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10/08/2023
Two Argentine football players' English
Pick up the right answer
Their English is almost perfect
A - because they are studying very hard
B - because of AI
Is this the world's oldest Scotch whisky?
About 40 bottles of Scotland's national drink
found behind a hidden cellar door in a Scottish castle may be the oldest in
existence, according to experts.
Research in Blair Castle archives and carbon dating technology suggest
the contents date back to the early 1800s.
Whisky Auctioneer, which is based in Perth, said the whisky was probably
distilled in 1833 and bottled in 1841 and then rebottled in 1932.
Twenty-four of the bottles will go on sale in November.
After the discovery of the bottles at the back of a shelf, local whisky
experts sampled them.
Researchers are studying the
archives of Blair Castle and Atholl Estates, which include cellar inventories
known as "bin books".
They found extensive references to the production of whisky and aqua
vitae, especially in the early 19th Century.
Researchers also discovered that Queen Victoria and Prince Albert stayed
three-weeks at Blair Castle in 1844 and that they probably drank this whisky.
Angus MacRaild, an old-and –rare-whisky specialist and co-founder of
Kythe Distillery, said it was a great privilege to taste the whisky.
"This is a profoundly historic whisky and a remarkable example of
Scottish distilling. It is frankly astonishing that it still has freshness,
natural strength and power after two centuries."
Carbon dating by the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
also supported its 19th Century origin.
Bertie Troughton, the Blair Castle resident trustee who made the
discovery, said: "Blair Castle is fortunate to have one of the best
archives of any historic house in Scotland and it's wonderful to see the story
of these fabulous bottles come to life in the archives.
"Whisky is a huge part of the history of Blair Castle and we will build
an exhibition around the bottles we keep after the auction so that all who
visit Blair Castle can see it and hear the history of this incredible whisky".
Blair Castle
Images from Whisky Auctioneer
Article from BBC
9/20/2023
Sleep-deprived teenagers
On September 6th and 7th high-school students in Syracuse, New York returned to classrooms at 7.25am, 25 minutes earlier than the year before. According to the National Centre for Education Statistics, most American public schools start a little after 8am; more than a quarter start even earlier. Students in the South are the earliest risers. In Louisiana instruction typically begins at 7.45am.
Such schedules, health experts say, are inappropriate for teenagers, whose internal clocks are wired for an 11pm bedtime and an 8am wake-up.Regularly not getting enough sleep leads to chronic sleep deprivation. This can have dramatic effects on a teenager's life, impacting their mental wellbeing, increasing their risk of depression, anxiety and low self-esteem. It can also affect academic performance at school.
In 2014 the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that middle and high schools start no earlier than 8.30am. The Centres for Disease Control has concluded that, of all the policies aimed at boosting adolescents’ sleep, delaying school start-times could have the greatest impact. Data from the annual American Time Use Survey show that between 2003 and 2022 high-school students who started class after 8.30am logged 33 more minutes of sleep, on average, than those who started earlier.
A recent paper by Kevin Bastian and Sarah Fuller of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill finds that later start times lead to better attendance, fewer disciplinary problems and higher test scores. Some policymakers are getting the message. The latest data show that the share of American public schools starting after 8.30am rose in the 2020-21 school year. In 2019 California passed a law requiring public middle schools to start no earlier than 8am and high schools no earlier than 8.30am. In May Florida passed a similar law.
Eight other states are looking into such laws. The New York state Assembly is studying a bill that will require public schools to start no earlier than 8.30am. Relief may be on the way for Syracuse’s sleepy teens.
Article from The Economist (edited)
India or Bharat?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi appeared at the G20 meeting behind a country tag that said Bharat, not India.
Suddenly the question was everywhere: Will the country of more than 1.4 billion people now be called by its ancient Sanskrit name?
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi's ministers and his Hindu nationalist supporters believe India should
officially be called Bharat. However, there is controversy with opposition
leader Rahul Ghandi.
One country, three names
1. Bharat:
The name "Bharat" refers to the ancient name of India and has its
roots in Indian mythology. Bharat was the name of an ancient king and is also
associated with the legendary hero Bharata, a figure mentioned in ancient
Indian texts two thousand years ago. Over time, the term "Bharat"
came to be associated with the entire Indian subcontinent and is now one of the
official names for the Republic of India in the Hindi language.
2. Hindu:
The term "Hindu" originally referred to the people living in the
region near the Indus River, which flows in what is now modern-day Pakistan.
This term was used by Persian and Greek travelers and historians as early as
the 6th century BCE to describe the people of the Indian subcontinent. The
Greeks, including Alexander the Great, came into contact with these people
during their expeditions, and the term "Hindu" gradually became a
broader term used to describe the religious, cultural, and geographical aspects
of the Indian subcontinent.
3. India:
The name "India" is derived from the word "Indus," which is
the name of a major river in the region. The ancient Greeks, including
Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE, referred to the region as
"Indoi" or "Indika," which eventually evolved into
"India" as it is known today. This name has been used for centuries
to describe the entire Indian subcontinent and became more widely adopted over
time. The usage of "British India
began in the mid-19th century, particularly after 1857 when formal British
control was established over India.
Mr Modi's ruling Bharatiya
Janata Party believes that "India" is tied to colonialism and
slavery.
Officially, the Indian
government has made no decision and issued no statement, and one senior leader
dismissed the speculations of a name change as "just rumors."
"Modi wants to change the name of the country. It
is absurd…," opposition leader Mr Gandhi told Al Jazeera.
From Sky News (edited)
8/13/2023
Lionel Messi's playing for Inter Miami (video)
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8/08/2023
Musk Says Fight with Zuckerberg will be live-streamed on X
Elon Musk said in a social media post that
his proposed cage fight with Meta (META.O) CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be
live-streamed on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Zuck v Musk fight will be
live-streamed on X. All proceeds will go to charity for veterans," Musk
said in a post on X early on Sunday morning, without giving any further
details.
Earlier on Sunday, Musk had said on X that
he was "lifting weights throughout the day, preparing for the fight",
adding that he did not have time to work out so he brings the weights to work.
When a user on X asked Musk the point of
the fight, Musk responded by saying "It's a civilized form of war. Men
love war."
The brouhaha began when Musk said in a June
20 post that he was "up for a cage match" with Zuckerberg, who is
trained in jiujitsu.
A day later, Zuckerberg, 39, who has posted
pictures of matches he has won on his company's Instagram platform, asked Musk,
51, to "send location" for the proposed fight.
Musk replied "Vegas Octagon",
referring to an events center where mixed martial arts (MMA) championship bouts
are held.
Musk then said he will start training if
the cage fight takes shape.
From Reuters
Taylor Swift's bonus
On the eve of wrapping up the US
leg of her wildly successful Eras
Tour, Swift thanked crew members who were in charge
of heavy lifting on the road with her with a hefty bonus.
Swift stunned the tour’s trucking
staff by giving each trucker a check of $100,000, said Michael Scherkenbach,
founder and CEO of Denver, Colorado-based Shomotion trucking company.
A total of nearly 50 members of
the trucking crews received the six-figure bonus.
The typical amount is $5,000 to
$10,000 each. So this large amount is unbelievable. But more than that,
Scherkenbach said
“It is a “life-changing” amount of
money. These men and women live on the road. They sleep during the day and work
all night.They leave their families, young children for weeks. For Taylor’s
tour, they were away from home for 24 weeks. $100,000 is a down payment on a house or
college tuition for a child. Look, fair wage doesn’t put you in a position to
buy a home. But this opens up that possibility.”
Scherkenbach said his drivers were called into
what they thought was a routine production meeting on Monday. It was anything
but that.
Then Swift’s father, Scott Swift, made a
surprise visit.
“The Taylor family is always present and kind
to our drivers but Scott generally doesn’t lead the meeting,” said
Scherkenbach. “Scott gave a speech saying that he had discussed this with
Taylor and they thought that it was only right that everybody received a bonus.
Taylor insisted on writing a handwritten note to each driver and added a wax
seal on the envelope with her monogram.”
Each envelope stated the amount of the bonus.
“The drivers didn’t want to be rude and look at it. But one looked and thought
it said $1,000, another driver saw it as $10,000 and then the third said ‘Well
this has to be a joke!’”
In addition to his staff, other tour crew
members, including those in catering, video, audio and lighting, also received
bonuses.
As of June, the tour raked in more than $300 million. At that time, more than 1.1 million tickets had been sold at an average price of $253.
Forbes estimated Swift herself grossed $110 million from the first 22 performances of the tour. The publication projected the Eras Tour will gross $1.6 billion.
Swift's net worth is an estimated $740 million, making her one of the richest self-made women in the U.S., according to Forbes.
The Eras Tour – during which Swift performs hits from all of her past "eras" – kicked off in March and ended its U.S. leg in Los Angeles this weekend.
She will embark
on the international leg of
the tour later this month, starting in Mexico.
From CNN and CBSNews (adapted)
7/31/2023
Honduras will build a new prison
Honduras will build a high
security prison on an unpopulated island in the Caribbean Sea off the country’s
eastern coast. The Swan Island project will become the Western Hemisphere’s
only island prison. Honduras will use the prison to house the country’s most
violent criminals.
In the past, Honduran
President Xiomara Castro promised to solve violence through reforms to the government and
criminal justice systems. Now, she will create an island prison capable of
holding 2,000 people. The island is over 240 kilometers off the coast.
Island prisons were common
in some Latin America countries including Brazil, Chile and Colombia. However,
riots, poor conditions and prison escapes led to their closing. The final
island prison, which belonged to Mexico, closed in 2019.
Officials in Honduras say
the new prison will help stop violence. But, critics say island prisons will
not deal with the root of the problem.
Tiziano Breda is a Latin America
expert at Italy’s Instituto Affari Internazionali. He said that new prisons are
“…useless if you don’t have control of the other prisons you have.”
Last month in Honduras, 46
women died in a prison fight that involved guns, knives and fire. It was one of
the worst incidents in the history of women’s prisons.
In answer, President Castro
said she will “take drastic measures” and put an end to the criminal
gangs that have terrorized Honduras for years.
José Jorge FortÃn, the head of
Honduras’ armed forces, said that the only way to communicate with the island
prison is by satellite. This will make it difficult for gangs inside the prison
to organize crime and violence.
FortÃn did not say how much it
will cost or how long it will take to build the prison.
The neighboring country of El
Salvador has a strong position against gangs. One in every 100 people there is
a prisoner. Gang members are 30 percent
of the prison population in El Salvador. Violence there is lower and citizens are increasingly in favor of the system.
“If El Salvador system is
effective, why not copy it?” Honduras’ FortÃn said.
His idea
is supported by many Hondurans, including scientist Bill Santos who said, “Ending
the crime problem for ever in Honduras will be ideal for this country.”
Others
are expressing environmental concerns about the new prison plan. Scientists
worry the project will damage the island’s ecosystem. Last week, the Honduran
Biologists Association called the prison a “threat” to nature.
Lucky
Medina, Honduras’ secretary of natural resources and the environment said “We
will build the prison in unity with nature. Officials will follow environmental
protection measures”.
.jpg)
Back to the office?
Workers in the office collaborate with
virtual peers at American Express
From curbside pickup to having groceries
delivered, the COVID-19 pandemic changed many norms in American society,
including what it means to be on the job.
“It's been that catalyst that transformed
how we work. It's changed the acceptability of working at home,” says Timothy
Golden, professor of management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New
York. "Employee expectations and the norms for employees have been altered
by this experience of mass remote work.”
In the three-plus years since the pandemic
forced many to work from home, remote work has transformed from a temporary
arrangement to a new way of living and working. More than one-third of
Americans, 34%, worked from home at least some of the time in 2022, according to
the U.S. Department of Labor. By comparison, just 24% of people teleworked in
2019, before the pandemic.
Many major companies such as Amazon, Apple,
Meta [Facebook] and Disney have called workers back into the office for at
least part of the week. In October 2022, bank and financial holding company
Goldman Sachs said that more than two-thirds of its staff were back in the
office full-time.
Organizational psychologist Cathleen Swody
says her corporate clients are mostly settling on a hybrid schedule where
workers are in the office about three days a week.
“I am hearing a lot of pushback from
employees against the mandatory full-time, back-to-work option,” says Swody, a
managing partner at Thrive Leadership. “They feel that they've been working
from home for three years. They've been demonstrating their performance and
that they're trustworthy, and that they can actually get their work done
without being on site. And now they feel a little bit like that’s being called
into question.”
Golden, who has studied the issue for more
than 20 years, says remote work highlights an ever-present tension between
managers and employees.
“Remote work brings to the surface a lot of
these classic issues in management thought, in terms of control versus
autonomy,” Golden says. “Managers have a sense that maybe, somehow, they have
less control over their employees because they can't physically observe them
all the time. And so, that's uncomfortable for many managers.”
McKinsey and Company, a management
consulting firm, surveyed 25,000 Americans in the spring of 2022 and found
that 58% reported having the opportunity to work from home at least one
day a week, while 35% said they could work from home five days a week.
Eighty-seven percent of people who have the option to work from home take
advantage of the opportunity, the survey said.
“A majority of what we're talking about is
some combination of one, two, three days per week working from home. It's not
fully remote,” says Ryan Luby, an associate partner at McKinsey & Company.
“The implication of that is that folks tend to live within a reasonable
commuting radius of their offices. …You're still going to be what we think
about as tethered to an urban core.”
Having the flexibility to work remotely is
more valuable than money to some employees, according to Luby, which could help
boost employers' bottom line.
“It looks like folks are willing to exchange
wage growth for the opportunity to work flexibly,” Luby says. “And I think, in
a world in which wages are increasing rapidly and employers are concerned about
wage growth, I think there's an interesting opportunity … to think about
granting flexibility.”
Employers might not have much of a choice.
The newest entrants into the job market — recent college graduates — are
beginning their careers with different expectations than previous generations.
“They have begun the world of work with the
presence of remote work … and so, that's what they know. And in large ways,
that's what they have come to expect,” Golden says. “And so, when they look for
career opportunities and job opportunities, they look for remote work as an
option. Maybe not full time, maybe as a hybrid form.”
The experts agree that there’s almost no
chance of going back to the office full time for the majority of workers who
were able to telework during the pandemic.
“The horse has been let out of the barn. We
have experience. We have demonstrated that the technology can work, that we can
be effective not being in the office full time. And we've seen a lot of perks
for employees and for work-life management, flexibility for organizations,”
Swody says. “I think it's going to be very hard to go back to where we were.”
Photo Credit: American Express via AP Images
From VOA
.jpg)
7/17/2023
Welcome Lionel Messi to Inter Miami (audio)
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7/16/2023
The world's biggest car manufacturer (captions)
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Prince Williams and homelessness
Prince Williams, who is 41 years old, is leading a new campaign called Homewards. It is a five-year project that will focus on six areas of the UK,
including one part of London. After the five years, William hopes to widen the
project to the whole of the country.
This week he will visit the six locations. He will meet people who have experienced homelessness, as well as local and national organizations that will help him. He will also meet advocates who are spreading the word about the campaign.
Prince William said in a statement, "In a modern and progressive society, everyone should have a safe and secure home. Through Homewards, I want to make this a reality. Over the next five years, I want to give people across the UK hope that we can prevent homelessness by working together."
His commitment is
influenced by his experiences with his late mother, Princess Diana.
When Prince
William was 11 years old, he visited The Passage shelter with his brother,
Prince Harry, and their mother. That first visit to The Passage shelter
inspired his work.
There are 300,000 homeless people in the UK every night. In London, the number of "rough sleepers" increased by 20 per cent in the past year.
Prince William also wants to change people's perception of homelessness, which can also involve situations like sofa-surfing or staying in a friend's spare room for extended periods of time.
More than 3,000 adults in the UK answered questions for an opinion survey and the conclusions are
- 85% think homelessness is a very or fairly serious problem
- 72% think homelessness has got worse in the past year
- 73% think ending homelessness is not given enough attention
- 22% have had a personal experience of homelessness, whether themselves, family or friends
Republic is a British pressure group that wants
the monarchy to be replaced with an elected head of state. Graham Smith, its CEO, criticized
the plans: “Homelessness is the result of government policy and lack of
investment, it isn’t something that can be resolved by charity or royal
patronage.”
He highlighted the prince’s three homes, adding “Homelessness is also,
in part, the result of economic inequality, something represented by the
super-rich royals who live in multiple palatial homes.”
In a newspaper interview the reporter asked Prince William “Are there
any plans to use part of the land you inherited to build affordable housing?”
Prince William replied “There is. Absolutely. Social housing. You’ll see
that when it’s ready.”
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Article adapted from The Independent and People
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