#we should all do this for our countries. can we get an eu blogger doing this i wanna see | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tulipsarepunk · 5 years

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A PSA FOR STUDYBLR ABOUT STUDENT CLIMATE STRIKES

Hello everyone! As I’m posting this it’s been two days since the second Global Youth Strike 4 Climate, so now seems like a good time to bring this up.

If you don’t already know about the student climate strikes (I hope that most of you do already, but I’ll explain briefly anyways), this is a movement started last year by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg aiming to pressure global governments and corporations into taking radical action to combat climate breakdown before we reach a point of no return in 2030. The global protest two days ago surpassed 1.8 million students striking all across the world, but smaller scale protests take place every single Friday to maintain pressure.

I work within the UK’s student climate strike organisation (UKSCN - UK Student Climate Network), mainly helping to run one of the regional social media accounts, and I’ve been helping to organise and run my city’s climate strike since the UK movement began back in February. So you could say that I know a fair bit about this by now.

“But OP!” I hear the bloggers cry. “Why are you bringing this up now? What’s so important so suddenly that it needs addressing immediately?”

Maybe it’s not as big of a deal as it currently seems to me. Maybe there is a big student strike presence on studyblr that I’m just not following. But what I want to address is the apparent silence within the studyblr community on this topic. Strike days come and go without a whisper on here. A few PSA posts and memes about “friendly reminder we have ____ years to go before climate change is irreversible!” and that’s... it. No follow-up on actions that students can and are taking. Just panic and a reminder to use a bamboo toothbrush.

(Not that I’m trying to attack bamboo toothbrushes. Little changes are wonderful, but what’s even better is pressuring the small handful of companies producing most of the world’s carbon dioxide and the governments that turn a blind eye to them into growing a fucking spine and taking responsibility for the planet they’re destroying.)

Again, this could easily just be me trapped in a small sphere of studyblr climate inactivity, and just beyond my dash there are blogs that are way, way bigger than mine posting relentlessly about this, rallying the Tumblr student community to action just out of my line of sight.

Or, equally, maybe there isn’t. Which is why I’m making this post anyways.

I cannot express enough how crucial it is for you all to join in this movement.

The world itself needs climate action. We need this to be the thing that studyblr talks about. We need to make the online community aware of the movement and create a culture of environmentalism online which reflects the tireless efforts of the students out there in the streets. Studyblr is such a wonderful, interconnected, supportive community, and once just a few people on here start talking about a certain idea or issue, it spreads like wildfire. I’ve seen it happen. So, please, I am begging you all, let the student strikes be something we talk about. Not just talk about, but that every single one of us who are able to participate and promote it. Share your strike stories and pictures - I’ll be keeping an online diary on my blog of strike planning and marches over the summer and for as long as these protests last. Because the fact that I haven’t seen one single post encouraging student strikes in studyblr is just sad. We are an online community of thousands of students. When it comes to student strikes for climate, we can do better.

To everyone who is able: please, please, please, please join in your local strike. Find their social media and keep up-to-date with future strikes and any other actions they may be planning (in UKSCN, for example, we recently ran an e-mail pressure campaign in a bid to get our MEP candidates to pledge to push for a Green New Deal in the EU in the run-up to the European elections - we successfully pushed 55 candidates to make the pledge). This a crucial student-led movement that our online student community should be making an effort to promote, not sweep under the rug and quietly forget about. Silence will not suffice during the sixth mass extinction.

Expect to see a hell of a lot more environmentalism on my blog from now on. I hope others will join me and bring this to the forefront of studyblr.

Thank you. <3

PS: I say ‘those who are able’ because I am fully aware that some people who have anxiety, are on the autistic spectrum, etc. may have difficulty dealing with the mass crowds that form at some of the major strikes. My city’s monthly strike consistently exceeds 1000 participants and I have a friend who can’t join in because getting swept up in loud crowds of people gives her panic attacks. If this or anything like this applies to you, please do not feel like I am attacking you for it. I know that not everyone can handle the atmosphere at strikes and if that applies to you then this post isn’t aimed at you. But please, even if you can’t strike yourself, reblog and spread the message and promote strikes in your country or local area, and help make this a topic that gets widely discussed in studyblr.

PPS: If you have any questions about the movement and striking, please don’t hesitate to ask! I’m always happy to talk about this and help in any way that I can!

#studyblr #langblr #youth strike 4 climate #fridays for future #climate change #climate breakdown #student strikes #ecocide #climate emergency #youth strikes #eco anxiety #climate crisis #climateaction #climatestrike #:(#psa

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qqueenofhades · 5 years

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So dare I ask what the nightmare in detail is regarding Brexit right now?

@tollers-and-jack said: I’m asking for the rant…

@rhymeswithtessa said: I’m a big fan of your rants gimme your thoughts on brexit

@onlymorelove said: Ahem. I am interested in your rant. If you feel like sharing. 💗

Ahaha wow. Apparently this is something the people really want to hear about. Disclaimer, just remember that you asked for this, and that this is, as Captain Holt would say, a trigger for me. So if this periodically devolves into incoherent screaming/application of capital letters and exclamation marks, and what have you, just know that.

So… I wrote these posts soon after Brexit in 2016 explaining what a spectacularly stupid idea it was even then. If I said anything optimistic in those posts, in a sort of grasping-at-straws-maybe-this-will-work sort of flailing way, please disregard it. We have had empirical evidence of how this played out. Spoiler alert: it failed. It failed so comprehensively on every possible level that it seems almost ludicrous for a supposedly modern political system, but this is 2019, the world is dogshit, and we are all retreating into our little late-capitalism xenophobia bubbles with our right-wing strongmen and our populist rhetoric and the UK is now a global laughingstock. Which believe me, the ex-British Empire richly deserves, especially given the part that anti-immigration paranoia played in this whole debacle, but also, I live here and really would Rather Not.

I do not even know how to sum up the ridiculousness of the past few months, where – almost at the end of the two-year period of triggering Article 50, with just a very short amount of time to the original exit date (29 March 2019) – the UK finally managed to secure a withdrawal deal. Mind you, it was a shit deal that both sides hated, but by golly, It Made Brexit Happen, and since the Theresa May-bot has only been able to repeat over and over that she will Make Brexit Happen, there you have it. Not surprisingly, it proceeded to be comprehensively defeated in Parliament by the largest majority ever seen since World War II. It then was subject to surface-level makeovers and cosmetic tinkering about the backstop in Northern Ireland (since among many other things, the ardent Brexiteers forget that oh yeah we share a land border with an EU country and peace in Ireland is kind of a thing that should be paid attention to). The DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) of Northern Ireland, whose 10 MPs prop up the minority Tory government, absolutely hated it and would not support it, since it would effectively introduce different regulations for NI than the rest of the UK and thus jeopardise the, you know, United Kingdom. Plus it would require the EU’s assent to end the arrangement, and also we can’t have that. Because reasons.

The deal was then thumpingly defeated for a second time, people got worried because uhhhh aren’t we supposed to leave the EU in like a week, Parliament had to institute emergency measures and hold a series of votes on Brexit alternatives, those also got defeated and May would not even commit to honouring the will of the House, 6 million people signed a petition asking for Article 50 to be revoked and the Brexit process cancelled (the biggest in parliamentary history) and got ignored. Meanwhile, Nigel Farage led a pathetic procession of 200 diehard Leavers against literally 1 million people in London calling for a new referendum, the deal got defeated for a third time after they had to do all kinds of fancy-dancing to get it back for yet another vote, they got the EU to agree to a crunch extension to 12 April, and now that that is three days away with absolutely no consensus in sight, have sent May back to Europe to beg Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron to extend the deadline to 30 June. They actually had to pass a bill (by one vote) forcing her to do this in order to avoid a no-deal Brexit. The EU is justifiably exasperated with this utter, unbelievable incompetence, the fact that the hard right wing of the Tory party pulled this absurdly irresponsible jackshit without any clue how to do it, and the way the UK still thinks it can just pick an a la carte deal where we’re great and the EU sucks and blue passports and blah blah Great Britain is Great!!! And there has been absolutely no collective awareness from either major party that maybe, just maybe, trying to undo a legal and political and cultural alignment that has existed since at least 1973 when we were a founding member of this project, in two years, with no idea how, to please a xenophobic lying campaign, WAS A STUPID FUCKING GODDAMN IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!!

(we pause while the blogger breathes and drinks heavily)

Anyway, that is the short version of Nobody Still Knows What The Fuck Is Going to Happen. Technically if we stayed in the bloc past 22 May, we’d have to hold elections to the European Parliament, which bitch bitch whine whine, the Brexiteers don’t want to do. Maybe we think we’re entitled to more special treatment (no scratch that, we definitely do) because we can’t sort our heads from our asses and have been so wildly and bogglingly arrogant and incompetent that it would almost be funny if people’s lives and livelihoods and futures weren’t at stake. And we have the goddamn European Research Group (aka the hard Brexit wing) yapping about how no deal wouldn’t be that bad and we should just take it on the chin because Blah Blah Blitz Spirit, Nationalism Patriotism Our Freedom From The Tyrannical EU. (Sidenote, if someone just punches Jacob Rees-Mogg in the elitist Little Britain face, you don’t know where I was, God I hate him so much.) Every single business, manufacturer, industry, finance, medicine, food, education, you name it outfit has been warning that no, actually, no deal would be catastrophic and the UK is not remotely prepared for it. To the point we have the military on standby to deliver basic goods if it happens??! How. How is this acceptable??!?!? I don’t understand??!?!

(And the Brexiteers who are like “this is Britain let’s all just hunt hares and grow food in our back gardens,” which, yes, is something I heard actually said, are out of touch to a truly stupendous degree. Yes I’m sure that a modern first-world country wants to resort to subsistence farming to feed its 66 million people. Do they. Even. Hear Themselves. Racism is a hell of a drug, my friends! And if you want to be like “oh no it’s not about racism/anti-immigrant sentiment, it’s about the economy,” let’s just say that the newsreader covering a Brexit march said that he’d never seen so many white people in one place and was forced to apologize, because racist white people don’t like it being pointed out to them that they are racist white people. That tells you a lot. And the Leave campaign has been convicted multiple times for breaking electoral law and just flat-out Lying to the public, so the people who voted Leave thinking they were in fact getting a better economic deal were deceived outright and have indeed often expressed regret that they were so wildly and deliberately deluded. So anyway. Fun!)

I cannot emphasise enough the sheer, staggering arrogance and delusion of the people who proposed this project and then forced it through, because the British public has believed throughout its entire history that it’s better than the whole world (see again: imperial nostalgia and Oh No The Foreigners Are Coming and etc) and has been fed for a good 25 years on this point on a lot of bullshit stories about how terrible and Liberal and Anti-British the EU is, because the British popular press is a flaming dumpster fire (you think Fox News is bad, and it is, but so many of the tabloids are basically Fox News UK). So the Brits feel as if they’ve been so unfairly repressed by the EU and need to Take Back Control (once again, there is a very long history of this rhetoric of the English being supposedly attacked and repressed by foreigners, dating back to the idea of the “Norman Yoke” resulting from the Conquest, which became a big deal in the 19th century – I am a historian, I can pull receipts for days on this). Once again, they think they can just do whatever they want, the EU is the bad guy for not giving it to them, that we should set ourselves on fire and jump out the window rather than sit at the table like grownups with the rest of Europe, and just take our ball and go home and yet still think we are entitled to preferential treatment.

I just…. I don’t even. I DO NOT EVEN. I seriously lack the words.

So we may get another rolling series of short-term extensions, we may not, nobody can come to any agreement on what should be done, May promised to resign to get the deal through, the deal did not get through, the whole setup is so unsustainable that it feels like a general election is an inevitability, and the obvious solution would be another referendum to see if the people even still goddamn want this. But the Brexiteers, for all they bluster about upholding the will of the people to leave, resist this with all their might (what are you fucking afraid of? If you’re so confident that you’re still the majority, you should WANT another referendum to confirm it, but you’re cowards and you know you’d lose and you’re tied to this stick of dynamite for Ideology Reasons, god damn it). The message has been always that We Must Deliver Brexit and This Is What The People Want, while the people are breaking records saying that no, actually, we’d like another say, because everyone has now seen that this is an absurd shitshow that cannot be accomplished (and ONCE AGAIN WAS NEVER! FEASIBLE! IN THE FUCKING FIRST PLACE!!!!) and it hey, actually was not a bad idea to be in the EU.

This is again, the alignment of the entire post-WWII political and legal world. It confers countless benefits, freedom from tariffs, the single market, a customs union, visa-free travel, no roaming charges, the right to live and work in 27 other countries, etc. But because the ex-British Empire (which really wishes it was still the British Empire) has its fragile racist panties in a bunch about other people coming to live here (when as ever, the problem isn’t immigrants, it’s austerity budgets and the Tories absolutely gutting government and NHS funding and social programmes and thinking that the solution to knife crime is to punish teachers for not noticing their students getting into it), they have decided this is actually the best course of action. Because we don’t want those Non British People telling us what to do. Ew gross.

As people have said, it’s like trading a gourmet three course meal for a bag of crisps and feeling self-satisfied about it, because boy we sure showed them. It has been bungled to a degree truly stupefying to everyone who isn’t a marching Brexiteer ideologue, Labour have…. really not inspired any confidence whatsoever that they’d be able to handle it better (since they have wildly see-sawed between what they will and won’t support, if they’d revoke Article 50 or support a new people’s vote or so on) and the Prime Minister has failed on an utterly fundamental degree to build cross-party consensus or engage with other European leaders or display any ability to consider alternatives. The Tories have truly felt that they can ram this through without any reference to anyone or anything else, and fuck consequences, I guess. The British economy has already lost approximately £66 billion as a result of Brexit uncertainty and loses more every day, every major firm is moving its headquarters to somewhere they can take advantage of EU law, this will leave us poorer, more isolated, less secure, with fewer options, and generally a worse deal in every imaginable way, and yet, because again, racism and xenophobia is a hell of a drug, there are still some factions who feel like yes, this is absolutely what we should do.

It is truly a slow motion car crash of nightmares, it’s completely avoidable and yet nobody has the backbone to do that, Parliament and the PM have completely broken down, nobody is listening to the British people for whom they are supposedly doing this, and once again, the British Empire absolutely 100% deserves this. But as someone who lives here and would actually kind of like to get a job here, Jesus Christ. Jesus. Christ. JESUS. CHRIST.

#politics for ts #brexit for ts #did i say everything #i'm not even sure i did #god #long post #romancelvr #ask

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primortravel · 3 years

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New Post has been published on https://primortravel.com/europe-off-season-for-top-solo-travel-deals/

Europe Off-Season for Top Solo Travel Deals

Europe Off-Season for Top Solo Travel Deals, a Guest Post by Jessica Fender*

There are more than 50 countries in Europe with their cultural characteristics, values, languages, and, of course, architecture and history. When traveling in such a democratic way in terms of cost as a bus tour, you can see several countries and not just from the bus window. After all, we can help you find walking tours that can tell and show the most interesting and iconic places.

Explore the Best of Europe

There are many offers to travel through old Europe. By asking yourself these simple questions, you can sift through all available suggestions and choose the best. So, to choose your ideal option, you need to decide:

what exactly you want to see (one or more countries, choose a priority destination, etc.);

how much time you can spend on the trip (number of days of the tour);

how exactly do you want to relax (beach, ski, hiking, or sightseeing tour);

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You should also choose the type of vacation you want. These are some of the most common ones:

Beach vacation. It can be completely chill, with lying on the beach and minimal activity or with lots of excursions and interesting activities – whichever you choose. The beaches of Bulgaria, Montenegro, Greece, Spain, etc. are often chosen by tourists.

Ski vacation. This is an opportunity to learn how to ski, snowboard, or just enjoy a comfortable holiday in snowy landscapes. Austria, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and other countries are especially popular among extreme sports enthusiasts. All equipment from snowboards to boots and overalls can always be rented on the spot.

Many people choose to travel to European countries not just for a vacation, but for study as well. It’s a good way to learn more deeply about the country, its people and culture, and explore it at a good pace. Plus, there are always many budget-friendly deals for students, which help them with cheap solo travel. If you are a student who wishes to travel as well as maintain good marks, check out GetGoodGrade – its writing experts will set you up with a great academic tool which students can use as a proofreader and grammar checker so you needn’t worry about paper quality.

H2: Great Tourist Locations in Europe for Solo Travelers

The best tourist destinations in Europe in 2021 were named by the European Best Destinations portal. The rating was compiled based on a vote of more than 600,000 tourists from 200 countries. This time, 39% of the voters who took part in the vote live outside the EU – and this is the maximum share of votes from other countries.

This year, the best tourist destination in 2021 is the Portuguese city of Braga, which was voted for by more than 109 thousand people. Thus, Portugal is very attractive to tourists and does not lose its position in popularity. By the way, new destinations have appeared in the ranking, which in pre-coronavirus times were not so interesting for tourists – we are talking about the Balkan countries Croatia, Romania, Montenegro, and Slovenia.

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Many people think that traveling abroad is quite expensive. They are wrong! In many European cities, we can spend less money on food and accommodation than living at home. To dispel doubts, we suggest reading the TOP-10 Europe Backpacker Index for 2020. It has been calculated for more than ten years and this ranking includes 56 of the most popular cities in Europe. Cities are indexed according to the cost – the cheaper the city is for travelers, the higher it ranks. The calculation includes the cost of one night in a hostel, 2 trips by public transport, three meals a day, three beers or wines, and one entertainment.

According to the Europe Backpacker Index-2020, the cheapest city in Europe for tourists was Bucharest. The city is worth seeing due to its many sights like the huge parliament building – the most famous landmark of the capital. It is a stellar choice if you plan a European singles tour. Tourists visiting the Romanian capital will be delighted by the low prices of goods and services. The Europe Backpacker Index estimates that the average daily cost of living in Bucharest is $27.13 per tourist.

The second place in the ranking is occupied by Belgrade. Although there are a limited number of popular tourist attractions (except for the largest Orthodox church in the world and the historic citadel), you will discover a lively and interesting city center. You will be satisfied with Belgrade’s hotels in terms of price and quality. And in the low season, you can get very good offers even in luxury hotels. In addition, food and drinks are quite cheap compared to most other major European cities. The average daily cost of staying in Belgrade is $ 27.33 per tourist.

Next is Budapest – a world-class tourist destination. The city has plenty of castles and cathedrals to check out. In addition, there are cheap thermal resorts to enjoy there. Inexpensive hotels can be found a little further from the center for a double standard room-pay the same price as for a hostel in London. Food and drinks are also quite cheap, especially local dishes. The average daily cost of staying in Budapest is estimated at $33.55 per tourist.

You will leave a little more money in Krakow – a great destination for solo European tours. This city is also one of the greatest and cheapest places in Europe. Charming Krakow with a beautiful old town would be worth a visit even if the prices here were much higher. Currently, the city is very popular among Europeans who come to it on weekends. The city has many great and cheap hostels, bars and restaurants, so you can save money on food and accommodation alike. Hotels in Krakow are quite cheap. The cost of staying in Krakow is $33.63 per tourist.

Northern Macedonia has no access to the sea but is interesting due to ancient monuments, colorful architecture, cuisine, and mountainous landscapes. You can learn more about cheap solo travel deals using Update-194 Single Travel Tips. Northern Macedonia offers a beach holiday on the big Ohrid lake. Package tours to these countries start at $400 a week with a flight, per traveler.

Choose your Destination for 2021

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Is it worth looking for a hotel for the New Year in Greece, Turkey, Egypt, or Cyprus now? There is little chance that the now open tourist countries will close their borders due to Covid-19 again because the number of vaccinated tourists will only increase, which reduces the risk of spreading coronavirus. However, it all depends on the emergence of new strains of coronavirus and how the world will respond to them. Said reactions can be pretty unpredictable – The United Kingdom lifts restrictions, while Thailand imposes a curfew. The reaction will vary from country to country and will depend on the epidemic situation. So, if you are planning a solo trip to the EU, read our tips and check the new updates in advance!

Author’s bio. Jessica Fender is a professional writer and educational blogger at Writeload. Jessica enjoys sharing her ideas to make writing and learning fun.

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#Backpacking #SoloTravel #SoloTraveling #Solotrekker #Travel #Traveling

#Backpacking #SoloTravel #SoloTraveling #solotrekker #Travel #Traveling #Social Travels #Solo-Traveling

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immuskaan · 6 years

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AI systems are a threat – but not the way Elon Musk claims

Regulating algorithms isn't the answer

In 2017, Elon Musk claimed that AI is one of the greatest threats to the human race. “AI is the rare case where I think we need to be proactive in regulation instead of reactive,” he told students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). “Because I think by the time we are reactive in AI regulation, it’ll be too late. AI is a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization.” However, according to Tom Siebel, founder, and CEO of C3, there are two much more pressing concerns: privacy and the vulnerability of the Internet of Things. Siebel is one of the leading names in AI. He began his career as a computer scientist at Oracle and founded his own company, Siebel Systems, in 1993. By 2000 the company had 8,000 employees in 29 countries and $2bn in revenue. The company merged with Oracle in 2006, and Siebel founded C3 in 2009. C3 has spent about 10 years and half a billion dollars building a platform for an AI suite, and its clients include the US Air Force, Shell, and John Deere to develop industrial-scale applications. Its systems help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, predict hardware failure for offshore oil rigs, fighter jets and tractors, and assist banks with preventing money-laundering.

Elon Musk panel discussion Nick Bostrom, Elon Musk, Nate Soares, and Stuart Russell discuss AI and risk at the Effective Altruism Global conference in August 2015. Image credit: Robbie Shade under CC by 2.0 license He says that instead of attempting the impossible task of regulating AI algorithms (a proposal he says was a publicity stunt from Musk), we should be focusing on the far more real threat AI systems pose to our privacy. AI for social good “Let's think about using AI for precision medicine, which will be done at massive scale,” he says. “We might aggregate the healthcare records for the population of the UK, or the population of the United States – pharmacology, radiology, health history, blood count history, all of this data. That’s a big data set. And then in the future, we’ll also have the genome sequence for all these people.” These systems could be used for predicting the onset of disease and providing the best possible treatment for an individual. Tom Siebel Tom Siebel, CEO and founder C3. Image credit: Ethan Pines, the Forbes Collection “We can use AI to assist physicians making diagnoses,” says Siebel, “for example, reading radiographs or CAT scans and advising them. But we're looking at all the data – blood chemistry, whatever – and advising on which diseases [they] should be looking for.

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We’re seeing that when it comes to personally identifiable data, corporations are not regulating themselves Tom Siebel, C3

“And then, when one is selected, we’ll have again human-specific or genome-specific treatment protocols. So we’ll be able to predict with very high levels of prevision adverse drug reactions, who is predisposed towards addiction (for example, to opiates). And efficacy – what is the optimal pharmaceutical product or combination of pharmaceutical products to treat this disease? “And so, for example, if we could for a population size the United States or the UK, identify who is predisposed to come down with diabetes for the next five years with high levels of precision, we can treat those people clinically now rather than treat them in the emergency room in five years. And the social and economic implications of that are staggering.” Your privacy at risk So far, so positive – but there’s another side of the equation. “Now we know who's gonna come out with diabetes, we know who's going to be a diagnosed with a terminal illness as well,” Siebel says. “Do you want to know that? I'm not sure I do – but either the government medical service knows it, or the insurance aggregator knows it, and what are they going to do with those data? We’re seeing that when it comes to personally identifiable data, corporations are not regulating themselves.” Siebel cites Facebook as the most obvious example. The idea that we’re going to have government agencies that are going to regulate AI algorithms is just crazy. When does a computer algorithm become AI? Nobody can draw that line Tom Siebel, C3 “So how will these data be used? Will they be used for prioritizing who gets treatment? Will they be used for setting insurance rates? Who needs to know?” As Siebel notes, in the United States people who have a pre-existing condition often find it hard (or very expensive) to secure health insurance – and with AI-supported healthcare, things could be even worse. “Who cares about the pre-existing condition when we know what you're going to be diagnosed with? So the implications of how people deal with these kinds of data are really very troubling.” Bringing down the grid Then there’s the Internet of Things, which Siebel says is extremely vulnerable to attack – with potentially catastrophic consequences. “I think there are troubling issues associated with the how fragile these systems are, like power systems and banking systems,” he says. “If you shut down the power system or the utility system of the UK or the United States, I think something like nine out of ten people in the population dies. All supply chains stop. “Electrical power is the bottom of Maslow's Hierarchy of 21st-century civilization. All other systems – whether it's whether it's security, food supply, water distribution, defense, financial services – they're all dependent upon it, so if the grid doesn't work isn't your milk on the shelf in the grocery store. So these are very troubling issues.” Taking action

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So what's the answer? Siebel says the EU has started to put a dent in these problems with its General Data Protection Regulation, but together with national governments, it needs to go a lot further. “GDPR includes the right to be forgotten, and that’s important, but I think there needs to be, in the terms of use where everyone clicks ‘I agree’ – those terms of use are granting great latitude to these data aggregators to use and misuse those data. I think they need to come up with standard terms of use for how they can use that data. If they use it in a different way, they should be in violation of the law, they should be criminal offenses and they should be prosecuted.” What certainly shouldn’t happen is the creation of a government agency to audit AI algorithms. “Elon is one of the smartest people in the information technology industry in the world," says Siebel, "but with all due respect, a lot of his comments in the last three years do not appear to be that well-grounded.

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"The idea that we’re going to have government agencies that are going to regulate AI algorithms is just crazy. When does a computer algorithm become AI? Nobody can draw that line, and if you put some government agency on it, it’s just going to be a big mess. But privacy is something they can protect, and they need to protect. "That might fly in the face of First Amendment rights, but if they don't act, a lot of people are going to be hurt." READ MORE:

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Regulating algorithms isn't the answer

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We’re seeing that when it comes to personally identifiable data, corporations are not regulating themselves Tom Siebel, C3

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#Latest Movie News #Bollywood News #Tollywood News #political news #actors news

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thegrbteam · 7 years

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7 Things I Wish I’d Known About Studying Abroad (List)

Original article here: https://goo.gl/ha5kvu

Planning on studying abroad as part of your degree? Well, we've got you covered, because our bloggers have been there, done that. University of Manchester student, Elena Cotton, goes through 7 things she wishes she knew about studying abroad before she embarked on her own journey...

Studying abroad will undoubtedly be the best decision you make throughout your time at university. Having just returned from a semester in the US, I can say this wholeheartedly. However, it is important to be aware of exactly what you're getting yourself in for. So, here is a list of 7 things I wish I'd known (and actually bothered to pursue) before I jetted off for the experience of a lifetime.

1. Budget

Your university will likely give you an estimate of how much money to save for your time away. Whilst useful, it's always best to plan to take as much money as you can. Who knows? You might wish to travel more, join societies, buy souvenirs. Obviously, none of this is essential and if you're really strapped for cash then don't let it panic you. However, it's always useful to carry a little extra just to ensure you can make the absolute most of your time abroad. If (like me) you can't go running to the bank of Mum and Dad, getting a summer job is a really great way to save for your next adventure. Working at summer camps is particularly good, as although they include long hours and hard work, they pay well and often provide you with free bed and board - a bonus if you're looking to move somewhere new or cannot face the boredom of reuniting with your hometown. If kids aren't for you, bars and retailers are always on the hunt for fresh employees at this time of year.

2. Research local laws

These will vary from place to place and are usually less of an issue if you're studying in an EU country. However, if you are venturing to locations like the US, Canada, Australia or Asia then getting to know local laws is key. This is particularly true in the US as state laws often vary from federal rulings. A quick google search of "most important laws to know as a tourist in…" takes about five minutes and could save you a whole lot of hassle whilst you are away.

3. Stay healthy

In the UK, we are blessed with free healthcare under the NHS. Unfortunately, this is not the case in a lot of countries outside of Europe - particularly North America and Canada. Not only should you budget for health insurance (costing around $350 for one semester) you should note that even with this, not all treatment is covered. Don't let this worry you too much though - it's not uncommon for hospitals in the US to charge you hefty sums unnecessarily. Sometimes you are able to negotiate fees down to a reasonable amount, or even have them discounted completely.

4. Different countries have different environments - so be prepared for surprises

As I discovered whilst getting stranded in a sand storm in the Nevada deserts - weather abroad is far less mild than our ever-overcast UK. We have been conditioned to expect (at worst) some heavy thunder and flooded basements. However, the rest of the world can bring some surprises in this department. This could be anything from worst-case-scenario hurricanes to something simply unexpected - like cloudiness in California throughout May and June (and there was me thinking we'd be soaking up rays in the Golden Coast...). Again, educating yourself on the different conditions you can expect could take under half an hour but will help you choose what to pack and where you go should you decide to embark on post-placement travel.

5. Leave your suitcase half empty!

You are probably going to be away for at least six months, so undoubtedly you will need to take a fair number of things with you. Yet, I would strongly suggest that despite your best instincts you leave that pile of nostalgia t-shirts you got in Freshers week at home and really only pack the bare minimum. You might think that your time on your placement will allow you to enter a new era free of materialism and the need to buy things. It won't. You will want to join your friends in buying staple university merchandise - jumpers, t-shirts, flags… and you're going to need to find room for it. I made the mistake of over-packing by so much that I had to send packages home - and at $65 per parcel, it did not come cheap.

6. You don't have to enjoy every single moment, 100% of the time

It takes a lot of hard work to be able to go on exchange - in university, part-time jobs and travel arrangements. So, when you get there you will be overjoyed that you made it and want to start living the high life ASAP. Yes, the first few weeks are a tornado of parties and excitement, but after you get into the swing of things and the workload hits it's inevitable that you'll start to feel homesick. This is normal! Studying abroad might seem like this exotic prospect (and a lot of the time it is), but it is also just you living your life somewhere else. It is impossible to feel the happiest you've ever been all the time. In fact, there will be moments when you wish you could just jump on a plane and snuggle with your dog. Fear not, for this too shall pass. Studying abroad will be filled with amazing highs, but also, at times, intense lows. Try not to beat yourself up when these lows hit as, despite what your friends on exchange in Singapore, Toronto and Berlin's Instagrams' tell you, they are feeling exactly the same.

7. It won't last forever

A semester, or indeed a year, will seem like forever before you leave. In fact, for the first half of your time away it will seem like you'll never go home. However, this will change. Despite your best efforts to deny reality, there will come a time when you realise that you only have 6 weeks left and you still haven't explored half of what your host university has to offer. Going on exchange is one of - if not the - most exciting experiences of your university career, so make the most of it! Meet as many people as possible, go out and join new clubs, experience new things, make friends from all over the world! It will fly by in the blink of an eye, so be sure to do everything to make this a trip to remember.

About the Author: Elena Cotton is an undergraduate of Politics and Modern History at the University of Manchester. She has held the roles of News Editor and Head of Publicity at her student paper and radio station respectively. She also writes for online publications Babe, Society 19UK and The Tab, and she is looking to pursue a career in journalism after she graduates.

#year abroad #study abroad #benefits #preparation #mental health #travelling #advice #tips #travel the US #student #exchange student #exchange program #erasmus #university #college #uni

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brajeshupadhyay · 4 years

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RUTH SUNDERLAND: Time for a VAT cut, Chancellor

RUTH SUNDERLAND: Cut in VAT would have popular appeal and send a strong message of support to troubled parts of the economy – just the ticket

Rishi Sunak is understood to have cooled on the idea of reducing VAT

Two former Chancellors, Sajid Javid and Alistair Darling, have come out for a cut

By Ruth Sunderland for the Daily Mail

Published: 16:53 EDT, 28 June 2020 | Updated: 19:00 EDT, 28 June 2020

Advice can be hard to give and even harder to receive, particularly if it comes from someone who used to do your job.

But Rishi Sunak should pay heed to two of his predecessors – from opposite sides of the political divide – when they urge him to cut VAT. Mr Sunak is understood to have cooled on the idea of reducing the levy, and to want to wait and see how consumers respond to the gradual lifting of lockdown.

Problem is, there may not be time to do that: the downfall of shopping centre owner Intu is evidence enough of how rapidly retailers are running out of road and the situation is at least as dire in hospitality.

Magic touch?: Chancellor Rishi Sunak needs a proper rabbit to pull out of the hat in his quasi-Budget

Two former Chancellors, Sajid Javid and Alistair Darling, have come out for a cut. There is bound to be resistance within the Treasury. Tax revenues have been hard hit in the pandemic and VAT is a very nice little earner, channelling more than £130billion into the national coffers the last tax year.

The sums raised, at least pre-Covid, have risen strongly from £59millon 20 years ago. We might not like paying VAT, but the Government, so the argument goes, has got to raise money from somewhere.

Mr Sunak may doubt a cut is necessary to encourage spending, when the lucky ones among us who still have paypackets have been turned into enforced savers and therefore have plenty of money to splurge.

Perfectly true, but given the uncertainty about the economy, many will opt to pay down debts or ramp up savings instead.

In that context, a VAT cut would be a bold move and send a powerful signal from the Government that it wants people to shop for Britain. Another objection is that a blanket reduction would benefit online retailers, but it could be targeted at specific sectors.

Setting aside the desperate need to get customers back into the shops, pubs and restaurants post-Covid, VAT at 20 per cent is too high anyway. It is a ‘regressive’ tax, in that it hits the less well-off hardest.

The ability to control our own VAT rate is one of the potential benefits of Brexit. Readers of a certain vintage will recall that it was brought in to replace the old purchase tax when Britain joined the EU in 1973.

Under a 2006 directive, member states have to set a standard VAT rate of at least 15 per cent, but out of the EU those strictures no longer apply. Other countries are already cutting, including Norway and Germany.

When Alistair Darling cut VAT to 15 per cent in 2008, to stimulate the economy after the financial crisis, it was judged to have been a success. The cost then was around £12.5billion, and it would be more now. An overall reduction to 17 per cent now would cost £21billion, which is a lot of money – but as a one-off temporary hit it would give the Chancellor a lot of bang for his buck.

Mr Sunak has launched a barrage of initiatives, so many, in fact, that many people have already forgotten about a lot of them.

We all know about furlough and bounce-back loans but other measures, including relief on business rates and cash grants of up to £25,000 for some firms, are being overlooked along with great ideas such as £150m from dormant savings accounts to help charities, or the £500m fund for high-growth enterprises.

The Chancellor can always follow the example of another predecessor, Gordon Brown, who thought if something was worth announcing once, it was worth announcing multiple times. But he could still do with a proper rabbit to pull out of his hat in his quasi-Budget next month.

A cut in VAT would have popular appeal and send a strong message of support to troubled parts of the economy. In short, just the ticket.

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robthorley · 5 years

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20-02-09 The Brexit Lie

It is a lie that Brexit is now “done”, but we have of course left the EU. It looks like Johnson doesn’t want alignment with the EU in any trade agreement, but what gains will we get from diverging? If he is hoping that, by diverging from EU standards, we can increase our international non-EU trade, who will we trade with? Won’t they have standards we will have to adhere to? We will be swapping one set of standards for another, while at the same time creating friction with our biggest trading partner (45% of our trade is with the EU) and making that trade less economical. Companies who currently export to the EU will continue to do so, and they won’t diverge from EU standards. But they will have to complete extra paperwork and may be subject to extra checks during the export process. Since we’ve left the EU, what has changed? Nothing. We are still subject to its laws, we are still paying in to the EU budget. Yet those people demanding Brexit are happy. We were disturbed by fireworks at 11pm on 31st Jan as people around us celebrated the fact that we had left. I don’t know what will change come the end of the year, but if Johnson is going for a very basic trade agreement, as he seems to be, things like EHIC won’t be available – so travel insurance will be more expensive. UK driving licences won’t be valid in mainland Europe, so we’ll have to get international driving licences. Not all insuperable per se, but added up, it will just be that bit more of a faff to go abroad. Maybe that won’t bother the bare-chested rent-a-mob braying around Westminster, but I daresay even they like a Spanish holiday occasionally. It might come as a surprise when they are in the slow lane for passport checking next year. I’m disappointed by the way Brexit is now being discussed; I’m worried that there isn’t a real dialogue happening, and I’m concerned that we are all now becoming entrenched in our views and less willing to listen to other points of view. People do bandy about the concept of loser’s consent and suggest that those who voted for Remain should now fall in line and support Brexit. But I find that difficult, since no-one has offered any reason to now support Brexit. No-one is pointing to any specific subject and saying “see this? This will improve, thanks to Brexit.” In order to get loser’s consent, I think the victor must demonstrate that their path of action is the best option – or, at least, not the worst option. By addressing concerns, one could obtain loser’s consent. But I don’t see anyone addressing the concerns of those who voted for Remain. I hear that we are getting back control of our money, our borders and our laws, but what does that actually mean? What do those in charge want to do with our money, our borders and our laws now that we’ve regained control of them? If “remainers” are referred to at all, they should get over it, they should back the country, they should listen to the will of the people. We’re currently talking past each other and no-one is listening. Those who voted Remain are being shut out of the national discourse. And that is exemplified by lots of voices on Twitter now, saying that Johnson fully owns Brexit and he will need to own the consequences of Brexit. That’s right, but we’re all going to feel the consequences, and which of us will be able to link those consequences back to Brexit? I don’t have a solution for any of it, but it seems that nor does anyone else. And the more I think about it, the more glum it makes me. TTFN. via Blogger https://ift.tt/31BoIwa

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courtneytincher · 5 years

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Pictured: British-Australian blogger arrested in Iran who will be 'offered as part of prisoner swap'

One of the British-Australian women arrested and detained in Iran has been named as Jolie King, a travel blogger on holiday with her fiancee. Ms King was camping with Mark Firkin near a military site in Jajrood near Tehran when the pair were arrested by the Revolutionary Guard on August 9. The couple, who live in Perth, Western Australia, had been travelling across Asia for months, chronicling their journey regularly on YouTube and Instagram. An Iranian television station reported they were arrested for flying a drone without a licence. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Thursday released a statement from the couple's families which said: "Our families hope to see Mark and Jolie safely home as soon as possible. We have no further comment to make at this stage and ask that the media respects our privacy at this difficult time." Friends became worried when they stopped posting updates in July, it is understood. On their Instagram page, the couple say they are currently “taking a break”. Their last update shows their jeep parked in a remote area of Kyrgyzstan, after travelling through South East Asia and Pakistan. Their final destination was the UK. One source close to Ms King said the couple had “no idea” that they were at risk of arrest while travelling through Iran. Jolie King and Mark Firkin Credit: Instagram In her last update on Instagram, Ms King wrote: “One thing that constantly blows me away is how friendly people can be to complete strangers.” Ms King is understood to be held on the same ward in Evin Prison as Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian mother of one, who has been held on spying charges since 2016. She has not been granted access to the Australian ambassador despite repeated requests, on human rights group said. Richard Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Nazanin’s husband, accused the Iranaians of pursuing “state-sponsored kidnap”. “The British government must do more to stop our citizens being used as political pawns by the Iranian government,” he told The Telegraph. The Iranians have told Ms King that she will be offered as part of a prisoner swap for an Iranian mother currently held in the US, it is understood. Negar Ghodskani, 40, was arrested on a US warrant in Australia in 2017 after being accused of being part of a conspiracy to evade US sanctions. Negar Ghodskani (left) and Jolie King (right) Credit: Sherburne County Sheriff's Office/Instagram She gave birth to a boy in custody in Adelaide, South Australia, while fighting extradition to the United States. Last month the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, proposed a prison swap involving Ghodskani for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. “Nobody talks about this lady in Australia who gave birth to a child in prison, whose child is growing up outside prison with the mother in prison,” Mr Zarif said at an Asia Society event in New York “I put this offer on the table publicly now: exchange them.” The latest incidents are thought to be the first time British passport holders who do not have Iranian nationality have been imprisoned in Tehran in recent years. Former Foreign and Commonwealth Office minister (Middle East) Alistair Burt described the turn of events in Iran as "deeply worrying" . He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think Iran does work on a basis of putting the pressure on those countries that are hostile to it, or it believes are hostile to it, and hostage-taking appears to have become part of the practice. "It's deeply worrying because those who are seeking a new relationship with Iran, those who recognise that Iran reacts under pressure not very well and are looking for an opportunity to change the nature of the relationship having secured the nuclear deal a couple of years ago, in which Iran had to make serious concessions. Iran now finds that broken by the United States, it looks to hit back. "But the policy of taking - effectively taking hostages, that's how it looks - means that it makes it very difficult for those who want a different relationship with Iran to get on the front foot with those who regard it as unremittingly hostile." DFAT on Monday updated its travel advice for Iran. It remains at a level of 'reconsider your need to travel', with the highest level ('Do not travel') applying in some parts of the country. The other woman, an academic who had been lecturing at an Australian university, has been given a 10-year sentence, The Times reported, citing a source with knowledge of the cases. While the charges against her also remain unclear, 10-year terms are routinely given in Iran for spying charges, the paper reported. The Foreign Office declined to comment. It states on its website: “There is a risk that British nationals, and a higher risk that British-Iranian dual nationals, could be arbitrarily detained in Iran. All British nationals should consider carefully the risks of travelling to Iran.” Jolie King Credit: Instagram The news came as Britain accused Tehran of an "unacceptable" breach of international norms after it apparently broke a promise that an oil tanker detained off Gibraltar this summer would not deliver oil to Syria. Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, summoned the Iranian ambassador on Tuesday afternoon following reports that the Adrian Darya 1, which was at the centre of a diplomatic crisis after being seized by Royal Marines in July, had delivered a cargo of crude oil to the Syrian port of Tartus. Britain says Iran repeatedly gave assurances that the ship would not deliver oil to any EU-sanctioned entity in Syria or elsewhere before it was released last month. Mr Raab said: “Iran has shown complete disregard for its own assurances over Adrian Darya 1. “This sale of oil to Assad’s brutal regime is part of a pattern of behaviour by the Government of Iran designed to disrupt regional security. This includes illegally supplying weapons to Houthi insurgents in Yemen, support for Hezbollah terrorists and most recently its attempts to hijack commercial ships passing through the Gulf. “We want Iran to come in from the cold but the only way to do that is to keep its word and comply with the rules-based international system.” The Adrian Darya 1, known as the Grace 1 until it was renamed by its owners last month, was seized by Gibraltar authorities and Royal Marine Commandos acting on intelligence that it was bound for Syria on July 4. Britain and Gibraltar said the move was to enforce European Union sanctions that forbid the supply of oil to the regime of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator. It was released in August after a court in Gibraltar accepted assurances that the vessel would not breach the sanctions, and rejected a last-minute US bid to have it impounded. But the vessel spent several days meandering near the Syrian coast and turned off its transponder before apparently making its delivery last week.

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accuhunt · 5 years

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Tajikistan: A Country That’s Not on Your Travel Radar but Should Be.

On a lazy afternoon, I lay on a tapchan, drifting in and out of a blissful slumber as the soothing sound of the gushing river below rushed into my ears. When I finally awoke, I saw that my host family was gathered under their apricot tree, collecting ripe apricots, munching on some, separating others to make fresh apricot jam in the morning. I picked up a small bucket and joined them, treating myself to the delightfully juicy fruits too.

Later that afternoon, I headed out, past the mud and wood houses in the village, towards the fourth glacial lake in the Haft Kul (Seven Lakes) region of Tajikistan. The sun’s rays, scattered by feathery white clouds, cast an enchanting turquoise glow on the water. Purple, yellow, magenta and blue wildflowers swayed on the shore. In the neighboring village, a group of local women invited me to join their evening banter, shocked that I was 31, wandering about alone, no shohar (husband), no bacche (kids)! Azaadi doost doram became my lighthearted mantra as I tried to explain, I like my freedom. It cracked everyone up.

Baking non (local bread) with my Tajik host family in Haft Kul.

I landed up in Tajikistan on a ten day assignment for USAID, exploring the country partly by myself and partly with fellow bloggers. Hiking and hitch-hiking in the majestic Fann Mountains, exploring the Iron Age ruins of Panjikent, being bowled over by the friendliness of the Tajik people, discovering all the shared history with India, I had only one thought in my head: Why haven’t I been here before?

Here are all the reasons Tajikistan belongs on your (and my) travel bucket list:

Surreal, stark, rugged natural beauty

The surreal landscape of Haft Kul, Tajikistan.

A few months ago, I received a note from an elderly reader who had just finished reading my book. He wrote, quite astutely, that I’d set myself on a path where I’d have to keep chasing the next incredible thing. I humored him then, but as I found myself among the magnificent Fann Mountains of Tajikistan – gushing rivers, glacial lakes, apricot orchards, villages stuck in time – I couldn’t help but think that maybe he was right.

I’ve been lucky enough to spend much of my twenties surrounded by stupendous beauty – think Guatemala, Georgia, Uttarakhand – and I often wonder if anywhere in the world can outdo that. Well, Tajikistan raised the benchmark. Even though I barely scratched the surface of the country, those few days – spent living amid magnificent mountain scenery, watching the moon rise above glittering blue glacial lakes, driving along sunflower fields and towering peaks, and learning how the locals connect with nature – convinced me that Tajikistan might be among the most beautiful countries I’ve explored yet.

Also read: How I’m Financially Sustaining My Digital Nomad Lifestyle

Where I met more friends than strangers

Instant friends in Tajikistan <3

While hiking between lakes five and six in the Haft Kul region, I took a short detour towards a lakeside village, perched on the hillside. A mother and son working in their vegetable garden dropped their tools and ran towards this rare outsider, curious as to how they could help me. Like everyone else I met, their excitement grew when they heard I was from India – the land of Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta and the Taj Mahal – and wouldn’t let me leave without a refreshing cup of green tea in their house. As I politely declined their offer to stay for lunch and resumed my hike, the grandfather of the house walked a few hundred meters with me, assuring me that Indians and Tajiks will always be great friends – and even offering me his donkey for the hike up!

Some version of this story repeated itself in every single encounter I had in Tajikistan (with the exception of Dushanbe, it being a big city and all) – and after my initial apprehensions, I felt like this might be one of the safer ‘offbeat’ countries to explore solo, especially as a female traveller. As I said goodbye, I felt like I was leaving behind my friends, my people.

Also read: What It’s Like to Travel Solo When You’re in a Relationship

Under the tourist radar in the age of overtourism

The other-wordly villages of Tajikistan.

We live at a time when many spectacular places around the world are plagued by overtourism and travellers are alienating local communities instead of supporting them. Well, Tajikistan is at the other end of that spectrum. Most people would have to google where exactly it sits on the Central Asia map, and what its capital city is! I must confess I knew literally nothing about the country until this assignment popped up in my email – and I’ve been intrigued since.

We’re lucky to live at a time when it’s still possible to explore a country that little has been written about. Where you arrive with no preconceived notions and must make your decisions on how to get around and where to stay by asking locals, not reading blogs or guidebooks. I promise to try not to ruin that for you! Go, go now.

Also read: Why You Shouldn’t Put Off Your Travel Dreams

Tajikistan e-visa for Indians and most other nationalities

The colorful bazaars of Tajikistan.

Tajikistan opened up its e-visa system in 2016 for Indian passport holders and citizens of 120 other countries, including Pakistan, Iran, most Southeast Asian nations, the EU, the US, Australia etc. The process is easy – go to the Tajikistan e-visa portal, fill a simple application form, upload your passport photocopy and photograph, and pay a processing fee of 50$. I received my Tajikistan e-visa within 3 days – single entry, valid for 90 days, with a maximum stay of 45 days.

PS: Last year, my Kyrgyzstan e-visa got rejected without explanation and as per their policy, I can’t apply again for a year. I’ve read that this happens once in a while, either due to a glitch in the system or due to non-adherence to passport photo requirements. Use this website to process one in the right dimensions for your country of application.

Also read: How I Manage Visas on my Indian Passport as I Travel Around the Globe

A vegan Tajik dish and other delights

Shakarob – an accidentally vegan Tajik dish!

At Jummaboy’s family homestay in Haft Kul, I woke up at 6 am to join my hostess to bake non (local bread) – out of wheat flour, salt and water – in her traditional clay oven, called tandoor like in India. We followed that by boiling apricots, collected the previous evening, on an open fire. A most delicious breakfast of fresh apricot jam and crisp home-baked bread!

Truth be told, it wasn’t easy to travel as a vegan in Tajikistan. Even though they grow grains like rice, buckwheat and barley, legumes like peas and kidney beans and a wide range of vegetables and herbs, the cuisine is largely based on boiled meat and potatoes. But on our last day, at Olim Qurutob House in Dushanbe, my happiness knew no bounds to try the accidentally vegan Tajik dish Shakarob – common in southern Tajikistan, made of stale bread, tomato base, topped with veggies and herbs, eaten by hand. Whoever knew stale bread could taste so good!

Also read: How to Travel as a Vegan and Find Delicious Food Anywhere in the World

Flights are expensive but land borders are easy!

A local walks across the land border from Uzbekistan to Tajikistan.

Our troop of bloggers crossed the land border from Samarkand in Uzbekistan to Panjikent in Tajikistan in just a couple of hours – alongside Uzbeks carrying melons and bread for their friends on the other side! The border crossing was pretty empty, and I wondered what kind of interrogation awaited me with my Indian passport. Turns out, with my Tajikistan e-visa, the only questions the immigration officers asked when they looked at my passport were: “Shahrukh Khan?”, “Om Shanti Om?”, “Aishwarya Rai?”

Although flights from India to Central Asia are still few and expensive, the land borders between the Central Asian stans – specifically Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan – can easily be crossed with an e-visa, making it the perfect region for slow and sustainable overland travel.

Iskanderkul – a spectacular glacial lake in Tajikistan.

The more I travel, the more I crave places that are still pristine, where locals are still genuinely curious to meet outsiders and where tourism creates economic opportunities rather than stifling them. With its awe-inspiring mountainous landscapes, warm-hearted people and “off the beaten path” status, Tajikistan beckons.

Do you dream of travelling to Tajikistan someday?

*Note: This trip was made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Competitiveness, Trade, and Jobs Activity in Central Asia. The contents of this post are my sole responsibility and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the US Government.

Join my adventures around the world on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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ALSO READ: Why You Should Drop Everything and Travel to Iran Now! The Epic Land Journey from Thailand to India via Myanmar What I Learnt Volunteering on a Remote Island in Cuba

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watchmanis216 · 5 years

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Blame a Left leaning, Trump hating Liberal

Attention: Editors, Writers, Bloggers, and News Hounds!

It is time to begin our campaign to the people who directly support a true Americana. One where the constitution rules and the decency of all people exist. The recent election and the subsequent and continual whining by those who feel they have been disavowed and threatened are now told it is time to shut up and stop listening to those voices who tell you it is American to be so childish.

Today, we begin our “Blame a Left leaning, Trump hating Liberal Campaign”!

Pro 26:4-5(4) Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.(5) Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. Psa 14:1 (1) To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

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If you are a left leaning liberal but take no pleasure in the way your comrades in arms have acted and you really hate what is going on as described below, then this campaign is not about you!

“But should the people of America once become capable of that deep simulation towards one another, and towards foreign nations, which assumes the language of justice and moderation while it is practicing iniquity and extravagance and displays in the most captivating manner the charming pictures of candor, frankness, and sincerity, while it is rioting in rapine and insolence, this country will be the most miserable habitation in the world; because we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion.

Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

–John Adams, To the Officers of the First Brigade of the Third Division of the Militia of Massachusetts, 1798

Blame a Left leaning, Trump hating Liberal

It is time, way past time. Starting today, why don’t you start to “Blame a left leaning, Trump hating Liberal”! Now I am not talking about hating them, but to simply ‘Blame them’. After all, we have had months of temper tantrums, flare ups, protests, people getting beat up, tears flowing, hearts stopping, calling out for violence, blaming Trump, threatening Trump, and so much more that these nuts have done.

Well, conservatives and Christians alike; “what you sow, so shall you reap”! If you act like a child, you will be treated like a child. If you act like a liberal left wing nutcase who cannot accept a duly elected President and you intend on protesting and causing trouble until the second coming of Jesus Christ or when he is no longer in office; then so be it!

The fiasco at the Oscars made the news. But sorry boys and girls I don’t give a Tinkers dime about your show. Nor do I care about the golden Oscar, nor about who won! I gave up on that political feast of Hollywood liberalism long ago. Don’t care, will never care, and don’t care what you think of Trump! After all, your continual bashing, hating, and finding fault of Trump everyday day simply presents to me just how:

Utterly Childish you are…Utterly incapable of anything that makes sense…Utterly impossible to discuss anything rational with you…Utterly and absolutely crazy!

Yep! It is time.

Ecc 7:9

(9) Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

Everything is your fault. From now on, if a fly gets into my house, or Iran does something stupid, or that nutcase in North Korea who just gunned down more of his top officials does something else dumb; well it’s a left leaning Trump hating Liberal’s fault.

Your case against Donald Trump is preposterous. The fact that we have Republicans that join democrats and really do nothing is not surprising to us. We know that the Republican Party, Republican elitists are just like the Democrats. In many cases they are our worse enemy. We have case after case all about how they act. The election and the way the Republican Party treated Trump is another example. But also what they did to Ron Paul is also a travesty. So you see, we could actually lump you knuckleheaded leftists who hate Trump right along with the ultra-pseudo republicans as well.

Don’t worry we won’t blame you forever. We are not like you. We put up with Barack “the lawless” Hussein Obama who took the Arab side over Israel, the UN and EU over America, who pushed lawlessness down our throats, who dissed the constitution, and much more.

We never protested in the streets for eight years!

As for the Liberal left leaning media of CNN, MSNBC, MSN, CBS, ABC, Washington Post, and many others; my life is much better now that I stopped reading these fodder mills for the left socialist agenda and nut case policies of rich billionaires.

Blame a Liberal

Write posts and publish them and pointedly aim at those described in this article

Use social media to not let up on those who refuse to stop their idiocies as describe herein

For some these other methods may work. Hold town hall meetings, street gatherings, and use invasion tactics of opponents at their meetings just like they like to do to the opposition.

Leave your comments, ideas on promoting this campaign, or send us your thoughts on this regard and if it isn’t too offensive we will publish them here!

Don’t answer a fool according to his folly

Use Understanding and wisdom

Don’t be a companion of fools

Yours truly, a right wing conservative, Ultra-right wing and one who blames the Left Leaning Trump hating Liberals

Pro 10:23

(23) It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.

Pro 17:12

(12) Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.

Pro 1:7

(7) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Pro 13:20

(20) He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.

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Blame a Left leaning, Trump hating Liberal Blame a Left leaning, Trump hating Liberal Attention: Editors, Writers, Bloggers, and News Hounds! It is time to begin our campaign to the people who directly support a true Americana.

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beautytipsfor · 5 years

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Tory Rivals Clash as Johnson Dodges TV Debate: Brexit Update

(Bloomberg) -- Five candidates to become Britain’s next prime minister clashed over Brexit in the first TV debate of the Conservative leadership election on Sunday. But the face of Brexit and clear front-runner in the race, Boris Johnson, was criticized after he refused to take part in the Channel 4 broadcast. The contest continues with the second round of voting on Tuesday.Must read: His Critics Say He Lies, But Tories Want to Trust Boris JohnsonKey DevelopmentsDominic Raab sparred with rivals over his threat to suspend Parliament in order to get Britain out of the EU with no dealRaab, Rory Stewart, Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid took part in the first television debate on Channel 4 Cabinet minister Amber Rudd warned Parliament will find a way to stop a no-deal Brexit, and rebel Tories could vote to topple the next PM YouGov/Sunday Times Poll put Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party in lead on 24%, with Conservatives and Labour tied on 21%. Liberal Democrats were on 19%. Stewart Wins Applause, Offers to Engage Farage (7:15 p.m.)TV audiences are notoriously unreliable as indicators of broader political appeal, but Rory Stewart won more applause than other candidates in the debate. He has run a convention-defying campaign based on social media and a national tour with the hashtag RoryWalks.But he has his work cut out. Stewart is currently in last place in the MPs’ ballot and needs a major injection of support to avoid being knocked out of the race on Tuesday.In the debate, Stewart said he would be willing to work with Nigel Farage on delivering Brexit. Broadening the Tory party’s support is something to be "proud" of, he said. "I’m not ashamed of the fact that Lib Dem and Labour voters say that they would vote for me."Stewart insisted the "energy" in Britain is in the political center-ground and that compromise is vital. "I think we need to work to listen to each other and above all to bring this country together," he said. It was a popular message with the Channel 4 audience but may not persuade enough Tory MPs.Javid: Raab’s No-deal Plan Worthy of ‘Dictator’ (6:55 p.m.)Home Secretary Sajid Javid led the attacks on Dominic Raab over his suggestion that Parliament may need to be suspended in order to deliver Brexit on Oct. 31. "We are not selecting a dictator of our country, we are selecting a prime minister," Javid said.Then Raab and Michael Gove traded blows over the same issue. Gove used to be Raab’s ally in the Ministry of Justice and the Vote Leave referendum campaign but he condemned his rival, saying suspending Parliament "would be a terrible thing."Raab insisted the option should not be ruled out and shot back at Gove: "You would buckle." But Gove countered: "You cannot take Britain out of the European Union against the will of Parliament."It was a passionate exchange, with the two men talking across each other as they tried to get their messages over. Rory Stewart accused his party colleagues of engaging in a macho showdown.Tory Rivals Begin Channel 4 TV Debate (6:30 p.m.)Channel 4 have left an empty lectern where Boris Johnson would have stood in the first televised debate. But his five rivals -- Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Dominic Raab, Sajid Javid and Rory Stewart -- all turned up.The first question focused on how to defeat Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn and Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party."We are all saying the same thing -- the only way to defeat the Brexit Party is to Brexit," said Hunt, who is in second place after the first round of voting in the election. It is vital to defeat Corbyn too, Hunt said, because the Labour leader is opposed to British values and is "against Britain".Rudd: Rebels Would Topple No-Deal Government (12 p.m.)Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd said she would not vote to topple the government in a no-confidence vote but her colleagues would, if it were the only way to stop a no-deal Brexit.“There are number of colleagues who have gone public saying they would consider doing that, and there are a number I know of privately who say that," Rudd said in a BBC interview. "Any candidate needs to factor that in as well into their strategy for the next few months.”Asked if she believed the numbers of rebels were easily enough to defeat the government on a no-confidence motion, potentially triggering the collapse of the government, Rudd replied: “I believe they are, yes.”Hunt Would Serve Under PM Johnson (11 a.m.)Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he would serve "loyally" in a Johnson government if the front-runner becomes prime minister. Hunt is Johnson’s nearest rival -- in a distant second place -- after the first round of voting in the leadership contest among Tory MPs.Despite his pledge, Hunt stepped up his attack on Johnson’s Brexit plans, saying his rival’s refusal to countenance another delay beyond the Oct. 31 deadline would push Britain into a no-deal breakup from the EU or a general election."What Boris is offering -- a hard stop at any cost on Oct. 31 -- means that he is effectively committing the country to no-deal" or an election, Hunt told the BBC’s Andrew Marr. These are not the best choices his party can offer the country, he said.Hunt said EU leaders would be open to re-negotiating the Brexit deal to remove the need for the contentious Irish border backstop plan. This could include rewriting the political declaration on the future U.K.-EU partnership to make it legally binding, he said.Stewart Rules Out Serving Under Johnson (10:30 a.m.)There have been conflicting messages about whether Rory Stewart, an outsider for the leadership who has run a vigorous social media campaign, would serve in a Johnson-led government. On Sunday he ruled it out. "I would not serve in a Boris cabinet," Stewart told the BBC’s Andrew Marr program.Stewart insisted he wanted to change the country and offered a clear alternative vision for Brexit to Johnson’s and predicted he will win. He challenged Johnson to show up at Sunday’s Channel 4 TV debate among the rival contenders so they can cross-examine his policies."Who do you trust?" Stewart said. "We want to know what he believes. We want him to sit in this debate tonight and tell us."Raab Praises Johnson’s ‘Huge Talents’ (10 a.m.)Dominic Raab, who came fourth in the first round of the leadership voting last week, said he’s not pitching for a job in a Johnson cabinet. But he praised the man he called the "front-runner" in the campaign and said he would not be "petulant" and rule out serving in his government."Boris has got huge talents, he’s a great charismatic character, fizzing with optimism," Raab said. "I just think that when it comes to not just vision but getting things done I will be in a better place."The contender refused to back down on his suggestion that Parliament might need to be suspended to get Brexit done.It’s important to keep the option open as a negotiating tactic as well as to deliver on the will of voters who backed Leave in the 2016 referendum, he said. Failure will force the Conservatives out of power, Raab told Sky News. "The Tory party will be toast unless we are out by the end of October."Rudd: Parliament Will Block No-Deal (9:39 a.m.)Cabinet minister Amber Rudd, who is backing Jeremy Hunt in the leadership campaign, warned Johnson he won’t get away with forcing through a no-deal Brexit. Rudd told Sky News Parliament will find "a way" to stop the U.K. leaving the EU without an agreement, despite Johnson’s promises to complete the split by the Oct. 31 deadline, come what may. The Commons Speaker John Bercow is “an activist" and will ensure MPs have a say, she said.Rudd criticized Johnson and others who aren’t ruling out suspending Parliament in order to stop MPs blocking a no-deal divorce. That would be “ridiculous" and “outrageous," she said.Ellwood Backs Stewart, Says Johnson Fine (9:20 a.m.)Junior Defense Minister Tobias Ellwood said he was supporting Matt Hancock in the election but is now backing Rory Stewart. While Johnson would make a fine prime minister, he should be tested in the heat of a national campaign, Ellwood said.Labour’s Benn Says He Will Try to Stop No-Deal (9:05 a.m)Hilary Benn, the Labour MP chairing Parliament’s Brexit select committee, said he would fight Johnson if he tried to take the U.K. out of the European Union without a deal. He said there are "one or two" options for the House of Commons to block a no-deal Brexit and attacked Tory leadership contenders who are threatening to suspend Parliament to force one through."It would be scandalous to try and use that to in effect shut the doors of Parliament," Benn told Sky television’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday. "I simply don’t think it’s going to happen."Earlier:McVey to Support Boris Johnson’s Leadership Bid, Telegraph SaysTo contact the reporters on this story: Tim Ross in London at [email protected];Alex Morales in London at [email protected] contact the editors responsible for this story: Flavia Krause-Jackson at [email protected], James Amott, V. RamakrishnanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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webbygraphic001 · 5 years

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5 Web Design Turn-Offs To Avoid

The Internet of today is a highly competitive place. With so many individuals and businesses spending money and time on digital marketing and SEO — trying to outperform their rivals and sit at the top of the Google heap — it’s harder than ever to get users to visit any given website over another.

Given the difficulty of acquiring new visitors, you might think that all the webmasters of the world would do everything in their power to provide a delightful user experience and ultimately retain each hard-won customer, but we all know that there are a number of unpleasant and off-putting bad habits that seem to crop up time and time again.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common offenders making users leave in frustration…

1. The Site is Too Slow

In a world where almost everybody has a super-powered smartphone in their pocket, the Internet has become synonymous with instant gratification. A user who might be idly wondering about some half-remembered trivia can have the answer delivered to them via Google within a few seconds, and if they want to contact a friend in another country thousands of miles away, they can do so basically as quickly as they can type the Facebook or Whatsapp message.

If the original click was motivated by nothing more than frivolous curiosity, the user is very likely to think, “ugh, never mind” and try somewhere else

We’ve all become spoiled by the speed and responsiveness of our hyper-connected world, and so when we click on a search result and sit on a blank loading page for three seconds or more it can seem like an eternity. If the original click was motivated by nothing more than frivolous curiosity, the user is very likely to think, “ugh, never mind” and try somewhere else.

The BBC reported in 2018 that they’d found that every additional second spent loading pages tended to cost them around 10% of their users, which in Internet terms is huge (by this measure, the passing of ten seconds can mean that your traffic is all but gone).

Google have also stated that according to their research, more than half (53%) of mobile users will abandon a site that takes longer than three seconds to load. After six seconds, it’s almost a guarantee that they’ll look elsewhere.   Of course, the functional needs of the majority of websites are not very complicated — the average e-commerce store or blog site really has no excuse for taking longer than a couple of seconds to load.

2. Too Much Popup Clutter

We’ve all had the experience of clicking a link in our Google search results and being taken to a page that seems to be doing everything in its power to stop us from reading the content. Within two seconds, an enormous screen-filling popup will appear, along with — something familiar to all Internet users in the EU — a GDPR/cookie popup, giving you two things to click on at once.

Combined with a browser alert that “this website would like to send you notifications”, the overall effect is one of being bombarded with irrelevant nonsense that entirely buries the actual content you were trying to reach — content that you are now expected to excavate yourself by manually dismissing each of the popups.

The use of popups continues to be a divisive topic; some designers and advertisers cite significantly improved conversion rates thanks to their use, whilst others are put off by their potential for user irritation (with one study from 2013 finding that a startling 70% of people consider them annoying).   However you feel about them, we can probably all at least agree that popups are often done badly. They may have their uses, but delivering too many at once and not respecting the user’s desire to see content that is relevant to their interests is more likely to result in a bounce than not.

As for GDPR and cookie notifications, whilst these are a legal requirement for all websites serving data to users from the European Union there are certainly ways of presenting them that are more disruptive than others — and web designers from outside the EU can sometimes forget that these messages can add another layer of visual clutter for a significant percentage of their audience.

3. Mobile-Unfriendliness

It’s remarkable to see in 2019, but many web designers still seem to treat the mobile version of a website almost as an afterthought. It’s still not uncommon to find a mobile site where items are misaligned, overlapping, formatted strangely or subject to some other oversight from the designer, all of which can signal to a visitor that your company doesn’t take the time to go over little details.

It’s worth remembering that catering for mobile users is not “serving a niche”, it’s now the most important part of the job. Statista reported that 52.2% of all Internet traffic happened on mobile phones in 2018 (up from 50.3% the previous year), proving that desktop browsing is actually now the less-used way to explore the web.

Coupled with Google’s algorithm change in March 2018 to prioritise mobile-first indexing, there is now no reason at all to neglect the mobile experience of your website. A low-quality mobile site can negatively affect your SEO performance as well as the experiences of your users, so it’s important to get it right.

4. Too Much Animation

We get it: animation looks great. Nothing says, “I’m a professionally-designed website!” like some nice smooth transitions, transforms and appearances, and well-deployed animation can breathe vital life into an otherwise static and sterile layout.

animation is a spice to be used sparingly

However, animation is a spice to be used sparingly and it can be distracting if overdone. Ideally it should support and draw attention to key content and call-to-action buttons – and not overwhelm the user with things popping up and swooshing around to the point that they’re too bewildered to read the actual text.   Animated introductory screens, too, are great attention-grabbers when users first arrive on your site, but don’t make them sit through the same animation every time they want to return to the homepage.   In general, the function of website elements shouldn’t be dictated by their aesthetic presentation; requiring users to wait for an element to appear or to become interactive because of an animation is not a great tactic, and this can cause users to resent the animation for getting in the way of what they’re trying to do.

For example, a returning user may know as soon as they arrive that they’re intending to click the “About Us” button, but making them wait while the navigation bar unhurriedly does a fade-in animation to show them the button before they can click is likely to cause irritation.

A related note is that some animations can cause accessibility problems; using a lot of moving parts or content that flashes can pose problems for some users (such as those who might have an attention deficit disorder), making it very difficult for them to concentrate on the content.

5. Autoplay Media

No discussion of irritating web design faux pas would be complete without mentioning autoplay media. It’s been the bane of web users since the early days of the Internet, but unlike status bar marquees and GIFs of CGI dancing babies it still hasn’t gone away.

There are ways to do it tastefully, but it’s so often misused that it certainly deserves a spot on our list. Whereas autoplayed MIDI music and Flash sites with audio were the scourge of the 1990s and early 2000s, the pox of today’s world is autoplay video.   Many sites today will put a video playing next to the body text of an article or blog post — often this is entirely irrelevant to the content of the page, and if you close it before navigating to another page, it quickly reappears. Of course, this is highly distracting and often feels rather presumptuous (as though the website is saying, “hey, I know you clicked to read an article about digital design trends, but wouldn’t you prefer to watch this video of our glitzy charity gala?”)

Even worse, many sites preface these videos with automated advertisements which, given that the videos themselves are generally advertisements in one form or another in the first place, is tantamount to asking visitors to sit through an advert for an advert.

One small mercy, at least, is that modern browsers such as Chrome have been moving towards only allowing autoplay on videos which are either silent or muted, significantly curbing the frequency of the extremely annoying user experience of having unsolicited audio played at you.

Wrapping Up

Ultimately, all of the problems discussed in this article are issues of bad UX design. Every element of the site must be appraised for its impact on the function of the page: Does it help or hinder the user in finding what they’re looking for? Does it enhance or detract from the actual content of the page? Does it shorten or lengthen the process the user must undergo in order to complete a transaction?  

Attracting users to your website is often no mean feat, and it makes sense to reward those who do arrive by anticipating their needs and treating both their time and their attention with the respect they deserve. In this way, well-treated users can become loyal repeat visitors, and a website can never, ever have too many of those.

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cool-azert123 · 5 years

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'Easter massacre': How the world reacted to Sri Lanka terror attacks

Religious and world leaders have condemned a series of blasts in Sri Lanka that killed almost 300 people on Sunday, including dozens of foreigners - with British, Dutch and American citizens among them. Images of the carnage features on front pages around the world amid horror at what was frequently called the "Easter massacre". Here is a round-up of how the world reacted. Sri Lanka The Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, called on Sri Lanka's government to "mercilessly" punish those responsible "because only animals can behave like that." While there have been attacks on Christians, their community had been left relatively unscathed until now. Sri Lanka's Daily Mirror newspaper Two Muslim groups in Sri Lanka also condemned the church attacks. The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka said it mourned the loss of innocent people in the blasts by extremists who seek to divide religious and ethnic groups. The All Ceylon Jammiyyathul Ulama a body of Muslim clerics, said targeting Christian places of worship cannot be accepted. Sri Lanka's Daily Lankadeepa Rucki Fernando, a Christian Sri Lankan, told AFP: "We haven't experienced anything like this in the last 10 years." "There is a lot of fear, not just in the Christian community, but among everyone," he added. Sri Lanka's Minister of Economic Reforms, Harsha de Silva, described "horrible scenes" at St Anthony's church. "I saw many body parts strewn all over," he tweeted. Sri Lanka’s black Sunday. As a taxi driver told me this morning, ‘no one can understand why Sri Lanka’. pic.twitter.com/cFhEJkWq2D— Siobhan Heanue (@siobhanheanue) April 22, 2019 Catholic Church Pope Francis denounced the "cruel violence" of the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka and is praying for all those who are suffering from the bloodshed. The Pope added an appeal at the end of his traditional Easter Sunday blessing to address the massacre which killed more than 130 people. pic gallery Speaking from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, the Pope said: "I want to express my loving closeness to the Christian community, targeted while they were gathered in prayer, and all the victims of such cruel violence." He added: "I entrust to the Lord all those who were tragically killed and pray for the injured and all those who are suffering as a result of this dramatic event." The Catholic Church in Jerusalem said the blasts were particularly sad as they "came while Christians celebrate Easter". "We pray for the souls of the victims and ask for speedy recovery of the injured, and ask God to inspire the terrorists to repent of their killing and intimidation," the statement said. "We also express our solidarity with Sri Lanka and all its inhabitants in their various religious and ethnic backgrounds." Britain Prime Minister Theresa May described the attacks as "truly appalling". "The acts of violence against churches and hotels in Sri Lanka are truly appalling, and my deepest sympathies go out to all of those affected at this tragic time," she tweeted. "We must stand together to make sure that no one should ever have to practise their faith in fear." The Daily Telegraph James Dauris, Britain's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, was attending an Easter Day church service in Colombo that was cut short by the attacks. He visited UK nationals in hospital in the capital and called the attacks "evil". Jeremy Hunt, Foreign Secretary, said: "I'm deeply shocked and saddened by the horrifying attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka today, and the tragic news of more than 200 people killed, including several British nationals. "To target those gathered for the simple act of worship on Easter Sunday is unspeakably wicked. The Guardian "Everyone has a right to practise their faith in peace, safety and security but tragedies like this, and the one in Christchurch, remind us that there are some who hate these rights and freedoms. "These despicable acts were carried out at a time when millions of Christians celebrate Easter while living under the shadow of persecution. Many gather in churches at risk of attack; countless more will have suffered threats or discrimination. "The UK stands in solidarity with persecuted Christians around the world and with the government and people of Sri Lanka. My prayers are with all the victims and their families." The Independent Mr Hunt said there was "lots of speculation at the moment but there is no hard knowledge" about the perpetrators of the atrocity and "we obviously need to wait for the police in Sri Lanka to do their work". He said the UK would offer Sri Lanka support in the days to come. "If there is any help that the UK can give, we would want to give it," he said. Daily Mirror Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for "unity, love and respect" to combat hatred. He said: "I'm appalled by the horrific attacks in Sri Lanka, on Easter Sunday, the most important day in the Christian calendar." Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said: "On this holy day, let us stand with the people of Sri Lanka in prayer, condolence and solidarity as we reject all violence, all hatred and all division." Europe German Chancellor Angela Merkel has condemned the wave of bombings against Sri Lankan churches and tourist spots, urging that the "religious hate and intolerance that have showed themselves in such a terrible way today must not win". "It is shocking that people who gathered to celebrate Easter together were consciously targeted in this malicious attack," Merkel said in a condolence telegram published by a spokesman on Twitter. Le Figaro French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter: "We strongly condemn these odious acts. "Full solidarity with the Sri Lanka people and our thoughts for all those close to the victims this Easter." "Terrible reports from Sri Lanka about bloody attacks on hotels and churches on this Easter Sunday," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte tweeted after the attacks first emerged. "Thoughts are with the victims and their relatives." Spain's ABC newspaper EU commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker expressed his "horror and sadness" at the attacks. "It was with horror and sadness that I heard of the bombings in Sri Lanka costing the lives of so many people," Juncker said on Twitter, adding that the European Union stood ready to help. "I offer my heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims who had gathered to worship peacefully or come to visit this beautiful country," Juncker said. United States Donald Trump sent his "heartfelt condolences ... to the people of Sri Lanka" after the "horrible terrorist attacks". "We stand ready to help!" he added in the tweet. 138 people have been killed in Sri Lanka, with more that 600 badly injured, in a terrorist attack on churches and hotels. The United States offers heartfelt condolences to the great people of Sri Lanka. We stand ready to help!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2019 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said "several" Americans were killed and that "these vile attacks are a stark reminder of why the United States remains resolved in our fight to defeat terrorism". "[Targeting] innocent people gathering in a place of worship or enjoying a holiday meal are affronts to the universal values and freedoms that we hold dear," he said. The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops condemned "this great evil". Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo in a statement offers prayers for the victims and says the attack cannot "overcome the hope" found in the holiday. Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia was thinking of those killed in a "horrific terrorist attack". "To the beautiful people of Sri Lanka, Australia sends its heartfelt sympathies and our prayers and our support - and our offer to do whatever we can to support you in this terrible time of need," he said in a statement. "At this time as Easter Sunday draws to a conclusion here in Australia, our heart goes out to those Christians and all of those other innocents who have been slaughtered today in this horrific terrorist attack." Monday's front page pic.twitter.com/nnwlElWEDy— Ben Cubby (@bencubby) April 21, 2019 New Zealand A month after dozens of Muslims were killed in a shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described the attack as "devastating". "New Zealand condemns all acts of terrorism, and our resolve has only been strengthened by the attack on our soil on the 15th of March. To see an attack in Sri Lanka while people were in churches and at hotels is devastating. "New Zealand rejects all forms of extremism and stands for freedom of religion and the right to worship safely. Collectively we must find the will and the answers to end such violence." Cricket stars express horror at attacks Shocked to hear the news coming in from Sri Lanka. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by this tragedy. PrayForSriLanka— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) April 21, 2019 We as a county need to put away differences and get together at this crucial time to look after one another or we will not have this beautiful country for us or for our children.please don’t spread rumors on social media.We surely don’t need another war.nototerrorism— Angelo Mathews (@Angelo69Mathews) April 21, 2019 Thoughts with everyone affected by the awful attacks in Sri Lanka .. Such a wonderful country with great people ..— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) April 21, 2019 Very sad day for all of us in SL.. After 10 years of peace we see inhumane attaks on inocent again. While condeming and praying for the lost its time for us to stay calm and unite. Proud… https://t.co/IVD9qYdLO8— Mahela Jayawardena (@MahelaJay) April 21, 2019 My Word! SriLanka The most beautiful country with the most wonderful people. Completely heartbreaking! ��— Kevin Pietersen�� (@KP24) April 21, 2019

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brajeshupadhyay · 4 years

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HAMISH MCRAE: Big tick as the recovery begins

HAMISH MCRAE: The turning point in the economic cycle has been passed, from now on the direction is up

By Hamish Mcrae For The Mail On Sunday

Published: 17:32 EDT, 20 June 2020 | Updated: 17:32 EDT, 20 June 2020

The mood has changed. You can feel a bustle in the streets. Yes, we are still cautious when we go into a shop. Yes, those of us who can are still working from home. And yes, things can’t really be normal if we can’t go out to the pub. But the turning point in the economic cycle has been passed. From now on the direction is up.

But that tells us nothing about the shape or pace of the recovery. Will it be a V, with the downswing matched by an equally fast climb out? Or a W, with us coming up a bit then slipping back again? Or a U, with a long period bouncing along the bottom before recovery becomes secure?

My instinct now is that it will look more like a tick, with the very sharp fall that we have had followed by a sustained but somewhat slower pull back upwards. I can see four reasons to be positive about this, and one to be negative – if you like, Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Retail sales in May surprised on the upside, for though they were still down on February they were much better than in April

Wedding number one is that we are shopping again. Retail sales in May surprised on the upside, for though they were still down on February they were much better than in April. June will almost certainly be better still.

Wedding two is that the Bank of England seems more positive about the economy. Though the Monetary Policy Committee voted last week to pump another £100billion into the economy, the planned pace of this programme was slower than in the past.

In addition, the Bank’s chief economist, Andy Haldane, voted against this – he clearly thinks the economy will grow faster than generally expected. The Bank’s forecasts were also upgraded slightly.

Wedding three is the Treasury is on the case. You could justifiably say that the surge in Government borrowing last month was a disastrous state of public finances. The fall in GDP and the rise in borrowing means that for the first time since the 1960s the National Debt is above 100 per cent of GDP.

We must think long-term about what will make us prosperous

But equally you could note how this means that the Government is prepared to throw everything needed to get the economy moving again. Borrowing costs are historically low and as growth resumes the numbers will begin to look more manageable.

As for Wedding four, remember we are not alone. The world is coming up too, with the US in particular staging a decent bounce, and the German economy now growing well again. Those are our two biggest export markets and will act as locomotives for the rest of us.

The funeral, or rather the potential funeral, would be if there were a second wave to the pandemic before a vaccine was available. The world is throwing everything it has at developing one, and AstraZeneca is mass-manufacturing the vaccine pioneered by Oxford University.

Chief executive Pascal Soriot said last week that they thought it would protect people for about a year. Many other vaccines are being developed too. But obviously quite aside from the human cost, a second wave would lead to another economic downturn. That would be grave indeed.

‘Bank’s chief economist, Andy Haldane, voted against more QE – he clearly thinks the economy will grow faster than generally expected’, says McRae

The best thing to do for those of us not in the front line surely is to remember this. At the bottom of a recession everything looks dreadful. At the top of a boom everything seems wonderful. The hardest thing to do is to look through both the gloom and the euphoria – and think long-term about what really makes countries prosperous in a highly competitive world.

Thinking long-term is not a bad thing to do regarding that other economic issue that is back in the headlines: our trading relationship with the EU. It is four years on Tuesday since the referendum, and a bumpy four years it has been. Just when we begin to think that things are being sorted, bang, all the unpleasantness comes back.

What should we make of the deal or no deal stories now coming out? First, this was always going to be ill-tempered because the objectives of the UK and Europe are different. If it wasn’t ill-tempered there would be something going wrong.

Next, disruption is never good and Europe will remain an important market. But trade deals are not essential to economic success. China became the world’s second largest economy (second to the US and larger than the EU now the UK has left) without any significant deals.

And third, the long game for the UK will be to maintain its exports to Europe as far as possible, but to focus on markets that are growing faster. That inevitably means the wider world beyond.

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mikemortgage · 6 years

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NAFTA drama earns Chrystia Freeland CP’s Business Newsmaker of 2018

OTTAWA — There will be drama.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland took pains to predict that in a lengthy August 2017 speech that spelled out Canada’s goals at the start of the North American Free Trade Agreement talks with Mexico and the volatile Trump administration.

“I chose my words really carefully because you didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to anticipate that there would be moments of drama,” Freeland recalled in an interview.

“We knew there would be moments where we had to fasten our seatbelts, and I think what was important was to be mentally prepared for those moments, and not to be knocked off course by them.”

Ultimately, Canada’s foreign minister led the country’s efforts to salvage a new North American free trade deal. That white-knuckle ride earned Freeland the title of Canada’s Business Newsmaker of the Year for 2018.

She was the runaway choice of 81 per cent of editors surveyed by The Canadian Press. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley was second with nearly 10 per cent.

Jeff Labow, an editor with the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business, said Freeland “undoubtedly kept her cool amid all the Trump tweeting, lying, changing his direction and ended up with a deal that can be lived with.”

Hugo Fontaine, business editor of La Presse, said Freeland was the “face and the voice” of the Canadian negotiating team.

Freeland led a spasmodic negotiation that was coloured by the personal insults U.S. President Donald Trump hurled at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and, ultimately, at her. But Freeland said she was never shaken from her “core conviction” — “what I truly felt from the minute that the president was elected” — that a deal on NAFTA was possible.

“One of our colleagues said to me that somehow I seemed always to be a little bit serene. I wouldn’t say I was serene, but I was always confident.”

Freeland was blindsided when Mexico and the U.S. reached a side deal in August, threatening to sideline Canada unless it joined by the end of September. Freeland cut short a three-country European trip and diverted to Washington where she would spend the better part of the next month on the turf of her American counterpart, United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Trump had already injected an unprecedented level of drama into the talks. There was his ever-present threat to rip up NAFTA, his post-G7 insults calling Trudeau “very dishonest and weak,” his frequent broadsides against Canadian farmers and supply management. He imposed punishing tariffs on Canadian and Mexican steel and aluminum and swung a Sword of Damocles threatening to add a 25 per cent tax on all Canadian autos entering the U.S.

In late September, days before the U.S.-imposed deadline, Trump told a freewheeling news conference that he was “very unhappy with the negotiations and the negotiating style of Canada. We don’t like their representative very much.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he wasn’t surprised to hear complaints about Canada’s negotiating team, led by Freeland.

“When you’re in a tough negotiation and the other guy complains about the quality of your negotiators, or how tough your negotiators are, that’s not a reason you should be changing your negotiator,” the prime minister said in an interview.

“That’s a reason to buy your negotiator a beer at the end of the day.”

At the time, Freeland held her powder.

Looking back, Freeland said she laid down some markers for herself, and for Canada, early on. She began making preparations for NAFTA as soon as Trump was elected — two months before her promotion from the trade minister’s job to a retooled foreign affairs portfolio that put her in charge of Canada-U.S. trade.

Trump may have had the Art of the Deal, but Freeland had Steve Verheul, Canada’s chief negotiator. Freeland and Verheul played hardball together to nail down the final version of the Canada-EU trade deal in late 2016, travelling to the nether regions of Belgium to stare down a restive constituency known as the Walloons, who were threatening to veto seven years of negotiations with a Byzantine set of constitutional powers.

Heading into NAFTA, Verheul told Freeland they had to remember an important lesson they had learned. “The worst thing in a trade negotiation is to have a weak or uncertain counterparty because then you can’t get a deal,” the minister recalled. “What you actually really want at the other side of the table is someone who is really smart. Because then, at the end of the day, they will be able, together with you, to identify that win-win landing zone.”

Freeland calls herself an “economic determinist.” That boils down to: “if something makes economic sense, it tends to happen.”

So Freeland kept her focus on Lighthizer. The strapping septuagenarian may share Trump’s protectionist ideology, but he was divorced from the drama of his president’s bluster.

“Bob, at the end of the day if you made a logical case to him, a logical case about why something was in his interest to agree to, he would understand that.”

To this day, Freeland said there are things that she and Lighthizer still disagree on.

“But he is a real pro and it became clear to me, I would say pretty early on, that notwithstanding the very great, great differences in our starting positions that he was a guy we would ultimately be able to do a deal with.”

Late in the evening of Sept. 30, as Freeland was with the team assembled in Trudeau’s office across from Parliament Hill, Canada and the United States ended the suspense and announced their 11th hour deal.

Exactly two months later, Freeland was at the G20 summit in Argentina. She and Lighthizer, along with their Mexican counterpart, Ildefonso Guajardo, stood behind the three North American leaders as the new trade pact was formally signed.

Trump reached out to shake Freeland’s hand.

“He made a point of that, after the signing. I was always very clear that there would be moments of drama,” Freeland recalled.

That was all well and good, but she reminded herself of yet another cold, hard fact.

“I am paid in Canadian dollars. I work for the people of Canada. And the people whose interests I try, heart and soul to earn, are Canadians’, and it is their judgement to which I answer,” she said.

“That’s the judgement that matters to me.”

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