Local health care workers overwhelmed as COVID-19 numbers grow – Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper | Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper -…

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NATCHEZ Mississippi State Department of Health reported 862 new confirmed COVID-19 cases statewide and 23 new deaths on Tuesday.

Local officials said local COVID-19 numbers are pushing the limits of an overwhelmed healthcare workers and testing supplies are becoming more limited.

Adams Countys numbers as of Tuesdays statewide report were at 388 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 20 deaths.

Mississippis total of COVID-19 cases since March 11 now stands at 37,542 with 1,272 deaths.

Adams County had 71 active COVID-19 cases in the county as of Monday, said Neifa Hardy, liason officer for the Adams County Emergency Management Agency.

Hardys report came during Mondays meeting of the Natchez COVID-19 Task Force where members reported high numbers of cases in recent weeks.

Our positivity rate for Adams County is holding at approximately 17% compared to the Mississippi rate of 11%, said Norma Williams who tracks COVID-19 numbers for the Natchez COVID-19 Task Force. Please keep in mind the positivity rates that we are reporting will always be understated because the denominator or total testing in Adams County may include people who live in neighboring counties. Therefore, Merit Healths positivity rate would be more accurate. We are just providing this kind of as a reference as a bottom threshold.

Williams said that over the past seven days, July 5 through the July 11, Adams County had an additional 41 new cases bringing the countys total to 351 for a 13% increase.

Also, of the 124 new cases over the past 21 days thats June 21 through July 11 41 of those cases were over the past week, July 5 through July 11, Williams said. On July 8 we had 17 new cases matching our July 4 of 17 new cases and just under our record high of 18 cases on June 8. Keep in mind since our data is on a one-day lag we had another seven new cases reported by the Mississippi department of health, which brings our revised total to 358 cases.

Williams reported two new deaths in Adams County over the seven-day period, which represents an 11% increase over the prior week.

Likewise, Concordia Parish had 30 new cases for a total of 147 or a 26% increase over that same seven-day period July 5 through the 11th. Also, of the 46 new cases over the past 21 days in Concordia Parish 30 of those cases were over the past week alone, Williams said. Concordia also had an additional four new cases reported yesterday (Sunday) from their Louisiana Department of Health bringing their revised total to 151 cases.

Concordia Parish reported another new death and now has a total of nine deaths, Williams said.

Task Force Chairman Dr. Lee England said he is currently caring for numerous COVID-19 patients and the area Mississippi State Department of Health workers are overwhelmed in conducting contact tracings for individuals exposed to COVID in the nine county area comprising the MSDHs District 7 that includes Adams County.

They can do 50 per day but they have got a load of 300 to do and that is as of Friday, England said. They are getting overwhelmed.

England said it is important for people to wear masks to help curtail the spread of COVID-19.

It appears to me to really have a functioning economy in this environment, everybody is going to have to wear the masks and if we dont we will falter with the economy because of employees that have to be quarantined and cases that take people out of work and nothing will function, England said. That becomes increasingly important now.

The alternative is to face another lockdown similar to the one enacted earlier in the year.

A lockdown works, England said. Weve seen that but nobody wants that. On the other hand if things get really bad people will lock themselves down even without a government order. They will be scared enough to not want to go out.

Merit Health Natchez CEO Lance Boyd said the hospital as of Monday the hospital had 10 COVID-19 patients.

Last Monday we had six patients with COVID positive in the hospital and it quickly rose to eight and then 11 and then 13 in sequential days and it started to drop back to 11, then 10 and currently today (Monday) we have 10 patients and no patients on the ventilator are related to COVID, Boyd said. We did transfer two out this weekend from the ER that were positive. We sent those to high-level care. They had some pretty serious other issues going on but currently we sit at 10.

Boyd said Merit has several staff members who are out after having tested positive for COVID-19.

It may or may not be because of their work environment, Boyd said. As best we can tell in the general community it is growing like crazy so these folks may or may not be getting it at work. Regardless they are not able to work once they contract it.

Boyd reiterated that the original lockdown in March was in part to keep the hospitals from getting overwhelmed.

we knew there was a finite amount of resources, Boyd said. Southwest Hospital in McComb has been on diversion since last week, meaning they are not taking any additional patients because they had a numerous amount of nurses who were out with COVID and they did not have the staff to take care of the patients that needed the help.

Merit is now seeing many patients that would have gone to the McComb hospital now come to Natchez.

Once McComb gets shutdown then the patients are rerouted here, then to Brookhaven, Boyd said. You can see how that can overwhelm the system. Employee cases are a concern. Not just that they can catch it here but they can catch it at the market as well.

Boyd said MSDH issued a notice on Friday to suspend elective medical procedures because of increased hospitalizations across the state.

If it is an elective procedure, meaning it is elective and not urgent, they have been suspended again, Boyd said. They are going to look at that again on July 20 to see where the curve is but that is just one change that has happened there.

Boyd said COVID testing supplies are low at the hospital and they are no longer testing asymptomatic people.

Boyd said the hospital with 10 COVID-19 patients is not at capacity for COVID-19 patients.

The most we have had at any one time here is 19 and that was back in April but we had nine on the ventilators at that time so it is hard to put a number on it, but we do know if we doubled our numbers right now that would be a very stressful almost a fracture point for us because the staff is worn out, Boyd said. They have been doing this since March and it is not a pleasant environment to have to dress down and dress out so that is the real challenge. The staff is worn out.

More details of COVID-19 in the state, along with preventive steps to take against coronavirus and statewide testing locations, are online athttp://HealthyMS.com/covid-19.

The Mississippi Coronavirus Hotline is the best way to get your questions about COVID-19 answered. Call 877-978-6453 from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week.

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Local health care workers overwhelmed as COVID-19 numbers grow - Mississippi's Best Community Newspaper | Mississippi's Best Community Newspaper -...

Healthcare Ready Receives Grants and Donations to Bolster COVID-19 Response – Business Wire

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WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Healthcare Ready today announced it has recently received financial contributions from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP), The AmerisourceBergen Foundation, the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and the PhRMA Foundation to support its work responding to identified needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a national nonprofit organization, Healthcare Ready strengthens healthcare supply chains through collaboration with public health and private sectors by addressing pressing issues before, during, and after disasters.

We are extremely grateful for the generous funding provided by the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, AmerisourceBergen Foundation, PhRMA and PhRMAs Foundation that will enable us to expand our multi-faceted COVID-19 pandemic response efforts, said Nicolette Louissaint, PhD, executive director of Healthcare Ready. Now more than ever, we need to work closely with our partners on the frontlines, readying the healthcare supply chain to respond to and recover from disruptions caused by the impact of this novel coronavirus, and these grants allow us to maintain that steady strain of support, especially in hard-hit communities.

Grant and donation details:

Were pleased to support expansion of Healthcare Readys COVID-19 response as they work with their partners on the frontlines, readying the healthcare supply chain to respond to and recover from disruptions in the communities where they serve, said Sally Ray, director of strategic initiatives at the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. Healthcare Readys mission is a critical component of our nations health and wellbeing and were grateful for their unwavering dedication and commitment.

We recognize that complex healthcare challenges like COVID-19 require true partnerships at every level. To maximize the impact of our Foundation, it was critical to work with an organization like Healthcare Ready that would allow us to work hand-in-hand in order to expand access to quality care and truly improve the wellbeing of our patient populations, said Gina Clark, President of the AmerisourceBergen Foundation. Supporting Healthcare Ready aligns with our commitment to make a difference in our communities, especially during this time of unprecedented uncertainty.

PhRMA and the PhRMA Foundation are proud to be long-time supporters of Healthcare Ready, said Eileen Cannon of PhRMA Foundation. Its a one-of-a-kind organization that has the unique ability to leverage its relationships with the healthcare supply chain, patient organizations, and providers to address current needs and protect patient access to medicine in times of crisis, whether its a natural disaster or health pandemic.

Since January, we have been supporting the nations COVID-19 response and that experience has given us valuable insight into what is needed most among the communities that need us most, said Louissaint. This timely, outcomes-based support from these organizations will enable Healthcare Ready to continue to provide meaningful contributions to our healthcare supply chain to help prepare and steady the populations that need it most.

About Healthcare Ready

Healthcare Ready is a preparedness and response nonprofit organization that helps to strengthen healthcare supply chains through collaboration with public health and private sectors by addressing pressing issues before, during, and after disasters. As a convener of industry and government, the organization safeguards patient health by providing solutions to critical problems and best practices for healthcare preparedness and response. For more information, visit http://www.healthcareready.org.

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Healthcare Ready Receives Grants and Donations to Bolster COVID-19 Response - Business Wire

Industry VoicesVirtually or in person, automation improves the healthcare experience – FierceHealthcare

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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented shift in the way consumers view and access a variety of goods and servicesand healthcare is no exception. Recent studies show that many patients, including vulnerable populations like those living with cancer (PDF), are delaying recommended care and proceduresand will continue to do so for at least several months amid fears over the safety of in-person visits. In response, reports of providers adapting to offer care virtually are all the more commonplace, with almost half of physicians now treating patients through telemedicine platforms, up from just 18% in 2018.

These trends have solidified virtual care as a mainstay, and, as a result, the virtual visit has become a commoditya service that can be provided by many capable vendors. However, the logistics that power the adoption of virtual care are often overlooked. As healthcare administrators turn to telemedicine to resume non-urgent healthcare services, we must ensure that best-in-class technology solutions are utilized to improve the virtual care experiencefor providers, clinical staff and, importantly, patients.

Health systems and their networks face significant operational issues when delivering care in a remote setting due to the range of potential interactions and diversity of devicesadding to the already recognized administrative burden that comes with routine patient care. With each patient visit comes over a dozen manual tasks, including patient intake and registration, in-visit clinical note writing as well as back-office billing and claims processing. The virtual visit adds even more steps, such as helping patients access the appropriate technology for a two-way video interface or sending custom links to a virtual waiting room at the right time.

On-Demand Webinar: Using Secure Patient Communications for Curbside Check-In

Learn how healthcare organizations are using virtual check-in to deliver patient-centric experiences that are safe, convenient and secure. Watch this 30-minute on-demand webinar to learn more.

Facilitating a seamless virtual care experience before, during and after a patients visit should be top of mindparticularly as patient expectations have heightened and healthcare has progressed toward a technology-enabled future. Fortunately, the automation of operational workflows can help healthcare administrators smooth the friction around conducting virtual visits at scale.

Intelligent automation extends our capacity in healthcare by enabling us to do more with the same workforce and technology infrastructure. In fact, digital medical assistants can use artificial intelligence to automate repetitive, cognitively tiring and error-prone tasks. This technology can support the influx of virtual visits by offloading administrative processes such as co-payment collection, clinical documentation and pre-population of common clinical orders.

For patients not as familiar with digital interactions and the variety of telemedicine modalities, which can include platforms like Amwell, Doctor on Demand and Teladoc or video conference solutions like RingCentral and Zoom, participating in virtual visits can be a daunting change. Additional technological challenges associated with virtual care can result in heightened frustration, increased no-show rates or decreased activation, so maintaining patient engagement throughout the patient journey is even more important in a virtual environment. Digital medical assistants can automate appointment reminders, offer detailed setup guidance for patients and provide just-in-time virtual visit links to ensure patients and providers can make the most of their time together.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also introduced new variables and risks that patients, providers and healthcare institutions at large must consider when seeking and delivering care. Until recently, it was a relatively straightforward process to determine where a patient should receive routine care. Now, given the risk of disease spread, providers find themselves considering which patients to see, when to see them and whether to see them virtually or in person. This creates additional complexity in determining when to schedule patients and in which medium to conduct the visit. Platforms that leverage intelligent automation can help clinical teams prescreen all scheduled patients, collect a thorough medical history, intelligently segment patients into risk cohorts and triage each cohort to an individualized destination, be it a return to in-person care or a virtual environment.

In the virtual exam room, things also look a little different. From the providers perspective, one of the oft-cited drawbacks of virtual visits is the limited ability to measure vital signs, perform a physical exam or order point-of-care diagnostics. At-home diagnostics, wearable devices and remote patient monitoring tools allow providers to collect continuous clinical data that can be gathered asynchronously and quickly, resulting in a more comprehensive picture of a patients health. Further, platforms that use intelligent automation algorithms to organize data collected across the care continuum can parse these data streams to identify at-risk patients and then automate outreach and care management to follow clinical care pathways.

The COVID-19 pandemic has given us a unique opportunity to reimagine healthcare using a modern suite of technology for patients, providers and staff that does away with outdated and inefficient processes. But we also have a responsibility to replace them with solutions that improve digital experiences by supporting patients before visits, automating repetitive workflows and parsing large amounts of data to support clinical decision-making.

Combining intelligent automation with virtual visits creates a powerful tool to efficiently manage patient populations and offer an experience that feels intuitive, while enabling healthcare systems to do more with less. By accelerating the digital transformation of healthcare today, we can position ourselves for a future of increased capacity, decreased overhead and improved quality.

Muthu Alagappan, M.D., is an attending physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, a trained engineer and medical director at Notable Health, a healthcare experience automation company.

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Industry VoicesVirtually or in person, automation improves the healthcare experience - FierceHealthcare

Watch NASA/ESA Solar Orbiter Mission First Image Release Closer to Sun That Any Spacecraft in History – SciTechDaily

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By NASAJuly 14, 2020

ESAs Solar Orbiter mission will face the Sun from within the orbit of Mercury at its closest approach. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab

Scientists from NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) will release the first data captured by Solar Orbiter, the joint ESA/NASA mission to study the Sun, during an online news briefing at 8 a.m. EDT Thursday, July 16. The briefing will stream live on NASAs website.

In mid-June, Solar Orbiter made its first close pass of the Sun following its Feb. 9 launch, turning on all 10 of its instruments together for the first time. This flyby captured the closest images ever taken of the Sun. During the briefing, mission experts will discuss what these closeup images reveal about our star, including what we can learn from Solar Orbiters new measurements of particles and magnetic fields flowing from the Sun.

Participants in the briefing include:

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Watch NASA/ESA Solar Orbiter Mission First Image Release Closer to Sun That Any Spacecraft in History - SciTechDaily

Nasa post sparks panic that everyone’s starsigns have changed but the truth is more complicated – The Independent

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Numerous new articles have suggested that Nasa has all of a sudden changed everyone's starsigns.

The news has led people to panic that they have lost some important part of their identity that their sign might have been wrong all along, and that not only their horoscopes but their entire character may have been a lie.

But Nasa has done no such thing, and it has neither the power to alter starsigns, nor any particular interest in doing so.

Sharing the full story, not just the headlines

The stories do however make reference to an interesting though not at all new fact about how the constellations change, and the implications that they could have for people who believe in astrology and horoscopes.

The new stories appeared all across the media in recent days, and made reference to the fact that the arrangement of the stars above our heads have changed over the course of the thousands of years since the Babylonians first happened upon them, 3,000 years ago.

They noted, correctly, that Nasa has in the past spoken about the phenomenon of "axial precession", or the fact that the Earth wobbles as it rotates, a little like a spinning top. That effect means that the stars appear from Earth to be in a different place from where they were 3,000 years ago, and so the constellations that make up the starsigns have moved, too.

They were also correct that Nasa had also told the story of how the Babylonians had looked to fit the 13 constellations into the easily divisible 12 months of the year, and so removed one known as Ophiuchus from their charts. Some of the articles claimed that Nasa "created" Ophiuchus, but it was and is a constellation that was in the sky when the current system of the zodiac was made, and all Nasa did was point that out.

But both of those things happened thousands of years ago, and are well established facts. So the modern-day use of the starsigns were formed in full knowledge of that information.

Since astrology is a system used by humans to discuss their lives, it does not necessarily need to line up with the stars as they actually are. As such, people can stick with their existing starsign, or opt to use their supposedly newly calculated one the only thing that really matters is that the astrologers who then use those starsigns are using the same system.

If everyone switched to the more contemporary system of 13 starsigns and different dates then it could feasibly be said that people have been given a new starsign. But that does not appear to be happening, and as long as it does then people can stick with their existing understanding of themselves and their horoscopes.

Mystic Mountain, a pillar of gas and dust standing at three-light-years tall, bursting with jets of gas from fledgling stars buried within, was captured by Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope in February 2010

Nasa/ESA/STScI

The first ever selfie taken on an alien planet, captured by Nasa's Curiosity Rover in the early days of its mission to explore Mars in 2012

Nasa/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Death of a star: This image from Nasa's Chandra X-ray telescope shows the supernova of Tycho, a star in our Milky Way galaxy

Nasa

Arrokoth, the most distant object ever explored, pictured here on 1 January 2019 by a camera on Nasa's New Horizons spaceraft at a distance of 4.1 billion miles from Earth

Getty

An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory in January 2012. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust

Nasa

The first ever image of a black hole, captured by the Event Horizon telescope, as part of a global collaboration involving Nasa, and released on 10 April 2019. The image reveals the black hole at the centre of Messier 87, a massive galaxy in the nearby Virgo galaxy cluster. This black hole resides about 54 million light-years from Earth

Getty

Pluto, as pictured by Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft as it flew over the dwarf planet for the first time ever in July 2015

Nasa/APL/SwRI

A coronal mass ejection as seen by the Chandra Observatory in 2019. This is the first time that Chandra has detected this phenomenon from a star other than the Sun

Nasa

Dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks running downhill on the surface Mars were believed to be evidence of contemporary flowing water. It has since been suggested that they may instead be formed by flowing sand

Nasa/JPL/University of Arizona

Morning Aurora: Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station in October 2015

Nasa/Scott Kelly

Mystic Mountain, a pillar of gas and dust standing at three-light-years tall, bursting with jets of gas from fledgling stars buried within, was captured by Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope in February 2010

Nasa/ESA/STScI

The first ever selfie taken on an alien planet, captured by Nasa's Curiosity Rover in the early days of its mission to explore Mars in 2012

Nasa/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Death of a star: This image from Nasa's Chandra X-ray telescope shows the supernova of Tycho, a star in our Milky Way galaxy

Nasa

Arrokoth, the most distant object ever explored, pictured here on 1 January 2019 by a camera on Nasa's New Horizons spaceraft at a distance of 4.1 billion miles from Earth

Getty

An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory in January 2012. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust

Nasa

The first ever image of a black hole, captured by the Event Horizon telescope, as part of a global collaboration involving Nasa, and released on 10 April 2019. The image reveals the black hole at the centre of Messier 87, a massive galaxy in the nearby Virgo galaxy cluster. This black hole resides about 54 million light-years from Earth

Getty

Pluto, as pictured by Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft as it flew over the dwarf planet for the first time ever in July 2015

Nasa/APL/SwRI

A coronal mass ejection as seen by the Chandra Observatory in 2019. This is the first time that Chandra has detected this phenomenon from a star other than the Sun

Nasa

Dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks running downhill on the surface Mars were believed to be evidence of contemporary flowing water. It has since been suggested that they may instead be formed by flowing sand

Nasa/JPL/University of Arizona

Morning Aurora: Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station in October 2015

Nasa/Scott Kelly

Perhaps the most important thing to note is that Nasa has not changed the star signs, or done any of the other things that the stories related to it claim. Many have suggested that the space agency has had a sudden change of heart, made some sort of breakthrough, or decided to confess that it had secretly known that star signs were wrong all along.

But it is not in Nasa's power to change the starsigns, even if it wanted to. And it almost certainly doesn't want to: the space agency has been disparaging of astrology, even in the same post that appears to have led to the current furore.

"It's not science," the post reads, as it discusses how astrology is different from astronomy. "No one has shown that astrology can be used to predict the future or describe what people are like based only on their birth date. Still, like reading fantasy stories, many people enjoy reading their 'astrological forecast' or 'horoscope' in the newspaper every day."

That post has been on Nasa's website for years, and was part of a page intended to educate children on the difference between astronomy and astrology, and how the starsigns originally came about.

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Nasa post sparks panic that everyone's starsigns have changed but the truth is more complicated - The Independent

NASA Warns of ‘Active’ Atlantic Hurricane and Amazon Fire Seasons – Smithsonian Magazine

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The conditions are ripe for an active Atlantic hurricane and Amazon fire season in 2020, according to forecasts from NASA and University of California, Irvine scientists.

Researchers point to warmer than average sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean as a sign of intensified hurricanes and fires to come, Amanda Kooser reports for CNET. [W]armer surface waters near the equator draw moisture northward and away from the southern Amazon, favoring the development of hurricanes, NASA explains in a statement. As a result, the southern Amazon landscape becomes dry and flammable, making human-set fires used for agriculture and land clearing more prone to growing out of control and spreading.

Doug Morton, NASA scientist, says in a statement that the forecast for this year resembles predictions from 2005 and 2010. Those years, warm Atlantic sea surface temperatures spawned a series of severe hurricanes and triggered record droughts across the southern Amazon that culminated in widespread Amazon forest fires, says Morton.

Morton and Yang Chen, a scientist at the University of California, Irvine, created the Amazon fire season forecast, a tool that predicts the severity of each fire season by analyzing the link between climate change and fire occurrences. Right now, the scientists tool predicts a high fire risk in Brazilthe Acre, Mato Grosso, Par and Rondnia statesand the El Beni, Pando, and Santa Cruz departments in Bolivia.

Changes in human fire use, specifically deforestation, add more year-to-year variability in Amazon fires, says Chen in the NASA statement. In addition, climate change is likely to make the entire region drier and more flammableconditions that would allow fires for deforestation or agricultural use to spread into standing Amazon forests.

The regions with high risks were among those most affected by an unprecedented number of fires that swept South America last year. By the time the rainy season arrived in Brazil last December, more than 3,700 square miles of the Amazon had been destroyed by firesthe highest loss in Brazilian rainforest in a decade, according to Matt Sandy of the New York Times. As Kooser reports, human activity such as deforestation greatly exacerbated those fires.

Of course, Morton adds, models can only provide an indication of risknot a clear view of the future. Now, satellite-based estimates of active fires and rainfall will be the best guide to how the 2020 fire season unfolds, says Morton in the statement. Still, he says, 2020 is set up to be a dangerous year for fires in the Amazon.

As Aristos Georgiou reports for Newsweek, this years Atlantic hurricane season has already proved to be a busy one, with six named storms sweeping through the region. Other forecasts have also pointed to increased activity: for instance, researchers at Colorado State University forecasted 20 or more storms for the 2020 season, their highest estimate since 2005, reports meteorologist Taylor Ward for CNN. Hurricane season peaks from August to October, reports Ward.

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NASA Warns of 'Active' Atlantic Hurricane and Amazon Fire Seasons - Smithsonian Magazine

Today in Wrigley Field history: The Cubs host the worst home-run derby ever – Bleed Cubbie Blue

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Wrigley Field was chosen to host the 1990 All-Star Game, the first that would be in the Friendly Confines under the lights and first on the North Side since 1962. As part of the festivities, Wrigley was also scheduled to host a Home Run Derby the day before the game.

The Home Run Derby was something fairly new at the ASG. It had been created in 1985, and back then was a shorter event held in conjunction with All-Star Workout Day, the day before the game. It wasnt televised and took place in the afternoon. Before 1991, the Derby was structured as a two-inning event with each player allowed five outs per inning, without tiebreakers. In fact, this resulted in co-winners in 1986 and 1989.

In practice this had allowed previous winners with only a handful of home runs. The Reds Eric Davis had won the previous years Derby in Anaheim with only three homers. But the eight players in that years contest had combined for 14 long balls.

That wouldnt be the case at Wrigley Field on July 9, 1990.

The eight participants were Ryne Sandberg, Matt Williams, Bobby Bonilla and Darryl Strawberry for the National League and Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Cecil Fielder and Ken Griffey Jr. for the American League. Those eight combined to hit 291 home runs during the 1990 regular season. Fielder hit 51, becoming the first player to hit 50 or more since George Foster in 1977.

In the 1990 Home Run Derby, these eight players combined for five home runs, three of them by Sandberg, who became the Derby champion, fun for the hometown crowd. The only other dingers were hit by Williams and McGwire, one each.

Why did this happen? Chicagos notoriously capricious weather. The day before the Derby, Sunday, July 8, had been hot and humid, with temperatures in the 90s and strong southwest winds. Too bad the Derby couldnt have been held that day, Waveland and Sheffield would have been annihilated by baseballs. But overnight Sunday into Monday, a cold front came crashing through. Temperatures dropped into the low 70s, well below average for that time of year, with strong winds blowing from the north.

I was there that afternoon. It felt more like September than July. And the howling winds kept blowing baseballs back into the yard. Sandberg, who was quite familiar with Wrigleys winds, knew how to slash line drives into the bleachers. Here is the only video I could find of Rynos heroics that afternoon:

The results of this Home Run Derby were so bad that the format was changed the following year, expanding to three rounds. From 19912006, 8-10 players were selected and instead of five outs, 10 were allowed for each round, after which the count was re-et, with the top four advancing to the second round, and the top two advancing to the final.

The difference was immediate 27 home runs were hit in the 1991 Derby in Toronto, with Cal Ripken Jr. the winner with 12, and 40 were hit in 1992 in San Diego. Now, of course, players routinely hit a couple dozen per round, and that provides a much better show, especially for ESPN in prime time.

But I, for one, will never forget the 1990 Home Run Derby, when the Wrigley Field wind defeated almost all of the games best home run hitters. It all happened 30 years ago today.

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Today in Wrigley Field history: The Cubs host the worst home-run derby ever - Bleed Cubbie Blue

Do Not Play Russian Roulette With the Lives of Our Children and Teachers – Common Dreams

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Are you responsible for gambling with another persons life?

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court says yes.

Back in 1947, James Malone, 17, and William Long, 13,played a version of Russian Roulette during a sleepover.

Malone stole a revolver from his uncle and Long sneaked into his fathers room and got a bullet.

They put the cartridge in a chamber, spun the cylinder and then took turns pointing the gun at each other and pulling the trigger.On the third try, Malone put the gun to Longs head, pulled the trigger and the gun fired, killing Long.

Malone was convicted of second degree murder even though he said he hadnt intended to kill his friend.

The case,Commonwealth v. Malone, eventually went to the state Supreme Court where justices upheld the conviction.

They ruled:

When an individual commits an act of gross recklessness without regard to the probability that death to another is likely to result, that individual exhibits the state of mind required to uphold a conviction of manslaughter even if the individual did not intend for death to ensue.

Lawmakers and school administrators better pay heed to this and similar nationwide decisions.

Reopening schools to in-person classes during the COVID-19 pandemic istantamount to Russian Roulette with the lives of students, teachers and families.

Every day with this virus in the physical classroom is like spinning the cylinder and pulling the trigger.

You might survive, but every time you enter the building your chances of getting sick increase untilthe law of averages will come for someone perhaps many someones.

The safest course is to continue with distance learning in the fall despite the numerous academic problems with that method of instruction.

With Coronavirus cases rising byabout 50,000 a day in the United States, there issimply too much virus out thereto ensure anyones safety in the physical classroom.

Students inevitably will get sick and spread the disease to adults teachers and their own families.

We cant take such chances with peoples lives.

But dont just take my word for it.

Decisions makers are taking the possibility seriously enough to try to change the laws to reduce their liability.

They want to ensure they wont end up in court if they reopen schools and people get sick.

In May,Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called for schools to be legally protected from lawsuitsthat could arise due to resuming classes.

Along with fellow Republican Senator John Cornyn, McConnell proposed new liability laws protecting schools and businesses from Coronavirus-related lawsuits.

McConnell told reporters:

Can you image the nightmare that could unfold this fall when K-12 kids are still at home, when colleges and universities are still not open? That is a scenario that would only be further aggravated in the absence of some kind of liability protection that reassures school administrators that they can actually open up again Without it, frankly thats just not going to happen as soon as it should have.

The Kentucky Senator went on Fox News in late April saying that such legal protections would be necessary for Republicans to even consider any new Coronavirus relief bills.

And its not just lawmakers.In May, 14 college presidents from around the country teleconferenced with Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos asking for the same thing.

According to those who were either on the call or were knowledgeable about the conversation, the college presidents said they needed to know their institutions would not get sued if people got sick which they thought was almost a certainty.

One way the federal government can help is to have some kind of liability protection, said University of Texas at El Paso president Heather Wilson, who was on the call. Wilson is a former Republican congresswoman from New Mexico.

Big business is also calling for liability protection. Groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have been asking to be freed during the pandemic from being held liable if workers, customers or others get sick on their property. Notably, a lawyer for Texas Christian University told senators such a situation is foreseeable, perhaps inevitable.

All of which begsthe question of what we mean by safety.

Is it our responsibility to make sure customers, workers, students and teachers are safe from the virus? Or is it our responsibility to make sure businesses and schools arent sued for taking chances with our lives?

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There are things we can do to increase safety.

We should not reopen schools until the county where it is located reports zero new Coronavirus cases for two weeks. That would be taking safety seriously.

And it shouldnt be too much to ask because other countries have been able to do such things.

Other nations have been able to test for the virusand identify those who have the disease. They have been able to trace these peoples contacts and isolate them from the rest of the population.

But that requires a vast expansion of our testing ability through coordinated federal action.

The problem is our lawmakers dont care enough to do this.

Nor are they willing to provide us with federal relief checks, personal protective equipment (PPE), protection from evictions, and universal healthcare so that were can weather the storm.

Itsmuch easier to protect business from consumers and protect schools from the kids, teachers and families who make up the community.

Some will say the danger is overblown.

Children, in particular, are less susceptible to COVID-19 than older people.

And while its true that young people have shown fewer symptoms andinclude the lowest numbers of deaths, this virus has been around barely more than a year. We simply dont know much about it and its long term effects.

A recentstudy from the journal the Lancetfound that teenagers are just as susceptible to the disease as older people.

Researchers found few children 5-9 (the youngest included in the study) who had contracted the disease but those ages 10-19 were as likely to contract it as people ages 20-49 and more likely than adults older than that.

Soeven if young people remain mostly asymptomatic, it is entirely possible they can spread the disease to older people who have a more difficult time fighting it off.

Theonly consensus about children and COVID-19 is that we dont know enough about how it affects young people.

We certainly dont want to end up like countries that have opened schools too quickly with too high infection rates.

In May, two weeksafter Israel fully reopened schools, there was a COVID-19 outbreak. There were at least 130 cases at a single school. Students and staff were infected at dozens of schools causing a rash of renewed closings.

We should not be taking chances with schools.

Any action comes with some level of risk, butwe should err on the side of caution.

Our government needs to serve us.

Representatives who do not serve our interests need to be sent packing.

And anyone who gambles with our lives needs to be held liable.

Anyone who demands we place our heads against the barrel of a loaded gun as a prerequisite to jump start the economy, needs to be held responsible for that decision.

Thechances of dying during the first round of a game of Russian Rouletteusing a standard six-shot revolver is 1/6. With each pull, the chances increase 1/5, 1/4, etc.

The average number of consecutive pulls before the gun fires is 3.5.

We know more about that than the Coronavirus.

In effect, we dont know how many chambers are loaded, but we know there are bullets in the gun.

There are too many hidden factors to be able to say for sure what our chances are exactly. And in the presence of such ignorance, we should assume the worst.

Thats exactly what decision makers are doing by trying to protect themselves from responsibility.

We should take that as seriously as a loaded gun put to our temples.

More here:

Do Not Play Russian Roulette With the Lives of Our Children and Teachers - Common Dreams

For Teachers and Families This Is Not a Game – LA Progressive

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Are you responsible for gambling with another persons life?

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court says yes.

Back in 1947, James Malone, 17, and William Long, 13, played a version of Russian Roulette during a sleepover.

Malone stole a revolver from his uncle and Long sneaked into his fathers room and got a bullet.

They put the cartridge in a chamber, spun the cylinder and then took turns pointing the gun at each other and pulling the trigger. On the third try, Malone put the gun to Longs head, pulled the trigger and the gun fired, killing Long.

Malone was convicted of second degree murder even though he said he hadnt intended to kill his friend.

The case, Commonwealth v. Malone, eventually went to the state Supreme Court where justices upheld the conviction.

They ruled:

When an individual commits an act of gross recklessness without regard to the probability that death to another is likely to result, that individual exhibits the state of mind required to uphold a conviction of manslaughter even if the individual did not intend for death to ensue.

Lawmakers and school administrators better pay heed to this and similar nationwide decisions.

Reopening schools to in-person classes during the COVID-19 pandemic is tantamount to Russian Roulette with the lives of students, teachers and families.

You might survive, but every time you enter the building your chances of getting sick increase until the law of averages will come for someone perhaps many someones.

Every day with this virus in the physical classroom is like spinning the cylinder and pulling the trigger.

You might survive, but every time you enter the building your chances of getting sick increase until the law of averages will come for someone perhaps many someones.

The safest course is to continue with distance learning in the fall despite the numerous academic problems with that method of instruction.

With Coronavirus cases rising by about 50,000 a day in the United States, there is simply too much virus out there to ensure anyones safety in the physical classroom.

Students inevitably will get sick and spread the disease to adults teachers and their own families.

We cant take such chances with peoples lives.

But dont just take my word for it.

Decisions makers are taking the possibility seriously enough to try to change the laws to reduce their liability.

They want to ensure they wont end up in court if they reopen schools and people get sick.

In May, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called for schools to be legally protected from lawsuits that could arise due to resuming classes.

Along with fellow Republican Senator John Cornyn, McConnell proposed new liability laws protecting schools and businesses from Coronavirus-related lawsuits.

McConnell told reporters:

Can you image the nightmare that could unfold this fall when K-12 kids are still at home, when colleges and universities are still not open? That is a scenario that would only be further aggravated in the absence of some kind of liability protection that reassures school administrators that they can actually open up again Without it, frankly thats just not going to happen as soon as it should have.

The Kentucky Senator went on Fox News in late April saying that such legal protections would be necessary for Republicans to even consider any new Coronavirus relief bills.

College presidents said they needed to know their institutions would not get sued if people got sick which they thought was almost a certainty.

And its not just lawmakers. In May, 14 college presidents from around the country teleconferenced with Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos asking for the same thing.

According to those who were either on the call or were knowledgeable about the conversation, the college presidents said they needed to know their institutions would not get sued if people got sick which they thought was almost a certainty.

One way the federal government can help is to have some kind of liability protection, said University of Texas at El Paso president Heather Wilson, who was on the call. Wilson is a former Republican congresswoman from New Mexico.

Big business is also calling for liability protection. Groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have been asking to be freed during the pandemic from being held liable if workers, customers or others get sick on their property. Notably, a lawyer for Texas Christian University told senators such a situation is foreseeable, perhaps inevitable.

All of which begs the question of what we mean by safety.

Is it our responsibility to make sure customers, workers, students and teachers are safe from the virus? Or is it our responsibility to make sure businesses and schools arent sued for taking chances with our lives?

There are things we can do to increase safety.

We should not reopen schools until the county where it is located reports zero new Coronavirus cases for two weeks. That would be taking safety seriously.

And it shouldnt be too much to ask because other countries have been able to do such things.

Other nations have been able to test for the virus and identify those who have the disease. They have been able to trace these peoples contacts and isolate them from the rest of the population.

But that requires a vast expansion of our testing ability through coordinated federal action.

The problem is our lawmakers dont care enough to do this.

Nor are they willing to provide us with federal relief checks, personal protective equipment (PPE), protection from evictions, and universal healthcare so that were can weather the storm.

Its much easier to protect business from consumers and protect schools from the kids, teachers and families who make up the community.

Some will say the danger is overblown.

Children, in particular, are less susceptible to COVID-19 than older people.

And while its true that young people have shown fewer symptoms and include the lowest numbers of deaths, this virus has been around barely more than a year. We simply dont know much about it and its long term effects.

A recent study from the journal the Lancet found that teenagers are just as susceptible to the disease as older people.

Researchers found few children 5-9 (the youngest included in the study) who had contracted the disease but those ages 10-19 were as likely to contract it as people ages 20-49 and more likely than adults older than that.

So even if young people remain mostly asymptomatic, it is entirely possible they can spread the disease to older people who have a more difficult time fighting it off.

The only consensus about children and COVID-19 is that we dont know enough about how it affects young people.

We certainly dont want to end up like countries that have opened schools too quickly with too high infection rates.

In May, two weeks after Israel fully reopened schools, there was a COVID-19 outbreak. There were at least 130 cases at a single school. Students and staff were infected at dozens of schools causing a rash of renewed closings.

We should not be taking chances with schools.

Representatives who do not serve our interests need to be sent packing. And anyone who gambles with our lives needs to be held liable.

Any action comes with some level of risk, but we should err on the side of caution.

Our government needs to serve us.

Representatives who do not serve our interests need to be sent packing.

And anyone who gambles with our lives needs to be held liable.

Anyone who demands we place our heads against the barrel of a loaded gun as a prerequisite to jump-start the economy needs to be held responsible for that decision.

The chances of dying during the first round of a game of Russian Roulette using a standard six-shot revolver is 1/6. With each pull, the chances increase 1/5, 1/4, etc.

The average number of consecutive pulls before the gun fires is 3.5.

We know more about that than the Coronavirus.

In effect, we dont know how many chambers are loaded, but we know there are bullets in the gun.

Thats exactly what decision makers are doing by trying to protect themselves from responsibility.

We should take that as seriously as a loaded gun put to our temples.

Steven SingerGadflyOnThe Wall

Read the original here:

For Teachers and Families This Is Not a Game - LA Progressive

The Complete Guide to Scout’s tips and advice for FPL Gameweek 36+ – Fantasy Football Scout

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Welcome to the Fantasy Football Scout Guide to Gameweek 36+. Todays deadline is at 19:15 BST still time to consider those all important transfer and captaincy decisions.

Following a Gameweek in which many differential options scored well, managers are on the lookout for the next opportunity to help them climb the ranks.

The two outstanding bets appear to be a flutter on the Pep Roulette or a fired-up Chelsea against an already-relegated Norwich City.

A total of six players from these teams feature in the Scout Picks.

Since the restart, Manchester City have been creating by far the best chances of any Premier League side. Their expected goals total of 19.21 is way ahead of the second-best team for this statistic, Chelsea, on 12.73.

But we dont need stats to tell us City are a good bet the problem is picking the right player.

Joe stunned Az and Andy on the Scoutcast this week when the typically safe and unadventurous manager revealed he is looking to sign and captain David Silva.

And Joe is not alone in coveting El Mago.

Gran Canarias most successful footballing export is picked out by Pro Pundit Tom Freeman in his regular differentials piece.

After being omitted from the starting line-up against Brighton, he is fancied to start against a Bournemouth side missing influential centre-back Nathan Ak.

Since the restart, and bearing in mind hes been limited to just four starts, Silva has had more opposition half touches than any other teammate. He also sits top for successful passes in the final third, and second for chances created and big chances created.

At under five per cent ownership, the Spanish playmaker looks to be this weeks standout differential.

However, in Davids Captain Sensible article, its the Brazilian Jesus who tops a number of key stats.

Over his last four matches, Azs favourite player has taken 16 shots inside the box, including six big chances.

And while opponents Bournemouth have been better at the back in recent games than one might expect, that really shouldnt put us off:

The four teams who have most recently faced Manchester City are all in the bottom half for this statistic, especially Brighton and Newcastle, whose xGC scores took a battering during a battle with Guardiolas relentless attackers.

Of course the big question is who will start for City?

As mentioned, David Silva is widely expected to be named in the starting XI but nothing is certain with Seor Guardiola.

To help us, site moderator Legoman has put together a useful colour-coded matrix:

Detailing the minutes played by each key asset, it gives us a clue about what we might expect against Bournemouth.

Its also worth keeping in mind that following their outing against the Cherries on Wednesday, Peps troops have just two days rest before their important cup semi-final against Arsenal. A match in which the rotating Catalan is sure to name his strongest line-up.

Frank Lampard was fuming after his sides defeat at Sheffield United.

They were better than us physically, in the mind and with the ball, so you lose the game. They were stronger than us. We dont have crowds at the minute so you hear every voice and all I could hear was Sheffield United voices, so they were stronger in that sense.

Fair to say we can expect a reaction against Norwich City.

And following Daniel Farkes sides capitulation at the hands of West Ham and a delighted Michail Antonio in particular the Blues are expected to profit.

Willian and Christian Pulisic would appear to offer the best routes into the Chelsea attack. David notes:

If Willian is going to play, he seems the most complete Chelsea asset when weighed up across all the categories. He is the most creative, competes reasonably with Pulisic and the two forwards for shots in the box but gets bigger chances and is more accurate than the American.

Managers could benefit from early team news ahead of todays deadline, and that could bring Olivier Giroud or Tammy Abraham into the equation.

The pair have shared minutes since the restart. But a place in the first XI for either would surely mark them out as an enticing differential, albeit not one that would be a reliable starter for the remainder of the season.

And lets not forget West Ham and Antonio. The out-of-position midfielder is thriving in the centre-forwards role, and his promising underlying stats ahead of the Canaries clash persuaded well-known Scoutcasters to invest.

Greyhead was his usual puntastic-self in the latest installment of The Great and the Good. The chronicler of the FPL Rat Pack reported on the positive rank swings for Az and Andy, who both benefited from Antonios incredible haul. The Hammers talisman remains a differential at just 3.4 per cent ownership.

Southampton scored the last goal of Gameweek 35+ to level the scores at Old Trafford. The Saints started strongly with Stuart Armstrong scoring the opening goal of the evening.

But while the Scot has been putting in some excellent performances of late producing attacking returns in four of his last six matches the focus for many is on Danny Ings.

Still in the race for the Golden Boot four goals behind Jamie Vardy he has the backing of his manager Ralph Hasenhuttl. Speaking after the win over Watford in Gameweek 32+, the Saints boss enthused:

I think anything is possible [with regards to the race for the Golden Boot]. We will play with him the last six games and then he will have six chances to score. If he gets the chance you can see how fantastic his finishing is at the moment. He seems fitter than ever. He was very hard working in the shutdown and that gives him now fantastic physical options.

However, the demands of the fixture schedule is giving FPL managers pause for thought.

Pro Pundit Zophar updated us on the varying rest periods for Premier League teams in this latest offering. Southamptons harsh schedule could make the six-time top 5,000 boss reconsider his planned move:

I was originally thinking of doing the Jamie Vardy to Ings move but the Saints congested schedule has me a bit worried. Ings has been a machine of late but his fitness issues in the past are well documented and will they possibly flare up again with matches so close? The Saints pressing style could suffer too with low recovery periods. Something to ponder.

Selling Jamie Vardy is a dilemma for many in the community.

Maximus Bonimus Pointimus sought opinion in a hot topic Leicesters fixtures and a number of first-team absentees could potentially see the Golden Boot leader shown the door.

Compared to Peps squad spinning, Ole Gunnar Solskjr is wonderfully reliable. The Norwegian named an unchanged side for the fifth game running against Southampton.

Although selecting the right three to own still requires some thought, with a number of options vying for a place in our squads. Pro Pundit Sam invited opinion on the ideal trio in the comments section.

Meanwhile, TheFantasyFreK shared his insights in his regular Gameweek review. Top of the agenda was just how unlucky Mohamed Salah-owners had been:

Salah recorded as many big chances as Sterling (two each) and in fact, fared better for shots in the box (four vs three) and minutes per expected goal involvement (66 vs 74).

With impressive underlying stats the Egyptian tallied eight shots in his previous outing against Brighton Salah remains a contender for the captaincy.

Dont forget to check out the latest Team News and Predicted Line-ups brought to us by Neale and, as usual, G-Whizz has been kind enough to supply the best odds of a clean sheet.

Lastly, a heads up that the penultimate FPL deadline of the season is this coming Saturday at 16:30 BST.

A full round-up of community competitions will follow this article.

The Head-to-Head leagues have been updated for Gameweek 35+, results and tables are currently showing on the main Head-to-Head page.

The fixtures for Gameweek 36+ are below:

May your arrows be green!

Full-year memberships are now available for the price of 17.50, which will give subscribers access to the end of 2019/20 and the whole of 2020/21. Monthly subscriptions also cost just 2.99.

Join now to get the following:

ALREADY A USER? CLICK HERE TO UPGRADE YOUR FREE ACCOUNT

NEW TO SCOUT? CLICK HERE TO START A MEMBERSHIP ACCOUNT

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The Complete Guide to Scout's tips and advice for FPL Gameweek 36+ - Fantasy Football Scout

The ‘Flight 93’ election has ended in disaster – The Week

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Easily the most influential pro-Trump essay of the 2016 election cycle was "The Flight 93 Election" by the pseudonymous author Publius Decius Mus (later revealed to be author Michael Anton, who went on to serve on Donald Trump's national security council and who, 16 years prior to that, was my boss when I briefly served as a speechwriter for then-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani).

The essay, a masterpiece of lurid metaphor and ideological hysteria, made, at its core, a very simple argument: Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was the equivalent of a terrorist hijacker who, if given control of our plane/country, was certain to kill us all. Empowering Trump's campaign to defeat her was very risky as well, but with Trump seizing the cockpit, the country and above all, the country's conservatives had a shot at survival: "With Trump, at least you can take your chances."

This argument was always comically overwrought and wildly irresponsible, but now, just a few months shy of a full term in office for the Trump administration, it's possible to assess the consequences of tens of millions of Republicans taking their chances on a man unfit in every way (morally, intellectually, temperamentally) to serve as president of the United States. Those consequences are clear: Trump has sent the country into a nosedive from which it is increasingly unlikely to recover.

Which means that the Flight 93 election has ended in national disaster.

Now, it's true, of course, that Anton constructed the scenario in such a way that rendering such a harsh judgment of it or really any judgment of it at all is impossible. Disaster with Clinton was a certainty. Disaster with Trump was likely. If it was averted with Trump, those who backed him would deserve the credit. But if it wasn't averted, well then, at least conservatives had tried for something better and gone down fighting, just like the doomed heroes on the real Flight 93.

It's this style of self-justifying and self-exonerating madman's logic along with its cacophony of clashing murderous metaphors (by the end of the essay's second short paragraph, the image of terrorist hijacking has already been supplanted by talk of "Russian Roulette played with a semi-auto") that inspired Rush Limbaugh to read close to the entirety of the essay on his radio program when it first appeared. Here was an argument that portrayed right-wing American voters as brave soldiers taking a noble risk for the good of the nation by casting a vote in favor of a reality-show conman. How much did those voters have to hate America's political establishment, the administrative state, and what the essay sneeringly described as "Conservatism, Inc.," in order for that to sound like a reasonable proposition?

They had to hate all of it enough to risk putting Donald Trump in charge of the federal government when they had no idea how well or poorly he might handle a crisis. I mean a real national crisis, not the mostly imaginary crises drummed up by ideological entertainers like Limbaugh, who make millions pumping political toxins into the minds of their listeners week after week, month after month, year after year. I mean a crisis like a serious war with a major power or a deadly pandemic arriving on American shores.

It's all well and good to have some political fun playacting The Imminent End of the Republic with Hillary Clinton cast in the role of a female Snidely Whiplash. But really, what exactly did Anton think Clinton would do to destroy the country if she won? "A Hillary presidency will be pedal-to-the-metal on the entire Progressive-left agenda, plus items few of us have yet imagined in our darkest moments." So in other words mostly more of the same old, same old. She'd be a Democrat a member of one of America's two parties pursuing its standard list of policy priorities. I fully grasp that for someone who disagrees strongly with that agenda, this might sound unappealing, maybe even quite bad, for the country. But the baseline of this judgment is normalcy: All things being equal, conservatives think a conservative president is vastly better.

But what about when things are not normal or equal? What about when something bad happens not in "the narrative," which can be spun by professional and amateur propagandists, but in the real world of hard facts and natural processes beyond our capacity to manipulate for partisan gain?

To answer that question, let's consider New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as much an establishment Democrat as Hillary Clinton ever was. Early on in the pandemic, Cuomo received a lot of good press for his frontline handling of the outbreak. But before long, the praise became mixed with criticism over the breathtakingly high death toll in his state, and especially for his (in retrospect, possibly) foolish decision to order nursing homes to take COVID patients. This has led conservatives both to denounce him for incompetence and to mock the mainstream media for lionizing him.

Fair enough. Cuomo undoubtedly made mistakes in responding to a serious crisis as it unfolded in real time. Some of those mistakes may have been quite bad. Yet thoroughness demands that his handling of the pandemic be judged comparatively and in light of where the state has ended up several months out from the worst of the first wave. And by that standard, the New York experience looks comparable to that of many European countries that were also hit hard early on but have come through the pandemic to something at least approaching normalcy. Italy, Belgium, and New York state all had very high early peaks in daily new cases and fatalities that were drastically reduced through strictly enforced lockdowns and widespread testing.

The same cannot at all be said about a very long list of states over the past couple of months, or about the nation as a whole, all of which are moving in the diametrically opposite direction. Donald Trump is overseeing a national disaster the scale of which boggles the mind and surpasses what we're seeing in any other country of the world and with no end in sight.

I'm on the record making the argument that the blame for this deserves to be spread widely and attributed in part to deep seated, civically pathological tendencies in American culture. But that doesn't at all mean the president gets off scot free. He could be fighting the trends rather than making them far worse doing what he could to encourage mask-wearing instead of discouraging it, to get a national testing and tracing program up and running rather than thwarting it, to give schools the funds they need to open safely this fall instead of threatening to cut their funding if they don't open period. Instead, he's amplifying and augmenting our country's worst habits and prejudices, cheering on epidemiologically irresponsible behavior, and (most recently) taking aim at Dr. Anthony Fauci, the person in the Trump administration who has done more than anyone else to respond professionally and responsibly to the public health crisis that confront us.

I said at the start that Trump has sent the country into a nosedive from which it is increasingly unlikely to recover. But that's the same kind of hyperbolic catastrophism that fueled Anton's essay. The unmetaphorical truth is that Donald Trump's victory in 2016 didn't set the nation on the path of utter destruction any more than Hillary Clinton's would have. It merely gave us a president who will end up being significantly responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths, for economic pain and suffering the scope of which will take years or decades to tally, and for vastly accelerating the decline of the United States as a global power.

Having a president as morally repulsive as Trump has also greatly accelerated leftward trends in public opinion and within the Democratic Party that Anton feared would gain ground with a Clinton victory. Progressive activists are in a much stronger position now than they were four years ago, and they're poised to carry considerably greater power and influence into a Biden administration next January.

In just about every respect, following Michael Anton's advice to storm the cockpit has been terrible for the country he professed to want to save.

More:

The 'Flight 93' election has ended in disaster - The Week

Planetwin SKS365 signs with LiveG24 for live games – Yogonet International

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T

hanks to this partnership, Planetwin365 players will be able to entertain themselves with the best live experience at the game table. LiveG24 is specialized in Live Casino Games and offers to its partners and their players the closest land-based casino experience "Online".

Valentina Francione, LiveG24 Commercial Director commented: We are very excited about the partnership with Planetwin365, and we look forward to contribute to their Live Casino expansion.

In addition to Roulette, Blackjack and Baccarat, Planetwin365s customers will be delighted to playAuto Roulette, the new High Low game with side bets based on multiplier, and also the Dual PlayRoulette broadcasted directly from the Land Based Casino.

"We keep going to integrate our offer to meet the needs of an increasingly demanding and various customer base added Troy Cox, Chief Commercial Officer in SKS365 Relying on the best players in the market gives us the opportunity to guarantee one of the highest levels of digital entertainment which stands out for innovation, evolution and, above all, security."

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Planetwin SKS365 signs with LiveG24 for live games - Yogonet International

Simon Firearm & Family Safety Training Offers The Community Personal Safety Classes – Osprey Observer

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Firing a gun may be a new or an awkward experience or just uncomfortable because of a lack of practice for some people. Cora and James Simon want everyone who wants to fire a gun to feel comfortable and safe doing it.

Its our mission to keep people safe and make communities safer, said Cora, co-owner of Simon Firearm & Family Safety Training.

Cora and her husband, James, feel Simon Firearm & Family Safety Training is the reflection of their personal, career and business experience.

It is an organization whose concerns are heavily focused on prevention and avoidance of injury due to the acts of others, while training and preparing individuals for that ever-possible potential confrontation, Cora said. The development of the organization was started in stages as I recognized and became active in Damsel in Defense, whose goal is the nonlethal protection and womens personal empowerment for self-protection, this experience plus my own career in real estate recognizes the vulnerability of these agents.

James, on the other hand, was raised in a firearm environment, so he had an opportunity to learn about guns throughout his growth years.

His career, before retirement, as a CEO in hospitals put him in a 24/7 role of being responsible for the safety of patients, staff, physicians and visitors, Cora said. In some of his hospitals, he was also faced with external disasters that impacted on the hospital.

Simon Firearm & Family Safety Training offers a variety of firearm training and concealed carry classes. In July, it will be offering its Countering the Mass Shooter Threat class. This class will be held on Sunday, July 12.

This program is designed to address a newer and more troubling threat and that is mass or active shooting incidents, Cora said. Our course includes prevention, preparation and practice training for surviving an active shooter event. Our program is designed for houses of worship, businesses, healthcare and community groups.

If you would like to learn more about the various classes offered at Simon Firearm & Family Safety Training, you can visit its Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/Simon-Firearm-Family-Safety-Training or contact Cora Simon by phone at 363-7576 or email at besafe@simonsafetytraining.com.

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Simon Firearm & Family Safety Training Offers The Community Personal Safety Classes - Osprey Observer

Guest opinion: Bringing your ‘A’ game to work and home – Business Record

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"Everything is energy, and thats all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics." --Albert Einstein

What a year this has been! It is no surprise that many of us are physically and mentally exhausted. So much of our energy has been spent responding to the chaos around us. It happened so fast, we didnt even recognize how our personal energy was being consumed daily (sometimes hourly) by the challenges that were popping up everywhere.

The ratio of energy-out to energy-in has been dramatically disproportionate. So now, only halfway into 2020, you may be feeling like there are no reserves left in your energy tank. I feel it too. It has caused me to pause and reflect how I want to show up and engage in the second part of 2020.

My desire is to make a positive impact in the world. That starts with a strategy to fill my energy bucket and be intentional about where I direct it. Here are three essential energy codes I keep top-of-mind as I work to bring my "A" game to work and home.

The energy code of Attitude

One of the greatest gifts we have is choice. Each day offers a new opportunity for how we want to show up. Energy influences how we act, because it is the lens through which we perceive the world. We can see the world as constructive and healing (anabolic energy) or destructive and draining (catabolic energy).

Both types of energy are necessary, but the key is to be aware of how we are approaching situations so we can make a conscious choice and use the energy that best serves us. Attitudinal energy can fuel or drain us, and it influences what we have to offer others. Choose wisely.

The energy code of Alignment

Being aligned is about feeling fulfilled both personally and professionally. We find fulfillment when we tap into our passions, talents and interests. We find meaning here. Especially through the pandemic, it can feel like life is just happening, without any sense of control or ability to align with our true desires.

Yet there are small things we can do daily to bring alignment to our lives. One of my clients had a draining job and she was coming home every day exhausted. Her passion was writing. By integrating 30 minutes of writing into her daily routine she found energy. Pay attention to what brings you meaning and take steps to create alignment. Energy will flow.

The energy code of Action

The wonderful thing about energy is its constant change and movement. Through our actions, we have more control over our personal energy than we may realize. This action code is a personal empowerment code. I implement this principle by outlining my intentions on a written plan. I write down actions I will take over a 31-day period that bring energy into my personal life and into my business.

By focusing on what is right in front of me, 31 days at a time, momentum is created. My energy is constantly flowing, and I am directing it. What actions will you commit to over the next 31 days that will bring energy to your personal and professional life?

By combining Attitude + Alignment + Action we can fill our energy bucket and create a powerful momentum. Be intentional about the way you spend the second half of 2020, and never forget the impact you can make by stepping fully into your "A" game to bring a positive energy to the world.

Dorene MacVeyis the owner of ithrive31, a coaching and personal development company. Dorene has over 25 years corporate leadership experience with Rockwell Collins (currently Collins Aerospace) and works with organizations and personal clients providing one-on-one leadership and group coaching. She is a certified professional coach and a master practitioner of Energy Leadership Attitudinal Assessment.

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Guest opinion: Bringing your 'A' game to work and home - Business Record

Black Lives Matter is reviving racist thinking – Spiked

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Australias notorious White Australia policy was abolished in 1967 at a time when judging human beings by their skin colour was out of step with prevailing attitudes.

More than half a century later, the concept of White Australia is back in fashion thanks to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Skin colour is once again assumed to be a measure of character, but this time whiteness has become a vice not a virtue.

The contrived message of BLM sits awkwardly in Australia, where slavery has never been legal and imperialism was practiced in its most enlightened form.

The principle that indigenous and non-indigenous Australians are equal in the eyes of the law has applied since a penal colony was first established. In a novel twist in the colonial project, most of the settlers were prisoners while the indigenous inhabitants roamed free.

Equal rights were formalised by referendum in 1967 with more than 90 per cent votes in favour of amending the constitution. Today those historical facts are being erased by the brutal nihilism of BLM ideology. The same movement that says we have downplayed the ugliness of its colonial past wants to expunge everything noble in Australias history. In the process they are slandering historical figures who, however imperfectly, upheld liberal ideals.

Children are now taught that James Cook was an invader, not the explorer, navigator and cartographer we had previously assumed him to be. The term is used on the ABC without any reference to the facts.

Until recently, Governor Lachlan Macquarie was regarded as a liberal reformer who emancipated convicts, established the first school for Aboriginal children and returned land to Aboriginal control. Now he stands accused of genocide.

The search for stains in the hitherto unblemished character of those who laid the foundations of freedom and democracy has become ruthless.

Statues of Edmund Barton have been targeted in Port Macquarie and Canberra. Could that be the Barton who became Australias first prime minister in a democratically elected parliament? The one who became a founding member of the High Court, which dispenses justice without fear or favour?

Perhaps he is in trouble for umpiring the 1879 match between New South Wales and England at the Sydney Cricket Ground that ended in a riot. In the end it doesnt matter; intergenerational virtue-signalling seldom depends on evidence.

It is driven by the arrogance of asserting no generation has been as enlightened and compassionate as ours and no one who came before us possessed the moral clarity that we do.

History must be framed as a story of humanity stripped of humans, the slow progression of society from barbarism to utopia. Historical figures are allowed no flaws or allowed the luxury of extenuating circumstances. Instead they are displayed as a rogues gallery of bad white men in which colonialism is characterised by its most illiberal, brutal form. All are portrayed as irredeemably evil with little distinction and without reference to facts or context.

Underpinning the new race narrative is the belief that destiny is determined by biology. To be born white gives access to a lifetime of privilege. To be born black is to become a member of an oppressed underclass, constantly beaten down by prejudice in an alien land.

Conceptually, it is a return to the theory that differences between people were determined by biology, not their culture. BLMs fight on anti-blackness portrays all black people as victims, regardless of how successful they might be in life.

It frames itself as part of the global black family, pushing the significance of skin colour to a whole new level.

BLMs solution is not personal empowerment, urging black people to discover success through hard work and persistence. Victory will come through a collective, global struggle against violence by the state and the actors it sanctions.

This radical black ideology was present in the late 1960s and 1970s with the emergence of the Black Power Movement. In its latest incarnation it has crossed to the mainstream not just in the US, but also across much of the world.

Perhaps those who have taken the knee in sporting contests are unaware of BLMs revolutionary manifesto, which pitches the moment not just against racism, but also against the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure which it pledges to disrupt.

Instead, it promotes extended families and villages that collectively care for one another, especially our children.

Groups allied to BLM, like the Black Alliance for Peace, go further, declaring themselves part of a global liberation movement intent on overturning the interlinked systems of white supremacy, imperialism, capitalism and patriarchy.

If BLM really was an anti-racism moment, the sanctioning of the taking the knee gesture by executives of our major sporting codes might be understandable.

Yet anti-blackness in the form that BLM frames the term is a divisive term that privileges some forms of racial prejudice over others, such as anti-Semitism.

It is irrevocably tied to a radical, quasi-Marxist agenda that calls for the overthrow of institutions that continue to serve us well. It demands social and economic revolution rather than changes in personal behaviour and reform.

As BLM co-founder Opal Tometi told the New Yorker last month, the issue of police brutality was merely a spark point for a wider campaign against inequality that demands a revolutionary solution.

In Australia, the movement has latched hold of Indigenous politics as its raison dtre. The concept of a universal fraternity of blackness that bundles the descendants of Australias first inhabitants with the descendants of African slaves is problematic.

The notion that disadvantage is a result of skin colour, rather than low education, remoteness, poor health or welfare dependency, is absurd.

Aboriginal leaders like Noel Pearson argue strongly that notions of entrenched victimhood hinder, rather than help, Indigenous people. It fosters a culture of low expectations, and robs people of a sense that they can change their lives for better or worse.

A serious discussion about the value of black lives in Australia would begin with the injustice of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander life expectancy. The average age of death for Indigenous men living in remote communities is 66 years, compared to 81 years in the general community.

The factors that lie behind those 15 lost years of life are complex. They extend to health, education, remoteness, the shortage of skills and much more.

Improving the lives of Indigenous people is a slow and patient process for which there is no magic fix.

It will not be helped by telling people that their skin colour condemns them to a second-class existence and that nothing can change that except a social revolution.

Nick Cater is executive director of the Menzies Research Centre and a columnist for the Australian.

Picture: Getty.

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Black Lives Matter is reviving racist thinking - Spiked

MST3K stars revisit Ed Wood’s Glen or Glenda: ‘Its not the worst movie ever made.’ – Asbury Park Press

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Let's clear something up right away: Contrary to popular opinion,Ed Wood is not the worst filmmaker of all time.Furthermore, his films idiosyncratic though they may beare not the worst movies ever made.

Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff should know. They've been poking fun at bad movies for 30 years, most notably as writers and co-stars for the Peabody-winning cult classic sci-fi comedy series "Mystery Science Theater 3000."

The duo has worked in recent years as "The Mads"(in reference to their villainous "MST3K" characters Dr. Clayton Forrester and TV's Frank), with live shows featuring the famously malignedWood creations "Glen or Glenda" (1953) and "Plan 9 From Outer Space" (1959).

"Alot of bad were made back then that nobody remembers," Conniff said, "but everybody remembers Ed Wood movies. And I think thats because he was a very singular, very unique talent. And I think he lacked certain skills of craft but something still comes through in his movies and personally I love his movies.

Ed Wood's "Glen or Glenda" will be riffed online by "The Mads," Frank Conniff and Trace Beaulieu of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" fame on Tuesday, July 21.(Photo: Art by Tim Alan Holly/Courtesy of Dumb Industries)

Bealieu and Conniff, whose 2020 dates were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will take their show online for an 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 21 stream of "Glen or Glenda," featuring the pair riffing over the film. A portion of the proceeds from the tickets will support NAACP Empowerment Programs.

A psychological drama bordering on the surreal that was written and directed by Wood, who also starred in the film, "Glen or Glenda" is the saga of a cross-dresser trying to decide whether he should come out to his fiance.

The film's opening text describes "Glen or Glenda" as "a picture of stark realism."As detailed in Tim Burton's 1994 Oscar-winning biopic "Ed Wood," the director himself was known to dress in women's clothes, and Wood's girlfriend, Dolores Fuller, co-starred as Glen's fiance.

"He really put himself into his movies, especially this one," said Conniff."And they really were a reflection of his personal sensibility and I think that really comes through in his films, especially this film which was, in many ways, very ahead of its time and, especially for a movie made in the 1950s, completely unusual and unique."

While Wood's filmmaking is clumsy and his characters' views of gender identity can be charitably described as dated these days, there is a passionate earnestness to the film that's hard to deny.

Ed Wood's "Glen or Glenda" will be riffed online by "The Mads," Frank Conniff, left, and Trace Beaulieu of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" fame on Tuesday, July 21.(Photo: Photo by Joe Martin/Courtesy Of The Mads)

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Sure, Leonard Maltin has said "Glen or Glenda""could well be the worst movie ever made."But in his 1994 review of Burton's film Roger Ebertwas more sympathetic to Wood's work, writing:"It takes a special weird genius to be voted the Worst Director of All Time, a title that Wood has earned by acclamation. He was so in love with every frame of every scene of every film he shot that he was blind to hilarious blunders, stumbling ineptitudeand acting so bad that it achieved a kind of grandeur. But badness alone would not have been enough to make him a legend; it was his love of film, sneaking through, that pushes him over the top."

Beaulieu and Conniff's stream of "Glen or Glenda" will let online audiences see for themselves, with plenty of jokes thrown in for good measure.

"Obviously, its a personal story for Ed Wood but its supposed to be exploitation and maybe it had that element back then there are certainly some bizarre sequences which need explaining but there is so much heart and warmth and compassion in what I think is often regarded as just, Oh, its just an Ed Wood film, its a terrible film, its the worst movie ever made," Beaulieu said. "And I think on Mystery Science Theater we proved that its not the worst movie ever made, or Plan 9 is not the worst. There are plenty in front of this one and Plan 9, or any other Ed Wood film."

TO THE STARS: YouTube video essayist Lindsay Ellis makes first contact with 'Axiom's End'

And to be clear, while the film does address gender identity issues and borrows elements from the life story of transgender pioneer Christine Jorgensen, Beaulieu and Conniff are not in the business of making fun of the transgender community.

People are concerned that we (may) mock the subject matter in this movie, and the movie takes itself so seriously and thats not our approach to this subject matter," said Beaulieu, with Conniff later adding that "were not out to do cheap jokes about transgender people. Well do cheap jokes about everything else."

There's a scrappy, D.I.Y. beauty to Wood's work. His films are by and large messy affairs, chock full of stock footage, florid dialogue and, in the case of "Glen or Glenda," nearly wally-to-wall voice-over by a pair of narrators: a psychiatrist, played by Timothy Farrell, and a nearly omnipotent figure known only as Scientist, played by fallen horror icon Bela Lugosi.

The end result was described by Beaulieu as "like an assemblage sculpture."

AT THE MOVIES: The best films of 2020 so far, and how to watch them

I think that filmmakers who set out to be avant-garde, whether its Stan Brackhage or Jonas Mekas or Shirley Clarke or any of the people from that era of experimental filmmaking, on their best day they cant be as avant-garde as Ed Wood is without even trying to be avant-garde," said Conniff. "Theres just so much in this movie thats so bizarre.

In the coronavirus pandemic era, as artists have had to find increasingly creative ways to connect with audiences and generate income, there's a certain "let's put on a show" zeal in Wood's filmography that is downright inspiring.

It just really speaks to the creativity of Ed Wood going, I have no money, I have some friends that can help me out and Ive got some footage I can use and he crafted I used the word craft he did, he crafted a really great, entertaining movie," Beaulieu said."Now we see it in a different light because we can riff on it and still pay homage to it.

The Mads' live online riffing of Ed Wood's "Glen or Glenda," 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 21. Tickets, $10, available via Eventbrite. For more information, visitwww.themadsareback.com/event/glen-or-glenda-livestream-screening.

Alex Biese has been writing about art, entertainment, culture and news on a local and national level for more than 15 years.

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MST3K stars revisit Ed Wood's Glen or Glenda: 'Its not the worst movie ever made.' - Asbury Park Press

Ivanka Trump Advises The President, Violates Ethics, And Still Finds Time To Cook Up A Tasty Can Of Beans For Her Family – Above the Law

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Last night Ivanka Trump owned the libs by posting a photo of herself on Twitter with a can of black beans. Just a billionaire heiress in a white dress with gigot sleeves, planning her familys meals for the week, NBD.

Well, thats slightly less awkward than her father posing with an upside-down bible outside a locked church. At least nobody got teargassed for this living room photo-op. (If Ivanka Trump even knows how to work a can opener, then Im the Queen of England.)

On Thursday, Goya CEO Robert Unanue appeared in the Rose Garden to proclaim the country truly blessed to be led by an incredible builder like Donald Trump. Presumably Mr. Unanue was not referring to the tent cities constructed to imprison refugees and migrants, built by a president who continually describes immigrants as criminals, drug dealers, rapists.

Amid calls for a boycott of the prominent Hispanic-owned food company, the First Daughter, an official White House advisor, offered her unequivocal endorsement. But only in her capacity as a private citizen!

Only the media and the cancel culture movement would criticize Ivanka for showing her personal support for a company that has been unfairly mocked, boycotted and ridiculed for supporting this administration one that has consistently fought for and delivered for the Hispanic community, White House spokeswoman, Carolina Hurley, said. Ivanka is proud of this strong, Hispanic-owned business with deep roots in the U.S. and has every right to express her personal support.

Why is a government employee whose salary is paid using taxpayer money defending the First Daughters social media posts if they were made solely to express her personal support? Well, thats unclear. But according to Walter Shaub, the former head of the Office of Government Ethics, the post represents a flagrant violation of ethics rules.

Theres a particularly unseemly aspect to this violation: it creates the appearance that the governments endorsement is for sale, he told ABC. Endorse the president and the administration will endorse your product.

Indeed, according to 5 CFR 2635.702(c), Anemployee shall not use or permit the use of his Government position or title or any authority associated with his public office to endorse any product, service or enterprise[.] While Ivankas Twitter bio claims to be her Personal Pg. Views are my own, it also lists her official position as Advisor to POTUS on job creation + economic empowerment, workforce development & entrepreneurship. Like her father, she rarely uses her personal account for anything other than White House and Trump campaign announcements.

Ivanka Trumps post of herself LARPing as Vanna White was immediately turned into a meme, with her cousins book, a burning cross, and various, ummm, marital aids photoshopped in place of the can.

Which is hilarious, of course, except that this is real life, and the White House is endorsing private companies who publicly support its agenda in the run up to the election.

As Democratic ethics lawyer Norm Eisen told ABC In the Trump administration, she will probably be rewarded. That bespeaks an ethical degradation for which the voters are about to punish the president severely.

No beans about it.

Like father, like daughter.

Ivanka Trumps social media posts about Goya beans provoke ethics backlash [ABC]

Elizabeth Dye (@5DollarFeminist) lives in Baltimore where she writes about law and politics.

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Ivanka Trump Advises The President, Violates Ethics, And Still Finds Time To Cook Up A Tasty Can Of Beans For Her Family - Above the Law

Meet the 10 artists shortlisted for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize – CBC.ca

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The 2020 Polaris Music Prize short list is here.

Following a similar reveal aslast year, this year's 10 nominees were announced on CBC Music, in a radio special hosted by Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe. (Listen to the full special here.)

This year's list is an even split of new and familiar names, with five previously shortlisted acts going up against five first-timers. Of the five who have been nominated before, three have already won: Caribou, Kaytranada and Lido Pimienta. Scroll down to learn more about each nominee.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, Polaris has chosen not to host a winner's gala this year. Instead, the short list will be celebrated in a special cinematic tribute, which will take place on Oct. 19, and will be broadcast in Canada on CBC Gem, CBC Music's Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages and around the globe at cbcmusic.ca/polaris. The winner of the 2020 Polaris Music Prize and the $50,000 cash prizewill be revealed live at the end of thatevent.

For this special, Polaris is searching for Canadian filmmakers to create commissioned films honouring each shortlisted album. For more information, head over to the Polariswebsite.

Listen to CBC Music's Polaris Picks playlistnow, and read on for introductions to this year's short list nominees.

Name: BackxwashAlbum: God has Nothing to do With This Leave him out of It Hometown: Montreal, via Lusaka, ZambiaRelease date: May 28, 2020Polaris history: This is Backxwash's first Polaris short list nomination. She was also longlisted for Deviancy this year.

About the album:Arresting, urgent and in your face, God has Nothing to do With This Leave him out of It is the album rapper/producer Backxwash has been working toward during her relatively short career. The production is industrial and explosive, surprising listeners at every turn by combining everything from televangelical sermons, Zambian singer Angela Nyirenda and church choirs to samples from Led Zeppelin, Patti Smith and Black Sabbath. The self-titled track begins with Ozzy Osbourne yelling, "Oh no no, please God help me," a plea that is all the more haunting given the title of the album.

Over this uneasy sonic bed, Backxwash explores issues of faith and identity, particularly the transfeminine experience. "Feel like you lost a son but you gained a daughter," she raps on "Redemption," a sparse, deeply personal song that closes the album. "Before you write, you ask yourself 'Are people ready to listen to this? Are people ready to receive these lyrics the way they are?'" she said in an interview with Bandcamp, adding, "Am I ready for people to listen to these lyrics?" Ready or not, the album is a powerful statement that demands our attention.

Recommended if you like: Death Grips, JPEGMAFIA, Danny Brown, Run the Jewels

Name: CaribouAlbum: Suddenly Hometown: Dundas, Ont.Release date: Feb. 28, 2020Polaris history: Caribou's Andorra won the third Polaris Music Prize in 2008. Since then, Caribou has made two more appearances on the Polaris short list: in 2010 for Swim and 2015 for Our Love.

About the album: Ten albums in, Caribou frontman Dan Snaith continues to find new ways to grow and evolve his brand of dance music. Suddenly is his first new Caribou album in six years, following up the Polaris shortlisted Our Love, and it picks up where things left off. Looking inward and exploring themes of loss and grief, Suddenly is one of Snaith's best and most personal albums to date. While the dance-floor bangers that made albums like 2010's Swim a breakoutare still there ("Never Come Back" being a highlight), many of these songs embrace a more toned-down sound that uses samples, hip-hop influences and Snaith's tender vocals to build something just as compelling and beautiful as any of his previous work.

Recommended if you like: Four Tet, Floating Points, Hot Chip

Name: Junia-TAlbum: Studio MonkHometown: MississaugaRelease date: Jan. 24Polaris history: This is Junia-T's first Polaris nomination.

About the album:As the story goes, Toronto rapper/producer/DJ Junia-T was ready to quit music, but instead channelled his frustrations into making one of the best Canadian albums of the year. It was a two-year journey in which Junia-T surrounded himself with like-minded creatives and embraced his inner Quincy Jones, as he told Complex. Junia-T moved his rapping to the background and instead focused on producing and sequencing a front-to-back classic, an album that takes the listener down various sonic paths that end up in the same place at the end.

With an impressive roster of guests such as Jessie Reyez (a longtime friend, he was also her tour DJ), River Tiber, Faiza, Storry, Sean Leon and more Studio Monk effortlessly traverses genre and compartmentalization. Whether it's radio-ready hits ("Sad Face Emojis" with Reyez), jazz improvisations ("Tommy's Intro"), laid-back rap with a touch of soul ("Ooowee" with Elijah Dax) or boom bap and bars ("Complicated" with Adam Bomb), Studio Monk has something for everyone.

Recommended if you like: Kaytranada, Frank Ocean, Anderson. Paak, Jessie Reyez

Name: KaytranadaAlbum: Bubba Hometown: MontrealRelease date: Dec. 13, 2019Polaris history: Kaytranada's debut album, 99,9%, won the 2017 Polaris Music Prize.

About the album: When Kaytranada's Bubba was released at the tail end of 2019, reviewers praised it as a "dance album front-to-back" and an "addictive club record" with "more-is-more production." And while the album does boast some tremendously danceable beats and richly layered sounds, these descriptions belie the subtlety employed by Kaytranada to evoke various moods across its 17 tracks. "Oh No" pairs bongos (and not much else) with British soul superstar Estelle; "What You Need" updates '90s pop as a vehicle for Charlotte Day Wilson's stylish singing; instrumental track "Scared to Death" is a swarm of insects that have come from the future to torment you; Island beats infuse "Need It" and "Midsection;""Taste" is a delicious disco number, and in President Obama-endorsed "Go DJ," SiR enlists you in an irresistible call and response. As with 2016's 99,9%, these diverse emotional states flow ingeniously from start to finish and have got Kaytranada poised to pull off the Polaris Music Prize's first two-peat.

Recommended if you like: The Internet, Thundercat, Col3trane, Free Nationals.

Name: nhiyawakAlbum: nipiy Hometown:amiskwaciy (Edmonton)Release date: Oct. 24, 2019Polaris history:This is the band's first appearance on both the Polaris long and short lists.

About the album: nhiyawak skillfully merges traditional storytelling with modern sounds for music that simultaneously propels you forward while digging deep to shine light on the past all of which is a bit difficult to classify. So Kris Harper, one-third of the band, gave it a shoegaze-adjacent label."I created the term moccasin gaze to describe something that did not exist," he tweeted earlier this year."Excited about the traction, exciting for new voices. Listen closely, genre is a colonial trap."

Harper and bandmates Marek Tyler (Harper's cousin) and Matthew Cardinal hail from amiskwaciy, also known as Edmonton, on Treaty 6 territory, and nipiy is their debut full-length. The album title is Cree for "water," as the element holds a distinct rhythm throughout the album, bookending it with songs dedicated to the North Saskatchewan River. Working with traditional drums, powwow beats,a one-of-a-kind synthesizerand the flow of water, nehiyawak's music slides along the lines of rock, pop and ambient music while being firmly rooted in place and a sense of self."Nipiy is for those who don't seem to fit in for a myriad of reasons," explains Harper. "To inspire others to use their voice and to send messages to future generations."

Recommended if you like:Half Moon Run, Whoop-Szo, Agnes Obel

Name: PantayoAlbum: Pantayo Hometown: Eirene Cloma: North Vancouver; Michelle Cruz: Mandaluyong, Philippines; Joanna Delos Reyes: Tondo, Philippines; Katrina and Kat Estacio: Pasig, Philippines.Release date: May 8, 2020Polaris history: This is the band's first appearance on both the Polaris long and short lists.

About the album: Pantayo's self-titled debut album is a stunning collection, a skillful layering of traditional kulintang music with pop, R&B and even punk influences for a sound that builds on tradition while feeling genuinely modern. The all-women, queer Filipinx crew is based in Toronto, where the founding members met at a Philippine arts and culture centre in 2012. Together they started workshopping kulintang, a musical tradition played on sets of gongs from the Southern Philippines and parts of Southeast Asia, forming what they've since called a "super girl gong group."

Pantayo, a word meaning "for us" in Tagalog, is the collective story of current members Eirene Cloma, Michelle Cruz, Joanna Delos Reyes, and sisters Kat and Katrina Estacio, one that mixes Tagalog and English lyrics with the sounds of their Filipino heritage and a DIY aesthetic that breaks down genre walls creating connections in their place instead of erecting new walls. Pantayo is a delightful surprise on the Polaris short list, and one that we're glad to have.

Recommended if you like: Zaki Ibrahim, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Kimmortel, Lido Pimienta

Name: Lido PimientaAlbum: Miss ColombiaHometown: Barranquilla, Colombia, before moving to London, Ont.Release date: April 17, 2020Polaris history: Lido Pimienta's debut album,La Papessa,won the 2017 Polaris Prize.

About the album: Wading into the first tracks of Lido Pimienta's Miss Colombia is the musical equivalent of submerging in a warm pool of water, draped in sunlight and surrounded by lush greenery. Time stops, and the distinct feeling of oneness with the world around you is heavy. Pimienta's unmistakably skilled vocals, paired with exquisite Afro-Colombian instrumentation, serve as this type of conduit to what's sacred, what's "home" musically honouring the roots and textures that influenced her, while lyrically challenging the oppressive systems and states that have been built overtop of them. Sung almost entirely in Spanish, Miss Colombia is a resilient statement that demands political accountability and rises above past heartbreak, all while painted in colours so dazzling that you can't help but feel hope for a brighter future.

Recommended if you like: FKA Twigs, Helado Negro, Y La Bamba, A Tribe Called Red

Name: Jessie ReyezAlbum: Before Love Came to Kill Us Hometown: Brampton, Ont.Release date: March 27, 2020Polaris history: This is Reyez's second year in a row on the short list. Last year, she was nominated for her EPBeing Human in Public. Her first EP, Kiddo, was longlisted in 2017.

About the album: Kicking off your album with the line"I should've f--ked your friends" is a bold move, but one that fits perfectly with Jessie Reyez's unapologetic personality. The Grammy-nominated, Juno-winning R&B singer has been a rising star for years off the strength of early EPs. Before Love Came to Kill Us marks her official full-length debut, a collection of old and new tracks that fearlessly lay out all of Reyez's feelings of love, heartbreak, revenge and empowerment, sometimes all at once. But Reyez, armed with a powerful and emotive voice, proves here that she can do it all, from tender love ballads to the more bombastic moments that deliver lines like the one she opens with. This album is just the momentous beginning to what will be a long-running, successful career ahead.

Recommended if you like: Teyana Taylor, Kehlani, 6lack, H.E.R.

Name: U.S. GirlsAlbum: Heavy Light Hometown: Toronto(originally from Chicago)Release date: March 6, 2020Polaris history: This is U.S. Girls' third appearance on the Polaris Music Prize short list in five years. Her two previous albums, Half Free and In a Poem Unlimited, were nominated in 2016 and 2018, respectively.

About the album: U.S. Girls' latest album is crowded with voices, but make no mistake: Heavy Light is still very much the singular vision of leader Meg Remy. As the sonic palette expands here to include more singers and collaborators (Basia Bulat, Rich Morel; vocal arrangements by Kritty Uranowski), the subject matter often a Venn diagram of the personal and political continues to dig deeper into the mind of Remy as she looks both backwardand forward in time in search for introspection. Fans of Remy will recognize some old cuts polished anew on Heavy Light ("Overtime," "Red Ford Radio"), and the album'sinterludes offer her guests to reflect on past experiences and their younger selves.But the real triumph of the album is its ability to illuminate a path ahead that offers a glimpse, even if so slightly, of hope.

Recommended if you like: David Bowie, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Debbie Harry, Basia Bulat

Name: Witch ProphetAlbum: DNA Activation Hometown:Born in Kenya, raised in TorontoRelease date: March 24, 2020Polaris history: This is Witch Prophet's first time on the Polaris Music prize long and short lists.

About the album: DNA Activation is a wild and creative excavation of the sacred and the spiritual, and it's as intense and personal as it is joyful and inspiring. Witch Prophet and her partner and co-producer SUN SUN have crafted a record full of purpose and intention. DNA Activation is a deliberately feminist queering of sonic and linguistic landscapes the songs are a cool collective tangle of jazz, R&B, hip hop and soul sung in English, Amharic, and Tigrinya fuelled by Witch Prophet's Ethiopian and Eritrean roots, and inspired by her own family members, mythology, and Bible stories. "I will not forget that power lies in me," Witch Prophet sings, and with her aptly titled new album, she delivers on that promise. (From CBC Music's 2020 Spring Preview)

Recommended if you like: Ibeyi, Lido Pimienta, THEESatisfaction, SassyBlack, Missy D, Noname

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Meet the 10 artists shortlisted for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize - CBC.ca

Beware of where you buy your face mask: it may be tainted with modern day slavery – The Conversation UK

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From July 24, people in England will have to wear a face mask when inside shops, as well as on public transport. This brings England in line with many other countries that have similar rules already in place.

Once mainly used in hospitals and science labs, masks, visors and disposable gloves are now a feature of everyday life. As a result, sales of these items are through the roof. This is cause for concern for many of the worlds poor, not just because protecting themselves is harder and more expensive in the face of a surge in demand, but because many will find themselves at risk of being exploited becoming modern slaves as production rapidly increases.

Over the last few years, following legislative reforms, big medical supply buyers, such as the NHS, have monitored their supply chains for modern slavery. They have found these practices among personal protective equipment (PPE) manufacturers, textile suppliers and medical device producers.

An expos in the Guardian in 2018 revealed exploitation and slavery around NHS rubber glove suppliers, leading to reviews, reforms and contracts ending. The textile industry and mask makers have also been implicated in using child and bonded labour and for violating human rights.

This concerns us all. Some 40.3 million people are estimated to be in slavery, 25 million of whom are involved in making goods and providing services. According to the Global Slavery Index, the G20 countries alone continue importing products at risk of being made by slave labour worth US$354 billion (278 billion) annually.

Coronavirus is driving many into unemployment and increasing economic vulnerability, making recruitment into slavery even easier and the profits of such exploitation higher. The International Labor Organization estimates that 1.6 billion people will lose their livelihood in the informal economy because of the pandemic. And the most vulnerable may become the unwitting victims of unscrupulous recruiters and companies that use bonded labour to ramp up production in the face of increased demand.

The issue is twofold. One, demand has surged, upending many of the usual mechanisms we use to address modern slavery. Supply chain monitoring has been reduced as urgent purchasing of PPE has become a priority and as people have bought their own equipment. Governments have lifted bans on buying PPE from companies known to use slave labour in order to get additional supplies. Two, more vulnerable people are making riskier decisions to survive economically, making recruitment into exploitation easier.

1. Make and recycle

Consumerism drives a lot of the economic motivation behind exploitation. We want cheap goods, so businesses secure slaves or underpaid, exploited workers to cut costs. By shopping differently and using what we already have to make what we need, we can change this. Reusing and repurposing the textiles we already have is not only more environmentally sound, it also reduces the risk of more people being enslaved.

We can use old clothes and bedding to make many necessary pieces of PPE, including making our own masks. The World Health Organization also provides information on using homemade masks safely.

2. Buy survivor-made goods

Survivors often need work after they emerge from exploitation. Empowerment is critical and survivor-made goods create the possibility of real and lasting freedom while assuring you as a consumer that you arent supporting human rights abuses. Rethreaded and FreesetGlobal are two examples of such businesses. Look locally for survivor-run or survivor-employing businesses, many of which have moved into making PPE during the pandemic.

3. Buy goods from suppliers who check their supply chains for slavery

In the past, big businesses were often afraid of exploring their supply chains for fear that theyd discover something that would get picked up in the press. Legislation around the world has made these businesses consider the possibility of slavery in the supply chain and report on it. But you as a consumer also play a role.

You can start by checking a companys modern slavery report. This often isnt possible on third-party sellers on platforms such as Amazon or eBay, so a number of businesses have emerged that are selling PPE direct to consumer, including To The Market and Masks for Freedom.

These are just a few steps you can take when buying masks and other products to keep you and your loved ones safe. A number of apps also allow you to explore your wider slavery footprint, and help you buy products that protect fair trade, good labour practices and human rights around the world.

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Beware of where you buy your face mask: it may be tainted with modern day slavery - The Conversation UK

Decision on whether to keep school cops highlights uneven role of CPS local school councils – Chicago Sun-Times

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Many students and teachers at Roberto Clemente Community Academy celebrated last Wednesday evening when the high schools elected governing body voted to remove the Chicago police officers stationed in their building.

The Chicago Teachers Union voiced support on social media, and advocates of police-free schools said this latest victory could spur similar decisions at other high schools that have cops.

But had Clementes Local School Council actually voted out their school officers?

The next morning, an LSC member tried to clarify what happened a night earlier: The council had taken an advisory vote that was not a vote set in stone. They would reconvene for a binding vote at a later meeting after taking more community input.

Please stop speculating, we are trying to do what is best for Clemente students, the LSC member wrote on social media.

Those confusing 24 hours for the Clemente school community and even some LSC members who thought the vote was real exposes the sometimes muddled affairs of Chicago Public Schools LSCs, about 70 of which the mayor and district have now tasked with making their own monumental decisions on school police.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and schools chief Janice Jackson have said LSCs are the ultimate authority on the issue because they know best each schools unique needs.

But more than a dozen schools where police are stationed either have an LSC that doesnt have full voting authority several councils dont have at least seven members, the number needed for a quorum or dont have an LSC at all. Those schools without functioning LSCs are all with the exception of one on the Northwest Side on the South and West Sides and serve almost entirely low-income Black and Latino students.

Apathy has been a central theme for many LSCs soon after they were created in a landmark 1988 school reform law that tasked them with hiring and evaluating principals, and approving a schools budget and expenditures. The first LSC election year in 1989 saw more than 17,000 candidates and 312,000 voters. Those numbers dwindled to about half that the very next election.

In the latest LSC election in 2018, there were 5,000 candidates citywide and more than half of schools didnt have enough names on the ballot to fill the 12 non-principal positions on a typical LSC six parents, two community members, two teachers and one staffer who isnt a teacher.

LSC meetings at many schools also see low attendance by the public, and even finding out how to contact members of the council can be difficult for constituents.

When CPS put the decision on school police in the hands of LSCs last year, the district said every one of them voted to keep their officers. But many members across the city said they received little information and minimal notice before voting.

Northside College Preparatory High School became the districts first school last week to remove its officers. But even at Northside, one of the districts most prestigious schools that has heavy parent and community involvement, the vote last year to keep the officers was a scramble at best.

We voted on it in August, and that was just a rushed vote that CPS said we had to make this decision, Luna Johnston, the student member of the LSC, said last week. We voted to keep our SROs just because we knew our SROs and we didnt have any personal issues with them. But we didnt really understand what their job was and really we voted conditionally in hopes that CPS would add training.

On Wednesday, CPS plans to issue guidelines for making the decision and has a meeting scheduled for LSC members across the city to discuss their votes. The district has asked LSCs to vote again by Aug. 15.

City Inspector General Joe Ferguson, who issued a scathing report on the school cops program in 2018, renewing the uproar for change, testified earlier this month at a City Council committee hearing on school police and took a shot at Lightfoots stance that the decision should be kicked down to members of Local School Councils. He said the choice to limit community representation on this issue to Local School Councils is insufficient by national standards.

This tendency to give short shrift to quality community engagement is a broader issue for CPD and municipal government generally, Ferguson said. The tightly controlled and orchestrated community dialogue exercises that have become the norm exclude and alienate many concerned and engaged constituents and community members.

The mayor and CPS call to leave the decision to LSCs has also left the people calling for the removal of officers from schools in a peculiar position: Theyre some of the same advocates who have argued for empowering LSCs, but theyre now saying this choice shouldnt be left up to the councils.

Raise Your Hand, a parent advocacy group closely aligned with the teachers union, has been part of a social media campaign for police-free schools.

The organizations executive director, Jianan Shi, reiterated Tuesday that Raise Your Hand strongly supports LSCs. The group hosted workshops in the spring to educate parents and school staff about upcoming LSC elections which were delayed until the fall because of the pandemic and has held a dozen support calls with council members since the pandemic started.

But Shi said its disingenuous to spring a major decision on LSCs, with little support, and call that empowerment.

LSCs could not vote out a citywide contract like Aramark, Shi said, comparing the districts food and cleaning contract to the police contract. This conversation is not, again, about were trying to establish community control or were trying to empower LSCs.

Shi said advocates would think differently if CPS allowed schools to keep the money used to pay police once they removed officers. But CPS has said it wont.

That actually gives them power, he said.

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Decision on whether to keep school cops highlights uneven role of CPS local school councils - Chicago Sun-Times