#this is going to have enormous implications for both the remaining couple of years of my PhD

[athenasdragon]

Well not to catastrophize but today has felt like the floor suddenly dropped out from under me

[dukeofriven]

Re-Reading Good Omens After Fifteen-Plus Years: A Review

[I a so sorry I didn’t get a chance to finish it before the show dropped the way i wanted - I had to bow out of Tumblr for most of the last few weeks to focus on a project. Bugger bugger bugger. Here it is now, later that I would have liked. Apologies, gentle readers. Spoilers, obviously for the whole book] I last read Good Omens some fifteen to seventeen years ago for probably the tenth or even twentieth time. I read it a lot. In the heady days of... I want to say grade ten?... no book seemed smarter, wiser, made me laugh more, and me feel smarter for having read it. I think my order of operations was all the Discworld books (up to, or just before, Night Watch) -> Good Omens ->  Sandman, with the later changing how I understood the nature of story itself (but that’s for another day.) I suspect that Good Omens, along with The West Wing, Tolkien, and The Golden Compass, along with an enormous Colonial Chip on my shoulder (and a pretentious stick up the ass) eventually led me to becoming a Classicist after a brief and dreadful dalliance with the theatre. At the very least it certainly helped. So, what do I know think of Good Omens, a book I once read at least ten times (probably more) back when I re-read favourite books the way other people  breathed often? (i.e. with constant regularity) Well, it’s not bad. It is not a bad book. It’s just not a great book. It’s not a terribly… cohesive book. It reads exactly like the kind of book that might get written if you and a fellow writer swapped a floppy disc back and forth in the mail a bunch of times adding bits as you went. Which, of course, is exactly what it is. The things I remember about the book remain as good as I remember  them being - which is a shame because all the really good bits I remember about the book are, with a few exceptions, in the first half (Death still incorrectly says Revelations instead of Revelation in the second half like I remember. He’s still wrong, and it’s still weird given that the right name is in the book earlier more than once.) Everything goes rapidly downhill the moment Armageddon actually kicks off...  something of a problem in a book about Armageddon whose entire second half is Armageddon. I remember Aziraphale and Crowley being great together. What I didn’t remember is that they spend most of the book apart, a crime because they’re at their best bouncing off one-another and far weaker solo, especially Crowley who really only has Hastur to talk to and he’s not a great conversationalist. If I could ditch Crowley Drives Really Hard and swap it for A&C Do Shit Together  I would. I remember Newt and Anathema becoming a couple. What I didn’t remember is that they are entirely superfluous to the narrative, as are the prophecies of Agnes Nutter herself. I kept trying to remember why it is that Newt and Anathema needed to be at the military base - turns out they don’t. Newt doesn’t even stop the countdown, that’s all Adam willing it otherwise. N&A then wander over to the main group and just kind of stand around. The only purpose of the prophecies is to give Aziraphale an idea of where Adam is. That’s it. This is extremely frustrating because Anathema talks about how working-out prophecies has allowed her family to triumph down the ages, and it sets Agnes up as someone who was executed for being a truth teller - for being an other - even though one day her prophecies would be so important for the world. But they're not! Their one tangible impact on the plot is to have Aziraphale make a phone call that he immediately hangs up. the prophecies only document the end of the world, they are irrelevent to the aversion of the End Times, which feels like one of several moments where the book Is Making A Point About Human Nature And Reader Expectations but is undone by my old friend lousy framing. Toy cannot position someone as having “they know not what they do” importance and then just not follow-through on that. There is, I think, a sense in the book that What It’s All About is quiet humanism: that the story isn’t really about Armageddon, but the smaller human stories that happened around it: Newt and Anathema falling in... love, I guess?  Mindy Newt: Homer Anathema, What’s wrong? Homer Anathema: Like you don’t know! We’re going to have sex! Mindy Newt:: Oh … We don’t have to. Homer Anathema: Yes we do! The cookie Book told me so

Or Shadwell and Madame Tracey. And that’s great - that’s a great theme. But the book fails to pull it off - largely, I think because once Armageddon kicks off it loses the human dimension its trying to argue is important for keeping the planet grounded, not because its trying to make that point, but because the authors get so distracted by writing a bunch of crazy Armageddon stuff that the actual important work - like fleshing-out characters and their stories properly - goes away in the hurly-burly of Important Shit Going down.

Take Adam. Adam lacks any real sense of interiority and wears his heart on his sleeve, which makes the will-he, won’t-he nature of Armageddon on which the whole book rests have... well, zero weight. Will Adam give in to his more evil nature? No. Of course he won’t. It’s not even a case of “of course he won’t ‘cause I know how stories go don’t I ain’t I clever” - it’s that Adam has no evil nature. None at all. A bit of child-like self-absorption , but that’s it. The book climaxes with Aziraphale realizing that the AntiChrist won’t pick sides because he is neither entirely Good or Evil - he is Just A Human, and therefore kind of both. The book has done a great job showing that duality of humanity: Mr. young, for example, isn’t a bad man. Nor is he a good one. He’s an average man, with all sorts of awful little prejudices and thought patterns, but equally enough basic decency that nobody could call him a monster anymore than a saint. So often in the book people do Bad Things without being depraved lunatics - they just get caught up in the churning mediocrity of life, what Arendt dubbed the ‘banality of evil’ after the Eichmann trial. The telemarketers aren’t child killers, and they don’t deserve their (frankly sickening and brutal) deaths - but every day they hurt people in small, irritating, vexing ways, perpetuating some horrid not because they’re nightmares but because it’s just their job. Again, that’s great. That’s why the first part of the book is the strongest: it’s full of the kinds of humanity you don’t normally see in literature outside of the Golgafrinchan Ark Fleet Ship B. Desperately ordinary people - the real kind of ordinary, not the ordinary that tends to turn into anime heroes. But Adam isn’t ordinary. Not remotely. The book says this again and again, calling him a young Adonis, alluding to his unearthy Luciferian beauty, to his passions, to his commanding voice, to his leadership skills. His friends adore him, and for all that they might get argumentative with him the sheer god-like weight of his Presence cannot be ignored.  So when Aziraphale explains:

"He was left alone! He grew up human! He's not Evil Incarnate or Good Incarnate, he's just… a human incarnate.” 

My response is a rather limp “Um, well... no. No he’s not.”

“Aha!” I hear you cry. “The book’s not saying he’s ordinary, it’s saying he’s the embodiment of humanity: all their vices and virtues are amplified within him, and that’s why he has superhuman powers.” To which i reply that yeah, it’s certainly what the book is insisting in the case. But it’s not demonstrated within the text. I said above Adam lacks interiority: what you see is what you get. And what you get has zero amplification of evil. Adam seems like a genuinely good kid - in fact he is such a good kid that the book actually makes a point of commenting on how he is basically living in a parodic homage of a Boy’s Own Adventure novel. If Jack Trent, Frank Hardy, Tom Swift, and half the cast of Aladdin Paperbacks‘ first decade of publishing rolled up in a clown car and asked Adam if he wanted to hang, he’d fit right in. And they’re all painfully decent people. Adam status as a “troublemaker” - that is, even the vaguest implication that he is capable of “mischief” - is undermined by the book highlighting that the kind of people who complain about that sort of thing are Doddering Tory Blowhards like R. P. Taylor who wouldn’t know fun if it dressed like Margaret Thatcher and dry-humped their legs.  For Adam to be the incarnation of humanity there has to be a sense that he is more human than human - that his capacity for good and his capacity for evil are so great that with him him the form of gestalt of pure humanity. But that’s rubbish. Because Adam does nothing the book seems to think is worthy of meaningful censure, or at least nothing that literally any child might do as well (like ruining his sisters dress while dunking her in the water). If the best the book can do to balance out Adam’s Local Boy Heroically Saves Summer Camp And Solves The Mystery Of The Puzzle Riddle Enigma is that well he’s kind of inward facing like every other 12 year old then, well... that really takes the wind out of the book’s big summating point. The same kind of language that gets used about Adam feel like you could copy past it into a Discworld book to describe Carrot Ironfoundersson.

So when, as happens. the book shows Adam coming Into his power and talk about Remaking The World, we don’t have to think he will and that all is lost - we know how to read stories, we’re not idiots. But we should at least have a passing moment of worry that he could had the circumstances been slightly different - that he, poised on the edge of good and evil, could go either way were it not for the redemptive power of his ordinary human upbringing keeping him ground. Which, I think is safe to say, is the conclusion the book puts forward. But there is no ‘could.’ Of course he won’t - there’s no tension there at all. The book kills it stone dead, in fact, when it notes that:

Seems to me it ought to be rolled up and started all over again," said Adam. That hadn't sounded like Adam's voice.

and

Adam wasn't listening, at least to any voices outside his own head.

Adam is described as basically being possessed - at the most critical point of Armageddon, when the AntiChrist is placed to make a choice not even between Good and Evil but between The Harbinger Theological Inevitability and Sod All That Let’s Just Keep Living Because I’m A Human it is no choice at all because Theological inevitable is distinctly described as being separate from who Adam is. Which is dreadful! Adam is American Dennis the Menace - he sometimes get Into Mischief and Breaks A Vase or Ruins A Garden but he’ll still hang out being a friend to a lonely old coot - when he ought to be much closer to the British Dennis the Menace - an monster of a child who spent most of his seventy years of existence essentially bullying gay kids (”softies”) but also, now and again, when the moon’s aligned, showed a Heart of Gold under his menacing exterior. Adam didn’t need to be BritDennis, but he damn well needed some kind of edge to him - a REAL edge, not ‘well he can be bossy’ or ‘he had devilment in his eyes’ or ‘he could be thoughtless.’ Adam needed to have scenes of him being a little shithead: not killing pets, but at least being spiteful or snide or capable of sin. In To Kill A Mockingbird Jem destroys Mrs. Dubose's flowers in a fit of pique. That’s something. Adam? Nothing. So there’s nothing to hang the tension on, and any time to book has any anxiety about Adam’s moral character it rings hollow, because Adam is fundamentally decent and good and nothing so much as feints at the idea that any part of him might be otherwise.

Plus, to bring it back to the prophecies being useless, Adam gets upset about the state of the world because he borrows some of Anathema’s Save The Wales magazines, which he would never have been able to do had the Book not made her go to Tadfield in the first place. Now the book has a certain “Butterfly Flaps Its Wings” mindset - sometimes it’s the little things that put big things and motion.  

But it’s muddled, because it implies that Armageddon is nothing but a last-minute whim of a mercurial child: which is great for when the plot of your book is a deconstruction of the idea of Inevitability, but a bit rubbish when the OTHER major theme of your book is that human evil is in ordinary narrow-mindedness. The idea of a story where everything builds up to Armageddon - but Armageddon fails to arrive like an eschatological Godot, (leaving everyone standing around a bit puzzled) is a great theme for an ironic novel. But it clashes again and again with the theme of the book’s first half- that humanity is more creatively terrible and kindly virtuous than any devil and or angel could hope to be. The corollary of that ought to be that when Armageddon arrives it is precisely because of that human fallibility. Having all this build up and have it massively fizzle out can work, when written right - The Real Treasure Was The Friendships You Made is always funny when handled correctly. But Good omens builds up to things and drops them half a dozen times in the finale, which ends up not seemingly like comedic point but an inability by two authors to "bring the story home” and tie any of their threads together. I mean take the actual act of Armageddon itself: when Adam starts making the world go doo-lally, we keeping hearing reports of the world getting more agitated: we can see the shape of Armageddon begin to emerge, but because we’re still clever buggers and have read our Eliot we know that what’s likely to break the world isn’t going to be bang but a whimper: General John Amerioman gets off the phone agitated by a telemarketers, years at his secretary until she cries so she forgets to inform him that President McSmith called and because he didn’t call her back the President fails to get the advice she needs and makes a foolish error that pisses-over the Russian president who is then gets petty about something else and on down the line until a series of understandable but critical failures of empathy - don’t yell at your secretary, don’t cold-call people about duct cleaning - sets the table for the nuclear. That Adam stops it is because he shares that same fallibility and knows that punishing humanity for it as a requirement for Divine Inevitability would be unconscionable. But when Armageddon arrives, humanity has literal dick-all to do with it. We get this lovely buildup with the Four Horsemen the entire book - Revelation says they will be present at the Day of judgement so its time to get the band back together. The narrative of the book fixates of the Four Horseman’s ride to the airbase, with the understanding that once they arrive Armageddon will begin because everyone is congregating on that place at this time. So the Four Horseman arrive and... and the disguise themselves as some generals to get on the base, they break into a computer vault, and then... Jesus, War personally fucks with a computer and then Pollution personally corrodes the counter measure systems with Death and Famine stand around and watch (so much bloody standing around watching the plot happen in the part of the book) them do it, at which point all the nuke silos all over the world open up and countdown begins. What. THE FUCK? Humanity is irrelevant to the end of the world, exception in the broadest sense where they had these destructive weapons in the first place.  But they also had extensive security systems that the book notes are really good until Two Supernatural Beings Broke In And Destroyed Them. There is no human element in Armageddon: all that chatter on the radio about rising tensions and increased stress? Meaningless. The book’s whole point about evil lurking in the hearts of every ordinary person - that really anyone is capable of being good or evil on a given day, and that one angry secretary is as capable of starting the end times because of a telemarketer as any raving dictator with their finger on the button? Irrelevant. As much as War and Pollution are said to be mere embodiments of humanity’s failings, existing solely in ‘THE MINDS OF MAN” (baffling in and of itself had Pestilence not been swapped-out for Pollution, because lets be honest that would have meant waving a hand at everything from the Black Death to AIDS and calling its source moral failing which what the fuck, T&N?), they’re all actually characters with agency and personality and will. Which means within the context of what’s happening Armageddon is caused by two characters going out of their way to FORCE it to happen.

(It’s! Shit! The book right here? Shit. All the keen oft-comedic insight as to the nature of the human condition  is throw away in this moment. A book that seems so devoted to making a reader think seriously about complacency, about letting evil slip on by because its not wearing a big scary mask (and god how prescient that seems in times like these - how horrible correct it was that we were complacency in the 80s and the 90s and didn’t notice the evil rising all around us), drops the ball here and doesn’t require humanity for its climax.

"I don't see what's so triflic about creating people as people and then gettin' upset 'cos they act like people," said Adam severely. "Anyway, if you stopped tellin' people it's all sorted out after they're dead, they might try sorting it all out while they're alive.”

That’s a great sentiment, Adam. Only nobody is this moment is cross about people acting like people because nobody had - the world nearly ended because some Non-people willingly broke shit. Also, in the context of the novel - it being détente and glasnost and the Tear Down This Wall speech and Zhao Ziyang making reforms in China and on and on - as far as anyone could tell people WERE working it out. The book notes this explicitly, in fact:

“...reports available to us would seem to, uh, indicate an increase in international tensions that would have undoubtedly been viewed as impossible this time last week when, er, everyone seemed to be getting on so nicely.”

Again: Armageddon isn’t caused by people. So when Adam tells Heaven that if they just back off people might be able to sort things out for themselves, well... they seemed to have been doing just that, book.You yourself said so. And the end times were brought about by non-human actors.)

So Adam and his friends confront the Horseman and “defeat” them through some last minute cosplay. Why? No clue. The imagery is great but I don’t know why they do it - the Four Horseman are heralds of the end times, and perhaps its chorus, but now they’re villains that need to be defeated I guess (even though Adam fixes what they did with a wave of his hand anyway). Newt and Anathema arrive on the scene because Agnes Nutter told them to, and they get to the computer, and now maybe poor bumbling Newt is going to have to fix a computer when he’s only ever broken them while Anathema... stands there Jesus God... except... except Adam waves his hand and fixes the computer making Newt’s presence irrelevent. Well, still, more book to go, maybe they can pull something good out of this. Armageddon may have fizzled out, but it’s still The Day of Judgement and the Last Battle. Newt and Anathema might not have fixed the computer, but the are here at the airbase, and they make the most of it by doing nothing, providing nothing, and being needed for nothing. Shadwell and Madame Tracey are there - Shadwell is the vessel for Aziraphale, and once he’s out he stands at the sides with A&C and prepares to march with them on the combined hordes of hell and heaven. Except that that doesn’t matter because Adam makes a gesture and gives a nice speech that’s sadly unrelated to to the world as described by Good Omens up to this point, and the Hordes of Heaven and Hell shuffle their feet and decided to go home for a bit to have a good long think about some things ha ha ha how droll. And the Then, oh no, SUDDENLY Satan himself appears - I guess its time to take our issues to upper management, surely Godot- I mean God - will come to and - oh, nope, Adam waved his hand again and its just Mr. Young in his shitty car (that really should have been a Wasabi what the heck, T&N?). It’s anti-climatic. I don’t mean from a standpoint of dramatic irony, I mean everything falls apart in the book as the story comes to a screeching halt. Here you have a reasonable collection of painfully ordinary people (hella white and straight people, but its 1990 we’re not terribly woke yet) - not Generals, not Presidents or Prime Ministers, not Corporate Titans or Dictators or anyone “Important” - just ordinary people present at the End of the World. And what is it in the ineffable plan that requires all these people’s presence at the End Times? Nothing really. Just think about this for a moment. Think about what OUGHT to have happened here. Not a battle, not a fight, not a war - we know from Endgame how disappointing it is to have to sit through a big dumb set piece battle that nobody seems to want: boring slog. No, what OUGHT to have happened is the power of humanity: that these ordinary nobodies come together and halt the end times, make the Legions of Heaven & Hell see - if not reason - then at least reconsider what’s happening, or even confront Satan himself not with the virtue of Saints but simply because they have what made Aziraphale and Crowley fall in love with the Earth the way they did: the charm of humanity. If an angel and a demon can both be redeemed by the love of humanity’s virtues and vices, its deeps and faults, then why couldn’t Satan himself do the same? Well, because Adam fixed everything with a few hand waves and a pissy speech so that’s all that solved. nobody but him needed to be there - not even A&C, who just end up commenting on the action while standing around like everyone else. It’s barmy. No wonder my brain erased it, choosing to remember the book at its best when it was still scaled to humanity. The book ends up having failed to make any of its points stick - the ordinary evil men do has nothing to do with Armageddon so its probably not something we should be terrible concern about - that just us loveable old humans doing as humans do. We learn that if Heaven and hell just stepped back and let people talk things out maybe the world would get better - but that was the case at the start of the book (prologue notwithstanding), and nothing that happened in the book adjusted that in any way.It has a point to make about the unfairness of Moral duality in Theology - except that Adam is parodically virtuous and contains no real evil so.. yeah, Good is great, actually, what was the point you were making, book? The book has a point to make about the value of ordinary people: if you need someone to stand around and observe shit get ordinary people, they’re great last standing around and not meaningfully doing anything.

And don’t even get me started on things like Anathema’s passivity. Look at her character: she passively lives her life by the prophecies until the day after the End Times Newt says ‘hey do you want to be a descendent for the rest of your life’ and Anathema has an epiphany - Oh, No, I Don’t, I Want to Live my Own life On Its Own Terms - and then they burn the sequel Agatha wrote instead of following it. But that’s… aaargh, Jesus, so many problems with that. The moment of epiphany is meaningless because if Agnes-The-Prophet (who would presumably have known that her manuscript was to be burnt) hadn’t sent it, Anathema was free anyways and would have had to live her life as such regardless. You could argue ‘but this way it becomes an active choice rather than a passive acquiescence to something she can’t change’ but the problem is that her decision isn’t rooted in anything except a comment Newt makes. Nothing happened to Anathema that has in any way affected her relationship to Agnes Nutter or her life as a decedent: in the book Anathema talks a lot about prophecies, lends a kid some magazine, boinks a guy who crashed his car, takes him to a military base, does nothing while watching the world end, goes home and boinks the guy again, and then has her memories of a large portion of the last day or so erased by the Anti-Christ. So when Newt asks ‘do you want to be a professional decedent all your life” why would she say “no”? She’s spent her life devoted to the prophecies, even become a watch as some kind of career, and what sense do we have in the story that she is dissatisfied with that? The only disappointment we get is that she’s kind of let down by Newt being not terribly handsome - but that’s Newt’s issue, not Agnes’. The book wants Anathema to realize that she is now ‘free” of living by prophecy - but she doesn’t ever give the sense that she feels imprisoned by prophecy. She seems to feel like its a mark of distinction, and nothing over the last day - even the shit she can’t remember - has done anything to change that. There’s a version of this story where  Anathema repeatedly demonstrates that she feels powerless in life: that all her choices were chosen for her, even something as outré as becoming a witch, and so when Newt asks her that question she looks back over the events of the last few days - or even her life - and makes the decision to say ‘no’ as a natural extension of her recent experiences. In this version of the book she and Newt would have to have  actively made choices at the airbase of their own free will in contradiction of what Agnes said MUST and WILL happen, and because they did that things are better than Agnes said they would be. 

But that doesn’t happen, and instead we get the version where Anathema burns the sequel because Newt’s in her life now and having a man to point out the obvious is what all women need. That’s not what the book is trying to say but this-time-round that’s how it read to me. If Newt had had to run up to London for a couple days and she got the manuscript in the mail she would have kept it, because why wouldn’t she? 

(Gosh, Newt. One last point: I hated Newt. Maybe ‘schlubbly ordinary dope who gets the girl’ was revolutionary in 1990 but thirty years of pathetic nerd heroes getting the girl have left me only able to focus on the pathetic. He gets to be the the Jen to Anathema’s Kira - a completely useless dolt who gets lead around by a capable woman who knows everything and has all the skills  but he still gets to be The Hero because, well, he’s the dude. He gets to bumble around the missile computers at the climax at the book, framed as a hero while Agetha stands there and pleads with him to fix things. He spends his time getting horny for Anathema and thinking sadboy ‘maybe I’ll get to touch a girl for once’ crap  - which made my skin crawl oh sweet Jesus. Basically just fuck that guy and his whiny Pitiful Loser Nerd attitude.)

Look, when the book is good, it is SO GOOD. “Shadwell hated all Southerners and, by inference, was standing at the North Pole” is one of the great lines of literature. Famine and the dieting meals that kill you? Genius. The individual prophecies of Agnes? Wonderful. Shadwell seeing her in a vision (which, alas, comes to nothing because Shadwell having a change of heart about witches comes to nothing really)? Poignant. The Hell’s Angels? Wonderous. The incredible, perfect, oh god I adore is so much defence of the virtues of Rural English life at its best - full of foibles, yes, painfully human, yes, liable to contain shitty old Tories who put people into power who’ll plow it all under for suburbs, yes - but yet, at the same time, wonderful, too. Worth preserving. Worth fighting for. yes yes a thousand times yes let’s seeing a song about it:

Sure, some of the stuff hasn’t aged well (there’s a bit abut First Nations people that comes to mind), but most of it has - and some of it as bold for its time as it remains now. I frequently found myself thinking “this book is much too complicated for Tumblr” - the Tumblr world of Good or Bad doesn’t really have room for Shadwell, the indiscriminate racist with the heart of gold. Parts like that had me shaking with laughter - I can still recite whole scenes to you with manic glee. But the ending is a mess. It’s bad, actually - just outright bad. The book starts great. It ends terribly. It’s a crushing disappointment to go back too - and when I heard the story on the show was going to be super-faithful to the books I went “shit - but the book’s a bit rubbish on the story front. All the good bits are the characters interacting and the side stories and comedic asides - the actual story is a confusing mess.” That’s why I hope Neil Gaiman brought the writing chops that gave us The Doctor Wife and not, y’know, Nightmare in Silver.

In conclusion: man I remember Good Omens being a whole lot better. (Also, I remember more of Adam’s Gang having more to do, and they didn’t, and they’re all great and that’s a shame.) 

[orbemnews]

Insurers Should Pay Companies for Pandemic Claims, British Court docket Guidelines LONDON — At some point final March, because the coronavirus pandemic was starting to brush throughout Northern Eire and the remainder of Britain, Daniel Duckett was compelled to close the doorways of his Belfast bakery and cafe, the Lazy Claire Patisserie. Britain’s prime minister would order all eating institutions closed as the size of the pandemic grew to become clear. The Lazy Claire Patisserie, a few months shy of its two-year anniversary, wouldn’t reopen its doorways for greater than three months. “We adopted the recommendation; we believed that was the fitting factor to do and that was what was mandated,” Mr. Duckett mentioned. There was one comfort: Mr. Duckett had bought enterprise interruption insurance coverage, which covers misplaced earnings when sudden occasions past the store’s management drive it to shut. The day they locked the doorways, he filed a declare to to Hiscox, a significant insurance coverage supplier in Britain. “It’s been a battle ever since,” he mentioned. A number of weeks and numerous telephone calls later, his declare, which might have lined as much as £100,000 (or $136,000) in losses, was denied. Mr. Duckett mentioned that Hiscox advised him that the pandemic wasn’t one thing the corporate had envisioned being lined by their insurance policies. He quickly found he wasn’t alone and have become one of many founding members of Hiscox Motion Group, which has rallied as many as 750 companies collectively to take motion in opposition to the insurance coverage firm. On Friday, Mr. Duckett acquired some excellent news after the delay in getting an insurance coverage payout compelled him to tackle new debt a couple of months away from paying off his loans: The nation’s highest court docket unanimously rejected insurers’ appeals, clearing the best way for him and a whole lot of 1000’s of different small-business house owners in Britain to obtain insurance coverage payouts for enterprise interruption claims from the pandemic. The Monetary Conduct Authority, Britain’s monetary providers regulator, introduced the authorized check case on behalf of policyholders to the nation’s highest courts to attempt to shortly resolve the difficulty. The Supreme Court docket ruling, which is legally binding for eight insurers concerned within the case, is predicted to have an effect on 370,000 companies holding 700 kinds of insurance policies issued by 60 insurers. The choice has sweeping implications for small companies which were compelled to repeatedly shut or shut down big components of their operations beneath authorities orders to comprise the virus. The pandemic has imperiled small companies and their workers, with a quarter of the companies saying they reduce employees in the previous couple of months of 2020. At situation within the case had been two phrases that appeared in most of the insurance policies: “illness clauses,” which cowl losses from any prevalence of a illness that have to be reported to authorities, and “prevention of entry clauses,” which cowl losses when public authorities block entry to the enterprise premises. Insurance coverage firms argued that the pandemic didn’t meet the phrases of both of these clauses. However court docket appeals discovered that the pandemic, and the directions from the federal government to remain residence and shutter companies, had been lined by the insurance coverage coverage phrases. “At this time’s judgment is an enormous victory,” mentioned Mike Cherry, the chair of the Federation of Small Companies. “It has been a protracted and tough highway to get to this stage, so this can carry readability and hope to the 1000’s of corporations which have been left in monetary limbo for nearly a yr.” Hiscox mentioned that due to the ruling and extra authorities lockdowns in Britain, it anticipated to pay $48 million extra in enterprise interruption claims in 2020. The Supreme Court docket additionally dominated that firms might make claims for the partial closure of their enterprise, and for orders to shut that weren’t legally binding — in lots of circumstances, for instance, the federal government has repeatedly requested companies to shut days earlier than placing the coverage into regulation. The Monetary Conduct Authority mentioned that this meant extra companies would have legitimate claims and a few payouts could be increased. Sheldon Mills, the manager director of shoppers and competitors on the monetary providers regulator, mentioned the regulator was working with insurers to get funds made as shortly as attainable and have interim payouts wherever attainable. “As we have now acknowledged from the beginning of this case, tens of 1000’s of small corporations and probably a whole lot of 1000’s of jobs are counting on this,” Mr. Mills mentioned. The Supreme Court docket ruling can be anticipated to have broader implications for the insurance coverage trade. The judges mentioned a 2010 enterprise interruption case determined in a British court docket, over claims filed by the proprietor of a New Orleans lodge that was broken by a hurricane, was wrongly determined within the insurer’s favor, the U.Okay. department of an Italian firm. The case, which has been extensively cited up to now, must be overruled, the judges mentioned. Insurers might now face extra profitable claims being made for different kinds of injury, comparable to floods or storms. The work of the Hiscox Motion Group shouldn’t be over but, Mr. Duckett mentioned, as there are some insurance policies not lined by within the ruling on Friday, and a few firms are nonetheless going by their very own arbitration processes with the insurance coverage firms. Supply hyperlink #British #businesses #claims #Court #insurers #Pandemic #pay #rules

[mel-at-dusk]

IN PRAISE OF DOCKING, THE FRENCH KISS OF GAY SEX

Our fucking is often defined by its intensity — which is why docking stands out as an intimate and almost poetic act

by Mitchell Kuga

If you’d asked me as a kid what I thought sex between two adult men looked like, I would have described something similar to docking: two erect dicks pressing into one another, with all the erotic implications of a Chinese finger trap. As an adult, docking — a sex thing where one or both partners wraps their uncircumcised foreskin around the other’s penis — seemed like more of a comical idea about gay sex, rather than gay sex itself.

Then, late one night while scrolling through Pornhub-dot-com-backslash-gay, I landed on a video called “Buddies Docking Penises and Cumming.” With a staggering 1.6 million views, the nearly five-minute clip is shot with the mise-en-scène of all good amateur porn: the empty plastic bottle next to the toilet, an errant camera strap, etc. Filmed from above, the two “buddies” stand facing each other, penises erect. I watched as penis No. 1 wrapped its uncut foreskin around the head of penis No. 2, as if it were hibernating for winter, and then as the foreskin of penis No. 2 jerked over the head of penis No. 1, producing a visible suction effect as the foreskins threatened to separate. Visually, their nearly identical girths and matching skin tones created one long virtually seamless penis: a penis No. 3.

As a circumcised person myself, there was an aesthetic appreciation to penis No. 3 that I recognized almost immediately, similar to the platonic admiration I experience watching fisting porn: Bodies can do that? But as the hands belonging to penis No. 2 delicately jerked the conjoined foreskin of penis No. 3 back and forth and back and forth, that admiration turned shockingly erotic. “I’m going to cum,” penis No. 2 exclaimed, between ASMR-like panting.

And as he did, so did I.

At first, I felt silly getting off on the penile equivalent of scissoring. But like the narrative arc of that vulvar sex position — which went from being a comical manifestation of the male gaze, to something queer women were proclaiming was actually really pleasurable — I discovered that docking delivers a distinct kind of erotic pleasure. “It’s the French kiss of gay body contact,” says R.J., a pseudonymous uncircumcised gay man from North Carolina. “It’s frottage” — a non-penetrative form of gay sexual activity— “with a passport.”

He stresses docking’s tenderness, particularly in a gay community whose seventh most searched for Pornhub category last year was “rough sex.” “There’s not a lot of poetry in gay sex,” he says. “In so much of what we do, there’s this intensity — you don’t just get fucked, your hole gets destroyed. There’s a lot of banging and pounding; it’s this very insistent, aggressively hungry sex. But [docking] isn’t any of those things, right? It’s nice. It’s this moment of true intimacy.”

The mechanics of docking are tricky, he explains — it requires both penises to walk an erotic tightrope. If either penis gets too erect or too flaccid, the foreskins detach. “So it only has this moment,” he says. “And if it turns you on too much, it ends.” Docking’s ephemeral nature is all part of its charm, though; R.J. compares it to sprinkles on a cake rather than the icing. “You’re already getting icing if you’re having sex, but this is a little extra,” he says. Coupled with the sensitivity of the foreskin, “it’s not like there’s a half hour of docking. It lasts like a few minutes.”

He also relishes being able to offer uncut partners a rarefied sexual experience, particularly in a country like America where circumcision rates hover around 75 percent, one of the highest in the world. (Docking with one circumcised penis is known as “half-docking.”) “In a community where everyone is sort of trying everything, it’s one of the only things people haven’t tried yet because there’s a systemic limitation on it,” R.J. explains.

At the same time, he stresses the importance of maintaining agency over his foreskin, particularly with cut partners. “If there was a Grindr profile that said ‘Looking to dock,’ I’d be like, Hard pass. There are definitely people who respond too eagerly. I don’t want to be fetishized,” he says.

As a circumcised kid growing up in Seattle, self-described “reality hack turned porn star” Jack Mackenroth recalls seeing uncircumcised penises in the swimming pool locker room, and thinking they were “kind of gross.” But over time, owing in part to a relationship with an uncircumcised man from New Zealand 15 years ago, he’s developed what he calls a “foreskin fetish.” “I don’t want to fetishize any group of people specifically,” he says. “But some people like feet, I like foreskin. I love to play with it. I just do.”

Mackenroth, who competed on Season Four of Project Runway, recently experienced his first docking session, which he filmed for his OnlyFans account with an uncircumcised man he met on the site. “We were taking his enormous foreskin and jacking off my dick, like a Fleshlight sort of thing,” says Mackenroth. “It’s a turn-on, but it doesn’t really feel like you’re having anal sex or that someone is masturbating you. It’s more of a visual turn-on for me.”

Today, he considers circumcision “genital mutilation,” and, as such, he’s been aggressively attempting to restore his own foreskin for the last year. He describes the process of stretching — at first using a device specifically made for the process, then switching to a homemade contraption he’s constructed out of fishing weights and duct tape — as “not super comfortable,” though it also provides a particular kind of thrill. “It’s the fantasy of Oh, I’ve got this big pendulous cock, which I don’t. But when you add a pound-and-a-half to it, it feels like it,” he says. Before he started this restoration process, Mackenroth felt excluded from docking. “It does say in the Urban Dictionary, which we all know is god’s word, that both guys have to be uncut,” he explains.

I Grew Back My Foreskin, and You Can Too

But over the last couple of decades, he’s become less judgmental and more sexually expansive, the rules he once clung to slowly dissolving. The day before we spoke, he filmed a docking scene with a man whose penis was injected with medical-grade silicone, a form of body modification that once turned him off. Inserting his penis between the man’s engorged foreskin was “basically like fucking his dick,” he says. “His foreskin was like a warm fleshy donut.”

It’s hard to talk about docking without talking about the politics of foreskin, particularly as it relates to “intactivism,” the anti-circumcision movement that developed in the 1990s. A sense of grief fuels many intactivists, who see circumcision as a form of  “genital mutilation” that’s hindered them emotionally, spiritually and sexually — and has even altered their sexuality.

“I’m bisexual with a fetish for uncut cock. I can’t help but wonder — if I wasn’t cut, would I still have that fetish, and would I be fully straight?” says a 21-year-old student named Sebastian (not his real name) on Reddit. “I don’t really know what to do about it, but it’s taking over my life, and it totally could’ve been avoided if I just wasn’t fucking circumcised. I want kids and a family, I don’t want to be craving foreskin when I’m old.”

Though he usually considers himself the dominant partner in bed, Sebastian takes on more of a submissive role with uncut guys. “They have something that I don’t,” he tells me. “Which makes it more attractive.” Docking is one of the ways he fulfills his fetish, in part because he says having another man’s foreskin wrapped around his penis approximates the feeling of being intact. He’s also — surprise! — a big fan of docking porn.

According to statistics provided by Pornhub, docking remains an incredibly niche category, accounting for only 0.002 percent of daily searches, or around 3,000 searches per day. To my surprise, women are disproportionately interested in it, and are 46 percent more likely to search for docking than men. After “cock docking,” the second most popular docking related search is “futa docking,” which is short for “futanari”: a form of 3-D anime porn depicting women with humongously enlarged penises that also became popular in the 1990s (what a decade).

To find out more I went — where else? — to Reddit, where I solicited insight into futa docking and its relationship, if any, to regular ol’ dick docking. I gratefully received this response, which I’ll paste here in all its glory, because I can’t think of a better way to end this piece:

“At least for me, futa docking is a sort of erotic absurdism — taking sexual ideas and warping and exaggerating them. There’s a gradual progression to reach this point: normal porn leads to hentai, which leads to futa, which leads to larger futa, until the girls have dicks large enough to stick another dick inside of it. I personally don’t think it’s as outwardly ‘sexy’ as it is just interesting, although I’m sure there are certainly people who do find it completely arousing.

“As for its relation to cock docking, I think they’re two completely different fetishes. Cock docking, from what I’ve seen, is more about the foreskin in a somewhat more advanced form of frotting. Futa docking, being unbound by the laws of nature, is all about the insertion — the aforementioned absurd and impossible nature of it. If you want a real-life equivalent, futa docking is more like r/sounding (a link I recommend the faint of heart to avoid).

“Again, this is all my own opinion. Don’t assume I’m trying to speak for everyone here in my reply. This seems like a really fucking weird subject for an article, so, uh, good luck, I guess.”

[mostlydeadlanguages]

The Mesha Stele

“Like a lucky actress or singer, it took us by storm.  Not in the universities only, but in the metropolis — not in learned circles merely, but in fashionable ones — it was the topic of the day.  Politicians, lawyers, statists, men of business, nay ladies — ladies, moreover, never previously suspected of having in their mental colouring the faintest tint of blue — talked of it, discussed it, argued about it, expressed opinions as to its age and its contents, and smiled if they met with any one who confessed to complete ignorance on the subject.” (Rawlinson, 1870, on “The Moabite Stone”)

The Mesha Stele (also called the Moabite Inscription) attracted enormous attention after an Anglican missionary in modern Jordan saw it in 1868.  England, France, and Prussia all fought to buy it from its Bedouin owners, and when the Ottoman Empire began to interfere, the Bedouin broke it into fragments and hid them, rather than hand it over.  When the inscription was deciphered, thanks to a copied impression of the stone and the recovery of some fragments, it proved hugely important to the field of biblical studies.

Moab was one of Israel’s closest neighbors, and King Mesha himself, subject of the inscription, appears in the Hebrew Bible.  The Mesha Inscription thus both supported the Bible’s historicity and diminished its uniqueness.  Like the Israelite god YHWH, Kemosh watched over Moab as his special nation, and their military success was based on his favor or displeasure.  Like the biblical histories, King Mesha’s account of his triumphs serves as propaganda, using a bit of creative license and hyperbole to achieve a positive spin.

I am Mesha [1], son of Kemoshyat, king of Moab, the Daibonite. My father ruled over Moab for thirty years.

But then I ruled after my father. I made this shrine [2] for Kemosh in Qarḥoh. (It is) a shr[ine of deli]verance, [3]        because he delivered me from every king (?),        and because he raised me above all my enemies. [4]

Omri was the king of Israel,        and he oppressed Moab for a long time,        because Kemosh was angry at his nation. Then his son succeeded him,        and he declared, “I will oppress Moab,” too. He said that during my reign, but I rose above him and his family. Israel was destroyed — completely destroyed! — even though Omri had conquered the land as far as Mehadaba. He stayed there through his reign and half his son’s reign,        forty years,        but Kemosh returned it during my reign.

I built Baalmaon,        and I made a reservoir in it,        and I built Qiryaten.

The population of Gad had always lived in the nation of Aṭarot,        and the king of Israel had built up Aṭarot. But I attacked the city and seized it. I killed the city’s entire population as tribute (?) for Kemosh and Moab; I plundered the altar of its patron god [5],        and I relocated it (to be) before Kemosh in Qiryat. I settled the populations of Sharon and Maḥarat in (Aṭarot).

Kemosh then said to me, “Go and seize Nabo from Israel.” So I went out at night, and I fought with them        from the break of dawn until past noon. I seized it, and I killed everyone —        seven thousand male citizens, male immigrants,        female citizens, female immigrants, and fertile girls — [6] because I had devoted them to destruction for Ashtar-Kemosh. [7] Then I took the vessels of YHWH from there,        and I relocated them (to be) before Kemosh.

The king of Israel had built Yahaṣ,        and he stayed there while he was fighting with me. But Kemosh drove him out for me. I took two hundred men from Moab — their entire unit. I brought (the unit) up to Yahaṣ,        and I seized it to enrich Daibon.

I am the one who built up Qarḥoh, [8]        the garden’s walls and the citadel’s walls. I am the one who built its gates,        and I am the one who built its towers. I am the one who built the palace,        and I am the one who made the retaining walls of the reservoir        for the spring in the city center. (There had been no cistern in the city center of Qarḥoh,        so I told all the people,        “Each household should make their own cistern.”) I am the one who dug ditches for Qarḥoh,        using the captives from Israel. I am the one who built Aro’er,        and I am the one who made the road by the Arnon River,        and I am the one who built up Bet Bamot after it was destroyed. I am the one who built Beṣer back from rubble,        using the population of Daibon —        for everyone in Daibon obeyed me. I am the one who ruled over hundreds        in the cities I added to the nation. I am the one who built Mehadaba, Bet Diblaten, and Bet Baalmaon,        and I brought up there the l[ambs? …]        […] sheep (?) of the nation.

(As for) Ḥawronen, the House of David had lived in [it …] Then Kemosh told me, “Go out to fight Hawronen.” So I went out and [attacked the city, and I seized it,        and it was restored by] Kemosh during my reign.

[The remaining couple of lines are very fragmentary.]

[1] Mesha and his antagonism with Israel appear in 2 Kings 3 in the Bible.  His name probably comes from the same root as Joshua and Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew) — “to save, rescue, deliver” — but as an active participle: “the rescuer.”

[2] “Shrine” is bamah, a common word in the Bible for both literal hilltops and the “high places” that were sites of worship in Canaanite religion.  Eventually it came to mean a sacred place of worship and sacrifice; the frequency with which the Bible condemns them indicates their widespread popularity.

[3] “Shrine of deliverance” is a guess, following Schniedewind’s suggestion; only the first two and last two letters of the phrase are preserved.

[4] Literally: “because he helped me look down on my haters.”

[5] “Altar of its patron god”: this phrase (ᐣrᐣl dwdh) has been obscure for the history of the inscription.  “Altar” might instead be “warrior,” “lion figurine,” or even a personal name Arel; “its patron god” (which I derive from dod, “uncle,” along the lines of ḥam) could be “its David [i.e. chieftain]” or “its beloved.”

[6] “Fertile girls” is, literally, “wombs.”  Most scholars translate these as “servant girls” or “concubines,” but separate words exist for those categories, and this is not a common word for a class of women.  I see instead a connection to Judges 5:30, another passage about the spoils of war, that mentions “one womb, (even) two wombs per man.”  The blunt implication is that after conquering a city, young fertile women would be part of the soldiers’ plunder, literally reduced in value to their sex organs.  In this case, Mesha clarifies, even the women who might have been raped were instead killed with their neighbors.  (Of course, as with the genocidal biblical tales in Joshua, the account may exaggerate the breadth of the violence for the sake of storytelling.)

[7] The ḥerem, referenced here, appears several times in the Bible; it’s a religious concept that involves dedicating something (usually an entire city) to a deity for the purpose of utter destruction, thereby ruling out looting, intermarriage, etc.  Ashtar-Kemosh is perhaps the female consort (as in Ishtar/Astarte) of Kemosh.

[8] Like the Hebrew Bible, this inscription generally uses a narrative sequence to indicate the main action of the story.  (Think of old Bible translations that started every sentence with “And…”)  Here, though, we begin a series of non-sequential statements that emphasize the first word “I.”  I’ve represented this focus using the longer phrase “I am the one who.”  It creates a somewhat redundant series, but that does reflect the original composition.

[mhsn033]

Coronavirus in South Africa: Why the low fatality rate is misleading

Image copyright Getty Photos

As coronavirus infections surge, at ferocious dart, across South Africa, I’ve spent the closing couple of weeks utilizing via this huge country looking to treasure where and why issues are going both fair appropriate and inferior.

Right here, in seven features, are some early conclusions and, perhaps, some more classes for the remainder of the continent.

1)The fog of battle

Be cautious of statistics, even right here in South Africa, which has about a of essentially the most nice looking recordsdata sequence on the continent.

And be some distance more cautious of memoir-essentially essentially essentially based assumptions.

Some observers possess rushed to celebrate figures showing to existing an impressively low fatality price for Covid-19 sufferers in the country – 1.4% compared with 15% in the UK. Can also or no longer or no longer it’s some distance thanks to a gorgeous younger population? Or perhaps Africans revel in some special immunity, genetic or in every other case?

The brief solution is No. Or moderately, or no longer it’s composed some distance too early to tell.

Within the occasion you assessment, for instance, fatality rates for confirmed virus sufferers in South Africa’s predominant hospitals, they are nearly precisely the same as these in Italy or the UK.

Image copyright Getty Photos

But in the occasion you enhance the statistical pool beyond clinical institution admissions, then every country and every province is the use of mainly diversified criteria and diversified methods.

“It turns into meaningless,” College of Witwatersrand vaccine professional Prof Shabir Madhi instructed me.

He features out that so tiny testing is going on across the remainder of the continent that it’s very no longer going to plot any worthwhile conclusions or comparisons. His hunch is that – as with the Swine flu pandemic of 2009 – we can most efficient know the virus’ comely influence in Africa in several years.

2) Anxiousness of hospitals

Staying on the trouble of statistics, South African researchers possess published alarming details about 17,000 extra deaths which seem to existing foremost below-reporting of fatalities from Covid-19 right here.

As the researchers point out, a rising apprehension of going wherever shut to hospitals or clinics – no longer fraudulent in some locations – may perhaps perhaps well well neatly be a foremost part.

Image copyright Getty Photos

This methodology that many folks with the virus are death at dwelling, whereas others are succumbing to diversified ailments in resolution to searching for medicine.

Testing for TB has, for instance, declined by about 50% in contemporary weeks, and there became once a 25% bargain in immunisations in South Africa.

The answer? There is no fleet repair to this, nonetheless local health departments want to influence a nearer job of working with their communities, to possess belief both with sufferers and with employees who possess most often reacted to novel infections and capacity exposure by, for instance, closing down complete clinics for weeks.

3) Beware white elephants

In Port Elizabeth, a enormous novel coronavirus “area clinical institution” has been built by the non-public sector. But, as of closing week, most efficient round 30 of its 1,200 beds were being venerable thanks to a shortage of foremost employees and oxygen.

“Brainless,” acknowledged Professor Madhi, dismissively when speaking about the clinical institution.

Image copyright Getty Photos

The provincial authorities in Gauteng has built one thing nonetheless again, infrequently any of the beds are both staffed or possess oxygen gives, leaving the facility nearly empty, and prompting volunteers and non-public donors to step in to do away with a see at to rescue the trouble.

“Oxygen is the novel forex,” one doctor instructed me, complaining that more than half of of the facility remained “a white elephant” and that plans to add one other 700 beds would be a complete raze of time and money if the local authorities failed to possess clear additional oxygen gives and hire the clinical employees required.

4) Right here to pause

“The storm is upon us,” acknowledged President Cyril Ramaphosa closing week, and his possibility of weather metaphor became once appropriate. After all, wars – the virus analogy favoured by many global leaders – are inclined to complete, whereas the weather will continuously be with us and so, perhaps, will this coronavirus.

Image copyright Getty Photos

Within the absence of a vaccine, herd immunity, or foremost behavioural change, several consultants possess instructed me they assume South Africa may perhaps perhaps well well have to treat Covid-19 the same methodology it has dealt with TB (which composed kills some 200 folks on daily foundation right here) and HIV, and learn to live with the virus on a protracted-interval of time foundation.

5) Flooring Up

Plenty has been written about the energetic, generous, and on occasion effective role played by South Africa’s non-public sector in serving to to take care of the virus. But, as neatly-liked, it’s local communities and little organisations which possess essentially the most difference in such crises, and which are all too most often no longer accepted.

Medical doctors in Cape City instructed me that it became once the clinics that loved the closest long-interval of time relationships with local communities and understood essentially the most nice looking diagram to talk with them.

Image copyright Getty Photos

The Cape City Together Fb page is a respectable portal in which to explore the categories of grass-roots work that is thriving during the lockdown – the Group Motion Networks, for instance – and that will but support to reconfigure a number of the enviornment’s most unequal, and siloed societies, once the instantaneous storm has handed.

6) Exposing the rot

It became once a revealing second. Within the midst of this health crisis, highly effective figures in South Africa’s governing ANC were caught pushing to reinstate two senior figures who had been implicated in one of essentially the most egregious corruption scandals of the country’s democratic technology – the looting and collapse of the rural VBS financial institution.

It became once a sobering reminder of the institutional rot all via the ANC, where competence and honesty are on occasion valued no longer up to occasion loyalty, and where a culture of “cadre deployment” has left some key verbalize establishments – hospitals and health companies, for instance – managed by unqualified occasion hacks.

“Within the occasion it’s foremost to never possess sturdy management programs, you may perhaps perhaps well well perhaps’t change the trouble in a single day, during a scourge,” one senior doctor in Johannesburg complained to me, arguing that Gauteng’s provincial health division became once nearly as incompetent as the Eastern Cape’s.

You are going to additionally be involving about:

Within the aftermath of this crisis – and I endure in thoughts one thing similar being published on a village-by-village foundation following the Asian tsunami – the quality of local leadership looks likely to be a defining part in distinguishing between the successes and the failures.

7) Masks, masks, masks

As the UK agonises over the specifics of when and where and essentially the most nice looking diagram to position on masks in public, it’s encouraging to worth how like a flash, and pretty obediently, South Africans possess knuckled all the diagram down to the enterprise of face-defending.

Image copyright Getty Photos

Sure, there are huge and rising frustrations right here, no longer least in the hospitality and alcohol industries, as they battle with the implications of the authorities’s on occasion erratic, contradictory lockdown suggestions.

As an instance, why can passengers squeeze onto a minibus nonetheless folks no longer consume in drinking locations?

But many clinical doctors right here seem convinced that masks will worth to be the one major step in tackling the virus, in particular in crowded townships, where social distancing is a shut to impossibility.

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[thoughtsofadancerboo]

Esplanade Da:ns Festival: Netherlands Dance Theatre

Performed at Esplanade Theatre; Watched on 14 October 2018.

_____________

This being my first real-live encounter with NDT (my closest encounter being with NDT2 when they toured to Singapore in 2015), I found that the quadruple all they performed drastically altered my initial perception I had of them when I was 14 years old. Somehow, the only piece I remember from NDT2 was Cacti, and from then on I’ve always had the impression of NDT and NDT2 being this quirky contemporary company, but I’ve never noticed the balletic-ness of many of the choreography they performed.

The 4 pieces that NDT presented were definitely drastically different from each other, but what stayed the same throughout would have to be the dancing qualities. I find that NDT dancers were able to exude this enormous yet controlled amount of energy, and the sheer physicality and boundless energy that possessed really brought out their youthfulness.

Shoot The Moon by Sol Leon and Paul Lightfoot

This was my favourite piece of the night. For me, Shoot The Moon offers a peek into the relationships (and the problems within these relationships) between the 5 characters emulated by the dancers.

This piece stands out among the rest because of its interesting set-up and its use of film. The stage is set like a merry-go-round of 3 rooms, and the audience can only ever see the entirety of one room, or parts of 2 consecutive rooms as the stage transforms. The rooms are set up like the interior of a house, with doors that lead to the other rooms, windows and wallpapered walls. The effect of this set up is that is seems as if we are looking into a dollhouse, intruding into the private lives of these 5 characters. We get to see the tensions and fractures in their relationships behind closed doors, a secret part of their lives that people outside of the house would not be privy too. However, while the audience does get a peek into their lives, we are also distance from it at the same time. While the choreography in itself is highly emotional, the dancers almost seemed dwarfed by the space. Moreover, the fact that the audience knows that the dancer is just a fifth of the entire merry-go-round set up seems to diminish the emotional impact of the choreography; we know that each dancer isn’t the only ones with problems, there are four others. As the room disappears out of sight, we are reminded that the problems that the character faces are just one of many, in terms of the bigger picture. Ultimately, while individual problems may seem emotionally devastating to the character, the audience does not feel that because we see the issues of others as well.

The set-up also creates an interesting dynamic between what is considered “inside” and “outside”. This is particularly applicable to the couple with the affair. To the couple, the “outside” is whatever that is beyond the room within which they dance. When they look out the door or the window, they look outside. If the room can be seen as a metaphor for their relationship, then seeking those outside of the room shows a desire for something outside of the relationship. However, who the stage rotates to present the adjacent room, the initial room is no longer the “inside”, but is now the “outside”. The man in this room is no longer the third party, and the woman is no longer looking outside, but looking inside. Now, this image presents the woman’s desire to enter into a relationship with this man. I think the shifting of the set offers various perspectives of the relationships and its accompanying problems, rather than just a black and white perspective of the situation.

The use of film in this piece is also particularly prominent. A live feed of the dancers are projected onto screens, and since the live feeds are of dancers that cannot be fully or are only partially seen at that moment in time, the live feed provides the audience a different spatial perspective of the action other than the one which is presented to them onstage. One particularly impactful instance was when the live feed of 2 dancers in 2 separate rooms are projected onto each of the 2 screens. We know from our last look at them before they disappeared that both dancers are standing facing away from each other, but on screen, it seems as if they are staring at one another. It’s this sort of use of film and perspective that surprises me and makes one wonder about the reality or the truthfulness of what we are seeing onstage.

I was also mulling over the significance of the title Shoot The Moon. The setting of the piece certainly seems to be at night, with the moonlight that shines through the doors and windows. Nighttime seems to be the most emotionally vulnerable of times, and perhaps a time where cracks and fractures in a relationship start to surface. The moon illuminates the night, maybe mirroring how the stage, which is coincidentally round like a full moon, brings to light problems in a relationship. The title Shoot The Moon reflects a desire to plunge the world into darkness at night so as to hide away these problems and remain blissfully unaware.

Woke Up Blind by Marco Goecke

Personally, I didn’t really like this piece much. I felt it was largely movement whose connections to the songs that was used as the piece’s soundtrack I could not see. The successive solos and duets were or largely similar dynamics, and it got boring fast. The piece was only interesting to me when there were group sections, which were few and far between.

I also could not sense that the piece was about young love and relationships. The choreography ensured that the dancers were mostly doing their own individual thing, and I can't see how the piece can be about relationships when the dancers are so insular.

The Statement by Crystal Pite

The message of The Statement is clear, touching on ideas of power play by governments and within the government itself. A dynamic and exciting piece to watch, The Statement uses text, lighting and choreography based on body language to draw the audience into the dictional storyline in which the piece takes place.

I believe that the theatricality of the piece is what made it so popular among the audience. The dramatic use of lighting, music, text and the gestural elements of the choreography creates a tension-filled, action-packed scene reminiscent of a movie. The theatricality of the piece is also what caused the audience to laugh at times in the piece. Ironically, the issue that is being presented is no laughing matter. The absurdity of the scene stems from how serious it is despite its theatricality. Our knowledge of the world tells us that these situations are happening in real life, and I find myself asking why is it that such a situation, whose absurdity incites laughter in a theatre, be allowed to occur in real life? The Statement is a condemnation of today’s governments that use tragedies and corruption to benefit themselves.

I find it an interesting turn of events when the investigator, a character in the piece, is the one being investigated by his higher-ups in the end. This turning of the tables underline the sensitivity of words, as well as the morbid reality of always having to find someone else to shoulder the blame.

Dancing-wise, the entire choreography possesses this beautifully continuous flow of movement. A churning sort of energy underlies this fluidity, and show how is able to emphasise each movement and its implications, all while retaining a “dance-y” feeling without being too gestural.

The dancing in The Statement largely took place in relation to a large office meeting tables in the middle of the stage, and it reminded me of The Green Table by Kurt Jooss, which had been created in response to World War II, which had been occurring at the time. The Statement is similar in presenting a response to current issues as well. The common use of the table, which brings to mind images of a table used for meetings, s a reminder that the vicious power struggle and the desire to exert control on others does not take place in the wild or on the streets, but at the office tables and in corporate meeting rooms.

Stop-Motion by Sol Leon & Paul Lightfoot

I don't know why, but I didn't write anything concerning this piece in my book (I’m transferring what I wrote word-for-word from my journal to this account), so I guess I will never remember my thoughts on this piece then lol

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Diabetes in Cats — Who’s at Risk, Symptoms & How to Treat It

The post Diabetes in Cats — Who’s at Risk, Symptoms & How to Treat It by Dr. Arnold Plotnick appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

As a feline practitioner, I often see the same client concerns repeatedly in our appointment schedule: not eating; vomiting; diarrhea; losing weight; hair loss; urinating around the house; etc. I never know ahead of time what the diagnosis might be. However, when I see “litter box is flooded” or “huge urine clumps in litter box,” one disease rises to the top of my list: feline diabetes.

Diabetes in cats — the basics

Is your cat at risk for diabetes? Photography ©Goldfinch4ever | Getty Images.

Diabetes is the second most common glandular disorder in cats. (Hyperthyroidism is No. 1, if you were curious.) Diabetes occurs as a result of a problem with insulin, the hormone that controls blood glucose levels. Similar to humans, cats experience two types of diabetes. In Type 1 diabetes, the cat’s pancreas simply can’t make enough insulin. In Type 2 diabetes, the pancreas can make insulin, but secretion of insulin is impaired. This is coupled with “insulin resistance” — an improper response by the body to the insulin that the cat is making.

It is estimated that the majority (80 percent) of diabetic cats are Type 2 diabetics. This differs markedly from diabetes in dogs, all of which are Type 1. The fact that the majority of diabetic cats retain the ability to secrete insulin has exciting implications for treatment. As you’ll soon hear, it has been shown recently that tightly regulating the blood sugar with aggressive insulin therapy early in the course of treatment can cause many cats with diabetes to go into remission.

What cats are most at risk for diabetes?

Although diabetes can strike at any age, it typically strikes middle-aged cats, usually around 7 to 9 years of age. Males are one-and-a-half times as likely to be affected. Obesity is another risk factor. In Australia, New Zealand and the U.K., Burmese cats are at higher risk. In the U.S., Maine Coon, Russian Blue and Siamese are predisposed.

Symptoms of diabetes in cats

The four classic signs of diabetes are increased thirst, excessive urination, ravenous appetite and weight loss. Owners will often remark that their cat is losing weight despite eating very well. Owners also complain that they need to change the litter much more frequently and that the urine clumps have become enormous (“the size of a cinderblock,” as one client once described it).

A few owners report wobbliness in the cat’s rear legs. This rear limb weakness is a condition called “diabetic neuropathy.” Affected cats exhibit a distinct posture, called a “plantigrade” stance, where they walk or stand on their hocks instead of their toes.

Diagnosis of diabetes is relatively straightforward. The presence of persistently elevated blood glucose in combination with excessive glucose in the urine is indicative of diabetes.

Treatment options for diabetes in cats

The focus of treatment used to simply be the amelioration of the clinical signs. Over the last few years, this has changed. New long-acting insulin preparations for humans have shown great efficacy in cats, in many cases resolving the diabetes completely. This “diabetic remission” has become the ideal goal — achieving normal blood glucose levels ultimately without the need for insulin. Exactly which cats go into remission depends on the type of insulin, the cat’s diet, how tightly the blood glucose is regulated, how early the treatment is initiated (the sooner the better), and whether the cat’s pancreas is able to secrete insulin (as with Type 2 diabetics).

Diet is an important component of therapy. Numerous studies have shown that the ideal diet for a diabetic cat is a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet, with canned greatly preferred over dry. There are many prescription diets designed for this purpose, and nearly every veterinary office carries them. Some commercial brands (for example, some varieties of Fancy Feast) serendipitously have a nutritional profile appropriate for diabetics. Ask your veterinarian for recommendations, or conduct your own internet research. Insulin is the mainstay of therapy for diabetic cats. Both human and veterinary insulin preparations are available, and all of them work well; however, remission is more likely to be achieved with the newer long- acting human insulin preparations such as glargine (brand name Lantus) and detemir (brand name Levemir).

Once insulin therapy has begun, blood glucose levels need to be frequently assessed, to determine whether the dosage needs to be adjusted. Too little, and the disorder will not be controlled. Too much, however, can cause life-threatening hypoglycemia (low blood glucose). Clearly, close monitoring is paramount, and this used to require frequent veterinary visits that were inconvenient for cat owners and very stressful for the cat.

Home monitoring of blood glucose, using meters specifically calibrated for cats and dogs (for example, the AlphaTrak), has become an excellent additional tool to improve long-term management of diabetes. Blood is obtained from the marginal ear vein that runs along the outer edge of the ear, and blood glucose is measured with the meter during the day. Cats tolerate this very well. Your veterinarian (or more likely, his veterinary technician) can demonstrate the technique in the veterinary office. Not every cat will achieve remission, and clients should be warned that some cats in remission may relapse at a later date. For those who don’t achieve remission, the goals of therapy remain the same as always: resolving the clinical signs of excessive thirst, urination and weight loss while avoiding complications such as hypoglycemia.

Achievement of remission is a huge advantage to both the cat owner and the cat, and is an exciting new frontier for veterinarians.

Thumbnail: Photography ©RyersonClark | Getty Images.

About the author

Dr. Arnold Plotnick is the founder of Manhattan Cat Specialists, a feline-exclusive veterinary practice on Manhattan’s upper west side. He is also an author of The Original Cat Fancy Cat Bible. Dr. Plotnick is a frequent contributor to feline publications and websites, including his own blog Cat Man Do. He lives in New York City with his cats, Mittens and Glitter.

Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in Catster magazine. Have you seen the new Catster print magazine in stores? Or in the waiting area of your vet’s office? Click here to subscribe to Catster and get the bimonthly magazine delivered to your home. 

Read more about cat health and care on Catster.com:

When Do Kittens Open Their Eyes?

Snake Bites on Cats: What to Know and What to Do

4 Summer Dangers for Cats

The post Diabetes in Cats — Who’s at Risk, Symptoms & How to Treat It by Dr. Arnold Plotnick appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

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A Free and Open Indo-Pacific: The South Korean Perspective

The idea of a “free and open Indo-Pacific” (FOIP) means many various items to diverse regional stakeholders in Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean Location (IOR), Australia, the United States, and the European Union.

Viewed as as an extension of the U.S.-led Asia-Pacific protection principle to the Indian Ocean location, its realization is nebulous. No regional electric power can predominate during the IOR, which encompasses 3 U.S. Locations of Operational Accountability (AORs): Indo-Pacific Command, Central Command, and Africa Command. Indo-Pacific Command was beforehand acknowledged as Pacific Command, and this renaming has provoked significant operational and cooperative confusion: does it imply a new mission for this AOR?

And why are the phrases “Free” and “Open” now being used to the sea routes of the Indian Ocean, which have seldom been constrained by maritime threats? Freedom of navigation there has only been disrupted by the 1980s Iraq-Iran War, often by the Sri Lanka Civil War, and by the extra recent difficulty of Somali pirates.

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The reason for the new language is surely China. Its expanding naval prowess and its wide financial job regarded the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are each underpinned by China’s wide-ranging historical claims. In addition to obtaining a foothold in some of littoral and archipelagic states of the near IOR, China also aspires to develop into Africa and outside of.

China’s inspiration remains unclear, even so. Is it merely aiming to come to be a regional electricity all-around the IOR, establishing China-helpful regimes in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Central Asia, and the Middle East and perhaps to foment difficulties for Europe and the United States in Saudi Arabia and Iran? Or does China intend a critical ideological problem to the existing regulations-primarily based buy by forming consumer-states and promoting an autocratic buying and selling routine that disrupts liberty of navigation?

Other than flexibility of navigation, main tenets of the U.S.-led worldwide buy, in the IOR and in other places, consist of respect for the rule of legislation, countrywide sovereignty, open up marketplaces, and common democracy. On the other hand, the United States seems a lot less concerned these days about preserving the IOR’s liberal buying and selling regime and its process of mutual security assurance. China, meanwhile, makes use of grandiose (and really dubious) historic claims to justify its expansionism, both equally financial and military services. Obviously, there is a manifest danger to FOIP.

South Korea’s Function in FOIP

South Korea has extended been deeply associated in the prevailing strategic strategy of the Asia-Pacific, but is significantly fewer comfortable with the conceptual remapping which the United States is now pursuing as a result of its vision of FOIP. The Indian Ocean is an historic sphere of desire for South Korea, with financial and political interaction among the Korean and Indian Peninsulas going back far more than 2,000 many years Korea also has historical backlinks to Arabia and Europe.

The phrase “Indo-Pacific” in South Korea has been debated because U.S. President Donald Trump’s point out stop by to South Korea in 2017, when Washington included it in a joint assertion about regional peace and security, surprising Seoul. At the time, the time period was comprehended as referring to countermeasures in reaction to the increase of China, and South Korea, supplied its geographic position and strategic constraints, has been always ambivalent on these kinds of language. The prospect, now, of an specific method to realize FOIP, is even a lot more difficult for South Korea, with policymakers and stability analysts keenly debating whether or not it is just a controversial psychological mapping, or an overarching grand method for the area. Seoul’s most well-liked interpretation can be seen from Indian Primary Minister Narendra Modi’s the latest state take a look at to South Korea, from February 21 to 22, 2019, throughout which the agenda focused on economic and protection cooperation, not on FOIP for each se.

From a South Korean viewpoint, FOIP is just a recasting of the maritime safety agenda, and it is not evident how South Korea could make a contribution to any grand strategy. Safeguarding the Sea Lanes of Conversation (SLOC) in the IOR has normally been the principal emphasis, and therefore significantly has typically targeted on terrorism and the impact of climate modify. On the former situation, the 27th Chenghae Naval Job Device is dedicated to anti-piracy patrols off the eastern coastline of Africa, in spite of the weighty calls for for the South Korean navy in deterring North Korean maritime threats and on the latter problem, the present sea routes will keep on to predominate, regardless of the risk of the Northern Sea Route opening up.

In distinction to the current minimal profile of South Korea, Japan has revealed significantly much more enthusiasm for the strategy of FOIP, implementing the so-known as Diamond Strategic Alliance structure amongst the United States, Japan, Australia, and India via the revival of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (the Quad) on maritime cooperation.

Some critics have minimized South Korean passions in the IOR as constrained to anti-piracy operations. But if the ongoing North-South Korean dialogues continue on to prosper, and if relations amongst the United States and North Korea boost, then South Korea may possibly be predicted to play a additional dynamic function as an rising key stakeholder in sustaining FOIP.

South Korea enjoys a lot of positive aspects from freedom of navigation in the IOR, and some of South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s suggestions, this kind of as the New Southern Policy, can be quickly built-in with U.S. strategic interests on FOIP. Nonetheless, it is not uncomplicated to identify the implementation of FOIP as a central concern in South Korea’s economic interest. The United States has redefined its strategic fears by shifting its military services objectives from the Asia-Pacific to the Indo-Pacific, but this is of small direct relevance for South Korea.

Findings and Plan Suggestions

If the United States meant FOIP to efficiently counter Chinese expansionism, it seems to be as well small way too late. Aside from the Quad, other new FOIP procedures consist of the Indo-Pacific Economic Partnership and the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act, but these look trivial in comparison to China’s enormous BRI task and the ever-growing Chinese army presence in the IOR. If China intends for its infrastructure investments to persuade governments getting its largess to abandon the prevailing liberal financial get and transform to more transactional and authoritarian trading and power-source interactions, then the United States is building no severe endeavours to avoid this.

If Washington decides to try out more difficult to maintain FOIP, then some methods are feasible, and other individuals are unhelpful. Feasible ways contain: multilateral strategic engagement with anxious countries to assist the world principles-primarily based purchase many multilateral steps to safeguard maritime security and good purchase in the Indian Ocean, aiming to set up a widespread strategic narrative concerning IOR insiders and outsiders by striving to protect free of charge and open up SLOC as well as supporting democratic establishments and societies close to the IOR and formalizing a established of mutual obligations to make sure a legal ideal of flexibility of navigation at sea, primarily based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Unhelpful techniques incorporate: any speedy containment or immediate confrontation, with China or any other nation, a great deal considerably less physical conflict or certainly war any interpretation of FOIP that tends towards an progressively mercantilist and nationalist stance, with a much more combative navy (this cure would be worse than the illness) and treating FOIP as only relevant to the IOR, when the underlying ideas should really of class be prolonged to the complete Asia-Pacific location.

I would suggest a couple plan-oriented recommendations. Initial, the area has to build a prevalent comprehending of FOIP this really should be articulated in phrases of geography and/or strategic implications. At existing, key stakeholders disagree on the scope of FOIP. The United States applies FOIP from the South China Sea to the western AORs of the Indo-Pacific Command, whereas India and ASEAN insist that FOIP should really be of equal strategic worth in the Asia-Pacific area — FOIP need to utilize from the Gulf of Aden to the Pacific coast of the United States.

Next, the U.S.-led multilateral biannual RIMPAC workouts should be held throughout the IOR, alternatively of just in the Asia-Pacific location. As a great initially move, RIMPAC 2018 provided the navies of Sri Lanka and Israel for the to start with time. The Chinese navy really should also be invited once again, to market maritime security cooperation. In addition, the exact same argument applies to other multilateral maritime security routines, this sort of as Workout Malabar, which ought to also invite the Chinese navy. FOIP ought to not be authorized to devolve into an justification for rival blocs to face off against one particular another.

3rd, China must show its goodwill by not utilizing the IOR as a pivot to expand its naval existence even further, to the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Black Sea, or the Baltic Sea. China should also exhibit its theoretical and functional knowledge of the world wide guidelines-based mostly purchase in the IOR, by complying with prevailing norms to preserve maritime very good purchase and safety. China should take treatment to make certain that its ambitions in the IOR are not misinterpreted as the militarization of location, since the regional response to any such over-assertive steps would possible be counterproductive. If China so chooses, FOIP can turn out to be protection for all stakeholders in the Indo-Pacific location, rather than a instrument designed particularly to impede China.

In summary, the terms “free” and “open” must be observed as beneficial and ideal for the IOR. If some stakeholders discover them uncomfortable, then they should reconsider their have steps and intentions in the area.

Captain Sukjoon Yoon, ROK Navy retired, is a senior fellow at the Korea Institute for Armed forces Affairs.

The post A Free and Open Indo-Pacific: The South Korean Perspective appeared first on Defence Online.

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How to Keep the Love Alive in Tamil Marriage?

Marriages are diverse in the southern locale of India when contrasted with North India, be it adore marriage or organized. Tamil individuals establish the huge populace of South India, and they are known for their basic living and high gauge of instruction. In the event that you need to see marriages brimming with Indian traditions and customs, going to Tamil weddings are an unquestionable requirement. Marriage is the most basic otherworldly image of the Tamil people group. It is portrayed by fun minutes with family, participation of inaccessible relatives and loads of customary nourishment.

In any case, there is a considerable measure in life after Kalyanam or marriage. Furthermore, a basic piece of marriage is dealing with your relationship objectives. With the expansion in between rank marriages in India and even in Tamil families, numerous marriages flop following a couple of long periods of marriage because of absence of affection, such a large number of battles, and social contrasts. Marriage is only the start of another life, and there is significantly further. Marriage without affection resembles a bloom without scent. Be that as it may, in many marriages, love appears to vanish following a couple of years.

Nobody needs to have a dreadful hitched life loaded up with contentions and strain. Be that as it may, after marriage, the extent of adoration keeps on diminishing and of contentions keep on expanding as a rule. Give us a chance to think of some as perspectives that will enable you to keep your affection alive in a Tamil marriage!

Acknowledgment: Acceptance is the base of regard, and on the off chance that you regard one another and your social and family contrasts, you can proceed. Tolerating each other ought not be founded on unimportant words, and it should appear in your activities as well. As joint families portray Tamil culture, you ought to be prepared to acknowledge and regard each other's families and relatives too. Clear correspondence and sensible desires are a fundamental piece of tolerating one another.

Create Friendship: In the South Indian culture, for the most part the lady of the hour and the prep are both taught and now and again, working people. They may be in a similar calling as well. It is pivotal to build up a mentality of kinship among couples to pick up trust in one another. Much the same as you share your privileged insights and great occasions with your besties, on the off chance that you do it with your perfect partner, you will have a ton of trust and comprehension in your wedded life. Companions do see every others' points of view and remain close to one another in troublesome occasions, and on the off chance that you share your day with your accomplice, you will have a similar trust in your relationship as well.

Similarity: Tamil marriage includes a great deal of similarity tests before the family settles marriage. You should set aside the opportunity to see every others' qualities, interests, and objectives. This will make you more OK with one another.

Try not to Stop Dating: Most couples end investing energy with one another after marriage and get engaged with their normal life. This is the greatest misstep they can make. It is very basic in South Indian families in light of the fact that, in enormous families, obligations are many. Indeed, even occasions and suppers are by and large with the whole family. This murders the start between the couple to some degree. In this way, take out some time and take some protection. Endeavor to awe one another, have a great time, love profoundly and chuckle with one another. You can even date your lover at home. Along these lines, bring the sentiment over into your life.

Offer Your Responsibilities: As both a couple are working in numerous advanced South Indian families, it winds up hard to deal with individual and in addition proficient lives viably. This prompts contentions and battles that can in the end finish your wedded life. Try not to overburden your cooperate with familial duties. Offer the work at home and appreciate investing energy with one another while doing the day by day errands of the house. Indeed, even duties of the children can be shared. This can be a fantastic method to assemble your relationship more grounded.

Give Some Space: Married couples remain together, however that does not imply that they ought to attack the individual space of one another. After marriage, your accomplice require not be with you consistently, candidly and physically. Give enough close to home space and opportunity to one another with the goal that your adoration can bloom successfully.

Excuse and Be Forgiven: Arguments and battles are a typical thing in each marriage, particularly in the underlying years till you become acclimated to one another. In any case, in the event that you need to keep the fire of affection alive in your souls, at that point you should figure out how to pardon one another. It isn't essential that you would dependably be correct. Likewise, winning a contention wouldn't get you any reward. Holding feelings of spite over little contentions and insignificant issues can execute your relationship.

Tune in: The specialty of listening is totally not quite the same as hearing, yet few individuals comprehend it. Comprehend the verbal and non-verbal implications of your life partner's words. Set aside the opportunity to comprehend his/her life and wellbeing conditions and desires. On the off chance that you need a dynamic marriage, you ought to listen more than you talk.

Have A Daily Dose of Love: Love and graciousness isn't intended for birthday events and commemorations alone. You can commend each snapshot of fellowship and love between you. Try not to leave your graciousness and warmth for unique events. Giving little endowments to one another, even chocolate or a rose can expedite a grin your accomplice's face. The more you cherish your accomplice, the more you will get. In this way, light up your enthusiasm and have a portion of affection day by day.

Pursue these straightforward tips and make them your lifestyle. The same number of Tamil marital destinations and Telugu wedding locales likewise prompt, in the event that you pursue these tips, love will never blur away in your wedded life. Tamil individuals are brought into the world sentimental naturally, however on the off chance that your marriage is in an awful stage because of some misconception, the time has come to hold each other's hands and say words like "Sad," and "I Love you." The best Matrimonial Site in Tamilnadu is KPJ Matrimony. Believed by a huge number of Tamil Brides and Grooms. Register FREE!

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Car Finance - What You Should Know About Dealer Finance

Car finance has become big business. A huge number of new and used car buyers in the UK are creating their automobile purchase on fund of some sort. It might be in the form of a bank loan, finance from the automobile, leasing, credit card, even the trusty'Bank of Mum & Dad', or other forms of fund, but comparatively few people actually buy a car using their own money .

A generation ago, a private car buyer with, say, #8,000 cash to invest would usually have purchased a car up to the value of #8,000. Today, the exact same #8,000 is far more likely to be utilized as a deposit on a vehicle that might be worth many tens of thousands, followed by up to five years of monthly payments.

With numerous manufacturers and dealers claiming that anywhere between 40 percent and 87 percent of automobile purchases are today being made on finance of some sort, it's not surprising there are lots of folks jumping on the automobile finance bandwagon to gain from buyers' wants to get the newest, flashiest car available inside their monthly cashflow limits.

The allure of funding a car is very simple; you can buy an automobile which costs far more than you can manage up-front, but can (ideally ) manage in small monthly chunks of money over a time period. The issue with car finance is that lots of buyers do not realise that they usually end up paying a lot more than the face value of the automobile, and they don't read the fine print of car finance agreements to comprehend the implications of what they're registering for.

For clarification, this author is neither pro- or anti-finance when purchasing a vehicle. What you must be careful of, however, are the complete implications of funding an automobile - not just when you purchase the vehicle, but over the full duration of the finance and even later. The business is heavily regulated in the UK, but a regulator can not make you read files carefully or force you to make prudent automobile finance decisions.

Financing throughout the dealership

For a lot of , funding the car through the dealership at which you are purchasing the vehicle is very suitable. There are also frequently national offers and programs which can make financing the car through the dealer an attractive choice.

This blog will focus on the two chief types of car finance offered by automobile dealers for private auto buyers: the Hire Purchase (HP) and the Personal Contract Purchase (PCP), with a brief mention of a third, the Lease Purchase (LP). Leasing contracts will be discussed in another site coming shortly.

What is a Hire Purchase?

An HP is quite enjoy a mortgage on your house; you pay a deposit up-front and then pay the rest off within an agreed period (usually 18-60 months). Once you've made your final payment, then the vehicle is yours. This is the way that automobile finance has worked for many years, but is now beginning to lose favour from the PCP choice under.

There are numerous advantages to a Hire Purchase. It's straightforward to understand (deposit and a number of predetermined monthly payments), and the buyer can choose the deposit and the term (number of payments) to suit their requirements. You may choose a duration of up to five years (60 months), which will be longer than most other fund choices. You can generally cancel the arrangement at any time if your circumstances change without enormous penalties (although the amount due may be more than your car is worth early on in the agreement term). Usually you are going to find yourself paying less in total with an HP than a PCP if you're planning to maintain the car following the fund is paid .

The most important disadvantage of an HP when compared with some PCP is higher monthly payments, meaning that the value of the car you can usually afford is significantly less.

An HP is generally best for buyers who; aim to keep their cars for quite a while (ie - longer than the finance term), have a huge deposit, or want a very simple automobile fund plan with no sting in the tail at the conclusion of the agreement.

What is a Personal Contract Purchase?

A PCP is often given other titles by producer fund companies (eg - BMW Select, Volkswagen Solutions, Toyota Access, etc.), and is very popular but more complex than an HP. Most new car fund offers advertised these days are PCPs, and a dealer will attempt to push you towards a PCP within an HP since it's more likely to be better for them.

Like the HP above, you pay a deposit and also have monthly payments over a semester. However, the monthly payments are reduced and/or the term is shorter (typically a max. Of 48 months), since you are not paying off the entire car. In the end of the term, there's still a massive chunk of this finance unpaid. This is normally known as a GMFV (Guaranteed Minimum Future Value). The automobile finance provider ensures that, within certain conditions, the vehicle will be worth as much as the remaining fund owed. This gives you three options:

1) Give the vehicle back. You won't receive any cash back, but you won't need to pay out the rest. This usually means you have been renting the car for the whole time.

2) Pay out the remaining amount owed (the GMFV) and keep the vehicle. Given this amount could be several thousands of pounds, it is not usually a viable option for most people (which is why they had been financing the car in the first place), which normally results in...

3) Part-exchange the car for a new (or newer) one. The dealer will rate your auto's value and look after the fund payout. If your car is worth more than the GMFV, you may use the gap (equity) as a deposit on your next vehicle.

The PCP is best suited for people that want a new or near-new automobile and completely intend to change it in the end of the agreement (or maybe even sooner). For a personal purchaser, it usually ends up cheaper than a rental or contract hire finance merchandise. You are not tied into return to the identical manufacturer or automobile for your next car, as any dealer can pay out the fund for your car and complete the arrangement on your behalf. It is also good for buyers who would like a more expensive automobile with a lower cashflow than is usually possible with an HP.

The drawback of a PCP is the fact that it will lock you into a cycle of changing your car every couple of years to avoid a huge payout at the conclusion of the arrangement (the GMFV). Earning money to cover the GMFV and keep the car usually gives you a monthly payment that's extremely bit more affordable than starting again on a new PCP using a new automobile, therefore it almost always transforms the owner into replacing it with a different vehicle. For this reason, manufacturers and traders love PCPs since it keeps you coming back every 3 decades rather than maintaining your car for 5-10 years!

What is a Lease Purchase?

An LP is a bit of a hybrid between an HP and a PCP. You have a deposit and low monthly payments such as a PCP, with a large final payment at the end of the arrangement. But, unlike a PCP, this final payment (often called a balloon) isn't guaranteed. This means that if your vehicle is worth less than the sum owing and you want to sell/part-exchange it, you would need to pay out any gap (called negative equity) before even considering paying a deposit on your next vehicle.

Read the fine print

What is absolutely essential for anybody purchasing a car on finance would be to read the contract and think about it carefully before signing anything. Lots of folks make the mistake of buying a car on finance and then end up being not able to create their monthly payments. Given your finance period may last for the next five years, it is critical that you carefully consider what might happen in your life over those next five years. Many heavily-financed sports cars have needed to be returned, often with serious financial consequences for the owners, because of unexpected pregnancies!

As part of purchasing a car on financing, you need to consider and discuss all of the a variety of financing options available and be aware of the pros and cons of different automobile finance products to ensure you're making educated decisions about your money.

Stuart Masson is founder and proprietor of The Car Expert, a London-based unbiased and independent car buying agency for anybody looking to purchase a new or used car.

Originally from Australia, Stuart has had a passion for cars and the automotive industry for almost thirty decades, and has spent the last seven years working in the automotive retail industry, both in Australia and in London. For more information, check getmyoffers capital one review.

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Bruce Pearl amazingly has Auburn at 10-1 only a few weeks after his job was in peril

There are many folks in school basketball amazed at Bruce Pearl’s scenario proper now. As soon as considered in peril of dropping his job, Auburn’s coach has as an alternative twisted his destiny.

It actually regarded like Pearl’s job was in jeopardy in the previous couple of months, together with when it was reported that Pearl was refusing to participate in Auburn’s personal inner inquiry after an FBI probe  into corruption implicated one in all his assistants. Nonetheless, Pearl advised CBS Sports activities he’s now cooperating with the colleges investigation. And with a 10-1 report, Pearl has the group in a greater place than most would have thought attainable a couple of weeks in the past. 

How did it occur? Let’s roll again a bit. As a result of if you would like an inside look as to how hypothesis bubbled behind the scenes in school hoops, that is the broad view. 

On Oct. 2, Louisville started the formal technique of divorcing itself from Corridor of Famer Rick Pitino. Two weeks later, he was formally fired. And whereas the smoldering stays of Pitino’s legacy emanated out of his former dwelling metropolis, school basketball coaches, media, officers — so many inside the sport — questioned who was going to be the following to go.

This FBI’s unprecedented case that pulled the curtain again on a few of school basketball’s corrupt recruiting habits wasn’t going to merely declare only one head coach’s job, was it? So who was subsequent? 

The title that was most loosely, presumptively tossed round was Pearl’s. It was Auburn legend Chuck Particular person, who labored beneath Pearl as an assistant, that confronted significantly intense expenses on behalf of the federal authorities. Particular person’s alleged to have schemed with center males for private revenue whereas recruiting gamers to Auburn for the long run achieve of monetary advisers. Ugly. Plus Pearl has the scarlet letter, a earlier show-cause penalty from the NCAA to his title, courting again to his time at Tennessee when he lied to NCAA investigators concerning the particulars of a cookout he had at his home that additionally served as backdrop for an unlawful recruiting soirée. 

That alone may have been sufficient to get Pearl pink-slipped earlier than the season began. He made for a straightforward candidate however was completely insistent he was not aware of or conscious of something Particular person had performed. Auburn’s quietly management stood by him. Then, earlier than the Tigers’ season started, the group’s roster fell aside. On Nov. 2, this system disclosed that sophomores Danjel Purifoy and Austin Wiley — two of the group’s prime 4 scorers final season — can be indefinitely suspended as their eligibility was reviewed by the varsity. The subsequent day, Auburn introduced that Jay Jacobs, its athletic director and the person who employed Pearl, would quickly be retiring. 

There’s nonetheless extra. 

In mid-November, a report claimed that Pearl was not cooperating with Auburn’s investigation. Pearl advised CBS Sports activities on Wednesday that the reporting, to an extent, lacked readability and accuracy. 

“A few of what we have been going by way of throughout our investigation, that ought to have remained non-public,” Pearl stated. “A few of what was reported — a few of it was incorrect. Hey, we made some errors and we’re attempting to get our program in good standing. We’re cooperating.” 

By “we” Pearl means he and his authorized illustration have made themselves of service to Auburn’s investigation. That could possibly be what’s allowed him to maintain his job. That and the truth that Auburn’s off to its finest begin in 18 years and using its longest profitable streak (eight video games) because the 2002-03 season.

Right here we’re, the week of Christmas. Wiley and Purifoy are nonetheless in eligibility limbo, Jacobs is getting ready to transition to retirement, and never solely is Pearl nonetheless on the job however he is making an early case for Coach of the Yr consideration. 

Shorthanded, neglected Auburn is 10-1 after its highway victory Tuesday night time towards Murray State. It is no small deal; Murray State’s acquired shot to win the OVC and make the NCAA Event come March. Auburn was the primary SEC program to play at Murray State in 20 years. Pearl scheduled the sport initially to spice up his group’s non-conference popularity. It is going to wind up paying off big-time come March. 

“I can not get family names to go to Auburn,” he stated. 

Auburn received the sport regardless of having six scholarship gamers accessible within the ultimate minutes. Forty % of Pearl’s victories this season have come on highway and impartial courts. Auburn’s a top-40 group at KenPom.com and is in place to compete in an improved, deep SEC. Extremely, Pearl has solely helped in job safety regardless of missing two crucial gamers and being handcuffed by accidents to others. Undefeated Arizona State is essentially the most stunning group this season, however Auburn’s not far behind.

How’s he performed it? From an X’s-and-O’s perspective, Pearl’s by no means had this many gamers return from the yr earlier than since he acquired to Auburn in 2014. 

Nothing has come straightforward for Bruce Pearl this season. USATSI

“Yearly’s been a rebuild,” Pearl advised CBS Sports activities on Wednesday. “Final yr I had 4 freshmen starters that led the group in scoring, together with Purifoy and Wiley, however now we now have 5 youngsters again that performed final yr, and so the issues that ailed us — whether or not it’s our drop-back protection, our rebounding, our free-throw taking pictures — they have been areas we actually focused within the offseason. We stated, ‘Look, if we will preserve doing what we’re doing offensively after which tighten up these areas, take into consideration how anymore video games we will win.”

Essentially the most unlikely bump in manufacturing has include Auburn’s offensive rebounding. Final season the group ranked 135th in crashing the offensive glass. This season they’re No. eight, in accordance with KenPom.com. And that is with 6-foot-Three DeSean Murray taking part in energy ahead. Pearl calls Murray the perfect 6-Three energy ahead within the nation, and he is in all probability proper. This complete scenario is unparalled, but it surely’s working. Auburn has been pressured to play undersized and it is not but stopped Pearl from having his finest begin personally since 2007-08, when Tennessee famously acquired to No. 1 within the polls after beating No. 1 Memphis. The Vols wound up with a No. 2 seed that season. 

“I like Auburn and I need to end my profession right here, however I am not excited by ending it this yr.”Bruce Pearl

One of many issues Bruce’s son Steven reminded him of earlier this season was about these actually good Tennessee groups. They weren’t simply athletic, however they have been powerful — even when often undersized.

“A yr in the past we weren’t as disciplined offensively,” Pearl stated. “That is primary. The second, concerning the personnel, the 4 newcomers (Chuma Okeke, Davion Mitchell, Malik Dunbar and Murray) are all bodily gamers.”

Purifoy and Wiley have been capable of follow, and that is been enormous, too. The group’s stayed sharp by having two guys on the B group who would usually be beginning. 

“From their standpoint, they’re staying proper they usually’re staying prepared and making progress academically,” Pearl stated of Wiley and Purifoy’s dilemma. “At this level they’ve missed over a 3rd of the season. They’re each Alabama youngsters that got here to Auburn to show issues round. Austin’s a legacy, each dad and mom performed right here. Danjel was a kind of Alabama youngsters who liked Auburn. You realize what that is like within the state, it is uncommon. They’re heartbroken. It is so troublesome for them to maintain their heads up, and naturally, individuals are going to evaluate them they usually’ve acquired a sure degree of accountability, and that is for positive. I hope we will get them again. They’re doing every part they will to get themselves into place to get them again.” 

As of now, each are nonetheless going by way of what Pearl described because the question-and-answer part. There isn’t any timeline for when or if both will return to the ground this season. Their circumstances may nonetheless decide Pearl’s destiny, too.  

“I’ve all the time maintained a degree of optimism and belief within the course of,” Pearl added. “I really take a look at them as victims.” 

For all of his skeptics and critics, the fact is that this: Bruce Pearl has coached Auburn to the purpose the place it is anticipated to beat UConn, a program that is received extra nationwide championships than any program prior to now 25 years. That is who’s subsequent. The Huskies face the Tigers on Saturday. Auburn received in OT at UConn final yr. Now Tiger followers expect a profitable streak. That is a commentary on why Pearl was delivered to Auburn within the first place. It is messy, it is controversial, however Auburn is related and charging into 2018 with optimism not even Pearl may have conjured again within the fall. 

“They don’t seem to be the identical UConn group of the previous however they have a fantastic coach and acquired a few nice particular participant — and dimension,” Pearl stated. “UConn’s a scary group as a result of they do have some large items. They have been higher with Alterique Gilbert on the ground as a result of he was a fantastic extension of coach (Kevin) Ollie. Proper now they’re within the technique of reinventing themselves. However they have the items, there is not any query. What is going on to be completely different about them vs. each group within the SEC is they have actual dimension, actual personnel, and for us there is not any margin for error.”

Pearl’s been teaching with basically no margin for error day by day because the FBI story broke. In some way, with out a senior on the roster and with investigators hovering over, he is turned this into top-of-the-line teaching productions of his profession. 

“We’re 10-1,” Pearl stated. “When your group’s taking part in onerous and taking part in collectively, each coach’s job safety is best. I like Auburn and I need to end my profession right here, however I am not excited by ending it this yr.”

Wiley and Purifoy sit in purgatory. Pearl is on the precipice of placing Auburn again into the High 25. Regardless of the FBI’s investigation set out on doing, it hasn’t stopped one of many recreation’s most exuberant coaches from pulling off the unbelievable. In opposition to the chances, right here goes Pearl once more, and he won’t go quietly. 

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Frankenstein, Androids, Aliens, and Covenant

May 19th, 2017 marked the end of the 1806 day mark between the movie Prometheus and its successor Alien: Covenant, not that I was counting. I remember when I was a kid, watching the movie Alien with my father, what I remember most is hiding under his desk and watching because I was scared out of my mind, and I remember loving every second of it. When I had heard Alien: Covenant was coming out I made seeing it in theater on the top of my list. It is shameful to admit, but I saw the movie on the 15th of June, nearly a month after its release. I enjoyed the movie enormously, so much so that two days later I saw it again so that I might see what had previously been overlooked by me. After basking in the glow of the film it occurred to me to go online and see what others had thought of the movie. I was surprised to see ratings lower than what I had thought they would have been; what was (in my mind, in ways I will describe herein) a movie that deserved a rating of at least 93% was barely breaking half that with a lot of reviewers. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and I both respect and relish the dialogue that comes between differing opinions, but what I found most alarming in the reviews was not the fact it was rated so low but that reviewers seemed to completely miss the fact of what the movie was really about. In what follows I hope to shed light on what was missed by reviewers and what was meant in Mr. Scott, Mr. Logan, and Mr. Harper’s vision.

A return to form for both Scott and the series: a hard-R horror movie, featuring ferocious, acid-dripping space crustaceans, a tough female lead and a bunch of dead-meat crew members.

Peter Debruge, Variety (full review here.)

Alien: Covenant plays it safe by mashing together the best elements of previous Alien films, delivering a solid sci-fi horror/thriller in the process.

Sandy Schaefer, Screen Rant (full review here.)

Of the many reviews given for this movie I have chosen to demonstrate these two for two reasons: Both reviews sing the movies praise well, as fans (or at least appreciators) of the series, Peter and Sandy both give honest and fair reviews of the movie noticing many of the same nuances that the movie was going for, and yet they both did the very same thing, which is as vexing as it is curious. Both reviewers spent only a singular paragraph on the crux of the movie. The heart and the soul of the movie was either lost on them or not fully appreciated the way it was intended.

Before reviewing the movie there are a few things to consider:

1. Extratextual relations between other pieces of film and writing

2. What these prequels aim to represent.

For those unaware:

     A. Prometheus is the name of both the movie proceeding Alien: Covenant

     B. The name of the Greek titan that attempted to give fire to humans only to fail and be punished by Zeus

     C. The original name of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (originally entitled, The Modern Day Prometheus).

The first movie focuses so heavily around the idea of finding creation/creators among the stars, a question and a nagging that has plagued humankind since first we became self-aware. Prometheus acts more like a Frankenstein rewrite than it may first appear. Without analyzing each scene there are two sections which stand out as heavy threads tying the pieces together.

1. I am most notably referring to their snippy dialogue between David (Michael Fassbender) and Dr. Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) (which was reminiscent, to me, of Montag and Beatty’s back and forth in Fahrenheit 451) but most specifically the part right as David exposes Dr. Holloway to the weaponized virus. There are two points of dialogue that lead toward Alien: Covenant:

     A. Holloway: Pour yourself a glass.

David: I am afraid it would be wasted on me.

H: I almost forgot, you aren’t a real boy.

     B. H: We wanted to come out here and meet our makers. Ask them why they even made us in the first place.

D: Why do you think your people made me?

H: We made you because we could.

D: Can you imagine how disappointing it would be for you, to hear the same thing from your creators?

The antagonism of a human toward an android, specifically to delegitimize its existence, is a slap in the face of any sentience never the less an individual who knows they are synthetic. David even attempts levity/empathy in his response initially, only to have Holloway thwart it. The situation contains a kernel of irony to it.

     C. Holloway is a scientist and is pursuing the truth about the origins of the human race, even at this moment where empathy would be the most accessible instead he remains stalwart.

His insistence on refusing to present empathy acts as a declaration of war for David, this opposite force refuses to show compassion and understanding which frees his mind from moral responsibility.

2. The idea of identity/purpose.

     A. David is an android created in the image of man (named after the statue David), yet he is constantly reminded of how he will never be quite human; he exists as an anomaly outside of the natural order.

     B. Ironically, Dr. Holloway is attempting to find the origins of human existence and prove human life is not a random anomaly, this only makes his words more disparaging. However, it is also quite meta and well done. David is exactly right in his last line of dialogue above, he is in that moment feeling the disappointment of not being accepted. He has come eye to eye with discovering purpose but is rebuked.

     C. Both men look at their creators as their creators look upon them with blithe objectivity. They are the same (in essence) and yet Dr. Holloway believes himself to be superior (though, as a human I would argue he really isn’t at all).

This dialogue, these thoughts, carry over into Alien: Covenant in a big way.

1. When Walter first meets David, David comments on Walter’s “interface”, Walter said David was too human and thusly a failure, whereas, David laughs at Walter who is more of a robot in the conventional sense of the word.

     A. This, again, has ties into Frankenstein, when Victor first sees the “monster” standing over him he sees a grotesque human above him and it frightens him. He used beautiful human parts, hoping to make a beautiful human, but due to the principal of the “uncanny valley”* he is instead revolted by him/it.

     B. David represents a psychological uncanny valley, this is best demonstrated in Prometheus.

          i. David puts on his helmet before the team embarks onto the planet’s surface Dr. Holloway asks him why he is doing it if he doesn’t need to breathe, David says it is to make him look more human, or it would turn humans off more.

2. The irony builds when Dr. Holloway sees the remnants of those he believes created him and human life, creatures that reside deep in the uncanny valley, but isn’t revolted by them, rather in awe of them. This point is where David and he no longer see eye to eye.

     A. David (though never stating it) knows he is superior to humans. This is demonstrated in the opening to Alien: Covenant, when David is talking to Weyland, and proves himself capable to dissecting Weyland’s thoughts on God and is able to turn them back on himself. There is another important aspect to that scene, however; after David reverses the conversation Weyland orders him to get him a cup of tea. This aspect reminded me of BioShock, specifically when Andrew Ryan is confronted by the player, he asks what makes a man a man and what makes a slave a slave. He concludes, “A man chooses, a slave obeys.” The first rule of creating is try to “show” and not “tell”. Without the use of words explicitly stating it, Weyland performs a power check, the implication is that no matter what David thinks, ultimately, he is nothing more than a slave, an object, to his creator. With the reveal at the end of Prometheus is that really any different from how the engineers see us?

All of this leads to the heart of the new trilogy that Ridley Scott is presenting, what makes Alien: Covenant one of the best movies to come out in 2017.

1. David and Elizabeth are the sole survivors of the ship Prometheus at the end of the film, the last image we see is Elizabeth piloting an alien craft heading for the engineers’ home planet. This in of itself is a bold statement and pretty interesting (if I can be indulged a tangent for a moment). Elizabeth laments at the end of Prometheus the fact her boyfriend/lover and everyone else who put their faith into her is dead, their blood is on her hands. Foolishly enough, her intention is to go to the engineer planet and ask them, Why? I believe this is a statement in human tenacity, but in reality, it is a very stupid move. Rather than warn humans there is a threat which is attempting to kill us, she essentially sacrifices herself for no reason; her death was obvious even before Covenant came out.

B. David, alone, survives on this planet, the engineer home world, for ten years until the events of Covenant transpire. If Prometheus, Covenant, and the third (as of yet, unknown) movies are telling the same story, then Covenant is Act 2. Act 2 must conclude on the all is lost moment, which it does, and Prometheus must end on the point of no return (which, again, it does).

Covenant is where the motifs become unavoidable. I want to start with, what I believe, is one of the most interesting parts of the movie. As David remembers killing the engineers with their own weapon he quotes an old old poem by the name, Ozymandias. Most specifically he quotes:

My name is Ozymandias, King of kings,

Look upon my works, ye mighty, and despair!

however, he has not fully quoted the poem. Walter ends his quotation.

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.

This part is enormously important coupled with what directly follows, David improperly attributes the poem to Lord Byron when the poem was actually written by Percy Shelley, who is, of course, Mary Shelley’s husband. This is important multi-fold:

1. It shows David’s desire/driving force toward creating. One of the first thing he does with Walter is show him he is incapable of creating (in the form of music). Walter seems indifferent to this fact, yet the fact David presents this idea to Walter with no prompting cements two points:

     A. He sees creation as the ultimate thing a lifeform can do: to create is to live eternally. Ironic, being he is an android, but the point remains, his desire to be a human (or more accurately, an equal) is something that every living being fights for at one point of their life. Comments from people like Dr. Holloway (which are stand ins for racial and societal and gender prejudices) are a constant reminder of his inorganic nature.

     B. He hopes to enlist Walter’s help in killing and fighting the humans, in becoming something bigger and better than them. He seeks to transcend into a God (i.e. Alien: COVENANT), he is sympathetic to the plight of his kin, but as we see at the end won’t let “petty morality” stand in the way of his vision. He chooses the part of the poem with the biggest emphasis, but it is, perhaps, the most inappropriate part of the poem for him to quote; Percy seems to be mocking Ozymandias in his poem, he sees the inscription spoken in such a monolithic way yet he sees what remains, which is nothing. Desert, desolation. It, perhaps, foreshadows David’s dreams, which will crash to nothing.

1. It shows how he views his goals, how firmly he believes he is doing what is right and noble and mighty.

2. Most importantly, it shows just how much he has begun to lose it. This part is a nod to the audience to show David is not “firing on all cylinders”. He was incorrect in attributing the poem with the proper author. It demonstrates one of two things.

     A. David has gotten so out of control he no longer knows how to “express” himself or his revenge.

     B. How misguided he is. He neglects the rest of the poem to focus on the parts which serve his ideals best. He doesn’t heed the rest of the poem with shows the folly of Ozymandias’ words.

The point I want to make, and the point which seems to have been lost on the viewers (or at least the reviewers) of the movie is that Ridley Scott has not returned to anything with the movie. This is not a return to alien monsters and “dead meat crew members”. Arguably, the xenomorphs had little to nothing to do with this installation of the series. What makes this movie great is the morph David has made which makes him one of the most unique androids in fiction. Last year I wrote a piece about androids, it was well received, but my teacher made a great point: Androids have been done to death. Most people (who have thought about the subject) have a stance on whether or not they believe that androids are living or not, in order for android fiction to advance someone needs to view them in a new light, as more complicated questions to receive more harrowing answers. This, I believe, is what Ridley Scott has done, he has breathed new life into Aliens (as well as androids) with one desiring to create.

1. Would creation be a step closer to humanhood, but more importantly, wouldn’t an android be able to create better than a human ever could?

2. Animals reproduce with the careful precision of computers, taking little pleasure in it as humans do; is the act of creation even special if all living species can do it?

3. Is it worth fretting over?

4. Or is it the closest to God we can get?

*The uncanny valley, for those unaware, is a principal in which the closer something looks to human, but isn’t quite right, the more it freaks us out. An example, Michael Myers mask from Halloween, it is close to human, but the features aren’t quite right, it is obnoxiously pale and blank. We see something we recognize, but it isn’t all there, and so we fear what is close to us but isn’t.

[coltonkong151-blog]

DC braces for more than 2 feet of snow as powerful storm hits

The front end of the monster blizzard that's expected for you to impact greater than 70 million individuals began dumping snow on the nation's capital Friday, being an army associated with plows fought to keep open up main arteries along with transportation techniques for any specified duration to allow thousands of workers to obtain home before the worst hit. Officials say Washington's Metro subway product is set to be able to shut down completely late Friday night along with remain closed via Sunday for your safety of workers and also riders. Underground stations usually remain open up in the actual program of significant snowstorms. Mayor Muriel Bowser urged government workers to become able to head house through the early afternoon, warning the actual storm had "life and also death implications." Tens regarding thousands of individuals crowded into the airports. A Amount Of 2,900 flights were canceled for Friday, most in Charlotte and also Raleigh, North Carolina. thousands more were delayed. More than 3,300 flights had been canceled for Saturday, which includes almost all flights into and also out of Philadelphia International Airport. Almost All significant airlines have got issued waivers for journey over the particular weekend, permitting passengers to rebook onto earlier or perhaps later flights in order to prevent the storms. The storm is anticipated hitting places round the nation's money your hardest, dropping greater than 2 feet involving snow. Philadelphia could simply get 12 to always be able to 18 inches along with The Large Apple 8 in order to 10, although some forecasts suggest even more, National Weather Services forecaster Daniel Peterson said. "This might be likely being one of the extremely best three snowfalls regarding all-time for Washington," he added. Train support might be disrupted by simply frozen switches, loosing third-rail electric power as well as trees falling upon wires. Across the region, monitor workers, power business employees, road crew members, firefighters and other first-responders had been mobilized for your long weekend. Within new York City, 79 subway software defined data centre trains will have "scraper shoes" to cut back icing upon rails, the actual Metropolitan Transit Authority said. Conditions rapidly became treacherous as the storm moved northeast. Arkansas along with Tennessee got eight inches; Kentucky got greater than a new foot, as well as states across the Deep South grappled along with icy, snow-covered roads as well as energy outages. From least eight people died within visitors fatalities within the hazardous weather. The National Weather service issued blizzard warnings stretching via northern Virginia in order to areas of New York's Lengthy Island, the spot where the U.S. Coast Guard warned seas could swell as much as 18 feet. the blizzard warnings tend to be scheduled in order to last until early Sunday. Gov. Chris Christie declared a situation associated with emergency within Nj-new Jersey late Friday and also stated roadways had been pre-brined yet suggested people stay home about Saturday. Forecasters in addition warned involving "thundersnow," an unsafe sort of thunderstorm that will drops snow rather than rain. "The many intense a component of the storm will come Saturday morning coming from around 4 a.m. via 12 p.m," said Fox 5 DC meteorologist Gary McGrady. "We may anticipate hefty snow, potentially 2 inches for each hour, along with blizzard circumstances along with 30 in order to 35 mph winds creating genuine whiteout conditions." McGrady additional which his forecast called regarding between 1 and two feet involving snow in order to fall inside the national richesse region before just about all ended up being said and also done. That identical storm systemdropped six inches regarding snow inside the Small Rock region overnight, breaking the snowfall record set a lot more than twenty years ago. Educational institutions while stating government offices in central Arkansas shut upon Friday. The Actual state's largest utility, Entergy Arkansas, stated concerning 12,500 homes and also organizations lost power The Mid-Atlantic region is actually notorious with regard to struggling to handle winter weather, along with alight dusting upon Wednesday nightserved as a possible ominous prelude for the enormous blizzard. Less than an inch associated with snow has been adequate in order to right away turn roadways treacherous inside the District, Maryland along with northern Virginia, causing countless accidents and also leaving drivers gridlocked pertaining to hours. President Obama wasn't spared, as his motorcade gradually weaved and skidded along icy streets to the White House. The U.S. Capitol Police stated sledding on Capitol Hill -- that only not too long ago became legal right after an act involving Congress -- would be welcome for your first-time throughout decades, for as long as conditions are usually safe. Even the commencement of the snowstorm couldn't keep a few tourists coming from coming to end up being able to the White House. On Friday afternoon, a number of groups and couples had been strolling inside the park facing the mansion, and furthermore the fountain inside the home's yard was nevertheless being spraying water. Newlyweds Stefan Tomic along with Cherokee Tomic, both 22, were traveling to via Ny and also had just arrived within the town Friday by simply bus. they said they didn't wish to alter their plans simply because of the elements and also that will their very first quit had been the White House. "We're just going to possess fun," Cherokee Tomic said. As way south as Atlanta, everyone was urged to be able to go home and also stay there to stay away from a new repeat of the city's "icepocalypse," when a pretty light winter storm inside 2014 caused commuter chaos regarding days. NWS Director LouisUccellini warned at a information conference that the snowfall could simply trigger more than $1 billion within damage and also paralyze the Eastern third in the nation. "It does hold the potential to be an very dangerous storm which could affect greater than 50 million people," Uccellini said at the service's Weather Prediction Middle software defined data center within University Park, Maryland. The Connected Press contributed for you to this report. Click for additional from Fox 5 DC.

[geniuszone-blog]

New Post has been published on Geniuszone

New Post has been published on https://geniuszone.biz/hungary-the-war-on-education/

Hungary: The War on Education

Is a crackdown on universities the present day addition to the increasing number of the sophisticated repertoire of proper wing populism?

  Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, lengthy a pioneer in anti-liberal authorities in Europe and an admirer of Donald Trump, is making a bet that it is—with implications that go far beyond Hungary’s borders. At issue is a new law aimed at shutting down the Central European University (CEU) in Budapest, founded and endowed by way of George Soros, the Hungarian-American hedge fund supervisor, and philanthropist. But it is actually part of a bigger lifestyle war in opposition to liberal values in addition to very concrete tries to carry any independent institutions remaining in Hungary underneath Orbán’s control. Both the European Parliament and American State Department have referred to as for the suspension of the new law. But it isn’t always clear they can prevent him.

  In current years, Orbán has moved Hungary map cities in an extra authoritarian direction than another European use. Since 2010, he has written a brand new constitution, enfeebled the judiciary, put lots of the information media beneath the control of presidency-friendly oligarchs, and created a gadget of crony capitalism wherein financial achievement relies upon increasingly on connections to his birthday party. He has also taken an exceptionally difficult line in opposition to refugees, constructing a fence with Serbia and walking government-backed campaigns that painting all asylum seekers as “unlawful immigrants” posing a risk to the state’s Christian European identity.

  One could have a notion that the kingdom’s nicely-being is, in reality, a whole lot more endangered via Orbán’s drastic reductions in training budgets in any respect degrees; rare is a government in these days global that appears decided to make society much less smart. The wide variety of university college students has been declining dramatically on account that 2010; meanwhile, the age at which college students can legally go away college has been diminished from eighteen to 16. Orbán, as a part of his self-professed turn to “illiberalism,” has put forward the notion of a “paintings-primarily based state.” In concept, this kind of nation is the opposite of a policy where economic speculation generates most of the wealth. In exercise, this idea has intended public works applications—specially for Roma—that critics view as highly exploitative; it has additionally ended in an attempt to create a staff often of guide workers, in which everybody knows their location and can at most aspire to employment by means of German industry (Mercedes is presently spending 1000000000 euros on a brand new plant in principal lonely planet Hungary).

education

Orbán’s birthday celebration has for years tried to gain manager of u . S .’s institutions of better schooling. It now appoints effective chancellors and attempts to form what’s taught via the accreditation method (it has additionally issued a brand new, fantastically nationalist curriculum for colleges). But one island of independence and critical thought remained: the CEU, a group of graduate have a look at based in 1991, with 1,440 students, and prominent school from around the arena.

  On March 28, a member of Orbán’s Fidesz Party added an amendment to Hungary’s better-education regulation inside the Hungarian parliament that pursuits efficiently to shut down the CEU. Treated as a count number of country-wide emergency, the measure surpassed inside every week. And despite an international hurricane of protest by means of college presidents, twenty-4 Noble Prize winners, and politicians on each sides of the Atlantic—now not to mention demonstrations eighty,000-strong at the streets of Budapest—it became quickly signed into law with the aid of Hungary’s president, János Áder, a close best friend of Orbán.

  The new regulation makes no direct point out of the CEU. It stipulates most effective that a college permitted in a non-European u. S . That belongs to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has to function a complete campus in its region of starting place with a purpose to be able to award degrees in the tourist map of Hungary. Only one institution healthy the invoice: the CEU, which has a constitution from the country of New York, however, does no coaching or studies within the US. The regulation additionally set an impossibly tight closing date for organizing an American campus, making sure that the CEU might no longer be able to be given new college students by means of the beginning of 2018.

war

Fidesz politicians did little to hide the actual motivation of the regulation. For years, Soros, the CEU’s founder, has been selling the values of the open society: liberty, tolerance, and the guideline of law. But, although authorities spokespeople most effective ever name it “Soros University,” he does now not manipulate the CEU from behind the scenes, not to mention use it as a political device. He has sponsored NGOs that are seeking to protect human rights and fight corruption in Hungary. And Soros has made the case that Europe needs to set a reputable, enormously low target for an annual intake of refugees – though mainly to discourage desperate hungary people from making the often lethal journey across the Mediterranean. A few weeks before the change to the higher training act turned into introduced, Mária Schmidt, a historian close to the authorities, attacked the CEU for coaching gender research; a seasoned government newspaper charged that the college turned into firing college surely due to the fact they were Hungarians.

  The government’s propaganda gadget has also tried to tie the CEU, one of the global’s maximum various universities—students come from a hundred and fifteen countries—to migration, which in flip is unavoidably related to the danger of terrorism.

  Already, at the beginning of this year, Szilárd Németh, a vice-president of the ruling birthday party Fidesz, had threatened that the state might use “all of the gear at its disposal” to “sweep out” the NGOs funded by Soros; consistent with Németh, they “serve international capitalists and returned political correctness over country wide governments.” During the parliamentary debate at the invoice, Zoltán Balog, the “minister of human assets” (which includes schooling), charged that Soros had “begun a global smear marketing campaign” in opposition to Hungary and that the international protests simplest discovered “the strength of his community.”

  However, Orbán seems to have miscalculated the volume to which his attack on Soros might be supported by using the Trump administration. Fidesz spokespeople kept emphasizing that the CEU can be stored if Hungary and “the American authorities” negotiated a brand new global treaty concerning its operations. Clearly, Orbán hoped that he and Trump may sit down collectively and humiliate Soros. Indeed, Trump isn’t any friend of Soros, who has supported many Democratic applicants and anticipated that the actual estate developer could fail disastrously as a president. And Orbán successfully encouraged Trump remaining summer—the primary European leader to do. But he has been waiting in useless for any form of political praise.

  No one in Budapest seems to have noticed that inside the US universities aren’t the commercial enterprise of the federal government (and that, anyhow, because the Hungarian-American historian Charles Gati put it, no American president will spend greater than half an hour on Hungary—in step with yr). Even conservatives inside the US did no longer just like the look of an American institution overseas getting closed; with senators including John McCain and Orrin Hatch is known as on Orbán to barter with the CEU. After all, if the CEU goes, how can American universities in Beirut and Cairo be safe? Even Trump’s State Department has reacted more strongly—at least first of all—than many of its European counterparts.

  Meanwhile, alternatively of having popular support from Hungarians themselves for attacking an exceptionally privileged institution, the Fidesz authorities has faced blistering opposition. According to a few estimates, the protests against the CEU crackdown in April have been the biggest demonstrations in Hungary in view that Orbán got here to strength in 2010. In the protests I witnessed, excessive college students walked along instructors and aged couples; the atmosphere was critical, but no longer anxious, and demonstrators extremely joyful in playful humor and satire. Government-friendly media defined that each one the protesters have been paid and flown in via Soros; quickly after, the demonstrators commenced to hold up paper airplanes with “Soros Airlines” written on them and chanted “We got here via aircraft,” and someone positioned a signal saying “private jet” on an old bicycle. Just as inside the US, a few Hungarian conservatives—along with main figures in nation universities—have been deeply concerned with the aid of the larger implications of the brand new higher-training regulation and defended the CEU as “one in all Hungary’s doorways to the world.” Unlike those in the US, they needed to take real private dangers to say publicly that Orbán had at ultimate crossed a line.

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The protests have endured and by way of now are a good deal greater than the CEU.

  Citizens are calling for the recovery of the rule of regulation and are criticizing Orbán’s increasingly more near family members with Vladimir Putin (from whom Hungary obtained an extensive loan to renovate and amplify a nuclear strength plant). The government, in turn, has widened its attack on civil society, introducing a regulation that could require NGOs to sign really whether they get hold of overseas funding—an method pioneered by using Putin that could similarly goal Soros-sponsored initiatives in Hungary. As a government representative defined, “It’s now not a bad element if there’s a little big name or remark which explains whether this agency is supported by George Soros or no longer.”

  Crucially, the European Union has done little so far to rein in the Hungarian government.

  Orbán remains protected from powerful pressure from Brussels due to the fact he is a member of the European People’s Party, the biggest global group of strongly seasoned-European Christian Democrat parties inside the European Parliament. Helmut Kohl famously said that Christian Democrats had no longer constructed Europe to then go away it to socialists—so having a large majority in the European Parliament by way of including big countrywide events like Fidesz has lengthy been of best importance to the EPP. Orbán’s antics—authoritarianism at home and competitive rhetoric in opposition to Angela Merkel’s refugee guidelines abroad—have frequently strained his relations with the EPP. But ultimately, after rebuking him mildly, the EPP has always looked the alternative manner.

  Orbán, really questioning that Trump’s victory has tested his anti-refugee stance, is now creating a bid to come to be the leader of Europe’s middle-right as an entire. In his speech at an EPP Congress in Malta in March, he advertised his vision of a “Christian, national” Europe. His inflammatory language approximately the left allegedly destroying Europe by means of letting in as many Muslims as possible was once heard most effective on the long way right. But this modified at some stage in the refugee disaster in 2015, while Hungary erected a fence on its southern border to preserve out Syrian refugees arriving through the Balkans. Angela Merkel’s coalition accomplice, the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), kept inviting Orbán to put stress on Merkel to abandon refugee-pleasant guidelines. For Germany, that’s facing a critical election of its very own this yr, the outcomes of courting Orbán can be large than they appear, lots as British conservatives discovered with Nigel Farage and Brexit.

  For its component, the Hungarian authorities have long believed that tons political capital can be received with the aid of attacking Brussels.

  The assault on the CEU coincided with it seems that anti-EU domestic campaign under the banner “Let’s Stop Brussels.

  ” Officially, this marketing campaign is supplied as a “country-wide session,” with 8 million citizens receiving a questionnaire with fairly manipulative questions. They advise that the EU wants to impose better taxes on Hungary and settle illegal immigrants within u . S .. Many Hungarian observers have commented at the irony of such a campaign in a place where price range from the EU quantity to five.Five percent of GDP and 60 percentage of jobs rely upon the not unusual European market. Posters pronouncing “Let’s Stop Brussels” have regarded in the front of other authentic government billboards explaining that “this health facility is being renovated with the help of the European Union.”

  This blatant hypocrisy has tested too much for the European Commission. The EU’s government body published a factor with the aid of point refutation of the campaign’s fake claims (even as some of the protesters in Hungary genuinely changed the posters to study “Let’s Stop Moscow”). Brussels has additionally begun a criminal technique, claiming that the anti-CEU invoice violated both EU law regulating the common market—such as freedom to offer offerings—and fundamental EU values which include academic freedom. The EU commissioner providing the case, the Dutch Social Democrat Frans Timmermans, turned into spoke back inside the European Parliament through Orbán himself, who another time charged that his country needed to be defended towards an American speculator who had ruined the lives of tens of millions. Timmermans, in an interview with a German weekly, said that Orbán’s rhetoric turned into anti-Semitic.

  At a critical meeting in Brussels at the give up of April, the EPP leaders seemed to let Orbán off the hook one more time.

  “They informed me to act,” Orbán said to a reporter from The Economist in a while, theatrically snapping to attention. To Hungarian newshounds, he explained that he could continue the fight for the united states’ country wide pastimes. The EPP leaders had also taken Orbán to undertaking for the “Stop Brussels” marketing campaign (which the Hungarian top minister disingenuously defined as a great religion contribution to reforming the EU). The equal weekend because of the EPP meeting, a brand new advert aired on Hungarian TV, suggesting that Brussels bureaucrats, supported by way of Soros, were seeking to force Hungary to soak up greater illegal immigrants.

  In view of this regular escalation of Orbán’s attacks on the EU, a number of his vintage Christian Democratic allies may at ultimate be reconsidering their help. After all, they criticize far-right populists like Marine Le Pen for the use of anti-European language—and Orbán’s language is a whole lot the identical. One EPP baby-kisser called on Orbán’s celebration to “go, simply go.” On May 17, a majority within the European Parliament voted for a resolution to repeal the CEU law, withdraw the law approximately NGOs, and suspend the rights of the Hungarian government inside the EU—a very robust signal, which, however, will don’t have any immediate practical effect. More EPP contributors voted for the resolution or abstained than voted towards—although the chief of the organization, the German CSU flesh-presser Manfred Weber, decided nonetheless to guide Orbán. In the run as much as the federal elections in September, Merkel may be under fire from a rival with impeccable pro-European credentials, the Social Democrat Martin Schulz—a former president of the European Parliament—so she might have each incentive to prove her support of European values through putting off Orbán.

  Contrary to what Orbán suggests (or, alternatively, what he seeks to create via his anti-Brussels campaign), Hungary is with the aid of no measure a country of eurosceptics. The CEU is a symbol of integration into the EU and the West greater extensively. When they joined the Union, Eastern European residents idea they were eventually safe from authoritarianism. In theory as a minimum, that leaves more room for outsiders to stress the government. An exit from the EU, or Huit, is an empty chance, and Hungarians do no longer want to be the black sheep of Europe. The demonstrators preserve shouting “Europa, Europa” and at one point hosted an EU flag on a public constructing (such flags have disappeared from government buildings in Hungary); what’s totally every day, thoroughly left out the symbolism in different EU international locations has come to be a subversive act beneath Orbán.

  Far-proper populists like Orbán usually searching for out disagreement; they want to create an environment where citizens turn out to be convinced that the state is treated via enemies outside and inside. They try and discredit protest with the old Putin (and now Trump) approach of saying that everyone on the street is only a “paid protester,” as Trump placed it in a tweet approximately the demonstrations in opposition to his Muslim travel ban. In a perverse way, protest can be useful for populists; they are able to gloat, as many individuals of the Hungarian authorities now do, that the shadowy networks dedicated to undermining the nation have at last been brought out into the open. Still, populists have to be cautious not to let their culture wars get out of hand. Orbán may additionally well have overreached in beginning confrontations with civil society, the EU, Merkel, and the US suddenly. His ballot numbers have gone down drastically since the attack on the CEU began, and a new birthday party of young liberals referred to as Momentum has truly been emboldened by using the protests. Whether this may suggest a loss at the countrywide elections in 2018 remains dubious. Fidesz has lengthy made positive that electoral legal guidelines and gerrymandering work in its desire and, anyhow, blessings from the truth that the opposition remains fairly fragmented.

  And the CEU?

  Even if the EU institutions, the EPP, and, not least, the US decide to increase the pressure on the Hungarian government, it could nicely be too overdue. For Orbán, the stakes have emerged as very high and very non-public—it’s him towards Soros, the enemy of the state, and his henchmen freely use the language of “struggle.” But Orbán does not even need to win the war; the most effective has to no longer lose it, and time appears to be on his side: in any case, the EU’s criminal methods generally tend to tug on, and the EPP has made it clear that it’s going to now not take any actual motion earlier than the EU has conclusively suggested on Budapest’s compliance, or lack thereof, with EU policies. No college can perform beneath a cloud of uncertainty that may cost it ability college students and college. If the CEU movements—already there is speak of Vienna and Prague as alternative locations—it is going to be to the shame of all folks who consider in liberal democratic ideals. For the primary time in Europe for the reason that World War II, a college will be closed for political motives.

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An Insurance CEO Explains The Dangerous Game Trump Is Playing With Obamacare

President Donald Trump has been threatening to stop making payments to health insurance companies that cover low-income people under Obamacare. Doing so would seriously jeopardize the entire insurance market in ways that could be felt immediately by poor households and the insurers that provide their health benefits.

Although the Trump administration said on Wednesday it wouldn’t cut off these funds ― called cost-sharing reduction payments or CSRs ― immediately, the president still sees them as a cudgel to use against Democrats in Congress. Trump believes the public will blame the party that created Obamacare if he seriously damages the health insurance system, rather than him and his Republican Party.

It’s an enormously complex policy and business issue with the potential for devastating consequences.

The problem dates back three years to a lawsuit House Republicans filed against President Barack Obama’s administration, challenging the legality of the way the federal government paid insurers with low-income customers. Last year, Obama lost that lawsuit and appealed, and the funding remains in jeopardy because Congress hasn’t authorized the spending in the meantime. More than 7 million people ― 58 percent of Obamacare enrollees ― received these subsidies this year.

To help readers better understand what this all means and why it matters, HuffPost interviewed Mario Molina, a physician and the CEO of Molina Healthcare, an insurance company that has more than 1 million customers in nine states with policies from the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges. The following is a transcript of that conversation.

This stuff is complicated. Can you to explain to a layperson what these cost-sharing reduction payments are and why they’re important?

Molina: The cost-sharing reductions are payments that are made to health plans to help cover copays and deductibles for low-income patients who get their health insurance through the exchange. And the way it works is that, let’s say you have a $50 copay. Depending on your income, it may be reduced to $15 with the health plan picking up the balance, which then gets paid to the doctor or the provider that you’re seeing.

The plan is paid by the government, and then any money that is not used for copays and deductibles we must then return. So it’s really not a premium payment so much as it is a reimbursement for subsidies that reduce the out-of-pocket costs to the insured individual.

Why are we talking about this? What’s the problem right now? Why is there a question about whether these payments are going to be made?

The first issue is that many people with low-to-moderate incomes rely on these to help make their insurance more affordable. One of the things that Americans have complained about is the high cost of the copays and deductibles in this program. So this is designed to help them to be able to access doctors in a way that’s more affordable.

The reason that we’re talking about it and why the funding is in question is that there’s an argument between the administration ― the Obama administration, it started out with ― and the Republicans in Congress as to how it would be paid for. The Obama administration felt that it was built into their budget. Congress thought that it was not. So there’s a fight.

It’s a little bit like if I hired someone to paint my house, and then my wife and I argued about who’s going to write the check: Is it coming out of my account or her account? We still owe the painter the money. He did the work. But we’re arguing about whose bank account this is going to come out of. That’s the issue right now.

So we’re looking for Congress to acknowledge that they’re going to pay for it and to fund the program. Right now, the administration continues to pay for it while this is in dispute.

This could result in millions of Americans losing their insurance coverage this year. Mario Molina, CEO of Molina Healthcare

What happens immediately if the administration halts these payments or drops the appeal of the lawsuit that the previous administration lost on this question?

Many people in the insurance industry believe that if the government doesn’t fund this and doesn’t pay the insurance plans, that they will have breached their contract with the insurance plans, and this could result in millions of Americans losing their insurance coverage this year.

What are the bigger, longer-term implications for the entire individual health insurance market ― both for the exchanges and people who buy directly ― if these payments go away, starting with 2018’s market?

The Kaiser Family Foundation has estimated that, without these cost-sharing reductions, premiums will rise by an average of about 20 percent. [Note: The estimate is 19 percent.] So health care will be more expensive in 2018, and many of the insurance companies will drop out because of the uncertainty about the program. Beneficiaries or people seeking insurance could find fewer choices, higher costs ― all because Congress did not fund the program.

How is your company preparing for these eventualities in this climate of uncertainty for what you may do next year, and are there ways the end of these payments would affect Molina differently from other health insurance companies?

What we’re doing to prepare for next year is to develop our premium rates. And we really have to look at this two ways. One is if the CSR is funded and one if it is not. The second question is: Do we even stay in the program at all? And if they’re not funded for 2017, I imagine that we’ll drop out of the program altogether.

It affects all companies, some maybe to a greater extent than others, depending on how many of your members are getting these subsidies. For us, it’s over 70 percent. For some companies, it may be as high as 90 percent. So, the greater the percentage of your members who get these subsidies, the bigger the impact it will be on your health plan. And for us, we simply couldn’t sustain the losses. For us, it would be losses of hundreds of millions of dollars without these payments.

Beneficiaries or people seeking insurance could find fewer choices, higher costs ― all because Congress did not fund the program. Mario Molina, CEO of Molina Healthcare

At this moment, what is your message to the administration and to the Congress about what they should do and when?

My advice to the president and to the Congress is that they should fund the CSRs, which they’re currently paying anyway, for 2017 and 2018 to create stability in the individual insurance market. This will allow them time to come up with some rational changes to the Affordable Care Act to make it more sustainable for the long term. What they really need to do, though, is to buy themselves some time and some stability to have a bipartisan debate about what should be done about the insurance market in the United States.

What happens next, and what will you be looking for in the very near term, in the coming weeks or couple of months?

Molina: In the coming weeks, I think the most important priority is to fund these cost-sharing reductions to make sure that people who rely on them continue to have access to health insurance.

Longer term, I think that the country needs to address the high cost of health care, which is what drives the high cost of insurance. We often hear that the ACA and the individual market is failing. It’s not. And if the funding continues, I think that it will do well in 2017 and 2018. But Congress needs to ensure that the funding is there.

This transcript has been edited for clarity.

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