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Black Lives Matter: A primer on what it is and what it stands for

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Speaking from Madrid, President Obama said the Black Lives Matter movement shouldn't be judged by the actions of a few non-peaceful protestors.

Black Lives Matter rally in Oklahoma City, Sunday, July 10, 2016.(Photo: Sue Ogrocki, AP)

After a week of conflict in the United States that included the police-involved shooting deaths ofAlton Sterling andPhilando Castile,and the subsequent sniper attack thatleftfive Dallas police officers dead,the Black Lives Matter movement once again hasbeen at the center of controversy.

But lost in the discussion is a sense of what Black Lives Matter isand what it stands for.

What is Black Lives Matter?

Black Lives Matter was founded by PatrisseCullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi as botha hashtagand a political projectaftertheacquittal of George Zimmerman in the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin. Distraught at the verdict, Oakland, Calif., community activist Garza wrote an impassioned Facebook plea ending with the words "black lives matter." Cullors, a community organizer from Los Angeles, shared the Facebook post and put a hashtag in front of those three words. The ideals expressed the economic, political and socialempowerment ofAfrican-Americans resonated nationwide.

Since 2013, Black Lives Matter has movedfromsocial media platforms to the streets, morphing into an organization andamovement that gainednationalrecognitionduring demonstrations after the 2014 police-involved killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.

How does Black Lives Matter work?

What setsBlack Lives Matter apart from other social justice groups, however,is its decentralized approach and reliance almost solely on local, rather than national, leadership. Cullors said organizing is often spontaneous and not directed byone person or group of people.

We dont get (people) onto the streets, they get themselves onto the street, she said.

Black Lives Matteris made up of a network of local chapters who operate mostly independently. Chelsea Fuller of the Advancement Project, a nonprofit that works with grassroots justice and race movements, said that local organizing is a powerful way to address poverty, access to housing and jobs, community policingand other issues that intersect with systemic racism.

We cant affect national narrative, we cant affect national legislation that comes down and affects local people if local people dont push back and take a stand about what's happening in local communities, Fuller said.

Black Lives Matter founder Patrisse Cullors shares her thoughts about race in America.

What does Black Lives Matter stand for?

Themost important directive of Black Lives Matter,Cullors said,is to deal with anti-black racism,to push for black peoples right to live with dignity and respect and be included in theAmerican democracy that they helped create.

This is about the quality of life for black people, for poor people in this country, said Umi Selah, co-director of Dream Defenders in Miami. Though not officially affiliated, Dream Defenders and similar social justice groups often align themselves with Black Lives Matter.

The conception that all were mad about is police and policing is a strong misconception, Selah said.In fact, Black Lives Matter released a statement last weekcondemning the shooting in Dallas as counter to whatthe movement is trying to accomplish.

Ralikh Hayes of Baltimore BLOC echoed Selah, saying that Black Lives Matter is not inherently anti-police or anti-white, nor does the phrase Black Lives Matter means other lives aren't important.

We are against a system that views people as tools, Hayes said.

Cullors also hears claims that Black Lives Matterlacks direction or strategy. But Cullors said the strategyis clear -- working to ensure that black people live with the full dignity of theirhuman rights.

We are not leaderless, were leader-full, she said. "We're trying to change the world...developing a new vision for what this generation of black leaders can look like."

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Black Lives Matter: A primer on what it is and what it stands for

Unspeakable video highlights the role of Deaf and hard-of-hearing people in Black Lives Matter – The Verge

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Filmmaker Emmai Alaquiva of Pittsburgh wanted to talk to his 8-year-old daughter about the racial climate in the US, but was concerned that at her age, she might not be able to fully grasp the issues.

I told her the name George Floyd and we talked about what Black Lives Matter means, he says. I sort of gave her the Cliffs Notes version, to give her some inspiration.

His daughter surprised him, however, and came back to him with a question: She said, hey, Dad, how come theres no people doing sign language or ASL in your photos and videos? It was a great point, we werent. He says he and his daughter take ASL classes together, part of his mission to help her learn to express herself in different mediums.

Over the next few days Alaquiva reached out to professionals in the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community including freelance sign language interpreter Amy Crawford, Danielle Filip of Pittsburgh-area Sign Language Interpreting Professionals, and Greg Pollock, an accessibility officer at a local bank, to be consultants on the script for the video he wanted to do, featuring a message in American Sign Language.

I wanted to make sure the messaging was clear, and that we werent appropriating anything from the community, Alaquiva said.

The result is Unspeakable, a public service announcement featuring members of the Deaf community: Although we may be Deaf, we can hear the world loud and clear, the group signs.

It is my hope that Unspeakable brings attention to the basic human right of communication access as a thread which connects us all, Filip said.

The nuances of communicating in sign language were important to get right in the video, Alaquiva said: for instance, the word black referring to the color can be signed with one finger pointed out in the ASL 1 handshape moving horizontally across the forehead. But when referring to a Black person, the sign uses four fingers pressed together in the ASL b handshape moving horizontally across the forehead, and is generally reserved for use by Black people, Alaquiva said.

Participating in public rallies is often challenging for Deaf and hard-of-hearing people, especially in large crowds with many people wearing face masks that cover their mouths. Activists have worked with the National Alliance of Multicultural Disabled Advocates to push for the #BlackDisabledLivesMatter efforts, to spotlight these challenges, as Teen Vogue columnist Sarah Kim reported. They also seek to call attention to the number of police violence victims who had disabilities.

Alaquiva said he hopes the PSA is inspiration for others involved in protest movements to be more inclusive, not necessarily just for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, but anyone with a disability. Its not our job to just do something then go about our business, he said, adding he and his production team built a website with additional resources.

Theres a photo I took at a protest in Oakland and the persons sign said Im sorry Im late, I had a lot to learn. That can apply to any movement you want to be a part of. Whether youre on time or late, you gotta show up.

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Unspeakable video highlights the role of Deaf and hard-of-hearing people in Black Lives Matter - The Verge

Investigating the Effect of Nano-Curcumin on the Expression of Biofilm | IDR – Dove Medical Press

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Parastoo Sharifian,1 Somayeh Yaslianifard,2 Parviz Fallah,3 Siavash Aynesazi,4 Mahmood Bakhtiyari,5 Mohammad Mohammadzadeh2

1Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran; 2Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Dietary Supplements and Probiotic Research Center, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran; 3Department of Laboratory Science, Faculty of Allied Medicine, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran; 4Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, North Branch, Islamic Azad, Tehran, Iran; 5Department of Community Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Medicine, Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center, Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran

Correspondence: Mohammad Mohammadzadeh Tel +989126767995Email M.mohammadzadeh84@yahoo.com

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that causes serious nosocomial infections, especially in immunodeficient patients and cystic fibrosis, cancer, and burned individuals. The biofilm that plays an important role in the virulence of P. aeruginosa is under the regulation of quorum sensing and two-component regulatory systems of bacteria. Curcumin, an active phenolic extract of turmeric has shown an inhibitory effect on the biofilm formation of some pathogenic bacteria. Thus, the present study aims to evaluate the effect of Nano-Curcumin on the expression of major regulatory genes involved in biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa.Materials and Methods: The biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa ATCC 10145 was assessed in the presence of 15, 20, and 25 g/mL concentrations of Nano-Curcumin using the microplate titer method. The effect of Nano-Curcumin on the expression level of regulatory genes were determined by relative reverse transcriptase-realtime PCR.Results: In the absence of Nano-Curcumin, P. aeruginosa strain ATCC 10145 strongly produced biofilm (3+) and in the presence of 15 and 20 g/mL, biofilm formation was reduced to moderate (2+) and weak biofilm producer (1+), respectively. Nano-Curcumin at a concentration of 25g/mL inhibited biofilm formation in P. aeruginosa. The expression of regulatory genes was not affected by biofilm inhibitory concentrations of Nano-Curcumin.Conclusion: The antibiofilm mechanism of Curcumin is not related to the downregulation of regulatory systems of P. aeruginosa and probably it prevents the formation of a complete biofilm structure.

Keywords: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, biofilm formation, Nano-Curcumin

This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License.By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.

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Investigating the Effect of Nano-Curcumin on the Expression of Biofilm | IDR - Dove Medical Press

Bright future for the global offshore wind turbines market – Energy Global

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Transparency Market Research has conducted analysis into the offshore wind turbines market. In terms of value, the global offshore wind turbines market is expected to reach US$120 billion by 2030, expanding at a CAGR of approximately 8% during the forecast period. Based on volume, the global offshore wind turbines market is estimated to reach 65 037 MW by 2030, expanding at a CAGR of approximately 8% during the forecast period. Among foundation types, the monopile segment is anticipated to contract due to increase in average turbine size, which requires large foundations. In terms of location proximity, the shallow water segment held larger share of the global offshore wind turbines market in 2019. However, the trend for deeper waters (up to 60 m) for proposed wind farms is projected to rise by 2030. The 5 MW and above capacity segment is likely to account a major share of the global offshore wind turbines market by 2030 due to installations of large-sized turbines in Europe and Asia Pacific. The offshore wind turbines market in Asia Pacific is expected to expand at a substantial pace during the forecast period. The region installed 2.5 GW of offshore wind capacity in 2019; of this, China installed 2.4 GW capacity.

Major drivers of offshore wind turbines market

Lucrative incentive mechanism with favourable regulatory frameworks for offshore wind power generation is propelling the demand for offshore wind turbines across the globe. Essential support incentive schemes and regulatory frameworks are driving the global offshore wind turbines market. Incentives are anticipated to be provided until the offshore wind power generation technology develops significantly. The offshore wind turbines market is likely to remain largely dependent on policy-based incentive schemes provided to offshore wind power generation projects in order to ensure capacity addition unless considerable reduction in cost is achieved in these projects.

Rapid advancements in offshore wind technologies and addition of large capacity offshore wind turbines are increasingly becoming a possibility with rise in the pace of advancement of offshore wind technology in Europe, the US, and China. This advancement of technology is anticipated to reduce the levelised cost of electricity from offshore wind in the near future. This, in turn, is likely to propel the demand for offshore wind turbines across the globe.

Asia Pacific offers opportunities to offshore wind turbines market

Asia Pacific dominated the global offshore wind turbines market in 2019, owing to significant demand for renewable fuel generation in the region. The wind power sector has been dominated by China and South-East Asia (particularly Thailand and Vietnam). These countries are projected to play a key role in the growth of installations of offshore wind turbines. Rise in penetration of offshore wind turbines in major countries such as China is also projected to boost the offshore wind turbines market in Asia Pacific during the forecast period.

Prominent developments in offshore wind turbines market

In June 2020, Lloyds Register Group Limited announced that it had won a contract to provide consultancy design services for control rooms at the 88 MW Hywind Tampen floating wind farm in the Norwegian North Sea. As part of the human-machine interface (HMI) engineering services contract, Lloyd's Register Group Limited will help with the integration into the existing onshore wind control room for Hywind Tampen, which would be located together with an existing control room for Valemon, an unmanned offshore installation in the North Sea. In June 2020, DEME, a dredging company, announced that the first of 58 Siemens Gamesa turbines had been installed at the 487 MW SeaMade cluster of offshore wind projects off the coast of Belgium. The Belgian firm is tasked with the installation of monopile foundations, subsea cables, and two offshore substations for wind farms.

Competition landscape of offshore wind turbines market

Dynamics of the global offshore wind turbines market are dependent on long-term contracts, goodwill of companies, and product portfolio. Internationally organised players and manufacturers with integrated operations possess competitive advantages due to the expertise in turbine manufacturing and power supply. Major players operating in the global offshore wind turbines market are Enercon GmbH, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, S.A., General Electric, Nordex S.E., Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd, Vestas, Scheidt & Bachmann GmbH, Suzlon Energy Limited,Guodian United Power Technology Company Ltd, and rsted A/S.

Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/wind/20072020/bright-future-for-the-global-offshore-wind-turbines-market/

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Bright future for the global offshore wind turbines market - Energy Global

Offshore Remote Operated Vehicle Market Analysis by Current Developments, New Entrants and Application To 2027 – Cole of Duty

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What is Offshore Remote Operated Vehicle ?

Remote operated vehicles (ROV) plays a major role in carrying out underwater activities in offshore industries. The offshore industries such as oil & gas requires ROV to perform underwater installation, maintenance and repair of oil pipelines and inspection activities. The ROVs are underwater robots and are controlled by operator from the surface. The ROVs are connected to the ship by series of cables and these cables transmits commands and signals to the operator. Now a days, the ROVs are equipped with HD camera for better inspection of underwater sites. Moreover, the ROV manufactures are also focusing on technological advancements to transform large ROVs into compact ROVs.

Global Offshore Remote Operated Vehicle Market Competitive Landscape

The major players in the market areDeepOcean Group, Inc., DOF ASA, Forum Energy Technologies, Fugro, Helix ESG Group, TeckChek Inc., Oceaneering International Inc., Saab AB, Saipem, Sapura Energy Berhad TechnipFMC PLC, and Teledyne Technologies Incorporation.We also need a market analysis section solely dedicated to major players such as where analysts give us an insight into the financial statements of all the major players, along with product benchmarking and SWOT analysis. Global Offshore Remote Operated Vehicle market with great emphasis on its market share, recent developments, business overview, market served, and growth strategies.

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Offshore Remote Operated Vehicle Market: Research Methodology

Coherent Market Insights followsa comprehensive research methodology focused on providing the most precise market analysis. The company leverages a data triangulation model which helps company to gauge the market dynamics and provide accurate estimates. Key components of the research methodologies followed for all our market reports include:

As part of Primary research, our analysts interviewed a number of primary sources from the demand and supply sides of the global Offshore Remote Operated Vehicle Market. This helped them to obtain both quantitative and qualitative data and information. On the demand side of the global Offshore Remote Operated Vehicle Market are end-users, whereas on the supply side are distributors, vendors, and manufacturers.

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During our Secondary research, we collect information from different sources such as databases, regulatory bodies, gold and silver-standard websites, articles by recognized authors, certified publications, white papers, investor presentations and press releases of companies, and annual reports.

Offshore Remote Operated Vehicle Market: Regional Analysis

This part of the report includes detailed information on the market in various regions. Each region offers different scope for markets because every region has different government policies and other factors. The regions included in this report areNorth America, Europe, The Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. Information about the different areas helps the reader to understand better the global market.

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Complete SWOT Analysis of the Global Market

SWOT analysisis one technique that is quite that helps to gain an insight into the past and find a solution for the benefit of current or future blemish, useful for existing companies as well as the new plan. SWOT-analysis helps reduce weaknesses while maximizing the strong side of the company. Its can also be used when it comes to achieving certain goals in non-profit organizations or private companies. This tool can be used to make a reconsideration during the study.

Importance of SWOT Analysis in Business :

The mostimportantpart of aSWOT analysisis to improve the viability of your company.Importantthreats coupled with a company weakness typically put at risk your companys future, and theSWOT analysisidentifies these risks. You can eliminate internal weaknesses by assigning company resources to fix the problems.

Factors of SWOT-analysis will help businesses to understand their strengths to the threat that what is the strength of the company and what could be a threat or a risk in the future. With the help of SWOT analysis, companies can increase the chances of success and reduce the possibility of failure.

When the company conducted a SWOT analysis they need to know what are the weak points of the company. Then, managers can provide training to employees who help the company to improve employee performance.

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When managers know each and every aspect of the company from strength to threats. Time strategy formulation becomes easy. It helps companies to formulate a strategy.

It helps the company to motivate employees because when companies must know their weaknesses are trying to remove and send employees. When employees know their weaknesses are also working hard to eliminate the weaknesses

It helps companies to identify potential opportunities. SWOT analysis company because when they come to know about any potential opportunities that can help a business to grow.

Competitor analysis is critical to any marketing plan and SWOT analysis provides a perfect way to do this. Typically, PEST analysis is done before a SWOT analysis to provide details on opportunities and threats sections. Once you have a complete SWOT diagram you and your competitors, you can make better decisions about your marketing plan.

PESTEL Analysis :

APESTEL analysisor more recently named PESTELE is a framework or tool used by marketers to analyse and monitor the macro-environmental (external marketing environment) factors that have an impact on an organisation. The result of which is used to identify threats and weaknesses which are used in a SWOTanalysis.

Opportunities come in various forms, then the value of doing a PEST analysis. PEST stands for:

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SWOT Analysis for Market

There are three steps to follow in this analysis.

In this stage, and we collect all the information regarding the first two internal factors, strengths and weaknesses. However, this information collection can be done in a number of different ways. One-to-one interview or a group discussion can be carried to gather information. There will be a number of different views, questions, and issues related to these elements.

Here, we can make a list of all the opportunities that it may encounter in the future. It can make another list of all the future possible threats within the organization.

In this stage, the plan of action will have carried out to meet these opportunities and to secure the company from the threats. In this stage, the organization makes sure that they can maintain the strengths, change or stop the weaknesses, prioritize opportunism and minimize threats.

If you are not doing a SWOT analysis for your business or new start-ups you will face some of these Problems or Issues:

Appendix

Offshore Remote Operated Vehicle Marketreport gives you details about the market research finding and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain a competitive advantage. Supported by comprehensive primary as well as secondary research, the Offshore Remote Operated Vehicle Market the report is then verified using expert advice, quality check and final review. The market data was analyzed and foretasted using market dynamics and consistent models.

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Offshore Remote Operated Vehicle Market Analysis by Current Developments, New Entrants and Application To 2027 - Cole of Duty

EU all ears on offshore wind views – reNEWS

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The European Commission has launched consultations on its planned strategy for offshore renewable energy which aims to set out best ways to exploit and scale-up the sector's generation.

Offshore wind is expected to play an instrumental role in building the region's largely renewable energy power system between 2030 and 2050 as stated in the European Green Deal communication.

An EU offshore renewable energy strategy is to be published before the end of the year.

The public consultation aims to gather input from all interested stakeholders and is open until 24 September.

A separate four-week consultation has also been launched on an offshore renewable energy roadmap that aims to inform citizens and stakeholders about the Commission's work in order to allow them to provide feedback and to participate effectively in future consultation activities.

Citizens and stakeholders are in particular invited to provide views on the Commission's understanding of the issue and possible solutions and to make available any relevant information that they may have.

This consultation is open until 13 August.

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EU all ears on offshore wind views - reNEWS

Strategic Analysis to Understand the Competitive Outlook of Offshore Drilling Rigs Market – 3rd Watch News

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Prophecy Market Insights has recently published a Offshore Drilling Rigs report which represents the latest industry data and future trends, allowing users to recognize the products and driving revenue growth and profitability of the market.

The report offers a broad analysis of key segments, key drivers, regions, and leading market players. The report contains an analysis of different geographical areas and presents a competitive scenario to promote leading market players, new entrants, and investors determine emerging economies. The key highlights offered in the report would benefit market players to formulate strategies for the future and gain a strong position in the Offshore Drilling Rigs market.

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Detailed analysis of the COVID-19 impact will be given in the report, as our analyst and research associates are working hard to understand the impact of COVID-19 disaster on many corporations, sectors and help our clients in taking excellent business decisions. We acknowledge everyone who is doing their part in this financial and healthcare crisis.

The Offshore Drilling Rigs report begins with a brief introduction which contains a market overview of the industry followed by its market size and research scope. Further, the report provides an overview of market segmentation, for example- type, application, and region. The drivers, restraints, and opportunities for the market are also mentioned, along with current policies and trends in the industry. The Offshore Drilling Rigs market also covers PEST analysis for the market. Thisanalysisprovides information based on four external factors (political, economic, social and technological) in relation to your business situation. Basically, it helps to understand how these factorswillaffect the performance and activities of your business in the long-term. The report describes the growth rate of each segment in-depth with the help of charts and tables. Moreover, various regions related to the growth of the Offshore Drilling Rigs market are analyzed in the report. These regions include North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America.

Segmentation Overview:

Offshore Drilling Rigs market report states the overview, historical data along with size, share, growth, demand, and revenue of the global industry. In this research report, there is an accurate analysis of the current and upcoming opportunities in the market by explaining the fastest and largest growing segments across regions. The survey report includes vast investigation of the geographical scene of the Offshore Drilling Rigs market, which is manifestly arranged into the localities

Australia, New Zealand, Rest of Asia-Pacific

The study presents the performance of each player active in the Offshore Drilling Rigs market. It also provides a summary and highlights the current advancements of each player in the market along with its SWOT analysis. The information provided in the research report is a great source for study investors and stakeholders interested in the market. In addition, the report offers insights on buyers, suppliers, and merchants in the market. There is a comprehensive analysis of consumption, market share, and growth rate of each application is offered for the historic period.

Offshore Drilling Rigs Market Key Players:

Key players operating in the global offshore drilling rigs market includes Halliburton Company, Schlumberger Limited, Weatherford International Inc, Seadrill Ltd., Aban Offshore Limited, China Oilfield Services Ltd., Ensco plc, Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc., Vantage Drilling Co., Pacific Drilling, KCA Deutag, Maersk Drilling, Nabors Industries Ltd., and Nobel Corporation.

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Strategic Analysis to Understand the Competitive Outlook of Offshore Drilling Rigs Market - 3rd Watch News

Korean Government to Promote Offshore Wind Farm in Waters off North Jeolla Province – BusinessKorea

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The South Korean government is promoting the construction of a 2.4 GW offshore wind farm in waters off North Jeolla Province as the first project in its plan to increase the nations offshore wind power generation to 12 GW by 2030 and become one of the worlds top five offshore wind power producers.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on July 17 that it has signed an agreement with the parties involved in the project, including the governments of North Jeolla Province, Gochang County and Buan County, and Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), and Korea Wind Power.

The ministry plans to start the construction of a 400 MW plant and a 2 GW plant in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The project will cost 14 trillion won in total.

Although the central government and local governments signed a development agreement regarding the wind power project in 2011, little progress had been made until the construction of a test bed complex began in 2017 due to difficulties in securing residents agreement.

When the large-scale offshore wind power complex project is completed in 2028, it will have a production capacity of 2.46 GW, which is enough to supply electricity to 2.24 million households.

Meanwhile, global offshore wind power generation reached 29.1 GW in 2019, with Europe and China accounting for the lions share. Currently, Japan and Taiwan are also focusing on developing offshore wind power farms. Global offshore wind power generation is expected to increase six-fold to 177 GW by 2030.

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Korean Government to Promote Offshore Wind Farm in Waters off North Jeolla Province - BusinessKorea

Zhong Neng Offshore Wind Project to Feature Locally-Made Pin Piles – Offshore WIND

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CTCI Machinery Corporation (CTCI MAC) has signed a contract with China Steel Power Corporation to supply nearly ahundred pin piles for the Zhong Neng offshore wind project in Taiwan.

Four production lines will be set up at CTCI MACs Ta-Lin Shop in Kaohsiungs Nansing Free Trade Zone. The pin piles are expected to be ready for load out from March 2023 onwards.

Thanks to our previous experience in offshore wind projects, we are now capable of carrying out simultaneous welding tasks with four -SAW welding machines on sections even with various section diameters, said CTCI MAC Chairman Yun-Peng Tan.

China Steel Power Corporation, a joint venture of Taiwans China Steel Corporation and Denmarks Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), is developing Zhong Neng off the Changhua coast in central Taiwan.

Commercial operation of the 300 MW wind farm is expected to begin in 2024.

According to CTCI MAC, the project is committed to delivering all 27 localization items required by the Taiwanese government, making it one of the offshore wind farms with the highest level of localization in the industry.

MHI Vestas has been selected as the preferred supplier of turbines, and CSBC-DEME Wind Engineering (CDWE) is responsible for the transportation and installation of foundations.

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Zhong Neng Offshore Wind Project to Feature Locally-Made Pin Piles - Offshore WIND

‘A Guide To The Birdsong: Volume II’ Uses Electronic Music To Save The Birds – NPR

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Ten artists from Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean recorded tracks using birdsong from their country, with all profits of the vinyl and digital release going to bird conservation projects. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Ten artists from Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean recorded tracks using birdsong from their country, with all profits of the vinyl and digital release going to bird conservation projects.

An international collective of electronic music DJs and composers is taking beats from the dance club to jungles and forests and back, all to help save nature's greatest singers. A Guide to the Birdsong of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean is a new album that samples the sounds of endangered birds and whose proceeds go directly towards efforts to save them.

Robin Perkins is a 33-year-old DJ, composer and producer originally from Glassup, England. He goes by the name El Bho or "the Owl." Perkins produced the first volume of this project in 2015, A Guide to the Birdsong of South America.

"The whole project," Perkins says, "was born out of this idea of taking the songs of endangered birds and challenging musicians to make a piece of music from them, and so trying to marry these worlds of activism of conservation, birdsong and electronic music."

Perkins invited artists from each of the endangered or threatened birds' homelands to build their own songs around the birds' songs. Electronic music, he says, allows artists to do that in a special way.

"The beautiful thing about electronic music is that it opens up this whole toolbox of things that you couldn't otherwise do, right?" he says. "So you can take a sample of a bird song and do 5 million things to it. You can turn it into an instrument itself. You can reverse it, you can add effects, you can sample it."

Perkins has just finished the second project, A Guide to the Birdsong of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. One of the musicians who responded to his call is Nicaraguan sonic artist Tamara Montenegro. She chose the turquoise-browed motmot, or Guardabarranco.

"To me it was a very clear choice," Montenegro says. "As a child, I would see this bird freely flying around and meeting his partner they travel in pairs most of the time in my backyard for sunsets. It was a beautiful, mystical moment every day."

The Guardabarranco is threatened by loss of habitat primarily due to deforestation. It's also Nicaragua's national bird.

"This bird represents a lot of symbology in my area of the world because it represents freedom," she says. "And these Central American countries have been striving for political, social, economic freedom for a long time."

The idea of freedom was also part of the impetus for Al Ovando's choice. Ovando is a member of the renowned group The Garifuna Collective that also includes musicians from Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. For the collective's contribution to the album, Ovando chose the endangered Black Catbird. Like the Guardabarranco, the Black Catbirds's freedom is threatened by loss of habitat. Ovando feels his people have a special kinship with the bird and its struggle for survival.

"You just imagine us coming all the way from the coast of West Africa into the Caribbean, ending up in Belize and still continuing the struggle and trying to be part of what the world is today," he says.

Ovando also happens to be a devoted birder. He even convinced the band to add a technical rider to its contracts when the group performs at festivals.

"If there is anybody at the festival who would like to go birding," he says, he wanted it to be known that they "would love to go birding with them, or if they would know some places, some hotspots we could check out some birds."

As with the first album, all of the profits from the new release will support specific organizations, including Birds Caribbean. Its executive director, Lisa Sorensen, explains how A Guide to the Birdsong of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean will not only help her efforts but may also yield extended benefits.

"There might be a beautiful place to go see birds but there's no trail, there's no interpretive signage there to tell you about what you're seeing," Sorensen says. "So we're envisioning that funding from this project will help us advance both those efforts: building the supply and building the demand for sustainable bird and nature tourism."

That's project founder Robin Perkins' wish too.

"Hopefully people will come away from the album feeling inspired and feeling the need to listen again to the bird song around them," Perkins says, and "to do something to protect the natural spaces that we need to survive."

A Guide to the Birdsong of Central America, Mexico & the Caribbean is out now via Shika Shika. All proceeds generated from album sales go towards Fundacin Txori, Aves de Costa Rica and Birds Caribbean.

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'A Guide To The Birdsong: Volume II' Uses Electronic Music To Save The Birds - NPR

Latin America & The Caribbean – Weekly Situation Update (6-12 July 2020) As of 13 July 2020 – Colombia – ReliefWeb

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Key Figures

3.2M CONFIRMED COVID-19 CASES IN LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN AS OF 12 JULY

UN SECRETARY-GENERAL POLICY BRIEF

On 9 July, UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres launched a policy brief on the impact of COVID-19 on Latin America and the Caribbean highlighting that the region, plagued by weak social protection and high inequality, is home to some of the most affected areas in the world.

The brief notes that COVID-19 will cause a 9.1 per cent contraction in regional GDP in 2020, the worst recession in a century, which could push the number of poor and extremely poor by 45 million and 28 million, respectively.

Short-term policy recommendations include immediate multilateral response for middle-income countries largely excluded from cooperation and full access to economic and humanitarian assistance and basic services for all.

The policy brief is available in English and Spanish.

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Latin America & The Caribbean - Weekly Situation Update (6-12 July 2020) As of 13 July 2020 - Colombia - ReliefWeb

Education of highest order in Caribbean – Royal Gazette

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Published Jul 20, 2020 at 8:00 am(Updated Jul 20, 2020 at 8:35 am)

Elite but not elitist: Sir Hilary Beckles

Densil Williams, pro vice-chancellor

Just short of a year ago, Sir Hilary Beckles, vice-chancellor at The University of the West Indies indicated the intention of the university to be located in the top 3 per cent of ranked universities by the end of the current strategic planning cycle in 2023.

Referencing an energetic and proactive leadership team of campus principals, pro vice-chancellors, multilayered administrators and academics, research professors and student leaders, the vice-chancellor expressed confidence in the teams ability to remove doubt from the institution in respect of its capacity to break new ground.

On July 17, vice-chancellor Beckles declared a resounding surpassing of this target by the Caribbeans leading university, as Times Higher Education, the globally recognised and most prestigious ranking agency for higher education, announced its 2020 rankings, and The University of the West Indies secured top spots on its three latest lists Latin America University Rankings, Golden Age University Rankings and Impact Rankings.

Triple Firsts, as coined by vice-chancellor Beckles, marks The UWIs breaking into the top 1 per cent of universities in the Latin America and Caribbean region; the top 1 per cent of Golden Age universities that is, the category of global universities between 50 to 80 years old and retention of its No 1 position as the only Caribbean university to be ranked.

Vice-chancellor Beckles added: This remarkable achievement puts The UWI in an elite band. We are elite, but not elitist.

He went on to explain that, the magnitude of this achievement is further contextualised within a landscape comprised of at least 209 Caribbean-based higher education institutions, an approximate 5,497 universities within Latin America and the Caribbean, and over 30,000 universities registered worldwide.

In 2016, when vice-chancellor Beckles conceived and began rolling out the strategic plan together with The UWIs leadership, he set an immediate objective to radically upgrade and globalise the regional universitys reputation and enhance its international visibility and competitiveness. THEs Latin America University Rankings and Golden Age University Rankings have both allowed for The UWI to be assessed by standardised indicators that judge research-intensive universities worldwide across all their core strategic missions of teaching, research, knowledge transfers and international outlook.

According to professor Densil Williams, the pro vice-chancellor, planning, who is credited with overseeing the implementation of The UWIs strategic plan, The UWIs excellent performance in these rankings demonstrate the success of a series of deliberate strategic initiatives implemented under the framework of its Triple A strategy (Strategic Plan 2017-2022).

These include but are not limited to global expansion through partnership with internationally recognised universities to establish centres and institutes across the globe; advancement in the entrepreneurial ethos of The UWI through greater linkages with the corporate sector; and production of impactful research to address societal problems in climate change, nutrition, economic development inter alia.

The vice-chancellor offered special commendation to the entire UWI community, recognising, the tremendous work being done university-system wide to meet the Triple A targets, which has not only driven overall productivity, but has stirred an upsurge in engagement and brand reputation regionally, internationally and in scholastic advocacy on multiple issues of global significance.

He concluded: In spite of this years myriad challenges for the Caribbean community and the wider world, our university has had some high moments, signalling our strength and the success of our strategic plan and efforts. This is yet another of The UWIs finest hours.

The ranking criteria used by the British-based agency provide comprehensive and balanced comparisons that are trusted and used by students, academics, university leaders, industry and even governments. The UWIs continued appearances and progressions in these rankings affirm its prestige and leadership as a now familiar and consistent name in the global higher education arena.

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Education of highest order in Caribbean - Royal Gazette

Elon Musk Says Neuralink Will Stream Music Straight Into Your Brain

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According to Musk, brain computer interfaces in the future will allow us to ditch the headphones and beam music straight to our brains.

Yes Man

Elon Musk’s brain-hacking startup Neuralink is gearing up for a long-awaited reveal on August 28.

And Musk himself can’t seem to help himself from teasing the brain-computer interface. On Sunday afternoon, when computer scientist Austin Howard asked Musk on Twitter if we could one day listen to music directly through such an interface — streaming it directly into the brain, in other words, with no headphones needed — Musk replied with a curt “yes.”

Skull Lasers

We still know very little about what Neuralink has been working on. Our best look so far came during a 2019 presentation in which the company showed off a device that hooks up to the brain via holes in the skull cut by lasers.

Early iterations of such a device are largely aimed at repairing broken neural connections in those who suffer brain disorders including Parkinson’s, Musk said during a recent podcast appearance.

It’s still entirely unclear if Neuralink’s brain-computer interfaces will ever be able to bypass the ear, the cochlear nerves, and beam music magically to the auditory brain.

But Musk has already set his sights on bigger things. When asked by another Twitter user if Neuralink’s devices could also help “stimulate the release of oxytocin, serotonin, and other chemicals when needed,” Musk replied with another “yes.”

Now Hiring

While some high-tech headphones have promised to beam music “straight to your brain,” they achieve this by sending vibrations to the skull — not stimulating neurons inside the brain.

To make that feature and more a reality, Neuralink is looking to add more, well, brains to its operations.

“If you’ve solved hard problems with phones/ wearables (sealing, signal processing, inductive charging, power management, etc.), please consider working at [Neuralink],” Musk tweeted over the weekend.

READ MORE: Elon Musk claims his Neuralink chip will allow you to stream music directly to your brain [The Independent]

More on Neuralink: Elon Musk Teases Major Neuralink Reveal

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Elon Musk Says Neuralink Will Stream Music Straight Into Your Brain

The Same Company 3D Printing KFC’s Meat Nuggets Is Printing Human Tissue in Space As Well

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The same company that announced a partnership with KFC to create the world's first 3D printed chicken nugget successfully printed human cells in space.

It’s been a wild weekend for Russian startup 3D Bioprinting Solutions.

First, the company announced a partnership with fast food chain KFC as part of an effort to create the “world’s first laboratory-produced chicken nuggets.”

Now, the same company is ready to announce that it’s been hard at work bringing similar tech into orbit as well.

In an experiment on board the International Space Station that took place in 2018 but has only now been published, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononoenko was tasked to 3D print human cartilage cells in near-zero gravity using a machine called “Bioprinter Organ.Aut,” as Space.com reports — a machine assembled by, you guessed it, 3D Bioprinting Solutions.

The goal was to investigate ways to reverse some of the negative effects of spending prolonged periods of time in space, in particular evidence that parts of the human body can atrophy over time — something we’ve known about for quite some time.

The eventual hope is to give astronauts the ability to print entire body parts in space, according to the researchers — just in case something goes catastrophically wrong during a mission.

A paper about the research was published in the journal Science Advances last week.

Rather than using a bioassembly “scaffold,” a structure that acts as a support for tissue, the machine uses magnets to allow cells to float in place, a process the researchers called “magnetic levitational bioassembly.”

“Magnetic waves or fields are controlled so we can move the cells where we want them to go [to assemble] them into more complex structures of tissue constructs,” Utkan Demirci, co-director of the Canary Center for Cancer Early Detection at Stanford, who invented the process and co-authored the paper, told Space.com.

The Russian startup isn’t only looking at printing cartilage in space.

During following ISS expeditions, “we also conducted experiments in space on fabricating the mouse thyroid gland, fabricating meat, fabricating bones, fabricating three-dimensional bacterial biofilms, as well as crystallizing and growing crystals of protein compounds in a new method,” Vladislav Parfenov, 3D Bioprinting Solutions chief designer, told Space.com in an email.

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The Same Company 3D Printing KFC’s Meat Nuggets Is Printing Human Tissue in Space As Well

Uber Drivers Are Suing to Learn How the Company’s Algorithm Works

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Uber drivers in the U.K. are suing the company for access to access to its logs on their performance, as well as info on how it's used.

Black Box

Uber drivers in the UK are suing the company in a desperate bid to learn more about the ride-hailing app’s algorithm, which governs their lives and income.

The core argument of the lawsuit, Business Insider reports, is that the company’s decision to withhold personal data about drivers prevents them from understanding how the algorithm assigns them jobs and therefore impacts their livelihood. If it works, it could be a major win for gig-economy contractors trying to assert control over their work.

Enter GDPR

The App Drivers and Couriers Union, which is suing Uber on behalf of the drivers, argued that Uber violates GDPR when it tracks and monitors drivers by gathering data like late arrivals, cancellation records, and passenger complaints, according to BI.

Because the drivers can’t access that data and aren’t told how it’s fed into the algorithm that decides their future ride assignments, the union claims that Uber is violating their digital privacy.

BossBot

If the lawsuit succeeds and Uber drivers gain access to their records, it could set a lasting precedent for other gig workers who essentially report to and are managed by algorithms, BI reports.

With more power and authority granted to drivers, who Uber has repeatedly argued in court should not be considered employees, gig workers around the world could get a more important seat at the table.

READ MORE: Uber drivers are suing the company to better understand how they are managed by algorithms [Business Insider]

More on Uber: Uber Says Rides During “Party Hours” Are Keeping it Afloat

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Uber Drivers Are Suing to Learn How the Company’s Algorithm Works

KFC Is Working on 3D Printed, Lab-Grown Chicken Nuggets

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With help from a Russian 3D printing startup, American fast food chain KFC wants to craft the

Lab Nuggets

American fast food chain KFC wants to craft the “world’s first laboratory-produced chicken nuggets,” according to a press release — and no, they won’t technically be vegetarian, because they’ll include actual chicken cells.

To create this “meat of the future,” the chain is working with Russian startup 3D Bioprinting Solutions to use “chicken cells and plant material” to print nuggets layer by layer.

KFC claims the approach is more ethical and environmentally sound, as it reduces the need for farming animals.

No Harm

According to the company, “the production process does not cause any harm to animals.”

“3D bioprinting technologies, initially widely recognized in medicine, are nowadays gaining popularity in producing foods such as meat,” Yusef Khesuani, co-founder of 3D Bioprinting Solutions, said in the KFC statement.

The fried chicken giant has yet to actually feed anybody its futuristic nuggets, but the Russian startup is already hoping that the trend will catch on.

“In the future, the rapid development of such technologies will allow us to make 3D-printed meat products more accessible and we are hoping that the technology created as a result of our cooperation with KFC will help accelerate the launch of cell-based meat products on the market,” the statement reads.

Slow Food

Scientists who have experimented with similar bioprinting processes have found them to be extremely slow and laborious, The Verge reports.

Despite the hurdles, though, KFC wants to go ahead and make its Frankenstein nuggets available for final testing in Moscow later this year.

READ MORE: KFC is working with a Russian 3D bioprinting firm to try to make lab-produced chicken nuggets [The Verge]

More on lab meat: Lab-Grown Meat Could Be Worse for the Environment

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NASA’s Mars Rover Spent the Weekend Shooting a Weird-Looking Rock With a Laser

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NASA's Curiosity rover encountered a strangely-colored rock on Mars and did what any smart robot would do: blasted it with a laser to see what was inside.

No-Scope

Over the weekend, NASA’s Curiosity rover spent its time blasting a bizarre rock on Mars with a laser.

To clarify, Curiosity wasn’t just killing time. This particular rock, Digital Trends reports, was adorned with unusual colors for the area, and vaporizing it with a laser is one of the best tricks Curiosity that has for figuring out what it’s made of.

Target Practice

The laser is just one of Curiosity’s tools for analyzing an object’s chemical composition. In the past, the rover has used them to make discoveries suggesting that Mars once harbored life. The findings for this particular rock aren’t available yet, but Digital Trends reports that the colors could suggest the presence of organic compounds.

But it won’t be until the next rover, Perseverance, shows up with more sophisticated tools that NASA can kick up the hunt for signs of ancient microbes to the next level.

Scouting Ahead

While NASA prepares for its Perseverance launch, Curiosity is continuing on what NASA is calling a “summer road trip” to scout ahead and study more regions of the planet that may have once harbored life.

“Curiosity was designed to go beyond Opportunity’s search for the history of water,” NASA researcher Abigail Fraeman said in a press release. “We’re uncovering an ancient world that offered life a foothold for longer than we realized.”

READ MORE: Curiosity is investigating a strangely colored rock it found on Mars [Digital Trends]

More on Curiosity: Next NASA Mars Rover Will Sport a Rock-Vaporizing Laser

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“Mini-Neptune” Exoplanets May Actually Be Covered in Radioactive Oceans

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A class of exoplanets thought to resemble gas giants like Neptune may actually be rocky worlds covered in thick, heavily irradiated oceans.

Nuka-Nepta

New research suggests that astronomers may have been entirely wrong about a class of exoplanets that they call “mini-Neptunes.”

These worlds, which were thought to be smaller versions — just 2.4 Earth radii across — of gas giants like Neptune, may actually be rocky exoplanets covered by thick, deeply-irradiated oceans, according to research by scientists at the Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille. The study, published last month in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, threatens to break down the barriers between two classes of exoplanets that astronomers previously thought were totally separate.

Totally Rad

Studying exoplanets tends to involve a little bit of trickery. Researchers use various imaging techniques to figure out things like a world’s density, chemical composition, and whether it has an atmosphere. In the case of mini-Neptunes, most had assumed that their low density and mass meant they were coated in a thick, gassy atmosphere.

Instead, according to the study, some may have oceans of highly pressurized and heated supercritical liquid that’s been irradiated by a powerful greenhouse effect. The ocean, just like a gas giant’s atmosphere, could account for the low density and mass of the exoplanets.

Building Bridges

A separate study published in Astronomy and Astrophysics found that the same irradiated oceans could also exist on slightly-smaller, rocky “super-Earth” exoplanets, as their environments are capable of the same powerful greenhouse effect as the mini-Neptunes.

Much of their calculations still need to be tested and verified through more observations of exoplanets. But if it holds up, the findings suggest that the various worlds out there could be a lot more similar than we thought.

READ MORE: Could mini-Neptunes be irradiated ocean planets? [CNRS]

More on exoplanets: Astronomers Discover “Intriguing,” Extremely Earth-Like Exoplanet

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How Will Revisions to the US Bankruptcy Code Impact Landlords? – National Real Estate Investor

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Recent revisions to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code might open the door to headaches and heartaches for landlords that rent to small businesses.

In August 2019, Congress created whats known as Subchapter 5 of the Bankruptcy Code. Subchapter 5 is designed to streamline the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process for small businesses and slash their legal bills, according to Robert Dremluk, a partner in the New York City office of law firm Culhane Meadows Haughian & Walsh PLLC who specializes in bankruptcy cases.

Subchapter 5 went into effect this February. A month later, Congress tweaked Subchapter 5 as part of the federal CARES Act, aimed at helping the U.S. recover from the coronavirus pandemic. A major change in Subchapter 5 that will be on the books till next spring raises the cap on secured and unsecured debts for a small business to qualify for Chapter 11. The threshold jumped from a little over $2.7 million to $7.5 million. The idea was to create an easier path for companies to reorganize, Dremluk says.

Legal observers say the re-engineered Subchapter 5 could invite even more small businesses to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization and, therefore, entangle more landlords in bankruptcy proceedings.

Other provisions of Subchapter 5 might also entice small businesses to head to bankruptcy court. They include:

The debtor-friendly Subchapter 5 makes no mention of landlords, notes Katey Anderson Sanchez, a bankruptcy attorney in the Phoenix office of law firm Ballard Spahr LLP. However, she adds that some businesses that in the past might have shied away from Chapter 11 bankruptcy now might find this path more worthwhile. In turn, that could put more landlords in the crosshairs of small business bankruptcies. How so? For one thing, Subchapter 5 weakens the power of a landlord or any other creditor to stop a reorganization plan from being finalized.

Sanchez notes, though, that landlords retain a lot of rights in Chapter 11 cases filed by tenants. She sees nothing in the Subchapter 5 language itself that should give a debtor a definitive edge over a landlord.

Landlords are in a really good position to say, Hey, you know youve got to pay us, Sanchez says. Theres no additional ability for a small business owner to change the terms of a lease or anything like thatnot any more than there is any other chapter of the code.

Through the lens of Subchapter 5, Dremluk sees some positives for landlords. Primary among them is that letting a small business restructure its debt under Subchapter 5 means that a tenant might stand a better chance of keeping its doors open and keeping up with its lease obligations, he notes. He adds that Subchapter 5 paves the way for more small businesses to negotiate with landlords, since some cash-strapped tenants previously found it too expensive to plow through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.

From his perspective, Neal Salisian, founder and co-managing partner of Los Angeles law firm Salisian Lee LLP, says the recent changes in the Bankruptcy code could lead to debtors leases being ripped up. He frequently represents commercial real estate landlords and lenders.

The way that would work is that the tenant could be in a particular space, not paying rent during a moratorium, and have other financial issues during that time that result in a bankruptcy filing. At this point, the whole lease would fall under the proceedings and likely get invalidated, Salisian says. Ultimately, this could be very bad combination of factors for a landlord, leading to months and months of unpaid rent and unoccupied space.

The result of that sort of scenario could be bankruptcy declarations on the part of the landlords themselves, Salisian says.

It remains to be seen how widely Subchapter 5 will be used by small businesses, according to Rory Vohwinkel, a bankruptcy attorney with Las Vegas law firm Vohwinkel & Associates Ltd. For the most part, small businesses are holding off on bankruptcy filings due to uncertainty over their current and future finances, attorneys say. However, legal observers anticipate a near-tsunami of small business bankruptcies to start when that uncertainty subsides.

Once those impediments go away, I think youll see an upsurge in the use of Subchapter 5, Dremluk says. I think a lot of small businesses that have hung on though COVID will see this as an opportunity to clean up their balance sheets, reorganize their business and go forward. But currently, the environment is not really suitable for that.

Vohwinkel and other attorneys are closely watching a Chapter 11 case thats already being pursued under Subchapter 5. Texas-based restaurant chain Texas Root Burger hopes to reorganize through Chapter 11 and to walk away from some of its locations, the Wall Street Journal reported. The newspaper points out that Subchapter 5 might force creditors like landlords to quickly head to the negotiating table with tenants that have filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11.

We are all waiting to see how that case proceeds, as it could be precedent-setting, Vohwinkel says.

As the business community at large adopts a wait-and-see attitude about the coronavirus pandemic and corporate finances, Dremluk suggests that landlords educate themselves about Subchapter 5.

My recommendation would be for landlords to understand the process, become familiar with how it works, how its different from what you might have understood the process to be, he says. A landlord whos asleep at the wheel potentially could end up losing their rights, whatever they may be.

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How Will Revisions to the US Bankruptcy Code Impact Landlords? - National Real Estate Investor

Another Bankruptcy For Germanys BBS Wheels As It Turns 50. – Forbes

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Legendary German Formula One driver Michael Schumacher took Ferrari to five world championships on ... [+] BBS wheels, to add to his two championships with Benetton. Photo by Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images

Formula One and Indycar supplier BBS GmbH filed for bankruptcy protection in Germany today for the third time in 13 years, on the eve of its 50th anniversary.

Its contract to supply wheels for next years entire Nascar Cup Series field is not believed to be at risk, with BBS purchasing them off its key Formula One supplier, Japans Washibeam.

BBS, which made the poster wheels for every race- and sports-car fan in the 1990s, has taken some of the worlds most famous drivers to victory everywhere from Le Mans and Indianapolis to Formula One.

They were the aftermarket wheel of choice for generations of performance-car owners and made of the poster wheels for every race- and sports-car fan in the 1990s.

Most of the Indycar Series field uses BBS wheels. Photo: Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Famous for their invention of three-piece racing wheels and criss-cross spoke patterns, BBS GmbH announced its bankruptcy on its website today, describing it as a necessary step to prevent an imminent insolvency.

Blaming its troubles on the Coronavirus pandemic, BBS stated it found itself in financial trouble due to the sudden omission of confirmed payments.

The ancestors of the BBS Super RS design graced thousands of sports car posters in the 1980s and ... [+] 1990s. Photo: BBS

This is not new territory for BBS, which declared bankruptcy in 2007 as well, before being rescued by Belgiums Punch International, and then declared bankruptcy again in 2011 before being taken over by South Koreas Nice Corp.

BBS wheels are found on road cars from Ferrari, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, BMW, Volkswagen, Toyota, Volvo, Lexus, Jaguar, Infiniti, Rolls-Royce and Subaru.

BBS went in a different design direction for the Lexus ISF wheel. Photo by Spencer Weiner/Los ... [+] Angeles Times via Getty Images

It once dominated high-end performance car wheels, including the Ferrari F40, the Lexus IS-F and an untold numbers of Porsches.

The market slowdown that came with the Covid-19 pandemic forced BBS to shutter both of its production plants, leading to the bankruptcy filing in the court in Rottweil (yes, like the dog).

Being traceable to the currently tough market environment in the automotive branch, BBS situation deteriorated further due to the Corona(sic)-Lockdown which led to a temporary shutdown of the production at both BBS plants, the companys statement read.

However, the key message we want to deliver to you is that the BBS production keeps on running the supply of all our OE and AM customers with BBS wheels is secured!

Prior to the insolvency BBS already initiated an extensive turnaround strategy for the whole company. This new strategy based on BBS AM wheels as focal point will be continued under the guidance of the insolvency administrator.

One of its two administrators, Thomas Oberle, has been here before with BBS, having been appointed as an administrator of BBS International GmbH in 2011, before BBS became BBS GmbH.

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Another Bankruptcy For Germanys BBS Wheels As It Turns 50. - Forbes