WHO Releases Full Report On Evolution Of Global Public Health Since 2007 Kaiser Family Foundation 'Ten years in public health 2007-2017' chronicles the evolution of global public health during the tenure of Dr. [Margaret] Chan, WHO director general. This series of chapters evaluates successes, setbacks, and enduring challenges during her ... |
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WHO Releases Full Report On Evolution Of Global Public Health Since 2007 - Kaiser Family Foundation
Underlying much of American life and politics is an unshakeable faith in Darwinian evolution. Almost 60 percent of us mistake this theory for fact and, watching Congress, who can doubt that politicians at least are descended from apes? No wonder most Americans regard evolution as the basis of all modern biological science, supported by everything we know about geology, genetics, paleontology, and other fields and extol its importance as a unifying concept in science and its overall explanatory power. Even those who consider themselves Christians like their Bible diluted with Darwin: Half of Americans believe humans evolved, with the majority of these saying God guided the evolutionary process.
The assumption that our ancestor crawled out of primordial sludge pervades everything from health to entertainment. Our taxes pay to indoctrinate students with evolutionary theory while lobbyists insist its the only permissible explanation of our origins. Occasionally, schools also present creationism, but this doesnt necessarily refer to the account in Genesis: Mentioning a deity in any way while discussing mankinds birth apparently turns the topic creationist. No doubt even the most profane teacher avoids taking the Lords name in vain when inculcating Darwinism.
Yet evolution and the Biblical report of Gods creation are actually two sides of the same coin. Both require belief or what we commonly call religious faith since no human eyes saw the advent of man. Just as preachers tell their flocks that God created the heavens and earth, so evolutionists tell theirs that natural processes did. But sheep from neither fold can observe humanitys arrival to confirm the accuracy of these statements.
And observation is essential. The dictionary defines science as a systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation. Ergo, water boiling at 212 degrees Fahrenheit is a scientific fact. We can verify it by observation; we can experiment to see whether it boils at lower temperatures and demonstrate that it does not. But [t]he central ideas of evolution that life has a history it has changed over time and that different species share common ancestors is an opinion. Nor can we verify it because no one has observed millions of years of changes.
That misfortune compels evolutionists to extrapolate backwards from evidence they see in the natural world. But their reckonings could be as false as those of the global-warming nuts (note that the idea of climate change relies on studying current phenomena as well as historical data and yet proponents still argue about whats accurate and true. How much more unobservable events that lie entirely in the past?) Yes, the scientists screaming about rising temperatures had political incentive to do so. But so do evolutionists. They are hardly the disinterested pursuers of Truth that they fancy themselves; like anyone else, they cling to their opinions and prejudices.
And they rabidly defend both especially when Christians find strong proof for direct creation by God in the very data that supposedly upholds Darwins theory. Astoundingly, critics who refuse to acknowledge evolutionists preconceptions dismiss Christian interpretation of evidence because of bias! Such blatant double standards should sicken anyone sincerely interested in the truth.
Evolution, then, is no more than a religion masquerading as science. And since our era worships science, too many folks swallow whatever evolutionists say. They buy the bizarre idea that an infinitely intricate world evolved with no Designer while laughing at the gullible peons who ascribed to Roman Catholic dogma during the Middle Ages. What ironic hypocrisy!
Christianity and Darwinism share another characteristic: They answer mans most fundamental questions. How did the world come to exist, and what is mans place in it? Is there a god? Whats the meaning of life? The two faiths differ only in their answers chillingly so.
If eons of time and fortuitous chance produced the universe and life itself, we need no Creator. And the Book that claims to be His inspired Word is obviously false from its very first words: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Only fools would believe anything that follows such a whopper. There is no heaven or hell, no final judgment of our sins or salvation from them, no Creator who fashioned man in His image. Life is mere happenstance, not a divine gift that no man may arbitrarily end and when the strong kill those who are weaker or inconvenient, they do so without fear of eternal damnation. Likewise with our liberty: We have no rights, inalienable or otherwise, because no Creator endowed us with them.
Its no accident that historys most brutal regimes have espoused Darwinian evolution. Indeed, communisms authors embraced the philosophy precisely because it rejected God: Marx and Engels accepted evolution almost immediately after Darwin published The Origin of Species. Evolution, of course, was just what the founders of communism needed to explain how mankind could have come into being without the intervention of any supernatural force, and consequently it could be used to bolster the foundations of their materialistic philosophy. Should it surprise anyone, then, that communist governments massacre and torture millions? (Some of that blood lust is due to the nature of the State; non-communist and even Christian governments persecute and murder as well. But arming politicians with communism is like handing a serial killer hundreds of fully loaded machine guns rather than a penknife.)
Hitler and the Nazis endorsed Darwins ideas, too, particularly survival of the fittest and the justice of a superior races dominating inferior ones. Under such reasoning, butchery went from unspeakably heinous to justifiable: The Nazis alleged that their racial hygiene benefited not only Germany but humanity.
As Americans increasingly join the First Church of Darwin, theyre unlikely to resist the evils evolutionary theory brings in its wake. We already murder unwanted babies and the elderly; American governments at all levels destroy rather than protect our rights.
But perhaps evolutionists themselves will save us. After all, they continue insisting that religion has no place in the public square. We simply have to hold them to that creed.
Becky Akers
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TechCrunch | Hear from top robotics educators at TC Sessions: Robotics TechCrunch TechCrunch Sessions: Robotics will feature the industry's best roboticists, technologists and investors. But what about the next generation? We've enlisted the help of three amazing educators at the forefront of STEM education who will lay out their ... |
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Hear from top robotics educators at TC Sessions: Robotics - TechCrunch
Kortny Hahn Staff Writer, @khahnCDT @khahnCDT
INDIAN RIVER- After doing very well at its last competition of the year, the Inland Lakes Schools FIRST Robotics team put on a demonstration of what their robot could do for the board of education.
They did really, really well this year, so they wanted to come down and make sure they kind of show it off a little bit, said Inland Lakes teacher and robotics adviser Kelly LaPeer.
The team competed in two different competitions this year, one in Gaylord and one in Traverse City. They didn't do so well at the Gaylord competition due to several software issues and an electrical issue.
Once they got that worked out, there was no stopping them. They just took off and did really well the rest of that competition, said LaPeer. But they had gotten themselves in such a hole that Gaylord didn't work out real great.
When the team got ready for its Traverse City competition, they made sure they had all of the changes made and everything was ready to go, just the way they wanted it. At that competition, they took off out of the gate and did very well in each of the matches.
The team had the high score of the day and ended up being the team with the highest number of points at the end of the qualifying rounds. They were second after the qualifying rounds overall.
It's a different kind of sporting event,said LaPeer. It's always more fun when you're doing well.
The theme of the competition was Steamworks, all designed around the use of steam for power. The robot had to be able to put balls into a container, to store the fuel and build up pressure. The number of balls it takes to achieve this pressure is based on the high or low efficiency goal of the team. It also needed to be able to get the rotors turning by placing gears on a peg. Once the gear train is complete, they turn the crank to start the rotor and get that turning.
At the end of the match, the robots needed to attach themselves to the team's airship by climbing the rope and signaling they are ready for takeoff.
Two of the robotics team members accompanied LaPeer to the school board meeting, Anna Beardsley, a junior, and Luke Passino, a senior, who is going on to Lake Superior State University to study robotics and electrical engineering.
The school board was shown several videos taken at the competition that had been posted online. After watching the videos, they were able to go into the hallway, where Passino was driving the robot around and Beardsley was explaining the different components of the machine they had built.
Each joystick drives one side of the robot, said Beardsley. The front wheels don't have any motors on them so it allows it to turn like it does.
The robot also has a camera mounted on the body, which is connected wirelessly to a computer. Although there is a little bit of a delay between the robot and the computer, the driver is still able to see what is happening and what the robot sees. This helped when putting the gears on the pillars and collecting the fuel at the competition.
Passino also demonstrated how the robot was able to climb the rope at the end of the competition, after they were able to get all of the rotors moving.
School Board Vice President Carolyn Sackett said it was really great to be able to see the robot up close and personal during the demonstration because at the competitions, you don't really get to have a feel for the size of the robot.
The robot used at the competition was completely built by the students in the robotics program at Inland Lakes. They were able to fabricate many of the parts used on the robot and were able to find out what worked and what didn't through trial and error, as well as following the many regulations placed on the machines.
Overall, the robot weighed 96 pounds and was one of the lightest robots in the competition.
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FIRST Robotics team puts on demonstration for school board - Cheboygan Daily Tribune
Google parent Alphabet Inc. GOOGL, -2.55% will sell robotics companies Boston Dynamics and Schaft to SoftBank Group Corp. 9984, +7.43% the Japanese tech giant announced late Thursday. Alphabet had reportedly been shopping Boston Dynamics, which it bought in 2013, for about a year. A price was not announced. Boston Dynamics is known for its humanoid and animal-like robots, which often became the subject of viral videos. "We at Boston Dynamics are excited to be part of SoftBank's bold vision and its position creating the next technology revolution, and we share SoftBank's belief that advances in technology should be for the benefit of humanity," Boston Dynamics CEO Marc Raibert said in a statement. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son welcomed the company into his fold with a statement of his own: "Today, there are many issues we still cannot solve by ourselves with human capabilities. . . . Smart robotics are going to be a key driver of the next stage of the Information Revolution, and Marc and his team at Boston Dynamics are the clear technology leaders in advanced dynamic robots." Japan-based Schaft specializes in bipedal robots, and was also bought by Google in 2013. SoftBank has long been a leader in robotics, and created the helper robot Pepper.
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SoftBank buys robotics firms Boston Dynamics, Schaft from Alphabet - MarketWatch
Forbes | Hotels Of The Future Will Rely Heavily On AI And Robotics Forbes Answer by Ayush Sharma, MS Robotics, Northwestern University, on Quora: I can envision a lot of roles that might seem ridiculous now but might become completely possible in the future of the hotel industry. These are just some that come to the top of ... |
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Hotels Of The Future Will Rely Heavily On AI And Robotics - Forbes
TechCrunch | Robots' role in humanity to be a core topic at TechCrunch Sessions: Robotics TechCrunch At least since Isaac Asimov posited the Three Law of Robotics, many have wondered whether robots would ultimately help or harm humanity. Or maybe do a little of both. Humanity still has time to shape the answer to that question, and we're pleased to ... |
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Robots' role in humanity to be a core topic at TechCrunch Sessions: Robotics - TechCrunch
What a disaster for Mrs. May. From a majority to a hung parliament. The pound reacted dreadfully on the exit poll, leading to a loss of approximately 200 ticks finding an initial base at 1.2700.
This analysis is for slightly longer term positioning and as of next week I will resume uploading intraweek trades that I shall be taking, well in advance of entry.
So, we are currently quite muted going into the weekend. I do not expect anything hugely drastic since May has said that she is not going to resign and is likely to form a minority government with the DUP.
You can see from the chart above that the support created from spiral has been breached. Instantly when I saw the drop after the exit poll last night it was a classic 'break of the ice' - a low volume fall through support or resistance in a topping or bottoming pattern. Price faces some resistance early morning (red line) and I was building a short position in my head from then.
Don't get me wrong - longer term, I am bullish cable. I think that in 12-18 months we will regain 1.40 (I have the same opinion on EURUSD if you note my previous article) but I believe that these markets really do enjoy shaking out positions. This is why I have notes the downside zones and the key price level for me is 1.2350/40. This is where I am looking to target. Why? Well my old friend COT positioning on sterling comes to mind.
We can see from the COT data that sterling non commercial positioning long has increased drastically over the last month or so. This uncertainty from political weakness gives a certain viability to traders wanting to hold sterling longs, and it's likely that CHFGBP and JPYGBP will see flows into them short term. This would indicate a fall in price and a cascade of stops pretty quickly. Interestingly, looking at CME options, 1.23 has the highest volume currently. I'm going to be honest and say that I am not an options guy so I don't know the ins and outs, but it seems pertinent so it's something that I'd mention (and if someone wants to give me any lessons on options trading I would be most open to it!).
The upside risk is of course still there. If we have a break above 1.3025 then I'll scratch the trade (where my stop will be) because that we will likely form key support at the high of the late April - current range (similar to how we are forming resistance at the low of the range currently).
So the trade -
Short at market sub 1.2850 (next week)
Stop at 1.3025
Target of 1.24/2350 (the latter if you feel it will extend fully through demand)
Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, but may initiate a short position in GBPUSD over the next 72 hours.
I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
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Cable: Where Are We Headed After This Political Meltdown? - Seeking Alpha
Mariana Mendes has a striking facial birthmark , and she absolutely loves it.
When Mendes was born with a large birthmark stretching over her nose, right cheek, and forehead, her mother worried she would get bullied as she grew older. And when Mendes was 5 years old, her mother looked into laser procedures to remove the birthmark . After attending just three laser sessions, Mendes decided to stop the procedures. Now, Mendes, 24, tells SELF she can't imagine herself without her birthmark. "[I] wouldn't be the same."
Mendes says she's never felt insecure about her facial birthmark. Sure, she's gotten stares and weird looks from passersby. She's faced Instagram trolls who've told her that her birthmark is ugly or strange. She's even had to explain to people that her birthmark is, in fact, realit isn't tattooed on or applied with makeup. But Mendes really doesn't mind. "You have to be the person you love most in life, [so] I've always accepted myself as I am," she says. "Your opinion of you is what should be important."
Mendes explains that she's become kind of immune to criticism over the years. She's spent so much time dealing with what other people think about her appearance, that at a certain point, she just stopped caring. She loves her birthmark, and if someone has something to say about it, that's their problemnot hers. And she hopes to help others feel as confident when it comes to their own so-called "imperfections." That's why she's always uploading new pictures of herself to Instagramshe wants to help her followers see that their unique characteristics are what make them truly beautiful. "Everyone should feel happy," she says.
Mendes (follow her at @melzitahh ) uploads a new photo every day for her 10,700 Instagram followers. In each one, she's modeling her birthmark or otherwise enjoying life. "I want to encourage people not to criticize anyone," she says. "No physical characteristic should be criticized, because we're all different...The moment everyone is feeling good, we'll have a society with more happiness and love."
See some of Mariana Mendes' Instagrams below.
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You might also like: This Body-Positivity Clothing Line Will Change How You Think About Wedding Dresses
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I Don't Care What You Think, I Love My Facial Birthmark - SELF
Jaunt co-produced "Invisible," a six-part supernatural drama series created by "The Bourne Identity" director Doug Liman's 30 Ninjas company that premiered on Samsung's VR service before being shown on Jaunt's VR app, YouTube, Facebook and co-producer Conde Nast's "The Scene" digital video platform. "Invisible" tells the story of a powerful New York family with the supernatural ability to make themselves invisible.
In January, Jaunt announced a slate of five new series to be produced at its 10,000-square-foot Santa Monica, California, studio, including a six-part stoner comedy series "Bad Trip" and a series based on the 1992 cult horror movie "The Lawnmower Man." Klaivkoff won't say when the shows will be making their debut.
The company is also building out the distribution network for VR content with commercial-like programming, like the Land Rover video, that it makes for companies that want to use virtual reality video to promote their products. Jaunt has made videos for more than 50 "brands," the company says, including those for Budweiser, Google and Mattel.
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The company made a four-minute VR short starring Danny DeVito and other cast members of the FX sitcom "Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia," which took viewers along a ride on a smoke-filled motorcycle stunt or allowed them to swivel in another direction to watch a scantily clad young woman who stopped just short of a doing a striptease. The VR segment played on FX's site as well as Jaunt's VR app and Facebook.
Sky TV used Jaunt's equipment for some of the programming when it introduced its SKY VR app. Among the shows were "Sky Sports: Closer," hosted by soccer legend David Beckham, and a performance of the English National Ballet's production of "Giselle." The satellite service also gave away thousands of Google cardboard headsets.
Kliavkoff says Disney, which in September 2015 led Jaunt's $65 million Series C round, will soon offer its fans a 360-degree online trip to Pandora, the mythical planet in James Cameron's film "Avatar," which is also the backdrop for the media giant's new "PandoraThe World of Avatar" attraction at its Disney Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida.
"We constantly strive to create standout experiences for our customers through our partnerships," said Mark Cameron, Jaguar Land Rover's brand experience director of global marketing, in a statement about the America's Cup video. "By using Jaunt's cutting-edge VR technology, we were able to give unprecedented access to the team and America's Cup sailing in a thrilling firsthand experience."
The big prize, of course, will come if virtual reality takes hold with consumers who want to immerse themselves in the action on the big screen. That's coming slowly. IMAX, which operates a chain of giant-screen movie theaters, is rolling out a dozen IMAX VR centers in major markets, including Los Angeles, New York and Tokyo, for goggle-wearing consumers to watch shorter-form VR content for about $1 a minute.
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Disney and other media giants are betting VR is the next big play in entertainment - CNBC
You are soaring high above the Manhattan Skyline, feeling the cool breeze on your face. Looking down at the rooftops of thousands of buildings, your muscles begin to ache from flapping your wings, but the view is so beautiful and the experience so mind-blowing, you cannot help but continue your flight.
Suddenly, as Manhattan Beach comes into view, the words Simulation is Over, appear before your eyes. Removing your headset, you prepare to visit the other stations at the digital experience lab that is Reboot Reality.
Opened on May 26 as a permanent exhibit at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, Reboot Reality contains several virtual reality (VR) simulations created by technology companies such as Google and Adobe, with the help of artists and researchers.
In addition to Birdly, which simulates flying, Reboot Reality includes Wetbrush by Adobe, which allows you to create 3D paintings on a screen; Tilt Brush by Google, where you use a headset to create 3D art pulled from your imagination; and Medium by Oculus, where you experience 3D sculpting with digital clay. Each of these interactive simulations are intended for people 13 years of age and older, but Reboot Reality includes others for younger children.
The purpose of Reboot Reality is to bridge the gap between the public and tech companies, to ensure that the public has access to new innovations they cannot afford. The Tech hopes that this influences the younger generations to take up careers in the STEM industry.
Our mission is to inspire the innovator in everyone and a big piece of that is making sure every kid has access to STEM education and feels confident to pursue a career in STEM. We also hope to inspire people to use technology to solve big problems, said Marika Krause, The Techs public relations manager.
A Reboot Reality goer, Ying Liang, 24, believes that children would benefit from this lab because it would put them in touch with their creative side and inspire them to work in the technology industry. Liang said that an exhibit such as Wetbrush by Adobe is particularly accessible to kids since they simply use a digital brush to make realistic paintings.
Liang added that while virtual reality could be treated simply as a toy, it could also become a valuable tool.
Krause agreed. She pointed to The Diridon Project by Gensler, which allows you to walk into a world where you can see the blueprints of a building translated into 3D before construction begins. Krause said a simulation such as this can improve the life of architects because they would be able to virtually step into a building before it is physically created.
Neesha Pammi, 44, also a museum-goer, said that she can see how a virtual reality system could be used in the workplace, as her husband is an architect and is beginning to work with a system similar to The Diridon Project.
Simulations can also improve communities by helping people develop their sense of empathy, said Clarissa Buettner, a gallery program specialist. She pointed to Stanford Universitys Human Interaction lab, where Reboot Reality visitors can live the life of a homeless person and experience the struggles they go through on a daily basis.
In the simulation, you sit at your desk, staring at the few valuables still in your possession. Your landlord knocks, asking for the rent money you owe, moments before evicting you. After selling whats left of your valuables, you begin to sleep on an overnight bus, dealing with sex offenders, thieves, and the anxiety of getting back on your feet.
Pammi can attest to how real the simulations feel. In addition to The Diridon Project, Pammi also tried flying with Birdly. She said that the experience actually made her feel dizzy afterwards. During her first ride on Birdly, her husband encouraged her to take a dive from the skyline, down to the streets of Manhattan and she said, You can go all the way down, but theres no way Im going to do that.
Sophia Rodriguez, a graduate ofAndrew Hill High in San Jose, is a 2017 Mosaic staff writer.
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Virtual reality exhibit bridges gap between tech and public - The Mercury News
(WXYZ) - Why ride a regular ole roller coaster, if you could kick it up a notch with some virtual reality technology?
Cedar Point has added a bit more amusement to its park with virtual reality and augmented reality offerings.
Starting today, fans of the Iron Dragon will get to experience the ride using special VR headsets. The park began testing out the feature last year.
Now, Iron Dragon: VR will be available to coaster fans starting at 6 p.m. each day through September 4. Just a note: you have to be 13 or older to be able to participate in the VR experience, according to a news release from the park.
And if you need some entertainment while waiting in line, you can check out the park's revamped "Battle for Cedar Point" mobile game. The free game can be played through the Cedar Point app.
Cedar Point says it has augmented reality features, and lets guests virtually battle with other visitors and unlock interactive billboards around the park.
Check out more here.
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Virtual reality returns to Iron Dragon at Cedar Point - WXYZ
By Amy BurgessSpecial to The Times
Persistent drought conditions continue to make life hard for the states livestock producers. Even with the recent rainfall, many areas are still considered in a drought because of the lack of rainfall accumulated across the last few months. Many producers pastures and hayfields are stressed, giving weeds an opportunity to take over.
When forages are not available, livestock are tempted to eat weeds, which can cause health problems. An Alabama Extension weed scientist said it is crucial that producers know how to manage weeds in their pastures.
Dr. Joyce Tredaway said weeds usually are less of a nuisance in ideal conditions.
Weeds are usually not an issue when perennial forages, such as tall fescue, bahiagrass and Bermuda grass, are growing in ideal conditions because of the dense cover they form, Tredaway said. Weed infestations are usually caused by low nutrient levels, improper soil pH, insect infestations, disease and overgrazing.
Once weeds are established and drought conditions develop, many management options are no longer available or may not be successful.
Tredaway said producers need to keep several things in mind when managing weeds.
Weeds under drought stress develop a thick, waxy cuticle to help conserve water which reduces herbicide absorption, she said. Weeds under drought stress are generally not actively growing. So, you may see control significantly reduced.
Tredaway said the first step to managing weeds is to know what weed you are dealing with.
Producers should accurately identify the weed they are trying to control. It is crucial to choose the correct herbicide, she said. Using a contact herbicide may be your best option. Drought-stressed plants do not translocate well, so using a systemic herbicide may be useless. The most important thing is to get an adequate coverage.
After drought conditions have eased, pasture or field recovery depends on several factors.
After a drought, producers should survey their fields, said Tredaway. When doing this, it is important to keep a few questions in mind:vDo you have a lot of open spaces in your pasture or hayvfield? Are open spaces filled in by winter annuals? What does your forage stand look like?
Tredaway also said producers should do soil tests and get the pH and fertility levels correct in their pastures or fields.
Soil tests tell you the pH of the soil and nutrient levels, she said. A fields pH should register between 6.3 6.7. If needed, apply lime at least 6 months prior to grass green-up. Fertility must be right in order for forages to grow at their maximum capacity.
For more information on the drought and its effects, visit http://drought.aces.edu/ or contact the Etowah County Extension Office.
Summer 4-H funshops are available for young people ages 8 to 18 who live or attend school in Etowah County. 4-H membership isnt required to participate. Call the Etowah County Extension Office for more information.
June 20: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Riverkids; Terrapin Outdoor Center; $20 per person; bring a sack lunch; registration deadline is June 15.
June 21: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., hiking the 2.9-mile Black Creek Trail at Noccalula Falls; $10 per person, includes park admission; registration deadline is June 15.
June 22-23: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., cooking and canning; Northeast Etowah Community Center; $15 per person; bring a sack lunch; registration deadline is June 15.
July 11: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., CPR, first aid and basic life support; Extension Auditorium; $10 per person, includes lunch; participants will receive certification cards; registration deadline is July 5.
July 13 and 15: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Riverkids; Terrapin Outdoor Center; $20 per person each day; bring a sack lunch; registration deadline is June 15.
July 27-30: Black Creek 4-H Archery Tournament at Noccalula Falls; call the Extension Office for more details.
For more information on this topic and many others, contact the Etowah County Extension Office, 256-547-7936 or 3200-A W. Meighan Blvd., Gadsden. Amy Burgess is extension coordinator for the Etowah County Extension Office.
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EXTENSION CORNER: It's crucial for producers to know how to manage weeds - Gadsden Times
When Ukip's vote tallies were read out at electoral counts up and down the country, the muted applause said it all.
Just weeks after losing all but one of their councillors in the local elections, the party that pushed Britain to Brexit drew less than two per cent of the vote on election night.
Ukip failed to gain a single MP. Even in uber-eurosceptic Boston and Skegness, party leader Paul Nuttall ended up in third place with 7.7 per cent of the vote. Hours later, he resigned.
It's easy to forget that two years ago Ukip were the third-largest party in the country they pulled in almost 13 per cent of the vote in 2015.
In the weeks and months following the Brexit vote, the party has been beset with both internal strife and an existential crisis that no one has been able to solve.
The EU referendum result a year ago was the culmination of a 20-year fight that saw Ukip rise from a fringe group to a game-changing political force.
But before the celebration champagne had gone flat, Ukip had an urgent challenge to solve finding a leader.
Having achieved his Brexit goal, Nigel Farage, the face of the Leave campaign, announced he was stepping down.
With their only household name out of the picture, Ukip needed a new leader who could help the party capitalise on the eurosceptic zeitgeist before it was too late.
First there was Diane James, who won the party's leadership contest on 16 September. Eighteen days later she handed in her notice, saying she did not have the "full support" of the party.
Another leadership campaign then got underway, but the contest was overshadowed by a bizarre incident in which one of the frontrunners was hospitalised after an altercation with a fellow Ukip MEP in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
The exact circumstances surrounding the clash between Steven Woolfe, who later resigned from the party, and defence spokesman Mike Hookem are still a matter of dispute, but either way it was an excruciating moment for a party desperately trying to display a united front.
In November 2016, the party finally settled on a leader in the shape of Merseyside MEP Paul Nuttall, but his short tenure in the job has been far from smooth.
Among other things, Nuttall has been accused of incorrectly claiming to have a PhD and lying about being present at the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.
On 8 June 2017, as the extent of Ukip's dire performance at the polls became clear, Nuttall tendered his resignation, leaving the party leaderless once again.
When the initial elation over the referendum result died down, Ukip were left contemplating a hard truth. The Brexit vote "has turned Ukip into a single-issue party without an issue," says the New Statesman.
Without their anti-EU rallying cry, the party leadership has been searching for another issue which can band the fractured movement together without much success.
Under Nuttall, Ukip has attempted to rebrand as the party that is unafraid to stand up to radical Islam. However, policies like a burka ban and mandatory medical inspections of girls thought to be at risk of FGM have not proven the vote winners Nuttall had hoped. They even sit uneasily with some of the party.
In March, Ukip's only MP, Douglas Carswell resigned from the party after a public feud over its direction. He said Ukip was becoming increasingly anti-immigrant.
Even as the votes were being counted on Thursday night, there was another defection. Tim Matthews, the candidate for Devon Central, said that Ukip had originally been "a libertarian party campaigning for Brexit" but had since "veered into extremism and racism", the BBC reports.
Could there still be a second act in Ukip's political life? Nuttall certainly thinks so. "The new rebranded Ukip must be launched and a new era must begin with a new leader," he said as he announced his own resignation.
Enter Nigel Farage. As it became clear that Britain was heading for a hung parliament, the former leader told the BBC he had "absolutely no choice" but to end his self-imposed exile from Westminster to ensure that Brexit would not be thrown off course.
Farage did not say whether such a comeback would be at the head of a new political movement or a return to his old party, but he acknowledged that "Ukip voters want someone who speaks for them".
Even if Farage were back at the helm, there is the lingering question of who the party now speaks for.
Many analysts predicted that Ukip had acted as a "gateway drug", luring one-time Labour voters to the right, and that the Tories would therefore reap the benefits of Ukip's falling star but it didn't pan out that way on the night, says the Financial Times.
In fact, in many seats, former Ukip voters "seemed to divide fairly evenly between Labour and the Conservatives", suggesting that beyond a shared euroscepticism, their political views were more diverse than the party had hoped.
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Minnesota Power, a utility division of ALLETE (NYSE:ALE), today announced the next step in its EnergyForward strategy for ensuring a safe, reliable and competitive energy supply for customers and the region. If approved by regulators, the resource package coupled with the companys existing renewable resources will result in renewable resources providing 44 percent of the companys energy supply by 2025, further reducing carbon emissions while keeping rates affordable.
In an upcoming filing with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC), Minnesota Power will request the addition of 250 megawatts of wind power capacity, an additional 10 megawatts of solar power and 250 megawatts of combined-cycle natural gas generation to meet customer demand for power, which is projected to grow throughout the region. The new resources will increase the companys already robust wind portfolio of 620 megawatts and double its solar generation.
For the past four years, EnergyForward has been exceeding expectations for how an energy company can transform the way it produces and delivers energy, said Brad Oachs, president of Regulated Operations. We look forward to working with our customers and regulators to continue down the path toward a safe, reliable, cleaner and affordable energy future.
With approval of the proposed resource package by the MPUC, renewable energy resources including wind, Canadian hydro, solar and biomasswill account for 44 percent of the utilitys energy supply portfolio, exceeding the initial EnergyForward goal of one-third renewable power. Minnesota Powers long-term goal is an energy mix of two-thirds renewable energy and flexible, renewable-enabling natural gas and one-third environmentally compliant baseload coal.
Natural gas is an essential component of the resource package to be filed with regulators. Without this plant, Minnesota Power would be reliant on fluctuating wholesale market prices when sun and wind resources arent available, increasing overall costs over the long-run.
Through a unique partnership with Dairyland Power Cooperative and access to a competitive natural gas supply, this approximately $350 million investment will further balance Minnesota Powers energy mix while contributing meaningful growth for ALLETEs shareholders, said ALLETE Chairman, President and CEO Al Hodnik. Minnesota Powers EnergyForward investments and industrial load prospects complement nicely the nexus of energy and water growth initiatives already announced and additional opportunities being pursued by ALLETE Clean Energy and U.S. Water. The ALLETE of today is a stronger and much more balanced company, with each of its businesses providing attractive growth and diversity consistent with our overall growth thesis.
Minnesota Power will file later this summer with the MPUC requesting approval of the resource package. After filing, state regulators will open a formal review process to consider Minnesota Powers request. After input from stakeholders and the public, a final determination is expected in the latter half of 2018.
The details of Minnesota Powers proposal include:
Minnesota Power already is meeting or exceeding state standards for renewable power, energy conservation and carbon emission reduction through fleet transition of smaller coal units and the addition of renewable energy. The company has already achieved a 25 percent renewable energy mix well ahead of Minnesotas goal of 25 percent by 2025. Minnesota Power expects to reduce carbon emissions on its system by about 40 percent by 2030 compared with 2005 levels.
We believe this resource package is the best way to meet changing customer expectations for clean energy while preserving safe, affordable and reliable supplies of energy for the customers who depend on us to power homes, schools, hospitals and the natural resource based industry that fuels our regions economy, Oachs said.
Minnesota Power provides electric service within a 26,000-square-mile area in Northeastern Minnesota, supporting comfort, security and quality of life for 145,000 customers, 16 municipalities and some of the largest industrial customers in the United States. More information is available at http://www.mnpower.com. ALE-CORP
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Minnesota Power Proposes Next Step in EnergyForward Plan - POWER magazine
About 46 per cent of the work done in Canada is at risk of being taken by machines, according to a report that seeks to identify the industries and places across the country that are most vulnerable to automation.
The report from the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship doesnt argue that automation is a bad thing.
In the long run, technology has often helped to produce more jobs than it destroyed, researchers Creig Lamb and Matthew Lo wrote.
Jobs in food services and accommodation are at greatest risk of automation in Canada, with 69 per cent of the work done in those fields at risk of being replaced by machines.
But in the short run, automation can displace large numbers of employees whose skills have become redundant.
Current predictions suggest that these technologies are likely to disproportionately affect lower paying, lower skilled jobs, the report said.
Automation could replace the equivalent of 7.7 million jobs in Canada, the report estimates.
But that doesnt mean 7.7 million people will simply lose their jobs. Automation usually replaces only certain parts of a job which still reduces the overall demand for people doing that job.
Small regional economies specializing in manufacturing or mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction are most susceptible to automation, including Woodstock, Ont., Tillsonburg, Ont. and Quesnel, B.C., the researchers found.
In those places, about 50 per cent of all work is at risk.
Those areas most immune to automation are those that rely heavily on hospitals, post-secondary schools and government for employment.
Petawawa, Ont., comes out on top as the town with the least work at risk of automation, with 42.5 per cent of its jobs vulnerable. Thats followed by Ottawa-Gatineau and Fredericton, N.B.
Looking at jobs by industry, the differences are much more striking.
Accommodation and food service jobs have the highest risk of automation, the study found, followed by jobs in manufacturing and transportation and warehousing.
About 62 per cent of work activities could be automated within these industries, the researchers wrote somewhat concerning, given that these sectors are among the countrys largest employers.
At the other end of the spectrum, jobs in education have the lowest risk of automation. But that still means about 30 per cent of the work done in education could be automated.
Health care jobs, as well as professional, scientific and technical jobs, are also among the least vulnerable to automation.
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Canadian Cities And Industries Most At Risk From Automation - Huffington Post Canada
Taking a page out of the software development low-code/no-code movement, testing automation provider LogiGear Corp. has developed a "code-free" automated testing platform designed to make it easy for nearly anyone to achieve scriptless test automation.
At a time when companies of all sizes are moving to a DevOps approach from software development, the need to automate testing has never been greater. A Forrester Wave report in 2016 on functional testing automation tools said companies need to automate 80% of testing, leaving only 20% manual. But the research showed just between 42% and 45% of Agile companies are automated.
To look at it a bit differently, a 2016 research paper written by Divya Kumar and K.K. Mishra, titled "The Impacts of Test Automation on Software's Cost, Quality and Time to Market," indicated testing is the most expensive part of the development process. According to an email interview with Kumar, nearly 60% of the money spent on developing software is used for different types of software testing. So, despite the initial costs of setting up test automation, it pays for itself very quickly, he said.
LogiGear's new product, TestArchitect Team, is designed to achieve scriptless test automation for small businesses and will be free for two users, said Hung Nguyen, CEO of LogiGear, based in Foster City, Calif. "We think it's good to get more people to have access to automation options, even though they often look at ways of finding tools that can be free," Nguyen said. "Now, we offer a free solution that is beyond open source. Our 'freemium' version offers full features, and we also gain the advantage of having more engineers using the product, so it's beneficial to everyone."
Though the company's core user base is large companies, Nguyen said small companies need scriptless test automation, too. "In many situations, you have a developer who's also a product manager and a project manager and a tester and a customer support person. That's the real world, and giving this tool to this person gives him or her the automation ability to keep up."
To make TestArchitect Team work in a low-code/no-code or scriptless test automation way, Nguyen said the company took two approaches. The first step was to identify which are the most common command functions and translate those in to a businesslike language in English. Using natural language was key. "It's the old-school way of thinking that you write tests and run them. Today, it's you write the test and somebody else may run them, and if it fails, they have to have the ability to understand what your test was doing and how to analyze the results," Nguyen explained.
The second part of the process was to ensure a tester could create brand-new testing scenarios by choosing among prescripted actions. "It's like taking different blocks of Legos and slapping them together to create something new," Nguyen said.
The goal for TestArchitect Team is to open the world of testing to anyone on the development team. "This is very different from any approach we're seeing out there," he said. "By using action-based language, we're making the potential staff writing the tests huge. Now, companies are going to have a larger pool of resources."
What is a citizen developer, and why should you care?
A primer on software testing automation
It's a low-code world, but you need to learn to code -- here's why
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LogiGear's new scriptless test automation tool targets small businesses - TechTarget
Reason writer Ronald Bailey outlines a strong case that fears about technological unemployment are overblown. For instance: He adds needed context to the recent finding by MIT economist Daron Acemoglu and Boston University economist Pascual Restrepo that each additional industrial robot in the United Statesresults in 5.6 American workers losing their jobs.
But even taking the high-end estimate, job loss due to robots was has been just 670,000 since 1990 while last year some 62.5 million Americans were hired in new jobs, while 60.1 million either quit or were laid off from old ones, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics. I would add that total nonfarm employment over that span has increased by nearly 40 million.
A passenger stands in front of a row of Cathay Pacific Airways self check-in machines in Hong Kong Airport March 10, 2010. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu.
And Bailey on the basic economics that shock stories often miss:
When businesses automate to boost productivity, they can cut their prices, thus increasing the demand for their products, which in turn requires more workers. Furthermore, the lower prices allow consumers to take the money they save and spend it on other goods or services, and this increased demand creates more jobs in those other industries. New products and services create new markets and new demands, and the result is more new jobs.
Pessimists also fail to appreciate our inability to imagine what future jobs look like, a failing that stems from our inability to imagine future technology and its uses. Bailey cites research from economist Michael Mandel that in the decade since the advent of the smartphone, the app economy now supports nearly two million jobs.
Let me end with this bit from Bailey that quotes economist David Autor:
Imagine a time-traveling economist from our day meeting with Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and John D. Rockefeller at the turn of the 20th century. She informs these titans that in 2017, only 14 percent of American workers will be employed in agriculture, mining, construction, and manufacturing, down from around 70 percent in 1900. Then the economist asks the trio, What do you think the other 56 percent of workers are going to do?
They wouldnt know the answer. And as we look ahead now to the end of the 21st century, we cant predict what jobs workers will be doing then either. But thats no reason to assume those jobs wont exist.
I cant tell you what people are going to do for work 100 years from now, Autor said last year, but the future doesnt hinge on my imagination.
(For more on the issues surrounding automation, a relatively recentpiece from the Richmond Fedis worth reading. Itlooks at things through the lens of how driverless vehicles might affect truck drivers.)
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A techno-optimist take on automation and jobs - American Enterprise Institute
BY SOFO ARCHON
Get a job. Go to work. Get married. Have children. Follow fashion. Act normal. Walk on the pavement. Watch TV. Obey the law. Save for your old age. Now repeat after me: I am free. ~Unknown
Most of us understand how horrible the practice of literal slavery is. But theres another form of slavery that we dont seem to notice and are barely concerned about wage slavery.
We have the technologicalcapacity to feed, shelter, and provide for the basic needs and wants of all humanity. However, oureconomic system prevents us from livingin a world of abundance that we could easily create, if we wanted to, for the simple reason that money is scarce and hence not all people can afford to live a decent life.
In thissystem, mostpeople have to submit to wage slavery, whether they like it or not,competingwith one anotherfor jobs that will allow them to merely survive, and always feeling financially insecure,which is causing them tremendous stress.
If youve been wondering whether you are a slave to your job, these 5 signswill reveal you the truth:
1. You feel compelled towork.Work is immensely beautiful when done out of love to contribute to the well-being of the world. However, the majority of people dont work because they love what they are doing orout of their desire to share their gifts to the world. On the contrary, they hate their job, and they do it only because they feel compelled to do it. They submit to their job, just so they canearn money, something that they would never choose to do, if given the chance to live wellwithout having to doso.
2. Youhave a boss.Since most peoples wagedepends on their employers, they have to see them as bosses and yieldto their will. A clear sign that most peopleare slaves to theirjobis that they cannot have a say and express themselves creatively when carrying out a task. They just have obey tothe orders given to them by thoseabove them in the work hierarchy.
3. Your job wastes your time. The standard working hours of countries worldwide are around 8hours per day,which means that about ahalfof most peopleswaking lifeis owned by their employers, and they waste it doing things they hate doing! If by freedom we meanthe choiceto spend ourtime the way weenjoy spending it, then this clearlymeans that everyone who has a normal job is nothing but a slave.
4. Your job wastes your energy.Other than wasting your time, a job is also veryenergy consuming. After having worked for about 8 hours in conditions of stress, most people return to their home feeling utterly exhausted, not having the energy anymore to do anything creative that gives them joy and improves the quality of their life. All their energy has been wasted during their work, leaving them physically, emotionally and mentally drained.
How in the hell could a man enjoy being awakened at 8:30 a.m. by an alarm clock, leap out of bed, dress, force-feed, shit, piss, brush teeth and hair, and fight traffic to get to a place where essentially you made lots of money for somebody else and were asked to be grateful for the opportunity to do so?~Charles Bukowski
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The inquiry into establishing a Modern Slavery Act modeled on the UK Modern Slavery Act is a unique opportunity to also address corporate human rights due diligence in global supply chains. It creates room to develop binding legislation governing companies based on international standards including the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises, the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions, especially the 2014 Forced Labor Protocol. We present information here regarding two areas of ongoing Human Rights Watch research: labor abuses in global apparel supply chains, and trafficking and forced labor in Thailands seafood industry (products exported to Australia).
Labor Abuses in Global Apparel Supply Chains
We note the terms of reference of this inquiry covers modern slavery (including slavery, forced labor and wage exploitation, involuntary servitude, debt bondage, human trafficking, forced marriage and other slavery-like exploitation) both in Australia and globally. Human Rights Watch research on garment workers rights in Cambodia and Bangladesh found many labor abuses in factories which form a part of the global supply chains of apparel companies.[1]
We found that transparency and reporting in global apparel supply chains, that is, publishing the names, street addresses and other key information about factories, is critical to worker rights. When brands are transparent and report about their supply chains, it allows workers and their advocates to more quickly alert brands to labor abuses and seek remedies.[2]
Labor abuses in garment supply chains are rampant. Forced overtime was a common worker grievance in Bangladesh and Cambodia. Workers told Human Rights Watch that they were pressured by employers to undertake overtime work. Many workers repeatedly complained that factories set high production targets, sometimes even threatening not to pay overtime wages if workers did not meet the targets within regular working hours. Brands contribute to problems of forced overtime in factories through their purchasing practices. For example, brands may place or alter orders last minute without changing the turnaround time for production, indirectly putting pressure on workers.
Workers often choose to form unions at the factory level and collectively bargain for their labor rights. Independent unions are an important vehicle for labor rights. Unions can raise labor and complaints, including those related to the use of underage child workers, forced overtime, non-payment of wages and negotiate for their rights to be better protected. Factory retaliation against union organizers in factories is a common labor rights abuse, and a barrier to advancing other labor rights in apparel supply chains.
Forced Labor and Trafficking in Thailands Seafood Industry
Australiais a major importer of Thai seafood, including pond-grown prawns and fish, both of which have major problems with human trafficking, forced labor, and other abuses in their supply chains. According to the Australian Department of Agriculture:
Fresh and frozen imports make up around half of all Australias edible seafood products imports. More than half of all fresh and frozen imports are frozen fillets (61 per cent) and frozen prawns (18 per cent). These products, predominantly from Thailand, China, New Zealand and Vietnam, meet consumer demand for low-cost seafood products.[3]
A major expose by the Guardian found that so-called trash fish, any sort of low-value or juvenile fish that could be swept up by trawlers operating with trafficked migrant laborers from Burma and Cambodia, were a key part of the shrimp feed being used to raise prawns in aquaculture ponds that are exported to countries around the world.[4] Trash fish of slightly higher value are also used to produce surimi, a ground fish paste made with mixed types of fish and other additives that is frequently made into artificial crab sticks and other similar low-cost seafood products.
Trafficked men on these fishing boats are deceived or simply forced to work on the fishing boats, where they endure 20 hours or more workdays, physical abuse by captains and boatswains, dirty and dangerous working conditions that result in injuries or sickness for which they get no time off, inadequate nutritious food and potable water, and little or no pay.
Migrant workers, predominantly from Burma and Cambodia, who voluntarily decide to work on fishing boats still face systematic and pervasive abuses, including forced labor characterized by a mix of debt bondage, seizure of worker identification documents, unlawful payment systems that require completion of six months to two years of work before the worker gets paid in a lump sum, inability to change employers, excessive working hours and menace of physical abuse if the work is deemed to fall short of expectation.
Despite revisions to Thailands Labor Protection Act in December 2014 to limit working hours and improve conditions on fishing boats, these provisions of law are widely disregarded at sea where working regimens and punishments are meted out by captains and their officers with impunity. In 2014 the European Union yellow carded Thailand for its Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing practices[5] and determined that exploitative labor conditions played an important facilitating role for IUU. The US also downgraded Thailand to Tier 3, the lowest level, in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report. In response Thailands military government took action to impose order on the fishing sector, which had grown well beyond existing legal and regulatory systems.
Over the last three years, the Thai government has overhauled fisheries monitoring, control and management regimes. New inter-agency inspection frameworks have been established across the country and teams of officials now check fishing boats each time they depart or arrive in port. Laws have been strengthened and penalties for fisheries infringements have substantially increased. But the pace of change for fishing boat workers has not been as profound as it has been for fishing boats.
Human Rights Watch research to be published later this year, based on interviews with more than 250 current and former fishing workers, found that forced labor remains pervasive on Thai fishing vessels, while networks of underground brokers, traffickers, and corrupt Thai police and other officials continue to deceive and traffic men onto fishing vessels. Given the low pay, abusive captains, and dangerous conditions of work, its not surprising that the Thai fishing fleets are constantly short of the labor needed to effectively operate. Recent estimates presented by the National Fishing Association of Thailand to the Department of Employment at the Ministry of Labor estimated that the fishing industry has a shortage of 60,000 workers who are needed urgently.[6] Migrant workers from Burma and Cambodia who are on these boats do not have the right to take steps to empower themselves, such as forming a trade union, because of discriminatory provisions in the Labor Relations Act 1975 that limit to Thai nationals the right to formally register a union and to be elected a union committee member, which is the only legal path to becoming a union leader.
The Thai government and the Thai fishing industry have a record of only making substantive reforms in laws and enforcement when they must respond to external pressure brought by other governments and by private sector corporations. Australia should adopt stringent measures to ensure that Thai seafood exported to Australia is sourced ethically, without violating workers rights to freely engage or withdraw from labor, to be paid according to law, and to be free of coercion, intimidation and abuse of all kinds.
Recommendations:
The Australian government should:
Any Australian legislation to address modern slavery, forced labor, and wage exploitation should address corporate human rights due diligence in their global supply chains, with the following elements:
[5] A yellow card puts a country on notice that if it fails to end practices that the EU considers to contribute to IUU fishing, trade action may be taken under a red card to bar all seafood imported from that country to EU states.
[7] The United States has enacted similar legislation though enforcement was weak. In 2016, the US government closed a significant loophole that impeded enforcement and officials have expressed a new willingness to enforce this law.
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