Monthly Archives: July 2020

Commercial spaceflight advocate outlines revolution in the field – SpaceFlight Insider

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Laurel Kornfeld

July 7th, 2020

Northrop Grummans Cygnus is grabbed by the ISS Canadarm2 robotic arm. SpaceXs Dragon is visible behind the arm, attached to the ISS Unity module. Photo Credit: NASA Commercial Space Image Gallery

Bruce Pittman of NASAs Space Portal Office, a 35-year advocate for commercial spaceflight, outlined his vision of the endeavor over the next 42 months in a June webinar run by NASAs Night Sky Network.

Titled A Revolution in Commercial Space Development: The Next 42 Months, Pittmans talk began with a historic perspective starting with NASAs retiring of the space shuttle in 2009.

The decision to end the shuttle program was actually made in 2004 and announced by then-President George W. Bush after construction of the International Space Station (ISS) was completed. It left the space agency in a difficult situation because the shuttle was used regularly to bring both astronauts and supplies to the space station.

Early Stages of Public-Private Partnership:

Bruce Pittman of NASAs Space Portal team. Photo Credit: NASA Ames

Pittman, the Director of Commercial Space Development at OffWorld Inc., is currently working as a contractor in the Space Portal Office. Emphasizing that he was speaking for himself and not for NASA in an official capacity, he referenced how he had joined NASAs newly-formed Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, which was allocated $500 million over a five-year period to to develop partnerships with commercial companies for the transportation of supplies and eventually astronauts to the ISS.

Partnering with private industry shifts some risk and funding government takes to private companies but gives private companies more flexibility, he said.

The programs first contracts were awarded to SpaceX and the Orbital Sciences Corporation. SpaceX developed the Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon supply capsule while Orbital Sciences Corporation, now part of Northrop Grumman, produced the Antares rocket and Cygnus vehicle.

Falcon 9 made its first flight in 2010 and its first docking at the ISS two years later. Since then, it has doubled its initial performance. But its most notable feature is its reusability.

The space shuttle never flew more than nine times a year, mostly because refurbishing it and readying it for new flights took a long time. By introducing reusability, SpaceX has made frequent launches a reality.

In terms of the capsule, the Dragon returns to Earth by landing in the ocean, where a ship carries it back to land. In contrast, Cygnus can transport just one load of supplies to the ISS because it burns up on re-entry into the Earths atmosphere.

To date, SpaceX has conducted 20 cargo flights to the space station while Antares and Cygnus delivered 14.

SpaceX has been driving innovation in the aerospace industry, Pittman stated, noting that both they and Boeing contracted with NASA in 2014 to carry astronauts to and from the ISS. In May of this year, SpaceX famously conducted the first launch of American astronauts from American soil using American rockets in nine years via the Crew Dragon.

Boeing conducted an un-crewed test of its Starliner, also designed to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS, but experienced some problems during that test. The company will likely launch its first crewed flight next year, Pittman said.

This opens a new era of commercial space development and private access to space, he emphasized.

The US has been paying Russia $81 million per seat per launch to send American astronauts to the ISS over the last nine years, he noted.

Benefits of Using Private Companies:

In contrast to NASA, private companies can own and operate their own systems. The governments role is simply that of a client. Commercial spaceflight will allow private companies to fly astronauts, including space tourists, completely independent of NASA. Bigelow Aerospace (who in March 2020 laid off its entire workforce) currently has one of its expandable modules on the space station, and Axiom Spacenegotiated the right to dock its own module there in 2024.

Actor Tom Cruise plans to ride with Axiom to the space station, where he hopes to film a movie.

Private companies are also launching their own satellites. SpaceX also leads in that area, having launched the Starlink system, a series of low-Earth orbit communications satellites that provide broadband Internet to all locations on Earth. These satellites, which fly below the ISS, will have laser interconnects that will enable them to communicate with one another.

The market for this could be in the $20-$30 billion dollar range, especially for undeveloped areas, Pittman emphasized.

Planet, a private company that images the Earth every day to facilitate global change, launched approximately 250 extremely small satellites and three higher-resolution satellites, all of which take detailed pictures of every part of Earths solid surface every day. By this fall, 21 of the latter group will be in orbit. This technology makes it possible to closely observe crucial developments, such as deforestation in the Amazon.

Commercial spaceflight is also making it easier for non-NASA individuals to access the ISS. The US portion of the space station has been made into a national science laboratory operated but not owned by NASA, Pittman said. Science experiments now being conducted include research in the life sciences, fiber optics, and 3D printing. The latter marks the start of manufacturing items in space.

Two 3D printers currently on the ISS are printing beating heart tissue from human stem cells in microgravity. Eventually, scientists will be able to print kidneys, lungs, and livers as well. In space, you can print whatever shape that you want, and it will stay where you put it.

NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan setting up BioFabrication Laboratory on ISS using 3D printer. Photo Credit: NASA

Beyond the ISS, commercial spaceflight is also facilitating the development of robots, tethers, and a mission extension vehicle that can extend the life of satellites.

Over the next 18 months, private companies will roll out new launch vehicles and capsules, such as the ULA Vulcan, which will replace the Atlas V,the New Glenn, and SpaceXs Starship and Falcon Heavy.

Pittman foresees launch vehicles having point to point suborbital capability, meaning they will be able to launch from offshore platforms and travel long distances, such as going from London to Sidney in 51 minutes. This will be used only for cargo until until flight safety for people is demonstrated, which he expects to occur by the end of the decade.

The Moon and Mars:

Private companies are facilitating a new era in lunar exploration as well. NASA has two programs in this area. One, the Commercial Lunar Payload Service (CLPS) program, calls for robotic return to the Moon. This includes private landers, a water exploration rover, and various other robotic payloads.

The other program is aimed at landing humans on the Moon. NASA has allocated nearly$1 billion to three companiesDynetics, SpaceX, and Blue Originto design vehicles capable of returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024.

For the more distant future, Elon Musk of SpaceX and Jeff Bezos of Blue Origin have much bigger plans. Musk wants to build a city on Mars, for which SpaceX is developing the Starship, which will be capable of carrying 100 people to the Red Planet. Bezos envisions millions of people living in space and rezoning the Earth for solely residential and light industrial activity.

Commercial spaceflight will be a subject of discussion at the National Space Societys (NSS) Day in Space virtual event, scheduled for July 16, Pittman said. Registration is now open for this free event.

Tagged: commercial spaceflight ISS Moon SpaceX The Range

Laurel Kornfeld is an amateur astronomer and freelance writer from Highland Park, NJ, who enjoys writing about astronomy and planetary science. She studied journalism at Douglass College, Rutgers University, and earned a Graduate Certificate of Science from Swinburne Universitys Astronomy Online program. Her writings have been published online in The Atlantic, Astronomy magazines guest blog section, the UK Space Conference, the 2009 IAU General Assembly newspaper, The Space Reporter, and newsletters of various astronomy clubs. She is a member of the Cranford, NJ-based Amateur Astronomers, Inc. Especially interested in the outer solar system, Laurel gave a brief presentation at the 2008 Great Planet Debate held at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, MD.

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Commercial spaceflight advocate outlines revolution in the field - SpaceFlight Insider

Celebrating 60 years of Marshall Space Flight Center | Military Scene | theredstonerocket.com – Theredstonerocket

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On July 1, 1960, the technical and administrative core of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency became Marshall Space Flight Center. The transfer of this experienced group provided the young agency with a solid foundation in propulsion expertise. Sixty years of historic leaps and strides later, Marshall is celebrating its milestone anniversary with a look back at some of its most iconic accomplishments.

I could not be more proud to be part of the history Marshall has made, Marshall Director Jody Singer said. The world has witnessed us achieve 60 consecutive years of discovery, exploration, and victories for all of humankind. Celebrating these achievements reminds us of all the groundbreaking history still to come from the Marshall team.

In its first decade as a NASA center, Marshall worked on the Mercury-Redstone rocket that carried the countrys first astronaut, Alan Shepard, into space. Propulsion remained a focus area as the team developed the Saturn I, Saturn IB, and the Saturn V rockets for the Apollo Program. Science also formed a considerable part of Marshalls accomplishments, through the development and launch of three Pegasus satellites and several balloon flights of the 36-inch aperture optical system Stratoscope II.

The 1970s saw the five final flights of the Apollo Program, including three expeditions via the Marshall-developed Lunar Roving Vehicle which allowed astronauts to expand the amount of science conducted on the lunar surface for the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 missions. This second decade also included the United States first space station, Skylab, whose three crewed missions provided NASA with critical insight on living and working in space. The end of the decade expanded the centers role in the development of scientific missions with the Marshall-managed High Energy Astronomy Observatory Program, including the launch of three large low-Earth orbiting satellites known as HEAO 1, 2, and 3.

Marshalls third decade, the 1980s, saw a continuation in propulsion work for humanitys first reusable spacecraft, the space shuttle including the development of the shuttles main engines, solid rocket booster and external tanks. Space shuttle Columbias STS-1 mission ushered in three decades of operations in low-Earth orbit through 135 missions, including scientific experiments and payloads. Marshall also built upon its extensive microgravity research capabilities as the team developed systems for the Spacelab program including the Hubble Space Telescope, which continues to reshape humanitys view of the universe.

In the 1990s, while continuing work to refine the shuttle propulsion systems, Marshall took a giant leap forward in microgravity with the development and operation of several new research programs known as Astro, the International and U.S. Microgravity Laboratories, and the U.S. Microgravity Payloads. Marshall engineers also explored the limits of propulsion technology through advanced transportation systems. Throughout the decade, Marshall scientists helped rewrite understanding of gamma rays with the Burst and Transient Source Experiment for the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. The decade culminated with the launch of both the first U.S. module for the International Space Station and the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

The 2000s involved continued development of the space station, space shuttle programs, and propulsion systems including systems associated with the Ares crewed rocket. Marshall gained even more experience helping astronauts live and work in space with the development of the Destiny Laboratory, which supports a wide range of experiments and studies contributing to the health, safety, and quality of life for people all over the world; the EXPRESS racks, multipurpose payloadracksystems that support and store research experiments; and the Microgravity Science Glovebox, which provides a safe, contained environment for research with liquids, combustion and hazardous materials in microgravity conditions. Marshall continued its role in understanding the universe and fundamental physics with oversight of the Gravity Probe B satellite, Gamma Ray Burst Monitor space telescope and Hinode satellite.

In the 2010s, the space station continued to serve as both a proving ground for environmental control systems and an exceptional platform for scientific experiments. Marshall built upon a legacy of propulsion excellence with the development of the agencys most powerful rocket to date, the Space Launch System. This advanced vehicle will launch a new era of human exploration beyond Earths orbit to the Moon and later on to Mars through the Artemis program.

Six decades of Marshall history includes an impressive number of extraordinary achievements in both human spaceflight and scientific discovery, Marshall Historian Brian Odom said. Those accomplishments now form the core capability that the center will employ as it continues to make vital contributions to programs like Artemis and the Human Landing System, and a whole range of astrophysics missions. The center has certainly made its mark in the evolution of space exploration, and we still have so much more to contribute.

As Marshall enters its next decade of operation, the team is leading NASAsSpace Launch System and Human Landing System programs, key elements of Artemis. The team is preparing to return American astronauts to the Moon by 2024 and establish a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface by 2028. Lessons learned on and around the Moon will lead to the next giant leap sending astronauts to Mars.

Editors note: Taylor Goodwin, an ASRC Federal/Analytical Services employee, supports the Office of Strategic Analysis & Communications.

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Celebrating 60 years of Marshall Space Flight Center | Military Scene | theredstonerocket.com - Theredstonerocket

Fay 2020 Hurricane And Typhoon Updates – NASA

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July 10, 2020 NASA Tracks Tropical Storm Fays Development and Strongest Side

NASA used satellite data to create an animation of Fays development and progression over the past few days, showing how the storm organized into a tropical storm. Additionally, NASAs Aqua satellite used infrared light to find the location of the strongest storms in Tropical Storm Fay occurring in the northeastern quadrant of the storm, mostly over the Atlantic Ocean.

Tropical Storm Fay was officially named as the sixth tropical storm the Atlantic Ocean Hurricane Season by 5 p.m. EDT on July 9. The storm formed just off the North Carolina coast. For several days before that, forecasters were using satellite data to track the storm as it developed.

Animating the Development of Fay

Previously designated as System 98L, the low-pressure area formed off the Georgia coast and moved north. At NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. NASA Worldview was used to create an animation of visible imagery of the storm using data from NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite. The animation showed the development and progression of System 98L into Tropical Storm Fay from July 6 to July 9.

NASAs Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Worldview application provides the capability to interactively browse over 700 global, full-resolution satellite imagery layers and then download the underlying data. Many of the available imagery layers are updated within three hours of observation, essentially showing the entire Earth as it looks right now. Worldview is a tool that can be used to generate satellite imagery and animations.

NASA Worldview was used to create an animation of visible imagery from the NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite was animated and showed the development and progression of System 98L into Tropical Storm Fay from July 6 to July 9. Image Courtesy: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS).

NASA Analyzing Fay in Infrared Light

On July 10 at 2:55 a.m. EDT (0655 UTC), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard NASAs Aqua satellite gathered temperature information about Tropical Storm Fays cloud tops. MODIS found powerful thunderstorms where temperatures were as cold as or colder than minus 63 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 53 Celsius) mostly over the western Atlantic Ocean and along coastal areas of Delaware and southern New Jersey. Cloud top temperatures that cold indicate strong storms with the potential to generate heavy rainfall.

Warnings and Watches on July 9

At 8 a.m. EDT (1200 UTC), the National Hurricane Center (NHC) noted a Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for Fenwick Island, Delaware to Watch Hill, Rhode Island including LongIsland and Long Island Sound, as well as Southern Delaware Bay. A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area.

What to Expect from Fay

The National Hurricane Center noted that in addition to tropical-storm force winds, storm surge and a possibility for isolated tornadoes, Fay is expected to produce heavy rainfall. Fay is forecast to generate 2 to 4 inches of rain with isolated maxima of 7 inches along and near the track from the lower Maryland Eastern Shore and Delaware northward into New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, southeast New York, and southern New England. These rains may result in flash flooding where the heaviest amounts occur.

Fays Status on July 9

At that time the NHC reported the center of Tropical Storm Fay was located by an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft near latitude 37.6 degrees north and longitude 74.7 degrees west. Fay was centered about 55 miles (85 km) south-southeast of Ocean City, Md. Fay is moving toward the north near 10 mph (17 kph). A northward to north-northeastward motion at a faster forward speed is expected over the next couple of days.

Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph (85 kph) with higher gusts. Little change in strength is forecast today and tonight while the center remains over water. Weakening should begin after the center moves inland. The estimated minimum central pressure based on aircraft data is999 millibars.

A Weatherflow station at Lewes, Delaware recently reported a sustained wind of 33 mph (54 kph) and a wind gust of 39 mph (63 kph).

Fays Forecast Track

NHC forecasters expect the center of Fay to move near the mid-Atlantic coast today and move inland over the mid-Atlantic or the northeast United States late tonight or on Saturday.

Typhoons/hurricanes are the most powerful weather events on Earth. NASAs expertise in space and scientific exploration contributes to essential services provided to the American people by other federal agencies, such as hurricane weather forecasting.

ByRob GutroNASAs Goddard Space Flight Center

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Fay 2020 Hurricane And Typhoon Updates - NASA

ASI divests from Boohoo with damning assessment of its response to… – Portfolio Adviser

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Aberdeen Standard Investments has divested from Boohoo in its responsible investment funds describing its response to allegations of slavery and poor conditions within its supply chain as inadequate in scope, timeliness and gravity.

Boohoo came under fire last weekend after an undercover investigation fromThe Times revealed workers at one Leicester factory were being paid as little as 3.50 an hour, less than half the minimum wage for workers over 25 years. Several days earlier, areport raised concerns Leicester factory conditions were putting workers in the Boohoo supply chain at risk of Covid-19 infection.

Its suppliers now under investigation by the National Crime Agency for modern slavery under orders from the Home Office.

The ASI UK Ethical Equity, UK Responsible Equity and UK Impact Employment Opportunities Equity funds were all were revealed to hold the fashion brand.But ASI revealed on Friday that these funds began selling out of Boohoo last week and were fully divested by Thursday afternoon.

The Boohoo share pricefell 43.2% to 219.2p in the three days following The Times investigation with Next and Asos announcing they had ceased distributing Boohoo items. But the share price rebounded substantially on Thursday and had hit 308p by Friday morning.

Premier Miton, the only other responsible investment fund in the Investment Association universe with exposure to Boohoo, has also removed the company from its Ethical fund in light of the controversy.

See also: Boohoo shines spotlight on fast fashion in funds peddled as responsible investments

ASI deputy head of UK equities Lesley Duncan (pictured) gave a damning assessment of Boohoos response to the labour scandal.

Having spoken to Boohoos management team a number of times this week in light of recent concerning allegations, we view their response as inadequate in scope, timeliness and gravity, Duncan said.

We strive to use our influence as significant investors to achieve progress. In instances where our standards have not been met, divestment is both appropriate as responsible stewards of our clients capital and aligned to our goal of investing for better outcomes.

ASI invested in the company at IPO, at which stage it passed its ethical screens, but it had become disillusioned with progress being made on ESG issues in the last few weeks,Duncan said.

An Aberdeen Standard Investments note examining the ESG case around Boohoo from March said the company had given it reassurance around the level of auditing within its Leicester factories. It noted its intention to visit the factories later in the year.

The note concluded ASI was encouraged by progress Boohoo had made during the engagement process. We believe that it will be rewarded in the long run by delivering on its aspirations of being a leader in sustainability.

The divestment from responsible investment funds come as Boohoo tries to rebuild its reputation with investors and consumers.But not everyone was put off investing in the company.

On Monday, in the immediate aftermath of the The Times investigationJupiter topped up its position from 9.62% to 10.12%.

Jupiter is one of the companys biggest shareholders due to punchy holdings across a number of funds including Richard Watts Merian UK Mid Cap fund and Luke Kerrs UK Dynamic Equity fund, which both hold weightings over 10%.

Following conversations with management about its strategy, the fund manager decided to top up the position based on share price weakness, a Jupiter spokesperson said. We will continue to engage with the business regarding the ongoing investigation.

In a regulatory filing issued on Wednesday morning, two days after Jupiter started buying into the share price dip, Boohoo announced it had launched an independent review of its supply chain, committed 10m to eradicate supply chain malpractice and accelerated an existing independent review into its third party supply chain. Boohoo said it had not found evidence of workers being paid 3.50 but had found other evidence of non-compliance with our code of conduct and terminated contracts with two suppliers.

The terms of reference for Boohoos independent review, which is being led by Alison Levitt QC, will be published in late July. It will update investors on its supply chain review in September and January.

By Jessica Tasman-Jones, 10 Jul 20

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ASI divests from Boohoo with damning assessment of its response to... - Portfolio Adviser

Coronavirus highlights exploitation in the UK – Fairplanet

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Spinney Hills and North Evington in Leicester are like many other British inner-city areas: terraced-housing, a multicultural population, various religious buildings. Like these other areas, they suffer from deprivation. But unlike, say, Brixton in London, Handsworth in Birmingham, or Longsight in Manchester, Spinney Hills and Evington offer residents opportunities for employment in locally-owned businesses. This is because Leicester has a long and continuous history of involvement in the textile industry. Once a powerhouse of British industry during the Industrial Revolution, the textile industry has remained strong in the city throughout the 20thCentury. Now, many smaller, locally-owned businesses have become integrated into the fast-fashion industry, with factories providing clothes for major online retailers.

That isnt to say that these employment opportunities are good, or even safe. Indeed, as recent events in the city have demonstrated, many of these jobs are highly dangerous. The BBC writes: Textile factories in Leicester have come under the spotlight after the government said it was "concerned" about working conditions in the city.

Some employees told the BBC they worked throughout lockdown for less than minimum wage in conditions where it was "impossible" to stay safe, saying they felt they had no other choice.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Sunday he was "very worried about the employment practices in some factories" and Public Health England (PHE) said the combination of living and working conditions in the east of the city will have likely contributed to the high numbers there.

The factories in question are suppliers to online fashion retailer, Boohoo. The company is aimed at a young market, and belongs to the fast-fashion sector; where clothes come in and out of fashion much more rapidly than the traditional seasons, and new styles and lines are constantly marketed to create new demand. For example, at the beginning of lockdown, Boohoo began aggressively marketing (and developing) new lines of pyjamas, which were marketed as chic indoor clothes products. Local paper, The Leicester Mercury, comments: Management at the Boohoo fashion giant have said they are grateful to the Sunday Times for highlighting alleged sweatshop conditions at a Leicester factory apparently making items for it. The Manchester-based online retailer has been hit by suggestions that suppliers to it in Leicester were paying workers below the minimum wage - and making staff work through the lockdown.

The development has had a major impact on the city, with Leicester being placed under lockdown once again. Not only does this fit a wider trend of Coronavirus outbreaks in Europe occurring in deprived areas, it raises some serious questions about employment practises. Bloomberg writes: The continents latest string offlare-ups are now occurring in some of [the]most deprived neighbourhoods, often those inhabited by minorities or immigrants who work in low-paidjobs that arecrucial to buttressing the economy.

Questions have also been raised about the prospect of modern slavery taking place in these factories: The visits were from the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), Leicestershire Police, Leicester City Council, National Crime Agency, Health and Safety Executive, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue and Immigration Enforcement.

In a statement to theManchester Evening News, the GLAA said: "No enforcement has been used during the visits and officers have not at this stage identified any offences under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.""

What constitutes slavery, however?The incidents thus far do not appear to involve forced labour, or human trafficking; but perhaps there is a grey area between slavery and precariousness. This grey area, called exploitation, is exactly what has happened at the Leicester factories: people in need of work, with little social and union protections, being made to work for less than minimum wage during a health crisis. Reports of intimidation and threats against workers speaking out have also occurred.

Furthermore, the cases raise major questions about why these people have not been protected by the government, or through social safety nets with adequate welfare. We may also find it worthwhile to question the nature of our industries and economies, with some sectors relying on exploitation.

There are many areas like Spinney Hills and North Evington in the UK and Europe. How many similar cases will we see in the near future.

Image by jotoler

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Coronavirus highlights exploitation in the UK - Fairplanet

Conscious shopping: 5 ethical high street fashion brands – Hereford Times

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In light of recent allegations of slavery, low pay and worker mistreatment at fashion giant, Boohoo, many people are now looking to shop more ethically.

Owner of brands like Nasty Gal and Pretty Little Thing, Boohoo has found itself embroiled in controversy after a Sunday Times report alleged that it was paying workers as little as 3.50, and forcing them to work in unsafe conditions.

Its left many looking to make more ethical choices when it comes to fashion, searching for retailers with a more sustainable and humane supply chain.

These are some of the high street brands that have made commitments to safe working conditions and sustainability when it comes to making clothes.

Marks and Spencer

Marks and Spencers Modern Slavery Statement has been ranked as a leader in the FTSE100, with all factories visited and inspected regularly to ensure workers human rights are upheld.

The brand is also independently certified by SEDEX Members Ethical Trade Audit who look at universal human rights in global supply chains and business practices.

Marks and Spencer also have a good environmental record, with its Plan A scheme covering 180 specific commitments to tackling social and environmental issues.

John Lewis

Employees who work in John Lewis stores have high employee satisfaction, owing to employee-friendly policies such as all workers having a share in the company.

The company is also part of the Ethical Trading Initiative, which is an alliance of trade union, business and voluntary organisations working to improve the lives of poor and vulnerable people working in factories and farms worldwide.

H&M

H&M has made a lot of noise in the past few years regarding the production of sustainable and ethically-produced products, and is generally committed to improving standards.

While they have a good record and have made good steps towards sustainability and better labour conditions, H&M is still reported to have some problems with environmental impact and working conditions.

Monki

Owned by H&M, Monki has a fairly good record on living wage, transparency and worker empowerment.

For instance, it traces all or almost all of its supply chain to ensure that no subcontracting - where standards might slip - takes place in the production of its clothes.

While it has made environmental commitments - including using renewable energy in part of its supply chain - it reportedly uses non-environmentally friendly materials for some of its products.

The White Company

The White Company also has a fairly good reputation when it comes to treatment of workers. It is a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative and monitors conditions in factories.

However, its record on good environmental practices is reportedly less consistent, with few specific commitments made to reducing its environmental impact.

How do I know if a brand is ethical or not?

Generally, you should pause for thought if the clothes youre buying are incredibly cheap - often this means somebody was exploited in order to make them, and/or that they were made unsustainably.

To be sure, the best thing to do is research a brand to find out more about their working and environmental practices before you buy.

Independent judgements - rather than company statements - are usually the most reliable sources of information.

Good on you is just one example of an online directory where you can check out brands policies on the environment and working conditions in factories. Here, you can also search for brands with good ethical practices.

You should check whether the information youre reading is up-to-date, and cross-reference with other sources to make sure its accurate.

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Conscious shopping: 5 ethical high street fashion brands - Hereford Times

The five reasons why Kiwis should vote yes in the cannabis referendum – Stuff.co.nz

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"At present, our archaic cannabis prohibition laws have created a massive black market that serves as the primary funding source for criminal gangs."

OPINION: As a retired psychiatrist with 32 years clinical experience with alcohol abuse and drug addiction, I wholeheartedly support a yes vote in the cannabis referendum for the following five reasons:

1.It will shift funding from law enforcement to drug abuse treatment for Kiwis who need it

Due to pernicious funding shortfalls over the last decade or so, there are now only a handful of publicly-funded facilities offering residential rehabilitation to Kiwis with drug problems.

Moreover there is no longer any doubt that locking drug users up has been totally ineffective in reducing cannabis use. It makes far more sense to follow the example of Portugal, Uruguay, Canada, and various US states who have shifted funding from law enforcement to treatment on demand.

READ MORE:* Cannabis policing 'worst waste of taxpayer money', former PM Helen Clark says* Cannabis referendum: Poll shows yes vote leading by 5 points * Scientific evidence behind legalising cannabis is uncertain, prime minister's chief scientist says

In Portugal especially, this approach has been extremely helpful in reducing cannabis use among young people.

2.It will help reduce New Zealand's prison population, which at present is the second highest per capita (after the US) in the industrialised world

Most Kiwis are locked up for non-violent victimless crimes, such as cannabis possession, at great expense to the taxpayer.

3.It will give the public (ie the Government) control of cannabis production and distribution, rather than a gang-controlled black market

At present, our archaic cannabis prohibition laws have created a massive black market that serves as the primary funding source for criminal gangs. Black market distribution of drugs also increases the risk of overdose and/or poisoning due to adulteration by unknown substances.

4.It will help make medicinal cannabis and hemp-based cannabidiolmore readily (and cheaply) available for patients with cancer, pain conditionsand autoimmune disorders, who, according to numerous international studies, can benefit from it

At present, there is no medicinal cannabis grown or processed in New Zealand. Although both medicinal cannabis and cannabidiol are available via prescription, the need to import them leads to astronomically high costs (minimum $300 a month) for both products.

5.It will remove the burdensome Ministry of Health restrictions on the cultivation of hemp (a totally separate plant from cannabis)

Hemp is a cheap, carbon neutral, biodegradable fibre with an enormous potential role in the transition away from fossil fuels. Not only can it replace petroleum-based plastic, synthetic fabrics, and home insulation, but hempcrete can replace concrete. The cement in concrete is one of the two largest sources of CO2 emissions in the world.

Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall is a member of theSocial Credit party.

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The five reasons why Kiwis should vote yes in the cannabis referendum - Stuff.co.nz

Trump Will Show America He Has Loyalty and Strong Sense of Justice by Pardoning Roger Stone – Artvoice

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Whats Trump waiting for?

Roger Stone wrote to me and several of his other friends yesterday, July 4, 2020: In 11 days I have been ordered to surrender to a Georgia prison where the danger of Coronavirus infection is very real. We are praying for an act of Clemency by President Trump.

It is what he deserves: A pardon or commutation of his sentence by President Trump.

In 2019, inside what I would call a notoriously biased court, with a highly partisan judge, and an openly inimical jury, led by a forewoman, who virulently opposes Trump unsurprisingly, Stone was found guilty of witness tampering [which the witness himself denied to me personally], obstructing a congressional investigation [that was actually the investigation of a hoax], and lying to the U.S. government in connection with alleged meddling by Russia with Stone and the Trump campaign, [which, provably, never happened, and which was something that both Congress and the Mueller prosecution team knew full well].

In short, Stone was convicted of lying to people who were cynically lying to the public.

In time, perhaps the Stone trial will be known as an infamous example of an American kangaroo court, where the verdict was decided in advance and all the props were set to make it appear to be an actual due process and constitutional trial when, in fact, it was a farce, a surreal nightmarish frame-up, meant only for optics for his predetermined conviction.

Usually, white-collar criminals are allowed to turn themselves in. He wasnt a flight risk and was released on modest bail.

However, Judge Jackson put a gag order on Stone and perhaps more significantly,Judge Jackson said his defense lawyers were not allowedto bring up the fact that the government was never able to show proof the Russians were behind the stolen emails given to WikiLeaks at the heart of the entire case.

After his conviction, the highly-partisan prosecutors recommended an absurd, draconian sentence of ten years for Stone, for his victimless crimes.

President Trump tweeted that Stone was in a horrible and very unfair situation.

The Department of Justice, using common sense, and comparing penalties in similar cases, stepped in and recommended a more rational sentence for Stone, causing four biased, virulent anti-Trump DOJ prosecutors to remove themselves from Stones case.

Judge Berman sentenced Stone to 40 months. He was set to report to prison at the height of the pandemic. Stone is 67 and, with the coronavirus, incarceration in a prison known to be infected, it could be deadly. Stone petitioned the court to allow him to serve his time from home like others involved in non-violent crimes.

Naturally, some were hoping that on the 4th of July, Trump would pardon Stone.It did not happen.

But it is not too late. There are 10 more days before he has to report to prison, unless the judge grants him an extension in light of the rising number of coronavirus cases in the USA.

But it would be great if Trump were to act now, not at the last minute, thus ending the apprehension and fear of a faithful follower and longtime friend.

As Target Liberty wrote,Stone has been a loyal soldier to Trump. He has never once said a negative word though under enormous pressure from the anti-Trump establishment to do so. And it should not be forgotten by Trump that it is the establishment crowd, that is going after Trump, that is also going after Stone.

Stone could have easily gotten himself out of being prosecuted by simply testifying to whatever the anti-Trump prosecutors wanted him to say against Trump. The prosecutors would not have cared much if what Stone testified was true or not. Leading witnesses to say what prosecutors want to hear is a high art form at the Department of Justice.

Stone was on their hit list. Not only for supporting Trump but also for going after the ruling elite. His published books are full-frontal attacks on those who some might call the Deep States premier representatives.

At this point, Trump has an opportunity to show the world he is not finished. Many in the mainstream media have already ruled him out for a second term.

You can talk all you want. Trump can proclaim a grand message of patriotism and of standing up against the radical left, as he did at Mount Rushmore on July 4th and by pardoning Stone, he will also send a loud message:

He stood up for his friend. He took the chance that it might be politically unpopular to pardon his supporter that he admits was unjustly prosecuted.

Everyone will understand. Sure the mainstream media will howl. But everyone, even those on the fence, understands loyalty.

Everyone from God to a clump of grass understands loyalty and sticking up for a friend. Trump wont lose a vote. He might energize his supporters. He may make some on-the-fence folks hop to his side.

Even if you disagree with Trump or dislike Roger Stone, you will have to admit somewhere in your heart that this is what you would do for your own friend in need.

And if you wouldnt stand up for your friend, who stood up for you, and protect him, when you could, in his crucial hour of need, then you wouldnt have voted for Trump anyway. I am not even sure you could qualify to vote for anyone, not being a member of the human race.

It is clear to me that Trump must pardon Roger Stone and do it now, and end his needless suffering and to especially prevent him from contracting a potentially fatal disease.

If he fails to do that, in this moment of honor, and he allows Stone to go to prison during a pandemic, I will be the first to agree that Trump is everything his critics say of him.I will expect to see him and I will view him this way as walking about on all fours, reduced to a quadruped, on the day Roger Stone goes to prison.

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Trump Will Show America He Has Loyalty and Strong Sense of Justice by Pardoning Roger Stone - Artvoice

Black Iowans have been denied right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness – The Gazette

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The Declaration of Independence, signed 244 years ago this weekend, purports to be a model for people seeking to free themselves from tyranny.

But nearly two and a half centuries later, this is not yet a nation where all people enjoy the same unalienable rights life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Ongoing protests against racism and police violence offer an important reminder the dream of freedom has not been realized for Black and brown Americans.

When governments fail to protect our fundamental rights, the Declaration prescribes, the people have the right to alter or abolish oppressive systems, pursuant to their safety and happiness. With inspiration from the Black Lives Matter movement, Iowa has an opportunity to start correcting these historic injustices.

The coronavirus is disproportionately affecting communities of color. People who are Black and Latino are being infected and dying of the disease at a higher rate than their white counterparts. Some of the reasons behind this divide are racial discrimination in health care and that people of color are more likely to work as essential workers.

In Iowa, Gov. Reynolds refusal to close meat packing plants and issue a stay-at-home order has compounded this divide, needlessly sacrificing the lives of Iowans. Now as restrictions are lifted statewide, cases are surging. Iowa needs a more comprehensive and adequate response to the pandemic that addresses these disparities instead of profiting from them.

Its often been said that public education is a ticket to opportunity available to all Americans. But Black Americans looking across the education landscape see too many gaps and too much inequality.

In Iowa, according to the National Assessment of Education Progress and other assessments, achievement gaps persist and may be widening. In 2019, Iowas white fourth-graders topped their Black peers by 31 percentage points, compared to a 25-point gap in 1996.

The New Statewide Assessment of Student Progress showed continuing large achievement gaps in Cedar Rapids and other districts. The district has set a goal to reduce the gap by 20 percent by 2022.

In Iowa City, an investigative report by a high school journalist, Nina Lavezzo-Stecopoulos, found that Black students in the Iowa City district are more than twice as likely as whites to be suspended from school. These disciplinary discrepancies are found across Iowa and push too many Iowa students from the path to an education and into the criminal justice system.

In Iowa, Black women are six times more likely to die from childbirth than white women. The causes of this problem are manifold, from access to health care to racism among doctors and nurses.

But our state is only making a bad problem worse with policies that have hallowed out Medicaid reimbursement programs. According to the University of Iowa, Medicaid reimbursed its hospital about a third of what commercial insurance plans did for services like ultrasounds and deliveries last year.

In Iowa, a quarter of families live in a child care desert, and child care does not even come close to meeting the national definition of affordable. Because of this crisis, the Iowa economy loses more than $1 billion each year due to a lack of child care.

And now, as Iowans are returning to work without access to safe and affordable child care and school districts moving to a hybrid model, parents are being forced to choose between their livelihoods and their children. From better paid leave policies to well-funded schools, more needs to be done to support Iowa parents.

Government zoning regulations and bank lending policies last century conspired to racially segregate cities in Iowa.

When the New York Times last year published its 1619 Project examining lasting effects of the North American slave trade on modern America journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones wrote about growing up in Waterloo, where a racist lending scheme known as redlining created stark white and Black neighborhoods.

While lending and housing discrimination are officially illegal, the racial lines between neighborhoods in Iowa cities havent withered much since the federal Civil Rights Act and Fair Housing Act were passed in the 1960s. Analysts say Waterloo still is one of the most racially segregated cities in America.

Achieving equitable housing will require robust economic empowerment programs for Black families, but also a thorough rethinking of zoning policy by local governments.

One motivation behind the American Revolution was No taxation without representation the idea that people should not be subject to rules they have no part in making. Yet, Iowa still practices a form of this injustice.

Because of Iowas badly outdated law, nearly 10 percent of Black Iowans are barred from voting, according to the Sentencing Project. Iowa is the only state in the nation that permanently disenfranchises felons after they have completed their sentences, and minorities are disproportionately subject to felony charges.

Released felons work, pay taxes and contribute to society in many other ways. Keeping them away from the ballot box only serves to further ostracize former prisoners, making them second-class citizens. Gov. Kim Reynolds should act swiftly on her promise to issue an executive order automatically restoring voting rights, and she should refrain from imposing extra conditions or barriers.

The criminal justice system is fraught with racial disparities, but jailing people for victimless drug crimes presents a uniquely disturbing affront to racial justice.

Iowa holds an embarrassing position as a leader in arresting Black people for marijuana charges. Black Iowans are 7 times more likely than white Iowans to be arrested for marijuana possession, according to an ACLU report this year, making Iowa the 5th-worst in the country.

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The drug war is part of a larger system that victimizes communities of color, which are over-policed and where officers often use drugs as a pretext to rack up other charges. To address these disparities, state and local governments should decriminalize drugs and radically reoriented police enforcement strategies to focus on community service.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com

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Black Iowans have been denied right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness - The Gazette

The Ultimate Guide to Veganism: What It Means, Tips and More – Universe News Network

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The month of January feels like a distant memory, but whether you decided to commit to Veganuary or not, the plant-based lifestyle is increasing in popularity in 2018, the Vegan Society established that there are around 600,000 vegans in the United Kingdom and this figure is only set to grow. As a result, consumers are spending more and more on vegan food products and its not just appealing to a strict vegan market. Many people are striking a balance somewhere in between veganism and vegetarianism, opting for a flexitarian lifestyle. Products are flying from supermarket shelves, with Applewoods vegan cheese selling out in 40% of its stockists in October 2019.

So, with a predicted veganism influx of 327% by the end of 2020 in the UK, could it be time to change up your lifestyle? Before you return back to your carnivorous habits, take a look at this comprehensive guide to all things flower-powered!

If you lead a vegan lifestyle, your diet excludes all animal products from meat, to dairy and anything derived from animals, such as gelatin. This also includes any foods that are processed using animal products (meaning that some wines will be off the menu!). People commit to vegan diets for a range of reasons, from animal welfare, to raising awareness of the carbon footprint of a carnivorous diet, or even as a health-related measure. As a result, the benefits of veganism will largely depend on the reason behind making the change; from a health perspective, its a nutrient rich diet, aiding weight loss, and there are studies which have suggested that it can lessen the risk of certain health conditions. However, as the climate change narrative continues to grow, theres a growing emphasis on the role that veganism could play in lessening individual carbon output, which collectively, has the potential to help restore the worlds atmospheric levels. Many activist groups are turning their focus onto the environmental damage of human activity and the step towards making our everyday lives more sustainable.

The new decade started with something along the lines of a plant-based revolution, with many popular food retailers finally recognising the supply demand for vegan alternatives. Back in 2019, the popular bakery chain Greggs unleased hysteria with their vegan sausage roll, sitting alongside the traditional meat alternative. They followed this up in January 2020 with a remarkable marketing campaign leading up to the unveil of their vegan steak bake, which involved blacking out store windows, creating an air of exclusivity for the new product. The product has been a sold-out phenomenon, with many left empty-handed on their quest to sample the new product.

The vegan alternative has taken off, sending reverberations across the market as other retailers revealed their own plant-based treats. KFC, Frankie & Bennys, Costa and Subway have all branched out to revel in the meat-free craze. Theres even a growing range of plant based sweet treats available, from fair trade vegan chocolate to doughnuts and more!

The growth in popularity and the strengthening of links between the meat and dairy industry has triggered a huge financial soar in the vegan food market, and it is now a multibillion-pound industry which only looks set to grow. In fact, the influx of plant-based products into the market was recorded at an impressive 9,590 new vegan options, as established by the Vegan Society.

On the topic of money, leading a vegan diet has often been considered as a costly pursuit So, is it actually expensive to be a vegan, or could it be realistic even for those on a budget? The answer to this varies, but for the most part, being vegan can certainly be purse friendly. Many of the core ingredients of a vegan diet are some of the cheapest components of the standard meal vegetables, beans, pasta, rice and fruit. While theres undoubtedly been a far wider variety of processed vegan options available in supermarket fridges, these are not necessarily healthy and can often be more costly additions on your weekly shop.

One vegan shopping trolley will differ from the next depending upon preference, but by filling your meals with affordable, staple ingredients such as lentils, pulses and tofu, you can be realistic when it comes to eating a purse friendly plant-based diet.

In a recent study by Nisbets, the top UK vegan cities were revealed, with some interesting entries on the rundown. The cities which made the list have the most either vegan or vegetarian eateries, and Norwich came top of the bunch, closely followed by Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Newcastle.

In Glasgow, there are 3,000 listed veggie or vegan eateries, from the vibrant The 78 kitchen, The Flying Duck late night plant-based junk food, and the appropriately named Glasvegan brunch spot. Back over the border, the North East has seen a lot of plant powered innovation in the past few years, from glazed vegan doughnut retailers, to the quirky Little Greens Cafe which prides itself on serving high protein, vegan options for brunch, lunch, and dinner. In fact, the annual vegan food fest flower power is held at Tyne Bank Brewery, a bustling spot to sample a lot of vegan goodness. Many people are following the buzz of the vegan scene that a city has, but surprisingly the UKs capital city doesnt even feature on the list suggesting that its got a bit of catching up to do!

The dietary demographic of our population is certainly changing, and the plant-based revolution only looks set to continue Could it be time for you to make the switch?

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Modernizing Medicine to Host Must-Attend Event on COVID-19 Vaccine Timeline and Contact Tracing with Special Guest Jerome Kim, MD – Business Wire

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BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Modernizing Medicine, a leading healthcare technology company, is hosting a new installment in its thought leadership webinar series. The session, World War C: Contact Tracing and the Hunt for a Vaccine, will take place virtually on Tuesday, July 14 at 7 PM EDT. Those interested can register here.

Modernizing Medicines Chief Medical and Strategy Officer and co-founder, Michael Sherling, MD, MBA, will speak with special guest, Jerome Kim, MD, director general of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), about the latest pandemic news. With so many unknown variables and uncertainty, Dr. Kim will help shed light on the COVID-19 vaccination development timeline as well as how contact tracing plays a significant role in helping to combat this global pandemic.

Dr. Kim is an international expert on the evaluation and development of vaccines. He is a recognized leader in HIV vaccine development and was named one of the 50 Most Influential People in Vaccines in 2014 by Vaccine Nation.

Dr. Kim stated that: The novel coronavirus has had unprecedented impact on our lives, economy and our expectations. Accelerating vaccine development is one of those necessary adjustments. While a vaccine typically takes 5-10 years to develop, its now all hands on deck to release a COVID-19 vaccine that prevents infection and/or disease as quickly, safely and fairly as possible.

During this virtual event, Dr. Kim will share his expertise on the fight against COVID-19, including:

Dr. Michael Sherling shared that: As physicians and healthcare professionals, we are all doing our best to treat patients in an uncertain world. I look forward to speaking with Dr. Kim and helping to provide a platform to share his invaluable knowledge with others in the healthcare community.

As we continue to navigate the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, its important to rely on the power of information. To register for this event, click here.

About Modernizing Medicine

Modernizing Medicine and its affiliated companies empower physicians with suites of mobile, specialty-specific solutions that transform how healthcare information is created, consumed and utilized to increase practice efficiency and improve patient outcomes. Built for value-based healthcare, Modernizing Medicines data-driven, touch- and cloud-based products and services are programmed by a team that includes practicing physicians to meet the unique needs of dermatology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, otolaryngology, pain management, plastic surgery and urology practices, as well as ambulatory surgery centers. For more information, please visit http://www.modmed.com. Connect with Modernizing Medicine on our Blog, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

About the International Vaccine Institute (IVI)

The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) is a nonprofit inter-governmental organization established in 1997 at the initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, IVI was the first international organization hosted by Korea. IVI has 35 signatory countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) on its treaty, including Korea, Sweden and India as state funders.

Our mandate is to make vaccines available and accessible for the worlds most vulnerable people. We focus on infectious diseases of global health importance such as cholera, typhoid, shigella, salmonella, schistosomiasis, Group A Strep, Hepatitis A, HPV, TB, HIV, MERS, COVID-19, as well as antimicrobial resistance. For more information, please visit https://www.ivi.int

About Dr. Jerome Kim

Jerome Kim, MD, is the Director General of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) and an international expert on the evaluation and development of vaccines. His depth and breadth of scientific experience spans basic research through advanced clinical development. Dr. Kim was Principal Deputy and Chief of the Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Pathogenesis at the U.S. Military HIV Research Program. He led the Armys Phase III HIV vaccine trial (RV144) which was the first demonstration that an HIV vaccine could protect against infection. He has authored over 250 publications and received the John Maher Award for Research Excellence from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in 2013.

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Modernizing Medicine to Host Must-Attend Event on COVID-19 Vaccine Timeline and Contact Tracing with Special Guest Jerome Kim, MD - Business Wire

Dr. Ayers featured in video promoting COVID-19 precautions – The South End

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A Wayne State University School of Medicine faculty member plays a key role in a video that was distributed to the more than 160,000 members of the nations second-oldest collegiate historically Black Greek letter fraternity to promote proper masking and social distancing procedures for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine Eric Ayers, M.D., FAAP, FACP, demonstrates the three Ws of pandemic protection wearing a mask, washing hands and the width of social distancing in a video produced by and for the members of Kappa Alpha Psi.

I was more than happy to participate in disseminating this important message to my brothers, said Dr. Ayers, who has dual appointments in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. He is section chief for Internal Medicine and Pediatrics for the Division of General Medicine, program director of the Combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program and co-director of Transition Medicine. We have to continue spreading the word if we have any chance of tamping down this virus and returning to some semblance of normal.

The video was timed for distribution before the Fourth of July holiday and features Dr. Ayers demonstration the proper way to wear several types of masks, as well as stressing the vital importance of hand washing and keeping at least six feet from others during gatherings.

While a historically Black fraternity, since its founding in 1911 at Indiana University, the organization has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin. The fraternity has 721 undergraduate and alumni chapters in every state, and international chapters in the United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, Japan, the United States Virgin Islands, Nigeria, South Africa and the Bahamas. Members include Ralph Abernathy, Wilt Chamberlin, Benjamin Jealous, Oscar Robertson, Cedric the Entertainer, Arthur Ashe, Mike Tomlin, Gayle Sayers, John Singleton, Tom Bradley, Bob Johnson, John Conyers, Alcee Hastings, Bill Russell, Tavis Smiley, Marvin Sapp and Colin Kaepernick.

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CereHealth Showcases "Going Against the Norm" During the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging’s Annual Meeting – BioSpace

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DENVER, July 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CereHealth Corp., a recognized leader and innovator in biotechnology applications and advanced neurodiagnostics, announced today that its FDA-cleared population template, an alternative to traditional normative datasets for quantitative analysis of clinical brain SPECT, will be presented by the company's Senior Medical Imaging Engineer, Lindsay Quandt, MS, MBA, at SNMMI's Annual Meeting on July 11-14. The virtual conference, entitled "Diagnosis to Therapy: The Future of Image-Guided Patient Management," will be attended virtually by over 2,500 society members and insiders of the nuclear medicine and molecular imaging industry worldwide.

A recorded oral presentation of the collaboration between Ms. Quandt and coauthor, Dr. Cyrus Raji, MD, PhD, will be featured in the conference's online Science Pavilion1. Ms. Quandt will review their analysis of how a large collection of clinical scans can substitute a small dataset of normal subjects for the identification and quantification of perfusion abnormalities in brain SPECT imaging. She will highlight how the population template was generated from over 2,000 heterogenous clinical scans and validated against a normative dataset of 90 controls. Based on the high rating that the abstract received from the conference's review panel, a condensed version of its content is currently under consideration to be featured by Dr. Irene Buvat during her Physics, Instrumentation and Data Sciences (PIDS) Summary Session on Sunday, July 12.

"One of the many benefits in having a large, consistently acquired and continuously expanding clinical dataset is that it allowed us to explore an alternative method for SPECT quantification that was counterintuitive but ultimately consistent with the current gold standard," said Shane Quint, CTO of CereHealth Corporation. "Through the verification and validation process for the FDA, it became evident that our approach made sense and could be applied clinically. SNMMI's invitation to present to the keenest minds applying these methods in daily practice is an exciting opportunity."

CereHealth's FDA 510(k)-cleared CereMetrix platform delivers radiologists and treating providers with advanced neuroimaging analysis tools in a web-enabled environment. Unparalleled 3D visualizations and objective voxel-level perfusion measurement enable consistent and detailed assessments of patients' brain health. CereMetrix's viewer, paired with its clinical data collection and automated reporting, equip physicians with every tool necessary to deliver comprehensive neurodiagnostic evaluations.

"The level of accuracy encompassed in CereMetrix's population template provides a clear pathway to identify abnormalities, which in turn allows me to explain the connection to my patient's symptoms," said Shaun O'Leary, MD, PhD, a Chicago neurosurgeon who has been using CereMetrix's reporting since 2018. "I can tell my patients that abnormalities identified in their quantitative brain imaging have been vetted through a method that is as good as the present gold standard AND will continue to get better as more patients are included."

About CereHealth Corporation

CereHealth is an imaging and data analytics company committed to fulfilling the needs of patients, healthcare providers, radiologists, and researchers with compassionate care and state-of-the-art tools. Our web-based solutions help each user integrate all available data for a more precise and thorough understanding of their patient, cohort, or condition in question. The Company focuses on removing diagnostic bias and applying innovation to empower healthcare providersto make more informed decisions regarding patient-specific treatments and enable contract research organizations (CROs) to access interlocked capabilities that add value to the clinical trial process and workflow.

1Raji, C., Quandt, L. Going Against the Norm: A Novel Approach to a Normative Dataset for Clinical Brain SPECT. Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 61 (Supplement 1), pp.76, 2020 (link).

For Information Contact:

CereHealth CorporationJohn KelleyCEO+1-720-259-1875243044@email4pr.comwww.cerescan.comhttps://ceremetrix.io/

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CereHealth Showcases "Going Against the Norm" During the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's Annual Meeting - BioSpace

Nuclear Medicine Protection Market Demand Analysis, Statistics, Trends and Investment Opportunities to 2023 – Cole of Duty

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This report presents the worldwide Nuclear Medicine Protection market size (value, production and consumption), splits the breakdown (data status 2018 and forecast to 2025), by manufacturers, region, type and application.

This study also analyzes the market status, market share, growth rate, future trends, market drivers, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porters Five Forces Analysis.

The report presents the market competitive landscape and a corresponding detailed analysis of the major vendor/key players in the market.

Get PDF Sample Copy of this Report to understand the structure of the complete report: (Including Full TOC, List of Tables & Figures, Chart) @ https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=2603245&source=atm

The report provides a valuable source of insightful data for business strategists and competitive analysis of Nuclear Medicine Protection Market. It provides the Nuclear Medicine Protection industry overview with growth analysis and futuristic cost, revenue and many other aspects. The research analysts provide an elaborate description of the value chain and its distributor analysis. This Tire Nuclear Medicine Protection study provides comprehensive data which enhances the understanding, scope and application of this report.

The report firstly introduced the Nuclear Medicine Protection basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the worlds main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.

The major players profiled in this report include:Company A

The end users/applications and product categories analysis:On the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume, revenue (Million USD), product price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into-General Type

On the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Nuclear Medicine Protection for each application, including-Medical

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Regional Analysis For Nuclear Medicine Protection Market:

For comprehensive understanding of market dynamics, the global Nuclear Medicine Protection market is analyzed across key geographies namely: United States, China, Europe, Japan, South-east Asia, India and others. Each of these regions is analyzed on basis of market findings across major countries in these regions for a macro-level understanding of the market.

Influence of the Nuclear Medicine Protection market report:

-Comprehensive assessment of all opportunities and risk in the Nuclear Medicine Protection market.

Nuclear Medicine Protection market recent innovations and major events.

-Detailed study of business strategies for growth of the Nuclear Medicine Protection market-leading players.

-Conclusive study about the growth plot of Nuclear Medicine Protection market for forthcoming years.

-In-depth understanding of Nuclear Medicine Protection market-particular drivers, constraints and major micro markets.

-Favorable impression inside vital technological and market latest trends striking the Nuclear Medicine Protection market.

The report has 150 tables and figures browse the report description and TOC:

Table of Contents of Nuclear Medicine Protection Market

1 Study Coverage

1.1 Nuclear Medicine Protection Product

1.2 Key Market Segments in This Study

1.3 Key Manufacturers Covered

1.4 Market by Type

1.4.1 Global Nuclear Medicine Protection Market Size Growth Rate by Type

1.4.2 Hydraulic Dredges

1.4.3 Hopper Dredges

1.4.4 Mechanical Dredges

1.5 Market by Application

1.5.1 Global Nuclear Medicine Protection Market Size Growth Rate by Application

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2 Executive Summary

2.1 Global Nuclear Medicine Protection Market Size

2.1.1 Global Nuclear Medicine Protection Revenue 2014-2025

2.1.2 Global Nuclear Medicine Protection Production 2014-2025

2.2 Nuclear Medicine Protection Growth Rate (CAGR) 2019-2025

2.3 Analysis of Competitive Landscape

2.3.1 Manufacturers Market Concentration Ratio (CR5 and HHI)

2.3.2 Key Nuclear Medicine Protection Manufacturers

2.3.2.1 Nuclear Medicine Protection Manufacturing Base Distribution, Headquarters

2.3.2.2 Manufacturers Nuclear Medicine Protection Product Offered

2.3.2.3 Date of Manufacturers Enter into Nuclear Medicine Protection Market

2.4 Key Trends for Nuclear Medicine Protection Markets & Products

3 Market Size by Manufacturers

3.1 Nuclear Medicine Protection Production by Manufacturers

3.1.1 Nuclear Medicine Protection Production by Manufacturers

3.1.2 Nuclear Medicine Protection Production Market Share by Manufacturers

3.2 Nuclear Medicine Protection Revenue by Manufacturers

3.2.1 Nuclear Medicine Protection Revenue by Manufacturers (2019-2025)

3.2.2 Nuclear Medicine Protection Revenue Share by Manufacturers (2019-2025)

3.3 Nuclear Medicine Protection Price by Manufacturers

3.4 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion Plans

More Information.

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Nuclear Medicine Protection Market Demand Analysis, Statistics, Trends and Investment Opportunities to 2023 - Cole of Duty

Nuclear Medicine Equipment Market In-Depth Analysis and Forecast 2017-2025 – Cole of Duty

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Global Nuclear Medicine Equipment Market: Overview

Nuclear medicine equipment include special imaging devices such as single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and gamma cameras a.k.a. scintillation cameras for diagnosing and treating chronic diseases such as cancer. Composed of radiation detectors, gamma cameras help to identify radioactive energy emitted from the patients body and converts it into an image. SPECT could work in combination with gamma cameras for producing 3D or more detailed images. This could be done with the rotation of gamma camera heads around the patients body.

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Global Nuclear Medicine Equipment Market: Key Trends

Over the course of the forecast period 20172025, the world nuclear medicine equipment market is prognosticated to register an attractive growth owing to some reliable factors. There could be favorable changes taking place in the world nuclear medicine equipment market on account of technological evolutions such as hybrid imaging, improvements in molecular imaging that do not necessitate radioisotopes, and the introduction of new radiopharmaceuticals to help in diagnosis and therapy.

However, lack of molecular and anatomic imaging training, insufficient evidence and data to support the capability of nuclear medicines to improve patient results, lack of cost-effectiveness, and lessened medical imaging reimbursement could pose some challenge to the world nuclear medicine equipment market. Nonetheless, market participants are predicted to be blessed with some profit-making business opportunities in the coming years.

The growth of the world nuclear medicine equipment market could be attributed to the exclusive benefit of specific deliverance of non-invasive and unique approach to data at cellular and molecular levels, which otherwise cannot be reproduced with the help of other imaging procedures. Against the background of the rise in awareness about chronic diseases, the world nuclear medicine equipment market is expected to witness a higher demand because of the advantage of earlier detection. A positive effect on the growth of the world nuclear medicine equipment market could be anticipated with the increase in diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures conducted on a worldwide platform.

Global Nuclear Medicine Equipment Market: Market Potential

The King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) in Jordan has appreciated the support of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) provided via the 2015 Practical Arrangements agreement between the two entities. Development of the IAEA Curricula for Nuclear Medicine Professionals, arrangement of clinical practices workshops and meetings, and direct training of nuclear medicine professionals are the three key areas of the collaboration. KHCC believes early diagnosis and treatment of cancer through nuclear medicine technologies and techniques are vital for improving the cure rate among patients.

Global Nuclear Medicine Equipment Market: Regional Outlook

The U.S. nuclear medicine equipment market is prophesied to testify a remarkable progress on the back of several technological advancements, thus raising the hopes of vendors operating in North America. As a result, North America could well run for attaining a dominant position in the international nuclear medicine equipment market. One of the factors that is envisaged to be responsible for the growth of North America is the rapid advent of novel radiopharmaceuticals for the purpose of conducting therapeutics and diagnosis.

Actively participating countries such as Japan could help the Asia Pacific nuclear medicine equipment market to grow at a faster rate. The analysts foresee Japan as a larger consumer of nuclear medicine equipment in Asia Pacific. Moreover, the country could exhibit a high development of nuclear medicine practice due to a telling increase in the count of hybrid SPECT/CT examinations performed in the recent past. Other countries such as India and China are foretold to expedite the growth of Asia Pacific with an augmenting demand for the diagnosis and treatment of Parkinsons and Alzheimers diseases.

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Global Nuclear Medicine Equipment Market: Competitive Landscape

The worldwide nuclear medicine equipment market could be branded by consistent elements that direct price trends and other vital factors. Envisioned to carry a secular nature, the worldwide nuclear medicine equipment market could bear the presence of top players such asSiemens Healthineers, Philips Healthcare, GE Healthcare, Digirad Corporation, and DDD-Diagnostics A/S.

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Nuclear Medicine Equipment Market In-Depth Analysis and Forecast 2017-2025 - Cole of Duty

RibFest goes drive-thru – Medicine Hat News

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By MO CRANKER on July 10, 2020.

mcranker@medicinehatnews.com

While COVID-19 has cancelled quite a few events this year, RibFest will still be happening.

The event will run differently, using a drive-through format, and funds raised will go to the Rotary Club of Medicine Hat.

This years RibFest will be running August 7-9 and four different rib vendors will be selling their southern barbecue classics. There will also be a Tater King booth and a lemonade stand.

Its going to be just like grabbing a coffee, but with southern barbecue, said organizer Andrew Reinhardt.

The event will run from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at Murray Chevrolet. Sunday will run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

People will enter the Murray parking lot in their vehicles and pick one of four lines to get into. They will drive up to a cashier with an iPad, place their order, pay with either cash or debt and then grab their food.

The cashier will operate the iPad so people dont have to themselves, said Reinhardt. People can stay in their car the entire time.

Reinhardt says the rib trucks are highly efficient and can do an order in 15-20 seconds and that they are expecting 2-2,500 cars over the weekend.

This is a safe fundraiser and were going to meet every guideline for Alberta Health, he said. I know people are dying to do something and this is going to be a fun event.

There will not be tables set up this year for people to sit and eat at, because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Rotary Club treasurer Gail Halderman says the group is still looking to get sponsors on board and that it is planning on selling pop and other things to raise a bit of money.

Were holding this to get money so we can give back to the community, he said. We do a lot of work in our community like the Rotary Music Festival every year. We also put over $100,000 into a trail project last year that went from Desert Blume back to Medicine Hat.

The event has been held in previous years to support the local chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters, but money from every sale will go to Rotary this year instead.

The RibFest people approached me and our board thought this was a great idea, said Halderman. We know they work with a lot of Rotary groups and were looking forward to this opportunity.

More information can be found by searching for Medicine Hat Rotary Drive Thru Ribfest on Facebook.

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COVID-19 case reclassified out of Medicine Hat zone, city down to 10 active cases – CHAT News Today

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The South Zone recorded four additional cases over the past 24 hours. The total now stands at 1,385 1,283 recovered, 90 active and 12 deaths. Two people in the zone are in hospital, a drop of one.

Across Alberta, there are 37 new cases. There are 584 active cases, a decrease of 24, and 7,774 recovered cases, an increase of 58. The province now has 8,519 total cases.

There are 46 Albertans in hospital, seven of which are in ICU. The provincial death toll rose by three to 161.

There were 6,966 tests were completed in the past 24 hours.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw announced July 2 that she will not be providing daily updates this week but that the online numbers will be updated daily.

Cypress County has 30 total cases 21 recovered cases and nine active ones.

The County of Forty Mile has two active cases and three recovered.

The MD of Taber remains at 12 total cases, nine active and three recovered.

Special Areas No. 2 has no cases on the map. There was previously one recovered case and one death attributed to the region.

The County of Newell is showing one active case and 20 recovered. In Brooks, there remains one active case. There have been 1,119 total cases in the city and 1,109 are recovered. Brooks has recorded nine deaths.

The County of Warner has 41 total cases, 39 active, one recovered and one death.

The City of Lethbridge has a total of 49 cases. Of those, nine are listed as active and 40 recovered. Lethbridge County has five cases, two active cases and three recovered.

The figures on alberta.ca are up-to-date as of end of day July 8, 2020.

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COVID-19 case reclassified out of Medicine Hat zone, city down to 10 active cases - CHAT News Today

Surge in the Adoption of Aesthetic Medicine And Cosmetic Surgery to Fuel the Growth of the Aesthetic Medicine And Cosmetic Surgery Market Through the…

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Surge in the Adoption of Aesthetic Medicine And Cosmetic Surgery to Fuel the Growth of the Aesthetic Medicine And Cosmetic Surgery Market Through the...

Donald Trump, President Winning-by-Losing, Is, in Fact, Losing – The New Yorker

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Soon after the Supreme Court ruled, on Thursday morning, against Donald Trumps effort to stop a Manhattan prosecutor from obtaining his tax returns, the President lamented how unjust the decision was. Courts in the past have given broad deference, he tweeted. BUT NOT ME! He elaborated: This is all a political prosecution, he said. Not fair to this Presidency or Administration! POTUS is, as ever, a whiny loser.

His whinging, though, should not obscure the fact that Trump, yet again, has escaped to fight another day. In a 72 ruling, the Justices, including two Trump appointees, reaffirmed the principle that no one, not even the President, is above the law. But the decision allowed Trump to continue fighting in lower courts over the terms under which he must comply, a ruling that makes it all but certain that he will not have to turn over his tax returns before this falls Presidential election. He may lament PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT, but Trump seems to have once more managed to avoid having to produce information about his sketchy finances before facing voters. Losing just might be a form of winning after all. Sure enough, that was exactly what Trumps advisers took to claiming. This was a win for the President, the Administrations press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, declared from the White House lectern. Asked about Trumps angry tweets, McEnany simply dismissed them as general comments. It is a big win, she added, before also saying, confusingly, that the President agreed with the dissenters in the case. I would underscore the victory here.

This is classic Trump Administration doublespeak. Reality is whatever the Trumpians say it is. The Supreme Court decision can be both terribly unfair and a great win. And why not? Trump has made a career of turning bad news into good, of rewriting bankruptcies and divorces and unfulfilled promises into spectacular accomplishments. After his Republican Party lost the House of Representatives, in 2018, Trump called the midterm-election results a Big Victory. After the special counsel Robert Mueller submitted a report, in 2019, documenting ten instances in which the President engaged in obstruction of justice, Trump called the report complete and total Vindication. But his problems now seem to be piling up, and I am not just referring to the question of when and how he will finally have to turn over his tax returns. As the coronavirus surges once again across America, polls show Trump losing more support by the day. This week, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report issued its July Electoral College ratings and determined that, as of right now, the Presidential election looks like a Democratic tsunami. Even the reliably pro-Trump polling agency Rasmussen registered the President at the lowest approval level of his tenure, with just thirty-nine-per-cent support. No wonder Trump is whining. He is always about ME! The question of the moment is this: With Americans suffering so deeply from the pandemic and the attendant economic crisis, and with a national election to decide his fate only a hundred and seventeen days away, can Trump pull off his most epic act of winning by losing yet?

In her scorching new book, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the Worlds Most Dangerous Man, Trumps niece Mary Trump portrays her Uncle Donald as an abusive narcissist with a rampant and undiagnosed antisocial personality disorder, and she blames many of his evident character flaws on his father, Fred, a sociopath who withheld love from his son when he needed it mostas a small child. It might seem contradictorybeyond even Trumps standardsto claim in the course of a few hours that the Supreme Court had been wildly unfair to him and had also handed him a significant victory. But his niece, who holds a doctorate in clinical psychology, shows that this has long been Trumps way. In the early nineteen-nineties, she notes, when his business was in increasingly serious trouble and banks were refusing to extend him any more credit, Trump found a long list of others to blame. Nothing was ever fair to him, she writes. At the same time, Trump had to please his father by continuing to portray himself as a wild success. The future Presidents demanding patriarch would not accept anything less. In the books particularly to-the-point conclusion, Mary Trump describes the toxic positivity that she says is his family legacy. The President, in other words, is simply incapable of accepting a harsh or unpleasant reality. He has no choice but to deny it. Losing is winning for him. It has to be.

This is also the strongly held view of various Trumpologists outside of his family, who have discerned in the Presidents biography a long history of being unable to deal with truly negative circumstances. He actually holds very few tools in his kit. Hes not equipped for compromise or changing direction. Indeed, he only knows how to move forward on the path he has determined, one of Trumps biographers, Michael DAntonio, told me. This is why he got into trouble with his bankruptcies way back whenhe failed to accept that he was a bad manager of complex organizations, and kept trying it until he was hemmed in by lenders who refused him further credit. Like Mary Trump, DAntonio said he believed that Trump is incapable of processing bad news and dealing with it. Letting in negative feedback is almost painful for him. In fact, it almost seems to me like he either cannot hear, or really hold in his mind, the bad news that he should receive and then let guide him in making adjustments, DAntonio told me.

The problem for Trump now is that, although his willful inversion of reality may work for him as a coping mechanism, it is wildly unsuited as a formula for governance, especially during a public-health crisis, when facts matter and spin is irrelevant. The coronavirus pandemic and the recession are the ultimate bad news for a President who cant bear it. On Wednesday, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, travelled to Brussels to speak to the European Parliamenther first appearance outside of Germany since the start of the pandemic. As always, she was understated but unyielding. You cannot fight the pandemic with lies and disinformation, she said. Here in Washington, where the grim march of the coronavirus is unrelenting, it sounded like a message aimed right at the man in the White House.

But President Losing-Is-Winning has an increasingly inarguable set of facts to wrestle with. The U.S. has repeatedly set records for new cases in recent days. The spike is sharp, and it is broad: the numbers are now going up in thirty-three states. In some, the pandemic is spreading at an alarming rate: a rise of thirty-eight per cent in new cases in California this week, twenty-eight per cent in Texas, twenty-five per cent in Florida. With more than a hundred and thirty thousand Americans already dead, a new projection this week suggests that more than two hundred thousand Americans will die of the coronavirus by November. Even a graphic on the Trump-friendly Fox News on Thursday was devastating. It showed total cases, total deaths, and new cases. Underneath the first two numbers was the phrase Most in the World.

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Donald Trump, President Winning-by-Losing, Is, in Fact, Losing - The New Yorker

A guided tour into the troubled mind of Donald Trump – Newsday

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Mary Trump, a trained clinical psychologist and the niece of the president of the United States, knows of what she speaks.

"It's difficult to understand what goes on in any family perhaps hardest of all for the people in it. Regardless of how a parent treats a child, it's almost impossible for that child to believe that parent means them any harm," she observes in her new book, "Too Much and Never Enough," as she parses the legacy of the patriarch, Fred Trump Sr. "Abuse can be quiet and insidious just as often as, or even more often than, it is loud and violent. As far as I know, my grandfather wasn't a physically violent man or even a particularly angry one. He didn't have to be; he expected to get what he wanted and almost always did."

Mary's father, Fred Trump Jr., was crushed by those expectations and by his struggle with alcoholism, which she lays out in harrowing and courageous detail. (As a child, she once encountered her father laughing while aiming a shotgun at her mother's face, for example.) Fred Jr.'s demise is a key narrative arc of the book, but the two people who loom largest over the entire affair are Fred Sr. and one of his other sons, Donald both of whom she describes as deeply intertwined, driven and disturbed.

"Financial worth was the same as self-worth, monetary value was human value," Mary writes. "The more Fred Trump had, the better he was. If he gave something to someone else, that person would be worth more and he less. He would pass the attitude on to Donald in spades."

In a book filled with firsthand accounts of dysfunctional family gatherings, references to decades of unsettling reporting about the Trumps, documentation of financial grifting, and many episodes of parents and siblings jousting with one another over money, egos and abandonment, Mary draws a portrait of a surreal, scarred clan that might have been forgotten had one of its members not found his way into the White House. But the fact that Donald morphed from huckster to celebrity to president makes her account seminal and indispensable.

Mary's clarity, training, discipline and sharp eye help make her a reliable narrator, and she's a fluid, witty writer to boot. Much of what's she's written about I've covered as a journalist and an author (Donald unsuccessfully sued me for libel for my 2005 biography, TrumpNation). Everything in her book that I'm familiar with is spot on. There is plenty in the book, however, that I wasn't aware of, and I suspect that's the reason the president and his siblings have gone to court to try to halt its publication. The Trumps know that Mary's understanding of her family is authentic she's a true insider in an era when "insider" accounts of the president are a dime-a-dozen and that what she's written is likely to be indelible.

The subtitle of Mary's book is "How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man," and she makes her case diligently and chronologically. Fred Sr. was steely and unforgiving, while his wife, Mary, lived in his shadow, emotionally distant and demanding. The Queens mansion where Donald grew up as his father's favorite is an intimidating pile that Mary calls The House. In the basement of The House, Fred Sr., a teetotaler, kept an elegant bar outfitted with everything but alcohol and guarded by a collection of life-sized wooden statues of Native American chiefs standing along a wall. An oil painting of a lovely Black nightclub singer with "generous swaying hips" backed by a Black jazz band hung on a wall nearby. That was apparently as close as Fred Sr. wanted Black people to get to his family. The son of a German immigrant, he slurred any person of color seeking to rent an apartment from him as "die Schwarze." Roy Cohn, the infamous lawyer and mob confidante, came into the Trumps' lives when Fred Sr. and Donald retained him to battle a Justice Department probe of racial discrimination at Trump properties in the 1970s.

Fred Sr. ruled the roost, and in Mary's view he did so as a sociopath, driving her father to ruin and forcing her Uncle Donald to adapt to his binary, winner-take-all view of the world. Losing was unacceptable, and the power of positive thinking was everything. "Just give it a quarter of a turn on the mental carburetor," Fred Sr. advised Fred Jr. as the way to conquer alcoholism. Mary writes that after Fred Jr. died, the Trumps apparently schemed to disinherit her and her brother, cutting off their health insurance when they wouldn't play along.

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Donald, more than any of his four siblings, reveled in Fred Sr.'s hothouse. He stole one of his brother's trucks as a child just so he could see how anguished his brother might become. He bucked authority as a teenager, prompting his parents to send him to military school. According to Mary, he paid someone to take the SAT exams for him so he could get into a better college. When Fred Sr. slipped into dementia soon before dying, Donald, strapped for cash, maneuvered unsuccessfully to push his siblings aside and gain control of an estate worth several hundred million dollars. Although Donald's entire career was built on Fred Sr.'s wealth and connections, Donald treated his father dismissively in his final years. Then again, Fred Sr. treated most people dismissively, and Donald is what Mary describes as a "Frankenstein's monster," shaped by his father's pathologies.

Fred Sr. lacked the marketing savvy and media know-how of his son, so he helped push Donald into the spotlight and risked the family fortune along the way so he could bask in his son's glory. Donald thrived on the attention and took advantage of the license afforded by his father's wealth, eventually adopting "cheating as a way of life." Mary takes the media to task for searching for a "strategy" in anything Donald does and for soft-pedaling what she describes as multiple psychological disorders, which, by her account, check a variety of boxes in diagnostic manuals. She thinks that Donald, at a minimum, suffers from an "antisocial personality disorder" and a longstanding but undiagnosed learning disability.

"The fact is, Donald's pathologies are so complex and his behaviors so often inexplicable that coming up with an accurate and comprehensive diagnosis would require a full battery of psychological and neuropsychological tests that he'll never sit for," she writes.

Mary's understanding of her family was also shaped by reporting in the New York Times. A landmark expose the Times published in 2018 about the Trump family's tax dodging and financial chicanery relied on her as a key source. She provided the paper with pivotal documentation that showed how the Trumps used a shell company to skim millions from the family business to avoid estate and income taxes. It was the Times's forensic work, using her documentation, that revealed the skimming to her and to readers and also made her realize that her aunts and uncles had most likely been cheating her out of significant sums of money as well.

For all of that, the tone of Mary's book isn't bitter. She maintains a sense of humor about some of the absurdities she's encountered (Donald was slow to pay her when she helped ghostwrite one of his books) and is forgiving, to a point, about the myriad shortcomings of her various relatives. But she is clearly disappointed. The book is ultimately a melancholy account of aunts and uncles who openly disdain Donald but are afraid to get in his way. The book quotes Donald's eldest sister, Maryanne, a former federal judge, saying that Donald "has no principles. None!" Maryanne is also quoted dismissing the possibility that her brother will be elected president: "He's a clown this will never happen." The fact that Donald was elected also informs the book's melancholy, with Mary stunned that tens of millions of voters were capable of embracing or overlooking her uncle's "blatant racism" and his "casual dehumanization of people."

Other observers have picked up on some of this over the years, of course. Liz Smith, the late New York gossip columnist, had a street-smart understanding of Trump. "There's something about him that's ever juvenile. It's hard to believe he's a grown-up person who went to college," she once told me. "He's like a kid, and he's got that brash, narcissistic thing that works for him. He has enormous appeal to the masses because of that."

But Mary understands that's not a benign matter anymore. "Donald today is much as he was at three years old: incapable of growing, learning or evolving, unable to regulate his emotions, moderate his responses, or take in and synthesize information," she writes. "This is far beyond garden-variety narcissism; Donald is not simply weak, his ego is a fragile thing that must be bolstered every moment because he knows deep down that he is nothing of what he claims to be. He knows he has never been loved."

Writ large on an international stage amid a pandemic and social upheaval, and with the powers of the presidency at Donald's disposal those resentments metastasize into something wildly menacing.

"He has suffered mightily," Mary writes of Donald's worldview, "and if you aren't doing all you can to alleviate that suffering, you should suffer too."

Timothy L. O'Brien is a senior columnist for Bloomberg Opinion.

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A guided tour into the troubled mind of Donald Trump - Newsday