Truth and Hammer

Author: Truth & Hammer

  • Moon landing anniversary: World stops to celebrate 50 years since Apollo 11

    Moon landing anniversary: World stops to celebrate 50 years since Apollo 11

    A moonstruck nation has celebrated the 50th anniversary of humanity’s first footsteps on another world, gathering in record heat at races and other festivities across the US to commemorate Apollo 11’s “giant leap” by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

    At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Aldrin showed Vice President Mike Pence the launch pad where he flew to the moon in 1969.

    At the same time, halfway around the world, an American and two other astronauts blasted into space from Kazakhstan on a Russian rocket.

    And in Armstrong’s hometown of Wapakoneta, Ohio, nearly 2000 runners competed in “Run to the Moon” races.

    “We’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of perhaps the most historic event in my lifetime, maybe in anybody’s lifetime, the landing on the moon,” said 10K runner Robert Rocco, 54, of Centerville, Ohio. “The ’60s were very turbulent. But that one bright wonderful moment was the space program.”

    The Eagle lunar lander, carrying Armstrong and Aldrin, landed on the Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969. Armstrong was the first one out, proclaiming for the ages: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

    “Few moments in our American story spark more pride than the Apollo 11 mission,” President Donald Trump said in a Space Exploration Day message.

    His statement reiterated the goal of sending astronauts back to the moon within five years and taking “the next giant leap – sending Americans to Mars”.

    Armstrong died in 2012, leaving Aldrin, 89, and command module pilot Michael Collins, 88, to mark the golden anniversary.

    Both astronauts and the Armstrong family met with Trump in the Oval Office on Friday, with Collins pushing for a direct mission to Mars and skipping the moon, and Aldrin expressing dismay at the past few decades of human space exploration.

    On Saturday, Pence, Aldrin and Armstrong’s older son, Rick, visited the Apollo 11 launch pad, now leased by SpaceX, and the building now named for Armstrong where the astronauts suited up for lift-off on July 16, 1969.

    In New York City, organisers moved a moon-landing party from Times Square into a hotel because of the heat wave. Youngsters joined former space shuttle astronaut Winston Scott there, as a giant screen showed the Saturn V rocket lifting off with the Apollo 11 crew in 1969.

    Across the country in Seattle, Tim Turner was first in line at the Museum of Flight to see the Apollo 11 command module, Columbia, on display there.

    Collins orbited the moon alone in Columbia, as Armstrong and Aldrin descended to the grey, desolate surface.

    Turner, who drove 120km from his home in Poulsbo, Washington, recalled watching the lunar landing on his family’s black-and-white TV in Tennessee, then going outside to gaze at the moon.

    “There was just excitement,” Turner said. “It was just the novelty of it all. Good grief! It’s still amazing, the No. 1 feat of the 20th century, if not all of modern history, that first time there.”

    Countdowns were planned across the country later in the day at the exact moment of the Eagle’s landing on the moon – 4.17pm eastern US time – and Armstrong’s momentous step on to the lunar surface at 10.56pm.

    The powdered orange drink Tang was back in vogue for the toasts, along with MoonPies, including a 25kg, 45,000-calorie MoonPie at Kennedy’s One Giant Leap bash.

    In Kazakhstan, an American, Italian and Russian, rocketed into the night to the International Space Station. Only one of the three – cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov – was alive at the time of Apollo 11. The three already living on the space station also were born long after the moon landings.

    The crew deliberately modelled its mission patch after Apollo 11’s: no astronaut names included to show the universal nature of space flight.

     

    This content was originally published here.

  • New Thor 4 Details: Release Date, Title, And Natalie Portman’s Return Confirmed At Comic-Con

    New Thor 4 Details: Release Date, Title, And Natalie Portman’s Return Confirmed At Comic-Con

    The Thor movies have become one of the most beloved parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, thanks in large part to the Taika Waititi-directed Thor: Ragnarok, which injected the series with some much-needed quirk and humor, while still capturing the essence of the god of thunder. The series seems perched to continue in that vein, judging by the new details revealed at Marvel’s San Diego Comic-Con 2019 panel.

    During the Marvel panel, the studio confirmed Thor 4’s full, official title: Thor: Love and Thunder. Disney also confirmed Thor: Love and Thunder’s release date: November 5, 2021. And lastly, the panel confirmed that Natalie Portman’s character Jane Foster, last seen in any significant capacity in Thor: The Dark World, will return in this movie.

    During the SDCC 2019 panel, Thor 4 director Taika Waititi took the stage with stars Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, who will both return to their respective roles as Thor and Valkyrie in the upcoming film.

    “There’s nothing more powerful in the world than love and thunder,” Waititi said, giving the newly revealed title a little bit of context.

    In addition, the panel’s big surprise came when Natalie Portman arrived onstage, taking hold of the hammer Mjolnir as she emerged.

    “This feels pretty good,” the actress laughed. “I’ve always had a little hammer envy.”

    During the panel, Waititi specifically brought up Jason Aaron’s “Jane Thor” run of the comics, in which the character Jane Foster took up the mantle of the god of thunder–giving Portman fans something to look forward to in Love and Thunder.

    “When we were shooting Ragnarok, I was reading Jason Aaron’s Mighty Thor, and it introduces female Thor [Jane Foster],” the director said. “So, there’s only one person who can do that.”

    What about Thor himself? Hemsworth didn’t have much to share, although he did make some references back to Thor’s Lebowski-like behavior in Avengers: Endgame.

    “He’s headed to 7/11, he got a Netflix subscription,” Hemsworth laughed. “But I think Taika’s got something planned.”

    “Who knows? Only me because only I have read the script!” Waititi replied.

    As for Valkyrie, who Thor named King of Asgard during Endgame’s conclusion, Thompson shared some details. “As new king, she needs to find her queen,” the actress said of Valkyrie’s role in Love and Thunder. “She has some ideas. She’ll keep you posted.”

    Finally, Waititi didn’t forget about Thor: Ragnarok’s other most important additions to the MCU: Korg and Miek.

    “Will we see Korg and Miek again?” Waititi speculated. “Is there an ongoing relationship between Thor and Korg? Who knows?” That sounds like a yes to us.

    Waititi was confirmed as Thor 4’s director in a report from earlier during Comic-Con week–a report that also suggested the director’s live-action adaptation of the Akira manga has been delayed by what’s being called “development concerns.” However, that wasn’t the only Taika Waititi news out of Comic-Con, as the actor and director was also confirmed to be guest-starring in an episode of Rick and Morty Season 4.

    During Marvel’s Comic-Con panel, the studio also discussed a ridiculously large number of other movies and shows, including Marvel’s Eternals, the Black Widow movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the Kate Bishop Hawkeye Disney+ show, Marvel’s “What If…?” animated series, Loki’s Disney+ show, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the Vision and Scarlett Witch Disney+ series WandaVision, the Falcon and Winter Soldier Disney+ show, a new freaking Blade movie starring Mahershala Ali, and more.

    This content was originally published here.

  • Weeding, writing and arithmetic… why green fingers are good for our children | Environment

    Weeding, writing and arithmetic… why green fingers are good for our children | Environment

    From the water vole to the Scottish wildcat, the dwindling numbers of Britain’s most at-risk animals are well documented. But now the alarm bell is sounding over a rather more overlooked endangered species: green-fingered children.

    Young people are so rarely spotted in gardens across Britain nowadays that the Royal Horticultural Society is warning that the country is facing a green skills crisis unless more learn to garden.

    The society’s director general, Sue Biggs, says that generations of children are growing up disconnected from nature because they are not being taught about gardening at school. “In a few years’ time, we won’t have enough gardeners to keep the 22 million gardens in this country going, and that will only make environmental issues worse,” she asserts.

    Biggs believes that although a career in horticulture is a perfect fit for a young person passionate about fighting the climate crisis, few are encouraged to take up gardening. Many universities and colleges have stopped offering horticultural science and botany courses as a result, she adds. “The last five positions we filled at Wisbech, our flagship garden in Surrey, have all been given to people from overseas. We cannot find people who are British, trained at a British university.”

    She adds: “If we can make young people see that, by growing plants, they are helping the quality of our air and environment, and that will reduce the impact of climate change, then I think an awful lot of them will be much happier and feel less scared about the future.”

    She suggests that young climate change activists consider a “national day of garden protests” next. “To improve our environment, you can either stop doing things, like purchasing single-use plastic, or you can start doing things, like gardening – or, best of all, do both.”

    The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee publishes its report on garden design and tourism on Monday, laying out plans to support garden tourism and better promote local gardens across England.

    Almost a third of all visits to the UK include a trip to a garden or park, and the horticulture industry, which supports approximately 570,000 jobs, is worth £24bn a year to the British economy. But Biggs says that teachers and parents in the UK do not value gardening as they should and young people don’t see it as “cool”.

    Teachers need to be imaginative and visit gardens and use gardening to demonstrate things already on the curriculum

    Recent research indicates that children often don’t know where their food comes from – with one survey finding that more than one in 10 of those aged 11 to 14 didn’t know that carrots and potatoes grew underground.

    The cost of creating a school garden is not the issue, Biggs suggests. “Between sleeper beds, compost and seeds, you’ve got everything you need. I think it’s more pressure on teachers’ time, and the timetable.”

    Gardening is now mainly being taught in extracurricular clubs, the RHS chief says, and that means “it needs a teacher who’s prepared to put extra effort in”. She would like to see more teachers using gardens to teach maths, geography, science, history and art, adding: “Teachers need to be imaginative and visit gardens and use gardening to demonstrate things already on the curriculum.”

    At Springhallow School in Ealing, west London, where pupils recently won the RHS School Gardening Team of the Year award, the garden is ablaze with colour. Marigolds, poppies and sunflowers peep out from raised beds, along with sweet-smelling herbs, tasty vegetables and tactile plants such as lamb’s ear, bunny tail grass and phlomis. All the pupils at the school have autism, and the garden is used by teachers to encourage them to work together in a team, try new food they have grown and enjoy sensory experiences outdoors.

    Cath Baynton, who teaches at Springhallow, says children who garden learn valuable life skills, particularly around communication: “It’s really good for their social interaction.”

    She believes developing a relationship with nature is crucial for children and the future of the planet, and the curriculum for mainstream schools is too prescriptive. “A lot of children in London don’t have a garden or access to outside space, and have never dug soil and encountered worms and beetles,” she says.

    Youngsters who garden learn about the environment they live in and the circle of life, she says. “They get the connection between a pest and predator – they make the connection between the wildlife we see and the plants we are growing.”

    It also teaches them about problem-solving and resilience. “Sometimes, in a garden, things do not go according to plan.”

    This content was originally published here.

  • Military eyes 16-year-olds as ranks and candidates dwindle

    Military eyes 16-year-olds as ranks and candidates dwindle

    Enlistment of 18 years and older immigrants maybe a better idea that looking to our 16 year olds to fight.  What better way to prove your loyalty and earn your place in America.  No, they do not need to be at the front lines, maybe more the kitchen helper, laundry, and other support lines.  However, 16 year olds have plenty of energy and anger to go to the front line.  The mix would be interesting!  What better way to understand politics that to fight for it. The video games they work on all day may have a practical application after all.

    The best way to fix the U.S. armed forces’ recruiting challenges may involve dipping further into the nation’s high schools.

    As the Army, Navy and other services contend with a thriving economy and a directive to expand their ranks, there is a growing debate over whether the military should consider lowering the minimum enlistment age from 17 to 16. More than a dozen countries, including the United Kingdom, already have adopted the policy. Neither the military nor lawmakers have given any indication that they are entertaining the idea, but some analysts say that opening the ranks to younger Americans could provide unique benefits and may be the kind of fundamental overhaul the recruiting system needs for the 21st century. “For one, many of the factors that disqualify older youths from joining — like criminal records — are not as present in younger teens,” said Shane McCarthy, chief marketing officer of Sandboxx, a leading technology platform that connects military members stationed abroad with families and friends at home. Mr. McCarthy also has advised military commands on how to better target recruits.

    “Currently, of the 75% of 17- to 24-year-olds who are ineligible to serve, for example, 10% are ineligible due to criminal records,” he wrote in a recent piece for the Military Times. “And, according to the Department of Justice, there are twice as many arrests of 18- to 20-year-olds as there are arrests of 15- to 17-year-olds.” Mr. McCarthy’s argument touched off a firestorm, with skeptics saying the move could create more problems than it would solve. Peter Warren Singer, a senior fellow at the Washington think tank New America, countered that lowering the enlistment age to 16 would undermine combat effectiveness and unit cohesion and create other problems.Mr. Singer, author of the book “Children at War,” also said the very idea shows a “misunderstanding [of] the different brain chemistry of youths and their ability to make informed judgment” and would destroy “the day-to-day lives of the poor drill instructors and commanders of these teens’ first unit.”

    He made his case in a piece for the military-focused website Task & Purpose. Despite those and other concerns, the notion certainly isn’t new. At least 13 nations allow enlistees younger than 17, according to the CIA World Factbook. They include major powers such as the United Kingdom and smaller countries with much less capable militaries, such as Tonga, Bolivia and Papua New Guinea.In the U.S., analysts say, there is a lack of data about the issue and it’s unclear exactly what effects military services would encounter if they begin admitting younger teens. “I think the broader answer about all of this is we really don’t know,” said Beth J. Asch, a senior economist at the Rand Corp. who studies military recruiting. “There’s no current research on what the effects would be, how would it expand the market, their qualifications. We don’t know.”

    Like other analysts, Ms. Asch said she believes the idea of signing up 16-year-olds has been off the table for decades and remains so today. But the discussion underscores the armed forces’ systemic recruiting challenges. Last year, the Army fell short of its recruiting goal for the first time in a decade. The Army had set a goal of 76,500 recruits and pulled in just under 70,000, according to Defense Department figures. The Army and all other branches of the military expect to meet this year’s targets, but officials readily acknowledge that the recruiting environment is as difficult as ever, largely because of a soaring economy, a consistently low unemployment rate and more economic opportunities in the private sector for young Americans who otherwise might consider military service. Analysts say that recruiting 16-year-olds doesn’t seem to be the right solution, but they stress that the military can and must improve its outreach to younger teenagers. “You have to compete and be in the marketplace, and that’s something the military doesn’t do very well,” said Rebecca Burgess, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who studies military and veterans issues. “It tells the story of itself that’s very traditional: ‘We’re freedom fighters doing good throughout the world; be part of our team.’ And it expects people to kind of come to them.”

    That, she said, is why recruiting offices too often are found in dying shopping malls or other low-traffic sites rather than out in the community. The military has taken serious steps in recent years to increase its visibility and engagement in the nation’s communities. The Army has launched a comprehensive recruiting program in major cities and said the approach already has paid huge dividends in the number of recruits from urban centers such as Baltimore and Minneapolis. But analysts say the military’s past tack of using marketing slogans such as the Army’s “Be all you can be” mantra no longer works. Instead, they say, the branches should craft multiple appeals centering on the host of benefits that come from military service, including educational assistance, patriotism, career benefits, and the host of jobs a man or woman can perform in the military outside of a combat zone.

    “I think what’s happening now — and it’s not that messages aren’t important — but I think there’s a realization that different people are interested in different things,” said Ms. Asch. “It’s not one message. People want to join for a variety of reasons, so the message has to be somewhat tailored. The trick is to communicate all of that so people get the message they need to hear,” she said.

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  • 911 Operator Tells Victim ‘Stop Yelling At Me,’ Later Hangs Up On Her

    911 Operator Tells Victim ‘Stop Yelling At Me,’ Later Hangs Up On Her

    Have you ever tried to talk someone who just wants to yell at you?  It is impossible!  This victim did even try to help the operator help her.  This operator is a professional and was asking questions to help police identify the victim and maybe get her to identify the guy in the car who was harassing her.  The victim is the road rage if you ask me, and is taking it out on this poor operator.

    The victim of a dangerous road rage incident in the South Loop says she called 911 during the chaos, only to be told by the operator, “stop yelling at me.” The same operator then hung up on her during a second call. The woman, who asked not to be identified out of fear that the suspect could find her, said she was driving near 13th and Wabash on June 23. A man in a white van aggressively cut her off, she hit the horn and, according to a police report, the man got out of the van and started yelling racial and gender slurs at her. “The words started with an N and the other one starts with a B,” she told CBS 2. “He was a maniac.” She tried to drive away but the man got back in his van and started to follow her, so she called 911. “This car is following me. I’m on 13th and Wabash,” she told the operator. The woman, clearly frightened, went on to shout “he keeps trying to cut me off and he just threw something at my car.” The operator, apparently agitated, responded by emphatically saying “Okay, stop yelling at me. What kind of car you in?”

    After a brief silence, the victim said “Are you going to help me or not? I’m scared.”

    After a few seconds of unintelligible dialogue, the dispatcher said, “You’re yelling at me. What kind of car you in?”

    The victim told the dispatcher “you’re no help,” and said she had to hang up because she feared for her life. She said the man then got out of his van again and started to approach her. At that moment, the operator called back. “Hello?” the victim said. “What kind of car are you in ma’am?” asked the operator. “Is this the same lady I just talked to?” the victim asked. “Yes, it is,” the operator said. The victim said, “I don’t want to talk to you. Put somebody else on.” It is unclear whether the operator heard the request for someone else. The operator is then heard saying “bye” and the call ends. “She hung up on me,” the victim said. She was able to speed away and got home physically unharmed. “So he might still be out there harassing people,” she said. The victim later filed a police report and complained to an Office of Emergency Management and Communications supervisor.

    She says OEMC managers called her back the next day and apologized and said they had plans to discipline the operator.

    “I think she should be disciplined,” the victim said. “I think termination, but at least some kind of probation.” In an email late Thursday afternoon, an OEMC spokeperson said disciplinary proceedings are underway for the employee. They said the employee will also be retrained, and the road rage call will be used for OEMC training purpose in the future. The email also stated that police were dispatched to 13th and Wabash for the call.

    Wow!  Getting fired for trying to do your job!  Who does the operator call to complain about this woman?

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  • IMMINENT BUBONIC PLAGUE OUTBREAK STARTING IN LOS ANGELES

    IMMINENT BUBONIC PLAGUE OUTBREAK STARTING IN LOS ANGELES

    Speaking with Dilbert creator Scott Adams, Dr. Drew explained how he predicted the current typhus outbreak infecting Los Angeles residents and said bubonic plague is similarly endemic to the area. Both typhus and bubonic plague can be spread to humans from rodents and the combination of the city’s massive rat infestation and increasing numbers of homeless people sets the stage for a major outbreak. In fact, the last outbreak of bubonic plague in America took place in Los Angeles from 1924-25 and was stopped by doctors who, according to Drew, gave a “heroic effort.” With today’s technology allowing the millions of people in the Los Angeles area to travel far and fast, it would be nearly impossible to prevent a new outbreak from spreading. California’s surge of illegal aliens, thanks to sanctuary state policies, must also be taken into consideration as Alex Jones has reported on in the past.

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  • Creativity is not Just Coming up with Ideas | Psychology Today

    Creativity is not Just Coming up with Ideas | Psychology Today

    The European Collaborative on Creativity Conference brought together a group of international scholars to put together a puzzle of creativity, building from neuroscience to cultural influences. The scholars challenged the common tendency to equate creativity with thinking of new ideas. Creativity is much broader than coming up with ideas; most importantly, creativity is action.

    Source: William Iven/Unsplash

    What does it mean that creativity is action? It means that creativity goes beyond thinking, as commonly thought by lay people and implicit in the choices of creativity researchers. Creative thinking tasks are the most common measures in experimental studies (studying many questions, from the role of mood to effects of multicultural experiences on creativity) and applied research (such as testing the success of creativity training programs). However, creators don’t stop there. Ludwig van Beethoven didn’t only come up with tunes, but he wrote nine symphonies. Agatha Christie didn’t just have an idea for stories about an eccentric Belgian detective, but she painstakingly worked on each of 33 Poirot novels.

    Scientists tend to think that there isn’t anything more practical than a good theory. So let me take you on a tour of the theoretical definition of what creativity is and how we should study it through the example of the role of emotions and emotional intelligence in creativity.

    Creativity affects how people relate to themselves, others, and the world

    Creativity changes the individual and contributes to their well-being. For instance, creativity in how people deal with challenging emotional situations can make them more successful in addressing these challenges1. An adolescent who responds to a school dance being cancelled by organizing a protest or organizing a dance in a park is more likely to manage their frustration and disappointment successfully than someone who responds by letting off steam by punching a bag. Similarly, everyday creative activities predict personal growth2, a component of psychological well-being.

    Creative activity also changes the world. We can easily think of examples of how the world was changed by great works of art (introduction of perspective in renaissance art!) or science (penicillin!). Perhaps less obviously, creativity also changes the world through social movements that change society itself. This creativity can pull in previously excluded people (from the emancipation proclamation including former slaves, to contemporary social movements aiming to create greater equity in education and the workplace).

    We cannot talk about creativity as a general unified “thing”

    Creativity is not unitary. Rather, we can learn about specific aspects of creativity. As we developed a model describing the role of emotions in creativity3, we describe what can be learned from different aspects of creativity.

    What creative work people choose is predicted by their emotional traits – such as interests and passions. Quick generation of creative ideas is related to people’s current mood. Positive and energized moods are beneficial for performance in quick brainstorming sessions (that take 3-4 minutes), but these moods cease to be relevant for creative thinking that takes more than a few minutes4. Ability to successfully manage emotions becomes an important predictor of student creativity rated by their peers5. All of those aspects – decision of what kind of work to pursue, generating ideas, being recognized as creative by others – contribute to understanding creativity, but depend on different traits and abilities.

    We need to learn from both qualitative and quantitative studies

    A recent study at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence shows different lessons from quantitative vs. qualitative methods. We surveyed artists – painters, sculptors, photographers, creative writers, musicians, choreographers – and asked them about their emotions in the creative process. As in many previous studies, artists rated positive emotions of interest, curiosity, love, and happiness as most common in their work.

    However, when we asked them to describe emotions relevant for their work in their own words, a more complex picture emerged. A photographer, for instance, mentioned grief, sorrow, fear, sadness, horror, anger, hope, and remembrance, and a choreographer mentioned anger, frustration, hope, and strength as driving their work. Such qualitative descriptions provide vivid pictures of lived creativity and can enrich our ideas for future quantitative research.

    Creativity is relational

    Creativity does not happen in a social vacuum. We found that emotional intelligence is not related to standard tests of creative thinking. In other words, being able to accurately perceive emotions, understand causes and consequences of emotions, and manage emotions does not predict creativity of ideas on tasks asking for different uses for a brick or a tin can6. This makes sense. Being more effective in thinking about emotions does not help on tasks devoid of emotion and outside of any social context.

    However, in everyday life many problems are not free of emotion and creativity is expressed in the social context. When we study creativity in everyday life, emotional intelligence abilities to successfully manage emotions are relevant5. In one study we defined creativity in a relational way – as observed in behavior by those in one’s immediate environment. We asked high school students who are their most creative peers and we asked their teachers to indicate students who are most persistent and passionate about their interests. The study showed that students’ ability to manage emotions predicted their persistence and passion, which in turn was related to observed creativity. This was the strongest among students who were predisposed for creativity.

    Creativity includes psychological, behavioral, and cultural factors

    It comes naturally to think of creativity as a psychological phenomenon – it involves thinking, personality, motivation, and emotion. We know that creators tend to be open to new experiences (they are curious, flexible, imaginative), that they tend to be motivated by enjoyment and challenge in what they do (intrinsic motivation), and that they can think broadly to search for ideas, as well as narrow those ideas down to successfully pick the best ones.

    Creativity without action stays in the realm of imagination and dreams. Actions bring ideas to life as performances (telling a story at an open-mic event, playing music with one’s band) or products (writing an essay for school or writing a scientific paper, building an app to deliver food from local restaurants, sawing a vintage-inspired dress). Successful creative action will depend on how we regulate the many ups and downs of the creative process7. 

    Finally, creativity is cultural and bound by history. As the conference met at the Marconi Institute near Bologna, Italy, where Guglielmo Marconi made his first wireless transmission, we were reminded that in the late 19th century this was the cutting edge technology. Today, the cutting edge technologies might pertain to artificial intelligence. In the United States we tend to celebrate disruptive creativity, but that is not a universal ideal. In Japan, for instance, systematic incremental improvements are valued instead of disruptive creativity8.

    To understand creativity, we need to learn about psychological, behavioral, and cultural factors that affect the process from approaching problems, to generating ideas, selecting ideas, and maintaining effort towards realizing ideas.

    This content was originally published here.

  • PH borrowings to hit record-high P1.4 trillion in 2020

    PH borrowings to hit record-high P1.4 trillion in 2020

    National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

    MANILA, Philippines–The Philippines’ gross borrowings will peak to a record-high P1.4 trillion next year to finance the government’s programmed wider budget-deficit cap equivalent to 3.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) as it jacks up spending on public goods and services while also paying more amortization for outstanding debt.

    During the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) meeting, the interagency body kept the borrowing program for 2019 at P1.18 trillion, of which the bulk or 73 percent will be sourced locally mainly from the sale of treasury bills and bonds amid ample domestic liquidity, National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said.

    The bias for domestic borrowings would minimize foreign exchange risks, economic managers had explained.

    Foreign borrowings, meanwhile, will come from offshore bond issuances and official development assistance (ODA) loans from bilateral partners and multilateral lenders.

    FEATURED STORIES

    As the DBCC also approved a wider budget-deficit ceiling equivalent to 3.2 percent of GDP for the rest of the Duterte administration’s remaining years in office until 2022, de Leon said total gross borrowings next year will jump to P1.4 trillion, with a borrowing mix of 75-percent domestic, 25-percent external.

    Even as the country’s borrowings further increased, the debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio will be steady at 41.4 percent this year and next year, de Leon said.

    In 2018, the debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 41.9 percent, and the government wanted to bring the share of debt to the economy to 38.6 percent in 2022 by sustaining strong economic growth.

    MORE STORIES

    Economic managers had said that while the government’s nominal debt continued to rise—the outstanding amount hit a new high of P7.916 trillion in May, the debt-to-GDP ratio was a better measure as a figure below 60 percent meant the economy remained in good shape and can pay its obligations.

    De Leon later told reporters that the record-high borrowing program for next year will only be a “blip” as it would go down to about P1.2-1.3 trillion after 2020.

    “There’s just a slight spike [in 2020]. In 2018, given the high [interest] rates, we have not really been accepting [bids] in the [Bureau of the Treasury’s] auctions… The amortization [payments] for 2020 is quite big because before we were doing [debt] exchanges, so given high rates we’re not able to do some of the exchanges. So if we do some now that rates are coming down, then we will be able to manage more,” de Leon explained during an ambush interview.

    Previously, the budget-deficit program for 2020-2022 was a lower 3 percent of GDP, but Finance Assistant Secretary Maria Teresa S. Habitan explained that they had to adjust the cap given adjustments in revenue targets and lower estimates of nominal GDP in the coming years.

    “There’s also some pressures for the infrastructure programs to come on-stream by 2022 so we needed enough room to expand and hence the decision of the DBCC to increase the [budget-deficit] ratio to GDP,” Habitan added.

    “We would want to hit our targets in terms of infrastructure spending as a percentage of GDP so it could really bolster in terms of multiplier effect to our growth,” de Leon, for her part, said.

    For 2020, the DBCC programmed a nominal budget deficit of P677.6 billion.

    As for 2019, the DBCC earlier already jacked up the budget-deficit ceiling to 3.2 percent of GDP, and Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Janet B. Abuel was optimistic that the government can achieve this goal through its spending catch-up plan.

    “For DPWH [the Department of Public Works and Highways], it is on track; for DOTr [the Department of Transportation], it needs catching up because of some requirements, especially the bigger projects like rails would require so much studies and paperworks. But they also have pending requests that were not captured because the evaluation that we did or the reports were as of June 30, so we are expecting them to have bigger or increase requests for funding by July onwards,” Abuel said.

    By yearend, the government had been programmed to post a P624.4-billion budget deficit as the P3.77-trillion expenditure program should outpace the targeted collections of P3.15 trillion in tax and non-tax revenues.

    But the latest Treasury data showed that as of May, the five-month budget deficit narrowed by 99.4 percent to only P809 million from P138.7 billion during the same period last year.

    The Treasury had mostly blamed the smaller end-May deficit to the delayed approval of the 2019 national budget.

    To recall, President Duterte signed this year’s P3.7-trillion budget only in mid-April as the two houses of Congress squabbled over “pork” funds, such that the government operated using reenacted 2018 appropriations during the first four months and underspent about P1 billion a day. /jpv

    Don’t miss out on the latest news and information.

    This content was originally published here.

  • China’s space station is plummeting back to Earth | Daily Mail Online

    China’s space station is plummeting back to Earth | Daily Mail Online

    China’s Tiangong-2 spacecraft is currently rapidly descending towards Earth after deliberately dropping out of Earth’s orbit.It is expected to burn up in the atmosphere later today 

    It is currently still functional but its planned death by inferno was initiated more than a year ago. 

    Its altitude has been dropping rapidly, falling from 180 miles to 120 miles above the planet in just an hour. 

    Tiangong-2 was never destined to be a permanent fixture in space and was designed to be destroyed in Earth’s atmosphere at some point.

    Its demise is intentional, unlike the fiery death of its ill-fated predecessor, Tiangong-1, which hurtled towards Earth uncontrollably after the Chinese space agency lost contact with it last year. 

    Foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang attempt  to quell fears of the bus-sized space station, weighing 8.5-tons hitting a densely populated area. 

    He said last year:’If there is a need, we will promptly be in touch with the relevant country.

    WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT CHINA’S TIANGONG-2 SPACE STATION?

    It was launched aboard a Long March 2F rocket on 15 September 2016. 

    The Cold Atomic Clock in Space developed by researchers in Shanghai can easily be lifted by two people and would fit comfortably in the boot of a car, The South China Post reported at the time of its launch.

    Tiangong-2 launched in 2016 and a range of experiments were conducted inside it.

    Its entire mission served to lay the foundations for the more ambitious goals of China’s space desires. 

    Chang’e-4 launched from the Xichang satellite launch centre in Sichuan, south-west China at 6:30 GMT on December 7 

    October 24, 2007 – China launches Chang’e-1, an unmanned satellite, into space where it remains operational for more than a year. 

    October 1, 2010 – China launches Chang’e-2. This was part of the first phase of the Chinese moon programme. It was in a 100km-high lunar orbit to gather data for the upcoming Chang’e-3 mission. 

    September 29, 2011 – China launches Tiangong 1. 

    September 15, 2013 – A second space lab, Tiangong 2, is launched. 

    December 1, 2013 – Chang’e-3 launched.  

    December 14, 2013 – Chang’e-3, a 2,600 lb (1,200 kg) lunar probe lands on the near side of the moon successfully. It became the first object to soft-land on the Moon since Luna 24 in 1976. 

    April 1, 2018 – Tiangong-1 crashes to Earth at 17,000mph and lands in the ocean off the coast of Tahiti. 

    May 20, 2018 – China launches a relay satellite named Queqiao which is stationed in operational orbit about 40,000 miles beyond the Moon. This is designed to enable Chang’e-4 to communicate with engineers on Earth. 

    The Chang’e-4 lunar rover is lifted into space from the Xichang launch centre in China’s southwestern Sichuan province on December 7

    December 7, 2018 – Chinese space agency announces it has launched the Chang’e-4 probe. 

    December 12, 2018 –  Retrorockets on the probe are fired to stabilise the spacecraft and slow it down. 

    December 31, 2018 –   The probe prepares for the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the Moon. 

    January 4, 2019 – It lands the Chang’e-4 lander on the far side of the moon 

    Planned for 2020 – Tiangong 3,a follow-up mission to the Tiangong-2 

    Before 2033 – China plans for its first uncrewed Mars exploration program.

    2040 – 2060 – The Asian superpower is planning a crewed mission to Mars. 

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  • Great British Bake Off star Paul Hollywood and estranged wife Alex divorce in just 10 seconds after 19 years of marriage

    Great British Bake Off star Paul Hollywood and estranged wife Alex divorce in just 10 seconds after 19 years of marriage

    PAUL Hollywood was granted a “quickie divorce” from his estranged wife Alexandra today.

    The Great British Bake Off star, 53, split from Alex, 55, in 2017 after calling time on their 19 years of marriage.

    Paul Hollywood and Alexandra Hollywood are split after 19 years of marriage
    Paul Hollywood and Alexandra Hollywood are split after 19 years of marriage
    PA:Press Association

     

    Splash News

    Summer was spotted walking her dogs in Kent[/caption]

     

    Neither Paul, nor Alex, attended the 10 second divorce hearing as full details about their split will be released soon.

    The couple first separated in 2013 after Paul admitted to having an affair with his co-star Marcela Valladolid on the US version of Bake Off.

    The reconciled a few months later and at the time he described the affair as “the biggest mistake of my life” in an interview with BBC Radio 5 live.

    Paul, 53, who is dating 24-year-old barmaid Summer Monteys-Fullam, faces a £5million payout to Alex after their acrimonious split in 2017.

    Last August, we revealed Alex had filed for divorce on the grounds of adultery.

    But Paul and Summer insist their relationship began after the 20-year marriage ended.

    Alex broke her silence for the first time in January, admitting Paul’s cheating left her devastated.

    In her first interview, she told Prima magazine: “No one should underestimate how separation and divorce can hit you.

    “I compare it to a moment where you’re driving along the motorway and then the next moment, something beyond your control happens and you’re driving in a completely different direction.

    “You have to give yourself time to get your head round it.”

    District Judge Robert Duddridge confirmed the hearing lasted 10 seconds at the Central Family Court in London.

    He granted the speedy divorce – a decree nisi – and now a divorce petitioner has to wait six weeks and a day to apply for a decree absolute – the final dissolution of the marriage.

    Earlier this month, Judge Martin O’Dwyer was told a week-long trial will begin on July 22 to resolve financial remedy proceedings, which means to settle their dispute in court.

    However, Paul’s legal team confirmed yesterday the trial will no longer go ahead after the couple came to an agreement with the court’s approval.

    LAVISH LIFESTYLE

    This divorce comes after Paul spent thousands on his girlfriend for her 24th birthday.

    He showered her in gifts at the Chester horse races by paying for a £330-a-head private box.

    Summer enjoyed £80-a-pop Laurent-Perrier champagne. She also drank Pimms and downed some shots given to her by pals.

    Paul bought Summer a £9,000 hot tub for her birthday.

    He also bought her a £9,000 ring and a £1,000 Rottweiler pup earlier this year.

    Judge O’Dwyer previously imposed reporting restrictions preventing the publishing of information related to their finances, but not on any information which was “legitimately in the public domain”.

    Adam Wolanski QC, Paul’s barrister, express concerned over newspaper reports containing financial information was leaked.

    Alex, 54, who has an 18-year-old son with the TV judge, told London’s High Court she had not spilled details about his financial worth.

    They include a story in The Sun on Sunday that revealed his companies raked in £9.1million last year.

    Miami Vice-style mansion on sale for £900k – and you’ll never guess where

    Adam Wolanski QC said: “We do not know whether these leaks came from the wife.

    “But we are very anxious about leaks and making sure that nothing is reported wrongly.

    Alexander Chandler, representing Alex, said: “She wants to make it absolutely clear that she was not the source of the story in The Sun on Sunday.”

    The couple briefly split in 2013 but reconciled a few month later
    The couple briefly split in 2013 but reconciled a few month later
    Rex Features

     

    Paul and Summer have been dating since he announced his split from AlexDarren Fletcher – The Sun

    Paul and Summer have been dating since he announced his split from Alex[/caption]

     

     

    Splash News

    The pair began dating in 2017 after meeting in a bar she worked in[/caption]

     

    Paul bought his girlfriend a £1,000-Rottweiler pup earlier this year
    Paul bought his girlfriend a £1,000-Rottweiler pup earlier this year
    Paul has whisked Summer away on luxury holidays since splitting from Alex
    Paul has whisked Summer away on luxury holidays since splitting from Alex
    Andrew Styczynski – The Sun
    Paul previously admitted to having an affair with co-star Marcela Valladolid on the US version of Bake Off
    Paul previously admitted to having an affair with co-star Marcela Valladolid on the US version of Bake Off
    Getty – Contributor

     

    This content was originally published here.