A 3-year-old deaf neighbor (audio)

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A 15 million dollar Christmas tree

COURTESY OF KEMPINSKI HOTEL BAHÍA

A $15 million Christmas tree sounds excessive, extravagant, lavish, decadent...Yes, but before looking for more qualifications, some clarifications are necessary.

The record value of what the media has dubbed the “Most Expensive Christmas Tree In The World” has been claimed by a beachfront luxury hotel near Marbella in the south of Spain.

To be clear, the astronomical value attached to it isn’t precisely for the tree per se. It’s for the decorations. And what adornments!

COURTESY OF KEMPINSKI HOTEL BAHÍA

Dripping with real diamonds, the tree is the product of a partnership between the Kempinski Hotel Bahia in Estepona, near Marbella on the Spanish Costa del Sol, and celebrity designer Debbie Wingham, a British artist who has crafted showy, life-sized desserts of Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner among others.

She has made her name in the luxury world with other extravagant creations including the most expensive wedding cake in the world, commissioned by a client in Dubai and valued at €50 million euros and the most expensive shoes in the world, a pair of sandals made with gold, pink and blue diamonds worth €15 million.

Along with the high-value stones, including pink, red, white and black diamonds, the tree has edible treats and traditional decorations. 

The Kempinski Hotel Bahia, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, is one of the Kempinski Hotels—“Europe’s oldest luxury hotel group, created in 1897 and with a portfolio of 78 five-star hotels and residences in 34 countries,” according to its website. A night at the Kempinski Hotel Bahía costs between €160 and €620 for special winter promotion.

COURTESY OF KEMPINSKI HOTEL BAHÍA

The tree in Spain was unveiled this week at a reception during which the hotel management explained that the flawlessly-cut and ethically-sourced decorations include three carat pink diamonds, four carat sapphires, oval red diamonds, black and white diamonds and a mixture of designed jewelry from luxury brands.

Art Deco-inspired, the other “baubles” on the tree take the form of luxury items like perfume bottles and martini glasses, 3D printed chocolate peacocks and classic decorations such as snowflakes, fairies and beautifully decorated baubles, carefully curated with diamond dust and 24-karat gold.

There are other Christmas trees that have claimed the title of “Most Expensive”: One was designed by Van Cleef & Arpels and unveiled on December 7, 2001, at the St. Regis Hotel in Los Angeles. It also was encrusted with diamonds and featured the ‘Lutece,’ a $2.6 million emerald-and-diamond-necklace and earring set at its top.

The current  Guinness World Record holder for the world's most expensive Christmas tree is the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi, valued at about $11 million. Shown in 2010, it stood at 43.2 feet and was lavishly decorated with 181 pieces of jewelry such as bracelets, necklaces and watches.

 THE EMIRATES PALACE HOTEL CHRISTMAS TREE IN ABU DHABI 

From Forbes (edited)

LA cybercrime (video)

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The world's youngest Prime Minister

At only 34 years of age, Sanna Marin, who was appointed Finland’s prime minister on December 10th, is the youngest head of government in the world. As well as her youth, her gender also makes her something of a rarity, at least by international standards. She is one of only five women among the European Union’s 28 current leaders. What is more, Ms Marin leads a left-wing coalition whose five parties are all led by women, three of whom are under 35. Her cabinet will contain 12 women and seven men: at 63%, the female share is the highest in the European Union.

To Finns, seeing plenty of women in senior political positions is not unusual. As with other Nordic states, Finland has been at the forefront of gender equality in politics for several years. Forty-seven per cent of its parliamentarians are female, one of the highest shares in the world. Ms Marin is the third woman to become prime minister.

In the rest of Europe, women find it harder to reach the top jobs. The proportion of women in senior positions in EU governments has  increased from 25% in 2009 to 30% this September. And the number of female heads of government has risen from two to five this year. Although Britain’s Theresa May stood down in July, three other women had taken office before Ms Marin: Austria’s interim chancellor, Brigitte Bierlein; Belgium’s prime minister, Sophie Wilmès; and Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen. They join Angela Merkel, who has been Germany’s chancellor since 2005.

Ms Marin knocked two other young politicians off the top of league tables. Ukraine’s Oleksiy Honcharuk, who is 35, was the world’s youngest sitting prime minister (the president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is just 41). New Zealand’s Jacinta Ardern, aged 39, had been the youngest woman in such an office. You might say Ms Marin timed her run well: Sebastian Kurz, Ms Bierlein’s predecessor in Austria, was ousted in May at only 32, having been elected at 31.

However, none of these can equal William Pitt the Younger, who became Britain’s prime minister in 1783 at a mere 24 years old.

From The Economist (edited)

Greta Thunberg Time's 2019 Person of the Year (video)

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Coldplay will pause touring

"We're not touring this album," frontman Chris Martin told BBC News. "We're taking time over the next year or two, to work out how our tour can be sustainable as well as actively beneficial. We want our future tours to have a positive impact".

Coldplay will release their new album Everyday Life on Friday and, instead of spending months on the road, they are playing two gigs in Jordan, which will be broadcast, free, to a global audience on YouTube.

The concerts, will take place in Amman on Friday at sunrise and sunset respectively, mirroring the two "sides" of their new album. All proceeds from the show will be donated to an environmental charity.

"Our next tour will be the best possible version of a tour environmentally," Martin said. "We will be disappointed if it's not carbon neutral. The hardest thing is the flying side of things. But our dream is to have a show with no single use plastic, to have it largely solar powered."

The WWF – World Wide Fund for Nature - welcomed Coldplay's initiative. "It is fantastic to see world-famous artists stepping up to protect the planet. We all have a responsibility to lead by example in the face of this climate and nature crisis - inaction is not an option if we are to preserve our planet for future generations," said Gareth Redmond-King, the organization's head of climate change.

The UK band last travelled the world with their A Head Full of Dreams Tour, which saw them stage 122 shows across five continents in 2016 and 2017.

Staging a world tour isn't as simple as bunging Chris Martin and his bandmates in the back of a mini-van with a map and a year's supply of digestives. In fact, the band's last tour employed 109 crew, 32 trucks and 9 bus drivers, who travelled to 5 continents, playing to 5.4 million people at 122 concerts.

 There's no easy way to calculate the band's carbon footprint; but the music industry's most recent figures  suggest that live music generates 405,000 tons of greenhouse-gas emissions in the UK every year.

It's not just flights that cause the problem. Fans travelling to and from shows are the biggest source of pollution; but there's an environmental cost to producing merchandise, powering the spotlights and moving stages from venue to venue.

At the most extreme end of the scale, the ambitious "claw" structure that U2 took on the road in 2009 required 120 trucks to shift it around. According to one environmental group, the band generated the equivalent carbon footprint of a return flight to Mars. Since then, the industry has stepped up its efforts to become more sustainable.

Radiohead swapped spotlights for LEDs, which use a fraction of the power needed for a traditional lighting rig. The 1975 have stopped making new merchandise, and are donating £1 from every ticket sold to One Tree Planted, a non-profit organization that plants trees all over the world. And U2 have enacted a number of changes,  from recycling guitar strings to using hydrogen fuel cells.

Coldplay are going one step further. They don't just want to be carbon neutral, but to have tours that are "actively beneficial" to the planet. And by putting their concerts on hold, they're giving up a huge pay day: The Head Full of Dream tour made $523m.

The industry will be watching to see what solutions they come up with.

From BBC (edited)

Coldplay - Daddy (released Nov 20, 2019)

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Coldplay - Fix you

How about filling in the blanks below while listening to the song?

When you try your ________, but you don't succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you _____

When you feel so tired, but you can't ______
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your _______
When you _______ something you can't replace
When you love someone, but it ______ to waste
Could it be ________?

_________ will guide you home
________ ignite your bones
And I will ______to fix you

And high up above or _______ below
When you're too in love to _____ it go
But if you _______ try you'll ________ know
_______ what you're worth

_________ will guide you home
________ ignite your bones
And I will ______to fix you

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The French victim of a work accident

• Part A – While reading, please fill in the blanks with words beginning with the given letter.

A French court ruled that a man w________ died from a heart attack after having sex with a woman he met on a business trip is a 'victim of a professional accident'. 

Xavier X, w_____ last name has not been d_____________, was an engineer working in the Loiret département in central France  on b___________.of his employer, TSO, a French railway construction company.

He m___________ a local woman on a night in February 2013  and .was found dead from a heart attack shortly after the pair had sex. 

French labor uthorities ruled that Xavier X  was the victim of an industrial accident and his employer is liable for damages.  Xavier's death should be classified as an 'accident du travail', which e___________ the victim's family to be awarded benefits from both the state and employer. 

As a result, any partners and children of Xavier’s will receive a monthly benefit of up to 80 per cent of his salary u___________.what would have been his retirement age.

Thereafter, TSO will have to contribute towards Xavier's pension.

Xavier's employer argued a___________ the decision but lost in every appeal. 

TSO, the company, a________ that it could not be held liable for the worker's death because his heart attack was unconnected to the job. It also added that the employee was not in the hotel room paid for by the company during the liaison and that the encounter was adulterous. 

French judges brushed aside these arguments and claimed that an employee travelling for work remains the employer's responsibility, r ________  of what the employee does on and off work hours.  

The ruling stretches back ten years when the French courts declared that any accident suffered by employees on work trips away f_______ their work headquarters amounts to an 'accident du travail'.

In 2017, a French company was held  liable for a travelling businessman who injured his hand at a disco in China. The court ruled that it did not m________  if it was 2 AM and the man was off duty.  

• Part B – Ask questions so as to get the underlined answers

1 - Xavier died from a heart attack .

2 - His employer will have to pay his dependents.  

3 - Any partners and children of Xavier’s will receive a monthly benefit of up to 80 per cent of his salary.

4 - No, they didn’t.  Xavier's employer lost in every appeal. 

5 - The company argued that his heart attack was unconnected to the job. 

6 - French judges brushed aside these arguments

7 - French judges claimed that an employee travelling for work remains the employer's responsibility,

8 - The ruling stretches back ten years. The courts declared that any accident suffered by employees who are away from their work headquarters amounts to an 'accident du travail'.

9 - The ruling remains in place only when the  employer can prove that the worker intentionally broke from their 'mission' for personal reasons

10 - In 2017, a French company businessman injured his hand at a disco in China. 

• Part C – Fill in the blanks with the following expressions

As well as - Due to - Even though – However -

 In spite of  - Otherwise - Since - Therefore -  Unless - Whereas

1 -  ________  Xavier X was a 'victim of a professional accident', a French court ruled that the company will have to pay his dependents.

2 - The company will have to pay Xavier X’s dependents ______________ the French court’s ruling.

3 - French labor courts claimed that Xavier X  was the victim of an industrial accident. . ____________ his employer is liable for damages

4 - _______________ the employee hurt his hand at a disco at 2 AM and the man was off duty, the company was liable for his injury.

5 - The employee hurt his hand at a disco at 2 AM and the man was off duty.. ________________ the company was liable for his injury.

6 -________  the employer can prove that Xavier intentionally broke from his 'mission' for personal reasons, the ruling remains in place. 

7 - Xavier X died ___________________ the man in China only injured his hand.

8- Xavier died ____________________ the emergency doctors immediate assistance

9 - French judges ruled that an employee travelling for work remains the employer's responsibility during on work hours ___________________ off work hours.  

10 -The family sued the company.  ______________ they wouldn’t have been granted the benefits.

From The Daily Mail (edited)

A $3 Million Yacht For Rent (video)

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How Estonia stops speeding drivers

On two recent mornings, drivers caught speeding along the road between Tallinn and the town of Rapla were stopped and given a choice. They could pay a fine, as normal, or take a “timeout” instead, waiting for 45 minutes or an hour, depending on how fast they were going when stopped.

The aim of the experiment is to see how drivers perceive speeding, and whether lost time may be a stronger deterrent than lost money. The project is a collaboration between Estonia’s Home Office and the police force, and is part of a program designed to encourage innovation in public services. Government teams propose a problem they would like to solve—such as traffic accidents caused by irresponsible driving—and work under the guidance of an “innovation unit”. Teams are expected to do all fieldwork and interviews themselves.

“At first it was kind of a joke,” says Laura Aaben, an innovation adviser for the interior ministry, referring to the idea of timeouts. “But we kept coming back to it.” Elari Kasemets, Ms Aaben’s counterpart in the police, explained that, in interviews, drivers frequently said that having to spend time dealing with the police and being given a speeding ticket was more annoying than the cost of the ticket itself. “People pay the fines, like bills, and forget about it,” he said.  In Estonia, speeding fines generated by automatic cameras are not kept on record and have no cumulative effect, meaning that drivers don’t have their licences revoked if they get too many.

Making drivers wait requires manpower. The team acknowledges that the experiment is not currently scalable, but hopes that technology could make it so in the future.

Public reaction, though, was not what they expected. “It’s been very positive, surprisingly,” says Helelyn Tammsaar, who manages projects for the innovation unit. Estonians have praised the idea for being more egalitarian—monetary fines are not adjusted according to income, as in neighboring Finland, but everyone has the same number of hours in the day—and because they perceive the punishment as being directly related to the offence, rather than an excuse to fill state coffers.

From The Economist

The psychology behind irrational decisions (TED Talk)

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Nine-year-old child genius

Belgian Laurent Simons, who is 9 years old and has an IQ of around 145,  is studying electrical engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TUE) - a tough program even for average-aged students, making Simons’ feat all the more impressive. 

Described by staff as "simply extraordinary," Laurent will finish his bachelor's degree in less than 2 months. He then plans to embark on a PhD program in electrical engineering while also studying for a medicine degree.

Laurent finished high school by age eight, completing it in its entirety in only 18 months.

It was the child’s grandparents and teachers who first took note of his intellectual ability. He began school at the typical age of four, but progressed through five years of study in just 12 months.

His parents, Lydia and Alexander Simons, said they thought Laurent's grandparents were exaggerating when they said he had a gift, but his teachers soon concurred.

"They noticed something very special about Laurent," said Lydia.

Despite his parents not being the first to notice his genius, Lydia still takes some credit for it.  “I ate a lot of fish during the pregnancy,” she joked.

Laurent was given test after test as teachers tried to work out the extent of his talents. "They told us he is like a sponge," said Alexander.

While Laurent comes from a family of doctors, his parents have so far not received any explanation as to why their child prodigy is capable of learning so quickly. But Lydia has her own theory. "I ate a lot of fish during the pregnancy," she joked.

The TUE has allowed Laurent to complete his course faster than other students. "That is not unusual," said Sjoerd Hulshof, education director of the TUE bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, in a statement. "Special students that have good reasons for doing so can arrange an adjusted schedule. In much the same way we help students who participate in top sport."

Hulshof said Laurent is "simply extraordinary" and praised the youngster. "Laurent is the fastest student we have ever had here," he said. "Not only is he hyper intelligent but also a very sympathetic boy."

Laurent ‘s progress has not gone unnoticed and he is already being sought out by prestigious universities around the world, although Laurent's family didn’t disclose which of them he is considering for his PhD.

"The absorption of information is no problem for Laurent," said his father. "I think the focus will be on research and applying the knowledge to discover new things. Laurent’s aim is to do a PhD into life extension by carrying out research into artificial organs and robotics "

While Laurent is evidently able to learn faster than most, his parents are being careful to let him enjoy himself too. "We don't want him to get too serious. He does whatever he likes," said Alexander. "We need to find a balance between being a child and his talents."

Laurent said he enjoys having fun with his dog Sammy and playing on his phone, like many young people. However, unlike most 9-year-olds, he has already worked out what he wants to do with his life: develop artificial organs.

In the meantime, Laurent has to finish his bachelor's degree and choose which academic institution will play host to the next stage in his remarkable journey. Before that, he plans on taking a vacation to Japan for an undoubtedly well-deserved break.

Article From CNN (edited)

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Behind Nike logo (video)

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Behind Adidas logo (video)

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Birdhouses (captions)

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Books to read in 2114

Karl Ove Knausgaard. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

Karl Ove Knausgaard, who detailed his own life in the six-volume autobiographical novel My Struggle  has taken on a new challenge: the Norwegian writer will become the sixth contributor to the Future Library, which collects works by contemporary authors that will remain unread until 2114.

The Future Library was created by Scottish artist Katie Paterson.  It currently consists of 1,000 spruce trees that were planted in Oslo’s Nordmarka forest in 2014. After a century, they will be cut down and turned into paper.  The manuscripts by participating authors including Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell and Elif Shafak, will finally be printed on this paper.

Knausgaard is the first Norwegian writer to contribute to the project.  Paterson called him “one of the most exceptional authors of the 21st century”

.

The author praised the Future Library in turn: “It’s such a brilliant idea, I like the thought that you will have readers who are still not born – it’s like sending a little ship from our time to them. I like that it will be opened in 100 years and I like the slowness of the forest growing, that everything is connected. It’s such a wonderful green artwork.”

Knausgaard has already started writing his manuscript, but will not reveal any details.

Turkish author Shafak has described the experience of writing for Future Library as “like writing a letter now and leaving it in a river. You don’t know where it will go or who will read it – you just believe in the flow of time.” 

Atwood, the first author to contribute, has remarked  “how strange it is to think of my own voice – silent by then for a long time – suddenly being awakened after 100 years”.

Knausgaard will formally deliver his manuscript in the forest on 23 May 2020. A specially designed, wood-lined room is to be opened in Oslo’s Deichman central library to hold the manuscripts.

From The Guardian (edited)

Italian cheesemakers are not happy (audio)

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Wedding video or Holywood film? (video)

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Argentina's presidential election

“WE WILL devote all our efforts to ending the suffering of all Argentines,” declared Alberto Fernández, Argentina’s president-elect, before a vast crowd in Chacarita, a working-class neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. “We will be the Argentina that we deserve to be.” Mr Fernández was celebrating his victory over the incumbent president, Mauricio Macri, in Argentina’s presidential election on October 27th. But Mr Macri raised similar hopes after his election four years ago, which ended 14 years of rule by the Peronist movement to which Mr Fernández belongs.

The victory by the Peronists—who secured 48% of the vote against Mr Macri’s 40% with most of the votes counted—was narrower than expected but large enough to avoid a run-off vote in December. The question is whether they can do a better job of resolving the country’s chronic economic troubles than Mr Macri did.

The election offered voters an unappetising choice between two failed models. Mr Macri’s supposedly business-friendly presidency is ending with a shrinking economy, a falling currency and with rising prices. But the years of populist rule by the Peronists that preceded it were equally calamitous. The author of that disaster, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, was Mr Fernández’s running mate (but is no relation) and will now be vice-president. When it became clear after a primary vote in August that the Fernández duo would probably win, the peso plunged by 25% and inflation surged.

The confirmation of their victory will do little to settle nerves. Even as the winners were chalking up the votes on October 27th, shopkeepers were marking up prices, anticipating further devaluation and higher inflation. Mr Macri, conceding defeat, invited the president-elect immediately to the Casa Rosada, the presidential palace. The hope is that the two can agree a “transition package” to steady the markets until Mr Fernández takes office in December. They have already signed off on tighter currency controls, announced by the central bank, limiting dollar purchases to just $200 a month, compared with the $10,000 limit imposed in September, to limit a run on the peso.

The election result did not resolve the question of which Fernández would truly succeed Mr Macri: Alberto, the president-elect, or Cristina, the charismatic former president who elevated Alberto from backstage operative to presidential frontman. “The unknown is what is going to be the real relationship between the two of them as the Peronists come back,” said Eduardo D’Alessio, a pollster.

Mr Fernández served as the cabinet chief of Néstor Kirchner, Cristina’s late husband and Argentina’s president from 2003 to 2007. That government oversaw a robust recovery from the default and distress of 2001-02. It strong-armed most of Argentina’s creditors to accept a deep discount in the value of their bonds, repaid the IMF early and boasted a string of budget surpluses. It is now known as “Good Kirchnerism”.

Mr Fernández’s running mate, however, is associated with the bad sort of Kirchnerism. Having succeeded her husband as president, Ms Fernández presided over years of economic mismanagement, culminating in a bloated public sector, gaping fiscal deficit and an inflation rate that was so alarming her government refused to measure it properly.

Which kind of Kirchnerism won Sunday’s election? The early signs are mixed. In the closing days of the campaign, Mr Fernández insisted he and his running-mate were inseparable. “But that was the candidate speaking,” said one of his inner circle, as the president-elect celebrated his victory. “He knows he has to cut the cord if he is to stabilise this economy, and win time for recovery from this economic mess.”

One clue to his intentions will be his choice of treasury minister. The two leading candidates, Matías Kulfas and Guillermo Nielsen, are both veterans of the Kirchners’ long rule. But their economic reputations differ. Mr Nielsen has encouraged bondholders and the IMF to show patience with the new government. He cites the example of Uruguay, which repaid its creditors after its 2002 crisis slowly but fully, without subjecting them to a “haircut”. The model may not work in Argentina given the size of its debts (approaching 90% of GDP, according to JP Morgan, a bank) and weakness of its currency. But investors have welcomed the sentiment.

Mr Nielsen, who led Argentina’s negotiations with the IMF from 2003 to 2005, may have to reprise that role as Argentina seeks to manage its debts, including its existing $57bn loan from the fund. With Mr Nielsen likely to focus on debt management, Mr Kulfas appears to be the favourite for the top economic job. Those who know him describe him as a traditional Peronist in his economic thinking. “So expect protectionism, interventionism, strict currency controls to limit capital flight,” said a former senior official.

A little more conversation
Other election results will also have a bearing on the struggle for power within the Peronist movement. The province of Buenos Aires, home to almost 40% of Argentina’s population, elected Axel Kicillof as governor. A former minister of the economy under Ms Fernández, he will have an influential voice. And it is not an entirely reassuring one. “The economic situation we inherit today represents scorched earth, the ultimate failure of neoliberalism,” Mr Kicillof declared at the Peronists’ victory celebration, using the sort of language that scares markets.

Even so, other results suggest those scorching “neoliberals” may still have a say in how Argentina is governed. A member of Mr Macri’s party won re-election as mayor of the city of Buenos Aires by an overwhelming margin. And the populous provinces of Córdoba, Santa Fe and Mendoza also gave decisive support to Mr Macri’s alliance. As a consequence, his coalition looks likely to form the largest group in the lower house (although Mr Fernández’s alliance will control the senate).

“The good news is we have two broadly based coalitions coming out of this,” concluded Sergio Berensztein, a political analyst. The Peronists will have to seek allies rather than berate their enemies. With luck, Mr Macri will have left a political legacy of “conversation, not conflict”, Mr Berensztein notes.

From The Ecomomist