Orangutan talk about past

Mo Williams played for the Eastern Conference in the 2009 NBA All-Star Game, and he fully understands the enormity of the event’s platform. His team lost that game. His current team — and a lot of others — should be big winners this time around. Sunday’s All-Star Game in Atlanta is generating $3 million for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, through donations to scholarship funds. But the actual value to those schools will far exceed that influx of cash, with almost every All-Star element set to showcase and celebrate HBCU traditions and culture. “Everything’s about exposure,” said Williams, who played 13 NBA seasons and now is a first-year coach at Alabama State of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. “Being that the All-Star Game is putting an emphasis on HBCUs, it gives us exposure, and it helps in a lot of different areas, a lot of different ways, a lot of different schools. “It’s no different from Super Bowl commercials. People spend millions of dollars to … [Read more...] about At the NBA All-Star Game, HBCUs will take centre stage

Sara Nelson believes in solidarity: When she speaks, she talks about collectivity, of worker power, of bread and roses. As the head of the American Flight Attendants, Nelson, who started working as a flight attendant for United Airlines in 1996, can wield strength in numbers — the union represents over 50,000 workers at 20 different airlines. During the Trump era, it meant standing up to the former president on immigrant family separation and the 2019 federal government shutdown . Under a new administration, Nelson is looking to a brighter labor future in America, as she believes the movement will capitalize on autoworkers’ and teachers’ strike victories, and an evolving sense of urgency among the working class. Related Stories Texas and Mississippi Say It's Time to Reopen Without Masks. Live Venues Say No Thanks Steam Clean: Using a Steamer Can Help Kill Germs and Bacteria, but Can It Kill Covid? Related Stories The 50 Greatest Rock … [Read more...] about Solidarity in the Skies, and Everything Beneath: Sara Nelson on How to Build a Better Country

Councillor Josh Matlow says he knew his proposed 10 per cent cut to Toronto police would face an uphill battle because of the budget’s “untouchable” status. “It’s the single largest line item in the city’s operating budget and almost every year it goes up,” he said this past week, almost six months after his motion lost a council vote eight to 16 . He remains convinced it was the right thing to do. The move brought greater transparency to the police budget while responding to “clear demands” to reallocate police funds into much-needed community supports — to “prevent crime, rather than just trying to arrest people who commit it,” he says. This year, police services across North American came under unprecedented pressure to change following George Floyd’s death in police custody in Minneapolis. Anti-racism rallies and defunding protests have led some cities, such as Calgary, to look at shifting some police money to social service agencies — but always with pushback. Change … [Read more...] about Why Toronto didn’t defund police in 2020 (nor all those other times)

PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Gaza toll passes 100; Israel to counter rockets ‘with all power’ Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Ori Lewis PHUKET: An airstrike outside a family home early Saturday pushed the Palestinian death toll past 100 in four days of cross-border fighting as Israel showed no sign of pausing despite international pressure to negotiate a ceasefire with the militants. Asked if Israel might move from the mostly aerial attacks of the past four days into a ground war in Gaza to stop militant rocket fire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu replied, “We are weighing all possibilities and preparing for all possibilities.” “No international pressure will prevent us from acting with all power,” he told reporters in Tel Aviv a day after a telephone conversation with U.S. President Barack Obama about the worst flare-up in Israeli-Palestinian violence in almost two … [Read more...] about Gaza toll passes 100; Israel to counter rockets ‘with all power’

After a year of lockdown, social distancing, and the constant drumbeat of bad news about COVID-19 , it’s quite likely that you have developed a certain amount of fear about ever leaving your home. There is, of course, value in protecting yourself and the people you care about by following public health advice. You may attribute the fact that you’re still around to having adhered strictly to these measures. However, with the vaccine now available, government officials are beginning to ease those restrictions. Mask mandates are going away in several states in the U.S. You may not agree with these decisions, but they do signal (one might hope) that normal life is getting closer and closer to becoming a reality. Now imagine, when it is truly safe, that you have the ability to get out of the house and go shopping, eat at restaurants, and perhaps even travel to a vacation destination. However, before you feel ready to take the plunge, perhaps your employer decides it’s time for … [Read more...] about 3 Ways to Calm Anxiety When You’re Afraid to Leave Home