Daily Archives: March 7, 2017

Child-free and OK with it but still dealing with moral scolding and … – Salon

Posted: March 7, 2017 at 10:24 pm

Increasing numbers of peoplein the United States, and in many other countries around the globe, are living child-free, either because they are delaying having children or forgoing parenthood altogether. Census data from 2015, the latest numbers available, shows that nearly half of women ages15 to 44 dont have kids, which is the highest its been since the Census Bureau started recording these statistics.

And while the percentage of women who make it into their 40s without having childrenhas fallen some since a high in 2006, a Pew Research review of government datashows that15 percent of American women in their 40s have never had a baby.

But while being childless is more common than ever, the social stigma attached to childlessness is still going strong, according to research done by LeslieAshburn-Nardo, an associate professor of psychology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Ashburn-Nardo recently published a study in the journal Sex Rolesthat shows that the shifts in social norms have not significantly reduced negative attitudes toward the deliberately child-free.

Sheargued in an interview byphone that when we encounter people who violate, in some way, these strongly prescribed roles or norms, like interest in having children, then theres great potential for social backlash. She added, We feel like people are morally defective in their decision or behavior, and were motivated to punish them in some way, usually social sanction.

Ashburn-Nardo was curious to see if the increasingly high rates of childlessness in our culture werereducing the amount of social judgment against the deliberately child-free. To test this, she brought in a group of 204 undergraduate psychology students, under the pretense of testing their ability to predict the future, and had them read a short vignette about a former student who had married his or her college sweetheart.Half the students read about someone who had chosen to have two children, and half read about a personwho had electedto have none. They were then asked to fill out a survey to measure their attitudes about the former student.

Despite living in the 21st century and being, as college students, mostly childless themselves the survey takers were just as disapproving and disgusted with those who had decided against having children as similar survey takers were in the 1970s and 80s.

Those who were voluntarily child-free elicited greater moral outrage and were also seen as being less psychologically fulfilled, Ashburn-Nardo explained.To me, that really is indicative not just of a descriptive norm of whats happening in the world, but more of a prescriptive, like this is an expectation that people should want to have children.

What was particularly interesting, Ashburn-Nardo pointed out, wasthat survey takerspredicted that this choice to be childless would make the hypothetical couple unhappy.She pointed out that other studies have repeatedly shown the opposite to be true. Research shows that child-free people are just as satisfied with their lives as parentsare. In fact, childfree people tend to be happier on a day-to-day basis, and significantly more satisfied with their marriages.

Backlash theory, however, might explain whats going on here. As Ashburn-Nardo pointed out, when we feel moral outrage toward someone, as the surveytakers did toward the deliberately childless, we want to see them punished. Perhaps the prediction that the childless couple would be unhappy wasa kind of wishful thinking. People want to believe that those who dont have children will suffer because they believe, on some level, that the child-freeshould suffer.

Anti-choice activistscan safely be seen as the most ardent believers inthe notion that parenthood is a duty, not a choice, and therefore the most invested in the idea that those who defy social expectations byrejecting the opportunity to have a baby should suffer for their choices. Sure enough, the anti-choice movement is permeated with the myth of abortion regret, the idea that women who choose to have abortions will suffer from depression and even suicidal thoughts afterward.

There is no evidence whatsoever that women who have abortionshave regret, never mindserious mental health problems. On the contrary, repeated research has shown that womenwho have abortions do just fine compared withwomen who dont.But anti-choice activists so desperately want women who have abortions to suffer that they have convinced themselves that abortion regret is a real thing.The surveytakers who believed it was wrong to be child-free and who thought that those who choose it will suffer may be expressing a more muted variation of the same impulse.

One interesting finding from Ashburn-Nardos study was that the surveytakers didnot differentiate between men and women when passing judgment on those who are voluntarily childless. The students had beendivided into four groups: One group read about a childless man, the second set read about a childless woman, the third cluster about a woman with two children and the final group read about a man with two children.

Ashburn-Nardo had expected, she said, that the childless woman would elicit more moral outrage than the childless man. That wasnt the case. Both men and women were negatively judged for choosing not to have children. Women may be expected to invest more heavily in parenthood, butpeople still think theres something wrong with a man who doesnt want to have kids.

These findings are particularly interesting in light of polling data, collected by Gallup, that shows thatAmericans increasingly rate premarital sex, birth control and abortion as morally acceptable. But Ashburn-Nardos research suggests that while Americans might be more comfortable with separating sex fromchildbearing, there is still a lot of discomfort aboutpeople who refuse to become parents at all.

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Meet The Twenty-Something Childfree Women Fighting To Be Sterilised – Huffington Post UK

Posted: at 10:24 pm

When 26-year-old tech reporter Holly Brockwell went public with her quest to be sterilised, she sparked a nationwide controversy and added a fresh dimension to Britains gender debate.

But the massive backlash from her media appearances was far from the biggest hurdle the now 31-year-old faced in her journey to ensure her childlessness.

ITV/ This Morning

The journalist says that for four years she was patronised, challenged and dismissed by doctors who told her she was too young to make a permanent decision about her fertility.

But Brockwell says sterilisation was the only option for her.

I dont want babies, she says simply. Society tends to see the pill as a magic solution, but theres not nearly enough discussion of the enormous effect it can have on womens bodies, moods and lives.

I dont react well to hormonal contraception, which means the pill, implant [and] injection make me ill and give me side effects no man would be willing to live with.

When a woman is sterilised, her fallopian tubes are blocked or sealed to prevent eggs from travelling away from the ovary to be fertilised.

Even on the day of her sterilisation, after her numerous appeals were finally granted, Brockwell says she was talked down to by her surgeon.

He was clearly, vocally against the procedure and spent what felt like forever trying to bully me into changing my mind, she says.

He even brought in a doctor from the IVF department to guilt me about how difficult it is to have a baby by IVF.

A year on from the procedure, Brockwell says she has absolutely no regrets about her decision to permanently end her fertility.

I just wish Id been able to have the procedure sooner. It would have saved me a lot of stress, illness and money for panic-bought pregnancy tests.

Holly Brockwell appearing on ITVs This Morning in March 2016 after winning her bid to be sterilised

Brockwell may have become the covergirl for this controversial issue, but there is plenty of evidence that women across the country in their twenties and thirties are also fighting to be sterilised.

A quick internet search reveals numerous discussion threads and thousands of articles around the subject.When The Huffington Post UK reached out to a support group for people who have decided to remain childfree, dozens of women rushed to share their stories.

Many of these young women say they have been ridiculed and denied by doctors who insist they will change their minds about becoming a mother as they get older.

Since the start of the millennium, there has been a dramatic decrease in the number of women sterilised in England.

While 35,300 women underwent the procedure in 2000/01, this figure fell by 72.5% in just ten years, with only 9,700 women being sterilised between 2010 and 2011.

Research has shown that this is partly down to the development of long-acting, reversible forms of contraception over the last 20 years.

Hero Images via Getty Images

Thanks to inventions such as hormonal implants and devices like the coil, women can now overcome some of the disadvantages of user-dependent birth control without making a permanent decision about their fertility.

But medical ethicist Dr Anna Smajdor from the University of Oslo believes other factors are also at work.

I am sure that doctors assume young women may want children and that it is regarded as pathological if they do not, she says.

In my experience, this is not the case for men in the same way.

Our society treats women as the primary, and sometimes the sole person involved in reproduction, and of course this finds its way into consultation practices.

Steph, a 31-year-old pet carer, certainly found this to be the case.

First rejected for sterilisation at the age of 26, her plea for the operation was denied again three years later.

Instead, they offered her boyfriend a vasectomy.

Although her partner Mark, seven years her senior, already had a son by a previous relationship, Steph told HuffPost UK the decision was a clear example of sexism.

She explained: It seems that as a man, you have more right to say that you dont want children - everyone is quite respectful of that.

For women, its as if we are all born to churn out children.If you dont feel like that, they give you more time until you make the right decision.

I have been with Mark for six years, but imagine if I was single or had only been with him six months.

You never know what is going to happen in life, Steph added. I still have no choice over whether my body reproduces or not.

Thanasis Zovoilis via Getty Images

For model and blogger Faith Roswell, a lack of control over her own body was one of the most frustrating elements of her fight to be sterilised.

Finally accepted for the procedure in her late twenties, she spent a decade pleading with GPs over the operation.

I told my doctor: Im 28. If I told you that I had been trying to get pregnant for 10 years, you would be helping me.

Im now telling you that Ive been trying not to get pregnant since I was 18. I want you to help me.

If Im trusted to make one decision about my contraceptive health, I should be trusted to make another one as well.

Between 2000 and 2010, the number of vasectomies performed in England dropped by more than half (56%), down to 18,000 a year.

But vasectomies - described as simpler, safer and more reliable by the NHS - still outnumber female sterilisation procedures by 8,300 operations a year.

For doctors, a young woman asking to be sterilised can present a moral dilemma.

Professor Phillip Hannaford, an expert in female reproductive health and contraception, says: Its about trying to give people a sense that they have control over their fertility, but doing it in a way that doesnt have permanence at that age.

People get married older and have children at an older age now I think the average age of the first pregnancy is in the late twenties, early thirties.

People change partners and often want to cement that new relationship with children, he continued.

I can very clearly remember a patient when I was in practice who had heavy periods and wanted to have a hysterectomy. I said: I really do think you are young, lets try a bit longer.

She came back three years later showing me her new baby that she was really proud of and thanking me for not supporting her in that decision.

But Dr Smajdor disagrees.I think if doctors did not emphasise the downsides of sterilisation they would not be doing their jobs properly,she says.

It is difficult because so many of the emotional risks are contingent and speculative, but still, they need to be considered.

However, giving the information is one thing; having given it, the woman should make her own decision in the light of these facts.

HuffPost UK is running a month-long project in March called All Women Everywhere, providing a platform to reflect the diverse mix of female experience and voices in Britain today.

Through blogs, features and video, well be exploring the issues facing women specific to their age, ethnicity, social status, sexuality and gender identity.

If youd like to blog on our platform around these topics, email ukblogteam@huffingtonpost.com

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‘La La Land’ is the Ultimate Victim of Hollywood’s Political … – Heat Street

Posted: at 10:23 pm

Memories of the epic Oscars mishap might be receding but a different sense of injusticeto La La Land, completely unrelated to Warren Beattygetting the wrong envelope, still lingers.

On the surface, it might be difficult to argue that a movie that just won sixAcademy Awards is a victim of anything. But its time to ask: is La La Land a victim of sex, gender and racial politics?

Moonlight is a good movie, a lyrical chronicle of growing up poor, gay and black in America. Yet this movie has been made many times before (from Tea and Sympathy in 1956 toBlue is the Warmest Colorin 2013). The twist is that this time, its a black kid. MahershalaAli deserved his Oscar. But is Moonlight the best movie of the year?

By contrast, La La Land is a deceptively simple movie. The operative word here is deceptive. It seems like an old-fashioned movie, but its not. Its an homage to sentimental Hollywood musicals that is never sentimental itself.

It tells one of the oldest stories in the book. Boy meets girl, boy gets girl, boy loses girl. Also, much has already been said about La La Land. The seemingly uncut opening scene is a magic trick that will be taught in film schools forever. While its devastating that the boy doesnt end up with the girl, if he had the movie would be another stupid Hollywood musical with a happy ending.

La La Land is in fact about art, what it means to be an artist and what you have to sacrifice to become one. Dedication to ones craft at the expense of all else, is one of writer-director Damien Chazelles themes (see the painful break-up in his previous film Whiplash).

When the two characters first meet, theyre in la-la-land, in other words, immature, and confused. By the end of the movie, they have achieved what they set out to do. They made each other better and put each other on their proper paths. Their relationship was not a failure; it was essential to their development as artists. But are they happy? The look of resignation on Mias face as Sebastian simply nods, as if to say Its OK, speaks volumes in the last shot.

While Ryan Gosling cant sing and Emma Stone isnt much better, this is not supposed to be My Fair Lady.It had to be two actors singing badly and dancing imperfectly. The point is that ordinary people can do extraordinary things when inspired, by love or by art, as were the filmmakers here.

It would be meaningless if they were great singers and dancerstheir craft is jazz and acting, not singing and dancing. It is not coincidental either that they make beautiful music together and that the singing and dancing stops once their relationship begins to sour. It was planned.

The point of making a musical (Dancer in the Dark for instance) is exactly to contrast the real life struggles, non-musical scenes, with ones imaginary world (La La Land) where everything is beautiful like an Astaire and Rodgers musical number. Chazelle may be only 32, but with La La Land he has made a true masterpiece.

However, the movie has committed several sins against politically correct Hollywood. To begin with, it had the audacity to be commercially successful, making over $371 million worldwide.

Hollywood doesnt like rewarding success with an Oscar (look at Steven Spielbergs blockbuster Oscar track record orAlfred Hitchcock, arguably the greatest director of all time, only having won an honorary Academy Award).

More importantly, La La Land has been accused of political incorrectness by various groups including women, blacks and jazz lovers. Critics havecomplained about the moviesgender politics.

Morgan Leigh Davis noted in theLA Review of Books that Mia is not much more than a bystander in her own story: Sebastians drive and dedication are more textured than Mias, and it is his melody that recurs through the film to denote particularly important moments in their relationship. Er, its called a musical motif. Sebastian is the author of their relationship who, byintroducing her to jazz and taking her to see Rebel Without a Cause, is teaching her about life.

Sebastian is director Chazelles alter ego and therefore, the driving force behind the movie. The movie is essentially told from his point of view. Maybe it would have been different if a woman had written and directed it. But a woman didnt.

Worse yet, the movie has been hammered for racial politics. Critics who are perhaps still getting over Trumps election accuseChazelle of agreeing that life was better in the 1950s because America was segregated, since the movie is a throw back to the musicals of the 1950s.

This is absurd. George Michael, Toyota Prius, Soft Cell, cell phones and other elements featured in the film didnt existed in the 1950s. This is not a political movie by any stretch of imagination.

La La Land is about being dedicated to art and the sacrifice that is required in pursuit of that dream. To interpret it as promoting racism is using unbelievably convoluted logic? Do wecriticize Apollo 13 because none of the astronauts were black?

Over at MTV News, Ira Madison III claims: If youre gonna make a film about an artist staying true to the roots of jazz against the odds, youd think that artist would be black.

So the claim goes, Sebastian wants to save jazz, but that is not acceptable because he is white. According to this line of reasoning, Chet Baker, Buddy Rich and countless other white jazz musicians should be wiped from the history of jazz merely because as they happen to be caucasian.

There have been numerous other criticisms about the paucity of black leads (er, John Legend?), homosexual leads, and misguided accusations of intellectual snobbery. But once again, this is not a movie that explores the themes being questioned.

The backlash against La La Land exactly accounts for why so much of mainstream America hates the two Coasts. Why does every show, every movie, every cartoon have to have a homosexual, a minority, or a disenfranchised character?

Isnt that reverse discrimination? Isnt it precisely the kind of thinking that is dividing us further into two people who dont understand each other?

We are not African-Americans, or Native-Americans, or White-Americans. We are all simply Americans, said Teddy Roosevelt over 100 years ago. Chazelle, a jazz drummer in his own right, has made a deeply personal movie about creative dedication. The movie is based on his experiences.

Is he supposed to apologize because he happens to be white, straight, and a man? His protagonist is his alter ego. Wouldnt it be hypocritical if Sebastian was black? (And while were on the subject, didnt we just have a President who is black but went out of his way to help white rich Americans more than any other group?)

Hollywood prides itself on being politically correct and gender, sex, race and socioeconomic-class inclusive.

Moonlight, a far inferior movie to La La Land, won because it is about being poor, gay, and black.

In the current political atmosphere, what could be better than sending a strong messages while 100 billion viewers are watching.The overriding message? Take that Mr. Trump, we told you all right! Talk about a Hollywood ending.

The perceived cultural shortcomings stacked against the political correctness represented byMoonlightrobbed La La Land of its rightful Best Movie Oscar.

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Political correctness is curtailing free speech: Letters – LA Daily News

Posted: at 10:23 pm

Political correctness is curtailing free speech

Re Does America have a free-speech problem? (Question of the Week, Feb. 27):

Yes, we are losing our ability to speak freely in public. It started with the politically correct movement on our college and university campuses.

To this day, I do not understand the people who objected to the naming of football teams after ethnic groups such as the American Indian. I always thought that the American Indian warrior was a very brave and furious warrior fighting for the right to live as and where he wished. To me, he is to be admired. The warriors on football teams must have felt the same way when their team was carrying the names that represented American Indians.

It used to be that discourse of differing ideas and ideologies was welcomed, especially on college and university campuses. How it seems that any differing ideas from the popular belief of the day are not to be allowed to be uttered in public or published.

The professor who told her students that Donald Trump is a good person was admonished for her beliefs. If she prefaced her statements with the statement that they were her opinions and opened the classroom up for discussion between the differing opinions, she should have been applauded and not punished, regardless of the subject she was supposed to teach.

Irving Leemon, Northridge

Its about how you say it

There is no free speech problem in America. A problem occurs only when people speak in a rude, violent or insulting manner.

Richard Metzger, Porter Ranch

How could they forget?

Re 2nd Oscars gaffe: Living woman pictured during In Memoriam (Feb. 27):

Its sad that certain deceased stars failed to make the cut for the Oscar memoriam segment. How about less time for parachuting candy and Jimmy Kimmel holding up kids?

Among the treasures of talent in the industry not mentioned: Gloria DeHaven, Alan Young, Robert Vaughn, Tammy Grimes, Rita Gam, Patricia Barry, Marvin Kaplan, Fritz Weaver, William Shallert, James Stacy, Robert Horton, Garry Shandling, Charmian Carr and Miguel Ferrer.

The 20-member Oscar committee that chooses those to be memorialized bring much pain to the heirs, families and friends of those left out. Disgraceful. They should be ashamed.

Wink Martindale, Calabasas

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Eugenics was a progressive cause – Island Packet

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Island Packet
Eugenics was a progressive cause
Island Packet
The progressive mob that disrupted Charles Murray's appearance last week at Middlebury College was protesting a 1994 book read by few if any of the protesters. Some of them denounced eugenics, thereby demonstrating an interesting ignorance: ...

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Facebook gives zero fucks about cloning Snapchat, adds geostickers in Instagram – TNW

Posted: at 10:23 pm

Instagram now has geostickers similar to those found on Snapchat. Why? Because parent company Facebook has apparently given its last fuck.

Instagram todayannouncedthe introduction of geostickers to Stories. When you post a new image to your Instagram Story, you can add a sticker of the locale it was taken. This is pretty much the same as Snapchats geostickers, only with subtle design differences.

TNW Conference won best European Event 2016 for our festival vibe. See what's in store for 2017.

Credit: Instagram

Since launching Stories, Instagram has not-so-secretly started poaching Snapchats best features. Since, the social app has seen an explosion of new users. Stories, in fact, mirrors Snaps so closely from text and emoji overlays to the single feed layout that Instagram may have slowed the growth of its rival service.

Snapchat first introduced geostickers last August. They functioned very similarly to Snapchats existing geofilters, which are region-specific filters you can put over your pictures.

Apparently, Instagrams explosion post-Snapchat-lite makeover is the reason Facebook is testing a similar Story feature for Facebook.

Currently, Instagram Stories only have stickers for New York and Jakarta, although theyre not available for all users yet.

New Geostickers in Instagram Stories for New York City and Jakarta on Instagram

Read next: Palo Alto startup predicts retail failure via satellite images

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BESE accepts updated content standards on evolution, climate change – bestofneworleans.com

Posted: at 10:22 pm

This time around, the controversy over climate change was thrown in.

BESE created an 86-person volunteer committee to revise Louisiana science standards for the first time in 20 years. The committees plan would begin implementation during the 2018-2019 school year.

The standards proved a source of contentious debate among a score of witnesses particularly regarding the committees acceptance of evolution and climate change as scientific facts.

In accordance with the Louisiana Science Education Act of 2008, which allows public school teachers to use supplemental materials in the classroom that are critical of the evolutionary theories, several witnesses aired concerns about the new standards.

State Rep. Beryl Amadee, R-Houma, expressed fears of inherent bias toward evolution and climate change within the recommendations.

If you really embrace the idea that we teach the controversy, why isnt it reflected in the proposed standards? Why would you not want students to recognize other standards? Amadee asked.

Proponents of the renewed standards, however, staunchly defended the language in the original document.

Cathi Cox-Boniol, who led the standards committee, maintained the updated standards have fewer topics and more depth, which the committee believed would better expose Louisiana students to global institutionalized science.

We took everything else out of the equation and thought about the student, Cox-Boniol said, noting the committee members logged some 10,000 collective hours on the project.

Of the 86 volunteers on the committee, only one member dissented on presenting the standards package to BESEWade Warren, a biology professor at Louisiana College.

Warren said he was concerned about what he perceived as the standards apparent dogmatic presentation of Darwinian philosophy and exclusion of alternative theories.

He said he suggested adding the sentence results may differ depending on theory to one of the standards, which was rejected by fellow committee members.

The writers of the science standards did not include any of my suggested edits, Warren complained

William C. Deese, a chemistry professor at Louisiana Tech University, argued that introducing alternative theories into the science classroom would diminish students understanding of science as an institution. There is absolutely no controversy within institutionalized science about evolution and global warming, he said.

State Superintendent John White argued students deserve standards based on the latest scientific research and knowledge.

In developing Louisiana Student Standards for Science, Louisiana educators have set ambitious expectations for students who will soon be the leaders of our state and its economy, White said.

BESE approved the updated standards, with curriculum reviews set to launch as early as spring 2017. Field test assessments will be given in spring 2018.

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Dimple 2.0: Evolution of a bahu into a star campaigner – Hindustan Times

Posted: at 10:22 pm

Dimple Yadav had a faltered entry in politics. Her first scripted speech in Lok Sabha was such a disaster that it went viral on YouTube as Dimple Yadavs hilarious mistakes in Parliament.

Dimple fumbled a dozen times, apparently for her inexperience in public speaking. BJP leader Rajeev Pratap Rudy, sitting behind her, chuckled but stood up to appreciate her and congratulate Mulayam Singh Yadavji for his bahus speech.

But thats history.

The 2017 assembly election is Uttar Pradesh has seen Dimple emerge as the star campaigner of Samajwadi Party. She has also commanded more spotlight than many seasoned leaders across political parties.

Now, she draws more crowd than me, more applause than me, her husband and UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said. He is not exaggerating.

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Dimple, 39, wasnt just the top woman campaigner, leaving former CM and Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati behind in election tours and rallies. She also took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and turned Bharatiya Janata Party chief Amit Shahs metaphorical Kasab, an acronym for the Hindi pronunciation of Congress-SP-BSP, on its head.

Her version of Kasab, underlining peaceful coexistence, prevented Shah from using it often while Akhilesh borrowed it for his rallies.

Admirers say Dimple doesnt read out anymore. At every rally venue, she spoke eloquently and impromptu, using her hand gestures and eye movements to good effect.

Her evolution has not escaped YouTube, which is now flooded with videos that show her as a skilled politician, drawing cheers, claps and slogans such as Dimple bhabhi, jeet ki chabhi (Sister-in-law Dimple is the key to victory).

Dimple hasnt had the best of starts in politics. In 2009, she lost the Firozabad Lok Sabha seat, vacated by Akhilesh, to Congress Raj Babbar. But she won the Kannauj Lok Sabha seat, also vacated by Akhilesh, without a contest in 2012.

Today, she has virtually made the red SP cap a fashion statement after putting it on for the first time during the release of the party manifesto for 2017.

Dimple Rawat and Akhilesh Yadav met at a party in 1995 and love blossomed. This was shortly before Akhilesh left for Australia for higher technical studies. They married in November 1999.

Months after, Akhilesh won his first Lok Sabha election, a by-poll for the Kannauj seat. Dimple chose to be a genteel Yadav bahu as Akhileshs stature in the party rose.

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Till February 8, 2017, Dimple had campaigned only for herself first in Firozabad and then in Kannauj in 2012 and never addressed an election rally. She came out after Akhilesh won the family feud and overshadowed party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. She addressed about 55 rallies from the very first of the seven-phase polls.

Her first campaign for a party candidate, on February 8, was meticulously planned. Akhilesh made party MP Jaya Bachchan introduce Dimple at a rally for Anshu Rani Nishad, the partys candidate for Bah (Agra). Dimple took over after Bachchan said: Dimple is your daughter-in-law, and gift her victory.

Her campaign ended with a special appearance during Akhilesh-Rahul Gandhis joint rath yatra through the streets of Varanasi. She turned out to be the main crowd-puller, this quality attributed to her charisma and refined vocabulary.

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‘De-evolution Part III’ is a stunning conclusion to The Upbeats’ EP trilogy – Dancing Astronaut

Posted: at 10:22 pm

The Upbeats are widelylooked upon as cornerstones of modern bass music. Their caliber of production may not be as influential as that ofNoisia, who have been able to single-handedly set trends and shape modern DnB with each passing album. Yet, The Upbeats have been at the forefront of the genre for over a decade, and show no signs of slowing their momentum. TheUpbeats havereleased over 15 albums and EPs combined, with each one further cementing their status as one of the best acts bass music has to offer.

Each of The Upbeatsalbums has offered listeners a genial experience, and a fresh perspective on the scope of their genre the hallmark of an act on top of its game. The groupslegendary collaboration with Noisia on theDead Limit EP is still regarded by many to be the best DnB releaseof 2015.

The Upbeats latest work, the De-evolution series (part one of which was initially released in April 2016), has been one of the main talking points in DnB over the pastyear, due to its ingenuity. The three-part series has finally come to its conclusion as the final six pieces of the puzzle are releasedon Vision Recordings.

Each EP has had its own unique story, taking listeners on a sonic journey throughout the various sub-genres of DnB, from serene, calming liquid, to the mind-numbing neurofunk sounds they have helped pioneer throughout their illustrious careers.

While parts one and two of the series are straight out of The Upbeats vast musical playbook, De-evolution Part IIIdeals mostly with a side of DnB not generally touched upon by the duo. Taking this factor into consideration, listening to the EP becomes a much more immersive and enjoyable experience. Thesongs on De-evolution Part IIIhavesplit personalities they can be looked upon simply as extremely well made DnB, but they also expose a much more fragile aspect. Close scrutiny reveals the finely balanced concoction of various sonic elements that definethe collection.

Eachsong in this EP is an individual masterpiece, and the entire collectioncomfortably stands head and shoulders above any other DnB release this year. De-evolutionPart IIIfalls perfectly into place with its two previous iterations, resulting in one of the New Zealanders best works yet.

The EP starts off in typical Upbeats fashion with Cauldron (Feat. Agressor Bunks). The hard-hitting neurofunk single is asensory assault, coercing listeners into a submissive trance. The trackssawing bass, growling synths, and ferocious drumsmake Cauldrona perfect selection for hardcore head-bangingthat provides an ideal foundation for the rest of the EP.

The next song Prism, shares very little common stylistic ground withthe aforementioned track. The energetic tempo of Cauldron is replaced with a thick, grimy tone in the second piece from the collection. Atmospheric vocals are scattered throughout Prism, which would be perfectly at home as a standalone Division recordings release. The impeccablydesigned bass growls, gurgles and splutters culminate in a fantastic tune, ably complemented by its subtlerelements.

If the prior two tracks provided a launch pad for the EP, Veiled and De-Evolution easily take the releaseto another level. Veiled, as previously mentioned, is easily one of the groupsbest liquid singles to date. Words can hardlydo justice to the feeling this masterstrokearouses in listeners.

De-evolution, named after the series itself, is the undoubtedly the climax of the three part project. With the titular track, The Upbeats have gone all out to create ajuggernaut that stands out above the rest of the songs on the EP. The song is a mix of two contrasting styles the first being The Upbeats signature ferocity, and the second being a showcase of their capabilities to manipulate more refined, subtler elements. The two contrasting halves of the song signify the recent change in the duosproduction technique and serve as tipping points in both the EP and The Upbeats careers.

The songs at the tail-end of the EP lean heavily towards the new, ambient style which defines the secondary portion of its eponymous track. A Place For You barely classifies as a traditional DnB song. It transcends genres, typified by the serene vocals and ethereal chord progressions. The final song, Streetlight has a starkly minimalist vibe when compared to other songson the EP a fact that it embraces with lachrymose beauty. Each component of the track mourns the ending of this gorgeous series and the track passes on this gloom to listeners with outstanding ease.

The De-evolution series has been unsurprisingly brilliant. The marathon venture is a brief reflection of The Upbeats storied voyage through the music industry. De-evolutionPart IIIis the perfect ending to this gargantuan project, undertaken by one of the staple acts of modern DnB. To fully appreciate the EP, it is imperative to look upon its insinuation, rather than just the music it encapsulates. The De-evolution series is groundbreaking, genre-defining and utterly spellbinding.

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'De-evolution Part III' is a stunning conclusion to The Upbeats' EP trilogy - Dancing Astronaut

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Centerra Gold, Evolution Mining were lowest-cost gold producers in Q4 – MINING.com

Posted: at 10:22 pm

S&P Intelligence report ranked 19 top publicly-listed gold companies according to all-in-sustaining costs (AISC)

One of the effects of the hit the gold price took after soaring to $1,900 an ounce in September 2011, was a concentrated effort on the part of producers to cut costs.

For years big gold mining companies kept on spending, on exploration, salaries, and big acquisitions, confident that the good times would keep rolling with the ever-advancing gold price. Those companies were in for a rude awakening when shareholders dumped them in droves following the gold price retracement of 2012-15. Suddenlyacquisitions were put on hold, exploration spending dried up, and the mantra became: find ways to cut costs.

S&P Global Market Intelligence took a look at 19 publicly-listed, major gold companies in the last quarter of 2016, and found that for most of them, austerity continues to be key,especially with the gold price trending lower in Q4. Recall that gold bears were predicting that Donald Trump's plans for fiscal stimulus, including a $500 billion infrastructure spending program, would lead to strong U.S. economic expansion, ergo, higher interest rates the nemesis of gold.

According toSNL Metals & Mining database, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence, the top 19 public gold companies produced gold at a weighted-average cost of US$868/oz, which is slightly lower than US$889/oz reported in the third quarter.

The lowest-cost producer, Centerra Gold (TSX:CG), mines gold at $586 an ounce, while the second-lowest in the group, ASX-listed Evolution Mining (ASX-EVN), produces at $674/oz. Barrick Gold(TSX, NYSE:ABX), the world's most valuable producer of the precious metal, was third on the list at $732 an ounce. Barrick's costs have dropped 12% in 2016, compared to 2015.

Topping the higher-cost end of the spectrum was Harmony Gold Mining (NYSE:HMY), which weighed in at$1,129/oz, followed byDetour Gold (TSX:DGF) and AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU), which had AISCs of $1,124/oz and US$1,047/oz, respectively.

Some highlights fromSNL Metals & Mining:

According to Scott Perry, Centerra's CEO, the company's favorable cost performance during 2016 can be attributed to the higher mill production and lower unit costs at the company's flagship Kumtor mine, compared with the previous year.

The acquisition of an economic interest in the Ernest Henry copper-gold mine in Queensland in November 2016 improved [Evolution Mining's]quarterly production by adding 14,257 oz of gold at AISC of A$114/oz. The acquisition is expected to further revamp the group's asset portfolio and improve its cost profile.

[Barrick] continued to strengthen its balance sheet, cutting debt and executing business development initiatives throughout the year. Continuing the trend, the company recently announced that it was consolidating its main assets in Nevada and expects to reduce gold production costs at its operations by US$100/oz.

According to Harmony's CEO, Peter Steenkamp, the 14% increase in all-in-sustaining costs (AISC) can be attributed to the labor cost increase under a three-year wage deal and to the winter tariffs during the period.

Read the full report here

Related: 10 mines still makinggood money if the gold price falls 50%

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Centerra Gold, Evolution Mining were lowest-cost gold producers in Q4 - MINING.com

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