#the notes are full of people criticizing that method (rightfully)

[theghostofashton]

.

#i keep thinking about that post from yesterday abt like someone using a ratio of 1 kudos to 10 hits to decide if a fic is worth trying #the notes are full of people criticizing that method (rightfully) #but i also think there's something to be said about the critiques writers get for caring about stats #yet at the same time people admitting shit like this #like how can you scoff at writers for being upset their fics have low hits or kudos or whatever #if that is how people decide what fics are 'worthy of their time' #as someone who for a period of time had such an unhealthy relationship with stats #it really is just such a vicious cycle like you always want more and you keep increasing the number in your head #you're aiming for a certain number regularly until that number becomes consistent and then you want more #it just never stops and you find yourself focused more on that than anything else #there was a point where i was writing whatever i could rushing stuff out in like an hour because i was so desperate for comments #i'm so glad to have let that mindset go but like #if we want to let it go entirely as fic writers readers need to also not be saying shit like this #if you don't want stats to matter stop insisting that they do #there is genuinely so much that goes into why certain fics get more popular and others don't #having so much to do with what's going on in the fandom or what happened in the media or what the fic is about #it's variable and inconsistent as fuck and that's why tying your self worth to it is guaranteed to be upsetting #sometimes just the way people go in on fic writers for......daring to want people to read stuff we worked hard on is just so. beyond words #it is natural and normal to want attention on something you've created when you share it publicly. there is nothing wrong w that #idk idk what my point is here just. be kind to fic authors #read fics with 'low stats' #read things that look interesting remember every person posting fic is just someone who loves the thing they're writing about #so much that they wanted to share it with you #don't lose sight of that #neha rambles

[kob131]

Here’s a question for everyone- Give me your full thoughts on how the Fanaus/White Fang plotline worked out for you.

I’ll give mine to start.

It’s...alright.

I’ve heard a lot of people say that it was racist to have the Fanaus group (stand-ins for minorities) be bad guys because it supposedly demonized civil rights groups. But from my perspective, that’s just...kind of how those things crumble in the end. Most revolutions, if they succeed, tend to devolve into anarchy if not outright power grabs with stuff like The American Revolution and the Civil Rights Movement being exceptions to the rule. 

Hell, the American Revolution had a sister revolt in the form of the French Revolution which spawned ideas like ‘hey maybe we shouldn’t enslave other people for *insert stupid reason here*’. It also devolved rapidly into dictatorship after dictatorship, a clusterfuck of human rights violations until ultimately being undone within 30 years of the revolt.

And the reason why this seems to happen, boiling it down from the various and complicated factors, is because the revolutionaries lacked hardline morals and goals. If you’re, say, operating under the idea that you are fighting for your people and thus all your interests are for their sake- who cares if you behead a couple hundred or so of your fellows for daring to criticize you? Who cares if you start limiting their rights? You’re not a member of the elite so of course it isn’t oppression! 

Hardline goals and morals help stave off that natural slippery slope we all walk alongside in life. It gives a clear end to your actions, to your role as a rebel and shows you where you go wrong. And the WF kind of lost that, like many revolutions.

It’s also kind of hard to call it racist when the stand ins for racist white people are...far worse people. Like, bitch about people like Corsec/Fennec and Sienna but they’re better people than say...Cardin and Roman Torchwick. Hell, for all the complaints about Adam being a one note bad guy- he at least had a reason for why he acted the way he did and was treated as an actual threat. What reason does Jacques have to be so greedy? None, he’s just greedy. Is he treated like a legitimate threat? No, he’s a cowardly, sniveling little snake.

Even the best of both sides are treated very differently. Blake is never brought into question for her ideals or methods while Weiss gets shat on for her beliefs and actions. Rightfully so...but notice how there isn’t a shred of sympathy or even ‘he has a point’ on the human end? If it’s really racist, then wouldn’t the racism be against the group that’s portrayed as one-dimensionally evil?

... Yeah. this is why I don’t buy into the racism stuff.

That isn’t to say this is perfect mind you. In fact, when it comes to the worldbuilding aspect of the WF plotline, it kind of falls apart. We rarely see any actual discrimination against the Fanaus and what we do see is, again, from characters depicted as pathetic or evil, if not both. We get some small details like a ‘No Fanaus Allowed’ sign or the Fanaus of Mantle being forced into the rundown crater underneath Atlas. Hell, we get an example of someone who suffered from racism (Illa). But...since so much of it is small details or done by morally bankrupt people, it makes it seem like racism is this long decided evil like it is in modern society. When logically, racism should be more socially accepted and done by generally good people as well as bad ones.

All of this would go to show how desperate the situation in Remnant is for the Fanaus thus justifying why the WF became so radical in the first place. I think that’s the true failing of the plotline.

P.S. There probably should have been another leader between Sienna and Ghira to give a smoother decline to Adam’s radicalism. Because going from ‘we must be above them’ to ‘it’s okay to use violence and fear to gain rights’ is a pretty huge leap. There should have been someone holding a stance like ‘We should be allowed to defend ourselves from the human’s attacking us’.

[science-jules]

Triggers, tipping points, and tribulations: the need for more effective communication of climate change risks

These days, when one hears the words “climate change”, side effects can span from a dreadful anxiety about the end of life as we know it to blinding and incalculable rage. The words are also usually accompanied by even more distressing descriptors like “catastrophic”, “apocalyptic”, “irreversible”, and “worse than initially anticipated”. These words all have the same principal function: to alarm. Some academics argue that the use of this kind of alarmist language is tragically unproductive and has only served to increase cases of climate anxiety and bolster the activity of doomsday-prepping extremists and die-hard climate-deniers alike. Others maintain that downplaying the urgency of the climate crisis is more detrimental to society and that an alarmist (or, “realistic”) approach is our only existing hope for motivating the kind of social change we need—so how do we tease apart the truth in a tangled web of misinformation, alarmism, and myth? A subject of great public interest and anxiety is trying to determine whether we are closer than ever to inciting actual, positive change with respect to attitudes about our changing climate, or simply circling the drain. Social attitudes are powerful drivers of global change, but it is not clear how we can shift the discourse in such a huge way to actually motivate this change. To understand, it’s worth examining how close we really are to a “social tipping point” in favour of climate change, and whether or not alarmism is the most effective means of triggering a shift in social attitudes.

If you’ve ever taken a population ecology course, you might remember that in nature, populations growing at an exponential and unstable rate will eventually reach a critical threshold and be forced back to stable conditions. In a recent paper, researchers report that social tipping points (STPs) tend to mirror those that occur in nature, meaning that once a critical threshold is reached, biological systems have an inherent knack for reverting back to homeostasis on the edge of disaster. Social tipping points can occur after pressure builds gradually around a global social stressor until a resounding event triggers cascading changes that lead inevitably to a steady, stable state. Depending on what side of a debate you’re on, these changes can be good or bad. The research is built on an analysis of many similar historic events in human history—the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand as a tipping point that prompted World War I, or the famed 1952 Reader’s Digest article that exposed the beloved cigarette as a cancer-causing menace and caused the greatest decline in cigarette sales since the Depression. Some climate scientists believe that the world is on the brink of a social tipping point with respect to climate change. Unfortunately, scientists have no idea how to get there. The research is compelling but dense, and incredibly challenging to preempt or model as there aren’t any truly reliable historical comparatives—the issue of climate change is fundamentally different from any other major divisive social issue in human history. While it may be clear that a social tipping point in favour of climate change is our only hope in remedying the climate crisis, how do we expect to trigger it?

Global surges in climate activism have emphasized that the goal of these activists is often to amplify and dramatize climate change risks in an effort to prompt the creation of and influence existing climate policy and legislation. You wouldn’t be alone in thinking that this doesn’t seem so bad at first—how else would one who is rightfully apprehensive about a very real threat communicate their fears and motivate others to act? The authors of a 2007 study examining attitudes surrounding climate change caution against this kind of approach, James Risbey noted that this distressing but not-so-novel method of communicating climate change uses fear and shame as primary vehicles for the effectuation of positive change—an effort that is doomed to be counterproductive. When activist groups are called out for hyperbolizing the facts, it only strengthens the divide and climate activists and scientists alike are grouped together and stripped of credibility. More often than not, climate scientists are trying to stress that recent research into the adverse effects of climate change are justifiably alarming but only if we continue to do nothing to remedy our current emissions. This discourse differs from climate “alarmism” perpetuated by activist groups in that these changes aren’t thought to be apocalyptic or irreversible yet, but that the public needs to be alerted to the very real and substantial threat that climate change poses if immediate action isn’t taken. All things considered, it would appear as though climate scientists and academics aren’t being needlessly and recklessly alarmist about climate change – they’re simply voicing their very honest and legitimate opinions based on their exhaustive findings. The vendetta that most climate-deniers harbor against climate scientists has less to do with the actual science and more to do with how it is communicated.

Recently, some very important measures have been taken to try and remedy the discourse surrounding climate change. The Yale University Program on Climate Communication has unveiled a new platform, called Constructive, the principal aim of which is to provide the public with crystal-clear, digestible, concise science concerning climate change. They understand that the climate divide is also an issue of trust: for many, the reassurance from their peers and political idols that there is no cause for alarm is enough. By providing an accessible platform and presenting scientific content and data in a simple and engaging manner, the YUPCC argues they can help people understand why exactly these findings are critical and what factors inherently place folks on either side of the partisan divide. They report that things already appear to be looking up: in the US, there’s been a recent surge of voter concern surrounding climate change (Figure I). The YUPCC are not alone in their belief that the active inclusion and encouraged participation of the public in the discourse is our best bet for mending the social divide on climate change. According to Risbey and his colleagues, when people are given full and open information about a threat and are included in the processes of defining and reacting to it, they are more likely to engage than if given only pieces of the story at a time or limited roles and responsibility. Bottom line: the critical factor is usually not the threat itself but whether it is conveyed in a credible and accessible (and not condescending and abrasive) way. In this way, researchers are optimistic that we can carve a clear and effective path forward. 

Figure I: Attitudes towards climate change in the USA. Modified from data from the YUPCC: “Global Warming’s Six Americas”, March 2015. 

#b4272

[unweavinglies]

Kokichi Ouma, Shuichi Saihara, and the True Nature of the Relationship Between Them.

SO A QUICK DISCLAIMER: Yes, I am very aware that this is most likely not canon, or at least not what the writers intended on being canon, nor am I saying that this is 100% canon and should be considered as such. This is just a fan theory/analysis I came up with for my own enjoyment and wanted to share with others, as I like coming up with theories/analysis posts and reworking canons to make enhanced stories and character development in my perspective. I firmly believe that the idea of making theories isn’t supposed to be a shouting contest to see which opinion is the most loud and correct, but should be something to share with others and find acceptance and understanding in different interpretations, even if you don’t agree with them.

So lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of people debating on the true nature of Shuichi’s and Kokichi’s relationship is, an it got me pretty inspired to do an analysis on the two, how they interact with one another, and bring my own conclusion to the table as to what these two characters relate to one another, and their relationship’s true nature.

Note, this isn’t about shipping, but more so an analysis of how the two characters behave with one another. I will still be tagging this with the ship’s names, however.

So without further adieu, let’s talk about the relationship between Shuichi Saihara and Kokichi Ouma.

Now first and foremost, we have to set some ground rules in order to properly analyze what kind of nature these two characters have with one another, and it’s going to need some ground rules due to different situations and modes.

Here are my rules for this analysis:

We are ignoring the main narrative all together. Aside from Shuichi’s Free Time Events with Kokichi, the main narrative of Danganronpa V3 has no place here. Why? Well to put it bluntly, it is a skewed and unfair narrative for this analysis. You cannot truly judge a relationship’s potential and nature by using the actions and words said during a high intense, stressful situation like a Killing Game. If we want to discover the real, true nature of Kokichi and Shuichi’s relationship, we have to ignore narratives that put them under intense, stressful situations, as people do not think rationally or coherently during such situations, and can make very grave and terrible mistakes they otherwise wouldn’t. So the main narrative just has no place here.

I’m going to be analyzing them, but player input is going to be taken with quite a grain of salt. Because the player is having Shuichi say and act in a certain way, it’s difficult to say which answer Shuichi is the most in character saying. This is an especially important rule for Salmon Mode, since player input is very much crucial to the outcome of the dates/date mode.

Speaking of Salmon Mode, I’m going to probably take Shuichi’s “best answers” (AKA the best routes) as the most critical for information, for a few reasons. The biggest reason is that Salmon Mode’s main objective is to make the other character (in this case, Kokichi) swoon for Shuichi in one way or another. Because this is the main objective, I’m going to take the other answers as obstacles for the player, and not necessarily Shuichi’s true dialogue. Salmon Mode is essentially a dating game, and like all dating games, there have to be ways for the player to “fail.” With this in mind, the other answers Shuichi can give are “ways for the player to fail” rather than “Shuichi’s true dialogue.” 

With these rules in mind, let’s finally start analyzing the relationship between Kokichi and Shuichi! First, let’s start with the Free Time Events.

I’d like to call the Free Time Events part one of a two part journey of Shuichi coming to know Kokichi as a person. Because Kokichi is a compulsive liar and has a lot of walls, there isn’t much to be said about their relationship at all here. Unfortunately, that’s because Kokichi isn’t really letting Shuichi in and Shuichi isn’t used to this kind of behavior. 

Shuichi finds Kokichi’s mind games mentally and physically exhausting and difficult to deal with. Considering the idea is that Shuichi is trying to reach out to Kokichi and Kokichi’s response is to toy with him mentally and emotionally, it’s not really much of a surprise that Shuichi sees Kokichi as frustrating, and is even annoyed with Kokichi for messign with him. Shuichi’s after the fact remarks for the third Free Time Event even has Shuichi saying Kokichi laughed in his face, implying Shuichi thinks Kokichi is making fun of him or being malicious. Shuichi doesn’t quiet yet realize that Kokichi is actually opening up to him, little by little, even if he’s lying and mentally challenging him. 

Kokichi had these “events” planned out from the start. Once Shuichi approached him, Kokichi’s plan was set into motion. He “accidentally” told Shuichi some... not very insightful information about his organization that may or may-not be true in order to make the excuse that he had to “kill” him for knowing too much. The next four events are all carefully planned situations that implies Kokichi’s loneliness: rigging the card game to have two sevens at the top, dragging Shuichi to afternoon tea to try to bribe him to join D.I.C.E., throwing the one-hundred games of rock paper scissors in the fourth, and purposefully cutting his finger during the knife game in the fifth. All of these events, plus Kokichi’s exclamation of how many “events” Shuichi has left in order to win his right to “live,” points to Kokichi adamantly planning these games that are rigged for ties or against himself just to spend time with Shuichi.

The two events I think that have Shuichi just barely starting to understand Kokichi’s true intentions are the last to events--the rock paper scissors games, and the knife game.

Let’s talk about the Rock Paper Scissors game first.

To summarize the main bulk of the event, Kokichi gets Shuichi to play rock paper scissors with him, but they end up playing about one-hundred games, and all of them end with a draw. At first, it might seem like it was all dumb luck, however...

Kokichi reveals the trick, and pretty much also reveals to us that the other games in his events are rigged against him.

Shuichi doesn’t just dismiss this, either. He catches on pretty quickly that Kokichi had been purposefully putting out the same as him to result in the one-hundred draws.

And when Kokichi back pedals into lying and saying Shuichi just has good luck...

Shuichi doesn’t believe him.

Instead of assuming Kokichi to have the most malicious intent (that being him lying about there being a way to put out the same thing in rock paper scissors just to mess with his head) Shuichi actually considers Kokichi’s first admission to be true, which is... a pretty good step in the right direction. 

Shuichi may not reach to a complete understanding by the end of these events, but he is starting to. Most of that is shown in Salmon Mode, so I’ll be getting to those in a little bit. For now, let’s look at the conclusion of the Free Time Events.

I think that these three lines of texts really do stand out as proof that Shuichi is, slowly, starting to understand Kokichi and what it means to be close to him.

Just before this, Kokichi admitted that the “killing him” thing was all just a big lie, and Shuichi is... very rightfully frustrated with him over it. Yet Shuichi extends his hand to Kokichi. It’s a very odd gesture for someone that isn’t truly trying to understand or relate to Kokichi. Shuichi still, unfortunately, isn’t close enough for Kokichi to feel comfortable being vulnerable and honest with him, and Shuichi has come to that realization when Kokichi doesn’t take his hand.

Shuichi is reaching out to Kokichi, but in all the wrong ways. His efforts are appreciated, but going about his relationship with Kokichi isn’t going to work, and that’s what these lines represent. Shuichi has been trying to reach out to Kokichi and understand him, learn the truth about him, but is frustrated when the more traditional methods of getting to know someone aren’t working and it seems like Kokichi is just toying with him for fun, or otherwise not interested in a friendship.

However, through Kokichi’s admission after the one-hundred games of Rock Paper Scissors, and Kokichi refusing to take his hand, he’s coming to understand that if he wants to be friends with Kokichi, he has to try a different approach. That Kokichi wasn’t just doing these things to mess with his head--there was more under the surface, something that Kokichi himself can’t quite reveal comfortably yet, and Shuichi’s demand for openness and honesty is trying to push Kokichi into very uncomfortable conversations that Kokichi very clearly is not ready to have.

This reflects a lot in Kokichi’s Salmon Mode Dating events as well, which I consider phase two of their relationship. The best routes are often where Kokichi is able to keep things at his own pace, where Shuichi isn’t trying to observe Kokichi or trying to piece him together like a puzzle. When Kokichi can freely lie, and Shuichi just accepts his lies rather than take them seriously or fight him, Kokichi has the most fun. 

The worst routes are when Shuichi still tries to get to know Kokichi in the more traditional sense, not letting Kokichi open up on his own terms and trying to force some kind of truth out of him--even like simply observing Kokichi/watching Kokichi makes Kokichi uncomfortable. Things that are also bad routes include: Kokichi feeling under stimulated and bored and Shuichi implying Kokichi is boring him.

The same can be said for the Harmonious Heart Event with Kokichi as well. I already did a full, in-depth analysis on the event here, but the results of the event also correlate with this analysis as well--in that Kokichi and Shuichi’s best interactions are when Shuichi accepts that Kokichi is a liar, will always be a liar, and that’s not changing anytime soon. The worst routes are when Shuichi tries to force Kokichi into being honest with him, disregarding Kokichi’s own personal comfort.

Finally, let’s talk about the Graduation Event.

Kokichi’s graduation event in Salmon Mode, AKA when Shuichi and Kokichi are the closest they can be to one another/the player has the best routes/heart events in Salmon Mode. Meaning to get this event, you have to have the best relationship with Kokichi--which is the end goal/objective of this mode, thus why the best routes/good routes are more valuable here than the bad routes.

The ending to the event is the most interesting and telling of their relationship:

Shuichi seems genuinely surprised by Kokichi’s offer to continue being friends or having this relationship with one another even outside of the school. Considering how distant and closed off to his true intentions Kokichi was, it’s not actually all that surprising that this took Shuichi off guard. Unlike in the Free Time Events where Shuichi was trying to reach out to Kokichi, now it’s the opposite--Kokichi has become comfortable enough with Shuichi that he is reaching out to Shuichi.

Knowing how Kokichi thinks and how he keeps his heart under several locks and keys, this is a very big deal. Kokichi opening up to Shuichi, being comfortable enough with him to reach out to him in his own way, means Shuichi has become someone he has grown to trust. Someone he cares about, and someone he doesn’t want to leave his side.

Once Shuichi stops trying to force Kokichi to be honest with him, and stops trying to pick him apart like a puzzle and learns to enjoy his company, is when their relationship truly starts to shine. The less Shuichi pushes, the more comfortable Kokichi gets with him, and thus the more willing Kokichi is to talk to him about the truth of his past, who he is and open up in a way he hadn’t previously before. With gentleness and patience, Shuichi has earned Kokichi’s genuine, wholehearted trust.

And he seems to understand that--of course, like anyone who wants to get closer to someone, he wants to know more about Kokichi. That’s just a natural instinct, which is why Shuichi was so frustrated in the Free Time Events. He wanted to get closer when Kokichi wasn’t ready to open up and tried to push him in that way, but then realizes that if he wants to genuinely be closer to Kokichi, he has to learn how to be patient and wait for Kokichi to open up to him on his own terms. It’s a privilege he has earned, and he understood that.

Describing the warmth of Kokichi’s hand, and the direct parallels to the Free Time Events in general, show how much they’ve both grown in retrospect to one another. Shuichi coming to understand that patience, open mindedness, and gentleness are necessities when befriending Kokichi, and Kokichi finally feeling comfortable to let down those walls and open up to Shuichi in a way that few people probably have ever gotten him to do. Kokichi being the one to offer his hand to shake, and Shuichi describing the warmth that Kokichi can’t hide represents these feelings for one another. Trust, and understanding. 

So, in conclusion... what is the true nature of Shuichi’s and Kokichi’s relationship?

Well, it’s about the kind of relationship you might encounter when meeting someone anxious, shy, and afraid--and no, we’re not talking about Shuichi here. Shuichi was the one who approached Kokichi, and continued to approach him, trying to reach out to him and befriend him even when Kokichi shut him out in such a strange way, even with the strange push and pull Kokichi had on him--wanting Shuichi to be around, but not get too close. Kokichi is the one afraid, the one that’s anxious about opening up and is quite shy in that regard. Why else would he be so uncomfortable with Shuichi prodding him for information? He’s got something to hide, something he’s not comfortable sharing with just anyone, something that seems to be directly related to how he behaves and acts from how little he is willing to talk about himself. It suggests a potential fear of rejection, or a fear of something in general.

Kokichi is the kind of person that is difficult to befriend if you don’t know how to approach him, and that’s exactly the kind of situation Shuichi finds himself in when trying to befriend Kokichi. Frustrating, lost and confused, feeling shut out and toyed with, but then slowly coming to the realization of what kind of path is necessary when dealing with someone as locked up as Kokichi. Learning to shove down his own curiosity and desire to know Kokichi in a way before Kokichi feels comfortable expressing, finding ways to enjoy his time spent with Kokichi without being too preoccupied with not understanding him entirely, and eventually, that kind of patience being rewarded with trust and warmth, and the promise of truth and openness.

That concludes my analysis on Kokichi and Shuichi’s relationship! I hope you enjoyed my thoughts an conclusions! Either way, have a good day/night!

#kokichi ouma #shuichi saihara #saihara shuuichi #kokichi oma #oumasai #saiouma #theory #analysis

[sweetsmellosuccess]

TIFF 2019: Day 4

Films: 4 Best Film of the Day: Marriage Story

The Burnt Orange Heresy: Elizabeth Debicki, rightfully lauded for her role in Widows, proves to be anything f but a flash in the pan in Giuseppe Capotondi‘s smartly sophisticated art forgery thriller. She plays Berenice, despite her stunning, willowy beauty, a small town girl from near Duluth, who falls in with an egoist opportunist art critic, James Figueras (Claes Bang), who’s just published a book called, hilariously, The Power of the Critic. He is given an opportunity to meet and interview a famously reclusive artist (Donald Sutherland) who lives on the estate of a wealthy art baron (Mick Jagger) but the catch is, he also has to procure one of the recalcitrant artist’s works, for his conniving benefactor, or suffer the humiliation of having his criminal past exposed by the blackmail-positive millionaire. As Berenice gets unwittingly sucked into Figuera‘s sordid scheme, she befriends the artist and is opposed to doing anything that crosses him. Sweet, breezy, and charming, Debicki acts as the soul of the film. In a milieu in which nearly everyone is one sort of masked monster or other, she is refreshingly candid without being naive. Based on the novel by Charles Willeford, the film briskly moves through its paces, clouding the waters with the schemes of duplicitous men, who’s have sold out any love of art for their greater obsession of cash and prestige. A literary thriller in the vein of The Talented Mr. Ripley, it’s become a genre all too rare in the era of blockbuster bravado. This film will remind you what a mistake that is.

Color Out of Space: At this point, I feel that it’s actually in Nic Cage’s contract that every film has to somehow result with him screaming as blood spatters his face. He doesn’t so much as act anymore, as he produces quick, quirky sound bites that are almost certain to go viral. His new film, a bloody sci-fi mess directed by Richard Stanley, based on an H.P. Lovecraft story, has him as a family man living on his father’s old country house. When a meteorite strikes his front lawn, things start shimmering a lot and morphing into gelatinous, rabid monster mutations. Naturally, the meteorite also affects the family’s mental grip – or at least Cage’s anyway (actually, maybe that one you can’t pin on the meteorite) – such that the actor has many chances to speak his lines as outrageously as possible. It has nearly always been Cage’s penchant, rather than developing full-bodied characters, to rely upon his nuthouse delivery (much mileage is attained simply by having him say the word “alpaca” over and over) to do the work of making his performance interesting. It has worked out pretty well for him, I suppose, but it actually tends to diminish the work of those around him, which seems like a raw deal.

Marriage Story: Noah Baumbach’s latest film, about the dissolution of married couple – played extraordinarily well by Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson – will no doubt get comparisons made to Bergman’s brilliant Scenes From a Marriage. But whereas that 1972 film concerned the relationship itself, its highs and lows and metamorphoses, Baumbach’s film is much more about the logistics, legal and otherwise, of ending a very much shared life together. Driver plays Charlie, a driven avant garde theater director of a small troupe in Brooklyn, of which Nicole (Johansson) is a starring member. When Nicole gets an offer to shoot a TV pilot in L.A., she jumps at the chance to go back home, taking their young son with her. As the film begins, they have already agreed to the split, Charlie wanting to eschew lawyers and keep things amicable as possible. Nicole, however, quickly hires a high-power lawyer (Laura Dern), forcing Charlie to do the same, and thus ensues the brutal obscenity of having lawyers set the narrative back and forth of what used to be a committed, loving relationship. As with Scenes, there is one extraordinary scene near the end in which the characters lay bare their darkest feelings for one another. In it, Driver, who is known for his enormous power and force as an actor, is matched in authority by Johansson, in what has to be considered a command performance from the pair of them. It’s a fantastic film, laced with Baumbach’s usual mixture of pathos, humor, cringe-making truths, and unflinching vulnerability. While it has its harrowing moments, thought to be at least semi-autobiographical (the director divorced actress Jennifer Jason Leigh a few years back), it’s interesting to note the film doesn’t end in depressing finality; but rather on a more hopeful note, speaking as to the ways in which two caring people can ultimately redirect their lives.

Ema: To be fair, by the time I made it to Pablo Larraín’s film, about a young dancer, Ema (Mariana di Girolamo), who, along with her estranged husband (Gael García Bernal), her choreographer, return a difficult child they adopted back into foster care, and regret the decision, I was utterly exhausted. Thus, Lorraín’s intentionally obtuse storytelling method (for reasons only really made clear in the film’s last minutes, Ema keeps donning a flame thrower and burning things throughout Santiago), in which characters do and say confounding things, was particularly difficult for me to interpret. I was more than ready to throw the towel in on it, but in the end, I’m sincerely glad I stayed, because it’s only at the end in which all of Ema’s bizarre, seemingly random actions, prove to have been part of a much more coherent plan than the audience is expecting. It is visually striking, and structurally formidable, but I would strongly suggest having a good amount of rest before tackling it.

Tomorrow: I begin my day with Cory Finley’s Bad Education; flit over to the documentary, Desert One; and then a public screening of Steven Soderbergh’s The Laundromat; before closing out with another public screening, the Safdie brothers’ Uncut Gems.

Photo: Marriage Story

#sweet smell of success #ssos #piers marchant #films #movies #tiff 2019 #toronto international film festival #marriage story #noah baumbach #scarlett johansson #adam driver #ema #Color out of space #nic cage #h.p. lovecraft #the burnt orange heresy #elizabeth debicki #charles willeford #arkansas democrat gazette

[sugar-petals]

Sub!RM Analysis: The Case of Jessi

On request by anon. As always... With body language! ❤️

Previous analyses: Sub!BTS ◆ Sub!JK ◆ Sub!Yoongi (pt.2, pt.3) ◆ Sub!Tae/Hobi/Joon

One thing’s for sure: Namjoon gets active being courteous with assertive ladies. He becomes super focused, gets excited easily (read: horny), makes tremendous efforts, is flirtatious, shy, cute. I reckon no other member in Bangtan can be as suave as RM. Not even Jimin. Who’s the Prince of Charm as we know. But it’s all a bit chaotic, extroverted, and depends on the mood. Namjoon is so deliberate being consistently smooth, the understated way. And herein lies his strong point: He knows the method of how to always put her first. 

Now our interest here is how that goes together with his submissive side. A perfect exhibit of how Namjoon gravitates toward dominant women, gets along well, and is being suave, where do we find something like that. I think we can actually get quite a lot out of the first mins of Hello Counselor, May 2015. In which Namjoon was conveniently seated next to the domme in charge: Jessi. We all know what she prefers:

Jessi’s dominant through and through: public image, behind the scenes — even if she can be gentle, on stage. It’s true that she amps it up there, don’t get me wrong. But she is known for a very direct approach in person wherever she goes, and has always hinted at being similar sexually speaking in her songs, from Noona Kinks to leashes:

She’s a good, close to foolproof example if we want to look at dommes. RM, believe it or not, met her, they interacted a lot, and something surprising happened. 

1:42 It’s already the first scene and he’s at it. Jessi, being her dominant self, is confronting the MC quite confidently. And what does RM do? He shifts his body closer to her. He didn’t look like he noticed. I did. Caught you, Joon.

2:07 Now that Jessi is at full throttle taking over the show as always, Joon gets coy. He looks down and fiddles with his cuff. Boy’s nervous. Look at that smol bean.

2:14 Unlike Taehyung, Joon looks at her performance smiling and stares. He nods his head along to the rap but then tries to avoid looking at her? No, His eyes go up to the left, upwards. That means accessing memory, emotion, and thinking. He’s analyzing what she says, too. Note his entire body’s moving to the rhythm while most of the other cast members sit still. That guy is feeling it and tries to figure her out at the same time. 

2:38 More nervousness. This time: touching the calves. He often caresses himself to be calmer. His rap intonation is strangely sharp there, obviously, he’s trying to impress but not overshadow her because he keeps it brief. Jessi, of course, is super happy and claps, flips her hair to the side. Acknowledgement!

3:34 More peacocking. Namjoon clumsily dances backwards right into her zone but his face says smug. That was no coincidence. He looks back at her twice. She imitates the moves. He’s satisfied with the results and looks at Tae like good job! Now Jessi is a bit nervous and fiddles at her tank top. She always pushes her hair back to flirt, exposing the neck (pheromones, showing an erogenous area to kiss, you know how it goes), and guess on which side? Namjoon’s. 

4:08 They’re back to the start: Namjoon messing with his own shirt. A minute later, it’s his plushie pillow. Do you see how they went back and forth? That’s mirroring — aka they like each other. You’ll see it all over, especially when both clasp their hands the same way. It’s good chemistry, a good dynamic.

6:04 A classic tough-minded joke by Jessi. Nobody looks at her laughing except Namjoon who is genuinely giggling with her turning his head. But downwards, looking at her from below. Subservience! As he does that, her front foot shifts towards him! Then, they lean their bodies to the exact same side. 

9:01 Again, their bodies sync to align. Joon is busy stroking his calf again. Then laughs his ass off to ease the awkward tension when Jessi gets a negative spotlight and super pissed since she fits the rapper stereotype that the mom criticizes. He also sends sceptical, uneasy gazes and a crooked smile to the mom. You can tell by the expression, “oh dear, what does she say to Jessi next...”

9:45 They almost touch! By him pointing at Jessi’s knees during the torn jeans joke. And he uses both hands for that, not just one, wtf! Even a flat palm just hovering there lmao. Physical Freudian slip, that guy is dying to touch her but won’t since he catches himself (good boy). Jessi, however, is leaning back either way, it’s unclear whether he dodges or not since she faces the other way in the first place. She is rather uncomfortable at more negative focus on her created by the hosts, so Namjoon again tried to ease the situation. 

Meanwhile, they have completely synchronized their positions — Jessi crossed her legs, Namjoon clasped his hands, both got themselves a pillow to hold on their lap: 

Notice again how she keeps her hair to the other side so he can see her face/expression.

12:38 Perfect simultaneous head turn! 

13:16 While Jessi has a mad as fuck glare toward the rude daughter, Namjoon is busy pulling his lip down with his pinky and thumb? What! Like hello madam, don’t mind the drama, how about kisses instead (remember her neck display earlier. it fits). Again, he tries to distract from Jessi getting into trouble. It’s really a consistent topic how he accommodates.

When she is very straightforward, RM says appeasing things. It’s striking that he doesn’t get aggressive, offended, contemptuous, or tries to resist like most men Jessi rightfully calls out but works his way around being diplomatic. Even if he is not part of the conflict, he still backs her up, and that says something about how selfless his affection is apart from wanting to seize her attention.

I think their dominant vs submissive inclinations sort of polarize but right when it gets interesting, they sort of disperse because other people get the screen time. For the rest of the broadcast I just noticed they return to sync pretty often, Jessi looks at him quite intently, and keeps her hair from falling to his side at all times :’) 

So this is what we got. Take a look yourself. I think his behaviour is quite notable: wanting her close, always endorse, impressing her, being pretty nervous because something’s at stake. He’s definitely the kind of sub who will show his fondness quite readily (à la Taehyung or Jimin) instead of going into his shell waiting for initiative. I observed Jungkook and Yoongi doing this many times which is simply their unique manner of doing it. It takes another type of domme for that. Namjoon will be demonstrative and supportive right away on the other hand. And that’s a good closing note describing his way of submission, he has a lot of what I think the modern devoted gentleman can offer a domme.

#jessi #namjoon #sub!namjoon #sub!bts #analysis #namjoon analysis #bts analysis #jessica h.o. #jessi analysis #dom!jessi #sub!taehyung #sub!jimin #sub!yoongi #sub!jungkook #sub!rm #jessi spirit animal #hello counselor #bts headcanon #bangtan analysis #rm analysis

[hedgehog-goulash7]

OK, seriously - I just saw another anti-RDJ post calling him a “racist” because of Tropic Thunder. What people - especially younger people - don’t seem to understand is that Tropic Thunder is a SATIRE that searingly mocks Hollywood’s intrinsic racism and entitled white actors and whitewashing and about a million other things. “Satire” -- for those who may not know -- is “a genre of literature, and sometimes graphic and performing arts, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be humorous, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society” (Wikipedia).

As Rolling Stone noted in its review, the entire point of Tropic Thunder is that it  mocks and jeers at Hollywood as  “a microcosm for a world that has swallowed its own marketing strategy. Every character in Tropic Thunder is delusional.”  RDJ’s portrayal of a sadly delusional white Australian Method actor who goes so far as to dye his skin to get “inside” the black character he’s playing is actually the ANTI-blackface. It’s both making fun of AND making a pointed, morose commentary on Hollywood whitewashing and the lengths the industry has gone to put white actors in roles that should have gone to people of color.

Tropic Thunder is not listed in ANY of the major books or websites that examine the topic of blackface, because it’s well understood that the movie was mocking and speaking out AGAINST blackface and AGAINST racial prejudice in the entertainment industry.  Because that’s what satire does. Salon has a good examination of the whole thing here, and explains why Downey’s portrayal is ultimately a more searing, jeering commentary on white people than it is on black people. Also, for a black critic’s very positive view, see Film Critics United. (If you want more, I have PLENTY more links and critics’ positive views of RDJ’s performance in this movie, but this post would start to get ungodly long...)

The film actually generated more controversy -- rightfully so -- for the line “full retard” than it did for anything related to the blackface issue -- because there WAS no “blackface issue.” Downey’s portrayal of Kirk Lazarus-playing-Lincoln- Osiris was universally praised by all the top critics, it was approved by the NAACP and other organizations -- and Downey’s role landed him nominations for (among other honors) the BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice Award, and the Academy Award. Rest assured that NO ONE would receive those nominations for a racist portrayal. Downey’s was perhaps the most daring, counterintuitive tightrope-walk of a NON-racist portrayal that one could possibly imagine, which is what garnered him the critical and audience praise and the many award nominations.

#tropic thunder #Robert Downey Jr. #SATIRE #fan wank #anti RDJ #pro RDJ

[coin-river-blog]

February 11, 2019 11:10 PM

Hester Peirce wants the SEC to change the way it looks at initial coin offerings and crypto ETFs.

On Friday, February 8, US Securities and Exchange (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce spoke at the University of Missouri School of Law. In her speech, she explained the SEC's role in protecting investors while promoting innovation, analyzed different ways of looking at initial coin offerings (ICOs), and addressed issues with how the SEC has approached crypto-backed exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposals. In talking about these issues, she pushed forward her position that, when it comes to regulating the cryptospace, the SEC needs to develop new methods and ways of thinking.

Commissioner Peirce began by talking about the struggle between entrepreneurs and regulators, noting that most of the time regulators interact with people already in the financial industry. Often, these are larger companies that have established relationships with the SEC and teams specifically designed to deal with regulators. The conflict comes with the entry of new entrepreneurs, in this case, cryptocurrency advocates pushing new ideas. According to Commissioner Peirce, "Regulators, for their part, tend to be skeptical of change because its consequences are difficult to foresee and figuring out how it fits into existing regulatory frameworks is difficult."

The commissioner mentioned that while society is often eager to implement and adopt new and emerging technology, innovation is not always good; it could actually hurt aspects of the economic system the SEC is obligated to safeguard. Peirce thinks that advancements in blockchain and cryptocurrency technology have given the SEC an opportunity to "rethink its approach to innovation and ask how existing rules apply in this space and whether a new regulatory framework would work better." Peirce feels that if the SEC acts "appropriately, we can enable innovation on this new frontier to proceed without compromising the objectives of our securities laws – protecting investors, facilitating capital formation, and ensuring fair, orderly, and efficient markets."

One suggestion Commissioner Peirce has in this regard is to revamp the way the SEC evaluates ICOs. Currently, the SEC uses the Howey test, first developed in 1946, to determine if a project falls under the guidelines of an "investment contract which is a particular type of security that includes some token offerings."

While Commissioner Peirce feels that the Howey test does offer some insight regarding ICOs and securities regulations, she also feels this test is not necessarily the best method because "token offerings do not always map perfectly onto traditional securities offerings." In her speech, the commissioner highlighted a Coin Center report stating that because ICOs are often decentralized, the company conducting the ICO may not control or even own the capital being raised. Furthermore, many of the functions traditionally carried out by "issuers or promoters under securities laws" may be carried out by a group of people or "no one at all."

Commissioner Peirce mentioned that there are many different roles in "token environments," be they mining, development services, or other. She wants the SEC to be careful when applying the Howey test to not be so broad. As an example, she used the SEC's decision to declare DAO tokens securities despite the fact that many investors played key operational roles with the company.

Peirce also fears that some of the SEC's regulations may be too rigid, which can stifle innovation. For this example, she used the closing of Basis, which had to shut down and return $133 million due to difficulties complying with regulations. While she declined to give her thoughts on that particular ICO, Peirce did say she would pay close attention to "legitimate projects" that are hindered by laws and regulations, including crypto ETFs.

Commissioner Peirce has been critical of how the SEC looks at crypto-backed ETF proposals. In her speech, she reiterated these concerns, stating that the SEC approach to these proposals is often "merit-based," which Peirce feels causes the SEC to depend on its own judgment rather than the expertise and insight of investors. Peirce stated:

"We rightfully fault investors for jumping blindly at anything labeled crypto, but at times we seem to be equally impulsive in running away from anything labeled crypto. We owe it to investors to be careful, but we also owe it to them not to define their investment universe with our preferences."

In her speech, Peirce stated that the SEC is working on developing "supplemental guidance" to help investors and company owners determine whether a specific ICO or crypto-related project falls under the scrutiny of securities regulations. On February 10, the SEC tweeted that some guidelines were already available on the SEC website.

Nathan Graham is a full-time staff writer for ETHNews. He lives in Sparks, Nevada, with his wife, Beth, and dog, Kyia. Nathan has a passion for new technology, grant writing, and short stories. He spends his time rafting the American River, playing video games, and writing.

ETHNews is committed to its Editorial Policy

Like what you read? Follow us on Twitter @ETHNews_ to receive the latest Hester Peirce, SEC or other Ethereum law and legislation news.

window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init({ appId : '1761887554082917', xfbml : true, version : 'v2.7' }); }; (function(d, s, id){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));

[localbloggist-blog]

Subsidy on PMS, electricity: Stakeholders weigh options

Mele Kolo Kyari’s appointmented as the new NNPC boss

The unending subsidy regime on Premium Motor Spirit and government’s continuous intervention in the power sector do not only drain the nation’s economy, but also retard the development of oil and gas, as well as the power sector.

Some economic experts and stakeholders are of the view that subsidy payment itself does not constitute an unfavourable economic policy, especially when rightfully applied, and does not hinder production and economic efficiency. They, however, maintained that subsidies currently paid on petrol and electricity were creating more problems for the economy and not beneficial in the long run to those who should benefit.

Penultimate week, the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi, while speaking at a workshop organised by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation at Government House, Kano, said the country was on the verge of bankruptcy and expressed opposition to the ongoing subsidy payment in the petroleum products and electricity tariff.

Sanusi, who said he was not joking warned: “I was the governor of Central Bank. In 2011, the Federal Government earned $16b from the oil sector. The country spent $8b importing petroleum products and $8.2b subsidising the products. One hundred percent of what we earned in the oil sector went out to import petrol. You are treasurers, is this sustainable? The country will be bankrupted, and we are heading to bankruptcy.

The monarch charged President Buhari to tell Nigerians the truth about the country’s economic situation and also act quickly on this.

Sharing the fears of Sanusi is PricewaterhouseCoopers’s Associate Director, Energy, Utilities & Resources, Habeeb Jaiyeola, who noted that the social interventions were not achieving their purposes, but were making way for losses and also remained a major barrier to the development of affected sectors.

According to Jaiyeola, the cost of social interventions was way too high and unsustainable, adding that the middle and upper classes were benefiting from the scheme at the expense of poor Nigerians.

“The reality is that the petroleum industry cannot fully function without forces of demand and supply. We need a price that can be sustained and allow the industry to operate and attract investors.

“The people being subsidised are more in rural communities. They don’t really benefit from subsidy. The middle and upper class are the beneficiaries. The overall cost is affecting the masses,” Jaiyeola said.

He, however, noted that while government must be courageous to remove subsidy and the interventions for the power sector, Jaiyeola maintained that equalisation on petrol remains critical to citizens.

On the power sector, Jaiyeola noted that government’s inability to allow the sector operate freely has compounded the challenges in the sector, adding that there was no need for intervention if challenges in the sector were tackled headlong.

He said: “The sector is not generating enough to finance itself, and government interventions would not be needed if it is doing that. So, a collection of issues has to be addressed. There is a problem of liquidity and the sector is collapsing. The country has to be metered, but that is not enough, there is need for cost-reflective tariff.

“People are spending and incurring a lot to power their houses and businesses; people are spending on generators, inverters, etc. They will spend less if the sector is allowed to operate freely,” he added.

Also sharing Sanusi’s thoughts on the removal of subsidy is the Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Mr. Eze Onyekwere, who insists that removing subsidy would lead to the removal of under recovery, and the dominance of oil in the revenue profile.

Onyekpere said the relatively meagre revenue expected from the non-oil sector compounds the country’s revenue challenge, adding that increasing recurrent expenditure that is accruing from the national increase in the minimum wage implies the need to partly fund salaries with borrowed money, which is not sustainable either in the short, medium or long-run.

The monarch’s position also appeals to the Managing Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Godwin Ighedosa, who told The Guardian that the call for subsidy removal was the way to go.

“Without any further controversy, the country is long overdue for subsidy removal. So, I want the Federal Government to remove it as most of the fuel imported into the country was being diverted to neighbouring countries on a daily basis.

Nigerians, especially the poor are not benefitting from the subsidy, except a few rich and those in government. I don’t think our people are getting the full benefit of the subsidy, which has continued to create avenues for leakages, as well as official recklessness. So I don’t see how you can possibly say that the subsidy regime has benefitted the people.

“An in-depth analysis of the country’s financial situation indicates that it is almost going insolvent. What we have seen is that the proportion of the revenue accruing to its coffers remains at between six to seven percent. So, there is very little revenue coming from tax. Therefore, the government does not even have enough money for people-oriented programmes,” he said

However, for the Director, Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law (CPEEL), University of Ibadan, Prof. Adeola Adenikinju, subsidy payment is good when it is rightfully applied and does not hinder production and economic efficiency

But he was quick to point out that the subsidy payment on petrol and electricity as currently practiced are creating more problems for the economy than solutions.

In fact, he believes that these subsidies have crippled domestic production in the downstream petroleum sector, as well as the electricity sector, adding that the multiplier effects on the economy and the livelihoods of Nigerians were huge.

“There are other means of addressing equity issues beside the current subsidies, which in my opinion are wrongly targeted. The short and long-term impacts of petrol and electricity subsidies are not good for this economy. Government must find the courage and will to wind them down.”

Corroborating this, the Chairman/CEO, International Energy Services (IES) Ltd., Dr. Diran Fawibe warned that the new administration must be at its best to steer the country’s economy away from imminent collapse.

While stating that there was need to look at a gradual method of removing subsidies, Fawibe noted that the petroleum sector must be allowed to operate independently.

According to him, subsidies on consumption remain unsustainable in the long run because of its economic and multiplier implications, adding that new refineries being built across the country would eventually address some of the challenges.

He called on the government to put the country’s refineries in working condition in order to address the importation of refined petroleum products.

The former Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, and Dean, College of Postgraduate Studies, Caleb University, Prof. Segun Ajibola, said while there is nothing wrong for a country that is in a hurry to grow and develop to go into deficit budgeting and borrow, the end must justify the means.

“The positive impact of such borrowings must be clear for all to see. The multiplier effects must be visible in the critical sectors of the economy. The borrowed funds must drive performance in critical sectors of the economy and directly and indirectly generate returns that would pay both the principal and interest on such borrowings. This demands from managers of the economy, prudence in resource management, accountability and fiscal discipline,” the don said.

On subsidies, Ajibola insisted that prices of most basic consumer goods and services take a cue from the prices of petroleum and electricity, adding that subsidy has a lot of influence on economic welfare of the citizenry. He however said while there was nothing wrong in the call for the removal of subsidy, government must provide compensatory packages for the citizenry.

“The question is, where would the removed subsidy go into? We saw the activities of PTF of old, but the fear has always been that the removed subsidy may be squandered and the citizenry subjected to double jeopardy. Can the authorities guarantee judicious application of the savings from the subsidy removal by applying the savings to provide the much-needed basic infrastructures such as roads, education, health, etc.? This is the vexed question,” Ajibola concluded.

But expressing a different opinion on the issue, Professor of Agricultural Economy at the University of Calabar, Ajayi Omo-Ogun berated those calling for subsidy removal as enemies of the common man.

Omo-Ogun said: “Until there are social infrastructure-functional refineries, rail tracks, modern road network among others, removing fuel subsidy now would further push the masses into extreme suffering and unbearable poverty. “I think we should remove security votes, jumbo salaries of the legislature as well as excessive government spending from our body polity. Common sense seems to show that functional refineries will crash the prices of petrol and related products,” he said.

Mr. Gregory Emeh, a stockbroker, who is against subsidy removal warned that doing so will further impoverish the average Nigerian.

“I must say without any fear of contradiction that subsidy removal will further make the masses poorer. It would be serious punishment for the average man because many may not be able to afford the high prices of commodities that may follow. So, my opinion is that the removal of the subsidy is not the issue, but the prudent management of the economy is.

from WordPress https://ift.tt/2xAqfUU

#wordpress

[sizzlingpostmiracle-blog]

Supervising Working at Peak

All working at peak accomplished in the United kingdom is governed by the Perform at Top Rules of 2005. The restrictions give for preparing and incident mitigation, instruction of personnel, and the appropriate use of instruments and tools aimed at working at peak scenarios. The laws also provide for supervision, which is completely required to make certain a risk-free site. Without having supervision workers are much more vulnerable to careless blunders or not totally knowing and implementing security methods. The significance of professional supervisors committed to protection can't be underestimated. Each and every yr in the British isles there are hundreds of accidents ensuing from falls from height and dropped objects. In many situations of noted mishaps, personnel have been not subsequent proven security tips in their everyday work. Furthermore, supervisors ended up possibly not existing or not demanding personnel to perform securely. If this have been not the case there is no telling how numerous of these accidents can be avoided. Supervisor Knowledge The first thing a supervisor requirements in get to do his work correctly is a complete knowledge and knowing of the Work at Top Restrictions. A supervisor who is unfamiliar with the regulations will not know what is essential of him to keep a risk-free work setting. A single of the best ways to supply this understanding is to set supervisors by way of a training system prior to going to operate. Normally, training is sought from a 3rd party business/manufacturer that is fully mindful of how equipment performs and The Working at Peak Regulations. This will aid in aiding the supervisor to achieve a level of competence in line with laws. Some businesses providing education classes will occur to the customer's workplace or perform web site to execute education. This tends to make it less difficult for the manager/supervisor to get time off to do the system but will also assist the coach in tailoring the instruction to the distinct wants of that client. Other individuals demand you to send your staff to them. Irrespective, the course will consist of a mixture of theoretical and practical aspects. This coaching is critical if supervisors are to properly implement regulations to the occupation. Realize that a supervisor who completes this course without complete comprehension of the content is a single who is not sufficiently ready to supervise the job. Information of the Function Of equivalent significance to knowledge of the regulations is knowledge of the operate being done. It doesn't do much great for a supervisor to know all the nuts and bolts of the regulations if he does not know how to safely utilize them to the specific jobs at hand. Not possessing understanding of the kind of perform getting carried out is a recipe for blunders. These mistakes not only endanger the welfare and protection of personnel, but it also frustrates them due to the fact they usually are not ready to do their perform properly and effectively. Obtaining a supervisor with a number of several years of knowledge carrying out the certain duties in concern is often a in addition. This variety of person is aware the ins and outs of every job including the resources utilised, the different approaches utilized to ensure quality and effectiveness, and the hazards inherent with the function. Such understanding is priceless when supervisors are essential to implement basic safety rules. They are the best competent to know how to implement stated principles although nonetheless allowing personnel to total their tasks as envisioned. Interest to Detail Supervising functioning at height needs an interest to depth not discovered in numerous other occupations. A supervisor must constantly keep track of and assessment the perform of operatives in purchase to make sure they are subsequent basic safety procedures. A supervisor who does not have an eye for detail is one particular who may miss careless problems or improperly executed techniques. Operatives doing work beneath such a supervisor tend to make more blunders that consequence in unlucky mishaps and accidents. Interest to element can be taught to most supervisors beneath standard circumstances. Component of the coaching your supervisors obtain need to contain workout routines to instruct them this skill. If it is a ability a supervisor lacks when he will get to the task internet site it is the employer's obligation to operate with that supervisor to enhance his focus to element. Element oriented exercises and goals are a wonderful way to attain this. working at heights training rockingham Once a supervisor reaches an satisfactory amount, his new found focus to detail will make for a considerably safer perform setting. Level of Observation Part of consideration to element is for the supervisor to presume a very good point of observation. Hold in thoughts that the laws stipulate a supervisor could not set himself in hazard when choosing his point of observation. For case in point, observing gutter operate by putting up oneself on a roof may well be satisfactory if the supervisor is correctly tethered and has full eyesight of the perform getting accomplished. But if operatives dip underneath the eave, it would be imprudent for a supervisor to go to the edge of the roof in order to see the work. That would be placing himself in threat just to maintain his point of observation. Although all the detail of the operate may well not necessarily be observable from the ground, this sort of a state of affairs would dictate the supervisor moved to floor level in order to observe operate carried out on the eaves. Maybe if the creating experienced a next-ground window with a respectable look at a supervisor could shift to that space. The level is, supervisors need to have to watch out for their own protection as effectively as that of their personnel. They are just as prone to slipping from top if they are careless in figuring out a level of observation. Rescue Functions It is the duty of each employer to contain recommendations for rescue operations as component of an preliminary basic safety inspection and subsequent plan. Rescue operations are undertaken when an operative is injured, suspended in a harness soon after a fall or trapped on an elevated system. It is the responsibility of the website supervisor to make confident anything at all essential for the suitable execution of rescue ideas is accessible in an straightforward and timely manor. In the function of these kinds of rescue programs being place into procedure the supervisor performs an integral part. Rescue functions are a single region in which several organization security officers are lax. They suppose that proper organizing and security processes will substantially reduce the possible of mishaps, and rightfully so, but it is not feasible to prevent every single single incident. There will be occasions when tools fails and staff make errors. It is for the duration of people instances when protection officers and supervisors need to have to go into motion in order to safely and securely rescue a stranded employee. Don't forget relying on the Unexpected emergency solutions is not a strategy! We have supplied here some of the standard guidelines and demands for supervising working at peak. Naturally, in so number of words it truly is not possible to cover almost everything associated in currently being these kinds of a supervisor. If your organization does carry out doing work at peak actions you owe it to each your supervisors and staff to make positive every person is aware protection laws and processes and implements them effectively. You also owe it to your staff to make positive your supervisors are qualified and entirely educated.

[djgblogger-blog]

Inside the Philippines' long journey towards reproductive health

http://bit.ly/2vU6k48

On January 9 2017, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte signed an executive order calling for universal access to modern family planning methods. The document also called for accelerated implementation of the country’s Reproductive Health Law.

Popularly known as the “RH law”, the measure was passed in 2012 but was suspended by the Supreme Court, following objections from religious groups that alleged the law violated the rights to religion and free speech.

Duterte’s order was welcomed even by some of his fiercest critics. Human Rights Watch, for instance, called it a “bright spot in the administration’s otherwise horrendous human rights record via its abusive ‘war on drugs’”. Aside from promoting family planning, the RH law covers wide-ranging provisions for emergency obstetric care, sex education, and maternal and child health.

But the very fact that such seemingly anodyne health matters even have to be affirmed attests to the contested nature of reproductive health issues in the Philippines. Just one day after Duterte signed the executive order, Luis Cardinal Tagle, Manila’s archbishop, reiterated that the Church “is against any law that promotes both natural and artificial family planning methods.”

Politically and morally contentious

Viewed in a broader historical frame, the ongoing debate is a continuation of the Philippines’ long journey towards reproductive health - and its having been turned into a political and moral issue by various actors. It’s also inexorably bound to the Church’s long-running enmeshment in the politics of a country where 80% of the people are, at least nominally, Catholic.

The Catholic Church’s opposition to population control and artificial contraception goes beyond the Philippine’s shores. Pope Paul VI’s _Humanae Vitae _ (1968) made the Church’s stance a matter of dogma, and it has since been affirmed by successive popes.

Initially, the Church’s stand didn’t seem to have much of an impact on Philippine policy. Just a year after Humanae Vitae, then-president Ferndinand Marcos established a Population Commission that sought to control population growth.

And in 1973, a new, Marcos-backed constitution called on the government “to achieve and maintain population levels most conducive to the national welfare.”

But the situation changed in the 1980s, when the people turned against Marcos’ corrupt and authoritarian government (which, it should pointed out, ultimately proved ineffective in its population control efforts). The Church was instrumental in the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution that deposed and forced Marcos into exile.

The new president, Cory Aquino, was much more pliant to the Church’s wishes. The 1987 “Cory Constitution” enshrined “the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception”. Tellingly, it omitted any reference to population control.

A succession of presidents would continue to toe the Church’s line. Gloria Arroyo - another beneficiary of a Church-backed “revolution” - would be the most ardent,making it state policy to promote only “natural” family planning methods. This was despite scientific consensus that such methods are ineffective, and the fact that a majority of Filipinos actually support artificial contraception.

Regardless of presidents’ acquiescence to the Church, support for an RH law slowly but steadily grew. In 1999, the first of many RH bills was filed in Congress. Ironically, it was Cory’s son Benigno Aquino III (Arroyo’s successor), who ultimately got the law passed.

Duterte, who took over from Aquino in 2016, was equally vocal in his support for reproductive health. In his first national address, he stressed that the RH law should be implemented “so that couples especially the poor will have freedom of informed choice on the number and spacing of children.”

Growing population, rising HIV

The politics of the RH Law notwithstanding, its rationale in the Philippines are quite clear.

Population growth remains very high. From 31.7 million when Marcos took office in 1965, it is expected that there will be 105 million Filipinos by the end of 2017 - an astounding tripling in just over 50 years.

Economists agree that while “poverty is a complex phenomenon”, “rapid population growth and high fertility rates, especially among the poor, do exacerbate poverty and make it harder for the government to address it.” In 2012, 30 economists from the University of the Philippines affirmed the role of the RH bill in population growth and consequently in poverty reduction.

In addition, there is an alarming increase in HIV infection rates that makes the Philippines one of the few countries to actually register growing prevalence. HIV prevention is actually the health ministry’s main rationale for condom distribution and promotion. But that too is unacceptable to anti-RH advocates who argue that it would breed immorality.

Moving forward

Some observers have noted that the Church’s infuence in Philippine politics is waning, citing its failure to stop the RH law. But while its power may have diminished, it remains an important political actor.

In the same month as Duterte’s executive order, the Department of Education announced that it would block the distribution of condoms in schools, caving in to pressure from the Church. The RH Law itself, in an attempt to appease the Church, includes “natural methods” and “responsible parenthood” in its language, and mentions “religious convictions” seven times.

Is there a chance that the Church will change its position? Pope Francis’ recent pronouncement that contraception is a “lesser evil” than abortion - at least in cases of Zika - raised some hope. Ultimately, however, his statement was rightfully seen as a change in tone - not in substance.

Judging from the Philippine bishops’ latest rhetoric, which casts contraceptive use as “immoral”, it’s highly unlikely that the Church will change its mind.

Even so, the fact that two presidents - belonging to two opposing political camps - have supported reproductive health raises hopes that it is becoming a post-political, post-ecclesiastical issue.

After a long journey, there’s reason to hope that the RH law will finally be implemented in full in the Philippines, and with it, badly-needed population and HIV control programs.

Gideon Lasco does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above.

[attendantdesign-blog]

New Post has been published on Attendantdesign

New Post has been published on https://attendantdesign.com/android-o-will-sorta-be-the-end-of-the-road/

Android O will (sorta) be the end of the road

When it involves Samsung, a great deal of the eye has been on its pair of Galaxy S8 flagships and upcoming Galaxy Note eight, and rightfully so – the phones look to be the most famous selections inside the land of Android. What has quietly gone beneath the radar is Samsung Internet, Samsung’s cell browser that can now be used across almost any Android tool.

The declaration comes as a welcome deal with, on account that Samsung Internet turned into different to Samsung telephones and pills. At the same time, the announcement is the corporation’s crescendo from an earlier Samsung Internet beta that spread its wings on Google Nexus and Pixel gadgets in March. In other words, it was best a depend on time till that list protected different Android gadgets.

: Samsung Galaxy Note 8 to come with force touch/three-D  sorta contact Android  road 

  Samsung Galaxy Note eight to come with force touch/3D touch? 2 days in the past Samsung Internet is in incredibly of an unenviable role, however. Even even though the browser has over one hundred million downloads, the likes of Chrome, Opera, and Firefox dominate the cellular browser panorama.

Even so, there may be masses to like approximately Samsung Internet. For one, the cutting-edge beta replace introduces a high assessment mode that ought to make the reading greater cozy for people with impaired vision. The replace additionally lets you play around with Bluetooth and WebVR from the browser, as well as sync across multiple devices.

Finally, and probably the feature as a way to interest the most folks, is the fast access to content material blockers. Samsung was given critical about content material blocking off whilst it gave Samsung Internet ad block support, and the company has most effective doubled down in that location ever given that. The present day beta replace maintains that trend, with a listing of extensions constructed into the settings menu.

If you already use Samsung Internet or are interested in trying out Samsung’s cellular browser, the beta update with all the aforementioned capabilities will roll out global over the following few days. Those on the strong model will need to wait for a chunk longer because the beta will be up to date several instances earlier than prime time.

  Just ensure your Android device is noticeably cutting-edge – Samsung Internet will not paintings on whatever older than Android 5.0 Lollipop.

GET THE SAMSUNG INTERNET BETA FROM THE PLAY STORE NEWS Samsung Internet Samsung Internet Developers Williams Pelegrin Having written news articles on video games for several years, Williams shifted his recognition to the mobile generation. From 2014 via the first quarter of 2017, he wrote for Digital Trends earlier than becoming a member of the Android Authority squad. Make him sense welcome on Twitter and you would possibly see a chunk of happiness head your way (or articles, whichever comes first). Popular In the Community

LG V30 AND V30 PLUS REPORTEDLY ARRIVING ON THE SAME DAY FOR $700 AND $875 a gigantic midget 15h More of this stock Nazi bullshit… I would like them to use much less bloat and to roll updates out faster, however, I wouldn’t want them to apply stock Android because I don’t want each cell phone to feel the same. I assume every emblem ought to have their personal particular consumer revel in. EXCLUSIVE: HTC ‘OCEAN LIFE’ WILL LAUNCH AS HTC U11 LIFE LATER THIS YEAR Ron Lunsford 1d I love the concept, however, a lot relies upon on fee factor. First off, did they ditch the glass back to keep the cash? Second, is the shape thing the SAME (and I mean EXACTLY THE SAME) as the U11? Finally, the charge… If they ditch the glass in favor of plastic, and then kept the exact length of the 11 and fee it underneath $three hundred, it’s a total winner. I suppose the SD6xx is plenty fast to run 7.1.X so there is no hassle there. Moving from sixty-four to 32GB on the garage is not any trouble if the rate drops as nicely. Hopefully, they’ll run a great rear sensor and a decent the front facing one. Overall, I suppose if they nail the price factor and allow customers to get the U11 add-ons for it, it is going to be a brilliant tool for T-Mo users! SECURITY FIRM DISCOVERS SEVERAL MAJOR SECURITY FLAWS IN XIAOMI’S MIUI GTasOz 22h Did I just examine a non-article? Xiaomi’s rebuttal is proper on. Given the hardware configuration of these gadgets who does now not have passwords, and/or the fingerprint register on! SOME GALAXY NOTE eight UNITS MIGHT COME WITH 256 GB OF INTERNAL STORAGE BAILEY45 3d Do I hate Samsung for giving their first-rate to different international locations, like why can’t we get the Exynos chips? And then 6GB of RAM in the s8…However simplest in Korea?! And now this? I just don’t get it Samsung, you’ll make extra cash in case you dealt with us all equally. I recognize I’d pay more to destiny-evidence myself a piece and get a 6GB S8, however, I’m not dealing with ordering it out of Korea off a few shady supplier on eBay or some thing. ANDROID O WILL (SORTA) BE THE END OF THE ROAD FOR THE ONEPLUS three/3T RedTag 6h Only one year of updates… Also really mad about the beta element.

OnePlus got here out with one exact cell phone which turned into the 3. They’re by no means going to get mainstream if they keep doing this to their fan base. TURING APPASSIONATO FIRST LOOK: A SOLID PHONE FROM A COMPANY WITH A SHAKY PAST OliveBulb 1d Unrelated to the item, no person cares. ASUS ZENFONE four AND ZENFONE four SELFIE DUO LEAK IN FULL GoldTrumpet 5h Better buy a Zenfone three – five, five. I own one and it is definitely excellent. SET IT AND FORGET IT: 5 THINGS YOU SHOULD ALWAYS AUTOMATE ON YOUR PHONE Ralphfighter33 6h There’s not anything wrong with the place I even have in no way touched the digital camera. I wish human beings might stop bitching approximately it. XIAOMI STARTS ROLLING OUT ANDROID 7.Zero NOUGAT UPDATE FOR REDMI NOTE 4 USERS IN INDIA praba2006 13h Hi, I am in Indian and now not getting the Android N replace. Still expecting it. THE NEXT STEP IN MOBILE GRAPHICS LOOKS LIKE A GAME CHANGER (LITERALLY) OliveDog second But Apple GPU’s are manner beforehand of Mali GPU’S OFFICIAL: LG V30 TO Sports F/1.6 APERTURE LENS, THE LARGEST IN ANY SMARTPHONE CAMERA Vishnu Vadlamudi second The decrease the f forestall, the broader the aperture. Wide apertures allow greater mild improving the exceptional of pictures, especially in low light. EXCLUSIVE: THIS IS THE MOTO X4 NotoriousNeo 14h It’s starting to get to the factor now with Motorola which you can’t buy a telephone from them that exams all the marks. You both want mods (Z), need IP68 (X) protection or want an inexpensively accurate performer (G5 Plus). I recognize preference and all, but they literally haven’t any flagship that offers it all in one package deal just like the rest of the %. I’m also now not absolutely positive what their method is right here with their specs and pricing. A G5 Plus with a Snapdragon 625 and 4GB of RAM is $299 or inexpensive. If the X4 (with a 630 and 3GB of RAM) is priced any higher than $399, I suggest why bother? If it’s priced underneath that then what is the factor of the G5? It seems like they need to begin streamlining matters a piece as it’s starting to get a touch out of hand. TWO YEARS IN, SUNDAR PICHAI FACING HIS TOUGHEST MOMENT AS CEO OliveBowtie 9h There become definitely not anything arguable about that memo. And for him to be fired and this to purpose this kind of big uproar indicates how huge the internal echo chamber is.

THE NEXT STEP IN MOBILE GRAPHICS LOOKS LIKE A GAME CHANGER (LITERALLY)

  BlueCloud 12h I’m going to must agree with ImJaoqinTheDog, the cell sports enterprise is one of the worst with exceptional manipulate. The so referred to as “builders” that need a slice of the pie generally load their games with worrying commercials, IAPs and pay to win mechanics, which lead to a poorly made sport and a cash seize for builders. Games like pulse are great, but it genuinely isn’t always ideal for you to play a shooter on a cell. When you can play on structures intended to play games consisting of a laptop which could perform better than cell phones, in the equal rate range and meant for at the move gaming. Such as laptops that encompass a get 1050, which is one of the satisfactory finances portraits playing cards you may get at the moment. MIUI 9 GLOBAL BETA NOW AVAILABLE ON XIAOMI MI 6 AND REDMI NOTE 4/4X GoldWeights 4h I actually have a Note four and I got the replacement. Popular In the Community

SOME GALAXY NOTE eight UNITS MIGHT COME WITH 256 GB OF INTERNAL STORAGE BAILEY45 3d Do I hate Samsung for giving their first-rate to different international locations, like why can not we get the Exynos chips? And then 6GB of RAM in the s8…However simplest in Korea?! And now this? I just do not get it Samsung, you would make extra cash if you treated us all equally. I recognize I’d pay extra to future-proof