text:
Some Tips About What You Must Know About Peer-To-Peer Lending, The Greatest Brand Brand New Investing Trend
The 2 biggest players in game, Lending Club and Prosper saw 195% growth within the ending in June 30, generating more than $1.5 billion in loans year.
The timing is not any coincidence. The same lenders that once rolled out the red carpet for subprime borrowers started putting up all sorts of barriers to credit, effectively locking out the people who arguably needed a boost the most in the wake of the financial crisis. People who might get credit were hit with double-digit rates of interest or driven to locate riskier choices like payday advances.
“Clearly, there clearly was a void in customer funding and peer to peer lending helped fill that void, ” claims Peter Renton, whom posts A p2p lending web log called Lend Academy.
But, why don’t we backup a full minute right right here. What exactly is lending that is peer-to-peer what makes investors going therefore pea pea nuts on it?
Here is a fast rundown:
P2P sites that are lending the space between customers who require financing and customers (for example. Investors) who’ve the income to straight straight straight back them. There are not any banks or credit loan providers to manage, while the rates of interest are often far lower than borrowers would get otherwise, while investors supposedly have to develop their money considerably faster compared to conventional cost savings cars.
So what does it try be eligible for a that loan?
Since Lending Club and Prosper will be the just big P2P players in the U.S., we are going to give attention to their skills. B efore you even think of borrowing, you need to reside in a continuing state which allows it (28 states help Lending Club, 31 help Prosper). From that time, there is a software process for many interested borrowers, with skills varying somewhat between the two web web web sites.
Both web web web sites need decent fico scores (640 to 660, minimum) for borrowers, that may determine an individual’s interest as well as the danger grade they assign to that loan. Interest levels vary between 6.03% and 26.03% for Lending Club and 6.04% and 31.34% for Prosper. The grade will tell investors just exactly how risk that is much’ll undertake by financing. For instance, a grade that loan could have a low rate of interest and sign to investors that the debtor has a reduced danger of defaulting.
Loans begin only as $1,000 or $2,000 and get as much as $35,000 for every web web site. Loans are released in three- or five-year term restrictions and borrowers must spend an origination cost (1.11percent to 5per cent at Lending Club, 0.5% to 4.95per cent for Prosper). They determine how much your charge will be predicated on your credit rating. Until you are later on re payments, there are not any other charges to be concerned about.
Exactly what does it just take to take a position?
To qualify being an investor, you need to prove you have got the items to back your loans up. This means you either A) make $70,000 in yearly revenues and have net worth with a minimum of $70,000, or B) have web worth of greater than $250,000. You can start opportunities in increments no more than $25.
Investors do not spend any such thing to join but can pay 1% of these profits each year. There are additionally taxes to be concerned about, since all gains are susceptible to income that is federal prices. There is a real method to dodge that hurdle, but, by pumping your investment returns into an IRA, where it could make interest tax-free.
Both web web web sites provide choices to start up an IRA with no less than $5,000. Prior to deciding to simply just take that action, you will probably would you like to review your alternatives by having a monetary planner.
What is with it for investors?
If you have seen rates of interest recently, that’s all of the solution you actually need. Super safe five-year U.S. Treasurys are yielding simply over 1.5percent, while high yield junk that is four-year are averaging around 6.5percent.
Compare that to LendingClub, where three-year B1 loans (for borrowers with FICO ratings above 720) are creating 10% normal interest that is annual and it’s really easy to understand the attraction.
Noise too advisable that you be real? Let us talk risk facets:
Liquidity is low you it is nearly impossible to gain access to your money until the loan matures, and “unlike high-yield bonds, which often retrieve some funds in case of a standard, Prosper and Lending Club loans provide investors very little possibility of data recovery, ” cautions the WSJ’s Joe Light.
Both web web sites have actually low standard prices, you’ve surely got to keep in mind they may be both reasonably young and people rates could move in the long run.
And a brand new issue has cropped up for P2P lenders lately – they are having a much harder time attracting borrowers than investors.
“In a go on to attract more borrowers, Lending Club has lowered its rate that is average, states LearnBonds.com’s Marc Prosser. “The CEO of Lending Club, Renaud Laplanche, stated he thought that an average of prices would fall by 0.2%. This does not https://badcreditloans4all.com/payday-loans-wa/ appear to be very good news for loan providers. Although this was very good news for borrowers”
In reality, given that hedge funds are beginning to in to the game, they will have the possible to saturate the financing market so much so it dilutes yields for investors as time passes.
Simple tips to mitigate risk
With homework you’ll notably tailor that danger to your amount of threshold. Both LendingTree and Prosper price borrowers in a fashion that tells you precisely how high-risk lending to them could be. If you are shopping for a well balanced investment with a minimal danger factor, opt for debtor with a reduced threat of standard and a rating that is high. And in case you have got money to really burn and wish to move the dice, go with riskier loans.
Our advice: Use P2P loans as an option to a low-yield cost cost savings car, not quite as a get rich quick scheme (unless you have that variety of money lying around, then go ahead and, do it).
In a current page to members, Renton claims the main question P2P investors can ask on their own is what form of investor they’re:
Will you are taking it really if your debtor you have got dedicated to defaults on his / her loan? In the event that concept of a standard freaks you away then chances are you should stay with t he A-rated borrowers. The disadvantage of selecting that route is you have actually can “only” attain a return that is maximum of 5-6%. Now, these days you could be extremely pleased with that kind o f return. But then you need to invest in higher risk borrowers if you want to see if you can achieve 10% of more. And even though you are able to nevertheless get defaults from A-rated borrowers with C-, D- or E-rated borrowers their standard price is a lot greater. You will receive many defaults with higher risk borrowers unless you are very lucky. However with careful testing requirements you’ll minmise the downside dangers.
For investors, selecting and choosing through a large number of different loans to purchase is when it gets tough. There are many helpful resources out there might help you will get started. We recommend downloading Renton’s exceptional free e-book with novice guidelines and completely reviewing the FAQ for Prosper and Lending Club.


Note: The following pics do not necessarily reflect the views of The Only Jaiden; this is STRICTLY from a 'fashion' perspective.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Ray-J, Really?? This is NOT a Trend-setting Haircut... especially in your 30s!!
Reality star and singer Ray-J revealed his new haircut to the public, expressing that the hairstyle is a TREND-SETTER. Umm... in my opinion, which is usually close to a fact, the hairstyle goes back into the 2000s and it definitely is not a good look for a man Ray-J's age.
3 Stripes on the temple? Cool
Head all marked up like 'above'? NO.
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TAHOE NUGGET #231: HATFIELD THE RAINMAKER
This March, Lake Tahoe finally had a decent month of rain and snow worthy of the winter season. However, the April 2 snow survey that measured the liquid equivalent in the Sierra snowpack came in at a disappointing 55 percent of normal. One above-average month of rain and snow wasn’t enough to make up for this mostly bone dry season. This graph represents an average of how much precipitation has fallen in the Northern Sierra since October 1, the beginning of the water year.
Blue line represents this winter. Note huge spike in precipitation during March. Red line indicates last winter’s profile. Note how precipitation continued to add up well into June.
The early April survey is considered the most important of the year since the snowpack usually peaks at this time, just before it begins to melt and feed the state’s streams, reservoirs and aquifers. With only one month left with statistical chances for much precipitation before the storm season shuts down for good, it’s too late to bring on the Indian “snow-dance” or call in professional rainmakers like days of yore.
Avid fans of the American rock group Widespread Panic are familiar with their tune “Hatfield.” The song spins a tale about an early 20th century rainmaker named Charles Hatfield who was famous for producing moisture during extended droughts. In December 1915, San Diego’s city council promised to pay Hatfield the Rainmaker $10,000 if he could generate enough precipitation to break a four-year dry spell that had dessicated local reservoirs.
In the contract, Hatfield stated: “I will produce enough rain to fill the Morena Reservoir to overflowing, between now and next December , for the sum of $10,000. I will deliver the first 30 inches of rainfall at no charge (San Diego averages just over 10 inches of rain per year). But you will pay me $500 per inch, for the next 20 inches. Should I fail to deliver as promised, I ask for no compensation whatever.” It was a bold, brash statement but incredibly, Hatfield would be good to his word, and then some!
Hatfield was a “pluviculturist,” a term coined by a Stanford University professor to describe the type of pseudo-scientific quackery regarding weather modification that was popular in the decades around the turn of the 20th century. These “weather wizards” traveled around the country, boasting about the efficacy of their proprietary chemical brews, strange machinery, and artillery firepower used to bring the rain. Each flimflam artist took a different approach to rain making; whether unleashing fusillades of cannon fire into the atmosphere, stirring up chemical concoctions that wafted into the air, or cranking dynamos to send electric charges up long metal wires suspended by balloons rising into the clouds, all in hopes of pulling water from the sky.
“Weather Wizard” using electricity to coax rain from clouds, circa 1880.
Mankind’s quixotic quest to influence weather is as old as civilization itself. Best known among America’s huckster rainmakers was “Professor” Charles Mallory Hatfield. Born in Kansas about 1875, the sewing machine salesman had no formal education beyond ninth grade. By 1902, young Hatfield was studying weather records and finding work as a noted rain engineer in San Diego and Los Angeles. In early December 1904, he approached some L.A. business interests with a proposal to guarantee 18 inches of rain by April 1905 in exchange for $1,000. Hatfield seemed to take a big risk betting his reputation on this contract, but when 18 inches had fallen by the deadline and the money paid, the public and press began to take Hatfield much more seriously. The following year he earned $250 from Grass Valley-based South Yuba Water Company when he broke a dry spell with a 4.5 inch deluge.
Charles Hatfield studied weather and climate patterns to enhance his chances for success.
Hatfield’s reputation was based on fortuitous rains that seemed to follow his “treatments,” as well as his simple, down-to-earth approach. Many would-be rainmakers were con-men trying to separate desperate, drought-stricken farmers from their hard-earned cash. Hatfield, however, had a marketing advantage over most of them. He came across as being honest and a straight-shooter. Unlike other flamboyant shysters who relied on flashy pyrotechnics and other outlandish methods meant to dazzle their clients, Hatfield was modest. He said, “I do not make rain. That would be an absurd claim. I simply attract clouds and they do the rest.”
It seemed that Hatfield really believed that his approach was an effective weather producer. In reality, as someone knowledgeable about weather and climate, he calculated that it would probably rain anyway within the time parameters of the contracts he offered. Hatfield, assisted by his brother Paul, erected tall towers topped by large wooden containers filled with a noxious, gas-producing brew. Hatfield claimed that certain chemicals stimulated by electricity, when released into the atmosphere, could increase rainfall, a concept similar to how fertilizer applied to crops boosted production. Although Hatfield said that the odor was mild, one farmer observed, “These gases smell so bad that it rains in self-defense.” Hatfield said, “I have nothing to do with bombs, dynamite or explosives of any kind whatever.” His low-key approach stood out in stark contrast against his competition.
Charles Hatfield stands before his rain towers near Hemet, California, 1912.
By the time Hatfield cut the deal with the San Diego Chamber of Commerce in Dec. 1915, he had been disparaged as a fraud by the U.S. Weather Bureau, but he was big news all across the country. After negotiations with civic leaders, Hatfield withdrew his commitment to produce 30 inches of rain, but promised to fill the city’s depleted reservoir system for $10,000. Although a formal agreement was never drawn up or signed by the town council, by early January Hatfield had built a tower near the Morena Reservoir and his brew was wafting into the sky. The first heavy rain storm hit on Jan. 10, followed by days of persistent showers that led to even more intense downpours that lasted much of the month. No one had ever seen such rain, but Hatfield continued to work his magic up in the mountains, about 60 miles east of San Diego. Near Hatfield’s tower, nearly 13 inches of precipitation fell in just four days.
The unusual tempest temporarily halted a Panama-California Exposition being held in Balboa Park. The weather also forced officials to cancel opening day races at the new Agua Caliente Race Track in Tijuana. Rising waters throughout the region began washing away bridges, marooning passenger trains, and flooding homes. Despite the deluge, Hatfield used a telephone to call City Hall from his remote location at Morena: “I just wanted to tell you that it is only sprinkling now. Within the next few days I expect to make it rain right…just hold your horses until I show you a real rain.”
Heavy rain in January 1916 washed out bridges and stranded trains.
Meanwhile, San Diego engineers watched nervously as torrents of water poured into the regional reservoirs; Morena, Chollas, and Upper and Lower Otay lakes. Operators warned that despite huge releases through relief gates, several dams were at risk for failure due to the unprecedented inflow. Their worst fears were realized when the Lower Otay Dam collapsed and water surged out of the mountains toward the ocean, sweeping away everything in its path. Afterwards San Diego was cut-off from the outside world save for naval ships that ferried people and supplies. Fortunately, due to the sparsely populated countryside, less than 20 people died.
In addition to the Lower Otay Dam failure, water breached the Sweetwater Dam as well.
San Diego picked up 300 percent of normal rainfall for that January, but refused to pay Hatfield his $10,000 until he paid for the nearly $4 million in damages he caused. A lesson was learned, however. When San Diego hired a cloud seeder in 1948, the city took out damage insurance. As a wise man once said, “Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.”
Charles Hatfield may have been a con man, but his reputation for “milking the skies” hasn’t been forgotten.
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1. “You’re so cute when you get angry”
I had people tell me that a few times, including lovers and family members. Always men, for some reason. I am a very tiny woman that looks 10 years younger than my actual age and this always gets to me. I only very rarely get really angry, and when I do it’s because something feels deeply, fundamentally wrong.
I’m not cute, I’m angry. I’m devastated and you’re not listening, nor taking my feelings, nor the unacceptable situation, nor logic into account.
Whenever someone tells me that, I could cry for the injustice of it all. None of those who said it understood why I hated it. Now I usually fake being unaffected and reply something like, “Ok, we’ll talk later when your brain works again,” and leave. But I can never really forgive them for it.
2. I get cut off a lot. So I’ve pretty much stopped talking to everybody. What’s the point of wasting my breath, right?
3. When I got flashed by a creep on a late night deserted commute, and my male friend couldn’t understand why it was fucked up, since he wouldn’t mind being flashed by a woman.
4. “Are you on your period?” when I’m angry and then not listening to a word I’m saying.
5. I am very handy and love DIY, my husband couldn’t care less about home improvement projects, landscaping, etc. So, most of the tools and equipment we own were purchased and are used by me. I hate it when men will assume I don’t know how to use “my husband’s tools” or that he should be the one fixing things. Like my tiny woman brain can’t handle power tools or basic plumbing.
6. I hate when random men tell me I should smile.
7. Many of my male friends or acquaintances (and even my dad) like to talk to my husband about how his job is going, but rarely ask me about mine. I make nearly the same pay check and have a fairly interesting job that I’ve worked hard to get, but I think they think I’d rather talk about my social life, family, or hobbies before anything else. It’s sad to not be questioned about something I spend all day doing.
8. I’m a female electrician who works mostly oilfield. I get a lot of “sweetheart” or “honey” when I’m running a job. You would never address a dude journeyman like that, so dumb.
9. When men feel like they have to “test” women when they mention that they have interests that are typically considered masculine. I’m a huge (American) football fan and have been playing for almost a decade now but sometimes when I tell men about it, they’re all like:”Oh really? Name all of the [insert team name here]’s previous coaches” or something like that.
10. It takes a lot to get me angry but anytime a guy tries to push me into doing something it rubs me the wrong way. It could be something super innocent but if I say no and he keeps trying to pressure me into doing it, it shows that he has no respect for me or what I want, and only cares about getting what he wants. Unfortunately a lot of guys do it, it’s like a game to them to see how far they can get.
11. When men don’t believe the huge anecdotal evidence that every women/girl I know has about sexual assault. I’ve told male friends about the (many) times I have been assaulted in a club/crowd and they tell me it can’t be true!! Sorry, do you think I mistook having my vulva grabbed for something else?!
12. “I don’t care what you do for a living. Do you have a good personality and are you hot? Can you minimally support yourself? Don’t worry about your career.”
Except… I care about my career. I’m proud of my work, and it’s an important part of who I am. When my husband and I meet people, strangers will ask him what he does for a living and ask me what my hobbies are or if we have kids. I’ve seen some men treat a woman’s job as an optional accessory or a throw-away personality quirk. It bugs me, because the same men will often accuse women of being gold diggers who are only after their wallet. My job isn’t something to just pass the time or a make a few extra bucks to contribute to the vacation fund, and devaluing what I do over my looks or reproductive options is irritating.
13. Sometimes when I say that I don’t like to cook or that I hate little kids and don’t want children some guys don’t care but some guys ask, “I thought you were a woman!” That really hurts and it is extremely disrespectful.
14. Talking about female topics (periods, pregnancy, birth) with tons of disgust in their voice.
15. If a woman is alone when making major purchases like cars or homes they’ll get some version of the “is your husband around to talk too?” Just very dismissive of a woman’s ability to make decisions on her own.
16. Automatically assuming that you’re worse/weaker than them at something, just because you’re a girl. Then proceed to act surprised or just not acknowledge if you beat them.
17. Fetishizing bisexuality. It’s not a man-only thing but in my experience if I say I’m bi most men will joke about it immediately or ask if I’m into threesomes.
18. When you say something and it IMMEDIATELY has to be fact checked via Google even over trivial shit.
19. The worst is when they say you “can’t take a joke” when you get mad/upset about a joke about you or women in general. I do have a sense of humor but when every “joke” you make is at my expense in some way it isn’t funny, it’s irritating and exhausting. Like somehow you constantly insulting me and my entire gender is MY problem because you laughed when you said it so I just “can’t take a joke”? Get outta here with that shit.
20. Just how focused on physical traits some men seem to be. Obviously I’m including picking women apart weighing them up based on how appealing they are to men’s personal tastes, but I also hate to be consistently complimented on nothing but how “hot” they find me.
It’s generally flattering to be told you’re attractive, sure, and a reminder here and there from your partner that they find you sexy is key, but of there’s a guy you’re getting to know or whatever, and ALL they ever compliment you on is your body, it starts to feel insulting. I have a mind and a personality too, you know, and it feels like all you care about is how I look.
21. That I am expected to know how to do laundry, keep the flat tidy, and cook because I’m “better at it.” Why am I better at it? Like even when they know how to do these things themselves they always assume that I want to do it because I like a tidy apartment? And then when asked to do it themselves being hit with the good old, “Yes but I’m a guy, I’m not as good at this sort of stuff as you.” In 2020. Shoot me now.
22. When they say to calm down when you’re upset. It brushes over how you feel. It’s often used to shut you up when they do not want to hear you.
23. “You’re not like other girls.” Men typically mean that as a compliment but I don’t really see insulting my entire gender as very nice.
24. Assuming I have or want kids. I mean, just assuming. Knowing absolutely nothing about me and just assuming.
25. Constantly voicing their thoughts on women’s looks. Positive and negative. I don’t know why men do this. I don’t think they realize it. I don’t need to hear every time you think a woman is ugly or attractive or funny looking. It’s hyper analytical. I don’t think men would be fond of it if women decided to join in on this.
26. Saying “good girl.” Very patronizing. I have two degrees mate, don’t need you to congratulate me/seem shocked when I do something that someone with like 2 IQ points could do.
27. My least favorite is when men won’t just let me be upset about something they said. They have to gaslight me until I agree with them that they didn’t do anything wrong. I just want to be allowed to have hurt feelings or feel unsafe when that’s organically my response to the situation.
28. So I’m studying something that could be classified as very feminine. And my boyfriend is studying something that would be classified as male dominated and sometimes when we’re arguing about how we need to clean and we just don’t have the time he says that what he’s doing is much more difficult than what I’m doing. That’s really hurtful.
29. If a man gets it wrong it’s because the task is complex. If a woman gets it wrong it’s because she’s a woman.
30. I’m a huge fan of astronomy and one time this guy overheard me saying it, and said, “Really? What’s the planet with the most moons?” At the time, Jupiter had the most moons and I said it was Jupiter. He claimed that I was wrong and wanted me to google it so we could be sure. Of course I was right, and he said, “You’re a little show off, aren’t you?” and left. I just didn’t understand why he had to question my statement. Still don’t.

domain: psychology


Los Angeles rocker and Mancunian transplant Mark Loughman, known for his work with his group Emerson Loughman Palmer as well as his own solo releases Bleeding Aura and My Zanzibar is So Fudo, has just released his first entirely self-recorded solo single, “MK Ultra”. The new single is accompanied by a video which expands upon the song’s ominous lyrical themes and moody musical textures. The combination is a kaleidoscope of provocative political imagery offset by flashes of Loughman’s signature dry wit, giving occasional moments of levity to the dark clouds he describes forming on the horizon. Listen here
“MK Ultra” begins conjuring up a stark world view with a droning industrial drum loop accompanied by a foreboding bass and guitar motif and subtle stabs of synthesizer noise, setting the stage for the grim Orwellian narration that dominates the verses. Loughman’s lyrics describe a seemingly unstoppable cascade of events building alongside the music, ultimately delivering a cataclysmic view of a society in decline. The chorus in the song — which function as a temporary release from the tension of the verses, highlight mankind’s ability to distract itself from the inevitable over a soaring melody and heavily distorted guitars.
The song continues to build over time, allowing the stomping rhythms and hypnotic verse melody to lull the listener into a trance until Loughman’s words boil over into a wall of massive riffs, synthesized noise, and his airy singing. The song closes out with a wailing guitar solo that screams over the din of fuzz and noise only to suddenly fade out at the last moment leaving only a mournful string melody to bring the song to a suitably tragic close.
“I wanted to capture that sense of dread that a lot of people are feeling as we watch current events unfold and try and say something about it, as unfortunately every lyric and image is either happening today or is about to happen in the near future,” explained Loughman. “At best, people may consider this song a work of creative fiction, but I hope it will encourage some much-needed critical thought in a time where we need it most.”


Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
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Web3 helps individuals own and operate their personal Internet. Instead of companies, people currently have decentralized autonomous organizations that work between creators and consumers, which are defined by rules and assets owned by them rather than companies. This breaks the shackles of first-party data, but time will determine if this is the beginning of a truly data-driven enterprise. Nevertheless, Web3 accelerated the rise of influencer/creator-led economies owing to the challenges of Web2.
Web3 led to increased distributed and decentralized apps (Dapps) where there will be no single point of failure and no central authority. The apps are transparent, have a greater level of encryption, better exploratory techniques to secure, and are completely trustless. Web3 is still progressing. Most Dapps work on on-chain and off-chain concepts to address potential, and the throughput of transactions is in progress. Also, ownership of assets is still not completely on blockchain.
Tommy is a decentralized cloud services firm/project that develops a Web3-based disruptive technology and brings new technological solutions that will be the basis for a decentralized Internet. The decentralized Internet concept is a profitable operation that many companies failed to develop. Tomi is introducing a totally new approach relying on hardware solutions, software development, and an elaborate system of incentives.
Tomi’s system embraces some innovative uses of existing technology, eg, they developed a concept of active NFT (aNFT). They take NFT technology used mostly for art ownership registration and enable their NFT owners to generate income from their NFT, making their NFT active as it works for its owner. Additionally, their server computer acts as an asset for its owner while generating a steady income.
When asked how the company outshines its competitors, the CEO said, “We are also special, that unlike other technological/crypto/Web3 projects, our business model relies on physical assets – data servers able to provide cloud services and mine crypto, so we are not an entirely digital project, but also have a strong physical aspect to our business.”
Even though the project was established about six months ago, Tomi has already made some significant achievements, including initial sales of over $1 million on their presale, development of an operating prototype model of the first generation of their server computer, the MP-1, and opening offices in Tel Aviv and New York. The Tomi team signed an MOU with a renowned public company, Hyper Global, to develop their server computers for the next generation. Tomi’s team held progressive discussions with noteworthy exchanges (top 10 globally) on listing their token for trade or receiving investments. They have built a beta multi-chain digital wallet and completed test transactions on it.
Like any other startup company, the Tomi team has faced some challenges. “I think our main challenge is to build an ecosystem that will incentivize all relevant participants and create a truly decentralized project. This means that at some point, the project will be out of our control and become controlled by the public,” Tomi’s CEO says . Nevertheless, he encourages us to think big and never be afraid of innovative ideas or trying to overthrow giant tech companies.
The decentralized cloud services project aspires to become a global name in the future. Tomi’s team also hopes that the public and developers will adopt their technology and develop applications.
Note: Investment in cryptocurrency and crypto assets is subject to financial risk and readers should do their own due diligence. Entrepreneur Media does not endorse any such investment.


text:
Hurricane Michael: Communications restoration status
sean at donelan.com
Tue Oct 23 03:47:22 UTC 2018
39 deaths in the US, at least 15 deaths in Honduras, Nicaragua, El
After 12 days, most wireless service is restored in Florida. It took
over 6 months to restore wireless service across Puerto Rico/US Virgin
Today, Oct 22 2018, Verizon Wireless reported wireless services has been
restored throughout the area.
AT&T Wireless reports 99.9% wireless service restoration.
T-Mobile reports service restored or temporary solutions in place.
FCC Status Reporting
Bay County: 103 cell sites out of service (29.7%)
Gadsden County: 12 cell sites out of service (19.4%)
Gulf County: 6 cell sites out of service (26.1%)
55,006 wireline and cable customers are reported out of service.
1 TV, 7 FM and 2 AM broadcasters reported out of service.
More information about the NANOG

domain: geography


text:
Amanda Staveley issues Newcastle United update on bold long-term plan
Amanda Staveley’s spoke to Becky Langley’s players before Newcastle United Women made history at St James’s Park.
The team came from behind to beat Barnsley 2-1 at the stadium yesterday – and book their place in the third round of the FA Women’s Cup.
And the crowd of 28,565, a record for the competition outside of the final, exceeded the 22,134 gate for last season’s women’s fixture at St James’s Park.
Co-owner Staveley – who has brought the women’s team into the “heart” of the club – had a message for the players before the second-round tie, which was decided by second-half goals from Georgia Gibson and Sharna Wilkinson.
Addressing Langley’s team in the dressing room, Staveley said: “First of all, I want to say how incredibly proud I am of all of you.
"This has been a journey that we have taken together. You have inspired me. Actually, I have goosebumps now because you have inspired me from, well we started from pretty much nothing.
"But it was your passion and drive ... that actually did this. We came along and made it a little bit easier, but, ultimately, it was your belief in yourselves that you could go and play and deliver such incredible football.
“So I want you all to think about when you’re out there today all the other young girls that you’re inspiring, and women that you’re inspiring for the future because I couldn’t get the chance to play football. And I love now seeing you guys perform.”
Staveley wants to see the team compete in the Women’s Super League, but this is a long-term goal, as Langley’s side compete in the fourth tier.
"We were talking about getting there in X amount of years,” said Staveley.
“Forget all of that. Because we’ll get there when we get there. The most important thing is that you enjoy your football and we learn to play.
"And as long as every game gets better, I know you will. And that has happened. You are second in the league. That is extraordinary.
"And you have done this from a part-time basis, we’re trying to make that so you don’t have the financial pressure on you.”

domain: sports


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Pickleball resembles a combination of tennis, badminton and ping-pong. Players use a solid paddle and a perforated plastic ball, similar to a whiffle ball. The sport has been around since the 1960s but has recently exploded in popularity and is now the fastest growing racquet sport in the country.
Recognizing the growth potential of the sport, the City began converting some of their Civic Center tennis courts into pickleball courts. Today, they have 12 courts at the facility which makes it one of the largest, state-of-the-art complexes in the country.
Courts are filled three nights a week with league play, one night for classes with open play in between.
Equipment is available at the Civic Center Pool for those who would like to give pickleball a try. Residents can contact Mentor Recreation at (440) 974-5720 for court and equipment availability.
To learn more, go to www.mentorpickleball.org for the most complete and up-to-date information on Pickleball activities in Mentor.


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Novak Djokovic extended his record of weeks as world number one to 379 in the latest ATP rankings released on Monday, although Carlos Alcaraz remains in hot pursuit.
Novak Djokovic's was an equanimous presence at the Majlis, sitting room in Arabic, and media interaction facility otherwise, located on the grounds of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, an ATP 500 Series event.
Tennis legend Novak Djokovic is a week away from another milestone after equalling steffi graf's all-time record for most weeks spent at number one of 377. The 35-year-old Serbian remains top of the latest ATP rankings released on Monday bringing him level with the amount of weeks that Graf spent as women's world number one.
Being a mother of two means Tatjana Maria has to juggle between tennis, her fitness workout and a variety of house-hold chores throughout the day.
Roger Federer said he will retire from competitive tennis following next week's Laver Cup in London.
Roger Federer said he will retire from competitive tennis following next week's Laver Cup in London. Following is a timeline charting the 20-time Grand Slam champion's rise to the top of the game:
Serena Williams will return to the scene of some of her greatest triumphs and also some bitter disappointments when she steps out on Wimbledon's Centre Court on Tuesday.
Multi-talented Ashleigh Barty has been a professional cricketer, won a golf tournament and now taken her place among the giants of Australian tennis after winning her home Grand Slam on Saturday.
The slip in the US Open final came after 27 straight wins, a streak that had propelled Novak Djokovic to within a match of a historic calendar Grand Slam. That a knockout cocktail of pressure and fatigue finally got the Serb should be no more than a footnote of the 2021 tennis season which he owned in stellar fashion.
Ashleigh Barty capped her third straight season as world number one Tuesday by announcing she is engaged to long-term boyfriend Garry Kissick.
Novak Djokovic's bid for the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men's tennis since 1969 ended one victory short with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final on Sunday. Medvedev's surprisingly lopsided triumph gave him his first major championship and prevented Djokovic from winning what would have been the record 21st of his career.
Beating Novak Djokovic is currently the toughest job in tennis but Germany's Alexander Zverev hopes his best will be enough on Friday to halt the Serb's march towards a Golden Slam when they meet in the semi-finals of the Tokyo Olympics.
Novak Djokovic is closing in on something that no man has achieved before, but for the Serbian "pressure is a privilege". steffi graf is the only tennis player to have won all four Grand Slams and an Olympic gold in the same year before.
Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic made it 331 weeks as world number one when the new ATP rankings were released on Monday. The Serbian ace is currently in Tokyo aiming to become the first man to win all four majors and the Olympics in the same season, a feat achieved by steffi graf in 1988.
Tennis world number one Novak Djokovic will begin the next leg of his quest to become the first male player to complete the Golden Slam when he takes on Bolivia's 139th-ranked Hugo Dellien at the Tokyo Olympics in the opening round.
Newly-crowned Wimbledon champion Ash Barty has set her sights on Olympic glory after the Australian claimed her second Grand Slam title at the All England Club over the weekend.
With no female German player in the second round of the French Open for the first time since 1958, the country's women's tennis chief admits the prospects of unearthing the next steffi graf are looking bleak.
As a tennis fan you must have heard this before, but it is always a privilege to take the journey with Andre Agassi again. It is a soul-wrenching story about what a game can do to you, the pressures on children.
Germany's Julia Goerges, a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2018, announced her retirement from tennis on Wednesday. "I have always known that I would feel it when the right time has come to say goodbye - and the moment is here," the 31-year-old, currently ranked 45th in the world, posted on social media.
Chris Evert's view of Martina Navratilova went from up-and-coming danger to doubles partner to foil in a record 14 Grand Slam finals to, these days, close pal.

domain: news


President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has nominated Jaime “Jimmy” Bautista as secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
“Bautista, a certified public accountant (CPA), worked at the country’s flagship Philippine Airlines (PAL) for 25 years and was its president for a combined 13 years before retiring for the second time in 2019,” read a statement by Press Secretary-designate Trixie Cruz-Angeles on Thursday, June 23.
Read more here: https://mb.com.ph/2022/06/23/marcos-picks-for-dotr-chief-transportation-cluster-posts-bared/
Bautista is best-known as the former president of the Philippine Airlines (PAL). He retired from the flag-carrier in 2019.
Bautista has a long and storied career in PAL: he worked his way to vice president (VP) for finance from 1993 to 1994, chief finance officer from 1994 to 1999, executive VP from 1999 to 2004, and president from 2004 to 2012. He retired for two years but came back as president in 2014 until 2019.
He has held executive positions and directorships under the Lucio Tan Group of companies, which is headed by its namesake-billionaire.
A CPA, he graduated magna cum laude from Colegio de San Juan De Letran in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce, and a major in Accounting.
In 2018, the Central Luzon State University awarded Bautista a Doctorate in Humanities Honoris Causa (Honorary degree).
As the incoming transport secretary, Bautista will lead the DOTr in maintaining, expanding, and improving the country’s transportation systems, as well as addressing the country’s transport crisis.


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Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao believes that Chris Algieri is the most dangerous opponent of his career.
Hidenori Othake wants to become a history maker when he takes on Scott Quigg for the WBA Bantamweight title.
Chris Algieri has hailed Manny Pacquiao as ‘one of the greatest fighters ever’ but says he is ready to upset the legend.
Our expert Simon Crawford sees victories for Tony Bellew and Manny Pacquiao in a blockbuster weekend of boxing.
England guaranteed two medals and Katie Taylor remains on track for fifth title at the women's World Championships.
Trainer and mother of Denis Douglin, Saphya, discusses the unique relationship she has with her son ahead of his fight with George Groves.
Scott Quigg says he’s calm and focused ahead of his fight with Hidenori Otake.
Jamie McDonnell says he’s not looking past the defence of his WBA bantamweight title against Javier Chacon.
All the best photos from Floyd Mayweather's unanimous points victory over Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas.
All the best pictures from Kell Brook's thrilling victory over champion Shawn Porter to land the IBF world welterweight title.
All the best shots from an historic night for British boxing at Wembley Stadium


Before we can start working on a front bumper, we need to strengthen the front cross member/spring hanger/frame section. To complete this we will fabricate a support plate for the area and weld it into place. This will add the needed strength as well as tie everything together neatly.
We begin by cleaning the area in question up and taking down the high spots in the existing welds in order for the new plate to fit properly.
We then take the necessary measurements for widths and heights and also hole placement. Then lay those out onto our material. The material we went with is 3/16" mild steel.
Then we cut the plate into the rough shape with one of our plasma cutters.
Cleaned up the edges and punched the through holes for the bumper mounting hardware
Mounted the plate into position using the factory hardware for the bumper
And then fully welded the plate into position and cleaned up our welds
Hope to be able to start on the front bumper design and fabrication soon. The shop is still crazy busy and other projects seem to keep taking precedence. The owner also just added another couple things to the "must do" list for us this time around. More details soon :evil:


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Close to everything! Charming apartment to stay in Reims!
- english, french
100% refund if canceled at least 60 days before arrival date.
A little gem in the heart of Reims!
Great location and accommodations. While it is only one bathroom, our group of 4 managed very well. Only steps away from the beautiful Cathedral, shops, and restaurants. Highly recommend!
A really great place in a perfect location....
Nadange has a perfect place! Super nice touches make this space feel like home. Quiet even though just above a cafe. She gives you great tips on restaurants and bakeries too! Clean and well appointed. Highly recommend.
So many beautiful things to visit, ... to test, ... to taste ....: contact me to learn more !!

domain: travel


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Boy George has given a huge nod to Yoko Ono on his song ‘Bigger Than War’ from his new album ‘This Is What I Do’.
The lyrics go, “Bigger than The Beatles, the rolling Stones
bigger than Elvis, but not YOKO
Bigger than you, bigger than me
love is bigger than war”.
George also covers Yoko’s ‘Death of Samantha’ on his new album.
Yoko was also the subject of an Elbow lyric recently on the track ‘New York Morning’ from their new album. She was so chuffed by the acknowledgement that she wrote an open letter to Elbow thanking them for the mention.
George’s song is the second track from his ‘This Is What I Do’ album, his first album in 18 years. George’s last studio album was ‘Cheapness and Beauty’ in 1995.
Boy George explained his perceived 18 year recording hiatus on the Paul O’Grady Show in the UK. In the 90s when all those boy bands started, because in this country past 26 you are too old for radio, they say you are an old age pensioner at 26, so I got into the dance thing and its been an amazing second career for me. Recently I started to think I would like to make another record. There’s no pressure now,” he explained.
Boy George ‘This Is What I Do’ is released in Australia independently through Kobalt.
Boy George Performs Bigger Than War on The Paul O’Grady Show

domain: celebrity


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Storytimes & Programs
447 events found.
Click on Event title to view details. To sort by Title, Date or Library select the column header.
* For Art Gallery Exhibits, the date listed is the ENDING date for the exhibit. Click the title of the exhibit to see the starting date and more information.
* Programs that are held on a regular schedule, such as Weekly Storytimes, follow the programs listed by date.
|#||Event Type||Event Title||Date||Library|
|163.||Puppet Show||Toy and Roy Puppet Show!||04/15/2014||West Charleston|
|164.||Storytime||Spring Pajama Party||04/15/2014||Enterprise|
|165.||Storytime||Spring Celebration||04/16/2014||Spring Valley|
|166.||Crafts/Games/Recreation||Mix a Rainbow||04/16/2014||Las Vegas|
|168.||Crafts/Games/Recreation||Lego Camp||04/16/2014||Spring Valley|
|169.||Crafts/Games/Recreation||Marvel Superhero Day||04/16/2014||Centennial Hills|
|170.||Storytime||What’s that Smell?||04/16/2014||Enterprise|

domain: library


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MARKETS CLOSE: FTSE carries on climbing back; Nissan to keep Sunderland factory open; Easyjet to axe up to 4,500 staff; Boohoo buys rest of Pretty Little Thing
The FTSE 100 closed up 1.21 per cent or 74.54 points to 6,218.79 this afternoon.
Thousands of EasyJet staff are to lose their jobs under plans announced by the airline. The Luton-based carrier said it intends to reduce its workforce by up to 30 per cent as it reduces the size of its fleet due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Dozens of travel companies, including the heads of the Ritz, Dorchester and Hyatt Regency London hotels, have called on the Home Secretary to scrap plans to impose a mandatory 14-day quarantine on people arriving in the UK due to the coronavirus.
Fast fashion chain Boohoo has bought the remaining stake in its subsidiary Pretty Little Thing. It comes after the hedge fund Shadow Fall accused the company of misleading investors over Pretty Little Thing's profitability.
Cinema operator Cineworld has managed to secure an additional $110million from lenders and a waiver on loan covenants as the company looks to reopen all its cinemas in July.
Joshua Mahony, Senior Market Analyst at IG, comments on the markets today:
Markets throughout Europe and the US continued their ascent today, despite a raft of worrying data from the US this afternoon. With US jobless claims rising by another 2.1 million, and annualized GDP down to -5%, the economic picture remains dire despite the picture of optimism evident throughout global markets.
However, that annualized growth figure is likely to provide grossly optimistic once we see the Q2 figure, with many speculating that economic data over the second quarter could fall off a cliff. From a market perspective, the recovery seen since the March lows is borne out of huge stimulus on both a government and central bank level. The EU is continuing that funding on a
supranational level, with the €750 billion recovery plan giving yet another reason to stay bullish.
David Maddenm Market Analyst at CMC Markets UK, comments on the European markets today:
Equity markets in Europe are set to finish the day in positive territory as traders are hoping that governments will continue to loosen their lockdown restrictions. The reopening of economies has been a common theme across the markets in recent weeks, and it’s the reason why stocks have been bullish lately.
Optimism in relation to a possible Covid-19 vaccine is circulating too. AstraZeneca said the results of the first vaccine trail completed with the University of Oxford should be available very soon. The growing standoff between the US and China hasn’t had a major impact on the European indices, but dealers are mindful the situation could get ugly very quickly.
Just before close, the FTSE 100 was up 1.2% to 6,215.
Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 was up 1% to 17,307.
The department store chain Debenhams has said 'hundreds' of its head-office staff have been axed following a failed attempt by part-owner Mike Ashley's Frasers Group to force an investigation into the company's finances.
A source told Reuters news agency that about 160 positions each had been lost in the firm's buying and merchandising divisions, while around 100 went from design, and others from human resources.
Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, comments on the latest unemployment figures from the USA:
Even with the Dow Jones losing some of its swagger, the European indices clung fiercely to their optimistic rally on Thursday. Thought the Dow did indeed add another 100 or so points, pushing it above 25650, it was initially expected to double that at the open. Well, it had good reason not to do so.
Once again the weekly jobless claims reading came in worse than forecast, hitting 2.123 million for the 7-day period ending May 23rd. That puts the total number of Americans who have filed for unemployment since mid-March at over 40 million. Forty! Million!
On top of that came a revised first quarter GDP reading – and not in the direction investors would have wanted. According to these latest figures, the US economy contracted by 5% at the annualised rate, worse than the initial -4.8% estimate.
Sandwich and coffee chain Pret A Manger will reopen more than 200 sites for takeaway and delivery from next Monday, with new social distancing measures in place.
Shops will reopen for the first time in towns across the country - but 75% of those chosen to open in a few days time are in London. Of the 204 listed to reopen, 153 are in the capital.
Commenting on the worst contraction in employment since the great depression, Artur Baluszynski, Head of Research at Henderson Rowe, writes:
Recent data shows that over 40 million Americans have filed for unemployment but the pace is decelerating which means that people are slowly starting to return to work. However, this figure means that we are looking at an unemployment rate of approximately 25% in the US.
If one considers that it took only three months to achieve such a high figure, this must be the worst contraction in employment since the great depression.
An Amazon warehouse worker in California has died from the novel coronavirus, becoming the ninth known employee to succumb to the illness.
Harry Sentoso, 63, was hired by Amazon in late March amid the company's hiring spree in response to the coronavirus. Amazon announced that it would hire 100,000 workers in mid-March. The company made a similar announcement in April, adding a goal of an additional 75,000 employees to help with customer demand.
Commenting on the new US jobless claims numbers, Neil Birrell, Chief Investment Officer at Premier Miton, writes:
US jobless continuing claims have become the focus now and that fell to 21 million against expectations of 25.7 million. The data was collected around the time that a number of states were opening up, showing how keen the US is to get back to work.
All the other data showed an economy in a dire situation, but that is all historic. The jobs data is much more up to date and reflects the positive tone of risk assets at that moment.
- FTSE 100 up 1.13% or 69.59 points to 6,213.84
- FTSE 250 up 0.75% or 128.73 points to 17,272.35
- FTSE 350 up 0.93% or 31.92 points to 3,470.80
The unemployment toll caused by COVID-19 layoffs continues to rise with another 2.1 million American filing new jobless benefit claims last week.
More than 40 million new claims for unemployment benefits have been filed in the past two months when the coronavirus started paralyzing the US economy.
Tui has extended the suspension of all beach holidays for UK customers until June 30 and all Marella Cruises sailings up to July 30, 2020.
The UK's biggest tour operator had previously cancelled all trips up to June 11.
It also found that 82 per cent of UK SMEs had been negatively affected as a result of the Covid-19 disease, while overall revenue is expected to tumble by 28 per cent in the second quarter and by just over 5 per cent in the coming year.
A group have MPs have called for urgent talks with the Football Association and the English Football League to address the financial impact of coronavirus on sport.
There are intensifying fears that a number of professional clubs are facing administration due to the outbreak of the pandemic.
Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, comments on the markets at lunchtime today:
Though there were wobbles here and there, the European markets only strengthened as Thursday went on, ahead of what could be a strong start in the USA.
Still celebrating the various lockdown-easing measures around the continent, despite the news that South Korea may have to consider putting some restrictions back in place due to a spike in covid-19 cases, the FTSE added 75 points to cross 6200. It’s something of a mid-point milestone for the UK index – around the same distance from its 4750-tickling March lows as it is from January’s 7700-teasing highs.
What made the FTSE’s gains even more notable is that they came in the face of chunky losses for Standard Charted and HSBC, both of which fell more than 3% on the worsening situation between Hong Kong and China now that the latter’s parliament has backed the new national security bill.
Not quite as buoyant as the FTSE, the DAX nevertheless crossed 11700 thanks to a 0.6% increase. The CAC was bubblier, hitting 4730 as it rose 1.3%.
Premier League sides are meeting today to discuss a potential TV rebate of more than £330million.
Clubs like Liverpool and Tottenham have been the most vocal in fighting against the refund, which is due because of missed contractual deadlines when the league was cancelled in March, as well as the argument that the likes of Sky will be broadcasting a lesser product without fans present. But the battle for TV's future extends well beyond whether clubs will reluctantly hand back the cash.
Cineworld is banking on getting all its cinemas across the country open in July and has seen it share price rocket by nearly a quarter today.
This is Money has learnt that the company plans to update its booking system to enable customers to book a seat with social distancing factored in.
A growing number of green-fingered shoppers have taken to social media to vent their anger at a website that had seemed to be their lockdown saviour - Gardening Express.
Customers of the online-only firm - which offers home delivery of horticultural supplies - complain they are still waiting for flowers and plants ordered at the start of lockdown in March. Meanwhile, emails from worried green-fingered punters are being met with automated responses and many refund requests going unanswered.
Nissan bosses have delivered a vote of confidence in UK car making by announcing that the Sunderland plant will become the hub for production of core models - securing thousands of jobs in the North East - after confirming the closure of two other factories.
The Japanese firm says it will close plants in Barcelona, Spain, and Indonesia, as it sank into the red for the first time in 11 years after the coronavirus pandemic sent global demand plunging and halted production.
Craig Erlam, Senior Market Analyst, OANDA Europe, comments on the European markets:
European stocks are back in positive territory on Thursday while Wall Street is facing a mixed start, with the EU recovery package lifting sentiment on this side of the pond.
The details of the package still need to be agreed, which could take months and include fierce debate among the "frugal four" and the rest. The current proposition includes €500 billion of grants and €250 of loans, the former of which the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden have voiced opposition to.
Still, a package to this number at least looks likely, regardless of what the agreed details will be. Whether this will be enough or disbursed in an effective way is a question for another day, coming on top of the €1.1 trillion budget and €540 billion rescue package, agreed earlier in the crisis, it takes the full spending over the next seven year period to around €2.4 trillion.
Governor Andrew Bailey made clear a fresh wave of quantitative easing - effectively printing money - will be needed as he raised doubts about the prospects for a rapid bounceback.
(AP) - Nissan announced Thursday it will close two auto plants, in Spain and Indonesia, as it sank into the red for the first time in 11 years after the coronavirus pandemic sent global demand plunging and halted production.
Nissan´s Chief Executive Makoto Uchida told reporters the production in Europe will be centered at the British plant in Sunderland, and the production in Indonesia will move to Thailand, as the Japanese automaker reduces global production by 20 per cent.
Nissan Motor Co. reported Thursday a 671.2 billion yen ($6.2billion) loss for the fiscal year ended in March, its first annual loss since the aftermath of the financial crisis in the year ending in March 2009.
David Madden, Market Analyst at CMC Markets UK, comments on Cineworld:
Cineworld have been given some much needed breathing space in terms of financing. The company has secured waivers in relation to a credit facility for June 2020, in addition to that, it has upped its leverage covenant to 9x earnings for the December 2020 testing date. Terms have been agreed upon for an extra $110 million of liquidity from a revolving credit facility.
The cinema group hopes to access $25 million through the US CARES programme shortly. At home in the UK, it has received approval to apply for $45 million of financing through the CBILS scheme. The firm anticipates that all its cinemas will reopen in July – strict health and safety rules will apply, but it also believes it has the funding to survive even if cinemas remain closed for the rest of the year. These days traders are really focused on financing and Cineworld appear to be in a strong position to see out 2020.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, comments on the markets this morning:
The market mood matched the sunny weather on Thursday with investors determinedly focusing on the positives as the FTSE 100 built on its gains for the week and the recovery from the coronavirus-inspired sell-off continued.
A great deal of comfort is being taken from the easing of lockdown conditions, although the time lag between allowing people greater freedom of movement and any spike in infections means the advance for equities still feels provisional – with signs of a resurgence in cases in South Korea illustrating the risks.
Bubbling away under the surface are issues like the political unrest in Hong Kong, with suggestions of tit-for-tat measures between the US and China as tensions escalate.
Notably oil prices were lower as US stockpiles increased and gold prices began to tick up, hitting $1,719.81.
Shares in Boohoo jumped over 10 per cent in early morning trading after the group confirmed it now owned 100 per cent of its subsidiary, PrettyLittleThing.
Boohoo snapped up the remaining 34 per cent of shares in PrettyLittleThing from its minority shareholders, including founder Umar Kamani, for £269.8million.
Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, comments on the Asian markets today:
Tensions between the US and China are worsening, with the two sides clashing at the UN over Hong Kong. China rejected a US proposal for the Security Council to meet over the issue, whilst US secretary of state Mike Pompeo declared that Hong Kong is no longer autonomous from Beijing. China’s ‘parliament’ this morning approved the controversial national security legislation for the territory.
We also note reports this morning that China escorted a US navy ship out of its waters. Meanwhile Taiwan is to buy Harpoon anti-ship missiles from the US, which is likely to further rile Beijing. Tensions are showing signs they could boil over – we cannot play down the importance of an embattled US president facing a national crisis at home in an election year – one he can blame on his chief geopolitical adversary. Expect more sabre rattling.
Shares in Hong Kong and Taiwan fell, whilst Japanese equities rose by more than 2% in a mixed session overnight in Asia. The FTSE 100 rallied towards 6200 on the open, but shares in Standard Chartered and HSBC fell, signalling investor concern about what’s going on in Hong Kong.
But the reigning European champions remain some way behind the wealth of Real Madrid, Manchester United and Barcelona in the annual rich list.
More than 80 British tourism chiefs including the bosses of London's top five hotels today joined 40 MPs including seven former ministers in urging the Government to abandon its 'poorly thought out and unworkable' travel quarantine plan.
The new border regime which will, from June 8, require all arrivals to self-isolate for 14 days, has been widely savaged by the aviation and tourism sectors.
Cambridge University is 'actively seeking' financial support from the government despite being the UK's richest higher education institute.
The university's vice chancellor Professor Stephen Toope has warned the institution risks losing hundreds of millions of pounds due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Boeing announced it will involuntarily lay off nearly 7,000 employees in the US as a part of a wave of 13,000 global cuts in a previously announced plan to cut costs amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The aerospace giant disclosed there will be roughly 6,770 involuntary layoffs among US employees. Another 5,520 workers were approved for voluntary severance packages and will leave over the next few weeks.
Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, comments on the markets this morning:
Once again – it’s a recurring pattern this week – the markets had the blinkers on, ignoring the troubling situation between China and Hong Kong (and what that means for the relationship with the US) to indulge in an optimistic outlook of the current situation.
Ireland and the Netherlands are the latest European countries to eye reopening; the former is potentially looking to accelerate plans next week, while the latter has brought forward easing-measures to July 1st, 2 months ahead of initially planned. That joins the UK’s retail intentions for June 1st and 15th, and the potential for the lifting of some travel restrictions in Spain and Germany.
All this comes with a pretty massive warning, however. In Italy and South Korea, two of the countries a fair few steps ahead of everyone else, the number of coronavirus cases post-easing have increased day-on-day, with Korea even considering a return to restrictions due to the spike. However, the markets weren’t interested in the risks, only the rewards, immediately resuming the week’s rally as trading got underway.
Michael Hewson, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets UK, comments on the US markets:
US markets underwent a choppy session yesterday, opening higher on optimism over various parts of the US economy reopening, while also coping with the headwinds of rising tension between the US and China, over the status of Hong Kong.
An afternoon headline from the South China Morning Post that said China was ready to hit back on the US, over any punitive action with regard to Hong Kong, saw stocks slip briefly into negative territory, before rebounding to close higher for the third day in a row, with both the Dow and S&P500 closing well above the psychologically important 25,000 and 3,000 levels respectively. In terms of significance both of these events are quite important and suggest the potential for further gains, albeit with the caveats that a US, China flare-up could let some of the air out of the current air of optimism.
As if to highlight the fluidity of the situation US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that the US no longer considered Hong Kong as no longer autonomous from China, and as such would mean that the region would no longer be subject to the favourable trade relationship currently in place. The removal of this exemption would mean that all of the tariffs currently on Chinese goods, could then be applied to the same trade coming out of Hong Kong. The US house also passed a bill authorising sanctions against senior Chinese officials for human rights abuses, against Muslim minorities.
'Sorry, we don't accept cash.' That is likely to be a familiar phrase repeated by staff members and information posters alike for the rest of 2020 as major retailers begin to reopen on mass in mid-June.
Whereas at the turn of the last decade, many local, smaller businesses didn't accept cards, this has been flipped on its head in a matter of years, with better card payment devices and networks alongside the rise of 'convenient' contactless, the limit of which is now £45.
Thousands of easyJet staff are to lose their jobs under plans announced by the airline.
The Luton-based carrier said it intends to reduce its workforce by up to 30% as it reduces the size of its fleet due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This follows similar moves by other airlines such as British Airways and Ryanair.


NEW YORK – World leaders have adopted the much-talked about ambitious, bold and universal Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is a migration from the much publicized Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and as expected, President Lt Gen Ian Khama chose not to attend.
In an interview with South African financial publication, Business Day, in 2013 Khama dismissed the Union General Assembly (UNGA) meetings as nothing but wasteful and worthless ‘talk shops’.
The resolutions of the UN are not legally binding and implementation is left to individual countries. Although it has been hailed as the great hope for the future of mankind – the UN has also been dismissed as a shameful den of dictatorships owing to the undemocratic politics of the Security Council. This view is held particularly by the developing world.
Nonetheless, many had expected President Khama to attend this year’s historic and epic United Nations 70th anniversary General Assembly, which even attracted the Russian President, Vladimir Putin who has a decade of absenteeism with the UNGA. This year’s GA was special because of its uniqueness and extraordinarily rich agenda, but Khama remained unmoved.
The General Assembly is the main deliberative body of the UN. As opposed to the controversial Security Council, which is exclusive and grants unique veto rights to five nations, all 193 UN member nations have membership and equal voting rights in the General Assembly.
The General Assembly approves the admission of new UN members and elects members to other UN organs. Over the years, it has become the primary platform for the dialogue between developed and developing states. This week, Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe endeared himself to as he launched a scathing attack on the West in relation to several issues that many agree with him but shy away from discussing for fear of offending their economic masters.
Opposition parties in Botswana and other stakeholders continue to urge Khama to revisit his position and view on the UNGA but the President won’t relent. Khama, his detractors say, unlike Mugabe, prefers to snipe at a distance, an attitude associated with cowardly man – they say. His detractors further argue that the President needs to give the organization support by way of presence and contribution in debates if indeed he shares its objectives and believes in its significance.
The new UN agenda entitled ‘Transforming our world: 2030 agenda for sustainable development’, will serve as the launch pad for action by the international community and by national governments to promote shared prosperity and well-being for all over the next 15 years.
The agenda which has 17 SGDs and 169 targets is unique in that it calls for action by all countries- poor, rich and middle –income, unlike the now defunct MGDs which the developing world heard of towards the end of the 15-year period during which they were to be achieved. SDGs have seen much more effective consultation. The co-chair of the Open Working Group, Macharia Kamau said, “no one can say they were not consulted. There was wide consultation and therefore there is accountability.”
To show their support, countries have sent their representatives. The programme shows that out of 53 African states, 60 percent of the heads of states are in attendance, 25 percent sent Ministers while the remaining 15 percent sent Vice Presidents. Botswana is represented by both the Vice President and a Minister.
This publication sought opinions from various UN senior officials on the attendance and non-attendance of heads of states and if at all that has any significance.
Many were of the view that ‘agendas are not for Presidents but countries at the end of the day’. They further said while a head of state’s attendance is always encouraging, the monitoring and assessment of the goals looks largely on the country leadership’s commitment to the goals. Botswana’s anti-poverty strategy and commitment to UN agreed objectives is said to be one of the most robust and successful when compared to her regional counterparts.
The UN Resident Coordinator, Mr Anders Pederson is of the view that Botswana has done very well by dramatically reducing poverty levels and achieving universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment, and to social services such as education and health. Botswana has also shown true leadership in the sub-region during the MDGs era.
“Although inequality is still a challenge, Government’s commitment towards addressing this gives us hope and assurance that by 2030, this will be a thing of the past,” he points out.
Does Khama’s presence really matter that much?
UN senior officials say yes and no. “Yes because it is a head of states assembly but also an issue to do with the highest political representation. As for a Vice-President or a minister, many might argue that it is still a high political representation, and the president may as well tell them what to say, where and how,” they advised.
The presidents however, the officials said, need to show up regularly or occasionally “because a UN Assembly is the highest political event in the UN calendar and the opportunity provides presidents with a rare opportunity to talk to the world”.
They further observed that through the addresses, presidents are also provided with a rare opportunity to raise problems within their respective countries for the world to offer advice or assistance. These, they said, may be through formal dialogue or informal ‘chats’ with counterparts during adjournments.
According to the UN officials, presidents hardly find themselves in one place at the same time and the UN assembly provides that rare opportunity for them to connect, interact and iron out issues that may have been pending because of insufficient time or resources.
“Attendance at the highest level also shows respect to the organization you say you support and the organization that you sustain annually through your budget,” they further advised.
When addressing the ongoing GA the Botswana’s Vice President, Mokgweetsi Masisi who made it clear at the onset of his statement that he is standing in for President Khama said Botswana’s progress has been very encouraging.
“We have reached universal access to education and almost closed the disparity between girls and boys in schools; health services are practically free and have been brought within an 8km radius of each community across the country; HIV anti-retroviral drugs are provided freely for all Batswana and transmission of the virus from mother to child is almost at zero; focused interventions for youth employment and income-generating opportunities have resulted in the improved quality of life of our citizens,” he said.
He further said one notable area of success worthy of singular mention has been the national flagship programme for the complete eradication of poverty.
“Through the deliberate actions of this strategy, evidence is beginning to show that steady progress is being made. Interestingly, the evidence also shows that women are greater beneficiaries of the programme and achieve significantly better results that actually transform their livelihood and that of their families. This has been a patent reminder of the role women can play in national development, when given the opportunity,” he said to a half-empty assembly.
The style and culture at the Assembly is that when one is done with his address they leave and those that are not presenting on that day do not care to show up, and worse still, the world major media outlets are only interested in the United States of America President’s speeches as well as a few of the world’s major economies like China and Russia to feed on tensions between these governments, which often see the UN as bloated and inefficient.
Khama is a fierce and fearless critic of some regional and international leaders and is revered and disliked by many in the region for his unpopular views on emerging issues. His government’s foreign policy has however come under heavy criticism for lack of consistency.
In Botswana because of his non-attendance critics argue that his assistant, Masisi cannot express himself with the same confidence and authority because being a messenger usually comes with boundaries but Khama is of the view that it is not about who attends but the country position.
Achievability of SDGs and Botswana With the world moving from the 8 MDGs to 17 SDGs questions have now shifted to achievability of the SDGs given their number. Botswana’s latest report of the MDGs depicted a country on the right path despite a few areas of concern like the quality of education, high and widening inequalities, the high HIV/AIDs prevalence rates and a few minor cases.
Globally there are concerns that the new SDGs lack clarity on evaluation, accountability and transparency. Leaders however say these will be looked into. Others worry that 17 being the number of SDGs seems too many, and 169 target indicators might be difficult to monitor even for countries with good data collection mechanisms, the biggest worry however remains resources.
“In Botswana, we’re looking forward to align our work on poverty eradication; environment and climate change; governance, human rights and gender equality and their outcomes even closer to the Botswana Vision Post 2016 and the National Development Plan 11. These new Global Goals will guide and help us achieve that. The Goals spell out how we work together to promote dignity, equality, justice, shared prosperity and well-being for all, while protecting the environment. We are the first generation that can end poverty and the last one that can avoid the worst effects of climate change,” Pederson said.
SPEDU, Botswana’s investment promotion vehicle in the SPEDU Region has brought yet another immense project which will be situated adjacent to the town of Selebi Phikwe, dubbed “Selebi Phikwe Citrus Project.”
Commenting on the plan for the project,Manager Agribusiness- Maiba Samunzala, said the Selebi Phikwe Citrus Project is envisaged to become a model citrus development in Southern Africa and a flagship project in Botswana.
“This will be one of the largest flat units of citrus plantation in Southern Africa occupying one thousand two hundred hectares (1200ha) of land. This project has come at a very crucial time when our Government is seriously exploring means to create jobs. Such a project will therefore stimulate the town and restore economic activity within the SPEDU Region,” he said.
In line with Government’s efforts of diversifying the economy away from over reliance on the mineral sector, SPEDU’s critical role is to facilitate inward investment and economic diversification in the Region.
SPEDU started facilitating the project in May 2018 where engagements began between SPEDU itself, Botswana Investment and Trade Centre (BITC) and the investors. It has been a long journey which involved a number of negotiations which was done with due caution without compromise to both parties. This deal brings the number of SPEDU’s total projects to 70 in various sectors which are at different stages of development. Amongst these projects, forty-five (45) are at advanced stages of development.
Twenty-six (26) are citizen-owned companies in Information Technology (IT), Manufacturing, Agriculture and Construction; Four (4) Government projects in Infrastructure Development and Agriculture; Eight (8) Foreign-owned companies in Agriculture; and Seven (7) Joint ventures in Manufacturing and Agriculture.
For his part, SPEDU Chief Executive Officer, Dr Mokubung Mokubung added that the project will be sitting on the Mmadinare Multi-Cooperative Society’s land, leased for a period of 33 years with an automatic renewal clause for a further 50 years. Dr Mokubung further indicated: “It was our responsibility that we ensure that clear steps are followed to allow for subleasing of the piece of land.
“A decision was further taken to approve a water quota and a reduced water tariff for this project. This decision was made considering the contribution envisaged from this project to the economy of Botswana. This project therefore will draw water from Letsibogo dam with an approved water allocation to the Project of 8 million cubic meters. Electricity supply will be from Botswana Power Corporation, while back-up generators will be present for pump stations as well as the pack house.
The development will be on a 1,500 hectare site, with 1,200 hectares of citrus orchards to be developed between 2020 and 2025 in two phases of development”, Mokubung added. The Selebi Phikwe Citrus (Pty) Ltd shortened as “SPC”, is foreign owned by South African (RSA) citizens. The RSA owners will manage the project with their highly experienced citrus growers personnel, with strong established track records in the industry, cumulatively spanning more than 50 years.
The location of the project was chosen on geo-political, economic and climatological merits including amongst others: Botswana’s stable political environment, amidst a mature democracy and a strong independent judiciary; Favourable business conditions, including attractive taxation and foreign exchange regulations, and a stable local currency with low annual inflation; Attractive long-term investment incentives; Good technical and agricultural conditions; and Adequate infrastructure and logistical access to markets.
Informed by the climactic factors particular to the site, the orchards will be planted with a range of citrus cultivars, including mandarins, Valencia oranges, seedless lemons and grapefruit. Although it will be one of the largest single citrus developments ever undertaken in Southern Africa, the development will only represent a maximum of 1.2% of the Southern African citrus plantings, all of which are mainly oriented towards overseas citrus demand markets. It is therefore not expected to have any destabilising effect on prices or industry dynamics.
The SPC project is being established at one of the most lucrative places in Botswana, as the SPEDU Region is strategically located even in the broader Sothern African Development Community (SADC) region.
The town of Selebi Phikwe is surrounded by 52 villages and rural settlements, and is located approximately 400 kilometers north of the capital city Gaborone. Selebi Phikwe serves as the commercial capital of the SPEDU Region. The town is home for 49,411 people, making up approximately a quarter of the entire population of the Region.
The Selebi Phikwe Citrus Project is forecast to create 1000 sustainable job opportunities at full capacity, with creation of both forward and backward linkages with other sectors. This Project would bring about growth and diversification of the agro industry, with spin-off effects that will generate other value chain business opportunities. The other benefits which would be brought by the Project include, increased level of exports, increased export revenue, technological and skills transfer, and import substitution.
Some of the areas in the SPEDU land pockets serves as a Special Economic Zone with the intention to support industrialisation through the economic sectors of Tourism, Manufacturing and Agro-Business in diversifying the economy.
This is in recognition of the inherent comparative advantages of the region evidenced by availability of ample surface and underground water resources. It is also the home of five of the country’s major dams, the Thune Dam, the Letsibogo Dam, the Lotsane Dam, the Dikabeya Dam and the Dikgatlhong Dam.
The region also boasts highly fertile soils and a climate conducive for agricultural, especially horticulture production. The availability of land for industrialisation in Selebi Phikwe and the region, infrastructure resources, abundant natural attractions, flora and fauna, natural resources such as granite, sandstone, marble and silica sands open up opportunity for industrialization.
Just like in politics, numbers matter in the church. As much as the COVID-19 pandemic has put so many commercial entities in the red, the church in Botswana has not escaped the wrath either. These glaring similarities between the church and world have pushed the former beyond limits and now there is a bone to pick with government.
Just last week, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi met with men of the cloth, a jaw-jaw that precipitated a decision to increase the number of congregants per church service from 75 to 100 in line with the State of Emergency powers and COVID-19 regulations. The decision by the President is an indication that he has a foot in both camps – that is the church and COVID-19 Presidential Task Team.
But the church is still not satisfied, with some leaders expressing hard feelings over the bunch that met the President. From the latest decisions, it seems the government will open churches to their full capacity in a pi’s eye. In any case this position is expressed in black and white through various press statements from the Task team and individual ministries. Government is hell-bent on containing the possible spread of the coronavirus.
For some churches, such as the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) they have leaned on the Hobson choice – taking what is offered or nothing at all – and they have chosen the latter. The ZCC has also adopted a hush up as per the instruction of its leader, Bishop Lekganyane.
AND HERE ARE THE NUMBERS
A statistical generalisation in Botswana when it comes to church capacities demonstrates thus; St Peters Roman Catholic in Gabane, has a church capacity of 600. In main mall, Christ the King Cathedral Roman Catholic has a capacity of 1300, and in Gaborone West they have close to 1200 capacity.
Eloyi Christian Church in Selibe Phikwe boasts of a 1000 strong membership. On a normal service, The City Angeles Church in Tlokweng has 1500 people attending one service. For Spiritual Healing in Gaborone more than 800 people normally attend in between services; and as for Naledi Church of God in Palapye it has 700 people while Cornelius Apostolic Church has an average attendance of 2000 people in one service. The figures continue to pour in, Olive Church in Metsimotlhabe has more than 2500 members; while Royal Assembly in Gaborone has more than 800 attendees for a normal service. Their membership stands at 1200.
Speaking to this publication, Bishop Raphael Habibo of Assemblies of God confirmed that the 100 per service as recently prescribed is not enough. He pointed out that it would have been better had they been allowed a 200 or 300 ceiling looking at the capacity of various churches around the country.
“We are not in a position to take care of the needs of our people. In terms of counselling, ministering and standing with them during challenging times and financially. We have hired different people in church. When services are stopped it means we are not making enough money to pay these people. We hear the government’s cry but we need to come up with ways of living with this,” he said.
From Bishop Habibo’s interjection, it is evident that the church has an itching palm for purposes of paying salaries, rent, and general welfare issues. In essence the church is saying the 100 capacity command remains in the clouds, it is far from addressing the realities they face.
From the figures shared, it is evident that the church has a Midas touch but the Presidential Task Team on COVID-19 remains in the driver’s seat hence the church’s itching palm may be satisfied in a coon’s age!
While some church leaders agree that the churches do not need to be opened to the brim, they still shoot down the 100 members cap. They argue that they have enough space to adhere to COVID-19 protocols should their numbers be increased to 200 or 300.
The church says it is not only money that will ensure that they keep head above the water. There is a claim that by limiting the number of people may attend church services, emotional strain and depression are taking a toll on citizens. Faith thought leaders also attempt to link emerging worries such as Gender Based Violence and suicides to restrained spiritual interactions. While there is yet to be empirical data to full-proof these assertions as gospel truth, the church’s campaign for more numbers remains just a grasp at straws.
The church is also worried that certain decisions by the Presidential Task team appear to swim against the tide. They cite opening of borders, buses loading full capacity, tourism industry’s leisure travels, and a litany of decisions only explained by the idiom, smoke and mirrors.
CHURCH MEMBERS ARE DEPRESSED
“A lot of people have been stressed and depressed by this season. Having to live with the fear of the chance of contacting the virus or a loved one or colleague being positive is too much. It is at this point that we need to have a closer relationship with God to pray; to be in church and as we sing, we create an atmosphere of hope. People lost their jobs, businesses and for some it will take months if not years to recover.
We have even seen a rise in gender based violence – I would even think it’s indirectly connected to this pandemic. An affected mind facing a situation that is heavy and can’t take it anymore will just lose it and misbehave,” said the President of Royal Assembly Ministries, Boago Ramogapi.
“I wish the government could do “Capacity Seating” while still adhering to COVID-19 regulations of masks and distance between seats. In that case, a building that normally seats 1000 people will be able to take 500 people – there will still be space between the people and strict compliance on masks and sanitising,” he said.
He further highlighted that challenges arose amid the pandemic within the church and the main one was that many people were losing themselves and feeling helpless because they do not have the opportunity to go to church – a place that has an atmosphere to encounter, inspire and vibe peace of mind.
“On top of that, let’s understand that churches are run by the free will offerings of the congregants. Most of the time the offerings are taken when people have congregated. Discussing with some Pastors I discovered that many churches have had serious financial challenges – those renting places of worship, staff members to pay salaries and their usual outreaches to the less privileged were affected. We have banking online platforms to make transactions but they have not yet penetrated that much on the church sphere where people send their contributions to the church accounts,” he said.
When quizzed on the stand of the Ministry regarding the opening of churches, the Minister of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs, Anna Mokgethi said;
“There is no silence at all. My Ministry has been engaged with faith leaders on the issue of increasing the number of attendees at church services. They have made their submissions to the Ministry on a number of occasions and we agreed on the submissions to be made to the Task Force team. Consultations are ongoing.
At yesterday’s COVID-19 Task Force meeting it was agreed that consultations should be concluded and submissions should be presented this coming Monday and a final decision be made.”But from the black and white issued by various Government agencies, capacity seating for churches will come in a month of Sundays!
In an effort to address the mounting challenges of unemployment and labour issues in Botswana, government has introduced the Decent Work Programme that will help the country achieve its decent work ambitions by the year 2024.
Botswana’s unemployment rate has been high at around 20% over the years as a result of the slow growth of employment opportunities. Youth and women are the most affected, however, the ratio of female to male youth unemployment has since had a significant decline from 165% in 2008 to 139% in the past three years, reflecting improvements in employment opportunities for women. The youth unemployment rate hovered around 35% over the last years.
In their Decent Work Country report, the Ministry of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development strives to contribute to Botswana’s progress towards the achievement of full and productive employment and decent for all. The report prioritizes sustainable employment creation in which, government aims to reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions.
By 20230, the Decent Work Report aspires for sustainable food production systems and implementation of resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaption to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
It has been suggested that Botswana should move to adopt measures to ensure that proper functioning of food commodity markets and their derivatives and facilitate timely access to market information, including on food reserves, in order to help limit extreme food price volatility.
Furthermore, the country aims to ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education hence increasing the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.
Gender disparity has always been a challenge in Botswana. According to the report, there are aspirations to eliminate gender disparities in education and ensuring equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations.
As the country moves towards the digital space, technology is anticipated to play a bigger role in developing the economy. In the next ten years, Botswana says it would have enhanced the use of technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women. In a more tangible approach, there will be the adoption and strengthening of sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and women at all levels.
Achieving higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labour-intensive sectors has also been a target outlined on the report, as well as promoting development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, formalization and growth of micro-small and medium sized enterprises, including through access to financial services.
Furthermore, the report says Botswana will work to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and other forms of exploitation. “Botswana will take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and the use of child soldiers which is to be ended by 2025 in all its forms.”
Meanwhile, the slow growth in employment opportunities in Botswana is said to be due to the fact that the supply of skills from the education sector does not match the needs of the job market. The skills mismatch has led to an oversupply of certain skills in the job market, resulting in high graduate unemployment, even though other skills are in short supply.
The report highlighted that there is a need to develop an adequately skills workforce, which is responsive to the labour market demands. “The growing rate of unemployment of the youth, specifically graduates, indicates the critical need for improving the coordination, planning, quality as well as management of human resource development. Government aims to address this challenge by implementing the National Human Resource Development Strategy, which stipulates the formulation of HRD Sector Plans, aimed at matching of skills with the labour market and the needs of the economy,” the Decent Work report reads.
Meanwhile, government has introduced Labour Market Information System that collects, analyses, monitors and captures labour market information such as labour indicators, data, labour demand and supply forecasts and any other labour market data.
In other words, it is a system that collects statistical and non-statistical information concerning labour market actors and their environment, as well as information concerning labour market institutions, policies and regulations that serves the needs of users and has been collected through the application of accepted methodologies and practice to the largest possible extent.
Government further says the labour market information is key to all players: policy makers use it for decision making purposes, students and their parents for informed career choices, researchers amongst others.
The availability of reliable, comprehensive, cost effective and up-to date labour market information is a necessary condition for effective human resource planning and its implementation. Such information is not only required by government and its agencies, but also by employers for their personnel planning decisions.
Individuals also need information on the state of the labour market to make their training and career choices. As a result of this, knowledge of how the labour market functions become integral to an understanding of the key economic issues of time.


text:
Watch the Audience Go Crazy When PS4 #NoDRM, No Authentication is Announced
I have watched every single E3 press conference since the show began, and not once have I heard a crowd roar and chant like this. This is easily the biggest reaction ever, during the biggest annual event in gaming.
The important thing to note is that Sony didn’t announce that they were doing something new, they simple said they are doing what they are always doing, and that caused such a fantastic reaction.
Perhaps Microsoft should think about that.

domain: entertainment


text: In October, I went to Chicago for the launch party of a new literary magazine that I have a piece in (The Tale of the Duck). It was a great party, and a wonderful Brazilian actress Petrucia Finkler, performed the monologue. The photos are of her, and my cheering section- my friend MT Cozzola and her husband Dave, who were kind enough to bring friends. The journal is available on the Conclave website: http://www.conclavejournal.com. Which I have shamelessly plundered the photos from.

domain: artistic