Daily Archives: February 6, 2020

Is Apple Maps better? Plus, iPhone rumors, Mac gaming gets a boost, and more – Macworld

Posted: February 6, 2020 at 5:49 pm

Is Apple Maps better? iPhone rumors, Mac gaming gets a boost: Macworld Podcast episode 684 | Macworld ');consent.ads.queue.push(function(){ try { IDG.GPT.addDisplayedAd("gpt-superstitial", "true"); $('#gpt-superstitial').responsiveAd({screenSize:'971 1115', scriptTags: []}); IDG.GPT.log("Creating ad: gpt-superstitial [971 1115]"); }catch (exception) {console.log("Error with IDG.GPT: " + exception);} }); Macworld Podcast episode 684

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Could we actually see a foldable iPhone in the future? GeForce Now gives Mac gaming a boost. Apple updates Apple Maps, but theres still plenty of room for improvement. All this and more on this episode of the Macworld Podcast.

This is episode 684 with Leif Johnson, Roman Loyola, and Michael Simon.

Apple announced last week that Apple Maps has been revised with new map data thats now available across the United States. Well talk about the new features and what improvements we want to see in the future.

We love hearing from you. Let us know what youre thinking via email at podcast@macworld.com, or you can contact us through Twitter (@macworld) or on Facebook.

Here are some recent comments that caught our eye.

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The Macworld Podcast is also available on Spotify.

To find previous episodes, visit Macworlds podcast page or our home on Soundcloud.

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MHS Indians Beat Madison, Win Two Conference Games – Herald Pubs

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Pictured above is Junior Braden Bryant (22) going up for a successful layup during the January 31 game against Triad. Photo by Jim Recuero

By Garrett KrohneMascoutah Herald

Two days after taking home third place in a tough Nashville Invitational Tournament, the Mascoutah Indians were back in action Monday night, Jan. 27, in a home game against Madison. In a tightly contested battle from start to finish, the Indians were able to hold off the visiting Trojans 53 to 51.The team would have no time to bask in the glory of their Monday win, because the Eagles of Civic Memorial flew into town on Tuesday evening, Jan 28. The Indians were able to grab the early four point lead after the first quarter, and were able to extend their lead to 13 before the half courtesy of a 17 to 8 second quarter scoring output.Heading into the second half with a 33 to 20 lead, the Indians would look to continue their consistency on offense. The visiting Eagles were able to pick it up offensively, but Mascoutah answered every punch. Although the Indian defense allowed 17 third quarter points, the offense was able to hold off the Eagle rally with 17 points of their own, which enabled the Indians to carry their 13 point lead into the final frame. The Indians were outscored in the final frame, but they were the beneficiaries of a double digit lead. They were able to send the Eagles flying back to Bethalto with a 63 to 51 loss.The Indians, winners of three straight, looked to continue to keep the pendulum swinging in their favor Friday night, Jan. 31, against conference rival, Triad High School in Troy.The Indians were able to jump out to a quick lead courtesy of four straight points coming from Ryan Bibb and Ryan Norwood. The Knights were not fazed on the road, and responded with six straight points of their own to claim the lead.Much to the liking of the Indian faithful, Mascoutah was able to counter with five straight points, again coming from the likes of the Bibb-Norwood tandem. The Indians were then able to go on to score nine out of the next 11 points and spread the margin to five, prompting a Knight timeout. Triad was able to continue the back and forth theme of the first quarter, and countered Mascoutahs burst with a 10 to 5 run to close out the quarter, enabling them to tie the game at 18 going into the second quarter.The Indians came out of the gates firing in period two. A Jack Seibert bucket, followed by a Jacob Rudolphi triple, capped off with a basket from Ryan Lajoye, gave the Indians a seven point lead, their largest of the game. Triad was able to rally, and a 9 to 3 run put the Knights back to within one as the two teams headed to the locker room at halftime.The two teams went toe-to-toe with each other throughout the third quarter, but after Triad took a 29 to 28 lead right away, Mascoutah answered the bell with a pair of three pointers. All of a sudden the lead was back up to five. Mascoutah was able to head into the final period with a four point advantage. The Indians were able to extend their lead to eight at one point in the frame, but six straight Triad points put them back to within two.With just over a minute to play, the two teams were knotted at 52 apiece, and Triad was heading to line with a chance to claim the lead after an Indian timeout. The Knights were able to gain the one point advantage, but a Jack Seibert bucket put the Indians up by one. Triad was able to grab the lead once again with under a minute to play, then Justin King said check mate. King drove baseline and gave the Indians a one point lead with 13 ticks left. Triad was able to give the Indians a scare, but a missed free throw on the front end of a one and one spelled Knight Time for the visitors. The Indians were able to ride off into the night with a 56 to 55 victory.The three victories on the week moved the Indians to 12 and 10 on the campaign and 4 and 0 in conference play. The team will continue their surge Tuesday, Feb. 4, on the road at Highland before participating in the OFallon Shootout on Friday, Feb. 7. (Details of the February 4 game was unavailable at press time.)

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Replaying older Battlefield games proves how hard DICE dropped the ball with Battlefield 5 – VG247

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Going back and playing older Battlefield games really does give you perspective.

Its the beginning of February, and Big Video Games are thin on the ground. In the absence of a zeitgeist-ruling new triple-A release, Ive been catching up on some of last years gems in between my frustrated, confused bouts with the hot 2016 release, Escape from Tarkov.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare dominated much of my free time over the holiday break, but after completing the Battle Pass and reaching max level, there was nothing really left for me to grind. Modern Warfare, as you may recall, dear reader, never quite did it for me in the ways Id hoped. Ground War, in particular, exhausted all of its puddle-deep potential, and I exhausted all ways in trying to make it fun. So, after enough hemming and hawing, I decided to return to my true go-to: Battlefield.

I had to start with Battlefield 5. Its the most recent, best-looking and currently active game. I had been keeping up with the goings-on from a distance, but I never quite imagined how desperate things were. The recent TTK update turned the once lethal gunplay into mushy, loot shooter dance where a single enemy takes most of a magazine to drop. Players of course turned to the fastest-firing weapons to compensate, which all but killed variety.

The killfeed became dominated by the Type 2A, a fast-firing Medic SMG that dodged the TTK nerf. Even the recently added Pacific maps, themselves a highlight, couldnt hold enough charm to make encounters any less boring.

Demoralised, I turned to Battlefield 4.

Battlefield 4 is the closest thing to a comfy t-shirt or a pair of jeans to me. You put em on with little hassle, and they look good enough that you dont feel bad about wearing them. Likewise, Battlefield 4 is exciting if predictable and recent enough to look and play well.

Years of patches and DLC support turned Battlefield 4 into a very competent, fun, and content-stuffed shooter. This isnt news, of course, but it was heartening to go back and remember how well DICE closed the book on that game, which began life with a disaster of a launch.

Battlefield 4s sheer assortment of maps, weapons, and modes ensure you always have something to look forward to, a toy to play with, or a mode you never actually played on that one DLC map. Even today, community servers are keeping a significant chunk of that content alive and in rotation. And though Ill always dread the fast-vehicle-spawn and/or Operation Corridor 64-player, 1,000 ticket server spam, its hard not to be gleeful after spending a few hours in Battlefield 4s sandbox.

I came away satisfied, enough that I decided to continue this stroll down memory lane. Battlefield 3 was next on the list.

Excluding BF1, Battlefield 3 is the hardest of the post-Bad Company 2 games to return to. Part of that is expected; its a nine-year-old game whose individual components are inevitably less refined than its successors. Battlefield 3 may not have BF4s breadth of content, or Battlefield 5s destruction, but it has something neither game can claim: focus.

Battlefield 3s different maps and modes were designed to each offer a specific experience. In retrospect, its exactly the sort of game DICE would have made at that point in time. An attempt to satisfy the Call of Duty crowd back when EA was still breathlessly chasing after it with close-quarters, meat grinder maps, as well as Battlefields PC veterans whose hearts collectively fluttered upon watching that Caspian Border reveal.

This dichotomy ended up working in Battlefield 3s favour more often than it didnt, because the different niches DICE set out to attract were all well catered to. Sure, it may forever be remembered as the game to introduce an auto-spotting minimap and the headache-inducing suppression effect, but most will forever cherish their time with Damavand Peak and Grand Bazaar Rush, Caspian Border and Seine Crossing Conquest, and the ever-popular Noshar Canals TDM. And those are only launch maps. The desire to craft distinct experiences also carried over to DLC.

Battlefield 3s extensive catalogue is responsible for standout experiences of its own, like pretty much anything in the Aftermath expansion, the unique micro-destruction in Close Quarters, and the unprecedented scale of Armored Kill. Each of them offered unique takes on Battlefield 3s mechanics, exploring them in ways that didnt previously exist. Battlefield 4 may have plenty of large environments, but few can compare to Armored Kills. CQC maps exist there, too, but nothing creates the chaos or innovation in micro-destruction seen in Close Quarters. And Aftermath, well, nothing before or since could replicate that DLCs atmosphere, creative use of terrain or level design.

Thankfully, the community has kept these pockets alive and well. If you dont mind player counts being a bit too high for a given map, or the sometimes restrictive server rules, all of these moments can be relived at will.

Battlefield 1 infuriates me, and Bad Company 2 is hard to enjoy in 2020 (Ive tried). Which means I needed to hop on my least-played Battlefield ever, the ill-fated Hardline.

Its no exaggeration to say that Battlefield Hardline is the most bizarre Battlefield yet. Starting with its tone-deaf police vs criminals theme, all the way to map and mode design, it never quite justified its existence. In some parts, Visceral really just made a sometime worse, sometimes better Battlefield 4 with a cops and robbers skin. In others, Hardline stands as a weird anomaly thats nonetheless very keen on introducing its own ideas, if only to prove that its definitely, absolutely not a BF4 reskin.

Take the modes Blood Money and Heist two of the more interesting in Hardlines launch line-up. Both revolve around stealing or securing money, and wouldnt exist in any other Battlefield without significant retooling. They, along with Hotwire are also entirely unique in the locations they take you to, and the gameplay they offer. From bank vaults, skyscraper rooftops, and long stretches of roads, that trio was novel then, but less so now.

Much of what made me quit at launch remains there. Visibility is very poor, and its accentuated by the worst spawn logic in any Battlefield game. Every time I spawned, I had to double check it didnt place me next to a group of enemies. So many of my deaths were running past players thinking theyre my teammates. Maps may look like real-world LA homes or downtown banks, but they werent always fun in a shooter of that scale. Funnily enough, a few maps even share similar problems with Modern Warfares Ground War, with unchecked verticality and poorly thought-out layouts in Conquest.

Still, Hardline can be fun in short bursts, but I was quickly reminded of why it didnt have a lasting impact.

This little adventure gave me some perspective: Battlefield games have often launched rough, but went on to be defined more by what they evolved into rather what they were on day one. I worry the same may not happen with Battlefield 5. Even two years on, it still feels like an in development project whose makers arent yet clear on a final vision. My best moments with Battlefield 5 were mostly in the alpha, beta and very early at launch.

DICE may eventually figure this out, but more than anything, I hope the game finds its own character. Because right now, I doubt anyone is excited to relive the current mess in a few months, let alone years from now.

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This Week in Hockey East: Analyzing the remaining conference games, trying to project the standings | College Hockey – USCHO

Posted: at 5:49 pm

Tyler Drevitch (Merrimack 4) and Jake McLaughlin (UMass 27) battle for position during a game Nov. 22, 2019, at the Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass. The game ended in a 2-2 tie (photo: Rich Gagnon).

Every now and again, the stat nerd inside of me makes an appearance and my love of number attempts to clarify what, this year at least, is a very crowded playoff picture.

Currently, just three points separates first place from eighth in Hockey East and ties for the top spot and a four-way tie for fourth place makes understand how each team may fall in the playoff picture not just interesting, but also confusing.

Right now, by winning percentage, this is what the Hockey East standings look like:

The actual standings look a little bit different because of the number of games in hand certain schools have.

All that said, when I put my stat nerd cap on, I decided to calculate which teams had the toughest go of it for the remainder of the season. I calculated the winning percentage of the remaining opponents and divided by the remaining games.

This was the result:

As you can see, it is an unfortunate schedule that remains for two of the leagues bottom three teams Merrimack and Vermont as their final games are the most difficult. Add in UConn, which is coming off a great weekend but has a lot of difficult games ahead, and it is quite possible that the three teams with the toughest schedules down the stretch are also the three teams that might miss the Hockey East playoffs.

Now, moving to the other end of the spectrum, you can see that Providence, Maine and Boston College have the easiest remaining schedules. Believe it or not, Boston College is actually in the cat-birds seat as the Eagles still have nine remaining games, thus 18 possible points, compared to Providences eight games and Maines seven.

The further stat geek decided to take this a step further and, using a differential in the winning percentage of the team and the similar winning percentage of opponents, weighing the number of remaining games and factoring in a home-ice advantage, I also came up with a predicted final standings, based 100 percent, solely on data.

As you can see, there are two ties, Massachusetts and Maine for second and Providence and UMass Lowell for fourth. I broke those ties not using the leagues tie breakers, but rather by looking at the fractions of points that werent shown because of the need to round up or down to whole numbers.

I did take into account home vs. road, something when Ive done this exercise in the past I have never done. I gave teams a 1.20x boost for home games and a .80x downgrade for road games, hoping to show the advantage a home team can have.

Now, I know what youll say. Some teams certainly are better on the road versus at home. That is true. So, Ill make it easy on you.

Here are the projected standings without the home/road bias:

Lets look at the difference, because it is significant. Maine drops from a tie from second all the way down to seventh, because six of their final seven games are at home. Lose any sort of home ice bias and you lose a lot of ground.

Conversely, Boston University jumps from sixth all the way to fourth and into a home ice spot, which is crazy given that the Terriers actually play five of their final eight league games at home. The reality is that the numbers are so thin separating one team from another, that Maine and Lowells numbers change slightly enough to place the Terriers a fraction of a point ahead of Lowell, now in fifth.

The biggest change is that UConn would make the playoffs and New Hampshire wouldnt, which shows just how close that race likely is between those two teams. UConns two wins last weekend over the Wildcats should give them hope (and any tiebreakers, if needed).

The reality is, there are other tie breakers that will actually work some of these close scenarios out. My numbers are set forth just to give fans an idea of how difficult each teams schedule is for the remainder of the season and what you should, from a statistical standpoint, expect from your favorite team.

What this doesnt take into account is heart and resiliency and, most importantly, that this game is played on ice, not paper.

Its always difficult to see a coach leave a Hockey East program, particularly after a long tenure.

Kevin Sneddon, who began his head coaching career at Vermont in the ECAC, oversaw the teams move to Hockey East and provided some memorable years announced on Wednesday he will retire from Vermont at the end of this season.

The decision to retire from college hockey coaching and announce this now has been difficult one but I truly believe it is in the best interest of the program, Sneddon said in a statement released by the university of Wednesday afternoon. I will continue to love, care and teach our student-athletes daily and compete with everything I have for the remained of this season. My players, staff and support staff mean the world to me, and I will continue to work tirelessly for them to help this team improve down the stretch.

The decision by Sneddon likely isnt surprising. His Catamounts team hasnt won a Hockey East game this season and has struggled for the large part of three seasons since his teams 20-win campaign in 2016-17.

Prior to that, there certainly were some tough years, but also moment of glory for the Catamounts. Most notable was the 2008-09 campaign where Vermont reached its second Frozen Four, falling to eventual national champion Boston University in the national semifinal.

In total, Sneddon guided Vermont to three NCAA appearances, including in 2009-10, when the Catamounts finished eighth in the Hockey East standings but qualified because of a strong out-of-conference record.

Sneddon also served as a member of the NCAA Mens Ice Hockey Committee and was a very present face during his tenure at Frozen Fours, helping guide the committee through many of their most successful national tournament.

On a personal note, Im not sure if Ive ever come across a coach as collegial as Kevin Sneddon. His mind for the game, combined with a similar mind for humanity, provided a perfect combination of values that made him a wonderful human being with whom to spend time.

I texted Kevin and asked to speak further, but he respectfully declined, noting he wanted to finish the season before going much further in depth.

Though the announcement calls this retirement, that seems crazy for a man who has yet to reach the age of 50. One should expect to see Sneddon resurface after this campaign, maybe as an assistant or, quite easily at another program. Given the right resources and talent, he has proven he can succeed.

Personally, I hope he gets another chance.

I am going to keep this brief, but still try to make clear my disdain for the overtime that had to be implemented in the second Beanpot semifinal on Monday.

Know that I was fully aware of the rule modification in the offseason that required tournaments to make a choice on how to create their overtime protocols. Currently, tournaments must, if tied after 60 minutes, play a five-on-five overtime.

A sensible solution if such a tournament is planning to use a shootout to determine a games winner.

But the Beanpot is an event steeped in tradition, and not surprisingly, they wont use gimmicky overtime like 3-on-3 or a shootout to create a modified champion. They play all of their games out to determine the best of the tournaments four schools.

So Monday, when Boston College and Boston University were tied after 60 minutes (in one of the more exciting games in recent years), it felt like a dud when, after no one scored after a five minute overtime, to declare the game a tie.

Sure BC got a boost and BU was technically stripped of some value in the PairWise (interesting to see if it even matters), but trying to explain to anyone that the epic BC-BU battle was a tie seemed wrong.

Further, the fact that Wilmer Skoogs dramatic game-winning goal in the first 20-minute overtime (deemed by some double overtime?) will never be recorded as a goal in the annuls of Boston University or the NCAA seems wrong.

With a serious tone, I implore the 60 coaches and all commissioners in college hockey to figure out how to administrate overtime. Maybe there is one set for regular-season games and another for in-season tournaments. I dont know. Maybe you give certain credits if a game like the Beanpot goes past 65 minutes.

But please, and I beg you, please, dont let historic moments get wiped away because six conferences and the NCAA Ice Hockey Committee cant come to an agreement on how to play overtime.

This is a sport rich in tradition. Dont tarnish it because we cant figure out ties and overtime. The solution has to be easier.

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Games of the Week preview: February 6 – KELOLAND.com

Posted: at 5:49 pm

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) Another week of high school athletics is upon us and with that, comes more livestream action on KELOLAND.com.

This week, the KELOLAND digital team is streaming eight total games on KELOLAND.com.

The games this week will feature nine ranked teams and eleven winning records.

The action started on Tuesday in Colman where the Colman-Egan Hawks split a boys and girls double header. De Smet earned a 75-65 win over the Hawks in the boys game, while the Hawks earned a 66-50 win over the Bridgewater-Emery girls in the second game.

The next action will feature a class A double header in Dell Rapids as the Quarriers will host the Tri-Valley Mustangs. The girls game will tip-off at 6:30 p.m. with the boys game to follow.

Friday nights game will feature the two top teams in class AA girls basketball. #2 Harrisburg will host #1 OGorman. The two teams enter as the lone unbeaten teams in class AA. Tip-off is set for Friday at 7 p.m.

On Saturday, KELOLAND will livestream three games from the Sanford Pentagon High School Basketball Classic.

The three games will feature #5 Sioux Falls Washington vs. #10 West Christian, IA at 5 p.m. The next game will be #2 Sioux Valley (class A) vs. #2 Viborg-Hurley (class B) at 6:30 with the feature game of the evening being #1 OGorman (class AA) vs. #1 St. Thomas More (class A) with an 8 p.m. tip-off.

All of the games can be seen at KELOLAND.com and the play-by-play will be provided by KELOLAND.coms Grant Sweeter.

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48 Hours, 6 Games, and A Lot of Pizza: Ph.D. Student Brings Global Game Jam to Duke – Duke Today

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February 6, 2020

Some of Duke's Global Game Jam participants check out each other's work after two days of development.

For nearly 48 hours last weekend, about 20 participants filled the Duke Game Lab andfueled by plenty of coffee, pizza, and snacksjoined minds to bring to life their ideas for games related to a common theme.

At the same time, at 933 other sites around the globe, tens of thousands of people were doing the same thing. They were all participating in the Global Game Jam (GGJ), the worlds largest game creation event, where people interested in game development came together all over the world to design, develop, and present games around a secret theme.

This year was the first time Duke hosted a GGJ site. Bass Digital Education Fellow Katya Gorecki, who organized the Duke site, said bringing the GGJ to Duke was a way to introduce students to the game development industry despite the lack of a formal game design and development program on campus.

We decided to partner with the Global Game Jam because they have so much access to different resources that we couldnt replicate on our own, said Gorecki, an English Ph.D. candidate. It also allows students to plug into a global network of game designers and people interested, even if its just a hobby.

The event at the Duke site began on Friday with a lecture on game design and the GGJ keynote, during which the secret theme for this years games was revealed. Participants, or jammers, then had until Sunday afternoon to develop and upload their games for others to play.

During the Global Game Jam, students at the Duke siteworked alone or in groups to develop six games overtwo days around the theme of "repair."

The GGJ brought together students interested in computer science, programming, visual art, and story design and showed them how different disciplines can collaborate to produce a complex, cohesive project. Gorecki said it also showcased the campus resources available to students interested in game design, such as the game lab itself, which opened in February of last year.

In addition to new game development courses at Dukesuch as postdoctoral fellow Marshall Millers Foundations of Game Design and Assistant Professor Augustus Wendells Immersive Visual Worldsgrowing support for a game development community has sparked the idea of a game development club. The club would allow students to connect with peers who share interests in game development and even host future GGJ sites at Duke.

GGJ events are well-known throughout the game development industry, with sponsors like Microsoft, Sony Interactive Entertainment, and Unreal Engine. The GGJ gives participants a chance for resum and portfolio building, as well as a path to professional opportunity. The GGJ also features a keynote speaker, who is usually an important figure in the game development industry.

This years GGJ challenged participants to create games around the theme of repair. GGJ themes are often broad, giving jammers room to get creative. Gorecki, for instance, applied the theme in a literal sense, as her game, Threads, teaches players how to sew with a needle and thread.

Daniel Hwang, an undergraduate in mathematics and computer science, said the GGJ was an enjoyable experience and a learning opportunity.

Every step has been a bump, Hwang said, explaining that each challenge in the process helped him expand his knowledge of programming with GameMaker Studio, a 2D game development software.

The GGJ is not limited to digital games. One of the six games developed at the Duke site, for example, was an analog game created by undergraduates Jennifer Han and Eilam Doron where players use strategy and tangible game pieces to create different narratives.

Gorecki's Bass Digital Education Fellowship is a partnership between The Graduate School and Duke Learning Innovation that launched in 2018. As part of the fellowship, she works with Duke Learning Innovation, the Duke Game Lab, and the Duke Games & Culture Humanities Lab. Through these collaborations, she is also advised by Professor Shai Ginsberg from the Department of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies.

In addition to organizing the Duke site for theGlobal Game Jam, Katya Gorecki is alsoincorporating game development into herdissertation work.

In addition to organizing Dukes GGJ event, Gorecki is developing games of her own. Those games, a part of her dissertation, highlight the ability of virtual reality to be used as an educational toolspecifically, to display realities experienced by others so that players can understand life from multiple perspectives.

Alternate realities kind of are a thing, Gorecki said. It can be really difficult to have a conversation with somebody about what is actually going on in the world if you have fundamentally different beliefs that are informing your conception of what the world is.

Her two games are based on the Salem witch trials, where players can witness what it was like to be a part of the trials themselves. One involves the trial of Dorothy Good, whoat 5 years oldwas the youngest victim of the trials in 1692. The other is a role-playing game that simulates what a Salem witch trial looked like.

The idea is that if you play that game, then hopefully players will get a sense of the kind of arguments that Im making in my dissertation project on that specific subject, Gorecki said. So if you dont want to read a 60-page dissertation chapter, you could play a fun game instead and hopefully get some of the same ideas.

Katya Gorecki is holding test play sessions for her Salem witch trial games on March 2 and March 16 at 6:15 p.m. Email katya.gorecki@duke.edu for details.

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Immigration justice talk part of CAS Abolition Initiative – University of Illinois News

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Immigrant justice activists will talk about their work in a panel discussion that kicks off a series of spring events focused on the theme of abolition.

The discussion Abolition and Immigrant Justice is at 4 p.m. Thursday in the Knight Auditorium at Spurlock Museum, 600 S. Gregory, Urbana. The event is free and open to the public.

The panelists will talk about their work, particularly in Chicago, as grassroots organizers against detentions, deportations and the criminalization of immigrant and other targeted communities. They will discuss strategies they use such as policy work, legal activism, strategic communications and civil disobedience to combat racism and xenophobia, and what a sustained organizing campaign looks like.

The panelists are 35th Ward Chicago Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa; Arianna Salgado and Rey Wences, both of Organized Communities Against Deportations; and Brbara Suarez Galeano, of Detention Watch Network. Communication professor Josue David Cisneros will moderate the discussion.

The panel discussion is part of the Abolition Initiative of the Center for Advanced Study, looking at what W.E.B. Du Bois and Angela Davis call abolition democracy, encompassing not just a rebellion against massive policing, surveillance and incarceration, but also a process of creation. The initiative is examining interconnected power dynamics across prisons, police, immigration, gendered and sexual violence, environmental justice and disability justice.

This felt really timely for our current moment. There are many people wanting to imagine a better world, and they want the tools to do that, said Toby Beauchamp, a professor of gender and womens studies who co-organized the initiative with Naomi Paik, a professor of Asian American studies. Their research looks at policing, surveillance and incarceration.

Abolition democracy includes reinvesting in institutions and structures that build healthy communities, such as education, health care, preschool, child care, elder care and mental health services, Paik said.

Paik and Beauchamp said they hope the panel discussion will provide a range of models for the way organizers put ideas into practice.

Sometimes we dont know how to contribute or what we can contribute. We hope that by providing all these models, we can show people different entry points into community-building, Paik said. Its also thinking about what it takes to sustain it. Doing movement building from grassroots is really hard.

As part of the Abolition Initiative, Paik and Beauchamp are teaching a graduate seminar this semester that also is examining practices to redirect resources away from oppressive systems, including a look at efforts to dismantle the prison industrial complex.

The other spring events of the Abolition Initiative are:

Indigenous Resistance, Anti-Colonial Politics, and Global Environmental Justice, 4 p.m. March 3, Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum. Jaskiran Dhillon, a professor of global studies and anthropology at The New School and an anti-colonial scholar and organizer, will talk about how environmental crises are tied to colonial violence and about Indigenous peoples involvement in environmental justice movements.

Visual Resistance: Demanding the Impossible, 5-7 p.m. March 26, University YMCA, 1001 S. Wright St., Champaign. This exhibition of work by artist Monica Trinidad and others is part of the Ys Art at the Y program, which uses art to engage with issues of social justice, environmental activism and cultural understanding. Trinidad creates narrative-centered illustrations to support social justice movements, and she founded For the People Artists Collective in Chicago. The exhibition will be up in the YMCA gallery through May 17.

#BlackLivesMatter: From the Frontlines of Criminal Justice Reform, 4 p.m. April 14, Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Museum. Artist, organizer and co-founder of Black Lives Matter Patrisse Cullors will be the speaker.

Fall 2019 events included discussions examining the prison industrial complex; queer and transgender mutual aid projects; and survivors of violence and people with disabilities in the transformative justice movement.

Most of the years events have included workshops led by the speakers, so students and community members have the opportunity to work with people who are doing work on the ground and have organizing experience, Beauchamp said. Some of the participants from Thursdays panel discussion will be meeting with students and community members to talk about the anatomy of a campaign and organizing over the long term. The workshop, which is free and open to the public, is 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday in Levis Center, 919 W. Illinois St., Urbana.

The Abolition Initiative will continue for the 2020-21 academic year with two to three events of different formats.

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Immigration justice talk part of CAS Abolition Initiative - University of Illinois News

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Abolition of DDT to benefit all taxpayers: Government – Business Today

Posted: at 5:48 pm

The government on Sunday said that abolition of Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) would benefit all the taxpayers in the country. Government said, "Tax to be paid by them (taxpayer) on their dividend income would be less than what they were earlier paying indirectly through DDT".

The centre added that abolition of DDT would encourage low-income earners, who have total income up to Rs 5 lakh, to invest in capital market. Also, the decision will provide relief to a large class of investors.

"It would encourage low-income earners to invest in the capital market as the person with total income up to Rs 5 lakh will not have to pay tax on dividend income as against 20.56 per cent paid by them indirectly," the government said.

Also read: Budget 2020: DDT gone! To be applicable to individual investors only

Currently, India levy 20.56 per cent DDT on a company declaring dividends. This is over and above the corporate tax that companies pay on their taxable profit. Apart from this, resident non-corporate taxpayers (Individuals, Hindu Undivided Families or a firm) need to pay 10 per cent tax on dividends in excess of Rs 10 lakh a year. Hence, the effective tax rate becomes much higher.

Government added that the new system would boost debt mutual fund market as most individuals would have to pay tax at lower rate on income received by debt fund.

"Rate similar to DDT for distribution of income by debt fund was 25 per cent for individual and HUF and 30 per cent for others. After grossing up and including surcharge/cess this comes to 38.33 per cent and 49.92 per cent respectively," it said. Hence, the proposal has not only addressed the issue of inequity in dividend taxation but has also given relief to non-residents, it added.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget speech, announced the abolition of DDT--a move that will result in revenue foregone to the tune of Rs 25,000 crore.

The centre stated that single rate of taxation was always unfair as it favoured taxpayers who were in higher tax brackets and work against those who were in lower tax brackets.

"India has always followed a classical system of taxation. However, for ease of collecting taxes and to reduce the compliance burden on companies in issuing so many tax deduction certificates, it was decided to follow DDT system of taxation so that the tax is collected at one place," it said.

According to the government, most countries in the world follow this classical system of taxation. There are only a few countries like Australia which allows a credit of tax paid by the company while taxing dividend in the hands of shareholders.

(With ANI inputs)

Also read: Rs 40,000 cr revenue foregone an 'approximate calculation' as no clarity which taxpayers will opt for new tax regime: FM Sitharaman

Also read: NRI's to be taxed only on Indian income, not foreign, says FM Sitharaman

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Abolition of DDT to benefit all taxpayers: Government - Business Today

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Nigel Farage compares Brexit to the abolition of slavery – Scram News

Posted: at 5:48 pm

In a crass, offensive exaggeration, Nigel Farage has compared Brexit to the abolition of slavery.

Farage was speaking on a Brexit blind date organised by the Victoria Derbyshire programme, where he was joined by Boris Johnsons sister Rachel who was opposed to leaving the EU.

The Brexit Party leader took the opportunity to try to impress Johnson by comparing his political achievements to the end of slavery.

He said: The established status quo never want change of any kind at all. Slaverys a very, very good example of this where an increasing number of people think its wrong, but the argument gets made that if it ends it itll have catastrophic consequences for the economies of Bristol and Liverpool.

Johnson rightfully shot back, in bewilderment: Are you comparing the EU to slavery, to which Farage replied: Same argument. Those that are in power are doing very well out of slavery. Theyve done very well out of slavery for a long time. And even though they know themselves that morally its wrong, they will do everything they can

Johnsons face pretty much said it all.

Of course this isnt the first time that a member of the Brexit Party has drawn a comparison between the EU and slavery.

In her inaugural speech to European Parliament, pantomime politician Ann Widdecombe said that leaving the EU would be like casting off the chains of slavery.

At the time, Widdecombe was widely condemned, with then-Liberal Democrat MP Chuka Umunnacalling her commentsgrossly offensive.

Lets hope Farage is met with the same response.

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Abrogation of Art 370, abolition of triple talaq would not have happened had we followed predecessors: Modi – indiablooms

Posted: at 5:47 pm

India Blooms News Service | @indiablooms|06 Feb 2020, 01:21 pmImage Credit: BJP Twitter -

New Delhi/IBNS: Taking a jibe at the Opposition, mainly Congress, Prime Minister Narenra Modi in Parliament on Thursday said the historic steps like the abrogation of Article 370 and abolition of triple talaq would not have happened had the present government followed the footsteps of its predecessors.

Mocking the Opposition for saying the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is in hurry to take steps, Modi addressing the Lok Sabha said, "Had we continued on the road followed by the previous governments, Article 370 would not have been abrogated even after 70 years. Muslim women would continue to face the wrath of Triple Talaq."

"Had we continued the way you governed, we would have never opened the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor. We could never have solved the India-Bangladesh border issue following your steps," added the Prime Minister in reply to the motion of thanks on the President's Address.

Defending the government's swiftness in taking decision, Modi said, "The world has expectations from India. If we don't challenge the challenges and speed up our development, the country would probably have to face problems for a long time in the future."

"We want to walk a new line, devoid of the league. It's been 70 years since Independence and India should not wait for development anymore. We want to increase both the speed and scale of the work," he added.

(Image Credit: BJP Twitter)

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Abrogation of Art 370, abolition of triple talaq would not have happened had we followed predecessors: Modi - indiablooms

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