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Does The World Need A New Buzzword 'Syndemic' To Describe 3 Big Crises? | Enlarge this image toggle caption Rick Elkins, Josh Sommers, Chris Minihane/Getty Images Rick Elkins, Josh Sommers, Chris Minihane/Getty Images The Lancet Commission on Obesity has announced that the world is suffering from a "syndemic" of obesity, undernutrition and climate change. The term was first coined in the 1990s to describe the way different diseases interact within the human body. It's popped up in medical journals for the last two decades, often used to describe the biological interactions in patients who have AIDS and are substance abusers. Now, a new report by the Lancet Commission is broadening the definition big time, using it make a connection between three of the biggest public health issues of the 21st century. "We just chanced on it I didn't know what a syndemic was," says William Dietz, a co-chair of the commission and director of George Washington University's Global Center for Prevention and Wellness. But upon diving into the literature, he found it to be "a very convenient, unifying concept." Looking at these trio of issues in isolation, he says, just isn't working. The report emphasizes that the issues are indeed linked. Climate change results in severe droughts, which can lead to a scarcity of food as well as higher prices for available fruits and vegetables. That pushes consumers toward processed foods, which are cheaper and can contribute to a lack of proper nutrition. And farming definitely has a carbon footprint. Dietz is concerned about the lack of progress in addressing each concern. "The climate change silo and the obesity silo haven't been effective," he says, noting that global temperatures are on the rise, and no country has been able to successfully reverse its obesity epidemic. Two billion people suffer from a deficiency of vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients, according to the report. If the problems are linked as part of a "global syndemic," Dietz hopes it will "increase the likelihood" that groups dedicated to one of the three issues will begin to work together. But the man who came up with the term "syndemic" doesn't think the Lancet's use is in line with his intentions. In fact, he doesn't even think they're using the term "epidemic" correctly. "First of all, they refer to climate change itself as an epidemic, which is a kind of a loose use of terms," says Merrill Singer, a professor of anthropology at the University of Connecticut. The definition of syndemic relies on diseases interacting within the body, he says. Climate change, undernutrition and obesity, he says, don't tend to interact on that biological level. "It really isn't comparable to a syndemic if you adhere to a strict definition guideline," he says. Nonetheless, he appreciates the commission's decision to address the interconnected causes of obesity, climate change and undernutrition. "In a big picture way, I clearly support what they're doing." Others agree that, whatever you call it, the idea of linking the three problems has potential. Bruce Y. Lee, executive director of John Hopkins Global Obesity Prevention Center, says he is pleased to see the commission tackling obesity as part of a wider net of global dysfunction. "Too often, we think of these problems as separate," he says. In reality, he often finds that people who are obese are also deprived of crucial nutrients. "We're seeing a new phenomenon where populations and people are facing undernutrition as well as overnutrition," he says. "You're seeing a change in body shape" where people "have very skinny arms and limbs but central obesity." Much of this, Lee says, is due to the fact that junk food and sugary drinks are cheap and abundant. The food and beverage industries have spent $22.3 million on lobbying to keep it that way. California lawmakers recently promised a 12-year moratorium on soda taxes after the industry funneled $7 million dollars to try and stop them. "This is a systems problem," says Lee. With this report, he says, "these systems are starting to get called out." The report recommends a series of actions that the authors hope could act in concert to address the problems. Chief among them is a worldwide treaty to regulate Big Food like Big Tobacco, limiting the political influence of the food and beverage industry. It would be modeled on the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the world's first public health treaty. The report also suggests a tax on red meat, which is associated with an increased risk of obesity and greenhouse gas emissions. When asked during a press conference what the authors' dream timeline would be to enact the report's recommendations, commission members said it was too hard to tell. "Oh my goodness, that's a very difficult question," Deitz responded. The report, he says, is meant to act as a conversation starter. But it will be up to businesses and politicians to bring the recommendations to fruition. "We're under no illusion that this is going to be quick," says Dietz. "I just hope that it's quick enough." | The Lancet Commission on Obesity has announced that the world is suffering from a "syndemic" of obesity, undernutrition and climate change. The term was first coined in the 1990s to describe the way different diseases interact within the human body. The report emphasizes that the issues are indeed linked. | pegasus | 2 | https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/01/28/689292566/does-the-world-need-a-new-buzzword-syndemic-to-describe-3-big-crises?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=science | 0.272988 |
Will Rafael Nadal surpass Roger Federer as the greatest tennis player of all time? | Rafael Nadal missed out on a chance to add to his majors total at the Australian Open but still retained the second spot on the all-time list of most Grand Slam titles behind Roger Federer. Time is on Nadal's side--he is only three titles behind Federer, who is four years older. However, Federer is still playing at a high level and could continue to increase his Grand Slam record. PERSPECTIVES Like the conclusion of "Game of Thrones," Rafael Nadal surpassing Roger Federer is only a matter of time. Nadal is four years younger than Federer, and with the Swiss swatter finally showing his age, the Spaniard will take over as the greatest tennis player ever. Rafa has a .829 winning percentage, while Federer's sits at .819 at the time of publishing. Nadal also has two Olympic Gold medals while Federer has one. The Swiss national has more total ATP titles and Grand Slams, but with Federer declining, Nadal's move past Federer is inevitable. One word: scoreboard. Nadal fans can hem and haw all they want about how Nadal is going to pass Federer up for the title of "greatest of all time," but it will never happen because the game has never seen greatness like Federer's. The Swiss player has the only number that matters--a record 20 Grand Slam titles. He also has 99 ATP titles to Nadal's 80 at the time of publishing. He might not be winning Grand Slams at the clip he was before, but he is still a good threat to win one every time he steps on the court. He won his 20th Grand Slam in 2018 at the Australian Open. Nadal might have some years left, but he will never catch Federer. The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say. | Rafael Nadal is only three Grand Slam titles behind Roger Federer. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.cleveland.com/sports/index.ssf/2019/01/will_rafael_nadal_surpass_roge.html | 0.13508 |
Will Rafael Nadal surpass Roger Federer as the greatest tennis player of all time? | Rafael Nadal missed out on a chance to add to his majors total at the Australian Open but still retained the second spot on the all-time list of most Grand Slam titles behind Roger Federer. Time is on Nadal's side--he is only three titles behind Federer, who is four years older. However, Federer is still playing at a high level and could continue to increase his Grand Slam record. PERSPECTIVES Like the conclusion of "Game of Thrones," Rafael Nadal surpassing Roger Federer is only a matter of time. Nadal is four years younger than Federer, and with the Swiss swatter finally showing his age, the Spaniard will take over as the greatest tennis player ever. Rafa has a .829 winning percentage, while Federer's sits at .819 at the time of publishing. Nadal also has two Olympic Gold medals while Federer has one. The Swiss national has more total ATP titles and Grand Slams, but with Federer declining, Nadal's move past Federer is inevitable. One word: scoreboard. Nadal fans can hem and haw all they want about how Nadal is going to pass Federer up for the title of "greatest of all time," but it will never happen because the game has never seen greatness like Federer's. The Swiss player has the only number that matters--a record 20 Grand Slam titles. He also has 99 ATP titles to Nadal's 80 at the time of publishing. He might not be winning Grand Slams at the clip he was before, but he is still a good threat to win one every time he steps on the court. He won his 20th Grand Slam in 2018 at the Australian Open. Nadal might have some years left, but he will never catch Federer. The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say. | Rafael Nadal is only three Grand Slam titles behind Roger Federer. Nadal has two Olympic Gold medals while Federer has one. The Swiss national has more total ATP titles and Grand Slams. | bart | 1 | https://www.cleveland.com/sports/index.ssf/2019/01/will_rafael_nadal_surpass_roge.html | 0.104876 |
Will Rafael Nadal surpass Roger Federer as the greatest tennis player of all time? | Rafael Nadal missed out on a chance to add to his majors total at the Australian Open but still retained the second spot on the all-time list of most Grand Slam titles behind Roger Federer. Time is on Nadal's side--he is only three titles behind Federer, who is four years older. However, Federer is still playing at a high level and could continue to increase his Grand Slam record. PERSPECTIVES Like the conclusion of "Game of Thrones," Rafael Nadal surpassing Roger Federer is only a matter of time. Nadal is four years younger than Federer, and with the Swiss swatter finally showing his age, the Spaniard will take over as the greatest tennis player ever. Rafa has a .829 winning percentage, while Federer's sits at .819 at the time of publishing. Nadal also has two Olympic Gold medals while Federer has one. The Swiss national has more total ATP titles and Grand Slams, but with Federer declining, Nadal's move past Federer is inevitable. One word: scoreboard. Nadal fans can hem and haw all they want about how Nadal is going to pass Federer up for the title of "greatest of all time," but it will never happen because the game has never seen greatness like Federer's. The Swiss player has the only number that matters--a record 20 Grand Slam titles. He also has 99 ATP titles to Nadal's 80 at the time of publishing. He might not be winning Grand Slams at the clip he was before, but he is still a good threat to win one every time he steps on the court. He won his 20th Grand Slam in 2018 at the Australian Open. Nadal might have some years left, but he will never catch Federer. The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say. | Rafael Nadal is only three Grand Slam titles behind Roger Federer. Nadal has more total ATP titles and Grand Slams, but Federer has 99 ATP titles to Nadal's 80. Federer is still playing at a high level and could continue to increase his Grand Slam record. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.cleveland.com/sports/index.ssf/2019/01/will_rafael_nadal_surpass_roge.html | 0.153314 |
What Do Successful Entrepreneurs Have In Common? | Theres no magic recipe for entrepreneurial success, but there are some things that successful small business owners have in common. A couple of studies polling entrepreneurs reveal key characteristics of small business owners who thrive. Here's what successful business owners do right and a few things they could improve on. What successful entrepreneurs do right 1. They start strong Some 84% of respondents in a poll by Kabbage of 500 successful entrepreneurs say their companies became profitable within their first four years, and more than two-thirds turned a profit in their first year. In contrast, just 8% became profitable after their fifth year. Lesson learned: Focus on getting into the black as soon as you can. 2. They continually seek new customers Entrepreneurs in the survey report that finding new customers is their number-one business challenge; its a much greater concern than managing cash flow or staying ahead of the competition. Lesson learned: Dont rest on your laurels. Stay focused on generating new leads and closing new sales. 3. Forty percent of entrepreneurs in a different study by Kabbage say theyd put it back into the business. And nearly half (47%) say theyve used their personal savings to finance their business at one point or another. Lesson learned: Successful small business owners put their business first. 4. They work hard If anyone tells you small business owners are slackers, here are some facts to refute them: A whopping 86% of entrepreneurs work on the weekends; 23% take fewer than two vacation days per year; and of those who do take vacations, 75% work while on vacation. Other Articles From AllBusiness.com: What successful entrepreneurs could improve on There are a couple of areas where entrepreneurs could do better. 1. They could invest more in marketing their businesses As you might expect, given their passion for finding new customers, small business owners in the survey say putting new marketing strategies in place is a top priority. However, theyre not putting their wallets where their wishes are. Survey respondents acknowledge they spend much less on marketing than they do on payroll, rent, and purchasing technology and equipment. Of course, when youve got to choose between meeting payroll and marketing, the choice may seem obvious. But entrepreneurs know that marketing deserves more time and attentionand also regret not investing more money in their marketing. Heres a breakdown showing the percentage of their budget that survey respondents spent on marketing, and what they wish they had spent instead: Year 1: Marketing was 7% of budget; they wish it had been 28% Years 2-4: Marketing was 13% of budget; they wish it had been 25% Years 5-9: Marketing was 7% of budget; they wish it had been 16% Years 10-19: Marketing was 5% of budget; they wish it had been 23% Years 20-plus: Marketing was 11% of budget; they wish it had been 23% Over half of companies surveyed have revenues of $1 million or more. I can only imagine. 2. They could plan to seek financing Although the small business owners surveyed do reinvest in their businesses, theyre too quick to rule out outside financing as an option. Most of the entrepreneurs in the study say they needed working capital to grow at a certain point. Specifically: In their first year, 38% of companies borrowed capital. In years 2-4, 29% of companies borrowed capital. In years 5-9, 17% of companies borrowed capital. Years 10-20-plus, 14% of companies borrowed capital. If you assume you can finance your business growth needs from cash flow, you may be in for a rude awakening. Instead, be prepared to seek financing from outside sources if you need it. You may never need to tap into lenders or investorsbut its best to be prepared. I am CEO of GrowBiz Media, a media and custom content company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship. Email me at rieva@smallbizdaily.com, follow me on Google+ and Twitter @Rieva, and visit my website SmallBizDaily.com to get the scoop on business trends and sign up for my free TrendCast reports. Read all of Rieva Lesonskys articles. RELATED: Attitude and Achievement: Perfect Partners for Business Success This article was originally published on AllBusiness.com. | Theres no magic recipe for entrepreneurial success, but there are some things that successful small business owners have in common. Entrepreneurs in the survey report that finding new customers is their number-one business challenge. A whopping 86% of entrepreneurs work on the weekends; 23% take fewer than two vacation days per year. | bart | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2019/01/29/successful-entrepreneurs-common-traits/ | 0.201603 |
Is 'Metro Exodus' Bailing On Steam For Epic As 'Unfair' As Valve Claims? | Epic has been peeling off major releases from Steam for its new games store for a while now, including heavy-hitters like The Division 2, but this latest move more closely resembles a heist. Metro Exodus announced that despite promotion and preorders on Steam for a long time now, that it would be an Epic Games Store exclusive, at least for the next year. While Epic has been sniping at Steam ever since it arrived on the scene with its more generous revenue split with publishers, this is a move that feels like a full-on war declaration. So much so that Valve actually responded to complain about the aggressive move: "Later today, sales of Metro Exodus will be discontinued on Steam due to a publisher decision to make the game exclusive to another PC store, the statement says. The developer and publisher have assured us that all prior sales of the game on Steam will be fulfilled on Steam, and Steam owners will be able to access the game and any future updates or DLC through Steam. We think the decision to remove the game is unfair to Steam customers, especially after a long pre-sale period. We apologize to Steam customers that were expecting it to be available for sale through the February 15th release date, but we were only recently informed of the decision and given limited time to let everyone know." Theres additional news that the current pre-orders will be honored, but other than the fact that players now have to play on one launcher instead of another, this feels more like Valve moaning about how this isnt fair to them more than it is to consumers, most of whom probably dont care that much, many of whom may see this as a bit of karmic justice for Valve for monopolizing the market for so long. One additional note about the move is that because of the increased revenue split, Metro Exodus is actually being priced at $50, less than the $60 standard asking price for new games, implying that perhaps some games can be priced lower for consumers if publishers are allowed to keep more money than storefronts let them, which is Epics entire model. The refrain from the start, straight from Epics mouth, is that Steam and other storefronts like the iOS store have been greedy for essentially no real reason with their seemingly etched-in-stone 70/30 split, and Epic figured out that they can do 88/12 with no real downside to them, though the long-term effects of that remain to be seen. So far, its unclear that Valve and Steam are in any immediate danger, as these are just a few titles, and there is still obviously still a large amount of loyalty to Steam among players who have built up massive game collections there. And yet if games start to be cheaper on the Epic store, and because of these deals, they dont appear at all on Steam, with enough of these battles its clear Steams dominance in the space could be questioned soon enough. Epic is currently riding high in the wake of Fortnites success which allowed them to do this store idea in the first place. And yet I remember a time when Valve was everyones favorite corporate industry hero until times changed. These days, Valve has fallen out of favor with many gamers who view them as content to do little but sit around and collect Steam money or microtransactions from CS:GO. They havent made a classic title in ages, and their recent attempts to make games again have not gone well (see Artifact). So Epic saw their moment to strike, and here we are, though who knows where the future leads. I dont think this move is unfair to gamers or Valve, really. Its aggressive, its somewhat sneaky, but its really no less than Valve deserves, and I think theyre going to have to do more than just be salty in public statements to turn the tide back. Its frankly astonishing we havent heard plans about them adjusting their own revenue split yet, but it feels like Epic has to be forcing them in that direction. Well have to wait and see. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Read my new sci-fi thriller novel Herokiller, available now in print and online. I also wrote The Earthborn Trilogy. | Metro Exodus is no longer available for pre-order on Steam. The game is now only available on Epic's new games store. | pegasus | 0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2019/01/29/is-metro-exodus-bailing-on-steam-for-epic-as-unfair-as-valve-claims/ | 0.369612 |
Is 'Metro Exodus' Bailing On Steam For Epic As 'Unfair' As Valve Claims? | Epic has been peeling off major releases from Steam for its new games store for a while now, including heavy-hitters like The Division 2, but this latest move more closely resembles a heist. Metro Exodus announced that despite promotion and preorders on Steam for a long time now, that it would be an Epic Games Store exclusive, at least for the next year. While Epic has been sniping at Steam ever since it arrived on the scene with its more generous revenue split with publishers, this is a move that feels like a full-on war declaration. So much so that Valve actually responded to complain about the aggressive move: "Later today, sales of Metro Exodus will be discontinued on Steam due to a publisher decision to make the game exclusive to another PC store, the statement says. The developer and publisher have assured us that all prior sales of the game on Steam will be fulfilled on Steam, and Steam owners will be able to access the game and any future updates or DLC through Steam. We think the decision to remove the game is unfair to Steam customers, especially after a long pre-sale period. We apologize to Steam customers that were expecting it to be available for sale through the February 15th release date, but we were only recently informed of the decision and given limited time to let everyone know." Theres additional news that the current pre-orders will be honored, but other than the fact that players now have to play on one launcher instead of another, this feels more like Valve moaning about how this isnt fair to them more than it is to consumers, most of whom probably dont care that much, many of whom may see this as a bit of karmic justice for Valve for monopolizing the market for so long. One additional note about the move is that because of the increased revenue split, Metro Exodus is actually being priced at $50, less than the $60 standard asking price for new games, implying that perhaps some games can be priced lower for consumers if publishers are allowed to keep more money than storefronts let them, which is Epics entire model. The refrain from the start, straight from Epics mouth, is that Steam and other storefronts like the iOS store have been greedy for essentially no real reason with their seemingly etched-in-stone 70/30 split, and Epic figured out that they can do 88/12 with no real downside to them, though the long-term effects of that remain to be seen. So far, its unclear that Valve and Steam are in any immediate danger, as these are just a few titles, and there is still obviously still a large amount of loyalty to Steam among players who have built up massive game collections there. And yet if games start to be cheaper on the Epic store, and because of these deals, they dont appear at all on Steam, with enough of these battles its clear Steams dominance in the space could be questioned soon enough. Epic is currently riding high in the wake of Fortnites success which allowed them to do this store idea in the first place. And yet I remember a time when Valve was everyones favorite corporate industry hero until times changed. These days, Valve has fallen out of favor with many gamers who view them as content to do little but sit around and collect Steam money or microtransactions from CS:GO. They havent made a classic title in ages, and their recent attempts to make games again have not gone well (see Artifact). So Epic saw their moment to strike, and here we are, though who knows where the future leads. I dont think this move is unfair to gamers or Valve, really. Its aggressive, its somewhat sneaky, but its really no less than Valve deserves, and I think theyre going to have to do more than just be salty in public statements to turn the tide back. Its frankly astonishing we havent heard plans about them adjusting their own revenue split yet, but it feels like Epic has to be forcing them in that direction. Well have to wait and see. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Read my new sci-fi thriller novel Herokiller, available now in print and online. I also wrote The Earthborn Trilogy. | Metro Exodus is no longer available for pre-order on Steam. The game is now only available on Epic's new games store. Valve responded to the move by saying it's unfair to Steam customers. | pegasus | 1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2019/01/29/is-metro-exodus-bailing-on-steam-for-epic-as-unfair-as-valve-claims/ | 0.489951 |
Is 'Metro Exodus' Bailing On Steam For Epic As 'Unfair' As Valve Claims? | Epic has been peeling off major releases from Steam for its new games store for a while now, including heavy-hitters like The Division 2, but this latest move more closely resembles a heist. Metro Exodus announced that despite promotion and preorders on Steam for a long time now, that it would be an Epic Games Store exclusive, at least for the next year. While Epic has been sniping at Steam ever since it arrived on the scene with its more generous revenue split with publishers, this is a move that feels like a full-on war declaration. So much so that Valve actually responded to complain about the aggressive move: "Later today, sales of Metro Exodus will be discontinued on Steam due to a publisher decision to make the game exclusive to another PC store, the statement says. The developer and publisher have assured us that all prior sales of the game on Steam will be fulfilled on Steam, and Steam owners will be able to access the game and any future updates or DLC through Steam. We think the decision to remove the game is unfair to Steam customers, especially after a long pre-sale period. We apologize to Steam customers that were expecting it to be available for sale through the February 15th release date, but we were only recently informed of the decision and given limited time to let everyone know." Theres additional news that the current pre-orders will be honored, but other than the fact that players now have to play on one launcher instead of another, this feels more like Valve moaning about how this isnt fair to them more than it is to consumers, most of whom probably dont care that much, many of whom may see this as a bit of karmic justice for Valve for monopolizing the market for so long. One additional note about the move is that because of the increased revenue split, Metro Exodus is actually being priced at $50, less than the $60 standard asking price for new games, implying that perhaps some games can be priced lower for consumers if publishers are allowed to keep more money than storefronts let them, which is Epics entire model. The refrain from the start, straight from Epics mouth, is that Steam and other storefronts like the iOS store have been greedy for essentially no real reason with their seemingly etched-in-stone 70/30 split, and Epic figured out that they can do 88/12 with no real downside to them, though the long-term effects of that remain to be seen. So far, its unclear that Valve and Steam are in any immediate danger, as these are just a few titles, and there is still obviously still a large amount of loyalty to Steam among players who have built up massive game collections there. And yet if games start to be cheaper on the Epic store, and because of these deals, they dont appear at all on Steam, with enough of these battles its clear Steams dominance in the space could be questioned soon enough. Epic is currently riding high in the wake of Fortnites success which allowed them to do this store idea in the first place. And yet I remember a time when Valve was everyones favorite corporate industry hero until times changed. These days, Valve has fallen out of favor with many gamers who view them as content to do little but sit around and collect Steam money or microtransactions from CS:GO. They havent made a classic title in ages, and their recent attempts to make games again have not gone well (see Artifact). So Epic saw their moment to strike, and here we are, though who knows where the future leads. I dont think this move is unfair to gamers or Valve, really. Its aggressive, its somewhat sneaky, but its really no less than Valve deserves, and I think theyre going to have to do more than just be salty in public statements to turn the tide back. Its frankly astonishing we havent heard plans about them adjusting their own revenue split yet, but it feels like Epic has to be forcing them in that direction. Well have to wait and see. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Read my new sci-fi thriller novel Herokiller, available now in print and online. I also wrote The Earthborn Trilogy. | Metro Exodus is no longer available for pre-order on Steam. The game is now only available on Epic's new games store. Valve has responded to the move by saying it's unfair to Steam customers. Metro Exodus is actually priced at $50, less than the $60 standard asking price for new games. | pegasus | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2019/01/29/is-metro-exodus-bailing-on-steam-for-epic-as-unfair-as-valve-claims/ | 0.581649 |
What would it have looked like if the Holocaust came to Canada? | There were only 52 Jews in Trois-Rivieres, Que. during the Second World War, but Nazi Germany knew. This week, Library and Archives Canada unveiled its newest acquisition: A 137-page book once owned by Adolf Hitler that seems to represent the first outlines of a Nazi plan to bring the Holocaust to Canada. It undoubtedly breaks the myth viewed by many at the time that the Holocaust and WWII were only Europes problems, said Mina Cohn, director of the Centre for Holocaust Education and Scholarship at Carleton University. Canadian troops participated in the liberation of Nazi concentration camps, including Bergen-Belsen. Canada also became a postwar haven for tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors. But Canada of the early 1940s was also a viciously antisemitic country with one of the worlds worst records of admitting Jewish refugees. Below, some chilling details of what the Nazis intended to do with Canadian Jewry and how willing Canada might have been to stop them. The Nazis were apparently planning something for North Americas Jews I dont think its a crazy claim to say that governments and militaries, especially during wartime, dont do research for no reason, said Michael Kent, the Library and Archives Canada librarian who acquired the German book. Entitled Statistics, Media, and Organizations of Jewry in the United States and Canada, the book includes a detailed accounting of Jewish newspapers and organizations in Canada, as well as a census of Canadas Jewish population and where they could be found. Cities as small as Moose Jaw, Sask., for instance, are noted to have 96 Juden. The book, which appears to have been commissioned for senior Nazi leadership, is similar to other censuses that Nazi authorities used to organize the deportation and murder of Jews in occupied countries. Prior to the planned invasion of Great Britain, for instance, the SS prepared a lengthy arrest list of British citizens, including prominent Jews such as Sigmund Freud. Of course, a Nazi conquest of Canada would have been virtually impossible. If Nazi German forces couldnt mount an invasion across the English Channel, its much more unlikely they could handle one across 4,000 kilometres of ocean. Nevertheless, the book was commissioned right around the time when Germany was dispatching saboteurs to North America, and when Nazi planners were investigating the possibility of an Amerikabomber; an extremely long-range bomber that could lay waste to cities such as New York. France, Norway and even occupied British territories all willingly participated in the Holocaust In occupied Norway, it was Norwegian police who organized the deportation of 772 Jews and the seizure of their property. The collaborationist Vichy regime in France started cracking down on its Jewish population even without orders from Berlin. When French Jews started being shipped to Auschwitz, the French national railway took the contract to deport them east. Even in the British Channel Islands, occupied by the Germans during the war, local authorities handed over information on Jewish residents without protest. Although none of these places would have perpetrated a genocide on their own, their collaborationist governments ultimately proved remarkably willing to comply with German demands. Why would Canada of that time be any different from all the other western civilized counties in Europe? said Mina Cohn. Hilary Earl, a Holocaust researcher at Nipissing University, is more skeptical. Denmark rescued almost its entire Jewish population. Fascist countries such as Spain and Italy sheltered Jews. The Netherlands strongly resisted the Holocaust, but still wound up losing a higher percentage of their Jewish population than almost anyone else. It is impossible to know for certain what would have happened and who would have pushed back, Earl said. Antisemitism does not automatically beget genocide, it facilitates it for certain, but it isnt the only factor. Canada was much more antisemitic than we know it now McGill University had quotas to limit Jewish enrollment. Toronto Island and other Ontario vacation spots brazenly featured gentiles only signs. Alberta premier William Aberhart openly blamed Jews for the Great Depression. Newspaper editorials in mainstream publications such a Le Devoir called Europes Jewish population a very serious problem. Prime Minister Mackenzie King was deeply antisemitic, objecting to the introduction of foreign strains of blood and even believing that the United States was too much in the thrall of Jews and Jewish influence. The vast majority of Canadians have no lived memory of a Canada in which antisemitism was widely and legally tolerated, wrote the authors of the groundbreaking 1983 book None is Too Many. The meticulously researched book framed Canada as having the worst record among Western democracies for accepting Jewish refugees during the Holocaust. Only 5,000 Jews were admitted to Canada from 1933 to 1945, compared to 200,000 accepted by the United States and 70,000 by the U.K. Still, while Canada did not like Jews, this was far from the preconditions for participation in a genocide. Antisemitism to a degree was universally present in the 1940s but cooperation in the Holocaust was not, Tomaz Jardim, a Ryerson University Holocaust scholar told the National Post by email. Canada already had a fair bit of experience with rounding up ethnic groups During the First World War, the federal government interned 8,000 Ukrainian-Canadians and forced others to carry special identity papers. During the Second World War, West Coast authorities forcefully rounded up Japanese-Canadians into transit centres, seized their property and then deported them to remote internment camps. Internees at the time even complained that they were being given the same treatment the Nazis gave the Jews. A French gendarme rounding up Parisian Jews for the gas chambers might have been able to take comfort in the Nazi fiction that they were simply being sent to agricultural colonies in the east. Similarly, Canadian police in the 1940s carried out mass deportation orders without full knowledge of where detainees were going. I would hope that Canada would have proven itself to be another Denmark and resisted persecution of its Jewish population at all costs, even under extreme duress, but given the internment of Japanese-Canadians and the anti-Semitic sentiment that was widely accepted within mainstream Canadian life at the time, one can imagine a Canada engaging in anti-Jewish activity that would fill us with horror and regret today, said Rebecca Margolis, president of the Association for Canadian Jewish Studies. There were already Jews behind barbed wire on Canadian soil During the Second World War, 2,300 Jewish men of German and Austrian origin lived in internment camps in Quebec and the Maritimes. They had come to Canada as refugees from Nazi oppression, but were detained as enemy aliens due to their country of origin. Had Canada fallen to Nazi occupation, these camps could have functioned as the first hubs of Canadian Final Solution. This precise scenario is what happened to the Netherlands. Shortly after the Nazi invasion of Poland, the Dutch set up Westerbork, an internment camp for the more than 400 Jewish refugees who had entered the Netherlands illegally across the German border. After Germany conquered the Netherlands in 1940, Westerbork was converted into a transit camp and its internees transferred to killing centres in occupied Poland. Killings probably would have been carried out on Canadian soil The Nazis prioritized efficiency above all else when it came to genocide. Initially, Jews were murdered in mass shootings conducted in open areas by German military units. Later, to assuage the psychological burden of soldiers killing hundreds of civilians per day, Nazi military scientists experimented with mobile killing vans that would asphyxiate victims with carbon monoxide. By wars end, Nazi authorities had settled on the method of deporting Jews to centralized killing centres. The expense of moving Canadian Jews to occupied Eastern Europe would likely have been prohibitive, so German genocide planners would likely have settled on a made-in-Canada solution. Parts of remote areas could have been turned into enormous camps where people could have been starved and left to die of the cold, said David MacDonald, a researcher in genocide studies at the University of Guelph. At the time, the Soviet Unions gulag system had already proven the utility of using remote northern areas to make thousands of people disappear. And Canadas own experience of Indian Residential Schools showed that it was indeed possible for early 20th century Canadians to dig the occasional child mass grave without anybody asking all that many questions. Twitter: TristinHopper | Email: thopper@nationalpost.com | A 137-page book appears to represent the first outlines of a Nazi plan to bring the Holocaust to Canada. Canada of the early 1940s was a viciously antisemitic country with one of the world's worst records of admitting Jewish refugees. The book was commissioned right around the time when Germany was dispatching saboteurs to North America. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/what-would-it-have-looked-like-if-the-holocaust-came-to-canada | 0.178887 |
Are The Risks Of Bariatric Surgery Worth It? | originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Yijun Chen, Physician at UCLA Center for Obesity and METabolic Health, on Quora: Like any surgery, bariatric surgery has its own risks. In the past, bariatric surgery had high complication rates, but the safety of bariatric surgery has improved dramatically over the past 15-20 years. In fact, nowadays, bariatric surgery is as safe as the commonly performed gallbladder removal surgery. Let us take the most popular bariatric procedure, gastric sleeve surgery, as an example. The potential complications of gastric sleeve surgery include leak, stricture, infection, blood clots, acid reflux and vitamin deficiency. However, the chance to have those complications is very low now. For example, the incidence of leak following a gastric sleeve surgery is less than 1% nationwide. On the other hand, the weight loss that results from bariatric surgery can lead to profound health and psychosocial benefits. In the long term, bariatric surgery has been proven to reduce patients' risks for heart attack, stroke, cancer and mortality. For many obese patients, bariatric surgery not only increases their life expectancy but also improves their quality of life. For people with morbid obesity, especially those with comorbidities, not having bariatric surgery might be more dangerous than having surgery in the long term. This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. More questions: | Bariatric surgery has its own risks, but the chance of complications is very low now. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/01/29/are-the-risks-of-bariatric-surgery-worth-it/ | 0.139119 |
Are The Risks Of Bariatric Surgery Worth It? | originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Yijun Chen, Physician at UCLA Center for Obesity and METabolic Health, on Quora: Like any surgery, bariatric surgery has its own risks. In the past, bariatric surgery had high complication rates, but the safety of bariatric surgery has improved dramatically over the past 15-20 years. In fact, nowadays, bariatric surgery is as safe as the commonly performed gallbladder removal surgery. Let us take the most popular bariatric procedure, gastric sleeve surgery, as an example. The potential complications of gastric sleeve surgery include leak, stricture, infection, blood clots, acid reflux and vitamin deficiency. However, the chance to have those complications is very low now. For example, the incidence of leak following a gastric sleeve surgery is less than 1% nationwide. On the other hand, the weight loss that results from bariatric surgery can lead to profound health and psychosocial benefits. In the long term, bariatric surgery has been proven to reduce patients' risks for heart attack, stroke, cancer and mortality. For many obese patients, bariatric surgery not only increases their life expectancy but also improves their quality of life. For people with morbid obesity, especially those with comorbidities, not having bariatric surgery might be more dangerous than having surgery in the long term. This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. More questions: | Bariatric surgery has its own risks, but the chance of complications is very low now. The weight loss that results from bariatric surgery can lead to profound health and psychosocial benefits. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/01/29/are-the-risks-of-bariatric-surgery-worth-it/ | 0.295266 |
Are The Risks Of Bariatric Surgery Worth It? | originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Yijun Chen, Physician at UCLA Center for Obesity and METabolic Health, on Quora: Like any surgery, bariatric surgery has its own risks. In the past, bariatric surgery had high complication rates, but the safety of bariatric surgery has improved dramatically over the past 15-20 years. In fact, nowadays, bariatric surgery is as safe as the commonly performed gallbladder removal surgery. Let us take the most popular bariatric procedure, gastric sleeve surgery, as an example. The potential complications of gastric sleeve surgery include leak, stricture, infection, blood clots, acid reflux and vitamin deficiency. However, the chance to have those complications is very low now. For example, the incidence of leak following a gastric sleeve surgery is less than 1% nationwide. On the other hand, the weight loss that results from bariatric surgery can lead to profound health and psychosocial benefits. In the long term, bariatric surgery has been proven to reduce patients' risks for heart attack, stroke, cancer and mortality. For many obese patients, bariatric surgery not only increases their life expectancy but also improves their quality of life. For people with morbid obesity, especially those with comorbidities, not having bariatric surgery might be more dangerous than having surgery in the long term. This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. More questions: | Complications of gastric sleeve surgery include leak, stricture, infection, blood clots, acid reflux and vitamin deficiency. In the long term, bariatric surgery has been proven to reduce patients' risks for heart attack, stroke, cancer and mortality. Not having bariatric surgery might be more dangerous than having surgery in the long term. | pegasus | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/01/29/are-the-risks-of-bariatric-surgery-worth-it/ | 0.464796 |
How many African Americans were lynched in NC? | On the afternoon Oct. 30, 1918, Ruby Rogers was in her house near Rolesville, rocking her 5-week-old baby when a man walked into the room and slapped her so hard she fell to the floor, she later told police. He picked up a razor from a bureau in the room and told Rogers he would cut her throat if she made a sound. He struck her again, knocking her unconscious, she said, according to news reports of the time. She came to still on the floor, with the baby a few feet across the room. Over the next several days, police brought a series of men before Rogers and asked if any had been her assailant. She couldnt identify any of the first three, each of whom was later released. The fourth suspect was George Taylor, whom police arrested in Wilson and brought to Rolesville on Nov. 5. At first, reports said, Rogers was unable to say whether Taylor was the man. But when she heard him speak outside the house, she said his was the voice she remembered from the attack. Digital Access for only $0.99 For the most comprehensive local coverage, subscribe today. Rogers was white. Taylor was black. A report compiled by the student-led Wake Truth and Reconciliation Committee, relying on articles from The News & Observer and others from the time, said Taylor was put into a car to be driven 15 miles to the Wake County Jail in Raleigh. But a quarter-mile from the house, the car was intercepted by four men wearing blue masks and carrying two shotguns. They took Taylor and held him in nearby woods while a crowd of some 300 people gathered. The mob took Taylor to a spot within sight of the Rogers house and, around 7:30 p.m., gunshots rang out. Taylors body was found the next morning. He had been tortured, shot more than 100 times, slashed with knives and hung by his feet from a bent pine tree. His death apparently ended the investigation of the assault on Ruby Rogers. No one ever was charged with Taylors murder, which was described in the Greensboro Daily News later that month as a genuine old-fashioned lynching, the only one documented in Wake County history. But there were others in the state. While North Carolina was not the leader among Southern states in the number of lynchings that occurred here, historians say lynchings were frequent enough that African Americans got the intended message and many fled their towns or left the state entirely in response to mob violence. A reader asked about lynchings through CuriousNC, a joint venture between The News & Observer, The Charlotte Observer and The Herald-Sun in which readers submit questions about North Carolina for reporters to answer. The answer: No one knows exactly how many, though researchers say it was at least 100 and possibly as many as 300 in the years from 1882 to 1968. The number of lynchings per year in Southern states spiked during the period from 1890 to 1920, the same period during which the most Confederate monuments were installed. Where the victims remains ended up is even more complicated. Historical accounts debate the origin of the term lynching, but agree that a form of it was practiced in America as early as the 1700s. Though it was always an extra-judicial form of punishment for breaching laws or customs circumventing the legal system in its earliest use, it didnt involve lethal force and it wasnt aimed at a particular racial minority. Most early victims were white. That changed after the Civil War and the freeing of several million African Americans from slavery. Researchers, including Trichita M. Chestnut who wrote a story for the National Archives in 2008, say that during Reconstruction lynching became a tool used by white mobs to maintain a social order that was no longer held in place by judicial constraints. Lynchings often were prompted by a claim that a black person had committed or was planning a crime, and the mob would intervene sometimes before law enforcement could even launch an investigation, ambushing the victim at home or on the street. In other cases, crowds took their victims from police custody. Few were ever prosecuted for the crime, with investigators finding the participants were unknown, despite photos and crowds of witnesses. What constitutes a lynching? Chestnut asks in the article. Although most people think only of hanging, lynching means much more. Lynching is the killing of African Americans who were tortured, mutilated, burned, shot, dragged, or hung; accused of an alleged crime by a white mob; and deprived of their life without due process and equal protection of the law. Lynchings often were covered by newspapers in the communities where they happened. In some cases, lynchings were planned far in advance, giving journalists time to promote the events and draw bigger crowds. The Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University, counted 4,745 lynchings between 1882 and 1968, of which it said 3,446 involved black victims. The school counted 101 lynchings in North Carolina during that time period, with 86 black victims. In 2014, the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Ala., published a report that counted 123 lynchings of African Americans in North Carolina between the years 1877 and 1950, including two in Mecklenburg County and three in Johnston County. None have been documented in Durham County. The reports listing by county is available at http://nando.com/53r. A University of North Carolina project called A Red Record is attempting to map sites of lynchings in the state, in part to demonstrate the geographic reach that news of a racial lynching would have had. The main purpose of the killings, Kotch and others say, was to intimidate and terrorize black residents who had social, political or business aspirations, and if lynchings occurred over a broad enough area, the threatening effect would have been powerful. One of the projects co-founders, Seth Kotch, an assistant professor of digital humanities at UNC, said that from the outset researchers knew, Were working with incomplete data, because white people who might have documented the deaths often would not, and black families who knew about them could not. Seth Kotch said that while North Carolinas lynching numbers were relatively low compared to some other states, We shouldnt be patting ourselves on the back about that. The thing I would emphasize is that you dont have to have many to have a real generational impact. Just one in a neighborhood could drive dozens of families away. Last year, the Equal Justice Initiative opened the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which includes a memorial to the victims of racial lynchings. In a story in The New York Times, EJI founder Bryan Stevenson said part of the emotional impact of the memorial is, Just seeing the names of all these people. Many of them, he told the paper, have never been named in public. The six-acre memorial, its website says, uses art and design to contextualize racial terror. The site includes a memorial square with 800 six-foot monuments to symbolize thousand of racial terror lynching victims in the United States and the counties and states where this terrorism took place. For now, the Alabama memorial is one of the few places where racial lynchings are formally acknowledged or openly grieved. As to the readers question about where North Carolina lynching victims are buried, that too is unknowable. Accounts of the day indicate that some, including black sharecroppers Lease Gillespie, John Gillespie and Jack Dillingham, who were lynched in Salisbury in 1906 for allegedly murdering four white residents, eventually were buried in unmarked graves. The bodies of many lynching victims were mutilated during and after their murders, with witnesses cutting off pieces to save as souvenirs. Some received the dignity of a gravestone, but the marker left off the way in which they died. Organizers of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice hope that some day, people living in communities where racial lynchings occurred will organize, confront that truth about their past, and commemorate the human loss using markers already prepared by the Equal Justice Initiative. Some groups in North Carolina and other states have discussed taking dirt from known lynching sites to the Montgomery memorial. So far, no group in North Carolina has claimed any of the markers that wait in Montgomery. George Taylors burial site is unknown, but students who helped commemorate the 100th anniversary of his lynching last year hope to gather dirt from different significant places in North Carolina and take it to Alabama. Fred Joiner visited the national memorial last year with a busload of nearly four dozen pilgrims from United Church of Chapel Hill, where he attends. Members of the church interested in the topic met for weeks before making the journey, reading books about lynching and talking about race relations in North Carolina and the U.S.. Joiner, who is African American, sees comparisons between racial lynchings and todays disproportionate imprisonment of blacks and instances of excessive force used against black suspects by police officers. Visiting the memorial was overwhelming, he said. Its hard to eulogize something, Joiner said, when its still happening. | A reader asked about lynchings in North Carolina. No one knows exactly how many, though researchers say it was at least 100 and possibly as many as 300 in the years from 1882 to 1968. | pegasus | 1 | https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article224682690.html | 0.107316 |
How many African Americans were lynched in NC? | On the afternoon Oct. 30, 1918, Ruby Rogers was in her house near Rolesville, rocking her 5-week-old baby when a man walked into the room and slapped her so hard she fell to the floor, she later told police. He picked up a razor from a bureau in the room and told Rogers he would cut her throat if she made a sound. He struck her again, knocking her unconscious, she said, according to news reports of the time. She came to still on the floor, with the baby a few feet across the room. Over the next several days, police brought a series of men before Rogers and asked if any had been her assailant. She couldnt identify any of the first three, each of whom was later released. The fourth suspect was George Taylor, whom police arrested in Wilson and brought to Rolesville on Nov. 5. At first, reports said, Rogers was unable to say whether Taylor was the man. But when she heard him speak outside the house, she said his was the voice she remembered from the attack. Digital Access for only $0.99 For the most comprehensive local coverage, subscribe today. Rogers was white. Taylor was black. A report compiled by the student-led Wake Truth and Reconciliation Committee, relying on articles from The News & Observer and others from the time, said Taylor was put into a car to be driven 15 miles to the Wake County Jail in Raleigh. But a quarter-mile from the house, the car was intercepted by four men wearing blue masks and carrying two shotguns. They took Taylor and held him in nearby woods while a crowd of some 300 people gathered. The mob took Taylor to a spot within sight of the Rogers house and, around 7:30 p.m., gunshots rang out. Taylors body was found the next morning. He had been tortured, shot more than 100 times, slashed with knives and hung by his feet from a bent pine tree. His death apparently ended the investigation of the assault on Ruby Rogers. No one ever was charged with Taylors murder, which was described in the Greensboro Daily News later that month as a genuine old-fashioned lynching, the only one documented in Wake County history. But there were others in the state. While North Carolina was not the leader among Southern states in the number of lynchings that occurred here, historians say lynchings were frequent enough that African Americans got the intended message and many fled their towns or left the state entirely in response to mob violence. A reader asked about lynchings through CuriousNC, a joint venture between The News & Observer, The Charlotte Observer and The Herald-Sun in which readers submit questions about North Carolina for reporters to answer. The answer: No one knows exactly how many, though researchers say it was at least 100 and possibly as many as 300 in the years from 1882 to 1968. The number of lynchings per year in Southern states spiked during the period from 1890 to 1920, the same period during which the most Confederate monuments were installed. Where the victims remains ended up is even more complicated. Historical accounts debate the origin of the term lynching, but agree that a form of it was practiced in America as early as the 1700s. Though it was always an extra-judicial form of punishment for breaching laws or customs circumventing the legal system in its earliest use, it didnt involve lethal force and it wasnt aimed at a particular racial minority. Most early victims were white. That changed after the Civil War and the freeing of several million African Americans from slavery. Researchers, including Trichita M. Chestnut who wrote a story for the National Archives in 2008, say that during Reconstruction lynching became a tool used by white mobs to maintain a social order that was no longer held in place by judicial constraints. Lynchings often were prompted by a claim that a black person had committed or was planning a crime, and the mob would intervene sometimes before law enforcement could even launch an investigation, ambushing the victim at home or on the street. In other cases, crowds took their victims from police custody. Few were ever prosecuted for the crime, with investigators finding the participants were unknown, despite photos and crowds of witnesses. What constitutes a lynching? Chestnut asks in the article. Although most people think only of hanging, lynching means much more. Lynching is the killing of African Americans who were tortured, mutilated, burned, shot, dragged, or hung; accused of an alleged crime by a white mob; and deprived of their life without due process and equal protection of the law. Lynchings often were covered by newspapers in the communities where they happened. In some cases, lynchings were planned far in advance, giving journalists time to promote the events and draw bigger crowds. The Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University, counted 4,745 lynchings between 1882 and 1968, of which it said 3,446 involved black victims. The school counted 101 lynchings in North Carolina during that time period, with 86 black victims. In 2014, the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Ala., published a report that counted 123 lynchings of African Americans in North Carolina between the years 1877 and 1950, including two in Mecklenburg County and three in Johnston County. None have been documented in Durham County. The reports listing by county is available at http://nando.com/53r. A University of North Carolina project called A Red Record is attempting to map sites of lynchings in the state, in part to demonstrate the geographic reach that news of a racial lynching would have had. The main purpose of the killings, Kotch and others say, was to intimidate and terrorize black residents who had social, political or business aspirations, and if lynchings occurred over a broad enough area, the threatening effect would have been powerful. One of the projects co-founders, Seth Kotch, an assistant professor of digital humanities at UNC, said that from the outset researchers knew, Were working with incomplete data, because white people who might have documented the deaths often would not, and black families who knew about them could not. Seth Kotch said that while North Carolinas lynching numbers were relatively low compared to some other states, We shouldnt be patting ourselves on the back about that. The thing I would emphasize is that you dont have to have many to have a real generational impact. Just one in a neighborhood could drive dozens of families away. Last year, the Equal Justice Initiative opened the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which includes a memorial to the victims of racial lynchings. In a story in The New York Times, EJI founder Bryan Stevenson said part of the emotional impact of the memorial is, Just seeing the names of all these people. Many of them, he told the paper, have never been named in public. The six-acre memorial, its website says, uses art and design to contextualize racial terror. The site includes a memorial square with 800 six-foot monuments to symbolize thousand of racial terror lynching victims in the United States and the counties and states where this terrorism took place. For now, the Alabama memorial is one of the few places where racial lynchings are formally acknowledged or openly grieved. As to the readers question about where North Carolina lynching victims are buried, that too is unknowable. Accounts of the day indicate that some, including black sharecroppers Lease Gillespie, John Gillespie and Jack Dillingham, who were lynched in Salisbury in 1906 for allegedly murdering four white residents, eventually were buried in unmarked graves. The bodies of many lynching victims were mutilated during and after their murders, with witnesses cutting off pieces to save as souvenirs. Some received the dignity of a gravestone, but the marker left off the way in which they died. Organizers of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice hope that some day, people living in communities where racial lynchings occurred will organize, confront that truth about their past, and commemorate the human loss using markers already prepared by the Equal Justice Initiative. Some groups in North Carolina and other states have discussed taking dirt from known lynching sites to the Montgomery memorial. So far, no group in North Carolina has claimed any of the markers that wait in Montgomery. George Taylors burial site is unknown, but students who helped commemorate the 100th anniversary of his lynching last year hope to gather dirt from different significant places in North Carolina and take it to Alabama. Fred Joiner visited the national memorial last year with a busload of nearly four dozen pilgrims from United Church of Chapel Hill, where he attends. Members of the church interested in the topic met for weeks before making the journey, reading books about lynching and talking about race relations in North Carolina and the U.S.. Joiner, who is African American, sees comparisons between racial lynchings and todays disproportionate imprisonment of blacks and instances of excessive force used against black suspects by police officers. Visiting the memorial was overwhelming, he said. Its hard to eulogize something, Joiner said, when its still happening. | North Carolina was not the leader among Southern states in the number of lynchings that occurred here. Researchers say it was at least 100 and possibly as many as 300 in the years from 1882 to 1968. Historians say African Americans got the intended message and many fled their towns or left the state. | bart | 2 | https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article224682690.html | 0.237098 |
What To Expect From Roche Holding's Q4? | Roche Holding (NASDAQ:RHHBY) is scheduled to announce its Q4 earnings on January 31, and we expect the company to post steady top line and earnings growth, primarily led by Ocrevus. This relatively new drug has seen a strong growth in the recent quarters, and will likely generate $2 billion in sales for the full year. However, Oncology could see slow growth, given generic headwinds for Rituxan in Europe. We have created an interactive dashboard ~ What Is The Outlook For Roche Holding ~ on the companys expected performance for the full year 2018 and 2019. You can adjust various drivers to see the impact on the companys adjusted earnings, and price estimate. Expect Neuroscience Drugs Revenue To See Strong Uptick While Oncology Will Likely See Slow Growth We forecast Roches Neuroscience, Metabolism & Other Drugs segment revenues to see strong growth in Q4, and beyond. For the full year 2018, we estimate the segment revenues to grow in mid-twenties (percent) to north of $6.6 billion. This can primarily be attributed to its new drug Ocrevus, which garnered around $1.5 billion in sales in the nine month period ending September 2018, marking Roches best drug launch ever. Ocrevus is used for the treatment of relapsing and primary progressive forms of multiple sclerosis. The patient pool for Ocrevus was at 70,000 in the previous quarter, with a 12% market share in the U.S. Ocrevus will likely be a key player in the multiple sclerosis segment, and could garner as much as $5 billion in peak sales. Looking at the gross margins, they have remained stable at around 80% over the past few years, and we dont expect any significant change in the near term. Oncology revenues will likely see slow growth in the near term, as ramp up in new drugs, such as Tecentriq, Kadcyla, Gazayva, and Alecensa, will mostly be offset by decline in older drugs, primarily Rituxan, which faces generic competition in Europe. In fact, Rituxan sales were down close to 50% in Europe for the nine month period ending September 2018. Note that Rituxan is a blockbuster drug for Roche, with sales of over $7 billion in 2017. Looking at In-Vitro Diagnostics, we expect the growth to be in mid-single digits to around $12.7 billion for the full year 2018. This can primarily be attributed to its lab business, which has been doing well of late. The companys diagnostics business has been doing well in the emerging markets, and we expect this trend to continue in the near term. Overall, we forecast the full year 2018 revenues to grow in mid-single digits to $58 billion, and earnings to be around $2.15 per share, reflecting a growth in the low teens. We currently have a $35 price estimate for Roche Holding, which we will update post the Q4 earnings announcement. Explore example interactive dashboards and create your own. | We expect Roche's Neuroscience, Metabolism & Other Drugs segment revenues to see strong growth in Q4, and beyond. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/01/29/what-to-expect-from-roche-holdings-q4/ | 0.234177 |
What To Expect From Roche Holding's Q4? | Roche Holding (NASDAQ:RHHBY) is scheduled to announce its Q4 earnings on January 31, and we expect the company to post steady top line and earnings growth, primarily led by Ocrevus. This relatively new drug has seen a strong growth in the recent quarters, and will likely generate $2 billion in sales for the full year. However, Oncology could see slow growth, given generic headwinds for Rituxan in Europe. We have created an interactive dashboard ~ What Is The Outlook For Roche Holding ~ on the companys expected performance for the full year 2018 and 2019. You can adjust various drivers to see the impact on the companys adjusted earnings, and price estimate. Expect Neuroscience Drugs Revenue To See Strong Uptick While Oncology Will Likely See Slow Growth We forecast Roches Neuroscience, Metabolism & Other Drugs segment revenues to see strong growth in Q4, and beyond. For the full year 2018, we estimate the segment revenues to grow in mid-twenties (percent) to north of $6.6 billion. This can primarily be attributed to its new drug Ocrevus, which garnered around $1.5 billion in sales in the nine month period ending September 2018, marking Roches best drug launch ever. Ocrevus is used for the treatment of relapsing and primary progressive forms of multiple sclerosis. The patient pool for Ocrevus was at 70,000 in the previous quarter, with a 12% market share in the U.S. Ocrevus will likely be a key player in the multiple sclerosis segment, and could garner as much as $5 billion in peak sales. Looking at the gross margins, they have remained stable at around 80% over the past few years, and we dont expect any significant change in the near term. Oncology revenues will likely see slow growth in the near term, as ramp up in new drugs, such as Tecentriq, Kadcyla, Gazayva, and Alecensa, will mostly be offset by decline in older drugs, primarily Rituxan, which faces generic competition in Europe. In fact, Rituxan sales were down close to 50% in Europe for the nine month period ending September 2018. Note that Rituxan is a blockbuster drug for Roche, with sales of over $7 billion in 2017. Looking at In-Vitro Diagnostics, we expect the growth to be in mid-single digits to around $12.7 billion for the full year 2018. This can primarily be attributed to its lab business, which has been doing well of late. The companys diagnostics business has been doing well in the emerging markets, and we expect this trend to continue in the near term. Overall, we forecast the full year 2018 revenues to grow in mid-single digits to $58 billion, and earnings to be around $2.15 per share, reflecting a growth in the low teens. We currently have a $35 price estimate for Roche Holding, which we will update post the Q4 earnings announcement. Explore example interactive dashboards and create your own. | Roche Holding is scheduled to announce its Q4 earnings on January 31. We expect the company to post steady top line and earnings growth, led by Ocrevus. | pegasus | 1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/01/29/what-to-expect-from-roche-holdings-q4/ | 0.372553 |
What To Expect From Roche Holding's Q4? | Roche Holding (NASDAQ:RHHBY) is scheduled to announce its Q4 earnings on January 31, and we expect the company to post steady top line and earnings growth, primarily led by Ocrevus. This relatively new drug has seen a strong growth in the recent quarters, and will likely generate $2 billion in sales for the full year. However, Oncology could see slow growth, given generic headwinds for Rituxan in Europe. We have created an interactive dashboard ~ What Is The Outlook For Roche Holding ~ on the companys expected performance for the full year 2018 and 2019. You can adjust various drivers to see the impact on the companys adjusted earnings, and price estimate. Expect Neuroscience Drugs Revenue To See Strong Uptick While Oncology Will Likely See Slow Growth We forecast Roches Neuroscience, Metabolism & Other Drugs segment revenues to see strong growth in Q4, and beyond. For the full year 2018, we estimate the segment revenues to grow in mid-twenties (percent) to north of $6.6 billion. This can primarily be attributed to its new drug Ocrevus, which garnered around $1.5 billion in sales in the nine month period ending September 2018, marking Roches best drug launch ever. Ocrevus is used for the treatment of relapsing and primary progressive forms of multiple sclerosis. The patient pool for Ocrevus was at 70,000 in the previous quarter, with a 12% market share in the U.S. Ocrevus will likely be a key player in the multiple sclerosis segment, and could garner as much as $5 billion in peak sales. Looking at the gross margins, they have remained stable at around 80% over the past few years, and we dont expect any significant change in the near term. Oncology revenues will likely see slow growth in the near term, as ramp up in new drugs, such as Tecentriq, Kadcyla, Gazayva, and Alecensa, will mostly be offset by decline in older drugs, primarily Rituxan, which faces generic competition in Europe. In fact, Rituxan sales were down close to 50% in Europe for the nine month period ending September 2018. Note that Rituxan is a blockbuster drug for Roche, with sales of over $7 billion in 2017. Looking at In-Vitro Diagnostics, we expect the growth to be in mid-single digits to around $12.7 billion for the full year 2018. This can primarily be attributed to its lab business, which has been doing well of late. The companys diagnostics business has been doing well in the emerging markets, and we expect this trend to continue in the near term. Overall, we forecast the full year 2018 revenues to grow in mid-single digits to $58 billion, and earnings to be around $2.15 per share, reflecting a growth in the low teens. We currently have a $35 price estimate for Roche Holding, which we will update post the Q4 earnings announcement. Explore example interactive dashboards and create your own. | Roche Holding (NASDAQ:RHHBY) is scheduled to announce its Q4 earnings on January 31. We expect the company to post steady top line and earnings growth, primarily led by Ocrevus. However, Oncology could see slow growth, given generic headwinds for Rituxan in Europe. | bart | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/01/29/what-to-expect-from-roche-holdings-q4/ | 0.496559 |
Is The Housing Slowdown Starting To Crack The Home Furnishings Business? | A stronger housing market over the past several years has been an incredible catalyst for the home furnishings and home improvement businesses. But there are signs the boom may be over. Analysts and some of the retailers in the space themselves have put out warnings that fewer new homes and an overall slowing economy could weaken the business in 2019. So far, hard results arent necessarily backing up that theory and some retailers particularly Depot are suggesting that things are just fine, thank you. But the overall volume of naysayers is no doubt starting to take its toll. Earlier his week, Credit Suisse, ironically in raising its guidance on online home specialist Wayfair, said it is less optimistic about the overall home space. Citing a variety of factors, it said it was cautious about the channel due to margin pressures and shifts in purchasing patterns. Also this week Ethan Allen Interiors reported basically flat sales for its second quarter, pointing at declines in its wholesale business. Over the course of the past year, its stock price has dropped to just under $17 from a high of over $25. On its most recent quarterly earnings call when it must be said it showed a very positive performance Home Depot was asked about the impact the housing slowdown would have on its business. The company answered that it wasnt concerned, that even with a decline in some housing statistics, the need for home owners to repair and remodel their existing homes more than outweighed any new housing start drops. Even the most dire economic forecasts dont suggest anything near the blowout of 2008 that saw the near total collapse of the housing market, nearly taking the American economy down with it. But unlike consumer product categories such as food or apparel, home furnishings and remodeling are dependent on a factor out of their control: the housing market. Home may be where the heart is, but its certainly not for the faint of heart. | A stronger housing market over the past several years has been an incredible catalyst for the home furnishings and home improvement businesses. | pegasus | 0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/warrenshoulberg/2019/01/29/is-the-housing-slowdown-starting-to-crack-the-home-furnishings-business/ | 0.132242 |
Is The Housing Slowdown Starting To Crack The Home Furnishings Business? | A stronger housing market over the past several years has been an incredible catalyst for the home furnishings and home improvement businesses. But there are signs the boom may be over. Analysts and some of the retailers in the space themselves have put out warnings that fewer new homes and an overall slowing economy could weaken the business in 2019. So far, hard results arent necessarily backing up that theory and some retailers particularly Depot are suggesting that things are just fine, thank you. But the overall volume of naysayers is no doubt starting to take its toll. Earlier his week, Credit Suisse, ironically in raising its guidance on online home specialist Wayfair, said it is less optimistic about the overall home space. Citing a variety of factors, it said it was cautious about the channel due to margin pressures and shifts in purchasing patterns. Also this week Ethan Allen Interiors reported basically flat sales for its second quarter, pointing at declines in its wholesale business. Over the course of the past year, its stock price has dropped to just under $17 from a high of over $25. On its most recent quarterly earnings call when it must be said it showed a very positive performance Home Depot was asked about the impact the housing slowdown would have on its business. The company answered that it wasnt concerned, that even with a decline in some housing statistics, the need for home owners to repair and remodel their existing homes more than outweighed any new housing start drops. Even the most dire economic forecasts dont suggest anything near the blowout of 2008 that saw the near total collapse of the housing market, nearly taking the American economy down with it. But unlike consumer product categories such as food or apparel, home furnishings and remodeling are dependent on a factor out of their control: the housing market. Home may be where the heart is, but its certainly not for the faint of heart. | A stronger housing market over the past several years has been an incredible catalyst for the home furnishings and home improvement businesses. But there are signs the boom may be over. | pegasus | 1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/warrenshoulberg/2019/01/29/is-the-housing-slowdown-starting-to-crack-the-home-furnishings-business/ | 0.126587 |
Is The Housing Slowdown Starting To Crack The Home Furnishings Business? | A stronger housing market over the past several years has been an incredible catalyst for the home furnishings and home improvement businesses. But there are signs the boom may be over. Analysts and some of the retailers in the space themselves have put out warnings that fewer new homes and an overall slowing economy could weaken the business in 2019. So far, hard results arent necessarily backing up that theory and some retailers particularly Depot are suggesting that things are just fine, thank you. But the overall volume of naysayers is no doubt starting to take its toll. Earlier his week, Credit Suisse, ironically in raising its guidance on online home specialist Wayfair, said it is less optimistic about the overall home space. Citing a variety of factors, it said it was cautious about the channel due to margin pressures and shifts in purchasing patterns. Also this week Ethan Allen Interiors reported basically flat sales for its second quarter, pointing at declines in its wholesale business. Over the course of the past year, its stock price has dropped to just under $17 from a high of over $25. On its most recent quarterly earnings call when it must be said it showed a very positive performance Home Depot was asked about the impact the housing slowdown would have on its business. The company answered that it wasnt concerned, that even with a decline in some housing statistics, the need for home owners to repair and remodel their existing homes more than outweighed any new housing start drops. Even the most dire economic forecasts dont suggest anything near the blowout of 2008 that saw the near total collapse of the housing market, nearly taking the American economy down with it. But unlike consumer product categories such as food or apparel, home furnishings and remodeling are dependent on a factor out of their control: the housing market. Home may be where the heart is, but its certainly not for the faint of heart. | A stronger housing market over the past several years has been an incredible catalyst for the home furnishings and home improvement businesses. But there are signs the boom may be over. Analysts and some of the retailers in the space themselves have put out warnings that fewer new homes and an overall slowing economy could weaken the business in 2019. | pegasus | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/warrenshoulberg/2019/01/29/is-the-housing-slowdown-starting-to-crack-the-home-furnishings-business/ | 0.37804 |
What does PG&E bankruptcy mean for CA wildfire victims? | Doreen Zimmerman lost her hillside home in the Camp Fire last November, fleeing with a dozen puppies in the family car as flaming embers rained down on Paradise. Now she feels shes been made a victim again by PG&Es decision to file for bankruptcy Tuesday. The survivors I call myself a survivor we have been shorted, said Zimmerman, whos living in a rental home in Yuba City. PG&E is going to go to victims and say, We are going to pay you 60 cents on the dollar, or 50 cents or whatever. They are going to twist this and cry Oh poor me, and go back in the boardroom and laugh their butts off. They are still going to get bonuses in high management. Zimmerman is among scores of Northern California wildfire victims left fuming and distrustful after PG&E filed for bankruptcy. Citing $30 billion in potential liabilities from the 2017 and 2018 wildfires, utility officials contended the filing is the only way to keep the company going and insisted that their decision will actually benefit fire survivors. Digital Access for only $0.99 For the most comprehensive local coverage, subscribe today. Bankruptcy can resolve wildfire lawsuits more quickly and more equitably than ... the state court system, PG&E Chief Financial Officer Jason Wells said in court papers. Bankruptcy isnt a strategy or attempt to avoid PG&Es responsibility for the heartbreaking and tragic loss of life, devastating damage and destruction to homes and businesses. Wells added that bankruptcy is in the best interests of all the debtors stakeholders, including their millions of customers, employees, wildfire claimants, other creditors ... and shareholders. PG&Es assertion was met with considerable skepticism. Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, who represents the area hit by the Camp Fire, said nothing should stand in the way of compensation for fire victims but pointedly adding that his anger is aimed at corporate executives in San Francisco, not the front-line workers who are out battling the elements. Frankly, I question whether or not they are really in a bankruptcy situation or if they are simply attempting to skirt their obligations, Gallagher said in a press statement. The bankruptcy court should do a full and thorough vetting of PG&Es financial situation before allowing their Chapter 11 petition to proceed. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and its parent PG&E Corp. sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an electronic filing shortly after midnight. It puts the companys fate largely in the hands of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali, who oversaw PG&Es first bankruptcy in 2001. State officials will play a role, too, as they try to accommodate ratepayers and wildfire survivors while ensuring the company is healthy enough to keep operating. Gov. Gavin Newsom, in a prepared statement, said the bankruptcy does not change my focus, which remains protecting the best interests of the people of California. PG&E was already reeling from the potential fallout from the 2017 fires. The Camp Fire pushed the company over the edge. The states investigation isnt complete, but PG&E has disclosed it experienced problems on a high-voltage transmission tower near the apparent ignition point, minutes before the Camp Fire began. Experts say PG&Es bankruptcy will bring pain for practically everyone involved. Wildfire survivors who are suing PG&E will become unsecured creditors with no higher priority on PG&Es assets than the companys bondholders who are owed $18 billion. A wildfire victims attorney said PG&E is using bankruptcy as a dodge. Why do this other than to keep money away from victims, said Mike Danko, a Bay Area attorney representing survivors of several fires. Typically you dont let the perpetrator decide what is best for victims. The perpetrator is a convicted felon that continues to violate the terms of its probation. What they say is best for victims is inappropriate and suspicious. PG&E was convicted of multiple felonies after the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion. Sheila Craft, whose home was destroyed in the Camp Fire, was struggling to make sense of the implications of the bankruptcy filing. From a victims standpoint, I dont see how it necessarily helps me or doesnt help me, said Craft, whose family is living temporarily in Oroville but is buying a house in Magalia, just north of Paradise. Either way, she doesnt expect payment to come anytime soon. I dont foresee anybody coming in and handing me a check, she said. She also said she isnt looking forward to what she believes is an inevitable rate hike. Anytime PG&E ends up doing anything as a whole, rates go up, she said. Rates will likely go up, just as they did when PG&E emerged from bankruptcy the first time. Last year legislators enacted a partial bailout for the company, saying it could pass on at least some wildfire liability costs to ratepayers if the utilitys finances couldnt absorb the total hit. But the legislation, Senate Bill 901, didnt cover any 2018 fires, including the Camp Fire, which destroyed 13,000 homes in Paradise in November and killed 86 people, the most in California history. Legislators have indicated theyre in no mood to extend SB 901s protections to help PG&E with the Camp Fire. PG&E could be forced to spin off assets to raise cash. Some critics have been calling for a breakup of the utility or some sort of government takeover, while PG&E executives said theyre committed to overhauling how they do business. To be clear, we have heard the calls for change and we are determined to take action throughout this process to build the energy system our customers want and deserve, John Simon, the companys interim chief executive officer, said in a press release. The utility did win a partial reprieve last week when Cal Fire said PG&Es power lines werent to blame for the Tubbs Fire, the costliest and deadliest of the 2017 fires. It wasnt enough to stave off bankruptcy. Those claims are still there, they still represent significant claims, said Steve Malnight, the utilitys senior vice president for energy supply and policy. PG&E warned about the bankruptcy filing 15 days ago, as required by state law, and utility lawyers said the heads-up accelerated the deterioration of its finances. The companys cash supply fell by $811 million as it was forced to pre-pay for power and other needs. The company has lined up $5.5 billion in new financing that the company says is necessary to keep operations going. Were not going out of business, Malnight said. The federal judge overseeing PG&Es probation, stemming from its criminal conviction in the 2010 San Bruno pipeline disaster, has a hearing set for Wednesday on his proposal to impose stringent wildfire-safety rules on the utility this year. That would include mandatory re-inspections of all 100,000 miles of PG&E power lines and extensive tree-cutting operations before the fire season begins in June. PG&E has pushed back on the plan as unrealistic and said it would cost at least $75 billion. The Public Utilities Commission has also objected, saying the judge has gone too far and should leave wildfire safety to state officials. | PG&E filed for bankruptcy Tuesday, citing $30 billion in potential liabilities from the 2017 and 2018 wildfires. Utility officials insisted the filing is the only way to keep the company going, and insisted that their decision will actually benefit fire survivors. Some wildfire victims say they feel they've been made a victim again. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article225246820.html | 0.117482 |
Is Brexit Worse Than Trump? | Its hard to argue that, at this moment in time, Brexit is worse for Britain than Trump is for America. But its also easy to see how, half a decade from now, that will be true. And if thats so, it will be largely attributable to fundamental differences between the countries themselves. The Founding Fathers built the American system of government with someone like Trump in mind: a corrupt demagogue who shows no interest in protecting minority rights or upholding the rule of law. Federal judges throughout the lower courts have blocked his administrations legally dubious policies from going into effect. American voters last fall handed Democrats control of House of Representatives to act as a check on the president. Impeachment threats appear to have blocked him from shutting down the Russia investigation. The damage would have been further minimized if Congress hadnt ceded so much of its power to the executive branch in recent decades. Things are much different across the Atlantic. Instead of an American-style constitution, the United Kingdom relies on an unwritten body of precedents and traditions to shape its political system. In practical terms, this means Parliament reigns supreme. Though Britains judiciary is independent, judges cant overturn laws passed by the legislature, like their American counterparts can. The British monarchs executive powers are now exercised by the prime minister and members of his Cabinet, all of whom are also lawmakers themselves. The U.S. Constitution determines what Congress can make laws about and what matters are left to the states. Parliament, on the other hand, has sovereign and uncontrollable authority in making, confirming, enlarging, restraining, abrogating, repealing, reviving, and expounding of laws, concerning matters of all possible denominations, ecclesiastical, or temporal, civil, military, maritime, or criminal, Lord Blackstone, Britains most celebrated jurist, wrote in the eighteenth century. It can, in short, do everything that is not naturally impossible. Everything, that is, except forge a transitional agreement to leave the European Union. Mays Conservative Party is torn between Brexit hardliners who demand a departure from the bloc at all costs and a range of other Tory factions that want something less destructive. Last year, she called a snap general election in hopes of securing a mandate to negotiate an agreement on Britains behalf. Instead, her party lost seats and became dependent on support from Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party to stay in power. The DUPs influence has made it harder to reach a consensus on the Irish border, which is supposed to stay open under the Good Friday Agreement but likely will close if Britain crashes out of the EU. | John Avlon: It's hard to argue that, at this moment in time, Brexit is worse for Britain than Trump is for America. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://newrepublic.com/article/152987/brexit-worse-trump | 0.135765 |
Is Brexit Worse Than Trump? | Its hard to argue that, at this moment in time, Brexit is worse for Britain than Trump is for America. But its also easy to see how, half a decade from now, that will be true. And if thats so, it will be largely attributable to fundamental differences between the countries themselves. The Founding Fathers built the American system of government with someone like Trump in mind: a corrupt demagogue who shows no interest in protecting minority rights or upholding the rule of law. Federal judges throughout the lower courts have blocked his administrations legally dubious policies from going into effect. American voters last fall handed Democrats control of House of Representatives to act as a check on the president. Impeachment threats appear to have blocked him from shutting down the Russia investigation. The damage would have been further minimized if Congress hadnt ceded so much of its power to the executive branch in recent decades. Things are much different across the Atlantic. Instead of an American-style constitution, the United Kingdom relies on an unwritten body of precedents and traditions to shape its political system. In practical terms, this means Parliament reigns supreme. Though Britains judiciary is independent, judges cant overturn laws passed by the legislature, like their American counterparts can. The British monarchs executive powers are now exercised by the prime minister and members of his Cabinet, all of whom are also lawmakers themselves. The U.S. Constitution determines what Congress can make laws about and what matters are left to the states. Parliament, on the other hand, has sovereign and uncontrollable authority in making, confirming, enlarging, restraining, abrogating, repealing, reviving, and expounding of laws, concerning matters of all possible denominations, ecclesiastical, or temporal, civil, military, maritime, or criminal, Lord Blackstone, Britains most celebrated jurist, wrote in the eighteenth century. It can, in short, do everything that is not naturally impossible. Everything, that is, except forge a transitional agreement to leave the European Union. Mays Conservative Party is torn between Brexit hardliners who demand a departure from the bloc at all costs and a range of other Tory factions that want something less destructive. Last year, she called a snap general election in hopes of securing a mandate to negotiate an agreement on Britains behalf. Instead, her party lost seats and became dependent on support from Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party to stay in power. The DUPs influence has made it harder to reach a consensus on the Irish border, which is supposed to stay open under the Good Friday Agreement but likely will close if Britain crashes out of the EU. | John Avlon: It's hard to argue that, at this moment in time, Brexit is worse for Britain than Trump is for U.S. Avlon says that's because of fundamental differences between the countries. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://newrepublic.com/article/152987/brexit-worse-trump | 0.260893 |
Is Brexit Worse Than Trump? | Its hard to argue that, at this moment in time, Brexit is worse for Britain than Trump is for America. But its also easy to see how, half a decade from now, that will be true. And if thats so, it will be largely attributable to fundamental differences between the countries themselves. The Founding Fathers built the American system of government with someone like Trump in mind: a corrupt demagogue who shows no interest in protecting minority rights or upholding the rule of law. Federal judges throughout the lower courts have blocked his administrations legally dubious policies from going into effect. American voters last fall handed Democrats control of House of Representatives to act as a check on the president. Impeachment threats appear to have blocked him from shutting down the Russia investigation. The damage would have been further minimized if Congress hadnt ceded so much of its power to the executive branch in recent decades. Things are much different across the Atlantic. Instead of an American-style constitution, the United Kingdom relies on an unwritten body of precedents and traditions to shape its political system. In practical terms, this means Parliament reigns supreme. Though Britains judiciary is independent, judges cant overturn laws passed by the legislature, like their American counterparts can. The British monarchs executive powers are now exercised by the prime minister and members of his Cabinet, all of whom are also lawmakers themselves. The U.S. Constitution determines what Congress can make laws about and what matters are left to the states. Parliament, on the other hand, has sovereign and uncontrollable authority in making, confirming, enlarging, restraining, abrogating, repealing, reviving, and expounding of laws, concerning matters of all possible denominations, ecclesiastical, or temporal, civil, military, maritime, or criminal, Lord Blackstone, Britains most celebrated jurist, wrote in the eighteenth century. It can, in short, do everything that is not naturally impossible. Everything, that is, except forge a transitional agreement to leave the European Union. Mays Conservative Party is torn between Brexit hardliners who demand a departure from the bloc at all costs and a range of other Tory factions that want something less destructive. Last year, she called a snap general election in hopes of securing a mandate to negotiate an agreement on Britains behalf. Instead, her party lost seats and became dependent on support from Northern Irelands Democratic Unionist Party to stay in power. The DUPs influence has made it harder to reach a consensus on the Irish border, which is supposed to stay open under the Good Friday Agreement but likely will close if Britain crashes out of the EU. | John Avlon: It's hard to argue that, at this moment in time, Brexit is worse for Britain than Trump is for U.S. Avlon says that's because of fundamental differences between the countries themselves. He says in the U.K., Parliament reigns supreme, while in America, judges can't overturn laws. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://newrepublic.com/article/152987/brexit-worse-trump | 0.287889 |
Does Patriots' Julian Edelman have a shot at Hall of Fame? | ATLANTA When Super Bowl LIII draws to a close Sunday, Julian Edelman is expected to have secured the second most catches in the history of the NFL playoffs, the second highest receiving yardage total in postseason history and if the oddsmakers are correct about the New England Patriots, his third Super Bowl ring in the past five seasons. In the history of the NFL postseason, only San Francisco 49ers legend Jerry Rice has done it better. A fact that has been driven into relevance this week, largely because there are only so many ways you can repackage a New England Patriots franchise that is the Super Bowls answer to chicken the same stories with the same flavor, processed and presented any which way you can. It has led to this: A reaching Julian Edelman Hall of Fame bandwagon that now includes Rice and Boomer Esiason, along with an argument whether postseason stats can (or should) drive a Hall of Fame bid. Scroll to continue with content Ad In what might be a precursor to Edelmans Hall of Fame pitch, there doesnt appear to be a right answer. Just a lot of disagreement about a career that hasnt finished yet. That said, here are the three biggest issues (and a counterargument for each) that voters will attack when it comes to Edelmans candidacy. Julian Edelmans strong postseason is a big reason this phase of the Patriots dynasty continues. (Getty Images) 1. He has never produced at an elite level in the regular season. Story continues Edelman has zero Pro Bowls, zero All-Pros and two 1,000-yard seasons in 10 years. And despite playing his career entirely inside the era of hyper-inflated spread passing offenses, he has produced only 499 catches, 5,390 receiving yards and 30 touchdown receptions. Stats may not mean everything, but Edelmans receiving yardage total is 248th all-time at the moment. 148th. The touchdown reception total doesnt even crack the top 250, which isnt great considering guys like Brandon Lloyd, Jake Reed and Julius Thomas are among a massive clot of players tied at 249th with their 36 career touchdown catches. If Edelman is going to get serious consideration for the Hall of Fame, some voters are going to need to see some sustained statistical dominance in the regular season. Making a Pro Bowl certainly wouldnt hurt. [Ditch the pen and paper on footballs biggest day. Go digital with Squares Pickem!] The counter-argument: The Pittsburgh Steelers Lynn Swann finished his career with 5,462 receiving yards and 51 touchdown catches. It was a far tougher era to play wideout, but if Edelman can play a few more seasons at a high level, he has a shot to put Swann far into his rear-view mirror on some of the stat lists. 2. Edelman isnt the best slot receiver in his era, nor in Patriots or league history. (See: Wes Welker) This argument is basic: Until Welker is in the Hall of Fame, Edelman has no shot. Welker may not have the Super Bowl wins, but he has a claim to having turned the slot receiver position into a staple of NFL offenses. Also, Welker has the high-end regular-season numbers that Edelman lacks, including five Pro Bowls, four All-Pro nods and three seasons in which he led the league in catches. He had some sustained dominance but fell short on Super Bowl rings. The counter-argument: Both players deserve to be in. Welker was the dominant regular-season player who had the bad luck of falling short in Super Bowls (0-3) but legitimized the slot as a marquee NFL position. And Edelman was the dominant postseason player who was a big difference in winning Super Bowls, despite having his regular season undercut by injuries or simply learning the slot position in his first few years. 3. The Is he the best of the best question was posed to me by a Hall of Fame voter. Its a subjective inquiry, but its a very fair one. The Hall of Fame isnt predicated on postseason results. People have held up Kurt Warner or even Terrell Davis as being guys who produced Hall of Fame careers on limited numbers or even largely on playoff performances. Heres the problem with that argument: Both Warner and Davis were unquestionably the most dominant player at their positions in multiple seasons. They also had elite level runs in the regular season and playoffs. As for the shorter careers, Warner arrived to the NFL late, and Davis departed the league early due to injuries, yet theres little question about whether either had some sustained dominance at their position. In their eras, they can certainly be considered the best of the best. Thus far, Edelman cant make that claim outside of the playoffs. The counter-argument: Edelman never had an offense run through him. Warner touched the ball every offensive play for both the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals, and had a scheme designed for him to exploit every opportunity. And despite Davis playing alongside John Elway for the Denver Broncos, he still had the offense streamlined through him inside a scheme that maximized the impact of running backs. Meanwhile, Edelman has done his damage inside a Patriots offense that is designed to distribute the ball all over the field actually decentralizing any given weapon. And you can argue the few times the offense was aimed at a given player, it was Randy Moss, Wes Welker or Rob Gronkowski who was gifted the focus of the game plans, not Edelman. In other words, Edelman hasnt required an offense to be run through him to be a great contributor. Thats a snapshot of the Hall of Fame questions awaiting Edelman. Right now, its clear talking to voters that hes not considered a serious contender for enshrinement. And even if presented, a serious argument awaits. But its fair to note this is a fluid conversation that continues this week. One more ring, one more big Super Bowl performance and years left to climb the record books could shape this into a more realistic consideration than it will get anytime soon. More from Yahoo Sports: Report: Trump to make a play on Super Bowl Sunday Lonzo not interested in playing for Pelicans Madden predicts winner of Super Bowl LIII Wetzel: Comics try, mostly fail, to make Bill Belichick laugh | Julian Edelman is in his third Super Bowl ring in the past five seasons. He has never produced at an elite level in the regular season. Edelman isn't the best slot receiver in his era, nor in Patriots or league history. Until Wes Welker is in the Hall of Fame, Edelman has no shot. | pegasus | 2 | https://sports.yahoo.com/patriots-julian-edelman-shot-hall-fame-000516799.html?src=rss | 0.437005 |
Will the US and China finally agree a trade deal? | Top trade officials from the US and China are meeting in Washington as a deadline to strike a deal approaches. This is the second round of talks since Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met in Argentina last year and agreed to negotiate in the hope of defusing an escalating tariff war. There is widespread scepticism that the two sides can reach a substantive deal by the 1 March deadline. Recent charges against Huawei have added to the complications. At a press conference this week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow made few promises. "Let me just remind people, we do have another 30 days after this so my expectation is we'll make significant progress at these meetings, but I would just emphasize these are complicated issues," Mr Mnuchin said. Last week, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the two sides remained "miles and miles" apart. Mr Trump has long blamed China's rise as an exporter for a loss of manufacturing and other jobs in the US. But the issues facing the two countries are broader than the trade deficit. The US is pressing China to make changes to its economic policies, which it says unfairly favour domestic companies through subsidies and other support. It has also accused the government of supporting technology theft as part of its broader development strategy. The US imposed tariffs on $250bn worth of Chinese goods last year. China retaliated in kind, hitting $110bn of US products with duties. The moves rattled financial markets and contributed to worries about economic slowdown in both countries, especially in China. That has generated pressure for a deal, but it remains uncertain if the two sides will be able to overcome their differences. Chinese officials are resistant to the wholesale changes sought by the US and the charges against Huawei - one of China's biggest and most successful technology firms - have added to the political tensions. Meanwhile, Mr Trump, a self-described "Tariff Man", rejected a previous proposal from Beijing to resolve the dispute with increased purchases of US goods. China has reportedly expanded that offer in recent weeks. And at times, Mr Trump has seemed eager to assure the public that an agreement remains within reach. It would make "so much sense" for China to "finally do a Real Deal", he wrote on Twitter this month. Skip Twitter post by @realDonaldTrump China posts slowest economic numbers since 1990 due to U.S. trade tensions and new policies. Makes so much sense for China to finally do a Real Deal, and stop playing around! If the two sides cannot reach an agreement by 1 March, the US has said it will increase the tariff rate from 10% to 25% on Chinese goods worth an estimated $200bn. Mr Trump has also threatened tariffs on an additional $267bn worth of products. With White House advisors reportedly divided, the focus is on Mr Trump, who is scheduled to meet with Vice Premier Liu He in Washington this week as part of the talks. Image copyright EPA Image caption Economists worry the tariffs will hurt global trade Mr Trump may decide a deal would boost his political standing after a bruising fight with Democrats over border wall funding and the government shutdown. But he could also hope to shore up his base with protectionism. Analysts at Capital Economics said: "We think the two countries may just be able to reach a face-saving agreement to tide them over in the short term and avoid an escalation." For now, odds favour the limited truce lasting a little longer. | U.S. and China have until 1 March to reach a deal to end their trade dispute. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47047289 | 0.120126 |
Did the federal government really help 1 million Canadians find housing? | Adam Vaughan, a Liberal MP from Toronto who serves as parliamentary secretary to the social development minister, said Tuesday that $5.7 billion spent on affordable housing since 2016 has actually impacted less than 1 million specific addresses not individuals and that some units were counted more than once to reach that tally. OTTAWAThe Liberals pointman on housing admits Justin Trudeaus claim the government has helped 1 million Canadians find an affordable place to live stems from figures that were inflated to rhetorical advantage. Vaughan was explaining statements the prime minister made in the House of Commons this week, in response to criticism from the NDP that the Liberal governments housing plan doesnt build new units fast enough. I mean, obviously weve double counted to rhetorical advantage, but thats how much money is in the system. Thats why its $5.7 billion. Weve done a hell of a lot of stuff. On Monday during question period, Trudeau said in French that federal spending has helped more than 1 million Canadians find affordable housing. He repeated the claim Tuesday, when he said: we have already helped more than almost one million Canadians access homes. What (Trudeau) claimed is just so far from the truth its not even in the realm of whats actually happening, said Singh. Those statements sparked criticism from NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who accused the prime minister of misleading Canadians by exaggerating the impact of his governments housing spending. In an interview with the Star, Singh said Trudeaus statements imply affordable housing has been given to 1 million additional Canadians, when government-issued figures from the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC) paint a different picture. His numbers are just not real. Theyre wrong. The CMHC figures were published in November to outline the impact of $5.7 billion in federal housing spending since the Liberals first budget in 2016. They say less than 15,000 new affordable housing units have been or will be built with that money, while 156,526 units were slated for repairs. The CMHC also states 776,233 families or individuals benefited from a more affordable place to live a reference to people who receive subsidies to help pay for their housing, Vaughan explained. However, Vaughan said the government doesnt actually know how many individuals are affected by this spending, because it doesnt have statistics for how many people live in each unit constructed, repaired, or targeted with a subsidy. Instead, the CMHC says almost 1 million Canadian families have received housing support a claim Vaughan said is based on specific addresses receiving money. But he said the tally includes some addresses more than once if they receive money for repairs and also for a rent subsidy, Vaughan said. It constitutes support to a million different households, though some of them are double-counted, he said. A government official said on background Tuesday night that a small minority of unitsroughly 22,000 of almost 1 millionwere counted more than once. Housing policy experts, meanwhile, have reacted to the CMHCs statistics with confusion. David Hulchanski, a professor at the University of Toronto, called the figures opaque and confusing and said by email that its still not clear how many more Canadians are receiving help for housing than before the Liberal government came to power. Asked for a more accurate tally of units affected by the federal spending since 2016, a spokesperson for Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Jean-Yves Duclos repeated the CMHC figure that 982,099 families or well over a million Canadians have a place to call home. Jeff Morrison, executive director of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Associaiton, said much of the government spending since 2016 is from the renewal of so-called operating agreements to maintain subsidized housing that has been available for years. The Liberal governments signature National Housing Strategy a plan to reduce homelessness and expand affordable housing through a combination of federal and provincial spending that amounts to $40 billion over 10 years only started last year, Morrison said, and hasnt yet led to a significant number of new units. Most of this is just stuff they were already doing, he said. Vaughan acknowledged this, but said its important to maintain subsidies and spending for repairs, and that money available for affordable housing would have plummeted if the Liberals did not renew this spending. We have restored those operating agreements and, in doing so, protected affordability for a huge swath of Canadians, he said. Singh, however, accused the Liberals of neglecting the immediate needs of people who cant afford to buy a home or have trouble paying the rent. In recent weeks, Singh has repeatedly underscored the crisis in affordable housing, while New Democrats have attacked the Liberal housing plan in the House of Commons. The party also contends it is a prime concern in Burnaby South, where Singh is competing for his first-ever federal seat in a byelection set for Feb. 25. Earlier this month, Singh pledged an NDP government would build 500,000 new affordable housing units built over the next decade. This would be done by removing federal sales tax on new buildings that include affordable units, send subsidies to people who spend more than 30 per cent of their income on housing, and double the existing tax credit for first-time homebuyers to $1,500. The party says the tax credit boost would cost $120 million per year, while the sales tax incentive could cost roughly $125 million, depending on pickup in the private sector. Alex Ballingall is an Ottawa-based reporter covering national politics. Follow him on Twitter: @aballinga | Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that federal spending has helped more than 1 million Canadians find affordable housing. A Liberal MP from Toronto said Tuesday that $5.7 billion spent on affordable housing since 2016 has actually impacted less than 1million specific addresses. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2019/01/29/did-the-federal-government-really-help-1-million-canadians-find-housing.html | 0.474201 |
Is The Trade Desk a Buy? | The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) has been one of the best-performing stocks on the market since its 2016 IPO. Shares of the digital ad-buying specialist have jumped 164% over the last year and are up 350% since their September 2016 debut, as the chart below shows. TTD Chart More TTD data by YCharts The company has benefited from a burgeoning wave in digital advertising as Alphabet and Facebook have built some of the biggest businesses in the world on the power of online ads. At the other end of that equation, thousands of businesses and advertisers are trying to successfully market their products, and their ad agencies turn to The Trade Desk to manage and optimize their digital ad campaigns and spending, which has driven the company's rapid growth. Unlike some other tech stocks, The Trade Desk is highly profitable, with a profit margin of 23% through the first three quarters of 2018 and a net income of $48.7 million. The company is also putting up blockbuster top-line growth, with revenue up 54% through the first three quarters. While those numbers and the stock's track record make the stock look appealing, past performance is not a guarantee of future success. Let's take a closer look at where Trade Desk stands today to determine if it's a buy. A digital ad on a sidewalk More Image source: Getty Images. Impressive momentum As the numbers above show, The Trade Desk has been growing briskly, both on the top and bottom lines. After the stock surged on two consecutive earnings reports, shares have been volatile in recent months due in part to the market turbulence. However, The Trade Desk continues to raise the bar, hiking its guidance in each of the last three quarters. The stock trades at a P/E of 56 based on this year's expected earnings per share (EPS), and though that valuation is high, it seems more than justified by the growth ahead in the digital ad market. According to International Data Corporation, global digital advertising spending is expected to grow from $229 billion in 2017 to $360 billion in 2021, making up nearly half of the total advertising market. Though the pace of growth is expected to slow, the primacy of digital advertising should help drive more customers on to The Trade Desk's platform. Competitive advantages | The Trade Desk is one of the best-performing stocks on the market since its 2016 IPO. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://news.yahoo.com/trade-desk-buy-023200275.html | 0.140413 |
Is The Trade Desk a Buy? | The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) has been one of the best-performing stocks on the market since its 2016 IPO. Shares of the digital ad-buying specialist have jumped 164% over the last year and are up 350% since their September 2016 debut, as the chart below shows. TTD Chart More TTD data by YCharts The company has benefited from a burgeoning wave in digital advertising as Alphabet and Facebook have built some of the biggest businesses in the world on the power of online ads. At the other end of that equation, thousands of businesses and advertisers are trying to successfully market their products, and their ad agencies turn to The Trade Desk to manage and optimize their digital ad campaigns and spending, which has driven the company's rapid growth. Unlike some other tech stocks, The Trade Desk is highly profitable, with a profit margin of 23% through the first three quarters of 2018 and a net income of $48.7 million. The company is also putting up blockbuster top-line growth, with revenue up 54% through the first three quarters. While those numbers and the stock's track record make the stock look appealing, past performance is not a guarantee of future success. Let's take a closer look at where Trade Desk stands today to determine if it's a buy. A digital ad on a sidewalk More Image source: Getty Images. Impressive momentum As the numbers above show, The Trade Desk has been growing briskly, both on the top and bottom lines. After the stock surged on two consecutive earnings reports, shares have been volatile in recent months due in part to the market turbulence. However, The Trade Desk continues to raise the bar, hiking its guidance in each of the last three quarters. The stock trades at a P/E of 56 based on this year's expected earnings per share (EPS), and though that valuation is high, it seems more than justified by the growth ahead in the digital ad market. According to International Data Corporation, global digital advertising spending is expected to grow from $229 billion in 2017 to $360 billion in 2021, making up nearly half of the total advertising market. Though the pace of growth is expected to slow, the primacy of digital advertising should help drive more customers on to The Trade Desk's platform. Competitive advantages | The Trade Desk is one of the best-performing stocks on the market since its 2016 IPO. The digital ad-buying specialist has benefited from a burgeoning wave in digital advertising. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://news.yahoo.com/trade-desk-buy-023200275.html | 0.216476 |
Is The Trade Desk a Buy? | The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) has been one of the best-performing stocks on the market since its 2016 IPO. Shares of the digital ad-buying specialist have jumped 164% over the last year and are up 350% since their September 2016 debut, as the chart below shows. TTD Chart More TTD data by YCharts The company has benefited from a burgeoning wave in digital advertising as Alphabet and Facebook have built some of the biggest businesses in the world on the power of online ads. At the other end of that equation, thousands of businesses and advertisers are trying to successfully market their products, and their ad agencies turn to The Trade Desk to manage and optimize their digital ad campaigns and spending, which has driven the company's rapid growth. Unlike some other tech stocks, The Trade Desk is highly profitable, with a profit margin of 23% through the first three quarters of 2018 and a net income of $48.7 million. The company is also putting up blockbuster top-line growth, with revenue up 54% through the first three quarters. While those numbers and the stock's track record make the stock look appealing, past performance is not a guarantee of future success. Let's take a closer look at where Trade Desk stands today to determine if it's a buy. A digital ad on a sidewalk More Image source: Getty Images. Impressive momentum As the numbers above show, The Trade Desk has been growing briskly, both on the top and bottom lines. After the stock surged on two consecutive earnings reports, shares have been volatile in recent months due in part to the market turbulence. However, The Trade Desk continues to raise the bar, hiking its guidance in each of the last three quarters. The stock trades at a P/E of 56 based on this year's expected earnings per share (EPS), and though that valuation is high, it seems more than justified by the growth ahead in the digital ad market. According to International Data Corporation, global digital advertising spending is expected to grow from $229 billion in 2017 to $360 billion in 2021, making up nearly half of the total advertising market. Though the pace of growth is expected to slow, the primacy of digital advertising should help drive more customers on to The Trade Desk's platform. Competitive advantages | The Trade Desk has been one of the best-performing stocks on the market since its 2016 IPO. Shares of the digital ad-buying specialist have jumped 164% over the last year. The company is putting up blockbuster top-line growth, with revenue up 54% through the first three quarters. | pegasus | 2 | https://news.yahoo.com/trade-desk-buy-023200275.html | 0.114074 |
Could Netflix's Marvel Cancellations Help The Defenders Meet The Avengers? | Last year, Netflix surprised audiences and show runners alike by axing Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Daredevil from their service. Additionally, rumors now abound that the two remaining Netflix-Marvel shows dont have much longer either. While Danny Rands adventures never quite took off, Luke Cage, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and The Punisher all met overwhelming popularity and critical support. So needless to say, these developments hit longtime Marvel fans hard. However, for those committed to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as a whole, this might just spell out a new sliver of hope. To understand, lets take a step back. Before the release of Avengers: Infinity War, The Russo Brothers, the films directors, announced that they were considering as many as 67 major characters for the massive ensemble. Now its important to know that Marvel Television for years has insisted that its shows take place in the same interconnected universe as the movies. Given this, as fans flew into a frenzy to list out the 67 potential characters, many placed The Defenders, that is, Luke Cage, Danny Rand, Jessica Jones, and Matt Murdock, at the top of their wish lists. Well, the film came and went. And while the movie was beloved by fans the world over, it did not feature any of the Netflix heroes. But, as it so happens, that was not always the case. Here we are in New York That kind of stuff. As you could probably tell, it would be just a glorified cameo at this point. Cameo or not, this proves the films writers did seriously consider bringing in The Defenders. Well, a big part of it was the logistical dilemma behind it all. As Christopher Markus, the other screenwriter, explained, A lot of it is a pace thing, in that we have to have this thing done so much ahead of time, that they might get all the way through that Defenders show before we start shooting, or certainly before anything comes out. So we dont know where theyre going to be. Its very hard, even logistically, to keep even the movie characters synced up; its nearly impossible, given the speed that TV cranks out changes. Essentially, the people behind Infinity War worried that they could not keep up with the speed with which television operates. The script for a massive film like this would need to be finalized years before the movie saw a theatrical release. In that time, there could be as many as three new seasons of the Defenders adventures. Due to this discrepancy in production schedules, it would be logistically impossible to bring the television characters onto the big screen while keeping them true to where their individual stories most recently left them in terms of character development. The writers simply could not keep up. But now, this has suddenly become a non-issue. Say the writing team of Avengers 5 writes Daredevil into their script and has him defend New York alongside Spider-Man. Well, even if the project takes two years to get from script to screen, the delay will not harm Matt Murdocks character because Daredevil, legally, will have no other adventures of his own in the interim. Netflixs cancellation, and the two year stipulation that comes with it, has effectively frozen The Defenders in time, and now Marvel Studios is free to work with them on their schedule. The answer likely pivots around something called Disney+. The Walt Disney Company, owner of Marvel, has long been developing their own streaming service, Disney+, to compete with Netflix. The service, due to drop this year, is carefully piling up must-see content such as Star Wars shows, animated Disney classics, and much more. Make no mistake, Disney+ is a serious competitor and Netflix is justified in being wary. Netflixs cancellation of the Marvel shows, then, is just part of their business strategy. Disney+ has already announced that their platform will feature original Marvel content starring popular characters such as Loki and Scarlet Witch. Now this is tricky, because while Netflixs Marvel shows, if continued, would still be on their platform, the Marvel logo could inadvertently serve as free advertising for the Marvel content over on Disney+. And as the latter platform will surely have more Marvel content than Netflix, the reminder may be enough to drive audiences to switch over. Netflix, wisely, isnt willing to take that risk. So yes, this interesting coincidence of business strategy may have solved the logistics behind bringing The Defenders onto the big screen, but there are still other obstacles in the way. Firstly, the Avengers films are already overflowing with characters, and as the cast keeps growing, theres just not much space to bring in our television stars. Secondly, The Defenders are overseen by Marvel Television while The Avengers are overseen by Marvel Studios. Though these are two arms of the same company, they have historically not been able to play nice. This bit of politics, more than anything else, might effectively stop any hopes of a crossover before pen hits paper. Nevertheless, Marvel President Kevin Feige has hinted that a crossover like this is a possibility somewhere in the future. While all parties sound vague about when we can expect to see this crossover, at least now the Netflix cancellations allow us to hold on to a new sliver of hope. Marvel Televisions latest show, The Punisher, is now available on Netflix. Marvel Studios next film, Captain Marvel, hits theaters March 8, 2019. The film stars Brie Larson, Jude Law, and Samuel L. Jackson. It is directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. For more thoughts on superheroes and the entertainment industry, see the rest of my articles, follow me on Twitter, and subscribe on YouTube. | Netflix has canceled three of the four Marvel shows on their service. The cancellation of the Netflix shows could help The Defenders meet the Avengers. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/anharkarim/2019/01/30/could-netflixs-marvel-cancellations-help-the-defenders-meet-the-avengers/ | 0.451578 |
Could Netflix's Marvel Cancellations Help The Defenders Meet The Avengers? | Last year, Netflix surprised audiences and show runners alike by axing Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Daredevil from their service. Additionally, rumors now abound that the two remaining Netflix-Marvel shows dont have much longer either. While Danny Rands adventures never quite took off, Luke Cage, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and The Punisher all met overwhelming popularity and critical support. So needless to say, these developments hit longtime Marvel fans hard. However, for those committed to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as a whole, this might just spell out a new sliver of hope. To understand, lets take a step back. Before the release of Avengers: Infinity War, The Russo Brothers, the films directors, announced that they were considering as many as 67 major characters for the massive ensemble. Now its important to know that Marvel Television for years has insisted that its shows take place in the same interconnected universe as the movies. Given this, as fans flew into a frenzy to list out the 67 potential characters, many placed The Defenders, that is, Luke Cage, Danny Rand, Jessica Jones, and Matt Murdock, at the top of their wish lists. Well, the film came and went. And while the movie was beloved by fans the world over, it did not feature any of the Netflix heroes. But, as it so happens, that was not always the case. Here we are in New York That kind of stuff. As you could probably tell, it would be just a glorified cameo at this point. Cameo or not, this proves the films writers did seriously consider bringing in The Defenders. Well, a big part of it was the logistical dilemma behind it all. As Christopher Markus, the other screenwriter, explained, A lot of it is a pace thing, in that we have to have this thing done so much ahead of time, that they might get all the way through that Defenders show before we start shooting, or certainly before anything comes out. So we dont know where theyre going to be. Its very hard, even logistically, to keep even the movie characters synced up; its nearly impossible, given the speed that TV cranks out changes. Essentially, the people behind Infinity War worried that they could not keep up with the speed with which television operates. The script for a massive film like this would need to be finalized years before the movie saw a theatrical release. In that time, there could be as many as three new seasons of the Defenders adventures. Due to this discrepancy in production schedules, it would be logistically impossible to bring the television characters onto the big screen while keeping them true to where their individual stories most recently left them in terms of character development. The writers simply could not keep up. But now, this has suddenly become a non-issue. Say the writing team of Avengers 5 writes Daredevil into their script and has him defend New York alongside Spider-Man. Well, even if the project takes two years to get from script to screen, the delay will not harm Matt Murdocks character because Daredevil, legally, will have no other adventures of his own in the interim. Netflixs cancellation, and the two year stipulation that comes with it, has effectively frozen The Defenders in time, and now Marvel Studios is free to work with them on their schedule. The answer likely pivots around something called Disney+. The Walt Disney Company, owner of Marvel, has long been developing their own streaming service, Disney+, to compete with Netflix. The service, due to drop this year, is carefully piling up must-see content such as Star Wars shows, animated Disney classics, and much more. Make no mistake, Disney+ is a serious competitor and Netflix is justified in being wary. Netflixs cancellation of the Marvel shows, then, is just part of their business strategy. Disney+ has already announced that their platform will feature original Marvel content starring popular characters such as Loki and Scarlet Witch. Now this is tricky, because while Netflixs Marvel shows, if continued, would still be on their platform, the Marvel logo could inadvertently serve as free advertising for the Marvel content over on Disney+. And as the latter platform will surely have more Marvel content than Netflix, the reminder may be enough to drive audiences to switch over. Netflix, wisely, isnt willing to take that risk. So yes, this interesting coincidence of business strategy may have solved the logistics behind bringing The Defenders onto the big screen, but there are still other obstacles in the way. Firstly, the Avengers films are already overflowing with characters, and as the cast keeps growing, theres just not much space to bring in our television stars. Secondly, The Defenders are overseen by Marvel Television while The Avengers are overseen by Marvel Studios. Though these are two arms of the same company, they have historically not been able to play nice. This bit of politics, more than anything else, might effectively stop any hopes of a crossover before pen hits paper. Nevertheless, Marvel President Kevin Feige has hinted that a crossover like this is a possibility somewhere in the future. While all parties sound vague about when we can expect to see this crossover, at least now the Netflix cancellations allow us to hold on to a new sliver of hope. Marvel Televisions latest show, The Punisher, is now available on Netflix. Marvel Studios next film, Captain Marvel, hits theaters March 8, 2019. The film stars Brie Larson, Jude Law, and Samuel L. Jackson. It is directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. For more thoughts on superheroes and the entertainment industry, see the rest of my articles, follow me on Twitter, and subscribe on YouTube. | Netflix has canceled three of the four Marvel shows on their service. The cancellation of the Netflix shows could help the writing team of Avengers 5 bring in The Defenders, that is, Luke Cage, Danny Rand and Jessica Jones. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/anharkarim/2019/01/30/could-netflixs-marvel-cancellations-help-the-defenders-meet-the-avengers/ | 0.571837 |
Could Netflix's Marvel Cancellations Help The Defenders Meet The Avengers? | Last year, Netflix surprised audiences and show runners alike by axing Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Daredevil from their service. Additionally, rumors now abound that the two remaining Netflix-Marvel shows dont have much longer either. While Danny Rands adventures never quite took off, Luke Cage, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and The Punisher all met overwhelming popularity and critical support. So needless to say, these developments hit longtime Marvel fans hard. However, for those committed to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as a whole, this might just spell out a new sliver of hope. To understand, lets take a step back. Before the release of Avengers: Infinity War, The Russo Brothers, the films directors, announced that they were considering as many as 67 major characters for the massive ensemble. Now its important to know that Marvel Television for years has insisted that its shows take place in the same interconnected universe as the movies. Given this, as fans flew into a frenzy to list out the 67 potential characters, many placed The Defenders, that is, Luke Cage, Danny Rand, Jessica Jones, and Matt Murdock, at the top of their wish lists. Well, the film came and went. And while the movie was beloved by fans the world over, it did not feature any of the Netflix heroes. But, as it so happens, that was not always the case. Here we are in New York That kind of stuff. As you could probably tell, it would be just a glorified cameo at this point. Cameo or not, this proves the films writers did seriously consider bringing in The Defenders. Well, a big part of it was the logistical dilemma behind it all. As Christopher Markus, the other screenwriter, explained, A lot of it is a pace thing, in that we have to have this thing done so much ahead of time, that they might get all the way through that Defenders show before we start shooting, or certainly before anything comes out. So we dont know where theyre going to be. Its very hard, even logistically, to keep even the movie characters synced up; its nearly impossible, given the speed that TV cranks out changes. Essentially, the people behind Infinity War worried that they could not keep up with the speed with which television operates. The script for a massive film like this would need to be finalized years before the movie saw a theatrical release. In that time, there could be as many as three new seasons of the Defenders adventures. Due to this discrepancy in production schedules, it would be logistically impossible to bring the television characters onto the big screen while keeping them true to where their individual stories most recently left them in terms of character development. The writers simply could not keep up. But now, this has suddenly become a non-issue. Say the writing team of Avengers 5 writes Daredevil into their script and has him defend New York alongside Spider-Man. Well, even if the project takes two years to get from script to screen, the delay will not harm Matt Murdocks character because Daredevil, legally, will have no other adventures of his own in the interim. Netflixs cancellation, and the two year stipulation that comes with it, has effectively frozen The Defenders in time, and now Marvel Studios is free to work with them on their schedule. The answer likely pivots around something called Disney+. The Walt Disney Company, owner of Marvel, has long been developing their own streaming service, Disney+, to compete with Netflix. The service, due to drop this year, is carefully piling up must-see content such as Star Wars shows, animated Disney classics, and much more. Make no mistake, Disney+ is a serious competitor and Netflix is justified in being wary. Netflixs cancellation of the Marvel shows, then, is just part of their business strategy. Disney+ has already announced that their platform will feature original Marvel content starring popular characters such as Loki and Scarlet Witch. Now this is tricky, because while Netflixs Marvel shows, if continued, would still be on their platform, the Marvel logo could inadvertently serve as free advertising for the Marvel content over on Disney+. And as the latter platform will surely have more Marvel content than Netflix, the reminder may be enough to drive audiences to switch over. Netflix, wisely, isnt willing to take that risk. So yes, this interesting coincidence of business strategy may have solved the logistics behind bringing The Defenders onto the big screen, but there are still other obstacles in the way. Firstly, the Avengers films are already overflowing with characters, and as the cast keeps growing, theres just not much space to bring in our television stars. Secondly, The Defenders are overseen by Marvel Television while The Avengers are overseen by Marvel Studios. Though these are two arms of the same company, they have historically not been able to play nice. This bit of politics, more than anything else, might effectively stop any hopes of a crossover before pen hits paper. Nevertheless, Marvel President Kevin Feige has hinted that a crossover like this is a possibility somewhere in the future. While all parties sound vague about when we can expect to see this crossover, at least now the Netflix cancellations allow us to hold on to a new sliver of hope. Marvel Televisions latest show, The Punisher, is now available on Netflix. Marvel Studios next film, Captain Marvel, hits theaters March 8, 2019. The film stars Brie Larson, Jude Law, and Samuel L. Jackson. It is directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. For more thoughts on superheroes and the entertainment industry, see the rest of my articles, follow me on Twitter, and subscribe on YouTube. | Netflix has canceled three of the four Marvel shows on their service. The cancellation of the Netflix shows could help the writing team of Avengers 5 bring in The Defenders, that is, Luke Cage, Danny Rand, Jessica Jones, and Matt Murdock. The writers could now work with Marvel Studios on their schedule. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/anharkarim/2019/01/30/could-netflixs-marvel-cancellations-help-the-defenders-meet-the-avengers/ | 0.695278 |
Is Radeon VII Really Beating Nvidia's RTX 2080 In Leaked Benchmarks? | AMD's newest graphics card -- and the first 7nm consumer gaming GPU -- is launching in one week. AMD has positioned the Radeon VII to compete squarely against Nvidia's similarly priced RTX 2080. But new leaked 3DMark benchmarks are showing the Radeon VII blowing past the RTX 2080. Let's examine these leaks more closely and see if we can figure out what's going on. AMD is in the process of seeding Radeon VII review samples to press, and some may have already received the cards (I have not, although I am expecting one). By default, 3DMark records and uploads scores even if the software can't identify the GPU, which is definitely the case here because the Radeon VII hasn't been publicly launched. To bring you up to speed: Twitter user TUM_APISAK (via WCCFTech) posted a series of alleged early benchmark scores for the Radeon VII using the popular 3DMark suite. He included graphics scores only for Fire Strike, Fire Strike Extreme, Fire Strike Ultra and Time Spy. The Radeon VII was paired with an AMD Ryzen 2700X processor. Here are those scores: Fire Strike (1080p): 27400 Fire Strike Extreme (1440p): 13400 Fire Strike Ultimate (4K) 6800 Time Spy: 8700 For reference, I found a similar Fire Strike result for the Radeon VII here. It shows the overall score as being 19210. By comparison, here's a Fire Strike result with Nvidia's RTX 2080 and an Intel Core i7-8700K. You'll notice that the overall score, which takes physics and graphics into consideration, is 25927. That puts Nvidia ahead by more than 30%. When isolating the graphics scores for these results, Nvidia still leads by about 15%. These are 1080p tests, though. And both of these cards are designed to excel at 1440p and 4K. So let's see what happens when we pit the Radeon VII and RTX 2080 against each other in Fire Strike Ultra. According to these early leaks, the Radeon VII posts a Fire Strike Ultra graphics score of 6800. Nvidia's RTX 2080 scores in the 6400 range, giving AMD a slight edge. You can bet that edge is partially attributed to the Radeon VII's 16GB of HBM2 memory. The answer is: it depends. Because official drivers normally deliver a notable uplift in performance. A press driver was supplied by AMD on January 22, but that doesn't mean press is dealing with launch drivers. These scores may or may not improve significantly. One can assume AMD would not supply press drivers for the purpose of a review, only to later deliver an updated launch driver that boosted performance. It would unnecessarily cast a poor light on the card. Then again, in my history review GPUs, both AMD and Nvidia have delivered a launch driver very late in the review process and asked press (politely) to run all their benchmarks again. So take that for what it's worth. Second, we don't know if the Radeon VII was overclocked and that counts for something. My takeaway is that this is probably a reliable snapshot of the Radeon VII's competitive capability against the RTX 2080, but only in very general terms. Real-world gaming performance is always the most important measurement, and those results could vary wildly. This race is still too close to call. | New leaked 3DMark benchmarks are showing the Radeon VII blowing past the RTX 2080. | bart | 0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2019/01/30/is-radeon-vii-really-beating-nvidias-rtx-2080-in-leaked-benchmarks/ | 0.299006 |
Is Radeon VII Really Beating Nvidia's RTX 2080 In Leaked Benchmarks? | AMD's newest graphics card -- and the first 7nm consumer gaming GPU -- is launching in one week. AMD has positioned the Radeon VII to compete squarely against Nvidia's similarly priced RTX 2080. But new leaked 3DMark benchmarks are showing the Radeon VII blowing past the RTX 2080. Let's examine these leaks more closely and see if we can figure out what's going on. AMD is in the process of seeding Radeon VII review samples to press, and some may have already received the cards (I have not, although I am expecting one). By default, 3DMark records and uploads scores even if the software can't identify the GPU, which is definitely the case here because the Radeon VII hasn't been publicly launched. To bring you up to speed: Twitter user TUM_APISAK (via WCCFTech) posted a series of alleged early benchmark scores for the Radeon VII using the popular 3DMark suite. He included graphics scores only for Fire Strike, Fire Strike Extreme, Fire Strike Ultra and Time Spy. The Radeon VII was paired with an AMD Ryzen 2700X processor. Here are those scores: Fire Strike (1080p): 27400 Fire Strike Extreme (1440p): 13400 Fire Strike Ultimate (4K) 6800 Time Spy: 8700 For reference, I found a similar Fire Strike result for the Radeon VII here. It shows the overall score as being 19210. By comparison, here's a Fire Strike result with Nvidia's RTX 2080 and an Intel Core i7-8700K. You'll notice that the overall score, which takes physics and graphics into consideration, is 25927. That puts Nvidia ahead by more than 30%. When isolating the graphics scores for these results, Nvidia still leads by about 15%. These are 1080p tests, though. And both of these cards are designed to excel at 1440p and 4K. So let's see what happens when we pit the Radeon VII and RTX 2080 against each other in Fire Strike Ultra. According to these early leaks, the Radeon VII posts a Fire Strike Ultra graphics score of 6800. Nvidia's RTX 2080 scores in the 6400 range, giving AMD a slight edge. You can bet that edge is partially attributed to the Radeon VII's 16GB of HBM2 memory. The answer is: it depends. Because official drivers normally deliver a notable uplift in performance. A press driver was supplied by AMD on January 22, but that doesn't mean press is dealing with launch drivers. These scores may or may not improve significantly. One can assume AMD would not supply press drivers for the purpose of a review, only to later deliver an updated launch driver that boosted performance. It would unnecessarily cast a poor light on the card. Then again, in my history review GPUs, both AMD and Nvidia have delivered a launch driver very late in the review process and asked press (politely) to run all their benchmarks again. So take that for what it's worth. Second, we don't know if the Radeon VII was overclocked and that counts for something. My takeaway is that this is probably a reliable snapshot of the Radeon VII's competitive capability against the RTX 2080, but only in very general terms. Real-world gaming performance is always the most important measurement, and those results could vary wildly. This race is still too close to call. | New leaked 3DMark benchmarks are showing the Radeon VII blowing past the RTX 2080. AMD is in the process of seeding Radeon VII review samples to press. This is probably a reliable snapshot of the card's competitive capability. | bart | 1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2019/01/30/is-radeon-vii-really-beating-nvidias-rtx-2080-in-leaked-benchmarks/ | 0.376625 |
Is Radeon VII Really Beating Nvidia's RTX 2080 In Leaked Benchmarks? | AMD's newest graphics card -- and the first 7nm consumer gaming GPU -- is launching in one week. AMD has positioned the Radeon VII to compete squarely against Nvidia's similarly priced RTX 2080. But new leaked 3DMark benchmarks are showing the Radeon VII blowing past the RTX 2080. Let's examine these leaks more closely and see if we can figure out what's going on. AMD is in the process of seeding Radeon VII review samples to press, and some may have already received the cards (I have not, although I am expecting one). By default, 3DMark records and uploads scores even if the software can't identify the GPU, which is definitely the case here because the Radeon VII hasn't been publicly launched. To bring you up to speed: Twitter user TUM_APISAK (via WCCFTech) posted a series of alleged early benchmark scores for the Radeon VII using the popular 3DMark suite. He included graphics scores only for Fire Strike, Fire Strike Extreme, Fire Strike Ultra and Time Spy. The Radeon VII was paired with an AMD Ryzen 2700X processor. Here are those scores: Fire Strike (1080p): 27400 Fire Strike Extreme (1440p): 13400 Fire Strike Ultimate (4K) 6800 Time Spy: 8700 For reference, I found a similar Fire Strike result for the Radeon VII here. It shows the overall score as being 19210. By comparison, here's a Fire Strike result with Nvidia's RTX 2080 and an Intel Core i7-8700K. You'll notice that the overall score, which takes physics and graphics into consideration, is 25927. That puts Nvidia ahead by more than 30%. When isolating the graphics scores for these results, Nvidia still leads by about 15%. These are 1080p tests, though. And both of these cards are designed to excel at 1440p and 4K. So let's see what happens when we pit the Radeon VII and RTX 2080 against each other in Fire Strike Ultra. According to these early leaks, the Radeon VII posts a Fire Strike Ultra graphics score of 6800. Nvidia's RTX 2080 scores in the 6400 range, giving AMD a slight edge. You can bet that edge is partially attributed to the Radeon VII's 16GB of HBM2 memory. The answer is: it depends. Because official drivers normally deliver a notable uplift in performance. A press driver was supplied by AMD on January 22, but that doesn't mean press is dealing with launch drivers. These scores may or may not improve significantly. One can assume AMD would not supply press drivers for the purpose of a review, only to later deliver an updated launch driver that boosted performance. It would unnecessarily cast a poor light on the card. Then again, in my history review GPUs, both AMD and Nvidia have delivered a launch driver very late in the review process and asked press (politely) to run all their benchmarks again. So take that for what it's worth. Second, we don't know if the Radeon VII was overclocked and that counts for something. My takeaway is that this is probably a reliable snapshot of the Radeon VII's competitive capability against the RTX 2080, but only in very general terms. Real-world gaming performance is always the most important measurement, and those results could vary wildly. This race is still too close to call. | New leaked 3DMark benchmarks are showing the Radeon VII blowing past the RTX 2080. AMD is in the process of seeding Radeon VII review samples to press. This is probably a reliable snapshot of the card's competitive capability, but only in very general terms. This race is still too close to call. | bart | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2019/01/30/is-radeon-vii-really-beating-nvidias-rtx-2080-in-leaked-benchmarks/ | 0.404259 |
Can a boat made of flip-flops stop us using so much plastic? | Three years ago a group of Kenyans on the island of Lamu organised a beach cleanup, collecting more than 30 tonnes of plastic waste. Out of that rubbish was seven tonnes of flip-flops. Those shoes now form part of the Flipflopi, the worlds first dhow (traditional sailing boat) to be made entirely out of discarded plastic. The rainbow-coloured boat, which was designed by an academic from Northumbria Universitys School of Design, set off on its 500km maiden voyage from the Lamu archipelago on 24 January, and is expected to reach Zanzibar, Tanzania on 7 February. To find the best way to process and shape the material for the dhow, the team drew on academic expertise. Simon Scott-Harden, a senior lecturer in design for industry at Northumbria University, helped process the materials in a way that could be reused and repurposed. Thats the key message, says Scott-Harden. Plastic is great but we need to look after it and work out ways of giving it a second life. Were desperately keen to show that this is a global problem that everybody in the world should be responsible for. To save the rainforest, we need to work with the palm oil industry | Jennifer Lucey Read more The boat was made by a team of Lamu builders, who melted, shaped and carved the plastic exactly as they would with wood. They moulded more than 25 tonnes of melted plastic into parts of the boat, and also used more than 200,000 discarded flip-flops. The Flipflopi project has always been about encouraging change in a positive way, making people smile first and then sharing the very simple message that single-use plastics really dont make sense, says Flipflopi project founder Ben Morison, a Kenyan travel expert who spent much of his childhood there. Kenya introduced the worlds toughest plastic bag ban in 2017 but change in habits still takes time, and much of the waste ending up on its shores comes from Asia. The plastic problem has never been more acute. Plastic has been discovered at the deepest point on Earth and in the stomachs of deep sea creatures. Microplastics have been found in the remote Swiss mountains and in our tap water. The UN estimates by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish, with some 12m tonnes of plastic entering our oceans every year equivalent to a rubbish truck-full every minute. Its going to take a generation to make a change, but action needs to be taken. And through education, most departments will be on course to teaching some form of environmental issues, says Scott-Harden. Academics have been chugging away at the issue for years, notably from the early 90s, when researchers found 60-80% of the waste in the ocean was non-biodegradable plastic. Years later, in 2004, University of Plymouth oceanographer Richard Thompson coined the term microplastics to describe the billions of miniscule bits of plastic found in our oceans. The Flipflopi project is just one of a number of innovative projects raising awareness of the plastic issue, with a growing number of academics becoming involved. Scott-Harden thinks that collaboration is vital to change mindsets. Projects like this can galvanise cross-faculty partnerships like Ive not really seen before, he says. Read more Over the past few years, researchers at the University of Bath have partnered with Goa Engineering College in India to look at using discarded plastic waste in concrete instead of sand. The research released in December found replacing sand with similarly sized and shaped plastic particles from ground-up plastic bottles produced a mixture almost as strong as conventional concrete, which could help reduce Indias high levels of plastic pollution. It is really a viable material for use in some areas of construction that might help us tackle issues of not being able to recycle the plastic and meeting a demand for sand, researcher John Orr said. Last summer, University of Exeter research student Emily Duncan took part in an all-female expedition involving photographers, filmmakers and women from other fields sailing across the Pacific to learn more about plastic pollution. An expert on the impact of plastics on marine turtles, Duncan was running the science part of the programme, collaborating with researchers in Hawaii and Vancouver the stops on the first leg. I dont think were going to be able to solve this issue using just one group of expertise. We all have a role to play in this issue. Thats why public awareness is increasing, because everyone can do their bit, and to solve the problem were going to need to put all of our heads together, says Duncan. Were just at the tip of the iceberg at the moment about whats potentially going on. Its important for research to carry on into all different aspects of it. | The Flipflopi is the worlds first dhow (traditional sailing boat) to be made entirely out of discarded plastic. | bart | 0 | https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jan/30/can-a-boat-made-of-flip-flops-stop-us-using-so-much-plastic | 0.161701 |
Can a boat made of flip-flops stop us using so much plastic? | Three years ago a group of Kenyans on the island of Lamu organised a beach cleanup, collecting more than 30 tonnes of plastic waste. Out of that rubbish was seven tonnes of flip-flops. Those shoes now form part of the Flipflopi, the worlds first dhow (traditional sailing boat) to be made entirely out of discarded plastic. The rainbow-coloured boat, which was designed by an academic from Northumbria Universitys School of Design, set off on its 500km maiden voyage from the Lamu archipelago on 24 January, and is expected to reach Zanzibar, Tanzania on 7 February. To find the best way to process and shape the material for the dhow, the team drew on academic expertise. Simon Scott-Harden, a senior lecturer in design for industry at Northumbria University, helped process the materials in a way that could be reused and repurposed. Thats the key message, says Scott-Harden. Plastic is great but we need to look after it and work out ways of giving it a second life. Were desperately keen to show that this is a global problem that everybody in the world should be responsible for. To save the rainforest, we need to work with the palm oil industry | Jennifer Lucey Read more The boat was made by a team of Lamu builders, who melted, shaped and carved the plastic exactly as they would with wood. They moulded more than 25 tonnes of melted plastic into parts of the boat, and also used more than 200,000 discarded flip-flops. The Flipflopi project has always been about encouraging change in a positive way, making people smile first and then sharing the very simple message that single-use plastics really dont make sense, says Flipflopi project founder Ben Morison, a Kenyan travel expert who spent much of his childhood there. Kenya introduced the worlds toughest plastic bag ban in 2017 but change in habits still takes time, and much of the waste ending up on its shores comes from Asia. The plastic problem has never been more acute. Plastic has been discovered at the deepest point on Earth and in the stomachs of deep sea creatures. Microplastics have been found in the remote Swiss mountains and in our tap water. The UN estimates by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish, with some 12m tonnes of plastic entering our oceans every year equivalent to a rubbish truck-full every minute. Its going to take a generation to make a change, but action needs to be taken. And through education, most departments will be on course to teaching some form of environmental issues, says Scott-Harden. Academics have been chugging away at the issue for years, notably from the early 90s, when researchers found 60-80% of the waste in the ocean was non-biodegradable plastic. Years later, in 2004, University of Plymouth oceanographer Richard Thompson coined the term microplastics to describe the billions of miniscule bits of plastic found in our oceans. The Flipflopi project is just one of a number of innovative projects raising awareness of the plastic issue, with a growing number of academics becoming involved. Scott-Harden thinks that collaboration is vital to change mindsets. Projects like this can galvanise cross-faculty partnerships like Ive not really seen before, he says. Read more Over the past few years, researchers at the University of Bath have partnered with Goa Engineering College in India to look at using discarded plastic waste in concrete instead of sand. The research released in December found replacing sand with similarly sized and shaped plastic particles from ground-up plastic bottles produced a mixture almost as strong as conventional concrete, which could help reduce Indias high levels of plastic pollution. It is really a viable material for use in some areas of construction that might help us tackle issues of not being able to recycle the plastic and meeting a demand for sand, researcher John Orr said. Last summer, University of Exeter research student Emily Duncan took part in an all-female expedition involving photographers, filmmakers and women from other fields sailing across the Pacific to learn more about plastic pollution. An expert on the impact of plastics on marine turtles, Duncan was running the science part of the programme, collaborating with researchers in Hawaii and Vancouver the stops on the first leg. I dont think were going to be able to solve this issue using just one group of expertise. We all have a role to play in this issue. Thats why public awareness is increasing, because everyone can do their bit, and to solve the problem were going to need to put all of our heads together, says Duncan. Were just at the tip of the iceberg at the moment about whats potentially going on. Its important for research to carry on into all different aspects of it. | The Flipflopi is the worlds first dhow (traditional sailing boat) to be made entirely out of discarded plastic. The boat was designed by an academic from Northumbria Universitys School of Design. | pegasus | 1 | https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jan/30/can-a-boat-made-of-flip-flops-stop-us-using-so-much-plastic | 0.156935 |
Can a boat made of flip-flops stop us using so much plastic? | Three years ago a group of Kenyans on the island of Lamu organised a beach cleanup, collecting more than 30 tonnes of plastic waste. Out of that rubbish was seven tonnes of flip-flops. Those shoes now form part of the Flipflopi, the worlds first dhow (traditional sailing boat) to be made entirely out of discarded plastic. The rainbow-coloured boat, which was designed by an academic from Northumbria Universitys School of Design, set off on its 500km maiden voyage from the Lamu archipelago on 24 January, and is expected to reach Zanzibar, Tanzania on 7 February. To find the best way to process and shape the material for the dhow, the team drew on academic expertise. Simon Scott-Harden, a senior lecturer in design for industry at Northumbria University, helped process the materials in a way that could be reused and repurposed. Thats the key message, says Scott-Harden. Plastic is great but we need to look after it and work out ways of giving it a second life. Were desperately keen to show that this is a global problem that everybody in the world should be responsible for. To save the rainforest, we need to work with the palm oil industry | Jennifer Lucey Read more The boat was made by a team of Lamu builders, who melted, shaped and carved the plastic exactly as they would with wood. They moulded more than 25 tonnes of melted plastic into parts of the boat, and also used more than 200,000 discarded flip-flops. The Flipflopi project has always been about encouraging change in a positive way, making people smile first and then sharing the very simple message that single-use plastics really dont make sense, says Flipflopi project founder Ben Morison, a Kenyan travel expert who spent much of his childhood there. Kenya introduced the worlds toughest plastic bag ban in 2017 but change in habits still takes time, and much of the waste ending up on its shores comes from Asia. The plastic problem has never been more acute. Plastic has been discovered at the deepest point on Earth and in the stomachs of deep sea creatures. Microplastics have been found in the remote Swiss mountains and in our tap water. The UN estimates by 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish, with some 12m tonnes of plastic entering our oceans every year equivalent to a rubbish truck-full every minute. Its going to take a generation to make a change, but action needs to be taken. And through education, most departments will be on course to teaching some form of environmental issues, says Scott-Harden. Academics have been chugging away at the issue for years, notably from the early 90s, when researchers found 60-80% of the waste in the ocean was non-biodegradable plastic. Years later, in 2004, University of Plymouth oceanographer Richard Thompson coined the term microplastics to describe the billions of miniscule bits of plastic found in our oceans. The Flipflopi project is just one of a number of innovative projects raising awareness of the plastic issue, with a growing number of academics becoming involved. Scott-Harden thinks that collaboration is vital to change mindsets. Projects like this can galvanise cross-faculty partnerships like Ive not really seen before, he says. Read more Over the past few years, researchers at the University of Bath have partnered with Goa Engineering College in India to look at using discarded plastic waste in concrete instead of sand. The research released in December found replacing sand with similarly sized and shaped plastic particles from ground-up plastic bottles produced a mixture almost as strong as conventional concrete, which could help reduce Indias high levels of plastic pollution. It is really a viable material for use in some areas of construction that might help us tackle issues of not being able to recycle the plastic and meeting a demand for sand, researcher John Orr said. Last summer, University of Exeter research student Emily Duncan took part in an all-female expedition involving photographers, filmmakers and women from other fields sailing across the Pacific to learn more about plastic pollution. An expert on the impact of plastics on marine turtles, Duncan was running the science part of the programme, collaborating with researchers in Hawaii and Vancouver the stops on the first leg. I dont think were going to be able to solve this issue using just one group of expertise. We all have a role to play in this issue. Thats why public awareness is increasing, because everyone can do their bit, and to solve the problem were going to need to put all of our heads together, says Duncan. Were just at the tip of the iceberg at the moment about whats potentially going on. Its important for research to carry on into all different aspects of it. | The Flipflopi is the world's first dhow to be made entirely out of discarded plastic. The rainbow-coloured boat set off on its 500km maiden voyage from the Lamu archipelago on 24 January, and is expected to reach Zanzibar, Tanzania on 7 February. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jan/30/can-a-boat-made-of-flip-flops-stop-us-using-so-much-plastic | 0.152963 |
What is an amendment? | PA There were some important votes in Parliament last night that were all to do with something called amendments There were some important Brexit votes in Parliament on Tuesday night, which were all to do with something called amendments. An amendment is part of the process of making UK laws, when politicians can suggest changes to an idea for a new law. Once a new law has been put forward in the Houses of Parliament (a bill), this idea goes through various steps before it can become part of the law. During this process, politicians are given the chance to suggest changes to it. These are called amendments. This happens at the committee stage of making a new law. For amendments to be accepted, they need to be voted for by both Houses of Parliament - that is, the House of Commons (where elected MPs work) and the House of Lords (where non-elected politicians work as part of the law-making process). The committee will prepare a report (this is called the report stage) which outlines the amendments it's suggesting. If these changes are voted through, then the bill will pass through the final stages of approval - with its amendments included - before it can become law. On Tuesday night, there were two significant votes. In one, MPs in the House of Commons voted in favour of an amendment that made it clear they didn't think the UK should have a no deal Brexit. Following that vote, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has agreed to meet Prime Minister Theresa May to discuss what Parliament should do. However, the law currently says that the UK is leaving the EU on 29 March, so something would need to legally change to stop this from happening if a deal isn't in place by then. PA This is the second page of three pages of the Article 50 bill, which started the Brexit process MPs also voted in favour of amending part of Theresa May's Brexit deal called the Irish border backstop. This was called the Brady amendment as it was put forward by a Conservative politician called Sir Graham Brady. This is part of her deal that explains how the border between Northern Ireland (part of the UK) and the Republic of Ireland (to remain in the European Union (EU) will work once the UK has left the EU. A lot of people were not happy with this part of the deal. Critics said it left Northern Ireland needing to follow more EU rules than the rest of the UK. Many also worried it could cause conflict across the border, after an important deal called the Good Friday Agreement brought peace to those living either side of it. It could also cause a 'hard border' with checks and high security in place, which a lot of people don't want. PA What happens to the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland after Brexit has caused a lot of discussion between MPs Now these votes have happened, Prime Minister Theresa May is set to go back to EU leaders to try to renegotiate this part of the deal to a version that Parliament is happier with - and will approve. But various EU leaders have suggested that this part of the deal can not be changed though, so we will have to wait to see what happens next. | An amendment is when politicians suggest changes to an idea for a new law. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/47053575 | 0.257003 |
What is an amendment? | PA There were some important votes in Parliament last night that were all to do with something called amendments There were some important Brexit votes in Parliament on Tuesday night, which were all to do with something called amendments. An amendment is part of the process of making UK laws, when politicians can suggest changes to an idea for a new law. Once a new law has been put forward in the Houses of Parliament (a bill), this idea goes through various steps before it can become part of the law. During this process, politicians are given the chance to suggest changes to it. These are called amendments. This happens at the committee stage of making a new law. For amendments to be accepted, they need to be voted for by both Houses of Parliament - that is, the House of Commons (where elected MPs work) and the House of Lords (where non-elected politicians work as part of the law-making process). The committee will prepare a report (this is called the report stage) which outlines the amendments it's suggesting. If these changes are voted through, then the bill will pass through the final stages of approval - with its amendments included - before it can become law. On Tuesday night, there were two significant votes. In one, MPs in the House of Commons voted in favour of an amendment that made it clear they didn't think the UK should have a no deal Brexit. Following that vote, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has agreed to meet Prime Minister Theresa May to discuss what Parliament should do. However, the law currently says that the UK is leaving the EU on 29 March, so something would need to legally change to stop this from happening if a deal isn't in place by then. PA This is the second page of three pages of the Article 50 bill, which started the Brexit process MPs also voted in favour of amending part of Theresa May's Brexit deal called the Irish border backstop. This was called the Brady amendment as it was put forward by a Conservative politician called Sir Graham Brady. This is part of her deal that explains how the border between Northern Ireland (part of the UK) and the Republic of Ireland (to remain in the European Union (EU) will work once the UK has left the EU. A lot of people were not happy with this part of the deal. Critics said it left Northern Ireland needing to follow more EU rules than the rest of the UK. Many also worried it could cause conflict across the border, after an important deal called the Good Friday Agreement brought peace to those living either side of it. It could also cause a 'hard border' with checks and high security in place, which a lot of people don't want. PA What happens to the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland after Brexit has caused a lot of discussion between MPs Now these votes have happened, Prime Minister Theresa May is set to go back to EU leaders to try to renegotiate this part of the deal to a version that Parliament is happier with - and will approve. But various EU leaders have suggested that this part of the deal can not be changed though, so we will have to wait to see what happens next. | An amendment is part of the process of making UK laws. Politicians can suggest changes to an idea for a new law. This happens at the committee stage of making a new law. On Tuesday night, there were two significant votes in Parliament. | pegasus | 1 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/47053575 | 0.311377 |
Which British county is the best at football by points earned? | Plus: revealing all the countries watching the Premier League and footballers with pets named after other players. Was just chatting to some colleagues in the kitchen at work about why Essex doesnt have many big football clubs and it got me thinking, tweets BoxBorn. If you combined all the points from every league team in the ceremonial counties in England, which county would be on top? This weeks badges of honour go to Ian Robson and Robert Hickman, who have crunched the numbers lots and lots of numbers so we dont have to! Lets start with Ian Robson, who has worked out the County Championship for the 2018-19 season. Here are the top five counties in terms of overall points 1. Greater London 388 (11 teams, avge 35.27 per team) 2. Greater Manchester 273 (7 teams, avge 39) 3. Lancashire 246 (7 teams, avge 35.14) 4. West Midlands 237 (6 teams, avge 39.5) 5. South Yorkshire 212 (5 teams, avge 42.4) And heres the top five in terms of average points per team (all counties have only one team). 1. Bedfordshire 59 2. Norfolk 54 3. Cumbria 51 4. North Yorkshire 47 5. Derbyshire 46 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Luton Town: pride of Bedfordshire. Photograph: Glenn Sparkes/Frozen in Motion/REX/Shutterstock Ian has also noted the key findings of his work so we dont have to! The leading county, perhaps unsurprisingly, is Greater London, with a whopping 388 points from 11 teams. Thats an average of 35.3 points per team. This is followed by Greater Manchester with 273 points from seven teams, Lancashire with 246 points from seven teams, and the West Midlands with 237 from six teams. However, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands both have much better average points per team than Greater London, with 39 and 39.5 respectively. In fact, of the counties with more than one team, only three have worse averages than Greater London, suggesting it has gained first place through sheer numbers alone. The best county overall is Bedfordshire, whose sole representative, Luton Town, are currently top of League One with 59 points. The worst county overall is Suffolk, for whom Ipswich Town have a measly 18 points. Of the counties with more than one team, Lincolnshire has the best average, with 135 points from three teams giving an average of 45 points per team. Of the counties with more than one team, West Yorkshire is the worst (despite Leeds United currently topping the Championship), with just 96 points from three teams giving an average of 32 points per team. West Glamorgan are kings of Wales, with Swansea City on 40 points. Gwent is a close second thanks to Newport Countys 39 points, while South Glamorgans Cardiff City languish on 19. Ten English counties have no representatives in the Football League: City of London, Cornwall, County Durham, Herefordshire, Isle of Wight, Northumberland, Rutland, Surrey, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Robert Hickman, meanwhile, has compiled an overall league table since the dawn of the Football League in 1888. Our head hurts. UN-believable, Jeff The Premier League reaches viewers in 185 countries, begins Matthew Atkinson. The United Nations recognises 193 countries with two observer members. Do Premier League broadcasts recognise any nations the UN does not? According to the Premier League website, I think I can see where it has got its 185 countries from, begins James Clarke, stepping up to the plate. This would be including the observer nations, since I get to 184 full members; but throwing in the Vatican (which has coverage, obviously) takes it up to 185. So the 10 countries recognised (or partially-recognised) by the UN, but without an official Premier League broadcaster, according to the Leagues website, are: Afghanistan, Bolivia, Guyana, Liechtenstein, Nepal, North Korea, Palestine, Paraguay, Suriname and Timor-Leste. But from some Googling around I think it is doing itself a disservice with this. Most obviously, ESPN seems to broadcast Premier League matches in Bolivia and Paraguay, so I dont know how that got missed. Nepal would be able to get coverage through the Indian sports channels which would be readily available in a satellite subscription; ditto Liechtenstein through the Swiss channels. And Im sure similar situations for some of those other countries. As for non-UN countries with coverage: pretty much all of them. The website includes loads of sort-of countries, mostly overseas territories of UK/US/Australia/Netherlands/France etc, plus a few of the more interesting contentious cases. But nearly all covered through non-local broadcasters, eg: theres essentially a single broadcaster for all the Caribbean regardless of whether youre in a real country or not. Photograph: Andrew Medichini/AP Pets named after players My best mate (lifelong Wycombe fan) recently named his cat Bayo after Adebayo Akinfenwa, writes Rich Booth. Have any professional footballers or famous personalities got pets named after other professional footballers? Proving that hes the Goat for some, Yoga Cholandha kicks things off: Iscos labrador is named after Leo Messi. He said in 2013: Messi is the best in the world and so is my dog. Then theres Santi Cazorla, who revealed in 2016 that one of his three dogs was called Zlatan I named it for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Knowledge archive With all the talk of upcoming TV rights deals, it got me wondering: what is the strangest host broadcaster of a football match? wondered Kath Taylor in 2012. You can watch football on social media and you could even have thrilled to Netherlands 2-1 Albania in 2006 on this very site. But in September 2007, you could have caught Fiorentina on the Italian adult channel ContoTV for 5 up front or 10 on the night. Yes, we are a porn broadcaster, said executive Marco Crispino after securing an exclusive deal to broadcast the Violas Uefa Cup game against Groningen. OK, Sky dont show porn but then thats their problem, not ours. Italians like their hardcore. There was a thrilling climax to the game too: Fiorentina won 4-3 on penalties. For thousands more questions and answers look through our archive. I was listening to the BBCs World Football podcast recently where Pat Nevin shares the surprise news that he and Terry Butcher are cousins, reports Michael Fryer. Does anyone know of any other cousins who played for different countries? Martin Tyler commentated on the FA Cup third-round replay between Southampton and Derby, notes Patrick Tarbox. Tyler was assistant manager for Woking against Watford earlier in the round. How many other instances are there of a cup participant (player, coach, referee) also working a live commentary in the same round? Is there a specific reason Old Trafford hosted so few FA Cup semis prior to 1996? inquires Patrick Walton. For such a historically large ground to only be first pick three times in 50 years seems odd. Email your questions and answers to knowledge@theguardian.com or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU. | The best county overall is Bedfordshire, whose sole representative, Luton Town, are currently top of League One with 59 points. | pegasus | 0 | https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/jan/30/which-british-county-is-the-best-at-football-by-points-earned | 0.209518 |
Which British county is the best at football by points earned? | Plus: revealing all the countries watching the Premier League and footballers with pets named after other players. Was just chatting to some colleagues in the kitchen at work about why Essex doesnt have many big football clubs and it got me thinking, tweets BoxBorn. If you combined all the points from every league team in the ceremonial counties in England, which county would be on top? This weeks badges of honour go to Ian Robson and Robert Hickman, who have crunched the numbers lots and lots of numbers so we dont have to! Lets start with Ian Robson, who has worked out the County Championship for the 2018-19 season. Here are the top five counties in terms of overall points 1. Greater London 388 (11 teams, avge 35.27 per team) 2. Greater Manchester 273 (7 teams, avge 39) 3. Lancashire 246 (7 teams, avge 35.14) 4. West Midlands 237 (6 teams, avge 39.5) 5. South Yorkshire 212 (5 teams, avge 42.4) And heres the top five in terms of average points per team (all counties have only one team). 1. Bedfordshire 59 2. Norfolk 54 3. Cumbria 51 4. North Yorkshire 47 5. Derbyshire 46 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Luton Town: pride of Bedfordshire. Photograph: Glenn Sparkes/Frozen in Motion/REX/Shutterstock Ian has also noted the key findings of his work so we dont have to! The leading county, perhaps unsurprisingly, is Greater London, with a whopping 388 points from 11 teams. Thats an average of 35.3 points per team. This is followed by Greater Manchester with 273 points from seven teams, Lancashire with 246 points from seven teams, and the West Midlands with 237 from six teams. However, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands both have much better average points per team than Greater London, with 39 and 39.5 respectively. In fact, of the counties with more than one team, only three have worse averages than Greater London, suggesting it has gained first place through sheer numbers alone. The best county overall is Bedfordshire, whose sole representative, Luton Town, are currently top of League One with 59 points. The worst county overall is Suffolk, for whom Ipswich Town have a measly 18 points. Of the counties with more than one team, Lincolnshire has the best average, with 135 points from three teams giving an average of 45 points per team. Of the counties with more than one team, West Yorkshire is the worst (despite Leeds United currently topping the Championship), with just 96 points from three teams giving an average of 32 points per team. West Glamorgan are kings of Wales, with Swansea City on 40 points. Gwent is a close second thanks to Newport Countys 39 points, while South Glamorgans Cardiff City languish on 19. Ten English counties have no representatives in the Football League: City of London, Cornwall, County Durham, Herefordshire, Isle of Wight, Northumberland, Rutland, Surrey, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Robert Hickman, meanwhile, has compiled an overall league table since the dawn of the Football League in 1888. Our head hurts. UN-believable, Jeff The Premier League reaches viewers in 185 countries, begins Matthew Atkinson. The United Nations recognises 193 countries with two observer members. Do Premier League broadcasts recognise any nations the UN does not? According to the Premier League website, I think I can see where it has got its 185 countries from, begins James Clarke, stepping up to the plate. This would be including the observer nations, since I get to 184 full members; but throwing in the Vatican (which has coverage, obviously) takes it up to 185. So the 10 countries recognised (or partially-recognised) by the UN, but without an official Premier League broadcaster, according to the Leagues website, are: Afghanistan, Bolivia, Guyana, Liechtenstein, Nepal, North Korea, Palestine, Paraguay, Suriname and Timor-Leste. But from some Googling around I think it is doing itself a disservice with this. Most obviously, ESPN seems to broadcast Premier League matches in Bolivia and Paraguay, so I dont know how that got missed. Nepal would be able to get coverage through the Indian sports channels which would be readily available in a satellite subscription; ditto Liechtenstein through the Swiss channels. And Im sure similar situations for some of those other countries. As for non-UN countries with coverage: pretty much all of them. The website includes loads of sort-of countries, mostly overseas territories of UK/US/Australia/Netherlands/France etc, plus a few of the more interesting contentious cases. But nearly all covered through non-local broadcasters, eg: theres essentially a single broadcaster for all the Caribbean regardless of whether youre in a real country or not. Photograph: Andrew Medichini/AP Pets named after players My best mate (lifelong Wycombe fan) recently named his cat Bayo after Adebayo Akinfenwa, writes Rich Booth. Have any professional footballers or famous personalities got pets named after other professional footballers? Proving that hes the Goat for some, Yoga Cholandha kicks things off: Iscos labrador is named after Leo Messi. He said in 2013: Messi is the best in the world and so is my dog. Then theres Santi Cazorla, who revealed in 2016 that one of his three dogs was called Zlatan I named it for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Knowledge archive With all the talk of upcoming TV rights deals, it got me wondering: what is the strangest host broadcaster of a football match? wondered Kath Taylor in 2012. You can watch football on social media and you could even have thrilled to Netherlands 2-1 Albania in 2006 on this very site. But in September 2007, you could have caught Fiorentina on the Italian adult channel ContoTV for 5 up front or 10 on the night. Yes, we are a porn broadcaster, said executive Marco Crispino after securing an exclusive deal to broadcast the Violas Uefa Cup game against Groningen. OK, Sky dont show porn but then thats their problem, not ours. Italians like their hardcore. There was a thrilling climax to the game too: Fiorentina won 4-3 on penalties. For thousands more questions and answers look through our archive. I was listening to the BBCs World Football podcast recently where Pat Nevin shares the surprise news that he and Terry Butcher are cousins, reports Michael Fryer. Does anyone know of any other cousins who played for different countries? Martin Tyler commentated on the FA Cup third-round replay between Southampton and Derby, notes Patrick Tarbox. Tyler was assistant manager for Woking against Watford earlier in the round. How many other instances are there of a cup participant (player, coach, referee) also working a live commentary in the same round? Is there a specific reason Old Trafford hosted so few FA Cup semis prior to 1996? inquires Patrick Walton. For such a historically large ground to only be first pick three times in 50 years seems odd. Email your questions and answers to knowledge@theguardian.com or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU. | The best county overall is Bedfordshire, whose sole representative, Luton Town, are currently top of League One with 59 points. The worst county overall is Suffolk, for whom Ipswich Town have a measly 18 points. | pegasus | 1 | https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/jan/30/which-british-county-is-the-best-at-football-by-points-earned | 0.245001 |
Which British county is the best at football by points earned? | Plus: revealing all the countries watching the Premier League and footballers with pets named after other players. Was just chatting to some colleagues in the kitchen at work about why Essex doesnt have many big football clubs and it got me thinking, tweets BoxBorn. If you combined all the points from every league team in the ceremonial counties in England, which county would be on top? This weeks badges of honour go to Ian Robson and Robert Hickman, who have crunched the numbers lots and lots of numbers so we dont have to! Lets start with Ian Robson, who has worked out the County Championship for the 2018-19 season. Here are the top five counties in terms of overall points 1. Greater London 388 (11 teams, avge 35.27 per team) 2. Greater Manchester 273 (7 teams, avge 39) 3. Lancashire 246 (7 teams, avge 35.14) 4. West Midlands 237 (6 teams, avge 39.5) 5. South Yorkshire 212 (5 teams, avge 42.4) And heres the top five in terms of average points per team (all counties have only one team). 1. Bedfordshire 59 2. Norfolk 54 3. Cumbria 51 4. North Yorkshire 47 5. Derbyshire 46 Facebook Twitter Pinterest Luton Town: pride of Bedfordshire. Photograph: Glenn Sparkes/Frozen in Motion/REX/Shutterstock Ian has also noted the key findings of his work so we dont have to! The leading county, perhaps unsurprisingly, is Greater London, with a whopping 388 points from 11 teams. Thats an average of 35.3 points per team. This is followed by Greater Manchester with 273 points from seven teams, Lancashire with 246 points from seven teams, and the West Midlands with 237 from six teams. However, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands both have much better average points per team than Greater London, with 39 and 39.5 respectively. In fact, of the counties with more than one team, only three have worse averages than Greater London, suggesting it has gained first place through sheer numbers alone. The best county overall is Bedfordshire, whose sole representative, Luton Town, are currently top of League One with 59 points. The worst county overall is Suffolk, for whom Ipswich Town have a measly 18 points. Of the counties with more than one team, Lincolnshire has the best average, with 135 points from three teams giving an average of 45 points per team. Of the counties with more than one team, West Yorkshire is the worst (despite Leeds United currently topping the Championship), with just 96 points from three teams giving an average of 32 points per team. West Glamorgan are kings of Wales, with Swansea City on 40 points. Gwent is a close second thanks to Newport Countys 39 points, while South Glamorgans Cardiff City languish on 19. Ten English counties have no representatives in the Football League: City of London, Cornwall, County Durham, Herefordshire, Isle of Wight, Northumberland, Rutland, Surrey, Warwickshire and Worcestershire. Robert Hickman, meanwhile, has compiled an overall league table since the dawn of the Football League in 1888. Our head hurts. UN-believable, Jeff The Premier League reaches viewers in 185 countries, begins Matthew Atkinson. The United Nations recognises 193 countries with two observer members. Do Premier League broadcasts recognise any nations the UN does not? According to the Premier League website, I think I can see where it has got its 185 countries from, begins James Clarke, stepping up to the plate. This would be including the observer nations, since I get to 184 full members; but throwing in the Vatican (which has coverage, obviously) takes it up to 185. So the 10 countries recognised (or partially-recognised) by the UN, but without an official Premier League broadcaster, according to the Leagues website, are: Afghanistan, Bolivia, Guyana, Liechtenstein, Nepal, North Korea, Palestine, Paraguay, Suriname and Timor-Leste. But from some Googling around I think it is doing itself a disservice with this. Most obviously, ESPN seems to broadcast Premier League matches in Bolivia and Paraguay, so I dont know how that got missed. Nepal would be able to get coverage through the Indian sports channels which would be readily available in a satellite subscription; ditto Liechtenstein through the Swiss channels. And Im sure similar situations for some of those other countries. As for non-UN countries with coverage: pretty much all of them. The website includes loads of sort-of countries, mostly overseas territories of UK/US/Australia/Netherlands/France etc, plus a few of the more interesting contentious cases. But nearly all covered through non-local broadcasters, eg: theres essentially a single broadcaster for all the Caribbean regardless of whether youre in a real country or not. Photograph: Andrew Medichini/AP Pets named after players My best mate (lifelong Wycombe fan) recently named his cat Bayo after Adebayo Akinfenwa, writes Rich Booth. Have any professional footballers or famous personalities got pets named after other professional footballers? Proving that hes the Goat for some, Yoga Cholandha kicks things off: Iscos labrador is named after Leo Messi. He said in 2013: Messi is the best in the world and so is my dog. Then theres Santi Cazorla, who revealed in 2016 that one of his three dogs was called Zlatan I named it for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Knowledge archive With all the talk of upcoming TV rights deals, it got me wondering: what is the strangest host broadcaster of a football match? wondered Kath Taylor in 2012. You can watch football on social media and you could even have thrilled to Netherlands 2-1 Albania in 2006 on this very site. But in September 2007, you could have caught Fiorentina on the Italian adult channel ContoTV for 5 up front or 10 on the night. Yes, we are a porn broadcaster, said executive Marco Crispino after securing an exclusive deal to broadcast the Violas Uefa Cup game against Groningen. OK, Sky dont show porn but then thats their problem, not ours. Italians like their hardcore. There was a thrilling climax to the game too: Fiorentina won 4-3 on penalties. For thousands more questions and answers look through our archive. I was listening to the BBCs World Football podcast recently where Pat Nevin shares the surprise news that he and Terry Butcher are cousins, reports Michael Fryer. Does anyone know of any other cousins who played for different countries? Martin Tyler commentated on the FA Cup third-round replay between Southampton and Derby, notes Patrick Tarbox. Tyler was assistant manager for Woking against Watford earlier in the round. How many other instances are there of a cup participant (player, coach, referee) also working a live commentary in the same round? Is there a specific reason Old Trafford hosted so few FA Cup semis prior to 1996? inquires Patrick Walton. For such a historically large ground to only be first pick three times in 50 years seems odd. Email your questions and answers to knowledge@theguardian.com or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU. | Ian Robson has worked out the County Championship for the 2018-19 season. Robert Hickman has compiled an overall league table since the dawn of the Football League in 1888. The leading county, perhaps unsurprisingly, is Greater London, with a whopping 388 points from 11 teams. The best county overall is Bedfordshire, with sole representative Luton Town. | bart | 2 | https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/jan/30/which-british-county-is-the-best-at-football-by-points-earned | 0.375621 |
How Can An Overturned Train Lead To Better Earthquake Hazard Predictions? | A new study uses a train knocked over in 1906 to check the accuracy of modern earthquake simulations. The study models how much the ground has to shake in order to knock over a narrow gauge locomotive sitting on the tracks -- which is exactly what happened on a side track near Point Reyes Station, north of San Francisco, when a massive earthquake struck San Francisco on the morning of Wednesday, April 18, 1906. According to eyewitnesses, the conductor had just climbed back aboard the train after refueling. "[T]he train gave a great lurch to the east, followed by another to the west, which threw the whole train on its side," said one bystander. "The astonished conductor dropped off as it went over, and atthe sight of the falling chimneys and breaking windows of the station, he understood that it was the Tremblor." The fireman, whose job it was to tend the fire that drove the locomotive's powerful steam engine, took a photograph of the train lying on its side, giving us a more detailed look at how it fell. Caltech geophysicist Swetha Veeraraghavan and her colleagues used all that information, along with records of the size and weight of the locomotive, to simulate how much (and in what direction) the ground would have to shake to make the train fall over in exactly the way the witnesses and the photo say it did. They even accounted for the fact that the train, because it was sitting on rails, couldn't actually slide from side to side across the ground if it was pushed in that direction. Geophysicists have already used detailed computer simulations to model the effects of the 1906 quake, based on what we already know about how seismic waves move through the Earth's crust and the composition of the ground under northern California. Those simulations suggest how much the ground might have moved at specific locations around the Bay Area, what the quake might have felt like, and how much damage it should have done to buildings and roads. That's not mere historical triva -- understanding how a major earthquake like the 1906 disaster impacts different areas can help modern disaster planners prepare buildings, infrastructure, and people for the next big quake. Because so much is riding on those simulations, it's important for disaster planners and scientists to know how accurate they are. That's where the overturned train comes in handy. The best way to "sanity check" (as Veeraraghavan and her colleagues put it in their paper) simulations is by checking how well those simulations match what actually happened on the ground in April 1906. But chances to fact-check are few and far between, because today's network of seismic monitoring stations wasn't in place yet. The closest records of ground motion during the 1906 quake came from a station 35km (21.7 miles) from the San Andreas Fault, whose rupture shook the ground that morning -- and which still threatens the West Coast. "With the limited availability of ground motion records for large earthquakes, these eyewitness observations become critical data points that lend credibility to these large earthquake simulations," said Veeraraghavan in a statement to the press. Veeraraghavan and her colleagues used their virtual model train -- which they represented as a long rectangle 3.76m (12.34 feet) tall and 0.91m (2.99 feet) wide, because physicists love working with simple shapes -- to calculate how fast the ground beneath the train moved (its velocity), and how quickly it changed velocity as the seismic waves passed through it (its acceleration) in order to topple the train and have it land the way it did. They compared those results with the predictions of three computer simulations of the quake, carried out in a 2008 study -- and it turned out that all three simulations could have knocked the train over exactly as it actually fell. That means the simulations being used to model the 1906 quake, and predict the effects of future big ones, are accurate -- which is good news for disaster planners and Bay Area residents. And the train also agrees with the 2008 computer models about the underground center, or hypocenter, of the quake. In order for the locomotive to tip east before falling to the west, Veeraraghavan and her colleagues say, the quake must have been centered somewhere south of Point Reyes, perhaps off the coast of San Francisco and San Juan Bautista. | Geophysicists use overturned train to check accuracy of modern earthquake simulations. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/kionasmith/2019/01/30/how-can-an-overturned-train-lead-to-better-earthquake-hazard-predictions/ | 0.160972 |
How Can An Overturned Train Lead To Better Earthquake Hazard Predictions? | A new study uses a train knocked over in 1906 to check the accuracy of modern earthquake simulations. The study models how much the ground has to shake in order to knock over a narrow gauge locomotive sitting on the tracks -- which is exactly what happened on a side track near Point Reyes Station, north of San Francisco, when a massive earthquake struck San Francisco on the morning of Wednesday, April 18, 1906. According to eyewitnesses, the conductor had just climbed back aboard the train after refueling. "[T]he train gave a great lurch to the east, followed by another to the west, which threw the whole train on its side," said one bystander. "The astonished conductor dropped off as it went over, and atthe sight of the falling chimneys and breaking windows of the station, he understood that it was the Tremblor." The fireman, whose job it was to tend the fire that drove the locomotive's powerful steam engine, took a photograph of the train lying on its side, giving us a more detailed look at how it fell. Caltech geophysicist Swetha Veeraraghavan and her colleagues used all that information, along with records of the size and weight of the locomotive, to simulate how much (and in what direction) the ground would have to shake to make the train fall over in exactly the way the witnesses and the photo say it did. They even accounted for the fact that the train, because it was sitting on rails, couldn't actually slide from side to side across the ground if it was pushed in that direction. Geophysicists have already used detailed computer simulations to model the effects of the 1906 quake, based on what we already know about how seismic waves move through the Earth's crust and the composition of the ground under northern California. Those simulations suggest how much the ground might have moved at specific locations around the Bay Area, what the quake might have felt like, and how much damage it should have done to buildings and roads. That's not mere historical triva -- understanding how a major earthquake like the 1906 disaster impacts different areas can help modern disaster planners prepare buildings, infrastructure, and people for the next big quake. Because so much is riding on those simulations, it's important for disaster planners and scientists to know how accurate they are. That's where the overturned train comes in handy. The best way to "sanity check" (as Veeraraghavan and her colleagues put it in their paper) simulations is by checking how well those simulations match what actually happened on the ground in April 1906. But chances to fact-check are few and far between, because today's network of seismic monitoring stations wasn't in place yet. The closest records of ground motion during the 1906 quake came from a station 35km (21.7 miles) from the San Andreas Fault, whose rupture shook the ground that morning -- and which still threatens the West Coast. "With the limited availability of ground motion records for large earthquakes, these eyewitness observations become critical data points that lend credibility to these large earthquake simulations," said Veeraraghavan in a statement to the press. Veeraraghavan and her colleagues used their virtual model train -- which they represented as a long rectangle 3.76m (12.34 feet) tall and 0.91m (2.99 feet) wide, because physicists love working with simple shapes -- to calculate how fast the ground beneath the train moved (its velocity), and how quickly it changed velocity as the seismic waves passed through it (its acceleration) in order to topple the train and have it land the way it did. They compared those results with the predictions of three computer simulations of the quake, carried out in a 2008 study -- and it turned out that all three simulations could have knocked the train over exactly as it actually fell. That means the simulations being used to model the 1906 quake, and predict the effects of future big ones, are accurate -- which is good news for disaster planners and Bay Area residents. And the train also agrees with the 2008 computer models about the underground center, or hypocenter, of the quake. In order for the locomotive to tip east before falling to the west, Veeraraghavan and her colleagues say, the quake must have been centered somewhere south of Point Reyes, perhaps off the coast of San Francisco and San Juan Bautista. | Geophysicists used an overturned train to check the accuracy of earthquake simulations. The train was knocked over during a massive earthquake in San Francisco in 1906. The results can help disaster planners prepare for the next big quake. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/kionasmith/2019/01/30/how-can-an-overturned-train-lead-to-better-earthquake-hazard-predictions/ | 0.274165 |
How Can An Overturned Train Lead To Better Earthquake Hazard Predictions? | A new study uses a train knocked over in 1906 to check the accuracy of modern earthquake simulations. The study models how much the ground has to shake in order to knock over a narrow gauge locomotive sitting on the tracks -- which is exactly what happened on a side track near Point Reyes Station, north of San Francisco, when a massive earthquake struck San Francisco on the morning of Wednesday, April 18, 1906. According to eyewitnesses, the conductor had just climbed back aboard the train after refueling. "[T]he train gave a great lurch to the east, followed by another to the west, which threw the whole train on its side," said one bystander. "The astonished conductor dropped off as it went over, and atthe sight of the falling chimneys and breaking windows of the station, he understood that it was the Tremblor." The fireman, whose job it was to tend the fire that drove the locomotive's powerful steam engine, took a photograph of the train lying on its side, giving us a more detailed look at how it fell. Caltech geophysicist Swetha Veeraraghavan and her colleagues used all that information, along with records of the size and weight of the locomotive, to simulate how much (and in what direction) the ground would have to shake to make the train fall over in exactly the way the witnesses and the photo say it did. They even accounted for the fact that the train, because it was sitting on rails, couldn't actually slide from side to side across the ground if it was pushed in that direction. Geophysicists have already used detailed computer simulations to model the effects of the 1906 quake, based on what we already know about how seismic waves move through the Earth's crust and the composition of the ground under northern California. Those simulations suggest how much the ground might have moved at specific locations around the Bay Area, what the quake might have felt like, and how much damage it should have done to buildings and roads. That's not mere historical triva -- understanding how a major earthquake like the 1906 disaster impacts different areas can help modern disaster planners prepare buildings, infrastructure, and people for the next big quake. Because so much is riding on those simulations, it's important for disaster planners and scientists to know how accurate they are. That's where the overturned train comes in handy. The best way to "sanity check" (as Veeraraghavan and her colleagues put it in their paper) simulations is by checking how well those simulations match what actually happened on the ground in April 1906. But chances to fact-check are few and far between, because today's network of seismic monitoring stations wasn't in place yet. The closest records of ground motion during the 1906 quake came from a station 35km (21.7 miles) from the San Andreas Fault, whose rupture shook the ground that morning -- and which still threatens the West Coast. "With the limited availability of ground motion records for large earthquakes, these eyewitness observations become critical data points that lend credibility to these large earthquake simulations," said Veeraraghavan in a statement to the press. Veeraraghavan and her colleagues used their virtual model train -- which they represented as a long rectangle 3.76m (12.34 feet) tall and 0.91m (2.99 feet) wide, because physicists love working with simple shapes -- to calculate how fast the ground beneath the train moved (its velocity), and how quickly it changed velocity as the seismic waves passed through it (its acceleration) in order to topple the train and have it land the way it did. They compared those results with the predictions of three computer simulations of the quake, carried out in a 2008 study -- and it turned out that all three simulations could have knocked the train over exactly as it actually fell. That means the simulations being used to model the 1906 quake, and predict the effects of future big ones, are accurate -- which is good news for disaster planners and Bay Area residents. And the train also agrees with the 2008 computer models about the underground center, or hypocenter, of the quake. In order for the locomotive to tip east before falling to the west, Veeraraghavan and her colleagues say, the quake must have been centered somewhere south of Point Reyes, perhaps off the coast of San Francisco and San Juan Bautista. | Geophysicists used an overturned train to check the accuracy of earthquake simulations. The train was knocked over during a massive earthquake in San Francisco in 1906. The results can be used to help disaster planners prepare for the next big quake. The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/kionasmith/2019/01/30/how-can-an-overturned-train-lead-to-better-earthquake-hazard-predictions/ | 0.314491 |
Can AltSchoolThe Edtech Startup With $174M From Billionaires Like Zuckerberg And ThielSave Itself From Failure? | W e might not be around in five years, says Max Ventilla, AltSchools 38-year-old cofounder and CEO, as the two publicists minding our interview cringe. Dont put that in your article, says AltSchools communications director, Maggie Quale, while a young woman from Rubenstein, the giant New York-based corporate PR firm, sits in awkward silence. Were two intense hours into an interview in a stuffy, glass-paned meeting room in a former 24 Hour Fitness that is now home to one of AltSchools two small private schools in San Francisco for grades pre-K through 8. Ventilla, who left Google to launch AltSchool in 2013, has spent $30 million annually over the last several years while trying to find steady footing for his for-profit education startup, which runs four schools; the other two are in New York City. AltSchools 240 students, including two of Ventillas childrenLeonardo, 5, and Sabine, 7are guinea pigs for a software platform that AltSchool is attempting to sell to hundreds of schools both private and public. So far it has 28 customers. Revenue in 2018 was $7 million. Our whole strategy is to spend more than we make, he says. Since software is expensive to develop and cheap to distribute, the losses, he believes, will turn into steep profits once AltSchool refines its product and lands enough customers. AltSchools CEO and cofounder Max Ventilla. Timothy Archibald But as Ventilla admits when he lets his guard down, reaching profitability will be quite a stretch. The story of how AltSchool arrived at this pointburning cash in a failed attempt to create a profitable private-school network and fighting to sell an expensive edtech product in a crowded fieldshows that the best intentions, an impressive career in tech and an excess of Silicon Valley money and enthusiasm dont easily translate into success in a tradition-bound marketplace where budgets are tight. Ventilla, wearing jeans, scuffed black leather slip-ons, a faded polo shirt with AltSchools logo and a black fleece jacket, has been able to hemorrhage cash because, as he has it, Im good at telling AltSchools story and Im good at raising money early. So good that he has raised $174 million in venture capital at a $440 million valuation, according to PitchBook, more than almost any other startup working on K-12 education. That sum includes a personal investment of more than $15 million from Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan. Zuckerberg initiated two hours-long one-on-one meetings with Ventilla in late 2014, when AltSchool was only 18 months old. Hes very detail-oriented, and he likes to drill down, Ventilla says of Zuckerberg. Its easy to see how Ventilla would appeal to tech billionaires and their investment vehicles, including Laurene Powell Jobs Emerson Collective, Pierre Omidyars Omidyar Network, Peter Thiels Founders Fund and Marc Andreessens Andreessen Horowitz, all of which have become AltSchool backers on the strength of his high-minded pitch. Our mission has always been to make the best education the most available, he says. Students shouldnt just be cogs in a wheel. They should be agents of their own goals. (None of the five billionaires responded to requests for comment.) B efore starting AltSchool, Ventilla says, he read two dozen books on education and emerged a fan of Sir Ken Robinson, a British TED Talk speaker known for lamenting the dearth of creativity in early education, and Angela Duckworth, a psychologist and the winner of a MacArthur genius grant who has written about the need for children to cultivate grit. The quality of primary and secondary education in America, stuck in an industrial-age model, has been in steady decline for the last century, says Ventilla, citing the most recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results, a worldwide test of reading, math and science ability in which U.S. 15-year-olds ranked 38th out of 71 countries. The factory model in a non-factory world disengages kids, he says. AltSchools solution: Foster in children the development of an internal compass so that as things are changing around them more rapidly, they can always reorient. Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images To do this, AltSchool adopted an educational philosophy backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Emerson Collective and by Zuckerberg in his much-publicized letter to his oldest daughter, Maxima, born in 2015, a year after his meeting with Ventilla. Known variously as personalized learning, learner-centric learning and competency-based learning, the philosophy argues against the traditional model of an all-knowing teacher dictating from the head of the class, sometimes called the sage on the stage approach, where students are expected to progress as a group. Instead children, together with teachers, set individual goals, explore areas that most interest them within a defined curriculum and trade lots of feedback along the way. The technology piece of personalized learning is the most controversial. No one wants students to sit in front of screens all day doing math drills with software driven by artificial intelligence. At AltSchool, Ventilla proposed developing a software platform that would make it efficient and easy for teachers to customize assignments, assess performance and communicate with administrators and parents. He calls AltSchools private schools lab schools, where teachers try various approaches on students while working closely with a staff of engineers, many of whom were hired away from Google, Apple and Facebook. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg But he learned quickly that education is a much tougher nut to crack than search engines. Early on, he had a big plan to expand into Chicago, and he was working on an idea to franchise a network of AltSchools across the country. But in 2016, he ditched both possibilities. Altogether he started nine schools in San Francisco, Palo Alto and New York. By the end of 2018, he had closed five of them, including the one in Palo Alto, with its 62 students. (Ventilla says most students from the shuttered AltSchools in San Francisco and New York transferred to other campuses.) With tuition starting at $26,000, which is expensive but still lower than many Bay Area private schools, none of the locations were paying for themselves. Ventilla says schools tested different models. One San Francisco location had a single room and 32 students in grades 6 through 8, a setup that died when the school closed. He says he made it clear to parents that the schools were experimental and might remain open for only a short time. We were doing a lot of iterating and learning, he says. He also abandoned experiments like setting up four cameras per classroom to film students interacting with teachers. He had read a Gates-funded study that recommended videotaping. Teachers used the cameras for two years before Ventilla put a kibosh on the project. It didnt really make sense when you thought about the cost to maintain the system, he says. Other bigger expenses made even less sense. Because none of the properties had been designed as schools, unexpected problems surfaced, says Carolyn Wilson, AltSchools former director of education. What ate our lunch more than anything was doing real estate retrofits, she says. At one of the schools in San Francisco, the toilets kept backing up. None of the locations had playgrounds or gyms, so AltSchool took children to city parks. In one San Francisco park frequented by the homeless, human feces presented a problem. To ensure students safety, AltSchool hired Mike Ginty, the former head of global security at Uber. (Today, AltSchool has worked out secure arrangements with a combination of public parks and private facilities, like a YMCA in Manhattan.) In 2016 Ventilla decided the most cost-effective way to realize his vision was to put the schools on the back burner and focus on the software platform and selling it to customers he calls partners. Those schools would give feedback to his engineers, who could further hone the product. He is betting that he will find massive numbers of school leaders ready to embrace personalized learning and pay AltSchools steep fees. But a half-dozen other companies, including Schoology, Moodle, Blackboard and Canvas, offer so-called learning management systems that also claim to facilitate personalized learning. Canvas, based in Salt Lake City, bills itself as the market leader with thousands of customers, and has both a free product and a customized version for an annual cost per student of $10 or less. Ryan Anson/Bloomberg By contrast, AltSchools charges work out to $100 to $150 per student per year. From what Ive heard talking to administrators and educators, $150 per kid feels like a prohibitive price point, says Tony Wan, managing editor of EdSurge, a media company in Burlingame, California, that covers educational technology. Who can afford that? Ventilla brushes off the naysayers. The name of the game is always scale, he says, predicting that AltSchools software price will fall as low as $50 per student. AltSchool has also been building open education-curriculum software into its product, including math and English lessons that meet state standards, and its software gives automated prompts to teachers that can improve their performance. Were not just selling software, he says. Were selling a replacement for the curriculum schools have to buy. Were selling professional development. Those are big numbers for schools, many times what AltSchool is charging now. V entilla himself was not educated this way. The son of Hungarian immigrants, he grew up with his sister and parents in a one-bedroom apartment on Manhattans Upper East Side. His father, a filmmaker in Hungary, scraped by as a sculptor and illustrator. His mother taught business courses to Columbia University undergrads and was the family breadwinner. A gifted child, he won a scholarship to Buckley, a private Manhattan boys school with a traditional approach where Donald Trump Jr. had been a student. He went on to Andover and Yale on scholarship and was admitted to the Yale School of Management in a program for exceptional Yale College grads, called Silver Scholars, which paid the first year of tuition. Tim Shaffer/Reuters In 2000, while an undergrad, he started a data-mining software company with some buddies from Andover and Yale, raising $1 million before selling the company 18 months later for an undisclosed sum that he says gave his investors a good return. After business school and a gig working for a classified advertising firm in Europe, he landed at Google in a unit that worked on business operations and strategy. But he stayed only a year before starting a social search engine company called Aardvark in 2007, funded with $10 million in venture capital. Less than three years in, he sold the company to Google for $50 million, making his stake, which Forbes estimates at more than 10%, worth upwards of $5 million. It was totally life-changing money for me, he says. He bought a house in San Franciscos Twin Peaks neighborhood with his wife, Jenny Stefanotti, a UC Berkeley and Harvard grad he had met during his first stint at Google. Before starting AltSchool, he returned to Google for three years, where he worked in a small group that developed the Google Plus social network, before heading up the companys personalization team. AltSchool is burning cash in a failed attempt to create a profitable private-school network and fighting to sell an expensive edtech product in a crowded field. By the winter of 2012, he and Stefanotti already had Sabine, who was one and a half, and son Leonardo was on the way. They started searching for preschools and were appalled by what they found. There were a handful of good preschools, and each one of them was insanely competitive to get into, he says. The implication was that if you didnt get your kid into the right preschool, they were going to be penniless and alone by the time they were 30. Itching to start a new venture, he threw himself into researching the kind of school where he imagined Sabine would thrive. Within months he quit Google and started raising cash. In the deck for his Series A funding round, he showed a picture of himself lying on a bed, reading to Sabine and baby Leonardo, a Gandhi quote across the top of the screen: Be the change you want to see in the world. Though Ventillas business plan was no more than a vague outline, he was a Silicon Valley insider, and investors bought in. He was talking about a shift from a lecture-based model of education to a learner-centric model, says First Round Capital partner Josh Kopelman, who sits on AltSchools board. That made total sense to us. I nside AltSchools Manhattan middle school, in an office building on the busy corner of Fifth Avenue and 14th Street, there are more books, papers, pens and pencils than computers, though students are each assigned a Chromebook, which they use off and on throughout the day. In a humanities class, a black-clad teacher with close-cropped hair, Jaqi Ruiz-Garcia, is conducting a Socratic discussion with her eight seventh and eighth graders. They have all read the same texts: Ta-Nehisi Coates Between the World and Me, printed on dead trees, and a photocopied James Baldwin essay. Students refer to essays they have written with pencils in old-fashioned notebooks, and Ruiz-Garcia has a stuffed yellow caterpillar that she passes around the classroom to each student who wants to speak. People need to be more aware that were not a perfect country, says one girl. What are some ways we can build bridges in society? asks Ruiz-Garcia. There was more time in this country250 yearswhen people were enslaved than when they were free, responds a girl with tight braids. People who make $15 an hour are still enslaved. I heard a quote on Instagram: Vote like your life depends on it, says another student. As the yellow caterpillar makes its way around the group, three kids are staring into space. After class Ruiz-Garcia, a five-year AltSchool veteran, explains that she is making the unit learner-centric by expecting students to do the reading at their own pace. She is also using a feature of AltSchools software called a playlist, which allows teachers to customize cards, AltSchools word for assignments. One card directs a student to practice paraphrasing. The teacher-facing side of the platform requires Ruiz-Garcia to assess students on up to seven skills, including summarizing and analyzing information and connecting the past to the present. None of it suggests a new education system transformed by technology. Though Ventilla's business plan was no more than a vague outline, he was a Silicon Valley insider, and investors bought in. At AltSchools Fort Mason campus in San Francisco, five-year-old Leonardo Ventillas teacher Dina Hamaoui has written out his goals on paper worksheets. All AltSchool students set social and emotional goals in addition to academic goals. One of Leonardos sheets says, I will be able to talk about what zone my brain and body are in and use strategies to shift between them. When he finishes a worksheet, he takes it to a white easel where he photographs it with an iPad and uses AltSchools capture feature to upload it to AltSchools software platform, where it can be viewed by his teacher, who can email it to his parents. Among 11 parents interviewed for this story, some recommended by AltSchool and others not, many are happy and even like the idea that their offspring are being used to test AltSchools product. We went into this with our eyes wide open, says Gamal Walker, a parent in New York who works in finance. His two daughters are thriving, he says. He also likes that AltSchool is certified as a B Corporation, a designation that obligates the company to put the interest of its stakeholders and community ahead of profits. Others are less pleased. One mother, whose son is now in public school, says that AltSchool wrongly assessed his reading level and he spent a year making no progress. We were just guinea pigs, supplying Max with data, she says. (Since she works in the tech industry, she doesnt want to be quoted by name.) He was supposed to change the world with his edtech product, but the teachers couldnt even teach writing. We had really mediocre educators using technology as a crutch, says a father who transferred his child to a different private school after two years at AltSchool. (He runs a startup and also doesnt want his name in print.) We learned that its almost impossible to really customize the learning experience for each kid. Ventilla declines to comment on the experiences of individual students and families. T wo of Altschools public partner school districts are in Paramount and Arcadia, California, outside Los Angeles. Paramount, a predominantly Latino district where almost all 4,700 students in its biggest high school qualify for free lunch, is running a pilot using AltSchools software at a new high school with a STEM focus called Odyssey. Opened in August, Odyssey has 138 ninth graders, with plans to ramp up to four grades and 550 students. Enthusiastic kids show projects they are working on in a maker space classroom, where they can use a 3-D printer. Student Honey Robinson, dressed up as Michael Jackson with a glove on one hand, delivers the polished elevator pitch she composed in a course that walks students through the steps for finding an internship, which they then work part-time for eight weeks of the school year. Odyssey seems to be off to a promising start, but Ryan D. Smith, Paramounts assistant superintendent, says there are as yet no plans to adopt AltSchools software throughout the district. In a new school, you have an opportunity to do things completely different from the very beginning, he says. At our old schools, wed have a lot of other work to do before we could have a more personalized learning environment for our students. "We were just guinea pigs, supplying Max with data," says one parent. "He was supposed to change the world with his edtech product, but the teachers couldn't even teach writing." Which is where Ventillas plans hit a roadblock. Most of AltSchools current partners are small private schools. At the eight public districts that are customers, all are running pilots, and only two have plans to move beyond that stage. Ventilla is betting they will ramp up. If the 250,000 total students in our partner districts use AltSchool, we could bring down our price point and start to turn a profit, he says. But if they dont, which seems more likely, its tough to imagine AltSchool surviving. Ventilla and his team are competing in a field crowded with companies trying to find digital solutions to one of the worlds toughest challengeshow to improve K-12 education in America. So far there have been some monumental failures and only moderate successes. In 2015, News Corp wrote down nearly $400 million after investing more than $1 billion in Amplify, an edtech division that failed to find enough buyers for the hardware and curriculum software it developed for the K-12 market. (Now majority-owned by the Emerson Collective, Laurene Powell Jobs impact-investing firm, Amplify is finally approaching profitability through sales of a K-8 science curriculum that combines books, kits and software.) Edmodo, an online social network for classrooms founded in 2008 in San Mateo, California, raised more than $100 million and spread to 400,000 schools in nearly 200 countries. But it never came up with a business model for its free product and wound up losing $19.5 million in 2017 on revenue of just $1 million. In April 2018, Chinas NetDragon, which makes online games, bought the company for $137.5 million. A t its lab schools, AltSchools remaining students seem to be performing well. Two to three times a year, they take a math, reading and language-usage test called MAP, which assesses progress. Last year the test measured the students growth in academic progress at 34% above the national average. They have also placed into well-regarded private high schools, including Lick-Wilmerding in San Francisco and the College Preparatory School in Oakland. But the company will last only if it can boost sales of its software. Thats the big risk of a startup, says Ventilla. Ill be at it until I cant do it anymore. There are lots of entrepreneurs who wont go into education because its just not worth it, he explains. If they do something well, they get very little praise or help. . . . Im doing this because I think its really important in the world, and I dont think there are an abundance of others who have the resources and can pull it off. Reach Susan Adams at sadams@forbes.com. Cover image by Timothy Archibald for Forbes. | AltSchool has raised $174 million in venture capital at a $440 million valuation, according to PitchBook. The edtech startup has spent $30 million annually over the last several years while trying to find steady footing for his for-profit education startup, which runs four schools. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2019/01/30/can-altschoolthe-edtech-startup-with-174m-from-billionaires-like-zuckerberg-and-thielsave-itself-from-failure/ | 0.102766 |
Can Amazon and Walmart Disrupt the Shipping Business? | Not that many years ago, consumers would order a product to come through the mail, and it would take weeks to arrive. Sometimes, there was an option to pay more -- usually a lot more -- for faster service, but the phrase "wait four to six weeks for delivery" was a familiar one. Those days have gone the way of pay phones and 12 CDs for a penny, as Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) has fundamentally changed consumer expectations of delivery. The paid Amazon Prime service has made two-day delivery the bare minimum, and that led to Walmart (NYSE: WMT) embracing two-day shipping while offering it for free (with certain restrictions). The problem with offering two-day shipping is that it's expensive and cuts into already thin margins. That has forced both Amazon and Walmart to rethink how they ship items, both to their warehouses and stores and to end customers. A Walmart tractor trailer More Walmart has been adding experienced truck drivers. Image source: Walmart. Of the two retailers, Amazon has been more innovative. The online leader has been building out its own delivery network, which includes increasing its fleet of tractor-trailers to helping entrepreneurs build van-based delivery businesses that bring goods directly to customers' doors. Amazon has also made a bold pitch to not just serve its own needs but also to help third-party sellers on its platform. The company recently expanded its Amazon Shipping program beyond its initial test markets of London and Los Angeles, reports The Wall Street Journal (subscription required). To entice shippers to use its service, Amazon has dropped many of the fees that rival shippers UPS (NYSE: UPS) and FedEx (NYSE: FDX) normally charge. That includes "extra charges to deliver packages to homes, during the peak holiday season, or on weekends," the paper reports. These residential surcharge fees are not small, running around $3.80 per package for both carriers, or about 40% of the average ground delivery charge, WSJ's Paul Ziobro added. By dropping them, as well as other charges, such as seasonal or fuel surcharges, Amazon can grab more business, theoretically making its trucks more efficient by allowing for more deliveries at a lower cost. Walmart isn't being as bold. It is, however, expanding its army of truck drivers. The company added 1,400 in 2018 and has plans to add hundreds more this year. The retail giant is hiring not just drivers, but experienced drivers who have at least 30 months under their belt, and is paying them well. The company is offering wages that come out to just under $90,000 a year. That's a number that should be very attractive in an industry where the average median salary comes in at $53,000 a year, according to a 2018 American Trucking Association survey. Walmart's starting rates for truck drivers should give it an edge over UPS and FedEx, which pay drivers closer to $60,000 per year, based on data from TruckDriverSalary.com. Benefits and bonuses may bring the numbers closer, but in a time where there's a significant shortage of experienced truck drivers, Walmart's hiring spree may hurt the established players in the space. Amazon is taking on more of its own shipping both for efficiency and to hedge against price increases -- not from UPS and FedEx, but from the United States Postal Service. It's also banking on the idea that its technology and ability to predict what will be ordered and where will allow it to increase shipping efficiency -- something that will increase as it adds more volume through increased third-party business. | Amazon and Walmart are both trying to disrupt the shipping business. Amazon is offering two-day shipping, while Walmart is offering free shipping. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://news.yahoo.com/amazon-walmart-disrupt-shipping-business-113000040.html | 0.671475 |
Can Amazon and Walmart Disrupt the Shipping Business? | Not that many years ago, consumers would order a product to come through the mail, and it would take weeks to arrive. Sometimes, there was an option to pay more -- usually a lot more -- for faster service, but the phrase "wait four to six weeks for delivery" was a familiar one. Those days have gone the way of pay phones and 12 CDs for a penny, as Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) has fundamentally changed consumer expectations of delivery. The paid Amazon Prime service has made two-day delivery the bare minimum, and that led to Walmart (NYSE: WMT) embracing two-day shipping while offering it for free (with certain restrictions). The problem with offering two-day shipping is that it's expensive and cuts into already thin margins. That has forced both Amazon and Walmart to rethink how they ship items, both to their warehouses and stores and to end customers. A Walmart tractor trailer More Walmart has been adding experienced truck drivers. Image source: Walmart. Of the two retailers, Amazon has been more innovative. The online leader has been building out its own delivery network, which includes increasing its fleet of tractor-trailers to helping entrepreneurs build van-based delivery businesses that bring goods directly to customers' doors. Amazon has also made a bold pitch to not just serve its own needs but also to help third-party sellers on its platform. The company recently expanded its Amazon Shipping program beyond its initial test markets of London and Los Angeles, reports The Wall Street Journal (subscription required). To entice shippers to use its service, Amazon has dropped many of the fees that rival shippers UPS (NYSE: UPS) and FedEx (NYSE: FDX) normally charge. That includes "extra charges to deliver packages to homes, during the peak holiday season, or on weekends," the paper reports. These residential surcharge fees are not small, running around $3.80 per package for both carriers, or about 40% of the average ground delivery charge, WSJ's Paul Ziobro added. By dropping them, as well as other charges, such as seasonal or fuel surcharges, Amazon can grab more business, theoretically making its trucks more efficient by allowing for more deliveries at a lower cost. Walmart isn't being as bold. It is, however, expanding its army of truck drivers. The company added 1,400 in 2018 and has plans to add hundreds more this year. The retail giant is hiring not just drivers, but experienced drivers who have at least 30 months under their belt, and is paying them well. The company is offering wages that come out to just under $90,000 a year. That's a number that should be very attractive in an industry where the average median salary comes in at $53,000 a year, according to a 2018 American Trucking Association survey. Walmart's starting rates for truck drivers should give it an edge over UPS and FedEx, which pay drivers closer to $60,000 per year, based on data from TruckDriverSalary.com. Benefits and bonuses may bring the numbers closer, but in a time where there's a significant shortage of experienced truck drivers, Walmart's hiring spree may hurt the established players in the space. Amazon is taking on more of its own shipping both for efficiency and to hedge against price increases -- not from UPS and FedEx, but from the United States Postal Service. It's also banking on the idea that its technology and ability to predict what will be ordered and where will allow it to increase shipping efficiency -- something that will increase as it adds more volume through increased third-party business. | Amazon and Walmart are both trying to disrupt the shipping business. Amazon is offering two-day shipping, while Walmart is offering free shipping. Walmart has been adding experienced truck drivers to its fleet. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://news.yahoo.com/amazon-walmart-disrupt-shipping-business-113000040.html | 0.703612 |
Can Amazon and Walmart Disrupt the Shipping Business? | Not that many years ago, consumers would order a product to come through the mail, and it would take weeks to arrive. Sometimes, there was an option to pay more -- usually a lot more -- for faster service, but the phrase "wait four to six weeks for delivery" was a familiar one. Those days have gone the way of pay phones and 12 CDs for a penny, as Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) has fundamentally changed consumer expectations of delivery. The paid Amazon Prime service has made two-day delivery the bare minimum, and that led to Walmart (NYSE: WMT) embracing two-day shipping while offering it for free (with certain restrictions). The problem with offering two-day shipping is that it's expensive and cuts into already thin margins. That has forced both Amazon and Walmart to rethink how they ship items, both to their warehouses and stores and to end customers. A Walmart tractor trailer More Walmart has been adding experienced truck drivers. Image source: Walmart. Of the two retailers, Amazon has been more innovative. The online leader has been building out its own delivery network, which includes increasing its fleet of tractor-trailers to helping entrepreneurs build van-based delivery businesses that bring goods directly to customers' doors. Amazon has also made a bold pitch to not just serve its own needs but also to help third-party sellers on its platform. The company recently expanded its Amazon Shipping program beyond its initial test markets of London and Los Angeles, reports The Wall Street Journal (subscription required). To entice shippers to use its service, Amazon has dropped many of the fees that rival shippers UPS (NYSE: UPS) and FedEx (NYSE: FDX) normally charge. That includes "extra charges to deliver packages to homes, during the peak holiday season, or on weekends," the paper reports. These residential surcharge fees are not small, running around $3.80 per package for both carriers, or about 40% of the average ground delivery charge, WSJ's Paul Ziobro added. By dropping them, as well as other charges, such as seasonal or fuel surcharges, Amazon can grab more business, theoretically making its trucks more efficient by allowing for more deliveries at a lower cost. Walmart isn't being as bold. It is, however, expanding its army of truck drivers. The company added 1,400 in 2018 and has plans to add hundreds more this year. The retail giant is hiring not just drivers, but experienced drivers who have at least 30 months under their belt, and is paying them well. The company is offering wages that come out to just under $90,000 a year. That's a number that should be very attractive in an industry where the average median salary comes in at $53,000 a year, according to a 2018 American Trucking Association survey. Walmart's starting rates for truck drivers should give it an edge over UPS and FedEx, which pay drivers closer to $60,000 per year, based on data from TruckDriverSalary.com. Benefits and bonuses may bring the numbers closer, but in a time where there's a significant shortage of experienced truck drivers, Walmart's hiring spree may hurt the established players in the space. Amazon is taking on more of its own shipping both for efficiency and to hedge against price increases -- not from UPS and FedEx, but from the United States Postal Service. It's also banking on the idea that its technology and ability to predict what will be ordered and where will allow it to increase shipping efficiency -- something that will increase as it adds more volume through increased third-party business. | Amazon and Walmart are both trying to disrupt the shipping business. Amazon is offering two-day shipping, while Walmart is offering free shipping. Walmart has been adding experienced truck drivers, while Amazon has been building out its own fleet of tractor-trailers to help entrepreneurs build van-based delivery businesses. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://news.yahoo.com/amazon-walmart-disrupt-shipping-business-113000040.html | 0.741871 |
Is there a market in SF for a new luxury penthouse listed for a record-seeking $41 million? | The mixed-used Avery building at 488 Folsom in San Francisco was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Rem Koolhaas OMA design firm. The mixed-used Avery building at 488 Folsom in San Francisco was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Rem Koolhaas OMA design firm. 1 / 8 Back to Gallery A luxury, full-floor penthouse still under construction at the crown of San Francisco's new Avery high-rise was listed Tuesday for $41 million. If sold at this price, it would mark the most expensive home to ever sell in a city that has become known for its expensive real estate amid a thriving tech economy. A Pacific Heights mansion that a buyer paid $38 million for in 2017 is currently the most-expensive property to change hands in San Francisco, and many will be closely watching the 56th-floor penthouse at the Avery to see if it breaks the record. The 600-foot tower designed by star architect Rem Koolhaas' OMA design firm is located at 488 Folsom St. near the Transbay Transit Center, where the skyline has gone vertical with sleek, glass towers. Gino Canori, executive vice president and chief development officer for Related California that developed the building, thinks the city is ready to embrace luxury real estate in this neighborhood. "The Transbay District is the new epicenter of San Francisco with companies like Salesforce and Facebook headquartered here," Canori says. "It's also home to the highest price per square foot condo in San Francisco at $4,510." Related California's parent company, Related Companies, has sold a $55 million penthouse at 70 Vestry in New York and a $35 million penthouse at The Century in Los Angeles. ALSO: The Manhattanization of SF: How the city's skyline has changed in the last two decades A smattering of premium penthouse properties have come on the market and Patrick Carlisle, the chief market analyst for Compass, says those priced over $40 million haven't sold and in some cases were split into smaller condos. The most expensive one to sell was a $28 million penthouse in the St. Regis. "Even in New York City, $40 million is obviously very expensive but they have a market for those sorts of units with hedge-fund managers and oligarchs. And in L.A., you have the massive movie-star wealth," said Carlisle, who mentioned the $238 Manhattan penthouse that sold this year and broke a U.S. housing record. "Not that we don't have plenty of billionaires [in S.F. ], but generally speaking they don't seem interested in buying these massive ego-trip penthouses." That said, Carlisle says while even Bay Area real estate has softened slightly since summer, the luxury market has held steady through 2018. "In SF we sold more luxury homes than ever before in 2018," Carlisle said. Whether the luxury market holds, he continued, is dependent on the political and economic climate and the outcome of tech IPOs. "If this political instability and financial market volatility continues that can often affect the luxury market," he says. "On the other hand, if these giant unicorn IPOs do occur this year, we're probably talking about thousands of new millionaires and people who one day were making a decent salary and then one day were making tens of million of dollars. There's Uber, Lyft, Pinterest, Palantir, Slack, and they're all in SF ... and that's a big wildcard." MORE: SF's largest estate has seen its asking price slashed in half. Whether or not you're a millionaire, the Avery penthouse is quite extraordinary (see renderings in the gallery above). Across the 8,482-square-foot interior of clean sleek lines, you'll find four bedrooms, six bathrooms, two powder rooms, a dedicated library, media room, gym, family room, formal living and dining rooms. Walls of glass throughout offer 360-degree views of the bay and the city skyline. But what really separates this penthouse from others is its sprawling private rooftop deck with 1,580 square feet, the sort of space you find in a typical single-family S.F. home. "My favorite feature is the customizable rooftop it's a dream oasis with everything from a yoga deck, garden, and dining area, to a lounge complete with a fire pit," said Canori. | A luxury penthouse still under construction at the crown of San Francisco's new Avery high-rise was listed Tuesday for $41 million. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/Avery-penthouse-most-expensive-Rem-Koolhaas-SF-13570769.php | 0.138326 |
Is there a market in SF for a new luxury penthouse listed for a record-seeking $41 million? | The mixed-used Avery building at 488 Folsom in San Francisco was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Rem Koolhaas OMA design firm. The mixed-used Avery building at 488 Folsom in San Francisco was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Rem Koolhaas OMA design firm. 1 / 8 Back to Gallery A luxury, full-floor penthouse still under construction at the crown of San Francisco's new Avery high-rise was listed Tuesday for $41 million. If sold at this price, it would mark the most expensive home to ever sell in a city that has become known for its expensive real estate amid a thriving tech economy. A Pacific Heights mansion that a buyer paid $38 million for in 2017 is currently the most-expensive property to change hands in San Francisco, and many will be closely watching the 56th-floor penthouse at the Avery to see if it breaks the record. The 600-foot tower designed by star architect Rem Koolhaas' OMA design firm is located at 488 Folsom St. near the Transbay Transit Center, where the skyline has gone vertical with sleek, glass towers. Gino Canori, executive vice president and chief development officer for Related California that developed the building, thinks the city is ready to embrace luxury real estate in this neighborhood. "The Transbay District is the new epicenter of San Francisco with companies like Salesforce and Facebook headquartered here," Canori says. "It's also home to the highest price per square foot condo in San Francisco at $4,510." Related California's parent company, Related Companies, has sold a $55 million penthouse at 70 Vestry in New York and a $35 million penthouse at The Century in Los Angeles. ALSO: The Manhattanization of SF: How the city's skyline has changed in the last two decades A smattering of premium penthouse properties have come on the market and Patrick Carlisle, the chief market analyst for Compass, says those priced over $40 million haven't sold and in some cases were split into smaller condos. The most expensive one to sell was a $28 million penthouse in the St. Regis. "Even in New York City, $40 million is obviously very expensive but they have a market for those sorts of units with hedge-fund managers and oligarchs. And in L.A., you have the massive movie-star wealth," said Carlisle, who mentioned the $238 Manhattan penthouse that sold this year and broke a U.S. housing record. "Not that we don't have plenty of billionaires [in S.F. ], but generally speaking they don't seem interested in buying these massive ego-trip penthouses." That said, Carlisle says while even Bay Area real estate has softened slightly since summer, the luxury market has held steady through 2018. "In SF we sold more luxury homes than ever before in 2018," Carlisle said. Whether the luxury market holds, he continued, is dependent on the political and economic climate and the outcome of tech IPOs. "If this political instability and financial market volatility continues that can often affect the luxury market," he says. "On the other hand, if these giant unicorn IPOs do occur this year, we're probably talking about thousands of new millionaires and people who one day were making a decent salary and then one day were making tens of million of dollars. There's Uber, Lyft, Pinterest, Palantir, Slack, and they're all in SF ... and that's a big wildcard." MORE: SF's largest estate has seen its asking price slashed in half. Whether or not you're a millionaire, the Avery penthouse is quite extraordinary (see renderings in the gallery above). Across the 8,482-square-foot interior of clean sleek lines, you'll find four bedrooms, six bathrooms, two powder rooms, a dedicated library, media room, gym, family room, formal living and dining rooms. Walls of glass throughout offer 360-degree views of the bay and the city skyline. But what really separates this penthouse from others is its sprawling private rooftop deck with 1,580 square feet, the sort of space you find in a typical single-family S.F. home. "My favorite feature is the customizable rooftop it's a dream oasis with everything from a yoga deck, garden, and dining area, to a lounge complete with a fire pit," said Canori. | A luxury, full-floor penthouse still under construction at the crown of San Francisco's new Avery high-rise was listed Tuesday for $41 million. | bart | 1 | https://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/Avery-penthouse-most-expensive-Rem-Koolhaas-SF-13570769.php | 0.130275 |
Is there a market in SF for a new luxury penthouse listed for a record-seeking $41 million? | The mixed-used Avery building at 488 Folsom in San Francisco was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Rem Koolhaas OMA design firm. The mixed-used Avery building at 488 Folsom in San Francisco was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Rem Koolhaas OMA design firm. 1 / 8 Back to Gallery A luxury, full-floor penthouse still under construction at the crown of San Francisco's new Avery high-rise was listed Tuesday for $41 million. If sold at this price, it would mark the most expensive home to ever sell in a city that has become known for its expensive real estate amid a thriving tech economy. A Pacific Heights mansion that a buyer paid $38 million for in 2017 is currently the most-expensive property to change hands in San Francisco, and many will be closely watching the 56th-floor penthouse at the Avery to see if it breaks the record. The 600-foot tower designed by star architect Rem Koolhaas' OMA design firm is located at 488 Folsom St. near the Transbay Transit Center, where the skyline has gone vertical with sleek, glass towers. Gino Canori, executive vice president and chief development officer for Related California that developed the building, thinks the city is ready to embrace luxury real estate in this neighborhood. "The Transbay District is the new epicenter of San Francisco with companies like Salesforce and Facebook headquartered here," Canori says. "It's also home to the highest price per square foot condo in San Francisco at $4,510." Related California's parent company, Related Companies, has sold a $55 million penthouse at 70 Vestry in New York and a $35 million penthouse at The Century in Los Angeles. ALSO: The Manhattanization of SF: How the city's skyline has changed in the last two decades A smattering of premium penthouse properties have come on the market and Patrick Carlisle, the chief market analyst for Compass, says those priced over $40 million haven't sold and in some cases were split into smaller condos. The most expensive one to sell was a $28 million penthouse in the St. Regis. "Even in New York City, $40 million is obviously very expensive but they have a market for those sorts of units with hedge-fund managers and oligarchs. And in L.A., you have the massive movie-star wealth," said Carlisle, who mentioned the $238 Manhattan penthouse that sold this year and broke a U.S. housing record. "Not that we don't have plenty of billionaires [in S.F. ], but generally speaking they don't seem interested in buying these massive ego-trip penthouses." That said, Carlisle says while even Bay Area real estate has softened slightly since summer, the luxury market has held steady through 2018. "In SF we sold more luxury homes than ever before in 2018," Carlisle said. Whether the luxury market holds, he continued, is dependent on the political and economic climate and the outcome of tech IPOs. "If this political instability and financial market volatility continues that can often affect the luxury market," he says. "On the other hand, if these giant unicorn IPOs do occur this year, we're probably talking about thousands of new millionaires and people who one day were making a decent salary and then one day were making tens of million of dollars. There's Uber, Lyft, Pinterest, Palantir, Slack, and they're all in SF ... and that's a big wildcard." MORE: SF's largest estate has seen its asking price slashed in half. Whether or not you're a millionaire, the Avery penthouse is quite extraordinary (see renderings in the gallery above). Across the 8,482-square-foot interior of clean sleek lines, you'll find four bedrooms, six bathrooms, two powder rooms, a dedicated library, media room, gym, family room, formal living and dining rooms. Walls of glass throughout offer 360-degree views of the bay and the city skyline. But what really separates this penthouse from others is its sprawling private rooftop deck with 1,580 square feet, the sort of space you find in a typical single-family S.F. home. "My favorite feature is the customizable rooftop it's a dream oasis with everything from a yoga deck, garden, and dining area, to a lounge complete with a fire pit," said Canori. | A luxury, full-floor penthouse still under construction at the crown of San Francisco's new Avery high-rise was listed Tuesday for $41 million. If sold at this price, it would mark the most expensive home to ever sell in a city that has become known for its expensive real estate amid a thriving tech economy. | bart | 2 | https://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/Avery-penthouse-most-expensive-Rem-Koolhaas-SF-13570769.php | 0.265925 |
Will the Ohio River freeze again? Why is the river steaming? | CLOSE Winter temperatures have fluctuated widely in Cincinnati in recent years, as seen in this video. The Enquirer/Cara Owsley Buy Photo February 1977: Unidentified men break up ice in the frozen Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo: Enquirer file) The Ohio River last froze over in Cincinnati about 40 years ago in 1977 and 1978, after an extended period of extreme cold. On Jan. 19, 1977, the ice was packed eight to 12 inches thick along Cincinnati, and hundreds of brave (or foolhardy) souls crossed the river on foot. The formation of river ice is rare. It happened in only 14 winters out of more than 140 years of record keeping in Cincinnati. Temperatures during winter 1977 didnt rise above freezing for more than 20 days. More: Here's what made the Great Blizzard of 1978 so devastating The high temperature has been below freezing since Christmas eve this season - about a week so far. We are expected to cross back into above-freezing territory Sunday. That will bring us to 13 days of below-freezing temps. More: 'Avoid outdoors': Bitterly cold wind chills close schools The deeper and wider the river, and the faster the water flow, the less likely it is to freeze. Moving water generates friction, which heats the water (even if only a bit). Buy Photo Steam comes off the Ohio River in sub-zero temperatures Monday. Because the water temperature is warmer than the air. The "steam" is really fog, naturally enough often called "steam fog." This kind of fog is also known as "sea smoke" when it forms over cold oceans. The process begins when cold, dry air blows over warmer water. Some of the water evaporates into the lower layers of the air and the air is warmed by the warm water. The warmed air rises, where it mixes with colder air above. The mixing cools the air enough to begin condensing some of the newly added water vapor back into tiny droplets - fog. If you look closely, you see that the bottom of the fog is at least a few inches, maybe a couple of feet, above the water. The fog begins forming when the rising air is high enough to be cooled. Frostbite can strike a person in less than an hour, and significantly faster once the temperature drops. At a zero degree temperature with a windchill of minus 33 degrees, exposed skin could become frostbitten in just 10 minutes, according to the Weather Channel. Hypothermia occurs when a persons core body temperature reaches 95 degrees or lower. That can happen when the outside air is too cold and/or the bodys heat production drops, according to the National Institutes of Health. The average normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees. The National Institutes of Health warns that older adults are vulnerable to hypothermia because their bodies response to cold can be diminished. It also said homes with temperatures from 60 to 65 degrees can lead to hypothermia in older residents. Buy Photo Monday, Jan. 27, 2014 COLDWEATHER METRO : Brianne Fahey of downtown walks the two blocks from her home to work in the extreme cold. The City is under an extreme wind advisory and it was -6 before sunrise. Shivering is a reflex of the body to help keep you warm, according to the website KidsHealth.org. Signals are sent to the brain, which then sends messages to nerves causing muscles to tighten and loosen quickly (or your teeth to chatter among other responses). The activity is designed to raise a persons body temperature. CLOSE Connie Swaim, Humane Society of Indianapolis director of canine training, offers a few ideas to keep your dog happy in severe cold weather. Brent Drinkut / IndyStar Read or Share this story: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/weather/2019/01/30/cincinnati-weather-ohio-river-freeze-again-why-river-steaming/2718827002/ | The Ohio River last froze over in Cincinnati about 40 years ago in 1977 and 1978, after an extended period of extreme cold. The "steam" is really fog, naturally enough often called "steam fog" The National Institutes of Health warns that older adults are vulnerable to hypothermia because their bodies' response to cold can be diminished. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.cincinnati.com/story/weather/2019/01/30/cincinnati-weather-ohio-river-freeze-again-why-river-steaming/2718827002/ | 0.16837 |
What To Expect From Diageo's Results For The First Half Of FY 2019? | Diageo (NYSE: DEO) is set to report its first half of FY 2019 earnings on January 31, 2019, wherein it is expected to carry on its growth, albeit at a slower rate than that reported by the company recently. Whiskey sales are expected to continue to drive overall growth. Additionally, revival is expected to be seen in the companys APAC business with rising sales in China and India, after receiving clarity on the legality of liquor sales in the vicinity of highways in India. Revenue growth coupled with the productivity initiatives undertaken by Diageo are expected to result in operating margin expansion. Consolidated net sales for the first half of FY 2019 is expected to be around $8.73 billion, which is 5.3% higher than net sales in 2H 2018, and marks a 1.2% y-o-y growth. Cost-reduction and productivity enhancement measures would help increase margins, which, in turn, would lead to higher sequential EPS. However, EPS is expected to be a bit lower on a year-on-year basis, mainly due to a strong report a year ago. You can view our interactive dashboard Diageos 1H 2019 Results Preview and modify our assumptions to arrive at your own estimates for revenue, EPS, and share price. Key Factors affecting First Half 2019 Results Legal Clarity in India: India, the second largest market in terms of revenue for Diageo, where it operates with a 54.78% stake in United Spirits, saw a slowdown in 1H 2018 after the countrys Supreme Court banned liquor sales within 500 meters of a highway. However, subsequently it was clarified that only liquor shops would be banned, whereas all the pubs and hotels can continue to function normally. This has led to a strong second half of FY 2018 and we expect the momentum to continue in 1H 2019. India, the second largest market in terms of revenue for Diageo, where it operates with a 54.78% stake in United Spirits, saw a slowdown in 1H 2018 after the countrys Supreme Court banned liquor sales within 500 meters of a highway. However, subsequently it was clarified that only liquor shops would be banned, whereas all the pubs and hotels can continue to function normally. This has led to a strong second half of FY 2018 and we expect the momentum to continue in 1H 2019. Timing of Chinese New Year: Like last year, the Chinese New Year falls in February this year as well (it was in January in 2017). This occasion, which is a time for increased liquor sales, will drive higher sales in the second half of the current fiscal instead of the first. However, increased advertising would likely lead to an increase in revenues in the first half of FY 2019. Like last year, the Chinese New Year falls in February this year as well (it was in January in 2017). This occasion, which is a time for increased liquor sales, will drive higher sales in the second half of the current fiscal instead of the first. However, increased advertising would likely lead to an increase in revenues in the first half of FY 2019. Growth In North America: Net sales of US Spirits in the North American segment grew by 3% in FY 2018 in spite of vodka sales declining during the year. Margins for the segment were slightly down due to increased marketing spending. We expect the benefits of the new marketing campaigns to continue to drive higher sales for Bulleit, Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Baileys, and Captain Morgan. As the company incurred a major marketing outlay in the previous year, margins are expected to inch higher in the first half of 2019 as the company has taken a number of steps in that direction improving the digital content, leveraging partnerships with Drizly, Uber, and Tasty, launching new variants of its brands, and driving efficiencies to cut down costs. Net sales of US Spirits in the North American segment grew by 3% in FY 2018 in spite of vodka sales declining during the year. Margins for the segment were slightly down due to increased marketing spending. We expect the benefits of the new marketing campaigns to continue to drive higher sales for Bulleit, Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Baileys, and Captain Morgan. As the company incurred a major marketing outlay in the previous year, margins are expected to inch higher in the first half of 2019 as the company has taken a number of steps in that direction improving the digital content, leveraging partnerships with Drizly, Uber, and Tasty, launching new variants of its brands, and driving efficiencies to cut down costs. Scotch to continue to drive growth: Scotch, which accounts for 25% of Diageos net sales, grew by 2% in the previous year, in North America, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific. We expect it to continue driving higher sales and margins, largely benefiting from new marketing campaigns. Also, focus on gifting as an option would likely increase sales of the companys expensive scotch variants, especially with Christmas and New Year falling in the first half of the year. Korea is expected to be a drag on net sales as the geography is seeing a contraction in the scotch category with consumers switching to lower alcohol content categories. Full Year Outlook For FY 2019, we expect net sales to be approximately $17.2 billion, which marks a 2.0% rise over net sales in the previous fiscal. Revenue growth will mainly be driven by revival in the APAC segment and strong growth in Latin America. North America will continue to contribute the largest share to net sales.The recently implemented productivity program which focuses on everyday efficiency and driving out cost across its business, is expected to deliver 175 bps operating margin improvement over three years ending June 30, 2019. The cost-reduction measures, along with increased sales, would drive margins higher and lead to a healthy growth in earnings per share for the year. We have a price estimate of $157 for Diageo, which is higher than the current market price. In July 2018, management approved a new share buyback program to return approximately $2.6 billion to shareholders in FY 2019. Along with better financial performance, the share repurchase program, and a rising dividend pay-out per year is expected to support the stock price and increase returns for the shareholders. Explore example interactive dashboards and create your own. | Diageo is set to report its first half of FY 2019 earnings on January 31, 2019. The company is expected to continue its growth, albeit at a slower rate than that reported by the company recently. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/01/30/what-to-expect-from-diageos-results-for-the-first-half-of-fy-2019/ | 0.390634 |
What To Expect From Diageo's Results For The First Half Of FY 2019? | Diageo (NYSE: DEO) is set to report its first half of FY 2019 earnings on January 31, 2019, wherein it is expected to carry on its growth, albeit at a slower rate than that reported by the company recently. Whiskey sales are expected to continue to drive overall growth. Additionally, revival is expected to be seen in the companys APAC business with rising sales in China and India, after receiving clarity on the legality of liquor sales in the vicinity of highways in India. Revenue growth coupled with the productivity initiatives undertaken by Diageo are expected to result in operating margin expansion. Consolidated net sales for the first half of FY 2019 is expected to be around $8.73 billion, which is 5.3% higher than net sales in 2H 2018, and marks a 1.2% y-o-y growth. Cost-reduction and productivity enhancement measures would help increase margins, which, in turn, would lead to higher sequential EPS. However, EPS is expected to be a bit lower on a year-on-year basis, mainly due to a strong report a year ago. You can view our interactive dashboard Diageos 1H 2019 Results Preview and modify our assumptions to arrive at your own estimates for revenue, EPS, and share price. Key Factors affecting First Half 2019 Results Legal Clarity in India: India, the second largest market in terms of revenue for Diageo, where it operates with a 54.78% stake in United Spirits, saw a slowdown in 1H 2018 after the countrys Supreme Court banned liquor sales within 500 meters of a highway. However, subsequently it was clarified that only liquor shops would be banned, whereas all the pubs and hotels can continue to function normally. This has led to a strong second half of FY 2018 and we expect the momentum to continue in 1H 2019. India, the second largest market in terms of revenue for Diageo, where it operates with a 54.78% stake in United Spirits, saw a slowdown in 1H 2018 after the countrys Supreme Court banned liquor sales within 500 meters of a highway. However, subsequently it was clarified that only liquor shops would be banned, whereas all the pubs and hotels can continue to function normally. This has led to a strong second half of FY 2018 and we expect the momentum to continue in 1H 2019. Timing of Chinese New Year: Like last year, the Chinese New Year falls in February this year as well (it was in January in 2017). This occasion, which is a time for increased liquor sales, will drive higher sales in the second half of the current fiscal instead of the first. However, increased advertising would likely lead to an increase in revenues in the first half of FY 2019. Like last year, the Chinese New Year falls in February this year as well (it was in January in 2017). This occasion, which is a time for increased liquor sales, will drive higher sales in the second half of the current fiscal instead of the first. However, increased advertising would likely lead to an increase in revenues in the first half of FY 2019. Growth In North America: Net sales of US Spirits in the North American segment grew by 3% in FY 2018 in spite of vodka sales declining during the year. Margins for the segment were slightly down due to increased marketing spending. We expect the benefits of the new marketing campaigns to continue to drive higher sales for Bulleit, Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Baileys, and Captain Morgan. As the company incurred a major marketing outlay in the previous year, margins are expected to inch higher in the first half of 2019 as the company has taken a number of steps in that direction improving the digital content, leveraging partnerships with Drizly, Uber, and Tasty, launching new variants of its brands, and driving efficiencies to cut down costs. Net sales of US Spirits in the North American segment grew by 3% in FY 2018 in spite of vodka sales declining during the year. Margins for the segment were slightly down due to increased marketing spending. We expect the benefits of the new marketing campaigns to continue to drive higher sales for Bulleit, Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Baileys, and Captain Morgan. As the company incurred a major marketing outlay in the previous year, margins are expected to inch higher in the first half of 2019 as the company has taken a number of steps in that direction improving the digital content, leveraging partnerships with Drizly, Uber, and Tasty, launching new variants of its brands, and driving efficiencies to cut down costs. Scotch to continue to drive growth: Scotch, which accounts for 25% of Diageos net sales, grew by 2% in the previous year, in North America, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific. We expect it to continue driving higher sales and margins, largely benefiting from new marketing campaigns. Also, focus on gifting as an option would likely increase sales of the companys expensive scotch variants, especially with Christmas and New Year falling in the first half of the year. Korea is expected to be a drag on net sales as the geography is seeing a contraction in the scotch category with consumers switching to lower alcohol content categories. Full Year Outlook For FY 2019, we expect net sales to be approximately $17.2 billion, which marks a 2.0% rise over net sales in the previous fiscal. Revenue growth will mainly be driven by revival in the APAC segment and strong growth in Latin America. North America will continue to contribute the largest share to net sales.The recently implemented productivity program which focuses on everyday efficiency and driving out cost across its business, is expected to deliver 175 bps operating margin improvement over three years ending June 30, 2019. The cost-reduction measures, along with increased sales, would drive margins higher and lead to a healthy growth in earnings per share for the year. We have a price estimate of $157 for Diageo, which is higher than the current market price. In July 2018, management approved a new share buyback program to return approximately $2.6 billion to shareholders in FY 2019. Along with better financial performance, the share repurchase program, and a rising dividend pay-out per year is expected to support the stock price and increase returns for the shareholders. Explore example interactive dashboards and create your own. | Diageo is set to report its first half of FY 2019 earnings on January 31, 2019. The company is expected to carry on its growth, albeit at a slower rate than that reported by the company recently. We expect the benefits of the new marketing campaigns to continue to drive higher sales. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/01/30/what-to-expect-from-diageos-results-for-the-first-half-of-fy-2019/ | 0.455704 |
Is Bifacial Technology About To Enter The Mainstream Of Solar Power Generation? | Solar photovoltaic (PV) power led the increase in renewable energy generation around the world in 2017, with capacity growing by as much as a third during the year. In theory, bifacial technology can deliver this. Unlike traditional monofacial panels, bifacial panels are capable of capturing solar irradiation from the front and back. This means they have the capacity to generate power from the sun by capturing the sunlight reflected from the ground, as well as direct sunlight, therefore increasing the total energy generation. As standard crystalline solar cells used during the past 30 years are reaching their physical limits, the PERC (passivated emitter and rear cell) structure is enabling manufacturers to achieve higher efficiencies. As the technical know-how to introduce PERC technology has become available along the value chain, it constitutes a new viable platform to manufacture high-power and high-efficiency solar panels. The number of manufacturers producing bifacial panels is increasing, and there is a corresponding increase in the number of installations. There is no standard design as yet, with varying design criteria from framed and frameless, monocrystalline and polycrystalline designs. There are a number of important considerations as to the viability of deploying bifacial panel arrays. Most important is the ground albedo or whiteness which affects the amount of underside light that is reflected. This could be light-colored stone, reflective paint, foil or even grass. In trials, a foil surface, which has an albedo of 80%, contributed an additional 20% power, compared to grass, which has an albedo of 30% and contributed only a 9% power gain. Added to this, each surface will need a different maintenance profile and be affected by a range of factors, including the prevalent weather conditions. In addition, the panel arrays pitch, height and tilt, as well as the mounting system design, cable management and inverter selection, all impact the amount of shading, hence the available active surface of the back of the panel. This means bifacial technology is best suited for flat rooftops and ground-mounted arrays to allow for room to optimize the tilt to bounce the reflected light on to the rear of the panels. So far, the uptake of bifacial technology has been inhibited by the difficulty in predicting performance with a level of certainty. In 2015, bifacial modules had only a 5% market share. Test facilities are in operation around the world to observe the yield gain of bifacial modules from New Mexico (the Sandia Lab experiment was conducted in Albuquerque in 2012) to Japan (a 1.25 MW demonstration plant in Asahikawa, Japan, saw a 21% annual yield gain after 32 months in operation in 2013). Another inhibitor has been the cost of the panel production, due to the complex cell structure and amount of silver paste required. But even considering potential increases in installation and panel costs, bifacial technology plays an important role in further reducing the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) through increased power yield and extended lifetime. Bifacial modules are becoming a commercial reality: Most module manufacturers are switching to PERC module production lines and starting bifacial production, and the total installed bifacial capacity is estimated to reach 5 GW by 2020 and 40% market share by 2025. There are still challenges that need to be overcome, including the lack of global standard testing procedures for rating bifacial modules, capex increases, difficulties in modeling the power gain with accuracy, the need for field testing, the risk of potential induced degradation and the lack of uniform back irradiance, among other factors. Yet the prize appears worth it. Power can be generated from a smaller footprint; plus, as manufacturing costs continue to decrease and the module quality improves, the increased generation and lower LCOE point to bifacial technology entering the mainstream. Overall, the potential impact of bifacial technology is fivefold. With the technology innovation taking hold, we should expect to see a significant growth in market share over the next five years. Continued trials will crystallize performance predictability and show us how to maximize the yield increase, which in turn will drive uptake. Bifacial technology may have a slight additional installation cost over monofacial PV systems, but even a conservative bifacial gain should outweigh the risk. Bifacial technology is an important enabler in reducing LCOE through increased power yield. And finally, this potential for a smaller footprint could unlock new, unexpected uses for solar. It will be interesting to watch. | Bifacial panels are capable of capturing solar irradiation from the front and back. They have the capacity to generate power from the sun by capturing the sunlight reflected from the ground. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2019/01/30/is-bifacial-technology-about-to-enter-the-mainstream-of-solar-power-generation/ | 0.157054 |
Is Bifacial Technology About To Enter The Mainstream Of Solar Power Generation? | Solar photovoltaic (PV) power led the increase in renewable energy generation around the world in 2017, with capacity growing by as much as a third during the year. In theory, bifacial technology can deliver this. Unlike traditional monofacial panels, bifacial panels are capable of capturing solar irradiation from the front and back. This means they have the capacity to generate power from the sun by capturing the sunlight reflected from the ground, as well as direct sunlight, therefore increasing the total energy generation. As standard crystalline solar cells used during the past 30 years are reaching their physical limits, the PERC (passivated emitter and rear cell) structure is enabling manufacturers to achieve higher efficiencies. As the technical know-how to introduce PERC technology has become available along the value chain, it constitutes a new viable platform to manufacture high-power and high-efficiency solar panels. The number of manufacturers producing bifacial panels is increasing, and there is a corresponding increase in the number of installations. There is no standard design as yet, with varying design criteria from framed and frameless, monocrystalline and polycrystalline designs. There are a number of important considerations as to the viability of deploying bifacial panel arrays. Most important is the ground albedo or whiteness which affects the amount of underside light that is reflected. This could be light-colored stone, reflective paint, foil or even grass. In trials, a foil surface, which has an albedo of 80%, contributed an additional 20% power, compared to grass, which has an albedo of 30% and contributed only a 9% power gain. Added to this, each surface will need a different maintenance profile and be affected by a range of factors, including the prevalent weather conditions. In addition, the panel arrays pitch, height and tilt, as well as the mounting system design, cable management and inverter selection, all impact the amount of shading, hence the available active surface of the back of the panel. This means bifacial technology is best suited for flat rooftops and ground-mounted arrays to allow for room to optimize the tilt to bounce the reflected light on to the rear of the panels. So far, the uptake of bifacial technology has been inhibited by the difficulty in predicting performance with a level of certainty. In 2015, bifacial modules had only a 5% market share. Test facilities are in operation around the world to observe the yield gain of bifacial modules from New Mexico (the Sandia Lab experiment was conducted in Albuquerque in 2012) to Japan (a 1.25 MW demonstration plant in Asahikawa, Japan, saw a 21% annual yield gain after 32 months in operation in 2013). Another inhibitor has been the cost of the panel production, due to the complex cell structure and amount of silver paste required. But even considering potential increases in installation and panel costs, bifacial technology plays an important role in further reducing the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) through increased power yield and extended lifetime. Bifacial modules are becoming a commercial reality: Most module manufacturers are switching to PERC module production lines and starting bifacial production, and the total installed bifacial capacity is estimated to reach 5 GW by 2020 and 40% market share by 2025. There are still challenges that need to be overcome, including the lack of global standard testing procedures for rating bifacial modules, capex increases, difficulties in modeling the power gain with accuracy, the need for field testing, the risk of potential induced degradation and the lack of uniform back irradiance, among other factors. Yet the prize appears worth it. Power can be generated from a smaller footprint; plus, as manufacturing costs continue to decrease and the module quality improves, the increased generation and lower LCOE point to bifacial technology entering the mainstream. Overall, the potential impact of bifacial technology is fivefold. With the technology innovation taking hold, we should expect to see a significant growth in market share over the next five years. Continued trials will crystallize performance predictability and show us how to maximize the yield increase, which in turn will drive uptake. Bifacial technology may have a slight additional installation cost over monofacial PV systems, but even a conservative bifacial gain should outweigh the risk. Bifacial technology is an important enabler in reducing LCOE through increased power yield. And finally, this potential for a smaller footprint could unlock new, unexpected uses for solar. It will be interesting to watch. | Bifacial panels are capable of capturing solar irradiation from the front and back. They have the capacity to generate power from the sun by capturing the sunlight reflected from the ground, as well as direct sunlight, therefore increasing the total energy generation. There are still challenges to be overcome, including the lack of global standard testing procedures for rating bifacial modules. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2019/01/30/is-bifacial-technology-about-to-enter-the-mainstream-of-solar-power-generation/ | 0.322057 |
How Did Ford Manage to Lose Money Last Quarter? | Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) said last week that it lost $116 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, despite good sales of high-profit trucks and SUVs in North America. Ford said that problems in its overseas regions were part of the story, that it's working to fix those problems, and that investors should expect improvements in time. But there was more to the story, including a hefty pension-related charge and some other factors, and it's worth taking some time to understand exactly what happened. Fortunately, Ford gave us some help in that effort. This chart from Ford's fourth-quarter earnings presentation shows how different parts of the company performed in the quarter, and how those performances stack up against their year-ago results. A bar chart showing how each of Ford's business segments contributed to its overall fourth-quarter result, as detailed in the article below. More Data source: Ford Motor Company. If we look at the last item on the right, at the bottom of the chart, we see that Ford's result was a net $2.636 billion decline in net income from a year ago, when it posted net income of about $2.5 billion. Below, we'll take a more detailed look at how each of the items shown on the chart contributed to that decline. A red Ford F250 Lariat, a heavy-duty full-size pickup, towing a boat trailer up a mountain road. More Sales of Ford's highest-profit trucks boomed in the fourth quarter, but its net income swooned. The answer is a little complicated. Image source: Ford Motor Company. Auto: Down $504 million Ford's automotive earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) -- its profit from building and selling vehicles -- fell by $504 million in the fourth quarter from a year ago, to just over $1.1 billion. | Ford Motor Company lost $116 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. The company blamed problems in its overseas regions for the loss. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://news.yahoo.com/did-ford-manage-lose-money-131600411.html | 0.389601 |
How Did Ford Manage to Lose Money Last Quarter? | Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) said last week that it lost $116 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, despite good sales of high-profit trucks and SUVs in North America. Ford said that problems in its overseas regions were part of the story, that it's working to fix those problems, and that investors should expect improvements in time. But there was more to the story, including a hefty pension-related charge and some other factors, and it's worth taking some time to understand exactly what happened. Fortunately, Ford gave us some help in that effort. This chart from Ford's fourth-quarter earnings presentation shows how different parts of the company performed in the quarter, and how those performances stack up against their year-ago results. A bar chart showing how each of Ford's business segments contributed to its overall fourth-quarter result, as detailed in the article below. More Data source: Ford Motor Company. If we look at the last item on the right, at the bottom of the chart, we see that Ford's result was a net $2.636 billion decline in net income from a year ago, when it posted net income of about $2.5 billion. Below, we'll take a more detailed look at how each of the items shown on the chart contributed to that decline. A red Ford F250 Lariat, a heavy-duty full-size pickup, towing a boat trailer up a mountain road. More Sales of Ford's highest-profit trucks boomed in the fourth quarter, but its net income swooned. The answer is a little complicated. Image source: Ford Motor Company. Auto: Down $504 million Ford's automotive earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) -- its profit from building and selling vehicles -- fell by $504 million in the fourth quarter from a year ago, to just over $1.1 billion. | Ford Motor Company lost $116 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. The company blamed problems in its overseas regions and a hefty pension-related charge. Below, we'll look at how each of Ford's business segments contributed to its overall fourth-quarter result, as detailed in the article below. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://news.yahoo.com/did-ford-manage-lose-money-131600411.html | 0.466434 |
Can LyondellBasell (LYB) Sustain Earnings Streak in Q4? | LyondellBasell Industries LYB is set to release fourth-quarter 2018 results before the opening bell on Feb 1. In the last reported quarter, the companys profits rose roughly 5% year over year to $1,113 million or $2.85 per share. Adjusted earnings came in at $2.96 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.73, translating into a positive earnings surprise of 10.8%. Revenues went up roughly 19% year over year of $10,155 million. It also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9,564 million. Notably, LyondellBasell surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average positive earnings surprise being 10.8%. The companys shares have lost 26.7% in the past year, underperforming the industrys 23% decline. Lets see how things are shaping up for this announcement. Factors to Consider LyondellBasell, in its third-quarter call, stated that it expects to drive operational and business improvements in Refining, Technology as well as Intermediates and Derivatives businesses in the fourth quarter. The company is poised to benefit from increased access to markets, incremental synergies from the integration of A. Schulman acquisition and formation of the Advanced Polymer Solutions segment. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for total fourth-quarter revenues is pegged at $9,222 million, reflecting year-over-year growth of 1%. At the company's Olefins & Polyolefins Americas segment, revenues are expected to rise 2% from the year-ago quarter as the Zacks Consensus Estimate is currently pegged at $2,857 million. Revenues from the Olefins & Polyolefins Europe, Asia, International division are likely to decline 10% year over year as the Zacks Consensus Estimate stands at $2,772 million. Revenues for LyondellBasells Intermediates and Derivatives segment is projected to rise 1.1% from the prior-year quarters tally as the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $2,256 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues at the Refining segment is pegged at $1,863 million, reflecting a 11.8% decrease on a year-over-year basis. The Technology segment sales are expected to fall 4.8% year over year in the to-be-reported quarter as the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pinned at $119 million. LyondellBasell is executing its expansion projects to leverage the U.S. natural gas liquids advantage. The companys operational improvement initiatives are expected to drive earnings in the December quarter. Continued strong demand is also expected to support results in the Olefins & Polyolefins Americas segment. The buyout of A. Schulman is also expected to create significant synergies. The buyout doubles the size of LyondellBasell's existing compounding business. The company is making progress with the integration of the acquisition and expects to realize $32 million in annual run-rate synergies. However, LyondellBasells operations are subject to maintenance outages, which are affecting results. The company expects roughly $25-million impact from downtime associated with planned maintenance at its German cracker in the fourth quarter at its Olefins & Polyolefins Europe, Asia, International segment. This may impact volumes at the segment. Moreover, maintenance at one of LyondellBasells propylene oxide plants in Texas reduced EBITDA by roughly $20 million in the third quarter at the Intermediates and Derivatives unit and is expected to lower margins by roughly $25 million in the fourth quarter. Planned maintenance at the companys refinery also impacted EBITDA by around $20 million in the third quarter and is expected to hurt margins by $45 million in the fourth quarter. The company is also seeing a rise in feedstock costs, which is hurting margins in the Olefins & Polyolefins Europe, Asia, International division. Moreover, LyondellBasell faces challenges in the European markets for polymers with sluggish demand growth and ample supply. It expects market pressure to continue in the fourth quarter along with a lower demand due to typical seasonal effects. | LyondellBasell Industries LYB is set to release fourth-quarter 2018 results before the opening bell on Feb 1. In the last reported quarter, the companys profits rose roughly 5% year over year to $1,113 million or $2.85 per share. | bart | 2 | https://news.yahoo.com/lyondellbasell-lyb-sustain-earnings-streak-125312481.html | 0.164022 |
Will Arizona schools lose out on extra cash because of GOP tax bills? | CLOSE Education funding has been a hot-button topic in Arizona since the Great Recession. Here is what you should know before the 2018 midterm election. The idea has been pushed by a few different state education organizations, including the Arizona Education Association, the state's teacher union. Republicans in the Legislature have advanced two bills to ensure Arizona taxpayers don't face higher state taxes due to changes made at the federal level, part of President Donald Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The bills are barreling through the Legislature at warp speed as some Arizonans wait to file their taxes to see how lawmakers will act. READ MORE: New Ariz. schools chief vows to fight for educator pay, school funding Education leaders say the extra money could help fund everything from new textbooks to fixes for broken school buildings, while a Republican behind one of the bills argued that more dollars may not fix Arizona's education crisis. Estimates of how much more Arizona taxpayer money could come in from the tax changes have varied, from more than $100 million to more than $200 million, according to information from the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. "Arizona stands to gain anywhere from $150 million to $230 million," David Lujan, director of the Arizona Center for Economic Progress, said. "We should be investing those dollars in our underfunded education system or using them for the next recession." His organization estimates that the Republican legislation would mostly result in tax cuts for the state's highest earners, the top 20 percent of incomes. State Sen. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler. (Photo: Sean Logan/The Republic) State Sen. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, said the bill he's sponsoring to offset the tax changes is "revenue-neutral," meaning it wouldn't hurt the state's coffers. The measure he's sponsoring would only be in effect for a year, so next year, lawmakers would have to tackle tax conformity again, he said. His hope is for a complete "income-tax overhaul" next year. "Im going to emphasize, this is not a tax cut," he said. "I dont know how a revenue-neutral bill turns into a tax cut." Mesnard also wondered if increasing funding for schools is the answer to the state's education woes. He warned that the state might soon bump up against education constitutional spending limits. Part of the problem?" he asked. "I think its a mistake to think it all comes to spending." Governor doesn't align with GOP lawmakers Gov. Doug Ducey's office indicated in a statement that the governor supports keeping the tax code in step with the federal code and will push to put the extra money in the state's rainy day fund. The fund is meant as a cushion in case of future revenue shortfalls or a recession. "The governor has been clear we need to conform and any additional revenue should be put in the rainy day fund," read the statement from his office. READ MORE: What Ducey's budget proposal adds in Arizona education spending Rep. Mitzi Epstein, D-Tempe, said the impact of the federal tax changes is marginal for any taxpayers. She opposes the Republican legislation and said she would prioritize steering the extra revenue to education. "Thats the fiscally responsible thing to do," she said. Click here to subscribe to azcentral.com. Go to connect.azcentral.com for a staff list, for more information about the newsroom and for details about upcoming events. Read or Share this story: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona-education/2019/01/30/arizona-schools-lose-out-extra-cash-because-gop-tax-bills/2715580002/ | Republican lawmakers are pushing two bills to offset federal tax changes. Education leaders say the extra money could help fund everything from new textbooks to fixes for broken school buildings. Estimates of how much more Arizona taxpayer money could come in from the tax changes have varied. | bart | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona-education/2019/01/30/arizona-schools-lose-out-extra-cash-because-gop-tax-bills/2715580002/ | 0.220717 |
Will Arizona schools lose out on extra cash because of GOP tax bills? | CLOSE Education funding has been a hot-button topic in Arizona since the Great Recession. Here is what you should know before the 2018 midterm election. The idea has been pushed by a few different state education organizations, including the Arizona Education Association, the state's teacher union. Republicans in the Legislature have advanced two bills to ensure Arizona taxpayers don't face higher state taxes due to changes made at the federal level, part of President Donald Trump's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The bills are barreling through the Legislature at warp speed as some Arizonans wait to file their taxes to see how lawmakers will act. READ MORE: New Ariz. schools chief vows to fight for educator pay, school funding Education leaders say the extra money could help fund everything from new textbooks to fixes for broken school buildings, while a Republican behind one of the bills argued that more dollars may not fix Arizona's education crisis. Estimates of how much more Arizona taxpayer money could come in from the tax changes have varied, from more than $100 million to more than $200 million, according to information from the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. "Arizona stands to gain anywhere from $150 million to $230 million," David Lujan, director of the Arizona Center for Economic Progress, said. "We should be investing those dollars in our underfunded education system or using them for the next recession." His organization estimates that the Republican legislation would mostly result in tax cuts for the state's highest earners, the top 20 percent of incomes. State Sen. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler. (Photo: Sean Logan/The Republic) State Sen. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, said the bill he's sponsoring to offset the tax changes is "revenue-neutral," meaning it wouldn't hurt the state's coffers. The measure he's sponsoring would only be in effect for a year, so next year, lawmakers would have to tackle tax conformity again, he said. His hope is for a complete "income-tax overhaul" next year. "Im going to emphasize, this is not a tax cut," he said. "I dont know how a revenue-neutral bill turns into a tax cut." Mesnard also wondered if increasing funding for schools is the answer to the state's education woes. He warned that the state might soon bump up against education constitutional spending limits. Part of the problem?" he asked. "I think its a mistake to think it all comes to spending." Governor doesn't align with GOP lawmakers Gov. Doug Ducey's office indicated in a statement that the governor supports keeping the tax code in step with the federal code and will push to put the extra money in the state's rainy day fund. The fund is meant as a cushion in case of future revenue shortfalls or a recession. "The governor has been clear we need to conform and any additional revenue should be put in the rainy day fund," read the statement from his office. READ MORE: What Ducey's budget proposal adds in Arizona education spending Rep. Mitzi Epstein, D-Tempe, said the impact of the federal tax changes is marginal for any taxpayers. She opposes the Republican legislation and said she would prioritize steering the extra revenue to education. "Thats the fiscally responsible thing to do," she said. Click here to subscribe to azcentral.com. Go to connect.azcentral.com for a staff list, for more information about the newsroom and for details about upcoming events. Read or Share this story: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona-education/2019/01/30/arizona-schools-lose-out-extra-cash-because-gop-tax-bills/2715580002/ | Republicans in the Legislature have advanced two bills to ensure Arizona taxpayers don't face higher state taxes. The bills are barreling through the Legislature at warp speed. Education leaders say the extra money could help fund everything from new textbooks to fixes for broken school buildings. | pegasus | 2 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona-education/2019/01/30/arizona-schools-lose-out-extra-cash-because-gop-tax-bills/2715580002/ | 0.331183 |
Whats the difference between table salt, Kosher salt and sea salt? | I am sure you have had dishes that are too salty or not salty enough and you wonder about the taste buds of the cook. Heres the thing. All salt is created equal. It is the size of the flakes that matters. Regular table salt is ground very fine and has anti-caking ingredients to make sure it runs freely. Kosher salt, on the other hand, has larger crystals that dissolve easily, so 1 teaspoon of kosher salt has the same saltiness as teaspoon of table salt. (By the way, all salt is kosher by Jewish law, but when a package says kosher on it, its referring to the larger flake size.) I prefer not to use table salt. Kosher salt is superior my strong preference for cooking is Diamond Crystal Kosher, which is readily available in the supermarket and its also best for brining. Story continues below advertisement Salt is either mined from salt mines or from the sea. Most salt is from salt mines. Pink Himalayan salt is gorgeous, but it is no different from other mined salts. Its beautiful pink colour is due to some copper in the mines. Sea salt is formed by allowing the water to evaporate in salt pans until large flake crystals remain. The less refined the salt, the higher the proportion of minerals. French fleur de sel, one of the most expensive salts in the world, falls into this category. Generally, sea salts have natural properties and their larger crystals give a crunchiness and flavour when used as a finishing salt. Finishing salt is sprinkled over a dish just before serving to add crunchiness and salinity. My favourite finishing salt is the English Maldon. Its lacy, pyramid-like crystals dissolve perfectly over a steak, vegetables and eggs. Dont use fancy salt to cook youll get the same level of saltiness and flavour from a cheaper salt. Save the more expensive salts for finishing. Ground down sea salt works well, too. Have a salt dish beside your stove and, using your fingers, scatter the salt over the dish. I also use salt dishes on the table. This is where the pink salt looks so impressive. Use small spoons at the table for sprinkling, but not silver; salt tarnishes silver. And use caution when reading recipes. Recipes that dont specify the type of salt can be a problem, due to the differences in flake size. Recipes that give the exact amount of salt can also be an issue. The size of your saucepan, narrow or wide, will make a difference; ingredients in wider saucepans will reduce more and could taste saltier. Always start with less salt and taste as you go along so you can adjust the seasonings yourself. You must learn to trust your palate to do this, but a little practice does wonders. Send your questions to lwaverman@globeandmail.com. | All salt is created equal, it is the size of the flakes that matters. Regular table salt is ground very fine and has anti-caking ingredients. Kosher salt, on the other hand, has larger crystals that dissolve easily. | pegasus | 1 | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/article-whats-the-difference-between-table-salt-kosher-salt-and-sea-salt/ | 0.379352 |
Whats the difference between table salt, Kosher salt and sea salt? | I am sure you have had dishes that are too salty or not salty enough and you wonder about the taste buds of the cook. Heres the thing. All salt is created equal. It is the size of the flakes that matters. Regular table salt is ground very fine and has anti-caking ingredients to make sure it runs freely. Kosher salt, on the other hand, has larger crystals that dissolve easily, so 1 teaspoon of kosher salt has the same saltiness as teaspoon of table salt. (By the way, all salt is kosher by Jewish law, but when a package says kosher on it, its referring to the larger flake size.) I prefer not to use table salt. Kosher salt is superior my strong preference for cooking is Diamond Crystal Kosher, which is readily available in the supermarket and its also best for brining. Story continues below advertisement Salt is either mined from salt mines or from the sea. Most salt is from salt mines. Pink Himalayan salt is gorgeous, but it is no different from other mined salts. Its beautiful pink colour is due to some copper in the mines. Sea salt is formed by allowing the water to evaporate in salt pans until large flake crystals remain. The less refined the salt, the higher the proportion of minerals. French fleur de sel, one of the most expensive salts in the world, falls into this category. Generally, sea salts have natural properties and their larger crystals give a crunchiness and flavour when used as a finishing salt. Finishing salt is sprinkled over a dish just before serving to add crunchiness and salinity. My favourite finishing salt is the English Maldon. Its lacy, pyramid-like crystals dissolve perfectly over a steak, vegetables and eggs. Dont use fancy salt to cook youll get the same level of saltiness and flavour from a cheaper salt. Save the more expensive salts for finishing. Ground down sea salt works well, too. Have a salt dish beside your stove and, using your fingers, scatter the salt over the dish. I also use salt dishes on the table. This is where the pink salt looks so impressive. Use small spoons at the table for sprinkling, but not silver; salt tarnishes silver. And use caution when reading recipes. Recipes that dont specify the type of salt can be a problem, due to the differences in flake size. Recipes that give the exact amount of salt can also be an issue. The size of your saucepan, narrow or wide, will make a difference; ingredients in wider saucepans will reduce more and could taste saltier. Always start with less salt and taste as you go along so you can adjust the seasonings yourself. You must learn to trust your palate to do this, but a little practice does wonders. Send your questions to lwaverman@globeandmail.com. | All salt is created equal, it is the size of the flakes that matters. Kosher salt has larger crystals that dissolve easily, so 1 teaspoon of kosher salt has the same saltiness as teaspoon of table salt. Save the more expensive salts for finishing. | bart | 2 | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/article-whats-the-difference-between-table-salt-kosher-salt-and-sea-salt/ | 0.107553 |
Why has Belgium banned Fifa points? | Fifa/EA Games Gamers in Belgium won't be able to buy Fifa 19 Ultimate Team player packs anymore after a government ban on in-game purchases. EA Sports - who make the game - have agreed to remove the in-game purchasing option after talks with the Belgian government. In Belgium, in-game purchases are illegal because they are seen as a form of gambling. They see buying player packs as an "illegal game of chance", because gamers don't know exactly what's in a box when they buy it. EA Sports said in a statement that they don't believe buying player packs is gambling. You can tell you what you think about this in the comments. PEGI In Fifa 19's 'Ultimate Team', gamers have the opportunity to earn coins, which can then be used to buy packs of new players. However, players also have the option of paying for points to put towards player packs, using real money. These player packs are known as 'loot boxes'. To enjoy the CBBC Newsround website at its best you will need to have JavaScript turned on. EA Sports EA argue that Fifa's Ultimate Team packs are the equivalent to buying a packet of Panini football stickers - because just like with Fifa's player packs, you aren't sure what 5 stickers you'll get in the sticker pack. EA Sports boss Andrew Wilson says he doesn't agree that its games could "be considered as any form of gambling". He argues that because players "always receive a specified number of items in each pack", and "don't provide or authorise any way to cash out or sell items or virtual currency for real money", they are not "an illegal game of chance". There are currently no plans to ban Fifa points in the UK. Tell you what you think about this in the comments below. | In-game purchases are illegal in Belgium because they are seen as a form of gambling. There are currently no plans to ban Fifa points in the UK. EA Sports say they don't believe buying player packs is gambling. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/47057859 | 0.341494 |
Why has Belgium banned Fifa points? | Fifa/EA Games Gamers in Belgium won't be able to buy Fifa 19 Ultimate Team player packs anymore after a government ban on in-game purchases. EA Sports - who make the game - have agreed to remove the in-game purchasing option after talks with the Belgian government. In Belgium, in-game purchases are illegal because they are seen as a form of gambling. They see buying player packs as an "illegal game of chance", because gamers don't know exactly what's in a box when they buy it. EA Sports said in a statement that they don't believe buying player packs is gambling. You can tell you what you think about this in the comments. PEGI In Fifa 19's 'Ultimate Team', gamers have the opportunity to earn coins, which can then be used to buy packs of new players. However, players also have the option of paying for points to put towards player packs, using real money. These player packs are known as 'loot boxes'. To enjoy the CBBC Newsround website at its best you will need to have JavaScript turned on. EA Sports EA argue that Fifa's Ultimate Team packs are the equivalent to buying a packet of Panini football stickers - because just like with Fifa's player packs, you aren't sure what 5 stickers you'll get in the sticker pack. EA Sports boss Andrew Wilson says he doesn't agree that its games could "be considered as any form of gambling". He argues that because players "always receive a specified number of items in each pack", and "don't provide or authorise any way to cash out or sell items or virtual currency for real money", they are not "an illegal game of chance". There are currently no plans to ban Fifa points in the UK. Tell you what you think about this in the comments below. | In-game purchases are illegal in Belgium because they are seen as a form of gambling. There are currently no plans to ban Fifa points in the UK. EA Sports say they don't believe buying player packs is gambling. Click here to read the full story on Newsround. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/47057859 | 0.329949 |
Can accused killer, kidnapper Jake Patterson get a fair trial in the explosive Jayme Closs case? | CLOSE Patterson is accused of kidnapping Jayme Closs and killing her parents in Barron County. Jim Rosandick, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin BARRON If Jake Patterson stands trial on charges arising from the kidnapping of Jayme Closs, finding jurors who havent formed an opinion about the explosive case will be difficult at best. And not just in Barron County, where the shocking crimes happened. It will be pretty tough to get (an impartial) jury anywhere in Wisconsin, said Milwaukee attorney Ray DallOsto. Its been pretty much branded on peoples minds. Jake Thomas Patterson, accused in the kidnapping of Jayme Closs. (Photo: Barron County Sheriff's Department) Pattersons arrest in Douglas County on Jan. 10 led to a torrent of media coverage and an avalanche of online commentary about the Oct. 15 abduction of the 13-year-old girl and the murders of her parents, James and Denise Closs. Media coverage and social media interest also were intense in the months before Jayme escaped and was reunited with her relatives. The criminal complaint went into painstaking detail about Pattersons confession to the murders and the kidnapping, including how he targeted Jayme and carefully planned her abduction, how he avoided detection for nearly three months, how he kept Jayme captive in a cabin in Douglas County and how he brutally killed her parents with shotgun blasts to the head. More: Wisconsin DA says he has no plans to file charges related to Jayme Closs' 88-day captivity More: Jake Patterson, accused of abducting Jayme Closs, isolated himself after high school The case could be resolved short of trial with a plea deal, or by a guilty plea to the murder and kidnapping charges. Patterson, a 21-year-old unemployed man who was discharged from the Marines five weeks into boot camp because of "character issues," also could enter a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. If there is going to be a trial, it will be on his mental status, said former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske. I cant imagine they will try it on the facts. Jayme Closs (Photo: Barron County Sheriff's Department) Defense attorneys Richard Jones and Charles Glynn have not disclosed their strategy or if they will request a change of venue. If that happens, the judge would have the option of conducting the trial in another county, or bringing the jurors to Barron County and holding the trial there. If the case does get to trial, finding an impartial jury could be extremely difficult, legal experts say. I could certainly imagine a defense lawyer arguing that Mr. Patterson cannot receive a fair trial at this point, said Michael OHear, a professor at the Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee. Publicity about the case has been quite intense. It will probably be hard to find jurors in Barron County who have not heard something about the case, either from the mainstream media, or social media or just from casual conversation with friends and neighbors. More: Jayme Closs to receive $25,000 reward after escaping captor, company cites teen's 'bravery' More: Church of Jayme Closs' mother holds service to honor Wisconsin teen's return OHear said cases involving a horrific crime and extensive pretrial publicity may expose potential jurors to information that is not allowed to be used as evidence at trial. Ideally, jurors should be basing their decisions only on admissible evidence. Confessions can be a big problem in this regard. Sometimes, a confession is ruled inadmissible for one reason or another by a judge before trial," he said. "However, if jurors are aware from media coverage that a defendant has confessed, it may be hard for them to disregard that fact. Prospective jurors will be questioned in court about the extent of their knowledge about the case, a common practice during jury selection. Strictly speaking, the law does not require jurors to be entirely ignorant about a case before the trial starts, O'Hear said. The key question is whether they can set aside what they have heard about the case and approach the trial with an open mind. It may take a lot of time and effort in high-publicity cases, but it is normally possible for the court to seat 12 jurors who meet the legal requirements. Another option is to transfer the case to a different county, but judges may be reluctant to do so because of the inconvenience to witnesses, the victim, police and the public, he said. The judge could order that an outside jury be brought to Barron County to hear the case. Jake Thomas Patterson makes his first appearance before Judge James Babler at the Barron County Justice Center on Monday, January 14, 2019 in Barron, Wis. Patterson was charged, Monday, with the kidnapping of 13-year-old Jayme Closs and the murder of her parents in October. (Photo: Adam Wesley/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin) With a case like this one that has received extensive statewide and even national publicity, it is not clear that trial in another county would actually offer much of an advantage to the defendant, OHear said. Daniel S. Medwed, a professor of law and criminal justice at Northeastern University in Boston, said moving the Patterson trial to a highly populated county might be the best solution. "It strikes me that the high-profile and incendiary nature of the case makes it virtually impossible to have a fair trial in or near Barron, he said. The key question is whether it could move to another county in Wisconsin, maybe those in the vicinity of Madison or Milwaukee, where, because of population density, there might be a better chance of finding jurors who havent formed predetermined views of the case. Regardless of how the defense proceeds, it faces a monumental challenge, Geske said. Theres not much for the defense to work with, she said. Its going to be a big mountain for (Patterson) to climb. More: Jake Patterson hosted a Christmas party while Jayme Closs was imprisoned in the same house, sources say More: Jayme Closs suspect Jake Patterson's motivations will become clear, defense attorneys say Follow Andy Thompson on Twitter: @Thompson_AW Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/30/jayme-closs-kidnapping-suspect-jake-patterson-fair-trial/2719475002/ | Jake Patterson is accused of kidnapping Jayme Closs and killing her parents in Barron County. Experts say it will be difficult to find an impartial jury in Wisconsin because of the intense publicity. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/30/jayme-closs-kidnapping-suspect-jake-patterson-fair-trial/2719475002/ | 0.218487 |
Can accused killer, kidnapper Jake Patterson get a fair trial in the explosive Jayme Closs case? | CLOSE Patterson is accused of kidnapping Jayme Closs and killing her parents in Barron County. Jim Rosandick, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin BARRON If Jake Patterson stands trial on charges arising from the kidnapping of Jayme Closs, finding jurors who havent formed an opinion about the explosive case will be difficult at best. And not just in Barron County, where the shocking crimes happened. It will be pretty tough to get (an impartial) jury anywhere in Wisconsin, said Milwaukee attorney Ray DallOsto. Its been pretty much branded on peoples minds. Jake Thomas Patterson, accused in the kidnapping of Jayme Closs. (Photo: Barron County Sheriff's Department) Pattersons arrest in Douglas County on Jan. 10 led to a torrent of media coverage and an avalanche of online commentary about the Oct. 15 abduction of the 13-year-old girl and the murders of her parents, James and Denise Closs. Media coverage and social media interest also were intense in the months before Jayme escaped and was reunited with her relatives. The criminal complaint went into painstaking detail about Pattersons confession to the murders and the kidnapping, including how he targeted Jayme and carefully planned her abduction, how he avoided detection for nearly three months, how he kept Jayme captive in a cabin in Douglas County and how he brutally killed her parents with shotgun blasts to the head. More: Wisconsin DA says he has no plans to file charges related to Jayme Closs' 88-day captivity More: Jake Patterson, accused of abducting Jayme Closs, isolated himself after high school The case could be resolved short of trial with a plea deal, or by a guilty plea to the murder and kidnapping charges. Patterson, a 21-year-old unemployed man who was discharged from the Marines five weeks into boot camp because of "character issues," also could enter a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. If there is going to be a trial, it will be on his mental status, said former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske. I cant imagine they will try it on the facts. Jayme Closs (Photo: Barron County Sheriff's Department) Defense attorneys Richard Jones and Charles Glynn have not disclosed their strategy or if they will request a change of venue. If that happens, the judge would have the option of conducting the trial in another county, or bringing the jurors to Barron County and holding the trial there. If the case does get to trial, finding an impartial jury could be extremely difficult, legal experts say. I could certainly imagine a defense lawyer arguing that Mr. Patterson cannot receive a fair trial at this point, said Michael OHear, a professor at the Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee. Publicity about the case has been quite intense. It will probably be hard to find jurors in Barron County who have not heard something about the case, either from the mainstream media, or social media or just from casual conversation with friends and neighbors. More: Jayme Closs to receive $25,000 reward after escaping captor, company cites teen's 'bravery' More: Church of Jayme Closs' mother holds service to honor Wisconsin teen's return OHear said cases involving a horrific crime and extensive pretrial publicity may expose potential jurors to information that is not allowed to be used as evidence at trial. Ideally, jurors should be basing their decisions only on admissible evidence. Confessions can be a big problem in this regard. Sometimes, a confession is ruled inadmissible for one reason or another by a judge before trial," he said. "However, if jurors are aware from media coverage that a defendant has confessed, it may be hard for them to disregard that fact. Prospective jurors will be questioned in court about the extent of their knowledge about the case, a common practice during jury selection. Strictly speaking, the law does not require jurors to be entirely ignorant about a case before the trial starts, O'Hear said. The key question is whether they can set aside what they have heard about the case and approach the trial with an open mind. It may take a lot of time and effort in high-publicity cases, but it is normally possible for the court to seat 12 jurors who meet the legal requirements. Another option is to transfer the case to a different county, but judges may be reluctant to do so because of the inconvenience to witnesses, the victim, police and the public, he said. The judge could order that an outside jury be brought to Barron County to hear the case. Jake Thomas Patterson makes his first appearance before Judge James Babler at the Barron County Justice Center on Monday, January 14, 2019 in Barron, Wis. Patterson was charged, Monday, with the kidnapping of 13-year-old Jayme Closs and the murder of her parents in October. (Photo: Adam Wesley/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin) With a case like this one that has received extensive statewide and even national publicity, it is not clear that trial in another county would actually offer much of an advantage to the defendant, OHear said. Daniel S. Medwed, a professor of law and criminal justice at Northeastern University in Boston, said moving the Patterson trial to a highly populated county might be the best solution. "It strikes me that the high-profile and incendiary nature of the case makes it virtually impossible to have a fair trial in or near Barron, he said. The key question is whether it could move to another county in Wisconsin, maybe those in the vicinity of Madison or Milwaukee, where, because of population density, there might be a better chance of finding jurors who havent formed predetermined views of the case. Regardless of how the defense proceeds, it faces a monumental challenge, Geske said. Theres not much for the defense to work with, she said. Its going to be a big mountain for (Patterson) to climb. More: Jake Patterson hosted a Christmas party while Jayme Closs was imprisoned in the same house, sources say More: Jayme Closs suspect Jake Patterson's motivations will become clear, defense attorneys say Follow Andy Thompson on Twitter: @Thompson_AW Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/30/jayme-closs-kidnapping-suspect-jake-patterson-fair-trial/2719475002/ | Jake Patterson is accused of kidnapping Jayme Closs and killing her parents in Barron County. Experts say it will be difficult to find an impartial jury in Wisconsin because of the intense publicity. Patterson could enter a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, experts say. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/30/jayme-closs-kidnapping-suspect-jake-patterson-fair-trial/2719475002/ | 0.366936 |
How many people will drink beer on Super Bowl Sunday? | CLEVELAND, Ohio As the Super Bowl nears, seemingly every number and statistic is crunched and analyzed. Including beer. A Beer Institute poll says 76 percent of those planning to celebrate on Super Bowl Sunday will be drinking beer. The poll also found 86 percent of 21- to 29-year-olds were most likely to say they intended to buy or drink beer as part of their Super Bowl celebration. It's probably no surprise to the folks at Anheuser-Busch InBev, whose Budweiser ads are ubiquitous on Super Bowl Sunday. (Expect the iconic Clydesdales to make a return appearance.) The game is expected to be the biggest ever for AB's advertising presence; Adweek says between ads and plugs the brewer will have 6 minutes, 25 seconds of time for several products. The poll was conducted by Quadrant Strategies this month on behalf of the Beer Institute, a trade association for the American brewing industry. The survey did not ask the remaining 24 percent if they were drinking and, if so, what they would sip. The game - between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams - kicks off 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 3. | Poll: 76 percent of those planning to celebrate on Super Bowl Sunday will be drinking beer. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2019/01/how-many-people-will-drink-beer-on-super-bowl-sunday.html | 0.513263 |
How many people will drink beer on Super Bowl Sunday? | CLEVELAND, Ohio As the Super Bowl nears, seemingly every number and statistic is crunched and analyzed. Including beer. A Beer Institute poll says 76 percent of those planning to celebrate on Super Bowl Sunday will be drinking beer. The poll also found 86 percent of 21- to 29-year-olds were most likely to say they intended to buy or drink beer as part of their Super Bowl celebration. It's probably no surprise to the folks at Anheuser-Busch InBev, whose Budweiser ads are ubiquitous on Super Bowl Sunday. (Expect the iconic Clydesdales to make a return appearance.) The game is expected to be the biggest ever for AB's advertising presence; Adweek says between ads and plugs the brewer will have 6 minutes, 25 seconds of time for several products. The poll was conducted by Quadrant Strategies this month on behalf of the Beer Institute, a trade association for the American brewing industry. The survey did not ask the remaining 24 percent if they were drinking and, if so, what they would sip. The game - between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams - kicks off 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 3. | A poll says 76 percent of those planning to celebrate on Super Bowl Sunday will be drinking beer. 86 percent of 21- to 29-year-olds were most likely to say they intended to buy or drink beer. | bart | 1 | https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2019/01/how-many-people-will-drink-beer-on-super-bowl-sunday.html | 0.480571 |
How many people will drink beer on Super Bowl Sunday? | CLEVELAND, Ohio As the Super Bowl nears, seemingly every number and statistic is crunched and analyzed. Including beer. A Beer Institute poll says 76 percent of those planning to celebrate on Super Bowl Sunday will be drinking beer. The poll also found 86 percent of 21- to 29-year-olds were most likely to say they intended to buy or drink beer as part of their Super Bowl celebration. It's probably no surprise to the folks at Anheuser-Busch InBev, whose Budweiser ads are ubiquitous on Super Bowl Sunday. (Expect the iconic Clydesdales to make a return appearance.) The game is expected to be the biggest ever for AB's advertising presence; Adweek says between ads and plugs the brewer will have 6 minutes, 25 seconds of time for several products. The poll was conducted by Quadrant Strategies this month on behalf of the Beer Institute, a trade association for the American brewing industry. The survey did not ask the remaining 24 percent if they were drinking and, if so, what they would sip. The game - between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams - kicks off 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 3. | 76 percent of those planning to celebrate on Super Bowl Sunday will be drinking beer. 86 percent of 21- to 29-year-olds were most likely to say they intended to buy or drink beer. Survey did not ask the remaining 24 percent if they were drinking and, if so, what they would sip. | bart | 2 | https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2019/01/how-many-people-will-drink-beer-on-super-bowl-sunday.html | 0.549875 |
Will Meghan Markle Return for the Final Season of Suits ? | Suits is coming to an end, and likely welcoming back many familiar facesexcept for one. "We're not currently pursuing asking [Meghan Markle] to leave her position with the royal family and join us," Suits creator and executive producer Aaron Korsh told press about the possibility of Markle reprising the role of Rachel Zane for the upcoming ninth and final season. "I would love it, but I think it's pretty close to zero," he said while promoting the USA spinoff Pearson at the 2019 TCA winter press tour. Markle left the legal drama at the end of season seven after announcing her then-engagement to Prince Harry. Her character married Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) and the two went off together to start a new life in Seattle. Korsh previously said the decision to write the characters out came before Markle's engagement to Prince Harry was announced. | "Suits" is coming to an end. Creator says there's no plan to bring back Meghan Markle. She left the show at the end of season seven. | pegasus | 1 | https://www.eonline.com/uk/news/1009846/will-meghan-markle-return-for-the-final-season-of-suits?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories | 0.24806 |
Will Meghan Markle Return for the Final Season of Suits ? | Suits is coming to an end, and likely welcoming back many familiar facesexcept for one. "We're not currently pursuing asking [Meghan Markle] to leave her position with the royal family and join us," Suits creator and executive producer Aaron Korsh told press about the possibility of Markle reprising the role of Rachel Zane for the upcoming ninth and final season. "I would love it, but I think it's pretty close to zero," he said while promoting the USA spinoff Pearson at the 2019 TCA winter press tour. Markle left the legal drama at the end of season seven after announcing her then-engagement to Prince Harry. Her character married Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) and the two went off together to start a new life in Seattle. Korsh previously said the decision to write the characters out came before Markle's engagement to Prince Harry was announced. | The ninth and final season of "Suits" is coming. Creator Aaron Korsh says he's not pursuing a reunion with Meghan Markle. The actress left the show at the end of season seven. She announced her engagement to Prince Harry. | pegasus | 2 | https://www.eonline.com/uk/news/1009846/will-meghan-markle-return-for-the-final-season-of-suits?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories | 0.294194 |
What Was The Most Important Revenue Driver For Revlon Over The Last 3 Years? | Revlon (NYSE: REV), one of the worlds top cosmetics companies, operates under four global brand teams reporting its results under four segments: Revlon, Elizabeth Arden, Portfolio brands, and Fragrances. Of these 4 segments, the Elizabeth Arden segment has been the major contributor for Revlons top line in the last 3 years. During the last few years, Revlons performance has been modest where net sales have been on and off positive driven by strong growth in the North America region with the majority of growth in its Elizabeth Arden segment. Revlons earnings growth has been a reflection of their continuous effort toward strengthening their business strategy and putting forth efforts to stabilize their business operations. We are seeing strong growth prospects in their strategic focus areas as they continue to work toward building momentum across their businesses. In the previous annual earnings, Revlons Elizabeth Arden segment brand has performed well driven by new launches and a strong digital presence. Its net sales rose 116% to $952 Mn, primarily driven by higher net sales of Elizabeth Arden skin care products, including Ceramide and Prevage, principally in international markets. Revlon is on track to attain integration synergies of $190 million by 2020 in restructuring and related charges in connection with implementing actions under the Elizabeth Arden Integration Program in 2019. Revlon has been very aggressive in digital and e-commerce initiatives by setting up a new team of digital professionals realizing the importance of digital progress and social media in a brands reach and popularity among its clientele. Along with increasing ad investments, the company is also shifting most of its campaigns to the digital platform. Recently, Revlon collaborated with a leading digital consultancy, Sapient Razorfish, to create a stronger digital presence. These factors are positively working in its favor as an increasing number of customers are buying beauty products online. For 2019, Revlon plans to continue to focus on strengthening their brands and enhancing the avenues through which they communicate and connect with their consumers. They are focused on ensuring broad availability of their products where the consumer shops in both brick and mortar and online. With the appointment of Debra G. Perelman as their new CEO, Revlon is sure to get new energy and will advance on the path of brand transformation and will come out stronger in the coming years. We have created an interactive dashboard on Important Revenue Driver For Revlon Over The Last 3 Years that shows Revlons key revenue source and the past performance in the last 3 years. With the initiatives adopted by Revlons top management for a brand makeover, the company is positive that the new changes will now steer Revlon toward higher growth. We believe that Revlon has the key advantages in terms of innovation, brand power, digital prowess, and the quality of its teams all over the world to continue to drive growth and hold on to its position in the Beauty market. Explore example interactive dashboards and create your own. | The Elizabeth Arden segment has been the major contributor for Revlons top line in the last 3 years. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/01/30/what-was-the-most-important-revenue-driver-for-revlon-over-the-last-3-years/ | 0.430975 |
What Was The Most Important Revenue Driver For Revlon Over The Last 3 Years? | Revlon (NYSE: REV), one of the worlds top cosmetics companies, operates under four global brand teams reporting its results under four segments: Revlon, Elizabeth Arden, Portfolio brands, and Fragrances. Of these 4 segments, the Elizabeth Arden segment has been the major contributor for Revlons top line in the last 3 years. During the last few years, Revlons performance has been modest where net sales have been on and off positive driven by strong growth in the North America region with the majority of growth in its Elizabeth Arden segment. Revlons earnings growth has been a reflection of their continuous effort toward strengthening their business strategy and putting forth efforts to stabilize their business operations. We are seeing strong growth prospects in their strategic focus areas as they continue to work toward building momentum across their businesses. In the previous annual earnings, Revlons Elizabeth Arden segment brand has performed well driven by new launches and a strong digital presence. Its net sales rose 116% to $952 Mn, primarily driven by higher net sales of Elizabeth Arden skin care products, including Ceramide and Prevage, principally in international markets. Revlon is on track to attain integration synergies of $190 million by 2020 in restructuring and related charges in connection with implementing actions under the Elizabeth Arden Integration Program in 2019. Revlon has been very aggressive in digital and e-commerce initiatives by setting up a new team of digital professionals realizing the importance of digital progress and social media in a brands reach and popularity among its clientele. Along with increasing ad investments, the company is also shifting most of its campaigns to the digital platform. Recently, Revlon collaborated with a leading digital consultancy, Sapient Razorfish, to create a stronger digital presence. These factors are positively working in its favor as an increasing number of customers are buying beauty products online. For 2019, Revlon plans to continue to focus on strengthening their brands and enhancing the avenues through which they communicate and connect with their consumers. They are focused on ensuring broad availability of their products where the consumer shops in both brick and mortar and online. With the appointment of Debra G. Perelman as their new CEO, Revlon is sure to get new energy and will advance on the path of brand transformation and will come out stronger in the coming years. We have created an interactive dashboard on Important Revenue Driver For Revlon Over The Last 3 Years that shows Revlons key revenue source and the past performance in the last 3 years. With the initiatives adopted by Revlons top management for a brand makeover, the company is positive that the new changes will now steer Revlon toward higher growth. We believe that Revlon has the key advantages in terms of innovation, brand power, digital prowess, and the quality of its teams all over the world to continue to drive growth and hold on to its position in the Beauty market. Explore example interactive dashboards and create your own. | The Elizabeth Arden segment has been the major contributor for Revlons top line in the last 3 years. Revlon is on track to attain integration synergies of $190 million by 2020. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/01/30/what-was-the-most-important-revenue-driver-for-revlon-over-the-last-3-years/ | 0.53151 |
What Was The Most Important Revenue Driver For Revlon Over The Last 3 Years? | Revlon (NYSE: REV), one of the worlds top cosmetics companies, operates under four global brand teams reporting its results under four segments: Revlon, Elizabeth Arden, Portfolio brands, and Fragrances. Of these 4 segments, the Elizabeth Arden segment has been the major contributor for Revlons top line in the last 3 years. During the last few years, Revlons performance has been modest where net sales have been on and off positive driven by strong growth in the North America region with the majority of growth in its Elizabeth Arden segment. Revlons earnings growth has been a reflection of their continuous effort toward strengthening their business strategy and putting forth efforts to stabilize their business operations. We are seeing strong growth prospects in their strategic focus areas as they continue to work toward building momentum across their businesses. In the previous annual earnings, Revlons Elizabeth Arden segment brand has performed well driven by new launches and a strong digital presence. Its net sales rose 116% to $952 Mn, primarily driven by higher net sales of Elizabeth Arden skin care products, including Ceramide and Prevage, principally in international markets. Revlon is on track to attain integration synergies of $190 million by 2020 in restructuring and related charges in connection with implementing actions under the Elizabeth Arden Integration Program in 2019. Revlon has been very aggressive in digital and e-commerce initiatives by setting up a new team of digital professionals realizing the importance of digital progress and social media in a brands reach and popularity among its clientele. Along with increasing ad investments, the company is also shifting most of its campaigns to the digital platform. Recently, Revlon collaborated with a leading digital consultancy, Sapient Razorfish, to create a stronger digital presence. These factors are positively working in its favor as an increasing number of customers are buying beauty products online. For 2019, Revlon plans to continue to focus on strengthening their brands and enhancing the avenues through which they communicate and connect with their consumers. They are focused on ensuring broad availability of their products where the consumer shops in both brick and mortar and online. With the appointment of Debra G. Perelman as their new CEO, Revlon is sure to get new energy and will advance on the path of brand transformation and will come out stronger in the coming years. We have created an interactive dashboard on Important Revenue Driver For Revlon Over The Last 3 Years that shows Revlons key revenue source and the past performance in the last 3 years. With the initiatives adopted by Revlons top management for a brand makeover, the company is positive that the new changes will now steer Revlon toward higher growth. We believe that Revlon has the key advantages in terms of innovation, brand power, digital prowess, and the quality of its teams all over the world to continue to drive growth and hold on to its position in the Beauty market. Explore example interactive dashboards and create your own. | The Elizabeth Arden segment has been the major contributor for Revlons top line in the last 3 years. Revlon is on track to attain integration synergies of $190 million by 2020 in restructuring and related charges in connection with implementing actions under theElizabeth Arden Integration Program in 2019. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/01/30/what-was-the-most-important-revenue-driver-for-revlon-over-the-last-3-years/ | 0.534673 |
Will Muzzin be the greatest to wear No. 8 as a Maple Leaf? | When he suits up Friday for the first time as the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jake Muzzin will wear No. 8. He used to wear No. 6 for the Kings, a number long retired in Toronto (Ace Bailey) and now one of 13 Leaf numbers out of circulation. ( File Photo ) Muzzin will be the 52nd player to wear No. 8 for Toronto (though some, like Bailey and Tie Domi just wore it passing through to other numbers). But Muzzin has a chance to be the greatest player to wear No. 8 in Leaf history. This is not to put pressure on him. It is to say that as far as numbers go, eight has a pretty low bar. With apologies to Carlo Colaiacovo, the list of players who wore the number does not endear itself to a Greatest Of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Consider Aki Berg the last defenceman from the Los Angeles Kings the Leafs traded for -- is on it. Article Continued Below The last player to wear No. 8 in Toronto was Connor Carrick. Some of Torontos best Eights: Captain Rob Ramage and a couple of former rookies of the year: Gus Bodnar and Brit Selby. Sid Smith won the Stanley Cup three times, the Lady Byng twice. ... After that, were into Rocky Saganiuk, Walt Poddubny, Mike Komisarek, Todd Warriner territory. CRAZY EIGHT Funny, but for a number thats been around as long as the rest, No. 8 hasnt had that many great players. A few, to be sure: Alex Ovechkin has the chance to surpass Teemu Selanne and down as the greatest to wear eight (if he hasn't alread). Drew Doughty Muzzins ex-partner -- might go down as the greatest defenceman to wear No. 8. Mark Recchi and Cam Neely are Hall of Famers who wore it. But it doesnt hold the awesomeness of the numbers on either side: No. 9 retired 15 times in the NHL, No. 7, retired 11 times. Even the Montreal Canadiens, who seemingly will retire any number of a player who got his fingerprints on the Stanley Cup, havent retired No. 8. The Habs have retired 14 numbers. TWICE FOUR Article Continued Below Small Aside: Muzzin and the Maple Leafs, by the way, will be in Detroit to see the banner raising of Red Kellys No. 4 on Friday. The Leafs have already retired Kellys No. 4. He won four Cups with both teams. With the Wings, he did it as a defenceman. With the Leafs he did it as a centre. (I can already see the Jake Gardiner questions churning in your mind. Answer: Times were different.) TOP 10 Eight has been retired six times, and two of them are from teams that no longer exist. Setting aside No.99, retired across the league, heres the top 10 retired numbers (According to my chicken scratch of a Wikipedia page): No. 9: 15 times No. 7: 11 times No. 3: Nine times No. 4: Nine times No. 19: Nine times No. 2: Eight times No. 5: Eight times No. 11: Seven times No. 1: Seven times No. 8: Six times No. 1o: Six times (No. 6 Muzzins original number weirdly doesnt make the top 10. Its only been retired twice (Leafs, Ace Bailey; Red Wings, Larry Aurie). Email me at askkevinmcgran@gmail.com and Ill answer it in Fridays Mailbag. | Jake Muzzin has a chance to be the greatest player to wear No. 8 in Leaf history. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.thestar.com/sports/breakaway_blog/2019/01/30/will-muzzin-be-the-greatest-to-wear-no--8-as-a-maple-leaf-.html | 0.43376 |
Will Muzzin be the greatest to wear No. 8 as a Maple Leaf? | When he suits up Friday for the first time as the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jake Muzzin will wear No. 8. He used to wear No. 6 for the Kings, a number long retired in Toronto (Ace Bailey) and now one of 13 Leaf numbers out of circulation. ( File Photo ) Muzzin will be the 52nd player to wear No. 8 for Toronto (though some, like Bailey and Tie Domi just wore it passing through to other numbers). But Muzzin has a chance to be the greatest player to wear No. 8 in Leaf history. This is not to put pressure on him. It is to say that as far as numbers go, eight has a pretty low bar. With apologies to Carlo Colaiacovo, the list of players who wore the number does not endear itself to a Greatest Of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Consider Aki Berg the last defenceman from the Los Angeles Kings the Leafs traded for -- is on it. Article Continued Below The last player to wear No. 8 in Toronto was Connor Carrick. Some of Torontos best Eights: Captain Rob Ramage and a couple of former rookies of the year: Gus Bodnar and Brit Selby. Sid Smith won the Stanley Cup three times, the Lady Byng twice. ... After that, were into Rocky Saganiuk, Walt Poddubny, Mike Komisarek, Todd Warriner territory. CRAZY EIGHT Funny, but for a number thats been around as long as the rest, No. 8 hasnt had that many great players. A few, to be sure: Alex Ovechkin has the chance to surpass Teemu Selanne and down as the greatest to wear eight (if he hasn't alread). Drew Doughty Muzzins ex-partner -- might go down as the greatest defenceman to wear No. 8. Mark Recchi and Cam Neely are Hall of Famers who wore it. But it doesnt hold the awesomeness of the numbers on either side: No. 9 retired 15 times in the NHL, No. 7, retired 11 times. Even the Montreal Canadiens, who seemingly will retire any number of a player who got his fingerprints on the Stanley Cup, havent retired No. 8. The Habs have retired 14 numbers. TWICE FOUR Article Continued Below Small Aside: Muzzin and the Maple Leafs, by the way, will be in Detroit to see the banner raising of Red Kellys No. 4 on Friday. The Leafs have already retired Kellys No. 4. He won four Cups with both teams. With the Wings, he did it as a defenceman. With the Leafs he did it as a centre. (I can already see the Jake Gardiner questions churning in your mind. Answer: Times were different.) TOP 10 Eight has been retired six times, and two of them are from teams that no longer exist. Setting aside No.99, retired across the league, heres the top 10 retired numbers (According to my chicken scratch of a Wikipedia page): No. 9: 15 times No. 7: 11 times No. 3: Nine times No. 4: Nine times No. 19: Nine times No. 2: Eight times No. 5: Eight times No. 11: Seven times No. 1: Seven times No. 8: Six times No. 1o: Six times (No. 6 Muzzins original number weirdly doesnt make the top 10. Its only been retired twice (Leafs, Ace Bailey; Red Wings, Larry Aurie). Email me at askkevinmcgran@gmail.com and Ill answer it in Fridays Mailbag. | Jake Muzzin has a chance to be the greatest player to wear No. 8 as a Maple Leaf. But for a number that's been around as long as the rest, eight hasn't had that many great players. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.thestar.com/sports/breakaway_blog/2019/01/30/will-muzzin-be-the-greatest-to-wear-no--8-as-a-maple-leaf-.html | 0.44131 |
Will Muzzin be the greatest to wear No. 8 as a Maple Leaf? | When he suits up Friday for the first time as the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jake Muzzin will wear No. 8. He used to wear No. 6 for the Kings, a number long retired in Toronto (Ace Bailey) and now one of 13 Leaf numbers out of circulation. ( File Photo ) Muzzin will be the 52nd player to wear No. 8 for Toronto (though some, like Bailey and Tie Domi just wore it passing through to other numbers). But Muzzin has a chance to be the greatest player to wear No. 8 in Leaf history. This is not to put pressure on him. It is to say that as far as numbers go, eight has a pretty low bar. With apologies to Carlo Colaiacovo, the list of players who wore the number does not endear itself to a Greatest Of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Consider Aki Berg the last defenceman from the Los Angeles Kings the Leafs traded for -- is on it. Article Continued Below The last player to wear No. 8 in Toronto was Connor Carrick. Some of Torontos best Eights: Captain Rob Ramage and a couple of former rookies of the year: Gus Bodnar and Brit Selby. Sid Smith won the Stanley Cup three times, the Lady Byng twice. ... After that, were into Rocky Saganiuk, Walt Poddubny, Mike Komisarek, Todd Warriner territory. CRAZY EIGHT Funny, but for a number thats been around as long as the rest, No. 8 hasnt had that many great players. A few, to be sure: Alex Ovechkin has the chance to surpass Teemu Selanne and down as the greatest to wear eight (if he hasn't alread). Drew Doughty Muzzins ex-partner -- might go down as the greatest defenceman to wear No. 8. Mark Recchi and Cam Neely are Hall of Famers who wore it. But it doesnt hold the awesomeness of the numbers on either side: No. 9 retired 15 times in the NHL, No. 7, retired 11 times. Even the Montreal Canadiens, who seemingly will retire any number of a player who got his fingerprints on the Stanley Cup, havent retired No. 8. The Habs have retired 14 numbers. TWICE FOUR Article Continued Below Small Aside: Muzzin and the Maple Leafs, by the way, will be in Detroit to see the banner raising of Red Kellys No. 4 on Friday. The Leafs have already retired Kellys No. 4. He won four Cups with both teams. With the Wings, he did it as a defenceman. With the Leafs he did it as a centre. (I can already see the Jake Gardiner questions churning in your mind. Answer: Times were different.) TOP 10 Eight has been retired six times, and two of them are from teams that no longer exist. Setting aside No.99, retired across the league, heres the top 10 retired numbers (According to my chicken scratch of a Wikipedia page): No. 9: 15 times No. 7: 11 times No. 3: Nine times No. 4: Nine times No. 19: Nine times No. 2: Eight times No. 5: Eight times No. 11: Seven times No. 1: Seven times No. 8: Six times No. 1o: Six times (No. 6 Muzzins original number weirdly doesnt make the top 10. Its only been retired twice (Leafs, Ace Bailey; Red Wings, Larry Aurie). Email me at askkevinmcgran@gmail.com and Ill answer it in Fridays Mailbag. | Jake Muzzin has a chance to be the greatest player to wear No. 8 as a Maple Leaf. But for a number thats been around as long as the rest, eight hasnt had that many great players. The number has been retired six times, and two of them are from teams that no longer exist. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.thestar.com/sports/breakaway_blog/2019/01/30/will-muzzin-be-the-greatest-to-wear-no--8-as-a-maple-leaf-.html | 0.557436 |
Should the NFL encourage more male cheerleaders? | Quinton Peron and Napoleon Jinnies represent the first male cheerleaders to ever ply their trade on the Super Bowl stage and will be pumping up Los Angeles Rams fans at the big game. While they might be the first to do it at the Super Bowl, the New Orleans Saints had a man leading cheers all year, and the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts have stuntmen on the field. Some want to see more men cheer on the sideline. Others don't think men should be taking jobs away from women. PERSPECTIVES The NFL has had a bad run of press lately, getting bashed for not protecting female cheerleaders from exploitation. When the league announced male cheerleaders would be part of the league in 2018, it was a genuine first step in addressing the league's image and promoting actual diversity. While fans now associate cheerleading with women, men were actually the first to pioneer the practice in the late 1800s. Even now, men are important pillars of support for their female counterparts, lifting and creating bases to elevate their teammates. Getting more men to be cheerleaders brings a fresh element and more versatility to the sport. It also is proof the league is making the right moves towards diversity. Encouraging more male participation will only result in good things for the NFL. The SUPER BOWL just got even more SUPER, as the Los Angeles Rams will be the first NFL team ever to bring a MALE CHEERLEADER to perform at the SUPER BOWL! [?] [?] pic.twitter.com/TcF77Yqk8A -- Shawnasaurus Rex (@ShawnG927) January 25, 2019 No one asked for male cheerleaders on NFL sidelines. It's great that four teams have male cheerleaders, but there's no need to encourage more men to participate. In fact, it could be bad for the NFL because it may take away jobs that would have gone to women. That's less diversity, not more. Adding more men to the mix is bringing in another element that will divide fans and make the league look bad. Don't fix something that isn't broken. The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say. | The NFL announced it will have male cheerleaders in 2018. Some want to see more men cheer on the sideline, but others don't think it's necessary. Men were the first to pioneer the practice in the late 1800s. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.cleveland.com/sports/index.ssf/2019/01/should_the_nfl_encourage_more.html | 0.234285 |
Should the NFL encourage more male cheerleaders? | Quinton Peron and Napoleon Jinnies represent the first male cheerleaders to ever ply their trade on the Super Bowl stage and will be pumping up Los Angeles Rams fans at the big game. While they might be the first to do it at the Super Bowl, the New Orleans Saints had a man leading cheers all year, and the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts have stuntmen on the field. Some want to see more men cheer on the sideline. Others don't think men should be taking jobs away from women. PERSPECTIVES The NFL has had a bad run of press lately, getting bashed for not protecting female cheerleaders from exploitation. When the league announced male cheerleaders would be part of the league in 2018, it was a genuine first step in addressing the league's image and promoting actual diversity. While fans now associate cheerleading with women, men were actually the first to pioneer the practice in the late 1800s. Even now, men are important pillars of support for their female counterparts, lifting and creating bases to elevate their teammates. Getting more men to be cheerleaders brings a fresh element and more versatility to the sport. It also is proof the league is making the right moves towards diversity. Encouraging more male participation will only result in good things for the NFL. The SUPER BOWL just got even more SUPER, as the Los Angeles Rams will be the first NFL team ever to bring a MALE CHEERLEADER to perform at the SUPER BOWL! [?] [?] pic.twitter.com/TcF77Yqk8A -- Shawnasaurus Rex (@ShawnG927) January 25, 2019 No one asked for male cheerleaders on NFL sidelines. It's great that four teams have male cheerleaders, but there's no need to encourage more men to participate. In fact, it could be bad for the NFL because it may take away jobs that would have gone to women. That's less diversity, not more. Adding more men to the mix is bringing in another element that will divide fans and make the league look bad. Don't fix something that isn't broken. The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say. | The NFL announced it will have male cheerleaders in 2018. Some want to see more men cheer on the sideline, but others don't think it's necessary. Men were the first to pioneer the practice in the late 1800s, men are important pillars of support for their female counterparts. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.cleveland.com/sports/index.ssf/2019/01/should_the_nfl_encourage_more.html | 0.26569 |
Did Sean Payton wear a Roger Goodell clown shirt to his end-of-season press conference? | During a press conference Wednesday (Jan. 30) Sean Payton declined to share the details of his conversation with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in the day after the New Orleans Saints lost in the NFC Championship after a controversial missed call by game officials. Instead, the coach might have made a larger statement by what he wore under his long-sleeved collared pullover shirt. As noted by the @MySportsUpdate Twitter feed, what appears to be the top of t-shirt design that shows Goodell with a red clown nose is peeking above Paytons zipper collar. pic.twitter.com/nUfUPB4h2L NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) January 30, 2019 Goodell has been a target of criticism following the missed call by game officials that negatively impacted the Saints in their conference championship loss that put the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl. Payton said he spoke briefly with Goodell along with Troy Vincent, the league executive vice president of football operations, in the day after the title-game loss Jan. 20. He also spoke with head of league officials Al Riveron immediately after the game. Asked about the nature of his conversation with Goodell, Payton said that would remain between the two of them. Whatever question there was about the shirt selection, the @robrobgrapics Twitter feed appeared to confirm Paytons suspected wardrobe choice by overlaying an image of the shirt with the video image off television. Sean Payton's NFC Championship remedy: Netflix and ice cream | Sean Payton wore what appears to be a clown shirt to his end-of-season press conference. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.nola.com/saints/2019/01/did-sean-payton-wear-a-roger-goodell-clown-shirt-to-his-end-of-season-press-conference.html | 0.148295 |
Did Sean Payton wear a Roger Goodell clown shirt to his end-of-season press conference? | During a press conference Wednesday (Jan. 30) Sean Payton declined to share the details of his conversation with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in the day after the New Orleans Saints lost in the NFC Championship after a controversial missed call by game officials. Instead, the coach might have made a larger statement by what he wore under his long-sleeved collared pullover shirt. As noted by the @MySportsUpdate Twitter feed, what appears to be the top of t-shirt design that shows Goodell with a red clown nose is peeking above Paytons zipper collar. pic.twitter.com/nUfUPB4h2L NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) January 30, 2019 Goodell has been a target of criticism following the missed call by game officials that negatively impacted the Saints in their conference championship loss that put the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl. Payton said he spoke briefly with Goodell along with Troy Vincent, the league executive vice president of football operations, in the day after the title-game loss Jan. 20. He also spoke with head of league officials Al Riveron immediately after the game. Asked about the nature of his conversation with Goodell, Payton said that would remain between the two of them. Whatever question there was about the shirt selection, the @robrobgrapics Twitter feed appeared to confirm Paytons suspected wardrobe choice by overlaying an image of the shirt with the video image off television. Sean Payton's NFC Championship remedy: Netflix and ice cream | Sean Payton wore what appears to be a clown t-shirt to his end-of-season press conference. Payton declined to share the details of his conversation with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.nola.com/saints/2019/01/did-sean-payton-wear-a-roger-goodell-clown-shirt-to-his-end-of-season-press-conference.html | 0.316057 |
Did Sean Payton wear a Roger Goodell clown shirt to his end-of-season press conference? | During a press conference Wednesday (Jan. 30) Sean Payton declined to share the details of his conversation with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in the day after the New Orleans Saints lost in the NFC Championship after a controversial missed call by game officials. Instead, the coach might have made a larger statement by what he wore under his long-sleeved collared pullover shirt. As noted by the @MySportsUpdate Twitter feed, what appears to be the top of t-shirt design that shows Goodell with a red clown nose is peeking above Paytons zipper collar. pic.twitter.com/nUfUPB4h2L NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) January 30, 2019 Goodell has been a target of criticism following the missed call by game officials that negatively impacted the Saints in their conference championship loss that put the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl. Payton said he spoke briefly with Goodell along with Troy Vincent, the league executive vice president of football operations, in the day after the title-game loss Jan. 20. He also spoke with head of league officials Al Riveron immediately after the game. Asked about the nature of his conversation with Goodell, Payton said that would remain between the two of them. Whatever question there was about the shirt selection, the @robrobgrapics Twitter feed appeared to confirm Paytons suspected wardrobe choice by overlaying an image of the shirt with the video image off television. Sean Payton's NFC Championship remedy: Netflix and ice cream | Sean Payton wore what appears to be a clown t-shirt to his end-of-season press conference. Payton said he spoke briefly with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell the day after the Saints lost in the NFC Championship after a controversial missed call by game officials. Payton declined to share the details of his conversation with Goodell. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.nola.com/saints/2019/01/did-sean-payton-wear-a-roger-goodell-clown-shirt-to-his-end-of-season-press-conference.html | 0.39229 |
Did Sean Payton rwear a Roger Goodell clown shirt from Barstool? | Saints head coach Sean Payton continues express his discontent regarding the controversial no-call in his team's loss to the Rams in the NFC Championship Game. While Payton is rightfully hurt like most NFL fans, it appears the coach sent a discreet message to commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday. During his end-of-season press conference, it appears that Payton was wearing a Goodell clown shirt under his pullover. The teal t-shirt features Goodell wearing a red clown nose and became popular around the time of Deflategate thanks to Barstool Sports. Welp. pic.twitter.com/nvjB1A8dgi NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) January 30, 2019 It is no surprise that Payton would have strong feelings against Goodell, who has yet to publicly address the now-infamous no-call on Nickell Robey-Coleman. That night, Payton told reporters that he spoke to the league, who confirmed to him that referees did miss the pass interference call. Payton reportedly also talked with Goodell and executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent about the game but no details from their conversation have been revealed. During his press conference on Wednesday, Payton also said that he tried to recover from the devastating loss to the Rams by eating ice cream and watching Netflix for three days. The past week and a half clearly hasn't been easy for Payton, but his latest fashion choice seems to show that his sense of humor is still in tact. | Sean Payton wore a Goodell clown shirt during his end-of-season press conference. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/01/30/sean-payton-roger-goodell-clown-shirt-barstool-sports-saints | 0.377119 |
Did Sean Payton rwear a Roger Goodell clown shirt from Barstool? | Saints head coach Sean Payton continues express his discontent regarding the controversial no-call in his team's loss to the Rams in the NFC Championship Game. While Payton is rightfully hurt like most NFL fans, it appears the coach sent a discreet message to commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday. During his end-of-season press conference, it appears that Payton was wearing a Goodell clown shirt under his pullover. The teal t-shirt features Goodell wearing a red clown nose and became popular around the time of Deflategate thanks to Barstool Sports. Welp. pic.twitter.com/nvjB1A8dgi NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) January 30, 2019 It is no surprise that Payton would have strong feelings against Goodell, who has yet to publicly address the now-infamous no-call on Nickell Robey-Coleman. That night, Payton told reporters that he spoke to the league, who confirmed to him that referees did miss the pass interference call. Payton reportedly also talked with Goodell and executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent about the game but no details from their conversation have been revealed. During his press conference on Wednesday, Payton also said that he tried to recover from the devastating loss to the Rams by eating ice cream and watching Netflix for three days. The past week and a half clearly hasn't been easy for Payton, but his latest fashion choice seems to show that his sense of humor is still in tact. | Sean Payton was wearing a Goodell clown shirt during his end-of-season press conference. The teal t-shirt features Goodell wearing a red clown nose and became popular around the time of Deflategate thanks to Barstool Sports. | bart | 1 | https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/01/30/sean-payton-roger-goodell-clown-shirt-barstool-sports-saints | 0.617265 |
Did Sean Payton rwear a Roger Goodell clown shirt from Barstool? | Saints head coach Sean Payton continues express his discontent regarding the controversial no-call in his team's loss to the Rams in the NFC Championship Game. While Payton is rightfully hurt like most NFL fans, it appears the coach sent a discreet message to commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday. During his end-of-season press conference, it appears that Payton was wearing a Goodell clown shirt under his pullover. The teal t-shirt features Goodell wearing a red clown nose and became popular around the time of Deflategate thanks to Barstool Sports. Welp. pic.twitter.com/nvjB1A8dgi NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) January 30, 2019 It is no surprise that Payton would have strong feelings against Goodell, who has yet to publicly address the now-infamous no-call on Nickell Robey-Coleman. That night, Payton told reporters that he spoke to the league, who confirmed to him that referees did miss the pass interference call. Payton reportedly also talked with Goodell and executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent about the game but no details from their conversation have been revealed. During his press conference on Wednesday, Payton also said that he tried to recover from the devastating loss to the Rams by eating ice cream and watching Netflix for three days. The past week and a half clearly hasn't been easy for Payton, but his latest fashion choice seems to show that his sense of humor is still in tact. | Sean Payton wore a Goodell clown shirt during his end-of-season press conference on Wednesday. The shirt features Goodell wearing a red clown nose and became popular around the time of Deflategate thanks to Barstool Sports. The Saints lost to the Rams in the NFC Championship Game. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/01/30/sean-payton-roger-goodell-clown-shirt-barstool-sports-saints | 0.575791 |
Why Are The Wealthy Starting The Year Feeling Guilty? | The start of the new year is a guilt-filled occasion: People spend less after the glut of the festive season and sign-on to gyms and diets to shed the weight gained. The wealthy are also starting the year feeling guilty, but for very different reasons. After growing public resentment against the rich, many are starting to feel guilty for their excess. This 'wealth guilt' is not new, but it is stronger now than ever before. A Short History of Wealth Guilt The English taboo of not discussing money was punctured by the 'greed is good' mentality of the 1980s. It was an era when city brokers and Greek shipping magnates popularised 'super' yachts and technology became a status symbol. Then came the turn of the Russians and Arabs. With wealth earned from privatization and oil, respectively, they bought yachts, mansions and jets, images of which permeated European culture with fanciable ideas of wealth. 'Luxury' became a commodity that everybody aspired to. Wealth was flaunted during a time when rising incomes meant everybody was living well. The global recession of 2008 put an end to that. The crash in global markets hit the pockets of the wealthiest as well as the poorest. For a few years, being rich was not cool. But the ten years since the recession has seen the wealthiest grow their wealth faster than everyone else. According to a report by Credit Suisse last year, the top 1 percent of global wealth holders held 42.6 percent of all household wealth in 2008. This rose up to 47.2 percent in mid-2018. Last week the British charity Oxfam released figures showing that billionaires' wealth increased 12 percent in 2018 while the poorest half of the worlds population saw theirs fall by 11 percent. "Austerity in rich and poor countries alike following the global financial crisis of 2008 has overwhelmingly protected the interests of the rich while cutting back the public services and social protection upon which the poorest and most vulnerable people depend," says Oxfam's report. The post-recession era was also one of social media. Many of the newly minted flaunted their wealth via Facebook and then Instagram (the latter with the 'Rich Kids of Instagram' trend). Populism has now checked that ostentation. Left-wing political parties are growing more popular throughout Europe on an anti-austerity, anti-wealth ticket. The Global Wealth Clash Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the U.K.'s Labour Party, recently told his supporters, The very richest in our society have had tax breaks, giveaways, and tax havens. I tell you what, theyre on borrowed time. This has caused serious concern among wealthy Brits. In a poll of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) last year, 42 percent of respondents said a change of government was their biggest financial concern. British wealth manager Sanderson House, which conducted the survey of 200 wealthy residents, said, fears over a change of government largely relate to the prospect of a radically changed tax landscape under a Corbyn-led Labour government. This 'new landscape' would see taxes directed at the rich. In France, the yellow vest (gilet jaune) protesters shut down France last year over fuel tax hikes. However, their real gripe was with president Emmanuel Macron, who they labeled, "president of the rich". As protests thundered down the Champs-lyses, luxury boutiques shuttered their windows and expensive cars removed elsewhere. Even the wealthy in non-democratic countries are considering their spending. In Saudi Arabia, the rich are leaving their private jets at home (or at the airport) in order to avoid unwanted attention. Reuters has found dozens of planes stranded at airports across the Kingdom. Quoting unnamed sources the news agency said, "Saudis who either face travel bans or are reluctant to fly the planes because they are wary of displays of wealth that might be seen as taunting the government over the anti-corruption campaign." It is a similar situation in China where an anti-corruption clampdown implemented seven years ago still checks lavish spending. Wealthy Chinese leave their shopping sprees to trips abroad either in Hong Kong or Europe. Money Is No Longer Cool A recent survey of Americans with assets ranging from $1 million to $20 million found almost a third (30 percent) identified one of the main negatives of being wealthy as people judging their status. Another survey by Y Pulse, a market research firm, found that 81 percent of 13 to 34-year-olds agree that showing off expensive things on social media is not cool anymore. The Rich Kids of Instagram have had their day. Rich Lives In The Shadows While a few aged oligarchs and tarnished tycoons will stick to their super-yachts and cars, unable to drop their rich addictions, most wealthy Europeans will be living different lives in 2019. Brand agency, The Future Laboratory calls this movement 'uneasy affluence'. Writing in their Luxury & Hospitality Futures report, Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, author of 2017 book The Sum of Small Things, said, "Its creating a cultural shift. Theres a disdain towards overt materialism and a shying away from showing off wealth. Its not attractive to show your social position in that way." Luxury firms have already cottoned onto this. Gone are brands and bling. Streetwear and athleisure (athletic wear) are now their fastest selling products. If shiny things must be bought most luxury stores provide customers with the option to do so behind closed doors in personal shopping suites. Major auction houses provide private rooms from where serious collectors can bid through one-way glass. Entertaining is now also done behind the closed doors of private clubs. A surge of membership clubs across European capitals allows wealthy attention seekers to show off only to their own. While sales in luxury cars have been rising, those driving them are starting to feel self-conscious. "I parked my Rolls [Royce] in Soho the other day. And when I came back someone had keyed 'rich twat' on the paintwork", moaned one Londoner who announced he was going to buy a "banger" to drive to less salubrious locations from now on. As wealth guilt permeates the 1 percent of the world's richest there will be fewer displays of ostentation. But there is an age-old solution for the guilt-ridden rich. Spend less money on the cars, yachts, and mansions that symbolize excess and more on solving the world's problems. Research shows that some of the wealthiest donate less than the average person. Now more than ever is the time to reverse that. | After growing public resentment against the rich, many are starting to feel guilty for their excess. | pegasus | 0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/oliverwilliams1/2019/01/30/why-are-the-wealthy-starting-the-year-feeling-guilty/ | 0.264352 |
Why Are The Wealthy Starting The Year Feeling Guilty? | The start of the new year is a guilt-filled occasion: People spend less after the glut of the festive season and sign-on to gyms and diets to shed the weight gained. The wealthy are also starting the year feeling guilty, but for very different reasons. After growing public resentment against the rich, many are starting to feel guilty for their excess. This 'wealth guilt' is not new, but it is stronger now than ever before. A Short History of Wealth Guilt The English taboo of not discussing money was punctured by the 'greed is good' mentality of the 1980s. It was an era when city brokers and Greek shipping magnates popularised 'super' yachts and technology became a status symbol. Then came the turn of the Russians and Arabs. With wealth earned from privatization and oil, respectively, they bought yachts, mansions and jets, images of which permeated European culture with fanciable ideas of wealth. 'Luxury' became a commodity that everybody aspired to. Wealth was flaunted during a time when rising incomes meant everybody was living well. The global recession of 2008 put an end to that. The crash in global markets hit the pockets of the wealthiest as well as the poorest. For a few years, being rich was not cool. But the ten years since the recession has seen the wealthiest grow their wealth faster than everyone else. According to a report by Credit Suisse last year, the top 1 percent of global wealth holders held 42.6 percent of all household wealth in 2008. This rose up to 47.2 percent in mid-2018. Last week the British charity Oxfam released figures showing that billionaires' wealth increased 12 percent in 2018 while the poorest half of the worlds population saw theirs fall by 11 percent. "Austerity in rich and poor countries alike following the global financial crisis of 2008 has overwhelmingly protected the interests of the rich while cutting back the public services and social protection upon which the poorest and most vulnerable people depend," says Oxfam's report. The post-recession era was also one of social media. Many of the newly minted flaunted their wealth via Facebook and then Instagram (the latter with the 'Rich Kids of Instagram' trend). Populism has now checked that ostentation. Left-wing political parties are growing more popular throughout Europe on an anti-austerity, anti-wealth ticket. The Global Wealth Clash Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the U.K.'s Labour Party, recently told his supporters, The very richest in our society have had tax breaks, giveaways, and tax havens. I tell you what, theyre on borrowed time. This has caused serious concern among wealthy Brits. In a poll of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) last year, 42 percent of respondents said a change of government was their biggest financial concern. British wealth manager Sanderson House, which conducted the survey of 200 wealthy residents, said, fears over a change of government largely relate to the prospect of a radically changed tax landscape under a Corbyn-led Labour government. This 'new landscape' would see taxes directed at the rich. In France, the yellow vest (gilet jaune) protesters shut down France last year over fuel tax hikes. However, their real gripe was with president Emmanuel Macron, who they labeled, "president of the rich". As protests thundered down the Champs-lyses, luxury boutiques shuttered their windows and expensive cars removed elsewhere. Even the wealthy in non-democratic countries are considering their spending. In Saudi Arabia, the rich are leaving their private jets at home (or at the airport) in order to avoid unwanted attention. Reuters has found dozens of planes stranded at airports across the Kingdom. Quoting unnamed sources the news agency said, "Saudis who either face travel bans or are reluctant to fly the planes because they are wary of displays of wealth that might be seen as taunting the government over the anti-corruption campaign." It is a similar situation in China where an anti-corruption clampdown implemented seven years ago still checks lavish spending. Wealthy Chinese leave their shopping sprees to trips abroad either in Hong Kong or Europe. Money Is No Longer Cool A recent survey of Americans with assets ranging from $1 million to $20 million found almost a third (30 percent) identified one of the main negatives of being wealthy as people judging their status. Another survey by Y Pulse, a market research firm, found that 81 percent of 13 to 34-year-olds agree that showing off expensive things on social media is not cool anymore. The Rich Kids of Instagram have had their day. Rich Lives In The Shadows While a few aged oligarchs and tarnished tycoons will stick to their super-yachts and cars, unable to drop their rich addictions, most wealthy Europeans will be living different lives in 2019. Brand agency, The Future Laboratory calls this movement 'uneasy affluence'. Writing in their Luxury & Hospitality Futures report, Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, author of 2017 book The Sum of Small Things, said, "Its creating a cultural shift. Theres a disdain towards overt materialism and a shying away from showing off wealth. Its not attractive to show your social position in that way." Luxury firms have already cottoned onto this. Gone are brands and bling. Streetwear and athleisure (athletic wear) are now their fastest selling products. If shiny things must be bought most luxury stores provide customers with the option to do so behind closed doors in personal shopping suites. Major auction houses provide private rooms from where serious collectors can bid through one-way glass. Entertaining is now also done behind the closed doors of private clubs. A surge of membership clubs across European capitals allows wealthy attention seekers to show off only to their own. While sales in luxury cars have been rising, those driving them are starting to feel self-conscious. "I parked my Rolls [Royce] in Soho the other day. And when I came back someone had keyed 'rich twat' on the paintwork", moaned one Londoner who announced he was going to buy a "banger" to drive to less salubrious locations from now on. As wealth guilt permeates the 1 percent of the world's richest there will be fewer displays of ostentation. But there is an age-old solution for the guilt-ridden rich. Spend less money on the cars, yachts, and mansions that symbolize excess and more on solving the world's problems. Research shows that some of the wealthiest donate less than the average person. Now more than ever is the time to reverse that. | After growing public resentment against the rich, many are starting to feel guilty for their excess. This 'wealth guilt' is not new, but it is stronger now than ever before. | pegasus | 1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/oliverwilliams1/2019/01/30/why-are-the-wealthy-starting-the-year-feeling-guilty/ | 0.315656 |
Why Are The Wealthy Starting The Year Feeling Guilty? | The start of the new year is a guilt-filled occasion: People spend less after the glut of the festive season and sign-on to gyms and diets to shed the weight gained. The wealthy are also starting the year feeling guilty, but for very different reasons. After growing public resentment against the rich, many are starting to feel guilty for their excess. This 'wealth guilt' is not new, but it is stronger now than ever before. A Short History of Wealth Guilt The English taboo of not discussing money was punctured by the 'greed is good' mentality of the 1980s. It was an era when city brokers and Greek shipping magnates popularised 'super' yachts and technology became a status symbol. Then came the turn of the Russians and Arabs. With wealth earned from privatization and oil, respectively, they bought yachts, mansions and jets, images of which permeated European culture with fanciable ideas of wealth. 'Luxury' became a commodity that everybody aspired to. Wealth was flaunted during a time when rising incomes meant everybody was living well. The global recession of 2008 put an end to that. The crash in global markets hit the pockets of the wealthiest as well as the poorest. For a few years, being rich was not cool. But the ten years since the recession has seen the wealthiest grow their wealth faster than everyone else. According to a report by Credit Suisse last year, the top 1 percent of global wealth holders held 42.6 percent of all household wealth in 2008. This rose up to 47.2 percent in mid-2018. Last week the British charity Oxfam released figures showing that billionaires' wealth increased 12 percent in 2018 while the poorest half of the worlds population saw theirs fall by 11 percent. "Austerity in rich and poor countries alike following the global financial crisis of 2008 has overwhelmingly protected the interests of the rich while cutting back the public services and social protection upon which the poorest and most vulnerable people depend," says Oxfam's report. The post-recession era was also one of social media. Many of the newly minted flaunted their wealth via Facebook and then Instagram (the latter with the 'Rich Kids of Instagram' trend). Populism has now checked that ostentation. Left-wing political parties are growing more popular throughout Europe on an anti-austerity, anti-wealth ticket. The Global Wealth Clash Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the U.K.'s Labour Party, recently told his supporters, The very richest in our society have had tax breaks, giveaways, and tax havens. I tell you what, theyre on borrowed time. This has caused serious concern among wealthy Brits. In a poll of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) last year, 42 percent of respondents said a change of government was their biggest financial concern. British wealth manager Sanderson House, which conducted the survey of 200 wealthy residents, said, fears over a change of government largely relate to the prospect of a radically changed tax landscape under a Corbyn-led Labour government. This 'new landscape' would see taxes directed at the rich. In France, the yellow vest (gilet jaune) protesters shut down France last year over fuel tax hikes. However, their real gripe was with president Emmanuel Macron, who they labeled, "president of the rich". As protests thundered down the Champs-lyses, luxury boutiques shuttered their windows and expensive cars removed elsewhere. Even the wealthy in non-democratic countries are considering their spending. In Saudi Arabia, the rich are leaving their private jets at home (or at the airport) in order to avoid unwanted attention. Reuters has found dozens of planes stranded at airports across the Kingdom. Quoting unnamed sources the news agency said, "Saudis who either face travel bans or are reluctant to fly the planes because they are wary of displays of wealth that might be seen as taunting the government over the anti-corruption campaign." It is a similar situation in China where an anti-corruption clampdown implemented seven years ago still checks lavish spending. Wealthy Chinese leave their shopping sprees to trips abroad either in Hong Kong or Europe. Money Is No Longer Cool A recent survey of Americans with assets ranging from $1 million to $20 million found almost a third (30 percent) identified one of the main negatives of being wealthy as people judging their status. Another survey by Y Pulse, a market research firm, found that 81 percent of 13 to 34-year-olds agree that showing off expensive things on social media is not cool anymore. The Rich Kids of Instagram have had their day. Rich Lives In The Shadows While a few aged oligarchs and tarnished tycoons will stick to their super-yachts and cars, unable to drop their rich addictions, most wealthy Europeans will be living different lives in 2019. Brand agency, The Future Laboratory calls this movement 'uneasy affluence'. Writing in their Luxury & Hospitality Futures report, Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, author of 2017 book The Sum of Small Things, said, "Its creating a cultural shift. Theres a disdain towards overt materialism and a shying away from showing off wealth. Its not attractive to show your social position in that way." Luxury firms have already cottoned onto this. Gone are brands and bling. Streetwear and athleisure (athletic wear) are now their fastest selling products. If shiny things must be bought most luxury stores provide customers with the option to do so behind closed doors in personal shopping suites. Major auction houses provide private rooms from where serious collectors can bid through one-way glass. Entertaining is now also done behind the closed doors of private clubs. A surge of membership clubs across European capitals allows wealthy attention seekers to show off only to their own. While sales in luxury cars have been rising, those driving them are starting to feel self-conscious. "I parked my Rolls [Royce] in Soho the other day. And when I came back someone had keyed 'rich twat' on the paintwork", moaned one Londoner who announced he was going to buy a "banger" to drive to less salubrious locations from now on. As wealth guilt permeates the 1 percent of the world's richest there will be fewer displays of ostentation. But there is an age-old solution for the guilt-ridden rich. Spend less money on the cars, yachts, and mansions that symbolize excess and more on solving the world's problems. Research shows that some of the wealthiest donate less than the average person. Now more than ever is the time to reverse that. | After growing public resentment against the rich, many are starting to feel guilty for their excess. Wealth was flaunted during a time when rising incomes meant everybody was living well. But the ten years since the recession has seen the wealthiest grow their wealth faster than everyone else. | pegasus | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/oliverwilliams1/2019/01/30/why-are-the-wealthy-starting-the-year-feeling-guilty/ | 0.332822 |
Who is Stacey Abrams, the Democrat who will respond to Trump's State of the Union? | Last November, Stacey Abrams, a Democrat who ran for governor of Georgia, came close to becoming the first black woman to lead a state in U.S. history. And when Democrats announced she would take on the challenging task of rebutting President Donald Trump's State of the Union address on Feb. 5., she once again came into the national spotlight. Add Democratic Party as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Democratic Party news, video, and analysis from ABC News. Add Interest At a moment when our nation needs to hear from leaders who can unite for a common purpose, I am honored to be delivering the Democratic State of the Union response. Abrams grew up in Mississippi, the daughter of a college librarian and a shipyard worker. They eventually decided to become United Methodist ministers, picking up and moving the family of eight to Georgia. Abrams's family wasn't well off but she went on to build an impressive resume, including degrees from Spellman University and Yale Law School. "My mom likes to call it the genteel poor. We had no money but we watched PBS and we read books," said Abrams in an interview with ABC News in January 2018. "They really believed that where we started out was not going to dictate where we ended up." John Bazemore/Reuters, FILE Abrams rose through the political ranks, eventually becoming minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives. She was the first woman ever to lead a party in the Georgia statehouse -- but also the first woman to lead a party in the history of the state. "You dont have role models who show you how to do it, Abrams said in the same 2018 interview. And theres an internal dynamic that Ive seen among women that doesnt seem to exist among men, where we believe we have to be experts before we stand for office. Men wake up, some of them, and look in the mirror and think, Im attractive, I should be in charge of something.'" Along the way, she launched an effort called the New Georgia Project, with a goal of registering tens of thousands of new voters that Abrams said could make all the difference for Democrats in a state with six million voters -- fair voter registration has been a theme of her career and was a central tenet in the battle for the Georgia governor's race in 2018. How the inroads made in Georgia governor's race set her apart Abrams stepped down from her role in the statehouse to run for governor in the 2018 midterm cycle. Though she lost, she ran a race so close it was in limbo for days after the election as votes continued to come in. Her opponent, now Gov. Brian Kemp, R-Georgia, won with 50.22 percent of the vote. John Amis/AP, FILE Abrams, who has said she will run for office again but not specified for what role, will be the first in recent years to give a State of the Union rebuttal speech without holding elected office, with the exception of former Gov. Steve Beshear, a Kentucky Democrat, who did so in 2017. That Abrams ran such a tight race was more impressive given that Republicans have held the Georgia governor's mansion since 2003, a woman has never been elected governor there and never before in U.S. history has an African American woman been elected governor of any state. Democratic leaders credited her with leaving a playbook for the party in the Trump era. Abrams saw endorsements from top Democrats like former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont. Plus, Oprah Winfrey showed up to help her door knock. Earlier today, super-canvasser @Oprah knocked on super-voter Denise's door! Denise already has a plan to vote early & volunteer hard to push us to victory in 4 days. #gapol pic.twitter.com/G0HVSw8KLx Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) November 2, 2018 "As a daughter of the South, Im very proud of Stacey Abrams, the kind of campaign that shes run," said former interim chair of the Democratic National Committee Donna Brazile on "This Week" in November before the election. "Stacey Abrams understood that in order to win, you had to bring a new energy in the party, and shes done that." A runoff election was narrowly avoided in the days after the election but led to a broader conversation on voting rights. Kemp, who served as secretary of state for Georgia until two days after Election Day, was accused by Abrams and others of purging voter records and suppressing votes. "To watch an elected official who claims to represent the people in the state baldly pin his hopes for election on suppression of the people's democratic right to vote has been truly appalling," said Abrams in her eventual concession speech on Nov. 16. Abrams subsequently launched Fair Fight Georgia, a legal organization to "pursue accountability in Georgias elections and integrity in the process of maintaining our voting rolls," according to a release from her gubernatorial campaign. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who announced Abrams as candidate for the rebuttal on Tuesday, said "she has led the charge for voting rights which is at the root of just about everything else." Schumer also called Abrams a "great spokesperson" and an "incredible leader" who knows what "working people go through." | Stacey Abrams, a Democrat who ran for governor of Georgia, will deliver the Democratic State of the Union response. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/stacey-abrams-democrat-respond-trumps-state-union/story?id=60725246 | 0.369091 |
Who is Stacey Abrams, the Democrat who will respond to Trump's State of the Union? | Last November, Stacey Abrams, a Democrat who ran for governor of Georgia, came close to becoming the first black woman to lead a state in U.S. history. And when Democrats announced she would take on the challenging task of rebutting President Donald Trump's State of the Union address on Feb. 5., she once again came into the national spotlight. Add Democratic Party as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Democratic Party news, video, and analysis from ABC News. Add Interest At a moment when our nation needs to hear from leaders who can unite for a common purpose, I am honored to be delivering the Democratic State of the Union response. Abrams grew up in Mississippi, the daughter of a college librarian and a shipyard worker. They eventually decided to become United Methodist ministers, picking up and moving the family of eight to Georgia. Abrams's family wasn't well off but she went on to build an impressive resume, including degrees from Spellman University and Yale Law School. "My mom likes to call it the genteel poor. We had no money but we watched PBS and we read books," said Abrams in an interview with ABC News in January 2018. "They really believed that where we started out was not going to dictate where we ended up." John Bazemore/Reuters, FILE Abrams rose through the political ranks, eventually becoming minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives. She was the first woman ever to lead a party in the Georgia statehouse -- but also the first woman to lead a party in the history of the state. "You dont have role models who show you how to do it, Abrams said in the same 2018 interview. And theres an internal dynamic that Ive seen among women that doesnt seem to exist among men, where we believe we have to be experts before we stand for office. Men wake up, some of them, and look in the mirror and think, Im attractive, I should be in charge of something.'" Along the way, she launched an effort called the New Georgia Project, with a goal of registering tens of thousands of new voters that Abrams said could make all the difference for Democrats in a state with six million voters -- fair voter registration has been a theme of her career and was a central tenet in the battle for the Georgia governor's race in 2018. How the inroads made in Georgia governor's race set her apart Abrams stepped down from her role in the statehouse to run for governor in the 2018 midterm cycle. Though she lost, she ran a race so close it was in limbo for days after the election as votes continued to come in. Her opponent, now Gov. Brian Kemp, R-Georgia, won with 50.22 percent of the vote. John Amis/AP, FILE Abrams, who has said she will run for office again but not specified for what role, will be the first in recent years to give a State of the Union rebuttal speech without holding elected office, with the exception of former Gov. Steve Beshear, a Kentucky Democrat, who did so in 2017. That Abrams ran such a tight race was more impressive given that Republicans have held the Georgia governor's mansion since 2003, a woman has never been elected governor there and never before in U.S. history has an African American woman been elected governor of any state. Democratic leaders credited her with leaving a playbook for the party in the Trump era. Abrams saw endorsements from top Democrats like former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont. Plus, Oprah Winfrey showed up to help her door knock. Earlier today, super-canvasser @Oprah knocked on super-voter Denise's door! Denise already has a plan to vote early & volunteer hard to push us to victory in 4 days. #gapol pic.twitter.com/G0HVSw8KLx Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) November 2, 2018 "As a daughter of the South, Im very proud of Stacey Abrams, the kind of campaign that shes run," said former interim chair of the Democratic National Committee Donna Brazile on "This Week" in November before the election. "Stacey Abrams understood that in order to win, you had to bring a new energy in the party, and shes done that." A runoff election was narrowly avoided in the days after the election but led to a broader conversation on voting rights. Kemp, who served as secretary of state for Georgia until two days after Election Day, was accused by Abrams and others of purging voter records and suppressing votes. "To watch an elected official who claims to represent the people in the state baldly pin his hopes for election on suppression of the people's democratic right to vote has been truly appalling," said Abrams in her eventual concession speech on Nov. 16. Abrams subsequently launched Fair Fight Georgia, a legal organization to "pursue accountability in Georgias elections and integrity in the process of maintaining our voting rolls," according to a release from her gubernatorial campaign. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who announced Abrams as candidate for the rebuttal on Tuesday, said "she has led the charge for voting rights which is at the root of just about everything else." Schumer also called Abrams a "great spokesperson" and an "incredible leader" who knows what "working people go through." | Stacey Abrams, a Democrat who ran for governor of Georgia, came close to becoming the first black woman to lead a state in U.S. history. | bart | 1 | https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/stacey-abrams-democrat-respond-trumps-state-union/story?id=60725246 | 0.200218 |
Who is Stacey Abrams, the Democrat who will respond to Trump's State of the Union? | Last November, Stacey Abrams, a Democrat who ran for governor of Georgia, came close to becoming the first black woman to lead a state in U.S. history. And when Democrats announced she would take on the challenging task of rebutting President Donald Trump's State of the Union address on Feb. 5., she once again came into the national spotlight. Add Democratic Party as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Democratic Party news, video, and analysis from ABC News. Add Interest At a moment when our nation needs to hear from leaders who can unite for a common purpose, I am honored to be delivering the Democratic State of the Union response. Abrams grew up in Mississippi, the daughter of a college librarian and a shipyard worker. They eventually decided to become United Methodist ministers, picking up and moving the family of eight to Georgia. Abrams's family wasn't well off but she went on to build an impressive resume, including degrees from Spellman University and Yale Law School. "My mom likes to call it the genteel poor. We had no money but we watched PBS and we read books," said Abrams in an interview with ABC News in January 2018. "They really believed that where we started out was not going to dictate where we ended up." John Bazemore/Reuters, FILE Abrams rose through the political ranks, eventually becoming minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives. She was the first woman ever to lead a party in the Georgia statehouse -- but also the first woman to lead a party in the history of the state. "You dont have role models who show you how to do it, Abrams said in the same 2018 interview. And theres an internal dynamic that Ive seen among women that doesnt seem to exist among men, where we believe we have to be experts before we stand for office. Men wake up, some of them, and look in the mirror and think, Im attractive, I should be in charge of something.'" Along the way, she launched an effort called the New Georgia Project, with a goal of registering tens of thousands of new voters that Abrams said could make all the difference for Democrats in a state with six million voters -- fair voter registration has been a theme of her career and was a central tenet in the battle for the Georgia governor's race in 2018. How the inroads made in Georgia governor's race set her apart Abrams stepped down from her role in the statehouse to run for governor in the 2018 midterm cycle. Though she lost, she ran a race so close it was in limbo for days after the election as votes continued to come in. Her opponent, now Gov. Brian Kemp, R-Georgia, won with 50.22 percent of the vote. John Amis/AP, FILE Abrams, who has said she will run for office again but not specified for what role, will be the first in recent years to give a State of the Union rebuttal speech without holding elected office, with the exception of former Gov. Steve Beshear, a Kentucky Democrat, who did so in 2017. That Abrams ran such a tight race was more impressive given that Republicans have held the Georgia governor's mansion since 2003, a woman has never been elected governor there and never before in U.S. history has an African American woman been elected governor of any state. Democratic leaders credited her with leaving a playbook for the party in the Trump era. Abrams saw endorsements from top Democrats like former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont. Plus, Oprah Winfrey showed up to help her door knock. Earlier today, super-canvasser @Oprah knocked on super-voter Denise's door! Denise already has a plan to vote early & volunteer hard to push us to victory in 4 days. #gapol pic.twitter.com/G0HVSw8KLx Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) November 2, 2018 "As a daughter of the South, Im very proud of Stacey Abrams, the kind of campaign that shes run," said former interim chair of the Democratic National Committee Donna Brazile on "This Week" in November before the election. "Stacey Abrams understood that in order to win, you had to bring a new energy in the party, and shes done that." A runoff election was narrowly avoided in the days after the election but led to a broader conversation on voting rights. Kemp, who served as secretary of state for Georgia until two days after Election Day, was accused by Abrams and others of purging voter records and suppressing votes. "To watch an elected official who claims to represent the people in the state baldly pin his hopes for election on suppression of the people's democratic right to vote has been truly appalling," said Abrams in her eventual concession speech on Nov. 16. Abrams subsequently launched Fair Fight Georgia, a legal organization to "pursue accountability in Georgias elections and integrity in the process of maintaining our voting rolls," according to a release from her gubernatorial campaign. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who announced Abrams as candidate for the rebuttal on Tuesday, said "she has led the charge for voting rights which is at the root of just about everything else." Schumer also called Abrams a "great spokesperson" and an "incredible leader" who knows what "working people go through." | Stacey Abrams, a Democrat who ran for governor of Georgia, came close to becoming the first black woman to lead a state in U.S. history. She grew up in Mississippi, the daughter of a college librarian and a shipyard worker. Abrams rose through the political ranks, eventually becoming minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives. | bart | 2 | https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/stacey-abrams-democrat-respond-trumps-state-union/story?id=60725246 | 0.201471 |
What is a 'frost quake'? | Cryoseisms, also known as "frost quakes" or "ice quakes," may have been the reason loud booms and banging sounds were reported in the Chicago area, where brutally cold, below-zero wind chills have taken over. Add Weather as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Weather news, video, and analysis from ABC News. Add Interest The "frost quake" weather phenomenon occurs when the ground is saturated with water or ice. Right now, that's the case in the Midwest, where many spots were recently covered with snow that then melted into the ground. When there is a rapid drop in temperature, that saturated ground will quickly freeze. Julio Cortez/AP As that water underground suddenly freezes into ice, it then expands, causing the surrounding soil and rock to crack. The cracking is what produces the loud noises -- or the "frost quake." All of the ingredients were certainly there for "frost quakes" to occur in the Midwest Wednesday morning as wind chills plummeted well below zero. The wind chill in Chicago clocked in at minus 52 degrees. The wind chill reached minus 55 degrees at the MinneapolisSaint Paul International Airport. Frost quakes were reported in Pennsylvania this week, according to WHP in Harrisburg, and in the Indianapolis area last week, according to WISH-TV. | " Frost quakes" occur when the ground is saturated with water or ice. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://abcnews.go.com/US/frost-quake-explaining-weather-phenomenon/story?id=60723810 | 0.186846 |
What is a 'frost quake'? | Cryoseisms, also known as "frost quakes" or "ice quakes," may have been the reason loud booms and banging sounds were reported in the Chicago area, where brutally cold, below-zero wind chills have taken over. Add Weather as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Weather news, video, and analysis from ABC News. Add Interest The "frost quake" weather phenomenon occurs when the ground is saturated with water or ice. Right now, that's the case in the Midwest, where many spots were recently covered with snow that then melted into the ground. When there is a rapid drop in temperature, that saturated ground will quickly freeze. Julio Cortez/AP As that water underground suddenly freezes into ice, it then expands, causing the surrounding soil and rock to crack. The cracking is what produces the loud noises -- or the "frost quake." All of the ingredients were certainly there for "frost quakes" to occur in the Midwest Wednesday morning as wind chills plummeted well below zero. The wind chill in Chicago clocked in at minus 52 degrees. The wind chill reached minus 55 degrees at the MinneapolisSaint Paul International Airport. Frost quakes were reported in Pennsylvania this week, according to WHP in Harrisburg, and in the Indianapolis area last week, according to WISH-TV. | "Frost quake" weather phenomenon occurs when the ground is saturated with water or ice. Wind chills in Chicago reached minus 52 degrees Wednesday morning. Frost quakes were also reported in Pennsylvania and the Indianapolis area. | bart | 1 | https://abcnews.go.com/US/frost-quake-explaining-weather-phenomenon/story?id=60723810 | 0.198241 |
What is a 'frost quake'? | Cryoseisms, also known as "frost quakes" or "ice quakes," may have been the reason loud booms and banging sounds were reported in the Chicago area, where brutally cold, below-zero wind chills have taken over. Add Weather as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Weather news, video, and analysis from ABC News. Add Interest The "frost quake" weather phenomenon occurs when the ground is saturated with water or ice. Right now, that's the case in the Midwest, where many spots were recently covered with snow that then melted into the ground. When there is a rapid drop in temperature, that saturated ground will quickly freeze. Julio Cortez/AP As that water underground suddenly freezes into ice, it then expands, causing the surrounding soil and rock to crack. The cracking is what produces the loud noises -- or the "frost quake." All of the ingredients were certainly there for "frost quakes" to occur in the Midwest Wednesday morning as wind chills plummeted well below zero. The wind chill in Chicago clocked in at minus 52 degrees. The wind chill reached minus 55 degrees at the MinneapolisSaint Paul International Airport. Frost quakes were reported in Pennsylvania this week, according to WHP in Harrisburg, and in the Indianapolis area last week, according to WISH-TV. | "Frost quakes" occur when the ground is saturated with water or ice. Wind chills as low as minus 52 degrees are expected in Chicago. The phenomenon is also known as a "frost quake" or "ice quakes," and has been reported in the Midwest. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://abcnews.go.com/US/frost-quake-explaining-weather-phenomenon/story?id=60723810 | 0.222131 |
Is pot the future of the tobacco industry? | LAS VEGAS -- Big tobacco continues to see a slump in sales as regular cigarettes have fallen out of favor. So tobacco giants are now looking at another industry to fire up revenue: marijuana. Tobacco companies are eagerly watching the increasing popularity of legal marijuana as a growing number of states continue to decriminalize its usage. The tobacco companies are probably better positioned than any other business to get into the cannabis business because they know how to make the product, they know how to design it to maximize the addictive potential and they know how to sell it -- they have a huge marketing network that they can plug into worldwide using this, Dr. Stanton Glantz, professor of medicine and director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California San Francisco, told Fox News. He said it's perfectly natural for big tobacco to want to cash in on pot sales. The current trajectory that we're on is we're watching the birth of the new tobacco industry in cannabis, he added. Dr. Brian King, deputy director for research translation in the Center for Disease Control and Preventions office on smoking and health said cigarette smoking rates have been steadily declining in the United States for the past five decades. Better health awareness of the risks of smoking, tough local anti-smoking rules, steep tobacco taxes and e-cigarettes have made smoking regular cigarettes increasingly less popular. Big tobacco had been eyeing pot as far back as the 1960s and 1970s, according to a 2014 report co-authored by Dr. Glantz, which found secret industry documents discussing the future of marijuana during that era. It's not totally clear what they were moving toward doing whether they wanted to actually get into the business and take it over or whether they viewed marijuana as a competitor that they needed to crush, Dr. Glantz said. But, they were actively testing the products they were actively thinking about product development and marketing. TOBACCO GIANT STRIDES INTO VAPE MARKET WITH $13B JUUL STAKE Fast-forward to today, and Altria, the worlds largest cigarette manufacturer, has agreed to invest $1.8 billion with Canadian cannabis company, Cronos, for a 45 percent stake in the company and the option for full ownership. Through Cronos Group, Altria is better positioned should cannabis become federally permitted, Altria spokesman George Parman said in a statement to Fox News. Cronos is an excellent partner for Altria to pursue this new growth opportunity in the global cannabis sector, which this investment will position us to participate in and which we believe is poised for rapid growth over the next decade. The deal, which was announced in December and is expected to close in the first half of this year, is tobaccos first major venture into marijuana and could be a sign of broader consolidation of the industry further down the road. Other large tobacco companies, such as Britains Imperial Brand and Philip Morris International, have also made investments albeit much smaller -- in cannabis overseas. Constellation Brands, the parent company of Corona beer, invested in Canopy Growth, the worlds largest cannabis company in 2017. The marijuana industry has been plagued by a preconceived notion that associates marijuana with stoners, potheads and junkies instead of a legitimate business something that Teddy Sullivan, USA vice president of business development for 1933 Industries, a Canadian-based cannabis company, said is not the case. WHITE HOUSE TO UNVEIL FEDERAL CANNABIS REFORM 'VERY SOON,' SAYS GOP LAWMAKER These guys go home every day, they go home to their families. Were just like everybody else. Everyone wants to be someone we want to be successful, we want to be someone one day and this just happens to be a proponent of their life, Sullivan said. Its just good people who are in it. Sullivan sees the emergence of big tobacco into the cannabis sector as a chance to help legitimize the industry and break away from the stereotype. I think big tobacco will help our cause working toward legitimacy because it starts to show marijuana is now being taken seriously, he added. At first, we look at big tobacco as a competitor and now big tobacco is looking for a friendship We look at it as a positive impact because now other industries that are just as legitimized as big tobacco are coming into our space and theyre looking for partnership. Although big tobacco brings resources and the ability to scale at a much quicker pace, it also comes with a controversial past of misleading the public about the dangers of smoking. Ben Kolver, CEO and founder of Chicago-based cannabis company Green Thumb Industries, said while there is certainly baggage associated with it, cannabis has the opportunity to do this right. And to think about the consumer first and to think about offering a path towards wellness for consumers, he added. Thirty-three states have legalized marijuana in some form, including 10 which have legalized recreational use. However, cannabis remains illegal at the federal level. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Dr. Glantz, who thinks marjuana should be legal, warns of a potential health crisis if its legalized without any oversight and said cannabis should "be like tobacco where its use is tolerated socially, but discouraged." In October, Canada became the first major economic country to legalize recreational marijuana, which will undoubtedly be a bellwether for the U.S. as it continues to debate policy issues surrounding pot. And although cigarette smoking might be on the decline, Dr. King notes the tobacco industry has heavily diversified its portfolio of products and still remains one of the most profitable industries globally. So while it might be awhile before convenient stores are selling packs of joints, similar to a pack of cigarettes it's clear tobacco is positioning itself for an impending shift towards cannabis. Kids started with tobacco and then graduated to marijuana," Glantz said. "Now it's the other way around. Kids start with marijuana and they graduate to tobacco." | Tobacco companies are eagerly watching the increasing popularity of legal marijuana. | bart | 0 | https://www.foxnews.com/us/is-cannabis-the-future-of-the-tobacco-industry?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fnational+%28Internal+-+US+Latest+-+Text%29 | 0.135579 |
Is pot the future of the tobacco industry? | LAS VEGAS -- Big tobacco continues to see a slump in sales as regular cigarettes have fallen out of favor. So tobacco giants are now looking at another industry to fire up revenue: marijuana. Tobacco companies are eagerly watching the increasing popularity of legal marijuana as a growing number of states continue to decriminalize its usage. The tobacco companies are probably better positioned than any other business to get into the cannabis business because they know how to make the product, they know how to design it to maximize the addictive potential and they know how to sell it -- they have a huge marketing network that they can plug into worldwide using this, Dr. Stanton Glantz, professor of medicine and director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California San Francisco, told Fox News. He said it's perfectly natural for big tobacco to want to cash in on pot sales. The current trajectory that we're on is we're watching the birth of the new tobacco industry in cannabis, he added. Dr. Brian King, deputy director for research translation in the Center for Disease Control and Preventions office on smoking and health said cigarette smoking rates have been steadily declining in the United States for the past five decades. Better health awareness of the risks of smoking, tough local anti-smoking rules, steep tobacco taxes and e-cigarettes have made smoking regular cigarettes increasingly less popular. Big tobacco had been eyeing pot as far back as the 1960s and 1970s, according to a 2014 report co-authored by Dr. Glantz, which found secret industry documents discussing the future of marijuana during that era. It's not totally clear what they were moving toward doing whether they wanted to actually get into the business and take it over or whether they viewed marijuana as a competitor that they needed to crush, Dr. Glantz said. But, they were actively testing the products they were actively thinking about product development and marketing. TOBACCO GIANT STRIDES INTO VAPE MARKET WITH $13B JUUL STAKE Fast-forward to today, and Altria, the worlds largest cigarette manufacturer, has agreed to invest $1.8 billion with Canadian cannabis company, Cronos, for a 45 percent stake in the company and the option for full ownership. Through Cronos Group, Altria is better positioned should cannabis become federally permitted, Altria spokesman George Parman said in a statement to Fox News. Cronos is an excellent partner for Altria to pursue this new growth opportunity in the global cannabis sector, which this investment will position us to participate in and which we believe is poised for rapid growth over the next decade. The deal, which was announced in December and is expected to close in the first half of this year, is tobaccos first major venture into marijuana and could be a sign of broader consolidation of the industry further down the road. Other large tobacco companies, such as Britains Imperial Brand and Philip Morris International, have also made investments albeit much smaller -- in cannabis overseas. Constellation Brands, the parent company of Corona beer, invested in Canopy Growth, the worlds largest cannabis company in 2017. The marijuana industry has been plagued by a preconceived notion that associates marijuana with stoners, potheads and junkies instead of a legitimate business something that Teddy Sullivan, USA vice president of business development for 1933 Industries, a Canadian-based cannabis company, said is not the case. WHITE HOUSE TO UNVEIL FEDERAL CANNABIS REFORM 'VERY SOON,' SAYS GOP LAWMAKER These guys go home every day, they go home to their families. Were just like everybody else. Everyone wants to be someone we want to be successful, we want to be someone one day and this just happens to be a proponent of their life, Sullivan said. Its just good people who are in it. Sullivan sees the emergence of big tobacco into the cannabis sector as a chance to help legitimize the industry and break away from the stereotype. I think big tobacco will help our cause working toward legitimacy because it starts to show marijuana is now being taken seriously, he added. At first, we look at big tobacco as a competitor and now big tobacco is looking for a friendship We look at it as a positive impact because now other industries that are just as legitimized as big tobacco are coming into our space and theyre looking for partnership. Although big tobacco brings resources and the ability to scale at a much quicker pace, it also comes with a controversial past of misleading the public about the dangers of smoking. Ben Kolver, CEO and founder of Chicago-based cannabis company Green Thumb Industries, said while there is certainly baggage associated with it, cannabis has the opportunity to do this right. And to think about the consumer first and to think about offering a path towards wellness for consumers, he added. Thirty-three states have legalized marijuana in some form, including 10 which have legalized recreational use. However, cannabis remains illegal at the federal level. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Dr. Glantz, who thinks marjuana should be legal, warns of a potential health crisis if its legalized without any oversight and said cannabis should "be like tobacco where its use is tolerated socially, but discouraged." In October, Canada became the first major economic country to legalize recreational marijuana, which will undoubtedly be a bellwether for the U.S. as it continues to debate policy issues surrounding pot. And although cigarette smoking might be on the decline, Dr. King notes the tobacco industry has heavily diversified its portfolio of products and still remains one of the most profitable industries globally. So while it might be awhile before convenient stores are selling packs of joints, similar to a pack of cigarettes it's clear tobacco is positioning itself for an impending shift towards cannabis. Kids started with tobacco and then graduated to marijuana," Glantz said. "Now it's the other way around. Kids start with marijuana and they graduate to tobacco." | Tobacco companies are eagerly watching the increasing popularity of legal marijuana. Big tobacco had been eyeing pot as far back as the 1960s and 1970s. | bart | 1 | https://www.foxnews.com/us/is-cannabis-the-future-of-the-tobacco-industry?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fnational+%28Internal+-+US+Latest+-+Text%29 | 0.150565 |
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