TRUMP IS AN IDIOT
Trump rips reporter who asked him to calm scared Americans as 'terrible'

'You're a terrible reporter': Pressed on coronavirus, Trump berates NBC's Peter Alexander

President Donald Trump excoriated an NBC News correspondent as a “terrible reporter” on Friday after he asked the president to calm Americans who were scared because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump’s latest personal broadside on the media came at a news conference in which he appeared to minimize the fears of the American public by saying there was cause for optimism about drug therapies for coronavirus — treatments that one of his top government scientists had said were not at all proven.

At the Trump administration's coronavirus task force's daily briefing, Trump’s director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, made clear that any evidence about drug therapies being tested at the moment was strictly “anecdotal” and not the product of a “clinical trial.”

“You really can’t make any definitive statement about it,” Fauci said.

Trump nevertheless said he felt "good" about the treatments and that the federal government had already ordered "millions of units" of them.

NBC News’ Peter Alexander then asked Trump whether his “positive spin” regarding the potential treatments was giving Americans false hope.

“Is it possible that your impulse to put a positive spin on things may be giving Americans a false sense of hope?” Alexander asked.

“No I don’t think so,” Trump replied.

“It may work, it may not work, Trump said. “I feel good about. That’s all it is, it’s a feeling.”

Alexander responded by asking Trump to talk directly to Americans who are scared by the pandemic, which triggered the president to reply with an insult.

“What do you say to Americans who are scared, millions who are scared right now?” Alexander asked.

“I say that you’re a terrible reporter,” Trump said. “That’s what I say. I think that’s a very nasty question.”

“You’re doing sensationalism,” Trump said.

U.S. stocks, which had been up for the day before Trump began the news conference, tumbled steadily as the president spoke. In recent trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down more than 100 points, or 0.6 percent.

Trump returned to the topic of media coverage later in the news conference, using another question from another reporter to levy an additional attack on Alexander.

"I’ve dealt with Peter for a long time," Trump said. "And I think Peter is not a good journalist."
TRUMP IS AN IDIOT
Trump Lashes Out at Reporter After Challenge on Unapproved Drug

President Trump calls NBC’s Peter Alexander a “terrible reporter.”

Virus Drug Touted by Trump, Musk Can Kill In Just Two Grams

Trump Touts Drug That FDA Says Isn’t Yet Approved for Virus 

By Josh Wingrove and Jordan Fabian March 20, 2020

President Donald Trump again encouraged Americans to try a malaria drug to fight coronavirus that the FDA hasn’t approved for the disease, and assailed a reporter who suggested that pushing it might spark a false sense of hope.
“I think people will be surprised,” Trump said of the drug, chloroquine, at a White House news conference on Friday. “It will be a game changer.”

NBC correspondent Peter Alexander pointed out that Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, has said there is no “magic drug” for the virus and asked whether Trump was providing a “false sense of hope.”

Trump replied: “Such a lovely question. Maybe and maybe not. It may work and it may not work,” he said. “I feel good about it.”

When Alexander then asked what Trump had to say to Americans who are “scared” by the outbreak, Trump grew angry, calling Alexander a “terrible reporter” and saying his question sent “very bad signal.”

“You ought to get back to reporting instead of sensationalism,” he said, adding that “I’ve been right a lot.”

“You ought to be ashamed of yourself,” he added.

When another reporter followed up, asking again what Trump had to say to Americans worried about the virus, Trump said: “There is a very low incidence of death. You understand that,” adding that Americans who contract the disease are very likely to survive.

TRUMP IS AN IDIOT
Sean Spicer debuts as White House reporter during heated Trump coronavirus briefing

© Alex Wong/Getty Images Former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer sits among members of the press as he waits for the beginning of a news briefing on the latest development of the coronavirus outbreak on Friday.

President Donald Trump heaped scorn on several members of the White House press corps at a coronavirus briefing Friday, but made a point of responding to questions from a new reporter in the briefing room: His former press secretary.

“Mr. President, two questions if you would indulge me,”

Sean Spicer said when Trump pointed a finger to call on his former aid
Spicer, of course, is the former White House and Republican National Committee spokesman who vigorously defended Trump’s inauguration crowd size claims and regularly tangled with reporters during combative White House briefings before his ouster in a 2017 shakeup. He also took a spin on “Dancing With The Stars.”

Spicer now has his own political talk show for the conservative Newsmax TV outlet. By the time Trump entered the White House Briefing Room to address reporters Friday, Spicer was set to press his old boss for presidential reaction to small business anxieties and reports that senators unloaded stocks before a pandemic-sparked market downturn.

The surreal scene played out moments after the president castigated NBC’s Peter Alexander for suggesting that Trump may be giving Americans “a false sense of hope” about coronavirus treatment, asking what he would say to Americans who are scared or sickened by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.

“I say that you are a terrible reporter. That's what I say,” Trump told Alexander. “I think that's a very nasty question, and I think it's a very bad signal that you're putting out to the American people. The American people are looking for answers, and they are looking for hope. And you are doing sensationalism.”

Trump’s attacks on the news media are a familiar tactic at his campaign rallies and press conferences. After a brief détente earlier this week, the president lashed out at the media again during Thursday’s briefing. Friday's spat with Alexander, juxtaposed with Spicer’s presence on the other side of the podium, further heightened the strains with the press corps.

Ultimately, Trump used Spicer's questions to praise his administration's response to small businesses hammered by the outbreak and defend senators who reportedly sold stock before markets tanked in response to the pandemic, though he made sure to call out only one of them — a California Democrat — by name.

"I saw some names. I know all of them. I know everyone mentioned," Trump replied to Spicer. "Dianne Feinstein, I guess. And a couple of others. I don't know too much about what it's about, but I find them to all be very honorable people. That’s all I know. And they said they did nothing wrong. I find them — the whole group, very honorable people."
https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/03/watchdog-group-files-complaints-against.html

Friday's exchanges didn't sit well with some other reporters."What the president did to Peter Alexander is reprehensible," CNN anchor John King declared after Friday's press conference.

"It was striking that this came, this, forgive me, bulls*** attack on fake news came just moments after the secretary of State said the American people have to be careful about where they get their information and go to sources they can trust."

Mystery surrounds ‘crazed’ and dying monkeys in Indian state hit by coronavirus

MONKEYS in Indian states hit by coronavirus are dying in mysterious circumstances, leaving vets baffled.

By LAURA O'CALLAGHAN PUBLISHED: Fri, Mar 20, 2020 

In the past few days alone eight females and one male have been found dead in the Thrissur district of Kerala, Daily Star Online has reported. Rangers in the area have ruled out Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) or monkey fever. A team of experts at the National Institute of Virology in Pune carried out tests.

The animals’ bodies were found in Mele Vettikkattiri near Attoor on Monday.
The state has recently been hit by coronavirus and bird flu.
Vets examined the bodies of the dead animals and found all the females had inflamed uteruses and their stomachs were empty.

Mystery surrounds the deaths of monkeys in an Indian state hit by coronavirus (Image: GETTY)

Monkeys have been dying in mysterious circumstances in an Indian state (Image: GETTY)
This raised fears of an undetermined sexual infection.
Forest vet Dr David Abraham said: “There is a possibility that they would have got the infection from an alpha male monkey of that herd.”
Earlier, four other monkeys were found dead in an orch

Western tourists play with monkeys in India (Image: GETTY)

And two monkeys were seen going “mad” in Puranpur Tehsil in Pilibhit.
One animal bit an official and rangers have stepped up patrols in the vicinity
Teams have been sent to patrol the area around Puranpur railway station, where “a monkey seems to have gone mad, for the last three days”, according to a local ranger.

Monkeys climb across electricity wires in India (Image: GETTY)

He said: “We had found four dead monkeys in a mango orchard at Keshopur village and immediately sent their carcasses for an autopsy.
“Two injured monkeys had been treated at Puranpur range office."
Suspicion is growing that monkeys may have been poisoned by village

Vets have been baffled by the recent spate of events (Image: GETTY)

Dr Rajiv Mishra, deputy chief veterinary officer, said the bodies of the monkeys were sent to the government forensic laboratory in Mathura for testing.
He said: “We are waiting for the report to reach any final conclusion about the reason behind monkeys’ death.” he added.
He said the monkey which was reported to have “gone crazy” near the railway station may have drank toxic water.

Woman Has Touching Reunion With Cat Who'd Been Missing For Years

Nearly four years ago, after a powerful earthquake struck central Italy, an older woman named Dora was among those displaced. But she lost more than just her home.


Amid the chaos and confusion following the disaster, Dora’s beloved cat went missing, never to be seen again.

That is, until recently.

Last week, a person close to Dora took to social media to announce that her long-lost cat had finally reappeared — bringing their many years apart to the happiest of ends.

“Our dear Dora has never stopped looking for him,” Mimma Bei, Dora's friend, wrote. “Who knows where he had have been for so long.”Here’s a video of that heartwarming reunion:

Fortunately, Dora’s cat appeared to be in good physical health despite his long absence. But to be together again, it's plain to see, both their hearts are now complete again, too.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/woman-has-touching-reunion-with-cat-who-d-been-missing-for-years/ar-BB11h282

Coronavirus study finds virus can survive for FIVE WEEKS in body after infection
CORONAVIRUS can live in patients for up to five weeks after they first contract the infection, a study has found, questioning current self-isolation measures.

By CALLUM HOARE PUBLISHED: Mar 13, 2020 

The deadly disease has now infected more than 135,000 people worldwide, claiming the lives of almost 5,000 people in the process. Yesterday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced fresh plans to tackle COVID-19 in the UK, which included a new seven-day self-isolation measure for those even showing mild symptoms, in order to protect the most vulnerable members of society. The plan is half of the original 14-day suggestion – which the Government now says is for people who have experienced "exposure to a confirmed case but have not shown symptoms".

But, a new study has shown that the deadly virus could linger in patients for more than a month, suggesting it is possible to transmit the virus long after the incubation period noted by the Prime Minister.

The findings, published in The Lancet this week, looked at viral shedding – the length of time the virus can be transmitted after someone is infected.

It was found in one instance to be 37 days after the person contracted the illness and the median duration was 20 days, which is far greater than the maximum 14 days suggested.

It points out: “Prolonged viral shedding provides the rationale for a strategy of isolation of infected patients and optimal antiviral interventions in the future.”

Prolonged viral shedding provides the rationale for a strategy of isolation

Study

Chinese researchers studied 191 patients infected with COVID-19 at Jinyintan Hospital and Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital.

Of the patients, 54 had died from the infection, which remained in their systems until death.

Dr Fei Zhou, of the Peking Union Medical College, wrote: “[The results have] important implications for both patient-isolation decision-making and guidance around the length of antiviral treatment.”

The paper also notes that 48 percent of coronavirus patients had additional health issues, such as hypertension, diabetes and coronary heart disease, which decreased their odds of kicking the virus, along with old age.
 

The Government recommends a seven-day isolation (Image: GETTY)
By comparison, only a third of patients with SARS still harboured the virus in their respiratory tract after as long as four weeks, the Chinese scientists said.

For influenza cases, viral shedding typically persists five to 10 days, beginning within 24 hours before or after the onset of symptoms.

Children and immunocompromised individuals, however, may shed longer – for weeks or months – according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The UK has now officially moved from the "contain" stage to the "delay" phase now, after the tenth death was confirmed from a total of 590 cases.

The NHS is under strain (Image: GETTY)

Mr Johnson said it was "the worst public health crisis for a generation" and warned many families they would "lose loved ones before their time".

Schools have been advised to cancel trips abroad, while over 70s and those with pre-existing health conditions have been told not to go on cruises.

Mass gatherings have not been cancelled yet, but the Premierl League is to suspend all games until at least April 4.

The Prime Minister said it was important to get the timing right for stricter measures.

Coronavirus: Scientist's warning to Wuhan lab in 2017 exposed

WUHAN's level-four biosafety lab caused concern for scientists back in 2017, ahead of its opening a year later, unearthed reports show.

By CALLUM HOARE PUBLISHED: Mon, Mar 16, 2020

Last week, Iran’s former President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, stunned the world with his COVID-19 claims, as he stated: “It is clear to the world that the mutated coronavirus was produced in a lab,” echoing US Senator Tom Cotton’s comments last month. The Wuhan Institute of Virology, a level four biosafety laboratory around 12 miles from the seafood market, marks the epicentre of the outbreak. China installed the first of a planned five to seven biolabs designed for maximum safety in Wuhan in 2017, for the purpose of studying the most high-risk pathogens, including Ebola and SARS, but the move worried one expert over the culture in the communist state.


Tim Trevan, a biosafety consultant, told Nature in 2017: “Diversity of viewpoint, flat structures where everyone feels free to speak up and openness of information are important.”

But lab director Yuan Zhiming defended the institution, saying that measures have been introduced to promote more openness.

He said in 2017: “We tell them the most important thing is that they report what they have or haven’t done.


“Transparency is the basis of the lab.”

Scientists had a warning over the Wuhan lab (Image: GETTY)

Wuhan was at the epicentre of the outnbreak (Image: GETTY)

Monkeys can run, they can scratch, they can bite
Richard Ebright

In 2004, the World Health Organisation confirmed SARS – a distant relative of COVID-19 – had escaped a Beijing lab twice, via two separate workers.

A spokesman said: “We suspect two people, a 26-year-old female postgraduate student and a 31-year-old male postdoc, were both infected, apparently in two separate incidents."

Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist at Rutgers University, noted this incident before the opening of the Wuhan lab as a cause for concern.

He was not convinced there was a need for another lab in mainland China and the prospect of ramping up opportunities to inject monkeys with pathogens also worried him.

He added: “They can run, they can scratch, they can bite.”
 

Researchers sent warnings over the Wuhan lab (Image: GETTY)

Coronavirus shock claim: ‘Smoking gun of Chinese lab leak’ exposed

He also questioned whether the Wuhan lab was entirely focused on research, stating: “These facilities are inherently dual-use.”

However, speaking more recently, Dr Ebright clarified to DailyMail.com: “At this point, there's no reason to harbour suspicions."

The Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory, housed at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, was set up in the hope of helping China contribute to research on the world's most dangerous viruses.

Constructed in 2015, the lab was still undergoing safety testing, but near ready to open in 2017.

Coronavirus: Is this PROOF China's been lying about outbreak? [REVEALED]
  

A fish market in Wuhan is said to have been central to the spread (Image: GETTY)

coronavirus has sparked worldwide implications (Image: GETTY)

It was the first-ever lab in the country designed to meet biosafety-level-4 (BSL-4) standards, the highest biohazard level, meaning that it would be qualified to handle the most dangerous pathogens.

BSL-4 labs have to be equipped with airtight hazmat suits or special workspaces that confine viruses and bacteria that can be transmitted through the air to sealed boxes that scientists reach into using attached high-grade gloves.

There are about 54 BSL-4 labs worldwide.

China's first, in Wuhan, received federal accreditation in January 2017.

The US Owes $23.5 Trillion – But Can Still Afford A Big Coronavirus Stimulus Package

THE USA CAN AFFORD DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM

MEDICARE FOR ALL, UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME, LIVING WAGE, ETC.




By William D. Lastrapes 03/19/20



The U.S. government now owes over $23.5 trillion in debt, or about $71,000 for every man, woman and child living within its borders. It has risen $3 trillion since President Trump took office in 2017 and is almost double what it was just 10 years ago.

U.S. government officials are discussing another expensive stimulus package – possibly as much as $1 trillion and bigger than the one enacted in 2009 during the midst of the financial crisis – to help the U.S. economy make it through the coronavirus pandemic.

But in light of its large debt, can the federal government really afford more spending?

The national debt represents the accumulation of past deficits that the federal government has run, pretty much continuously, since 1931. Prior to that, surpluses were much more common, apart from the years following the Civil War.


But its size is not a problem. The amount of government debt simply reflects the timing of taxes. Higher spending and lower taxes today mean more borrowing that will need to be paid off by higher taxes in the future.

The US budget deficit is expected to average $1.3 trillion through 2030 as the debt grows to 98% of GDP Photo: GETTY / MARK WILSON

Not everyone will be happy about that, and the government’s resources are not unlimited. But because the economy grows over time, collecting those future taxes make spending today affordable.

In addition, the $23.5 trillion figure, while large, is a bit misleading because $6 trillion of this is owed to other government agencies like Social Security. While that’s real money, it’s a bit like owing your spouse.

As long as U.S. fiscal institutions are strong and effective, and the long-run productive capacity of the nation’s economy is secure, there is no economic reason to worry the government can’t afford a large stimulus package.

To remain solvent and ultimately pay what it owes, the Treasury – which sells notes and bonds to investors frequently to raise money to finance the deficit – need only balance its books over the long run, rather than over an arbitrary unit of time like a year. So annual national deficits are not always a cause for concern.

Historically low interest rates on government debt suggest that bond market participants agree with this view.

And in times of crisis, U.S. debt is seen as a haven, pushing borrowing costs even lower. Indeed, with these low rates, sufficient economic growth can allow the government to borrow indefinitely.

Many economists, including me, argue that fiscal stimulus is needed now because the disruptions from social distancing and other necessary precautions against the coronavirus will likely drive the economy into recession. The state of the nation’s public health is a valid concern of the federal government, as is mitigating the harm recessions can do to workers and small business.

The pandemic will end – that we can be sure of – and the economy will get back on track over time. But worries about the debt should not prevent government actions from helping people now. We can afford it.

This is an updated version of an article originally published on Feb. 14, 2019.

William D. Lastrapes is Professor of Economics at the University of Georgia.

This article originally appeared in The Conversation. Read the original article here.

The Mighty Nile, Threatened By Waste, Warming, Mega-dam


By Farid Farid 03/19/20 


Early one morning in Cairo, volunteers paddle their kayaks across the Nile, fishing out garbage from the mighty waterway that gave birth to Egyptian civilisation but now faces multiple threats.

Egypt's lifeline since Pharaonic days and the source of 97 percent of its water is under massive strain from pollution and climate change and now the threat of a colossal dam being built far upstream in Ethiopia.

Undeterred, the flotilla of some 300 environmental activists do what they can -- in the past three years they say they have picked some 37 tonnes of cans, plastic bottles, disposable bags and other trash from the waters and shores along the Nile in Egypt.

The Nile is under massive strain from pollution and climate change and now the threat of a colossal dam being built far upstream in Ethiopia Photo: AFP / Khaled DESOUKI

"People have to understand that the Nile is as important -- if not more -- than the pyramids," said Mostafa Habib, 29, co-founder of the environmental group Very Nile.

"The generations coming after us will depend on it."

His fears echo those that millions worldwide share about other over-taxed and polluted rivers from the Mekong to the Mississippi -- an issue to be marked on World Water Day on March 22.

In the past three years, the environmental activists say they have picked some 37 tonnes of rubbish from the waters and shores along the Nile in Egypt Photo: AFP / Khaled DESOUKI

But few waterways face greater strain than the 6,600-kilometre (4,100-mile) Nile, the basin of which stretches across 11 countries -- Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.



No country is more reliant on the Nile than Egypt, whose teeming population has just passed 100 million people -- over 90 percent of whom live along the river's banks.

Surrounded by a green valley full of palm trees, the north-flowing river is awash with boats of all sizes for tourism, fishing and leisure.

No country is more reliant on the Nile than Egypt -- over 90 percent of its population live along the river's banks Photo: AFP / KHALED DESOUKI

"All of us Egyptians benefit from the Nile, so cleaning it up is a way of giving back to my country," said one of the volunteers, Walied Mohamed, a 21-year-old university student.


"The Nile is the main source of drinking water for Egypt. We have no other major rivers flowing in our country."

Despite its importance, the Nile is still heavily polluted in Egypt Photo: AFP / Khaled DESOUKI

Around seven percent of Egyptians lack access to clean drinking water and over eight million go without proper sanitation Photo: AFP / KHALED DESOUKI

Despite its importance, the Nile is still heavily polluted in Egypt by waste water and rubbish poured directly in to it, as well as agricultural runoff and industrial waste, with consequences for biodiversity, especially fishing, and human health, experts say.

Around 150 million tonnes of industrial waste are dumped into it every year, according to the state-run Environmental Affairs Agency.

Climate change spells another threat as rising sea levels are set to push Mediterranean salt water deep into the fertile Nile river delta, the nation's bread basket.

Fears about the Nile echo those that millions worldwide share about other over-taxed and polluted rivers -- an issue to be marked on World Water Day on March 22 Photo: AFP / KHALED DESOUKI

Researchers predict the country's already stretched agricultural sector could shrink by as much as 47 percent by 2060 as a result of saltwater intrusion.

Cotton, one of the most widely cultivated plants along the Nile, requires a lot of water.

Egypt also faces a nationwide fresh water shortage by 2025, according to the UN.

The construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, set to be Africa's largest, is also raising fears in downstream countries Egypt and Sudan Photo: AFP / EDUARDO SOTERAS

Already around seven percent of Egyptians lack access to clean drinking water and over eight million go without proper sanitation.

Hydrologists say people face water scarcity when their supply drops below 1,000 cubic metres per person annually.

Egyptian officials say in 2018 the individual share was 570 cubic metres and that this is expected to further drop to 500 cubic metres by 2025.

But aside from all the existing threats, there is another issue that terrifies Egypt's national planners and has even sparked fears of war.

Sudan and Egypt worry the new dam's high wall will trap their essential water supplies when the giant reservoir starts to be filled Photo: AFP / OZAN KOSE

More than 3,000 kilometres (2,000 miles) upstream on the Blue Nile, the main tributary, thousands of workers have toiled for almost a decade to build the $4.5-billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, set to be Africa's largest.

Downstream countries, mainly Egypt but also drought-plagued Sudan, fear that the dam's 145-metre (475-foot) high wall will trap their essential water supplies once the giant reservoir, the size of London, starts being filled this summer.

Years of tensions between Cairo, Khartoum and Addis Ababa have even seen Washington jump in to mediate rounds of crisis diplomacy.

For Ethiopia, one of Africa's fastest-growing economies, the dam is a prestige project and source of national pride.

In a country of 110 million where even the capital is plagued by blackouts, it promises to provide electricity by 2025 to the more than half of the population that now lives without it.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has insisted the project will not be stopped, warning that if necessary "we can deploy many millions".

In less belligerent but equally dramatic language, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told the United Nations last year that "the Nile is a question of life, a matter of existence to Egypt".

For some farmers in Sudan, the dam promises to tame rainy season floods that inundate farms with silt and destroy crops and houses.

One Blue Nile farmer whom AFP visited in November, Osman Idris, said "it's a renegade river, it rises so fast".

If its flow is regulated, "we can plant crops through the year", explained the 60-year-old farmer.

"It will be better for the environment and for marketing our products, which means more income for us."

For Egypt, the crucial question now is at what rate Ethiopia plans to fill the 74-billion-cubic-metre reservoir -- Cairo demands it at least triple its proposed period of three to four years.

But experts also warn that Egypt must change its own water management practices.

"Egypt needs to invest in non-Nile sources of water," said Jeannie Sowers, a political science professor at University of New Hampshire who authored a book on Egypt's environmental policies.

"This means prioritising desalination plants on the coasts... and improving irrigation and drainage networks," she told AFP.

While steps have got under way on this, progress has been hampered by bureaucratic problems and economic woes linked to the Arab Spring protests of 2011.

Justin Mankin, a Dartmouth University geographer who wrote a study on climate change impacting the Nile, told AFP that "water stress will become widespread in the region, irrespective of rainfall increases".

He emphasised that the "region's governments must take steps to create water sharing schemes and practices that can ensure a sufficient and equitable distribution of water over the coming decades."

Meanwhile, the Egyptian volunteers push on in their kayaks and row boats doing what they can to reduce the garbage piled up on the Nile's banks.

"We have a treasure and we really haven't taken care of it," said Nour Serry, a Cairo graphic designer and avid volunteer.

"As Egyptians, we should be more attuned to cleaning up our Nile and the surrounding environment. This is our source of life."

Copyright AFP. All rights reserved.

The World Is More Dissatisfied With Democracy Than Ever, Research Says

By Dominic Nicosia 01/28/20

Donald Trump Embraces Dictators And Is A Threat To Democracy - Elizabeth Warren

KEY POINTS

Over 57 percent of the world is not satisfied with democracy 

The figure includes over half of all Americans

Satisfaction is at an all-time high in many European countries

Global dissatisfaction with democracy has reached an all-time high, according to new research from Cambridge University. Despite what many might be quick to believe, these negative sentiment actually predates the current acrimonious political climate.

A massive 25-year study of 154 countries and over four million people released on Wednesday revealed that 57.5 percent of respondents are dissatisfied with democracy. Additional research indicated that 2019 marked “the highest level of democratic discontent” on record. The findings were reported by CNBC.

Over the last 25 years, global discontent toward the once-celebrated system of government grew from a little over a third to more than half of all respondents. Shifts in satisfaction levels were often a response to “objective circumstances and events” such as economic shocks and corruption scandals, the report said.


THE DISSATISFACTION IS WITH CAPITALISM NOT DEMOCRACY
One of the largest and most notable jumps in dissatisfaction came after the 2008 financial crisis, a spike of over 6.5 percent. Another alarming revelation of the report is that many large democracies, including the U.S., Australia, the U.K. and Brazil, were now at their highest-ever level of dissatisfaction with democracy. According to the report, the U.S. in particular had seen a “dramatic and unexpected” decline in satisfaction with the system.


At the study’s inception in 1995, more than 75 percent of U.S. citizens were satisfied with American democracy. Confidence was dramatically shaken after the 2008 financial crash and has been dipping ever since. Today, fewer than 50 percent of Americans are satisfied with the democracy in their country. “Such levels of democratic dissatisfaction would not be unusual elsewhere,” the report said. “But for the United States, it marks an ‘end of exceptionalism’ — a profound shift in America’s view of itself, and therefore, of its place in the world.”

Meanwhile, in Europe, satisfaction with democracy is at an all-time high, particularly in countries like Denmark, Switzerland and Norway.

Workplace Culture: How Team 'Recess' Translates To A Better Product


By Oskar Konstantyner 02/29/20

Who says recess is just for schoolchildren?

A short break of (somewhat) unstructured, yet supervised play, recess is easily dismissed as something we outgrow, even if research shows it is incredibly beneficial. However, when applied correctly, the concept of recess offers a beneficial tool for any team. In the same way that recess gives kids a chance to use different parts of their brains and take a physical break from mental work, unstructured time can be transformative for your teams.

This “recess”-like block of time can take many forms. For engineers, it might occur on a Friday after a long development sprint. Or a marketing team might pause after a product launch to unwind and reset before preparing for the next campaign. But whatever structure or name it may take, a specific period of less structured time during the workday can bring tangible, measurable improvements to your product and your business.

I’ve personally experienced the benefits of this system. At my company, “Friday Projects” have become part of our development team’s culture. At the end of every sprint, we block off time to use as we wish. Of course, this free time has its boundaries (it’s not time to run errands or take the team axe throwing), but the arrival of Friday Projects is always highly anticipated.


In the end, real product improvements and major cross-team collaborations occur, along with a host of other intangible benefits. All of it reinvigorates the team for the next sprint, often equipping team members with new ways of thinking or an improved set of tools.

If you’re wondering if this kind of break might benefit your team, the short answer is “yes.” But there are several lessons and best practices my team has learned that can help you achieve the benefits of this concept even faster.


Encourage teams to break boundaries. The idea behind Friday Projects is to pursue something we are personally passionate about. As engineers, we now take greater ownership over the end product and are more able to see projects we develop through to completion. And pursuing these passion projects sometimes means breaking out of our own professional silos and working with departments we don’t often interact with. As a result, this added free time has allowed us to push out countless “nice-to-have” features to our product that would not have happened otherwise.

Make sure good work gets noticed. A passion project is only rewarding if it actually gets done. For our team, we have a rule that any new product feature or update gets released publicly. This ensures a level of accountability, but also makes sure our work doesn’t get lost. When applying this in your organization, encourage your teams to champion the work they do during unstructured time. This can be a happy hour celebrating a feature launch or ordering T-shirts celebrating a new product update — whatever it is, don’t let good work go unused or unrecognized.

Take time to look inward. Free time can also be a great time to reflect on work life outside of sprint deadlines and product launches. What tools are we using? Why? Is there a better way to do this? These strategic questions are often pushed aside by day-to-day concerns, but it doesn’t make them any less important. Many of us have used our Friday Projects time to form working groups that tackle these questions. On several occasions, we have used the time to research and purchase better development tools and integrations for our engineers. In other instances, we have deployed internal code updates and protocols that greatly improved the inner workings of our product. It’s important to keep in mind that while these kinds of projects may never be public, they vastly improve the way your team works on a daily basis.

Establish rules of play. Our team is very clear about what “Friday Projects” are for. It’s not a “hackathon” where we build whatever we want, and most importantly, pursuing our own projects doesn’t free us from our normal roles. If a project conflicts with something in another department, we run it by that department first. If a new feature idea is a little quirky, we make sure to get the product owners’ blessing before investing any work time on it. Our Friday Projects have been successful because of rules and boundaries, not despite them. Keep this in mind as your teams experiment with unstructured time.
Measure success. Passion projects offer the intrinsic reward of launching something you love, but celebrating the birth of an idea is only the beginning. New features, ideas or updates that created during your version of “recess” should be measured and analyzed just like any on-the-clock project. This legitimizes the work accomplished during this period, but also prolongs the rush of launching something new — now your team can celebrate every new milestone that occurs.

It’s easy to see why we haven’t looked to the playground sooner as a way to inspire teams. From the outside, recess looks like unregulated chaos or play for the sake of play. But in reality, this break allows a peer group to take a mental and physical break from the task at hand and helps them reset their brains for the next long sprint of work. They make new connections and may bring a new idea or two with them to the next project.



Friday Projects have improved our product and morale. It’s a tradition the team looks forward to, and also serves as a great perk to brag about when trying to lure new team members.

Given the low overhead cost, unstructured time has the potential to deliver impressive ROI. It’s just a matter of imagining what incredible things your team can accomplish during “recess.”

Oskar Konstantyner is a Product Owner and Team Lead at Templafy, focusing on document creation, external services integrations, compliance and process automation features

This chart shows GDP per hour worked in selected countries in 2018.  Photo: Statista/IBT 

Figures from the OECD reveal the countries in which the average hour of work contributes the most to GDP.

As our infographic shows, no matter how hard the average worker in Chile works, they won't be as productive (in GDP terms) as the average person toiling away in Ireland.

An hour's work in the South American country contributed $29.0 to the economy while in Ireland this contribution is on average $102.3.

High Seas Piracy Is Alive And Well. Can We Kill It?


By Yarden Gross 02/25/20 

VIDEO
Somali pirates release hijacked Aris 13 oil tanker without ransom

Sea piracy, the stuff of kids stories and swashbuckling Hollywood classics, is still with us – but modern pirates have none of the charm of their storybook predecessors. In 2009, for example, the MV Maersk Alabama was taken over by pirates (as portrayed in the movie 'Captain Phillips'), leading to the kidnapping of the captain and a bloody shootout involving U.S. Navy Seals.

At any given time, there are about 100,000 vessels at sea. Oil tankers, cargo vessels, fishing boats, cruise ships, and patrol boats crowd the seas, and many of them are loaded with riches that prove to be too tempting for seagoing criminals to pass up.

Although most ships won't be hit by them, pirates – especially in areas where enforcement is weak – play the seas as well, looking for easy targets, specifically among cargo ships and oil tankers. So far in 2020, there have been fewer than 20 incidents of piracy on the high seas, most of them concentrated in specific areas. No ships have been outright seajacked; in most cases, pirates who boarded ships were overcome by the crew.

However, shippers don't take chances – they invest a great deal of effort and money in protecting vessels. The shipping industry annually lays out billions in insurance and in rerouting ships away from danger zones, and then there are the expenses for the deployment of naval forces to protect ships, the “hit” to local ports for lost business, etc. The total annual cost of piracy prevention is as much as $12 billion.


One reason pirates are able to get away with attacks is their stealthiness. They sneak up on cargo ships and quickly board them before their victims have an opportunity to defend themselves, put some distance between themselves and potential attackers, or inform authorities that they are likely to become victims of a forced boarding.

A quick perusal of attacks shows that stealth is indeed the modern pirate's modus operandi. One attack off the coast of Nigeria saw “robbers in a small boat approach an anchored tanker during STS cargo operations. Two of the robbers attempted to board the tanker via the anchor chain. Duty crew on routine rounds noticed the robbers and raised the alarm.”

In another attack, “Two unauthorized persons from two skiffs came alongside and boarded an anchored tanker. Duty watchman on security rounds noticed the persons on the forecastle deck. Alarm raised and crew mustered. Seeing the alerted crew, the persons jumped overboard and escaped.” In a third attack, “Five armed pirates in a small craft approached a tanker underway. Alarm raised and evasive maneuvers commenced. Armed security team onboard the tanker fired warning shots resulting in the pirates returning fire and then aborting the approach and moving away.”

A cargo ship passes through the Panama Canal's Pedro Miguel Locks on the outskirts of Panama City in February 2018 Photo: AFP / Rodrigo ARANGUA

In each of these and many other reported attacks, pirates were able to approach their targets using small boats that evaded detection, using odd maneuvers and roundabout routes, often under cover of darkness. While crews successfully fended off the attack in each case, the danger of someone getting hit in the crossfire – or the pirates actually succeeding – always exists. Those stealth tactics, for example, were what enabled Somali pirates to hijack the Aris 13 oil tanker in 2017.

So how can ships avoid pirates? One way is to stick with the crowd. It's unlikely that a pirate skiff will be able to sneak up on a ship in crowded waterways, but there are going to be times and places where a ship may be alone.

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In those situations, ships would likely rely on radar, which would give them insight into vessels and objects in the area. Unfortunately, most radar systems are designed to detect large objects that a ship is at risk of colliding with; they often miss small boats and skiffs, the vessels that have become the preferred method of pirate invasion.

A third possibility is to keep in constant touch with naval patrols and other security groups while in dangerous waters. But, often a patrol boat will be tens of kilometers away from a ship, too far to navigate to the scene of the crime when called upon for help.

Fortunately, new developments in vision and sensor technology are available to help deal with the piracy problem. Ships equipped with sensors that take in data about everything surrounding the ship, large and small, can alert crew and patrols that a pirate invasion is on the way.

Using machine learning, for example, a sensor-based system that detects a skiff would analyze its movements, and based on data from previous encounters, it would alert the crew that the kinds of maneuvers the skiff is making indicate that it is likely a pirate vessel. Crew members could then take their positions to defend the vessel, or even take pre-emptive action against the offenders.

Using advanced vision technology, systems could more easily identify offending vessels. By recording speed and trajectory and matching the data with a map of the surrounding area, for example, a system could provide authorities with information on the likely whereabouts of offenders, making it easier to catch them before they strike again.

Long John Silver is long gone, but his criminal heirs are still plying the high seas – quite successfully, unfortunately. Pirates who steal cargo or, increasingly, kidnap crews and hold them for ransom “earn” tens of millions of dollars a year. New developments in technology will hopefully put this scourge to a stop once and for all.

(Yarden Gross is CEO and Co-founder of Orca AI)