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Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Market Analysis, Competitive Strategies and Forecasts to 2025 – CueReport

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

A Research study on Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Market analyzes and offers ideas of exhaustive research on ancient and recent Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality market size. Along with the estimated future possibilities of the market and emerging trends in the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality market.

Computing trends and technology have taken a new dimension over last decade. This has changed the way of thinking, interacting and decision making of every individual. The recent advancements such as IoT, cloud computing, 3D printing, automation, advanced communication systems, artificial intelligence, Big Data, AR and VR and many others are the driving factors influencing the change in dynamics from living to running a business. AR and VR are the new age technologies which will change the practices in various industries.

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Developments in AR applications and compact VR headsets, the adoption rate of these technologies in education and research industry for new techniques and procedures of training and development. AR & VR would also contribute considerably towards smart innovations in retail industry. Additionally, a substantial growth of global augmented reality and virtual reality market is observed in infotainment industry, with availability of featured AR & VR devices with increased computational abilities, which will enhance the user interface in gaming and entertainment.

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AR technology blends the virtual and real world objects. With AR, users will be able to interact with virtual object and also will be able to distinguish between the real and virtual contents. AR has found more success within short period of time, this technology has been more adopted in consumer sector and is expected to surpass the VR market in near future.

Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Market: Drivers and Restraints: This section of the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Market Analysis report we are covering various drivers and restraints that have affected the global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality market. The complete study of plentiful drivers of the market enables market professionals to get a clear viewpoint of the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality market share, which consists of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality industry environment, advancement market, product innovations, latest developments, and Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality market risks.

Proliferation of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets will drive the AR market in near future by enhancing the user experience pertaining to games and other entertainment applications. Although entertainment holds the major share of the market during the forecast period, while new applications in industrial, medical, automotive etc. will keep the companies interested in AR and VR technologies.

The major restraints to the global AR and VR market include high hardware and deployment cost, limited awareness in various end-user industries is another limiting factor for the global augmented reality and virtual reality market. AR and VR have limited applications and major ones include entertainment, education and gaming. The number of consumers being catered are minimum in number, as AR and VR are still in the emerging phase and have limited reach to different requirements of the customers or enterprises.The global AR and VR market has been broadly segmented by technology i.e., AR and VR technologies. The market is further segmented by components which includes sensors and other semiconductor components. In addition to this the AR and VR market is bifurcated into on end-user industry such as entertainment, education. Industrial, medical, aerospace & defense, and retail among others.

North America is one of the prominent regions in AR and VR market which will contribute highest to the revenues globally due to high technological developments and considerable usage of AR & VR technology and products. The region is expected to lose the market share to APAC over the forecast period. Rapidly growing economies in Asia-Pacific (APAC) with significant number of hardware and software developers will pave the path for increasing adoption and propel the market for AR and VR. Some of the key players of AR and VR market include DAQRI LLC, Augmented Pixels Co., EON Reality, Inc., Innovega, Inc.,Total Immersion, Vuzix Corporation, Blippar, Oculus VR LLC, Microsoft Corporation, and Google, Inc. among others.

Some of the Highlights about Table of Content of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Market

1 Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Market overview

2 Executive Summary

3 Market Drivers, Challenges and Trends

4 Marketing, Distributors and Customer

5 Key Players Analysis

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Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Market Analysis, Competitive Strategies and Forecasts to 2025 - CueReport

Virtual Reality In Healthcare Market Growth, Trends And Forecast To 2027 – Market Research Posts

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

The report covers the forecast and analysis of the virtual reality in healthcare market on a global and regional level. The study provides historical data from 2015 to 2018 along with a forecast from 2019 to 2027 based on revenue (USD Million). The study includes drivers and restraints of the virtual reality in healthcare market along with the impact they have on the demand over the forecast period. Additionally, the report includes the study of opportunities available in the virtual reality in healthcare market on a global level.

In order to give the users of this report a comprehensive view of the virtual reality in healthcare market, we have included a competitive landscape and an analysis of Porters Five Forces model for the market. The study encompasses a market attractiveness analysis, wherein all the segments are bench marked based on their market size, growth rate, and general attractiveness.

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The report provides company market share analysis to give a broader overview of the key players in the market. In addition, the report also covers key strategic developments of the market including acquisitions & mergers, new service launches, agreements, partnerships, collaborations & joint ventures, research & development, and regional expansion of major participants involved in the market on a global and regional basis.

The study provides a decisive view of the virtual reality in healthcare market by segmenting the market based on the offering, application, end-user,and regions. All the segments have been analyzed based on present and future trends and the market is estimated from 2019 to 2027. The regional segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa.

The growth of healthcare IT infrastructure is likely to soar the business trends over the forecast timeline. Apparently, applications of VR immersion therapy in psychological ailments like depression and phobias will further uplift the virtual reality in healthcare industry expansion during the forecast timeline. Nevertheless, the low level of expertise witnessed among the physicians as well as the low proportion of their adaptability to innovative techniques along with the lack of proficiency in deploying VR services in the healthcare sector will obstruct the market progress over the forecast timespan.

In terms of the offering, the market for virtual reality in healthcare is sectored into Services, Hardware Device, and Software. Application-wise, the industry is divided into Computer Assisted Surgery, Radiotherapy,Telehealth,Pain Management, Disability & Rehabilitation, Visualization, Dentistry, Phobias, Medical Training/Teaching/Determining Level of Skill, and Mental Health, Psychological Therapy, & Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. On the basis of end-user, the market is classified into Healthcare Institutes, Hospitals, Clinics, & Surgical Centers, and Diagnostic Laboratories.

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The key players included in this market are SimX, Inc., Medical Realities Ltd., SURGICAL THEATER, LLC, Intuitive Surgical, General Electric, Facebook Technology LLC (Oculus VR), Firsthand Technology, Inc., FundamentalVR, ImmersiveTouch, Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V., Mindmaze, Osso VR, Program-Ace, Psico Smart Apps, S.L., Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., Siemens Healthcare Private Limited, Vicarious Surgical, and zSpace, Inc.

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Kenneth Research is a reselling agency providing market research solutions in different verticals such as Automotive and Transportation, Chemicals and Materials, Healthcare, Food & Beverage and Consumer Packaged Goods, Semiconductors, Electronics & ICT, Packaging, and Others. Our portfolio includes set of market research insights such as market sizing and market forecasting, market share analysis and key positioning of the players (manufacturers, deals and distributors, etc), understanding the competitive landscape and their business at a ground level and many more. Our research experts deliver the offerings efficiently and effectively within a stipulated time. The market study provided by Kenneth Research helps the Industry veterans/investors to think and to act wisely in their overall strategy formulation

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Virtual Reality In Healthcare Market Growth, Trends And Forecast To 2027 - Market Research Posts

Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Aerospace Market 2020 (Covid-19 Outbreak) Latest Trends,Technology Advancement and Demand Forecast to…

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Aerospace Market report is a well-researched and detailed account of all major developments that collectively influence a lucrative growth story. The report is an outcome of intensive research endeavors, comprising primary and secondary research initiatives that shed substantial light on various elements such as market size and share, popular trends, growth prognosis, pricing system, production capacity, consumption pattern as well as revenue trends that orchestrate optimistic growth trajectory in the Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Aerospace Market.

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Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Aerospace Market provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments.Market research experts and analysts also take into consideration a thorough analytical review of the unprecedented COVID-19 outrage that has affected the Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Aerospace Market in multiple ways.

The Major Players Covered in Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Aerospace Market are:Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in AerospaceVuzixArStudiozMicrosoftGoogle Inc.OptinventKopin CorporationEpsonPimaxMagic Leap IncSneakyBox

What To Expect From The Report

Understanding Regional Scope of the Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Aerospace Market

The report also is a collective hub to identify both upstream and downstream market developments and events comprising raw material sourcing as well as downstream demand prospects that harness an agile growth prognosis in the Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Aerospace Market.

Additionally, the report serves as a convenient guide to design and implement potential growth steering activities across select regional pockets in the Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Aerospace Market. Front-line players and their effective growth strategies are also enlisted in the report to emulate growth.

Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Aerospace Market By Type:Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in AerospaceHead Up DisplaysHead Mounted DisplaysSmart GlassHandheld Devices

Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Aerospace Market By Application:Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Aerospace3D modelling/ DesignMonitoring/ MaintenanceOthers

The report offers in-depth assessment of the growth and other aspects of the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Aerospace market in important countries (regions), including:North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia and Australia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)

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Scope of the Report

This aforementioned Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Aerospace Market has recorded a growth valuation of xx million US dollars in 2020 and is also likely to show favorable growth worth xx million US dollars throughout the forecast tenure until 2025, clocking at an impressive CAGR of xx% through the forecast period.

For better and superlative comprehension of the Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Aerospace Market by leading market players and participants striving to strike a profitable growth trail in the Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Aerospace Market during 2020-25.

Major Offerings of the Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Aerospace Market Report

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Global Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Aerospace Market 2020 (Covid-19 Outbreak) Latest Trends,Technology Advancement and Demand Forecast to...

Elon Musk and the pyramids of the mind – Vanguard

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

By Owei Lakemfa

ELON Reeve Musk, 49, citizen of South Africa, Canada and the United States with a 2020 net worth of $70.6 billion is one of the richest persons in the world. In fact, he can literarily buy a country or two. He co-founded the electronic-payment firm PayPal which he sold, making a handsome $180 million, post-tax.

Musk is a leader in the race to universalise the electric car through Tesla in which he invested $70 million from his PayPal deal.

He also dreams to make space travel as easy as normal air travel. For this, he established a rocket company, SpaceX which designs, manufactures and launches rockets and spacecraft.

Its flagship spacecraft The Dragon which is capable of carrying seven passengers was due back on earth on Sunday, August 2 from a two-month trip to International Space Station carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley.

So, by any standard, Musk is a successful man and should be contented. He must have been quite excited about the Dragons planned return which is just a step towards his bigger dream of landing humans in Mars.

There are those who believe that aliens occupy one or more planets and that they visit the earth in spacecraft and sometimes abduct humans. There was panic in America in 1938 when 23-year-old Orson Wells during a broadcast on radio production, proclaimed:

The Martians (Aliens from Mars) are coming. It fooled many Americans into believing aliens were invading the earth. There was widespread panic.

Believing in the existence of aliens, Musk on Friday, August 31, tweeted: Aliens built the pyramids obv (obviously). He was implying that the pyramids in Africa, some over 4,600 years old, could not have been built by humans. He was suggesting that Africans could not have had the knowledge, intelligence and skills to build such enduring architectural wonders.

To admit that Africans built the pyramids, would have meant the claim of superiority over the Blackman is just crap. That would be too much for a Musk born into Apartheid South Africa, raised in a Whites-only suburb of Pretoria and attending the Pretoria Boys High School, a Whites-only racist school.

His mother, Maye, a South African television personality was Canadian, while his father, Errol Musk was an Afrikaans engineer who during Apartheid, shot dead three persons and got away with it, claiming it was in self-defence.

In an interview in the November 2017 edition of the Rolling Stone Magazine, titled: Elon Musk: The Architect of Tomorrow he said of his father: He was such a terrible human being. You have no ideaMy dad will have a carefully thought-out plan of evil. He will plan evil.

He was such a terrible human being You have no idea about how bad. Almost every crime you can possibly think of, he has done. Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done.

The Senior Musk writing in defence of himself said: Ive been accused of being a Gay, a Misogynist, a Paedophile, a Traitor, a Rat, a Shit (quite often), a Bastard (by many women whose attentions I did not return) and much more.

My own (wonderful) mother told me I am ruthless and should learn to be more humane; (but) I love my children and would readily do whatever for them.

But Musk disagrees with his fathers claims. He said even after he assisted his father financially, things did not change: Ive tried everything. I tried threats, rewards, intellectual arguments, emotional arguments, everything to try to change my father for the better, and he no way, it just got worse.

Musk believes that a human beings personality might be 80 per cent nature and 20 per cent nurture. It is unclear what percentage of his fathers gene he has acquired. For example, he said:

Im naturally good at engineering, thats because I inherited it from my father. But as evident from his views of his father, he has tried to fight off the negative aspects of his fathers personality.

Musk suffers from autophobia or monophobia: fear of being lonely or alone even in a secured environment. This may be due to his childhood experience when he was left most of the time with an inattentive nanny. He also had a bad time in school: The gangs at school would hunt me down literally hunt me down!

Musks claims about aliens building the pyramids are conditioned not by his knowledge but his background that makes it difficult to accept the reality that Africa led the world in knowledge production, and is the foundation of modern civilisation.

There are verifiable archaeological findings on the lives of the pyramid builders, including their homes, family life, tools and tombs where they were buried. In some of the pyramids are paintings of the builders at work. The imaginary aliens Musk tweeted about cannot leave such human trail.

Musk must have been challenged by the marvel that the pyramids are such as the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt which stands at over 450ft (137m). For thousands of years, the over 100 pyramids in Egypt and 123 in Sudan, were the tallest structures in the world.

Going by Musks claim and since the pyramids were the tombs of the Black Pharaohs and their families, why would aliens come down periodically to build tombs for them?

Is it to suggest that the so-called aliens were servants of the African kings who obeyed summons to fly to earth and build the pyramids? Does that suggest that Africans were a super-race who controlled aliens? Do all these make sense even to the unintelligent?

The pyramids are an extraordinary human heritage which bear eloquent testimony to human knowledge and skill. So, to ascribe their construction to aliens is to do injury to human history.

Why would a Musk who said: I was raised by books. Books, and then my parents, not read up on the pyramids before tweeting on them? It is a wonder that Musk who reads and thinks about space would not educate himself about the earthly pyramids;

one of the seven wonders of the world that shows the vastness of human knowledge and how the ancients pushed science to the limits just as he is trying to do with space travel.

Musk has built monumental structures or pyramids in his mind, choosing variously to stand at the pyramidal top when he wants to view the world, or in-between the pyramids when he chooses to limit his vision.

Sometimes, the behaviour and utterances of Musk give the impression that you do not need to be intelligent to be a billionaire. That in some cases, like that of Donald Trump, means you actually require a load of stupidity to be a billionaire.

VANGUARD

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Elon Musk and the pyramids of the mind - Vanguard

Keys to the Kingdom: The NCAA unveils its ambitious NIL rights proposal – Roll Bama Roll

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

Whether you frame the issue as a circular firing squad or prefer to imagine the NCAA, Congress, and student-athletes locked in a Mexican standoff, the NIL issue facing all three parties is a messy one.

Any solution amenable to the continued existence of college athletics is going to leave at least one party displeased. The more a solution veers towards status quo, the more likely the aggrieved parties will be student-athletes. On the other hand, a solution that is sweeping in its scope and favors student-athletes is going leave the NCAA with less teeth than it presently has (or uses) as it gums away at sports worst cheaters. This says nothing of endangering Title IX, competitive balance, shuttering many programs, and costing hundreds (if not thousands) of scholarships every year.

And Congress, of course, doesnt see much political hay to be made here in any event, (outside of bloviating for the kids) since the party with the most money at stake encompasses the powerbrokers. But the party that arrives to the table in far greater numbers, with the more equitable claim, and with overwhelmingly sympathetic press coverage, is the bloc representing the numerous players affected.

The intractable standoff and the tensions at play here have mainly led to hot takes from the press, meaningless denunciations from Senators, and stonewalling from the NCAA, as they come to Congress asking for the moon while offering up very little in terms of compromise or substantive change. Unfortunately, Congress is also the only entity capable of breaking this stalemate.

That is why it was very surprising yesterday to see the NCAA come to the Hart Building, hat-in-hand, and propose a student-friendly and exceptionally broad range of NIL rights for Congress consideration.

Ross Dellenger at Sports Illustrated has the full story here, but in a nutshell, the NCAAs four-page proposal does the following:

Notice whats not in there? No percentages, no monetary hard cap, no excruciating industry-by-industry restrictions on ventures.

So, say an Alabama running back can get a 4-year-old Dodge Charger with high miles if he appears in a hella cheesy local television ad. That sort of venture is not likely going to run afoul of continued amateurism or eligibility. But, LSU Bro signing a front-loaded $70 million dollar Nike endorsement deal, one that makes him a nine-digit-earner in college, is probably beyond any reasonable case to be made for continued amateur status.

In short, go forth and get paid...but dont be absurd about it. The market wont be stymied in advance, though it may be disallowed after the fact. And straight up Uncle Sugar bagman money is still prohibited.

To say that it is a bold approach is an understatement.

The NCAA isnt playing nearly the role as a market regulator (or market prohibitor) that it had previously suggested to Congress, nor has it painted itself into the all-or-nothing corner it has maintained for almost a century. Since there is an implied reasonableness threshold a very common and familiar objective criteria in the law it seems to be one that is easy to administer and encourages NIL rights to be spread across more sports, more players, and even across the Title IX sphere Sabrina Ionescu could have been making a nice living on the books the last four years at Oregon.

What does the NCAA want in return for a more hands-off, post hoc approach?

All that the NCAA is asking in return is everything.

No, seriously, everything:

The governing body of college athletics is asking for lawmakers to grant it antitrust protection, preemption from differing state NIL laws and to allow it to craft all rules on athlete compensation.

In exchange for letting players profit off of their image, name, likeness, performance, or even mere association with a winning program:

The NCAAs request is a big ask, to be sure. On paper, it looks like the NCAA is asking for everything. But, they do cite compelling reasons for Congress to play along practically drafting the legislative findings of fact that would accompany any bill it passed. They are familiar arguments too. Pay-for-play and unregulated NIL:

threatens gender equity in athletic programs, creates tax liability for athletes, creates an employer-employee relationship between schools and athletes, and invites corruption into college campuses. If differing state laws are allowed to remain, they would adversely impact the competitive balance that currently exists in college sports.

It is hard to argue with any of those conclusions either; they necessarily follow from an unregulated NIL landscape.

But perhaps two other reasons surface, and while not explicitly mentioned, accepting the NCAA deal has two political benefits for Congress.

When (and it is a matter of when), Star Player is sidelined for accepting that Bugatti Veyron, then constituents and the media and other tastemakers can be mad at the NCAA, not us. And, secondly, the NCAAs proposal doesnt require perpetual congressional oversight sign it, let the market sort it out, and let the whole mess be the NCAAs headache. And the latter is a powerful motivator, to be sure.

Yes, it seems to weigh in favor of the NCAA, but the proposal also does not create a bottleneck on the front end. It is expansive. It is exceptionally flexible. And it would end silly ineligibility cases weve seen the last decade where players lose games and seasons and bowl games over some tattoos, a plane ticket here and there, autograph money, or a couple of extra meals.

To go any further does create an employee-employer relationship; it does foster an even greater inequity across states and conferences and even within them; and it would all-but certainly spell the end of smaller programs, the loss educational opportunities and scholarships, and even the gutting of Title IX athletics.

While many may want the entire thing blown up, and to instead install some bastard love child of Ayn Rand and Adam Smith, that is simply never going to happen.

So, how will it play out?

As usual, we find that what passes for policy in this country may come down to two competing camps, with the golden rule settling the score.

The right favors less restrictions on players, of course. The thousands of D1 athletes far outnumber their counterparts on the administrative side of the equation. But, these college-aged Americans historically are also the most apathetic voters, the least attentive to the political process, and are the poorest age demographic hence, least likely to donate or vote. Meanwhile, the power brokers in the NCAAs camp and they are the governors and state legislators and big-time donors wield the clout and the cash that Senators most covet. Expediency then may steer Congress towards pleasing those who make campaign contributions and are powers in their own right.

Golden Rule: He who has the gold makes the rules.

That said, there is almost no way that Congress wont also make some demands regarding health and safety of players, concerns that the NCAA pooh-poohed away during their last hearing. But that is a story for another time.

For now, delight in the fact that the NCAAs proposal is likely to leave no one (except perhaps Congress) happy, and that may be the surest sign that is also a fair deal.

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Keys to the Kingdom: The NCAA unveils its ambitious NIL rights proposal - Roll Bama Roll

Birch Sap Market Manufacturers Overview 2020-2027 over the Worldwide Regional Analysis of Industry Trends and Opportunities with BelSeva…

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

COVID-19 Impact on Global Birch Sap Market Insights, Forecast to 2027

The Global Birch Sap Market Research Report Forecast 2020-2027 is a valuable source of insightful data for business strategists. It provides the Birch Sap industry overview with growth analysis and historical & futuristic cost, revenue, demand and supply data (as applicable). The research analysts provide an elaborate description of the value chain and its distributor analysis. This Birch Sap market study provides comprehensive data which enhances the understanding, scope and application of this report.

The report also explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the segments of the Birch Sap market and its global scenario. The report analyzes the changing dynamics of the market owing to the pandemic and subsequent regulatory policies and social restrictions. The report also analyses the present and future impact of the pandemic and provides an insight into the post-COVID-19 scenario of the market.

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The report further studies potential alliances such as mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, product launches, collaborations, and partnerships of the key players and new entrants. The report also studies any development in products, R&D advancements, manufacturing updates, and product research undertaken by the companies.

Competitive Landscape:

Birch Sap market report highlights key players included in the market in order to render a comprehensive view of the competing players existing in the market. Company details, strategies, aptitude, history, cost analysis, and prevalent strategies

The major players covered in Birch Sap Market @ BelSeva (Belgium),TreeVitalise (UK),Sibberi (UK),Sealand Birk (UK),Treo Brands (USA)

The final report will add the analysis of the Impact of Covid-19 in this report Birch Sap industry.

Global Birch Sap Market Research Report 2020 carries in-depth case studies on the various countries which are involved in the Birch Sap market. The report is segmented according to usage wherever applicable and the report offers all this information for all major countries and associations. It offers an analysis of the technical barriers, other issues, and cost-effectiveness affecting the market. Important contents analyzed and discussed in the report include market size, operation situation, and current & future development trends of the market, market segments, business development, and consumption tendencies. Moreover, the report includes the list of major companies/competitors and their competition data that helps the user to determine their current position in the market and take corrective measures to maintain or increase their share holds.

The report scrutinizes different business approaches and frameworks that pave the way for success in businesses. The report used Porters five techniques for analyzing the Birch Sap Market; it also offers the examination of the global market. To make the report more potent and easy to understand, it consists of info graphics and diagrams. Furthermore, it has different policies and development plans which are presented in summary. It analyzes the technical barriers, other issues, and cost-effectiveness affecting the market.

The Birch Sap market research report completely covers the vital statistics of the capacity, production, value, cost/profit, supply/demand import/export, further divided by company and country, and by application/type for best possible updated data representation in the figures, tables, pie chart, and graphs. These data representations provide predictive data regarding the future estimations for convincing market growth. The detailed and comprehensive knowledge about our publishers makes us out of the box in case of market analysis.

The study objectives of this report are:

To study and forecast the market size of Birch Sap in global market.

To analyze the global key players, SWOT analysis, value and global market share for top players.

To define, describe and forecast the market by type, end use and region.

To analyze and compare the market status and forecast among global major regions.

To analyze the global key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.

To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.

To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.

To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the market

To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market.

To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.

Highlights of the report:

A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent market

Important changes in market dynamics

Market segmentation up to the second or third level

Historical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volume

Reporting and evaluation of recent industry developments

Market shares and strategies of key players

Emerging niche segments and regional markets

An objective assessment of the trajectory of the market

Recommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the market

Key questions answered in this report

What will the market size be in 2026 and what will the growth rate be?

What are the key market trends?

What is driving this market?

What are the challenges to market growth?

Who are the key vendors in this market space?

What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Global Birch Sap Market Overview

Chapter 2: Birch Sap Market Data Analysis

Chapter 3: Birch Sap Technical Data Analysis

Chapter 4: Birch Sap Government Policy and News

Chapter 5: Global Birch Sap Market Manufacturing Process and Cost Structure

Chapter 6: Birch Sap Productions Supply Sales Demand Market Status and Forecast

Chapter 7: Birch Sap Key Manufacturers

Chapter 8: Up and Down Stream Industry Analysis

Chapter 9: Marketing Strategy Birch Sap Analysis

Chapter 10: Birch Sap Development Trend Analysis

Chapter 11: Global Birch Sap Market New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis

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Reports and Markets is not just another company in this domain but is a part of a veteran group called Algoro Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. It offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for a wide range of sectors both for the government and private agencies all across the world. The database of the company is updated on a daily basis. Our database contains a variety of industry verticals that include: Food Beverage, Automotive, Chemicals and Energy, IT & Telecom, Consumer, Healthcare, and many more. Each and every report goes through the appropriate research methodology, Checked from the professionals and analysts.

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Birch Sap Market Manufacturers Overview 2020-2027 over the Worldwide Regional Analysis of Industry Trends and Opportunities with BelSeva...

Five Cinemark Las Vegas movie theaters reopening next week – KLAS – 8 News Now

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

Posted: Aug 7, 2020 / 12:27 PM PDT / Updated: Aug 7, 2020 / 12:35 PM PDT

Photo credit: Cinemark

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Cinemark will reopen five Las Vegas movie theaters next week as the company tests its readiness for opening all of its theaters across the country.

Only a select number of theaters across the country will open on Friday, Aug. 14. The theaters in Las Vegas that will open are:

According to a news release, Cinemark said the reopenings are an expansion of the companys test-and-learn process, which is instrumental in defining the training, communication and implementation of all cleaning and sanitization protocols and new technology, as it prepares for the comprehensive opening of its U.S. circuit.

The theaters are offering Comeback Classic films at a cost of $5 for adults and $3 for children. Moviegoers can also book private watch parties, limited to 20 guests, for $99.

Cinemark sais all locations will reopen with greatly enhanced cleanliness, sanitizing and safety measures at every step of the moviegoing experience.

Tickets go on sale Friday evening (Aug. 7) at this link.

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Five Cinemark Las Vegas movie theaters reopening next week - KLAS - 8 News Now

Las Vegas family reunited with lost cat after 10 years – UPI News

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

Aug. 7 (UPI) -- A cat brought into a Las Vegas shelter as a stray was reunited with his family 10 years after going missing from a friend's house.

Heather Whitener said Logan the cat fled from a friend's house a decade ago, and the family was shocked to receive a call this week from The Animal Foundation saying the feline had been found.

The Animal Foundation said Logan had been brought in as a stray and staff were able to get Whitener's contact information from his microchip.

"He's a very loving cat," Whitener told KSNV-TV. "As soon as I started scratching right here, his favorite spot, he's like, OK."

The Animal Foundation said microchipping pets dramatically increases the chances of a reunion when an animal goes missing.

"Thanks to a microchip, The Animal Foundation was able to reunite Logan the cat with his family after 10 years of being missing," the shelter said in a Facebook post.

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Las Vegas family reunited with lost cat after 10 years - UPI News

Campfires banned on all state and U.S. lands in Nevada – Las Vegas Sun

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

Published Friday, Aug. 7, 2020 | 3 p.m.

Updated 1 hour, 15 minutes ago

RENO, Nev. (AP) State and federal officials are banning campfires and elevating other restrictions in Nevada and parts of eastern California due to severe wildfire risks and an unusually high number of human-caused blazes so far this year.

The U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Nevada Division of Forestry announced the new restrictions effective at midnight Friday.

Open flame campfires are prohibited on all state and federal lands, including within developed campgrounds, day-use areas and dispersed-camp areas throughout the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada and eastern California

Land managers report record-dry conditions in Nevada, where much of the state is in a severe drought. They say the monsoonal moisture typical this time of year hasn't materialized and experts expect the already critically dry fuels to continue to deteriorate throughout August.

Authorities say Nevada already has experienced more human-caused fires than the normal average for an entire year.

Other restrictions include a ban on smoking except within enclosed vehicles.

Fireworks, tracer rounds, explosive targets and all other incendiary devices also are banned.

The use of welding, acetylene torches or any explosive is prohibited without a permit.

Its also now illegal to operate or park a vehicle or motorized equipment over the top of dried vegetation.

Alta Mar season 4 Netflix release date: Will there be another series of High Seas? – Express

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

The majority of the main cast are expected to return for the fourth season of High Seas if it is given the green light.

This means Pans Labyrinth star Ivana Baquero will be back as Eva Villanueva and Hazings Alejandra Onieva as Carolina.

Hopefully, Jos Sacristn will return as Pedro Villanueva, the uncle of Eva and Carolina.

Also likely to return is Begoa Vargas as Vernica de Garca, the daughter of maid Francisca and Eloy Azorn as Fernando Fbregas, Carolinas husband and owner of the transatlantic ship.

At the moment, is unknown if Brazilian actor Pigossi who played spy, Fabio in season three will return.

If Jon Kortajarena returns as officer Nicols Vzquez, it will most likely be in the form of a flashback scene.

High Seas season 3 is streaming on Netflix now

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Alta Mar season 4 Netflix release date: Will there be another series of High Seas? - Express

To Protect Seabed, Countries Should Thoroughly Review Proposed Mining Projects – The Pew Charitable Trusts

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

As governments around the world begin to sketch out plans for mining the ocean floor, its vital that they thoroughly analyze and account for the environmental harm that mining could cause.

Many governments are eager to start mining beneath the high seasareas of the ocean beyond any countrys jurisdictionbecause surveys show the potential for vast stores of oil, gas, metals, and minerals there. But the high seas are also home to a wealth of marine life, much of it highly vulnerable to human disturbances. Further, scientists estimate that many of these areas harbor thousands of species that have yet to be documented.

Thats why its imperative that no seabed mining go forward unless and until the effective protection of the marine environment can be ensured. Among other things, the International Seabed Authority (ISA)the organization that governs all mining activity in the international seabedmust require in-depth environmental impact assessments before any mining activity can begin.

A recent example of why this is necessary comes from the government of Indias ongoing effort to explore the central basin of the Indian Ocean for polymetallic nodulesrock formations on the ocean floor that develop over millions of years and contain nickel, cobalt, copper, and other valuable metals. The Indian Ministry of Earth Sciences recently submitted an environmental impact statement to the ISAwhich the authority encourages but does not requireprior to testing prototype mining equipment and solicited stakeholder input.

The Pew Charitable Trustson behalf of the Pew-sponsored Code Project, a coalition of scientists, lawyers, and regulatory specialists convened to review the ongoing development of the ISAs rules for miningsubmitted comments to the Indian Ministry of Earth Sciences as part of this process. Code Project experts found that Indias impact statement contained significant gaps that, unfortunately, made it impossible to assess whether the countrys test would cause significant environmental harm or provide useful information about the effects of future commercial-scale operations.

In requiring environmental impact assessments, particularly for activities that might affect the sensitive marine life of the deep ocean, the ISA must mandate that the assessments:

Indias environmental impact statement required significant improvement on all three counts.

For example, this assessment should have provided a deeper understanding of the extent and behavior of one of the key impacts of a mining operationits sediment plume. The dust and debris from a mining vehicle could harm marine life on the seafloor and in the water column. In its statement, India should have included a sediment plume model that could have then been verified during testing. Further, the government failed to clearly describe its plans for monitoring plumes. Without those details, it will be impossible for the Indian government to make sound management decisions about future commercial mining.

This is only the second environmental impact statement submitted to the ISA for a test mine. The first, from the Belgian company Global Sea Mineral Resources in 2018, was similarly flawed, and Pew submitted feedback documenting those shortcomings at that time. Without substantial revisions, these two statements will set a deeply problematic precedent for future tests.

Moreover, these gaps lay bare the urgent need for the ISA to adopt strong environmental assessment processes. There is no clear mechanism for the ISA to review impact statements; the decision to proceed with an activity is left solely in the hands of the sponsoring country and the activitys proponent, often a for-profit company. This is a recipe for fragmented governance and unchecked environmental abuses.

Areas beyond national jurisdiction are classified by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as the common heritage of humankind. The convention therefore requires those areas to be managed with an eye toward future generations. Countries must insist that robust environmental assessments are carried out for all mining activitiesbefore they beginand the ISA must stringently review all impact statements and respond to stakeholder and scientific expert input to fulfill its duty of ensuring effective protection of the marine environment.

Andrew Friedman manages The Pew Charitable Trusts seabed mining project.

GTA Online is getting new missions, cars, and races next week – PCGamesN

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

Rockstar is bringing oodles of new activities to GTA Online next week to keep you entertained ahead of Grand Theft Autos biggest update ever. After the weekly reset on Tuesday, August 11, youll get a myriad of new things to do from co-op missions launched from your yacht to the new cars and Open Wheel Races.

If you own the Galaxy Super Yacht youll be able to jump into a selection of new missions by yourself or with three friends. Those missions involve a variety of things from deep-sea diving to high-speed hi-jinks on the high seas.

Rockstar also says that GTA Onlinescar retailers will be stuffed with more than a dozen new vehicles you can buy better get saving, then. Those new cars include off-roaders, turnable sports cars, and two new Open Wheel cars. If youre itching for something to do with those new cars then youll be glad to know that theres new Open Wheel Races to test them out in. If youre feeling creative, you can also use the new Open Wheel Race Creator to put together your dream street circuit.

Youll also be getting a host of general improvements and fixes alongside the usual weekly activities like the GTA 5 podium car. You can check out the Rockstar newswire post in full for all the information.

If youre looking for some more general help then our GTA money and cheats guides will sort you out.

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GTA Online is getting new missions, cars, and races next week - PCGamesN

The Best Movies and TV Shows New to Netflix, Amazon and Stan in Australia in August – The New York Times

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

Every month, streaming services in Australia add a new batch of movies and TV shows to its library. Here are our picks for August.

AUGUST 3

For the six-part docu-series Immigration Nation, the co-directors Christina Clusiau and Shaul Schwarz spent three years covering the tense situation on the U.S./Mexico border. Their crew was given unprecedented access to President Trumps Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, so much so that the administration has since become concerned that some of the footage in Immigration Nation may show ICE agents violating the law and misrepresenting their operations. A show thats this controversial before it debuts is certainly a must-see.

AUGUST 5

With The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep, the writer-director Mike Flanagan delivers a Stephen King movie adaptation that feels a lot like reading one of Kings novels. Flanagan uses his lengthy running time to develop the three main characters: the jaded alcoholic psychic Danny Torrance (Ewan McGregor), the parasitic immortal cult leader Rose the Hat (Rebecca Ferguson), and the supernaturally gifted teen Abra Stone (Kyliegh Curran). The inevitable clash between good and bad psychics lacks a little oomph (and feels derivative of The Shining movie), but for the most part this is a genuinely spooky and resonant film about old ghosts and stolen childhoods.

AUGUST 7

Four years ago, the Guillermo del Toro-produced animated series Trollhunters introduced Netflix viewers to a group of young adventurers who were dealing with the perils of adolescence while getting drawn into ancient feuds between mystical creatures. The story continued in the sequel series 3Below, and now the trilogy wraps up with Wizards. The time-hopping, King Arthur-inspired romp brings together characters and subplots from the entire Tales of Arcadia universe. Based on the series track record, this should be a satisfying conclusion to a consistently entertaining young adult fantasy saga.

During these stressful times, we could all use a well-made, feather-light, agreeably silly dance movie. Work It could very well fit the bill. Produced by Alicia Keys, the film stars Sabrina Carpenter as a teenager who has to learn to dance and then work with a team of other misfits so she can compete in a big contest and enhance her college application. A cast of skilled dancers will get plenty of opportunities to strut their stuff, in a picture that combines underdog sports melodrama with high school romantic comedy.

AUGUST 14

Amanda Peet gives one of the most riveting performance of this television year in the second season of the true-crime docudrama Dirty John, playing the infamous spurned wife and murderer Betty Broderick. Christian Slater plays Dan Broderick, who in the shows version of the story became a successful lawyer with Bettys support, then put her through a humiliating, dragged-out divorce so he could marry a younger woman. The series creator Alexandra Cunningham retells a tale that was a tabloid staple in the 1990s, but puts her focus on the roles that gender and status played in this relationships unbalanced power dynamic. Throughout, Peet embodies a dynamic woman who comes off as both scary and sympathetic.

Netflixs latest big budget action spectacular stars Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Dominique Fishback as a team of unlikely heroes from different backgrounds, working to investigate the proliferation of a designer drug that gives its users superpowers for five minutes. Judging by the trailer, the Project Power co-directors Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost will be relying on some eye-popping special effects to give their movie its own five-minute boosts of energy. But its the low-key charisma of the three leads that will ultimately carry this picture.

AUGUST 21

The supernatural adventure series Lucifer has a lot in common with the excellent Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff Angel, in that both are imaginative and witty episodic dramas about demons who fight their own natures while solving crimes in Los Angeles. The Lucifer creators leaned into that similarity with their shocking season four finale, which saw Lucifer Morningstar (played by the charming Tom Ellis) re-embracing his dark destiny and reclaiming his throne in Hell. This situation surely wont last, but seeing how the devil himself returns to L.A. in season five should be a lot of fun.

Also arriving:

Shutter Island (August 1), Mundo Mistrio (August 4), Sam Jay: 3 in the Morning (August 4), Anelka: LIncompris (August 5), Worlds Most Wanted (August 5), The Rain Season 3 (August 6), Berlin, Berlin (August 7), High Seas Season 3 (August 7), Nailed It! Mexico Season 2 (August 7), Selling Sunset Season 3 (August 7), Sing On! Germany (August 7), Tiny Creatures (August 7), Insidious: The Last Key (August 9), Game On: A Comedy Crossover Event (August 10), How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (August 10), Greenleaf Season 5 (August 12), (Un)Well (August 12), Glow Up Season 2 (August 14), The Great Heist (August 14), Teenage Bounty Hunters (August 14), 3% Season 4 (August 14), Rita Season 5 (August 15), Space Jam (August 15), Stranger Season 2 (August 15), Crazy Awesome Teachers (August 17), DeMarcus Family Rules (August 19), High Score (August 19), Biohackers (August 20), John Was Truing to Contact Aliens (August 20), Rust Valley Restorer Season 3 (August 21), The Sleepover (August 21), Trinkets Season 2 (August 25), Million Dollar Beach House (August 26), Rising Phoenix (August 26), Aggretsuko Season 3 (August 27), Cobra Kai Seasons 1-2 (August 28), Fearless (August 28).

AUGUST 3

Widely considered one of the best Australian films of recent years, the drama Acute Misfortune directed by Thomas Wright, and co-written by Wright and Erik Jensen is based on Jensens biography of the late Adam Cullen, a painter known for his bold colors, shocking subject matter and punk aesthetic. The movie is about the close and sometimes contentious relationship that developed between the green young journalist Wright and the cantankerous and sickly Cullen. Its a study in how difficult it can be to put artists and their work into context.

AUGUST 5

The outstanding actress Juno Temple gets a much-deserved leading role in Little Birds, playing Lucy Savage, a rich New Yorker who explores the wide open sexual and political possibilities of Tangier in the mid 1950s. Loosely based on the work of the erotic fiction pioneer Anais Nin, this stylish six-part series directed by Stacie Passon spoofs the presumptions and privileges of the colonial class, while graphically depicting their secret desires. Temple brings a sense of playfulness and humor to a character on a wild journey of self-discovery.

AUGUST 20

The TV writer-producer team of Robert and Michelle King best-known for creating The Good Wife and its spinoff The Good Fight go to some wonderfully odd places with their new series Evil. Katja Herbers plays a psychologist who helps a deeply religious Catholic investigator (played by Mike Colter) and a skilled tinkerer (Aasif Mandvi) on a mission to determine if there are reasonable explanations for supernatural phenomena. Michael Emerson plays an antagonistic chaos-agent, working for his own mysterious ends. Evil is occasionally quite scary and often very funny. Its also consistently provocative in the way it depicts issues of faith and fervor.

AUGUST 22

One of the most artfully rendered romantic movies of recent years, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is set on an island estate in late 18th century Brittany, where a painter named Marianne (Nomie Merlant) has been hired to produce a portrait of a moody aristocrat named Hlose (Adle Haenel). The two fall in love and take their time, savoring the days they spend together before Hloses impending marriage. The writer-director Cline Sciamma captures the passion of these two women, as they enjoy the fleeting freedom of a secret affair.

AUGUST 28

Named for Helen Reddys 1972 feminist anthem, I Am Woman tells the story of the Melbourne-born singer and her rise to international pop music stardom. Tilda Cobham-Hervey plays Reddy, who arrives in the United States as an unknown and has to struggle against the ingrained sexism and shortsightedness of 1960s American showbiz to get her voice heard. Danielle Macdonald plays Lillian Roxon, the Australian rock journalist whose enthusiasm for the womens movement helped inspire Reddys most enduring hit.

AUGUST 30

Fans of strange but true crime stories should enjoy Love Fraud, a docu-series about a con-man who drained the bank accounts of several trusting women until they found each other online and worked together to expose him. The co-directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (best-known for the documentary Jesus Camp) get to know these ladies, who for the most part dont seem like easy or even lucrative marks. Love Fraud is about predators who use the internet to find not necessarily the wealthiest prey, but the most persuadable.

Also arriving: The Deceived (August 4), Magic Mike (August 5), Stroszek (August 5), Mr. & Mrs. Murder (August 6), Brabham (August 7), Chimerica Season 1 (August 7), Michelle Obama: Life After the White House (August 11), Battlestar Galactica Seasons 1-4 (August 14), The Circus (August 17), Dark Money Season 1 (August 23), Blood & Treasure Season 1 (August 27).

AUGUST 7

A different kind of food show or perhaps a different kind of political panel show Pan y Circo is hosted by the actor Diego Luna, who brings together an assortment of activists and celebrities for a series of fabulous meals, across Mexico. The guests have spirited debates about everything from immigration law to the drug war to gender politics, all in a spirit of honesty and good will. Theres even a quarantine special, with Lunas pals gathering virtually, to talk about life in the COVID-19 era.

AUGUST 14

The reality television producer Mark Burnett launched his career in the mid-1990s with Eco-Challenge, an extreme team race across the wilderness, combining multiple disciplines. Burnett set the concept aside after he found greater success with shows like Survivor and The Apprentice, but now hes bringing it back as Worlds Toughest Race: Eco-Challenge Fiji. The ruggedly outdoorsy TV personality Bear Grylls hosts the ten-part series, which covers a grueling, nonstop 11-day scramble across mountains and water, with 66 teams a total of over 300 athletes pushing the limits of their endurance.

Also arriving:

Chemical Hearts (August 21).

The Best Movies and TV Shows New to Netflix, Amazon and Stan in Australia in August - The New York Times

Puerto Rico to Repair Pier 3 in San Juan – The Weekly Journal

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

The Puerto Rico Ports Authority (PA) has awarded auction 10-90 for the emergency repair of pier 3 on the San Juan port front.

PA Executive Director Joel Piz Batiz explained that a section on the east side of pier 3 was impacted by the Norwegian Epic cruise ship on February 12, 2019, when it was making an unplanned berthing at said pier after confronting mechanical malfunctions on the high seas.

The impact, he said, affected what is known as the "mooring dolphins" BD-5 and BD-6, as well as the walkways that connect the BD-4 to BD-5, BD-5 to BD-6, and the BD-6 to pier 3. The concrete piles supporting the mooring dolphins, bollards, and walkways collapsed on impact, dropping everything to the sea floor.

After a study process, which culminated in obtaining the federal permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the auction phase proceeded and has now been completed.

Repair work is estimated at $6,659,00 and will begin in upcoming weeks. The work is projected to be completed in roughly 14 months.

"Pier 3 is used mostly by transit cruises. With decreased cruise operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was important to start repairs as soon as possible. It should be noted that the cost of the repair will be borne by the insurers, so no public funds will be used for it," Piz Batiz stressed.

The project, which will use the design build method, will consist of the removal of 90 tons of collapsed structures from the seabed; reconstruction of the two mooring dolphins and collapsed piles; reinstallation of the bollards, system of defenses, and walkways; and replacement and repair of all electrical, plumbing, and lighting systems affected by the impact.

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Puerto Rico to Repair Pier 3 in San Juan - The Weekly Journal

The US military has options against China | TheHill – The Hill

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) is worried worried about the U.S. Navys prospects during a war against Communist China in the Western Pacific. Last week, Sen. Gardner, who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy, told the Washington Examiner that Chinese ballistic missiles could compel all of our planning, all of our equipment, all of our systems to basically vacate the region at outset of fighting. Both large bases and ships riding the waves, he noted, are vulnerable to missile attack.

Sen. Gardner joined a group of Republican lawmakers to coauthor the STRATEGIC Act, a bill aimed at restoring deterrence and U.S. combat supremacy. To oversimplify, the acts framers envision spreading out U.S. bases across the region, deploying new weaponry to make things tough on the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), and rejuvenating U.S. alliances and partnerships around the exterior crescent that sweeps from Japan westward around the Asian periphery toward India. Their goal: to convince Chinese Communist Party (CCP) potentates that attacking Americas friends and allies would be a hopeless cause or, failing that, that the effort would cost China more than the gains were worth to Xi Jinping & Co.

Either way, Beijing should forego aggression.

How did the U.S. Navy get into such straits? Chiefly by talking itself into believing that victory in the Cold War was forever. In 1992, top Navy and Marine Corps leaders issued a strategy document titled ... From the Sea that declared, in effect, that there was no one left to fight now that the Soviet Navy sat rusting at its moorings. The sea belonged to the United States and its allies. It was a safe sanctuary from which to project power onto distant shores. Since there was no one left to fight and never would be, service leaders seemed to think the sea services no longer should bother developing new weapons and tactics for fighting enemy fleets on the high seas.

... From the Sea ordered the services to remake themselves into a fundamentally different naval force. And so they did. Trouble is, Beijing evidently didnt get the message that naval history had ended. The U.S. Navy lay down arms at almost the exact moment CCP leaders resolved to construct a great navy of their own, backed up by an array of land-based aircraft and cruise and ballistic missiles. Their project succeeded producing the sea force that so vexes Sen. Gardner.

Hes right to fret.

But the U.S. armed forces have options of their own turning geography to advantage, for one. Look at your map. You will notice that the first island chain, which meanders from northern Japan around to the Strait of Malacca, is made up of U.S. allies and friends, and that it forms a natural barrier to air and sea movement between the China seas and the Western Pacific. No Chinese seaport outflanks it. Small bodies of missile-armed troops on the islands, operating in concert with warships and warplanes prowling adjacent waters and skies, could bar the straits Chinese vessels must traverse to escape home waters.

In essence, Washington can threaten to lock up the PLA within the island chain. The military implications alone might give Beijing pause. So might the implications of cutting off the export- and import-driven Chinese economy from foreign harbors. Adm. Liu Huaqing, the founder of the modern PLA Navy, likened the first island chain to a metal chain fettering Chinese aspirations. Inventive U.S. strategy and force deployments could make Lius nightmare come true.

Sobriety could prevail in Beijing.

Scattering forces on and around the island chain would help ease the senators minds with regard to the ballistic-missile threat. Gen. David Berger, the Marine Corps commandant, advocates reengineering U.S. forces in the Western Pacific as stand-in forces. Rather than vacate the region to avoid PLA missile barrages, small units that pack a punch would defy them. Instead of big and glamorous, ships, planes and bases would be small, cheap, plentiful and elusive. PLA rocketeers might pick off some of them; the force as a whole would fight on.

And lastly, naval integration is all the rage nowadays in U.S. Navy and Marine circles. In the past, Marines were little more than passengers on board Navy transports ferrying them to faraway beaches. No more. Berger wants embarked Marines to take an active hand in fleet operations, especially those near shore. At the same time, the U.S. Air Force and Army are refreshing their own hardware and skills for war at sea. For example, Air Force bombers now drop sea mines ideal for plugging up straits. They also sport long-range anti-ship missiles, ship killers tailor-made for striking along the island chain.

The Pentagons goal is to forge a composite implement of sea power of which all the services sea- and ground-based form integral parts.

Turnabout is fair play in diplomacy and warfare. PLA commanders can try to deny the U.S. armed forces access to Western Pacific seas, skies and shores all they like. But American commanders can reciprocate if they apply intellect and material resources to this strategic problem, and do so with imagination and verve.

Lawmakers should make sure they do.

James R. Holmes is J. C. Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the Naval War College and co-author of Red Star over the Pacific. The views voiced here are his alone.

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The US military has options against China | TheHill - The Hill

Muddying the Waters – Architecture – e-flux – E-Flux

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

The Azores archipelago has long been considered a site of geostrategic relevance for geopolitical and resource exploitation due to its natural wealth and its location in the North Atlantic. This volcanic Eden, comprising nine islands, sits on the meridian that connects Lisbon and New York and is positioned between the Eurasian, the North American, and the African continental plates.

The archipelagos bountiful landscapes are not only known for their lavish mixture of flora and fauna: much of their value owes to their location along the fertile grounds of the mid-Atlantic ridge. This multi-stratum of oceanic spaces makes it a crucial place to study the migratory routes of cetaceans and other species. As such, the Azores are today considered an important site for research in deep sea ecology, ocean climatology, and more.

The islands, which are currently an autonomous region of Portugal, were first occupied by Portuguese settlers in 1439, who dedicated themselves to agriculture and whaling. The latter activity provided much of the islands supplies and exports, namely derivatives of cetacean oil for illumination and lubrication of industrial machinery. With the international ban of whaling in the 1980s, the island workforce and part of the industry's infrastructures were diverted to forms of ecotourism, which now sustain the islands.

In the early twentieth century, the geostrategic location of the archipelago made it eligible for the crossing of transatlantic cables, as well as a stopover site during the first cross-Atlantic flight. Since World War II, the United States Air Force has used the Lajes military base on Terceira island, and today STARlab, the Atlantic International Satellite Launch Programme, is currently being built on Santa Maria Island with investment funds from the Chinese Science Academy.

The politics and resource strategies of the Azores have long been triangulated between local conservation strategies, the geopolitical aspirations of the Portuguese Central Government, and a confluence of international interests. These interests are today put at stake as an emerging threat to the high seas has been steadily gathering momentum around the waters of the region, one that promises an unprecedented industrialization of ocean space: deep-sea mining.1

Hydrothermal vents. Drawing by Daniel Melim.

In the early 1990s, several hydrothermal vent fields were discovered southwest of the Azores archipelago along the Mid-Atlantic Ridgewith cobalt crusts on its northern seamounts as well as manganese nodules on the southern side of the islands. Recent EU reports define twenty-seven raw materials to be in critical demand, as China remains the main supplier to Europe and a worldwide exporter.2 The dependence of raw material supplies is seen to have strategic importance at the European level, and as such, the EU has taken a prominent role in promoting policy, investment funds, and EU innovation partnerships in this area.3

Alongside its Deep Sea Minerals project in the Pacific Community (SPC) and a host of public-private partnerships promoted by several Member States, the EU is also at the center of a growing institutional mobilization focused on the Atlantic, where national maritime concessions and areas on the high seas around the Azores archipelago take on a particularly key role.4 According to lawyer Marta Chantal Ribeiro, coordinator of the Law of the Sea Research Group at the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, the sea surrounding the Azores is the most attractive in the context of the European Union, and probably where conditions are more favorable to proceed with mining, from the point of view of the economic interests which it bares.5 Deep sea mineral extraction threatens to not only completely destroy portions of the ocean floor and erase the communities that inhabit it, but also have broader cumulative impacts, whose full scope still remains largely unknown.6

Technological progress in the field of deep-sea mining accelerates the possibility of giving way to new submarine extractive industries in the near future. Its currently estimated that the increasing market demand for mineral resources from now until 2050 will exceed all that has been extracted since the dawn of humanity to the present day.7 While much of this demand comes from consumer tech industries, there is also increasing need for raw minerals and metals to supply the development, deployment, and storage of clean energy.8 Faced with the mineralogical potential of the ocean floor, international demand for economic growth gives further space for industry to promote the necessity and inevitability of these endeavors.

The eras of the geological timescale.Drawing by Daniel Melim.

Since the implementation of UNCLOS, the United Nations Conservation Law of the Sea in the 1980s, sovereignty rights over ocean space has been acquired in the form of EEZs (Exclusive Economic Zones) by countries around the world.9 Since the end of the 2010s, several public and private initiatives have been launched in Portugal to promote and adjudicate the possible exploitation of non-living resources on the seabed. A common link between these initiatives, whether dedicated to research or conservation, has been the development of oceanographic surveys, which often serve as point of departure for obtaining project financing, pursuing resource prospection, and exploitation.

In 2005, the Portuguese Task Group for the Extension of the Continental Shelf (EMEPC) was created to prepare, present, and defend a proposal to extend the Portuguese continental shelf before the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) of the United Nations.10 Extensions of the continental shelf are exclusively geared towards ensuring the sovereignty of a state over the resources in the soil and subsoil beyond the 200 maritime miles of its EEZ. Portugal has the third-largest maritime EEZ of the EU, and the twentieth largest in the world, at 1,727,408 square kilometers. The proposal would have expanded that area to 2.15 million square kilometers; forty-two times larger than the area of Portugal itself.

A year prior to Portugal submitting its proposal to CLCS in 2009, the company Nautilus Minerals, Inc., which had previously been developing experimental deep sea mining tests in Papua New Guinea, submitted a request to the Portuguese Regional Secretariat for the Sea, Science, and Technology for mineral prospecting rights for six locations in the Azores Sea.11 This request was not granted, and soon after, in 2011, the Azores Government created the Azores Marine Park, which banned all extractive activities within its network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which includes diverse ecosystems, hydrothermal vents, submarine banks, and seamounts.

In 2012, the Azores Government legislated the reclamation of existing natural assets on the seabed (excluding hydrocarbons, natural gas, and methane hydrates). That same year, Nautilus Minerals Inc. submitted five new requests to the Portuguese Regional Secretariat for the Sea, Science and Technology for prospecting and extraction rights in areas on the periphery of the Azores Marine Park.

In 2013, the EU, Canada, and the USA signed the Galway Declaration on the Atlantic Ocean Cooperation with the aim of stimulating research partnerships to obtain further knowledge about the Atlantic Ocean and its system dynamicsincluding its connections with the Arctic and North Atlantic.12 It proposed data sharing, inter-operability, and infrastructure coordination for the observation and mapping of benthic habitats between the signatory countries. That same year, another similar project called MIDAS (Managing Impacts of Deep-seA reSource exploitation) was established by the EU and a consortium of thirty-two partners, financed by the European Commission, whose purpose was to investigate over three years the impacts associated with the extraction of energy and mineral resources from the bottom of the sea.13 The following year, the Blue Mining project was established as an international consortium of nineteen European organizations, including members from academia and industry, to assess the impacts and potentials for deep-sea mineral and energy resource extraction around the Azores.14 The minerals Blue Mining identified for evaluation included polymetallic nodules and sulphides, ferromagnetic crusts rich in cobalt, methane hydrates, and rare earth elements.

In 2014, the Portuguese government took notice of the inherent conflict between the Azores Marine Park and the requests made by Nautilus Minerals Inc and EU initiatives that gravitated towards it. As a result, the national parliament passed legislation that limited the authority of autonomous regions to approve territorial zoning plans beyond the 200-mile EEZ limit. Furthermore, the Portuguese government soon also approved a new law decreeing that any new proposals by autonomous regions for implementing MPAs within that same area require consent from the central government, as well as establishing the central governments authority to decide whether or not to include currently-existing MPAs in its national zoning plan. This began a legal dialogue regarding what autonomy actually meant for the Azores, as well as how much the central government could override decisions by regional governmentsclues that were perhaps indicative of how this dynamic would play out if, and when the extension of the continental shelf was granted.15

The constitutional status of the Azores as an autonomous region gives it environmental authority beyond the 200 miles of the EEZ. Therefore, in response to these actions taken by the central government, the Azores regional government appealed these laws to the Constitutional Court. While the appeal was unsuccessful, they exercised power by not complying with the national spatial planning policy program.

In 2015, the Portuguese Parliament passed a new law establishing a legal framework for surveying existing geological resources on national territory, including those located in national maritime waters. The law lacked any jurisdictional concern for environmental protection before, during, or after the proposed activities. Its primary purpose was to resolve the national political divisions created between mainland Portugal and the Azores, stating that for the purpose of attributing any licenses, both regional and national governments must be signatories. After the law was approved, the regional government approved the expansion of the Azores Marine Park, thereby including areas for which Nautilus Minerals Inc. had submitted a request for an exploitation licensethe Menez Gwen, Lucky Strike and Rainbow hydrothermal fieldswhile maintaining the ban on mineral extraction within the protected areas of the park.

Area under Portuguese sovereignty, including the Azores and Madeira archipelagos.Drawing by Daniel Melim.

The main MPAs within the Azores Marine Park are recognized by the European Commission as Sites of Community Interest, Conservation, and Importance, and are part of the Natura 2000 network.16 This means that the declassification of any site of this kind must be approved by the European Commission, and that the Portuguese central government cannot override the status of the Azoress MPAs without the Commissions approval. Other MPAs within the Azores Marine Park are recognized by the OSPAR Convention (Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic), an international mechanism that regulates the discharge of pollutants into the marine environment signed by fifteen nations, including Portugal.17 Also in 2015, Portugal submitted a proposal to nominate the Rainbow MPAa hydrothermal vent field that is the first national Marine Protected Area proposed beyond the 200-kilometer EEZ boundaryas a Site of Community Interest, Conservation, and Importance, which was later approved by OSPAR.18

In recent years, Portugal has promoted a political agenda whose growth-led policies target the Blue Economy and marine investment. Numerous projects, think tanks, ocean literacy programs, and high-level ministry conferences have been held in Portugal with the aim to secure investment partnerships. In July 2017, for instance, the EU, Brazil, and South Africa signed the Belm Statement, an accord which reinforces a shared commitment to pursuing research and innovation in the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean.19 This statement was signed within the scope of the conference A New Era of Blue Enlightenment, which promoted the Azores as a geostrategic point for the convergence of partners and entities studying the Atlantic, as well as a source of mineral resources to exploit.20 As a sign of the heightened interest in the region from a web of private and state interests, that same year Poland applied for a concession from the International Seabed Authority (ISA) to exploit marine resources within an EBSA (Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas) area certified by the Convention of Biological Diversity, located just outside of Azorean waters, in the vicinity of Flores island.

While resource prospection on national waters is legislated by individual nation states, the regulation, supervision, and exploration of the ocean floor in international waters and the high seas lies with the International Seabed Authority. A United Nations body, the ISA has up until today leased twenty-nine concessions for prospecting and exploiting that cover a total of approximately around two million square kilometers of international seabed. While the ISA receives royalties from mining concessions and plans to develop a company to commercialize seabed ore, it is also the institutional body responsible for drafting guidelines on seabed mining, which it aims to publish in the coming year.

In this context, Fausto Brito e Abreu, former Director General of the Portuguese Directorate-General for Maritime Policy, and Filipe Porteiro, Regional Director of Sea Affairs in the Azores, stated that they are awaiting the ISAs publication of deep-sea mining before advancing with mining plans.21 They also signaled that they would open the door to experimental mining techniques which, they claimed, will certainly not be damaging to the environment so long as they follow this regulation. This is a worrying statement, given that the ISA has been accused by various NGOs of a lack of transparency and being ecologically biased.22 According to Mnica Verbeek, director of the NGO conglomerate Seas at Risk, the EBSA are areas of extreme importance for the ocean, as their aim is to protect its healthy functioning.23 Accordingly, it is essential to begin a public debate on mining, involving stakeholders in all the areas which will be affected, clarifying who will benefit and who will suffer from the impacts.24

Several environmental associations and Azorean citizens have expressed concern regarding the possibility of deep-sea mining. Friends of the Azores, a NGO focused on the regions environment, worries about the lack of opportunities for civic participation in debates on mining, as well as how governance on the topic is being conducted.25 One of its members, Diogo Caetano, is troubled by the lack of transparency on how the entire project is being managed, stating that it is fundamental to provide Azorean society with knowledge of the current state of the deep sea, releasing studies already developed and announcing those yet to be developed, the financial amounts invested and their respective origins, as well as the projects and plans, both regional and national, on medium and long-terms.

ARTAC, the Regional Association for the Promotion and Development of Tourism, Environment, Culture, and Health in the Azores headed by Filipe Tavares and Sara Ponte, has also expressed concern regarding the devastating effects of mining on fragile and unique marine ecosystems.26 They highlight the absurdity of the fact that, even though the Azores are recognized for their biodiversity and sustainability, the reality is that its marine resources are deeply dilapidated due to excessive fishing, poor management and lack of inspection. To speak of mining, is a sign that everything has failed, even autonomy itself.

The vertical axisfrom outer space to the ocean's depths. From Inhabitants,What is Deep Sea Mining? Episode 1:Tools for Ocean Literacy, 2018.Drawing by Daniel Melim.

At the end of 2017, the NGO coalition Oceano Livre organized the conference Deep Sea Mininga sustainable choice for Portugal? which brought together environmentalists, politicians, scientists, and legal experts. The conference was an opportunity to promote an informed, critical dialogue on this topic from different positions. At the same time, it offered a glimpse into the government's position on the topic. During the event, Fausto Brito e Abreu reassured those present that the Portuguese Government does not consider deep sea mining a priority, before stating that it will only happen when it is possible to do so with minimum guarantees of environmental sustainability.27 He concluded by saying that, in his view, it will be necessary to wait at least a decade and a half before we extract the first mineral from the bottom of the Portuguese sea at a commercial scale. Deep-sea mining is, in other words, not so much a priority as it is an inevitable future.

During a 2018 visit by local representatives from the province of New Ireland to the Nautilus shipyard in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, the companys Vice President of Operations, Adam Wright, brazenly affirmed that there will be no impact on fish, there will be no impact on the reef and its communities.28 This statement, while ignoring the industrial machinery that would literally reduce the seabed to a paste, reveals a shared mindset and outlook between industry operatives and elected representatives from across the world. During a meeting of the Atlantic Councila think tank with deep establishment and industry linksFausto Brito e Abreu and the former Portuguese Minister of Sea Ana Vitorino reaffirmed deep sea mining as one of the four pillars of a renewed cooperation with the USA.29

Facing pressure from activist movements, at the end of 2019, the backers of Nautiluss deep-sea mining project in Papua New Guinea divested.30 The company is now in administration after hundreds of millions in losses and is largely supported by the government of Papua New Guinea, who was left with a debt equivalent to one-third of the countrys annual health budget for its nine million people.31 Political circumstances dictate a much more cautious discourse these days in the Pacific, but this should not be considered as anything more than a reprieve. The same interests that propelled Nautilus in Papua New Guinea and the Azores are still active in a number of other projects, often sustained in part by public finances and carried through without even a hint of public debate.32

The oceans play a key part of the global ecosystem, as well as a central mechanism in the earth climate system.33 Maritime ecosystems have already been subject to anthropogenic processes of change, such as acidification and mean temperature rise, and are today under additional threat by short to medium-term material demands and profit expectations. Analysis of existing alternatives to mineral and metal demands has been researched and well documented.34 The lack of knowledge about oceanic systems and their eco-systemic complexity and richness is enormous. It is only with profound ignorance that the practice of deep-sea mining can be adopted. And, as we know from other forms of resource extraction such as fracking, once a technology becomes commercially viable and has the backing of both powerful industrial lobbies and national governments (and the revolving door between the two), there is no going back. Ecosystems that are thousands of years old cannot be remade. Systemic tipping points cannot be uncrossed. The fragile and still-understudied ecosystems of the Azores are encircled by political agendas and economic interests. We are at a critical junction in terms of ocean governance in the era of the blue economy, and choices made in the short term will determine what kind of world future generations will struggle to survive in. It is essential, in this era, to create spaces for public debate, tools for ocean literacy, and coordinated action with unrestrained solidarity.

The future of the sea surrounding the Azores is a minor conflict that represents a global struggle. Governments cannot be trusted to provide unbiased information and clarification, criteria and scientifically-informed outcomes. It is up to us to demand that elected representatives and institutions protect the commons. Through environmental, civic, and other organizations, individually or collectively mobilized, we must demand participation in the decisions that configure our lives and world.35 For the Azores, this means unequivocally stating that a minimum of protection, sustainability, and concern for our common future not enough. Indeed, it never was. It is up to us to make it clear that far from inevitable, deep-sea mining in the Azores and elsewhere must not go ahead without full environmental assessments, community consultation, and exploration of alternatives. We have the word, now let's act.

A previous version of this text was first published in Portuguese in Jornal mapa, an independent media outlet that covers global environmental issues. This re-publication was selected by Inhabitants on the occasion of their webseries What is Deep Sea Mining? (2018).

Oceans in Transformation is a collaboration between TBA21Academy and e-flux Architecture within the context of the eponymous exhibition at Ocean Space in Venice by Territorial Agency and its manifestation on Ocean Archive.

Margarida Mendes is a researcher and curator, and is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Research Architecture, Goldsmiths. She is a founding member of the environmental movement Oceano Livre, a coalition of Portuguese NGOs working against deep sea mining.

Joo Martins is a member of the MAPA collective in Portugal, writing on issues of social and environmental equity, justice, and sustainability.

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Muddying the Waters - Architecture - e-flux - E-Flux

Hedonism II | Top Clothing Optional Resorts In Negril, Jamaica

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

Departure City

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Hedonism II | Top Clothing Optional Resorts In Negril, Jamaica

Hedonism – Wikipedia

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

School of thought

Hedonism is a school of thought that argues seeking pleasure and avoiding suffering are the only components of well-being.[1]

Ethical hedonism is the view that combines hedonism with welfarist ethics, which claims that what we should do depends exclusively on what affects the well-being of individuals. Ethical hedonists would defend either increasing pleasure and reducing suffering for all beings capable of experiencing them; or just reducing suffering, in the case of negative consequentialism and negative utilitarianism.[2][3][4][5] Ethical hedonism is said to have been started by Aristippus of Cyrene,[6] a student of Socrates. He held the idea that pleasure is the highest good.[7]

Hedonistic ethical egoism is the idea that each person should do everything in their power to achieve the greatest amount of pleasure possible to them.[8] It is also the idea that every person's pleasure should far surpass their amount of pain.[8]

The term hedonism derives from the Greek hdonismos (, 'delight'; from , hdon, 'pleasure'), which is a cognate from Proto-Indo-European swhdus through Ancient Greek hds (, 'sweet') + suffix -ismos (-, 'ism').

Opposite to hedonism, there is hedonophobia, which is an extremely strong aversion to hedonism. According to medical author William C. Shiel Jr., hedonophobia is "an abnormal, excessive, and persistent fear of pleasure."[9] The condition of being unable to experience pleasure is anhedonia.

In the original Old Babylonian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh, which was written soon after the invention of writing, Siduri gave the following advice: "Fill your belly. Day and night make merry. Let days be full of joy. Dance and make music day and night. These things alone are the concern of men." This may represent the first recorded advocacy of a hedonistic philosophy.[10]

Scenes of a harper entertaining guests at a feast were common in Ancient-Egyptian tombs, and sometimes contained hedonistic elements, calling guests to submit to pleasure because they cannot be sure that they will be rewarded for good with a blissful afterlife. The following is a song attributed to the reign of one of the pharaohs around the time of the 12th dynasty, and the text was used in the 18th and 19th dynasties.[11][12]

Let thy desire flourish, In order to let thy heart forget the beatifications for thee.Follow thy desire, as long as thou shalt live.Put myrrh upon thy head and clothing of fine linen upon thee,Being anointed with genuine marvels of the gods' property.Set an increase to thy good things;Let not thy heart flag.Follow thy desire and thy good.Fulfill thy needs upon earth, after the command of thy heart,Until there come for thee that day of mourning.

Democritus seems to be the earliest philosopher on record to have categorically embraced a hedonistic philosophy; he called the supreme goal of life "contentment" or "cheerfulness," claiming that "joy and sorrow are the distinguishing mark of things beneficial and harmful.[13]

The Cyrenaics were an ultra-hedonist Greek school of philosophy founded in the 4th century BC, supposedly by Aristippus of Cyrene, although many of the principles of the school are believed to have been formalized by his grandson of the same name, Aristippus the Younger. The school was so called after Cyrene, the birthplace of Aristippus, and was one of the earliest Socratic schools.

The Cyrenaics taught that the only intrinsic good is pleasure, which meant not just the absence of pain, but positively enjoyable momentary sensations. Of these, physical ones are stronger than those of anticipation or memory. They did, however, recognize the value of social obligation, and that pleasure could be gained from altruism.[14]

Theodorus the Atheist, a disciple of younger Aristippus, was a latter exponent of hedonism,[15] while becoming well known for expounding atheism. The school died out within a century, and was replaced by Epicureanism.

The Cyrenaics were known for their skeptical theory of knowledge, reducing logic to a basic doctrine concerning the criterion of truth.[16] They thought that we can know with certainty our immediate sense-experiences (for instance, that one is having a sweet sensation), but can know nothing about the nature of the objects that cause these sensations (for instance, that the honey is sweet).[17] They also denied that we can have knowledge of what the experiences of other people are like.[18] All knowledge is immediate sensation. These sensations are motions which are purely subjective, and are painful, indifferent or pleasant, according as they are violent, tranquil or gentle.[17][19] Further, they are entirely individual and can in no way be described as constituting absolute objective knowledge. Feeling, therefore, is the only possible criterion of knowledge and of conduct.[17] Our ways of being affected are alone knowable, thus the sole aim for everyone should be pleasure.

Cyrenaicism deduces a single, universal aim for all people: pleasure. Furthermore, all feeling is momentary and homogeneous; past and future pleasure have no real existence for us, and that among present pleasures there is no distinction of kind.[19] Socrates had spoken of the higher pleasures of the intellect; the Cyrenaics denied the validity of this distinction and said that bodily pleasures, being more simple and more intense, were preferable.[20] Momentary pleasure, preferably of a physical kind, is the only good for humans. However some actions which give immediate pleasure can create more than their equivalent of pain. The wise person should be in control of pleasures rather than be enslaved to them, otherwise pain will result, and this requires judgement to evaluate the different pleasures of life.[21] Regard should be paid to law and custom, because even though these things have no intrinsic value on their own, violating them will lead to unpleasant penalties being imposed by others.[20] Likewise, friendship and justice are useful because of the pleasure they provide.[20] Thus the Cyrenaics believed in the hedonistic value of social obligation and altruistic behaviour.

Epicureanism is a system of philosophy based upon the teachings of Epicurus (c.341 c.270 BC), founded around 307 BC. Epicurus was an atomic materialist, following in the steps of Democritus and Leucippus. His materialism led him to a general stance against superstition or the idea of divine intervention. Following Aristippusabout whom very little is knownEpicurus believed that the greatest good was to seek modest, sustainable "pleasure" in the form of a state of tranquility and freedom from fear (ataraxia) and absence of bodily pain (aponia) through knowledge of the workings of the world and the limits of our desires. The combination of these two states is supposed to constitute happiness in its highest form. Although Epicureanism is a form of hedonism, insofar as it declares pleasure as the sole intrinsic good, its conception of absence of pain as the greatest pleasure and its advocacy of a simple life make it different from "hedonism" as it is commonly understood.

In the Epicurean view, the highest pleasure (tranquility and freedom from fear) was obtained by knowledge, friendship and living a virtuous and temperate life. He lauded the enjoyment of simple pleasures, by which he meant abstaining from bodily desires, such as sex and appetites, verging on asceticism. He argued that when eating, one should not eat too richly, for it could lead to dissatisfaction later, such as the grim realization that one could not afford such delicacies in the future. Likewise, sex could lead to increased lust and dissatisfaction with the sexual partner. Epicurus did not articulate a broad system of social ethics that has survived but had a unique version of the Golden Rule.

It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly (agreeing "neither to harm nor be harmed"),[22] and it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living a pleasant life.[23]

Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism, though later it became the main opponent of Stoicism. Epicurus and his followers shunned politics. After the death of Epicurus, his school was headed by Hermarchus; later many Epicurean societies flourished in the Late Hellenistic era and during the Roman era (such as those in Antiochia, Alexandria, Rhodes and Ercolano). The poet Lucretius is its most known Roman proponent. By the end of the Roman Empire, having undergone Christian attack and repression, Epicureanism had all but died out, and would be resurrected in the 17th century by the atomist Pierre Gassendi, who adapted it to the Christian doctrine.

Some writings by Epicurus have survived. Some scholars consider the epic poem On the Nature of Things by Lucretius to present in one unified work the core arguments and theories of Epicureanism. Many of the papyrus scrolls unearthed at the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum are Epicurean texts. At least some are thought to have belonged to the Epicurean Philodemus.

Yangism has been described as a form of psychological and ethical egoism. The Yangist philosophers believed in the importance of maintaining self-interest through "keeping one's nature intact, protecting one's uniqueness, and not letting the body be tied by other things". Disagreeing with the Confucian virtues of li ('propriety'), ren ('humaneness'), and yi ('righteousness'), and the Legalist virtue of fa (law), the Yangists saw wei wo (, '[everything] for myself') as the only virtue necessary for self-cultivation. Individual pleasure is considered desirable, like in hedonism, but not at the expense of the health of the individual. The Yangists saw individual well-being as the prime purpose of life, and considered anything that hindered that well-being immoral and unnecessary.

The main focus of the Yangists was on the concept of xing (), or human nature, a term later incorporated by Mencius into Confucianism. The xing, according to sinologist A. C. Graham, is a person's "proper course of development" in life. Individuals can only rationally care for their own xing, and should not naively have to support the xing of other people, even if it means opposing the emperor. In this sense, Yangism is a "direct attack" on Confucianism, by implying that the power of the emperor, defended in Confucianism, is baseless and destructive, and that state intervention is morally flawed.

The Confucian philosopher Mencius depicts Yangism as the direct opposite of Mohism, which promotes the idea of universal love and impartial caring. In contrast, the Yangists acted only "for themselves," rejecting the altruism of Mohism. He criticized the Yangists as selfish, ignoring the duty of serving the public and caring only for personal concerns. Mencius saw Confucianism as the "Middle Way" between Mohism and Yangism.

The concept of hedonism is also found in nstika ('atheist', as in heterodox) philosophy such as the Charvaka school. However, Hedonism is criticized by stika ('theist', as in orthodox) schools of thought on the basis that it is inherently egoistic and therefore detrimental to spiritual liberation.[24][25]

Judaism believes that the world was created to serve God, and in order to do so properly, God in turn gives mankind the opportunity to experience pleasure in the process of serving Him (Talmud Kidushin 82:b). God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of EdenEden being the Hebrew word for 'pleasure'. In recent years, Rabbi Noah Weinberg articulated five different levels of pleasure, of which connecting with God is the highest possible pleasure.[26] The Book of Ecclesiastes (2:24) in the Old Testament proclaims: "There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God..."

Ethical hedonism as part of Christian theology has also been a concept in some evangelical circles, particularly in those of the Reformed tradition.[27] The term Christian Hedonism was first coined by Reformed-Baptist theologian John Piper in his 1986 book Desiring God:[27]

My shortest summary of it is: God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. Or: The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. Does Christian Hedonism make a god out of pleasure? No. It says that we all make a god out of what we take most pleasure in.

Piper states his term may describe the theology of Jonathan Edwards, who in his 1746 Treatise Concerning Religious Affections referred to "a future enjoyment of Him [God] in heaven."[28] Already in the 17th century, the atomist Pierre Gassendi had adapted Epicureanism to the Christian doctrine.

In Islam, one of the main duties of a Muslim is to conquer his nafs (his ego, self, passions, desires) and to be free from it. Certain joys of life are permissible provided they do not lead to excess or evildoing that may bring harm. It is understood that everyone takes their passion as their idol, Islam calls these tawaghit (idols) and taghut (worship of other than Allah) so there has to be a means of controlling these nafs.[29]

Those who choose the worldly life and its pleasures will be given proper recompense for their deeds in this life and will not suffer any loss. Such people will receive nothing in the next life except Hell fire. Their deeds will be made devoid of all virtue and their efforts will be in vain.

Utilitarianism addresses problems with moral motivation neglected by Kantianism by giving a central role to happiness. It is an ethical theory holding that the proper course of action is the one that maximizes the overall good of the society.[32] It is thus one form of consequentialism, meaning that the moral worth of an action is determined by its resulting outcome. The most influential contributors to this theory are considered to be the 18th and 19th-century British philosophers Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. Conjoining hedonismas a view as to what is good for peopleto utilitarianism has the result that all action should be directed toward achieving the greatest total amount of happiness (measured via hedonic calculus). Though consistent in their pursuit of happiness, Bentham and Mill's versions of hedonism differ.

There are two somewhat basic schools of thought on hedonism.[2]

One school, grouped around Bentham, defends a quantitative approach. Bentham believed that the value of a pleasure could be quantitatively understood. Essentially, he believed the value of pleasure to be its intensity multiplied by its durationso it was not just the number of pleasures, but their intensity and how long they lasted that must be taken into account.[2]

Other proponents, like Mill, argue a qualitative approach. Mill believed that there can be different levels of pleasurehigher quality pleasure is better than lower quality pleasure. Mill also argues that simpler beings (he often refers to pigs) have an easier access to the simpler pleasures; since they do not see other aspects of life, they can simply indulge in their lower pleasures. The more elaborate beings tend to spend more thought on other matters and hence lessen the time for simple pleasure. It is therefore more difficult for them to indulge in such "simple pleasures" in the same manner.[2]

An extreme form of hedonism that views moral and sexual restraint as either unnecessary or harmful. Famous proponents are Marquis de Sade[33][34] and John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester.[35]

Contemporary proponents of hedonism include Swedish philosopher Torbjrn Tnnsj,[36] Fred Feldman.[37] and Spanish ethic philosopher Esperanza Guisn (published a "Hedonist manifesto" in 1990).[38] Dan Haybron has distinguished between psychological, ethical, welfare and axiological hedonism.[39][40]

A dedicated contemporary hedonist philosopher and writer on the history of hedonistic thought is the French Michel Onfray, who has written two books directly on the subject, L'invention du plaisir: fragments cyraniques[41] and La puissance d'exister: Manifeste hdoniste.[42] He defines hedonism "as an introspective attitude to life based on taking pleasure yourself and pleasuring others, without harming yourself or anyone else."[43] Onfray's philosophical project is to define an ethical hedonism, a joyous utilitarianism, and a generalized aesthetic of sensual materialism that explores how to use the brain's and the body's capacities to their fullest extentwhile restoring philosophy to a useful role in art, politics, and everyday life and decisions."[44]

Onfray's works "have explored the philosophical resonances and components of (and challenges to) science, painting, gastronomy, sex and sensuality, bioethics, wine, and writing. His most ambitious project is his projected six-volume Counter-history of Philosophy," of which three have been published.[44] For Onfray:

In opposition to the ascetic ideal advocated by the dominant school of thought, hedonism suggests identifying the highest good with your own pleasure and that of others; the one must never be indulged at the expense of sacrificing the other. Obtaining this balance my pleasure at the same time as the pleasure of others presumes that we approach the subject from different angles political, ethical, aesthetic, erotic, bioethical, pedagogical, historiographical.

For this, he has "written books on each of these facets of the same world view."[45] His philosophy aims for "micro-revolutions", or "revolutions of the individual and small groups of like-minded people who live by his hedonistic, libertarian values."[46]

The Abolitionist Society is a transhumanist group calling for the abolition of suffering in all sentient life through the use of advanced biotechnology. Their core philosophy is negative utilitarianism.

David Pearce is a theorist of this perspective who believes and promotes the idea that there exists a strong ethical imperative for humans to work towards the abolition of suffering in all sentient life. His book-length internet manifesto The Hedonistic Imperative[47] outlines how technologies such as genetic engineering, nanotechnology, pharmacology, and neurosurgery could potentially converge to eliminate all forms of unpleasant experience among human and non-human animals, replacing suffering with gradients of well-being, a project he refers to as "paradise engineering."[48] A transhumanist and a vegan,[49] Pearce believes that we (or our future posthuman descendants) have a responsibility not only to avoid cruelty to animals within human society but also to alleviate the suffering of animals in the wild.

In a talk given at the Future of Humanity Institute and at the Charity International, 'Happiness Conference', Pearce said:[50]

Sadly, what won't abolish suffering, or at least not on its own, is socio-economic reform, or exponential economic growth, or technological progress in the usual sense, or any of the traditional panaceas for solving the world's ills. Improving the external environment is admirable and important; but such improvement can't recalibrate our hedonic treadmill above a genetically constrained ceiling. Twin studies confirm there is a [partially] heritable set-point of well-being - or ill-being - around which we all tend to fluctuate over the course of a lifetime. This set-point varies between individuals. It's possible to lower an individual's hedonic set-point by inflicting prolonged uncontrolled stress; but even this re-set is not as easy as it sounds: suicide-rates typically go down in wartime; and six months after a quadriplegia-inducing accident, studies suggest that we are typically neither more nor less unhappy than we were before the catastrophic event. Unfortunately, attempts to build an ideal society can't overcome this biological ceiling, whether utopias of the left or right, free-market or socialist, religious or secular, futuristic high-tech or simply cultivating one's garden. Even if everything that traditional futurists have asked for is delivered - eternal youth, unlimited material wealth, morphological freedom, superintelligence, immersive VR, molecular nanotechnology, etc - there is no evidence that our subjective quality of life would on average significantly surpass the quality of life of our hunter-gatherer ancestors - or a New Guinea tribesman today - in the absence of reward pathway enrichment. This claim is difficult to prove in the absence of sophisticated neuroscanning; but objective indices of psychological distress e.g. suicide rates, bear it out. Unenhanced humans will still be prey to the spectrum of Darwinian emotions, ranging from terrible suffering to petty disappointments and frustrations - sadness, anxiety, jealousy, existential angst. Their biology is part of "what it means to be human". Subjectively unpleasant states of consciousness exist because they were genetically adaptive. Each of our core emotions had a distinct signalling role in our evolutionary past: they tended to promote behaviours that enhanced the inclusive fitness of our genes in the ancestral environment.

Russian physicist and philosopher Victor Argonov argues that hedonism is not only a philosophical but also a verifiable scientific hypothesis.[51] In 2014, he suggested "postulates of pleasure principle," the confirmation of which would lead to a new scientific discipline known as hedodynamics.

Hedodynamics would be able to forecast the distant future development of human civilization and even the probable structure and psychology of other rational beings within the universe.[52] In order to build such a theory, science must discover the neural correlate of pleasureneurophysiological parameter unambiguously corresponding to the feeling of pleasure (hedonic tone).

According to Argonov, posthumans will be able to reprogram their motivations in an arbitrary manner (to get pleasure from any programmed activity).[53] And if pleasure principle postulates are true, then general direction of civilization development is obvious: maximization of integral happiness in posthuman life (product of life span and average happiness). Posthumans will avoid constant pleasure stimulation, because it is incompatible with rational behavior required to prolong life. However, they can become on average much happier than modern humans.

Many other aspects of posthuman society could be predicted by hedodynamics if the neural correlate of pleasure were discovered. For example, optimal number of individuals, their optimal body size (whether it matters for happiness or not) and the degree of aggression.[53]

Critics of hedonism have objected to its exclusive concentration on pleasure as valuable or that the retentive breadth of dopamine is limited.[54]

In particular, G. E. Moore offered a thought experiment in criticism of pleasure as the sole bearer of value: he imagined two worldsone of exceeding beauty and the other a heap of filth. Neither of these worlds will be experienced by anyone. The question then is if it is better for the beautiful world to exist than the heap of filth. In this, Moore implied that states of affairs have value beyond conscious pleasure, which he said spoke against the validity of hedonism.[55]

Perhaps the most famous objection to hedonism is Robert Nozick's famous experience machine. Nozick asks us to hypothetically imagine a machine that will allow us to experience whatever we wantif we want to experience making friends, it will give this to us. Nozick claims that by hedonistic logic, we should remain in this machine for the rest of our lives. However, he gives three reasons why this is not a preferable scenario: firstly, because we want to do certain things, as opposed to merely experience them; secondly, we want to be a certain kind of person, as opposed to an 'indeterminate blob' and thirdly, because such a thing would limit our experiences to only what we can imagine.[56] Peter Singer, a hedonistic utilitarian, and Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek have both argued against such an objection by saying that it only provides an answer to certain forms of hedonism, and ignores others.[57]

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Hedonism III to rebrand as a more conservative resort …

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

The Hedonism III resort in Runaway Bay, Jamaica, will drop its erotic theme, as parent company SuperClubs will rebrand the property.

Hedonism III will close Aug. 22 and reopen Oct. 14 as SuperFun Resort & Spa.

The rebranded 225-room property will be "targeted at the wallet-conscious adult traveler looking for an all-inclusive vacation, minus some of the amenities that are included in our higher-priced, super-inclusive Breezes and Hedonism II plans," said Paul Pennicook, president of International Lifestyles, SuperClubs worldwide representative.

Airport transfers, motorized water sports and premium-brand liquors wont be included in SuperFuns rates. Local wines and liquors will continue to be included, as will all meals, accommodations, and entertainment.

The resort will offer a small clothing-optional beach but no nude pool.

Hedonism is known for its wild theme parties, a nude water slide that snakes through the disco and its nude beach and nude pool.

"The specific niche market which Hedonism Resorts traditionally has attracted will continue to be served by the 280-room Hedonism II resort," Pennicook said.

The target market for the SuperFun Resort will be couples in their 20s, 30s and 40s, looking for a lively, fun vacation, Pennicook said. "These travelers want plenty of bang for their buck, but the vibe will be completely different from that at Hedonism II."

SuperClubs launched a rebranding program last fall that resulted in three brands: Breezes, Hedonism and Rooms.

"That rebranding has resonated well with our industry partners and clients. We expect that the SuperFun Resort will be booked primarily through tour operators with whom we have already negotiated contracts," Pennicook said.

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A Safe Spot for Gay Travelers at Jamaica’s Hedonism II …

Posted on August 7, 2020 by Danzig

Jamaica can be a tough decision for LGBTQ travelers: To go or not to go?

The island is an easy flight from much of the United States, and it boasts beautiful beaches, fantastic tropical weather, lush mountains, Instagram-ready waterfalls and numerous resorts to suit almost every price point.

But the country is notorious for being one of the most homophobic in the Western Hemisphere. Its laws criminalize sex between menwith maximum sentences of 10 years of prison and hard labor. Even simple physical intimacy such as two men holding hands can result in a two-year sentence. And just Google Jamaican murder music if you want to get your blood boiling.

So, it was with mixed emotions that my partner and I attended the recent Bloom Freedom Festival at Jamaicas Hedonism II resort. Bloom, while open to everyone, heavily attracts gay men of colormaking this an interesting opportunity to see how this played in a homophobic Caribbean country.

Hedonism II (or Hedo, as the regulars call it) is an all-inclusive, adults-only, clothing-optional property in Negril. We werent sure about the whole clothing-optional thing (not really our scene) but were willing to see what it was all about.

Hedo smartly divides the beach areas into the nude and prude sides. On the nude side, theres a five-minute grace period: Once youre there, you have five minutes to remove your clothing. On the prude side, you can go nude (and some people do), but its not required. You can wear as much or as little as youd like.

Each side has its own pool area and outdoor bar/grill, so once you find a place where youre comfortable, youre good to go. (Guests are required to wear clothing in all public spaces (like the lobby and gym), as well as in the dining areas.)

Interestingly, the gay fellows from the Bloom group all hung out on the prude side, and thats where we felt the most comfortable, too. Some of them went nude from time to time when they were sunning themselves or going into the ocean, but it became less and less of a big deal with each passing day.