#Which state is richer in Nigeria?

[mapsontheweb]

Workers' share of GDP across the world

by u/JoeFalchetto

Source here.

Here for more info about what it entails.

Compensation of employees is the total in-cash or in-kind remuneration payable to the employee by the enterprise for the work performed by the employee during the accounting period. Compensation of employees includes:

(i) wages and salaries (in cash or in kind) and

(ii) social insurance contributions payable by employers.

This concept views compensation of employees as a cost to employer, thus compensation equals zero for unpaid work undertaken voluntarily. Moreover, it does not include taxes payable by employers on the wage and salary bill, such as payroll tax.

Richer countries tend to have higher labor share of GDP. Some interesting exception are Honduras, Nigeria, and Lesotho on one side, Ireland and the Gulf States on the other.

Caveat: comparisons only make sense in economies of similar GDP per capita. Austria has a lower labor share than Moldova, but employees are better compensated in Austria.

I chose the color scheme to be centered around the global average, which is 53.9%.

[aurianneor]

A slice of the cake

It’s not going well. Purchasing power is melting away, the standard of living is falling, and doctors are less and less available, drugs less and less reimbursed, and so on.

There is clearly competition for resources. If grain runs out, prices will go up. There could be power cuts. Families are fighting over water, which farmers want to use in mega-basins. There are too many workers for the job market. There are too many sick people for the healthcare system. The state coffers are empty. Tension is created by the fact that there are too many of us on a small slice of the cake. Lack doesn’t make you good, it only makes you more selfish. It’s me first! Everyone defends their own little piece of the cake. For example, there are often deaths during food distributions.

Bousculade au Maroc lors d’une distribution d’aide: au moins 15 morts – Le Point: https://www.lepoint.fr/monde/bousculade-au-maroc-lors-d-une-distribution-d-aide-au-moins-15-morts-19-11-2017-2173561_24.php#11

Nigeria : 4 morts dans une bousculade lors d’une distribution d’aide par un groupe d’aide local – AA: https://www.aa.com.tr/fr/afrique/nigeria-4-morts-dans-une-bousculade-lors-dune-distribution-daide-par-un-groupe-daide-local/3173778

Over the past fifty years, we’ve become accustomed to a neoliberal narrative that has hardened since the 2000s: those with the most right to the cake are the early risers, the front runners. The far right, on the other hand, asserts that those most deserving of a slice of the cake are the racially pure. They promise the forgotten of the Republic that they will come first. They appeal to people’s selfishness. They win elections in Europe and support Putin, who finances them. This weakens the West. Instead of making people envious, they make them horrified: they accept discrimination and slavery. In Russia, rich white people live well because they exploit minorities in their own interests. The oligarchs fatten up and enjoy the biggest slice of the cake. The crumbs are left for others to fight over. The share given to the oligarchs only gets bigger, and people become increasingly racist. 1% of the population owns half the world’s wealth. The every man for himself mentality is detrimental to the whole. Solidarity is what pays off.

1 % de la population possède près de la moitié de la fortune mondiale – Observatoire des inégalités: https://inegalites.fr/La-repartition-du-patrimoine-dans-le-monde

Depuis 2020, les 1 % les plus riches ont capté près de deux fois plus de richesses que le reste de l’humanité – Oxfam International: https://www.oxfam.org/fr/communiques-presse/depuis-2020-les-1-les-plus-riches-ont-capte-pres-de-deux-fois-plus-de-richesses

It’s the law of the richest: they reduce the slice of the cake shared by middle-income earners, and take the whole cake.

If wealth were distributed fairly, everyone could be richer. There would be more public services: trains, hospitals, schools, etc.

In the 90s in the West, there was more cake for everyone and people were more united. The far right was less strong.

People behave differently depending on the size of their fortune. The richest can speculate. For example, they block wheat to drive up prices.

La loi du plus riche – Oxfam: https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/la-loi-du-plusriche

We need to tax the richest to fight inequality.

Un siècle d’inégalités de revenus : les super-riches regagnent le terrain perdu: – Observatoire des inégalités: https://inegalites.fr/Un-siecle-d-inegalites-de-revenus-les-super-riches-regagnent-le-terrain-perdu

Il faut prendre l’argent où il se trouve : chez les plus riches – CGT: https://www.cgt.fr/actualites/france/fiscalite/il-faut-prendre-largent-ou-il-se-trouve-chez-les-plus-riches

Les riches gagnent quand les pauvres se battent entre eux– Le blog de Bernard Gensane: http://bernard-gensane.over-blog.com/2015/12/les-riches-gagnent-quand-les-pauvres-se-battent-entre-eux.html

La crise économique favorise le racisme, s’alarme le Conseil de l’Europe – Le point: https://www.lepoint.fr/societe/la-crise-economique-favorise-le-racisme-s-alarme-le-conseil-de-l-europe-03-05-2012-1457787_23.php

Economic scarcity alters the perception of race – PNAS: https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.1404448111

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Solidarité Hélvétique: https://www.aurianneor.org/solidarite-helvetique-democratie-semi-directe/

Humiliated by the Republic: https://www.aurianneor.org/humiliated-by-the-republic/

Restricting personal wealth: https://www.aurianneor.org/restricting-personal-wealth/

“The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed”.: https://www.aurianneor.org/the-world-has-enough-for-everyones-need-but-not/

Immigration: https://www.aurianneor.org/immigration-2/

What I am worth depends neither on market nor on race: https://www.aurianneor.org/what-i-am-worth-depends-neither-on-market-nor-on-race/

Rob the poor to feed the rich: https://www.aurianneor.org/rob-the-poor-to-feed-the-rich/

La part du gâteau: https://www.aurianneor.org/la-part-du-gateau/

[powertrumpeter]

PM SIMON EKPA GIVES HEAVY REPLY TO BR!TI$H GOV'T 48 HOURS AFTER THEY SEI...

BRITISH COLONIALISM AND IMPERIALISM IN NIGERIA.

Britain is the architect of Hausa/Fulani oligarchy in Nigeria, since the so-called independence. It began with the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates to form Nigeria in 1914 by Luggard. The two were ‘married,’ not because of economic viability. It was done with the ulterior motive to subjugate the South, for selfish reasons by colonial masters. They discovered that southern protectorate was much richer in mineral resources, even before discovery of crude oil in commercial quantity, in Niger Delta region. British colonial masters reasoned it would be very hard to rule the South directly; with all the battles and resistance they encountered from people living there. They also noticed the inhabitants of the area are resourceful, intelligent, and very eager to be educated. They reasoned something drastic has to be done, in order not to loose grip of the colony in future.

Then, they took the decision to merge North and South. They counseled the Northerners to do everything possible, to put the Southerners under subjection, and rule over them. They warned Northerners should they ever concede power to the South, it would be disastrous for them; seeing that they had little mineral resources to sustain them if there is separation.

BRITISH IMPERIALISM

Moreover, the Southerners are much more educated and intelligent. Therefore, Northerners were placed as taskmasters over Southerners. The colonialists wanted to install puppet regime, they could easily manipulate. Since then, that mentality to rule Nigeria perpetually at all cost, has been there for decades. They want to dominate and control everywhere; even to the extent of owning most of the oil wells in far away Niger Delta: Warri, Port Harcourt, Bayelsa, etc. They gave exploration licenses to themselves; which is renewable after ten years. That is to say the oil licenses cannot be revoked or canceled, until the long expiration date. That was why former President Jonathan, couldn’t revoke or cancel oil licenses during his tenure. The licenses granted Northerners and some other persons until 2016 expiring date. Jonathan left 2015.

The domination, repression, and operation continue. People from the North now control the three arms of the Government: Judiciary, Legislature and Executive. They control and dominate the armed forces. Virtually all frontline security positions are manned by the North. Yet, they shout one Nigeria very loud!

Britain continued her imperialism in Nigeria, by using military juntas like Gowon, to wreck havoc in the country. He emerged as the ruling dictator, from a bloody coup in which the then head of State, Aguiyi Ironsi was brutally murdered. This imperialist country condoned the genocide against millions of Igbos, which began in 1966 and continued for years, under the dictatorship of Yakubu Gowon. Britain was the principal supplier of arms and ammunition; as well as military personnel, to Gowon and his men, to mow down our people. Yakubu committed a lot of atrocities against Igbos, and grievous crimes against humanity. At a stage, his spokesman said, “starvation is the legitimate weapon of war.” He blocked food supplies to our people. Kwashiorkor (severe malnutrition) was rampant in Biafran land during the civil war.

During his era of tyranny, he went to Organization of African Unity meeting. He was able to lobby and seek support of most member countries, not to criticize or interfere in his destruction of Biafran land. It became a charter that member countries shouldn’t interfere in the internal affairs of fellow member country. That gave him the license to devastate Igboland with impunity, while the world watched. Other African tyrants copied from him, and began ethnic cleansing in their countries; until several years later, when United Nations began to deal with them. If not for involvement of Britain, Biafran soldiers would have dealt a deadly blow to Gowon and his men; with their gallantry and inventions in military hardware. Britain wanted Biafra crushed, so that she would go ahead to siphon crude oil from Niger Delta, and her imperialism in that ‘forced marriage’ called Nigeria.

When Gowon was overthrown in July 1975, he fled to Britain with his ill-gotten wealth. Of course, he owns a house, and investments there. When he was implicated in a failed, bloody, counter coup seven months later, in which the then head of state, Murtala Mohammed was brutally killed, he refused to come back to defend himself. He was shielded. He shouts “One Nigeria” louder than any other person. Hypocrite! He has been acquiring: doctorate degree, honourary doctorate degrees and other mundane awards. These can never erase his genocide and wickedness against Igbos. Although, he has been shielded from being prosecuted by International Criminal Court for now, he has a date with justice.

He claimed to be fighting for the unity of Nigeria, even when he turned down peace agreement, he was a signatory to earlier in Aburi, Ghana in 1966. He reneged on the peace accord. He boasted he would crush Biafra in 24 hours, which he couldn’t. Fifty years later, struggle for sovereign State of Biafra, is even getting hotter. He will continue to be haunted by his murderous past. God said, “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, said my God, to the wicked”—Isaiah 57:20-21.... https://powertrumpeter.org/blog1/time-to-purge-the-nations.

[hardynwa]

Bedrock Initiative hosts Peter Obi, other business leaders in Owerri Business Week

Presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Mr Peter Obi, and a host of other business leaders gathered in Owerri, Imo State capital, at the weekend for the Owerri Business Week Conference. The conference, a youth-driven initiative aimed at inspiring young and indigenous entrepreneurs to do better in terms of business development, was an opportunity for over 3,000 young people who were in attendance to interact with and learn from these high-flying business leaders. Leading the conversation, Obi, a successful businessman, while advising business owners to seek ways to improve their business, emphasised the need for businesses to constantly create value. "Do your business in what you know, not because people are making money from it,” he said. Speaking on the theme "Build To Last", the former Anambra State governor highlighted the place of leadership in building a successful business. According to him, character, attitude, behaviour, tolerance, patience, understanding, and constant learning are some of the qualities a leader must possess. "The greatest job of a leader is to learn. The job of a leader is to listen. People fail because they don't listen," Obi said. He said Nigeria has all it takes to be a great nation but bad leadership, corruption and poor policy implementation had been the greatest impediments to the nation's progress. He lamented that corruption kills entrepreneurship, professionalism and hard work, insisting that any society where people in government are richer than those in business is finished. "Our leaders have continued to talk about our problems yet they have not found solution to the problems," he said, adding that he was able to record great success within a short period of time as a governor because of his willingness to learn from others. Obi commended the Founder/Convener of Bedrock Initiative, Mr Ikenna Okechukwu, and assured the group of his continued support. He urged the youths to remain steadfast and be ready to contribute meaningfully to the growth of the nation. The Managing Director/CEO of Pamtech, Engr. Chidomere Ndubuisi, said a thriving business operates on three fundamental elements - Departments (Body), Customer Service (Soul) and Organizational Culture (Spirit). According to Ndubuisi, customer service provides emotional connections to customers and team members, ensuring loyalty and satisfaction. He also emphasized the need for every entrepreneur to have a mentor, who would guide him on best ways to get things right and achieve desired growth in business. The Divisional Head of Business Growth and Transaction Banking at Sterling Bank, Mr Obinna Ukachukwu, shared valuable insights on how to build credibility that helps one build a business that could last. "For one to build a lasting business, you must have a story to learn from," Ukachukwu said. Also speaking at the event, Labour Party governorship candidate in the November 2023 election in Imo State, Senator Athan Achonu, shared from his wealth of experience as a businessman with diverse experience. Achonu said the Owerri Business Conference was in sync with the vision of 'Aku Ruo Ulo' as it was all about business development and investments in the state. "I am for anything investment, development, and youth inclusivity, especially in small business development which is a key aspect of our agenda for Imo State towards curbing the current unemployment levels,” Achonu said. "This is achievable with smart business sense, excellence in leadership and unrelenting purpose to ensure enhanced ease of doing business in addition to projects that will help excite the youthful business hubs around the state. "Such projects in our plan for Imo State include - a Creativity Portal that aggregates all the creative businesses (Creative Arts, entertainment, music, etc); Youth Creativity Hubs and Technology Parks in the three Senatorial Zones,” he said. Other prominent guests at the conference included Mr Ugochukwu Omeogu, Amb Dr George Smart Obinna, Ken Onyeali Ikpe, Dr. Sam Amadi, etc. Read the full article

[nbmsports]

As the West surges toward electric cars, here's where the unwanted gas guzzlers go

Cotonou, Benin CNN  —  Standing on the stony ground in the bustling Fifa Park car lot, Rokeeb Yaya is haggling over the price of a dark red car. It is one of a couple hundred vehicles, parked in long lines stretching out across the vast lot – some shiny and new-looking, others dented and dusty. The car Yaya has his eye on, a 2008 US-built Ford Escape, is on sale for around $4,000. It’s relatively affordable – US cars are cheaper than most other brands in the lot – and he wants to upgrade from his motorbike to a car. He is not interested in the history of the vehicle, he said, only that he can afford it. But how this Ford ended up here – in one of the biggest car lots in the port city of Cotonou – helps tell a bigger story about how many of the West’s gas-guzzling cars are starting second lives in West Africa. The 14-year old Ford arrived in Benin from the United States last year, after being sold at an auto auction. Car records reviewed by CNN show it had three previous owners in Virginia and Maryland, and has logged over 252,000 miles on the road. It had one previous recall for its power steering, but unlike some of the other cars on the lot, it arrived in a relatively sound condition – it hadn’t been in any reported accidents. This aging SUV is just one of millions of used cars that arrive every year in West Africa from wealthy countries such as Japan, South Korea, European countries and, increasingly, the US. Many of these end up in Benin, one of Africa’s top importers of used vehicles.

The stream of used cars heading to West African ports is only expected to increase with the West’s shift to electric vehicles. As wealthy countries set aggressive goals to move consumers towards electric vehicles to cut planet-warming pollution, gas-powered cars won’t necessarily go away. Instead, many will be shipped thousands of miles away to developing countries like Benin, where populations are growing, along with demand for used cars. Experts say the effect will be to divert climate and environmental problems to countries that are the most vulnerable to the climate crisis, undermining their own attempts to cut planet-warming pollution. The global market for used light-duty vehicles grew nearly 20% from 2015 to 2019, when more than 4.8 million were exported. There was a slight dip in exports in 2020 when the Covid pandemic started, but numbers are now “growing quite rapidly,” United Nations Environment Programme official Rob de Jong told CNN. The US exports about 18% of the world’s used vehicles, according to UNEP data. These travel all over the globe, including to the Middle East and Central America, but many go to Nigeria, Benin and Ghana. Some of these are salvaged cars that have been in accidents, were flooded, or are just too old – which get auctioned off for parts. Others are whole used cars that US car dealers are looking to offload.

“A lot of them are going to be two- to five-year-old Hyundais, Toyotas, sedans,” said Dmitriy Shibarshin, marketing director for West Coast Shipping, a company that specializes in shipping cars internationally. “It’s mostly the economy cars that get shipped there.” Shibarshin’s company and others are “like FedEx” for cars, he said. His company usually specializes in higher-end vehicles, but also ships cheaper cars. In major African countries like Kenya and Nigeria, more than 90% of the cars and trucks are used vehicles from overseas. In Kenya, where de Jong is based, the vehicle fleet has doubled every eight years; streets that used to be devoid of cars are now jammed with traffic, he said. There is a tremendous appetite for these used vehicles. “You have a very young population that’s getting richer and richer by the day,” said Etop Ipke, the CEO of Autochek Africa, an online marketplace for cars. “The first thing they want to do, as they can afford things, is some mobility,” he said. But, unlike in the US, few prospective buyers have access to credit, so new cars are often out of reach. “That is fundamentally the reason why we’re not able to improve the quality” of cars sold, Ipke said. “It’s not like people want to drive used cars; it’s an affordability issue.” Experts say demand for used cars could explode further as the take up of electric cars in the West increases the supply of used cars to African countries. Nearly one in five vehicles sold globally this year will be electric, according to the International Energy Agency, compared to less than 5% in 2020. China, Europe and the US are leading the EV market, the agency said. In states like New York and Florida, where consumers are buying more EVs, dealers are increasingly looking overseas as a place to sell their older gas-powered models, according to Matt Trapp, a regional vice president at the huge auto auction company Manheim. Those states also have robust port operations, making them an ideal place to ship used cars to Africa. “It’s setting up a really complementary dynamic,” Trapp told CNN. “I’m not surprised to see how robust the export game is becoming,” Trapp said. “We’re going to see this dynamic more and more. When see demand in other markets, they will find a way to move the metal there.” From UNEP’s perspective, not all gas-powered cars are concerning – it’s the older ones, which tend to pollute more and be less safe, De Jong said. There’s evidence that the increasing demand in Africa for vehicles is actually resulting in more old and salvaged cars being shipped to the continent recently than there were 20 years ago. “What we see at the moment is a wide variety of used vehicles being exported from the global north to the global south,” de Jong said. “Not only is the number increasing, but the quality is decreasing.” In one section of Fifa Park, CNN finds a 16-year-old Dodge Charger, worn by age. “We just sold it for 3 million XOF ,” its seller, who did not wish to be named, said of the vehicle that arrived in Benin from the US two years ago. Parked across from the Charger is a 24-year-old Ford Winstar that was shipped to Benin from the US last year. It’s a cheaper alternative for low-income car buyers who cannot afford newer models. Car dealer Abdul Koura said that US and Canadian cars are very desirable to importers, who often bring in cars that have been in accidents, he told CNN. “They repair these cars and resell them to make a profit,” said Koura, whose space at Cotonou’s Fifa park includes more than 30 used vehicles imported from Canada.

Victor Ojoh, a Nigerian car dealer who frequents Fifa Park, told CNN that it’s often possible to tell the origin of a car by what’s wrong with it. “The cars that smoke are mostly from the US,” said Ojoh. “The cars from Canada are mostly flooded cars that start developing electrical faults.” Some imported vehicles are missing their catalytic converters, an exhaust emission control devices which filter toxic gasses. Catalytic converters contain valuable metals including platinum and can fetch up to $100 on the black market. Some of the cars are shipped without catalytic converters or have them removed by dealers upon arrival, Ojo said. Millions of cars shipped to Africa and Asia from the US, Europe and Japan are “polluting or unsafe,” according to UNEP. “Often with faulty or missing components, they belch out toxic fumes, increasing air pollution and hindering efforts to fight climate change.” Regulations aimed at reducing pollution and increasing the safety of imported cars into West Africa have tended to be weak. But attempts have been made recently to tighten them up. In 2020, Benin and 14 other members of the Economic Community of West African States bloc agreed a set of vehicle emissions regulations in the region, including an age limit of 10 years for used vehicles and limits on the amount of carbon pollution cars are allowed to produce. But it’s unclear how strictly they are being enforced.

UNEP officials, including de Jong, have also had conversations with US and EU officials about putting in new regulations that would crack down on shipping very old or junk cars to developing nations. Those conversations are in early stages and have yet to result in any commitments. Still, de Jong said climate change and global emissions have made the conversation around used cars “a different ballgame.” Increased shipments of older and more polluting cars are just as much of a problem for developed nations as they are for the developing countries where they are being driven, he added. “Today with climate change, it doesn’t really matter where the emissions are taking place,” de Jong said. “Whether in Washington, DC, or Lagos, it makes no difference.” Ipke doesn’t think that it is inevitable that Africa will accept all the old gas-powered cars the West no longer wants. He hopes that the transition to electric vehicles will come to the African continent as well, although that will require significant improvements to the charging infrastructure. “In terms of where Africa goes, the transition shouldn’t necessarily be from used cars to brand new combustion engines, it should be from used cars to EVs,” Ipke said. “I think the continent has to be prepared for EVs, used or brand new, because that’s the direction the world is taking.” For Yaya, however, this all seems a long way off. What brought him to Fifa Park, and to the old Ford SUV, was a lack of other options. “I can only purchase what my money can afford,” he said. Source Read the full article

[cozyaliensuperstar7]

#Repost @shelovesblackart

——

🚨CREDIT ARTIST IN REPOST| Artist, Olabamiji Yemi Tubi @oyemit

"AFRICAN’T: Africans can’t say NO to Exploitation" (2016)

Oil on canvas

56 X 44 in.

Website:

https://o-yemi-tubi.pixels.com/

Olabamiji Yemi Tubi is an artist based in the United Kingdom. He was born in Yoruba land in the western part of Nigeria and he received his college education in the United States. Tubi says that evoking emotions is central to his creative process. His artwork is guided by a quote from Paul Cezanne, "A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.” His paintings frequently take a critical view of social, political and cultural issues from around the world. 

His painting can be summed up by his statement, "The dawn of a new day; a better and brighter day for Africans will come as soon as Africans can say `no’ to EXPLOITATION and African leaders put national interest above self-interest". In his painting, he addresses corruption on the continent which results in Africa's natural resources being sold to foreign countries with the proceeds benefiting a handful of leaders rather than their citizens. 

To highlight the paradox of a mineral rich continent with  nations whose citizens are largely impoverished citizens, his subject is a starving African child with priceless jewelry on her neck and a variety of foods served on luxurious golden bowls and plates in front of her. The rats represent the United States, Great Britain, France and China who are benefiting from the exploitation and corruption schemes. In the background, there is a ray of light breaking through the dark cloud and new plant shoots piercing through the cracks of dry ground depicting hope and the aspiration that African nations have for a better and richer future. 

This is a Sponsored Post to expose our audience to a wider range of artists.

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[paigerro]

Chapter 5 Reflection

The question that I chose to ask, based on the headings of the Chapter 5 reading, is “What other factors can economists consider that might point to citizens’ well-being?” This question is based on the heading 5-5 which already asks a pretty good question- “Is GDP a Good Measure of Economic Well-Being?” In this section of reading, it turns out while GDP is mostly a decent measure of citizens’ well-being, but it is important to acknowledge that is does not necessarily account for everything that might indicate a happy and healthy population. Mankiw makes the point that GDP does not account for environmental factors; if an economy’s government were to lift all environmental regulations on a industry, this might lead to a rise in GDP, but would not factor in the negative impacts this might have on a society (air quality, pollution, potable water, etc.) GDP also accounts for all paid for goods and services, but does not take into account volunteer work, neighbors helping each other out, or the often unpaid labor of stay-at-home parents (mostly moms). Mankiw also points out that, were all employees in a given country to stop taking days off of work, GDP would certainly rise,  but quality of life would also undoubtedly fall. These are some examples of how Mankiw answers his own question in this week’s reading, but what about my question? A handy table included on pg. 101 (Table 3) lists twelve countries with the highest GDPs at the top (US, Germany, Japan) and the lowest GDPs towards the bottom (Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh). This table also lists other factors that we can consider that might point to citizens’ well-being: life expectancy, average years of schooling, and overall life satisfaction (on a scale of 1-10). There is a definite correlation between the “real GDP per person” (listed in the table) and these other factors of overall well-being. The life expectancy in countries with higher GDP is at least ten years higher than countries with the lowest GDPs which leads us to assume that the health care, life styles, and/or diets available to citizens in richer countries are better (or at least more sustaining) than poorer countries. Citizens of richer countries are also in school almost twice as long than in poorer countries leading us to believe that a better educated society is a more prosperous one. I am curious about the last column- overall life satisfaction. I’m curious as to how this data was collected, but what is shown is that people in richer countries rank themselves higher on a scale of 1-10 of how satisfied they are with their lives, at least two points higher than those in poorer countries. A current affairs example that might help answer this question would be to look at a map that tracks immigration from poorer to richer countries. Here is a link to a map that tracks immigration and immigration from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI): https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/data-hub/charts/immigrant-and-emigrant-populations-country-origin-and-destination?width=1000&height=850&iframe=true When playing around with different settings on the map, you can see that migration is higher from poorer countries to richer countries than richer countries to poorer. Mankiw states that, “Because most people would prefer to receive higher income and enjoy high expenditure, GDP per person seems a natural measure of the economic well-being of the average individual” (pg. 100). In the US, the current GDP per person is $70,248.63 which is incredible because I can’t imagine ever making that amount of money in a year. The total real GDP of the US as of the end of 2022 (the last quarter reported on) is $20.2 trillion. In a basic Google search, it turned up that real GDP for the last quarter of 2021 was $2.25 trillion which means that it shrunk slightly. I think this matters because according to Mankiw, “…an old rule of thumb is two consecutive quarters of falling real GDP” (pg. 98) when discussing whether or not the economy is in recession. I don’t think the US has officially declared that we are in a recession yet, but it does seem possible in our economic future.

[themarketinsights]

IT Spending In Cinema- Market Giants Spending Is Going To Boom | Schneider Electric, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, HP

Advance Market Analytics published a new research publication on “Global IT Spending In Cinema- Market Insights, to 2027” with 232 pages and enriched with self-explained Tables and charts in presentable format. In the study, you will find new evolving Trends, Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities generated by targeting market-associated stakeholders. The growth of the IT Spending In Cinema- market was mainly driven by the increasing R&D spending across the world.

Major players profiled in the study are:

IBM (United States), Intel (United States), HP (United States), SAP (Germany), Cisco Systems (United States), Dell (United States), Verizon Communications (United States), ATOS (France), Microsoft (United States), Schneider Electric (France)

Get Exclusive PDF Sample Copy of This Research @ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/sample-report/196848-global-it-spending-in-cinema–market#utm_source=DigitalJournalVinay

Scope of the Report of IT Spending In Cinema-

IT Spending In Cinema is a qualitative aspects like new visual technologies ensuring more crisp and engaging visuals; improved sound effects capable of mitigating all the differences between real-life and movie sound, and easier editing tools to help stitch together the raw visuals and sound bites for a richer movie experience among the various impacts of technology on movie making and the film industry.

The Global IT Spending In Cinema- Market segments and Market Data Break Down are illuminated below:

by Type (Hardware, Software, Personnel, Outsourcing, Disaster recovery, Occupancy costs), Application (Public Cinema, Private Cinema, Home Theater), Spending (Variable spending, Fixed spending)

Market Opportunities:

Increasing Preference for Watching Cinema with Friends and Family in Groups Has Encouraged the Cinema Chairs to Demand

Market Drivers:

Growing Internet of Things

Global Focus on IT Cinema Is Growing

Market Trend:

Significant Investment in the Creation and Manufacture of ITS Cinema Industry

Increasing Cinemas Infrastructure Opens Up New Possibilities

What can be explored with the IT Spending In Cinema- Market Study?

Gain Market Understanding

Identify Growth Opportunities

Analyze and Measure the Global IT Spending In Cinema- Market by Identifying Investment across various Industry Verticals

Understand the Trends that will drive Future Changes in IT Spending In Cinema-

Understand the Competitive Scenarios

Track Right Markets

Identify the Right Verticals

Region Included are: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Oceania, South America, Middle East & Africa

Country Level Break-Up: United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, South Africa, Nigeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Germany, United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Turkey, Russia, France, Poland, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, India, Australia and New Zealand etc.

Have Any Questions Regarding Global IT Spending In Cinema- Market Report, Ask Our Experts@ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/enquiry-before-buy/196848-global-it-spending-in-cinema–market#utm_source=DigitalJournalVinay

Strategic Points Covered in Table of Content of Global IT Spending In Cinema- Market:

Chapter 1: Introduction, market driving force product Objective of Study and Research Scope the IT Spending In Cinema- market

Chapter 2: Exclusive Summary – the basic information of the IT Spending In Cinema- Market.

Chapter 3: Displaying the Market Dynamics- Drivers, Trends and Challenges & Opportunities of the IT Spending In Cinema-

Chapter 4: Presenting the IT Spending In Cinema- Market Factor Analysis, Porters Five Forces, Supply/Value Chain, PESTEL analysis, Market Entropy, Patent/Trademark Analysis.

Chapter 5: Displaying the by Type, End User and Region/Country 2016-2021

Chapter 6: Evaluating the leading manufacturers of the IT Spending In Cinema- market which consists of its Competitive Landscape, Peer Group Analysis, BCG Matrix & Company Profile

Chapter 7: To evaluate the market by segments, by countries and by Manufacturers/Company with revenue share and sales by key countries in these various regions (2022-2027)

Chapter 8 & 9: Displaying the Appendix, Methodology and Data Source

Finally, IT Spending In Cinema- Market is a valuable source of guidance for individuals and companies.

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Wednesday, May 5, 2021

AP-NORC poll: Government should help Americans age at home (AP) A majority of Americans agree that government should help people fulfill a widely held aspiration to age in their own homes, not institutional settings, a new poll finds. There’s a surprising level of bipartisan agreement on some proposals that could help make that happen, according to the late March survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. For example, 63% favor more funding to help low-income people age at home, a policy reflected in President Joe Biden’s stimulus plan and his COVID-19 relief law. That includes about half of Republicans and about three-quarters of Democrats. Overall, only 10% are opposed. Behind it all is a deep desire among Americans to maintain their independence in an aging society.

Widespread Commodity Shortages Raise Inflation Fears (NYT) Commodity shortages are rippling across the United States economy as growing demand for housing, cars, electronics and other goods runs up against supply chain congestion and high tariffs left behind by former President Donald J. Trump. The shortages—and the price increases they are eliciting—are being watched closely by the Biden administration, which is under increasing pressure from industry groups and businesses to take steps to ease them. Automakers want the White House to help them get the semiconductors they need to make cars, while the housing industry is asking for tariff relief. Pressure to intervene could intensify as the administration pushes for a multitrillion-dollar infrastructure investment package that includes money for building roads, bridges and electric vehicle charging stations—all of which could become increasingly expensive if prices keep rising.

Heeding complaints, Biden lifts refugee cap to 62,500 (Reuters) U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday he has resurrected a plan to raise refugee admissions this year to 62,500 after drawing a wave of criticism from supporters for initially keeping the refugee cap at a historically low level. Soon after taking office in January, Biden pledged to ramp up the program but then surprised allies when he opted to stick with the lower cap out of concern over bad optics, given the rising number of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border with Mexico, U.S. officials have said. But the refugee program is distinct from the asylum system for migrants. Refugees come from all over the world, many fleeing conflict. They undergo extensive vetting while still overseas to be cleared for entry to the United States, unlike migrants who arrive at a U.S. border and then request asylum.

New York Region to Accelerate Reopening (NYT) New York and its neighbors New Jersey and Connecticut announced on Monday that they were lifting almost all their pandemic restrictions, paving the way for a return to fuller offices and restaurants, a more vibrant nightlife and a richer array of cultural and religious gatherings for the first time in a year. The relaxation of rules starting May 19 is a testament to the fact that coronavirus cases are down and vaccination rates are rising. New York will also bring back 24-hour service to the subway on May 17, after a year of overnight closures, a move critical for night-shift workers.

Colombia protests (Foreign Policy) Mass protests in Colombia sparked by President Ivan Duque’s new tax proposals continued on Monday—a day after Duque withdrew the unpopular measures—and are expected to resume today. Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla tendered his resignation on Monday, saying in a statement that his presence in government would “complicate the quick and effective construction of the necessary consensus.” Although Carrasquilla’s connection with the tax reforms precipitated his fall, he had become a figure of ridicule after he failed to provide an accurate answer for the current price of a dozen eggs when questioned by local media last month.

A farmer moved the border between France and Belgium so his tractor could have more room (AP) The border between Belgium and France has been largely stable for 200 years. That is, until a Belgian farmer annoyed with the placement of one of the stones marking the storied territorial divide inadvertently shifted the border 7.5 feet so his tractor could move more easily. The Belgian village of Erquelinnes, which lies along the 390-mile border with France, had as a result grown by seven feet. The French town of Bousignies-sur-Roc in turn shed more than a few inches. The stone in question dates to 1819, one year before the signing of the Treaty of Kortrijk, which set the modern-day boundaries of the once-warring states, according to the BBC. Much has improved in relations between Belgium and France in the two centuries since Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo. “We should be able to avoid a new border war,” Aurélie Welonek, the mayor of Bousignies-sur-Roc, told a French newspaper. Belgian authorities told the BBC that they will ask the farmer to move the border back. If he does not comply, they may need to seek help from the Franco-Belgian border commission, which has not been summoned since 1930.

Opposition chief calls for lockdown as India’s coronavirus cases cross 20 million (Reuters) Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi called for a nationwide lockdown as the country’s tally of coronavirus infections surged past 20 million on Tuesday, becoming the second nation after the United States to pass the grim milestone. India’s deadly second wave of infections, the world’s biggest surge in coronavirus infections, has seen it take just over four months to add 10 million cases, versus more than 10 months for its first 10 million. Currently, the country has 3.45 million active cases.

Day 1 of the End of the U.S. War in Afghanistan (NYT) KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan—A gray American transport plane taxied down the runway, carrying munitions, a giant flat screen television from a C.I.A. base, pallets of equipment and departing troops. It was one of several aircraft that night removing what remained of the American war from this sprawling military base in the country’s south. The United States and its NATO allies spent decades building Kandahar Airfield into a wartime city, filled with tents, operations centers, barracks, basketball courts, ammunition storage sites, aircraft hangars and at least one post office. The scenes over the weekend were almost as if a multitrillion-dollar war machine had morphed into a garage sale. At the airfield’s peak in 2010 and 2011, its famous and much derided boardwalk housed snack shops, chain restaurants, a hockey rink and trinket stores. Tens of thousands of U.S. and NATO troops were based here, and many more passed through as it became the main installation for the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan’s south. Now, half-demolished outdoor gyms and empty hangars were filled with nearly 20 years’ worth of matériel.

As Lebanese cry for justice, politics paralyzes the system (AP) Even after she was taken off an investigation into alleged financial crimes by a money transfer company, the defiant Lebanese prosecutor charged ahead. She showed up at the company’s offices outside of Beirut with a group of supporters and a metal worker, who broke open the locked gate. Ghada Aoun obtained data from Mecattaf Holding Company that she contends will reveal the identities of people who sneaked billions of dollars out of Lebanon amid the financial meltdown that has hit the country. The move was part of a public feud between Aoun and Lebanon’s state prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat, who had dismissed her from the case, saying she’d overstepped with two earlier raids. Their feud has turned into scuffles between their supporters in the street. That is the problem in Lebanon: The judiciary is so deeply politicized it paralyzes the wheels of justice, mirroring how factional rivalries have paralyzed politics. Political interference in the judiciary has for years thwarted investigations into corruption, violence and assassinations. But mistrust of the judiciary is thrown into even starker relief now, when Lebanese are crying out for politicians to be held accountable for the disastrous crises in their country—not only the financial collapse but also last August’s massive explosion in Beirut’s port that killed scores and wrecked much of the capital. The explosion has been blamed on incompetence and neglect. “Those who hold on to power have set up a judiciary that is loyal to them in order to fight their opponents and protect their interests,” retired state prosecutor Hatem Madi told The Associated Press.

Netanyahu misses deadline, political future in question (AP) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has missed a midnight deadline for putting together a new coalition government. His failure to reach an agreement late Tuesday raises the possibility that Netanyahu’s Likud party could be pushed into the opposition for the first time in 12 years. The turmoil does not mean that Netanyahu will immediately be forced out as prime minister. But he suddenly faces a serious threat to his lengthy rule. His opponents already have been holding informal talks in recent weeks to lay the groundwork for a power-sharing deal.

More than a dozen people killed by Islamist militants in northeast Nigeria (Reuters) More than a dozen people, including seven soldiers, were killed by Islamist militants in an attack in northeast Nigeria, four sources told Reuters. The militants arrived in the Ajiri community in the Mafa local government area of Borno state on motorcycles early on Sunday, killing an army commanding officer and six soldiers, the sources said. The assailants also killed six civilians, burned down nine housing blocks and carted away valuables, the sources told Reuters.

More veggies (WSJ) According to federal survey data, 76.6 percent of 51- to 70 year old women and 85.6 percent of 51- to 70-year-old men eat less than the recommended amount of vegetables. The thing is that’s actually pretty good compared to teenagers, who really need to eat some greens: fully 98.8 percent of 14- to 18-year-old girls and 98.5 percent of 14- to 18-year-old boys ate less than the recommended amount of vegetables, which is particularly bad developmentally speaking.

A good Samaritan (CNN) The 23-month-old girl who fell out of a car and into a bay Sunday after a multi-vehicle crash on a bridge in Ocean City, Maryland, is expected to make a full recovery thanks to a “humble hero” who jumped into the water to save the child, authorities said Monday. Eight people were taken to hospitals Sunday after the crash on the Route 90 bridge left a car dangling off the guardrail, authorities said. All eight were discharged from hospitals and are doing well, Ryan Whittington, firefighter and medic at Ocean City Fire Department, told CNN. Whittington said the man who saved the toddler is choosing to remain unnamed publicly. The fire department is calling him the “humble hero” for his rescue. The man was driving on the bridge, and his car was also involved in the crash, Whittington said. The drivers were pointing down to the Assawoman Bay, where he saw the girl lying in the water, face down. “He just jumped into action,” said Whittington, adding that the water in that area is about 5 feet deep, and the jump was more than 25 feet. “He saved a 23-month-old child. There’s no doubt in our mind that if he had not did what he did when he did it that we would be having a different headline to this story,” Whittington said.

[deathsmallcaps]

Mansa Musa

Hey so I wrote a paper about  Mansa Musa, the richest man to ever live (he’s richer than Jeff Bezos!) so if you all want to read it here it is. I’m not entirely sure about how well I cited everything, and I’m not entirely confident about the source, but researching this paper was fun and very interesting. However, I wrote this for American History class so the paper is written in context with colonization and Western expansion. If that is something you, emotionally, are not up for today, I would suggest not reading it. 

Kankan Mansa Musa I, also known as Mansa Musa I or Kanku Musa, along with his family’s legacy, is arguably one of the biggest inspirations for the European exploration and colonization of the Americas. Grandson to the legendary Sundiata, the Allah-appointed leader of the Malinké people, he ruled over the land now considered southern Mali. He was a devout Muslim, and was brought into the European consciousness because of his lavish pilgrimage to Mecca. He also conquered many lands, and made the almost mythical city Timbuktu, an intellectual’s paradise. Interestingly, there may also be a direct connection between Musa and the Americas; according to some records, his predecessor Abubakari II abdicated  to sail West.

During Musa’s reign as the leader of the Mali Empire, he ruled and took over many areas in modern day Chad, Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal, gaining control of the numerous gold fields populating the landscape. Deciding to thank Allah for his successes, he became the most famous West African king to make the Hajj pilgrimage. It is a required rite of all adult Muslims to do at least once in their lifetime if they can physically as well as financially make the trip while also supporting their families. He brought so many heralds that his procession stretched for miles and numbered in the thousands. Musa also brought so much gold with him on the pilgrimage that during a brief stop in the city of Cairo, he paid with enough gold that it took “12 years for the flooded gold market to recover.” (Cartwright). Only three decades before, the famed explorer Marco Polo returned with news of the riches found in the East. These two events may have spurred the European fixation on adventuring in search for foriegn riches. Two years after Musa’s death in 1337, an Italian cartographer created a map displaying the king’s wealth. A preoccupation with “… his flamboyant journey was to … stimulate a desire … among many of European nations as well, to reach the source of this incredible wealth.” (Graft-Johnson).

Another factor of Musa’s contribution to the European invasion of the Americas was the era of enlightenment and excellent control of his empire. He built up the almost mythical city of Timbuktu, making it a moral and intellectual garden of minds. It may have inspired the jealousy of his Christian counterparts. The Christian mentality of that time was of ignorance and economic jealousy towards the Islamic part of the world. Literacy was uncommon, and the scientific and mathematical advances of the Islmic world were viewed with suspicion. They were actively searching for ways to get exotic goods, such as sugar and spices, without the indignity of dealing with Muslim middlemen. Relatively shortly after Musa’s name became known up north, the Portuguese and later the Spanish and Italians started sailing around and taking people from Africa. The Catholic kingdoms were also looking for a way to get military assistance from China in taking back Jerusalem from Islamic control, as they ultimately considered it their holy duty. So, Musa’s success as a ruler may have stimulated enough spite and jealousy in the Europeans that they invented whole new capitalistic tendencies which led to the invasion of the American continents. 

In a harder to prove way, Mali may have also been one of the first Old World nations to make contact with the Americans. According to some sources, his predecessor and brother, Abubakari II, “ ... wanted to find out whether the Atlantic Ocean – like the great River Niger that swept through Mali – had another ‘bank’.” (Boakye). Initially the man had sent out a fleet full, and when only one ship came back, reporting first of an island of goats (possibly one of the Canary Islands) and then farther away, an extremely wide and tumultuous river where the rest of the boats sank. The one surviving ship reported to have then met a people with red skin, who in turn said that they had met a group of venturing Berbers some years before. Hearing this, Abubakari immediately decided to set out and live in the strange land, which is one story of how Musa inherited the empire from his brother. There is further proof concerning the West African expeditions to Brazil and the Carribbean islands; “Philologists have discovered Red-Indian words of Arabic origin, from pre-Colombian days. Columbus found on the coast of Cuba dogs that do not bark. This is a West-African race of dogs.” (Hamidullah). So quite possibly, news of this successful venture to a land across the Atlantic may have inspired Columbus's notion to sail across it.

In conclusion, there are three reasons why Kankan Mansa Musa could be quite relevant to the European discovery and later invasion of the American continents. Firstly, the tales of his immense wealth may have inspired southern European ventures around Africa, Asia and eventually the Americas for new business opportunities. Secondly, the success of his Islamic empire may have driven the jealous Christians into trying to find that sort of power and worldliness without reaching through Muslim middlemen for goods from East Asia. Lastly, Musa’s strange succession to the throne and tales of a land to the West could’ve inspired Columbus's journey to the Americas. In short, his wealth, his power and legends of Musa’s family could’ve inspired European westward exploration. 

Bibliography

Cartwright, Mark. “Mansa Musa I.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 18 Aug. 2020, www.ancient.eu/Mansa_Musa_I/.

Graft-Johnson, John Coleman de. “Mūsā I of Mali.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 29 Apr. 2020, www.britannica.com/biography/Musa-I-of-Mali.

Boakye Full bio Close Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email , Bridget, and Gaoussou Diawara. “Way before Columbus, Ancient Malians Sailed to the Americas in 1311.” Face2Face Africa, 5 Dec. 2018, face2faceafrica.com/article/way-before-columbus-ancient-malians-sailed-to-the-americas-in-1311.

Hamidullah, Mohammed. “Echoes of What Lies Behind the 'Ocean of Fogs' in Muslim Historical NarrativeH.” MuslimHeritage.com - Topics, Journal of the Muslim's Student Association of the United States and Canada, 2013, web.archive.org/web/20131020191955/www.muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=646.

[garudabluffs]

Sarah Chayes' New Book Examines 'Corruption In America'                                                                     August 11, 2020

 Author Sarah Chayes has investigated corruption in places like Afghanistan and Nigeria. She wondered if the U.S. was corrupt. NPR's Noel King talks to her about her book: "On Corruption in America."  

6-Minute Listen https://www.npr.org/2020/08/11/901219076/chayes-new-book-examines-corruption-in-america

“...that the United States is showing signs similar to some of the most corrupt countries in the world. Corruption, as Chayes sees it, is an operating system of sophisticated networks in which government officials, key private-sector interests, and out-and-out criminals interweave. Their main objective: not to serve the public but to maximize returns for network members.”

“Chayes shows how corrupt systems are organized, how they enforce the rules so their crimes are covered legally, how they are overlooked and downplayed--shrugged off with a roll of the eyes--by the richer and better educated, how they become an overt principle determining the shape of our government, affecting all levels of society.”

"Both right and left revile 'the swamp,' but Sarah Chayes is the first to provide a compelling--to say nothing of brave--account of how sophisticated self-dealing networks of every stripe are rigging the rules and poisoning our politics. If you want to save America, this might just be the most important book to read now."--Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains

[militant-holy-knight]

There is an ongoing persecution of Christians. For months, we bishops have been denouncing what is happening in Burkina Faso" Bishop Kjustin Kientega recently said, "but nobody is listening to us." "Evidently", he concluded, "the West is more concerned with protecting its own interests".

In a recent series of a transnational tragedies, 14 Christians were murdered in an attack on a church in Burkina Faso, 11 Christians were murdered in an attack on a bus in Kenya and seven Christians were murdered by Boko Haram in Cameroon. These three deadly attacks by Islamists in the same week give an idea of the intensity and frequency of global anti-Christian persecution.

Bishop Kientega was reporting a fact: the West is not listening to their plight. "While the Belgian government decided in 2011 to send F-16s to Libya to protect civilians threatened by Gaddafi, in 2014 it took no concrete measures to help the minorities in Iraq", wrote Le Vif.

"Today, it is a deafening silence that prevails in the spans of our parliaments, as in associative or academic circles. Why this reluctance which borders on the outright abandonment of populations in distress?"

While Christians in Syria and Iraq were suffering the violence of radical Islamists in 2014, a group of French parliamentarians had summoned France to show solidarity with those Christians. But in front of the Palais Bourbon in Paris, only 200-300 protesters showed up -- with the slogan "Today the East, tomorrow the West". Christian leaders also denounced the British government for failing to help persecuted Christians. "This sad indifference raises the question of our ability to believe in our humanistic values", wrote the French journalist Christian Makarian. Europe's indifference to the fate of Eastern Christians does not come from far away; it is the powerful result of inertia and indifference, a malaise that is devouring the continent. It is a cynical betrayal, and the greatest signal of how numb liberal democracies have gotten.

In Europe, however, there is a solitary defender of persecuted Christians: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whom the mainstream media love to peck at and attack. No other European government has invested so much money, public diplomacy and time on this topic. Writing in Foreign Policy, Peter Feaver and Will Inboden explain that aid to Christians come from "a few international relief organizations like the Knights of Columbus and Aid to the Church in Need, and the Hungarian government". The Knights of Columbus alone raised $2 million to rebuild the Christian Iraqi town of Karamlesh.

"Those we are helping now can give us the greatest help in saving Europe," Orbán recently said at an international conference, On Christian Persecution 2019, that he organized in Budapest. "We are giving persecuted Christians what they need: homes, hospitals, and schools, and we receive in return what Europe needs most: a Christian faith, love and perseverance". "Europe is quiet," Orbán went on. "A mysterious force shuts the mouths of European politicians and cripples their arms." He said the issue of Christian persecution could only be considered a human rights issue in Europe. He insisted that "Christians are not allowed to be mentioned on their own, only together with other groups that are being persecuted for their faiths." The persecution of Christians "is therefore folded into the diverse family of persecuted religious groups".

According to Tristan Azbej, Hungary's State Secretary for the Aid to Persecuted Christians, Orbán's is the first European government to have a special State Secretariat "which has only one duty: To look after and monitor the destiny and the situation of the Christian communities all over the world, and if there is a need, we help."

"... So far, we have spent 36.5 MUSD on strengthening the Christian communities, where they live. This is because of our basic approach [is] that we do not want to have...the members of the Christian communities leave their homes, but enable them to stay and be stronger there. Our principle is to bring help where it is needed, and not bring problems where there are no problems, yet at least. In this framework we have rebuilt houses for 1200 Christian families in Iraq to enable them to return. We are building schools for the Christians in the Middle East with the Caldean Church and the Syrian Orthodox Church. We cover the medical costs of Christian hospitals, three of them in Syria; we are just now reconstructing 33 Christian churches in Lebanon and we are carrying out a comprehensive development and construction program on the Nineveh Plains".

Hungary's leadership is bringing the plight of persecuted Christians to the attention of an apathetic Europe. "We have 245 million reasons to be here. This is how many people are persecuted daily because of their Christian belief," said Azbej on November 26 as he opened the International Conference on Christian Persecution in Budapest.

Many Christian leaders were present, including the Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch Ignatius Aphrem II, the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul Najeeb Michaeel and Rev. Joseph Kassab, head of the Evangelical Community of Syria and Lebanon. Catholic speakers also attended the conference. They included Cardinal Peter Erdo, Primate of Hungary and Archbishop of Budapest, and Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, former prefect of the Vatican Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith.

Prime Minister Orbán also met Christian leaders from Nigeria. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Sri Lanka thanked Hungary and Orbán for their support and gestures of solidarity to the Sri Lankan people. "Our estimation is that more than 90 percent of Christian have already left Iraq and almost 50 percent of Christians in Syria have left the country", the Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church Ignatius Aphrem II said in Budapest. The Hungarian government gave 1.9 million euros for rebuilding Christian houses in Telskuf, Iraq.

The French author Bernard-Henri Lévy recently returned from a trip in Nigeria and he described anti-Christian hate in a long essay for Paris Match: "The mutilated corpses of women. This little girl strangled with the chain of her cross. This other one, smashed against a tree at the entrance of her hamlet". Lévy describes "the call of the mosques radicalized by the Muslim Brotherhood and which multiply to the exact extent that the churches are burning". That is why Hungary also provided aid to Nigeria's Christian communities. 1,000 Christians have been murdered in Nigeria only this year.

Hungary is the only country in Europe not only organizing international conferences on Christian persecution, but also devoting specific aid to Christians in the Middle East. The Hungary Helps initiative is providing $1.7 million to supporting hospitals in Syria. Azbej said that the Hungarian government is "running programs in five Middle Eastern and two sub-Saharan countries" with "one of the most extensive programs [being] the reconstruction of the city of Tel Askuf in Northern Iraq".

Hungary also donated $450,000 to build a new school in Erbil (in the Kurdish inhabited area of Iraq, where many Christians found shelter). Italian Cardinal Mario Zenari, Vatican's envoy to Syria for a decade, approached the Hungarian government for help. Christian Orthodox leaders also thanked Orbán for his support. US aid agencies also signed agreements with Hungary on persecution of Christians.

Two years ago, when Orbán opened the first International Consultation on Christian Persecution hosted in Budapest, he called on Europe to break the "shackles of political correctness" and stand against Christian persecution. No one else in Europe except him speaks about defending "Christianity". In addition, Hungary's parliament passed a government-initiated decree to call attention to attacks against Christians and qualify it as genocide.

The special "Hungary Helps" programme was set up to provide aid to persecuted Christians in Africa and the Middle East. "Help should be provided where the trouble lies instead of bringing the trouble to Europe," said a spokesman for the programme, which disbursed $30m in aid during the past two years. In solidarity with persecuted Christians, Hungary Helps added the Arabic letter ن, which was painted by ISIS on Christian homes in northern Iraq for labelling the Christians who had to convert to Islam, pay a protection tax, flee or face death.

Other European governments have been all cowardly in the extreme. The so-called "humanitarian Europe" has stood silent, exuding hypocrisy, spinelessness and blindness. European leaders, rather than being embarrassed, should make the condition of Christians under Islam the starting point of their conversations with Muslims. Why have the governments of the UK, France, Germany, Italy and others -- countries far richer and larger than Hungary -- not done the same as Hungary? Why have they turned off the microphones?

"The fate of Eastern Christians and other minorities is the prelude to our own fate," said former French Prime Minister François Fillon recently. Like it or not, "illiberal" Orbán understands it. His liberal critics do not.

[marcoknopf68-blog]

On the internet Sports Betting Web-site In Nigeria

The UK sports betting market has never been as huge, as varied, or as exciting. Betting manage was $32.4 million in March 2019. Some states only supply on the web poker, other individuals only present on-line sports betting and other individuals offer some mixture of all the gaming options talked about above. The Supreme Court of the United States lifted the federal ban on sports betting on May 14, 2018. They are a single of only a couple of betting sites to do this for India. These licensed cricket betting sites have earned a trusted name for fund safety, rapid payouts, and fair betting prices. Oregon's lottery moved ahead with on-line sports betting in October 2019. In 2014, Christie switched tactics by proposing to end New Jersey's self-imposed ban on sports betting. To date, there are 13 NJ sports betting apps on the market. In-play sports betting has structural traits that have changed the mechanics of gambling for sports bettors, as they are now capable to location a larger number of bets in the course of a single sports game (as opposed to a single bet on who is going to win). It would of course be regrettable if the advent of legalized sports betting in the nation provided an avenue for unsavory interests to get involved in the market. With this inaugural list, Enterprise Insider is recognizing the early leaders who are capitalizing on legal sports betting in the US. Sports betting in Washington state is prohibited below state law, and would demand 검증놀이터 a vote by the Legislature to authorize it, according to the Washington State Gambling Commission. Betting odds - They decide the quantity a play stands to make from a winning bet primarily based on the initial stake. Betting Selection: We look for internet sites that supply the most effective sport possibilities, such as IPL, horse racing, football (soccer) and other sports for Indian bettors. Otherwise, betting procedure in the race book is the same as at the track: For you to gather on a "win" bet your horse must win the race, to gather on a "location" bet he must finish very first or second, and to collect on a "show" bet he must finish 1st, second or third. Ultimately, there's a collection of articles explaining all about the a variety of varieties of bets and the unique forms of betting. All of the sports betting websites on this web page have extended and exceptional track records of enabling 검증놀이터 players to money out. Mississippi promoted rules with regards to sports gambling inside a few days and had truly repealed the ban on sports betting outdoors casinos quietly a few months earlier, to sidestep legal concerns with fantasy sports. Our users are discovering that quite a few of the new betting sites offer you them anything distinctive. One of the most widespread forms of gambling requires betting on horse or greyhound racing Wagering may perhaps 검증놀이터 take location via parimutuel pools, or bookmakers may well take bets personally. TheScore is not concerning itself with working with its foray into sports betting to develop its marketing business enterprise at the moment. Oregon is 1 of a tiny quantity of states that already had a law on the books permitting some types of sports betting, so the resumption of wagering did not need the legislature to pass any new law or have the governor amend an current tribal-state compact. And all of that is only to enter the sports betting market place, where publishers face entrenched players such as DraftKings and FanDuel as well as casinos and other sportsbooks. With the Law Commission of India recommending that gambling and sports betting be legalised, we examine other governments that taxed their way to richer horizons. Darren Rovell caught up with two legal experts - Daniel Wallach and Jake Williams - to see when they expect on the net and physical sports betting to be legal in each and every of the 50 states. Most normally they provide up fixed odds, exactly where you know the odds you get on your bet when you spot your wager, but often the odds can be parimutuel, which means they transform primarily based on the betting volume on the a variety of outcomes. In this article we'll explain the important components of betting and odds producing, trace the history of betting in the United States, and show why betting on sports nearly usually results in losing money in the lengthy run. On line 검증놀이터 sports betting is a billion dollar business, and it is becoming additional and more each and every and just about every day. The tribes are operating below the belief that the sports betting is a 'Class III' game. James Wheatcroft, an equity analyst at Jefferies, is even extra bullish on sports betting. Tennessee sports betting could expense itself almost $11 million annually in tax income by imposing minimum hold specifications on operators. He spent nearly four years at bookmaker William Hill, in Australia, throughout which time he helped boost betting on NBA games with new items and promotions. Our team offers daily coverage to all the happenings in the casino and sports betting industries.

[kasdaquiz]

Blog 3 "Whether or not Federalism is What the Philippines Need?"

On paper, federalism seems well suited for the Philippines. In reality, however, it could become a recipe for disaster in a country that is already divided by language, religion and economic inequality.

First of all, studies show that only a few regions are capable of raising enough taxes on their own. The vast majority of provinces, which will be submerged into new federal states, lack the basic administrative capacity for generating revenue. Not to mention duplication in taxes and further stress on the nascent bureaucracy of peripheral regions under a federal arrangement.

Under a federal system, the richer states of the north will have even more resources to enhance their competitiveness, thus deepening the developmental gap with other southern regions.

Even in prosperous nations like the U.S., the developmental gap between the rich coastal states of California and New York, on one hand, and the southern and midwestern states, on the other, has barely narrowed after two centuries of federalist experience.

In developing countries like India, Iraq and Nigeria, federalism has either failed to close developmental gaps and ethno-communal tensions among various states or, more worryingly, in some cases reinforced and reified them over the decades. In places such as Yugoslavia, a federal setup eventually collapsed into a genocidal civil war.

Moreover, a federal system could further strengthen the power of political dynasties and warlords, which control the Philippines’ peripheries. According to academic studies, around 178 so-called "political dynasties" – politicians related by kinship and blood – control 73 out of 81 provinces across the country. They also control up to 70% of the legislature, thus they seem likely to remove any proposed restrictions on the proliferation of political dynasties.

Under a federal system, they are best positioned to dominate the newly created local legislature and state institutions, further consolidating their grip on power in the country's poorer regions. It's no wonder, then, that most surveys show the vast majority of Filipinos are either against constitutional change or completely unaware of its implications.

[newstfionline]

Sunday, December 20, 2020

Americans Are Drinking More During The Pandemic (NPR) When the pandemic began spreading across the U.S. in March, stores, restaurants and schools closed down. But liquor stores in many parts of the U.S. were deemed essential and stayed open. Alcohol sales have ticked up during the pandemic, so maybe it’s a good time to ask yourself: Are you drinking more than you’d like to be? R. Lorraine Collins, a psychologist at the University of Buffalo, recommends asking yourself, “Are you keeping alcohol as ... a special beverage for limited situations, or are you engaging in alcohol use across the board?” A break from alcohol can lead to a range of outcomes. As we’ve reported, a 2016 British study of people who participated in a monthlong “Dry January” break, found that 82% said they felt a sense of achievement. “Better sleep” was cited by 62%, and 49% said they lost some weight. Maybe you hike farther, have better conversations or get better sleep. Notice if your life feels richer to you. If we’re stuck at home for now, why not give it a try? What do you have to lose?

‘Do as I say’: Anger as some politicians ignore virus rules (AP) Denver’s mayor flies to Mississippi to spend Thanksgiving with his family—after urging others to stay home. He later says he was thinking with “my heart and not my head.” A Pennsylvania mayor bans indoor dining, then eats at a restaurant in Maryland. The governor of Rhode Island is photographed at an indoor wine event as her state faces the nation’s second-highest virus rate. While people weigh whether it’s safe to go to work or the grocery store, the mayor of Austin, Texas, heads to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on a private jet after hosting a wedding for 20. California’s governor dines at a swanky French restaurant with lobbyists, none wearing masks, a day after San Francisco’s mayor was there for a birthday party. Both had recently imposed tough rules on restaurants, shops and activities to slow the spread of the virus. To the public’s chagrin, some of America’s political leaders have been caught preaching one thing on the coronavirus and practicing another. Sure, politicians have long been called out for hypocrisy. But during a pandemic that’s forced millions into seclusion and left many without paychecks, such actions can feel like a personal insult—reinforcing the idea “that some people just don’t have to follow the rules while the rest of us do,” says Rita Kirk, a professor of communications at Southern Methodist University. Pandemic-era hypocrisy has only deepened the polarization in a time already marked by division, emboldening those who doubt the seriousness of the virus and dividing people’s responses based on political affiliations.

Hacked networks will need to be burned ‘down to the ground’ (AP) It’s going to take months to kick elite hackers widely believed to be Russian out of the U.S. government networks they have been quietly rifling through since as far back as March in Washington’s worst cyberespionage failure on record. Experts say there simply are not enough skilled threat-hunting teams to duly identify all the government and private-sector systems that may have been hacked. FireEye, the cybersecurity company that discovered the intrusion into U.S. agencies and was among the victims, has already tallied dozens of casualties. It’s racing to identify more. “We have a serious problem. We don’t know what networks they are in, how deep they are, what access they have, what tools they left,” said Bruce Schneier, a prominent security expert and Harvard fellow. Many federal workers—and others in the private sector—must presume that unclassified networks are teeming with spies. Agencies will be more inclined to conduct sensitive government business on Signal, WhatsApp and other encrypted smartphone apps. The only way to be sure a network is clean is “to burn it down to the ground and rebuild it,” Schneier said.

College students recruited as teachers to keep schools open (AP) As the coronavirus sidelines huge numbers of educators, school districts around the country are aggressively recruiting substitute teachers, offering bonuses and waiving certification requirements in order to keep classrooms open. Coming to the rescue in many cases are college students who are themselves learning online or home for extended winter breaks. In Indiana, the 4,400-student Greenfield-Central school district about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of Indianapolis made a plea for help as its substitute pool shrank. “I said, ‘If you’ve got a student who’s in college, maybe they’d like to work even a two-month thing for us—which would be a stopgap, no doubt—but it will help us a whole, whole bunch,” said Scott Kern, the Greenfield-Central Community School Corporation director of human resources. Over a dozen college students answered the call including his own daughter, 19-year-old Grace Kern, who is studying medical imaging technology at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. She has been working in elementary school classrooms, helping students as teachers offer instruction remotely via a screen inside the room.

An Ex-Governor Is Gunned Down, Punctuating a Deadly Year for Mexico (NYT) The former governor of the state of Jalisco was gunned down early Friday while vacationing in the resort city of Puerto Vallarta, the authorities said, a brazen killing that further illustrated the government’s struggles to rein in the deadly violence that has surged across Mexico over the past five years. The killing of the ex-governor, Aristóteles Sandoval, who was shot in the back inside a restaurant restroom, is one of the highest-profile political killings in Mexico in recent memory, security experts said. Mr. Sandoval was killed just hours before President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and his cabinet delivered a grim update on the nation’s security situation during a news conference. More than 31,000 murders were recorded in Mexico this year as of November, the latest month for which government statistics are available, a figure roughly on pace with 2019. But homicides have nearly doubled over the past five years.

Bosnian city of Mostar gets a vote (AP) Irma Baralija is looking forward to Sunday, when she intends to vote and hopes to win her race as the southern Bosnian city of Mostar holds its first local election in 12 years. To make that vote possible in her hometown, the 36-year-old Baralija had to sue Bosnia in the European Court of Human Rights for letting a stalemate between two major nationalist political parties prevent her, along about 100,000 other Mostar residents, from voting or running in a municipal election for over a decade. By winning in court in October 2019, Baralija believes she has “busted the myth (that nationalist parties) have been feeding to us, that an individual cannot move things forward, that we matter only as members of our ethnic groups.” Left without fully functioning institutions, Mostar—one of the impoverished Balkan country’s main tourist destinations—has seen its infrastructure crumble, trash repeatedly pile up on its streets and hazardous waste and wastewater treatment sludge dumped in its only landfill, which was supposed to be for non-hazardous waste.

India’s virus cases cross 10 million as new infections dip (AP) India’s confirmed coronavirus cases have crossed 10 million with new infections dipping to their lowest levels in three months, as the country prepares for a massive COVID-19 vaccination in the new year. Dr. Randeep Guleria, a government health expert, said India is keeping its fingers crossed as the cases tend to increase in winter months. India is home to some of the world’s biggest vaccine-makers and there are five vaccine candidates under different phases of trial in the country.

Israel’s top-secret Mossad looks to recruit via Netflix, Hulu and Apple TV (Washington Post) After decades in the shadows, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, the Mossad, has been getting a lot of airtime, both on the news and in popular TV thrillers. In real life, details of operations attributed to Israel are in the open like never before, including the theft two years ago of a trove of nuclear secrets from inside Iran, last summer’s drive-by killing of al-Qaeda’s No. 2 in Tehran and the assassination last month of Iran’s top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. And on the screen, streaming hits like Apple TV Plus’s “Tehran,” Netflix’s “The Spy” and Hulu’s “False Flag” have starred the Mossad as a cold, ruthless and efficient machine. Far from squirming, the once-supersecret agency has welcomed the exposure, former spies say. The Mossad needs recruits. Military veterans who might have once made their career in national service now leave to work for lucrative start-ups, or found their own. Israeli companies Waze, Wix, Viber and others were started by intelligence veterans. In response, Yossi Cohen, the Mossad’s director since 2016 and a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has embarked on a hiring spree, increased the agency’s number of sabotage operations and enlarged its budget by billions of shekels. The Mossad’s recruitment drive includes a heightened social media presence and a calculated trickle of unconfirmed information about its exploits. And former spies say the agency is quietly embracing a slew of TV shows and movies that could do for the agency what “Top Gun” famously did for naval recruitment: make a life in the organization seem cool again.

Chaos and jubilation as freed Nigerian schoolboys reunite with family (Reuters) Parents sobbed, mobbed their children in hugs and even kissed the ground in gratitude on Friday as they reunited with scores of schoolboys who had been kidnapped a week earlier in northwest Nigeria. Hundreds of adults jostled to find their offspring among the 344 dusty and dazed looking children who had arrived by bus in Katsina state on Friday morning. Those who succeeded cheered and grabbed their children, but scores more were still waiting by early evening. “I feel like God has granted me paradise because I am so happy,” said an ebullient Hamza Kankara after she found her son, Lawal, in the crowd. Another man knelt and kissed the ground, thanking God for the return of his young son, before clutching the boy and sobbing.

[scarletnews]

Lagos State Is Richer Than These 5 Popular African Countries By GDP

Lagos State Is Richer Than These 5 Popular African Countries By GDP

Nigeria can not be snubbed when we are talking about the wealthiest country in Africa, as the country is blessed with natural resources and intelligent people to the extent that it leads the African continent as the richest. However, one south-western state, Lagos, which is the commercial center of Nigeria, and one of the most important business cities in the hub, is richer than many countries in…