Category Archives: Progress

We all know Jon Jones and his love for animals. He has recently taken up a home project and has posted a video of his progress.

Jon Jones Twitter is filled with pictures and videos of his dog. Hes been training him as a guard dog to add some extra protection! And he posted a video that shows the dog working on a few protective tricks. Tricks that are well and truly worthy of treats!

Jones sets up training sessions for his canine with the help of a bite sleeve, whip, and a rather brave lieutenant. Jones most recent video displays his dog charging at his partner ferociously. What transpires in the video is enough to leave the bravest of people, weak in the knees, let alone cynophobes.

This session saw Jones walking his dog, and his partner standing in the driveway with a sleeve on. The dog, in the split of a second, pounces at him, going directly for the arm. Thank god for the protective sleeve! That bit could quite literally tear a mans arm off.

Jones captioned the video 0 to 100 real quick.

Jon Jones history with the law has not always been as bad as it is now. There was a time, before his reign as UFCs light heavyweight champion when he studied criminal justice. NOC TV and the Broome County Sheriffs Department decided to test Jones knowledge back in 2012. Jones spent a day going through police academy training. On this show, he was seen getting mauled by a K-9 Unit dog. So he knows better than anyone else out there what that actually feels like.

And now Jones owns a guard dog of his own that can pull off similar tricks. His home project seems to be going quite well. What do you think of Jon Jones attempt to keep himself busy during this lockdown?

Read more:

Jon Jones And His Pet Dog Share Progress On His Home Project - Essentially Sports

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing us to confront the huge social importance of essential workers, especially compared to their small market value

Author: Charlotte Gifford

1 Jun 2020

Frank Gehry, one of the most prolific architects in the world, claims that his nightmare scenario when building a house would be to have no constraints whatsoever. Its better to have some problem to work with, he explains. I think we turn those constraints into actions. It was the strict standards set for the acoustics at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, for example, that inspired the extravagant interior that makes it one of Gehrys most well-known works.

We often assume that we are at our most creative when we have an abundance of time and resources at our fingertips, but research suggests that constraints help us unlock our brightest ideas. A 2018 review of 145 academic studies found that resource scarcity produces the most novel solutions to problems, whereas resource abundance encourages people to choose the path of least resistance and propose the easiest available solution rather than testing until they find the best one.

Resource scarcity produces the most novel solutions to problems, whereas resource abundance encourages people to choose the path of least resistance

National and international crises push this theory to the extreme. The COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent need for more ventilators, hand sanitiser and protective equipment. At the same time, disruption to global supply chains has placed a serious strain on resources, while the confinement of millions of workers to their homes has limited the workforces capacity to produce this vital equipment. Its a challenge that will test the limits of human ingenuity. But from these immense trials, organisations are likely to emerge with novel ways of working and new ideas for the future.

Wartime spiritThe Austrian political economist Joseph Schumpeter argued that crises are hotbeds for innovation. This might seem counterintuitive; for example, the financial crisis of 2008 led to reduced investment in research and development. However, times of crisis have also been known to spur huge technological and organisational change.

During the Second World War, businesses were mobilised for the war effort on a scale that had never been seen before. [The Second World War] is the best example for what we call total war, that is the total mobilisation of economy and society, said Tams Vony, an associate professor of economic history at Bocconi University.

It was mass industrial warfare, a war of attrition on steroids, where military outcomes were determined more in factories than on battlefields All major powers spent between 30 percent and 70 percent of their GDP on the war. Civilian production in several industries was completely shut down. No manufacturer was building passenger cars or electrical household appliances. They were converted to supply tanks, aircraft engines and radars. For manufacturing firms, military procurement was the only survival strategy.

Out of this mobilisation emerged technological innovations that were absorbed into commercial sectors once the war had ended. Satellites and commercial aeroplanes owe much to the technological advancements made during the Second World War. In France during the First World War, car manufacturer Renault produced a light tank for the military, which gave it the tools to develop its first tractor. Stainless steel was created while the British Army was looking for corrosion-resistant alloys for guns.

Social distancing measures and disruption to global supply chains have put millions of employees in the manufacturing sector out of work

Transitions during crises almost always spur innovation, whether it is established makers of goods or suppliers of services changing and adapting, or through creative new start-ups, said Andrew Simms, Coordinator of the Rapid Transition Alliance. When transitions are about the public interest, that also means removing the pressures that can lead to competition defeating cooperation.

Today, manufacturers find themselves in a similar position. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we see brewers producing hand sanitiser, makers of fashion-wear producing protective clothing and Formula 1 engineers making breathing aids, said Simms. In all cases, existing skills have been applied to making the products needed.

For example, the demand for ventilators is so critical that governments have enlisted industrial companies to produce them. The French carmaker Groupe PSA is working in collaboration with Valeo and Schneider Electric to assist Air Liquide Medical Systems in ventilator production. Spanish automaker SEAT is producing simplified ventilators using windscreen wiper motors, gearbox shafts and gearbox housings. In Germany, Volkswagen has floated the idea of using its 125 industrial 3D printers to make critical medical parts.

Just as in wartime, the coronavirus crisis has fuelled companies resourcefulness. An Italian 3D printing start-up, Isinnova, has converted a snorkelling mask into a non-invasive ventilator for coronavirus patients. Other innovative devices that have made their way to market include a door-opening device named the Hygienehook, created by London-based designer Steve Brooks to help hospital workers avoid direct contact with door handles. A national effort can accelerate technological development, but we are yet to see whether any of these new inventions could have commercial applications once the crisis has ended.

Stretched thin Many world leaders and economists have drawn comparisons between wartime and the coronavirus pandemic: Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank, urged governments to accept that a change of mindset is as necessary in this crisis as it would be in times of war. In March, Italys special commissioner for the coronavirus, Domenico Arcuri, told the country to equip itself for a war economy.

However, the coronavirus pandemic differs from wartime in at least one crucial respect. The experience of hibernating economies for months is uncharted territory for government and business alike, said Vony.

The world wars did nothing of this sort. Quite the contrary: the aim of total war was to exploit all production capacities and mobilise all workers beyond what was considered feasible in peacetime. Short-term survival was everything. Future prospects were unpredictable and therefore secondary. Today, we do the opposite: we shut down all production that is not absolutely essential, using as little capacity and as few workers as possible, so that we can all stay at home. Total war maximised mobilisation; now we minimise mobilisation.

This is what makes the economic challenge of coronavirus so unique and difficult to overcome. Social distancing measures and disruption to global supply chains have put millions of employees in the manufacturing sector out of work. Moreover, some of the devices these manufacturers are being asked to make namely ventilators are complex pieces of equipment that need to meet strict specifications. Medical device companies usually take a long time to get going, Peter Ogrodnik, a professor of medical devices design at Keele University, wrote in The Engineer.

Despite the colossal challenges that lie ahead for companies, innovation in the private sphere is likely to bloom

They need to build their manufacturing knowledge and supply chains to ensure their products are safe and packaged in a sterile way. They need to understand things like biocompatibility (how materials interact with the body) and materials made from animal by-products (in order to minimise the risk of transmissible diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease). These companies also need to develop the necessary skills in specific risk management and quality procedures.

This brings us back to the influence that constraints have on creativity. As mentioned previously, there is evidence that limitations are more conducive to creativity than resource abundance. However, a recent study published in the Journal of Management found that there is an inverted U-shape relationship between constraints and innovation. Too few constraints, and we become complacent. Too many, however, and we become overwhelmed. A perfect balance needs to be struck, it seems, and the constraints imposed by the coronavirus are multifold.

In some respects, the innovation that emerges out of crises is the result of nations and businesses learning where they have blind spots the hard way. The deficiencies exposed in nations diagnostics sectors and medical equipment supply chains may push us to rectify these problems once the coronavirus is finally suppressed. Nations are almost certain to invest more in pandemic preparedness, for instance.

Already, we can see that the pandemic has been a catalyst for long-overdue transformation. Greece, which currently sits 25th among the 27 European Union member countries in terms of digital transformation, is rapidly digitalising in the wake of the pandemic. It has launched a web conference system for state officials and brought important documents like residence certificates, family status statements and recognition of university degrees online. Greeces last-minute digital transformation is a large-scale example of what many companies around the world are currently undergoing.

Organisational changeAs cities around the world entered lockdown at the start of the year, businesses were forced to rapidly evolve and bring both their services and company infrastructure online. Entire sectors are rethinking their operations, while customer-facing businesses are forced to adapt quickly.

EURACTIV reported that German and Polish farmers are turning to social media and setting up online stores to sell their produce. Meanwhile, Europes virtual medicine sector, which has long been held back by strict privacy laws, is relaxing its regulations amid a spike in demand for online appointments. This has created a gap in the market for digital healthcare providers. The Swedish telemedicine company Docly reported a 100 percent increase in demand from one week to the next in the midst of the pandemic.

These changes could have a long-lasting impact on the way companies and industries work. Crises change firms, said Klaus Meyer, a professor of international business at Ivey Business School. They change their processes and people acquire new skills, which in turn enables them to deliver new services including last-mile logistics. To give an example in my own area, professors get better at online teaching and therefore online learning will play a bigger role in higher education in the future though I expect mainly in the form of online-offline integration.

Times of crisis have spurred huge organisational change throughout history

Its not just businesses that must adapt to the new normal. The crisis also changes consumers and hence the products and services they value, Meyer told European CEO. For example, consumers may less appreciate cruise-ship holidays or mega entertainment events because of new risk awareness. On the other hand, consumers are learning during the crisis to appreciate services delivered online such as entertainment or education and the conveniences of online shopping delivered to their doorstep. Some of this will persist in the long run.

Times of crisis have spurred huge organisational change throughout history. During the Second World War, Unilevers multinational corporate structure was broken up, meaning its businesses had to work more independently and hone in on the needs of local markets. In the following decades, Unilever continued to operate as a federation of businesses with high levels of autonomy.

Crises can also lead to deep economic change; Vony points out that the war economy had a profound, long-lasting impact on European industry. The two main areas where European firms and governments faced a steep learning curve, he told European CEO, were mass production and planning. American mass-production methods and management practices were widely known and admired by leading European firms. Fordism and Taylorism were not alien, but their practice expanded rapidly in the context of war mobilisation, where suddenly everyone became quite a bit more American: material, capital and scale intensive production methods were adopted to enhance output per worker.

At the same time, Vony argues, the war encouraged western governments to intervene more in their own economies: With the exception of the Soviet Union, every warring economy remained fundamentally market-based but each developed an increasingly important command-economy element.

There was euphoria all over Europe about economic planning after 1945, not just because of the success of the USSR in defeating Nazi Germany but more so because of each governments own experience with steering economic activity. US economic historian Barry Eichengreen labelled the prevailing western economic model in the postwar era coordinated capitalism, which did not restrict the freedom of property and enterprise but intervened in finance, investment, wage settlements and international economic relations.

The coronavirus pandemic could sow the seeds for a new economic model

The coronavirus pandemic could sow the seeds for a new economic model. In April, US billionaire Leon Cooperman said of the crisis: Capitalism as we know it will likely be changed forever. It is impossible to know the extent to which Cooperman is correct, but its true that the pandemic has rekindled debates around deglobalisation, bailing out large businesses and the benefits of universal basic income.

The new normalMeyer believes that some firms could change for the better as a result of lockdown. Some of the new best practices that firms develop during the crisis will eventually be more efficient than established practices, he told European CEO.

For example, I would expect many business trips to be replaced by video conferences. Some businesses will discover that staff working from home [and] integrating family and work life will be advantageous for them though not for all. I would also love to think that society becomes more accepting that people have families and next time a child joins their dad in a BBC interview, nobody will raise an eyebrow. But perhaps that is too optimistic.

Despite the colossal challenges that lie ahead for companies, innovation in the private sphere is likely to bloom. Ultimately, this will be the key to defeating the virus. For the first time, Apple and Google have partnered up to develop software that alerts users if they come in contact with someone infected with the virus, while biopharmaceutical leader Takeda is harnessing its industry expertise to develop a plasma-based treatment that could treat coronavirus patients.

Coronavirus will have a profound impact on the way we live and work. Businesses may rethink their value chains, having realised how dependent they are on China. In April 2019, the Business Roundtable redefined the purpose of corporations, stressing the importance of serving all stakeholders, including employees and communities. In the time of coronavirus, this is exactly the model that businesses must adopt to stay afloat. Coronavirus is also forcing us to confront the huge social importance of essential workers, especially compared to their small market value.

Vony pointed out that the Second World War inflicted a deeper wound on economies and led to a far greater loss of life than the coronavirus crisis is likely to. Remember, the war lasted five years and incinerated 60 million souls. In the current pandemic, the worst may be over in a few months, with economies back on track within a few years, he said. The economic consequences will not last nearly as long as after 1945. But, as with war, coronavirus impact on business and society will be felt long after the crisis has ended.

Read more:

Critical thinking: how the COVID-19 pandemic is driving progress - EuropeanCEO

Brendan and Carleigh Wenzel should remain at the top of O'Connor's record books for quite some time.

SAN ANTONIO When Carleigh Wenzel steps onto the court against her older brother Brendan, she does it with confidence.

When we play one-on-one, even though I know Im not going to win, Im still going to act like I am going to win until I do," Carleigh says with a laugh.

It is an attitude hammered home and taken into games.

Its always intense and competitive because we both like to win and we both like to beat each other," Brendan, a redshirt freshman at Utah, said.

The Wenzel name is a big one at OConnor High School.

Brendan is the all-time leading scorer in program history and Carleigh is not far behind. She already eclipsed 1,000 career points after her sophomore season -- an accomplishment no one has ever done in a Panthers uniform.

Seeing what (my brother) did, I knew those were big shoes I was going to need to fill," Carleigh said.

Brendan said, I knew she was going to do it. Shes been really good from a young age, so I knew she was going to go in there and take over.

On the recruiting trail, Brendan was a late-bloomer. He originally committed to UTEP, but after some Power-5 offers started rolling in, he decided to head to the PAC-12.

I think Im getting bigger, stronger faster, quicker too," Brendan said. "I just adjusted to the pace of the game in college.

As for his sister, she is not sliding by anyone becoming one of the best prospects nationally in the class of 2022. She might not know where she is going, but she knows what she wants in a school.

Just really where Im going to fit," Carleigh said. "I dont want to go to a school where we dont connect (like a) family.

Its something she has had her entire life, especially with her brother.

I think hes really helped me, being there when I need him and pushing me when I need to be pushed," Carleigh said.

Brendan added, Obviously, shes getting a lot more attention than I did, but here and there I can still help her and give her some pointers. Things like that.

There is never any doubt the Wenzel siblings will forever be on the same team.

I dont like playing with her because I like to beat her up and stuff like that," Brendan joked.

Maybejust in a metaphorical sense.

Read the rest here:

Wenzel siblings continue to show strength and progress on the basketball court - KENS5.com

WFAE's Nick de la Canal talks with QCitymetro's Glenn Burkins about Charlotte protests.

The image of a police line pushing the crowd back as orange tear gas swirls overhead is not new to Charlotte. It beckons back to 2016 when protests erupted following the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. Those protests lasted four days and saw numerous clashes between protesters and law enforcement.

In the months after, city leaders vowed to take bold steps toward repairing the trust between law enforcement and communities of color. Glenn Burkins covered those protests in 2016 and the city's response for his news website, QCitymetro, which serves Charlotte's black community. He's the founder and publisher, and he's with us now.

Nick de la Canal:Glenn, good morning.

Glenn Burkins:Good morning.

De la Canal: Well, let's start with the protests Friday night. You say that some of the protesters may not have been from Charlotte.

Burkins: I was not there on scene personally, but that is the worry that I'm getting from our readers. I woke up this morning to a number of emails. Plus I was on the phone last night with Rev. Ricky Woods of First Baptist Church - West. His church is just around the corner from that police precinct. He was there. And there are strong questions about who actually led the violence Friday night. Everyone I talked to said they recognized a lot of local faces in the crowd, but those were not the faces of the people throwing things. There were people there who were armed with assault-style rifles. No one knew who they were. And there are rumors that this will continue at other police precincts in the days ahead.

De la Canal: And that's something worth looking into. I want to move back to 2016 and the protests that Charlotte saw then following the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. After those protests happened, which rocked the city, city leaders said that there needed to be things done to repair the trust between those communities of color and police. What did the city say actually needed to happen?

Burkins: Well, a lot of those things were actually economic in nature. I think the city started to recognize or address some of the problems that were happening along certain corridors. Economic problems, educational problems. There were then, and there are still now, certain parts of this city that do not get the same attention that other parts get. Schools don't get the same funding -- or maybe not funding, but schools are low-performing in certain districts. So they started to push more economic resources into some of those corridors.

And the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, itself, began to meet more regularly with young people from those communities, with faith leaders from those communities. So a number of things were done.

De la Canal: Do you think that any of those measures have worked? And have they addressed the real underlying issues?

Burkins: Well, that's a very difficult question to answer, because we don't know where we would be had nothing been done. I think some of those efforts have helped to some degree. But the biggest problem is much more systemic than addressing isolated corridors in any particular city. As some of the people said in your broadcast, this really goes back to a very pernicious problem that our country faces: We have not dealt with the issue of race. We have not dealt with the issues of inequality on a nationwide scale. We still live in a nation of basically whites -- and others. And until we address the disparate treatment of those groups, we're going to always see these problems popping up.

De la Canal: Do you think that at this point, after all of the police killings that this country has experienced and seen, that there can ever really be any trust between some members of communities of color and law enforcement?

Burkins: I think there can be. I believe part of the problem there is that -- and I've said this before -- one of the hardest things to do in our criminal justice system is to convict a law enforcement officer of a crime against a black person. That is one of the toughest things to do in our criminal justice system. In North Charleston, for example, we saw an officer video -- it was videotaped -- we saw an officer fire multiple times at a fleeing traffic offender, kill that traffic offender, and then go to court and was essentially acquitted. I believe it was a hung jury. Even with all that evidence, courts did not convict that officer.

Our courts act as a pressure valve, if you will. And when that pressure valve does not work, then people feel no recourse but to go to the streets, to resort to some type of violence or to resort to some type of protest. And I think that's what we're seeing here. There is this feeling that black and brown people, when they are victims of the system of police, of white vigilante types like we recently saw, that when they go to court, they're not getting due process. They're not getting the same justice that everyone else is getting.

And so I think when our courts and when our prosecutors begin to become more aggressive and begin to actually convict those who do wrong against black man, against black lives, I think that will be the beginning of addressing some of these issues.

De la Canal: What's something about these recent protests that gives you hope here in Charlotte and around the country?

Burkins: Well, I guess what gives me hope are the many, many people who are out there to protest peacefully. The people who show up with guns, the people who show up to hurl rocks, they will always get the headlines. But I went online Saturday to Nextdoor and I saw a resident of that particular community on the West Side who wrote a letter thanking that division, the Metro Division officers, for their restraint Friday night. And so things like that really give me hope that there are people out there who want to do the right thing. There are people out there who want to peacefully protest when these things happen. And there are people who recognize that everyone in blue is not a bad guy.

De la Canal: That's Glenn Burkins. He's the founder and publisher of QCitymetro. Thank you so much.

Burkins: You're welcome.

Want to read all of WFAEs best news each day? Sign up for our daily newsletter, The Frequency, to have our top stories delivered straight to your inbox.

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Who Was In The Charlotte Protests, And What Progress Has Been Made Since 2016? - WFAE

Rookies Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro were opening night starters this season. Chris Silva, who was originally on a two-way contract with the Miami Heat, played backup center early in the season and had his deal converted into a standard contract. (Of course, Silva later fell out of the rotation.)

But KZ Okpala, who was selected with the 32nd pick in the 2019 NBA Draft and immediately traded to Miami? Hes spent most of this season with the Sioux Falls Skyforce. In fact, Okpala only played non-garbage time minutes with the Heat in a game at the Sacramento Kings Feb. 7 when the team had traded James Johnson and Dion Waiters, and Andre Iguodala, Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill hadnt arrived yet.

Heat executive Adam Simon is happy with what hes seen, though.

The following is an excerpt from Barry Jacksons article.

Once mid-January came around, we saw the strides. He was feeling more comfortable with the ball in his hands. The game was slowing down for him. The greatest things he was doing were on the defensive end, making an impact guarding multiple positions. At times, he was switched onto [centers], guarding both forward positions, being versatile, doing a great job on the glass. All those things were positives.

Simon later talked about Okpalas progress on offense in Jacksons article.

Besides running the floor well, hes a good midrange shooter, Simon said. Hes extending out to three-point shooting [range] and has been getting better at that. Hes being more selective. What hes good at is understanding mismatches. Hes got a good handle; if hes defended by a slower player, he can use his handle to defeat them off the dribble. Against smaller defenders, he can use his size to shoot over guys. Thats his best strength offensively hes good attacking and getting in position to shoot over guys.

Weve highlighted Okpalas 22-point, 14-rebound night in January here. While its a safe bet that Okpala wont get playing time when the NBA restarts the season, he may find himself ready to contribute during his second season. After all, Duncan Robinson catapulted from a seldom-used two-way player in his rookie season to a starter this year.

Read the original here:

Heat happy with KZ Okpalas progress - Hot Hot Hoops

That certification that Kiev was making progress in countering corruption, improving transparency and boosting civilian oversight was required by law to permit the assistance package moving forward. The package is the second half of the $250 million in Ukraine Security Assistance that was appropriated by Congress in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act.

A Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment Wednesday on the assistance, citing a department policy of not commenting on arms packages that are under congressional review.

The new assistance package includes mobile radar systems designed to detect and track incoming artillery and rocket fire, dozens of ambulances, secure communications equipment, including 100 "tactical tablets" and the two patrol boats, the latter of which is seen as particularly important given Ukraine's tensions with Russia in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

In 2018, Russian forces seized three Ukrainian vessels and captured 24 Ukrainian sailors following a clash in the Kerch Strait which connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov and is the sole access route for ships travelling to Ukraine's eastern port cities.

The Sea of Azov has a maximum depth of only 14 meters and is therefore much too shallow for most warships to operate, making it the ideal environment for the Mark VI-type patrol boats to operate in.

Russia seized and annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and tensions between Kiev and Moscow in the region remain high. Ukraine's government accused Russia Wednesday of continuing to act aggressively in the region during a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

"The representative of Ukraine noted that Russia hinders navigation in the Azov-Black Sea region under contrived pretexts, which is a gross violation of international maritime law. Intensive militarization of the Sea of Azov continues," Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

"Such a destructive policy of the Russian Federation has negative consequences not only for Ukraine and other countries of the Black Sea basin, but also for the wider region," the statement added.

The articles of impeachment said the Trump administration blocked the previous aid tranche to Ukraine in an effort to get Kiev to investigate an energy company linked to the Biden family. Trump's attempts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Hunter Biden and Joe Biden, his potential political rival, were at the center of the impeachment trial.

Trump administration officials at times cited corruption in Ukraine as justification for freezing the aid, though that justification was undermined by the Pentagon's certification at the time that Kiev was making progress in combating corruption.

The GAO said that the White House budget office violated the Impoundment Control Act, a 1974 law that limits the White House from withholding funds that Congress has appropriated.

Almost all of the past US ambassadors to Ukraine on Tuesday urged against Ukraine being used as a cudgel in domestic politics, particularly during an election year.

"We have worked over the years to build and strengthen the US-Ukrainian strategic partnership established in 1996," wrote retired Ambassadors Roman Popadiuk, Steven Pifer, Carlos Pascual, John Herbst, Bill Taylor, John Tefft and Marie Yovanovitch.

The statement did not specifically say the efforts to which they were referring.

Read the original here:

Pentagon moves to provide additional military aid to Ukraine, citing progress on reforms - CNN

Open House: Is it the right time to start flights?

Airlines should take strict precautions

Civil Aviation in India has been one of the worst-hit business sectors in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. With gradual easing of lockdown restrictions, the Centre's decision about partial and conditional resumption of domestic flights despite surging cases of infection is right. This well-conceived step will help in economic rebound, rescue the cash-strapped and debt-ridden airlines from further crisis a la Jet or Kingfisher, and facilitate the return of thousands of desperate people stranded away from their homes and workplaces in various states across the country. But the new move proved a damp squib on the opening day, with chaos and confusion prevailing at the airports and the cancellation of several flights, which left hundreds of people disappointed, courtesy state governments' differing institutional/home quarantine protocols for all domestic flyers, official apathy and an incredible flip-flop on the management of operational issues. Scared of viral transmission, a majority of people are reluctant to go to crowded airports. Though the Aviation Ministry has prescribed price bands for fares, air travel will resume in a slow, careful and tightly phased manner. The airlines should take strict precautionary measures to make the environment safe and comfortable for passengers. In the current scenario, government financial support and consumers' confidence are essential to sustaining commercial viability of the aviation industry.

DS Kang

An Ill-timed and unwarranted move

The move of starting the Jaipur-Adampur-Delhi flight is ill-timed and thus unwarranted. While the state is struggling to cope with Covid-19 pandemic, it will add unnecessarily burden on already overstressed administrative machinery of all stakeholders. In case of emergencies, special flights can be arranged to facilitate movements from one point to the other with strict compliance of social distancing norms and lockdown discipline. The flights can be resumed once the spread of pandemic starts receding and average position stabilises across interconnected states of destinations. After all, air connectivity in normal circumstances is a positive sign of economic prosperity.

Jagdish Chander

the decision will prove to be failure

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has been robust in announcing the start of domestic flights in India, keeping in mind the restrictions and relaxations of Lockdown 4.0. In India, the corona cases have increased, enumerating 83,004 on May 27, 2020. One reason for this is minimal regulations to check on the influx of migrant workers through Shramik Special trains. The government has taken a nominal step for the regulation of corona spread in the form of Aarogya Setu App, to monitor and screen positive cases in vicinity. However, blatant violations of the procedure and narrow escapes were witnessed. Freshly released guidelines for domestic flyers (asymptomatic passengers) will be allowed to go with advice to self-monitor health for 14 days. On developing symptoms, they should inform the District Surveillance Officer (DSO) or the state/national call centre on 1075. Those on business trips and a negative report shall be quarantined for seven days. However, this is completely voluntary and does not carry any serious repercussions. The Delhi-Adampur flight scheduled on May 24, 2020, saw failure for turn-up of six passengers. Hence, starting flights between Jaipur-Adampur-Delhi, will prove to be unsuccessful.

Pahul Sond

Move doesnt augur well for people

The Covid-19 induced lockdown and thereafter, the clamping down of the curfew in the state of Punjab and all over India sent shock waves all around. No one can deny the fact that almost every sector has suffered a heavy loss. The civil aviation sector, too, got a deadly blow. It does not mean the current regime at dispensation is entitled to take a hasty decision to resume flights at the state level and at the national level. The financial loss of any kind can be made up with the passage of time. But once the precious lives of worthy aviation personnel and passengers are lost, the loss may turn out to be irreparable. So, the move of our worthy law makers and deemed rulers does not augur down well with its own people. Observing and analysing the spike in the range and domain of Covid-19 cases in the aftermath of lifting of certain restrictions, I can firmly say that the resumption of the Jaipur-Adampur-Delhi flight services may prove to be Achilles heel for all of us. Undoubtedly, specific precautions and strict norms are being followed by the staff and the passengers. Even then, the threat looms large over our heads. In this scenario, how can the government justify its decision to give a green signal to air services? A single symptomatic case is enough to spoil the concerted efforts of hard working and dedicated corona warriors. Moreover, contrary to the official announcement, the 90-seater SpiceJet received only six passengers on the day of resumption of the state aviation services. The government should wait for some more days before taking any concrete decision. It is the moral duty of the citizens also to back the elected representatives to the hilt for their own welfare and for safeguarding their fellows. Let us all unite and take a vow to work in a coordinated manner to bring our country back on the track of progress and prosperity.

Simranjeet Singh Saini

Airlines must observe strict protocols

Punjab has done a commendable job to contain the virus. Now, resuming air travel is a good move by the state government. The Centre has already issued guidelines for domestic travel, advising passengers to download Aarogya Setu app on their mobile devices and is asking states to ensure thermal screening at the departure point of airports. The air passengers should always wear a face mask while travelling because it is vital. Besides, maintaining social distancing and minimum touch must be followed. Vulnerable persons such as the elderly, pregnant ladies and passengers with ailments are advised to avoid air travel. Airlines must observe strict protocol because any spike in infections may jeopardise future operations.

Saahil Hans

Resuming air travelis welcome

Resuming air travel is welcome. The airlines authority must consider the importance of maintaining social distancing. If the airlines could survive without any show for 60 days, they can very well manage with 33 per cent less capacity. With middle seats being occupied, physical contact is certain. Airlines must be stringent regarding the screening of passengers. Infrared thermometers should greet domestic passengers arriving at the airport.

Shailja Thakur

Govts plan sure to fall flat on its face

My jaw dropped when I read the plan of the government which is sure to fall flat. The timing for such an announcement couldn't be more inappropriate. Right now, with curfew relaxation and the opening of the markets, I for one feel quite uncomfortable stepping out of the house unless it's an absolute must. Though we have to learn to overcome this fear by following precautions, we cannot be certain if each and everyone is toeing the safety norms. Life is not going to be the same for a few more months. Hence, the very idea of starting a flight to these destinations when people are scared to travel locally would be a complete disaster. The government can concentrate on poor migrants, people who are without a livelihood, probably starving silently; however, their focus seems to be to generate more moolah even if it comes at the cost of getting infected by coronavirus. Herd immunity will need time to build up. It would be wiser if they wait till conditions are absolutely normal and one can travel without fear.

Dr Manveen Mann

Heavens wont fall if flights arent resumed

PM Modi has the habit of making sudden impulsive decisions without consulting experts or other political parties about the same. Demonetisation, GST, nationwide lockdown and curfew are examples of such thoughtless decisions causing much inconvenience and misery to people, traders and industry and now, this sudden decision of starting domestic flights from a particular date without consulting the CMs of the states. So, different states are asking for different dates and keeping passengers in quarantine for different days. Though aviation and other sectors are suffering losses because of the lockdown, heavens would not fall if it is delayed by a few more days and consensus will have been reached and confusion avoided. Even public is in a fix and dilemma over the exact timings and schedule of different flights.

Dr JS Wadhwa

QUESTION

The MHA has announced the opening of shopping malls, hotels, restaurants and places of worship in Lockdown 5.0. Do you think it is wise to open these places of high footfall at a time when Covid positive cases are on the rise?

Suggestions in not more than200 words can be sent to jalandhardesk@tribunemail.comby Thursday (June 4).

Original post:

Resumption of flights may undo progress made - The Tribune India

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Years of dialogue about police and criminal justice reforms in Minneapolis had improved the relationship between the African American community and law enforcement, activists say before the police killing this week of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who died after a white officer pressed his knee into Floyds neck for several minutes as he pleaded for air.

Floyd's death and footage of his neck pinned under the officer's knee have unleashed protests and violent clashes with law enforcement exposing simmering frustration and the fact that theres much work still ahead, several advocates and leaders told The Associated Press.

Progress and change can ebb and flow, said Jeremiah Ellison, who won a City Council seat after participating in past protests against police killings of African Americans in Minnesota.

The four nights of unrest this week including the torching of a police station that officers abandoned proved to me that weve regressed to the point of 2015, Ellison said, referring to the year that also saw protests after the death of Jamar Clark, a black man killed by police.

Minneapolis a city of nearly 430,000 that is 60% white, 19% black and 9% Hispanic has a long history of economic and educational disparities that have marginalized black residents for decades, despite its reputation for progressive values. It is one of the most segregated cities in the country for its size, and schools suffer from stubborn achievement gaps.

The city appointed its first black chief of police nearly three years ago, after slow progress toward making the department more inclusive. Earlier this year, a statewide task force made up of activists, people representing victims of police brutality, and law enforcement leaders released recommendations for policing reforms.

That task force was formed in the wake of several high-profile fatal shootings of black men by police in the Minneapolis area. Those included Clark, who was killed during a struggle with two white Minneapolis officers, and Philando Castile, who was fatally shot by a Hispanic suburban police officer during a traffic stop in 2016.

While Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights lawyer and former president of the Minneapolis NAACP, acknowledges that progress, she said that many old habits are still entrenched.

The system itself has not changed," Armstrong said. "The culture within the Minneapolis Police Department has not changed.

The citys police department of more than 800 officers is still predominantly white, she said. The department did not respond to a request for up-to-date figures, but the Star Tribune reported in 2014 that the force, including cadets in field training, was 78.9% white, 9.2% black, 5.2% Asian, 4.1% Hispanic and 2.5% American Indian.

Some leaders, including former Mayor R.T. Rybak and state Sen. Jeff Hayden, have blamed the city's police union in recent days for fostering a culture that protects brutal officers and resists efforts at reform. The union's president, Lt. Bob Kroll, did not return a call seeking comment.

The eruption of anger in Minneapolis reflects frustration over these realities, despite some progress, said Teqen Za-Aida, a longtime activist in the city.

But the images themselves also demanded a public response, he said, though he pushed for protests to happen online given the risks of gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic.

We saw his eyes ... we saw a lynching. George Floyd is Emmett Till, 2020, he said, referring to the black 14-year-old who was abducted, beaten and killed in 1955 after he was accused of whistling at a white woman in Mississippi, a lynching that helped spur the civil rights movement.

Bystander video and photos of the arrest show Floyd on the ground with his neck under Officer Derek Chauvin's knee, while Chauvin ignores his pleas for help. Two other officers appear to help hold him down, and a fourth attempts to keep space around the scene.

My stomach hurts, my neck hurts, everything hurts ... I cant breathe, Floyd says in the video before eventually becoming motionless.

Police initially said they arrested Floyd because he matched the description of a man suspected of passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a grocery store and that he resisted arrest. Police were trying to put Floyd in a squad car when he stiffened up and fell to the ground, saying he was claustrophobic, according to the criminal complaint detailing charges against Chauvin.

In addition to igniting the turmoil in Minneapolis, Floyds death has garnered national attention, and it drew comparisons to the case of Eric Garner, a black man who died in 2014 in New York after he was placed in a chokehold by police and also said he could not breathe.

The delay in Chauvin's arrest may have also helped to drive the protests, which turned markedly more violent than those that followed the deaths of either Clark or Castile. Authorities arrested Chauvin and charged him Friday with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. His attorney had no comment when reached by the AP. The other three officers involved have not been charged, but the investigation is continuing. All four were fired Tuesday shortly after the video began circulating.

Some activists and community leaders said they expected the protests to continue to push for the arrests of and charges for the three other officers.

Floyds death just touched people in a way that they didnt expect, said Armstrong.

We must get to the underlying solutions or we will be right back here in a fairly short time, said Keith Ellison, the state's first African American attorney general, whose son is the Minneapolis city councilman. Weve got to literally shift policing.

Ramsey County Undersheriff Bill Finney, who in 1992 became the first African American police chief in Minnesota when he was appointed to the job in neighboring St. Paul, said even when the relationship between police and the black community improves, all sides must guard against complacency.

You have to constantly make deposits into the community bank of goodwill, Finney said. You want to get to a place where the community stops considering you as the police and starts seeing you as their police.

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Activists say there was progress on Minneapolis police reform, before Floyd death - KIMT 3

Ask the choreographer Mark Morris how hes doing these days, and youre liable to get a stream-of-consciousness cri de coeur laced with expletives about the state of the world and ending with a laconic Im fine. His dancers have scattered, his dance center in Brooklyn is closed, theres little or no earned revenue coming in, and his company and school have had to furlough more than half of their office staff.

Believe me, we are staring at the abyss at the Mark Morris Dance Group, like everyone else, he said in a recent phone interview from his home in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan. But, as he points out, he cant complain too much: He is healthy, cooking and puttering around his apartment, and making work.

That last part making work has been a constant in his life. Mr. Morris, 63, usually spends most of his waking hours at his companys studios. He is compulsively prolific, so much so that in recent years in his spare time he has begun creating works that will premiere after hes dead and gone.

So now, faced with the impossibility of gathering his dancers to work, Mr. Morris, known for his insistence on live music and his down-to-earth aesthetic, has turned to the camera on his computer. For the past two months, he has experimented with making dances using Zoom and Final Cut Pro. Four of these short works will premiere on Dance On!, to be shown on the Mark Morris Dance Groups website on Thursday evening. (The program is free, but registration is required.) And while the dances are prerecorded, the repartee will be live.

I never had an interest in technology before, Mr. Morris said. Still, as his executive director Nancy Umanoff, who has known him for over 30 years, said in a phone call, he is a pragmatist. If the choice is nothing or Zoom, hell do the dance by Zoom.

He approaches the process more or less as he would any dance. The medium is different, but many of the same rules apply, he said. I want it to be engaging and satisfying structurally, and for the audience not to know what comes next.

In these works, which he refers to as video dances, not dances, he plays with the way the camera frames the performers, how their faces and bodies, or parts of their bodies, fit into the screen, what it feels like when they approach or recede from the camera. Detail is hard to read; big gestures pop.

Then there is the drama of entrances and exits. By taking just a single step to the side, or crouching, or jumping, a dancer can suddenly disappear. When you move offscreen, Mr. Morris said, you might as well not exist.

Part of the fun of Zoom, for Mr. Morris, has been the opportunity to see his dancers in their element. I get to see all my dancers apartments, which Ive never been to, he said. In rehearsals, he gives decorating and lighting tips. Im like, could you move that ugly lamp and that stuff over there?

When the companys headquarters shut down mid-March, Mr. Morris was working on a dance for this summers Tanglewood Music Festival, set to Ravels choreographic poem La Valse. Most of the steps for Lonely Waltz, as Mr. Morriss dance is called, had already been created in person, so the process became one of adapting the phrases to this new medium, with his dancers filming themselves in ones and twos.

In a recent rehearsal, the dancers executed sections from the dance in their apartments, with Mr. Morris watching and commenting. Lesley, that looks best when youre at mid-distance! he shouted out to Lesley Garrison, and she backed away from the camera. Or, Do le poisson, a fishlike move that traveled from the back of the room to the front. Or, What would it look like if you danced the whole thing while holding the phone in your hand?

Later the various options were sorted and edited in yet more Zoom sessions involving Mr. Morris, his rehearsal director, Sam Black, and his music director, Colin Fowler. Mr. Fowler, who taught himself the editing program Final Cut Pro after the lockdown began, has become the de facto editor. Mr. Morris has final say.

For Lonely Waltz, Mr. Fowler also plays the two-piano version of the Ravel piece. I recorded myself playing the first part, and then recorded the second part, while listening to the first. It took about six or seven tries to get it right. He accompanies all the dances, except Sunshine, which is set to Gene Autrys rendition of You Are My Sunshine.

The other three dances are more like little movies. In Sunshine, the dancers translate a rhythmic pattern to various settings: a lonely figure walking away from the camera along a train track, feet stomping and jumping out of the frame, the lower half of a body climbing up a fire escape.

Lonely Tango, which Mr. Morris describes as a danse noire (as in film noir), is like a faux Bergman movie set in times of Covid-19. A dancer peers sadly into a refrigerator, a shopping cart negotiates a tight corner at a supermarket, disembodied hands play cards, a man looks out a window. Cut to the same man, standing outside, looking in. The clips were filmed in color, and then converted into grainy black and white to look like an old movie.

The music is the Perpetual Tango from Erik Saties Sports et Divertissements, a suite of piano pieces to which Mr. Morris choreographed a dance last year for the Mostly Mozart Festival. As per Saties instructions, the simple tune can be played as many times as the pianist chooses. Here, the piece lasts seven minutes.

All the dances on the program are short, from two to seven minutes long. (Anger Dance, with music that Mr. Morris used before, in a 1998 muppet dance for Sesame Street, is the shortest.) Attention spans are shorter with video, Mr. Morris said. I know I dont want to watch a screen for a long time.

Apart from Lonely Waltz, the dances were composed through a series of what might be described as virtual homework assignments. Mark would give the dancers a few instructions, a few things he wanted to see in each video, and then I would email a few more details to guide people in the right direction, said Mr. Black, the companys rehearsal director. Then the dancers were left to their own devices, filming themselves at home or outdoors.

Some aspects of the process resemble what happens in the studio. This is a part of what I normally do, Mr. Morris said. I describe things, I suggest things. I tell the dancers what I might be interested in seeing. And then people do stuff and either it works or it doesnt.

Whats different here is the solitude of the process. In the studio, the dancers feed off one another. Theres this group creativity that happens, Ms. Garrison said in a phone call. Mark will say, I like the way so-and-so does it, and then we all try to do it that way. Were constantly influencing each other. And yet, it has been a time of exploration and creativity. Its a chance for us to connect with our own personal and creative voice, she said.

Making the dance videos is also a way for Mr. Morris to stay in touch with his dancers, and they with him. Its evident, watching a Zoom rehearsal, just how much he relishes this creative time, no matter how remote and disembodied. Nothing can replace the real pleasure of being together in a rehearsal studio, on tour, on the stage. But in the meantime, he said, they might as well make something good.

Im interested in solving problems, he said. But it has to be interesting to look at, frankly, like all dances do. Im in the entertainment business.

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The Pragmatists Progress: Mark Morris Adapts to Creating Online - The New York Times

Thirteen winners worldwide recognized for their excellence in design, user experience and innovation

BEDFORD, Mass., May 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Progress (NASDAQ: PRGS), the leading provider of application development and digital experience technologies, today announced winners of its annual Progress Sitefinity Website of the Year Awards. Since 2011, the awards recognize websites powered by Progress Sitefinity for their excellence in user experience and their innovation in applying Sitefinity features and capabilities to address business challenges. Winners were selected based on the highest number of votes received during the public voting period.

This year, dozens of websites developed using the Progress Sitefinity platform were nominated across 13 categories: Associations & Non-Profit, Consumer Goods & Services, Ecommerce, Education, Financial Services, Graphic Design, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Multisite, Public Sector, Technology, Transportation & Logistics, Travel & Tourism.

The 2020 Website of the Year Awards winners were selected in two phases. First, a Progress judging panel shortlisted the three best websites per category. After narrowing the field, voting was opened to the community. Finalists with the highest number of votes were appointed the category winners.

With more than 11,000 votes cast, the results are as follows:

Congratulations to the winners of this years Website of the Year awards for their incredible achievements, said John Ainsworth, Senior Vice President, Core Products, Progress. While more than 10,000 web properties worldwide leverage the Sitefinity platform to deliver engaging digital experiences, these awards honor the most creative and innovative organizations that set the bar in their respective industries.

Progress Sitefinity is a cloud-enabled digital experience platform that empowers developers and marketers to leverage content management and data-driven insights to deliver, optimize and scale personalized omnichannel user experiences. With Sitefinity, organizations can build and manageinnovative, engaging customerexperiences with capabilities that streamlinemarketing and development tasks,simplifycommon technical challengesand enhance the customer journey.

To explore the contest winners and Progress partners that built many of the winning websites, visit the Website of the Year Awards page.

Additional Resources

About ProgressProgress (NASDAQ: PRGS) offers the leading platform for developing and deploying strategic business applications. We enable customers and partners to deliver modern, high-impact digital experiences with a fraction of the effort, time and cost.Progress offers powerful tools for easily building adaptive user experiences across any type of device or touchpoint, the flexibility of a cloud-native app dev platform to deliver modern apps, leading data connectivity technology, web content management, business rules, secure file transfer, network monitoring, plus award-winning machine learning that enables cognitive capabilities to be a part of any application. Over 1,700 independent software vendors, 100,000 enterprise customers, and two million developers rely onProgressto power their applications. Learn aboutProgressatwww.progress.comor +1-800-477-6473.

Progress, Sitefinity, OpenEdge, and Kendo UI are trademarks or registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation and/or one of its subsidiaries or affiliates in the US and other countries. Any other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

ProgressKim Baker1 888-365-2779pr@progress.com

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Progress Announces Winners of the 2020 Sitefinity Website of the Year Awards - GlobeNewswire