Daily Archives: August 3, 2017

Chaiken Money Flow For Sealand Natural Resources Inc (SLNR) Above Zero – Stock Rover

Posted: August 3, 2017 at 10:42 am

Sealand Natural Resources Inc (SLNR) shares have moved above the Chalkin Money Flow zero line, indicating potential buying momentum for the shares.

The Chaikin Money Flow Indicator is an oscillator developed by Marc Chaikin. An oscillator is an indicator that is used as a counter trend showing when the market is overbought or oversold. These indicators are momentum based. The CMF is based largely on the Accumulation Distribution Line; it compares the close value with the high and the low for that same day. Generally, CMF indicator could be used as an indicator of buying and selling pressure. When CMF is above zero it is indicator of buying pressure and when it is below zero it is indicator of selling pressure.

Investors and traders may also want to monitor additional technical levels of shares of Sealand Natural Resources Inc (SLNR). A frequently used tool among technical stock analysts is the moving average. Moving averages are considered to be lagging indicators that simply take the average price of a stock over a certain period of time. Moving averages can be very helpful for identifying peaks and troughs. They may also be used to assist the trader figure out proper support and resistance levels for the stock. Currently, the 200-day MA is sitting at 0.35, and the 50-day is 0.39.

The 14-day ADX for Sealand Natural Resources Inc (SLNR) is currently at 9.99. In general, and ADX value from 0-25 would represent an absent or weak trend. A value of 25-50 would support a strong trend. A value of 50-75 would signify a very strong trend, and a value of 75-100 would point to an extremely strong trend. Checking in on some other technical levels, the 14-day RSI is currently at 46.61, the 7-day stands at 42.80, and the 3-day is sitting at 31.97. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is a momentum oscillator that measures the speed and change of stock price movements. The RSI was developed by J. Welles Wilder, and it oscillates between 0 and 100. Generally, the RSI is considered to be oversold when it falls below 30 and overbought when it heads above 70. RSI can be used to detect general trends as well as finding divergences and failure swings.

At the time of writing, Sealand Natural Resources Inc (SLNR) has a 14-day Commodity Channel Index (CCI) of -106.82. Developed by Donald Lambert, the CCI is a versatile tool that may be used to help spot an emerging trend or provide warning of extreme conditions. CCI generally measures the current price relative to the average price level over a specific time period. CCI is relatively high when prices are much higher than average, and relatively low when prices are much lower than the average. Investors may be watching other technical indicators such as the Williams Percent Range or Williams %R. The Williams %R is a momentum indicator that helps measure oversold and overbought levels. This indicator compares the closing price of a stock in relation to the highs and lows over a certain time period. A common look back period is 14 days. Sealand Natural Resources Inc (SLNR)s Williams %R presently stands at -100.00. The Williams %R oscillates in a range from 0 to -100. A reading between 0 and -20 would indicate an overbought situation. A reading from -80 to -100 would indicate an oversold situation.

One of the most famous sayings in the stock market is buy low, sell high. This may seem like an oversimplified statement, but there are many novice investors who often do the complete opposite. Many investors may be looking too closely at stocks that have been on the rise, and they might not be checking on the underlying fundamental data. They may be hoping to ride the wave higher, but may end up shaking their heads. On the flip side, many investors may hold onto stocks for far too long after they have slipped drastically. Waiting for a bounce that may never come can cause frustration and plenty of second guessing. Successful investors are typically able to locate stocks that are undervalued at a certain price. This may take a lot of practice and dedication, but it may do wonders for the health of the portfolio.

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Zeroing in on Yesterday’s High: Sealand Natural Resources Inc (SLNR) – Nelson Research

Posted: at 10:42 am

Sealand Natural Resources Inc (SLNR)s highest trade price for the day was $0.302, while the lowest trade price was $0.3. Change is the space between the current price and the previous days settlement price. Change describing and measures data over a given time period. A negative change is indicative of a declining performance while a positive change means performance has improved.

The formula for finding change is by subtracting the previous time period from the most recent time period. If a company trades at $20 at the end of the first quarter and $40 at the end of the second quarter, the change $40 minus $20, or $20. Here we find the change to be positive, but by how much?

The price went up from $20 to $40, so it doubled. In this example, the companys stock price grew 100% in the first quarter. Investors like change. Change allows investors to make a profit. In volatile markets, there are many opportunities for investors to make up for losses.

Prices are based on the change in price of assets. Value is based on changing prices. Calls make a bet that the price of the asset will increase, while puts bet that the price of the asset will go decrease. More volatility means that there is more likely a chance for investors to make a profit. Sealand Natural Resources Inc (SLNR)s share price changed $-1.29, with a percent change of -37.50%%.

Volume is the number of shares traded specific period of time. Every buyer has a seller, and each transaction adds to the total count of the volume. When a buyer and a seller agree on a transaction at a certain price, it is considered to be one transaction.

For example, if only ten transactions occur in a trading day, the volume for the day is ten. Volume is used to measure the relative worth of a market move. When the markets make a strong price movement, the strength of that movement depends on the volume over that period. The higher the volume means the more significant the move. Volume levels give clues about where to find the best entry and exit points.

Sealand Natural Resources Inc (SLNR) experienced a volume of 6900.

Volume is an important measure of strength for traders and technical analysts because volume is the number of contracts traded. The market needs to produce a buyer and a seller for any trade to occur. The market price is when buyers and sellers meet. When buyers and sellers become very active at a certain price, this means that there is high volume. Bar charts are used to quickly determine the level of volume and identify trends in volume.

A 52-week high/low is the highest and lowest share price that a stock has traded at during the previous year. Investors and traders consider the 52-week high or low as a crucial factor in determining a given stocks current value while also predicting future price movements. When a commodity trades within its 52-week price range (the range that exists between the 52-week low and the 52-week high), investors usually show more interest as the price nears either the high or the low.

One of the more popular strategies used by traders is to buy when the price eclipses its 52-week high or to sell when the price drops below its 52-week low. The rationale involved with this strategy says that if the price breaks out either above or below the 52-week range, there is momentum enough to continue the price fluctuation in a positive direction.

Sealand Natural Resources Inc (SLNR)s high over the last year was $1.05 while its low was $0.06.

Barchart Opinions show investors what a variety of popular trading systems are suggesting. These Opinions take up to 2 years worth of historical data and runs the prices through thirteen technical indicators.

After each calculation, a buy, sell or hold value for each study is assigned, depending on where the price is in reference to the interpretation of the study. Todays opinion, the overall signal based on where the price lies in reference to the common interpretation of all 13 studies, for Sealand Natural Resources Inc (SLNR)s is Average. Their opinion strength, a long-term measurement of signal strength vs. the historical strength, is -0.18.

Opinion strength ranges from Maximum, Strong, Average, Weak, Minimum. A stronger strength is less volatile and a hold signal does not have any strength. The Opinion Direction, a three-day measurement of the movement of the signal, an indication of whether the most recent price movement is going along with the signal. Strongest, Strengthening, Average, Weakening, or Weakest.

A buy or sell signal with a strongest direction means the signal is becoming stronger. A hold signal direction indicates where the signal is heading (towards a buy or sell): Bullish, Rising, Steady, Falling, or Bearish. Sealand Natural Resources Inc (SLNR)s direction is 64% Buy. Sealand Natural Resources Inc (SLNR)s Previous Opinion, he overall signal from yesterday, based on where the price lies in reference to the common interpretation of all 13 studies was -61.79.

Disclaimer: Nothing contained in this publication is intended to constitute legal, tax, securities, or investment advice, nor an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment, nor a solicitation of any type. The general information contained in this publication should not be acted upon without obtaining specific legal, tax, and investment advice from a licensed professional.

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Andaman And Nicobar Islands – Blue Seas, Virgin Islands And Colonial Past – Andhrawishesh (blog)

Posted: at 10:40 am

August 03, 2017 19:11

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Andaman And Nicobar Islands - Blue Seas, Virgin Islands And Colonial Past:- Andaman and Nicobar Islands, located in the Bay of Bengal are known for their scenic beaches, dense forests and adventurous water sports.

Out of the 600 islands in the Bay of Bengal, only around 36 islands are inhabited. The archipelago is divided into two groups of islands - the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands. Of these, only 9 islands in the Andaman Islands group are open for tourists.

The sandy beaches form as nesting homes to turtles, animals such as spotted deer, wild boar, gecko, crab-eating macaque and python can be spotted in the 86% area still covered by dense forests.

In Andaman and Nicobar Islands, rains are usually on and off while the other days are mostly sunny. You can visit the Beladaru beach at Batarang Island, if it is sunny. There are many indoor activities to indulge you as well, when it rains.

Other places to visit here are Radhanagar, dolphin resort, Cellular jail and Phoenix Bay Jetty which is quite a sight in the rains.

- Summer ( April - July ) Summer temperatures range between 24 to 37 degrees Celsius. During this time, all the water sports are open to visitors and it is an excellent time to visit the islands.

- Monsoon (July - September ) During this time, the temperatures range between 22 to 35 degrees Celsius. July and August witness the maximum visits to the islands. However, in case of heavy rainfall and unpredictable seas, water sports may not be an option.

- Winter (October - March ) Winters are not severe at all. Weather stays mild and pleasant. Temperatures range between 20 to 30 degrees Celsius.

- How To Reach

Andamans can be reached via air and water only, since these are an isolated cluster of islands in the Bay of Bengal along the Eastern coast of India.

Veer Savarkar International Airport in Port Blair is connected via flights to Kolkata and Chennai. Only domestic operators offer flight service to Andaman Islands.

Nearest Airport: Veer Savarkar International Airport (IXZ)

You can reach Port Blair via water from Kolkata, Chennai and Vishakhapatnam only. It takes about 4 days to reach Andamans via cruise.

There are auto-rickshaws and taxis available in Port Blair and on Havelock Island and are the best means to move around. On Havelock Island, you can also rent scooters and motorbikes.

1) Havelock Island

Havelock is one of the most popular islands among the 600 in the region and is the most developed when it comes to tourism. It is a 2-4 hour ferry ride away from Port Blair.

Named after a British general, Havelock Island is the largest island that comprises of Ritchies Archipelago. Havelock is located 57 km north-east of the capital city Port Blair. It consists of 5 villages which are Shyam Nagar, Vijay Nagar, Radha Nagar, Krishna Nagar and Govinda Nagar.

2) Scuba Diving

Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a popular spot for scuba diving among tourists. Most popular island among all the islands for the dives, however, is Havelock. It is an ideal diving destination for everyone, right from a novice to an experienced diver. For non-certified amateur divers, charges start from about INR 3,500 for a 30-minute dive.

Scuba Diving is the most sought after activity on Havelock island. The top agencies which are certified by SSI and PADI and provide scuba facilities are Barefoot Scuba, Doongi Dives, DiveIndia, Andaman Dive Club and Andaman Bubbles. Smaller Dive schools include OceanTribe, Gold India and ScubaLuv.

Andamans, with its clear waters and rich coral reserves, offers a large number of spots for shallow as well as deep dives (up to 55m). The major dive spots are: Pilot Reef (6-18m), Lighthouse (6-20m), Aquarium (12-15m), Elephant Beach (6-25m), Jacksons Bar (20-35m), The Wall (10-55m), Johnnys Gorge (25-30m), Dixon's Pinnacle (18-40m), Minerva Ledge (10-18m).

3) Cellular Jail

The Cellular Jail constructed by the Britishers is the old colonial prison situated in Port Blair. The jail complex is now owned by the Government of India and it is recognized as the national memorial monument showcasing the life of prisoners during theBritish period.

The jail narrates the horrifying and darkest period in the history of India. Soon after the Sepoy Mutiny in the year 1857, Britishers began to use the islands of Andaman and Nicobar as the jails to put the independence leaders behind the bars. The secluded islands were chosen due to their distant location from the main parts of the country where the prisoners would be kept in the dark depriving them of the situation in the country and excluding them from the society.

Many of the prisoners died due to inhumane conditions, many were hanged till death and many simply perished.

- Open Time: National Memorial: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM, 1:00 PM - 4:15 PM (Closed on Mondays)

4) Snorkeling in Andamans

Snorkeling is another popular water sport among tourists. Sea around Havelock Island serves as one of the best sites for snorkeling.

You can see a kaleidoscope of colors underwater with a variety of reef, fishes, turtles, sharks and rays. Snorkeling costs around INR 400-500, and is much cheaper compared to Scuba diving.

5) Ross Island

Ross Island is one of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, about 2 km east of Port Blair. One can see remnants of an opulent past in the ruins of the church, swimming pool and the chief commissioners residence with its huge gardens and grand ballrooms. Managed by the Indian Navy, there is also a cemetery and a small museum.

Ross Island, a few km from Aberdeen jetty at Port Blair, is yet another member of the Andaman group of islands.

6) Neil Island

Neil Island is apparently named after a British soldier, James George Smith Neill, who had sternly dealt with the insurgents during the suppression of the 1857 Mutiny.

The island is located 40 kilometres north-east of Port Blair, the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is the southernmost island of Ritchies Archipelago.

Neil quite small compared to Havelock is a place to chill out after the bustle of Havelock Island. You can walk the whole island in about an hour or two.

In Neil there have three good sand beaches. The color of sea water is light blue, dark blue and green. Neil Island is a peaceful island. You can go around to see the natural bridge, beach #8, sitapur beach, ramnagar beach and lakshmanpur beach.

7) Water Sports In Andamans

The Andamans, while great for the peaceful, undisturbed soul-searching vacation that you need, also happen to be a hub for indulging in some killer water sports. Come, soak in the fun!

Activities offered : Water-skiing, Sail boats, Windsurfing, Speed Boats, Snorkeling, Scuba Diving, Para sailing, Water scooters, Row boats, kayaks, paddle boats

Cost of Activity : Starts at Rs. 2000 including equipment, depending upon the kind of activity.

Currents : 55 - 64 cm/sec

Difficulty Level : Easy-Medium

Nearest Airport : Port Blair

Nearest Port : Port Blair

Region : Bay of Bengal

Time required : 4-5 days if you want to try out all the different sports

Water Temperature : 26-30 degrees Centigrade

Air: It is most convenient to travel to Andaman Islands by air. The airport is situated at the capital city of Port Blair. Regular flights are available to the islands from Chennai, Kolkata and Delhi. One can also get flight from Bhubaneshwar on certain days.

Sea: Another way of reaching these exotic groups of islands is through sea. The regular passenger ship services to Port Blair commence from Chennai, Visakhapatnam and Kolkata with usually 3-4 sailings per months both sides. The complete voyage takes around 50 to 60 hours approximately to reach the final destination.

Things to carry

1) Sunblock

2) Flip Flops

3) Hats

4) Bathing Suits

5) Sunglasses

6) Energy Bars

7) Waterproof camera bags, lenses and battery packs

Safety Tips

Carry a small bottle of water during the day for emergencies. Stretch before participating in water sports. Make sure you choose operators that offer up-to-date safety gear.

General tips

The best time to visit the Andamans is from October to May. It is during this time that the Emerald Isle is at it's prettiest, balmiest best. Choose good adventure operators who will provide good equipment.

8) Wandur National Park

Located in the south-western coast of the Andaman Islands, Wandur National Park is a marine life conservation area situated at a distance of 25 km from the capital city of Port Blair. The wildlife sanctuary which is also known as the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park consists of a group of 12 islands which are situated geographically in a labyrinthine shape and are home to some of the most exquisite marine wildlife in the world.

The national park is a great place to try some snorkeling and diving in the crystal clear water of the islands. The coral reefs are the highlight of the park exhibiting their glorious forms.

The famous islands to visit are Jolly buoy Islands, Redskin Island, Grub Island, Rangat Island, Neil Island and Long Island. The national park can amaze and dazzle everyone visiting especially those who hold wildlife close to their hearts.

- Open Time: The first boat trip starts at 8:30am and continues till 10:30am at an interval of 30 minutes. The National Park has only 150 permits for tourist entries distributed on the basis of first-cum-first-serve.

9) Chatham Saw Mill

Chatham Saw Mill is the biggest and the oldest mill across Asia owned by the Forest Department. The mill is also a storehouse for a variety of woods cut into different shapes and sizes.

- Open Time: All days of the week except Sunday: 8:30 AM - 2:30 PM

10) Corbyns Cove

Corbyns Cove is the nearest beach to Port Blair. It is quite popular among tourists as well as locals.

It serves as an ideal place to just get a good sunset view and laze around. There are quite a few water sports which draw many adventure enthusiasts here.

- Open Time: All days of the week: 12:00 AM - 12:00 PM

11) Barren Island

Barren Island is located at a distance of 35 kms of Port Blair, the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar islands. The island is famous as a rare and interesting scuba-diving destination.

12) Viper Island

Years before Cellular Jail was constructed, Viper Island was used by the British to keep the freedom fighters in exile. You can still see the remains of the jail which was built in 1867 by the British.

13) Wandoor Beach

A small village in the southern part of South Andaman, Wandoor is most recognized for its Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park.

The village also has some beaches which are relatively less crowded and offers mesmerizing views. You can combine your trip with a visit to Jolly Buoy or Red Skin Island, where you get to see beautiful corals. Wandoor is easily accessible and is only 1-2 hour bus ride away from Port Blair.

14) Baratang Island

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Utopia Creations open new office to dominate Leeds market – Journalism.co.uk

Posted: at 10:39 am

Press Release

This month saw Utopia Creations, Leeds's most exciting sales and marketing firm open a second office in the city, to increase their dominance in the region

2017 has been great so far for Utopia Creations as they launch their newest office in Leeds, the sales and marketing specialists are pleased to offer further representation for new and existing clients.

Utopia Creations specialises in a personalised form of direct marketing which allows them to connect with their customers' ideal consumers on a face-to-face basis. By encouraging one-to-one interactions between brand and consumer, Utopia Creations can drive long-lasting and personal business relationships between brand and consumer. In turn, this often leads to increased customer acquisition, brand awareness and brand loyalty for their clients.

About Utopia Creations: http://www.weareutopia.co.uk/about-us/

Direct event marketing strategies have unique capabilities, including reaching customers in targeted areas, in a low cost zero commitment platform. The one-size-fits-all approach can secure important live markets and can allow strategies to be tailored to reach their maximum potential.

Utopia Creations expose the top reasons why brands need to utilise event marketing:

Face-to-face selling builds relationships and ultimately builds trust. Consumers are becoming increasingly picky with their vendors, choosing those who are socially and economically conscious. Person to person promotions allows brand image and vision to be shared readily. Trust is easier to establish when working face to face with customers. Dedicated sales agents are on hand to answer questions, demonstrate products and offer a friendly smile throughout the entire experience.

A high level of personal service leads to additional referrals, which can result in increased sales. Satisfied customers become mini ambassadors who spread a positive message about their experience with a brand. Referrals from friends or family hold considerable value and are more likely to influence a decision that a manufactured advertisement regardless of how engaging it may be.

Face-to-face selling simplifies complexity, getting to "yes" faster. Irrespective of product or service being sold, a face to face sales set up is streamlined and offers the consumer more opportunities to tailor their packages to ensure maximum effectiveness is achieved. What's better than a private executive to provide expert advice on options and offer their experience to maximise the potential of the new investment.

Utopia Creations are excited to increase their market reach through 2017 and beyond, the possibilities for their clients is endless.

Source: https://salesandmarketing.com/content/3-benefits-face-face-relationship-selling

To find out more about Utopia Creations, follow them on Twitter @UtopiaCreation_ and find them on Facebook.

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Dinesh D’Souza: Debunking the Lie That Trump Is a Fascist – LifeZette

Posted: at 10:39 am

The charge that Donald Trump is a fascist has now become the staple meme, the meta-story, if you will, of leftist rhetoric and media coverage of the president. Legal scholar Juan Cole describes Trumps election this way: How the U.S. went fascist. Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns terms Trumps presidency Hitleresque. MSNBC host Rachel Maddow reveals, Ive been reading a lot about what it was like when Hitler first became chancellor, because I think thats possibly where we are.

These accusations, in some form or another, are endorsed by leading lights in the Democratic Party, by foreign leaders, and even by such Republicans asJohn McCain and Christine Todd Whitman. Even some fascism experts have endorsed the analogy between Trumps America and fascist regimes. Historian Ron Rosenbaum, author of Explaining Hitler, insists that Trumps tenure so far is based on a playbook written in German. That playbook is Mein Kampf.'

Certainly the Left at times accused Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush of being fascists. But that was throwaway rhetoric. In Trumps case, they mean it. The charge of fascism is used to justify unprecedented forms of resistance to Trump: attempting to subvert his election even after he won, refusing to attend his inauguration, disrupting inauguration events, seeking impeachment even without a shred of impeachable evidence, advocacy of a military coup, and even presidential assassination. If Trump is a fascist or some kind of Nazi, it seems legitimate to get rid of him by any means necessary.

But is he? Here I examine the five main characteristics that are routinely cited to prove Trump's fascism and nascent Nazism.

Reactionary.The reactionary charge, recently circulated in The New Yorker, is convenient for the Left because it associates conservatism and fascism with the past, and distinguishes it from progressivism, which is obviously concerned with the future. What makes the charge believable on the surface is that Trump, like most conservatives, seems to want America to get back to the good old days. Isn't that what Hitler promised to do? Wasn't his Third Reich a reactionary attempt to restore the First Reich of Charlemagne and the Second Reich of Bismarck?

Perhaps, but Trump's promised restoration is concerned with bringing back jobs. It is also about making government smaller and less bureaucratic. It is not about repealing progress in America on civil rights or women going to work. It is not about sending gays back into the closet. So, too, modern conservatism is about restoring the ideals of the founders, not the actual agrarian, undeveloped world in which the founders lived. So the right seeks to apply old principles which it considers enduring or permanent truths in our new situation today, so as to create a better future. There is nothing reactionary about that.

Nor were Mussolini's fascism or Hitler's national socialism reactionary in the classic sense. "All of Hitler's political ideas," Stanley Payne writes in "A History of Fascism," "had their origin in the Enlightenment." Historian Richard Evans that "none of the voters who flocked to the polls in support of Hitler" sought "to restore a lost past. On the contrary, they were inspired by a vague yet powerful vision of the future." This vision invoked symbols from the past, but it "did not involve just looking back, or forward, but both."

One of the groups that most strongly supported fascism in Italy was the self-designated futurists. Led by Filippo Marinetti, the futurists championed fast cars and new technologies and viewed themselves as on the cutting edge both of the sciences and of art. This was the group that encouraged fascism and Nazism to use new advances in technology and up-to-date techniques of media and propaganda. Historian Zeev Sternhell concludes that far from being reactionary, "The conceptual framework of fascism was nonconformist, avant-garde, and revolutionary in character."

The fascists and the Nazis sought to create a new man and new utopia freed from the shackles of the old religion and old allegiances. The whole mood of fascism and Nazism was beautifully captured in the Nazi youth depicted in the movie Cabaret, who sings not about a lost past but rather that "tomorrow belongs to me." Fascism's appeal was, as both its critics and enthusiasts recognized at the time, more progressive and forward-looking than it was backward and reactionary.

Authoritarianism.This is a big one, based on what the Left insists is a shared characteristic of Trump and fascist dictators. Even historian Timothy Snyder, a reputable scholar of fascism, affirms that Trump is an authoritarian in the manner of Hitler and Mussolini. Now Hitler and Mussolini were indeed authoritarians, but it doesn't follow that authoritarianism equals fascism or Nazism. Lenin and Stalin were authoritarian, but neither was a fascist. Many dictators Franco in Spain, Pinochet in Chile, Peron in Argentina, Idi Amin in Uganda were authoritarian without being fascists or Nazis.

Trump admittedly has a bossy style that he gets from, well, being a boss. He has been a corporate boss allof his life, and he also plays a boss on TV. Republicans elected Trump because they needed a tough guy to take on Hillary; previously they tried bland, harmless candidates like Mitt Romney, and look where that got them.

That being said, Trump has done nothing to subvert the democratic process. While progressives continue to allege a plot between Trump and the Russians to rig the election, the only evidence for actual rigging comes from the Democratic National Committee's attempt to rig the 2016 primary in favor of Hillary over Bernie. This rigging evoked virtually no dissent from Democratic officials or from the media, suggesting the support, or at least acquiescence, of the whole progressive movement and most of the party itself.

Trump has criticized judges, sometimes in derisive terms, but there is nothing undemocratic about this. Lincoln blasted Justice Taney over the Dred Scott decision, and FDR was virtually apoplectic when the Supreme Court blocked his New Deal initiatives.

Criticizing the media isn't undemocratic, either. The First Amendment isn't just a press prerogative; the president, too, has the right of free speech.

Authoritarians undermine legitimate structures of authority; has Trump or the GOP done this? Some progressives accused the GOP Senate leadership of undermining checks and balances by invoking the "nuclear option" to shut down a Democratic filibuster and confirm Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. Yet these progressives forgot to mention that it was former Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid who first invoked the "nuclear option," and Republicans were thus merely acting on his precedent.

Authoritarians often try to run your private life. Think of the way that authoritarian regimes like the Nazis and the Soviets sought to regulate the way that people worshipped or what they read or how they conducted their everyday life, a mindset captured in the Nazi saying that "only sleep is a private matter." Do you think Trump remotely cares how you live your private life? Does it matter to him which deity you worship or what book you read? Of course not.

Authoritarians strike fear into their opponents, while the very fact that Trump is flayed daily across countless media platforms shows that his opponents feel quite free to speak their minds. Consider a telling contrast. Hitler wiped out his opponents in the infamous Night of the Long Knives on June 30, 1934. Mussolini silenced his critics by taking over the presses and had one of his prominent opponents, Giacomo Matteotti, murdered.

Consider what Trump did, by contrast, to the singer Cher, who once said "some nasty sh**" about him. "I knocked the [sh**] out of her" on Twitter, Trump boasted, "and she never said a thing about me after that." He let her have it on Twitter. This is hardly the mark of an authoritarian.

Nationalism.If there is one feature that progressives consider essential to fascism and Nazism, it's nationalism.

Clearly Trump is a nationalist, and the modern American Right is nationalist and comfortable with the symbols of traditional patriotism, such as the waving of the flag or boisterous renditions of the national anthem and "God Bless America." By contrast, the modern Left is internationalist it has little patience with displays of traditional patriotism and this seems to distinguish the Left on the one hand, from the Nazis, the fascists and the American conservatives on the other.

Yet is nationalism or even ultra-nationalism sufficient to make one a fascist? Was Mussolini more of a nationalist than, say, Churchill or De Gaulle? George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were nationalists. The French revolutionaries were all nationalists. Nelson Mandela was a nationalist. Castro was a nationalist who coined the revolutionary slogan, "The Fatherland or Death." Che Guevara was a nationalist, as was Pol Pot. Even when he lived in England and South Africa, Gandhi was a dedicated Indian nationalist. Stalin was a nationalist who championed "Mother Russia." Obviously it makes no sense to call these men fascists.

It is also worth remarking that if Hitler and Mussolini were nationalists as they unquestionably were they were nationalists of a very different type than American conservatives. "Mussolini was not a traditional nationalist," historian Zeev Sternhell writes. A. James Gregor goes further. "Mussolini was opposed to traditional patriotism and conventional nationalist appeals." Early in his career Mussolini ridiculed the Italian flag and called the army "a criminal organization designed to protect capitalism and bourgeois society." Hitler called himself a nationalist but he refused to call himself a patriot.

Both sought a new type of nationalism which involved loyalty not to the nation as it was but to the new nation they sought to create. Fascist nationalism called upon citizens to subordinate their private concerns fully to the centralized state. This type of nationalism let's call it statist or collectivist nationalism more closely resembles the American Left than the American Right, since the American Right holds, with Reagan, that "government is not the solution. Government is the problem."

Militarism.Another characteristic regularly used by progressives to link Trump to fascism and Nazism is his alleged militarism. In March The Washington Post featured a headline charging, "The Trump Presidency Ushers in a New Age of Militarism." Now fascism and Nazism were indeed militaristic. Hitler and Mussolini were both veterans of World War I, and of course they were, along with their Japanese allies, the joint perpetrators of World War II.

Even so, historian Stanley Payne writes that "fascism is usually said to have been expansionist and imperialist by definition, but this is not clear from a reading of diverse fascist programs." Indeed "several fascist movements had little interest in or even rejected new imperial ambitions," while others advocated war that was "generally defensive rather than aggressive."

I mention this not to exonerate fascism and Nazism on this score, but to highlight that we should not confuse the incidental features of an ideology with its central characteristics. If fascism was imperialistic because it flourished in the interregnum between two world wars, it doesn't follow that fascism is inherently militaristic or that militarism is one of its defining features. By analogy, if the American founders were farmers, it doesn't follow that farming was central to the American founding. Leftists seem to routinely attribute the accidental features of Nazism and fascism to the ideologies themselves.

Trump is not a militarist. He is, in fact, less militarist than his party. Of course Trump wants to defeat ISIS militarily, but this is because ISIS is a terrorist organization that seeks to destroy America. In early April this year, Trump ordered a strike against a Syrian airfield. This seems to have been an outraged response to horrific pictures Trump saw showing the victims of a chemical gas attack by the Syrian despot Bashar Assad. Trump's action was a surprise to his critics and supporters alike, neither of whom expected Trump to intervene in this way.

The conventions of social media do not require that we check out the backgrounds of the people that we retweet.

Trump's Syria action seems anomalous given his general semi-isolationist stance. While the GOP generally supported Bush's invasion of Iraq, for instance, Trump campaigned for the presidency on his opposition to the war. If Trump wanted to annex Mexico and make it part of Greater USA, then he could be accused of imitating Hitler's Lebensraum. But nothing could be further from Trump's mind. He has outlined a vision of a less interventionist America that focuses on its own internal problems.

Racism and xenophobia.This is the final and most incendiary charge. Every comparison between Trump and the Nazis goes here. By way of a single sample, Elizabeth Warren explains Trump's rise as the product of an "ugly stew of racism." Perhaps the strongest basis for the charge is that the Left has uncovered some white supremacists and anti-Semites who say they back Trump. One of them, Richard Spencer, held a notorious rally in which he and his few dozen supporters cried out, "Hail Trump."

Spencer seems here to be doing his best Hitler imitation. Yet if these racists and anti-Semites endorse Trump, Trump himself doesn't endorse them. The best the Left can show is that Trump has retweeted some statements by white nationalists even though the statements themselves are benign. I retweet people all the time without knowing much about them. The conventions of social media do not require that we check out the backgrounds of the people that we retweet.

Notice that over the course of American history, many racists voted for Lincoln who actively courted the anti-immigrant, Know Nothing Vote and Wilson and FDR, who also actively sought the votes of avowed racists. It doesn't follow that Lincoln, Wilson and FDR were racists. Lincoln clearly wasn't a racist. Wilson was; the evidence on FDR is somewhat ambiguous. My point here, however, is simply that the racist vote by itself doesn't make its beneficiary a racist.

Obviously, the question still remains: Why do these guys like Trump if Trump isn't a racist like them? One possible answer is that these are jobless guys, losers in society, some of them total imbeciles. Whatever they call themselves fascists or whatever frankly, I don't believe they are fascists or know much about fascism. Hitler would have sent most of them straight to the gas chambers. (Let's recall that one of the earliest categories of people Hitler euthanized were the so-called "imbeciles.") It's quite possible that these guys support Trump because they expect him to bring back unskilled jobs. In other words racists might still like Trump for reasons that have nothing to do with racism.

Trump was being at worst somewhat insensitive. Insensitivity is not the same thing as bigotry.

Once the charge of having racist supporters is relinquished, not much else remains. Is Trump a racist and xenophobe because he "hates immigrants" and once called a Hispanic federal judge a "Mexican?" Yes I know; the judge in question is a U.S. citizen. I'm a U.S. citizen, so that would be like calling me an "East Indian." Even if someone else intends to insult me by calling me an Indian, I'm not offended; what's the big deal? Even for those who are thin-skinned, Trump was being at worst somewhat insensitive. Insensitivity is not the same thing as bigotry.

Trump's statements about Muslims cannot be termed racist for the simple reason that Islam is a religion, not a race. Can they, however, be termed xenophobic? Let's consider Trump's executive order banning travel to America from several Muslim-majority countries. These happen to be countries that breed terrorists. They are also countries where the vetting of people, some of whom have been displaced from their homes and communities, is especially difficult. Locke says that whatever other tasks a government undertakes whether humanitarian or otherwise its primary duty is to protect its own citizens from foreign and domestic thugs. That isn't fascism; it's classical liberalism.

Similarly, classical liberalism holds that a liberal society is a social compact among citizens who agree to come together for certain benefits and protections that they seek in common. In exchange for these protections and privileges, they give up the exercise of some of their natural rights. The point here is that natural rights belong to everyone, but civil and constitutional rights are the product of a social compact. It follows, therefore, that civil rights belong only to citizens. Aliens who are not part of the American social compact don't have any constitutional rights. Again, Trump in denying that illegal aliens have a constitutional right to be here is in the mainstream of the liberal tradition.

Trump isn't against "immigrants" for the simple reason that illegal aliens are not immigrants. Leftists in Congress and the media routinely and deliberately conflate legal and illegal immigrants, as in New York Gov.Andrew Cuomo's comical rant, "We are all immigrants," and this front page headline in The New York Times: "More Immigrants Face Deportation Under New Rules."

According to this leftist narrative, my wife Debbie (immigrant from Venezuela) and I (immigrant from India) are Trump's targets, and we should be living in fear. But this is a lie, and Cuomo and the editors of The Times know it. Trump has no intention to send us packing to our countries of origin. Trump's distinction is between legal immigrants and lawbreakers who seek to circumvent the immigration process.

This is not a racial distinction. Trump has never said that America is a white man's country or that brown or black people should not emigrate here. Most legal immigrants today come from Asia, Africa and South America, and Trump seems fine with that.

Contrast Trump's position with that of Hitler. The Jews of Germany were legal immigrants or descended from legal immigrants. They were German citizens. Yet Hitlerdid not consider them to be true Germans. The Nuremberg Laws stripped Jews of their German citizenship. So for Hitler the line was not between legal and illegal immigrants. It was not even between immigrants and native-born Germans. Rather, it was a racial line between Nordics or Aryan Germanic people on the one hand, and Jews and other non-Aryan "inferiors" on the other.

Finally, there's anti-Semitism, a charge that has been made against Trump by Senator Al Franken, among others. But nothing could be more absurd. Trump is, if anything, philo-Semitic. This shouldn't come as a surprise. He has a Jewish daughter-in-law, a Jewish son-in-law who is also one of his closest advisers, a daughter on whom he dotes (who converted to Judaism), and Jewish grandchildren.

As we can see from his April 2017 Holocaust remembrance speech widely praised by Jewish leaders and his May address at Israel's Yad Vashem memorial, Trump is unapologetically pro-Jewish and pro-Israel in way that his predecessor Barack Obama never was. In the words of Israel's prime minister, Netanyahu, "There is no greater supporter of the Jewish people and the Jewish state than President Donald Trump." In sum, Trump is no racist, no anti-Semite, and no fascist.

Dinesh D'Souza's new book, "The Big Lie: Exposing the Nazi Roots of the American Left," is published by Regnery.

(photo credit, homepage and article images: Gage Skidmore)

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Ideas: Mark vs Musk, or utopia vs dystopia – The Indian Express

Posted: at 10:39 am

Written by Shruti Dhapola | Updated: August 3, 2017 10:40 am The worst nightmare in this scenario is of the creation of a new-age Frankensteins monster, a super-intelligent entity that is beyond human control. (Illustration: C R Sasikumar)

What is artificial intelligence (AI)? Why is there so much discussion in science and tech circles about it?

Artificial Intelligence comes from computer systems that have been programmed to or have learnt to do tasks that would otherwise require human intelligence. Many apps and software are already making mundane work easier by doing a certain part of it for us, based on acquired intelligence. Companies like Uber are working on cars that travel from point to point, negotiating hurdles on the way and taking decisions on their own to ensure the journey is event-less.

While the full evolution of AI can open up a world of incredible possibilities, a fear many scientists have had is of computers beginning to gradually start doing things differently from the way in which a human programmer would do them. The worst nightmare in this scenario is of the creation of a new-age Frankensteins monster, a super-intelligent entity that is beyond human control.

And what was the exchange between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg about?

It started when the Facebook CEO was asked his views on AI during a Facebook Live Q&A on July 23. A viewer referred to fears expressed by Musk about AI getting out of hand (details in next question). Zuckerberg rejected Musks fears. I have pretty strong opinions on this. I am optimistic, he said. And I think people who are naysayers and try to drum up these doomsday scenarios I just, I dont understand it. Its really negative and in some ways I actually think it is pretty irresponsible.

Two days later, Musk hit back. Ive talked to Mark [Zuckerberg] about this. His understanding of the subject is limited, he tweeted on July 25. Zuckerberg didnt respond to this tweet, but wrote a Facebook post congratulating the AI team at his company, and reiterating his faith in the ability of AI to do good.

One reason Im so optimistic about AI is that improvements in basic research improve systems across so many different fields from diagnosing diseases to keep us healthy, to improving self-driving cars to keep us safe, and from showing you better content in News Feed to delivering you more relevant search results, he wrote. Every time we improve our AI methods, all of these systems get better. Im excited about all the progress here and its potential to make the world better.

So why is Musk apprehensive about AI?

The comment that Zuckerberg got asked about was made on July 15, when Musk told the National Governors Association summer meeting at Providence, Rhode Island: I have exposure to the very cutting edge AI, and I think people should be really concerned about it. I keep sounding the alarm bell, but until people see robots going down the street killing people, they dont know how to react, because it seems so ethereal.

Musk has held such views for several years now. In 2014, addressing students at MIT, he had said, I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I were to guess like what our biggest existential threat is, its probably that Increasingly, scientists think there should be some regulatory oversight, maybe at the national and international level, just to make sure that we dont do something very foolish. In the same speech, Musk compared AI to summoning the demon, and warned we might not be able to control it.

Also in 2014, Musk had tweeted: We need to be super careful with AI. Potentially more dangerous than nukes.

In June 2016, he told The Code Conference (where industry influencers have in-depth conversations about the current and future impact of digital technology on our lives), I dont love the idea of being a house cat, adding that the way to avoid that fate was a neural lace, a sort of injectible mesh that fits on the human brain and gives it digital computing capabilities. Creating a neural lace is the thing that really matters for humanity to achieve symbiosis with machines, he tweeted on June 4, 2016.

In February 2017, Musk reiterated the need for humans to become cyborgs through a merger of biological intelligence and machine intelligence to keep up with the robots that would soon take away a huge number of jobs. During his July 15 speech, he stressed on enforcing immediate regulation of AI: We need to be proactive about regulation instead of reactive, he said. Because I think by the time we are reactive in AI regulation, its too late. Governments couldnt afford to wait until a whole bunch of bad things happen, because AI represents a fundamental risk to the existence of civilisation, Musk said.

Is Musk alone in taking a grim view of AI?

No, Musk isnt the only one who believes unregulated AI could be a disaster for humanity. In an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session on Reddit earlier this year, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said that in a few years, AI would be strong enough to warrant concern. Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking had told the BBC in 2014 that the development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.

Okay, but didnt Facebook panic and shut down its AI programme this week?

There have, indeed, been reports about Facebook shutting down one of its AI programmes, apparently because things went out of control with two chatbots that had started to talk to each other in a language humans could not understand. The reason Facebook shut the programme, however, was not runaway AI rather, it was only that the programme could not have brought any benefits to the company.

The programme in question allowed bots (autonomous programmes on a network) to communicate and negotiate with each other, in ways similar to humans. Unveiling the programme in June 2017, Facebook had said that these AI chatbots could create their own sentences, and did not have to stick to a script.

The problem was that the language they created to negotiate made sense to them, but could not be understood by humans and was, therefore, useless. This is how the conversation between the chat agents went:

Bob: I can i i everything else

Alice: balls have zero to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to

Bob: you i everything else

Alice: balls have a ball to me to me to me to me to me to me to me to me

Finally then, does AI really pose an existential threat to humanity?

It is important to understand that most research is still in the machine learning stage which entails teaching these deep neural networks (which mimic the human brain) something over and over again, depending on the task. For example, to ensure a programme or machine can recognise images and identify them correctly, the machine learning exercise would involve showing this network millions and millions of images, until it can identify them correctly.

AI is a complex subject; it would be simplistic to look at it as all bad or all good. But robots and AI taking away middle-class, manufacturing jobs in the not-so-distant future is a very real prospect that will have to be addressed by governments sooner than they probably think. Then theres the question of removing racial/class/gender bias from AI-driven programmes Microsoft was forced to shut down its chatbot Tay within 16 hours of launching it in March 2016 after Tay quickly learnt, and tweeted offensive material.

On the other hand, research shows AI can help identify diseases much better, faster, and be a boon to medical research. Self-driven cars are already here in fact, Elon Musks Tesla cars have an Auto-Pilot mode, which is self-driven. Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Samsung, all are relying on AI in some form in their products. There is little doubt that sooner or later, discussions about its impact on humanity will move to public, legislative and policy making fora.

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Bjrk’s Utopian Follow-Up to ‘Vulnucira’ Will Soon Be Upon Us – Flavorwire

Posted: at 10:39 am

Bjrk shared an at once informative and not-so-informative post on Instagram this morning:

Over a year ago, actually, Bjrk announced that she was working on a utopian follow up to her last album,Vulnicura(which with both apocalyptic grandeur and granularity documented a breakup, and which the artist compared to hell). And, from the looks of it, that new album will soon be upon us; in fact, its already available to pre-order on her website though that doesnt mean the site provides any details about the content, or the title, or even the release date.

However, Bjrk recently did a soon-to-be-released interviewfor the cover story ofDazeds Autumn issue,that in part details the upcoming album and the magazine shared a preview of that feature today. The album, it notes, sees her collaborating once again with Arca, and she calls their work together the strongest musical bond [shes] ever had.

Bjrk also tells the magazine, This is like my Tinder albumIts about that search (for utopia) and about being in love. Spending time with a person you enjoy is when the dream becomes real. I, personally, want to hear a Scruff album from Bjrk but we cant have everything. Beyondwhat may or may not be poetized versions of swiping left set to sonic imaginings of the movements of tectonic plates, Bjrk also hints at a political drive for the album, a utopian dream to contrast the surge in right wing populism. She says, If were gonna survive the situation the world is in today, weve got to come up with a new plan. Especially now, this kind of dream is an emergency.

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Active Trading Watch on Shares of Oceania Capital Partners Ltd (OCP.AX) – Hayden Business Journal

Posted: at 10:39 am

When choosing indicators for technical stock analysis, traders and investors may opt to examine the ATR or Average True Range. The present 14-day ATR for Oceania Capital Partners Ltd (OCP.AX) is currently sitting at 0.05. The ATR basically measures the volatility of a stock on a day-to-day basis. The average true range is typically based on 14 periods and may be calculated daily, weekly, monthly, or intraday. The ATR is not considered a directional indicator, but it may reflect the strength of a particular move.

Checking in on some other technical levels, the 14-day RSI is currently at 59.58, the 7-day stands at 55.78, and the 3-day is sitting at 48.46. The RSI, or Relative Strength Index, is a commonly used technical momentum indicator that compares price movement over time. The RSI was created by J. Welles Wilder who was striving to measure whether or not a stock was overbought or oversold. The RSI may be useful for spotting abnormal price activity and volatility. The RSI oscillates on a scale from 0 to 100. The normal reading of a stock will fall in the range of 30 to 70. A reading over 70 would indicate that the stock is overbought, and possibly overvalued. A reading under 30 may indicate that the stock is oversold, and possibly undervalued.

Another technical indicator that may be a powerful resource for determining trend strength is the Average Directional Index or ADX. The ADX was introduced by J. Welles Wilder in the late 1970s and it has stood the test of time. The ADX is typically used in conjunction with the Plus Directional Indicator (+DI) and Minus Directional Indicator (-DI) to help spot trend direction as well as trend strength. At the time of writing, the 14-day ADX for Oceania Capital Partners Ltd (OCP.AX) is noted at 34.01. Many technical analysts believe that an ADX value over 25 would suggest a strong trend. A reading under 20 would indicate no trend, and a reading from 20-25 would suggest that there is no clear trend signal.

The Williams Percent Range or Williams %R is another technical indicator worth taking a look at. Oceania Capital Partners Ltd (OCP.AX) currently has a 14 day Williams %R of -34.48. The Williams %R fluctuates between 0 and -100 measuring whether a security is overbought or oversold. The Williams %R is similar to the Stochastic Oscillator except it is plotted upside-down. Levels above -20 may indicate the stock may be considered is overbought. If the indicator travels under -80, this may signal that the stock is oversold. Chart analysts may also use the indicator to project possible price reversals and to define trends.

Oceania Capital Partners Ltd (OCP.AX) currently has a 14-day Commodity Channel Index (CCI) of 27.78. Active investors may choose to use this technical indicator as a stock evaluation tool. Used as a coincident indicator, the CCI reading above +100 would reflect strong price action which may signal an uptrend. On the flip side, a reading below -100 may signal a downtrend reflecting weak price action. Using the CCI as a leading indicator, technical analysts may use a +100 reading as an overbought signal and a -100 reading as an oversold indicator, suggesting a trend reversal.

A certain stock price rally by itself may not be sufficient evidence when making important investing decisions. To understand whether buying a stock at a higher price is justified by its long-term return potential, it is necessary to keep the finger on the pulse of underlying fundamentals. Following the latest data may help investors make the tough portfolio decisions. Investors may also want to set personal financial goals to help ensure that they are staying on the proper track. Financial professionals may be debating if global economic growth appears to be in a modest uptrend. This may have investors scrambling to study if developing markets are indeed growing with developed markets. This year could end up being the first year in a while where this has happened. The longer the bull market run, the tougher the investing decisions might be for the stock picker.

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Seychelles Tourism saddened as Air Seychelles adjusts European network, remains confident in maintaining visitor … – eTurboNews

Posted: at 10:38 am

The Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) is saddened by Air Seychelles decision to adjust its European network affecting Germany and France, as it signifies reduced seat capacity to cater for future growth, but remains confident that the performance of the main tourism markets will be maintained in 2017.

The national airline announced on Monday that it will suspend its twice-weekly flights to Dsseldorf from September 10 and reduce its Paris operation from four to thrice-weekly flights from September 12.

Explaining the commercial decisions, the Chief Executive of Air Seychelles Roy Kinnear said an in-depth review of the Dsseldorf route, which started in March this year had showed that the service is unsustainable, and highlighted weakened demand for air travel out of France when it comes to the Paris flight.

In a statement, Air Seychelles Chairman Jean Weeling-Lee said: Due to year on year increase of cost of fuel, an extremely competitive aviation market in Europe, and the high number of significant airlines already serving Seychelles though their connecting hubs, it unfortunately results in Air Seychelles being forced to consolidate these services.

Commenting on the decisions on Wednesday, the STB Chief Executive, Mrs. Sherin Francis, said she is indeed saddened, as the extra capacity offered by Air Seychelles on the Dsseldorf flights for example, would have assisted the market in the medium to long term as the seats capacity filled up. The upcoming cancellation of the Dsseldorf flights also signifies a loss of marketing support for STBs promotional efforts on the German market.

The airline would have also been key during peak holiday periods where we are in competition with the other destinations for seats on airlines that go through the connecting hubs, she added.

Nevertheless, Mrs. Francis said the Seychelles Tourism Board will continue working with other airlines already serving the destination, to maintain and increase visitor arrivals from these European markets.

STBs role is to promote the destination and Air Seychelles is our preferred airline when it comes to marketing the destination points, where they are actually flying to. But we also make it a point to work with all other airlines serving the destination, given our priority is to ensure that we are able to increase visitor arrivals from our major markets, said Mrs. Francis.

Its always good to have direct flights, especially by your own national airline as this means the Seychelles experience starts the minute the client gets onboard, but unfortunately the [Dsseldorf] flight had to be stopped and STB will have no choice but to work with other airlines to maintain our performance on the German market, she added.

Highlighting the importance of the German market, Air Seychelles CEO, Mr. Kinnear has already said that the airline will continue to work with its codeshare partners to offer one-stop connections via Paris with Air France and via Abu Dhabi with Etihad Airways.

Aside of several international airlines offering connections for German visitors from the main hubs, the Seychelles route is also served by German leisure airline, Condor, which operates two direct weekly flights to the island nation.

Mrs. Francis remarked that STB will continue with its role of promoting the destination whether direct flights are available or not, and when it comes to France she added that STB will continue to support and market Air Seychelles thrice-weekly flights to Paris in September.

Its important that we work together to make it work and hopefully later on in their planning they can go back to four flights when the market starts to grow again. But for now, its important that we support the three Air Seychelles flights as it still connects Seychelles to Paris and the rest of Europe, said Mrs. Francis.

Statistics show that 23,963 French visitors have disembarked in Seychelles up to July 30th, representing a 3 percent decrease so far this year compared to the same period in 2016.

In spite of recording a slight drop, which can be linked to several factors including the French elections earlier this year, France remains a significant market for Seychelles and the STB is pleased that the figures have been maintained at almost the same level as last year.

Now that the elections are over it is the moment for us to come up with strategies to stimulate demand and achieve growth on that market for next year, Mrs. Francis added.

Germany on the other hand has taken the number one spot since June, surpassing France, which has long been the main tourism market for Seychelles.

According to latest statistics available from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Germany has sent 27,078 visitors to the island nation up to July 30, representing a 33 percent increase over last years figures.

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Seychelles restaurants win accolades at World Luxury Restaurant Awards – eTurboNews

Posted: at 10:38 am

Seychelles Creole cuisine, which combines flavors from French, English, African, Indian, and Chinese cooking, is one of the island nations unique factors.

Creole food is one of the aspects that tourism operators, especially hotels and restaurants, strive to promote among visitors to Seychelles.

Two restaurants in Seychelles have received accolades at the World Luxury Restaurant Awards, which inspires excellence and ignites healthy competition in the luxury restaurant industry.

The second edition of the World Luxury Restaurant Awards ceremony was held on July 22, where winners were presented with their prizes at the JW Marriott Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Constance Ephelias signature restaurant Cyann was crowned the Seychelles Luxury Resort Restaurant, while Carana Beach Hotels Lorizon Restaurant received the award for the Seychelles restaurant providing the Best Ambience or Romantic Atmosphere.

The Constance Ephelia resort is located at Port Launay on the western coast of Mah. Its Cyann Restaurant, which offers a beautiful view over the Port Launay marine park, is open for both lunch and dinner. Guests can expect to experience the precision of French culinary techniques combined with local and Asian influences. The restaurant is known for its sushi and selection of signature dishes.

Commenting on the accolade, Constance Ephelias General Manager, Kai Hoffmeister said: I am delighted that our team received this award, because it recognizes all the hard work and effort it has put into keeping our luxury hospitality standards to a higher level.

Lorizon restaurant was nominated in the Best Ambiance/Romantic Atmosphere category after representatives of the World Luxury Restaurant Awards visited the restaurant in February this year.

Lorizon is the Creole word for horizon as the restaurant provides guests with a dining experience that offers a sweeping view of the ocean, while they savor what the owners describe as their innovative cuisine using products sourced from the Denis Island farm.

Carana Beach hotels Director Alan Mason said: Were so excited for our team to be awarded with recognition of this caliber. Its one that recognizes how the entire Carana Beach concept has come together, from the idea stage right through to the execution.

The World Luxury Restaurant Awards made its debut in 2016. Restaurants from across the globe are nominated based on three main criteria: interior design, the quality and presentation of the cuisine, and a reputation for excellent service and positive reviews.

According to the World Luxury Restaurant Awards, nominations are done by guests, food critics, bloggers and other relevant experts. The restaurants may also nominate themselves.

The 2017 nominees were competing in 81 different categories.

The final outcome is based on votes received per category and awards are presented on a country, continent and global basis.

In 2016, AVANI Seychelles Barbarons Resort and Spas Tamarind Restaurant was crowned the Seychelles best in Thai cuisine.

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