Former Baseball Star Shares Story Of Michael Jordan Playing Blackjack Alone On Entire Floor And Betting $10K To $50K A Hand: I Watched Him Play About…

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There are many stories about Michael Jordan gambling, and even though many people think he had a problem, others say that Jordan was a legend at gambling, starring in impressive moments that won't be forgotten anytime soon.

Even after many years since his retirement, Jordan remains a relevant figure in the NBA, and the anecdotes about him keep coming. A former Chicago sports star recently talked about His Airness and one of the most incredible stories regarding Jordan.

Former Chicago Cubs' first baseman Mark Grace recently joined GOLFs Subpar Podcast, where he talked about a variety of topics, including the time he ran into Michael Jordan playing blackjack all alone after he reserved an entire floor of a three-level casino in Chicago.

One non-golf story that came up involved running into the Bulls legend at a Chicago-area casino.

As Grace tells it, his parents came to visit on an off day, and they decided to go gambling on a riverboat casino. This particular casino had three levels, and the second level, which was reserved for Blackjack, was completely roped off.

There are at least 70 Blackjack tables on this boat that are not being used, Grace said. One is, and thats where Jordan is playing.

Jordan was the only one playing on the entire floor, and he was alone, Grace said. After speaking to a few bodyguards to ask if he could go say hello and introduce his parents, Grace eventually got through. Turns out, Jordan was having himself quite the heater.

And hes got stacks of I think 50s and 100s [chips] are really, really good, and hes got colors Ive never seen before, Grace said. Hes got aqua marine and hes got all of these colors and there are stacks of thousands, five-thousands, ten-thousands, stacks of them.

Grace said hello and they chatted a bit. Then they stood and watched.

I watched him play about 20 hands, and if he played 20 hands he probably won 18 of them, Grace said. And hes putting thousands upon thousands of dollars, big stacks of chips, anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 a hand, and hes winning. And Im watching this s and Im like, Man it must be good to be the king.'

There are many stories of Jordan gambling. Former teammate and close friend Charles Oakley claimed he once lost a big amount of money while betting against Jordan and Jay Z. His agent always said that he loved to gamble, and Michael himself admitted that he had a competition problem, not a gambling one.

He's well aware of how much he needs to win at every level, even if that's not seen with the best eyes by the people around him. What Grace's story confirms is that Jordan mastered this game and was so focused on winning that didn't want any distraction during that night.

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Former Baseball Star Shares Story Of Michael Jordan Playing Blackjack Alone On Entire Floor And Betting $10K To $50K A Hand: I Watched Him Play About...

Different Types of Card Games and How to Play Them Online – Programming Insider

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Cards games have been here for a long and many people believe it is as old as the human civilization itself. Many people have played card games as a pastime activity from time immemorial.While there has been a varying school of thought on the evolution of card games, most people believe card games originated from China in the early 9th century before spreading to the Arabian world and Europe.

As with every game, cards games have evolved, and the coming of digital technologies has opened even larger frontiers for card games. Card games have evolved from physical paper with some pictorial designs to digital 2d gaming. As of 2022, we have more than 200 card games available online, and more are still being developed every year. Solitaire a default game available on all windows operating systems is unarguably the most popular card game globally. Online Card games range from trick-taking games like spades to banking or gambling games like Barakat.

This post will focus on the different types of card games and provide a brief tutorial on playing each.

Different types of card games:

1. Spy fall

Spyfall is played with two roles, each with its objectives. If you are not a spy, you and your teammates will try to figure out who the spy is and vote on who it is. If youre the spy, youll want to stay unnoticed until the game ends or until you can identify the location.

How to set up the game

Playing the Spyfall card game online is a simple task. There are several platforms where you can play the Spyfall game online. However, the most recommended place to play the Spyfall game is downloading the official Spyfall app on Google or iOS Play stores, although this app has a player limit of eight per session.

After installing the Spyfall app, proceed and set up an account, then create a new game event you can play together with your family and friends. To invite a new player, send them an invite link so that they can join.

How to play Spyfall

Spyfall is a social deduction card game that may be played by three to eight people. Three payers will receive cards with the same location but different responsibilities when there are four players. Each participant must next ask and answer questions regarding their area from the perspective of their assigned position. The games goal is for the other players to figure out who the spy is. In contrast, the spy must estimate everybody elses position.

2. Blackjack

Blackjack is unarguably one of the simplest and the most popular casino card games globally. It is very easy to play, and the instructions are easy to abide by. Blackjack card game is an online casino and gambling card game that involves staking real money against opponents.

Real money blackjack games have high rewards, especially if you play one of the casinos unique progressive blackjack games with large jackpots. Gamers can enhance their chances by mastering the blackjack strategy, reducing the casinos house edge to less than 0.5 percent. Like so many other card games, Internet gambling sites offer numerous options to play blackjack.

How to play BlackJack

The Blackjack casino card game consists of a deck of 52 cards derived from the banking card games. Below are steps to play the blackjack casino game online:

Step 1: Place a bet

The first step in playing the Blackjack casino game is to stake a bet. You can stake as low as $1 to as high as $10million.

Step 2: Collect cards

After placing a bet, the card dealer will hand your card to you. He is also obligated to show his own card.

Step3: Make decisions

The next step is to decide whether you want to hit, then click stand. You can add as many blackjacks as you want, but once it reaches 21, you have lost.

Step 4: Win or loose

When the total value of your cards exceeds the dealers, you win. You lose if your score is lower than the dealers or if your total card count reaches 21.

3. Pokemon TCG

Pokemon Trading game is a multiplayer game that was initially produced in Japan. Wizards of the coast reproduced the game in the United States before being sold to the Pokemon franchise.

Game Play

Pokemon TCG is a card game usually played by two teams using sets. It takes 2 minutes to set a card for the games. A typical Pokeman gameplay lasts for about 20minutes.

How to calculate points

Calculating points in a pokemon card game is a simple process. The team with the highest point at the end of the game is usually declared the winner.Players earn 10 Vs. Points for each match they win, with an extra five points if they win against a rival with a higher rank. Additional Versus Points are equal to their current win streak multiplied by five.

4. Solitaire

Solitaire, otherwise known as patience card gaming, is a method of card gaming in which cards are arranged according to certain orders. Cards in most solitaire games are arranged in symmetric order or according to pairs to cancel or discard them. A single individual plays solitaire card games, in most cases, although there are exceptions to this.

How to play

The worlds most well-known solitaire game is a triangle tableau that you construct in alternated colors. To win Solitaire, players must place all of the cards into the four vacant Foundations piles by suit color and numeric sequence, beginning with Ace and working your way up to King. You win in the Solitaire card game by correctly moving all the foundation piles.

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Different Types of Card Games and How to Play Them Online - Programming Insider

The Best Live Games That You Can Play On Your Smartphone – Niche Gamer

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From live service games to live dealer games, video games have transformed online betting into one of the biggest global entertainment industries of today. The astonishing growth of mobile gaming has been beneficial to such a meteoric rise in popularity, and smartphones are now preferred gaming devices for most players.

The genre of live games is fairly new to the world of gaming, but its impact has already left several marks of influence. Whether its mobile blackjack, live service poker, or real dealer baccarat, live casino games have evolved to suit a modern audience who wants to play from anywhere and bet at any time.

Due to their immense popularity, live games have begun to reach a point of saturation. There are now so many games to choose from that it would be impossible to play them all. To save you from the trouble of trawling endless libraries of games, weve put together four of the latest live games below.

Auto-Roulette uses an automated roulette wheel thats capable of up to 80 games per hour, 24 hours a day. Instead of being controlled by a dealer, the wheel is controlled by artificial intelligence (AI) that uses a sophisticated random number generator (RNG) system.

Auto-Roulette isnt a social game. Its made for serious players who want to get through as many games as possible in the shortest amount of time. However, seeing as acceptable stakes can be as low as $0.20 and as high as $20,000, beginners can put in low-risk bets until they become more experienced.

Theres no need to download the game, as it runs directly from the betting site in question. Simply launch the game, drag and drop your chips to place a bet, and watch the wheel do its thing. Recent spin results are displayed directly on-screen, so you always have all the information you need to make your next betting decision.

If you want to play against a real dealer, Baccarat Squeeze is the perfect game to try. With over 15 high-definition (HD) cameras tracking every second of gameplay, theres little chance youll miss any of the action. For further immersion, a chat function allows players to interact with the dealer directly.

Baccarat Squeeze is played with eight decks of cards. Card values are attributed according to a standard baccarat ranking system, and play continues until the cut card is dealt. Bets can be placed on the banker, the player, or a tie, with different odds for each.

Depending on which betting site youve selected, there will be a variety of optional bets to choose from, such as hand pairs, perfect pairs, and matching cards. Side bets offer different percentages, but the win rates for all bets in Baccarat Squeeze tend to be significantly higher than the rates of other live games.

By taking advantage of the latest technology, Casino Holdem brings the classic game of Texas Holdem poker to modern gamers. Its the ideal poker game for live casinos, bringing together players from all over the globe to compete at the same tables.

When it comes to video-streamed live dealer gaming, poker games are by far the most popular of the lot, and Casino Holdem typically holds the biggest jackpot prizes. Because players are trying to beat the dealer, theres no limit to the number of players that can participate in any given game.

An immersive atmosphere is integral to the success of Casino Holdem. The cards are real, the dealers are real, and players interact with the dealer and each other in real-time. Additionally, bonus bets and side bets give spectators a reason to join the fun.

If you prefer blackjack over other casino games, Power Blackjack is the latest and greatest game to try. Like many other live games, a single table of Power Blackjack can host an unlimited number of players, and the dealer is tracked by multiple HD cameras.

Power Blackjack is the same as regular blackjack, except for the fact that players can place bets far more often. You can double, triple, or even quadruple your bet in every game round, irrespective of whether its before or after the split. Whats more, unlike regular blackjack, the dealer will include face cards and the Ace as indicators to check for Blackjack.

Like Baccarat Squeeze, Power Blackjack uses eight standard decks of cards. However, 9s and 10s are removed from each deck, which means that there are 64 fewer cards to worry about, and fewer cards mean better odds for the player. When you combine that observation with the ability to place more bets than regular blackjack, its easy to see why Power Blackjack is favored by many players.

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InvestmentPitch Media Video Discusses Sitka Gold’s Reported Intercepts of 62.0m of 1.21 g/t Gold Including 14.0m of 3.85 g/t Gold at its RC Gold…

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) Sitka Gold (CSE:SIG) (FSE:1RF) (OTCQB:SITKF) announced assay results from the first diamond drill hole completed during the companys 2022 winter exploration program at its RC Gold Project in Yukon.

For more information, please view the InvestmentPitch Media video which provides additional information about this news and the company, with video comments by Don Penner, CEO of Sitka Gold. The video is available for viewing on InvestmentPitch and on YouTube. If these links are not enabled, please visit http://www.InvestmentPitch.com and enter Sitka in the search box.

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The RC Gold Project, a contiguous district-scale land package, consists of 376 square kilometre or 92,900 acres, located in the newly road accessible Clear Creek, Big Creek, and Sprague Creek districts in the heart of Yukons highly prospective Tombstone Gold Belt. It is strategically positioned mid-way between Victoria Golds Eagle Gold Mine, which is Yukons newest gold mine having reached commercial production in the summer of 2020, and Sabre Gold Mines Brewery Creek Gold Mine. The RC Gold Project land package comprises five underlying properties, namely, the RC, Bee Bop, Mahtin, Clear Creek, and Barney Ridge properties.

The winter drilling program focused in the area of the Blackjack Zone which was first intersected by Hole 21. The Blackjack Zone occurs within the Saddle West Zone where the Blackjack Fault obliquely intersects an east-west trending extensional corridor. This corridor is defined by abundant lamprophyre dykes and the gold-in-soil anomaly of greater than 100 parts per billion and greater than 500 parts per billion over an area of 2 kilometres by 500 metres between the Saddle West, Blackjack, Saddle and Eiger Zones.

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Four diamond drill holes, 22-022, 23, 24 and 25, were completed during the 2022 winter program for a total of 1,242.8 metres. Approximately 9,000 metres are planned to be drilled during the spring-summer program utilizing two drill rigs to carry out the remainder of a 10,000-metre drill contract.

Hole 22 was collared 100 metres to the southeast of Hole 21 and drilled along the same section at 320 degrees azimuth to test for both lateral and vertical continuity and to further understand the mineralization controls of the Blackjack Fault. Hole 21 previously intersected 220.1 metres of 1.17 g/t gold from surface that included 50.5 metres of 2.08 g/t gold.

In addition to the classic intrusion hosted mineralization consisting of sheeted veins within intrusive host rocks intersected in Hole 21, similar to Victoria Golds Eagle Gold Mine and Kinrosss Fort Knox Gold Mine, Hole 22 has demonstrated that significant mineralization occurs in the surrounding metasedimentary rocks similar to Banyan Golds AurMac Project.

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Hole 22 encountered several intervals of elevated gold values from surface to a depth of 364.6 metres. Gold assay highlights from Hole 22-022 include 273 metres of 0.52 g/t gold from 46 metres to 319 metres including 124.0 metres of 0.81 g/t gold from 193.0 metres, 62.0 metres of 1.21 g/t gold from 253.0 metres, 14.0 metres of 3.85 g/t gold from 253.0 metres, and 2.0 metres of 6.36 g/t gold from 313.0 metres.

The shares are trading at $0.11. For more information about this project and the companys other projects in the Yukon, Arizona, Nevada and Nunavut, please visit the companys website at http://www.SitkaGoldCorp.com, contact Donald Penner, President, at 778-212-1950 or by email at dpenner@SitkaGoldCorp.com, or Cor Coe, CEO, at 604-817-4753, or email ccoe@SitkaGoldCorp.com.

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Disclaimer

The information in this InvestmentPitch Media Ltd video is for the viewers information only. Sitka Gold has paid a fee not exceeding $2,000 in cash to have its current news release produced in video format. The corporate information is based on information that is publicly available. Any information provided by InvestmentPitch Media Ltd., through its media services is not to be construed as a recommendation or suggestion or offer to buy or sell securities but is provided solely as an informational media service. InvestmentPitch Media Ltd makes no warranties or undertakings as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. All due diligence should be done by the viewer or their financial advisor. Investing in securities is speculative and carries risk.

About InvestmentPitch Media

InvestmentPitch Media leverages the power of video, which together with its extensive distribution, positions a companys story ahead of the 1,000s of companies seeking awareness and funding from the financial community. The company specializes in producing short videos based on significant news releases, research reports and other content of interest to investors.

CONTACT: InvestmentPitch Media Barry Morgan, CFO bmorgan@investmentpitch.com

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InvestmentPitch Media Video Discusses Sitka Gold's Reported Intercepts of 62.0m of 1.21 g/t Gold Including 14.0m of 3.85 g/t Gold at its RC Gold...

Vince McMahon Tried To Reverse Fine Given To The Ultimate Warrior – Inside The Ropes

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John Bradshaw Layfield has revealed that Vince McMahon once tried to reverse a fine handed down to The Ultimate Warrior.

After retiring from in-ring competition in 1985, Jack Lanza assumed a role backstage with WWE and became one of the most respected agents in the company.

Part of Lanzas role was handing down fines to those Superstars he deemed to have stepped out of line. One of the Superstars in question was The Ultimate Warrior, who had numerous brushes with management during all of his WWEs runs.

However, it appears that Warrior had an ally in Vince McMahon when it came to one particular punishment. Speaking on the Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw podcast, JBL revealed that McMahon once attempted to get Lanza to rescind a fine he gave to Warrior.

However, the veteran figure wasnt having any of it and the fine stood.

Ive no idea [why Warrior received a fine], but it wasnt very much money, JBL said. Vince went to him [Lanza] and said, I really dont want to fine Warrior. He goes, Will you let him off? And that was Vince asking Jack. He [Vince] gave that much authority, and Jack said, No. I said it, I need to stick with it. Vince said, Okay, fine.

Gerald Brisco, who worked alongside Lanza backstage for a number of years said that figures such as the WWE Hall of Famer were vital in keeping everyone happy.

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Guys like Lanza were good to have around, Brisco said. They were great advocates for the talent. If you had an issue, you could go to your agent and theyd help you work out your issues.

Jack Lanza began his wrestling career in 1961, being trained by legendary promotor Verne Gagne. After initially working in St Louis, Lanza began appearing for Gagnes AWA promotion in mid 1962. During this period he teamed with Bobby Duncum, with the pair being managed by Bobby Heenan.

Fast-forward to the 1970s and Lanza embarked on the most famous run of his career alongside Blackjack Mulligan, again managed by Heenan. Throughout the decade and into the 80s the pair won tag team gold wherever they went, including the WWWF Tag Team Titles in 1975.

The partnership eventually came to an end in 1984, with Blackjack Lanza retiring a year later. He later returned to WWE where he worked as a road agent for a number of years. Lanza was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 alongside Mulligan.

H/t to Sportskeeda for the transcription.

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Vince McMahon Tried To Reverse Fine Given To The Ultimate Warrior - Inside The Ropes

Putin has launched the first economic world war, and the EU and the West are his targets – MarketWatch

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As momentous as Russias invasion of Ukraine is, the most strategically important event in recent weeks was the global economic war between Russia and the U.S. and its allies. Russia, however, has been preparing to confront the West and challenge the Western socio-economic model for a long time.

Russias strategic interests in Ukraine are well-known. The geography and history of Russia compel its leaders to create and preserve a buffer between Moscow and the major powers in Western Europe, and to ensure access to the Black Sea. Ukraine is crucial to both goals. But beyond Ukraine, the Kremlin perceives the eastward expansion of Western influence, including into Russia, to be a modern invasion by stealth that threatens the Russian regime.

It is not Western organizations such as NATO and the European Union that challenge the Kremlin, but the socio-economic model that enabled the West to win the Cold War and that enticed Eastern Europeans to want to join the West. When he became president of Russia in 2000, in the wake of the Soviet Unions collapse and the economic crisis of the 1990s, Vladimir Putin inherited a broken country. Many Russians contemplated joining the European Union, hoping that alignment with the West would bring a better life.

The priority for the Russian establishment was to stabilize and rebuild the country. Putin just wanted to survive politically. Following the example of past successful Russian leaders, he centralized power. Knowing he needed stability and growth to slow the rate of emigration and address Russias poor demographics, Putin sought to make Europe economically dependent on Moscow. Looking back at history and the current power balance, he identified Germany as the lynchpin of his strategy of dependence.

Russian ties to Germany were key to establishing ties to the European Union more broadly, but this was only the beginning of Russias strategy in Europe.

Russian ties to Germany were key to establishing ties to the European Union more broadly, but this was only the beginning of Russias strategy in Europe. Russia opened up its economy to Western investment, established links throughout the Continent and tried to understand the inner workings of EU bureaucracy. It established close business ties with Italy, France and later Hungary, and built a political network that would help expand its influence in Europe. For Moscow, learning about European vulnerabilities was just as important as building up its economy and growing Russia into a stable economic power.

The Kremlin also campaigned to join the World Trade Organization to establish deeper relationships with the worlds biggest economic players. In the process, it benefited from foreign investments in Russia and learned how the global economy works, building partnerships with not just Western economies but also other economic powers. The only problem was that China, its major ally against the West, was not seeing the accelerated growth it hoped for and was still very much dependent on the U.S. market, giving Beijing limited ability to counter U.S. interests in the world and forcing Russia to keep its focus on Europe.

Average Russians saw improvements in their standard of living under Putin. In major Russian cities, life was similar to that in the West. However, when it became a major player in the energy market, Russia also increased its exposure to global economic cycles. The European economic crisis of the 2010s sent shivers through Moscow. Russias economy remained fragile overall, and the gap between urban and rural areas remained dangerously high, potentially threatening Putins control.

At the same time, the West offered an attractive model to rival Russias. It wasnt so much the growing Western influence in Russias buffer zone that bothered the Kremlin, but the fact that ordinary Russians might look at Eastern Europe and see a better model for political organization and economic growth.

Then the pandemic hit. The Russian president apparently feared that the economic insecurity wrought by COVID-19 could threaten his countrys economic security and stability. As the worst socio-economic effects of the pandemic faded, action against the West became urgent. From the Kremlins point of view, this was a unique moment. The U.S. has been trying to reduce its presence in Europe and instead focus on the Indo-Pacific and domestic problems. In other words, from the Kremlins point of view, the trans-Atlantic alliance and the European Union appear weak. Most important, Russias leaders believe they have gained sufficient knowledge of the way the West works and can fight it effectively.

Russia has been preparing to confront the West since at least the early 2000s. Besides stockpiling foreign reserves, Moscow constructed trade blocs and deepened relations with projects like the Eurasian Economic Union. In Europe, it enticed Germany to become dependent on Russian natural gas, which as is clear today made it extremely difficult for Europe to cut off Russian energy imports. Shifting from gas would require Europe to build new infrastructure a costly, time-consuming process.

The close German-Russian partnership also benefited the Kremlins Europe strategy in other ways. To give a practical example, the EU had plans to make the Danube River fully navigable through the establishment of additional canals, increasing Central Europes connection with the Black Sea. This would have given Europe more leverage against Russia at the moment, when the war in Ukraine has forced the rerouting of commercial flows from the Black Sea to much more expensive land routes. Instead, positive relations with Moscow made the project seem unnecessary, and it faded away.

It is no coincidence that after 2012, the first full year that Nord Stream 1 was operational, Europe became much more reluctant to adopt policies that could be seen as anti-Russian.

It is no coincidence that after 2012, the first full year that Nord Stream 1 was operational, Europe became much more reluctant to adopt policies that could be seen as anti-Russian. There was simply no interest in Germany to carry them out. It is also no coincidence that relations between the U.S. and Germany have cooled over that time. The U.S. needed Germany to lead Europe, or at least maintain neutrality, to prevent Russia from expanding its influence in Europe as the U.S. drew back. The fact that Russia joined the World Trade Organization in 2012 gave it even more leverage in the world economy.

It is also worth noting that the Kremlin used personal relationships to shore up its influence. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was tapped to lead Nord Stream 1. Nord Stream AG also hired former Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen as a consultant to speed up the permit process in Finland. Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi served on the board of Delimobil, a Russian car-sharing service. Former Finnish Prime Minister Esko Aho was on the board of Russias largest bank, Sberbank. Former Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern resigned from the board of Russias state-owned railway company in the early days of the war in Ukraine, while another ex-chancellor, Wolfgang Schussel, remained on the board of Russias Lukoil.

This is just a short list of top politicians, all of whom had at least some influence over their countrys foreign policy discussions. They have certainly been useful to Russian economic growth and the advance of Russias economic strategy in Europe.

Working closely with Europeans for the past two decades has enabled Russia to learn what is important for the stability of their countries. It has also helped the Kremlin better understand their political agendas and support causes that work to its advantage. For example, Russia enthusiastically supported many green policies, like Germanys decision to give up nuclear power which translated into greater reliance on Russian gas. And Russia has openly supported populist parties throughout Europe and effectively used information warfare, all in an attempt to destabilize and ultimately divide Europe.

Globally, Russia has maintained close relations with traditional enemies and competitors of the West. Joining the WTO gave it a stronger position on the global stage, which is used to advance the influence and interests of emerging global players, including the BRICS countries, which also include Brazil, India, China and South Africa. Though the results were modest, Russia promoted the group as an alternative to the West and continued to focus on building ties to China and India, establishing links that it hoped would withstand in a potential confrontation with the West, which were seeing play out today.

To counter the current sanctions, it has looked to China for help. The Eurasian Economic Union gives it proxies for continuing to do business with the world. At the same time, Russias presence in the Middle East and parts of Africa helps it keep the price of oil high high enough that it can keep paying its bills. Influence in the Middle East and the Sahel, two highly unstable but resource-rich areas, also gives Russia more leverage over the world economy.

Russian strategy certainly has its weaknesses, but Russia has options in countering the West.

In building its network, Russia has tried to focus on economics and enhancing weaknesses in the global network. It expanded its influence abroad, making sure the dependencies it was encouraging were strong enough to give it leverage but lose enough to allow its withdrawal when necessary. Russian strategy certainly has its weaknesses, but Russia has options in countering the West during the current global economic war. Supporting EU fragmentation through its economic ties in Europe and using the knowledge of European politics that its gained over the years are likely the most important elements of its strategy. The moment European citizens feel the repercussion of Western sanctions is when the bloc will become more fragile, which will allow Russia to exploit the EUs weaknesses.

The world is witnessing its first economic world war of the modern era. The rules are undefined, and the global economy is complex, meaning collateral damage is unavoidable and frequently unpredictable. Slowly, we are becoming aware of the repercussions the sanctions on Russia are having on the global economy. Less clear are the instruments that Russia can employ against the West. How this will change the world is a mystery. All we can do is look back at what Russia has prepared for and guess what could come next. This is only the beginning.

Antonia Colibasanuis chief operating officer of Geopolitical Futures.

More: This global-conflict expert sees a bleak end for the Ukraine war and for Putin

Also read: American foreign policy needs radical surgery

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Putin has launched the first economic world war, and the EU and the West are his targets - MarketWatch

Homophobia and transphobia have more in common than you think – Dazed

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There has been a staggering increase in LGBTQ+ hate crimes over the past five years, which, in England and Wales, have risen year on year. Homophobic hate crimes recorded by the police have tripled since 2014/2015, while transphobic hate crimes have quadrupled in the same period. Because LGBTQ+ people are often reluctant to report these crimes, the real figures are likely to be even higher. This increase cant be attributed to any single factor. Hate crimes tend to happen more during times of socio-economic turbulence; when people are angry, minorities get scapegoated, which is why weve also seen an attendant increase in crimes linked to race and disability.

Hate crimes can function as a kind of retaliatory violence against social progress, and they are often directly downstream from government policy. Within the same timeframe, right-wing authoritarianism has become resurgent in Britain, which is a worldview that goes hand in hand with discrimination. But if were talking about the rise in anti-LGBTQ+ violence specifically, the anti-trans or gender-critical movement surely deserves a portion of the blame. It stands to reason that if you flood the media including online platforms with vitriolic attacks on a given minority group, this is going to make them more vulnerable. Moreover, the specific way that the anti-trans movement demonises gender variation is something which poses harm to all LGBTQ+ people which makes it all the more frustrating that a small contingent of cis gay men and lesbians are continuing to propagate it. What these people fail to understand is that, sometimes, transphobia and homophobia really arent all that different.

Its true that gay people do frequently get abused in the street for expressing intimacy with their partners in public, and that discrimination based on sexuality alone is still a big problem. But in public, we are less at risk because of who we are, innately, and who we are attracted to, and more because of how we act and what we look like both of which relate to gender. If someone attacks you because you look gay, that has very little to do with who you sleep with. Its entirely possible to be the victim of a hate crime while youre walking around and minding your own business and this has far more to do with gender expression than sexuality (as it relates to either sexual or romantic behaviour). Its a popular line that the two concepts are entirely distinct, but in reality they collapse together all the time.

I recently read the playwright Travis Alabanzas forthcoming nonfiction book, None of the Above: Reflections on Life Beyond the Binary (published by Canongate this August). In it, Alabanza depicts how ruthlessly gender nonconformity is policed in public; the way that harassment forms a near-constant backdrop for gender-nonconforming people, and how suffocating this can be to live through on a daily basis. Theres actually not much of a clear line between gender and sexuality, Alabanza tells Dazed. This is why we often misunderstand whats happening with transphobic and homophobic violence. With the latter, we place it as a form of discrimination based on sexuality, which can sometimes be the case. But I think the majority of the time whats happening is a punishment based on gender. What it stems from, in my opinion, is a correction back to the gender binary: when people see others being free from the expectations which they believe are a contract, violence starts to happen.

Because of this, homophobia and transphobia cant always be delineated as two distinct forms of bigotry. To offer an obvious example, and one which is true for lots of gay men: I wasnt out in my early years of high school, nor was I going around getting off with guys or wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the rainbow flag. In terms of behaviour that could be classed as gay, I wasnt doing much of anything, really, other than acting a little bit fruity but this was still enough to get bullied. Later in life, just about every instance of homophobic abuse Ive experienced has been occasioned by simply vibing in a way that was read as feminine, rather than doing anything explicitly gay, such as engaging in public affection with someone of the same gender (although needless to say, this does also inspire violence.) Because a significant proportion of homophobia is really about gender expression, its impossible to whip up fury against the trans community without this eventually backfiring on cis gay people. You only need to look at the situation now unfolding in the US, where LGBTQ+ people of all stripes are being smeared en masse as groomers, degenerates and perverts, to realise that this rhetoric cant be targeted with precision at one subset of the community.

A society where we are policing each others gender, which is fundamentally what they want to enact, leads to violence for all of us Travis Alabanza

To be clear, this is not the only basis on which we should fight transphobia the fact that it harms trans people, and that it is so evidently cruel, is reason enough. Leaning too hard into the watch out gay men, theyll be coming for us next! framework risks being a little self-involved; on social media, it can sometimes feel as though were a little too keen to position ourselves as the protagonists of a dramatic moment in history which is still primarily impacting other people. We should extend solidarity because its our natural human inclination and we should fight for that, and not for something as boring as at some point this could affect me, says Alabanza.

But at the same time, there is merit to the idea that its in the self-interest of cis gay people, and indeed everyone, to support trans liberation. In a sense, theyre already coming for you, says Alabanza. The gender binary is already harming us and the anti-trans movement is creating further harm. A society where we are policing each others gender, which is fundamentally what they want to enact, leads to violence for all of us. As has been made clear time and time again, you dont need to be trans to be the victim of transphobia. The scores of butch cis women whove been challenged in public bathrooms over the last few years can attest to that.

Maybe the gay people pushing anti-trans narratives are aware of this, and simply dont care because they think it will never affect them personally. But gender nonconformity can be extremely subtle and still draw negative attention. If youre a man, you dont need to be sashaying down the road in a fabulous, sequinned pantsuit to be perceived as feminine: I often hear about masculine-presenting guys being subject to homophobic abuse in public simply because something about the way they moved or spoke rubbed someone up the wrong way.

A lot of gay people with anti-trans views seem anxious that being lumped together with a more marginalised group will expose them to greater risk. But its impossible to bargain your way out of the fact that significant segments of the straight world still consider you a degenerate. Handing over trans people on a sacrificial platter isnt going to appease them for long. The people who would attack you in the street are likely to be significantly less invested in the gay-trans distinction than you are. If youre a cis gay person concerned with your own safety, the wiser strategy would be standing against the cruel ideologies which oppress all LGBTQ+ people, and endanger even the most conservative of gay men. As Alabanza says, the punitive enforcement of the gender binary is something which impoverishes us all.

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Homophobia and transphobia have more in common than you think - Dazed

Consumerism Run Amok: The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth – tor.com

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In this bi-weekly series reviewing classic science fiction and fantasy books, Alan Brown looks at the front lines and frontiers of the field; books about soldiers and spacers, scientists and engineers, explorers and adventurers. Stories full of what Shakespeare used to refer to as alarums and excursions: battles, chases, clashes, and the stuff of excitement.

One of the books Id always intended to read, but only recently got around to, is the influential satire The Space Merchants, published in 1953. If you can imagine a dystopian future Earth run by descendants of the characters from Mad Men, you wont be far from the setting the book portrays. And while the novel contains large dollops of social satire, its woven into a narrative that moves at a rapid clip, featuring quite a bit of action and adventuremore than one might expect from a story about a professional copywriter.

As Ive mentioned before in this column (and because Im old, will no doubt mention again), I grew up a huge fan of Analog magazine, which to my young eyes was full of interesting science, simple, enjoyable characters, and straightforward plots. I looked forward to it arriving every month, and sometimes argued with my father over who would get to read it first. He also subscribed to Galaxy, which I didnt read as muchwhich is a shame, because in the years I was first learning to read for fun, the magazine was edited by Frederik Pohl, who was winning various awards for his efforts. Galaxy stories, though, were a little more complex and oriented more toward an adult reader than Analog stories.

Over the years, Ive developed a deeper appreciation for Pohl and the type of stories he wrote or selected as an editor. While I wasnt ready for them as a teenager, I now find they have a depth and complexity often lacking in Analog. In the end, though, Im glad I waited to read The Space Merchants, because there are a number of elements to the story that would have gone right over my head in my youth. Moreover, it doesnt hurt to have watched Mad Men before you read the book, because the story is so deeply rooted in the advertising business of the era portrayed in the TV show. I was also surprised, when researching this article, that advertising has been addressed often enough in science fiction tales to rate its own entry in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.

About the Authors

Frederik Pohl (1919-2013) was an influential member of the science fiction and fantasy community who, over his long and fruitful career, was involved in the field in a wide range of roles, including fan, writer, magazine editor, book editor, and agent. I have discussed Pohls work twice before in this column, reviewing Gateway and The Starchild Trilogy, and you can find more biographical information in those reviews. At one point after World War II, Pohl took a job as an advertising copywriter, in part as research for The Space Merchants. The book was rejected by many publishers before Ian Ballantine bought it to publish simultaneously in hardback, and also in his new paperback book line. It garnered acclaim from within the science fiction community and more mainstream literary critics and reviewers, and went on to sell very successfully. Like many authors whose careers started in the early 20th century, you can find a number of Pohls early works on Project Gutenberg.

Cyril Kornbluth (1923-1958) is an American science fiction author whose work I have not yet examined in this column. He wrote under a variety of pen names, as well as adding an invented middle initial to his own name, publishing as Cyril M. Kornbluth. He was a member of the Futurians, the influential New York science fiction fan club, and it was there he met his future collaborators Frederik Pohl and Judith Merril. He began writing as a fan at fifteen, and his first professional publication came when he was only seventeen. He served in the Army in World War II, and earned a Bronze Star in the Battle of the Bulge. Kornbluth had a knack for writing quirky, funny, and thought-provoking stories, and one of his short stories, The Little Black Bag, was adapted for television by Rod Sterling. Most of his longer works were written as collaborations, some with Frederik Pohl, and some with Judith Merril, under the pen name Cyril Judd. His solo novels include the compellingly realistic World War III novel Not This August. Kornbluths successful writing career was cut tragically short when he died of a heart attack at 34. You can find several of his stories and novels on Project Gutenberg.

If This Goes On

One of the most difficult things to do in science fiction is to predict the futureespecially the near future. Jumping to the far future, thousands of years away, into a world dramatically different than our own, is in some ways easier than imagining what changes might be just around the corner.

In the mid-20th century, when Pohl and Kornbluth were writing The Space Merchants, scientists were predicting that an ever-increasing population on Earth would begin to outstrip food production, possibly by the end of the twentieth century. They warned that fossil fuels and other resources could soon be exhausted, and pollution could cause ecological collapse. At the same time, freed from the brutal conflict of World War II, the U.S. was engaging in an orgy of consumerism, and there was every reason to expect that to continue. While they are exaggerated for satirical impact, you can see these themes woven into The Space Merchants.

A satirist has an even more difficult task than those who are trying to predict the most probable future. The world they create must serve the points they are trying to make; at the same time, if the future they create is not at least somewhat plausible, they are creating a farce, not a satire. Pohl and Kornbluth depict a world where rampant consumerism, without any consideration for consequences, is bringing the planet to its knees. While the elite of this society do not suffer much, the common people teeter on the edge of scarcity while being pressed ever harder to consume and produce. The misogyny of the mid-20th century has gotten even more dire, and in one case, a woman is forced to become a company-employed prostitute, serving the firms executives after her boss leaves. Only addictive drugs and a constant barrage of advertising keep the common people in line. The water is not fit to drink and the air cannot be breathed. Any pretense of democracy had given way to the power of the almighty dollar, and corporations rule (U.S. senators, for example, represent corporations rather than states). The only glimmer of hope is the promise of building a new home for humanity on Venus. In the face of the more alarming trends and anxieties of the post-war era, The Space Merchants served as one of many warnings our civilization needed to plot a different course.

And in many ways, since the book was written, humanity has taken a different course. Population growth has moderated, and new innovations have caused farming yields to increase significantly. New energy sources have been found. Pollution laws have led to significant improvements in air and water quality in many areas. At the same time, rampant consumerism is a continuing problem, and the communications explosion facilitated by the internet and cell phones has allowed advertising to infiltrate even further into peoples lives. Our politics are troubled, and corporations are more influential than ever in the political sphere. And while were not much closer to establishing habitats on other planets, nuclear weapons and climate change remain two potent threats among many in Earths future.

Satire remains an important and effective form of storytelling, and always will. A skillful satirist can illuminate dangers in a way other forms of literature cannot, andwhile entertaining and amusing uspoint us toward a better course.

The Space Merchants

Mitch Courtenay lives a life of privilege, living about as well as anyone in the United States of the future. He deals with shortages of fresh water, eats reconstituted meat substitutes, and wears an air filter when stepping out on the streets, but hey, who doesnt have to deal with those things? His society is one where advertising agencies and corporations rule the world, and his advertising agency, Fowler Schocken, is one of the biggest and best. He doesnt concern himself much with organized religions, largely because their accounts are handled by a competing agency. The only nagging flaw in his life is his relationship with his wife, Kathy. She is quite a prize, a respected physician. They are on a short-term marriage contract he wants to make permanent. But she remarks on his shallowness and vanitythings he doesnt see in himselfand continues to keep him at arms length.

Besides the whole Earths running out of resources and being poisoned thing, the only defect Mitch sees in this capitalist utopia is a group called the Consies. The first few mentions of the group in the novel are in relation to terrorist activities, although we are eventually told the organization is the World Conservationist Association, or WCA. We learn that its a group made up of many thoughtful and dedicated people who believe if nothing changes, humanity will engineer its own demise.

Mitchs life changes forever when he arrives at work one morning to find he has been assigned to lead one of the biggest projects in the firms history, organizing the colonization of Venus, and attracting colonists to join the effort. His first task is to meet with Jack OShea, the first man on Venus, who was picked for the first mission because of his diminutive size, the rocket not being powerful enough to carry an average-sized person along with enough food and life support. At the airport, Mitch is almost killed by falling cargo, which he initially thinks is an accident. But then someone takes a shot at him from a helicopter, and he begins to suspect that one of the firms competitors is involved (in this future, legally sanctioned violence is sometimes an inevitable part of doing business). He is excited that his wife is pleased about his promotion, but the excitement is dampened by jealousy when she asks him to introduce her to Jack OShea. And then one of his subordinates, Runstead, is found to be either incompetent or involved in deliberately sabotaging the Venus project. Mitch tracks Runstead to a resort in Antarctica, and is attacked and knocked unconscious.

When Mitch awakens, he finds that his life has changed once againhe has suffered a major reversal of fortune, one which allows us to see his future society from the bottom of the socio-economic ladder. His identity tattoo has been altered, and his new identity is William Groby, a laborer indentured to a company in Costa Rica, Chlorella Proteins. His first job is harvesting algae out of giant chemical tanks, and every day he finds himself further indebted to the firm. He tries to befriend people who might be able to help him, and is recruited to join a cell of the infamous Consies. The cell meets in a secret room hidden under a giant mass of engineered chicken flesh, from which tissue is constantly removed and packaged for salehorrifyingly, the flesh reacts to stimulus and feels pain. Mitch decides to play along to escape his situation, and eventually succeeds. He is transferred to a new job in New York, which puts him within spitting distance of his old life. He is kidnapped by a competing advertising agency whose staff tortures him for information. But he escapes, and while he eventually finds his way back to Fowler Schocken and his old job, he realizes he is now a different person. There are plenty of twists and turns in the final pages, but Mitch is finally able to find as close to a happy ending as is possible in his future dystopia.

Final Thoughts

When I was young, I wasnt particularly attracted to this book because the topic of advertising held little interest to me, and the premise sounded a good bit different from the action and adventure stories I liked best. That turns out to be my loss, because I missed out on a book full of humor, and quite a bit of adventure as well (and for those who have concerns over the book being dated, Pohl put out an updated edition in 2011). The Space Merchants also turns out to be a book that makes the reader think, blending a good deal of insightful social commentary into a compelling tale. Id recommend this novel to anyone who wants a story that will challenge them while it entertains them.

And now its my turn to listen to you: If youve read The Space Merchants, Id like to hear your thoughts. And if you can offer suggestions for any other great science fiction satires, Id like to hear about them as well.

Alan Brown has been a science fiction fan for over five decades, especially fiction that deals with science, military matters, exploration and adventure.

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Consumerism Run Amok: The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth - tor.com

Europe CBD Oil Market Revenue Growth & Opportunities by 2028 With Trends and Competitive Analysis themobility.club – themobility.club

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Europe CBD Oil Market Research Report report gives insights into revenue growth and and future trends for market. This report offers a list of latest updates of several business strategies including mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, product launch, expansion of production units, and collaborations adopted by these major global players. As its a fact that competitive analysis is the major aspect of any market research report, the report covers many points including strategic profiling of key players in the market, analyse core competencies of key players, and draw a competitive landscape for the market. Along with explaining competitive landscape of the key players, Europe CBD Oil market report also provides complete and distinct analysis of the market drivers and restraints, detailed analysis of the market segmentation, key developments in the market and details of research methodology. The Europe CBD Oil market offers wide-ranging statistical analysis of the markets continuous developments, capacity, production, production value, cost/profit, supply/demand and import/export.

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Competitive Landscape and Europe CBD Oil Market Share Analysis

CBD Oil market competitive landscape provides details by competitor. Details included are company overview, company financials, revenue generated, market potential, investment in research and development, new market initiatives, global presence, production sites and facilities, company strengths and weaknesses, product launch, product trials pipelines, product approvals, patents, product width and breadth, application dominance, technology lifeline curve. The above data points provided are only related to the companies focus related to Europe CBD oil market.

The major players covered in the report Aurora Cannabis, Diamond CBD, ENDOCA, APHRIA Inc., ConnOils, Elixinol Global Limited, Emblem CANNABIS, NuLeaf Naturals, LLC, CBD Ultra Limited, The Original Alternative and others other domestic and Europe players. DBMR analysts understand competitive strengths and provide competitive analysis for each competitor separately.

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China, Japan, India, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand

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Europe CBD Oil Market Revenue Growth & Opportunities by 2028 With Trends and Competitive Analysis themobility.club - themobility.club

License to grow: THC cannabis buds in the Ithaca area – The Ithaca Voice

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TOMPKINS COUNTY, N.Y. With the spring arriving, a new industry is being planted in New York. On April 14, the state released the first set of licenses allowing farmers to grow cannabis fit for adult-use recreation.

Of the initial 52 licenses, two of them have gone to farms in the Ithaca-area: Enfield Glen Hopyard, in Tompkins County; and Main Street Farms, which is located in Cortland and has had a long established presence at the Ithaca Farmers Market. New York State is expected to announce another 50 licenses in the coming weeks.

The licenses were given to farms in New York that had already built a business around growing hemp for cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD, which became legal to farm on a federal level in 2018. CBD has been advertised and widely adopted as an over-the-counter remedy for relieving anxiety, depression, and soothing aching muscles in forms ranging from salves, tinctures, oils and even infused bed pillows. CBD does not come with the high associated with cannabis, which is caused by another compound, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.

New York farmers will be limited to selling their new crops to state-licensed dispensaries, which are also limited to buying THC cannabis from state farmers. Cannabis with a THC content is still federally illegal and considered a Schedule 1 drug by the DEA.

Farmers that have received the state license will also be required to fulfill a social equity mentorship with people who have received cannabis-related convictions, which are now eligible for expungement in New York State. Details of the program are yet to be seen but, essentially, it will give people who suffered as a result of now moot cannabis offenses an opportunity to shadow and train with cannabis farmers in order to start their own operations.

Allan Gandelman is a co-owner of Main Street Farms with Bob Bonagura, which began as an organic vegetable farm but diversified into growing CBD hemp in 2018. The farm is now the base block for a vertically-integrated cannabis company, New York Hemp Oil, which Gandelman co-owns with Karli Miller-Hornick.

These initial licenses limit farmers to growing just an acre of THC cannabis, which Gandelman thinks is the right move.

As a farmer and president of the New Yorks largest cannabis association, I think, I generally agree that the start out this way is good, because we can always increase, but you can never go back, said Gandelman.

Few have had a better perch for understanding the growth of New York States cannabis industries than Gandelman, who is also the President of the New York State Cannabis Growers & Processors Association. But Gandelman characterizes his farms as a small one only growing between 30 to 40 acres and believes that as the cannabis industry grows in New York, that state government should protect this budding sector from the pressures of overregulation and competition from Walmart and Amazon style big weed businesses, which undercut smaller competitors on price to squash competition.

The initial acreage limit, Gandelman says, should keep New York State from facing the issue of oversupply, which has caused THC cannabis farms in states like California to face dangerously low prices a trajectory that farmers across the U.S. all-too-often end up struggling against.

The national market for CBD cannabis followed that path, perpetuating a harsh streak in business for Enfield Glen Hopyard owner, Jason, who said he would prefer to not have his last name publicized.

Jason began farming hops in 2016, when the crop was the talk of the town and a hopeful emerging market in New York [] Unfortunately, hops never shaped up in New York. Its really difficult to compete with the Pacific Northwest.

In 2018 Enfield Glen Hopyard split from its name and dove headfirst into growing CBD hemp, but an oversaturated national market created financial troubles for the farm. Then came the pandemic; the general economic upheaval and supply chain imbalance of the COVID-19 pandemic just added salt to the wound.

Jason said, Most [hemp] farms I know, in 2020 and 2021 had to compost, burn, or till in their crops because there was just no market for it.

With a cannabis license in hand, Jason is feeling optimistic, and thinks the state has chosen some smart policies to shepard farmers into a level playing field.

[CBD] was a complete bloodbath. A lot of a lot of farms really suffered through hemp, and any farms that have now received this [THC] license coming from hemp, you know, its really absolutely a much needed life saver, said Jason.

One missing piece of the puzzle for New Yorks new hemp farms are the dispensaries they will be selling to. While grower licenses have been doled out, licenses for the only potential buyers have yet emerged.

We have a chicken and egg situation, said Gandelman.

Permitting the farmers earlier than the dispensaries will enable those storefronts to be stocked when they open their doors, but it runs the risk of leaving growers high and dry if the legislation hits a snag in Albany.

That potentiality is on Gandelman and Jasons mind, but so is the day when recreational THC cannabis might become federally legal, and in effect remove the insulation that will allow a steady growth of New Yorks agricultural business.

Jason said that he hopes that if and when that day comes, the state would take some regulatory precaution to protect businesses like his which would end up being squeezed by the likes of farms in Californias Emerald Triangle, where the drier climate is more favorable to cultivating cannabis as opposed to New Yorks remarkably wet one.

But with the growing season beginning, Main Street Farms and Enfield Glen Hopyard are going to be applying the experience and practices they dialed-in on CBD Cannabis, and getting a new batch of crops in that ground that will, perhaps, help alleviate any short-term stress.

With the right varieties and the right methods in place, we can grow the best cannabis in the country, maybe, said Jason.

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License to grow: THC cannabis buds in the Ithaca area - The Ithaca Voice

CBD e-Liquids Market Research Report by Form, Source, Product, Distribution Channel, Application, Region – Global Forecast to 2027 – Cumulative Impact…

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CBD e-Liquids Market Research Report by Form (Concentrated Oil, Cream, and Food Additive), Source, Product, Distribution Channel, Application, Region (Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa) - Global Forecast to 2027 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19

New York, April 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "CBD e-Liquids Market Research Report by Form, Source, Product, Distribution Channel, Application, Region - Global Forecast to 2027 - Cumulative Impact of COVID-19" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06260421/?utm_source=GNW

The Global CBD e-Liquids Market size was estimated at USD 1,792.78 million in 2021 and expected to reach USD 2,036.92 million in 2022, and is projected to grow at a CAGR 13.79% to reach USD 3,892.77 million by 2027.

Market Statistics:The report provides market sizing and forecast across five major currencies - USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, AUD, CAD, and CHF. It helps organization leaders make better decisions when currency exchange data is readily available. In this report, the years 2019 and 2020 are considered historical years, 2021 as the base year, 2022 as the estimated year, and years from 2023 to 2027 are considered the forecast period.

Market Segmentation & Coverage:This research report categorizes the CBD e-Liquids to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-markets:

Based on Form, the market was studied across Concentrated Oil, Cream, Food Additive, Inhaled Liquids, Supplement Capsule, and Tincture Spray.

Based on Source, the market was studied across Inorganic and Organic.

Based on Product, the market was studied across CBD Isolate Vape Oil and Full-Spectrum CBD Vape Oil.

Based on Distribution Channel, the market was studied across Offline Mode and Online Mode.

Based on Application, the market was studied across Cosmetics & Personal Care, Food & Beverage, Medical & Pharmaceuticals, and Pet Care.

Based on Region, the market was studied across Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East & Africa. The Americas is further studied across Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and United States. The United States is further studied across California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The Asia-Pacific is further studied across Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. The Europe, Middle East & Africa is further studied across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom.

Cumulative Impact of COVID-19:COVID-19 is an incomparable global public health emergency that has affected almost every industry, and the long-term effects are projected to impact the industry growth during the forecast period. Our ongoing research amplifies our research framework to ensure the inclusion of underlying COVID-19 issues and potential paths forward. The report delivers insights on COVID-19 considering the changes in consumer behavior and demand, purchasing patterns, re-routing of the supply chain, dynamics of current market forces, and the significant interventions of governments. The updated study provides insights, analysis, estimations, and forecasts, considering the COVID-19 impact on the market.

Cumulative Impact of 2022 Russia Ukraine Conflict:We continuously monitor and update reports on political and economic uncertainty due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Negative impacts are significantly foreseen globally, especially across Eastern Europe, European Union, Eastern & Central Asia, and the United States. This contention has severely affected lives and livelihoods and represents far-reaching disruptions in trade dynamics. The potential effects of ongoing war and uncertainty in Eastern Europe are expected to have an adverse impact on the world economy, with especially long-term harsh effects on Russia.

This report uncovers the impact of demand & supply, pricing variants, strategic uptake of vendors, and recommendations for CBD e-Liquids market considering the current update on the conflict and its global response.

Competitive Strategic Window:The Competitive Strategic Window analyses the competitive landscape in terms of markets, applications, and geographies to help the vendor define an alignment or fit between their capabilities and opportunities for future growth prospects. It describes the optimal or favorable fit for the vendors to adopt successive merger and acquisition strategies, geography expansion, research & development, and new product introduction strategies to execute further business expansion and growth during a forecast period.

FPNV Positioning Matrix:The FPNV Positioning Matrix evaluates and categorizes the vendors in the CBD e-Liquids Market based on Business Strategy (Business Growth, Industry Coverage, Financial Viability, and Channel Support) and Product Satisfaction (Value for Money, Ease of Use, Product Features, and Customer Support) that aids businesses in better decision making and understanding the competitive landscape.

Market Share Analysis:The Market Share Analysis offers the analysis of vendors considering their contribution to the overall market. It provides the idea of its revenue generation into the overall market compared to other vendors in the space. It provides insights into how vendors are performing in terms of revenue generation and customer base compared to others. Knowing market share offers an idea of the size and competitiveness of the vendors for the base year. It reveals the market characteristics in terms of accumulation, fragmentation, dominance, and amalgamation traits.

Competitive Scenario:The Competitive Scenario provides an outlook analysis of the various business growth strategies adopted by the vendors. The news covered in this section deliver valuable thoughts at the different stage while keeping up-to-date with the business and engage stakeholders in the economic debate. The competitive scenario represents press releases or news of the companies categorized into Merger & Acquisition, Agreement, Collaboration, & Partnership, New Product Launch & Enhancement, Investment & Funding, and Award, Recognition, & Expansion. All the news collected help vendor to understand the gaps in the marketplace and competitors strength and weakness thereby, providing insights to enhance product and service.

Company Usability Profiles:The report profoundly explores the recent significant developments by the leading vendors and innovation profiles in the Global CBD e-Liquids Market, including Aphria, Inc., Canopy Growth Corporation, Cavendish Nutrition Fulfillment LLC, CBD Health Solutions, LLC., CV Sciences, Inc., CW Hemp, Elixinol, Endoca, Folium BiosciencesFreedom Leaf Inc., Green Roads, Hemp Oil Canada Inc, HempBombs, Isodiol International Inc, Kazmira LLC, Pharmahemp, PremiumJane, and PureKana.

The report provides insights on the following pointers:1. Market Penetration: Provides comprehensive information on the market offered by the key players2. Market Development: Provides in-depth information about lucrative emerging markets and analyze penetration across mature segments of the markets3. Market Diversification: Provides detailed information about new product launches, untapped geographies, recent developments, and investments4. Competitive Assessment & Intelligence: Provides an exhaustive assessment of market shares, strategies, products, certification, regulatory approvals, patent landscape, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players5. Product Development & Innovation: Provides intelligent insights on future technologies, R&D activities, and breakthrough product developments

The report answers questions such as:1. What is the market size and forecast of the Global CBD e-Liquids Market?2. What are the inhibiting factors and impact of COVID-19 shaping the Global CBD e-Liquids Market during the forecast period?3. Which are the products/segments/applications/areas to invest in over the forecast period in the Global CBD e-Liquids Market?4. What is the competitive strategic window for opportunities in the Global CBD e-Liquids Market?5. What are the technology trends and regulatory frameworks in the Global CBD e-Liquids Market?6. What is the market share of the leading vendors in the Global CBD e-Liquids Market?7. What modes and strategic moves are considered suitable for entering the Global CBD e-Liquids Market?Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06260421/?utm_source=GNW

About ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

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Space travel: (almost) everything you need to know about …

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When did we first start exploring space?

The first human-made object to go into space was a German V2 missile, launched on a test flight in 1942. Although uncrewed, it reached an altitude of 189km (117 miles).

Former Nazi rocket scientists were later recruited by both America and Russia (often at gunpoint in the latter case), where they were instrumental in developing Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) rockets capable of carrying nuclear weapons from one side of the planet to the other.

A captured German V-2 rocket, the worlds first guided missile, launched at the US Army testing base at White Sands, in New Mexico Getty Images

It was these super-missiles that formed the basis for the space programmes of both post-war superpowers. As it happened, Russia was the first to reach Earth orbit, when it launched the uncrewed Sputnik 1 in October 1957, followed a month later by Sputnik 2, carrying the dog Laika the first live animal in space.

The USA sent its first uncrewed satellite, Explorer 1, into orbit soon after, in January 1958. A slew of robotic spaceflights followed, from both sides of the Atlantic, before Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin piloted Vostok 1 into orbit on 12 April 1961, to become the first human being in space. And from there the space race proper began, culminating in Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin becoming the first people to walk on the Moon as part of NASA's Apollo programme.

Space exploration is the future. It satisfies the human urge to explore and to travel, and in the years and decades to come it could even provide our species with new places to call home especially relevant now, as Earth becomes increasingly crowded.

Extending our reach into space is also necessary for the advancement of science. Space telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope and probes to the distant worlds of the Solar System are continually updating, and occasionally revolutionising, our understanding of astronomy and physics.

But there are also some very practical reasons, such as mining asteroids for materials that are extremely rare here on Earth.

One example is the huge reserve of the chemical isotope helium-3 thought to be locked away in the soil on the surface of the Moon. This isotope is a potential fuel for future nuclear fusion reactors power stations that tap into the same source of energy as the Sun. Unlike other fusion fuels, helium-3 gives off no hard-to-contain and deadly neutron radiation.

However, for this to happen the first challenge to overcome is how to build a base on the Moon. In 2019, China's Change 4 mission marked the beginning of a new space race to conquer the Moon, signalling their intent to build a permanent lunar base, while the NASA Artemis mission plans to build a space station, called Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, providing a platform to ferry astronauts to the Moon's surface.

Its entirely feasible that human explorers will visit the furthest reaches of our Solar System. The stars, however, are another matter. Interstellar space is so vast that it takes light the fastest thing we know of in the Universe years, centuries and millennia to traverse it. Faster-than-light travel may be possible one day, but is unlikely to become a reality in our lifetimes.

Its not impossible that humans might one day cross this cosmic gulf, though it wont be easy. The combustion-powered rocket engines of today certainly arent up to the job they just dont use fuel efficiently enough. Instead, interstellar spacecraft may create a rocket-like propulsion jet using electric and magnetic fields. This so-called ion drive technology has already been tested aboard uncrewed Solar System probes.

Star Trek's USS Enterprise, the iconic warp-capable ship Alamy

Another possibility is to push spacecraft off towards the stars using the light from a high-powered laser. A consortium of scientists calling themselves Breakthrough Starshot is already planning to send a flotilla of tiny robotic probes to our nearest star, Proxima Centauri, using just this method.

Though whether human astronauts could survive such punishing acceleration, or the decades-long journey through deep space, remains to be seen.

Pushing forward the frontiers of science is the stated goal of many space missions. But even the development of space travel technology itself can lead to unintended yet beneficial spin-off technologies with some very down-to-earth applications.

Notable spin-offs from the US space programme, NASA, include memory foam mattresses, artificial hearts, and the lubricant spray WD-40. Doubtless, there are many more to come.

Read more about space exploration:

Space exploration also instils a sense of wonder, it reminds us that there are issues beyond our humdrum planet and its petty squabbles, and without doubt it helps to inspire each new generation of young scientists. Its also an insurance policy. Were now all too aware that global calamities can and do happen for instance, climate change and the giant asteroid that smashed into the Earth 65 million years ago, leading to the total extinction of the dinosaurs.

The lesson for the human species is that we keep all our eggs in one basket at our peril. On the other hand, a healthy space programme, and the means to travel to other worlds, gives us an out.

In short, yes very. Reaching orbit means accelerating up to around 28,000kph (17,000mph, or 22 times the speed of sound). If anything goes wrong at that speed, its seldom good news.

Then theres the growing cloud of space junk to contend with in Earth's orbit defunct satellites, discarded rocket stages and other detritus all moving just as fast. A five-gram bolt hitting at orbital speed packs as much energy as a 200kg weight dropped from the top of an 18-storey building.

The movie Gravity highlighted the dangers of space debris Warner Brothers

And getting to space is just the start of the danger. The principal hazard once there is cancer-producing radiation the typical dose from one day in space is equivalent to what youd receive over an entire year back on Earth, thanks to the planets atmosphere and protective magnetic field.

Add to that the icy cold airless vacuum, the need to bring all your own food and water, plus the effects of long-duration weightlessness on bone density, the brain and muscular condition including that of the heart and it soon becomes clear that venturing into space really isnt for the faint-hearted.

Its already happening that is, assuming your pockets are deep enough. The first self-funded space tourist was US businessman Dennis Tito, who in 2001 spent a week aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for the cool sum of $20m (15m).

Virgin Galactic has long been promising to take customers on short sub-orbital hops into space where passengers get to experience rocket propulsion and several minutes of weightlessness, before gliding back to a runway landing on Earth, all for $250k (190k). In late July 2020, the company unveiled the finished cabin in its SpaceShipTwo vehicle, suggesting that commercial spaceflights may begin shortly.

SpaceX expects that one day their Starship could carry passengers to the Moon SpaceX/Flickr

Meanwhile, Elon Musks SpaceX, which in May 2020 became the first private company to launch a human crew to Earth orbit aboard the Crew Dragon, plans to offer stays on the ISS for $35k (27k) per night. SpaceX is now prototyping its huge Starship vehicle, which is designed to take 100 passengers from Earth to as far afield as Mars for around $20k (15k) per head. Musk stated in January that he hoped to be operating 1,000 Starships by 2050.

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Space travel: (almost) everything you need to know about ...

Space-A Travel Is Back for All After COVID Hiatus

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Jim Absher is a Military.com benefits columnist.

The Air Mobility Command has announced that Space Available (Space-A) travel on military aircraft has returned for travelers to pre-pandemic availability.

According to a press release, as of April 22, 2022, all restrictions on Space-A travel had been lifted. The Air Force aims to restore full service by May 13, 2022, according to the release.

Related: Who Is Eligible For Space A Flights?

Restrictions put in place early in the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, effectively shut down all Space-A travel on Air Mobility Command and contracted aircraft for anyone not traveling for medical care or on emergency leave. Now, those blocks will be completely lifted.

While all passengers are required to follow current federal COVID-19 travel procedures, those traveling OCONUS may have additional testing requirements and restrictions for travel to specific countries; those interested may find details on country-specific requirements in the Department of Defense's Electronic Foreign Clearance Guide.

Space-A flights, or military hops, are a unique privilege provided to service members, retirees and their families. Under the Space-A program, eligible passengers can fill unused seats on DoD-owned or -controlled aircraft once all the space-required (duty) passengers and cargo have been accommodated. Space-A flights are available to military members and their families, retirees and some disabled veterans.

For additional information on Space-Available Travel, visit Air Mobility Command's Travel website.

Jim Absher can be reached at jim.absher@monster.com.

Be sure to get the latest news about the military, as well as critical info about how to join and all the benefits of service. Subscribe to Military.com and receive customized updates delivered straight to your inbox.

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Space-A Travel Is Back for All After COVID Hiatus

Space travel News, Research and Analysis The …

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Vadim Sadovski/Shutterstock January 7, 2022

Christopher Newman, Northumbria University, Newcastle and Nick Caplan, Northumbria University, Newcastle

One day more of us may be able to travel further into space, and for longer.

Chris James, The University of Queensland

In some ways, a space rocket and a passenger aircraft fly much the same. But there is one big reason we cant just take an aircraft into space.

Katerina Stepanova, Simon Fraser University

Stay-at-home and quarantining orders have led to increasing isolation. Virtual reality may help alleviate some of the negative feelings of isolation, and this has potential implications for space travel.

Tim Thompson, Teesside University

The vastly differing environment would need a whole new approach to disposing of dead bodies.

Nick Caplan, Northumbria University, Newcastle and Christopher Newman, Northumbria University, Newcastle

With commercial spaceflight companies now taking older people to space, its timely to consider the potential physical impact space flight might have on them.

John Tarduno, University of Rochester

Without a magnetic field, the Moons surface is exposed to solar wind. These could have been depositing resources like water and potential rocket fuel on the Moons surface for billions of years.

A.D. Carson, University of Virginia

In 1970, Gil Scott-Heron penned a spoken word song called Whitey on the Moon that criticized the 1969 Moon landing. A hip-hop scholar explains why the song still reverberates today.

Chris James, The University of Queensland

It wasnt long after Jeff Bezos announced his plans to go to space that Sir Richard Branson joined in, setting a launch date to beat Bezos by nine days.

A.D. Carson, University of Virginia

Rappers have been taking listeners on lyrical journeys to outer space for decades. A hip-hop scholar says their music helps inspire more students to pursue careers among the stars.

Cassandra Steer, Australian National University

Several spaceflights scheduled over the next few years will take non-astronauts to space. But its not certain this privilege will ever extend to anyone beyond the extremely wealthy.

Sam Baron, Australian Catholic University

Bending space into warp bubbles to travel faster than light may never be a reality, but distorting the flow of time just might be possible.

Andrew Winnard, Northumbria University, Newcastle; Claire Bruce-Martin, Northumbria University, Newcastle; Jonathan Michael Laws, Northumbria University, Newcastle, and Nick Caplan, Northumbria University, Newcastle

Exercise is important for astronauts to prevent weak muscles.

Alice Gorman, Flinders University

Its 60 years since Gagarins world-first return from space. The cosmonaut never did make it to Australia, but his huge feat was celebrated here by many, despite tensions with the USSR.

Chris James, The University of Queensland

Perseverance follows in the tracks of Curiosity. The latters touchdown on Martian soil in 2012 marked the first successful use of several pioneering space technologies.

Jacco van Loon, Keele University

Aliens might want to contact us for the same reasons we are looking for them.

Andreea Font, Liverpool John Moores University

Calculations show that wormholes should create a spectacular display of gamma rays that we could try to observe.

Hanane Hadj-Moussa, Carleton University; Aline Ingelson-Filpula, Carleton University, and Kenneth B. Storey, Carleton University

Gray mouse lemurs are more closely related to humans than mice. They also have the ability to hibernate, and researchers are hoping to learn how to transfer that ability to humans.

Alice Gorman, Flinders University and Justin St. P. Walsh, Chapman University

After two decades as a home to astronauts, the International Space Station still has plenty to teach us about how humans can live away from Earth.

Alice Gorman, Flinders University

When it comes to managing the tussle for resources on the Moon, we might take lessons from New Zealand environmental law and TikTok witches.

Vikrant Minhas, University of Adelaide

Bacteria can become more deadly and antibiotic-resilient in space. And while more research is needed to figure out how severe the risks are, they could be catastrophic.

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Space travel News, Research and Analysis The ...

Jessica Watkins makes history as first Black woman launched to Space Station for extended mission – USA TODAY

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NASA, SpaceX send first Black woman astronaut to ISS

SpaceX launches historic NASA Crew-4 astronauts from Florida for six-month mission at the ISS.

Damien Henderson, Associated Press

Jessica Watkins made history on Wednesday by becoming the first Black woman launched into space for an extended mission on the International Space Station.

Watkins, 33, and three other astronauts rocketed into space from the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida,at3:52 a.m. EDT.

"I think it really is just a tribute to the legacy of the Black women astronauts that have come before me, as well as to the exciting future ahead," Watkins said during an NPR interview.

Last November, NASA announced Watkins would be the fourth and final seat on Crew Dragon forSpaceX's Crew-4 mission.

The assignment meant she would be the first Black womanto join an ISS crew for scientific research, station maintenance, training and more over a six-month period. Previously,Victor Glover, part of SpaceX's Crew-2 mission that launched in November 2020, became the first Black astronaut to join a station crew.

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Will Elon Musk bring prosperity?: SpaceX launches rockets from one of America's poorest areas

Out of 248 astronauts who have visited the space station, only seven have been Black and none were included in expeditions lasting several months.

In 1983, Guion Bluford became the first Black astronaut to travel to space. Mae Jemison followed nine years later and became the first Black woman to do the same.

NASA also announced last year that Watkins was chosen for the Artemis program that aims to put astronauts back on the moon no later than 2025.

Wednesday's flight sent NASA'sBob Hines,Kjell Lindgren and the European Space Agency'sSamantha Cristoforettito orbit.

They're expected to dock at the space station at 8:15 p.m.EDTif schedules hold.

"For me, growing up, it was important to me to have role models in roles that I aspire to be in, contributing in ways I aspired to contribute," Watkins told NPR."So to the extent that I'm able to do that, I'm honored and grateful for the opportunity to return the favor."

Contributing: Emre Kelly and Rick Neale

Follow reporter Asha Gilbert @Coastalasha.Email: agilbert@usatoday.com.

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Jessica Watkins makes history as first Black woman launched to Space Station for extended mission - USA TODAY

History of Space Travel – National Geographic Kids

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The first earthling to orbit our planet was just two years old, plucked from the streets of Moscow barely more than a week before her historic launch. Her name was Laika. She was a terrier mutt and by all accounts a good dog. Her 1957 flight paved the way for space exploration back when scientists didnt know if spaceflight was lethal for living things.

Humans are explorers. Since before the dawn of civilization, weve been lured over the horizon to find food or more space, to make a profit, or just to see whats beyond those trees or mountains or oceans. Our ability to explore reached new heightsliterallyin the last hundred years. Airplanes shortened distances, simplified travel, and showed us Earth from a new perspective. By the middle of the last century, we aimed even higher.

Our first steps into space began as a race between the United States and the former Soviet Union, rivals in a global struggle for power. Laika was followed into orbit four years later by the first human, Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin. With Earth orbit achieved, we turned our sights on the moon. The United States landed two astronauts on its stark surface in 1969, and five more manned missions followed. The U.S.s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched probes to study the solar system. Manned space stations began glittering in the sky. NASA developed reusable spacecraftspace shuttle orbitersto ferry astronauts and satellites to orbit. Space-travel technology had advanced light-years in just three decades. Gagarin had to parachute from his spaceship after reentry from orbit. The space shuttle leaves orbit at 16,465 miles an hour (26,498 kilometers an hour) and glides to a stop on a runway without using an engine.

Space travel is nothing like in the movies. Getting from A to B requires complex calculations involving inertia and gravityliterally, rocket scienceto "slingshot" from planet to planet (or moon) across the solar system. The Voyager mission of the 1970s took advantage of a rare alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune to shave off nearly 20 years of travel time. Space is also dangerous. More than 20 astronauts have died doing their job.

That hasnt stopped people from signing up and blasting off. NASAs shuttle program has ended, but private companies are readying their own space programs. A company called Planetary Resources plans to send robot astronauts to the Asteroid Belt to mine for precious metals. Another company named SpaceX is hoping to land civilian astronauts on Marsthe next human step into the solar systemin 20 years. NASA and other civilian companies are planning their own Mars missions. Maybe youll be a member of one? Dont forget to bring your dog.

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History of Space Travel - National Geographic Kids

Northern Colorado Astronauts Head to Space Station — LIVE COVERAGE VIA NASA – North Forty News

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A Colorado State University alumnus is making his second trip to the International Space Station, along with the first Black Woman to live on the Space Station.

Kjell Lindgren is commander of the mission, he earned a masters degree in cardiovascular physiology from CSU in 1996. Jessica Watkins, a Boulder native, is mission specialist.

The pair are joined by two others (Bob Hines, pilot and Samantha Cristoforetti, mission specialist) as part of NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 on Freedom.

This is our fourth crew rotation flight its kind of hard to believe, said Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston. It seems like Demo-2 was just yesterday, and its exciting to be here. We had a really clean countdown today the Falcon 9 rocket did great; the Dragon vehicle did great. It was great to see the crew get in. You could tell they were excited to start their flight off.

Launching alongside the crew in the Dragon capsule is an investigation that seeks to restore meaningful vision to people suffering from retinal degenerative diseases like retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration. TheProtein-Based Artificial Retina Manufacturingexperiment tests the manufacturing of artificial retinas or retinal implants in microgravity, where it is expected their production could be optimized.

About Kjell Lindgren

Dr. Kjell N. Lindgren was selected by NASA in 2009. He spent most of his childhood abroad and returned to the U.S. to complete his education and earn a Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Colorado. He earned a masters degree in cardiovascular physiology from CSU in 1996. He is board-certified in emergency medicine. After serving as the Deputy Crew Surgeon for STS-130 and Expedition 24, he was selected as an astronaut in June 2009 as one of 14 members of the 20th NASA astronaut class. Dr. Lindgren flew on Expedition 44/45 and logged 141 days in space. He participated in two spacewalks and in more than a hundred different scientific experiments. Lindgren is currently serving as commander on NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station, which launched on April 27, 2022.

About Jessica Watkins

Jessica Watkins was selected by NASA to join the 2017 Astronaut Candidate Class. Watkins reported for duty in August 2017 and completed two years of training as an astronaut candidate. The Colorado native earned a Bachelor of Science in Geological and Environmental Sciences from Stanford University, and a Doctorate in Geology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Watkins conducted her graduate research on the emplacement mechanisms of large landslides on Mars and Earth. She has worked at NASAs Ames Research Center and NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and was a science team collaborator for NASAs Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity. Watkins is currently serving as a mission specialist on NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station, which launched on April 27, 2022.

Scientific Research in Space

Lindgren said one of the scientific experiments the crew will conduct on this mission involves examining how weightlessness affects wound healing in a rodent model, which brings me back to my CSU days as well, given CSUs reputation as a veterinary training center. He said the crew will also be growing edible plants, as he did on his last mission.

And that is an amazing thing, to plant it, then to watch it grow to the size that it can be harvested, to recognize that this could be a really important part of space flight as a source of food and even as part of our environmental control system, he said. To see a little part of what science fiction has described for a long time and then to have that as part of a meal was a lot of fun.

Lindgren acknowledged that he has more responsibility and pressure serving as commander of this mission compared to his first trip to space, but he said his crewmates are fantastic. They include another astronaut with Colorado ties, Boulder nativeJessica Watkins, who will be the first Black woman to live on the space station. She and American pilotBob Hinesare taking their first trip to the space station. It will be the second mission for European Space Agency astronautSamantha Cristoforettiof Italy.

Team Chemistry

Lindgren said the group has had several opportunities to bond, including sea kayaking off the coast of Washington state.

That team spirit, crew cohesion, is one of those things you cant really train for, he said, adding that its exciting to serve on a team that inspires the next generation and shows what is possible when we work together in an international partnership.

Lindgren said the mission patch, which is worn on the shoulder of their uniforms and features a dragonfly, was designed by his daughter.

We wanted to reconnect with the earth with our patch, he explained. The dragonfly is a beautiful and agile flyer, and in many cultures is a sign of good fortune.

Space travel feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so to be able to do it a second time seems surreal, said Lindgren, adding that his pre-flight traditions include launching model rockets on the beach with his family.

What an amazing time to be part of NASA, Lindgren concluded. I feel like we won the lottery. We have programs that are figuring out how to get our astronauts to the moon, with Mars in our sights. There used to always be a running joke that Mars is 30 years away, and I have felt that horizon shrink.

Docking at ISS

Upon their arrival at the space station, the Crew-4 astronauts will be greeted by NASA astronauts of theExpedition 67crew already on board. During their six-month stay aboard the microgravity laboratory, Lindgren, Hines, Watkins, and Cristoforetti will join the Expedition 67 crew in conducting a number of science and research investigations.

7:40 p.m., April 27 Docking of the SpaceX/Crew-4 Crew Dragon Freedom to the International Space Station (hatch opening scheduled at approximately 9:30 p.m. EDT)

Here is the live video feed (Watch as they dock):

Excerpts of this article and quotes were provided by Colorado State University (Jeff Dodge) and NASA (nasa.gov).

Show your support for Local Journalism by helping us do more of it. It's a kind and simple gesture that will help us continue to bring stories like this to you.

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Northern Colorado Astronauts Head to Space Station -- LIVE COVERAGE VIA NASA - North Forty News

Leave Space Exploration To The Robots, Says New Book – Forbes

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Artists concept of the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft approaching the Sun.

Is human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit a thing of the past? Will space tourism profit and expand in low-Earth orbit while the rough and tumble exploration of space beyond the Moon continue to be carried out via robotics?

These questions cut to the heart of The End of Astronauts: Why Robots Are The Future of Exploration, a thought-provoking new book co-authored by astrophysicists Donald Goldsmith and Martin Rees.

Although such arguments arent necessarily new, the authors make some salient new points that bear repeating here.

- Human space travel remains dangerous.

High energy solar and galactic particles are rife throughout the solar system. Beyond Earths Van Allen radiation belts, astronauts are particularly vulnerable to radiation from such particles.

For each month in space, human bone density can lessen by as much in 1.5 percent in weight-bearing locations of the body such as the hips and knees. Astronauts spending six months en route to Mars, would receive at least 60 percent of the total radiation dose recommended for a full career, the authors note. The return trip home would push them over the limit, even without a sudden increase from solar storms or flares, they note.

- In contrast to human space exploration, non-human robotic explorers have safely and efficiently reached the outer edges of our solar system.

Since its creation in 1958, NASA has spent about 60 percent more on human exploration than on robotic investigation of the cosmos, the authors write. We should note that the human exploration of space has so far extended only to the Moon

The End of Astronauts

- Space-based telescopes need not be serviceable by humans.

Although the Hubble space telescope wouldnt have been operational without the ability to rescue it from what Goldsmith and Rees term an otherwise fatal manufacturing defect, they do note that the director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, which manages the Hubble has said that the total cost of the five astronaut repair missions would have paid for building and launching seven replacement telescopes.

Its hard to know whether this would be the case, given rising costs for instrumentation and space observatories in general. But the point is well taken. And perhaps thats one reason the Hubbles follow-on observatory, NASAs James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), was never designed to be serviced by human astronauts, at least.

From its current solar orbit some one million miles from Earth, the James Webb is currently out of reach of a crewed service mission. But thus far it has proven to be well on track for full science operations set to begin this summer.

- Artificial platforms for space colonies would hardly be Valhallas.

Artists often depict space colonies as exciting and attractive, resembling a holiday resort, or some other realization of our hopes for a near-perfect environment, Goldsmith and Rees write. But the authors note that this is likely not to resemble the reality of such space colonies constructed in interplanetary space. They note that there will be great difficulty and danger in maintaining such huge artificial structures in space, as well as the technical challenges involved in their construction.

- But space platforms would potentially allow billions of people to live in space.

As Goldsmith and Rees point out, in his 1997 book Mining the Sky, the cosmo-chemist John Lewis lamented that "as long as the human population remains as pitifully small as it is today, we shall be severely limited in what we can accomplish. Lewis stressed that human intelligence is the key to the future.... Having only one Einstein, one da Vinci, one Bill Gates is not enough.

The implication is that maximizing our human potential might require increasing the human population a hundred-fold. Space platforms would offer humans a sustainable way to increase our numbers and thereby roll the die so that geniuses would become more commonplace. Who knows if such a scheme would work? Instead, it would just be easier to reengineer our brains artificially to make such once in a lifetime geniuses more commonplace than we could ever imagine.

This whole argument is a bit tangential to the books focus of why robots should prevail in space, at least for the time being.

Goldsmith and Rees make a compelling case for robotics over astronauts at least in the short term. But let's hope that 100 years from now, time and technology will allow us to have both robust human interplanetary spaceflight and state of the art robotic space science and exploration.

In the short term, however, it probably does make good sense to emphasize solar system exploration via robotics as has been brilliantly done by the national space agencies over the last 65 years. It's truly amazing and how much has been accomplished with so few dollars.

In time, let's hope that there is a meeting that that that there is a merger of sorts between the kind of robotics that can complement our human aspirations to travel into interstellar space in ways that are incomprehensible at present.

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Leave Space Exploration To The Robots, Says New Book - Forbes

Houston, we have a checkup: UCF doctors study space travel effects on astronauts’ organs – NSM.today

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Researchers from the UCF College of Medicine collaborated with the Sheba Medical Center and the Rabin Medical Center in Israel to study the effects of microgravity on the eyes and brain of astronauts in the Axiom Mission 1. The astronauts, who are scheduled to come back to Earth on Monday, will complete post-flight testing at UCF Health clinic and UCF Lake Nona Hospital. (From left to right: Dr. Ali Rizvi, Dr. Mehul Patel and Dr. Joyce Paulson.)

After spending two weeks in space, four astronauts will come back to Earth on Monday and help doctors at UCF explore the effects of space travel on the human brain and eyes.

Doctors from the UCF College of Medicine collaborated with two Israeli medical centers to analyze the brain and eyes of the astronauts in the Axiom Mission 1 before they launched on April 8.

Researchers will re-examine the crew, which includes Eytan Stibbe,Larry Connor, Mark Pathy and MichaelLpez-Alegra, at UCF Health and the UCF Lake Nona Hospital to evaluate potential changes in their organs.

I'll be waiting with my arms wide open to catch them as they come in, said Dr. Mehul Patel, an ophthalmologist at UCF Health. "All the tests that we did before launch, we're going to do them again."

Patel is one of the doctors participating in the study focusing on spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome or SANS.

SANS is associated with microgravity, a condition in which the force of gravity is reduced, according toNASA. The syndrome causes swelling of the optic nerves, changes the internal eye structures and decreases vision, according to the agency.

Patel said looking at the eye structures before and after humans have been exposed to microgravity will help the team understand the syndrome and find ways to prevent it.

Microgravity, the increased radiation, the higher amount of carbon dioxide at the space station, all of these things are going to impact how the body functions on a baseline physiology," Patel said. "And we want to see what those changes are."

Dr. Gal Antman, an ophthalmology resident at Rabin Medical Center in Israel, is working alongside Patel. He said the study is using advanced technology that shows eye structures in high resolution.

We are conducting a new modality that is able to see the vasculature, the blood vessels of the eyes, Antman said. Its new and it has not been conducted on astronauts until this day.

Another group of researchers will focus on the effects of microgravity on the protective barrier of the brain.

Dr. Harel Baris from the Sheba Medical Center in Israel is joined by UCF endocrinologist Dr. Ali Rizvi and UCF internist Dr. Joyce Paulson in a study that examines changes in the blood-brain barrier of humans during space travel.

The blood-brain barrier refers to the tissue that protects the brain from harmful substances, according to the National Cancer Institute.

It acts as a biochemical barrier that doesn't allow free movement of any kind of substance to enter and possibly affect the central nervous system in a negative manner, Rizvi said.

Rizvi said the goal is to understand the modifications of the structure and how doctors can use them to their advantage.

Baris, who is the primary investigator of the research,said the team will measure the enlargement of the pores in the barrier and evaluate the possibility of administering medication through those pores. He said the goal is totreat conditions that deteriorate the cells in the nervous system by letting medication enter the functional tissue of the brain.

Neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease or other dementia are a major problem in modern world, Baris said. The inability to transfer therapeutic agent into the brain parenchymais a major challenge that we all are facing.

Baris study will be assisted by UCF researcher Dr. Michal Masternak and a group of UCF graduate students, who will analyze blood samples and trace specific proteins.

Masternak said the process has beenchallenging, from collecting samples from astronauts following the schedule of the International Space Station to preparing for when they arrive on Earth on Monday.

"We have to be ready to collect some samples and process the samples in our lab early in the morning like at 4 a.m.," Masternak said. "But we are really excited. So, it doesn't matter for us and it's not only about me and my personal interest in this project, but also our students, they have a chance to participate in this."

Dr. Amoy Fraser, manager of clinical research at UCF, said the partnership with Axiom Space brings UCF closer to NASA and opens up opportunities for future collaborations.

We're in Orlando and the closest medical school to the Kennedy Space Center, so all the clinical trials they want to do are best done with collaboration from us, Fraser said.

Fraser also said working with two Israeli medical centers brings recognition to UCF and the College of Medicine both nationally and internationally.

The Ax-1 mission, which was originally scheduled to last 10 days, was delayed due to unfavorable weather conditions on Tuesday. The mission is now set to undock from the ISS around 8:55 p.m. onSunday and splash down off the coast of Florida around1 p.m onMonday, according to Axiom Space.

Without hesitation to express his excitement to work with the crew, Patel said the team is aiming to receive the astronauts at UCF Health facilities within 72 hours of the splashdown, but protocols to ensure the crew's safety may delay the process.

"We would love to get them, you know, on that taxi from wherever they splashed down to here, like straight into the clinic, but that's not realistic," Patel said. "So, as soon as they're allowed to come to us, we will perform all the exams.

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Houston, we have a checkup: UCF doctors study space travel effects on astronauts' organs - NSM.today

House of Legends Joins the Axiom Space Mission for the World’s First NFT Exhibition In Space – NewsBTC

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Space is for everyone.- Eytan Stibbe, Rakia Mission 1 (Ax-1)

On April 8, Axiom Space launched the first-ever private space mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Ax-1 mission is the first-ever private mission to the ISS, and consists of former NASA astronaut and Axiom vice president of business development Michael Lpez-Alegra as commander; American entrepreneur and non-profit activist investor Larry Connor as a pilot; Canadian investor and philanthropist Mark Pathy as mission specialist; and impact investor and philanthropist Eytan Stibbe of Israel as a mission specialist.

The four astronauts did not travel to the stars alone. With them are 30 super rare House of Legends NFTs, which drop into an auction with all proceeds going towards changing lives on Earth.

House of Legends is a blockchain-based brand that leverages the power of NFT and Web3 technology in order to make a real-world impact. NFTs hold the power to change lives for collectors, investors and creators and HOL is using this immense new digital force to change lives for more people around the globe. Now, HOL has the support of Eyatn Stibbe, Ax-1 team member, and his Rakia Mission, one of the visionary enterprises of our time.

The Ax-1 Mission sees four humans push boundaries like never before. On April 8, they made history as the first private space mission crew to the International Space Station (ISS).

Ax-1 uses a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon 2 capsule to transport the four astronauts to the ISS for the 10-day mission. Among them is Eytan Stibbe, an Israeli impact investor and philanthropist, who is going as part of Rakia mission.

The underlying goal of Rakia is to recognize the prospective benefits of space exploration. Its purpose is to draw on the curiosity associated with human space travel and to unleash its creative potential by raising awareness to the importance of preserving Earths limited resources and fostering a commitment to international collaborations and the advancement of space research. As an educational endeavor, students, educators, researchers, intellectuals and the general public are stimulated by their exposure to the many scientific experiments conducted on board the space station and equally by the demonstrations of the use of Israeli technology. The missions educational goals is to further the live transmission of educational content to Israeli children and the unique opportunity to see Israeli art being made and exhibited. Because no dream is beyond reach.

As part of the mission, Stibbe showcases the House of Legends new public-spirited project, which aims to change the lives of a million people on Earth. The honorary Wish Upon a Star series of 30 NFT artworks, is created especially for this mission.

As part of the project, HOL invited children worldwide to hand-draw their hopes and aspirations for humanity. The HOL team includes 30 of these artistic depictions into the Wish Upon a Star NFT series.

During Rakia, HOL and Stibbe make the first-ever NFT exhibition in space. The digital assets are auctioned for charity once the crew lands back on Earth. Most importantly, 100% of the proceeds from the auction go towards HOLs charity initiative to provide access to clean drinking water in communities in India and Africa.

This historical event requires equally exceptional quality for the first NFTs to be presented in space. Therefore, the task fell into the hands of extraordinary talent, the world-renowned Forbes 30-under-30 artist Amit Shimoni.

Shimoni is also the co-founder of House of Legends and the creator of the popular art brand, Hipstory. He adds his vision to the childrens paintings and creates a remarkable NFT collection with unique life-changing power.

These super rare HOL NFTs depict some of the projects Legends holding the childrens handmade sketches. Each NFT represents a childs wish for a better future. And this Rakia-HOL collaboration ensures all childrens hopes reach the stars. Above all, it aims to inspire the next generations to dream big and act for a better world.

During his time at the ISS, Stibbe will display the NFTs through a tablet, to share and speak about the mission on video.

All the NFTs in the Wish Upon a Star series have the same clear and inspiring message of hope, unity, and peace for the whole world. They all drop into the House of Legends collection, where they will go on auction. All proceeds go towards building water wells for more communities worldwide. Lastly, the highest bidder for each NFT will have their name written on the water well that will be built thanks to their donation. This is similar to the eToro x HOL-sponsored water wells.

House of Legends is highly grateful for Eytan Stibbes support on this historic mission. The common goal is to help millions of people in need, living in forgotten villages worldwide. As Eytan Stibbe and the Rakia mission make history in space, Wish Upon a Star NFTs support making a difference in communities here on Earth.

This is not the first time House of Legends has contributed to a larger-than-life cause. Last year, HOL minted a genesis collection of 9,993 NFT artworks honoring some of the most outstanding men and women in history. The collection includes Amit Shimonis quirky pop-art depictions of famous inspirational figures, such as Oprah, Elon Musk, the Dalai Lama, Frida Kahlo, and Andy Warhol, among others.

The entire collection sold out within 48 hours of the launch day and raised $4.8 million. As part of its charitable project, HOL teamed up with acclaimed global NGO Drop4Drop, to build clean water wells in remote villages across India and Africa. With the collective proceeds of this NFT sale, HOL gave access to safe drinking water to over 80,000 people.

House of Legends, and the production house behind it, Meta-Brothers, aim to give the opportunity to NFT enthusiasts to be part of a thriving life-changing movement while simultaneously participating in the exciting NFT revolution. Becoming a Legends holder is more than being an NFT collector, it gives the luxurious status of being a real Legend. Currently, the floor price for the HOL NFTs stands at 0.08 ETH, making it a pretty great time for NFT enthusiasts to get on board.

Under the brilliant leadership of Tamara Yannay, House of Legends is developing into a humanitarian-centered project with global reach. Tamara is a prolific NFT entrepreneur with an important background in the Israeli military as a photojournalist. Traveling worldwide for her work helped Tamara discover the sad truth of water-deprived communities and plastic pollution. Now, she dedicates her projects to raising funds to provide access to clean, potable water for millions of people, while inspiring more companies and corporations to follow in her footsteps. The next mission will be solar energy solutions.

HOL is in a tight-knit collaboration with Drop4Drop, a community development initiative, to provide clean water access to communities in need. 80 water wells for 80,000 people are underway due to the successful launch of HOL. Now, they are looking to build even more wells across 6 countries in India and Africa.

Access to clean water helps people improve their livelihoods and have better opportunities to build a safer and brighter future.

On April 9, we all looked toward the stars through House of Legends! Now, we participate in the historical Wish Upon a Star NFT auction to make the world a better place for those in need. Your contribution is more important now than ever. Just because children cannot reach space, it doesnt mean that their wishes shouldnt reach for the stars.

You can find out more about House of Legends here: Website | OpenSea |Twitter | Discord| Instagram|Rakia Mission: https://www.eng.rakiamission.co.il/Studio Shimoni and Hipstory: Website | Instagram |Facebook|Also, discover more about Meta-Brothers here: Website | Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram|

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House of Legends Joins the Axiom Space Mission for the World's First NFT Exhibition In Space - NewsBTC