From the sports archives: Record takes game to overseas – San Mateo Daily Journal

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Given the suspension of athletics in the county, the Daily Journal decided to dive into our 20-year archives to bring readers some of our favorite stories over the years.

AUG. 2, 2012 There are certain images that deserve a form of immortality.

At Carlmont High School, a quick lap around the small gymnasium will provide you with one such image. Its of Justine Record high off the ground and in the process of sending a missile over the net for a score. From 2005 to 2008, it happened over and over again, much to the chagrin of the opposition.

Fast forward four years, Record is taking her high-flying act overseas after a stellar career at Virginia Tech that included the programs first ever trip the NCAA tournament. Record, who graduated in May with a degree in English, announced shell be playing professionally for Toulon Provence Mediterranean Var Volleyball located in Toulon, France.

Im excited for this opportunity and the experience to go over there and the chance to continue to play, Record said. I mean, why not play the game you love for as long as you can? I remember I started playing volleyball when I was 14 in an area league and it never occurred to me that I would be playing professionally. I was just playing for fun. And I still am.

Much like her legendary leaps on the volleyball court, Records career appears to do nothing but ascend.

A starter for her four years as a Hokie, Record ended her career ranked fourth on Techs all-time service aces list with 176 and seventh all-time in digs with 1,238. She also concluded her career with 1,121 kills and 133 blocks.

She appeared in all 31 matches her senior season, missing just one start while playing in 115 sets. Her final year at Tech concluded with 257 kills, 48 aces, 380 digs and 51 blocks and a team-leading 12 double-doubles. Record was also a preseason All-ACC team member.

I think going away to college was probably one of the best opportunities that ever happened to me, Record said. I initially didnt want to be so far away from home, but I ended up going to a volleyball program that wanted me and offered me a full ride as a player at the Division I level.

It definitely wasnt an easy transition. But a lot of my teammates were from out of state which was nice because everyone was going through the same experience that I was and I think thats why our team was so close everyone was from a different area.

Record went to Tech after a jaw-dropping four years at Carlmont that included a 2006 Daily Journal Volleyball Player of the Year award.

They were coaches that I admire because they pushed me to play different positions that I never played before, Record said of her time as a Scot. I was an outside hitter at the high school level, but I also played right side during the club season. At one point I played middle in high school. And it was because of their coaching and their belief in me as a player that I realized that the only limitations you have are the ones you create for yourself.

Heading into Tech, there were questions about Records size. But Record said she was lucky to have coaches who believed in her regardless of her frame.

They embraced my role and I was really thankful for that because there arent a lot of coaches who view a left-handed player as an outside hitter, especially at 5-8, thats the big thing, she said. I was playing at the DI level and coaches dont expect a short lefty on the outside.

For most hitters, the biggest transition is the speed of the game and how big the block is. I definitely struggled with hitting around the block and hitting high-hand, finding ways to score that way.

But Records hard work and efforts helped the Virgina Tech program reach new heights.

I feel very proud to be a part of the first team to make the NCAA tournament, Record said. Our teams has improved and I think the program got better each year. I definitely think a lot of it has to do with the coaching. And I think I improved because my teammates, we pushed each other a lot. Its just kind of contagious.

Volleyball appears to be one of those good diseases Record cant seem to shake. As her career with Tech wound down, phone calls to friends playing overseas and the subsequent advice that followed landed her with the opportunity to continue to make French fans ohh and ahh with her explosive play in the future.

This is the right fit for now, Record said. After youre done playing for four years, some players dont want to play overseas and dont want to continue their careers. But for me, I love playing volleyball so much I just couldnt get enough. I think my main objective at this point is just taking this opportunity to gain life experience, to travel and to go play where I possibly can, reaching my full potential.

For Record, that potential is way up in the clouds. And given her reputation, Record definitely has the hops to reach it.

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From the sports archives: Record takes game to overseas - San Mateo Daily Journal

The Old Guard: How Old The Other Immortals Are (Besides Andy) – Screen Rant

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The Old Guard's Andromache the Scythian is over 6000 years old, and her friends are no spring chickens either. Here's how old the other immortals are.

Warning: SPOILERS ahead for The Old Guard.

The Old Guard's Andromache the Scythian a.k.a. Andy (Charlize Theron) is 6,732 years old according to the comic books upon which the Netflix movie is based - and her immortal companions are pretty ancient as well. Though Andy's age is deliberately kept ambiguous in the movie, marketing materials for the other characters in The Old Guardmake it possible to work out exactly how old they are.

Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and based on the comics by Greg Rucka andLeandro Fernndez, The Old Guard follows a team of warriors who have lived in the shadows for centuries, taking part in conflicts on whichever side they feel is right. The movie is set in the modern day, where a new immortal - soldier Nile Freeman (Kiki Layne) - joins the group after miraculously healing from having her throat cut. While she's still learning about her new family, they come under threat from a greedy pharmaceutical executive called Steven Merrick (Harry Melling), who hopes to discover the secret to their immortality, bottle it, and put a price tag on it.

Related:The Old Guard: How Old Andy Really Is

Unfortunately for Merrick, he's not the first bad guy that the Old Guard have run into during their very long lifetimes. Here's a breakdown of when each member of the group besides Andy was born, and how old they are in the modern day setting of the movie.

Seen only in flashbacks and in The Old Guard'sfinal scene, Quynh's (Veronica Ngo) age is perhaps the hardest to pin down out of all the immortals. In the comics she's called Noriko, and Andy recalls that they first metat the end ofAmr ibn al-As al-Sahmi's conquest of the Byzantine Empire in 642, at which point Noriko had already been an immortal for a century. That puts her date of birth some time in early 500 AD,which would make her around 1500 years old during the events of The Old Guard.

However, in the movie it's not specified exactly when or where Andy and Quynh met, except that Andy found Quynh when she was wandering through the desert, and that she was the first other immortal that Andy ever met. In the comics, Andy met Lykon (Micheal Ward) before she met Noriko, and they fought together for two thousand years before his wounds finally stopped healing during the Italian Renaissance. Lykon also appears briefly in a flashback in The Old Guard, with Andy and Quynh both being present at the time of his death. If Quynh has been aged up in order to have been born before Lykon, she could actually be several thousand years old during the events of the movie. Hopefully we'll learn more about her backstory - including her age - in The Old Guard 2.

According to his character poster, Joe (Marwan Kenzari) was born in 1066, making him 954 years old at the time The Old Guard takes place, andin his earlythirties at the time of his first death. Originally called Yusuf Al-Kaysani before he changed his name to Joe Jones (in order to attract less attention), Joe was a Muslim warrior during the First Crusade, who met the love of his life on the battlefield... and then killed him. Fortunately for both of them, fate chose them as the next immortals to join the Old Guard, and after repeatedly slaying each other they realized that neither they nor the enemy soldier could be killed - at which point their enmity turned to love.

Related:The Old Guard Cast Guide: Where You've Seen Each Actor Before

Younger than Joe by only a few years (which grew even less significant as the centuries pass), Nicky (Luca Marinelli) is 951 years old during the events of The Old Guard, based on a character poster that gives his year of birth as 1069. This means that he would have been in his late twenties - 30 at most - the first time he died. Like Joe and Andy, Nicky changed his name at some point from Nicol of Genoa to the more common name ofNick Smith, in order to aid his anonymity. Hailing from the city of Genoa, in what would later become the unified country of Italy, Nicky fought in theFirst Crusadeuntil he fell in love with one of the enemy, and instead began fighting new battles alongside him. After settling their differences, Joe and Nicky both met Andy and became part of the Old Guard alongside her and Quynh.

The baby of the group (at least, until Nile comes along), Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts) is 250 years old during the events of The Old Guard, with his character poster marking his year of birth as 1770. Born Sebastien le Livre (his nickname comes from his surname, which is French for "Book"), Booker was a soldier under Napoleon who deserted during the campaign into Russia. He was caught and hanged, but came back to life still hanging from the noose, being 42 years old at the time of this first death in 1812. As he lived on without ageing, Booker experienced the trauma of watching his sons die and being helpless to stop them, even as they grew to hate him for not sharing his gift of immortality. Being a young immortal,the 100-year penance that Booker is sentenced to at the end of The Old Guard would still be a significant amount of time for him.

A brand new member of the Old Guard, Nile Freeman is 26 years when she dies for the first time, having her throat cut while trying to save the life of a man she has just shot. After she wakes up in the infirmary without a mark to show for her injury, she's shunned by her fellow soldiers and about to be sent away for some probably very unpleasant testing when she's abducted by Andy. Nile has a military legacy to uphold, with her father having been killed in action, but also has a family that she's at first keen to return to. By the end of the movie, however, she has decided to stick with Andy and the other immortals, having seen the good that they've managed to do in the world.

More:The Old Guard Ending & Sequel Setup Explained

GI Joe Spinoff Movie Snake Eyes May Be Delayed

Hannah has been with Screen Rant since the heady days of 2013, starting out as a humble news writer and eventually clawing her way up the ladder through a series of Machiavellian schemes and betrayals. She's now a features writer and editor, covering the hottest topics in the world of nerddom from her home base in Oxford, UK.Hannah enjoys weird horror movies, weirder sci-fi movies, and also the movie adaptation of Need for Speed - the greatest video game movie of all time. She has lived and studied in New York and Toronto, but ultimately returned home so that she could get a decent cup of tea. Her hobbies include drawing, video games, long walks in the countryside, and wasting far too much time on Twitter.Speaking of which, you can follow Hannah online at @HSW3K

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The Old Guard: How Old The Other Immortals Are (Besides Andy) - Screen Rant

Faith Matters: Hope in the face of death benefits the world – StCatharinesStandard.ca

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The human race is a diverse species. We come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but there is one thing we all have in common: All who live will eventually die.

It is not a pleasant thought to dwell on. We seek to distract ourselves from death by surrounding ourselves with entertainment and busyness. If we can keep from thinking about it, then it is not real.

It was Woody Allen who said: I'm not afraid to die, I just don't want to be there when it happens.

It is a funny saying, and yet it may reflect an uncomfortable truth within many of us.

I need to be clear about what I am trying to communicate. The purpose of my words is not to scare people into a life of faith motivated by a fear of death. As a university student, some well-meaning Christians tried to get me to convert with threats of hell. It only delayed my spiritual journey.

My only goal is to remind us of the lie of a this-world immortality. Even with all our advances in medicine and improvements in the standard of living, we will all die at some point.

I once led a funeral for a man who died at 100 years of age. He lived a long and healthy life. He and his wife lived in their own home right until a few months before his death. He was sharp in mind and strong in body.

He seemed to have had the ideal life, and yet there were those who were shocked at his death. It was more than missing a man who was beloved; his death had seemed unexpected.

We will all experience last things. There will be our last time kissing our spouse. There will be our last time hugging our children. There will be our last time driving a car. There will be a last time going for a walk.

There are three ways for us to respond to death. One is to ignore it and hope it never happens. One is to live in fear of death so that we never truly live. But there is also the option to live a life of hope.

Hope is the ability to move beyond the negative feelings or experiences of the moment. In the context of death, hope can include a belief that we have done some good in the world or that our friends and family will be OK even after we are gone.

As a Christian, I also have hope that death is not the end of existence. I cannot say that I fully understand what that will look like. Will we recognize our loved ones? Will we even recognize ourselves?

Never miss the latest news from the St. Catharines Standard. Sign up for our email newsletters to get the day's top stories, your favourite columnists, and much more in your inbox.

This is not about being so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good. A worldview that includes hope in the face of death should be a benefit to this world. This type of hope should help us to get out of bed and help others even when we are overwhelmed by life circumstances.

You are dying. Most people reading this will be dead within 80 years. Neither ignoring nor despairing are helpful options. But faith is. Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)

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Faith Matters: Hope in the face of death benefits the world - StCatharinesStandard.ca

His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros Homily for the Seventh Sunday of Matthew and Saint Paraskevi – Homilies – Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

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His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros

Homily for the Seventh Sunday of Matthew and Saint Paraskevi

July 26, 2020

Saint Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Church and Shrine - Greenlawn, NY

My Beloved Christians,

It is a joy to be with you today at this Temple and Shrine dedicated to the Great Virgin-Martyr Paraskevi, and especially on her feastday. We assemble as best we can in these days, when the pandemic has yet to abate in our land, and you all honor the Saint with your presence and prayerfulness today.

We honor Saint Paraskevi as a Martyr who bore witness to Christ through unimaginable suffering.

We honor Saint Paraskevi as a Healer, particularly of the eyes. And by the liturgical rhythm of the Church, we read of the healing of the two blind men by our Lord Jesus Christ in todays Gospel.

We honor Saint Paraskevi, who was given this name by her pious parents, to give glory to God for the Friday, the Holy and Great Friday, (in Greek, ), the day on which our Lord Jesus Christ gave up His life, for the life of the world. But is not only the Day of Redemption upon the Cross of Golgotha, it is also the Sixth Day of Creation, when our humanity was created, according to the Book ofGenesis.[1]

Therefore, is the day of our creation and re-creation. It is the day of beginning, the beginning of life, purpose, and meaning. And it is the day of ending, the ending of the tyranny of sin, hades and death. Yet in both cases, it is a day of Preparation, for this is the most basic meaning of the word. is in fact the Jewish Day of Preparation in advance of the Sabbath, Saturday.

As the Sixth Day of Creation, it is the Day of Preparation for the reign of humankind as the pinnacle of creation. As the Fathers teach, the human being was formed by God on the last Day of the Creation. For the entire world and Paradise was made like a palace, in which the human person would reign as a monarch, in the image of Gods rule of the universe.

But this Sixth Day proved to be the day of our downfall. We were created for immortality, but through the love of only ourselves, which in Greek is, we deserted our divine calling, and we became subject to sin and death.

Thus, our day of preparation had to be drawn out over the millennia, and our salvation readied in the fullness of time.[2]The entire Old Testament, with all its laws and regulations, exists to bring about the pure and Holy Virgin. For she became the chariot that would carry our Champion, the Lord Jesus Christ. This was the preparation of the Gospel.

Then, on the Sixth Day of the Week of Holy Week, the Lord took our humanity, which was given up to death unwillingly by disobedience and pride. He took our human nature to the Cross to willingly die for each and every one of us. And by that willing death on the day of Preparation, he prepared for us to enter Paradise, as he promised the Thief who was crucified at His side.[3]

But even His death on the Cross was a preparation, a preparation for His Divine Rest on the Holy Great Sabbath. For this is the Seventh Day of the new creation, when the Lord Jesus Christ rested from His labors to remake us in His image, according to His likeness.

It was a Divine rest, a sleep in death from which the Lord arose on the First Day of the Week like a lion roused from slumber.[4]He arose and by His Glorious Resurrection He conquered once and for all sin, and hades, and death. He shattered the gates of hell and brought up from the grave all who had been waiting for redemption from ages past.

This moment of theAnastasisis nowhere more spiritually and more magnificently portrayed than at the Church of Chora. You all know the image, the Risen Lord aglow with light divine lifting Adam and Eve up out their tombs, as He tramples down death. But this Sacred, like our Hagia Sopha, has been seized and converted to an alien purpose, which I shall not name here out of respect and honor for these sacredof our Holy Orthodox Faith.

Therefore, I ask each and every one of you, as we honor your Saint : how will you prepare yourself?

How will you prepare to receive the great gift of salvation and eternal life, which is ever offered in our Churches through the Holy Eucharist?

How will you prepare your life to ultimately meet your death? For if the Lord and Creator of Life Himself submitted unto death, none of us can escape this passage to the next and everlasting world.

And how will you prepare to live your life as an Orthodox Christian, who knows their faith and is aware of, and alive to, the vital issues of the day?

We all bear the responsibility, the privilege, to live our lives as best we can, so that at the moment we shall all eventually face, we may hear the words: Well done, good and faithful servant![5]

My beloved Christians, as we honor your Matronal Saint, the Holy , I pray that through her inspired prayers, she may be the channel of divine grace to each and every one of you and your families. May you all receive her blessing and strength, and bepreparedin your life to be the Orthodox Christian that God has called you to be.

Amen.

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His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros Homily for the Seventh Sunday of Matthew and Saint Paraskevi - Homilies - Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

Twin Cities statues: ubiquitous but ‘not at the forefront’ of public art – MinnPost

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Until recently, it was a safe bet that people rarely noticed the statues around them. They stood, scattered all over the citys parks and public spaces: statues of people like Floyd B. Olson, Charles Lindbergh, Leif Erikson, or Nathan Hale in St. Paul; or Mary Tyler Moore, Kirby Puckett, Hiawatha, and Hubert Humphrey over in Minneapolis. Especially these days, with most noses buried in smartphones, theyve been the often-unseen background of everyday life.

Photo by Meg Spielman Peldo

Colleen Sheehy

I really dont think about statues that much, said Colleen Sheehy, when I asked the other day. Theyve really become a less important part of contemporary public art.

Sheehy is the executive director of Public Art Saint Paul, a nonprofit that has been dedicated to improving and maintaining art in the citys public realm. For Sheehy, statues are an old-fashioned idea of public art that does not reflect how she thinks about its role these days.

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Theyre upholding a longstanding tradition going back to ancient times of depicting people, most often historical leaders, and reifying official and authoritative perspectives on history, she explained. Public art has really moved away from that. Its not that treating a figurative sculpture never happens, but its not at the forefront of what public art is today.

Large statues of people are, indeed, a very old idea. They date back millennia the oldest life-size statue dates to 9,000 BC in modern-day Turkey but, as Sheehy describes, literal pillars of the community have mostly served the purposes of symbolizing power. For example, in a New York Times op-ed earlier this summer, art historian Erin L. Thompson defined a statue as a bid for immortality, a way of solidifying an idea and making it present to other people.

For some reason, maybe it was childhood memories from once being lost at Camp Snoopy, it wasnt the historical statues that bothered me. Instead, Ive always thought my least favorite St. Paul statues were the diminutive Peanuts characters scattered around the fringes of Rice Park. For years, Ive literally looked down at them as a clumsy attempt at placemaking, artificial vitality in a city that could use actual street life instead.

MinnPost photo by Bill Lindeke

Snoopy statues along Rice Park in St. Paul. Leif Erikson and Floyd B. Olson statues outside the Minnesota State Capitol.

You rarely see children depicted in public space, Sheehy explained. Theyre iconic figures that people know around the world, and it is sort a democratic gesture to have these children from the Peanuts comic strip, who are very philosophical, and youre just at their level. It creates a different kind of atmosphere in downtown thats friendly, that incorporates humor.

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Perhaps the best part of the Peanuts statues, their democratic playfulness, is anathema to the history of Western monumental culture. Statues are typically placed on a high dais, out of reach and imposing, and surrounded by stony inscriptions like He Discovered America. But it doesnt have to be that way, and one of Sheehys favorite St. Paul statues is more down-to-earth.

MinnPost photo by Bill Lindeke

Michael Price's F. Scott Fitzgerald statue in Rice Park, St. Paul.

I love that its at ground level, said Sheehy, referring to the sculpture of F. Scott Fitzgerald in Rice Park. [Price] really captures Fitzgerald as a regular person. I like that he is looking over the panoply of life and activity in Rice Park, and you can almost imagine that he might be thinking of writing a short story about it .

The other issue, of course, is who is depicted by our figurative monuments. For example, other than the former Twins greats around Target Field, its all but impossible to find a person of color or nonfictional Indigenous person in a statue. According to Sheehy, statues and monuments have an important quality, and the way that they symbolize social values can be both inspiring and incredibly oppressive. The ambiguity is certainly a feeling that holds true for many of the Twin Cities Black public artists.

I never had a great concern about statuesbecause I never saw me in them, said Ta-Coumba Aiken, a visual artist based in St. Paul. What I mean by that is, I did not see my African-American self in them, so I refuse to look at them. I refuse to believe they were greater than me or my people, so I did not study them.

Walker Art Center/Bobby Rodgers

In keeping with its democratic spirit, Shadows at the Crossroads is accessible, even in the age of COVID-19.

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It is an unconventional yet contemporary approach to how a memorial is bestowed and defined, said Christopher Harrison, a Minneapolis artist, who cited Shadows at the Crossroads as his favorite statue-adjacent public artwork. For Harrison, the grounded approach makes the Walker piece particularly poignant, and runs counter to a history of symbolism that has long neglected the lives of people of color and other marginalized communities.

I see statues and other monuments as encased historical records, archival institutions within the communal space, Harrison explained. How statues speak to truth from antiquity to present and future time for me determines their power and validity, their potency lying in how accurately they represent the character of the subject and the life that they portray.

Perhaps its the notion of permanence that is really the difference between a classical statue and contemporary public art likely to challenge, rather than reify, power structures. How can we assume that any statue erected in 2020 will still be relevant in a century?

Photo by Christopher Harrison

Come Together, a mural series, 2020 on Nicollet Mall.

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Instead of statues, after the George Floyd killing, artists like Harrison spent the last few weeks and months creating temporary murals. And, for a while, Harrisons work sat on Nicollet Mall, depicting timely messages. With downtown often deserted these days, I imagine that there were times when their only audience was Mary Tyler Moore.

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Twin Cities statues: ubiquitous but 'not at the forefront' of public art - MinnPost

People With Disabilities Want Same Peaceful Dying Option as Anyone Else – Thirty years ago this month (July 1990) President George H.W. Bush signed a…

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Thirty years ago this month (July 1990), President George H.W. Bush signed a rare bipartisan law that stillimpacts the lives of all Americans: the American Disabilities Act (ADA). For example, the ADA required curb cuts so wheelchair users could cross streets independently also benefit bicyclists and parents pushing strollers.

I am a public health physician living with both colon cancer and multiple sclerosis, so I greatly appreciate the benefits of the ADA. Unfortunately,as a result ofmy colon cancer, I can too easily imagine that my final days may bring great suffering. If that suffering becomes unbearable, I hope that I will be able to choose froma full range of care options, and I hope that such a choice will be available to all people in that situation.

Thatswhy I support legislation in 20 states nationwide that would authorize mentally capable, terminally ill adults to have the option to get prescription medication to peacefully end their suffering if it becomes intolerable. The states that have considered medical aid-in-dying bills during their 2019-2020 legislation sessions include:Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Utah,andVirginia.

Bothnational and state pollsshow voters across our country support medical aid in dying. AGallup Poll Social Surveyconducted in May showed that 74 percent ofU.S. residents agree that: When a person has a disease that cannot be cureddoctors should be allowed by law to end the patients life by some painless means if the patient and his or her family request it? Majority support included every demographic group measured in the survey: gender, ethnicity, age, education, and political party affiliation (if any), ranging from conservatives to liberals.

While there are no national polls of people with disabilities on this issue, Purple Insights conducted surveys in 2013 and 2014 showing that voters with disabilities inConnecticut,Massachusetts, andNew Jerseysupported medical aid in dying by 63 to 74 percent, very similar to the support level of voters overall in those states of 62 to 71 percent. Finally, a 2018Medscape surveyshowed that 58 percent of doctors nationwide saidthat physician-assisted dying should be made legal for terminally ill patients.

Medical aid in dying has been authorized in Washington, D.C., and nine states, starting more than two decades ago with Oregon in 1997, without one documented case of misuse.

In fact,Disability Rights Oregons (DRO)Executive Director confirmed in a letter last year that:

DRO has never to my knowledge received a complaint that a person with disabilities was coerced or being coerced to make use of the [Oregon Death with Dignity] Act.

In addition, according to a 2007Journal of Medical Ethicsreportabout this Oregon law:

Rates of assisted dying in Oregon...showed no evidence of heightened risk for the elderly, women, the uninsured...people with low educational status, the poor, the physically disabled or chronically ill, minors, people with psychiatric illnesses including depression, or racial or ethnic minorities, compared with background populations.

The purpose of the American Disabilities Act: is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else, according to theAmerican Disabilities Act National Network. Medical aid-in-dying legislation honors this historic laws mission, by providing people with disabilities the same autonomy and freedom as everyone else to make our own healthcare decisions at lifes inevitable end.

While medical science can seemingly work miracles, we need to remember that the thing most people want at the end of life is NOT one more try at immortality, but rather a peaceful death surrounded by loved ones.

------------------

Mary Applegate, MD, MPH is a clinical professor at the University of Albany School of Public Health.

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People With Disabilities Want Same Peaceful Dying Option as Anyone Else - Thirty years ago this month (July 1990) President George H.W. Bush signed a...

What We Do In The Shadows – 10 Best Episodes So Far – WhatCulture

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From humble beginnings as a New Zealand short film back in 2005, vampiric mockumentary What We Do In The Shadows has risen to become an unlikely multimedia franchise.

Not only has Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement's story of the everyday trials and tribulations of the suburban undead spawned a cult favourite movie, but also a pair of TV shows (the other being oddball Kiwi cop show Wellington Paranormal). With consistent rumours of a further movie sequel or spinoff, the WWDITS cinematic universe is thriving like a Nosferatu newly feasting on virgin's blood.

And why shouldn't it when the New York-set TV show remains one of the most inventively funny things on the small screen? Coming on like an unholy mashup of Being Human, Flight Of The Concords, and Peep Show, the misadventures of ineffectual bloodsuckers Nandor, Laszlo and Nadja are full of amusing failures to navigate the complexities of the modern world; not to mention how the petty tensions of house sharing are hugely exacerbated by immortality.

Whether it's an age-old blood feud or just a night out on the town, our three night stalking heroes (plus energy vampire Colin Robinson and human familiar Guillermo) never fail to make a bizarre mess of things in unpredictably amusing ways.

With their show already picked up for a third season, let's take a look back at which episodes from the first two have already staked a claim for classic status.

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What We Do In The Shadows - 10 Best Episodes So Far - WhatCulture

Allison Peterson Named Region 15 Secondary Teacher of the Year – Standard-Times

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News release, San Angelo ISD Published 11:55 a.m. CT July 25, 2020

Lake View High School librarian Allison Peterson(Photo: Contributed / San Angelo ISD)

San Angelo ISD announced Lake View High School librarian Allison Peterson as being named the Region 15 Secondary Teacher of the Year.

Peterson was selected as the Lake View High School Teacher of the Year in the spring and was named the San Angelo ISD Secondary Teacher of the Year in May.

A third-generation educator, Peterson began her career at Lake View in 1994, teaching inclusion and resource English classes for 13 years. She received a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of North Texas in 2011.

According to the American Association of School Librarians, "The school librarian empowers all members of the learning community to become critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers, curators and ethical users of information."

Peterson strives to achieve this every day. In addition to library duties, she oversees the distribution, collection and storage of textbooks, serves as the yearbook bookkeeper, assists with the campus Credit Recovery program, and provides on-campus technical support.Peterson serves on the Process Champions team and Safety Committee at Lake View. She also assists with the Student Ambassador/Face of Lake View group and serves on the district's Connect+ committee.

Peterson consistently designs fun and effective ways to foster a love of reading. One such example is a project she designed based upon the concept of "speed dating." Each

student has a short time to interact with a book before moving on to the next "date" with a different book, some of which they might not have given a second look before.

According to Mrs. Peterson, "at the end of the class period, each student has interacted with ten to twelve very different books, and has hopefully found one he or she would like to get to know a little better, and maybe even come to love."

Peterson is described by her peers as having a love for her students, teaching, and the entire Lake View family. "In public education, we should encourage all students to find their strengths and passions, develop the skills necessary to excel in those areas, inspire them to pursue their dreams, and guide them to become eager, life-long learners who, in turn, become contributing members of society," said Mrs. Peterson. "When they leave high school, students should believe that all careers are noble and that every worker is essential."

As Region 15 Teacher of the Year, Peterson is one of twenty secondary teachers vying for the State Secondary Teacher of the Year title. This fall, three secondary finalists will be selected and interviewed by the Texas Association of School Administrators prior to naming the state recipient.

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Allison Peterson Named Region 15 Secondary Teacher of the Year - Standard-Times

Turks and Caicos Is Now Open for Tourism Caribbean Journal – Caribbean Journal

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The Turks and Caicos Islands is open again for tourism.

The British Overseas Territory officially reopened its borders for tourism on July 22.

So what should travelers know?

All visitors need to complete a TCI Assured Pre-Travel Authorization application to be granted entry into the country (you can find it here).

Most crucially, the application will include the requirement that all travelers must present proof of negative COVID-19 PCR test result taken no more than five days prior to arrival in Turks and Caicos.

All travelers will also need medical insurance which covers Medevac (that is, air evacuation in the event of health emergencies like COVID) and certify that they have read the TCIs privacy policy.

Masks are required in all public places, along with social distancing (unless part of a group of family traveling together).

And travelers may only eat at restaurants and eateries that have received the TCI Assured health and safety certification.

That also applies to accommodations: travelers may only stay at hotels, villas and guesthouses that have the TCI assured symbol.(That of course does not apply to homeowners returning to their vacation properties).

Many of the destinations top resorts have also reopened, from the trio of Hartling Group properties: The Sands, The Palms and The Shore Club to the luxe Sailrock resort on South Caicos to the Amanyara resort in Providenciales.

Thats along with some of the Turks and Caicos signature private-island destinations like Como Parrot Cay and the Meridian Club on Pine Cay.

Another property to relaunch is the Sailrock luxury hotel on South Caicos.

We have developed and implemented various protocols to meet their expectations and enhance their experience during their stay at the resort, said Kashmie Ali, managing director of Sailrock, a property he says is ideal for social distancing, something more and more travelers are prizing right now.

See more info on the TCIs new protocols below:

For more, visit TCI Tourism.

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Turks and Caicos Is Now Open for Tourism Caribbean Journal - Caribbean Journal

Laws Protecting Private Employees’ Speech and Political Activity Against Employer Retaliation: Focused on Political Opinions, Party Affiliation, or…

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[This is a serialization, with slight updates, of my 2012 article on the subject; for the Introduction (which also discusses my ambivalence about such laws), seethis post.]

I talked earlier about laws that seem to protect a broad range of employee speech; now we turn to ones that seem to be narrower, either because they protect "political opinions" without discussion speech or political activity, because they protect only party affiliation, or because they protect only election-related activities.

[A.] Holding Political Opinions or BeliefsNew Mexico, (to Some Extent) Montana, and Harford, Howard, and Prince George's Counties (Maryland) and Lansing (Michigan)

New Mexico bars discrimination based on "political opinions." This could be read broadly, to include discrimination based on speech expressing political views, or narrowly to include only discrimination motivated by disapproval of an employee's beliefs and to exclude discrimination motivated by worry that the employee's speech expressing those beliefs is disruptive to the business.

New Mexico: [It is a felony for any employer of an employee] entitled to vote at any election, [to] directly or indirectly discharg[e] or threaten[] to discharge such employee because of the employee's political opinions or belief[s] or because of such employee's intention to vote or refrain from voting for any candidate, party, proposition, question, or constitutional amendment.

[It is a felony for any employer of an employee] entitled to vote at any [municipal] election [to] directly or indirectly discharg[e] or penaliz[e] or threaten[] to discharge or penalize such employee because of the employee's opinions or beliefs or because of such employee's intention to vote or to refrain from voting for any candidate or for or against any question.

Harford County, Howard County, and Prince George's County (all in Maryland, and containing about of the state's population) also ban discrimination based on "political opinion," defined as "The opinion of persons relating to government or the conduct of government or related to political parties authorized to participate in primary elections in the state." Lansing, Michigan, bans discrimination based on "political affiliation or belief," without defining the terms.

Montana also imposes a similar rule for government contractors, and for health care facilities (including private facilities); the language seems broad enough to bar both discrimination against patrons and discrimination against employees or applicants for employment:

Montana: Every state or local contract or subcontract for construction of public buildings or for other public work or for goods or services must contain a provision that all hiring must be on the basis of merit and qualifications and a provision that there may not be discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, political ideas, sex, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, or national origin by the persons performing the contract.

All phases of the operation of a health care facility must be without discrimination against anyone on the basis of race, creed, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, or political ideas.

The Montana Constitution provides that "Neither the state nor any person, firm, corporation, or institution shall discriminate against any person in the exercise of his civil or political rights on account of race, color, sex, culture, social origin or condition, or political or religious ideas," but it's not clear whether the ban on discrimination "in the exercise of civil rights" include discrimination in employment.

[B.] Belonging to, Endorsing, or Affiliating With a Political PartyDistrict of Columbia, Iowa, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Broward County (Florida), Urbana (Illinois)

These laws bar employers from discriminating against employees based on party membership. Most of them also bar discrimination based on the party that the employees "endorse" (D.C., Broward, Urbana) or "affiliate" with (Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands), which seems to cover speech expressing support for the party.

District of Columbia: [No employer may discriminate against employees or prospective employees] based upon the actual or perceived political affiliation [defined as "the state of belonging to or endorsing any political party"] of any individual.

Iowa: A person commits the crime of election misconduct in the first degree if the person willfully [i]ntimidates, threatens, or coerces, or attempts to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, a person [t]o exercise [or not exercise] a right under chapters 39 through 53 [including declaring party affiliation, Iowa Code Ann. 43.41-.42]. (For an explanation of why this statute, which generally bans threats, likely also applies to threats of loss of employment, see item 8 in this post.)

Louisiana: No person shall knowingly, willfully, or intentionally: [i]ntimidate , directly or indirectly, any voter or prospective voter inany matter concerning the voluntary affiliation or nonaffiliation of a voter with anypoliticalparty.

Puerto Rico: Any employer who performs any act of prejudicial discrimination against [an employee because he is] affiliated with a certain political party, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Virgin Islands: It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice [f]or an employer, because of [the] political affiliation of any individual, to refuse to hire or employ or to bar or to discharge from employment such individual or to discriminate against such individual in compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment.

Broward County (Florida): It is a discriminatory practice for an employer: [t]o fail or refuse to hire, to discharge, or to otherwise discriminate against an individual, with respect to compensation or the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of a discriminatory classification [including "political affiliation," defined as "belonging to or endorsing any political party"] [except] where these qualifications are bona fide occupational qualifications reasonably necessary to the normal operation of that particular business or enterprise."

Urbana (Illinois): It shall be an unlawful practice for an employer [to discriminate against any employee or applicant] based wholly or partially on [an employee's belonging to or endorsing any political party or organization or taking part in any activities of a political nature] [except] where such factors are bona fide occupational qualifications necessary for such employment.

As an earlier post noted, Louisiana law also provides many employees protection against dismissal for political activities and not just for party membership.

[C.] Engaging in Electoral ActivitiesIllinois, New York, Washington

New York and Washington expressly bar employers from discriminating against employees for their election-related speech and political activities. (For more on another New York provision that may be relevant in non-election-related cases, see here.) Illinois law would likely be interpreted the same way, given the likelihood that threats of dismissal from employment would qualify as "intimidation" or "threat."

Illinois: Any person who, by force, intimidation, threat, deception or forgery, knowingly prevents any other person from (a) registering to vote, or (b) lawfully voting, supporting or opposing the nomination or election of any person for public office or any public question voted upon at any election, shall be guilty of a felony [and shall be subject to civil liability].

New York: (1) (a) "Political activities" shall mean (i) running for public office, (ii) campaigning for a candidate for public office, or (iii) participating in fund-raising activities for the benefit of a candidate, political party or political advocacy group.

(2)(a) [No employer may discriminate against an employee or prospective employee because of] an individual's [legal] political activities outside of working hours, off of the employer's premises and without use of the employer's equipment or other property [except when the employee is a professional journalist, or a government employee who is partly funded with federal money and thus covered by federal statutory bans on politicking by government employees].

(3)(a) [This section shall not be deemed to protect activity which] creates a material conflict of interest related to the employer's trade secrets, proprietary information or other proprietary or business interest

(4) [A]n employer shall not be in violation of this section where the employer takes action based on the belief that: (iii) the individual's actions were deemed by an employer or previous employer to be illegal or to constitute habitually poor performance, incompetency or misconduct.

Washington: No employer may discriminate against an employee for in any way supporting or opposing [or not supporting or opposing] a candidate, ballot proposition, political party, or political committee.

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Laws Protecting Private Employees' Speech and Political Activity Against Employer Retaliation: Focused on Political Opinions, Party Affiliation, or...

The Royal Family has survived against the odds – but Harry and Meghan may cause lasting damage – iNews

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The Royal Family is both an anachronism and an absurdity. Just imagine for one moment that we were a republic in which everyone was a citizen of supposedly equal status. Then along comes a think-tank to suggest that we pick a posh family descended from Europeans and install them as hereditary heads of state, giving them not just castles, palaces, flunkies and immense wealth funded by our taxes, but also the right to rule over the rest of us as their lifetime subjects. The proposal would land somewhere between laughter and loud outrage.

As Charles I said shortly before his head was severed from his body on a chilly January day in 1649, a subject and a sovereign are clean different things. Yet despite that little hiccup for the hereditary principle, the monarchy has proved a remarkably robust institution in Britain, adapting with subtle skill despite occasional bouts of turbulence.

Even in this volatile era in which we have seen the destruction of deference, polls over the past 25 years show great consistency with a three-to-one margin of support for the royals over republicanism. As culture wars rip through our country and divide generations, the Crown stands alongside the armed forces and the sacred National Health Service in a trinity of national institutions still retaining respect. The Church is irrelevant, Parliament despised and the media distrusted, with even the BBC diminished.

This success is down to the dignity, diplomacy and obvious devotion to duty of the Queen over almost seven decades. In four years time she could overtake Louis XIV of France whose strife-torn reign coincided with Britains brief republicanism as the longest-ruling monarch in recorded European history. She has proved a formidable family matriarch, managing to remain largely aloof from the descent into velveteen soap opera that has transfixed lesser members of her firm. Yet even this doughty character cannot go on for ever.

And as we watch support grow for Scottish independence and see the latest round of conflict swirling around the monarch, with her California-based grandsons self-serving behaviour, it is hard not to wonder what will happen when she is no longer on the throne. There is, after all, no absolutist reason why the monarchy must remain for ever immune to the fury and fissures devastating most other national institutions. Prince Charles, serving perhaps the longest apprenticeship in history, is potentially a divisive figure with his quirky obsessions and political interventions.

I admire his long support for environmentalism and racial equality, but dislike his lobbying for homeopathy that possibly led to Tony Blair backtracking on rules to restrict sale of some quack medicines. This emerged after the Government was forced to release some of his black spider memos five years ago, which also revealed that the heir to the throne derided opponents of badger culling as intellectually dishonest.

It is said that Charles plans to slim down the Royal Family, although claims of aides squeezing his toothpaste and ironing his shoelaces do not help the image of a proclaimed moderniser.

Meanwhile, his tarnished brother lurks in the shadows, even avoiding cameras at his own daughters wedding. Prince Andrew hung out with a middle-aged, paedophilic tycoon surrounded by teenage girls, enjoying the parties and private islands but supposedly oblivious to abuse and depravity. Now the Duke of York is accused of evading American prosecutors investigating sex-trafficking. This bumptious figure is so detached from reality that he thought he looked good when giving the most disastrous British television interview for many years. He sprays around racist expressions, according to former Downing Street adviser Rohan Silva. It is hard not to conclude that the eighth in line to our throne is a ghastly buffoon.

Then there is the tragedy of Prince Harry, following his mothers lead with a well-sourced book that settles family scores in the most public manner possible. Just two years ago, he was the shining star of the royal show, a likeable former solder who married a glamorous mixed-race actress, promoted good causes and was the real moderniser of the clan.

Now he has fallen out with his brother, resigned from the family firm, sacked his staff and sits sulking in a Hollywood mansion where he poses as a political warrior and whinges about the unfairness of his luxurious life.

I have no idea of the rights and wrongs of the internal rows, nor the degree to which racism played a role against his wife, but he seems a lost and tormented individual.

It would be nice to think that we learned one lesson from the pandemic: the real heroes of our society are people such as care workers who risk lives for low wages, such is their dedication to public service, not vacuous celebrities and grandstanding royals who jet off abroad in a huff (and a private jet) after a few slights.

I tried to read the newspaper extracts from Finding Freedom, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durands biography of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but they contain the dullest dross about competitive brothers and wives failing to bond as in many other families. One thing is certain: this book increases the burden for Prince William and his wife, whose focus on issues such as mental health and early childhood has been good to see.

I have no strong feelings about the monarchys continued existence. I loathe the outmoded concept of a hereditary head of state, which sets the wrong lead for a class-ridden and heritage-obsessed country, yet there are so many more pressing reforms and the idea of electing a president amid our current divisions fills me with fear.

Maybe this latest royal tiff is merely an entertaining diversion for others amid disturbing global realities.

But as the Queen totters towards the inevitable end of her impressive reign, we should not exclude the possibility that insiders constantly chipping away at the House of Windsors foundations and riding the celebrity wave cause lasting damage to a rare institution that still unites the nation.

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The Royal Family has survived against the odds - but Harry and Meghan may cause lasting damage - iNews

Taylor Swifts 9 Richest Exes, Ranked By Net Worth | TheThings – TheThings

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If there's one thing that Taylor Swift is known for, it's her love life and the criticism that surrounds it. Perhaps Taylor's dating history is even more popular than her impressive music career. After all, her fans want to know everything there is to know about all of the celebrity guys she's dated. This includes just how wealthy the men in her life are.

Related: Tidbits About Taylor Swift And Joe Alwyns Relationship (That Tay Wants To Keep Quiet)

Of course, Taylor doesn't need a guy for his money. As fans might already know about Taylor Swift, she's won high-profile endorsement deals with a multitude of companies, sells album after album, and makes a colossal chunk of her income from touring. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Taylor's worth about $400 million. But how do the confirmed past men in her life stack up against this?

Among the lesser-known facts about Taylor Swift's love life is her time with Lucas Till. The only dated for a couple of months after co-starring in Taylor's "You Belong With me" music video.

Movie lovers probably recognize this handsome blond from the three X-Men prequels, as well asThe Spy Next Door, Battle Los Angeles, andas Travis Brody in Hannah Montana: The Movie. Still, all of these high-profile projects have only earned him about $2 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. While that's nothing to sneeze at, it's nowhere comparable to the other men in Taylor's life.

According to Instyle, the two only dated briefly in 2012 when Taylor was 22 and Conor was 18. For those politically inclined, Conor Kennedy is the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy.

Apparently, his family wasn't the biggest fans ofTaylor after she reportedly crashed the wedding of Conor's cousin. While her reps have denied it, InStylehas laid out some decent evidence of it.Though she and Conor are finished, he'll be fine since he had about $10 million to play around with, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Tom Hiddleston's net worth is almost entirely owed to his role as Loki in the Thor and Avengers movies. But that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. While he earned a relatively modest salary of $160,000 for the first Thor movie, he was bumped up to $800,000 for the first Avengers. Impressively, he earned $8 million for hisless than 15 minutes in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The rest of his income has come from endorsement deals and his various other high-profile projects.

Hiddleston's romance with T-Swift was well-publicized and didn't last as long as many people predicted.

While The Jonas Brothers' combined net worth is absolutely massive, Joe's individual net worth doesn't earn him the top spot on this list. He still makes more than his brothers, for those who are interested.Joe Jonas' net worth is somewhere around $25 million, according to Men's Health. And that's without the financial help of his wife, Sophie Turner, who, without a doubt, has some funds due to Game of Thrones, X-Men, and modeling.

Related: Taylor Swift And Joe Alwyn Surprise Gigi Hadid On Her Birthday!

While Taylor's romance with Joe Jonas was short, it's famous for the 27-second phone call where he dumped her.

According to PopSugar, Taylor and Taylor Lautner met on the set of the film Valentine's Day. The two were together long enough to earn the nickname "Taylor Squared", but that's about all there is to say about it.

Lautner was once a mega-name in Hollywood thanks to the Twilight series, which is the main reason his net worth is a whopping $40 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. However, he did star in a number of films when he was a kid.

Without a doubt, Jake Gyllenhaal is the biggest movie star that Taylor Swift has dated, sorry, Tom Hiddleston. Gyllenhaal is pure talent, charm, authenticity, and is undeniably handsome. Not only is he a major name in Hollywood thanks to films like Spider-Man: Far From Home, Donnie Darko, and Brokeback Mountain, but it's also exceedingly rich. He's worth about $64 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

The couple's 10-year age gap was the main reason they broke-up. But while they were together, they appeared to be inseparable.

Who hasn't John Mayer dated? He certainly made an impact on Taylor Swift. According to Instyle, Taylor's troubled relationship with John Mayer was the basis for the song "Dear John". Mayer even wrote a response song, "Paper Dolls".Anyone who knows anything about John Mayer was certain that his relationship with Taylor Swift was meant to be fleeting. But it still received a ton of press.

While Mayer doesn't have Taylor Swift money, he's reportedly worth around $70 million. This is how he's able to afford $300,000 watches, according to People.

Perhaps Taylor's relationship with former One Direction frontman Harry Styles is her most famous. Well, the breakup certainly was. After all, Styles' fans are just as loyal to him as Taylor Swift's fans are to her. Anyone who knows anything about social media culture wasn't surprised by the war that ensued between their fans after their highly-publicized breakup.

Related: Taylor Swifts 10 Most Incredible Career Accomplishments

Harry Styles is worth a fortune, to put it simply. According to Celebrity Net Worth, the handsome "Adore You" singer is worth$75 million (58 million).

The only one of Taylor Swift's exes who comes anywhere close to her incredible fortune is legendary DJ Calvin Harris. While he can't sing the way she can, he can certainly mix and produce. This has made him one of the world's most well-known and sought-after DJs. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Calvin Harris is worth $240 million.

Perhaps their combined net worths are why they were able to take so many luxurious holidays together to private islands nobody has ever heard of. Regardless, their romance was never meant to be.

Next: Ranking Taylor Swifts 10 Most Viewed Music Videos

Next Dwayne Johnsons 5 Closest Friends (& 5 Celebs He Avoids)

Dylan Parker is a list and content writer working for Valnet Inc. He's written for The Things, The Talko, Baby Gaga, Moms, and Screen Rant. He specializes in entertainment, film, and celebrity news. Dylan has also written for Narcity and various other entertainment, food, and travel publications.

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Taylor Swifts 9 Richest Exes, Ranked By Net Worth | TheThings - TheThings

Interview Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Kenya, Somalia and the Seychelles, H.E. Frans Makken – The Netherlands and You

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News item | 21-07-2020 | 09:35

After 5 years H.E. Mr. Frans Makken, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Kenya, Somalia and the Seychelles, will return to the Netherlands. The embassy thanks Ambassador Makken for his leadership and extraordinary service. We took the opportunity to ask the Ambassador a few last questions before his departure.

Ambassador Frans Makken: My five years in Kenya have been a tremendous experience and I could not imagine a better way to end my career. Kenya has proven to be a dynamic, beautiful and inspiring country to work in. But the posting as such, wearing four different hats, was also a culmination of the experience that I have gathered along the way. My time with FAO came in handy as Permanent Representative to UN Office Nairobi, the years spent in agro-economic research fit very well with the mainstay of our programme for Kenya (notably agriculture, food security and water) and my experience with conflict areas prepared me for the situation in Somalia. A new, but very pleasant experience was dealing with a member of Small Island Development States such as the Seychelles. This has made the work extremely diverse and interesting. Outside office hours, my family and I also greatly enjoyed travelling in Kenya and the region. A personal highlight for me remains Amboseli National Park, nothing beats seeing so many elephants roam at the foot of the Kilimanjaro.

Ambassador Frans Makken: Somalia and the Netherlands are well connected through the sizable Somali diaspora in the Netherlands. It is fantastic to see that many Dutch Somali have returned to Somalia and Somaliland to trade, invest or take up positions in government and politics. In contacts this immediately creates a bond, and it has helped tremendously in our dealing with the complex society that Somalia is. We provide a lot of humanitarian support to Somalia through United Nations, European Union and civil society, but found our bilateral niche in the justice sector, dealing with matters such as strengthening the judiciary, human rights and security through CVE (Countering Violent Extremism). The Dutch navy has participated in the highly successful anti-piracy missions, in conjunction with support for more humane prison regimes. This was originally focused at pirates, but increasingly juvenile and female prisoners, as well as perpetrators of economic crimes are benefiting from these programmes. An important offshoot of our anti-piracy activities has benefited the Seychelles, where we have supported the prison management, the construction of a court house for pirate trials and today the Seychelles is host to the EU-supported Regional Centre for Operational Coordination (RCOC) on maritime security.

Ambassador Frans Makken: Nothing can be achieved without teamwork and I have been particularly proud of the very dedicated and professional colleagues that I was privileged to work with. We achieved a lot in going from aid to trade, starting innovative projects and coping with challenges during election time and currently COVID-19. We have introduced innovative financing methods to attract private investment in the water sector; we initiated the set up a multi-disciplinary platform in the health sector uniting private sector, government and civil society; we were instrumental in the digitalization of court systems which proved to be particularly helpful during Covid-19; and we set up an Agricultural Working Group to connect Dutch and Kenyan actors in agricultural development. This is just to name a few! I should also mention the fact that we are an active member of Team Europe, which represents the largest trade and development partner of Kenya. Our concerted effort allowed us to promote stability around election time, to support human rights defenders, contribute to food security and establish a vibrant EU-Kenya business dialogue. It is the mutually beneficial EU-Kenya cooperation that will ensure both our regions and countries flourish.

Ambassador Frans Makken: After a long and fulfilling career, time has come for me to retire. But the wrapping up and saying goodbyes is quite unlike I ever could have imagined. Part of my colleagues are either repatriated to the Netherlands or in quarantine. Taking leave from the presidents of Kenya, Somalia and Seychelles has to be virtual. But this is only minor in the face of the enormous impact COVID-19 has on the world in general and Kenya in particular. On leaving I am expressing the wish that Kenya will be spared from debilitating infection rates and that life can go soonest back to normal, even if it is a new normal. The Netherlands Embassy stands ready to continue its private sector programmes to deal with the crisis after the crisis to get Kenya back on its economic feet. There is so much work that still needs to be done. I therefore wish my successor, Ambassador designate Maarten Brouwer, all the best in his new assignment. I am confident that Kenya will be as welcoming to him as it was to me.

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Interview Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Kenya, Somalia and the Seychelles, H.E. Frans Makken - The Netherlands and You

They Crossed Oceans to Lift Their Families Out of Poverty. Now, They Need Help. – The New York Times

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But in April, with New York in lockdown, Mr. Tzirin lost his job. When his grandfather died the following month, he was unable to send money home for the funeral a deep wound. He used to speak to his family every two to three days, but he can no longer bear it, receding into isolation and loneliness. He has not told them that he lost his job.

My family needs me, he said.

Mr. Tzirin gets up at 5:30 every morning and goes out looking for construction work or odd jobs as a day laborer but usually returns home empty-handed. Theres nothing, he said.

He is three months behind on his rent. He contemplates returning to Guatemala for the first time in a decade, but what can he do there?

Its a hard experience, Mr. Tzirin said. People are getting desperate.

Many migrant workers are now contending with two emergencies at once a loss of income combined with the menace of the virus itself.

Mr. Tudor, the Romanian immigrant living in Britain, left his home region of Transylvania when he was in his early 20s. Abandoning a perilous life as a coal miner, he landed first in Spain, where he worked in security. As the global financial crisis plunged the country into a veritable depression in 2009, he moved to Britain, settling in Weston-super-Mare, a seaside town of 76,000 people, about 150 miles west of London.

He took care of older people through stints arranged by staffing companies. His most recent job was at a for-profit nursing home called The Heathers. He was making 848 pounds (about $1,070) a week. His wife was cleaning rooms at a hotel, bringing home 1,200 ($1,536) a month.

As the coronavirus emerged, his wife saw her hours reduced. Hospitals began shifting older patients stricken with the virus to nursing homes.

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They Crossed Oceans to Lift Their Families Out of Poverty. Now, They Need Help. - The New York Times

I Dont Believe in Crushing Thoughts Opposed to Mine: Folk Singer, BJP Leader Kalpana Patowary – The Wire

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New Delhi: I laid the bricks; built the buildings; floor by floor;floor by floor made Hindustan.Now, I and my son often keep staring at the sky.Brother o brother; labourer bhaiya; we were made peasants.But O Ram, I and my son now sleep in hunger.

These lines are a loose English translation of a few verses plucked from a song Bhaiya O Bhaiya set in a Purbanchali dialect.

Though recorded in 2018 for the award-winning short film Bhor, the song has been released officially by the films director just recently. This was because the score sung on several virtual music sessions during the national lockdown by its singer Kalpana Patowary was widely shared on social media, including in a tweet by former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi.

Speaking to The Wire from Guwahati, Kalpana said the song received considerable attention from listeners, primarily in the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar belt, only now because it is a song of the times.

We saw such heart-rending images (during the migrant crisis due to the coronavirus-induced national lockdown), like that little boy sleeping over a suitcase and being dragged by his mother. So many people died on the way in an inhuman manner. The hardship that these people face in their daily lives is not new, but the coronavirus crisis forced many of us to confront it and it shocked a lot of people. I think the song had something that people could relate to while watching what was unfolding on our streets, she said in a telephonic interview.

Aside from being a popular folk artist and a celebrated Bhojpuri singer, Kalpana is also a BJP member she joined the party in July 2018 in Patna in the presence of then-party national president Amit Shah and Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Modi. During the conversation, the singer, though, expressed her disappointment about her senior colleague in the Bhojpuri film industry and fellow party member Manoj Tiwari for not speaking up for the migrant population in their time of need.

I respect him but still want to point out that I was a bit upset with him, because after all, he was put in an important position by the party mainly keeping in mind his connect with the large Bihari/Purbanchali migrant community of Delhi, she said.

As to why she was seen reaching out to several migrant workers stuck in various states, including those from her home state Assam, Kalpana said, I felt that the section of people walking hundreds of miles to reach their homes were the ones who had made me. I am today a popular Bhojpuri singer only because people like them celebrated my songs.

Kalpana is also of the opinion that the long-incarcerated peasant leader and anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) activist from her home state Assam Akhil Gogoi should be freed from jail. Akhils thinking and ideology may be or may not be different from mine, different from my party, but finally we all represent Assam and will have to realise that two brothers from a family may have different beliefs and thinking and may often fight over it but finally, they are brothers. Like I am Assamese, he is too. I dont believe in crushing thoughts opposed to mine, she stated.

Edited excerpts from the interview follow.

Who wrote the song Bhaiya O Bhaiya? When did you sing it?

The song was originally part of Bhor, directed by Kamakhya Narayan Singh, who is also from Assam like I am. It was collected by Vijay Singh whom I have not met and was put to music by Bapi Tutul. Bapi Tutul is a popular name in Bollywood circles for background music; he has worked in several Ram Gopal Varma films too. The song was used as a background score in Bhor not in the film, but when the casting titles at the end was rolling. The film was about casteism in the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar belt, set amidst the Musahar community.

But when I sang the song, I felt a special connection. As an artiste who has grown up listening to Bhupen Hazarika and also as a musician who has researched deeply the songs of Bhikhari Thakur, I felt the song was special. I didnt get any financial remuneration but I still sang it because I felt the song itself was a form of remuneration and will be one of my memorable songs. The film went to various festivals but the song was never promoted. I began to increasingly feel that I myself must take the song forward and sing it during my stage shows, which I did.

Kalpana Patowary. Photo: Facebook/kalpana.patowary1

The song has become considerably popular only now.

Yes. Thats because listeners could connect with the song better now. The country saw the massive exodus of the migrants from urban areas back to their villages because of the national lockdown, and it grew worse by the day. We saw such heart-rending images, like that little boy sleeping over a suitcase and being dragged by his mother. So many people died on the way in an inhuman manner. The hardship that these people face in their daily lives is not new, but the coronavirus crisis forced many of us to confront it and it shocked a lot of people. I think the song had something that people could relate to while watching what was unfolding on our streets.

From the time the lockdown was announced and the migrant community began to get restless to go back home, I opened any virtual singing session with this song realising that it was a song of the times. (She also sang it on sessions organised to mark the International Labour Day on May 1) After about a month, the director of the film also felt its [growing popularity] and released the song officially.

Migrants stand in a queue at Central Railway Station to board a Shramik Special train during ongoing COVID-19 lockdown. Photo: PTI

You were quite proactive during that time, helping migrant labourers from Assam stuck in various states.

Yes, aside from humanity pushing me to do it, I had two other reasons for it. In 2019, I had lost my sister in Bengaluru. (She reportedly died an unnatural death in an alleged domestic violence case) We had to fight for the custody of her seven-year-old daughter. During that fight, I saw the ugly belly of the system. That fight is still on. The child didnt want to go with her father, said as much to the child rights commission but was still sent with my brother-in-law only because he was the biological father and we as such had no right over her, though she wanted to be with us. She was screaming when she was dragged away from us. The whole incident made me realise that she, even if a girl child, had asserted her right, somewhere the system failed to hear her.

So when the whole migrant crisis unfolded, I was in that disturbed state of mind. When I saw little children in such pathetic conditions on the streets due to the lockdown, some question arose within me: Why are the state and the national child rights protection commissions silent on it? Why are they not coming forward to help such children? In a crisis situation, such bodies needed to show their worth. After all, they are paid for it.

Importantly, I felt that the section of people walking hundreds of miles to reach their homes were the ones who had made me. I am today a popular Bhojpuri singer only because people like them celebrated my songs. I belong to them. I am not a rich persons musician. I have also sung a lot of songs based on migration, songs that revolved around the term Pardesi. I realised only now how migration has been a part of their cultural being too and therefore so many songs have that Pardesi angle. I strongly felt my popularity would be of no use if I dont stand for the people who have made me popular. I felt I will have to at least speak up for them.

I also felt my senior colleague in Bhojpuri films and fellow party member Manoj Tiwariji, who was in Delhi at that time, could have done more. After all, he was in a powerful position then in the National Capital Region. I respect him but still want to point out that I was a bit upset with him, because after all, he was put in an important position by the party mainly keeping in mind his connect with the large Bihari/Purbanchali migrant community of Delhi.

Poor people dont want much. In response to the recent illegal coal mining issue in the Dehing Patkai rainforests in Assam and the continuing Baghjan fire tragedy in the state, I have responded in a similar manner. I have said that when the state can take so much from their areas, why cant they (the locals) be provided basic things, like free education, a house, a means of livelihood? That is not much to ask in return for what the state is getting from their region. My response to the migrant issue was along the same lines.

Wont it be seen as speaking against your party?

Why should it be? I am not speaking against the party, only talking about our responsibilities, my responsibilities too. Politics doesnt mean only criticising the opposition members. We need to do a bit of soul searching too. Finally, the party will also see its advantage; I am speaking up for such people as a party member and it will help.

I must also point out here that though the Rashtriya Janata Party (RJD) is our opponent in Bihar, the song you had referred to was shared by the former chief minister of Bihar Rabri Devi on Twitter because it signified something. It must be said here that it was only during the Lalu Prasad Yadav regime that the rachnawali of Bhikari Thakur, who belonged to a lower-caste community, could finally be published through the Rashtra Bhasha Parishad.

Lalu Prasad Yadav with Kalpana Patowary. Photo: Facebook/kalpana.patowary1

Talking about the migrant issue during the pandemic, many in Assam also realised that the state traditionally a region that attracted migrants has also become a migrant producing region.

Yes. I have seen this very closely in UP and Bihar but it needed the pandemic to make me realise that it is an ugly reality of Assam also. People like you and me had gone out of Assam not because we didnt get two square meals a day but for better opportunities in the fields that we have chosen. But this lot of migrants from the state had to leave their home for livelihood reasons.

During the recent crisis, so many young labourers from our indigenous communities had contacted me from various states seeking help for food supply or to return home. It is worth pondering. We will have to try and trace the reasons behind it.

I am not an expert on this issue but I want to give an example. There is a popular Facebook page from Bihar called Muzzafarpur Live. Muzzafarpur, many would know, is famous for its litchis. During one such live sessions on that page, I had asked the local people about the state of litchi-based factories due to the pandemic. Most people said they dont have too many of those there anyway. So what I understood was that there have been no steps taken to create better employment opportunities in Muzzafarpur around a thing that the place is otherwise famous for. So will it not then trigger migration?

In Assam too, the solution to address migration must be through tapping such resources, say the bamboo that is so abundantly grown.

Why are you calling this particular song a protest song? Are you looking at singing more such songs in that genre?

It is a protest song because in the suffering of the mazdoor also lies his protest against the injustice done to him.

In Assam, we have had a tradition of protest songs. But what happened during the time of say, Bhupen Hazarika, is not there anymore. Kamal Kataki, who used to be with Hazarika, has written a few such songs for me to sing. My father also had composed one song which I had sung. In the future, I also want to sing in other languages that we have in Assam. I strongly feel that such songs have not been given enough space on the mainstream Assamese stage and I want to change that.

Aside from the need to sing protest songs in Assam, I feel there is also a need for such songs in the UP-Bihar belt. I would like to work in that regard too.

Finally, many prominent people including artistes in Assam have requested the state government to release peasant leader Akhil Gogoi from jail. Do you want to say anything about it?

Yes. Akhils thinking and ideology may be or may not be different from mine, different from my party, but finally we all represent Assam and will have to realise that two brothers from a family may have different beliefs and thinking and may often fight over it but finally, they are brothers. Like I am Assamese, he is too. I dont believe in crushing thoughts opposed to mine. We dont have such a political culture in Assam.

KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi in New Delhi. Photo: Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty/Files

But like in the rest of India, it is slowly seeping in the state too. I will give you an example of a better political culture. Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee did not support Congress leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru or Indira Gandhis policies but would oppose them beautifully, say, through a poem. He would attack the policies of the government but never the personality of leaders. In fact, it said a lot about his personality also. I think keeping this in mind is very important. The beauty of Indian democracy lies in unity in diversity of different ideologies just as in our incredibly diverse Indian culture.

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I Dont Believe in Crushing Thoughts Opposed to Mine: Folk Singer, BJP Leader Kalpana Patowary - The Wire

Covid19: Nepal Response Situation Report No. XVII, as of 27 July, 2020 – Nepal – ReliefWeb

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The districts with COVID-19 positive cases has now decreased to 71 from 77, with 48 deaths. According to the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), age group of 91 per cent COVID-19 cases ranged from 11 to 50; 86 per cent cases are men (Daily Media Briefing, 27 July).

Out of 7 Provinces, 5 Provinces (Provinces 1, 2, 5, Karnali and Sudurpaschim) are having transmission as clusters of cases and the remaining two Provinces (Bagmati and Gandaki) are classified as having sporadic transmission of COVID-19 (WHO Nepal, Situation Update #14, 22 July 2020).

Most of the lockdown restrictions have been lifted on 22 July 2020 with few exceptions; places or institutions with potential for high intensity transmission (schools, colleges, seminars, trainings, workshops, cinema hall, party palace, dance bar, swimming pool, religious places, etc.) will remain closed till next directive; long route buses, domestic and international airport will resume from 17 August 2020.

Following the increase in COVID-19 positive cases in the Eastern Nepal, the non-essential services have been shut in some part of Parsa, Saptari, Sunsari and Morang Districts.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology held a discussion with the stakeholders on procedures to resume educational institutions across the country. The cabinet meeting on 21 July decided to allow the schools to open school administration and start enrolling the students, starting 17 August, 2020.

Airline Operators Association of Nepal (AOAN) has requested the Government of Nepal (GoN) to lift restrictions on domestic fights so that food and landslide victims can be rescued (AOAN Press Statement, 27 July 2020).

The number of public vehicles on the roads of Kathmandu Valley has increased after the GoN lifted the nationwide lockdown, however, most of these vehicles have not been following the health and safety guidelines issued by the MoHP.

According to the World Bank's latest Nepal Development Update, economic growth is estimated to contract sharply to 2.1 per cent in the current fiscal year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, despite efforts made by the GoN to curb the economic fallout from the crisis.

While the GoN has prioritised the policies and programmes for migrant returnees, a recent study shows that 70 per cent of the respondents are completely unaware about these programmes. A vast majority (80 per cent) still lack finance restricting them from self-employment (The Rapid Assessment of Nepali Migrant Workers Situation in major destination countries during the COVID 19 Pandemic, Nepal Policy Institute (NPI) and Migration Lab (MLab), 625 migrants views largely based on phone surveys, in 8 primary destination countries (GCC countries, Malaysia and India).

Small and medium scale enterprises have greatly suffered. For example, out of surveyed 33 interlocking bricks micro enterprises in 16 districts, 31 were found highly affected following the COVID-19 crisis. The major consequences faced by these enterprises are disruption in production of bricks, cash hold in market, interruption on supply chain, EMI overdue and raw materials damage among others (Field Assessment Report,NCF funded NABIN project implemented by DCA led consortium with Practical Action and Build Up Nepal).

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Covid19: Nepal Response Situation Report No. XVII, as of 27 July, 2020 - Nepal - ReliefWeb

They crossed oceans to lift their families out of poverty. Now, they need help – The Indian Express

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By: New York Times | London | Published: July 28, 2020 1:43:28 pm Monwara Begum, center, with her children at her house near Dhaka, Bangladesh. As the pandemic destroys paychecks, migrant workers like Begums husband, Mahammed Heron, are sending less money home, threatening an increase in poverty from South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa to Eastern Europe and Latin America. (Salahuddin Ahmed/The New York Times)

Written by Peter S. Goodman

For more than a decade, Flavius Tudor has shared the money he has made in England with his mother in Romania, regularly sending home cash that enabled her to buy medicine.

Last month, the flow reversed. His 82-year-old mother sent him money so he could pay his bills.

Suffering a high fever and a persistent cough amid the coronavirus pandemic, Tudor, 52, could no longer enter the nursing home where he worked as a caregiver. So his mother reached into her pension, earned from a lifetime as a librarian in one of Europes poorest countries, and sent cash to her son in one of the wealthiest lands on earth.

Its very tough times, he said. Im lost.

Around the globe, the pandemic has jeopardized a vital artery of finance supporting hundreds of millions of families remittances sent home from wealthy countries by migrant workers. As the coronavirus has sent economies into lockdown, sowing joblessness, people accustomed to taking care of relatives at home have lost their paychecks, forcing some to depend on those who have depended on them.

Last year, migrant workers sent home a record $554 billion, more than three times the amount of development aid dispensed by wealthy countries, according to the World Bank. But those remittances are likely to plunge by one-fifth this year, representing the most severe contraction in history.

The drop amounts to a catastrophe, heightening the near-certainty that the pandemic will produce the first global increase in poverty since the Asian financial crisis of 1998. Some 40 million to 60 million people are expected this year to fall into extreme poverty, which the World Bank defines as living on $1.90 a day or less.

Diminishing remittances are both an outgrowth of the crisis gripping the world and a portent of more trouble ahead. Developing countries account for 60% of the world economy on the basis of purchasing power, according to the International Monetary Fund. Less spending in poorer nations spells less economic growth for the world.

Like the pandemic that has delivered it, the slide in remittances is global. Europe and Central Asia are expected to suffer a fall of nearly 28% in the wages sent home from other countries, while sub-Saharan Africa sees a drop of 23%. South Asia appears set for a 22% decline, while the Middle East, North Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean could absorb a reduction of more than 19%.

Overall, the pandemic has damaged the earning power of 164 million migrant workers who support at least 800 million relatives in less affluent countries, according to an estimate from the United Nations Network on Migration.

We are talking about a staggering number of people who are benefiting from these remittances, said Dilip Ratha, lead economist on migration and remittances at the World Bank in Washington.

Venturing overseas for work is laced with danger, exposing migrant workers to dishonest recruitment agents, exploitative employers, and the physical perils of manual labor. It is also a singularly effective means of upward mobility.

Households receiving remittances eat better, and are more likely to continue their childrens education rather than pressing them into the workforce. Babies born into homes receiving remittances tend to be higher in birth weight.

Three years ago, Mahammed Heron left his village outside Dhaka, Bangladesh, for work in the energy-rich nation of Qatar, tracing a route pursued by tens of millions of South Asian migrants.

He borrowed 400,000 Bangladeshi taka (about $4,700) from relatives and engaged a local recruitment agent that bought him a plane ticket, secured a work visa and promised him a job. This was a monumental amount of money in Bangladesh, more than twice the national income per capita (about $1,855). His wife, Monowara Begum, was terrified. Her first husband Herons older brother had been killed by a drunken driver more than a decade earlier in Saudi Arabia, where he had been working as a hospital janitor.

But if the prospect of her husband venturing to the Persian Gulf was frightening, staying put seemed riskier still.

Her family lived in a shack made of corrugated aluminum that was vulnerable to the torrential rains of the monsoon. They had no running water. Heron earned perhaps 300 taka (about $3.50) per day working in the surrounding rice paddies. They could rarely afford meat or fish, subsisting on rice and potatoes. Her oldest son had a heart condition that required medicine.

The only way out of poverty was to invest in her childrens education, but tuition payments reached 6,000 taka (more than $70) per year.

Our financial situation was never good, Begum explained in an interview via a video link, as birds chirped loudly in the village. She reluctantly agreed to the plan.

When Heron landed in Doha in September 2018, the furnace-like heat was not the only shock: The recruitment agency had failed to line up a job. I was cheated, he said in an interview by video.

He looked frantically for work, eventually securing a position at a staffing agency that sent him on a variety of assignments cleaning offices, landscaping and digging into the sandy earth to lay fiber optics cable.

Heron was paid a monthly salary of 900 Qatari rial (about $250) and assigned a bunk inside a dormitory room he shared with 15 other men, all Bangladeshis.

Every two or three months, he sent home about 30,000 taka (about $350), but it all went toward his debt still only one-fourth repaid.

Then, in May, with the coronavirus shutting down much of life in Doha, the agency stopped paying the workers, Heron said. He suffered an asthma flare-up that required hospitalization, absorbing all his cash. He stopped sending money home.

For Bangladesh overall, remittances received from other countries plunged by 23% in April compared with a year earlier, and were down by 13% in May, according to the nations central bank, though June saw an increase.

Schools remain shut in Bangladesh, but whenever they open, Begum sees no way to afford sending her 16-year-old son, Hasan.

She has been urging Hasan to find work perhaps in construction, maybe at an auto repair shop. He has been resisting, preferring to stay at home and read textbooks.

I want to continue my studies, he said. He imagines a life as a software engineer. His face lights up as he describes this a slender teenager, standing shirtless in front of his shack as roosters crow, envisioning himself in a shiny office, leaning over a computer.

Every few days, he and his mother use a smartphone app and a prepaid internet card to talk to Heron, stranded in the dormitory in Qatar. He is too ill to work, he said, but lacks money to fly home. After another year, the staffing company is contractually obligated to pay for his return flight. He bides his time, hoping his health improves, hoping his pay resumes, hoping his own children escape his fate.

I dream that my sons will do something in their life, he said.

Many migrant workers are now contending with two emergencies at once a loss of income combined with the menace of the virus itself.

Tudor, the Romanian immigrant living in Britain, left his home region of Transylvania when he was in his early 20s. Abandoning a perilous life as a coal miner, he landed first in Spain, where he worked in security. As the global financial crisis plunged the country into a veritable depression in 2009, he moved to Britain, settling in Weston-super-Mare, a seaside town of 76,000 people, about 150 miles west of London.

He took care of older people through stints arranged by staffing companies. His most recent job was at a for-profit nursing home called The Heathers. He was making 848 pounds (about $1,070) a week. His wife was cleaning rooms at a hotel, bringing home 1,200 pounds ($1,536) a month.

As the coronavirus emerged, his wife saw her hours reduced. Hospitals began shifting older patients stricken with the virus to nursing homes.

Tudor soon came down with a fever and a cough, forcing him to stop going to work. He twice tested negative for the coronavirus, but has been unable to secure another job.

In recent years, Britain has sharply reduced government support programs for the jobless and those struggling to pay their bills, folding them into a lump sum scheme known as universal credit.

Tudor has traded his paycheck for a 1,000-pound ($1,280) monthly universal credit payment, cutting his income roughly in half. His eyeglasses have broken, but he cant afford to replace them. When the rent came due last month, he paid it only with the help of his mother, back in Romania.

The world doesnt know where its going, he said. No society can handle this situation.

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They crossed oceans to lift their families out of poverty. Now, they need help - The Indian Express

Why Rajyavardhan Rathore is missing from Rajasthan BJPs fight to dislodge Gehlot govt – ThePrint

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New Delhi: All BJP leaders in Rajasthan have been working towards dislodging the Ashok Gehlot government in the last few weeks, be it state unit chief Satish Poonia or veteran Gulab Chand Kataria. But the one face thats been missing from action is Rajyavardhan Rathore, who was the blue-eyed boy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi once.

The Jaipur Rural Lok Sabha MP, who was the Minister of Information and Broadcasting (independent charge) in the first term of the Modi government, has been in a political exile since he was dropped from the Union cabinet in May 2019.

Now, he is neither managing party affairs in Rajasthan nor managing MLAs for a royal coup in the Rajputana state, said sources in the BJP.

The high-risk political operation is being managed by Poonia, Kataria, Arun Chaturvedi and Rajendra Rathore in the state, and by Water Resources Minister Gajendra Shekhawat, and party vice-president Om Prakash Mathur at the Centre, said the sources.

Rathore, an Olympic silver-medalist, had been cultivated as the successor to former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje. But now he just shuttles between Delhi and Jaipur, where he works for his constituency.

As far as having a say in organisational matters is concerned, he is neither in the state core group, which usually comprises top unit leaders, nor the larger party organisation despite his dynamism, fluency in both English and Rajasthani, and track record as a minister. He is also not in any central BJP team.

Multiple party leaders ThePrint spoke to said they had no idea why Rathore was dropped in 2019 and fell out of favour.

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His reason for isolation is the same as when he was dropped from the cabinet. The Prime Ministers Office keeps track of every ministers conduct. Some were dropped in 2019 on performance issues and some were dropped because of purely political reasons. Some were dropped on charges of financial irregularity and other allegations. One was dropped because his family member misused influence, said a party leader who didnt wish to be named.

However, an MP who didnt wish to be named said the main reason why Rathore is missing from political action is that he is not in the good books of the top two decision-makers, referring to PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

ThePrint reached Rathore via text messages for a comment but there was no response until the time of publishing this report.

Also read:Heres what the anti-defection law challenged by Sachin Pilot in Rajasthan HC says

Rajyavardhan Rathore was dropped from the Union cabinet last year despite winning his seat with a handsome margin. It was thought at the time that the party president may give him the charge of the state unit after the death of Madan Lal Saini, then BJP state president, in June 2019.

This was based on the presumption that the PM had shown a tilt towards Rathore during his term as the I&B minister.

In the governments first tenure, three ministers Arun Jaitley, M. Venkaiah Naidu and Smriti Irani held the I&B charge, but were removed later. Rathore, who was the minister of state under all three, was given the department after Iranis high-profile exit. He was the only minister who kept the portfolio and was retained.

Earlier, he also received the additional charge of the Ministry of Sports ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. It was considered one of the best decisions of Modi to appoint a sportsman, especially in view of Indias poor performance in the Rio Olympics 2016.

However, when the government was re-elected, Rathore suddenly found himself out of the cabinet.

After his ouster from the Centre, Satish Poonia, a lightweight general secretary in the state unit, was appointed as BJP Rajasthan chief in September 2019.

A senior Rajasthan leader said Vasundhara Raje had halted Gajendra Singh Shekhawats appointment as BJP state president in 2018 on the grounds that the Jats will be angry as the latter is from the Rajput community. BJP later suffered defeat in some Jat-dominated seats in the state assembly polls in December 2018.

So, after Madan Lal Sainis death in June 2019, the Centre tried to balance caste equation by appointing a Jat as state president because Gajendra Shekhawat is representing the Rajput community and Arjun Ram Meghwal the Scheduled Castes in cabinet, and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla influential Marwari communities, said the leader who didnt wish to be named. Poonia is a Jat.

However, the first leader quoted above said Rathores decline is connected to the same reason because of which the PM dropped him. The PM keeps a check on every ministers conduct. If he finds any reason against him, he doesnt drop him immediately but waits for a reshuffle. He doesnt want unnecessary media headlines, said the leader.

The PM sent a message by dropping him, it is his way of working. But it is not necessary that he will be in permanent exile. He will be given an ear based on the political needs of the hour, added the leader.

Also read:Congress could call assembly session next week to force rebels MLAs return to Jaipur

Sources said Rajyavardhan Rathore has mainly been active in his constituency since his departure from the central government. He was involved in distributing food during the migrant crisis, and masks and sanitisers during the Covid-19 pandemic. He also held meetings with district collectors and other officials when locusts attacked Rajasthan last month.

But he is not involved in party strategy meetings in the state so his work is centred on his constituency. Despite being a good speaker, he avoids TV debate too, said the senior state leader quoted above.

Earlier this week, he addressed a press conference in Jaipur on his work as MP in the implementation of the Atmatnirbhar Bharat package and a month-long organisational drive on the Centres anniversary celebrations.

Nihal Chand, his colleague in Lok Sabha and ex-minister of state in the Modi cabinet, said Rathore is largely involved in his constituency.

He has done remarkable work during this pandemic and it was appreciated. He toured every assembly segment in his constituency and was available for assistance, said Chand.

The MP quoted above said, Another factor in his lesser involvement is his introverted nature and reservation in talking to MLAs. He doesnt interact with party men frequently. He is not social like other leaders so MLAs also keep distance with him.

When the rebellion in Rajasthan Congress broke out earlier this month, Rathore tweeted that the truth shall win in the opposition regime. He tagged Congress MLA Sachin Pilot, whos leading the rebel camp.

However, another one of his tweets from this month, posted as a wish for the recovery of Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan from Covid, could also be seen as a cryptic message on his own political career.

Main palat kar aaunga, shakhon par khushboo lekar, abhi patjhad ki jad me hoon, mausam zara badalne do (I will return with fragrances, stuck as Im right now in autumn But let the seasons change).

Also read:CP Joshi Rajasthan speaker, Gandhi-loyalist & massive failure as in-charge of 10 states

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Why Rajyavardhan Rathore is missing from Rajasthan BJPs fight to dislodge Gehlot govt - ThePrint

Spiritually Speaking: Look to the sky and behold its wonders – Wicked Local Walpole

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When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them? -- Psalm 8:3

Look at up the sky. Look up at the night sky. And then lose yourself, for just a moment, in the wonder and the miracle that is the universe.

Look for comet NEOWISE.

No, its not the most romantic nor roll off the tongue kind of name for such an amazing celestial object. NEOWISE is named for the NASA spacecraft and mission that discovered the comet March 27: Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. This speeding heavenly object that is dropping by to visit planet Earth, is one of only a handful of comets that will be viewable by the naked eye this century.

I know I need something like NEOWISE to give me perspective on the times we are living in, a break from the intensity of the news cycle, and a chance to just pause and breathe and remember how wonderfully mysterious and mystical Creation and all that is within it, truly is. Ive read enough and then some about COVID and the roiling of Americas social fabric and the ugly general election right around the corner and the economy and so on and so on and so on.

All important, certainly and yet, even in the midst of these intense days, NEOWISE teaches us that we little humans living on this little blue ball hurtling through space in an unfathomably huge universe we are just one of so many worlds in the heavens. Scientists report that there are more than 10 septillion planets in our observable universe, and thats only counting planets that are orbiting stars.

The gift of something like NEOWISE reminds us of the relative short stay of humankind in the universe and of each of us on this earth. Our lives matter, absolutely, but we are also just one generation among a vast parade of life, human and otherwise. NEOWISE is actually a remnant from when the universe was created and came into being, which means it is upwards of 13.77 billion years old. It wont return to our solar system again for 6,800 years. And so, me complaining about turning 60 next year: I might want to rethink that!

NEOWISE also reminds us of just how awe-inspiring Creation can be: from comets moving at 40 miles per second or 144,000 miles per hour, to viruses that seem to come out of nowhere, to a species like homo sapiens, who have found some way to adapt and thrive in our environment. A people who for tens of thousands of years have faced into wars and pandemics and revolutions and somehow come through on the other side of that history, sometimes come through the worst, even better than before.

So, heres the way to see NEOWISE. Pick a night very soon when the sky is clear. Find a part of your community relatively dark and free of light pollution: a hill, a field, a dark corner to camp out in, any time after dark. Bring a telescope or a pair of binoculars. Look towards the northeast sky and search out the Big Dipper. Then look just below that constellation and NEOWISE should be visible.

Then look up at the sky. Look up at the night sky. And watch what may be the greatest show both on earth and off earth. Remind yourself that you are a part of the universe, that you are meant to be here, that you have been made by the same power that hurled NEOWISE racing across the cosmos. Let all the anxiety and worries of the day recede. Remember that folks were here before you and that folks will follow you too, and so our job while on terra firma is to do our best and maybe even leave this planet a little better than when we found it.

As Max Ehrman, the author of the poem Desiderata once wrote, Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

It is a beautiful world and universe. Thanks, NEOWISE, for reminding us of this eternal truth.

The Rev. John F. Hudson is senior pastor of the Pilgrim Church, United Church of Christ, in Sherborn (pilgrimsherborn.org). If you have a word or idea youd like defined in a future column or have comments, please send them to pastorjohn@pilgrimsherborn.org or in care of The Press (Dover-Sherborn@wickedlocal.com).

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Spiritually Speaking: Look to the sky and behold its wonders - Wicked Local Walpole

Telehealth rises to meet health care need in pandemic – Cleveland Jewish News

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As we move through the pandemic, regular checkups and health care visits are more important than ever. But when every trip out of the house poses the risk of infection, many individuals fear visiting the doctor.

Thats where telehealth comes in, filling a need in the health care community, according to Dr. Michael Biscaro, chief of behavioral health at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland; Denise Sadler, clinical director at Life Solutions South in Cleveland Heights; and Gregg Zolton, chief information officer at Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center in Montrose with offices across Northeast Ohio.

It has opened up the community to both providers and consumers, Sadler said. Telehealth has been around for a while, but with COVID-19, it has pushed us to do things differently on both sides. No show rates have reduced for appointments since all you have to do is get up, put on a shirt and get in front of your device.

Zolton added, The COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst for telehealth as patients have care needs, but are either unable to visit their physicians in person or have concerns about going to a medical facility. Before the pandemic, it was impractical for healthcare organizations to provide telehealth visits due to reimbursement issues and other restrictions.

Though the option has been around for some time, Biscaro said the switch to telehealth visits was particularly unprecedented for him. Just switching from a position at the VA Health System to St. Vincent in January 2020, Biscaro saw the need for telehealth services manifest only six weeks later.

At the VA, I was a service line manager there and managed an outpatient recovery program, and we were one of the first in the country to offer telehealth services, he recalled. When I came here to St. Vincent, I was so surprised how little telehealth was used and then the pandemic hit, and we needed to act quickly. Within a few days, we had things pulled together with Zoom getting our groups online for outpatient services and get treatment out to folks.

As the pandemic continues, its clear telehealth continues to be an important offering.

Despite the pandemic, patients still have other healthcare needs that must be met, Zolton said. By offering telehealth visits, we were able to expand our reach and provide a way for patients to get needed interaction with their specialist from the comfort and safety of their own homes.

Especially in the mental health and addiction recovery communities, both Biscaro and Sadler said telehealth during a period of general fear and uncertainty made the difference for patients.

Early on when people were really restricted to their homes, our patients who already have poor coping mechanisms spiraled out, Sadler explained. People with substance abuse issues got worse, and some people with children were worried about how they were going to feed and educate their children. It is overwhelming and stressful for our clients. Beyond telehealth, having the ability to call and check in on them, offering a quick service helps reduce that stress and anxiety.

Biscaro added, People, especially in the addiction and mental health community, rely on those supports. The supports were quickly stripped away from them and they needed to have another option. People were used to having a lot of that connectedness and now theyre isolated, and these are illnesses that already isolate people. We needed to make sure people had access to care as a health community in general.

With the end of the pandemic nowhere in sight, the consensus is telehealth will continue to be an important healthcare option.

There will still be times in orthopedics when an in-person visit is preferred, Zolton noted. For example, during an in-person visit, the physician can feel the degree of swelling or move a patients joint to assess the range of motion or pain. While telehealth has enabled us to meet our patients needs during the pandemic, it will remain another excellent option for care.

Biscaro added, Without a doubt there is no going back. The genie is out of the bottle if you will. It has created better access and weve been able to stay in touch with people. In the mental health and addiction community, we always thought about how great it would be to be reimbursed for phone counseling. In this new time, were being paid for that, and were seeing no show rates go down and engagement go up. How can you argue with that?

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Telehealth rises to meet health care need in pandemic - Cleveland Jewish News