Good riddance to a grim winter. But although the daffodils are up and the blackbirds are gurgling, I dont want to forget it quite yet. My view from the kitchen window over paving and dormant beds to a pond and shrubs beyond is pleasant enough in a dynamic winter of sun, rain, frost and cloud. But through sodden, grey week after sodden, grey week, it hasnt really been cutting the mustard.

So I am on a mission to add some game-changing shots of colour quickly, before I am floated away on the spring tide. My first port of call for inspiration has been to Wisley, where I had a rummage for early camellias.

Under the Scots pine in the corner of my kitchen-view garden, I already have a young plant of Saint Ewe. Because the ground is rooty, it lives in a half-barrel containers are a good way of sidestepping the problem of dry shade.

It has been out since early February and its single flowers of deep pink are cheery against the grey sky and nearby catkins of garrya. Another pink one across the pond would perk up the scene yet more. I found several candidates, both on Wisleys Battleston Hill and below the rock garden, and Bow Bells is my winner.

I take Kew with a pinch of salt, as it is much milder than here. Would Edgeworthia chrysantha, with its scrumptiously scented yellow clusters of flower, ever make a fat shrub for me? It might be worth a go if I could ever find a sheltered, south-facing spot for it. But itwas towards a more pedestrian plant that I gravitated yellow-stemmed willow, grown as a coppiced shrub by a lake. I wouldnt mind taking the mandarin ducks along with it.

The clustering of red, orange and yellow willows and dogwoods, such as you see in many winter gardens, is too cartoonlike for me. But a solitary stand of yellow glowing through the gloom, as at Kew, would be just the ticket fast-growing too and on my way back north I stopped at Ashwood Nurseries to scoop up one called Golden Ness. It is already installed by the pond, and by next year it will have a drift of February Gold daffs around its amber stems.

Talking of daffodils, I have made a note to have more Cragford next year. This white, orange-centred narcissus (with a delicious scent) has been flowering in pots by my front steps since January, taking the storms in its stride. The potted crocus and little iris I have in my kitchen-view garden are pretty enough, but for impact Cragford is the business.

My third garden visit has been to Borde Hill in Sussex. There is a chirpy winter grouping near the house, of pink Daphne bholua, lilac Rhododendron Praecox, plum hellebores and the mauve creeping toothwortCardamine pentaphylla. I have been wondering about planting another Daphne bholua after seeing the newdark pink variety, Mary Rose, on Pan-Global Plantss Instagram page; teaming it up with this rhododendron would be striking.

Borde Hills tree magnolias have also fired me up. Obviously, garden space and human longevity are against me when it comes to echoingtheir giant specimens of M. campbellii and M. sprengeri var. diva which are now filling the sky with clouds of pink waterlilies. But nowadays there are many selections available, bred to bloom young and stay compact and with equally large flowers. As it happened, themagnolia expert Jim Gardiner was at Borde Hill while I was there, and I was able to corner him and ask which of all these mouth-watering choices he rated the best. Without hesitation, he named Felix Jury. My order has just gone off, and I must now urgently create room for it I am not sure how.

If long grey, wet winters are to be the norm, they do not have to be endured with glum stoicism. Spark up the colour and pump out the scent. Plan for winter. Spring looks after itself, plantswoman Margery Fish once wrote and if it wasnt her it was someone else.

Continued here:
Five plants to brighten up grey days with a shot of colour - Telegraph.co.uk

Written by Catherine Opie

Beauty is often thought of in relation to fashion and femininity. Its construct in pop culture is something that I've always tried to work with in different ways in relation to my work as a photographer. Beauty is complicated; it's an individual response to how we live our lives -- but it can also encompass kindness and compassion.

I don't think that real beauty is easily defined, otherwise it's cliched. I'm a self-identified butch dyke, I'm a big woman, and even though I might struggle with my body, I still find it really beautiful in terms of what it can do. Artists who challenge the idea that only a certain type of person or body can be valued are showing that what's considered "the other" can be beautiful too.

I find an enormous amount of beauty in being political and intellectual. Beauty isn't necessarily surface-level; it can also be about one's personal life and contain conflicting ideologies. You can create a certain aesthetic around those ideas, draw someone in with an element of beauty, and then push those boundaries by posing questions.

"Self-Portrait/Nursing" (2004) Credit: Catherine Opie

It's also important to make photographs that inspire one to really look, to be drawn in, instead of just glancing at something quickly. For me, beauty is also about being held.

I've experienced that captivating feeling in a series of three portraits taken by Dutch photographer Rineke Dijkstra in 1994. They feature three different women in the hospital, just after giving birth. They stand, nude, holding their newborns, and at times you see a trail of blood running down a leg, or the marking of a caesarean scar. I find beauty in the honesty of these images, and I'm moved by how they show a mother's protective nature.

People in my community were shocked when I became pregnant. It didn't seem like butch women like me birthed children.

But, I knew I always wanted to be a mom. When I gave birth to Oliver in 2002 , I took a self-portrait while nursing, recalling the forms of Madonna and child.

"Self-Portrait/Cutting" (1993) Credit: Catherine Opie

"Self-Portrait/Nursing" became the third in what could be considered a trilogy of photographs, with my earlier photographs "Self-Portrait/Cutting" and "Self-Portrait/Pervert" from the 1990s. The photograph with "pervert" cut into my chest, when I participated in Los Angeles's queer BDSM community, is a little too extreme for me now. It was important for me to make it, but there's some work that you don't necessarily want to live with every single day. I was talking about beauty in it, though, and the formality of a photograph. It engages you; it's very well-designed. For a large queer body to both hold space, and to seduce you, was a radical concept.

For me, it was perfect to complete this trilogy with the nursing image, which fulfilled my own longing to be a mother. I love the photograph because he was such a beautiful baby -- and he still is. At my last opening, Oliver sat on my lap and told me how proud he was of me as an artist. The fact that my 18-year-old son will still come and cuddle in my lap, mirroring the moment I photographed him while nursing, is incredibly touching to me.

"Rusty" (2008) Credit: Catherine Opie

I try to show that kind of vulnerability when photographing male beauty. In the 2000s, I took tender photographs of high school football players that show both their vulnerability as well as their performance of masculinity. Some of those images are hung now for the "Masculinities" show at the Barbican in London.

Chicken from "Being and Having" (1991) Credit: Catherine Opie

The show also includes images from "Being and Having," which I hung in 1991, of my queer friends and I acting out exaggerated masculinity in moustaches and beards. The show included portraits of my longtime friend Pig Pen. Pig Pen is beautiful to me -- it's in their butchness, the way they hold their body. I'm drawn to the slippage of identity. We met in Los Angeles, running in the same circles, hanging out in queer clubs and being a part of grassroots organizations like Act Up and Queer Nation. The presence of our friendship, which spans decades and multiple bodies of work, is also really important to me. Sentimentality and nostalgia can also shape our perceptions of beauty.

"Pig Pen (Tattoos)" (2009) Credit: Catherine Opie

Today I think we're getting around to understanding that it's also important to show people who are aging. There's something beautiful to that. I think about portraits of John Baldessari, David Hockney or Edith Windsor, all taken in their 80s, and what it means to kind of sit with somebody and photograph them when they're of that age. It's another way of talking about the beauty of longevity. Youth culture isn't the only important area to explore in beauty and fashion. It's important to represent the transitions of a person's body throughout their life.

"David" (2017) Credit: Catherine Opie

We have to question the norm. And if we question the norm, then we question ideas that surround beauty. For me, beauty has to encompass more about the human condition and the times we are living in. I see just an enormous amount of hatred these days. It's troubling; I didn't think that we would return to this level of bigotry. In response, we have to figure out how to really support one another -- to treat people with decency. It's important to realize that beauty is actually tied to ideas around happiness. How do we become fulfilled in that way? And can we fulfill it through acts of kindness?

Read more from the original source:
Catherine Opie: 'Beauty has to encompass more about the human condition' - CNN

There's a lot to think about as you're preparing for retirement. Not only do you have to consider how much you should save by the time you retire, but you'll also need to plan for how you'll spend all your time, how much you'll be receiving in Social Security benefits, and more.

But there's one factor that many workers aren't accounting for as they're planning for their senior years, and it can potentially cost you tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Image source: Getty Images.

Nearly half (48%) of workers say they haven't accounted for healthcare expenses in their retirement plan, a report from theTransamerica Center for Retirement Studies and the Aegon Center for Longevity and Retirement found. Of those who aren't planning for this expense, nearly 30% admitted it's because they simply never thought about it before, while 26% said they expect the public healthcare system to take care of their expenses.

If you're not preparing for healthcare costs in retirement, you could be in for a costly surprise. Even with Medicare coverage, you'll still be responsible for certain expenses, including premiums, deductibles, copays, and coinsurance. These costs can add up, too. In fact, the average retiree spends around $4,300 per year on out-of-pocket healthcare costs, according to a study from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

This number also doesn't include costs associated with long-term care -- which can be one of the most significant expenses you'll face in retirement. Approximately 70% of today's retirees will need long-term care eventually, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and those who do need this type of care require it for an average of three years.

If you do end up needing long-term care, you can expect to spend a good chunk of change. The average semi-private room in a nursing home costs more than $6,800 per month, and if you end up spending three years in a nursing home, that comes out to nearly $250,000 on long-term care alone. In addition, Medicare typically won't cover long-term care, so you'll be left to foot this massive bill out-of-pocket.

All of these expenses can take a huge bite out of your retirement fund, so the more you can prepare for them ahead of time, the better off you'll be.

It can be challenging to prepare for medical expenses because nobody knows exactly how much care they'll need in retirement. You may never need long-term care and can get by spending only on Medicare premiums and other routine costs, in which case your healthcare expenditures will be minimal. Or you may develop costly health problems and may end up needing several years of long-term care, which could lead to hundreds of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs.

Although you can't prepare for every expense you'll face, it's a good idea to plan for everything, just in case. First, think about how much you'll be paying for Medicare coverage. Original Medicare consists of Part A and Part B. Retirees typically won't pay a premium for Part A coverage, but you will face a deductible of $1,408 per benefit period. For Part B, the standard premium is around $144 per month and the deductible is $198 per year.

Keep in mind, however, that Original Medicare does not cover routine dental or vision care (which includes teeth cleanings, fillings, yearly eye exams, prescription glasses, etc.), nor does it cover prescription drugs. For this type of coverage, you'll need to enroll in a separate plan such as Medicare Part D or a Medicare Advantage plan -- which will be an additional cost.

To prepare for long-term care, you have a couple of options. First, you could sign up for long-term care insurance. This type of insurance could greatly reduce the amount you'll pay out-of-pocket if you end up needing long-term care, but it can be pricey -- especially the longer you wait to sign up. The average 55-year-old couple can expect to pay around $2,500 per year in premiums, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, but the older you are when you sign up, the more you'll pay.

Another option to help pay for medical expenses is to start saving in a health savings account (HSA). A HSA is similar to a retirement account in that you can invest your money, let it grow for years, then withdraw it during retirement. However, there are extra tax benefits with an HSA: Not only are your contributions tax-deductible upfront, but your withdrawals are also tax-free as long as the money goes toward medical expenses.

Healthcare expenses certainly aren't the most exciting aspect of retirement, which makes them easy to overlook as you're planning. But if you don't account for these costs, it could come back to hurt you later. By preparing the best you can now, you'll ensure healthcare expenses won't catch you off guard.

Read more from the original source:
Half of Workers Aren't Accounting for This Massive Retirement Expense - The Motley Fool

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) arent new, in fact mechanical automation has been around for decades so why is there still an incredibly slow adoption rate across modern-day workforces?

Although it might not have been called AI or ML until recent times, the world has been surrounded by examples of this technology from having an x-ray to taking out a mortgage. Its primary purpose is to exist to try and make things simpler, quicker and easier for people.

And yet, despite being present for nearly a century, the concerns that machines are going to take over the world or that theyre untrustworthy and will take everyones jobs remains the same today.

For years, businesses have been trying to outdo one another with revolutionary promises and yet theres still a lack of understanding of what AI and ML represents and how it can and cant drive an organisation forward.

Thats because theres still a lack of trust and its become apparent that many people are still reluctant to hand over the reins to a machine when confidence is low. Its something that isnt new for those who occupy the world of business intelligence because the industry knows how AI promises everything but doesnt always deliver. Uncertainty has ensued because automation hasnt quite solved initial problems, but at the same time no-one is being automated out of a job either.

A great example to truly highlight how this translates into business performance is by looking at online delivery brand, Amazon. This is an organisation that deploys hundreds of robots which have been simplistically coded to collect products off the shelf and not bump into one another which is the AI part.

And the same concept can be applied in business. For example, if a person has applied for a bank loan within the last 20-25 years, its unlikely they will have had their initial query dealt with by a human. It will have been digested by a machine an algorithm that categorises individuals alongside others who have similar attributes.

AI isnt magical but it can collate large volumes of data by the second, which is an obvious advantage for the fast-paced and heavily evolving economic climate.

So, it does pose the question of exactly how does human centred AI truly impact business performance?

For larger scale AI adoption, organisations must think outside the box and perhaps onto the tennis court. Yes, this maybe a strange path to take, but the sports Hawk-Eye technology system could provide some food for thought when analysing AIs success through a transparent lens.

Looking back to the days when John McEnroe would infamously contest huge calls with showmanship and bravado, Hawk-Eye today often limits those moments instead shutting down any questionable decision with critical evidence to back up the umpires call.

And the reason why many players and the crowd accept those crucial outcomes is because tennis hasnt black boxed its automation. Instead, every single person watching can see exactly how the decision has been made by the machine, which introduces a greater level of fairness and trust that wasnt there before.

Line judges provide the human element, but its the machine that augments their decisions. Now because its done so well, its become a part of the game alongside other sports.

However, where mechanical AI hasnt fared as strongly is the example of VAR recently introduced into the English Premiership. If anything, its riled footballing crowds up even more to voice their displeasure, all because the machines decisions arent being shared with them. What it has determined is a lack of trust from supporters and onlookers because they havent played any part in the final decision.

For human centred AI to have a true impact on an enterprises bottom line and adoption level, there must be observation points included something which business intelligence is built upon. Having machinery that allows customers to understand and see how decisions are being made can instil a vast amount of trust and willingness to have confidence in the detail it forecasts.

There isnt a crystal ball when it comes to knowing exactly how the business landscape is going to evolve day-to-day but having smart platforms that can consume key trends and marketplace developments can help to balance business risk and determine decisions more swiftly.

And when wrong conclusions are met, thats where humans or rather the observers come in to tweak and adjust the model so that the path is corrected, and danger is subsequently averted.

Think of Tesla and how its self-drive capabilities are truly innovative. But, it can still get things wrong and if the driver isnt prepared for that, the results could be catastrophic. However, where this manufacturer prevails is by utilising a smart screen which shows how its making decisions. As a result, the person behind the wheel understands when to trust the vehicle to take control, and when they need to intervene.

Again, the same can be said for organisations and their employees who become the observers. To begin to achieve success, the team needs the desired information from AI, in order to elevate their jobs, watch the machine in action and work side-by-side all of which comes via business intelligence.

Examining real-time activity, enterprises are in fact creating cockpits where humans can step in where needed and trust the machine to effectively understand the detail and make commercially savvy decisions all of which the customer sees too.

Everybody has a part to play in ensuring what technology works best for their business and automation should ultimately be embraced rather than feared. However, for there to a positive impact made on business performance, firms must firstly get their business intelligence right and continuously study its ML as a pre-requisite.

Simplify the tools, demystify the black box and provide smart intelligence that isnt magical, but can instil trust, transparency and longevity for organisations.

Ken Miller, co-founder and CTO, Panintelligence

Read the original post:
What is human centred AI and how can it impact business performance? - ITProPortal

Altered Carbon has just returned with an eight-episode second season, set in the early 25th century, three decades after the events of first season. For the uninitiated, the sci-fi series is set in a future wherein human consciousness is being digitized and stored in devices called stacks, thereby allowing it to be transferred from one body to another (sleeves). The richer you are, the better sleeve you can buy for yourself depending on your needpleasure, combat, or anything else that you desire. Also, you can have your consciousness backed up on remote servers just in case someone tries to damage your stack. So, practically, the richest of the lot actually enjoy an immortality of sorts. Owing to their Methuselah-like longevity, they are referred to as Meths.

In the second season of Altered Carbon, the storys protagonist Takeshi Kovacs, the last of the Envoys (a rebel group defeated in an uprising against the new world order), who is now a fugitive on the run, gets transferred to a new sleeve equipped with next level combat abilities. Now, Kovacs was essayed by four different actors in the first seasonJoel Kinnaman, Will Yun Lee, Byron Mann, and Morgan Gao, with Kinnaman getting the maximum screen time. With Kovacs getting decanted into the new sleeve this season, Anthony Mackie fills in Kinnamans shoes but not before its briefly essayed by the South Korean singer and actress Jihae Kim. This racial and gender fluidity that Altered Carbon offers is certainly the most fascinating aspect of the Netflix series.

Created by Laeta Kalogridis, Altered Carbon is based on the 2002 novel of the same name by Richard K. Morgan. The series is rife with literary as well as cultural referencesone of the most obvious being an AI character based on none other than Edgar Allan Poe. In many ways, Altered Carbon can be seen as a web extension of the neo-noir world of Ridley Scotts 1982 seminal sci-fi work Blade Runner and its 2017 sequel by Denis Villeneuve, Blade Runner 2049. The series first season which came out in 2018 oozed with cyberpunk detail and easily proved to be the most intoxicating and cerebral stuff available on the web at the time. Although a lot has happened in the web space over the last couple of years there is not much that comes close to Altered Carbon in terms of what it offers in the sci-fi space.

Whenever one talks about the human race, the thought of mortality automatically comes to mind. Perhaps, thats pushes the human race to try and uphold the notions of morality. But in a futuristic world where the humans have conquered even death, does the question of morality even arise? And, having possessed the gift of immortality, can one really escape the sense of guilt? Well, the answer comes from an aging character who tells Kovacs, Immortality means an eternity of living with what we have done. I have lived with enough regret. Havent you? Altered Carbon is not just about fancy gadgets and cutting edge visual effects but it also serves a powerful critique on materialism, class divide, and morality. The series endeavors to make us question the very meaning of life and what it means to be human. While not as explosive as the freshman effort, the second season of Altered Carbon has enough ammunition to keep one hooked.

See the original post here:
Second season manages to keep one hooked - The Sunday Guardian

Every remaining major candidate vying to become anominee for the U.S. presidency is aseptuagenarian. While the aged field of candidates comes with its own set of concerns, it is asign of the countrys progress toward keeping people alive and healthy for longer than ever before.

In the race for the highest office in the land, the socalled Silent Generation is making itself heard. Senator Bernie Sanders (DVT), the oldest candidate, is 78years old, as is former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg, who dropped out of the race this morning. Former vice president Joe Biden is 77years old. President Donald Trump is 73years old. At 70years old, Senator Elizabeth Warren (DMA) is the youngest of the major candidates. She was born in mid1949.

Several major candidates have birthdays coming up before the Election Day. By November 3rd, Senator Sanders will be 79, President Trump will be 74 and Senator Warren will be 71years old. Biden will turn 78 shortly after the election, on November 20th.

When the current President was sworn into office at the age of 70, he was the oldest president ever inaugurated in the United States. It looks like he or whoever assumes the presidency in 2021 will beat that record.

Even among the minor candidates still in the race, septuagenarians are represented. Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld, who is challenging the president for the Republican nomination in aprotest campaign, is 74years old. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (DHI), who ispolling atless than 2percent nationally, is the only remaining candidate born after 1950. She is 38.

When the septuagenarian candidates were born, the polio vaccine was yet to be created, there were no commercial computers, no human being had yet been to outer space and interracial marriage was still illegal in several U.S. states.

In 1950, U.S. life expectancy stood at 68.2years,accordingto the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The U.S. life expectancy has soared since then and atemporary dip over the last couple of years due to the opioid epidemic has since reversed. The CDCs most recent figures estimate that the U.S. life expectancy reached78.7yearsin 2018an increase of 0.1year from 2017. That means that just within the lifetime of Senator Warren, the youngest major candidate, U.S. life expectancy has expanded by over adecade.

Healthy life expectancy or the number of years one can expect to enjoy good health, has also increased significantly. An American can expect to enjoy around 68 and ahalf years of good health, on average, according to the World Health Organizationsmost recentestimate, for 2016.

The actuarial tables suggest that whichever septuagenarian wins in November, he or she willlikelysurvive the next four years. Based on the average for their age, thats a76.8 percent chance for Sanders; 79.2 percent for Biden; 84.8 percent for Trump and, reflecting that women tend to outlive men, a91.8 percent chance for the relatively youthful Warren. Still, there is no doubt that the vice presidential candidates willmattermore than usual this election cycle.

The countrys Founding Fathers likely could not have imagined afuture with such remarkable longevity. The septuagenarian field of major candidates has sparked concerns over the state of the various candidates health and mental acuity. While those worries should be taken seriously, the fact that so many septuagenarians are running reflects the broader demographic trend of Americans livinglonger, healthier lives and remaining active for many more yearsa fact that should be celebrated.

This article by Chelsea Follett originally appeared in the CATO at Liberty blog in 2020.

Image: Reuters.

Go here to see the original:
Why Is Everyone Running for President So Old? - The National Interest Online

During a town hall on Fox News Thursday night, Trump once again alluded to the idea that Biden is unfit for office. While the lies about the Bidens and Burisma will likely continue, the Daily Caller reports that this new line of attack will be a focus for Republicans and the Trump campaign.

This issue, however, is not simply being raised by Trump and his enablers. Steve Friess reports that a memo about Bidens cognitive decline is circulating among Sanders supporters.

The Bernie Sanders presidential campaign is disavowing a list of post-Super Tuesday talking points distributed to supporters and surrogates on Wednesday morning that suggest Sanders partisans attack a resurgent Joe Biden on his record and obvious cognitive decline.

The material, seen by Newsweek, was posted on various social media sites and on internal WhatsApp groups for supporters of the independent Vermont senator as an official campaign communique, but Sanders communications director Mike Caspa said hed never seen it before.

Thats not a real document, he told Newsweek. Its not ours.

This is now a 2-person race, and there will be heightened scrutiny on Bidens record and obvious cognitive decline, the document reads.

The message is obviously getting out there.

All of this feels very familiar. During the 2016 election, both Trump and the Sanders camp attempted to paint Hillary Clinton as corrupt. Now, both sides have teamed up on an attack against Biden.

Weve all watched Biden stumble with words during debates and extemporaneous speeches. So as people committed to examining facts and evidence, it is important to gather what we know about this particular attack and not simply dismiss it because of the sources from which it is emanating.

The first thing that is important to do is to define the terms. Here is how the Mayo Clinic defines cognitive impairment.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is the stage between the expected cognitive decline of normal aging and the more serious decline of dementia. It can involve problems with memory, language, thinking and judgment that are greater than normal age-related changes.

If you have mild cognitive impairment, you may be aware that your memory or mental function has slipped. Your family and close friends also may notice a change. But these changes arent severe enough to significantly interfere with your daily life and usual activities.

Mild cognitive impairment may increase your risk of later developing dementia caused by Alzheimers disease or other neurological conditions. But some people with mild cognitive impairment never get worse, and a few eventually get better.

The second piece of evidence to consider is that in December, Biden released a three-page summary of his medical history in which his doctor declared he is a healthy, vigorous 77-year-old fully capable of taking on the role of president. Here is what Stuart Jay Olshansky, a professor of public health at the University of Illinois at Chicago who analyzes the longevity of presidents, said about cognitive abilities after reviewing the report.

The only test that hasnt been done is the cognitive functioning test, Olshansky added. But the fact that hes on the campaign trail and meeting a rigorous travel and meeting schedule probably would suffice as a replacement for the formal test for cognitive functioning.

He said that cognitive tests are typically not required unless problems are detected.

In the January/February issue of The Atlantic, John Hendrickson writes that [Bidens]verbal stumbles have voters worried about his mental fitness. Maybe theyd be more understanding if they knew hes still fighting a stutter.

A stutter does not get worse as a person ages, but trying to keep it at bay can take immense physical and mental energy. Biden talks all day to audiences both small and large. In addition to periodically stuttering or blocking on certain sounds, he appears to intentionally not stutter by switching to an alternative worda technique called circumlocutionwhich can yield mangled syntax. Ive been following practically everything hes said for months now, and sometimes what is quickly characterized as a memory lapse is indeed a stutter. As Eric Jackson, the speech pathologist, pointed out to me, during a town hall in August Biden briefly blocked on Obama, before quickly subbing in my boss. The headlines after the event? Biden Forgets Obamas Name. Other times when Biden fudges a detail or loses his train of thought, it seems unrelated to stuttering, like hes just making a mistake. The kind of mistake other candidates make too, though less frequently than he does.

As a stutterer himself, Hendrickson critiques Biden for suggesting that he overcame his stutter.

Emma Alpern is a 32-year-old copy editor who co-leads the Brooklyn chapter of the National Stuttering Association and co-founded NYC Stutters, which puts on a day-long conference for stuttering destigmatization. Alpern told me that shes on a group text with other stutterers who regularly discuss Biden, and that its been frustrating to watch the media portray Bidens speech impediment as a sign of mental decline or dishonesty. Biden allows that to happen by not naming it for what it is, she said, though shes not sure that his presidential candidacy would benefit if he were more forthcoming. I think hes dug himself into a hole of not saying that he still stutters for so long that it would strike people as a little weird.

Biden has presented the same life story for decades. Hes that familiar faceUncle JoeHes the dependable guy, the tenacious guy, the aviators-and-crossed-arms guy. That guy doesnt stutter; that guy used to stutter.

That is the data we have available about Joe Bidens cognitive capabilities. What it all comes down to is that there is an alternative explanation for his verbal stumbles and his medical records did not indicate a cognitive impairment.

Brandy X. Lee, one of the mental health professionals who has been very vocal about Trumps unfitness for office, explained why a declination to diagnose Biden is in keeping with professional standards.

I do not diagnose without examination and do not speak about public figures in general, unless there is evidence of such profound danger to public health and well-being because of serious signs of mental instability in a public servant, that it would be a public disservice not to share the knowledge and training that I have. Biden has not risen to this threshold

I never spoke up about a president or a presidential candidate either before or after Donald Trump, and neither have thousands of mental health professionals who have come forth with similar concerns in ways that are unprecedented in U.S. history, for any president of any party. I only speak up when there is a medical need of such great magnitude as to risk the survival of the human species. This is definitively Donald Trump, not Biden. Nor is it Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, or any other false equivalences people wish to create for political purposes.

Here is how another mental health professional described the comparison to David Knowles.

Biden digresses and gets tangential, thats not cognitive decline, Lynne Meyer, a California psychologist told Yahoo News. Trumps cognitive decline or problems are that he doesnt even seem to have comprehension of reality. Thats what it looks like.

We are about to be subjected to a massive disinformation campaign against Joe Biden, and this one will be particularly pernicious. But for those of us who are fact-based, it is important to keep in mind that there is no data to support the allegations that are being made.

If you enjoyed this article, consider making a donation to help us produce more like it. The Washington Monthly was founded in 1969 to tell the stories of how government really worksand how to make it work better. Fifty years later, the need for incisive analysis and new, progressive policy ideas is clearer than ever. As a nonprofit, we rely on support from readers like you.

Yes, Ill make a donation

See original here:
The Disinformation Campaign Being Launched Against Biden - Washington Monthly

Advertisement

Also known as the white or polar fox, the arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) is an exceptionally cute yet immensely tough member of the Canidae family of dog-like carnivorans which means it's related to other foxes, wolves and dogs. Prevalent throughout the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, usually on tundra or mountains near the sea (two of the coldest places on the planet), they range in size from about as big as a small Chihuahua to as large as a Jack Russell terrier, and are said to be second only to polar bears as the most popular animals that travelers want to see and photograph when visiting the Arctic.

Among the arctic fox's most outstanding characteristics? Being able to survive in temperatures as low as -58 degrees F (-50 degrees C) largely due to their small stature. Their compact body, short muzzle and legs, and small rounded ears minimize the amount of surface area that is exposed to the cold air. Additional reasons they can thrive in a frozen habitat include a thick, layered fur coat (the warmest pelt of any animal living in the Arctic) that traps a layer of air and preserves body heat, and fluffy tails that cover their heads like a built-in blanket for added insulation when they curl up to sleep.

They are the only canid that grows fur over their foot pads, which helps them walk easily on snow. An added bonus: They have something called "counter-current blood circulation," which reduces blood flow to their feet to ensure they don't get frostbitten. When conditions become too cold, their metabolism increases to provide warmth, with their winter basal metabolic rate around 25 percent slower than it is during the summer. Not only does this cool trick allow them to withstand frigid temperatures, but it also enables them to survive longer without food a key tool when food is scarce in the dead of winter.

They come in just two colors: white or blue. In the winter, white foxes are almost entirely white (which comes in handy when camouflaging in the ice and snow), and blue foxes are pale-bluish gray. Their fur changes to brown or gray during the summer to help them blend in with their surroundings.

"This color change helps camouflage them for hunting," says Brint Spencer, director of Brandywine Zoo in Wilmington, Delaware, in an email interview. "The white fox is more common, and one theory is that the blue phase tends to be more coastal where the ocean waters do not freeze."

Like the arctic fox, many other animals have developed multiple defenses that enable them to adapt to extremely cold conditions. "They typically have a higher metabolism, reduced body surface area and thick fur or a layer of fat (blubber) to insulate themselves," says Spencer. "Often, they will feed heavily in the fall to have enough stored body fat to get through the winter."

Among these animals is the snow leopard (found in the Alpine and semi-Alpine regions of Central Asia); arctic hare (residing mostly in the northern regions of the Arctic Circle, predominantly in Northern America, Europe, Greenland and the North Pole); leopard seal (found commonly in the Antarctic); and musk oxen (located in Arctic Canada and Greenland).

Yet others include the walrus (commonly found around the North Pole in the Arctic seas); a medium-sized whale known as the narwhal (residing in the Arctic); caribou (which live in Arctic, Subarctic, mountainous, as well as the tundra regions of North America, Europe, Asia and Greenland); and beluga whale (found in the Arctic and Subarctic seas).

Probably the most popular cold-weather creature is the polar bear, which is fully equipped for Arctic life with his thick coat of long, heavy white fur that helps him to blend into the surroundings and keeps him warm by trapping a layer of insulating air. In addition, the polar bear's oily fur keeps moisture at bay and protects him from frigid waters, while a layer of blubber directly below the skin provides insulation from the biting cold. Polar bears have large paws with furry soles to help them walk easily on snow and ice, though these massive creatures prefer to spend most of their lives in the sea.

Arctic foxes usually aren't dangerous or aggressive to humans. In fact, they would prefer to flee from a human rather than fight. Foxes have sometimes been known to attack livestock, such as poultry or rabbits, but seeing as the arctic fox is really only found in the Arctic tundra, it doesn't often have the chance to interact with humans and livestock.

"Almost all mammals can potentially carry rabies, and arctic fox are the primary hosts for a strain of rabies named for them," adds Spencer. "There have been human fatalities from Arctic rabies."

The arctic fox will eat just about anything he can get his paws on. Generally preferring to eat meat, they've also been known to enjoy the occasional seaweed and berries, so they can be considered omnivores. Some of the typical prey includes many rodents, such as voles and lemmings, as well as birds and eggs.

The fact that their coats change color year-round means they are always camouflaged and able to sneak up on prey. With their wide (but short) ears, an arctic fox can hear its prey moving under the snow. Once it has located its next meal, the fox will pounce straight up then down right on top of its victim. In the fall, the arctic fox will work hard to store up body fat, increasing its weight by up to 50 percent. During winter, when food becomes much scarcer, the arctic fox often will follow polar bears around and then scavenge what it can off a kill once the bear has had its fill.

"They are circumpolar, and found in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Northern Europe and Russia," says Spencer. Their habitat includes dens, which might be in a mound on the open tundra, under a pile of rocks or in the side of a cliff. A fox den has many tunnels with several entrances.

An adult male is called a dog and an adult female is called a vixen. Babies are called kits, and a group of babies born at the same time is called a litter. Older brothers and sisters sometimes help raise the youngest kits. The arctic fox usually breeds once a year, producing a litter of up to 20 dark-furred pups that are born between April and June; gestation is about 52 days.

Pups are weaned about 45 days after birth, and then leave the den to live on their own beginning in September or October of the same year. Young become sexually mature at 9 to 10 months of age.

"Similar to small domestic dogs, they will live 10 to 12 years in human care," says Spencer. "Life span in the wild tends to be much shorter. The record longevity is a little over 16 years."

Although it might be tempting to rush out and get a cute little pet fox as soon as possible, it's important to think about all of the various factors that go into owning this exotic animal.

While you can legally own an arctic fox if you live in the Arctic tundra habitats of Northern Europe, Northern Asia and North America, perhaps the biggest problem of having one is its smell. They have odorous urine similar to the spray that a skunk would emit, and they also secrete odor from glands beneath the fur.

Stubborn and temperamental, they are difficult to train and extremely disobedient as well. But you can train them; you just need to put more effort and time into the process than you would for dogs. If they don't get enough exercise, they also can get bored easily and start chewing furniture and other things. Finally, they need plenty of attention compared with other pet foxes, which means plenty of human interaction.

"There are many local ordinances prohibiting private ownership of wild animals," says Spencer. "You should check with your local government before obtaining any exotic pet."

See more here:
Baby It's Cold Outside! How the Arctic Fox Survives Frigid Temps - HowStuffWorks