#East Belfast candidate

[seachranaidhe]

TUV candidate lambasts GAA club and Linda Ervine for 'misrepreseation' of east Belfast

The mother of the director of BBC NI demonstrating her ignorance of gaelic culture and her unashamed bigotry. She’s a perfect fit for the TUV. TUV candidate lambasts GAA club and Linda Ervine for ‘misrepresentation’ of east Belfast https://twitter.com/jgtsport/status/1658580874273648640?s=20

[swldx]

BBC 0409 4 Aug 2024

12095Khz 0358 4 AUG 2024 - BBC (UNITED KINGDOM) in ENGLISH from TALATA VOLONONDRY. SINPO = 55434. English, dead carrier s/on @0358z then ID@0359z pips and newsroom preview. @0401z World News anchored by Neil Nunes. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has addressed a mass rally in the capital Caracas, defying government calls for her arrest. Ms Machado went into hiding earlier this week after accusing President Nicolás Maduro of defrauding the opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez, of a clear victory in the presidential election. The president in turn has promised "maximum punishment" for anti-government demonstrators who say his re-election was rigged. More than 90 people were arrested after far-right demonstrations descended into riots in towns and cities across the UK on Saturday. Bottles were thrown, shops looted, and police officers attacked in areas including Hull, Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester, Blackpool and Belfast, but not all demonstrations turned violent. Hezbollah launched around 30 rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel late Saturday night, the Israel Defense Forces announced, after the terror group claimed responsibility for the barrage shortly after midnight. The Israeli military stated that air defense systems intercepted most of the rockets, though one struck near Beit Hillel and several landed in open areas. No injuries were reported. More violence in the Nigerian capital on Saturday as anger over the rising cost of living continues to grow. On Friday police fired tear-gas and live bullets to disperse protesters. More than a dozen people are reported to have been killed, in unrest during the past couple of days. M23 rebels Saturday took control of a large town in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo near the border with Uganda without fighting. Russia has pledged humanitarian assistance to North Korea after devastating floods damaged thousands of homes and caused an unknown number of casualties, with reports from South Korea that the number of dead or missing could be as high as 1,500. A23a, the world's biggest iceberg, far bigger than Greater London, has been captured in a vast pool of rotating water. It's a phenomenon oceanographers call a Taylor Column - and it's possible A23a might not escape its jailer for years. The berg's longevity is well documented. It broke free from the Antarctic coastline way back in 1986. Sports. @0406z "The Newsroom" begins. Backyard gutter antenna w/MFJ-1020C active antenna (used as a preamplifier/preselector), JRC NRD-535D, 250kW, beamAz 315°, bearing 63°. Received at Plymouth, MN, United States, 15359KM from transmitter at Talata Volonondry. Local time: 2258.

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Apply now: https://canadianjobbank.org/server-food-and-beverage-services-34/

[oxxymoronwrites]

Leo’s Taste in Books

I am sure absolutely no one but me cares, but still since I made this list, I’ll post it! Being a book nerd, I go “Book? Book!” when I see them, so naturally I had to find out what books Leo is reading through TharnType 2: 7 Years of Love. Here’s a list for anyone who doesn’t want to spend the time I did squinting at the screen and Googling for likely candidates:

The first time we see Leo, in Italy, he is reading NVK by Temple Drake, according to Goodreads a “suspenseful, gothic, erotic novel”. Tagline is “Do the living dead walk the streets of modern Shanghai?”.

Bonus: Not his own bookshelf but where he’s staying I also spotted: Ian Rankin’s Black and Blue, Lord of the Rings (The Two Towers) by J.R.R Tolkien, The Oxford Pocket Learner’s Dictionary, Keep Safe for Me by Patricia Burns, and Plugged by Eon Colfer.

2.

In the scene where Leo calls Fiat to come back home because Type is taken, he’s kicking back next to... the Dictionary. It looks like an older edition, but I thiiiink it’s Webster’s New World College Dictionary (good choice, apparently the authority on the English language relied upon by the New York Times).

3.

In the Domestic Cuddling Scene in Episode 7 it looks like there are a few books on the go. Closer study reveals Leo is working on:

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Whisper to me by Nick Lake And, the Wendy Erskine book from the next point. The Catechism I guess we can work out what it’s about, Whisper to Me is about a girl who writes a letter to the boy she loves about why she broke up with him. Claimed to be part mystery, part mental health exploration and part romance. Aims for the boy to learn that “love for your family, love for that person who makes your heart beat faster, and love for yourself—can save you after all”. (P.S. The next time this nightstand appears (in the crying scene) there are no books, so perhaps Leo was so upset he threw some stuff? Or, less angsty, he finished them all.)

4.

The morning after their big fight, Leo is calming down by reading Sweet Home by Wendy Erskine, a collection of short stories about people living in East Belfast, “charged with regret and sorrow, desire and yearning”. NVK (which he has brought from Italy but apparently not yet finished, is on the table. I am guessing because the flight back was too angsty to spend time reading!)

I can’t believe how long I spent to find this out, from sheer curiosity :D I hope you enjoyed this incredibly nerdy trek through Leo’s eclectic book collection.

[reconstructionbaby]

Sinn Féin is to stand aside in three Northern constituencies in December’s general election and has urged its voters to back other candidates who support staying in the EU in order to help defeat the pro-Brexit DUP.

The party will not run candidates in East Belfast, South Belfast or North Down, with Sinn Féin suggesting voters instead support Alliance party leader Naomi Long, Claire Hanna of the SDLP, and independent unionist Lady Sylvia Hermon.

“The reality is we are asking people to come out and vote for those pro-remain candidates. We believe that is the right and progressive thing to do,” Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said.

[newstfionline]

Sunday, April 11, 2021

Group to study more justices, term limits for Supreme Court (AP) President Joe Biden has ordered a study on overhauling the Supreme Court, creating a bipartisan commission Friday that will spend the next six months examining the politically incendiary issues of expanding the court and instituting term limits for justices, among other issues. In launching the review, Biden fulfilled a campaign promise made amid pressure from activists and Democrats to realign the Supreme Court after its composition tilted sharply to the right during President Donald Trump’s term. Trump nominated three justices to the high court, giving conservatives a 6-3 split with liberals on the court. Some progressives have viewed adding seats to the court or setting term limits as a way to offset the influence of any one president on its makeup. Conservatives, in turn, have denounced such ideas as “court-packing” similar to the failed effort by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s.

Ramsey Clark, attorney general who became a critic of U.S. policies, dies at 93 (Washington Post) Ramsey Clark, who was U.S. attorney general under President Lyndon B. Johnson and then, after leaving government service, redefined himself as a relentless critic of American foreign policy died April 9 at his home in New York City. He was 93. The son of conservative Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark, Mr. Clark grew up in the lap of the political establishment and was the last surviving member of Johnson’s cabinet. As a young man, he showed few signs of his firebrand future, but in the half-century that followed his 22-month term as the nation’s top prosecutor, he underwent a remarkable political transformation and became a persistent voice of dissent against the government. He attacked what he called the United States’ “sham” democracy, ruled not by the people but by the wealthy few, and he decried the nation’s “genocidal” foreign policy and “certifiably insane” military spending. “If you really love your country, you work very hard to make it right,” Mr. Clark told the Los Angeles Times. “Anything else is an extreme act of disloyalty and an extreme failure of courage.”

Pandemic pushing thousands into sex work in Mexico (AP) Hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic have forced former sex workers in Mexico back into the trade years after they left, made it more dangerous and reduced some to having sex in cars or on sidewalks for lack of available hotels. Claudia, who like most of the sex workers interviewed asked to be identified only by her first name, had stopped working the streets a decade ago after she married one of her former clients. But when her husband lost his job early in the pandemic, the couple fell four months behind on rent for their apartment. The only solution Claudia saw was to go back to working the streets. “It was an income in order to eat, to pay the rent we owe,” said Claudia, who now owes only one month back rent. “It is hard to come back and see so many of my fellow workers from the old days, my era, going back to do the same thing … to see all the problems out there.” Thousands of new sex workers have pushed onto the streets as the pandemic forced closure of restaurants and shops. Elvira Madrid, who leads the activist group Street Brigade in Support of Women said her group found 15,200 sex workers on Mexico City’s streets in August, about twice the number before the pandemic.

St. Vincent awaits new volcanic explosions as help arrives (AP) Cots, tents, and respirator masks poured into the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent as officials expected to start distributing them on Saturday, a day after a powerful explosion at La Soufriere volcano uprooted the lives of thousands of people who evacuated their homes under government orders. Nations ranging from Antigua to Guyana offered help by either shipping emergency supplies to their neighbor or agreeing to temporarily open their borders to the roughly 16,000 evacuees fleeing ash-covered communities with as many personal belongings as they could stuff into suitcases and backpacks. The volcano, which last erupted in 1979, kept rumbling as experts warned that explosive eruptions could continue for days or possibly weeks. A previous eruption in 1902 killed some 1,600 people.

Peruvians head to polls with masks, pens and little excitement (AP) Peruvians were preparing to head to the polls on Sunday in a presidential election marked by uncertainty due to widespread public apathy following decades of graft and mismanagement and a possible low turnout because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With none of the 18 presidential candidates polling more than 11% and a “no vote” still the most popular choice for disgruntled respondents in the first round of voting, two contenders from opposite poles of the political spectrum could face off in the second round in June. Keiko Fujimori, a right-winger and the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, who was jailed for human rights abuses, and radical leftist professor Pedro Castillo have slim leads over the rest of the field, according to the latest polls.

Britain pays tribute to Prince Philip (Reuters) Gun salutes will be fired across Britain on Saturday to mark the death of Prince Philip as tributes flooded in for a man who was a pillar of strength for Queen Elizabeth during her 69-year reign. Members of the public laid flowers outside royal residences, paying their respects to the 99-year-old prince. “We’re all weeping with you, Ma’am,” read the front page of the Sun tabloid, while its rival the Daily Mail ran a 144-page tribute to Philip, who died on Friday at Windsor Castle. The armed forces will mark Philip’s death at noon (1100 GMT) with a Death Gun Salute. Artillery units in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and Gibraltar, and some navy warships, will fire their guns. The death of “her beloved husband”, announced by the queen, robs the 94-year-old monarch of her closest confidante, the one person she could trust and who was free to speak his mind to her. They had been married for 73 years and he would have turned 100 in June.

Kremlin says it fears full-scale fighting in Ukraine’s east (AP) The Kremlin said Friday it fears a resumption of full-scale fighting in eastern Ukraine and could take steps to protect Russian civilians there, a stark warning that comes amid a Russian troop build-up along the border. The statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, reflected the Kremlin’s determination to prevent Ukraine from using force to try to retake control over separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s military chief dismissed the Russian claims that the country’s armed forces are preparing for an attack on the rebel east. Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists have been fighting in eastern Ukraine since shortly after Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. More than 14,000 people have died in the conflict, and efforts to negotiate a political settlement have stalled.

India’s daily COVID-19 cases rise to record for fifth time this week (Reuters) India’s daily coronavirus cases on Saturday rose by a record for the fifth time this week and deaths surged to the highest in more than five months, with hospitals and crematoriums overflowing in parts of the country. New cases in the world’s second-most populous country have totalled the most of anywhere in the world over the last two weeks. India’s overall tally of 13.21 million is the third-highest globally, just shy of Brazil and below the worst affected country, the United States. The second surge in infections, which has spread much more rapidly than the first one that peaked in September, has forced many states to impose fresh curbs but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has refused to impose a national lockdown given the high economic costs.

Reports: Myanmar forces kill 82 in single day in city (AP) At least 82 people were killed in one day in a crackdown by Myanmar security forces on pro-democracy protesters, according to reports Saturday from independent local media and an organization that keeps track of casualties since the military’s February seizure of power. Friday’s death toll in Bago was the biggest one-day total for a single city since March 14, when just over 100 people were killed in Yangon, the country’s biggest city. Bago is about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Yangon. The Associated Press is unable to independently verify the number of deaths. At least 701 protesters and bystanders have been killed by security forces since the army’s takeover, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Syria after 10 years of war (The Week) The Syrian civil war is now a decade old, said Elizaveta Naumova at Lenta (Russia), and there is still no end in sight. More than 500,000 people—most of them civilians—have been killed in 10 years of fighting, and at least 2 million have been wounded. Of the 22 million people who lived in Syria before the war, more than half have fled their homes. Some 5.6 million of those left the country, seeking shelter in Turkey, Lebanon, and the European Union and sparking anti-migrant backlashes. “Little is left of old Syria, not only demographically, but also culturally.” The commercial capital of Aleppo lies in ruins. The U.S., for its part, leveled the city of Raqqa while pursuing ISIS. Many of the ancient archaeological treasures of Palmyra have been blown up or looted.      Syrians desperately need our help, said Aude Lasjaunias at Le Monde (France). Many hospitals and schools have been destroyed or damaged, and electricity and running water are spotty or absent in much of the country. Nearly 90 percent of Syrians have slipped below the poverty line, and 60 percent lack enough food. The U.S., EU, and dozens of other nations pledged $6.4 billion in aid last month to help address Syria’s mounting humanitarian crises. But that was far short of the $10 billion sought by the United Nations, and a mere drop compared with the estimated $400 billion it will actually take to rebuild the country. Where will that money come from? “Assad’s allies, Russia and Iran, do not have the means to bail out Damascus,” and the West is conditioning large-scale aid on “a real political transition” that is vanishingly unlikely.      Even if Syria manages to somehow come back to life, said Hoda Al-Helaissi at Arab News (Saudi Arabia), the youngest generation will always bear the scars. Those who were children when the war began, or who have been born since, “have no memories or history” of the cosmopolitan country Syria once was. They have seen only “death, blood, or rubble,” and they are growing up “malnourished, uneducated, deprived, and poor.”

[seachranaidhe]

Now The DUP's Nigel 'deputy' Dodds is really in trouble

Now The DUP’s Nigel ‘deputy’ Dodds is really in trouble

Conversation LucidTalk Retweeted Enda McClafferty @endamcclafferty BREAKING SDLP opting out of Westminister race in North Belfast. For the first time in party’s history there will be no SDLP candidate on a general election ballot paper. Also opting out of contest in East Belfast and North Down. All aimed at maximising pro remain vote. @BBCgmu 11:51 PM · Nov 3, 2019·Twitter for iPhone

@SJAMcBride

[dailynewswebsite]

A million deaths from coronavirus: seven experts consider key questions

The pandemic has reached a grim milestone: a million individuals have now died of COVID-19, in accordance with Worldometers.

On January 13, we revealed “Thriller China pneumonia outbreak doubtless attributable to new human coronavirus” by Connor Bamford, a virologist at Queen’s College Belfast. Since then, now we have revealed greater than 3,500 articles on the now not-so-novel coronavirus, formally named Sars-CoV-2. Regardless of this large output from the world’s main consultants, now we have merely skimmed the floor of all there may be to find out about this perplexing pathogen. A lot stays a thriller.

At this essential juncture, we requested a number of consultants from completely different fields what their burning query in regards to the coronavirus is. Here’s what they stated:

Connor Bamford, Analysis Fellow, Virology, Queen’s College Belfast

How did Sars-CoV-2 enter the human inhabitants?

We should perceive how Sars-CoV-2-like viruses leap into people if we’re to cease the subsequent pandemic, as we do for influenza. Though initially thought to have emerged within the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in December 2019, the earliest affected person had no hyperlink to the market suggesting the virus had emerged earlier than then. How did this occur?

Learn extra: Thriller China pneumonia outbreak doubtless attributable to new human coronavirus

Because the unique investigations into the beginnings of Sars coronaviruses in 2002, horseshoe bats in south-east Asia have been implicated because the reservoir hosts, and a virus (RmYN02) that’s extraordinarily just like Sars-CoV-2 has already been present in bats. Nonetheless, related viruses have additionally been present in pangolins, elevating the likelihood that Sars-CoV-2 might not have jumped straight from a bat.

Additionally, Sars-CoV-2 has already unfold to cats, canines, tigers and mink, and for Sars-CoV-1 (the virus that prompted the 2002-04 Sars epidemic), farmed civet cats and raccoon canines acted as intermediate hosts, bringing a bat virus into proximity to people. It’s potential that Sars-CoV-2 is a generalist virus, able to spreading via a variety of species.

With the rise involved between people and wildlife, zoonoses have gotten an ever-growing risk. We should be vigilant. An essential step now’s to determine the occasions that led Sars-CoV-2 to go from bat to human.

Related viruses have been present in pangolins. Arief Budi Kusuma/Shutterstock

Sarah Caddy, Scientific Analysis Fellow, Viral Immunology, College of Cambridge

How can we inform if somebody is protected against Sars-CoV-2?

The immune response to Sars-CoV-2 an infection goals to get rid of the virus from the physique. Many research have fastidiously described the varied phases of the immune response after preliminary an infection, however we have no idea which features of immunity are important for stopping repeat infections. What are the relative roles of various kinds of antibodies, or the significance of various T cell subsets?

An essential purpose of Sars-CoV-2 immunological analysis is, due to this fact, to establish which immune element (or parts) can present an individual is protected against future an infection. Such a marker can be termed a “correlate of safety”.

The power to measure an correct correlate of safety can be beneficial for 2 causes. First, it might inform us whether or not somebody who has recovered from COVID-19 is more likely to get re-infected. Second, figuring out an simply measurable correlate of safety can be useful for vaccine trials – it might pace up the analysis of vaccine efficacy.

Nonetheless, figuring out good correlates of safety for different coronaviruses has confirmed notoriously troublesome. Helpful outcomes have beforehand solely been generated when volunteers have been experimentally contaminated with viruses. The primary human Sars-Cov-2 problem research at the moment are because of start early subsequent yr, so it’s hoped that this can allow correlates of safety to be discovered extra quickly.

Learn extra: Coronavirus: why I help the world’s first COVID vaccine problem trial

Derek Gatherer, Lecturer and Fellow of the Institute for Social Futures, Lancaster College

How can we clarify the intense geographical variation in COVID-19 mortality charges?

Cumulative deaths from COVID-19 per million of inhabitants (dpm), are very inconsistently distributed throughout Europe (see map under) starting from 7dpm in Slovakia to 856dpm in Belgium. A wedge of comparatively frivolously affected nations extends from Finland southwards to the northern Balkans.

There are related pockets of low COVID-19 mortality on different continents, notably south-east Asian nations. May the populations of low mortality nations have some cross-immunity to Sars-CoV-2 generated by current publicity to a different coronavirus – the apparent candidates being the milder “frequent chilly” coronaviruses: 229E, NL63, OC43 or HKU1?

A touch that this can be the case is offered by the remark that antibodies from the unique 2003 Sars sufferers have some binding to coronaviruses 229E, NL63 and notably OC43. However so little consideration has been paid to seasonal coronaviruses, certainly, to seasonal non-flu respiratory infections, basically, that related medical discipline information is extraordinarily sparse and sometimes outdated (as an example, one-third of residents of Hamburg had antibodies to coronavirus OC43 in 1975 or 58% of Hungarians sampled 5 years later).

We urgently want extra lab research to grasp how a lot cross-immunity coronaviruses confer on one another, whereas inhabitants research are wanted to find out the prevalence of coronavirus antibodies, not simply to Sars-CoV-2 but additionally its milder but probably vital cousins.

Serology – the examine of antibody prevalence – has lengthy been the Cinderella of virology in contrast with the extra glamorous world of genome sequencing, however its significance and the results of its neglect at the moment are turning into obvious.

Deaths per million (dpm) of inhabitants in Europe and surrounding nations, as of mid-September 2020. Crimson: >200dpm; Blue: 100-200dpm; Black <100dpm. By San Jose – personal map, based mostly on the Generic Mapping Instruments and ETOPO2 (annotated by DG). Knowledge from WHO Epidemiological Replace., CC BY-SA

Anne Moore, Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry and Cell Biology, College Faculty Cork

For a vaccine, what does success appear like within the quick versus long run?

The endgame to the COVID-19 pandemic requires the identification and manufacture of a protected and efficient vaccine and a subsequent international immunisation marketing campaign.

Candidate Sars-CoV-2 vaccines have been quickly developed based mostly on years of vaccine improvement efforts. The unprecedented and vital enter of worldwide funding into this pandemic vaccine effort can solely purchase a lot time for trials to succeed or fail. A profitable trial wants the virus to be circulating in the neighborhood so we are able to decide what number of vaccinated individuals (versus these receiving a placebo) develop into contaminated.

Quick-term success will present {that a} protected vaccine will present at the very least 50% safety. And if we see short-term success, what does long-term success appear like?

The largest query is, what’s the period of safety? Whether it is short-lived, then how can we increase immunity again to protecting ranges? How can we determine this out with out counting on a conventional empirical strategy? If there isn’t short-term success, then how can we be sure that international dedication is maintained to stop Sars-CoV-2 vaccines from ending up in the identical scenario as terminated vaccine efforts for Sars? There will likely be one other pandemic; we want a long-term imaginative and prescient and dedication to have short-term future success.

Susan Michie and Robert West, Professors of Well being Psychology, UCL

How can COVID-safe behaviour develop into embedded in individuals’s lives?

It seems to be as if COVID-19 will likely be with us for the foreseeable future. We’ll all must undertake a variety of behaviours to maintain ourselves from getting contaminated or infecting others. We all know what these are: the query is how they’ll develop into embedded in our lives?

The behaviours embrace preserving a larger bodily distance from others; carrying a COVID equipment (face masks, hand sanitiser and tissues) every time we’re outdoors the house; carrying a face masks correctly in indoor public areas and storing or disposing of it safely; disinfecting palms and surfaces after potential contamination; catching coughs and sneezes in tissues; by no means touching our eyes, nostril or mouth until we all know our palms are clear; avoiding or leaving unsafe conditions, corresponding to poorly ventilated indoor areas the place there are many individuals; getting vaccinated; and staying at dwelling and getting examined if now we have signs.

How can we get individuals to embed good behaviours of their lives. Kzenon/Shutterstock

The problem is easy methods to get these adopted at scale and maintained over time, in different phrases, embedded in individuals’s lives as routines and habits. This requires an understanding of what maintains and modifications human behaviour. We have to equip individuals with the abilities to develop routines that may develop into habits over time, present the time and social and environmental help to realize this and inspire them to make use of these alternatives.

David Hunter, Richard Doll Professor of Epidemiology and Medication, College of Oxford

What’s the full spectrum of well being penalties of COVID-19 an infection?

We now have good information on deaths from COVID-19 an infection, displaying an astonishing improve in threat of loss of life with growing age. This contrasts with the 2009 H1N1 flu epidemic, wherein the aged have been comparatively much less affected, and reminds us that now we have an excellent deal extra to study this virus.

Whereas a lot of the focus has been on deaths, small research of COVID-19 survivors discharged from hospital counsel that many don’t return to their baseline well being standing. We all know little about “lengthy COVID” amongst those that didn’t require hospital admission, regardless of many particular person stories of recurrent bouts of fever, fatigue, and a variety of different signs.

Comply with-up of COVID-19 sufferers counsel proof of injury to the center, lungs and different organs which will trigger issues sooner or later, and there may be some proof that this can be true even amongst these with gentle signs. Many viral infections could cause undiagnosed pathology, however extreme long-term results are comparatively unusual. If these results are extra frequent for COVID-19, nevertheless, then an unique deal with deaths means that we are going to not be contemplating the complete prices of failing to manage the epidemic, nor the complete advantages of doing so.

Research have began amongst sufferers after discharge from hospital. We urgently want well-controlled research among the many majority of these contaminated who didn’t want hospitalisation in case we’re solely seeing the tip of the COVID iceberg.

Anne Moore has acquired funding from HRB and Enterprise Eire for vaccine analysis and from small and medium scale vaccine improvement firms within the EU and the USA.

Connor Bamford receives funding from Wellcome Belief and UKRI.

Derek Gatherer receives funding from the UK Financial & Social Analysis Council and the Ministry of Well being of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Robert West is a participant within the behavioural subgroup of England's Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies and the Impartial Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies. He’s an unpaid director of a not-for-profit firm that goals to help behaviour change for the general public good.

Susan Michie receives grant funding from varied analysis funding organisations

David Hunter and Sarah L Caddy don’t work for, seek the advice of, personal shares in or obtain funding from any firm or organisation that might profit from this text, and have disclosed no related affiliations past their educational appointment.

from Growth News https://growthnews.in/a-million-deaths-from-coronavirus-seven-experts-consider-key-questions/ via https://growthnews.in

[votingforturkeysatchristmas]

Constituency Preview: East Belfast

At the height of the LA Race Riots, Rodney King famously asked “Can’t we all just get along”. The people of NI have been asking “Can’t we all just get Naomi Long” for some time, and last summer when a she was on every ballot paper here, Alliance had their best ever result. Long is probably the most popular politician in Northern Ireland, and is easily the strongest card Alliance have to play. The trouble they have had is in translating the popularity of the party leader into votes for their other candidates.

People will of course remember Long winning this seat for Alliance in 2010. Peter Robinson storming out of the Leisure Centre which carried his name is one of those TV moments guaranteed inclusion on the 2010 episode of Reeling In The Years (and whatever the UTV & BBC NI versions are called).

But I have a really tough time believing Naomi Long can win this again. I suspect even running here was a strategic mistake.

When she won this in 2010, she did so against Peter Robinson, at a time when the Robinson family had become embroiled in scandal. There is no need to rake over the details, beyond saying the election was held just four months after that episode of Spotlight. In 2015 Gavin Robinson began his career as an MP with a tirade from the stage of the count centre that was as unfortunate as it was ungracious. But since that evening he has managed to avoid any major controversy. There is no reason to suspect he is in line for the sort of backlash from the unionist community suffered by Peter Robinson 9 years ago.

Another problem Long faces is that although the Ulster Unionists are running, either by accident or design, they are standing a paper candidate. The UUP candidate in 2010, Trevor Ringland, had a long record on the ground in East Belfast, as well as 31 caps for Ireland and 4 for the British & Irish Lions. In 2019 their candidate is a councillor from another constituency, who has already been criticised for performing that role while holding a day job based in London.

One of the many factors that allowed Long to win in 2010 was that Ringland drew over 20% of the vote, presumably from unionists who were disenchanted with Peter Robinson, but who didn’t consider it remotely likely that a non-unionist candidate could take the seat. The unionist electorate have clearly learned from the experience. In 2017 the UUP candidate received only 3.3%, and won’t be expecting to do much better this time.

Alliance have fought hard for this seat. When trying to hold it in 2015 they added another 4000 votes, and largely retained them in 2017. But the reality is that their high-watermark is 17,000 votes. On a bad day the DUP would hope not to be far short of 20,000.

But the Ginga Ninja has done it before. Is there any reason to believe I might be wrong about all of this? Playing devils advocate I can come up with a few decent reasons why I might not be right.

The first reason is the decision of the nationalist parties to withdraw from East Belfast. At Westminster elections Sinn Féin reliably poll around 850 votes in this area, and the SDLP are the handful of spare change to allow me to say there are roughly 1000 nationalist votes available. If they all vote Alliance that would help Long, but there are question marks over just how likely that is. Assembly results suggest there are at least 1,500 nationalist in East Belfast, so those most likely to be amenable to tactical voting are already doing so.

At an organisational level the SDLP barely exist in East Belfast, and those few hundred SDLP voters are fairly evenly scattered across East Belfast. Sinn Féin have a strong structure in East Belfast, bastioned in the Short Strand where there is a decent concentration of nationalist voters. If SF have been actively encouraging those voters to vote for Long that will be of genuine benefit to her.

Another factor that could help Long is demographic change in East Belfast. A lot of new houses have been built in recent years around Ballyhackamore and Dundonald. Anecdotally I know quite a few friends and colleagues who have moved there from other areas. If my experience is representative of a trend this constituency is becoming younger, trendier and more middle class.

Since the last election, online registration has made it much easier to register to vote, so the makeup of the electorate will be a little different at this election. Electoral office figures show an extra 2750 electors have joined the register in East Belfast since 2017, the largest increase of any constituency in Northern Ireland.

But without something more I just don’t think it will be enough. I expect Alliance to get a bit closer, but I also expect Gavin Robinson to be re-elected without too much fuss.

Prediction: DUP HOLD

Current Odds: DUP 4/11, Alliance 15/8, UUP 50/1, Conservative 66/1

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Links 7/26/19

Digital Elixir Links 7/26/19

Bear Tries To Steal Entire Dumpster From Marijuana Dispensary CBS Denver. Legend.

Giant ticks which hunt their prey confirmed in the Netherlands Dutch News

Songbirds are being snatched from Miami’s forests National Geographic

It’s So Hot That Pigs Are Getting Skinnier, Boosting U.S. Prices Bloomberg

Don’t let vegetarian environmentalists shame you for eating meat. Science is on your side. USA Today

Strange Forest ‘Superorganism’ Is Keeping This Vampire Tree Alive Live Science (original). Fascinating story, but if the only way our culture can frame a “communal physiology” is vampirism MR SUBLIMINAL Thank you, rentiers! we’re in worse trouble than I thought.

In Roundup case, U.S. judge cuts $2 billion verdict against Bayer to $86 million Reuters

Why Tesla’s best hope may lie in robotaxis FT. “Mr Musk has promised Tesla’s cars will have full autonomous capabilities by the end of this year, and that the company will be in a position to launch a driverless taxi service in the second half of 2020.” Tick, tick, tick…

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico governor to resign, protesters warn successor: ‘You’re next!’ Reuters

Puerto Rican Artists Ricky Martin, Pur & Bad Bunny Are Agents of Change Calling for Governor’s Resignation Billboard. Before Rossello’s resignation, still germane.

In Puerto Rico, taking it to the streets takes down a leader. Why can’t that happen here? Will Bunch, Inquirer. “[T]he conversation is heating up in the places where they happen in 2019 — on social media and among a resilient network of resisters.” Oy.

Brexit

Brexit: Pelosi warns UK not to jeopardise Belfast Agreement Irish Times

Boris Johnson denies planning to sell the NHS in Brexit trade deal with Trump Business Insider

German manufacturing reports industry ‘in freefall’ FT

Peace in Ukraine? Stephen Cohen, The Nation

Spain’s options after Sánchez fails to form government FT

Confronting monetary imperialism in Francophone Africa Africa is a Country

China?

‘Let the police do their job’: Hong Kong stock exchange chief cautions against military intervention South China Morning Post

No external forces allowed to disrupt Hong Kong: spokesperson Xinhua

Patriotic Chinese Triads and Secret Societies: From the Imperial Dynasties, to Nationalism, and Communism Journal of Asian Affairs

Wilting bauhinias and widemouthed tigers: The evolution of Hong Kong’s protest posters Hong Kong Free Press

Hong Kong’s Despair Runs Deeper Than Protests Bloomberg

* * *

China Defense White Papers—1995-2019—Download Complete Set + Read Highlights Here Andrew S. Erickson (for example).

Tibet: What Is Happening There Now? Supchina

Sri Lankans demand UK take back rotting waste BBC

RussiaGate

The Myth Of Robert Mueller, Exploded Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone. “This is just the latest disaster. They hyped Robert Mueller for two years as an all-conquering hero, only to have him show up under oath like a man wandering in traffic. Incredible. The losses continue.”

Mueller didn’t fail. The country did. Jennifer Rubin, WaPo. I remember liberal Democrats lamenting that Obama was just too good for us; I didn’t expect to see the equivalent from a Jennifer Rubin.

Scope of Russian Election Hacking Remains Unclear Foreign Policy. The deck: “Volume one of a long-awaited Senate report on Kremlin targeting of election systems finds all 50 states may have been targeted.” Holy moley. After three years of hysteria and the collective output of a gaggle of IT grifters and bent intel community talking heads the best minds in the national security community [snort], “may have” is the best we can do? Froomkin: “If they make public persuasive evidence that ‘Russian cyberactors were in a position to delete or change voter data’ then it’s a big deal. If it’s just more phishing on office networks, it isn’t.”

Trump Transition

No shower for 23 days: U.S. citizen says conditions were so bad that he almost self-deported Dallas News

AG Barr orders reinstatement of the federal death penalty NBC

The CIA Wants To Make It Easier To Jail Journalists And No One In Congress Is Stopping It From Happening TechDirt

16 Marines arrested at Camp Pendleton suspected of human smuggling, drug crimes Stars and Stripes

Trump Stands Next to Photoshopped Presidential Seal That Reads ’45 is a Puppet’ in Spanish Gizmodo and Meet the man who created the fake presidential seal — a former Republican fed up with Trump WaPo I like the eagle holding golf clubs in its claws. OTOH, is this really the best the Never Trumpers can do?

L’affaire Epstein

Jeffrey Epstein Visited Clinton White House Multiple Times in Early ’90s Daily Beast

How Jeffrey Epstein Used the Billionaire Behind Victoria’s Secret for Wealth and Women NYT

Here’s exactly how Jeffrey Epstein spent $30 million Miami Herald

Democrats in Disarray

House Republicans score fourth major procedural win with motion to recommit The Hill

Pelosi shuts Jerry Nadler down when he asks for permission to draft impeachment articles after Mueller hearings Daily Mail

2020

One donor is backing 14 candidates. Why big-dollar Democrats aren’t picking sides for 2020 McClatchy. They may not be giving to just one candidate, but there’s just one candidate they’re not giving to. So how many sides are there, really?

Everyone Claims They’re Worried About Global Finance. But Only One Side Has a Plan. NYT

Louisiana governor declares state emergency after local ransomware outbreak ZD Net

Big Brother Is Watching You

Amazon requires police departments to advertise Ring home security products to residents in return for free Ring cameras Business Insider. Where does Bezos think we live? Xinjiang?

Class Warfare

The Firm Exemption and the Hierarchy of Finance in the Gig Economy (PDF) C Paul and Nathan Tankus, SSRN

Viewpoint: As Big Three Negotiations Open, Which Way Forward for the Auto Workers? Labor Notes

New York Doubles Down on Tracking Empty Storefront Problem Bloomberg. Last time I was there, empty stores on every block, everywhere on the East Side.

John Maynard Keynes, “National Self-Sufficiency,” 1933 Marginal Revolution

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

Links 7/26/19

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[2whatcom-blog]

Native elections 7 issues you will have missed

Each Labour and the Conservatives have suffered losses within the native elections, with voters turning to smaller events and independents in a backlash towards the Brexit impasse. However past the rapid headlines lie smaller storylines you will have missed - listed below are seven of them.

1. The seat determined by likelihood

A ballot on Hambleton Council was determined by lot - and the consequence noticed Labour take its first seat there in additional than a decade. The seat, Northallerton South, was tied on 527 votes for Labour and the Conservatives - so the seat was settled by the returning officer selecting between two clean envelopes, one candidate's title in every. Labour's Gerald Ramsden was the fortunate winner of the draw.

2. Controversy within the Cotswolds

The Tories received the Tetbury City ward by only one vote - after officers appeared via the spoiled ballots and accepted one the place the voter had put "Brexit" and an arrow to the Conservative Celebration candidate. Stephen Hirst retained his seat within the Cotswolds city after defeating impartial Kevin Painter by 232 votes to 231. The Conservatives and the independents had been tied earlier than the returning officer, who's answerable for overseeing elections, determined to settle the matter through the use of the rejected poll paper. Mr Painter has confirmed he contacted the Electoral Fee for recommendation and he will probably be taking authorized motion over the choice. Cotswold District Council stated it had consulted the rules within the Electoral Fee's booklet on uncertain papers and examples inside election regulation books.

3. Jacob Rees-Mogg now lives in a Lib Dem space

Main Brexiteer MP Jacob Rees-Mogg now has a Liberal Democrat councillor representing him in Somerset. Liberal Democrat candidate Dave Wooden defeated Conservative Tim Warren, chief of Bathtub and North East Somerset Council, within the Mendip ward. Wera Hobhouse, Lib Dem MP for Bathtub, tweeted: "Congratulations to Cllr Dave Wood, who moments ago beat B&NES council leader Tim Warren. He's now @Jacob_Rees_Mogg's local councillor!"

4. DUP candidate makes historical past

The Democratic Unionist Celebration's first overtly homosexual election candidate has been elected. Alison Bennington hugged supporters at a Belfast rely centre for Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council. She attracted 1,053 votes as a part of her marketing campaign for the pro-union and Christian social gathering, and praised her supporters' "good, hard work and good teamwork". The DUP's founder, the late Rev Ian Paisley, as soon as led a marketing campaign to, in his phrases, "Save Ulster from Sodomy" and stop the decriminalisation of homosexuality. A second of political historical past because the DUP's first overtly homosexual candidate is elected. Alison Bennington elected to Antrim & Newtownabbey Council.A private triumph and politically very important. pic.twitter.com/pXfb7N2I81 Finish of Twitter put up by @BBCMarkSimpson

5. Inexperienced surge 'helped by Extinction Riot'

The Inexperienced Celebration has been one of many elections' greatest winners, selecting up 265 seats - a rise of 194 in comparison with 2015. With the native elections coming simply after weeks of protests by Extinction Riot, ought to the environmental group be seen as having had an affect on voters' selections? Jonathan Bartley, the Inexperienced Celebration's co-leader, definitely thinks so. He instructed the BBC he had "no doubt" the Extinction Riot group had contributed in the direction of the social gathering's election success, including it was a "powerful force in building awareness of the urgency of climate change".

6. Maiden success for the Yorkshire Celebration

All smiles for Your Native Yorkshire Celebration candidates Tim Norman and Andy Walker who're the primary Yorkshire Celebration candidates to be elected to the East Using of Yorkshire Council. pic.twitter.com/gnR6aEDzfC Finish of Twitter put up by @RadioHumberside The little-known Yorkshire Celebration has received council seats for the primary time in its historical past. The social gathering, which was arrange in 2014 and campaigns for regional devolution (amongst different issues), has beforehand had councillors defect to it - however had by no means truly received an election. Now, the social gathering has received six - with successes in each the East Using of Yorkshire and Selby councils.

7. Political poetry

#Dogsatpollingstations proved such successful on election day it has even emerged as a muse for skilled poets. Brian Bilston's effort, posted on Twitter, proved virtually as common because the canines themselves. Poemthere are dogsat polling stations,sitting outdoors,ready for his or her democratic rightto train#dogsatpollingstations Finish of Twitter put up by @brian_bilston Read the full article

[winterolympicssports2018-blog]

Towering striker to put personal achievements behind for nat'l football team's victory

Click here for More Olympics Updates https://www.winterolympian.com/towering-striker-to-put-personal-achievements-behind-for-natl-football-teams-victory/

Towering striker to put personal achievements behind for nat'l football team's victory

DUBLIN, March 22 (Yonhap) — South Korean striker Kim Shin-wook said Thursday he will put his personal achievements behind when it comes to the national football team’s victory.

Kim is one of the hottest strikers for South Korea in recent months. Starting from the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship, he netted six goals in the last four matches.

The 29-year-old can extend his scoring streak to five matches if he finds the net in the upcoming friendly match against Northern Ireland, but Kim said he will not be too greedy. South Korea will take on Northern Ireland in Belfast on Saturday, before they visit Poland next Tuesday.

“If we can only win with my goals, I will try to keep scoring, but this team has many players who are better than me,” Kim said “My job is not just scoring or winning the ball in the air but helping my teammates to score with various link plays.”

   South Korean striker Kim Shin-wook practices with his teammates at the FAI National Training Centre in Dublin on March 22, 2018, one day ahead of South Korea’s friendly match against Northern Ireland. (Yonhap)

Kim, listed 196 centimeters, is one of the candidates who are looking to play alongside Son Heung-min, the Tottenham Hotspur man who will lead South Korea’s attack. Kim, who plays for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in South Korea, will have to vie for the role with Hwang Hee-chan of Red Bull Salzburg and Lee Keun-ho of Gangwon FC.

“I think all of them have different styles of play,” he said. “I know it’s not possible for all of us to play together on the pitch, so I hope each player can show his strength when playing.”

   Kim said teamwork will be the key to South Korea’s victory against strong opponents.

“We didn’t earn good results on the road recently and playing in Europe is always difficult,” he said. “The players are ready to sacrifice for teammates and so am I.”

kdon@yna.co.kr

(END)

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[auburnne]

Belfast + Titanic

Today was probably the busiest day we’ve had on our trip. Our first full day in Belfast was jam-packed with brilliant entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and diplomats. All of our discussions with these people were brilliant. Since I am a candidate for an MS International Business I absolutely loved the conversation with Peter Hall. His description of Northern Ireland culture was so genuine and inspiring.

During my time in primary/secondary school in the states we studied the world wars, but were never really introduced to the Irish troubles - mostly because I was doing this learning post 09/11/01 - our studies of the world quickly shifted toward the Middle East after the infamous attack. But, Peter’s take on the troubles were fascinating - he had a somewhat distant experience due to his middle class socioeconomic status. A majority of the troubles happened in the lower class areas, but what was most shocking to me was that the “terrorists” would tell the building/area that there was a bomb to go off in a number of hours - how cordial, but also its a terrorist act, so I don’t know how to react. The terrorists I’m accustomed to are literally aiming for a high body count - the Irish troubles were horrible, but also somewhat respectful of life. 

Prior to these lectures, we were given a private tour of the Titanic dock (incredible). My favorite sign - and the one Jan commented on - was “do not drive motor vehicles beyond this point,” which was situated against the railings of a 4 story drop into the bottom of the dock..duh. But, the history we heard was fascinating. At the end of our day, Karissa, Annie, and I went to the Titanic museum and toured for a solid hour. The detail they go into in this museum is incredible. Of course the Titanic was a major tragedy, so it is the main attraction, but my favorite part was learning about how the shipyard influenced Belfast. Belfast knew(knows) how to build a damn ship; the intricate work of the past is mind-blowing. 

This city is beautiful, and I am so excited to assist a local company with an international goal, and to learn even more bout its vast history. In my mind, you cannot be an effective leader without having a major knowledge of the history of your respective country(s). 

[seachranaidhe]

Former Ulster Unionist and Independent candidate charged with drugs offences in UVF probe

East Belfast woman Maggie Hutton (46), a former personal assistant to ex-UUP leader Reg Empey, has been arrested in relation to supply of a Class A 💊 drug

  A FORMER independent Assembly candidate and veteran Ulster Unionist constituency worker is among six people charged with drugs offences as part a police crackdown on the east Belfast UVF.

Maggie Hutton (46) was charged with the supply of a…