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Don’t Wait: Ten Reasons To Buy The Tesla Cybertruck NOW! – InsideEVs

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

Are you thinking about getting a Tesla Cybertruck and still haven't put in your reservation? If so, the Cybertruck Truck Guy has some advice: Don't wait any longer.

With reservations rapidly approaching one million units, you're already going to be waiting a few years to get your Cybertruck even if you order it today. Tesla has even begun taking Cybertruck reservations in China, although we're unsure how much demand for it will be in that market. Seeing Cybertrucks shipped to China while you're waiting for yours will only add to your frustration if you want one and wait too long to reserve it.

While it's true that many (some guess as much as 50%) of the Cubertruck reservations won't convert to sales, there are already so many reservations that even if only half of them convert, Tesla may have a production backlog of about three to four years once they begin manufacturing the vehicle.

In the video, the Cybertruck Truck Guy offers his list of top ten reasons why you shouldn't wait to add your name to the reservation. Interestingly he includes some information that many may not have considered. For starters, he cites a research firm's study that revealed 20% of the Midwest construction companies that they surveyed offered that they planned to buy an electric pickup truck as their next work vehicle.

It's been generally thought that construction professionals may lag behind early adopters for electric pickup trucks to wait and see if the vehicles are capable of performing their required work duties. So a study like this, albeit a small one, is quite surprising.

The host also explains how Full Self Driving availability will cause additional demand (although I'm still not buying that FSD will be available anytime soon). He also includes how Tesla's upcoming Battery Day could also cause a spike in orders if Elon delivers on his promise that this event will be one of the most important days in tesla history.

Here's where to jump to in order to find the 10 reasons listed in the video:

Another reason Todd, the host mentions is that once customer deliveries begin, demand will go through the roof, and that's definitely something that I agree with. But I'll take that one step further. I think that as Tesla's new factory in Austin, Texas begins to take shape, and also once we see some Cybertruck prototypes driving around during the validation process, the excitement will climb and reservations will definitely spike.

We agree with Cyber Truck Truck Guy on this one. If you have even the slightest interest in getting a Cybertruck, it's probably worth the $100 reservation, which is fully refundable if you do change your mind. Agree? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

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Don't Wait: Ten Reasons To Buy The Tesla Cybertruck NOW! - InsideEVs

Tesla Gets Yet Another Electric Vehicle to Compete With Ahead – 24/7 Wall St.

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

When DiamondPeak Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: DPHC) came public early last year as a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC), the company raised $250 million it planned to use to form just about any business combination, with just about any kind of company, but that it intended to focus its search on a business with a real estate component.

Its possible to argue (barely) that Tuesdays announcement that DiamondPeak is combining with privately held Lordstown Motors fits that focus. Lordstown Motors acquired General Motors Lordstown assembly plant, where the company plans eventually to build some 60,000 all-electric (EV) pickup trucks annually. Theres the promised real estate.

What makes the deal noteworthy, though, is Lordstowns product. The companys planned EV, the Lordstown Endurance, is planned to begin production in the second half of next year, a full year earlier than the Cybertruck from Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA). Another EV pickup, the R1T from another well-funded startup, Rivian, originally was planned to begin production late this year, but the company has delayed the start until 2021, blaming the COVID-19 outbreak for forcing a break in retooling Rivians assembly plant in Illinois.

Other recent initial public offerings (IPOs) for semi-tractor (Class 8) maker Nikola Corp. (NASDAQ: NKLA) and Workhorse Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WKHS), which makes delivery vans, have sent the EV sector soaring.

Last month, another SPAC, Tortoise Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: SHLL) announced a planned reverse merger with Hyliion, a Class 8-electric power-train maker that uses a natural gas generator to recharge its batteries. Nikola also offers an all-electric semi along with an electric-hydrogen hybrid.

In another deal announced earlier this month, Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: SPAQ) announced its intention to do a reverse merger with Fisker, an EV maker that filed for bankruptcy in 2013 after selling a handful of its Karma sports cars.

Thats a lot of action, and while it would all seem to be aimed at Tesla, the reality is that the losers stand to be GM, Ford and Volkswagen.

Nikola and Hyliion are targeting the heavy-duty Class 8 sector that the Tesla Semi is also aiming at, but with different powertrain systems. The Workhorse van is addressing a sector that Tesla is not competing in, and in the passenger car sector, none of the traditional carmakers comes close to Teslas combination of price and range, the two options most important to mainstream vehicle buyers.

That leaves pickups, the gasoline-powered vehicles that perennially lead all vehicles in U.S. sales, making it an obvious target for a new entrant. Lordstowns Endurance is aimed at commercial fleet buyers and the company announced more than 27,000 pre-orders valued at $1.4 billion.

With so many new competitors and the traditional heavyweights in the wings, is Tesla really under an existential threat? Probably not.

On Teslas second-quarter conference call, CEO Elon Musk said that the companys goal is to be slightly profitable and maximize market share. Right now it owns 80% of the U.S. EV market according to Loup Ventures analyst Gene Munster.

By 2030, Tesla could be producing (and selling) 15 million vehicles a year. Those vehicles will be getting better, and the recharging stations needed to override consumers range anxiety will become ubiquitous. GM, Ford and VW may only be able to compete on price and that, Munster believes, is a battle they cant win.

As for startups like Rivian and Lordstown that are targeting the light-duty truck sector, they may have an easier time of it than traditional carmakers because there is a big market for pickups and sport utility vehicles (Rivians other vehicle is the R1S SUV). But can either of these companies compete with the EV market share leader that is also a leading battery maker?

Whether Tesla, Rivian, Lordstown, or another truck maker wins the pickup battle is almost irrelevant to Teslas future. As Loup Ventures Munster points out, [T]he long-term value of Tesla will not lie in its initial business; rather, the long-term value will include renewables, batteries, and repurposing those technologies into new markets, potentially HVAC, small aircraft, and others.

Teslas stock rose by about 3.8% on Monday to close at $1,485.00, in a 52-week range of $211.00 to $1,794.99. The price target on the stock is $1,239.11.

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Tesla Gets Yet Another Electric Vehicle to Compete With Ahead - 24/7 Wall St.

Exclusive: Panasonic aims to boost energy density in Tesla batteries by 20% – executive – Reuters

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

TOKYO (Reuters) - Panasonic Corp (6752.T) plans to boost the energy density of 2170 battery cells it supplies to Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) by 20% in five years and commercialize a cobalt-free version in two to three years, the head of its U.S. EV battery business said.

FILE PHOTO: A Panasonic Corp's lithium-ion battery is pictured with the Tesla Motors logo during a photo opportunity at the Panasonic Center in Tokyo, Japan, November 19, 2013. REUTERS/Yuya Shino

This is the first time Panasonic, a leading cell provider for the worlds top electric vehicle (EV) maker Tesla, has outlined these targets, putting down a marker in a highly competitive sector to stay ahead of the game.

Panasonic introduced the 2170 lithium-ion cells, with the nickel-cobalt-aluminium (NCA) cathode chemistry, for Teslas Model 3 in 2017. Researchers say it already has the highest energy density at above 700 watt-hour per litre.

With an even higher density, these cells could help increase how much an EV can run on a single charge, while also paving the way for smaller batteries and roomier car interiors.

A cobalt-free version on the other hand would cut reliance on a costly and controversial component, which makes batteries stable but poses ethical issues given controversial labour conditions in top producer the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has long said he wants to move to zero-cobalt battery cells.

Panasonic has already cut cobalt content to under 5% in the NCA cathode and plans to improve its batteries in stages, its U.S. EV battery chief Yasuaki Takamoto told Reuters.

But the firm has declined to link its battery roadmap to Teslas future models.

Panasonic recently lost its status as Teslas exclusive battery supplier. The U.S. firm has partnered with South Koreas LG Chem (051910.KS) and Chinas CATL (300750.SZ).

CATL is supplying Tesla with low-cost lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries that contain no cobalt.

According to Takamoto, the average density of LFP battery cells is less than half the level of Panasonics latest NCA batteries. He did not name any companies.

Panasonic has already developed technologies resulting in a more than 5% increase in the energy density of 2170 cells.

From September, the firm will start converting lines at its factory in Nevada that it operates with Tesla as it prepares to further boost the energy density of the cells, Takamoto said.

To control safety risks associated with higher density and less cobalt, Panasonic is adjusting the composition and design for better thermal stability, Takamoto said.

He also noted there will be various battery requirements coming into play as EV usage diversifies.

Teslas Musk has promised to reveal significant battery advances during a Battery Day presentation scheduled for Sept 22. Tesla plans to introduce an EV battery that will last one million miles later this year or early next, which it jointly developed with CATL.

Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki, additional reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu; Editing by Himani Sarkar

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Exclusive: Panasonic aims to boost energy density in Tesla batteries by 20% - executive - Reuters

Power of 5am thoughts – The New Indian Express

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Every day, about 600 people across the world are setting up their alarms for 4.45 am to wake up, and join Kartika Nair, coach, trainer and manifestation practitioner, for her 5 am club. A group meditation, chant, affirmations, dream discussions... is what Nair calls The Magic Morning Manifestation Club from 5 am to 6 am.This 29-year-old brought up in Bengaluru says the Covid-19 times has seen a surge in the number of people watched her videos on YouTube, who attended her webinar and signed up for her course. In these trying times, self-love is most important to stay safe and sane. The 5 am club is about self-healing with a mix of self-worth, she says.

A firm believer in the Law of Attraction, manifestation and visualisation techniques to realise dreams, Nair believes that her life itself has been the greatest teacher, besides of course, the online training certifications she has obtained. She says that she is an introvert who suffered from Panic Disorder. My panic disorder was so severe that I could not even step out of the house. Even the rustle of a leaf sounded like an earthquake rumble. I had many such issues. In fact, 2013 was the year I hit rock bottom.

My self-esteem was zero. I undertook all possible therapies for the next three years, but it was the book Power of Now The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment is a book by Eckhart Tolle. The book is intended to be a guide for day-to-day living and stresses the importance of living in the present moment and transcending thoughts of the past or future. It changed my life. I started believing reading and practising mindfulness, positive thinking, manifestation etc.

Nair then started sharing her knowledge through YouTube videos through her channel called Synchroshakti. People started watching my videos and started messaging me for details or for guidance. Today I have 142K subscribers but I get over 1.2 million views for some videos such as Hooponopono, a Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness. But what about those who debunk theories such as Law of Attraction or that we attract everything in our life based on our vibrations? How does she convince people who do not believe in such easy peasy solutions? Nair states firmly that she is not here to prove a point to anyone. If someone thinks, this is all pop psychology, so be it. This is what I believe in. And 600 others who spend time and money to join me every morning. Obviously, they are getting the results, she adds.

India is a spiritual country, but we’re still not taking the wealth of the Bhagavad Gita: Vedanta scholar Jaya Row – The New Indian Express

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

Though India is perceived as a spiritual country at the heart of it, there's still a lot more that its citizens can and ought to draw from the Bhagavad Gita, said renowned Vedanta scholar Jaya Row. "We are still not taking the wealth of the Gita and are still looking westward. We are only taking concepts from the surface that have been marketed. The modern world is promoting and nourishing desire and the financial world is based on desire," said Row, during e-expressions, a virtual dialogue organised by The New Indian Express. The session also included TNIE's Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla and AUthor and Journlaist Kaveree Bamzai.

She also spoke about how they were trying to reach more people through sensible influencer targeting, "We should look at COVID as nature's way to course-correct. If a few leaders of society do it then the rest will follow. It's like promoting veganism. The goal was to get the top 7% of America to do because they knew the world will follow. We are trying to reach thinkers and intellectuals so that more people follow the path," she added that, "Hollywood stars like Will Smith and Julia Roberts have said that they are reading the Gita."

Row, who is an established lecturer and speaker who has served as the Managing Trustee of the Vedanta Trust, said that she had faith in the country because of its deep spiritual ties, "I am optimistic because of the aspirations of people. There are people in small towns who will work to realise their aspirations. This is what is keeping India going. India is still a spiritual country. Talk to people about it and it will touch a chord. This will not happen anywhere else in the world." This spirituality is vital, according to her, in keeping your immunity up during these troubled pandemic times, "We have spiritual immunity, especially among the poor, that is helping them cope. I think it's positive where people understand challenges will come and that it will pass.

Responding to a question about why people only turn to spirituality when hit by personal loss, she explained that it was inevitable as it was hardcoded into human nature, "The majority of people turn to spirituality when they face some loss or bereavement or tragedy in life."

But will this lockdown and the threat of COVID have steered more people towards embracing their inner spirituality? Row confessed that she had cautious optimism in this regard, "I'm not sure if people will return to nature. I think it is a temporary hiatus and that people will resume their life with a bang. There are people who have used this opportunity to do things they have never had the time to. Even businessmen have turned to the path of enlightenment. Vedanta has a longlasting effect on people even if they are materialistic, to the extent they are receptive and use it."

When asked what her number one lesson from this lockdown was, Row who is currently in Mumbai, said, "There are so many things denied to us during the lockdown and yet life moved on. The lesson is that we don't really need it. It has helped us to look inward to find happiness." And is there a secret formula to achieve happiness? She promptly replies, "The Gita gives a formula for happiness: Happiness = Number of desires fulfilled/Number of desires harboured. If you bring down the denominator to zero, you hit infinity!"

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India is a spiritual country, but we're still not taking the wealth of the Bhagavad Gita: Vedanta scholar Jaya Row - The New Indian Express

The Sacrifice of All Doubts – Kashmir Reader

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

Abid Hussain Rather

The Islamic calendar starts with the month of Muharram and ends with the month of Dhu al-Hijjah. When we look at these two months, both are marked with acts of sacrifice. On the 10th of Muharram the grandson of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) Imam Hussain (RA) and his 72 companions sacrificed their lives for the sake of Islam. During Dhu al-Hajj, Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) agreed to sacrifice his beloved son, Ismail (AS). The story is narrated in the Quran as:When he was of an age to work with him, he [Ibrahim] said, My son, I saw in a dream that I must sacrifice you. What do you think about this? He [Ismail] said, Do as you are ordered, father. God willing, you will find me steadfast. Allah ransomed him with a mighty sacrifice. So pray to your Lord and sacrifice. Quran (108:2)Allah accepted Ibrahims sacrifice and put a ram in place of Ismail. We can therefore say that the sole purpose of our life is complete submission before Allah. We should always sacrifice our will before the will of the Almighty, without any doubts or disputes. The Arabic term Islam itself means surrender. A true believer is always ready to surrender his will before Allah and the event of Eid-ul-Azha reminds us of this fundamental duty.When we trace the history of sacrifice in Islam we find that it were the two sons of Prophet Adam (AS), Habil and Qabil, who were first asked by Adam (AS) to make a sacrifice to resolve a different between them. Habil sacrificed his best, well-fed and healthy animal, as he was a shepherd, while as Qabil, who was a land tiller, unwillingly sacrificed some produce grown from his land. Allah accepted Habils sacrifice as he was pious and righteous while Qabils sacrifice was rejected as he was without righteousness and had not made his sacrifice with sincerity. Habil explained to his brother that Allah accepts sacrifice of only those people who have Taqwa. This story illustrates that sincerity and purity of intention are the most important part of the sacrifice. Almighty Allah is not a human being and He doesnt need flesh, blood or meat of the animal. Rather, the essence of sacrifice lies in Taqwa righteousness and piety which has to be attained through the spirit of devotion and sacrifice. It is clearly mentioned in Quran:Their meat will not reach to Allah, nor will their blood, but what reaches Him is piety from you Quran (22:37).Sacrifice in Islam is a spiritual activity and a beautiful chance to draw us closer to Almighty Allah. Love lies at the roots of sacrifice and love for Allah and His Prophet (PBUH) is vital for a believer. It is the piety of Hazrat Ibrahim (AS) which needs to be celebrated rather than the sacrifice of animals.Though the concept of sacrifice in Islam has been criticised by many non-believers, particularly in the Christian world during the age of enlightenment, for example by Immanuel Kant, who argued that Ibrahim (AS) should have been certain about his own moral sense and suspicious about an ostensibly divine voice commanding him to do something as cruel as sacrificing his son. Though Kant was not necessarily advocating defiance of God, he was empowering human reason. The argument of Kant clashes with the basic tenets of Islam where a believer is asked for complete submission. Whenever the will of a believer clashes with the will of the Almighty or with the basic principles of Islam, he has to sacrifice his own will and follow the greater principles. A believer should always believe that Allah has bestowed him with limited knowledge while only Allah has infinite knowledge. So, even the apparently wrong judgements of Allah are never wrong in the true sense. Sacrifice in Islam teaches us to slaughter our innate hatred, jealousy, pride, greed, animosity, and doubts before the will of Almighty Allah.

The writer teaches Geography at GDC, Kulgam. rather1294@gmail.com

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The Sacrifice of All Doubts - Kashmir Reader

View the awe-inspiring Hermitage of St. Sava – Aleteia IT

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

For eight centuries the Hermitage of St. Sava has clung to the sides of Radoelo Mountain as an enduring testament to the Christian faith of Serbia. The site is named for the patron saint of Serbia, who lived there for much of his later life while he was pursuing his mission to evangelize the Serbian people.

There are few records that remain from the construction of this hermitage, but it is generally agreed that the hermitage sprang up at about the same time as the nearby Studenica Monastery, which Atlas Obscura explains, was commissioned by Stefan Nemanja, the medieval Grand Prince of the Serbian Grand Principality. St. Sava was Stefans son, making him a prince of Serbia, and he went on to become the first Archbishop of Serbia.

The breathtaking mountainside structures stand at 300 feet above sea level, which gives the Hermitage an awe-inspiring view of the surrounding canyon landscape. StudenicaInfo, a website dedicated to the Studenica Monastery, explains that the Hermitage of St. Sava is only accessible by a difficult foot trail up the canyon wall. This path has remained unchanged since the time of St. Sava and offers pilgrims the opportunity to experience the same walk as the saint.

Once in the Hermitage, which is still home to monks, pilgrims and visitors can explore the historical grounds, including monksquarters, the scriptorium, St. Savas cave, and a well spring from which ice cold water can be drawn. The Hermitage played an important role in the enlightenment of Serbia, as St. Sava led his monks to produce literature of an edifying nature. The saint himself is said to have written two of his works at the hermitage: Studenica Typikon and Life of St. Simeon.

While the many sights of the Hermitage of St. Sava are worth a trip all on their own, pilgrims may find the most spiritual value in the long walk up the mountain through serene scenery. The quiet one might find at the mountainside property makes it an exemplary place for meditation or reflection.

For a view of the Hermitage of St. Sava, in Serbia, take a look at the short video featured above, and then check out our slideshow.

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View the awe-inspiring Hermitage of St. Sava - Aleteia IT

What planets should we search to find alien life? – Astronomy Magazine

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

Just add starlightWhen contemplating what types of planets might harbor life, scientists first consider their host stars. High-mass stars live fast and die young, blazing with tremendous energy but burning out in just a few million to a few hundred million years. Thats probably not long enough for life to really get going on any orbiting planets.Stars with just a few solar masses or lower produce less radiant energy and thus have smaller habitable zones, defined as the region around a star where a planet can sustain temperatures conducive to hosting liquid water on its surface. But these stars longer lifespans give their planets billions of years for any primitive life to evolve into complex forms. The Sun, for example, has given terrestrial life plenty of time, and life has needed that time to express its full potential. Multicellular life didnt emerge until Earth had been around for roughly 3.5 billion years. And advanced plants and animals didnt arise until Earth was 4 billion years old, after oxygen had built up in the atmosphere. This highly reactive element provided the required energy for more dynamic metabolism. A major question mark centers around the lowest-mass stars, red dwarfs. They comprise three-fourths of our galaxys stars and live for trillions of years. But their feeble energy outputs ensure small habitable zones nestled very close in to the star. This proximity subjects planets to bombardment from powerful flares, which can erode their atmospheres. But red dwarfs calm down over time, potentially giving planets time to regenerate a gaseous envelope. Most of these stars habitable-zone planets are tidally locked, with one side always facing the star and the other in permanent night. But thick greenhouse-gas atmospheres and raging winds could smooth out the hemispheric temperature differences that result from tidal locking.Even the concept of the habitable zone is overly simplistic. As traditionally conceived, the Suns habitable zone currently encompasses Earth and extends to roughly the distance of Mars. And in fact, NASA missions have returned overwhelming evidence that Mars once had rivers, lakes, and oceans of liquid water.

Whether a planet has liquid water on its surface is a function of both surface temperature and atmospheric pressure. For example, water boils on Mars today despite the cold temperatures because of its very low atmospheric pressure. Mars originally had a thicker atmosphere, which allowed it to have liquid water on its surface. But the Red Planet lost most of its atmosphere long ago, partially because it is a low-mass planet. If Mars had higher mass, it could have hung on to its atmosphere for a much longer period of time, perhaps all the way to the present.

That raises intriguing questions about whether planets of certain sizes and masses are best suited for life. Ren Heller of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research has argued that Earth is not necessarily the most habitable type of planet. After all, large tracts of Earths surface are nearly devoid of life, such as deserts, the poles, and nutrient-poor oceanic regions. Everybody is crazy about the most Earth-like planet, says Heller. But from a more general, more reflective perspective on the question of life in the universe, I dont see any reason why Earth should be the optimal place for life to form and evolve. There might even exist planets that have more benign environments for life to develop and to diversify.

Mars 2020 launch: NASA’s Perseverance rover ready for the Red Planet – Astronomy Magazine

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

We have four objectives, Ken Williford, Deputy Project Scientist for NASAs Mars 2020 mission, told Astronomy earlier this year. The first three are really our core science objectives. And the fourth is preparing for human exploration.

Perseverances science objects are: seeking out sites that were potentially habitable in the past, looking for signs of ancient microbes within rocks known to preserve life, and collecting and storing promising rock samples for a future return mission.

The rover aims to accomplish these goals using a unique and sophisticated suite of instruments including a rock-blasting laser, microphones and cameras, a powerful coring drill, a mobile weather station, and the first ground-penetrating radar ever sent to Mars surface. Although there are some new additions to Perseverance, many of these high-tech tools are just upgraded versions of what the Curiosity rover carried to the Red Planet in 2012. And thats because NASA is employing what they call the heritage approach for Perseverance, borrowing what worked from Curiosity.

[Perseverance] is something like 90 percent spare parts from Curiosity, Jim Bell, principal investigator for Perseverances Mastcam-Z instrument, told Astronomy earlier this year. Thats how they got the mission approved, because they could save an enormous amount of money by using those spare parts.

But that doesnt mean Perseverance is cheap. Its still about a $2-billion project, and NASA expects to spend up to a total about $2.7 billion over the entirety of the mission.

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Mars 2020 launch: NASA's Perseverance rover ready for the Red Planet - Astronomy Magazine

A Movie of the Evolving Universe Is Potentially Scary – Scientific American

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

After the COVID-19 rules about social distancing went into effect, I developed a morning routine of jogging through the woods near my home. During the first months, I focused on the green branches that stretch upward towards the sky, but recently I started to notice the debris of tree trunks lying on the ground. There are many such remnants, eaten by termites, rotting and ultimately dispersing into the underlying soil. A glimpse at the forest reveals a sequence of evolutionary phases in the history of trees that lived or died at different times.

The phenomenon happens in other contexts. For example, I recently completed a nine-year term as chair of the Astronomy Department at Harvard. And only now have I begun to notice the former chairs scattered around me, just like those tree trunks in the woods.

Entering a new stage of life can be humbling. We acquire a false sense of permanence from reviewing the frozen past, as if it were a statue that will never erode. But this view is shortsighted, since each moment can also be seen a new beginning, shaped by forces beyond our control and swirling on a grander scale.

Old-fashioned astronomy was also permeated by a false sense of permanence. Astronomers collected still images of the universe, creating the impression that nothing really changes under the sunor above it, either. But just like the revelation from my stroll through the woods, these snapshots showed stars and galaxies of different ages, at various evolutionary phases along their history. Computer simulations helped us patch together the full story by solving the equations of motion for matter, starting from the initial conditions imprinted on the cosmic microwave background at early cosmic times. By generating snapshots of an artificial cosmos similar to those captured by telescopes, these simulations unraveled our cosmic roots. The scientific insight that emerged is that the likely origins for our existence were quantum fluctuations in the early universe. Perhaps we should add Quantum Mechanics Day to our annual celebrations of Mothers Day and Fathers Day.

There are some missing pages in the photo album made up of our observations, however: the period known as the cosmic dawn, for example, when the first stars and galaxies turned on. These missing pages will be filled in the coming decade by the next generation of telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the ground-based "extremely large" telescopes and the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA).

To reveal a more literal gap in the sky, the Event Horizon Telescope recently captured a still image of the silhouette of the black hole in the giant galaxy M87. The next goal is to obtain a sequence of images or a video, showing the time variability of the accretion flow around the black hole.

The tradition of still images makes sense when dealing with systems like galaxies, which evolve on a timescale of billions of years. But the universe also exhibits transient fireworks that flare up and dim during a human lifetime. Observing them is the motivation behind the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) on the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which will have its first light soon. LSST will be a filming project, documenting nearly a thousand deep multicolor images per patch of the southern sky over a decade and recording the most extensive video of the universe ever taken with its plethora of transients in full glory.

Some of the LSST flares are expected to be the counterparts of gravitational wave sources detected by LIGO/Virgo or LISA. Their discovery will usher in multi-messenger astronomy based on both gravitational and electromagnetic waves emitted by the same sources, providing new insights about the central engines that power these transients. The related standard sirens could serve as new rulers for measuring precise distances in cosmology.

Within the Milky Way, transient events close to Earth could lead to catastrophe. A supernova explosion, for example, could cause a mass extinction on an unprecedented scale. If a meteor similar to the one that hit the unpopulated regions near Chelyabinsk in 2013 or Tunguska in 1908 hit New York City, it could cause a far larger death toll and economic damage than COVID-19. Or consider the impact of a blob of hot gas from the Sun, a so-called coronal mass ejection of the type that missed the Earth in 2012. Such an event could shut off communication systems, disable satellites and damage power grids. Altogether, astronomical alerts about such celestial threats could be crucial for securing the longevity of our species.

Of greatest relevance for our long-term survival is identifying large objects on a collision course with the Earth, similar to the Chicxulub asteroid that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. In 2005, Congress passed a bill requiring NASA to find and track at least 90 percent of all near-Earth objects larger than 140 meters (enough to cause regional devastation) by 2020. Only a third of these objects have been identified in the sky so far. In a recent paper with my undergraduate student Amir Siraj, we explained some puzzling properties of the Chicxulub asteroid as a tidal breakup of a long-period comet that passed close to the sun. If future sky surveys alert us to another fragment whose apparent size grows rapidly against the sky, wed better have a contingency plan to deflect its trajectoryor else immediately call our realtor.

Keeping up with the challenge of precision cosmology for the next few decades can demonstrate that the Hubble constant, which describes the expansion rate of the universe, is not really a constant, in accordance with the expected Sandage-Loeb test. In the long run, the only thing that stays constant is change. The accelerated expansion of the universe under the influence of so-called dark energy will be the ultimate manifestation of extragalactic social distancing in the post-COVID-19 era, preventing any future contact between us and civilizations outside our galaxy.

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A Movie of the Evolving Universe Is Potentially Scary - Scientific American

Big Tech hearing a chance to ‘rake the ultra-rich over the coals,’ Jim Cramer says – CNBC

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

CNBC's Jim Cramer on Wednesday bemoaned the congressional hearing on antitrust claims in Big Tech, arguing that the companies included in the event should be considered America's "national champions" in a globalized world.

Another company in Microsoft, which was not summoned in the hearing, can also be considered among the prized group, he said.

"I come to praise the titans of tech, not bury them," the "Mad Money" host said, in an effort to "reframe" the discussion after the chief executives of Facebook, Amazon, AppleandAlphabet's Google testified Wednesday afternoon in front of a House Judiciary subcommittee.

These companies are the "best things the American economy has going for it" and the hearings "feel more like an opportunity to rake the ultra-rich over the coals," he said.

The hearing marked the first time all four executives Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Apple's Tim Cook, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sundar Pichai appeared before Congress at the same time.

America is the "top dog" in many parts of the technology industry, particularly those that big tech deals in, and the country needs to leverage tech to stay competitive with the rest of the world, especially an ascendant China, Cramer said.

While he's in favor of implementing regulations to reign in the business practices of the tech behemoths, including abusing their market powers, Cramer cast doubt about a divided Congress' ability to come to an agreement on a set of rules.

In Wednesday's hearing, Facebook's Zuckerberg was bashed for acquiring WhatsApp, then a nascent rival messaging app, for $19 billion in 2014.

Amazon's Bezos was questioned about using third-party seller data to gain a competitive edge on products the online retail giant sells.

Google's Pichai, who added the title of Alphabet CEO in December, was grilled on the company's China connections after dropping out of the U.S. Department of Defense's $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, cloud project deal. The chief was also questioned about its now-abandoned work on a Chinese search engine project called Dragonfly.

Meanwhile, Apple's Cook was pressed on how the company's equal treatment of developers on its App Store. The company has been dogged for taking a 30% cut of sales on in-app payments.

Cramer, though, said he is taking the other side of the coin.

"Every other industrialized [country] has so-called national champions. These are companies that let them compete worldwide and their governments bend over backwards to give them an edge," he said. "In an increasingly globalized economy, maybe America needs some national champions of its own."

Disclosure: Cramer's charitable trust owns shares of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft.

Questions for Cramer?Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC

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Big Tech hearing a chance to 'rake the ultra-rich over the coals,' Jim Cramer says - CNBC

Why bursting the tech salary bubble is a good thing | TheHill – The Hill

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

In recent months, tech giants like Twitter, Shopify and Facebook have been announcing permanent remote work options for their staff, whether the COVID-19 pandemic subsides or not. It appears that the tech world and its CEOs are realizing the numerous benefits that come from giving workers more flexibility over their geographic location. According to recent surveys, 19 percent of employees want to work from home on a permanent basis after the health crisis is over.

But with Facebook CEO Mark ZuckerbergMark Elliot ZuckerbergFive takeaways from Big Tech's blowout earnings NYT media columnist Ben Smith calls Facebook's self-proclaimed patriotism 'very implausible' Facebook reports 11 percent revenue growth as usage surges amid pandemic MOREs announcement came what many see as a catch those Facebook employees that work remotely will have their salaries adjusted according to their location.

While this may sound unfair to some not least considering tech giants hefty profit margins this could be the much-needed salary reform that will make the tech world more accessible to workers. Going remote and adjusting wages accordingly can actually result in a more diverse tech scene, increased inclusivity in the workplace, and a change in how companies value and hold onto their workers. Heres how.

Diversity will improve

Building a diverse workforce should be a non-negotiable priority for todays businesses. We are painfully aware of the need to collectively move towards a fairer and more just society, and the role of US companies includes embracing workplace diversity and equality of opportunity. By bursting the tech salary bubble, the industry can further break the mold of its predictable tech hires.

In allowing people to apply for a job no matter where theyre based, Facebook and other companies will now be able to attract more diverse talent by sheer force of numbers. Statistics show that minorities are likely to be most affected by the financial restrictions of living in overpriced cities like San Francisco: In 2018, 1 in 5 black people residing in the United States lived below the poverty line, compared to 1 in 12 white people. Qualified candidates across the country who a few months ago would not even have been able to consider applying for a job in big tech will now come forward.

That single mom from rural Ohio who can create groundbreaking AI-powered marketing tools but doesnt have the time or money to commute to big city offices will now be able to join your talent pool. A physically disabled tech graduate who couldnt find an accessible job now has his pick of any workplace, and hell likely choose a business that has always valued diversity and inclusion.

Its worth considering that the top ten computer science schools in the United States include universities in non-traditional tech hubs like Texas, Georgia, and New Jersey. Hopefully, remote hiring will allow those skilled graduates to apply for tech jobs without uprooting from home states or hometowns.

Having a workforce that is representative of the U.S. population that includes people of color, people with disabilities, and those from low-income backgrounds inevitably leads to a better understanding of the challenges facing the country at large, beyond the confines of big tech cities. This will better inform companies as they develop their product, penetrate new market segments, and weed out the prominent problem of technology bias. Not to mention that diversity has a proven correlation to financial performance and innovation qualities that all companies hoping to survive the recession cant do without.

Work environments become more inclusive

While allowing employees to work remotely will no doubt see much of the workforce move out of tech hubs like Silicon Valley, many offices will remain open. The bursting tech bubble means that even employees who do work from the office should experience less exclusive environments due to a more accessible cost of living in traditional tech bubbles.

As fewer tech workers are drawn to the big tech locations to earn inflated salaries, the cost of living will fall. In fact, rental website Zumper recorded a record drop in San Francisco rent prices, with both one-bedroom and two-bedroom rents down 11 percent from last year. Thats in line with a wider trend of falling prices over the course of the pandemic. Reduced costs gives employees more equal access to opportunities and resources in big tech cities, making them less exclusive.

Those who take the remote opportunity to leave big cities should also benefit from more inclusive and harmonious work lives. Tech cities harbor multiple issues that induce stress and can affect workers mental wellbeing and productivity. Residents of San Francisco are antagonized by the housing crisis and excessive traffic, and a recent survey of local tech workers revealed that one third would leave the area if they could work remotely, even if it meant taking a pay cut.

Ultimately, leaving overpriced and overcrowded cities will result in a higher quality of life and better mental health and well-being for employees, even if their $300,000-a-year salary is reduced by 25 percent.

What the critics of Facebooks policy dont consider is that in the long term, the flexibility and trust created by remote work between employees and their companies will soon drown out concerns over salary shifts.

Companies will value their workers more

As the country becomes one big hiring pool for all tech companies alike, in the long run competition for the best talent will grow. And as tech salary bubbles dissipate, employers will have to attract candidates using more than just the promise of a hefty paycheck. Remote tech workers will have a broad pick of businesses seeking their expertise, and their demands will focus more on non-monetary benefits.

Tech companies will need to demonstrate how they will provide opportunities such as career progression, especially to minority communities who have historically been faced with fewer chances for advancement in STEM jobs. They should also offer wellness programs and employee benefit schemes as the world acknowledges the importance of ensuring the well-being of a remote workforce.

All of this will force employers to see their team members through a different lens: one which paints them as individuals with individual needs, not as human machines that work harder the more theyre paid. Company culture will become more centered around the non-salary-related rewards of working as part of a team, and those that are attracted to the role simply as a means to earn a big paycheck will likely be steered elsewhere.

And of course, by allowing employees to go remote, tech companies will save money on wages, office space and operational costs. This money can then be reinvested into furthering diversity and inclusion and well-being initiatives to staff.

If we do this right, the remote revolution promises to improve work culture across the board. Our productivity and mental health will improve while our carbon footprints fall. By going one step further and bursting the tech salary bubble, companies big and small will be more empowered to foster necessarily diverse and inclusive teams, in which workers feel significantly more valued as individuals.

Rachel Sheppard is the director of global marketing at global pre-seed accelerator Founder Institute and co-founder of the Female Founder Initiative, a program launched in 2016 as a means of offering support, funding, and visibility to female founders.

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Why bursting the tech salary bubble is a good thing | TheHill - The Hill

Congress looks to prove it can keep Big Tech in check – POLITICO

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

In the past when tech company CEOs have testified the popular review of those hearings has not been positive for lawmakers," said Duke University researcher Matt Perault, who testified before House antitrust last year on behalf of Facebook, where he served as director of public policy. "Often it seems like they dont have the kind of understanding of the products and business models that most Americans do."

And even when lawmakers do their homework, hearings with the tech leaders often lost direction, with lawmakers asking questions far afield of their purported purpose and getting caught up in partisan feuding. Theyve sometimes jumped from topic to topic for hours, with questions on everything from cryptocurrency to data privacy to hate speech and allegations of bias. And when Pichai last appeared before the House Judiciary Committee, then under GOP control, Democrats and Republicans bitterly clashed over allegations the company stifles conservative views. (Google and other major platforms deny the charges).

This time has the potential to be different. The hearing is the culmination of the Democratic-led subcommittees investigation into competition online, which has included hundreds of hours of meetings and calls and the collection of over 1.3 million documents, according to senior Judiciary aides. That makes the members of the 15-person panel set to question the CEOs uniquely prepared for the challenge, according to Gene Kimmelman, senior adviser for consumer group Public Knowledge.

Weve seen in the past high-profile hearings with CEOs that are just one-offs thats not what this is, said Kimmelman, who served in the Justice Departments antitrust unit under the Obama administration. This is the culmination of many hearings, many interviews, thousands of hours of work by the staff and engagement with the members."

Officials are also hoping to keep the hearing from straying too far off course. Democratic lawmakers and senior House Judiciary aides say they expect Wednesday's session to have a needle-like focus on the competitive concerns posed by the companies, the central premise of the hearing.

I believe that it will be largely tethered to the antitrust concerns because that is the purpose of this committees investigation, it is the driving purpose behind the hearing, said Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), vice chair of the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee, the 15-member panel hosting the session.

But Republicans say they are preparing for a wholly different kind of hearing: a free-wheeling event where lawmakers air their grievances on everything from competition to online misinformation and allegations of an anti-conservative bias in Silicon Valley.

Ahead of the hearing, Republican staffers on the Judiciary Committee urged lawmakers to make the bias allegations a focal point of the session, according to a memo obtained by POLITICO. And they suggested that proposing legislation to update U.S. antitrust law based off of the sessions findings would be premature dealing a blow to the prospects of a bipartisan bill emerging out of the investigation.

GOP Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado said while he is planning to press the CEOs on whether their acquisitions or their platforms stifle competition, he expects other lawmakers to fire off questions on a wide range of fronts, including the bias charges.

I think you will see a free-for-all, Buck said.

Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) said he anticipates Republicans will hone in particularly on Facebook and Google over accusations they stifle viewpoints on the right. Armstrong said those allegations are pressing "given how much influence they have over the general public coming into the election.

Some critics of the tech giants have voiced concern that raising issues like allegations of bias could dilute the hearing. Others say it's par for the course on Capitol Hill.

"Ive never seen a hearing not wander a bit astray," said Kimmelman. "Every lawmaker has a different angle on these things and different pet issues, but I do believe there is a desire to make sure at the very least they dot all the is and cross all the ts on antitrust and competition concerns.

To do that, lawmakers will need to pepper all four chief executives with exacting questions. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), another member of the subcommittee, said one strategy lawmakers plan to take Wednesday is to focus on issues that cut across the tech giants.

I think they can all be assured they will get a lot of love, each one of them, she said. We do intend to split our time and talk about each one of them because I do think that there are some common fact-patterns that have emerged across companies in terms of anti-competitive behavior.

Jayapal said one such area where lawmakers share concern about all four companies is their ability to box out competitors with the vast troves of consumer data they collect. Another, she said, is their ability to deploy "copy, acquire, kill" strategies to duplicate, buy out or otherwise neutralize budding rivals.

But the largely virtual format of the hearing could make it harder for lawmakers to come out on top in those exchanges, according to Daniel Schuman, policy director at the left-leaning advocacy group Demand Progress.

In a circumstance where youre going back and forth with the witness where they can pretend not to hear you, where you talk over each other, where you have a little bit of the technological confusion that goes on top of the interaction anyway it becomes more likely that the member can lose a little bit more control of the interaction," said Schuman, who has pushed for Congress to bolster its virtual offerings.

And the virtual format could lessen the overall impact of the hearing, according to Buck.

It's unfortunate that we don't have them in person," said the GOP lawmaker. "I think it would be a much more informative and impactful hearing if we were dealing with this in person.

Even if lawmakers' stick the landing on their questions, tech industry officials remain skeptical anything new will come out of them.

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Carl Szabo, vice president and general counsel of tech trade group NetChoice, said hes very curious to know what questions will be asked that haven't been answered. Szabo, whose tech trade group counts Facebook, Google and Amazon as members, cited the fact that the companies have already turned over scores of documents to the committee.

He added, "What this is ultimately going to do is be dragging tech CEOs before Congress and berate them in front of the cameras, not looking necessarily for answers to antitrust, but looking for publicity."

But even the act of pressing the CEOs for answers on the record could mark a victory for lawmakers, according to Mitchell, regardless of whether or not the CEOs take the bait.

I do think that theres actual real information to be gleamed, and if Bezos and the other CEOs try to dodge those questions and evade and obfuscate, it adds to the picture of these companies believing that they are in charge and that they dont have to answer to anyone, she said.

Betsy Woodruff Swan contributed to this report.

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Congress looks to prove it can keep Big Tech in check - POLITICO

Latin America & The Caribbean – Weekly Situation Update (27 July – 2 August 2020) as of 2 August 2020 – Bahamas – ReliefWeb

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

KEY FIGURES

4.8M CONFIRMED COVID-19 CASES IN LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN AS OF 2 AUGUST

REGIONAL: COVID-19

As of 2 August, PAHO/WHO report 4,843,806 and 197,811 deaths in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as 3,206,760 recovered cases.

KEY FIGURES

$73.7M SOCIO-ECONOMIC RESPONSE PLAN LAUNCHED IN COSTA RICA

CENTRAL AMERICA: COVID-19

GUATEMALA

The Government announced on 26 July that Guatemala would transition to a tiered municipal health alert system to determine localized restrictions following more than 130 days of nationwide confinement measures. The area-specific risk system will use rates of confirmed cases, positive tests and number of tests as criteria to be evaluated and updated every 15 days. Evaluations will yield either a red, orange, yellow or green level of alert, with red alerts being the most restrictive and green alerts the least.

COSTA RICA

The UN in Costa Rica published their COVID-19 socio-economic response plan for US$73.7 million, which focuses on sustainable recovery based on health, social protection and basic services, economic reactivation, macroeconomic and multilateral response and social cohesion and resilience. The plan, which will use the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a response road map for building back better, indicates that there is currently $25.9 million in available funding (35.1 per cent of required funding) for the 154 total activities that make up the plan.

KEY FIGURES

170K VULNERABLE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE ALONG THE BRAZIL-COLOMBIA-PERU BORDER

SOUTH AMERICA: COVID-19

The UN in Brazil, Colombia and Peru and rights groups in Ecuador are calling for scaled-up COVID-19 response at their shared border, an area home to 170,000 vulnerable indigenous people. The UN is especially concerned with limited health response capacities in these areas, while Ecuadors Alliance of Human Rights Organizations is concerned for groups along the triple Colombia-Ecuador-Peru border, some of whom are exposed to armed conflict. The UN is supporting response along the Brazil-Colombia-Peru triple border, with agencies providing technical support, services and supplies to relevant departmental health authorities in those three countries.

PERU

Per the Ministry of Health, 25.3 per cent of people in Lima and Callao may be COVID-19 positive, or some 2.7 million people. The Ministry says that the information, part of a technical study on COVID-19 prevalence, would allow them to estimate the susceptible population, as well as how long it takes to achieve herd immunity. The Ministry also notes the data will allow them to tailor vaccination programs when a vaccine becomes available.

Latin America & The Caribbean - Weekly Situation Update (27 July - 2 August 2020) as of 2 August 2020 - Bahamas - ReliefWeb

Significant number of jobs predicted for the Caribbean by 2030 – NYCaribNews

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) A new study is predicting that a transition to a net-zero emission economy could create 15 million new jobs in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) by 2030.

The study has been undertaken by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

To support a sustainable recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the region urgently needs to create decent jobs and build a more sustainable and inclusive future, the IDB and ILO said in a joint statement.

The report finds that the transition to a net-zero carbon economy would end 7.5 million jobs in fossil fuel electricity, fossil fuel extraction and animal-based food production.

However, the study notes that these lost jobs are more than compensated for new employment opportunities: 22.5 million jobs are created in agriculture and plant-based food production, renewable electricity, forestry, construction, and manufacturing.

The report is the first of its kind to highlight how shifting to healthier and more sustainable diets, which reduce meat and dairy consumption while increasing plant-based foods, would create jobs and reduce pressure on the regions unique biodiversity, according to the ILO and IDB.

With this shift, LACs agri-food sector could expand the creation of 19 million full-time equivalent jobs, despite 4.3 million fewer jobs in livestock, poultry, dairy, and fishing, the report says.

Moreover, the report offers a blueprint on how countries can create decent jobs and transition to net-zero emissions.

This includes policies facilitating the reallocation of workers, advance decent work in rural areas, offer new business models, enhance social protection and support to displaced, enterprises, communities and workers.

Social dialogue between the private sector, trade unions, and governments is essential to design long-term strategies to achieve net-zero emissions, which creates jobs, helps to reduce inequality and delivers on the (United Nations) Sustainable Development Goals, the report noted.

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Significant number of jobs predicted for the Caribbean by 2030 - NYCaribNews

IDB, ILO Predicts Significant Number of Jobs in the Caribbean by 2030 – caribbeannationalweekly.com

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

WASHINGTON A new study is predicting that a transition to a net-zero emission economy could create 15 million net new jobs in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) by 2030.

The study has been undertaken by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The report finds that the transition to a net-zero carbon economy would end 7.5 million jobs in fossil fuel electricity, fossil fuel extraction and animal-based food production.

With this shift, LACs agri-food sector could expand the creation of 19 million full-time equivalent jobs, despite 4.3 million fewer jobs in livestock, poultry, dairy and fishing, the report says.

Moreover, the report offers a blueprint on how countries can create decent jobs and transition to net-zero emissions.

CMC

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IDB, ILO Predicts Significant Number of Jobs in the Caribbean by 2030 - caribbeannationalweekly.com

St Thomas Is Getting New Nonstop Flights on United Airlines – Caribbean Journal

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

United Airlines is launching its newest Caribbean route next month, new scheduled service from Newark to St Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands.

United will be operating the route four times each week, with roundtrip service on Sundays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, according to the company.

The new flights will kick off Sept. 3.

United is also adding a pair of new routes to Puerto Rico, with new service from both Chicago and Washington-Dulles to San Juans Luis Munoz Marin International Airport.

Even with the new launch and the resumptions, United is flying just 30 percent of its wider international schedule as compared to the same period in 2019.

We continue to be realistic in our approach to building back our international and domestic schedules by closely monitoring customer demand and flying where people want to go, said Patrick Quayle, Uniteds vice president of International Network and Alliances. In September, were adding even more options for leisure travelers or those who want to visit friends and relatives, whether thats within the United States or around the world.

The US Virgin Islands has been open for tourism since the beginning of June. Heres what travelers need to know.

For more, visit USVI.

Originally posted here:

St Thomas Is Getting New Nonstop Flights on United Airlines - Caribbean Journal

Pirates Of The Caribbean: 10 Things Everyone Missed About Elizabeth Swann – Screen Rant

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

While some fans may think thePirates of the Caribbeanfranchise belongs to the showboating swashbuckler Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swann remains one of the most beloved characters from the films due to her resourcefulness, brains, and beauty. She's become a role-model for youngpeople all over the world thanks to her believable character development, transcending her trappings as a lady of society and transforming into the Pirate King of the Brethren Court.

RELATED:Pirates of the Caribbean: The Worst Thing About Each Main Character, Ranked

With so much action on the high seas during the four films she was in, it's easy to miss some of the most intriguing aspects of her character. Taking a look back at her adventures, her metamorphosis reveals many mysteries that otherwise might have been lost to the depths.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Taleswas the fifth film of the franchise and intended to reboot it, but it failed to capture the imagination and entertainment of the original trilogy. It also destroyed Elizabeth's character.

She's given 2 minutes of screen time, and she's once again wearing a corset and gown like the prim and proper aristocratic lady she was in the first film. It's as though all of her character development into the Pirate King never happened.

WhenPirates of the Caribbean: At World's Endconcluded, fans were delighted to see Elizabeth wearing her Pirate King regalia, complete with a sword at her side. Even in the post credit scene featuring her ten year old son by Will Turner, she continued to wear clothing inspired by her pirate adventures.

RELATED:Pirates of the Caribbean: 10 Worst Things Elizabeth Swann Did, Ranked

When she appears again inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,she seems to have given up her identity as a former pirate to dress how a lady of society is expected to. Some viewers might have seen it as a sign of maturity, but for a woman like Elizabeth who wanted nothing more than to rip off her corset and sail the high seas, it seemed completely tone deaf.

Elizabeth Swann decides to raise her son on land instead of at sea while his father Will captains the Flying Dutchmen. It's never explained why she couldn't have raised her son on a ship, or taken a ship out to see his father in the middle of the ocean.

It wouldn't have voided Will's contract under the Dutchman, unless he was specifically sailing through alternate dimensions or to and from Davy Jones' Locker.

In the original script forPirates of the Caribbean,Jack Sparrow was a supporting character used to move the main plot along, which was focused on Will Turner saving Elizabeth Swann. He proved so popular however that he usurped the lovers' storyline and became the focus of the entire franchise.

Elizabeth and Will didn't even get to have a happy ending at the conclusion of the first three films they appeared in because Will became the captain of the Flying Dutchman, and it was Sparrow who sailed off into the sunset with the Black Pearl.

According to a Pirates of the Caribbeanpromotional interview with ScreenSlam, the character of Elizabeth Swann was originally intended to be a "damsel in distress" trope until Gore Verbinski and Keira Knightley decided to alter the character to have more agency.

As the series of films progressed, they worked together to specifically show a progression from an archetype that hada foundation in high-adventure literature -and Hollywood pirate films from the '30s and '40s- to something more modern, but her performance always paid homage to its roots.

When asked how she got into character, Keira Knightley often cited the corset Elizabeth had to wear as the biggest determinant. She explained that whenever it was on, she couldn't help but act more refined, especially since its tight application ensured she needed to be very economical with her words.

When it was removed, she was able to act more liberated, and become a more feral and energetic version of the character. Many times over he course of filming Knightley became light-headed from wearing it, especially since it whittled her figure down to a 20" waist.

When viewers first meet Elizabeth, she's 12 years old and making the crossing from England to Port Royal, Jamaica where her father will assume the position of governor. James Norrington, a lieutenant at the time, is 20.

RELATED:Pirates of the Caribbean: 10 Characters Elizabeth Should Have Been With (Other Than Will)

The main events of the film take place when Elizabeth is 20 and Norrington 28, and the disparity in their ages wouldn't have necessarily been problematic during the time period in which the film takes place, but knowing their history can be unsettling for some fans.

InPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl,Elizabeth steals the cursed piece of Aztec gold from around Will Turner's neck, preventing Norrington and his men from accusing him of being a pirate. Years later when she falls into the water with it around her neck, it sends out a pulse that calls tothe Black Pearl and its cursed crew.

They return to Port Royal to steal it from her, but if the gold coin sends a signal to those it cursed when it touches the sea, it should have sent a signal when Will Turner went overboard as a young boy, causing the Pearl to turn around and claim its prize.

For many fans of the couple, Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner are considered romantic. They are willing to do whatever it takes across several films to save each other's lives, even if it means sacrificing their own.

On closer inspection however, their relationship is actually unhealthy, and determined by co-dependent behaviors that don't let them grow as individuals. By the time he becomes the new captain of the Flying Dutchman, they finally learn to appreciate each other.

After being named the Pirate King and successfully winning the Pirate War, Elizabeth Swann seemingly retired back to Port Royal after the battle to raise her son. No scene was filmed that sheds light onto who she passed her crown to.

For all viewers knew, she could have retained the title since nothing indicated she selected a successor. Presumably it was a title she could have passed onto her son when he came of age.

NEXT:Pirates Of The Caribbean Reboot: 5 Actresses We Want To Join Margot Robbie (& 5 We Don't)

Next Harry Potter: 10 Ways the Order of the Phoenix Got Worse and Worse

Kayleena has been raised on Star Wars and Indiana Jones from the crib. A film buff, she has a Western collection of 250+ titles and counting that she's particularly proud of. When she isn't writing for ScreenRant, CBR, or The Gamer, she's working on her fiction novel, lifting weights, going to synthwave concerts, or cosplaying. With degrees in anthropology and archaeology, she plans to continue pretending to be Lara Croft as long as she can.

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Pirates Of The Caribbean: 10 Things Everyone Missed About Elizabeth Swann - Screen Rant

Bermudian MP sends Emancipation Day message to the Caribbean – Loop News Cayman

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

by Christopher Famous

As we look around our beloved Caribbean region, we see many things that have changed due to Covid 19. Less tourists, less work, hotels closed, all leading to mass unemployment, as never seen before in recent times.

Indeed, some may say we are in the worst of times, economic times to be precise.

However, let us, today, be proud that we are the descendants of those millions of people of the Sun that survived being captured in our motherland of Africa.

We are the descendants of those tens of millions of souls that survived the Middle Passage journey from Africa to the Americas, that lasted months, on often harrowing and unforgiving seas.

We are the descendants of those that survived centuries of unspeakable brutalities of; rape, mutilation, starvation and near genocide, on plantations throughout; North America, South America Central America and the Atlantic / Caribbean region.

We are the decendants of those who survived the indignation of; segregation, racial discrimination, unequal pay, denied job and education opportunities post 1834.

We are the descendants of those who ventured far from home to places such as America, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe who faced; racism, colourism, and sexism far from our Caribbean homelands.

So, today, despite the economic downturns and challenges that we face throughout the region, be proud, be very proud, for we are the collective offspring of those who stood up and never bowed down.

We are the survivors of centuries of the worst that humanity has produced, European Colonialism.

We are the Black Survivors.

This week, across the region, we will celebrate less than 200 years of Freedom, minus festivals, minus carnivals, minus cropovers and minus fetes.

Let us take this time to reflect on what liberation truly means to those that lost their lives in the most horrific ways, whose blood soaks the very same soil and sand on which we walk daily.

This week, please take yourselves and or your families, to visit those monuments to those who resisted the evils of slavery, in your respective islands.

Blessed Emancipation Day.

Blessed Mary Prince Day

Thomas Christopher Famous is a government Member of Parliament in Bermuda. He is the Bermuda government representative for Caribbean Relations and Caricom and writes weekly columns for various Caribbean news sites. Famous can be reached via WhatsApp at (441)-599-0901 or via email atcarib_pro@yahoo.com.

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Bermudian MP sends Emancipation Day message to the Caribbean - Loop News Cayman

Las Vegas: What’s open and closed amid coronavirus – Los Angeles Times

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Danzig

Most Las Vegas resorts and restaurants, including pools and the citys most popular chill spots, are open for business. Bars, however, will remain closed indefinitely to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

Though they wont be serving alcohol, Minus5 bars at the skywalk linking Luxor and Mandalay Bay, Venetian and the Linq Promenade offer a quick reprieve from outside temperatures expected to hit 113 this week. The bars will still be ice cold, but will put the freeze on alcohol for now in keeping with current mandates.

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Also, fans of the high-tech CES show need to rethink their plans. Organizers of the January event, which draws about 170,000 people, on Tuesday decided to host a four-day digital convention rather than a usual massive in-person gathering.

If youre planning to visit Las Vegas, you need to know:

Vdara reopened in mid-July. The resorts Market Cafe is open daily 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Vdara Pool & Cabanas, along with the pool bar, are open Fridays through Sundays. On other days, guests may use the pool at nearby Aria. Vdaras spa remains closed.

Ballys has reopened, along with a variety of restaurants and the resorts pool, Blu.

Aria, Delano and Mandalay Bay welcomed guests July 1. At Aria, Catch, Jean Georges Steakhouse and Salt & Ivy are open. At Mandalay Bay, Shark Reef Aquarium and several restaurants have reopened. Nobu, the hotel-within-a-hotel at Caesars Palace, reopened July 2.

The Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas and the Fly Linq at Linq Promenade started sending visitors soaring on July 2.

Two popular day clubs Liquid Pool Lounge at Aria and Wet Republic Ultra Pool at MGM Grand are open Thursdays to Sundays, and reservations are required.

Luxor and the adjoining Shoppes at Mandalay Place are open. At Luxor, the HyperX Esports Arena for high-tech gamers is open, along with a handful of restaurants, including Diablos Cantina and Pyramid Cafe.

At the Shoppes, the popular Minus5 Ice Experience provides the chill as Vegas temperatures rise to triple digits. Its located on a skywalk linking Luxor and Mandalay Bay. Several other restaurants also have reopened.

Paris and Westgate hotel-casinos reopened in mid-June. Paris opened its hotel, casino and pool as well as dining options such as Gordon Ramsay Steak and the Eiffel Tower Restaurant, with stunning views of the Fountains of Bellagio across the street.

The Buffet at Wynn returned, but can you still call it a buffet? Diners are seated in the same pre-pandemic elegant dining area, but the long steam tables full of food have disappeared. Instead of standing in line, plate in hand, diners never have to leave their tables to savor dozens of dishes. They simply order from a menu featuring photos and descriptions of roughly 90 offerings. Its still all you can eat, but theres a two-hour time limit. The Buffet, the first to reopen on the Strip, is open daily. Prices range from $36.99 for a weekday brunch to $65.99 for weekend dinner. Reservations are required.

The new restaurant Elio at Wynn opened for a summer preview starting 5:30 p.m. Thursdays to Sundays. Guests choose from contemporary Mexican dishes by executive chef Sarah Thompson.

Wolfgang Pucks Spago, located lakeside at Bellagio, serves dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays to Tuesdays.

The Sahara introduced reservations for its baccarat, blackjack and roulette games. With space at gaming tables limited because of social distancing, guests can book a seat up to 72 hours in advance. Otherwise, they may wind up standing around waiting for a seat to open up.

Oscars Steakhouse, named for Vegas former mayor, reopened for dinner from Thursday to Sunday. The restaurant, under a glass dome at downtowns Plaza Hotel & Casino, provides great views of the Fremont Street Experience.

Topgolf, a popular attraction themed around golf and other sports at MGM Grand, opened its doors too.

The Cosmopolitans adults-only Marquee pool is open 11 a.m. until sunset Fridays to Sundays, with resident DJs and plenty of food and drink. Reservations are required.

Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood: About half of the milelong malls 200 shops, restaurants and attractions have partly reopened with limited hours (11 a.m. to 7 p.m.). The adjoining Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino remains closed.

Excalibur: Inside the castle walls, guests can enjoy gaming, a limited number of restaurants, the pool complex, fitness center and Fun Dungeon Arcade.

Caesars Palace: The hotel-casino as well as the sprawling Garden of the Gods Pool Oasis, complete with a swim-up gaming area, has reopened. The pool complex is open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The resorts race and sports book, and Restaurant Guy Savoy, are open too.

The Linq remains closed, but the casino will be up and running, as well as its restaurants.

For dining options, Hash House A Go Go is open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, and celebrity chef Guy Fieris Vegas Kitchen & Bar is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday to Sunday. Influence, the resorts pool, welcomes guests 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. The High Roller observation wheel at the Linq Promenade is open with a limit of 10 passengers per cabin to allow for social distancing. (Before the mid-March shutdown, it was 40.)

Big Elvis, a.k.a. Pete Vallee, was the first performer to return to Harrahs. The act that has been a Vegas stalwart for years returns at 2, 3:30 and 5 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays at Harrahs Piano Bar and its free.

Kenny Davidsens Celebrity Piano Bar a few blocks east of the Strip along Flamingo Road has relaunched at the Tuscany hotel-casino. In this pandemic era, the lounge has a wall of plexiglass that separates audience members from the stage. Shows start at 8:45 p.m. on Fridays.

Caesars Palace, the Flamingo and Harrahs Las Vegas are open. So are (from north to south on the Strip): the Strat, Sahara, Circus Circus, Wynn-Encore, Treasure Island, the Venetian, Harrahs, Caesars Palace, Bellagio, the Cosmopolitan, MGM Grand, the Signature at MGM Grand and New York-New York.

Downtown, the hotels along Fremont Street that are welcoming guests are, from east to west, El Cortez, The D, Fremont, Four Queens, Hotel Apache, Golden Nugget, Golden Gate and Plaza.

The Neon Museum reopened in late May. Even though much of the site is outdoors, the number of visitors is limited at any one time. Visitors are encouraged to book timed tickets in advance.

The Mob Museum in downtown has also reopened, with temperature checks for visitors at the entrance. The museum encourages people to buy timed tickets in advance.

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Las Vegas: What's open and closed amid coronavirus - Los Angeles Times

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