INTERVIEW | Gautham Menon feels a big film is all that is needed to bring audience back to theaters – The New Indian Express

Express News Service

Discovery Channels latest documentary, COVID-19: India's War Against The Virus, which is getting released today, comes at a time when the country is still battling the coronavirus pandemic. Extensively shot during the lockdown, the documentary is said to be shedding light on how technology is being used to combat the virus, and also on those working tirelessly behind the scenes to arrest the spread of this disease.

The Tamil voiceover for this show is lent by Gautham Vasudev Menon who is donning the hat of a narrator for the first time. I got a call from Discovery and agreed straightaway. I got to dub it with Mahesh along with whom Ive dubbed during the Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu days. The concept of the documentary convinced me to step out from the safety of my house, says Gautham, opening up about several topics, including the status of his films, through a video call.

What was it to be a part of a documentary about something as pressing and momentous?

It felt like a personal thing and thats why I agreed to do this. I ventured out just to recognise the war we are waging against the virus, and talk about people in the frontlines who have done their part, what the statistics say, and what progress we have made.

Even the Chennai floods was captured as a moving documentary. What should we expect from this documentary?

Theres a lot of work that has gone into it, and I could figure this from watching the rushes. Its not just a compilation of bytes. Painstaking effort has been taken amidst the lockdown to make this film. There are some great shots, and the film has everything from the PMs speeches to conversations with the people working in the health department, and front line people such as the police officers, doctors and nurses. It has also covered the whole transport system that has gone into gridlock, and covers migrants too. Every nuance is covered and its put out in a manner where it leaves you with hope in the end. Its telecasting at a time when we are in the middle of a war and I hope they come up with a part two of the documentary to tell everyone how we have won that war.

We know about your love for voiceovers but what is it like to offer your voice for a film you havent created?

I felt one with it. I was hoping that the script will take a personal narration approach instead of just an overall voiceover. This was done in a personal manner and I even get to say, I, Gautham Vasudev Menon, am going to take you through Indias war against the virus. I say this in Tamil obviously (smiles).

We see channels like Discovery and platforms such as Netflix, with whom you are working on a project as well, beginning to concentrate more on regional content.

We have always been on the map. As far as filmmakers that have come from here are concerned, I think its about time we were in all these platforms. Theatres are not going to be open about taking in every film... the small films dont get noticed at all. The way I look at it, we were always there, but now we are flooding these platforms.

We have seen you get into mainstream acting in films like Trance and Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal, and sing in films like Puppy and Takkar. Is this reinvention of your presence in the industry in a sense?

(Smiles) I dont look at it that way. Its just like how I write my scripts. I have no idea whats going to come up and sometimes, nothing comes up. But I love the process. I dont have plot points and I just let it meander as a river would. Whatever roles you have seen me playing are all that I felt like doing at that moment. I did Trance because of Anwar Rasheed (director) and Fahadh Faasil. I am a fan of Fahadhs work and I have heard so much about Anwars work. It was a wholesome enriching experience to watch them at work. Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal happened because Dulquer asked and there was a like-minded producer. For this documentary, I felt it would be right to be a part of it.

You recently released a song called Oru Chance Kudu single, a short film called Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn, and two singles from your upcoming film, Joshua Imai Pol Kaakha. The lockdown seems to have been productive for you.

These are unfortunate times, but silver linings have been there. I spent a lot of time at home. Its sad that something like this has to happen for us to scamper home. The uncertainty is bothersome, as theatres are not opening and shooting too is not allowed. Its all about safety right now. Whatever you write, you realise you cannot go out and film, so your writing gets changed to what can be done right now and I feel that its not good. That said, so much time has given me the space to know people a lot more.

Whats on your plate now?

Karthik... was an excerpt from a script that I was writing and I thought it could be filmed and put out. I want it to serve as a reminder and a prologue for a film thats going to come up. I am writing that and I am waiting for a few things to fall in place. I also have something for Suriya and we are in alignment. Nothing is confirmed, but I hope it will be soon. I also have Joshua and Dhruva Natchathiram set for release. Both films have about a dozen days worth of work left. Post-production has been happening on full swing and we are working remotely.

Once the world returns to normalcy, how do you see the film industry being?

I think one big film here and in Mumbai will bring the crowd back to the theatre. Thats the passion that drove us to do films -- to put films out in the theatres. OTT is also a platform for people to put out different content and its a boon. Right now, everyone is seeing if we can film under safe conditions and a lot of discussion is happening on how safe we can make the sets. I dont think its as easy as wearing a face mask and going to shoot. At the same time, we are hoping for some miracle vaccine.

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INTERVIEW | Gautham Menon feels a big film is all that is needed to bring audience back to theaters - The New Indian Express

People who are easily hypnotized are more likely to be addicted to their smartphones, study finds – PsyPost

New research published in Frontiers in Psychology suggests that being absorbed by your smartphone might bear some resemblance to a hypnotic trance. A hypnosis experiment found that students with heightened smartphone addiction scores followed more hypnotic suggestions than their counterparts.

Study authors Jay A. Olson and his team were the first to explore the relationship between smartphone addiction and hypnotisability. They propose three features that problematic smartphone use and hypnosis have in common: absorption, time distortion, and automaticity. Heavy smartphone users tend to get absorbed in their screens, lose track of time spent on their phones, and feel a loss of control when using their phones behaviors that suggest a trance-like state.

If heavy smartphone use can resemble hypnosis, Olson and colleagues say, people who are more hypnotisable may also be more prone to problematic smartphone use, in which phone use interferes with daily life.

A sample of 641 university students with an average age of 21 took part in a hypnosis experiment. Students first listened to a 45-minute audio recording designed to induce hypnosis. Next, they heard 12 verbal suggestions, for example, a suggestion that the subjects head will fall forward or that they will be momentarily unable to open their eyes. Following the 12 suggestions, subjects were led out of hypnosis and asked to complete a questionnaire asking them how many of the prompts they had followed. They then completed the Smartphone Addiction Scale to assess how much their smartphone use disrupts their normal life, which included items like, I feel impatient and fretful when I am not holding my smartphone.

Results showed a positive correlation between participants scores on the Smartphone Addiction Scale and the number of hypnotic suggestions they followed.

The authors propose two underlying psychological constructs that might explain the relationship between smartphone addiction and hypnotisability. The first is dissociation, which is when a person disengages from the sense of self or the environment. Previous research has uncovered dissociative tendencies in subjects who are easily hypnotized and also in subjects who display problematic technology use. Another construct possibly linking the two behaviors is sociality. Hypnotisability, the authors say, may be related to ones tendency to respond to social cues, and using phones for social purposes has been linked to addictive behavior.

The prevalence of problematic cell phone use was particularly high in this study. The average score for participants was 31.41, which, as the researchers report, means that 51% of the women and 39% of the men would have a high risk of phone addiction.

Since developers stand to gain more data collection and advertising revenue by keeping users engrossed in their phones, smartphone technology is likely to become still more immersive. The authors suggest this may increase users problematic behavior. To reduce automatic interactions, Olson and team suggest, behavioural interventions could reduce the salience of the phone or make it more effortful to use, for example by keeping the phone further out of reach or limiting sporadic notifications.

The study, Hypnotised by Your Phone? Smartphone Addiction Correlates With Hypnotisability, was authored by Jay A. Olson, Moriah Stendel, and Samuel Veissire.

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People who are easily hypnotized are more likely to be addicted to their smartphones, study finds - PsyPost

Tomorrowland Around the World is happening this week! – Rave Jungle

On Saturday July 25 and Sunday July 26, worlds best music festival, Tomorrowland is organising Tomorrowland Around the World, a spectacular entertainment experience open to people of all ages and places, unfazed by borders or boundaries a world premiere and a major step in the future of digital music festivals.

For its inaugural edition the team behind Tomorrowland Around The World will be bringing together more than 60 of the worlds most prominent artists in electronic dance music with spectacular special effects and astonishing 3D-technology.

Headlined by global pop superstar Katy Perry the two-day festival weekend, will include unique performances by the likes of Adam Beyer, Amelie Lens, Armin van Buuren, Charlotte de Witte, David Guetta, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Klsch, Lost Frequencies, Martin Garrix, Paul Kalkbrenner, Steve Aoki, Tale of Us, Tisto, Timmy Trumpet and many more.

Check out the full lineup below!

Catering to all genres with an eclectic line-up, from trance to hardstyle, to house to dubstep and future bass, there is definitely something for everyone during the unprecedented two-day festival experience.

Tomorrowland Around the World will offer a packed schedule and is using the worlds best technology in 3D design, video production, gaming and special effects to bring together 8 different stages, including the iconic Mainstage that gives a first introduction into the magical world of The Reflection of Love Chapter 1, plenty of signature Tomorrowland stages such as Atmosphere, Core and Freedom Stage, joined by 3 new stages, which have been specially created and designed by the creative team and 3D artists behind Tomorrowland.

In an exclusive sneak preview, Tomorrowland is giving a very first look into the magical and newly created Tomorrowland location it has been building over the past few months, giving people across the globe a first taste of the dazzling world they will be able to navigate through during Tomorrowland Around the World, the digital festival.

Each stage will also premiere brand new music and video content from the worlds best artists and a large portion of the fireworks and laser shows characteristic of Tomorrowland.

As with the other editions of Tomorrowland, the festival always wants to offer its guests much more than music and spectacular shows. In these special times, the People of Tomorrow are discovering and creating new ways of living. During its digital edition, Tomorrowland Around the World will host a number of entertaining Inspiration Sessions by 16 internationally renowned thought leaders from different fields to offer people a substantial extra dose of positivity and inspiration, in addition to all the amazing musical content.

Unique role models and experts, including former NBA champion Shaquille ONeal, Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Lalibert will share, from their homes, energizing messages that uphold Tomorrowlands core values Live Today, Love Tomorrow, Unite Forever. All Inspiration Sessions will be available to the visitors during the entire festival weekend.

Tomorrowland Around the World will welcome 16 international thought leaders from different backgrounds that will be hosting the Inspiration Sessions: Adrien Moisson, Arnoud Raskin, Ben Francis, Bethany Hamilton, Boyan Slat, Gaggan Anand, Guy Lalibert, Ida Engberg, Johan Ernst, Prince Ea, Ran Tellem, Shaun Ross, Shaquille ONeal, Sebastian Wussler, will.i.am and Yamashita Tomohisa. They will each share their stories with the world, from their homes, about passion, strength, creativity, solidarity, sustainability and more. Each session will last 10 to 15 minutes and will be available to all festival visitors during the entire weekend.

Tastes of the World and Netsky bring you four inspiring dishes and recipes to prepare you for the Tomorrowland Around The World festival. Get behind the cooking pots or fire up the BBQ and take your festival experience to the next level. Learn to cook some amazing food with world-class chefs with easy to follow videos and recipes to download. More info here.

Festival visitors will be able to navigate easily through a magical and newly created Tomorrowland location with a PC, laptop, smartphone or tablet you dont need special VR goggles and explore the entire festival site in an interactive way together with friends. Besides the performances there will be all kinds of interactive experiences to choose from, including inspirational webinars, games and workshops related to lifestyle, food, fashion and the Tomorrowland Foundation.

Together with the performances, Tomorrowland Around the World will be a full day/weekend experience between 15h0001h00 CEST. There will be a time-zone-friendly option for visitors from Asia and North or South America.

The People of Tomorrow are invited to experience this unique event together with friends: dressing up with your best festival outfit, putting up tents in your back garden to create your own DreamVille, setting up a big screen, inviting your beloved ones for a nice barbecue with music and an amazing festival experience, decorating your balcony or throwing a party in your living room this weekend is all about uniting through the power of music in a responsible and safe way.

Tickets forTomorrowland Around the Worldare now availablehere.

Day ticket costs 12.50. Weekend ticket costs 20.00 and includes a week of video-on-demand content to relive the entire experience. Special People of Tomorrow packages and Home Party packages are available. More info can be foundhere.

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Tomorrowland Around the World is happening this week! - Rave Jungle

Around the Bluhmin’ Town: Dog days of summer have arrived – Verde Independent

Did it rain enough? Probably not. Is it hot enough?

Hmm, lately it feels as though we are in the midst of the dog days of summer. This phrase was originated in ancient Roman times, used to describe the intense heat of summer. The term has been widely used ever since.

The ancient astronomers noted that Sirius, the Dog Star, rose and set with the sun during July and August. It was then concluded that the Dog Star and the suns heat combined, caused the hottest weeks of the year. Hence, we are in those dog days.

Doggone it, I thought the phrase had something to do with feeling like sitting around and panting like a dog when it is an inferno outside. I must start looking upward, toward the sky and try and locate this Dog Star, Sirius. If he is the culprit for these heat waves, dust devils, lightning and wind, then Id like to have a few choice words with this dog. (Oops, I must remember that this is a family paper).

I hate to complain, after all, at least we arent living in Death Valley. A woman who just moved to Arizona, emailed me to say that she is trying to learn to appreciate the oppressive heat. She is keeping a watchful eye for all things special about blazing, hot days and has encouraged all of her friends and neighbors to do the same. Hmm, I did see a massive yellow wall of dust moving my way last week, as I was driving in Phoenix. Surely, a haboob has to qualify as special.

Whats so special about the dog days of summer? Actually its a time of great hope. Everyone I talk to is looking forward to something different or hoping to go someplace else. We dream of cooler days. Okay, so the pandemic has dashed many of our plans. But beaches are still beckoning. Family road-trips await. Camping in the pines sounds pretty thrilling. And cool, rainy days might be arriving soon.

Arizona seems to be getting hotter. Triple digits in Phoenix is always routine, but Prescott has seen 100 degrees! Ouch! Its as though we get through a hot spell in some sort of collective trance, just waiting for a break in the weather or a change of scenery. We are strong people in Arizona! We can endure a pandemic, stifling hot weather and still love this place. Dog Days? Bring them on! Who is afraid of a little heat?

Summer brings sunsets always worth watching. Lightning may be dangerous, but it sure is beautiful. And what could be more fun then standing outside in a rainstorm when it finally hits? (Some folks do this naked please dont). The Navajo claim that when the clouds look like sheep in the sky, rain is coming. I am always on the look-out for sheep. As the Hopi say, Monsoons bring magic.

Dear Readers, enjoy the magic! And just getting through the monsoons is a pretty special experience. Try to get wet! Look for sheep in the sky and think cool thoughts. Better days are coming.

Judy Bluhm is a writer and a local realtor. Have a story or a comment? Email Judy at judy@judybluhm.com.

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Around the Bluhmin' Town: Dog days of summer have arrived - Verde Independent

Caribbean Cruises 2020 (from $272): Compare Deals on …

Why Cruise to the Caribbean?

Thousands of islands make up the Caribbean, a tropical region stretching across the Atlantic Ocean. Home to some of the most popular cruise ports in the world, the Caribbean offers variations on a theme: sun, white-sand beaches and fun with a local twist, depending on the port. From Dutch and French isles to U.S. territories, the destinations of the Caribbean have cultural experiences to spare that extend well beyond the tip of the umbrella in your fruity cocktail.

A cruise offers the chance to visit multiple islands within the span of a few days, providing visitors with a sampler of new places plus balmy sea breezes along the way. Caribbean cruises offer endless variety giving vacationers the chance to get away for a long weekend or two weeks. With so many departure ports, your ship to the Caribbean might be a short flight or even a drive away.

The Caribbean offers as much -- or as little as you want to do during your time ashore, making it an ideal cruise vacation for families or for couples.

Water sports are abundant in the Caribbean and anyone who likes spending time in the sea will enjoy snorkeling, diving, paddleboarding and swimming through clear, turquoise waters like the remote beaches of Bonaire. Or fly high through the sky on a number of active zipline courses, including the steepest zipline in the world in St. Maarten. Lazily lounging on the beach is almost always a fantastic option. Pair a beach day with a hike on a day trip from St. Thomas to Virgin Island National Park in St. John.

If you need a break from the sun, air-conditioned island tours, duty-free shopping trips and even scenic rail trips -- such as the one around St. Kitts -- provide wonderful ways to spend a day off the ship.

All-inclusive lovers will be able to pamper themselves with excursions to resorts, while those looking for a more local flavor will be able to learn from chefs, artisans and other experts for an authentic taste of each island's culture

Winter and spring are great seasons to travel to the Caribbean due to a slight reduction in crowds and moderate temperatures, though the warm weather holds year-round here.

Atlantic hurricane season, from June through October, means a higher chance of rain and possible storms, though summer is still one of the most popular times to visit the Caribbean. If you book a summer sailing in a Caribbean region within the hurricane zone, there's a chance nothing will happen -- but buying insurance and keeping a flexible schedule helps manage expectations.

Cozumel, St. Thomas, Grand Cayman and St. Martin/Maarten are some of the most common ports of call in the Caribbean. You could also experience Jamaica, Cuba, Aruba, Grand Turk or the Dominican Republic. Many Caribbean cruises also include stops at private islands, such as Royal Caribbean's CocoCay or Disney's Castaway Cay, located in The Bahamas.

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Collaboration is key to accelerate resilient solar projects in the Caribbean – Power Engineering International

Collaboration amongst policymakers and regulators will help accelerate the resiliency and installation of solar projects across the Caribbean, according to a new report.

The report has been released by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), the Clinton Foundation and the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.

The study highlights how solar projects can help improve communities livelihoods, enable cost savings, build resilience, and reduce dependency on foreign oil.

By collaborating, Caribbean island nations can ensure the correct equipment is available, known practices are enforced and that solar projects are developed and built with the highest standards.

Related articles:Solar installations market slows in China and IndiaSunny weather brings solar record to EuropeGlobal corporate funding for solar energy declines by 25%

Key recommendations for collaboration presented in theSolar Under Storm for Policymakersreport include:

The release of the study comes at a time grid networks in Caribbean and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) continue to be affected by more frequent and intense weather events. Due to severe weather, critical infrastructure like hospitals and schools are without power and communities suffer deeply.

Although solar PV systems are a way to increase the resilience of the grid and greatly improve peoples access to reliable electricity, they are useless if they are not resilient to severe weather.

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Fekitamoeloa Katoa Utoikamanu, high representative for the UN-OHRLLS, said: In the Sustainable Development Goals, the world committed to ensuring access to affordable, reliable and modern energy for all. Many Small Island Developing States are emerging as frontrunners in the pursuit of renewable energy, with solar power leading the way. International support in the form of access to finance, investments and technology will be critical to accelerate their transitionand their resilience.

The study is the third in a series of reports by RMI and partners that focuses on installing hurricane-resilient solar systems. The firstSolar Under Storm guidediscussed the root causes of past solar failures focused on ground-mounted systems.Solar Under Storm Part IIexplored best practices for equipment and procedures for rooftop systems.

Read more about thereport.

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Collaboration is key to accelerate resilient solar projects in the Caribbean - Power Engineering International

July 20 evening update: The latest on the coronavirus and Maine – Bangor Daily News

Another 24 cases of the coronavirus have been detected in Maine, health officials said Monday.

There have now been 3,711 cases across all of Maines counties since the outbreak began here in March, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Thats up from 3,687 on Sunday.

Of those, 3,287 have been confirmed positive, while 424 are likely positive, according to the Maine CDC.

No new deaths were reported Monday, leaving the statewide death toll standing at 117. Nearly all deaths have been in Mainers over age 60.

Heres a roundup of the latest news on the coronavirus and its impact in Maine:

Even though the U.S. is planning to reopen schools as COVID-19 numbers across the country continue to rise, Maine is one of two states that recently has seen its number of cases decline. But rates of infection vary throughout the state, and sometimes from one neighboring school district to the next. And while there have been ample studies on how students benefit from learning in group settings, much about how the disease spreads among children even among those who dont show symptoms still is unknown. Eesha Pendharkar, BDN

Has the coronavirus made you late on housing payments? We want to hear from you. Michael Shepherd, BDN

The North Atlantic Conference, a Division III league that is home to five small colleges in Maine, announced Monday that it will not sponsor any fall sports competition in 2020. Pete Warner, BDN

Town clerks and state officials in Maine are turning their eyes toward November after a dress rehearsal that proved the state can run an election that relies much more heavily on absentee ballots. Patrick Whittle, The Associated Press

Daily Brief: How Maines delegation wants to continue virus aid as the Senate reconvenes Michael Shepherd and Caitlin Andrews, BDN

As of Monday evening, the coronavirus has sickened 3,816,427 people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as caused 140,879 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.

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July 20 evening update: The latest on the coronavirus and Maine - Bangor Daily News

Guidelines On How Colorado Schools Can Reopen During The Coronavirus Are Out. Here’s What They Say – Colorado Public Radio

Officials noted several times that not all school buildings and communities are the same and encouraged school officials to think through what will work for your school building as far as decreasing congestion during passing periods, meal times, recess, using signage and staggering times of passing periods that work best for your school building, said CDPHEs Therese Pilonetti.

Staggered arrival times, eating and recess times are recommended, as well as frequent cleaning and disinfecting surfaces that get touched a lot throughout and at the end of the day.

Ventilation, air exchanges, filtration and pulling air away from people is also critical, due to the likelihood that the virus can be transmitted through the air. Officials said holding classes outdoors is likely to lower the risk of the viral spread. Officials will issue separate guidance on how to do ventilation well.

All staff will be required to have face coverings, except for individuals with other health problems that make wearing a mask less healthy. Masks will be required for students 11 and up, and encouraged for younger students. Students will not be required to wear masks while napping or sleeping. Alternative transparent barriers may be used in place of masks for students who are hearing impaired or language learners.

The guidance does not specify the size of the cohort because it is dependent on the physical size of the classroom.

Whatever the testing circumstances in Colorado, whether turnaround is instantaneous or whether turnaround is taking several days, cohorting is going to be the best way for schools and school boards and educators to approach limiting the disruptions caused by cases, said Erly.

State officials are working on an algorithm that specifies when an entire school would have to close as a result of an outbreak, but didnt offer additional details on what it would include.

Erly said the class schedule as usual might not be possible. Schools may have to implement, block scheduling, hybrid and in-person learning, and staggered schedules.

Cohorting is going to require a lot of creativity and adjustments on part of schools, he said.

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Guidelines On How Colorado Schools Can Reopen During The Coronavirus Are Out. Here's What They Say - Colorado Public Radio

Do some people have preexisting immunity to the coronavirus? – KARE11.com

Mayo Clinic plasma cell researcher believes data shows we may be closer to herd immunity than many experts think

ROCHESTER, Minn On Meet the Press on Sunday, after saying just 7 or 8% of Americans have had COVID-19, Dr. Michael Osterholm delivered this ominous message:

"This virus won't slow down even, let alone stop transmission until we get to 50 or 60%," Osterholm said.

But looking at the world's coronavirus hot spots earlier in the pandemic, Dr. Vincent Rajkumar from the Mayo Clinic points out the virus did slow down

"These hot spots have had major decreases in coronavirus cases even though they are no where near that level," Rajkumar said.

Rajkumar is one of the world's leading researchers of plasma cells, which make antibodies. He points out antibody tests were done in COVID-19 hot spots after the cases dropped, presumably showing how many people had the disease.

In Lombardi, Italy, 15-20% of the population tested positive for antibodies. In Madrid, Spain, it was 10-15%. In Sweden, where no lockdowns have ever taken place serology studies find 10 to 20% positive.

And in New York City, where hospitals were overwhelmed in April, Rajkumar said, "The seroprevelance was only in the 20% range. Given that, you've seen the sharp drop-off of new cases in New York City. Many of the hospitals that were overflowing are almost back to normal."

How is it possible that COVID cases steeply dropped in all these places after just 20% of the population was infected? Can it strictly be explained by human behavior, such as social distancing and masking?

"The way it's playing out in places we know, suggests that more people are immune and that we are closer to herd immunity than we think we are," Rajkumar.

Dr. Rajkumar says immune response is more complex than just an antibody count. Studies suggest people who have not been exposed to the coronavirus have T cells that fight COVID-19. It's possible the preexisting immunity comes from exposure to other coronaviruses.

Another fascinating example, Rajkumar said, is a cruise ship that left South America for Antarctica earlier in the pandemic. After a passenger tested positive, everyone was quarantined to their rooms. In 10 of those rooms, one partner tested positive and the other never contracted the disease, despite spending 20 days alone in a room with their partner.

Rajkumar believes people still need to take precautions like masks and social distancing. But if he is proven right, it offers hope for many of America's current COVID hot spots.

"I don't know what will happen, but for the sake of the country, I would hope all of these places decline very very steeply like New York did," Rajkumar said.

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Do some people have preexisting immunity to the coronavirus? - KARE11.com

Texas coronavirus hot spots get help from U.S. Navy teams – The Texas Tribune

Medical professionals from the U.S. Navy were deployed Sunday to aid hospitals in four cities across southern Texas and the Rio Grande Valley, according to Gov. Greg Abbott's office, as nearly half the state's counties have recently been designated "red zones" by the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

Early on in the pandemic, hot spots were mainly tied to outbreaks in enclosed spaces, like meatpacking plants and nursing homes. Health experts are increasingly seeing small outbreaks in the community from families and friends gathering to people congregating at summer tourist destinations.

Five U.S. Navy teams were sent to four locations across Texas southern region: Harlingen, Del Rio, Eagle Pass and Rio Grande City.

"The support from our federal partners is crucial in our work to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our communities throughout Texas," Abbott said in a written statement.

As the state continues to see record numbers of people hospitalized with the virus, local hospitals particularly the Rio Grande Valley and the Coastal Bend are being pushed to their limit because of the rapid spread of the coronavirus in recent weeks.

Ambulance operators in the Rio Grande Valley area described wait times of up to 10 hours to deliver patients to packed emergency rooms. Doctors and nurses are working extra shifts and have had to label and save their face masks for reuse.

As of Saturday, the four-county region that includes Harlingen had just 24 ICU beds available for a population of about 1.4 million people, according to the latest state data.

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Texas coronavirus hot spots get help from U.S. Navy teams - The Texas Tribune

Five Years On, Ethereum Is the Minecraft of Crypto-Finance – CoinDesk – CoinDesk

Camila Russo is the founder of The Defiant and author of The Infinite Machine, the first book on the history of Ethereum, which launches today. Read an extract here.

Almost five years ago on July 30, 2015, part of the Ethereum team had gathered in Berlin to see the network they helped build go live. A big screen overhanging their worktables served as the countdown clock for when the test network reached block 1,028,201. Thats the palindrome and prime number they picked as the key which would launch the mainnet. Others were waiting for the launch in Ethereum hubs in Amsterdam, Toronto, New York and Zug, Switzerland.

It was the culmination of months of work, where core developers did the heavy lifting on the technical side, but which also included designers, marketers, and community managers.Ethereans knew a distributed network with no community would fail.

Ethereum turns five on July 30, 2020. CoinDesk is marking five years of Ethereum with a series of retrospective stories and live-streamed Twitter conversations. There are even some Easter eggs for eagle-eyed readers. Tune in to our CoinDesk Live sessions July 27-31 at 4 p.m. Eastern each day or call +1 (661) 4-UNICRN.

Early Ethereum team members had also spent endless hours with lawyers leading up to the ether sale, some co-founders had gone through bitter fights, while many others had ravaged their savings working with no salaries towards one goal: Making the vision Vitalik Buterin laid out on a white paper in November 2013, a reality.

Its happening

When the test network hit the predetermined block at 4:26 p.m. in Berlin, a meme of Ron Paul, jubilant, with his arms up and surrounded in green laser beams and white block letters that read ITS HAPPENING, popped up on the monitor. The Ethereum team opened a bottle of champagne while rocket emojis filled chat rooms.

The Ethereum network quickly left other blockchain upstarts behind and has since grown to become the second-largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin, with ethers market capitalization (as of writing) at just under $30 billion.

Minecraft of crypto-finance

But a better measure of success is to examine whether Ethereum builders achieved what they set out to do. Ethereum aims to be a fully-fledged, Turing-complete (but heavily fee-regulated) cryptographic ledger, which allows developers to build any application they can dream of on top, Vitalik wrote in the white paper, which inspired early team members to drop everything and join him in building it.

Rather than being limited to a specific set of transaction types, users will be able to use Ethereum as a sort of Minecraft of crypto-finance that is to say, one will be able to implement any feature that one desires simply by coding it in the protocols internal scripting language, he wrote. Minecraft is a sandbox-style video game, which gives players flexibility to explore and build whatever they want in the games virtual world.

Vitalik, who was 19 years old at the time, listed on the Ethereum white paper the applications he envisioned could be built on top of this generalized platform:

Sub-currencies representing assets such as USD or gold to company stocks and even currencies with only one unit issued to represent collectibles or smart property.

Financial derivatives, such as hedging contracts. He notes that financial contracts of any form do need to be fully collateralized; the Ethereum network controls no enforcement agency and cannot collect debt.

Identity and reputation systems where users can register their names in a public database alongside other data, for example, for domain-name systems.

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, which replicate traditional companies but use blockchain technology for enforcement. The entity would have shareholders who collect dividends and decide how the corporation automatically allocates its funds, using either bounties, salaries or even more exotic mechanisms such as an internal currency to reward work.

Also listed were crop and generic insurance, decentralized data feeds, gambling and prediction markets, a full-scale on-chain stock market and an on-chain decentralized marketplace.

Five years later, all of the use cases envisioned by Vitalik have become a reality, though some with more success than others.

Sub-currencies success

What Vitalik called sub-currencies what we now know as tokens, stablecoins and NFTs have arguably been the most successful applications on Ethereum so far. Valued at over $33 billion, Ethereums ERC-20 tokens represent almost 13 percent of total cryptocurrency market capitalization, according to Etherscan. Together with ether, all of the Ethereum ecosystem is about one-fourth of crypto.

The innovation of entrepreneurs being able to issue their own coins and sell them to anyone in the world in fundraising rounds, which for the first time didnt need venture capitalists or banks, helped fuel one of the most spectacular speculative manias in 2017-2018. This past year, most growth has come from stablecoins, with tokens pegged to the value of the U.S. dollar trading at about $12 billion thats about three times stablecoin market cap a year ago, according to Messari data most of which is on Ethereum, due mainly to Tethers migration to the network.

Non-fungible tokens and their marketplaces had their biggest moment with CryptoKitties in late 2017, but the space is arguably one of the brightest spots for innovation within Ethereum, with use cases from in-game items to art and limited-edition fashion.

Dexs and derivatives

On-chain stock exchanges are todays decentralized exchanges. While they still represent a fraction of total volume traded on centralized crypto exchanges, growth has been staggering. Almost $5.7 billion have traded so far on DEXs this year, or more than twice the value trading hands in all of 2019, according to Dune Analytics. Beyond volume metrics, DEXs are delivering on the cypherpunk dream of seamless, global, non-custodial trading of cryptocurrencies.

Financial derivatives are also flourishing. Synthetic assets platforms such as Synthetix and UMA allow almost any assets to be represented on the Ethereum blockchain, while margin trading platforms such as dYdX have enabled futures trading, the most popular asset in centralized crypto finance.

Meanwhile, lending platforms including Compound and Aave allow users to gain interest on their crypto deposits, and tokenize those deposits so they can be simply bought on an exchange and held in users wallets.

DAOs started out early in Ethereum history as one of the strongest projects. The DAO attracted, at the time, the most capital ever for an Ethereum fundraiser, though we all know how that ended. After a traumatic experience, the Ethereum community steered clear of decentralized organizations for a couple of years, until 2019 ushered a DAO revival. Initially, these entities were focused on distributing donations, but that quickly evolved into for-profit DAOs, like The LAO and VentureDAO.

Ethereum has also given rise to applications in prediction markets, identity systems and insurance, but theyre lagging financial applications in terms of volume and adoption.

Internet of value

Financial applications have had the greatest success on Ethereum so far, arguably because it provides something that just cant be replicated by the current financial system, or by bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency. Its a global network thats built to transfer value, and it can also process computer programs to allow for more sophisticated financial transactions. Value held in these financial platforms has soared to more than $2 billion this year, a fivefold increase from a year ago.

Ethereum has successfully become the Minecraft of crypto finance, as Vitalik envisioned. But beyond becoming a platform that can support all these different kinds of applications, the biggest impact is its creating an actual internet of value. Its a network that enables fast, cheap, global value transfers and the ability to program that money to become anything from futures contracts to collectibles to derivatives pegged to stocks, forex and commodities. And its allowing users of this system to take charge of their own assets and data.

Almost any network metric will show there is demand for permissionless, trustless systems. Active addresses are near a record at just under 568,000, a stone throws away from bitcoins 745,000, according to CoinMetrics. Transaction fees paid to the networks miners have surpassed bitcoins, while daily transaction count is almost four times that of the biggest cryptocurrency at about 1 million, the data show.

A good problem to have

The question isnt whether theres demand for Ethereum, but whether the network will continue developing fast enough to meet that demand. The wait for ETH 2.0, which would allow Ethereum to scale, has been a constant in Ethereums history. A barebones proof-of-stake chain, which was slated to launch early this year, has been delayed and now its unclear whether it will launch this year at all.

But progress with Layer 2 solutions, which take transactions off-chain, has been encouraging. Teams working on Optimistic Roll-Ups are testing prototypes, while solutions using Plasma and Zero Knowledge technology are live right now and able to handle thousands of transactions per second. While the wait for ETH2.0 continues, the wait for Ethereum scaling is over.

The next five years will be about strengthening these scaling solutions and making these financial applications more robust and secure. It will also be necessary to create better crypto onramps and building apps in the less developed areas of Ethereum, like identity and insurance. The result will be this Minecraft of finance stops being an insiders secret and more players can join.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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Five Years On, Ethereum Is the Minecraft of Crypto-Finance - CoinDesk - CoinDesk

Analyst Says These Altcoins Could Gain Up to 40X on Bitcoin But Will They Challenge Ethereum? – The Daily Hodl

Crypto analyst Nicholas Merten thinks savvy crypto investors should pay attention to whether alternative blockchain protocols can overtake Ethereum or at least grab a higher percentage of the market share.

Merten dubs the market competition the protocol wars, noting that all of the best-performing assets recently have either been enterprise blockchain or decentralized finance (DeFi) projects.

The host of DataDash notes that Cardano, EOS, Neo, Tezos and Cosmos are displaying promising metrics and should continue to perform well in the next year. The question, he says, is whether they can actually chip away at Ethereums protocol supremacy.

I have no doubt all of these crypto plays that we just looked at are probably going to have higher levels [compared] to Bitcoin [BTC] a year from now than where they are right now. Lets just get that off the table. Probably the vast majority.

Keeping that in mind though whether or not we can actually get some fundamental development on these chains is going to be the question we need to get answered in order to see if this is going to do a 2 or 3x against Bitcoin or if a variety of protocol plays are going to do a 10, 20, 30, [or] 40x.

Because this time around, its not just speculation. There needs to be a bit of fundamentals with it. There really does. Quite frankly, a lot of blockchain protocols simply have one thing missing that Ethereum has hand-in-hand, and that is a developer ecosystem.

Merten notes that while he appreciates the academic nature of Cardano, not much has been built on it. And EOS, he says, is probably in the second-best position in blockchain for DeFi, but he still hasnt felt a need to use any of the protocols DeFi apps.

This is a problem here. If you dont have a way to have the leverage of building a network effect, you can have a great blockchain, you can be much more scalable than Ethereum, but youre not going to be a better blockchain protocol in the long run.

From an investment perspective, Merten says he believes NEO, Tezos, and Cosmos are all potentially worth a look.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/camilkuo

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Analyst Says These Altcoins Could Gain Up to 40X on Bitcoin But Will They Challenge Ethereum? - The Daily Hodl

EOS, Ethereum and Ripple’s XRP Daily Tech Analysis July 15th, 2020 – FX Empire

EOS

EOS rose by 0.55% on Tuesday. Following a 2.55% fall from Monday, EOS ended the day at $2.5609.

A bearish start to the day saw EOS fall to an early morning intraday low $2.5057 before making a move.

Steering clear of the first major support level at $2.4491, EOS rose to a late intraday high $2.5791 before easing back.

Falling well short of the first major resistance level at $2.6574, EOS slipped back to sub-$2.57 levels.

At the time of writing, EOS was up by 0.14% to $2.5645. A mixed start to the day saw EOS fall to an early morning low $2.5591 before rising to a high $2.5645.

EOS left the major support and resistance levels untested early on.

EOS would need to avoid a fall through the $2.5486 pivot level to support a run at the first major resistance level at $2.5914.

Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for EOS to break out from Tuesdays high $2.5791.

Barring an extended crypto rally, the first major resistance level and resistance at $2.60 would likely cap any upside.

Failure to avoid a fall through the $2.5486 pivot would bring the first major support level at $2.5180 into play.

Barring another extended sell-off, EOS should steer clear of the second major support level at $2.4752.

Major Support Level: $2.5180

Pivot Level: $2.5486

Major Resistance Level: $2.5914

23.6% FIB Retracement Level: $6.62

38% FIB Retracement Level: $9.76

62% FIB Retracement Level: $14.82

Ethereum rose by 0.49% on Tuesday. Following a 1.39% decline from Monday, Ethereum ended the day at $240.43.

Tracking the broader market, Ethereum fell to an early morning intraday low $236.66 before finding support.

Steering clear of the first major support level at $235.82, Ethereum struck a late intraday high $242.01.

Falling well short of the first major resistance level at $244.22, Ethereum fell back to $240 levels before ending the day at $240 levels.

At the time of writing, Ethereum was up by 0.28% to $241.10. A bullish start to the day saw Ethereum rise from an early morning low $240.4 to a high $241.18.

Ethereum left the major support and resistance levels untested early on.

Ethereum would need to avoid a fall through the $239.70 pivot to support a run at the first major resistance level at $242.74.

Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Ethereum to break out from Tuesdays high $242.01.

Barring an extended crypto rally, the first major resistance level and resistance at $243 should cap any upside.

Failure to avoid a fall through the $239.70 pivot would bring the first major support level at $237.39 into play.

Barring another extended sell-off, Ethereum should continue to steer clear of sub-$230 levels. The second major support level at $234.35 should limit any downside.

Major Support Level: $237.39

Pivot Level: $239.70

Major Resistance Level: $242.74

23.6% FIB Retracement Level: $257

38.2% FIB Retracement Level: $367

62% FIB Retracement Level: $543

Ripples XRP rose by 0.10% on Tuesday. Following a 1.31% fall from Monday, Ripples XRP ended the day at $0.19924.

A bearish start to the day saw Ripples XRP fall to an early morning intraday low $0.19527. Steering clear of the first major support level at $0.1919, Ripples XRP rose to a mid-day intraday high $0.20024.

Falling short of the first major resistance level at $0.2064, Ripples XRP slipped back to end the day at sub-$0.20.

At the time of writing, Ripples XRP was up by 0.34% to $0.19991. A mixed start to the day saw Ripples XRP fall to an early morning low $0.19918 before striking a high $0.19992.

Ripples XRP left the major support and resistance levels untested early on.

Ripples XRP will need to avoid a fall through the $0.1983 pivot to support a run at the first major resistance level at $0.2012.

Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Ripples XRP to break out from Tuesdays high $0.20024.

Barring a broad-based crypto rally, the first major resistance level and Tuesdays high $0.20024 should cap any upside.

In the event of a breakout, Ripples XRP should test resistance at $0.21 before any pullback. The third major resistance level sits at $0.2082.

Failure to avoid a fall through the $0.1983 pivot would bring the first major support level at $0.1963 into play.

Barring another extended crypto sell-off, Ripples XRP should avoid sub-$0.19 levels. The second major support level at $0.1933 should limit any downside.

Major Support Level: $0.1963

Pivot Level: $0.1983

Major Resistance Level: $0.2012

23.6% FIB Retracement Level: $0.3638

38.2% FIB Retracement Level: $0.4800

62% FIB Retracement Level: $0.6678

Please let us know what you think in the comments below.

Thanks, Bob

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EOS, Ethereum and Ripple's XRP Daily Tech Analysis July 15th, 2020 - FX Empire

Four Crypto Newcomers May Outrun Bitcoin and Ethereum to Become Best Investments of 2020, According to Lark Davis – The Daily Hodl

Popular crypto researcher Lark Davis thinks a number of decentralized finance (DeFi) projects that are not built on Ethereum have significant growth potential.

He specifically highlights the upside of four little-known crypto assets that he believes could see big growth in the short term.

I believe that DeFi outside of Ethereum is likely to be a big growth area in the coming months even if we still have great DeFi projects launching on Ethereum.

Davis calls out Kava (KAVA), Band Protocol (BAND), Switcheo (SWTH) and Nash (NEX) as his top picks.

Kava is a cross-chain, DeFi lending platform. Its token is trading at about $1.97 at the time of writing, and it has seen 4x gains since mid-May.

Despite its already-skyrocketing value, Davis says the token still has massive potential for long-term price appreciation.

The team and the backers of Kava are very, very strong as well. In my opinion, this has all the makings to be as big as Ethereums MakerDao, which at its height had a market cap over $1 billion.

Band Protocol is a Cosmos blockchain native and cross-chain data oracle network that competes with Chainlink. Its token is currently trading at about $2.42 at time of writing and has increased about 120% in price since the beginning of July. Says Davis,

BAND already has a big, growing list of high-profile partners, people like Binance and Wanchain and Elrond and Fantom and Kava, of course.

SWTH and NEX are both decentralized exchange tokens. Davis says they have upside potential because Switcheo is launching a new derivatives exchange and upgrading their token model, and Nash just launched a zero-fee fiat on-ramp for users in the European Union.

Davis does warn, however, that both are competing with tons of other decentralized exchanges, which could impact their growth.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/camilkuo

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Four Crypto Newcomers May Outrun Bitcoin and Ethereum to Become Best Investments of 2020, According to Lark Davis - The Daily Hodl

Death of Fat Protocol Thesis Is Bearish for Ethereum – Crypto Briefing

Key Takeaways

A highly popular crypto-economic theory, which states that base layers are more valuable than the applications built on top of them, may soon fall out of fashion due to the booming DeFi market.

In 2016, Joel Monegro, then a member of the blockchain investment team at Union Square Ventures (now a partner at Placeholder VC), introduced a crypto-economic theory called the fat protocol thesis.

This theory proposed that base layer blockchains, like Bitcoin or Ethereum, accrue more value than their corresponding application layers.

For example, this would mean that the total of all applications built on Bitcoin cannot have a market cap that exceeds that of Bitcoin.

Monegros rationalization of this theory in a public article looked at the top cryptoassets at the time.

Ethereum was just a couple of years old with no breakout use case in place, but it commanded a valuation of a billion dollars. This is eerily similar to current circumstances for nascent layer one networks like Cardano and Cosmos that are still in their active bootstrapping phase but are valued at $4 billion and $750 million, respectively.

Of the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap, only six are on the application layer. In the top 10, this reduces to two projects, Chainlink and Tether, both of which are blockchain agnostic.

However, the current market cap of all ERC-20 tokens has now overtaken Ethereums market capitalization.

According to a spreadsheet created by Cami Russo, the total market cap of ERC-20 tokens is $33.2 billion. This number is closer to $29 billion after excluding Binance Chain and VeChain, both of which have transitioned away from Ethereum to their native blockchains.

Still, the total amount of ERC-20 tokens exceeds Ethereums $26.8 billion market cap. This figure excludes other tokens on Ethereum, such as ERC-777 and ERC-721 tokens.

Does this mean that Monegros thesis is no longer valuable? Not quite.

Three possible outcomes control the fate of the fat protocol thesis.

First, if the market cap of ERC-20 tokens starts to fall while ETH stagnates or declines, the thesis would be confirmed as the total market cap of Ethereums tokens falls below that of Ethereum.

Analysts could attribute the brief period where the market cap of ERC-20s exceeded that of Ethereum to euphoria on the application layer that got out of hand and turned into a mini-bubble. Mean reversion would kick into action and bring the value of Ethereums application layer closer to its mean, which is below Ethereums total market cap.

Second, the price of ETH could pump, causing its market cap to catch up with the application layer.

This is the preferred scenario for every market participant, as it creates more value on the path to efficiency, rather than eroding it. It also confirms the fat protocol thesis.

If ETH follows its application layer, it sets a precedent that the Ethereums total value is not a ceiling for application growth. Instead, as applications continue to prosper, they drag ETH along with it.

For every $1 of value created by Ethereums application, x% of that trickles down to ETH.

Further, this would cement the idea that token economics and adoption is the winning formula for a successful base layer. If teams build strong incentives on the base layer to create working applications and allow those applications to drip value into the base blockchain by funneling in more users, everyone wins.

Finally, if ETH stays stagnant, and the value of ERC-20 tokens continues to soar, the fat protocol thesis will be disproven.

However, for real confirmation of this, ERC-20 tokens need to be worth more than Ethereum over a much more extended period.

In the end, this would mean that ETH is just the base currency that powers the application layer, but demand is not high enough for it to form a symbiotic relationship with the products built on top of Ethereum.

This sets a negative precedent that the real money is on top of Ethereum and not Ethereum itself.

Such an outcome places the number two blockchain project in jeopardy, too. It could lead investors away from funding base layer improvements like scalability and security, and towards mooning altcoins.

Ultimately, the legitimacy of the fat protocol thesis is key to Ethereums continued dominance.

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You should never make an investment decision on an ICO, IEO, or other investment based on the information on this website, and you should never interpret or otherwise rely on any of the information on this website as investment advice. We strongly recommend that you consult a licensed investment advisor or other qualified financial professional if you are seeking investment advice on an ICO, IEO, or other investment. We do not accept compensation in any form for analyzing or reporting on any ICO, IEO, cryptocurrency, currency, tokenized sales, securities, or commodities.

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A Comparison of DeFi Protocol Token Valuations

Bitcoin May Be Down, but DeFi Is Pumping Like It's 2017

Aave Raises $3 Million From Framework Ventures and Three Arrows Capita...

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Death of Fat Protocol Thesis Is Bearish for Ethereum - Crypto Briefing

We’ve Reached Peak Libertarianism And It’s Literally Killing Us – The National Memo

This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

We have now reached peak Libertarianism, and this bizarre experiment that has been promoted by the billionaire class for over 40 years is literally killing us.

Back in the years before Reagan, a real estate lobbying group called the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) came up with the idea of creating a political party to justify deregulating the real estate and finance industries so they could make more money. The party would give them ideological and political cover, and they developed an elaborate theology around it.

It was called the Libertarian Party, and their principal argument was that if everybody acted separately and independently, in all cases with maximum selfishness, that that would benefit society. There would be no government needed beyond an army and a police force, and a court system to defend the rights of property owners.

In 1980, billionaire David Koch ran for vice president on the newly formed Libertarian Party ticket. His platform was to privatize the Post Office, shut down all public schools, privatize Medicare and Medicaid, end food stamps and all other forms of "welfare," deregulate all corporate oversight, and sell off much of the federal government's land and other assets to billionaires and big corporations.

Since then, Libertarian billionaires and right-wing media have been working hard to get Americans to agree with Ronald Reagan's statement from his first inaugural address that, "[G]overnment is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem."

And Trump is getting us there now.

Every federal agency of any consequence is now run by a lobbyist or former industry insider.

The Labor Department is trying to destroy organized labor; the Interior Department is selling off our public lands; the Environmental Protection Agency is promoting deadly pesticides and allowing more and more pollution; the Federal Communications Commission is dancing to the tune of giant telecom companies; the Education Department is actively working to shut down and privatize our public school systems; the US Department of Agriculture is shutting down food inspections; the Defense Department is run by a former weapons lobbyist; even the IRS and Social Security agencies have been gutted, with tens of thousands of their employees offered early retirement or laid off so that very, very wealthy people are no longer being audited and the wait time for a Social Security disability claim is now over two years.

The guy Trump put in charge of the Postal Service is actively destroying the post office, and the bonus for Trump might be that this will throw a huge monkey wrench in any effort to vote by mail in November.

Trump has removed the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, and fossil fuel lobbyists now control America's response to global warming.

Our nation's response to the coronavirus has been turned over to private testing and drug companies, and the Trump administration refuses to implement any official government policy, with Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar saying that it's all up to "individual responsibility."

The result is more than 140,000 dead Americans and 3 million infected, with many fearing for their lives.

While the Libertarian ideas and policies promoted by that real estate lobbying group that invented the Libertarian Party have made CEOs and billionaire investors very, very rich, it's killing the rest of us.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Franklin Delano Roosevelt put America back together after the Republican Great Depression and built the largest and wealthiest middle class in the history of the world at the time.

Now, 40 years of libertarian Reaganomics have gutted the middle class, made a handful of oligarchs wealthier than anybody in the history of the world, and brought an entire generation of hustlers and grifters into public office via the GOP.

When America was still coasting on FDR's success in rebuilding our government and institutions, nobody took very seriously the crackpot efforts to tear it all down.

Now that they've had 40 years to make their project work, we're hitting peak Libertarianism and it's tearing our country apart, pitting Americans against each other, and literally killing hundreds of people every day.

If America is to survive as a functioning democratic republic, we must repudiate the "greed is good" ideology of Libertarianism, get billionaires and their money out of politics, and rebuild our civil institutions.

That starts with waking Americans up to the incredible damage that 40 years of libertarian Reaganism has done to this country.

Pass it on.

Thom Hartmann is a talk-show host and the author of The Hidden History of American Oligarchy and more than 30 other books in print. His most recent project is a science podcast called The Science Revolution. He is a writing fellow at the Independent Media Institute.

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We've Reached Peak Libertarianism And It's Literally Killing Us - The National Memo

Why Boris Johnson is having to sacrifice his libertarian values in the battle against coronavirus – Telegraph.co.uk

After Emmanuel Macron announced that masks must soon be worn in all enclosed spaces in France, speculation is mounting that Britain will inevitably follow suit.

But will lifelong libertarian Mr Johnson forced by the global pandemic to become uncharacteristically authoritarian really insist on such a draconian measure?While it is tempting to presume that the answer to that question will depend on the science, in reality to coin the Clintonesque catchphrase it's about the economy, stupid.

Although there is some emerging scientific evidenceto suggest that face coverings not only help stop transmission but also protect the wearer, the decision is being driven by fiscal, rather than health concerns.

As Matt Hancock admitted in the House of Commons on Tuesday, the Government wants to "make shoppers feel even more confident about returning to the High Street".

Quoting Mike Cherry, the chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, the Health Secretary said: "Small businesses know that mandatory face coverings have a role to play in the nation's recovery, both physically and financially."

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Why Boris Johnson is having to sacrifice his libertarian values in the battle against coronavirus - Telegraph.co.uk

Tesla Model 3 giveaway used to encourage voting in Georgian election – Teslarati

The Libertarian Party in the Eurasian country of Georgia is planning to give out Tesla Model 3 vehicle to encourage voters to participate in the 2020 Parliamentary Elections.

The Party, known as Girchi, stated that it would give out several Tesla Model 3 vehicles. The number of cars depends on how many votes the Girchi party receives, which will consequently provide the group with funding that will coincide with the number of votes. The more votes the Party gets, the more funding the Party will receive.

Girchi has launched a nationwide raffle to encourage all registered voters across every Party or political affiliation to vote.

According to Girchis website, the Partys supporters state that the idea has two purposes: to increase voter turnout on election day, and to stage a protest against the public funding of political parties.

Girchi sees voter turnout as the key to defeating the current ruling party, which is called the Georgian Dream.

Zurab Girchi Japaridze, one of the leaders of the Libertarian sector, says that once the party is elected into the new Parliament, it will introduce a new bill that will abolish laws that sanction any public funding for political parties.

We believe that each politician and political party shall be financed only by their respective supporters and voters, Japaridze said. Upon election into the new Parliament, Girchi will launch a bill to this effect and until it is adopted, the Party will keep purchasing Tesla cars with the public funding allocated for Girchi annually and will award them to the random voters with a raffle-ticket who prove that they have voted on 31 October 2020.

Japaridze also added that the Tesla giveaway should appeal to the youth in the country, which could encourage younger people to become more involved in the political sector.

We are trying to appeal specifically to the youth so that more young people become interested in the politics and take active part in shaping it for the betterment of their own future, he said.

The mass appeal of Teslas electric vehicles and the companys sustainable mission has spread all across the world. The inclusion of the Model 3 in the race for Georgias Parliament shows the companys products are so appealing that they may entice people to participate in the election that their country is holding later this year.

The overall appeal of Teslas electric cars is becoming a worldwide sensation. It is unknown how many people will walk away from the election with a Tesla vehicle. Still, every car that goes into the hands of a voter is another step toward the ultimate goal of worldwide sustainability.

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Tesla Model 3 giveaway used to encourage voting in Georgian election - Teslarati

Five residents in the running for three seats on Williams City Council – Grand Canyon News

The Williams-Grand Canyon News gave the five Williams City Council candidates an opportunity to introduce themselves and explain their positions on important issues facing Williams.

Each candidate was given the same questions. Individual Q & A's can be found by clicking on each candidate's name.

Michael Cowen, candidate for council.

Frank McNelly, candidate for council.

Dawn Trapp, candidate for council.

Michael Vasquez, candidate for council.

Craig Fritsinger, candidate for council.

The primary election takes place Aug. 4. Early voting for the primary election started July 8.

The Coconino County Elections office mailed out over 44,600 early ballots to voters on the permanent early voting list (PEVL) and those who have requested a single election early ballot for the primary election.

Coconino County Recorder Patty Hansen urges all Coconino County registered voters to request an early ballot be mailed to them, or to vote early in person at one of the early voting locations.

Early voting is the safest method for our voters, poll workers and election staff members during this COVID 19 pandemic, Hansen said.

Hansen said early voters can decide how they want to return their voted early ballot: by mail; dropping it off in a ballot drop box or at an early voting location or dropping it off at any polling location in the county on Election Day.

Recently, there has been a lot of misinformation about fraud associated with early voting. This is just not true, Hansen said. We have numerous safeguards and procedures in place that would catch anyone trying to cast fraudulent early ballots.

Ballots can be turned in at Williams City Hall, 113 S. 1 Street in Williams, Monday - Friday from 7:30 am 5 p.m.

The Aug. 4 primary election is a partisan primary, meaning voters on the PEVL who are registered with a recognized political party are being mailed an early ballot for the political party indicated on their voter registration form. Recognized political parties in Arizona for the 2020 elections are Democratic, Republican and Libertarian.

Voters on the PEVL who are registered as Independent, with no party affiliation, or an unrecognized political party, were sent a notice at the end of May informing them that they should return the notice indicating which political party ballot they want to receive. If this notice was not returned, the Elections Office cannot mail the voter an early ballot until they tell the Elections Office what party ballot they want to receive. Independent and unaffiliated voters who are on the PEVL and did not return their notice may call the Elections Office to request the specific party ballot, or do so online at http://www.coconino.az.gov/elections, select Early Ballot Request.

The Libertarian Party has a closed primary, which means only early voters registered as Libertarian will be mailed a Libertarian ballot. Independent and unaffiliated voters may not request a Libertarian ballot.

All registered voters, not on the PEVL, may request an early ballot for the primary by calling the Elections Office; sending a written request to Coconino County Elections Office, 110 E. Cherry Avenue, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001; or submitting an on-line request at http://www.coconino.az.gov/elections and clicking on Early Ballot Request.

The deadline to request an early ballot be mailed is July 24.

Early Voting is also available in person at several locations throughout the county.

To see the list of early voting locations and their office hours go to http://www.coconino.az.gov/elections, select Early Voting Locations.

More information is available from the Elections Office at (928) 679-7860 or toll-free at 800-793-6181.

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Five residents in the running for three seats on Williams City Council - Grand Canyon News

Bohemian paradise in development hell, Hotel Chelsea revealed in new book by Colin Miller and Ray Mock – theartblog.org

Bohemian paradise in development hell, Hotel Chelsea revealed in new book by Colin Miller and Ray Mock

Mandy Palasik reviews the new book, Hotel Chelsea: Living in the Last Bohemian Haven by Colin Miller and Ray Mock, which tells of current residents and their struggle with the Hotel's developer-owners and explores the history of this artistic incubator-cum-living space.

Authors PrefaceNew Yorks iconic Chelsea Hotel has served as a refuge for creatives and those seeking a taste of an alternative lifestyle since the late 1800s. Initially designed as an apartment cooperative built on Socialist Charles Fouriers ideologies of Utopia, the structure was retrofitted as a hotel with apartments in 1905. With an affordable range of units and a soundproof structure, the Chelsea became a popular stay among live-work artists, musicians, writers, transients, sex workers, stockbrokers, and dentists alike. Over the years, the hotel has gained an infamous reputation as a place rampant with rats, drugs, suicides, and murder. Despite its haunted past, it has become a sanctuary where ideas and inspiration are exchanged, art is born, and a diverse community of travelers and renowned residents coexist. Or at least that was the bohemian allure of the Chelsea- until recently.

In Hotel Chelsea: Living in the Last Bohemian Haven, writer Ray Mock and photographer Colin Miller capture the hotels current tumultuous state amid ongoing renovations initiated in 2011 by new ownership (which has changed multiple times since). The hefty 256-page book reads like a collection of narrated resident diaries, where intimate biographical accounts and vivid memories are exposed. More than just a coffee table book, Mock and Millers project is a historical documentation of 19 remaining residents* stance on the legendary hotels transformation and their struggle with the omnipresent threat of eviction. Initiated in 2015 and spanning four years, Mock and Millers project is an ongoing story of resistance, conformance, and change which leaves us to question whether the Chelsea will become just another generic and profit-driven real estate flip.

A majority of the books real estate is dedicated to Millers full-bleed unabashed photographs, complementing each residents story with a preview of their living quarters, a mix of original and renovated units, in all the kitsch, clutter, and glory. The pages of curated interiors read like an I Spy book, leaving the reader anticipating what eccentricity lurks behind the next door adorned life-sized mannequins, maximalist mirrored ceilings, vintage wallpaper collections, and altars of bric--brac.

While the Chelsea is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a New York City landmark (exterior only), the book acknowledges the hurdles of designating and preserving interiors that have fluctuated over the past century. Judging by the stark contrast between photos of original units with stained-glass windows, ornate woodwork, and patinated plaster walls and those recently renovated with fresh paint jobs, crisp lines, and pristine flooring, theres no denying the renovations have begun to eradicate much of the Chelseas historic integrity, room by room.

While some residents, like paralegal and Cher fanatic Mickie Esemplare, have accepted the renovation through enticing upgrades such as a private bathroom or larger space, others like cinematographer Tony Notaberardino are fighting renovations to their apartment in an effort to preserve the hotels history, claiming people want to come here and touch the wall that Jack Kerouac touched, they want that authenticity. Miller captures Notaberardino in his sanctuary of cheerful circus patterned walls painted by previous tenant and Australian artist Vali Myers. Among other original works of art featured on the walls of the Chelsea are Manhattan artist Joey Horatios dominatrix murals in the hallway of NY Nightlife icon Susanne Bartschs apartment and an India-inspired palette of decoupage by multi-disciplinary artist Gerald DeCock.

I dont know if its the hotel that changes the artist, or the artist that changes the hotel resident and artist Sheila Berger

Its hard to pin down just one attribute that gave the Chelsea its elusive charm. From communal candlelight dinners in the 9th-floor hallway to informal art galleries in the lobby (featuring work often collected in exchange for rent) to staged dance performances by choreographer Merle Lister Levine in the atrium staircase, the Chelseas collective floor plan fostered a sense of community. Despite the solid brick structure, malleable interior layouts provided a one-size-fits-all approach, allowing residents like model Man-Lai to take over adjacent rooms after giving birth to twins or artist Arthur Weinstein to stretch out his canvasses in the halls or a vacant room. It was a place where residents could evolve personally and in practice.

Though the residents stories vary, they all allude to the familial community forged from a shared love of the arts and the bohemian lifestyle that ensued. The foreword, a nostalgic dialogue between sisters Gaby Hoffmann and Alex Auder, provides insight into what it was like to grow up in the scandalous playground that was the Chelsea spitting candy into the stairwell abyss and hanging out on the 23rd Street stoop with drunks, bums, and OTB addicts. Vintage wallpaper aficionado Suzanne Lipschutz reminisces of neighbor Rene Ricard reading bedtime stories to her grandchildren every night. I imagine its impossible to ever feel alone in a place like the Chelsea.

Although I had known of Leonard Cohens hit Chelsea Hotel No. 2 and Andy Warhols Chelsea Girls, I was surprised to read about the countless collaborations that occurred behind closed doors, including the administration of Hanuman Books by editor Robert Foye and painter Francesco Clemente, the screenplay for 2001: A Space Odyssey by writer Arthur C. Clarke and director Stanley Kubrick, and Playboy photoshoots with model Man-Lai on her wrought-iron balcony where she and her children grew vegetables.

After Master Manole falls to his death from the roof of the monastery he built, a beautiful well springs up in the spot where he perished. Perhaps one day the Hotel Chelsea will again become a well of inspiration and freedom for its residents, or perhaps new sanctuaries for artists will spring up in other parts of the city instead. Ray Mock

The Hotel Chelsea: Living in the Last Bohemian Haven leaves us with a sobering account of what its like to live in and love the Chelsea Hotel. As of today, residents are still battling with lingering construction and lawsuits. Despite additional constraints caused by the pandemic, residents seem to be making the most of their lives in lockdown, Chelsea style, with seances summoning Sid Vicious, dress-up reenactments of hotel legends, and Zoom discos*. It seems the magic of the Chelsea continues to prevail, despite the odds.

Hotel Chelsea: Living in the Last Bohemian Haven by Colin Miller and Ray Mock256 pages, 9-1/2 x 11-1/2 inches, hardcover, $50Monacelli Press, New YorkNovember 2019Also available on AmazonISBN 9781580935258

* Approximately 60-70 total residents remain at the time of publication (11/2019) of the Chelseas 250 +/- rooms (wall layouts have fluctuated over time)Tony Notarberardinos room, The Hotel Chelsea. Courtesy Colin Miller.

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