Va. leaders ask for help with COVID-19 outbreak in Farmville, outbreaks hit mental health hospitals, horse racing back at Colonial Downs, and more…

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NEWS TO KNOWOur daily roundup of headlines from Virginia and elsewhere.

Gov. Ralph Northam and Virginias U.S. senators have asked federal health officials for assistance dealing with a coronavirus outbreak at a privately run immigrant detention facility in Farmville. Washington Post

Two Virginia mental health hospitals have temporarily halted new admissions due to COVID-19 outbreaks in an already overcrowded system. Richmond Times-Dispatch

About 8 in 10 Virginians say they usually wear masks when they leave home, according to a Hampton University poll. Daily Press

A Virginia Beach couple say they were told to quarantine because a nurse their insurance company had sent to their home had tested positive for COVID-19. WAVY

After losing his seat in Congress, GOP Rep. Denver Riggleman says hes considering a run for governor, possibly as a third-party candidate.The Virginia Republican Party is so broken, he told Bloomberg Radio.Bloomberg

The NAACP branch in Arlington wants the county to change its seal and logo that features Arlington House, the former home of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. The NAACP called the image a racist plantation symbol. ARLnow

A former Virginia State Police helicopter technician wont face jail time for falsifying a maintenance log that authorities said could have caused a crash. Richmond Times-Dispatch

Disability rights advocates have filed a lawsuit over the states absentee voting procedures, arguing the hard-copy forms dont accommodate people who are blind, vision-impaired or have trouble writing. WRIC

Horse racing is back at Colonial Downs, but with no fans and smaller purses for participants.Richmond Times-Dispatch

The ACC released its pandemic-era college football schedule, which includes more in-conference games and the addition of Notre Dame. Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech cornerback Caleb Farley announced hell opt out of the upcoming season, becoming the first major college player to do so. Though the competitor in me badly wants to play this season, I cannot ignore whats going on in my heart and I must make the decision that brings me the most peace, he said. NBC Sports

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Va. leaders ask for help with COVID-19 outbreak in Farmville, outbreaks hit mental health hospitals, horse racing back at Colonial Downs, and more...

4Runner rolls out pricing, Special Edition and new look for 2021 models – Automotive World

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The Toyota 4Runner is the family-hauling, boat-towing, hill-climbing SUV thats been getting it done since 1984. With its core DNA as a body-on-frame, do-anything vehicle fully intact, the 4Runner crosses into 2021 with a new Special Edition, several TRD Pro enhancements and LED headlights across the full lineup. Pricing for 2021 models has been announced, as well as some minor changes from the 2020 lineup.

With a striking new debut, 4Runner TRD Pro model will carry on the new color tradition with the introduction of Lunar Rock for 2021. Replacing Army Green in the TRD Pro color pallet, Lunar Rock will turn heads as customers enjoy all the on and off-road features offered in the lineup.

The TRD Pro badge on any Toyota truck or SUV signifies the brands most off-road-capable vehicles. Adding to the 4Runner TRD Pro makeover, the 2021 model brings in new black TRD alloy flow form wheels wrapped in Nitto Terra Grappler tires. Stronger and more rigid, these wheels have taken DNA cues from the current style to retain the family look while offering a more aggressive spoke design and deeper dish. The switch to flow form also allows for unique adjustments in other areas to increase ride handling and performance, specifically shock absorber tuning.

Completing the list of changes for 2021, the 4Runner TRD Pro includes re-tuned 2.5-inch Fox Internal Bypass Shocks to help complement its already off-road-capable hardware. Delivering the best of both worlds, this tuning provides an improvement in trail driving isolation and high-speed performance without compromising on-road comfort and steering response. The front Fox shocks are paired with TRD-tuned coil springs, yielding an inch of front lift for improved trail-tackling capability. Out back, the 2.5-inch Fox shocks also feature piggyback-style remote reservoirs to maintain damping performance in the most demanding off-road terrain. Overall, Toyotas mantra of Lets Go Places really comes to life with this enhanced TRD Pro model.

Some might say the eyes are the window to the soul, and the 2021 4Runners purpose and position has never been clearer with the introduction of LED lights to the lineup. A first for the 4Runner lineup, all grades will now have LED headlamps as standard equipment. Limited, Nightshade and TRD Pro grades will also receive LED high beams. All grades will also have LED fog lights as standard equipment, with TRD Pro maintaining its current RIGID LED fog lamps in 2021.

Toyota 4Runner buyers love the great outdoors, and in fact, sit at the top of their segments for participation in outdoor activities like camping, fishing, and hiking. To celebrate and support all that fresh-air fun, Toyota is introducing the 2021 4Runner Trail Special Edition. With an emphasis on extra storage, convenience and unique styling,

the 4Runner Trail will be based on the SR5 grade model and will be offered in either 2WD or 4WD. Available Trail color choices include Army Green, Cement, Midnight Black, and Super White.

All Trails feature black exterior badging, plus black seating with tan stitching. In all versions, standard all-weather floor liners help catch the outdoor elements that come in on occupants feet.

The 4Runner Trail comes ready to carry campers into the woods with dark gray TRD Off-Road wheels, a Yakima LoadWarrior rooftop cargo basket for added utility and gear-hauling capability. Inside, it boasts a custom 40-quart cooler and sliding cargo tray.

Custom-made for Toyota in the U.S., the 4Runner Trails cooler is quite a versatile piece of equipment, featuring:

The cooler comes color-keyed with Cement or Army Green exterior 4Runner colors, while on Super White and Midnight Black 4Runner Trails the cooler is Cement colored.

SOURCE: Toyota

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4Runner rolls out pricing, Special Edition and new look for 2021 models - Automotive World

Granite Island penguin population in peril prompting specialists to hunt foxes at night – ABC News

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Specialists with firearms and night vision will hunt foxes on Granite Island over the coming fortnight in an effort to save what is left of a once burgeoning little penguin population south of Adelaide.

A fox attack that killed up to nine penguins earlier this month has reduced the population to as few as 12 birds, with fears another attack could wipe out the population altogether.

A bait laid by the Department of Environment and Water (DEW) has since been taken by a predator, but sightings of a fox crossing the causeway has prompted further action including the island's closure at night on Monday to Thursdays.

"We'll have people over there with firearms looking for the foxes, so it's just a temporary closure while we make sure there are no foxes over there," DEW Conservation and Wildlife director Lisien Loan told ABC Radio Adelaide.

"Since the bait was taken we've seen no evidence of a fox but after this more recent sighting we are getting some of our specialist pest controllers down there who can use night vision and thermal imagery to double check there's none on the island.

"We've also installed an ultra-sonic fox deterrent on the causeway [to Victor Harbor], so that emits a high frequency that dogs and foxes do not like."

She said it had been 14 years since foxes were last on the island.

Ms Loan said the last official count of penguins in 2012 recorded 30 on the island, although it was reported last year that the population had increased to 44.

It is a dramatic reduction from more than 1,000 at the start of the century, a decline that has been attributed to a variety of causes, from seal and fox predation, to climate change, fishing and human interference.

Victor Harbor City Council Mayor Moira Jenkins said, between the department and volunteers counting the penguins, it was estimated there were between seven and 12 penguins left.

"We really want to be able to protect them," she said.

"It's just so sad."

She said several members of the public had reported seeing foxes on the causeway and the council was keen to work with the Government to erect a fox-proof gate.

Ms Loan said DEW was in talks with the Department of Infrastructure about installing a fox-proof fence with a "spring-loaded gate" on the causeway.

The State Government also has plans to demolish the heritage causeway altogether and replace it with a concrete and steel structure a proposal that has prompted a protest petition that has been signed by nearly 9,000 people.

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Granite Island penguin population in peril prompting specialists to hunt foxes at night - ABC News

Cleavers with food residue; dead insects in bathroom: Lancaster County restaurant inspections, July 31, 2020 – LancasterOnline

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The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, 866-366-3723, uses a risk-based inspection reporting process for restaurants and other food handlers.

Bistro Barberet and Bakery, 26 E. King St., July 17. No violations.

Black Rock Retreat Oakwood, 1345 Kirkwood Pike, Quarryville, July 17. Plumbing system not maintained in good repair drain pipe leaking at the hand-wash sink in the warewash area. Pink moist residue on the drop plate of the ice machine; cleaned.

Brick House Cafe, 60 N. Main St., Manheim, July 17. Black and pink matter on the shoot of the interior of the ice machine. Floor tiles in dish-washing room cracked and damaged in away making floor not smooth and easily cleanable.

Charlie's Chicken BBQ MFF3, 627 Buck Road, Quarryville, July 17. No violations.

China One, 105 Doe Run Road, Manheim, July 17. Can opener blade with a buildup of old food residue. Evidence of drain flies in and around the area of the three-compartment sink. The hand-wash sink in the prep area was blocked by plastic bag and not accessible at all times for employee use. In the back of the house of the food facility has a gap and does not protect against the entry of insects, rodents and other animals. Litter and debris on floor under and around equipment in back area. Nonfood contact surfaces, such as handles, shelves and containers in back area, not cleaned at a frequency to preclude accumulation of dirt and soil.

Columbia Borough Fire Department, 726 Manor St., Columbia, July 17. No violations.

Fireside Cafe, 158 Toddy Drive, East Earl, opening, July 17. Chlorine chemical sanitizer residual detected in the final sanitizer rinse cycle of the low temperature sanitizing dishwasher was 0 ppm, and not 50-100 ppm as required. Service company called at time of inspection. Bathroom is not provided with a covered waste receptacle for sanitary products. Food facility does not have available quat ammonia and chlorine sanitizer test strips or test kit to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration.

Lancaster Cupcake, 24 W. Orange St., July 17. No violations.

Mean Cup, Central Market, July 17. No violations.

Mulberry Thrill, 100 W. Market St., rear, Marietta, July 17. No violations.

Murphy's Mercantile & Co., 261 Locust St., Columbia, July 17. No violations.

Ric's Bread, 2 W. Grant St., July 17. No violations.

Scoops Ice Cream & Grill MFF3 XHG-7087, 312 Primrose Lane, Mountville, July 17. No violations.

Scoops Ice Cream & Grille MFF3 ZJS-9618, 312 Primrose Lane, Mountville, July 17. No violations.

Scoops Ice Cream & Grille MFF3 XHD-8419, 312 Primrose Lane, Mountville, July 17. Service window, is open, not screened and does not protect against the entry of insects and other animals. The inside of the chest freezer is rusted and no longer smooth and easily cleanable.

The Turkey Lady, 2 W. Grant St., July 17. No violations.

Wendy Jo's Homemade/Lancaster Cookie Co., 2 W. Grant St., July 17. No violations.

West Willow Produce MFF3, 801 Millwood Road, Willow Street, July 17. No violations.

Aldi No. 03, 2350 Lincoln Highway East, Suite 750, July 16. No violations.

Blazin J's, 15 E. King St., July 16. No violations.

Dollar Tree No. 1660, 1280 Lititz Pike, July 16. Raw shell eggs stored above bottles of water in the walk-in cooler. A box of food stored directly on the floor in the walk-in freezer rather than 6 inches off of the floor as required. All intake air ducts and vents in the customer area are black with static dust, emitting dust and dirt into the air.

Eshelman's Food Service, 1040 New Holland Ave., July 16. No violations.

Food for Thought Catering, 241 W. Roseville Road, July 16. No violations.

Johnny's Bar & Steak House, 7 Kurtz Road, Steven, July 16. Tongs are being stored on grill handle rather than on a clean surface. Food handler wearing a watch.

Kauffman & Sons A L, 3097 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bird in Hand, July 16. No violations.

Kyma Seafood Grill, 1640 N. Reading Road, Stevens, July 16. An accumulation of static dust on room wall fan near dishwasher. There is no maximum registering thermometer or thermal label available to ensure correct operating temperature of hot water sanitizing dishwasher. Interior of soda gun holders were not clean to sight and touch. The hot water used for sanitizing in the mechanical warewashing machine did not reach 180 F. Apparent problem with heat booster. Service company notified. Sanitizing will be conducted in the three-bay sink until repair can be made.

Land of Poole, 2285 Lincoln Highway East, opening, July 16. No violations.

O & M Deli Grocery LLC, 701 N. Shippen St., July 16. Food not held at proper temperature in countertop unit. Food slicer with food debris present. Microwave has food debris and rust.

Quarryville Family Restaurant, 134 E. State St., Quarryville, July 16. A gap at the bottom of the rear screen door and does not prevent the entry of rodents and insects.

Rita's Italian Ice and Frozen Custard, 2249 Lincoln Highway East, July 16. Duct tape used to repair the plastic cover on the blizzard mixing unit, not an approved material.

Skyline Concessions, 245 Eden Road, July 16. Test strips for quaternary ammonia are faded and do not register a correct reading as compared to inspector's test strips. Inspector's test strips read between 100 ppm and 200 ppm, facility test strips read less than 50 ppm. The food facility does not have the original certificate for the certified food employee posted in public view.

Speedway No. 06779, 1660 Rohrerstown Road, July 16. Trays used for cooking, stored beneath dirty ventilation on top of the oven. The food facility does not maintain food employee certification records as required. The drain to the dump sink in the customer area is clogged and overflows when the water is turned on. The food facility does not have a placard at the self-service donut case that indicates ingredients are available upon request. The food facility does not have the original certificate for the certified food employee posted in public view. The hand-wash sink in the back food preparation area was blocked by four buckets stored inside, and not accessible at all times for employee use.

Sugar Whipped Bakery, 77 E. Main St., Lititz, July 16. Food handler wearing a watch and bracelet. Some food debris under work table area.

Tec Centro, 102 Chester St., July 16. No violations.

Whispering Pines Farm Stand MFF3, 2957 Church Road, Bird-in-Hand, follow-up, July 16. No violations.

Auntie Anne's No. 316A at Dutch Wonderland, 2249 Lincoln Highway East, July 15. Plumbing system not maintained in good repair drain lines leaking at the three-compartment sink. Scoop being stored in the ice machine with handle buried beneath the ice. Scoop being stored in the ice machine with handle buried beneath the ice. Soap was not available at the hand-wash sink; corrected.

Auntie Annes No. 316 at Dutch Wonderland RC, 2249 Lincoln Highway East, July 15. No sign or poster posted at the hand-wash sink to remind food employees to wash their hands; corrected.

Breyers Ice Cream Parlor at Dutch Wonderland, 2240 Lincoln Highway East, July 15. No violations.

Dippin Dots No. 2, 2249 Lincoln Highway, July 15. No violations.

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Dippin Dots Cart No. 3, 2249 Lincoln Highway, July 15. No violations.

Dole Whip Junction at Dutch Wonderland, 2249 Lincoln Highway East, July 15. No violations.

Exit Snacks, 2249 Lincoln Highway East, July 15. No violations.

Forklift and Palate, 2913 Spooky Nook Road, Manheim, July 15. Food containers to have food label glue residue and were not clean to sight and touch. Food contact surface of plastic containers not smooth, easily cleanable and/or resistant to pitting, cracking or scratching.

Four Seasons, 949 Church St., Landisville, July 15. No violations.

Hursh's Country Store, 2425 W. Main St., Ephrata, July 15. No violations.

Merlin's Restaurant, 2249 Lincoln Highway East, July 15. No violations.

Millstream Eatery at Dutch Wonderland, 2249 Lincoln East Highway, July 15. No violations.

Monique's Bakery at Spooky Nook Sports, 2913 Spooky Nook Road, Manheim, July 15. No violations.

Nathans at Dutch Wonderland, 2249 Lincoln Highway East, July 15. No violations.

New Yang Garden, 56 S. 18th St., Columbia, July 15. In the walk-in cooler, raw chicken stored above onions. A buildup of old food residue and grease in these areas: behind the grease trap, behind the smoker, beneath the wok area, beneath the fryers, and beneath the food preparation tables. Grime on the inner side of the door to the walk-in cooler. The back door is broken and does not seal and has gaps around the entire frame and does not protect against insects or other animals. Food employee is not using available sanitizer test strips or test kit to determine sanitizer concentration. Three cleavers and three gray totes with old food residue on them, greasy and not clean to sight and touch. A grime buildup on the hand-wash sinks, light switches and doors of the restrooms. Webbing, dead insects and flies around the bottom area of the toilets in both restrooms. Food facility is using chlorine bleach at an extremely high concentration in excess of 400 ppm, not approved in the Code of Federal Regulations for food contact sanitizing at this level.

Noble Romans at Dutch Wonderland, 2249 Lincoln Highway East, July 15. No violations.

Potato Patch at Dutch Wonderland, 2249 Lincoln Highway East, July 15. No violations.

Sharkey's Grill/Staff Center at Dutch Wonderland, 2249 Lincoln Highway East, July 15. No violations.

Snack Shack, 2249 Lincoln Highway East, July 15. No violations.

Spooky Nook Banquet Kitchen, 2913 Spooky Nook Road, Manheim, July 15. Assort processing equipment and containers were to have food residue and were not clean to sight and touch. Fume hood at service area dusty posing a risk of potential contamination. Food contacts surface of multiple plastic storage containers not smooth, easily cleanable and/or resistant to pitting, cracking or scratching. Pans with a nonstick coating scratched and worn. Mixers and food processor with an accumulation of food residue, debris on nonfood contact surfaces.

Spooky Nook Sports, 2913 Spooky Nook Road, Manheim, July 15. Food containers to have food label glue residue and were not clean to sight and touch.

Union Station Grill, 171-173 S. Fourth St., Columbia, July 15. An open employee's beverage container was on a food preparation table with food in the basement. Old food residue on the inner rim of the slicer. The food facility does not have the original certificate for the certified food employee posted in public view. Several floor tiles are missing in the dish washing room. Chlorine chemical sanitizer residual detected in the final sanitizer rinse cycle of the low temperature sanitizing dishwasher was 0 ppm, and not 50-100 ppm as required. A call for repair was made during the time of the inspection. The food facility does not have a hand-wash sink located in the basement food preparation area. Discussed with the person in charge the options of placing a hand-wash sink in the basement or performing that food preparation in the upstairs kitchen.

Walmart Super Center No. 2340, 890 E. Main St., Ephrata, complaint, July 15. No violations.

Allgyer's Homemade Drinks, 705 Graystone Road, Building 6, front, Manheim, July 14. The hand-wash sink was blocked by sanitizer container not accessible at all times for employee use.

BLD Beverage/136 S. Water St. LLC, 136 S. Water St., July 14. No violations.

Fahnestock Fruit Farm, 705 Graystone Road, Building 1, front, Manheim, July 14. No violations.

Falafely Good, 705 Graystone Road, near building 1, Manheim, opening, July 14. No violations.

Heart Felt Treasures, 705 Graystone Road, Building 9, outside, Manheim, July 14. No violations.

Hesss Barbeque Shack, 705 Graystoen Road, Building 6, Manheim, July 14. Chemicals being stored above food related items. Food employees in prep area, not wearing proper hair restraints, such as beard covers.

Kissel Village Cardtique, 1010 Lititz Pike, Lititz, July 14. No violations.

Le`s Grill, 705 Graystone Road, midway, Manheim, opening, July 14. No violations.

Lititz Family Cupboard, 12 W. Newport Road, Lititz, follow-up, July 14. No violations.

Mod Pizza, 120 Rohrerstown Road, Suite 7A, July 14. Several gnats in the back food processing area, mainly around the drains. Food facility has an employee who held a certified food manager certificate; however, the certificate has expired May 29 and is no longer valid. The facility has 90 days to enroll an employee in a certified food manager course. Deeply scored and discolored cutting boards (two portable boards) not resurfaced or discarded as required.

Panera Bread No. 1992, 130 Rohrerstown Road, July 14. Milk being used for drinks with a sell-by date July 12. The hand-wash sink in the middle food preparation area being used as a food preparation sink as evidenced by shredded turkey in the sink. Old food residue inside the tomato slicer and the lemon wedger. Paper towel dispenser empty at the hand-wash sink in the back food preparation area. Three jars of coffee maker cleaner stored on the preparation table with food and food equipment.

Rachel's Cafe & Creperie, 201 W. Walnut St., July 14. No violations.

Stover's Produce Auction, 705 Graystone Road, Building 9, Manheim, July 14. Chemicals store directly beside food items.

The Renegade Winery at Roots Market, 705 Graystone Road, Building 4, Manheim, July 14. No violations.

East Petersburg Swim Snack, 2575 Greystone Road, East Petersburg, July 13. No violations.

Edwards Nut & Candy Co., 3519 Columbia Ave., July 13. No violations.

Kunzler Rolling Grill, 120 N. Duke St., July 13. No violations.

Landisville Camp Meeting Association, 201 Church St., Landisville, July 13. Food facility does not have available sanitizer test strips or test kit to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration of the two-bowl sink. Paper towel dispenser empty at the hand-wash sink.

Paul B LLC, 50 Wood Corner Road, Lititz, July 13. No violations.

Pizza Palace, 555 28th Division Highway, Lititz, July 13. A heavy accumulation of static dust adhering to grease on hood baffles. Food handler in kitchen area not wearing proper hair restraint such as a hairnet or hat. Food facility does not have available sanitizer test strips or test kit to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration.

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Cleavers with food residue; dead insects in bathroom: Lancaster County restaurant inspections, July 31, 2020 - LancasterOnline

Going nuts about walnuts: How to find the best for your region – Stuff.co.nz

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Should you be in Serbia at Christmas, you may well see men running around their houses chanting (in Serbian) the equivalent of Do not listen, God, to Jack, who is full of cack (cack being excrement).

Christmas in Serbia is at a much more sensible time when the crops are gathered, the pantry is full and the weather more suitable for cosy socialising, and it is when they crack the first walnut of the harvest. The chant is done to thwart the bad omen of discovering a shrivelled kernel apparently an ominous sign that the forthcoming year will not be prosperous. Such is the importance of walnuts in Europe and what was once Persia, which is where our common, so-called English, walnut originated from.

As far back as the fourth century, Alexander the Great recognised the attributes of the nut of the god Jupiter (which is where the Latin name for the walnut family, Juglans, originates). Since then, hybridisation and selection evolved the trees that still dominate the forests of Kyrgyzstan into the trees with the larger fruit that we know today. They were traded on the Silk Road, the Romans distributed them throughout Europe, and the Reverend Paul Crath imported tonnes of seeds into America in the 1930s. English merchants took walnuts aboard ships and to the rest of the world, but they were never grown in England on any extensive scale.

In the 1980s, the New Zealand Tree Crops Association (NZTCA) set about to select varieties suitable for our climate. Members collected more than 800 walnuts from trees throughout the country, and selected nuts for quality (taste, colour), suitability for commercial production (size, shape, seal and storage) and crack-out (how full the shell is). The best were then grown at Lincoln University to determine yield, biennial bearing, form and flowering times.

SALLY TAGG/NZ GARDENER

Walnuts are known to benefit cholesterol levels, heart function, gut health and brain power.

READ MORE:* Nut grower focused on quality and freshness* How to grow walnuts in New Zealand* The spicy liqueur that's made from green, juicy, unripe walnuts

123rf

A walnut seedling.

This research has initiated a walnut industry based in Canterbury which produced more than 200 tonnes last year and expects to triple that when trees already planted mature.

The top performer of the Lincoln trial was cultivar number 152, henceforth called Rex, and it constitutes about three-quarters of the New Zealands commercial crop.

Rex is a lateral bearer yielding heavy crops from a young age, but its small nut requires a factory to process.

Growers who sell in-shell nuts directly to customers prefer the larger nuts of the terminal bearing varieties from which it is easier to extract whole or half kernels. (Some walnut varieties bear fruit only on a terminal shoot at the end of one-year-old wood. These are called terminal bearing varieties. Other varieties bear fruit on shoots sprouting from the full length of the one-year-old wood. These lateral bearing varieties lead to higher yields when the tree is young.)

North Island growers in particular favour the long nuts of Meyric, or the heavy crop of Shannon. Trials and research in different locations prove that seasonal influences are the biggest variable affecting nut production, and variety selection to suit regional climates is important.

MELANIE WAKEMAN

Walnuts at various stages of dryness.

Propagation & pollination

Because walnuts can cross-pollinate, a seedling-grown nut can be an unknown mix of both parents.

Seedlings are reputed to take a little longer to start bearing nuts, but several experienced growers refute this, saying tree care and variety selection have a bigger influence on bearing age. In general, seedlings tend to be more resistant to pests and disease, so they grow to become a healthier and more robust tree.

Since grafted cultivars can be expensive ($30$114) and of limited supply, it is certainly worthwhile finding a good walnut tree in your area and planting some nuts from it.

Plant the nut on its side, so when the embryo splits the shell, it does not fill and hold water.

Walnuts are self-fertile, but the chances of selffertilisation are not high. The overlap of pollen shedding and receptivity of the female flower is very short. However, walnut pollen can travel for many kilometres on the wind and even seemingly isolated trees usually get pollinated.

Climate too plays a part with warm weather inducing early pollen release and extending its viability. For maximum production, commercial growers plant two different varieties to cross pollinate one another.

123rf

The first leaves of Juglans regia.

Care & maintenance

Walnuts take seven to 15 years to get into production, and a tree needs about 10 square metres. If you have the space, a walnut tree provides a beautiful shade tree with very little maintenance. They dont usually have single leader and naturally form a lovely rounded shape. They dont usually need to be pruned either.

They will grow in most situations and soils doing better in sheltered fertile soils, of course but will not tolerate wet feet.

On planting, dig the hole at least a metre deep to ensure good drainage.

Boron is notably lacking from most New Zealand soils. Deficiencies can reduce a walnut crop by up to 300 per cent and cause new growth to snake head, growing up and over like the handle of a walking stick.

OrganiBOR is a simple way to add boron to your soil.

123rf

Catkins in spring.

If there is any possibility your soil might have Phytophthora, then it is worth the trouble to get a grafted tree on Juglans nigra rootstock.

The most common issue is walnut blight a fungus that attacks the nuts and new growth, and thrives in warm wet spring weather. Some cultivars are naturally more resistant.

Planting where there is good airflow hampers fungal growth, as does copper spray at bud burst.

Once established, walnuts will bear nuts for some 120 years.

Just to be confusing, a walnut is not a nut. Like a peach, it is a drupe with flesh surrounding a kernel. This flesh, aka the husk, contains a strong brown pigment which can be made into a dye for fabric or hair, or an ink that artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt used.

The shells are great fire starters and are commercially crushed for use as an abrasive (the walnut equivalent of sand blasting) or added to facial scrubs as an exfoliator.

The foot of the trunk is sought after for gunstocks and even the leaves were used in a decoction for treating diabetes in traditional Austrian medicine.

All of the Juglans family produce juglone, a toxic substance that reputedly stunts the growth of neighbouring plants.

However, growers and orchardists in New Zealand have not seen any effect of this perhaps something in our soil counteracts this. Juglones is reputedly strongest in the black walnut (Juglans nigra), which though edible is small and hard to extract and usually only grown for its timber.

Juglone has been used as a herbicide and is also toxic to many insects and at least one farmer I know specifically plants them as shade trees for his cattle, observing that they deter the flies.

SHERYN DEAN/NZ GARDENER

Picked green, before the shell forms, any of the walnut family can be pickled.

Foodies favourite

Walnuts are known to benefit cholesterol levels, heart function, gut health and brain power.

Somehow though, they have fallen out of fashion and less than 5 per cent of people surveyed now eat them regularly.

Part of this could be attributed to the lack of fresh, tasty nuts. Without the space or patience to grow our own, we buy old, shrivelled and imported nuts, store them until they are rancid, then throw them into a carrot cake or the bin.

New Zealand walnut growers are horrified by such practices. For those in the know, a fresh, well-harvested and stored walnut is a gourmet food. Its high oil content delivers plenty of health benefits, but these omega-3 and polyunsaturated fats go rancid with time and warm temperatures.

New Zealand nuts are harvested as soon as they fall, and are dried and sweetened with optimum air-flow and temperature. Our cultivars have been selected to produce a honey-coloured, sweet and tasty nut, which, though it will store in shell for about a year, is kept at premium if cracked and stored in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer until required.

SHERYN DEAN/NZ GARDENER

Wanganuis Nuts 'n May Orchard.

Picked green, before the shell forms, any of the walnut family can be pickled. The best are the small and sweet heart-shaped nuts of Juglans ailantifolia, the Japanese walnut, which is classified as invasive as it has overwhelmed many riparian zones in the North Island. Foraging the nuts will help prevent it spreading.

Another member of the family worth growing is the butternut (Juglans cinerea). It is a large tree producing football-shaped nuts which have a sweet, creamy flavour more like a pine nut than a walnut.

Most walnut orchards in New Zealand are certified organic. But walnuts are so easy to grow, even if not certified, it is unlikely the crop has needed a regimen of nasty chemicals.

SHERYN DEAN/NZ GARDENER

Canterburys walnut industry produced more than 200 tonnes last year and expects to triple that when trees already planted mature.

A number of New Zealand growers sell their walnuts. You can find their contact details online, walnutsplease.nz. The website also has recipes and more information about walnut growing and storage.

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Going nuts about walnuts: How to find the best for your region - Stuff.co.nz

Right To Life Seeks Informed Debate On Euthanasia Referendum – Scoop.co.nz

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Saturday, 25 July 2020, 6:38 pmPress Release: Right To Life

Right to Life commends David Seymour, the architect andsponsor of the End of Life Choice Act for insisting that thepublic be given accurate information on the purpose of hislegislation. He stated on TVNZ One News on Tuesday 21stJuly, his concern that there was a danger that what hewrongly considered inaccurate important questions in arecent poll by Horizon could misinform theelectorate.

Right to Life supports David Seymour inhis desire to ensure that voters are fully informed on thelegislation that will empower doctors to give a lethalinjection to their patients or assist in theirsuicide.

Right to Life believes that David Seymourwould be greatly distressed to learn that a poll conductedby Curia marketing in 2017 found that the MAJORITY OFRESPONDENTS THOUGHT THAT THE End of Life Choice Bill wouldprovide options that were already legal.

85%thought that it included turning off life support

79% thought it includes do not resuscitate (no CPR)requests

67% thought it includes the stopping ofmedical tests, treatments and surgeries.

Similarresults were found in polls conducted in 2015 and2019.

The End of Life Choice Act is NOT about, nordoes it make legal the action of turning off life support,to make a 'do not resuscitate request (no CPR) or to stopmedical treatment. All of these end of life choices arealready legal, are not euthanasia and this new law, ifpassed, will not change these actions.

The End of LifeChoice Act is NOT about pain relief. Its already legalfor a doctor to give a person enough medication to addresstheir pain and make them comfortable, even if this mayhasten their death as a side effect as the doctor seeks toneither hasten or cause the death of his patient.

Thispoll demonstrates that the public is not yet aware of thecontent and meaning of the End of Life Choice Act. Webelieve that in order to have a fully informed publicreferendum on this critical issue of allowing doctors togive patients a lethal injection or to assist in theirsuicide it is essential that the above information be widelypublicised by the media and shown on the governmentreferendum web site.

Right to Life believes that DavidSeymour, who is a passionate advocate for choice has aserious duty to the community to make a public statement tothe media confirming that the EOLCA does not provide any ofthe above options. We believe that David Seymour would begreatly distressed if voters voted yes for the euthanasiareferendum in the mistaken belief that the legislationprovided for the above options which are already ethical,legal and have been available for many years.

Right toLife requests that the media, which are at the service ofthe community seek from David Seymour his confirmation thatthe above options are not provided for in the End of LifeChoiceAct.

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Right To Life Seeks Informed Debate On Euthanasia Referendum - Scoop.co.nz

Ask the Vet: Even indoor cats need rabies vaccination – Indianapolis Business Journal

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Her veterinarian insists she needs rabies vaccination. Why is this necessary, if shes a committed homebody?

A: BarB should be vaccinated for rabies to protect herself and you from the deadly disease.

In the U.S., the cat is the domestic animal that most often tests positive for rabies, and the bat is the most commonly infected wildlife species.

Rabid bats bite indoor cats if they meet on the balcony or when the bat enters the home through a torn window screen or flies down the chimney. Some indoor cats are bitten when they escape for even a short time from the home or car.

If BarBs rabies vaccination isnt current and she is exposed to a rabies-infected animal, your county and state laws dictate what follows. That step may range from a stressful and expensive monthslong quarantine, usually at an animal shelter or veterinary hospital, to euthanasia.

If she bites you, a veterinary staff member or a visitor in your home, the stakes are even higher.

Thats to prevent BarB from transmitting rabies to humans, where the disease causes a gruesome death.

Globally, 59,000 people die every year from rabies. In the U.S., most human cases result from a bat bite inside the home.

In January 2020, the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association published the most recent analysis of rabies data, the reports from 2018, when three people in this country died of rabies.

That January, a 6-year-old Florida boy died after having been bitten by a bat. In August, a 69-year-old Delaware woman died of racoon rabies, despite no known contact. In November, a 55-year-old Utah man died of bat rabies.

Like other people bitten by bats, the man didnt know hed been bitten while shooing bats from his house. If he wasnt aware of the bite, you know BarB wont alert you if a bat ever bites her.

So, keep her rabies vaccination current, even though shes always indoors.

Q: Our veterinarian diagnosed our dog Crew with epilepsy and prescribed medication, which has significantly decreased the frequency and severity of his seizures. About the only time Crew has a seizure is soon after someone visits our home. Is this unusual?

A: Many humans with epilepsy recognize that certain factors, most notably stress but also sleep deprivation, infectious disease and hormonal changes, can precipitate seizures.

The same is true in dogs, where epilepsy is the most common neurologic disorder.

In a recent study, veterinarians questioned families of 50 epileptic dogs about factors that precipitated their seizures. The researchers learned that lifestyle events and whether the dog was sterilized played a role.

Seizures occurred in 42% of females during their heat cycles and in 33% of unsterilized males exposed to a female dog in heat. So, its important to sterilize any dog diagnosed with epilepsy.

Other factors that elicited seizures were visitors to the home (in 30% of dogs); a change in the dogs life situation (27%); changes in the daily routine, altered sleep patterns or going to an unfamiliar place (24%); hot weather (22%); stress or excitement (21%); fear (19%); and intense exercise or illness (16%).

Minimizing whatever precipitating factors affect the individual dog can help improve seizure control.

So, let your veterinarian know about Crews increased seizure frequency when people visit. Your vet may prescribe an additional medication you can give Crew to decrease anxiety and seizures when visitors are expected.

Lee Pickett, VMD, practices companion animal medicine in North Carolina. Contact her at https://askthevet.pet.

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Ask the Vet: Even indoor cats need rabies vaccination - Indianapolis Business Journal

Nick Cave live in London: the breathtaking Idiot Prayer is an exorcism of death, religion and romance – NME

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Alexandra Palace is one of Londons most formidable live music venues, looming elegantly over the city. Its strange to know that at some point over the past few weeks, Nick Cave and his crew secretly booked it out to film this spectacular one-man piano performance, a ticketed virtual gig which streamed for one-time only. You know like an actual gig.

And if you happened to spend your Thursday night trying to cast your laptop to your telly so you didnt have to watch the whole thing squinting at a small computer screen, then youll know just how special and unrepeatable this gig, dubbed Idiot Prayer, truly was.

With the Bad Seeds presumably still on furlough, a solo Cave delivers up a career-spanning set with a couple of Grinderman songs thrown in for good measure, one brand new song and a whole lot of his 1997 PJ Harvey break-up album The Boatmans Call. In an ink-black Gucci suit, the Seed-less Cave opens the film by striding through the empty venue as the lyrics to last years Spinning Song are recited in voiceover.

That kind of dramatic opener should be no surprise, but to see the usually heaving, 11,000 capacity Ally Pally totally empty is so disconcerting that it manages to elevate the isolation many of us have been feeling over the past five months into something otherworldly. When he finally arrives in the main room, it looks more like the lavish Palace of Versailles than it does the home of the yearly Christmas piss-up that is the World Darts Championship.

Unlike Jarvis Cockers JARV IS show from earlier this week another pre-recorded COVID-induced concert film, that one recorded in a cave in Derbyshire Cave doesnt have the beauty of nature to fall back on. Neither does he have flashy lazers, a many limbed band, backing singers and tried-and-tested finger-pointing dance moves at his disposal. Rather than deliver spoken intros and Cockers disarmingly casual chatter, Cave doesnt utter a word throughout. Instead we have title cards which arrive at the start of each song, announcing their name as if we were watching a silent movie.

His glossy black grand piano rings out powerful and pure as his fingers, heavy with thick gold rings, put it through its paces, digging deep into the weighty likes of fan favourites The Mercy Seat, Jubilee Street, Brompton Oratory, Into My Arms and The Ship Song. Discarding papers scrawled with lyrics to the floor after each track might seem a poetic affectation, but this is the only clutter here.

Without crowds, chatter and the mess of thousands of human bodies all bumping up against each other, its possible to focus purely on Caves devastating lyricism: religion, death and romance all getting their chance to shine in the golden and purple lights that softly illuminate the room. In this setting perhaps the biggest revelation is the low-key take on surrealist Grinderman love song Palaces of Montezuma, which offers up the most cheering moment of this overly sombre hour-and-a-half.

Bearing a title bleak even for such a prince of darkness, new song Euthanasia slots in gracefully to the deeply emotive 21-song set. I look for you underneath the damp earth / I look for you in the night sky, croons Cave, grief-stricken. But there is hope here too and an eventual feeling of acceptance, of coming-to-terms with it all: In losing it all I found myself / Found myself in time.

Finishing with a stark but lovely Galleon Ship the only full song to be taken from 2019s harrowing Ghosteen tonight Cave stands and silently trots off towards a shaft of light coming in through an open door. He might still be alone, but after a performance like that, were with him all the way.

Nick Cave played:

Idiot Prayer

Sad Waters

Brompton Oratory

Palaces of Montezuma

Girl in Amber

Man in the Moon

Nobodys Baby Now

(Are You) The One That Ive Been Waiting For?

Waiting for You

The Mercy Seat

Euthanasia

Jubilee Street

Far From Me

He Wants You

Higgs Boson Blues

Stranger Than Kindness

Into My Arms

The Ship Song

Papa Wont Leave You, Henry

Black Hair

Galleon Ship

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Nick Cave live in London: the breathtaking Idiot Prayer is an exorcism of death, religion and romance - NME

DC’s Cyborg Knows The Easiest Way To Beat Wolverine | Screen Rant – Screen Rant

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The DCEU's Cyborg has figured out what comic fans know: that Batman could beat Wolverine with a deviously clever (and obvious) strategy.

DC'sCyborg knows the perfect way to beatWolverine. On the face of it, Wolverine should be the most dangerous man on the planet. As a mutant, he has a phenomenal healing factor that has allowed him to survive being burned down to his bones, or cut in half by a portal. The Weapon X Project then enhanced himby bonding his bones withadamantium, an almost indestructible metal, and his claws can slice through almost anything.

Wolverine has gone up against gods and monsters, rogue mutants and powerful cosmic entities. In the popular and much-acclaimedEnemy of the Stateevent, Wolverine was brainwashed and turned into an assassin for the Hand, and every Marvel hero in the world trembled in fear. At one point, Wolverine broke into the Baxter Building in an attempt to assassinate the Fantastic Four, and even with Reed Richards' genius the FF barely survived.

Related:Wolverine's Claws Can Never Cut ONE Marvel Superhero

Hilariously, in today's Justice Con interview, Ray Fisher - aka the DCEU's Cyborg - revealed he knows the perfect way to stop Wolverine. As Fisher notes, he grew up with comics, but he always had a preference for DC. He joked that he was one of those 11-year-olds who consistently argued Batman could find a way to beat anybody. He tossed out a few examples to prove the point, and his idea for stopping Wolverine is simple but absolutely perfect; just get a magnet, he suggested. Just get a giant magnet. After all, adamantium is magnetic, as Magneto has demonstrated on occasion.

Amusingly, Fisher is right; get a big enough magnet, and you could conceivably keep Wolverine captive. The problem, however, is that you'd need to make the magnet big enough to have the effect, and it can actually be pretty expensive to produce a magnet of that size. Of course, cost would be no object for the billionaire Bruce Wayne, so if anybody could pull this off, it's Batman.

Another option would be to make a magnet more powerful, most likely using electrical coils to generate a stronger magnetic field. That approach has actually been tried a few times in the comics, but it has one major flaw; those coils make perfect targets for Wolverine's claws, allowing him to cut through them. His escape isn't easy and it's hardly painless, but all it ultimately accomplishes is leaving Wolverine in a very bad mood. And that's the risk with attempting to capture Wolverine; in theory the magnet idea works, but if you fail, you wind up in serious trouble.

More:X-Men: Wolverine & Jean Grey Are OFFICIALLY Together

Supergirl Killed DC's Unkillable Hero With ONE Punch

Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant's staff writers, and he's frankly amused that his childhood is back - and this time it's cool. Tom's focus tends to be on the various superhero franchises, as well as Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Star Trek; he's also an avid comic book reader. Over the years, Tom has built a strong relationship with aspects of the various fan communities, and is a Moderator on some of Facebook's largest MCU and X-Men groups. Previously, he's written entertainment news and articles for Movie Pilot.A graduate of Edge Hill University in the United Kingdom, Tom is still strongly connected with his alma mater; in fact, in his spare time he's a voluntary chaplain there. He's heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will quickly learn that he's interested in British politics as well.

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DC's Cyborg Knows The Easiest Way To Beat Wolverine | Screen Rant - Screen Rant

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse – Flashpoint, Red Hood, Teen Titans – Bleeding Cool News

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More DC Multiverse figures have been announced from McFarlane Toys. We recently got a reveal of a new wave featuring a Build-A-Figure of Batman The Merciless. That wave seems to be all for the DC Comics storyline Dark Nights Metal. This time more figures are not only expanding the Batman roster but the DC Universe roster. Even though these are all just teasers, all of the characters are expected to release in Fall 2020. First up is Batman and Deathstroke from the hit video game Batman: Arkham Knight. Deathstroke is a worthy addition to any DC figure line and is packed with death and badass all around. McFarlane Toys then announced two 2-Pack figure sets with the first featuring the Flash and Red Death. This will mark the first Flash to be released in the series, and Red Death is a must have for the Dark Nights Metal line. Red Hood and Nightwing will be the second McFarlane Toys pack. Both figures are packed with there retrospective red elements and that Red Hood is captivating.

The last reveal McFarlane Toys did was four more figures with some surprising additions. First up is two figures from DC Rebirth with the Flash and the Joker making an appearance. The Joker is a different sculpt from the Arkham Asylum version and will be a great figure fro this series. Azreal in Batman Armor from Batman: Curse of the White Knight will also be coming. Which will be a must-have for fans of the comic or just batsuits. Last but not least is the most interesting of the lot with Teen Titans Cyborg. This animated Cyborg is just what the series needed, and it shows that they are expanding the DC multiverse in the right ways. I hope this means we can expect a return of the other Teen Titans members in the future. Pre-orders are not live yet, but collectors can find other McFarlane Toys figures here.

"We're releasing 2 multipacks! Coming out this fall is Nightwing vs. Red Hood and Batman Earth -52 vs. The Flash. Keep your eyes open another wave is coming out Fall 2020. Look out for Cyborg from the Teen Titans animated series, The Flash and The Joker based on the DC Rebirth comic books, and Azrael in Batman Armor figure based on the hit comic book series, BATMAN: CURSE OF THE WHITE KNIGHT

He has been the Collectibles Editor since late 2019. Funko Funatic, Historian, Air Force Veteran, and dedicated collector of many things.

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McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse - Flashpoint, Red Hood, Teen Titans - Bleeding Cool News

Ghost in the Shell is finally getting a 4K upgrade – Critical Hit

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I need to stress that Im talking about the anime film here. Anime. Not the 2017 live-action remake that admittedly had an amazing art direction, but the crunchy center of pure meh within it. Sorry Scar-Jo. Anyway, Mamoru Oshiis adaptation of the cult classic Msamune Shirow manga is the stuff of legend. Dealing with all manner of heady themes that flew over my head so hard at the time that it achieved enough terminal velocity to escape the gravitational pull of the planet, the film still holds up brilliantly after 25 years.

Its been knocking around in various formats since it was first released (Theatrical, on a VHS recorded from the SyFy channel with Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend after it I hope my mom never watched that tape), but for the first time therell be a 4K cut of the film. Which you cant see below, because the new trailer caps out at 1080p. It still looks bloody marvelous though.

If youve been living in an Amish Paradise for the last two decades and a half, Ghost in the Shell should be on your viewing catch-up list. Set in the far far future of 2029, the film deals with cyber-terrorism as a mysterious hacker known only as the Puppet Master begins to infect individuals with a virus that bends them to his will. For nefarious reasons, of course.

Hot on the trail of the Pupper Master is cyborg Major Matoko Kusanagi, whos busy having her own crisis of conscience as she deals with the fact that shes more machine than human, a titular ghost in a shell. The UHD blu-ray release will include audio commentary from Ghost in the Shells English-language scriptwriter Mary Claypool, animation producer and writer Eric Calderon, Batous English voice actor Richard Epcar and animation historian Charles Solomon.

Two new featurettes celebrating Ghost in the Shells pop culture impact and its cyberpunk design, and audio remasters for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos cap the project. Which just so happens to have cover art that makes good use of Martin Ansins spectacular art that Mondo commissioned. Itll be jacking into your blu-ray player on September 8.

Last Updated: July 31, 2020

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Ghost in the Shell is finally getting a 4K upgrade - Critical Hit

AfterShock Comics Exclusive Preview: THE MAN WHO F#%&ED UP TIME #5 – Monkeys Fighting Robots

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AfterShock Comics Exclusive Preview: THE MAN WHO F#%&ED UP TIME #5 - Monkeys Fighting Robots

22 Questions: Is LeBron James Still the Best Player in the NBA? – InsideHook

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Over the next three weeks, well be preparing for the NBAs long-awaited restart by attempting to answer the single most important question facing every franchisefrom the Washington Wizards to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers that will be present and accounted for in Orlando. This is 22 Questions.

When we look back at the 2019-2020 NBA season in 10 years (assuming we collectively last 10 more years), 2020 will mark the full-throated arrival of basketballs newest generation. Twenty-year-old Luka Doncic posted statlines that Michael Jordan never reached. Trae Young, in just his second year, is already challenging Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard as the games premier offensive point guard, while rookies Zion Williamson and Ja Morant resuscitated moribund franchises. And thats not even mentioning Devin Booker or Brandon Ingram or Ben Simmons or Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokic or a seemingly infinite number of sub-25-year-old studs let alone Giannis Antetokounmpo, whos about to become only the third player since the NBA/ABA merger to win two MVPs before his 26th birthday. Yet, alone at the leagues summit, LeBron James still remains, 36 years old and still the best player in the world.

The careers of most athletes follow a pretty well-worn arc, tracing the parabola of ascent to plateau to descent. LeBron is different. Rather than peaking, he like pre-meltdown Kanye West has merely gone through different yet equally excellent stages. During his first stint in Cleveland, he dominated with thermonuclear athleticism. In Miami, he became a basketball cyborg, blending ludicrously efficient high-volume scoring with defense better than even technology could imagine. Then, in Cleveland again, he became a system unto himself, willing limited rosters to the Finals through sheer force of will. Now a Laker, hes the biggest and smartest point guard in the world.

Although James is no longer quite the same titanic athlete he was five years ago, hes staved off decline by continually adding to his game. His 25.7 points per game are the fourth fewest hes averaged in a season, but still an elite figure for anyone. Like any good TikTok dad, James is fluent in the ways of the Youths while maintaining his central identity; he has internalized the three-point revolution and is shooting the most threes of his career, but drills trifectas in the goofiest, dad-est way imaginable.

The current iteration of LeBron James is probably best exemplified by the new areas he occupies. This year, hes driving more than he has in any other season that has available tracking data, showing that hes starting his attacks farther away from the rim than he has in previous years. Similarly, his 92 touches per game are by far the most hes enjoyed over the last five seasons, but according to NBA.com tracking stats, his 2.6 paint touches per game are way down from his high of 4.4 in 2015-2016. Taken in composite, its a clear picture of how James has adapted to playing alongside Anthony Davis, ceding certain areas of the floor to the best big man if not teammate that James has ever played with.

After Magic Johnson burped out the clearly not-good strategy of giving Lance Stephenson the reins to explore the outer rim of his sanity, the Lakers have once again entrusted the offense to James. As soon as they get the ball, the Lakers immediately look to funnel the ball to him, and he in turn looks to rifle outlet passes down the length of the court if the defense isnt paying attention; off of rebounds, the Lakers score about six percent more transition buckets when James is on the court than when hes on the bench. Davis is the most frequent recipient of these hit-aheads, thanks to his ability to either slip past defenders or to seal them off and provide James an unmissable target.

Beyond the ability to scrape up easy points in transition, James has also keyed the Lakers half-court offense. James has always been great at making instant reads to identify soft spots in a defense. This year is no exception: the Lakers are the NBAs best cutting team thanks to James.

For the first time, his superstar teammate is also a predominately off-ball player, lending James more creative opportunities. Dwyane Wade and Kyrie Irving may have been Daviss equal as a player, but they were redundant alongside James; Wade and Irving were both special offensive engines, but their production was tempered by the fact that they needed the ball to be at their best. In Davis, James has everything hes ever wanted and didnt know he needed. Despite being a freakish, 25-points-per-game scorer, Davis has an innate ability to bob in and out of the defenses focus, ducking between preoccupied defenders into space for easy points. Unsurprisingly, James has assisted Davis on 172 shots, 42 more than the next closest duo in the league.

Whats more, James has improbably become a more versatile passer than ever before, playing as a pick-and-roll ball-handler at career-highest frequency. Whereas his previous half-court passing largely came from fairly static situations like post-ups or isolations, hes now mixing in quick live-dribble passes alongside his regular menu of drive-and-kicks and skip passes.

Accordingly, James can make full use of his basketball genius, daring opponents to outsmart him. They rarely do. Big men must try to negotiate how much space to allow James without giving him easy shots at the rim or letting the roll man carve out enough room for a lob; help defenders away from the action must constantly calculate the marginal cost of pinching into the paint (known as tagging the roller) to stop the initial pick-and-roll, knowing that doing so will result in an open corner three. With James, defenses truly have no good options. A dunk from the roll-man is obviously bad, but rim-attempts for James or open corner threes for Danny Green are also decidedly not good.

Even on a macro level, James unlocks the Lakers team-building possibilities. In contrast to their crosstown rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Lakers have a fully actualized identity. Since James is able to carry such a tremendous offensive load, the Lakers can load up on role players and defensive specialists without losing any offensive potency. Danny Green or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or Javale McGee cant create their own shot, but thats immaterial when James can create so many for them. Even Davis is a more natural sidekick than leading man, having the most efficient and successful year of his career next to James. On the whole, the Lakers might have the least collective playmaking talent on their roster of any playoff team, but James allays any and all concerns his skillset alone provides a foundation for building a flexible offense out of unidimensional players.

James, presumably, wont maintain this level of play forever, and this might very well be his last real chance to add to his legacy and chase down the ghost of Michael Jordan. But, right now, who cares? Theres no use dwelling on some hypothetical matchup that only exists in our imagination. Either way, if LeBron isnt the GOAT, hes certainly the King. Long may he reign.

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22 Questions: Is LeBron James Still the Best Player in the NBA? - InsideHook

Nelson Cruz didnt even realize he walked through virtual fans (Video) – FanSided

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Nelson Cruz, Minnesota Twins. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images)

Nelson Cruz just made the virtual fan experience at big league ballparks look even dumber.

The 40-year-old designated hitter of the Minnesota Twins may have gotten off to a hot start this season, but hes quickly realizing Cleveland Indians pitcher Shane Bieber doesnt pitch for the Chicago White Sox. After being the greatest old dude player in baseball over the weekend, Cruz was perplexed by Bieber on the mound for the Tribe. The Biebs struck out 13 Twins. Oh, Baby!

While Cruz was one of two Twins hitter who didnt go down swinging or looking on Thursday night, his legend continues to grow by the nanosecond. Either hes been dead the whole time like Bruce Willis or the virtual fans in the stands at Target Field are ghosts, too. How on earth can you possibly explain what happened here? A glitch? I think not. Are we living in a simulation?

Cruz might still be living the dream of playing baseball professionally firmly into his fifth decade on earth, but those virtual fans have families, allegedly. They were so committed to the game, they were so stoic, it was just so heartbreaking to see this unforgivable thing happen to them. Sadly, the virtual fans were exposed as a bunch of 2-D men and women, living in a 3-D world.

So is Cruz from the fourth dimension as the Master of Time? I mean, yeah, he has to be. How else can be the best hitter on one of the best teams in the American League in the middle of 60-game, coronavirus-shortened MLB season? Every day is becoming weirder than the one before and Cruz is just passing through time, passing through 2-dimensional bodies who wake up and feel nothing.

Until someone shows him this video, Cruz wont realize his newfound superpower. Some people wish to fly, while others wish for invisibility. There are those who covet invincibility, while some want to have a superior intellect. Cruz proves to us all not all heroes wear capes. Some carry bats, wear hats and can walk through imitation human beings. How will he take on a cyborg, though?

If we have to fight robots in the not-so-distant future, Cruz is the man to go to bat for all of us.

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Nelson Cruz didnt even realize he walked through virtual fans (Video) - FanSided

Alita Battle Angel 2: Release Date, Cast, Plot And Everything You Need to Know – World Top Trend

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James Cameron created movie Alita Battle Angel of 2019 had an astounding accomplishment. That attracted the science fiction story about a teenager cyborg who was discovered by a specialist in an upstate. The cyborg yields to a condition, Alita, is of which has been delineated in the movie, each one. As youll find a continuation of it to observe, be as it may the story of the film will push forward. We are currently talking Alita Battle Angel two, which is anticipated to show up soon. Things being what they are, when are we getting Alita Battle Angel 2?

We can not make any speculations about the release date or the plot Since the producers have kept silent about the spin-off.

Thus, we hope in the very best and will sit tight to the upgrade from the producers.

The cast of Alita Battle Angel 2 would have Rosa Salazar as Alita, Christoph Waltz, as Dr Dyson Ido. There is A continuation open to get some new on-screen character to appear in it as well, nevertheless, who they could be is yet not known.

The narrative rotates. She winds up after Hugos passing. After Hugos flight, Alita needs to make her position on Earth and assesses herself. She attempts to return to its pioneer and the town of Zalem, which is secretive.

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Alita Battle Angel 2: Release Date, Cast, Plot And Everything You Need to Know - World Top Trend

How Coronavirus Pandemic Will Impact The Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem Market Size, Growth Opportunitis, Current trends, Forecast By 2030 -…

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The global The Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem Market, which is extensively assessed in the report contemplates the best need development angles and how they could affect the market over the figure residency under thought. The experts have taken careful endeavors to thoroughly evaluating every development factor of the market, other than indicating how certain market restrictions could represent a danger to players in the coming years. In addition, the report additionally gives data on top patterns and openings and how players could take advantage of them to take up the difficulties in the The Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem Market. This could be a helpful rule for players to concrete their situation in the business or make a rebound in the market.

The Leading Market Players Covered in this Report are : 5G-IA (5G Infrastructure Association),7Layers,A1 Telekom Austria Group,Aaeon Technology,AAR (American Association of Railroad),ABB,Abu Dhabi Police,Accelleran,Accenture,ACCF (Australasian Critical Communications Forum),Accton Technology Corporation,Accuver,Ace Technologies Corporation,AceAxis,ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority),Adax,Addis Ababa Light Rail,ADF (Australian Defence Force),ADLINK Technology,ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company),ADR (Aeroporti di Roma),ADRF (Advanced RF Technologies),ADTRAN,ADVA Optical Networking,Advantech,Advantech Wireless .

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Impact of Covid-19 in The Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem Market:The utility-owned segment is mainly being driven by increasing financial incentives and regulatory supports from the governments globally. The current utility-owned The Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem are affected primarily by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the projects in China, the US, Germany, and South Korea are delayed, and the companies are facing short-term operational issues due to supply chain constraints and lack of site access due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Asia-Pacific is anticipated to get highly affected by the spread of the COVID-19 due to the effect of the pandemic in China, Japan, and India. China is the epic center of this lethal disease. China is a major country in terms of the chemical industry.

Key Businesses Segmentation of The Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem MarketOn the basis on the end users/applications,this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, The Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem market share and growth rate of The Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem foreach application, including-

On the basis of product,this report displays the sales volume, revenue (Million USD), product price, The Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem market share and growth rate ofeach type, primarily split into-

The Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem Market Regional Analysis Includes: Asia-Pacific(Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Korea, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and Australia) Europe(Turkey, Germany, Russia UK, Italy, France, etc.) North America(the United States, Mexico, and Canada.) South America(Brazil etc.) The Middle East and Africa(GCC Countries and Egypt.)

Key Highlights of the Table of Contents:The Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem Market Study Coverage:It includes key market segments, key manufacturers covered, the scope of products offered in the years considered, global The Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem market and study objectives. Additionally, it touches the segmentation study provided in the report on the basis of the type of product and applications.The Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem Market Executive summary:This section emphasizes the key studies, market growth rate, competitive landscape, market drivers, trends, and issues in addition to the macroscopic indicators.The Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem Market Production by Region:The report delivers data related to import and export, revenue, production, and key players of all regional markets studied are covered in this section.The Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem Market Profile of Manufacturers:Analysis of each market player profiled is detailed in this section. This segment also provides SWOT analysis, products, production, value, capacity, and other vital factors of the individual player.

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Key Questions Answered: To gain insightful analyses of the The Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem market and have a comprehensive understanding of the global market and its commercial landscape. Assess the production processes, major issues, and solutions to mitigate the development risk. To understand the most affecting driving and restraining forces in the market and its impact on the global The Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem market. Learn about the The Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem market strategies that are being adopted by leading respective organizations. To understand the future outlook and prospects for the market. Besides the standard structure reports, we also provide custom research according to specific requirements.

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How Coronavirus Pandemic Will Impact The Private LTE & 5G Network Ecosystem Market Size, Growth Opportunitis, Current trends, Forecast By 2030 -...

Odilo provides the first unlimited learning ecosystem to the UK – FE News

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Further Education News

The FE News Channel gives you the latest education news and updates on emerging education strategies and the#FutureofEducation and the #FutureofWork.

Providing trustworthy and positive Further Education news and views since 2003, we are a digital news channel with a mixture of written word articles, podcasts and videos. Our specialisation is providing you with a mixture of the latest education news, our stance is always positive, sector building and sharing different perspectives and views from thought leaders, to provide you with a think tank of new ideas and solutions to bring the education sector together and come up with new innovative solutions and ideas.

FE News publish exclusive peer to peer thought leadership articles from our feature writers, as well as user generated content across our network of over 3000 Newsrooms, offering multiple sources of the latest education news across the Education and Employability sectors.

FE News also broadcast live events, podcasts with leading experts and thought leaders, webinars, video interviews and Further Education news bulletins so you receive the latest developments inSkills Newsand across the Apprenticeship, Further Education and Employability sectors.

Every week FE News has over 200 articles and new pieces of content per week. We are a news channel providing the latest Further Education News, giving insight from multiple sources on the latest education policy developments, latest strategies, through to our thought leaders who provide blue sky thinking strategy, best practice and innovation to help look into the future developments for education and the future of work.

In May 2020, FE News had over 120,000 unique visitors according to Google Analytics and over 200 new pieces of news content every week, from thought leadership articles, to the latest education news via written word, podcasts, video to press releases from across the sector.

We thought it would be helpful to explain how we tier our latest education news content and how you can get involved and understand how you can read the latest daily Further Education news and how we structure our FE Week of content:

Our main features are exclusive and are thought leadership articles and blue sky thinking with experts writing peer to peer news articles about the future of education and the future of work. The focus is solution led thought leadership, sharing best practice, innovation and emerging strategy. These are often articles about the future of education and the future of work, they often then create future education news articles. We limit our main features to a maximum of 20 per week, as they are often about new concepts and new thought processes. Our main features are also exclusive articles responding to the latest education news, maybe an insight from an expert into a policy announcement or response to an education think tank report or a white paper.

FE Voices was originally set up as a section on FE News to give a voice back to the sector. As we now have over 3,000 newsrooms and contributors, FE Voices are usually thought leadership articles, they dont necessarily have to be exclusive, but usually are, they are slightly shorter than Main Features. FE Voices can include more mixed media with the Further Education News articles, such as embedded podcasts and videos. Our sector response articles asking for different comments and opinions to education policy announcements or responding to a report of white paper are usually held in the FE Voices section. If we have a live podcast in an evening or a radio show such as SkillsWorldLive radio show, the next morning we place the FE podcast recording in the FE Voices section.

In sector news we have a blend of content from Press Releases, education resources, reports, education research, white papers from a range of contributors. We have a lot of positive education news articles from colleges, awarding organisations and Apprenticeship Training Providers, press releases from DfE to Think Tanks giving the overview of a report, through to helpful resources to help you with delivering education strategies to your learners and students.

We have a range of education podcasts on FE News, from hour long full production FE podcasts such as SkillsWorldLive in conjunction with the Federation of Awarding Bodies, to weekly podcasts from experts and thought leaders, providing advice and guidance to leaders. FE News also record podcasts at conferences and events, giving you one on one podcasts with education and skills experts on the latest strategies and developments.

We have over 150 education podcasts on FE News, ranging from EdTech podcasts with experts discussing Education 4.0 and how technology is complimenting and transforming education, to podcasts with experts discussing education research, the future of work, how to develop skills systems for jobs of the future to interviews with the Apprenticeship and Skills Minister.

We record our own exclusive FE News podcasts, work in conjunction with sector partners such as FAB to create weekly podcasts and daily education podcasts, through to working with sector leaders creating exclusive education news podcasts.

FE News have over 700 FE Video interviews and have been recording education video interviews with experts for over 12 years. These are usually vox pop video interviews with experts across education and work, discussing blue sky thinking ideas and views about the future of education and work.

FE News has a free events calendar to check out the latest conferences, webinars and events to keep up to date with the latest education news and strategies.

The FE Newsroom is home to your content if you are a FE News contributor. It also help the audience develop relationship with either you as an individual or your organisation as they can click through and box set consume all of your previous thought leadership articles, latest education news press releases, videos and education podcasts.

Do you want to contribute, share your ideas or vision or share a press release?

If you want to write a thought leadership article, share your ideas and vision for the future of education or the future of work, write a press release sharing the latest education news or contribute to a podcast, first of all you need to set up a FE Newsroom login (which is free): once the team have approved your newsroom (all content, newsrooms are all approved by a member of the FE News team- no robots are used in this process!), you can then start adding content (again all articles, videos and podcasts are all approved by the FE News editorial team before they go live on FE News). As all newsrooms and content are approved by the FE News team, there will be a slight delay on the team being able to review and approve content.

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Odilo provides the first unlimited learning ecosystem to the UK - FE News

The NBA, China and racial justice: How to untangle the leagues messy relationship with human rights – Yahoo Finance Australia

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Here are two statements:

The NBA, by professional sports league standards, has a decently strong record on human rights. It allows players to speak their minds. It believes that Black lives matter. It uses its power to fight injustice in the United States.

The NBA, an adored global corporation, has also gone to great lengths to build and maintain a multibillion-dollar relationship with a human rights-abusing government halfway around the world.

They are two factual statements that at this time last year coexisted peacefully. Yet recently, theyve become entangled, pitted against each other, by U.S. senators and laypeople alike. On Thursday, when the NBA season resumes, activism will be inescapable; players will protest police brutality and racial injustice in America; BLACK LIVES MATTER will scream at viewers off courts. And perhaps the most common criticism of the NBAs initiatives will be a prickly diversion.

But what about China?!?

Its a fascinating retort, because its grounded in the most glaring demerit on the NBAs recent record. An ESPN investigation published Wednesday raised more red flags. For years, the league ignored authoritarian crackdowns and ethnic persecution as it built and monetized a rabid fan base in China. It ran an abusive basketball academy in a police state where Muslims are interned in concentration camps. When Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted in support of Hong Kong last October, and the Chinese government attacking democratic freedoms in Hong Kong bristled, the NBA moved swiftly to salvage its relationship with that government. The leagues most prominent figures, from LeBron James to Steve Kerr, didnt rush to condemn injustice, as they had so often in the past and have so often since. Instead, they either criticized Morey, or remained conspicuously silent. Officials, in some cases, stepped in to silence them.

The silence was embarrassing. It enables and legitimizes oppression. Sure, the NBA actually stood up to China with more strength than most corporations do. But the widespread disapproval it received was deserved. Where things got messy, and problematic, was when that disapproval became bottomless ammo for whataboutism. When China became the catch-all counter. When injustice became the response to calls for justice.

We can, and should, criticize the league and its most prominent characters for refusing to outright condemn oppression in China. We also can, and should, support the league and its most prominent characters as they try to combat oppression closer to home. Our criticism and support arent contradictory. In fact, they necessarily go hand in hand.

When the NBA returns to action Thursday, some players will wear racial justice messages on their uniforms, and courts will declare, "BLACK LIVES MATTER." (AP)

Injustice clouds every second of every day in every country. To use the neglect of some injustice to detract from the fight against other injustice is to uphold all of it. Change is local. Successful fights for it are often hyper-focused. Black Americans, some of whom comprise a majority of the NBA, are trying to lead one. To support their fight, to affirm that Black lives matter, to do your part to dismantle systemic racism, is not an affront to Muslims detained in China, or families brutalized in Syria, or women denied rights in Iran, or LGBTQ+ people denied humanity everywhere.

To support NBA players advocacy is to fight for human rights, period. They are attacking one web of injustice among many. To refuse to support their fight because they havent attacked another web of injustice is hypocritical. It is unfair, and counterproductive, to criticize progressive action on the basis of inaction elsewhere. If we do, progress is unattainable.

Now, it is fair to separately criticize the inaction especially when that inaction could be described as suppression of action in the name of profit. We should acknowledge, and scrutinize, why the NBA cuddles up and cowers to China. It lost hundreds of millions of dollars in the wake of Moreys tweet. If it were to push harder for democratic freedoms in Hong Kong, it would lose more. Those losses hit the league, and spread to teams, and filtered down to players and employees. Which is why they all say nothing. The NBA believes in human rights, and recognizes how powerfully it can advocate for them. It pulled the 2017 All-Star Game out of North Carolina to pressure the state to protect them. But somewhere between Carolina and China, it drew its line. A line between social responsibility and money.

Story continues

We all have one. Every corporation, every institution, every individual. Even the most well-meaning people like and need money. Some arent willing to sacrifice any of it to make the world a better place. Some are. Everybody, though, is faced with the question of how much?

You can argue, and many would, that the NBA should sacrifice more. That the line should stretch well beyond China and those hundreds of millions of dollars. That no American company not the NFL, not Nike, not Apple should deal with China. (They all do.) But you probably cant argue the line shouldnt exist. If you believe the NBA should fight any injustice at any cost, then you, too, should quit your job and go fight injustice; then every company, regardless of industry, should cease production of their goods or services and pour all resources into the battle. Of course, thats unrealistic. The world will never be, cannot be, 100 percent selfless.

The NBA, like so many others, does the right thing until the right thing is too costly. We can, and should, criticize the billionaires who own it for not spending more in the name of human rights because thats essentially what this is. We can, and should, criticize the league for its response to Morey. We can, and should, criticize LeBron.

Because injustice is injustice, whether we, personally, feel it or not.

And that, precisely, is also why we must support the NBA players crusading against it.

You can, and should, call them out for not condemning all injustice. But if you do so to undermine their condemnations of some injustice, then youre not condemning all injustice yourself.

We care about Chinas oppression because were empathetic, and believe injustice is wrong. For the exact same reason, we will listen to NBA players on Thursday and beyond; we have heard them speak about the violence and prejudice they and their communities experience; we will hear them say, as a collective, that Black lives matter, and that systemic racism must end; and we will say, Yes. Absolutely.

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The NBA, China and racial justice: How to untangle the leagues messy relationship with human rights - Yahoo Finance Australia

A War on Citizens: Where are those patriots and their guns to stand up against government tyranny now? – Milwaukee Independent

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A strange and necessary ingredient of Americas descent towards fascism is that it will have little impact on the majority of people. As militarized federal agents are deployed into major cities to snatch protesters and charge them with harsh federal crimes for daring to deface the ruling partys monuments, most Americans will continue living their normal lives with no discernible changes, at least for the time being. People wake up and eat breakfast and spend their days doing mundane tasks in fascist countries, too.

If there was ever a tipping point, we are past it. Trying to stare hard at the daily news to determine the exact point at which we slip into fascism is like staring at a baby to see when it turns into an adult. By the time you perceive it, it is already happened.

It is important to understand that the crackdown phase that we are now in the unaccountable government forces, the riot police, the teargas, the targeted political prosecutions that will come next are not something new, but something old. This isnt about Donald Trump. This is about America, baby. This is what we do.

Trump, a fool ruled by impulse rather than strategy, did not build the fearsome machine of government oppression that is now being aimed at his political opponents. This machine was systematically assembled and lovingly tended to by generations of presidents before him Democratic, Republican, Whig. Trump is only broadening its aperture. All of these tools have been sharpened on the bones of Native Americans and Black people and immigrants and Muslims overseas. America has always needed someone to oppress.

Mostly so that we could steal their stuff, but also so that the rest of us didnt turn against one another. This country has managed to avoid a class war by giving poor white people an array of minorities to abuse, a trick that has benefited rich white people for centuries. We have used injustice not just as a way to get ahead, but as a release valve. Our leaders have long calculated that it is safer to subjugate and mistreat a minority of the population than to risk dissatisfaction in the majority. In doing so, the government has become very adept at creating enemies and wielding power against them in flagrant shows of force.

These are trivial observations, basic facts that will only be disputed by those who are destined to land on the side of fascism anyhow. The question is what they mean for our present moment, which is distinguished not by the existence of government oppression but by its direction. We are finding out what happens when the war on terror is turned inward on ourselves. In addition to the federal agents already in Portland, more are coming to Chicago, Albuquerque, and Milwaukee; that may well be just the beginning of a national rollout.

Protecting federal property and maintaining law and order are twin fig leaves wafting in a cloud of teargas. The Department of Homeland Security has effectively become a White House-controlled paramilitary and domestic surveillance service unaccountable to anyone except Trump and his loyalists. (If were being honest, this moment has been inevitable since DHS was panic-created in the days after the September 11 attacks. If there is any more fascist word than homeland, I havent heard it.)

The basic logic behind gun control is that if there are a bunch of guns lying around, sooner or later someone will get shot. The same holds true for the security state. If you build it, it will eventually come for you. Cloaked in the banality of federal bureaucracy, we have tolerated the creation of a terrifying set of powers that now rest in the small hands of a man who has been waiting his entire life to take revenge on each and every enemy who has slighted him.

Barack Obama sat in the White House for eight years and did nothing to dismantle this bureaucracy of soldier-cops. He was too busy using it in foreign drone wars. It is too seductive to have that power, when you are the one who controls it. Now a worse president has it, and it will be turned, at last, against a bigger chunk of us than ever before.

Every new outrage is a test of what we will tolerate. If the government can roll out troops to a large swath of major cities and shoot the eyes out of protesters with rubber bullets all under the guise of stopping some kids from spray-painting some courthouse, it is a fairly good indicator that the spirit of the broader American public will not rouse itself to stand in the way of fascisms tightening grip.

In a nation this big, you can make 100 million people official Enemies of the State and still leave a comfortable majority blissfully unaffected. The trick now is convincing that tranquil, all-American majority that their interests are actually more aligned with the protesters wielding spray-paint outside the courthouse than with the militarized cops in fatigues.

That shouldnt be an impossible task. When there is actual justice being done inside the courthouses, the protesters and the storm troopers will both disappear.

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A War on Citizens: Where are those patriots and their guns to stand up against government tyranny now? - Milwaukee Independent

Responding to racial reckoning – The Ukrainian Weekly

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We are told that todays historic moment of racial reckoning necessitates a collective Ukrainian response. Though no other American ethnic group has put itself out to similar self-castigation, a Call to Action for Racial Justice with sharp criticisms of the Ukrainian community has been drawn up and published in Ukrainian newspapers.

Alongside fleeting expressions of solidarity, this manifesto of sorts pushes a historical narrative about Ukrainians in North America that is not only largely unhistoric but does a great injustice to the memory of past generations.

Casting Ukrainian immigrants as covert beneficiaries and co-perpetuators of a racist order may fit a neo-Marxist ideological dichotomy of oppressive whites-oppressed racial minorities, with Ukrainians positioned alongside other white oppressors, but it distorts the reality of the Ukrainian immigrant experience. An abundance of accounts attest that it was an experience characterized by constant battles with extreme hardships, biased attitudes and discrimination camouflaged under various guises, much of it stemming from malicious stereotyping of Ukrainians (many have wondered if there isnt a glass ceiling for Ukrainian Americans when it comes to high-level government appointments).

For most Ukrainian immigrants to Canada, life there began with placement on inferior virgin lands and the unenviable, unaided task of bringing the prairie bush to cultivation on which their survival depended. In the U.S., immigrants had little choice but to labor cheaply in the debilitating and dangerous conditions of coal mines and sweatshops. Even many post-war Ukrainian intellectuals could find employment only in menial jobs. Its quite a stretch to find in their story much advantage for being part of a racial system that recognizes us as white people.

There are no records of Ukrainian slaveowners in America or of Ukrainians living in the south during Jim Crow to talk about Ukrainians playing a role in slavery or segregation as this declaration contends (aside from soldiers who fought on the Union side in the Civil War such as the abolitionist general Ivan Turchin). It would be interesting to learn of examples for the claim that some Ukrainian community buildings displaced minority dwellers in a process of settler colonialism. In most cities, Ukrainians were among the last to join white flight. The application of Marxist analysis should not replace the need for disturbing claims to be substantiated.

Lastly, who are those Ukrainians that have been dismissing others experiences of oppression? Through the decades, Svoboda carried many articles sympathetic to the plight and struggle of groups such as the Biafrans, Kurds, Bengalis, etc. with authors customarily noting Ukrainian analogies.

Few would deny that Ukrainians, like everyone, can learn to exercise greater racial sensitivity. But its sad that a declaration of solidarity with a group battered by a painful history has to be coupled with disparagement of another group that itself has been traumatized by 400 years of dehumanizing oppression in the forms of serfdom and Crimean-Ottoman slavery, into which an estimated 2.5 million of its children were snatched. And, lest we forget, the genocidal Holodomor also left a devastating legacy with wide-ranging, lasting effects.

Dr. Ihor Mirchuk of Easton, Pa., taught a course titled Ethnicity, Race and Culture in American History at Manor College (Jenkintown, Pa.) in the mid-1980s; Manor was one of the first colleges in the country to offer such a course. Manor College is sponsored and administered by the Ukrainian Catholic Order of Sisters of St. Basil the Great.

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Responding to racial reckoning - The Ukrainian Weekly