Category Archives: Golden Rule

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In this unprecedented time, taking exceptional care of existing and new clients in a timely manner continues to be a priority for Allen Law Firm. Although we all must take steps to keep our communities safe, we know there are many ways to continue conducting daily business and serving our clients well. With that in mind, we want new clients to know that you can become a client of Allen Law Firm in the comfort of your home. You dont need to leave the house to meet with our lawyers or team. Phone and Video conferencing are available to existing and potential clients, as well as electronically signing any necessary documents. We remain readily available to assist for all your personal injury needs.

Legal CareOur Gainesville and Ocala personal injury lawyers primary focus is to deliver exceptional, expedient service and results to every single client which includes the following pledge:

ALLEN LAW FIRM PLEDGE:Our team will do everything in our power to:1) Provide you with outstanding extreme personalized client service2) Keep you informed and up to date throughout every part of your case3) Win you the best possible result4) Work your case with a sense of urgency and speed5) Fully explain all your legal options6) Serve you extraordinarily well7) Be positive, enthusiastic and assertive throughout the handling of your case8) Always provide you with an honest assessment of your case

At Allen Law Firm, we know that sincerity, integrity, and trust combined with exceptional legal expertise and experience, are the distinguishing factors of our firm. We vow to be true to our word and pledge because, to us, reputation and integrity are everything.

The Golden RuleWeve found that at the core of our firms success is the Golden Rule our guiding principle treating others as you want to be treated. In tough times like these, those words ring louder than ever. We cant work, play, live, lead or love by ourselves. We are meant for community and each other. Together, we will beat this virus. But while we are socially distancing, Allen Law Firm will continue working with a specific goal in mind - how the client will feel about us at the end of their case. As Bill often says, we always stay focused on how the client is going to feel about us at the end of their case, whats their impression of the work weve done, and how we treated them in the process.

Contact us today in Gainesville at (352) 331-6789 or Ocala at (352) 351-3258 visit https://www.billallenlaw.com/ to learn more during a free consultation

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Local Attorney Helping Clients From the Comfort of Their Homes - WCJB

The golden rule of solidarity in an epidemic from ankara city council

Ankara City Council (AKK) calls the Capitalists to be against the epidemic with the '10 Golden Rules of Solidarity in the Outbreak'.

Stating that they prepared a project in order to facilitate the lives of the capital residents and increase the local solidarity culture, Ankara City Council Executive Board Chairman Halil brahim Ylmaz said, Solidarity and cooperation with our neighbors will strengthen us against the epidemic and even provide us with a strong infrastructure in terms of our human relations for the post-epidemic period. .

Expressing that they want to announce to all the people of Ankara that they can stay strong only by acting together against the epidemic, AKK President Halil brahim Ylmaz said, As Ankara, the capital, we believe that we will be a big family of six million neighbors.

Stating that all countries in the world have been working together for a common struggle for the first time after a long break, Ylmaz made the following evaluations:

We will eliminate this global epidemic in our neighborhoods, apartments, and centuries of neighborhood relations. In this period, where we will witness the harsh conditions of the time we passed through, we want the capitals to act with the principle of 'It is not from us that lies in hungry when we are hungry' and be with those who need financial and moral support. As the Ankara City Council, we invite the Capitalists to apply the 10 Golden Rules to get through this process.

AKK Executive Board Vice President Dr. "10 Golden Rules of Solidarity in the Outbreak", prepared by a team of academics composed of the City Council component under the chairmanship of Sava Zafer ahin, are listed as follows:

1. Make sure you are in a healthy mood and rational thinking. Apart from the scientific data announced by the authorities, stay away from the sources of information that will cause you to panic and cause excessive fear. Allow enough time for interests outside the epidemic during the day and think rationally.

2. Review the "social distance" golden rule before each step you take. Goodwill and sincerity can sometimes violate the rule of keeping distance with people, the most important rule in the outbreak. Do not act before you are absolutely sure that what you will do will not spread the epidemic. If you are confused, seek the opinion of the authorities on this matter.

3. Communicate with your apartment, site, neighborhood management, and your neighbors about your solidarity about solidarity by contacting them. When doing this, use telephone and digital communication tools as much as possible. If you do not get a result, do not despair. It is very important that you have solidarity even with one neighbor.

4. Determine the method of communication in which you will communicate continuously and healthily within the apartment, site and neighborhood. For example, you can create a volunteer-based emergency line within your neighborhood, create social media and instant communication groups, and use the notice boards in apartments and sites. Start by announcing the communication method to be determined to your neighborhood / neighborhood. Identify the rules and responsible persons to prevent abuse and unnecessary use of the communication method.

5. Review your neighbors' situation, starting with your own family. Monitor the situation of older people, children, people with disabilities and young people in particular. Try to identify people and their needs that may be in a difficult situation. Remember, these needs can be material and spiritual. If necessary, contact your neighbors for the correct needs assessment.

6. Identify resources and volunteers in your neighborhood via the communication channel you set. The existing resources and voluntary workforce of a neighborhood can become very important in the event of an epidemic. You can create a solidarity budget for people who are not financially well developed and develop imam approaches to meet common needs. Remember, even calling and asking for a call may be a very important requirement during this period.

7. Declare available resources and volunteers to your neighborhood / neighborhood. It is important to have access to shared resources and to announce effectively what volunteers can contribute. Make sure that people who are not using digital tools and individuals with disabilities are informed especially.

8. Follow the aid and support mechanisms of the state and local governments and announce them over your communication network. Make sure your neighbors are properly informed, especially on access rules to the health system, access to outbreak support.

9. Create a group that can decide to deliver the help you gather and the voluntary contributions you designate to those in need, in cooperation with the authorities. This authorized person may be your neighborhood headman. It is important to find the right solution for those in need by preventing waste of time in emergencies. You can make a priority list according to the disadvantages of your neighbors in case there are many people in need.

10. Bring this help in kindness and justice to your neighbors who are decided to help and share their results with your neighbors. In times of crisis, such as epidemics, people can be very fragile. All aid should be carried out in accordance with human rights and privacy. The results of the studies should be announced in a language that will strengthen the sense of neighborhood, without giving the name of the person.

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'10 Golden Rules of Solidarity in the Outbreak' by Ankara City Council | RayHaber - RaillyNews

As we approach our favorite unofficial holiday on April 20, it's nearly impossible to know the immediate future of Colorado's cannabis industry, with numerous regulatory and societal changes (and un-changes) surrounding the plant less than a month into the pandemic. But weeds are tough plants and essential ones, too, according to the State of Colorado. To get more perspective, we caught up with a half-dozen cannabis trailblazers and OGs, all of whom were here before retail was legalized and the money quickly followed. Some have adapted to the evolving culture, others have refused to compromise, but all play a role in how we view the plant now and how 4/20s of the future might look. Here's the sixth and final installmentof our "Rolling With the Punches" series.

Nothing exemplifies the growth and change in the legal cannabis industry quite like extraction, the process of stripping the plant of cannabinoids such as THC and CBD, as well as all the smelly stuff. The word "hash" is a rare one in legal weed nowadays, supplanted by terms like "sugar wax," "live resin," "terpene sauce" and "rosin." Since there was essentially only one form of hash a little more than a decade ago, there was no need to differentiate.

Then the machines came.

Dave Malone was accustomed to smoking joints and an occasional special spliff with old-school hash when he took his first dab of wax the popular THC concentrate made with butane in 2007. Two years later, he started tinkering in solvent-based cannabis extraction. Now, Malone and his wife, Alana, run Green Dot Labs, an award-winning extraction lab in Boulder, where they've learned how to make live resin, THC diamonds and just about everything in between.

Westword:Since recreational sales began in 2014, has anything changed more in cannabis production than the extraction part?

Dave Malone: Yes and no. I think this entire industry is rapidly evolving the technology and the ways we do business. It seems like as soon as you invest in new technology, it's already obsolete by the time you install it. I would say extraction has changed greatly, specifically in refinement of concentrates. Butane [the most popular solvent used in extraction] is an aggressive solvent, but the refining aspect is something a lot of adopters in legalization were sort of wondering about if it was even safe to be smoking something made with butane that had a skull and crossbones on the package and rightfully so. But now we have ways to test and refine our concentrates to make sure they're clean and safe, and that's one big change for the better.

If the timeline of cannabis extraction were a history book, how many pages were turned by the time Colorado legalized, and how many pages have we turned since?The Trichome Institute interviewed me about extraction back around 2014 for its first edition, and it went in a book. I would love to go back and read that, because things have monumentally changed. How we filter our extracts, the equipment we use, how we package them, how we store them the list goes on and on in terms of what has changed with making high-quality concentrates. It's all changed dramatically over the last couple years. But what we do is generally above and beyond what the mainstream would do.

Trends shape the concentrate sector. Wax was the new thing in the 2010s, live resin came in shortly after, and then THC diamonds after that. Rosin has jumped in and out, as well. How much of a copycat business is this?

Every one of our competitors in this space is using one of three listed, peer-reviewed extraction machines there might be a few more nowadays that we're even allowed to use in the industry. So off the bat, it's essentially a level playing field, and we're generally using the same refining equipment bought from one or two main manufacturers. Everyone's standard operating procedures are within a few degrees of variance depending on what they're after, so it doesn't leave much room to differentiate.

In extraction, the golden rule has always been quality in, quality out. That remains true. You can't take crappy weed and expect a quality extract. We have a garden of plants that are specifically bred to do well in extraction. Then there's the branding part, because you want to make sure the consumer has something more to grab onto than a jar with yellow goop inside. We're taking a lot from the craft-brewing industry, honestly. You want something on the can, whether it's loud and bright or a nice little nugget of information about where the hops are grown. We're all getting a little bit better every year, so we have to figure out other ways to stand out.

Green Dot Labs co-founder Dave Malone.

Courtesy of Green Dot Labs

What more can be done to advance cannabis extraction at this point? Is there a form of concentrate in the future that looks totally different than the waxes, resins and shatter we're dabbing now?

Oh, sure there are a number things that can be done. The goal from a chemistry standpoint is purity. You want to isolate what you want in the cannabis plant, and get rid of what you don't. I think we've reached a plateau for the last year or two in regard to extract purity, but watch something happen after I say this, and our minds will be blown. That's the beauty of this whole thing: So many smart people from other walks of life are moving into this industry with their own technology and know-how and applying it to cannabis. It changes the game frequently.

There's a gap in the way people consume it. Evolutions in vaping technology that taste better or burn slower, the way the average consumer dabs and understands the effects of temperature there are things that can be done on that side. As far as extraction, though, I think we're pretty much where we're going to be as far as seismic jumps go, outside of maybe the realm of biosynthetic cannabinoids, which are synthesized from yeast.

Someone will be able to add the entire alphabet soup of synthesized cannabinoids to extracts, which could make it not commercially viable to grow plants at some point. When biosynthetic companies start to emerge and can provide a true full-spectrum cannabinoid dose, that will be game-changing. If that happens, the value of THC will go down so much, companies like ours would become flavor companies, where we grow cannabis plants to extract terpenes for flavor.

How has consumer safety behind dabbing changed since recreational legalization began?

We still don't have data on long-term health effects of dabbing, which isn't much older than a decade. What's the effect of people consuming high-voltage shots of cannabinoids? I'm not the expert to opine on it, but you want to make sure this is pure and not full of chemicals or solvents. Independent testing labs and state regulators quickly identified this, so now you'll see more culturally shared information. Intellectual property is very rare in this industry. Any time someone makes a new extract like the first time people saw THC diamonds or put live resin into vape cartridges that information is made widely available, and it doesn't take long. We can't really patent our intellectual property anyway, so all of this information is shared quickly.

Is there still space for kief and old-school bubble hash?

There's a product for everyone, and it all comes down to what you're willing to pay. It blows my mind that caviar [cannabis flower rolled in kief and hash oil], which is essentially the kitchen sink of concentrates, is sought after, but it is. Bubble hash, at least, has some aesthetic value and integrity, and it's a great product.

What, if anything, would you change about Colorado's cannabis landscape?

The budtender model. I don't want to alienate anyone, but it's kind of an unfair system that we have to participate in. The budtender has more power of influence than anyone in the entire cannabis space. They tell consumers what they want and what they're going to buy. Liquor stores don't have anywhere near that power, because you can browse and read labels yourself there. Once we move closer to pre-packaged goods, I think cannabis will be more like that.

For that indecisive consumer, which is a massive section of the market, they're easily persuaded. A lot of this persuasion goes into who greased the budtender the most with kickbacks or incentives, but I think a true free market will bring a different stratification of products into the marketplace. I could list a book of changes I'd like to see in cannabis rules or taxes, but as far as the marketplace goes, I think it should be more free.

Thomas Mitchell has written about all things cannabis for Westword since 2014, covering sports, real estate and general news along the way for publications such as the Arizona Republic, Inman and Fox Sports. He's currently the cannabis editor for westword.com.

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The Rapidly Evolving World of Marijuana Extraction - Westword

During coronavirus pandemic, students at Finger Lakes Technical and Career Center cook up some twitter masterpieces you can only see to believe

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STANLEY The tweets keep coming and for those who follow the Finger Lakes Technical and Career Center Culinary Arts account and youre home, hungry and days away from making a grocery run its just not fair.

From Haven, barbecue chicken looking all savory with mac salad and beans by its side. From Gina, chicken parm dripping with red sauce and cheese. From Zhariana, a mouthwatering barbecue chicken leg paired with green beans. From Cody K, mini pizzas made to bite into again and again.

And from Arabella, a ridiculously decadent cake with cupcakes and candy to celebrate her brothers 18th birthday.

Culinary arts instructor Julie Harrington can only savor from the @FLTCC_Culinary account these days, as coronavirus-forced separation is the golden rule for teachers and students.

Im used to eating these foods all the time. A lot of times, its my dinner or my snack, Harrington said. Now, I have to cook all by myself. And Im sick of doing dishes.

Last year, Harrington and others at FLTCC were encouraged to use social media and in this case, Twitter. At first, Harrington wasnt a fan ordinarily she prefers to be offscreen but she said she follows the rules.

And now, with students learning from home since March and more laptop learning until at least May 15, social media has helped provide a fun way to help the kids continue to hone their kitchen chops, but also to stay in touch and be happy and active.

I fell in love, Harrington said. It connects us with the community and maybe future students.

The Finger Lakes Technical and Career Center is a hands-on, rigorous 11th- and 12th-grade learning center that is part of Wayne Finger Lakes BOCES.

Students in the culinary arts program learn more than cooking, a lot more.

Theculinary arts program is a food service training program that covers many careers and learning opportunities for students, said Harrington, who is joined in the classroom by teaching assistant Amanda Venuti. The students learn the theory behind cooking techniques, business practices, 21st-century skills and communication.

The 28 students in the program come from 10 school districts, from Dundee to Victor, and are set up in brigade positions soup, salad, a la carte, entre, sandwiches and cleanup.

The senior students the senior brigade create staff lunch two days a week. They also do student sales and catering.

Members of the junior brigade, who do the same classroom activities, set up to support dishes, floors, food storage, and basic sanitation of the entire kitchen. The juniors also work with food and create many items for student food sales and prepping for the seniors.

They learn a great life skill and, Harrington said joking, how to throw a great party.

Its about how to get through life, Harrington said.

Of course, that was then, and this, the coronavirus pandemic, is now.

The jobs the kids are learning to do are tied to restaurants that are now closed to gatherings and struggling to get by on curbside and takeout services. Many of the cooks, bartenders, servers and others out of work so suddenly wonder how long their circumstances will last.

Meanwhile, those with jobs, such as workers in food prep in nursing homes and hospitals and cafeteria and kitchen workers in schools, are doing amazing work in difficult times, Harrington said.

To say the food and beverage industry is in upheaval is an understatement, with no easy answers for those struggling without a paycheck and those hoping to somedaymakea living inthe industry.

The pandemic certainly doesnt make planning for the future any easier for anyone, including those who don't have it easy.

Preparing the programs Twitter menu is voluntary, as some of the kids do not have the food supplies at home that others have and some have to make use of food pantries in their communities, Harrington said. In fact, many of her students do the cooking at home for their families.

As the students themselves try to learn a skill and make sense of life in the pandemic, they text Harrington. In fact, they blow up my phone text, she said.

For Harrington a 2019 New York State Education of Excellence Award winner the adjustment is difficult, saying she misses the challenges and successes of students.

A hands-on program is difficult to run with a coronavirus-mandated hands-off approach. The next-best thing is Zoom, which on Thursday drew in many of her students and a chance to connect.

It was a good week, Harrington said. I miss everything about them. I get energy from them.

Harrington comes to education from the food industry. She cooked in restaurants from her teen years until her mid-20s before attending the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont and working at high-end restaurants afterward. Shes also worked at Meals on Wheels in Rochester I learned how to save the world, she said at senior living communities and catered.

When she was approached to teach, she scoffed at first.

I dont know ifI can do this. I dont even know if I like teenagers, Harrington said, laughing. What I learned is, I am a teenager.

And one with a pretty cool job, she said.

I like to be a people-connected chef, thats why I like teaching, Harrington said. I never thought Id be a teacher, but I love doing it. Its a really cool job. The school is a really cool place.

Lake House jobs

The Lake House on Canandaigua, the hotel formerly known as The Inn on the Lake and currently in development by the Sands family, is getting ready to hire in anticipation of opening later in the year.

Geneva native Kevin Kenyon has been named the new food and beverage director of the hotel operation.

After launching his career at a series of private clubs, he served as director of restaurants at the Ocean House in Westerly, Rhode Island, and director of outlets at The Houstonian in Houston, Texas.

His personal interests include staying active through golfing, kayaking, cooking and spending time with friends and family.

I acquired a passion for hospitality at a young age, said Kenyon in a prepared statement. In my new role at The Lake House, I am thrilled to help craft the hotels culinary programming by drawing from my experience in previous roles. Working in tandem with our executive chef, we aim to bring new offerings to the area and elevate the region as a gastronomic destination in the state of New York and beyond.

Kenyon is going to need some help.

A career fair is scheduled for Thursday, April 23, via Indeed Events and will focus on staffing operational positions.

Positions include full- and part-time servers, bussers, and bartenders for the Sand Bar the first building on the campus planning to open this year. Also needed are people for full- and part-time cooks for the restaurant, full- and part-time executive stewards, full- and part-time banquet servers, a full-time senior maintenance engineer and part-time valet attendants.

To RSVP for the virtual career fair or learn more details, visit: events.indeed.com/event/40636.

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Eat, Drink and Be Murphy: Eat, tweet, love: Hands-on culinary arts in hands-off world - MPNnow.com

Have our technology and cell phones that weve shrugged off perhaps been saving some of our lives? Are social distancing and cleanliness a new spiritual way or a modest cure to a new way of living?

There are many films that have scripted similar narratives of these strange times, like The Seventh Seal (1957), The Andromeda Strain (1971), Outbreak (1995), "12 Monkeys (1995)," Blindness (2008),Contagion (2011), World War Z (2013). All films that hopefully keep you busy at home, yet these same films that entertained us.

What would we do if our families are touched as in these fictional depictions and fall ill? What could we do? Should we grow our own food before the cost of a head of lettuce may rise in price to $10.

Well, there is no question we should wear our masks, stay clean and try our absolute best to heal at home.

Yet these times seem to be an eerie reminder of the 1918 Pandemic, of what was called the Spanish flu.

To what degree have we forgotten or remembered the influenza of 1918-1920? That was ironically affecting the youth instead of the old and weary, as this virus seems to prey upon the weak.

They say that it must be different because in those days, plumbing wasnt in every house as it is in these days. Should we continue to think in the context of Cleanliness is next to Godliness and that cleanliness and social distancing are the best ways to prepare, and should that be all were told to do?

I think social distancing is one of the best answers we have to control spread. But indulge me and let us dig deeper.

In Madera, a small town that is growing, we might have the benefit of not being a crowded city like New York, whose citizens unfortunately must worry that social distancing must be more difficult due to the population and infrastructure of living.

Some Madera folks who have experienced the COVID-19 illness have recuperated, yet wonder in one way or another: How do we socially and pragmatically mitigate these complex medical and economic concerns? The public may be unaware of how everything might work in the tiers of political influence and authority. Yet how does our medical vs. economic system connect to function fairly under our democracy to service our public needs?

Sara Bosse, Madera Countys health director, is doing a great job in preparing for a future with COVID-19. She is pushing for more money to pay for testing in our jurisdiction.

She also praises the Madera County Sheriffs department, and other law enforcement agncies for volunteering in Mutual Aid and Just In Time Training (JIT), and doing an exceptional job in contact tracing and informing our public which has helped control the disease in our location.

Yet there have been some varying opinions from the public, that also should have light shed on them.

There was a story about one husband who was scolded by a doctor for going to the hospital in Fresno wishing to maintain social distance from his wife and child. Due to this doctorsscolding, the anonymous man left Fresno and came to a Madera hospital to get tested.

His narrative of what the sensations of the disease felt like was likened to the feeling of drowning. For a person who personally wanted to be an officer, I might be biased,but have always found myself proud of officers in Madera. I have never met more exceptional people in law enforcement. They seem to be well versed in common sense, humanity and empathy.

For me, personally, as long as officers here at the core are remembering and hopefully reminded to be kind and selfless above all, and as long as officers male and female are looking after our daughters first and foremost as much as possibly fit. Then Im on their team and believe in our community doing great works for the big picture.

However, this is a time where authorities who are employed to assist its public also should worry about themselves or worry about doing great works. I think keeping our words to each other intimately in duty to our souls before our Hippocratic oaths and to the law enforcement oath in honor is important. But can this be a time where we should up the standard of caring for kindness?

Caring for kindness could be an added addition perhaps to all public service oaths taken by public officials protected by the constitution as a new standard, for more justice than the ones before that predate to Hammurabi before we called it, the Golden Rule:

In everything, do onto others as you would have done to you. Matthew 7:12

Wouldnt that be the best reform to any democracy that could come out of COVID-19? For arent those ideals the essence if not the entire underlying aspirations of why Law exists. To try to ensure we are kind, fair and just to each other as we wish to be to ourselves. Is it not the quintessential way to exist as it relates to interpersonal relations with the public in mind?

How can we care for others with social distancing being of precedence, one might ask.

In summary, you do so by empathy trying to remember communication is the antidote to all suffering, while recognizing empathy in action is caring to help someone beside ourselves.

To text that person back or respond to that phone call. There are ways to care and be as gossamer, without the need to touch. For there are other ways to touch others, with your words, heart, and mind. Have you forgotten that your mind is the most sensual organ in your bodies?

It is the one that is in charge of all else, and its the vessel that can trample all over our peace if we do not take a moment to express gratitude. Therefore, in this socialized appreciation for cleanliness, let usnot forget to clean our words, thoughts, hearts and minds, as well as keeping our bodies clean.

Can we try to be grateful to the duty of simply cleaning our own homes? Washing our dishes, cleaning our counters and floors a day out of the week? Appreciate that you have lived without knowing hunger or oppression in a time where an invisible entity, like a virus wears a crown above us all perhaps only to remind us.

We are not different than any of COVID 19s ill subjects. That the virus doesnt choose you based on your nationality, class, creed or kind. Yet this invisible entity is here to perhaps ask us:

Have you ever cared enough about what it must have felt like for others, whove lived under oppression, injustice, and pain?

To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness.

Confucius

No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.

Aesop

M. K. Salah-Smith is an artist, journalist, and essayist who lives in Madera.

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Opinion: How the Heart of California has responded and may yet respond to the Coronavirus - The Madera Tribune

Lena Gebotszrajber Gilbert

I am wondering about the sanctity of social media boundaries which, at times, there seem to be none.

With the social distancing measures imposed upon us, many are becoming more and more engaged in using social media to strengthen ties as we practice social distancing. But me thinks that now more than ever we need to refortify social etiquette applying the Golden Rule to social media gatherings.

I wonder what Dear Abby would have to say, but Dear Lena has this to say:

When friends, colleagues, family or acquaintances organize a social media gathering, would not the same rules apply as if that same person invited you to their home?

Even though the virtual gatherers may all be sitting around in their PJs tuned in to talk about [whatever], your host still is your host and has put thought and care into establishing the gathering. So gatherers might want to think about the temptation to interrupt, redirect, and the like.

When weve been invited to someones house for a party it would be unlikely that attendees would dictate the actions and plans of the host. A social media gathering should be no different.

So yes, lets heal the world Tikun Olam with kindness and compassion, but there are many forms of kindness and compassion. Showing compassion and kindness is not always an outward action; it can be an inward, reflective, contemplative non-verbal deed. One need not say everything that comes to mind.

Please be respectful of your Social Media host.

Lena Gebotszrajber Gilbert

Springville

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Brave new world on social media - The Gazette

This is an Op-Ed contribution from Tamara Bullock, founder and CEO of aerospace communications firm Altitude Strategies, and Jim Faulkner, managing director USA, Altitude Strategies.

What will it take to convince customers and aviation staff that it is safe to take flight as we emerge from a global pandemic?

While speaking with our clients around the world especially in the United States we are often asked about how airports and airlines will convince people to travel again once the world starts flattening the curve of COVID-19. Fortunately, there has been some encouraging news recently from across the airline industry. Forbes reported that United Airlines has loaded flights to Beijing, Chengdu, Hong Kong and Shanghai starting on May 4. Flights from Newark and Los Angeles to greater China are not bookable, while flights from Chicago and San Francisco are mostly open to full fare bookings. Depending on regulatory approval and demand, flights could resume even earlier. The Economist reported that some European countries are beginning to switch their economies back on while leaders face a grim trade-off between economic health and public health.

In these days of abandoned gates, parked aircraft and empty ticket counters, that is indeed positive news. As airports think about returning customers and the wide range of employees from aircraft mechanics to Starbucks baristas many questions will be on the mind of industry leaders. How will social distancing impact the boarding process moving forward? How will aircraft cleaning and disinfecting affect ground operations at airports around the world? How will concessions and food service be impacted in a COVID-19 world? The International Air Transport Association, IATA, says that long-haul travel will take the longest time to recover as customers will choose to vacation as close to home as possible. It may well be a long time before airports see passengers roaming the concourses.

In spite of all the unanswered questions, the story of United reinstating some service to China is a good reminder that airports, as well as all businesses, should start planning for the return of customers, staff and concession partners. There is no time like the present to leverage some of the so called golden rules that we communicators practice during crisis response planning. Two important ones include focusing on empathy, especially if unavoidable furloughs are needed, as well as visibility of the C-Suite when presenting the unprecedented changes in business. This is no time for ambiguity or false hope. Maybe the word that best fits current circumstances is solidarity.

While we can all agree that IATAs predictions of losses and massive drops in commercial traffic volumes are grim, we need to plan ahead for some more hopeful news. As airports think about welcoming passengers back, it will be important to lead all communications efforts with a high degree of understanding for the health and safety concerns of travelers. Leaders throughout the aviation industry have done an excellent job of leading with compassion the past few weeks. No doubt, there will be significant changes at airports. Some possible scenarios include changes in boarding procedures because of social distancing requirements, processing health checks of arriving international customers, just like the one recently launched in Dubai, and serving food from concessions, just to name a few. Explaining the nature and rationale for all these changes will take a joint effort of airports, airlines and organizations like the Association of Airport Executives, IATA and International Civil Aviation Organization. The often used phrase the only certain thing is change has never been more true in our industry.

Leadership will need to pay special attention to one of the most understated but heroic groups front-line airport and airline staff, including the government agencies employees working alongside them. Infusing C-suite visibility and communications with themes of compassion will engage the wide range of employee groups that are connected to airports. Senior leadership will need to convince their staff and contractors that management is doing everything possible to ensure their safety by constantly reminding them of that message in a variety of creative ways. Everyone from the check-in agent through the jet-bridge maintenance staff to the business traveler flying to London will need to know that the airport has his or her safety and security top of mind.

Finally, as airports and the entire airline industry prepare to open its doors again, it is imperative that communicators present information with no room for misinterpretation. This is and will continue to be a challenge during these unique times, but it should always be the primary goal. Procedures will change daily. Rumors will flourish during a time of re-opening. The information that leaders thought was true one day may need to be retracted the next day. A key rule of thumb in crisis communications is to be both transparent and informative. Always.

Many tools exist these days from social media platforms to mobile apps to print and broadcast media that will be vitally important to airports when they welcome people back. For example, an airport with a mobile app that has engaging content, easy layout and good functionality would allow the organization to let employees and flyers know about everything from flight status updates to terminal openings. Frequently updated apps can prove to be cost beneficial and just one of many important tools for staff and customers.

Between the two opposing opinions, one being that the travel industry will soon return to normal and the other that commercial aviation will never be the same, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. The good news is that we will travel again. How travel will be re-shaped by the effects of social distancing as well as the need for significant investments in health and safety on the ground and in the air remains to be seen. Leaders will need to practice a lot of patience and provide consistent and empathetic messaging as a new and uncertain future emerges for the industry. With emerging awareness about the importance of social distancing and other mitigating behaviors, the aviation industry will soon be connecting our world again, and airports will be transporting cargo and welcoming passengers new and old onboard.

About the authors:

Jim Faulkner serves as managing director USA at Altitude Strategies. Faulkner brings more than 20 years of in-house marketing communications and PR experience, mainly in aviation. He managed communications strategy and content for major American and European airlines including Air France, American Airlines, Northwest Airlines. TWA and others. Through the years he has worked with amazing colleagues, partners and stakeholders across the United States. He also serves as an advocate and mentor for youth with DC-based Horton s Kids and performs improv at Washington Improv Theater

Tamara Bullock serves as founder and CEO at Altitude Strategies. Bullock is an experienced C-Suite communications and public affairs leader with a rich emergency and crisis management background in aviation and defense industries.

She crafted strategic communications and advocacy programs for major airlines, airports and OEMs in the US and around the world. Member of Women in Aviation International and AAAE.

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Op-Ed: Flattening the curve, opening the skies and the road ahead - Runway Girl - Runway Girl Network

On April 19th, National Geographic hosted a live Q&A with Dr. Jane Goodall to promote the new documentary film, Jane Goodall: The Hope, premiering this Earth Day on National Geographic, Disney+, and Hulu. Actor Pierce Brosnan and his wife Keely Shaye Smith moderated the presentation, with a few special guests along the way. It was an engaging conversation about the current state of the world amid a global pandemic and what everyone can do to make sure we dont steer too far off track going forward.

Before the presentation began, the Chairman of National Geographic Partners shared that Dr. Jane Goodall was supposed to appear at their campus in Washington, D.C., in early April and had a speaking engagement at Disneys Animal Kingdom theme park on April 22nd to celebrate Earth Day. She recently turned 86-years-old and has only gotten busier over the years. Jane Goodall shared that she was walking out the door to get in a car to the airport for a United Nations event in Belgium when she got the news that England had entered a state of lockdown. Around that time, she had started receiving cancellations from planned lectures in the United States.

If youre Jane Goodall and your ability to travel the world to talk to audiences about conservation were halted by a global pandemic, what would you do? The answer is continue to do your work in a virtual landscape. I have never been more busy in my entire life than I am right now. Shes sheltering-in-place with her sister in a family home in England participating in online lectures, podcasts, and reading books for children. She feels like shes able to do more now on a global scale than she was when she was constantly traveling.

Jane is passionate about educating children to become advocates for the planet. What she hopes audiences take away from the new film is that every person matters and little kids can make a big difference by influencing their parents. Seeds can grow after 2,000 years, she said in reference to her Roots & Shoots education programs, which have run on and off over several decades in over 65 countries. This includes China, where the program started in the mid-90s.

This pandemic has been predicted for years and years, Jane shared about the novel Coronavirus. In her opinion, the global pandemic came about because of mankinds disrespect of the natural world. She hopes this is a tipping point for the world to move in another direction. We have to look at our own lifestyles and make changes. Reports of improved air quality and cleaner water in densely populated areas show what can happen when we reduce our carbon footprint, but Jane Goodall fears that world leaders are pulling back too many environmental protections in an effort to speed up economies again, which would undo all the good weve seen so far and possibly make things worse.

How is it possible that the most intellectual species to ever walk the planet is destroying their only home?, Jane Goodall asked the audience. She says theres a disconnect between the head and the heart for a lot of people, which she says is what caused the COVID-19 pandemic to begin with. People have destroyed habitats, forcing animals into closer contact with humans allowing viruses to spill over. Trafficking, hunting, and exploiting animals in factory farms have all come back around with the pandemic. For the environment, deforestation, ocean pollution, and spitting fossil fuels into the air are destroying the earth. Every major religion has the same golden rule of treating others the way we want to be treated. Jane said that bringing animals into that equation would solve a lot of the worlds problems.

A wet market is really like a farmers market in America and Europe, Jane shared about the worlds misunderstanding of wet markets in China. Its just some wet markets that sell wild animals Most just sell fresh vegetables and normal meats at a reasonable price. Jane is against the sale of exotic animals and is herself a vegetarian, citing a number of instances over the years where poorly treated livestock have caused viruses when sold as meat, including in the United States.

The main point Jane Goodall wants citizens of the world to remember is that were all interconnected with the other creatures that share Mother Earth. Theres a lot that individuals can do right now from the comfort of their home, including donating. Donations are more important now than ever. She shared that chimps are very susceptible to these kinds of diseases because they share 98.6% of human genes. In these times when the world can be a scary and depressing place, doing good is not just good for the recipient, but also the giver. If you feel good, then youll do more and it will grow because of you.

My job is to give people hope because if we lose hope then forget it. If you dont have hope, why bother? Jane Goodall hopes here lifes work has taught people respect for others, respect for the environment, and respect for animals. Technology makes it easier to live in harmony with the planet, but governments need to get behind clean energy Nature will come back. It will become beautiful again.

You can learn more about Jane and her 60 years of continuous primate research in Jane Goodall: The Hopepremiering Earth Day, April 22nd, on National Geographic, Nat Geo WILD, Disney+, and Hulu.

Alex has been blogging about Disney films since 2009 after a lifetime of fandom. He joined the Laughing Place team in 2014 and covers films across all of Disneys brands, including Star Wars, Marvel, and Fox, in addition to books, music, toys, consumer products, and food. You can hear his voice as a member of the Laughing Place Podcast and his face can be seen on Laughing Places YouTube channel where he unboxes stuff.

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Dr. Jane Goodalls Hope for the World Amidst a Global Pandemic - LaughingPlace.com

Carrie Bradshaws relationships are the focus of Sex and the City. Although we fall in love with Miranda and Steve, root for Charlotte and Harry, and love watching Smith change Samantha for the better, most of the shows attention is centered on the relationships that Carrie has. But when it comes to her major relationships with Big and Aidan, and to a lesser extent Berger and Petrovsky, there are a few details that still have us scratching our heads after all this time.

Its no secret that Carrie Bradshaw is far from the perfect girlfriend. But the way she sometimes behaves when shes in a relationship is seriously confusing. And the men she dates arent any better! Check out these 15 things that never made sense about Carrie Bradshaws relationships.

This truly blows our minds about Sex and the City. Carrie is supposed to be a relationship expert, to the point where shes paid enough money to sustain a New York City lifestyle just to bless her readers with one columns worth of knowledge a week. Doesnt she know the golden rule of love? Never pursue someone whos emotionally unavailable.

Big is at fault a lot throughout his relationship with Carrie, but shes not perfect either. For example, early on she appears to have some serious boundary issues by stalking Big and his mother at church and showing up at his ex-wifes office. Despite the red flags, Big doesnt seem to mind.

When Carrie starts dating Aidan, she makes a big fuss about how she doesnt want to meethis parents because its too soon and the relationship is going too smoothly to feel real to her. But when she dates Vaughn, she meets his family instantly. Where is the logic there?

The affair between Carrie and Big doesnt make a lot of sense to us. Carrie claims to love Aidan and value his feelings and yet shes willing to betray him in the worst way. And of all the men she could cheat with, she chooses the one who scorned her by saying he wasnt interested in marriage and then marrying a 26-year-old he met in Paris.

RELATED: 10 Signs You're The Carrie Bradshaw Of Your Friendship Group

Carrie spends a lot of time feeling terrible during and after her affair with Big. But we couldnt help but wonder: is the only person she feels sorry for herself? Carrie cant stand the fact that Natasha hates her after the affair, nor can she take it when Aidan seems to still be angry with her. Those arent the actions of someone who truly feels guilty.

We commend Carrie for having the courage to admit that shes having an affair with Big. But, of all the possible times to fess up, she does it on her best friends wedding day. Was there really no other moment to do it? Everyone knows that a wedding day should be all about the bride.

In the fourth season, Carrie gets back together with Aidan but she notices a few changes in him. He no longer kisses the ground she walks on. When she gets a hint that he might be punishing her for cheating, she lashes out at him, demanding he forgive her. We're pretty sure that's not what you're supposed to do after cheating on someone!

One of the weirdest things about the relationship between Carrie and Aidan is that he doesnt even seem to notice that she takes him for granted. Both in the first and second chapters of their relationship, she continuously snaps at him and gets frustrated with him, often when hes just trying to be helpful. And he never seems to have a problem with it.

After Carrie cheats on Aidan with Big and then they get back together, she actually invites Big up to Aidans country housewhich she cant stand despite the fact that it means a lot to Aidanwithout even asking first! And once again, Aidan seems to just accept it, even if he is slightly disgruntled.

RELATED: 15 Sex And The City Stars: Where Are They Now

For a relationships guru, Carrie certainly makes a lot of odd decisions. When she first discovers that Aidans going to propose, she actually throws up. When she tries on wedding dresses, her body breaks out in a rash. But for whatever reason, she still decides to go through with the wedding, until Aidan realizes hes never actually going to get her down the aisle.

Jack Berger is possibly one of Carries most irritating boyfriends. Another author, Berger cant stand the fact that Carrie is more successful than him. He is sulky and self-deprecating just because his book wasnt as successful as hers. The most baffling thing about him, though, is that he breaks up with her on a post-it despite being a grown man and not a teenage boy.

We know that Carries friends are important to her. But she puts pressure on her boyfriends to meet them before they are ready, which isnt that cool. She does it with Big and she does it with Aleksandr Petrovsky, who makes it clear to her that hes in the middle of important work and cant stop.

RELATED: 15 Life Lessons We Got From Sex And The City

Its tough when your friends dont approve of your boyfriend. That said, Carries out of line getting upset with her friends for not approving of Petrovsky. For someone who spends most of her life in cafes engaging in girl talk, its odd that she doesnt take their opinions, which turn out to be correct, more seriously.

Its not okay that Petrovsky slaps Carrie in Paris. But as far as the working all the time and leaving her alone in the hotel room goes, she should have expected it. She knows hes a workaholic and she knows how important his opening is to him. It seems like she really should have thought the decision to follow him to Paris through more carefully.

For the majority of the show, Big is emotionally unavailable, refuses to connect with Carrie on a level that she needs. But when she finally moves on with Petrovsky, he suddenly decides that shes the one. In real life, relationships dont tend to go that way. People dont have revelations that contradict everything theyve ever done at the last minute.

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15 Things That Never Made Sense About Carrie Bradshaws Relationships - TheThings

The debate on the FX industrys incredible opportunity continues. This is a very candid and direct conversation. Are we just ranting, or can we REALLY challenge the status quo and empower millions of people around the world to trade and make an independent future for themselves?

In this weekly series, I look back on what stood out, what was bemusing, amusing and interesting during my weekly travels, interesting findings within the FX industry and interaction with an ever-shrinking big wide world. This is purely observational and for your enjoyment

Multi-asset, challenger banks and the Drew Niv debate Is this a rant or are we going to break the status quo?

Last weeks dialog between FXCM founder Drew Niv, a few wizened executives with a long career in this industry and one particular wizened old crone me has actually sparked quite a debate.

Since I highlighted the intricacies of what was said, a few of the more thoughtful among us have sent me their perspectives, which have been in many cases very detailed.

I actually agreed with Drew, for the most part, however I did have my say quite vocally which spurred mixed views to appear on my desk.

One particular dialog or perhaps diatribe that took this matter further was that of Richard Goers, CEO of professional trading platform development company ManagedLeverage.

Richards combination of several years at senior level in risk consultancy for many brokers and institutions in the Asia Pacific region and technological development skills are quite a comprehensive background from which to look at this problem. Well, I say problem, but could that mean problem, challenge or opportunity to innovate and dominate the new wide-ranging online financial services industry as per Drews initial rant er i mean perspective.

This issue needs more depth and debate, I love it! enthused Richard.

I have a degree of respect for Drew Niv said Richard. FXCM started FXCM Ventures in about late 2013 and ManagedLeverage was going to pilot its product with them for an equity stake, the mandate of FXCM Ventures was to buy into platforms that were aligned to FXCM busienss model in the APAC region, until 2015 which brought the Swiss Franc escapade to the world markets, soon followed by FXCMs US misadventure and then it slipped into the darkness he said.

I go back a long way, having also worked with the Australian branch of the company. My opinion is never waste a crisis said Richard.

So my thinking on this has drawn me to an opinion. You put forward an idea, along the lines of a previous Mind The Gap editorial that you did regarding brokers funding newbie accounts to get them trading. There is always one problem, that being who pays the winners or someone has to lose, or the Pareto principle-law which is a bastardisation of the rule but the principle applies to 20:80 and with leverage 1:99 he said.

Andrew I think you have hopes indeed if you think the market maker model that exists today can become straight-through-processing (STP) so the retail traders can make money, as this is very unlikely, the win lose dial doesnt shift, and no matter if more retail traders start, it remains the same structure he said.

That was a reaction to my perhaps utopian but in my opinion quite realistic and practical thought that we can become an industry that now empowers the millions of people around the world with no livelihood due to the recent global government brutality which has been sold as necessary lockdowns. I believe we are in the right sector to give people the empowerment to become financially independent by trading the markets if it is done correctly, as I said two weeks ago with full detail of how I see it working.

Richard said That is why retail FX Market Makers exist. They cannot make the same money dealing against institutions taking the other side of the trade, and also hedge funds wont take the counterparty risk against FX margin brokers.

Richard is right, but the world is a different place now to what it was just two or three months ago, and adaptation is the key. If a commission model became universal for spot transactions, and access to stocks and exchange traded derivatives was widespread on retail platforms, all brokers would gain huge new client bases of very skilled people who would learn to master the markets, and then THEY would create the market, we would just be the software and systems providers, connectivity agents and facilitators, for which traders pay a commission.

It would be equitable, and would benefit all of us as well as millions of people who had never traded before or had any intention to trade, who are likely to be very good long term clients if theyre given the right environment, many of whom are used to running their own small businesses (small businesses have been the biggest casualty of the brutal lockdowns) or been laid off from very high level professions, meaning they are educated and experienced people.

So, all these brokers are making money at the moment on the b-book, but I dont see how you think a market maker can evolve from anything other than a retail broker whose earnings come from retail losses, their management has what background? Marketing, not risk management, not Funds management, NOT running a bank whether neo or old school, and affiliate marketing is not the basis of a good brokerage he said.

Most of those are a world away from the UK brokers, including Nordic-Asian Saxo Bank and the Japanese, and these UK and Nording/Asian firms are slowly moving to High Net Worth retail clients, not so much institutional, but higher equity retail market he said.

Who can support their trading with any capital in the longer term? So, same space, smarter thinking which is to attract the HNW retail or semi experienced traders with larger instrument universe + leverage, meaning that we turn the industry into a form of wealth management, but the cycle of disruption remains said Richard.

As far as neo or digital banks relating to to old school banks and where the FX industry can take this up as per Drews original message and your editorial prior to that, platforms in the new alternative asset space funded by tokens building out experimental distributed ledgers, the drive is cost cutting through P2P trading which cna be at least 50% cost reduction. Even the big boys, who make say $400 million in earnings per month scrap in $5 million in after tax profit, or about 5-6 pounds per Lot traded [this $ per Lot amount is the industry standard for market maker brokers FXCM, GAIN, IG, CMC and then the smaller MT4 firms around the world, $10 per lot or there abouts. FXCM and GAIN Capital public documents back to 2012 show the same numbers year in year out said Richard.

Richard then asked me why these numbers are so consistent, and hence why we all need volume and turnover, which is another one of those equations inherent in the business model.

Some business models will survive, as with evolution, and if past is any guide, so too is the future. Therefore given the right time, if this crisis may create the catalyst for P2P platforms, and that seems in the near future this may be the case, then then Tradeconnect, Sythetix, Spectre, Genesismarkets and so forth can survive in the same way that the Japanese car makers moved into the Americas in the 1970s and built their factories there and took over to domination with a totally American product, built in America, by Americans, appealing totally to an American audience, by a totally Japanese company Richard Goers, CEO, ManagedLeverage

If this happens, Richard sees that they have multiple service providers which are already well organized in our sector to help them integrate their systems into the market.

So it isnt the technology as such DLT for the sake, but that traders will evolve to trade from wallets into any instrument at leverage into digitalised assets, so CFD was the future, now the benchmark for new products said Richard.

We can also see this in the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) experiment. Iif taken to its logical conclusion it will be P2P, removing any execution only platform, custodians, registries then ASX make $300 million per year on these services however they wont move too fast but just think if they partially succeed, then they will be copied and for some regional exchanges they can move the DLT, and offer digital shares such as the Gold platform selling Perth Mint gold [PMG token change gold to shares, FX => stable coins as an adapting product he said.

Then if Central banks move to digital assets, then what happens to banks as retail clients can open deposits at the central banks, then it would just be the lending bit I dont know about. So driving cost out of the platform, offering more instruments, P2P or trading from the wallet given COVID19 seems to be a way forward said Richard.

As far as the neo banks are concerned, well, we need simply to watch JFD as a small player and Saxo as the gorilla and how this plays out will be fascinating but seems rather like a stockbroker moving to fund management. A natural progression. Are they going to be a bank [payments, lending] or manager of funds on deposit? said Richard.

Richard also thinks that many stockbrokers are going to zero commissions using HFT to execute the trade. Robinhood and there were 3 of these before the GFC so its not revolutionary, but using HFT would be he said.

I think stockbrokers moving to fund management seems natural and I think the 10 year cycle that seems to be the life cycle of many businesses and the model for FX margin brokers on MT4 rented technology as marketing forms is ending. Its like a weed dying in the drought, when it rains they come back as sun flowers like Saxo, like IG, like Tickmill, like Rakuten or a weed to be pulled out by regulators and natural evolution he said.

Andrew do you think ICmarkets owners want to run a bank and to do good? I think not. Just show them the money asked Richard. This was in response to my analogy that here is a company which makes revenues of $500 million per month, could easily outpace all the challenger banks and does not even need any VC funding so when the challengers all run out of VC and go to the wall, companies like IC Markets would be like a global version of Hargreaves Lansdown combined with Revolut, with NO DEBT!

Its a mentality thing I would say. Instead, they continue to churn the leads, and make off to the Seychelles.

Richard then said I had a relook at FXCM public documents from 2014 when they were number two in global FX turnover. The results showed the top 10 brokers and ICmarkets was nowhere. IC always copies Pepperstone, even in website design, then in about 2016 they hit on their current model which took a while into 2017 and 2018 which are approx timelines and now dominate. They got the reach into China and South Africa, and good on them, but nothing special, just rented infrastructure with MT4 MT5 cTrader and zero commission but not the cheapest in total cost in spreads. Maybe they rode the wave of automated trading but still internalise 80% of exposures, therefore the same dog with fleas, just different stripes.

Which ever way you look at it, this is again the 80% rule natures equation like the golden rule. Thus I have no idea how things will evolve in this space like the markets it is good to speculate but I have skin in this business. In Q3 ManagedLeverage will promote its CCPP platform which provides continuous capital protection to active fund managers, self directed investors, family offices via a global distributor explained Richard.

Overall I see the world as fragmented into products or platforms and I agree more retail traders will trade margined products as a side hussle, but for most the journey it is a loss. The retail trader has to make money, and they can but not in the aggregate, usually in the minority so we are always playing to the few he said.

I still believe we have a huge opportunity here if we work together and get it right. What do you think, Drew?

Wishing you all a super week ahead!

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Mind The Gap! The life and times of a man on the move Episode 90 - FinanceFeeds