Daily Archives: March 2, 2022

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Before Lloyd Blankfein left his condo at the luxe Faena House in South Beach on Monday afternoon, the billionaire former CEO of Goldman Sachs and I were talking about the global response to Russias war in Ukraine. I know this will sound very unbankerlike, he said, but I think it crossed everyones moral threshold. Moral threshold. For about a dozen years, Blankfein, 67, was atop one of the worlds most powerful investment banks in a position that turned him into both a power broker with few equals and a villainous caricature to the public, who only glancingly knew how Wall Street operated. He was the guy whose bank made a killing off subprime mortgages and who was hauled in front of Congress to be the face of the most bare-knuckle aspects of Wall Street capitalism.Id hoped to get some rare insight Blankfein might have on the ways the global financial system is being wielded to bring Russias economy to heel in a series of measures, with few precedents in history, that are being deployed at the start of what could ultimately become a 21st-century Cold War. Instead, he practically offered me the Golden Rule. You have to remember what lifes about, he philosophized.

Or did he? Vladimir Putins aggression is happening within the boundaries of Ukraine, yet its anything but a local skirmish over land. Since Russian forces invaded last week, the G7 and NATO countries have been pulled in two directions: staying out of the conflict before it explodes into a Third World War or exerting whatever influence they have short of actual combat to keep Russia from toppling the global balance of power. On Saturday, it became clear that sanctions had escalated beyond the usual pinpricks on banks and oligarchs when the U.S., Canada, and Europe moved against the Russian central bank, essentially freezing the countrys assets and sending the ruble into free fall. Its powerful evidence, Blankfein said, that the global financial system as its built relies so much on the U.S. economy that even adversarial countries have few choices but to do business with us. Everybody, even Russia and China, holds much of their assets in U.S.-dollar assets, which means U.S. Treasuries which finance us, he said. You dont want to overuse it for policy, but when the policy is so palpable and so moral that everybody in the world joins in save for the miscreants, I dont think this will create any problem.

Goldman Sachs has a long, wobbly history in post-Soviet Russia as one of the many western banks that rushed into the country seeking to cash in on a potential gold rush of oil and debt sales after the Berlin Wall fell, as the New York Times reported back then. No bank was as influential in the region as Goldman, however. In 1992, Goldman then under the direction of its co-chair Robert Rubinpushed economic shock therapy to Boris Yeltsins new government. Over the next few years, the bank pulled out of the country, came rushing back in, and would help finance the Russian government in deals that turned sour soon after they closed. Years later, as Treasury secretary, Rubin would help engineer a disastrous $22.5 billion loan to Russia from the International Monetary Fund that preceded a collapse in the value of the ruble. In more recent years, Goldman and rival JPMorgan Chasehave competed for investment-banking deals there, even as Moscow never ascended to the status of a global financial center on the level of New York, London, or Hong Kong.

The global financial system as it is today was shaped by bankers like Blankfein, who steered Goldman through the Great Recession, accepting more than $69 billion in Federal Reserve loans to stay afloat. Blankfein rose through the ranks of finance through a career as a trader, placing bets on the winners and losers on the global stage through oil and currency trades, using both sharp elbows and as Jessica Pressler wrote in her 2011 New York profile of him a high EQto get to his position. People who stay at such levels arent nave about the power that comes with the global financial system.Can you make an argument for the instrumentality of finance to be always neutral and just a utility? Here, they couldnt, he said of the response to Russia, because it was just too much of a violation, too public, too well known, too distributed because of social media, too one-sided.

It seemed to me that what Blankfein was getting at in bringing up morality wasnt just the ugliness of war. He had lived through the Cold War and sided with capitalism (even though, in a Twitter feud with Bernie Sanders a few years ago, he said he leans a bit to the left). The current global financial system could be a force for good even if it werent used to create prosperity but to destroy billions of dollars of a countrys wealth as a deterrent. The United States benefits from the architecture of, frankly, the postwar national security system but also the financial system, he said. That architecture is a tremendous benefit to the U.S., for example, because most trade is conducted in dollars, and most central bank wealth is stored in dollars, and those dollars are used to fund the deficit. A potential problem, he added, would be in creating a backlash that could undermine such a reliance: You dont want people hysterically trying to find alternatives to the current system that suits us so much. Ill give you an analogy. If Russia cuts off gas supplies to Europe, even if they put them back, its going to make Europe so insecure about those gas supplies in the future that, even if they come back, the rest of Europe is going to try to find alternatives.

Some alternatives are easier than others. For instance, after Russian banks were booted off the SWIFT global financial messaging system, they pivoted to another system. But things got serious when the Central Bank of Russia itself became a target of international sanctions. Unlike commercial banks, central banks are key to how countries manage their economies. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve sets interest rates, stores bank deposits, and bought billions of dollars worth of debt during the past two downturns as a way to prop up the economy. In the past eight years, Putin used his countrys central bank to store nearly $640 billion in cash and gold as a bulwark against the sanctions he would have expected for invading Ukraine.

What makes these sanctions different has to do with an apparent mistake on Putins part: Central-bank reserves arent always kept in a big bank vault, and Russia had stored its money in countries that are the most enraged about the invasion. The proposal to freeze the Bank of Russia, originally made by Canadas finance minister, was soon taken up by the U.S., the U.K., and other European countries even Switzerland abandoned its neutrality to freeze Russias assets. That left Russia with as little as $12 billion in cash on hand and, with sanctions against its major banks, few avenues to convert its gold and other reserves into hard currency. What does it mean to have $640 billion of reserves? Blankfein asked. Putin is not sitting on a bed, throwing it up in the air and watching it fall down on his head like Scrooge McDuck.

Other work-arounds that Russia has at hand dont seem promising either, such as cryptocurrencies that were more or less invented to chip away at the influence of governments and high finance. There isnt enough now, and its not liquid enough, Blankfein said, pointing out that theres only about $2 trillion in crypto worldwide. While that may sound like a lot, its hardly enough to run a $1.5 trillion economy for very long, especially since most wont sell anyway. (The White House has tried to stop crypto exchanges from sending money to Russia, but major platforms like Binance have bucked that call.)

In New York, Blankfeins neighbor at 15 Central Park West is Dmitri Ryobovlev, one of the Russian oligarchs who have stashed money in U.S. property sometimes with the help of the secrecy embedded in the American financial system. Twice during our conversation, Blankfein noted the worst consequences that come with money laundering, bringing up 9/11 twice and how hidden money can finance terrorism something he equated to Russias actions. If youre asking me, Should we make it easier to launder and conceal money? I would say that a lot of experiences, ranging from the terrorists of 9/11 to situations we have now, suggest that youre just helping bad behavior if you make things too opaque, he said. As a guy who would like to not see the World Trade Center blown up again or people steal vast amounts of wealth and conceal it forever, I think somebody has to be able to surveil whos getting paid so that you know youre not paying the North Koreans or Al Qaeda, who then use it to wreak havoc.

Blankfein didnt see much difference between Russias shelling of major Ukrainian cities and terrorist bombings. At the end of the day, they both are trying to achieve objectives by terrorizing and killing innocent people, he said. The moral imperative in this particular case is so big and so clear.

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Lloyd Blankfein on Russia, Ukraine, and Sanctions - New York Magazine

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Kendra AndrewsESPN

MINNEAPOLIS -- After stringing together their worst stretch of the season through the month of February, the Golden State Warriors were looking to turn the page when they came out of the All-Star break and the calendar flipped to March.

But instead, it was more of the same -- perhaps even worse -- as they allowed the Minnesota Timberwolves to score the most points by an opponent this season on their way to a 129-114 loss.

The Warriors have now lost three of their past four games and hold just a half-game advantage over the Memphis Grizzlies for second place in the Western Conference standings.

But unlike the Warriors' other two losses -- meltdowns to the Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks -- their loss to the Timberwolves lacked every bit of cohesiveness and fight.

"This was the first time I sensed there was a breakdown in our connection, and that has to be an exception rather than a rule," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "So that's the most important thing for me looking ahead."

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After reviewing the film from the Warriors' games against Denver and Dallas, Kerr said he liked the way his team played until the fourth quarter of both matches.

The defense was good, he felt, but most importantly, Golden State played with the energy that helps them thrive. But on Tuesday in Minneapolis, all of that was missing.

"[I saw it] all over the place," said Kerr on how the lack of connectivity manifested against the Timberwolves. "It's not just a tangible thing as much as it is just a feeling and an energy -- a collective spirit. I didn't like the energy or the spirit tonight."

While Kerr says his team's disconnectedness isn't a tangible, black and white concept, Stephen Curry, who led the Warriors with 34 points, believes it can be traced to one very real thing.

"We have a lot of different rotations and lineups and we try to make adjustments on the fly," Curry said. "We have to be more in sync as a five-man unit.

The Warriors have been without Draymond Green for 24 games, including the 7 seconds he played on Jan. 9 when Klay Thompson returned. Thompson, meanwhile, hasn't been a constant fixture for the Warriors due to his minutes restriction and not playing on one end of back-to-back games. Andre Iguodala has missed 15 of the past sixteen games.

Moses Moody, who started in place of Thompson on Tuesday, left the game in the second quarter due to a left eye contusion, which Kerr said is "swollen shut."

This has resulted in a fluid starting lineup and rotation, barring the Warriors from building any true chemistry. It has also left them without two of their highest IQ players.

"We've had a lot of shuffling," Curry said. "It's not an excuse for how we're playing, but we are built as a full team. And until we get that, I'm not sure if we'll see our full ceiling, but we have to do the little things in the meantime to keep building confidence."

Thompson, who has missed the past two games due to a general illness, is expected to rejoin the team in Dallas, and he might be active against the Mavericks on Thursday.

Green will also join the team, though there is still no timetable for his return from his back injury. Iguodala is already with the team but isn't expected to play.

The Warriors are trying to take a big-picture approach while they try to work their way out of their funk. They're trying to see the silver lining of having their young players, such as Jonathan Kuminga and Moody, get more playing time. They're emphasizing the job Kevon Looney has done as their only available true big man. They know it's a long season.

"I'm just trying to stay patient in terms of where we are in the season and what we are trying to do in a month and a half," Curry said.

"We just have to make sure when we have a night like tonight where we get a little scattered, we've got to work to return to home base and remember what the goal is," Kerr said.

But, the room for error is shrinking quickly, and the Warriors understand that this is the stretch that is supposed to set them up for their playoff run. So, adjustments need to be made now, and they can't wait to address all their problems until they have a full roster.

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Warriors' disconnectedness on display in loss to Timberwolves, says coach Steve Kerr - ESPN

Dr. Jeff Hersh| Daily News Correspondent

Q:My friend told me that doing good deeds actually improves your health.Is this just a sales pitch?

A:Your friend is absolutely correct. Being kind/doing good increases serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin and endorphins, while decreasing cortisol and other stress hormones.The health benefits to the kind person correlate with these physiological benefits.For example, being kind to someone else has been shown to benefit the kind persons health by:

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This is true whether the kindness manifests as volunteering, donating blood, paying for a strangers coffee (or other random acts of kindness), donating to charity, treating others nicely (yes, this is the Golden Rule, and it is true for small things like allowing some other driver to merge in traffic and/or giving someone a sincere thank you, to bigger things like forgiving a grudge you may have been carrying), etc.

And this even includes being kind to yourself!By this I mean things like forgiving yourself for some error/transgression you made, carving out some "me time" and/or giving yourself a treat/reward when you have weathered a tough situation, etc.

You do not have to go it alone as you think of kind/giving things you may be able to do. In fact, doing kind/good things with friends/family actually enhances the benefits. Intuitively, this should make sense to you.Doing these things with others will have the added benefits of strengthening friendships, decreasing loneliness, and increasing your activity level (which of course has additional benefits as well).

Both volunteering and charitable giving are great family/group activities.Note that not every volunteer position or charity is right for every person, so learn about the volunteer position and charity you are considering and make sure it is a good fit for you.Once you have found something that looks like a fit, consider involving family andfriends as well. This includes children!

As soon as a child is old enough to understand the concept of getting presents, they are old enough to be exposed to the concept of giving.Many parents take their kids to pick out a gift for the other parent, a sibling or another relative. "This is from me, Mommy is always accompanied by a heart-warming smile.Why not extend this to the joy of charitable giving?Go through their toys and clothing with them and let them pick something to donate. Use your judgment as to what is appropriate.The handmade sweater from Grandma, even if one sleeve is longer than the other, may not be the right choice.Do not let them give away their prized stuffed animal; giving should not cause them pain. If you donate money, allow your child to give as well; no charity will mind a donation of one thousand dollars and thirty-two cents; they may not understand the 32 cents, but your child will.

As your child gets older, encourage them to get involved with volunteer/charitable activities of organized groups, be it scouting, your place of worship, school or some other group.Support these efforts, whether that means driving them somewhere, going with them to the park cleanup, collecting food donations or helping sell holiday candy. Helping is the key.Spend time with them as you walk door to door to your neighbors to sell candy and let your child do the talking.Taking the candy to work to sell is fine, but it does not replace the time you spend with your child visiting neighbors and friends!

Bottom line, giving/being kind has benefits for both the person doing the giving as well as the person receiving the kindness. The Dali Lama summed this all up quite succinctly by saying Be kind whenever possible.It is always possible.

Jeff Hersh, Ph.D., M.D., can be reached at DrHersh@juno.com

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What's Up Doc? Are there health benefits to being a kind person? - MetroWest Daily News

By Grace NiemiecUpdated March 1, 2022 10:47 p.m. CTPublished March 2, 2022 9:00 a.m. CT

The Eric Andre Show has been close to my heart ever since I impulsively binged it while running a low-grade fever in 2018. The chaotic structure of comedian Eric Andres satirical talk show didnt just mesh with my flu-ridden brain but spoke to my love-hate relationship with pop culture.

The late-night talk show format has been a cornerstone of pop culture for decades. The genre is known for its formula that has hardly changed since its popularization by Johnny Carson in the 1960s.

At a glance, The Eric Andre Show follows this classic formula. Every episode hosts celebrity interviews, musical guests and on the street segments. Andre finds his own sidekick in comedian Hannibal Buress just as Conan OBrien has Andy Richter and Jimmy Fallon has his fake laugh.

Yet, The Eric Andre Show simultaneously flips the genre on its head and has a naked production assistant vomit on it.

Chaos reigns on-screen from the gate as every episode kicks off with Andre hopelessly destroying his set just to have crew members rebuild it around him. The desperation to tear down the cookie-cutter set pokes fun at the constraints of the late-night model while providing peak physical comedy.

The true cornerstone of the show is the celebrity interviews but interviews should probably be put in quotations. Although a guest is introduced, everything quickly and inevitably falls apart.

Whether its calling out a body double mid-interview to mock guest James Van Der Beek (Dawsons Creek) or driving rapper T.I. off the set with the aforementioned naked production assistant, Andre finds a way to make his interviewees horribly uncomfortable. If you have as absurd a sense of humor as I do, you cant take your eyes off it.

Half of the best interviews come when the guests clearly dont know what they were in for. A season three interview with reality star Lauren Conrad (The Hills, Laguna Beach) has become infamous among the shows fans for that very reason. Conrad notoriously walks off after questions about rapper Waka Flocka Flame and fake vomit push her limits.

The other half of great interviews come when the guests are as confused as Conrad but dont seem to care. In one 2015 episode, musician Tyler, the Creator takes Andres oddity in stride and counters with his own off-beat of humor.

Tears are shed, moves are busted and hilarity ensues. A fan-favorite episode, Jimmy Kimmel & Tyler The Creator, was born.

The Eric Andre Show isnt all interviews, though. Andre regularly takes his pranks outside the studio to cause general mayhem.

From forming a faux Black Scientologist demonstration to posing as a communal cereal bowl in the New York City subway (yes, thats what I said), Andre viciously follows the Prank Golden Rule: confuse, dont abuse.

One recurring fan favorite bit follows a green morph-suited Andre as he confuses locals on the streets of Brooklyn with a fake bird on his shoulder. The segment known as Bird Up! is absolute insanity. I give it a 10 out of 10.

During its four-year hiatus between seasons four and five, The Eric Andre Show soared in popularity and as a result, lost some of its mystery with potential interviewees. In addition, it was announced that co-host Hannibal Buress would be leaving the show.

Fans, including myself, were concerned the show would lose its unique blend of confusion provided by Buress and clueless guests. Luckily, the fifth and most recent season proved me wrong.

While confused B-list guests became more rare, amazing new segments emerged with the help of A-listers. Classic bits like Bird Up! and Rapper Warrior Ninja were expanded on with hysterical cameos from the likes of Lizzo, Lil Yachty and Trippie Redd.

The Eric Andre Show has yet to announce a sixth season, but its a perfect binge watch for any pop-culture critic who relishes being confused as hell.

All five seasons of The Eric Andre Show are available on Hulu.

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ReRuns: Find Solace in the Chaos of 'The Eric Andre Show' - Loyola Phoenix

Khlo Kardashian has come under fire yet again for poorly editing her pictures either with Photoshop or one of the many photo editing apps readily available. This time round, the 37-year-old Good American founder was called out by fans after she posted a selfie on Instagram on February 25th, and the door behind her appeared to be very distorted. Youd think she would know the golden rule of ensuring the backgrounds dont give anything away when editing a picture, but we guess not

In the three-image Instagram carousel, the first picture sees Khlo wearing a skin-tight long-sleeved grey dress with a high neck, with her hair in an effortless top knot and sunglasses on her head. No one can argue that she looks amazing! The second image is a close-up of the mom-of-ones face, where she is pouting for the camera and her stunning makeup and long red talons can also be seen, while the third is a short video. Khlo captioned her carousel: I rarely post in real time..took this months ago.

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Instagram.com/khloekardashian

Fans were quick to flood the former Keeping Up with the Kardashians star's comments section with compliments, but many, many other fans couldnt help but notice the signs of yet another poor editing job, as not only was the background distorted, but her phone which was used to take the mirror selfie was a very odd shape too! "Omg the phone case," one fan wrote, in reference to how her phone case appeared to be curved, thus indicating that the image had been poorly altered. "This edit is an epic fail," another fan replied, followed by a crying laughing emoji. "That wavy door in the background is telling on you girl!" exclaimed another fan, while another added, "We know the video is edited! What happened to your door?"

However, many fans did actually come to her defense as they said that by Khlo showing that her video was made with an effect, she was likely being honest about using a filter and not trying to deceive anyone. One fan wrote: "It literally says made with effect under the picture. Shes not trying to hide the fact shes using an Instagram filter, the same as almost every woman does on their insta stories." And the fact that a filter was used didnt stop the rest of her fans from dropping fire and heart emojis. "Goddess," someone wrote, followed by the heart eyes emoji. "Beautiful," confirmed another Khlo stan, followed by the heart eyes and two red heart emojis. "You look cute Koko," praised another fan, complete with a red heart emoji.

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You Might Want To Brace Yourself For Khlo Kardashians Latest Photoshop FailThis Might Be Her Worst One Yet! - SheFinds

There was no one more deserving of scoring a winner for Cardiff City against Huddersfield Town than Tommy Doyle.

In a proper, all-action Championship clash, with the wind howling and rain belting down, Doyle displayed a maturity and calm which belied his 20 years.

When he took that delicately-weighted pass from Jordan Hugill on the hour mark, there was very much still work to do. He had to muscle his way past two defenders while driving into the box before coolly lofting over Lee Nicholls in the Terriers net.

As the game ticked towards its 90th minute, Doyle looked to have netted the winning goal. Of course, as we know, Josh Koroma and Jon Russell had something to say about that.

Nevertheless, that first Cardiff goal was a long time coming for the Manchester City loanee, who has impressed to no end since joining the club last month.

"I'm really, really pleased for him," manager Steve Morison said of the goal.

"He said he hadn't scored yet as he was walking out today! So he was due a goal.

"It was a really well-worked goal. I knew we would have the moments, like we did in the first half, it's just a shame a couple didn't fall to him in the first half."

READ MORE: All the latest Cardiff City news, views, features and opinion here

Even before that goal, Doyle was the instigator-in-chief for many of Cardiff's chances. He plonked two delightful crosses on to the heads of Mark McGuinness and Hugill in the first half, only for both to be sent directly at the goalkeeper. Later in the first half, he forced Nicholls into an excellent reaction save when he followed in on a blocked Cody Drameh strike, forcing the Terriers man to tip his effort from close range over the bar.

Given his age, the consistency of his performances over the course of his nine-game Bluebirds career has been remarkable.

Playmakers are famously inconsistent, of course, given the nature of the position, trying to fashion chances out of nothing, but Doyle defies that. He has perhaps had only one, maybe two games in which he has failed to really influence matches as he would like.

It is clear to see why Manchester City made him their under-23s captain, too, as he barks orders to players 10 years his senior and dictates the tempo of play with a simple drop of the shoulder or foot on the ball.

For those unable to watch the games regularly, his work rate is utterly staggering, too. It is reminiscent of a prime David Beckham, haring around like a butcher's dog while defying logic as he shows no sign of fatigue on the ball when possession is regained.

Before kick-off at the John Smith's Stadium, it was interesting to note that Rubin Colwill was undergoing his own, one-to-one fitness drills. He was a travelling squad member and Morison confirmed he was fit, just not selected.

Doyle is the perfect example of what Colwill must strive to be next season and beyond. Colwill is undoubtedly a gifted footballer with the ball at his feet, but his decision-making must eventually match the level of Doyle as well as his work off the ball. It's something Morison has tasked Colwill with working on and it is hoped Doyle's presence will help the young Welshman see the benchmark.

Colwill will have a greater influence on proceedings next season. But even so, Cardiff will have to look to replace Doyle in the summer because the entire creative burden cannot be lumped on Colwill's shoulders once again next term.

Doyle has no doubt set the transfer standard for that position now, though. It's the double-edged sword with these young players.

This is the England youth international's first proper, senior loan in this country and he, like many before him, will shoot into the wider public conscious now and have other clubs further up the football pyramid clamouring for his signature next season, no doubt.

It is a golden rule of football fandom, but Bluebirds supporters must refrain from falling in love with loan players. It happens time and time again and only ends in heartache when they eventually venture off for pastures new.

It will be more difficult than most with Doyle, actually, because he really gets it. He loves it, too. After every goal he celebrates wildly with fans, produces an ayatollah on command and speaks about them as though he's known them all of his life.

But Cardiff's big challenge is to find another one in the summer. Doyle's arrival, along with others, of course, has sparked new life into this Bluebirds attack.

Morison bemoaned the team's lack of product in the final third before the January window, we haven't heard any more on that front since Doyle and the like arrived. He has made a huge difference and will continue to do so until the season's end.

Planning has already begun for next season although, as Morison alluded to this week, no concrete decisions can be made until the manager's future is cleared up and the search for the next Tommy Doyle is doubtless under way.

Anything less than the benchmark set by this supremely-talented Man City lad, though, will now be deemed a disappointment.

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Man City starlet sets Cardiff City transfer standard and the golden rule which must not be broken - Wales Online

Each day, staff at Northborough's Aero Coffee Roasters pack a "magic bag" with leftover baked goods, such as muffins, scones and croissants.

It's then sold for $3.99 through Too Good to Go. The Copenhagen-based mobile app helps restaurants and grocery stores curb food waste by connecting them with hungry customers who pay discounted prices for meals that would otherwise be tossed out.

Over the course of a year, users have "rescued" more than 250-plus meals at Aero Coffee Roasters, according to the app. The cafe previously donated extra food to a local pantry, before learning it was being thrown out because items were not individually packaged.

"I know all this food that would have been thrown away is going to good use," said owner Peter Femino.

Forty percent of food is wasted in the United States. It exacerbates climate change asonce it hits municipal landfillsfood emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Never mind the land, water, labor, energyand other resources used to produce, process, transport, prepare, storeand dispose the discarded food.

The app launched in October 2020 in Massachusetts. It's now available in 15 international markets including Paris, London and Amsterdam, with more than 25 million downloads.

Nationally, users have "saved" 1.5 million meals.

"It's the carbon equivalent to more than 700 flights around the world," said Claire Oliverson, head of marketing.

After downloading the mobile app, users can scroll through a list of restaurants, bakeries, cafes, farmsor other businesses offering "magic" or surprise bags in their immediate area. When they settle on a place, they reserve an order and collect it from the store during a pre-set pick-up window.

Prices usually range between $3.99 to $5.99.

You could snag vegetable lo mein, sundried tomato and garlic risotto, and three ears of corn from Verrill Farm in Concord; a carton of half-and-half, Greek yogurt, strawberries, and pastries from BazaAr West in Framingham; or scoops of surplus ice cream from Abbott's Frozen Custard in Needham.

Other participating local businesses include Richdale Food Shops in Milford, Old School Italian Pizzeria in Wellesley, Cilicia Mediterranean Market in Natick and El Huipil in Maynard.

Surprise bags vary every day and can be comprised of anything from the business' menu. Those with allergies or concerned about ingredients should ask the store for more information. Food could be past the sell-by date, but the app notes that's "simply a recommendation from the manufacturer" and does not mean it's inedible.

"We encourage you to look, smell taste, before you waste," reads the app.

Too Good to Go receives a flat fee of $1.79 on every transaction, said Oliverson, while the seller keeps the rest.

She said they keep a "golden rule" with restaurants and businesses that sign on: "Always donate first and donate as much as you possibly can" to those in need. They work with food-insecurity organizations

"It's really, really important to us that stays in place and hopefully it's even strengthened," said Oliverson. "We actually work with food-insecurity organizations in every place we operate."

Just 3.5% of food wastedin the U.S. is donated, said Oliverson. It's due to a host of factors, such as some homeless shelters or food pantries do not logistically havethe resources to come and pick up a few slices of pizza.

"We really fill a space that is focused on helping the partners, helping the climate and helping consumers get great food, but we absolutely want to urge donations first and foremost," said Oliverson.

She'd recommend novices download the app and start out by exploring a restaurant or cafe they've never visited before. She often picks up orders from a bakery where she'll sometimes score eight bagels.

"With bread, you can always freeze it and there's always fun ways you can transform your food," said Oliverson.

Fresh Start Market in Franklin began using the app about six months ago, said owner Bonnie Corso. It gives the storean outlet for unsold prepared foods and other items.

"It's basically another means of saving food waste, getting the word out there that were open, and letting people try the food that we make here," said Corso.

She said it's brought new faces into the store and she's noticed they'll often stay to shop the aisles and buy additional products.

Concord Teacakes started using Too Good to Go about six months ago, said supervisor Amelia Arsenault. The Commonwealth Avenue business typically turns to the app to unload baked goods, but it also sometimes offers unsold prepared foods, such as soups or salads.

"We make them fresh on the daily and they only last that one day," said Arsenault. "It's nice to have more of a use for those."

Femino, owner of the Northborough bakery, called it beneficial on many levels. The business decreases food waste, brings in new customers, and gets extra exposure.

"But most importantly the majority of people who are buying may not be able to afford this food, theyre getting a great deal," said Femino.

Zane Razzaq writes about education. Reach her at 508-626-3919 or zrazzaq@wickedlocal.com. Follow her on Twitter @zanerazz.

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Fighting food waste? There's an app for that, and MetroWest eateries use it - MetroWest Daily News

Dear International Atomic Energy Agency,

We, the undersigned, represent civil society organizations across the world.

We are deeply concerned about the safety of the people of Ukraine under the current military aggression, which has put the lives of civilians at great risk, threatening a humanitarian disaster on an enormous scale.

Specifically, we are very concerned about the ongoing situation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and at Ukraines 15 commercial reactors. We understand that Russian forces have taken control of the Chernobyl nuclear site and are also approaching or may even be occupying the six reactor Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in eastern Ukraine.

We currently have little information regarding the radiation safety of these and the three other nuclear power plant sites.

According to SaveEcoBot and MEDO, online radiation monitoring sites of Ukraine, the radiation data provided by the State Specialized Enterprise Chernobyl nuclear power plant has not been fully updated since the morning of February 25, 2022. The data from the Chernobyl site recorded an exceptional jump in the radiation counts of 65500 nSv/h at 21:50 on February 24. Another concerning increase of 93000 nSv/h was recorded at 10:40 on February 25.

On February 28, 2022, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a statement that:

Last week, Ukraine informed the IAEA that Russian forces had taken control of the facilities of the State Specialized Enterprise Chornobyl NPP, located within the Exclusion Zone set up after the 1986 accident. The regulator said today that the shift supervisor at the site had not been replaced since 24 February but that he continued to perform his duties. SNRIU (State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine) also provided radiation readings from the site which the IAEA assessed as low and in line with near background levels.

The IAEA statement does not provide an explanation for the exceptional jump in the radiation counts that were recorded on February 24 and February 25.

On February 27, 2022, the IAEA published an update that:

Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today that missiles hit the site of a radioactive waste disposal facility in Kyiv overnight, but there were no reports of damage to the building or any indications of a radioactive release.

The IAEA also highlighted that a similar incident also took place in another city:

An electrical transformer at a similar disposal facility near the north-eastern city of Kharkiv had been damaged, also without any reports of a radioactive release. Such facilities typically hold disused radioactive sources and other low-level waste from hospitals and industry.

Beyond Nuclear recently published the following concerns related to nuclear facilities in Ukraine:

Damaged nuclear power plants or radioactive storage sites could result in devastating radioactive impacts in the region.

Therefore, we, the undersigned, call on the IAEA to:

Endorsed by:

Beyond NuclearCanadian Coalition for Nuclear ResponsibilityCitizens Nuclear Information Center, JapanDiaNuke.orgManhattan Project for a Nuclear-Free WorldOntario Clean Air AllianceOregon Physicians for Social ResponsibilityVeterans For Peace Golden Rule ProjectVeterans For Peace Linus Pauling Chapter 132 Corvallis-Albany, ORWorld BEYOND War

Read the original here:

Open letter from civil society organizations regarding the situation in Ukraine - PRESSENZA International News Agency

Image source: Getty Images

Altcoins are taking off. Should you invest?

Coinbase's fourth quarter results tell us a lot about current trends in crypto. The platform's annual retail trading volume increased over 600% last year, up from $73 billion in 2020 to $535 billion in 2021, reflecting the huge growth in crypto. Plus, it seems as if the popular exchange's strategy to list as many cryptos as possible is paying off.

Last June, Coinbase's CEO Brian Armstrong announced the platform would list as many cryptocurrencies as it legally could. It went on to make a further 95 cryptos available for trading. There are now 159 tradable cryptos on the platform.

Altcoin trading accounted for 55% of last year's trading volume on Coinbase -- overtaking Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), which together totalled 45%. This divide was even stronger in the fourth quarter, when other crypto assets represented 68% of the total volume. Indeed, as the year progressed and Coinbase's altcoin listing grew, trading of these other cryptos edged out the market leaders.

Data source: Coinbase Q4 results

It's also worth noting that while altcoin trading has increased, many Coinbase customers still hold Bitcoin and Ethereum. By the end of the year, Bitcoin represented 40% of the assets on Coinbase, and Ethereum made up a further 25%. Other crypto assets accounted for 31%, and the remaining 4% was held in fiat (traditional money). This suggests that long-term investors continue to hold the two crypto kings even as they branch out into altcoin trading.

Altcoins can be an exciting area of crypto investing. Many investors believe these less-established cryptocurrencies offer the potential for higher returns than Bitcoin and Ethereum.

There's some logic to this: In 2021, Bitcoin and Ethereum gained 60% and 400% respectively. These are solid results, but other cryptocurrencies saw gains of over 5,000%. However, the trade-off for higher potential gains is that these cryptocurrencies also carry more risk.

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If you're considering investing in altcoins, here are some guidelines that might help:

Investing in altcoins takes time, because you have to do your homework. Cryptocurrencies are a relatively new and unregulated market, so you need to develop your own strategy to weed out dodgy projects.

Never buy on the back of advice from a celebrity or influencer, as every investor's strategy and financial situation is different. Plus, there could be a hidden agenda behind the recommendation. These ideas can be a good starting point, but you need to read the project's whitepaper for yourself. It if doesn't have a whitepaper, this is a definite red flag.

Investigate what problems that crypto says it will solve, and make your own decision about whether its solution has merit. It's also good to check out the management team, the strength of the development community, and how the coins or tokens are allocated.The more research you do, the better equipped you'll be to navigate the altcoin market.

All cryptocurrency trading carries risks, but the smaller the token's market capitalization, the bigger the risk. These cryptos tend to fall faster in market dips, and prices are often even more volatile than Bitcoin. Investors often hope to get in early on promising projects that might generate huge rewards, but there's also a danger these projects will fail.

Follow this golden rule: Only invest money you can afford to lose. That way, if the market crashes or an individual project doesn't deliver, it won't stop your meeting longer-term financial goals.

Given that many altcoins fail, it doesn't make sense to go all-in on a single project -- no matter how exciting it seems. Instead, build a diversified and balanced crypto portfolio. You might, for example, keep a certain percentage in Bitcoin and Ethereum, and allocate the rest to higher-risk, smaller coins. You might also consider a mix of specific sectors, such as smart-contract cryptos or metaverse tokens.

If you're new to altcoins, it's wise to stick to projects that are in the top 50 by market capitalization at first. These usually have higher trading volumes and more liquidity, so you're less likely to get stuck with a coin or token you can't sell.

Coinbase's results show that many investors are branching out into altcoins. However, it's reassuring to see that many still hold a decent chunk of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Before you invest in altcoins, think about how much of your crypto portfolio you want to dedicate to these higher-risk projects. And be prepared to do lots of research to understand each crypto.

There are hundreds of platforms around the world that are waiting to give you access to thousands of cryptocurrencies. And to find the one that's right for you, you'll need to decide what features that matter most to you.

To help you get started, our independent experts have sifted through the options to bring you some ofour best cryptocurrency exchanges for 2021. Check out the list here and get started on your crypto journey, today.

Go here to see the original:

Altcoin Trading Surges on Coinbase, Passing Bitcoin and Ethereum Combined - The Motley Fool

By John Green, Certified Master Gardener

Hello gardeners! Another cold snap has now left the area and who knows, perhaps it'll be our last, but I wouldn't bet my plants on it. Many of you (like me) and can hardly wait to begin gardening. We have about a month to go before our last anticipated frost date (March 10th), so rather than risk planting tender plants now, it's better to focus on the few remaining garden tasks preparing for springs' arrival. Who knows, you may even have time for a new spring garden project!

Rose Pruning

Let me start by saying it is almost impossible to kill a rose with excessive pruning. Pruning roses is not as complicated as it may seem, though it's important to prune at the right time for the type of roses' you have.By following one simple rule of pruning, you can achieve professional results and have healthy plants. Rose canes need to be cut at a 45-degree angle, at least to " above an outward-facing bud. That's it! The Golden rule of pruning roses. Following this rule encourages the rose to grow outward, improving air circulation and sun exposure while minimizing crossed canes.

There are many new rose varieties which don't require much if any pruning. It is essential to use the right tools for the job, while protecting yourself from much dreaded thorns. Using the incorrect tools or improper tool hygiene can damage the rose bush and create other plant health issues.

Equipment

A long-sleeved shirt or two for protection against thorns.

Safety glasses or goggles for eye protection since canes don't always go where intended.

Sharp by-pass pruners(not anvil style-crush rather than cuts rose canes).

Isopropyl alcohol (70% assay or greater) for disinfecting pruners and loppers.

Rose pruning gloves or heavy-duty leather gloves

Lopping shears to remove canes larger than " diameter or pruning saw.

Container large enough to hold pruned rose canes.

* Note: pruning tools must be clean and sharp. Sterilize with alcohol between cuts and plants.

Late winter is the best time for major pruning of most rose types. So now would be a great time to step away from your hot cup of coffee, put on warm clothing, gather pruning equipment and start pruning away! A specific pruning date is not necessary, to make it easy to remember, Valentine's Day (February 14th) is a great time to prune roses. For all roses, begin pruning by removing dead and damaged canes (they appear brown). Roses which have never been pruned before or not in many years will require a severe pruning. Cut back the previous year's growth by to or more, until healthy, white center is revealed in each cane.

Lightly pruning roses during the growing season will keep them well-groomed. Some reblooming varieties need "deadheading" to remove spent flowers encouraging more blooms throughout the growing season. Spent blooms need to be pruned back to the first five-leaflet stem to promote more growth.

Not all rose varieties develop rose hips once the flowers fade, meaning deadheading is not necessary as the rose will continue blooming without assistance. Blooms simply fall off and yet the plants will continue to bloom.

Pruning by Rose Type

Hybridand Floribunda

These rose types need to be cleared of diseased and dead canes before they begin to "green up" and begin branching. Late winter or early spring is the time to remove crossed canes, and weak, spindly growth. Consider the variety of rose and its normal growth habit when pruning, cut back old canes by making a 45-degree angled cut to a bud that points away from the rose center. This will encourage outward growth.

Primitive (Shrub and Single Blooming)

Roses of this type tend to be the hardiest of all roses living for decades. Primitive type roses initially bloom on the previous years' canes in the middle of summer. If the rose variety is a reblooming rose, then blooms repeat throughout the current growing season. Remove diseased, broken, or dead branches in early spring. Prune lightly and selectively after flowering to manage growth and form or shape the rose.

Climbing Roses

aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu

Climbing roses are hardy and most tend to bloom on previous years canes. Do not prune climbing roses until after peak flush of blooms is complete. Removing diseased or damaged canes is necessary but yearly pruning should wait until blooming subsides. Prune undesirable, spindly and crossed canes to maintain good air circulation and allow light to penetrate the entire roses' habit. Shape and train new growth securing to a strong support structure such as an arbor, fence, or trellis. Side branches tend to flower more heavily than centralleaders.

For more information or to have all your gardening questions answered, contact the Orange County Master Gardeners: Website: https://txmg.org/orange Facebook: Orange County Texas Master Gardeners Association Helpline: (409) 882-7010 Email: [emailprotected]

More here:

Roses: Exceptional Blooming Begins with Pruning - The Record Newspapers - TheRecordLive.com