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Third option in the fall – Opinion – The News Herald

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

ThursdayJul30,2020at12:01AM

The 2020 presidential election is both an important one, and (already) a discouraging one in terms of its outlook. Neither major party seems to be in touch with the interests of ordinary Americans. However, there is a third option, and her name is Dr. Jo Jorgensen.

Dr. Jorgensen is the Libertarian Party candidate for president, and she will be on the ballot in Florida. Her platform is essentially about maximizing freedom and bringing government back to within its Constitutional limits. Among her positions are: abolishing the federal DOE, DHS, and ATF (to name just a few agencies); eliminating penalties for victimless crimes such as drug possession; bringing the troops home from overseas and ending U.S. involvement in foreign wars; eliminating the federal deficit; and abolishing the federal income tax so that Americans can keep more of their hard-earned money.

Dr. Jorgensen is formerly a lecturer and professor of psychology at Clemson University, and has also been a homemaker as well as a founding CEO of a technological software corporation. Her achievements speak for themselves. Most importantly, however, she would provide a fresh voice to a broken system of government that has done little to better the lives of its citizens. And for that reason, I would urge those reading to consider her as you think of who to cast your vote for in November. Her website can be viewed at http://www.jo20.com. Thank you.

Respectfully,

John Gibson

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Third option in the fall - Opinion - The News Herald

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Third option for president, and her name is Dr. Jo Jorgensen. – Gadsden Times

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

FridayJul31,2020at12:01AM

Dear Editor,

John Gibson, Vernon

Follow this link:

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Third option for president, and her name is Dr. Jo Jorgensen. - Gadsden Times

Edited Transcript of BPMC.OQ earnings conference call or presentation 30-Jul-20 12:30pm GMT – Yahoo Finance

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

CAMBRIDGE Jul 31, 2020 (Thomson StreetEvents) -- Edited Transcript of Blueprint Medicines Corp earnings conference call or presentation Thursday, July 30, 2020 at 12:30:00pm GMT

* Anthony L. Boral

* Jeffrey W. Albers

* Andrea R. Tan

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Blueprint Medicines Second Quarter 2020 Financial and Operating Results Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Kristin Hodous of Blueprint Medicines. Thank you. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Blueprint Medicines' Second Quarter 2020 Financial and Operating Results Conference Call. This morning, we issued a press release, which outlines the topics we plan to discuss today. You can access the press release as well as the slides that we'll be reviewing today by going to the Investors section of our website at http://www.blueprintmedicines.com.

Today, on our call, Jeff Albers, our Chief Executive Officer, will discuss Blueprint Medicines' second quarter 2020 business highlights. Christy Rossi, our Chief Commercial Officer, will provide a commercial update. And Mike Landsittel, our Chief Financial Officer, will review our financial results. Dr. Andy Boral, our Chief Medical Officer, is also on the call and will be available for Q&A.

Before we get started, I would like to remind everyone that statements we make on this conference call will include forward-looking statements. Actual events or results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements as a result of various risks, uncertainties and other factors, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC and any other filings that we may make with the SEC.

In addition, any forward-looking statements made on this call represent our views only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date. We specifically disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

Now here's our CEO, Jeff Albers.

Jeffrey W. Albers, Blueprint Medicines Corporation - CEO, President & Director [3]

Thanks, Kristin, and good morning, everyone. I'm happy to provide an update on what has been a productive quarter for Blueprint Medicines. At the beginning of the year, we talked about how 2020 was shaping up to be transformational for Blueprint Medicines as we evolved into a fully integrated precision medicine company, and it certainly has been given the achievements we've made against our goals over the first half of the year.

Let me highlight how this progress sets us up going into the second half of the year across our 3 areas of strategic focus. First, establishing our commercial foundation with AYVAKIT, which we will now harness for pralsetinib; second, prioritizing systemic mastocytosis given the significant medical need; and third, leveraging our discovery platform to advance future pipeline opportunities.

Let's start off with a strong U.S. AYVAKIT launch for the treatment of patients with PDGFR-alpha exon 18 mutant GIST. As Christy will discuss in a moment, we gained critical commercial experience and have built a nimble and highly effective team along with infrastructure to deliver our products to patients.

Our early experience with AYVAKIT gives us a strong foundation for our planned launch of pralsetinib in the coming months, which will now be amplified as we integrate the capabilities of our new partners at Genentech and Roche.

We're also capitalizing on our AYVAKIT experience outside of the U.S. Just a few days ago, we received a positive CHMP opinion for avapritinib for the treatment of patients with PDGFR-alpha D84V mutant GIST. This achievement sets up a final decision on our marketing authorization application by the end of this quarter.

Assuming avapritinib is approved, we expect to initiate our first commercial launch in Germany with additional European countries to follow. Additionally, as in the U.S., we expect this initial launch will lay the foundation for future systemic mastocytosis commercial efforts as well.

Building from commercial readiness, our second strategic area of focus is the great progress within our systemic mastocytosis program. We believe SM represents the single largest opportunity across our clinical stage portfolio. The significant medical need, combined with our differentiated approach of potently targeting the SM disease driver, opened an opportunity to advance a new treatment paradigm. Earlier this year, we reported very encouraging data from part 1 of our PIONEER trial of avapritinib in patients with indolent systemic mastocytosis.

Based on these data, we selected 25 milligrams once per day as the recommended dose and finalized the design of the registration-enabling part 2 with input from regulatory authorities. And today, we're pleased to announce that we've initiated part 2 of this trial.

Later this quarter, we plan to report top line data from the EXPLORER and PATHFINDER trials of avapritinib in patients with advanced systemic mastocytosis.

The combined data set, which will support the submission of a supplemental new drug application to the FDA in the fourth quarter, will include response assessments for approximately 50 patients starting at the recommended 200-milligram once-daily dose. Additional data supporting the submission will include response kinetics, including the time to response and the duration of response; objective measure readouts, such as serum tryptase and mast cell burden; and updated safety results across the broader trial populations.

Finally, our robust discovery platform continues to provide broad opportunities for future growth. Earlier this year, we nominated a first-in-class development candidate, BLU-945, for triple mutant EGFR positive non-small cell lung cancer. This program combines potent inhibition of treatment-resistant triple mutant EGFR with selectivity over the wild-type kinase, highlighting the ability of our scientific platform to continue to address challenging target product profiles.

At the virtual ESMO Congress in September, we plan to present new preclinical data for BLU-945 as well as share an update on our plans to bring this therapy into the clinic early next year.

Importantly, the triple mutant EGFR program is just the first of up to 3 new development candidates we hope to nominate by the end of the year.

Our progress across these areas lays the foundation for significant growth for Blueprint Medicines as we continue on our path to become the world's leading precision medicine company. We look forward to updating you on these critical data and regulatory milestones over the coming months and into the second half or throughout the second half of the year.

And with that, I'll now turn the call over to Christy to provide an update on our commercial efforts. Christy?

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Christina Rossi, Blueprint Medicines Corporation - Chief Commercial Officer [4]

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Great. Thanks, Jeff, and good morning, everyone. I'm happy to share an update on our commercial progress, including our first full quarter of AYVAKIT sales in PDGFR-alpha exon 18 mutant GIST and our ongoing preparation for the planned launch of pralsetinib.

Through the first half of 2020, we have been focused on establishing the foundation that will support multiple anticipated global launches in the coming years. With potential near-term approvals of pralsetinib in the U.S. and avapritinib in Europe, we are truly excited to be on the precipice of delivering a portfolio of precision therapies that address significant patient needs. Of course, the successful launch of AYVAKIT has been the essential first step on our journey towards realizing this goal.

In the second quarter, we generated $5.7 million in net sales or $9.1 million since launch driven by strong execution against our launch strategies. We quickly established Blueprint with key oncology and hematology centers of excellence and other stakeholders that are critical not just for our initial launch for GIST, but for pralsetinib and systemic mastocytosis. We achieved broad access for AYVAKIT rapidly, and we continue to see strong patient access in line with or better than our label. By focusing on clinical education and individualized patient support, we have ensured that prescribed patients can start on treatment quickly and also remain on treatment as long as it is clinically appropriate. And I've been particularly pleased to see that refill rates have been high, suggesting that our real-world duration may exceed those seen in our clinical studies.

Finally, last quarter, I noted that I was encouraged to see strong breadth of prescribing upon launch. This trend has continued in Q2, fueled by the efforts of our seasoned field team, and we continue to add new prescribers with approximately half now coming from the community setting.

I've noted before the significant overlap between GIST and lung prescribers in the community, and this has enabled us to advance our profiling and disease awareness efforts as we prepare for the next chapter in our commercial evolution, our anticipated launch of pralsetinib.

As I've shared before, we plan to deliver a best-in-class RET inhibitor to patients, focusing on our differentiated clinical profile, including deep and durable responses, a predictable and manageable safety profile and once-daily dosing. We will be launching with a patient- and health care provider-centered approach that recognizes the importance of community oncology centers and a highly experienced team for whom this is the top priority.

I was confident in our ability to launch before we entered into our transformative partnership with Genentech. And as we started to engage with our colleagues there to implement this collaboration, I could not be more excited about the power we will bring across our 2 organizations. While Blueprint will be driving launch efforts, we are already working to integrate with Genentech and identify near-term opportunities for them to amplify and extend our efforts. For example, by leveraging their substantial diagnostic and data capabilities, in addition to the experience of their team.

As we prepare for the launch of our second medicine in a single year. We are well positioned to maximize the opportunity for pralsetinib. With a differentiated product profile, a focused and nimble team that is amplified by a strong partner and a foundational infrastructure from our experience with AYVAKIT, we are thrilled with our commercial preparation and execution thus far. We are well on our way to building a best-in-class commercial organization to effectively deliver multiple precision therapies to patients.

I'd now like to turn it over to Mike to discuss financial updates.

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Michael Landsittel, Blueprint Medicines Corporation - CFO & Treasurer [5]

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Thanks, Christy. Earlier this morning, we reported detailed second quarter 2020 financial results in our press release. For today's call, I'll touch on a few financial highlights from the quarter. As Christy mentioned, we were pleased to record $5.7 million of AYVAKIT net product sales in the second quarter. Cost of sales remain low as we continue to work off inventory of AYVAKIT that we expensed pre-approval.

Our total operating expenses increased slightly compared to the prior quarter driven in part by an increase in stock-based compensation expense.

Looking forward, in light of our global collaboration with Roche, we expect to see quarter-over-quarter expense growth stabilize for the second half of 2020 as savings through the cost and profit sharing arrangement with pralsetinib offset planned increases in R&D investments in systematic mastocytosis and our discovery portfolio. We do anticipate continued increases in noncash stock-based compensation expense for the foreseeable future.

With over $1.4 billion in cash after including the upfront payments from our Roche collaboration, we are in the strongest financial position that we have ever been as a company. Excluding the upfront payment from Roche, we anticipate the potential for additional revenues of up to $80 million in the second half of 2020 from a combination of milestones from our multiple collaborations and product sales.

We also received an additional $20 million in cash in July from our collaboration with Clementia for BLU-782 that was previously recognized as revenue in Q4 2019. Between our collaborations and future anticipated product revenues, we now have a clear pathway to financial independence and enhanced flexibility to invest more in multiple high-value opportunities across our portfolio.

We are in a unique position for a company of our size and age and are looking forward to sharing further updates with you as we continue to make progress across our portfolio.

With that, I would now like to turn the call over to our operator for questions. Operator?

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Questions and Answers

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Operator [1]

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(Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from the line of Salveen Richter with Goldman Sachs.

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Andrea R. Tan, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Research Division - Research Analyst [2]

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This is Andrea on for Salveen. My first one is maybe for Jeff. Can you just remind us the expectations on timing for patient screening enrollment for part 2 of the PIONEER study and when we might see data? And then I have a follow-up question.

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Jeffrey W. Albers, Blueprint Medicines Corporation - CEO, President & Director [3]

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Sure. So this is Jeff. On PIONEER, we talked about this at the last quarterly call that we've now initiated the study and continue to see a lot of enthusiasm from both sites that were involved in part 1 as well as some new sites coming on that are going through their screening process. We have not guided to timing of readout. As a reminder, we plan to enroll 200 patients. But we want to see how the site initiation and impact of COVID plays out not just in the next few weeks, but also over the coming months. So to have a better handle on the consistency with which sites are staying open, we're going to hold off on providing that guidance.

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Andrea R. Tan, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Research Division - Research Analyst [4]

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Got it. And then maybe just a second question for Christy. How should we think about the cadence of hiring for the AYVAKIT launch both in the U.S. and then expected in the EU. And then can you speak to the progress of how you guys have been incorporating the Roche team in preparation for pralsetinib? Just maybe some actions that have been taking place there.

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Christina Rossi, Blueprint Medicines Corporation - Chief Commercial Officer [5]

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Sure. So the first question was around AYVAKIT in the U.S and EU. The U.S. team, as I said before, for AYVAKIT is in place, has been in place since launch and, in fact, that team is really built with a portfolio focus in mind. So that team will be driving the pralsetinib launch and really all along our primary priority with that team has been very much focused on preparing for and launching pralsetinib. So we're going to see that team's primary focus really shift. Currently, it's disease education and profiling. And then upon launch, we'll be focused on driving promotion for pralsetinib.

For Europe, we have a small, focused, nimble team in place in the countries that we anticipate near-term launches. The focus of that team will be on driving the initial AYVAKIT launch. And because that market is very focused at a number of treatment centers with whom we already have relationships, we believe that we can target that market effectively with a small and nimble team. And then that team will have the foundational infrastructure that will prepare for an eventual SM approval in Europe.

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Jeffrey W. Albers, Blueprint Medicines Corporation - CEO, President & Director [6]

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And Christy, the second part was integration with Roche?

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Christina Rossi, Blueprint Medicines Corporation - Chief Commercial Officer [7]

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Sorry. Yes. So the Roche team, as I said, has been very involved in these initial weeks. We'll announce the collaboration due to the proximity of what we anticipate to be an imminent approval for pralsetinib. Certainly, Blueprint will be driving many of the launch efforts, but we've already identified ways for Genentech in the United States to come in and really amplify our efforts, particularly around patient identification, leveraging data, helping to drive testing as an example; and then clearly, just leveraging the power of their portfolio of targeted therapies into which pralsetinib fits really nicely. So we're still working through specifics on some of the details on roles and responsibilities but have identified a number of ways where they think they can come in and really help us out of the gate.

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Operator [8]

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Our next question comes from the line of Peter Lawson with Barclays.

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Peter Richard Lawson, Barclays Bank PLC, Research Division - Research Analyst [9]

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Just on the RET space. Just point out what you're hearing from physicians regarding the better CR rates and like of QT prolongation versus [what codes] molecule. And I know we're kind of hearing mixed messages. So great to understand what you're hearing.

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Jeffrey W. Albers, Blueprint Medicines Corporation - CEO, President & Director [10]

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Sure. This is Jeff. Maybe I'll start, and then Andy and/or Christy can weigh in. We've been very encouraged by the data that we've put out most recently at ASCO and the response to that. As you know, the consistency of activity we're seeing, the deep and durable responses, the notable CR rates, which for many physicians are something that they're very encouraged by and they'll want to see how does that translate into durability of response over the longer term. And then the predictable safety profile. As Andy noted in his opening comments, that particularly if you push out the community, what we hear is physicians want -- are much more comfortable with side effects that they've managed historically or consistent with other therapies. And the more unusual an adverse event, the more that could have an impact on what they're going to -- how they're going to treat. So there's obviously differences when we look at the academic sites versus the community sites. But overall, we think we have a very promising profile with pralsetinib.

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Anthony L. Boral, Blueprint Medicines Corporation - Chief Medical Officer [11]

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Jeff, maybe I'll just add that we talk to a lot of both our investigators and other kind of community docs. Now the CR rate, I think, repeatedly comes back as a distinguishing characteristic. Now a bit more on the QT. I think the hardest thing about things like QT prolongations is that it restricts the use of other medications that the patients often need just for general supportive care, antibiotics, antiemetics. And so I think just not having to worry about that is a real advantage.

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Peter Richard Lawson, Barclays Bank PLC, Research Division - Research Analyst [12]

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Great. And then just on the launch dynamics. I mean what should we look at? Is it other RET, ROS1 or ALK? And what are the best proxies here? And what are the kind of the puts and takes versus those other launches?

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Edited Transcript of BPMC.OQ earnings conference call or presentation 30-Jul-20 12:30pm GMT - Yahoo Finance

RFG Advisory Named to 2020 Financial Times 300 Top Registered Investment Advisers – Business Wire

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RFG Advisory, one of the nations leading and fastest-growing RIA firms, is pleased to announce it has been named to the 2020 Financial Times 300 Top Registered Investment Advisers. Now in its seventh year, the FT 300 list recognizes top independent RIA firms from across the U.S.

RFG Advisory was selected out of a pool of 12,993* RIAs based on performance in six primary areas: assets under management, asset growth, compliance record, years in existence, credentials and online accessibility. This years impressive cohort of elite RIA firms represents nearly 40 different states and Washington, D.C. and has a median AUM of $1.9 billion.

Weve spent the past several years hyper-focused on creating a best-in-class, frictionless experience for our clients and advisors, said Bobby White, Chairman and CEO of RFG Advisory. The great honor of being named as one of the top 300 RIA firms by the Financial Times, alongside the positive feedback from advisors who are actively utilizing our platforms, underscores the value of prioritizing an exceptional client experience over everything else.

This prioritization is evident through the turnkey state-of-the-art integrated platform that RFG Advisory offers, all engineered specifically for independent advisors and validated by Wealth Management.com naming RFG a Finalist for Non-Custodial Support Platform of the Year. This nomination highlighted one example of RFGs innovative approach to serving independent advisors and driving practice growth and client acquisition through StrongHer Money, an educational and prospecting program focused on women. StrongHer gives women access to a network of financial information, support and knowledge, while simultaneously serving as a marketing tool for client acquisition opportunities at scale.

This years FT 300 announcement comes amid a global pandemic that has led to uncertainty in the industry.

No one couldve predicted the state of the world in 2020, stated Shannon Spotswood, President of RFG Advisory. However, by investing millions into building a state of the art fintech platform that is fully scalable, modular, and built for the future we are positioned to continuing providing our advisors with operational efficiencies, sustained growth and stability even in this volatile market so they in turn can deliver to their clients a truly impactful and personalized experience.

The FT 300 is one in series of rankings of top advisers by the Financial Times, including the FT 401 (DC retirement plan advisers) and the FT 400 (broker-dealer advisers).

Additional details on the Financial Times 300 Top Registered Investment Advisers can be found at https://www.ft.com/reports/300-top-investment-advisers.

*2019 Evolution Revolution report is an annual joint study by the Investment Adviser Association (IAA) and National Regulatory Services (NRS), https://www.investmentadviser.org/news/newsreleases/september-12-2019

FT Disclosure

The Financial Times 300 Top Registered Investment Advisers is an independent listing produced annually by Ignites Research, a division of Money-Media, Inc., on behalf of the Financial Times (July 2020). The FT 300 is based on data gathered from RIA firms, regulatory disclosures, and the FTs research. The listing reflected each practices performance in six primary areas: assets under management, asset growth, compliance record, years in existence, credentials and online accessibility. Over 750 qualified firms applied for the award, 300 of which were selected (40%). This award does not evaluate the quality of services provided to clients and is not indicative of the practices future performance. Neither the RIA firms nor their employees pay a fee to The Financial Times in exchange for inclusion in the FT 300.

About RFG Advisory

RFG Advisory is an innovator in the wealth management industry. Passionately committed to serving independent financial advisors and their clients, RFG Advisory prides itself on being a service company first, a technology company second and a hybrid-RIA third. RFG Advisory delivers a turn-key integrated platform that provides Advisors all of the tools and resources they need to be the CEO of their practice, not the COO, including turn-key technology, institutional-caliber investment management, marketing, compliance, business consulting and operational support. Focused on amplifying independence, Advisors who affiliate with RFG Advisory maintain all of the equity in their business and pay a basis point fee for access to RFGs investment and technology platform. Additionally, through RFG Capital, the firm buys stakes in advisor practices to facilitate succession planning and provide loans to advisors to enable the move to full independence.

Originally posted here:

RFG Advisory Named to 2020 Financial Times 300 Top Registered Investment Advisers - Business Wire

Should you move back in with your parents? Read the transcript for episode eight of Stress Test – The Globe and Mail

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

You had your best-laid plans and then COVID-19 came along and hammered the entire economy. But youve got this if you have the right information. Join Rob Carrick and Roma Luciw on Stress Test, a podcast guiding you through one of the biggest challenges your finances will ever face.

ROB: You spent your childhood and teenage years under their roof. Should you move back in with your parents if it makes sense financially? Thats our big question today.

Welcome to Stress Test, a Globe and Mail podcast where we look at how the rules of personal finance have changed in the pandemic for Gen Z and millennials. Im Rob Carrick, personal finance columnist at the Globe and Mail.

ROMA: And I'm Roma Luciw, personal finance editor at the Globe. Well, Rob, this is the last episode of Stress Test that we'll be recording this summer. And I'm feeling a bit nostalgic.

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ROB: Me too. You know, I think when we started this, it was like, there was snow on the ground and now it's like blazing hot summer like, so much has happened. The pandemic is still out there. But in Ottawa, where I live, people are out on patios and I have to confess I had a beer and a hot dog at a really nice patio by the Rideau Falls and things are looking up.

ROMA: Well, we had wine with friends on Friday night outside on their back patio, distanced but together, and I felt like old times. We were all so happy to just spend some time together outside without the children for five minutes. It was a wonderful, wonderful experience.

In terms of the podcast, I think also for me, it's been a journey because I'm more accustomed to being the person that does the assigning and editing. I'm not accustomed to being in front of the microphone and talking about these ideas where people can hear me and I have to say, that over the course of the recordings, I've gotten more comfortable, and I really enjoyed it.

ROB: Talking about all this in a podcast is a bit like rehearsing future columns and also greatest hits from the past. It's just me sort of thinking out loud about what I've learned and making mental notes about things I want to look into further in the next few months.

ROMA: So we knew we wanted moving back home to be our last episode. Why are we talking about this today?

ROB: I think we're talking about moving back home with your parents because it ties together a lot of the themes that we've been discussing in the podcast like the gig economy, student debt, expensive housing. A lot of these trends work against people achieving quick and easy financial independence after they graduate. And it's going to send some of them back home where they can live cheaply and build up their resources to move out later on.

ROMA: So once again, we see the pandemic, emphasizing or exacerbating some of the trends that were already taking place, we'll see another pop in this. And so it makes sense to use this as a launching point for looking ahead in terms of what we'll see in the months and years ahead.

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ROB: Just as occurred after the last recession, I think the pandemic-driven economic downturn, however bad it turns out to be, is going to send a lot of people moving home and that's a good thing. I hope we can draw out in this episode that that's a smart way to handle a problem.

ROMA: Absolutely. If there's one thing I think we should do today, it's make sure that that's not a shameful thing. And we can talk that through as we proceed.

ROB: Today, we're talking about whether or not you should move back home with your parents to save money. I think now is the right time to talk about it.

ROMA: In every episode of Stress Test, we talk to real people and experts to see how the basic rules of personal finance have been stress-tested by COVID-19. Should you move back home? That's up next.

COMMERCIAL: This podcast is brought to you by CPP Investments. Take comfort knowing the Canada Pension Plan Fund will be there for you. We invest to help ensure the CPP Fund remains resilient over the long term, sustainable and secure for millions of Canadians. Learn more at CPPinvestments.com.

ROMA: To find out what it's like when COVID causes you to move back home, we're taking you to Brockville, Ontario, which is halfway between Toronto and Montreal.

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RILEY: Hi, my name is Riley Morrison.

ROMA: Riley is 23 years old. Normally I live in Toronto but currently I am living in Brockville. So I was living in Toronto with my sister. Because I work in the film industry, everything is closed down so I can't work while COVID is happening. So we thought it would be best if both Paige and I came back to live with our parents until this is a little more settled or things open up a little more. So we came back.

ROMA: We spoke to Riley in April, just a month into COVID. In Canada, there was so much uncertainty. How was the new everyday routine going for Riley and her family?

RILEY: Surprisingly well. I mean, I haven't lived with my parents for more than two weeks at a time since I was 17.

ROMA: That's when Riley went away for school. And then she built the start of a pretty good career in Toronto.

RILEY: I'm an Assistant Director for film and television. I'm the fourth assistant director which means I'm one of the first people in in the morning and it's my job to make sure that cast go through hair, makeup and wardrobe. before we're ready to shoot at the beginning of a day. I coordinate with the wardrobe department. People who don't really know my industry when I describe myself job to them, they basically say that I sound like a babysitter. And it's kind of true.

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ROMA: The TV show she works on was shut down just like everything else, Back in the spring, Riley came home to Brockville where life really slowed down. At first, it was nice to have some family time.

RILEY: My dad declared Sunday movie night. So on Sundays, we make popcorn and we choose a movie and we all sit down and watch it together.

ROMA: Riley's family built fun routines for the new COVID life together. But the early days were still pretty stressful.

RILEY: My grandmother, she drove by and like stood outside her car and we stood at the door, and we were having a talk and she was asking me about things and it was what I was like really stressed like right at the beginning, and I ended up like, totally broke down in the yard. Because I was stressed about my rent and my worry come August like I don't want to lose my apartment.

ROMA: Riley still pays for her apartment in Toronto, which is her single biggest expense, while she lives at home, rent-free.

RILEY: So that night, my mom and I, we went over my finances, and we talked about it. And I have a bit of a plan now. So I'm okay

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ROMA: With all the stress of COVID. Being able to move home was a real relief.

RILEY: Financially speaking, it's really nice because the only money I'm spending right now is to pay my rent in Toronto. But I've been worried about my rent as I feel like a lot of people in cities like Toronto are because it's expensive.

ROMA: Because Riley and her sisters still pay for their rent in Toronto, their parents don't ask them to contribute financially to the household in Brockville.

RILEY: Which, you know, we're very lucky enough to have that kind of privilege. So it's nice to be home because I don't have any other expenses except for rent, which I only have to worry about once a month. The thing I've taken away from this is like, I haven't worked in retail in like four years, but maybe starting this year, like during the winter when I don't have a show I should get a retail job. So I have a backup. So I'm not dependent on EI. So I can work a little bit longer. Like it's just unfortunate that this thing I enjoy, my work that I love, I can't do. And I -- no one can give a like straight answer for when things are going to pick up or go back and that's the thing that frustrates me the most

ROMA: Overall, how does Riley feel about living at home during COVID?

RILEY: I don't feel bad about living with my parents right now because it's not like I've made some massive mistake in my career or a relationship and I need like, I mean, obviously, I needed to come home and it's financially better. But like, I feel reassured that it's not my fault. Like, this horrible pandemic happened and I came home, but like, it's not because I failed at anything. So I'm happy to be with my family, knowing I have not failed in anything.

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ROB: Im glad Riley mentioned the word failure because its a word I do not want to hear associated with the idea of moving back home. Its a rational, smart, shrewd thing to do. If you cant afford your rent if you cant afford to be living where you are, use the help available from your family. Its a smart thing to do. And you know, I find quite often parents are quite happy to offer that level of assistance to their adult kids.

ROMA: Certainly seemed like for Riley and her sister, her parents were willing and able and happy to help. I'd like to point out that in the meantime, Riley has moved back to Toronto and is in her apartment. She hasn't been forced to take on debt. And she's in a better financial situation that she would have been had she been living in Toronto, buying her own groceries, paying for all her bills. In the meantime, she got to go home, take a breather, and she's in a better situation overall, why wouldn't you do that?

ROB: We're grateful to Riley for telling us what it's like to move home during a pandemic. But COVID is just the latest reason why you might have to move back home.

ROMA: At this point. It's worth asking ourselves, why is it a big deal that people are moving home after graduation instead of going out on their own? How did we get here?

ROB: The idea of students moving home as a social trend got some traction after the last recession in 08 09 the economy tanked hard. And a lot of millennials started moving back home. And I remember it well, because there was a certain sourness about this as if all these millennials were losers moving back home. Remember failure to launch, the boomerang generation. Its like they went out on the world and just couldnt hack it and had to move home. The ignorance level was just stunning to me, like oblivious to the disappearance of jobs to the fact that millennials were only getting part-time jobs or temporary jobs. They werent able to use all the skills they built up getting their education. And gradually we got used to it because people started to realize especially the parents of millennials, the economy is extremely challenging. The opportunities are not the same as they were for previous generations. And just as we were getting used to it, I think were going to face a big pop and this again, theres going to be more millennials and members of Gen Z, who are not going to be on a traditional career trajectory, which means graduating from school, getting a great job, getting a first apartment and living that great phase of life, when youve just got off your first job and your income is substantial and the worlds in front of you.

ROMA: Let's remember that there are cultures and where it's normal and preferable for young adults to live at home until they marry until they can afford a house. In some cultures, kids and parents live together, grandparents then help adult children raise their kids, but for many other people, there's an expectation of this progression from university or college to a career to financial independence that includes getting your own place and not popping back in and out of mom and dad's house. That wasn't the case for me. I certainly remember moving back in with my parents after university. There were chunks of time in my life where I wasn't working where my life was in flux. It just didn't make sense for me to be renting a place and it was feasible to my parents to help me. I don't know where this shame idea came from, but I think if your parents can help you, it only makes sense to do that.

One of the things I'm seeing in the circles around me is parents of kids who are in school Elementary School in high school are preparing themselves for that kind of future. So we have some friends on our street that are doing a renovation, they're setting up their basement as almost a self-contained apartment with the expectation that one of their sons is at some point going to have to move back home, and they're going to be in a position to help him. I know of other people who were in their late 20s or early 30s and wanted to save a chunk of money for a down payment. What did they do? They move back home. Rob, you know this from personal experience, and we're going to hear from Rob's family. That's next.

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ROMA: So, Rob, this is where we hear from your family. And I looked down a timeline to see what my life is gonna be like in 10 years [laughs].

Rob actually wrote the book on this topic. It's called How Not To Move Back In With Your Parents, The Young Person's Complete Guide to Financial Empowerment. We're going to hear from your family now. You want to tell us who we're hearing from?

ROB: We're gonna hear from my wife, Theresa, and our oldest son Will, he's 26. He spent four years in Toronto, going to university there, then he moved back here. While he was finding his first job. Will works in the gig economy he's currently employed, working in graphic design and art. Our family lives in Ottawa. We recorded our family conversation in early June and started by getting Will to tell us what Theresa is like to live with.

WILL:I know that my mom really loves to keep a clean house. I like my space to feel a little lived in. I've noticed that my mom, you know, she, she really likes to make a good impression on guests, you know, the place has got to be clean for that kind of thing with me, it's like, you know, whatever, I'll do some dishes. And that's good enough.

THERESA: His room was a little bit messier than ours. And I would try to stay out of it. And every once in a while, I just couldn't help myself I would just go in there and with a garbage bags and clean things out, but you cooked amazing dinners.

WILL: That made up for it [laughs]. But honestly, like, I think is there's definitely more of like a give and take. I feel less like I'm just owed anything and more like I need to contribute to the household.

ROB: I think that's a really good observation. And you know, now that you've mentioned it Will, I thought that was exactly what was happening. You know what, you did make a lot of the dinners like it was I felt like we had a chef living in the house and it was I thought that was a huge contribution like, on nights where wasn't making dinner, Theresa and I just sort of looked around and thought we better go out [laughs].

THERESA: Thats right! Will gained life skills, we lost life skills -- the ability to cook dinners.

ROB: You know, kids moving back home after university is something as a subject that I think you really are only aware of if you're a parent with kids in their 20s. And so tell them about your book club. And all the comings and goings of the kids of the members.

THERESA: Right. Every single member of my book club has had their kids come and go and many still have their children living at home now, even well into adulthood. It's just, not only is it financially difficult to have your own place and expensive. The job market is so precarious even our own kids, they're employed right now. And yet it's so hard to find permanent employment, and then layer on that, just the complexities of life and the fact that kids may struggle with physical health issues, mental health issues, changes in relationships that are going to bring kids back home again, sometimes. I've seen all that among my friends, and a little bit of that with ourselves with our own kids.

ROB: The whole point of letting your adult children move back home is to help them get a handle on their finances. When Will did that he got his own place. The key was to land a stable job.

WILL: I knew I wanted to live alone. So that kind of helped me sort of budget what kind of apartment I was looking for, something like a bachelor, you know. And then once I had the first and last month's rent, and then I think money for two or three more months after that, I think it came out, I don't know, like five $6,000 then I was able to kind of comfortably say to myself, okay, I can I can move out and I know that I'm not going to end up on the street and you know, yeah, although I know my parents wouldn't allow that.

ROB: I have taught that boy well [laughs].

Are there any downsides to moving back in with your parents?

WILL: I think there's definitely a loss of freedom. Nonetheless, when you are living with your parents, I guess you feel some sort of obligation to you know, let them know where you're going or you know, all that kind of stuff. And then I guess there's also the element of living with somebody who isn't a college student, which is, you know, two very different standards in terms of, I'd say cleanliness and I guess, home maintenance.

ROB: Also, some recreational activities may have to be moderated or adjusted for communal living [laughs]

WILL:Touch, yeah.

THERESA: Will moved out when he was just 18 and moved back after he graduated. He was really just a high schooler when he left and he was an adult when he came back. So mentally, I found for me, it was a big adjustment. Was I going to be his mom? Or was I his roommate? And if they were to move back in again, at some point, you know, we would have a whole different Will and Jamie that we had to get to know and develop a relationship with.

WILL: I think it was very interesting getting into my own place and realizing I can just go wherever I want and do whatever I want and spend my money on whatever I want. Right? And I think there's definitely a period where I had to kind of, you know, learn the hard lessons about that sort of thing and learn how to, you know, moderate financially, and otherwise. You know, I'm constantly trying to, you know, turn myself into an adult, I'd like to behave more as such.

THERESA: This is where it's great when your dad is a personal finance columnist because I've found that Rob and the boys had this ongoing conversation about how they manage their finances. And Rob sort of had this really nice way of very gently kind of easing back on getting involved with their finances. And I'm really impressed with how financially responsible both of them are.

ROB: My one rule is no credit card debt. And if you ever have it, you come and talk to me and we will kill it off right away, because we're not, there's no way, that's just an endless trap. And far from that being a concern, actually, it's impressed me that both boys really know how to save. They know they're precarious workers because they work on contracts and they have both socked away a good amount of money and that really impresses me. Will, of all the things that you've learned about money at home what sticks with you?

WILL: I think it's a really a package deal of how to moderate your spending. One of the most important things that I learned, especially with the way that you're helping me sort of organize my finances early on, is that I need to make my money last. And I need to kind of be paying a little bit more attention on how I spend that exactly and where.

ROB: You know, I think all parents want to see their kids become financially successful and independent and be able to live the lives that they want to lead. And I think moving back home can be a way to strategically make that happen.

THERESA: For sure. And I guess what I would add is that, at the same time, there are things that our kids only learned once they move out, financial lessons they can only learn by living on their own and maybe feeling a little bit of nervousness and fear about how will I pay the rent and how much money am I spending week to week so it's always a balance between offering that space and enjoying spending time with them, but at the same time letting them grow.

ROB: Yeah, no, you know, I thought having the boys back in as adults was a kick really, you know what, like we had the best discussions ever. And, you know, were there tensions, of course there were but I thought it was a bit relaxing to be the parent of 20-somethings living at home. Like I've trusted them to go and come back when they needed to. And I had no concerns where they were going and what they were doing. I trusted them. And you know, there were moments when I thought it'd be nice to have a place back to ourselves again, but then we used to think we're going to be empty nesters again. So you know what, on the whole, a positive experience.

THERESA: It's nice to get to spend time with your kids that -- it's a little bit of a gift in, you know, in the middle of their adulthood that you get to spend time with them.

ROB: Any advice for someone who's going to make the leap and move back home, Will?

WILL: I suppose I would say adjust your expectations. It's easy to go back home and think that things are going to be just the way they were except now you're an older person and you can do whatever you want. But I think it's important to know that your parents aren't going to be you know, serving your every backing call all the time, you have to be a little bit more self-sufficient. And you know, make sure that the house that you're living in is, you know, everyone's doing their part.

ROB: And the other advice? Well give the last word to Will.

WILL:

Really kind of manage your expenses in a way where you know that you're constantly building towards that, like first and last month's rent that'll let you you know, get out of there as soon as possible.

ROMA: Rob, it was so nice to hear from your family. Will totally sounds like a kid that's got it all together. Sounds like he must have learned some of those money skills from you, either through osmosis or maybe some of those conversations eventually sank in.

ROB: It's osmosis, I think. You know, you never really know what your kids are listening to what they're picking up on. So anyway, however it was I was super-happy to hear that he had picked up a lot of the basic fundamentals and everything that I see it shows me that he's on a really good track for handling money.

ROMA: Rob, you wrote the book on this topic, How Not to Move Back in With Your Parents, The Young Person's Complete Guide to Financial Empowerment. But it was published over 10 years ago in the aftermath of the global economic crisis, when we saw the first wave of adult kids moving back home, what would you say has changed today?

ROB: One of the big differences to me is that back in 08 09, 2010, the gig economy was a novelty. People thought, Oh, interesting. Companies are only hiring millennials for short periods of time. Maybe well get back to normal and we havent got back to normal. That trend is a lot more pronounced now. And I expect it to get even worse. So I think helping millennials flourish in the gig economy would be a theme that I would hammer harder this time around. And I think Id probably want to spend more time helping young people pick a course of study that will develop into a decent-paying career. And I think I would also want to talk to them more about jobs or skills about developing a career how to get your foot in the door so that you get higher-quality contracts and you have a better chance of getting a full-time job.

ROMA: How much has the housing market impacted all this?

ROB: I recall back in 08 09, millennials were very keen to get into housing and I know theyre at least as keen today. I think its a little bit more economically out of reach because the past decade has been all about giant increases in house prices. So I think we might have to work a little harder to make millennials and Gen Z comfortable with the idea of renting for longer, Ive looking at alternatives to homeownership of not rushing into this financial straitjacket, waiting to get yourself more solid in the workforce before buying a house.

ROMA: One thing that stands out to me listening to your story, and with my own, is that it seems like the shame or stigma of living at home in your 20s and into maybe your 30s is sort of dissipating. Is that something you see?

ROB: I think it is you know, I moved back home after I graduated from journalism school back in the 80s. And I felt a little bit of shame but I had a job that was promised to me, it fell through for various reasons, and I ended up going to work for that employer later but I moved back in April. It took until December for me to start working again and then I moved out again in February but I did feel a bit, I didn't feel, I wasn't really proud of having to do that. Although it worked out super well. It was like up to me it was the prototype of an effective smart, moving back home, gathering your resources and then moving right back out again. Today I hear parents talk about it so normally they I hear parents talk about the quote, revolving door on their front door with our kids are moving in, they're moving out, moving in and out multiple times. We've seen that at our house. I think it is quite normal now. And I think it's seeping into the broader population. There's much less judgement about that. And I think that is such a healthy development.

ROMA: To me, one thing that stands out that we haven't really discussed is parents helping kids who can't afford it. I'm a little less worried about that when it comes to this idea of moving back into a house they already have. But when does that become dangerous?

ROB: I think that parental support for adult children becomes financially risky when the parents are digging into their own savings to help the young people. I think that digging into an RRSP to help young people buy a house is not an intelligent use of money. Often it's helping people get into a housing market they can't really afford. And so what value is really occurred from the sacrifice the parents have made? Parents need to keep themselves on a good trajectory for retirement. And I encourage them to help their kids as much as they want, and feel able to, without self-sacrifice. Now, there may be some, you know, day to day, month to month, year to year helping with various expenses, but I'm talking about taking a big chunk of money out of their savings and giving it to an adult child to pay for a house or for something else, that should only be done where it is clearly affordable.

ROMA: And what we're talking about for the purposes of this episode is mostly adult kids moving into their childhood home, and parents helping them out by giving them free rent. There are of course, other ways that kids could contribute that we've discussed. You could help out with some bills or you can help out by helping around the house, making meals doing things like that.

ROB:Absolutely. You know, there's a lot of value to be done in that. When our boys were home, they cut the grass, they shoveled the driveway, they made dinners. They helped with other tasks, they picked up stuff for me, they took the cars to the garage. I mean, the amount of time and money they saved was phenomenal. It was like so useful. So I thought there was huge economic value in that.

ROMA: One thing we're also seeing is parents helping their adult kids by paying for things like cell phone bills, car insurance, car loan payments, what are the ins and outs around that?

ROB: I have no problem with that. You know, I say that from the point of view of knowing that a lot of millennials and Gen Z, people are making minimal salaries, they've got high rents. They don't have a lot of money to do anything other than cover all the basics. So if you can take a little of the pressure off, and it's no problem for your parental finances. Basically, you're keeping the same family cellphone plan going after your kids are graduating, you're used to making the payments. If it's no sweat, why not keep on? As soon as they're able, as their income increases, you can fix that. Same with car insurance. It's just a little extra parental help that if it's affordable, I don't see a problem doing that. As long as it's understood that as soon as their salary moves up to a decent level, you offload that cost to them, pronto.

ROMA: So what we're talking about here is progression. What you want to see is someone who starts off in a more tenuous job position, perhaps in their early 20s. How they move through that, what kinds of steps they're taking, as they move into their mid and late 20s and into their 30s.

ROB: For sure, and if parents, if you see your kids forgetting to take on the cell phone bill after that, so don't hesitate to say, you know what, I see you're making more money now, why don't you pay for your cell phone?

ROMA: Rob, how do you prevent your kids from feeling entitled, like you should be paying their cell phone bill for them? Like it's sort of an easy thing? And why not let mom and dad take care of that? How do you help to make sure that they're progressing into a fully functioning, financially successful adult?

ROB: One thing is to make them realize the cost pressures of everyday life from a young age. So if your kids are going to university and you've saved up money for them through an RESP, you're going to have them contribute to this you're going to have understand this is how much tuition cost you want to go away? Okay, here's how much a dorm room is going to cost for accommodation. What can you kick in? They need to understand the economic value of living as an adult. And you can help them do that, as they take their very first step as an adult, which is going to university giving up high school, going to university taking on this big cost of education, they should have some skin in that game.

ROMA: It's interesting you mentioned that. My son just got his first cell phone, and we are having him pay for the cost of that phone each month. He wanted a cell phone. We didn't think that he needed one yet. We came to an agreement. You want a cell phone, you pay the monthly bill. What we're talking about here, and I think what you and I are both seeing, is that we need to have a higher degree of financial literacy. And that just means talking to your kids about money and how to manage it and how to handle it.

ROB: Right.

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Should you move back in with your parents? Read the transcript for episode eight of Stress Test - The Globe and Mail

Outer House grants divorce to Russian wife of Scotsman living in Dubai – Scottish Legal News

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

Published 31 July 2020

TheOuter House of the Court of Sessionhas granted a decree of divorce to a domiciled Scot and his spouse living in Dubai.

The pursuer,YI, a qualified medical doctor originally from Russia, raised proceedings in Scotland on the basis of irretrievable breakdown due to unreasonable behaviour on the part of the defender,AAW. The date of separation was also disputed.

The case was heard byLady Wise.

Rude sexual jokes

The couple met on an internet dating site and married in 2011. At the time of proceedings, the pursuer was 45 years old and the defender was 65 years old. They had one child together, JW, in 2012, who also had a half-brother from the defenders previous relationship.

The defender raised divorce proceedings in Inverness Sheriff Court in 2019 on the basis of non-cohabitation as husband and wife for a period in excess of two years. Those proceedings were dismissed due to the defender not living in the sheriffdom. The defender then raised divorce proceedings in Dubai, which were ongoing concurrently with the Outer House proceedings raised by the pursuer.

The pursuers complaints centred around her husbands controlling and domineering behaviour towards her, his speaking derogatorily to her and acting in a sexually inappropriate manner towards her generally. She also stated that towards the end of the marriage he began taking absences from home and she discovered condoms and email pictures of young women in his car and on an electronic device.

Specific examples given by the pursuer included the defender not letting her return to Russia with JW to see her mother, his making rude sexual jokes about her consorting with Pakistani taxi drivers, and not encouraging her to try and work as a doctor in Dubai. She also stated that he was obsessed with sex and would demand it of her daily after she fell pregnant with JW.

The pursuer also stated that she had not undertaken any remunerative employment since the date of their marriage, although she wanted to continue as a doctor if she could, and that the marriage broke down when she confronted her husband about the emails on his device and he walked out. He moved to new accommodation on 5 September 2018.

The defender disputed that his wife had wanted to work and denied all the pursuers allegations regarding his language towards and about her. He denied that his wife had found pictures of other women or condoms, and said that he could not remember what the cause of the final argument was.

A sort of slavery

In heropinion, Lady Wise stated that she found the pursuer to be a generally credible witness and said of her evidence: The clear picture that emerged from the pursuers evidence was of a woman who had considered that, while it involved risk, it was worth leaving her family and work as a medical practitioner in Russia for the emotional security of an older man and the hope of children. She was prepared to put up with quite a lot of unpleasant behaviour, such as offensive remarks about her family and the defenders control over her childs citizenship and travel in return for that stability.

She continued: It became clear, however, that her views on any matter were totally disregarded and that the defender viewed her worth as merely the object of his excessive sexual demands.That, coupled with her lack of financial independence and the relegation of her role to cooking and looking after her husband and son, led the pursuer to become unhappy and upset and feel trapped in a sort of slavery.

Regarding the defenders version of events, she said: The defenders position was highly unsatisfactory and indicative of the very behaviour about which the pursuer complained. His evidence on a passport for JW illustrated that it had never occurred to him that his wife, the childs primary carer, should have a say in what passport or passports the child should hold. His assertion that he would make sure his wife never managed to take the child to Russia (even for a visit) by keeping his UK passport away from her was indicative of the controlling behaviour described by the pursuer.

On the circumstances surrounding the ultimate breakdown of the marriage, she said: In my view the pursuers position makes more sense because the discovery of messages from unknown women was the ultimate insult from a man whose controlling behaviour she had endured for the sake of their son. When she confronted the defender in anger he withdrew from the situation and thereafter it was inevitable that the relationship was at an end, albeit that the final departure by AAW to his new accommodation was not until 5 September 2018.

Applying the law to the facts of the case, she said: The evidence of the pursuers witnesses comprises mostly hearsay and so the weight of that evidence requires to be considered carefully. I have already indicated that I accept the evidence of [two of the pursuers witnesses] as providing support for and being consistent with the pursuers account on important matters.

She concluded: I am satisfied that the evidence of the pursuer on the four material areas listed as disputed issues is credible and can be relied on. There is also sufficient credible and reliable supporting evidence as required by section 8(3) of theCivil Evidence (Scotland) Act 1988. I find that the parties marriage has broken down irretrievably and that the defender has behaved in such a way that the pursuer cannot reasonably be expected to cohabit with him.

For these reasons, Lady Wise granted decree of divorce. It was also concluded that the current care arrangements for JW, who was living with the pursuer in the former matrimonial home and had contact with the defender, were in his best interests and presented no impediment.

Scottish Legal News Ltd 2020

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Outer House grants divorce to Russian wife of Scotsman living in Dubai - Scottish Legal News

Genetic Engineering in Humans – Curing Diseases and …

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

Over the past few years, the field of biotechnology has advanced at a very high rate that scientists can now edit plants and animals at the genomic level. Different genetic engineering or genome-editing techniques such aszinc fingernucleases, transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), meganucleases and theCRISPR/Cas9 system have aided scientists to alter genomes to create modified organisms.

Like in plants and animals, could genome-editing be performed in humans? Yes. But a bigger question arises here, should genome editing techniques be used to create designer babies, to remove heritable diseases or to enhance the human capabilities? It is one of the most controversial topics among scientists and hence it all comes down to ethics.

In a recent research, Shoukhrat Mitalipov of Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland reported successfully repairing a genetic mutation in human embryos bringing the idea of genetic engineering in humans closer to reality.

To understand the ethical implications of genetic engineering in humans, it is important to first understand the basics.

Genetic engineering is basically manipulating or changing the DNA to alter the organisms appearance in a particular way. The human body cells contain encoded information compiled into a form called genes, which are responsible for the bodys growth, structure and functioning. Human genetic engineering decodes this information and applies it to the welfare of mankind.

For example, all over the world, several scientists have reported the singing in mice. However, the frequencies at which they sing is not audible to humans. The Alstons brown mouse or Alstons singing mouse is a famous example. It would be interesting to hear these songs too.

Japanese geneticists at the University of Osaka were conducting a research to study the mutagenic effects in a strain of mice that were genetically engineered. Among many effects, the mutation may have caused the alteration in the vocalization in the mice giving birth to an offspring which could sing at a frequency audible to humans.This genetic modification (which was actually an accident) may help in studying the communication patterns in mice as well as in comparing of similarities and differences with other mammals. Some other examples of genetic engineering are GloFish, drug-producing chickens, cows that make human-like milk, diesel-producing bacteria, banana vaccines and disease-preventing mosquitoes.

Based on their type of cell, there are two types of genetic engineering;

Human genetic engineering can further be classified into two types;

In human genetic engineering, the genes or the DNA of a person is changed. This can be used to bring about structural changes in human beings. More importantly, it can be used to introduce the genes for certain positive and desirable traits in embryos. Genetic engineering in humans can result in finding a permanent cure for many diseases.

Some people are born with or acquire exceptional qualities. If the genes responsible for these qualities can be identified, they can be introduced in the early embryos. The embryo develops into a baby called Designer baby or customized baby. Human genetic engineering is advancing at an increasing rate and might evolve to such an extent discovering new genes and implanting them into human embryos will be possible.

Let us take an example of bacteria to understand how genetic engineering works. Insulin is aprotein produced in the pancreasthat helps in the regulation of the sugar levels in our blood. People with type 1diabetes eithercannot produce insulin or produce insufficient insulin in the body. They have to acquire insulin from external sources to control their blood sugar levels. In 1982, Genetic engineering was used to produce a type of insulin which is similar to the human insulin, called the Humulin frombacteria which was then approved and licensed for human use.

Using this process, Chinese scientists have edited the genome of the human embryo for the first time. According to Nature News report, Researchers at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, were partially successful in using a genetic engineering technique to modify a gene in non-viable human embryos which was responsible for the fatal blood disorder.

The technique used, called CRISPR (short for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) technology involves an enzyme complex known as CRISPR/Cas9, originating in bacteria as a defence system. CRISPR is a short, repeated DNA sequence that matches the genetic sequence of interest to be modified by the researchers. CRISPR works along with the Cas9 enzyme that acts like molecular scissors and cuts the DNA at a specific site.

As explained by John Reidhaar-Olson, a biochemist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York First, in a simple explanation, the CRISPR/Cas9 complex navigates through the cells DNA, searching for the sequence that matches the CRISPR and binds to the sequence once found. The Cas9 then cuts the DNA which, in this case, is repaired by inserting a piece of DNA desired by the researcher.

Since 2013, CRISPR system has been to edit genes in adult human cells and animal embryos but for the first time has been used for modification in human embryos.

Junjiu Huang, a genetics researcher at Sun Yat-sen University, injected the CRISPR/Cas9 complex into human embryos with the aim of repairing a gene responsible for Beta thalassaemia which is a fatal blood disorder that reduces the production of haemoglobin. The non-viable embryos were obtained from local fertility clinics. These embryos would have been unable to survive independently after birth or develop properly as they had been fertilized by two sperms. The procedure was performed on 86 embryos and gene editing was allowed to take place in four days. Out of 86, 71 of the embryos survived and 54 of them were tested.

Splicing (removal of introns and joining of exonsineukaryotic mRNA) only occurred in 28 embryos successfully indicating the removal of faulty gene and the incorporation of the healthy gene in its place. However, in order for the technique to be used in viable human embryos, the success rate would need to be closer to 100%.

While partial success was achieved, certain worrisome mutations responsible for the detrimental effect on cells during gene-editing were also observed and at a much higher rate in mouse embryos or adult human cells undergoing the same procedure.

One of the most beneficial applications of genetic engineering is gene therapy. Gene therapy is one of the most important benefits of human genetic engineering. Over the last few years, gene therapy has successfully treated certain heart diseases. Driven by this success, researchers are working to find cures for all the genetic diseases. This will eventually lead to a healthier and more evolved human race.Inspired by the recent success of gene therapy trialsin human children and infants, researchers are now moving towards the treatment of genetic disorders before birth. The idea of using fetal gene therapy to treat genetic disorders that cant be treated after birth has generated hype among some of the scientists. Parents will be able to look forward to a healthy baby. Genetic engineering can be done in embryos prior to implantation into the mother.However, some are also questioning the feasibility and practicality of the therapy in humans.

While genetic engineering or modification may seem easy to cure diseases, it may produce certain side effects. While focusing on and treating one defect, there is a possibility it may cause another. A cell is responsible for various functions in the body and manipulating its genes without any counter effect or side effect may not be that easy.

Other than side effects, Cloning, for instance, can lead to an ethical disturbance among the humans risking the individuality and the diversity of human beings. Ironically, man will become just another man-made thing!

Among the social aspects of human genetic engineering, it can impose a heavy financial burden on the society, which may cause a rift between the rich and the poor in the society. Its feasibility and most importantly its affordability will also be a determinant of its popularity.

Human genetic engineering is a widely and rapidly advancing field. It can lead to miracles. But when assessing its benefits, its threats need to be assessed carefully too. Human genetic engineering can be beneficial to human beings and its potential advantages can come into reality only if it is handled with responsibility.

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Genetic Engineering in Humans - Curing Diseases and ...

Human Genetic Engineering Probe Ministries

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

Although much has occurred in this field since this article was written in 2000, the questions addressed by Dr. Bohlin are still timely and relevant. Is manipulating our genetic code simply a tool or does it deal with deeper issues? Dealing with genetic engineering must be done within the context of the broader ethical and theological issues involved. In the article, Dr. Bohlin provides an excellent summary driven from his biblical worldview perspective.

Genetic technology harbors the potential to change the human species forever. The soon to be completed Human Genome Project will empower genetic scientists with a human biological instruction book. The genes in all our cells contain the code for proteins that provide the structure and function to all our tissues and organs. Knowing this complete code will open new horizons for treating and perhaps curing diseases that have remained mysteries for millennia. But along with the commendable and compassionate use of genetic technology comes the specter of both shadowy purposes and malevolent aims.

For some, the potential for misuse is reason enough for closing the door completelythe benefits just arent worth the risks. In this article, Id like to explore the application of genetic technology to human beings and apply biblical wisdom to the eventual ethical quagmires that are not very far away. In this section well investigate the various ways humans can be engineered.

Since we have introduced foreign genes into the embryos of mice, cows, sheep, and pigs for years, theres no technological reason to suggest that it cant be done in humans too. Currently, there are two ways of pursuing gene transfer. One is simply to attempt to alleviate the symptoms of a genetic disease. This entails gene therapy, attempting to transfer the normal gene into only those tissues most affected by the disease. For instance, bronchial infections are the major cause of early death for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). The lungs of CF patients produce thick mucus that provides a great growth medium for bacteria and viruses. If the normal gene can be inserted in to the cells of the lungs, perhaps both the quality and quantity of their life can be enhanced. But this is not a complete cure and they will still pass the CF gene on to their children.

In order to cure a genetic illness, the defective gene must be replaced throughout the body. If the genetic defect is detected in an early embryo, its possible to add the gene at this stage, allowing the normal gene to be present in all tissues including reproductive tissues. This technique has been used to add foreign genes to mice, sheep, pigs, and cows.

However, at present, no laboratory is known to be attempting this well-developed technology in humans. Princeton molecular biologist Lee Silver offers two reasons.{1} First, even in animals, it only works 50% of the time. Second, even when successful, about 5% of the time, the new gene gets placed in the middle of an existing gene, creating a new mutation. Currently these odds are not acceptable to scientists and especially potential clients hoping for genetic engineering of their offspring. But these are only problems of technique. Its reasonable to assume that these difficulties can be overcome with further research.

The primary use for human genetic engineering concerns the curing of genetic disease. But even this should be approached cautiously. Certainly within a Christian worldview, relieving suffering wherever possible is to walk in Jesus footsteps. But what diseases? How far should our ability to interfere in life be allowed to go? So far gene therapy is primarily tested for debilitating and ultimately fatal diseases such as cystic fibrosis.

The first gene therapy trial in humans corrected a life-threatening immune disorder in a two-year-old girl who, now ten years later, is doing well. The gene therapy required dozens of applications but has saved the family from a $60,000 per year bill for necessary drug treatment without the gene therapy.{2} Recently, sixteen heart disease patients, who were literally waiting for death, received a solution containing copies of a gene that triggers blood vessel growth by injection straight into the heart. By growing new blood vessels around clogged arteries, all sixteen showed improvement and six were completely relieved of pain.

In each of these cases, gene therapy was performed as a last resort for a fatal condition. This seems to easily fall within the medical boundaries of seeking to cure while at the same time causing no harm. The problem will arise when gene therapy will be sought to alleviate a condition that is less than life-threatening and perhaps considered by some to simply be one of lifes inconveniences, such as a gene that may offer resistance to AIDS or may enhance memory. Such genes are known now and many are suggesting that these goals will and should be available for gene therapy.

The most troublesome aspect of gene therapy has been determining the best method of delivering the gene to the right cells and enticing them to incorporate the gene into the cells chromosomes. Most researchers have used crippled forms of viruses that naturally incorporate their genes into cells. The entire field of gene therapy was dealt a severe setback in September 1999 upon the death of Jesse Gelsinger who had undergone gene therapy for an inherited enzyme deficiency at the University of Pennsylvania.{3} Jesse apparently suffered a severe immune reaction and died four days after being injected with the engineered virus.

The same virus vector had been used safely in thousands of other trials, but in this case, after releasing stacks of clinical data and answering questions for two days, the researchers didnt fully understand what had gone wrong.{4} Other institutions were also found to have failed to file immediate reports as required of serious adverse events in their trials, prompting a congressional review.{5} All this should indicate that the answers to the technical problems of gene therapy have not been answered and progress will be slowed as guidelines and reporting procedures are studied and reevaluated.

The simple answer is no, at least for the foreseeable future. Gene therapy currently targets existing tissue in a existing child or adult. This may alleviate or eliminate symptoms in that individual, but will not affect future children. To accomplish a correction for future generations, gene therapy would need to target the germ cells, the sperm and egg. This poses numerous technical problems at the present time. There is also a very real concern about making genetic decisions for future generations without their consent.

Some would seek to get around these difficulties by performing gene therapy in early embryos before tissue differentiation has taken place. This would allow the new gene to be incorporated into all tissues, including reproductive organs. However, this process does nothing to alleviate the condition of those already suffering from genetic disease. Also, as mentioned earlier this week, this procedure would put embryos at unacceptable risk due to the inherent rate of failure and potential damage to the embryo.

Another way to affect germ line gene therapy would involve a combination of gene therapy and cloning.{6} An embryo, fertilized in vitro, from the sperm and egg of a couple at risk for sickle-cell anemia, for example, could be tested for the sickle-cell gene. If the embryo tests positive, cells could be removed from this early embryo and grown in culture. Then the normal hemoglobin gene would be added to these cultured cells.

If the technique for human cloning could be perfected, then one of these cells could be cloned to create a new individual. If the cloning were successful, the resulting baby would be an identical twin of the original embryo, only with the sickle-cell gene replaced with the normal hemoglobin gene. This would result in a normal healthy baby. Unfortunately, the initial embryo was sacrificed to allow the engineering of its identical twin, an ethically unacceptable trade-off.

So what we have seen, is that even human gene therapy is not a long-term solution, but a temporary and individual one. But even in condoning the use of gene therapy for therapeutic ends, we need to be careful that those for whom gene therapy is unavailable either for ethical or monetary reasons, dont get pushed aside. It would be easy to shun those with uncorrected defects as less than desirable or even less than human. There is, indeed, much to think about.

The possibility of someone or some government utilizing the new tools of genetic engineering to create a superior race of humans must at least be considered. We need to emphasize, however, that we simply do not know what genetic factors determine popularly desired traits such as athletic ability, intelligence, appearance and personality. For sure, each of these has a significant component that may be available for genetic manipulation, but its safe to say that our knowledge of each of these traits is in its infancy.

Even as knowledge of these areas grows, other genetic qualities may prevent their engineering. So far, few genes have only a single application in the body. Most genes are found to have multiple effects, sometimes in different tissues. Therefore, to engineer a gene for enhancement of a particular traitsay memorymay inadvertently cause increased susceptibility to drug addiction.

But what if in the next 50 to 100 years, many of these unknowns can be anticipated and engineering for advantageous traits becomes possible. What can we expect? Our concern is that without a redirection of the worldview of the culture, there will be a growing propensity to want to take over the evolution of the human species. The many people see it, we are simply upright, large-brained apes. There is no such thing as an independent mind. Our mind becomes simply a physical construct of the brain. While the brain is certainly complicated and our level of understanding of its intricate machinery grows daily, some hope that in the future we may comprehend enough to change who and what we are as a species in order to meet the future demands of survival.

Edward O. Wilson, a Harvard entomologist, believes that we will soon be faced with difficult genetic dilemmas. Because of expected advances in gene therapy, we will not only be able to eliminate or at least alleviate genetic disease, we may be able to enhance certain human abilities such as mathematics or verbal ability. He says, Soon we must look deep within ourselves and decide what we wish to become.{7} As early as 1978, Wilson reflected on our eventual need to decide how human we wish to remain.{8}

Surprisingly, Wilson predicts that future generations will opt only for repair of disabling disease and stop short of genetic enhancements. His only rationale however, is a question. Why should a species give up the defining core of its existence, built by millions of years of biological trial and error?{9} Wilson is naively optimistic. There are loud voices already claiming that man can intentionally engineer our evolutionary future better than chance mutations and natural selection. The time to change the course of this slow train to destruction is now, not later.

Many of the questions surrounding the ethical use of genetic engineering practices are difficult to answer with a simple yes or no. This is one of them. The answer revolves around the method used to determine the sex selection and the timing of the selection itself.

For instance, if the sex of a fetus is determined and deemed undesirable, it can only be rectified by termination of the embryo or fetus, either in the lab or in the womb by abortion. There is every reason to prohibit this process. First, an innocent life has been sacrificed. The principle of the sanctity of human life demands that a new innocent life not be killed for any reason apart from saving the life of the mother. Second, even in this country where abortion is legal, one would hope that restrictions would be put in place to prevent the taking of a life simply because its the wrong sex.

However, procedures do exist that can separate sperm that carry the Y chromosome from those that carry the X chromosome. Eggs fertilized by sperm carrying the Y will be male, and eggs fertilized by sperm carrying the X will be female. If the sperm sample used to fertilize an egg has been selected for the Y chromosome, you simply increase the odds of having a boy (~90%) over a girl. So long as the couple is willing to accept either a boy or girl and will not discard the embryo or abort the baby if its the wrong sex, its difficult to say that such a procedure should be prohibited.

One reason to utilize this procedure is to reduce the risk of a sex-linked genetic disease. Color-blindness, hemophilia, and fragile X syndrome can be due to mutations on the X chromosome. Therefore, males (with only one X chromosome) are much more likely to suffer from these traits when either the mother is a carrier or the father is affected. (In females, the second X chromosome will usually carry the normal gene, masking the mutated gene on the other X chromosome.) Selecting for a girl by sperm selection greatly reduces the possibility of having a child with either of these genetic diseases. Again, its difficult to argue against the desire to reduce suffering when a life has not been forfeited.

But we must ask, is sex determination by sperm selection wise? A couple that already has a boy and simply wants a girl to balance their family, seems innocent enough. But why is this important? What fuels this desire? Its dangerous to take more and more control over our lives and leave the sovereignty of God far behind. This isnt a situation of life and death or even reducing suffering.

But while it may be difficult to find anything seriously wrong with sex selection, its also difficult to find anything good about it. Even when the purpose may be to avoid a sex-linked disease, we run the risk of communicating to others affected by these diseases that because they could have been avoided, their life is somehow less valuable. So while it may not be prudent to prohibit such practices, it certainly should not be approached casually either.

Notes

1. Lee Silver, Remaking Eden: Cloning and Beyond in a Brave New World, New York, NY: Avon Books, p. 230-231. 2. Leon Jaroff, Success stories, Time, 11 January 1999, p. 72-73. 3. Sally Lehrman, Virus treatment questioned after gene therapy death, Nature Vol. 401 (7 October 1999): 517-518. 4. Eliot Marshall, Gene therapy death prompts review of adenovirus vector, Science Vol. 286 (17 December 1999): 2244-2245. 5. Meredith Wadman, NIH under fire over gene-therapy trials, Nature Vol. 403 (20 January 1999): 237. 6. Steve Mirsky and John Rennie, What cloning means for gene therapy, Scientific American, June 1997, p. 122-123. 7. Ibid., p. 277. 8. Edward Wilson, On Human Nature, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, p. 6. 9. E. Wilson, Consilience, p. 277.

2000 Probe Ministries

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On January 8, 2007, the Associated Press reported that scientists from Wake Forest University and Harvard University discovered a new type of stem cell found in the amniotic fluid within

Kerby Anderson provides a biblical look at genetic engineering. Christians would be wise to distinguish between two types of research: genetic repair (acceptable) and the creation of new forms of

Link:

Human Genetic Engineering Probe Ministries

Human Genetic Engineering – AllAboutPopularIssues.org

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

Human Genetic Engineering - A Hot Issue!Human genetic engineering is a hot topic in the legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government. Time will tell how committed the United States will be regarding the absolute ban on human cloning.

Human Genetic Engineering - Position of the U.S. GovernmentHuman genetic engineering has made its way to Capitol Hill. On July 31, 2001, the House of Representatives passed a bill which would ban human cloning, not only for reproduction, but for medical research purposes as well. The Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2001, sponsored by Rep. Weldon (R-fL) and co-sponsored by over 100 Representatives, passed by a bipartisan vote of 265-to-162. The Act makes it unlawful to: "1) perform or attempt to perform human cloning, 2) participate in an attempt to perform cloning, or 3) ship or receive the product of human cloning for any purpose." The Act also imposes penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment and no less than $1,000,000 for breaking the law. The same bill, sponsored by Sen. Brownback (R-kS), is currently being debated in the Senate.

The White House also opposes "any and all attempts to clone a human being; [they] oppose the use of human somatic cell nuclear transfer cloning techniques either to assist human reproduction or to develop cell or tissue-based therapies."

Human Genetic Engineering - The ProblemsThere are many arguments against human genetic engineering, including the established safety issues, the loss of identity and individuality, and human diversity. With therapeutic cloning, not only do the above issues apply, but you add all the moral and religious issues related to the willful killing of human embryos. Maybe the greatest concern of all is that man would become simply another man-made thing. As with any other man-made thing, the designer "stands above [its design], not as an equal but as a superior, transcending it by his will and creative prowess." The cloned child will be dehumanized. (See, Leon Kass, Preventing a Brave New World: Why we should ban human cloning now, New Republic Online, May 21, 2001.)

Human Genetic Engineering - A Final ThoughtHuman genetic engineering leads to man usurping God as the almighty creator and designer of life. No longer will a child be considered a blessing from God, but rather, a product manufactured by a scientist. Man will be a created being of man. However, man was always intended to be a created being of God, in His absolute love, wisdom and glory.

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Human Genetic Engineering – Evolution 21st Century Style?

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

So Whats with the Transhumanism Thing?

Transhumanism is a philosophical movement that is strongly related to humanism. It has specific beliefs about what the fate of humanity should be and how technology will help us shape and achieve that future. Ive put together a small number of core topic articles to get you orientated to the transhumanism movement and some of the most important concepts. You can tackle them in any order you want to, but I suggest you do them in this order.

First, have a look at What is transhumanism?, which I think most people would agree is a good place to start.

Right after that one, its a good idea to read Common misconceptions about transhumanists.

If you get those out of the way, you may be interested to read Understanding transhuman rights, which will give you a great idea of what it would be like living in a transhuman society.

Finally, the last two core topics are about concepts that are not subscribed to by all transhumanists, but are so popular in the movement that they deserve to be put here. The first is an article titled What is the singularity and the second is titled What are post-scarcity economics?.

If you get through all the core topics, youll know pretty much all you need in order to feel grounded in this interesting philosophical movement.With that out of the way, let me explain how the rest of the site works.

Transhumanism covers a wide range of ideas, fields, and technologies. So to make it all easier Ive tried to narrow them down to a few key areas. Obviously, many of these technologies overlap with each other, but wherever possible Ive tried to sort them neatly.

There are eight topic sections on this site besides the core topics weve already talked about, so lets look at each of these sections in alphabetical order.

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Human Genetic Engineering - Evolution 21st Century Style?

Coaches weigh merits of Red Raider mascot – Cape Cod Times

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

Tim Grace grew up playing ice hockey for Barnstable High School. He took pride in every aspect of the program, from the players to the coaches to the games. Hes tried to instill that same passion in his players since he became the head coach in 2015, right down to the Red Raider nickname.

Red Raiders means a lot to me, Grace said. I played my high school career as a Red Raider and graduated a Red Raider.

Grace, his players and the rest of the Barnstable athletic community could find themselves playing under a new nickname when the 2020-21 school year gets underway. A petition spearheaded by current and former BHS students in late June requested a change to the nickname, which some consider offensive to Native Americans.

The Barnstable School Committee on Wednesday will discuss potentially dropping it.

There are some people that obviously are very nostalgic about the pride and years of competing under a certain mascot, Barnstable athletic director Scott Thomas said. But then, were also being sensitive to issues that are prevalent in our society today.

Should the committee vote for a change, it will find general, but not universal, support among the coaching staff. Every head coach from Barnstables last three competitive seasons (spring and fall 2019, winter 2019-20) was contacted, and the majority of respondents said it was time for a change.

I think these are concerns, not complaints, and are absolutely valid, said Tom Turco, Barnstables girls volleyball coach and the schools longest-tenured varsity head coach. The pride is in playing for and representing Barnstable. The same drive and desire of the Barnstable athletic community, to be the best possible athlete, coach and team, will not in any way change.

Grace said hed prefer to keep the nickname he grew up with, but if our name is, in fact, offending a group of people, then, yes, we should change our name. Several other coaches shared Graces reaction, that the nickname should be changed if it offends people.

Anytime theres a group of people that speak out, then theres definitely validity behind it, Barnstable football and girls basketball coach Ross Jatkola said.

A minority of coaches were firmly against the change.

Its time that we put aside our political correctness and get real about dealing with whats important to the majority of the student body and not a few that are offended, girls tennis head coach Lou Giglio said.

Changing nicknames might have big implications for the school, but perhaps not as much actual impact on players day-to-day lives. Grace said his teams helmets bear a Red Raiders sticker, but the uniform just says Barnstable.

We identify ourselves as the Red Raider baseball program, but on the field refer to ourselves as the Raiders, baseball coach Dave Fouracre said. If a mascot name is offensive to a race, a culture or a particular group of people, then it is my belief that it should be changed.

Multiple coaches said their teams rarely refer to themselves by the full nickname Red Raiders during practices or competitions. Jatkola said his football team sometimes calls its field Red Raider Beach, but he tends to simply use Raider in plays.

We haven't used Red Raider in a long time, field hockey coach Ashley Bishop said. Weve used Raiders or Barnstable or Stable for as many years as I've been coaching.

Turco said his volleyball uniforms also have Barnstable written on them, but no reference to the nickname. His preferred cheer is Lets go Red, but thats a reference to the school color, similar to the University of Michigans Go Blue.

When I think of red, I think of the actual color of the uniforms, Jatkola said. I dont think it was ever intentionally used (here) to describe a skin tone or anything like that. Its just been the color of the uniforms and the school colors.

The petition demanding the change, among other educational reforms, had over 1,700 signatures on change.org as of Thursday afternoon. It comes amid national conversations surrounding racism, cultural appropriation and minority representation.

The NFLs Washington franchise officially dropped its Redskins nickname earlier this month.

Thomas said he received occasional calls in previous years asking Barnstable to change its name, but nothing as organized as this.

Its definitely on everybodys mind, Thomas said. I definitely dont want to disrespect anyone.

Barnstables athletic department already has undergone several changes to its iconography over the years. The schools logo used to be a Native American face, but has since changed to a red letter B with attached feathers, though that face still appears on redraiderpride.com, the schools athletic archive.

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has for years been against using Native American imagery or terminology for athletic teams. Cedric Cromwell, the tribes council chairman, signed a January 2019 letter to the Massachusetts Senate Committee on Ways and Means requesting legislation prohibiting Native American mascots and nicknames. The tribal council in 1995 unanimously voted to condemn such uses.

Itll be an adjustment, because well have to change logos and names, but if its an issue and its something that offends people, it should be changed, said Casey Proto, a rising senior and baseball player at Barnstable. Obviously, it can mean something thats derogatory.

Changing nicknames could also allow Barnstable to find a more unique mascot. Many other Massachusetts high schools have used the nickname Red Raider, including Lowell, Melrose and North Quincy.

Suggested new nicknames from coaches included Red Hawk and Pride. The red hawk would allow Barnstable to maintain the feathered B logo it currently uses, while Pride refers to the school slogan of Pride, honor, respect.

There is a red-tailed hawk that flies around campus all the time, boys tennis coach Mike Sarney said. We should have a nickname/mascot that everyone can be proud of.

Coaches weigh merits of Red Raider mascot - Cape Cod Times

Temporary sign coming to Slaves Burying Ground in Orient – Suffolk Times

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

Oysterponds Historical Society will place a new sign at the site of a supposed slave burial ground on Narrow River Road in Orient. But they will not put back the sign that had previously been there for decades.

The societys Board of Trustees has decided to install a new sign, probably within the next two weeks, that will state what the society is doing to determine the actual history of the site, which decades of oral history have said is the burial ground of members of the Tuthill family and their servants.

We have a clear view not to put back the original sign, said Bob Hanlon, president of the societys board. We want to understand what this site is, and we will put up a temporary sign explaining what we are doing.

Last month, the society removed a marker that had been at the site since the early 1950s. It then formed a working group to research slavery and indentured servitude in Orient and East Marion. The removal met with sharp criticism from a number of Orient residents, many of them from so-called old families whose ancestors first settled in the area in the 1600s.

In a long Guest Spot column published by The Suffolk Times earlier this month, those residents said the sign should be returned to the site, saying the society erred in removing it without consulting the community. The tone of the column was that the old sign reflected accepted local history and should not have been tampered with.

The original marker said the ground around it was the burial spot for members of the Tuthill family and their servants, a benign euphemism for enslaved people who could be bought and sold. While criticized by some as a way to erase history, the society said in fact it wanted to dig deeper and try and determine who these individuals were and what became of them.

In an interview, Mr. Hanlon said that marker will not go back but a picture of the old sign will be part of the temporary new sign.

Mr. Hanlon said records will be thoroughly researched to determine exactly what is at the site. He said ground penetrating radar might be used to determine the number of graves there and whether there is truth to longstanding community rumors that the site might have been a traditional African burial ground.

Once we learn what we can, he said, then a new sign will go up. The old sign will remain in our collection The argument by some that we are destroying history, covering up history or caving in to [political correctness] is not so. We are simply looking to find out the truth. We are a historical society, not a political arm. Our job is history.

There were certainly slaves here in the 1600s. We are going about this with a totally open mind, and we will treat this ground with the respect it deserves, he added.

Some Orient residents who strongly opposed removing the old sign say the temporary one is a poor solution to the problem. In an email Tuesday, a spokesman for the group, Dick Leslie, said: This is the first we have heard of any specifics about the temporary sign. The Buildings and Grounds Committee of OHS has not been consulted on this. The majority of the new Working Group on this issue has not been consulted. This is not what transparency and community consultation looks like. Who at OHS drafted the language on the new sign? Has it been approved by the Board of Trustees ?

If the original sign was so offensive why would OHS erect a sign with a photo of the original? Is this a bizarre joke? Since this episode began almost two months ago the cemetery remains an unkempt mess. It is overgrown with brush and trees, the gate unrepaired and unpainted. OHS should concentrate on preserving the eight buildings under its jurisdiction and get out of the cemetery business.

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Temporary sign coming to Slaves Burying Ground in Orient - Suffolk Times

Anarchy and annihilation are running amok – New Europe

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

Americans have buried George Floyd. Yet, the funeral did not end the ongoing protests, demonstrations, and riots. There have been casualties. The chaos has led to the destruction of local businesses, public administration buildings, and our cultural heritage.

It is time to reflect on what has been going on and to learn our lessons. We are dealing with a complex issue and our conclusions will be no different. It is not a black and white picture, no pun intended. Still, some are tempted to take shortcuts and deal with the cops in haste and to make an example out of them. Any decisions leading to defunding or even dismantling local the police forces may bring about anarchy.

The brutal truth is that Floyds case was not exceptional. Last year alone, 1,100 people died because of violence. Most of them were white and they were either beat up to death or shot dead. In addition, 150 police officers die in the United States each year. Therefore, the numbers do not give us clear-cut answers or a black and white picture. Any attempts of a deeper analysis of what happened or inquiries into Floyds past are met with hysterical knee-jerk reactions. There is no room for a rational discussion.

Are other places free of such problems though? Poland still remembers the death of Igor Stachowiak, who died in police custody. French streets have been taken over by violent clashes with yellow vests. A few years ago, we witnessed the brutality of the debates over the future of Catalonia. Every once in a while, German fascists, anti-fascists or alter-globalists awe us with their own street debates.

As a result, Europe is in no position to preach to the United States. Should anyone wish to insist on having the moral high ground, they should be reminded of Europes vast and long imperial and colonial past. I am writing these words in Brussels with a view of the statue of Leopold II, the Butcher of the Congo.

Another sad truth we must face is that we will never be entirely free of racist and xenophobic incidents. They have to be limited to a minimum and always be met with an adequate response from our societies and governments. What I mean by that, is a reaction that is suitable and balanced. What that entails is a peaceful demonstration and a due process of law. Hijacking protests by politically loaded issues is not justified. Unfortunately, all sorts of excluded, scandalised, offended, and dissatisfied groups that contest our social and international order tend to jump on the demonstration bandwagon.

Common thieves and criminals also blend into the crowd. The tendency to justify violence, theft and destruction of property by the liberal media is appalling. Racial tensions intertwine with economic issues. Recently, the latter has deepened due to the pandemic, and the US has been hit particularity hard. Problems of such high degree of complexity will not be solved overnight. Hastened administrative decisions only lead to more anarchy.

Unfortunately, one-size-fits-all type of solutions have been emerging for years. They have been driven by noble ideas of promoting tolerance and equal rights for everyone, including all minorities. Political correctness and affirmative action are among such policies.

The former was intended to rid the contemporary political discourse of hate speech, negative stereotypes, labelling, and shaming. It was to eradicate racist, xenophobic, sexist, and homophobic attitudes. Those were the goals. Instead, it led to the creation of doublespeak, which tends to be even more harmful due to its more sophisticated way of humiliating minorities.

I will spare you any examples. Just watch a couple of stand-up comedians on TV. In many cases, the newspeak is a mockery in itself and it simply boosts the popularity of the original term. In a complete frenzy, new phrases are being blacklisted, as they are supposedly related to slavery. Books, motion pictures, and monuments also fall victim to the self-righteous wave of censorship aimed to distort our collective memory.

Affirmative actions goal was to promote minorities access to education and social mobility by the application of quotas. What it led to were promotions that had no basis on merit. It is a common opinion in the United States that due to affirmative action a lot of people get promoted as soon as they can prove their heart is still beating. I was able to witness it first hand in the 1980s while I was a political immigrant from the progressive Eastern Bloc.

Unfortunately, privileges such as those based on a working-class or a peasant family background in Communist Poland do not lead to equality. So the question becomes how do we promote equality without granting minorities unfair privileges? Despite negative experiences with social engineering, the liberal left keeps marching on in that direction. Political correctness has also found its way into the world of science and art. Prestigious prizes tend to be granted based on PC criteria in order to appease discontent. Celebrity circles have been dominated by all sorts of minorities too.

This all leads to a distorted vision of history and reality. Try watching a contemporary TV series on Europes history and compare it to what you can learn from textbooks and from works of art. Do the scripts tell the stories the way they happened? Do actors looks and gestures portray the reality of the days past? Or are we being served a sort of virtual reality based on the wishes of todays social and ideological engineers?

The recent demons of extremism are bound to -and they do- inspire a pushback. In some cases, the recoil is soft in its nature and a moderate New York Times journalist will simply resign. In other cases, it is much more uncompromising. President Donald Trump has called certain liberal circles left-wing fascists and some politicians even go as far as to call for a military intervention in areas taken over by protesters.

To sum up, I would like to underline the fact that our civilisation was founded on the canons of Greek philosophy and democracy, the Roman legal and administrative system, and the Christian work ethic and family values. Our civilisation seeks compromise when dealing with complex problem-solving. The protests have been running amok and they increasingly resemble anarchy. As a result, our civilisation is facing attempts of annihilation.

In my opinion, it is our civilisation, rooted in Greek, Roman and Christian values that matters! It is our duty to defend it from the dictatorship of extreme minorities, who are fighting for unjustified privileges disguised as equality.

Anarchy and annihilation are running amok - New Europe

Gapp tries to stand out in crowded GOP field – Kingsport Times News

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

By HANK HAYES

ROGERSVILLE Knoxville physician Josh Gapp is trying to stand out in a crowded 1st Congressional District Republican field that stands with President Trump and is pro-life.

We have a lot of great candidates and they are running on conservative principles, Gapp said during a stop at Hawkins County Republican headquarters.

I think Im probably further to the right. Theres a couple of key areas that matter to the people. One is this culture war thats been thrown at our feet. It stems from political correctness. That was the aha that got me out from underneath my microscope. The fabric of our country is being torn apart by political correctness. I am standing up to it. The other thing I think is important is Im an outsider. Ive never run for political office before. This is a project of passion for me.

Gapp addressed these questions:

If elected, what is your plan for the district?

Theres a couple key issues that we need to face. The key issues right now are this political correctness run amok. We cant have Black Lives Matter coming in and disrupting our communities. This COVID crisis, weve got to figure out a way to get the economy back up safe and secure for everybody. We cant afford as a country to have everything shut down. We need to get back open. President Trump was doing a wonderful job with the economy prior to this COVID. Weve got to get back to that.

How is the COVID crisis going to affect the Republican primary?

COVID is making it difficult to meet people in person. Weve done a lot of digital things. Weve done a lot of virtual events to make up for it. Were trying to talk to as many people as we can. I think theres enough motivation now that the vote wont be suppressed. I think its going to be a high turnout and people will go to the polls regardless of COVID.

Do you favor a second economic stimulus?

This is a tough one. It depends on what happens in the next couple of months.

If we shut down the economy again, then we absolutely need to do that. If we can keep the economy from fully shutting down, I think theres enough pent-up demand in the economy that we can let people get back to work and places open back up. The economy isnt shut down because of market forces. Its this exterior thing that is going on with COVID. The economy wants to jump. It wants to run.

Early voting has begun in the August GOP primary.

A Democrat hasnt been elected to the 1st Congressional District seat since the 19th century.

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Gapp tries to stand out in crowded GOP field - Kingsport Times News

Letters to the editor: July 29, 2020 | Letters To Editor – St. Louis Jewish Light

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

Funds urgentlyneeded for elections

For 125 years, National Council of Jewish Women-St. Louis has worked diligently to ensure nonpartisan voting rights for all, and the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted egregious deficiencies in Missouris voting system. While politicians of both parties argue about many things, democracy shouldnt be one of them. Experts estimate we need at least $4 billion to ensure that states can prepare for elections during the coronavirus. Without this necessary funding for election infrastructure, many voters will be disenfranchised and unable to vote.

Recently, Congress passed $400 million in election funding in the first stimulus bill, which is a start, but we have to go much further and pass the $3.6 billion that was allocated to ensure safe elections in the HEROES Act. Every voter needs safe and secure options to vote by mail, absentee, early and on election day. Missouri passed a law in June which will allow many more Missouri voters to vote absentee or by mail for the August and November elections. More funding is a necessity for hiring poll workers during COVID and implementing many other key reforms to ensure safe voting for all.

Its now up to the Senate to pass the additional $3.6 billion needed to be ready for our November elections. This funding is crucial for Missouri to have safe elections. NCJWSTL urges Sen. Roy Blunt, who is thechairman of the Senate Rules Committee, tomake this funding a priority. The people of Missouri should not have to choose between their health and their vote.

We urge everyone to contact Sen. Blunts office now to insist on fair and safe voting for all.

Andrea Powers Schankman and Debbie Gilula, NCJWSTL Voting Initiative Co-Chairs

COVID-19 and the start of the school year

Regarding the July 15 article, Doctor would greenlight day school opening this fall, with conditions. Stunned. I am stunned. With lives on the line, I think an actual list of conditions and in what context would be the only ethical way to convey the doctors opinion. While the question and answer format of the article is interesting, I am still trying to figure out the parameters that the article headline promises.

If I understand well what is being said.... Classrooms are no more dangerous than going to the grocery as well as looking to Australia and other countries where schools are in session...if they can do it, so can we.

Thats just not true. Our children have far more comorbidity issues than other countries that makes them far more susceptible to contracting COVID-19 (See CNBCs July 13 article, U.S. students are at higher risk from the coronavirus than kids in other countries, Dr. Scott Gottlieb says.)

For students and their families as well as school staff and their families to have the protection implied, each person and each scenario would have to be perfectly played out. There are so many moving parts that I submit, that the risk of infection and the spreading take just a handful of missteps.

Masks need to be worn and taken off perfectly. Hand hygiene, the same. Even if people do their best, they are human. We all are familiar with the two-second rule...or the five-second rule? If we can scoop up the piece of toast off the floor in under five seconds, its all good. No harm, no foul.

Now, imagine each parent, child and teacher applying their own five- second rule to life in school.

COVID-19 doesnt care about what anyone thinks. Unless we depend on science and not broad opinions from scientists, we will remain victims.

Lois Ockner,University City

Russian Americans in St. Louis: We dont want to be a silent majority

On July 11, a group of the Russian Americans in St. Louis got together to demonstrate their support for our police. These demonstrators, who gathered in front of the Olivette and Creve Coeur police departments, strongly oppose proposals to defund the police, and are aghast at the humiliation of police officers and the lawlessness that has ensued in our own and other American cities.

Many of us, who came to United States as the Jewish refugees 20, 30 or 40 years ago, watch with disbelief and horror at what is happening in todays America. The reality is that the grim past that the former Russians, Eastern Europeans, Chinese, Koreans and Cubans left behind for a better future for their families has become a reality right here and now. Unfortunately, the bloody and tragic history of those countries that became socialist and fell victims of Marxist-Leninist ideology, is not an antidote to those who organize lawless riots and what I would describe as a pogrom in a Jewish neighborhood of Los Angeles.

We know too well, that compliance (called political correctness) leads to silencing, censorship and disappearance of free speech.

With disbelief we observe that many Jewish communities around the country, as well as Jewish papers and mass media, keep silent at worst or are meek at best when it comes to addressing the anti-Semitic destruction organized in Los Angeles this May during Shavuot. Instead of strong support for their Orthodox brothers and sisters, they express alliance with the Black Lives Matter movement, which I believe is anti-Semitic and anti-Israel. It seems that the long and tragic Jewish history has not been learned.

We former Soviet Jews cannot be a silent minority watching this great country face catastrophe as Russia and many others have. We cannot be silent watching great American history being attacked and monuments being destroyed by mob action or mob hysteria. And we cannot be silent when the police officers that keep American streets safe are humiliated.

Wake up, all ye who believe that the events of the Old World will turn out differently in the United States.

Lena Fish,St. Louis

Response to editorial

Regarding the June 19 editorial, Defund, Defend, Define highlighting the number of cases of police brutality that have occurred across the nation in the past several months.First allow me to say how deplorable I find these miscarriages of justice to be.

Having said that, however, the thought of defunding police departments entirely, or in great measure, is certainly not the answer and is counterproductive.

I can unequivocally say that the overwhelming majority of police officers in our nation do an exceptional job to serve and protect, and are the epitome of honesty, integrity and decency, putting their lives on the line for the public every day.

Unfortunately, there are those officers who fail miserably to uphold the highest standard and quality of law enforcement. These men and women must be weeded out and punished to the fullest extent of the law when they dishonor their badge and commit egregious crimes, which has occurred too often recently.

Police training needs to be upgraded and policies enforced vigorously so that law enforcement is the very best it can be while protecting the rights of all citizens. We are a nation of laws and must never lose sight of that hallowed and never-ending principle.

GeneCarton,University City

A misguided and disturbing commentary

Even though Marty Rochester is a friend and a colleague, his July 15 commentary (Let us reason together to defeat the pandemic) was so misguided and disturbing that I felt obliged to reply.

Let me start with the COVID-19 pandemic. It should be clear to everyone now that there should be no debate between fighting the pandemic or restarting the economy. Without the pandemic under control, it is impossible to restart the economy. President Donald Trumps decision to prematurely open up the economy was solely based on his mistaken idea that this decision would benefit him politically. My guess is that this year more than 100,000 Americans will prematurely die due to that decision. May I encourage Rochester to look at the three pages of obituaries in the last edition of the Jewish Light; in normal times, there is usually less than a page.

More significantly, it is now apparent that virtually every decision Trump makes is solely based on his political benefit, even if it is not in our countrys interest. This includes his extortion of Ukraine, his request for political help from China, his withdrawal of troops from Syria, and his deal with the Taliban. How about his embrace of the Confederate Battle flag, the one that even the state of Mississippi has now decided to remove from its state flag? How about his racism and race baiting, when so many Americans are marching for racial justice? And Rochester finds that the Democratic Party more odious than Donald Trump? Unbelievable.

Bernard J. Feldman,Creve Coeur

Reader respondsto recent letter

I have to respond to the July 1 letter titled President deserves credit for Israel support. Look at President Donald Trumps history while in office. In a few short months he has made the United States a laughingstock in the eyes of the world.If he does anything for Israel, its solely to solidify his base. He is immoral and unjust when it comes to the plight of others. Trump is an unlearned racist who probably has never picked up a book to educate himself about Israels lengthy and complex history. Please dont be fooled.

MelodyBoime,Clayton

To submit letters to the editor, email letters@thejewishlight.com or use our online form at stljewishlight.com/letters.

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Letters to the editor: July 29, 2020 | Letters To Editor - St. Louis Jewish Light

Letters to the editor: | Letters To Editor – St. Louis Jewish Light

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

Funds urgentlyneeded for elections

We urge everyone to contact Sen. Blunts office now to insist on fair and safe voting for all.

Andrea Powers Schankman and Debbie Gilula, NCJWSTL Voting Initiative Co-Chairs

COVID-19 and the start of the school year

Now, imagine each parent, child and teacher applying their own five- second rule to life in school.

COVID-19 doesnt care about what anyone thinks. Unless we depend on science and not broad opinions from scientists, we will remain victims.

Lois Ockner,University City

Russian Americans in St. Louis: We dont want to be a silent majority

We know too well, that compliance (called political correctness) leads to silencing, censorship and disappearance of free speech.

Wake up, all ye who believe that the events of the Old World will turn out differently in the United States.

Lena Fish,St. Louis

Response to editorial

Having said that, however, the thought of defunding police departments entirely, or in great measure, is certainly not the answer and is counterproductive.

GeneCarton,University City

A misguided and disturbing commentary

Even though Marty Rochester is a friend and a colleague, his July 15 commentary (Let us reason together to defeat the pandemic) was so misguided and disturbing that I felt obliged to reply.

Bernard J. Feldman,Creve Coeur

Reader respondsto recent letter

MelodyBoime,Clayton

To submit letters to the editor, email letters@thejewishlight.com or use our online form at stljewishlight.com/letters.

Excerpt from:

Letters to the editor: | Letters To Editor - St. Louis Jewish Light

UNPOPULAR OPINION: We all yes, all of us have implicit bias – newportri.com

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

As a community having these difficult conversations about race, there is a trend going on I want to name here today.

If there is a word or phrase people dont understand, instead of finding out what the word means, they immediately try to distance themselves from the word and shut down so the discussions and any steps toward progress end.

You know, kind of like when you say someone has a "racist" or "prejudiced" opinion, or that they are speaking from a place of "privilege." In my experience, if they are truly about making progress, an indicator is in their response to that accusation.

You will have some who say, "Yes, I have shown those beliefs and I am learning so that I can change them". There are others representing the majority that I have encountered who will take offense and shut down. They leave the room, dont return to the meetings, get very defensive and argue or stop talking all together. Can you all identify with this scenario?

Think back to a time when someone has said one of those words to a person, how do they usually react? I want to add that, to this day, I have NEVER seen a person who is racist, actually admit to being racist. So, lets see, I have brought up racist, privilege and prejudice are you feeling uncomfortable yet? If yes, please keep reading, stay with us.

One phrase I see being thrown around these days without people really knowing what it means is "implicit bias." Negative implicit bias can be harmful if gone unchecked, and even people with the best intentions have it.

Lets talk about it: Implicit bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner

According to the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, implicit bias is defined as:

Residing deep in the subconscious, these biases are different from known biases individuals may choose to conceal for the purposes of social and/or political correctness. Rather, implicit biases are not accessible through introspection.

The implicit associations we harbor in our subconscious cause us to have feelings and attitudes about other people based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age, and appearance. These associations develop over the course of a lifetime beginning at a very early age through exposure to direct and indirect messages. In addition to early life experiences, the media and news programming are often-cited origins of implicit associations.

Here are some points from an informative website: https://www.aperianglobal.com/3-steps-address-unconscious-bias.

Understand that it is normal: We as human beings are hardwired to prefer others who resemble us or have similar features. What makes biases "bad" is a lack of awareness regarding how they influence our decisions and impact others.

Identify the biases and how they impact your work: After you identify and name your biases, notice how it affects who you invite to meetings, who you speak to easily and whose opinions influence your decisions?

Broaden your viewpoint and educate others: When identifying a negative bias you may have, make a conscious effort to learn more about that idea, individual, or group to understand how and why it makes you uncomfortable.

I challenge you all to learn more about implicit bias. Take an online quiz from "Project Implicit" by Harvard University. It is an eye-opener to those who feel they dont have implicit bias and see all people as equals. If you know you have bias, it helps to see which ones require attention to be changed to decrease biased behavior.

Change can be good.

Niko Merritt is the founding executive director of Sankofa Community Connection in Newport. Her column, Unpopular Opinion, appears bi-monthly on newportri.com and in The Daily News.

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It should be everyone’s duty to join the National Trust – Telegraph.co.uk

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

I thought of my friend at the weekend, when we used our family membership to go camping in the glorious grounds of Polesden Lacey, and again today, when I received an email from the Trust informing me that due to what its director general says is its biggest crisis in living memory, it is to shed 1,200 jobs to help plug a 200 million funding gap after having had to close all of its houses, gardens, car parks, shops and cafes thanks to Covid-19.

There are no plans to mothball properties yet, although many remain shuttered: when we were there, the tall, elegant windows of Polesden Lacey remained darkened throughout; there was no opportunity to briefly escape the elements (and the children) to wander through cool, beeswax-smelling interiors; to be transported briefly back in time and marvel at the way people once lived.

Its pretty sobering stuff, even if youre no fan of some of the more right-on moves of recent years. Strip away the beanbags and the political correctness and at its heart, what the National Trust does is irreplaceably important. My friend was right we would all be the poorer without it.

And yet, while the job losses are undoubtedly tragic, could this slimming down turn out to, in the end, be to the good? 40 million of the Trusts savings are to be made in print marketing; 160 shops and 10 cafes are to close. Do we really need to be showered with more leaflets when we visit a heritage property, or be forced to exit through the gift shop, held to ransom over a box of fudge? Perhaps if the National Trust must tighten its belt, we could see a stripping away of all the extraneous fripperies, so we can concentrate on what is really glorious about what it does. For that, Ill keep paying my membership fee.

Farewell to another constant in my life: the noisy, comforting, swaying buffet car on an LNER train journey north. On every regular trip to my homeland, part of the ritual was choosing when, exactly, to make the endless, undulating journey up the length of the train (to take my handbag, or leave it to the fate of the gods?), usually only to find Id gone the wrong way and have to sway my way back again, all in pursuit of a bacon sandwich and a cuppa. The brief bit of core exercise broke up the monotony, but Im quite taken by the idea of being able to order food directly to my seat a small taste of how the other half live, without having to buy a first class ticket.

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It should be everyone's duty to join the National Trust - Telegraph.co.uk

The Thing About France, S3E2: Thomas Chatterton Williams on Race, Philosophy, and COVID-19 – Frenchly

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

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The Thing About France, Season 3

Produced by the cultural services of the French Embassy. French Morning is a media partner of Season 3.

New episodes every other Tuesday, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, the website of The Thing About France, and French Morning.

Being first and foremost understood as American where the primary identity that I had in society wasnt a racialized one, it was nationalized actually, was liberating.

In this weeks episode of The Thing About France, the podcast by and for American Francophiles, guest Thomas Chatterton Williams got into a deep discussion with host Liesl Schillinger about black Francophilia, James Baldwin, and the impact of social media on expat life. Williams is an author and cultural critic whose notable works include the memoirs Losing My Cool: How a fathers love and 15,000 books beat hip-hop culture (2010), and Self-Portrait in Black and White (2019). An alum of Georgetown and NYU, the Newark, NJ native fell in love with France while on a summer study-abroad program in Tour, and now lives with his French wife and children in Paris.

Williams is an expert on the works of James Baldwin, and thinks about race professionally, so its not surprising that he had some interesting things to say about the American racial imaginary as a black man and an expat in the era of George Floyd.

Its interesting to watch these things from France, because France has a very different relation to political correctness, to identitarianism, to identity politics, he explains, mentioning Robin DiAngelos book White Fragility, which has only just been released in France this month. Im really interested to see how that is received. Because in many ways it challenges fundamental premises of the Republican ideal, that everyone is the same and that race is not something to be taken into account.

Regarding Baldwin, he discusses the notion of the expats responsibility to his or her home country. Though Baldwin eventually returned to America because of the draw of the Civil Rights movement, Williams feels that social media and online publications make it possible for him to take part in the transatlantic conversation no matter where he is.

But how exactly did a boy from New Jersey end up so far from home? Williams talks about his love of France, and how his father encouraged him to learn French as a child in the hopes of someday being able to experience the country and the culture. Paris symbolically holds a very special space in the black American imagination. Theres a strong expat tradition of writers like James Baldwin or jazz musicians like Sydney Bichet and others, even Miles Davis.

And dont think Coronavirus fatigue hasnt caught up with him, even in the small village in the Loire Atlantique where he and his family have been quarantining. This has been just such an extraordinary year full of so much, and on top of that youve got an election coming up thats extraordinarily important, and the whole world is watching, and it feels like were just exhausted. So my instinct in those situations is just to try to isolate, bring some good books, read, write as much as I can.

Sound advice. For those who would maybe prefer to listen than read right now, new episodes of The Thing About France will be available every other Tuesday. Stay tuned on Frenchly and French Morning for more.

The Thing About France, Season 3

Produced by the cultural services of the French Embassy. French Morning is a media partner of Season 3.

New episodes every other Tuesday, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, the website of The Thing About France, and French Morning.

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The Thing About France, S3E2: Thomas Chatterton Williams on Race, Philosophy, and COVID-19 - Frenchly

Welcome to Donald Trump’s terrordome: But even this may not save him – Salon

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Danzig

Donald Trump is a political arsonist. He has unleashed a firestorm across America. The kindling was always there. Trump chose to throw gasoline on it and set it afire.

Trump's political cult members and other followers are dancing in a circle around the flames. In the light and noise, they see and hear things which are not there. Like the troglodytes in Plato's allegory of the cave, they have lost the ability to discern truth from lies. All that matters is their proximity to Trump's fire.

Good Americans have encircled Trump's conflagration. They know the danger and power it possesses. They are also willing to be burned and suffer other injuries to save the country from its worst inclinations in the form of the fire devils that Trump commands.

Good Americans also know that fire can be used for both creation and destruction. As such, they are waiting for the right moment to seize the fire for their own purposes.

There are observers as well.Many are in the shadows cowed and afraid. Other watchers aresad and depressed and more than a little confused by what America in the Age of Trump has become.

Trump's blazingfire is the main attraction in the American terrordome, wherethe spectacle of Trump's threats, violence, lies, fear, intimidation, corruption, racism andcruelty unfold. Thisis the logic of reality TV made into a presidency and the resultingsurreal nightmare that has entrapped the American people in the Age of Trump.

The protagonists in Trump's spectacle are the "virtuous,""strong" and "heroic" Donald Trump and his"patriotic" and "law-abiding" (white) followers and of course the police and other enforcers of "law and order."

The villains are the various recurring bogeymen of the right-wing imagination, such as Latino "rapists" and "murderers," "invasions" and "caravans" of nonwhite people, Muslimsand any othergroup deemed to be despised. "Anti-fascists" and "Black Lives Matter" activists, who supposedly hate America. Black athletes who kneel in protest against police thuggery and other social injustices are "thugs" who should be kicked out of the country. The George Floyd protesters and anyone else who dares to disagree with the Trump regime are enemies of the state to be purged. "Anarchists," leftists, liberals and intellectualswith their "political correctness" are also to be disposed of.

Thisspectacle circulates across American society via Fox News and the larger right-wing propaganda disinformation machine. Unwittingly, those Americans with their "doomscrolling" a phrase that sounds like something from theH.P. Lovecraft mythos or the "Hellraiser" moviesand other Trump fixations are all part of the spectacle as well.

In total, Trump's terrordome is the theater of political terror and the "American carnage" he first promised in his 2016 inauguration speech. Trump hopes tousethe samethemes to win the 2020 election -- and then to stay in office for as long as he wants.

Trump's terrordome has a new attraction: his personal stormtroopers, a de facto Gestapo.

In a massive violation of the civil and human rights of the American people, Trump's secret policeareoperating in Portland, Oregon, grabbing protesters off the streets and disappearing them for interrogated. Trump's Gestapo is beating, gassing and shooting protesters with so-called non-lethalweapons, which in reality can cause grievous physical harm.

Trump has promised to unleash more than 50,000 of his personal enforcers in Democratic-led cities across the country. He will likely use these same enforcers to try to steal the 2020 election.

Trump's theater of terror in Portland (and soon elsewhere, perhaps) is following a script common to the authoritarian playbook where the leader creates a crisis, the people resistand then the threats and violence are amplified with the end goal being a "state of emergency" that"justifies" the authoritarian seizing even more power.

At the New York Times, former FBI director James Comeyaccurately summarizes Trump's Portland gambit:

What better way for Trump to demonstrate to his followers that he is "your president of law and order" than to deploy highly visible federal officers, and in a way that is sure to invite violent conflict, which, of course, demonstrates the need for a law-and-order president? And on it goes. The only thing damaged in the process will be the United States and the federal law enforcement agencies our country needs. Yet again, the craving of our president for reelection seems to override everything.

The Trump regime is so unrestrained that it actually uses the word "theater" to describe the Portland protests and the president's related instigationsand plots to remain in power.

As reported by the Washington Post, a Trump regime official said the president had chosen Portland as "a theater for his fight,"adding that"the White House had long wanted to amplify strife in cities, encouraging DHS officials to talk about arrests of violent criminals in sanctuary cities and repeatedly urging ICE to disclose more details of raids than some in the agency were comfortable doing. It was about getting viral online content."

Last Friday, Trump's White House press secretary,Kayleigh McEnany, presented the regime's own version of a Joseph Goebbels propaganda film in the form of a video purporting to show "riots" in Portland. This presentation was sotasteless that even Fox Newscut away from the White House press briefing.

Of course, there are no "riots" except for those instigated by Trump's enforcers and the right-wing extremists and other paramilitaries who have infiltrated what are largely peaceful gatherings.

McEnany's propaganda film is part of a larger and obvious strategy of terrifyingthe American people or at least Trump's base of older, white Fox News watchers, who he imagines as a"silent majority" into supporting the president's crackdown and re-electing him.

In Trump's terrordome these distorted images of anti-fascists, Black Lives Matter activists, mothers, veteransand other protesters are doing another type of political work as well

Violence by the Trump regime against dissenters is made legitimate. Moreover, violence by Trump's supporters against his perceivedenemies is encouraged and renderedvirtuous as well

In many ways, Donald Trump's terrordome spectacle is his version of the "Two Minutes Hate" as depicted in George Orwell's essential book "1984".

Writing at Bloomberg, legal scholar Cass Sunstein explains:

To see it, we have to step back a bit and consider one of George Orwell's most powerful creations: the Two Minutes Hate, directed against Emmanuel Goldstein, "the Enemy of the People" and opponent of Big Brother.

As Orwell depicts it in "1984," Big Brother focuses the public on Goldstein's misdeeds and the continuing threat he poses: "He was the commander of a vast shadowy army, an underground network of conspirators." As citizens see Goldstein's face on a screen, they break out into "uncontrollable exclamations of rage," followed by a "hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledge-hammer."

Orwell's ominous words suggest that every human heart is vulnerable to that ecstasy. "The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but, on the contrary, that it was impossible to avoid joining in." (Think of what happens on contemporary social media.)

For Big Brother, the Two Minutes Hate is shrewd politics. It is a diversion from issues of policy, and from problems that people face in their ordinary lives. It focuses citizens' attention on a malevolent, even demonic force, who continues to threaten them.

Trump's terrordome and the power he has over many tens of millions of Americans (including bystanders) also recalls the description of Nazi Germany injournalist Milton Meyer's book "They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45":

The world you live in your nation, your people is not the world you were born in at all. The forms are all there, all untouched, all reassuring, the houses, the shops, the jobs, the mealtimes, the visits, the concerts, the cinema, the holidays. But the spirit, which you never noticed because you made the lifelong mistake of identifying it with the forms, is changed. Now you live in a world of hate and fear, and the people who hate and fear do not even know it themselves; when everyone is transformed, no one is transformed. Now you live in a system which rules without responsibility even to God. The system itself could not have intended this in the beginning, but in order to sustain itself it was compelled to go all the way.

Donald Trump is an authoritarian and a neo-fascist. Like others of that ilk, he is only able to destroy and not create. Nearly 150,000 Americans are dead from the coronavirus pandemic and Donald Trump's willfully negligent response. The country is teetering on the edge of a second Great Depression. Other existential threats, such as the global climate disaster, continue their march largely unabated.

Ultimately, the Trump regimeand its politics of terror and cruelty amplify the pain, suffering, fearand insecurityof the American people and by design do nothing to soothe and heal them.

Public opinion polls and other research showthat the American people are experiencing high levels of anxiety and other mental health challenges from the Age of Trump and his pandemic. Suicides have increased. The American people largely want a return to normalcy and consistency and not the chaos of the Trump regime. Life spans continue to decrease among many populations in America, include the "white workingclass". The American people know that the country is going in the wrong direction and the myth of American exceptionalism is collapsing.Patriotism is at the lowest levels in several decades.

The pain, sorrow, loss, and misery are the goal: Trump and his regime are illegitimate, and hope to use his terrordome spectacle to remain in power.

Because of a deep reluctance to state those plain facts, America's mainstream news media continues toignore thatthe country is in the grip of a fascistpolitics and authoritarian spectacle where normal politics and the folk theory of democracy with its "free and fair" elections, responsible political parties, politically engaged citizens, rule of law, and respect for the Constitution as well as existing political and social institutions no longer apply.

Those people who are fortunate to live outside of Trump's terrordome see something horrible in America.Once the leader of the world,the U.S. has lost its prestige and moral authority. Writing at the New York Times, Roger Cohen reflects on how America now looks from Germany, a country which was destroyed by fascism and then rebuilt as a leading democracy:

When paramilitary-style units have no identifying insignia, there is no transparency, no accountability and that means impunity. Democracy dies. Think of all this as setting the scene for Trump's own "state of emergency" if he does not like the November election result. Social media is combustible enough for a physical fire to be unnecessary.

The president says he wants to protect law-abiding citizens. In 1933, after the Reichstag burned, Hitler issued the "Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State" as his means to seize power.

German horror at Trump has many components. He's the fear-mongering showman wielding nationalism, racism and violence as if the 20th century held no lessons. He's the would-be destroyer of the multilateral institutions that brought European peace and made it possible for Germans to raise their bowed heads again. He is a fascist in the making.

At present, Joe Biden is leading Donald Trump inthe polls. There are many ways, legitimate and otherwise,that Donald Trump couldwin a second term, but many observersnowbelieve that he will be vanquished in historic fashion. Of course, that is no guarantee that Trump will peacefully leave office in January or that he may not find away to contest the outcome.

A Biden victory would show that the American people want a return to normal. But what does "normal" really look like when the status quo did so much tovomit out Trump's neo-fascist regime and allthe destruction and human misery it created?

To light the way forward to a better America will demandmuch more than going back to "normal" fromJoe Biden and from all of us.

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Welcome to Donald Trump's terrordome: But even this may not save him - Salon

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