Almost Half of the Captain "C"s in Baseball History Were on Just Two Cubs Teams – bleachernation.com

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Lets just have a moment to explore something interesting, shall we?

The Cubs do not have captains, and you know this because we often think about Anthony Rizzo as the captain but without the C.Theo Epstein has been asked about making it happen for Rizzo, but he expressed reluctance to do it: We dont have to put a C on anyones chest to know who our leaders are. Fair enough.

But did you know it wasnt always the case that the Cubs didnt have captains?Even in relatively recent times? I knew there was a brief period of captains about 20 years ago, but Ill admit, I didnt know the full story, nor did I realize there were six of them at one time until I stumbled on this three-year-old tweet:

In turn, that sent me down a rabbit hole to find the origin story of the six captains in 2000, and I found the UniWatch article that generated his tweet. It turns out that the story of the Cubs having those six Cs is actually part of a MUCH more interesting story.

Although baseball has had its captains through the years like any other sport, having a C on your chest, so to speak, is incredibly rare. As of the UniWatch article in 2017, and per Paul Lukass research, there have been just 13 players to have worn the C. Total. Thats it.

The first instance came back in 1983, when Cincinnati Red Dave Concepcion got the honor, which was so novel that it required explaining:

From there, only 12 other players got the physical C on their uniforms, and HALF of them were Chicago Cubs in 2000 and 2001 under then-manager Don Baylor. Sammy Sosa wore it both years, as did Kevin Tapani. Mark Grace and Rick Aguilera also got the C in 2000, with Eric Young and Joe Girardi getting it in 2001. Four captains each year, six total over the two years. Baylor apparently felt it was important to not only bring back the captaincy (I believe the Cubs had not had a captain since Ron Santo), but also to put the physical letter on the uniform. Interestingly, he must not have thought it was important for his third year managing the team in 2002 (which lasted only half a season ).

So, then, Don Baylor and the Cubs are single-handedly responsible for nearly half the Cs in baseball history. In a way, then, it wouldnt be surprising to see the Cubs with Anthony Rizzo be the club to bring it back.

I say bring it back because no one in baseball has worn the C in nearly a decade. It feels like something from a brief era gone by.

Which, by the way, brings me back to Theo Epstein.

Of those 13 players who have worn the C, it turns out that the last one of them got the honor from none other than Epstein, himself. It was catcher Jason Varitek back in 2005, as presented by a goateed Epstein:

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Almost Half of the Captain "C"s in Baseball History Were on Just Two Cubs Teams - bleachernation.com

Rivera asked Haskins to trust him and ‘it worked out’ – NBCSports.com

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Asking a quarterback if he likes when his team brings in new offensive talent is like asking Bill O'Brien if he likes making trades that confuse everyone. In both cases, the answer is going to be yes.

But still, during an interview on theRedskins Talkpodcast, Dwayne Haskins was given the chance to review the Redskins' choices of Antonio Gibson and Antonio Gandy-Golden in the 2020 draft. And while it wasn't exactly shocking that he came in on the positive side, it still matters.

"I'm excited about the additions," Haskins told JP Finlay.

The two Antonios are now in the mix of an offense that also includes Terry McLaurin, Steven Sims andKelvin Harmon at wideout, and Adrian Peterson, JD McKissic and Derrius Guice in the backfield.

Take that on-field personnel and combine itwith some new voices on the sideline in coordinator Scott Turner and position coach Ken Zampese, and it's clear that the organization wanted to better surround Haskins any way it could.

Now, the unit isn'tone that's suddenlygoing to be revered league wide or mentioned in any conversation about the sport's most threatening groups Amari Cooper would've gone a long way toward changing that but it does seem like it's going to be more well-rounded than the bunchthat was the NFL's least capable last year. There'syouth and versatility sprinkled throughout the skill spots.

LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW BELOW

Gibson, actually,is the perfect combination of both of those qualities. The dangerous Memphis star had just one year of real production at school, but in that one year, the production wasreal.As a hybrid player, he turned 71 offensive touches into 12 scores.

Because of his limited experience at school, Gibston's transition to the pros may be a difficult one initially, yet his upside remains huge. That's why Haskins perked up when he began speaking about Gibson onRedskins Talk.

"When AG said he was a playmaker, that got me fired up," Haskins said."He hit me up after the draft and he was trying to figure out any tips and things he can learn about the offense."

Then there's Gandy-Golden, whom Haskins is already trying to meet up with so the two can begin building a connection.

Much like Gibson, the 6-foot-4 target could face challenges early on in the NFL, especially if the live offseason reps are as limited as they're tracking to be. Going from Liberty to the NFC East was going to be demanding already, and if he has to do that without much in-person coaching and an introduction to next-level DBs, then he may also encounter a slow start.

That possibility hasn't prevented many from labeling Gandy-Golden a Day 3 steal, though, and he does have some unique abilities most notably the one where he consistently snatches jump balls away from defenders, often times embarrassing his opponent in the process that may translate right away.

Haskins already recognizes Gandy-Golden's new and appealing traits, labeling him the "type of player we were kind of missing last year."

So, No. 7 is understandably pleased that the Redskins followed through on their desire to improve the offense in the draft. Some will still question whether the investments were premium enough, but the team's starter won't be one of them.

Instead, he's going to be busy imagining ways to incorporate the Antonios into the Burgundy and Gold's growing core. He'll be doing it with a smile, too.

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Baker: Companies with few face-to-face customer encounters will be first to be allowed to re-open later this month if coronavirus numbers continue…

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Gov. Baker today announced a four-phase plan for re-opening the state's economy after May 18, although he cautioned that the plan could quickly change if Covid-19 spikes in particular areas or businesses.

Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said exact details of which types of "non-essential" businesses can open and when will be released on May 18. He said that after then, there will no longer be "essential" and "non-essential" businesses, only businesses that can comply with new state regulations and those that can't.

Baker said Covid-19 numbers have recently been trending down, but "I think we'd like to see a few more days" of that and "then we'll make the call" about specific dates and industries.

In the first phase, businesses that had little direct customer contact in the past will be allowed to re-open, if they can show compliance with certain public-health guidelines and new regulations. The next phase will focus on businesses with a lot of direct customer contact, followed by a period of "vigilance" to see what is happening and, finally, what he called "the new normal."

Polito, who has been meeting with representatives of numerous types of businesses over the past week said that, in broad terms, many of the new workplace regulations will be the same that are in place with existing open businesses: Workers will have to wear masks, they and customers will be required to stay at least six feet apart where possible, companies will have to give workers frequent hand-washing breaks - and places to wash their hands - and the numbers of customers allowed in at any one time will be reduced. Regular sanitization of surfaces will also be a must.

She added that any workers who show a sign of illness need to go home.

Baker praised the vast majority of Massachusetts residents who have taken the virus seriously and stayed home, washed their hands, donned masks and the like for getting us to the point where we can even consider re-opening things, despite the fact that we remain one of the states hardest hit by the virus in terms of both cases and deaths.

Baker said people will have to keep it up even after May 18. "This is no time to quit," he said, adding that if the virus erupts in particular places, the state will move quickly to stamp it out, possibly in terms of shutting some things down again.

Baker was asked about the "pandemonium" at that Cape ice-cream place caused by some customers being assholes.

He said he understands the frustration - he said he misses playing basketball - but said most people are good and kind and that he hopes that will continue.

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Ron Wilson: The rest of the COVID-19 story – Sentinel-Standard

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Some of the content in this weeks article revisits some information I shared with you about 24 months ago. I have added a little more information, and I believe the content is even more relevant today.

The older I get, the more I appreciate the privilege of growing up and living in Michigan. Some of my earliest and fondest memories include time spent outdoors with my parents and seven siblings. Both of my parents were English teachers, and each foray into the woods was a learning experience. While fishing, hunting, hiking, or canoeing, my parents took advantage of every opportunity to enrich our education.

My parents shared their love of learning with their eight children, included exposure to the great storytellers, both current and past. I remember listening to Garrison Keillor and the Prairie Home Companion on public radio and Paul Harvey on radio station WKLA. Both were great orators; however, I especially enjoyed Paul Harvey and The Rest of the Story. Mr. Harvey had a voice that was captivating and pleasant. His stories usually began with a narration that would evoke some emotion and challenge my thought process. As he weaved his story, he would lead in one direction, and then, without missing a beat, he would deliver an entirely different perspective. He would end each broadcast with, Im Paul Harvey, and there you have the rest of the story.

During the past 25 years, the American education system has encountered some interesting obstacles and challenges, some of which are systemic and others that are societal. I want to focus your attention on the talk, the truth, and a crucial conversation about our K-12 public schools.

Malcolm Gladwells book Outliers suggests how education in the United States is backward. He writes schools do an outstanding job of educating students between September and June.

But Gladwell writes that isnt enough.

The only problem with school, for the kids who arent achieving is that there isnt enough of it, he wrote.

Suddenly the causes of Asian math superiority become even more apparent. Students in Asian schools do not have long summer vacations. Why would they? Cultures that believe the route to success lies in rising before dawn 360 days a year is scarcely going to give their children three straight months off in the summer.

The school year in the United States, on average, is 180 days long. The South Korean school year is 220 days long. The Japanese school year is 243 days long. Asian students are not smarter than their American counterparts are; instead, they spend more time in school.

We live in an information and service society, yet unlike other countries, we educate our students based on an agricultural calendar. In addition to the time on task issues, several duties and responsibilities have shifted from parents and society to public schools.

The list of added responsibilities does not include the addition of multiple, specialized topics within each of the traditional subjects. It also does not have the explosion of standardized testing and test prep activities, or any of the onerous reporting requirements imposed by the federal government. All of these have occurred without adding a single minute, hour, or day to our school year.

The COVID-19 Pandemic has created a new challenge. Schools across our nation are doing something unprecedented in the history of education, which is to provide remote or home-based education to all students. Ionia Public Schools has offered virtual school programs to secondary school students for years. However, delivering home-based learning to every student is convoluted and compounded by the fact that 1/3 of our students do not have reliable internet access or technology at home.

Our schools are doing good job-preparing students to work in an industrialized society using an agricultural calendar. The problem is, we are no longer an industrialized society, and our children need to be competitive in a global economy. We can and must improve our education system to give our students the education they will need to be competitive in the worldwide economy. However, this cannot occur without expanding our school year. And now you have the rest of the story!

Ron Wilson is superintendent of Ionia Public Schools. The views expressed in this column do not necessarily represent the views of Ionia school elected officials, employees or students. You may contact Ron by email at nimsob321@gmail.com.

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The Vendetta: How Paul Tanaka & the LA District Attorney’s Office Tried to Ruin Two Sheriff’s Deputies, Who Have Now Won a Big $$ Settlement | -…

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For a long time, justice advocates have complained that the Los Angeles County District Attorneys office has repeatedly failed to prosecute members of law enforcement who have broken the law or engaged in corrupt behavior.

In the case of wrongdoing inside theLA County Sheriffs Department, it took a lengthy and wide-ranging investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys office before charges were filed having to do with notoriously brutal behavior by deputies toward inmates in the countys jail system, along withelaborate efforts by department higher-ups to obstruct the undercover investigation by the feds into the problems at those same jails.

But, beginning on August 18, 2011, theLASDs Internal Criminal Investigative Bureau (ICIB), followed by the Justice System Integrity Divisionof the Los AngelesDAs office, pursued a case against two sheriffs deputies with perplexing intensity.

It was a case that the lead prosecutorassigned to itreportedlybelieved was too weak to file.

Yet, his supervisors pushed him to file the case anyway. According to a recently-settledhigh ticket lawsuit, the LA District Attorneys Officedid so at the insistence of certain highly-placed members of the sheriffs department, led by one department leaderwho was said to have his own longtime agenda when it came to one of the two deputiesfather.

Whatever the reason, for the next sixyears, the earnings and the lives of DeputiesRobert Rob Lindsey and Charles Rodriquez were all but destroyed.

Yet, when their case went to trialin June of 2015, thetwelve men and women of theirjury took less than three hours toacquit Lindsey and Rodriguezof allcharges.

Lindsey & Rodriguez with two jurors after acquittal, courtesy of Lindsey family.

Still, the deputies would not be allowed to go back to work for another two years, and even when they did become fully reinstated, the two were only reimbursed for a slice of theback salary they were reportedly owed.

Yet, onMarch 31,of this year, just as the nation was plunging into the new stay-at-home world of COVID-19, the scales were rebalanced, at least in part,when LA County Board of Supervisors approved a settlement of $2,250,000 for DeputiesRobert Lindsey and CharlesMartinez.

The cash to pay the high-ticket settlement, which was negotiated by civil rights attorney Ron Kaye, was ordered by the board to bedrawn from the budgets of the Sheriffs Department and that of the District Attorneysoffice.

Yet the question of why the case was pursued in the first placestill remains.

You just have to look at the deputies who have been caught red-handed hiding exculpatory evidenceand yet itnever led to aprosecution, said attorney Ron Kaye when we talked recently about the case.

So,its a little suspect, he said, that the DAs office went to the matfor this investigation.

The story begins

The long and winding story of the Lindsey/Rodriguez case began onJune 2, 2011, when the two deputies made a drug-related arrest outside the Durango Club Bar in Huntington Park. The chain of events began earlier in the evening when the partners had reportedly gotten a tip from a confidential informant that a man named Abraham was dealing cocaine out of a white Lexus that was parked in the clubs parking lot.

Durango Club and Bar

When the deputiesrolled up to Durangos they indeed spotted a white Lexus SUV. Two men were standing outside the vehicle, which had the drivers door open. One of the two men matched the description the deputies had been given of Abraham, the possible dealer.

Lindsey reportedly exited the patrol car and called out to the man in question who identified himself as Abraham Rueda.

(Much later, everyone would learnthat Ruedasreal name was Uriel Salgado, and the named he gave on the night of his arrest, was only one among a string ofaliases.)

But that night, according to the report that Lindseywould write later, as he walked aroundthe Lexus shining his bright regulation flashlight through the cars window, he spotted a small plastic bindle of what appeared to be cocaine protruding from an air-conditioning vent in the interior of the Lexus. Whether or not Lindsey could see the bindle, was a critical point, because spotting something that looked like it contained cocainein the car of a suspected drug dealer gave the deputiesthe right tosearch the Lexis.

(A bindle is the termfor anorigami-like method of creating hand-folded envelopes of paper or plastic to contain cocaine.)

First, according to both of the deputies reports, Lindsey and Rodriguez searched Rueda and his companion, then placed thetwosomeinside the patrol car, andproceeded to searchthe Lexus. Inside the vehicle, they found that theprotruding bag did indeed contain a quarter gram of coke. Although they continued to search further, thedeputies found no additional drugs in the vehicle.

Believing there might be more cocainethat they had been unable to locate, the deputies called the Lynwood sheriffsstationand requested a drug-sniffing dog from their boss, a supervising sergeant named Brandon Dean.

Sergeant Dean told his deputies that no K-9s were available, so Lindsey and Rodriguezshould bring the Lexus to the station where it could be further searched in a contained environment. Rodriquez and Lindsey reportedly did what Dean told them to do, with Lindsey driving the Lexus, Rodriguez the patrol car, which contained Rueda/Salgado and his pal.

After the second search, which produced no additional drugs, Lindsey wrote up the report, which he later admitted was briefer than usual. Hedreportedly worked overtime every day the previous week and was unusuallyfatigued.

Still, Sergeant Dean would later testify in the criminal trial, whichtook place in mid-June 2015, that the report was appropriate, and matched what the sergeantpersonally knew of the nights events, based on the telephone call and his own observation.

After everyone hadturned in their respective reports in the wee hours of that same night in early June2011, Dean and his two deputies, Lindsey and Rodriguez, reportedly assumed that the charges against Salgado would be filed, and that would be that.

Yet something very different happened instead.

On August 18, 2011, the day of Salgados preliminary hearing on his drug charge, the Salgado gave a video to his public defender, which turned out to be a partial recording hed made with his cell phone of the clubs surveillance videofor the night of June 2, 2011. The video showed his arrest at the Durango Bar, along with the search of the Lexuswhich, as it turned out,belonged to Salgados sister.

Based on some inconsistencies between whatSalgados cell phone video showed about where Deputy Lindsey was standing when the deputysaid he saw the bindle inside the Lexus, as compared to Lindseys own over-brief description in his arrest report, the DAs office dismissed Salgados casealthoughno onedisputed that deputies found the smallbindleof cokein the car Salgado was driving that night.

On that same day, August 18, 2011, the LASDs Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau (ICIB) opened a criminal investigation of the two deputies actions on the night of the arrest.

The Tanaka factor

August of 2011 wasa fateful time for the Lindsey/Rodriguez investigation to be opened for two reasons.

Onereason had to do with a seemingly innocuous change in the sheriffs departments command structure that had occurredthreemonths before.

Paul Tanka/WLA

As WitnessLA reported back then,on May 15, 2011, theInternal Affairs Bureau (IAB), which investigates violations of departmental policy, and the Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau (ICIB), which looks into criminal acts committed by department personnel, were taken out from under the oversight of the LASDs Leadership and Training Division, where the twin bureaushad been for nearly two decades. Theywere then instead placed under the control of the then-Assistant Sheriff, soon-to-be-Undersheriff, Paul Tanaka.

The second reason was due to the fact thatTanakawas nursingalong-term, and notorioushatredof Deputy Rob Lindseys father, retired commander Bob Lindsey

It was in this context that the investigation of Deputy Rob Lindsey and his partner, Deputy Charles Rodriguez waslaunched, with Tanaka allegedly seeing in the younger Lindsey a way to get back at Linsey Sr.

As for Deputy Charles Rodriguez, there is nothing to suggest that Tanaka had anything againstLindseys partner.

If the charges against the two deputies were, as the lawsuit claimed, theresult of a vendetta, Rodriguez wasjustcollateral damage.

The Vendetta

So why did Paul Tanaka hate BobLindsey Sr?

In past years, WitnessLA has written a great deal aboutPaul Tanakaand hispay-to-play promotional system in whichthose who were unquestionably loyal to the former undersheriff, which included donating to his various political campaigns, moved up through the ranks faster, statistically speaking,than non-loyalists.

Bob Lindsey Sr. during 2018 run for LA County Sheriff

As one source put it, if one failed to do what he wished, he would ruin your career for sport.

According to the lawsuit and WitnessLAs own sources, in 2002, then-CaptainRobert Lindsey, challenged then-Chief Paul Tanakas authority on multiple occasions, culminating in Lindsey Sr.s refusal to fraudulently change answers of applicants on the LASDs promotional Lieutenants Exam.

Essentially,Robert Lindsey declined to cooperate with Tanakas efforts to move hispersonally selectedcandidates for promotion to the head of the line, although, according to Lindsey Sr. theydid not merit this advancement based on their test scores. Among other changes Tanaka required, according to Bob Lindsey was to give certain applicants credit for incorrect test answers that Tanaka allegedly claimed were close enough.

As a result of this refusal to change scores and credit wrong answers, Tanaka reportedly screamed at LindseySr., telling him, using expletives and threatening language, that he would live to regret his refusal, and that his career was over in the Sheriffs Department.

Deputy Robert Lindsey also reported that, after his graduation from the departments training academy in 2005, he was repeatedly approached by Paul Tanaka, whom he had never met until then.According to Lindsey, Tanaka would move into the deputys personal space and say, Hows your father doing? Say hello for me, and other things of that ilk.

When allegedly delivering these B-movie-dialogue messages, Tanaka reportedly used tones Lindseybelieved were meant to convey menace.

According to the lawsuit and other LASD sources, the unexpectedlyaggressive investigation into the actions of Deputies Lindsey and Rodriguez on the night of June 2, 2011, had everything to do with Paul Tanaka making good on his 2002 threat to Lindsey Sr.

The prosecutor and the U-Visa

When the sheriffs departmentfinished investigatingLindsey and Rodriguez, ICIB sent the case to the Los Angeles District Attorneys Office with a recommendation for prosecution.

On April 2, 2013four months after District Attorney Jackie Lacey had been sworn in for her first term as LA Countystop prosecutorthe DAs Office filed a felony complaint against Lindsey and Rodriguez, alleging multiple counts of Filing a False Report, plusConspiracy to Commit a Crime.

Superior Court Judge Kevin Stennis, former LA County prosecutor

At the DAs office, the case landed withitsJustice System Integrity Division (JSID) where a well-liked prosecutor named Kevin Stennis, actually filed the charges. Yet, he reportedly did so under circumstances that would later turn out to be very peculiar.

(Well get back to that part of the story in a minute.)

But first, lets look at thepreliminary hearing, which was set for February 14, 2014. At the prelim,prosecutorStennisran into a bump in the roadwhenhis cases primary witness, Uriel Salgadothe guy whom Lindsey and Rodriguez arrestedfailed to show up in court despite the fact that Stennis had subpoenaed him.

Theno-showcaused theSuperior Court to toss the charges against Lindsey and Rodriguez.

Stennis would eventually refile, but before he did,he was faced withanother sizableproblem when it came to the witness on whom the case rested. In addition to not showing up in court and having multiple aliasesand a string ofprior drug convictions, Salgado, was also undocumented and on the verge of being deported.

So, withthe non-appearance and the threat of deportation in mind, Stennis embarked on a new strategy. He entered intoan unofficial side deal with Salgados sister, Veronica Flores,which ismemorialized in a string of emails (thatWLA has obtained).

In the course of the emails, Stennis appearedto promise Flores that he would assist Salgado in applying for a U Visa, which would stop Salgados deportation in exchange for his cooperative testimony. In the meantime, however, Stennis had Salgado arrested and put in custody for several months, which automatically solved the not-showing-up-for-court problem, at least in the short term.

A U Visa, for those unfamiliar, is a special legal arrangement set aside for immigrants who are victims of certain crimes, which carry with them allegations of mental or physical abuse. In order to qualify for such a visa, the immigrant victimsmust be helpful to law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity.

There was, however, a thorny issue with the U Visa strategy when it came to Salgado, namely that the alleged crime for which Salgadowas a witness, did not fit into the U Visa framework.

Hoping to cure this problem,when Stennis refiled criminal charges on Lindsey and Rodriguez, he includeda brand new charge of Conspiracy to Commit an Act Injurious to Public, claiming that Lindsey and Rodriguez had conspired to pervert and obstruct justice.

We have to determine if the charges for this case qualify for U Visa, Stennis wrote in a May 15, 2014,email to Veronica Flores. I wont know that until after [the preliminary hearing]as I added a charge of obstruction of justice which I believe qualifies, but ifthat charge gets dismissed at the prelim on the 23rd, the remaining charges are not U visa eligible charges.

There was nothing wrong with the U Visa strategy, per se unlessStennis failed to disclose this quid-pro-quo set-upwith the defense. That failure would arguably constitute aBrady violation.

(The term Brady violation refers to the landmark 1963 Supreme Court case Brady v. Maryland, which established that the prosecution must turn over all evidence that might exonerate the defendant to the defense. To do otherwise, the court ruled, is to violate the due process clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.)

A dance of e-mails

As the case made its way through the legal process, the email exchange continued between prosecutor Stennis and Veronica Flores, regarding her brothers testimony and the ongoing U-Visa issue.

For example on July 23, 2014, at 8:23 AM, Flores wrote the following to Stennis.

Any news with the U visa paperwork yet? My brother has court on the 30th of this month and we really need it so he can be able to show that to the judge

Five days later Stennis wrote back that he still was waiting to find out if the one charge [which] is [UVisa*] eligible was going to be accepted by the court.

I then have to get permission from my head deputy to submit the [U Visa*] memo, Stennis wrote. What I recommend you do is let his atty there know that he is a witness and victim on this case, has been fully cooperative and would greatly benefit if he was allowed to stay. You can also give them my number and I can explain how cooperative Uriel has been. . .

Over the following weeks, Veronica Florescontinued to ask Stennis for a letter rather than just the unofficial verbal assurances he continued to offer.

Could he write something, she asked, that showed her brother was an important witness and that you guys kept him in custody for 4 months for him to testify?

In his [tk date] response, Stennis explained to Flores that hepersonally couldnt write the letter, because it will be considered improper on the present case and I would have to disclose it to the defense attorneys and a big problem would occur

The next day, Stennis tried another tack. The problem with the [U-Visa*] he wrote, is our office wont consider it until the case is over because we cant make it appear that we are doing it to gain favor for his testimony. . .

On, August 25, 2014, the second and final preliminary hearing took place, and Lindsey and Rodriguez were bound over for trial, including for the extra, U Visa-friendly charges.

After the hearing, prosecutor Stennis updated Veronica Flores ina 10:41 AM email, telling her that the next step in the process was the arraignment, which would be held on September 8, 2014.

OMG my brother has court on Thursday, an upset Flores wrote back a few minutes later, at11:36 AM. is there any way you can at least give us a formal letter to show the judge that he is waiting on this case and that he has [cooperated*] with you guys?

Stennis replied at 1:01 PM. He couldnt put was they were doing in letter form, he wrote, because it would appear Im seeking favor with a witness, he wrote, which couldget himin trouble.

But if her brother could tell the judge and if they contact me as professionals, I can answer their questions honestly.

Roughly translated: as long as there wasnt a paper trail, hed be happy to tell whoever was necessary.

Pressure from the top

Prior to the August 2014 preliminary hearing,DeputyLindsey retained a new criminal attorneyto defend him against the new charges set out in the amended felony complaint.

Attorney Kasey Sirody/Twitter

Now as the case was making its slow trektoward a jury trial, Lindseys new attorney,Kasey Sirody who had spent a dozen years as a former senior deputy district attorney in Ventura County before going into private practice, and now is the executive director of a law enforcement union reportedly met with prosecutor Stennis at his office to review discovery in the upcoming criminal case.

During her meeting, Sirody reportedly had a very startling conversation, which she would memorialize in a sworn declaration, ayear later on October 14, 2015, well after Lindsey and Rodriguez went to trial, and were acquited.

The declaration reads in part:

During the time I represented Mr. Lindsey, I met with then prosecuting Deputy District Attorney Stennis at his office to review discovery.

At the above-mentioned meeting, we discussed the merits of the case and Stennis advised me that after the case was dismissed (it was dismissed and re-filed before the first preliminary hearing), his suggestion to his management was to not re-file the case based on lack of evidence. However, in Mr. Stennis words, someone from the Sheriffs Department came and had a meeting with my boss and I was told I would re-file the case.

After he told me that, I asked him how he could live with himself and how he would like it if someone did that to his own son. He agreed he would not like that, demonstrating to me that he understood the egregiousness of his actions.

I recall another incident where Mr. Stennis advised me that he had communicated (I believe by telephone) with Abraham Ruedas sister one time.

I am certain that Stennis was very specific that it was only one time and he told me that he told her on that one occasion that he could not help her to help her brother stay in this country.

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The Vendetta: How Paul Tanaka & the LA District Attorney's Office Tried to Ruin Two Sheriff's Deputies, Who Have Now Won a Big $$ Settlement | -...

Washington’s Oil Train Safety Law Overstepped Its Authority, Trump Administration Says – OPB News

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The Trump administration on Monday moved to block a Washington state law that imposed safety restrictions on oil shipments by rail following a string of explosiveaccidents.

The Department of Transportation determined federal law preempts the Washington law adopted last year, which mandated crude from the oil fields of the Northern Plains have more of its volatile gases removed prior to being loaded onto railcars.

The volatility of oil trains drew widespread public attention following several explosive derailments, including one in 2013 in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, Canada, that killed 47 people. Washingtons law was aimed at boosting safety for schools and homes that are near passing oiltrains.

With backing by the rail and oil industries, the attorneys general for Montana and North Dakota had argued the law effectively banned crude from their states. In July, they petitioned the Trump administration to overrule thelaw.

Federal officials said Monday that the removal of volatile gases was not a statistically significant factor in the severity of oil traincrashes.

A state cannot use safety as a pretext for inhibiting market growth or instituting a de facto ban on crude oil by rail within its borders, wrote Paul Roberti, chief counsel of the Transportation Departments Pipeline and Hazardous Materials SafetyAdministration.

North Dakota is the nations No. 2 oil producer behind Texas and produced about 1.4 million barrels of oil daily in February, including about 300,000 barrels daily that was shipped by rail, according to the North Dakota Pipeline Authority. The February numbers are the latest available and came before sliding demand and the coronavirus led drillers to shut down more than 40% of theirwells.

Montana Attorney General Tim Fox said it was a victory for Montanans and the citizens of other oil-richstates.

He said Washington had illegally attempted to dictate what commodities other states can transport tomarket.

Washington state officials and environmentalists who sided with them in the dispute said the restrictions did not directly regulate crude and instead addressed only the loading and unloading of oil within Washington. They contended railroads still could carry crude into the state and the restrictions meant only that they would have to make sure it was safe totransport.

A spokesperson for Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said state officials were disappointed with Mondays 74-pagedecision.

Washingtons law helps protect the public from the inherent risks of transporting oil by rail by decreasing explosion risk in the event of an oil train derailment, said Tara Lee, Inslees communications director. Public health remains our top priority and we are considering ouroptions.

An attorney with the environmental firm Earthjustice said the state had taken a modest step to reduce the risks of moving crude by rail and accused the Trump administration of stretching federal law to knock down theeffort.

In Trumps America, states are on their own to protect the health and safety of their citizens until it bumps against the wishes of the oil industry, said attorney JanHasselman.

The American Petroleum Institute, Association of American Railroads and other groups had urged the administration to block Washington stateslaw.

There is nothing unusual about the volatility of Bakken crude oil, said Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, which represents more than 500 companies working in the states oil patch. This is just one more decision verifying what weve known from Day1.

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Associated Press writer James MacPherson contributed from Bismarck,N.D.

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The greatest recession – manilastandard.net

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"The toll on our economy after 50 days of lockdown has been tremendous and harrowing."The economy slumped in the first quarter of 2020. Production of goods and services, what we call Gross Domestic Product or GDP during January-March this year, declined by 0.2 percent, in real terms, or minus the effect of inflation.This is the first and steepest drop in production since 1998, ending 84 quarters or 21 years of frenetic growth, the longest economic expansion in the countrys history.The economic collapse is likely to extend into the second and third quarters of 2020. Thus, we have the grim prospect of having the Greatest Recession ever.The only way to stop that economic Armageddon is to revive the economy, dead for the last 50 days. Revival means lifting the so-called Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) or even the GCQ on Luzon and key cities in the Visayas and Mindanao. These areas account for more than 75 percent of economic production.The lockdown has meant economic loss of P2 trillion so far and unprecedented hunger, malnutrition, poverty, joblessness (easily 25 million have no jobs, a third which will not be restored), restiveness, and outrage. It has made the government bankrupt by this time. Government deficit as a percentage of GDP will hit 8 percent the highest in our countrys history.This year, Filipinos were going to join the upper middle class, with per capita income nearing $4,000. Instead, easily half of Filipinos will cross the poverty line downward. The rich become poor, and the poor become poorer. We will have the most number of poor in Southeast Asia.The 1998 recession was triggered by the combined effects of the El Nio and Asian Financial Crisis.This quarters end to unprecedented robust growth was triggered by the novel coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) which causes the disease called COVID-19 - coronavirus infectious disease 2019.Reporting on the unusually bad economic news yesterday (May 7), Acting Economic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua cited what he called three significant socio-economic risks and shocks during the first quarter of 2020, all totally unexpected: the Taal volcano eruption in January; a significant decline in tourism and trade starting in February due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and the need to implement the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon and other parts of the country starting March.Assuming positive growth averaged 5.5 percent in January, February and the first two weeks of March, economic production must have declined by 5.7 percent in the last two weeks of March to bring net negative growthto 0.2 percent for the whole first three months of 2020 (5.5 minus 5.7).Since March 2020 inflation was 2.5 percent in the first quarter, the nominal drop in economic production in the second half of March alone was probably 8.2 percent (5.7 plus 2.5). That would be the worst decline since the drop of 7.4 percent during the political crisis of 1984 triggered by the assassination of opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr.. In 1984, credit stopped, production stopped, the economy slumped. The Philippines 2020 economic crisis is easily ten times the 1984 crisis. This years crisis is not just local, not just regional but global. The United States will have huge negative growth rate (-4.8 percent first quarter 2020), as will entire Europe (-3.8), China (-6.8), Japan (-7.1) and possibly every country on earth.The toll on our economy after 50 days of lockdown has been tremendous and harrowing. Two-thirds of businesses shut down, according to NEDA data. Nearly half of non-government and the self-employed were suddenly unemployed.All for what? Just to save at most 500 Filipino lives through ECQ. In the long term, because todays hunger, malnutrition, poverty and joblessness, more lives will be lost due to diseases occasioned by such mass misery.The ECQ was like looking for a couple of cockroaches. The whole building was evacuated and burned to the ground. And still, it did not find the cockroaches.Admits Secretary Chua: Containing the spread of the virus and saving hundreds of thousands of lives through the imposition of the ECQ has come at great cost to the Philippine economy. Our economic growth is showing weaker performance compared to the past two decades. Even so, our priorities are clear: to protect lives and health of our people.Chua has two solutions: ramp up agricultural production and go digital. We grow food. That is agriculture. We process the food. That is manufacturing. We deliver the processed food to consumers. That is logistics and services. Food is half of the consumer basket.The NEDA chiefs other solution is go digital. Everybody will have an ID, a bar code or a QR code. That is easier said than done. Why? The government itself is not digitalized. Why? Well, it has something to do with graft. Graft from human contact. Obviously, you cannot collect money from a computer, a bar code or a QR code. But a human being can be very susceptible to suggestion by a bureaucrat.Relief could be coming though. Even government itself seems tired of having the ECQ, mainly because it is rapidly running out cash to dole out to some 25 million families rendered poor by the coronavirus.The only way to generate money is to borrow (about P1.45 billion has been raised, but that will be good for only a month) and to collect and or raise taxes. But how can you collect taxes from a dead business? You cannot tax something you dont earn or have. It is like squeezing blood from turnips.Lets lift ECQ. It has not been worth it.[emailprotected]

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The greatest recession - manilastandard.net

Lebanon: Managing Covid-19 in the Time of Revolution –

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The Covid-19 pandemic came on the heels of a deep economic, social, and political crises in Lebanon, amounting to an existential threat to the integrity of the country. Despite Lebanons record of public mismanagement, the country seems to have so far responded effectively to the pandemic. The government and the people themselves acted quickly and succeeded in slowing the pace of progression of the novel coronavirus. As of 6 May 2020, there were 750 confirmed cases and 25 deaths. Lebanon is doing fairly well compared to its neighbours when measured by the time it takes for Covid-19 death cases to double, which is now happening every 10 days with a fairly low plateau (figure 1).

Figure 1. Total confirmed COVID-19 deaths, rate of progression, 1 May 2020. Source: European CDC and Our World in Data.

But several challenges await Lebanon. There are lingering questions about the countrys ability to test and treat a future outbreak in refugee communities. The country has also failed to adopt measures to mitigate the economic impact of the crisis, which means that confinement measures are increasingly unsustainable as many people feel obliged to return to work to provide for their families. At a cost of only about 0.3% GDP (safety net and expanded health care budget combined), the governments response has been extremely subdued - ten times less than Jordan or Tunisia. The question then becomes: how sustainable are Lebanons efforts to contain and mitigate the virus? Can it prepare itself for a possible second wave? Can it devise a socio-economic plan to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic on an already marginalized population?

The first case of the novel coronavirus was diagnosed on 20 February 2020. A few days later under mounting popular pressure, the government decided to close borders with the countries where the epidemic was becoming worrisome (especially Iran, where the first Lebanese case originated, as well as Italy, South Korea, and China). Since then, the government initiated several measures to try to contain the progression of the virus (closure of schools, day-care centres, universities, bars, restaurants, pubs, shops, malls, and finally ports of entry). Further containment strategies, like curfews and an alternating traffic system, were put in place in an attempt to slow down the progression of the virus.

The strategy seems to have worked, so far. The daily number of new Covid-19 confirmed cases has dropped and Lebanon seems to have flattened its curve. Since 13 March, the case-fatality rate has been stable at 3% (the World Health Organization estimates the global average at 3.4%). In terms of health performance (figure 2), Lebanon is interestingly behaving like Greece, it is performing better than Egypt and Algeria but worse than the Gulf countries or neighbouring Israel.

Figure 2. Total confirmed cases of COVID-19 vs. deaths due to COVID-19 per million, 18 April 2020. Source: European CDC and Our World in Data.

Some have raised concerns about the accuracy of official numbers for several reasons. The number of confirmed infections (the denominator used to assess various indicators) is probably underestimated given that recent serological studies have found that the rate of infections may be 50 to 85 times higher than official figures. Indeed, less than 1% of the population have been tested for the virus. At the beginning of the outbreak, Lebanon was conducting 50 tests per day, and has recently reached 1,500 tests per day but remains below the 2500 target set by the Ministry of Public Healths (MOPH). As of 7 May, Lebanon has carried out around 40,000 tests. The number of tests per one thousand population (4-6.67 depending if the population is 6 million or 10 million) is still far below its neighbouring countries, especially but not only the rich Gulf countries (for example, Israel 47.77, Qatar 39.21, and Saudi Arabia 11.19 - all as of May 5, 2020). Lebanon, however, still fares better than Tunisia (2.13 as of May 4, 2020), a similar middle-income country, which is likewise struggling financially (figure 3).

Figure 3. Total COVID-19 tests per 1,000 people, 6 May 2020. Source: Our World in Data.

Besides the underestimation of the number of confirmed cases due to lack of massive testing, some have cast doubts on the official numbers for a different, more political, reason. The Shiite party, Hezbollah, is managing the crisis in parallel to the Lebanese state with its parallel healthcare infrastructure, which includes one hospital and thousands of medical personnel. Moreover, Rasul al-Azam hospital, which is owned and run by Hezbollah, is not listed among the governments emergency plan. Sayed Hashem Safieddine, who heads Hezbollah executive council, has recently reported that the party has monitored 1,200 people who had returned from Iran, including pilgrims and 220 students who had been studying at Qom, a centre of Shiite learning, without saying if any tested positive and/or if these numbers are regularly reported to the MOPH.

Without reliable numbers about the trend in overall mortality in Lebanon, especially during this pandemic, and without accurate demographic information (last official census was in 1932, and current estimations are impressionistic at best, ranging from 4 million to 10 million for the overall population including refugees), the assessment of the crisis can only be partial. However, even if we assume that official numbers are inaccurate or underestimated, Lebanon seems to have been spared the worst of the pandemic. Possible causes that may explain the relatively low numbers of confirmed cases may include one or more of the following causes that have been advanced: a lack of dense urban centres, lack of public transportation, the relatively young demographic profile (7% of the population is above 65 year old vs. 19.82% in France or 21.69% in Italy), cultural behaviours (the elderly tend to live with their families and not in nursing homes where most deaths occurred in Europe), climate, and even genetic predisposition.

There are three settings with overcrowded conditions that need to be closely monitored. The first is the crowded settlements of refugees. Lebanon hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees per capita, with an official estimate of 1.5 million refugees. It also hosts an additional 18,500 refugees from various countries, as well as more than 200,000 Palestinian refugees under the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Since the beginning of the outbreak, the UN agency and its partners have mobilized in raising awareness about Covid-19 and distributing soap and other hygienic and sanitation materials to refugees. UN agencies are also helping the government expand existing capacities for hospitalization, testing, and intensive care.

While there are only a few confirmed cases among refugees to date, the situation is unpredictable. It is also important to note how prevalent stigmatization and discrimination against refugees are in Lebanon as these may pose obstacles to contain the spread of the virus. Since January 2020 and before the government declared a nationwide curfew on 26 March, some 21 municipalities had taken discriminatory measures against Syrians in their efforts to fight the spread of the virus imposing curfews and restrictions on their movements. Human Rights Watch has criticized these measures for contravening Lebanons international human rights obligations and Lebanese domestic law.

The second crowded setting of concern is prisons. On March 17, riots erupted in Lebanons two largest prisons in Roumieh and Zahle with prisoners demanding their release over fears that the epidemic would rapidly spread among them. Lebanon has notoriously overcrowded prisons; 10,000 inmates distributed among 25 prisons and 261 detention facilities. Unlike other countries, such as Iran or Turkey, which have released thousands of prisoners in an attempt to halt the epidemic, Lebanon instead adopted preventive measures, such as suspending all activities and reducing family visits. In an additional attempt to reduce anxiety and fear among prisoners, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has provided mobile SIM cards for inmates to maintain contact with their families.

The third vulnerability is the crowds that will eventually form when more protesters will go back to the street. Since 17 October 2019, widespread protests have raged across Lebanon, demanding an end to the economic and political mismanagement of the country. These protests were in reaction to the rapidly deteriorating economic and financial conditions unleashed by a financial crisis of historic proportion, with significant impact on the standard of living. Lockdown measures have slowed down the protest movement but in recent days protesters have gone back to the street demanding an end to systemic corruption, which they believe to be the source of Lebanons economic and political bankruptcy.

Since the outbreak started, the MOPH has published an emergency framework and kept the public informed about cases, mortality, and preparftness. It presented its strategy of flattening the curve given the limited numbers of ICU beds and ventilators identifying four lines of hospitals (public and private) that will be activated as the need arises. The first concerns 12 hospitals, including the main governmental hospital, which is currently treating patients, Rafic Hariri University Hospital; the second will involve another 12 public hospitals, which will be dedicated to Covid-19; the third involves yet another 17 public hospitals; and the fourth line will involve the remaining 29 public hospitals, in addition to all private tertiary hospitals.

However, public hospitals have limited capacity (222 ventilators and 419 ICU beds) in contrast to private hospitals (1242 ventilators and 2391 ICU beds). Given that the government is running large arrears with private health providers, it is not clear if private hospitals will accept to treat patients with Covid-19 for free. Given also that not all private or public hospitals have independent wards that could treat Covid-19 patients, the total number of beds available is probably less than what is projected.

The MOPH has prepared contingency plans for two scenarios, the optimistic scenario (if 1% of the population gets infected) and the pessimistic scenario (if 10% of the population gets infected) without giving reasons or explanations for these modelling assumptions. Based on these numbers, the MOPH has identified urgent needs, such as equipping 11 public hospitals with additional ICU beds, ventilators, personnel, and protective equipment. According to the MOPH, the maximum health capacity of the country would be reached with 5,000 infected patients, of which 20% would need hospital care (1000 patients), 5% would require intensive care (250 patients), while 2-3% would need mechanical ventilation (150 patients).

The number of 5,000 infected patients could be reached during what many experts fear will be a second wave, perhaps more devastating than the first Prime Minister Hassan Diab has warned about a possible second wave by July if social distancing measures are not maintained. By flattening its curve, Lebanon has successfully managed, for now, to spare hospitals a surge in critically-ill patients but it remains to be seen if this success can be maintained when the lockdown measures will be loosened.

The Covid-19 crisis comes on the heels of a series of blows that have shaken Lebanon in recent months.

The economic crisis, the result of a sudden stop of capital inflows in late 2019 to an over-indebted economy, was already devastating. The drastic lockdown measures only made the shock worse. While the economic crisis had initially mainly hit the formal sector, which is very dependent on banking relations and imports, the Covid-19 crisis extended the shock to the informal sector, which employs much of the poor, due to the collapse in catering, retail, tourism, and transport.

Businesses are going bankrupt, and unemployment is rising rapidly. Rising inflation (running now at a conservative estimate of 40% a year) and deep currency devaluation on the parallel market have sharply reduced real wages. In a matter of months, poverty has expanded dramatically with the World Bank estimating that it will reach 50% of the population by the end of 2020. With little fiscal space, the government has struggled to meet the cost of upgrading the health system and to smooth the effect of the shock on the poorer population.

The period that the country has entered is extremely volatile. The interplay between street movement and Covid-19 can, in the current fluid situation of economic, social, and political turmoil, lead to potentially chaotic dynamics.

The second wave of Covid-19 may come in Lebanon not from purely epidemiological dynamics, but from the interaction of economic collapse, revolution, and epidemic risks, which could lead to a hyper-perfect storm where each process feeds into the others, generating a generalized explosion. In recent days, protesters have been back to the street asking for the stabilization of the Lebanese pound, which is in free fall. The distributional tensions are extreme, as losses as large as twice GDP have to be distributed among the population, pitting the poor and middle class against the rich, and creating sectarian tensions. In this climate of popular insurrection, the political elites may be tempted to use the cover of the epidemic to engage in overt repression as has manifested itself with the army and security forces disbanding protesters tents. At the same time, street action is likely to only intensify in the coming weeks, leading to a faster spread of the virus, especially among the poorest in dense urban centres where hunger is a bigger worry and threat than the virus.

More optimistically, there is also a possible salvation pathway of cooperation and solidarity in the face of national adversity. This may be too much to expect in the current circumstances, where many protesters believe that the current government is hopeless because of its dependence on the existing political class. But that pathway could use the relative success in managing the Covid-19 crisis to rebuild trust between the citizens, the state, and the elites. In the same vein, the risk of the pandemic spreading across society may be more threatening than the risk of social and economic division, pushing the Lebanese across class and sect to work together in finding a solution to the historic economic challenges that both divide them, but that can also only be addressed successfully through national cooperation. Perhaps then, paradoxically, it may be the second wave that will initiate the serious soul-searching that Lebanon requires to allow it to navigate these troubled waters and invent the new social contract it urgently needs.

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Helping women and girls survive Covid-19 and its aftermath – Eco-Business

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With Covid-19 imposing new challenges on women and exacerbating the numerous other difficulties they already face in their daily lives, a gender-sensitive response is crucial to this global health emergency.

So what do we know about the impact of COVID-19 on women and what would a gender-sensitive response look like?

Historically, women played three key roles in households, communities, and societies - mothers, nurses, and teachers. This continues today as gender stereotypes prevail in our societies and they influence career choices made by women and men.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that women make up almost 70 per cent of healthcare workers around the world. Moreover, women continue to make up the majority of health facility service staff (cleaning and housekeeping, laundry and food services).

Providing support through targeted social assistance schemes for women during this pandemic and ensuring womens access to finance is pivotal for a speedy recovery and long-term economic and social improvements.

These healthcare workers and service staff are on the front lines of the fight against Covid-19 and, as such, are at a greater risk of being infected.

In some countries, there have been reports of female nurses experiencing difficulties finding smaller-sized personal protective equipment and getting access to feminine hygiene products.

We also know that many women around the world bear much of the responsibility for child and elderly care, and on average perform three times more unpaid care work than men.

With offices being shut down, many women around the world are losing their jobs and income, as many of their professions prevent them from working remotely. As it generally takes longer for women to recover their income, they are at a greater risk.

On top of that, juggling domestic responsibilities and child and elderly care is a challenge in itself, but with schools shutting down, the pandemic exacerbates these challenges.

With many women expected to take the responsibility for taking care of family members infected by Covid-19, these social and economic burdens will only be intensified.

There are other numerous challenges that arise during a global health emergency. Much of the research shows an increase in domestic violence associated with isolation and lockdowns.

With the pandemic presenting more challenges, victims of gender-based violence may be unable to receive the life-saving care and treatment, report such cases, or even escape, as hospitals, police stations, and other institutions are overburdened with handling cases related to the virus or not operating.

In its 2018 report, UNICEF highlighted that women and children are at greater risk of exploitation and sexual abuse during public health outbreaks, as was seen during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

With more governments implementing lockdowns, we must pay attention to the sex-disaggregated data when developing a gender-sensitive response.

The decision makers need to be mindful of gender issues and ensure that they are taken into account as we seek solutions in response to, and recovery from, the Covid-19 pandemic. Its clear that pandemics worsen existing inequalities experienced by women and girls.

As such, there is a need for immediate solutions and policies that will prevent the worsening of gender inequalities and widening of the gender gap.

For starters, ongoing problems and issues experienced by women healthcare workers need to be addressed. At a minimum, women caregivers and frontline responders should be provided proper personal protective equipment (PPE), including feminine hygiene products for those working longer shifts.

Additionally, during this pandemic, it is crucial that women and girls have access to adequate maternal and pediatric care, reproductive health services and essential information.

Moreover, as more women continue to lose their jobs and steady sources of income as a result of the pandemic, it is critical that necessary targeted support is provided to ensure food security to prevent these vulnerable individuals from succumbing to negative coping mechanisms.

And last but not least, the issue of increasing incidents of gender-based violence which have been reported by many countries is vital to be addressed.

Some countries have recently introduced policies and special measures to address this phenomenon including by introducing alternative reporting mechanisms, remote services delivered via mobile phone or messaging apps, and supporting shelters for gender-based violence survivors.

It is crucial to continue developing and adapting such measures to ensure that the most vulnerable receive necessary support.

As policies and recovery plans are developed, it is imperative that long-term targeted economic and gender empowerment strategies are embedded to mitigate the impact of this pandemic and future outbreaks.

To do so, data related to the outbreak must be disaggregated by sex, age, and other criteria, to accurately reflect the different challenges in different demographics arising from the pandemic.

Policy makers need to be mindful of ways to support further economic development and post-pandemic recuperation.

Lastly, as more small businesses collapse and demand for informal work arrangements decreases, women will continue losing financial independence, affecting their empowerment in the short term, with potential longer-term impacts on childrens schooling (particularly for girls).

This, could result in adverse effects on female labor force participation for the next generation.

Providing support through targeted social assistance schemes for women during this pandemic and ensuring womens access to finance is pivotal for a speedy recovery and long-term economic and social improvements.

In the efforts to restore the economy, the inspiration should be to use this opportunity and develop a socio-economic system that is capable of delivering gender parity.

Malika Shagazatovais Social Development Specialist (Gender and Development), Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department at ADB. This article is republished from the ADB Blog.

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Why Now is the Time to Think Global – Resilience

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Perhaps characteristically for the global media, as COVID-19 cases soar in the US and Europe, little attention is being paid to Africa, South East Asia, Central America and other disadvantaged parts of the world. However, the grim reality is that this disease, carried by the wealthiest as they jetted across the globe, will undoubtedly be felt most strongly by the worlds poorest: those who have never seen the inside of an aeroplane.

As we turn our attention to our closest neighbours and seek to support those within our own communities, let us not forget our responsibility to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of the human race. Even as we are forced to live locally, it is critical that we think globally.

A Looming Crisis

COVID-19 has been labelled by some as a great equalizer, as a virus that affects people of all races, nationalities and socio-economic backgrounds. In reality, this couldnt be further from the truth: we have already seen how the virus has hit poorer communities in the US harder than the wealthy ones, and this disparity will be even more acute on a global scale

So far, there are relatively few reported cases of COVID-19 in developing countries. The countries with the highest numbers reported cases are among the worlds richest: the USA tops the list, followed by Spain, Italy, the UK, Germany, and France.

These figures are misleading, however, as the testing rates in many countries are a fraction of those in Europe and North America, and not all governments can be trusted to report accurate figures. Nevertheless, it seems that the pandemic hasnt taken hold in many African, Latin American or South East Asian countries yet.

The threat of COVID-19 looms large over Sub-Saharan Africa in particular. Experts are warning that it is only a matter of time before COVID-19 takes hold across the continent. News that Borno State in Nigeria went from reporting its first case to over 50 cases including three deaths in less than a week seems to be an ominous warning of things to come. When the pandemic does properly begin in Africa and other disadvantaged regions, it will be devastating.

The health systems in many developing countries are simply not prepared to deal with a pandemic that crippled Italys health system, reportedly the second-best in the world, and is severely straining those in the US, the UK, and other wealthy nations. To say they are ill-equipped is an understatement.

The Central African Republic has just three ventilators for a population of 4.6 million people, while Somalia has not a single working ventilator for their 15 million people. Uganda has only 55 intensive-care beds, less than one per one million people.

Social distancing is literally impossible in many places. For example, in the slums of Kibera on the outskirt of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, around 250,000 people live on 2.5 square kilometres of land, meaning no chance of keeping a six-foot distance from others. Additionally, many communities across the developing world lack running water, meaning that even if they receive soap through international aid, hand washing is virtually impossible.

We know that pre-existing health conditions and poor physical health make people more vulnerable to COVID-19. We have already seen that the virus is disproportionately killing black populations in the US, due to economic and health disparities. Less data is available for developing countries, as is often the case, but following the same logic we can assume that the populations in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and parts of Asia, subject to even greater global economic and health disparities, will feel the worst impacts of COVID-19.

When vaccines and treatments emerge for COVID-19, there is no guarantee that they will be readily available in many countries. We may very well see a repeat of the 2009 H1N1 (Swine Flu) epidemic, when manufacturing agreements, domestic export policies and a simple lack of funds meant that developing countries struggled to get hold of the vaccine, with far more devastating consequences.

Even when these treatments do reach the developing world, there is a very real risk that fake versions rapidly be circulated in places like Ghana, which has a large pre-existing problem with fake and sub-standard medication. Ghana is not alone: according to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 10 medical products in low- and middle-income countries are substandard or falsified. This will likely have deadly results in the fight against COVID-19.

Additionally, as limited health resources are straining to address the looming COVID-19 crisis, there is very little space left to address other health needs. These gaps are being exacerbated by social distancing and strict lockdowns. Surgeries are already being cancelled and health problems are going untreated. Immunisation campaigns for measles, polio, cholera and other vaccine-preventable diseases have been postponed across the globe.

Resources are also being diverted from sexual and reproductive health. Additionally, authorities are less able to respond to gender-based violence, with the UNFPA warning that women and girls are now uniquely vulnerable with increased risks of maternal deaths, unsafe abortions, and spousal violence. Womens organizations in West Africa, for example, fear that we will see an increase in teenage pregnancy, a pattern already seen during the Ebola epidemic. On an already-overpopulated planet, this is a huge concern for both the Earth and the people competing to use its limited resources.

Frightening Implications

The impact of COVID-19 on the worlds poorest countries is not limited to impact on individuals health or health systems in general. The pandemic is set to be accompanied by starvation and violence, among other devastating impacts.

Food security is becoming a major concern in many countries. The UN World Food Programme is warning that COVID-19 could cause the number of acutely hungry people to nearly double from 135 million to 265 million worldwide. Severe food crises were already present in places such as Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Venezuela, South Sudan, and Afghanistan before COVID-19 hit.

Now, with food production being limited, transportation hampered, and populations under lockdown and therefore unable to earn a living, this global crisis will worsen. The WFP notes that predicted food shortages will be felt not only in low-income but also middle-income countries.

Starvation will be an indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of many. However, the novel coronavirus is far from the only reason behind this hunger: global food insecurity is part of a complex picture of natural disasters, conflict, population growth, and poverty. Many of these factors, in turn, are due to broken economies, dysfunctional governments, crippling debt and inequity on a global scale.

The reality of one part of the world struggling to feed themselves while the other struggles with too much food is far from new, and this is a product of a global system that has been built over centuries of exploitation. It reaches back to colonial powers pillaging the resources, lands and the people of other places, and continues today in many forms. For example, we have an international fashion industry that produces staggering cheap clothes for the West by exploiting the workers and natural environments of developing countries.

Consider how the US and European nations are now struggling with food surpluses because social distancing policies have led to a drop in food consumption. Large farms in the US are destroying eggs and vegetables and dumping milk, while Europeans are being urged to consume more steak, cheese, and fries to counteract falling demand and protect local farmers. The image of some countries destroying literal mountains of food even as others head toward starvation is a stark illustration of current levels of global inequality.

A brief review of the fallout as the COVID-19 pandemic sweeps across the globe reveals how deep and wide-ranging the impacts of this virus are. It is also becoming startlingly obvious that the pain is being felt most sharply by the worlds poorest and most disadvantaged countries.

Even as El Salvador has been promoted as an example of the positive impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic with a reported dramatic drop in homicides, other forms of violence have emerged or intensified. Social distancing is being enforced with baseball bats and truncheons in the Central American country, as well as in India and parts of Africa. Brutal enforcement of lockdowns in Africa in particular has raised red flags for many, with fears this could be used to usher in new eras of political repression and further restrict human rights.

There has also been a spike in gender-based violence across the world during the pandemic. This type of violence, under-reported in every country in the world, is particularly difficult to track in developing countries. However, there is stark evidence that domestic violence and sexual abuse has increased as citizens are forced into lockdowns: figures in South Africa, Kenya, Russia, the UK, the US, and elsewhere have shown a rise in incidents or crisis calls since the implementation of restrictions. This amplification of an existing problem is an unsurprising effect of victims being locked in with their aggressors.

The natural environment is suffering too. In South Africa, a steep drop off in game tourism, including hunting and wildlife viewing, has left animal populations vulnerable to poaching. In East Africa, COVID-19 has hampered efforts to respond to the regions worst desert locust outbreak in decades, which will also contribute to food insecurity.

The Greatest Threat

Even as the worlds most vulnerable communities need help more than ever, assistance is being scaled down or cut off completely. As the world hurtles toward global recession and even its biggest economies, from China to the US, teeter on the edge of recession or even collapse, this has devastating implications for the poorest and most disadvantaged people globally.

Developing countries and the non-government organisations that provide essential services to their populations are now facing more need than ever with shrinking resources. Many international foundations that fund the programs that provide healthcare, food, and other essential services in developing countries are turning their focus closer to home. A number of Western-based foundations have announced that they will only fund programs in their own countries, making funding opportunities for organizations working in developing countries scarcer than ever. Some of these organizations also rely on international volunteers to help to deliver their programs, and this help has disappeared as it becomes impossible for volunteers to travel.

There are also worrying signs for international aid issued by governments, another major source of funds needed to provide basic services in the developing world. Along with the Trump Administrations plans to freeze funding to the World Health Organization, USAID, the US Government aid agency, has restricted the use of their international aid funding. USAIDs new guidelines require aid recipients to seek prior approval before buying personal protective equipment (PPE) or ventilators. It has been speculated that this move is in response to the current shortage US of these items and a desire by the Trump Administration to safeguard their own supply, literally putting their oxygen mask on first before helping others.

This policy from the largest international donor for health could seriously impede the global response to COVID-19. If this is indeed the motivation behind this move, it is another example of a rich country looking after their own interests before those of other countries. Some would argue that this is the role of any government, but does this work in a global pandemic where if one country is affected, we are all affected? More importantly, is this just?

This is, of course, understandable. With the situation is dire in so many places, it is natural that governments will turn their attention to dealing with the problems within their own borders. On an individual level, it is also understandable that many people are choosing to deal with the issues that are closest to home: helping the older people in their street, or donating to a local food bank.

The scale of the crisis is so large that we frankly cant conceptualise or quantify it; therefore, we cut it down into bite-sized chunks and try to address those. That is, to the extent that people can deal with issues at all: psychologists are warning that the pandemic is triggering high levels of grief and anxiety for some people. Some, therefore, are necessarily turning their gaze even further inwards and focusing on self-care.

On a political level, Western leaders are concerned with how not only this crisis will impact their countries and their people, but also their own political standing. President Trump is the prime example of a leader positioning themselves during the pandemic to secure votes for the next election, but he is not alone. It is the nature of politics that politicians will leverage even devastating situations for political gain, and this will take precedence over moral imperatives.

All of these factors are coming together to create a perfect storm in which the privileged turn their focus inward to the needs of their own country, while the need and the crisis only continues to grow in developing countries.

However, there are two very compelling reasons why we cannot, either as individuals or as countries, turn our gaze exclusively inward at this time, and instead need to think globally:

1) COVID-19 is not a local or a national issue: it is a truly international one. If any country wants to protect their own citizens and their economy, they need take a global approach to controlling and eventually eliminating this virus.

2) Even though every country in the world will be economically and socially impacted by this crisis, the effects will be exponentially worse in countries that dont have the resources to deal with the situation effectively.As members of the human race we cannot ignore those who are most vulnerable to, and will be worst effected by this global crisis.

The New Normal

Some commentators are calling for us to not return to normal, because normal was broken. This is undoubtedly true: the present system is one of deeply-entrenched inequality, where one portion of the world can exploit people and the environment for short-term profit, driven by greed and the myth of exponential grow from limited resources. The COVID-19 pandemic, as devastating as it will be, is indeed an opportunity to hit the reset button on the global system and design something that will serve all of us better.

However, let us not allow the new normal to be one where we focus only on our local communities. We need to think global. The reasons why our previous normal was so broken stark inequality, ecological disaster, broken political systems are the very reasons why the most vulnerable people in the world are going to be worst hit in the months and years to come, and the least equipped to deal with these problems.

In some ways, thinking local is absolutely what we should do: we should look to local food production, to limit international shipping as well as international travel. At this time of a crisis of unimaginable scale, it could be tempting to look local. It may seem easier build things from the ground up, looking to solve the problems closest to home, one by one.

However, we cannot pretend we live in a bubble. We cannot act as if the issues faced by the worlds poorest communities are nothing to do with us. The truth is they live on the flipside of the privilege we enjoy. Their disadvantage is born out of the colonialism, slavery and resource exploitation that allowed the West to become wealthy in the first place, compounded more recently by decades of debt, profit and neo-colonialism. The West, therefore, has a responsibility to solve the problems it created in many parts of the world. The crushing impacts of COVID-19 will be just one more consequence of that legacy.

If the moral argument is not compelling enough, perhaps self-interest will be. As the world seeks to eradicate COVID-19 and protect their populations, not to mention their economies, they should consider one thing: this truly global pandemic will not disappear until it is gone from every corner of the globe. If the US and Europe want to eliminate the novel coronavirus in their countries, they need to eliminate it everywhere.

As we seek to build a new normal, we must make sure to include the worlds most vulnerable communities in this picture. On an individual level, we can financially support organizations and programs not only in our local communities, but also further afield. Volunteers who can no longer fly across the world to contribute their skills can help by volunteering online. We can all hold our governments accountable, making sure they support developing nations through aid funding and more equitable and sustainable international policies.

On a political level and in the long term, we need strategies to build a more sustainable, equitable world as the world recovers from this unprecedented crisis. We need to shift the way we think about debt, about resources, and about people. We can no longer treat human and natural resources as infinite supplies ready to be converted into profit. We must protect everyone, but especially the worlds most vulnerable communities from disaster by taking action on climate change.

In the short term, however, as the poorest members of the human race face illness, starvation and death, the international community needs to take a coordinated approach to:

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global crisis and it requires a global response. The worlds wealthiest and most privileged, on both a political and individual level, have a responsibility to act to protect the most vulnerable members of a human race that is facing a common threat. This responsibility is borne out of moral decency, out of collective guilt for actions in the recent and distant past, and out of a shared interest that means that if one of us falls ill, we all fall.

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Why Now is the Time to Think Global - Resilience

Coronavirus crisis gives us a unique opportunity to evaluate the path between Socialism and Capitalism The Third Way – OpIndia

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What is The Third Way? However, I call it The Original- Way and the article uses both phrases interchangeably. Shri Dattopant Thengdi, a giant among the economists, intellectuals and thinkers of his time propounded the concept of The Third Way in contradistinction to the two then existing ways Capitalism and Communism and hence the nomenclature.

As predicted by Thengdi Ji in 1970s Communism expired in 1990s and its central point USSR disintegrated although China is ruled by a Communist Party but is no more a communist country. China today is a totalitarian dictatorship having the worst of both Capitalism and Communism. Thengdi further opined that the demise of Capitalism is only delayed and it has to happen eventually. The failure of the two systems led to the search for an alternative wholistic way where an individual is not an atomistic isolated cog for reckless and relentless maximisation of profits at any cost overlooking the human element who is the first brick in a building block called family which in turn form societies which in turn form great nation-states. Thus behavioural aspects of human beings cannot be ignored as was being done in the two systems but adopting different strategies.

Capitalism focuses on extreme individual values and rights as opposed to forced collectivism. Greed and domination are the underlying premises of the system based on relentless & reckless exploitation of both human and material resources adversely impacting the planet and the social behaviour. This gives rise to another principle, as I see it, inherent in the Third Way is The need and not the greed should be the underlying basis of our policies and behaviour at all levels. The lack of this principle is leading to the collapse of existing systems. For example, the concept of L-1 status in awarding contracts to the lowest bidderis based on distrust and greed to somehow capture the contract whatever may be the impact on quality or timely execution. Another example of trust and need infused together is Govt. Of India allowing self-attestation of documents for govt. purposes. Thus trust on its own people is also inherent in The Third Way but that does not mean caution and vigilance has to be thrown to the wind.

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The present Coronavirus pandemic has highlighted certain global responses to the crisis viz-a-viz Indias response where in other countries the system totally depended on the govt to mitigate the miseries of the people whereas in India apart from timely and praiseworthy efforts of the Government of the day the entire society collectively including RSS Swayamsevaks and other associated organisations like Sewa Bharati rose to meet the challenge. Even internationally Hindu Sewa Sangh and Sikh communities are in the forefront in many countries. Hence The Third Way focuses on the role of society and its behavioural aspects. Thus the society has to take the leading role in the crisis and even in normal times including in national restructuring and rebuilding with GOVT. being the facilitator. The Third Way focuses on the interconnectedness of individual to the family, family to the society and society to the nation highlighting the psychological and material backward and forward linkages.

The third way considers society as an integral part of nature as reflected in our ancient wisdom and culture and still reflected in some indigenous tribes although conversions have brought a hiatus between the indigenous tribes and nature.

A prime requirement of a successful nation is a healthy nation both physically and spiritually and for that to happen one requires behavioural changes in the basic conduct and values of human beings and their families. In this regard, ancient Indian wisdom of Ayurved, Yog, Pranayam, exercises and meditation comes in and are slowly leading to the behavioural changes universally. International Yoga Day is a prime illustration.

There are no instant quick-fix solutions and patience and self-confidence in Self become an important virtue to achieve the Objectives of the Original/Third Way. This path has to be led by men of virtue without expectation of any award or reward through the collective and cooperative effort of the society.

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One of the important inherent and intrinsic foundations of the third way is the realisation of the sense of duty and responsibility in every citizen towards your nation first, family, society and nature.

Self Reliance is one of the core principles of the Third Way from basic village level to the national level keeping the highest standards of excellence and quality in goods and services. Keeping India in mind it espouses and focuses on employment generation, skill-based self-employment and SMSEs industries which do not adversely impact the environment and seeks to promote the same. In order to promote self-reliance, society has to promote indigenously manufactured goods restricting imports to the bare essentials. The feeling of self-reliance has to be reflected in our day to behaviour and conduct and needs to be promoted.

Education is an important tool to bring about behavioural changes. The existing Western-centric education system focussing only on material needs has failed the nation and the need of the hour is to have an education system utilising modern science and environment-friendly technologies infusing with the traditional system and ancient knowledge and wisdom to bring about the espoused behavioural changes in the society. A modified Gurukul system and research-based institutions linked to the industry has to be promoted.

The socio-economic policies have to address the basics. The focus has to be on low energy input non-polluting industries both at rural and urban level achieving its goals through collective effort and the cooperative movement. Incentives to areas where we lack a particular industry must be given and at the same time not fall in the trap of disruptive forces as in the case of Copper industry where we became a importing country from being an exporting one. One must remember if farmers and village economy suffers the nation suffers the most. In times of Pandemic rural economy is proving the backbone of the country. Capacity creation with a view to substituting imports promotes self-reliance.

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The healing of nature during the lockdown has reinforced the holistic approach of the third way which restoring the damage done to the planet. Water and forest conservation, plastic-free world, cleanliness, traditional practices like Organic farming, cow protection, conservation and promotion etc are subsets of The Third Way.

An out of the box suggestion based on the environmental impact of lockdown is to have our economic policies, manufacturing and production, supply and distribution networks, stocks and so on so designed and adjusted so as to have a yearly lockdown of one month on a regular basis. This would not only heal the planet but its inhabitants also.

The discipline of every citizen both in public and private life is a sine qua non of every successful country or aspiring to be one. Cleanliness and following the laws of the land and rules and regulations framed therein is an important feature. A leading example is the regions in the country that followed COVID-19 pandemic guidelines and maintained public discipline in their behaviour have been more successful in containing the spread of Coronavirus.

The concept of a Third Way can only succeed if there is self-confidence in the society in its past, present and future. That confidence not only comes from the present but equally from the past. Hence our Eurocentric colonial history written by British trained leftist historians has to be trashed and the same has to be restored and written again.

Why the third way? The existing systems of the world have led to increasing inequities, dissatisfied and discontented population and societies, overpopulation, destruction of nature both immediate and unseen has both created and accelerated the problems. The belief that my religion is the best and is the only path to salvation to the exclusion of other belief systems and modes of worship is a major cause of terrorism in the world apart from other conflicts arising from trying to have exclusive control over scarce resources and to have global domination. The excessive weaponisation by some countries has led to the fear in others leading to a never-ending arms race. The more polluting developed countries are shifting the blame on less polluting countries forcing them to agree to unachievable goals. But one must remember the whole planet is intrinsically connected and the action of chosen few can destroy the entire world. Therefore, the concept of Vasudhaiv Kutumbukam is not in a vacuum. The holistic approach of the Third Way of inclusiveness, interconnectedness and mutual trust can effectively address such issues.

The steps were taken by govt of India such as Mudra loans to encourage self-employment, SMSEs, skill development, promoting organic farming, land pooling in farming etc through cooperative and collective effort, DBT, digitisation of trading processes to eliminate middlemen etc are the steps reflecting the espoused approach.

The Third or The Original way approach expects that our govt brings in new education policy, restoring history, controlling the population, focussing on the family as a building block and unit of overall development of society and the nation, enforcing public discipline, promoting self-reliance and infusing traditional wisdom with modern science and research. A wholistic policy is required where economic factors are not sole parameters of development but integrating self and the society and shifting focus from individual to the society with the ingrained realisation of fundamental duties in our Constitution. On the other hand society and its components have to develop a deep sense of duties and responsibilities to the nation, inclusiveness, non-discrimination, equity, equality, justice and overall sense of collective happiness and that requires psychological and behavioural change at every level where rights dont take precedence over ones own duties. And Bharat has to chart its own path.

And to those who heard Sarsanghchalak of RSS, Shri Mohan Bhagwats online Udbodhan on Baudhik warg on 26th April 2020, the present article will have some, although not complete, resonance. Bhagwat appropriately explained the concept of The third way and its application in the context of the present crisis without naming it.

Another pertinent fact of history is that two great travellers one Megasthanese in the 3rd BCE and Huen Tsang in the7th CE having a time gap of one thousand years between them have both written that one common quality of Bhartiya people is that they are simple, honest and trustworthy to the core and the Third Way has deep faith in Indian people and its inherent qualities to steer the nation towards being a Vishwaguru.

The Third Way or the Original way concept is not a difficult goal and is achievable in a decade or so with patience, small sacrifices from everyone and a self-confident nation and that is, is in our DNA as proven by thousands of years of history.

The present Coronavirus pandemic and the resultant crisis has given us a unique opportunity to review and reassess the existing system which is difficult to do in normal times and develop anew unique socio-economic India specific new system having universal values based on The Third and the Original Way.

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Coronavirus crisis gives us a unique opportunity to evaluate the path between Socialism and Capitalism The Third Way - OpIndia

NASA working with Tom Cruise to film movie on the International Space Station – Spaceflight Now

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Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick. Credit: Paramount Pictures

NASA said Tuesday it is working with Tom Cruise to film a movie on the International Space Station, but details on the arrangements are scarce.

The news that Cruise was in talks with to shoot an action-adventure film on the space station was first reported Monday by Deadline, which said the actor is working with SpaceX on the project.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted Tuesday that the agency is excited to work Tom Cruise on a film aboard the space station.We need popular media to inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists to make NASAs ambitious plans a reality.

Cruise, the 57-year-oldstar of Top Gun and the Mission: Impossible film franchise, has performed daring stunts before. NASA did not confirm Tuesday whether Cruise would himself fly to the space station as part of the film.

SpaceX has not confirmed its role in the film project, but Cruise could fly to the space station on the companys Crew Dragon spaceship. The Crew Dragon is designed to carry up to four people to and from low Earth orbit, potentially room enough for Cruise, a small film crew and a professional astronaut in command.

Elon Musk, SpaceXs founder and CEO, tweeted Tuesday: Should be a lot of fun!

NASA last year said it would enable private astronauts to spend up to 30 days on the International Space Station. The paying passengers would fly to the station on SpaceXs Crew Dragon spacecraft or Boeings CST-100 Starliner crew capsule, the two human-rated spaceships developed by U.S. industry in partnership with NASA.

Private companies would pay for access to the orbiting research outpost, and the commercial companies would be responsible for funding the flights launch and trip to the space station.

Earlier this year, the space tourism company Space Adventures which arranged the flight of Garriott and other wealthy passengers to the station on Russian spacecraft announcedan agreement with SpaceX to fly paying passengers on a Crew Dragon spacecraft without going to the space station. Instead, the Crew Dragon contracted by Space Adventures will fly on its own in Earth orbit, reaching altitudes hundreds of miles above the space station to provide passengers a more expansive view of Earth.

Axiom Space said in March that itsigned a contract with SpaceX to ferry a professional astronaut and three paying passengers to the International Space Station as soon as next year.

Deadline reported Monday that the film project is real but in the early stages of development. No studio is attached yet to the film, Deadline reported.

Cruise narrated the 2002 IMAX documentary filmSpaceStation 3D, which was filmed by astronauts during the assembly of the International Space Station. A short science fiction film namedApogee of Fearwas filmed on the space station in 2008 by Richard Garriott, who paid for his trip to orbit on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

But celebrity spaceflights and past plans for filmmaking projects in orbit have faltered before reaching the launch pad.

Singer Lance Bass of NSYNC began training to fly on a Soyuz mission to the space station in 2002, but his sponsorships fell through. A Russian actor hoped to fly to the Russian space station Mir in 2000, but the project collapsed due to lack of funds.

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Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

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NASA working with Tom Cruise to film movie on the International Space Station - Spaceflight Now

Astronaut Christina Koch on making space history and how to survive isolation – News Info Park

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On February 6th, NASA astronaut Christina Koch returned back to Earth after making history during a nearly year-long stay on board the International Space Station. She had just broken the record for longest continuous spaceflight by a woman, and while she was up there, she performed the first all-female spacewalk in history with her friend and crewmate Jessica Meir. In fact, they did three total spacewalks together.

Now back on solid ground, Koch is experiencing another long-duration mission: social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. But she says her turn aboard the ISS is helping her cope during this time, and she has some tips for others who may be struggling to stay positive throughout the crisis. Koch also says she has a better understanding of what its going to take to send people on years-long deep-space missions to Mars one day. The key? Combatting what she calls sensory underload.

In the meantime, shes continuing to train as much as she can from home while awaiting her next assignment to space. And for her, the next call from NASA could be a big one. The space agency is aiming to send the first woman to the Moon as early as 2024 as part of its Artemis mission. Its possible that woman could be Koch.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Your first flight to space was very eventful. What was it like when you first got your assignment?

It was a really exciting time, and I ended up being assigned at a time when there was a lot of flux in the flight schedule, so I had an accelerated training flow. Whereas the normal training flow is about two years, mine was about a year. I ended up studying to be in the copilot role in the Soyuz spacecraft. I spent almost all of 2018 living and training in Russia, which was an incredible experience.

Obviously, as a rookie, getting told that youre finally going to achieve your dream of going to the space station is just an incredible moment, similar to the moment you find out youre selected to be in the astronaut corps. Its hard to really believe its happening, but, like anything, NASA gives you plenty to keep you busy.

Your time on the space station was definitely longer than you anticipated. What was it like learning that youd be staying for nearly a year?

I did know in advance that it was a possibility. So for me, the real challenge and what I focused on was not getting too caught up in the sense of needing to know when I would go home. I became comfortable with the concept of launching and not necessarily knowing for sure when I would come back. So I developed a strategy for the longest-possible duration so that I could kind of sustain that tempo no matter what, if it was required.

We say in the industry that for a long-duration spaceflight, its a marathon, not a sprint. So I just told myself it was an ultra-marathon, not a marathon.

Lets talk about your spacewalks, which were such a big deal to everyone on the ground. First, you were assigned to go with Anne McClain, and that was going to be the first all-female spacewalk. Then it was postponed. What was that event like for you, hearing about the backlash that was associated with it?

Being in the moment was a different experience than maybe it was perceived to be from the outside. The spacewalk actually wasnt canceled; it happened. It was conducted by Nick Hague and myself. The decision to change the crew was actually recommended by Anne, based on her own preferences and the additional information she gained from her first spacewalk. And the fact that NASA 100 percent stood behind her decision and did not question it, I thought it was just an incredible example of trusting the crew, trusting the experts that are going to conduct the spacewalk, and trusting Anne to know what the best way to get the job done and to mitigate the risk would be. So I really commend both her and our leadership for going with that decision.

Jessica Meir (L) and Christina Koch (R) preparing for their spacewalk.Image: NASA

But then you also did get to make that history with your crewmate Jessica Meir just a few months later. What was that like, learning that you would actually get to do this all-female spacewalk that was so important to people.

It was just an awesome honor, as they all are. We were focused on the mission; we were excited to conduct the maintenance and upgrade to the space station. And I was just as happy to go out the door with Jessica as I had been with Nick and [NASA astronaut] Andrew [Morgan] on previous spacewalks.

Of course, there is something special that is being part of the first all-female spacewalk, and that was something that we kind of allowed ourselves to really take in and consider more afterward. Because the preparation leading up to that spacewalk, we were all business: focused on the technical aspects, on making sure that we could get the job done. Interestingly, that spacewalk was actually a contingency spacewalk, so it had never been planned to happen. It was because of some unexpected hardware signatures that they saw after the battery replacement. So it was an incredible thing to be a part of, from our perspective, really more because of the teamwork involved in coming up with this incredible spacewalk within the span of a week and executing it successfully. So after the fact, I think we had a little more time to reflect on the historical significance of what we were doing.

Koch taking a space selfie during her spacewalk with Meir.Image: NASA

Obviously, were incredibly grateful to those that paved the way for us to be there. It was a privilege to be there at the right place at the right time.

People are experiencing their own form of spaceflight right now: theyre being socially isolated at home. What kind of advice would you have for them, given your experience?

As we come into the second month of social distancing and staying at home, it reminds me a lot of the latter part of my mission where the biggest challenge was remaining vigilant. We know what we should be doing make a schedule, have a routine, take time for yourself, carve out space, set realistic goals but I think, as it wears on, we kind of lose the vigilance and the commitment to those things. If every day feels like Tuesday, you dont have the grit to make yourself do all of those things we know we should be doing.

So I would say recommit to the things that you know keep you healthy and sane during this time reaching out, supporting each other. Youre probably finding yourself thinking, When is this going to be over? more and more. And for me, the way that I got through times like that was to focus not on the things I was missing out on, but on the unique parts of the situation that I would never have again. So find something that you love about this current situation, and that may be difficult. Some of us are going through really tough times. But find something that makes it special and unique that you know youll miss one day. And if you focus on that, you may find that you arent constantly waiting for it to be over.

What about using your experience to go to the Moon or Mars? Do you feel like you have a better understanding of what its going to take to do these years-long missions into deep space?

Definitely. We talked a lot on board about just that. Something were all probably experiencing right now is what I call sensory underload. Youve seen the same thing for so long. You havent seen new people. You havent smelled new smells. You havent tasted new tastes. And there is a change, I think, in the brain that happens when we dont have new sensory inputs to process every day.

A lot of the things that I think would enhance our long-duration missions are in kind of that realm things like packing care packages for yourself to open throughout the mission, having virtual reality options for interacting in different environments and maybe even interacting with your family, coming up with unique ways to stay connected, using some of the same communication tools that we use on Earth, like, for example, texting.

So some of the answers are actually pretty simple. But I would say, right now, probably everyone in America has some pretty good advice as well on surviving long-duration space missions. Weve all had a little taste of it ourselves.

I feel like Im kind of trying to combat this sensory underload right now by trying to do new things, new activities, that make it seem like Im in a different place than where I am.

One of the things that I did on board is use things like music or even decorating for that. You know, painting a room in your apartment, rearranging the furniture, or listening to a playlist thats of a completely different genre in your house. Things that truly can provide a little bit of relief from sensory underload.

Now that youre back on solid ground, what have you been doing during this period of downtime? Are you still training? Does it weirdly mirror your time on the station?

On the station, our days are 12-hour workdays during the week, filled with maintenance, science, and exercise down to the five-minute increments. So even without social isolation and staying at home, it would have been a big decrease in the amount of regimentation to my schedule coming home.

Image: NASA

You know a lot of people joke: How can an astronaut work from home? And yes, you know, there are a lot of training aspects that we can do and currency aspects that we can do from home. Russian language is a great example of that. And then anyone whos mission essential is still doing their aspects of their job. So a lot of us support real-time space station work by being the CAPCOM in Mission Control. (Thats the person talking to the astronauts throughout the day.) So its a mix of essential work that we do go in for and then staying relevant on our training from home when we cant.

Meanwhile, weve got a lot of big things from NASA coming up at the end of the month. Two of your fellow astronauts will be launching from Florida on a SpaceX rocket. Whats that going to be like for you?

Im over the Moon for that mission. I am so excited to see [NASA astronauts] Doug [Hurley] and Bob [Behnken] launch from Cape Canaveral on an American rocket. I think it was an incredible decision to do business in the way that NASA has been, fostering this space economy by opening up the transportation of astronauts to and from the space station to private industry. To see it culminate and launch on May 27th is going to be incredible. Though we will all be separated, I think well all be experiencing it together as a country and as a world.

There are also a lot of big opportunities coming up with NASA and its Artemis program to send the first woman to the Moon, and the NASA administrator has said that astronaut is probably already in the astronaut corps. Would you want to be that person?

I am so excited about the Artemis mission. It is going to be an incredible opportunity to lead on a global scale, to apply technologies to go on even deeper space missions like going to Mars and answering some of the biggest philosophical questions I think of our time about are we alone? We are really on an awesome path of exploration and discovery right now, and its a really amazing time to be in the astronaut corps.

No one knows who those first couple of astronauts will be. My hope is that its the right person for the job. We have an incredible astronaut corps. Any single person would excel in that role, and I just cant wait to see who that person is. I know that they will carry the hopes and dreams of all humanity with them when they go, and truly, Im just excited to know that person. Whether or not its me, of course, any astronaut would accept with honor.

Read more:

Astronaut Christina Koch on making space history and how to survive isolation - News Info Park

Tom Cruise working with NASA, SpaceX to film a movie on International Space Station – Brownsville Herald

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By Chabeli Carrazana,Orlando Sentinel

Like Mission: Impossible, but without gravity. Or, no, no, like Top Gun, but with rockets instead.

Whatever the conversations in the writing room, it seems like Tom Cruise is in talks to take his action skills to the new frontier: Space. And not in the CGI sense.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted Tuesday that Cruise and NASA will be working on a film aboard the International Space Station.

We need popular media to inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists to make NASAs ambitious plans a reality, Bridenstine tweeted.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk chimed in later, tweeting, Should be a lot of fun!

SpaceX is three weeks away from launching humans from the U.S. to the ISS for the first time in nine years. If successful, the program, called Commercial Crew, would then evolve to run operational missions, as well as flights carrying private travelers, like Cruise.

SpaceX and NASA havent specified whether Cruise will fly on one of these missions, or if the three parties will collaborate on a film partially shot in space.

According to Deadline, which broke the news, the film wont be part of the Mission: Impossible franchise. Its still in its early stages, Deadline reported.

Last year, NASA said it was hoping to open the ISS to private astronauts _ at a cost of about $35,000 per day _ with the hopes of allowing commercial businesses access to parts of the station to make, market and promote products, train private astronauts and even use ISS resources for commercial activities, a dramatic change from its prior stance of limiting commercial activity on the station to only science experiments.

The shift is part of the long-term plan for the ISS. NASA plans to cede control of the station over to commercial companies sometime in the 2020s.

In the meantime, the agency is hoping to accommodate two missions a year carrying up to a dozen private astronauts for trips lasting as long as 30 days.

Can you film a movie in that time?

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Tom Cruise working with NASA, SpaceX to film a movie on International Space Station - Brownsville Herald

Astronaut on how to survive isolation, and the future of space travel – Business Insider – Business Insider

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Scott Kelly is a retired NASA astronaut who has been to space four times, including a 340-day trip on the International Space Station. He is the author of the book "Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery"

Kelly spoke with Business Insider about his experience in space and shares lessons he learned that also apply to the isolation many are struggling with during the coronavirus pandemic. He also shares his thoughts on the future of space travel. Following is a transcript of the video.

Sara Silverstein: Before we get your tips, as a lot of us are dealing with being cooped up in our own homes after many, many weeks, I don't want to try to compare the two. So let's give a little bit of perspective and how much space did you have while you were living in space, and what limitations did you have as far as diet and water?

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly enjoys his first drink from the new ISSpresso machine aboard the International Space Station on May 3, 2016. NASA/Reuters Scott Kelly: Well, space-wise I actually had more space on the space station than I do in my apartment here in Houston. It's a big place. Now, having said that, it's filled with a lot of stuff, but you have more usable room when you can float above your head, use the space towards the ceiling. But there are a lot of similarities between this situation, being isolated, kind of being cut off a little bit from society, as what I experienced on the International Space Station. And one of them is the fact that we are all part of the same mission now. One thing that makes getting through your time in space easier is recognizing that you're there for a reason, an important reason, a purpose. And that's the same case in this situation. We are following the guidance, the guidelines as best. At least we should be doing that, because that's our job and it's our responsibility not only to ourselves, but to our family, but also to every other citizen of this planet.

Silverstein: And so talk us through some of the tricks you learned to pass the time while you were stuck in the space station.

Kelly: Yeah. So I flew a six month flight, nearly six months, before I flew for a year. And when I did that, as I was getting towards the end, I was feeling a little bit of anxiety, like the walls were closing and I was ready for it to be done. And then when I got home, I had the opportunity to fly in space again, but this time for twice as long. Initially it didn't appeal to me, but I thought about it some more. I wanted to find space again. I wanted it to be different and I wanted it to be more challenging. And I came to the conclusion that this was the flight for me. But I went into it with a lot of thought and consideration for how I could get to the end with as much energy and enthusiasm as I had in the beginning.

So I came up with a plan. And part of my plan was maintaining a very, very rigid, rigid schedule. Easy to do when you're working for NASA and they build your schedule, but taking that very seriously as a schedule that has a variety of activities on it during the week, from work to taking care of your environment, making sure it's clean. We have to do that now. In this situation, I kind of treat the front door of my house kind of like an airlock right now where the bad stuff stays outside, good stuff comes inside. Those two will not cross. So having this schedule that has time for rest, time for work, consistent sleep times, exercise. In this case, in this situation at least we can go outside and get some light and some fresh air, which is important. Couldn't do that in space. But the schedule was important. Having a weekend that's different from the weekends was critical because it gave something for me to look forward to at the end of the week.

I tried not to count the days I was there. I definitely didn't count down. And I think it's important we do that in this situation because this situation is ... Some people think this is over, this is not over. We will be living in this new reality in some form or the other for quite some time. So I look at this like this is my life. This is what I have to do because it's my job, which is following the guidance and the direction that we get. It will be over someday. Not sure when it is, but I am not going to count the days. I could not tell you how many weeks I've been doing this. I can't even tell you what month I started this, I don't think, because it's not the way I look at it, it's not the way I want to look at it.

Silverstein: And how do you differentiate the weekends from the weekdays in space?

Kelly: Well, in space, one of the days you devote to cleaning the place in space, virus and bacteria grow easily. You put your hands on a lot of things, your immune system is suppressed very much like this situation. When you're in isolation, anxiety, fatigue suppresses your immune system. Same thing in space. So on the weekends we clean all house and then we leave Sunday for just rest. So yeah, our weekend days are structured much differently. Now, I understand, I get it. Everyone's not in the same situation. I have advice and some people this advice is not important to because they're worried about when they're going to be able to get some money to feed their kids. I get it. So these are just the things that worked for me. And maybe some people could take some of this advice and have it help them through the situation. But I absolutely recognize that everyone's situation is different.

Silverstein: Absolutely. And you've mentioned before journaling was something that you did regularly while you were in space. Did that help you get through the time?

Kelly: Well, I did that mostly because I felt like I might want to write a book after it and I wanted the experience and the thoughts and ideas to be fresh. So I decided to write them in my free time on the space station. But I also found that it was kind of a cathartic thing. When you're dealing with a challenging situation, especially if you have no one to talk to about it, it's important, I think to admit that it's hard and you write that down. By writing it down, I think you're admitting to yourself that this is challenging because this is, this is a very challenging situation. And I'm sure a lot of people are scared, whether it's getting the virus or how am I going to pay my bills, what's going on with my job? If you have a job, will I lose my job? I mean, this is scary stuff. Understandable. Flying in space was scary. There were scary things about it.

What I've learned flying in space four times is the fear sometimes allows you to focus, but if you dwell on it, it will prevent you from making the right decision and doing the right thing. So I always to kind of tamp down the fear, I would focus on the things that I could control, which was the spacecraft, my job, what I was doing, ignoring the stuff I had no control over. Like is the thing going to Is the rocket going to blow up for no reason that I had any ability to prevent it from happening? So same situation here. I mean, there's stuff we can control and stuff we can't, knowing what that is.

I think also one thing NASA was good at was always thinking about what is the next worst possible failure? And I think people need to be considering that. What actions do I take if one of my family members get sick, who do I call? What do I do? If I lose my job if I can't pay my rent, where can I get relief? I mean, even if you don't need it, you need to be thinking about, well what if I do need it next week or the week after, so you're prepared.

Silverstein: And you were there for the entire time with your Russian counterpart, Mikhail, and it sounds like you two have a pretty good friendship. Did you ever have disagreements while you were out there together, and how did you deal with that?

Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko spent 340 days at the International Space Station together. NASA Kelly: Yeah, so over the course of the year I was there, Mikhail and I were there for the whole time, and we had 13 other people come and go. I have never had an argument with Mikhail ever about anything.

He is just like one of the nicest guys in the world. I can't see him getting into an argument with anybody. I have had disagreements with people in space and a lot of times those disagreements can be avoided if you bring up issues early. I think in this situation, we're living in maybe close quarters and just spending a long time in the same place with people that you generally don't spend that much time in a single place with. There can be opportunities for conflict, and one thing they teach us at NASA and that I've always practiced myself as much as I could is if there are things that are bothering you with your crew members or if something that I'm doing is bothering other people, you'll need to recognize it's better to talk about it early rather than it to develop into a bigger issue.

My wife was telling me, I guess the other day she kind of got a little bit frustrated with what I do with the dishes and I think I do the dishes. I certainly put them in the sink, I put them in the dishwasher sometimes, I take them out sometimes. But what I wasn't doing was following the approved system, which was her system, which is actually a really good system. The only thing is she never told me what the system was. So I did it a different way and it turns out it bothered her. But at least eventually she explained to me what it was. And I was like, "If I would've known that 10 years ago, it wouldn't have bothered you for the last 10 years because I would've just did it how you did it." Because it makes sense to me. It's just, it was never explained to me.

So I think it's important that people share their thoughts and feelings, understand we're all different. We all have different skills in this kind of situation. Help each other out. I always found that on the space station, the facility you're living in is a shared space. So you're all kind of responsible for keeping it clean and so I always felt like if I just did a tiny bit more than was expected of me, and if everyone always just did a little bit more of what's expected from them, that made everything run very smoothly. You don't want someone doing all the cleaning and the other person sitting on the couch, that's not good for anybody. Even the person sitting on a couch because it's not going to last. It'll create conflict. So I think always trying to contribute just a little bit more than you think you should is a good approach.

Silverstein: Well, I think that's very relatable to a lot of us right now. And I have to say, I'm listening to your book right now, "Endurance." And one of the things that struck me about it was that you were not a very good student early in your life and you became an astronaut. And right now it seems like a time that school is being rethought. Is there a way to make school more either rewarding or appealing to people like you that will one day turn out to be overachievers but are not recognized by the traditional school system?

Kelly: Yeah. So for me it was impossible to pay attention. I always had the best intentions to do well. The start of the school year, I'm like, "Okay, this is the year I'm going to get straight As." And three days into it, already three days behind on homework, wasn't able to pay attention in class, game over. Try again next year. And I was always smart enough that I could get by Cs without doing anything, without even paying attention in class. Or maybe it was just easier then. I think if I was in school today, I probably would have flunked out, but it seems harder now. But what I found was for me it was impossible to pay attention until I found something that I wanted to do so badly that I had to force myself to become a good student.

That was inspiration I had, I found in Tom Wolfe's book, "The Right Stuff." Inspired me to be a fighter pilot, a test pilot, and even an astronaut. And I guess my point is all kids are different. They all need inspiration and they learn in different ways. So I think it's kind of ... There's some good that can come out of this and, and one good thing maybe recognizing that education is going to look different and it could look different in a way that makes it better. And I don't know what that is. If it's going to school a few days for the social interaction, and then doing it at home online. Maybe that's good for some kids, maybe not for others, but trying to have it evolve, and cater to all different types of learners, because kids learn in different ways.

Silverstein: And what do you think about the commercialization of space travel? Do you think that it's a positive, it will get us further faster? And do you still think that astronauts should be overseen or regulated by the government?

Kelly: No, I think it was a positive thing. I think it's great when you have companies that are investing their own money in something that I feel is very important and, and strongly about. Yeah, I think it's a great thing. We need to do it with the appropriate amount of attention to detail and safety. There will be significant risk in the beginning, but as we get more experienced with it, it will become safer. Kind of like commercial aviation was in the early days of aviation. It was expensive and it was risky and that's what what space flight is going to be. But yeah, I'm all behind any commercial space flight. I think it's great. Flying in space is one of the greatest things I've ever done in my life and I wish everyone had the opportunity to do it. I'm not selfish. Let everyone go to space.

Silverstein: I would love to go to space. When do you think we'll get to Mars? Can you give me an estimate?

Former NASA astronauts Mark Kelly (left) and Scott Kelly (right) speak during the 2017 Breakthrough Prize at NASA Ames Research Center on December 4, 2016 in Mountain View, California. Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images Kelly: I've never been able to give that estimate. We can go to Mars. I'll quote my brother, give him a bone here, but he always He's got a good quote and he says, "Going to Mars is not rocket science. It's political science."

We have the technology to do that. We have to learn some other things a little bit. How to take care and protect the crew from radiation as an example, but it's more of an issue of investment and a desire, investment, money available. Before this pandemic and the resulting economic impacts we've had, I'd probably, if you would have pushed me on it, I probably could have given you a number that is probably not the same number I would give to you today.

But I still think it's important. I think we will one day get there. I hope I see it in my lifetime. I think it's going to be a great adventure for not only the people that are involved, but for the people that are watching on their couch. And I hope there's some kid out there today, probably not watching this show, but probably alive and wondering what they're going to do in their life, having no idea that it's going to be walking on Mars someday, and that's going to be a great moment.

Silverstein: And one of our viewers wants to know, do you think it's a good idea to have a space station on the moon?

Kelly: Yeah. The moon is an incredible place. It seems like it was built there just for us to experiment on. And I would love to see a lunar base, but again, I think it's a priority that would ... A financial investment that would be in competition with going to Mars. So we have to just make some tough choices. And if building a base on the moon would take away from being able to go to Mars someday, maybe it's not worth it. I don't know. It's a hard decision and I think a lot of people have to put a lot ... A lot of people that are smarter than me have to look into this and decide what the best thing to do is.

Silverstein: And I saw that Tom Cruise is planning to shoot a movie in the International Space Station. What do you think about that?

Kelly: I think Tom Cruise is a great actor. I've probably watched most of, if not all of his movies, and I'd watch that movie.

Silverstein: And before I let you go, I need to know, just based on the way that you write about your life and this quest for risk, what is the next adventure for your life?

Kelly: Hey, though about Tom cruise though, right? So I think what he really needs to realize is this is not a movie. I'm sure he realizes that. And it is really, I mean the highway to the danger zone because launching on a rocket is pretty risky. They sometimes blow up and kill people. So as long as everyone understands that, that that might happen, then I think it'll be great. It'll be interesting to see how he films a movie without his normal crew of probably 100.

Silverstein: Absolutely.

Kelly: But what was your last question?

Silverstein: And what is the next adventure for you?

Kelly: Right now I'm just navigating my way through this new reality. My primary job was as a motivational public speaker, so I would travel around the country and the world talking in person to large groups of people in small rooms. And that is going to happen again, I'm just not sure when. So I've been doing a lot of stuff like this. One thing we're really excited about is we're building a house and we're moving to Colorado. So building a house is normally ... I'm not building it with a hammer, I've got a contractor. And that's normally a tough job, but it's even tougher now because of this pandemic. So we're spending a lot of time doing that. And then once this whole situation is past us, and I think hopefully we can look back on it and it's going to be not a whole lot of good that's going to come out of it, but maybe we can look back on it and we learned some things and we're better for those things that we've learned. I'll find some other exciting things to do with my life.

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MDA receives contract to support robotic operations on the International Space Station – Space Daily

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MDA reports it has received a contract worth CAD $190 million to support robotic operations on the International Space Station (ISS) from 2020 to 2024. MDA has provided Logistics and Sustaining Engineering (L&SE) services to the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and its international partners since the start of the ISS, which this year will celebrate 20 years of continuous habitation by humans.

"This contract further strengthens MDA's global leadership in operational mission-critical space robotics, and will provide an opportunity to advance robotic system capabilities and techniques using the ISS as a proving ground for future human exploration," said Mike Greenley, Chief Executive Officer of MDA.

"We value our role as prime contractor and partner to the Canadian Space Agency, and enjoy the opportunity to work closely with the ISS partners, in particular NASA and the ISS industrial team."

The contract provides for ongoing operations and maintenance of the Canadian contribution to the ISS, the Mobile Servicing System (MSS), which comprises Canadarm2, Dextre and the Mobile Base System (MBS) and will establish a solid base of business for the next four years for MDA's robotics teams based in Brampton (ON), St-Hubert (QC) and Houston (TX).

Areas of support include goods and services such as Mission Planning and Real-Time Operations Support, Software Engineering (upgrades), Systems Engineering, Hardware Engineering, Logistics Engineering (spares, support equipment, crown property management), Program Management, Product Assurance, and MSS Robotic Operations Training Support for astronauts and ground mission controllers. The contract includes the option for Canada to extend the term of the contract by up to four additional one-year periods under the same conditions.

Reliance on Canadarm2 and Dextre - the world's most sophisticated space robot - for International Space Station maintenance has been steadily increasing. MDA ensures the operational readiness of the MSS robotics, provides training to the robotic operators, and supports operations planning and real-time operations.

In addition, MDA continuously enhances the capability of the MSS to meet the evolving needs of the Canadian Space Station Program and International Space Station needs.

Canada's robotics capability is globally recognized for its exemplary performance in support of the ISS. The ISS continues to be an important laboratory that advances breakthrough technologies and extends scientific knowledge. Canada's contribution of robotics has enabled access to the ISS by Canadian astronauts as well as utilization of the ISS laboratory for Canadian science experiments.

Related LinksMDAAll about the robots on Earth and beyond!

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What is a Transportation Management System (TMS …

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Transportation Management System (TMS) definition.

A transportation management system, or TMS, is a platform thats designed to streamline the shipping process. It is a subset of supply chain management concerning transportation solutions. A TMS allows shippers to automate the processes they have in place and receive valuable insights to save time and reduce spend on future shipments.

Distribution companies, e-commerce organizations and anyone else that moves freight on a regular basis realizes there are many moving parts to the shipping process, both literally and figuratively. From quoting to delivery, those shipping freight are almost always looking for ways to optimize spend and improve processes. Thanks to transportation management systems (TMS), shippers have a solution on their side to do just that.

There are many types of TMS to use in your daily shipping processes. However, at Freightquote by C.H. Robinson we rely on our Enterprise Transportation Management System and team of industry experts. Enterprise TMS allows you to automate your current shipping process while gaining valuable insights that save you time and money. Enterprise is ideal for large shippers who need customized solutions such as dedicated account managers customer specific pricing, and more.

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The Global Transportation Management Systems (TMS) Market is expected to grow by $ 2049.50 million during 2020-2024 progressing at a CAGR of 8% during…

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Global Transportation Management Systems (TMS) Market 2020-2024 The analyst has been monitoring the transportation management systems (TMS) market and it is poised to grow by $ 2049.

New York, May 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Transportation Management Systems (TMS) Market 2020-2024" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p03112442/?utm_source=GNW 50 million during 2020-2024 progressing at a CAGR of 8% during the forecast period. Our reports on transportation management systems (TMS) market provides a holistic analysis, market size and forecast, trends, growth drivers, and challenges, as well as vendor analysis covering around 25 vendors. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current global market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. The market is driven by the increasing adoption of technologically advanced connected devices, shift from the CAPEX model to the OPEX model, and increasing requirement for efficient operations. In addition, increasing adoption of technologically advanced connected devices is anticipated to boost the growth of the market as well. The transportation management systems (TMS) market analysis include end-user segment and geographic landscapes

The transportation management systems (TMS) market is segmented as below: By End-user Large enterprises SMEs Government organizations

By Geographic Landscapes North America Europe APAC MEA South America

This study identifies the advent of smart cities as one of the prime reasons driving the transportation management systems (TMS) market growth during the next few years. Also, increasing use of vehicular communication systems, and emergence of meta-intelligence concept in transportation management systems will lead to sizable demand in the market. "The analyst presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources by an analysis of key parameters. Our transportation management systems (TMS) market covers the following areas: Transportation management systems (TMS) market sizing Transportation management systems (TMS) market forecast Transportation management systems (TMS) market industry analysis

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p03112442/?utm_source=GNW

About ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

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Greenbrook TMS Announces Overnight Marketed Offering of Common Shares – Business Wire

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TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Greenbrook TMS Inc. (Greenbrook or the Company) (TSX: GTMS) announced today that it has filed and been receipted for a preliminary short form prospectus (the Preliminary Prospectus) with securities regulatory authorities in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, pursuant to National Instrument 44-101 Short Form Prospectus Distributions, in connection with a proposed overnight marketed offering (the Offering) of common shares of the Company (the Offered Shares). The Offering is being co-led by Bloom Burton Securities Inc. and Clarus Securities Inc. (the Lead Agents) on behalf of a syndicate including Canaccord Genuity Corp., Desjardins Securities Inc., and Stifel GMP.

The number of Offered Shares to be distributed, the price of each Offered Share and the minimum and maximum size of the Offering will be determined by negotiation between the Company and the Lead Agents in the context of the market with final terms to be determined at the time of pricing. The Preliminary Prospectus is subject to completion and amendment.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering to fund operating activities and for other working capital and general corporate purposes.

The Offering is subject to a number of customary conditions, including, without limitation, receipt of all regulatory and stock exchange approvals.

The Offered Shares have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or applicable state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from such registration requirements. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of the Offered Shares, in any province, state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such province, state or jurisdiction.

About Greenbrook TMS Inc.

Operating through 124 Company-operated treatment centers, Greenbrook is a leading provider of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) therapy, an FDA-cleared, non-invasive therapy for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder and other mental health disorders, in the United States. TMS therapy provides local electromagnetic stimulation to specific brain regions known to be directly associated with mood regulation. Greenbrook has provided more than 420,000 TMS treatments to over 11,000 patients struggling with depression.

Forward-Looking Information

Certain information in this press release constitutes forward-looking information, including with respect to the use of the net proceeds of the Offering. In some cases, but not necessarily in all cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as plans, targets, expects or does not expect, is expected, an opportunity exists, is positioned, estimates, intends, assumes, anticipates or does not anticipate or believes, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might, will or will be taken, occur or be achieved. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent managements expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events.

Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of this press release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to the factors described in greater detail in the Risk Factors section of the Companys current annual information form available at http://www.sedar.com. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect the Company; however, these factors should be considered carefully. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

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Greenbrook TMS Announces Overnight Marketed Offering of Common Shares - Business Wire

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