Category Archives: Transhuman News

A sad fact about gun control politics is that if you are cynical enough you can darn near see the future.

Consider this NRA-ILA item from November 8, titled, NBC News Tattletale Alerts Secret Service to Lets go Brandon AR-15 Receiver. The piece concerned an NBC News reporter who contacted the U.S. Secret Service over the sale of an AR-15 lower receiver emblazoned with the popular Lets go Brandon political slogan. NRA-ILA explained in the article,

As legacy press outlets have lost much of their ability to manipulate public opinion, these institutions have resorted to increasingly desperate tactics to shape public discourse. Enter tattletale journalism.

This genre of article consists of identifying something that offends the delicate sensibilities of the prestige press and the elites they cater to and then reporting the offensive conduct to various authorities under the guise of asking them for comment. The transparent goal of such pieces is to pressure those in authority to stamp out the behavior. This sometimes takes the form of a journalist alerting one of the tech oligopolies to material hosted on their platform that the reporter deems politically incorrect.

Less than a month after publishing the ridiculous Lets go Brandon piece, NBC engaged in exactly the conduct described above.

According to an account from Ammoland.com, in recent weeks NBC News contributor Joshua Eaton contacted several firearms-related YouTube content producers to ask them about the material on their channels. The query focused on channels containing information on how people can exercise their Second Amendment right to build their own firearms.

NBC News then contacted YouTube with a list of channels containing this information, alerting the tech giant that these channels were supposedly not in compliance with the companys community guidelines. This resulted in videos being deleted and demonetization of the channels. Ammoland.com obtained a letter from YouTube that explained,

All channels on YouTube must comply with our Community Guidelines, which prohibit content instructing viewers how to make firearms, Jack Malon, YouTube spokesperson, told AmmoLand News. After careful review, we have removed the videos in question for violation of our firearms policy, and we have also suspended the channels sent by NBC from the YouTube Partner Program for failure to follow our Advertiser-Friendly Guidelines.

For more information on this vital story see the Ammoland.com article by clicking here.

With its recent behavior, NBC News has abandoned any pretense of objectivity and is now engaged in partisan activism.

On his personal website, Eaton notes that prior to going freelance he wrote for ThinkProgress. That outlet was a project of the left-wing Center for American Progress Action Fund. The Center for American Progress is a radical anti-gun organization. The group supports a ban on commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms and their magazines and background checks for ammunition sales. At present, the outfit opposes the NRA-supported New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen U.S. Supreme Court case that would ensure the Second Amendment right of New Yorkers to carry a firearm for self-defense outside the home.

NBCUniversal would do well to keep this sort of rank advocacy to MSNBC, lest the public get wise to their broader propaganda campaign.

More here:
NBC News Rats Out More of the Gun Community - NRA ILA

The misinformation comes primarily from a single source: Steven Foster, who served as the ADR director for "Ghost Stories." When it comes to anime dubs, the ADR director's job is to interpret the original Japanese script into another language, such as English. During this process, the ADR director may localize aspects of the show in the new script, meaning certain details are altered to better appeal to specific cultures and regions. An example of this is how Pixar changes things in its films for international audiences. In Foster's case, he enjoyed taking things a step further.

Foster has served as the ADR director for various anime shows, earning a reputation for his habit of making strange changes to the story, tone, and dialogue for the English dubs he oversaw. This habit eventually became so well-known that anime fans began calling these changes "Fosterizations." It's not exactly an affectionate term, but one Foster himself is incredibly proud of, as evidenced by this blurb from the "About" page of his website:

"My liberal take on anime made me famous to millions of people, while making me infamous to a few others, mainly trolls. Now I'm not 100% sure which side is responsible for it, but I...am in the Urban Dictionary! You see, the critics reviewing my shows came up with a word for my "technique" and someone got that word into the Urban Dic. Now 'Fosterize' has a kind of snarky definition and while I believe it should read 'f***ing something up because it wasn't perfectly fine at all, in fact it kinda sucked,' I'm still oddly proud of this weird little accomplishment. And, yes, I did buy a mug with the definition on it."

So there's that. Even before the "Ghost Stories" dub, Stephen was already taking some interesting liberties with the anime shows he was tasked with dubbing, sometimes even going so far as to change things without the consent of the original owners, leading to controversy and fan backlash. Anime YouTuber and self-described "Ghost Stories truther" MercuryFalcon goes over some of these issues and controversies in his own video concerning the strange mythos and legacy of Foster's "Ghost Stories" dub. In it, he mentions two shows that Foster was the ADR director of prior to "Ghost Stories." In both cases, he made major sometimes completely nonsensical changes to the tone and script of each show. One of these shows is the English dub of the anime "Sorcerous Stabber Orphen," which drew criticism and negative reactions from fans who were displeased with the severe change in tone and dialogue compared to that of the Japanese version with English subtitles. These sentiments are summed up in a review of the show from Anime News Network:

"Unfortunately, much is left to be desired with the English track. The dialogue virtually had nothing in common with the Japanese dialogue, and even worse, words were spoken in length where there was complete silence on the Japanese track. The actors themselves performed well, but the voices were badly cast, leaving characters with their personalities badly hacked and betrayed. [...] if you do decide to watch Sorcerous Stabber Orphen, I implore you, stay away from the English track if you value your sanity."

Additionally, in Foster's book "The Last Alias" he describes the radical changes he made to another anime, "Super Milk Chan," going so far as to shoot and splice in his own live-action scenes that had nothing to do with the original show. ADV Films also produced another English dub of "Super Milk Chan" which was free of Foster's additional scenes and altered dialogue. Both dubs were presented to Cartoon Network, and the network chose to air the faithful adaptation of the series, rather than the "Fosterized" version. Clearly, Foster was already doing whatever he wanted with the series under his control before he got his hands on "Ghost Stories," which kind of goes against the implication that he was suddenly given unprecedented power by a studio that was desperate to have someone save their failing show.

Read the original post:
Why Everyone Thinks The Cult Classic Anime Ghost Stories Bombed In Japan When It Didn't - /Film

I miss the good ole days, when you didnt have to watch every word you said. When you could shoot your mouth off without worrying about the repercussions ... which is something politicians and celebrities do all the time on Twitter because they have a special dispensation.

The rest of us have to be careful because someone is always breathing down your neck, ready to cancel you or run you out of town if they dont like your politics or what you said.

I watch what I say because the vigilantes might come for me in the night, brandishing pitchforks and torches made from newspapers that carry my column.

Im really worried about this one. A few people said Im looking for trouble, but I believe in Freedom of Expression and the First Amendment ... and the Second and Third Amendments too. (What is the Third Amendment anyway?) I especially support the 21st Amendment, which repealed prohibition and restored our God-given right to Freedom of Intoxication.

Heres the thing. I rile residents in my community because Im always saying that I have to go to the dump. Im corrected by people who know better. The town arbiters of propriety have informed me that the word dump is offensive and only used by geezers who go scrounging around piles of trash, looking for hidden treasures, such as lawn jockeys and garden gnomes.

The dump, Ive been told, is a thing of the past. Now, its called the transfer station, although Im not sure what theyre transferring. Or the resource recovery facility, which sounds like a term Greta Thunberg and AOC invented. I guess were allowed to transfer and were allowed to recover, but were not allowed to dump.

Hoity-toity communities dont like the word dump because its not dignified. Instead, theyll say, Lets go to the sanitary landfill this afternoon, or Lets pay a visit to the waste disposal center. I grew up in the poor part of town, and we just said, I have to go to the dump. Then, I got married and moved to my wifes hometown, where I was prohibited from using the D-word under penalty of expulsion.

The transfer station is so popular in our town that politicians campaign there. (Elected officials would never want to be seen hanging out at the dump.) To get a vote, theyll even help little old ladies toss their garbage bags in the waste compactor, although I think that may be a violation of the Federal Elections Commissions regulations.

I couldnt believe how many politicians gathered there on the Saturday before Election Day. I was gagging from the stench, but they were standing around smiling and pretending it didnt stink like hell. To me, thats the sign of a true leader.

The transfer station is such a popular place that people like to chitchat with one another, and sometimes theres so much kibitzing that you have to wait in line to get to the compactor. I want to press down on my horn, but there are certain rules of etiquette you have to observe at a transfer station that you dont have to observe at a dump. Ive often wondered what kind of person likes to make small talk standing in front of a stinky dumpster.

The place has such a large following, Starbucks is considering putting a cafe where we deposit brush and tree stumps.

This is a high-class dump, so people often leave behind valuable stuff for junk collectors like me to take home. There are books, lawn statues, bric-a-brac, sporting goods, ice skates, soccer balls, lunch boxes, yard tools and a lot more. Its better than Goodwill. I always want to look around, but my wife yells at me to get back in the car, so sometimes I have to sneak down there by myself.

Im convinced the dump mistress, or whatever her title is, could sell some of it on eBay and make enough revenue to lower our taxes.

It wasnt this much fun when we had a garbage man thats another outdated, politically incorrect term. Now, they go by the title of refuse hauler or sanitation specialist.

The crazy thing is the dump is so popular that they built luxury apartments next door, and there are only a few left. I told my wife that Id be willing to buy a one-bedroom unit so we could just walk the garbage across the street, but she didnt like that idea.

Former Stamford Advocate and Greenwich Time Editor Joe Pisani can be reached at joefpisani@yahoo.com.

Originally posted here:
Joe Pisani (opinion): Talking trash ain't what it used to be - CT Post

One of the things that made 'The Golden Girls' an ageless, classic television show is that it showcased a group of women, living together and talking about basically anything and everything -- from sex and relationships to life and family.

But most importantly, they were having lots of fun, and as a result, the audience had a lot of fun along with them.

If only that were the case with the misguided, woke reboot of 'Sex and the City'.

Let me preface what I am about to say next with this -- I am very sad to feel this way about the revival, aptly named 'And Just Like That...'.

I am an old millennial -- 37 years old to be exact.

The original HBO show hit its height of fame, popularity, and cultural relevance as I was coming into my formative years and during my time at Columbia University in New York City.

Just not the same:The show was a true cultural phenomenon and for many reasons we should be forever grateful for the barriers that it broke regarding open conversations about women and sexuality

I cannot fully express what it was like to have a show about women, friendships, relationships, navigating singledom in modern America -- and yes, sex -- on the air at that time in my life.

The show was a true cultural phenomenon and for many reasons we should be forever grateful for the barriers that it broke regarding open conversations about women and sexuality.

It encapsulated the excesses of the time and the pre-woke freedom before the 2008 financial crisis.

Any reboot of this cultural touchstone would face exceedingly high expectations, but I didn't anticipate being left simultaneously disappointed and depressed, after watching the first two episodes.

For a start so much of the original show, while groundbreaking at the time, hasn't aged well in the way that many other shows of that era have. I could watch The Sopranos over and over again and have few critiques for the series.

But so many of the promises of 'Sex and the City' turned out to be completely fictional and lacking any relation to reality.

The show depicted its main character, Carrie Bradshaw, as a columnist, living in a great Manhattan apartment, able to afford a closet full of designer clothes and shoes.

She also finds the idea of marriage and children repulsive -- to put it mildly.

Now, I don't think all television has to reflect life perfectly, but I think for a certain generation of women, this show made some false promises about sex and intimacy that now seem dated and not reflective of what actual real life is like both in New York City and outside of it.

As I have gotten older, I have cringed at the messaging to so many young women and wished for more realism and nuance when it came to intimacy and relationships with men.

But I digress -- back to the reboot.

Sarah Jessica Parker is an iconic actress and is still wonderful embodying the character of Carrie.

Any reboot of this cultural touchstone would face exceedingly high expectations, but I didn't anticipate being left simultaneously disappointed and depressed, after watching the first two episodes

The problem with the new series is the clumsy attempt to reformat the show into the woke and puritanical times we are living in.

For example, Carrie now plays the part of the 'cisgender woman' on a podcast with younger co-hosts.

One of them is -- of course -- queer and nonbinary. Because its so boring and un-evolved to be a straight white woman.

I don't know who to blame, the writers of the show or this particularly stupid and repressive time we are living in.

The first time I ever heard about anal sex or a vibrator was on this show - now entire plotlines are dedicated to microaggressions.

Meghan says that the new HBO Max show is simply a 'misguided, woke reboot of 'Sex and the City'

Miranda, played by Cynthia Nixon, comes off as inadvertently racist and old when she expresses shock over the hairstyle of her college professor.

When she tries to clean up her mess it gets worse.

'A law professor can't have hair like mine? Why is that?' asks the self-righteous educator.

Miranda starts babbling.

'My comment had nothing whatsoever to do with it being a black hairstyle. I, I knew that you were black when I signed up for this class. That was important to me,' she rambles, as the camera pans across the shocked faces of the other students.

'You signed up for this class because I'm black?' responds the professor in a cruel hypothetical.

It gets more cringy from there. But the point is -- Miranda is hopeless.

It's as if the show is going out of its way to say every generation Xer from 'Sex in the City's' past is problematic and needs modern redeeming.

'And Just Like That...' also introduces some new faces -- just like that.

The supporting cast exhibits commendable racial and identity diversity, but we don't learn much about their characters.

It's almost if they were written into the script to satisfy the PC censors.

Uh -- ya think?

There is a way to execute important cultural messages without it feeling like it is being force-fed, and this show -- unfortunately -- really, really fails at that.

It is wokeness superficially shoved down your throat to make a point about wealthy white liberal women evolving into the political climate of 2021.

Like so much of the fallacy I find in modern liberalism in major cities, these characters seem to encompass the absurdity of some progressive, woke white women.

I couldn't sum it up even better than The New York Times' review which noted that the whole production feels as if it speed-read How to Be an Antiracist in June of 2020.

Above all else, and most importantly, it is not fun at all. Not even a little bit.

Not even the fashion, which comes across more like a costume-party than the fun frivolity of the original show.

Sarah Jessica Parker is an iconic actress and is still wonderful embodying the character of Carrie (pictured here with actor Chris Noth) who plays Mr. Big

It is morose and (spoiler alert), the sudden death of Mr. Big on a Peloton in the first episode, followed by his funeral, is extremely depressing and confusing.

The only way it makes sense (and I can only speculate) is that it was written into the script to kill off anything left of the original that we loved so we can move fully onto this new chapter of modern misery.

Which will be a pity because the only reason I am sitting here writing this or choosing to watch the show was because of how much I loved the original.

The show is also deeply hurt by the absence of Kim Cattrall as Samantha Jones, who was always my favorite character on the show.

I believe she could have brought some of the levity that is missing, and dare I say, even a few jokes of which there were very few in the first two episodes.

And there is also no sex whatsoever, except for a story about Miranda's teenage son and his girlfriend, which is not something I think anyone wants to see or hear about.

It is awkward, clumsy, and just gross to hear a mother joke her child's sex life over brunch.

Another spoiler alert: Miranda steps barefoot on her son's used condom.

I am not big on reboots in general and I am always grateful for shows like Seinfeld, which have resisted the urge of a giant paycheck to come back. Some things are really meant to be cultural moments in time and to stay there.

We are living in one of the most repressive and anti-free speech moments in modern times. There is a palpable paranoia in our art and comedy. Shows and actors (with a few glaring exceptions like Dave Chapelle) are clearly concerned about angering the wrong people, being politically incorrect or not sufficently progressive.

This is not a way to create fun or impactful entertainment.

Wokeness kills everything and I am disappointed to tell you that 'And Just Like That' is another victim of Hollywood trying to placate a specific audience and not the original one, which was made it a hit in the first place.

The rest is here:
MEGHAN McCAIN: And Just Like That . . . Sex and the City died of wokeness - nation.lk - The Nation Newspaper

Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat was often politically incorrect, much to the chagrin of the straightjacketed military and diplomatic establishment on Raisina Hill but he was the man that they decided would lead India in the worst-case scenario. Blunt, outspoken and with integrity of the highest order, Rawat was not afraid of speaking his mind to either politicians or the three service chiefs when it came to military reform and the defence of the country. He was a fighter and a nationalist to the core.

Wednesdays accident, which took his life, was not the first time Rawat was in a helicopter crash. On February 3, 2015, when he was III Corps Commander, he cheated death when his Cheetah helicopter crashed at Dimapur. Indeed, he took off to meet the Eastern Army Commander in Arunachal Pradesh in the next available helicopter before being medically grounded on account of a spinal injury. He had his ankle mangled after a huge stone hit him while on an operation against the Pakistanis on the Line of Control (LoC) in the Uri sector in Kashmir and had a wound medal but he never claimed disability allowance by lowering his medical category.

CDS Rawat chopper crash: PM Modi chairs CCS meet, Rajnath, NSA in attendance

The General from Pauri Garhwal came to the notice of the Narendra Modi government after he, as Dimapur Corps Commander, supervised a strike against NSCN (K) insurgents on and across the Indo-Myanmar border by Special Forces in June 2015. Prior to that he performed exceptionally as the 19 Division commander in the Uri sector against the Pakistanis.

Gen. Rawat came into his own as a military commander when he took on the Chinese PLA at Doklam Plateau on the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet trijunction in June 2017. Despite all odds, Rawat, with the full support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval stopped the PLA from building a road to the Jhampheri Ridge, which would have made India vulnerable in the Siliguri corridor. History will record the stubbornness and resolve of the Indian Army even as Beijing issued daily verbal and physical military threats to force them to back off. Gen Rawat not only prepared his army for vertical escalation but also had the confidence of his political bosses, national security planners and intelligence chiefs.

Rawat, who had a huge sweet tooth, had the rare ability to reach out across the ranks of not just the Indian Army, but the two other services as well when he became India's first CDS on January 1, 2020. He had very little time for military pomp, show and regalia and was happiest amongst his troops. He was a leader of men and abhorred the paraphernalia associated with army generals. He stopped playing golf just to set an example to other officers.

When the Chinese PLA transgressed across the Ladakh LAC in April 2020, the Modi government turned to Gen Rawat and the present Army Chief Gen M N Naravane to handle the show.

General Rawat along with the NSA and External Affairs Minister formed the core group for diplomatically and militarily tackling the aggressive PLA. National security planners vividly remember that Gen Rawat knew each and every hill feature and track on the south bank of Pangong Tso and the Kailash Ranges during the planning of the offensive on August 29-31, 2020. It was ultimately this offensive on the south bank that forced the PLA to restore status quo ante on the north bank of the lake. He was totally focused on the Chinese activity along the LAC and knew that the real threat to India came from Beijing. And to that extent he never took the Chinese word on its face value.

As a military administrator in-charge of military affairs, PM Modi tasked Gen Rawat to create theatre commands and modernize the army with rationalization of forces and equipment. Even though many within the military, particularly the Air Force, did not like the move as it led to loss of power for the service chief, Gen Rawat was relentless in his pursuit. He prepared the full draft proposal for the military theatre commands last November and gave it to the three service chiefs for comments till June 2022. Gen Rawat used to say that this was a mandate that PM Modi had given to him, and he would complete it during the 75th year of Indian independence regardless.

Gen Rawat is no more, and it is for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that all the work already done on jointmanship is not shelved by the military-civilian bureaucracy of the day.

When, as Army Chief General Rawat and his men confronted the PLA at Doklam Plateau in June 2017 at Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet trijunction, a top functionary recalls, he used to say, When in doubt, one should pray.

Today, we pray for the fearless CDS.

View post:
General Bipin Rawat loved sweets, fauj and was wary of China - Hindustan Times

It may be politically incorrect to ask ourselves to know where our friends or family are at all times, but the truth is that there are tools that allow you to do so, since everyone is broadcasting their location at all times.

The vast majority of people we know, unless they are very aware of this issue, are continuously transmitting where they are at all times, so locating them is not going to be an odyssey.

There are location search applications, which use GPS to locate our location.

Lets look at some of the best that exist right now to be able to establish the situation of our friends and family and not get lost in large crowds of people.

Index of contents:

Glympse is one of the most popular location apps. Its main virtue is to locate friends and family very quickly.

Another of the great advantages of this application is that it does not need the other person to be registered in the app, only with an Internet connection it reaches us.

That is why it makes this app so special, in addition to having a security system very interesting and is that the locations or Glympse expire after a set period of time.

This is an app that we could call the best for when localization must be done in situations like those of hikers, campers and the like.

Since many things can happen when going on these types of adventures, such as changes in the weather or disorientation, having the A-GPS Tracker turned on can be a good idea so that others can determine where we are and help us in case of emergency.

A good thing is that all the maps are conceived with elevation, latitude and longitude, given in degrees or UTM coordinates.

Although it was created for this type of person, the truth is that it can be used for a global location, but of course, the location must be active.

Family Locator is designed for all those who have a family and want to know their location at all times.

Is specially prepared to locate the children, but it can apply to anyone in the family.

The best thing is that it has a SOS button so that the children can press in an emergency and that it reaches the parents immediately, sharing the location, which will be seen on a specific map for it.

Parents can also configure notifications to be alerted when their child reaches a particular destination, such as school or a friends house.

Within the app, safe or unsafe zones can be created so that parents receive the corresponding alarms in each case.

GeoZilla Family GPS Locator is the one that consumes the least battery of all since it incorporates a system called SLC, which guarantees that the application will not turn on unless we go a considerable distance from what we mark as our property.

We can also consider it because it offers certain family-oriented features such as notification when someone in the group has reached their destination or seeing a weeks location history on a map.

Geo Tracker is a GPS tracking application that is aimed at people who spend a lot of time in nature and therefore can suffer some mishap or get lost.

We can see the location on a map, in addition to provide us with a lot of data where we are or where someone is, such as speed, altitude, vertical distance (for ascents and descents) and incline of the slope.

You can share the location with friends and family and we can even find someone we have not heard from for a long time, as long as they have the active location.

Life360 uses a Philosophy of Circles, that is, people who share a close location form a circle. All of them have to be registered in the system and share their location at that time.

In the instant that you activate your location, you see those of all the others who are part of said circle. In addition, we can configure when we want to be part of the circles, that is, we may want to appear during the afternoon, but not at night.

Each circle has a private map and a private message service that can only be seen by the other members of the circle.

You can also use Google Maps to find out where your friends and family are.

It is essential that this person share with you the location in advance, because if it will not be possible to use the system, but if so, it can be one of the easiest to use.

In order for someone to share the location so that they can be located, the following must be done:

We open Google maps. We played in the Profile photo in the upper right corner. We choose Share location. Now we give a touch to share button new in the lower right corner. We establish a duration to share or we select Until I deactivate it. At this moment, already to finish, we select people with which we wish to share from your contact list.

Now you know how to locate friends and family with the apps that we have taught you.

If we are going to try to find out where someone is, we may find ourselves with the first obstacle that the person has to consent to your location or at least be inside the application, so locating someone can be more complicated.

On the other hand, they can be a help for children, since we can discover where they are just by looking at our smartphone, something that can give great peace of mind, although as we all know that we are parents, we should never be away from them as a precaution.

But in all this there is also the debate of whether these apps intrude on peoples privacy and their right to be where they want without being located.

Obviously these applications that we have shown you are clear that if the person does not give consent there is nothing to do, they are not spy apps.

This means that a person who activates all location patterns explicitly agrees to be located, making all these systems totally legal and no personal rights of anyone are compromised.

View original post here:
7 Android apps to be able to locate your friends and family even in large crowds of people | Technology - Central Valley Business Journal

Todays guest columnist is Andrew Zimbalist, professor of economics at Smith College and author of several books on the economics of baseball. He has consulted in the past both for the MLB Players Association and the commissioners office.

MLB has entered its first work stoppage since 1995. It is not surprising to see the union and the commissioners office each declaring the other side to be unwilling to engage in serious bargaining. Nor is it surprising to see media coverage raise the temperature with yet more incendiary rhetoric, such as: The first day of MLBs work stoppage produced hostility, resentment, anxiety, and apprehensionwith predictions for a lengthy work stoppage.

Rather than picking villains, it makes sense to step back and take a 30,000-foot view of what is going on. The standard line is that labor disputes in sports are simply a battle between billionaire owners and millionaire players and why dont they grow up and stop bickering. On one level, thats a reasonable perspective, but on another, nobody likes to lose money, and everyone likes to be treated fairly.

Even though the average salary in MLB is over $4 million, players are rightfully concerned that league revenues and franchise values have been growing more rapidly than their salaries; that free agency rules prevent most players from reaching market value salary levels until their late 20s or early 30s; and that more onerous competitive balance tax rules have driven down compensation. And owners are rightfully concerned that the pandemic took a significant financial toll on the league; that baseball players get a larger share of leaguewide revenue than in other sports leagues; that future TV/streaming revenues are uncertain; and that cultural patterns among younger demographics threaten the games popularity.

Lets drill down a bit. Each of the last three collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) has seen (1) the luxury tax level increase slower than league revenues and (2) higher tax rates when team payrolls exceed the cutoff level. Among other factors, these changes have led the major league player salary share in MLB revenue to decrease from 51.6% during 2007-11, to 50.2% during 2012-16, and to 49.3% during 2017-21. It is perfectly understandable that the Players Association wants to arrest or reverse this decline.

Note the following, however. Although the accounting rules for defining revenue differ sport by sport, MLBs salary share remains higher than the salary share in the NFL, NHL or MLS. Also note that MLB owners spend around $20 million per team on minor league player salaries and signing bonuses, amounting to 7.1% of the total player compensation on average during 2017-21. The other leagues spend between 0% and 2% on their player development system compensation. When minor league compensation is included, the total player compensation during 2017-21 was 56.4%, very little changed from the 56.9% during 2007-11, and it puts baseball still further ahead of the total compensation paid to players in the other leagues.

Given these facts, it is evident that while both sides have cause for concern, MLBs overall compensation system has produced comparatively stable results, and baseball players, despite recent slippage, are still in a preferential standing in the professional sports world.

If to this picture we add the current offseasons free agent contract signings and extensions, valued thus far at $2.22 billion compared to $1.68 billion last offseason, there appears to be more evidence that the system is not broken. Indeed, Fangraphs projects that when the current offseason concludes, the total value of new signings and extensions will be at $3.63 billion, which would shatter the previous record of $2.65 billion set prior to the 2017 season. Further, these numbers suggest that the player share for 2022 is on track to well surpass that of recent years.

All this supports the view that the current system does not need an overhaul. It needs tweaking. There are some significant concessions that can be made that respond to each sides concerns. Without considering the entire litany of issues in the CBA, below I offer examples of compromises that could make the system both fairer and more efficient.

The Players Association has called for MLB to reduce the amount of revenue sharing from rich to poor teams from around $450 million to $350 million. The reason for this position is that the sharing system is based on team revenues. When a team wins more games, it generates more revenue and has to pay more into (or receive less from) the sharing system. This constitutes a tax on success and blunts the teams incentive to invest in players.

For example, if a team has to pay 35% of extra revenue into the sharing system, then a player with an expected incremental revenue production of $20 million gross will only generate $13 million net to the team. If the team followed principles of economic efficiency, it would lower its maximum salary offer by $7 million. (A more cynical view is that the union called for lower taxes on rich teams to divide MLBs ownership.)

The problem is that the sharing system is needed to balance the teams competitive strengths as well as stabilize the finances of smaller market teams. Theres a reasonable solution. Keep the current level of sharing, but base it on the value of a teams market rather than on team success. There are a number of ways to do this, but it gets wonky.

The Players Association also believes that MLB revenues are poised to increase with the legalization of sports betting in a growing number of states. The owners acknowledge this, but they believe there are offsetting factors. A reasonable solution would be to introduce a mechanism to have the players benefit from an uncertain bonanza of gambling (or other) revenues. Since the MLBPA wants to move arbitration eligibility from three years (actually, 17% of players with the most service time between two and three years earn eligibility, known as Super 2s) to two years, why not have an algorithm that stipulates if MLB revenues grow by more than, say, 5% the previous year, then 25% of Super 2s become arbitration eligible, and if the growth is above 7.5%, then 35% become eligible, and so on. A symmetrical provision could be added for revenue decreases.

Another tweak: The owners have offered to introduce the DH into the National League and continue an accord reached in 2019 to expand the active roster from 25 to 26 players. Historically, there are an additional 15 players on the so-called 40-Man Roster (25 active roster plus 15 extra spots), but the extra spots declined to 14 when the active roster was expanded. All players on the 40-Man Roster are in the union and work under contracts controlled by the CBA. Why not offer to expand the roster of 40 to 41, to adjust for the expanded active roster? The union would expand by 30 players.

At the end of the day, whether the sides drag out their discussions for two weeks or two months or longer, the final tally will likely alter the players share in revenue by less than one percentage point. Everyone will be better off if the owners and players take the long viewnow, rather than later.

Of course, if the players want to guarantee a certain salary share above all else, theres a straightforward path. Its called a salary cap. Alas, that term seems to be politically incorrect.

Excerpt from:
Baseballs New Labor Wars That Neednt Be - Sportico

By the evening of 20 November, the answer was loud and clear. The film festivals inaugural ceremony was packed to the rafters. Afterwards, for the first time ever, all the four cinema halls screening the opening movie (it was the world premiere of The King of All The World from Mexico) were filled to capacity. A large number of delegates were left seatless. After two more days of unstoppable crowdssome 600 cinephiles travelled in from Kerala alonethe state government permitted festival organizers to lift the stringent social distancing norms. Thousands proceeded to pack into IFFI from early morning to late night. Everyone partied like it was 2019.

Thankfully, the potential super-spreader event concluded without any perceptible ill-effects on Goas covid caseload. Tourism industry stakeholders were jubilant, anticipating an excellent high season in December and January and expecting the inbound rush to make up for all the losses over the past 22 months. Ever since Indias first nationwide lockdown was imposed in March 2020, Goas tourism industry has experienced a catastrophic decline in revenue, with arrivals plummeting by nearly 75% from the record highs of over 8 million visitors in both 2018 and 2019.

This year-ends season was supposed to restore vitality and life to a key sector that contributes the second largest share to the states economy after pharmaceuticals, and all that seemed inevitable right until 1 December. There were tons of bookings already in hand. Room rates were surging to the best they have ever been. And there was an extensive slew of charter flights scheduled to jet in from various countries by late December, filled with the kind of international tourists Goa likes best of all.

But all that buoyancy has suddenly disappeared overnight. Every bit of giddy optimism that buoyed IFFI into an incredible party has quickly evaporated in view of the spectre of the new Omicron variant and fresh restrictions on international travel. Now, everyone is on tenterhooks all over again, dreading this fresh tryst with the unknown.

Catch-22 situation

Could the new variant shut down the inbound rush into the state, as it has in other parts of the world? More fundamentally, can Goans regain any kind of trust in their government to effectively implement and practise pandemic protocols, especially after living through extraordinarily painful months earlier this year when hundreds of citizens died due to the abject mismanagement of oxygen supplies at the Goa Medical College?

Nobody in the state has forgotten how the states High Court was moved to apologize in frustration: We are very sorry. We failed collectively. We owe an apology to all the people."

At this juncture, the public mood is poised on a knife-edge. On the one hand, everyone wants the tourism industryby far the largest employer in the state to swiftly recover in order to make up for time lost due to the pandemic. But theres also unanimity about the fact that Goa cannot afford the kind of free-for-all that sparked the second wave. The bottom line is: doubt and limited confidence in the ability of the state to handle the unfolding situation effectively. It feels like Catch-22; an air of high anxiety has taken hold of Indias smallest state.

Our industry has been on the ventilator since the second wave," says Maria Suzette, the proprietor of Panjims 24-year-old award-winning landmark Mums Kitchen restaurant. One year before the pandemic began, she had opened another outlet in the North Goa village of Assagao, but with the lockdowns, we were burning capital at a rapid pace and had to wind up in that location. There is no work from home for us in the food and beverage business".

Suzette describes what happened in Goa when the initial set of lockdowns was lifted as revenge tourism". She explained, no one is saying close the borders, but we need strict vigilance. Allow only fully vaccinated visitors. Enforce the standard operating procedures. Everyone seems to be good at making rules, but making people follow them is much more difficult. What is happening is that we are getting tourists from around the country who act as though they have been set free from all controls, which is a nightmare."

A perfect illustration of what Suzette is describing plays out every evening very close to her restaurant in the pleasant waterfront neighbourhood of Miramar in the capital city of Panjim, where hordes of budget travellers stream onto the beach at sunset without any heed to pandemic protocols. The beleaguered lifeguards are under constant stress.

The situation seems to be getting more and more grave by the day," says Prajal Sakhardande, head of the history department at the nearby Dhempe College and a renowned heritage activist.

I am very much concerned and worried for my students due to this renewed threat from (the) Omicron (variant). Many of them are too young to get vaccinated. Due to the upcoming elections (Goa goes to the polls in February 2022), our government is busy. It is least concerned. I am very worried. We are in a vulnerable situation."

Surge in tourists

Some kilometres up the Mandovi riverbank from Miramar, very close to where the casino boats are clustered together in a blaze of neon lights, Chryselle DSilva Diass family has been facing the brunt of the anything-goes tourism model that has taken hold of Goa in recent years.

We have to deal with belligerent people at all hours," she says, I have spent many nights calling the police at 3 am. In the mornings, we are often treated to piles of broken bottles, foil food packets and plastic bags with leftovers."

No one expects tourism to be put on hold," says Dias. But the government really has to do more in terms of crowd control and reducing the number of people congregating at various places or even entering the state. We need to be more proactive about protecting locals and also visitors. At the moment, there is no monitoring of any kind. Given how rapidly the second wave accelerated, I feel adequate lessons havent yet been learned. At the moment, its just business as usual."

It is a fact that there is mounting disillusionment within Goa about the way tourism has been comprehensively bungled long before the pandemic caused so much distress and desperation. This is because at the start of the new millennium, there were about a million annual inbound visitors, whose impact was more or less contained to one coastal strip in North Goa. But those relatively sustainable numbers began to skyrocket after 2010, when the total spiked above two million.

In 2013, that figure went above three million. In 2014, above four million. After that, it has been a non-stop runaway train in one direction only. More and more domestic tourists, far fewer foreigners, huge environmental destruction, rampant illegalities in real estate and construction, and piles of garbage everywhere.

In 2018, after the total number of visitors peaked above eight million for the first time, the late chief minister Manohar Parrikar sparked much angst among locals by promising that there would be 15 million before too long.

In that same year, Parrikars cabinet minister Vijai Sardesai ignited a national controversy when he complained, Today, we have almost six times the population of Goa coming (in) as tourists. They are not top-end tourists. Are they responsible? They are not. If you compare Goans to (the) rest of India, we are high in per capita income, social and political consciousness. We are much superior than the people who are coming in. Those people, how will you control (them)? Can you control them?"

Unpalatable and politically incorrect as Sardesais comments may have been, they struck a chord with his fellow Goans because many domestic tourists do tend to behave in ways that they would never get away with at home or any destination abroad. Always an irritant, those kinds of behaviour are highly alarming in the middle of a pandemic because they can quickly turn fatal, as happened earlier this year itself.

No checks

Where are the checks?" asks Alu Gomes Pereira, an industry veteran who has seen it all in the hospitality business in Goa since 1979. At this point, hes not at all optimistic: I am in tourism and I want tourism, but not like this. There are no controls at all. It has become a joke. Forget about business, what about the lives of the people in Goa?"

Gomes Pereira lives in a gorgeous heritage home on a street named after his grandfather in the centre of the wonderfully picturesque Latin Quarter of Panjim. But the location is much less idyllic than it sounds because, he says, We are mobbed here! Noisy, no masks, (people) throwing waste the whole time. Its a free for all. I dont believe this government has any capacity to manage the situation. I am sorry to say we are heading straight for destruction once again."

The irony, of course, is that even while the situation is indeed quite bad in Goa, masses of Indian urbanites are dead certain that its probably still much better than where they live. Vaccination rates in the state are among the best in the country. A recent YouGov poll found that Goa is the top destination for domestic tourists this year. This is why the tiny states real estate marketplace is saturated to capacity in an astounding pandemic-time boom, and flights are sold out all through the next two months.

Zoom into the details of what is happening in individual establishments and you can see why theres actually a very good reason for the inbound rush. Maria Suzettes Mums Kitchen, for example, maintains strict ISO 22000-mandated protocols and has fully vaccinated its entire staff. More recently, she has implemented web reservations to allow sequencing and avoid crowding. Her clients are very happy to feel safer than they can anywhere comparable in their own home cities.

It is much the same at the wildly popular Black Sheep Bistro, which has cemented its place in the top 10 restaurants in India. Here too, the staff is trained to carefully maintain pandemic precautions, and, as a result, they have become even more popular than before covid-19, especially with many of the new settlers in Goa. Business has returned to normal," says Sabreen Sukhthankar, who owns and operates the venture with her husband Prahlad. It has been so important to get back (to the pre-pandemic business), especially in an economy like Goa that has such a large part of its population which depends on the tourism industry for its daily bread."

Nilesh Shah, head of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, the apex body for stakeholders in the state, said: Its very clear that covid is here to stay. The new normal will be (about) living with the virus. Waves will come and go. But were in a much better situation than last year because of the prevalence of vaccination."

Shah regrets theres so much unnecessary panic about the new variant, saying: Here in Goa, we have learned to a certain extent how to do business with covid around us. We will stick to those lessons. It is a dynamic situation, but I feel confident (that) we will resolve it." Thousands of lives and livelihoods and the fate of an entire industry rests in the balance.

(Vivek Menezes is a writer and photographer based in Goa.)

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Beach, business or caution? Goa's anxieties are rising - Mint

ITV's Heartbeat followed the lives of residents, police and medical staff in North Riding of Yorkshire's towns of Ashfordly and Aidensfield.

Based on Nicholas Rhea's the 'Constable' books, the drama series began in 1992 and ended in 2010.

The show, which had actors such as Nick Berry, Mark Jordon and Tricia Penrose, had 18 seasons and 372 episodes.

READ MORE:ITV Emmerdale flooded with Ofcom complaints after gruesome murder of Aaron Dingle's boyfriend

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One star who also starred in the series is Aisln McGuckin.

The actress, 47, played the role of Dr Liz Merrick between 2003 and 2004.

Not the only star in her family, Aisln was married to actor Aidan McArdle from 2004 to 2019. The former couple share three children together - Mireille, Lorcan, and Senan.

Cousins with fellow actor and comedian Steve Coogan, 56, Aidan has appeared in movies and shows such as Ella Enchanted, The Borderlands, Garrow's Law, Sleeping Murder and Clean Break.

Speaking about acting, he told Independent.ie : "Well, making a living as an actor is a type of success I suppose, but I'm not famous. If I had a barometer of success for acting it would be that you don't have to audition but that is quite a high bar, even very well known actors often have to do that.

"Money is important, but I don't think I'd give it up even if I was loaded."

Steve Coogan is best known for playing his comedic role of Alan Partridge, a broadcaster who is socially awkward and politically incorrect.

Steve has also starred in the comedy series The Trip with Rob Brydon and the 2006 movie Night At The Museum.

If you have a TV/Showbiz story email tvandshowbiz@mylondon.news

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Read this article:
ITV: The Heartbeat star whose ex-husband is related to Alan Partridge legend Steve Coogan - My London

EVERY FAMILY HAS ONE. You must know the sort. One of the Baby Boom generation, who desperately wishes he wasnt. He looks in the mirror and sees more and more grey hairs. His face, too, is changing. Sagging, folding, failing: his increasingly unfamiliar features all appear to have given up resisting the relentless tug of gravity and old age. But, even as his body surrenders, this guys spirit is goaded into ever greater feats of derring-do. The man may be getting older, but the ideas he espouses grow younger with every passing year.

If youre especially unlucky youll end up being seated next to this guy lets call him Cousin Simon at Christmas Dinner. Some small inkling of what youre in for comes from the weird language he speaks. He talks about all sorts of important things happening in this space and promises to send the deets to your device. Far from being reproached by your furrowed brow, he delights in your obvious incomprehension. The two of you may be roughly the same age, but he, at least, remains tuned to the frequency of youth.

Watching him watching the rest of the family, you just know hes waiting for some poor sod to say something requiring his beneficent intervention. You dont have to be a rocket scientist to work out who its likely to be. Your other cousin, Murray, has been a dairy farmer all his life and has a powerful set of politically incorrect views to prove it. To make matters worse, Murray derives obvious pleasure from winding Simon up.

Youd be disappointed with the COP26 fiasco, Simon. With the atmosphere warming up, all that hot air was probably the last thing the planet needed! But, for my money, the best story to come out of the whole conference was the news item that Royal Air Force cargo planes had to make dozens and dozens of flights between London and Glasgow to ensure that all the big-wigs had suitably flash limousines in which to travel back and forth to the conference venue. Thats quite a carbon footprint!

Simons brow furrows and he lets out a long sigh.

Those are the sort of stories climate inactivists seize upon to discredit what is actually the incredibly important work of international gatherings like COP26. It is vital, when discussing Climate Change, Murray, to keep your eyes on the Big Picture.

Murrays grin should have warned Simon that he was walking into an ambush.

Ah, yes, the Big Picture, youre so right, Simon. Keeping our eyes on the Big Picture is important. The problem, of course, is trying to locate New Zealand in the overall composition. Because, if the Big Picture of Co2 emissions covers 1,000 square centimetres of canvass, New Zealands share of the surface amounts to just 17 square centimetres. Youve got to get up real close to even see our contribution to the problem. So, even if we were to paint over all our GGE sins, it would take a pretty sharp-eyed observer to even notice theyd gone.

Simon shook his head in that infuriating more in sorrow than in anger way he has perfected.

But, Murray, thats a bit like saying there was no need for New Zealand to have participated in World War II, because our contribution to the final victory over fascism was almost too small to measure. Regardless of our size, we did the best we could we played our part. Doing our bit in the fight against Climate Change is equally important. Even the smallest of contributions counts for something.

Murray put down his knife and fork and snorted derisively.

No, it doesnt, Simon. And, your comparison with World War II just doesnt hold water. How long do you think New Zealand would have persisted voluntarily if its participation in the war effort was rapidly destroying its economy, throwing tens-of-thousands of people out of work, and causing its social fabric to disintegrate? This country did bloody well out of the War. The Brits took everything we could load into a freighters hold. But, when fighting achieves nothing but the destruction of everything people hold dear, well, then they stop fighting. How long did the Norwegians hold out? The Belgians? The Dutch? The bloody French? The damage we would have to inflict upon ourselves to make the slightest impact on our emissions is just too great. New Zealanders wont stand for it.

Simon stared hard at Murray. The table fell silent.

So, what are you saying, Murray? That we should just give up?

Murray sighed.

What Im saying, Simon, is that the idea we can do something is just nonsense. Our entire civilisation was built with the energy derived from the burning of fossil fuels. Take away its fossil fuel and our civilisation collapses. Its just that simple, Simon. We simply have no choice but to go on doing what weve always done. You shake your head? Well, think about this. Europe is suffering from an acute fuel shortage and winter is fast approaching. Without heating oil, without natural gas, and, yes, without that terrible stuff called coal, Europeans will freeze. Do you really think their governments are going to tell them: Rug-up folks! Were fighting global warming! Not a chance. Theyre going to keep the lights on and the central heating working no matter what.

Simon, was having none of it.

Thats just bullshit, Murray! Europe has made huge strides in bringing alternative energy sources into the mix. The technology is there its being used right now!

Murray let loose another guffaw.

Europe? North America? Australasia? Oh sure. They can play at fighting climate change because all the industrial grunt work is being done in other parts of the planet. Take a look at what powers the machines of China, India, Brazil, Nigeria, South Africa it aint windmills and solar panels, Simon thats for sure! Dont you get it? If these workshops of the world stop using fossil fuels, then nothing gets made. You think weve got supply-chain problems now, with Covid? Just wait until another thousand Chinese factories shut down for want of the electricity generated by coal-fired power plants! And then you tell me, Simon, when those factories are no long creating profits, how are the Chinese supposed to pay for New Zealands Milk Powder?

Oh boy! This was about to get just a little too hot for Christmas Day. Thank God Murrays wife was thinking the same thing.

Come on everybody, thats enough politics. Your Christmas Dinners getting cold. Murray, why dont you go and get Simon another glass of chilled Chardonnay. He looks like he could use one!

See original here:
Sitting Next To Cousin Simon - thedailyblog.co.nz