Two-tier visa system a ‘kick in the guts’ – RNZ

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An organisation fighting for migrant workers' rights against injustice and exploitation in the workplace, says new rules as part of upcoming border reopening are discriminatory.

Migrant Workers Association NZ spokesperson Anu Kaloti. Photo: Supplied/Anu Kaloti

Migrant Workers Association spokesperson Anu Kaloti said the new visa requirements were unlikely to solve severe skills gaps in the workforce.

With the green light for the border, announced by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday, came a new Green List which is good news to high-skilled occupations on the fast-track to residence list.

But the Migrant Workers Association had raised concerns for those who do not qualify for the high-skilled Green List, and said visas would be harder to come by for migrants in other categories.

The Green List includes roles in sectors like construction, engineering, trades, health workers and tech.

"It kind of seems like the more you earn, the higher privileges you already have, the higher rights you will get," Kaloti told Morning Report.

"It should never be like that."

She said the rules disadvantaged people who were stranded off shore trying to get back into the country, who could have been given auto-extensions on their visas.

The Migrant Workers Association would have liked to see the government include these migrants in the 2021 one-off residence visa - but now they were at the back of the queue.

"That should have been extended to people who still remain stranded off shore and we would have had thousands more come in and fill those skill shortages and those jobs," she said.

"The government is going to just push them further down the chain and make it even difficult for them to be on the pathway to residence.

"Those so-called low-skill, low-wage workers have been essential and critical in the last two years.

"This is a kick in the guts."

She said there was more work to be done by policy makers around making visas equitable.

"The fundamental issues that are causing the skill shortages are not being addressed," she said.

"This seems like a very ill-thought-out plan."

New Zealand's borders will fully open to visitors, workers and students from the end of July - much earlier than expected.

The government is hoping to attract migrants in 85 hard-to-fill roles with the Green List, which includes high-skilled healthcare, engineers, trade and tech sector workers.

Eligible migrants can work here from July and apply for residency in October.

There is a second pathway requiring two years in the job before migrants become eligible for residency. This would also apply to specific roles in health, education, trades, teachers in particular specialisations like science and maths, early childhood teachers, and registered plumbers.

Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi

Meanwhile, Immigration NZ head Alison McDonald said the department was aiming to process the new visas in 20 working days. Ramping up the number of employees may be required to take on an expected influx of applications.

"While the borders have been closed we have still been recruiting," she told Morning Report.

"We've got 231 more staff on shore."

Visitor visas would be processed online to cut down on red tape, she said.

"Visitor visas will be on there, so they will be quicker, and the new accredited work employer visa will be on there too.

"There are no extra checks needs other than the usual health and character check, and we're aiming for 20 working days."

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Two-tier visa system a 'kick in the guts' - RNZ

Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: 9392 new Covid cases and 9 deaths, 7 in ICU – New Zealand Herald

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NZ has just passed a million Covid cases but University of Auckland Senior Lecturer Dr David Welch says the real number of infections could be more than double. Video / NZ Herald

There are 9392 new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today.

A further nine deaths have been reported, including eight people who died over the past two days and one person who has died since May 5.

Today's case numbers were revealed by the Ministry of Health in a statement at 1pm.

There are 398 cases in hospital, including seven people in ICU.

The locations of today's cases are: Northland (243), Auckland (3388), Waikato (664), Bay of Plenty (261), Lakes (144), Hawke's Bay (269), MidCentral (289), Whanganui (89), Taranaki (232), Tairwhiti (84), Wairarapa (96), Capital and Coast (635), Hutt Valley (213), Nelson Marlborough (272), Canterbury (1364), South Canterbury (138), Southern (920) and the West Coast (83).

The location of eight cases is unknown.

Four of the people whose deaths were reported today were from Auckland, and five were from Canterbury.

One person was in their 70s, two people were in their 80s and six people were aged over 90. Four were women and five were men.

Today's seven-day rolling average of community case numbers is 7533, while last Thursday it was 7684.

Meanwhile, 84 Covid-19 cases have been detected at the border.

The people with Covid-19 who are in hospital are in: Northland (11), Waitemat (54), Counties Manukau (32), Auckland: (89), Waikato (42), Bay of Plenty (12), Lakes (four), Hawke's Bay (14), Taranaki (10), MidCentral (23), Wairarapa (two), Hutt Valley (six), Capital and Coast (10), Nelson Marlborough (seven), Canterbury (57), South Canterbury (three), West Coast (five) and Southern (17).

The average age of cases hospitalised in the Northern Region is 60.

The vaccination status of those in Northern region hospitals is:

Unvaccinated or not eligible: 31 cases / 13 per cent Partially immunised Double vaccinated at least 7 days before being reported as a case: 58 cases / 24 per cent Received booster at least 7 days before being reported as a case: 138 cases / 58 per cent Unknown: Five cases / 2 per cent

The Ministry of Health said today's number of community cases was an important reminder to remain vigilant.

There were three things everyone could do to protect themselves and others from the virus.

They were: ensure you were up to date with vaccinations and boosters; wear a mask and remember they are still required in many indoor settings; and stay home and avoid others if you're unwell, isolating or waiting for the results of a Covid-19 test.

"A good rule of thumb is to wear a mask in indoor public settings as we know that mask use halves the risk of spread of Covid-19."

To date, 95.2 per cent of eligible New Zealanders have had two doses of Covid-19 vaccine and 70.8 per cent have been boosted.

The release comes as cases, thought to be plateauing, are increasing in some parts of the country - including Auckland - and also on the same day as it was announced New Zealand's borders will fully reopen two months earlier than the Government initially planned.

Yesterday there were 7970 new cases in the community and 28 Covid-19 related deaths were reported.

The seven-day rolling average of community case numbers was 7420, down from 7746 last Tuesday.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed the full border reopening date would be bought forward from October to July 31, while speaking to a Business NZ lunch in Auckland.

The final part of the staged border reopening will open the country to all visa categories - including tourists, workers, families and students.

Ardern also said pre-departure testing would be removed from the July 31 reopening.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins says international students will be welcome back across the country's schools and tertiary institutions from July 31, with new criteria he says will close a "backdoor to residency" loophole.

New Zealand closed its borders in March 2020 when Covid-19 began to spread and a reopening plan only got under way this year.

Cases then declined to the seven-day moving average low point on April 19 of 1569.

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Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: 9392 new Covid cases and 9 deaths, 7 in ICU - New Zealand Herald

On budget day, will Labour be bold enough to seize back the cost-of-living narrative? – The Spinoff

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Budget 2022: Thisgovernment has shown it can quickly shift tack to deal with the unexpected. To have any chance of regaining the upper hand from the opposition, it must draw on that experience to come up with some bold, clear policy.

In August last year, when finance minister Grant Robertson and other senior ministers sat down to begin planning this years budget, things were very different than they are today.

Delta had just arrived in New Zealand, but vaccines were coming, too. Treasury and the Reserve Bank were projecting that, by mid-2022, the economy would be returning to normal, and the government finances were improving. Inflation had ticked up above 3%, but the Reserve Bank projected it would peak at a reasonable 4.1% in December before easing off.

With those projections in hand, Covid under control, and with the opposition an irrelevancy under Judith Collins, the government could turn its focus to long-term issues. Health, including clearing the DHBs debt, and climate change would be the priorities.

What a difference 10 months make. Inflation is now nearly 7%. Cost of living, which had been a relatively minor issue for voters in 2021, according to the Ipsos Issues Monitor, is now far and away the dominant issue. And, whereas voters rated Labour best to deal with cost-of-living last year (42% vs 25%), they now think National is better (36% vs 29%).

Its pretty clear that this turn, both in facts on the ground and voter opinion, caught Labour by surprise as they focused on the delta, then omicron, outbreaks. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern initially refused to label it a crisis when asked. This risked making herself look out of touch and undermining her core attribute her empathy.

National, however, had seen the political possibilities early. Late last year, they were already talking up the cost of living as an issue. Although they have yet to present any solutions that would lower inflation and have actively opposed measures to increase incomes, being in tune with the public (and having a credible leader) has seen National regain centre-right voters who voted for Labour in 2020, to the point the parties are neck and neck.

Having been in Covid response mode for two years, Labour switched its political radar back on in March, moving quickly to cut excise on fuel and public transport costs, and packaging the (either already announced or automatic) April 1 income boosts as a cost-of-living package. These moves may have arrested Labours polling slide, but the Newshub poll has shown voters overwhelmingly want more from them.

It doesnt matter that record low unemployment and rapidly rising wages mean that the workers total weekly wage packet is up 10.5% compared to a year ago. The 6.9% inflation is more evident we see those higher prices, we feel them, and we turn to the government to fix the problem.

The budget is an opportunity for Labour to seize back the narrative on cost of living, with some bold, clear policy. But will they?

Usually, major decisions on the budget are taken early in the year and it is all but locked in by late March. But this government has experience in quickly shifting tack to deal with the unexpected. In 2020, they had to throw out the budget they had worked on for half a year and write a new one to confront Covid and reignite the economy.

Now, you might think this is a simple decision: politicians are cynical, theyll do what it takes to win votes. Well, part of my job for Labour in opposition was trying to get our policies to not only be good but also be popular. You would be surprised how little the popularity of policies entered discussion. More often, it was a case of MPs deciding this is the policy we think will do good and as an after-thought, can we get someone to work out how to communicate this? Which is very principled, but its no surprise Labour had so many policy disasters that ended up costing them votes.

All of which is to say, Labour will not easily give up on doing all the investments they think are important like the money for tackling domestic violence and police, the extra funding for apprenticeships, and replacing coal boilers in schools. By the time theyve done those investments and invested over $3 billion in health and education just to keep up with costs, theres not going to be a lot left for a cost-of-living policy. Big-ticket items like taking GST off food ($3bn a year) are off the table.

Fortunately, the buoyant economy is producing more tax than expected for the government. It might not last, so Labour couldnt use this windfall for new permanent spending increases or tax cuts, but right now, its deficit is $4bn less than expected that gives them options.

Theres plenty Labour could do cheap dental visits, free public transport, tax cuts. The problem with all of these, apart from the fact theyre ongoing costs and the extra money is one-off, is that they risk just disappearing from public awareness. Seeing that my bus trip now only costs 87c is nice but it doesnt feel like major government action. Most people couldnt tell you their net pay accurately enough to notice a few dollars a week in tax cuts.

No, if I was still advising Labour, I would be looking at the success of the wage subsidy for inspiration. Quick and easy to implement, money in the pocket gives people confidence, and lets them choose to use it on the cost pressures most affecting their families.

A $250 a month cost-of-living payment to the three-quarters of households on under $12,500 a month would be a nice, visible boost. It would be progressive, because it would make the most difference to low-income families, but it also reaches middle-income families who decide elections without giving anything to high-income households. Its also simple for voters to understand and people would notice receiving the money. At a cheeky $300m a month, the government could run it through the rest of the year with the tax windfall its had in recent months. (Would it be inflationary? Maybe a little, but its a minor bump in the $10bn a month of retail sales, and the income boost would outweigh any inflation, particularly for low-income families.)

Im not expecting anything so out of left-field from the budget. For starters, Treasury would have kittens. And Labours thinking was probably already too locked in to develop something in time for the budget close-off.

But, if they dont regain the initiative at the budget, theyll have to act soon after and roll out a series of cost-of-living policies. Labour cannot remain on the back foot on the major issue of the day for long, letting National continue to chip away at them.

Cost of living was not the battle Labour wanted to be fighting right now. They want to be focused on health and climate change. But if theres one thing Jacinda Arderns prime ministership has proved, its that governing isnt just about fulfilling your plans, its also about dealing with crises as they emerge. If Labour wants to enter 2023 in an election-winning position, they need to show voters they are on their side by tackling the cost-of-living crisis head-on, and soon.

Clint Smith was a policy and communications adviser to the Labour and Green parties, working on three alternative budgets, and the 2018 budget. He now runs Victor Strategy and Communications.

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On budget day, will Labour be bold enough to seize back the cost-of-living narrative? - The Spinoff

‘It was a Mecca for hedonism’: Haienda legends share memories of the iconic club – I Love Manchester

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It may have closed in 1997, but The Haienda and its spirit have become synonymous with Manchesters musical and cultural history.

At the forefront of music and youth culture in the 80s and early 90s, the legendary venue unleashed the acid house and rave scene, brought us bands like New Order via Tony Wilsons Factory Records, and influenced many others, including Oasis.

But it wasnt just about Manchester. Named The Most Famous Club In The World byNewsweek Magazine, The Haiendas influence extended across the globe.

Now, as The Haienda prepares to celebrate its 40th birthday with an epic party on the original site, we spoke to Peter Hook, DJ Paulette and Graeme Park to find out what it was really like to be part of it.

The Haienda was so popular everywhere because there was nothing else like it, says Haienda resident and house pioneer Graeme.

It was kind of like the blueprint for everything else that followed.

The guys that set up Cream used to come to The Haienda and said, we want to do this in Liverpool. Similarly, the guys who set up Ministry of Sound came along, also Renaissance.

The whole of the London record industry used to come up to Manchester on a Friday night because they wanted to hear the tracks that Mike [Pickering] and I played and sign them for their labels. People travelled from all over.

It was like a Mecca for hedonism, really.

You didnt have to dress up, there were no rules on the door, and Mike and I played records you just couldnt hear anywhere else at the time.

People flocked to the Hacienda to escape, and they lost their minds.

DJ Paulette says she was desperate to be a part of the club.

My first encounter with The Haienda? Its funny, it was before I was working for Piccadilly Radio. I really wanted to come to a night here, so I lied and said I was a journalist writing a feature on it, she laughs.

I got in on a complete blag.

Then I was there all the time. I managed to get a lifetime membership. I used to drag everyone there.

Before The Haienda, people went to clubs depending on what music they were into, and dressed to fit, says Graeme.

At The Haienda, all those rules went out of the window.

You had barristers dancing next to cleaners, next to nurses, next to football hooligans, next to accountants all together. Nobody cared, everyone just got on as one happy family.

The Haienda is so important, culturally speaking, because it changed the landscape of clubbing in the UK and beyond, believes Graeme.

It was the first of its kind. And its had such an effect on people. People met their life partners at The Haienda. Or maybe they met someone else and got a new partner.

Ive had people tell me their children were actually conceived at The Haienda, or after a night there.

DJing at Flesh every month was memorable in its own right, says DJ Paulette.

You brought your A-game. The Haienda was special anyway, but Flesh was multiplied, it was so colourful, it was about being out and safe and happy.

The building was iconic. The DJs became superstar DJs, and legends themselves. It keeps evolving, it never ended.

It was a cultural and creative hub and melting pot.

Its hard to quantify how many people The Haienda has touched. Its about so much more than just the club.

Peter Hook agrees that it is amazing to be here to celebrate the 40th birthday and to trumpet the legacy and the changes that The Haienda and Factory Records made to music, to culture and to fashion.

I dont think well see the like of it again. It was a revolution, says Peter.

The Haienda managed post-punk, Acid House, and Madchester and they went right round the world.

To be in one place at the right time was pretty good, but to be in as many as I was Factory Records, Joy Division, New Order and The Haienda was f***ing amazing.

The legacy for me is about inclusivity. About being open to doing anything, with anybody and reaping the benefits of being nice.

These moments have been so special in my life, and were so lucky to now have another one.

Another rave, in a car park, in Manchester and streaming globally, too.

Adds Graeme: Ten years ago, if you didnt manage to get a ticket to the 30th birthday, you didnt get in.

But now, you can log on, pour yourself a drink, plug your device into some massive speakers, get your friends over, and party like its 1988.

The Hacienda 40th Birthday Party Pt 1 will take place on Saturday 21st May 2022, 6pm to 2am at The Hacienda Apartments, 11 15 Whitworth Street West, M1 5DD. Tickets on pre-sale 10am Thurs 12th May 2022 and on general sale 10am Fri 13th May 2022 atfac51-thehacienda.com.

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The singers changing the sound of Toronto R&B – CBC.ca

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Jon Vinyl and Dylan Sinclair are two of the artists bringing forth a more sensitive, introspective lens to Toronto's R&B scene. (Vinyl: Jamil Hamilton, Sinclair: What I Like Studios)

I first heard of Jon Vinyl the honey-voiced singer-songwriter from Pickering, Ont. a few years ago, while serving on a Canadian music jury. His single "Work" caught my attention. I listened to it twice, then jotted down Jon's name in my notes as a name to watch.

"You see this life it comes and goes/But you the only one that got me wishing," he sings on the track, his earnest voice floating over the early '00s-reminiscent production. "All our moments stay frozen/But I'm still hoping" So sweet, right?

A few years later, I came across Jon again. This time, he had a debut project in tow the aptly-titled Lost in You. Today, Jon celebrates his work and love or love and work, whichever comes first attending his first Junos with a heavy nomination in hand (album of the year within his genre), a huge feat for the swoon-worthy artist.

The more I listened to Jon, the more I realized how much the literal sound of R&B was changing in Toronto and its suburbsspecifically, how male artists were trading in hedonism for vulnerability, ushering in a homegrown return to warmer narratives and sonic ambitions. While Toronto R&B went global with artists like The Weeknd, PARTYNEXTDOOR, and sometimes Drake, their version of confessional-style, desire-fueled writing was a departure from the city's more recent R&B history.

For this piece, I spoke to two singer-songwriters leading the new cohort: Jon Vinyl and Dylan Sinclair. Together, they describe the changing temperature of this music coming from where we come from particularly, what happens when we chase love and dreams, instead of pure desire.

"Some days I have to remind myself where I started and how far I've come because it's so easy to get caught up and forget to slow down to celebrate the wins," Jon shares with me. While things may look rosy for him now, Jon's been at it for the better part of a decade. Through the ups and downs, rejections and pauses, there wasn't much to keep him focused and grounded. Luckily for him, his work was (and is) his comfort. Again, luckily for him, his heartwork bloomed into his success. "My music is sort of a cross-breed between the classic, sultry old school R&B we know and love, mixed with the raw emotion of modern Soul, with a hint of savagery," he describes to me cheekily. But to the outside world (that is, the powers that be in the Canadian music industry), his music loosely falls within the stylings of R&B and Soul.

Unlike other artists coming up in an increasingly genre-fluid landscape (and with a curiously out-of-touch population watching them), the categorization doesn't bother Jon much. Instead, he uses it as an opportunity to think about what R&B allows him to unpack and process for himself and his listeners. To him, R&B represents something expansive, something forming, still. "I feel like R&B is the best avenue to break through stigmas around male emotion and masculinity," he says.

Growing up, Jon would memorize lyrics and perform them anywhere he could. From his mother's weekend morning cleaning soundtrack to the jukebox selections at Fran's Diner in downtown Toronto, where his family would frequent, Jon developed an interesting sort of musical taste.

"For years I would imitate my musical idols like Luther Vandross, Jully Black and Oscar Peterson," he says. "I'm totally a sucker for some old school R&B from Luther Vandross, Maxwell, Jodeci. But I'm also really into contemporary R&B like Phabo, Arin Ray and Destin Conrad." More than anything, it seemed, Jon's interests were piqued by artists melding 'new' and 'old' school vibes, sounds, aesthetics.

In a similar vein of inspiration is Dylan Sinclair a Thornhill-raised church kid turned city boy and heartfelt crooner. In 2020, Sinclair self-released Proverb, his hazy, intimate eight-track debut. It went on to earn him the nomination Jon celebrates this year. When I ask him of his inspiration, and what about R&B ignites that inspiration, Sinclair ponders. "I love R&B drum patterns, I love the chords that happen," he tells me. "Especially when you blend that with the church feeling I grew up with that's what makes all this so exciting to me. Being able to create music that feels close to home."

Raised by his music-loving (and music-making) family,namely his grandfather, who he used to perform duets withsinging is as natural as anything else to Sinclair. In the eleventh grade, Sinclair tried his hand at songwriting, toying with what would become his fate. Along the way, he met Jordon Manswell and Zachary Simmons, two of his co-conspirators and friends. They've been scheming ever since.

Today, Sinclair drops his follow-up EP to Proverb, titled No Longer in the Suburbs. When I ask him what it is that he prioritizes in his own process, the young artist takes a moment. "I had to look at myself and think, 'what am I really good at?'" A true student of the craft and of the city, he lists off the strengths of the singers who preceded his own buzz: Daniel Caesar's falsetto and reimagination of the church sound, for example, or PartyNextDoor's ability to formulaically construct a feeling. While he admires all they've done, his focus is elsewhere.

Learning into the throughline of what's earned success for himself and his peers,authenticity, groundedness, consistencySinclair's betting on himself. "I had to step outside all the soundsthis artist sound, that artist sound, the Toronto sound," Sinclair says to me surely. "I want to see what comes from me."

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The singers changing the sound of Toronto R&B - CBC.ca

HBO leaks Westworld S4 teaser trailer and June 26th release date – The Verge

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HBOs puzzle-filled robot show that always packed extra sides of hedonism and murder is close to making its return, as fans apparently dug up a teaser trailer for season four of Westworld before its scheduled debut.

HBO media relations director Chris Godefroy confirmed it was an Easter Egg set up for dedicated fans, and as weve seen ahead of previous seasons, there will be more to come. You can watch it right here on HBOs YouTube channel (via Reddit), to see that many of our android friends, foes, and friends who didnt know they were androids will continue to have roles to play. This link showed up on Thrillists Instagram story over a picture of NYC, teasing a setting in the upcoming season.

On Tuesday HBO made the news official, confirming returning cast members Evan Rachel Wood, Thandiwe Newton, Ed Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Tessa Thompson, Luke Hemsworth, Aaron Paul, and Angela Sarafyan. It also mentioned new recurring guest star Ariana DeBose, who recently won an Oscar for her performance in West Side Story.

Id go more into the potential plot lines revealed in the flashes and scenes, but even after sticking around for seasons one and two, I dont really remember watching season three of this show. Launching roughly two months ahead of the debut of HBO Max and squarely in the center of early coronavirus pandemic lockdowns here in the US on March 15th, 2020, the third season didnt quite have the impact of the first two.

The teaser wraps up by promising a release date for season four on June 26th, 2022, with eight episodes planned. The early warning is appreciated, because now I have time to try and watch season three again.

Correction May 9th, 11:15PM ET: Updated to note the trailer link is an Easter Egg ahead of the new season, not a leak, as it first popped up in an Instagram story for fans to find.

Update May 10th, 3:15PM ET: Added cast information from the official PR.

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HBO leaks Westworld S4 teaser trailer and June 26th release date - The Verge

Steak. Caviar. Lingering over bottles of wine. Has the power lunch returned? – The Boston Globe

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At OAK Long Bar + Kitchen at the Fairmont Copley Plaza, office workers from John Hancock and Wayfair are returning, and in larger configurations, says food and beverage director Jean-Philippe Cote. Theyre lingering longer and even drinking (gin and tonics, mostly).

People are happy to come to lunch in groups who havent seen one another for a while, Cote says. Instead of quick salads, theyre gravitating toward bigger-ticket items such as $55 ribeye and $36 halibut.

In the aftermath of two-plus years confined to sad home sandwiches and stiff Zoom meetings, is the business lunch back, persistent pandemic be damned? Ross Chanowski, CEO of small-business investment platform NuMarket, sure hopes so. While he acknowledges that risk tolerance varies, hes begun enjoying in-person lunch meetings again with those willing to take them.

It felt great like I was an intern entering the working world. Youve lost the muscle memory, but at the same time, youre excited to be back on a bicycle, he says, recalling his return to the dining scene at places like the South Ends Buttery and Mamalehs in Kendall Square.

[After] two years of having all of your person-to-person experience be in a very delineated environment: 45 minutes on the calendar, heres the Zoom invite, suddenly we have this more open, natural human-to human interaction, he says.

Fellow lunch-lover Jennifer Hernandez runs Worcesters GEM Marketing Solutions. Shes grateful for their return, calling Zoom meetings terrible for their lack of personal connection.

I want my client to feel that I care, feel my enthusiasm about their business goals, and feel supported, she says. Taking the time to have these power lunches makes them feel heard and appreciated.

And, to that extent, a pent-up hedonism has been unleashed on the midday lunching landscape. At the Banks Fish House on Stuart Street, chef-partner Robert Sisca is doing about 100 covers at lunch an uptick that started around March and a busy after-hours drinks business consisting mainly of people in suits, he says, from nearby businesses such as John Hancock and Liberty Mutual.

You feel a vibe and an energy picking up, he says.

While business isnt at pre-COVID levels, the experience itself recalls three-martini lunches of yore. Workers who either stood aimless in front of an open refrigerator at lunchtime in their pajamas or rushed out for a quick salad and darted back to their desk now want to live a little, it seems.

[People] want to spend money. Were seeing more caviar and tons of oysters, he says.

At swank steakhouse Abe & Louies, site of many a pre-COVID power meeting, guests are networking, talking, and actually enjoying their lunch again, says general manager Dave Wilson, whos seen many dining trends come and go since starting his career at Bennigans on Stuart Street in 1992. Theres really no time limit. They call it a working lunch. Theyre not running out the door in under an hour.

On the menu: ribeye, filet mignon, and lobster casserole. Wilson senses that customers might have bigger expense accounts these days, maybe because budgets have been cut elsewhere, particularly for travel.

They have bigger discretionary funds to come in. Rather than get the salad, theyll get the steak and salad. Rather than get the glass of wine, theyre going to get the bottle, he says, noting that his bar is standing-room-only by 5 p.m.

People have been stuck at home, and their palates changed. I feel people are more relaxed, and theres less pressure to go to work on time. People are here for a good time and they realize, we went through a big event and we need to enjoy our lives, OAKs Cote agrees.

On a good day, hell do about 200 lunch covers. But those good days are variable; many offices are shifting to hybrid schedules wherein workers commute in for half the week and stay home other days.

Around the corner at Precinct Kitchen + Bar at the Loews Hotel, The most significant change is Fridays, says general manager Robert Rivers. He reopened his restaurant, which offers a roomy patio, on April 1 for lunch.

I drive in from North Andover, and it feels like a Saturday, he says.

But when groups from nearby Deloitte, Draft Kings, or John Hancock do come in midweek, they tend to linger longer.

For Brian Poe, who has reintroduced lunch at his Tip Tap Room near Beacon Hill, its a go-go throwback to his early days at the Bostonian Hotel 20 years ago. He noticed a change in mid-March or so, when employees from Mass General, Government Center, and Verizon began coming in and ordering fancy dishes. For a while, he wasnt sure what to serve. It quickly became apparent that people wanted to splash out, unwind, and enjoy themselves.

People are willing to order higher-end stuff. They want to get back out and have a nice meal: lobster bisque and tenderloin tips, he says. They have a good lunch, a good glass of wine, a good beer. (And, thus fortified, maybe clock out of work early.)

Theres one downside to all this newfound togetherness, though.

I just had two tables of colleagues who asked not to be seated next to each other when they came in, Poe says, laughing. It was: I just spent three hours with you. Im done.

Kara Baskin can be reached at kara.baskin@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @kcbaskin.

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Steak. Caviar. Lingering over bottles of wine. Has the power lunch returned? - The Boston Globe

VIDEO: INTERVIEW Magdalena Bay Talk Debut Album ‘Mercurial World’, Transition From Progressive Rock to Pop, And More! – B-Sides On-Air & Online

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Entering the world of Magdalena Bay is an electronic synth-pop experience that feels like no other. The duo, consisting of Mica Tenenbaum and Matt Lewin, has developed an eclectic style unlike any other. Their music is reminiscent of an infinite time loop of fluorescent sonics. What started as a high school project has turned out to be a successful venture into musical discoveries and speedy evolution for the two. Magdalena Bay started out as a progressive rock pursuit of music, but has since transformed into an otherworldly, pop-focused oasis. Tenenbaum and Lewin had to transition from layering technical aspects of progressive rock to mastering computerized sounds for the rapid growth of the young project. Now, with a refined sound and a debut album, Mercurial World, out, the duo is catching the attention of music lovers all over the internet. The realm created by Magdalena Bays music is a fantastical take on existential crisis and hedonism, sprinkled with wrinkles in time. For instance, the first track of Mercurial World is called The End. The last one is called (you guessed it!) The Beginning. This is just one example of how the duo creates their own definitions of reality within their art, combining their escapist sound with colorful visuals and relativistic lyricism. Looking at Magdalena Bays timeline, it looks like the transition from rock to pop has been more than successful for the duo. Not only have they become experts in the genre, but they also created their own space in it. When you get into electronic music and pop music, your palette expands infinitely, Lewin exclaims, where anything could be anything.

Magdalena Bay spoke to B-Sides about their debut album Mercurial World, how they transitioned from making progressive rock in their earlier band to pop music, and comparing its complexities.

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VIDEO: INTERVIEW Magdalena Bay Talk Debut Album 'Mercurial World', Transition From Progressive Rock to Pop, And More! - B-Sides On-Air & Online

85k fine warning for Brits heading to Spanish islands this summer – Coventry Live

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British holidaymakers seeking hedonism in the sun are being warned they could fined as much as 85,000 if they attend an illegal party in the Balearics. The British Embassy has warned tourists heading for Ibiza and Majorca against going to such gatherings.

It says that while parties at licenced establishments are commonplace across the islands, those that are held in villas and in private homes are illegal. The warning applies to British citizens on holiday in the country and comes following a number of worrying incidents, reports Birmingham Live.

A spokesman for the British Embassy said: "There have been a number of serious accidents involving people attending irregular commercially promoted parties in villas and private homes on the islands of Ibiza and Majorca. Licensed clubs and bars are required to meet safety and security standards, including emergency exits and capacity limits, and to have trained, licensed security staff. Irregular commercial parties may not meet these standards."

READ MORE:Radio 1 DJ Jordan North to host masterclass in Coventry ahead of Big Weekend 2022

The government adds: "You should take care of your belongings, ensure you know where emergency exits are located and not take unnecessary risks. Heavy fines may be imposed by local authorities to anyone attending irregular commercial parties."

The new regulations, which come into force this summer, have been presented by Balearic councillor for the Presidency, Mercedes Garrido, and the president of the Council of Ibiza, Vicent Mari. They are keen to put a stop to illegal parties which have increased "exponentially" in the last two years with the closure of discotheques due to the pandemic, said Mar.

Landlords who rent out properties where these parties are held will also be fined between 100,000 and 300,000 euro, as they will be held responsible for them. Under the new rules financial punishment could filter down to the attendees, with fines of between 300 and 30,000 euro possible depending on the seriousness of the infringement.

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85k fine warning for Brits heading to Spanish islands this summer - Coventry Live

Vampires and Metal: A Match Made in Hell – Metal Addicts

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Formetal fans, one of the major draws of the genre has always been its affinity for the dark side. Metal has a unique ability to explore the darker impulses of human nature, while also wrenching the listener between giddy euphoria and sinister despair at the drop of a hat.

As such, the metal genre has lent itself well to other cultural tropes, chief among these is the vampire genre.

From Ozzy Osbournes affinity for bats to the spate of hit vampire films that are furnished with stellar metal soundtracks, it seems that vampires and metal are a match made in hell. Lets take a closer look at why metal fans and vampire fans have plenty in common.

In the annals of music, no genre has paid ode to the fanged undead as much as metal. There are countless iconic metal songs that celebrate vampire tropes or find fitting parallels between the myth of the vampire and the heavy metal archetype of the dark-sided hedonist.

For true metal fans, Cradle of Filth is the ultimate vampire-loving band. This is bestexemplified by their unforgettable trackFuneral in Carpathia, with tells the tale of Count Dracula commanding his army of the undead to take over the underworld, complete with bat-swarm drumbeats and piercing shrieks.

On a more humorous note, theres Black Dahlia Murders hit trackNocturnal, which tells the tale of a secret vampire society living parallel to our own, plotting ceaselessly to murder the sun. For 80s metal excellence, Slayers legendary trackAt Dawn They Sleepis a riotous celebration of the unceasing evil and hedonism of a vampiric cult, one that will have you thrashing about the room in no time.

The crossover between metal and vampires is not only confined to music. In the rich genre of vampire films, youll find no shortage of truly epic death metal soundtracks that accompany the on-screen excess. Theres the iconic Aaliyah filmQueen of the Damned, which has a metal-tastic soundtrack compiled by none other thanKorns Jonathan Davis and Richard Gibbs.

Theres the 2000 vampire slasher filmDracula, which saw the debut of Slayers chart-topping songBloodline, as well as contributions from Disturbed, System of a Down, Monster Magnet, and Pantera.

For some lighthearted metal weirdness, the 2015 comedy-horrorDeathgasmtells the tale of a metalhead who accidentally summons hordes of vampires and the undead with his guitar, complete with a soundtrack from Skull Fist, Midnight, and Emperor.

If youre a metal fan who also has a fond appreciation for vampires, there are also plenty of games for you to try out. TheresVampire: The Masquerade, where you can play as a powerful vampire lord marauding his way through the land of the living. Then theres the 2018 gameVampyr, in which you play a freshly-bitten victim who must satisfy his bloodlust on the streets of WW1-era London.

Beyond this, there are also online casino slot games that feature plenty of vampire aesthetics, alongside real cash prizes. There are many examples to choose from, but one of the most popular right now is Blood Suckers.

This 5-reel slot is named as one of the most popular real money games on this guide to PayPal casinos and features plenty of vampiric characters that wouldnt look out of place in a contemporary metal band. For those who get lucky, a top prize of $45,000 is also up for grabs.

The vampire canon and the heavy metal genre have a lot in common, and we can probably expect plenty more metal songs that feature vampires, as well as plenty of vampire movies with death metal soundtracks.

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Vampires and Metal: A Match Made in Hell - Metal Addicts

May 8 Letters to the Editor, Part 3: Our Readers’ Opinions – Lewiston Morning Tribune

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Little, Bedke, Critchfield

Its great to see so much interest in our political system. Its sad to see so much disinformation, distortion and outright lies about our leaders. If one were to believe the distortions, then we live in a nasty hell hole where we enthusiastically promote hedonism, abortion, porno in schools, critical race theory, corruption, gender identity confusion and gun confiscation.

Of course, none of this is true. And Idaho is not a hell hole.

Idaho is, in fact, one of only five states to defund CRT. Period.

We have powerful protections for gun ownership. Period.

We have outlawed abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Period.

We passed laws making it illegal for men to compete in womens sports. Period.

We have a budget surplus. Period.

We are the least regulated state in the Union. Period.

Ill be voting for the leaders who made that happen: Brad Little, Scott Bedke and Debbie Critchfield for starters. I hope you do, too.

I hope that most of the folks who read Eric Petersons May 5 letter to editor did a little research on their own. For instance, Idaho Code returns all civil rights to felons who have discharged their sentence, except the right to firearms. This includes those from other states. See Idaho Code Title 18, Chapter 3.

Its sad that some Republicans can overlook the past legal history of some people and nominate them to fill a state legislative office and then turn around and attempt to destroy another person who wants to be a precinct committeeman, the lowest position in the party hierarchy.

Bradburys ads irrelevant

As an attorney practicing primarily in Nez Perce County for the last 26 years, I am very interested in the 2nd District Court judicial election. I was especially curious why John Bradbury would want to run for the same position he held in Idaho County from 2003 until he retired in 2011.

Unfortunately, Bradburys series of advertisements in this newspaper titled Why Im running for district judge dont answer the question their title promises.

He raises some legitimate issues. Some of his positions I agree with and some I dont. But that is not the point.

The issues Bradbury raises will not be changed one bit by who wins this election. They are mostly questions of policy and politics and would be most effectively raised with the Legislature, Supreme Court and the Idaho Judicial Council.

Instead of dwelling on the legitimate, but unrelated issues raised by Bradburys ads, voters should focus on which of the candidates would be the best judge.

In her bid to outlast Scott Bedke in the May 17 primary election, Priscilla Giddings has posted more than 35 campaign emails. Each one duplicates the same format and fomentations. ...

She should have just typed ditto.

Here is a consolidation of her thematic redundancies peppered with pleas for donations. (The number of repetitions is parenthesized):

Send $$; Bedkes special interests/deep pocket donors (17).

Send $$; Bedkes corporate friends (37).

Send $$; Bedke closing the campaign donation gap (17).

Unsurprisingly, her propaganda is loaded with Second Amendment protection promises (43) punctuated by the giveaway of two AK-15 assault weapons as a donation enticement and more fear-mongering.

With decades of take your guns alarms, who can actually cite one instance of the government confiscating citizen guns without lawful purpose?

And the clincher? The National Rifle Association endorsed Bedke.

Giddings decries big government spending yet she has long been attached to the government tit as the child of public employees, as a military member and state legislator.

Her legislative career has been sketchy a second-string qualifier enabled to win in the monopolistic deep red state (formerly known as Idaho).

The highlights: She lied to the House Ethics Committee, reneged on a critical public debate, purposely outed the identity of a rape victim and repeatedly voted against education funding and Medicaid expansion.

The lieutenant governor should be a bright star with diplomatic credentials, leadership talent and a positive demeanor. Giddings doesnt qualify.

I am writing in support of Lynn Guyer for the Idaho House in District 7.

I first met Guyer when I was working as a probation/parole officer in Lewiston and he was a probation/parole officer in District 3 Caldwell-Nampa. I found Guyer to be extremely honest and ethical. We have kept in touch since my and his retirements.

He has strong Christian values and will work hard for District 7.

He is also the only candidate in this race to be endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, Idaho Professional Firefighters and the Idaho Education Association.

I believe that Lynn would make an excellent representative.

Its time to get rid of career RINO politicians like Brad Little, Scott Bedke, Lawrence Wasden and lets not forget Carl Crabtree and others who have become so deeply embedded in the pockets of lobbyists, they have forgotten why we put them in office.

We are losing our state to national and global interests whose sole purpose is to take away our liberties and freedoms.

While Little, Bedke and Wasden were cozying up to lobbyists, Rep. Priscilla Giddings was serving and defending our country as a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot.

She loves our country, our state, our flag and will fight to defend our liberties and freedoms.

Giddings is the right choice for lieutenant governor.

Crabtree says hes for parental rights and education but his voting record indicates otherwise. He votes yes in committee but votes no on the Senate floor, clearly appeasing the powerful teachers unions. Crabtree can no longer be trusted to do what is in the best interest of our children, our schools and our Idaho.

My vote goes to hard-core conservative Cindy Carlson for the Idaho Senate.

We need a watchdog like Carlson in the Capitol, to fight for our freedoms guard against government overreach and protect our most valuable assets, our children.

Other conservative Republicans to vote for are: Janice McGeachin, governor; Dorothy Moon, secretary of state; Mike Kingsley, District 7A representative and other conservatives.

Quote from Rep. Heather Scott: Vote May 17 like your liberties and freedoms depend on it. They do.

We like Mike Mike Kingsley, who is running to represent District 7 in Nez Perce, Adams, and Idaho counties.

He has a proven conservative voting record as a District 6 representative. Some of his endorsements include the Farm Bureau, Idaho Chooses Life, Gem State Patriot and the National Rifle Association.

As a current representative, Kingsley works hard to defend the unborn, reduce property taxes and stop government overreach.

He also understands how crucial dams are to our region. According to Kinglsey, We can save fish without destroying livelihoods, power generation, transportation, recreation and our rural communities. Vote for Mike Kingsley on May 17 because Idaho is too great to liberal.

Attacking the middle class

Rich elites are donating to and voting for Democrats.

Super-wealthy media giants, corporate boards, public unions, sports franchises and so on, are all singing from the same radical sheet music.

Thundering to the left, they virtue signal and donate their billions to the Marxist extremists that have stampeded the Democratic Party over a cliff.

A lawless and violent underclass is taking over your streets, enabled by wealthy criminal syndicates running the deteriorating (Democratic) cities.

Runaway inflation punishes the middle class as it further entrenches the entitled welfare state.

The commarxucrats are crazy like a rabid fox.

Every one of their seemingly insane policies is a calculated attack on the middle class.

Marxism requires a ruling oligarchy of wealthy elites and a subservient underclass of have-nots.

There can be no in-between.

A healthy and productive middle class is the surest defense against an all-out Marxist takeover.

Open borders? Runaway inflation? Lockdowns? Small business closures? High fuel prices?

Universities that are actually Marxist training camps?

State agencies that coddle criminals while being weaponized against law-abiding citizens?

These are not coincidental. They are all part of a coordinated attack on the middle class.

The cardboard recycle bins in Clarkston are often overflowing and there is almost no room to put cardboard boxes in them. Sometimes during the holidays, such as Christmas, there is no room at all.

I would like to encourage everyone to break down their cardboard boxes so more cardboard can be recycled and people dont have to haul their cardboard back home because there is no room left in the recycle bin.

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May 8 Letters to the Editor, Part 3: Our Readers' Opinions - Lewiston Morning Tribune

China’s Anti-Corruption Campaign: Tigers, Flies, and Everything in Between – The Diplomat

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Corruption in China is not a recent phenomenon; nor are anti-corruption efforts initiated by the party-state. Corruption features prominently in Chinas history, but the practice became increasingly visible after the reform and opening up of 1978. The injection of capital created opportunities for Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and state officials to exploit state resources for private gain. Tackling corruption took a back seat as China embraced capital and private enterprise, reflected in Deng Xiaopings phrase to get rich is glorious.

Nearly four decades later, in November 2012, Chinas outgoing leader Hu Jintao was warningthe country that systemic corruption could lead to the downfall of the CCP and the Peoples Republic of China. Picking up where Hu left off, Xi Jinping, in his first speech as the CCPs general secretary,highlightedgraft and corruption as the most pressing challenge confronting the party. A decade later, Xis anti-corruption drive is an all-encompassing campaign sweeping across the party, state, and private enterprises, eliminating his political opponents and becoming a hallmark of his tenure as Chinas top leader.

Anti-corruption investigations in China are carried out by the Central Committee for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Supervision Commission (NSC). The CCDI in particular is at the core of corruption investigations at the central and provincial level, investigating and punishing more than 4 million cadres and nearly 500 seniorofficialssince Xi took office in 2012. The CCDI even has its own TV program called Zero Tolerance, an annualproductionpopular with the public for showcasing the bodys work in tacking graft and exposing the corruption and opulence of high-ranking members in the party.

Since 2018, the anti-corruption campaign has focused on non-CCP members as well, made possible by the formation of the NSC and passage of the Supervision Law to govern its operations. The Supervision Law widenedthe range of targets to include managers of state-owned enterprises, administrators in public institutions, and state officials across government branches. The anti-corruption campaign coincides with the arrival of Xi Jinping, evidenced by data released by the CCDI, which shows anincrease in the prosecution of senior officials in 2013 compared to 2012. The inclusion in the campaign of both tigers and flies, of party and state officials, and of rivals and allies has several pressing implications for elite politics in China and public perception of Xis regime.

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Ideology and Discipline

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The anti-corruption campaign was set in motion by a sensational scandal in February 2012 involving the head of Chongqings Public Security Bureau, who fledto the U.S. consulate in Chengdu in a bid to claim asylum in the United States. The incident revealed the allegedmurderof a British businessman, which snowballed into rumors of a coup plot against Xi Jinping by Bo Xilai, party secretary of Chongqing, and Zhou Yongkang, secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission and a member of the 17th Politburo Standing Committee. Soon after the incident, Bo wasdismissedfrom the CCP and eventually sentenced to life in prison for bribery, abuse of power, and embezzlement.

The incident was followed by another high-profile investigation, this time focused on Liu Zhijun, the minister of railways responsible for Chinas sprawling high-speed railway network. Lius case was by far one of the most widelyfollowednews stories in China and the prosecutions recommendation that he be given a lenient sentence was met with unanimous opposition by citizens across the country. These incidents cultivated the necessary public support for an anti-corruption campaign that was then in its infancy; however, this public support remains misguided by CCP propaganda.

The anti-corruption campaign was supported by a Party Education Program (PEP) in 2012, the first of three such ideological education campaigns launched by Xi in his first term. The Mass Line Program targeted Party cadres in order to rectifybehaviors like hedonism, superficial conformity, and inactiveness. The Politburo followed up with a directive called the Eight Provisions in December 2012 that set concrete regulations to instill discipline among party cadres: emphasizing regular inspection visits to the local level, prohibiting ribbon cutting and cornerstone laying ceremonies, reducing the number of foreign visits, reducing traffic controls when officials travel, and placing other budgetary restrictions on the use of public finance for business meals and government cars. These provisions essentially set the rules for acceptable behavior by CCP officials and thus have become the basis for launching investigations.

In operation for two years, the Mass Line Program was apopulistmeasure emphasizing austerity that removed the perks associated with CCP positions. In the first year of the campaign, more than 30,000 party officials wereinvestigatedand 7,600 of them were sanctioned for violations of the Eight Provisions. The second and third ideological campaigns, the Three Stricts and Two Studies programs, were slightly different in emphasis, focusing on political discipline and protocols that ensure loyalty to the party center and Xi Jinping.

The Three Strictscampaign was focused on the ethical conduct of CCP officials, including offenses like ideological deviance, sedition, espionage, and treason. The concept of political protocols became popular between 2014 and 2016, with Xi urging officials to follow the unified party center and later prohibiting alliance-forming activity. One prominent example of prosecution for conducting unorganized political activity was the case against Ling Jihua, Hu Jintaos former chief of staff, who was accused of organizing a factionalgroupcalled the Xishan society. Similarly, nearly 300 membersconnectedto Zhou Yongkang were questioned or detained in 2014, while other leaders within the Sichuan faction were investigated as well. Zhou himself was put on trial and imprisoned for life, both firsts for a former Politburo Standing Committee member.

On the other hand, Hebei Party Secretary Zhou Benshun was chargedfor expressing a dissenting opinion on the Eight Provisions directive by the Politburo, defying the orders of the party center. Policing political discipline and loyalty to the party center and later, Xi personally as the core leader became the defining feature of the second wave of anti-corruption efforts. By 2017, 15,000 party members had received punishment for violations of CCP discipline, more than the number of officialspunishedduring the Tiananmen purge of 1989-1992. Another highlight of the political discipline campaign was the expulsion of 63 military generals, the largest such anti-corruption effort targeting the military in Chinas modern history.

The ideology campaign, which had morphed into a political discipline campaign, maintained its intensity until 2018, and then expanded its reach to include the private sector, which continues to this day. The campaigns have heavily relied on disciplinary mechanisms like the CCDI and Central Inspection Teams (CITs) while punishment is mostly carried out by CCP organizations and later handled by the states judicial bodies. The CCDI is now highly institutionalized; it tackles corruption and roots out cliques and individuals challenging the authority of the party core, Xi Jinping.

Expanded Focus

The scope of the anti-corruption campaign has expanded to countries outside China as well, as evidenced by OperationFox Huntand OperationSky Net. In 2015, the Chinese government released a list of 100 most-wanted fugitives who had fled to foreign countries; by 2017, the anti-corruption organization had managedto bring back 40 individuals on the list.

In 2018 alone, more than 1,000 Chinese fugitiveswho fled abroad were brought back to the country, of which 307 were party or government officials. The most high profileincidentincluded the disappearance of the first Chinese head of Interpol, Meng Hongwei, who was detained in September 2018during a visit to China and later sentenced to 13 years in jail.

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Between 2018 and 2020, the NSCclaimedin its first work report that it brought back 3,848 fugitives from abroad and nearly 10 billion renminbi in illegal funds. The operation to bring back fugitives from foreign countries is focused on white-collar criminals, but is also deployed totargetdissidents and political opponents.

The expansion of the CCDI and NSCs operations abroad also accompanied a shift in the emphasis of the campaign. The CCDI has targeted bureaucratic inefficiency and performance-related issues, such as the failure to meet key performance indicators, unaccountability to constituents, and the lack of compliance with directives issued by the party center. For example, in January 2022, the Zhengzhou city party chief, Xu Liyi, and 89 other officials were disciplinedfor their poor handling of theHenan floods, which claimed the lives of 380 people in the city. Similarly, after an investigation by the CCDI into Hubeis early COVID-19 response, the provinces party chief, Jiang Chaoliang, and the director of the provincial health commission weredismissedfrom their posts.

Most recently, the anti-corruption campaign has turned its attention to financial regulators, whom the CCDI has accusedof wielding regulatory power for personal gain, describing a revolving door relationship between business and government. The CCDI in October 2021 initiated a two-month longinspection of more than 20 financial institutions, including banks, stock exchanges, insurance regulators, and asset management companies. So far, more than 40 officialsin the financial sector have been investigated by the CCDI for financial crimes and violations of political discipline.

One example is the case of Zhou Jiangyong, the Hangzhou party secretary with closetiesto Alibaba, who wasexpelled for profiting from the disorderly expansion of private companies. The targeting of private companies and SOEs that began with a crackdown on tech companies and education firms has now swept through the financial sector. Most recently, in April of this year, nearly 17 officials includingthe president of China Merchants Bank, Tian Huiyu, were investigated or punished for violations of political discipline.

Conclusion

The anti-corruption campaign and institutionalization of CCP organizations like the CCDI has massively affected the elite politics, political culture, and public perception of the CCP. The campaigns have increased Xi Jinpings unilateral ability to leverage political loyalty and discipline to regulate the behavior of party officials. Wang Qishan, the CCDIs former head and close ally of Xi Jinping, noted that killing tigers and swatting flies serves as a deterrent to corrupt officials, calling the body a Sword of Damocles.

Local officials and party members at the center are now increasingly worried about an investigation into their past, income sources, and conduct, or the leak of information from other functionaries that could involve them in an investigation, especially if they present anti-establishment views. The proliferation of the CCDI units across all party and state bodies has heightened the risk of being investigated upon presenting a threat to Xi.

The anti-corruption campaign also has a dual effect on factions and cliques, dampening their operation on the one hand while also increasing the opposition to Xis efforts. Factions and cliques like the Xishan society, the Sichuan faction, and Shaanxi faction, with the potential to destabilize leadership unity, were purged for forming alliances. As the anti-corruption struggle against party members and vested business interests carries on, however, Xi increases the potential for opposition to his campaign and rule.

Lastly, public perception of the anti-corruption campaign has been largely supportive of Xis efforts. Combined with corruption within the CCP, the rising inequality in incomes in China is likely to generate support for the campaign as it moves forward. As the 20th Party Congress approaches, the anti-corruption drive shows no signs of slowing, indicating Xis resolve to maintain his authority over the party and demonstrating his willingness to shape the future of the CCP in his image.

This article was previously published by the Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA) and is republished here with permission.

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China's Anti-Corruption Campaign: Tigers, Flies, and Everything in Between - The Diplomat

CHRIS THURMAN: The disturbing parallels between the Met Gala and Americas Gilded Age – BusinessLIVE

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It was a spectacle of outrageous wealth disparity while womens liberation still seems a distant goal

06 May 2022 - 05:07 Chris Thurman

The Met Gala is an annual rite of fashionista hedonism conducted in the name of charity (though the funds raised go to the Metropolitan Museum of Arts Costume Institute, which validates high-end fashion as both historical phenomenon and contemporary art form completing a virtuous circle of sartorial excess).

The organisers of the 2022 event could not have predicted that the night of the gala would coincide with the leaking of a draft opinion from the US Supreme Court that seems set to overturn the 1973 Roe versus Wade ruling guaranteeing a womans right to choose to have an abortion. Nonetheless, the coincidence served as a reminder that there are ethical implications to sustaining the opulent fantasy of the Met Gala by ignoring grim reality...

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CHRIS THURMAN: The disturbing parallels between the Met Gala and Americas Gilded Age - BusinessLIVE

Tradition in transition – Anglo Celt

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Published: Wed 11 May 2022, 9:49 AM

Thomas Lyons

I dont remember for some reason that I cant explain, but he says that we met very early on after he arrived in Ireland, Iarla Lionird says of his stage partner ahead of their appearance at Cavan Arts Festival. Its the sort of rock and roll hedonism youd expect of someone who sang on a Peter Gabriel album or had two Grammy nominee, or appeared in an Oscar nominated film.

Yet not what you would expect of a traditional sean-ns exponent who has just finished picking up the kids on the school run. Which he is and has.

I think I might have been living in Dublin at the time, but Steve says we formed a band called Gale Force. Apparently we rehearsed for several weeks, but we never did a gig, Iarla tells down the phone line from his Kilkenny home. I dont recall it. He has enormous detail about it. There were other musicians in it too. I dont know.

Its an amusing anecdote, told as an aside, but pushed to the top of the story because its funny. Lionird and Steve Cooney will perform in Urney Church of Ireland, Farnham Street towards the end of the month as part of this years Arts Festival. Only go if you like music.

Before his success with The Gloaming there was Afro-Celt Sound System. A wonderful fusion of cultures ACSS provided a soundtrack to an Ireland on the cusp of change, moving from mono to multicultural. Prior to that Lionird was a member of Sean Riadas Cr Chil Aodha.

Its a storied history of how tradition can evolve while retaining what makes it traditional. The current leg of his musical journey sees him joined by acoustic guitar virtuoso Cooney. Together they forged a unique musical partnership.

The Urney Church will provide the perfect venue to showcase their evocative music.

His observations on his craft are considered. The discoveries of a life in music. A conversational thread on the voice as instrument in sean-ns is a case in point.

I started singing quite young, he recalls. I did think that the words were secondary. None of my teachers thought so. They were very much of the view that it was primary.

I thought it was secondary because I was having what I felt were musical experiences when I was performing. As time has gone on, definitely for me, the importance of the words has reasserted itself in a huge way, in a very profound way. The language itself contains so much music. Even if you werent to sing it, if you were actually to say it. Its just a profoundly musical language.

A short visit to a Gaeltacht emphasises that musicality. To have grown up immersed in the osculating rhythms of the Muskerry region must have had a profound influence on how the sean-ns reveals itself in performance.

Lionird says his awareness of the relevance of the lyrics came later: I learned that actually, perhaps paradoxically, from singing abroad, from singing with classical music ensembles, with classical music composers. They were the ones who said to me This is such an incredibly musical language to write for and to listen to.

That definitely influenced my thinking. I think the language has actually evolved as a musically transmissible form in an older Ireland, which was Gaelic speaking. We know from studies done by writers who travelled in Ireland, three centuries ago and more, that the Irish were given to making music and song in a really, really distinct way.

The Urney Church visit is a return to the Breffni county for Iarla and Steve: Steve and I were recording a beautiful harmonium instrument belonging to Father Darragh Connolly, he tells of his visit to Crosserlough. We were there for a day recording. Its a really beautiful experience and I have been hiring that harmonium from Father Daragh for the last ten years.

When The Gloaming started we had such awful instruments to play. They were broken and they were terrible. So I remember finding a reed organ on reedorganireland.com. I just wrote to the guy. It turns out it was a lovely gentleman by the name of Fr Darragh Connolly. His passion is maintaining and refurbishing these beautiful 19th century instruments. We hired an instrument from him every year for our shows in the NCH in Dublin. When it came to recording with Steve, we didnt want to move the instrument. So we went to Crosserlough to record it where it was played by my friend Ryan Molloy, he says by way of explaining Cavans input to his latest recording.

Iarla Lionird and Steve Cooney perform at Urney Church of Ireland on Friday, May 20 at 8pm. Tickets cost 22.50 at cavanartsfestival.ie

Published: Wed 11 May 2022, 9:49 AM

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Tradition in transition - Anglo Celt

The Ipcress File Trailer Revealed by AMC+ – VitalThrills.com

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AMC+ has revealed the official The Ipcress File trailer, which gives you a first look at the new espionage thriller based on the globally-renowned Len Deighton novel (See on Amazon). You can watch The Ipcress File trailer using the player below.

The series is adapted by Oscar-nominated and BAFTA award-winning screenwriter John Hodge (Trainspotting, T2 Trainspotting).

The enthralling and atmospheric drama stars Joe Cole (Gangs of London, Peaky Blinders) as iconic British spy Harry Palmer alongside Lucy Boynton (Bohemian Rhapsody, Murder on the Orient Express) and BAFTA award-winner Tom Hollander (Pride & Prejudice, The Night Manager, Birdbox).

The six-episode, twist-laden spy thriller offers a stylish and tense tale of abducted scientists, brainwashing, inter-departmental rivalry, treason, and a possibly unwise romance.

Directed by Emmy winner James Watkins (McMafia, Black Mirror, The Woman In Black) and set in Berlin and London during the 1960s, The Ipcress File will make its exclusive U.S. and Canadian premiere on AMC+ Thursday, May 19, with episodes rolling out weekly on Thursdays.

Its 1962. At the height of the Cold War, ex-soldier and convicted thief Harry Palmer (Cole) is recruited to an unorthodox British spy unit whose boss, Dalby (Hollander), wants his help to retrieve a missing scientist.

Working alongside cool, ambitious agent Jean (Boynton), Harrys journey will take him to the wrong side of Berlin, the risky hedonism of Beirut and the blinding light of a Pacific H-bomb test before one step too many lands him an unwitting role in a violent political conspiracy.

The Ipcress File was Len Deightons first spy novel introducing the iconic British spy Harry Palmer and set against the backdrop of Cold War Europe. To date the novel has sold 10 million copies worldwide since it was first published in 1962.

The Ipcress File is executive produced by Will Clarke (Filth) and Andy Mayson (Ghost Stories) for Altitude Television, Andrew Eaton (The Crown) for Turbine, Sandy Lieberson (Performance), James Watkins and Hilary and Steven Saltzman.

The series is produced by Paul Ritchie (McMafia, Slumdog Millionaire).

Set in the fascinating world of Berlin in the 1960s, The Ipcress File continues AMCs legacy of curating captivating, critically acclaimed international thrillers from The Little Drummer Girl and McMafia to AMC+ exclusives Spy City and Kin, said Courtney Thomasma, general manager for AMC+.

She added: AMC+ is proud to partner with ITV Studios to bring John Hodges thrilling adaptation of the beloved spy novel to U.S. audiences. We are also excited to work with Joe Cole again, following the enormous popularity of Gangs of London, this time in his new spellbinding performance of the iconic, working-class British spy.

Greg Johnson, Executive Vice-President, Distribution, Americas at ITV Studios, said: With its stellar on and off-screen talent, rich characterisation and rollercoaster of twists and turns, there is no better home for The Ipcress File than AMC+, and Im delighted that US and Canadian viewers will join audiences across the globe in enjoying the very cool spy Harry Palmer through this new adaptation.

Were immensely proud of what we have created with The Ipcress File and alongside AMC+, we are very excited on the potential of the series. We are thrilled that they will be bringing the daring exploits of Harry Palmer to American audiences next year, commented Will Clarke, executive producer and CEO of Altitude Television.

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The Ipcress File Trailer Revealed by AMC+ - VitalThrills.com

Why Ethereum, Solana, and Cardano All Plunged Today – The Motley Fool

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What happened

The news in the crypto market continued to get worse after Tuesday's de-peg of TerraUSD (UST 14.19%) from the U.S. dollar, as well as the drop in Bitcoin (BTC -11.41%). This has effectively caused a cascade of selling and has led to outright panic in some circles. And even the most useful crypto assets are down big Wednesday.

At noon ET, the value of Ethereum (ETH -18.91%) had fallen 3.6% in the prior 24 hours, Solana (SOL -31.57%) had dropped 19.9%, and Cardano (ADA -29.73%) was down 13.2%.

Image source: Getty Images.

The biggest news of the day was that the TerraUSD stablecoin lost its peg to the dollar. That token's value fell to as little as $0.30 or so, and as of late Wednesday afternoon, was still only at $0.63. This crisis in what was viewed previously as a safe asset has created a cascade of impacts and drops in the prices of nearly all major tokens. According to Coinglass.com, $859 million worth of cryptocurrency positions have been liquidated in the last 24 hours alone, and if prices continue to fall, that number will likely go higher.

When such big tumbles occur, broad panic can set in. That's what we're seeing Wednesday with relatively smaller market cap tokens, like Solana and Cardano. Selling leads to more selling, and because those tokens have no tangible assets to fall back on, there's no clear floor underneath their prices.

Ethereum, which is a top token for use in smart contracts, was actually holding up relatively well, which shows some of the strength in leading cryptocurrencies on a relative basis.

It doesn't help that the stock market is also dropping this week. The quarterly earnings reports that companies have been delivering haven't been as strong as some investors expected, and that's leading to a further "risk off" trade in the market. Cryptocurrencies are highly risky, so in this environment, there are naturally going to be a lot of sellers.

It certainly looks like all-out panic is setting into the crypto market. Investors are getting liquidated in some cases, and some of the investment theses behind cryptocurrencies are falling apart.

What's special about Ethereum, Solana, and Cardano is that they're all utility tokens, allowing developers to build applications on top of their blockchains. And billions of dollars are flowing into the cryptocurrency development ecosystem, which will lead to innovations over the next decade or more. In time, that should drive values higher, although we don't know when those upsides might be seen.

I think we're starting to see the panic in the market reach a peak, and similar moments have typically been buying opportunities for great long-term assets. In cryptocurrency, I think the lasting tokens and blockchains will be those that developers use most to provide digital or real-world utility for users. These three cryptocurrencies are on the top of that list.

That said, there's likely to be more volatility ahead, and this may not be the bottom. So, investors buying now should be prepared, because these are long-term investments, and in the near term, trading in crypto can be unpredictable, as was demonstrated again this week.

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Why Ethereum, Solana, and Cardano All Plunged Today - The Motley Fool

Ethereum and Bitcoin Prices Are Tanking. Heres Why One Expert Thinks Bitcoin Could Drop Even Lower – NextAdvisor

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Bitcoin and ethereum have dropped more than 10% over the last 24 hours, with bitcoin falling near $29,000 for the first time since December 2020 and ethereum trading near $2,200. And one expert warns bitcoin could drop even further.

Bitcoin could potentially get a mini-bounce at $35,000, but unless we break the trend line at approximately $37,000, Im calling for $29,000 in the coming weeks or week, says crypto expert Wendy O in a recent TikTok video.

Its been a shaky start to the week for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, largely driven by ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty. Bitcoin, the largest crypto, dipped below $36,000 Saturday and continued to nosedive throughout the weekend, hitting its lowest point in over a year Monday.

The crypto markets have been increasingly tracking the stock market, which has been trading in the red recently. Stocks fell sharply Monday, as the market sell-off continued after the Federal Reserve announced its biggest interest rate increase in over 20 years last week.

The overall market has noticed the high correlation to Bitcoin prices and the general equities markets, says Armando Aguilar, head of alternative strategies and research for Ledn, a digital asset savings and credit platform. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ have had the largest correlations to Bitcoin with 0.88% and 0.91%, respectively. A correlation of one means that they move equally one to the other.

For weeks, the crypto market like the stock market has also been under pressure as investors grapple with continued surging inflation, the ongoing swirl of economic events stemming increasingly from Russias invasion of Ukraine, and tighter U.S. monetary policy by the Fed.

The leading crypto continues to have a shaky week, trading at $29,500 Wednesday, down nearly 24% over the last week. This is Bitcoins lowest point since December 2020.

Bitcoin began to descend at the end of last week and continued to fall throughout the weekend, trading between a relative range of $33,000 and $37,000. Bitcoins big drop Monday is just the latest reminder for investors that crypto assets come with extra risk and volatility, especially in times of economic and political uncertainty like were in now.

Bitcoin is breaking below some key technical levels as the never-ending selloff on Wall Street continues. The institutional investor is paying close attention to bitcoin as many who got in last year are now losing money on their investment, Edward Moya, senior market analyst at foreign-exchange brokerage Oanda, wrote in a market analysis. If the USD 30,000 level breaks, that could trigger a flash crash environment if several whales unload.

But Bitcoins new low doesnt come as a surprise to Wendy O, who in April predicted Bitcoin would hit $33,000 sometime before July, based on her technical price charts.

I tweeted this April 17, 2022: I am getting 2021 April-May vibes, which means potential bearish until July. Things Im watching [include] price action, inability to effectively breakout, NFTs go off. O says.

Even with the big drops, Wendy O is still bullish on bitcoin in the long run.

Bitcoins high point of the year so far remains in the earliest days of January, when it nearly hit $48,000. In that same month, bitcoin also dipped below $34,000. Bitcoin has lost more than 50% of its value since its Nov. 10 all-time high above $68,000.

Ethereums price has been rapidly declining over the last few days, trading at $2,200 Wednesday. Ethereum is down 22% over the past week amid a big retreat in Bitcoin and the stock market.

Like all cryptocurrencies, Ethereum tends to follow Bitcoins lead. If Bitcoin is falling in price, ethereum is likely falling, too. But ethereum has also been grappling with anticipation for its massive software upgrade.

Over the next few months, ethereum is planning to move from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS), also known as The Merge. Its a big deal because itll change how transactions on Ethereum are ordered, making it more efficient and sustainable for widespread use.

Ethereum developer Tim Beiko recently revealed that The Merge wont happen in June as previously forecast, though its set still to happen sometime before the end of 2022. No firm date yet, but were definitely in the final chapter of PoW on ethereum, Beiko tweeted on April 11.

That, along with several other macroeconomic factors, has made for a shaky start to the year for ethereum, which in January dropped below $2,200 the lowest ethereums price had been since July 2021. As of Monday, Ethereum is inching closer to its January low.

The prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile. That means they are just as likely to fall down as they are to climb, and experts say thats something crypto investors will have to continue dealing with.

As long as youre only investing what youre OK with losing and have a long-term investment strategy in place, there shouldnt be cause for concern with bitcoin and ethereums recent drops.

Most financial experts recommend investing less than 5% of your total portfolio in crypto. You should also make sure youre prioritizing other aspects of your finances ahead of investing in crypto, such as saving for an emergency, putting money away in a retirement account, or paying off high-interest debt.

If it seems like the crypto market has been acting increasingly like the stock market lately, its because it has been. Increased institutional adoption of crypto has made its market more intertwined with the stock market, which in turn, has been largely impacted by the war in Ukraine, surging inflation, and the Feds tightening monetary policy, experts say.

In the short term, these macroeconomic factors have created some noise and extra volatility in the crypto and stock markets, but this is usual during times of uncertainty.

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Ethereum and Bitcoin Prices Are Tanking. Heres Why One Expert Thinks Bitcoin Could Drop Even Lower - NextAdvisor

Doge gets more love on Twitter and Ethereum gets more hate: Data analysis – Cointelegraph

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Ethereum has taken out the top spot on Twitter as the most hated of five cryptocurrencies studied, while the meme-token Dogecoin is the most liked.

The findings emerged from a new report by TRG Datacenters that analyzed a year's worth of tweets between Jan. 2021 to Jan. 2022, concerning five of the most popular cryptocurrencies to figure out which digital assets were the most emotionally stirring on Twitter.

According to the analysis which looked at Bitcoin (BTC), Cardano (ADA), Dogecoin (DOGE), Ethereum (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC) Ethereum was firmly the most negatively associated with 29% of all tweets containing a negative sentiment. (The decision not to include Ripple, which has ardent fans but also very passionate critics, probably makes the study less comprehensive than it should have been.)

The bulk of the criticism leveled at Ethereum concerned its speed compared to other Layer 1 alternatives, as well as its energy costs. Peak Ethereum negativity from Crypto Twitter occurred when a bug caused Ethereum to briefly split into two chains in late Aug. 2021.

Bitcoin was the second-most hated on Twitter with a 27% total negativity score. Cardano followed a distant third with a 16% negative association, while Litecoin sat in fourth place with just 8% of all tweets having a negative angle.

The report collected data in such a way that negative sentiment tweets were analyzed based on the inclusion of the following phrases and the name of each cryptocurrency; "Hate," "is a scam," "disappointed with" / "disappointed," "dip in," "bad," "lost money with"/ "loss on."

Dogecoin was the crowd favorite on the social media platform, with just 6% of all tweets concerning the popular memecoin containing some form of unfavorable sentiment. This means that 94% of all tweets concerning DOGE contain a positive slant, displaying the strength and cohesiveness of the token's community on Crypto Twitter.

Dogecoins popularity was closely linked to the tokens healthy relationship with the social media platforms new owner, Elon Musk. Musks public decision to accept DOGE as payment for Tesla merchandise drove sentiment to all-time-highs.

Chris Hinkle, the Chief Technology Officer at TRG Datacenters drew attention to the different types of influence that Twitter has on the price of crypto assets.

[This] means that small cap stocks and coins in general are experiencing a very real phenomenon of price fluctuations led by retail investors, Hinkle added.

Related: Ice Cube backs DOGE and an incredible and historical transaction

Hinkle went on to explain that the recent acquisition of Twitter by Musk may lead to a more retail-driven crypto market, claiming that Musks newfound influence may perhaps pave the path for less algorithmic manipulation and the beginning of a new era of retail investors.

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Doge gets more love on Twitter and Ethereum gets more hate: Data analysis - Cointelegraph

Coinbase Stock Crashes As Value of Bitcoin, Ethereum and Other Cryptocurrencies Hit New Lows – HYPEBEAST

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Coinbase stock is plummeting amid the ongoing Bitcoin crash. What was once known as one of the highest-value cryptocurrencies has decreased in price by almost 20% over the past ten days. Having fallen below $30,000 USD, the cost of Bitcoin is now 50% lower than its record high of nearly $69,000 USD, per CNN. The price of Ethereum has similarly fallen, down more than 35% since the start of the year.

As a result, shares in Coinbase, the United States largest crypto exchange, are down by more than 75%, currently priced at about $54 USD per share, and are trading at 85% below their all-time high price from November, per CNN.

In its first-quarter earnings report, published on Tuesday, Coinbase reported a quarterly loss of $430 million USD and a sharp decline in overall users and trading volume.

Whats even more alarming is that in the event that Coinbase declares bankruptcy, users may lose access to their assets. In the report, Coinbase noted that in the event it declares bankruptcy, the crypto assets we hold in custody on behalf of our customers could be subject to bankruptcy proceedings. Per these proceedings, Coinbase users would be treated as general unsecured creditors and unable to lay claim to specific properties. In other words, users would be blocked from their accounts and funds.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong attempted to reassure the platforms users in a series of tweets posted Tuesday evening.

Your funds are safe at Coinbase, just as theyve always been, he wrote. Armstrong went on to assert that Coinbase poses no risk of bankruptcy but included its bankruptcy risk factor message due to a disclosure required by the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) for public companies that hold crypto-assets for third parties.

Armstrong conceded, however, that it would possibly be left up to a court whether to decide to consider customer assets as part of the company in bankruptcy proceedings.

Elsewhere in cryptocurrency, Stripe has partnered with Twitter to offer Global Cryptocurrency payouts in USDC. And for more Web3 content, visit Hypemoon.com.

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Coinbase Stock Crashes As Value of Bitcoin, Ethereum and Other Cryptocurrencies Hit New Lows - HYPEBEAST

Ethereum, the movie – EL PAS in English

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It was nootropics the early 21st-century Silicon Valley tech workers drug class of choice for boosting their productivity that led hedge fund manager Francisco Gordillo to the crypto world.

Gordillo explains that, as he was researching the potential of the new industry in so-called smart drugs, then illegal, he discovered bitcoin (and the blockchain system through which it operates), a new concept for me which was used as a means of payment for these illegal substances.

Then an investment banker who worked on mergers and acquisitions at Banca Rothschild and Credit Suisse, Gordillo says this first encounter with bitcoin was a kind of epiphany. He is now co-founder and co-investment director of Malta-based hedge fund Avenue Investment Crypto, serving professional investors with a minimum worth of 100,000 ($105,100). Avenue Investment had a return of 257% in 2021, although it has had a 15.8% drop through March this year.

Gordillo acknowledges that the hyperactive world of cryptocurrencies, of which bitcoin is one of around 18,000, has certainly attracted its critics. The possibility of making a lot of money very quickly is a kind of drug, and there are a lot of snake-oil merchants about.

Further, there is quite a bit of speculation, as in any new market.

But I dont see a bubble, he continues, saying that crypto overall has a deep and powerful long-term uptrend, with speculation and scammers a logical by-product of an innovative concept that confronts the status quo.

For Gordillo, who is from a well-known family of artists and art dealers in Spain, dealing in cryptocurrencies and using blockchain is not just a technology but an approach to life that is based on principles of decentralized decision-making and the defense of individual sovereignty. He believes that the system will ultimately help us to build a better world.

More than making money with cryptocurrencies, Gordillo says he is dedicated to evangelizing their benefits. He began by making documentaries to fight against the misinformation that surrounds this technology, and is now making a film based on Camila Russos book The Infinite Machine: How an Army of Crypto Hackers is Building the Next

Internet with Ethereum (Harper Collins, 2020). Ethereum is an open source platform used for cryptocurrency transactions, which Gordillo says is explained very well in Russos book. Both will be executive producers on/of the film.

After convincing Russo to bring the text to the big screen, the two set to work looking for finance. They found a perfect match in Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), a type of digital asset.

We put together a group of emerging artists to create a collection of NFTs, explains Gordillo.

Some of the money will go to find the film and some will be cashed in by the artists.

They have already raised $1.5 million in a presale of the digital works.

The next step was to find an industry expert to bring the idea to the screen: We proposed it to Ridley Scott.

Scott, says Gordillo, is the ideal partner, having put so much on screen related to technology and science fiction.

Scott liked the project from the beginning, and will participate as a producer; the creator of Alien also found the team a director in Shyman Madiraju.

For now, Gordillo and the team are adapting the book to script and will then begin casting actors. The film will be called The Infinite Machine, like the book, with release anticipated for the end of 2023.

English version by Ann Deslandes

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Ethereum, the movie - EL PAS in English