Coronavirus Crisis Shows Benefits of Virtual Reality to Cryptocurrency Enthusiasts – The Merkle Hash

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During the coronavirus crisis, a lot of focus has shifted to online meetings and virtual communication. All of this seems to indicate that virtual reality will become more popular, even in the cryptocurrency space.

Virtual reality remains a very niche technology for most consumers and companies.

It is something no one really needs, despite its potential.

During the coronavirus crisis, the demand for online social solutions is on the rise.

As such, now is the time to shine for virtual reality, even in the world of cryptocurrencies.

Several cryptocurrency-oriented meetings have already taken place in VR over the past few months.

Although the user pool is still relatively small, it shows how much potential this technology has.

That being said, there is still a lack of VR-oriented crypto and blockchain projects.

So far, it seems Decentraland is the only real option worth exploring, at least for now.

Until VR takes off on a larger scale, there isnt any real need for developers to explore that technology either.

Only time will tell whether VR and crypto can flourish together, or remain separate niche markets.

It is evident that innovative technologies will need to get to the next level of adoption.

Right now, it appears that such a shift will happen for cryptocurrency, but not necessarily for virtual reality.

Image(s): Shutterstock.com

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Coronavirus Crisis Shows Benefits of Virtual Reality to Cryptocurrency Enthusiasts - The Merkle Hash

President of Brazilian banking On cryptocurrency: They do not fulfill any of the classic functions of currency – Crypto Daily

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Murilo Portugal, the President of the Brazilian banking Federation has argued this week that digital currencies such as bitcoin are not actual currencies.

Portugal was speaking in a debate in regards to the impact of the digital revolution in the world of finance. The debating question looked into the impact of new technologies and how they are having changed the financial world as we know it. This includes things like blockchain, cryptocurrency, AI, financial technologies and big data.

Portugal made the argument that cryptocurrency doesn't actually fulfill any of these traditional functions of money. He added that they are not a unit of account nor a means of exchange. He further said:

"They are actually called coins but they are not coins, which is why it is cryptocurrency. They do not fulfill any of the classic functions of the currency, which is to serve as an account unit, where people can express prices. They do not serve as a means of payment or as a store of value because the volatility is very high."

When it comes to the world of finance, Portugal is a well-respected name. As well as having a degree in economic development from the University of Cambridge, Portugal served as an executive director of the World Bank and International monetary fund.

Finishing off, he went on to theorise that money and information are becoming one in the same. He predicted that data and information could end up becoming a regulated entity in the same way money is.

For more news on this and other crypto updates, keep it with CryptoDaily!

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President of Brazilian banking On cryptocurrency: They do not fulfill any of the classic functions of currency - Crypto Daily

Pure Michigan: Experience the state virtually – The Pioneer

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A1952 version of the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile is just one of the artifacts of industry presented at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn.Themuseum's website hosts a digital collection available for Michiganders stuck inside. (Alan Solomon/Chicago Tribune viaTNS)

A1952 version of the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile is just one of the artifacts of industry presented at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn.Themuseum's website hosts a digital collection available for

A1952 version of the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile is just one of the artifacts of industry presented at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn.Themuseum's website hosts a digital collection available for Michiganders stuck inside. (Alan Solomon/Chicago Tribune viaTNS)

A1952 version of the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile is just one of the artifacts of industry presented at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn.Themuseum's website hosts a digital collection available for

Pure Michigan: Experience the state virtually

Pure Michigan is going virtual.

From live cams featuring beautiful beaches to virtual tours of unique exhibits, Pure Michigan is helping bring the states educational, outdoor and cultural experiences to life at home through its new #VirtualPureMichigan campaign.

New virtual experiences will be posted regularly across Pure Michigans Facebook, Instagram and Twitter channels in the coming weeks as people are being encouraged to Stay Home and Stay Safe to combat the continued spread of COVID-19.

During these extraordinary times, we want to continue to do what Pure Michigan does best inspire people while offering alternative ways to experience the stay at home and follow social distancing guidelines, said Dave Lorenz, vice president of Travel Michigan, part of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

By sharing the tremendous virtual offerings our travel partners across the state have available, we are hoping that individuals can enjoy, learn and explore our beautiful state from the comfort of their own homes as they look ahead to future adventures.

Organizations around the state are offering virtual experiences for all to enjoy, including:

Pure Michigan live web cams: Destinations including Alpena, Holland, Frankenmuth, West Michigan and the Mackinac Bridge. michigan.org/webcams

The Ann Arbor Film Festival: The entire festival will be live-streamed for free through Sunday, including all submitted films and follow up discussions with participating filmmakers. aafilmfest.org/live-stream-schedule.

The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation: Digital collections include stories of ingenuity, resourcefulness and innovation that helped shape America, in addition to a virtual tour of the Mathematica exhibit. thehenryford.org/virtual-visit-to-henry-ford-museum

Frederik Meijer Gardens: Get a sense of spring with a live stream of the butterfly exhibit along with daily storytimes and virtual visits. meijergardens.org/virtual-visits.

Detroit Institute of Arts: Take a virtual field trip with Detroit Public Television. dptv.org/education/digital-adventure

Michigan History Museum: The five-floor museum offers a virtual tour for folks to explore and learn about Michigans first people, the Anishinaabe and ending at the mid-20th century. michigan.gov/mhc

Michigan Science Center: Kids of all ages can explore the health and wellness gallery to learn about the human body, the lunar and space gallery to learn about space travel and more. mi-sci.org/visit/family-groups/venue-rental/virtual-tour/

Menominee Range Historical Museums: Three museums in the U.P. the Menominee Range Historical Museum, World War II Gilder and Military Museum and Cornish Pumping Engine and Mining Museum each offers virtual tours. menomineemuseum.com

Sault Ste. Marie: Paddle out into the St. Mary's River from Voyager Island and Rotary Park in Sault St. Marie on this 360 virtual guided tour. This water trail gives you a front row seat to Great Lakes freighters passing through the channel on their way to and from the Soo Locks. saultstemarie.com/take-a-sault-ste-marie-virtual-tour/

Manistee Natural Wonders Self-Guided Tours: Explore Manistee County's rich history and natural beauty. visitmanisteecounty.com/project/natural-wonders-self-guided-tour

Under the Radar Michigan: The PBS television program features the people, places and things that make Michigan a great place to be. utrmichigan.com/videos/

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Pure Michigan: Experience the state virtually - The Pioneer

The Nike Air Max 2090 Is Here to Futurize Your Sneaker Collection – GQ

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This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Nike Air Max 90, the classic running sneaker loved for its clean design and simple details. Many consider the style to be the second flagship in the Air Max family, behind only the trailblazing Air Max 1. (Both shoes were designed by the legendary Tinker Hatfield.) For Air Max Day 2020, the Nike-invented sneakerhead holiday, the Swoosh is paying homage to the countless Air Max releases over the years with a grip of new colorways and iterations. The standout is the future-inspired Nike Air Max 2090.

The bold-looking Nike Air Max 2090 takes clear inspiration from the Air Max 90, from its big visible Air bubble to its pared-down silhouette, but as a shoe it's also wholly it's own. It's more of a spiritual sequel. While the original 90 looks the part of a classic running shoe, the 2090 is a re-cladding of the silhouette to seemingly prepare it for space travel (an idea Nike appears to be quite taken with these days). There's a blend of transparent fabric and bold graphics. Virgil Abloh-esque stitching details abound. The Nike Air Max 2090 has also been upgraded with a softer underfoot and comes with an internal lining with a padded heel so you can also feel like you're walking on the moon. All of this adds up for a sneaker that melds timelessness with right-now vibes in equal measure.

"Air Max Day" typically yields a variety of high-concept sneakers, with Nike pulling deep cuts from its archive and exploring new trajectories and designs for its most beloved sneakers. The colors on this Air Max 2090 are meant to evoke "a future state where roads are dominated by electric and solar-powered vehicles." Nike's vision of the future is clearly soft shades of silver and hints of lilac-blue, dusty red, and black. Other Air Max 90 sneakers to drop on the occasion include a version decked out in duck camo print (a cult-loved collaboration with New York retailer Atmos) and a trio of shiny and metallic versions (previously only available through Nike's custom "By You" program).

Does a superfluous sneaker holiday amidst the global pandemic feel a little...off? Maybe. But Air Max Day is really for the diehard fans to celebrate the style and history of a much beloved sneaker legacy. Let the sneakerheads have their fun.

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The Nike Air Max 2090 Is Here to Futurize Your Sneaker Collection - GQ

Virgin Galactic Stock: Where Speculation Meets the Final Frontier – Investorplace.com

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For about two months, Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) was one of the hottest names on Wall Street as SPCE stocks more than quadrupled from the start of 2020 through the end of February.

Source: Christopher Penler / Shutterstock.com

Then the bottom fell out of the market due to the coronavirus from China, prompting harsh treatment of growth and momentum names. Smaller, less profitable stocks such as Virgin Galactic were particularly hard hit. Give some of the analysts that cover this name credit. Aware that SPCE stock had run too far, too fast, they hastened the stocks tumble with some late February downgrades.

For example, Credit Suisse analyst Robert Spingarn lowered SPCE to hold from buy in late February, citing frothy multiples.

We find ourselves no longer able to recommend [Virgin Galactic] shares after a [roughly] 185% year to date run (through 2/25) and commensurate expansion in the stocks multiple, said the analyst.

Morgan Stanleys Adam Jonas made a similar call, taking the stock from a buy to a hold, based on valuation.

Even with Virgin Galactic 64% below its 52-week high, it still trades for a jaw-dropping 755 times its sales.

One of Virgin Galactics primary markets is space tourism, and theres certainly growth to be had there. A report published by UBS last year said that high-speed space travel would eventually disrupt traditional, long-haul, passenger air travel. The firm predicted that space travel would become a $20 billion industry by 2030, with space tourism generating $3 billion by that year.

The outlook for the space economy, space tourism and long-haul travel using space has become much more bullish, according to UBS.

Those are compelling estimates. But even if space tourism becomes a $3 billion industry, that may not be a massive needle mover for SPCE stock because the shares already have a market capitalization of $2.9 billion. The other issue is the limited audience for space tourism due to its high cost.

Its one thing for tech companies to make pricey aspirational products. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) does that with smartphones, and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) does it with electric vehicles. But those companies products are far more attainable for regular people than space tourism. By some estimates, a trip to the final frontier with Virgin Galactic could cost a cool $250,000, or more than quadruple the average American salary of just over $56,500.

And as Harvard Business School notes, there are still myriad questions to be answered about the space tourism market.

But the business reality is that we dont really know if commercial space flight will ultimately be a money maker, how many competitors will fit in the market, or what demand will be for consumers taking off on space vacations after the initial enthusiasm wears off, according to Harvard.

Over the near-term, Virgin Galactic faces two major issues. First, it is essentially a small-cap stock, and investors are showing disdain for such stocks,

Secondly, Virgin Galactic is a roughly $16 stock, and analysts average price target on the name is close to $32. Something probably has to give on that front and in this environment, its much easier for analysts to trim their forecasts than for stocks to double.

Space tourism and transportation have a lot of long-term allure and potential, but for investors who want to commit to Virgin Galactic for the long-haul, better pricing and valuations than today are likely to become available sooner than later.

As of this writing, Todd Shriber did not own any of the aforementioned securities. He has been an InvestorPlace contributor since 2014.

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Virgin Galactic Stock: Where Speculation Meets the Final Frontier - Investorplace.com

Julie Felix: 10 of her greatest performances – The Guardian

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As a Californian teenager, Julie Felix who has died aged 81 never imagined herself becoming a folk singer, but her guitar became a handy tool for expanding her social life, getting her into Santa Barbaras fancier parties and coffee houses: I ended up at the Unicorn in Hollywood where I sang Spanish songs, Michael Row The Boat Ashore, some Burl Ives. It wasnt serious, but I got free beer.

With long dark hair and mixed ancestry (Latin American on her fathers side, Native American and Welsh on her mothers) she had the perfect beatnik look, and a trek around Europe in the early 60s eventually led her to become a long-term UK resident, ending up with two BBC TV series of her own.

In America, where she returned in the 1980s, her name meant nothing, and the anonymity suited her. The folk revival of the 2000s saw Julie Felix touring Britain again, though she would keep her best-known song Going to the Zoo under wraps unless there were children in the room: I was singing this song in 1967, she would laugh. Ill be singing this song all the way to Heaven. Her unpretentious approach to music would lead to a varied career with plenty of unexpected gems in her catalogue, like these.

Though the Topic and Transatlantic labels were hip to the Soho folk revolution in 1964, the major labels were largely ignorant. Faced with Julie Felixs debut album, her label Decca were initially wondering whether it should be marketed as classical or pop. A time capsule mix of old folk tunes and new, her uplifting and rather naive take on Ian Tysons Someday Soon was a highlight, and it became her first single.

All I want is a good sound system if she had kept her folkie powder dry, Julie Felix could have been launched as an entirely different kind of singer in the 70s. This confident, self-penned chunk of leftfield glam has her daydreaming about holidaying in Spain: I could take my synthesiser and a car full of booze.

For her second Decca album in 1965, Felix had travelled to folk clubs around Britain to find untried writers with fresh material. Written by Devons Dave Evans, who went on to record two fine albums for Village Thing, The Road Makers was written about the Honiton bypass, though it reminded Julie of the destruction of Santa Barbaras rather more exotic avocado orchards. Id hitch hike around Britain, people would put me up on the couch. It was like the dark ages back then outside loos, no fridges! But you miss local colour when you reach the higher echelons, and I wanted to make my contribution to British folk music.

A most peculiar Peggy Seeger song, with a similar finger-clicking minimalist sound to Peggy Lees Fever, its hard to tell if its an askew take on racism (Never trust the Martian race!) or a dig at the possible follies of space travel My cosmic husband died of mumps a hundred years ago, sings the now-centuries old widow at the end. Either way, its a lot of fun, and would have fitted The Muppet Show to a tee.

A decidedly funky version though it is a decidedly British kind of funkiness of the song that is now possibly as associated with Margaret Thatcher as it is Judy Garland. Recorded in 1968, it was floor-friendly enough to have been played out by DJ Martin Green at his legendary Britpop club Smashing.

The song most associated with Julie Felix was this pretty irresistible Tom Paxton childrens song, a regular car singalong for families in the 1960s and 70s. Initially its impact was down to appearances on The Frost Report where Felix had become the resident singer (she had met David Frost in a lift on the way to a launch party for Someday Soon) but it had an afterlife with almost weekly plays on Radio 1s Junior Choice. It was still getting regular plays with unlikely bedfellows like Adam & the Ants Stand and Deliver after Tony Blackburn took over the show in the early 80s.

A Donovan song about a Borstal escapee which was given a terrific, brass-driven workout on her 1968 This World Goes Round and Round album. Coming from a Californian, its everyday Englishness over double eggs, chips and beans they made a solemn vow sounds especially endearing.

In spite of her national fame, Felix never had a hit single in the 60s. Mickie Most, on the other hand with the Animals, Hermans Hermits and Donovan couldnt stop having hits, so when the pair teamed up on his RAK label in 1970, Felix was fast-tracked to Top of the Pops appearances. This gentle guitar and sitar-led Top 30 hit was written by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson, a year after they had formed Hot Chocolate.

Another Donovan song, Snakeskin has the same loose, chunky groove as his Barabajagal, which in turn had borrowed its clothes from Sympathy for the Devil. Following Heaven is Here and a Top 20 hit with a version of Simon & Garfunkels El Condor Pasa, it was an impressive but possibly confusing step forward, and it flopped. That would be the end of Julies brush with the charts.

The 2018 album Rock Me Goddess was released just before Felix turned 80, though youd not know it from her voice, which was a little deeper but otherwise hardly changed by age. A stand-out was this Latin-flavoured hand-clapper, with a chorus in Spanish, which nailed her colours to Labours mast: I still believe in democracy, thats why Im voting for Jeremy.

Felix first met Leonard Cohen on Hydra during a duffle-bag hike around Europe in 1962; they struck up a fast friendship before she moved on to Germany and, eventually, England, but they stayed friends for life. She released this song as a single in 1968, when Cohen was still far better known in Britain as a poet. At David Frosts prompting, the BBC had given her a show, Once More with Felix, which ran for three years at the end of the 60s her guests included Cohen, who made his British TV debut singing Hey Thats No Way to Say Goodbye as a duet with her.

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Julie Felix: 10 of her greatest performances - The Guardian

NASA offers podcasts, DIY projects and videos to keep boredom at bay – ThePrint

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New Delhi: With the coronavirus pandemic forcing people to stay at home, NASA replugged several of its educational activities, do-it-yourself (DIY) projects and podcasts to keep them occupied as part of its #NASAatHome campaign.

In an interactive Twitter thread Wednesday, NASAs official handle offered to be the window into the universe and asked people what they wanted to see.

The ensuing discussion saw the US space agency responding to the queries and requests of multiple users with podcasts, DIY projects, videos and articles.

On the initiative, Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA, said, We want to be sure that every student, educator and lifelong learner has access to the resources and inspiration of NASA to continue their studies and enrich their ongoing journey.

Also read:Missing your friends? Heres the app that can help you during lockdown

NASA offers several open educational resources in the form of articles, videos and podcasts.

A podcast called NASA Explorers: Apollo tells stories about the Moon and the astronauts who explore it.

Another podcast titled, Houston, We have a Podcast is on the various manned missions to space and gives details about how the entire process of space travel actually works.

NASAs YouTube channel offers more than 4,000 videos on everything related to space including live views of the Earth from space stations.

It also offers several DIY projects to overcome the boredom of quarantine, especially for children. A project titledApollo Moon capsule craft offers step-by-step instructions to make a paper replica of the Apollo capsule, the spaceflight that first landed humans on the moon.

The #NASAatHome initiative has been lauded by several people on Twitter, with many especially appreciating the interactive nature of their Twitter account.

Also read:Online classrooms during Covid-19 mean students should demand fee discounts

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Still Clueless about the Origin of Life – Discovery Institute

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Editors note: As an alternative to what you are getting pretty much everywhere else in the media at the moment,Evolution Newsis proud to offer inspiration, pointing to purpose and meaning in life. The profoundest mystery and thus the deepest inspiration is life itself. Discovery Institute Press has just published a greatly expanded edition of the 1984 classic of intelligent design science literature,The Mystery of Lifes Origin. Below is an excerpt adapted from a brand new chapter in the book by distinguished Rice University synthetic organic chemist James Tour.

Organisms have well-defined molecular assemblies, redox potentials across membranes, and metabolic pathways all operating in exquisite states that we call life.

Chemistry, by contrast, is utterly indifferent to whether anything is alive or not. Without a biologically derived entity acting upon them, molecules have never been shown to evolve toward life. Never.

While organisms exploit chemistry for their own ends, chemicals have never been seen to assemble themselves into an organism. Origin-of-life research keeps attempting to make the chemicals needed for life, and then to have those assemble toward something to which they are inherently indifferent. But try as they might, without preexisting life no researchers have ever seen molecules assemble into a living cell, or anything even remotely resembling a living cell. Contrary to the hyperbole of press reports, any synthetic molecularly derived structures that have been touted as being cell-like are in reality far from it. This situation might change in the future, but it is unlikely to change under the current course of research. Scientists have no data to support molecular evolution leading to life. The research community remains clueless.

Many scientists and professors who are outside boutique origin-of- life circles have been led astray by researchers claims and the subsequent press, thinking that far more is known about lifes origin than really is known. This has affected the highest seats in the academy where even some science professors confuse origin of life with biological evolution. Like a muddy prebiotic cesspool, confusion abounds in the academy.

Two-thirds of a century since the 1952 Miller-Urey experiment, where some racemic amino acids were formed from small molecules and an electrical discharge, the world is no closer to generating life from small molecules or any molecules for that matter than it was in 1952. One could argue that origin-of-life research is even more befuddled now than it was in 1952 since more questions have evolved than answers, and the voluminous new data regarding the complexity within a cell makes the target much more daunting than it used to be.

Consider what has occurred in other fields in the past sixty-seven years since Miller-Urey performed their experiments: human space travel, satellite interconnectivity, unlocking DNAs code and its precise genetic manipulation, biomedical imaging, automated peptide and nucleotide synthesis, molecular structure determination, silicon device fabrication, integrated circuits, and the Internet, to name just a few.

By comparison, origin-of-life research has not made any progress whatsoever in addressing the fundamental questions of lifes origin. Two-thirds of a century and all that has been generated are more suggestions on how life might have formed suggestions that really show how life probably did not form. Nothing even resembling a synthetic cellular structure has arisen from its independent components, let alone a living cell. Not even close.

In 1775, the French Academy in Paris refused to entertain any further proposals for perpetual motion machines; the devices just did not work as advertised. No one knew why not the mature science of thermodynamics, which gave us a theoretical account for why the perpetuum mobile schemes failed, lay nearly one hundred years in the future but the machines clearly failed. Today we need a French Academy-like directive toward origin-of-life proposals; for, like perpetual motion machines, such proposals just do not work as advertised. Instead we should explore why scientists have failed to produce life. Clearly life can exist unlike perpetual motion machines, we have the ubiquity of life surrounding us on this planet. But there needs to be a wholly different scientific approach to reveal lifes origin.

This is an appeal to the origin-of-life research community: Step back and consider the claims within the research, the true state of the field, the retarded state of the science relative to other research areas, and the confusion or delusion of the public regarding lifes origin. Many researchers in origin-of-life organic synthesis are superb scientists. However, overly confident assertions, exaggerated and spread by the over-zealous press, have led to gross public misconceptions regarding what is and is not known concerning the beginning of life.

Read the rest inThe Mystery of Lifes Origin: The Continuing Controversy, from Discovery Institute Press.

Photo: Stanley Miller of Miller-Urey fame, by NASA via Wikimedia Commons.

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Still Clueless about the Origin of Life - Discovery Institute

Sophie Aldreds New Book Doctor Who Is Whole Through Explaining The Mysterious Fate Of … – Union Journalism

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Fans always wondered about the fate of the seventh Doctor ( Sylvester McCay). As is 1996, TV movies were seen traveling alone. So, whats the fate of his companion. Here Sophie Aldred has an explanation.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com, Aldred revealed that she was approached to help write a book under BBC franchise after the huge success of Doctor Who. The novel was releasedon 6th February 2020. It has a total of 26 chapters.

The reason why Ace separates from the Doctor to become a reclusive millionaire philanthropist. This was shown in an exclusive teaser shot to promote the season on Blue Ray. The root of it, obviously, is the tiny mention that Russell T Davies gave in The Sarah Jane Adventures all those years ago, Aldred explained. Sarah Jane mentions somebody called Dorothy, whos running A Charitable Earth.And it all came from there. So, its all Russells fault!

Credit To Photographer: Ben Blackall

Dorothy always believed in Doctor, but things start to go wrong in the 26th season. He is portrayed as easily manipulative, and tension begins to rise. Its like a perfect childhood dream that parents can do no wrong, but as we grow, we start to realize the truth. And life suddenly turns upside-down. This same happened with Ace.

She loves Doctor, and she wants to do good as Dorothy in a Charitable Earth. But she suffers from heartbreak. She has lost the world of time and space travel, so she is in a state of complete desolation.

The doctor, played by Jodie Whittaker, co-operate in investigating a mysterious satellite with new companions Ryan, Graham, and Yaz. She didnt reveal whether Doctor and Acewill patch up, but a complicated relationship will definitely come out.

Doctor Who in 1989 left Ace up in the air. It will be revealed whether the Doctor gets back and how he managed to reach there. Also, it is explaining what her reaction is, and all the emotional trauma that she goes through is well captured in the novel.

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Sophie Aldreds New Book Doctor Who Is Whole Through Explaining The Mysterious Fate Of ... - Union Journalism

The Prophet’s Golden Rule: Ethics of Reciprocity in Islam – MuslimMatters

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In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

The ethics of reciprocity, known as the golden rule, is any moral dictum that encourages people to treat others the way they would like to be treated. Although the term was originally coined by Anglican ministers such as George Boraston, the principle can be found in the sacred texts of the worlds great religions, as well as the writings of secular philosophers. Due to its ubiquity in many contexts, it has become an important focal point for interfaith dialogue and the development of international human rights norms.

The rule often appears as a summarizing principle of good conduct, the supreme moral principle of right action between human beings. Though not always understood literally, as it is often qualified by competing moral imperatives, it generally functions as an intuitive method of moral reasoning. Despite the different formulations, wordings, and contexts in which the rule appears across religions and traditions, Jeffery Wattles argues that there is enough continuity in meaning and application to justify describing the ethics of reciprocity as the golden rule.

Some philosophers have scoffed at the rule, noting that a crude, literal adherence to the outward phrasing can lead to moral absurdities. Harry J. Gensler reponds to this criticism by formulating the rule in these terms: Treat others only as you consent to being treated in the same situation. Context matters in the process of moral reasoning; what the rule demands is not rudimentary application as much as it is ethical consistency vis--vis human beings, as the first principle from which the morality of an action is analyzed. It is the locus of ones conscience, a guide for everyday behavior.

Moreover, application of the rule ought to be informed by a balanced collection of principles and values that manifest the rule in action. For this reason, writers throughout history have used the rule as a hub around which to gather great themes. Notions of justice, love, compassion, and other virtues have all been related to the rule by various religious traditions. Accounting for all of these considerations and responding to common objections, both Wattles and Gensler have convincingly defended the golden rule from its detractors and have presented it as a viable principle for a modern moral philosophy.

Islam, as a world religion with over one billion followers, has an important role to play in facilitating dialogue and cooperation with other groups in the modern world. The golden rule in Islamic traditions has been explicitly invoked by numerous Muslim leaders and organizations towards this end. Recently, hundreds of Muslim scholars and leaders have signed the A Common Word interfaith letter, asserting that the Abrahamic faiths share the twin golden commandments of the paramount importance of loving God and loving ones neighbor. The initiative grew into several publications and conferences, including the important and high-profile Marrakesh Declaration in early 2016, which cited A Common Word in its text as evidence of the compatibility between Islamic tradition and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Quran ascribes a number of beautiful names (asma al-husna) to God conveying virtues that Muslims, by implication, should practice, The most excellent names belong to Him. Among the relevant names of God are Al-Rahman (the Merciful), Al-Wadud (the Loving), Al-Ghafur (the Forgiving), Al-Rauf (the Kind), Al-Adl (the Just), Al-Karim (the Generous), and so on. Embedded in this description of God are many of the moral themes traditionally associated with the golden rule.

The distinguished Muslim scholar and mystic, Ab mid al-Ghazzl (d.1111), locates the golden rule within Gods loving nature as expressed in the verses, My Lord is merciful and most loving, and again, He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Loving. He authored a treatise on the names of God in Islamic tradition, discussing their theological meanings and his understanding of the proper way in which Muslims should enact those names. God, in his view, benefits all creatures without desiring any advantage or benefit in return:

Al-Wadud The Loving-kind is one who wishes all creatures well and accordingly favors them and praises them. In fact, love and mercy are only intended for the benefit and advantage of those who receive mercy or are loved; they do not find their cause in the sensitivities or natural inclination of the Loving-kind One. For anothers benefit is the heart and soul of mercy and love and that is how the case of God may He be praised and exalted is to be conceived: absent those features which human experience associates with mercy and love, yet which do not contribute to the benefit they bring.

In other words, God should be understood as entirely and selflessly benevolent towards His creatures, without any need or desire for repayment. God does not benefit from the worship of His servants, nor does He take pleasure in punishing the wicked. Rather, God only prescribes worship and righteous deeds for the benefit of believers. By reflecting this divine nature in action, believers should unconditionally want for others the same as they want for themselves:

One is loving-kind among Gods servants who desires for Gods creatures whatever he desires for himself; and whoever prefers them to himself is even higher than that. Like one of them who said, I would like to be a bridge over the fire [of hell] so that creatures might pass over me and not be harmed by it. The perfection of that virtue occurs when not even anger, hatred, and the harm he might receive can keep him from altruism and goodness.

Commentators of the Quran often found the rule implied in several verses. When righteousness (taqw) is first mentioned in Quran (when reading cover-to-cover), classical exegetes typically define it by appealing to traditional wisdom-sayings. Abu Ishaq al-Thalabi (d. 1035) narrates several exegetical traditions to define and explicate the meaning of righteousness. The early authorities Sufyan al-Thawri (d. 778) and Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 803) say that the righteous man (al-muttaqi) is he who loves for people what he loves for himself. Al-Junayd ibn Muhammad (d. 910), on the other hand, disagreed with them and took it a step further, The righteous man is not he who loves for people what he loves for himself. Rather, the righteous man is only he who loves for people greater than he loves for himself. In Al-Junayds telling, true righteousness is not simply the equality implied in the golden rule, but rather a definite preference to benefit others that amounts to altruism (al-ithar).

In contrast, the Quran severely rebukes cheaters in weights and measurements, Woe to those who give short measure, who demand of other people full measure for themselves, but give less than they should when it is they who weigh or measure for others! That is, they demand full payment for themselves while they give short-change to others. The golden rule was understood by Fakhr al-Dn al-Razi (d. 1209) to be the clear implication of this passage, as he reports the saying of the early authority Qatadah, Fulfil the measure, O son of Adam, as you would love it fulfilled for yourself, and be just as you would love justice for yourself.

Most of the explicit golden rule statements in Islamic tradition are found in the Hadith corpus, the sayings and deeds of Prophet Muammad . According to Anas ibn Mlik (d. 712), the Prophet said:

This is the most prominent golden rule statement in the Hadith corpus. The two leading Sunni Hadith scholars, Muhammad ibn Isml al-Bukhari (d. 870) and Muslim ibn al-ajjj (d. 875), both placed this tradition in their book of faith, near the introductions of their respective collections. The implication is that the lesson in the tradition is essential to true faith itself, not simply a recommended or value-added practice.

Commentators sometimes mention that all good manners are derived from this tradition and three others, Whoever believes in God and the Last Day, let him speak goodness or be silent, and, It is from a mans excellence in Islam that he leaves what does not concern him, and, Do not be angry. Like many religious writers and philosophers, Muslim scholars took note of the summarizing function of the golden rule as a broad principle for good conduct.

A key question for the commentators was the meaning of brother in the tradition of Anas . It is generally agreed upon that brother refers to Muslims, but several commentators expanded the meaning to include non-Muslims or unbelievers. Prolific author and Shafii jurist, Muy al-Dn al-Nawaw (d. 1277), explained the tradition this way:

Firstly, that [tradition] is interpreted as general brotherhood, such that it includes the unbeliever and the Muslim. Thus, he loves for his brother the unbeliever what he loves for himself of embracing Islam, as he would love for his brother Muslim to always remain upon Islam. For this reason, to pray for guidance for the unbeliever is recommended The meaning of love is to intend good and benefit, hence, the meaning is religious love and not human love.

Al-Nawaws concept of religious love (al-mahabbat al-diniyah) parallels the distinction Christian writers made between agape () and eros (). The highest form of love, according to him, is that which is purely benevolent for Gods sake, in opposition to sinful passions, caprice, or ordinary types of love.

Although inclusion of non-Muslims in a broader brotherhood of humanity was not universally accepted, proponents of this interpretation found a strong case for their position in all of the permutations of the golden rule in the Hadith corpus. Even from the traditions of Anas alone, inclusive language was used by the Prophet often enough to justify a universal golden rule:

None of you has faith until he loves for the people what he loves for himself, and only until he loves a person for the sake of God, the Great and Almighty.

The servant does not reach the reality of faith until he loves for the people what he loves for himself of the good.

In particular, a variant in Sahih Muslim reads, until he loves for his brother or he said his neighbour what he loves for himself. In this version, Anas is unsure if the Prophet said brother or neighbor. If neighbors are included, the term would certainly apply to non-Muslims as well.

Muammad ibn Isml al-ann (d. 1768), a Yemeni reformer in the Salafi tradition, includes in his legal commentary a chapter on the rights of the neighbor, in which he employs some of the broadest language of the late classical to early modern period. Based upon the word neighbor in the version of Sahih Muslim, he concludes:

The narration of the neighbor is general for the Muslim, the unbeliever, and the sinner, the friend and the enemy, the relative and the foreigner, the near neighbour and the far neighbour. Whoever acquires in this regard the obligatory attributes of loving good for him, he is at the highest of levels.

Perhaps most significant is Al-anns inclusion of enemies (al-aduw) in the list of people covered by the golden rule. In this case, the rule has at least some kind of application to every single human being.

Abd Allh ibn Amr (d. 685), who is said to have been one of the first to write down the statements of the Prophet , narrates his version of the golden rule, Whoever would love to be delivered from Hell and admitted into Paradise, let him meet his end believing in God and the Last Day, and let him treat people as he would love to be treated. The rule here is a means of salvation and is expressed in terms of good behavior, rather than religious love.

Ab Hurayrah (d. 679), the most prolific narrator of Hadith, also shares what he heard from the Prophet , Love for people what you love for yourself, you will be a believer. Be good to your neighbour, you will be a Muslim. Like the tradition of Anas, the rule is associated with both true faith and good treatment of neighbors.

Sometimes Hadith traditions do not explicitly state the golden rule, but it is drawn out by the commentators. Tamim al-Dari (d. 661) reports that the Prophet said three times, Religion is sincerity. The companions said, To whom? The Prophet replied, To God, to His book, to His messenger, and to the leader of the Muslims and their commoners. Ibn Daqq al-d (d. 1302) explains at length the meaning of sincerity or good will (naah) in each context. As it relates to common people, he writes that sincerity is to take care of them with beautiful preaching, to abandon ill will and envy for them, and to love for them what he loves for himself of good and to hate for them what he hates for himself of evil.

Al-Numn ibn Bashr (d. 684) relates the Prophets parable of the faith community as a single body, You see the believers in their mercy, affection, and compassion for one another as if they were a body. When a limb aches, the rest of the body responds with sleeplessness and fever. A variant of this tradition reads, The Muslims are like a single man. If the eye is afflicted, the whole body is afflicted. If the head is afflicted, the whole body is afflicted. The idea is that Muslims should have empathy for one another by sharing the burden of each others pain, as stated in another tradition, The believer feels pain for the people of faith, just as the body feels pain in its head. Abu Abd Allh al-Halm (d. 1012) inferred the golden rule from this parable:

They should be like that, as one hand would not love but what the other loves, and one eye or one leg or one ear would not love but what the other loves. Likewise, he should not love for his Muslim brother but what he loves for himself.

Later commentators would develop this idea further. Ibn Daqq draws upon the parable of the faith community in his commentary on the tradition of Anas, writing, Some scholars said in this tradition is the understanding that the believer is with another believer like a single soul. Thus, he should love for him what he loves for himself, as if they were a single soul. Ibn ajar al-Haytham (d. 1567) makes the same connection, saying that to love one another means that he will be with him as one soul (al-nafs al-wahidah).

Yazid ibn Asad, another one of the Prophets companions, recalls that he said to him, O Yazid ibn Asad! Love for people what you love for yourself! In a variant of this tradition, the Prophet (s) asks him, Do you love Paradise? Yazid says yes, so the Prophet replies, Then love for your brother what you love for yourself. In yet another variant, Yazids grandson quotes the sermon of Prophet upon the pulpit, Do not treat people but in the way you would love to be treated by them.

Failure to live up to the golden rule could result in dreadful consequences in the Hereafter, especially for Imams and authorities. Maqil ibn Yasr, while on his deathbed, recounted what he learned from the Prophet , No one is appointed over the affairs of the Muslims and then he does not strive for them or show them good will but that he will never enter Paradise with them. In another wording, the Prophet said, He does not protect them as he would protect himself and his family but that Allah will cast him into the fire of Hell. In this regard, a Muslim leader must necessarily treat their followers as they would treat themselves and their own families, if such a terrible fate is to be avoided.

Ab Ummah al-Bhil (d. 705) tells the story of a young man who came to the Prophet (s) to ask for permission to indulge in adulterous intercourse. The Prophet engages him in an imaginative role-reversal, asking a series of Socratic questions and appealing to the young mans conscience to convince him against it, Would you like that for your mother? Would you like that for your sister? The young man, naturally, expresses his disapproval had someone else committed adultery with the women of his household. The logical conclusion, as stated by the Prophet, is to consider the golden rule, Then hate what God has hated, and love for your brother what you love for yourself.

Hatred for the sake of God is a fine line to walk, between righteous indignation and unjustified malice. At least some of the earliest Muslims adopted the familiar refrain: love the sinner, hate the sin. According to Mudh ibn Anas, this is how the Prophet defined hatred for the sake of God, The best faith is to love for the sake of God, to hate for the sake of God, and to work your tongue in the remembrance of God. Mudh said, How is it done, O Messenger of God? The Prophet said, That you love for people what you love for yourself, hate for them what you hate for yourself, and to speak goodness or be silent. The noble form of hatred is simply the inverse of the golden rule; if one sees another sinning, hatred should be for the evil deed because it harms its doer. At the same time, one loves good for the sinner by hoping for their repentance and divine forgiveness.

Ibrahim Adham (d. 782) remembers during his travels that he overheard a pair of Muslim ascetics discussing the love of God amongst themselves. Intrigued, he interjects himself into the conversation to ask, How can anyone have compassion for people who contradict their Beloved [God]?

The unnamed ascetic turns to him, saying:

They abhor their sinful deeds and have compassion for them, [pray] that by preaching to them they might leave their deeds. They feel pity that their bodies might be burned in hellfire. The believer is not truly a believer until he is pleased for people to have what is pleasing to himself.

The commentator Abd al-Ramn ibn Rajab (d. 1393) corroborates this interpretation, which he ascribes to the righteous predecessors (al-salaf al-li). Hence, it not correct for a Muslim to carry malicious hatred in the sense of desiring to harm others. A believer ought to love for sinners to repent, to be guided, and to be forgiven. In this regard, the Prophet admonished us, Do not hate each other, do not envy each other, do not turn away from each other, but rather be servants of God as brothers.

The irreversible march of globalization is producing an urgent need for people of different backgrounds and beliefs to find common ground. As the world grows closer together, with it grows the imperative to recognize each other as members of one human family. The ethics of reciprocity the golden rule is the best conceptual vehicle to advance this necessary intercultural dialogue and cooperation.

Islam is one of the worlds great religions, with over one billion followers living on every continent and speaking hundreds of languages. If peace on earth is to be actualized, Islam and Muslims must be a partner in it. Muslims need an entry point for understanding non-Muslims, just as non-Muslims need a way to begin understanding Muslims. Islams golden rule can provide a bridge between these worlds.

It is not reasonable to expect that the golden rule by itself can solve all the conflicts of the modern world, but what it can do is activate the innate conscience of human beings in a process of collective, intercultural moral reasoning. By accepting at the outset the premise of human equality and the obligation of moral consistency, we can work together to develop the mutual understanding and respect needed for people of different beliefs to live together in harmony. The golden rule itself is not the answer per se, rather it is the right question at the start; it is the first step in a journey we must take together, the first conversation in a dialogue we must have.

Success comes from Allah, and Allah knows best.

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The Prophet's Golden Rule: Ethics of Reciprocity in Islam - MuslimMatters

Five Things To Know About Daniil Medvedev – ATP Tour

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Daniil Medvedev is the No. 5 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings, and he has won seven ATP Tour titles, lifting each of those trophies since the beginning of 2018.

ATPTour.com looks at five things you should know about the 24-year-old.

1) 2019 Was The Best Season Of His CareerDaniil Medvedev won the first three ATP Tour titles of his career in 2018. But the Russian didnt slow his momentum, ascending into the Top 10 and the Top 5 in 2019.

Medvedev became the fifth active player joining Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray to reach six consecutive tour-level finals, achieving the feat at Washington, Montreal, Cincinnati, the US Open, St. Petersburg and Shanghai. The 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals competitor reached more finals last season, with nine, than anyone on the ATP Tour.

Before 2019, Medvedev was only 8-14 at ATP Masters 1000 events. But he reached his first final at that level in Montreal and won his first two Masters 1000 titles in Cincinnati and Shanghai. Medvedev used those efforts to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time, just two years on from finishing year-end World No. 65 in 2018.

2) Medvedevs Switch: Fewer Croissants, More PorridgeMedvedev never shied away from admitting that before his rise, he did not do everything as professionally as possible. He competed hard and did his work on the practice court, but his diet and recovery routines were not as sharp as he knew they could be.

Sweets and even croissants were not off limits. If a long match went late, he would skip the ice bath.

I thought it was going to be the best rest, to just lay on the bed and watch some TV. And in fact, it's not, Medvedev said.

But Medvedev slowly began trading some of those croissants for porridge, and giving everything he had in all facets of his career. That paid dividends.

Medvedev's New Plan: Fewer Croissants, More Porridge

3) He Has A Golden RuleMedvedev remembers the coach he had from ages six to 10, who taught him to, "fight like crazy".

Her Golden Rule was, The one who wins the match is the one who made more balls over the net, which is easy to understand, Medvedev said last year.

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The 66 Russian moves well for his size, and he precisely manouevres his flat groundstrokes seemingly anywhere on the court he desires while making few errors, frustrating opponents.

4) Medvedev Speaks Fluent French, Resides In Monte-CarloMedvedev moved to Cannes, France as a teen, looking for high-quality coaching and facilities. He chose Cannes, since his sister lived there. Gilles Cervara, the Coach Of The Year in the 2019 ATP Awards, was not his full-time coach at first, but he accompanied Medvedev to Marseille in 2015 and a handful of events the following year, becoming the Russians permanent coach in late 2017.

Its normal to hear the duo conversing in French. Medvedev, who also speaks Russian and English, now resides in nearby Monte-Carlo.

5) He Loves Video Games, But Doesn't Bring Them To TournamentsMedvedev has long enjoyed video games, and he enjoys thinking back to the times he has beaten his coach, Cervara, at them.

"It was in Basel, they had PlayStations there. I'm quite good in FIFA, so when you have a different level in the game, it's not funny," Medvedev recalled in Cincinnati last year. "NHL we never played in our life. So we started playing. I beat him silly because I'm good at games. And then he was practising all the week, and after I lost to Roger, [I was] 2-0 down [against my coach], and I won in overtime."

As much as Medvedev has fun playing video games, he doesn't let them take away from his focus on court.

"I love video games, and I basically don't take them to the tournaments because I know otherwise I wouldn't be having all these results, because I go crazy and I play too much," Medvedev said. "But when I'm at home, don't take my PlayStation. It's not going to end well."

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Five Things To Know About Daniil Medvedev - ATP Tour

Postscripts: Venture to honor anti-nuclear legacy runs aground on coronavirus fears – The Westerly Sun

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For years, several rather conventional, if not pleasant, acrylic paintings of sailboats on loan from Mystic Seaport Museum were displayed among the heroic studies of clipper ships hanging on the walls in the palatial marble lobby of what long was the Savings Bank of New London and in more recent years the Citizens Bank on Eugene ONeill Drive in downtown New London.

The artist was Albert Smith Bigelow. His name lives on, though Citizens Bank, like its predecessor, no longer occupies the building. Presumably the paintings are back in the confines of the Seaports vast collection. A sailor and marine painter since his 20s, Bigelow, in 1965, executed the seascapes. That same year, he gave eight paintings to Mystic Seaport, expressing, in a letter, a great fondness for the Seaport. He also complained that hed received only a form letter of thanks, not a personal note. The Seaport loaned three of the paintings to the bank.

Bigelow did not make his name as painter, but rather a confrontational pacifist protesting nuclear proliferation after World War II and as a Freedom Rider in the Civil Rights years. Unfortunately, he was known, as well, as the betrayed husband in a scandal that captured New York and Boston headlines in late 1929.

In June 1929, the weekend of the annual Harvard-Yale Regatta on the Thames River, Bigelow, a graduate of Harvard and scion of a Boston Brahmin family, married Josephine Noyes Rotch, also of Boston and Bryn Mawr, in a grand ceremony attended by 400 at the Congregational Church in Old Lyme.

Some six months later, Josephine, just 21, was found dead beside her lover, the poet Harry Crosby, a nephew of financier J. P. Morgan, in the Hotel des Artistes in New York. It was deemed a murder-suicide. Crosby shot Josephine and, hours later, killed himself. Society in New York and Boston was properly shocked, though the Boston papers, in deference to the patrician families, made less of the sensational details. Josephines tombstone, in Duck River Cemetery in Old Lyme, bears the curious epitaph: In Death Is Victory.

Bigelow, who studied architecture at MIT after Harvard, moved on. He joined a New York architectural firm and helped design buildings for the 1939 Worlds Fair. During World War II, he served in the Navy aboard submarine-chasers and later as a lieutenant commander on destroyer escorts in the Atlantic and Pacific.

The war transformed Bigelow. As he wrote in his book, Voyage of the Golden Rule: An Experiment with Truth, published by Doubleday in 1959, the bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945: forced me to see that I had no choice but to make the commitment to live, as best I could, a life of nonviolence.

He married again. His second wife, Sylvia Weld, belonged to another patrician family in Boston. She appeared in the original Broadway productions of the plays Ethan Frome and American Landscape, and later became a nurse.

In the 1950s, the Bigelows, living in Greenwich, Conn., became active in the Religious Society of Friends, the Quakers. Bigelows religious convictions led him to participate in a 1954 protest of chemical weapons at Fort Dietrich, Md., and later to take in, with his wife, two women known as Hiroshima Maidens who survived the 1945 atomic bombings and came to the U.S. for reconstructive surgery.

In February 1958, Bigelow and three other men attempted to sail Bigelows 30-foot ketch, the Golden Rule, into the Eniwetok Proving Grounds, a U.S. nuclear test site in the Marshall Islands. Their boat was detained by court order in Honolulu before they could sail in defiance of the Atomic Energy Commission. They tried again, but were arrested and jailed for 60 days.

Bigelow was a Freedom Rider alongside John Lewis, today the esteemed congressman from Georgia, in the early days of the civil rights movement, beaten with chains at a bus stop in Rock Hill, S.C. The bus Bigelow was on was bombed in Anniston, Ala., in May 1961.

He died in 1993 at age 87 in Walpole, Mass.

Since his death, Veterans for Peace, a national organization with a membership of some 8,000 spanning World War II through the Korean and Vietnam wars and current conflicts, has continued Bigelows protest of nuclear proliferation and U.S. military interventions.

The group also found Bigelows ketch Golden Rule derelict in a California marina, raised funds to restore it and now sails it as a symbol of the organizations convictions. A crew intended to make its way aboard the Golden Rule across the Pacific to be in Japan from July through late August or September to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the civilians in those cities. However, the global coronavirus outbreak has forced the crew to postpone departing Hawaii until November or December.

The Golden Rule itinerary still includes the Marshall Islands, Guam, the Marianas and Okinawa.

Hawaii was the first stop on our Peace in the Pacific mission to stop the possibility of nuclear war, the group says. We are also bringing attention to the environmental and human cost of nuclear and military activity on Pacific Islands, as well as how Island communities are challenging nuclear madness and militarism.

Steven Slosberg lives in Stonington and was a longtime reporter and columnist. He may be reached at maayan72@aol.com.

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Postscripts: Venture to honor anti-nuclear legacy runs aground on coronavirus fears - The Westerly Sun

How to report fraud related to the coronavirus – WBRZ

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BATON ROUGE - Scammers might see a time like the coronavirus crisis as a prime opportunity to prey on people. The United States Department of Justice announced Monday it's making it a top priority to crack down on scams related to the coronavirus.

U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana Brandon Fremin says innocent people have already become victims.

"We expect the worst of the worst to show themselves and take advantage of vulnerable populations, and we've already seen it," he said.

Criminals are attempting to exploit COVID-19 through a variety of scams, which come in many forms. They include phone calls, text messages, websites, and phishing emails from entities posing as the World Health Organization or CDC. Other forms include ads or downloadable apps that appear to share downloadable information that can gain access to your devices or non-existent charities seeking donations.

"What we've been seeing so far is fake testing kits, attempting sale and sale of fake cures. And we expect to see some health care fraud," Fremin said.

The golden rule stands true here, if it's too good to be true then it probably isn't.

The attorney general announced that the Department of Justice is going to prioritize any fraudulent criminal behavior related to the coronavirus. Steps have been made to ensure it's a priority here in Louisiana.

The complaints made to the National Center for Disaster Fraud are forwarded to the most appropriate investigating agencies. Please report those scams or fraud to 866-720-5721 or email disaster@leo.gov.

You can learn more here.

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How to report fraud related to the coronavirus - WBRZ

Arsenal: The golden rule of transfer recruitment – Pain In The Arsenal

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Arsenal are set to embark recruiting new players for head coach Mikel Arteta. But given the makeup of the squad, there is a golden rule they must not break.

Mikel Arteta has made a very positive start to life as Arsenal head coach. He has proven his coaching skill, implemented a well-defined and concise system that has improved individual and collective performances, and displayed enough progress that suggests he can build a competitive team.

The next step along the Arteta rebuild is recruitment. While positive steps have been made to bed tactical processes and systems into the players, ultimately, there is only so much a coach can do. You need the players to execute your gameplans, and at present, Arteta is working with blunt tools.

The upcoming summer transfer window, then, will be critical for the future Arsenal football club. And for the Arteta project especially. If the former Manchester City assistant is to make true progress at the helm of the team, he must be given new and improved players over what he is currently hamstring with. Centre-back, central midfield, and attacking midfield are all positions that are in need of investment, and that is without considering the potential departures of players like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

However, while there are plenty of positions in need of lavish spending, given the current make-up of the squad, there is one golden rule that the club must not break if they want to have a successful recruitment strategy: quality, not quantity.

Without any players bought or sold and assuming full fitness, this is the expected starting XI next season:

Bernd Leno; Hector Bellerin, David Luiz; William Saliba, Kieran Tierney; Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira, Mesut Ozil; Nicolas Pepe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette

And this leaves the following for the reserve XI:

Emiliano Martinez; Sokratis, Shkodran Mustafi, Calum Chambers, Sead Kolasinac; Matteo Guendouzi, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Joe Willock; Reiss Nelson, Gabriel Martinelli, Eddie Nketiah

And all this is to not include Rob Holding, Sokratis, Emile Smith Rowe, as well as Cedric, Dani Ceballos and Pablo Mari, all of which could be signed at the expiration of their respective deals at the end of the season.

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You can quibble about the names here and there, but the point is this: the Arsenal squad is deep, varied, plentiful and young. They do not need to add numbers at any position other than perhaps attacking midfield, and that is not the case if Arteta believes in Smith Rowe as some others do.

You will notice that the difference between the starting XI and second XI is not that great, especially in defence and midfield. And in the front three, Nelson, Martinelli and Nketiah are all taking giant leaps forward every time they take to the pitch. There are two simultaneous reasons for this: the starting XI is not very good and the second XI is pretty decent.

Where Arteta needs help is in finding truly elite players. He needs a world-class centre-half, a Premier League-leading defensive midfielder, and a replacement for Ozil. He only needs one of each and signing any old name is not helpful. He needs elite, elite quality. Anything less is not worth the investment.

So, when Arsenal come to the summer transfer window and look to provide Arteta with the squad he requires, they must not break the golden rule: quality, not quantity.

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Arsenal: The golden rule of transfer recruitment - Pain In The Arsenal

People are sharing their bad DIY haircuts as coronavirus self-isolation prevents visits to the hairdressers – Yahoo Style

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Social distancing amid the coronavirus outbreak has put many a routine appointment on hold including the likes of nails and haircuts.

In lieu of being able to visit the hairdressers, people are sharing their weird and wacky home haircuts with the nation.

The self-cut styles are offering up a moment of laughter in difficult times with more and more people sharing their haircuts-gone-wrong each day.

Josh went for a full-on bowl. (SWNS)

Perfecting a decent fade isnt easy, yet without their usual barber appointments, many people are attempting this difficult to master trick at home.

Read more: The best comfortable bras to wear while working from home

The trim usually sees the hairdresser use a razor to create a seamless line from the bottom of the hair (where its at its shortest) to the top - where its longer.

Despite the years of practice it takes to add the perfect fade to your arsenal, desperate DIY hairdressers are trying to recreate the look at home.

Perfecting the fade is no easy feat. (SWNS)

This fade didn't quite work out as planned. (SWNS)

Its one of those styles that might seem like a good idea until you start trying it - at which point its too late to turn back.

Luckily, many hairdressers who are unable to help due to social distancing are still on hand to talk you through some of the trickier styles.

Hairdresser Jordanne Barnard has offered her top tips on how to do a fade at home before you can get to a real hairdresser to perfect your attempt.

Start by picking the largest number you want to achieve on the clippers. Lets say youve chosen number three.

Choose where you want the fade to start from and clipper up to that point using the half guard (three and a half). The trick here is to reach that point and the flick your wrist on the way out of the hair.

Go over the same sections but a centimetre lower than the starting point on the hair. This time, though, use a number two.

Finally, repeat again a centimetre lower, but this time with a number one paying extra attention to around the ears. Be careful.

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Explained: Symptoms, latest advice and how it compares to the flu

If you notice any areas where it hasnt blended properly, go back over it using the half guard and the number that corresponds with that part of the hair.

To finish, take the guard off entirely and neatly follow the hairline and square off the nape of the neck using bare clippers.

If you dont happen to have a half guard on your clippers, you can always use a comb at a 45 degree angle where the two sections meet to create the same effect.

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If you need a little trim on top, Barnard recommends: Use the back fade as a guideline and pull the hair 90 degrees from the head and trim with the scissors in a point like angle. This will texturise it, hide any lines and take away the weight.

Read more: The unexpected benefits of social distancing

Its not the only haircut causing issues, though in fact, they all are.

Weve all noticed hairdressers wet our hair ahead of cutting it, so when Lara decided to start by wetting her fringe, she had the best intentions.

Somehow, though, the 22-year-old cut off a little too much than she meant to and ended up taking a huge triangle chunk out of her fringe.

Lara had the best intentions. (SWNS)

She started by wetting her hair. (SWNS)

The problem she faced is that by pulling the hair down too much, she inadvertently cut off way more than she needed to.

If you dont know what youre doing the golden rule has to be less is more. Its better to do a little regular trim than cutting it all off. If that does happen, though, there are plenty of hair growth shampoos and conditioners to help it grow back quickly.

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People are sharing their bad DIY haircuts as coronavirus self-isolation prevents visits to the hairdressers - Yahoo Style

Benefiting From The Majesty Of Divine Will | Thirteen Points In Making The Best Of The Situation – MuslimMatters

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In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

The ethics of reciprocity, known as the golden rule, is any moral dictum that encourages people to treat others the way they would like to be treated. Although the term was originally coined by Anglican ministers such as George Boraston, the principle can be found in the sacred texts of the worlds great religions, as well as the writings of secular philosophers. Due to its ubiquity in many contexts, it has become an important focal point for interfaith dialogue and the development of international human rights norms.

The rule often appears as a summarizing principle of good conduct, the supreme moral principle of right action between human beings. Though not always understood literally, as it is often qualified by competing moral imperatives, it generally functions as an intuitive method of moral reasoning. Despite the different formulations, wordings, and contexts in which the rule appears across religions and traditions, Jeffery Wattles argues that there is enough continuity in meaning and application to justify describing the ethics of reciprocity as the golden rule.

Some philosophers have scoffed at the rule, noting that a crude, literal adherence to the outward phrasing can lead to moral absurdities. Harry J. Gensler reponds to this criticism by formulating the rule in these terms: Treat others only as you consent to being treated in the same situation. Context matters in the process of moral reasoning; what the rule demands is not rudimentary application as much as it is ethical consistency vis--vis human beings, as the first principle from which the morality of an action is analyzed. It is the locus of ones conscience, a guide for everyday behavior.

Moreover, application of the rule ought to be informed by a balanced collection of principles and values that manifest the rule in action. For this reason, writers throughout history have used the rule as a hub around which to gather great themes. Notions of justice, love, compassion, and other virtues have all been related to the rule by various religious traditions. Accounting for all of these considerations and responding to common objections, both Wattles and Gensler have convincingly defended the golden rule from its detractors and have presented it as a viable principle for a modern moral philosophy.

Islam, as a world religion with over one billion followers, has an important role to play in facilitating dialogue and cooperation with other groups in the modern world. The golden rule in Islamic traditions has been explicitly invoked by numerous Muslim leaders and organizations towards this end. Recently, hundreds of Muslim scholars and leaders have signed the A Common Word interfaith letter, asserting that the Abrahamic faiths share the twin golden commandments of the paramount importance of loving God and loving ones neighbor. The initiative grew into several publications and conferences, including the important and high-profile Marrakesh Declaration in early 2016, which cited A Common Word in its text as evidence of the compatibility between Islamic tradition and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The Quran ascribes a number of beautiful names (asma al-husna) to God conveying virtues that Muslims, by implication, should practice, The most excellent names belong to Him. Among the relevant names of God are Al-Rahman (the Merciful), Al-Wadud (the Loving), Al-Ghafur (the Forgiving), Al-Rauf (the Kind), Al-Adl (the Just), Al-Karim (the Generous), and so on. Embedded in this description of God are many of the moral themes traditionally associated with the golden rule.

The distinguished Muslim scholar and mystic, Ab mid al-Ghazzl (d.1111), locates the golden rule within Gods loving nature as expressed in the verses, My Lord is merciful and most loving, and again, He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Loving. He authored a treatise on the names of God in Islamic tradition, discussing their theological meanings and his understanding of the proper way in which Muslims should enact those names. God, in his view, benefits all creatures without desiring any advantage or benefit in return:

Al-Wadud The Loving-kind is one who wishes all creatures well and accordingly favors them and praises them. In fact, love and mercy are only intended for the benefit and advantage of those who receive mercy or are loved; they do not find their cause in the sensitivities or natural inclination of the Loving-kind One. For anothers benefit is the heart and soul of mercy and love and that is how the case of God may He be praised and exalted is to be conceived: absent those features which human experience associates with mercy and love, yet which do not contribute to the benefit they bring.

In other words, God should be understood as entirely and selflessly benevolent towards His creatures, without any need or desire for repayment. God does not benefit from the worship of His servants, nor does He take pleasure in punishing the wicked. Rather, God only prescribes worship and righteous deeds for the benefit of believers. By reflecting this divine nature in action, believers should unconditionally want for others the same as they want for themselves:

One is loving-kind among Gods servants who desires for Gods creatures whatever he desires for himself; and whoever prefers them to himself is even higher than that. Like one of them who said, I would like to be a bridge over the fire [of hell] so that creatures might pass over me and not be harmed by it. The perfection of that virtue occurs when not even anger, hatred, and the harm he might receive can keep him from altruism and goodness.

Commentators of the Quran often found the rule implied in several verses. When righteousness (taqw) is first mentioned in Quran (when reading cover-to-cover), classical exegetes typically define it by appealing to traditional wisdom-sayings. Abu Ishaq al-Thalabi (d. 1035) narrates several exegetical traditions to define and explicate the meaning of righteousness. The early authorities Sufyan al-Thawri (d. 778) and Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad (d. 803) say that the righteous man (al-muttaqi) is he who loves for people what he loves for himself. Al-Junayd ibn Muhammad (d. 910), on the other hand, disagreed with them and took it a step further, The righteous man is not he who loves for people what he loves for himself. Rather, the righteous man is only he who loves for people greater than he loves for himself. In Al-Junayds telling, true righteousness is not simply the equality implied in the golden rule, but rather a definite preference to benefit others that amounts to altruism (al-ithar).

In contrast, the Quran severely rebukes cheaters in weights and measurements, Woe to those who give short measure, who demand of other people full measure for themselves, but give less than they should when it is they who weigh or measure for others! That is, they demand full payment for themselves while they give short-change to others. The golden rule was understood by Fakhr al-Dn al-Razi (d. 1209) to be the clear implication of this passage, as he reports the saying of the early authority Qatadah, Fulfil the measure, O son of Adam, as you would love it fulfilled for yourself, and be just as you would love justice for yourself.

Most of the explicit golden rule statements in Islamic tradition are found in the Hadith corpus, the sayings and deeds of Prophet Muammad . According to Anas ibn Mlik (d. 712), the Prophet said:

This is the most prominent golden rule statement in the Hadith corpus. The two leading Sunni Hadith scholars, Muhammad ibn Isml al-Bukhari (d. 870) and Muslim ibn al-ajjj (d. 875), both placed this tradition in their book of faith, near the introductions of their respective collections. The implication is that the lesson in the tradition is essential to true faith itself, not simply a recommended or value-added practice.

Commentators sometimes mention that all good manners are derived from this tradition and three others, Whoever believes in God and the Last Day, let him speak goodness or be silent, and, It is from a mans excellence in Islam that he leaves what does not concern him, and, Do not be angry. Like many religious writers and philosophers, Muslim scholars took note of the summarizing function of the golden rule as a broad principle for good conduct.

A key question for the commentators was the meaning of brother in the tradition of Anas . It is generally agreed upon that brother refers to Muslims, but several commentators expanded the meaning to include non-Muslims or unbelievers. Prolific author and Shafii jurist, Muy al-Dn al-Nawaw (d. 1277), explained the tradition this way:

Firstly, that [tradition] is interpreted as general brotherhood, such that it includes the unbeliever and the Muslim. Thus, he loves for his brother the unbeliever what he loves for himself of embracing Islam, as he would love for his brother Muslim to always remain upon Islam. For this reason, to pray for guidance for the unbeliever is recommended The meaning of love is to intend good and benefit, hence, the meaning is religious love and not human love.

Al-Nawaws concept of religious love (al-mahabbat al-diniyah) parallels the distinction Christian writers made between agape () and eros (). The highest form of love, according to him, is that which is purely benevolent for Gods sake, in opposition to sinful passions, caprice, or ordinary types of love.

Although inclusion of non-Muslims in a broader brotherhood of humanity was not universally accepted, proponents of this interpretation found a strong case for their position in all of the permutations of the golden rule in the Hadith corpus. Even from the traditions of Anas alone, inclusive language was used by the Prophet often enough to justify a universal golden rule:

None of you has faith until he loves for the people what he loves for himself, and only until he loves a person for the sake of God, the Great and Almighty.

The servant does not reach the reality of faith until he loves for the people what he loves for himself of the good.

In particular, a variant in Sahih Muslim reads, until he loves for his brother or he said his neighbour what he loves for himself. In this version, Anas is unsure if the Prophet said brother or neighbor. If neighbors are included, the term would certainly apply to non-Muslims as well.

Muammad ibn Isml al-ann (d. 1768), a Yemeni reformer in the Salafi tradition, includes in his legal commentary a chapter on the rights of the neighbor, in which he employs some of the broadest language of the late classical to early modern period. Based upon the word neighbor in the version of Sahih Muslim, he concludes:

The narration of the neighbor is general for the Muslim, the unbeliever, and the sinner, the friend and the enemy, the relative and the foreigner, the near neighbour and the far neighbour. Whoever acquires in this regard the obligatory attributes of loving good for him, he is at the highest of levels.

Perhaps most significant is Al-anns inclusion of enemies (al-aduw) in the list of people covered by the golden rule. In this case, the rule has at least some kind of application to every single human being.

Abd Allh ibn Amr (d. 685), who is said to have been one of the first to write down the statements of the Prophet , narrates his version of the golden rule, Whoever would love to be delivered from Hell and admitted into Paradise, let him meet his end believing in God and the Last Day, and let him treat people as he would love to be treated. The rule here is a means of salvation and is expressed in terms of good behavior, rather than religious love.

Ab Hurayrah (d. 679), the most prolific narrator of Hadith, also shares what he heard from the Prophet , Love for people what you love for yourself, you will be a believer. Be good to your neighbour, you will be a Muslim. Like the tradition of Anas, the rule is associated with both true faith and good treatment of neighbors.

Sometimes Hadith traditions do not explicitly state the golden rule, but it is drawn out by the commentators. Tamim al-Dari (d. 661) reports that the Prophet said three times, Religion is sincerity. The companions said, To whom? The Prophet replied, To God, to His book, to His messenger, and to the leader of the Muslims and their commoners. Ibn Daqq al-d (d. 1302) explains at length the meaning of sincerity or good will (naah) in each context. As it relates to common people, he writes that sincerity is to take care of them with beautiful preaching, to abandon ill will and envy for them, and to love for them what he loves for himself of good and to hate for them what he hates for himself of evil.

Al-Numn ibn Bashr (d. 684) relates the Prophets parable of the faith community as a single body, You see the believers in their mercy, affection, and compassion for one another as if they were a body. When a limb aches, the rest of the body responds with sleeplessness and fever. A variant of this tradition reads, The Muslims are like a single man. If the eye is afflicted, the whole body is afflicted. If the head is afflicted, the whole body is afflicted. The idea is that Muslims should have empathy for one another by sharing the burden of each others pain, as stated in another tradition, The believer feels pain for the people of faith, just as the body feels pain in its head. Abu Abd Allh al-Halm (d. 1012) inferred the golden rule from this parable:

They should be like that, as one hand would not love but what the other loves, and one eye or one leg or one ear would not love but what the other loves. Likewise, he should not love for his Muslim brother but what he loves for himself.

Later commentators would develop this idea further. Ibn Daqq draws upon the parable of the faith community in his commentary on the tradition of Anas, writing, Some scholars said in this tradition is the understanding that the believer is with another believer like a single soul. Thus, he should love for him what he loves for himself, as if they were a single soul. Ibn ajar al-Haytham (d. 1567) makes the same connection, saying that to love one another means that he will be with him as one soul (al-nafs al-wahidah).

Yazid ibn Asad, another one of the Prophets companions, recalls that he said to him, O Yazid ibn Asad! Love for people what you love for yourself! In a variant of this tradition, the Prophet (s) asks him, Do you love Paradise? Yazid says yes, so the Prophet replies, Then love for your brother what you love for yourself. In yet another variant, Yazids grandson quotes the sermon of Prophet upon the pulpit, Do not treat people but in the way you would love to be treated by them.

Failure to live up to the golden rule could result in dreadful consequences in the Hereafter, especially for Imams and authorities. Maqil ibn Yasr, while on his deathbed, recounted what he learned from the Prophet , No one is appointed over the affairs of the Muslims and then he does not strive for them or show them good will but that he will never enter Paradise with them. In another wording, the Prophet said, He does not protect them as he would protect himself and his family but that Allah will cast him into the fire of Hell. In this regard, a Muslim leader must necessarily treat their followers as they would treat themselves and their own families, if such a terrible fate is to be avoided.

Ab Ummah al-Bhil (d. 705) tells the story of a young man who came to the Prophet (s) to ask for permission to indulge in adulterous intercourse. The Prophet engages him in an imaginative role-reversal, asking a series of Socratic questions and appealing to the young mans conscience to convince him against it, Would you like that for your mother? Would you like that for your sister? The young man, naturally, expresses his disapproval had someone else committed adultery with the women of his household. The logical conclusion, as stated by the Prophet, is to consider the golden rule, Then hate what God has hated, and love for your brother what you love for yourself.

Hatred for the sake of God is a fine line to walk, between righteous indignation and unjustified malice. At least some of the earliest Muslims adopted the familiar refrain: love the sinner, hate the sin. According to Mudh ibn Anas, this is how the Prophet defined hatred for the sake of God, The best faith is to love for the sake of God, to hate for the sake of God, and to work your tongue in the remembrance of God. Mudh said, How is it done, O Messenger of God? The Prophet said, That you love for people what you love for yourself, hate for them what you hate for yourself, and to speak goodness or be silent. The noble form of hatred is simply the inverse of the golden rule; if one sees another sinning, hatred should be for the evil deed because it harms its doer. At the same time, one loves good for the sinner by hoping for their repentance and divine forgiveness.

Ibrahim Adham (d. 782) remembers during his travels that he overheard a pair of Muslim ascetics discussing the love of God amongst themselves. Intrigued, he interjects himself into the conversation to ask, How can anyone have compassion for people who contradict their Beloved [God]?

The unnamed ascetic turns to him, saying:

They abhor their sinful deeds and have compassion for them, [pray] that by preaching to them they might leave their deeds. They feel pity that their bodies might be burned in hellfire. The believer is not truly a believer until he is pleased for people to have what is pleasing to himself.

The commentator Abd al-Ramn ibn Rajab (d. 1393) corroborates this interpretation, which he ascribes to the righteous predecessors (al-salaf al-li). Hence, it not correct for a Muslim to carry malicious hatred in the sense of desiring to harm others. A believer ought to love for sinners to repent, to be guided, and to be forgiven. In this regard, the Prophet admonished us, Do not hate each other, do not envy each other, do not turn away from each other, but rather be servants of God as brothers.

The irreversible march of globalization is producing an urgent need for people of different backgrounds and beliefs to find common ground. As the world grows closer together, with it grows the imperative to recognize each other as members of one human family. The ethics of reciprocity the golden rule is the best conceptual vehicle to advance this necessary intercultural dialogue and cooperation.

Islam is one of the worlds great religions, with over one billion followers living on every continent and speaking hundreds of languages. If peace on earth is to be actualized, Islam and Muslims must be a partner in it. Muslims need an entry point for understanding non-Muslims, just as non-Muslims need a way to begin understanding Muslims. Islams golden rule can provide a bridge between these worlds.

It is not reasonable to expect that the golden rule by itself can solve all the conflicts of the modern world, but what it can do is activate the innate conscience of human beings in a process of collective, intercultural moral reasoning. By accepting at the outset the premise of human equality and the obligation of moral consistency, we can work together to develop the mutual understanding and respect needed for people of different beliefs to live together in harmony. The golden rule itself is not the answer per se, rather it is the right question at the start; it is the first step in a journey we must take together, the first conversation in a dialogue we must have.

Success comes from Allah, and Allah knows best.

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Benefiting From The Majesty Of Divine Will | Thirteen Points In Making The Best Of The Situation - MuslimMatters

The Satanic Temple Has The Best Response To The COVID-19 Pandemic Yet – HillReporter.com

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The coronavirus pandemic has affected literally every aspect of American life.

Everything that we have taken for granted has shut down, people are going stir crazy, conspiracy theories and fake cures are running rampant, and things that once seemed impossible are becoming routine.

One thing many people have not mentioned much of, however, is religion. As churches go online and away from in-person meetings, one offbeat religion has a message for everyone: The Satanic Temple.

Lucien Greaves, the co-Founder and spokesperson of the merry band of modern Satanists, has released a statement regarding the current situation. He reminded everyone of the religions very first tenet, which reads, One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.

In the meantime, Greaves axed all meetings for Satanic Temple chapters until further notice and prepared to go virtual. He urged social distancing, and thought of all kinds of fun ways to have fun and support one another during this difficult time.

The last bit of Mr. Greaves statement is perhaps the best:

For those upset and saddened at this unexpected turn of events, I promise you, at the end of this there is a massive Satanic celebration to be had, and we will come through this stronger, and more deeply committed, as a community and global Satanic family.

Love,

Lucien Greaves

And that is what Satanism is all about. Fun, love, celebration, true religious freedom, and the celebration of life. Worry not coronavirus will not keep the Satanists away.

Featured image credit: Mark Schierbecker/Wikimedia

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Hungarian Press Roundup: Weeklies on the State of Emergency – Hungary Today

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Weeklies and weekend editions of dailies ponder the economic and social implications of the coronavirus emergency, including discussion of the extension of the state of emergency.

Hungarian press roundup bybudapost.eu

In 168 ra, Pter Somfai suggests panic shopping is due to the lack of trust among Hungarians. The left-wing columnist suggests that the Hungarian government has not done a good job in reassuring the population. As for the broader implications of the epidemic, Somfai suspects that our lives will change for good, and we will need to rethink what we really value.

In Magyar Demokrata, Mikls Panyi, Vice-Director of the pro-government Centre for Fundamental Rights asserts that what he calls Hungarys economic and political immune system is relatively strong, which he believes will help the country get through the pandemic. The conservative analyst underlines that the economy is in a good shape, and the government enjoys broad support and strong democratic legitimacy. Public authorities and hospitals are prepared to handle the pandemic, he adds. He hopes that Hungarians will also keep strong and will not lose the optimism and calm which are essential to prevail in times of crises.

On Portfolio.hu, Lszl Szab and Viktor Zsiday call on the government to use their fiscal weapons to save the Hungarian economy. The two investment bankers calculate that it will cost hundreds of billions in Forints to help Hungarian entrepreneurs and defend jobs. The only way to avoid the loss of hundreds of thousands of workplaces is to use drastic means in addition to the announced loan repayment moratorium, Szab and Zsiday write. They believe that if the government and the National Bank act fast and announce a massive and unprecedented quantitative easing program, they can avoid the complete meltdown of the economy.

In Mandiner, Barnabs Heincz dismisses suggestions that the European Union will collapse as a result of the coronavirus emergency. Heincz admits that national governments can act faster in times of crisis, but this, he believes, does not mean that the European dream is over. The conservative pundit notes that the EU could only act if it was a highly centralized federation rather than a group of sovereign nation-states. Rather than giving up on the European Union, we should reform it and make it a proper union of nation-states, he suggests.

Neokohns Lszl Seres lambasts anti-globalist and anti-capitalist greens and leftists who cherish the virus for its implications for the environment. The libertarian pundit writes that the meltdown of production and a steep decline in the volume of international travel will lead to a massive recession and increase in poverty. He adds that modern medicine would also be unimaginable without capitalism. Rather than turning globalization back, one should use its achievements to fight the epidemic, Seres concludes.

In Magyar Narancs, Balzs Vradi writes that the virus emergency poses a huge dilemma for Hungarians, particularly liberals. He thinks that Hungarians have a low level of trust towards the government with good reason. The liberal analyst accuses the state of leaving citizens to fend for themselves in most major crises in the past two centuries. He also finds the Orbn government guilty of not spending enough on the health care system and of trying to blame the epidemic on migrants. Nonetheless, Vradi acknowledges, severe emergency situations can only be managed by a strong state. He thinks, therefore, that liberals should support all government policies that are in line with international practices, but protest if the government tries to impose measures beyond those widely applied in Western Europe.

In an interview with the same weekly, Lszl Majtnyi fears that the government will misuse the emergency to introduce unnecessary and restrictive measures and suspend the rule of law. The left-liberal constitutional lawyer contends that reasonable emergency measures, including the closure of schools and shops, could be implemented within the existing legal framework. The emergency regulations would grant unnecessary power to the police to curtail individual freedoms and would allow the government to use its power to silence critical opinions in the name of public safety.

Mrces Andrs Jmbor shares the same fears. The alt-left blogger acknowledges that the government needs extraordinary powers to manage the crisis, but warns against giving the government indefinite emergency powers. (The government proposes to extend the state of emergency indefinitely rather than extending it every 15 days. The bill needs a four-fifths majority to pass urgently.) Jmbor recalls that the so called migration emergency has been in place for five years. He also fears that emergency powers would allow the government to silence its critics. Jmbor believes that the government could implement all regulations necessary to combat the epidemic without allotting itself extraordinary powers for an unspecified period.

Abnormal times require extraordinary powers and measures, Mikls Sznth claims in Magyar Nemzet. The pro-government lawyer accuses the critics of the extension of the state of emergency of trying to use the crisis to create an even bigger panic. Sznth suspects that they fear for their globalist, anti-state vision which might lose its relevance as the government carries on with its crisis management policies to protect public interest.

Featured photo illustration byCsabaKrizsn/MTI

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Hungarian Press Roundup: Weeklies on the State of Emergency - Hungary Today

Living in an Italy consumed by fear – The Spectator USA

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This article is inThe Spectators April 2020 US edition.Subscribe here to get yours.

Ravenna, Italy

As I write, the whole of Italy is in quarantine and infected by the kind of panic I imagine an invaded people feels as it waits for the enemy to knock on the door.

I work from home and suppose I must be thankful at least for that. I have just heard the youngest of our six children, Giuseppe, who is four, ask Carla, his mother: Mamma, do you know why its called coronavirus? No, bello, I dont, tell me, she replied. Because its the king of tutti i virus! he crowed, which caused Carla to smother him with kisses. Bravissimo! Amore mio! Bravissimo! The word corona, in case you didnt know, is Italian for crown. Did he invent that himself I wonder? The whole episode brought a tear to my eye and a surge of impotent anger anger that such a beautiful human gesture, a mother kissing and hugging her small child, could perhaps prove fatal.

Headlines in online Italian newspapers that catch my eye include The virus remains in the air for 30 minutes and travels 4.5 meters, Checks on movement to be done via cell phone records and Government may order suspension of all loan repayments not that I have a loan, thank God.

The Italian prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, announced the closure of Italy in a television address to the nation, saying: Our habits must change now, and Everyone must remain at home. We live near Ravenna, in the countryside a mile from the Adriatic coast, and our children rely on us to get in and out of the city a 10-minute drive away. Children seem less prone to catching the virus than any other age group, but we have convinced ourselves, I cannot remember quite why, that they can act as symptomless carriers.

Our eldest son, Francesco Winston, is 14 and already as tall as me. He is also stronger than me, though possibly he does not quite realize it yet, and keeps trying to go into Ravenna to see his friends storming off into the dark in search of a bus or something. But when yesterday Carla shouted at him Assassino! (Killer!), that seemed at long last to strike home. Little Giuseppe does not go to school, but this is the third week the five children who do two boys and three girls have been at home following the closure of schools and universities in our region, Emilia-Romagna, thanks to the high infection rate here (the second highest in Italy, though still a long way behind Lombardy). The children are supposed to do homework each day via a school internet site which at least two of them are unable to access, and no one at school (with which we can communicate only via email and telephone) has been able to solve the problem. Francesco Winston and the eldest, Caterina, 16, are also doing the odd lesson via streaming. It all seems slapdash, but it is better than nothing.

Right now, the death rate from coronavirus in Italy is more than 8 percent, which is a heck of a lot higher than the 2 percent death rate that experts talk about. The numbers of those infected in Italy are growing explosively and terrifyingly. On February, 21 there were just 17 cases. By the beginning of March, there were a total of 2,000 cases and fewer than 100 deaths. It is difficult to see how other European countries can avoid a similar catastrophe unless they take pretty drastic action, before their case numbers reach Italian levels.

Initially, Italys government took the extraordinary step of placing in quarantine the whole of Lombardy (whose capital is Milan, the financial engine room of Italy); two days later, the growth in cases forced it to extend the lockdown to the entire country.

According to the governments emergency quarantine decree, currently in force, no one can leave home without a valid motive. This includes work and necessity, such as buying food or taking the dog for a walk. This means no one can leave the province where they live unless they have an urgent reason. Holy Communion in church has been canceled, as have funeral and wedding ceremonies. Even Serie A soccer has been suspended. Most sports seem to be canceled. All public gatherings inside or out are banned. Nightclubs, cinemas, museums, galleries, theaters, swimming pools, gyms, you name it all closed.

Factories and offices remain open, as do supermarkets and shops, but the emergency decree insists that everyone must keep a distance of one meter apart in public places. That will be impossible in many restaurants. And impossible anyway to police. Bars must close at 6 p.m. The government a left-wing coalition of the alt-left Five Star and post-communist Democratic party has agreed with opposition parties that parliament should meet far less frequently and be attended by only half the MPs, to maintain the one-meter rule. Italys European Parliament president David Sassoli has self-isolated and will chair debates via computer. Numerous television shows are canceled.

Via WhatsApp, audios are circulating from nurses which tell me that the situation in many hospitals even in Emilia-Romagna is apocalyptic and far worse than is being admitted by the authorities, and that in Rimini, just 30 miles from me, the citys hospital is so overrun that it is turning new coronavirus patients away.

The big problem, apart from the fear and the panic, is the confusion. This is the governments fault. With regard to the travel ban, for example, one ground for exemption spelled out in the decree is comprovate esigenze lavorative proven work needs. What on earth does that mean? Which work qualifies and how such necessity can be proven are not spelled out. The decree also says that such grounds must be self-certified on a written form but who, then, is going to check whether someone is telling the truth, and how? The punishment for breach of the quarantine measures is up to three months in prison (automatically suspended, since it is less than two years) plus a derisory 206 fine. In the end, it will be up to the Italians themselves either to respect or ignore them.

Roberto Burioni, a leading virologist and medical professor, spelled this out in a dramatic plea to the nation in an interview in the newspaper La Stampa, in which he said every Italian must display virtuous behavior towards himself and towards the community and make big sacrifices because we have before us a dangerous enemy.

An enemy that is totally invisible.

This article is inThe Spectators April 2020 US edition.Subscribe here to get yours.

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PREMIERE: Maddix drops new single ‘Ecstacy’ on Revealed Recordings – We Rave You

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Welcome to a new chapter. Forget the Maddix you know, because a new era is set to rise from the ashes. He now sheds his previous skin and adopts a new direction on Ecstasy, offering us our first glimpse into this fresh, new direction say hello to Maddix 2.0

Burning as bright as a roaring flame, Maddixs fusion of racing, ravey anthems and electro-laced takes shows a performative and multi-faceted side to the artist and, on this latest release for Revealed Recordings, he introduces us to this cutting-edge new chapter. Both deeper and more progressive than before, shifting into more emotive, albeit powerful, strokes of genius, as a sensual vocal entices with commands and whispers of Move with me/ Dance With Me/ Take Me/ Ecstasy, the track fuses together high-tuned whirrs of synth for the lower-ends to rumble and blast forth, ushering in his forward-facing new period of production style.

Envision being on a post apocalyptic rave in 2021, where bright souls in dark rooms head into a progressive, almost trance-like state of euphoria, make sure you get a taste of Maddixs novel and latest switch-up in sound and get lost in total Ecstasy.

The track is out on Revealed Recordingsnow, and you can check it out below! Let us know what you think of this one across our social media channels.

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PREMIERE: Maddix drops new single 'Ecstacy' on Revealed Recordings - We Rave You