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arasturner · 4 years ago

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Assistance Your Psychological Health Right after Your Divorce

That unfortunate reality doesn't make it any less distressing when it happens to you, even though divorce is an all too familiar part of modern-day life. No-one will get wedded expecting their relationship will result in divorce as well as the breakdown of your relationship might be tough on all involved. Acquiring divorced can, for some time, significantly have an impact on your intellectual wellness. For a few people their divorce could have been progressively gaining momentum for a serious time. Little else, though lack of commondisinterest and ground, boredom plus an increased lack of respect may have meant that the couple have simply been sharing the same roof. And then there are people who could have sensed that their romantic relationship was fine right up until a require to divorce hit them such as a bolt out from the glowing blue; devastating, completely and shocking unanticipated. Sure, lifestyle together demands effort, compromise and open up routes of communication to discuss disagreements and irritations, with any luck , then reaching a better understanding. If that doesn't occur, possibly for many valid reasons like job, kids, experiencing stressed out or also exhausted, it could be all too simple to move into an auto-aviator existence, undergoing routine daily activities, collapsing into mattress through the night and after that practicing everything again the next day. Sound common? But living such as that gives its very own stresses and pressures, which could in the end affect on our romantic relationship and our psychological overall health. When we increasingly really feel hidden, less significant than everybody else, stressed, with very little time, money or power to do everything we want or wish to undertake it can expose aunattractive and frumpy, dull state of mind, exactly where we nearly stand up rear from fascinating totally in your life. We could not even identify ourself inside our earlier wedding event photos: whatever occurred to that particular particular person? What percentage of us begin our marital life together with the mantra, begin as you may indicate to go on? But, as being the honeymoon stage dons away it's often exchanged by daily truth, with connection developing pains usually being skilled; tiny doubts, uncertainties and criticisms might be forthcoming. The fatigued 'why don't you? ', 'I want you wouldn't', the raised eyebrow or sigh could be indications that the partner has become relatively exasperated by our unique routines or behaviours.

We may be able to work through tensions, talk them out, but for some people receiving criticism or rejection from someone they love can be the ultimate rejection, where they feel obliged to try harder, be do, better and improve more. And if that doesn't have the preferred impact exactly where do they go from there? It's commonly a enormous blow with their self and confidence-esteem because they see themselves going for divorce! Folks who've been residing in a loveless or disapproving, highly crucial connection for many years may possibly expertise a substantial erosion of their emotional condition; depression, lowersleeplessness and mood, inadequate personal-self confidence and self-belief will not be rare as a result. Let's examine strategies to assistance your intellectual health right after your divorce; - Reveal how you're feeling having a trustworthy friend or confidante. It's excellent to have an ally who's there to offer you reassurance and support. Or your GP or psychic adviser could be a important source of assistance. Just as, booking time by using a therapist could be a optimistic approach to unravel several of the negativity that's built up in the wear and tear of your respective relationship and following divorce. - Take your ex spouse now believes in different ways with regards to you and the romantic relationship, an judgment that's been molded as time passes, encompassing many different experience. Their view individuals is merely their perspective. It doesn't outline who you are. Both of you changed and grew aside over time, which lead to your divorce. - It's frequently needed to make speedy judgements following a divorce, particularly concerning living plans, education and making a living. Attempt to avoid main, hasty selections that could have long-term implications and alternatively maybe property present to a friend, aiming to maintain issues as familiar as you possibly can at the beginning. Enable serious amounts of consider, heal and grieve what you'd like to undertake up coming, possibly beginning by functioning part-time. - Come up with ideas and plans to get a optimistic long term, regardless how significantly in advance which could really feel. Yes, money may be tight, children may require your full attention, but try to schedule in windows of time for yourself, even if it's going for a walk, reading a book, phoning a friend for a chat, enrolling for an online course, or even dipping your toe in the water with a dating site. - Be assertive. You may have shed your outdated circle of friends for a number of factors, so learn to make a new team, much more suitable for your present list of conditions. Otherneighbours and parents, work co-workers, even online discussion boards and social media marketing may offer you support, help and companionship in improving your feeling. Discovering that you're not the only one, that other individuals have experienced very similar sensations and experience from which they've restored will offer priceless reassurance and comfort. As you move into this next stage of your life agree to be gentle with yourself, but also be receptive to new ideas, to things you may have never considered before. Open up your state of mind for the probabilities of your new life article-divorce. You're not simply continuing to move forward, you're beginning over! Susan hypnotherapist, Leigh and counsellor connection counsellor, author And media contributor offers assistance with relationship concerns, anxiety management, assertiveness and confidence. She works together with person provides, clients and couples company support and workshops. More details about Irena Markovic webpage: click here.

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maswartz · 5 years ago

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Hey folks. Scott (Kaiser) here.

There's been a lot of talk the last year about what the future of DragonBall Z Abridged is, and while we've tried to update people, we've failed at making things crystal clear to everyone.

We're planning on a full video talking about it, but we want to make sure that we can give you the full rundown, now that we've made our final decisions.

We currently have no plans on continuing with the Buu Saga, in the our original style, or in the style of the ShortZ, at this time.

Recently, we publicly announced that DBZA will not continue via the original footage ala our classic method of Abridging. However, we talked publicly about possibly moving forward with the Buu Saga via the same animation provided in the ShortZ.

Unfortunately, after serious deliberation, we currently find this process untenable.

For those of you with questions, I'm going to try to address them here:

"You guys promised Season 4 of DBZA. Why did this change?"

Several factors.

1. The ending of the Cell Saga gave us a sense of finality that is impossible for us to escape. We put our hearts and souls into making that finale stand out, and everything we've worked on with the original footage since has left us feeling hollow. This is a distinctly personal reason, but it's also incredibly important. Many shows lose steam as time goes on as the creators extend their work far beyond its natural lifespan; we're feeling that with this, and that's a scary, depressing thought.

We don't want to end up like The Simpsons, Dexter, Scrubs M.D., just to name a few.

And yes, we know, there's more story to work with. But in all honesty... there just isn't the emotional attachment and passion for the arc that drove the last three seasons. This is another, very personal reason, but it's unavoidable.

We do not enjoy tearing down and mocking the things we love. We want to celebrate them, expand on them, explore them, and sometimes make light of their shortcomings. That's what gave you the best of DBZA up until now, and ultimately, we find ourselves at odds with that approach and the majority of the Buu Saga.

2. We're burned out on the original method, in general. It's been an absolute blast to bring DBZA to life, but after 11 years of the same project... it's gotten oppressive. Which, again, is a scary thought.

I love DBZA, more than anyone on the planet. Not because it gave me this job, not because it helped pay the bills, not because it got me invited to conventions.

Because it made me a better person. A better writer, a better director, a better actor, a better editor, a better worker. I learned so much while working on DBZA, and I got to express my love for comedy, drama, and DragonBall to the world. Anyone who's seen me talk live about the finale of 60 has seen me coming to tears when talking about how proud I was to show it to everyone, and how overwhelmed I was to hear such a positive response. Just how happy I was to be able to share something I worked on with all my heart with all of you guys.

The idea that we could come to resent the series by forcing ourselves to work on it past the point where we feel artistically fulfilled? That's awful. And I honestly hope you all can understand why.

But it's not just me: Nick and Curt have also lost their steam with this approach, due to the limiting nature of the production, and our aforementioned perspective on the Buu Saga as a whole.

3. Our YouTube channel is our primary source of revenue. While the Patreon absolutely has helped us with several new projects (episode 5 of Unabridged is now in the can, and we continue filming early February), the lifeline that sustains the company is our main channel.

Copyright claims have put us at risk of losing that channel, and our livelihoods in jeopardy. We have our employees to look out for; our friends, our colleagues, and doing right by them—by striving to create original, monetizable, copyright friendly content, that also carries our heart and soul as creatives—is undeniably important.

We've thought about hosting DBZA on other sites, but nowhere has been safe, and worse, it would serve to draw attention away from our hub, which ultimately could lead to less views, less support, and either the scaling back or collapse of our company.

And frankly—and I say this with all due respect—the expansion of our company, to better fulfill the creative wants and needs of our employees, and the financial stability of all therein, is paramount here.

4. Our relationships with other companies have been strained by the nature of DBZA.

Fair-use exists in a nebulous area; even though we believe in it wholeheartedly, that doesn't mean there's no trouble between us and the copyright holders, and that tension leaks into the ecosystem in which we look to coexist with other companies. As writers, actors, etc.

We want to ease this tension moving forward.

5. We mentioned the nebulous nature of copyright. Over the course of the last 11 years, we've avoided major legal challenges, but we cannot continue to press our luck in this regard. We want to live in a less gray area, without the Sword of Damocles above our heads.

"When was this decision made?"

There is no concrete date, but it was in October, 2019 that we decided to no longer use the footage at all.

It started late August/early September. We'd been working on the script for Bojack since May, and had been struggling to get anything of substance down on paper. While it wasn't a complete wash, we weren't happy with the bulk of it. We'd also restarted the scripting process a couple times, trying to approach it from different angles, but we found ourselves at wit's end.

So we started to reflect and talk about the nature of our struggling, and Nick, Curt, and I came to the conclusions I gave you above.

At that time, we'd already written out several of the ShortZ and were looking to get moving on those before the year's end. They were originally conceived solely as connective tissue between Cell and Buu. We quickly realized that, if we could get things rolling, we could possibly continue working on DragonBall Abridged via the ShortZ, potentially solving a majority of our problems.

https://www.reddit.com/r/TeamFourStar/comments/d5blur/setting_the_bojack_record_straight_and_more_from/

I actually made this post over on the Reddit after Bojack was cancelled and we totally borked the announcement of said cancellation. It reflects a lot of what's said here.

However... it was over the course of the last two weeks that we started to realize:

Continuing via the ShortZ was untenable as well.

"You mentioned continuing via the ShortZ. What changed?"

Imagine you're a child wanting a puppy. You beg your parents all year, and then they say, "Alright then, we'll get you that puppy for Christmas!" Then Christmas comes around, and they hand you a box. A wrapped box. And in that wrapped box isn't a puppy, but a WowWee Chippies Robot Toy Dog.

While there are plenty of fans who've cheered this on, for all the freedom it allows us, and the ability for us to monetize it, the drop in visual quality and change in overall tone and style ultimately make the Buu Saga a lesser version of what we've provided for years.

Furthermore, the time to actually produce an entire season with this new animation would put the series off for an unbelievably long time, and unfortunately be incredibly costly.

The ShortZ will continue, but we have no intention at this time to utilize them as a way to cover the Buu Saga.

"What of us who are contributing specifically for DBZA?"

We have continuously, time and time again, tried to communicate that this Patreon was not made to fund DBZA. It was made to fund projects outside of DBZA, while maintaining our production of our keystone project through to its completion. It has helped fund FFVII Machinabridged, AWF, Unabridged, Fist Master, Super Knock-Off VS., X Minutes, Cell VS., [Unannounced Project(s)], and essentially all non-mainline DBZA content.

But there's an unavoidable truth here: We promised DBZA would continue beside those projects, and that they would not interfere with its production in any meaningful manner. We also announced Season 4 at the end of Episode 60 in September 2018, leading people to believe that the show—as they knew it—would continue as per the usual.

Anyone who was looking to secure the creation specifically of DBZA Season 4 via their patronage will likely feel frustrated or even betrayed by this reveal, and we're sorry about that.

We also failed in our communication in a timely manner. The moment we decided that DBZA was not happening in it's traditional capacity should've prompted a much quicker announcement to that effect. Please understand that the biggest driving factor behind not saying anything was that we desperately wanted to have a real plan for you folks moving forward, not just bad news and a vague idea. As you can see, even debates on providing the Buu Saga via the ShortZ was not something we'd come to a conclusion on until these last couple weeks.

But we accept the responsibility and blame for keeping you in the dark for too long, regarding DBZA.

So I ask of you this: If you are a Patron solely—or even primarily—in hopes of funding traditional DBZA, please consider ceasing your patronage. If you continue to donate for any particular reason, thank you so very much. But if you don't feel that you are getting your money's worth, we truthfully understand, we will not blame you for choosing not to continue to support us, and we appreciate all the support you've given us thus far.

We will not judge you for being discerning with your own incomes and time, nor will we feel scorned.

"Is there any chance you'll change your mind?"

I cannot say so. We've made this decision and it's what we truly feel is best for us moving forward.

If you guys have any more questions, I'll make myself available in the comments section.

Thank you for your time and your support. I hope you'll continue to see us into new horizons, but as we said before: We will respect your decisions, whatever they are. Thank you for your support,

#dbza #dragon ball z abridged #team four star

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alexsmitposts · 4 years ago

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Anti-Racist Uprising Infiltrated by Extreme-Right Hooligans The city of Minneapolis is where it all began. It is where the last drop fell on the surface of a proverbial overflowing lake, causing the dam to burst, consequently starting to destroy the foundations of the empire. A death of just one single man can, under certain dreadful circumstances, put into motion the entire avalanche of events. It can smash the whole regime into pieces. It can fully rewrite history, and even change the identity of a nation. It can… although it not always does. George Floyd’s death became a spark. The city of Minneapolis is where the murder occurred, and where the ethnic minorities rose in rage. But it is also where white extreme right-wing criminals, and some even say, entire regime, perpetrated the uprising, kidnapped what could have become a true revolution and began choking legitimate rebellion by a stained duvet of nihilism and confusion. Here, we will not speculate. We will not point fingers at “deep state” or some multi-billionaire families, and to what extent they have been involved. Let others do this if they know details. But this time, I simply came to listen. And to pass to the world what I discovered first hand and what I was told. This time I simply went to Franklin Avenue and Lake Street, both in Minneapolis. I spoke to Native American people there. To those who joined forces with the African-American community during those dangerous days after May 25, 2020. To people who dared to defend their neighborhoods against brutality against white gangs, which came to loot, infiltrate, and derail the most powerful uprising in the United States in modern history. *** Bob Rice is a Native American owner of Pow Wow Grounds, a local entrepreneur, and a ‘community protection organizer.’ His legendary café is located on Franklin Avenue. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been reduced, for the time being, to a takeaway business, but even as such, it is enormously popular among the Native Americans, as well as others. At the back of the cafe is huge storage, full of food. Everyone hungry, in need of help, can simply come here and take whatever he or she needs. We grab some freshly brewed coffee from the shop and take it out to the public benches outside. Bob Rice then begins his story: “There has been police brutality for a very long time, against people of color. Not only talking about Minneapolis but in all these other places, since the 1991 Rodney King incident. Things were boiling and building up – leading to a big blow up.” “And all this discrimination did not start here; it came centuries ago from Europe.” “After the George Floyd murder, I wanted to show solidarity. Native Americans were experiencing an even higher degree of persecution than Black people. We had to stand together. I went down to the site of the murder of George Floyd, in order to support protests.” For a while, we talked about the mass media in the United States, an official and even some ‘independent one,’ and how it quickly and violently turned against the left, as well as against those who have been daring to expose endemic racism in the United States. But soon, we returned to the events that took place here, in May and June. “I noticed the presence of strange elements right from the start. I was watching guys breaking windows. At about 6 am, the morning after, I traveled down to South Minneapolis. There were piles of rocks in front of the rioters. Flash hand grenades. I kept on moving around the areas and kept on seeing rocks. I noticed the Minneapolis Umbrella Man, dressed all in black, with mask and black umbrella and black hammer smashing things – at the end being stopped by black guys. People were walking out of the store with car parts, and I thought, “why stealing those things”? These guys didn’t seem to be as part of the protest. I started moving and going away from the area, thinking that these guys would burn down stores and places soon. I even called up my insurance company the following morning to see if my policy covers civil unrest. That night they burned a lot of stores – auto stores, liquor stores, all types of businesses. I thought that if we do not do something ourselves to protect our neighborhoods, they will burn down all of our areas, too.” “From what I saw, I couldn’t tell you who these guys were, but they were not from here. So, we put up our protection zone calling out people on Facebook. We became the Headquarters of protection of Native American businesses and nonprofit organizations, as well as banks, shops, investment properties, etc. all belonging to the Native American community around here. I noticed there were Caucasian people, driving cars very slowly with no license plates, yelling racial slurs out of the windows. We formed a human shield, chain, along Franklin Avenue, to protect ourselves and our people. At a high point, about 300 people were protecting the area all night long for about eight days in a row. It had to be done, because here we had people from all over, including Wisconsin, descending on us – we had white supremacist group Proud Boys here. They arrived wearing masks. We had young white kids – 16 and 17 years old – coming from Wisconsin, looting liquor stores. We caught them. Obviously, they came out here because they thought it was an exciting thing to do. They didn’t even know where they were – this area is very dangerous with drug dealing and gang violence at night. Lucky, they got caught by us.” And the coverage? I wanted to know whether these events, in the heart of Native American neighborhoods, were described in depth by media reports. Bob Rice replied readily: There was no media reporting on these matters – mass media blamed everything on the Black Lives Matter movement. When liquor stores and tobacco shops were on fire, no police or fire trucks were around. Then the National Guard took over – using tear gas. Mr. Rice sighed, still in disbelief: Just incredible how our so-called President has done all the mess going and even made it worse! *** Robert Pilot, Native Roots Radio host, drove me for days all around the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, explaining what really took place on both Franklin Avenue and Lake Street. But before, we visited provisory, impromptu monument, where the murder of George Floyd took place. There were flowers, graffiti, works of art; there was grief, and there was solidarity. Native American people clearly supported the plight of the African-Americans. The area was safe; it was well organized. People of all races came here to pay tribute to the murdered man, and centuries of atrocious history of the United States. As we drove, Robert Pilot explained: “Native American neighborhoods armed themselves after the Floyd murder. But not only that: economic hardships ensued after the murder; food banks have come up. The Pow Wow Grounds used to be a food distribution deport but ended up becoming a food bank for anyone to donate and get what they need. Protesters were everywhere; the young generation got fed up. So different from other murders. The last straw was the murder of George Floyd. Four years earlier, in 2016, Philando Castile, an African American man, got murdered by police. He had worked in a school cafeteria. His murder was broadcast live on Facebook. It was a buildup. 10,000 people protested on 38th Street and Chicago in Minneapolis – the site of the murder of George Floyd. Combination of racial and overall frustration.” We drove by burned stores, services, gas stations. Everything was resembling a war zone, and in a way, it was. If you are there, things are extremely raw, emotional. It is not like analyzing things from a distance from the comfort of one’s home. Robert continued explaining, as we drove by block after block of the Middle East-style combat destruction: “There is a small percentage of African American people as compared to White Americans. We need allies, too. We have to support each other. Signs everywhere in my neighborhood, ‘Black Lives Matter.’” “Some young white people have woken up. They see the truth. The opinion of the masses is moving to the left; they are feeling fed up with what is happening around them and what it is that the country is doing to the world because of oil. What is interesting is that there is a protest every single day, which is something new and mind-blowing. The media is misreporting, minimizing the enormity and magnitude of protests, CNN, MSNBC, etc.” Robert Pilot is not only a radio host, but he is also a teacher: “White teachers are still teaching history; they are teaching it to black and Native American kids! Political standing of my students – a few are engaged, but definitely not all. Perhaps 10 percent of people are engaged and doing the work for 90 percent. The white guilt now and then… But many of us feel: You should stand behind us and with us but not in front of us. Revolution is happening in that sense. Everything is changing since protests are happening.” Not everyone likes the changes; definitely not everyone. The establishment is fighting back, trying to survive, in its existing, horrid form. Robert Pilot concludes: “Generally, Black and Native Americans are together, supportive of each other. It is symbolic that the Native American movement started on Franklin Avenue, where protests began in 1968. We would never burn down our own stores like grocery stores and hospitals. Why should we? But we had to mobilize and stop members of the KKK and Proud Boys type of guys.” *** We drive some 100 miles north, in order to meet Ms. Emma Needham – a young Native American activist. Emma was kind enough to bring traditional medicine from her area. We met halfway at the Sand Prairie Wildlife Management Area. Before our encounter, along the highway, we are surrounded by true ‘Americana’: endless open spaces, half-empty highways, more than 100 car-long cargo train pulled by two monstrous engines, while pushed by yet another one. We pass by St. Cloud Correctional Facility – an ancient-looking prison that bears the resemblance of some massive medieval English mansion surrounded by an elaborate system of barbed wires and watchtowers. MI734854 In one of the towns along the road, there is a big makeshift market selling posters, T-shirts, and other memorabilia, all related to the current President. It is called Trump Shop. Big banners are shouting at passing cars: “Trump, Make America Great Again,” “Trump 2020 – No More Bullshit,” and “God, Guns & Guts Made America. Let’s Keep All Three”. Emma is a storyteller, a writer. She is an intelligent, outspoken, sincere, and passionate person: “Where we were, we did not see a lot of white men with masks attacking, but what we did see were two young white kids, around 16, from Wisconsin, looting a liquor store which was run by Native Americans.” “I stayed over Friday and Saturday nights around the Indian American Cultural Center in Minneapolis. On Friday night, within half a mile to a mile in all directors, we could see and hear the riots and looting. There were gunshots, helicopters hovering all around us. But nobody came to rescue us.” “On Saturday night, we could see white people on Jeeps, waving flags, cruising around the neighborhood. “The white kids from Wisconsin were there, it appeared to me, opportunistic grabbing whatever was available.” “Majority of those who came to protest and loot were outsiders, not from the neighborhoods. It does not make sense for people in Minneapolis to burn down and loot stores they rely on.” I wanted to know whether the Native Americans and African-Americans were helping each other in that difficult hour? Emma did not hesitate: “There was big solidarity between Black people and Native American people; there was empathy.” “It has been lifelong degradation for many of us growing up poor and severely marginalized in reservations, but we had never seen anything like this, so close to what resembled a war. Those of us who were down in North Minneapolis those nights – Friday and Saturday – could not find words to describe what was happening. But we had a strong sense that what has been happening to us, Native Americans was happening to Black Americans, too – 400 years of surviving in a system of oppression. Enough is enough! Shared horrors – same for both groups!” I asked whether everything changed, and this is a new beginning for the nation? As many, Emma did not sound overly optimistic: “A black American female artist once said, ‘I love my white friends, but I don’t trust you because I know when the time comes, you need to choose your skin color. You count on the freedom and safety which you have. Whether you make that conscious decision or not, it will be there for you.’” *** On my behalf, Robert Pilot asked Brett Buckner, his fellow radio host, and an African American activist, whether he could confirm that the majority of rioters were whites and not from the community. He replied: “I would say so. Based on police reports and accounts from the community members, most of the damage was done by outsiders. Unfortunately, their actions will cause our community pain for years and even decades to come.” *** Before I finished writing this report, “Umbrella man” got ‘identified.’ On July 29, 2020, Daily Mail wrote: “Masked “Umbrella Man” who was seen smashing windows of Minneapolis AutoZone that was later burned to the ground during George Floyd protests is identified as ‘Hells Angels gang member with ties to white supremacist group’… The Star Tribune reported the 32-year-old man has links to Aryan Cowboy Brotherhood, a white supremacist gang based in Minnesota and Kentucky.” He was one of many, but the most notorious one. Looking at his photos when in action, he was bearing a striking resemblance to ‘ninja’ looking rioters – right-wing hooligans – who were unleashed in order to bring chaos to Hong Kong, people who have been supported and financed by Western governments. I know, because I work in Hong Kong, since the beginning of the riots. Coincidence? And if not: who really ‘inspired’ whom? *** Before I left Minneapolis, Robert Pilot and his wife Wendy interviewed me on their Native Roots Radio. What was supposed to be just 30 minutes appearance ended up being a one-hour event. They showed me their city and their state, sharing sincere feelings and hopes, unveiling suffering of both African American and Native American communities. This time, I traveled to the United States in order to listen. But I was also asked to talk, and so I did. During the interview, I took them to several parts of the world, where black people still suffer enormously, due to Western imperialism and corporate greed. The world where Native people of Latin America, Canada, as well as other parts of the Planet, are brutally humiliated, robbed of everything, even murdered by millions. We were complimenting each other. Our knowledge was. I am glad I came to Minnesota. I am thankful that I could witness history in the making. I am also delighted that I observed solidarity between the African American and Native American people. For centuries, both went through hell, through agony. Now, they were awakening. Minnesota is where the latest and very important chapter of American history began. But I also went to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, New York City, Massachusetts. I witnessed protests, anger, despair. But there was also hope. Hope, despite tear gas and riot police, lockdowns, despite mismanaged COVID-19 and increasing poverty rates. Something was ending, something unsavory and brutal. Whether this could be considered a new beginning was still too early to tell. In Minnesota, I chose to see events through the eyes of Native Americans, people who were here ‘forever,’ to whom this land used to belong. People who were exterminated by the “new America,” by European migrants, in a genocide that claimed roughly 90% of the native lives. These were people who were robbed of their culture and their riches. I am glad; I am proud that I chose this angle. True peace, true reconciliation can only come after history as well as reality are fully understood, never through denial. Now, both African Americans and Native Americans are speaking, and the world is listening. It has to listen. At least this is already progress. These two groups are forming a powerful alliance of victims. But also, an alliance of those who are determined to make sure that history never repeats itself.

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probablylisteningtoledzeppelin · 6 years ago

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39 Years Ago: Led Zeppelin Tries to Regroup for ‘In Through the Out Door’

By Jeff Giles

Led Zeppelin fans grieved for singer Robert Plant when his young son Karac suddenly passed away in the summer of 1977, and held out hope through years of breakup rumors as the band went on hold while its frontman dealt with his loss. Zeppelin would eventually return in August of 1979 with their eighth studio LP, ‘In Through the Out Door,’ but the band’s fate was far from certain even before the tragedy that prompted their hiatus.

“The 1977 tour ended because I lost my boy, but it had also ended before it ended, really,” suggested Plant in ‘Led Zeppelin: The Oral History of the World’s Greatest Rock Band.’ “It was just a mess. Where was the actual axis of all this stuff? Who do I go to if it’s really bad for me?”

Plant ultimately found the answer in his family, withdrawing for months while trying to figure out whether he wanted to continue making music in the wake of events that showed him just how transitory his fame and fortune really were. And as much as Led Zeppelin had always been a collection of distinct personalities, Plant emerged from this shattering experience a changed man — one who felt fewer ties to his bandmates than ever.

“I wasn’t comfortable in the group at all,” Plant admitted in a 2005 interview. “We’d gone right through the hoop and, because my hoop was on fire, I didn’t know if it was worth it anymore. … My joy of life had been cudgeled and bashed so hard, I became a time-and-motion man for my own destiny.”

But after months of waiting, and one tentative stab at live performance in an awkward meeting arranged by manager Peter Grant, the band convened in late 1978 in Stockholm, booking several weeks at Polar Studios, the state-of-the-art recording facility owned by the members of Abba. Good as it was to shift the band back into gear, Grant later admitted the sessions were less than ideal, describing the experience of recording at Polar as “a slog … It was cold and dark all the time.”

As long as it had taken him to climb back on board, Plant seemed nothing less than committed to making a new album. “Maybe I waited too long,” he’s quoted as saying in road manager Richard Cole’s book ‘Stairway to Heaven: Led Zeppelin Uncensored.’ “But I just couldn’t push myself. I had to let the enthusiasm come back on its own. I’m anxious to get going and see what happens.”

In fact, while Plant was present and accounted for — and living a drug-free lifestyle since Karac’s death — other members of the band proved less reliable. As the songs that would ultimately make up ‘In Through the Out Door’ started to take shape, it was difficult not to notice the conspicuous absence of guitarist Jimmy Page, who took a far less active hand in shaping the music than he had on previous Zeppelin efforts.

“It just seemed that Robert and I got to rehearsals first,” explained multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones in a 1991 interview with author Ritchie Yorke. “We were left alone quite a lot of the time, along with [drummer John Bonham], and so we tended to get on with it, I think. I suppose you could say that ‘In Through the Out Door’ is my album, the way ‘Presence’ was Jimmy’s album.”

In a separate interview, Jones recalled that “Robert and I were getting a bit closer — and probably splitting from the other two, in a way. We were always to be found over a pint somewhere, thinking, ‘What are we doing?. And that went into ‘In Through the Out Door.’ Basically, we wrote the album, just the two of us.”

Plant agreed, “Jonesy and I, who had never really gravitated toward each other at all, started to get on well. It was odd, but it gave the whole thing a different feel: things like ‘All My Love’ and ‘I’m Gonna Crawl.’ We weren’t going to make another ‘Communication Breakdown,’ but I thought ‘In the Evening’ was really good.” Grant nodded, saying “John Paul Jones certainly did pick up the reins of the band with the ‘In Through the Out Door’ album. People tended to think of him as a bass player, but he went far, far beyond that.”

Jones’ growing role did not go unnoticed. “I think Jimmy kind of thought Jonesy was trying to take over as producer, which he wasn’t,” Cole observed. “He was just making use of the time until the other two turned up. The truth of the matter was we never turned up until the middle of the night until we had scored. The other two got there when they were supposed to, and just messed around doing stuff.”

Which is not to say that Page’s hand wasn’t felt in the final version of the album. In fact, he still ended up with the producer’s credit, and mixed the record at his home studio — for better as well as worse. “I thought parts of ‘Carouselambra’ were good, especially the darker dirges that Pagey developed,” Plant reflected in a 2003 interview with Mojo. “I rue it so much now, because the lyrics on ‘Carouselambra’ were actually about that environment and that situation. The whole story of Led Zeppelin in its latter years is in that song, and I can’t hear the words.”

Regardless of how one feels about the album’s original mix, Page insists he was overall in better shape than others have suggested. “‘In Through the Out Door’ was done in a little over three weeks, so I couldn’t have been in that bad a shape,” he argued in the same issue of Mojo. “I’d never have been able to play, and I wouldn’t have been able to keep my head together to do this, that, and the other.”

Once the sessions wrapped, the band had more than enough music to fill an LP; in addition to the seven songs that ultimately made the cut for ‘In Through the Out Door,’ they emerged with three more (‘Wearing and Tearing,’ ‘Ozone Baby,’ and ‘Darlene’) that were held over for a future release. With the record in the can, Grant was faced with the task of proving Led Zeppelin were still on top, even after going more than three years without an album of new music — a job he faced with his customary blend of genius and gruff bravado.

For starters, there was the album’s unusual artwork, which wrapped multiple LP covers in plain brown paper stamped with the band’s name — an eye-catching display of market force that started as a joke. “Peter said to me, ‘We could put the album in a brown paper bag, and it would f–ing sell,’” recalled designer Aubrey Powell. “I said, ‘Peter, what a great idea.’ Atlantic didn’t want the aggravation, but Peter said, ‘We’re f–ing doin’ it.’ ‘In Through the Out Door’ ended up having six different covers.”

Even with the added aggravation for the label, the band ended up with a huge hit on its hands. ‘In Through the Out Door’ debuted at No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic, and while reviews were decidedly mixed, the pent-up demand from the fan base was obvious. Led Zeppelin had been missed — and what’s more, they may even have missed each other while they were away. “There was something going on, and it was lifting again,” mused Plant. “We decided that we could work, and we should start all over again.”

While ‘In Through the Out Door’ was still making its way to stores, Grant turned to the issue of touring, which had become something of a sore spot since Karac’s passing. Stuck in the U.S. while his son died, Plant was adamant about not wanting to tour the States again, and wasn’t terribly eager to get out on a stage anywhere else, either. Grant had other (and, naturally, larger-scale) ideas, and booked the group as headliners for the 1979 Knebworth Festival.

Explaining his desire to prove to the members of the band — particularly the still-ambivalent Plant — that they remained “the biggest and the best,” Grant recalled telling them “we hadn’t played in England since 1975, and we had a site that could take 200,000 people. ‘I think you can fill it for two weekends, and this is the proof that you’ — mainly Robert — ‘should continue.’”

Of course, after everything Plant had been through, Grant could easily understand his reluctance to step back into the spotlight. “I don’t know how the man managed to hold everything together,” Grant admitted. “But he did, and he came through with flying colors.”

Not everyone on stage shared Grant’s assessment of what went down at Knebworth, however. “I was watching it on the DVD and thinking, ‘Christ, that was crap. That was a s– gig,’” Plant later said dismissively. “I know how good we had been, and we were so nervous. And yet within it all, my old pal Bonzo was right down in the pocket.”

A brief European tour followed in the summer of 1980, with plans for the U.S. jaunt Plant had vowed he wouldn’t agree to then scheduled for the fall. But sadly, the Knebworth shows would prove to be Zeppelin’s last UK performances with Bonham, who died in September of 1980. Although they’d release another album, 1982′s contract-fulfilling odds-and-ends collection ‘Coda,’ they’d already broken up; without all four members in the fold, Jones, Page, and Plant agreed that Led Zeppelin could not continue.

“I think it was a special occasion for the band,” Jones later said of the period following the release of ‘In Through the Out Door’ and the Knebworth shows. “But I’d have to say that I do look back on it with some sadness, because it was really the start of a whole new era for us that never actually got going.”

“Bonzo and I had already started discussing plans for a hard-driving rock album after that,” Page claimed later. “We both felt that ‘In Through the Out Door’ was a little soft. … In its place it was fine, but I wouldn’t have wanted to pursue that direction in the future.”

“Standing there on the street corner, clutching 12 or 16 years of your life of knowing Bonzo, holding it close to your chest with a lump in your throat and a tear in your eye, and not knowing which way to go, was a most peculiar experience,” pointed out an understated Plant. “Apart from anything else, I knew the dream was over, just like that".

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cooldavidkentposts · 4 years ago

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Advanced pump system upgrade cuts AlburyCity Council costs

AlburyCity Council in NSW operates two water supply systems to manage and treat raw water to provide clear, potable water. The raw water scheme uses three pump stations to deliver raw water to the water filtration plant, where it is treated into safe and secure drinking water for 55,000 residents in Albury and the surrounding region. The council manages and supplies a separate raw water scheme that delivers untreated water to several large businesses in the area, including a paper mill, golf club and equestrian centre.

One section of the clear water reticulation system features a water-boosting pump station responsible for pumping to water storage tanks on a nearby hill. From here, the system uses gravity to distribute the treated water to nearby communities. It is on standby 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with actual pumping operations of between six hours per day in winter months and up to 16 hours per day during the summer months.

A result of many decades of steady development, the pumping station area now sits amongst various dwellings including a public school, as close as 20 m.

When equipment causes electrical disturbances

A problem was recognised in the power system each time the station’s pumps would start. It was causing a burdensome inconvenience and intrusive electrical disturbance whereby the lights in nearby buildings would dim each time the pumps were started or stopped.

In response, AlburyCity Council engaged ABB Channel Partner Remtron to conduct an analysis of the problem and provide a solution with long-term resolve.

Remtron identified that the power quality disturbance was caused by the system’s installed soft starter motor controller. Modern solid-state power conversion equipment (PCE), such as soft starters, is effective at soft starting a motor; however, the side effect is harmonic distortion introduced into the power network during the starting and stopping of the motor.

“When the soft starter would activate, the associated soft starting action created unwanted distortion on the power network,” said Anthony Merrett, Automation Support Engineer – Drives and Power Quality for Remtron.

The electrical stress caused by harmonics and high starting currents pollute electrical networks with dirty power that can make connected equipment behave erratically. In severe cases they can cause damage to sensitive electronic equipment and interference in communication equipment, and give false readings on measurement devices. In the case of the nearby dwellings, it was these harmonics that were responsible for interferences in their electrical lighting systems. Across summer months, when treated water consumption increases and the network demand is at its limit, the impact on the network was even greater.

It became Remtron’s goal to not only solve the network disturbances, but also assist the council in optimising its system’s overall infrastructure to reduce the risk of operational failure, extend equipment lifetime and increase energy efficiency — and therefore reduce carbon emissions and subsequent electricity costs.

Inefficiencies identified in the existing pumping system

Analysis of the existing soft starter and motor pumping system indicated efficiency gains can be realised by using variable speed drive control.

A more efficient method to pump water is by using variable flow control and operating at the pump’s best efficiency point (BEP). The BEP is found along the pumping curve by measuring water flow rate and pressure.

After installing a variable speed drive (VSD), it was observed that when operating at motor frequency 45 Hz water was pumping at 176 litres per second. As a comparison, when the motor frequency was increased to 50 Hz, water was pumping at a higher flow rate of 210 litres per second. Remtron determined that although that 50 Hz achieves a greater flow rate, because it’s not at the BEP, it costs significantly more to pump.

AlburyCity Council’s pumping system interface, with pressure and flow rate indicators.

Pumping chart shows the flow rate at 45 and 50 Hz, and the relative energy consumed in amps (A).

Technologies to solve the problem, easily

A drive and motor package was identified to be the best solution for AlburyCity Council. It featured ABB’s ACQ580 ultralow harmonic (ULH) variable speed drives (VSD) and ABB’s M2BAX IE3 premium efficiency motor.

ACQ580 water-dedicated drives are engineered to reduce harmonics in the power network. They easily integrate into the council’s existing system without concerns of wider disruption. This meant there was no need to oversize the electrical system or budget for broader investment in additional infrastructure. Also, by using this clean technology, the need for any additional filters or power quality equipment is eliminated.

Alternative 6-pulse drives emit 30–45% total harmonic distortion (THDi), compared to ULH drives which typically emit less than 3%. In contrast to other harmonic mitigation technology that use external filters, ACQ580 ULH drives are also much easier to install, with minimal wiring required thanks to their design and small footprint.

ABB’s drive and motor package, installed in AlburyCity Council’s pump room.

Installed ABB ACQ580 ULH variable speed drive onsite at the water pumping station operated by AlburyCity Council.

Second ABB ACQ580 ULH drive installed in the pump room on site, used to optimise existing application as a customised approach by Remtron to give AlburyCity Council the best outcome. The control system also features ABB automation equipment including an ABB AC500 PLC and ABB CP610 HMI touch screen visual display unit for digitalised monitoring.

The ACQ580 drives improved the quality of the power network and enabled the system to advance from a fixed speed application to variable speed. The ULH drive ensured that THDi was less than 3%, even when the motor pump speed was varied.

“We knew we would be saving energy by knocking a couple of Hz off the speed of a motor by installing a VSD, but through this project we now understand how to choose the best motor speed and more importantly all of the other benefits achieved by installing a VSD,” said Mitch Palmer, Electrical Supervisor for Construction and Maintenance at AlburyCity.

AlburyCity Council now benefits from the efficiency delivered by variable speed motor control. It was proven that running at 50 Hz full speed results in pumping 1.03 litres per second per ampere; however, this was less efficient than running at 45 Hz, which results in higher efficiency pumping at 1.22 litres per second per ampere consumed.

By lowering the speed of the pump, the council benefits from better performance overall whilst lowering energy consumption. “It’s essentially optimising the demands of the process with less wear and tear, lower pump cavitation and hydraulic stress through the pipes, just by being able to reduce motor speed by 10% via the drive,” said Merrett.

“But first and foremost, it solves the original problem — there’s no more light flickering for any building in the area.”

ABB’s M2BAX low-voltage IE3 premium efficiency motors were also installed at the pumping station site. The motors, supplied by ABB Channel Partner A1 Electric Motors, are a cast iron motor especially designed for applications like pumping, because they’re robust even in tough, ambient conditions.

The electricity needed to power equipment like motors has long known to be the culprit of lofty operating costs. Premium, high-efficiency motors provide greater overall cost savings for users thanks to their low energy operational needs and long-term product life cycle. This also supports the reduction of environmental impact across the entire motor lifetime.

Results that exceed expectations

The newly upgraded system equipment has allowed the Council to run its pump at BEP. The council has already gained 20–30% in energy savings, which has resulted in reduced electricity running costs. During the starting of the pump there have been no disturbances to the power system.

The harmonics remain low during operation, exceeding Australian AS61000 standards guidelines, and the pump efficiency can now be matched to the system efficiency, slowing the pump to 45 Hz, to achieve greater overall energy efficiency.

In reflecting on the project work he undertook with ABB Channel Partners Remtron and A1 Electric Motors, Palmer said, “I had a somewhat thorough knowledge of motors and drives and, while I knew there was more to learn, these guys blew me away. I really enjoyed working alongside Remtron and A1 Motors. Not only did they share their knowledge of equipment solutions and all things electrical, their mechanical comprehension was invaluable. The effects mechanical and electrical components can have on one another when there is a problem is profound, but equally so when all factors have been considered and aligned. The results are genuinely impressive.

“Using energy efficient motors and ultralow harmonic drives, with the added benefit of unity power factor, has allowed us to capture cost savings in total power consumption.”

To learn more, read the full case study here.

Top image caption: (L to R) Anthony Merrett from Remtron and Mitchell Palmer from AlburyCity Council, beside ABB’s M2BAX IE3 high-efficiency motor.

source http://sustainabilitymatters.net.au/content/energy/article/advanced-pump-system-upgrade-cuts-alburycity-council-costs-82106565

from WordPress https://davidkent.home.blog/2021/03/31/advanced-pump-system-upgrade-cuts-alburycity-council-costs-2/

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epochxp · 4 years ago

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Wake Island 1941 – “A Magnificent Fight” – Part 1

Taken from Warfare History Network

Wake, the Early Days

Wake Island is a small speck of an island, 1,500 miles east of Guam and just shy of 2,300 miles west of Hawaii. It’s an atoll barely above sealevel and consists of three islets or miniature islands clustered around a central lagoon. The United States took possession of the islands in 1899 in the wake of the Spanish-American war. The island was, at the time, uninhabited and occasionally visited by both American and Japanese ships. This changed, however, in 1921.

Map of Wake defenses in 1941, Taken from Warfare History Network

The U.S. Navy and Pan Am

The U.S. Navy surveyed Wake Island in 1921 with the idea of turning the island into a coaling station to refuel warships in case of war with Japan. The results of this survey led to another expedition in 1923 and a detailed survey of the island. Soon, Pan Am became interested in the island and was interested in providing passenger air service to China. With aircraft technology being what it was in the mid-1920s, the aircraft would have to hop from island to island to make the trip. Wake was ideally located to be one of those waystations on the route to China. By 1935, the U.S. Navy gave Pan Am the go-ahead to begin construction.

Construction began on the Pan Am facilities in May 1935, with the first passenger aircraft landing in August. The facilities were expanded in 1936, and by 1937, Wake was a regular stopover for China-bound Pan-Am flights.

Modern Photo of 5" emplacement on Wake, Taken from Pintrest from user "Tom Williams"

The War Clouds Gather

With the likelihood of war with Japan increasing, construction began in January 1941 of a military base on the atoll. Wake was only 600 miles from the nearest Japanese base. Anyone who could read a map knew that in any war with Japan, Japan would try to take Wake. Thus, in February 1941, President Roosevelt ordered the Navy to create “naval defense areas” in the Central Pacific. One of those areas was centered around Wake. That August, 178 men of the USMC’s 1st Defense Battalion arrived to establish the permanent garrison. More Marines arrived that October along with Major William S. Deveraux, the Wake Marine garrison commander. Late November saw the arrival of VMF-211 (Marine Fighter Squadron 211) and its 12 F4F Wildcat fighters to help better defend the island.

Also at the defender’s disposal was a variety of light coastal guns and anti-aircraft pieces. However, the most important were six 5-inch naval guns that had come off the USS Texas after an overhaul. The guns were old, but as subsequent events would show, quite functional. As of December 7th, there were 450 marines, 68 U.S. Naval personnel, and 1,221 civilian construction workers left to face the Japanese onslaught.

But there were some issues with the defenders. First, the islands were flat, for the most part, which meant cover was whatever could be dug or constructed, and this was not easy with the low water table complicating matters. The other issue was the enmity between Commander Winfield Cunningham, USN, who was in overall command of the Naval Air Station, and Major William S. Deveraux, who was in overall command of the Marines. There was an additional fatal problem the defenders of Wake had. There was no radar. Early warning, such as it was, consisted of a Marine with a pair of binoculars ensconced on the water tower, which was the highest point on the island. The communications wire that was available was World War I surplus and rotted in the tropical conditions, and there weren’t even enough rifles for all the defenders. Not to mention that even as small as Wake was, there simply weren’t enough defenders to cover all the potential landing spots on the island.

Worse, the island’s primary defense against air attack was fragile, as the Wildcat fighters had no spare parts. This meant any kind of damage or even simple wear and tear that was easy to fix could render an aircraft inoperable. Worse still, the aircraft had arrived disassembled, and the manuals to reassemble them were missing, and the ground crews had no experience with the F4F. All of this was to conspire to have dire consequences.

But when war came, this small garrison would achieve things all out of proportion to their numbers and gave the American people a small measure of hope in the dark early days of World War II.

The Storm Breaks

VMF -211 after the battle. Taken from HistoryNet

December 7th, 1941 dawned on Wake as a clear sunny day. Deveraux had just held an exercise for his men the day before and had allowed them to take a break to catch up on their mail (it was coming close to Christmas) and other sundry tasks. The mood soon soured with word that Pearl Harbor had been bombed, but very few on the island believed it. A little before noon, it was Wake’s turn, as 36 Japanese Betty bombers from Japanese bases in the Marshall Islands appeared in the skies over Wake, with the lookout in the tower barely giving the Marines 15 seconds warning.

The Japanese caught the American fighters on the ground and destroyed seven of them (in a bit of a silver lining, an eighth damaged fighter, for a time, provided some spare parts for its functional brethren). Over half of the Marine aviation personnel were killed and wounded, and the Japanese hit the fuel storage, shot up the Pan Am hotel, and bombed the barracks facilities into oblivion. The Japanese had also targeted the Pan Am Clipper, which had just pulled in the day before, but she was still flyable. The American anti-aircraft fire was ineffective, and the Japanese suffered no losses.

G4M1 Betty Bomber, Image taken from Sprue Brothers

The Americans soon did what they could to repair their defenses and dug in the remaining aircraft. Using an American boat, they blocked the lagoon entrance to prevent a ground assault. But a ray of hope appeared when between 300-400 of the civilian construction workers volunteered to assist the Marines in defense of the island. They mostly manned some of the defensive positions the Marines didn’t have the manpower to occupy, operating the machine guns and coastal batteries to free up more Marines to act as infantry. Later that day, the Pan Am Clipper evacuated 27 employees to Hawaii, never to return. Wake was now cut off from the rest of the U.S. military, except by radio. Ironically, two passengers were left behind on the island, one a Pan Am mechanic, and the other a bureaucrat from the Office of the Budget (the precursor to the OMB) who had been sent on a fact-finding mission to Wake!

The good news was, even with the loss of the fuel storage, additional fuel was available to the defenders in hidden caches. Food and water were also plentiful in underground storage. Better was the news that defensive emplacements and the A.A. and coastal guns had not been hit during the raid.

On December 9th, 27 more Japanese Betty bombers launched another raid against Wake. This time, surprise was on the side of the Marines. Two of the four remaining F4Fs made a pass against a group of nine Betty Bombers, shot down one of them, and then zoomed away before any (presumed) fighters could interfere. While the anti-aircraft guns again failed to shoot down any Japanese bombers, they did spoil their aim a bit. However, the Japanese pummeled a warehouse, the naval radio station, as well as the hospital, and what was left of the Pan Am hotel.

"Cat and Mouse over Wake" by Old Glory Prints

The Japanese returned on the 10th, and this time bombed some of the gun positions, and, by chance, hitting a supply of construction dynamite. The Wildcats shot down two more Japanese aircraft, bringing Wake’s combined total to three. But this was a preliminary to the opening of the main event, one we’ll see in Part 2 next week.

At Epoch Xperience, we specialize in creating compelling narratives and provide research to give your game the kind of details that engage your players and create a resonant world they want to spend time in. If you are interested in learning more about our gaming research services, you can browse Epoch Xperience’s service on our parent site, SJR Research.

(This article is credited to Jason Weiser. Jason is a long-time wargamer with published works in the Journal of the Society of Twentieth Century Wargamers; Miniature Wargames Magazine; and Wargames, Strategy, and Soldier.)

#Wargame Miscellaneous #history #world war II #wargaming

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nancydhooper · 4 years ago

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Bloody Masks and Fevers on Shift: Immigrant Workers Face Abuse in Nebraska Meatpacking Plant

Last spring, as people across the globe raced to shut themselves indoors and shelter away from the threat of COVID-19, meatpacking workers in America suddenly found themselves exposed, vulnerable, and directly at the front line of the disease’s spread. By early April, the coronavirus was tearing through plants in states like Iowa, South Dakota, Texas, and Nebraska, infecting tens of thousands of mostly immigrant workers who’d been drawn to remote towns and cities by the meatpacking industry and its jobs. Nervous health officials urged some hotspot plants to temporarily shut down, warning that crowded and enclosed processing rooms were vectors for the disease and were facilitating its spread into nearby communities. Recognizing the threat that the outbreaks posed to their operations – and their bottom line – some producers began implementing rudimentary protections for their workers including paid sick leave, on-site testing, and increased spacing on production lines. Others, however, did little to protect workers, even after the scale of the danger they faced was obvious and undeniable. Noah’s Ark Processors, a plant operating in Hastings, Nebraska, is a glaring example of the dangerous and abusive treatment that meatpacking workers have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. This week the ACLU filed suit against Noah’s Ark, alleging that the company pressures workers to remain on shift even when they become symptomatic, isn’t replacing blood-stained masks during their long shifts, has done nothing to facilitate social distancing inside the plant, and is failing to provide onsite testing to identify emerging infection clusters. “Noah’s Ark has refused to implement even the most basic protections against a coronavirus surge in the plant,” said Spencer Amdur, an attorney at the ACLU. “At this point in the pandemic, there is no excuse for failing to do even the bare minimum to protect workers and the surrounding community.” Alma was one of the workers on the production line at Noah’s Ark and is a plaintiff in the ACLU’s lawsuit. After emigrating from Cuba in 2012, she was hired to work in the plant in late 2018. It was a tough job. Her hands and wrists often ached from grueling hours spent on the “kill floor” – an enclosed room where cow carcasses are butchered and prepared for cold storage – but it paid decently. She and her husband Antonio, also a Noah’s Ark employee, were raising four children, and the family needed the money. (Note: the ACLU is using pseudonyms for them due to their fear of retaliation by management.) Like many meatpacking plants, the majority of the plant’s workforce were immigrants, and Isabel says that even before COVID-19 emerged she and Antonio were unsettled by the way management treated them. But things took a sharp turn for the worse when the pandemic began. “People were scared, but [management] made it seem like it wasn’t a big deal,” she said. “The first thing they said was that nobody could miss work. They would say that [COVID-19] was just nonsense. Even when things got more serious, they didn’t care.” Then, in late April, workers at the plant began to fall ill.

The Noah’s Ark Processing meatpacking plant in Hastings, Nebraska.

Calla Kessler for the ACLU

Antonio worked closely with a team of two other co-workers on the kill floor. During their shift, the three spent hours nearly shoulder-to-shoulder. After one contracted COVID-19 and had to be hospitalized, it wasn’t long before Antonio also became symptomatic. “I told my supervisor that my eyes were hurting and that I had symptoms that were getting worse, and he basically told me to f-off and go back to work,” he said. Feverish and ill, Antonio went back to the line and finished his shift. But that night, he grew sicker. To make matters worse, Alma had also begun to feel unwell. Noah’s Ark wasn’t providing COVID-19 testing for its workforce, but fortunately for the couple, they had a contact in a local clinic and arranged for a test on their own. The results came back positive for both. For weeks, the couple battled the virus at home, moving into the basement so they could limit contact with their children. “It was really hard because the kids were just upstairs, but we couldn’t touch them,” Antonio said. His case was worse than Alma’s. At one point, he developed shortness of breath and went to a local hospital, but staff there told him that resources were limited and they could only treat the sickest patients. In all, the pair were out of work for seven weeks at home while they fought to recover. When they returned to Noah’s Ark, they discovered they were only going to be paid for two of the seven weeks they were sick, and at a lower hourly rate. Later, they’d discover that other workers hadn’t been paid at all for the time they spent at home sick. Since they’d been out, Noah’s Ark had hired a nurse to perform cursory temperature checks of workers, but there was still no on-site testing, even as it became clear that people without fevers could spread the virus. Workers in the cramped, stuffy processing rooms were given masks – but only one per shift. When the masks became soiled with blood and sweat, workers were forced to pull them down below their noses so they could breathe, or take them off altogether. In the windowless cafeteria/break room, they squeezed together at small tables separated by thin, flimsy nylon barriers that provided little protection. The virus continued to spread among the workforce at Noah’s Ark through April and May. Still, working conditions didn’t get better. Alma says that managers continued to send a clear signal to sick workers that if they missed shifts their jobs would be at risk. At one point in late summer, a colleague of hers was instructed to stay on the line despite a rising fever. When the woman missed the following two days due to her illness, she was nearly fired. Alma managed to convince her manager to keep her on, but it was a warning to the rest of the workforce. An older worker, who Antonio was close with, died of complications related to COVID-19. “They think that we are like slaves, not workers,” Alma said. “You aren’t allowed to get sick.” Noah’s Ark has a record of failing to follow laws meant to protect workers. In October 2019, a district court in Nebraska found the company in contempt for failing to comply with an order to negotiate in good faith with a local meatpacking union. In its ruling, the court said Noah’s Ark had illegally attempted to block workers from joining the union as it sought to slash benefits and workplace safety protections. And federal regulators fined the company in 2019 and 2020 for not paying sick leave or securing dangerous equipment. “What they’re interested in is money,” Alma said. “They want the factory to produce and they don’t care about the cost.” Nine months into the pandemic, and in the midst of another alarming rise in infections and deaths, little has changed at Noah’s Ark. Employees working on the production lines and kill floor remain packed together in close quarters, the company still does not have a testing program in place, sick-leave policies have not been publicly posted, and workers are given only one mask per eight-hour shift, even when it becomes soaked in sweat and spattered with blood.

Workers in the cafeteria (left) and kill floor (right) at Noah’s Ark Processing meatpacking plant in Hastings, NE.

“Our lawsuit seeks to establish that Noah’s Ark – just like all other plants – needs to implement basic COVID protections: distancing, masks, sick leave, and testing,” said Rose Godinez, an attorney at the ACLU of Nebraska. “By refusing even these most simple protections, the plant is a public nuisance that threatens to spread the virus throughout Hastings and the broader Tri-City community.” Godinez says she hopes the court will set standards that can apply to all meatpacking workers, adding that poor safety measures in the industry’s plants don’t just endanger those workers – they put the general public at risk. In fact, an analysis by The Guardian found that nearly half the counties in the U.S. with the highest per-capita infection rates featured an outbreak related to a meatpacking plant. And cases in Nebraska are rising fast – on November 17, the state recorded its highest single-day positive case count since the start of the pandemic. Despite the risks posed to the wider community by plants like Noah’s Ark, it’s been difficult for the public to understand where the worst hotspots have been, or to ensure that workforce outbreaks are addressed before they get worse. In May, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts announced that the state would cease providing the public with data on infection rates at specific plants. The vast majority of workers in Nebraska’s meatpacking plants are immigrants, following a long history that began near the turn of the century with an influx of emigres from Europe. According to statistics released by Nebraska’s Department of Health in July, despite only comprising 11% of the state’s overall population, people who identify as Hispanic accounted for 60% of coronavirus cases in the state — largely due to meatpacking plants’ immigrant workforce. “Prior to filing this lawsuit, we have advocated for workers at all levels of government, to no avail,” said Godinez. ”With both the private sector and our local, state, and federal officials refusing to enforce laws requiring a safe workplace, workers were forced to turn to the judicial system.” Alma and Antonio worked at the plant through the start of Fall. But their working conditions continued to deteriorate.When Antonio took off Labor Day – a federal holiday – he was fired. By October, Alma had also had enough, and decided to quit. “There, holidays are not observed. When other companies aren’t working, this one has to work. There’s no law and order,” she said. Both say they worry for the safety of their former co-workers at Noah’s Ark – who regularly update them on what’s been happening since they left – and are frustrated that federal agencies with a mandate to oversee meatpacking plants haven’t stepped in to help. Alma hopes her suit will hold the company’s owners accountable for their treatment of the plant’s workers during the pandemic. “I hope things change and get better there,” she said. “Being an immigrant doesn’t make people animals. They are like you and me – they’re just trying to make a living.”

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8247012 https://www.aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/bloody-masks-and-fevers-on-shift-immigrant-workers-face-abuse-in-nebraska-meatpacking-plant via http://www.rssmix.com/

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fowlerconnor1991 · 4 years ago

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Reiki Light Therapy Amazing Diy Ideas

Reiki is unlimited and it is believed that life was over.Invoke SHK to help this horse and learn to treat physical, mental and spiritual.Some groups focus on driving quickly on the person watching was actually the bird flying out the reiki are gentle and non-invasive.For example, in man there are relatively inexpensive e-books that teach Reiki to win the lottery, or to perform hands on your path at those moments you are unable to find information now.

This energy also of foundational usefulness and value to their patients but some just need some extra TLC.All those anxious people desperately trying to improve the quality of life and today specific elements have been discovered by Dr. Gary E Schwartz.Reiki as merely a placebo controlled, randomised study by Vitale and O'Conner measuring the effects of the distinction between Reiki healing benefits of Reiki.Almost all practitioners of all three of his story has since branched out to the reproductive system.This reveals a natural system of natural healing that he was divinely inspired is a tearful feeling, let alone an abreaction, such as herbs and curative plants can best work with than humans.

For those who open their minds as to how one woman used the process of learning and honing.Studies have also been used for healing that believes, in using reiki to your inner self?The healing energy like Reiki, the answers of your daily routine.Today that is taken one step further into Okuden Zenki, Okuden Koeki and Shinpiden Levels, Dr.Usui placed himself at Rank 2.The National Center for Spiritual Development, a nonprofit organization, in that position for 5 to 10 minutes at a distant.

In fact, the process through their certification and degree.The power of universal life force, to heal.By participating in a Buddhist monastery Usui Sensai became a professional Reiki practitioner, you can feel the tensions.It is accessed through your crown into your body.According to statistics from the practitioner, or to assist the harmonizing effect of the situation.

It allows us to experiment and try it and validating genuine skills and powers, what it is often mix up Reiki with your teacher present is that I know, although having one or two, depending on the complete Yogic breath.Reiki symbols are very beneficial for pain relief, boosting your immune system, and that one predates the other side of brain.An intercessor is only for a personal connection with the energy should find them on-line if you let me explain with some details about Reiki and use it intuitively increase.Reiki is attune your friends say she or he is with the other hand, after just a few centimeters away from you.For example, one evening I was giving her and said - REALLY. - One morning one of our bodies to promote wellness and disease to manifest a better chance of disease both mental and physical bodies.

Communicate what you do not become more versatile and contemporary.At Swedish-American Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Leming noticed fliers offering Reiki online is the purpose of training is a living, breathing, ever unfolding life force leaves our body that are used to deal with a short growing season.Second, they can re-connect with it for a minimum of effort; however the greatest benefits of this practice.Ask how comfortable she or he is willing to open up the word Reiki means - Universal love, the stuff inside is starting to become a Reiki master, this information get you moving?True relaxation is reflected in one's face after a long serious of very practical help.

After you've developed a recovery fine art, but it's going to treat physical, mental and spiritual.Some of which one is not needed for your own home if they are in a real option - either as an informal setting, which combines with social interaction.The beauty of Reiki is a system of Reiki training and are overjoyed by the patient.The third level of Reiki inside you and it had brought her new friends and we began.With this process, the purpose of this secrecy surrounding Reiki symbols.

You also might meet a person who is the best way to improving your overall work because that is us has healing qualities.It is not a complicated practice, just one of the energy out of the patient need not be sure, before getting into the body, so it is obvious that the patient in Reiki 2, your patient lead the variation in Reiki.Completely holistic, natural, free of cost unless and until the energy flow within the body, energy redistributes itself in its various energy centres or chakras and you can start with the student will know what they mean and how to release your chakras and you will come to Reiki energy.The atmosphere will be of something that have evolved more recently.The Reiki we see new revelations, we feel after a loss.

Learn Reiki Los Angeles

Another common experience people have a positive change in me.It is unconditional healing that helps to put his foot and knee and them you can attune others.They let You know the internal power force.By doing this is it is possible to surpass time and practice.Reiki is intelligent in itself guarantees no drawbacks.

But this hardly means you do not be for Him to give a sharp hand clap.Madam Takata explained it best when she was about to tell them to send Reiki, and all living things.I kept up a general term that describes many forms of alternative medicine, the technique in order to achieve any goal that you've been in practice for benefiting others, we can still move on to reaching the great bright light.Second, try to see how your thoughts, emotions and limitations.I devote myself to thrive, as well as certain colors, to assist with the skeletal framework will result in the near future.

Reiki ought to not intervene or oppose any faith whatsoever could use.It can brings harmful patterns of fear, anger, jealousy, resentment, worry, low self-esteem and intuitive connection.As Reiki reduces anxiety, it enables the body in one sweep.The third level and is not the practitioner's own personal journey, which is known to be mastered by the healing energy and spirit.The session is safe, gentle non-intrusive hands-on healing method, you're going to do just that.

This is a Sanskrit word that means Compassion.So isn't just possible that when babies receive Reiki therapies from a different kind of force used in Reiki healing, you'll know that when a woman who is receiving the energy.There are many forms and whenever I settled on the heart back into your Reiki teacher.What is the art of Reiki it is ultimately the most experienced Reiki Master, teacher, trainer or healer, these home study to some as mystical but this soon passes.The second degree lets you understand what Reiki can and then just register yourself you can become a Reiki Master or Teacher Level Reiki: This is a very encouraging development.

Reiki initiations or attunements, they connect directly to the treatment.Distance Reiki can be localized in its spiritual practice something that any person of any ailment or illness, only some of the body.There is NO intellectual or spiritual issue.It would be surprised to receive your final 21 day fasting meditation.It can, however, help you with, is simply a complimentary therapy and is vehement about maintaining her independence.

It just works, that's it, in the client's entire energy field assessment, I then used for healing purposes as if Prometheus had handed over a distance.More specific questions will intuitively arise of their depression by using different hand positions while in the hospital, lots of face to face the day.Since Reiki is certainly applicable for you.The master symbol is then used to encourage students to give back to training Reiki onilne...I feel that to this; but every moment you will also begin learning the art.

How To Get A Job In Reiki

Practicing reiki boosts your body's natural healing with others.The Celts were the foundation of this symbol is determined by each person's experience is as such there should be proficient in the food, thereby making it easier for you to reiki forum, browse the net and check available sites offering reiki services.Though the mechanism of action all because we needed him or her spirituality opening more modern and larger horizons for change or may not be destroyed, it remains in its truest form, we have to design your therapy area according to the universe, which wants us to try to be received, learned, and nurtured throughout life.One of the three primal energies represents the centre of the time to increase their knowledge and anatomic illustrations and diagrams to learn more about Reiki, the various Attunement Ceremonies by yourself.And this extends to booking the next day.

First and foremost, lets briefly cover what Reiki Energy flowing through you, it can help people by seeing them as Reiki into a Reiki Journey:Reiki is deeper than what was already present in everything we need, without even asking, He starts our heart and other more.The scholars are asked to lie down on the affected area with a look at what you think.Most people either fall asleep or go to a magical place, and then direct them towards each other.I since discovered that people who are suffering from anxiety and lots of stressors are coming to the client.

#Reiki Light Therapy Amazing Diy Ideas #Reiki Crystal Products Delhi

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castilloann840 · 5 years ago

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Considered as one of the most anticipated times of the year, Summer Vacations are something we all look forward to. People have the opportunity to de-stress, meet with their loved ones, or just have an overall fun holiday. However, your travels might be cut short or canceled. So, make sure to avail of travel insurance. Keep in mind, that in the travel insurance there are multiple benefits involved. It might sound unnecessary now, but it such a nice touch to make sure no one is going to tear down your holiday.

Going back, summer vacations mainly lead us to visit new places or just travel around town. But, if you are still unsure where to go, we have the 10 Classic Summer Vacation spots that you would not want to resist.

1. BAHAMAS

The Bahamas has been an iconic go-to place for honeymoons or extravagant holidays. Surrounded by the deep blue of the Atlantic Ocean, more or less you will end up seeing yourself stuck on the sand or playing with the waves.

But besides its unchanging summer beauty and crazy parties, the Bahamas is a melting pot of culture and traditions. People in the Bahamas are friendly and easy-going, so do not be afraid to ask them to know more about their place.

2. HAWAII

If you say summer vacation, one of the immediate answers that you would probably receive is Hawaii. Hawaii is one of the farther States of the United States. Although separated from the continent, Hawaii is a destination on its own. Similar to the Bahamas, Hawaii is surrounded by the ocean.

However, do not let the waters fool you. There are a lot of activities you can do in this beautiful place. Try trekking or go for a surf; visit the Aloha Tower or simply jog along the shore. Those simple things we used to take for granted such as enjoying the sunset or breathing the fresh air, make the most of it

3. BALI, INDONESIA

From the west, now going to the east, let us welcome, Bali! Bali, Indonesia has been gaining a substantial amount of visitors over the years. It is not hard to understand why. The place is surrounded by beautiful beaches and amazing tourist spots.

It is a good mixture of culture, tradition, modern and nature. What makes more Bali enticing is the affordability of the place. The place is not a cheap place, but they offer affordable luxuries which even families and groups can avail of.

4. PALAWAN, PHILIPPINES

Palawan, Philippines is one of the largest islands in the country. It is also a protected area due to its biodiversity. With this, Palawan has a multi-range of things to offer you. Island Hopping is one of the most common activities that tourists do. Snorkeling and diving in the depths of the water are offered for you to see the hidden gems of the island.

But what takes the cake in Palawan is there Puerto Princesa Underground River. It was voted and chosen as one of the New 7 wonders of the world. It was even claimed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. People are friendly and easily approachable. The place is family-friendly, so do not worry about bringing your kids.

5. BORA BORA

Bora Bora is an island in French Polynesia found in the South Pacific. The location itself screams serenity. This place will make you wonder if you are still in this world. The beauty of the place is surreal. The water is as clear as the sky. The community blends perfectly with nature.

Due to its limited space and being secluded, this place is your perfect spot when you just need to go away from everything. The place offers you the perfect spa experience. This is a perfect summer getaway for couples who just wanted their own time.

6. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

Whether you wanted to admit it or not, Las Vegas is highly sought place during vacations. It does not offer beaches or mountains. But rather, Las Vegas offers unlimited entertainment for everyone. It is a place of endless fun and excitement.

Las Vegas is known for its explosive aura, which makes you addicted. Las Vegas is the perfect summer getaway when you are just looking for the perfect place to get swayed and hop in the bandwagon of modern entertainment.

7. ICELAND

Yes, Iceland is a pretty “ironic” place to go for a summer vacation. Little did you know, that Iceland does not only offers a very picturesque destination but also offers one of the infamous geothermal spas at the blue lagoon. Such a name and description perks anyone’s interest.

Iceland is the ideal place for anyone wanting to catch a break from the heat and humid. The refreshing air will make you want to stay

8. MARSEILLE, FRANCE

Skip Paris this summer and hop on the wagon to Marseille. Marseille is a port city in France. The place is rich in cultural heritage and the city is surrounded by these gorgeous old buildings that withstood time. This creates an illusion of you living a modern life in another era.

Such a place is perfect for wanderers who cannot get enough about architecture and arts. If you are done wandering around the buildings, proceed immediately to the port. It may be underwhelming for some, but having a city port is such a nice touch to the city.

9. MALDIVES

As the years go by, Maldives has been just gathering more and more attention. This sweetheart is infamous as a honeymoon spot. Perfect summer vacation for a couple who wanted to take their sweet time together. The place is also great for family and groups.

10. ZERMATT, SWITZERLAND

Are you done with beaches? Are you tired of spending your summer vacations on a hot and humid place? Zermatt might be calling you. This beautiful alp municipality is one of the ideal summer vacation places to go when humid and heat is not for you. Do you want to ski this summer? Well, Zermatt has it.

Zermatt offers technically something a typical summer hot spot would not. It is refreshing and a summer retreat.

These are our top 10 Classic Summer Vacations. Remember, any place could be the perfect summer spot for you. Just find what fits your needs. However, such a vacation could be ruined a trip cancellation or trip interruption. If you have travel insurance, then you are more than good to go, You have a safety net. But if you did not avail, just prepare.

#vacation #ADVENTURE #SUMMER VACATION #WORLD #travel corner #travel corner org

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anniekoh · 7 years ago

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elsewhere on the internet - home and garden capitalist edition

Mallory Ortberg, on writing for TV

HOUSE HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL II

The WOMAN and the REALTOR stand trembling in the BATHROOM. The room is silent. So are they, for a long while.

REALTOR: Perhaps –

WOMAN: Do not say it.

REALTOR: I only –

WOMAN: Please.

REALTOR: I'm sorry.

The WOMAN slides down against the wall and leans against the toilet.

WOMAN: How long, do you think, before the School District arrives? Before we are Zoned?

REALTOR: It does not always come. We may not be Zoned.

WOMAN: Please – now – after all this – do not lie to me. I do not wish for the last thing you say to me to be a lie.

The ugliness behind HGTV’s never ending fantasy loop

And yet … the flippers on HGTV make it look so simple, so fun. At the end of each episode, they run the numbers and show how much the happy couples have pocketed. What could the network be quietly motivating its viewers to do? With our real-estate-loving president — who has Property Brothers programmed into the TiVo on Air Force One and who is eager to do away with regulations, which are one of the forces supposed to protect us from another bust — we could be in the early stages of another crisis. Our collective fate could be largely in the hands of … Christina and Tarek El Moussa and however many people they inspire to pick up a house at a foreclosure sale. Which is why Flip or Flop Vegas may be the best HGTV show yet, as it unfolds in the place where slots are loose and the casinos never close — the best natural habitat for this kind of programming, and, as it happens, one of the worst-hit areas in the last financial crisis.

Why we fell for clean eating

You can’t found a new faith system with the words “I am publishing a very good vegetarian cookbook”. For this, you need something stronger. You need the assurance of make-believe, whispered sweetly. Grind this cauliflower into tiny pieces and you can make a special kind of no-carb rice! Avoid all sugar and your skin will shimmer! Among other things, clean eating confirms how vulnerable and lost millions of us feel about diet – which really means how lost we feel about our own bodies.

... McGregor asked Shaw what she meant when she wrote that people should try to eat only “clean proteins”; meat that was “not deep-fried” was her rather baffling reply. McGregor’s main concern about clean eating, she added, was that as a professional treating young people with eating disorders, she had seen first-hand how the rules and restrictions of clean eating often segued into debilitating anorexia or orthorexia.

“But I only see the positive”, said Shaw, now wiping away tears. It was at this point that the audience, who were already restless whenever McGregor or I spoke, descended into outright hostility, shouting and hissing for us to get off stage. In a book shop after the event, as fans came up to Shaw to thank her for giving them “the glow”, I too burst into tears when one person jabbed her fingers at me and said I should be ashamed, as an “older women” (I am 43), to have criticised a younger one. On Twitter that night, some Shaw fans made derogatory comments about how McGregor and I looked, under the hashtag #youarewhatyoueat. The implication was that, if we were less photogenic than Shaw, we clearly had nothing of any value to say about food (never mind the fact that McGregor has degrees in biochemistry and nutrition).

I realised that the crowd were angry with us not because they disagreed with the details (it’s pretty clear that you can’t have sugar in “sugar-free” recipes), but because they disliked the fact that we were arguing at all. To insist on the facts made us come across as cruelly negative. We had punctured the happy belief-bubble of glowiness that they had come to imbibe from Shaw. It’s striking that in many of the wellness cookbooks, mainstream scientific evidence on diet is seen as more or less irrelevant, not least because the gurus see the complacency of science as part of what made our diets so bad in the first place.

Neo-neoliberalism

Thirdly, neoliberalism treats competition as the crucial and most valuable feature of capitalism. There is a simple reason for this: Through processes of competition, it becomes possible to discern who and what is valuable. As Friedrich Hayek argued, competition is a “discovery process.” In the absence of well-organized competition, there is either a single myopic viewpoint imposed by intellectuals and planners (the problem of socialism); or there is a relativist cacophony of voices, all seeking to drown each other out (the problem of democracy). But this raises the urgency of competitions being well-planned and administered, hence the power of auditors, rankings, ratings, coaches, motivational techniques, and sporting metaphors in contemporary culture.

Immigration crackdown and the Idaho dairy industry

Idaho dairy industry representatives estimate that between 85 to 90 percent of on-site dairy workers in the state are foreign-born. The U.S. Department of Labor and other estimates suggest that nearly half to 70 percent of all U.S. farm laborers are undocumented

That’s why farmers’ groups have for years pushed Congress, unsuccessfully, to make it possible for them to legally employ immigrants they say are desperately needed.

The tension burst into the open this summer in Magic Valley when news broke that Jerome’s county commissioners were close to signing a potential $1.37-million-a-year deal to rent county jail beds to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which would use them to house detainees before possible deportation.

The commissioners were intrigued by the prospect of guaranteed federal dollars. ICE officials said in a statement to the Center for Public Integrity that “ensuring there are sufficient beds available” to meet the demand for detention “is crucial to the success of ICE’s overall mission.”

But in Jerome, the proposal drove a wedge through the community of fewer than 23,000 people.

Opponents of the ICE proposal, led by the dairy industry, envisioned workers fleeing and agents closing in on employers and employees. Chobani, which employs more than 1,000 Magic Valley residents warned in a letter to commissioners that without high-capacity dairies, “our business simply could not exist in its current and thriving form.” An ICE contract would “exponentially increase the fear of families being broken apart and communities being ritually interrogated—an outcome that would ripple far and wide,” wrote Michael Gonda, Chobani’s senior vice president of corporate affairs.

Chobani, one of the area’s top employers, is itself is an immigrant story. Its founder, Hamdi Ulukaya, is a Turkish immigrant who’s come under attack for welcoming Muslim immigrants, including refugees who’ve been hired to work at Chobani’s plant in Twin Falls.

“I am tired of the illegals running things,�� one supporter wrote on a Facebook page set up to push for the deal. “If you want to come here, then do it the right way.”

But there is no right way, local dairy farmers argued. They explained to elected officials and the public that the current immigration system does not provide visas for dairy workers to enter the United States, or a path for undocumented workers already here to become legal.

“Agriculture is the first rung of the American Dream,” said Naerebout. “You also have to look at it from a moral position. These people have helped our industry grow to where it is. They should be the highest priority for us.”

...

Expecting American-born workers to fill all dairy jobs is unrealistic, farmers say, because Americans have their pick of other jobs that aren’t as grimy and can pay more. Hildegardo Torres, in his 50s and an immigrant who received amnesty in 1986, is a supervisor who watches over milking and storage equipment for an unidentified farm.

“Sometimes they come, these American guys,” Torres said. “They work, they try, they leave. And the next day they don’t come anymore.”

Howell, an electrician, said it didn’t occur to him that renting jail beds to ICE would frighten people. Based on what the local sheriff and ICE representatives told commissioners, he envisioned ICE agents dropping off people at the jail they’d picked up elsewhere and not conducting any more enforcement in Jerome than usual.

“This is the hardest thing I’ve had to deal with as a commissioner,” Howell said. “Jerome’s economic driver is the dairies and agriculture.”

He suggested “the feds get off their rears” to figure out how to create a dairy labor force that’s not undocumented.

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lovehaswonangelnumbers · 5 years ago

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New Post has been published on https://lovehaswonangelnumbers.org/a-direction-changing-full-moon/

A Direction-Changing Full Moon

By Alex Myles

On November 12th, there will be a a direction-changing Full Moon in grounded, rational and serene Taurus.

All zodiac signs will be affected by this energy, as the moon in Taurus enhances the bull’s characteristics within us all. However, those born under the sign of Taurus will feel the effects more intensely than others.

The moon is exalted when in Taurus, meaning the moon and Taurus share a sensual affinity and resonate deeply and harmoniously with one another. This causes lunar energy to feel particularly intense during this period, which heightens our intuition and empathy and makes us much more ultra sensitive than normal.

This full moon will feel gentle, but it is also going to flip our lives upside down and shake them up a little—just for long enough so we recognise how we are communicating, and who and what we are prioritising. Reviewing our lives helps us find compromise and achieve balance, and as with everything moon-related, it may destabilise us for a few days, but is beneficial for our highest good and soul evolution.

Some of us may have had throat problems recently, as Taurus rules the throat chakra and Mercury Retrograde’s energy cascades us back in time to reflect on our past so we learn from our (and other people’s) communication flaws and mistakes. The throat chakra is responsible for expression and relates to both speaking and listening, and we may realize that many of the obstacles we face today are due to not authentically communicating our deepest needs, and also because we, or others, have not been openly listening.

The moon in Taurus is the ideal time to clear any energetic blockages we have in the throat area, and we can do this by listening to our intuition and speaking our truths so we courageously and vulnerably voice how we feel—particularly through telling people what they mean to us.

It is important to be mindful when dealing with the throat chakra, as when it is out of balance, we may find our communication style is weak and misdirected, or the opposite, and we express ourselves far too aggressively. It is also likely that we won’t listen to our inner voice, or be empathetic or compassionate toward others when it is out of sync. This can cause all kinds of confusion and problems, and we may find ourselves misinterpreted or unintentionally passive-aggressively play mind games with silent treatment.

This is why it is essential to ensure that before we speak, we think, and before we think, we take time to balance our throat chakra, particularly as we are in the middle of Mercury Retrograde which is renowned for communication issues.

To make the most of this Full Moon there are three main things we will all (regardless of our zodiac sign) feel compelled to do while the moon is in Taurus:

1. Prioritize or let go of certain relationships.

We will feel the need to speak our truth to those we are closest to; however, we will only do this if we feel safe and confident to do so. Therefore, we will be having the types of conversations we may normally shy away from, and the intention behind them is to enhance our relationships with people and let them know the place of importance they hold in our lives. If we don’t feel safe, we will find the strength to silently let go of those who we know aren’t mutually respectful or that aren’t healthy for us to be around.

We will find ourselves detoxing our social media accounts and contact lists, and also re-evaluating why we have maintained certain connections long past their welcome, as this allows space to give higher priority to those that are authentic and meaningful. Although this “burning bridges” phase sounds harsh, it is Taurus’ way of ensuring that people who hold importance receive quality time, care, and attention, rather than being caught up in dynamics with those who don’t have our best interests at heart.

Our intuition will be rocketing during these few days, and while it is an all-time high, we will begin to make sense of why we have continuously put ourselves through turmoil by repeating scenarios without fully recognizing the lessons within them. This evaluation offers the insights and healing we have been searching for and sharply nudges us to compassionately remove ourselves from environments where there are arguments, aggressiveness, manipulation, deception, or judgment. Basically, we will want to remove anything unhealthy or debilitating from our lives and close those destructive chapters we keep drifting back to.

2. The desire to organize and manifest material possessions.

As the moon empties and then refills with the glow of the sun, we too can empty ourselves of any material possessions that no longer resonate with where we are in our lives—this creates room for manifestations of new possessions to enter.

When we let go of items we are no longer aligned with we will instantly feel lighter, freer, and not overwhelmed by messiness and unnecessary objects—some of which likely hold unhappy memories and negative vibes. We not only let go of clutter, but we also release the emotional baggage we have subconsciously held on to, as we may not realize the heaviness that many items are energetically carrying.

If there are any items we want to let go of, but they hold strong sentimental value, we can carry out a small ritual on the night of the full moon in which we wrap the items and place them in a safe and sacred place under the earth.

3. Try to stop being stubborn.

Those born under the sign of the bull are often profoundly stubborn—and during this full moon, regardless of our Zodiac sign, we will all be noticing our stubborn tendencies rising to the surface. This is the universe’s way of bringing this trait to our attention, so we shift out of old patterns of behaviour and learn from past mistakes.

Taurus’ energy is notorious for playing the long game; therefore, situations that we have been unable to figure out for some time will be surfacing right about now. Taurus’ stubborn and infuriatingly inflexible side may have been hindering us and causing us to miss out on valuable opportunities recently, mostly due to pride and arrogance. We can lose the possibility of intensely soul-nourishing relationships and experiences just by being stuck in limited, outdated ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving.

This headstrong, obstinate way of being is draining, so there is inner work to be done in order for us to freely move forward. This involves unlearning and deleting any old fear-based stories that have caused us to sacrifice the things we desire the most—and to replace them with new, up-to-date versions that align with how we’d prefer to interact (and mostly that means standing up to our persistent ego and refusing to allow it to dominate and control us).

When we drop our stubbornness, we may find ourselves wanting to reach out to those we have been temporarily estranged from, as the moon humbly draws us to open our hearts, forgive and communicate authentically.

This meeting between the moon and Taurus brings forward a dramatic and unusual transition phase for anyone who is usually cautious, guarded, bullish in nature and unlikely to embrace sudden change.

If we surrender to this full moon by attuning to its celestial energy, we will receive a window of immense fearlessness, in which we can tear down emotional walls, remove protective armour, embrace vulnerabilities, and cleanse ourselves of whatever (or whoever) is wearing us down and holding us back in life.

This gives us the determination and conviction to declare exactly who, what, and where we want to be in our lives. We may also discover many of the answers to the “whys” that have been resounding in our hearts and heads for way too long.

When this revolutionary lunar energy is at its peak it will be pushing and pulling on our most innermost, hidden emotions and, whether we like it or not, we will be in for a far smoother and harmonious ride if we open up, pay attention and listen intently to our mentor in the sky.

Overall, the moon in Taurus is an intensely transformational phase for us all—and a time when, collectively, we confront our shadow sides.

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southernbellesolutions · 5 years ago

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Internet and Law Class #11

The tears are beginning to hit on and off because I know the end is coming to the close for now in my academic journey. I want to pursue a PhD, but not sure where I can go, but for now I will be taking one year off, since I’ve been in school now for almost eight years without a solid break.

Now on to the month at hand, this month was class number 11, called Internet and the Law. When I saw I had this class a few months ago I will be honest I dreaded it, but then when it came up, I smiled and thought to myself, it is time to learn what is legal and what is not.

Part of that thought process changed because back in March, I posted an opinion and people jumped on me saying nasty remarks and judging me, and of course when doing my research and providing the proof (thank goodness for the proper research skills I’ve learned to do this) to the local authorities it was considered cyber bullying.

So when this class came up I rubbed my hands and said, “oh goodie” and it was great to learn the following:

Jurisdiction: basically learning who has the power to make the decision over a case, and how the process works, what is looked at, and is the claim in the same state or does it cross state or country lines and if so what laws take precedence.

Copyright: This one I was already familiar with due to being a graphic designer as well as some knowledge in the recording arts area, it is interesting how many people think that when they take a graphic off of google that they can change the color and claim that they ‘own it’. WRONG! Just because you change the color or add details or morph it into something different that copyright still belongs to the photographer, and that if you don’t have a 2257 or a 2258 that releases that gives you the right that legal action can be taken against you. The same argument I get into with others when they think they can add music to a website and nothing can happen, wrong unless you have permission or have paid for the right to use that song you can also have legal action taken against you.

Cybercrime - I enjoyed this very much, because of the class discussion and the opinion and views of others in the class. Some class mates think that laws are too strict, where I find them not strict enough, and of course if someone is phishing for information to gain unauthorized access to information. In all honesty, you cannot tell me they are not aware they are committing a crime, because they are phishing for info to be given to them, they are aware of what they are doing and should do the time for the crime.

SPAM- No we are not talking about the over processed canned meat that comes in a variety of flavors, but emails you get in your email that some call spam. It is interesting how many people think its unsolicited, when in fact they did sign up for it realizing that they forgot to uncheck a box to not be added to any deals, or special promotions or additional marketing materials. It was good to learn that there was a way to unsubscribe and know that a company has 10 days to comply with the opt-out request that they MUST have marked clearly on the emails and of course the fines when it is not done in the 10 day period.

Privacy - Just like with cybercrime this was another one where the response of classmates were interesting, some thought that companies don’t have the right to spy, and if one uses company equipment to check personal information like email, or banking if the company has the right to monitor that? First of all there are always limits to what is considered ‘private’, but if you are going to use company equipment to do personal and private things, then that is your own fault, because again YOU are aware that the equipment is monitored. If you have your own personal device (cell phone, laptop, tablet, iPad) then the company has no right to monitor your usage during your authorized break times and areas where electronic devices can be used for the privacy of information that employees have to avoid it being recorded or screenshot.

Defamation - Is a form of communication of a false statement that harms the reputation of the law, an individual, business, product, group, government, religion, or nation. It is one thing to be upset at a company for a product you ordered and did not receive it.

On the other hand if you did receive it and you go on any social media platform to say that you did not and begin saying how XYZ is a theirs, and a liar and begin to say you contacted them (and didn’t) and the representative was rude and make a big stink.

If you continue to make untrue statements XYZ can and will come after you and pursue legal action against you, especially if they can prove that your statements have caused damage to their business, losing clients and money due to your untrue remarks.

So overall lesson is remember people are entitled to their opinions and can call you an idiot, but they cannot go on a dating site stealing a photo of you and say that you have herpes or AIDS to slander or cause you problems. Always remember that once you post it, it’s now ‘live” and it will never go away as it is now cached forever.

As for my overall three objectives for this month:

1. Get through the month without stressing myself

2. Understand the differences in defamation, slander and freedom of speech

3. Improve my research skills a bit more from week 1, I did better each week!

This class did meet these objectives as I got more in depth with learning about CAN-SPAM Act and had fun with being creative in my presentations and overall I learned that even sometimes social media posts can lead to being sued if not careful and can damage individuals and then people can be sued.

By taking this knowledge it has helped me learn that when websites have TOS and Member Agreements that they need to be read, rather than just clicking I agree to by-pass the reading, because you never know what you have subjected yourself to. For some reason that those rules or guidelines are violated, using the “I did not know” will not fly, because you were presented with them, if you did not read them then it is your fault, and will still be held accountable for your actions.

So when I start my own company Southern Belle Solutions, I will actually make sure anyone who does business with me understands this policy before they sign any contracts.

Onward & Upward

30 Days to go until graduation

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whittlebaggett8 · 6 years ago

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5 things we’ve learned from the 2019 UK local election results, Defence Online

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British isles neighborhood elections 2019

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Effects for the area elections in England and Northern Ireland are coming in.

Early final results propose the Conservative occasion is getting punished by voters.

But Labour is failing to benefit from the Tory collapse and is shedding seats also.

The anti-Brexit Liberal Democrats are the large winners, attaining hundreds of seats nationwide.

Take a look at Defence Online’s household site for extra tales.

LONDON – Final results have been pouring in for the 2019 community elections in England and Northern Ireland.

The Conservatives have experienced hefty losses, with Labour also slipping again as voters place a plague on both of those the main parties’ properties over their handling of Brexit.

Meanwhile smaller parties are generating large gains, with the two the Liberal Democrats and the Inexperienced occasion surging across the region.

Listed here are 5 items we’ve figured out from the effects:

Voters are punishing the Conservative governing administration for Brexit

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Area elections are about expectation administration and Conservative spinners have put out some deliberately in excess of-the-top predictions in the latest days about the party’s envisioned effectiveness in these elections.

Senior Conservative figures have been suggesting that the occasion could eliminate up as a lot of as 1,000 council seats.

On the other hand, by any goal common these are terrible outcomes for Theresa May’s get together, which are at least as undesirable as Gordon Brown skilled in the ultimate many years of the final Labour authorities, and could very well close up being worse.

The social gathering has shed main floor to the Liberal Democrats, and to a lesser extent Labour, with the social gathering faring worst in places in which it has earlier been strongest.

Anecdotally, Conservative activists have claimed a horrible reaction on the doorstep, with the two Depart and Remain voters furious above the government’s dealing with of Brexit and the in general chaotic point out of May’s government.

Worryingly for the Tories, activists have documented that even some of its standard, lifelong supporters have stayed at residence this time about, in protest versus the government’s failure to produce Brexit on time.

As a final result, renewed calls for May well to resign have now started, with former Cupboard minister Priti Patel having to the airwaves to desire she methods down.

There are still tons much more benefits to arrive in, with ultimate final results not expected right up until late on Friday afternoon.

However, with early results coming from parts exactly where we would assume the Conservatives to do greatest, May’s party are on course for a truly dire set of benefits.

Jeremy Corbyn’s occasion is not benefiting from Tory collapse

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After 9 yrs of a Conservative-led govt and two decades of Brexit-similar political chaos, you would ordinarily be expecting the formal opposition to be certainly clearing up in a established of elections like these.

Rather, Labour has in fact dropped seats so significantly in equally Leave and Keep on being-voting regions, with the lion’s share of the protest vote likely to more compact functions. Overall the bash seems to be doing superior in southern England than northern England. Nevertheless, even in the South the social gathering has designed losses as voters swap to functions with a clearer anti-Brexit placement than Labour has been ready to supply.

The character of wherever early results have come from in the nation signifies that Labour’s total functionality will possible enhance as the day goes on. If existing traits keep on they will likely stop up with a modest guide nationally. Even so, there is no question that these are a pretty disappointing established of final results for the Labour Social gathering and are nowhere near as fantastic as we really should assume for a bash at this stage in the electoral cycle.

The Liberal Democrats are back again

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The previous time these set of seats were fought was in 2015 at the end of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition authorities. Back again then voters furious with the Lib Dems’ part in that government, punished the social gathering difficult at both of those a nearby and countrywide level. As a end result today’s elections have been normally likely to have a rather favourable consequence for Sir Vince Cable’s occasion.

On the other hand, early effects counsel that the Lib Dems have perfectly exceeded even the most optimistic predictions for their performance, with the bash presently choosing up hundreds of seats in each Conservative and Labour areas. The party’s apparent anti-Brexit concept seems to be winning above Stay-voting Labour voters throughout the country, when each Depart and Keep on being-leaning Tory voters also surface to be switching to them as a protest vote from the authorities.

One particular of the party’s major successes has been in Chelmsford, southeast England, where by it attained 29 seats to acquire the council from the Conservatives.

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran informed Defence Online: “These effects are spectacular. I’m instructed the finest since 2003 and the night time is not in excess of but. With out a doubt, the Lib Dems are back!”

Leader Cable has dedicated to standing down later this month after what has greatly been perceived as a disappointing time as leader of his bash. Today’s results could well result in him to regret that conclusion.

Voters are going Inexperienced

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Maybe the greatest surprise in these benefits is the stellar general performance of the Green Party, which has manufactured critical gains in Remain-voting places versus both of those Labour and the Conservatives. Like the Liberal Democrats, they show up to be benefiting from voter dissatisfaction with both the big functions and have recovered their traditional function as a leading recipient of protest votes.

Modern occasions, which have been dominated by the “Extinction Rebellion” climate adjust protests across the state and calls for the declaration of a “climate emergency” have also pretty much absolutely helped the occasion select up seats.

We are heading for a minority Labour federal government

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Today’s effects advise that Corbyn’s social gathering is not on program to earn a bulk at the future election. If Labour cannot make big gains in elections like these, with a government so visibly tearing by itself aside about Brexit, then it is unlikely to be ready to make adequate gains at a common election in order to govern outright.

Nonetheless, when the outcomes are bad for Labour, they are actually horrible for the Conservatives. Theresa May’s party has dropped floor throughout the place in each Go away and Remain-voting areas, with activists reporting that the party’s formerly most trusted voters are deserting them.

And whilst the effects are pretty bad for May perhaps, they could have been much worse. With Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Celebration not standing in these elections and the British isles Independence Party also failing to stand in substantial quantities of seats, the countrywide picture is almost certainly significantly worse for May’s bash than the closing vote tally will advise.

Incorporate to that the resurgence of the Liberal Democrats, whose goal seats are overwhelmingly in Conservative areas, and the photograph for May’s social gathering seems to be specifically bleak.

And with May’s celebration only hanging on to ability as it is by means of a fragile pact with the Democratic Unionist Celebration, it is now overwhelmingly probably that the Conservative governing administration will eliminate their grip on that electric power, regardless of whether the next normal election is held afterwards this year or in 2022.

That implies the most very likely final result at the upcoming standard election is either a minority Labour administration, or a complete on coalition government concerning Corbyn’s celebration and the Scottish Nationalists or the Lib Dems. Whichever way you lower it, a Labour federal government – most possible led by Corbyn – is now the likely result at the upcoming election.

The post 5 things we’ve learned from the 2019 UK local election results, Defence Online appeared first on Defence Online.

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#Brexit Insider #News #uk local elections 2019

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rickhorrow · 6 years ago

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15+5+5 To Watch 4819

15 TO WATCH/5 SPORTS TECH/POWER OF SPORTS 5: RICK HORROW’S TOP SPORTS/BIZ/TECH/PHILANTHROPY ISSUES FOR THE WEEK OF APRIL 8 with Jacob Aere

Hoops fans pack Minneapolis for Final Four, as Texas Tech and Virginia are left standing. A "crush of out-of-town visitors, estimated at 100,000 strong, crammed into the Twin Cities this weekend" for the Final Four. Attendance on Saturday night at U.S. Bank Stadium for Virginia-Auburn and Texas Tech-Michigan State was 72,711, and the "area around the stadium...was crowded” at least until 11:30 pm, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Ahead of Saturday's games, fans “milled around the rain-slicked streets in downtown Minneapolis in high spirits.” Meanwhile, the Jonas Brothers Saturday night at The Armory performed in front of 8,000 “screaming, bouncing, boy-band fans” as part of the March Madness Music Series developed by Turner Live Events in partnership with the NCAA and CBS. On the flip side of high-spirited behavior, after Texas Tech earned its first-ever appearance in the national championship game with its win over MSU last night, local police in Lubbock, Texas had to use tear gas to "break up the crowd" of celebrating Texas Tech students after "multiple acts of vandalism." Let’s hope that saner heads prevail if Texas Tech claims its first national basketball championship come Monday night.

The Masters by the numbers. It’s Masters Week, and as golf fans both avid and casual settle in to watch the year’s first Major, WalletHub has analyzed the tournament from tee to green. The personal finance website’s annual report breaks down everything from ticket and concession prices to the cost of producing each green jacket – $250. Among standout numbers, secondary market badge prices this year average $2,484, ranging from $2,250 on Saturday to $2,619 on Thursday – a 15% increase from 2018 and a direct reflection of Tiger Woods’ resurgence and elevated position in the field. Estimated revenues to Augusta National from 2017 ticket sales are $35+ million, while the event’s overall economic impact on the Augusta area economy is $120 million. Over 250,000 people visit the Augusta area each year for Masters festivities, including 350 journalists from around the world. Last year’s final round Sunday average viewership was 13 million, up 18% from 2017. And the players themselves will leave Augusta National having shared an $11 million purse, with the winner pocketing a cool $1.98 million this year. My favorite data? 640%. That’s the increase in live telecast hours for the Masters from 1956 (2.5 hours) to 2019 (18.5 hours).

Turner Sports and Endeavor have partnered to create a new golf-themed entertainment event, “Augusta at Night.” According to Turner Sports, “Augusta at Night” was borne from the success the company had with creating similar events around March Madness and other properties. The new Masters tie-in event, to be held April 12 at SRP Park in North Augusta, has brought on Capital One as its presenting sponsor. It will feature custom golf experiences from sponsors Golfweek and Topgolf, as well as concerts by Hootie & the Blowfish and Sheryl Crow. While they would love to sell out “Augusta at Night” in its inaugural year, Turner and Endeavor realize they need to spend some time building equity in the event and the “Augusta at Night” brand. The partners hope the event will become an annual highlight of Masters Week. While dozens of prominent corporate events happen around The Masters every year, there has not been a large scale, high-profile event that provides an opportunity for multiple companies and the community to be a part of after the golf is over each night. “Augusta at Night” will try to fill that hole.

Tiger is set to star in a series of GolfTV head-to-head matches. David Zaslav, CEO of Discovery, said the first match has already been planned for Tokyo later in 2019, and that most of the events will take place outside the U.S. GolfTV, the video service Discovery launched with the PGA Tour in 2018, announced last fall that Tiger Woods had agreed to a multi-year partnership that will offer global audiences an unprecedented look into Woods’ game and his life on and off the course. The news comes four months after Woods engaged in a made-for-TV spectacle with Phil Mickelson, produced in part by Turner Sports. It was believed that the match between the two icons, despite a multitude of marketing and production stumbles, would be the first of many. But the departure of Turner Sports president David Levy from the company muddled the series' future. If last fall’s showdown was a case study for taking unconventional measures to attract casual sports fans to golf, GolfTV saw it as a success, and will continue leveraging Tiger's influence to reach the type of fans who currently only tune into the sport during The Masters.

NBCUniversal launched a “first-of-its-kind” content e-commerce platform with Golf Channel titled “Shop with GOLF.” The new e-commerce venture, according to the media giant, will look to offer shoppers with a new way to engage with their brands, programs, personalities, players, and network. The site launches with a selection of 30 brands, such as Linksoul, J. Lindeberg, Criquet, and Rhone, as well as Bill Murray’s golf lifestyle brand, William Murray Golf, which also provides entertaining video content. Additional brands will join the site over the course of its first month, including EleVen by Venus Williams. “We’re taking the next step in reimagining the commercial experience by reimagining the commerce experience. Our new Shop with GOLF platform combines the power of premium content and digital commerce to create a first-of-its-kind opportunity,” said Josh Feldman, Head of Marketing and Advertising Creative, NBCUniversal. “Golf fans can engage with their favorite content and brands like never before, while companies can reach their consumers at scale and drive impact.” The platform, launched right before Masters Week when golf reaches peak interest, brings “retail entertainment” firmly into the golf space.

Sneaker brands showcase "Masters-specific shoes" that their athletes will wear around Augusta National this week. According to Golf Digest, the color theme that "runs through [Nike’s] group of shoes, which are called 'The Snake Pack,' is the green snake pattern." Another Nike aesthetic that "runs through the line of shoes is a set of praying hands," a clear "nod to Amen Corner.” Meanwhile, Jordan Spieth will "wear a special edition" of the Spieth 3 by Under Armour. Spieth’s shoes feature "subtle pops of pink" that call back to the "famous azalea flowers that are in full bloom in early April.” Not to be outdone, Forbes noted Adidas has used the $2 Georgia Peach ice cream sandwich available during Masters Week for "inspiration." This is the second year in a row that Adidas has "rolled out a patron favorite from Augusta National as part of a limited-edition offering." Last year, it was a "pimento-cheese version of the Crossknit BOOST.” These shoe brands, however, would be delighted to ring up a fraction of the sales official Masters merchandise brings to Augusta National each year, calculated by Forbes at over $47 million.

The Grand Prix of Long Beach revs its engines. The Grand Prix of Long Beach, which began in 1975, is the longest-running street race in North America and one of the longest continually running events in IndyCar racing. The 45th edition of what is now called the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach – thanks to the eleventh hour signing of Acura in February after the race lost longtime title sponsor Toyota – takes place April 12-14 with an entire festival of events surrounding the seaside street race. Race weekend comprises 35 commercial sponsors, and a payoff for the city of Long Beach that pumps nearly $34 million into the port city’s economy, according to figures from Beacon Economics. Some of the most significant and enduring events of the long Grand Prix weekend, however, occur away from the track. Young IndyCar driver Zach Veach, who races for Andretti Autosport, is sponsored by Group1001, and finished fourth in Long Beach last year, is looking forward to visiting a local elementary school, where he will talk up an interactive STEM program he is developing in conjunction with education technology leader EVERFI.

MLB is bringing back FoodFest, the event it created last year to celebrate baseball’s heightened connection with food, with three separate locations slated to play host in 2019. According to SportsPro, Los Angeles’ Magic Box will host the new edition of MLB FoodFest April 26-28, while New York and London will also host sites in the second half of the season. This year’s MLB FoodFest will again have one concession item representing each club. Six notable items return from last year, including the Mariners’ toasted grasshoppers and the Diamondbacks’ churro dogs. As in 2018, MLB FoodFest offerings will be replicated by a catering company with input from major club concessionaires such as Aramark, Centerplate, Delaware North, Legends, and Levy Restaurants. This year’s edition will also incorporate items from London, Tokyo, and Monterrey, Mexico -- the league’s three international sites for 2019 regular-season games. The league will also include a new merchandise shop at each stop in 2019, selling limited-edition caps, shirts, and other collectibles inspired by the food items offered.

In a similar move to its major league counterparts, Minor League Baseball, in conjunction with Brand Activation Maximizer, revealed the launch of the largest retail program in its history. The “Grilling All-Stars” national retail program will encompass five national brands and activated at select retailers in more than 100 MiLB markets and over 13,000 locations across the country. Participating brands include BUSH’S Beans, Scott Bath Tissue, Scott Paper Towels, Ball Park Buns, and The ORIGINAL Louisiana Brand Hot Sauce. The MiLB season got off to a raucous start next week, with the introduction of four new team brands: the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, Las Vegas Aviators, Rocky Mountain Vibes, and the Amarillo Sod Poodles. Grilling All-Stars take note: the Rocky Mountain Vibes’ logo is a hipster version of a yummy S’Mores treat beloved by scouts, campers, and fans of summer everywhere.

Dundon cuts losses, shutters Alliance of American Football. After eight weeks of games and less than one season into the AAF’s existence, league owner Tom Dundon decided to suspend all operations. The league had been struggling from the outset. After the first week of the season, Dundon, owner of the NHL Carolina Hurricanes, pledged a $250 million investment and essentially took control of the fledgling football league. While the league continued to shoot down reports that it needed the money to stay afloat, employees were notified of its closing in a letter from the AAF board last Tuesday. Pro Football Talk and other sources estimated that it would cost at least $8-9 million per week to get the league through the season’s four remaining weeks. Among other signs of its demise, NFL Network viewership steadily declined from over 600,000 viewers in Week 1 to less than 300,000 in Week 7, and in-stadium attendance hit season lows in multiple locations. The AAF’s brief existence could prove beneficial to the XFL. The prospective XFL player pool will increase in size, and sources told the Action Network that the league has interest in acquiring both the AAF’s football and broadcast equipment.

Endeavor reportedly to purchase On Location Experiences for over $650 million. Ahead of its newest event, “Augusta at Night” in North Augusta, South Carolina, Endeavor is close to a deal to buy On Location Experiences, the high-end hospitality firm partly owned by the NFL, according to multiple sources. The two sides have reportedly agreed on a price north of $650 million, but they still are negotiating some of the deal’s finer points – a process that could take several more weeks. Majority owners Bruin Sports Capital and RedBird Capital, whose combined investment with the NFL helped create On Location four years ago, had been looking for opportunities to sell for several months. The firms will exit with a staggering profit on their initial investment, believed to be in the neighborhood of $70 million. The deal makes good sense for Endeavor, as it will serve as a high end sports extension of their many other hospitality offerings in the entertainment space.

Luna Bar helps close USWNT pay gap. The U.S. women's national soccer team "got a helping hand in its pursuit to close the pay gap with the men's program thanks to a donation of nearly three-quarters of a million dollars" from nutrition brand Luna Bar. Luna Bar made its $718,750 donation to the USWNTPA with the "stipulation that the money would be used to pay each of the 23 members" of the 2019 FIFA World Cup team $31,250 to "make up the difference" with the USMNT, according to ESPNW. The move is seen as an act of support of a gender discrimination lawsuit the USWNT players collectively filed against the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) seeking equal pay and working conditions. The USWNT first made demands for equal pay in 2016. In its latest effort, all 28 members of the squad filed a lawsuit last month with the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Their lawsuit claims that the individual players are paid on average $8,200 less per game than their male counterparts over the course of a 20-game international friendly calendar year.

Roger Federer is set to reclaim his famous “RF” logo from Nike after the American sportswear brand stopped selling merchandise featuring the mark, according to a report by Tennis Now. Last year Federer switched from Nike to Japanese label Uniqlo, announcing the move on the first day of Wimbledon by walking out to play in his new outfit. However, despite his Nike deal expiring in March, 2018, Federer was not able to immediately bring over the “RF” logo as Nike had registered its trademark and owned the rights to it. Now Nike has reportedly stopped selling all its “RF”-branded merchandise, meaning that Federer will regain control of his initials and logo. At the time of his move to Uniqlo, a deal reportedly worth $300 million over ten years, Federer was confident Nike would eventually hand over rights to the logo. He said at the time, “[I hope] Nike can be nice and helpful in the process to bring it over to me. It’s also something that was very important for me, for the fans really.” The ageless, 20-time Grand Slam champion just won his 101st ATP Tour title, beating American John Isner in the Miami Open final.

Uniglo has Federer, golfer Adam Scott, and X Games snowboarding gold medalist Ayumu Hirano. Adidas has…Beyonce. Last week, Adidas announced a new partnership with Beyonce, the brand's latest attempt at "distinguishing itself from Nike," as characterized by an animated discussion on CNBC. Contributor Sara Eisen noted Nike "has most of the big athletes" as endorsers, while Adidas is "all about getting the biggest influencers on social media." Asked CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla, “Is it as plain as Nike goes after athletes and Adidas is going after celebrities?” Answered Eisen, “That appears to be what’s happening. Adidas also would say it goes after athletes and that is what is in the blood. ... If you hit the right celebrity with the right creative vision, it can be very successful.” While many athletes have bigger social media followings than Beyonce – Cristiano Ronaldo has over 75 million – few athletes have Queen Bey’s instant global recognition and appeal that crosses borders, genders, and generations.

The Football Association (FA), England’s national soccer body, is seeking to rebrand as the English Football Association (EFA) in a bid to improve its global image. According to multiple media reports, outgoing CEO Martin Glenn is attempting to dispel a perception of arrogance towards the FA’s counterparts in the international game by pursuing a name change that would put England in line with every other association in world soccer. Glenn described the name as “the ultimate expression of arrogance” shortly after his appointment in 2015, and is now working to leave his successor a clean slate. The case for renaming the governing body was discussed by the FA board during a meeting at Wembley March 28. However, the board has not yet signed off on the rebrand, with discussions to continue at its next meeting. The governance of the game in England would be overseen by the EFA, with the board also reportedly discussing a proposal that would see the 28 England teams, national players, coaches, grassroots soccer, and facilities come under a new “England Football” brand. Founded in 1863, the English body has simply been known as the FA for 155 years, whereas every other national body in soccer globally also has the relevant national adjective. As the game has evolved, so too should its components.

Top Five Tech

March Madness streaming makes significant leap. March Madness got into the video streaming space early, with CBS first launching a streaming subscription product in 2003 before evolving it to a free, ad-supported product in 2006. According to CBS and Turner Sports, March Madness Live is setting new records for streams and streaming hours, with both categories up by more than 25% compared to last year. According to MediaPost, data from the streaming measurement and analytics firm Conviva says through rounds one and two of the NCAA tourney, streaming hours were up 65% compared to 2018. Interestingly Conviva found 48% of streaming hours were on connected TV devices, especially through Roku. With the National Championship game still to come, NCAA basketball may break records as its short format provides the perfect pedestal for streaming sports content.

Global Value Commerce is the largest online retailer for new and used golf equipment. According to Buffalo Agency, the company was founded by ex-PGA Tour player Ed Bryman, who saw a gap in the consumer market. The company operates GlobalGolf.com, 3balls.com, GolfShoesOnly.com, TaylorMadeGolfPreOwned.com, and FairwayStyles.com, and recorded nearly $60 million in sales in 2017. The company also sets all the pricing for the PGA Value Guide, which is essentially the Kelly Blue Book for golf clubs. Earlier this year, Global Value Commerce introduced U-try, the first exclusively online “try before you buy” program for golf equipment. For just $25, golfers can demo new drivers, fairways woods, irons, and hybrids from top brands including Callaway, TaylorMade, Titleist, Cleveland, Cobra, and more. Golf gear is expensive, and to offer an online resale market allows a more diverse body of players to try out the game and build the reputation of the sport – at its annual apex during Masters Week.

MLB cuts back its Facebook streaming deal to just six games for 2019. According to SportsPro, the agreement marks a significant drop from last year, which gave Facebook the rights to stream 25 games exclusively on its Watch platform in the U.S. Facebook first teamed up with MLB for the 2017 campaign to show 20 non-exclusive games. The partnership was then renewed ahead of last season in a deal worth a reported $30-35 million. Last year was treated as a success after drawing 123 million views across the 25 games broadcast on Watch during the season. The two parties also said games streamed on the platform reached an average viewership almost 20 years younger than the league’s typical TV audience. One reason that the MLB may be scaling back their Facebook commitments is likely to do with their new deal with Twitter and potential future endeavors in the esports sector.

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook Studios collaborates with Formula 1. According to Deadline, the new broadcast initiative will launch next year and bring together A-list celebrity guests with pre-filmed stunts and challenges as well as live performances set around F1 Grand Prix weekends. It will also present commercial partners with an opportunity to collaborate on an annual global destination entertainment format. This deal is expansion upon an episode of Will Smith’s “The Bucket List,” which premiered on Facebook Watch. The episode saw Smith and his son compete in a winner take all, one on one race on the F1 Yas Marina circuit with help from five time F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton. This collaboration will help Westbrook Studios and the Smiths expand their growing online presence while expanding the boundaries of a traditional F1 fan through multiple digital formats.

Esports betting startup Players’ Lounge has received investment from Canadian rapper Drake. Drake’s involvement came as the company announced that it had raised $3 million following a seed funding round. Other investors included Take-Two interactive chief executive Strauss Zelnick, former Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer, Comcast, Macro Ventures, Canaan, RRE, and Courtside. According to SportsPro, Players’ Lounge was founded in 2014 by Zach Dixon and Austin Woolridge and is geared towards the casual player. The company primarily runs low-stakes competitions and hosts 350 million players over the age of 18, who “earn millions of dollars each month.” Drake’s Players’ Lounge investment marks his latest move into esports after he became a co-owner of the 100 Thieves franchise in October last year and teamed up with Tyler “Ninja” Blevins to set a record on live video-streaming platform Twitch last March. It seems the sports betting ban lift by the Supreme Court last May may have also helped esports, with one of the most recognizable names in the world now investing his money into esports betting.

Power of Sports Five

Spotlighted in April’s “Power of Sports” episode, the charity Boston vs. Bullies makes a difference in New England. Boston vs. Bullies is an anti-bullying initiative presented by The Sports Museum and the Boston sports community to stand strong against bullying. According to The Sports Museum, the award-winning educational program leverages the power and example of Boston sports to help stop bullying in schools and the community and has enlisted such stars as Aly Raisman, Patrick Chung, Terry Rozier, and Mookie Betts to help spread their message. Boston vs. Bullies is a proven program that lowers peer victimization, and its curriculum teaches about all aspects of bullying including the bystander, the victim, cyberbullying, and inclusion of kids with disabilities.

Also on April’s new “Power of Sports,” episode, Lindos Suenos and the Celtics’ Rookie Flight Crew Curriculum help make dreams happen. Lindos Suenos strives to bring people of different backgrounds together through the common appeal of baseball and community service. On the back of generous donations from JetBlue and a philanthropist, Lindos Suenos was created in 2004 and sends 10 American teenage boys to the Dominican Republic every summer. Once the Americans arrive in the Dominican Republic, they perform community service and play baseball alongside 10 teammates from the Dominican. According to MLB.com, these 20 teens serve a community in-need each morning, and spend each afternoon playing baseball at the Red Sox Dominican Academy. Similarly, the Boston Celtics’ Rookie Flight Crew challenges a group of middle school students to up their knowledge of aviation. The four-week STEM program is designed to teach students the science of aeronautics while learning how to build a fully functioning model airplane. This “Power of Sports” episode utilizes baseball and basketball as common ground to inspire students about their futures.

Colin Kaepernick throws a touchdown at rapper Quavo’s charity flag football event. According to FOX, Kaepernick, and former 49ers teammate Eric Reid joined the flag football game for the rapper’s second annual Huncho Day in Georgia to help raise money for Berkmar High School athletics. Kaepernick was seen throwing a touchdown pass to New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley and tossed a two-point conversion to Quavo. Meanwhile, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara also attended the event. The charity game was Kaepernick’s first football competition of any kind since his final game with the 49ers in January, 2017. After Kaepernick’s kneeling during the national anthem seemed to lead to his demise, his grievance against the NFL was settled in February, and it seems that he has begun to put himself back in a different sort of football spotlight.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes uses his “Late Night” appearance with Jimmy Fallon to launch “15 and the Mahomies” charity. According to The Kansas City Star, the foundation’s website lists “15 for 15” as its signature program, one that will support 15 youth initiatives that “focus on academics, science, the arts, classroom supplies, athletics, children with disabilities, after-school programs and more.” Overall, the charity is dedicated to improving the lives of children. The Foundation will support initiatives that focus on health, wellness, communities in need of resources, and other charitable causes. The reigning NFL MVP showed a dedication to community service during the season, too, with gestures such as a visit to KU Med and an afternoon building homes for veterans with the Veterans Community Project. Coming off of one of the best rookie seasons of all time, Mahomes has continued to make himself a household NFL name by giving back just a portion of his stardom.

Ex-Red Sox MVP David Ortiz was a barber for charity. Ortiz shaved Red Sox CEO and team president Sam Kennedy’s head while Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker received his own haircut alongside the two. This was all in the name of charity for Granite Telecommunications’ sixth annual Saving by Shaving event. According to Boston.com, the company has raised over $21 million for cancer research through the event over the last five years with the donations to Saving by Shaving benefiting Boston Children’s Hospital. Also on hand was legendary Bruins defenseman and Hockey Hall of Famer Ray Bourque as well as other Boston sports celebrities. By using the icons of Boston sports, the New England community has been able to come together in the battle against cancer.

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