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NASA shares pic of slow motion firework that lasted over 150 years – Hindustan Times

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

You may have had the chance to see various types of fireworks throughout your life. But, have you seen a firework show in space? Well, if so, then lucky you. But if no, then worry not as today is your lucky day. NASA shared an image of a doomed super-massive star 7,500 light-years away named Eta Carinae or as the caption reads slow-motion firework show that lasted well over 150 years. If reading that has got you excited, wait until you see the picture. This is one informative and intriguing post that is bound to leave you amazed.

The official Instagram account of NASA shared this photograph on January 2. The text shared alongside the post describes what it depicts. Goodbye, 2020. Hello, 2021 Have you ever seen a slow-motion firework show that lasted well over 150 YEARS? Meet Eta Carinae, it reads.

The caption further goes onto state, Eta Carinae, shown here in a @NASAHubble image is a doomed super-massive star 7,500 light-years away that went through a Great Eruption in the 1840s that made it the second-brightest visible star in the sky for over a decade it was so bright that sailors at the time used it as an important navigational star in the southern seas.

Read the rest of the caption by checking out the entire post:

Since being shared on the photo and video sharing platform, this snapshot has captured netizens attention. It currently has over 9.4 lakh likes. The post has also amassed many comments.

Heres what Instagram users had to say about the share. One person said, So cool.

Another individual wrote, So incredibly beautiful. Very wonderful, read one comment under the post.

What are your thoughts on this share?

Also Read | NASA shares pics that unravel complexities of Earth from a cosmic vantage point

In Photos: A Year At Jupiter As Seen By NASAs $1.1 Billion Spacecraft As It Completes 31st Orbit – Forbes

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

NASA scientists made a bunch of new discoveries in 2020 using data from its Juno spacecraft at ... [+] Jupiter.

A $1.1 billion NASA spacecraft orbiting Jupiter since 2016 has sent back its latest batch of close-up photos of the giant gas planet after completing another year of its science mission.

NASAs Juno, which launched in 2011 and arrived at Jupiter five years later, has been in a highly elliptical polar orbit of Jupiter that sees it perform a close flyby only once every 53 days.

Juno had originally been intended to orbit Jupiter every 14 days, but the orbit was changed after worries about valves on Junos fuel system.

Its latest flyby or perijoveits 31st in totalsaw it get within 3,000 miles/5,000 kilometers of Jupiters surface.

Jupiter as seen on 2020-08-20 and processed by citizen scientists Kevin M. Gill.

The images returned to Earth via NASAs Deep Space Network arrives as raw unprocessed data. Thats because the JunoCam cameraequipped with a two megapixel image sensortakes photographs as it spins, producing strips of images rather than ready-to-view photos.

Junos raw image data is then painstakingly merged and processedand their color and contrast painstakingly enhancedby a citizen scientists such as Kevin M. Gill (who has so far published a new image of Jupiters Great Red Spot), Sean Dorn and Gerald Eichstdt, Brian Swift, Rita Najm (among many others), whose work is then shared online and made publicly available.

Roses on Jupiter, a image from February 17, 2020 processed by citizen scientist Rita Najm, shows ... [+] Jupiter from an altitude of about 7,900 miles/12,700 kilometers above the planets cloud tops. It gives the impression of a painting that's ready to be framed.

However, NASAs solar-powered Jupiter explorer is not just about images and outreach. Its mission is to peer below Jupiters dense cover of clouds to solve mysteries about the gas giants formation and evolution as well as its gravity and magnetic fields, atmospheric dynamics and composition.

In this animated GIF, the clouds on the periphery of some of Jupiter's polar cyclones rotate ... [+] counterclockwise, while the core of the cyclones rotate clockwise. The JunoCam images used for this animation were taken from altitudes of about 18,000 miles (28,567 kilometers) above Jupiter's cloud tops. Citizen scientist Gerald Eichstdt processed the images to enhance the color and contrast.

A key success from Junos mission in 2020 has been its imaging of all eight circumpolar cyclones around a central cyclone located at Jupiters north pole. Ranging from 1,500 miles/2,400 kilometers to 1,740 miles/2,800 kilometers, these cyclones are in a strange yet stable octogonal arrangement.

The original JunoCam images used to produce the composite photo above were taken during flybys on February 17, April 10, June 2, and July 25, 2020. That was necessary because JunoCam only deals in visible light.

This composite of images from the JunoCam imager aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft shows the eight ... [+] circumpolar cyclones around a central cyclone located at Jupiter's north pole.

Junos elliptical orbit is slowly changing, and with each close flyby it gets closer to the planets north pole. While at the start of its mission the northern polar cyclone was hidden in polar night, as the Sun moves toward the northern hemisphere its emerging into the daylight.

These images from NASA's Juno mission show three views of a Jupiter "hot spot" - a break in ... [+] Jupiter's cloud deck that provides a glimpse into the planet's deep atmosphere. The pictures were taken by the JunoCam imager during the spacecraft's 29th close flyby of the giant planet on Sept. 16, 2020.

Junos high-resolution data has also in 2020 revealed more about the planets mysterious hot spots in the cold upper reaches of Jupiters atmosphere, which now appear to be windows through its dense clouds. Flanked by active storms and causing shallow lightning, these hotspots provide a glimpse into Jupiters deep atmosphere.

Giant planets have deep atmospheres without a solid or liquid base like Earth, said Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Junos observations are shedding light on old mysteries and posing new questions not only about Jupiter, but about all gas giant worlds.

This illustration uses data obtained by NASA's Juno mission to depict high-altitude electrical ... [+] storms on Jupiter. Juno's sensitive Stellar Reference Unit camera detected unusual lightning flashes on Jupiter's dark side during the spacecraft's close flybys of the planet.

It also gave rise to a new theory about mushballs in Jupiters atmosphere. High up in the atmosphere, where shallow lightning is seen, water and ammonia are combined and become invisible to Junos microwave instrument. This is where a special kind of hailstone that we call mushballs are forming, said Tristan Guillot, a Juno co-investigator at the Universit Cte d'Azur in Nice, France. These mushballs get heavy and fall deep into the atmosphere, creating a large region that is depleted of both ammonia and water. Once the mushballs melt and evaporate, the ammonia and water change back to a gaseous state and are visible to Juno again.

Jupiter, as taken by NASA Juno during its recent perijove 27, and processed by citizen scientist ... [+] Kevin M. Gill.

Junos mission is scheduled to end in July 2021, when on its 35th orbit it will crash into Jupiter and be destroyed. However, there are plans to-be-confirmed that would see Juno continue its oval-shaped orbits of the planet and get closer to the aurora visible in its polar regions as well as its faint rings.

During an extended mission, Junos north-shifting orbit would also see it perform close flybys of three of Jupiters largest moonsGanymede (mid 2021), Europa (late 2022) and Io.

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.

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In Photos: A Year At Jupiter As Seen By NASAs $1.1 Billion Spacecraft As It Completes 31st Orbit - Forbes

NASA gives nod of approval to two heliophysics missions that will explore Sun, space weather – Firstpost

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

FP TrendingJan 04, 2021 11:42:06 IST

NASA has said yes to two heliophysics missions to explore the Sun and will also observe the system that drives space weather near Earth. As per a statement by NASA, the Extreme Ultraviolet High-Throughput Spectroscopic Telescope Epsilon Mission (EUVUST) and Electroject Zeeman Imaging Explorere (EZIE) will help scientists understand the Sun and Earth as an interconnected system. Scientists are of the opinion that understanding the physics that drive solar wind and solar explosions could in the future help them predict events, which in turn can impact human technology as well as explorers in space.

With these new missions, were expanding how we study the Sun, space, and Earth as an interconnected system, said Peg Luce, deputy director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington said in a statement.

From the International Space Stations orbit 269 miles above the Indian Ocean southwest of Australia, this nighttime photograph captures the aurora australis, or "southern lights." Russia's Soyuz MS-12 crew ship is in the foreground and Progress 72 resupply ship in the background.Credits: NASA

The EUVST Mission is led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), in partnership with other international organisations. The EUVST is targeting a launch date in 2026. It is a solar telescope that will study how the sun's atmosphere releases solar wind and drives eruptions of solar material.

NASA's hardware contributions to the mission include an intensified UV detector and support electronics, spectrograph components, a guide telescope, software and a slip-jaw imaging system to provide context for the spectrographic measurement.

NASA's budget to the whole mission is $55 million and the principal investigator for the NASA contribution to EUVST is Harry Warren at the US Naval Research Laboratory in Washington.

The EZIE mission is made up of three Cubesats which will study electric currents in Earth's atmosphere linking aurora to the Earth's magnetosphere.

According to NOAA, the magnetosphere is the region of space surrounding Earth where the dominant magnetic field is the magnetic field of Earth, rather than the magnetic field of interplanetary space. The magnetosphere is formed by the interaction of the solar wind with Earth's magnetic field.

The total budget for the EZIE mission is $53.3 million and is slated to launch in June 2024. The principal investigator for the mission is Jeng-Hwa (Sam) Yee at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.

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NASA gives nod of approval to two heliophysics missions that will explore Sun, space weather - Firstpost

Opinion: Biden will inherit a mess at NASA – Houston Chronicle

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

Donald Trump badly wanted to be the president who sent Americans back to the moon. Instead, his administration has presided over Artemis, a lunar-landing program plagued by uncertain plans, unproven cost assumptions, and limited oversight, according to a new watchdog report. Pieces of the program, including the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, are billions of dollars over budget, years past deadline and poised to eat into NASAs more promising projects. As a result, the U.S. space agency will almost certainly miss its goal of landing Americans on the moon again by 2024.

President-elect Joe Biden inherits the task of deciding what to do next. He should focus on what has made the U.S. space program distinctive in recent years: the power of private competition.

As far back as 1989, presidents have been advocating for a return to Earths closest neighbor. The most ambitious effort, known as Constellation, began under George W. Bush in 2005, with the goal of putting Americans on the moon around 2020. It was a complex initiative that required the development of new hardware, including rockets and a space capsule now known as Orion.

By 2010, however, Constellation was so far behind schedule and over budget with no realistic prospect for success before the 2030s that President Barack Obama asked Congress to end funding for the program. In its place, Obama proposed a new initiative that retained the Orion capsule but aimed to take humans beyond the moon. It also added a new rocket, the Space Launch System (or SLS), partly based on hardware and designs dating back to the space shuttle.

The 14-year-old Orion capsule has flown exactly once (on a crewless 2014 test flight), while burning through a whopping $24 billion. The SLS hasnt fared much better: It has received more than $20 billion since 2011, cost estimates have risen by 33 percent in the past three years, and the rockets first scheduled launch originally set for 2017 has slipped to at least the end of next year.

Congress has chronically underfunded approved NASA programs, thereby stretching out deadlines and creating new expenses. Just as important is cost-plus accounting, a risk-averse way to pay for hardware development in which NASA reimburses a company Boeing Co. in the case of the SLS, Lockheed Martin Corp. in the case of Orion for all costs incurred, then layers a profit margin on top. Thats arguably a good way to encourage companies to take on risky new technologies. But it also means that the government bears all the risk of missed deadlines and rising costs.

A more efficient alternative is fixed-price contracts, in which a company keeps as profit whatevers left over after it completes its assigned task. The initiative has worked far better than anyone couldve expected. In a 2011 report, NASA expressed bewilderment that SpaceX, then a young upstart, managed to develop its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket for just $390 million as opposed to a likely cost of $1.7 billion to $4 billion under traditional cost-plus assumptions.

Come January, the Biden administration should take a similar approach to the troubled Artemis system. Step one should be eliminating SLS and Orion altogether in favor of cheaper private-sector alternatives. Advocates will argue that the costs sunk into those programs are simply too great to cut them now. But that mindset has been a loser for NASA for more than a decade. So long as NASA and its contractors dont fear the budget axe, theyll have few incentives to speed up the rate of innovation and project completion.

That doesnt mean the agency should suspend its lunar ambitions; if the U.S. wants to defend its traditional lead in space, getting back to the moon should be a priority. But it does need to change its approach. Currently, there are a number of Artemis elements being developed under fixed-price contracts, including future lunar landers. The new administration should use a similar approach with as many aspects of the project as possible, thereby harnessing the efficiency and inventiveness of private competition.

The delays are unlikely to be much greater than the ones already inhibiting Artemis. But the payoff for enduring them will be far richer, ensuring that American companies can start leading the way to distant frontiers.

Minter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is the author of Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade and Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale.

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Opinion: Biden will inherit a mess at NASA - Houston Chronicle

Difference between asteroids, meteors and comets – NASA explains how to tell them apart – Daily Express

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

Hayabusa-2: Samples from asteroid Ryugu return to Earth

The dawn of our solar system saw a gargantuan cloud of swirling dust and cosmic debris circling the nascent Sun. This space dust proceeded to collide with each other to create larger bits of rock. Over unimaginable lengths of time, this process of accretion continued until they grew to form the recognisable planets of our solar system.

However, NASA has revealed countless quantities of small space rocks never managed to evolve.

The space agency wrote in a blog post: Amazingly, many of these mysterious worlds have been altered very little in the 4.6 billion years since they first formed.

"Their relatively pristine state makes the comets, asteroids and some meteors wonderful storytellers with much to share about what conditions were like in the early solar system.

They can reveal secrets about our origins, chronicling the processes and events that led to the birth of our world.

READ:US Space Force dismisses viral 'Guardians' of the galaxy outfit as fake

They might offer clues about where the water and raw materials that made life possible on Earth came from.

So, although the planets and moons have transformed over millennia, many of these small chunks of ice, rock and metal have not.

NASA added: They are a lot like a fossil record of planetary evolution.

This trio are all related, as they are all visible as shooting stars streaking across the sky as viewed from Earth.

However, these same objects have different names, depending on where they are.

Meteoroids are cosmic objects ranging in size from dust grains to small asteroids. NASA said: Think of them as space rocks.

When meteoroids slam into our planets thick atmosphere at high speeds, they incinerate, forming dramatic fireballs or shooting stars known as meteors.

Should a hardy element of meteoroid navigate through the Earths atmosphere and hit the ground, it is dubbed a meteorite.

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Asteroids are the rocky remnants from our solar systems early formation, approximately 4.6 billion years ago.

Known by NASA to number approximately 1,041,932, the vast majority of asteroids are found orbiting the Sun between red planet Mars and gas giant Jupiter in the main asteroid belt.

Such rogue space rocks can drastically range in size from the largest Vesta measuring 329 miles (530km) across, to diminutive ones smaller than 33ft (10m) in diameter.

Experts estimate the total mass of all the asteroids taken together is less than that of our planets Moon.

Comets are best understood as dirty snowballs containing frozen gas, rock and dust in orbit around our solar systems star.

When the orbit of these small town-sized bodies brings comets close to the Sun, they suddenly thaw and spew dust and gases in space.

The dust and gases form a tail frequently stretch away for millions of miles.

NASA believes there are probably billions of comets orbiting our Sun in the Kuiper Belt and even more in the more distant Oort Cloud.

Difference between asteroids, meteors and comets - NASA explains how to tell them apart - Daily Express

Meteor showers in 2021 that will light up night skies – Deccan Herald

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

All year long as Earth revolves around the sun, it passes through streams of cosmic debris. The resulting meteor showers can light up night skies from dusk to dawn, and if youre lucky you might be able to catch one.

If you spot a meteor shower, what youre really seeing is the leftovers of icy comets crashing into Earths atmosphere. Comets are sort of like dirty snowballs: As they travel through the solar system, they leave behind a dusty trail of rocks and ice that lingers in space long after they leave. When Earth passes through these cascades of comet waste, the bits of debris which can be as small as grains of sand pierce the sky at such speeds that they burst, creating a celestial fireworks display.

A general rule of thumb with meteor showers: You are never watching the Earth cross into remnants from a comets most recent orbit. Instead, the burning bits come from the previous passes. For example, during the Perseid meteor shower, you are seeing meteors ejected from when its parent comet, Comet Swift-Tuttle, visited in 1862 or earlier, not from its most recent pass in 1992.

Thats because it takes time for debris from a comets orbit to drift into a position where it intersects with Earths orbit, according to Bill Cooke, an astronomer with NASAs Meteoroid Environment Office.

The name attached to a meteor shower is usually tied to the constellation in the sky from which they seem to originate, known as their radiant. For instance, the Orionid meteor shower can be found in the sky when stargazers have a good view of the Orion constellation.

How to watch

The best way to see a meteor shower is to get to a location that has a clear view of the entire night sky. Ideally, that would be somewhere with dark skies, away from city lights and traffic. To maximize your chances of catching the show, look for a spot that offers a wide, unobstructed view.

Bits and pieces of meteor showers are visible for a certain period, but they really peak visibly from dusk to dawn on a given few days. Those days are when Earths orbit crosses through the thickest part of the cosmic stream. Meteor showers can vary in their peak times, with some reaching their maximums for only a few hours and others for several nights. The showers tend to be most visible after midnight and before dawn.

It is best to use your naked eye to spot a meteor shower. Binoculars or telescopes tend to limit your field of view. You might need to spend about half an hour in the dark to let your eyes get used to the reduced light.

Stargazers should be warned that too much moonlight and the weather can obscure a meteor shower. You can check the phase of the moon, and your local weather report, to see if youll get a good show.

If your local skies dont light up, there are sometimes meteor live streams online, such as those hosted by NASA or Slooh.

While the International Meteor Organization lists a variety of meteor showers that could be seen, below youll find the showers that are most likely to be visible in the sky this year. Peak dates may change during the year as astronomers update their estimates.

The Quadrantids

Active from December 28 to January 12. Peaks around January 2-3.

The Quadrantids give off their own New Year's fireworks show. Compared with most other meteor showers, they are unusual because they are thought to have originated from an asteroid. They tend to be fainter with fewer streaks in the sky than others on this list.

The Lyrids

Active from April 14 to April 30. Peaks around April 21-22.

There are records from ancient Chinese astronomers spotting these bursts of light more than 2,700 years ago. They blaze through the sky at about 1,07,000 mph and explode about 55 miles up in the planets atmosphere. This shower comes from Comet Thatcher, which journeys around the sun about every 415 years. Its last trip was in 1861 and its next rendezvous near the sun will be in 2276.

The Eta Aquariids

Active from April 19 to May 28. Peaks around May 4-5.

The Eta Aquariids, also sometimes known as the Eta Aquarids, are one of two meteor showers from Halleys comet. Its sister shower, the Orionids, will peak in October. Specks from the Eta Aquariids streak through the sky at about 148,000 mph, making it one of the fastest meteor showers. Its display is better seen from the Southern Hemisphere where people normally enjoy between 20 and 30 meteors per hour during its peak. The Northern Hemisphere tends to see about half as many.

The Southern Delta Aquariids

Active from July 12 to August 23. Peaks around July 28-29.

They come from Comet 96P Machholz, which passes by the sun every five years. Its meteors, which number between 10 and 20 per hour, are most visible predawn, between 2-3 am It tends to be more visible from the Southern Hemisphere.

The Perseids

Active from July 17 to August 24. Peaks around August 11-12.

The Perseids light up the night sky when Earth runs into pieces of cosmic debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle. The dirty snowball is 17 miles wide and takes about 133 years to orbit the sun. Its last go-round was in 1992.

Usually between 160 and 200 meteors dazzle in Earths atmosphere every hour during the displays peak. They zoom through the atmosphere at around 1,33,000 mph and burst about 60 miles overhead.

The Orionids

Active from October 2 to November 7. Peaks around October 19-20.

The Orionids are an encore to the Eta Aquariid meteor shower, which peaks in May. Both come from cosmic material spewed from Halleys comet. Since the celestial celebrity orbits past Earth once every 76 years, the showers this weekend are your chance to view the comets leftovers until the real deal next passes by in 2061.

The Leonids

Active between November 6 and November 30. Peaks around November 16-17.

The Leonids are one of the most dazzling meteor showers, and every few decades it produces a meteor storm where more than 1,000 meteors can be seen an hour. Cross your fingers for some good luck the last time the Leonids were that strong was in 2002. Its parent comet is called Comet-Temple/Tuttle and it orbits the sun every 33 years.

The Geminids

Active from December 4 to December 20. Peaks around December 13-14.

The Geminids, along with the Quadrantids that peaked in January, are thought to originate not from comets, but from asteroid-like space rocks. The Geminids are thought to have been produced by an object called 3200 Phaethon. If you manage to see them, this meteor shower can brighten the night sky with between 120 and 160 meteors per hour.

The Ursids

Active from December 17 to December 26. Peaks around December 21-22.

The Ursids tend to illuminate the night sky around the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. They only shoot around 10 to 20 meteors per hour. They appear to radiate from Ursa Minor and come from Comet 8P/Tuttle.

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Meteor showers in 2021 that will light up night skies - Deccan Herald

Thunderbird, Lora Fresn, and Comet, Macie Boissonneault, have a bond forged on and off the ice. – St. Albans Messenger

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

GEORGIA/SWANTON Macie Boissonneault and Lora Fresn have been friends forever and have played for SASA, the Vermont Shamrocks, the Vermont Stars, and the Wildcats together.

Fresn even played youth hockey for SASA (St. Albans Skating Association) with Boissonneault the year MAHA (Missisquoi Amateur Hockey Association) didnt have enough girls for a U14 team.

During the school year, the girls play for opposing teams. Fresn for MVU and Boissonneault for BFA St. Albans.

If you had to give a scouting report on Lora, what would you say?

Boissonneault: Loras strong, she wont let you mess around with her, and you have to watch out for her. Shes not just going to give you the puck. She plays defense, but shes got a good shot, which is good.

If you had to give a scouting report on Macie, what would you say?

Fresn: Macie does her job well. If anyone is in her crease, theyre not in there for long. You need to have a very good shot to get by her.

Theres no denying the bond of friendship Lora and Macie share.

What quality do you most appreciate about the other?

Fresn: Macie is an incredibly hard worker at whatever shes doing--on the ice or off the ice in training. At home, she works in the barn every day.

Boissonneault: Lora is an all-around good person to be around, and shes been one of my good friends for a long time. Shes also very hard-working.

Whats it like to share the ice as teammates?

Boissonneault: It makes the game more enjoyable because youre playing with your friend.

Fesn: When we began playing with the Shamrocks and the other travel teams, it was always nice to have a friend on the team.

Lora Fresn and Macie Boissonneault have played together on several travel hockey teams.

Whats it like to play as opponents?

Boissonneault: Even though I havent played in net against Lora yet, its still the same feeling. It makes the game more enjoyable, and you want to win against them.

Fresn: I like to talk to the people I know from opposing teams before and after a game. Its good to have that friendly face on an opposing team.

Macie and Lora played for SASA together their U14 year.

Memorable moments over the years:

Boissonneault and Fresn recalled the fun of traveling together with travel teams.

It was fun to stay in a hotel together for weekend tournaments. We might go with each others families--both of us with my mom or with hers, said Fresn.

Fresn recalled the Thunderbirds state title in the 2018-19 season. The Comets lost to Essex that year, but Boissonneault did get to see Fresn compete.

The title was memorable because we won and because it was Wynns (Paradee) last game coaching. I was friends with older players like Renee Bouchard and May Gates, and it was my last time playing with those girls.

Paradee surprised the team, wearing the same suit to the title game that hed worn when he began coaching two decades before.

Thats Wynn; hes funny, always nice, always looking to better your skills, and if hes trying to teach you something, hes never putting you down, said Fresn.

Fresn has enjoyed playing for her new coaches, Brian and Adam Fortin, and for Katie Campbell, all former Thunderbird hockey players.

Katie can relate to us and help us because she was a player on this team, said Fresn.

Fresn also recalled playing for Matt Laroche in MAHA. Laroche coached Campbell and had the high school girls help with MAHA practices, something Fresn appreciated as a youngster.

Boissonneault recalled a standout game from the year the two girls played for SASA.

We went to SASA Nationals at UVM, and we won one game and tied one that year, said Boissonneault.

Boissonneault remembered her first varsity game in net with the Comets when asked about her most memorable game.

It was my freshman year, and we were playing our top rival, Essex. I was nervous, but we won 4-0.

Boissonneault has been grateful for the coaches shes had growing up with the game.

I played for Caitlin Manahan in SASA and high school; shes fun to be around. Kristin Veins knew the program really well and was very dependable, said Boissonneault.

Jeff Rouleau coached me in SASA; when I got to high school, I had him as a coach. That made the transition more enjoyable.

Rouleau and (Luke) Cioffi make sure were getting better every day, but they are also there to support us in anything.

Lora and Macie enjoying some mini golf in Florida two years ago.

Hockey is great, but so is a Florida vacation!

Two years ago, Boissonneault invited Fresn to travel with her to Florida to pick up a car. The girls flew down, and Macies mom drove them back.

We ate Krispy Cream donuts and got blankets and pillows and slept the entire way back, said Fresn.

The girls hope theyll have the chance to play this winter if COVID guidelines allow.

Fresn: We joke about the games we play against each other. It makes it not so bad to lose; Im happy for Macie that her team can win.

Boissonneault: Youre always there to support each other. If Lora scored against us, Id be happy for her. We support each other regardless of what team were on.

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Thunderbird, Lora Fresn, and Comet, Macie Boissonneault, have a bond forged on and off the ice. - St. Albans Messenger

From Northwestern Medical Center to the University of New England, McKenna Remillard brings her best – St. Albans Messenger

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

FAIRFIELD McKenna Remillard grew up on the ice at Collins Perley, playing youth hockey with SASA before joining the Comets.

After graduating from BFA St. Albans in 2019, Remillard enrolled at the University of New England and joined the Noreasters womens hockey team.

This year, Remillard, a sophomore, and her teammates are undergoing the new normal in COVID times.

I try to look at the positives. Even though I havent had a normal season, Ive developed different connections in the smaller groups, said Remillard.

Its easy to focus on whats been taken away, but its better to focus on what weve been able to learn and take away from these experiences.

Ive grown a lot in these times. Its helped me focus on how I can improve physically and mentally. If you can overcome adversity, it shows you how powerful you are.

The pandemic has shaped our perspective. Life moves fast; this slows things down and helps you to focus on your priorities and reflect on whats important. The power of positive thinking can really help change your perspective.

Last year, the Noreasters were 16-9-2 on the season and earned a trip to the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship for the first time in school history, losing 4-1 to Endicott.

It was nice to make school history, and I thought we came out in good spirits. I had an amazing experience and great coaches and teammates, said Remillard.

What did Remillard take away from the winning season?

I tended to overthink last year. I didnt want to let my team down, and I was hesitant, said Remillard.

I learned a lot of important lessons last year, and I came back this year ready to apply them. I was thoroughly happy with my choice and I love my team.

Remillard made new friends last year, including a former Franklin County player, Shannon Nadeau. She also faced off against her lifelong friend, Peyton Dukas.

Wed be in the locker room, and Shannon would say something about a place in Vermont; I would know exactly what shes talking about, said Remillard.

I highly respect Shannon as a person and a player. Ill be sad when she graduates next year.

McKenna Remillard and Peyton Dukas, now of separate college teams, take a photo together during the college season.

Dukas, who plays for the University of Southern Maine, was a teammate of Remillards on the Comets and a lifelong friend.

It was very exciting to play against her. When we played them last year, I heard her name called and wanted to cheer for her, said Remillard.

We wanted to do the best against each other, but in our minds, we were rooting for each other.

Ive appreciated that we have the desire to see each other succeed and grow in our different experiences.

McKenna Remillard takes the puck down the ice at UNE in her freshman season.

Did you reach any personal goals in the 2019-20 season?

I made really good friendships, and it was nice to form my own identity going to school and to have so many great people who were there to help me as I adjusted, said Remillard.

It was great to connect with people on a deeper level for the success of the team.

What are your goals for 2021?

My goal has been not to lose touch but to get to know my teammates within the COVID guidelines, said Remillard.

Ive focused on myself athletically and mentally, but also on my teammates to maintain the bonds.

Our coaches have helped us improve at the individual level, and weve made even better connections with the coaching staff.

Remillard, a nursing student, puts her skills to work at Northwestern Medical Center on college breaks.

Working in the emergency department has reassured me that Ive chosen the right career. I love the people and the job, said Remillard.

Its been helpful in the classroom as well. Its given me a good foundation.

McKenna Remillard and Peyton Dukas pose for a victory shot after winning the DI State Title with the Comets in 2018.

"I learned (with the Comets) to focus on relationships and on what I can control: attitude, effort, and perception. I've taken those lessons throughout my life and worked on growing in those areas."

McKenna Remillard

How did athletics prepare you for the career youre pursuing?

Playing for Coach (Luke) Cioffi and (Jeff) Rouleau (Comet hockey), I learned we had a goal of winning, but we also learned about life, said Remillard.

I learned to focus on relationships and on what I can control: attitude, effort, and perception. Ive taken those lessons throughout my life and worked on growing in those areas.

What should younger athletes focus on if they want to play sports in college?

Focus on balance; theres a balance of not working so hard that you get run down, but you always want to be growing, said Remillard.

Work on building confidence in yourself and your team. Understand that you are capable and dont doubt yourself.

Have a positive attitude. It can change the whole experience and really affect people. Focusing on those things will help you reach the next level athletically and as a person.

Read the rest here:

From Northwestern Medical Center to the University of New England, McKenna Remillard brings her best - St. Albans Messenger

Juice Boxes and Post Game Stats: Comets Win Opener – The Blue Testament

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

The Kansas City Comets kicked off their 2020-2021 (really just 2021) season with an 8-5 win on the road against the Dallas Sidekicks on Saturday. Helped by a hattrick from Kevin Ellis and a brace from Lucas Sousa in his debut. Two other Comets scored on their debut, Kyle McLagan and Rian Marques. Here are stats and milestones from the game. Of note, the MASL site does not currently have the assists listed for the game, Ive gone back and reviewed the goals and given assists based on who it appears should get the assist. If stats are updated by the league and my assists are off I will correct going forward.

Kevin Ellis 3 goals gave him 27 in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Milan Ivanovic for 17th all time on that list.

The 3 goals gave Ellis 28 in all competitions, tying him with Andre Braithwaite for 16th all time on that list.

The hattrick was Ellis 2nd with the Comets, tying him with Kiel Williams, Robert Palmer, John Sosa, Josh Gardner, and Geison for 10th most all time in league and all competitions.

Elliss 3 points gave him 34 in all competitions for the Comets, tying him with Guerrero Pino and Jamar Beasley for 20th all time on that list.

Ramone Palmer recorded his 42nd league assist, tying him with Ignacio Flores for 8th all time on that list.

Adam James made his 53rd appearance in all competitions, breaking his tie with Braithewaite for 18th all time on that list.

More here:

Juice Boxes and Post Game Stats: Comets Win Opener - The Blue Testament

A Harvard professor says an alien visited in 2017 and more are coming – New York Post

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

When the first sign of intelligent life visits us from space, it wont be a giant saucer hovering over New York. More likely, it will be an alien civilizations trash.

Avi Loeb, chair of Harvards Department of Astronomy, believes hes already found some of that garbage.

In his upcoming book, Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), out Jan. 26, the professor lays out a compelling case for why an object that recently wandered into our solar system was not just another rock but actually a piece of alien technology.

The object in question traveled toward our solar system from the direction of Vega, a nearby star 25 light-years away, and intercepted our solar systems orbital plane on Sept. 6, 2017.

On Sept. 9, its trajectory brought it closest to the sun. At the end of September, it blasted at about 58,900 miles per hour past Venus orbital distance, and then, on Oct. 7, it shot past Earths before moving swiftly toward the constellation Pegasus and the blackness beyond, Loeb writes in the book.

The object was first spotted by an observatory in Hawaii containing the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) the highest-definition telescope on Earth.

The space object was dubbed Oumuamua (pronounced oh moo ah moo ah), which is Hawaiian for roughly scout.

As space travelers go, it was relatively small at just about 100 yards long, but it was a big deal in the scientific community.

For starters, it was the first interstellar object ever detected inside our solar system. Judging from the objects trajectory, astronomers concluded it was not bound by the suns gravity which suggested it was just traveling through.

No crisp photos could be taken, but astronomers were able to train their telescopes on the object for 11 days, collecting reams of other data.

At first, scientists thought it was an ordinary comet. But Loeb said that assumption ran the risk of allowing the familiar to define what we might discover.

What would happen if a caveman saw a cellphone? he asked. Hes seen rocks all his life, and he would have thought it was just a shiny rock.

Loeb soon opened his mind to another possibility: It was not a comet but discarded tech from an alien civilization.

A number of unusual properties about the object helped Loeb make this conclusion.

First were Oumuamuas dimensions.

Astronomers looked at the way the object reflected sunlight. Its brightness varied tenfold every eight hours, suggesting that was the amount of time it took for it to complete a full rotation.

Scientists concluded the object was at least five to 10 times longer than it was wide sort of like the shape of a cigar.

No naturally occurring space body weve ever seen has looked like it or even close.

This would make Oumuamuas geometry more extreme by at least a few times in aspect ratio or its width to its height than the most extreme asteroids or comets that we have ever seen, Loeb writes in his book.

Whats more, Oumuamua was unusually bright. It was at least ten times more reflective than typical solar system [stony] asteroids or comets, the author writes.

He likens its surface to that of shiny metal.

But the anomaly that really pushed Loeb toward his ET hypothesis was the way Oumuamua moved.

The excess push away from the sun that was the thing that broke the camels back, he said.

Using physics, scientists can calculate the exact path an object should take and what speed it should travel due to the gravitational force exerted by the sun. The suns pull will speed up an object massively as it gets closer, then kick it out the other side, only for the object to slow considerably as it gets farther away.

But Oumuamua didnt follow this calculated trajectory. The object, in fact, accelerated slightly, but to a highly statistically significant extent, Loeb writes, as it moved away from the sun.

In other words, it was clearly being pushed by a force besides the suns gravity.

At first the explanation seemed simple. Comets show a similar acceleration, because as they approach the sun, their surface is warmed, releasing once-frozen gases, which act like a rocket engine.

Those released materials, however, form a comets distinctive tail. Scientists looked carefully for that tail or any sign of gases or dust that might propel Oumuamua and came up empty.

Loeb calculated that with these and other anomalies, the chances that Oumuamua was some random comet was around 1 in a quadrillion, leading him to his blockbuster hypothesis.

But what was it exactly?

One possibility, weirdly enough, could be found in technology we already have here on Earth.

Some 400 years ago, astronomer Johannes Kepler observed comet tails blowing in what looked like a solar breeze and wondered if that same force could propel rocket ships through space like the wind pushes boats through water.

It was a smart idea that scientists now use to develop light sails for probes. Thin, reflective sheeting is unfurled in space to capture the particles streaming off the sun, propelling a ship at great speeds through the empty void. Alternatively, powerful lasers from Earth could be aimed at the sail to make it go even faster.

Loeb, who is involved in a light-sail project to send a tiny, unmanned craft to a nearby star, said if we Earthlings have thought of this idea, then why couldnt aliens?

He and a colleague crunched the numbers and hypothesized that Oumuamua was not actually cigar-shaped but possibly a disk less than a millimeter thick, with sail-like proportions that would account for its unusual acceleration as it moved away from the sun.

As to its purpose, Loeb isnt entirely sure. He speculated it could be space junk that once served as a kind of space navigation buoy used by a long-ago civilization.

The only way to look for [alien civilizations] is to look for their trash, like investigative journalists who look through celebrities trash, Loeb said.

Of course, not everyone in the scientific community agrees with his theory.

In July 2019, the Oumuamua Team of the International Space Science Institute published an article in Nature Astronomy concluding, We find no compelling evidence to favor an alien explanation for Oumuamua.

Loeb admits his theories have raised astronomers eyebrows, but he is resolute about his findings. Some people do not want to discuss the possibility that there are other civilizations out there, he told The Post. They believe we are special and unique. I think its a prejudice that should be abandoned.

Some people do not want to discuss the possibility that there are other civilizations out there.

Loeb said the skeptics are bending over backwards to assign natural origins to the object and that the explanations theyve given to explain its weird properties dont stand up to scrutiny.

For example, some scientists have suggested that Oumuamuas acceleration was caused by frozen hydrogen on its surface turning to gas and driving it like a comet, and that hydrogen would have been invisible to Earths infrared cameras, which is why we didnt detect it.

But Loeb and a colleague published a paper showing that a hydrogen iceberg traveling through interstellar space would evaporate long before it reached our solar system.

Whatever the truth, the stakes are high.

The acceptance that an alien race has made contact even through its trash would trigger a serious search for more trash, leading us to scour the moon and Mars, for example, for debris that might have crash-landed thousands or millions of years ago.

And if more evidence is found, we Earthlings would have to start building tools to help us grapple with extraterrestrials, such as space treaties and academic fields like astro-linguistics and astro-economics.

But, perhaps more important, any further discoveries could redefine our place in the universe.

It would put us in perspective, Loeb said. If we are not alone, are we the smartest kids on the block? If there was a species that eliminated itself through war or changing the climate, we can get our act together and behave better. Instead, we are wasting a lot of resources on Earth fighting each other and other negative things that are a big waste.

Since Oumuamuas appearance, a second interstellar object known as 2I/Borisov was spotted entering the solar system by a Crimean telescope in 2019. But that turned out to be a plain old comet.

Until recently, our instruments have not been sensitive enough to pick up these kinds of visitors. But Loeb said technology will soon make it possible to locate more space travelers, and the only way the mystery of Oumuamua will be settled is if a similar object is spotted and more thoroughly investigated with a probe.

He said his book should motivate people to collect more data on the next object that looks weird.

If we find another and we take a photo and it looks like a light sail, I dont think anyone will argue with that.

See the article here:

A Harvard professor says an alien visited in 2017 and more are coming - New York Post

The Courier/Daily Comets Top 10 sports stories of 2020 – Houma Courier

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

Chris Singleton|The Courier

Terrebonnes Maason Smith picks LSU over Georgia, Alabama and Miami

Terrebonne football player Maason Smith picked LSU during Wednesday's National Signing Day.

Chris Singleton, The Courier

The year 2020 will never be forgotten by area sports fans.

The Courier and Daily Comet sports staff took a look back at the Top 10 local sports stories for 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected sports on professional, collegiate and high school levels in 2020.

Area high school sports teams faced restrictions due to the virus, ranging from limited crowds at games tothe constant canceling and rescheduling games dueto positive tests and contact tracing. Athletes and coaches were forced to go through many screenings and temperature checks to play.

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association canceled thespring sports regular season and championships due to rising cases in April, butit returned to action later in the year with its fall sports seasons in football, volleyball, cross country and swimming.

The virus forced Nicholls States men and womens basketball teams to end their seasons early when the Southland Conference basketball tournaments were canceled in March. The NCAA also canceled the spring sports season due to the pandemic.

The Southland Conference postponed its fall sports seasons (football, volleyball and soccer) to the spring of 2021. Nicholls will play a six-game conference schedule in football this spring.

The LSU football team made history by winning the college football national championship game over Clemson in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on Jan. 13.

LSU finished 15-0 and won its fourth national championship in school history. The Tigers were coached by Ed Orgeron, a Larose native and former South Lafourche football player.

Former Thibodaux High School and Louisiana Tech University standout Amik Robertson was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2020 NFL Draft in April.

Robertson, a 5-foot-8, 187-pound cornerback, was selected with the No. 139th pick in the fourth round.

Robertson has recorded four tackles in eight games for the Raiders this season.

Former Terrebonne High defensive lineman Maason Smith captured the attention of the college football world when he signed with LSU on Dec. 16.

Smith picked LSU over three other finalists Georgia, Alabama and Miami.

Smith, who stands at 6-foot-5 and weighs 316 pounds, is ranked as the nations top player according to Rivals.com.

The New Orleans Saints have continued their recent dominance of the NFC South Division.

The Saints won their fourth straight division title with a 52-33 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 25. They managed to do it despite missing quarterback Drew Brees and receiver Michael Thomas for several games due to injuries this season.

Former South Terrebonne coach Richard Curlin retired after 30 years as head coach of the Gators in January.

He amassed a 164-156 overall mark and led the Gators to the 1991 Class 4A state title.

For the third straight year, Vandebilt Catholics girls cross country team emerged victorious at the LHSAA state championship meet in November.

The Lady Terriers placed four runners in the top 10 of the Class 4A race. Junior runner Ella Chestnut was first overall in a time of 18 minutes, 51.4 seconds.

It was the fourth championship in school history for the Lady Terriers. They also won it in 2016.

E.D. White won the Division III state championship in boys and girlsswimming and the Class 3A state title in boys and girlscross country.

It was the fourth title in a row for E.D. Whites boys swimming team and sixth in school history. E.D. Whites girls won the state titlefor the eighth time.

In cross country, E.D. White boys won it for the 18th time and girls for the fifth time.

E.D. White senior swimmer Jacques Rathle, a Auburn signee, closed out his prep career with a banner performance at the Division III state meet in November.

He set new Division III and composite state records in the 200-yard individual medley (1 minute, 46.45 seconds) and the 100-yard breaststroke (54.40 seconds). He helped E.D. Whites relay teams set two more Division III state records in the 200-yard medley relay (1:36.16) and the 400-yard freestyle relay (1:10.34).

Rathles performances helped the Cardinals win their fourth straight Division III boys state championship. He earned the Division III Most Outstanding Swimmer award for the fourth straight season.

Houma native and former Terrebonne High School standout Justin Williams, now a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, recorded his first Major League hit with a single through the right side of the infield in Game 1 of a doubleheader at the Milwaukee Brewers in September.

Williams, an outfielder, had previously been called up by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018 but did not record a hit.

There was no Minor League Baseball this season because of the pandemic. Williams was called up from the Cardinals alternate training site and as the 29th player on the roster. He participated in summer camp with the Cardinals.

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The Courier/Daily Comets Top 10 sports stories of 2020 - Houma Courier

Greenland: How Realistic The Sci-Fi Disaster Movie Is – Screen Rant

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

Ric Roman Waugh's Greenland centers on a family's survival amid a destructive comet speeding towards Earth. Is the film scientifically accurate?

How realistic is Ric Roman Waughs sci-fi disaster movie, Greenland? Greenland chronicles the tale of a family, who is faced with a struggle for survival amid the possibility of planetary annihilation due to an approaching comet. Greenland is currently available for viewing on HBO Max and Amazon Prime.

Greenland opens with the story of John Garrity (Gerard Butler) and his wife Alison (Gothams Morena Baccarin) living near Atlanta Georgia, who are temporarily separated, yet trying their best to make things work between them. They come together at a neighborhood party to watch a chunk of a comet pass through the Earths atmosphere; however, it turns out that the comet is expected to hit the planet and annihilate all life within a few days. Meanwhile, John gets an invitation for him and his family to a top-secret bunker in Greenland, which would allow them to survive. As the couple and their child, Nathan, struggle to get there, all hell breaks loose while the whole of humanity scrambles for survival.

RELATED:The Impossible True Story: How Accurate The Tsunami Movie Is

In terms of how scientifically accurate Greeland is, Waugh carried out personal research into the practical nitty-gritties of comets, while consulting with scientists at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This process was completed by further speculation into what could realistically occur if a comet was set to destroy the Earths surface, lending an aura of authenticity to the films titular premise. Waugh also used a prehistoric event as a reference point, mainly the asteroid that rendered dinosaurs extinct 66 million years ago, which posited a host of contradictory notions about the matter. While Waugh kept these factors in mind, the crux of Greenland is ultimately its emotional weight, as an over-reliance on scientific accuracy could possibly hamper the films dramatic center, which is the story of a family struggling for survival.

Moreover, the actors, especially Butler and Baccarin, were heavily involved in discussions regarding respective character trajectories, especially how they would be reacting to such high-stakes situations. To back up the situations probable authenticity, the narrative draws direct parallels to the Tunguska event in Siberia, wherein a small-body explosion flattened all the trees in the area. The eye-witness reports of the comet, fictionally named Clarke, seems to have echoes of eyewitness reports of an asteroid breakup in Chelyabinsk, Russia. However, Greenland suffers from a scientific standpoint in two major areas - one being the lack of clarity in tracking the comets path, and how such impending predictions are monitored in general, which almost always result in evacuation in dire scenarios.

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Greenland: How Realistic The Sci-Fi Disaster Movie Is - Screen Rant

Six freedom reforms to bolster job creation and employability – Mint

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

Historian Fernand Braudel warned against obsessing with fireflies and froth"the disease of presentism that infects economists and policymakers with the belief that current circumstances are special, unique and unprecedented. Covids pain not only reminds us of our economys pre-existing conditions (inadequate formalization, financialization, urbanization, industrialization and human capital), but has also demonstrated a policy willingness to take the long view by ignoring presentist demands for unprecedented deficit financing (we close with a high 12% of gross domestic product, or GDP, but if fiscal deficits could make countries rich, then no country would be poor). I make the case that the next 25 years for our economy will be very different from the last 25 years for many reasons. And the upcoming budget has a unique opportunity to take advantage of the covid policy window by amplifying existing long-term thinking on formal job creation and employability.

Lets take inventory. India is fifth in the world in total GDP, but 138th in per capita GDP. Our problem is wages, not jobs (unemployment has hovered between 5-9% since 1947). We dont have a shortage of land (we can give every Indian household half an acre and they would fit into Rajasthan and half of Maharashtra), labour (about 100 million people could shift off farms without impacting food security), or capital (domestic savings and foreign investors can supply the money required), but our challenge is how these three inputs combine. Covid is a tragedy, but is also Indias opportunity to leapfrog into a new world of work (capitalism without capital where intangible assets matter more than physical assets), new world of organizations (digitization makes where employees live and work less relevant), and a new world of education (employed learners in higher education will soon cross full-time learners and make the sequential 25 years of learning/earning/retirement redundant). The global capital glut (65% of global bonds yield less than 1%), China fatigue, and macroeconomics combine with recent reforms to substantially improve the long-term outlook for India.

The budget for 2021-22 must build on recent reforms like labour, agriculture and education to grant freedom to our firms and citizens to improve their productivity. Given the covid-induced shortfall in taxes, I propose six non-fiscal, freedom" reforms for formal job creation and employability:

One, mandatory payroll confiscation levels that are higher than the savings rate breed informality. The current cycle of enterprise formalization could be accelerated by making employee contributions to their provident fund voluntary. This money belongs to employees who should have the freedom to invest it.

Two, Indias largest health insurance programme, Employees State Insurance (ESI), has been missing during the pandemic because its governance is too large, old and unrepresentative. The budget should announce the modernization of ESI governance along with a deadline of 1 June 2021 for employee freedom from payroll-deducted health insurance contributions.

Three, online degree-linked apprentices are the future of education because they innovate in financing, social signalling, and employer connectivity. Despite the Atmanirbhar Bharat announcement to deregulate online education, only seven of Indias 1,000 universities are licensed for online learning. This is particularly tragic because over 200 foreign universities operate online in India and nobody can or should stop them. The budget must announce that all accredited universities are automatically and immediately licensed for online delivery because covid is reinventing higher education.

Four, skill universities, which are essentially Industrial Training Institute, employment exchange and college combined, are held back by regulations that confuse university buildings with building universities. The budget must announce regulations that give unqualified freedom to universities to deliver via four classrooms (online, onsite, on-the-job and on-campus) with qualification modularity between certificates, diplomas, advanced diplomas and degrees.

Five, Indias four new labour codes will soon be notified and increase manufacturing employment. The budget should announce a three-year time- frame to move to a single labour code.

And lastly, the budget must announce a cross-ministry compliance commission tasked with the rationalization, digitization and decriminalization of Indias regulatory cholesterol of 65,000-plus compliance requirements and 6,500-plus filings, and the issue of a Universal Enterprise Number. A simple reform would be the mass substitution of shall" with may".

The 2021-22 Budget coincides with the 30th anniversary of the 1991 reforms, and any evaluation must remember that China and India had similar per capita incomes in 1991 but now the Chinese are four times richer than us. Chinas 200-year quest for fuqiang (wealth and power) via fuxing (rejuvenation) formed the basis of the 2013 book Wealth and Power: Chinas Long March to the 21st Century by Orville Schell and John Delury. Its interesting to imagine what a similar book about India would be titled. People I polled mused about benevolence, forgiveness and tolerance. But as poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar wrote: Kshama shobhti uss bhujang ko jiske paas garal ho (benevolence and forgiveness only befit serpents that have venom). Our poor dont care about soft power that doesnt deliver prosperity, and we must stop obsessing about 1991, despite its boldness, because 90% complete simply means 50% of the work is left.

Our finance minister has handled the financial horrors of covid admirably. The next budget is an opportunity to accelerate the rise of India with long-term thinking around enterprise freedom, and to put poverty in the museum it belongs.

Manish Sabharwal is chairman, Teamlease Services

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Six freedom reforms to bolster job creation and employability - Mint

Paying every Indian 5,000 can be the fiscal fix to make 2021 really happy – The Times of India Blog

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

We spent most of 2020 in doom and gloom mode about the economy, courtesy the coronavirus. But it is time to be optimistic again as 2021 could be a mega-boom year for the Indian economy.

Vaccines are being distributed around the world, and Indias own vaccination programme will start soon. Fortunately, India also seems to have stabilised or even declined in terms of daily new cases, at least for now. Meanwhile, the Indian economy is now open to a large extent. Hence, while we still are not out of the woods, theres enough reason to believe things will get better in 2021.

However, in order to truly jumpstart the economy, we still need more stimulus. Our greatest asset is our people and our domestic economy. If we want the economy to bounce back, we need to create massive, immediate consumption. Heres a proposed plan called Protsahan (which means stimulus/encouragement in Hindi) to give Rs 5,000 per person to every Indian, which they must spend within the next 12 months. This could amount to around Rs 20,000 per household. This substantial amount could not only help people tide over the tough times, but also give a massive push to our economy.

But some might say: where do we have this kind of money? What will it do to our deficit position? And will it be worth it? The answers to all these good questions are a resounding yes! We can do this and yes, it will be completely worth it. For this we will need to understand the proposed Protsahan scheme and go through some numbers.

This scheme will enable every Indian with a legitimate ID to get cash vouchers of Rs 5,000, to be spent within the next 12 months. Children under 18 can get half the amount, saving some costs, but for the sake of simplicity, lets keep it the same amount for this article. These Protsahan vouchers can be digital (preferred) or physical (can be issued as special notes with an expiry date). Do note that these should be given to every Indian, as figuring out who needs it more will be a far more cumbersome and time-consuming exercise. The well-off can obviously forgo these vouchers or give them to those who need it more, but they will be offered to everyone.

The vouchers will have an expiry date (say 12 months) and will be divided into two parts. Half the money will have to be spent on travel, tourism, hotels, restaurants or any other hospitality or service-based businesses. The other half will have to be spent on groceries, appliances, clothes or food items. The vouchers will be tradable and exchangeable. This means one can exchange them for cash, though the expiry date on vouchers means they may carry a discount compared to cash. This freedom to let people use themas they want will save a lot of monitoring headaches. Its just money in the hands of people, which has to be spent by them or by someone who they give it to.

Once this money comes back to the economy, it will create a major boost in almost all sectors, but particularly in those sectors that have suffered due to Covid. Jobs will come back. It will, obviously, also be a lot of fun for people as they will have free money in their hands, which they have to spend.

So, whats the catch? Of course, the big question comes: how can we afford this? Lets look at the numbers. For 140 crore people, a Rs 5,000 one-time payment would cost Rs 7 lakh crore. Its a big amount of money. However, to finance this, the government would issue a long-term 30-year bond, paying a tax-free interest of 7% per annum. There are plenty of rich people in India who would like this kind of return and hence invest in this safe yet good-yield instrument. The government can have a separate extraordinary situation borrowing, accounting it separately.

In 30 years, Indias economy would be so huge that the principal of Rs 7 lakh crore wouldnt be much and could be easily repaid. Meanwhile, the financing cost of this bond, at 7% of Rs 7 lakh crore, comes to around Rs 50,000 crore per annum. Yes, this is still significant money, and yes, we are borrowing-to-spend now, but the returns in terms of jump-starting the economy (and the higher tax revenues from it) will far outweigh the additional costs. Do note that even in these Protsahan vouchers, the government will collect GST. That alone will fund the interest payments for the first couple of years.

The government has announced various stimulus packages already for the industry. However, it now needs to stimulate our massive domestic demand. A one-off Protsahan voucher programme with a long-term bond to fund it could go a long way in giving India a roaring economic comeback in 2021. And that would indeed make for a very happy new year!

Paying every Indian 5,000 can be the fiscal fix to make 2021 really happy - The Times of India Blog

Appeal of Conscience Foundation to Honor Former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe with 2021 World Statesman Award – PRNewswire

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

"Prime Minister Abe will be recognized for his longtime leadership of his country and for his global outreach that has helped advance regional and international cooperation and has strengthened friendship and bonds between Japan and the United States," said Rabbi Arthur Schneier, President of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation.

Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, 1999 Appeal of Conscience World Statesman honoree, will introduceHis Excellency Shinzo Abe and join Rabbi Arthur Schneier in the presentation of the Award.

Mr. Abe served as Japan's Prime Minister and President of the Liberal Democratic Party from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020.Not only recognized as the longest serving Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Abe was also known internationally for his government's economic policies, nicknamedAbenomics, which pursuedaggressive monetary policy,flexible fiscal policy, andgrowth strategy including structural reform.His tenure was marked with a foreign policy which places high importance on global diplomacy based on the fundamentals values of freedom, democracy, basic human rights and the rule of law; seeking to increase Japan's international profile by expanding ties with NATO, the EU, and other organizations beyond the Asia-Pacific region.In September 2020, Mr. Abe resigned from his position as Prime Minister due to his health issues.

Mr. Abe is a member of a prominent political family. His grandfather Nobusuke Kishi (1957-1960) and great uncle Eisuke Sato (1964-1972) served as Prime Minister, and his father Shintaro Abe served as Foreign Minister (1982-1986).

The World Statesman Award honors leaders who support peace and freedom by championing peaceful co-existence, human dignity and human rights in their homeland and working with other world leaders to build a better future for all.

Past recipients of the World Statesman Award include: British Prime Minister David Cameron, Mexican President Enrique Pea Nieto, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde and United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Other recipients included Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, Australian Prime Minister John Howard, King Juan Carlos I of Spain, USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev and Czechoslovakian President Vclav Havel.

About the Appeal of Conscience Foundation:The Appeal of Conscience Foundation, under the leadership of Rabbi Arthur Schneier, has worked worldwide on behalf of religious freedom, human rights, peaceful co-existencesince 1965. To uphold the principle "live and let live" is the Appeal of Conscience Foundation's continuing goal. An interfaith coalition of business, religious and foreign policy leaders, this international organization promotes mutual acceptance and respect the other, peace and interreligious cooperation and provides a voice of conscience to protect minorities. The Appeal of Conscience Foundation believes that freedom, democracy and human rights are fundamental values that give nations of the world their best hope for peace, security and shared prosperity. http://www.appealofconscience.org

SOURCE The Appeal of Conscience Foundation

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Appeal of Conscience Foundation to Honor Former Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe with 2021 World Statesman Award - PRNewswire

Current market themes – Times of Malta

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

The New Year has started on the same foot that it ended, with animal spirits pushing markets to record levels. Sentiment has been supported by the passage of fresh Covid-19 relief in the US, as well as the agreement of a post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and the EU, which was announced on Christmas Eve, thus removing a couple of tail risks heading into the new year.

Equities ultimately experienced a surprisingly strong yet extremely volatile year, which were supported by unprecedented levels of fiscal and monetary policy support following the pandemic, as well as the promising vaccine news that arrived in November.

The key themes for the first half of 2021 are an expected weaker dollar, the vaccine rollout and subsequent to freedom of movement, the new virus strain and the US-China relationship in the President Biden era.

As the holiday season ends, coronavirus cases are increasing exponentially worldwide, fuelled by the more conductible strain, leading to authorities warning that further restrictions are on the horizon. UK Prime Minister Johnson warned yesterday that restrictions in England were probably about to get tougher as calls mounted for school closures and even another national lockdown. Meanwhile in Germany discussions are ongoing, with expectations for an extension of lockdown until the end of January.

Against this backdrop, the big question for the global economy over the year ahead will be how quickly populations are vaccinated, particularly among vulnerable groups like the elderly and those with underlying health conditions who make up the majority of hospitalisations. The pace at which these groups can be vaccinated will pave the way for a gradual easing of restrictions and a return to something closer to normality, thereby it is a metric which will be closely monitored by market participants.

To date, the US and the UK have now given at least 1% of their population the first dose, and the UK is hoping to accelerate their vaccination programme as people begin to receive the Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccine from today. Anxiety remains over the vaccines effectiveness on the new strains reported in the UK and South Africa. Health authorities have largely down played concerns however one must appreciate that we are navigating uncharted territory therefore the risks persist.

This week US politics will be in the limelight, with Tuesday's runoff elections in the state of Georgia determining which party will control the Senate over the coming two years. This is an important one for markets, since the results will affect how much of President-elect Joe Bidens agenda will be able to pass through Congress, as well as the size of any fiscal stimulus package. A democratic victory is market positive as it assumed that a larger fiscal stimulus package would be likely.

The secularly low treasury yields and tentative economic outlook in the US is expected to weigh on dollar demand throughout at least the first half of 2021. Attention will also be focused on US-China relations under the new President Biden administration. President Trump locked horns over economic practices, emerging technologies and security during his administration. Given the universal support among US institutions against the growing threat that china poses, the Biden administration could be pressured into retaining a tough stance.

Echoes of a confrontation, especially given the US authorities recent push to regularise reporting practices by Chinese firms listed on US exchanges, with the imminent threat of delisting, could lead to market volatility at a time when world economies need to find their feet, given the economic strains posed by the virus induced crisis.

This article was written by Simon Psaila, Investment Manager at Calamatta Cuschieri. The article is issued by Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Ltd, which is licensed to conduct investment services business under the Investments Services Act by the MFSA and is registered as a Tied Insurance Intermediary under the Insurance Distribution Act 2018.

For more information visit https://cc.com.mt. The information, view and opinions provided in this article are being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice.

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Current market themes - Times of Malta

Wed Love to Work With Netflix Again: Cash-Strapped Museums Looking for New Audiences Are Increasingly Doing Exhibits-for-Hire – artnet News

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

If youve visited the Los Angeles County Museum of Art recently, you may have seen a whimsical installation: 15 figures dressed in their holiday party best, mid-awkward dance move, wine sip, and emotional conversation.

Artist Alex Prager created at the tableau not at the request of the museum, but of the beer brand Miller Lite. The project doubled as both a temporary outdoor exhibition and an ad campaign celebrating the end of office holiday parties and the freedom to indulge in a little more Miller Time.

The project is part of a growing trend in the museum sector that might scandalize traditionalists but is quickly being embraced by cash-strapped institutions: sponsored content. On either side of the Atlantic, museums have teamed up with corporations in an effort to utilize their spacesand collectionsin order to reach new audiences and make a little extra dough.

In October, the Brooklyn Museum produced an interactive virtual exhibition featuring costumes from the wildly popular Netflix series The Queens Gambit, as well as from the fourth season of The Crown. While the presentation was entirely digital, the display was staged IRL in the museums famous Beaux-Arts entryway alongside related objects from the collection.

A view of Disney+s commissioned portrait of the Mandalorian. Photo: NPG

Meanwhile, in late fall in London, an offsite pop-up display in Covent Garden was the result of a collaboration between Disney+ and the National Portrait Gallery. The presentation included a Disney+-commissioned the portrait of the Mandalorian, the protagonist of the eponymous hit show, as well assix portraits of Star Warsfiguresfrom the museums own collection. Members of the Gallerys Youth Forum assisted the curatorial team in creating the captions for the display.

Last year was tough on museums. By November, the average US museum had lost $850,000 to date, according to a survey by the American Alliance for Museums, which cautioned that the figure was much higher for large institutions. Budgetary pressures forced the Brooklyn Museum to reduce its staff by seven percent.

At atime of challenged budgets, we will see museums experimenting boldly with earned-income opportunities, Andrs Sznt, a sociologist and strategic advisor to museums, told Artnet News. Traditionally, in some institutions, there was some reluctance to do so, although there was more [activity] than people usually seecountless private events that were not communicated outwardly.

Not everyone is pleased with the more public-facing direction.Los Angeles Times critic Christopher Knight wrote a scathing review of the LACMA project last month, calling it tacky. He took particular issue with the vague texts accompanying the display, which noted that the project was sponsored by Miller Lite but failed to explicitly detail the companys role in developing the project.

Omitting any reference to the brewing companys ad campaign, Knight argued, is like neglecting to mention that Pope Julius II and the Vatican were behind the Sistine Chapel, while Michelangelo was more than just a guy with a paintbrush and a dream.

Installation view of Alex Prager Holiday Party (2020). Image courtesy of the artist and LACMA.

While corporate sponsorship used to be limited to a tagline under an exhibition plaque, museums see these more immersiveand, some might argue, creatively compromisedinitiatives as a promising new avenue. Its one they are entirely unashamed of.

This installation is a timely and welcome addition to our public sculptures that allow visitors to safely experience art outdoors, said LACMAs contemporary art curator Rita Gonzalez. We hope the work brings some humor, levity, and reflection during these difficult times.

Brooklyn Museum director of corporate relations Rafael Flores noted that its Netflix partnership came about well into lockdown. We had been thinking of ways to engage our audience digitally, so this Netflix project made perfect sense for the time and context, he told Artnet News.

Anya Taylor-Joy in The Queens Gambit (2020). Photo: Netflix.

Plus, Brooklyns seniorcurator of fashion and material culture Matthew Yokobosky added, the project felt like an extension of the partnerships the museum had done in the past for its David Bowie exhibition in 2018, including an AR project with theNew YorkTimes and a collaboration on a virtual version of the show with Sony Japan. (Interestingly, Yokobosky noted, even in the two years between the Bowie show and today, technology had improved such that complex costumes were far easier to capture virtually.)

For its part, the National Portrait Gallery said its Disney+ collaboration offered a canny opportunity to share the collection while its building is closed for renovations through 2023. There is no doubt that Star Wars is a cultural phenomenon that has had a huge impact on popular culture and has involved a wide range of talent from across the British film industry, the museums chief operating officer Ros Lawler said. The two-day off-site partnership exhibition provided us with an opportunityto introduce new audiences to our portraits.

None of the museums would disclose specifics about how much money changed hands. LACMA noted thatMiller Lites sponsorship went toward underwriting the cost of the installation. As part of the NPG partnership, Lawler said, Disney+ is supporting the museums youth program for 14- to 21-year-olds.

Its clear these kinds of collaborations have been particularly popular in the lockdown era.

Were all looking at new revenue streams for cultural institutions, Yokobosky said. Were trying to rethink the admissions part of our overall budget now because even if you can be open, you can only be at 25 percent capacity. So weve all had to go back and re-forecast what the economics are going to be for the fiscal year.

The question now is whether these sorts of projects will continue beyond this phase. So far, it sounds like the answer is yes. Wed love to work with Netflix again, the Brooklyn Museums Rafael Flores said. Wed also welcome collaborations with companies that allow us to bring our mission, programs, and collections to broader audiences.

Felicity Jones by Laura Pannack, 2016, National Portrait Gallery, London

And thats not only because of economic pressures, Sznt pointed out. This generation is acutely aware that Jay-Z and Beyonc and Swizz [Beatz] can do more for art awareness, particularly among younger audiences, in a single video appearance than a series of exhibitions.

Sznto mentioned a museum in Africa that commissions local pop stars to sing about their new shows. The songs go on the radio and this is how they get people to come, he said. In short: Popular culture can be a great resource, when used wisely and creatively.

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Wed Love to Work With Netflix Again: Cash-Strapped Museums Looking for New Audiences Are Increasingly Doing Exhibits-for-Hire - artnet News

Top 2 Dividend Stocks to Buy in 2021 – The Motley Fool Canada

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

The year 2020 taught the world importance of savings. Many people lost their jobs and savings to the pandemic, but the governments fiscal stimulus package came to the rescue. The year 2021 brings hope for freedom from coronavirus as several pharma companies vaccines come to market. While there are hopes of recovery, you cant rule out the possibility of a stock market crash.

When will the market crash? You can only make an informed estimate of the possibility of a crash. A few fears of 2021 will be:

You can protect your portfolio from a possible market crash by investing in dividend aristocrats that enjoy stable cash flows and lower debt. In the pandemic crisis, real estate stocks took a hit as many businesses vacated offices, retail stores, and malls.

But energy is a commodity that will always see demand. Yes, there can be fluctuations in the volume, but energy demand will only increase. Hence these two energy stocks can give you stable dividends during a market crash and capital appreciation and dividend growth during economic growth.

Enbridge(TSX:ENB)(NYSE:ENB) is the favourite of all dividend lovers, with its 26th year of continuous dividend growth. This pipeline operator managed to increase its dividend per share even during the three major crises of this century, the 2009 financial crisis, the 2014 oil crisis, and the 2020 pandemic crisis. It was all because of its resilient business model and diversified revenue streams of oil, natural gas, and renewable energy.

Enbridge is not directly exposed to oil prices as it just transmits oil through its pipelines at a pre-determined rate. More than 99% of its revenue comes from long-term contracts. Generally, when oil and natural gas prices fall, demand increases, and so does Enbridges cash flow. Moreover, the company expects three new pipeline projects to come online in 2021 and add to its cash flow.

In the March market crash, Enbridge stock fell 35% as oil demand fell. This dip inflated its dividend yield to as high s 9%. Those who invested in this stock during the crash have locked in a life-time of high yield, which will grow as the economy grows. There is still time as the stock is down 27% from the pre-pandemic level and is offering a dividend yield of 8.2%.

One of the major long-term risks for Enbridge is a transition to clean energy. But this shift will take another 20 years to make a material difference in Enbridges cash flows. By then, the company would have a significant portfolio of renewable energy.

Enbridges long-term risk isAlgonquin Powers (TSX:AQN)(NYSE:AQN) long-term opportunity. Algonquin earns 70% of its revenue from water, electricity, and natural gas, which are essentials services and can never go out of demand. It earns the remaining 30% revenue from renewable power operations and development.

Within renewable, it has solar, wind, thermal, and hydro facilities. It has 2 GW of installed renewable energy capacity, and an additional 1.6 GW of capacity is under construction.

Algonquinsells 85% of its power generated through long-term contracts. It is growing organically and through acquisitions, which is driving its profits, dividends, and stock prices. In the last five years, its adjusted EPS and dividend per share surged at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.5% and 7.9%, respectively. Its stock also surged at a CAGR of 13.8% during this period.

Algonquin will benefit from the shift to clean energy. In the next five years, it plans to spend $9.4 billion and increase its adjusted EPS at a CAGR of 8-10%. The stock currently has a dividend yield of 3.8%. But it has the potential to increase this dividend and also give you capital appreciation.

Fool contributor Puja Tayal has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Enbridge.

Continued here:

Top 2 Dividend Stocks to Buy in 2021 - The Motley Fool Canada

Ohio Legislature in the hands of Cupp, Huffman – sidneydailynews.com

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

LIMA What was going to be Allen Countys big day at the Statehouse on Monday was scaled back due to COVID-19.

Only a small group of people will be allowed to take part during the swearing-in ceremony in Columbus of Speaker of the House Bob Cupp, Huffman tested positive for COVID-19 and will now be sworn in during a private ceremony in Lima by Judge John Willamowski, of the Third District Court of Appeals. Both Huffman and Cupp are Republicans and are from Allen County.

It will mark the first time the two leaders of the Senate and House hail from Allen County. And for Huffman and Cupp, the historic day also will be the beginning of the biggest challenge of their political careers.

Year two of the coronavirus finds businesses still scrambling to stay afloat and consumers hesitant to spend. Hospitals have been besieged with an unending number of virus patients. And while the states unemployment rate has dropped to 5.7% from an April high of 17.6%, under-employment remains an issue.

It doesnt end there.

The two legislative chambers failed to reach an agreement on school funding after what appeared to be a solution by the House. A summer of racial unrest saw windows of the Statehouse and businesses being broken out and a state of emergency declared. If that wasnt enough, their own legislature was rocked by a bribery scandal thats being called the biggest in Ohio history.

To put it bluntly, 2020 wasnt a pretty picture for Ohio.

Initiating change

At age 70, Cupp brings with him the reputation of being a champion of collaboration, while the 60-year-old Huffman is known as a skilled negotiator. Both are highly respected in Allen County. Its where they grew up Cupp developing his work ethic on a farm outside of C0lumbus Grove, and Huffman being the fifth of nine children of a hard-charging prosecuting attorney. Allen County is also the place the two chose to raise their families and where they first began to carve out their political careers Cupp as a county commissioner and Huffman as a Lima city councilman.

Weve known each other for about 35 years. Weve talked at least weekly about the different things that are going on and some of the preparation that needs to be done for next year, Huffman said when the two sat down on separate occasions with The Lima News in December.

The fact that the new Senate president and the House Speaker are actually talking to each other is a step forward in todays world of Ohio politics.

The former speaker and the current soon-to-be former president of the Senate apparently hadnt talked in months, and so that was a problem, Cupp said. The House and Senate are going to have policy differences, we know that. And no matter how long Matt and I have known each other, it wont go away. But Im sure well be communicating with each other on a very regular basis with an attitude of solving pro0blems.

More notably, Huffman and Cupp are now holding weekly conferences with Gov. Mike DeWine, a practice that used to be common between legislative leaders and the governor, but one that also went by the wayside.

Weve restarted all of that to remove the communication blocks, Cupp said. The governor will talk about what is on his agenda, what his issues are. Ill do the same for the House and Matt for the Senate. Well see if we can all focus on the same thing. If we do have differences, what are they, and can we work through them.

Make no mistake, they dont agree on everything.

Differing opinions

The most contentious issue between the House and Senate will likely revolve around school funding. In early December the House approved the Fair School Funding Plan by an 84-8 vote. It came after three years of extensive research, collaboration and improvements from school treasurers, superintendents, finance experts and both Republican and Democratic House members. Yet, it never received a vote from the Senate, which felt it wasnt allotted enough time to review the legislation before the end of the year.

Cupp called the defeat of the legislation disappointing. Huffman said it was necessary. Both said they believe a funding plan can be worked out in 2021.

Remaining on the sidelines during the discussion was a silent governors office.

Cupp and Huffmans relationship with DeWine has been one of respect, but it hasnt always been a smooth ride. Legislators have been upset with the restrictions DeWine and the state health commissioner have implemented on residents and business owners during the pandemic. The latest came Thursday when Health Director Stephanie McCloud extended to Jan. 23 a provision that encourages people to stay at home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.. unless they are working or engaged in an essential activity.

This fall the legislature passed a bill that put constraints on the powers of the health director and governor, only to see their action receive a quick veto.

There are issues regarding how we make public health decisions, Huffman said. Many states have legislative oversight panels.

Cupp agreed.

We are disappointed with the governors veto, he said. We had a balanced and reasonable plan that would provide appropriate legislative oversight of these health orders, and ensure Ohioans voices are heard and their rights protected.

A dark shadow

One of the first things both Cupp and Huffman will do is to make committee assignments. That will come under a dark shadow for Cupp. He became the leader of House on a historic July afternoon which saw the chamber, by a 90-0 unanimous vote, remove Rep. Larry Householder from the position. Earlier that day, the fiery Householder was formally indicted for his role in an alleged $60 million bribery scheme.

Cupp didnt make any changes in committee assignments at that time, explaining he was trying to disturb things as little as possible. Hes now taking a new look at how the committees will be structured and says he plans to reset things. The question is what to do with Householder, who while stripped of the speakers position, had no opposition on Novembers ballot and was easily re-elected over write-in candidates in Eastern Ohios Coshocton and Perry counties.

If convicted of the crime, Householder would be automatically removed from office. Otherwise, he would have to be expelled or impeached to be removed.

Cupp acknowledged impeachment is on the table its going to be considered, yes, yes but noted some members of the House believe it is best to let the criminal process play out before taking action.

The honorable thing for him to do would be to resign, Cupp said of Householder.

The road ahead

The immediate task for lawmakers during the next six months will be to hammer out a new operating budget for state fiscal years 2022-23. It will be done under the unknowns of the pandemic, something not lost on Huffman, a hard-line fiscal conservative.

I think that the fundamentals of our economy are pretty strong. This is not like 2008. Its not like other recessions in the the late 70s and early 80s, and certainly not like the Depression, Huffman said. I have an optimistic belief that by the spring of 2021, most people will want the vaccine and will have been vaccinated. To whatever degree the economy is shut down, it will change.

He has talked with owners of small businesses and says many are adapting.

Lots of businesses will have been permanently changed, especially small businesses, Huffman acknowledged. But I think the real financial freedom and ability to control your life and do the things that you want will return. The situation for people who are struggling now, for whatever reason, is going to change. Thats not an idea that originated with me. There are a lot of other people who think the same thing,

Bob Cupp is congratulated at the Ohio Statehouse after first being elected Speaker of the House on July 30. On Monday, Cupp will be sworn in as Speaker of the House for the 134th General Assembly.

Huffman

Matt Huffman, announces with his wife, Sheryl, his intention to run for state senate during a September 2013 press conference at his Lima home. On Monday, Huffman will be sworn in as the new Senate President.

Allen County lawmakers to lead Ohio Legislature

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Ohio Legislature in the hands of Cupp, Huffman - sidneydailynews.com

Only two fines for fly-tipping in six years in Perth and Kinross as cases skyrocket across region – The Courier

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Danzig

Perth and Kinross Council have handed out just two fines for fly-tipping in six years despite complaints skyrocketing across the region.

The local authoritys light-handed approach to fixed penalty notices (FPN) is in stark contrast to other council areas in Tayside with Dundee dishing out 90 fines since 2016 and reporting three cases to the procurator fiscal.

At Angus Council, 20 FPN have been given out in the last six years in relation to fly-tipping.

The lack of penalty notices in Perth and Kinross comes despite a huge rise in reported cases of illegal dumping in the area.

Fly-tipping reports have jumped from 523 in 2015 to 1,141 in 2019. By November 22 2020 there has already been 1,384 cases reported to the local authority figures obtained through a freedom of information request reveal.

In total, 5,691 cases have been brought to the attention of Perth and Kinross Council since 2015, resulting in just two fines both of which came in 2o2o.

By comparison, illegal dumping numbers dropped in Dundee from 1,494 in 2016 to 655 between March and November 22 of 2020.

VIDEO: Worst case of fly-tipping councillor has ever seen as masses of rubbish dumped on Tayside road

In Angus, the highest reported figure over the past six years was in 2018 with 632 cases.

Councillor Angus Forbes, convener of environment and infrastructure at Perth and Kinross Council, says he is pushing the local authority to start issuing more FPNs.

He also called for local authorities to be given more powers to tackle the problem.

Councillor Forbes told The Courier: No one should be in any doubt how seriously we take this problem and I am delighted that Perth and Kinross Council have started to issue Fixed Penalty Notices.

But all local authorities are dependant on the procurator fiscal as to whether or not these penalty notices are ever taken to court and the procurator fiscal doesnt have the resources to pursue these.

He added: This is something that needs to be changed and its my view that local councils should be allowed to pursue fixed penalty notices through the courts themselves.

However, the Conservative councillor for Carse of Gowrie believes it is unfair to compare the fines issued in Dundee and Perth and Kinross due to land mass.

He said: Its simply impractical to compare us with Dundee, firstly we have a land mass of over 5,000 km sq compared to 60 km sq of Dundee.

Most of our area is rural with good trunk road connections, ideal for professional fly-tippers.

Take my ward for example the A90 runs right through it and there are many fly-tipping hot spots within a couple of minutes drive from the main road. A lot of the fly tipping I found there over the summer originated in Dundee.

Fury as disgusting fly-tippers dump rubbish at popular Rattray park

Secondly, different authorities may count fly tipping differently, for example in Perth and Kinross Council we count additional waste left beside domestic bins as fly tipping.

Councillor Forbes also bemoaned the additional pressures fly-tipping put on farmers with a considerable amount of waste dumped on private land.

He added that changing views on the issue was the best way of tackling the growing problem.

Whilst FPNs are part of the solution, and I am pushing the council to issue more of them, we need to look at other solutions too, said Councillor Forbes.

My view is that prevention is always better than cure and the real solution lies in a change of attitude so I would strongly recommend home owners question anyone who works for them whether thats gardeners, builders, plumbers or any other trades person who offers to dispose of their waste ask them where the waste is going and ask if they have a waste transfer licence.

Waste is the owners responsibility so if fly tipping is discovered with evidence linked to your address, it will be you that the council come to speak to.

Perth and Kinross Council has set up a new fly-tipping fund people can apply for to help clean up problem areas.

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Only two fines for fly-tipping in six years in Perth and Kinross as cases skyrocket across region - The Courier

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