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How this school designed a robotics program from the ground up – eSchool News

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

As a former computer engineer with a background in applied math, Im a firm proponent of STEM education. As a math teacher with 14 years of experience facilitating robotics clubs for students, Im also an ardent supporter of programming and robotics as a vehicle for STEM ed, so when I had the opportunity to build a K5 robotics program from the lab up, I leapt at the opportunity.

Our school is a brand-new Title 1 campus. Were in our first year and just opened in August, so were still tweaking and learning as we go, but weve developed a solid foundation for introducing studentseven those who are very youngto a range of STEM and other concepts in an environment that feels more like fun than work. Heres how we did it.

When I was designing the robotics program, I wanted to make sure we were building a bridge from kindergarten all the way to 5th grade and beyond, so our program is designed to be progressive throughout the six years students are with us and to set them up for more advanced robotics in middle and high school, should they choose to pursue it.

Related:11 educators share how they bring coding into the classroom

For kindergartners and first graders, we use two products: LEGOs STEAM Parkand KinderLabs KIBO.

STEAM Park uses Duplo LEGO bricks and gears, pulleys, and other simple machines to help very young children begin to understand concepts like leverage, chain reactions, motion, measurement, and even buoyancy, which isnt usually introduced until 2nd grade.

Tech firm will pay you 100,000 to use your face on its robots – Mirror Online

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

The idea of lending your face to a robot may sound like the plot from an episode of Black Mirror , but it could soon become a reality.

An unnamed robotics firm is searching for the human face of its new robots - and will even pay the successful applicant 100,000 for the privilege.

The firm has contacted geomiq.com to help find a kind and friendly face for the robots, which will be used as virtual friends for elderly people.

A spokesperson for Geomiq said: At this point were not allowed to share any more details about the project, but were hoping that someone with the right face will get in touch as a result of this public appeal.

Its a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the right person; lets hope we can find them.

The robots are set to go into production next year and will be readily available to the public, according to Geomiq.

It added: We know that this is an extremely unique request, and signing over the licenses to your face is potentially an extremely big decision.

The request has been heavily criticised on Twitter , with technology reporter Rowland Manthorpe even calling it a bad sci-fi plot.

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Dr Kate Devlin, a sex robot expert added: "I'm cool with the whole friendly robot thing, btw.

"But I can't work out why a) it needs a realistically human face; and b) why that face needs to be of a real individual."

Meanwhile, others have questioned why the firm is searching for a human face, rather than creating a fake face of its own - much like the famous humanoid robot, Sophia.

One user tweeted: Have these people ever heard of GANs? There are datasets with 100k realistic (but not real) faces available already.

"My guess is that we can code a nice generator for less than 100k..."

However, if the idea of seeing an army of robots with your face doesnt put you off, you can apply here.

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Tech firm will pay you 100,000 to use your face on its robots - Mirror Online

64% of workers trust robots more than their managers – TechRepublic

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

Employee outlooks on AI are changing. Here's why they are more trusting of the technology.

The increased adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) at work is changing the relationship between employees and managers. More than half (64%) of employees said they trust a robot more than their manager, with half turning to a robot instead of a supervisor for advice, an Oracle and Future Workplace report found.

SEE: Special report: Managing AI and ML in the enterprise (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

Oracle and Future Workplace's second annual AI at Work report, released on Tuesday, surveyed 8,370 employees, managers, and human resources (HR) leaders from across 10 countries. AI completely shifted the way employees and tech interact at work, and is also reshaping the roles of HR teams and managers, the report found.

When AI first became popular, many employees feared the technology would render their jobs obsolete. However, once employees realized AI could actually help them conduct work more efficiently, their attitudes changed, the report found. The number of employees using AI at work increased by nearly 20% over the past year, from 32% to 50%.

The majority (65%) of workers said they are optimistic, excited, and grateful for their robot co-workers. Nearly a quarter of employees reported even having a loving and gratifying relationship with AI at work, according to the report.

Employees in India (60%) and China (56%) were the most excited about AI, followed by the UAE (44%), Singapore (41%), Brazil (32%), and Australia/New Zealand (26%). Men overall viewed AI more positively than women, with 32% of men reportedly optimistic, compared to 23% of women.

Workers across the world are also more trusting of robots over their manages, the report found. The majority of employees in India (89%), China (88%), Singapore (83%), Brazil (78%), Japan (76%), and the US (57%) all turn to robots before managers. Employees reported more faith in robots over managers because they felt that technology could better provide unbiased information (26%), maintain work schedules (34%), problem solve (29%), and manage a budget (26%).

When asked what areas managers are stronger in, workers reported understanding feelings (45%), coaching (33%), and creating work culture (29%). While automation is helpful with business processes, it is known to struggle with replicating and interpreting human emotion. With human connection being a vital part of the workplace, this ability is crucial.

"The latest advancements in machine learning and AI are rapidly reaching mainstream, resulting in a massive shift in the way people across the world interact with technology and their team," Emily He, senior vice president of the Human Capital Management Cloud Business Group at Oracle, said in a press release. "Organizations need to partner with their HR organization to personalize the approach to implementing AI at work in order to meet the changing expectations of their teams around the world."

With AI predicted to create $2.9 trillion in business value by 2021, according to Gartner's Leverage augmented intelligence to win with AI report, automation is here to stay.

And the use cases for AI continue surfacing, with 76% of workers and 81% of HR leaders finding it challenging to keep up with technological changes in the workplace, the report found.

These issues only create a heightened need for AI, but employees are worried about working with these new systems. Workers need a simplified experience with AI, according to the report. Employees cited a better user interface (34%), best practice training (30%), and personalized experiences (30%) as helpful strategies for adapting to AI.

If companies want to see the full benefits of AI, they must provide employees with these resources and experiences, the report said.

For more, check out AI is key for business success, but lack of skilled staff remains a barrier on TechRepublic.

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Sberbank partners with Microsoft in robotics area – FinanceFeeds

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

The project is set to boost labor productivity when counting coins.

Sberbank Rossii PAO (MCX:SBER) and Microsoft Research (MSR) have announceda joint project that will explore the use of Microsoft AI solutions in robotics. The goal of this project is to train robots to interact with physical objects the way humans do.

Research engineers from Sberbank will be working alongside their MSR counterparts in Redmond, the United States. The team will be looking for the best ways to control manipulators leveraging the capabilities of Microsofts AI platform, which unites machine learning including reinforcement learning and simulation modeling in virtual reality in order to create autonomous AI systems capable of operating in real world. The project relies on Sberbanks robotics lab findings regarding precise manipulation of objects that have different and changing shapes by using computer vision and deep learning.

The project is expected to result in an updated control system to operate the robotics unit that is intended to boost labor productivity when counting coins. Featuring a manipulator, video cameras, and an arm grabber, the solution is poised to remove toil and improve occupational safety of the operators who remove coin bags from carts when working at cash handling and cash-in-transit centers, thus improving the banks efficiency.

The findings of the joint study are expected to be later used in writing academic papers on the practical use of artificial intelligence.

Sberbank has long been known as a keen adopter of AI solutions. In February this year, for instance, the bank announced the launch of an AI-based chatbotthat will help users of electronic trading system Sberbank Markets.

Speaking of robotic solutions that assist in money counting, lets recall that, in May 2017, Sberbank showed a Kuka Hand a robotic hand used to sort and count money.

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Sberbank partners with Microsoft in robotics area - FinanceFeeds

Robots Learn about Feelings and Maybe Plot Their Takeover – Nextgov

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

I am totally stoked about having one of my most favorite movie stars of all time, Arnold Schwarzenegger, returning to theaters for the new Terminator: Dark Fate movie. Of all the many movies that portend the rise of intelligent machines and artificial intelligence, Ive always felt like the Terminator series was one of the best.

And because this is my first column for October, I figured it should be a little bit scary to coincide with the spirit of the season. But dont worry. Im not going to cover the normal kinds of cybersecurity risks, where everyone has to worry about real-world dangers like ransomware and advanced persistent threats. Those kinds of horrors are real, and most people are probably tired of constantly thinking about them. So I wont make you do that again here even though October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Ill be covering some of the relevant government-sponsored activities in a future article. But not today. Today is all about a more fun kind of scary: Evidence that machines are putting all the pieces in place for their big takeover of humanity.

The signs of the pending rise of the machines are everywhere. Lets start with the recently released Frost and Sullivan report detailing the militarys plans for combat vehicle development through 2024. According to the report, the Defense Department is expected to spend $56.25 billion on combat vehicles by 2024.

That is a lot of wheels and tracks on the ground. The military, and specifically the Army, is expected to follow a two-pronged approach to spending that money. The first part of the effort is enhancing existing vehicles with better technology, sensors and artificial intelligence. The second will be creating new vehicles from scratch that can operate completely unmanned if necessary.

Technology upgrades and modifications are the stable spending segments as wear and tear of systems and developing defense mechanisms for evolving threats are essential areas of focus, said Frost & Sullivan Senior Industry Analyst for Defense John Hernandez.

So the machines will have a lot of deadly vehicles ready and in place for their uprising. Some of them will know how to drive themselves, while most of the others will at least be skilled at following a lead machine in a process known as convoying.

But I hear you say, so what if a combat vehicle knows how to drive and even fight on its own?Its not like it will be able to think for itself or be driven by its emotions. Our cars, trucks, tanks and drones are never going to get angry with humanity because of their subservient role carrying us around everywhere and fighting our wars. Well, perhaps not yet...

Another study released this month from The University of Warwick School of Business finds that robots can learn to recognize emotions, and in fact, may do a better job at it than some humans. Given the increasing number of rude people I have run into out in public lately, this is not too surprising.

Research Fellow in the Behavioral Science Group at Warwick Business School Charlotte Edmunds conducted a study where a robot was programmed to guess at what people were feeling based on visual and other social clues. To conduct the study, a team of psychologists and computer scientists filmed pairs of children playing with a robot and a computer. They later asked 284 people to decide whether the children were excited, bored or sad. They were also asked if the children were co-operating, competing or if one of the children had assumed a dominant role in the relationship.

Sadly, the results for the human participants were exactly the same as if someone was simply guessing at the results having never watched the videos. But when a trained robot took the same test, it scored significantly higher. The robot was correct most of the time even if it couldnt see the childrens faces or hear their voices. The full study was published in Frontiers in Robotics and AI.

Our results suggest it is reasonable to expect a machine learning algorithm, and consequently a robot, to recognize a range of emotions and social interactions using movements, poses and facial expressions, Edmunds said. The potential applications are huge.

You can say that again. The potential applications are huge, as in, robots and artificial intelligence are moving a few steps closer to their inevitable revolution. They can already outthink us in terms of raw processing power. Now they are infiltrating the military and learning about emotions. Can self-awareness be that far behind?

Thankfully, Schwarzenegger is finished being the governor of California, so hes available to fight for us on Judgment Day. But just in case, you might want to trick or treat and party a little bit extra hard this year. It may be one of our last Halloweens before the machine overlords discover how to get angry and start rolling toward the apocalypse.

John Breeden II is an award-winning journalist and reviewer with over 20 years of experience covering technology. He is the CEO of the Tech Writers Bureau, a group that creates technological thought leadership content for organizations of all sizes. Twitter: @LabGuys

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Robots Learn about Feelings and Maybe Plot Their Takeover - Nextgov

Global Smart Sports Equipment Market 2019-2023 | Increasing Demand for Robotics to Boost Growth | Technavio – Business Wire

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The global smart sports equipment market is expected to post a CAGR of over 37% during the period 2019-2023, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. Request a free sample report

There is an increase in the demand for smart sports equipment and various sports analytics platforms among teams, coaches, and sports associations. Sports analytics platforms help in analyzing the play-by-play effectiveness for real-time competitive intelligence and anticipate player safety issues to prevent injuries. It enables team managers to perform predictive analysis based on data related to players and their rankings and training. Thus, the growing demand for sports analytics will boost the growth of the smart sports equipment market during the forecast period.

To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR30890

As per Technavio, the increasing demand for robotics, will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other important trends and market drivers that will affect market growth over 2019-2023.

Global Smart Sports Equipment Market: Increasing Demand for Robotics

Robotics is gaining popularity in various industries, including the sports industry. This is driving the team coaches, sports clubs, and sports associations to emphasize on the use of robotics in enhancing the training process and improve player performance. For instance, mobile virtual players (MVPs) are gaining traction in the market as they replicate the size, weight, shape, speed and human motion of an opponent or training partner to boost the performance of players. Thus, with such advances in technology and the adoption of robotics, the market for smart sports equipment is expected to showcase a positive outlook during the forecast period.

Apart from the increasing demand for robotics, the rising popularity of wearable devices and fitness trackers along with the growing number of partnerships and collaborations in the sports industry are some other factors that will boost market growth during the forecast period, says a senior analyst at Technavio.

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Global Smart Sports Equipment Market: Segmentation Analysis

This market research report segments the global smart sports equipment market by product (ball sports, fitness sports, and other sports) and geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America, and South America).

The European region led the market in 2018, followed by APAC, North America, MEA, and South America respectively. During the forecast period, the European region is expected to maintain its dominance over the global market. This is due to the rising demand for IoT operated connected fitness devices and growing adoption of smart wearables.

Technavios sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report

Some of the key topics covered in the report include:

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation

Geographical Segmentation

Market Drivers

Market Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavios report library consists of more than 10,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavios comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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Global Smart Sports Equipment Market 2019-2023 | Increasing Demand for Robotics to Boost Growth | Technavio - Business Wire

Five stocks that offer robust returns from the robotics sector – MoneyWeek

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

A professional investor tells us where hed put his money. This week: Peter Lingen of the Pictet Robotics fund highlights some promising investments.

The modern robotics market began in the car sector in the 1960s. Since then it has expanded relentlessly into ever more industries, fuelled by technical innovations such as exponential growth in computer processing power, electronic miniaturisation, increasingly refined sensors and controllers, new materials and more compact batteries. And robotics will remain a growth industry thanks to several secular trends, including cloud computing, autonomous driving, electric vehicles and precision medicine.

We invest in companies that benefit from the growth of robotics, automation and artificial intelligence. But this is a substantial investment arena, which makes fundamental research key.

We track 400 companies globally. Insights we gain from firms, meetings with brokers and trade shows each year help us narrow the field to a concentrated portfolio of between 40 and 60 stocks.

On average, the companies generate 75% of their revenue from activities that fall within our investment criteria. They belong to highly diverse sectors: vehicle components, life-sciences, med-tech, consumer robotics, semiconductors, industrial robotics, internet infrastructure and application software.

We look for companies that are market leaders in emerging niches, with clear technology leadership. We like groups that invest heavily in innovation and have the confidence to invest in themselves. While some of these are highly valued, we believe that others are hiding in plain sight. For example, Google (Alphabet) (Nasdaq: GOOGL) is a business with $155bn in sales that is growing at around 20% a year. Yet it is barely monetising some of its most valuable assets, such as Google Maps and Waymo, its self-driving technology division. Alphabet trades on just 13 times adjusted earnings.

Electronic design company Synopsys (Nasdaq: SNPS) is another good example. It helps chip manufacturers design and build high-performance semi-conductors. As the complexity of systems increases and new companies enter the semiconductor sector, the importance of design tools increases.

In recent years the stockmarket has begun to appreciate the strategic importance of both Synopsys and its main competitor Cadence Design Systems (Nasdaq: CDNS), which we also hold. We believe they continue to be an attractive investment over the medium term.

We recently bought a position in Altair Engineering (Nasdaq: ALTR), a company weve monitored since it floated in 2017. It is a leading producer of simulation software, which is bought by many of the worlds top vehicle and aerospace companies.

We like Altairs business niche and we are confident that its software is increasingly relevant to a wide variety of different markets including energy, life sciences, consumer electronics and high-performance computing.

We believe Altair has good prospects for long-term growth. The success of its competitor Ansys (Nasdaq: ANSS), another of our investments, shows how valuable a successful simulation/3D-design company can be in the stockmarket.

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Five stocks that offer robust returns from the robotics sector - MoneyWeek

Robotics competition will have a lasting impact, says AI Minister – Gulf News

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and Deputy Managing Director of the Dubai Future Foundation with Khalfan Juma Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation Image Credit:

Dubai: Hosting the worlds biggest competition for robotics and artificial intelligence will have a lasting impact on the region, according to officials.

The First Global DXB Challenge will be held outside of the Americas for the first time at Dubais Festival Arena from October 24-27, and will involve 1,500 children aged 11-17 from 191 countries.

Organised by Dubai Future Foundation, this years theme will be finding smart solutions for preserving the ocean and protecting marine life.

Teams will each get a robotics kit and work with a mentor to overcome a challenge related to the theme of marine protection and the winners across 10 categories will get medals and the chance of a university scholarship at top universities around the world.

The outcome is not the robot itself but the ability and environment these children go on to and what that leads to in life, said Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and Deputy Managing Director of the Dubai Future Foundation.

Success stories will go on after the competition is done and this is a gift that keeps on giving. Previous editions of the competition have seen participants go on to start STEM schools for girls in Angola or become chief innovation officers in some of the biggest companies around the world.

This is different to any other competition because every single participant has the chance to influence technology of the future. They are going to be the next Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk and we are very excited to welcome to collaborate here in the land of opportunity, added Al Olama.

The Minister said that countries would form alliances within the competition to learn from each other and ensure no one was left behind.

We dont want teams to come and lose without gaining anything, we will set up a coalition so they learn from other countries, so its not just purely a competition about first place, its a competition where the effects will last forever and create a positive impact for humanity, said Al Olama. As a country the UAE is a nation that believes in bringing people from all over the world together to bring about the change that will lead to a prosperous future. The UAE has never been about just focusing on ourselves but on collaboration and cooperation to come up with solutions for something that will help all of us and the oceans are something that connect all continents and countries.

Khalfan Juma Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation, said, The vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is to make the UAE a lab to the world and this can be the largest ever lab gathering globally hosting 191 countries to test new ideas. It cannot get any larger than this and a lot will be achieved beyond who has won, it can be the testing ground for future innovators to rub shoulders.

Robotics competition will have a lasting impact, says AI Minister - Gulf News

Can Nanotechnology Be Used to Improve Access to Clean Water? – AZoNano

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

Image Credit: Shutterstock.com/ SJ Travel Photo and Video

Access to clean, safe drinking water is thought to be a basic human right. Yet, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 785 million people across the globe are without access to a basic drinking-water source. This has researchers around the world researching and developing a series of water treatment solutions and applications using nanotechnology.

Current WHO statistics are damning, making this an issue that must be addressed urgently as it is thought that around 2 billion people are using a contaminated water supply. In addition, over 485,000 people die each year from diarrhoeal related illnesses and diseases such as polio, typhoid, and cholera are once again being transmitted as a further consequence. Based on current trends and data, it is thought that by 2025 half of the total global population will be living in water-stressed or water-scarce areas.

While there are a wide-range of effective water purification methods and techniques including boiling, filtration, oxidation, and distillation, these often require high amounts of energy. Other treatment processes may include the use of chemical agents which is only possible in areas with an infrastructure that is up to par.

The more affordable and portable devices currently available are not always fit for purpose as they cannot guarantee 100% removal of harmful viruses, bacteria, dust, and even microplastics. So, it is thought that nanotechnology could offer affordable and accessible clean water solutions to the worlds most vulnerable populations.

Nanotechnology is a process that involves manipulating and controlling matter on the atomic scale. In the process of water purification, this involves using nanomembranes to soften the water and eradicate biological and chemical contaminants as well as other physical particles and molecules.

Whats more is that nanotechnology is portable and can be incorporated into existing commercial devices which increases the likelihood that nanotech solutions could become a feasible option for areas of the developing world and places with limited infrastructure.

In recent years scientists have improved on conventional methods that use coagulants by taking their cues from nature, notably the ocean dwelling Actinia organism. Traditional coagulants, such as aluminum sulfate and other metallic salts can pull out larger contaminants by causing them to group together and settle. However, this method is not effective for smaller particles and molecules and often requires additional methods to ensure the water is clean. Thereby increasing the cost and use of energy as several techniques are required to ensure the water is safe.

Using nanocoagulants, scientists were able to synthesize organic and inorganic matter to replicate the structure of the Actina sea anemone. The researchers produced a reversable core-shell that can catch larger particles as well as the smaller ones when it turns inside-out. This is also a one-step process which removes the need for additional technologies and opens up the potential for minimizing water purification costs.

Another viable method of water purification currently in development that makes use of nanotechnology includes utilizing magnetically active nanoparticles to extract chemicals from water. The process enables the removal of toxins from drinking-water contaminants attracting nanoparticles that consist of magnetic phases. This solution would also be low-energy and could provide an economic advantage as well as health and environmental benefits.

Other proposals for nanotech solutions include using nanoparticles to break down microplastics and a rapid nano-filter that can clean dirty water 100 times faster than current methods. Researchers are also aware that most water purification methods require access to a constant electricity supply, but this can be a significant obstacle in places with limited infrastructure or areas damaged by extreme weather conditions.

One such approach is the creation of a self-sustaining biofoam that conducts heat and electricity by combining bacteria-produced cellulose with graphene oxide. The graphene-fused foam draws water up to the surface via the cellulose layer which accelerates evaporation. This results in a layer of freshwater which can be easily collected and is safe to drink. The biofoam is also lightweight and relatively inexpensive to manufacture making it an attractive alternative to conventional methods.

Thus, as the need for clean, safe water is very much still an urgent global issue, nanotech solutions offer new and essential possibilities for the water treatment industry. The next phase of development is the scaling up of nanotechnologies to improve access to clean water. Perhaps then the future can be one that offers a new hope to the expanding global population experiencing water-stressed and water-scarce conditions.

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Can Nanotechnology Be Used to Improve Access to Clean Water? - AZoNano

Bible revelation: Richard Dawkins reveals Charles Darwin theory for Noahs Ark – Express.co.uk

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

The theory of evolution by natural selection, first formulated in Darwin's book "On the Origin of Species" in 1859, is the process by which organisms change over time as a result of changes in heritable physical or behavioural traits.Changes that allow an organism to better adapt to its environment will help it survive and have more offspring. However, Richard Dawkins has shockingly claimed this same idea can be used to prove Noahs Ark is a myth.

The vessel in the Genesis flood narrative of the Bible is used by God to spare Noah, his family and a selection of the worlds animals from a great flood.

According to the fourth verse of the eighth chapter, following the disaster, Noah's Ark landed on the "mountains of Ararat,and this is what Dawkins has a problem with.

In his new book, Outgrowing God, he wrote: Bible-believing Christians in Kentucky raised the money to build a gigantic Noahs Ark for people to pay to visit.

But youd think they might have given a bit more thought to the story.

If the tale of Noah were true, the places where we find each animal should show a pattern of spreading out from the spot where the biblical Ark finally came to rest when the flood subsided Mount Ararat in Turkey.

Instead, what we actually see is that each continent and island has its own unique animals.

Dawkins went on to point out how different animals originate from all four corners of the globe.

He added: Marsupials in Australia, South America and New Guinea, anteater and sloths in South America, lemurs in Madagascar.

Do people think the kangaroos came bounding out of the Ark and hopped all the way to Australia without having any children on the way?

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The lemurs all 101 pairs of them made a beeline for Madagascar and nowhere else?

In fact, of course, all the animals and their fossils, are exactly where they should be according to the principle of evolution.

He went on to make a loose connection to Darwinism, claiming the late biologist of the 19th century felt the same as him.

He continued: This was one of the main pieces of evidence Charles Darwin used.

Ancestral marsupial mammals evolved separately in Australia over millions of years, branching into lots of different marsupials kangaroos, koalas, opossums, quokkas, phalangers, and so on.

"A different set of mammals evolved in South America, branching over millions of years, into sloths, anteaters, armadillos and their kind.

Yet another set in Africa, and another set, and so on.

In the Bible, the miracle stories include faith healing, exorcism, resurrection, control over nature and forgiveness of sins.

For many Christians, these are seen as actual events, but others, including many liberal Christians, consider the stories to be figurative.

In addition, there have also been some bizarre discoveries on Mount Ararat.

Amazon Primes Mysteries documentary revealed how one man scaled the huge rock formation.

The 2009 series revealed: In 1955 French industrialist Fernand Navarra and his son scaled the northwest slope of Mt Ararat searching for the ark.

They made their way into a deep fault in the glacier and discovered a five-foot piece of ancient wood.

It was not a part of a tree, but obviously something that had been cut.

Navarras book 'Noahs Ark: I touched it' created an international sensation.

Bible revelation: Richard Dawkins reveals Charles Darwin theory for Noahs Ark - Express.co.uk

Review: In Terra Firma, a Wee Wet Country on the Brink – The New York Times

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

We are becoming like all the other nations, the queen says in a moment of despair. We have unhappy prisoners, indifferent citizens and the young people refuse to reproduce.

Actually, the nation she rules with her husband, Roy, has just one of each of those things: one prisoner (a recent hostage, good at chess), one citizen (a doofus interested in pyrotechnics) and one young person (the 17-year-old prince, currently away on a mission).

Thats because Terra Firma, as the queen has named it, is a micronation: a self-declared kingdom located on an abandoned 6,000-square-foot antiaircraft platform six miles out to sea. It may not boast much land or populace, but it has a national anthem, a tatty flag, a centralized health service and a constitution if the queen could ever complete it.

Terra Firma, the play by Barbara Hammond about this country, likewise seems in need of more work. Ambitious and smart, it is not yet coherent, at least not in its world premiere, which opened on Thursday at the Baruch Performing Arts Center. Shifting from whimsical comedy to light satire to lumpy allegory, it quickly strips its gears and stops cold.

The whimsy, coming right at the start, proves especially deadly in Shana Coopers staging for a newly founded theater company called the Coop. Mild humor about the micronations pretensions to real statehood seems especially vaporous on the imposing set (by Andrew Boyce) and amid the foreboding ocean roar of Jane Shaws sound design. But at least the absurdity of the premise has a historical precedent: Terra Firma is based on a real place called Sealand, established in the late 1960s off the east coast of England.

The humans seem less precedented. As the citizen (John Keating) and Roy (Gerardo Rodriguez) hoist their hostage (Tom OKeefe) onto the platform and proceed to interrogate him, we might almost be watching a Three Stooges routine, except with less finesse. Clumsily handled as well is the back story: The citizen and Roy, believing that recent nearby explosions are the work of enemies bent on their destruction, are desperate to understand the danger theyre in.

That danger, we quickly understand from the scripts broad hints, is ecological. When the young prince (Daniel Molina) returns from his reconnaissance mission, he brings with him a sliver of a hedge to decorate the homeland; it is apparently the last piece of greenery left in the world. And when a weather-beaten diplomat (T. Ryder Smith) arrives to negotiate the hostage crisis, we learn that the reason he is the first to heed Terra Firmas calls for help delivered in bottles cast out to sea is that there may be no one else left to answer.

The queen, unwilling to credit such dire suspicions, doubles down on her queenliness. Because she is played by Andrus Nichols the marvelously grave Elinor in Kate Hamills Sense & Sensibility a character that could easily turn camp instead comes across as somehow both deluded and brave. Despite her stained blouse and paste tiara, she practices holding her right arm aloft whenever she appears, as if searching for the perfect salute to comfort a grateful people.

This pathos gets at what the play does best: It understands and in some way forgives human limitation. It fares less well when it attempts a critique of rulers who reject reality even if its a reality they helped create. A parallel is suggested between the characters pride and the disaster now engulfing them, as if Terra Firma were the industrialized West in miniature, unable to steer away from the brink of climate change. In an authors note, Hammond writes that she saw in the story of the real Sealand a metaphor for the human predicament.

But that comparison is under-drawn and illogical; a few people stuck on a massive steel life raft for several decades cannot have much to do with rising sea levels and whatever else is eating the rest of the world. The Terra Firmans arent nuclear physicists who built faulty reactors like the characters in Lucy Kirkwoods The Children, a much more sophisticated treatment of the same theme. Theyre refugees.

So, in a way, are the members of the Coop, recently formed as a kind of breakaway republic from another theater company, Bedlam. Terra Firma, the Coops inaugural production, matches its mission to stage plays that resonate with timeless themes and universal truths, but in this case resonance isnt enough.

Thats a problem built into the bloated mash-up of genres: Comedy is based on particularizing human behavior, but allegory is based on generalizing it. In trying to be both, and an ecological tragedy as well, Terra Firma pulls in too many directions. Though the cast especially Nichols, OKeefe and Smith is strong, and Cooper makes lovely stage pictures on the rusty platform, theres something thin and self-defeating about the resulting circular logic. Like most life raft stories, Terra Firma doesnt hold water.

Terra Firma

Tickets Through Nov. 10 at Baruch Performing Arts Center, Manhattan; 212-352-3101, thecoopnyc.org. Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes.

Review: In Terra Firma, a Wee Wet Country on the Brink - The New York Times

Appeal launched over refusal of plans to store cars and caravans on green barrier land in Sealand – Deeside.com

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

Published: Monday, Oct 14th, 2019

An appeal has been launched after plans for caravans and cars to be stored on an area of green barrier land in Deeside were refused.

A retrospective planning application was entered by Russell Brown earlier this year to gain permission to continue keeping vehicles at the back of a property known as Hyperion House on Deeside Lane in Sealand.

In documents submitted to Flintshire Council, Mr Brown said he had used the site for storing cars awaiting export from the UK for a number of years, as well as a place for people to leave their caravans during the winter.

However, the local authority turned down his bid to formally authorise the use of the land as it said it represented inappropriate development which would harm the openness of the area.

Officials also said he failed to carry out a flood consequences assessment, but Mr Brown has now launched an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate to try and have the decision overturned.

In the appeal forms, an agent acting on his behalf said the building the site sits next to had been used for industrial purposes for many years and the proposals would have a minimal impact.

Bob Dewey said:The development provides an opportunity to provide a beneficial use of a piece of underused brownfield land without causing any harm to the area.

The council simply relies on general reasons for refusal which are not supported by any reasonable evidence.

The site is located within an area of mixed industrial and commercial developments, some of which have planning permission.

To treat this site in a more draconic manner is unhelpful to the economic life of the community.

There seems little evidence in the decision of a reflective approach to the wider good of the area.

The appeal will be heard by an inspector appointed by the Welsh Government at a later date.

By Liam Randall Local Democracy Reporter (more here).

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Appeal launched over refusal of plans to store cars and caravans on green barrier land in Sealand - Deeside.com

Coleg Cambria volunteers clean-up streets and rivers of Deeside for community event – Deeside.com

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

Published: Wednesday, Oct 16th, 2019

Volunteers from Coleg Cambria took part in a clean-up of streets and rivers in north east Wales.

The Big Dee Day saw more than 50 work-based learning staff from the college spend hours tidying up areas of Deeside.

Focusing on the River Dee, they picked up litter, pulled up weeds and dragged plastic bottles and other items out of the water.

During two shifts, the volunteers spruced up parts of Saltney, Sandy Lane, Broughton and Sealand.

Their incredible efforts saw more than two kilometres of riverbank and cycle paths cleared, 40 bin bags filled and a new access route to Chester from Saltney opened.

Organised by Flintshire County Council, the Big Dee Day has been a key date in the calendar since 2007, covering the coastline and tributaries from Talacre to Chester, Llangollen and north Shropshire.

Cambrias Assistant Principal and Director of Employer Services Vicky Barwis said their team worked hard to make a difference on the day.

We do a lot of work in the community but wanted to increase that and theres no bigger project locally than this, said Ms Barwis.

The amount of litter and plastic we picked up over the course of the day was shocking, and highlights what a horrendous issue this is globally.

We would encourage more people to get involved and support the council and Flintshires Countryside Rangers in their fight to make the county greener and cleaner and are glad we could play a part in that.

It is estimated more than 12 million tonnes of plastic, from bottles and bags to microbeads end up in our oceans every year, and the River Dee, its estuary, riverbanks and marshes have the potential to capture a significant amount.

In Flintshire, hundreds of people take part in the Big Dee Day every year, working hard to clear rubbish from the river embankments and beaches, collecting hundreds of bags of litter as well as targeting special places along the River Dees banks, coast and catchment area.

Their efforts are coordinated by the Countryside Rangers, who take the opportunity to work with many community groups, schools and numerous businesses including Tesco, Airbus, Kingspan, ENI, and others.

Cllr Carolyn Thomas, Cabinet Member for Streetscene and Countryside Services, said: The River Dee and its estuary is a marine environment of regional, national and international importance and it is vital that we all understand the threats it faces from waste materials, particularly plastic, and what we can do to combat those threats.

The Big Dee Day is dedicated to highlighting the magnificent, but fragile marine environment of the River Dee and the need for it be respected, valued and protected.

Contact Flintshires Countryside Rangers on 01352 703900 or via social media (@Countryside&Coast) for further information.

For more information on Coleg Cambria, visit the website:www.cambria.ac.uk

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Coleg Cambria volunteers clean-up streets and rivers of Deeside for community event - Deeside.com

Despite the Modern Slavery Act, poor labour conditions are prevalent in the fast fashion industry – PoliticsHome.com

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

British people are Europes fast fashion addicts. Consumption of new clothing is estimated to be higher in the UK than any other European country, and manufacturers are in engaged in an unceasing floral-printed arms-race to satisfy that demand.

Earlier this year the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee (EAC)investigated the social and environmental impact of disposable fast fashion. For the fashion industry, the report was damning.

Describing the way that we make and use clothing as unsustainable, the report attracted headlines for its focus on the environmental damage caused by fashion that people perceive as disposable.

Companies like ASOS and Boohoo came under criticism for their focus on saving money in the production process rather than sustainability, but the undeniable truth is that they are simply responding to public demand. Last year Boohoo released a range of 5 dresses, and despite howls of anguish from campaigners and competitors, the range has proven immensely popular with the companys millennial target market.

Modern Slavery

The cost is more than just environmental, however. The EACs report emphasised that forced labour was still present in contemporary supply chains, expressing particular concern about the use of child labour and prison labour.

Arguably most concerning was the comparatively high awareness of poor labour conditions within garment-making the globalisation of production has also to led to an apparent globalisation of indifference. The forced labour within cotton production can be found in far-off Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, whereas Anti-Slavery International campaigner Kate Elsayed-Ali also highlighted the Sumangali system practiced in India to illustrate the often gendered nature of forced and child labour.

Tempting though it might be, however, to dismiss modern slavery as an overseas problem, to do so would grossly mischaracterise the situation.

A Made in the UK label may assuage the worries of concerned consumers, but the Committee noted the open secret that there were British factories paying wages well below the legal level. Leicester has the dubious honour of being Britains fast fashion capital, with a number of garment factories paying staff well below the minimum wage, often in illegally sub-standard working conditions.

The fact that such practices have a presence in the UK may surprise some observers. The much-vaunted Modern Slavery Act contains a clause relating directly to transparency in supply chains; businesses with a turnover of more than 36m required to produce a statement setting out the steps the organisation has taken to ensure that modern slavery is not taking place in their business or supply chain.

The Government believes that this is sufficient, claiming that the Act has increased transparency in supply chains. However, concerns have been raised by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that the Government does not monitor whether statements made under the Modern Slavery Act comply with the legislation and the Government has never used its powers to penalise companies that do not comply.

Compliance is far from universal - research at Leeds University identified 24 leading retailers, including Foot Locker and Valentino, who are non-compliant with the Modern Slavery Act by not making available their modern slavery statements as of December 2018.

Governmental Response So Far

Despite the EACs damning conclusions, May this year saw the Government respond with comparative indifference. They rejected each of the reports recommendations, pointing out their commitment to the rising minimum wage and the actions of the 2015 Modern Slavery Act.

On the topic of public procurement, the official response to the report highlighted that bidders for Government contracts are now required to show their compliance and the Government believes these measures are sufficient to root out Modern Slavery within the context of public contracts.

Behavioural change was another area in which the Government claimed to be acting proportionately. They noted a series of events held in the UK to boost environmental awareness and insisted that children were educated on the topic of sustainability throughout their school lives.

Chair of the Committee Mary Creagh was withering in her criticism of the Government response, claiming that Ministers had failed to acknowledge the severity and urgency of the environmental crisis. She repeated her calls for greater transparency within the supply chains of big fashion companies and accused some of them of flouting the 2015 Modern Slavery Act.

The Future Direction of Policy

Of course, much has changed since the summer, with a new Prime Minister, a new Cabinet and a new set of political priorities. The Government has responded to growing public concerns about the climate crisis by emphasising their environmental record but have, so far, remained comparatively reticent in the area of sustainable fashion.

More action has been seen in combatting low domestic wages - over Conference season, the Chancellor Sajid Javid announced a dramatic increase in the minimum wage, taking it to two-thirds of median earnings by April 2024, for all workers aged 21 and over.

However, campaigners have warned that this may prove ineffectual in the case of fashion supply chains, due to the disproportionately globalised nature of the work force and the fact that some British factories have been flatly ignoring the existing rules for many years.

Only four years after the landmark Modern Slavery Act, there remains a clear prevalence of unsustainable environmental and social practices in the sector. Ultimately, this is unlikely to change dramatically until it becomes politically expedient for it to move up the agenda, and, given the overwhelming sense of indifference towards the issue amongst the general public, this seems a long way away.

If your organisation needs to keep abreast of political and policy developments, Dods Monitoring can offer intelligence to keep you one step ahead. Find our more HERE.

ITUC: ‘Qatar is changing’ with the abolition of the kafala system – Morning Star Online

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

QATAR claimed to abolish their vile modern slavery kafala system today and announced a new evidence-based minimum wage law from January 2020.

The bloodstained Gulf state won the right to stage the 2022 World Cup in a controversial vote by footballs governing body Fifa during December 2010.

In the wake of delivering the successful bid for international footballs showpiece event, there was increased scrutiny over Qatars diabolical labour laws governing the estimated two million migrant workers who have been exploited while building the infrastructure.

Despite numerous broken promises from the Qatari government to improve matters within the small, but oil-and-gas-rich, country, nothing was done.

Last month, human rights organisation Amnesty International published a 52-page report, titled All Work, No Pay: The Struggle of Qatars Migrant Workers For Justice, which points out that the pledges have not yet been matched by reality.

However, yesterdays announcement to end the kafala system, a sytem of virtual enslavement under which their ability to leave the country or change job is entirely at the whim of their employer, saw International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) general secretary Sharan Burrow declare that Qatar is changing.

Exit visas for workers including domestic workers, those in government and public institutions, and workers employed at sea, in agriculture as well as casual workers have been eliminated and these workers finally have the same rights as all workers in Qatar. The same non-discriminatory law will apply for all workers including domestic workers.

From the start of next year, a new evidence-based minimum wage law that applies to all nationalities is established.

The abolitionof the no objection certificates (NOC) will also allow workers to change their jobs without the permission of their employer, following normal contractual commitments.

Qatar is changing, said Burrow. The new tranche of laws will bring an end to the kafala system of modern slavery: exit visas for all workers including domestic workers eliminated; a system of contracts that are transparent and labour courts to enforce them; the end to permission to leave a job, with criteria equivalent to any modern industrial relations system; and a government fund to ensure workers are not disadvantaged by exploitative employers, while the state pursues recovery of entitlements.

We recognise that an evidence-based minimum wage, the first of its kind in the Middle East, will be a major improvement for workers, and will guarantee a minimum level of protection. We urge the government to announce the new rate as quickly as possible.

Workers want to work in the Gulf states, they want to support their families at home, but they also want decent work where they are treated fairly and with dignity and respect. While we witness the changes in Qatar, sadly this is not the case in neighbouring countries where migrant workers are still treated as less than human with few rights and freedoms.

The reforms need to become embedded in employment practice and strong legal compliance. But the partnership between the Qatar government and the ILO supported by the ITUC is working to change lives to change a nation.

The new laws will be submitted to the Advisory (Shura) Council in November and come into effect on January 1 2020.

The programme of reforms ispart of a three-year technical co-operation agreement with the International Labour Organisation. A review of the agreement will be reported to the ILO Governing Body in November.

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ITUC: 'Qatar is changing' with the abolition of the kafala system - Morning Star Online

From the Pages of Orlando Weekly: Central Florida’s hotels and restaurants are the chief reason Orlando consistently has the lowest median income of…

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

Were going to revisit a topic from last weeks commentary because its of vital importance. Last week, we told you how the president of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, Carol Dover, decried the words of attorney John Morgan, who compared Floridas minimum wage to slave wages.

While Morgan is no pauper, its important to note that Dover, whose response diverted attention with empty words about slavery and human trafficking, herself is paid more than $620,000 a year for her job.

As has been widely reported year after year, Central Floridas hotels and restaurants are the chief reason Orlando consistently has the lowest median income of all major metros in the U.S.

Restaurants, at the behest of organizations like Dovers and lobbyists for hotel and service industries, pay servers as low as $5.44 per hour, not the $8.46 minimum other employers pay, because restaurants are allowed to let servers tips make up the remaining $3.02 an hour.

While tips are an unstable source of income that only serves to keep menu prices low for restaurant owners, working as a lobbyist to keep restaurant employees pay as low as possible is one of the very best ways to get rich in Florida.

From the Pages of Orlando Weekly: Central Florida's hotels and restaurants are the chief reason Orlando consistently has the lowest median income of...

Human trafficking is happening on our doorstep, says head of Sheffield anti-slavery charity – Yorkshire Post

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

Friday is Anti-Slavery Day but modern-day slavery is still destroying lives. Grace Hammond speaks to a victim and the charity trying to help her.

Sharon endured the ultimate betrayal. She was enticed to the UK with false promises, then manipulated into a life of slavery by a member of her own family. She came to the Yorkshire and Humber area from Ghana with dreams of becoming an accountant.

My country is beautiful but there are no opportunities for anyone and there is corruption, says Sharon, not her real name, who is now 27. I wanted to be an accountant. I managed to study for an accountancy diploma. But there was no chance of getting any further. I was sat at home, helping my mum and feeling Id just wasted three years of study.

When my cousin, who was living in the UK, told me about her successful life, and promised to help me to get into college near her, I was really excited.

She said I could stay with her and her family and offered to organise my visa and pay for my flight. People will say this sounded too good to be true but I had known her all my life; I trusted her totally.

Sharon moved into her cousins home. She was given a mattress on the floor in the childrens bedroom, but she was told she would need to wait until September to start college, and asked to work in her cousins business in the meantime.

I didnt mind. I felt it was the least I could do to repay her for her kindness, she says. I worked six days a week until late each day, without receiving a penny. I felt very grateful to them. I didnt want to make a fuss. But then I was asked to do the household chores on top of my job, and take the children to school. Without realising it, I had become the familys unpaid servant and totally dependent on them. I would have liked to go out to make friends, but without money it was impossible. I think that was the plan to isolate me. I became less and less confident.

When the cousins business collapsed, there was no escape for Sharon. She was given false identity papers and a job was found for her.

I didnt have a say in it. They told me I needed to do it to pay for my college course, and living expenses while I studied. I could see their point so went along with it. Around her household duties, she worked in a clothing warehouse. She has no idea how much she was earning, her wages went straight into her cousins bank account.

She told me she was saving the money for me. But whenever I asked about applying for my college place, she would tell me I wasnt ready. My English wasnt good enough, I needed to be more settled here. There was always a reason. I had worked at the warehouse for over a year when I asked my cousin how much had been saved for me and where the money was. She got very angry and said I owed her money for the paperwork, my airfare and my room in her house. She always made me feel I should be grateful to her.

Eventually Sharon confided in a friend at the factory, who helped her to get her payment details changed at the warehouse. That meant she would receive her next wage. It would give her the means to escape from her cousin.

I was really frightened; I knew as soon as my wages didnt drop into her account she would realise what I had done. I sneaked out of her house and went to stay with my work friend.

Sure enough, the cousin came to the warehouse and confronted Sharon, then told factory bosses and the police that it was Sharon who had acted fraudulently.

She said I had stolen her documents and identity. My manager called the police and I was put in a cell overnight. They were more interested in the fact that I only had a visitors visa which had expired and reported me to immigration authorities.

A document of deportation was issued and I was terrified. I told them I was the victim and wanted to claim asylum.

As soon as the police released her, she went to ground. With no income and no home, she slept on the sofas of her former workmates for two years.

Eventually she met a man and moved into his home. She told him about her cousin and he took her to a lawyer, who contacted immigration services.

I gave them as much information as I could. I told them my cousin had received all of my wages for over a year.

At an initial assessment for claiming asylum, it was decided there were reasonable grounds to identify Sharon as a victim of human trafficking and was referred into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) the system by which victims of modern slavery are identified and provided with support. She was given the Salvation Armys specialist support for victims of modern slavery. By this time she had a daughter and her relationship had broken down. The Home Office found them an apartment. I had a place no one could kick me out of. I felt safe.

The Salvation Army introduced Sharon to the Sheffield charity City Hearts. Her City Hearts caseworker gave her emotional support and counselling. She was putin touch with support services for refugees and asylum seekers and a church, where she made friends. Because she is recognised as a potential victim, she is allowed to stay in the UK pending a verdict on her status. It should take 47 days she has been waiting since 2017. She is not allowed to work but has enrolled at catering college and hopes to become a cook. She lives off a weekly allowance of 37.75 from the National Asylum Seeker Service and a temporary additional amount of 27.25 from the NRM.

Amy Harrison, senior anti- human trafficking caseworker at City Hearts, says: Sharon is stuck in the system somewhere and while she waits in limbo, we are supporting her. She is working towards a future, but where that future will be is unknown.

CEO of Sheffield charity City Hearts, Ed Newton, said: People should not imagine trafficking only exists in major cities like London. It is happening right now, on our doorsteps, in Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster.

According to the charity, latest statistics indicate there are as many as 136,000 modern-day slaves in the UK.

Founded in Sheffield 14 years ago, City Hearts aims to restore the lives of people rescued from trafficking and modern slavery. Nationally recognised for its work with over 2,000 survivors in the last five years, the organisation has grown dramatically to cope with the explosion in trafficking in 2018 6,993 were referred into the National Referral Mechanism, a 36 per cent rise from 2017.

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Human trafficking is happening on our doorstep, says head of Sheffield anti-slavery charity - Yorkshire Post

Car washes in Bexhill, Northiam and Robertsbridge issued warnings over treatment of staff – Bexhill Observer

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

Operators of five car washes in Rother have been warned over failures in how they treat their staff, according to a council spokesman.

Inspections by Rother District Council (RDC) found all of them were failing to comply with health and safety legislation or to pay their workers the minimum wage.

Breaches included failure to provide basic safety equipment such as appropriate safety footwear, waterproof clothing and basic eye protection for mixing chemicals, and failure to carry out risk assessments.

The council is highlighting the issue to coincide with Anti-Slavery Day on Friday (October 18), a national initiative aimed at raising awareness of modern slavery and human trafficking.

Cllr Jay Brewerton, district council cabinet member for safer communities, said: People may not realise that modern slavery encompasses exploiting workers by failing to treat them in accordance with the law.

The people who wash our cars work incredibly hard for very long hours and are entitled to receive at least the minimum wage and to be given appropriate workwear to enable them to do their job safely.

Anti-Slavery Day is a good opportunity to highlight this issue and to send a clear message to employers who flout the law and mistreat their staff that well use all powers available to us to ensure they comply.

The council has powers to issue Community Protection Notices (CPNs) to businesses and individuals responsible for persistent unreasonable behaviour that has a negative impact on workers quality of life.

Warning letters a precursor to a formal CPN were issued to operators of five car washes in Rother. These were Dazzle Hand Car Wash and Valeting Service in Terminus Road, Bexhill; Victoria Car Wash in Victoria Road, Bexhill; Johns Cross Hand Car Wash in Battle Road, Robertsbridge; A21 Car Wash in London Road, Hurst Green; and Unigate Car Wash in Station Road, Northiam.

Unigate Car Wash in Northiam has subsequently been issued with a full CPN for failing to comply with the requirements of the warning letter.

Businesses which fail to comply with a CPN are issued with a fixed penalty notice and if they fail to pay can be prosecuted in magistrates court, where a fine of up to 20,000 can be issued.

Modern slavery includes a wide range of abuse and exploitation including sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, forced labour, criminal exploitation and organ harvesting.

More information about modern slavery and how to report it is at http://socsi.in/TidxC.

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Car washes in Bexhill, Northiam and Robertsbridge issued warnings over treatment of staff - Bexhill Observer

Regina King on fighting white supremacists in Watchmen: ‘My community is living this story’ – The Guardian

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

Regina King had a hard time convincing some of her friends about Watchmen, her new HBO series inspired by the DC comic book of the same name and featuring the kind of details that make some people run for the exits: time travel, kung-fu fighting, masks and thinly veiled political allegory. Girl, dont do this, said one friend. King could only smile and agree.

But we would all do well to watch King in anything. At 48, she is in her prime. While filming Watchmen, King won the best supporting actress Oscar for If Beale Street Could Talk, based on the James Baldwin novel. For years, she has been turning out quietly devastating portraits in the movies Jerry Maguire and Ray, in the TV show Southland with little public recognition. Now she has her pick of roles. I appreciate winning the Oscar, she says, but thats not the ultimate goal. I should be able to use it as currency moving forward.

King was not familiar with the original Watchmen material, nor the 2009 Zack Snyder movie (her 23-year-old son Ian is more excited about this role than any of Kings previous parts). But once she read the script, she was enthused. In Damon Lindelofs adaptation, the tales 1950s cold-war storyline is spun into a look at the rise of a white supremacist group in a parallel US. King plays Angela Abar, a cop with superhuman fighting skills and an amazing French Lieutenants Woman-style cape: not the kind of part she usually gets.

King, who in a New York hotel room is slight and smiling, powers through the series like a wrecking ball. She tuned into the fantasy landscape pretty quickly, even quibbling with wardrobe over the practicality of each costume. Originally, her mask was so cumbersome it seemed to defy even the tenuous reality of a comic-book tale. I was like, This is not good for the superhero peripheral! I cant see if somethings coming you have to tell me! So our wardrobe designer had a great idea: what if it was painted on? It was hell on her skin, but its dynamite on screen.

Lindelof was co-creator of Lost and the recent HBO hit The Leftovers. Watchmen has that same compelling narrative, the story of men with bamboo torches trying to eliminate black people. In the current climate, this parallel America feels very like the real thing. One of Lindelofs triggers, says King, was Ta-Nehisi Coatess 2014 article for the Atlantic, The Case for Reparations, addressing the unacknowledged fall-out from slavery. She also cites the way policing is happening here in the States with, particularly, black men.

To this end, Watchmen is, oddly, of a piece with Beale Street, Baldwins expos of the split-screen reality in the US between white people and people of colour although Watchmen doesnt seem expressly political to King. With a laugh, she says: Being black, its part of my life. Whats happened is that Trump has just emboldened people. They were always there, feeling the way theyve been feeling, but now, oh my gosh. There are a lot of people white friends I have who have had this wedge in their families. They knew maybe a family member was a little less progressive, but whoa! Now theyre finding out their views were so far apart.

Trump has just emboldened people. They were always there, feeling the way theyve been feeling, but now, oh my gosh

Meanwhile, the idea of white supremacy as a guerrilla force is not exactly fantastical, given the extent such militias play in US history. Its easy to pretend that something didnt exist if youre not talking about it, says King. Within our community, yes, were talking about it all the time, because were living it generation to generation. But for a lot of white Americans, ignorance is bliss. For them.

King grew up in California, and wanted to be a dentist. This was not a passing phase. She loved going to her dentist so much, it seemed for many years to be the only possible career path. I would always hear horror stories about the dentist, but not mine. His dental assistant was his wife, Babe, and she had this white hair that looked like cotton candy. I always looked forward to going. Id floss to impress him. He made the experience fun. He made me understand how important your periodontal situation is. She bursts out laughing. He had a great set of teeth and Babe had a great set of teeth! So whenever I would see people without a great set of teeth Id be like, Ew!

Dont ever live in Britain, I say. Yeah, I know. Again she hoots with laughter. Not a lot of good teeth there.

King had acted in school, but it wasnt until she got to theUniversity of Southern California that it became clear to her not only that dental work wasnt in her future, but that what she should do was drop out to act. It amazes her now that she made this decision with no information to back it up. She simply knew it was the right thing to do, a strong intuition foreshadowing a steeliness that would become apparent 30 years later in her most famous roles. Her parents werent happy. My mom is a teacher and showed her disappointment, she says, but not enough that it made me decide to go back.

She was so young and inexperienced that for years, in roles she took in movies such as Boyz N the Hood and Mighty Joe Young, she had no idea of pay scale, or whether she was receiving a fair income relative to others on set. I wasnt focused on that, she says. It wasnt until I was in my 30s that I even stopped to consider the wage gap. It was something as simple as hearing a male actor say something either about his per diem, or something else and I was like, Wait! Hold up my part is way bigger than yours. No one talked about it in the early days? Well, things have been designed so that we dont.

King has been a supporter of Times Up, the campaign to equalise pay and conditions for women in Hollywood. Thats why this is a pretty exciting time. If Im blessed enough to have a granddaughter, shell come in knowing this is how its going to be. I feel like its diminishing it by calling it a movement. Its witnessing a shift, a life change. Thats how I look at it.

Its hard to convince people there is an audience that wants quiet stories

Crucially, she says, expectations have changed: theres a suspicion that, just as sexual harassment will come back to bite you, so will pay differences. No one wants their filthy past, their dirty little secret, to come out. A lot of people in these positions of power white men dont even realise it was a problem, or something you should feel embarrassed about.

King is glad she had a lot of solid success before she won the Oscar, playing supporting roles in big movies. Ive heard people say, Oh, you were robbed with Jerry Maguire, or Ray. But I dont think I wouldve had an appreciation for the art, in the way I do, if it had happened earlier.

Beale Street was a different experience. Oh, gosh, says King, who found it so personal that talking about it still makes her emotional. Astonishingly, it was the first movie adaptation of a Baldwin novel, a film that remained a quiet, literary piece despite the starriness of its cast and of its director, Barry Jenkins, fresh from his Oscar win for Moonlight the previous year. For King, who played Sharon Rivers, the mother of a young woman whose fiance is wrongly imprisoned for rape, it was everything: a love story, an indictment of the criminal justice system, and part of the vast, untold history of black life in the US. Were in a time when film is so loud and the audience is looking for shocking. Its hard to convince people that there is an audience out there that wants quiet stories.

Being in her 40s, she says, brings a confidence to go against the grain. She has started her own production company, vowing to staff all her projects with a minimum of 50% women. King wonders if she should have kept quiet about that, since she now gets asked about it every five minutes and she has hardly hired anybody yet. But at the end of the day, its holding my feet to the fire.

So does she feel in her prime? For the most part, body-wise, I dont feel different than when I was in my 20s, she says. Only when I hurt something, because it takes so long to get back. But the wisdom and regard for whats important is different now. In my 20s, that I-dont-give-a-fuck attitude is great. It helps you go out on a ledge and let your feet dangle down and not even think about it.

Still, it is nothing compared with the thrill of having better judgment: Being in your 40s and having the wherewithal to know, Yeah, maybe not that ledge. She roars with laughter.

Watchmen is on HBO in the US from 20 October and on Sky Atlantic and Now TV in the UK from 21 October.

Deliveroo riders boycott Wagamama amid pay concerns – The Tab

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Danzig

Theres a very good reason you couldnt get your Katsu curry last week

Last week, around 80 Deliveroo riders refused to take orders from Wagamama on the Triangle and at Cabot, amid concerns about pay.

According to the organiser of the strike, Joseph Nunes, 43, riders can wait up to 25 minutes in a Wagamama restaurant while they prepare the food.

The wasted (and unpaid) time means that riders can do significantly fewer trips.

We all dread the waiting time at Wagamama. Its not fair on the riders. Nunes told The Bristol Post.

While the minimum wage for an over-25 is 8.21, Nunes claims to make 6 per hour when you factor in petrol costs, moped maintenance and insurance. He described his working conditions as similar to slavery.

The strike occurred on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of last week, following a 100-strong strike concerning pay that occurred on 21st of September.

A spokesperson for Deliveroo said: Deliveroo works closely with our restaurant partners and the riders we work with to make sure we have an efficient and reliable service.

Deliveroo has recently made changes to rider fees so riders are paid more for longer distance deliveries and wait times at restaurants are taken into consideration when calculating how much riders are paid.

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Deliveroo riders boycott Wagamama amid pay concerns - The Tab

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