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IDEAYA to Participate in Fireside Chat at BTIG Biotechnology Conference and Wedbush PacGrow Healthca – PharmiWeb.com

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

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IDEAYA to Participate in Fireside Chat at BTIG Biotechnology Conference and Wedbush PacGrow Healthca - PharmiWeb.com

Latest Innovation in Bioinformatics Service Market 2019-2025| Emerging Technologies, Share, Competitive, Regional, Top Companies- QIAGEN, CD Genomics,…

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

Global Bioinformatics Service Market report 2020 contains the information regarding market share, company performances (stocks), comprehensive analysis, consumer perspective, historical analysis, statistics, market forecast 2020 to 2025 in terms of revenue, volume, growth rate, and CAGR. This report target Bioinformatics Service volume and value at a global level, regional and company level. Bioinformatics Service report target market product specifications, current competitive players in Bioinformatics Service market and the markt revenue with profitability.

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Latest Innovation in Bioinformatics Service Market 2019-2025| Emerging Technologies, Share, Competitive, Regional, Top Companies- QIAGEN, CD Genomics,...

Las Vegas bar owners react to closing again to prevent the spread of COVID-19 – Eater Vegas

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

Gov. Steve Sisolaks latest directive on Friday closed all bars, pubs, taverns, distilleries, breweries, and wineries that dont serve food in seven Nevada counties, including Clark and Washoe, home to Las Vegas and Reno respectively. Bars without food service have to remain closed at least through July 24 to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Cases surged in Clark County since bars were allowed to reopen on May 29.

We know that COVID-19 can easily spread when people are congregating for long periods of time, like inside a bar. In states where we have seen significant spikes, such as Arizona, Texas, and Florida, they have all taken actions to roll back bars, Sisolak said in a press conference on Thursday. Recently, Dr. Fauci, the U.S.s top infectious-disease expert, advised that congregating in bars poses a significant risk and is one of the most dangerous things people could do right now. We must heed his advice.

Some bar owners are banding together to potentially file a lawsuit against the state. A group of as many as 50 tavern owners feel like the state is targeting bars, especially those with gaming built into the bars, a lucrative source of revenue.

Amy Vandermark, the marketing manager for Distill and Remedy bars, tells KTNV, We see that casinos are still having the ability to be open and function and we feel we did everything we were asked to do and were trying to figure out why were being targeted.

Steiners Pub owner Roger Sachs estimates that about 50 percent of his revenue at three local bars comes from gaming.

Some bars such as Commonwealth and the new Lucky Day and Discopussy on Fremont East voluntarily closed. Nick Starr closed The Pint and The Martini on the westside as well.

Others, like ReBar in the Arts District, reverted to curbside pickup and serve cocktails and liquor at owner Derek Stonebargers neighboring Davys, an event space that offers food.

Bars also closed in Elko, Humboldt, Lander, Lyon, and Nye counties. The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services wants to see the seven counties perform an average of 150 tests per day per 100,000 residents; a 14-day new case rate of less than 100 per 100,000 residents; and a seven-day average of positive tests, measured after a seven-day lag, divided by the county population. Counties with a case rate higher than 100 will meet this elevated disease transmission risk criteria, while counties that have a case rate higher than 25 and a test positivity rate higher than 7 percent will meet this elevated disease transmission risk criteria.

On Friday when the governor issued his new directive, Nevada reported 1,004 new cases, a new high for the state.

Pools and gyms may be next to close. I want to be crystal clear: unless you are actively walking into a pool, swimming in a pool, or walking out of a pool, you should have a face covering on at all times. Its a simple as that, Sisolak said as a warning to those businesses.

On Thursday, Sisolak noted that OSHA conducted observations at businesses statewide to see how they were following his directives, which include wearing a mask indoors and outdoors when six feet of social distancing is not possible. OSHA has completed more than 1,500 initial observations so far, with a compliance rate of 79 percent. That means one-fifth of businesses visited by OSHA inspectors are not in compliance with our measures, and this is unacceptable.

He noted that fewer than half the bars that OSHA inspectors visited were in compliance.

Sisolak also says that restaurants and other businesses that serve food cannot seat parties larger than six people indoors or outdoors, and he strongly encourages outdoor dining.

Gov. Steve Sisolak Recloses Bars on Friday to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 [ELV]

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak Issues Mandatory Face Mask Order Effective on Friday [ELV]

How Coronavirus Is Affecting Las Vegas Food and Restaurants [ELV]

Las Vegas Casino Reopenings: All the Updates [ELV]

10820 W Charleston Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89135 (702) 534-1400

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Las Vegas bar owners react to closing again to prevent the spread of COVID-19 - Eater Vegas

Dealing with the Las Vegas heat and staying safe during the COVID-19 pandemic – KTNV Las Vegas

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) Today is the hottest day of the year so far and while staying indoors is recommended, that is not an option for everybody.

Some people may consider going to public places to cool down, like splash pads and community pools.

While it may help with the heat, COVID-19 is still something to consider if youre thinking about going out.

Problems with home air conditioning or no money to pay for it is something that many families may be dealing with due to lack of work and unemployment issues currently.

RELATED: Pools at risk of closing amid Las Vegas heatwave

This is something that UNLV assistant professor, Brian Labus is aware of.

Unfortunately there isnt much you can do about it. Normally we would just tell people to go to the pool or do things indoors, but those aren't really an option right now because of the outbreak that were facing. So a lot of people are going to be very miserable next week as it continues with these elevated temperatures, said Labus.

Indoors or outdoors, your safety is very important.

Whether it is hot or not, were still making the same recommendations about coronavirus. You shouldnt be going into those situations where theres a lot of people close together. If you have to go in public, make sure that you do maintain your distance and wear a mask when youre in public so you reduce the risk of exposing other people if youre infected. And if you are out in the heat, make sure you drink plenty of water, dont get dehydrated and do the best you can to stay in the shade and cool off whenever possible, Labus says.

Due to the excessive heat that we're currently feeling in the region, cooling stations have opened across the valley.

According to the Clark County Office of Public Communications, you can find them at these locations:

SHARE Village Las Vegas50 N. 21ST Street, Las Vegas, 89101Phone: (702) 222-1680Hours: 8:00-9:00 am, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.*hydration only

Downtown Recreation Center105 W. Basic Road, Henderson, 89015Phone: (702) 267-4040Hours: 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 pm

The Salvation Army Mesquite742 Pioneer Boulevard, Suite D, Mesquite. 89027Phone: (702) 345-5116Hours: 8:00am - 3:00pm

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Dealing with the Las Vegas heat and staying safe during the COVID-19 pandemic - KTNV Las Vegas

Encore Drive-In Nights brings Blake Shelton concert to West Wind in North Las Vegas – Las Vegas Sun

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

Sam Morris/Las Vegas News Bureau

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton arrive on the red carpet for her new residency at Planet Hollywood Thursday, June 28,2018.

By Brock Radke (contact)

Tuesday, July 14, 2020 | 2 a.m.

Las Vegas Strip resident headliner Gwen Stefani sort of returns to something like a Vegas stage this month. Shell be a guest performer, along with country star Trace Adkins, during Blake Sheltons Encore Drive-In Nights show, a concert feature filmed exclusively for drive-in theaters across North America.

It will be available at the West Wind Las Vegas Drive-In in North Las Vegas at a showtime of 8:20 p.m. on July 25. Tickets are on sale today at encorenights.com at $114.99 per vehicle.

The series is produced by Encore Live in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in order to utilize drive-in theaters across the country as a safe, creative way to deliver fans world-class entertainment in open-air layouts. The first experience was a successful June 27 show by Garth Brooks, who is still currently planned to perform the first concert event at Allegiant Stadium on August 22.

Drive-in theaters hosting the Encore Drive-In Nights adhere to CDC recommended guidelines as well as all state and local health mandates, according to the producers. Staff will wear personal protective equipment and enforce at least six feet of space between cars. The series will also use contactless payment and ticketing systems and limit capacity in restrooms. Guidelines around concessions will be enforced to abide by individual state regulations.

After the overwhelming response to Garth Brooks drive-in concert feature, we knew we had to launch Encore Drive-In Nights to provide music fans across the USA and Canada the chance to see their favorite artists in a cool new way, said Encore Live Founder and CEO Walter Kinzie. We cant wait to bring musics biggest stars to outdoor movie screens all across North America so that people can get back out there again and safely enjoy engaging in-person experiences.

For a virtual performance from a different Las Vegas headliner, visit nugs.net/live-santana to download and stream Carlos Santanas House of Blues at Mandalay Bay residency show from January 29, 2020. Santana recently made the Vegas concert available and pricing starts at just $9.95.

Looking to Las Vegas: Why hotels should think like tech companies to survive – PhocusWire

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

To appreciate the ongoing calamity thats transforming the hotel industry, as well as what a future recovery might look like, its helpful to consider whats happening in Las Vegas.

No major city in the United States relies so entirely on tourism for its economic lifeblood, and no place was so quickly and thoroughly devastated by the shutdown of travel and hospitality.

In recent years, Las Vegas has welcomed roughly 42 million visitors annually from all over the world. With travel and hospitality essentially frozen, thousands of workers now find themselves furloughed.

First of all, the brands and properties that currently operate on the Strip and elsewhere in Las Vegas will need to accelerate their ongoing digital transformation. The same data and analytics mindset that makes casinos profitable needs to be applied to the entire hotel and hospitality ecosystem across the board.

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Unfortunately, the supply side of the hotel market isnt built to be as dynamic. Most hotels rely upon legacy systems that restrict the efficiency of their supply and pricing ecosystem. Direct booking and online travel agency platforms can often do a better job of adjusting their pricing and marketing structures to suit real-time consumer demand and optimize revenue.

Our most recent data shows a rebound in demand for limited-service properties rather than full-service properties in Las Vegas in recent weeks, indicating people are looking for long-term arrangements.

In addition, with travelers willing to fly less, drive times are getting longer, which can benefit the rebound of Las Vegas differently from neighboring states. These sorts of observations will need to factor into future planning.

Secondly, how will hotel and hospitality companies adjust their operations and products to cope with a world of social distancing? Typically, 6.5 million of Vegas annual visitors are convention delegates, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

While personal travel may rebound once travel restrictions are lifted, all signs seem to indicate that business travel will take significantly longer to rebound, and demand is likely to be depressed in the long-term as companies have embraced remote work and teleconferencing as a potential channel for cutting costs.

Vegas hotels will need to adjust to a reality in which the next crisis is just around the corner.

Carlisle Connally

Like many others in the hospitality industry, Vegas hotel properties will need to operate more like tech companies and less like real estate holding companies if theyre going to weather the storm and recovery period brought on by COVID-19.

This means that hotel companies are going to need to build brand loyalty off-premise by developing an entirely new interaction with their products.

The days may be gone when Vegas and other event destinations could rely on a calendar of annual corporate events to drive revenue. Do you think that 180,000 business travelers will be willing to congregate in convention halls for CES in January of 2021? Will the value exchange be there, and will companies float the bill? How about in 2022?

Like all hotel companies around the world, Vegas hotels will need to adjust to a reality in which the next crisis is just around the corner. Crisis planning needs to be an inherent part of the new normal.

Hotels and hospitality properties need to diversify their revenue streams and lean into initiatives like loyalty programs that strengthen and broaden their brand.

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Looking to Las Vegas: Why hotels should think like tech companies to survive - PhocusWire

Sorting through UNLV’s QB options for 2020 – Las Vegas Sun

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

Steve Marcus

UNLV Rebels quarterback Kenyon Oblad (7) passes during a game against Boise State at Sam Boyd Stadium Saturday, Oct. 5,2019.

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Tuesday, July 14, 2020 | 2 a.m.

Even before the college football offseason was blown to pieces by the COVID-19 outbreak, UNLV was looking at a question mark at the quarterback position. Now, after months of topsy-turvy developments on and off the field, the team seems to be further than ever from a solution.

At the end of the 2019 season, it looked like the Rebels were headed for a competition between fifth-year senior Armani Rogers and redshirt sophomore Kenyon Oblad, but with new head coach Marcus Arroyo taking over and installing his own system, nothing was set in stone.

Arroyo added another highly touted quarterback to the mix in TCU transfer Justin Rogers, and the new guy would seem to be the favorite to win the job except that the NCAA has yet to rule on his waiver for immediate eligibility.

Adding to the state of flux, Armani Rogers announced last week that he entered the NCAA transfer portal and will play his final season at another school.

Player movement and schematic questions are par for the course in college football, however. The coronavirus canceled spring practice, limited the number of voluntary summer workouts and could very well lead to a reduced training camp. Heck, it might even push the start of the season to October (or even the spring). That has only gone to make the Rebels QB question exponentially more difficult to solve.

A look at the options under center for UNLV this season:

Kenyon Oblad, sophomore

After sitting out a redshirt year, Oblad opened the 2019 season at No. 2 on the depth chart and eventually beat out incumbent starter Armani Rogers over the second half of the year. Oblad had his ups and downs, but showed off playable arm strength and good touch for leading his receivers. For the season, he completed 54.2 percent of his passes for 2,081 yards while throwing for 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He finished the year on a strong note, passing for 229 yards, three TDs and no interceptions in UNLVs overtime win at UNR.

Does Oblads hot streak at the end of 2019 set him up as the starter heading into 2020? He has to be considered the leader in the clubhouse at this point, even if its by default; Armani Rogers has transferred and Justin Rogers is battling for eligibility, so as of now Oblad is No. 1 on the depth chart.

Justin Rogers, sophomore

Rogers was a top recruit in the class of 2018 (No. 52 overall), but a knee injury in the opening game of his senior year sidelined him for the rest of that season. He redshirted at TCU in 2018, then found himself buried on the depth chart as a freshman in 2019. Rogers didnt play in a single game for TCU.

If Rogers is granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA, his recruiting pedigree suggests that hell be the most talented player on the entire roster. Thats exciting. And judging by the way Arroyo liked to utilize Justin Herbert at Oregon, the coach may prefer a QB with good mobility. Rogers certainly has that, as he was rated the No. 3 dual-threat quarterback in his class (before the knee injury, anyway).

If the NCAA comes through and rules him eligible for 2020, Rogers becomes the most exciting option for UNLV.

Max Gilliam, senior

Last year, Gilliam was locked in a training-camp battle for the No. 2 job with Oblad before a foot injury sidelined him and paved the way for Oblad to become the primary backup. In 2018, Gilliam proved to be a capable if nondescript passer as he completed 55.3 percent of his passes for 1,394 yards, 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Gilliam is probably best suited for a backup role behind Oblad or Rogers, both of whom appear to be more physically talented. Gilliam also only has one year of eligibility remaining, which doesnt offer much upside as compared with Oblad and Rogers (both third-year sophomores).

Travis Mumphrey, freshman

A former 3-star recruit from Louisiana, Mumphrey alternated between nice throws and wildly inaccurate balls in practice last year while redshirting. Hes another player who brings mobility to the position, but its hard to see him rising up the depth chart in the span of one offseason.

Marckell Grayson, junior

Much like Rogers, an injury limited Grayson to one game as a senior in high school. So between that, this redshirt year in 2017, and two years of inactivity in 2018 and 2019, he has seen the field just that one time since the end of the 2015 season. Thats a long time to go without playing real football. Heading into his junior year, Grayson looks like practice depth at this point.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [emailprotected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.

Las Vegas woman dedicates her time to making masks with clear coverings – KLAS – 8 News Now

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) During the pandemic there has been a surge of homemade masks that cover the face, but it appears many of them do not have a clear cover by the mouth. That is an issue for certain people that are hard of hearing and depend on reading lips.

Now, one woman is easing the stress for those who need it.

Its been everybody from kindergarten teachers, speech therapists, a lot of school teachers, said Holly Taylor.

Its not just the deaf and hard of hearing who benefit. The need goes beyond that community to education and Holly Taylor is trying to fill the demand.

She sews Smiles Masks from her home

Which is a clear front. It conforms to the nose, covers your chin but you have complete view of your actual mouth, Taylor said.

Its a labor of love she started during the pandemic.

Im a medical technologist, so Im in the laboratory, Taylor said. I had not sewn in over 30 years.

After watching a YouTube video, she now volunteers her free time to make the face coverings.

She initially did it for a special education teacher. Due to its popularity and word of mouth, orders keep coming in.

So far Ive made about 150 and from places from Texas, I have a large order for a school in Utah, just various teachers around the valley, Taylor said.

She says teachers want to be able to practice annunication and reading with their classes during the pandemic.

Its any mask. Whether its a full face mask or if its one of the paper masks, a surgical masks its going to muffle the sounds but being able to see how the sounds are being made will still make an impact for the kids, Taylor said.

Masks like this also benefit other communities, including the deaf and hard of hearing.

Were in such a critical crisis and were requiring people to wear masks but were not giving the opportunity for everyone to seek the same benefits or same abilities by having those masks on, Taylor said.

Taylor says it takes her about 45 minutes to make each mask. She continues doing it after receiving positive messages and knowing how its helping communities, which to her is the most important part.

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Las Vegas woman dedicates her time to making masks with clear coverings - KLAS - 8 News Now

Masks for kids? Schools confront the politics of reopening – Las Vegas Sun

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

Ashley Landis / AP

Hillary Salway poses for a photo with her children Dane Salway, 5, Mick Salway, 1, and Beaux Salway, 3 on Monday, July 13, 2020, in San Clemente, Calif. Salway plans to send her children back to school in the fall. On one side are the parents saying, let kids be kids. They object to masks and social distancing at schools, arguing both could be detrimental to their childrens well being, and want schools to reopen full-time. On the other side are parents and many teachers calling for things that would have been unimaginable pre-pandemic: part-time school, face coverings for all or full onlinecurriculum.

By Jocelyn Gecker, Associated Press

Tuesday, July 14, 2020 | 12:05 a.m.

On one side are parents saying, let kids be kids. They object to masks and social distancing in classrooms this fall arguing both could hurt their childrens well-being and want schools to reopen full time.

On the other side are parents and teachers who call for safeguards that would have been unimaginable before the coronavirus pandemic: part-time school, face coverings for all or a fully online curriculum.

The impassioned tug-of-wars have put educators in the middle of an increasingly politicized debate on how best to reopen schools this fall, a daunting challenge as infections spike in the U.S.

Dont tell me my kid has to wear a mask, said Kim Sherman, a mother of three in the central California city of Clovis who describes herself as very conservative and very pro-Trump. I dont need to be dictated to to tell me how best to raise my kids.

With many districts still finalizing how they may reopen, President Donald Trump hasramped up pressureto get public schools back in business, threatening to withhold federal funding from those that don't resume in-person classes. Without evidence, he's accused Democrats of wanting schools closed because of politics, not health.

Similar mudslinging is happening at school board meetings, in neighbors' social media clashes and in online petitions.

Some parents have threatened to pull their children and the funding they provide if masks are required.

Hillary Salway, a mother of three in Orange County, California, is part of a vocal minority calling for schools to fully open with normal social interaction." If the district requires masks for her son's kindergarten class, she says, I dont know if my son will be starting his educational career in the public school system this fall.

She wants him to feel free to hug his teacher and friends and cant imagine sending him to a school where hell get reprimanded for sharing a toy. She started a petition last month urging her district to keep facial expressions visually available" and helped organize a protest of over 100 people outside the district office, with signs saying, No to masks, Yes to recess, and Let me breathe.

Dozens have echoed her beliefs at Orange County Board of Education meetings, where the five-member elected body is majority Republican and is recommending a full return to school without masks or social distancing. The board makes recommendations but not policy, and its supporters argue that face coverings are ineffective, give a false sense of security and are potentially detrimental.

TheCenters for Disease Control and Preventionsays masks may help prevent infected people from spreading the virus to others and urged students and teachers to wear them whenever feasible. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered Californians to wear them in public.

Brooke Aston Harper, a liberal parent who attended a particularly spirited board meeting recently, said it was horrifying that speakers were imposing their small worldview on all of us.

Im not looking for a fight, I just want us to take precautions, said Harper, whose children are 4 and 6.

She also started a petition, calling on schools to follow state guidelines that include masks for teachers and students, constant social distancing on campuses and other measures.

For each school board, the question is going to be: What does our community want, and who is the loudest? she said.

Many parents, educators and doctors agree that the social, educational and emotional costs to children of a long shutdown may outweigh the risk of the virus itself, even if they don't agree on how to reopen safely. The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued guidelines supporting in-person school to avoid social isolation and depression in students. But it said science, not politics, must guide decisions where COVID-19 is spreading.

While children have proven to be less susceptible to the virus, teachers are vulnerable. And many are scared.

I will be wearing a mask, a face shield, possibly gloves, and Im even considering getting some type of body covering to wear, says Stacey Pugh, a fifth-grade teacher in suburban Houston.

She hopes her Aldine district will mandate masks for students.

Come the fall, were going to be the front-line workers, said Pugh, whose two children will do distance learning with her retired father.

In Texas, a virus hot spot, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and education leaders say it's safe to reopen schools in August. Districts must offer remote learning for students who opt to stay home, but the state didn't issue safety guidelines, calling masks a local decision.

The Texas American Federation of Teachers and other unions have demanded clear guidelines.

Texas AFT says a big hell no to what looks like a return to normal in August, president Zeph Capo said. We wont sacrifice our members and students for politics.

The countrys two largest school districts, New York City and Los Angeles, say schools cannot fully reopen in the liberal cities.

While New York City officials say schools will likely combine in-person and distance learning, the Los Angeles school district announced Monday that its students will start the term with online classes from home. Other California cities, including San Diego and Oakland, also say their campuses will stay closed.

A 10-year-old student might have a 30-year-old teacher a 50-year-old bus driver or live with a 70-year-old grandmother. All need to be protected, LA Superintendent Austin Beutner said. There is a public health imperative to keep schools from becoming a petri dish.

Besides masks, the CDC has recommended schools spread out desks, stagger schedules, have meals in classrooms instead of the cafeteria and add physical barriers between bathroom sinks.

Many small, rural communities argue they shouldn't have to comply with the same rules as big cities, where infection rates are higher.

Craig Guensler, superintendent of a small district in Californias mostly rural Yuba County, says officials will try to follow state mandates. They have spent $25,000 on what he calls spit guards, for lack of a better term clear Plexiglas dividers to separate desks at Wheatland Unified School District's four schools.

Eighty-five percent of parents said in a survey they want their kids in school full time. Officials will space out desks as much as possible but still expect up to 28 in each classroom, Guensler said. Many parents are adamant their children not wear masks, and he suspects they will find loopholes if California requires them.

Our expectation is were going to get pummeled with pediatricians writing notes, saying, My child cant wear a mask,'" he said.

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Masks for kids? Schools confront the politics of reopening - Las Vegas Sun

WNBA season scheduled to tip off on July 25 – Las Vegas Sun

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

Steve Marcus

Las Vegas Aces Tamera Young, right, drives past Dallas Wings Kayla Thornton (6) during a WNBA basketball game at the Mandalay Bay Events Center Tuesday, July 30,2019.

By Doug Feinberg, Associated Press

Monday, July 13, 2020 | 4:50 p.m.

NEW YORK The WNBA season is scheduled to tip off July 25 with all games that weekend dedicated to the Black Lives Matter movement.

All 12 franchises will play the opening weekend and honor victims of police brutality and racial violence. Team uniforms will display Breonna Taylors name. Players will each have the option to continue to wear Taylors name on their jersey for subsequent games.

Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency medical technician, was shot eight times by plainclothes Louisville police officers serving a narcotics search warrant at her apartment on March 13. No drugs were found. Her family and protesters around the country have called for swift action against the officers who shot Taylor.

Additionally, throughout the season, players will wear warm-up shirts that display Black Lives Matter on the front and Say Her Name on the back.

As we build on the momentum for womens sports and the WNBA from last season, were incredibly grateful to our broadcast partners who have shown a continued commitment to bringing the WNBA to fans across the country on their biggest platforms, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said.

This 2020 WNBA season will truly be one unlike any other, and were looking forward to using our collective platform to highlight the tremendous athletes in the WNBA as well as their advocacy for social change.

The league's 24th season will be played at a single site in Bradenton, Florida. Each team will play a 22-game schedule, facing opponents twice. One game will be designated as a home game and the other one a road contest.

The league will have three games a day, playing on the two courts at the Feld Entertainment Center, which is near the IMG Academy where the players are staying.

The regular season will begin with No. 1 pick Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty facing Breanna Stewart and the Seattle Storm in a nationally televised game. Stewart missed all of last season while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon.

The season is set to end on Sept. 12 with the playoffs beginning soon after. The WNBA is using its traditional playoff format with eight teams reaching the postseason and a single-elimination game being played in the opening two rounds.

ESPN is already slated to broadcast 24 games during the first few weeks of the season across its channels, including ABC. It's the most regular-season games the network has shown.

ESPN and the WNBAs goal has always been to spotlight the leagues tremendous talent and that did not change under this new set of circumstances. The result was our most expansive regular season schedule to date, featuring every team in the league and the many stars that work tirelessly to move the sport forward, said Carol Stiff, ESPNs vice president of programming and acquisitions.

"The WNBA has been an exceptional partner of ESPNs for nearly 25 years and we look forward to continued collaboration as we move through what promises to be an amazing, albeit unconventional, season and post season.

CBS Sports Network will show 40 games, including one on its main network.

The rest is here:

WNBA season scheduled to tip off on July 25 - Las Vegas Sun

Small businesses around the world struggle to survive – Las Vegas Sun

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

Jim Mone / AP

Dentist Ali Barbarawi poses on June 23, 2020, at his Chicago Lake Family Dental practice in Minneapolis, which was forced to close by the coronavirus pandemic, then destroyed in the unrest following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. The destruction is a loss not just for him, but for his staff and patients, he said. Insurance will cover, at most, half of what hell need to rebuild, so on the advice of colleagues, he started a GoFundMe campaign to help bridge thegap.

By Adam Geller, Associated Press

Tuesday, July 14, 2020 | 12:06 a.m.

EDITORS NOTE Small businesses around the world are fighting for survival amid the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Whether they make it will affect not just local economies but the fabric of communities. Associated Press journalists tell their stories in the series "Small Business Struggles.

Hour after hour in the dark, Chander Shekhars mind raced ahead to morning.

More than three months had dragged by since the coronavirus forced Shekhar to shut down his business a narrow, second-floor shop racked with vibrantly colored saris, on a block in New Yorks Jackson Heights neighborhood once thronged with South Asian immigrant shoppers. Today, finally, he and other merchants were allowed to reopen their doors.

But they were returning to an area where COVID-19 had killed hundreds, leaving sidewalks desolate and storefronts to gather dust. Now fears were fading. But no one knew what lay ahead on this late-June Monday as owners raised the gates at jewelry stores, tandoori restaurants and bridal shops clustered near Roosevelt Avenues elevated train line. Overnight, the stress had woken Shekhar nine times.

You cannot tell everybody its safe to come and buy from us. This is an invisible enemy that nobody can see, said Shekhar, a father of two anxious about the shops $6,000 monthly rent. This is my baby, he said, of the store, Shopno Fashion. I have worked hard for this for more than 20 years, then I got my shop. Its not easy to leave it.

Amid the deaths of friends and customers, Shekhar is reluctant to complain. And he knows he is not alone. As economies around the world reopen, legions of small businesses that help define and sustain neighborhoods are struggling. The stakes for their survival are high: The U.N. estimates that businesses with fewer than 250 workers account for two-thirds of employment worldwide

___

In New Orleans, the owner of a gallery and lounge that launched just before the pandemic hit reopened it as a takeout eatery, with himself as the lone employee. In Tokyo, a florist grabbed a lifeline from shut-in customers who bought blossoms to keep their spirits up. In Minneapolis, a dentist who refitted his office to protect patients from infection is starting over after it was destroyed in riots.

All acknowledge that reopening is just the beginning. But it is a critical milestone, nonetheless, a testament to their grit, creativity and no small amount of desperation. Its about finding whatever works, because for now, there is no such thing as business as usual.

___

Over the years, Stephanie Skoglund invested countless hours of sweat equity renovating what was once Tenino, Washingtons general store -- replacing the floors, wiring chandeliers, adding a kitchen. Everything to upgrade the old sandstone building in this long-ago frontier town for use as a wedding hall.

With this years wedding season approaching, 40 celebrations were already on the calendar at The Vault and its sister facility. Then the coronavirus shut them down.

Were basically wiped out, Skoglund said.

Skoglund turned off the electric circuits and water lines at both venues. She sold a dance floor for $1,000 and a large party tent for $2,600, to help cover her familys bills. Her husband works for her business, so his income is gone, too.

Skoglund was approved for $3,200 of the nearly $25,000 she sought from the federal Payroll Protection Program before learning even that wouldnt be coming. Then Washington state halted her unemployment payments as it scrambled to sort out hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent claims.

Reopening, if you can call it that, has proved just as tough.

In June, Skoglund started getting calls from people looking to rent tables, chairs and tents for outdoor events, her only revenue so far. Shell host her first wedding in late July, one of three events that remain on the calendar. The hall can seat 299, so with 80 guests expected social distancing rules should not be an issue.

Of 20 couples who had booked weddings through October, eight rescheduled for next year and a dozen canceled. Skoglund wrote letters to say she hopes to refund them eventually; it wouldnt feel right to keep deposits, regardless of language in the contracts.

Once events restart, Skoglunds older children, aged 16 to 25, will pitch in as her staff. Shes hoping business solidifies by October. But she and her husband have talked about selling their home and businesses and starting over, if it doesnt.

I have to start thinking about how to save what I do have and not put myself in a financial position where I lose it, she said. Just making that decision: whats my next step? Thats what keeps me up at night.

--By Gene Johnson in Tenino, Washington

___

After Beirut went into lockdown in March, Walid Ataya returned to his bakery, pizzeria and wine room each morning, perching on a stool at the sidewalk bar to maintain an outpost of commerce and consider his next moves.

Before the pandemic, Lebanon faced an economic crisis rooted in years of government mismanagement and corruption that had sparked nationwide protests. Ataya, who fled when Israel invaded in the mid-1980s, had no intention of leaving again.

Over here in Lebanon, we can deal with crises, said Ataya, whose Bread Republic presides over a busy intersection fronting the swanky Furn al-Hayek neighborhood. We have been through wars and turmoil. ... So the pandemic came and for us it is just another crisis to overcome.

Bakeries were exempted from closure, so Atayas expanded beyond bread to sell fresh pasta. He also kept up a limited flower business, only delivering orders and selling bouquets at the bakery.

Ataya kept on 10 of his 40 employees, sending others home at half-pay. Eventually, he let 10 go, recalling the rest at full wages. He negotiated a rent reduction and cut ties with some suppliers when an 85 percent drop in the nations currency left many accepting only dollars.

When rules were eased in May, he reopened the wine bar and pizzeria, albeit at 30 percent of capacity. At first, no one sat indoors and staff circulated among the tables, spraying disinfectant. Police still fined Ataya for overcrowding at his outdoor tables. He is contesting it in court.

Finally, in early June, restrictions were reduced enough for Ataya to reopen his restaurant across the street from the bakery and pizzeria. Protests had resumed and he had his hands full dealing with government paperwork. Then masked men broke into his office and carried out a safe holding thousands of dollars.

In recent days, though, customers filled the tables outside his businesses.

We are in the stage of surviving day to day now, Ataya said. You cannot sit and do nothing. You have to take your chances.

--By Sarah El Deeb in Beirut

___

When Japanese officials asked people to stay home in March, Shinichiro Hirano cut the hours at Sun Flower Shop, but stayed open.

The blossom-filled store, in a central Tokyo neighborhood bordered by the Sumida River, quickly lost its business making arrangements for restaurant openings and job promotions. Tourists disappeared. The area, adjacent to the Athletes Village built for the Tokyo Olympics, had been expecting a boom, only to see it fizzle when the games were postponed.

Hirano placed colored tape on the floor to encourage social distancing. As pandemic fears soared, he found an audience.

People were working from home and wanted to cheer themselves up, said Hirano, who estimates 100 customers a day came to the shop. Some people said they can forget the coronavirus when they come in our store. Flowers can give energy to people.

On June 19, Hirano pulled the tape from the shops floor, while leaving warning signs up. Officially, the emergency was over, but the challenges continue.

One of the first bouquets he sold in the days afterward was to a customer marking the closing of a nearby restaurant. As other businesses reopen, some have ordered flowers to celebrate. Still, total sales have dropped by up to 20 percent.

Hirano, though, is consistent, returning to the store each day, bowing to customers, donning his favorite New York Yankees cap. Flowers are what he loves, he said.

As long as you have a store, you have to keep it open, he said. I never for a moment thought of closing it.

--By Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo

___

The velvet chairs in DJ Johnsons new NOLA Art Bar were filled with customers sipping cocktails on a mid-March evening when the announcement came: the city had ordered all bars to close. Johnson, who had moved home to New Orleans and invested his savings, turned up the lights, asked everyone to leave and boarded the door.

Six weeks later, though, he adapted to rules that allowed food service businesses to stay open for takeout. His bar hadnt done food. But he started making New Orleans staples like boiled shrimp and oysters, taking orders at a table set up in the gallerys door on St. Claude Avenue. The first day he made $35.

By late June, he was still not making enough to cover his costs. But he tapped income from rental units he owns to cover bills and to show residents of the Marigny neighborhood that he was there to stay.

The more I can get the word out, the better it will be for me when things are able to reopen, post-COVID, he said. So just weather the storm. Stay open. Let as many people as possible see that youre open.

On June 13, Johnson started seating diners inside the gallery at half capacity. A week later, he restarted construction on a bookstore and coffee shop next door. Hes still trying to figure out how to respond to a recent decision by Louisianas governor to close bars for on-site service, after coronavirus cases spiked. But hes determined to keep going, even if it means going back to selling to passersby at his gallerys door. For motivation, he thinks back to biographies of people like Nelson Mandela, as models for overcoming adversity.

Its discouraging. But the only thing that kept me going is, there is no quit, he said. You go until you cant go anymore.

--By Rebecca Santana in New Orleans

___

For the first few weeks, the hush that settled over Paris as restrictions known as The Confinement took hold, provided Shao Lin Tia with some much-prized rest.

Up until then, Tia had been working feverishly at Ginza, the pan-Asian restaurant she and her husband run, filling in for a chef who had left a few months earlier. That came not long after the couple opened a Thai restaurant next door on Rue Daguerre, a street near the citys famed catacombs that hosts a classic Paris market district of cheese shops, florists and cafes.

With both restaurants closed, the Tias had unexpected time to spend with their three children. The family worked their way through the restaurants food stocks to limit household spending. And the couple took the government at its word that commercial rents would be frozen and stopped payments.

France exempted small businesses in the restaurant, tourism, sports and culture sectors from social security contributions and reimbursed employers about 84% of net salaries. But with no money coming in and expenses looming, the time off began to weigh on the couples peace of mind.

The government doesnt give anything for free, Tia said.

Finally, in late April, the rules relaxed enough for the Tias to set up a takeout window. But with Parisians limited to a single outing a day, each requiring a timestamped authorization form, Daguerre emptied early, limiting the dinner trade to just two hours.

In recent weeks, Tia has added a few outdoor tables. But sales remain 30 percent lower than at this time last year, despite unusually beautiful weather. Many neighborhood residents left the city for second homes when the lockdown began and likely will not return until September.

Tia worries that as the government stops covering salaries in coming months, a wave of layoffs could increase pressure on businesses like hers.

Well never catch up, never in our lives, she said. And the hardest is yet to come.

--By Lori Hinnant in Paris

___

Almost as soon as the pandemic forced Ali Barbarawi to close his Minneapolis dental practice, he began laying a path to reopening.

Experts deemed dental offices as high risks for transmitting infection. So Barbarawi went online to speak with patients of his Chicago Lake Family Dental practice, limiting in-person visits to those with emergencies.

In the meantime, he installed plexiglass shields to limit the potential for airborne spread. He replaced the office carpet with hard flooring to make it easier to sanitize. And he ordered masks, face shields and gowns for staff at the office a block north of Lake Street, a commercial corridor spanning south Minneapolis that has long been home to scores of immigrant- and minority-owned businesses.

When Minnesota officials announced the lifting of some restrictions, Barbarawi made plans for a June 1 reopening. Then, with just a few days to go, protests over the killing of George Floyd spread through the neighborhood.

Sitting at home, eyeing the office security camera on his cellphone, he watched as people broke into the practice and destroyed his equipment. Soon after police told him they would be unable to respond to the scene, he saw the building go up in flames.

Why a dental office? he thought. Why us?

Barbarawi said, at most, insurance will cover half of what hell need to rebuild. On the advice of colleagues, he started a GoFundMe campaign, to help bridge the gap.

The destruction is a loss not just for him, but for his staff and patients, he said. But hes determined to rebuild, along with the larger community. Reopening, though, is four to six months away.

--By Mohamed Ibrahim in Minneapolis

___

In 15 years as a bookseller in east London, Jane Howe never saw the need for a website.

On weekends, shoppers packed the tidy Broadway Bookshop with more often waiting outside, drawn by the stores personalized service.

I love talking to people (about) what they read and what I read, and swap ideas, Howe said. I think of it as a dinner table and I lay everything out, these delicious dishes for people to take and try ... Its going to be very difficult to replace online.

The coronavirus didnt leave her much choice.

With foot traffic on the Broadway Market way down and distancing rules in place, Howe decided it made little sense to reopen to customers. She let go of three part-time staffers, tried to negotiate a rent reduction, and borrowed 50,000 pounds from the government.

If the business fails, how am I going to pay it back? Its a dicey situation, she said.

In mid-June, she launched a website, trying to replicate the interaction that made the brick-and-mortar store special. Loyal customers have been placing orders. Still, in the first week, the site took in just 28 percent of what the store netted before the pandemic.

Howe, who had been planning to retire in a few years, reminds herself that shes a newbie at online commerce. In early July, she began selling books from the stores doorstep, without letting customers inside.

Im going to give it my best shot for the next 18 months and then I dont know what will happen after that if we dont break even, she said. Im hoping we come out of this in a years timeall I can do is hope we will.

--By Sylvia Hui in London

___

Two days before Zakaria Masud reopened his travel agency and money transfer shop in New Yorks Jackson Heights, he turned on the lights to spend a few hours cleaning. Passersby knocked on the window, asking if he was ready for customers.

The store, Digital One, used to sell 40 air tickets a day, but hadnt sold one in months. Masuds other business, a Bengali newspaper called Weekly Ajkal, had been forced from its office by fire. He worried about getting sick, but reopening could not come soon enough.

By the fourth night back, a half dozen customers lined up at the counter, separated from Masud and his staff by new plastic shields, to wire money to relatives in Bangladesh. Others filed into a makeshift newspaper office in the basement to buy classified ads, hours before Masud printed for the first time since March.

I think were losing 50 percent of the revenue, Masud said. But I think we can survive.

A few days later and one block over, Chander Shekhar tallied his clothing shop's first day back -- four customers and $200 in sales. He needed $700 to cover costs and turn a small profit.

But that would take time, Shekhar reasoned. With people staying home and special events on hold, few needed new saris or jewelry repair. It might take the reassurance of a vaccine to bring shoppers back in full, he said.

Still, it was not a bad beginning. And for the first night in far too long, that was enough to allow his mind some rest.

Small businesses around the world struggle to survive - Las Vegas Sun

13 Things To Do This Week In Las Vegas For July 10-16 – KTNV Las Vegas

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

Here is a list of 13 things to do in Las Vegas for the week of July 10-16. Please be aware that any of these events may be canceled without notice because of the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions. Masks and social distancing are currently required in public.

1. Cousins Maine Lobster is coming downtown on July 10. They will be at Beer District Brewing on Main Street from 5 p.m. to midnight.

2. Cork & Thorn hosts Uncork Your Thoughts every Friday night from 8 to 10 p.m. The cocktail bar in downtown Las Vegas also has live music throughout the week.

3. Topgolf, which features a high-tech driving range and other entertainment options, has reopened. The venue is currently offering 10% off Topgolf game play to healthcare workers and is requiring guests to wear masks except when eating, drinking or playing.

4. The I Love Being Black Family Friends and Community Cookout is happening July 11 at Kianga Isoke Palacio Park. There will be food, music, dancing, games, a water balloon and water gun fight, and more.

5. DJ Ricco spins the tunes every Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. at the Sandbar Pool at Red Rock Resort. The Sandbar Pool has 19 private cabanas, chair-side service, and poolside gaming. Rates start at $100 for a daybed and $200 for a cabana.

6. The Cosmopolitan is offering Dive-In Movies again. The movie on July 13 will be Major League. Watch the movie on the Boulevard Pools 65-foot digital marquee. Tickets for non-hotel guests are $7.

7. Marche' Bacchus French Bistro & Wine Shop is celebrating Bastille Day on July 14. The a la carte menu will feature traditional French dishes and French-inspired specials. Live entertainment, a team of skydivers at 7 p.m., and a balloon release.

8. Want to celebrate Bastille Day at home? Chef Justin Hall is creating a dinner presented by MordeoLV that honors his French heritage. Kits that feed 2-4 people are available for $65. Several add-on options. The cooking class will be live-streamed at 7 p.m. July 13.

9. Oh La La French Bistro on North Rampart Boulevard is also celebrating Bastille Day. All-day specials include filet mignon Rossini, foie gras au torch; and a bone-in ribeye with French fries for 2 people.

10. Tony Holiday & The Velvetones are performing July 15 at The Sand Dollar LV. Tony Holiday is a singer and harmonica player from Memphis.

11. The Backyard at the Gold Spike in downtown Las Vegas is open again. Space is limited during Phase 2 and seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Open Wednesdays through Sundays. Enjoy various DJs and games.

12. Celebrate Trevor Johnson's Birthday during the Trev-Fest Birthday Bash from 7 to 11 p.m. July 12 at Saddles N Spurs Saloon. There will be several bands.

13. The Las Vegas Farmers Market happens every Wednesday from 2 to 6 p.m. at Bruce Trent Park. Local vendors with fresh produce, baked goods and artisan crafts.

If you would like to submit an item for a future 13 Things list, please send an email with details and photos/video to joyce.lupiani@ktnv.com.

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13 Things To Do This Week In Las Vegas For July 10-16 - KTNV Las Vegas

Las Vegas heat will near 1939 record by Monday – Las Vegas Review-Journal

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

Las Vegas Valley heat will intensify a bit each day, according to the latest National Weather Service forecast.

The forecast high for Wednesday is 105, a degree above normal and a match for Tuesdays high. By the weekend, highs in Las Vegas are expected to reach 112 on Saturday and Sunday with a 113 forecast for Monday.

Monday should be the hottest, but I cant say it will cool off, meteorologist Jen Varian said.

The record for July 12 is 114, set in 2003, and the July 13 record is 115, set in 1939, Varian said.

Wednesday will be breezy with afternoon gusts reaching 20 mph.

Thursdays forecast high is 107 with calmer winds. Friday should climb to near 110.

Excessive heat warning

Most of the region, except for areas of high altitudes, is included in an excessive heat warning from Saturday morning through Monday, the weather service said.

High temperatures are expected to reach 105 to 112 degrees for Las Vegas and Pahrump with 112 to 118 for Laughlin and 118 to 125 for Death Valley National Park.

People should take action to lessen the impact of the extreme heat, the warning states. Be prepared to drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air conditioned room, limit outdoor exposure to the cooler parts of the day, and check up on relatives and neighbors.

Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Marv_in_Vegas on Twitter.

Number of disappeared in Mexico rises to over 73000 – Las Vegas Sun

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

Published Monday, July 13, 2020 | 6:59 p.m.

Updated Monday, July 13, 2020 | 6:59 p.m.

MEXICO CITY (AP) The number of missing and disappeared in Mexico has risen to 73,201, and the vast majority 71,678 have gone missing since drug gang violence began increasing in 2006. The government reported Monday that the other 1,523 disappeared during counterinsurgency and other actions between 1964 and 2005.

The number was up by about 10,000 from the last report by the countrys National Search Commission in January.

According to the commissions figures, 27,871 people have disappeared since the current administration took office in December 2018. The commission said 2,332 people were reported missing in the first six months of 2020, down 36.6% from the 3,679 who went missing in the same period of 2019.

Since the current administration took office in December 2018, one state Jalisco has accounted for almost 29% of the 1,682 bodies found in over 1,100 pits nationwide.

Such pits often found in rural areas, but sometimes in suburbs of major cities are frequently used by drug and kidnapping gangs to dispose of the bodies of rivals or victims.

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Number of disappeared in Mexico rises to over 73000 - Las Vegas Sun

ESPN low on Las Vegas Raiders offensive weapons heading into 2020 – Just Blog Baby

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

The Las Vegas Raiders made it a point to bring in more offensive weapons this offseason, but ESPN still feels it is one of the worst groups in the league.

The Las Vegas Raiders battled through injuries to the wide receiver group last season, as Tyrell Williams went down with plantar fasciitis, and they had to insert multiple players to make up for the losses. Heading into this offseason, the organization made it a point to bring in talent at the position, and they did so via free agency, and the draft.

With their first pick in the first round, the Raiders added Alabama wideout Henry Ruggs III, selecting the speedster with the No. 12 overall pick and making him the first wide receiver off the board. In the third round, they selected two offensive playmakers back-to-back in Bryan Edwards from South Carolina, and Lynn Bowden Jr. from Kentucky.

These two guys bring their own playmaking ability to the offense, and when you couple that with the playmakers they already have, this is a group that improved dramatically this offseason. In addition, Derek Carr returns for his third season under Jon Gruden, and he will have his entire offensive line back with him in 2020.

In his rankings, Bill Barnwell from ESPN feels that the Raiders may have improved the group, but not enough to even rank them in the top half of the league. Las Vegas and their collection of offensive weapons landed at No. 24 overall according to Barnwell, which is shockingly low.

Barnwell states that the Raiders do have two legitimate stars in tight end Darren Waller and running back Josh Jacobs, but it is what is between those two that lands them at No. 24. The Raiders do not get much love from national media, which is understandable, but those who cover the team, know just how strong the additions to this roster were.

Next: Las Vegas Raiders: 5 challenges team could face in 2020

Of course, the Raiders offense will have to go out and prove they can get the job done, as they struggled to score points down the stretch last season. Carr has the weapons he needs to make this offense explosive this season, and if he can stand in the pocket and make plays downfield, there is no reason this Raiders offensive weapon group can't be one of the best in football.

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ESPN low on Las Vegas Raiders offensive weapons heading into 2020 - Just Blog Baby

Learning From the Past: Reckless Jewish Kings Through the Ages – Algemeiner

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

A Torah scroll. Photo: RabbiSacks.org.

The Fast of the Seventeenth of Tammuz that we have just passed initiates a three-week period of mourning for the loss, twice, of Jerusalem and the Temple. The official rabbinic reason for the disasters given in the Talmud is Sinat Chinam needless hatred and internal divisions and antagonism among Jews. Sadly we have always been very good at this, from Abraham onward. Looking around us today, the bitter divisions throughout the Jewish world confirm that the rabbis were right.

However, there is another factor that historically I think is more significant. If you look at the early history of the Jewish people 3,000 years ago, as recorded in the Bible, you cannot fail to notice what a mess our kings, priests, judges, and tribal chieftains made of everything, time and time again. Sure, they thought they were making the right decisions. But it turns out they rarely were.

At the time of the Judges, the tribes were so divided they only came together once to settle an internal dispute. They demanded of the tribe of Benjamin that murder on their territory should be punished. Benjamin refused and the other tribes went to war. Eventually, they all but destroyed the tribe and had to rebuild it.

David and Solomons unified rule lasted two generations. Then the kingdom split into two. The southern kingdom of Judea had Jerusalem as its capital, and the Temple. The 10 northern tribes, known as Israel, broke away and immediately set up two pagan temples. The two kingdoms were occasional allies but much of the time they were killing each other.

July 14, 2020 3:59 am

Both kingdoms were caught between rival powers. The Israelite kings had to choose who to ally themselves with and sadly, they invariably made the wrong choices. The northern kingdom of Israel could boast such awful rulers as King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. It changed dynasties and kings regularly. Ten of its 19 rulers were assassinated. All Judean kings, good and mostly bad, came from the house of David. The only exception was a brief interlude when Jezebels daughter (or perhaps granddaughter) Athaliah ruled, having killed all her sons except one.

The northern kingdom soon became a vassal state of Aram. When Aram succumbed to the Assyrian empire, Israel was expected to pay tribute to the Assyrians. But they tried to break away. Terrible decision. The last years of Israel were marred by internal conflict.

One king replaced another in quick succession. Zechariah was killed by Shalum. He was murdered by Menachem who was followed by Pekachyah. His son was murdered by Pekah who was killed by Hoshea. By this time, the Assyrians had enough of this unstable dependent and, to quote the poet Byron, The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold, and his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold. They took the lot of them into exile and scattered them around the Assyrian Empire in 720 BCE.

Having disposed of Israel in the north, the Assyrians then attacked a rare good Judean king, Hezekiah. But with a little help from the Almighty and a plot back at home in Nineveh against Sennacherib, Judea got away with buying the Assyrians off. But then Egypt emerged from a period of passivity and tried to persuade the Judeans to remain neutral in its war with Assyria.

Some 60 years later, another good king, Josiah (and by good I mean ethical and loyal to the Torah) made another disastrous miscalculation and intervened on behalf of Assyria in an attempt to thwart the Egyptian advance even though Pharaoh Necho had begged him not to. Josiah backed the wrong horse again and Pharaoh killed Josiah at Megiddo in 609 BCE. His son Yehoachin became king.

I hope you are still following this. Life in the Middle East was never boring.

Can you believe it, Yehoachin proved untrustworthy too. Nebuchadnezzar lost his patience. He captured the king and carted him and the elite of Judea off to Babylon. They, together with the next group of exiles, would constitute the largest Jewish community anywhere for the next 1,000 years.

Nebuchadnezzar then appointed the uncle of Jehoachin, Mattaniah, king and insisted he change his name to Zedekiah (literally the Pious One of God). If ever there was a misnomer this was it! He too promised to be a faithful ally. But once again, he made the fateful decision to rely on Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar by now was furious with these devious Judeans. He invaded in 586 BCE, destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple, killed the kings sons before his eyes, and then blinded him. That was the rule in those days. And he sent everyone with any skill back to Babylon in chains where they joined the earlier exiles.

Judean dysfunctionality did not end there. Gedaliah was left in charge by the Babylonians, but two pro-Egyptian Judeans assassinated him. The remaining Judeans including the prophet Jeremiah fled down to Egypt for fear of retaliation so that for the first time since Joshua, there were no Israelites living in the once Promised Land. And that is probably why we have the fast of Gedaliah the day after Rosh Hashanah to remind us how we lost the Promised Land and left it devoid of any Jews. We tend to remember our disasters as much, if not more, than our victories.

With a record of so many bad or failed kings, I often wonder why we pray for the restoration of the Davidic monarchy. In three weeks time, it will be the Ninth of Av. And if you have the patience as we get closer, I will tell you why the Second Commonwealth ended up almost as bad a mess as the first one.

All this makes me wonder why so many people still think that the Jews want to control the world, when they couldnt even control their own small bit of it. But then neither logic nor facts were ever very effective against prejudice or hatred.

History does not repeat itself exactly. But we really ought to learn from the mistakes of the past. Human nature being what it is, however, Id rather put my faith in a Higher Power!

Rabbi Jeremy Rosen received his rabbinic ordination from Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem. He also studied philosophy as an undergraduate at Cambridge University and went on to earn his PhD in philosophy. He has worked in the rabbinate, Jewish education, and academia for more than 40 years in Europe and the US. He currently lives in the US, where he writes, teaches, lectures, and serves as rabbi of a small community in New York.

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Learning From the Past: Reckless Jewish Kings Through the Ages - Algemeiner

Maybe this really is a time of divine judgment – The Christian Century

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

As the United States sank into its halfhearted quarantine this spring, we all seemed to turn at once to framework building and normalcy preserving. Social media feeds swelled with color-coded schedules for children suddenly home from school, advice for those working from home and the laid off alike, and a thousand options for joining in what had been group activitiesworkouts, meditation, worship, prayerfrom the relative safety of our living rooms. And with this tide of what-we-talk-about-when-we-dont-talk-about-COVID-19 came salvos by big names published in big outlets, including N. T. Wright in Time and James Martin in the New York Times, about how a Christian ought to respond to a pandemic.

This pandemic has brought with it a great deal about which we might desire some clarity and for which Christianity, the most powerful religion in the country and the one most nonreligious people are likely to no longer believe, might be asked to answer: more than 100,000 Americans dead and more dying; death dealt not evenly but along the familiar lines of race and income; hospitals, emergency medical services, morgues, and funeral homes stretched well past the breaking point; triage protocols that determine who dies and who gets a shot at living; millions out of work with hunger and eviction looming; half a million people with no homes in which to shelter in place. Its a disaster.

And Wright and Martin indeed offered faithful responses to disaster. Martin reminded us that we cannot answer the question why but can follow Jesus, while Wright said that beyond pat answers lies the biblical tradition of lament. Both were right to observe that in the face of catastrophe, neatness and simplicity are at best red herrings.

Then, 12 weeks after we first settled in, we exploded: days and nights of protests, marches, damage to property, chants, downed statues, arrests, tear gas, and rubber-coated bullets, as thousands of people took to the streets in outrage at the killing of yet more unarmed black Americans by police. The same debates we have had in the wake of the killing of other black peoplewhere do good protests end and bad ones begin? what of property? how should a police force respond?are taking place again. The catastrophe has been compounded. Are lament and open wondering the best Christians have to offer?

Martin, like many, rejects any ideas of divine testing or punishmentthey make God out to be a monster. Wright sees divine punishment or any other explanation as a knee-jerk reaction from a culture suffering from the rationalist demand to explain everything. (In fact, divine judgment and punishment for sin were first-line explanations for Christians centuries before the rise of rationalism.) Yet in the same gesture with which they reached to leave open uncertainty and invite truthful emotional response, both writers neatly and simply shut the door on the elephant in the room: the question of divine judgment. There is much to explore, much to wonder about, and much to lament in a disasterbut it seems one must not for a moment think that God had anything to do with it.

I would likecarefully, with fear and tremblingto face the elephant. God knows that judgment has been used both clumsily and callously, as poor comfort and as a cudgel, and that no one should rush to declare the judgment of God without full knowledge that they will come under that judgment as well. Martin and others have rightly noted that in Johns account of the man born blind and Lukes of those killed by the collapsing tower of Siloam, Jesus thoroughly troubles any sense of correspondence between individual sin and individual calamity. But to say that judgment is entirely canceled, as it were, is to misread the texts. Both stories scrap punishment, but judgment remains: the inexorable outworking of what has been happening all along.

It seems that one is not allowed to wonder whether God had anything to do with a disaster.

The self-preserving cruelty of the community leaders who drive out the healed man is, along with that mans faith, itself the judgment for which Jesus tells the man he came into the world, namely, that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind. And to those who wonder whether the tower fell where it did because those people were especially bad, Jesus says, essentially, Look to yourself: they werent worse than anyone else, and such a fate may well await you. To the damaged image of God in us just judgment holds up a mirror.

Jesus takes away the folly of a straight line between a sin and its punishment. But what we have instead is the truth that, should God judge, we would be liable to it. I do not judge, Jesus tells his critics, yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid. This is a sticking point for many, especially those of us Christians who eschew the image of a primarily wrathful God never more than a breath away from consigning the lot of us to the flames of hell. If we have rejected God as smiter, why would we accept God as judge? Original sin is out of fashion, and most of us are doing the best we can.

But over this twofold objectionGod doesnt do that, and if God did, we wouldnt deserve itmust come the cries of the suffering. Am I my brothers keeper? asks one of the first humans, and the whole Bible proceeds to answer yes. Yet weand by we I mean especially white Christiansare little more willing now to accept our deep and abiding responsibility for the well-being of other people, how profoundly we are bound up together, than Cain was.

We care, of coursebut responsibility is not reducible to care. This is important and easy to miss. Many of us care very much about other people, even and especially the vulnerable and suffering, who are especially dear to God. But the notion that we bear real responsibility for others states, that their suffering can meaningfully redound to our guilt, runs so counter to our cultures emphasis on individual responsibility for individual outcomes that even recognition of systemic causes often stops short of recognition of shared accountability for systemic effects.

Yet the Bible takes this bound-up-ness as a matter of course. Jesus mourns over Jerusalem as a whole without sifting out who, precisely, has stoned the ones sent to it and refused to be gathered under his wings. Isaiah declares Gods refusal of the offerings of a people who oppress workers, who quarrel and fight, without giving a roll call of who is guilty and who is not. God has counted every hair on each of our heads, but living is still a group project. Scripture provides little warrant for the comfortable among us to believe that we will not be called to account for the hardship and distress of others. And rare indeed these days is the comfort that does not come at someone elses cost.

This is the judgment, says John 3, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. The judgment is that, given the option, people go with what they have already been going with. That given the option, we choose not to see. That, given the option, we build towers that will fall. That, given the option, we do not wish to be made well, and so are not.

We have all seen the calls to let a certain portion of the population die for the sake of the economy, our favorite god. We have seen calls for war with another country on which we wish to pin the blame for the many thousands who have died in our undersupplied hospitals, who have been stacked in refrigerated trucks waiting to be buried wherever there is space, without family to mourn them. We have seen more and better-articulated horror at the sight of a burning police precinct building or the shattered storefronts of chain stores than at the records of police brutality against unarmed people or the redlining legacy that forms the neighborhoods where we now live, safe because of the unsafety of others.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the cell phone cameras of ordinary people have brutally illuminated the shambles we call a societyand the strong national preference, as expressed by our leaders, has been to cut the lights, bring in the troops, call evil good and good evil, and resuscitate the Dow. Certainly many of us disagree, yes. But disagreement does not opt us out of our connection with others.

COVID-19 deaths and death at the hands of police are not judgments on those who die. This we know. But to fail or to refuse to see both the pandemics shape and the glass in the streets of every major US city as judgment on the nation we have been building for 400 years and on the ways this nation has shaped the world is to lose the chance to repent for our most constant sin: our ethos has always considered some human livesindigenous, enslaved, black, brown, poor, sickexpendable. Each preventable death is precious in the sight of God and accrues to the guilt of those of us who are shielded by our race and our class from the harm built into our way of life.

This is judgment as literal apocalypse: exposure of how thoroughly sin structures all we know. The light has come into the world, but we have preferred darkness.

Of course there is grace to be found. Every town has its mutual aid society, every sewer his or her pile of masks. School systems are working to feed students. Demands that would have been dismissed as utopian only a month ago, like defunding police forces and completely reimagining community safety, have found surprising political traction. Christ has risen; there is still welcome for the sinner and more graces for the good, as the hymn goes.

But still, our most essential workers are paid the least and protected little if at all. All 50 states are in some stage of reopening, even as COVID-19 case numbers rise. The police who shot Breonna Taylor in her bed cannot be fired until the investigation is completean investigation that was not ordered for more than two months after her death. And on, and on, and on. For those with eyes to see, the judgment is clear. The greatest mercy is being given this chance to turn from it, to turn toward each other, and live.

A version of this article appears in the print edition under the title A time of judgment.

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Maybe this really is a time of divine judgment - The Christian Century

Save America From Cancel Culture – Somewhat Reasonable – Heartland Institute

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

Richard Ebeling is a professor of economics at Northwood University in Midland, Michigan.

One of the new fashionable phrases has become cancel culture, the idea that ideas, institutions, and people of the present as well of the past must be overturned and dethroned from legitimacy and acceptance in society, so as to expunge the injustices, cruelties, and insensitivities existing in current life and lingering over from history. The question is: what exactly is the culture in America that is to be cancelled?

Elements of the cancel culture mindset and movement have been seen in the tearing down of statues, demands for removing from buildings and other monuments the names and imageries of various people, and the ostracizing of certain individuals, living or dead, who are accused of and condemned for racist, sexist, and other politically incorrect words or deeds at any time during their life.

White racists of the past used to say that one drop of black blood disqualified any person from having status as a member of the superior white race, and, instead, relegated you to the lower category of being an inferior being. Now we see another variation on the same type of theme: One word or deed, no matter how innocent or innocuous, no matter how long ago or in the context of an earlier less enlightened time, and no matter how much of a higher consciousness you have had ever since, or how publicly apologetic you may be for that sin of the past, none of this can save you from banishment, seemingly for all time, from good woke society.

You are cast out to the nether regions of human existence. Erased from the record of humankind. And all because everything American, past and present, should be seen as the essence of all things evil and immoral. Because what the country has stood for and done represents the worst in human history.

Of course, endless examples and instances of such racist attitudes and behaviors can be offered from the pages of American history. For instance, historian John B. McMaster (1852-1932) detailed the racist actions of white prospectors and fortune-hunters in California, following the gold discoveries in 1848, in hisHistory of the People of the United States 1850-1861, Vol. 8 (1913):

Hatred of the greaser was early and strongly developed, and in the northern and central mining regions Chileans, Peruvians, even Frenchmen were driven from the placers. Here and there some resistance was made; but in most instances they quietly submitted and went off to the valley of the San Joaquin. Germans, English, Irish were not disturbed, for it was against the dark-skinned races, Malays, Kanakas, Spaniards, and above all Mexicans and South Americans that feeling ran high . . .

The greasers having been driven from the State, the wrath of the native Americans fell next on the Chinese . . . At first the Celestials, the China boys, met a warm welcome, and in San Francisco on more than one occasion were the object of public attention . . . In the mining camps, on the other hand, the feeling against the Chinese ran high, and meetings were held, and resolutions passed calling for their expulsion . . . A few days later some sixty American miners came down the north fork of the American River, drove away two hundred Chinese, and destroyed their tents. (pp. 60-63)

The classical liberal author and essayist, Albert Jay Nock (1870-1945), penned a piece that appeared in theAmerican Magazine(February 1913) on, What We Stand For (reprinted in,The State of the Union: Essays in Social Criticismby Albert Jay Nock [1991]) He asked what America was really about when a black man could be dragged from a hospital bed by a mob, and then burned alive:

On Sunday evening, August 13, 1911, at the hour when churches dismiss their congregations, a human being named Zack Walker was taken by violence out of a hospital at Coatesville, Pennsylvania, where he lay chained to an iron bedstead, in the custody of the law, suffering from a shot-wound, apparently self-inflicted.

The bedstead was broken in half, and the man, still chained to the lower half, was dragged half a mile along the ground, thrown upon a pile of wood, drenched with oil, and burned alive. Other human beings to the number of several hundred looked on in approval. When Walker with superhuman strength burst his bonds and tried to escape, they drove him back into the flames with pitchforks and fence-rails and held him there until his body was burned to ashes. Those who could get fragments of his charred bones took them off as souvenirs. (p. 139)

Nock wondered what this told us about human beings in modern, supposedly civilized society, whether in America or anywhere, who would act in such ways?

The cancel culture proponents, and most certainly the more activist and radical among them, would insist that such episodes tell us all we need to know about America, and that the America of the mid-19thand early 20thcenturies, about which historian, John B. McMaster, and essayist, Albert Jay Nock, wrote, is the same America today.

Is that what American culture is, and always has been about? I would beg to differ. If it was, let me suggest that we would not have seen the improvements in racial and social circumstances and conditions that have happened over the last century. Segregation laws are long gone, and, if anything, laws have been introduced to impose and police compulsory integration under federal anti-discrimination laws.

Employments, professions, and occupations that had been long reserved for whites only went out with the Jim Crow statutes in the South, and to the extent that social distancing was practiced by many whites due to personal and peer-pressure prejudices, over the last half century these have radically disappeared in an amazing array of social and interpersonal settings.

The civil liberties expressed in the Bill of Rights no longer apply to some while not to others. Where violations, abuses, and any other willful acts may occur, legal defenses, advocacy groups, and general public opinion in the age of mass and social media try to limit or turn a bright light onto such conduct in most instances today; and pressures are made for the introduction of reforms that would make such behavior less frequent, if not impossible, and not to go unpunished.

I have no wish to sound Panglossian, that the world we are in is the best of all worlds. It is certainly not. And as a classical liberal who believes in and cares deeply about the rights and dignity of the individual human being, all such infringements, denials, and abuses are unacceptable affronts to what I consider the moral principles upon which any good and decent society should and can be based.

Classical liberalism is not simply a political philosophy of economic freedom. The right to honestly acquired private property, the right to freedom of association in the competitive marketplace of supply and demand, the right to produce, buy and sell whatever individuals choose to on the peaceful and non-fraudulent terms to which the participants agree, are essential elements to any consistent practice of liberty in society.

But for most classical liberals and libertarians, the starting premise and principle from which economic liberty is derived is the broader right of the individual to be viewed as having the most basic and fundamental property right: to himself. Each individual is a self-governing person, having sovereignty over his life, liberty, and the external properties that he has acquired with either his own direct efforts of production or through the free and honest exchange entered into with others.

Freedoms of speech, the press, and of religion; the right of association for any and all peaceful purposes, to be secure in ones person and papers and other properties from those in political power without legal warrant and due process of equal and impartial rule of law; these and other such rights captured in the U.S. Constitution and complementary legal bases, means the of securing and protecting the civil liberties and rights that are inseparable threads along with economic freedom in the tightly woven single tapestry of human liberty. To abuse or abridge any one of them is a threat and a warning signal to all other sides of liberty.

This is what makes the principles and founding documents of the American Revolution and the U.S. Constitution impossible to be viewed as defenses of slavery or legal segregation and discrimination, or institutional racism. The American founding runs counter to all such conduct in its vision, hope and promise for a society based on the sanctity, dignity, and respect for the individual and his rights from the violent betrayal of either private persons or those in political power.

David J. Brewer (1837-1910) served as an associate justice on the United States Supreme Court for 20 years, from 1889 to 1910. He strongly advocated equal rights and respect for women, worked for equal opportunities for black Americans, and supported freedom of association among workers. In a series of lectures delivered at Yale University onAmerican Citizenship(1902), Justice Brewer explained what it meant to be an American in terms of defining beliefs and ideas:

This is a government of and by and for the people. It rests upon the thought that to each individual belong the inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It affirms that the nation exists not for the benefit of one man, or set of men, but to secure to each and all the fullest opportunity for personal development. It stands against the governments of the Old World in that there the thought is that the individual lives for the nation; here the nation exists for the individual . . .

Far be it for me to affirm that we have lived up to our ideals. I am making no Fourth of July speech. On the contrary, our history has disclosed many shortcomings. We have not been free from the weaknesses of human nature. But, notwithstanding all our failures, nowhere has there been a closer living to the ideals of popular government, and nowhere are the possibilities of future success greater.

If, therefore, the chief object of national existence is to secure to each individual the fullest protection in all inalienable rights and the fullest opportunity for personal advancement, and if this nation has come nearer than any other to the realization of this ideal, and if by virtue of its situation, its population, and its development, it has the greatest promise of full realization of this ideal in the future, surely it must be that the obligations of its citizens to it are nowhere surpassed. (pp. 14, 17-18)

The obligation of an American citizen was to live up to this ideal of a land dedicated to the liberty and rights of each and every individual. To strive to practice what was preached. Clearly, to overcome those weaknesses in human nature that resulted in a failure to fully respect and live by the idea of human freedom, a society in which the government exists to protect the individual in his rights and not to make the individual a subject to those in political power for their own purposes, whether those in power was one, or a few, or even many.

Sometimes, moments of great political and ideological crisis place things in more essential defining clarity. Certainly, the rise of totalitarianism in the years between the two World Wars was such a time, which reached its climax in the Second World War. In the eyes of many, the crisis of that time was between two conceptions of man, society and government. Communism and Nazism represented a reactionary turn toward a comprehensive and cruel collectivism that would envelop and crush the individual in the rush for making new men based on Marxian-imagined social class or National Socialist biological race.

On the other side was the ideal of free men in a free society, without human beings reduced to cogs in the wheels of political tyranny and social terror. America, in the eyes of many at that time, represented the alternative to the totalitarian threats. One of them was historian Hans Kohn (1891-1971), a recognized leading scholar on the idea and history of nationalism in the modern age.

Born in Prague in the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, he became a determined Zionist in his 20s. Kohn served as an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army when the First World War began in 1914, but was captured by the Russians in 1915 on the Eastern Front, and spent five years in Russia as a prisoner of war, witnessing both the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the three years of bitter and brutal Civil War that followed before in Russia before returning home to Prague.

Kohn spent several years in Palestine in the 1920s but became disillusioned with a political and nationalist Zionism that showed little regard for the rights of the Palestinians with whom the immigrant European Jews were increasingly living. He came to the United States in the early 1930s and remained in America for the remainder of his life, devoting his scholarly efforts to analyzing and understanding the nature and consequences of nationalism versus the liberal and free society in general.

In Hans Kohns view, in that world crisis between freedom and liberalism versus totalitarian tyranny, America held a unique philosophical position. He explained this in one of his wartime works,World Order in Historical Perspective(1942):

All the great currents of the Western liberal development of the 17th and 18th centuries were able to ripen to fruition under the especially favorable circumstances of the English colonies in North America and in the wake of their revolutionary movement.

Here, more than anywhere else, emerge the Western man; not as a race, because he was a mixture of many races, but as a social and intellectual type, professing a deep faith in man and his potentialities, and trying to build a civilization on the basis of rationalism, optimism, and individualism. The American society more than any other is a product of the 18th century, of the faith in freedom and in ultimate harmony; a typical middle-class society with its ultimately pacifist ideal . . .

No wonder that Europeans looked longingly toward the vast spaces of North America, where they saw the possibility of establishing a society without kings or nobles, a society founded upon the philosophy of the century. Though the Americans had come from Europe, they seemed to be changed men, as if the air of America were filled with liberty and were able to transform mens minds and hearts . . .

Among the realities of national life, the image which a nation forms of itself and in which it mirrors itself is one of the most important. Though the everyday reality, in many ways, does not correspond to the image and falls far short of its ideal perfection sometimes even contradicts it in the countless and conflicting trends of the complex actuality nevertheless, this image, woven of elements of reality, tradition, imagination, and aspiration is one of the most influential agents in forming the national character. It helps to mold national life; if it does not always act in a positive direction, it acts at least as a constant brake (pp. 9-10, 17-18)

This inspiration and aspiration of a society of free men, based as Kohn said, on rationalism, optimism, and an individualism of liberty was and is real. It has not been a fabrication, a false consciousness to hide a reality of oppression, discrimination, and racism. There have been oppressions, discriminations and racisms. But the fact that they ran contrary to what the country has stood for in terms of its own image of what an American is supposed to be and stand for, and which has been that mirror, as Kohn suggested, that reflects back on the actualities of mens words and deeds, that has made Americans, however slowly and sometimes grudgingly, move more in the direction of those ideals, without which there really is no reason or rationale for an America.

That racism was a deep and deadly wound in the American reality was not lost or deemphasized by Hans Kohn. In a contribution to theEncyclopedia of the Social Sciences(1938) on Race Conflicts, he said and warned that racial inequality and mistreatment, epitomized by the brutality of the lynching of black men was, conducive not only to the destruction of democracy and liberty, but also to the undermining of justice and law.

The cancel culture radicals, made up of the politically correct, the identity politics warriors, and democratic socialists, who all are dreaming dreams of a new tribal collectivism of mind control, political planning, and the social engineering of their own versions of a new person, want to wipe out any knowledge, memory, or belief in that American ideal about which people like Justice David J. Brewer or historian Hans Kohn attempted to explain both what it was and to argue its importance for Americans and all of humankind. (See my articles,The Meaning and Mind of an AmericanandAd Hominems Against FreedomandLiberty is the Theme of the American Spirit.)

If the cancel culture destroyers win, then America will be no different than the rest of the world; a world filled with racial genocides, religious bigotries and wars, plundering despotisms, and political paternalisms that reduce human beings to expendable pawns on a great chessboard manipulated by others who arrogantly believe they know how we all should live and what each of us really deserves.

When the famous 19thcentury sociologist and laissez-faire liberal, Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), visited the United States in 1882, he said to an American news reporter:

As one of your early statesmen said, The price of liberty is eternal vigilance. But it is far less against foreign aggressions upon national liberty that this vigilance is required than against insidious growth of domestic interferences with personal liberty . . .

The fact is, that free institutions can be properly worked only by men each of whom is jealous of his own rights and is also sympathetically jealous of the rights of others will neither himself aggress on his neighbors, in small things or great, nor tolerate aggression on them by others. The republican form of government is the highest form of government; but because of this it requires the highest type of human nature a type nowhere at present existing. We [the British] have not grown to it, nor have you [the Americans].

But how can we hope to grow more into that type of person who is respectful and jealous for his own liberty and protective of that same liberty that rightfully belongs to all others including to be free from racist bigotries and political injustices that may flow from it that American culture of individualism, and personal, social, and economic liberty, and the ideal of a government of impartial rule of law devoted to securing each persons individual rights, if it is all cancelled through the destruction and the repression of all knowledge and understanding of the countrys history, the good and the bad? How shall that history be an inspiration and an aspiration for the next generations if it is all torn down and cast away? And most importantly, the denial and distortion of its founding ideals of a morality of a free people?

It is why all possible effort must be made to resist and rationally respond to a cancel culture that would erase the history and memory of America from the minds of humankind.

[Originally posted at the American Institute for Economic Research]

Save America From Cancel Culture was last modified: July 13th, 2020 by Richard Ebeling

Save America From Cancel Culture - Somewhat Reasonable - Heartland Institute

Automation | Britannica

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

Automation, the application of machines to tasks once performed by human beings or, increasingly, to tasks that would otherwise be impossible. Although the term mechanization is often used to refer to the simple replacement of human labour by machines, automation generally implies the integration of machines into a self-governing system. Automation has revolutionized those areas in which it has been introduced, and there is scarcely an aspect of modern life that has been unaffected by it.

The term automation was coined in the automobile industry about 1946 to describe the increased use of automatic devices and controls in mechanized production lines. The origin of the word is attributed to D.S. Harder, an engineering manager at the Ford Motor Company at the time. The term is used widely in a manufacturing context, but it is also applied outside manufacturing in connection with a variety of systems in which there is a significant substitution of mechanical, electrical, or computerized action for human effort and intelligence.

In general usage, automation can be defined as a technology concerned with performing a process by means of programmed commands combined with automatic feedback control to ensure proper execution of the instructions. The resulting system is capable of operating without human intervention. The development of this technology has become increasingly dependent on the use of computers and computer-related technologies. Consequently, automated systems have become increasingly sophisticated and complex. Advanced systems represent a level of capability and performance that surpass in many ways the abilities of humans to accomplish the same activities.

Automation technology has matured to a point where a number of other technologies have developed from it and have achieved a recognition and status of their own. Robotics is one of these technologies; it is a specialized branch of automation in which the automated machine possesses certain anthropomorphic, or humanlike, characteristics. The most typical humanlike characteristic of a modern industrial robot is its powered mechanical arm. The robots arm can be programmed to move through a sequence of motions to perform useful tasks, such as loading and unloading parts at a production machine or making a sequence of spot-welds on the sheet-metal parts of an automobile body during assembly. As these examples suggest, industrial robots are typically used to replace human workers in factory operations.

This article covers the fundamentals of automation, including its historical development, principles and theory of operation, applications in manufacturing and in some of the services and industries important in daily life, and impact on the individual as well as society in general. The article also reviews the development and technology of robotics as a significant topic within automation. For related topics, see computer science and information processing.

The technology of automation has evolved from the related field of mechanization, which had its beginnings in the Industrial Revolution. Mechanization refers to the replacement of human (or animal) power with mechanical power of some form. The driving force behind mechanization has been humankinds propensity to create tools and mechanical devices. Some of the important historical developments in mechanization and automation leading to modern automated systems are described here.

The first tools made of stone represented prehistoric mans attempts to direct his own physical strength under the control of human intelligence. Thousands of years were undoubtedly required for the development of simple mechanical devices and machines such as the wheel, the lever, and the pulley, by which the power of human muscle could be magnified. The next extension was the development of powered machines that did not require human strength to operate. Examples of these machines include waterwheels, windmills, and simple steam-driven devices. More than 2,000 years ago the Chinese developed trip-hammers powered by flowing water and waterwheels. The early Greeks experimented with simple reaction motors powered by steam. The mechanical clock, representing a rather complex assembly with its own built-in power source (a weight), was developed about 1335 in Europe. Windmills, with mechanisms for automatically turning the sails, were developed during the Middle Ages in Europe and the Middle East. The steam engine represented a major advance in the development of powered machines and marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. During the two centuries since the introduction of the Watt steam engine, powered engines and machines have been devised that obtain their energy from steam, electricity, and chemical, mechanical, and nuclear sources.

Each new development in the history of powered machines has brought with it an increased requirement for control devices to harness the power of the machine. The earliest steam engines required a person to open and close the valves, first to admit steam into the piston chamber and then to exhaust it. Later a slide valve mechanism was devised to automatically accomplish these functions. The only need of the human operator was then to regulate the amount of steam that controlled the engines speed and power. This requirement for human attention in the operation of the steam engine was eliminated by the flying-ball governor. Invented by James Watt in England, this device consisted of a weighted ball on a hinged arm, mechanically coupled to the output shaft of the engine. As the rotational speed of the shaft increased, centrifugal force caused the weighted ball to be moved outward. This motion controlled a valve that reduced the steam being fed to the engine, thus slowing the engine. The flying-ball governor remains an elegant early example of a negative feedback control system, in which the increasing output of the system is used to decrease the activity of the system.

Negative feedback is widely used as a means of automatic control to achieve a constant operating level for a system. A common example of a feedback control system is the thermostat used in modern buildings to control room temperature. In this device, a decrease in room temperature causes an electrical switch to close, thus turning on the heating unit. As room temperature rises, the switch opens and the heat supply is turned off. The thermostat can be set to turn on the heating unit at any particular set point.

Another important development in the history of automation was the Jacquard loom (see photograph), which demonstrated the concept of a programmable machine. About 1801 the French inventor Joseph-Marie Jacquard devised an automatic loom capable of producing complex patterns in textiles by controlling the motions of many shuttles of different coloured threads. The selection of the different patterns was determined by a program contained in steel cards in which holes were punched. These cards were the ancestors of the paper cards and tapes that control modern automatic machines. The concept of programming a machine was further developed later in the 19th century when Charles Babbage, an English mathematician, proposed a complex, mechanical analytical engine that could perform arithmetic and data processing. Although Babbage was never able to complete it, this device was the precursor of the modern digital computer. See computers, history of.

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Automation | Britannica

How Automation Can Help You Respond to Hacked Credentials Circulating the Dark Web – Security Boulevard

Posted on July 14, 2020 by Danzig

Much like the legitimate economy, the cybercriminal marketplace experiences ebbs and flows.

Current factors working against it include the ripple effects of COVID-19 and loss of trust due to increased law enforcement activity. But any remaining doubt as to the sheer magnitude of this shadow economy was officially shattered earlier this month when security firm Digital Shadows released research showing that some 15 billion with a b login credentials are circulating in the cybercriminal underground, the result of 100,000 breaches that have occurred in recent years. If they all are unique, the15 billion figure would compute to roughly two credentials for every person living on the planet.

When a data-loss incident occurs, the hijacked merchandise has to end up somewhere, and now it appears the supply of stolen usernames and passwords for everything from domain admin accounts to anti-virus software to bank accounts is stuffing the far recesses of the internet. Depending on the value of the account, credentials can fetch anywhere from a few bucks each to several thousand per entry.

Given the volume, it is likely a compromised business has or soon will cough up your personal information. But as a security professional, you can take steps to help offset the explosive rise of dark web credentials by a) not contributing to the problem and b) keeping your guard up against any stolen information being used against your organization all while ensuring maximum efficiency from your team. Automation is a big part of it.

Attackers commonly turn to phishing or malicious spam (such as keylogger) attacks to siphon credentials from their victims. Perhaps their aim is solely that: to pilfer someones login information as a way to commit account takeover fraud or business email compromise. In fact, the Digital Shadows audit turned up two million email addresses related to accounting departments. In other cases, attackers look to pry credentials to further a much larger agenda within a targeted organization, as these keys can permit them to move laterally with the goal of ransacking the database or installing sophisticated malware. You can respond by enlisting common-sense approaches for handling social engineering, as well instituting security automation to hasten and streamline your response to phishing and malware cases.

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Employees can be their own worst enemy when it comes to keeping themselves and their employer safe from the tentacles of cybercriminals, especially now with a majority of them working remotely. Security awareness education is valuable, but employees alone cant be relied upon to make the right decisions all the time. Technology can help them along, including VPNs, password managers and two-factor authentication, as does restricting privileges to the minimum level of permissions needed to get their jobs done.

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Dark web monitoring services, which trawl the common locations from which stolen data is dumped or bought and sold, have become in demand in recent years by companies yearning for more visibility into the whereabouts of their employees or customers personal information. But the process of determining the legitimacy of the monitoring services findings, closing false positive cases and initiating account password resets or lockouts can be cumbersome and time consuming. Security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) technology can help organizations overcome these pain points, while ensuring passwords arent exposed to analysts and dramatically reducing the time window in which criminals have to exploit the credentials. In addition, SOC personnel is freed up to work on strategic tasks, like hunting for active threats within the network.

Dan Kaplan is director of content at Siemplify.

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