired. They are invested in throttling the sources of fulfillment in our lives, and roping us into Fisher’s matrix so thoroughly we cannot see outside of it. So I’m saying it again: if it is within your power, do something. Do something without an eye to profit, because it makes you happy, and do it on purpose. I’m not talking about political activity, though that is of course necessary. I’m talking about doing things that are for personal fulfillment alone. I’m talking about doing this because political burnout, activism burnout, and just regular old burnout like mom and dad used to get, mean that we cannot be as sharp or as resilient as we need to be. And as much as we are told to, my sense is that many of us do not have the means to reduce stress in our lives. Further, “self-care” as commonly constructed has some real issues (and many of the same barriers to entry I mention here, if not more), to say nothing of the way the entire movement, such as it is, offloads responsibility from a society that is crushing us to the limited means of individuals.

Summary of KP’s Elastos Development Update April, 2020

Summary of KP’s Elastos Development Update April, 2020 VP of Technology and member of Tuum Technology Kiran Pachhai (KP) presented a demonstration of the newly released developer portal in this video which includes all Elastos projects updates, milestones, etc. KP began with a discussion on the main chain and various sidechains: The Elastos main chain will have an important update this month in April in preparation for the CRC Elections; the Elastos main chain will be fully coded to manage CRC proposals between CRC and Elastos community members. The next update for DID side chains is estimated to be in August, 2020. One of the most interesting features is the deactivation of DID. If an ELA holder loses his/her private key, a delegated separate DID can deactivate the first DID. The next ETH side chain update is also expected in August, 2020. Some features include supporting Solidity v0.5x and will support ETH v1.9.7. Kiran then discussed Elastos SDK’s: On April 15, the DID SDK will be adopted on Swift and iOS. The last update of Hive’s SDK was on March 25th. KP explained a few cool features on Hive. The ability to interact with IPFS along with other personalized cloud drives like Microsoft ONE and, in the future, dropbox, were a couple of the interesting updates. Hive was released on Java and Swift in early April with others coming soon, like MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS. Carrier, Elastos’ peer to peer autonomous network, will have updates soon on Java/Android/Swift. Last but not least, the WebRTC SDK will have updates in the end of April. These features will include audio/video capabilities that can apply to Carrier. KP suggested that developers could use these tools and infrastructure to build a Zoom rival video chat dApp (given recent privacy concerns). KP also broke down some updates regarding native apps on Elastos: The ELA Wallet will have updates on iOS in April. Most of the updates will relate to DID and CRC functionality (May is when full CRC support is expected). ETH support in the wallet is expected in June. The newly released elastOS browser on Android includes several features like DID, DPoS, Carrier plugins, and more. Updates will be provided each month on elastOS. In May, users will be able to log into elastOS with their DIDs. elastOS on desktop is expected in June. Three websites have been built by the Elastos Foundation: elastos.org, cyberrepublic.org, and nucleusconsole.com. KP broke down the Nucleus Console website for the community: He, along with George Mason University, created the website to lighten the load on developers to build on top of Elastos. On April 2nd, Nucleus Console came out with several new features. The website allows the developer to interact with Elastos services with seamless switching between main and test nets. Ultimately, developers can accomplish all their tasks through the Nucleus Console website. Finally, KP briefly addressed Elastos’ Smart Web Services. The GRPC tools allow developers to interact with Elastos private/main nets with various programming languages. Kiran plans to provide these updates every month. Stay tuned for the next video soon! Claim Free Redpacket

California, Washington, Oregon Announce Coronavirus Pact – NBC Bay Area

The governors of Washington, California and Oregon announced Monday they’ll work together to re-open their economies while continuing to control the spread of COVID-19. In a statement, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced the partnership with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown. While each state is building a state-specific plan, the three states have agreed to a framework that focuses on them working together, putting their residents’ health first, and letting science guide decisions. “COVID-19 has preyed upon our interconnectedness,” the three governors wrote. “In the coming weeks, the West Coast will flip the script on COVID-19 – with our states acting in close coordination and collaboration to ensure the virus can never spread wildly in our communities.” The Seattle-area saw the nation’s first COVID-19 outbreak, with dozens of deaths tied to a suburban nursing home. California, too, saw an early outbreak and the San Francisco-area was the first major region to impose stringent stay-at-home policies. The governors said that while each state has made progress in slowing the spread of COVID-19 each state’s public health leaders will focus on four goals: Protecting vulnerable populations — such as those in nursing homes — who are at risk if infected; ensuring adequate hospital capacity and personal protective equipment in order to care for those who may get sick; mitigating the non-direct COVID-19 health impacts, particularly on disadvantaged communities; and protecting the general public “by ensuring any successful lifting of interventions includes the development of a system for testing, tracking and isolating.”

The Best Sci-Fi TV Shows to Watch Right Now on Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and Hulu

Hey regular life, take a hike! You're boring, depressing, and TOO REAL. We'll stick to the world of science-fiction, where among the dysopian futures, killer robots, and invading aliens, there's at least some hope for humanity that we can latch onto. Sci-fi is the perfect genre to immerse yourself in right now, so naturally, we've got some recommendations. From the all-time classics to the new releases ready to take their place, we've poured years of our lives into watching everything in the sci-fi genre and have collected our favorites that are ready to stream. Below you'll find plenty of shows about future societies, clones, robots with feelings, galaxies far, far away, and even immortality across the various streaming platforms. Check out our list of all the best sci-fi shows for you to dive into on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO, and more. Last updated Sept. 4, 2020. Abubakar Salim and Amanda Collin, Raised by Wolves Photo: Coco Van Oppens What it's about: A pair of androids are tasked with saving humanity by raising children on a barren planet, but some religious fanatics have other ideas. Why it's worth watching: Ridley Scott added his touch — he executive produced the series and directed the first two episodes — to this out-of-this-world-and-any-other-world drama that asks big questions about parenting and religion — "Is a robot having kids an affront to God?" comes up more than once. It's extremely weird, in a very good way, creating a universe unlike any other you've seen, and though its initial episodes appear to be pretty self-contained, there are hints pretty early on that there's a lot of story to tell if the series chooses to go in that direction. Plus, Vikings' Travis Fimmel does some pretty good impressions of ducks. Did we mention that it's weird? How many seasons: 1 Where to watch: HBO Max Nick Offerman as Forest, Devs Photo: Miya Mizuno/FX What it's about: A woman investigates the disappearance of her boyfriend, who was working on a top-secret project at a powerful tech company in San Francisco Why it's worth watching: After movies like Ex Machina and Annihilation, Alex Garland is proving to be one of sci-fi's most exciting creators, and his TV debut features all his trademarks. Devs is packed with philosophy and intellectual discussions about our very existence, technology's place in society's advancement, and the dire consequences of tinkering with fate, almost to the point that it's too cerebral. But take it slow and you'll find a beautifully filmed single-season series that has big points to make about the dangerous precipice advanced computing has us inching toward. How many seasons: 1 Where to watch: Hulu Abigail Spencer, Malcolm Barrett, Matt Lanter; Timeless Photo: Darren Michaels/Sony/NBC What it's about: A team of three travel throughout time to save the future from a mysterious organization that wants to change history Why it's worth watching: Time travel shows can become messy affairs of paradoxes, brain-busting theories, and plot holes, but Eric Kripke's Timeless used time travel simply and splendidly in this throwback, swashbuckling adventure series. A historian, an engineer, and a soldier are sent back in history to prevent the villainous organization known as Rittenhouse from altering history in order to change the future to their advantage, meeting famous overlooked figures from history — often minorities and/or women — along the way. In that sense, Timeless is almost as educational as it is exciting. But the real strength of Timeless comes from its characters and their relationships, like the epic romance between Lucy (Abigail Spencer) and Wyatt (Matt Lanter). Timeless is a real crowd-pleaser, the kind of sci-fi series for people who usually shy away from the genre. How many seasons: 2 Where to watch: Hulu Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black What it's about: A woman discovers that she may not be the only one of... her Why it's worth watching: Orphan Black burst onto the scene in 2013, coming out of nowhere to stun critics and viewers with its crafty premise: a con artist witnesses the suicide of another woman who looks just like her, leading her down a rabbit hole of clones and conspiracies. The BBC America series combines action, science-fiction, and humor extremely well, creating characters you'll adore (Alison Hendrix is a legend) and anticipate venturing into each others' orbits. Chameleon Tatiana Maslany won an Emmy for her roles as the many different versions of the same woman, though she really should have won at least three. The first seasons are the strongest, but Maslany and the great cast stay great throughout its run. How many seasons: 5 Where to watch: Amazon Battlestar Galactica Photo: Syfy, NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images What it's about: A reimagining of the 1970s classic in which alien robots threaten to wipe out humans Why it's worth watching: Battlestar Galactica is considered one of the all-time great sci-fi series, and when it was released in the mid-2000s, one of the best TV shows period. Ronald D. Moore's take adds a wrinkle that increases the paranoia tenfold; the Cylons can impersonate humans, meaning the crew of the Galactica realizes that some of its members could be Cylons in disguise, even if the Cylons don't know it themselves. Watch the miniseries that launched the series first, then dive into the next two seasons, which is some of the greatest sci-fi television ever made. Later seasons tail off a bit, and the ending wasn't well-received by all, but the show is still well worth the journey. How many seasons: 4 Where to watch: Syfy.com (free) Adrianne Palicki, The Orville What it's about: In the far future, the crew of a space ship explores the galaxy to bring alien cultures into the Planetary Union, while also sometimes manufacturing pot brownies in the ship's food synthesizer. Why it's worth watching: The Orville is an homage to Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation from Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, who fawns over all things Trek while also not afraid to make fun of it. It's hard to tell what kind of show The Orville wants to be at some points because it's really trying to be all of them: an interstellar stoner comedy, a sci-fi swashbuckler, a workplace drama, a futuristic Twilight Zone. But that's part of the fun. Season 1 has some bumps, but Season 2, especially the midseason two-parter "Identity" is an improvement. Though the first two seasons aired on Fox, Season 3 will be a Hulu exclusive. How many seasons: 2 Where to watch: Hulu Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, The X-Files Photo: Robert Falconer/FOX What it's about: A pair of FBI agents investigate the paranormal and inexplicable — UFOs, ghosts, and even cannibals. Why it's worth watching: It's a classic for a reason. The X-Files set the mold with Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) — the definitive believer and skeptic, paired up to investigate the unexplained. But the Fox procedural was always too smart to draw a clean line between faith and science; even Mulder wanted proof, and even Scully had her religion. This is the most scientific thing about the science fiction of The X-Files (which is otherwise not all that sciency): The show's heroes are two people willing to upend their entire belief systems to get the truth. Mulder and Scully asked the messy questions, and it changed genre television. -Kelly Connolly How many seasons: 11 Where to watch: Hulu J.K. Simmons, Counterpart Photo: Starz What it's about: A government desk jockey (J.K. Simmons) an an office in Berlin learns that an event split the world into two parallel universes, and the two sides are slowly approaching an all-out war against each other. Yikes! Why it's worth watching: The gimmick gives its wonderful cast (which includes Olivia Williams and Harry Lloyd) the opportunity to play dual roles as each universe has a "counterpart" in the other. Simmons leads the way as his counterpart is a superspy, and watching him play against himself is incredible. Fans of espionage and science-fiction will have their heads full with the intricately plotted and twisty story. How many seasons: 2 Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mackenzie Davis; Black Mirror Photo: Laurie Sparham/Netflix What it's about: This anthology series tells different tales each episode about the dangers of technology and the depravities people will use it for. From digital worlds to dark dystopias, Black Mirror will have you second-guessing whether you should cut every cord you own just to be safe. Why it's worth watching: If you're in the mood to start hating the human race, Black Mirror is the sci-fi show for you. While most of these stories are a little bit depressing (and some are borderline horrific), a few are uplifting enough to cleanse your palate (check out Season 3's "San Junipero" or Season 4's "Hang the DJ" for some heart eyes). The best part about this binge is that while you'll definitely get hooked, the fact that it's an anthology series means you won't necessarily find yourself powering through episodes at 3 a.m. since each episode is a standalone story. How many seasons: 5 Where to watch: Netflix Brian J Smith, Elyse Levesque, David Blue, Alaina Huffman and Jamil Walker Smith, Stargate Universe Photo: Syfy, NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images What it's about: A group of scientists, military personnel and a few civilians accidentally find themselves transported onto an ancient ship, thousands of lightyears from Earth. While stranded in strange galaxies, tensions run high as they attempt to explore the unknown universe and find a way back home. Why it's worth watching: Out of all the Stargate series that could have made this list, we picked Stargate Universe because it combines all of our favorite sci-fi elements: a brilliant group of stranded strangers, space, time travel, political infighting and terrifying aliens. It's literally a one-stop shop for every nerd-tastic fantasy you've ever had with the bonus of great performances and top-notch storytelling. We do warn you, however, Stargate Universe was canceled after Season 2 and ended on a pretty huge cliffhanger, so you should go into this binge knowing that when you get to the end, you'll want to pull your hair out wishing there was more. You're welcome for the heads up. How many seasons: 2 Where you can watch: Hulu Fringe What it's about: A team of experts led by a kooky old scientist (John Noble), his son (Joshua Jackson), and an FBI agent (Anna Torv) investigate strange occurrences around the country, X-Files style. Their work leads them to discover something entirely new that will change the world forever. Why it's worth watching: The J.J. Abrams-produced series is one of the best broadcast science-fiction shows of all time, particularly in its first three seasons, and perfected the art of the serialized procedural by weaving the show's deep mythology and excellent character work into weekly standalone stories, making it easy to binge or watch in spurts. And by the time the end of Season 1 starts, you'll have a hard time stopping. How many seasons: 5 Where to watch: IMDB.tv Aaron Stanford and Amanda Schull, 12 Monkeys Photo: Syfy, Dusan Martincek/Syfy What it's about: After a deadly virus kills 7 billion people, the survivors living in 2043 send a scavenger named James Cole (Aaron Stanford) to the past to stop the virus from being released in the first place. Naturally, time loops and even forbidden romance get in the way of his mission to save the human race. Why it's worth watching: 12 Monkeys is a show you have to pay close attention to in order to keep track of the changing timelines and loops, but ultimately the mythology and the world-building are just too good to pass up! Plus, this show has some of the most kick-butt women on TV, which is harder to find than it should be in the sci-fi genre. With the fourth and final season come and gone, you'll be able to binge the whole thing start to finish! How many seasons: 4 Where you can watch: Hulu Peter Capaldi, Doctor Who Photo: Ray Burmiston, BBC What it's about: The Doctor, a humanoid alien of an extinct race called the Time Lords, travels the universe in his (or her!) Tardis, a time-traveling spaceship that takes that shape of a phone booth. Together with his (or her!) human companions, The Doctor regularly saves the world from destruction with his (or her!) quick wit and timey-wimey adventures. Why you should watch: If you're looking for something a little less intense and more whimsical, Doctor Who is the show for you. Typically, each episode travels to a new time period or galaxy (often both) where the Doctor and companions of the moment have wild adventures while escaping the evil clutches of the Daleks and Cybermen. Although, when you least expect it, the show knows just how to hit you where it hurts. So although it's a show of whimsy, be prepared to cry your eyes out too. Jodie Whittaker joined the series as the first female doctor in Season 11. How many seasons: 12 Where you can watch: HBO Max From Dippers to Needlecasting: Here's Your Altered Carbon Glossary What it's about: Far in the future, scientists have found a way to digitize and save human consciousness, allowing people's minds to be copied and transported from one body to another, essentially making humans immortal. When one of the richest men in the universe is murdered — though his copied consciousness obviously survives — he hires, Takeshi Kovacs, a mercenary hundreds of years old to figure out who "killed" him. In Season 2, Kovacs, in an entirely new body, searches for his long lost love while investigating a series of new murders. Why it's worth watching: This futuristic series will have your head spinning with awesome technological advancements and a mystery that's almost too tangled to unravel. The kicker, though, is the flashback portion of the saga that not only ties well into the overall narrative but will have you begging for a spin-off based completely in the past. How many seasons: 2 Where you can watch: Netflix Marie Avgeropoulos, The 100 Photo: DIYAH PERA, DIYAH PERA/THE CW What it's about: Nearly 100 years after nuclear war wipes out the human race on Earth, the only survivors are the members aboard a joint-space station called The Ark circling the globe. When overpopulation becomes a problem, The Ark decides to send 100 teenage delinquents to the ground to see if the Earth is habitable, but these misfits find more than bargained for when they arrive. Why it's worth watching: Assuming the words "apocalypse" and "teens" didn't get you, The 100 is worth a binge simply for the dynamic storytelling alone. Rather than focus on hot teens running a community, the show hones in on the lengths to which humans will go to stay alive and whether that survival requires you to lose what it is that makes you human. It's a pretty insightful look into the future, and with four seasons (and a fifth currently airing) under its belt, it's a good, long binge to keep you out of the heat this summer. How many seasons: 6. A seventh and final season begins airing in May 2020. Where you can watch: Netflix Now Is the Perfect Time to Watch All Those Shows You've Been Putting Off Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Gina Torres and Adam Baldwin, Firefly What it's about: Space cowboys. Enough said. Why it's worth watching: What list would be complete without the cult classic Firefly? This short-lived series took fans by storm back in 2002, though it was canceled after only 14 episodes. That makes it a quick binge full of shoot-outs and smuggling that will leave you begging for more. If you want an end to the story, you'll have to find the wrap-up movie, Serenity, which is currently streaming through Starz. How many seasons: 1 Where you can watch: Hulu Evan Rachel Wood, Westworld What it's about: A western-themed amusement park serves as a playground for the ultra-wealthy, but the locals aren't actors — they're robots. Revolutionary advancements in artificial intelligence technology have allowed for stunningly life-like "hosts" to mimic human behavior and serve as the park's entertainment, but unfortunately these hosts aren't aware that the world they live in (and repeatedly die in) isn't actually real — or are they? Why you should watch: Despite having a shaky Season 2, Westworld is a great binge that will keep you on the edge of your seat. You'll also have the added benefit of getting the answers to each season's burning questions much faster than week-to-week viewers, who had to watch and speculate at a much slower speed. So long as you remember that literally anyone can be a robot at any time, you'll enjoy your trip to Westworld. How many seasons: 3 Where you can watch: HBO Max, HBO Go, Hulu, Amazon Prime Louis Hofmann, Dark Photo: Julia Terjung / Netflix What it's about: Thanks to a wormhole in the underground caves beneath the local power plant, strange things start happening in the small German town of Winden. Time travel, disappearing children, and family secrets intertwine in a thrilling mystery that spans three generations. Why you should watch: Dark is Netflix's first German-language Original, meaning you've either got to watch with subtitles or the English dub. Though it may take you a minute to get into it, once you do, you're in for a wild ride. Tangled webs of time travel and family secrets pair well with the show's odd sense of humor, making for a cool mystery that will keep you binging late into the night. How many seasons: 3 Where you can watch: Netflix The Expanse Photo: Kurt Iswarienko/Syfy What it's about: Set in a future where humans have colonized the solar system, prejudices have divided humanity into three camps: Earth, Mars, and The Belt (an asteroid belt). But when a mysterious alien technology is discovered and a political conspiracy spanning the solar system begins to unravel, it becomes up to the idealist James Holden to try and save humanity from the potential alien weapon — and themselves. Why you should watch: The most intriguing part of The Expanse is the intricate world-building and political machinations that underscore the cool sci-fi stuff like space battles and even gravity torture. The interplanetary conflict at the core of the show's story creates a ton of juicy arcs that all build toward some seriously unpredictable reveals. How many seasons: 4. Season 5 has been ordered. Where you can watch: Amazon Prime

#321 Did Covid-19 Kill The Alt-Right?

But New Yorker writer Andrew Marantz says it’s the ideology of Silicon Valley that allowed them to prosper, and what catapulted them to fame remains. $5/month for ad-free Canadaland by clicking here. This episode is brought to you by Freshbooks and Article.

Pinellas County Commissioners contemplating relaxing beach, pool restrictions

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners could vote to ease beach restrictions as early as Thursday. Commissioners discussed the proposition of reopening beaches and private pools during an emergency meeting Monday afternoon. Commissioner Kathleen Peters said she is in favor of opening the beaches and private pools for exercise and recreational purposes. “There is police presence on the beaches all the time, and I do believe the citizens in Pinellas County are being responsible and understand the dangers and are taking responsible acts to keep their distance and be safe,” she said. Both have been off limits for weeks now, and some residents are now calling the county asking when they will reopen. County Administrator Barry Burton says commissioners are now walking a tightrope. “You know, we’ve got a lot of factors that we have to consider,” he said. “The commissioners were challenging us as staff, the county and the sheriff for us to come up with ideas to where we can begin to have that conversation.” Burton says county leaders know a majority of citizens will follow the rules and will social distance. But what about those who don’t? “So, that was really, I think the beginning of the discussion today,” said Burton. “How do we do this? Respecting the rights of those that are responsible, at the same time making sure we ensure public safety for all of our residents. “ Jeni Bond, who lives in Indian Rocks Beach hopes the county will relax the restrictions. “I think if everyone can be respectful, we have our distance, maybe don’t have parties on the beach, I think there is no reason why we can’t go out and exercise and just walk and be outside,” said Bond. “It’s so stressful being inside all the time.” Because of the potential burden that could be placed on law enforcement if beaches were reopened, commissioners agreed to discuss the matter with Sheriff Bob Gualtieri before making a move. “I think it makes sense,” Commission Vice Chairman Dave Eggers said. “I think the parking spaces that are abundantly available for people from other counties needs to be looked at.” Eggers suggested leaving the waterfront available, but restrict people from congregating around the beach. In addition to opening beaches, commissioners will also look at reopening private pools, like the ones at condominiums. “A lot of senior citizens need the pools,” Peters said. “It helps with their arthritis. It’s good for their exercise.” Jeni Bond, who lives in Indian Rocks Beach, hopes the county will relax the restrictions. “I think if everyone can be respectful, we have our distance, maybe don’t have parties on the beach, I think there is no reason why we can’t go out and exercise and just walk and be outside,” she said. “It’s so stressful being inside all the time.” A decision is expected Thursday. LATEST ON THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC:

Virus Lockdown: Why it Makes Financial Sense for States to Start Selling Alcohol

New Delhi: India’s state governments could look to restart their alcohol economies as a means of shoring up their flagging finances, which have been hit hard by the COVID-19 lockdown. The Wire’s analysis of public budget documents shows that various taxes levied on the liquor business contribute anywhere between 8% to 25% to a state government’s own tax revenue. With the national lockdown now expected to effectively continue till April 30, it makes increasing financial sense for state governments to open up liquor retail outlets even as major swathes of the rest of the economy stay closed. Indeed, several states like Assam and Meghalaya have already indicated that the sale of alcohol will happen even as the lockdown is extended, while others like Karnataka are reportedly considering allowing limited retailing after April 14. How will it help? A state’s ‘own tax revenue’ comes primarily from state GST (goods and services tax), land revenue and a range of other taxes that it levies on a number of sectors – petrol, motor vehicles, alcohol, etc. With the lockdown, much of this has been hit, thus naturally crippling the state government’s ability to help those who have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and the cessation of economic activity the hardest. As Kerala’s finance minister Thomas Isaac, who expects the state’s revenues to be 25% of normal under lockdown conditions, recently put it: “There is no revenue from excise and lottery now, or stamp duty, or motor vehicle tax. Even the revenue from petroleum sales has been hit. I anticipate that in March, we’ve only made one fourth of the revenue we usually generate. And this will be the case in April as well.” While global consensus appears to have settled around the idea that a lockdown is needed to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus, small steps like allowing the sale of alcohol could help offset the fall in state tax revenue, provided social distancing norms are followed as they currently are at grocery and other retail stores. The table below is how much major state governments rake in, at the very minimum, from their respective alcohol economies and how much it contributes to their overall own tax revenue. In some cases, it may be an underestimate as many state governments do not break down the full extent of tax collection in their budget documents. The purpose of the data in the table therefore is not to compare the tax collections by different states – this would not make sense for a variety of reasons – but to show how important the production, bottling, distribution and sale of liquor is for a state government’s finances. For instance, in FY’20, Delhi earned Rs 5,500 crore from excise levied on the alcohol business, which accounted for nearly 14% of its own tax revenue. Southern states too are no slouches. In FY’20 the Karnataka state government earned Rs 20,948 crore in alcohol-related excise earnings, translating to a little over Rs 1,730 crore per month. For FY’21, the state has pegged its excise target at Rs 22,700 crore. While merely opening liquor retail outlets and allowing limited sale of alcohol will not allow states to recoup all of their lost revenue, it may be better nothing. “The government is cash-strapped since the lockdown has hampered revenue collection. It’s short of the revenue target by about Rs 5,000 crore. So it has to find ways to better its revenue collection by allowing sale of liquor,’’ a Karnataka state excise official told Times of India, in defense of the state’s move to potentially allow sale of alcohol during the lockdown. Indeed, liquor makers and two industry associations have been heavily lobbying to allow this over the last week. For instance, the International Spirits & Wine Association of India, which represents India’s largest alcohol makers, told the consumer affairs ministry recently that the suspension of alcohol sales is only helping the illegal trade. “Food is an essential commodity and alcohol is classified as food under the Food Safety & Standards Act of 2006,” said the letter signed by ISWAI chairman Amrit Kiran Singh. “The black market is operating in the vacuum created by legal alcohol retail shops being closed, which is becoming an additional menace for the police force.” The ISWAI claims that total taxes earned by states from the alcohol beverage sector in FY ’20 totalled to Rs 2.5 lakh crore. The Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC), an apex body of Indian liquor firms, said a similar representation had been made on April 6. Also read: Amidst Lockdown, Chhattisgarh Becomes Second State to Reopen Alcohol Stores If state governments follow the Assam and Meghalaya route in opening up alcohol sales even while the national lockdown is ongoing, there are two broad considerations to take into account. Firstly, as experts note, appropriate health measures and social distancing norms must be followed. This means that customers should not be allowed to throng retail outlets, but line up in an orderly fashion, just as they would at any other store right now. The second important caveat that must be taken into account is the fact that consumption of alcohol by men increases the incidence of domestic violence against women. Studies have shown that women whose husbands consumed alcohol were at a significantly increased risk of experiencing domestic violence. This study from the slums of Mumbai found that 37% of women whose husbands consumed alcohol reported experiencing domestic violence, against 16% women whose husbands did not consume alcohol. The incidence of domestic violence has already increased across the world due to lockdowns to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. This has happened in India too as the National Commission for Women (NCW) reported receiving twice the number of complaints of domestic violence in the one week of March post lockdown than the first week of March. The NCW has given out a phone number on which women facing domestic violence can send a message using WhatsApp so that the NCW can provide support and assistance.

Italien will Eurobonds: Rom hält Maastricht-Regeln für veraltet

Italiens Regierung ist frustriert. Sie findet, die Verschuldungsregeln der Eurozone seien veraltet. Neu daran ist vor allem der Anlass. So schön und unbeschwert könnte es sein, wenn es nicht die Maasricht-Regeln (und das Coronavirus) gäbe Bild: AFP Bei seinem Bemühen um gemeinschaftlich ausgegebene staatliche Schuldtitel in der Europäischen Union, Eurobonds, stößt Italiens Ministerpräsident Giuseppe Conte auf großes Misstrauen. Conte zeigt kein Verständnis dafür und sagt, Italien habe doch bisher immer seine Schulden bezahlt. Zugleich spricht er schon seit 2019 von „alten und überholten Regeln“ in Europa, die es zu überwinden gelte. Tobias Piller Wirtschaftskorrespondent für Italien und Griechenland mit Sitz in Rom. F.A.Z. Tatsächlich scheint für Italiens Politiker alles, was mit den Regeln in der Währungsunion zusammenhängt, aus grauer Vorzeit. Die Unterschrift unter den Vertrag von Maastricht 1992, als Fundament der Währungsunion, liegt 18 Regierungen zurück. Die vieldiskutierte Entscheidung von 1998, ob Italien von Anfang an in die Eurozone aufgenommen werden solle, wurde aus der Sicht der gegenwärtigen, der 68. Regierung der Nachkriegszeit, nicht nur vor 22 Jahren getroffen. Conte müsste dazu in der Liste seiner Vorgänger zwölf Positionen zurückgehen. Selbst die jüngsten Vereinbarungen zu ESM und Fiskalpakt, die ihm nun veraltet erscheinen, wurden vor acht Jahren beschlossen, in der vorletzten Legislaturperiode, von der 63. Nachkriegsregierung, in Zeiten eines völlig anderen Parteiensystems. Immer nur die nächste Wahl im Kopf Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel hat all diese europäischen Diskussionen persönlich miterlebt, erst als Bundesministerin und dann als Bundeskanzlerin. Sie ist der dritte Bundeskanzler seit dem Vertrag von Maastricht. Die langen Amtszeiten, stabilen Regierungen, die wirtschaftspolitischen Erfahrungen begünstigen Grundsatzdebatten, aber auch Festhalten an den einmal beschlossenen Grundprinzipien. Italiens politisches System liefert diametral entgegengesetzte Einstellungen: Die kurze Lebensdauer der Regierungen, die Umwälzungen im Parteiensystem führen zu kurzfristigem Denken, immer die Machtkämpfe in der Koalition und die nächsten Wahlen vor Augen. Für Diskussionen über Grundsätzliches fehlen vor allem in der Fünf-Sterne-Bewegung Vorbildung, Berufserfahrung und Methode. Was zählt, ist die Tagespolitik. Frühere Versprechen, Verträge sind dabei im Weg. Darin stehen zu oft langfristige Prinzipien, die etwa in der Wirtschaftspolitik anfangs Zustimmung kosten und nur längerfristig nachhaltigen Erfolg bringen würden. Was daher Ministerpräsident Conte und seine Minister als lästige, überholte Regeln ansehen, ist aus deutscher oder manch nordeuropäischer Perspektive ein erprobtes politisches Prinzip oder zumindest das, was davon übrig geblieben ist. Befehlsempfänger Zentralbank Für die Währungsunion gilt das schon für die Grundsätze: Italiens Erfahrung war die mit einer Zentralbank, die jahrzehntelang nicht die Freiheit hatte, eigene Entscheidungen über die Zinsen zu treffen, und stattdessen zur Finanzierung von Staatsschulden gezwungen war, mit der Folge von Inflationsraten oberhalb von 20 Prozent, Vertrauens- und Währungskrisen für die nationale Volkswirtschaft. Als die Politik von Skandalen geschwächt war, beschlossen ein langfristig denkender Professor im Amt des Schatzministers und der vorausschauende Notenbankgouverneur Carlo Azeglio Ciampi 1981 (offiziell) die „Scheidung“ zwischen Regierung und Notenbank, konnten das aber nicht durchsetzen. Auf jeden Fall war später bei den Verhandlungen über die Währungsunion klar, dass Italiens Notenbank hier nicht als Vorbild dienen konnte. Für den damaligen Schatzminister Guido Carli, einen ehemaligen Notenbankgouverneur, und seinen neu ernannten Chefunterhändler Mario Draghi gab es daran ohnehin keinen Zweifel. Die Italiener waren schon zufrieden damit, in einer Klausel zu den Maastricht-Kriterien für die Aufnahme in die Währungsunion eine Perspektive für diese zu erhalten, trotz der hohen Staatsschulden von mehr als 120 Prozent des Bruttoinlandsprodukts, dem Doppelten der erlaubten 60 Prozent. Selbstverständlich schien auch wegen Italiens Schulden der Artikel 104b, dem zufolge jeder seine Schulden selbst trägt. Nach der Entscheidung von 1998 über Italiens Aufnahme in die Währungsunion trotz hoher Schulden war klar, dass dafür im Gegenzug eine grundlegende Sicherung für die Zukunft verlangt werden würde, der Stabilitätspakt mit der Defizitgrenze von 3 Prozent des Bruttoinlandsprodukts, der im Prinzip dafür sorgen sollte, dass die Staatsschulden nicht schneller steigen als das Volkseinkommen, gemäß dem Prinzip von Maastricht im Artikel 104c: „Die Mitgliedstaaten vermeiden übermäßige öffentliche Defizite.“ Einschränkungen der Handlungsfreiheit italienischer Politik durch europäische Prinzipien waren aus der Sicht weitsichtiger Italiener wie der ehemaligen Notenbankgouverneure Carli und Ciampi durchaus erwünscht. Für Ciampi waren die Regeln der Währungsunion eine Art Zwangsjacke, die Italien zu grundsätzlichen Reformen zwingen sollte. Doch diese Rechnung ist nicht aufgegangen: Nun machen nationalistische Populisten Stimmung gegen europäische Regeln, gegen jegliche Fremdbestimmung, für die Rückkehr zur scheinbar bequemen Staatsfinanzierung durch die Zentralbank und für Defizite ohne Grenzen. Dem Rest Europas sagt man, sowohl einen Austritt als auch einen Zusammenbruch Italiens werde Europa nicht überleben, deshalb werde nun in Rom entschieden, was gut sei für Italien und damit auch gleichzeitig für Europa. Schon zu Regierungszeiten von Silvio Berlusconi hatte Carlo Azeglio Ciampi seine Frustration ausgedrückt. Nach Ende seiner Amtszeit als Staatspräsident lautete 2010 seine bittere Bilanz: „Dieser Geist der Solidarität und des Vertrauens, der in Europa für unsere neue Stabilitätskultur entstanden war, verdiente nicht diesen Verrat.“ Ciampi hatte damals noch gar nicht einkalkuliert, dass bald danach Italiens neue „Sovranisti“ die politische Diskussion bestimmen und verschärfen würden.

AI Synthesis Releases AI007 Quad VCA

AI Synthesis has released the AI007 Quad VCA/Mixer for Eurorack modular synthesizers, in both pre-built and DIY formats. The AI007 Quad VCA Mixer is designed to be a compact way to control voltage (audio or cv) in your modular system. Each of the four inputs are DC coupled, allowing the amplitude of CV signals, as well, as audio rate signals to be voltage controlled. The outputs are also normalled together into a mixer, allowing the AI007 Eurorack Quad VCA Mixer to be used as a voltage controlled mixer. Once a cable is patched into a VCA output that output is removed from the mixer signal, allowing each channel to be used independently, giving users four VCAs in total. A dedicated knob shapes the curve response from Linear to Exponential. Step-by-step build instructions, schematics, and circuit explanations are available at the AI site, along with other info on synth DIY and getting started with modular synths. Pricing and Availability The AI007 Quad VCA/Mixer is available now, starting at $15 for barebones PCBs and $189 pre-built.

"Riverdale" star Camila Mendes shared a healing cover of 'Circles’ by Mac Miller -

If you've liked the article, please tweet or share it in facebook fan groups! Thanks! Facebook Tweet Pin 0 shares The CW’s teen mystery drama Riverdale has a clever way of integrating music into the narrative. Aside from their acting abilities, many of the cast members have remarkable singing talent. Camila Mendes, who plays Veronica Lodge on the show, recently showcased her vocal skills on Instagram. Camila Mendes sang an acoustic version of ‘Circles’ on Instagram Mendes posted an Instagram video of herself singing “Circles” by Mac Miller. With her eyes closed, and accompanied by a guitarist in the background, Mendes crooned the entire first verse of the song, which goes like this: This is what it looks like right before you fall Stumblin’ around, you been guessing your direction Next step, you can’t see at all And I don’t have a name, I don’t have name, no Who am I to blame? Who am I to blame though? And I cannot be changed, I cannot be changed, no Trust me I’ve tried I just end up right at the start of the line Drawing circles “Circles,” by Mac Miller Although she only sang one part of the song, the star also added an image of the remaining lyrics. In her caption, she wrote, “’Circles’ by Mac Miller. This is the first verse, but I included lyrics from the second because they eerily resonate with the emotional state of the world right now.” Mendes’ friends and followers responded in adoration of her rendition of “Circles.” Haley Lu Richardson, who starred in Five Feet Apart with Mendes’ Riverdale co-star, Cole Sprouse, commented, “This [is] really pretty.” The official Netflix Instagram account joined the conversation saying the video was “What I needed.” Mendes brings her unique flavor to cover songs on ‘Riverdale’ Mendes continually wows the audience with both solos and group performances on Riverdale. As a soloist, the actress has commanded the stage with memorable musical moments, such as her cover of “Union of the Snake” by the British 80s sensation, Duran Duran. In the story, her character, Veronica, impulsively chose to sing that number as a way to diffuse tension between rival groups, including the Southside Serpents. During Veronica’s sacrament of Confirmation, she chose to team up with Josie of Josie and the Pussycats fame. The friends partnered for a duet of “Bittersweet Symphony,” which was originally recorded by the English rock band, The Verve, in 1997. Mendes and her co-star, Ashleigh Murray, as Josie, put their unique spin on the classic hit. One of Mendes’ most unforgettable Riverdale group performances was when she and Murray collaborated with Madelaine Petsch for a cover of Elvis Presley’s “Jailhouse Rock.” Their characters, Veronica, Josie, and Cheryl, visited the local juvenile detention center and treated the boys to a one-of-a-kind song and dance act. Viewers can look forward to more melodious magic from Mendes and her co-stars in the April 15 episode of Riverdale. The episode, titled “Chapter Seventy-Four: Wicked Little Town,” will feature songs from the musical production, Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Riverdale airs on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on The CW. Source: cheatsheet.com

Baked Ground Turkey & Black Bean Tacos

Taco Night is the highlight of the week. Make this week’s taco feast good and cheap with these spicy ground turkey tacos with black beans that you can bake in the oven. Taco cravings are common around here. I mean, all I need to do is drive by a taco place and instantly I’m hungry for tacos. Even if I’ve just eaten. Tacos are the bomb. That is for sure. But we can’t always make a run for our favorite taco stand. Making them at home is a great way to save money and enjoy your taco, too. While a crunchy beef taco is de rigeur, there are plenty of other taco fillings that will fit the bill. Case in point: Turkey & Black Bean Tacos I know, surprised me, too. This dish is the antithesis of what I would have made ten years ago when I was a sworn beefeater who also didn’t like to mix fillers into my standard taco meat. Even though we’ve always eaten plenty of beans, I just didn’t want to mix beans into my tacos on purpose. It was pretty silly, actually, considering how well beans stretch a dish both in bulk and in economy. Originally, this dish was a departure for me, even though the concept has been around since the dawn of time, or close to. Turns out it was a huge hit! We love this filling. It makes delicious tacos, of course, but my family likes to get creative. Over the years it’s been folded into burritos and chimichanga; folded into an enchirito-type concoction, and topped on a taco salad. Basically, you can’t go wrong with this. If there are leftovers, which I doubt, know that you can easily freeze them for another time. Your best bet is to make a double batch and freeze the extra portion. They you can have tacos whenever you like. Do you have to use ground turkey? Can you use beef? I use ground turkey in this recipe because it tends to be more economical than beef, allowing me to stretch my grocery dollar further. That said, you can definitely use ground beef, chicken, or pork as well as crumbled tofu or cooked and crumbled tempeh. Can I use a different kind of bean? Black beans look beautiful in this recipe, but you can also use cooked pintos or lentils if you prefer. How do you bake these ground turkey tacos? One of my favorite ways to assemble a lot of tacos at one time is to bake them! My husband was thrilled when I switched to this method. Not only does it take the work away from the diners having to dish up the meat themselves, but it also ensures you can divvy out the filling evenly. How to bake tacos This is a super easy process! This recipe makes for 12 very full tacos or 24 moderately full tacos. Prepare the meat and bean filling in a skillet by cooking the turkey until done. Add the taco seasoning and stir to combine. Add the salsa and the beans. Simmer the mixture for a few minutes. Preheat the oven. Meanwhile, lay out the taco shells in a 9×13-baking dish. It’s a little tricky, but 12 will fit in each pan. Sprinkle the cheese among the tacos and bake in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Fill the tacos with cabbage, chopped tomatoes, and other taco fillings like pico de gallo and this easy guacamole recipe. Serve immediately. Do you need any special equipment for this recipe? This recipe really couldn’t be easier than it is, but having the right kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs. Here are the tools that I use for this recipe: a nonstick skillet – This is one of my favorite skillets for mixing up quick recipes; such easy clean up! box grater for cheese – this is great for quick shredding when you don’t buy the cheese preshredded. a 9×13-inch baking dish – these are my favorite because they come with lids. How much do these tacos cost to make? We always assume that making it at home will cost less money than buying it elsewhere. This is often, but not always the case. Let’s see how much that taco really costs, shall we? These Turkey & Black Bean Tacos are made from some basic ingredients, ingredients that when bought at regular, non-sale prices break down as follows: ground turkey – $3.99/lb taco seasoning mix – $0.25 ($1.00/batch) black beans – $0.99/can salsa verde – $0.50 ($2.00/16 oz jar) taco shells – $1.19/dozen coleslaw mix/shredded cabbage – $0.90 ($1.79/16 oz bag) shredded cheese – $2.40 ($4.79/lb) diced tomatoes – $0.60 ($0.99/lb) The total comes to $10.82 for a dozen tacos, making them about 90 cents a piece. If you stretch the recipe with another box of shells, your cost comes down to 50 cents each! As low as 50 cents a serving! In comparison, check out these taco prices; pricing will vary based on region, but so will grocery prices. Taco Bell crunchy beef taco – $1.19 each Taco John’s crunchy beef taco – $1.29 each While these aren’t exactly the same as what you’d get at the taco shop, they’re super tasty and they are a lot cheaper — and probably healthier, too. Plus, the people you feed will think you’re a rockstar. So yummy! How can you make this more economical? The prices I’ve quoted are based on a mid-range grocery store’s non-sale prices. You can probably do better. By their very nature, bean dishes are very budget-friendly. However, here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe even more economical: Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale . When you see a good price on beans or cheese, buy a few extra to stash for later. You know you’ll use them. The cheese and turkey are the high priced items in this dish, so look for these items on sale. . When you see a good price on beans or cheese, buy a few extra to stash for later. You know you’ll use them. The cheese and turkey are the high priced items in this dish, so look for these items on sale. Cook your own beans. It’s a lot cheaper to cook dry beans than to buy canned. Recently I’ve started using my electric pressure cooker for beans and it is a game changer. It’s a lot cheaper to cook dry beans than to buy canned. Recently I’ve started using my electric pressure cooker for beans and it is a game changer. Buy spices in bulk. I regularly buy larger containers of spices I use frequently, like pepper, sea salt, garlic powder, and chili powder. I store excess dried herbs and ground spices in the freezer if I know it will be awhile before I go through the large container. Making my own taco seasoning is much more economical. I regularly buy larger containers of spices I use frequently, like pepper, sea salt, garlic powder, and chili powder. I store excess dried herbs and ground spices in the freezer if I know it will be awhile before I go through the large container. Making my own taco seasoning is much more economical. Buy a whole cabbage and slice it. A whole cabbage is about $0.79/pound. More than half the price of the bag of shredded cabbage. You can bring down your costs by shredding your own cabbage. A whole cabbage is about $0.79/pound. More than half the price of the bag of shredded cabbage. You can bring down your costs by shredding your own cabbage. Use corn tortillas instead of crunchy shells. Depending on how many you buy in a package, corn tortillas cost as low as three cents a piece. Again, bring down the cost of dinner by using plain corn tortillas instead of crunchy shells. Check out this tutorial on how to reheat commercial corn tortillas so they taste really good. If you prepare this recipe, be sure to take a picture and hashtag it #GOODCHEAPEATS. I can't wait to see what you cook up! If you prepare this recipe, be sure to take a picture and hashtag it. I can't wait to see what you cook up! Print Recipe 5 from 1 vote Turkey & Black Bean Tacos Prep Time 10 mins Cook Time 15 mins Total Time 25 mins Servings: 12 Calories: 255 kcal Author: Jessica Fisher Ingredients 1 lb ground turkey 1 tbsp taco seasoning mix 15.5-ounce can black beans rinsed and drained 1/2 cup salsa verde 12 taco shells or tortillas (can stretch into 24) 2 cup shredded green cabbage 8 oz cheddar cheese (shredded) , 2 cups 1-2 tomato seeded and diced Instructions In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown the turkey until no longer pink, breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon. Stir in the taco seasoning mix. Add the beans and salsa. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until hot through. Spoon the meat and bean mixture into the taco shells or tortillas. Top with shredded cabbage, cheese, and tomatoes. Freezing directions: Cool the meat mixture after step 1 and package, label, and chill throughly before freezing. To serve, thaw in the refrigerator; reheat on the stove top or in the microwave. Continue with the recipe from step 2. Notes Promptly store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days. Nutritional values are approximate and based on 1 taco, when made with 12 taco shells Nutrition Calories: 255 kcal | Carbohydrates: 16 g | Protein: 20 g | Fat: 12 g | Saturated Fat: 6 g | Cholesterol: 51 mg | Sodium: 511 mg | Potassium: 342 mg | Fiber: 4 g | Sugar: 2 g | Vitamin A: 440 IU | Vitamin C: 7 mg | Calcium: 222 mg | Iron: 1 mg This post was originally published on April 28, 2014. It has been updated for content and clarity.

‘Tiger King’: CNY animal park owner says Joe Exotic was set up, Carole Baskin is ‘awful’

While The Wild Animal Park in Chittenango is delayed opening due to the coronavirus pandemic, owner Jeff Taylor has joined about 34 million other viewers to watch the Netflix docu-series series “Tiger King.” The seven-part series was released on March 20 to a captive audience full of people staying home due to orders of social distancing. The plot centers on the conflict between Joe Maldonado-Passage, otherwise known as “Joe Exotic", a larger-than-life private zoo owner and Carole Baskin, an animal rights activist who runs a big cat sanctuary. In the true crime series, we see the tension grow between Baskin and Exotic. She publicly campaigns to close Exotic’s zoo. He is convinced Baskin killed her husband in the nineties and said she is just another zoo owner who wants to shut down competition. After a series of “can-you-believe that” moments, Exotic ends up in jail and his former business partner Jeff Lowe takes over Exotic’s zoo and animals. “Tiger King’s" viral viewership has created a stir on social media with memes, celebrity impersonations, TikTok parody songs, and campaigns to set Exotic free from jail. The series just released a follow-up episode to capture cast reactions after seeing it all on screen. Taylor opened The Wild Animal Park in August 2012, just north of the village of Chittenango, New York. A childhood dream, he opened his private zoo with a pair of kangaroos, a dromedary camel named Aladdin, five alligators and a 5-month-old Bengal tiger named Kiara. Presently The Wild boasts that it is home to the largest big cat collection of any zoo in the state. After watching the Netflix series focusing on big cat collectors, Taylor responded with his own takes. “The characters in that movie do not represent the entire private sector. You’re putting the craziest people from the private sector on TV and they don’t represent our whole industry,” he said. “That’s what kind of sad about it.” Taylor said he forced himself to watch it, bracing for the worst. He thought it would be a documentary, similar to “Black Fish," the 2013 documentary about a killer whale in captivity which had killed several people and aimed to uncover problems within the sea-park industry. “It wasn’t that bad, but it still wasn’t good. I’m considered a private owner of big cats and a lot of times people think a private owner of a tiger is like a pet owner. I don’t think anybody should own a pet tiger,” Taylor said. He has met some of the people featured in the docu-series, including Joe Exotic. Taylor said when he met Exotic years ago he was a very eccentric, nice guy who really cared about his animals. However, said he could see the progression over the past 10 years of how Exotic changed and he said, how Baskin changed him. “He was always being attacked by her. She is the most guilty person. She attacked him first. He just became so wrapped up in trying to get back at her. She sued him, she sued his mother; she went after his whole life,” Taylor said. Exotic is currently sentenced to 22 years in prison for several crimes, including a murder-for-hire plot and wildlife violations. “Personally my opinion is that he was set up," Taylor said. “Jeff Lowe and that group, they basically set him up. I don’t think the government was innocent either. I think they all pushed him. For all the years he hated her, he never tried to do anything and then they set him up. I think he was vulnerable and people took advantage of him.” Taylor does not agree with any sort of animal abuse, but didn’t know if Exotic ever abused his animals. He did say many of the people making claims of animal abuse are connected to supporting Lowe. There is no character in the series however that draws more of Taylor’s ire than Carole Baskin. He’s never met Baskin, but said she has gone after everyone in the industry who owns big cats. He said her big cat sanctuary is essentially run the same as a private zoo and describes it in a Facebook post as a “rusty small caged dump.” “I’ve known she’s awful for years and years. It’s nice to finally have the world know it,” Taylor said. If the Big Cat Safety Act that Baskin talks about in the series were to pass, he said it would essentially shut down zoos like The Wild. Taylor said the series was a poor representation of the private zoo sector. He said that for many the enclosures are just as nice as any city zoo and that the animals receive amazing care. At The Wild, Taylor said they try to go above and beyond what the minimum requirements are in caring for the animals. They employ several zoo keepers and have on-call veterinarians which frequently come out to check on the animals. Jeff Taylor, owner of The Wild Animal Park in Chittenango with one of his big cats.Provided photo | syracuse.com “It’s very complicated, the whole radical animal rights movement,” Taylor said. “In essence, the whole movie comes down to money. It’s all based on a monopoly of trying to control the industry, to eliminate competition. Carole Baskin wants to be the only one. She’s a zoo basically and she doesn’t like that there are other zoos. The AZA also wants to eliminate zoos like mine because we’re competition. Anybody thinks it’s more than that just doesn’t know all the details along the way.” The Wild is inspected and licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and is required to follow the same regulations for feeding, housing and caring for animals as places like the Syracuse zoo. New York State also requires extra licensing to have big cats on exhibit at the zoo. Taylor said it is frustrating to constantly have to defend themselves against new legislation and he hopes the popularity of the movie doesn’t cause quick decisions that would be detrimental to zoos like his. The zoo has retained all of its employees during the coronavirus pandemic shut down and is still preparing to open for a 2020 season, whenever that may be. Read more Coronavirus in CNY: The Wild Animal Park delays season opening Will Donald Trump pardon Tiger King’s Joe Exotic? Whose side are you on, ‘Tiger King’ edition: Joe Exotic or Carole Baskin? Tiger at Bronx Zoo tests positive for coronavirus Free streaming to watch: HBO shows; CBS All-Access for 60 days; more Will schools reopen in New York state this academic year? It’s doubtful

COVID-19 | Nouvelle façon de dénoncer les récalcitrants

Le Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) propose un nouvel outil pour les citoyens qui veulent dénoncer des situations problématiques liées à la COVID-19. • À lire aussi: EN DIRECT | Les derniers développements sur le coronavirus Les Montréalais sont maintenant invités à se rendre sur le site internet du SPVM afin de remplir un signalement en ligne dans le but de rapporter les citoyens qui ne respectent pas les consignes décrétées par le gouvernement relativement aux mesures sanitaires et de distanciation. Avant d'accéder au rapport en ligne, le SPVM vous pose les questions suivantes: 1. L'incident se déroule-t-il présentement sur le territoire de l'ile de Montréal? 2. Autre que la transmission de la COVID-19, croyez-vous qu'il y a un danger imminent pour votre sécurité ou celle d'autrui? 3. Le signalement correspond-il à un des trois énoncés suivants: - S’agit-il d’un signalement en lien avec un rassemblement qui ne respecte pas l’interdiction? - S'agit-il d’un signalement en lien avec un commerce qui ne respecte pas les règles de distanciation de 2 mètres? - S'agit-il d’un signalement en lien avec un commerce ou une usine qui n’est pas un service essentiel et qui est toujours en opération, malgré les mesures prescrites? Le Service de police de la Ville de Montréal demande aux citoyens qui veulent «rapporter, par exemple, un rassemblement interdit, le non-respect des mesures sanitaires ou de distanciation dans les endroits désignés par le décret du gouvernement» de ne plus composer le 911, mais de se tourner vers le web. Si vous souhaitez remplir un rapport, cliquez ici.

Confinement strict jusqu’au 11 mai, réouverture progressive des écoles… ce qu’il faut retenir du discours d’Emmanuel Macron

Au 28e jour de confinement, et lors de sa quatrième prise de parole devant les Français depuis le début de la crise sanitaire, Emmanuel Macron a esquissé, lundi 13 avril, des voies pour sortir de la crise sanitaire qui paralyse le pays. Après avoir rendu hommage aux soignants et à tous ceux qui « ont donné toute leur énergie pour sauver des vies », M. Macron a confirmé ce qui était l’annonce la plus attendue de la soirée, et qui était dans l’air depuis plusieurs jours, à savoir le prolongement du confinement. Confinement strict prolongé jusqu’au 11 mai dans toute la France « Le confinement le plus strict doit encore se poursuivre. C’est la condition pour ralentir encore davantage la propagation du virus, réussir à retrouver des places disponibles en réanimation et permettre à nos soignants de reconstituer leurs forces », alors que, a-t-il rappelé, « l’épidémie commence à marquer le pas ». Les derniers chiffres officiels, publiés lundi, font état de près de 15 000 morts, mais avec un nombre de patients en réanimation en baisse pour le cinquième jour consécutif. « Je mesure pleinement l’effort que je vous demande durant les quatre semaines à venir. Les règles prévues par le gouvernement devront continuer à être respectées. Elles sont en train de montrer leur efficacité et ne doivent être ni renforcées ni allégées », a-t-il dit, répétant qu’il faut surtout « appliquer les gestes barrières ». Les personnes les plus vulnérables, les personnes âgées ou en situation de handicap sévère ainsi que celles atteintes de maladie chronique « devront rester confinés même après le 11 mai, tout au moins dans un premier temps ». M. Macron a également évoqué la possibilité, au 11 mai, pour le plus grand nombre « de retourner travailler, redémarrer notre industrie, nos commerces et nos services », sans donner plus de détails. Il a néanmoins indiqué que « le gouvernement préparera sans délai ces réouvertures avec les partenaires sociaux pour que des règles soient établies afin de protéger les salariés au travail. » Le 11 mai est aussi l’échéance à laquelle le chef de l’Etat a estimé qu’il sera possible pour toutes les personnes qui présentent des symptômes, d’être testées et en cas de diagnostic positif pour le SARS-CoV-2 d’être mises en quarantaine et suivies par un médecin. Ces tests ne concerneront pas l’ensemble de la population, et il n’a pas précisé si les personnes en contact avec les malades devront aussi rester confinées. Le déconfinement, déjà amorcé dans quelques pays européens, s’annonce comme une entreprise infiniment délicate. L’opération pourrait s’avérer catastrophique si n’était pas mis en place un système de tests massif et d’isolement des personnes infectées, selon une étude réalisée notamment par l’Inserm, et révélée par Le Monde. Les enjeux du « déconfinement » expliqués en schémas : Quand et comment pourrons-nous ressortir de chez nous ? Macron reconnaît « des failles, des insuffisances » dans la gestion de la crise En réponse aux nombreuses critiques sur la gestion de la crise sanitaire – que ce soit l’acquisition et la distribution de masques, celles de tests, et plus globalement la stratégie gouvernementale – le chef de l’Etat a reconnu « des failles, des insuffisances, des ratés ». « Comme vous, j’ai vu encore trop de lenteur, de procédures inutiles. Des faiblesses aussi de notre logistique. Nous en tirerons toutes les conséquences en temps voulu », a-t-il dit. L’allocution télévisée d’Emmanuel Macron, le 13 avril. JEAN-CLAUDE COUTAUSSE POUR « LE MONDE » Il a notamment reconnu que l’Etat n’a pas « pu distribuer autant de masques que nous l’aurions voulu pour nos soignants, pour les infirmières, les aides à domicile. Dès l’instant où ces problèmes ont été identifiés, nous nous sommes mobilisés pour produire et pour acquérir les matériels nécessaires ». Après avoir dans un premier temps recommandé à la population de ne pas porter de masques, afin de les réserver au personnel soignant, le gouvernement prévoit désormais que chaque Français et Française puissent « se procurer un masque grand public ». Ces masques seront distribués en « lien avec les maires » de chaque ville. « Pour les professions les plus exposées et pour certaines situations comme dans les transports en commun, son usage pourrait devenir systématique. » Une réouverture « progressive » du monde éducatif, hormis les universités Les crèches, écoles, collèges et lycées pourront commencer à rouvrir à partir du 11 mai. Il a justifié cette décision notamment par le fait que « trop d’enfants sont privés d’école sans avoir accès au numérique et ne peuvent être aidés de la même manière par les parents ». Il a fait valoir que « le gouvernement aura à aménager des règles particulières, organiser différemment le temps et l’espace, bien protéger nos enseignants et nos enfants avec le matériel nécessaire ». Priorité a été donnée à cet objectif plutôt qu’aux options prises en compte dans des scénarios qui privilégiaient le maintien de la fermeture de tous les établissements scolaires pour limiter la circulation du virus, ou ceux dans lesquels seuls les crèches et les établissements du primaire rouvriraient. Pour l’ensemble de l’enseignement supérieur, en revanche, « les cours ne reprendront pas physiquement à l’université jusqu’à l’été. Le gouvernement précisera pour chacun la bonne organisation qui sera nécessaire, en particulier pour les examens et les concours ». Depuis le 16 mars, quelque 12,5 millions d’élèves et 2,6 millions d’étudiants suivent les cours à distance en raison de la fermeture des établissements scolaires et universitaires. En ce qui concerne les examens qui ont dû être reportés, le gouvernement précisera ultérieurement « la bonne organisation qui sera nécessaire en particulier pour les examens et les concours ». Les étudiants « les plus précaires, vivant parfois loin de leur famille, en particulier lorsque celles-ci viennent d’outre-mer », recevront une aide, dont le montant n’a pas été précisé. Les familles « les plus modestes avec des enfants » auront, par ailleurs, droit à une « une aide exceptionnelle », dont le montant n’a pas été précisé. Pas de réouverture des « lieux rassemblant du public » « Les bars, restaurants, cafés, hôtels, cinémas, théâtres, salles de spectacles et musées resteront fermés à ce stade », a annoncé le chef de l’Etat. Aucun détail n’a été donné concernant les autres commerces actuellement fermés, car n’étant pas considérés comme de première nécessité. Quant aux festivals et autres événements rassemblant de grandes foules, ils ne pourront se tenir « avant la mi-juillet ». Dans la foulée, le Festival d’Avignon, qui devait se tenir du 3 au 23 juillet, a confirmé son annulation. Même décision communiquée mardi matin pour les Eurockéennes de Belfort, festival de musique initialement prévu du 2 au 4 juillet. Le doute demeure désormais sur le sort du Festival de Cannes, qui avait été reporté au début du mois de juillet, et les nombreux festivals musicaux de l’été comme les Francofolies ou les Vieilles Charrues. Un « plan de l’après-11 mai » devrait être présenté dans les quinze prochains jours, selon le chef de l’Etat, afin de donner les « détails d’organisation de notre vie quotidienne » puis « la situation sera collectivement évaluée à partir de mi-mai, chaque semaine, pour adapter les choses et vous donner de la visibilité ». A La Baule, le 13 avril. SEBASTIEN SALOM-GOMIS / AFP Pour aider « les secteurs qui, comme le tourisme, l’hôtellerie, la restauration, la culture et l’événementiel, seront durablement affectés », des aides spécifiques et des annulations de charges sont prévues. Sur l’après-crise : « Sachons nous réinventer. Moi le premier » En conclusion de son intervention, bien moins guerrière que certaines des précédentes, M. Macron a appelé à « sortir des sentiers battus, des idéologies et nous réinventer. Moi, le premier » : « Il nous reviendra dans les prochaines semaines de préparer l’après. Il nous faudra rebâtir notre économie plus forte afin de produire et redonner plein espoir à nos salariés et nos entrepreneurs, garder notre indépendance financière. Il nous faudra rebâtir une indépendance agricole, sanitaire, industrielle et technologique française et plus d’autonomie stratégique pour notre Europe. Cela passera par un plan massif pour notre santé, notre recherche, nos aînés, entre autres (…). Il nous faudra bâtir une stratégie où nous retrouverons le temps long, la possibilité de planifier, la sobriété carbone, la prévention, la résilience, qui seuls peuvent permettre de faire face aux crises à venir. Sachons dans ce moment sortir des sentiers battus, des idéologies et nous réinventer. Moi le premier. Il y a dans cette crise une chance pour nous ressouder, éprouver notre humanité, bâtir un autre projet dans la concorde, un projet français, une raison de vivre ensemble profonde, avec toutes les composantes de notre nation. Je tâcherai de dessiner le chemin qui rend cela possible. Mes chers compatriotes, nous aurons des jours meilleurs et nous retrouverons les jours heureux. » Lire le verbatim l’intégralité du discours d’Emmanuel Macron Le Monde

De Wever slaat mea culpa over teruggetrokken advertentie

Antwerps burgemeester en N-VA-voorzitter Bart De Wever verontschuldigt zich voor een Facebook-advertentie waarin hij aangaf geen boetes op te willen opleggen aan wie de coronaregels overtreedt. Hij zegt in Ter Zake dat hij daarmee ‘het verkeerde debat’ op gang bracht. De N-VA lanceerde een advertentie waarop De Wever te zien was op een bankje, met daarbij de tekst ‘Uitrusten op een bankje verboden? Sorry, dat ga ik niet handhaven’. De advertentie is ondertussen ingetrokken. De burgemeester noemt dat nu ‘geen goede advertentie’ omdat die het debat heeft losgemaakt ‘over of we de regels moeten volgen’. Dat was niet de bedoeling, zegt hij in een gesprek met de VRT. ‘Het debat moet gaan over de wettigheid van de regels’. Volgens De Wever heeft iedereen de regels wel begrepen. ‘De mensen zitten alleen, ze houden afstand.’ Hij wijst erop dat veel mensen in Antwerpen geen tuin hebben. ‘Moeten ze dan een boete krijgen als ze alleen buiten komen?’ De Wever toont wel begrip voor wie buiten komt, en maakt zich zorgen over de psychosociale toestand van de mensen. Hij zegt nu al meer meldingen van intrafamiliaal geweld te zien, en vreest een toegenomen alcoholconsumptie bij mensen thuis. ‘Mensen die in een grote villa wonen, met een mooie tuin zoals ik, die zeggen “blijf binnen”. Maar voor wie in een appartementsblok woont met een groot gezin, of moederziel alleen is, weegt zo’n huisarrest heel zwaar’. ‘Maar er wordt in Antwerpen volop gehandhaafd, laat daar geen onduidelijkheid over bestaan’.

Downtown projects breaking ground in spite of COVID-19

Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. Corporate Headquarters Jacksonville-based Fortune 500 company Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. expects to break ground on a new $145 million world headquarters in May. The 12-story, 358,092-square-foot tower will overlook the St. Johns River with a structured parking garage at the intersection of Riverside Avenue and Forest Street. The garage will include 6,000-square-feet of ground floor commercial retail space. An application for civil plan review was submitted to the city in February. Expected to create 500 additional jobs in Brooklyn, the project is intended to provide additional office space following the summer 2019 $43 billion acquisition of Cincinnati-based Worldpay. Florida Blue Forest Street Parking Garage Construction is already well underway on a new, 869-space, 269,080-square-foot, four-level parking garage at 800 Forest Street in Brooklyn. Being built for Florida Blue, a construction permit was recently issued by the city on April 8th. Completion of the project paves the way for the development of a $145 million world headquarters for Fidelity National Information Services on an existing 5.71-acre Florida Blue surface parking lot. Designed to eventually include 60-foot-deep retail bays, additional components of the $22.5 million garage include a 0.05-acre public plaza at the intersection of Forest and Magnolia streets. Construction is anticipated to be completed by September 9, 2020. Southbank Apartments Construction is now underway on an eight-story, 184-unit luxury apartment development at 959 Prudential Drive. A foundation permit was issued for the project in January, with Louisiana-based Ventures Development Group, LLC. acquiring the 2.89-acre property from Hines SSGP Riverpointe LLC. in March. Situated between the Acosta Bridge and the Eight Forty One building, amenities at the yet-to-be-named project include a clubroom, community kitchen, green space, playground, dog park, third floor pool and deck and an extension of the Southbank Riverwalk. Co-developers Ventures Development Group and Batson-Cook Development Co. expect to open the community in early 2022.

Forças de Haftar bombardeiam estoques de remédios em Trípoli

Forças leais ao general renegado Khalifa Haftar atacaram diversos depósitos de remédios na área de Sawani, ao sul de Trípoli, capital da Líbia, conforme relatos divulgados ontem (12) pelo Governo de União Nacional, reconhecido internacionalmente. Em declaração, o Governo de União Nacional afirmou que os bombardeios tiveram como alvo farmácias pertencentes ao Hospital Al-Khadra, que contêm suprimentos e equipamentos médicos utilizados para tratar pacientes com coronavírus. Na quinta-feira (9), o Ministério da Saúde da Líbia suspendeu as operações em Al-Khadra, após três ataques consecutivos em 72 horas, executados por milícias de Haftar. Segundo relatos, os ataques destruíram a farmácia do hospital e salas de cirurgia. Operações em Al-Khadra foram retomadas na sexta-feira (10) para pacientes com coronavírus, segundo fontes locais. LEIA: Hospital que trata casos de covid-19 na Líbia sofre ataque e pacientes são removidos Observadores afirmam que as milícias de Haftar buscam atualmente pressionar as forças do Governo de União Nacional – em avanço constante sobre diversas áreas de Trípoli – ao atacar diretamente o setor de infraestrutura da cidade. Desde a deposição do ditador Muammar Gaddafi, em 2011, dois centros de poder emergiram na Líbia: Haftar, na porção oriental do país, apoiado por Egito e Emirados Árabes Unidos, e o Governo de União Nacional, na capital Trípoli, que desfruta de reconhecimento da ONU e da comunidade internacional. O Governo de União Nacional está sob ataque das forças de Haftar desde abril de 2019, com mais de mil mortos pela violência até então. Em março, o Secretário-Geral da ONU António Guterres fez um apelo por “cessar-fogo imediato em todos os conflitos ocorrendo no mundo, enquanto devotamos esforços globais na prevenção ao contágio do covid-19.” “É hora de suspender os conflitos armados e nos concentrarmos juntos na verdadeira luta de nossas vidas”, declarou Guterres. “O mundo enfrenta um inimigo em comum – o covid-19, que não discrimina entre nacionalidade ou etnia, facção ou fé”. Embora as partes em conflito na Líbia tenham acolhido os apelos da ONU, as hostilidades não somente prevaleceram, como se intensificaram nas últimas semanas. LEIA: Drones dos Emirados Árabes Unidos visam correios na Líbia

On Set With Seven Veteran Actresses

“When we come together, it’s like we’re old friends. It’s like we’ve known each other forever. And it’s because we have all walked such a similar journey.” “I feel like I’m a part of a group. I feel a sisterhood. At the end of the day, I don’t think that you can get anywhere without connection, and especially in a business that we keep criticizing as being deprived of black narratives. So I have to feel a kinship, I really do.” “It’s been a real honor and a blessing to be able to work beside Angela Bassett, who is one of my favorites, Viola Davis, who’s one of my favorites. They’re my sisters, and they always make me feel welcome.” “I feel a kinship with other black women, because we understand it the same. We have a knowing about the struggle and about how hard it’s been for us.” “I know that whatever they did, they worked really hard to get that opportunity. In that sense, I feel very connected and very protective of my fellow black actresses.” “I could only imagine a time when it wasn’t this many of us, you know? How uncomfortable that could have been.” “We’re not monolithic. That’s the thing. There’s so many types within us. There are so many different energies.” “We’re all so unique in what we bring. It’s always been that way. Graduating from drama school and running into each other in the audition space, and once it’s over we may walk, you know, 30, 40, 50 blocks together in New York City just commiserating, talking, laughing, sharing.” “Oh growing up, you know, there weren’t many women of color when I started. That’s like 30 years ago. So I looked up to Dorothy Dandridge. I remember seeing ‘Carmen Jones’ when I was a kid, and just mesmerized by the movie— not only her beauty, but her talent. And to see myself reflected was huge.” “Pam Grier. I looked up to Debbie Allen. We didn’t have a lot. But any time that I saw a woman or young girl of color— any kind of representation of myself— I was drawn. If it were not for them, I would— I would have never been able to dream.” “Absolutely Ms. Tyson, Cicely Tyson. Rosalind Cash. Paula Kelly. Ruby Dee.” “Diana Sands. Lena Horne.” “Regina Hall and Sanaa Lathan.” “Gloria Foster. Mary Alice. Diahann Caroll. Diana Ross. To be able to see someone who looked like your mother, you know, or your sister, your auntie on that screen.” “You’re a little black girl with dark skin and a wide nose. You’re not cute, you’re not— you’re nothing. You’re invisible. That’s when you understand the importance of a role model. And when Ms. Tyson walked in, I could then reach beyond my circumstances and see something materialize that made me feel like it was possible. So now, her playing my mom on ‘How to Get Away with ‘Murder,’ the dream actually came true.” “Well, definitely Cicely Tyson. She was everything to me.” “Race never entered my mind when I decided I wanted to be an actress when I was five years old. It didn’t really occur to me that race had anything to do with the permission to be a storyteller in film and television until I came to Los Angeles. It’s the first time that I said, oh my god, it’s not that easy. But you find your way around and you just keep pedaling along until the world kind of makes a little bit of room for you to squeeze in and show people what you’ve got.” “I think I felt like I made it when I did a movie called ‘Jungle Fever.’ It was a movie that Spike Lee directed. And it was the first time I got to play a role that was outside of, I think, what I had been known for at that time. I was a beauty pageant queen. I played a model on my first television role.” [THEME - ‘LIVING DOLLS’] “Hey, baby, you’ve got the look. Take your headshot. This gave me a chance to really put my acting chops on display.” “My first television role was on a sitcom called ‘Smart Guy.’” “That’s right. When Yvette broke up with Todd, I waited well over three weeks before I went out with him.” “You went out with Todd?” “I would say my first breakout role was definitely Yvette from ‘Baby Boy.’” “I’m tired of you messing around on me, Jody.” “I wasn’t doin’ nothing, girl.” “Oh my god.” “My breakout role, I would say, was probably ‘Beloved.’” “I think one of my earliest breakout roles would have to be ‘Boyz n the Hood.’ That movie directed by the great John Singleton was a breakout in and of itself. There were a lot of actors in that movie who woke up the audience. And I happened to be a part of that.” “The breakout role, the role that I think I’ll never lose the respect for, was ‘The Josephine Baker Story.’ And for that I won an Emmy.” “My first role in theater, it was Death in ‘Everyman.’ I played Death. As far as the public is concerned, I guess it would be ‘Doubt.’ I was with Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams.” “Excuse me, but you don’t know enough about life to say a thing like that, sister.” “I know enough.” “I thought that that was it. It’s over, done. I made it.” “Well, compared to starting in the music business, my start in acting was hard. I didn’t realize how hard acting was going to be.” “You don’t even understand, my father doesn’t let me do nothing but gospel.” “Oh, man, that’s some old Little House on the Prairie type ways.” “It would have to be ‘Mudbound’ when everyone started to recognize. I mean, I got two Oscar nominations for the role of Florence in ‘Mudbound’. I always wanted to earn it. So if it took— if I had to get an acting coach, if I had to study harder, I wanted them to be proud of me. I want Queen Latifah to be proud of me. I want Taraji to be proud of me. I want Angela Bassett to be proud of me. So I worked hard for it. And they embraced me for working hard. They see my hard work.” “Now, in terms of the quality of roles out there, that’s what we have to work on.” “What I see Hollywood do is they we’ll feature one or two of us, and the rest of us are ignored like we don’t exist. It gives the illusion that we’re moving forward, but it’s really disempowering the collective.” “It’s so much more that we can do other than just being a slave. Whoever decides to give us these jobs, they need to look at us past being black actresses. Look at us as actresses.” “You have more actresses of color who are now producing. And that means that we’re now understanding that we have to be the change that we have to see.” “Shonda Rhimes helped to change everything. The black woman took charge and showed you, oh, black women have power.” “Things have definitely changed, thanks to streaming. I mean, if you’re in the business of making money, does money have a color? I mean, if I do a movie and I’m directing, I’m producing, I’m putting every walk of life in it, because I want all the money. It just makes sense, right?” “I’m really proud to be a part of our industry now, because we’re finally understanding that we are stronger together. And there doesn’t have to be one of us, but we can all go. One goes, we all go.” “You could put it, you know, on the outside, on others— more directors, more writers, more producers. But let’s bring it back to the actress. Be dynamic. Be special. Be eye-catching. Be alluring. Be you.” “It’s a lot of responsibility. It’s a lot of responsibility to do what Ms. Tyson did for me. And then it’s a lot of responsibility to just be true to you, to live your truth and your authenticity, especially in a town that is not necessarily about that. And that’s what it means to be a black actress.” [MUSIC PLAYING]

‎SARKWO

Slide marbles by swiping on a screen and guide them to their goals.. ALL MARBLES SLIDE TOGETHER and that's the first challenge you face in this game. Features: - 80 handcrafted puzzles - Creative puzzle mechanics and their combos - Unique theme for each puzzle - No timers and move counter - Original music and sfx - Haptic feedback - Game Center and iCloud sync Have fun playing SARKWO :)

Angry About The 'Stay Home' Order? Gov. Whitmer Says It's OK To Direct It At Her

(WWJ) Sick of staying home? Can't wait to get back to work, back to normal, or at least on to the next phase? Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she gets it. "I want you to have your freedom; I want to have mine, too," the governor said, taking a more person tone as she updated the public on the COVID-19 situation Monday. "It became clear to me this weekend that there are are lot of people who are worried, understandably, about whether or not we're gonna get past this moment...and we are...We will get past this, we will get through this. This is not a permanent moment." Whitmer said she knows that many Michiganders are mad about her "Stay Home, Stay Safe" Executive Order, and some are confused as to why one store is open, but not another. Or that they can shop for this item, but not that. "I will say that I understand the frustration that people have; I'm frustrated, too," she said. "This is hard. This is not what any of us signed up for, frankly. But the fact of the matter is this is a virus that is ravaging our state." "It's okay to be frustrated. It's okay to be angry. If it makes it better to direct it at me, that's okay. I have thick skin." As a person, Whitmer said, she'd love to be preparing for her daughter's high school graduation; and as the governor she'd much rather be "fixing the damn roads." But, she said, now is not the time for that. "I want you to know that I don't do any of this lightly," she said. "It weighs heavily, and I want you to know there's a cost that's associated. But the question that we're trying to confront is: How do we safe lives? How do we hold on to this health care system? And that's what's driving every decision that we're making to try to flatten this curve." "There's nobody who would rather push a button and and return to life as normal," she added, "but no button exists in this environment." Whitmer's remarks come after several days of criticism of her extension of her "Stay Home" order, which imposed new restrictions on stores, limits residents from visiting second homes and clarifies restrictions on boating and vacations. Some Republicans in the Legislature have been critical of Whitmer's order and its effects business in the state; including lawn care and landscaping companies. Whitmer said she knows that small business owners are scared of what will become of the businesses, and concerned about their employees. However, she stressed that all of these decisions on restrictions are science-based. She said she's working with health experts and business leaders to work out how best to get people back to work safely, and at the appropriate time. "We at the state level are developing plans to safely phase in the engagement of Michigan's economy when it is safe to do that," the governor said. "So this is an all hands on deck effort. It's going to be a data-driven approach that's based on facts, based on science, based on data from experts and epidemiologists." Whitmer said she wants to encourage employers to start, if they haven't already, thinking about what reopening might look like; and how they will be able to keep their employees and their customers safe when the time comes. Whitmer also cautioned about misinformation circulating on social media, including about nonexistent bans on buying things like child car seats and American flags. There is no ban on those items. This comes as the state on Monday announced 997 new cases of the virus, and 115 additional deaths from COVID-19. This brings the state totals to 25,635 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, with a total of 1,602 related deaths. [MORE HERE]. Also starting Monday, Whitmer said the state is opening 13 more drive-thru testing sites, in addition to those already in operation at the former state Fairgrounds in Detroit and in Flint. The locations are the following: Atlanta (between Gaylord and Alpena): Thunder Bay Community Health Service, 11899 M-32, 989-733-6827. Bad Axe: Great Lakes Bay Health Centers, 876 N. Van Dyke Rd, 989-623-0137. Battle Creek: Grace Health, 181 W. Emmett St., 269-441-3463. Bay City: Great Lakes Bay Health Centers, 3884 Monitor Rd, 989-671-2000. Benton Harbor: InterCare Community Health Network, 800 M-139, 855-869-6900. Detroit: A second location in the city. Details to come. Flint (Open beginning on Wednesday): Atwood Stadium, parking lot entrance off West 1st Street, details to come. Grand Rapids: Cherry Health, 200 Sheldon Street SE, 616-965-8347. Jackson: Center for Family Health, 505 N. Jackson St., 517-748-5363. Kalamazoo: Family Health Center, 117 W Paterson St., 269-488-0804. Lansing: Ingham Community Health Centers, 2316 S. Cedar St., 517-887-4517. Saginaw: Great Lakes Bay Health Centers, 501 Lapeer Ave., 989-293-3492. Traverse City: Northwest Michigan Health Services, 10767 Traverse Highway, 231-642-5292. People are encouraged to call before going. The governor said officials hope to test 100 or more people at each site per day. Get information about getting tested at the Fairgrounds here.

Breaking the size and speed limit of modulators: The workhorses of the internet

SUMMARY Researchers developed and demonstrated for the first time a silicon-based electro-optical modulator that is smaller, as fast as and more efficient than state-of-the-art technologies. By adding indium tin oxide (ITO) - a transparent conductive oxide found in touchscreen displays and solar cells - to a silicon photonic chip platform, the researchers were able to create a compact device 1 micrometer in size and able to yield gigahertz-fast, or 1 billion times per second, signal modulation. Electro-optical modulators are the workhorses of the internet. They convert electrical data from computers and smartphones to optical data streams for fiber optic networks, enabling modern data communications like video streaming. The new invention is timely since demand for data services is growing rapidly and moving towards next generation communication networks. Taking advantage of their compact footprint, electro-optic converters can be utilized as transducers in optical computing hardware such as optical artificial neural networks that mimic the human brain and a plethora of other applications for modern-day life. THE SITUATION Electro-optical modulators in use today are typically between 1 millimeter and 1 centimeter in size. Reducing their size allows increased packaging density, which is vital on a chip. While silicon often serves as the passive structure on which photonic integrated circuits are built, the light matter interaction of silicon materials induces a rather weak optical index change, requiring a larger device footprint. While resonators could be used to boost this weak electro-optical effect, they narrow devices' optical operating range and incur high energy consumption from required heating elements. THE SOLUTION By heterogeneously adding a thin material layer of indium tin oxide to the silicon photonic waveguide chip, researchers at the George Washington University, led by Volker Sorger, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, have demonstrated an optical index change 1,000 times larger than silicon. Unlike many designs based on resonators, this spectrally-broadband device is stable against temperature changes and allows a single fiber-optic cable to carry multiple wavelengths of light, increasing the amount of data that can move through a system. FROM THE RESEARCHER "We are delighted to have achieved this decade-long goal of demonstrating a GHz-fast ITO modulator. This sets a new horizon for next-generation photonic reconfigurable devices with enhanced performance yet reduced size," said Dr. Sorger ### OTHER INFORMATION The paper, "Broadband Sub-λ GHz ITO Plasmonic Mach Zehnder Modulator on Silicon Photonics," was published today in the journal Optica. To schedule an interview with Dr. Sorger about the new device, please contact Timothy Pierce at tpie@gwu.edu or 202-994-5647. This technology is covered by several patent applications and is available for licensing (US Patent App. 16/545,733).

Court: Legislative Council Can’t Overturn Executive Order Banning Religious Services of More Than 10

Justices with the Kansas Supreme Court ruled Saturday that a legislative council can’t overturn the governor’s executive order banning religious services featuring more than 10 people. Instead, the entire legislature must join together. “It looks like, according just to the plain text of the resolution, that the Legislature, by the language of the resolution, has given up any ability, short of reconvening, to override any executive order,” Justice Caleb Stegall said, according to Courthouse News. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has won a ruling from the Kansas Supreme Court that said she holds sweeping powers to shut down operations in the state, including large church services, in the face of the coronavirus crisis. https://t.co/M2tplg2z4W — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) April 12, 2020 The fight was over whether the GOP-majority Legislative Coordinating Council had the authority to overturn an executive order from Governor Laura Kelly, a Democrat. The governor issued an executive order after the statewide spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was partially blamed on three religious conferences. She sued after the council, which is 5-2 Republican, voted along party lines to overturn her executive order. Kansas Supreme Court rules that Republican-dominated legislative panel exceeded its authority when it tried to overturn governor’s executive order banning religious and funeral services of more than 10 people, @AP reports https://t.co/toy7dc5oXC — Bloomberg Australia (@BloombergAU) April 12, 2020 This isn’t to say the LCC generally lacks the ability to do this, but the Court determined that under a state resolution, they can only do so after Kelly asks the State Finance Council to extend her state emergency declaration past May 1. The Legislature previously voted to extend it to this date. [Screengrab via KMBC 9] Have a tip we should know? [email protected]

"Sleepers Awake," from Crisis to Cantata

In the depths of a fearsome epidemic that ravaged his community, a small-town German pastor wrote a hymn to bring his congregation hope. More than 400 years later, "Sleepers Awake" still comforts and inspires us, perhaps now more than ever before. The Piece There's a short piece with a gorgeous, unforgettable melody that we play on the radio sometimes, called Sleepers Awake. While you're listening to it, even just for those few minutes, there's peace; everything is calm and beautiful, the music speaking to us as clearly today is it did when it was written. That's no coincidence. Sleepers Awake has its roots in another epidemic, one that cast a shadow over a small German town. It comes from a meditation on hope in an uncertain time, and took a long and surprising journey to reach our ears yet again with its message of comfort. The Backstory When we announce this lovely piece on WCRB, we usually say something like “Sleepers Awake, by Bach.” This is much, much easier to say than the full story, which sounds more like an academic bibliography: “an arrangement of the second chorale from Bach’s cantata Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (BWV 140), based on the hymn of the same name by Philip Nicolai.” Bach based his cantata Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme on a popular Lutheran hymn. The melody of the hymn is woven throughout the cantata, and the three verses of the hymn are used as the text of the cantata’s three chorales. It’s a joyous hymn, focused on Jesus Christ’s return to his faithful followers. Still sung by Christians today, it was written by an otherwise obscure 16th century Lutheran pastor named Philipp Nicolai. Nicolai was the pastor of a town called Unna, near the German city of Dortmund. He had just taken the job when the town was hit with a terrible plague. By the end, almost half of Unna had succumbed. For Nicolai, whose parsonage overlooked the cemetery and who had to perform countless funerals, it must have felt like the apocalypse. He consoled himself by writing a collection of meditations to, in his words, “comfort other sufferers whom [God] should also visit with the pestilence.” He called this collection his “Mirror of Joy,” a hopeful light shining in the midst of terrible darkness. And to round it off, he included two original hymns, one of which was Wachet Auf. The Message Wachet Auf shows how deeply Nicolai was affected by what was happening to his town. In a touching tribute, he hid the initials of a former student who passed away in the plague in the first letter of each verse. The words of the hymn speak of a bright light coming in the middle of the night, and the first verse tells believers to wake up from their sleep and hold up their lamps. Rather than preparing for some new awful thing, the hymn is saying to be prepared for joy by sharing your light. Nicolai’s lamp was his faith and his hope for a brighter future, and Wachet Auf was his way of shining that lamp for his congregation. That message of hope and joy, written in the middle of profound tragedy, made Wachet Auf a popular hymn among Lutherans. Over a century later, Bach decided to use it in a cantata for his church. While most of the music in the cantata is his own, he based the chorales around the melody of Nicolai’s hymn. The second chorale is the piece that we now know as Sleepers Awake, and features an original melody that Bach pairs with Nicolai’s: The whole cantata is really worth listening to, but the movement we're talking about starts at 15:20. Bach starts his own melody first, dancing over the bassline. Then, he brings in Nicolai’s hymn as a slow, insistent counterpoint. The two melodies intertwine in a cross-century collaboration between an almost unknown pastor and one of the greatest composers of all time. The next time you hear Sleepers Awake on WCRB, you can think about the long journey it took to get from 16th century Unna to 21st century Boston. Yet even after all of that, its message remains universal. We don’t know what will happen next, but we do know that we can and will get through it. What we can do now is be prepared, hold up our lamps, and bring light to each other’s lives. To everybody helping in whatever way they can through all of this, thank you. We’ll keep our lamp shining the best way we know how: by bringing you beautiful music like Sleepers Awake.

“The whole process was a trip” – Sonic Boom on 10 years of MGMT’s Congratulations – Sonic Cathedral

Anthony Ausgang’s cover art for Congratulations (edited by dRedder) Ten years ago, on April 13, 2010, MGMT released their second album, Congratulations. At the time, the entire music press seemed to decide that the duo had set out to sabotage their career with an impenetrable slice of whacked out petal machine music. What was worse, they had invited former Spacemen 3 man Sonic Boom along for the ride as co-producer and “master of ceremonies”. One of the biggest pop groups in the world was playing with fire and was about to get burned. Except they didn’t: a decade on, the album stands up as a perfect prescription of whimsical psych pop, with tunes, experimentation and fun in plentiful supply. The poster for the Sonic Cathedral show where MGMT first met Sonic Boom Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser first met Peter Kember, aka Sonic Boom, at a Sonic Cathedral show at the Dome in Tufnell Park, north London on February 27, 2009. They were in town that week for the NME Awards where they picked up Best New Band and Best Track, for their breakthrough single ‘Time To Pretend’. Knowing they were fans, I let slip to their PR that Sonic Boom and his band Spectrum were playing on the Friday night and invited them down – they were so excited they delayed their flight back to New York so they could come along. I remember them nervously climbing the stairs and heading into the makeshift dressing room to meet their hero. Introductions complete, I left them to it, and just a few hours later – after some memorable sets by Pat Fish, Banjo Or Freakout and Gentle Friendly – they were both onstage, helping out on a visceral version of Spacemen 3’s traditional set-closer ‘Suicide’ that should have gone on forever, or at least until our 2am curfew. But it did carry on. Not that night, but when the band asked Sonic Boom to work on their second album, the follow-up to their hit-laden, multi-million-selling debut Oracular Spectacular. I spoke to Sonic Boom about how it all came about, his memories of recording the album in a Malibu mansion, how it was received and the impact it had on his own career. How soon after the show at the Dome did they talk to you about working together? “I think it was within a couple of weeks. I had already had some email convo with Andrew before, about them bigging up some Spacemen 3 and Spectrum tracks. They’re dynamically cool people. Some people like that are an instant sync, it’s very nice. You know it’s kind of instant whenever you meet up again. Andrew’s been out [to Portugal] a couple of times. He loves the area and we always have a lot of fun listening to stuff. We had a three-day lovers rock and dub session last time. I really enjoy all their company.” What was it like recording the album in Malibu? Are there any good stories from the sessions? “I used to vibe out the place in different ways – lots of candles in the gardens and the studio/house space that we were using. Good stories? There’s a lot I think. The day Jennifer Herrema turned up to do her vocals was a trip – she came for a few hours and stayed a couple of days. Andrew hadn’t written the vocals yet, so Jennifer was trying to sing along to his wordless nonsense vocal guides. It was pretty psychedelic. “There was also a beautiful EMT 250 multi effect unit the size of a radiator that they had hired. It had a sort of gearstick to shift through the effects and I found it had a very special freak out when you suddenly shifted between certain effects – that became a thread through the whole session, that sound. A proverbial comment from the gods of sonic possibilities, offering advice. It gets a shout out in the credits where it was used on ‘Siberian Breaks’. “Then there was the day Rick Rubin con-descended upon us. He thought he was some sort of guru; I thought he was a bit of a typical record biz douche. Almost instant allergic reaction to him. Didn’t dig his vibe at all… “There were some cool jam parties. They would jam and play essentially pretty perfectly formed songs out of nowhere. Mostly in a sort of Link Wray-esque/surfy/psych sort of mode. Sadly, those recordings got lost. It was a little chaotic, especially until I got them to set up a studio two. There was so much creative energy it was sometimes a feat to steer it. The whole process was a trip: them renting a big house and us turning it into some sort of cross between a Buddhist temple and The Monkees’ house. It was set in nice gardens on the edge of a national park; it was really pretty amazing and different.” Sonic Boom in Malibu, 2009 Photograph by Josh Cheuse What exactly did your role as “master of ceremonies” entail? “DJing. Lighting modulation duties. Making sure everyone had what they needed – there was quite a lot of alcohol flowing, certainly for my part, so I’m sure I was mixing drinks for folks, too. Being a conduit in general. Helping any flows I could.” Did you bring in Jennifer Herrema, Britta Phillips and Anthony Ausgang, who ended up doing the memorable cover art? “Jenniffer was Andrew’s buddy already, but Britta and Ausgang were my intros. With Ausgang, they just loved him and his art and I only introduced him as a friend, not to do the sleeve. They clicked really well, but that was their own sync with him. Britta is a pro session singer, so she was an easy intro. I tried to bring in as many of my buddies as possible. I have a lot of beautiful friends and it’s killer to connect them with each other.” The end result has a whimsical Englishness, like the Television Personalities crossed with something weirdly and almost unexpectedly psychedelic, like those late ’60s Chad & Jeremy LPs. This was a curveball for the band’s pop fans at the time, or as you described it on the sleeve notes “Sunday Bacon for the Monday Generation”. Were the band happy to move in this direction and was it more reflective of them than the big hits? “Happy? It was entirely their design and the direction they wanted. They wanted to show a new side to their gem. I think confusion was high on the menu. I loved it. They did it with purpose and, in my eyes, with verve. I don’t think it’s necessarily more reflective – their hits are some of the best of that decade; they carved a signature-like notch almost instantly – I think they just wanted to flex a little.” The majority of the reports ahead of the album suggested it was some sort of commercial suicide. Was there any sense of them consciously sabotaging what they had going, or subverting from within? “Of course. They’re not gonna play anyone’s game but their own. They accommodated success more than sought it – a very enviable position in which to sit. I totally supported that, although I would equally have been happy if they’d wanted to proceed more in the Oracular Spectacular mode. That LP is stunning. They were very much a band who did it all a bit different – that’s special and I think should be supported way more than what the record company would ‘prefer’.” What did you make of the somewhat mixed critical reaction the album got? It was like everyone had made their minds up about it before it even came out, but it has actually aged really well. “I dunno. It’s a way more mature work in some ways. ‘Siberian Breaks’ is a classic of the instrumental genre – it’s up there with the best. They wanted to lead some of their fans into some interesting parks and avenues, and lose some of the more superficial element that you inevitably have when you become so heavily part of the zeitgeist.” Sonic Boom, Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser, Malibu, 2009 Photograph by Josh Cheuse Andrew and Ben ended up on Mad Love, the Cheval Sombre album that came out on Sonic Cathedral in 2012, playing fireworks, among other things. It caused a bit of a legal logistical nightmare with Sony, which also ended up nixing that split single that Great Pop Supplement did. “That LP was done in their studio. Andrew gave me a key to his pad and studio, so I would use it when he was away and sometimes he’d be there and we hung out, too. He’s a super cool dude – very generous in many ways. I did a bunch of things there and introduced my buddy Nick Kramer to them, and they set up a shared studio [Blanker Unsinn] in the carriage house beneath Andrew’s apartment in Brooklyn Heights.” Congratulations seemed to kick off your second career as an in-demand producer and you have since worked with Panda Bear, Beach House, Peaking Lights, No Joy and many more – has all that finally come full circle with your new solo album? “We shall see. Production is about adapting your role to best benefit the artist. It should be a two-way street; a producer who thinks he is better or knows better than the artist is a dead duck to me. I think they said the fact I had programmed some sweet stuff for the Reason software was also part of their decision, and of course I brought my modular synths into the mix, which was relatively a new twist for them. But they gave me my largest job to date and shoed me in on a job that I would never had slipped in if it wasn’t for their unique and uncompromising approach. I really learnt a lot from them.” Sonic Boom’s new solo album All Things Being Equal is released via Carpark Records on June 5.

Potężna wpadka TVP? Podejrzany paragon Kaczyńskiego! · Wieści24.pl

Tą sprawą powinna pilnie zainteresować się skarbówka. Jeden z internautów portalu Wykop.pl postanowił przeanalizować „paragon”, który TVP pokazała w materiale, który dotyczył wejścia Kaczyńskiego na cmentarz w czasie, gdy obowiązuje zakaz. Okazuje się, że budzi on potężne wątpliwości. „Faktura za „otarcie wrót cmentarza przez proboszcza”, która jest paragonem za wieńce. Trzy dni myśleli nad tym fikołkiem i ten materiał jest żałosny jak cała ta partia. Przez te kilka minut pojazdu na tvn, zapomnieli wspmnieć, że za to co odwalił Laczyński z podnóżkami, każdy przeciętny obywatel zostałby ukaranay, za złamanie rozporządzeń w czasie stanu epidemii. Poza tym, odnoszę wrażenie, że podokręcali część materiału o odwiedzinach na innych grobach, żeby stworzyć wygodną tezę, że prezes był też u innych” – napisał internauta. Ale to nie jedyne wątpliwości: numer paragonu, który ma oznaczenie „nr FV 1/04/2020” co by oznaczało, że jest… pierwszy paragon wystawiony przez rzekomą kwiaciarnię w kwietniu. Jest jeszcze kolejny problem z tym rachunkiem, jednocześnie zgodnie z interpretacją skarbówki „Sprzedając produkt wykonany z wykorzystaniem kwiatów ciętych (PKWIU 01.19.2, objętych stawką VAT 8% – zgodnie z załącznikiem nr 3 do ustawy o podatku od towarów i usług) np. wieniec pogrzebowy, w skład którego wchodzą kwiaty cięte (VAT 8%), żywe dodatki VAT 8%), zieleń cięta (VAT 23%), podkład wieńcowy (VAT 23%), Wnioskodawca dokonuje podziału na dwie pozycje, objęte dwoma stawkami VAT – 8% i 23%” – czytamy na stronie sip.lex.pl, bardzo dziwne na tym „paragonie” jest oddzielne wymienianie trzech takich samych wieńców. W normalnej firmie napisano by w jednym wierszu z liczbą ilość sztuk trzy, na „paragonie” zamazano dane firmy, która rzekomo sprzedała wieńce. Są to publiczne dane i ich zamazywanie nie ma żadnego sensu, Wyjątkowo dziwne a wręcz podejrzane jest również podanie na „paragonie” numeru PESEL. Nikt tego nie robi. Inna osoba zwróciła uwagę, że ów „paragon” wygląda żywcem wzięty z generatora faktur, dostępnego w internecie: I rzeczywiście, bezpośrednie porównanie pokazuje zadziwiające podobieństwa. Internauci zwrócili też uwagę na fakt, że dokument pokazany w TVP wygląda zbyt idealnie, jakby był wersją elektroniczną a nie rzeczywistym wydrukowanym dokumentem. Autorem materiału jest Marcin Tulicki, o którym Oko.press pisało tak: Marcin Tulicki w „Wiadomościach” pojawił się za czasów obecnego prezesa Jacka Kurskiego. Wcześniej pracował m.in. w TVP Katowice. Jest jednym z najbardziej wziętych reporterów „Wiadomości” . Co ciekawe, Tulicki był autorem obrzydliwego materiału, w którym połączył śmierć Igora Stachowiaka z atakiem na polityków PO. Nawet gdyby Kaczyński zapłacił 100 tysięcy złotych i przyniósł tysiąc wieńców, to obowiązuje zakaz wchodzenia na cmentarze i Polacy go przestrzegają. Materiał w TVP obrazuje dwie rzeczy: strach przed przedostaniem się sprawy do świadomości społecznej i… nieumiejętność przekaziorów w tworzeniu narracji, bo to co pokazano jeszcze bardziej pogrąża Kaczyńskiego, który robi błąd za błędem. źródło: Wykop.pl