AMD Commemorates 25 Years of Corporate Responsibility Reporting – guru3d.com

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This year's update highlights how AMD and its technologies are addressing sustainable technological and scientific advancement, environmental and supply chain responsibility, workplace inclusion and belonging, and community support.

"We complete twenty-five years of sustainability reporting recognizing the role that semiconductors contribute in helping solve many of the complex challenges our world faces," said Susan Moore, corporate vice president of international government affairs and corporate responsibility at AMD. "As we navigate this changing world, fueled by the resilience of our employees, communities and customers, AMD remains focused on responsibly delivering high-performance technology that helps us achieve more together."

AMD is committed to developing and deploying its high-performance technology to enable a better and more sustainable world. In 2020, AMD exceeded its six-year goal to deliver an unprecedented 25 times energy efficiency improvement in its mobile processors. The new AMD Ryzen 7 4800H is 31.7 times more energy efficient than the baseline metric, far surpassing the award-winning 25x20 Energy Efficiency goal set in 2014.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, AMD announced the AMD COVID-19 High-Performance Computing (HPC) Fund to provide research entities with computing resources powered by AMD EPYC servers and AMD Radeon Instinct GPUs to accelerate medical research about COVID-19 and other diseases. Additionally, AMD is supporting organizations delivering medical services and humanitarian relief worldwide, contributing more than $1.2 million USD in grants, to date, and hundreds of thousands of personal protective equipment.

Operating ResponsiblyAMD extends its commitment to transparent reporting throughout its operations and supply chain. AMD values environmental protection and is currently ahead of target for its 2014-2020 greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals approved by the Science Based Targets initiative.

AMD also increased supply chain responsibility efforts, engaging with 100 percent of direct suppliers and conducting additional supplier audits, with a focus on ensuring all workers are treated with respect and that working conditions are safe.

Strengthening CommunitiesAMD is dedicated to positively impacting the communities in which it operates, with a focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)-related initiatives. Through AMD partnerships with educational organizations around the world, more than 1,000 students and teachers are learning in labs powered by the latest generation of AMD CPUs and GPUs, with ongoing engagement from employee volunteers.

AMD employees regularly share their time and talents in community engagement. In 2019, they drove a 10 percent year-over-year increase in company-sponsored volunteerism to support the needs of AMD communities spanning STEM education, meal preparation, park clean-ups and more.

Empowering PeopleAMD fosters a culture of inclusion and belonging to enable employees to do their best work. In 2019, AMD expanded its Employee Resource Group (ERG) program with five new groups and eight new site chapters of existing ERGs, empowering employees with more ways to celebrate their diversity and support each other.

Aligned with the company's commitment to diversity and inclusion and in light of recent events that highlight the work still ahead to end racism and social injustice, AMD announced its first steps to cultivate change with donations to high-impact non-profits focused on social and racial equality and support for their empowerment, scholarship and mentorship programs. AMD is committed to helping its employees and communities effect systemic and lasting change.

Demonstrating its commitment to environmental, social and workplace progress, AMD continues its track record of company recognition with features on this year's Best 100 Corporate Citizens list, Forbes and JUST Capital JUST 100 ranking, Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, and Human Rights Campaign Foundation Corporate Equality Index.

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Female, Latin American photo collective covers the region in a personal way : The Picture Show – NPR

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Tree women of the Otavalo indigenous community of Ecuador stand on the Arbolito park in Quito, Ecuador during the 10th day of social protests that took place in October, 2019. Isadora Romero hide caption

Tree women of the Otavalo indigenous community of Ecuador stand on the Arbolito park in Quito, Ecuador during the 10th day of social protests that took place in October, 2019.

RUDA, named after the potent rue plant, is a collective of 11 female and nonbinary documentary photographers from Latin America. It formed in September 2018 as an answer to the lack of female representation in the region and the need to portray social developments from the female and local gaze.

While challenging sexist and colonial narratives deeply rooted in the region, these women, image makers, are creating a safe space to put themselves on the international map as photojournalists.

A peaceful march takes place in Valparaso in Chile, where more than 100,000 people from all corners of the country walked to the national congress and demonstrated. The sign reads: "War? No! We're the people demanding justice and dignity." Paz Olivares Droguett hide caption

A peaceful march takes place in Valparaso in Chile, where more than 100,000 people from all corners of the country walked to the national congress and demonstrated. The sign reads: "War? No! We're the people demanding justice and dignity."

Each member of RUDA comes from a different Latin American country, where they currently reside: Bolivia, Paraguay, Guatemala, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. Members are based in their respective country.

Mayeli Villalba from Paraguay and Isadora Romero from Ecuador met in Asuncin when Romero was invited to a local festival and stayed in the country working on a personal project with Villalba. After discussing the lack of representation in the community, they decided to form the collective. Both invited other female photographers from the region with whom they share the same ethos to join RUDA. As a group, they have formed a multinational alliance with the intention of generating and disseminating narratives reflective of their personal experiences.

Photography has a history of being controlled by the male gaze and while female photographers have existed and thrived, who gets visibility is still in the hands of men, according to data from the World Press Photo State of Photography study.

(Left) A woman protests wearing the Chilean flag at the Valdivia Square in Chile. (Right) Protesters raise their hands in Bogot, Colombia. Paz Olivares Droguett / Ximena Vsquez hide caption

(Left) A woman protests wearing the Chilean flag at the Valdivia Square in Chile. (Right) Protesters raise their hands in Bogot, Colombia.

As a result and for the most, society's collective visual archive has been built on a masculine imaginary view of the world. This is further emphasized through images that make it to the front of the world's leading newspapers and win prestigious awards perpetuating an often victimized view of Latin America.

A Waorani woman during the protests of October of 2019 in Quito, Ecuador. Isadora Romero hide caption

A Waorani woman during the protests of October of 2019 in Quito, Ecuador.

On Oct. 2, 2019, Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno announced a series of economic measures, affecting the population at large. Most Ecuadorians turned to the streets to protest. The unprecedented demonstration around the country, led to social revolts around the region, in Chile, Bolivia, and Colombia respectively. Demonstrations in which women and the indigenous communities took a prominent role. RUDA members have been set to cover the demonstrations in their own way.

"We are concerned about the absence of diversity from which the stories of our peoples are told and disseminated," the group told NPR in an email about confronting a reality in which the power structures and production spaces are in the hands of foreign media (non-Latin American) and foreign correspondents telling the stories from the region.

In addition, this lack of diversity and representation deprive a wide variety of sectors of society of the right to tell their own stories and those of their people. Stories told directly from the experience of events, and therefore from the closest and most personal understanding of situations.

As a team, RUDA is interested in deepening its knowledge of problems and opportunities in Latin America, understanding that, although these developments have their differences in each country, the core structures and challenges are often the same.

Protestors on the streets of Quito, Ecuador in October, 2019. These protests were recorded as among the most violent in the country with clashes between protesters and the police that left 11 people dead. Isadora Romero hide caption

Protestors on the streets of Quito, Ecuador in October, 2019. These protests were recorded as among the most violent in the country with clashes between protesters and the police that left 11 people dead.

Protesters on a truck on their way to "El Arbolito," one of the most important concentration points during the social protests in Ecuador, October 2019. Isadora Romero hide caption

Protesters on a truck on their way to "El Arbolito," one of the most important concentration points during the social protests in Ecuador, October 2019.

Latin America is a vast and diverse region with thousands of narratives, stories and peoples. What kind of experiences as Latin American female photographers connect you to one another?

Koral Carballo (Mexico): We're connected because we are women and/or non-binaries, who are at a disadvantage by the patriarchal gaze within photography. For generations it was believed that there were no women capable of covering risky situations or that we could not fulfill assignments in hostile environments. Today, there are institutions that have empowered these voices, and celebrate the stories told from a patriarchal and white look.

Wara vargas (Bolivia): We have a common desire to show and highlight women's roles across the region. Indigenous, female leaders are becoming stronger and stronger as they raise their voices and change history in the region. All of us in RUDA want to show the struggle behind each woman protesting during these revolutionary times.

Isadora Romero (Ecuador): We're connected through the lens from which we see everyday life as a political act. We're connected through the stories that, even though they might not make it to the front page of a newspaper, are nevertheless worthy of being told.

Finally, we're connected through our understanding of the economic systems and historical structures that have been managed in a similar manner all over the region, such as: colonialism, dictatorships, war on drugs and mass migration.

Fires are seen in the city of Valparaso, Chile in October, 2019. Paz Olivares Droguett hide caption

Fires are seen in the city of Valparaso, Chile in October, 2019.

How do you think the use of Instagram has helped you work as photographers during moments of popular movements?

Paz Olivares Droguett (Chile): Instagram has become an important tool to publicize part of our work. It is a very synthetic language, typical of social networks, but at the same time it is visually effective.

The immediacy and popularity of its use has created communication channels that do not necessarily depend on great economic powers. It has become an opportunity to have a voice and be able to act as developments unfold in our countries.

Isadora Romero (Ecuador): During the protests in Ecuador and Chile, Instagram became a fundamental tool to understand and expand on stories that only traditional media present to the public. It has been a tool that has allowed us to denounce human rights abuses, congregate people and share experiences. As an alternative source of information, it serves a huge purpose for the general public to corroborate stories.

A Bolivian woman smokes after being attacked by teargas used by the police to control and suppress the protest. Bolivians went to the streets to call for the resignation of interim president Jeanine Aez Chvez in November, 2019. Wara Vargas Lara hide caption

A Bolivian woman smokes after being attacked by teargas used by the police to control and suppress the protest. Bolivians went to the streets to call for the resignation of interim president Jeanine Aez Chvez in November, 2019.

If there is an absence of diversity from where the stories of our peoples are told and spread, we run the risk of hegemonizing our history.

What kind of visual narrative do you want to manifest or change?

Paz Olivares Droguett (Chile): The visual and aesthetic hegemony in Latin America still has a lot to do with the idea of the "photographic safari", where European or North-American photographers with often a tourist visa, return time and time again with their cameras to tell the world "what this region is like and what we need to improve.'' But many have not yet learned that we have our own thinking, our own culture, and that we produce our own visual archive without a need for validation from the north.

Isadora Romero (Ecuador): We want to go against the production of imagery whose sole purpose is to win traditional competitions. We want to talk about everyday stories, which are at the core of our societies.

Paz Olivares Droguett (Chile): I would like to propose a hopeful vision, but without being naive. Basically, another type of relationship with the stories we tell, one in which real links are generated, in which photography is understood as a vehicle and not necessarily as an end. Where communication is more of a collaborative act that combines voices, rather than an egocentric job that seeks recognition and validation.

In addition, I want us to keep on questioning ourselves about what kind of structures we are holding with our images. Structures from where we continue to discriminate against minorities, from where we victimize the victims, from where we repeat a discourse of eternal suffering.

We want to talk about social empowerment, we want to talk about the dignity of our peoples, about alternative ways of building ourselves as societies, from the collective and the eternal interest for the other and for ourselves.

Women from the Otavalo community cover their faces in front of tear gas during the October, 2019 protests in Quito, Ecuador. Isadora Romero hide caption

Women from the Otavalo community cover their faces in front of tear gas during the October, 2019 protests in Quito, Ecuador.

Anything else you would like to share?

We are a collective under construction. In the short time that we have been together, we've seen the urgency of narrating what is happening in our region at this time. Just as the urgency of knowing where we are located as photographers and as Latin Americans.

Being a representative of each country allows us to debate about our general realities as a region and as individuals in our countries, by doing so, we're continually expanding our perspectives.

It's a lifelong lesson.

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Female, Latin American photo collective covers the region in a personal way : The Picture Show - NPR

Meet the Class of 2020: The Global Citizen Fellowship Powered by BeyGOOD Kicks Off Its Second Year – Global Citizen

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Why Global Citizens Should Care

Back in 2018, at the historic Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Global Citizen Fellowship Programme was announced, powered by the BeyGOOD initiative.

Inspired by Nelson Mandelas passion for youth development and education, as well as his legacy of empowering future generations, the inaugural class of the Global Citizen Fellowship joined the Global Citizen Africa team in 2019.

Now, the Fellowship programme is kicking off for its second year with an extraordinary class of 10 young people who we cant wait to introduce.

"With all that is happening in our world, educating, empowering, and employing our youth to use their voice and vocation to makepositive impact is essential to creating lasting change,says IvyMcGregor, Director of Social Responsibly at Parkwood Entertainment, headquarters for BeyGOOD.

McGregor adds:The model BeyGOOD has designed through the Fellowship programme, in partnership with Global Citizen, has become a pathway for sustainable economic impact.We are proud to welcome the class of 2020 they have entered at such a critical time, pivotal to dynamic outcomes and overall success.

Designed to empower young people with work experience, the programme is not only supporting the vision of a South Africa that nurtures its youth.

The Global Citizen Fellowship is also equipping young people with the skills they need to play a role in social justice, helping their communities achieve the UNs Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and amplifying causes that they believe in.

Global Citizen is a leading advocacy organisation that has already impacted 880 millionlives, while the BeyGOOD initiative has a legacyof empowering young people, women, and marginalised communities. By working together through the fellowship programme, the partnership offers young people an opportunity of a lifetime.

Take, for example, how the programme is structured. It has multiple phases designed to offer each of the 10 fellows a fully immersive experience.

Eachfellow will also have the benefit from personalised mentorship from leaders in entertainment, business, government, and civil society all aimed at enabling them to realise their potential to become global agents of change.

The programme will cover subjects such as leadership, advocacy, international development, and global citizenship.Meanwhile, Fellows will also have the opportunity to take part in a series of masterclasses given by industry leaders. The programme also features educational field trips designed to help Fellows develop into value-centred, community-driven leaders.

Furthermore, Fellows will be placed within the Global Citizen Africa team, which will offer invaluable hands-on work experience within the Marketing, Rewards, Campaigns, Policy, and Content teams.

This is aimed at providing Fellows with the skills and resources needed to help them secure work at the end of the year-long programme.

The second cohort of the Global Citizen Fellowship programme was chosen after a rigorous selection process that started with 765 applications; only 30 candidates were chosen to continue with a series of tests. From these scores, the judging panel assessed 20 applicants.

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The judging panel was made up of Clayton Naidoo, Managing Director of Sub Saharan Africa at global technology giant CISCO; the Executive Director of Africa Leadership Institute, Jackie Chimhanzi; Moky Makura, Executive Directorof Africa No Filter; businesswoman and producer, Bonang Matheba; fashion brand and designer extraordinaire, Rich Mnisi; and Isha Philips, Global Citizens Senior Human Resources Lead.

Noted individually for their incredible personal achievements, collectively, the judging panel brought their experiences leading global organisations and brands, and are revered for being leaders and experts in their fields.

The judges were lookingfor candidates whose potential was complemented by their understanding of developmental issues. Candidates also had to show how they have already started effecting change in the spaces they occupy, for instance, through supporting community causes or standing up for social issues

I think all applicants are unique in their own right and have the power to go out into the world and affect positive change, said Mnisi.

So, without further ado, meet the Global Citizen Fellowship programme class of 2020.

Chibwe is passionate about skills development and youth empowerment.

Charity Chibwe, from Ivory Park in Tembisa, Gauteng, believes that building a global community of active citizens is the key to ending extreme poverty a mission that she is passionate about.Chibwe, who is 24, wants to use her time in the fellowship programme to learn skills that will empower young people economically.

This way, she adds, shell be able to impart knowledge and experience that other young people in her community needs.[Small businesses] can help reduce the number of young people who are unemployed, she says.

She is speaking from experience. She has already tried her hand at running a small business that earned up to R2,000 a month. However, she could not sustain it as the money from the business was used to look after her family.

I would like to see myself being my own boss, running a successful business, and creating opportunities that benefit young people, she says.

Rakhetsi is interested in issues that include citizenship, girls and women, education, and food and hunger.

Born in Mamelodi in Pretoria, Aaron Rakhetsi applied for the fellowship because he wants to turn his digital activism into community service.He is particularly interested in issues of citizenship, health, education, women and girls, and food and hunger.

I'm very passionate about education because I know its importance in one's life. I know what it feels like to give up on going to university because of my financial background, and I do not want anyone to experience this, Rakhetsi explains.

He adds: I believe in equality of the sexes and I believe that women and girls should be given the same opportunities that men receive, and be treated as their equals.

As one of the most unequal countries in the world, South Africa faces significant challenges, like hunger. For example, even though the country is food secure, 27%of children experience stunting and malnutrition.

Rakhetsi, who is 24, has future plans that include urban farming, which will allow him to uplift the youth and women while feeding his community.

Ndwandwe is determined to fight gender-based violence in South Africa. a

The mere honour of being chosen to make a positive change is a driver for me to do the best that I can to deal with the issues of the world, saysZamokhule Ndwandwe, 24, about being a Global Citizen Fellow.

Ndwandwe is from Sam Reno in Western Cape. Her ambition of ending gender-based violence (GBV) comes from personal experience.

Im a victim of a taxi robbery that occurred in 2019. I was kidnapped for 15 to 30 minutes by criminals who want money and sex from people, she recalls.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, in March 2019, declared GBV a national crisis,in South Africa.

Ndwandwes kidnappersonly took her belongings, but for many girls, women, and gender non-binary people in South Africa the story often ends in tragedy something that sparkedNdwandwes determination to combat GBV.

She says: Right now, my country is going through a very difficult time of what I would call women and children genocide, and I would love to come across other young leaders from other countries who might be able to advise on how to curb this terrible epidemic.

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Moloi's passion is menstrual health management and ending period poverty. She is also passionate about educations and women's rights.

Hope Moloi, 22, became a Global Citizen in order to play her part in the movement of people who want to help end extreme povertyby 2030.

Moloi, from Alexandra in Gauteng, applied for the programme because she wants to gain skills that will help lead community activities that support girls and women, in particular menstrual health management.

Girls miss school due to not having pads, which has a negative impact on their studies. By giving pads to girls, well be keeping girls in school, says Moloi.

Moloi wants to use her time in the programme to learn skills that will help her amplify her voice as an advocate, and later, to launch a non-governmental organisation that leverages corporate partnerships for social good. Her organisation will champion girls rights and access to quality education.

Women earn less than meneven with the same qualifications and experience, while girls and women also have to live with the effects of GBV, Molio says.

She adds: Every person has a right to education. Education is important and can change lives to be successful.

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Xaba is looking for ways to help her community beat the systemic causes of poverty and inequality.

Nomthando Xaba, from Soweto, Johannesburg, supports causes that she is passionate about by taking Global Citizen actionsthat are aimed at helping end the systemic causes of poverty and inequality.

However, she wanted to do more.

Ive always wanted to find a way to give back, and while taking Global Citizen actions is [impactful], I also want to find other ways of working towards ending extreme poverty, she says.

Xaba, 25, is passionate about education, and believes that empowered young girls make future leaders.

This is why she wants to study towards becoming a teacher.

She adds: Since I dont have a qualification yet, I want to teach young girls about sexual health because our schools only focus on the basic things. Girls are not given the platform to express themselves and talk about their experiences.

Morake is passionate about equality and human rights.

I wanted to be part of the Fellowship programme because I want to empower others, and promote education and equality in my town, Letshego Morake says about the decision to take his chances and apply for the programme.

Morake comes from the small town of Heuwel, in Thaba-Nchu in Bloemfontein, where opportunities are scarce, and information that can help young people empower themselves even more so.

I want to be the one to bring change as Im a huge fan of Beyonc [the founder of the BeyGOOD initiative]. She inspires me in so many ways, and has definitely had a very huge impact in me bettering myself.

Morake, who is 23, is an advocate for access to education. A lot of people from where I am from have given up on it due to lack of funds to continue with their studies. They are also discouraged by the fact that other people who have studied still do not get jobs after graduating.

Equally close to his heart is equality.

Im a young gay boy who lives in a town where its still seen as wrong to freely be myself. I want to live in a country where people are proud of each other, support each other, and love each other," he says.

He adds: I want to be an active voice for the people who do not see themselves worthy of anything, host campaigns and rallies, create awareness on social media, and just have an impact on the lives of those who cannot stand upfor themselves because they are scared to.

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Tsolo is interested in gender equality, ending period poverty and helping girls reach their full potential.

Growing up in Sebokeng, an undeveloped community in Vanderbijlpark in the south of Gauteng, Tsolo always knew that her purpose was impacting and transforming lives.

This is why I identify with BeyGOOD and Global Citizen. This is a network of people who are impacting their work and changing lives. Being part of this network will not only expand my reach in changing lives, it will also provide me with the opportunity to grow others and help them change their lives for the better, Tsolo says.

Tsolo, 24, adds that South Africa is facing what she calls the triple trouble of poverty, inequality, and unemployment.

She adds: Being part of the Fellowship will assist me in gaining skills and knowledge on how I can make my solutions sustainable. I also want to uplift comuunities.

She wants to use her year as a Global Citizen Fellow to learn more about universal access to education, especially the public schooling system.

[At the moment] the public schooling system is failing those who go through it, she says From experience and observation I have seen that the system is setting up the children for failure; it needs radical transformation.She is also passionate about gender equality and access to clean water and safe sanitation, including menstrual health management. Young girls across the country miss out on important school days because they are on their period. They dont afford to buy pads because they live on social grants, and have to choose between buying bread and buying a packet of sanitary pads.

A social grant is a monthly payout funded by the government to support child-headed households, pensioners, children, and people living with disabilities.

Tsolo added: [Menstrual health management] is an issue closest to my heart because Ive seen young girls use unsanitary materials to get through their cycle days, which has led to multiple health risks.

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She also wants to lend her voice to causes that support the dignity and human rights of immigrants.

With the conflicts and issues faced by various African countries, I believe that as a continent, there is more that needs to be done regarding how South Africa deals with immigrantswho are fleeing from their countries in search of a better life, she said.

As well as taking part in the Fellowship programme, Tsolo also runs a non-governmental organisation called Her Pride. It offersservices that help students develop their confidence and life skills.

The organisation has already reached more than 2,000 students.

We provide academic support, entrepreneurship training, career planning, and more. We have been able to expand our small reach to providing care packs to the Lifeline and Thuthuzela women and children centres.

Lifeline offers free counselling over the phone, while Thuthuzela centres offer support and medical care to victims of sexual violence.

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Shabalala in inspired by the spirit of Ubuntu, and believes that we are accountable for each other's well-being.

Sengie Shabalala, 22, believes ending inequality and extreme poverty is a valuethat we should all live by.The popular South African saying"umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu calls on all of us to work together, she says.The saying is essentially a call to action urging each of us to be accountable for another persons well-being.

Shabalala says being a Fellow is an opportunity to gain knowledge that shell use to uplift others. Shabala, who is from Benoni in Gauteng, wants to galvanise communities to start taking action against GBV.

Being a woman, GBV affects me and one starts being afraid [of the possibility of experiencing GBV]. I decided to take action in my community, and raise awareness, she says.

Dlulane believes that economic empowerment puts women in a position to take ownership of their lives.

BuhleDlulane, from Soweto, is determined to tackle gender inequality by promoting girls and womens empowerment.[This] comes from my passion for gender equality and business. I believe that women are equal and effective in influencing the economy, from the formal sector to the informal sector, she says.

She adds: I believe that earning a decent living allows women to improve their own lives, are less inclined to stay in abusive relationships, and have the power to make their own decisions without abusive influence.

Dlulane, who is 21, says gender equality has a massive role to play in ending extreme poverty because women tend to lift others in their families and communities as they rise.

We are all aware that by women being educated and working they inevitably improve their own lives and the life of their families, she says.

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And so it then became important for me to understand why such powerful economic participants are not paid equally, not represented in powerful positions within companies, why there is a hesitance to allow them equal rights and access to basic amenities.

Moreover, she adds, with understanding the problem comes the biggest question of all: what she can do to change the status quo.

All of us have a responsibility to build the society in which we dream of living in, and the only way for change is effective participation. I do believe that there is no better time than now for us as young people to start thinking about personal, professional, and communal transformation, she says.

Dlulane is inspired by Rwanda and South Africa, two countries she calls home.

South Africa and Rwanda have a need for do-ers; people that are willing to apply their knowledge in everyday global challenges, she says. And there is a need to equip young people with the necessary skills in communication, personal, and professional development to be able to build the confidence to take action.

Lephuma is taking up space, and working towards a future where girls and women are equal to men, with equal access to opportunities and leadership roles.

Ntombizodwa Lephuma, 24, wants to take up space. Meaning make impact that will have a reverberating impact like her hero, Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi.Hailing from Centurion in Gauteng, Lephuma is a linguist with the goal of pursuing a postgraduate degree in education.

I want to teach young girls the power education has and how it will better equip us to be better business women, she says, I need the skills from the BeyGood fellowship to assist me and better equip me.

She wants to raise generations of girls who shape their futures, and in doing so, transform their societies.

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Meet the Class of 2020: The Global Citizen Fellowship Powered by BeyGOOD Kicks Off Its Second Year - Global Citizen

"Your Vote Is Power" campaign reminds public that our democracy depends on everyone going to the polls – Milwaukee Independent

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Major artists including Nevermade, Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya and Thomas Wimberly are collaborating with MoveOn, a leading national progressive advocacy organization, and Amplifier, a design lab that builds art to amplify the voices of grassroots movements, to launch Your Vote Is Power.

The new initiative will use art and culture to drive voter registration and turn out young voters this November. Through billboards, posters, stickers, GIFS, memes, and more, the Your Vote Is Power campaign will seek to provoke young people with a vision of how to change the direction of our country and our politics with our votes.

If our votes held no power, no one would try to silence us. Our aim is to connect people to this message through the power of art, said Michael Crawford, Cultural Director at MoveOn. Art and visual symbols from the Obama Hope poster to Trumps MAGA hat have played vitally important roles in past elections and have the ability to shape the way people see candidates, electoral politics and their personal ability to make change. We started Your Vote Is Power because we want to connect voters with unique and artistic images that inspire them to vote and continue fighting for their right to do so.

New artwork will be promoted weekly including on digital billboards in states like Georgia, Kentucky, and Wisconsin, where people had to wait in hours-long lines to vote in primaries this spring. In addition to the attached artwork, which will be distributed as stickers, postcards, and posters, as part of the Your Vote Is Power effort, MoveOn will also work with GIF and meme creators to boost voter turnout by countering disinformation narratives that tell young people that their participation does not matter.

We, the people, hold immense power, yet so much of our society tells us otherwise, said Cleo Barnett, Executive Director at Amplifier. Our goal is to reclaim our visual landscape with messages of empowerment, with images reminding us that we are stronger when we act together and that our democracy depends on us all taking to the polls this November.

The Your Vote Is Power initiative follows MoveOns #MyAmericanFlag project, produced in collabortion with celebrity writers, actors, musicians and performers including Billy Porter, Roxanne Gay, Alfre Woodward and Ashley Judd, who shared images of uniquely designed American flags that reflected their own multinational heritages and encouraged people to register to vote.

American identities span across a variety of age groups, locations, occupations and political affiliations, and a powerful image that resonates with people exemplifies arts ability to unify others. We hope these images will do just that in the weeks and months ahead leading up to November, added Crawford.

Both #MyAmericanFlag and Your Vote Is Power are part of a larger effort from MoveOn dedicated to engaging people of all ages, races and ethnicities who share progressive values with help from celebrities, artists, writers, and influencers.

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"Your Vote Is Power" campaign reminds public that our democracy depends on everyone going to the polls - Milwaukee Independent

Syracuse Financial Empowerment Center Helps Syracuse Residents Reduce More Than $600k In Debt and Increase Over $300k In Savings – URBAN CNY

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Because of Syracuse success at one year anniversary, Cities for Financial Empowerment awards FEC funding to bring on additional full-time counselor

Syracuse, N.Y. Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh and partners celebrate the one-year anniversary this month of the launch of the Syracuse Financial Empowerment Center (Syracuse FEC). The city service, led by the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development (NBD), provides free one-on-one, professional financial counseling to city residents.

Because of the programs success in the City of Syracuse, the Cities for Financial Empowerment (CFE) Fund announced that it will increase funding to Syracuse in the year ahead to enable the City to bring on an additional full-time professional financial counselor. The CFE Fund is a national organization that works with mayoral administrations to improve the financial stability of lower to moderate income households by embedding financial empowerment strategies into local government.

Financial Empowerment Center 12-month overview

The work being done through the Syracuse FEC has already impacted hundreds of families by providing the kind of financial knowledge and guidance that leads to a better quality of life for many Syracuse residents, said Mayor Walsh. The Syracuse community and many partner organizations have embraced the FEC, which is why we have had so much success in our first year. For many residents in Syracuse, having access to this financial resource will help plant the seeds that can lead to financial stability for future generations to come.

Funded by the CFE Fund, Greater Syracuse H.O.P.E., the Allyn Family Foundation, and the CNY Community Foundation, Syracuse FEC focuses on helping individuals set personal financial goals and eliminate barriers that inhibit financial stability. Home HeadQuarters and United Way of Central New York are also key Syracuse FEC partners.

According to data in 2018 from the U.S. Census Bureau, 30.5% of city residents live below the poverty line, making the need for targeted, expert help to manage financial resources essential.

The first year goal to have 180 outcomes was exceeded by 360% with FEC clients achieving 575 measurable results. With the help of Syracuse FEC counselors, 244 (42%) clients reduced delinquent accounts; client credit scores were improved by at least 35 points; and 82 (14%) clients reduced non-mortgage debt by at least 10%.

Kerry Quaglia

Jasminn Ray, Jenna McClave, Kazmira Pitzrick, and Thom Dellwo, Syracuse FEC counselors, have managed to advise residents consistently since the launch with in-person meetings but also remotely throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Between the group of professional counselors, nearly 2,000 sessions were held with clients. The public health crisis has increased the need for financial advice in light of widespread job loss and disproportionately affected communities of color, making the added counselor crucial to residents recovery.

Syracuse FEC client, Brendon M., has received assistance through the Home HeadQuarters location. My counselor, Jenna, is the best around. Shes calm, she explains everything to you that you dont understand, and she has a great game plan. She helps with my ultimate goal of achieving financial freedom for me and my family.

Home HeadQuarters is a proud Syracuse Financial Empowerment Center partner, said Home HeadQuarters Chief Executive Officer, Kerry Quaglia. Every day, we see the tangible outcomes surpass every expectation for the program. To date, more than $600,000 in total debt has been reduced for those City of Syracuse residents who have taken advantage of this amazing and free opportunity. We cant wait to see what year two brings for our community.

On average, clients participated in 2.4 sessions to improve credit, decrease debt, increase savings and begin banking by opening safe and affordable bank accounts (31 (6%) clients opened new banking accounts). Increasing cash reserves, 104 (18%) clients were able to save one week of their pay or at least 2% of their income.

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh and Allyn Family Foundations Director Kate OConnell

Greater Syracuse H.O.P.E., an organization helping to address poverty through systematic change, has seen its clients make upward improvement in their credit scores after utilizing Syracuse FEC services. With a goal to reach a total of 150 clients in identified H.O.P.E. census tracts in the city by the end of 2020, 110 (73%) clients have already received support. A significant increase in credit scores for 21 clients by an average of 35 points has also been recorded, in addition to over 30 clients saving an average of $3,000.

The financial industry is an intimidating place for middle and lower-income individuals and families, said Ocesa Keaton, executive director of Greater Syracuse H.O.P.E. High-interest rates, credit denials, and emergencies often result in de-stabilizing families into poverty. The Syracuse FEC is a way to remove barriers and help people transition through financial challenges.

Meg OConnell, executive director of the Allyn Family Foundation stated The Allyn Foundation applauds the work over the past year of the FEC. OConnell continued, The ability for families and individuals to become financially independent is a critical component to our work, and the Syracuse FEC is accomplishing this goal by helping families eliminate debt, repair credit, and build savings.

One year ago, City of Syracuse formally announce the Financial Empowerment initiative on the steps of City Hall.

A testimonial from a FEC client, Jessica V., stated how she took advantage of the one-on-one counseling to learn how to build her credit score and create a foundation in preparation for homeownership. The counseling I received gave me much more knowledge on spending and savings tactics. I would highly recommend the FEC to anyone who is seeking to improve their finances or just learn more in general about money/debt handling, said Jessica.

The United Way of Central New York is proud to partner in Syracuses Financial Empowerment Center. We are committed to the shared efforts to make it possible for every individual and family to become self-sufficient, securing and maintaining education and income to support their basic needs and build wealth, Nancy Eaton, president, United Way of Central New York, Inc. stated. We join in celebrating the outstanding first year of implementation of the life-changing work being done through the FEC.

The Central New York Community Foundation has been honored to support the Financial Empowerment Center because it has provided much needed support for families as they seek to thrive financially especially in a time of great economic uncertainty, said Frank Ridzi, vice president of community investment, Central New York Community Foundation. The center provides innovative ways for our nonprofit network of service providers to work together for the common good.

Remote counseling is available by way of virtual meetings, email or phone calls. To make an appointment, residents can visit http://www.syrgov.net/FEC, call 315-474-1939 ext.5, or email fec@homehq.org.

View post:

Syracuse Financial Empowerment Center Helps Syracuse Residents Reduce More Than $600k In Debt and Increase Over $300k In Savings - URBAN CNY

The Information Flow – Global Banking And Finance Review

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By Sarah Kenshall leads Burges Salmons cross-departmental FinTech practice and is a director in the firms Technology and Communications team.

We talk of data streams, so lets imagine a vast river of free flowing data.

How are we to control and harness this flow? A simple analogy would be that of a dam think Hoover or the Grand Coulee, the huge hydro-electric dams built in the US in the 1930s, and so eloquently eulogised by Woody Guthrie. By damming the river, that energy can be harnessed to work more constructively for the community. Hydro-electric dams provide not only a stored source of fresh water, but also electricity. Water and electricity two of the most basic building blocks on which modern society is founded.

Getting back to data. In our age where sector after sector is undergoing digital transformation in readiness for the smart world powered by 5G, the Internet of Things and edge computing, data is itself a building block of modern living; an extremely valuable economic asset, if only we can control and harness its flow so that it can be used properly for the benefit of the community.

Step in GDPR (as expressed in the UK through the Data Protection Act 2018). GDPR is rarely seen as a building block towards a free flowing of data, but rather a sometimes cumbersome and often costly measure that only restricts this flow. Whats more, it is certainly the case that some companies use the GDPR as a shield to avoid sharing data within a wider eco-system. Yet Recital 13 of the GDPR states that the proper functioning of the internal market requires that the free movement of personal data is not restricted or prohibited for reasons connected with the protection of natural persons.

The purpose of the GDPR is not just to empower individuals; rather, through that empowerment, it is there to create trust such that individuals can reliably devolve the management of the flow of their data to connected eco-systems of companies, in the knowledge that they can exercise rights to restrict the flow if needs be. These are companies they trust to store, use and share their personal data in a secure, reliable manner in conformance with their legal rights. GDPR provides both the dam and the turbines.

Why build the dam?

So there we have it. GDPR, as both dam and turbines, empowering individuals, and through such empowerment, facilitating data flow. We can see exactly how this empowerment is working in financial services.

Open Banking, a UK initiative mandated by the UK Competition and Markets Authority required nine of the biggest UK banks to implement a common standard API to allow third parties to access customer bank accounts with customers explicit consent. There is no limit on the number of third parties permitted by a customer to access their accounts. Some of these third parties may be empowered by the customer to onward share data directly with other permitted third parties. The hope is that the initiative will bring about innovation in the payments industry and break down any data sharing barriers that may be hindering effective competition. A related EU initiative is instigated under the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) which introduces a similar regime for certain financial service providers (including current and savings accounts providers, e-money and credit card providers but this is just the start). There are over one million customers now using some form of Open Banking provider, from the newly launched Ordo, whose app aims to take the pain out of billing and payments, to established high growth players, such as Revolut, whose app allows you to see your accounts and transactions in one place.

The information commissioner considers PSD2 and Open Banking as key to unlocking individuals rights to data portability. Under Art 20 GDPR, the right to data portability gives individuals the right to receive personal data they have provided to a controller in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format. It also gives them the right to request that a controller transmits this data directly to another controller without hindrance where it is technically feasible to do so.

These overlapping initiatives make it easier for us as consumers and businesses to hold multiple accounts and compare or switch financial products, perhaps ultimately managing finances through one chosen digital platform, with a proliferation of apps to personalise the services. (Digital platforms acting as the sluice gates to the GDPRs dam).

Of course, new frontiers come with their own challenges and risks, and the harnessed flow of data is no exception. The GDPR, powering the data turbines, is not proof against cyberattack, any more than the Hoover dam is proof against explosives. It is however there to mitigate the risk of data misuse and accidental or negligent leakage. There are challenges around privacy and security with a potentially complex and extended supply chain of providers sharing personal and financial data. However, you can check whether providers are authorised to participate in the Open Banking ecosystem here. It is also worth mentioning that unauthorised payments are still the responsibility of your bank to sort out, even if the payment was initiated through a third-party provider (provided the payment didnt arise as a result of fraud or your negligence). In the case of fraud, the banks have further put in place initiatives to counter, for example Authorised Push Payment fraud, which we have written about here.

Finally, the digital world has a tendency towards concentrating power in the hands of a small number of platform providers (for example, Amazon, for on-line market places, Spotify, for music). It is quite conceivable that tech giants such as Google, Facebook or Amazon could get in on the Open Banking act and manage every aspect of your financial life. Or maybe the provision of a dominant integrated financial service platform will be a new name? Perhaps a fledgling challenger banks, yet unknown.

Where else does the river flow?

The FFD Regulation, an EU regulation for the free flow of non-personal data, has been applicable in the EU and the UK since May 2019.

The regulation is primarily aimed at cloud providers (of storage and other data processing services) establishing, amongst other things, self-regulatory codes of conduct to make it easier for businesses to switch data service providers (or repatriate data to themselves). The aim is to avoid vendor lock-in practices, such as requirements for specific data formats or contractual arrangements.

Data from these B2B tributaries may also flow into our river. The FFD regulation stipulates that where non-personal data is inextricably linked with personal data, the GDPR governs the whole dataset. The Commissions guidance note on the regulation goes on to note: Mixed datasets represent the majority of datasets used in the data economy and are common because of technological developments such as the Internet of Things (i.e. digitally connecting objects), artificial intelligence and technologies enabling big data analytics.

Therefore, thanks to the right of portability under the GDPR, these mixed datasets may be shared at a users behest, between competitors, further harnessing the rivers flow for the benefit of society[1]. There are constraints; it is not a free for all. The data portability obligations only apply to data controllers that process personal data based on customer consent or to perform a contract involving the data subject and if the processing takes place by automated means (i.e. excluding paper files).

A river without banks is a flood. A river with a dam is a power source. This trend towards a harnessed, flow of data within a trusted ecosystem is likely to transform the financial services sector as we know it today.

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The Information Flow - Global Banking And Finance Review

On her way: MBHS grad Caroline Moore to attend film school in NY, dreams of producing films – Village Living

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Mountain Brook High School graduate Caroline Moore really wants to be a feature film producer.

So much I could scream it from the nearest rooftop, she said. Being the woman behind the curtain, making sure that a story has the proper footing to stand tall, is my dream, she said.

Moore is well on her way to reaching that goal.

Graduating summa cum laude from the University of Alabama this spring, Moore earned a degree from the College of Communication and Information Sciences in communication studies with a concentration in creative producing and a minor in business administration.

While attending Alabama, Moore gained production experience by working for Crimson Tide Productions (CTP) in the schools athletic department during her four years at UA.

In addition, she gained admission to one of the most prestigious graduate film programs in the world in the School of the Arts at Columbia University in New York, which shell attend this fall.

Moving to the Big Apple fulfills another of Moores dreams. This is really a culmination of what I have wanted since I could remember, she said.

When Moore was 4 or 5 years old, she told her grandmother she was going to be a dancer in New York but that her grandmother shouldnt worry because she could come visit her.

I made good on my word in some ways, I suppose, Moore said.

She also has a strong conviction regarding the social importance of film and aspires to do more than merely entertain her audiences.

I see a film as much more than a way to spend two hours, she said. It acts as a mirror in that it should reflect our culture, the bad and the good, in a way that cannot be ignored and is revered for the honesty it portrays.

While working at CTP, Moore amassed valuable training and experience more than she can fully express that will help her in the film business, she said.

It really started from the ground up: the etiquette of a production, the chain of command, when to stick to it and when to break it, the excitement a group of people with one common goal can feel, she said.

Working about 20 hours a week, Moore didaudio and video production for all sports and often worked for ESPN and the SEC Network.

The job was both fun and challenging, and Moore made a lot of good friends and found some valuable mentors.

I always felt like my skills were being furthered by those people we refer to as full-time staffers, Moore said.

Justin Brant and Wyatt Caruthers encouraged her to pursue audio engineering, and she was inspired by Kaye Proctor, who was shining the light ahead for all females in CTP, Moore said.

The work at CTP taught Moore how important the energy of the crew is to the sustainability of the production, she said.

CTP also provided her with some lessons about the tough side of production work. I learned how to take a hit when it came to errors because we were students, Moore said. We needed to be tossed into the madness in order to persevere, to give our utmost effort and, for lack of a better phrase, leave it all out on the field or court, depending on the sport.

It makes sense that she was involved in sports. Moore, who graduated from Mountain Brook High School in 2016, was a four-year starter on the Spartans softball team.

Sports run deep on her fathers side of the family, she said. Moores grandfather, Bud Moore, was a college football head coach and is a member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

While at CTP, Moore came to honor and value the people with whom she worked and realized how important it is to be invested in people and their purpose within the production and outside of it, she said.

A production, whether its sports or narrative film, requires humans of all different backgrounds and different positions to meld together and make it great, Moore said. I learned what a team looks like at CTP, and I aspire to build one as strong and diverse as I have had the pleasure of serving on.

This belief in teamwork feeds directly into Moores vision of what film producers do.

Producing is making sure that the ideas are heard and people know what they are getting into and they are excited about it, Moore said.

A producer must put herself in everyone else's shoes, understanding the integrity of their position and giving them the credit they deserve, she said

Moore is confident she has the personal attributes, including good people skills, that she needs to succeed in the film industry.

My effort is contagious, and I think that is an integral part of why I want to manage story and people together, she said. I am a very active listener, and I invest myself in conversations and things that are important to other people in order for them to know how invested I am in them as a person.

She has a forceful personality and can feed off of other peoples energies, Moore said.

She looks forward to working with the many eclectic creative professionals in the business. I cant help but think that I would fit and communicate well with them, she said.

A strong sense of values undergirds Moores approach to her creativity, as well. Ive never been good with putting up with intolerance or injustice, and it definitely shows, she said.

Storytelling is also a critically important way to bring people together, Moore said.

If I dont create and build connections between people, then I might as well cease to exist, she said. My empowerment hinges on that of human storytelling. I have no desire to stand idly by and be the only character in my own story because that isnt what life is. Life is in the crossovers and connections and the parts that we cant handle alone.

This applies to social movements such as the Black Lives Matter movement, which needs those connections between all peoples to make their platform stronger than it already is,'' Moore said.

Film is part of that platform, she said, citing the documentary I am Not Your Negro and the TV series When They See Us as examples.

Film is a reflection of the culture we fight to make our own, she said. I am in service to these stories and the people they shine light on. My purpose in life is to empower people, and film is how I choose to do that.

The rest is here:

On her way: MBHS grad Caroline Moore to attend film school in NY, dreams of producing films - Village Living

Naming and shaming COVID-19 spreaders will drive this virus further underground – The Canberra Times

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coronavirus, courier mail, coronavirus, covid-19, queensland, two women, spreaders

Trust, community and a sense of common purpose is all that stands between the Australian public and a deadly second wave of the novel coronavirus. Splashing the names, faces and personal details of people who have defied border closures to carry COVID-19 from outbreak areas on the front page of Brisbane's Courier Mail under the incendiary headline "Enemies of the state" not only undermines this fragile balance, it poses a far greater risk to our collective health than the virus. While scientists race for a vaccine and effective treatments, looking to the virus for flaws, epidemiologists and public health doctors have their eyes on the bigger prize, and that's the host. Us. How we behave dictates whether COVID-19 can survive; adapting swiftly, and in unison, holds our best hope of success. The essential ingredient to a successful public health strategy is trust, at every level. Containment is an unglamorous enterprise at its heart, and it pivots on a very simple mantra: test, trace, isolate, treat. We know that this formula works because we have done it before, leading the world with our response to HIV. In contrast to other Western nations, Australia's strategy was predicated on consultation, partnership with, and empowerment of affected communities, not moralising and criminalisation. That approach, now upheld as an exemplar in health promotion, focused on education, counselling and case management, with public health orders and detention used rarely, as a last resort. Then, as now, detractors demanded punitive measures, insisting that people would only do the right thing (in that case, wearing condoms) if it were a crime not to. It is a testament to the leaders of the day, and to those at the forefront of the community-led response, that they resisted the impulse, instead placing faith in the population to do the right thing, which they did, because they were invested in both the process and the outcome. Known as responsive regulation, research has shown that these least-coercive approaches work best in earning, and maintaining, public trust. Trust is everything at this critical moment in our coronavirus response, and it ought not be squandered in the tabloid thirst for clicks, scapegoating and demonising infected people with reductive, xenophobic tropes that only serve to deepen race and class divides. Dog-whistle doxxing puts all of us at risk. It sends the message to marginalised communities that, if they come forward for testing, their identities are fair game for moralising, mere grist to the mill of the culture wars. Privacy becomes a luxury afforded only to a certain class and character of person, those who can afford ski trips and summer cruises. Everyone else is an "enemy of the state" to be pilloried in the public square as a warning to us all. The insistence that, because the women in question were allegedly involved in a criminal enterprise, they deserve the treatment meted out to them, is a dangerous precedent to contemplate. It implies that due process is not a right but something to be adjudicated by the mass media and withheld on a populist whim. Privacy is central to the provision of health care, and the therapeutic relationship. People seek care on the proviso that their confidence is sacred, and the same applies in public health. Co-operation with mammoth efforts to test, trace and isolate COVID-19 cases rests on a tacit understanding that information shared with officials will be handled sensitively and discreetly. Without this assurance, the dance is lost, and so too our best - indeed only - chance at containing the novel coronavirus. Trust begets testing begets tracing begets success. This matters not just at an individual level but, as we have seen with HIV, in engaging marginalised communities. The Queensland Human Rights Commission has warned of a "second wave of COVID-related racial hostility", with members of Brisbane's African community reporting increasing harassment in the wake of the coverage, and the women themselves receiving death threats and calls for summary execution. Sensationalised media coverage has long been the engine room of HIV stigma, but we engage in naming and shaming at our peril, losing sight of the structural drivers that have allowed this pandemic to rip through the same populations the world over: a growing precariat of essential workers without a safety net. SARS-CoV-2 does not discriminate in who it infects, but we socially select for its spread, and then seek to condemn on the basis of circumstance. READ MORE: Blaming individuals is cheap and easy, for the media and politicians alike. It doesn't require any kind of critical thinking or impulse for reform, it allows governments to evade responsibility for failings that have contributed to or driven the outbreak. Daniel Andrews' "we are all in this together" turns to "disappointment in these individuals not doing the right thing". But blame becomes a feedback loop, encouraging punitive responses which generate further media coverage, reinforcing blame. It offers justification for sending police into housing estates, detaining citizens under military guard, suppressing protests and "surveillance creep", which is difficult if not impossible to wind back. It also serves as a perverse incentive, emboldening individualistic rhetoric that privileges personal freedoms above the common good (let's call it the "Bunnings Karens effect"). Once we set foot down that path, it will be extremely difficult to recover the collective mindset we need to overcome this crisis. Trust in the process isn't all that matters, we also need to trust one another. Breaching public health orders places that fragile bond in peril, but polarising communities and feeding vigilante impulses poses a far greater risk. In a time of crisis, the media plays an essential civic role. Eschewing that for tired culture-war tropes is not only seriously poor judgment, it's myopic self-service with potentially fatal consequences.

https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/tPntrWhUbGLyDWYCTv46rt/97868c6c-c7c1-44ff-b73d-28415725ac0d.jpg/r12_758_4793_3459_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg

OPINION

July 31 2020 - 2:40PM

Trust, community and a sense of common purpose is all that stands between the Australian public and a deadly second wave of the novel coronavirus.

Splashing the names, faces and personal details of people who have defied border closures to carry COVID-19 from outbreak areas on the front page of Brisbane's Courier Mail under the incendiary headline "Enemies of the state" not only undermines this fragile balance, it poses a far greater risk to our collective health than the virus.

While scientists race for a vaccine and effective treatments, looking to the virus for flaws, epidemiologists and public health doctors have their eyes on the bigger prize, and that's the host. Us. How we behave dictates whether COVID-19 can survive; adapting swiftly, and in unison, holds our best hope of success.

The essential ingredient to a successful public health strategy is trust, at every level. Containment is an unglamorous enterprise at its heart, and it pivots on a very simple mantra: test, trace, isolate, treat.

We know that this formula works because we have done it before, leading the world with our response to HIV. In contrast to other Western nations, Australia's strategy was predicated on consultation, partnership with, and empowerment of affected communities, not moralising and criminalisation.

That approach, now upheld as an exemplar in health promotion, focused on education, counselling and case management, with public health orders and detention used rarely, as a last resort. Then, as now, detractors demanded punitive measures, insisting that people would only do the right thing (in that case, wearing condoms) if it were a crime not to.

It is a testament to the leaders of the day, and to those at the forefront of the community-led response, that they resisted the impulse, instead placing faith in the population to do the right thing, which they did, because they were invested in both the process and the outcome.

Known as responsive regulation, research has shown that these least-coercive approaches work best in earning, and maintaining, public trust.

Trust is everything at this critical moment in our coronavirus response, and it ought not be squandered in the tabloid thirst for clicks, scapegoating and demonising infected people with reductive, xenophobic tropes that only serve to deepen race and class divides.

Dog-whistle doxxing puts all of us at risk. It sends the message to marginalised communities that, if they come forward for testing, their identities are fair game for moralising, mere grist to the mill of the culture wars.

Privacy becomes a luxury afforded only to a certain class and character of person, those who can afford ski trips and summer cruises. Everyone else is an "enemy of the state" to be pilloried in the public square as a warning to us all.

The insistence that, because the women in question were allegedly involved in a criminal enterprise, they deserve the treatment meted out to them, is a dangerous precedent to contemplate. It implies that due process is not a right but something to be adjudicated by the mass media and withheld on a populist whim.

Privacy is central to the provision of health care, and the therapeutic relationship. People seek care on the proviso that their confidence is sacred, and the same applies in public health.

Co-operation with mammoth efforts to test, trace and isolate COVID-19 cases rests on a tacit understanding that information shared with officials will be handled sensitively and discreetly. Without this assurance, the dance is lost, and so too our best - indeed only - chance at containing the novel coronavirus.

Trust begets testing begets tracing begets success.

This matters not just at an individual level but, as we have seen with HIV, in engaging marginalised communities. The Queensland Human Rights Commission has warned of a "second wave of COVID-related racial hostility", with members of Brisbane's African community reporting increasing harassment in the wake of the coverage, and the women themselves receiving death threats and calls for summary execution.

Sensationalised media coverage has long been the engine room of HIV stigma, but we engage in naming and shaming at our peril, losing sight of the structural drivers that have allowed this pandemic to rip through the same populations the world over: a growing precariat of essential workers without a safety net. SARS-CoV-2 does not discriminate in who it infects, but we socially select for its spread, and then seek to condemn on the basis of circumstance.

Blaming individuals is cheap and easy, for the media and politicians alike. It doesn't require any kind of critical thinking or impulse for reform, it allows governments to evade responsibility for failings that have contributed to or driven the outbreak. Daniel Andrews' "we are all in this together" turns to "disappointment in these individuals not doing the right thing".

But blame becomes a feedback loop, encouraging punitive responses which generate further media coverage, reinforcing blame. It offers justification for sending police into housing estates, detaining citizens under military guard, suppressing protests and "surveillance creep", which is difficult if not impossible to wind back. It also serves as a perverse incentive, emboldening individualistic rhetoric that privileges personal freedoms above the common good (let's call it the "Bunnings Karens effect").

Once we set foot down that path, it will be extremely difficult to recover the collective mindset we need to overcome this crisis.

Trust in the process isn't all that matters, we also need to trust one another. Breaching public health orders places that fragile bond in peril, but polarising communities and feeding vigilante impulses poses a far greater risk.

In a time of crisis, the media plays an essential civic role. Eschewing that for tired culture-war tropes is not only seriously poor judgment, it's myopic self-service with potentially fatal consequences.

Read the rest here:

Naming and shaming COVID-19 spreaders will drive this virus further underground - The Canberra Times

July 30 evening update: The latest on the coronavirus and Maine – Bangor Daily News

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The BDN is making the most crucial coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impact in Maine free for all readers. Click here for all coronavirus stories. You can join others committed to safeguarding this vital public service by purchasing a subscription or donating directly to the newsroom.

Another Mainer has died as 27 more cases of the coronavirus were reported on Thursday.

Thursdays report brings the total coronavirus cases in Maine to 3,888. Of those, 3,477 have been confirmed positive, while 411 were classified as probable cases, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports.

The agency revised Wednesdays cumulative total to 3,861, down from 3,866, meaning there was a net increase of 22 over the previous days report, state data show. As the Maine CDC continues to investigate previously reported cases, some are determined to have not been the coronavirus, or coronavirus cases not involving Mainers. Those are removed from the states cumulative total.

The latest death involved a resident of Kennebec County, bringing the statewide death toll to 122. Information about that case wasnt immediately available. Nearly all deaths have been in Mainers over age 60.

So far, 386 Mainers have been hospitalized at some point with COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of those, 11 people are currently hospitalized, with eight people in critical care and three on ventilators.

Meanwhile, nine more people have recovered from the coronavirus, bringing total recoveries to 3,345. That means there are 421 active and probable cases in the state, which is up from 409 on Wednesday.

Heres the latest on the coronavirus and its impact on Maine.

People struggling to pay rent due to the coronavirus pandemic could receive increased aid from the state starting next week, Gov. Janet Mills said Thursday. Mills said shell dedicate $5 million more from state coronavirus relief funds to double the amount of aid for which renters can qualify. Eesha Pendharkar, BDN

Gov. Janet Mills administration said Thursday it is investing $1 million from its coronavirus relief fund to address the racial and ethnic disparities that have left people of color disproportionately exposed to the pandemic in a predominantly white state. Charles Eichacker, BDN

Two Hancock County blueberry businesses now have confirmed outbreaks of the coronavirus after one was reported earlier this week at Hancock Foods and a second was reported Thursday at Merrill Blueberry Farms in Ellsworth. Charles Eichacker, BDN

Coronavirus cases in Maine ticked up slightly over the past week after a period of extended decline, though the state has continued to expand testing with hospitalizations and rates of positive tests low and mostly flat. Jessica Piper, BDN

With Congress still at odds over a new stimulus package and a $600 weekly unemployment bonus set to expire on Friday, three Republican U.S. senators, including Maines Susan Collins, proposed a bill to partially continue that benefit. Lori Valigra, BDN

Former University of Maine professor Ed Brazee co-founded a company called BoomerTECH Adventures in 2015 with the goal of helping Mainers from the baby-boom generation get more comfortable with the internet and using the latest technology. Little did he know that in March 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic struck, his skills in teaching clients how to video chat or pay their bills online would become a crucial tool in helping people figure out how to navigate their new socially distant reality. Emily Burnham, BDN

New weekly jobless claims continued their steady decline last week from the dizzying heights seen in the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic. But that comes as tens of thousands of out-of-work Mainers face a sharp drop in jobless benefits next week. Christopher Burns, BDN

As of Thursday evening, the coronavirus has sickened 4,476,335 people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as caused 151,674 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.

See the original post here:

July 30 evening update: The latest on the coronavirus and Maine - Bangor Daily News

Middle East grapples with heatwave during Eid and Coronavirus pandemic – CNN

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In Iraq's capital Baghdad, two people were killed and 11 others injured during protests over electricity shortages, and lack of basic goods, that erupted in the capital's Tahrir square earlier this week as temperatures reached 50C (122F).

Protesters were met with live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas by security forces, Ali Akram al-Bayati, a member of the Independent High Commission for Human Rights of Iraq, told CNN on Monday.

On Thursday, Friday and the week ahead, temperatures are forecast to hover in the mid-to high 40-degrees Celsius (104F), slightly lower than the all-time record of 51.1C (124F).

Temperatures in Kuwait are more or less the same, reaching highs of 51C last Friday. Nearby, on the shores of the Persian Gulf, the combination of desert heat and gulf moisture created a heat index of over 56C (134F) on Monday afternoon in Salmiyah, Kuwait.

The heatwave comes ahead of Eid al-Adha -- which is being observed by Muslims on Thursday night, as the first of the four-day Eid falls on Friday. Eid al-Adha is normally marked by congregational Eid prayers, family gatherings and large feasts.

Several countries across the region are re-imposing lockdown measures to restrict the spread of coronavirus, after a recent rise in numbers in June in Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

On Sunday, Iraq announced a 10-day curfew after the country surpassed 100,000 Covid-19 cases and registered more than 4,000 virus-related deaths.

Eid al-Adha follows on from the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, which was also affected by coronavirus.

On average, over 2 million pilgrims attend the Hajj, which is considered one of the five pillars of Islam.

However, the first rituals of Hajj on Wednesday saw around 1,000 pilgrims adhering to "safety bubbles" and social distancing measures over fears of the coronavirus.

And the Middle East heatwave follows on from the hottest May on record worldwide, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, a European climate agency.

Globally, May was 0.63 degrees Celsius warmer than the average May between 1981 and 2010, making it the warmest May in this data record, the said.

When compared with pre-industrial figures, their recordings indicate that the world is creeping dangerously close to the temperature threshold that international organizations warn would be so devastating to the planet if exceeded.

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Weber Touts Second Amendment Rights – The SandPaper

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By Eric Englund | on July 29, 2020

New Jerseys 3rd Congressional District Independent candidate Martin Weber is vowing to preserve the spirit and legality of the Second Amendment. The seat is currently held by Democrat Andy Kim.

The Second Amendment needs to be defended for the law-abiding citizens, said Weber. When you look at many gun owners here in the 3rd District, you see people who are hunters and those who use them for sport and recreation.

The candidate does recognize the calls by advocates to ensure there are reasonable regulations and background checks.

I firmly believe that if you want to own a gun, you should be trained, certified and registered, Weber said as he calls for creating a program that has individuals complete a one-time certification course in which they learn how to properly handle and maintain their firearm. You have people out there who buy a gun and injure themselves, sometimes fatally, while trying to clean it.

He said there is a role for such groups as the National Rifle Association and even retired military and law enforcement personnel to properly train gun owners.

Weber will be speaking at a Second Amendment rally that is being organized by 2nd District Libertarian candidate Jesse Ehrnstrom on Saturday, Aug. 22, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 290 Route 72 in Barnegat Township. Others scheduled to speak include Second Amendment advocate Anthony Colandro and 4th District Libertarian candidate Michael Rufo.

For more information about the campaign, visit martinweberforcongress.com or Facebook at Martin Weber for Congress.

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An open letter to the National Rifle Association: Help us fight those jack-booted government thugs – Chicago Sun-Times

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Dear NRA,

We need you.

For years you warned us that the right to bear arms was necessary to the security of a free State, to safeguard against tyrannical government, and to ward off jack-booted government thugs with the power to take away our constitutional rights, break in our doors, seize our guns, destroy our property, and even injure or kill us.

And for years we criticized you, thinking tyranny unlikely.

But we were wrong.

And now we need you and your well-regulated militia.

Unmarked troops in unmarked vans are preying on citizens who are exercising the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

As you yourselves have lamented, not too long ago, it was unthinkable for federal agents wearing Nazi bucket helmets and black storm trooper uniforms to attack law-abiding citizens.

And yet here we are. With that reality before us. Unable to protect ourselves from this violent oppressor.

For a few reasons.

For one thing, were a feeble bunch. So many of us vegan. So many of us anemic as a result. With the weak handshakes and infirm morals that follow. And although we typically struggle with even normal uses of force, were particularly sensitive to excessive uses of force, finding them generally disagreeable and upsetting to our constitution.

Should Sprouts or Whole Foods make available a fermented or probiotic-and-prebiotic-enriched use of force, wed happily reevaluate. But, in the interim, since your systems seem more iron-rich, we need you. To join us. To stand by our side. To be strong when we cant.

Second, were ill-equipped and unarmed. Our fanny packs and old-timey bicycles are poor counters to their M16s and MRAPs. And although were open to arming ourselves, it appears to be a non-starter, as one of us who tried showing up armed in Austin was murdered. In cold blood. In plain view of others.

And rather than being sadly eulogized for it as a victim of murder, he was instead criticized by the president of the Austin Police Association for having exercised his second amendment rights. In Texas. A state so aggressively pro-Second Amendment that it ranks at or near the top of nearly every statistical category involving firearms licensing and registration. Suggesting, perhaps, that were not as good as you are at bearing arms in a manner that is both non-self-endangering, and uninviting of criticism post-having-been-murdered.

And since youve repeatedly stated that to stop a bad guy with a gun, it takes a good guy with a gun, we need you. To join us. To stand by our side. To be our good guys with guns.

Last, we lack your relationships. Your political connections. The goodwill built from decades of campaign contributions. We, it appears, have fomented the opposite of goodwill, having repeatedly accused our elected representatives of corruption, bribery and despotic behaviour, accusations which, in hindsight, could perhaps have been more tactfully made. So we need you. To join us. To stand by our side. To be the mutual friend on this quarrelsome email intro whom we politely thank and move to bcc.

So please, NRA. Rise up. Be our strongmen. Our good guys. Our friends.

Because we need you.

Your brothers and sisters,

PortlandSeattleAustinOaklandLos Angeles

Pardis Parker is a stand-up comedian and the creator and star of Comedy Centrals Mideast Minute a fake news show that tries to convince Middle Easterners that everythings OK in the Middle East. You can find him online at pardisparker.com and @pardisparker.

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Four MI Congressional races and a surge in absentee ballots: What we’re following this primary – Michigan Radio

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In a year marked by a pandemic and a large social justice movement, many Michiganders will be heading to the polls on August 4 to cast votes in a wide array of primary campaigns and initiatives. Rather, many Michiganders - nearly two million of them - will be casting absentee ballots across the state in what is sure to be a primary unlike the state has seen before.

Here's a look at the four major primaries we're keeping an eye on, as well as how to ensure your ballot is counted in this unprecedented voting year.

3rd Congressional District: U.S. Representative

When U.S. Rep. Justin Amash announced in April he was launching a presidential exploratory committee, political Twitter was abuzz. He created a similar buzz last summer when he announced he was "declaring his independence" to focus on a current issue in the United States: the two-party system.

Amash announced in May he was ending his presidential bid because circumstances dont lend themselves to my success as a candidate for president this year, and earlier this month, via Twitter, appeared to confirm reports that he would not be seeking re-election for his Congressional seat. Amash has held the seat since 2011.

In the midst of all of this, numerous candidates have popped up in the 3rd Congressional District, which includes the city of Grand Rapids and Ionia, Barry, and Calhoun counties.The district has traditionally gone red in previous elections.

For the Democratic Party, five candidates announced they were running, but four did not make the ballot or have since withdrawn, leaving Hillary Scholten as the only candidate still in the running. Scholten worked for the Department of Justice under the Obama administration and then joined the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center as a staff attorney. Michigan Radio's Dustin Dwyer reported in 2019 that "only one other Democrat, Richard Vander Veen, has been elected to represent the Grand Rapids area in Congress in the past 100 years."

We know that the people of west Michigan care about the things I care about, Scholten said when she announced her run in 2019. Having accessible, affordable health care for all Americans, supporting our public schools and ending gun violence.

Under the Republican Party, eight candidates announced they were running, but only five have made it to the primary ballot.

Lynn Afendoulis currently serves District 73 of the Michigan House, and has since 2019. Afendoulis was a newspaper journalist before turning to a career in business. According to a statement on her website, Afendoulis is running because "West Michigan needs someone who will actively represent them and will work with President Trump to defend our borders, stand up to China, and protect the American Dream." You can learn more about her decision to run.

Thirty-one-year-old Peter Meijer, grandson of the late retail industry titan Fred Meijer, is also in the running on the Republican ticket.

We need to secure our borders. We need to bring our troops home from senseless wars," Meijer said when he announced his campaign in 2019. And we need health care to not bankrupt families and education should be within reach.

Last fall, the ACLU of Michigan filedformal complaint of discrimination against Meijer after hebarred "London-based act Drag Syndrome from performing at his venue, the Tanglefoot Building, during Grand Rapids annual ArtPrize event," according to reporting by Michigan Radio's Caroline Llanes.

Also running is Joe Farrington, a former school teacher and current bar owner from Ionia. In a debate between Republican candidates last winter, Farrington was the "only one who openly criticized President Trump during the debate, calling the tax cuts 'nonsense,' and saying he thinks the border wall is a bad idea. He also drew shouts after declaring himself 'pro-choice' during the debate," Dwyer reported.

I was the first candidate to file against Justin Amash, Tom Norton, of Sand Lake, said at the same debate. I filed because we werent being represented at all.

Norton is a former village president in Kent County and a former member of the Army National Guard.

Rounding out the candidates is Emily Rafi, who initially planned to run as a Democrat before switching to the Republican Party. Rafi is a business transaction attorney and has not held an office before. According to a statement on her website, "The Democratic Party ignores the will of the American people and is therefore un-Democratic, un-American and is not operating in our Nations best interest."

8th Congressional District: U.S. Representative

Current incumbent U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D) faces opposition from four Republican candidates in the 8th District, a district "drawn (and redrawn) to increasingly favor Republicans. GOP congressmen held the seat for nearly 20 years, and voters went for Trump in 2016. Then, in 2018, it flipped, booting out incumbent Mike Bishop and electing political newcomer Slotkin," according to Michigan Radio's political reporting project, The 8th. The 8th District includes Ingham County, Livingston County, and Oakland County.

Howell resident Mike Detmer first began campaigning for the state legislature before turning his sights on the congressional seat. According to reporting from Michigan Radio's Kate Wells, Detmer has "campaigned heavily on being a 'grassroots' candidate, appealing to conservative groups active on Facebook and showing up to a gun rights rally and a Livingston County meeting about creating a Second Amendment 'sanctuary.'

From Wells: AlanHoover, a Marine veteran who served in Iraq, is a vocal advocate for veterans issues and stresses his powerful personal story growing up in poverty. He refers to his military service frequently, and talks about the deep state he believes liberals are using to undermine the country.

Paul Junge is a former prosecutor and Lansing news anchor. According to 2019 FEC filings, Junge has raised approximately $273,000, the most of any candidate at the time.Ladies and gentlemen, we would all be good Repbulican votes. But well need financial resources to defeat Slotkin and the left wing, Junge told a crowd at a candidate forum in February.

Kristina Lyke is a family law attorney with a private practice in Lansing. On her website, Lyke explains that she's running because "our Constitutional rights are under attack by the radical left. Our current representative, Elissa Slotkin, is too obsessed with her hatred for the President to effectively represent our district."

For a more in depth look at the candidates, read more of Kate Wells's reporting on The 8th.

11th Congressional District: U.S. Representative

Current incumbment U.S. Rep.Haley Stevens (D) faces opposition from five Republican candidates in the 11th Congressional District, which includes portions of Oakland and Wayne counties. Stevens has served the district since 2019, following the retirement of Rep. David Trott (R).

Frank Acosta is running because "the current Democrat majority in the House of Representatives is leading this country off a cliff. Rather than legislate, they only produce media sound bites," according to a statement on his website. Acosta supports right-to-life initiatives, "intelligent immigration" and border securities, and the appointment of Constitutional originalist judges.

Kerry Bentivolio previously served as the representative for the 11th District from 2013 to 2015. He ran as a write-in candidate against Trott in 2014, losing by a large margin. Bentivolio also ran in 2018, but finished last in the primary. He was an educator for 15 years and served in the U.S. Army, both in Vietnam and Operation Iraqi Freedom. On his website, Bentivolio describes himself as a "constitutional conservative with libertarian leanings," and "believes in individual liberties and hopes to avoid careless foreign intervention."

On her website, Carmelita Greco describes herself as a mother, entrepreneur, and non-profit leader. In a statement on the site, Greco says she's running "because she understands that we need people in Washington who stand for the principles of lower taxes, less government and more freedom."

Eric Esshaki, a lawyer from Birmingham, announced his campaign in November."I think that we need to focus on health care, I think we need to focus on the economy, I think we need to focus on education. And quite frankly, at a higher level, I think we need to focus on having a discourse that's civil," Esshaki said in November. In April, Esshaki brought and won a suit against the State of Michigan to extend the filing deadline for candidates trying to get on the August primary ballot. Due to the COVID-19 crisis and Governor Gretchen Whitmer's stay-at-home order, candidates were unable to go door to door to get the necessary signatures.

Whittney Williams, a first-generation immigrant from Taiwan, announced her campaign in August 2019.Williams currently serves as the Director of Diversity for the 11th District Republican Committee. She's held that role since 2018.

13th Congressional District: U.S. Representative

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D) faces an uphill battle to re-election, facing opposition from Democratic candidate Brenda Jones, and three Republican primary candidates in the 13th Congressional District. The district covers portions of Wayne County, including portions of the city of Detroit.

Jonesis president of the Detroit City Council and announced her campaign in March of this year.Jones says what sets her apart from other candidates is her connection to the community she hopes to represent, Michigan Radio's Caroline Llanes reported. I've been on the ground doing this for the last 15 years. I've been a councilperson for 15 years, and a council president for the last two terms. And so I've been connecting with the people on the ground.

Jones held the seat for 35 days in 2018, when she won a special election following the resignation of Rep. John Conyers. Tlaib won the race for the full two-year term.

Since she's been in office, Tlaib has been a vocal opponent of President Donald Trump and his administration. Prior to her election to the U.S. House, Tlaib was a member of the 6th and 12th districts of the Michigan House of Representatives. She's also beenendorsedby House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

On the republican ticket, three candidates have emerged.David Dudenhoefer has served as thedistrict chair for the 13th Congressional District Republican Committee since 2013, according to his website.Alfred Lemmo is a retired mechanical engineer, who believes that "government has strayed far from what our Founding Fathers originally intended for the governments role in our lives," according to his website. Linda Sawyer, a nurse, is also running. According to her website, she doesn't feel that "Rashida respects everyone...especially Jewish people."She has previously served as a Wayne County Republican Committee member.

Absentee Voting

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed many things about the way Michiganders are living. Election day is no exception. Michigan's Secretary of State Office has seen an influx in absentee voting requests --up 350% compared to the same time ahead of the 2016 state primary -- and many voters will be heading to different polling locations in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is encouraging voters to return the ballots as soon as possible, preferably by dropping them off at your local clerk's office. She also is preparing voters to expect delayed election results following Tuesday's primary. For more information on your best bet for voting on Aug. 4, check out our guide.

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Four MI Congressional races and a surge in absentee ballots: What we're following this primary - Michigan Radio

Global Macrofiltration Market: Affected Analysis by COVID 19 on Industry with Leading Players like- Amiad Water Systems, Ascension Industries, Inc.,…

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In the Macrofiltration statistical surveying study, 2019 is considered as the base year, and 2020-2027 is considered as the estimate time frame to anticipate the market size. Significant districts stressed in the report incorporate North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Pacific region Middle East & Africa. The global macrofiltration market size was valued $6.2 billion in 2019, and is projected to reach $9.9 billion by 2027, at a CAGR of 6.2%

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Global Macrofiltration Market: Regional Analysis

The Macrofiltration market is examined and showcase size data is given by region. The report incorporates nation astute and region-wise market size for the period 2015-2027. It additionally incorporates showcase size and conjecture by Type and by Application fragment as far as deals and income for the period 2015-2027.

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The examination report on the global Macrofiltration market offers a treasury of economic situations and strategies wherein the market has been acting in various circumstances. Additionally, SWOT investigation and Porters Five Forces examination are utilized to speak to the positive and negative factors that are affecting the market development. Additionally, this report covers the inside and out factual examination and the market elements and requests which give an entire situation of the business.

Global Macrofiltration Market: Competitive Analysis

This area of the report recognizes different key makers of the market. It enables the reader to comprehend the systems and coordinated efforts that players are concentrating on battle rivalry in the market. The extensive report gives a critical infinitesimal gander at the market. The reader can distinguish the impressions of the producers by thinking about the worldwide income of makers, the worldwide cost of manufacturer, and deals by makers during the conjecture time of 2015 to 2027.

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Global Macrofiltration Market: Affected Analysis by COVID 19 on Industry with Leading Players like- Amiad Water Systems, Ascension Industries, Inc.,...

Sound Physicians’ Partner Hospitals Recognized as Top Facilities in the Country – Benzinga

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TACOMA, Wash., July 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Sound Physicians is honored to share that three of the top five hospitals on the Best Hospitals of America list are Sound Physicians' partners John Peter Smith Hospital Health Network (JPS) in Fort Worth, TX; Ascension Seton Northwest Hospital in Austin, TX; and Mercy HealthWest Hospital in Cincinnati, OH. The Best Hospitals of America list reflects a ranking system developed by the Lown Institute, in partnership with the Washington Monthly, using a new methodology that takes a fresh approach to assess our nation's hospital outcomes.

The Lown Institute, a nonpartisan health care think tank, created the Best Hospitals for America ranking using data drawn from the Lown Institute Hospitals Index that measures how well hospitals care for their patients and gauges the contributions hospitals make to the country and their communities. The Lown Institute Index shows how nearly 3,300 U.S. hospitals compare on 42 performance indicators; the measures fall under three categories:

"We strive to improve quality and lower the cost of care for patients in the communities we serve, and I am proud Sound partners with three of the top five hospitals in the country who are being acknowledged for the value they provide," said Robert Bessler, MD, Founder and CEO, Sound Physicians. "We believe it's a reflection on our deep investments in our people and processes that drive reproducible outcomes for our patients and hospital partners."

Sound provides both hospital medicine and physician advisory services at JPS, who tops the Best Hospital list, delivering care for over 50% of the patients. At Ascension Seton Northwest Hospital, Sound provides both hospital medicine and telemedicine services delivering care for over 90% of the patients. And at Mercy Health West Hospital, Sound provides hospital medicine services delivering care for 75% of the patients.

For the full ranking of more than 3,200 hospitals, see the Lown Institute Hospitals Index at http://www.LownHospitalsIndex.org.

About Sound Physicians

Sound Physicians is a leading healthcare organization with a proven track record of improving quality, satisfaction, and financial performance for its partners nationwide. Sound combines a high-performance model with engaged clinicians to drive predictable and repeatable improvements in quality and cost across the acute episode of care through emergency medicine, hospital medicine, critical care, anesthesia, telemedicine, physician advisory services, and value-based care.

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

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Coronavirus in Baton Rouge: Louisiana’s biggest parish not far behind Orleans in number of cases – The Advocate

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As the novel coronavirus continues its mid-summer surge across the state, East Baton Rouge Parish has closed in fast on Orleans Parish for the second-highest total number of diagnosed cases in Louisiana, new health data show.

In the spring, Orleans Parish was the epicenter of the viral pandemic. But, as cases have risen and different parts of the state have flashed with outbreaks, Orleans has slowly given ground to other parishes even as it slowly adds cases.

Next-door Jefferson Parish passed Orleans in early May and continues to have the most total cases in Louisiana.

Now, East Baton Rouge, which is Louisianas most populous parish, is not far behind Orleans though it remains thousands of cases behind Jefferson, state data show.

As store manager of a Taco Bell in Denham Springs, Shonda Brown spent most of thecoronavirus pandemic laboring nonstop as an essential worker

Thats a significant change from July 1, when East Baton Rouge was more than 2,500 cases behind Orleans' total. By Friday, the gap has narrowed to 359 cases, health data show.

Susan Hassig, a Tulane University epidemiologist whose research specialty includes infectious disease outbreaks, said that, with that kind of growth, it wont be long before East Baton Rouge Parish overtakes Orleans.

She suggested Orleans residents early experience with the virus and the sharp rise in cases exacerbated by Mardi Gras have had a lingering psychological impact that has affected peoples social distancing behavior and city restrictions, which have slowed new cases.

I think the New Orleanians, you know, got the pants scared off of them with that high early spike and everything else," she said. "And, yeah, theres some people that arent masking, but there are a lot of people who are staying home and the ones that are going out are generally being really careful when they are going out."

Mayor LaToya Cantrell also eased social distancing restrictions more slowly than the state in May and more quickly instituted mask requirements in June.

Hassig pointed out that the mayor also offered pretty strong messages about the threat of the virus and the need to maintain social distancing restrictions. Cantrell has also faced strong pushback from business leaders worried about the economic and tourism impact of continued restrictions.

Through Friday, East Baton Rouge Parish has had 9,393 cases of the novel coronavirus since the virus was first detected in the parish in mid-March. The parish added 224 new cases on Friday, the third consecutive day with more than 200 cases.

During July, the parish has had 12 days with more than 200 cases and hasn't had fewer than 103 cases per day, with the exception of two days when data weren't reported.

The sharp growth in new cases has far exceeded the worst peak in April. East Baton Rouge Parish broke 9,000 cases and the 12-parish capital area broke 20,000 cases on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Baton Rouge region has three parishes outside East Baton Rouge Parish that have had more than 2,000 cases: Livingston at 2,212, Ascension at 2,175 and Tangipahoa at 2,692.

Statewide, 67% of all people who have tested positive for the virus have recovered.

In addition to East Baton Rouges rise, the latest case figures also speak in other ways to the changing geographic nature of the virus's spread.

Since the outbreak started, Ascension had remained ahead of Livingston in cases and deaths. But, on Monday, Livingston Parish finally overtook Ascension in total case numbers.

The parishes, two of the most populous suburban parishes in the Baton Rouge area, both broke 2,000 total cases the next day, and Livingston has since widened the gap with Ascension.

The rise in cases has come amid a major testing push that has nearly doubled the daily average number of completed tests in the region since July 1, an Advocate analysis shows.

The latest increases in cases have also affected a younger portion of the population than earlier in the outbreak. Those younger demographic groups are far less likely to suffer severe health consequences or death.

But the growth in cases has still brought new strains on the health system and other negative outcomes. Based on federal benchmarks, that suggests the rising numbers cant be attributed to more testing alone.

Meanwhile, deaths from the virus, which had remained at low levels for weeks with a handful or zero fatalities each day, may be starting an upward turn.

East Baton Rouge has had 18 deaths since Sunday, while the 12-parish region has had 39.

East Baton Rouge broke 300 deaths from COVID-19 this week and had 306 as of Friday, state health data show.

Deaths from the virus typically come weeks after cases are diagnosed and people are admitted to hospitals.

As of Friday, just 14% of all staffed intensive care unit beds in the state health region that includes much of the Baton Rouge area 31 out of 221 beds -- were still available for any medical need, state data show.

In early June, bed availability was running around 40% of total capacity.

Hassig said the virus has proven itself able to take advantage of opportunities and slowly and quietly build up a critical mass.

Part of it is that Baton Rouge had a long percolating build up to this point, and now its rearing its ugly head, she said.

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Citizen journalism and technology – Qrius

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Advances in technology have enabled citizens withportable equipment to film and photograph significant events and incidents, often including police responses. Sometimes these peoplerecord and post incidents of police violence, and are commonly referred to as citizen journalists.

Filming or photographing incidentsallows issues of social injustice to be exposed to a larger audience. When it involves police violence, its typically coupled with calls for greater police accountability and justice for victims.

While recording of the police has increased, its evident that the limited empirical researchthat existshas yet to examine its long-term impact on policing, police-community relations, and accountability, particularly in relation to the policing of young people and other vulnerable social groups.

But citizen journalism doesshine a clear light on systemic discrimination and racism, the most high-profile recent example being the death of George Floyd in the United States. On 25 May, Minneapolis police officers arrested George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, after a convenience store employee called 911, alleging Floyd had passed a counterfeit bank note. Shortly after the police arrived, Floyd was pinned beneath the knee of one of the police officers for almost eight minutes, pleading with them that he couldnt breathe.

This incident was captured by several citizen journalists. One was Darnella Frazier, a teenager from Minneapolis who recorded the incident and posted her video online. This allowed the entire world to see with their own eyes what had occurred. Darnella Fraziers lawyercommented:

If it wasnt for her bravery, presence of mind, and steady hand, and her willingness to post the video on Facebook and share her trauma with the world, all four of those police officers would still be on the streets, possibly terrorising other members of the community.

Aboriginal families in Australia who have been bereaved by the deaths in custody of family membershave said thatGeorge Floyds death should act as a poignant reminder of the systemic issues in Australia.

Shining a light on Australia, its evident that the relationship and trust levels between police officers and young people are often strained, linked to the legacies of over-policingin some communities.

Theres a wealth of critical criminological research in Australia that demonstrates interactions with the police have not been positive for many social groups. The over-regulation of particular groups of young people in public spaces by the police, such as young people from Indigenous communities, from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and young people experiencing homelessness continues.

As part of a larger project analysing citizen journalism, accountability, and young peoples experience of police, we can identify several examples of the violent interactions of police with both adults and young people. These have been made publicly accessible, usually by citizen journalists, via digital media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, and reported on by online media outletssuch as The Guardian, The Daily Mail and Sydney Morning Herald.

The most notable recent example involves the arrest of a teenager in the inner-Sydney suburb of Surry Hills. On 1 June, a Sydneypolice officer threw a 16-year-old Indigenous boy to the ground by kicking his feet from beneath him, causing him to land face-first on the ground; all evidence of this was captured via mobile phone footage and posted on social media.In the video of the incident, the young person can be heard sayingIll crack ya across the jaw, bro before the officer walked over to him to restrain him. After the video was released publicly, New South WalesPolice Commissioner Mick Fuller made a public statement that the police officer had a bad day, which served to almost defend and rationalise this type of behaviour within the police force.

Reflecting on this incident, Redfern Legal Centre solicitor Samantha Lee said:

Aboriginal young people in particular are disproportionately policed, not only in New South Wales, but across Australia.

When evaluating the presence of police misconduct in Australia, Lee asserted that young Indigenous people are very vulnerable and its time that this particular type of police practice is put to an end.

Recordings of violent interactions such as these can ultimately have an impact on police legitimacy. Despite this, New South WalesPolice Central Metropolitan Region Commander Mick Willing said he was wary of the current environment and global anti-police protests. He also said he was concerned about others who may use this footage to inflame it and turn it into something that its not.

While citizen journalists and some media outlets do act as watchdogsby exposing injustices, the lack of an independent complaints systems and apparatus to enable systems and individuals to be held to accountis an under-addressed issue in Australia.

Traditionally in Australia, police complaints have been dealt with internally either by senior police officers or by specific departments within the police, rather than an independent office. A further issue raised by academic research is that access to justice following a police assault or misconduct continues to represent an unmet legal need.

While the judgment in Horvath v Australia clearly asserted that Australia is under an obligation to ensure that perpetrators of human rights violations, and specifically actions by police authorities, must be investigated and held to account through independent, effective and impartial investigations, little appears to have changed.

Alarmingly, citizen journalists continue to expose further cases with the incident in New South Wales occurring about six days after the recording of George Floyds death made global headlines.

Citizen journalists, investigative journalists and activists are crucial in ensuring that these realities of police-perpetrated violence are exposed. Yet, the advances in communications technologies to mobilise civic action are but one part of a much larger push for much-needed change to systems and practices that perpetuate discrimination and deny transparency, accountability and justiceto those most affected.

This article was first published on Monash Lens. Read the original article

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‘On our way to Mars’: NASA rover will look for signs of life – Associated Press

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) The biggest, most sophisticated Mars rover ever built a car-size vehicle bristling with cameras, microphones, drills and lasers blasted off for the red planet Thursday as part of an ambitious, long-range project to bring the first Martian rock samples back to Earth to be analyzed for evidence of ancient life.

NASAs Perseverance rode a mighty Atlas V rocket into a clear morning sky in the worlds third and final Mars launch of the summer. China and the United Arab Emirates got a head start last week, but all three missions should reach their destination in February after a journey of seven months and 300 million miles (480 million kilometers).

The plutonium-powered, six-wheeled rover will drill down and collect tiny geological specimens that will be brought home in about 2031 in a sort of interplanetary relay race involving multiple spacecraft and countries. The overall cost: more than $8 billion.

NASAs science mission chief, Thomas Zurbuchen, pronounced the launch the start of humanitys first round trip to another planet.

Oh, I loved it, punching a hole in the sky, right? Getting off the cosmic shore of our Earth, wading out there in the cosmic ocean, he said. Every time, it gets me.

In addition to potentially answering one of the most profound questions of science, religion and philosophy Is there or has there ever been life beyond Earth? the mission will yield lessons that could pave the way for the arrival of astronauts as early as the 2030s.

Theres a reason we call the robot Perseverance. Because going to Mars is hard, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said just before liftoff. In this case, its harder than ever before because were doing it in the midst of a pandemic.

Shortly after liftoff, Perseverance unexpectedly went into safe mode, a sort of protective hibernation, after a temperature reading triggered an alarm. But deputy project manager Matt Wallace later said that the spacecraft appeared to be in good shape, with its temperatures back within proper limits, and that NASA will probably switch it back to its normal cruise state within a day or so.

Everything is pointing toward a healthy spacecraft ready to go to Mars and do its mission, he said.

NASAs deep-space tracking stations also had some difficulty locking onto signals from Perseverance early in the flight but eventually established a solid communication link, Wallace said.

The U.S., the only country to safely put a spacecraft on Mars, is seeking its ninth successful landing on the planet, which has proved to be the Bermuda Triangle of space exploration, with more than half of the worlds missions there burning up, crashing or otherwise ending in failure.

China is sending both a rover an orbiter. The UAE, a newcomer to outer space, has an orbiter en route.

Its the biggest stampede to Mars in spacefaring history. The opportunity to fly between Earth and Mars comes around only once every 26 months when the planets are on the same side of the sun and about as close as they can get.

The launch went off on time at 7:50 a.m. despite a 4.2-magnitude earthquake 20 minutes before liftoff that shook NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which is overseeing the rover.

Launch controllers at Cape Canaveral wore masks and sat spaced apart because of the coronavirus outbreak, which kept hundreds of scientists and other team members away from Perseverances liftoff.

That was overwhelming. Overall, just wow! said Alex Mather, the 13-year-old Virginia schoolboy who proposed the name Perseverance in a NASA competition and watched the launch in person with his parents.

About an hour into the flight, controllers applauded, pumped their fists, exchanged air hugs and pantomimed high-fives when the rocket left Earths orbit and began hurtling toward Mars.

We have left the building. We are on our way to Mars, Perseverances chief engineer, Adam Steltzner, said from JPL.

If all goes well, the rover will descend to the Martian surface on Feb. 18, 2021, in what NASA calls seven minutes of terror, during which the craft will go from 12,000 mph (19,300 kph) to a complete stop. It is carrying 25 cameras and a pair of microphones that will enable Earthlings to vicariously tag along.

Perseverance will aim for Jezero Crater, a treacherous, unexplored expanse of boulders, cliffs, dunes and possibly rocks bearing the chemical signature of microbes from what was a lake more than 3 billion years ago. The rover will store half-ounce (15-gram) rock samples in dozens of super-sterilized titanium tubes.

It also will release a mini helicopter that will attempt the first powered flight on another planet, and test out other technology to prepare the way for future astronauts. That includes equipment for extracting oxygen from Mars thin carbon-dioxide atmosphere.

The plan is for NASA and the European Space Agency to launch a dune buggy in 2026 to fetch the rock samples, plus a rocket ship that will put the specimens into orbit around Mars. Then another spacecraft will capture the orbiting samples and bring them home.

Samples taken straight from Mars, not drawn from meteorites discovered on Earth, have long been considered the Holy Grail of Mars science, according to NASAs now-retired Mars czar, Scott Hubbard.

To definitively answer the life-beyond-Earth question, the samples must be analyzed by the best electron microscopes and other instruments, far too big to fit on a spacecraft, he said.

Ive wanted to know if there was life elsewhere in the universe since I was 9 years old. That was more than 60 years ago, Hubbard said from his Northern California cabin. But just maybe, Ill live to see the fingerprints of life come back from Mars in one of those rock samples.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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'On our way to Mars': NASA rover will look for signs of life - Associated Press

Jupiter And Its Giant Moon Dazzle In New Photos From NASAs Juno As It Marks 4 Years In Orbit – Forbes

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The large white oval and jet stream in the northern latitudes of Jupiter, taken by NASA's Juno ... [+] spacecraft on perijove 28.

NASAs Juno spacecraft has sent back yet another batch of astonishing new images from Jupiterand some unique images of its moon Ganymede have also emerged.

These new images from its 28th flyby come as the solar-powered spacecraft celebrates four years in orbit around the gas giant planet, which has just come to opposition for us on Earth, along with fellow giant planet Saturn.

Jupiter as a crescent as Juno approached it at the weekend.

At Jupiter since July 5, 2016,Junohas been in an elliptical polar orbit that has it spend most of its time away from the planet.

Only every 53 days does it get close to Jupiter, but during its brief flyby it gets super-close to the planets cloud-tops to take some astonishing photos.

Each dip close to Jupiter is called aperijove, which is Greek for the extreme points in the orbit of one body around another.

Its in the few days after each perijove that Juno sends back its images via NASAs Deep Space Network.

However, NASA isnt actually responsible for most of the images we see coming from Juno at Jupiter; raw imagers from JunoCam are uploaded after each perijove and very soon freely available for citizen scientists to download and post-process into wonderful photos.

Detail on Jupiter from Juno's perijove 28 flyby on July 28, 2020.

Junos images have taught us so much about the dynamic nature of Jupiter's atmosphere in a level of detail that we haven't everseen before, especially when correlated with data from the infrared imager, magnetometer data, and with Earth-bound observations, said Kevin M. Gill, a software engineer at NASA-JPL, to me via email. Gill is one of the hardest working citizen scientists on the JunoCam. Most of the work is done when Im on lunch, abreak, or after hours, he said.

Jupiter as captured by Juno on July 28, 2020.

The public availability of Junos raw images have resulted in some incredible images including Jupiters racing stripes,its giant jet-stream,a classic Jupiter Marble portrait, anda churning Jupiter.

If you want to see more see Gills Twitter account and check-out the featured submissions page on the missions outreach website.

Jupiter's southern circumpolar cyclones, processed by citizen scientist Svetoslav Alexandrov.

Its unusual orbit enables it to take valuable scientific observations, though arguably its the wondrous images it sends back that have made it one of the most popular NASA missions yet.

The spacecrafts JunoCam shoots images as it spinsusing its basic two-megapixel, 58 field of view camera.

The first infrared images of Ganymede's northern frontier, taken by NASA's Juno spacecraft took on ... [+] Dec. 26, 2019.

Although Juno hasnt been able to study many of Jupiters 79 moons, NASA last week published images the probe managed to snap of its giant moon Ganymede. Bigger than the planet Mercury, Ganymede consists primarily of water ice and is the only moon in the solar system with its own magnetic field.

The imagestaken using Junos Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument on December 26, 2019, but only published noware the first infrared images of the moons north pole.

The north pole of Ganymede can be seen in center of this annotated image taken by the JIRAM infrared ... [+] imager aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft on Dec. 26, 2019. The thick line is 0-degrees longitude.

Junos JIRAM was designed to capture the infrared light emerging from deep inside Jupiter, probing its weather down to 30 to 45 miles (50 to 70 kilometers) below Jupiters cloud tops. However, the instrument can also be used to study the moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

Juno got to within 62,000 miles/100,000 kilometers of Ganymede and collected 300 infrared images of its surface.

Heres a wonderful time-lapse video from Gill that compiles images taken by JunoCam during Junes perijove 27 flyby of Jupiter:

The NASA spacecrafts scientific mission is to study Jupiters atmosphere and magnetosphere. It spends most of its time away from Jupiter taking measurements of the outer atmosphere and magnetosphere.

Juno is part of NASAs New Frontiers missions. It launched on August 5, 2011, on an Atlas V rocket, reached Jupiter in July 2016.

A fun, false-colorized Jupiter from a previous flyby, edited using Photoshop, created by citizen ... [+] scientists Gerald Eichstdt, Sen Doran and Rachel Tortorici.

Juno will complete its mission on July 30, 2021. While on its 35th and finalperijoveit will be purposely crashed into Jupiters atmosphere, where it will disintegrate.

However, Junos scientific discoveries will pave the way for the European Space Agencys JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) mission, which from 2030 will spend over three years exploring Jupiters giant magnetosphere, turbulent atmosphere, and its moons Ganymede, Callisto and Europa.

Another view of Jupiter from Juno, taken earlier this week.

So whats most exciting to Junos citizen scientists? In addition to the obvious current choice, NASAs Perseverance Rover, I'm very excited about the Europa Clipper mission and the Dragonfly mission to Titan, said Gill. Allwillbe returning spectacular and unprecedented imagery of their respective targets.

Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.

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Jupiter And Its Giant Moon Dazzle In New Photos From NASAs Juno As It Marks 4 Years In Orbit - Forbes

NASA’s Perseverance rover: Getting to Mars is easy, its the stopping that can kill you – Firstpost

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The New York TimesJul 31, 2020 12:24:19 IST

When NASAs Perseverance rover arrives at Mars, mission managers will be watching, helpless to do anything. The $2.4 billion spacecraft will hit the top of the Martian atmosphere at more than 12,000 mph (19,312 kph) and then come to a complete stop seven minutes later.

That the one-ton (907 kg)rover will end up on Mars on the afternoon of 18 February is nearly certain (presuming it is able to launch before the middle of August, when the planet moves too far away from Earth). The spacecraft navigators will have put the robotic explorer on a collision course with the planet. The only question is whether Perseverance will be on the ground in one piece or smashed to bits.

NASA's Perseverance rover can be seen attached to a spin table during a test of its mass properties at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During the test, the rover was rotated clockwise and counterclockwise to determine its center of gravity. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Spacecraft from Europe and the Soviet Union have made it all the way to the red planet, only to end up as expensive scorch marks on its dusty surface. But NASA has a good track record with Mars. It is the only space agency so far to pull off a successful mission on the surface of the red planet.

Perseverance is largely the same design as the Curiosity rover, which set down in 2012 and will have the same convoluted but now tried-and-true sky crane landing choreography.

When people look at it, it looks crazy, Adam Steltzner, a NASA engineer, said in a video that NASA produced leading up to Curiositys landing that described the components: heat shield, parachute, rocket engines and, finally, a hovering crane that lowered the rover to the surface.

Thats a very natural thing, Stelzner said. Sometimes when we look at it, it looks crazy. It is the result of reasoned, engineering thought. But it still looks crazy.

While everything worked, the engineers got a chance to take a look at what could be improved this time around.

We dont usually get a chance to kind of redo or fix the mistakes we made last time, Allen Chen, who leads the Perseverance entry, descent and landing team for NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in an interview.

For example, Curiosity actually landed too slowly, hitting the ground at 1.4 mph instead of the 1.7 mph that had been expected. That, by itself, was not a problem. A softer landing is gentler on the spacecraft.

But the engineers wanted to understand what had happened in order to make sure that the next landing that of Perseverance did not come down faster than intended.

It turns out that their calculation of the gravity of Mars was slightly wrong. In areas of the planet that possess less mass like the 96-mile-wide crater that Curiosity landed in the pull of gravity is a bit weaker.

We didnt have sufficient fidelity in our gravity modelling to understand that the gravity there was actually different than elsewhere on the planet, Chen said. So that was one thing that we fixed.

Another component that was tweaked was the parachute that is unfurled when the spacecraft is hurtling down at supersonic speeds.

A parachute failure in a prototype test of a future Mars landing system led Chens team to make sure they had not just gotten lucky with Curiosity. That gave us pause, he said.

The engineers are now confident of Perseverances parachute after supersonic tests of a strengthened design.

One major addition to Perseverance is what NASA calls terrain-relative navigation. A camera on the spacecraft will take pictures of the landscape and match them with its stored maps. It would then steer to what looks like the safest landing spot it can. I dont need the whole place to be flat and boring, Chen said. I just need parts of it that I can reach to be flat and boring.

Without this system, there would be more than a 1-in-5 chance that Perseverance would end up somewhere unfortunate damaged by a boulder, tipped over on a steep slope or surrounded by sand traps. That would be an unacceptably high risk for such a high-profile, expensive mission.

If it works, the same technology will be used when NASA sends a mission to pick up the rock samples that Perseverance will be collecting, part of the so-called Mars sample return. That spacecraft will carry enough fuel that it is able not only to avoid obstacles but also to fly to a specific location, landing within tens of yards of the target.

Still, next Feb. 18, the control room at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is expected to be full of nervous engineers watching the telemetry coming back from Perseverance. That data will take minutes to travel millions of miles far too far and too slow for anyone at NASA to make last-second corrections.

Mars is not for the faint of heart, Chen said.

Kenneth Changc.2020 The New York Times Company

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NASAs Perseverance rover on its way to become fifth rover on Mars its science objectives, instruments, the Ingenuity helicopter

NASA's Perseverance rover will bring Mars rocks to Earth: Our greatest interplanetary circus act

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NASA's Perseverance rover: Getting to Mars is easy, its the stopping that can kill you - Firstpost