#this coming after having a meeting with my university adviser last Thursday about my 'attendance and engagement' 🙄

[nerdie-faerie]

There are a few rare occasions where I feel like a proper student rather than just someone wasting thousands in student loans, but I seem to save them up for the lowest moments

[bexterbex]

A Soul to Mend His Own | Ch. 2

A Kylo Ren x Modern! Reader in a soulmate au with some canon divergence. —————————————SLOWBURN————————————–

He is already the Supreme leader, searching the universe to find you, his Empress. Your name on his wrist has been the only constant in his life, while you have doubts about his existence and his acceptance of you. He isn’t in the database and why did the name Kylo Ren cover Ben Solo?

Originally posted on my Ao3 Crystallclover. If you missed Chapter 1, Click Here

Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Chapter 2: An Arrival to be Remembered

UFO has been sited entering the Earth’s atmosphere

Unknown armed and masked being exit ship heading towards the White House, is the President in danger?

Aliens spotted in D.C.

You woke up to the sound of your alarm, and got out of bed. You have been in the habit lately to start your day without checking your phone first. Mostly to avoid early morning emails from your boss before you have even had coffee.

You head to the bathroom relieve yourself, wash your face, and brush your hair. Exiting the bathroom you head to the kitchen and make yourself some breakfast and coffee. You enjoy the sunrise through the large windows in your apartment. Finishing eating you immediately wash your few dishes and get ready for work. You pick out your work ‘uniform’ of a black blouse and black trousers. You head to the bathroom to brush your teeth, put on a little makeup and get changed.

Heading back to the kitchen you prepare a to-go cup of coffee and pull out your lunch for work. Finally, you check your phone.

First, you see an email from your boss reminding you for the 10th time about the morning meeting that you have every Thursday. It isn’t like you to forget something you do every single week for the past year. Never once have you been late, in fact, he was always the one to forget. You wonder if these emails were meant more for him and less for you. But he was always the micromanager.

Next, you check your texts. Your usual morning photo from one of your siblings about one of your nieces/nephews. Another one from Hayden asking if you were still on for tomorrow night’s weekly bar trip. You answered ‘Yes 😀 .’ Another from Carter asking what you think of the news headlines this morning. Odd, although this isn’t the first time you two had discussed something like this it was odd to receive a text like this from them first thing in the morning.

You open Twitter to see #alieninvasiondc trending. You scroll through the news tag. Every major news site around the world is talking about the shuttlecraft that landed on the White House lawn last night, and the armed and armored soldiers that departed from the craft. All of the soldiers wore white armor, except one in silver. There was one who was in all black and a red-haired human-looking man among the group. Not much is known other than they haven’t been seen leaving the White House.

You text Carter back ‘Just looked now, either this is a hoax or the world as we know it is coming to an end. I’ll see you at work.’

You packed your work bag, grabbed your car keys and set off to work. You park in the ramp attached to your building and walk to the elevator. You wave at the security attendant to the opposing skywalk like you do every morning. You arrive at your floor and buzz-in. You say hi to Nancy in reception and head to your desk.

Strangely all of the televisions in the office were muted and tuned into CBC News, normally the one in the break room and the ones in reception were on, the others only really got used during Hockey Games or events like the Olympics. Your boss was in the walkway with his attention turned to his phone.

You set down your things at your desk and boot up your work computer while setting up your laptop on its stand. You did your usual check through work emails until the 9:00 AM weekly meeting. Your boss hasn’t moved from his position in the walkway.

8:55 AM hits and you grab what you need and head to the conference room. The tv was on in here as well. The others in the Marketing department filled in after you. Your boss, Scott, had yet to move from his place in the walkway. 9:00 AM hits and you continue small talk with your co-workers, most of the conversation is directed at the events in D.C.

9:05 AM your co-worker Ally sends a Slack message to your boss. He looks up from his phone to the clock on the wall and runs into his office. After a few minutes, he rushes out and into the conference room.

“Sorry, I am late everyone the Wife is just paranoid over this Alien Invasion thing. I can’t get her to stop texting me,” he chuckles.

Ironically this isn’t the first time he has been ‘late’ to a meeting after being on the phone with his wife an hour after work already started.

Suddenly you all get an Emergency Alert System notification on all of your phones.

‘International Emergency: Please tune in to your local news broadcasting station to receive an Emergency Report.’

Scott asks, “where is the damn remote?”

Ally hands it to him, he unmutes the tv.

The headline reads: ‘President of the United States has an Important International Government Update’

Live from Washington D.C.

On the screen, it shows the President of the United States, with the silver soldier, one in all black and the red-haired man from the video of the invasion last night.

“I have an important announcement. Earth has been contacted by people from space who call themselves the First Order. The First Order has informed me that they would like to peacefully work with Earth. As long as we fully cooperate as an entire planet no harm will come to any of us. Currently, our galaxy is at war, and the First Order seeks our help, in return of offering Earth protection from a group of people called the New Republic.

They have explained to me and the U.N. as a whole that the New Republic is not to be trusted along with their mercenary army called the Resistance. It is through my decision and the decision of the U.N. that we will cooperate and join forces with the First Order to be under their protection.

All citizens of Earth in the next 7 days must register with the First Order. You will be given a citizen number, some citizens may be reassigned to work directly with the First Order. All military personal will be reassigned to be under the First Order. You should not worry as most citizens will be unaffected, life will go on as normal. As long as citizens follow these orders and any orders to come, we shall be safe,” said the President. The President moved out of the way for the man in all black and with a black mask to move to the podium.

“I am the Supreme Leader of the First Order. I promise no harm will come to those who cooperate with us. We seek to peacefully transition your planet, as you know it Earth, to a primary First Order Planet. We value honesty and loyalty, along with hard work. We strive to rebuild the Empire and to maintain order in the galaxy. That is all,” The man's voice was distorted through the mask he was wear, it sounded mechanical or digital but it had a deep sound.

The broadcast cut back to the news anchor. “Currently all citizens of earth are to report to their a local city government building or town hall within the next 7 days for First Order registration and possible reassignment. All citizens must remain calm and do as the government has directed. Any questions or concerns will be answered by local government officials and First Order personnel. All foreign citizens to Canada will follow the same protocol as citizens. All citizens are asked to bring various forms of identification, such as a Passport, driver's license, birth certificate, social insurance number card, any immunization forms, military I.D. and more. You can find a full list of required documents at the CBC website or at canada.ca. As a reminder, all citizens are urged to stay calm and to follow all orders regarding and following First Order registration. Citizens are also advised to stay tuned to local news sources for any updates.”

The conference room sat stunned at the announcement.

“Well were f*****,” said Scott. “We are all surely f*****. Who are these people to think they can just take over like that? Do they think we are just going to sit by and let them brainwash us? Let them take everything from us?”

“I don’t think we have a choice, you heard the U.S. President, the U.N. is in agreement. This is for our own safety. If you are going to go against them and get yourself killed keep us out of it,” said Daniel one of your marketing co-workers.

“I’ll talk to Henry, and see if we can all take the week off, who knows this may be the last time we even get to see our families,” and with that statement, Scott left the conference room.

You sat there not really moving, processing what you just witnessed on the tv and the confrontation between Scott and Daniel. So did the rest of your co-workers. You could tell they were all in shock, the world as you knew it was about to change, the future had shifted.

All of your phones went off again. This time it was an email from Jonathan the CEO.

‘All employees will take today, tomorrow and next week off, in order to give proper attention to the government mandate. Please be safe and I hope to see you all come -Henry G. Wells’

Everyone in the conference room got up and went to their desks. The office was silent, except for the sounds of items being put away and people gathering their things. You were almost done getting ready to go when Carter appeared next to you.

They didn’t speak, for fear of being the first one to break the ominous silence. Carter just looked at you expectantly. You finished packing up and walked with them out of the office. The elevator was packed but silent. Everyone got off and walked to their cars. Carter followed you to yours.

Keeping their voice down, almost to a whisper, they asked, “I know I texted you this morning about all this but what do you think now? Do you want to go back to your place or mine?”

You thought about it for a moment before responding, “let’s go back to mine. We can discuss it from there.”

Carter accepted your response and went to their car to leave. You followed suit. Today was not what you expected.

Tags: @sheadre 

[flipomatic]

A New World Chapter 2 - Spirit of the Piece (1/2)

Summary: Nakamura waited for the students to put the papers away before continuing. “Now, we’re not going to do traditional introductions. Instead, you are going to introduce yourself through your music.” 

That grabbed Rinko’s interest. Sure, she’d improved at public speaking over the last year, but she had always expressed herself much more clearly with the piano.

First Chapter

Author Note: Disclaimer, I know almost nothing about piano or Japanese universities. My music experience is in viola and I attended an American college. Some research has been done for this chapter, but there are still likely inaccuracies. This one will be split into two parts.

Word Count: 2300

_________________________________________________________

If Rinko broke it down, her new school wasn’t much larger than Hanasakigawa had been. It had more classrooms, which were spread out over a much larger space. There were more students as well, most of whom walked from room to room with large and small instruments in tow. The students all wore their regular clothes, rather than uniforms.

So many people, so many strange faces. There was a sea of people everywhere she went.

Rinko wasn’t fooling anyone, not even herself. This school was completely different and way scarier.

She opened the map on her phone again, triple checking that she was at the right building. Today was the first day of class, and going to the wrong classroom would be mortifying.

Rinko consulted with Sayo over the weekend about this map. Her friend had verified the accuracy of it, reassuring Rinko that it could be trusted. Sayo even circled the buildings either of them had class in. She was on campus today too, attending classes on the opposite end of campus.

In front of Rinko stood a large building, one with multiple floors. It too provided an intimidating obstacle. Students were coming in and out, one every few seconds or so. They walked past Rinko without sparing her a glance.

The name of the building matched Rinko’s destination on the map, so she put her phone away, took a deep breath, and entered the building. Once inside, she looked at the arrows on the wall to find the correct room.

One flight of stairs and a left turn later, and Rinko was at the classroom. Her electric keyboard, which she had carried all this way, felt heavy on her back as she stepped inside.

The room was larger than she had expected, with largely empty space. Chairs were set up a few feet apart from each other. They all faced one side of the room, where a desk and chalkboard were located. A few large cabinets lined the same wall.

Some of the chairs were already occupied by people Rinko assumed were students. They each had piano cases as well.

When another student cleared their throat behind her, Rinko cast her eyes quickly towards the ground. She hadn’t meant to linger in the door, hadn’t meant to stand out.

Rinko quickly claimed a seat near the middle of the room, taking care to look towards the front once she did. A woman sat at the desk in the front of the room. She appeared to be in her 30’s, with shoulder length black hair and glasses on her face. There were a couple papers on the desk, which she was reading.

Around Rinko, a few quiet conversations were being held. It seemed like some of the students already knew each other. The noise level in the room increased slightly as more students filed in.

As the time ticked past the designated start, the woman at the desk took off her reading classes and rose to her feet. She was dressed professionally, in a pencil skirt and blouse. She cast her eyes around the room, skipping right over Rinko as she did.

“Good morning.” The woman turned to write something on the board, which appeared to be her name. “My name is Professor Nakamura, it is a pleasure to meet you.” She set the chalk down and stepped back towards her desk. “In this class you will start your professional career.” Nakamura’s voice was clear and crisp, easily carrying throughout the room. Rinko’s eyes were locked on her, as she easily demanded the attention of the class.

Nakamura leaned down to open one of the desk drawers, pulling out a stack of paper. She walked to the front row of students and instructed them to take one and pass the rest back.

“This is the syllabus. Read it, know it, remember it. There will not be any exceptions.” After a minute the papers came back to Rinko, so she took one and continued passing them on. The syllabus was about ten pieces of paper stapled together, all full of text. “Take a few minutes to look through it.” Nakamura said once all of the papers had been distributed.

Rinko did as she was told, carefully reading the document. It listed a number of techniques and songs she’d be required to master for the course, as well as a performance requirement. There was a zero tolerance policy for late work and only one absence was permitted from class for the whole semester. Students were also advised to bring their own keyboard to class.

Rinko wondered what would happen to students who didn’t meet the requirements. The very thought nearly made her tremble, as she suspected they were kicked out of the program.

A few minutes later, when Rinko was nearing the end of the document, Nakamura requested the class’ attention. “Make sure not to lose the syllabus.” She said, mouth set in a firm line. She waited for the students to put the papers away before continuing. “Now, we’re not going to do traditional introductions. Instead, you are going to introduce yourself through your music.”

That grabbed Rinko’s interest. Sure, she’d improved at public speaking over the last year, but she had always expressed herself much more clearly with the piano. Nakamura again leaned down to take some papers out of the desk.

“You can choose between these three pieces.” She said, holding up the papers. “I’ll leave them on the table. You have two days to prepare your performance. On Thursday, when we meet for our next class, you’ll perform. Sign up for a time slot when you choose your piece.” Nakamura looked around the room. “Any questions?’

Rinko shook her head, even though Nakamura wasn’t looking at her. Nobody raised their hand.

“Great, keyboards are in the cabinet if you need one. Pick a song, sign up for a time slot, and start practicing.” Nakamura clapped her hands together, signaling for them to begin.

Suddenly, it felt like everything was moving at once. Where all had been still, there was now a flurry of motion. Around Rinko, students were flashing by towards the front.

Rinko stayed in her seat for a moment, gathering her courage to join them. It wasn’t until the last one had passed that she rose to her feet. She glanced to the right side of the room, and her eyes locked with Nakamura’s. The professor had a neutral expression, her eyes unreadable.

Rinko’s face felt warm as she quickly stepped forward to join the line, jerking her head to face forward. Since she had been slow to get up, she would have to wait a while to choose her piece. That was fine, she could wait.

One by one students returned to their seats, pulling out their pianos and starting to work. Rinko listened to the ones nearby as she moved closer to the front.

When she reached the desk, she examined the three choices carefully. They were all from songs on the syllabus, which made sense. After a moment of deliberation Rinko picked up Beethoven’s Sonata in E flat Major, Op. 7. The printout was light, it seemed to just be the first movement.

She stepped to the sign up sheet next, where there was only one open time slot remaining. Rinko added her name to it, and then returned to her seat.

It only took a minute to set up her music stand and keyboard, and then she was ready to start practicing this piece. Rinko was familiar with the song, but hadn’t performed it before. To learn it well enough in a couple days would be a challenge.

Rinko made sure the volume was low on her keyboard, and then she started to play. As she did, she could no longer hear the sounds of other pianos around her.

There was only her and the music.

Nakamura was walking around the room, stopping here and there to listen to the pianists. Rinko didn’t pay her any mind. What mattered was the performance, her chance to introduce herself properly.

She would make sure to be ready.

_________________________________________________________

Rinko stood in the hallway outside of the classroom, ignoring how sweaty her hands felt. She had come a few minutes early for her time slot, not wanting to be late. She still checked the map once to make extra sure she was in the right place. It was easier to find the second time.

The last couple days had been dedicated to preparing, when she didn’t have her other classes. Rinko even had to skip a Roselia practice to rehearse, since this was important for her schoolwork. She didn’t feel ready to perform the song, but she almost never did.

Rinko could hear the sound of a piano from inside the room, playing the same piece she’d chosen. They sounded good, and even though this wasn’t a competition the sound was only making Rinko more nervous.

After the pianist finished, there were a few minutes of silence. The walls were too thick to hear what was being said inside the room.

When the other student emerged from the classroom, they walked past Rinko without a word. She only watched them go for a moment, before turning towards the open door.

Nakamura was standing there, smiling a half smile today. “Come on in.” She said, gesturing towards the door.

She didn’t have to wait any longer. Rinko followed Nakamura into the classroom and closed the door behind her.

The classroom looked different than it had earlier in the week, with almost all of the chairs put away. Only one was set up now, right in the center of the room.

“Go ahead and set your keyboard up.” Nakamura instructed, crossing the room to sit at the desk. Rinko moved to comply.

Once she had her keyboard and music stand set up, Rinko prepared to play. She stretched her fingers and double checked her notes in the music. She steadied her wavering confidence, taking a steadying breath like she had practiced. When she was ready, she looked over at Nakamura.

The professor had been waiting patiently, watching how Rinko set up her instrument. “Begin when you’re ready.” She said, bringing her hands up to place them on the desk.

Rinko nodded once, and then focused on the music.

She placed her hands on the keyboard, inhaled, and began to play.

The music flowed from her fingers, echoing through the room. The tempo was fast, and the piece carried with it a frenetic energy. Beethoven always had a way of amazing her.

Rinko played through each phrase, the keys practically gliding under her fingers.

When Rinko played like this, even with an audience, she felt like her whole body was in tune with the music. The rhythm swept through her, as she moved through the parts of the piece.

As Rinko finished the movement, playing the last note strongly, she finally looked back at Nakamura. The professor hadn’t moved from her desk. She was writing something on a piece of paper, but she looked up as Rinko finished.

“You have extensive performance experience, correct?” Nakamura asked as she rose to her feet.

“I-I play in a band, yes.” Rinko replied softly, bringing her hands together.

Nakamura walked around the desk to approach her. “It shows in your posture.” She stopped next to Rinko, looking at the marks she had made on the music. “And your sound.”

“I see…” Rinko wasn’t sure what to say to that.

Now Nakamura turned back towards Rinko, the small smile on her face amplifying Rinko’s nerves. “It’s a rock band, isn’t it?”

Rinko’s eyes widened with surprise. “It is.” She nodded, wondering how Nakamura had guessed that. Was she familiar with Roselia’s music?

“You play with such heavy hands, gave it away.” Nakamura reached for the music, picking up one of the pages. “See here,” she pointed at one passage, “this phrase should be light, with occasional heavier contrast. You played it heavier than it should be, which lessens the effect.”

Had Rinko been doing that? She hadn’t noticed. “I’ll mark it.” She picked up her pencil from the music stand and took the paper to write the direction in.

Nakamura shook her head. “It’s not just this passage. You play consistently heavier than the piece calls for.”

Rinko’s heart, which wasn’t the strongest in the best of times, felt like it was going to fall through the floor. She had already failed her first test, for something she hadn’t even realized she was doing.

“I-I’m sorry.” Rinko bowed her head forward, grimacing. She knew this was a bad idea, but she had enrolled anyway. The treacherous voice in her head, the one telling her to give up and to retreat, echoed in her mind.

“There’s nothing to apologize for.” Nakamura’s words surprised Rinko, causing her to snap her head back up. “This wasn’t a test. It was your self-introduction, and now I know you.” As Rinko breathed in deeply, it felt like the tightness in her chest had loosened.

Nakamura stepped away and back towards her desk. “I have a task for you.” She said as she sat back down. Rinko’s palms were sweating again this was all way to stressful. “Think about my feedback and reconsider the spirit of the piece. Come to my office hours on Saturday to perform it again. I’ll be downstairs in room 104 from 12:00 to 4:00.”

Rinko jotted that down on her paper, in the corner so it wasn’t near the music. “Yes professor… I’ll be there.” She again bowed her head, this time in respect.

Nakamura then told her she could pack up, and that she would see her Saturday. Rinko put her keyboard and stand away quickly, so she could leave.

Her mind was racing, full of her mistakes.

She needed to go practice, to be prepared for her second attempt.

In addition, there was a lot she needed to think about.

Next Chapter

________________________________________________________

End Note: Sources for this chapter because I needed some references. The first movement of the piano video is the song Rinko played:

Kendall, Phillip. “The 10 most common surnames in Japan (and their meanings)” Japan Today, 28 Aug. 2013, https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/the-10-most-common-surnames-in-japan-and-their-meanings

“Levels of Attainment” University of West Florida, https://uwf.edu/media/university-of-west-florida/colleges/cassh/departments/music/pdfs/Levels-of-Attainment---Keyboards-(2).pdf

“Beethoven - Sonata No. 4 in E-flat major, Op. 7 (Richard Goode)” Youtube, Uploaded by MrPalika123 on 25 May 2012, https://youtu.be/TjaTwyHnDDA

[amnachil]

The College Society Chapter 2 Part 6

I hope you’ll like it ! Two part left for chapter 2 !

Liam holidays from Thursday December 20 to Sunday January 6

Rachel Strucker picked Liam up on Wednesday evening and they went back home in three hours. They passed thursday together. To be honest, he stayed shut off in their house the whole time. He had a bad reputation in the town, since 12th grade. He feared to meet some old classmate... The only one who paid him a visit was Raphaël, his childhood friend. On Friday, they eventually went to the court. Liam got an hard time to wake up this particular morning. (More than usual, yes it's possible). When he saw his father Isaac, he felt the anger seize him. I need to keep cool. Mom tell me to be as calm as possible. Thankfully, his sister Chloe was here too and she calmed him. She had her own testimony to do, and by her expression, he knew she wasn't happy about it.

"The judge want to hear your daughter first." explained Isaac's lawyer, a man called Mr. Meyers. "Then your son."

And so the chestnut lad had to wait. He sat alone in the hallway and stared at the trash can in front of him. I wonder how it would look with somes kicks... Wait, what's wrong with me ? Eventually, Chloe came out and he went in.

The judge smiled cheerfully. She was apparently the only one glad to be there.

"Liam I presume ? Have a sit please. Both lawyers will ask you some questions, and you have to answer with honesty, is that ok for you ?"

He nodded. (He felt a bit disappointed, he wanted to swear on the bible like in TV series). (And could he play with the gavel ?). At first, Rachel's lawyer asked him several question about his childhood. He described the life with his mother, and emphazised that she was always there for him. Then, Mr. Meyers started his own questioning.

"Tell me young man, is that true you were at the hospital only two days ago ?"

Why is he asking this ? It's Isaac's fault.

"Yes I was." he answered conscientiously.

"Can you tell us what happened ?"

"I did a panic attack and some hypoglicemia. But it was because my dad..."

"A panic attack." cuted Mr. Meyers. "Isn't it the same thing you did when your ex-boyfriend almost died ?"

Liam shuddered. Don't talk about this. He tried to say something, but the lawyer continued :

"Tell me if I'm wrong but you did many others panic attack when his family sued you ? Often with urges of violence right ?"

The boy saw red. He didn't want to hear it. Please, shut up. Please.

"It's a dismissed case !" stepped in his mother. "He didn't do anything wrong !"

"But it's relevant." insisted Mr. Meyers. "I mean according to the psychiatrist he saw back then, Liam had been suffering from several panic attacks and he had anger issues. He might even still be violent as far as I know ! And eveything happened while he were under your custody Mrs. Strucker !"

"Because Isaac left me alone !"

"Is it your excuse for everything Ma'am ? Your son almost killed someone else, and it's on you. We can't let his siblings turn the same, can we ?"

Liam tried his best. He wanted to stay calm, as his mother asked him to. But memories were haunting him. He heard screams, rain and thunder. He thought about aliens, mutants, ogre. Things were passing before his eyes. Suddenly he stood up, half crying, half enraged.

"Shut up !" he yelled. "Let me alone !"

A deep silent followed. They all looked at him with chock. I screwed up. Liam, why are you such a pathetic and idiotic piece of shit ? He sat back, holding his tears. He just ruined his mother's chances.

"This is speaking for itself." concluded Mr. Meyers. "Your honor, it's your call now."

One week per year. It's all she got. And Isaac sued her for incompetence. He asked money. They were going to court in january again. And the judge advised the young lad to see a psychologist. Honestly, Liam couldn't even say it was the worst day of his life. He had known worst. He had felt even more miserable. But he never hated himself this much. These holidays started to look like the highway to hell.

At start, he expected to spend christmas with his mother. But this one asked him some space, because she needed to think. And another person who's blaming me... And she has all the right to. Eventually, he crashed Nate's home. His bestfriend welcomed him just before the Christmas Eve dinner.

"Dude, you know I'll always be there or you." he assured when they entered his room.

"Thank you. Maybe you're the only one who cares now."

"That's not true." lectured his bestfriend. "Your mother loves you. Your siblings love you too. Don't say thing like that. And now come, my parents are waiting us for the dinner."

Almost one entire week went just like this. Nate did his best to cheer him up, but Liam was extremely depressed. New Year was coming, and he still felt as crappy as before. Eventually, the New's Year Eve party Nate was supposed to attend came.

"Dude, I decided you will come with me." he stated. "Leave this couch and get ready."

"Is it necessary ?"

Liam didn't want to make a party. He was fine in his bed, warn and comfy. Nobody bothered him for an entire week, it was like a miracle, wasn't it ? But Nate dragged him out of bed.

"Yeah, it's really important. You can't stay hidden under this blanket forever."

Eventually, the chestnut lad stood up and yawned. (Why can't he exactly ? This blanket had everything he ever asked for).

"I know you don't want to do anything for now, but you need to realise there ain't only bad things in the world." stated Nate. "And first, be lucky to have such a good metabolism."

"What do you mean ?"

"You're so ripped even if you did nothing for the last two week. Okay, you lost your abs, but you're still so muscled."

"Thanks I guess ?"

Nate was short and rather tubby at the moment. Even before he had started college, he had had some vacations gains, but after four months of parties... Well, he had quite the beerbelly now. Nothing too fat, just a round, soft tummy. Besisdes, he had always liked stuff himself freely, without a thought for the consequences. I think he's the lucky one to be so little self-conscious.

"Liam, are you gonna stare at me like this forever ?"

"Sorry, I just get out of touch."

"No problem, I'm used to it. Get dressed now, we have to go."

The party took place near to Nate's college. They drove for two hours to get there, but the short boy assured it would be nice. Honestly, during the trip, Liam started to feel better. After one entire week cloistered in a little room, everything seemed brighter. The clouds looked like living things. The snow was so yummy (yeah, he tasted the snow, just don't ask). And Nate good mood made him happy. They arrived in the evening, and went inside. There was already a lot of people, mainly dancing. Some were drinking. I'm not a big fan of party but... Liam had fun. Thanks to his bestfriend, he had way more fun than he had thought. They won some game of beerbong. They stuffed themselves greedily. The chestnut lad forgot about his family's problem for once.

Around 2am, they started to slow down. They talked a bit, cosily ensconsed in a corner of the hall. Liam was rubbing his belly with diligence. It had been a long time since the last time I overdid it like this. The feeling of fullness was satisfying. Next to him, Nate's belly had significantly rounded up, bloated with all those beer he had chugged and food he had consumed. They were both positively stuffed.

"Oh dude." sighed the short one. "Dare tell me it wasn't... burp... fun."

"It was. Thanks you."

Nate belched again, a bit louder.

"I though I would meet Gwendoline ?" asked Liam. "She isn't here ?"

"She's. Over there I think." replied Nate. "But it appeared... burp... she didn't like me being... what did she said ? Ah yeah, a fatty. So I told her we were stopping, even the sex. I'm not complaining tho. She can't accept my body, she can't be with me."

"Well said bro."

They remained silent for a bit. Liam had always admired his friend's confidence. Short, chubby, whatever he could be, he always liked himself. I can't say the same.

"What about ya ?" asked suddenly Nate. "I think Damian is hitting on you. He seems nice."

"He's. But I think he just wants to be my friend you know ?"

"Why would he ? I mean, why would he decide to be friend with a perfect stranger, just like that ?"

"Because he's nice ?"

Liam really thought that way. Dami wasn't making a move or anything. Friend, we're friend.

"You're a lost cause." mumbled Nate.

After the party, Liam started to be his old self again. (Yes, the Liam dreamy and simple-minded). During the end of the holidays, he often had his head in the clouds, thinking about his own world. Gwendoline wasn't a fairy, as Nate and him discovered, but a young witch. As for Theo, he still needed a solution before he decided to eat Nick. About him, the two bestfriend had a long conversation. Liam learnt his roommate had a scolarship because he was a genius back in highschool, who finished the 12th grade's syllabus two month before the end of the year. It explained some mysteries. Anyway, the chestnut lad visited his siblings two day before the beginning of the exams. Then he realised he had exams. So he went back to the campus as fast as possible, and asked Nick to save his ass.

Rebecca holidays from Thursday December 20 to Sunday January 6

Two hours. His parents shouted for two hours. Needless to say, Bob was enjoying this. It was his idea after all. Rebecca stayed quiet. She lowered her eyes and waited the end. Finally, they decided several change she disliked. First of all, his father would come monthly at the university to keep a close eye on her. Like if I needed this. Secondly, she had to bring them back good grades for the january's exams, or she would be grounded. I'm 19, and they think they can punish me. Where is the logic ? Lastly, Bob had now the right to control her phone and her computer. Anything he would evaluate distracting would be removed. What the actual fuck ? This idea is the worst they ever had. Honestly, Rebecca wanted to contest, but she hadn't the guts. She knew it would lead to some reals problems soon, but... I'll negociate with Bob once we'll be back at the university. For now, let's fake to agree.

Christmas came and went. She met her family's relative with mixed feelings. She hadn't much close cousins to speak to. And she wasn't celebrating with feast or anything else. It was very simple. She never stopped to train. Bob was watching her every day. Eventually, one day, after an especially hard race, he said :

"Good time girl. You're back in action. I'm glad Emilio warned me about this Nick."

"Wait. What ?"

"Your boyfriend told me the boy was disturbing you. I wrote him a letter to tell him to back off. He must have received it by now."

You must be kidding me ? Fuck it. This asshole.

"You can relax Rebbie." assured Bob. "If this young man continue to bother you, I'm going to have a little chat with him."

"It won't be necessary." she quickly replied.

"Oh girl you're too nice. That's why people are mean with you. This guy is a bad influence we need to get rid of."

Oh yes, I'm really naive. But not about Nick. It was true, she had noticed the geek's figure getting chubbier. She knew he was hiding a little belly under his loose jacket. And yes, he was consuming junkfood, drinking beer and playing videogames. But she never felt influenced by him. I've been influenced by this fucking hunter Emilio. God I hate him. But she couldn't speak about this with Bob. His trainer wouldn't understand. He would blame her. So she remained quiet, and hoped Nick wouldn't be too mad about the letter...

December was finally over. She celebrated the New Year's Eve with her family. She hadn't many friends from highschool, and she didn't want to go back to the university. For all that, on the first day of january, she met an old classmate while she was doing the groceries. The girl, Ollie, greeted her cheerfully, and they talked about their own respective college.

"I'm also surprised by the freedom of the people." said this one during the conversation. "I mean, I can literally have sex with everyone, and just leave them the next day. In highschool, people called me slut when I did that."

Yeah, that kinda was your reputation. Ollie was well-known to be open-minded. And thigh-opened too. Nonetheless, even if Rebecca didn't like the principle, she was interested. Accroding to her research, Ollie was a hunter.

"Ain't people hating you afterwards ?" she asked.

"Sometimes, but when there are three thousands dudes in the campus, it's not really a problem. And they know what they signed for."

"And if a guy become overly attached ? I mean emotionally attached to you ?"

"It doesn't matter." assured Ollie. "I'm kind of... a collector anyway. I date at least three men in the same time, so I'm sure to have one everynight."

Holy shit. That's why I call a whore. But if a girl like Ollie was able to do it, Rebecca could have sex with one guy, one time, couldn't she ? Now that I think about it, it's impressive she managed to go to community college. Anyway, their little talk caused the young woman to make a choice. She would tell to Matthew she was ready. And she would get rid of Emilio.

To be continued

No Damian’s POV today, but don’t worry, he’ll come first next week ! We have to see what he has done during his holidays :)

Our poor Liam, things are getting worst each week... But at least there are Nate and food to comfort him right ? He did said he likes to be stuffed ;)

Rebecca has her own problems to deal with. Will she be able to end things with Emilio this time ?

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Welcome to a weekly collaboration between FiveThirtyEight and ABC News. With 5,000 people seemingly thinking about challenging President Trump in 2020 — Democrats and even some Republicans — we’re keeping tabs on the field as it develops. Each week, we’ll run through what the potential candidates are up to — who’s getting closer to officially jumping in the ring and who’s getting further away.

This week, the presidential field grew more diverse with the entrance of Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

Harris — who was born to an Indian mother and Jamaican father — announced her presidential campaign on “Good Morning America” and Buttigieg — who could make history as the nation’s first openly gay presidential nominee of a major party — posted video about his forming an exploratory committee on Wednesday.

They join a growing and diverse field of Democratic hopefuls, a cadre that could prove too large for a single debate at the first opportunity in June. Anticipating a crowded field, Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez revealed in December that the DNC would set thresholds, including polling and fundraising targets, to pare down the first group of candidates, then “draw lots,” should the group still be too large. However, the DNC has yet to reveal specific targets for those thresholds, but some figures — including Harris, who aides tell ABC News brought in $1.5 million in her first day as a candidate — are already clearly aiming for one of the coveted spots.

Jan. 18-24, 2019

Michael Bennet (D)

The Colorado senator attracted attention Thursday when he criticized fellow Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Bennet labeled Cruz’s current government shutdown-related concerns “crocodile tears,” and reminded Cruz of actions that led to a 2013 shutdown while Bennet’s home state was dealing with flooding.

Asked on MSNBC Thursday afternoon whether he was running for president, Bennet said he was “thinking about it … like every other person in [the Senate.]”

Joe Biden (D)

At a National Action Network Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast in Washington, Biden said that white Americans need to acknowledge and admit the fact that systemic racism still exists and must be rooted out.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that in a paid speech given by Biden in Michigan in October, the former vice president praised Republican Rep. Fred Upton, who then went on to defeat his Democratic opponent. The remarks were criticized by local Democrats, who saw it as a damaging error, according to the Times report. On Friday, at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Biden defended the speech, explaining that he was proud of Upton’s work on a cancer research funding bill and argued that not everything should be viewed through the lens of partisanship.

Michael Bloomberg (D)

Bloomberg spoke at a National Action Network Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast in Washington on Monday, during which he joked he would ask former Vice President Joe Biden, who was also in attendance, for tips on living in Washington. He added, of himself and Biden: “I know we’ll both keep our eyes on the real prize, and that is electing a Democrat to the White House in 2020, and getting our country back on track.”

The former New York City mayor faced criticism from Democrats this week after defending the use of stop-and-frisk policing during a speech at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland Tuesday, and labeling efforts to legalize marijuana “perhaps the stupidest thing we’ve ever done.”

Cory Booker (D)

The New Jersey senator spoke at a South Carolina statehouse rally on Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday after brief stops over the weekend in Louisiana and Georgia. In Georgia, Booker met with former President Jimmy Carter and the pair appeared on an Instagram Live video. “I’m very glad to have you here this morning, and I hope you come back,” Carter said to Booker. “And I hope you run for president.”

Sherrod Brown (D)

On Wednesday, Brown told MSNBC that he continues to “very seriously” consider a presidential campaign. As has been the case in past interviews on the subject, the Ohio senator referred to the importance of Democrats competing in the center of the country and a focus on employment and job conditions.

“To win Ohio, to win the industrial Midwest, the heartland, and the Electoral College you’ve got to speak to the progressive base, to be sure, as I have my whole career, but you’ve got to talk to workers and live where they live,” he said, later echoing the sentiment on “Late Night with Seth Meyers” where he said his party can’t choose between progressives and workers, but represent both groups.

Brown kicks off his “Dignity of Work” tour in Cleveland on Wednesday, followed by a visit to Iowa Thursday.

Pete Buttigieg (D)

Buttigieg announced the formation of a presidential exploratory committee Wednesday, with the 37-year-old South Bend, Indiana mayor explaining that he felt it was time for a generational shift in the nation’s leadership.

“I belong to a generation that is stepping forward right now,” Buttigieg said in a video announcing the committee, “We’re the generation that lived through school shootings, that served in the wars after 9/11. And we’re the generation that stands to be the first to make less than our parents, unless we do something different.”

Asked Wednesday by KCBS about potential concerns about his youth and experience, Buttigieg said his two terms as mayor and service in the Navy were more executive and military experience than President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.

Julian Castro (D)

Castro spent Martin Luther King Jr. Day in San Antonio, where he took part in the city’s parade, marching alongside his brother Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas.

An adviser to Castro told The Daily Beast that the former Housing and Urban Development secretary’s campaign already formulated workplace harassment policies and that it would support unionization among its staffers, should they decide to do so.

John Delaney (D)

Delaney spent last weekend in New Hampshire at multiple meet-and-greet events and attended the Concord Women’s March. After speaking with reporters and editors at the Nashua Telegraph last Friday, the newspaper’s editorial board described the former Maryland congressman as “somewhat impressive.”

Tulsi Gabbard (D)

In an interview with CNN Sunday, Gabbard said she did not regret her 2017 meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, arguing that it is “very important for any leader in this country to be willing to meet with others, whether they be friends or adversaries or potential adversaries if we are serious about the pursuit of peace and securing our country.”

Eric Garcetti (D)

Garcetti helped facilitate negotiations in the Los Angeles teacher strike, which ended in a deal that the mayor called “a historic agreement.”

Jeff Flake (R)

At a Vanderbilt University panel, Flake criticized the Republican Party for moving away from “traditional conservatism.” He also said, “The Trump base is very real, very solid, but politically it’s just not large enough to carry ahead. I say that’s a good thing.”

Despite his differences with the president, Flake said at the event, “I hope we don’t go through an impeachment process because of what it does to a divided public.”

Kirsten Gillibrand (D)

In her first week since the announcement of her presidential exploratory committee, Gillibrand visited Iowa, where she addressed the Des Moines Women’s March Saturday. The New York senator addressed allegations of anti-Semitism against two of the Women’s March leaders, saying that there was “no room for anti-Semitism” in the movement and that the movement is empowered when everyone lifts each other.

At additional stops across Iowa, Gillibrand explained the moderate positions dotting her past, including her former defense of the Second Amendment: “I had only really looked at guns through the lens of hunting. My mom still shoots the Thanksgiving turkey,” she said, later noting that the NRA now gives her an F rating.

On Monday, Gillibrand spoke at the National Action Network’s King Day Public Policy Forum in New York, invoking the Bible as she discussed “speak[ing] truth to power,” in a moment that NAN’s founder Al Sharpton characterized as “preaching.”

Kamala Harris (D)

Harris officially announced Monday that she is running for president, telling ABC’s “Good Morning America” that she feels “a sense of responsibility to stand up and fight for the best of who we are” and that she’s confident in her “ability to lead” and “listen and to work on behalf of the American public.” She then grabbed a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich, before heading back to Washington and answering questions from reporters at her alma mater, Howard University.

In the 24 hours following her announcement, aides to Harris told ABC News their campaign raised $1.5 million from 38,000 donors.

The California senator hits the campaign trail starting Friday in South Carolina to speak at an event held by a local chapter of her sorority. On Sunday, Harris will hold a campaign launch event in Oakland, then on Monday she’ll participate in a CNN townhall in Iowa.

John Hickenlooper (D)

On Sunday, the former Colorado governor is visiting Iowa for a stop at a house party and a local brewery, one of his advisers told ABC News. On Tuesday, he told CNN that he would decide whether to run for president by March, and that he could separate himself for the field by sharing his bipartisan record.

“I’m probably one of the few, if not the only candidate who’s actually been able to bring people together who were in conflict, they were feuding, and get them to put down their weapons, take the time to hear each other and then actually achieve progressive goals through their willingness to work together and create a compromise,” Hickenlooper said.

Jay Inslee (D)

The Washington governor visited New Hampshire Tuesday to speak with students at Dartmouth and Saint Anselm colleges. He spent much of his time talking about climate change, an issue he claimed wasn’t being highlighted by other possible presidential nominees.

“Here’s an existential threat to the United States, and they do their rollouts and the words ‘climate change’ don’t appear,” he said.

Inslee also told the Associated Press that he’s been emailing with the billionaire Tom Steyer, a fellow environmentalist who recently passed on a presidential run of his own, but who has not committed to supporting another candidate.

John Kasich (R)

Kasich repeated a position he’s shared before when asked about a potential 2020 run during a question and answer session at the University of Florida Wednesday: “If I can’t win, I’m not going to do it,” he said.

The former Ohio governor wrote an op-ed for the Boston Globe to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He decried the political division that led to the ongoing government shutdown and called upon Americans to take personal action to better their communities.

“Instead of sitting around worrying about what’s broken and not working in Washington, we’ve got to get off the couch and figure out what we can do by ourselves — right here at home, where we live. Volunteer at the food bank. Engage with your schools if something needs to be fixed. Drop in on a neighbor who has no one else to listen,” he wrote. “The opportunities are there, but we need to grasp them. That’s the cure for the breakdown in Washington.”

John Kerry (D)

Asked during a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, if he had any message for Trump, Kerry answered that he should “resign.”

Amy Klobuchar (D)

Klobuchar delivered last week’s weekly Democratic address, criticizing Trump for “holding the hardworking people of America hostage by requiring them to pay ransom to reopen their government,” referring to Trump’s insistence on the inclusion of border wall funding in any appropriations bill to end the government shutdown.

Mitch Landrieu (D)

Landrieu spoke to MSNBC Wednesday where he discussed the government shutdown, saying, “The president is way stuck on stupid right now.”

“There is no mayor in America in his right mind, or her right mind, that would ever think about shutting down the government,” the former New Orleans mayor continued. “This is why the people of America are really frustrated with Washington.”

Terry McAuliffe (D)

Though he didn’t definitively commit to the race, McAuliffe told the New York Posts’s Page Six of a presidential run: “It’s not easy — but I’m a heck of a fighter.”

The Associated Press dug into McAuliffe’s PAC’s 2018 spending and found that it raised over $300,000 in the second half of 2018 and spent money on donations to the state Democratic parties of New Hampshire and Iowa — expenditures that a spokesperson maintains said were not related to a presidential campaign.

“Funds from Common Good were used to support governor candidates and state parties across the country who share Governor McAuliffe’s values,” Carson told the AP, adding that the PAC is closing.

Jeff Merkley (D)

In an interview with the Associated Press, Merkley said he would decide on a presidential run before the end of April.

Beto O’Rourke (D)

O’Rourke continued his tour of the American heartland, visiting Kansas and Colorado this week and blogging about it — to some mockery — along the way.

The New York Times reported Saturday that some Democrats were perturbed by O’Rourke’s individualistic style, and his merely lukewarm embrace of fellow Texas Democrat Gina Ortiz-Jones during the midterms.

Mother Jones dug up a video of O’Rourke covering The Ramones in a onesie and a sheep mask.

Bernie Sanders (D)

Sanders spoke at a rally at South Carolina’s statehouse on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and remained in the Palmetto State for three additional events on Tuesday. During a NAACP forum he said of a presidential campaign, “I’m going to look at it; I’m going to assess it.”

In a GQ profile Thursday, Sanders detailed what he felt his 2016 presidential campaign was able to achieve, even without capturing the Democratic nomination. ““We have had more success in ideologically changing the party than I would have dreamed possible,” he said. “The world has changed.”

Howard Schultz (D)

Advisers to the former Starbucks CEO are probing the possibility of an independent presidential campaign, The Washington Post reported last Friday, citing two sources with knowledge of the conversations. CNN matched the story Monday, quoting a source who said Schultz is “thinking deeply about his future and how he can best serve the country.”

Eric Swalwell (D)

Swalwell visited South Carolina Saturday to speak at the Greenville Women’s March and a gala for the Spartanburg County Democratic Party. During the day, he told the Spartanburg Herald Journal that he is “getting close to deciding” about a presidential run and discussed the role that the state will play in deciding the Democratic nominee.

“Any presidential contender better come through Spartanburg County if they are going to be in the White House,” he said. “It’s a steep mountain to climb for a Democrat in South Carolina since the state is mostly Republican.”

Elizabeth Warren (D)

Though still only in the exploratory committee phase, Warren continues to travel. She held an organizing event in New Hampshire last Friday, attended a Martin Luther King Jr. Day memorial breakfast in Boston Monday, visited Puerto Rico for a “community conversation” Tuesday, and visited South Carolina for another organizing event Wednesday. Friday, Warren stops in Las Vegas for an additional organizing event.

The Massachusetts senator was asked about the state of the presidential race in a CNN interview Tuesday, demurring when questioned whether she was “too far to the left.”

“I’m out talking about the economic issues, about how government works, about what’s happening to middle class families, working families, all across this country — why the path has gotten rockier and rockier. This is what I’ve worked on all of my life,” Warren said. “I’m delighted that there are lots of Democrats who want to talk about ideas, who want to talk about a way to build a stronger America; I believe in that.

Andrew Yang (D)

Yang, an entrepreneur, was interviewed by Rolling Stone this week about his under-the-radar campaign, where he explained why he was running for president.

“I was stunned when I saw the disparities between Detroit and San Francisco or Cleveland and Manhattan. You feel like you’re traveling across dimensions and decades and not just a couple of time zones,” he said. “None of our political leaders are willing to acknowledge the elephant in the room that is tearing our communities apart, in the form of technological change.”

He additionally outlined a key component of his platform: a universal basic income of $1,000 per month for all Americans 18 and older, which would be funded by a value-added tax, explaining: “If you have a town in Missouri with 50,000 adults and they’re all getting $1,000 a month, that’s another $50 million in purchasing power that comes right into that town’s local economy — into car repairs, tutoring or food for your kids, the occasional night out, home repairs. And that money ends up circulating all through that town.”

[newstfionline]

Thursday, July 1, 2021

As Canada sees record temperature of over 118 degrees amid heat wave, police warn of deaths (Washington Post) Lytton, a village in British Columbia, became the first place in Canada to record a temperature above 113 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday, with the thermometer hitting 116 degrees. But that national record did not last for long. On Monday, according to government weather agency Environment Canada, Lytton saw temperatures soar to just above 118 degrees on Monday. That is one degree higher than the record in Las Vegas, the desert city more than a thousand miles south of Lytton. In Burnaby, neighboring Vancouver in British Columbia, local law enforcement announced Tuesday that they had responded to more than 25 “sudden death” calls in 24 hours. Though the causes of death were still being investigated, police said that many of the victims were elderly and that the heat was suspected to be a contributing factor. In nearby Surrey, police had responded to 22 sudden-death calls Monday and 13 by midday Tuesday. Canada’s record comes amid a severe heat wave in the Pacific Northwest, with records Monday of 116 degrees in Portland, Ore., and 108 degrees in Seattle.

The power grid problem (Washington Post) In the punishing heat wave that has struck the Pacific Northwest, about 17,000 electricity customers were without power Monday evening. Nearly 20,000 more were in blackouts in Idaho, Oregon, California and Nevada. Those aren’t devastating numbers, but they are a reminder that the electric grid in America is frayed and always operating close to the edge. The high temperatures come just four months after Texas power was poleaxed by the February freeze, and only two weeks after the Texas grid wobbled again in its own heat wave. A year ago, California experienced failures on a wide scale. A compromise reached in the Senate would pump billions of dollars into upgrading the nation’s electricity system, if it becomes law, but the need is immense. And at the same time the Biden administration is pushing for electric cars, trucks and buses, and a widespread conversion to electric heating, all while slashing the emissions of greenhouse gases. The nation’s already strained power grid is either at a turning point or poised to dash all those clean-power visions as it crumbles under the new stresses being placed on it.

Millions skipped church during pandemic. Will they return? (AP) With millions of people having stayed home from places of worship during the coronavirus pandemic, struggling congregations have one key question: How many of them will return? As the pandemic recedes in the United States and in-person services resume, worries of a deepening slide in attendance are universal. Some houses of worship won’t make it. Smaller organizations with older congregations that struggled to adapt during the pandemic are in the greatest danger of a downward spiral from which they can’t recover, said the Rev. Gloria E. White-Hammond, lecturer at the Harvard Divinity School and co-pastor of a church in Boston. On the Maine coast, the pandemic proved to be the last straw for the 164-year-old Waldoboro United Methodist Church. Even before COVID-19 swept the world, weekly attendance had dipped to 25 or 30 at the white-clapboard New England church that could hold several hundred worshippers. The number further dwindled to five or six before the final service was held Sunday, said the Rev. Gregory Foster. About three-quarters of Americans who attended religious services in person at least monthly before the pandemic say they are likely to do so again in the next few weeks, according to a recent AP-NORC poll. That’s up slightly from the about two-thirds who said in May 2020 that they would if they were allowed to do so. But 7% said they definitely won’t be attending. Some may continue online. Eight in 10 congregants in the U.S. reported that their services were being streamed online, Pew said.

America’s workers are exhausted and burned out—and some employers are taking notice (Washington Post) Meg Trowbridge’s plans for the week are pretty simple. She’ll take long, meandering walks and explore some new parks and visit the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art for the first time since 2019—all on company time. In pre-pandemic times, Trowbridge would have joined colleagues from around the world at Mozilla’s annual two-week off-site meeting—last held in Berlin in January 2020—a mix of creative work and networking that left her both exhilarated and exhausted, she said. Instead of shifting that program online for a week of Zooms, Mozilla is shutting down the entire company for a “Wellness Week,” which will lead into the Fourth of July weekend. It dovetails with another initiative the company formalized this past January, a “Wellness Day,” or companywide day off, once a month every month this year. All 12 are scheduled for Fridays to tack onto the weekend. It’s not just Mozilla. Employers across the country, from Fortune 500 companies such as PepsiCo and Verizon to boutique advertising firms and nonprofit organizations, are continuing pandemic benefits such as increased paid time off and child- or elder-care benefits as well as embracing flexible work schedules and remote work in recognition that a returning workforce is at high risk of burnout. About 40 percent of Americans say they felt burned out while working at home this past year, according to a March Ipsos poll. Some 42 percent said they would look for another job if required to return to the office full-time, and 72 percent said they wanted more flexibility regarding going back into work.

British CCTV (CNN/UK News) The British government has been handed an embarrassingly disturbing reminder that leaks will always happen, and people outside of government will always want to see them. Last Friday, Matt Hancock, a married senior cabinet official, was caught on a security camera in his private office canoodling with an also-married female adviser. The tape was leaked to the press, and a newspaper published photos of the tryst. The now-former Health Secretary, who resigned on Saturday, said he had no idea there was a CCTV camera in his office; it was reportedly hidden inside a smoke detector. What’s freaking out his Westminster colleagues isn’t the fact that the woman wasn’t Hancock’s wife, or that the pictures meant Hancock was breaking his own government’s Covid rules. It’s the enormous security implications surrounding the kinds of sensitive conversations that take place in the official offices of the most senior people in the government of a G7 nation. The fact a camera ended up in the office of a senior cabinet minister could just as easily have been an error rather than conspiracy. But even if the camera’s existence was a mistake, and the content of the leak wasn’t of huge national importance, anyone with a top-level government job should know they are always at risk of being watched. Modern espionage often preys on weak links and amateurish mistakes. If the camera footage had been exploited by an enemy, Hancock could have been open to blackmail.

U.S. military commander in Afghanistan warns of chaotic civil war (Washington Post) The top American military commander in Afghanistan expressed deep concern Tuesday that the country could slide into a chaotic civil war and face “very hard times” unless its fractious civilian leadership united and the haphazard array of armed groups joining the anti-Taliban fight were controlled and made “accountable” for their actions in battle. The bleak assessment by Gen. Austin “Scott” Miller, who met with journalists, came as Taliban forces continued their rapid advance across northern Afghan provinces and expanded into other rural regions. The insurgents also began drawing closer in a circle around the capital city. In the past several days, officials and Afghan media reported, Taliban fighters have overrun parts of three provinces, all just short drives from Kabul on highways running north and south. They also attacked security posts in a third area that hugs the city’s western border. By some experts’ estimates, Taliban forces control as many as 140 of the country’s 370 districts and are active or influential in 170 others. U.S. and Afghan military officials alike have given much lower estimates, but more districts continue to fall to the Taliban almost daily.

China remakes Hong Kong (NYT) With each passing day, the boundary between Hong Kong and the rest of China fades faster. The Chinese Communist Party is remaking this city, permeating its once vibrant, irreverent character with ever more overt signs of its authoritarian will. The very texture of daily life is under assault as Beijing molds Hong Kong into something more familiar, more docile. Residents now swarm police hotlines with reports about disloyal neighbors or colleagues. Teachers have been told to imbue students with patriotic fervor through 48-volume book sets called “My Home Is in China.” Public libraries have removed dozens of books from circulation, including one about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. Hong Kong is now a montage of scenes unfamiliar and, for many, unsettling. Police officers have been trained to goose-step in the Chinese military fashion, replacing decades of British-style marching. City leaders regularly denounce “external elements” bent on undermining the country’s stability. Armed with the expansive national security law it imposed on the city one year ago, Beijing is pushing to turn Hong Kong into another of its mainland megacities: economic engines where dissent is immediately smothered.

Kim Jong Un’s shakeup (Foreign Policy) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accused officials of causing a “great crisis” in the country’s COVID-19 response that would lead to “grave consequences,” North Korean state media reported on Wednesday, a rare acknowledgement of the pandemic as North Korea officially claims to be free of the virus. State media said that several Workers Party members had been replaced over the unspecified incident, including one of its powerful five-member Politburo standing committee known as the Presidium. The publication of Kim’s remarks comes soon after the leader admitted to a “tense” food situation in the country.

Lockdown measures extended in Australia amid COVID-19 outbreak (Reuters) Australian officials extended lockdown and social distancing measures to more of the country on Wednesday, with four major cities already under a hard lockdown in a race to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant. Around one in two Australians are under stay-at-home orders, with millions of others subjected to movement curbs and mandatory mask-wearing amid COVID-19 flare-ups in several locations.

Economic crisis, severe shortages make Lebanon ‘unlivable’ (AP) Ibrahim Arab waits in line several hours a day in the hot summer sun to buy gas for his taxi. When he’s not working, the 37-year-old father of two drives from one Beirut pharmacy to another, looking for baby formula for his 7-month-old son—any he can find—even though the infant got severe diarrhea and vomiting from an unfamiliar brand. He worries what would happen if his children got really sick. Once among the best in the region, Lebanon’s hospitals are struggling amid the country’s economic and financial crisis that has led to daily power outages that last for hours, shortages of diesel fuel for backup generators, and a lack of medical equipment and drugs. After 20 months of suffering with no end in sight, a new reality is setting in for most of Lebanon’s estimated 6 million people: Days filled with severe shortages—from spare parts for cars to medicine, fuel and other basic goods in the import-dependent country. “My life was already difficult, and now the gasoline crisis only made things worse,” Arab said on a recent day. To survive, he works a second job at a Beirut grocery store, but his monthly income in Lebanese pounds has lost 95% of its purchase power. “I wish I had the opportunity to leave. This country is unlivable,” Arab said.

Anger in the West Bank (Washington Post) Palestinians and advocacy groups continued Tuesday to protest the recent death of a local anti-corruption activist in custody of Palestinian security forces. For days, marchers have braved beatings and intimidation to rally in cities across the West Bank. In Ramallah, Hebron and Bethlehem, demonstrations have called for an independent investigation of the death of Nizar Banat, a vocal critic of the governing Palestinian Authority, and for President Mahmoud Abbas to step down from his 16-year rule. Banat was beaten by security officers when they pulled him from bed in a predawn raid on June 24, witnesses said. Officials announced two hours later that he had died, blaming an unspecified health problem. The official pushback against the demonstrations has been violent, with riot police deploying tear gas and reportedly assaulting female protesters. Video showed plainclothes security officers and Fatah supporters attacking protesters with rocks and clubs at a weekend rally of several hundred in Ramallah. Officers confiscated cellphones from marchers shooting video and reporters have had cameras broken.

Trapped in Ethiopia’s Tigray, people ‘falling like leaves’ (AP) The plea arrived from a remote area that had so far produced only rumors and residents fleeing for their lives. Help us, the letter said, stamped and signed by a local official. At least 125 people have already starved to death. Trapped in one of the most inaccessible areas of Ethiopia’s conflict-torn Tigray region, beyond the reach of aid, people “are falling like leaves,” the official said. The letter dated June 16, obtained by The Associated Press and confirmed by a Tigray regional health official, is a rare insight into the most urgent unknown of the war between Ethiopian forces backed by Eritrea and Tigray’s former leaders: What’s the fate of hundreds of thousands of people cut off from the world for months? The letter that reached the regional capital, Mekele, this month from the cut-off central district of Mai Kinetal was just the second plea of its kind. But the letter from Mai Kinetal offered badly needed, well-compiled data that lay out the devastation line by line: At least 440 people have died, and at least 558 have been victims of sexual violence. More than 5,000 homes have been looted. Thousands of livestock have been taken. Tons of crops have been burned.

[techcrunchappcom]

New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/covid-19-news-live-updates-the-new-york-times-20/

Covid-19 News: Live Updates - The New York Times

Here’s what you need to know:

Most public health officials now believe it is important to keep schools operating, particularly for young students.Credit…Sarah Blesener for The New York Times

New York City is reopening some of its public schools Monday in the teeth of a worsening coronavirus outbreak.

The decision to do so reflects changing public health thinking around the importance of keeping schools operating, particularly for young students, and the real-world experience of over two months of in-person classes in the city’s school system, the nation’s largest.

Schools around the country have had to make the difficult decision of when to close and what metrics to follow, with some staying open amid local positivity rates in the teens and others using low single-digit thresholds.

Of the nation’s 75 largest public school districts, 18 have gone back to remote learning in the past month, according to data compiled by the Council of the Great City Schools and reported in The Wall Street Journal.

In California, many of the biggest school districts were already closed before new restrictions took effect on Sunday in three regions of the state. The new restrictions include stay-at-home orders, but do not require schools that had reopened to close again (an earlier version of this item incorrectly said they do). In the last week, California has reported more than 150,000 new cases, a record for all states.

Decisions to shutter schools have often been made on the local level and in inconsistent ways. Some schools have “paused” for short periods of time — as was the case in dozens of Central Texas districts or recently in Delaware, at the governor’s suggestion. Others have opted for blended learning with some days in school and some days remote.

Many have endured jarring periods of closing, opening and closing again. All of the solutions seem to be leading to burnout, instability and turmoil. New York City students, parents and teachers have felt their own whiplash, from a full shutdown before Thanksgiving to a partial reopening less than three weeks later.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has committed himself to keeping schools open, his aides say, and has started with elementary schools and those for students with severe disabilities. (About 190,000 children in the grades and schools the city is reopening this week would be eligible.)

Three of the country’s largest districts — in Birmingham, Ala., Tulsa, Okla., and Wichita, Kan. — made the opposite decision and closed over the past week. In Birmingham, the superintendent said the pandemic was “drastically impacting our community and our schools.” In Tulsa, two public school employees died recently after testing positive for the virus. And several of Wichita’s public schools had so many staff members quarantined that they could hardly cover vacancies by the time the district decided to close, the superintendent said.

The United States has diverged from other countries around the world in closing schools but leaving indoor dining and bars open. Many parents have criticized that situation, saying that risks of infection are higher in restaurants and bars and that it prioritizes the economy over education. Across Europe and Asia, students, especially very young ones, have largely continued going to school while other parts of daily life have shut down.

While Mr. de Blasio’s decision was applauded by many parents, there is no guarantee that the pattern of chaos that they have faced will abate as the fall turns to winter. New York City’s rules for handling positive cases all but guarantee frequent and sudden closures of individual classrooms and school buildings.

And it remains unclear whether the city will be able to reopen its middle and high schools to in-person learning any time soon.

One thing that could hamper the city’s efforts, officials cautioned, is a truly rampant second wave in New York.

The test positivity rate has only increased since the city closed schools and the seven-day rolling average rate exceeded 5 percent last week. Hospitalizations have quickly mounted.

Rudolph W. Giuliani, at age 76, is in the high-risk category for the virus.Credit…Erin Schaff/The New York Times

Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and President Trump’s personal and campaign lawyer, has tested positive for the coronavirus, Mr. Trump announced on Twitter on Sunday.

Mr. Giuliani has been admitted to Georgetown University Medical Center, according to a person who was aware of his condition but not authorized to speak publicly. Mr. Giuliani, at age 76, is in the high-risk category for the virus. Later Sunday, he wrote on Twitter: “Thank you to all my friends and followers for all the prayers and kind wishes. I’m getting great care and feeling good. Recovering quickly and keeping up with everything.”

His son, Andrew H. Giuliani, a White House adviser, said on Nov. 20 he had tested positive for the virus. He had appeared at a news conference with his father the day before.

Mr. Giuliani has been acting as the lead lawyer for Mr. Trump’s efforts to overthrow the results of the election. He has repeatedly claimed he has evidence of widespread fraud, but he has declined to submit that evidence in legal cases he has filed.

“@RudyGiuliani, by far the greatest mayor in the history of NYC, and who has been working tirelessly exposing the most corrupt election (by far!) in the history of the USA, has tested positive for the China Virus. Get better soon Rudy, we will carry on!!!” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter. It was unclear why Mr. Trump was the one announcing it.

Mr. Giuliani recently traveled to three battleground states that Mr. Biden won to make his case. On Thursday he attended a hearing at the Georgia Capitol, where he didn’t wear a mask. He also went maskless on Wednesday at a legislative session in Michigan, where he lobbied Republicans to overturn the results of the election there and appoint a slate of electors for Trump.

“Mayor Giuliani tested negative twice immediately preceding his trip to Arizona, Michigan, and Georgia,” the Trump campaign said. “The Mayor did not experience any symptoms or test positive for COVID-19 until more than 48 hours after his return.”

However, a person in contact with the former mayor said he began feeling ill late this past week.

Mr. Giuliani has repeatedly been exposed to the virus through contact with infected people, including during Mr. Trump���s preparation for his first debate against President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. in September, just before the president tested positive.

His infection is the latest in a string of outbreaks among those in the president’s orbit. Boris Epshteyn, a member of the Trump campaign legal team, tested positive late last month. The same day, Mr. Giuliani attended a meeting of Republican state lawmakers in Pennsylvania about allegations of voting irregularities. One of the lawmakers at that meeting was notified shortly after, while at the White House, that he had tested positive.

Mark Meadows, the president’s chief of staff, and at least eight others in the White House and Mr. Trump’s circle, tested positive in the days before and after Election Day.

Mr. Trump was hospitalized on Oct. 2 after contracting the coronavirus. Kayleigh McEnany, the president’s press secretary, Corey Lewandowski, a campaign adviser, and Ben Carson, the housing secretary, are among those in the president’s circle who have tested positive this fall.

Mr. Giuliani appeared on Fox News earlier on Sunday. Speaking with the host Maria Bartiromo via satellite, Mr. Giuliani repeated baseless claims about fraud in Georgia and Wisconsin on “Sunday Morning Futures.” When asked if he believed Mr. Trump still had a path to victory, he said, “We do.”

Melina Delkic and Bryan Pietsch contributed reporting.

The victims of coronavirus were remembered during a Mass at at Nembro’s cemetery in November.Credit…Fabio Bucciarelli for The New York Times

Every Monday night in the northern Italian town that had perhaps the highest coronavirus death rate in all of Europe, a psychologist specializing in post-traumatic stress leads group therapy sessions in the local church.

“She has treated survivors of war,” the Rev. Matteo Cella, the parish priest of the town, Nembro, in Bergamo province, said of the psychologist. “She says the dynamic is the same.”

First the virus exploded in Bergamo. Then came the shell shock. The province that first gave the West a preview of the horrors to come now serves as a disturbing postcard from the post-traumatic aftermath.

In small towns where many know one another, there is apprehension about other people, but also survivor’s guilt, anger, second thoughts about fateful decisions and nightmares about dying wishes unfulfilled. There is a pervasive anxiety that, with the virus surging anew, Bergamo’s enormous sacrifice will soon recede into history, that its towns will be forgotten battlefields from the great first wave.

And most of all there is a collective grappling to understand how the virus has changed people. Not just their antibodies, but their selves.

Bergamo, like everywhere, now confronts a second wave of the virus. But its sacrifice has left it better prepared than most places, as the widespread infection rate of the first wave has conferred a measure of immunity for many, doctors say. And its medical staff, by now drilled in the virus’s awful protocols, are taking in patients from outside the province to alleviate the burdens on overwhelmed hospitals nearby.

But the wounds of the first wave gnaw at them from within.

Talking about these things does not come easily to people in Italy’s industrial heartland, jammed with metal-mechanic and textile factories, paper mills, billowing smokestacks and gaping warehouses. They prefer to talk about how much they work. Almost apologetically they reveal that they are hurting.

Though no corner of the city has escaped the fallout, job losses have been concentrated in mostly Black and Latino areas like West Farms in the Bronx.Credit…Amr Alfiky/The New York Times

More than one in four workers in the West Farms neighborhood of the Bronx are out of work.

They were store clerks, hotel housekeepers, waitresses, cooks, for-hire drivers, security officers and maintenance workers before the coronavirus snatched away their livelihoods. Even before the outbreak, most were barely getting by on meager paychecks and scant savings.

Now their hopes for better lives are slipping away as they fall behind on rent, ration food and rack up credit card debt. Unemployment in this poor and largely Latino enclave of 19,000 was in double digits before the outbreak.

It has gotten far worse.

With an unemployment rate of 26 percent in September, West Farms has become a center of New York’s economic crisis, one of the hardest-hit urban communities in the country and emblematic of the pandemic’s uneven toll.

Though no corner of the city has escaped the fallout, the mass job losses have been concentrated in mostly Black and Latino pockets outside Manhattan that have long lagged economically behind the rest of the city. Communities like West Farms have also suffered disproportionately from the coronavirus itself, with higher rates of people becoming ill.

New York City’s economic crisis is among the worst in the nation, with unemployment at 13.2 percent in October, nearly double the national rate. But within the city, the pain varies vastly. Manhattan’s unemployment rate is 10.3 percent, but in the Bronx, the city’s poorest borough, it is 17.5 percent — the highest in the state.

In contrast, some of the city’s most affluent and largely white neighborhoods in Manhattan have fared far better. The unemployment rate on the Upper East Side was 5 percent in September, up from 1 percent in February. On the Upper West Side, it was 6 percent, up from 2 percent.

Poor workers, including many Black and Latino people, have been hurt much worse during the pandemic than by past recessions, including the 2008 financial crisis, said James Parrott, an economist with the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School.

He said the pandemic had triggered many more layoffs among lower-paid workers, while far fewer higher-paid workers — including those in finance, technology and professional services, who tend to be mostly white — have lost jobs or benefits.

Du Weimin, chairman of Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products, is one of the richest men in China.Credit…Yu Ga/Visual China

As a government regulator sidled into a car, the Chinese pharmaceutical executive handed over a paper bag stuffed with cash.

The executive, Du Weimin, was eager to get his company’s vaccines approved, and he needed help. The official took the money and vowed to try his best.

Several months later, Mr. Du got the greenlight to begin clinical trials for two vaccines. They were ultimately approved, generating tens of millions of dollars in revenue.

The government official was jailed in 2016 for taking bribes from Mr. Du and several other vaccine makers. Mr. Du was never charged.

His company, Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products, produces about one-quarter of the world’s supply of vaccines. And Mr. Du, who has been called the “king of vaccines,” is one of the richest men in China.

Capitalizing on that success, Mr. Du and his company are at the forefront of the race to produce a coronavirus vaccine, a national priority for China’s ruling Communist Party. Kangtai will be the exclusive manufacturer in mainland China for the vaccine made by AstraZeneca, and the companies could work together on deals for other countries. Kangtai is also in early trials for its own candidate.

As the Chinese government has pushed to develop vaccine companies of global renown, the state has fostered and protected an industry plagued by corruption and controversy.

Drug companies, eager to get their products into the hands of consumers, have used financial incentives to sway poorly compensated government workers for regulatory approvals. Hundreds of Chinese officials have been accused of taking bribes in cases involving vaccine companies.

Oversight has been weak, contributing to scandals over substandard vaccines. While the government after each incident has vowed to do more to clean up the industry, regulators have rarely provided much information about what went wrong. Companies have been allowed to continue operating.

Dr. Ray Yip, a former head of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in China, said he considers Kangtai to be among the top tiers of the country’s vaccine companies, adding that he “has no problem” with the manufacturing and technology standards of most players.

“The problem for many of them is their business practice,” Dr. Yip said. “They all want to sell to the local governments, so they have to do kickbacks, they have to bribe.”

Kangtai did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

In a statement, AstraZeneca said it “conducts appropriate and thorough due diligence prior to entering an agreement with any entity.”

The lack of transparency, compounded by dubious business practices, has rattled public confidence in Chinese-made vaccines, even though they have been proved safe. Many well-off parents shun them, preferring their Western counterparts.

Christmas decorations in London last week.Credit…Andrew Testa for The New York Times

As a deadly wave of coronavirus cases extends across Europe, several countries are planning to loosen restrictions over the holidays to allow families and friends to gather.

In a four-day period beginning Dec. 23, people across Britain can form a Christmas bubble, which will allow members of up to three households to spend time together in private homes or to attend places of worship.

In Germany, officials have agreed to extend a partial lockdown to Jan. 10, but loosen restrictions from Dec. 23 to Jan. 1, allowing private gatherings of as many as 10 people from any number of households. Spanish officials have decided to allow travel between regions to see relatives and close friends, but said that social gatherings around Christmas and New Year’s Day must be limited to 10 people if not from the same household.

In France, residents will be under a nationwide curfew from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. beginning Dec. 15, when a national lockdown ends. However, the curfew will not apply from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Eve, officials said.

“We will be able to travel without authorization, including between regions, and spend Christmas with our families,” President Emmanuel Macron of France said.

Norway, one of the few European countries to keep a second wave at bay, currently limits private gatherings to five guests. But around the Christmas period, the country will allow residents to double their guests over any two days. However, people must continue to socially distance.

While some countries are becoming more permissive, Italy will tighten its restrictions on Christmas Day, Dec. 26 and New Year’s Day, when residents will be prohibited from leaving their hometowns. Travel will be banned between regions in Italy from Dec. 21 through Jan. 6, and an 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew will be implemented.

Delicate attempts at balancing a typically social time of year and easing the burden on hospitals arrived after nearly 105,000 people died of Covid-19 in November in 31 countries monitored closely by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

Health experts have cautioned that holiday travel could drive new spikes in cases.

Workers from the Bearded Fishermen charity patrolling an area known as a suicide hot spot near Gainsborough, England, last month.Credit…Andrew Testa for The New York Times

The past few weeks have been busy for the Bearded Fishermen, a mental health charity in England. With the country just emerging from a second lockdown, the group has seen a measurable uptick in calls for support and an increasing need for its crisis services as the community grapples with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The cold and wet weather, long nights, it does affect a lot of people,” said Mick Leyland, a founder. “And being on lockdown as well, it’s even worse.” In one recent week alone, they had responded to a number of crisis calls, including some from people threatening to take their own lives.

With the pandemic devastating Britain and two national lockdowns leaving many feeling isolated, experts say there are rising concerns about the mental health and well-being of people across the country. Research has shown a rise in reports of loneliness, a particular concern for young people, difficulties for those with pre-existing mental health issues and an increase in reports of suicidal ideation.

Though there is no recorded uptick in the national suicide rate yet, the risk of suicide among middle-age men remains concerning in Britain, where for decades the group has made up the highest number of suicide deaths.

The impact of the pandemic and its knock-on effects — lockdowns, an economic downturn and social isolation — on mental health have been well documented around the world. And in Britain, which is simultaneously grappling with the highest number of Covid-19 deaths in Europe and a deep recession, health experts worry that the impact could be felt for years to come.

People in Carlton Gardens in Melbourne, Australia, on November 15.Credit…Erik Anderson/EPA, via Shutterstock

Australian states on Monday celebrated “Freedom Day,” as coronavirus restrictions eased in the lead up to Christmas and summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

In New South Wales and Victoria, more people will be allowed in bars, restaurants, shops and places of worship, and dance halls will be reopened in a limited capacity.

“From Monday, life will be very different,” said Gladys Berejiklian, the premier of New South Wales.

In Sydney, Australia’s most populous city, up to 50 people will be allowed on dance floors at weddings, and attendance at funerals will be unlimited. Up to 5,000 people will be permitted at seated outdoor events, and from next week, workers are being encouraged to return to the office.

In Victoria, where an outbreak in July sent the city of Melbourne into one of the world’s longest and strictest lockdowns, people can now have 30 people over at their homes and gather in groups of 100 outside. Masks, previously mandated, have to be worn only on public transport, in indoor shopping centers and crowded places.

Melbourne welcomed its first international visitors since June on Monday, when a jet carrying 253 passengers arrived from Sri Lanka. The travelers will quarantine for 14 days in hotels under strict conditions.

Last month, Victoria achieved effective elimination of the virus, and has now gone 38 days without a new case. But as people celebrated across the country, Daniel Andrews, the premier of Victoria, warned that even with the eased restrictions, there was a need to remain vigilant.

“This thing is not done,” Mr. Andrews told reporters on Sunday. “It is not over, it can come back.”

A Michigan pastor is under fire for telling his congregation to catch the coronavirus and “get it over with.”

He made the remarks during a sermon on Nov. 15, as a sort of aside while he preached about other issues. “Several people have had Covid — none have died yet. It’s OK,” said Bart Spencer, a pastor at Lighthouse Baptist Church in Holland, Mich., referring to some in his congregation. “Get it, get it over with, press on,” he advised.

Bart Spencer, senior pastor of Lighthouse Baptist Church in Holland, Mich.Credit…via The Holland Sentinel

The video was shared on Facebook about two weeks later and made waves across the country as another symbol of the divide between those who want pandemic restrictions scrapped now, regardless of rising infections, and those who urge continued caution.

In comments posted underneath the video, some voiced support of the pastor and others called his sermon reckless.

Mr. Spencer’s remarks echoed a push among some conservatives for a herd immunity approach — allowing the virus to rage unchecked until so many people have antibodies to the virus that it can no longer spread readily. Some, like Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, have claimed that surviving an infection confers superior protection compared with a vaccine.

But the course of any one patient’s infection is nearly impossible to predict, and the immunity it eventually confers is believed to vary greatly.

The Lighthouse Baptist Church did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday, but Mr. Spencer told a TV station in Grand Rapids, WXMI, that he stood by his statements. “I would never tell them to go get sick, but you don’t know how you’re going to get it,” he said.

Mr. Spencer said in an interview with The Holland Sentinel that he and members of his family had contracted the virus and had recovered.

Holland, in Ottawa County, has been hit hard lately. Over the last week, the county has averaged about 86 new cases a day for every 100,000 people, well above Michigan’s average of 69, according to a New York Times database.

In all, the county has reported 15,326 coronavirus cases through Saturday, about 5.3 percent of the population. Most experts estimate that achieving herd immunity would require at least 10 times that number.

[faithfulnews]

Faith in quarantine: Why are some people praying at home while others flock to pews?

To state the matter bluntly, the question of the day is: Who went to church-temple-mosque this past weekend and who did not?

The related question: “Why?” Why did believers make the decisions that they made?

This is one of those cases in which it is impossible to write a story that captures the whole picture, since we are talking about one of the ultimate local, regional, state, national and international stories of our news lifetimes.

Journalists can try to produce a news-you-can-use list that hints at the whole. Check out this Religion News Service feature: “Coronavirus shutdowns disrupt America’s soul, closing houses of worship.” That list of bullets is so limited, because producing a representative national list would be impossible.

Thus, others will focus on the larger story by looking at the symbolic details. With the resources of The New York Times, that looks like this: “A Sunday Without Church: In Crisis, a Nation Asks, ‘What is Community?’ “ This is a fine story, although, yes, its anecdotes and examples seem mainline and limited. But, again, the true picture is too big to capture.

Journalists do what they can do. Here is the thesis statement, in magisterial Times voice, free of attributions:

This week, as the coronavirus has spread, one American ritual after another has vanished. March Madness is gone. No more morning gym workouts or lunches with co-workers. No more visits to grandparents in nursing homes. The Boston Marathon, held through war and weather since 1897, was postponed.

And now it was a Sunday without church. Governors from Kentucky to Maryland to North Carolina moved to shut down services, hoping to slow the disease’s spread. Catholic dioceses stopped public Mass, and some parishes limited attendance at funerals and weddings to immediate family. On Sunday morning the Vatican closed the coming Holy Week services to the public.

The number of Americans who regularly attend a church service has been steadily declining in recent years. Many have left the traditions of their childhood, finding solace and identity in new ways. But for the one in three adults who attend religious services weekly, the cancellations have meant a life rhythm disrupted. And for the broader country, canceled services were another symbol of a lost chance to be still, to breathe and to gather together in one of the oldest ways humans know, just when such things were needed most.

For a similar take from a smaller newsroom, consult this multi-source National Catholic Reporter piece: “Worshippers go online, those at services keep a distance.”

My friend Rod “Benedict Option” Dreher stayed home (as I did) and watched a live stream of the Divine Liturgy from his Orthodox Church in America parish in urban Baton Rouge, La. In other words, one computer screen stands for legions of screens elsewhere. See: “View From Your Pandemic Online Church.”

But I was haunted by one passage in one story — another example of how The Age of Donald Trump has infected everything, when it comes to news. The fact that the story was valid only made it worse. I am talking about this story in this tweet.

So, when you see quotes like this from the @JulieZauzmer, the data backs it up. Being politically conservative, very religious and Protestant seems to create an environment of fearlessness. https://t.co/3gm4hslQmC

— Ryan Burge 📊 (@ryanburge) March 16, 2020

Here is the killer passage from this Washington Post feature, in which religion-desk skill comes into play:

In Arkansas, the Rev. Josh King met with the pastors of five other churches on Thursday to decide whether to continue holding service. Their religious beliefs told them that meeting in person to worship each Sunday remained an essential part of their faith, and some of their members signed on to Trump’s claims that the media and Democrats were overblowing the danger posed by the virus.

“One pastor said half of his church is ready to lick the floor, to prove there’s no actual virus,” said King, lead pastor at Second Baptist church in Conway, Ark.

But King and his colleagues were concerned: They believed the virus was a serious threat, and mass gatherings such as church services could spread it. He and the other Arkansas pastors ultimately decided that they would hold services as usual this Sunday, with some extra precautions. …

“In your more politically conservative regions, closing is not interpreted as caring for you. It’s interpreted as liberalism, or buying into the hype,” said King, whose church draws about 1,100 worshipers on a typical Sunday.

Lord have mercy.

It is easy to read that passage and slide into the cursed politics/ideology equals religion/doctrine trap. However, it is clear that politics is playing a key role in this phenomenon.

But it’s crucial not to oversimplify the situation. “All” evangelicals — even white evangelicals, even white Trump-voting evangelicals — are not doing the same thing in this crisis. They are not responding the same way. The same is true of Catholics, Mainliners, the Orthodox, etc. This may be a case where politics is trumping doctrine, in many pews, in some pulpits and at some altars.

That tension is a key part of the larger story. There are mysteries here. Alas, who has the resources to chase that massive story?

Meanwhile, check out the thread with this tweet from Ryan Burge, a political science professor and mainline Baptist pastor:

Ideology Q: How would you describe yourself politically? Responses range from extremely conservative to extremely liberal with moderate in the middle.

— Ryan Burge 📊 (@ryanburge) March 15, 2020

Writing for Christianity Today, Burge (a GetReligion contributor) dug into the politics of all of this — without oversimplifying the religion details. Get ready for crucial sentences containing words like “some” and “many.” The headline: “Faith Over Fear? No, It’s Political Ideology that Keeps People Unafraid of COVID-19.”

Backing up into some related pre-coronavirus data, he noted:

In recent years, Americans across religious traditions have become more worried about the potential for a major epidemic, the kind of hypothetical question that has become all too real in the past few weeks.

But the earlier data shows fears around the spread of disease tend to be lower among Protestant Christians who identify as politically conservative and attend church weekly. This may explain why some conservative leaders, including a couple of President Donald Trump’s evangelical advisers, hesitated to cancel in-person worship or on-campus classes amid the current coronavirus precautions.

There’s more:

… There doesn’t seem to be a significant difference between Protestants and Catholics, except that Protestants who go to church weekly have a much lower level of fear over epidemics (24.9%) than weekly Mass–attending Catholics (42.6%). Their level of fear also falls lower than fellow Protestants who attend more or less than they do.

The concern around the severity of COVID-19 can depend on political orientation. For instance, a recent Quinnipiac University poll, conducted the first week in March, found that 63 percent of Republicans were not especially concerned about the virus, compared to 31 percent of Democrats.

In the Chapman Survey, when looking just at regular churchgoers who described their political ideology as conservative, a clear outlier emerges. Politically conservative Protestants who attend church frequently are far less concerned with a major epidemic than conservative, devout Catholics.

So the problem here is Trump-supporting, conservative, church-going, white evangelicals in pews? The answer appears to be: Many times “yes” and sometimes “no.”

Let’s end here, as Burge notes that the crisis may be pushing some people out of a political response and into one that mixes faith and concern for their flocks and their neighbors.

In some evangelical Protestant traditions, fear can also be seen as a betrayal of faith. A group out of Bethel Church — including aspiring politician Sean Feucht, who led worship in the Trump White House last year — is releasing messages online in response to the spread of coronavirus, aiming to “silence voices of fear.” Bethel leader Bill Johnson told followers, “This whole maneuvering in fear is crazy. I've never seen the spirit of fear spread so quickly. Internationally, things were many, many, many, times worse.”

But while many politically conservative Protestants may have historically been less likely to worry about an epidemic, the daily updates in the US are rapidly changing their approach. More conservatives and evangelical leaders are taking a hardline stance on the coronavirus response, particularly as many rallied Sunday for the President’s National Day of Prayer.

Keep your eyes on denominational wire services and websites. At some point, many bishops and pastors are going to have to go on the record and make decisions about how to handle the big question — Easter.

P.S. Right after I posted, Burge added:

I think this illustrates the point I've been trying to make. Being theologically conservative does not make anyone more or less afraid of a pandemic. The differences in views of the Bible are not statistically significant. It's a combination of theology + partisanship. pic.twitter.com/qa8gCcTqHv

— Ryan Burge 📊 (@ryanburge) March 16, 2020

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[politicoscope]

Elizabeth Warren Who Electrified Progressives, Drops Out of Democratic Presidential Race: Here's Why

New Post has been published on https://www.politicoscope.com/elizabeth-warren-who-electrified-progressives-drops-out-of-democratic-presidential-race-heres-why/

Elizabeth Warren Who Electrified Progressives, Drops Out of Democratic Presidential Race: Here's Why

Elizabeth Warren, who electrified progressives with her “plan for everything” and strong message of economic populism, dropped out of the Democratic presidential race on Thursday, according to a person familiar with her plans. The exit came days after the onetime front-runner couldn’t win a single Super Tuesday state, not even her own. The Massachusetts senator has spoken with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden, the leading candidates in the race, according to their campaigns. She is assessing who would best uphold her agenda, according to another person who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Elizabeth Warren Exit

Elizabeth Warren’s exit all but extinguished hopes that Democrats would get another try at putting a female nominee up against President Donald Trump.

For much of the past year, her campaign had all the markers of success, robust poll numbers, impressive fundraising and a sprawling political infrastructure that featured staffers on the ground across the country. She was squeezed out, though, by Sanders, who had an immovable base of voters she needed to advance.

Elizabeth Warren never finished higher than third

Warren never finished higher than third in the first four states and was routed on Super Tuesday, failing to win any of the 14 states voting and placing an embarrassing third in Massachusetts, behind Biden and Sanders.

Tulsi Gabbard

Her exit from the race following Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s departure leaves the Democratic field with just one female candidate: Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who has collected only one delegate toward the nomination. It was an unexpected twist for a party that had used the votes and energy of women to retake control of the House, primarily with female candidates, just two years ago.

Elizabeth Warren Enormous Promise

Warren’s campaign began with enormous promise that she could carry that momentum into the presidential race. Last summer, she drew tens of thousands of supporters to Manhattan’s Washington Square Park, a scene that was repeated in places like Washington state and Minnesota.

Elizabeth Warren compelling message

She had a compelling message, calling for “structural change” to the American political system to reorder the nation’s economy in the name of fairness. She had a signature populist proposal for a 2% wealth tax she wanted to impose on households worth more than $50 million that prompted chants of “Two cents! Two cents!” at rallies across the country.

Warren, 70, began her White House bid polling near the back of an impossibly crowded field, used wonky policy prowess to rocket to front-runner status by the fall, then saw her support evaporate almost as quickly.

Elizabeth Warren candidacy appeared seriously damaged

Her candidacy appeared seriously damaged almost before it started after she released a DNA test in response to goading by Trump to prove she had Native American ancestry. Instead of quieting critics who had questioned her claims, however, the test offended many tribal leaders who rejected undergoing the genetic test as culturally insensitive, and it didn’t stop Trump and other Republicans from gleefully deriding her as “Pocahontas.”

Elizabeth Warren lost her finance director

Warren also lost her finance director over her refusal to attend large fundraisers, long considered the financial life blood of national campaigns. Still, she distinguished herself by releasing dozens of detailed proposals on all sorts of policies from cancelling college debt to protecting oceans to containing the coronavirus. Warren also was able to build an impressive campaign war chest relying on mostly small donations that poured in from across the country — erasing the deficit created by refusing to court big, traditional donors.

As her polling began improving through the summer. Warren appeared to further hit her stride as she hammered the idea that more moderate Democratic candidates, including Biden, weren’t ambitious enough to roll back Trump’s policies and were too reliant on political consultants and fickle polling. And she drew strength in the #MeToo era, especially after a wave of female candidates helped Democrats take control of the U.S. House in 2018.

Elizabeth Warren couldn’t consolidate the support of the Democratic Party’s most liberal wing

But Warren couldn’t consolidate the support of the Democratic Party’s most liberal wing against the race’s other top progressive, Sanders. Both supported universal, government-sponsored health care under a “Medicare for All” program, tuition-free public college and aggressive climate change fighting measures as part of the “Green New Deal” while forgoing big fundraisers in favor of small donations fueled by the internet.

Elizabeth Warren poll numbers began to slip

Warren’s poll numbers began to slip after a series of debates when she repeatedly refused to answer direct questions about if she’d have to raise taxes on the middle class to pay for Medicare for All. Her top advisers were slow to catch on that not providing more details looked to voters like a major oversight for a candidate who proudly had so many other policy plans.

When Warren finally moved to correct the problem, her support eroded further. She moved away from a full endorsement of Medicare for All, announcing that she’d work with Congress to transition the country to the program over three years. In the meantime, she said, many Americans could “choose” to remain with their current, private health insurance plans, which most people have through their employers. Biden and other rivals pounced, calling Warren a flip-flopper, and her standing with progressives sagged.

Bernie Sanders Effects

Sanders, meanwhile, wasted little time capitalizing on the contrast by boasting that he would ship a full Medicare for All program for congressional approval during his first week in the White House. After long avoiding direct conflict, Warren and Sanders clashed in January after she said Sanders had suggested during a private meeting in 2018 that a woman couldn’t win the White House. Sanders denied that, and Warren refused to shake his outstretched hand after a debate in Iowa.

Leaning hard into the gender issue only saw Warren’s support sink further heading into Iowa’s leadoff caucus, however. But even as her momentum was slipping away, Warren still boasted impressive campaign infrastructure in that state and well beyond. Her army of volunteers and staffers looked so formidable that even other presidential candidates were envious.

Elizabeth Warren Just Before Iowa

Just before Iowa, her campaign released a memo detailing its 1,000-plus staffers nationwide and pledging a long-haul strategy that would lead to victories in the primary and the general election. Bracing for a poor finish in New Hampshire, her campaign issued another memo again urging supporters to stay focus on the long game — but also expressly spelling out the weaknesses of Sanders, Biden and Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, in ways the senator herself rarely did.

Mike Bloomberg Effects

Warren got a foil for all of her opposition to powerful billionaires when former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg entered the race. During a debate in Las Vegas just before Nevada’s caucus, Warren hammered Bloomberg and the mayor’s lackluster response touched off events that ended with him leaving the race on Wednesday.

For Warren, That led to a sharp rise in fundraising, but didn’t translate to electoral success. She tried to stress her ability to unite the fractured Democratic party, but that message fell flat.

By South Carolina, an outside political group began pouring more than $11 million into TV advertising on Warren’s behalf, forcing her to say that, although she rejected super PACs, she’d accept their help as long as other candidates did. Her campaign shifted strategy again, saying it was betting on a contested convention.

Still the longer Warren stayed in the race, the more questions she faced about why she was doing so with little hope of winning — and she started to sound like a candidate who was slowly coming to terms with that.

“I’m not somebody who has been looking at myself in the mirror since I was 12 years old saying, ‘You should run for president,’” Warren said aboard her campaign bus on the eve of the New Hampshire primary, previewing a ceasing of campaigning that wasn’t yet official. “I started running for office later than anyone who is in this, so it was never about the office — it was about what we could do to repair our economy, what we could do to mend a democracy that’s being pulled apart. That’s what I want to see happen, and I just want to see it happen.”

She vowed to fight on saying, “I cannot say, for all those little girls, this got hard and I quit. My job is to persist.”

But even that seemed impossible after a Super Tuesday drubbing that included her home state.

ap

[thechasefiles]

The Chase Files Daily Newscap 23/2/2020

Good Morning #realdreamchasers ! Here is your daily news cap for Sunday 23rd February, 2020. There is a lot to read and digest so take your time. Remember you can read full articles via Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS), Barbados Today (BT), or by purchasing a Sunday Sun Nation Newspaper (SS).

NO DOUBLE TAXATION WITH ONLINE VAT –Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Ryan Straughn, has given the assurance that Barbadian consumers will not be double taxed when the 17.5 per cent VAT is introduced on online purchases. Straughn made the comments on Thursday night as he spoke to the media on the sidelines of the official opening of Kooyman Megastore Barbados at Kendal Hill, Christ Church. Amazon Web Service recently informed that it would soon begin to charge the 17.5 per cent VAT rate to Barbadian customers. “Right now, when you purchase goods from Amazon you pay certain state taxes wherever the good happens to be coming from, and therefore once we have that specific regime in place, then you wouldn’t be paying the state tax …. “Persons will not be taxed twice simply because you will not pay the domestic sales tax or whatever tax is there. You will pay the taxes in Barbados, which obviously helps to support the infrastructure here … and the delivery of public services in Barbados,” he said. He added that Government was working hard to ensure that once goods arrived at the border, the necessary information was shared so there was no double taxation, and the various processes would be seamless. However, Straughn reminded that there were certain goods and services which did not attract VAT, such as books and educational activities, and stressed that would continue in the digital space. The Minister noted that Amazon registered with the Barbados Revenue Authority in November last year. He said with the implementation of ASYCUDA World, last September, and the introduction of the new tariff, the data now had to be shared with Amazon and other retailers. This means that the retail side with regard to the tax would be phased in. He said Government was in discussions with Airbnb to settle the memorandum of understanding for how the taxes would be transmitted, and their frequency. Minister Straughn noted that Government would continue to work with all partners to collect taxes as easily as possible and have them remitted into the Treasury. (BT)

A 70/30 SPLIT ON INVESTMENT IN MEDICAL CANNABIS INDUSTRY – A Government Minister is making it clear that 30 per cent of any investment coming to Barbados for the medicinal cannabis industry must be reserved for ordinary Barbadians. This from Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Indar Weir, who added that foreign investors will receive 70 per cent. Weir did not give details as to exactly how Barbadians will receive the 30 per cent. However, he said he was cognizant of the fact that if Barbadians were to receive the full 100 per cent investment, “we probably still would have to take Government’s intervention to get it off the ground, and Government certainly does not have those resources”. The Minister spoke about Barbadians’ involvement in the industry, as he delivered remarks at the opening of the Medical Cannabis Conference at the Errol Barrow Centre for Creative Imagination, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, this morning. “So what do we do? We have to strike a balance where we encourage investment in the industry, but at the same time say to those investors, Barbadians must be part of what we do because this is our way, and this is the way we empower Barbadians. “Equally, we have gone as far as saying any Barbadian who wants to participate and have resources can do so on a 100 per cent basis. So then if you have the research and the development capability and the financial resources by all means it is yours,” he said. “The steering committee will do its due diligence and when we form the official Barbados Medicinal Cannabis Licensing Authority they take full responsibility for all the due diligence and the issuing of licenses so that any Barbadian having the resources will not be denied the opportunity to participate, once you meet the criteria according to the regulations that are currently in draft and that will be going to Parliament shortly,” Weir added. The Minister mentioned that Government was having a conversation regarding providing financial assistance for those who do not have resources. He also indicated that as Barbados focuses on building out a thriving medicinal marijuana industry, health issues affecting Barbadians, including Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) must remain at the forefront. Weir said it is important to note that if Barbados is going to develop a medicinal cannabis industry, “we have to deal with all the core issues in health care that we have been grappling with at this time”. “We now have to find a way to not only look at treatment but get to the core of the issues. And so therefore, a game changer for us in medicinal cannabis can only be supported promptly in how we change the way our children eat and we ourselves eat. “Because we don’t necessarily want to be involved in commerce to the extent that we exploit the cannabis industry as far as we possibly can, but that we leave behind the health of our nation where our children will continue to grow obese, and we will continue to have prevalence of chronic non communicable diseases,” Weir said. The Minister also said that Government’s commitment to be involved in the industry was based on an awareness of the high health-care bill the island faces. He said the medical cannabis industry represents a significant change to the island’s landscape. “If I am to be brutally honest with you, I can share statistics that suggest to me, and these are statistics from the International Marketing Research and Consulting. “What they have reported is that the global medicinal cannabis industry reached a value of 13.4 billion in 2018 and is expanding further to 16.5 billion in 2019 and has been projected to reach some 44.4 billion by 2024. “Now these are significant numbers and this is a Ministry that continues on the trajectory that suggests that we as a nation cannot avoid being involved in this cannabis industry,” he said. (BT)

BANK FEES CHECK – Amid complaints of rising fees to maintain a bank account, Central Bank Governor Cleviston Haynes is assuring Barbadians that efforts are afoot to update the guidance policy for the industry in short order. Speaking at Friday’s monthly meeting of the Barbados Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Two Mile Hill, St Michael, Haynes said a recent report by the Inter-American Barbados Survey of Living Conditions showed almost 100 per cent of people surveyed had either a savings or chequing account. “But we cannot afford to take it for granted. There are some real risks to financial inclusion, [three of which are] access to credit, anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism standards and bank fees,” he said. Haynes explained that banks historically generated most of their income from the differential between interest income and interest expenses. (BT)

PARLIAMENT TEMPORARILY RELOCATED – The Clerk of Parliament has advised that effective Monday, February 24, the operations of the Parliament of Barbados, including the office of the Leader of Opposition, will be relocated to the Worthing Corporate Centre, Worthing, Christ Church, until further notice. The telephone numbers will remain the same. The debate of the Estimates of Expenditure for 2020 – 2021 will begin on that date, and the structure will mirror the process followed for the first time in 2019. (BGIS)

PM DEFENDS HIKE IN ALLOWANCES –Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis said he was once placed in “an embarrassing situation” in Brussels where he had to borrow a credit card from someone to pay a hotel bill as he defended the decision of his administration to increase the travel allowances for Cabinet ministers and their spouses. Minnis, who returned Thursday from Barbados where he attended the 31st Inter-sessional summit of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders, said that since the new allowances had gone into effect no spouse has taken advantage of the increase. “I don’t think one Cabinet minister’s spouse has taken advantage of that and you’ll find, in most instances, Cabinet ministers travel by themselves,” Minnis said, after first becoming agitated when the question was posed by reporters.“ . . .What you don’t know is that on many occasions, Cabinet ministers, including myself, travel with insufficient funds,” he said, adding “I used my own credit card to pay the government’s bills. That happens regularly. So, we always have to travel with our own cash and our own credit card. “In fact, I was placed in an embarrassing situation as prime minister of the country when I travelled to Brussels only to discover that they did not accept cash. They did not accept swipe card. You needed a chip. I had to borrow a card from someone else to pay a bill.” “And you worrying about US$100? Next question,” Minnis said at the news conference. Last year, cabinet agreed to the new policy increasing the number of annual trips for the ministers’ spouses and affording them a US$100 daily per diem, which is equivalent to the per diem paid to technical officers in the public service. The policy also increases ministers’ per diem by 25 per cent for domestic travel and 67 per cent for international travel. The ministerial per diem for domestic travel was increased US$100 per day and US$250 for international travel. (SS)

BAJANS URGED TO WEAR SUNGLASSES – As a thick concentration of Saharan dust haze progresses across the Atlantic, optometrist Chantelle McPhie is urging Barbadians to wear sunglasses. Her caution comes against the background of a prevalent condition Barbadians have been developing that could be exacerbated by the African dust. “A lot of people have growths over their eyes and it is caused by exposure to dust and sunlight,” McPhie said. “It is called a Pterygium and if it is not controlled it can grow over your pupil and impair your vision. A simple thing like wearing sunglasses when you are going outside is important; because of where [we] are located, everyone should be doing so to protect your eyes from the UV rays.” (SS)

BTMI IN CONTACT WITH VICTIM’S FAMILY – The Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI) is in contact with the family of 65-year-old Kenneth Elliott, who was shot in the left shoulder during a home invasion last night. A BTMI press release said the victim is currently undergoing surgery at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He was said to be in stable but critical condition. The release also said that BTMI is working closely with the authorities to keep the family informed and another statement would be issued soon. (SS)

CANADIAN VISITOR SHOT DURING HOME INVASION – An elderly Canadian visitor was shot in the left shoulder at his home about 9:25 p.m. last night. Kenneth Elliott, 65, of #161 Diamond Close, Ealing Park, Christ Church was at home when his residence was invaded by three men brandishing firearms. Police said Elliott was shot during a struggle and the men ran off. The victim was transported to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital by ambulance. Investigations are ongoing. (SS)

RIHANNA “TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO PULL UP” – Rihanna accepted the President’s Award at the 51st NAACP Image Awards on Saturday. The singer was celebrated for her career in music and fashion, and her philanthropy, including her Clara Lionel Foundation, which aims to support and fund “education, health and emergency response programs around the world.” “If there’s anything that I’ve learned [it’s] that we can only fix this world together,” Rihanna said in her acceptance speech. She spoke about the importance of allyship, asking audience members to raise their hands if they have “colleagues and partners and friends from other races, sexes, religions.” “They want to break bread with you, right?” she asked. “They like you? Well, then, this is their problem too.” “When we’re marching and protesting and posting about the Michael Brown Jrs. and the Atatiana Jeffersons of the world, tell your friends to pull up,” she added. (SS)

There are 313 days left in the year Shalom!  Follow us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram for your daily news. #thechasefiles #dailynewscaps #bajannewscaps #newsinanutshell

[gaiatheorist]

Desperate measures.

(I’m not quite ‘in desperate times’, but the anxiety about how much longer I can live in this limbo-state is building. Standard suicide-disclaimer, life right now isn’t peachy, but there’s no opt-out ideation or intent, I need to be out of this state, not ‘out’ altogether.)

This pivots around the Council Tax forms, and has just had another layer of maudlin “I was trying to change for the better.” chucked on the top by my Facebook ‘on this day’ thing. However-many years ago, I was celebrating the fact that the ex was no longer working 13-hour days, meaning I didn’t have to get up at daft o’clock to sort out his sandwiches, wake him up, and get him out of the house on time. Like his Mother. Which I wasn’t, her brain haemorrhage killed her. I survived one, and then had elective surgery to reduce the risk of another. At the same time as I was having elective brain surgery, leaving the hospital just over a day later, and not taking any time off work to recuperate, because I’d scheduled the surgery during a school holiday, I was also kicking out the ex, and trying to figure out where I fitted within certain systems at work. Oh, and supporting the kid through his A-levels and Uni-selection traumas, after I’d almost died the previous year. That was all ‘on me’, much as this situation, now is. I’m meeting my job-coach again this morning, and I’m fairly certain that her systems will flag up that I haven’t been sent on a ‘group activity’ for a while. Some of the people who were in the first group I attended will have found work by now, either sheer desperation at being unable to live on the Universal Credit, or just being easier to place than I am.

The desperation is real, the UC system isn’t fully embedded-and-functional yet, single people with no dependants are being used as the test-cohort. (I’ll leave out the fact that I’m feeding and accommodating the kid Monday-Friday, that he leaves lights on, doesn’t close doors and such. I’m paying for him, but, at 19, he’s not classed as a ‘child’, because he miraculously passed his A-levels in spite of everything, and managed to get into Uni, rather than having to re-sit.) I’ve read enough horror-stories about ‘sanctions’ to know that this benefit/welfare/social security isn’t secure at all, I don’t want to be ‘on benefits’, it’s terrifying. The buffer-zone in my bank account won’t last long, and the Universal Credit payments alone won’t cover my outgoings when I run out of ‘my’ money. 

To that end, when a letter came through from the Council Tax, two months into my ‘claim’ for UC, and four months after my last employment ended, saying I might be eligible for a further discount, I emailed, and asked for the forms. (Emailing is easier than phoning, I don’t want “Oh, poor you!” on the phone, the disability and unemployment are just things that happened, I don’t have the patience, or emotional reserves to deal with other people’s reactions to the unfolding horror-story of me.) A week after I’d emailed, I still hadn’t had the forms, so I emailed again, and then resorted to phoning. “Oh, we posted the forms, but I can email them to you if you still haven’t had them?” (I asked you to email them in the first place, you Noddy, it saves you printing and postage costs.) I filled in the forms, and presented myself at the local office. 

“Oh, I think these are the wrong forms.” The girl behind the counter said, and continued to process them, instead of, you know, printing off the right forms, or anything revolutionary like that. “I’ll have them processed, you should get a letter confirming the amount of any discount.”

I didn’t get a letter confirming a discount, I got a new set of forms. Even more pages than the last one, and boxes to detail how much money I had in current/savings/investment accounts. That’s easy, I only have one bank account, and I knew what was in it, to the penny. Now, two things concerned me about the forms. There’s the standard line that “discount will only be applied from the Monday after receipt of forms and evidence”, when I wasn’t advised I could even apply for it until two months into my unemployment claim. More concerning than that cheeky little ‘efficiency measure’ is the fact that they assess your assets, and use that as part of the decision making process. I get it completely, if I was in receipt of pensions, dividends, rents, or was sitting on a huge pile of savings, I wouldn’t ‘need’ to apply for a discount. I’d applied for the discount to eke out what’s left in my bank account, to take action before I started actually missing payments. The Council Tax are buggers for immediate county court and private bailiff action, I don’t need those sort of complications in my life, it’s tangled enough as it is.

I’m at an impasse, here, I’m massively qualified, but in a highly specialised niche, and jobs ‘in’ that niche don’t come up very often. I am casting-wider, and looking at how my skills could be transferable to other working environments, but, after a ‘not’-nervous-breakdown, I need to be exceptionally careful with myself. I burned out, and I won’t risk doing that again, it’s not safe for me, and it’s not fair for some future-employer if I get a foot in the door, and then go off sick. There’s the issue of work-life balance, which loops into my Fakebook whining from years ago. Back then, in the dark days I had no life. I’m not saying I ‘deserve’ spa-parties, and new clothes every month, Christ, I haven’t even had a hair-cut in years, I don’t ‘do’ pamper-me stuff. I have extensive skills and multiple qualifications, I’m intelligent, and ���see’ things other people miss, which doesn’t always work in my favour, but is still a highly transferable ‘talent.’

Yesterday, I made enquiries about an admin vacancy at a Young Women’s housing project. “Should be able to deal with young women exhibiting challenging behaviours.”, not everyone can do that, I can, but the post was 2 hours from home via public transport, and the hours would mean me working every afternoon/evening, I can’t commit to that, because of my stupid sleep-pattern. In an ideal world, I’d be looking for something with Tuesday and Thursday afternoons off, to ‘break’ the week. Hell, I’d be willing to work weekend mornings to make-back the hours, I’m not being unreasonable, I’m just a bit disabled.

No word on the PIP-assessment yet, four weeks into the 4-8 week timeline, catastrophising head suspects they might ‘lose’ my forms, and I was too fatigued after filling them in, and photocopying reams of medical evidence to take a copy. I remember what I wrote, because it’s my life, my disability, but there’s the potential that, if they make me do it again, there could be inconsistencies, no two days are the same-sludge when you have brain injuries, and a pesky inoperable aneurysm lurking in your brain.

I’m not desperate-enough yet to do anything to compromise my professionalism. (Stop laughing, swearing and poking fun at politicians only bars me from ‘some’ career-paths, not all of them.) I need to find work soon, not least because spending all day in the house with the kid will send both of us mental. Off out to the job-coach again this morning, where she’ll tick her boxes, she’s stopped even looking at my time-sheet, which I’d taken to leaving ‘amusing’ notes for her on. She’s aware that I’m difficult-to-place, but her acknowledgement of that won’t hold any weight with the systems-and-processes she’s working in, and I’ll either end up with more ‘job-club’, or practice-interviews, or, Gods forbid, ‘work experience’, if I don’t manage to get myself out of this loop soon. Then, onto the Council Tax office again, where they’ll re-process my begging letter, and, most probably claim I ‘can’ stay on my existing rate of Council Tax until I actually run out of money, and start incurring bank charges for missed payments. Then, grocery shopping with the boy, who won’t put anything in the trolley, leading to him making ‘meals’ of stale crackers, because he thinks that helps. It doesn’t, it upsets me that he’s trying to save me money by not eating properly, when all he needs to do is throw what he wants in the trolley, and split the difference from the money his Dad pays him.

I’m desperate to find a job, and I’m too honest to cheat or steal or lie. The myth of the benefit-cheat has led to these convoluted systems, that I’m desperate to be out of. Not desperate enough to apply for jobs that could place me, or others at risk of harm, though.   

[ladystylestores]

China Pressures Hong Kong to Support Security Law

HONG KONG — Pro-China canvassers are pressing wary Hong Kong residents for signatures. The city’s business tycoons are declaring their faith in the Chinese government. Local officials, senior and junior alike, are stepping up to pledge their support, mimicking wooden displays of fealty that are a staple of Communist Party politics in the mainland.

The Chinese government has mounted an aggressive campaign to cast a more positive light on its treatment of Hong Kong, where residents have pushed back sharply against Beijing’s increasingly heavy hand. The new drive is intended to demonstrate a broad level of support among civil servants, business leaders and the city’s more than seven million residents for a new national security law that Beijing is forcing the former British colony to adopt.

“They are doing everything they can to drum up a welcoming vibe about this new law,” said Claudia Mo, a pro-democracy lawmaker. “It’s simply sickening. Who are you trying to fool?”

The campaign represents a brazen attempt by China’s leader, Xi Jinping, to drown out critics at a time when China is facing a global outcry over its plan for Hong Kong. With the United States threatening economic punishment in retaliation, Chinese officials are promoting the idea that they are responding to the will of the Hong Kong people and that their authoritarian policies enjoy broad public support.

The law has not yet been drafted, though China’s top legislative body on Thursday approved the plan to enact one, perhaps by September. The plan reflects Beijing’s frustration with pro-democracy protests that have roiled Hong Kong since last year. Critics worry that any law would undermine the territory’s liberties, including its tradition of free speech and an independent judiciary, allowing Beijing to stamp out dissent.

Polling data on the new law is limited, but recent events suggest it will not be well received. Officials have avoided pushing such legislation since 2003 because it was seen as deeply unpopular. Pro-democracy candidates won 57 percent of the vote in district-level elections in November, trouncing their pro-Beijing rivals.

To counter that narrative, Mr. Xi, China’s most powerful leader in decades, is deploying the same political playbook in Hong Kong that he has used to consolidate his power in the mainland, using public displays of loyalty to project confidence at vulnerable moments.

Chinese officials use such shows of allegiance — known as biao tai, or expressing one’s position — to uphold Mr. Xi’s decisions to sideline political opponents and to tighten control of the media.

“They want this kind of well-orchestrated drama to present the picture that they have the people behind them, when clearly the majority of Hong Kong people are against the new law,” said Willy Lam, a political analyst at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “The message to the opposition is: ‘We have already garnered the support of so many people, so it is futile to oppose it.’ ”

More than a dozen Hong Kong officials, including the leaders of the police, fire and immigration departments, have offered strikingly similar endorsements of a new law.

They have denounced the antigovernment protesters as rioters. They have warned about the threat posed by terrorism and argued that stricter laws are necessary for long-term prosperity.

The statements are a jarring display of conformity in a city known for impassioned debate, and they reflect Beijing’s growing influence in the territory, experts say.

“The civil service used to be more politically neutral,” said Mr. Lam, the analyst. “Hong Kong is increasingly following the Communist Party’s customs.”

Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, has helped lead the charge. She has said the law has drawn a “positive response” from citizens and that foreign investors are eager for a safe environment. On Thursday, she stood alongside residents of a pro-Beijing neighborhood and signed a petition in support.

Mr. Xi recently dispatched a top deputy to meet members of the city’s business elite who had traveled to Beijing for the annual meeting of China’s legislature. The deputy, Han Zheng, who oversees Hong Kong policy, praised them for their diligence and reminded them of their duties as party members to publicly support the law.

Then came the talking points. Growing unrest forced Beijing to push through legislation, Mr. Han said, according to a video of the meeting released by the Chinese government. Social stability was important for Hong Kong’s economy, he said.

Hong Kong’s business community once served as a buffer to Beijing’s hard-line policies. But the party has brought many business leaders to its side in recent years, turning to them for support during crucial moments of political instability.

Hong Kong’s tycoons and business elite control about one third of the seats of the Legislative Council, the city’s lawmaking body. Their support is rewarded by lucrative deals on the mainland.

“They fall into line when they need to because they hold the balance of power in the chief executive elections and in return their business is looked after on the mainland and here,” said David Webb, a longtime Hong Kong investor.

Beijing’s campaign has prompted even moderate members of the establishment to change their tone.

Michael Tien, a pro-Beijing lawmaker who had called for compromise during last year’s protests, said stricter laws were necessary. After attending legislative meetings over the last week in Beijing, he said he had become convinced that China intended to use the law to go after a “small majority of people in Hong Kong who are instigating conflict.”

“The radicals are coming back,” Mr. Tien said of the protests. “It has gone beyond my tolerance and patience.”

The party has also activated its network of supporters in Hong Kong.

A group affiliated with the pro-Beijing establishment has set up booths with red, white and blue banners to gather signatures in support of the law. The group, known as the United Front Supporting National Security Legislation, has collected more than 1.8 million signatures, according to Chinese state media.

The group’s advisers include Starry Lee and Regina Ip, two pro-Beijing politicians. During her time as Hong Kong’s top security official two decades ago, Ms. Ip tried and failed to pass a law against subversion and treason known as Article 23.

Ms. Ip said the petition drives were organized by “dyed-in-the-wool patriots.” She said that while she was an adviser, she had not been taking part in the street activities because of “scheduling conflicts.”

“In principle of course we support it but I haven’t seen the details,” Ms. Ip said of the security law. But, she added, “it needs to be consistent with common-law principles so that our judges and police can enforce it.”

At lunchtime on Thursday, several volunteers for the group held clipboards on a crowded walkway in Hong Kong’s bustling Causeway Bay neighborhood.

While the group’s website required people to provide names, the last four digits of their government identification numbers and their phone numbers, passers-by in Causeway Bay were asked to sign without providing any other personal information. Signatures ranged from full names and English first names to illegible scribbles.

Peggy Lau, 40, offered her signature. She said the protests have “made the environment really bad and unsettling.”

“Marches that express people’s demands are fine, but not violence,” said Ms. Lau, who works in finance. “It affects our livelihoods so much.”

In mainland China, the state-run news media has provided heavy coverage of statements of support from Hong Kong officials, business leaders and workers. China Central Television, the state broadcaster, said the petition drive showed that “all walks of life in Hong Kong fully support Hong Kong to defend the national security law.”

Ms. Mo, the lawmaker, said the campaign showed that the party viewed Hong Kong as a regular Chinese city and that it would demand the same ideological conformity that it imposes in the mainland.

“When I was young I was taught you do not get harmony if everyone sings the same note,” she said. “That pluralism, that diversity, is supposed to be good. Now there’s no such thing.”

Javier C. Hernández reported from Taipei, Taiwan, and Alexandra Stevenson from Hong Kong. Elaine Yu contributed reporting from Hong Kong. Cao Li and Albee Zhang contributed research.

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Southland Schools, Universities Prepare For Potential Coronavirus Outbreaks

BURBANK (CBSLA) — Across the Southland, schools and universities are preparing for the possibility of an increased local coronavirus outbreak as public health officials recommend social distancing to help staunch the spread.

The University of Southern California will be holding all classes online later this week to test its ability to do so, the University of California Los Angeles has scheduled an informational meeting after three students tested negative for the illness and at Cal State University Long Beach, 10 students and 3 advisers have self-quarantined after attending a conference in Washington, D.C. where three people tested positive for coronavirus.

In Riverside, Murrieta Valley High School has closed its doors after an employee who traveled to a country with a known outbreak fell ill.  The school, which has undergone a thorough cleaning, will remain closed until that employee’s test results come back.

And at Providence High School, a private Catholic school in Burbank, students were told Monday to remain at home and take their classes using an online learning program. The school said it was testing the program in the event the school had to close due to a local outbreak of the disease.

“It’s kind of nice, because I just get to work today at my own pace,” Dominic Mongelli, a sophomore, said.

RELATED: Coronavirus Facts And Myths: Expert Says Most People ‘Have Mild Disease, Do Just Fine’

Providence has yet to see a case of the coronavirus, but administrators made the decision to hold two at-home online learning days this week.

“Although we’re hoping for the best in how coronavirus and COVID-19 spreads, we’re planning for the worst,” Scott McLarty, Providence head of school, said.

On Thursday, the school will test a Skype tool to connect students and teachers, making it possible for staff to teach full lessons.

“I’m really interested in how they’re going to do it, especially because Thursday I have my choir class,” Mongelli said.

And for students who have less than ideal internet connections, the school said it has a plan to ensure they can log in as well.

“We have a plane in place to help those families that need a WiFi booster or something like that or even a device if it comes down to that,” McLarty said.

And while school at Providence resumes Tuesday, Mongelli said he was worried that his choir trip would get canceled.

“We have a huge competition coming up in Nashville, so travel and still like that was in question,” he said.

In addition to preparing for a potential outbreak, Providence was also working to quell fears, bringing in doctors last week to talk to staff and students about the facts of the virus and the importance of washing their hands.

As of Monday evening, there have been 116 confirmed cases of coronavirus in California with two deaths attributed to the disease. Los Angeles County has 16 confirmed cases, and Riverside County has four confirmed cases.

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Elizabeth Warren ends 2020 presidential bid after Super Tuesday rout

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/elizabeth-warren-ends-2020-presidential-bid-after-super-tuesday-rout/

Elizabeth Warren ends 2020 presidential bid after Super Tuesday rout

Elizabeth Warren, who electrified progressives with her plan for everything and strong message of economic populism, dropped out of the Democratic presidential race on Thursday, according to a person familiar with her plans. The exit came days after the onetime front-runner couldn’t win a single Super Tuesday state, not even her own.

The Massachusetts senator has spoken with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden, the leading candidates in the race, according to their campaigns. She is assessing who would best uphold her agenda, according to another person who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Elizabeth Warren’s exit all but extinguished hopes that Democrats would get another try at putting a female nominee up against President Donald Trump.

For much of the past year, her campaign had all the markers of success, robust poll numbers, impressive fundraising and a sprawling political infrastructure that featured staffers on the ground across the country. She was squeezed out, though, by Sanders, who had an immovable base of voters she needed to advance.

Warren never finished higher than third in the first four states and was routed on Super Tuesday, failing to win any of the 14 states voting and placing an embarrassing third in Massachusetts, behind Biden and Sanders.

Her exit from the race following Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s departure leaves the Democratic field with just one female candidate: Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who has collected only one delegate toward the nomination. It was an unexpected twist for a party that had used the votes and energy of women to retake control of the House, primarily with female candidates, just two years ago.

Warren’s campaign began with enormous promise that she could carry that momentum into the presidential race. Last summer, she drew tens of thousands of supporters to Manhattan’s Washington Square Park, a scene that was repeated in places like Washington state and Minnesota.

She had a compelling message, calling for structural change to the American political system to reorder the nation’s economy in the name of fairness. She had a signature populist proposal for a 2% wealth tax she wanted to impose on households worth more than $50 million that prompted chants of Two cents! Two cents!” at rallies across the country.

Warren, 70, began her White House bid polling near the back of an impossibly crowded field, used wonky policy prowess to rocket to front-runner status by the fall, then saw her support evaporate almost as quickly.

Her candidacy appeared seriously damaged almost before it started after she released a DNA test in response to goading by Trump to prove she had Native American ancestry. Instead of quieting critics who had questioned her claims, however, the test offended many tribal leaders who rejected undergoing the genetic test as culturally insensitive, and it didn’t stop Trump and other Republicans from gleefully deriding her as Pocahontas.”

Warren also lost her finance director over her refusal to attend large fundraisers, long considered the financial life blood of national campaigns. Still, she distinguished herself by releasing dozens of detailed proposals on all sorts of policies from cancelling college debt to protecting oceans to containing the coronavirus. Warren also was able to build an impressive campaign war chest relying on mostly small donations that poured in from across the country — erasing the deficit created by refusing to court big, traditional donors.

As her polling began improving through the summer. Warren appeared to further hit her stride as she hammered the idea that more moderate Democratic candidates, including Biden, weren’t ambitious enough to roll back Trump’s policies and were too reliant on political consultants and fickle polling. And she drew strength in the #MeToo era, especially after a wave of female candidates helped Democrats take control of the U.S. House in 2018.

But Warren couldn’t consolidate the support of the Democratic Party’s most liberal wing against the race’s other top progressive, Sanders. Both supported universal, government-sponsored health care under a Medicare for All program, tuition-free public college and aggressive climate change fighting measures as part of the Green New Deal while forgoing big fundraisers in favor of small donations fueled by the internet.

Warren’s poll numbers began to slip after a series of debates when she repeatedly refused to answer direct questions about if she’d have to raise taxes on the middle class to pay for Medicare for All. Her top advisers were slow to catch on that not providing more details looked to voters like a major oversight for a candidate who proudly had so many other policy plans.

When Warren finally moved to correct the problem, her support eroded further. She moved away from a full endorsement of Medicare for All, announcing that she’d work with Congress to transition the country to the program over three years. In the meantime, she said, many Americans could choose to remain with their current, private health insurance plans, which most people have through their employers. Biden and other rivals pounced, calling Warren a flip-flopper, and her standing with progressives sagged.

Sanders, meanwhile, wasted little time capitalizing on the contrast by boasting that he would ship a full Medicare for All program for congressional approval during his first week in the White House. After long avoiding direct conflict, Warren and Sanders clashed in January after she said Sanders had suggested during a private meeting in 2018 that a woman couldn’t win the White House. Sanders denied that, and Warren refused to shake his outstretched hand after a debate in Iowa.

Leaning hard into the gender issue only saw Warren’s support sink further heading into Iowa’s leadoff caucus, however. But even as her momentum was slipping away, Warren still boasted impressive campaign infrastructure in that state and well beyond. Her army of volunteers and staffers looked so formidable that even other presidential candidates were envious.

Just before Iowa, her campaign released a memo detailing its 1,000-plus staffers nationwide and pledging a long-haul strategy that would lead to victories in the primary and the general election. Bracing for a poor finish in New Hampshire, her campaign issued another memo again urging supporters to stay focus on the long game but also expressly spelling out the weaknesses of Sanders, Biden and Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, in ways the senator herself rarely did.

Warren got a foil for all of her opposition to powerful billionaires when former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg entered the race. During a debate in Las Vegas just before Nevada’s caucus, Warren hammered Bloomberg and the mayor’s lackluster response touched off events that ended with him leaving the race on Wednesday.

For Warren, That led to a sharp rise in fundraising, but didn’t translate to electoral success. She tried to stress her ability to unite the fractured Democratic party, but that message fell flat.

By South Carolina, an outside political group began pouring more than $11 million into TV advertising on Warren’s behalf, forcing her to say that, although she rejected super PACs, she’d accept their help as long as other candidates did. Her campaign shifted strategy again, saying it was betting on a contested convention.

Still the longer Warren stayed in the race, the more questions she faced about why she was doing so with little hope of winning and she started to sound like a candidate who was slowly coming to terms with that.

I’m not somebody who has been looking at myself in the mirror since I was 12 years old saying, You should run for president,’ Warren said aboard her campaign bus on the eve of the New Hampshire primary, previewing a ceasing of campaigning that wasn’t yet official. I started running for office later than anyone who is in this, so it was never about the office it was about what we could do to repair our economy, what we could do to mend a democracy that’s being pulled apart. That’s what I want to see happen, and I just want to see it happen.

She vowed to fight on saying, “I cannot say, for all those little girls, this got hard and I quit. My job is to persist.

But even that seemed impossible after a Super Tuesday drubbing that included her home state.

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Trump Jr says he was open to intel on Clinton's 'fitness' at Russia meeting

New Post has been published on https://fitnessqia.com/must-see/trump-jr-says-he-was-open-to-intel-on-clintons-fitness-at-russia-meeting/

Trump Jr says he was open to intel on Clinton's 'fitness' at Russia meeting

Presidents son says he was open to hearing about Hillary Clintons fitness, character or qualifications for presidency ahead of meeting with Russian lawyer

Donald Trumps eldest son denied colluding with any foreign government but told Senate staffers that when he accepted a now infamous meeting with a Russian lawyer last year, he was open to receiving information about Hillary Clintons fitness, character or qualifications for the presidency.

Donald Trump Jr made the comment in an opening statement delivered on Thursday to staff of the Senate judiciary committee, who were interviewing him privately as part of investigations into links between Trump aides and Russia.

Trump Jr and the committee negotiated the meeting. Senators were allowed to sit in but not ask questions.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, attended part of the interview and said it was cordial. He would not discuss details but said there were a lot of areas that need to be pursued for more information. Trump mostly spoke for himself, Blumenthal said, instead of his lawyers speaking for him.

The statement focused on the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower involving Trump Jr, then Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, senior Trump adviser Jared Kushner, the lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and others including other Russians.

The meeting is also of interest to special counsel Robert Mueller. The appearance before the Senate staffers was the first known instance of Trump Jr giving his version of the meeting in a setting that could expose him to legal jeopardy. It is a crime to lie to Congress.

Trump Jr said he only remembered seven people attending the meeting. Eight have been publicly reported. The seven Trump Jr identified were himself, British music publicist Rob Goldstone, Manafort, Kushner, Veselnitskaya, a translator and Irakli Kaveladze, who worked for the Agalarov family, which has done business with the Trump Organization.

Trump Jr did not mention Russian American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin, a former Soviet counterintelligence officer who has said he attended the meeting at Veselnitskayas invitation and who has testified about his recollection of it before a Washington grand jury used by Mueller.

Profile

Donald Trump Jr

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Born

31 December 1977 in Manhattan

Career

After brief stint bartending in Aspen, he moved back to New York to join the Trump Organization, supervising Trump Park Avenue and other projects. He took an interest in other family enterprises in later years, appearing as a guest adviser on his fathers reality television show The Apprentice and as a judge of various Miss USA pageants.

High point

Just before the news of his meeting with the Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, he was riding high as executive director of The Trump Organization and one of the presidents closest confidants.

Low point

On Tuesday 11 July 2017, he produced the most damning evidence yet in the FBIs investigation of Russian meddling in the US election, catapulting himself on to the international stage with emails showing he knowingly met with a Russian lawyer claiming to have dirt on his fathers rival.

He says

I think I probably got a lot of my fathers natural security, or ego, or whatever I can be my own person and not have to live under his shadow. I definitely look up to him in many ways Id like to be more like him when it comes to business but I think Im such a different person, its hard to even compare us. His work persona is kind of what he is. I have a work face, and then theres my private life, Trump Jr to New York magazine, 2004.

They say

Its a do-anything-you-can-to-win world that hes part of, and his eagerness to meet with this lawyer, who was very explicitly described as having information that came from Russian government sources theres no mystery there. Theres no veil. Theres not even one veil. Her name wasnt mentioned but everything else was very explicit and he leaps at it. Thats all part of this all-that-matters-is-winning, theres winning and theres losing, thats it. Thats the value system and in that way, he very much echoes his father. Gwenda Blair, Trump biographer, to the Guardian, 12 July 2017.

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Trump Jr has faced scrutiny since the first report of the meeting, which happened in June 2016. An email exchange released by Trump Jr revealed his eagerness to receive the information. I love it, he wrote to Goldstone, who brokered the meeting.

Goldstone told Trump Jr the crown prosecutor of Russia had offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father. Trump Jr later insisted that the meeting had turned out to be a nothing.

In his statement on Thursday, he said he was skeptical but had thought he should listen to what Rob and his colleagues had to say.

To the extent they had information concerning the fitness, character or qualifications of a presidential candidate, I believed that I should at least hear them out, Trump Jr said.

Seeking to explain his I love it remark, Trump Jr said it was simply a colloquial way of saying that I appreciated Robs gesture.

Trump Jr said he knew Goldstone through the family of Aras Agalarov, the Trump Organizations partner on the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. Trump Jr said he did not attend the pageant, noting that he has not traveled to Russia since 2011. He met Goldstone, he said, when Agalarovs pop singer son, Emin, performed at a March 2014 golf tournament at a Trump course in Doral, Florida.

Trump Jr said that Goldstone would intermittently contact him to offer congratulations or support. When he received the email that led to the Russian meeting, Trump Jr said, he had not heard from Goldstone in quite some time.

In addition to detailing the timing of phone calls and emails leading up to the meeting, Trump Jr provided explanations of why he said he could not be sure about parts of his recollection.

He said Goldstone did not give him a list of who would attend. Trump Tower security also has no record, Trump Jr said, because Goldstone was able to bring the entire group up by only giving his name to a guard in the lobby.

There is no attendance log to refer back to and I did not take notes, Trump Jr said.

Trump Jr agreed to the interview after the judiciary committee chairman, Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa, threatened to subpoena him. Manafort and Kushner spoke to investigators on Capitol Hill in July. In a statement at the time, Kushner echoed Trump Jrs denial, saying: I did not collude, nor know of anyone else in the campaign who colluded, with any foreign government.

Grassley said in July that Trump Jr and Manafort would be questioned by senators in a public hearing, though he declined to say in recent days whether that would still happen.

Trump Jr is also expected to appear before the Senate intelligence committee. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on that panel, said the senators want to speak with others who attended the meeting before interviewing Trump Jr.

We want to do this in a thorough way that gets the most information possible, Warner said.

In a statement after the hearing, Trump Jr said he answered every question posed by the committee … until both sides had exhausted their lines of questioning. I trust this interview fully satisfied their inquiry.

The New York Times was first to report Trump Jrs statement.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us

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Washington

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s commerce ministry on Thursday accused the United States of being “capricious” over bilateral trade issues, and warned that the interests of U.S. workers and farmers ultimately will be hurt by Washington’s penchant for brandishing “big sticks”.

Previous trade negotiations with the United States were constructive, but Beijing has had to respond in a strong manner due to the U.S. tariff threats, commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng said.

President Donald Trump threatened on Monday to hit $200 billion of Chinese imports with 10 percent tariffs if Beijing retaliates against his previous announcement to target $50 billion in imports. The United States has accused China of stealing U.S. intellectual property, a charge Beijing denies.

Washington’s accusations of forced tech transfers are a distortion of reality, and China is fully prepared to respond with “quantitative” and “qualitative” tools if the U.S. releases a new list of tariffs, Gao told a regular briefing in Beijing.

China could hit back at U.S. firms listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average if Trump keeps heightening tension with Beijing over trade, state-controlled Chinese tabloid the Global Times said on Thursday.

The 30-stock Dow, which counts Boeing Co, Apple Inc and Nike Inc among its constituents, fell 0.17 percent on Wednesday and has declined 0.25 percent this year. By contrast, China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index has slumped 13.1 percent year-to-date.

“It is deeply regrettable that the U.S. has been capricious, escalated the tensions, and provoked a trade war,” Gao said. “The U.S. is accustomed to holding ‘big sticks’ for negotiations, but this approach does not apply to China.”

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, who views China as a hostile economic and military power, said on Tuesday Trump’s actions were a necessary defense of the “crown jewels” in the U.S. economy.

None of the U.S. administration’s efforts to negotiate with Beijing had yielded progress on changing China’s “predatory” trade practices, Navarro said.

Fending off criticism from some Western countries, China has said it is willing to boost imports and widen market access.

In April, President Xi Jinping told a high-profile Chinese forum that import tariffs would be cut on goods such as cars, among other promises. In May, Beijing said it would lower import tariffs on 1,449 consumer goods, starting from July 1.

“I’ve been honoring my words with actions,” Xi told a group of foreign chief executives in Beijing on Thursday.

OPEN TRADE CONFLICT

Xi said countries should not fight among themselves, but instead cooperate and meet challenges together, adding that the last global financial crisis happened not too long ago.

“We still have vivid memories of what happened during the financial crisis and we are not yet fully recovered,” he said.

“We must also stay vigilant because, as economic growth still lacks momentum, we have seen a surge of trade protectionism, isolationism and populism.”

Global financial markets have shuddered this week amid worries about open trade conflict between the world’s two biggest economies.

Three rounds of high-level talks since early May failed to reach a compromise on U.S. complaints over Chinese practices and its record deficit with China.

Last year, the deficit was about $375 billion, as China imported $129.89 billion of U.S. goods, while the United States purchased $505.47 billion of Chinese products, according to U.S. data.

A Sino-U.S. trade war could disrupt global supply chains for the tech and auto industries, sectors heavily reliant on outsourced components, and derail world growth.

“U.S. unilateral protection measures will ultimately harm the interests of U.S. companies, workers and farmers,” Gao told reporters.

British forecaster Oxford Economics, in a recent note, said it “will not be easy for the U.S. to identify $200 billion worth of Chinese imports that it can levy tariffs on without hurting U.S. companies and/or consumers, given the strong involvement of U.S. companies in a large share of China’s exports to the U.S.”

FILE PHOTO: China’s Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Gao Feng attends a news conference at the commerce ministry in Beijing, China, June 19, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

Gao said China and the U.S. were due to negotiate on issues around the manufacturing and service industries in the near future.

Chinese shares fell on Thursday on investor worries about the trade dispute, with the Shanghai index languishing at a two-year low and stocks of about 100 firms down by the daily limit of 10 percent.

“I suspect that the U.S. indices will start to sniff out the specific losers from this trade war, and individual stocks will get hurt much more than the broad index as investors understand this isn’t going to kill global growth,” Andrew Polk, co-founder of research firm Trivium China, told the Reuters Global Markets Forum.

“But it will impact some companies disproportionately.”

EVEN MORE TARIFFS

China said it would impose additional tariffs on 659 U.S. goods, with duties on 545 to kick in on July 6, after Trump said Washington would levy tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese products.

Beijing’s planned tariffs would add to duties it had already slapped on 128 U.S. goods, such as pork, fruits and nuts, in reaction to Trump’s earlier move to impose taxes on Chinese steel and aluminum.

The U.S. goods affected on July 6 also include pork and fruit, as well as soybeans, autos and an array of marine products.

A trade war would hit U.S. farmers, a vast majority of whom supported Trump in the 2016 election.

“Jobs for the Chinese are just as precious as those for the Americans,” Zha Daojiong, a professor of international political economy at Peking University, told Reuters in an email.

“It will be wise for the two sides to come back to the negotiation table, abide by a temporary agreement and turn down the rhetoric.”

Beijing has yet to set a tariff activation date for the remaining 114 U.S. products, which include crude oil, coal and a host of refined fuel products.

Slideshow (3 Images)

“We cannot be soft with Trump. He is using his ‘irrationality’ as a tactic and he is trying to confuse us,” said Chen Fengying, an economics expert at state-backed China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

“But if we could accomplish some of the things that he wants us to do – such as IP, market reforms, he’d be helping us. Of course there are risks, those would depend on how we handle those reforms.”

Reporting by Se Young Lee and Yawen Chen; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING and Divya Chowdhury in MUMBAI; Writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Sam Holmes and Clarence Fernandez

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