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Base by ArcadeGuts (possibly under a new name on Twitter)

A Mustang Crisis Looms in the West

With too many animals on public lands and too many on the public’s hands, the federal wild horse management program is short of money and palatable solutions.

By Dave Philipps       Published March 22, 2020

CHALLIS, Idaho — Dawn broke over the peaks of the Lost River Range, revealing a chase in the wide open valley below. Seven wild horses crashed through the sage, dark manes billowing in the golden light, pursued by a government contractor in a glossy helicopter that dodged left and right like a mechanical Border collie, driving the band forward into a hidden corral.

Within hours, the captured mustangs had been sorted, loaded onto trucks to be stamped with an identification number and sent to the Bureau of Land Management’s wild horse storage system. And the helicopter was back out hounding the hills for more.

All over the West, similar scenes have played out as the federal government fights to control the number of wild horses roaming public lands. Managers say they need to keep the herds down so they don’t destroy delicate native species habitat and threaten the livelihoods of ranchers.

But in recent years, the Bureau of Land Management has been losing that fight on two fronts: It hasn’t been able to round up nearly enough horses to limit the wild population. And it doesn’t know what to do with the ones it has managed to capture.

The roundup operation itself is strikingly efficient — a helicopter and a few workers in jean jackets can catch scores of mustangs in a day. The bureau rounded up 7,300 in 2019.

But once they are caught, they have to be fed and cared for. And the costs and frictions of having so many animals on the government’s hands — 49,000 at last count — have pushed the whole wild horse program toward collapse.

The rented pastures and feed lots where they are kept now devour more than two-thirds of the program’s budget, leaving little money for anything else, including looking for ways to get the bureau out of its current fix.

Low on cash, the bureau cut roundups drastically in recent years. But officials acknowledge that the move just made matters worse, by allowing the population on the range to grow rapidly. There are now about 100,000 wild horses and burros on public lands — more than at any time since the days of the Old West. The government reckons the land can sustain only about 27,000.

Bureau officials warn that the mustang herds are a looming catastrophe for the land, and there is no cheap or obvious solution. Capturing all the excess horses and caring for them in storage for the rest of their lives could cost up to $3 billion. Doing nothing may prove costly, too.

“If we don’t get this controlled, it’s just going to get worse,” said Alan Shepherd, the on-range branch chief for the wild horse program. Mustangs have already destroyed fragile desert springs in some places, and the birds, snakes and butterflies that depend on them, he said: “We are going to get to the point where the public lands are going to be almost unusable by anything.”

Mr. Shepherd started his career 30 years ago working on an emergency roundup on the Nellis Air Force Base missile test range in southern Nevada, where drought and overpopulation killed thousands of mustangs.

Now, near the end of his career, he worries that more herds are headed for a similar collapse.

Wild horse welfare groups argue that the crisis is largely invented. They say the government sets its population targets artificially low to justify mass removals that serve the interests of cattle ranchers and distract from other public land policies that are far more damaging.

“It’s a bait and switch,” said Suzanne Roy, director of the American Wild Horse Campaign, a group that has lobbied against roundups. “They say wild horses are an existential threat; meanwhile, they are loosening regulation on energy extraction. We do agree that roundups are creating a crisis in management, but the claims of overpopulation and horses starving are just not borne out by on-the-ground observations. Generally, the horses are doing pretty good.”

Crisis or no crisis, the number of horses on the range has risen into uncharted territory. Mr. Shepherd estimated that while 7,300 horses were captured in 2019, 17,000 foals were born. “We’re not even keeping at status quo,” he said.

In the early frontier days, wild horses in the West were too numerous to count. Explorers saw herds running on the Great Plains, likening the sight to the roll of waves in the ocean. On early maps, vast areas were labeled simply as “wild horse desert.” Later, as the region was settled, the herds were hunted down. Many were shipped east to pull city streetcars in places like Manhattan. Others were slaughtered for dog food and fertilizer. By the 1960s, only a few thousand mustangs were left.

Congress granted federal protection in 1971 to the remaining herds, which were nearly all on Bureau of Land Management land. With few predators and no hunters to cull them, the herds began to rebound, and land managers realized in the 1980s that they were quickly outgrowing the patchwork of public land allotted to them. That is when the helicopter roundups began.

At first, the program appeared sustainable. The bureau publicized an adoption program that found homes for captured horses, and the wild population stayed relatively constant. But news reports in the 1990s revealed that most of the “adopted” horses were actually going to slaughter, often while bureau employees profited. Regulations were tightened, and a backlog of unwanted horses began to build up on rented pastures in the Midwest.

Some conservative lawmakers from rural districts have pushed the bureau to euthanize excess horses or sell them for slaughter, but those steps remain widely unpopular and have not gained traction in Congress.

The bureau has told lawmakers repeatedly that it could create a sustainable program if Congress budgeted enough money to reduce the wild population to 27,000. Three times in the past 30 years, Congress has done so. Each time, though, the efforts were tripped up by dizzying costs and lawsuits from animal welfare groups.

Now the bureau is asking again. William Perry Pendley, its acting director, is a longtime conservative activist and lawyer who sued the bureau a number of times on behalf of ranchers before entering the administration. In an interview, he said he favors a proposal to remove more than 70,000 horses from the range over five years.

“Right now, it’s the ‘Sorcerer’s Apprentice,’” he said. “We’re carrying water and not getting anywhere.”

The bureau is in talks to open two huge feedlots to hold thousands of horses. But it is unclear if Congress is willing to spend billions to store unwanted horses, especially if an economic downturn drains public funds. Bureau staff say privately that they expect the population on the range to continue to grow toward disaster.

It wasn’t supposed to turn out this way. More than a decade ago, government auditors warned that the cost of storing captured horses would “overwhelm the program.” A 2013 report by the National Academy of Sciences urged the bureau to shift away from roundups and start using readily available and inexpensive fertility control drugs, which are typically administered by dart gun annually in the field.

Bureau leaders acknowledged the warnings and promised to embrace fertility control drugs, but their use actually declined in the years after the report. Less than 1 percent of the program’s current budget is spent on them.

Nearly all of the fertility control now happening on wild horse ranges is done by local volunteers, often retirees, who have learned to wield dart guns in the field.

That includes Andrea Macki, a visual artist who has been darting horses in the Challis herd for more than five years. She says the fertility control treatments have slowed reproduction rates by half, and could do more.

“It’s the obvious solution,” she said as she squinted through the dawn light to watch the helicopter rounding up horses she knew. “I wish the B.L.M. would invest in it, instead of all this.”

Bureau officials say that darting tens of thousands of horses in the field each year is not practical, and would take years to shrink the herds as much as a roundup can in a few days. Congress approved a $21 million increase in the wild horse program’s budget for this year, with the stipulation that the money would be released only when the bureau submitted a five-year plan that includes increases in both roundups and fertility control.

The bureau has also taken steps to dispose of captured horses, including deals that may be sending horses quietly to slaughter. It has ramped up sales of horses it deems unadoptable, charging $25 a head. In 2019 it sold 1,967 that way, often by the truckload in bulk sales; officials have refused to say who the buyers were.

Mr. Shepherd say the bureau tries to screen out slaughter buyers, but acknowledged that it does nothing to monitor the fate of horses after sale.

The bureau also created a program that offers $1,000 to anyone willing to adopt a horse.

Together, the sales and adoptions put about 7,000 horses into private hands last year, not enough even to keep pace with roundups, let alone draw down the number now warehoused.

On the edge of the wild horse range in Challis in central Idaho, Jackie Ingram, a rancher, has shared 168,700 acres of public land with the mustang herds for 46 years. Each spring her family drives hundreds of Black Angus cattle up a steep road through Spar Canyon to graze the high, windswept hills on Bureau of Land Management land.

In some years, she said, the wild horses left so little grass to eat that other wildlife disappeared, and her family had to cut back their cattle herd.

“We like the horses, but we also want to protect the land,” she said. “Every time they do a roundup, we’re happy. If the horses get to be too numerous, it affects the sage grouse, the elk, the antelope and us. All of us depend on the grass.”

Life in Pink

Rated T (mild suggestive content) Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Emily Prentiss Word Count: 2.5k AO3

Hi friends! Guess what? This past weekend marked one year since I posted my first story! How crazy is that?!

I’m so utterly grateful to this community for being such a bright spot in a difficult year. To everyone who’s taken the time to read something I’ve written, thank you for being so kind and supportive. It means more to me than I can express in words. To the brilliant, lovely, talented people I now get to call my friends, I love you all so very much.

To commemorate the occasion, I wrote a little something. This is set in the world of The Wonder of You, which was the first story I’ve ever written – but you don't need to have read that to understand this :)

I hope you like it <3

--

“I mean it, JJ. Whatever happens, do not call us.”

“Yes, Emily. For the hundredth time, I promise not to call you.”

Aaron slipped his free hand into his wife’s and squeezed. “Sweetheart, it’ll be fine. Strauss knows we’re away, and our backlog is miraculously clear. We’ll be okay.”

He returned to packing up his things on his desk while Emily huffed and quietly muttered something unflattering about their superior under her breath. JJ chuckled and embraced her friend. “Go. Have a fabulous time and make us all incredibly jealous. We’ll see you in a week.”

After another round of goodbyes and poorly-veiled suggestive comments from Morgan and Dave, Aaron and Emily were in their car and on their way to Dulles, suitcases already packed and in the trunk.

It had been her idea. A holiday in Greece to commemorate their first wedding anniversary. There hadn’t been time to plan a honeymoon, their wedding in Dave’s backyard coming together with relative expediency. They had spent the weekend after the ceremony in a hotel, indulging in champagne and room service for 48 hours before returning to work the following Monday.

Neither of them thought much of it after that, swept up in both work and newlywed life. They moved into a new home, a classic Colonial in Arlington with extra bedrooms and a white wrap-around porch, and adopted a dog at Jack’s insistence.

And before either of them had realized it, it had been a year. Aaron had remembered the upcoming date over Saturday breakfast as he cut bacon into little pieces for Jack, which were then promptly fed to Boo who waited patiently under the table next to Jack’s chair. Emily and Aaron shared a look of bemused surprise as they came to the realization that neither of them had planned anything to celebrate the occasion.

“We could take a trip,” Emily suggested casually. “We haven’t been away before, just the two of us.”

He’d been doubtful at first, unsure if they could really manage to get the time away with such short notice. But it was clear how enthused Emily was by the prospect, though she hid it well under masked nonchalance. Though she always insisted she was more than happy to spend her time at home, appreciative of the roots they had cultivated after all the travel and displacement of her past, Aaron knew there was still a part of her that missed that heady thrill of exploring an unfamiliar place for the first time. And truthfully, he could think of little else that he would enjoy more than having his wife all to himself for a few days.

So they settled on Greece, a place new to them both, and, with some luck, managed to clear a full week on both of their calendars.

They had nearly reached the parking lot at Dulles — having already checked in with Jessica, Jack and Boo over the phone — when Emily’s phone pinged with a text message from JJ, “I’m so sorry.”

“Shit,” she muttered under her breath.

Before Aaron could question her, his phone rang, Chief Strauss’s number on the front screen. Panic flashed across both their faces before he reluctantly answered. Emily could hear brief snippets of the conversation as the pit in her stomach steadily widened.

“...apologize...New York...fourth suicide bomber in three weeks...escalating...need everyone…”

Once he hung up the phone, Aaron took the next exit off the highway, pulling up to the curb once it was safe to do so. They both sat in silence for an extended minute, disappointment heavy in the air. Finally, Emily attempted to break the tension, “Aren’t you glad I convinced you to get the refundable tickets?”

Aaron let out a weak, sad chuckle and leaned over the center console to kiss her, “I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” before starting the car up again to head to the airstrip.

When they walked onto the plane, the team was uncharacteristically silent, looking on at their boss and colleague with poorly concealed apology, as though they were personally at fault for this unfortunate turn of events.

It took five days for the case to come to an end, the team finding the next bomber with minutes to spare, leading them to the ringleader of the group orchestrating the attacks. The date of their anniversary came and went, with nothing to mark the day except a quickie in the shower before they left their shared room. Objectively, both Aaron and Emily knew they had made the right decision, compulsory or not. Lives were saved, and the team functioned at their best when they were a complete set.

Still, while Aaron wrapped things up at the precinct after sending Emily back to the hotel, he couldn’t help but feel sorry that the first year of his marriage had passed in such a benign manner. As he drove back to the hotel, watching people shuffle and hustle about their weekend, an inkling of a plan formed and he picked up the phone to call JJ.

He found Emily in their room, her back turned to him as she hunched over the bed in the final stages of packing. He leaned against the wall, taking a moment to admire her before asking, "What are you doing, sweetheart?"

She jumped a little, the close of the door too quiet for her to hear him walk in, then raised a brow at him. "Packing? Don't we have to be at the airport in an hour?"

"Change of plans." Aaron sauntered up to his wife, pulling her in by the waist so he could kiss her. "We're leaving tomorrow."

“Since when?”

"Since I decided that you and I deserve a night to ourselves." He chuckled softly at her confused expression, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ears. "I'm sorry we couldn't get our time away. I thought we could spend the night out here instead. Celebrate the best year of my life with my beautiful wife."

She softened in his arms, molding herself to him as she pushed up on her toes and threaded her hands in his hair, kissing him breathless. “What about everyone else?” she asked, mouthing along his jaw, nosing the length of his neck.

The blood promptly rushed south from his head, a familiar occurrence anytime Emily’s hands ran over him as they were doing now. He swallowed, breathing in deeply to ensure he retained some semblance of control. "I told them to leave tonight; we could fly on our own tomorrow. But they offered to stay the night.”

She laughed against his throat, hot and ticklish on his skin, feeling almost giddy by this unforeseen development, “Okay then.” The hands on her hips tightened as she began kissing down to his chest, and she grinned up at him, lightly palming the front of his black slacks. “Are you sure you want to go out? We could just lock ourselves in here for the night.”

He narrowed his eyes, playfully pinching her cheek, “Cheeky, Mrs. Hotchner. But I have a plan and, tempting as you are, you will not sway me from it.” Knowing her go-bag always contained a nicer dress in case their work called for it, he added, “Now, get dressed,” swatting her ass lightly for good measure.

“Aaron, it’s Saturday night in New York City. You realize we’re not getting in anywhere halfway decent,” Emily pointed out while she unbuttoned her blouse.

“Ye of little faith, my dear wife. I told you, I have a plan.” Aaron also rid himself of his jacket and tie, replacing his shirt with a fresh white button-down and rolling up the sleeves. He went to clean himself up in the bathroom, and when he returned, he found his magnificent wife attempting to zip up a one-shoulder red dress. The same dress he’d slid off her shoulders in his bedroom after dinner on their first date. “Is that…”

"Would you believe I didn't plan this?" she grinned, turning her back to him. "Help me?"

Instead of doing as she asked, Aaron nudged the zipper, skating a knuckle up the length of her bare back and planting a kiss at the top of her spine.

“Aaron..." she breathed, tilting her head back against his, "if you don't cut that out, we're not leaving this room." He groaned into her neck, reluctantly admitting she was right, finally zipping her up and smoothing her hair back over her shoulder.

When they emerged outside their hotel ten minutes later onto the bustling streets of Midtown Manhattan, they walked the few blocks to Grand Central Station, just barely catching the subway headed downtown. Despite her initial doubts, Emily’s smile hadn’t left her, cheeks flushed with excitement.

Aaron led her by hand out of the subway when they reached their destination, climbing the stairs onto the southwest corner of Washington Square Park. The air was hot and muggy, New York in August, even as the last rays of the sun dipped below the horizon. Music filtered through from the park, mixing with the din of the crowds enjoying the first stage of their evening.

“Do I get to know what we’re doing now?”

“Not yet. Come on, this way.”

They crossed the street, turned the corner, and Aaron finally stopped outside a red awning.

“Pizza?” Emily looked up at him, eyes wide with surprise as she took in the pizzeria.

“Or hot dogs, or Indian, or Greek, Italian, Vietnamese...We can go anywhere you want in the world in the next 10 blocks.”

She beamed up at him, catching onto his plan, and her grin was infectious. “Can we do them all?”

He laughed, “Lead the way.”

They started with pizza at Joe’s — a pepperoni slice for him and a Sicilian slice for her. Then a stuffed pita filled to the brim with fresh falafel, tomatoes, and hummus. A chicken tikka kati roll. And finally a shared plate of chicken and rice drizzled in white sauce from the halal food cart next to the park.

Their hands never strayed far from the other, the blissful anonymity of the city prompting more affectionate displays from both of them. Aaron stood behind her, hands on her hips or around her waist, as they waited in line. Emily ran her fingers through his hair as they sat on barstools, so smushed together from the crowd that she was practically sitting in his lap. They stood on the sidewalk waiting for their food to be prepared, their arms wrapped around each other and their lips moving together in languid kisses as if they had all the time in the world. To any stranger who could be bothered to look their way, they looked like any other couple smitten and blissfully in love, hiding every scar, hurdle, and hardship they had overcome to reach this point. Two figures floating amongst a sea of millions.

“I’m so full,” Emily moaned, clutching her stomach dramatically as they wandered hand-in-hand down Houston St. “I think you’ve killed me.”

“Not yet, sweetheart. We haven’t gotten to dessert.”

Two spoons and one cup of salted chocolate ice cream later, they made it back to the park, still lively as if the night had only just started. The marble archway was lit up, the Empire State Building in the distance peeking through the gap. People sat around the edge of the fountain, dipping their feet into the cool water.

Aaron and Emily walked through the students and artists and skateboarders and tourists, dipping intermittently into their shared dessert absorbing the infectious energy. They reached the other end of the park, stopping for a moment to watch a street performer, and turned down a new street, neither of them wanting the evening to come to an end.

The unmistakable sound of a piano floated out of a bar as two patrons exited, catching Emily by surprise as they walked past. She jerked to a stop, captivated, then tugged Aaron's hand to the door. He followed her lead, descending down a narrow flight of stairs that led into a darkened lounge. Tufted couches and armchairs in jewel-toned velvets lined the walls, dimly lit by rounded art deco sconces. Two bartenders seamlessly crafted elegant cocktails behind a lavish bar that took up the back wall. And in the center, a jazz quartet illuminated by a spotlight as couples swayed around them on a dance floor. Even in the dark, Aaron could see the way Emily's eyes lit up, entranced by this unexpected discovery, and he discreetly asked a waitress if they could be seated.

They nestled into the corner of an empty couch, Aaron's hand resting on Emily's knee as they both sipped their respective cocktails. Truthfully, he spent very little time watching the band, his eyes trained on his wife. He took in every secret smile, every small part of her lips when the melody soared to a peak. She was breathtaking, and she was his, and not for the first time in his life did he wonder how he had ever gotten quite so lucky.

The song shifted into something he recognized, a string of notes from the saxophone eliciting an audible gasp from Emily. He grasped her hand and tugged her up from the chair, smiling at the delight on her face. He pulled her in close, one hand low on her back, his cheek resting against hers, as they began to gently shift amongst the other couples.

After a minute, Emily’s voice came in whispers in his ear, her tongue curling beautifully over the French he couldn’t understand.

Quand il me prend dans ses bras Qu'il me parle tout bas Je vois la vie en rose

Il me dit des mots d'amour Des mots de tous les jours Et ça m'fait quelque chose

Il est entré dans mon cœur Une part de bonheur Dont je connais la cause C'est lui pour moi, moi pour lui dans la vie Il me l'a dit, l'a juré, pour la vie

She pulled back in his arms, her gaze locking on his. A droplet tipped over her lash and onto her cheek. Her love for the man who held her — her husband, hers — bubbled and popped and diffused in her chest, filling her until she felt like she was floating. Aaron brought his hand up from her waist to her cheek, his thumb wiping away the errant drop on her skin with enough tenderness and adoration to warrant a fresh bout of tears.

Emily shakily rose to press her lips to his, tightening her hold of him, just as the song trailed to its conclusion. Applause erupted, but at that moment, the world around them didn’t exist.

“I love you, Aaron Hotchner.”

“And I love you.”

--

Song: La Vie en Rose by Edith Piaf

Translation (thank you Google):

When he holds me in his arms He speaks to me softly I see life through rose-colored glasses

He speaks words of love to me Everyday words And that does something to me

He has entered into my heart A piece of happiness The cause of which I know It’s only him for me, and me for him, for life He said that to me, swore it forever

What got you into Darkwing duck? :0

Originally, it was something that was always fun to enjoy when I was a little kid. Apparently, legend has it, my birth mother claims that my first word was some attempt to say "Darkwing", as I was still a baby when the series started airing and it was one of those programs she'd run on the TV and recorded some on tapes. But at that time, the appeal to me was probably the fact that it was just something queuded up to entertain me.

When I was 7, I had a tape of "Comic Book Capers" that I would play so often, my mother's (eventual ex) boyfriend absolutely hated it. Especially because I loved the "Kickin' in the Groove" music video at the end of the tape, so naturally, I would play it far more than I probably should have.

My cousin had a tape of "Just Us Justice Ducks" that now resides in my collection, and I never really got tired of the tape, but due to some junk my mother's boyfriend did, he kinda made me feel like for years that there was something inherently wrong with the level of enjoyment I had for the series, so I unfortunately did have a period of time where I was embarrassed for no reason at all over having liked the series.

Then one day, a I spotted a Robot Chicken skit that included toys of Darkwing and Gosalyn (a rather horrifyingly dark skit in which Darkwing ends up cooked alive at a restaurant, but that's beside the point), which reminded me of the Justice Ducks tape my cousin had, so I would eventually get the tape because he didn't care much for it anymore.

Years later, I would go to San Diego Comic Con 2011, and spot a comic booth that was advertising a then-upcoming comic continuation, and it sparked a memory in the back of my mind that would probably not take root for a few years. Never did see my local shops sell the comic, so it eventually faded from my mind.

Then eventually, I got my hands on the DVD set of the entire run of "Batman: The Animated Series", and decided to share the series with my Mom (my grandma who adopted me, different person than my mother), who found it to be a really interesting show, but remarkably dark for a kids program. She asked me if I knew of something similar, but more light-hearted, "like Disney-ish", and I immediately thought of Darkwing

So I went online and found the DVD sets for $10 each, and decided to queue that up as the next show viewing, thinking to myself how fun that would be to revisit this old series that I remember enjoying enough as a kid that specific lines from the show were a near permanent feature of my jargon. Gosalyn was a favorite of mine, especially because I also was an adopted child, so I have a soft spot for this character as well (got several figurines now, too)

The DVDs aren't in official chronological order, but airdate order instead, so I should note that the moment QuackerJack arrived on scene in "Days of Blunder" was the exact moment my deep buried memory of the franchise awakened like sleeper agent and I was officially into the series.

This moment. This exact moment.

It probably also helps that Michael Bell is one of my favorite voice actors to listen for in lesser known movies and cartoons, even before I knew he did QuackerJack. The man's range and resume is awesome.

Actually, the whole voice cast itself is just all star choices for the 1990s, this is definitely a fun series.

I bought the comics, I bought toys, made my own stuff, basically just a whole floodgate of 20+ years of backlog repression exploded and I realized that thanks to one jerkwad, I had felt unnecessarily ashamed of one of my first interests in life, and now that I was an adult and could pay for my own stuff, no one was going to tell me how stupid it was for me to be into what was originally called a fad.

So it was a long journey to this point, but I'd say that about two years ago, seeing and hearing QuackerJack again was the moment I was able to truly say that I was into "Darkwing Duck" as a fan instead of a kid just watching cartoons on the TV

((I haven't made an updated total picture yet including Negatron Duck's Pop figure, so that's why he's included in a different photo))

That said, my DWD/Ducktales collection looks pretty good for only being something I've been going at for less than two years. I make it like a treasure hunt, and pay the lowest possible price I'm willing to part with. 😅

The most I've paid for one item is probably $25, for the Definitively Dangerous omnibus, and I only got it that cheap because the cover had a crease in it, but otherwise, the book is easily $75+ on the market. 👀

Coronavirus and Unemployment

- The Data set that I have chosen is the ‘Gapminder Data set’.

- The research question that I am going to work on is:

“ Does pandemic sitiuation affect world employment and economy globally”

Hypothesis: There are lots of negative effects on economy and employment during pandemic period 

                                                 My codebook

The search terms that I used for my literature review are:

- Employment and economy before pandemic

-  Obstacles for employment in pandemic

-  Quarantine’s effects on Firms and factories

- Economic derogation during quarantine

- Reduction on number of employees

Literature Review Summary:

The Coronavirus has already led to disruption in manufacturing output, foreign travel and consumer demand. If the virus spreads and becomes a pandemic, what will be the likely economic effects?

In short, a global pandemic will have a serious supply-side impact – especially on foreign travel, manufacturing and investment. The uncertainty and decline in travel will also lead to people staying off work, losing income and causing a fall in demand. If it is relatively short-lived, the economy may quickly bounce back. But, if it is prolonged, it could lead to permanent loss of output – with vulnerable groups of workers particularly negatively affected.

Initial estimates on the effects of COVID-19 on the world economy include

A fall in global GDP of up to 4% below baseline (World Bank April 2020)

A fall in UK GDP of 14% (According to Bank of England)

A fall in US GDP of 10% (Golden Sachs)

Supply-side effects

Reduced manufacturing output. The most effective response to the virus is quarantining and limiting chances for the virus to spread. In China, the high number of cases, led to workers staying at home, either because they have the virus or because they fear to catch it from other workers. This has led to a very significant fall in manufacturing output. In one month, the official China manufacturing index fell to 35.7 (above 50 is expansion, less than 50 is contraction) It is the biggest fall on record.

Knock-on effects. Even for countries or regions not affected by the virus, the global interconnectedness of supply chains means that nearly all manufacturers are affected by the lack of availability of parts. This leads to supply bottlenecks. UK car producers have reported bringing spare parts in suitcases from China. Big companies like Apple, which produce the iPhone in China have warned of supply shortages occuring soon.

Confidence. In a time of uncertainty, firms will cut back on investment and wait until what happens. If the pandemic causes uncertainty for a prolonged period of time, it will cause investment projects to be delayed and even postponed completely.

Lost productivity. A rise in sickness and mortality itself has an economic cost.

Demand-side effect

If travel restrictions are imposed, there will be a big fall in demand for some sectors, especially travel and tourism. Already airlines have issued profit warnings for 2020 and some flights have been cancelled. It will also cause a significant fall in demand for certain tourist sights and related business. For example, the popular tourist city of Venice is completely deserted as people avoid due to the outbreak in Italy. This will be devastating for local business, such as restaurants and gift shops who rely on tourists.

A limited pandemic may have some benefits for local tourist destinations. For example, rather than risk flights, Americans and British holidaymakers may choose to holiday at home, so there could be winners in the domestic tourist industry. But, this relies on the virus being contained in those particular countries. A real pandemic would probably cause a worldwide fall in travel.

Impact on workers. In recent years, there has been a rise in self-employed workers and workers on zero-hour contracts. This means that more workers are vulnerable to having to take time off work. If workers can work at home or get sick pay, their income will be maintained. But, for gig workers like delivery drivers and English language teachers, they could face very low income from travel restrictions and a decline in business.

Confidence. The stock market has seen its biggest contraction since the global credit crunch. With falls of 12%. A falling stock market can cause a decline in consumer wealth and hold back spending as people absorb the negative news. One study suggests falls in the stock market only have a limited effect on reducing GDP growth

“In the case of prolonged falls in share prices of 10 per cent, the QUEST model gives an additional negative output effect in the range of between -0.2 and -0.8, depending on the monetary policy response.” (effects of pandemic)

Limited scope for monetary policy. In western Europe and Japan, interest rates are already very low, there is limited scope for significant interest rate cuts. Even if rates were cut from 1% to 0.5%, it is not clear this would make much difference to the effects of the crisis. Japan has announced stimulus measures to shore up the economy – but given a prolonged period of stagnation it is uncertain whether this will make a significant difference.

Evaluation – How bad would the effects really be?

Liberia, for example, saw GDP growth decline 8 percentage points from 2013 to 2014 during the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

The World Bank estimates that a very serious global influenza pandemic would cost the world economy $800 billion and kill tens-of-millions of people.

Time. An important question is how serious and prolonged is the crisis. If the crisis is less than six months, there is every chance that the economy can rebound with no loss of output. If firms delay production for three months, they build up a backlog of orders, when people return to work, this backlog can be solved due to people working over-time. This can lead to a post-crisis mini-boom.

How serious is the pandemic?

A model by the EU commission in 2006, tried to model the effects of a future pandemic on the economy.

Can people work from home? In recent years, we have seen a shift in people working from home. A pandemic crisis would speed up this shift and more firms could encourage people to work from home. This can work for some sectors, but you cannot outsource manufacturing or nursing, supermarket sales. It is clear that any pandemic would hit vulnerable sectors much more.

Can monetary/fiscal policy offset the fall? Usually, if we get a demand-side shock (e.g. fall in confidence), the monetary authorities can cut interest rates to boost demand. The government can pursue fiscal policy to increase public sector investment. This helps to maintain aggregate demand. The problem is that a pandemic is both a demand-side and supply-side shock. If people stay at home because they are sick or because they fear to go to work, demand-side policy cannot deal with that. A tax cut does not particularly help if you are not working or it is difficult to get goods.

How much would economic activity cease? In the beginning of a pandemic, where is highly localised, there is a strong case for strict quarantine, leading to the factory shuts downs we see in China and ghost towns in Italy. However, if the pandemic reaches a tipping point and the virus becomes widespread, severe travel restrictions may not be effective anyway. It is uncertain how people will respond. It may reach a point, where critical industries like foods supply have to continue – regardless of the risk of transmission. The WHO state dealing with a pandemic is not just about the direct health effects on sickness and possible fatalities, but also wider issues such as the potential breakdown of social order. E.g. failure to provide sanitation and food supplies could cause more serious problems than the virus itself.

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Employment Contracts

 As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate the global economy, employers in large and small businesses are faced with a dreadful conundrum on whether to let their staff go, cut their hours, or declare them redundant.

It is however highly unlikely that most employers, in drafting their contracts of employment, would have contemplated the current circumstances; particularly the level of interruption and disruption to work as we know it, which has been occasioned by the Government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, employers and employees have had to be deal with this unprecedented situation by adopting new ways of meeting their obligations under their employment contracts.

The primary legislation on labour and employment matters in Nigeria is the Labour Act1. The other relevant legislations are the Trade Union Act2, the Trade Disputes Act3, National Industrial Court Act4 and the National Industrial Court Rules, 20075. Nonetheless, the relationship between employers and employees are typically regulated by the contracts of employment which sets out the terms of such employment. It is trite that parties to a contract are bound by its terms and cannot vary the terms and conditions of the contract except with each other's consent6. This principle extends to employer – employee relationship and to the extent that a contract of employment is a contract, the general principles relating to general contracts will apply unless the law provides for a departure from such general principles. Hence, in NEPA v. Adesaaji7, it was held by the Court that in an employer-employee relationship, the parties' relationship is governed by terms and conditions of the contract between them. The foregoing therefore begs the critical question: What options are available to employers considering the impact the pandemic is having on their businesses? In this article we will analyze the options available to employers for addressing their employment issues during this pandemic under the existing legal framework in Nigeria.

Working from Home: The New Normal

As expected, the first reaction by most organizations has been to direct their employees to work remotely, to protect their employees and clients from the spread of the pandemic. This directive may raise the question of whose responsibility it is to provide remote working tools to the employee? This question can be answered from the decision in the case of Gattuso v. Harte-Hanks Shoppers, Inc8, where the California Supreme Court held that the intention of the provision of California Labor Code9 which requires an employer to indemnify its employees for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred as a direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties, is to "protect employees from suffering expenses in direct consequence of doing their jobs." It is important to note that whilst the above case is from the jurisdiction of the State of California, in the United States of America, the dictum of the Court in Adetoun Oladeji (Nig.) Ltd. v. N.B. Plc10 on the application of foreign judgments in Nigeria as a form of judicial precedent may be instructive in this regard. The court held that, "... decisions of English courts or any foreign court are not binding on Nigerian courts. They are merely of persuasive authority". In addition to this, by virtue of the Third Constitutional Alteration Act of 2010, the National Industrial Court was empowered to apply all labour-related international conventions, treaties and protocols ratified by Nigeria even where they have not been domesticated11. Indeed, section 7(6) of the National Industrial Court Act provides:

"The Court shall, in exercising its jurisdiction or any of the powers conferred upon it by this Act or any other enactment or law, have due regard to good or international best practice in labour or industrial relations and what amounts to good or international best practice in labour or industrial relations shall be a question of fact".

So, if our courts are persuaded by foreign decisions on the issue of who bears the costs of expenses of working from home during the periods of lockdown, Nigerian employers may be required to reimburse employees who had to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic for their reasonable and necessary home office expenses if they did not do that before now.

Deferment/Reduction of Salaries

Having regard to the current realities especially the inability to do business as we know it, one of the options available to employers may be to vary the terms of their employees' contract such that there is a deferment or reduction of agreed salaries. This approach should be a win-win situation for both parties as on one hand, employees would be able to retain their employments during the pandemic and on the other hand, the employers are able to manage their resources until things return to normal. In the event that this option is considered, an employer is required to notify/engage its employees and obtain prior consent as to when and how the changes would take effect, before implementing same12. In Adebusola Adedayo Omole v. Mainstreet Bank Microfinance Bank Ltd,13 the Court held that it is not acceptable for an employer to engage in unilateral reduction in the wages and salaries of workers as the reduction of the salary of the employee by the employer, without her consent, violated the spirit of section 5(1) of the Labour Act and the ILO Convention14. Furthermore, to avoid any adverse claims on the acceptance of the reduction or deferment, the employer should ensure that the employees communicate their acceptance of the changes in writing. In other words, in communicating the deferment or reduction, the employer should ensure that the notification is communicated in writing and request for a confirmation of acceptance in writing.

However, there may be instances where an employee refuses to give a written consent to such deferment or reduction in salary but continues to receive the reduced salary and does not complain. In that situation, the Court may infer an acquiescence on the part of the employee as in Oyeyemi v. Guardian Global Resources Nigeria Ltd15 where the claimant claimed that the reduction in his salary was without his consent. In dismissing the prayers of the claimant, the court held that even though his consent was required, his silence and continued stay in the employment without any form of protest; whilst receiving the reduced salary for over a year, was an acquiescence to the variation and that his silence for a year was deemed as consent.

Deferment of bonuses and promotions

Another option available to employers is deferment of bonus or promotions. In most companies, bonus determination and application usually form part of the company's policies which are typically incorporated by reference in employment contracts; thereby, becoming binding. In such circumstance, the provision for bonuses and promotions vests a right in an employee and may be recoverable against the employer due to the expectation interest they create for the employee.

The doctrine of legitimate expectation is that where an employer by his actions or inactions, creates a state of affairs that gives an employee an expectation interest which is legitimate and reasonable, then such employer is by law obligated to meet up with such expectation.

The leading and most frequently cited case supporting this approach in employment matters is the case of Toussaint v Blue Cross and Blue Shield16, which came up in the State of Michigan.

The issue before the Supreme Court was whether a voluntary promise, including a discharge-for-cause policy, made by the employer to his employee in a handbook constituted a binding obligation upon the employer. The Court held that such a policy could bind an employer if the 'employer's written policy statements set forth in the manual of personnel gave rise to legitimate expectations'. The court held that when a promise acquires legitimate expectation, the employer's unlawful breach or departure constitutes a breach of contract.

Essentially, for legitimate expectation to give rise to protection, all that has to be proven is that the employer has chosen 'to create an environment in which the employee believes that, whatever the personnel policies and practices, they are established and official at any given time, purport to be fair, and are applied consistently and uniformly to each employee'. Consequently, an employer that makes a voluntary promise in a formal statement that is reasonably capable of creating a legitimate expectation to the employee 'may not treat its promise as illusory'.17

Whilst this is a developing area in Nigerian jurisprudence, the National Industrial Court (NIC) recently applied the principle in the case of Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria & Ors v. Federal Ministry of Health18. The Court acknowledged that the practice of skipping salary grade levels by Government can create an expectation interest, which in turn was capable of creating an entitlement or vested right in favour of the complainants who had all the while been beneficiaries of the practice19.

Having said that, it does appear that there is a tendency for the courts to respect the employer's decision where there is genuine reason for the employer to resile such as when the future of the business and its survival is at stake20. The test must therefore be applied on the fact of each case, the context and impact of the promise made by the employer and the degree of business efficiency or need, when considering an employer's decision to revoke its promise.21

Promotions, on the other hand, are not contractual rights, as they are usually conditional upon the employee meeting certain organizational performance-based indexes. Thus, in the case of Sylvester C. Nwoye V. Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria22, it was held that promotion from one level or position in an organization to another is not a right but a privilege, which is earned. Hence, an employer cannot be compelled to promote its employee no matter the good opinion the employee might have of himself.

Paid and Unpaid Leave

Whilst section 18 of the Labour Act23 provides for at least six (6) days of paid annual leave for every 12 months of employment, most employment contracts typically provide for more number of days which can be taken as annual leave by the employee in an organization. Due to the compulsory stay at home directed by Government to curb the spread of the pandemic, many organizations may consider bringing forward the scheduled leave days/period of employees such that the leave days become part of the period now being compulsorily spent at home. This may however not apply to businesses whose employees have been working remotely during the lockdown, as this is likely to be considered an unfair labour practice by the Courts.

Thus, in Akinfemiwa Akinyinka v. More Time CO23 Gas Plant Ltd24 the National Industrial Court held that denial of annual leave to an employee is an unfair labour practice. The Court, in upholding the case of the Claimant held; "We find that the denial of annual leave entitlement to the claimants all through their years of service to the 1st defendant coupled with the 1st defendant's work days is inhuman and so a deprivation of the right to annual leave under section 18 of the Labour Act. This is, therefore, an unfair labour practice which this court cannot close its eyes to. There has been a violation of a legal right which entitles the claimants to an award of general damages and its quantum need not be pleaded or proved".

Declaration of redundancy

In Nigeria, redundancies are governed by the Labour Act, the decisions of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), the contracts of the affected employees, organizational policies or employees' handbook, and the provisions of any collective bargaining agreement between an employer and the representatives of a trade union.

The Nigerian labour law acknowledges that an employer reserves the right to pay off any employee whether based on redundancy, idleness etc. or at the end of a project where the employee is engaged. The Labour Act defines redundancy as an "involuntary and permanent loss of employment caused by an excess of manpower".25 No specific rules apply to mass layoff or collective redundancy. Section 20 (1) of the Labour Act provides that in the event of redundancy, employers shall apply the procedure as follows:

informing the trade union or representatives of the employees of the reason for and extent of the anticipated redundancy

applying the principle of 'last in, first out' in determining the employees to be affected by the process, subject to all factors of relative merit, including skill, ability, and reliability; and

negotiating redundancy payments of the affected employees.

Though the definition of excess manpower is not provided in the Labour Act, the courts have considered the acquisition of a company, restructuring, reduction of production line, shortage of raw materials, economic and technological reasons as valid grounds for declaring redundancy.

In Alexander O. Ejah & Ors v Niger Mills Co. Ltd26, the Court reasoned that from the evidence shown, the mass termination of employment of the Defendant's employees arose from a change from a manual to an automated process requiring fewer staff; the disengagement was necessitated by economic and technological reasons, and was thus within the contemplation of the Act as a ground for redundancy. Also, in Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Ltd v Oje27 the Court described redundancy in the following words: "it is a mode of removing of an employee from service when his post is declared 'redundant' by his employee (sic). It is not a voluntary or forced retirement. It is not a dismissal from service. It is not a voluntary or forced resignation. It is not a termination of appointment as is known in public service. It is a form unique only to its procedure where an employee is quietly and lawfully relieved of his post....".

Another insightful decision of the Court in this regard is the case of Okwara Agwu & Ors v. Julius Berger Nigeria Plc28. where the Supreme Court, in dismissing the appeal held that a Court will not compel an unwilling employer to retain employees it does not need, and that the only thing a Court can do is to order for payment of all entitlement of the employees, based on the provisions of the contract of employment. In view of the foregoing, it is recommended that employers be transparent about the redundancy process and inform employees of the intention to declare a redundancy as well as negotiate a disengagement package where necessary.

Termination

In light of current realities and considering the effect of the pandemic on business activities, employers may also, as a last resort, rely on the principle of frustration or contractual force majeure to terminate employments.

Generally, frustration is upheld as a basis for termination where it is established to the satisfaction of the court that due to a subsequent change in circumstances, the contract has become impossible to perform29. Such change in circumstance may include subsequent legal changes, outbreak of war, cancellation by an unexpected event.

The consequence of the occurrence of a frustrating event which makes parties unable to perform their contract such as lockdown directives by governments to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic is that the contract is terminated immediately and the parties discharged.30

Force majeure provisions, on the other hand, are provisions contained in the employment contract which allows the parties to determine in their contract, such occurrences which may be termed as being beyond their control and described as force majeure events. This is distinct from the principle of frustration in that for force majeure provisions to hold, such events must have been agreed by the parties and their occurrence must be such that they affect the performance of parties' respective obligations under the contract. These events typically include wars, floods, or pandemics such as COVID-19. However, for an employer to rely on a force majeure clause, such clause must specifically mention pandemics, or acts of government which are beyond the reasonable control of the parties.

The above notwithstanding, it is not enough to have merely described the events which may be regarded as a force majeure event in the contract, an employer who seeks to rely on it, has the duty to prove that the pandemic and the resultant government lockdown has prevented it from being able to physically or legally fulfil its contractual obligations to the employee. However, an employer will not be heard to say that such occurrence has merely created a difficulty to perform, higher cost of performance, or less profits to the business. The employer must be able to prove that:31

such occurrence was reasonably foreseeable at the time of entering the contract

such occurrence is beyond the control of the employer/employee and cannot not be reasonably avoided; and

due to the occurrence of such event, the employer/employee is incapable of performing obligations under the employment contract

CONCLUSION

Whether or not the parties are still able to continue performing their contractual obligations in the face of the current pandemic will depend on pertinent considerations such as:

the nature of the job and ability of the employee and availability of tools for the employee to work remotely

the nature, length, and effect of the force majeure/frustrating event such as the COVID-19 pandemic

whether in the circumstance a reasonable employer could have been expected to wait any longer before taking a decision, and

reasonable adjustments made by the parties to ensure the continued performance of the contract32.

It would be practical for employers to engage their employees before arriving at a decision as this would afford the employer the opportunity to communicate its present predicament to its employees. It is also advisable for the employer to comply with the provisions of the contract of employment for the execution of whatever decision they elect. This may include notice/pay requirement, severance packages, terminal benefits, or consultation with union representatives and compliance with international best practices. It is important to note however that for employers in the oil and gas sector, an approval from the Department of Petroleum Resources ('the DPR') must first be obtained before releasing any Nigerian staff33. The Guidelines defines "release" to include but not limited to, the removal of a worker in a manner that permanently separates the worker from the employer in ways such as by dismissal; retirement; termination; redundancy; release on medical grounds; resignation; death or abandonment of duty post".34 Thus, any employer who wishes to release a worker shall apply in writing to the Director for the Minister's approval stating the manner of staff release, the reasons for the proposed release, the compensation due to the Worker, and any proposed replacement for the Worker.35

On a final note, if disputes arise between employer and employee, it is recommended that such disputes are settled through Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms such as mediation, negotiation or arbitration. However, where either party is dissatisfied with the outcome, they may resort to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) for adjudication

The links to my literature review:

https://www.mondaq.com/nigeria/employment-and-workforce-wellbeing/938130/the-impact-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-on-employment-contracts

https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/161156/economics/economic-effects-of-a-pandemic/

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/coronavirus-unemployment-jobs-work-impact-g7-pandemic/

Hello! I had a question about Sakura Haruno’s Character. This made take a few asks simply my question is difficult to put into words. I was watching different AMV’s when I saw a video “Why people hate Sakura Haruno”. Now don’t get me wrong, I Love Sakura. But I can also understand the argument behind the hate of her. Now back to the video, he says most of the reason behind the hate is mostly what she accomplishes and what she does in the manga. (1/?)

(2/?) It compares what she had done in the screen time she has, to other characters. Mostly minor characters. He says, however, that Sakura is nowhere near a useless character, not even slightly. But, he says, she is a main character, and minor character can and do, do more than she can. Now I believe most of this to be true. Sakura’s character has flaws. A lot.

(3/3) But at what point do we start to, instead, blame the author instead of the character? And at what point do we have to accept canon as it is? Flaws and shitty plot holes and all Because the shinobi system makes no sense, and I know that most of Sakura’s lack of contribution to the manga is mostly so the boys can have screen time. Ok, I’m done Thanks for listening. Also, I thought your April fools prank was hilarious, for a sec I thought someone hacked your account XD keep up the good work!

(NB for confused readers: this ask was received around April 1 2018, when for April Fools I declared I was now a Sasuke themed blog that would post  “all Sasuke all the time”.)

This is another 10 minute response to get through my inbox backlog.

These are great questions, I don’t think there’s one objective answer, but rather a range of proportional and even laudable responses to when canon is experiencing a great deal of fail.

Just rejecting a source material altogether, for example, which is what I do to Bort and everything after issue 699 of the manga, is one response. Declaring a total death of the author and judging every single character and their actions without regard to any real world influences can also be a useful approach. However, I don’t think the latter is usually the best approach.

Women may have made great strides in the real world, but in the world of shonen manga and anime they are still objectively, clearly second-class, in a way and kind that is evident both in isolation and in comparison to, say, the role of boys and men in shoujo manga and anime.

Because of this, I would argue that female characters objectively deserve greater defense, greater adoption, so to speak, by the fandom to correct the sexist errors of the original material.

There goes the timer. This is in no way a sufficient answer, but hopefully it provides a jumping off point for consideration. (Anyone who attempts to rip this ask to shreds as if it were a graduate thesis or scream that I’m not citing sources or what the fuck ever will be considered to be prima facie arguing in bad faith and summarily blocked.)

What's your writing process like? You're so eloquent (even when answering tumblr asks ... the serious replies, anyway) and it's inspiring me to get to that level.

Awesome, I’m happy and flattered to be an inspiration! Never had my writing described as “eloquent,” so thanks for that! :)

So, I typically write for three different formats, each with its own approach but with some commonalities.

#1: Tumblr posts

Answering Tumblr asks first and foremost always starts with the good intentions to actually delve into the ask backlog. In reality, this almost never happens and I default to the first page in my inbox. It’s not technically writing but choosing asks is key to this whole process. I love ones I can answer in a sentence (or image) or two but many involve taking the time to research or fact-check. I like those too, but if they require too much of an involved effort they are more likely to go unanswered, as I only have so much time. Lately I’ve only been able to do Tumblr stuff after 11PM EST. Though I want to put much of the blame on Tumblr itself because if there was a way to tag or favorite certain asks for later (and save drafts of ask replies), I’d get a lot more done. But hey, it’s a site made mostly for sharing images, so what can you expect?

Ask frequency varies but since this is perceived as a Shin Megami Tensei blog, activity naturally increases around the time of new SMT releases, where I can get 10 or so asks a day, especially if I’m active that particular day. Since we’re in the middle of an SMT drought, activity has really dried up. I still try to answer an average of three per day.

As for my actual writing and style, I personally perceive myself as a slow writer. I believe this is so because in real life I tend towards being a perfectionist with most things I do. I proofread an average length post of 2-3 paragraphs at least three or four times. One of those average length posts will take me about 20-30 minutes to write, more if there are images involved.

Another self-perception is a preference for direct language and communication. That’s why I was surprised you called my writing “eloquent,” as I like to be straightforward and succinct, workmanlike. That said, I also am sometimes frustrated that my English lexicon isn’t grander than it is, so I often use a thesaurus to brush up. But it’s never about interjecting superfluous flair or purple prose but instead the right word that could stand in for three or four others and create better sentence flow.

#2 Long-form articles

Many of the articles I’ve written grew naturally out of Tumblr posts and asks to lengths that would be inappropriate for the Tumblr format, compounded with the problem of Tumblr’s limited (read: single option) image formatting.

When I start work on long articles, I usually go analog and write outlines and other notes in a notebook. Being away from a screen and listening to music helps stimulate my brain. Music is especially important but mostly for #3, below.

After jotting down what I plan to achieve, I often jump right in to Word or Google Docs and start writing the real text for whatever my head wants to spill at that particular moment. However, I burn out quickly here because, more often than not, I like to have properly cited sources to back up my claims and, like the Tumblr asks, researching can take a while! It’s not just about finding sources and pasting in the right quotes but understanding their context and ensuring they are used appropriately in support of an argument. It’s like every college paper I ever did, only I’ve actually cared about these!

Revision is key, as is being willing to trim dead branches. For example, from initial concept to publication, it took me around 10 months to finish all three parts of SMT’s Identity Crisis. Within about three months I had an article that was about 70% "finished,” but it was meandering and amateurish. It had a clear thesis but an inconsistent voice. It was difficult to do but I wrote a new draft that cut out much I previously thought important. It was the right call, the new draft, the current text, was clearer and better delineated. Subsequent articles have logically taken less time to write as I’ve gained experience with the format, all but the Odin one this past summer; it took me almost a year after I kept piling on new ideas, observations, and the silly notion to simultaneously reveal a website and a long-secret project.

All the same vocab and proofreading rules from #1 still apply, though scaled appropriately. I must have read the finalized Identity Crisis a few dozen times before it was published--and I still found typos much later, to my chagrin!

I treat article images as levity providers, something I hope helps retain reader interest throughout what are often lengthy documents. This is influenced by the humorous alt texts often employed by defunct gaming site The GIA, an outfit that probably made the biggest single impact on my games writing. Andrew Vestal’s Vagrant Story review not only convinced me to play the game, likely my favorite ever, for the longest time I considered it the standard for a game review. When I wrote the Vagrant Story piece for Hardcore Gaming 101, I deliberately included images similar to those of the Vestal review and alt texts (which HG101 typically didn’t or doesn’t use) as tribute.

#3 Creative stuff

I rarely talk about my original creations, if ever (I mean, talk about defunct sites--but I promise it won’t always be that way), but they do exist! I’ve been writing creatively since I was 11. Much of it bad, but that’s okay! (You’ll never see that stuff!)

We’re all influenced by the media we consume and I’m no different. For me this most plainly manifests through music, historically mostly video game soundtracks. In the past I would listen separately to soundtracks from games I already knew front and back to absorb the tone and mood of the music, which I’d then turn into various ideas (still mostly in notebooks, though that’s changing). For the longest time I thought listening to instrumental music was the key to promoting pure, imaginative ideas, but since Wisdom Eternal: 1973 is technically a period piece I’ve been listening to classic rock and having just as much luck inspiring the old noggin. It also helps that ‘70s rock influenced most of the game music I like!

The previous point made me realize something: when I criticize modern SMT, for example, I’ve also been unconsciously making the statement “I don’t want this to influence me.” Though, ironically, acknowledging those flaws has been hugely influential on how NOT to approach certain things. “We are what we eat,” and that equally applies to consumed media. Some of my older creative works that I now deem to be bad were the result of a limited pool of influences, mostly JRPGs. Very much akin to light novel-caliber writing and concepts, which are often similarly criticized for their extremely narrow range of influences too often focused on literal conflict and not empathetic, realistic characterization.

This post has been going on for a while, but one last thing I’ll say about my creative writing is just how slow the process can be. It’s slower than writing a research-heavy article, just because the idea or two you need to link certain plot threads can’t always be forced out of your brain. In my case, namely the subject of mythology and religion in a narrative, it’s not just writer’s block, it’s about being well-read enough to know (Y) about a particular culture in order to solve (X) narrative problem. Ya gotta read and you gotta read the right stuff, though what the right stuff is will of course vary depending on your own goals.

This was a fun ask that took me just over 2 hours to write, so I hope it’s helpful for you! Honestly, I could have said more but enough’s enough. That said, in the past I’ve tried adopting other writers’ processes to help my own only to find I couldn’t harmonize with their methods. But it’s something you’ll only find out as you write more and better understand what methods are comfortable for you. I can attest, that can take many years. Good luck!

Looking back on a year of Super Mario Odyssey updates

Mario retains on frolicking by way of Odyssey, regardless of Sakurai killing him

Rising up with a passionate interest is bizarre. In my childhood, I had on a regular basis on the earth to replay Tremendous Mario Sunshine time and again. As an grownup, I squeezed in sufficient time and power to 100% full Tremendous Mario Odyssey as soon as, and whereas I caught round for some time after, I since moved on to the handfuls of different video games in my still-growing backlog. Earlier than I even began a second playthrough, I spotted that Odyssey is already a 12 months previous! And but even Nintendo’s not executed with Odyssey in any case this time, having drip-fed it free updates virtually that complete 12 months.

It struck me as a shock that it acquired this a lot free DLC, albeit a pleasing one, as a result of Odyssey is a recreation that by no means wanted DLC of any type. Properly, there was one nitpick I might argue its first patch severely helped, however Odyssey was nonetheless an entire and fulfilling package deal even earlier than then. I feel it’s that in any case of those years of accelerating skepticism in direction of DLC practices, seeing a recreation as enormous as Odyssey obtain a lot extra content material with out having to pay a dime is… refreshing? A minimum of, “refreshing” is the vibe I’ve gotten from Nintendo’s DLC practices in 90% of their video games that use it, together with those with paid DLC. The remaining 10% is Hearth Emblem usually and Smash permitting season move preorders earlier than a lot of the move’s fighters are introduced (although a minimum of we now have Sakurai’s disclaimer to not preorder the move until you REALLY assume it is value it, which is a step most season passes by no means take), however that’s not what I’m right here to speak about at this time.

A great recreation changing into higher at all times felt like the perfect for DLC implementation, and Odyssey’s post-launch help embodies that very best. It’s an instance I hope each different single participant recreation with heavy post-launch help takes one thing away from, even when not carried out precisely like this. That is what I am right here to speak about at this time.

Its first replace in February was simply its greatest, introducing Luigi’s Balloon World as an asynchronous aggressive mode. I already wrote about how this mode enhances Odyssey’s present content material, so to keep away from redundancy, I received’t retread a lot floor right here. The CliffsNotes model is that this mode supplied a rewarding incentive to additional grasp its mechanics, giving its most devoted gamers a way more pleasant time in unlocking extra costumes than earlier than.

How becoming that this replace additionally added a number of extra costumes! One in all Odyssey’s most fun options is the chance to decorate up Mario in dozens of outfits we now have or haven’t seen him in earlier than, and constructing upon that with a fair greater wardrobe is straight away welcome. Since then, we’ve since seen roughly one new outfit each month.

A couple of of those ensembles are based mostly on Odyssey’s new antagonists, the Broodals. These guys is perhaps its most divisive addition to Mario’s world (personally, I dig these guys), however so far as their get-ups go, I feel they’re a pleasant mixture of snazziness and bizarreness. Each different DLC costume runs the gamut of kinds, from a Sunshine throwback to a humble racer go well with to an precise zombie. Every of those stands out even within the sea of outfits already accessible, broadening Mario’s visible choices in a recreation already gushing with visible type.

The February replace and this month’s additionally added yet another further, a few new snapshot mode filters. Most gamers take into account these the smallest addition — I by no means used snapshot mode myself — however I’ve to confess these are nice instruments for screenshot fans to play with! These new filters put spins on the fundamentals of pictures, framing it in fully new visible results (reminiscent of Coin, Tile, and Kaleidoscope) or new aesthetics that drastically change how a photographer perceives the linework surrounding their image (like Manga and Neon). The preliminary snapshot filters are helpful, however their results aren’t fairly this drastic, making the brand new ones a helpful addition for postcardsmiths in every single place.

There’s one different factor Nintendo has recurrently executed, which is so minor that almost all gamers don’t even take into account it an addition, however it’s a related piece of Odyssey’s post-launch help. Now and again, Nintendo will submit a chunk of Trace Artwork to their social media, and for those who go to the situation of that Trace Artwork, you’ll seize a bunch of cash. A pleasant bonus to have, however the reward itself is out of date given how rapidly Balloon World rakes in rather more money.

Trace Artwork is a straightforward solution to introduce new challenges into present ranges by asking gamers to revisit earlier worlds and take a look at them by way of one other lens. I take into account these a pleasant factor to have, as somebody who loved fixing trace artwork by way of my playthrough, however I usually see extra exasperation than applaud the few instances they’re introduced up in dialog. And I would not say they’re something greater than a “good factor to have”. They’re simply… there, and that’s okay! However I am not shocked that these Trace Artwork updates depart many gamers wanting one thing extra formidable as in the event that they have been appetizers for a second meal, although they’re framed extra like an after-dinner mint.

Many individuals really feel related in direction of considered one of Nintendo’s different platformers, Kirby Star Allies, and its personal post-launch help. That recreation’s DLC focuses purely on including extra playable characters, paying service to Kirby’s historical past by bringing again a plethora of characters, every with a totally fledged transfer set. This gives better incentive to replay Star Allies from the start, particularly with the little variations every character has in Visitor Star mode. All of this additionally free of charge, and it’s arguably extra thrilling than Odyssey’s DLC since these characters’ skills can significantly change the way you method a complete playthrough. But each remark part relating to those updates at all times speculates about paid DLC for ranges and new modes, eager for extra to do with the prevailing characters.

I’d positive get excited for degree DLC in Odyssey, however it would not make sense for Nintendo to disclose any such plans after a complete 12 months of post-launch help. Different big-hitters from Nintendo, like Mario Kart eight and Splatoon 2, confirmed their palms no later than 10 months after their premieres. The optimist in me needs to maintain speculating, however the realist in me wants to try the chilly, exhausting information and consider this DLC at face worth. And I consider it as being a reasonably darn good solution to lengthen the lifespan of a recreation that’s already fairly vigorous!

Why wouldn’t Nintendo need to preserve Odyssey within the highlight? It’s the unanimously acclaimed pinnacle of Mario’s historical past and a leap in direction of his future. It’s the Change’s finest promoting recreation. It’s the largest system vendor for Nintendo’s already explosively profitable console, and retaining it topical is a strong technique to encourage late adopters to hop aboard the hype prepare. Drip-feeding little additions and tidbits like these is their approach of guaranteeing it should keep on the forefront of social media timelines and retailer cabinets.

At any time when I see information touting new DLC out of, say, Digital Arts’s Mass Impact Andromeda, I’m extra prone to simply roll my eyes and ignore it. I do know that’s beating a lifeless horse to make that distinction, however that horse is lifeless for a purpose. Persons are exhausted from doubtful DLC practices to that time that the acronym has a stigma that does not match its technical definition. I can speak about Tremendous Mario Odyssey’s DLC with a lot enthusiasm as a result of it feels prefer it’s earned that enthusiasm. This can be a recreation I’m glad to get much more of. This can be a recreation I need to have a good time. This can be a recreation whose DLC practices I need to placed on a pedestal. And given how correct the information mined leaks have been up to now, it appears fairly seemingly we’ll nonetheless get a minimum of just a little bit extra within the close to future. If that’s the tip of Odyssey’s post-launch help, I feel it’s already greater than sufficient.

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Hey y’all.

I’m sure some of you may have noticed my inactivity lately, and I figured I should probably explain. Obviously, this is a personal blog, so it’s not like you were expecting content 

(aside from the fact that I apparently promised the entire multiverse pictures of Rome while I’m here how the fuck)

but I’m sure that there have been many personal posts from my mutuals and stuff y’all reblogged just for me that I just never responded to, and while I managed to read through a week’s worth of dash backlog before a combination of Hellsite and Shoddy Roman Internet knocked me back to the present, there is no way I’m ever going to read every post I’ve missed since April 15th. 

Also, as circumstances will make clear, I really wasn’t feeling up to posting again until I got this particular explanation off of my chest. So yeah, this’ll be that, and honestly, I would really appreciate you giving this a read, but of course, you don’t have to. Especially if you don’t need or want anything sad in your dash right now. Thanks.

So, a bit over two weeks ago, I woke up to the news my cat had died. 

It wasn’t entirely unexpected. Cisco was 17, he had had a good, long life. One of my biggest concerns in going off on the Rome Program, in fact, was that I would be gone for ten weeks, followed immediately by another ten in California. Five months felt risky, although it didn’t occur to me until after I heard the news how deep down, I had still been certain he would be there when I got home.

I was certain enough that I didn’t do any special goodbyes when I flew away in March. 

I still cannot remember what the last things I said to him were. So much of this devastating grief since then has been in realising that I never said goodbye. That I wasn’t there. That I don’t have emblazoned across my eyes, indelible that I may never lose him, how he looked the last time I saw him alive.

I am dreading coming home. Never in my memory have I come home without Cisco there.

Mikey, Redhat, and Cisco joined my family when I was just two years old. They came the usual way-- dropped off at our house by my mom’s ex-husband, who figured that if there were any group of suckers who would immediately adopt three weeks-old kittens, we were them. It transpired that he had found them in his car engine. 

For full context of how much a group of cat-loving idiots we are, keep in mind that this was when plans were already underway for a trans-continental relocation of our entire lives to America when Mom’s ex shows up at the door.

My mom says it was Cisco who convinced her, the second he, a tiny wriggling ball of tabby fluff rolled over, and his stomach was revealed to be this fuzzy expanse of golden fur with black polka-dots. I suspect she would have been convinced even if all three had looked like naked mole rats, but I assure you, Cisco was beautiful.

My parents, also being ridiculous y2k computer geeks, named the cats after failing stocks they had at the time. Mikey is short for Microsoft. 

(He was named first, because my parents are also also ridiculous punsters.)

I was raised to consider these three like my siblings. When my mom spoke to the cats about me, I was called their sister. The low-grade antagonism and ride or die affections between myself and all three certainly were par for the course.

(My current roommate insists I’m a fictional character, and this particular tidbit didn’t help my case at all.)

I remembering thinking as I sat on the couch after reading my mom’s short email, crying harder than I can explain, how hard it is to put into words the loss of a loved one who isn’t human. A ‘pet’ feels like a job title more than anything else. Something replaceable. It cannot convey the loss of an individual, the loss of an entire person, someone who has simply run out and whom there will never be more of again. 

And regardless of his species and role in my life, that is what happened when he died.

Cisco was always the sweetest of the three. Never once in his life did he ever attempt to bite or scratch anyone. Given his origins as a certainly at least semi-feral street kitten, this is incredible. Knowing his bloodthirsty siblings, to whom I can attribute grand networks of scar material, this is nothing short of a miracle.

A few years ago, he lost the ability to retract his claws, and even then would only scratch us on accident, usually when trying to extricate himself from hugs and other indignities. Most of the time, it just inconvenienced him, and it was a sad and hilarious sight each day to see him walking over blankets or upholstery and suddenly find himself stuck by the claw to the fabric. 

He often had difficulty unsticking himself, for while Cisco was gentle, he never was smart. Family theory had it that the three cats all had to tussle to get control over one brain. Redhat and Mikey would keep it going back and forth between the two, and only when they each fumbled, Cisco got to be the smart cat. After Mikey’s death eight years ago, we generally agreed Redhat had seized permanent control of the brain.

(When Mikey died, we began to say we had ‘three cats, but one of them is dead.’ It had always been the three, and to not have all seemed inconceivable until some impossible terrible day when we had none.

My mother called me a week ago and asked if she still counted as an old cat lady with only one left.)

Cisco might have not been a very smart cat, but he was one of the most human. His face was startlingly expressive, and he interacted more with people than to cats. Every meow he made carried emotion as clearly as telling us how he felt, with a range of nuance that quite easily surpasses that of some people I know. 

(When I think off how I will lose him yet further, I think of forgetting his voice.)

He had a bizarre taste in food. Seaweed and brewer’s yeast were all-time favorites, though he never shared Redhat’s obsession with drinking my mother’s tea right out of the mug every morning. What he did do every single morning was walk onto Mom’s desk, seat all 13 pounds of him across her chest, and declare it to be a time for hugging. 

He was always very shy and terribly affectionate. He liked to sleep on convenient persons nearby, and every night I heard the screams as he accidentally trod on his sister, already curled up beneath a blanket, and began an old fight anew. Guests would be privileged to see him for a moment as he stared down from the top of the stairs, or they would see him standing for ten minutes in the middle of the dinner table as we tried ineffectually to usher him out of the parmesan. 

He was always so tolerant of me, growing up and learning how to act around cats and humans alike. I don’t remember a time without him, but I know three-year-olds don’t speak Cat as fluently as fifteen-year-olds do. Cisco, I owe you an apology for the millions of cuddles I scooped you into, the various ink, chalk, and lipstick stains, and the billions of naps I interrupted just to hear you make that confused chirping sound. My bad. 

He was gorgeous, with incredible green eyes and stupid little tufts of coarse hair growing out of his chin. He had whiskers that were long and crooked and he liked to sit in the bathtub and stare at us until we ran the tap for him to drink from. He could be loud and quiet and I could curl up to sleep next to him and feel safer than anywhere else. He was perfect, so, so perfect.

I miss him everywhere that he is not. I am hit with waves of grief time and again.

The morning he died, it was Easter Sunday, and the bells across Rome rang as I heard the news. They rang as I cried. 

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus topped 1,000, according to a Johns Hopkins tally. The Senate approved a more-than-$2 trillion stimulus package. Singapore estimated that its economy contracted the most in a decade, an early sign of the hit that’s in store for many.The U.S. Senate’s approval of the record fiscal program to address the coronavirus sends the bill to the House of Representatives. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said that the lower body will meet Friday to consider the package, and that he expects it to pass.In Britain, the government moved to shut Parliament and Prince Charles tested positive. European Union leaders inched toward a rescue package. Spain had its deadliest day yet.Key Developments:Cases top 470,900; 21,276 dead, 114,012 recovered: Johns HopkinsFauci warns of potential for another cycle of infectionsRepublican governors split on Trump stay-at-home skepticismFired Americans send state unemployment websites crashingWall Street bonuses could fall 40% this yearSubscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here.Click VRUS on the terminal for news and data on the coronavirus and here for maps and charts. For analysis of the impact from Bloomberg Economics, click here. To see the impact on oil and commodities demand, click here.U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Passes 1,000 (11:41 a.m. HK)Over 1,000 people in the U.S. have died from the coronavirus, according to data tracked by Johns Hopkins University.That puts the U.S.’s death toll just behind France, which has 1,331 deaths. Italy has suffered the highest death roll in the widening global pandemic, with more than 7,500 deaths as of Thursday.The grim milestone comes as cases of infection in the U.S. rapidly increase and the World Health Organization warned that the country could become the next epicenter of the worldwide outbreak.Canada Sees a 72% Surge in Confirmed Cases (10:03 a.m. Hong Kong)In Canada, the number of confirmed cases rose to 3,385, an increase of 72% over the course of the day. There were 35 deaths, a rise of roughly 30%. It was not immediately clear if improvements in testing contributed to the spike in cases.Singapore GDP Shrinks, But Government Tamps Down Budget-Size Speculation (9:39 a.m. HK)Singapore’s gross domestic product fell an annualized 10.6% in the first quarter from the previous three months, far worse than the median forecast for an 8.2% contraction in a Bloomberg survey. The government said it now sees a sharp contraction in the economy of 1% to 4% for the full year.Even so, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat advised against having “excessive expectations” about the size of the upcoming budget aimed at addressing the outbreak.Singapore was among the first outside of China to be hit with coronavirus cases earlier this quarter, and it is often seen as a bellwether for global trade given the openness of its economy. New Zealand’s economy could also contract by as much as 10%, initial estimates of economists show.South Korea Joins Ranks of Central Banks Deploying QE (9:37 a.m. HK)The Bank of Korea will conduct weekly money-market operations aimed at providing an “unlimited” amount of liquidity for three months. The initiative will start in April, and is designed to stabilize financial markets. It “wouldn’t be too wrong” to see the move as quantitative easing, a BOK official said.The sharpest spike in years in premiums for companies to borrow in many funding markets around the world has pushed global monetary policy makers to adopt unorthodox measures. The U.S., Australia, New Zealand and several others have all taken unprecedented actions this month.Abe Administration Agrees With Governor’s Request for Tokyoites to Stay Home (8:10 a.m. HK)Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the Abe administration agreed with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike’s request Wednesday evening for residents of the capital city to stay indoors this weekend. That’s after virus cases in Tokyo jumped with 41 newly discovered infected people, a surge in a city that until now has mostly escaped the pandemic that has swept the world.The metropolis is in a “critical moment” over a potential explosion in cases, Koike said Wednesday. She asked that citizens work from home and not go out at night during weekdays.EU Vows to Be ‘Vigilant’ on Possible Hostile Takeovers (7:25 a.m. HK)European Union regulators warned about hostile foreign takeovers of EU-based companies as a result of the economic slump triggered by the pandemic, putting the spotlight on medical businesses. The European Commission issued guidance to EU national capitals on enacting new bloc-wide legislation meant to prevent foreign direct investments from threatening national security.Member countries must be “particularly vigilant” to ensure that “the current health crisis does not result in a sell-off of Europe’s business and industrial actors,” the Brussels-based commission said in the document published on Wednesday evening.Fauci Sees Potential for Another Cycle of Infections (6:53 a.m. HK)Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at a White House briefing that it’s possible the coronavirus could become a seasonal affliction, with further waves of infections coming. He noted that the number of cases in the southern hemisphere is rising as the winter season approaches there.“I know we’ll be successful in putting this down now. But we really need to be prepared for another cycle,” Fauci said. He said it’s vital that a vaccine be developed for the next cycle, along with a “menu” of treatment drugs that have been shown to be successful and safe.At the same briefing, White House coronavirus task force member Deborah Birx highlighted that the number of new cases in New York City has been relatively constant the past three days, and said that “we’re close to working through the testing backlog.”U.S. Governors Say Federal Stimulus Package Provides States Insufficient Funding (6:47 a.m. HK)U.S. governors whose states have been hardest hit by the crisis say the fiscal package wending its way through Congress doesn’t go far enough in providing funding to states and localities that are facing unprecedented financial pressures as they battle the coronavirus.New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the $3.8 billion for his state and $1.3 billion for New York City is a “drop in the bucket.” Lost tax revenue will cost the state as much as $15 billion, he said. Governor Gavin Newsom of California, which has the third-highest U.S. case count, said he strongly believes the federal government will need to do more. Both are Democrats.Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican who chairs the National Governors Association, said at a press conference Wednesday that “we’re gonna come back and ask for additional funding for the states and local governments to help with this crisis in the next round of stimulus.”Trump Expected to Have FEMA Direct Supplies Among States (6:24 a.m. HK)The Trump administration is expected to soon direct how manufacturers will distribute crucial medical supplies -- including protective gear and ventilators -- to combat the outbreak, alleviating what U.S. governors have complained is a chaotic marketplace for the products.The Federal Emergency Management Agency will take charge of allocating the supplies nationwide, according to three people familiar with the matter, under a clause of the Defense Production Act.Read full story hereCalifornia in Deal With Banks for Mortgage Relief (4:50 p.m. NY)Wells Fargo & Co., US Bancorp, Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have agreed to a 90-waiver of residential mortgage payments for Californians affected by the virus, Governor Gavin Newsom said. He also is considering a state-wide moratorium on evictions, a move some cities and counties have already made.“We’d reserve the right to look at a state overlay,” Newsom said at a briefing. “We have a team reviewing the legal parameters of that issue.”White House Girds for ‘Very Big’ Jump in U.S. Jobless (4:25 p.m. NY)White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow said a government report due Thursday will show a “very large increase” in the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits. While he declined to offer a specific number, California Governor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that 1 million in the state have filed claims since March 13.Recent estimates from economists at Wall Street banks have ranged from 2.25 million to 4 million.N.J.’s Virus Numbers on Track to Echo N.Y.’s (4:20 p.m. NY)Northern New Jersey is on track for the kind of viral surge that New York is experiencing, the state’s health commissioner said on Wednesday.Judy Persichilli said the trends in her state were tracking those of neighboring New York, which projects a peak infection rate in 14 to 21 days.“When we see this peak in New York, I think we can expect Bergen, Essex and Hudson counties will follow the trends,” she said at a news conference in Trenton on New Jersey’s response to the pandemic.Read full story hereU.K.’s Johnson Threatens Action to Stop Profiteering (4 p.m. NY)U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he’s considering making profiteering illegal as Britain battles the coronavirus, following reports that some firms had been hiking prices on essential products.“We are looking very carefully at what’s going on,” Johnson said at a press conference Wednesday. “I do not want to see people exploiting peoples’ need at a critical time, a national emergency.”WHO: Countries Wasted Time Amid Spread (2:52 p.m. NY)The world squandered a window of opportunity to fight the coronavirus and many actions should have been taken one or two months ago, according to World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The WHO chief himself didn’t call the coronavirus a pandemic until mid-March.Worldwide lockdowns have created a second window of opportunity that shouldn’t be wasted, he said at a press briefing in Geneva. There are 150 countries with fewer than 100 reported cases, he said, adding that those in lockdown should use this time to contain the virus.“The last thing any country needs is to reopen schools and businesses only to close them again because of resurgent cases,” he said.New Cases Decline in Italy (1:50 p.m. NY)Italy reported that new coronavirus cases fell on Wednesday, after nearly three weeks of lockdown measures. There were 5,210 new cases, compared with 5,249 a day earlier.Fatalities from the disease over the past 24 hours totaled 683, compared with 743 on Tuesday, according to figures from the civil protection agency. Confirmed cases in the country now total 74,386.The news came as the government broadened rules that shield companies from hostile takeovers as the virus takes a heavy toll on the economy.N.Y. Restricts Access To Malaria Drugs (12:15 p.m. NY)New York Governor Andrew Cuomo joined other states in restricting access to malaria treatments that President Donald Trump has touted for the novel coronavirus despite a lack of proof they will work.Cuomo updated an executive order Monday evening to block pharmacists from filling prescriptions for the malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for any uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration unless it is for a patient who has tested positive for Covid-19 and is part of a clinical trial. The medications are not approved to treat coronavirus.The government doesn’t typically impose on the practice of medicine. Doctors are typically allowed to prescribe drugs for any illness or condition, not just those a specific medication is approved to treat. Ohio, Texas, Idaho and Nevada have also moved to limit access to the drugs.Most NYC Covid-19 Dead Had Other Health Problems (11:30 a.m. NY)Ninety-five percent of New York City’s almost 200 deaths from the new coronavirus had underlying health conditions, though almost half were under the age of 75, according to data published by the city’s health department on Tuesday.The deaths, as well as data on cases and hospitalizations, mimic the patterns found in other cities with major outbreaks. New York City had more than 15,000 Covid-19 cases as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, the largest outbreak in the U.S.Read the full story hereU.K.’s Sunak to Detail Support for Self-Employed (10:34 a.m. NY)U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak on Thursday will announce a package of assistance for self-employed Britons. It’ll be Sunak’s fourth emergency package to help British companies and workers cope with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, he guaranteed 80% of the wages of those with jobs that are at risk because of the outbreak.Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman also said authorities will crack down on people profiteering from the coronavirus crisis.Putin Delays Vote on Plan to Stay in Power (9:50 a.m. NY)President Vladimir Putin postponed a public vote on constitutional changes next month that would allow him to rule to 2036 as Russia attempts to stem the spread of the coronavirus.Putin, who has promised Russians final say on amendments to the constitution he has rushed through, said the vote planned for April 22 would be rescheduled at a later date.Saying Russia couldn’t cut itself off from the pandemic, he said that people wouldn’t work next week, though workers would still get paid. He announced the delay during a hastily arranged national address Wednesday.Though its totals remain well below those in some big European countries, Russia reported that coronavirus cases jumped by a third over the past day to 658.Ackman Puts Part of His Fortune in Covid-19 Testing (9:04 a.m. NY)Billionaire Bill Ackman said he invested a portion of his personal wealth to help manufacture antibody testing kits produced by Covaxx, a newly formed subsidiary of closely-held United Biomedical Inc.Ackman has repeatedly called for a complete shutdown of the U.S. for 30 days to help combat the spread of the virus. He has also called for antibody testing, like the one Covaxx develops, across the country to determine who has already contracted the virus.Bullard Says 2Q Will See Most Pandemic Disruption (8:52 a.m. NY)St. Louis Fed President James Bullard told CNBC the second quarter is likely to see the most disruption from the coronavirus outbreak, but the economy should bounce back by year’s end. “If we can get this to work right, everything will snap back to normal once this is over,” he said.Bullard tempered earlier remarks predicting that the U.S. unemployment rate may hit 30% in the second quarter. “This number will be unparalleled, but don’t get discouraged.”Switzerland Expands Entry Curbs (8:47 a.m. NY)Switzerland on Wednesday stepped up the curbs on incoming travel to include all countries within the Schengen area. It previously had limited arrivals from Spain, Italy, Germany, France and Austria.The Schengen area is a passport-free travel zone among 26 European nations.India Delays Plans for Population Register (7:50 a.m. NY)The government has indefinitely postponed plans to begin surveys leading to its next census and a comprehensive population register. The process was to have begun in April and was seen as a precursor to a national citizens register that, along with a new citizenship law, had led to angry protests across India since December.India is likely to agree on an economic stimulus package of more than 1.5 trillion rupees (about $20 billion), Reuters reported, citing two unidentified people familiar with the plans.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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Cnn news SafeSport CEO to testify before oversight panel as lawmakers weigh increasing funding

Cnn news

U.S. Center for SafeSport CEO Ju’Riese Colon, who now not too lengthy prior to now took the helm of the group charged with investigating allegations of abuse in sport, testified at a hearing on athlete security sooner than the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on Wednesday.

SafeSport, which opened its doors in March 2017, stands at a severe juncture. Colon’s look on Capitol Hill comes at a time when lawmakers are waiting to debate proposed legislation -- written by two senators who spearheaded a extensive-ranging investigation of abuse in Olympic sports final year -- that will very much bolster her group with tens of millions of bucks of what she says is far-mandatory additional annual funding.

Wednesday’s hearing, whereas circuitously tied to that proposed legislation, is scheduled to be a dialogue about “athlete security and the integrity of U.S. sport.” Colon became once invited to testify alongside the heads of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and the National Athletic Trainers’ Affiliation.

As high-profile cases delight in vaulted the problem of sexual abuse and misconduct in sport correct into a topic of grave public sigh, SafeSport has been dogged by questions from athletes and their advocates who doubt the group’s independence and effectiveness.

Colon sought to assuage these doubts on Wednesday.

“The Center has near a lengthy manner,” Colon mentioned in her opening remarks. “Now we delight in developed insurance policies where there had been none. Now we delight in supplied a mechanism for athletes to gape decision. Now we delight in required practicing where it became once once infrequently utilized. Now we delight in held a total bunch of people accountable for inflicting damage. And, in consequence, we're main the payment in altering the culture of sport.”

Lots of worthy attorneys who delight in represented elite athletes in sexual abuse cases live extremely skeptical of SafeSport’s means to adequately deal with the problem of abuse in sports.

John Manly, an authorized decent whose firm represents many of the victims of disgraced USA Gymnastics group doctor Larry Nassar, has emerged as SafeSport’s fiercest -- but by no system handiest -- critic.

“SafeSport is a firm dedicated to 1 thing: holding the USOC,” Manly informed ABC News and ESPN. “Congress has to mediate whether or now not they’re going to be complicit or now not.”

Jon Little, an Indianapolis-essentially based authorized decent who has represented loads of purchasers against national governing our bodies in suits over their facing of abuse allegations, echoed these concerns, asserting SafeSport is mute “bent on holding” sports establishments and the these that work for them.

“The target of SafeSport is to compile knowledge to mitigate the felony and civil liability of the coaches it certifies, protects and controls,” Little informed ABC News and ESPN. “No topic how powerful [money] you give them, as lengthy as the aim is unpleasant, it’s pointless."

On Wednesday, Sen. John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, asked Colon to deal with the problem of independence straight, and she or he replied by highlighting the group's pledge now not to hire someone who has now not too lengthy prior to now worked for the USOPC or one of many national governing our bodies.

“Independence is important to us,” Colon mentioned. “It's miles simply one thing that has been referred to as into build a matter to sooner than, but we delight in now performed all the pieces we are in a position to, I reflect, to rating obvious independence.”

And in step with questions from ABC News and ESPN, SafeSport spokesperson Dan Hill defended the group and its work.

“SafeSport and its workers are fair from the [U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee] and [national governing bodies]. They attain now not epic to these entities,” Hill mentioned. “The Center has its delight in governance, oversight and insurance policies. Since opening its doors … 627 people had been sanctioned by the Center, collectively with high-profile athletes, coaches and figures of their sport.”

Hill instructed that just a few of SafeSport’s critics are “working to undermine the Center’s mission” for deepest and decent assemble, but he acknowledged “the merely of parties to gape counsel and to pursue their very delight in deepest pursuits exterior of sport.”

“But we predict about,” he mentioned, “these pursuits and ours can and will co-exist.”

Colon took over as CEO in July 2019 following the departure of the group’s long-established high govt Shellie Pfohl in December 2018. Colon inherited a firm with a modest value range and a exiguous workers struggling to defend dash with the resolution of claims requiring investigation and to defend the have faith of the athlete neighborhood it objectives to wait on.

SafeSport, thru its spokesperson Hill, declined requests from ABC News and ESPN to rating Colon accessible for an interview, but she spoke at size about her recent feature on a recent episode of a sports change podcast.

The group receives bigger than 200 experiences per thirty days, Colon mentioned in October, and at this time has about 1,200 launch investigations, the majority of which involve allegations of sexual abuse of kids. About half of her 40 workers are dedicated to clearing that backlog, she mentioned, and collectively with extra investigators is one of her high priorities for 2020.

Colon, a longtime child security advocate who previously served in govt roles at the Boys & Ladies Clubs of America and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Younger people, obviously has a deep background in child abuse training and prevention, but her investigative abilities appears to be diminutive.

“As for the CEO, the Center sought a smartly-rounded leader to oversee all ingredients of the Center’s mandate, which contains training, consciousness and prevention insurance policies,” Hill mentioned. “She has been spherical and supported the investigative route of most of her profession and has the leadership qualities, skills and keenness the Center became once looking out out.”

The bulk of SafeSport’s funding is supplied by the U.S. Olympic Committee, however the group also receives “a significant part” of its value range from the national governing our bodies, Colon mentioned, and she or he is actively concerned about ongoing discussions with their leaders as they “collectively” resolve how powerful monetary improve they must provide to their very delight in watchdog.

For Manly, Colon’s fundraising from the national governing our bodies creates the capability of a battle of pastime.

“That tells you all the pieces that you can delight in to understand,” Manly informed ABC News and ESPN. “We’re going to defend people responsible with cash from the people we delight in now to defend responsible? It's miles an completely broken procedure on epic of it became once never designed to work.”

In accordance to Hill, however, SafeSport’s independence is protected by its insurance policies irrespective of the sources of its funding.

“There are plenty of … who factor in that the sports and USOPC must be invested in fixing these disorders,” Hill mentioned. “One might perchance well also build a matter to, if they attain now not fund the Center, who will?”

One of the significant supreme challenges going thru SafeSport were on prove in its failed strive to get rid of once-eminent figure skating coach Richard Callaghan from his sport.

Callaghan, who has coached just a few of the field’s most embellished skaters, became once at the beginning place banned for all times in August 2019 following an 18-month investigation into his behavior sparked by allegations of sexual abuse reported to SafeSport by his out of date pupil and colleague Craig Maurizi. Callaghan, who has over and over denied these allegations, appealed that call to an arbitrator, who lifted the ban and as an alternate imposed a three-year suspension, 15-year probation and 100 hours of neighborhood service for non-sexual misconduct toward other skaters.

Final month, ABC News and ESPN bought confidential documents that published that the arbitrator who reviewed SafeSport’s investigation of Callaghan lifted his lifetime ban despite agreeing with the investigators’ conclusion that Callaghan had sexually, bodily and emotionally abused young skaters.

Callaghan’s actions, the arbitrator wrote in his hearing decision, were “unpleasant and unbecoming of a coach in the Olympic lope,” collectively with that “sexual activity with a minor … has no place in sport.” He made up our minds, however, that, on epic of procedural principles concerning behavior that preceded SafeSport’s existence dictated that he rely on the criteria of that time, he utilized what he referred to as “an absurd and draconian” since-repealed law adopted in Unique York in 1980, which required “corroboration” for obvious sexual offenses.

Without a stumble on to, or other corroborating evidence of, the sexual abuse, in other phrases, his fingers were tied. Callaghan, he made up our minds, might perchance well return to the ice in 2022.

“I’m alarmed and disappointed,” Maurizi informed ABC News and ESPN. “SafeSport became once build in place to conclude predators. But, in my case, they did merely the alternative.”

In an earlier observation, SafeSport mentioned that whereas it might perchance perhaps also now not have faith this particular arbitrator’s decision, the arbitration route of itself is an significant aspect of its operation.

“In the topic of Richard Callaghan, the Center stands at the aid of its thorough investigation and decision to sigh a lifetime ban,” SafeSport mentioned in a press free up. “Even when the Center disagrees with the final result, it need to respect the arbitration route of as it's significant to placing forward fairness and SafeSport’s authority to pursue these matters.”

Callaghan’s case is now not the handiest time an arbitrator’s decision to overturn a SafeSport sanction has sparked controversy.

An analogous tales in taekwondo, weightlifting and cycling delight in raised a associated sigh: the arbitration court docket cases and the investigations that precede them are belief of non-public and confidential, so the reason at the aid of these choices live largely hidden from public build a matter to, at the same time as alleged offenders return to competition or teaching.

Stephen Estey, a San Diego-essentially based authorized decent representing three out of date taekwondo athletes in a potentially landmark case against the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee in California, referred to as SafeSport’s protection “the alternative of transparent.”

“Why wouldn’t SafeSport need these choices to be public?” Estey informed ABC News and ESPN. “You might perhaps need all people to understand the facts, so as that oldsters can rating their very delight in told choices. Despite the incontrovertible fact that an arbitrator overturns a ban, as a minimal the facts will be accessible so people can lisp, ‘Is that this any individual I need spherical my kid?’”

Hill argued that the confidential route of became once designed now not to protect abusers but to provide protection to victims and witnesses.

“There are plenty of the causes why victims of abuse attain now not need their tales shared publicly and it’s now not one thing SafeSport or any entity must take lightly,” Hill mentioned. “Public disclosure of the deepest and sensitive exiguous print of sexual abuse would no doubt lower experiences and negatively affect the Center’s means to fulfill its mission.”

But SafeSport’s supreme challenges is arguably the distrust of the group among just a few of the main attorneys who signify the athletes who drop below its jurisdiction.

Manly, Little and Estey all informed ABC News and ESPN that, as a rule, they counsel that their purchasers attain now not take part in SafeSport investigations or arbitration hearings, a stance SafeSport spokesperson Hill previously referred to as “unacceptable" and mentioned the group became once "taking a review into."

On the eve of Colon’s testimony, however, Hill went one step additional.

“A failure to epic,” Hill mentioned, “might perchance well also moreover be a violation of the SafeSport Code.”

Pete Madden is an investigative producer for ABC News. Dan Murphy is a workers creator for ESPN.

I've started reading Obviously Awesome, a book about product positioning, after a recommendation from this article. I've found it very helpful in clarifying my thinking so far. The author, April Dunford, is pretty active on Medium if you're interested.For this post I'm going to work through one of the exercises from the book for a product I've been working on. I'm doing this to get some feedback on my work, and so that I can learn through explaining what I've read.The Positioning ProblemUnfortunately the book doesn't to give an explicit definition of "positioning", but the general idea is to come up with a frame of reference that helps people quickly understand your product:When we encounter something new, we will attempt to make sense of it by gathering together all the little clues we can quickly find to determine how we should think about this new thing. Without that context, products are very difficult to understand.Your positioning affectsWho / what you are competing withSale volumes, pricing and marginsKey product featuresA useful example given by the book is the difference between selling cakes and muffins. From the perspective of a baker, they're relatively similar, but in one case you're selling a high margin, low volume product to for special events, and in another you're selling bulk lunchtime snacks. In one case your competition is Bombe Alaska and in the other it's cookies.Thankfully, Dunford gets explicit and breaks positioning down into 5 components:Competitive alternatives: What customers would do if you solution didn't exist.Unique attributes: The features that only you haveValue: The benefit of those features for customersTarget market characteristics: The characteristic of your buyers that make them care about the value of your productMarket category: The market that you describe yourself as being part of, to help customers understand your valueMy ProductMy product is Blog Reader, which is an online service that reads articles to you. I created it because I had a huge backlog of web content that I wanted to read, was time/attention poor, and I was excited about recent advances in text-to-speech quality. I've had real trouble positioning this product, which is relatively new and isn't obviously comparable to an existing market. All my marketing efforts so far can be neatly characterised as "randomly thrashing about, praying for adoption". I've really enjoyed Obviously Awesome so far because it's given me a framework on how to market this product.Focus on Competitive AlternativesDunford claims that the features and value of our product are only meaningful when compared to the alternatives that a customer might use, so we should focus on these alternatives first. Importantly, this does not refer to "what alternatives exist in the marketplace", but rather "what would your customers use if your product didn't exist?". I've psyched myself out many-a-time by looking at alternatives to my product, but these are only relevant if my potential customers would actually use them if my product didn't exist. Barely anyone knows about Curio, so listing them as a competitior isn't useful.This exercise was quite fruitful when applied to Blog Reader, where I identified the following competitive alternatives:Give up and never read the articleRead the article nowBookmark the article and read laterUse Pocket's text-to-speech featureUse curated article narration services (Curio, Audm)Listen to a podcast insteadListen to an audiobook insteadAfter staring at this list I realised that these alternatives neatly cluster into two groups of people:People who aspire to read more articles onlinePeople who just want to listen to something interestingI had been conflating these two groups in all of my efforts so far, leading to a lot of waste. I don't want to compete with podcasts and audiobooks! There is a near-infinite supply of cheap, high quality content in both spaces. Based on this insight, I should not be playing in a market category where my product will be compared to audiobooks and podcasts, becuase I'll get slaughtered. On the other hand, the category of people who aspire to read more articles online seems quite promising, since my active competitors are Pocket's text-to-speech and a few apps no one has heard of.Isolate Your Unique Attributes or FeaturesIn this step Dunford asks you to list the concrete features that your product has that your competitive alternatives do not. She suggests that you focus on features that a customer would consider before purchasing, rather than features which improve customer retention.So, for Blog Reader I came with the following:You can listen to online articles, rather than read themYou can add (almost) any article you want, content is on-demandYou can use most podcast apps to listen to the audioThe voice sounds reasonably natural (eg. compared to Pocket's TTS)Pay for what you useMap the Attributes to ValueThis step, like the last one, is quite procedural. Map the features to benefits, and the value of those benefits. In other words, describe what outcome the features achieve and why those outcomes are valued by the customer. Once you've done that, you should see particular themes emerge from the list. I had a crack at doing this for my product:FeatureBenefitValueListen rather than readYou don't have to be at a screen to enjoy an article, you can be walking or drivingYou can save time by listening to articles when you otherwise wouldn't be busy, like when you're commuting. You can also listen to more articles than you would have read.Listen rather than readYou don't have to read the article, which takes more focus than listeningYou can enjoy longer articles which are boring to read, but OK to listen toContent is on demandYou can add any online article you wantYou can listen to niche content that you care aboutI think the key themes are focus, time saving and freedom, which has prompted me to consider that my product is perhaps less about entertainment (music, audiobooks, podcasts) and more about productivity (eg. time tracking software), which I had never thought of before.Target Market CharacteristicsAt this point Dunford asks us to consider "who cares about this product's value a lot?" and then "what characteristics make them care so much?" She emphasises that you should not just focus on customer demographics like age, sex, profession, etc.Again, the characteristics I came up with skewed more towards people who wanted to be more productive, rather than people who want to be entertained. I think the people who would love my product:Love consuming information, reading news, opinions, blogs, articlesBrowse a broad range of sites - they get content from aggregators like Reddit or Hacker News, a set of favourite publications like The Guaradian, or a bunch of blogs that they follow via RSS.Are time poor - they can't find the time to read as much as they'd like. They're probably swamped with commitments, such as working full timeAre attention poor - they aspire to read that long meandering article about Mister Rogers, but can't plough through 5000 words in a sittingFind a Market Category for Your ProductI think this is the actual "positioning" part of the process. Dunford writes:You now have a good handle on your ideal prospects, your product's unqiue attributes and the value those attributes can deliver. The next step is to pick a market frame of reference that makes your value obvious to the segments who care the most about that value....We position our offering in a market to trigger a set of assumptions - about competitors, features and pricing - that work to our advantage. By choosing a position within a specific market, you're giving your prospects clues about what products they should compare you with, your key features, your price and your benefits. Those comparisons help customers quickly figure out what your products is all about and whether or not they should consider purchasing it.Interestingly, Dunford warns you against picking a "default" market category for your product, based on historical accident or implementation details. I can relate to this: I decided that my market was "entertainment", because I deliver audio to my users via a podcast feed.Instead of selling an entertainment product, I now believe that I should be position Blog Reader as a "productivity tool". I've decided this because the things that I think my users will value is saving time and acheiving their aspirations (ie. enjoying more articles). The metric they will use to judge my product will be "is this helping me be more productive?" rather than "is this better than listening Joe Rogan?". Competitors are Pocket and bookmarking tools, rather than other forms of entertainment.From here I'm going to investigate how I can use my new market category:to find new keywords for AdWordsfind new subjects for content marketingupdate the copy on my landing pagefind new channels to promote my productWrapping UpIf anyone got through all of that, thanks for reading - I hope you got something out of it. I wholeheartedly recommend the book, it's a short and light read. If you have any advice or feedback on my process of finding a new position for my product, let me know.

Remembering Satoshi’s Imaginative And Prescient — Because It Was Written

New Post has been published on https://vipcryptosignals.com/bitcoin-news/remembering-satoshis-imaginative-and-prescient-because-it-was-written-3/

Remembering Satoshi’s Imaginative And Prescient — Because It Was Written

On October 31, 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto had a vision to percentage with the sector — a protocol he called “bitcoin, a new electronic money machine that’s totally peer-to-peer, with no relied on 3rd celebration.” Due To The Fact that point an entire lot has modified, and there may be an infinite Cryptocurrency landscape with over 1,500 digital currencies indexed on data feed websites. It’s been an excessively long time on the grounds that Satoshi left the community and his vision, the white paper, and even the protocol’s evidence-of-work has been wondered multiple occasions over the years.

Also read: Privateness-Centric Coin XMR Splits Into 4 Different Monero Protocols

BCH Proponents Consider That Many Key Attributes Were Slowly Replaced With An Entire New Idea

Satoshi Nakamoto left the community in 2010, and no one has heard from the anonymous creator of bitcoin ever considering. at the moment the bitcoin group has cut up into two factions as a result of the scaling debate, that coincidently started the same year Satoshi left. Many bitcoin money supporters believe the BTC aspect of the community has never had a legitimate excuse in opposition to elevating the 1 MB block dimension by utilizing a refuse to present in at-any-price mentality. The bitcoin cash group believes this crew has been so cussed that Center supporters mainly enabled blowback to happen this prior August, permitting a big majority of customers to move their separate techniques by way of forking the protocol, sooner than the creation of the contentious Segregated Witness (Segwit). The protocol Segwit have been and still is debatable and hasn’t received so much traction even to at the present time. All of those people who once shared equivalent visions with their friends, formed some other group and rallied around the bitcoin money (BCH) community believing that BCH is the closest chain to Satoshi’s unique vision.

A slide from Dr. Peter Rizun’s speech on the way forward for Bitcoin convention presentations just one this is because folks to find Segregated Witness adverse.

Revisionism

Along all of this vitriolic energy tethered to the scaling debate, BCH supporters say there were relatively a few people who imagine “Satoshi’s imaginative and prescient doesn’t matter,” and in reality have the audacity to recommend making changes to the author’s white paper. many people will tell you the reason for that is because supporters of the Segwit chain have realized that the record does not apply to the BTC network. Sadly, BTC hardly ever resembles what’s described in Satoshi’s white paper. for instance, the co-house owners of Bitcoin.org, ‘Theymos,’ and ‘Cobra Bitcoin’ amongst others have talked about converting positive words in Satoshi’s paper. Some Other instance is how the internet portal Bitcoin.org, that’s heralded by Middle supporters as ‘reality,’ removed the cheap and fast transactions description for bitcoin off front page — the explanation for that is for the reason that description doesn’t apply to Middle network.

The owners of Bitcoin.org have discussed editing and revising the white paper on multiple events.

of course, bitcoin cash supporters were furious approximately this technique of revisionism utilized by the opposite facet of this debate. it’s ceaselessly said that “Satoshi’s vision” or the author himself doesn’t matter, however BCH supporters believe so much loose-thinking folks remember the fact that history is important. Satoshi’s words and his original white paper is terribly vital towards holding the network from being perverted. Someone who denies history doesn’t know how issues got here to be, they usually can have a significant issue dealing with the long run. The earlier is the long run’s direct causation. The very name of the white paper explains that bitcoin is a “peer-to-peer digital money device” which presentations completely no references to conserving the coin as a speculative asset, or any comparability that represents a ‘digital store of price.’ 

Bitcoin.org gets rid of positive descriptions from front web page.

Can’t Find The Money For to Ship Bitcoin? — Take Care Of It — It’s ‘Censorship Resistant’ for a certain Crew Of People  

After close to a decade, one by means of one, BCH supporters state that particular options that used to be promoted broadly among the bitcoin neighborhood had been slowly forgotten. in the early days, bitcoin was once regarded as pseudonymous and wanted tools like mixers and tumblers that might lend a hand supply anonymity. Then Again, due to the upward thrust in transaction costs such a lot bitcoin mixers and tumblers discovered the network unsustainable, and many were not able to combine coins because network fees have been each too pricey and unreliable. Additional, through the times when BTC suffered from extreme network congestion, and unconfirmed transactions spiked to well over 2 HUNDRED,000, darknet mixers and tumblers had been known as out for ‘spamming the community.’

There’s no one that can in reality argue that this meme is inappropriate.

Needless To Say while transactions were as soon as defined as less expensive than most centralized processors like Western Union? within the early days, people predicted billions of micropayments helping other folks in need and third international countries. As A Substitute throughout 2015- 2017, Middle advocates and developers said they didn’t thoughts if fees aggregated to $ONE HUNDRED in line with transaction. Core developer Gregory Maxwell said in the course of the worst period of BTC’s transaction backlog and $60 fees that he was once popping bottles of champagne.  

“In My Opinion, I Am pulling out the champagne that market behaviour is certainly generating task ranges that may pay for safety without inflation, and likewise generating fee paying backlogs had to stabilize consensus growth as the subsidy declines.” ~ Greg Maxwell Dec. 21, 2017

It didn’t subject that economically unfortunate international locations couldn’t manage to pay for to make use of the bitcoin blockchain as lengthy as the chain continued to remain ‘censorship resistant’ — Satirically this idea process results in the censorship of greater than 2/3rds of this global who have a troublesome time considering paying $0.25 cents consistent with transaction (tx) not to mention $30-60 USD in line with tx. It’s safe to mention that enjoying the emerging rate marketplace process is instantly out of a Ponzi scheme handbook where handiest the early adopters are folks that can have enough money to make use of the network advantages.

The Resurrection of Killer Apps

Middle supporters will tell you that bitcoin money proponents are misleading by using the open emblem title ‘bitcoin,’ while in truth all BCH proponents imagine they are doing is “adhering to Satoshi’s original imaginative and prescient.” in reality, the chain and the BCH community are direct derivatives of stubborn blowback. Revisionists and actors with confirmation bias have clung to arguments that make no feel and act like the arena is about to adopt a whole new infrastructure called the ‘Lightning Community.’ This Is after knowing on-chain BTC transactions aren’t very fast, and on-chain BTC transaction fees are unreliable especially during periods of demand. Unfortunately, mainstream attention that took place all over Q4 of 2017, used to be one of the worst classes of time for congestion, as BTC fees aggregated to upwards of $60 in step with transaction and confirmation times of up to per week for low fees. Then the mainstream was directed to a gadget that is not even close to fashionable adoption, even if this mainstream target market was principally at a tipping point in opposition to mass adoption.

On April FOUR, a record was published that targeted best flaws and topology concerns with the Lightning Community. the author of this have a look at was neither a bitcoin money or bitcoin middle holder.

Thankfully for mainstream adopters, BCH supporters consider bitcoin money might be there to offer the very things that had been promised within the early days that made the theory of cryptocurrencies so cool — actual rapid, affordable, and dependable transactions that can’t be censored.

This Is as a result of BCH supporters state that mainstream audiences and customers from 3rd world countries won’t be hindered from using the Cryptocurrency due to unreliable switch times and tumultuous community charges. they also won’t need to discover ways to adopt a brand new network on most sensible of the blockchain or find out about the failings of routing, watchtowers, centralized hubs, commencing channels, or holding cash on-line in limbo. No, all they’ll must be told is how to use bitcoin as it was taught for the prior nine years. Mainstream audiences also are getting a glimpse of an ‘software resurrection’ of tools that had been as soon as heralded through the BTC neighborhood. The bitcoin cash environment has resurrected mixers and tumblers, micro-tipping applications, a Bittorrent platform, social media apps like Memo and Blockpress, even the facility to ship very small fractions of BCH without a web-based connection.  

Protective Propaganda and Censorship Over Conscience and Ideas

Bitcoin cash proponents think that revisionists will proceed to check out and say that Satoshi and the white paper “doesn’t subject” and can try to revise history to make bitcoin something that it is not. Why do BCH enthusiasts consider this? Likely it is as a result of supporters of bitcoin revisionism have defended propaganda and censorship, so much that it has turn into a regimen task on some of bitcoin’s so much frequented boards. All of this for a cussed win-at-any-value mentality that wouldn’t even allow the dialogue or open debate of adding one measly megabyte to the block dimension. No, BCH proponents imagine the confusion Center supporters complain about, rests on their judgment of right and wrong, as a result of they obfuscated the protocol’s unique intentions, anonymous minions sniffed out dissenting opinions, and cried once they got the blowback (the birth of BCH) they deserved.

It’s protected to mention that Satoshi’s imaginative and prescient can be remembered, and his white paper will stay protected from adjustments. However, BCH supporters needless to say the revisionists can even be known for being intellectually dishonest and as sophists trying to keep bitcoin hostage. Bitcoin money enthusiasts believe that when August 1, 2017 bitcoin’s antagonistic takeover has ended, and there’s now an avenue to be had to continue following Satoshi’s vision. 

What do you’re thinking that about the idea that most BCH supporters believe that Center proponents have revised historical past and feature tried to lessen Satoshi’s vision and even alter the white paper? How do you take into account that this historical past? let us understand in the comments underneath.

That Is an Op-ed article. The reviews expressed on this article are the author’s personal. Bitcoin.com doesn’t endorse nor support perspectives, reviews or conclusions drawn in this put up. Bitcoin.com isn’t answerable for or responsible for any content, accuracy or quality throughout the Op-ed article. Readers must do their own due diligence sooner than taking any movements related to the content. Bitcoin.com is not accountable, right away or not directly, for any damage or loss brought about or speculated to be because of or in connection with the use of or reliance on any knowledge in this Op-ed article.

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Airbus’ announcement on Monday evening to take a majority stake in Bombardier’s C Series program was a total mic drop for the global airline and aviation community.

And Boeing wound up with egg on its face.

For those unfamiliar with the backstory details, a few weeks back, the U.S. Department of Commerce had proposed a tariff of 219.63% for each Bombardier C Series aircraft imported into the U.S. For those unfamiliar with the Bombardier C Series Program, much less what the implications would be for any U.S.-based airline customer that would be affected by such a preposterous measure, the story dates back to July 2004 when Bombardier, Inc. of Canada decided to create a new aircraft prototype that would challenge Airbus and Boeing in the narrowbody space.

The C Series program, as it soon would be known, was aimed at growing Bombardier’s fleet plan beyond the sub-100 seat market category. Bombardier had successfully penetrated the regional and turboprop segment with the de Havilland Canada Dash 8, Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) and Q400 turboprop.

Image Credit: Bombardier

The reason for up-scaling? Bombardier had plenty of existing competition within its own space, namely with Brazil’s Embraer and eventually Russia’s Sukhoi civilian jets. But more saliently, Boeing and Airbus were investing heavily in the, “Middle of the Market” (MOM) space with the former having massive success with the 737-Next Generation project and -MAX prototype, and Airbus investing in the New Engine Option (NEO). These aircrafts would enable Boeing and Airbus to supply their customers with long-range aircraft capable on narrowbody planes, which would then allow them to fly transoceanic routes at significantly lower costs than widebody jets.

But these projects, essentially, neglected the sub-150 seat passenger sector. And Bombardier felt that there would still be plenty of demand for this space, especially as Boeing’s 737 Classic and Airbus A320-Classic jets grew older and without replacements.

So Bombardier created the C Series, and with several generations in mind. It would launch starting with the -100 and future generations, including the -300 and -500, would be positioned to fly short-to-medium haul routes that were best flown on smaller gauge aircraft, but at higher schedule frequencies, such as heavily-trafficked business markets like Atlanta to Dallas or Chicago to New York. In addition, the C Series could also fly long-haul missions with a full Premium cabin configuration, such as London to New York, Toronto or Boston. The plane was certified for STOL (Short Take-off and Landing) runways like London City Airport (LCY) or Toronto Billy Bishop Airport (YTZ) which are located within walking distance to Central Business Districts.

In short, the C Series could be a viable “niche” aircraft for airlines like British Airways or Qatar Airways, which fly all-Premium cabin flights to high-yielding destinations, or airlines like Delta that operate high-frequency shuttle flights between important business markets. It would also enable airlines like Porter, based at Billy Bishop Airport, to operate longer-range missions to the Western U.S. and Canada, which it is currently unable to do with its Q400 planes.

And it was so that the C Series marketed itself, except that it was plagued with issues during the late 2000s and early 2010s following the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, soaring fuel prices and later, a series of unfortunate events at Bombardier. Production for the CRJ product was very backlogged in the early 2010s, right around the time that the Bombardier C Series program was destined to begin testing. Then, the Pratt and Whitney 1500G engines that the C Series was to use were grounded in May 2014, so that was a problem. Bombardier was forced to layoff thousands of employees and undergo a restructuring program.

2015 was a bit brighter as it was able to end the year with 100% certification testing for SWISS International Airlines, its launch customer, but the sales were null and future prospects were grim. It lost out on a major opportunity with United, who opted to go with Boeing instead (it was later discovered that Boeing offered a very attractive deal to United for 737-700s instead). Furthermore, Porter and Billy Bishop Airport were blocked from expanding the runway at YTZ, which meant that the current length of the runway was incapable of allowing the C Series to land there.

What saved the program, however, was Delta’s order of 75 CS100s in April 2016, with options for an additional 50. The order was valued at $5.6 billion and was also somewhat of a first for Delta. Though Delta has been progressively ordering newer aircraft lately, with the Airbus A350 for instance, Delta has also been known to buy second-hand aircraft at cheap prices and exhaust them through useful life. Classic examples include buying the 717-200 from Southwest, acquired through its merger with AirTran, and retaining McDonnell-Douglas MD-88s and MD-90s that it has used for decades. It also retained Northwest Airlines’ 747-400s, DC-9s, and Airbus A330s, though the NWA DC-9s have been retired, the 747-400s will go by the end of the year and Delta canceled Northwest’s 787 order. Point blank, Delta was taking on a huge risk here.

So when the U.S. Department of Commerce levied the tariff, naturally, the carrier that would take an immediate hit happened to be Delta.

Ironically, the plot twist has political implications: U.S. airline CEO’s have had an – let’s just say interesting – series of interactions with Donald Trump since he took office in January. Leadership personnel at aircraft manufacturers are no different. Trump, remember, Tweeted on December 6, 2016, that Boeing’s costs were, “out of control” for building a brand new 747 Air Force One and then shrieked, “cancel order!” Delta, meanwhile, attributed a revenue bump by the end of the fiscal year 2016 to Trump’s election, calling it a “Trump Bump.” Then, Boeing got on Trump’s side after his mercurial Tweet and invited him to tour the Boeing factory in South Carolina in February, where Trump “promoted jobs” for Americans, even though Boeing would eventually lay-off 200 people the following summer.

As such, the Boeing Company was trying to become pretty buddy-buddy with the Administration before the tariff proposal was announced. In Boeing’s eyes, the struggles of the C Series program had curated Bombardier $570 million worth of launch-aid loans from Canada, the U.K., and Quebec, along with a $1 billion bailout from Quebec in 2015 when the program was on the verge of collapse. Bombardier also received $1.5 billion in equity investment from a Quebec Pension Fund. When the order was made in September 2017, it was then learned that the final judgment would take place in early 2018. Boeing seemingly had no issue with making such allegations to support the tariffs imposed by the U.S. Dept of Commerce.

And so, the trade war began.

Never mind the fact that Boeing likely felt threatened by the success of the C Series sales after the Delta order. Or that Boeing may have discounted the 737s by up to 70% (purportedly) for United when they mulled getting the C Series.

And Delta was obviously not going to pay the absurd tariffs for the C Series.

The whole move on the Boeing’s part was mired in hypocrisy. After all, it is one strike to accuse a smaller competitor of receiving unfair subsidies when in reality, the market is dominated by a duopoly (Boeing and Airbus, whom Boeing has also had a history of engaging in spats with).

It is another thing when Boeing tried to align itself with an Administration that has a penchant for throwing allies under the bus very whimsically, then indulging them to come promote jobs on your campus before letting hundreds of jobs go a few months later.

Let’s also remember how some of Boeing’s business practices, such as outsourcing (787 anyone?) came at the expense of many of its customers with years of delivery delays. Boeing ain’t no Boy Scout.

It is also myopic for Boeing to view the Bombardier deal with as much concern given how small BBD is compared to Boeing. And, not to mention, how close the entire C Series program was on the brink of death: hardly a “threat” to a manufacturer that has 38% of the global market share (compared to 6% for Bombardier). In fact, per the 2016 Commercial Aviation leet and MRO Forecast, Bombardier’s market share is projected to drop within the next ten years by 1% while Boeing’s is expected to grow by 2%. Meanwhile, Airbus’ is expected to rise from 28% to 36%.

Global Fleet Market share – 2016

If I were Boeing, I would be way more concerned with a different competitor, one that is far more dominant than Bombardier, for potential losses.

And now, Boeing has even more reasons to be fearful, since Airbus is taking a 50.01% stake in the C Series limited partnership for no cash or debt considerations. Literally overnight, the biggest rival to Boeing will be able to adopt a 100-150 seat plane in its armada.

The best part? While Boeing used Donald Trump as a pawn to spew rubbish about protecting American jobs, which was not the case, the real heroes who are saving both American and British jobs happen to be two non-American companies: Airbus and Bombardier. All of the Bombardier C Series assembly lines in Quebec will remain, and then additional factory space for the imported parts will be sent to an existing Airbus facility in Mobile, AL.

Subsequently, this presumably means no more tariff threats for Delta. They can continue to receive the C Series as they initially anticipated without the slap in the face. Plus, if there were any person who deserved to cry victim in this whole saga, it was Delta, who shrewdly kept quiet and merely expressed disdain for the Administrations’ decree, rather than burn a bridge with Boeing. After all, Delta is a very strong Boeing customer, utilizing its 737s, 757s, 767s and 777 aircraft.

Just another data point that when bad policies are blindly mixed with airline and aviation politics, the potion is toxic. Thank goodness the leadership at Airbus and Bombardier, thankfully backed by the wisdom of their more progressive political climates, were able to show much better resilience and foresight in this story.

Healthy competition fosters innovation. Squashing it produces nothing of value.

The only loser in this silly spat was a bruised ego in Chicago.

This article was originally published on Travel Codex. Read it at Airbus’ Majority Stake in Bombardier C Series is Boeing’s Loss.

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Rainbow Light PMS Relief Review (UPDATED 2017): Don’t Buy Before You Read This!

What is it?

Rainbow Light PMS Relief is an herbal supplement designed to reduce the symptoms of PMS with use. This product claims to help with mood swings, breast pain, cravings and fatigue.

Rainbow Light PMS Relief is made with a blend of soothing ingredients like lavender and the hormone balancing berry, vitex. This product also aims to tackle cycle regulation with use.

Femmetrinol is the supplement our reviewers recommend most often to women dealing with menopause. The formula is crafted with supportive ingredients like wild yam, damiana, chasteberry and black cohosh — all working together for maximum support; reducing hot flashes and night sweats, mood swings, as well as improving energy and sexual function. Click this link for more nutritional information about Femmetrinol.

Top Rated Menopause Supplements of 2017

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Rainbow Light PMS Relief Ingredients and Side Effects

Rainbow Light PMS Relief is a plant-based supplement made from soothing herbs and amino acids. Here’s a look at what users can expect in terms of PMS relief, as well as some added benefits:

Vitex Lavender California Poppy Meadowsweet L-Phenylaline L-Theanine Cordyalis Yanhuso Ginger

California Poppy: Considered the state flower of California, this plant is used for medicinal purposes such as insomnia, bladder problems and liver diseases. California poppy may help with mood disorders like depression, and may have a soothing, sedative effect on users.

Ginger: A rhizome used in cooking applications, as well as medicinally, ginger’s healing abilities are best defined by their potential to soothe nausea and motion sickness, as well as its use as a digestive aid.

Ginger might also help with immune support and inflammation.

Vitex: A small berry the size of a peppercorn, vitex is known for its effect on all manner of ailments associated with the female reproductive system.

This ingredient is thought to stimulate the pituitary gland, which is responsible for progesterone production — thereby alleviating menopause symptoms, PMS, period pain and more with use.

L-Theanine: An amino acid found in tea, L-theanine is uised to provide a sense of calm alertness in users. It is thought to improve the condition of those suffering from high blood pressure or anxiety and may even have an effect on Alzheimer’s patients.

L-Phenylalanine: An amino acid often used to treat conditions like depression, ADHD, alcoholism and more, L-phenylalanine is found naturally in eggs, dairy and meat, but also may be taken as a supplement.

Lavender: Used for insomnia, nervousness and anxiety, lavender has a calming effect on users and is often used in sleep aids.

Meadowsweet: This herb provides an aroma similar to wintergreen and contains salicylic acid, an anti-inflammatory agent and pain reliever. Meadowsweet is also used to support healthy digestion and may be used a diuretic or homeopathic remedy for colds, flu and rheumatism.

Side effects may include gastrointestinal bleeding.

Corydalis Yanhuso: Used for mild depression, nerve damage and high blood pressure, this root ingredient is a mild sedative that may function as a tranquilizer or as a hallucinogen.

Side effects may include muscle tremors or spasms.

Click here to learn more about using herbal ingredients to keep your body running smoothly during menopause.

EDITOR’S TIP: Combine this supplement with a proven menopause pill such as Femmetrinol for better results.

Rainbow Light PMS Relief Quality of Ingredients

Rainbow Light PMS Relief differs from many other supplements that target hormones. It’s made with a number of herbs that have the ability to provide a calming, or even sedative effect with use — which seems like it may slow some consumers down.

Vitex is the only ingredient present in the Rainbow Light PMS Relief formula that is known for its effect on hormonal balance — a key element in helping women deal with PMS, as well as more severe menstrual issues like PCOS or PMDD.

Rainbow Light PMS Relief is not a menopause product, and while those same hormones dictate menstruation, in general, and menopause, this product likely will not provide the full support that the menopausal woman needs in an herbal supplement.

Want to learn more about what you can gain from getting your hormones back in balance? Click here for more.

The Price and Quality of Rainbow Light PMS Relief

Rainbow Light PMS Relief may no longer be available — at least through the manufacturer’s official website. While there are plenty of places to buy this item online, it’s worth mentioning that we’re not sure that this product has been discontinued or how long it hasn’t been available straight from the source.

Rainbow Light PMS Relief can be found on Amazon from a collection of third-party sellers. The price tends to stay around $16-20 per bottle containing 30 capsules.

Get rid of those uncomfortable hot flashes and sleepless nights — our guide to the best menopause supplements here.

Business of Rainbow Light Menopause Relief

Rainbow Light Menopause Relief is made by a company known as Rainbow Light — a supplements maker known for their vegetarian-friendly, vitamins and herbal remedies. Here’s a little background:

Phone: 800-635-1233

Email: [email protected]

Rainbow Light PMS Relief appears to no longer be sold by Rainbow Light, at least at this point in time. During our search for this supplement, and the company that makes it, we ran into an ad citing new Rainbow Light supplements—suggesting that the company may be in the midst of a revamp.

The Rainbow Light website, is overall nice looking. It’s easy to navigate and there’s not an onslaught of information on the home page. Should you decide to flip through the rest of the site, you’ll learn that Rainbow Light uses spirulina algae as the food base in all its supplements — adding another layer of nutritional benefits to their range of supplements.

Additionally, the site features a number of friendly-sounding articles centered around aging, nutrition and more. They’ve also dedicated a page to talking about corporate social responsibility, particularly their involvement with the charity, Vitamin Angels.

Overall, this company seems like is both reputable and has a conscience. We just wish we had confirmation as to whether or not this particular product has been discontinued — which may help give us some insight as to whether or not consumers risk purchasing an expired product from third-party sellers.

Customer Opinions of Rainbow Light PMS Relief

Rainbow Light PMS Relief still has reviews posted online, despite potentially being discontinued. Most consumers claimed that this product at least helped regulate mood swings, but some felt that it wasn’t effective enough to provide relief from the full range of PMS symptoms. Here are some of the comments:

“Was really hoping this would work. My birth control ceased to help to eliminate mood swings and heavy bleeding. This didn’t do anything, which is terrible; my period wreaks havoc on my life for 10 days at a time.”

“My period has always been an uncomfortable affair, but when I hit my mid-thirties, it got worse. This product has helped me combat migraine headaches, extreme mood swings and other symptoms.”

“Been having several period problems as I’m entering perimenopause. This product helps with my bloating and mood swings, but it isn’t a magic pill. I’m still getting back aches and cramps. Plus, pills are huge.”

“I can’t enough positive things about this product. I don’t feel as down before my cycle, breakouts are greatly reduced and my period basically sneaks in and out after a couple days. So much more comfortable.”

Rainbow Light PMS Relief has a relatively positive backlog of reviews. People seemed to like that this product helped them feel calmer, while experiencing less pain during their monthly cycle.

Unfortunately, though not surprisingly, this product had no reviews from anyone who is currently going through menopause, so we don’t know what the results would look like if it was used for these purposes.

Learn more about taking charge of your body during menopause — details after the jump.

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Conclusion – Does Rainbow Light PMS Relief Work?

Rainbow Light PMS Relief has a number of positive reviews. People seem to like this product, generally speaking, and at the very least, it seems to have helped many women deal with extreme mood swings that come along with their periods each month.

Aside from what appears to be pretty consistent efficacy, at least for certain symptoms, this product is not a menopause product and it may soon be hard to track down.

Rainbow Light PMS Relief does contain some ingredients that may be used for menopause, fertility or other hormone-related concerns women might experience at some point during the reproductive cycle.

Though there’s the chance this product could have an effect on menopause symptoms, users at this stage may be better off looking for a supplement aimed at targeting their unique needs, rather than trying to adopt a product meant for women who still menstruate.

Femmetrinol is our top choice for menopause products — and we’ve looked at a lot of different options. A unique blend of herbs gently eliminates symptoms such as mood swings, hot flashes and low libido — without the risk of any adverse reactions.

Femmetrinol is made with potency and consumer safety at the forefront of its production process. From sourcing to shipment — this product is manufactured with close attention to detail. Why should you try Femmetrinol? Click here to learn more.

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