D J C

CreativeForge Games has announced a new story-driven action/combat adventure game, Ronin: Samurai Redemption. Ronin: Samurai Redemption will be coming soon on PC, and below you can find its reveal gameplay trailer. Ronin: Samurai Redemption is a third-person action/combat RPG where the player utilizes the skills of three ronin. Players will fight monsters, solve mysteries and collect mystical Ki to unlock magical powers. Here are the game’s key features: Develop your own dynamic combat system. Experience an immersive, story-driven action/combat adventure To advance, fight for and use “Ki Powers”- special, often magical, skills. Battle a multitude of horrifying creatures and kill them in unique ways Advance to the Shinigami’s fortress and defeat it…but how does one defeat death? Do all that above…or just hit K to kill yourself. (There are many paths to redemption) Enjoy! Source

The Tesla Model S debuted nearly a decade ago and instantly portended the future of electric vehicles. Here was a sleek-looking EV with intriguing new technology features and unmatched performance and range. Tesla’s continual updates along the way have kept the rest of the automotive industry in catch-up mode. Only recently has a model come out to rival the Model S: the Porsche Taycan. The Taycan isn’t as revolutionary, but it offers similar capabilities plus the aura of Porsche’s sports car-building ethos. Is it good enough to unseat the Model S? Edmunds’ experts tested both to find out. RANGE The Model S Long Range — the least expensive trim — offers an EPA-estimated 412 miles of range. While Edmunds has found in its own range testing that Tesla’s EPA numbers are typically a little too optimistic, this is still among the longest distances you’ll get from an EV. Access to Tesla’s proprietary network of nationwide Supercharger fast-charging stations is another boon. On paper, things aren’t so sunny for the Porsche Taycan. As of publication time, the longest EPA-estimated range is 227 miles for a midlevel Taycan 4S with the Performance Battery Plus. While that’s below the Model S, a Taycan 4S overachieved in Edmunds’ testing, driving 323 miles before running out of juice. The upshot? In real-world driving you won’t notice as much of a range difference between these two cars as the specs suggest. Porsche doesn’t have its own charging network, but it’s working with third-party companies to greatly increase the number of charging stations nationwide. Winner: Model S PRICING AND VALUE A base 2021 Tesla Model S Long Range starts at around $80,000; the new Plaid variant, which has yet to come out, will be around $120,000. The Model S comes well equipped with standard features such as an adaptive air suspension, heated front and second-row seats, and a 22-speaker audio system. Tesla also includes driver aids such as adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring and forward collision mitigation as standard. The Taycan is more expensive. A base 2021 Taycan starts at around $81,000, but features such as heated seats and adaptive cruise control are optional extras. The top-level Turbo S starts at more than $185,000 and still doesn’t match a base Tesla’s features. Build quality in the Taycan is of a higher standard, and you can do a lot more to customize a Taycan with special colors and interior materials. But it’s not enough to sway this category in Porsche’s favor. Winner: Model S INTERIOR AND UTILITY The Model S’ interior is clean and simple, with a nearly buttonless design that puts most major controls — including those for the climate control and audio system — in the massive center-mounted touchscreen. Further back there’s a hatchback liftgate that reveals a sizable cargo area. There’s a decent amount of room for rear passengers too. Like the Model S, many of the Taycan’s features are controlled through a touchscreen. But Porsche fortifies them with traditional stalks, knobs and buttons for features such as the cruise control, windshield wipers and lighting. It’s a more familiar and easier-to-use experience. Rear passenger and cargo space are more limited compared to the Model S, but overall the Taycan is a nicer vehicle to spend time in. Winner: Taycan TECHNOLOGY Tesla’s driver aids are some of the best in the business. Activating some of these features isn’t very straightforward, but they work well in practice. There are other neat features such as the ability to play video games on the touchscreen, which is fun to do while you’re parked and charging the car. You can also sync your Spotify account directly to the car, though Tesla only offers Bluetooth smartphone connection. You won’t find any whimsical video games or fart-like noise generators in a Taycan — that would be so un-Porsche-like — but you do get a more sensible collection of tech. The Taycan’s driver aids function smoothly and easily. You also get Apple CarPlay, which is a smartphone connection that lets you control apps on your phone through Porsche’s touchscreen. It’s not available on the Model S. Winner: tie DRIVING EXPERIENCE Maximum acceleration is lightning quick with both of these luxury sedans. The Taycan, though, does a better job of giving you a feel of the road when going around turns. In general, it’s more nimble and athletic. It also has slight advantages for cruising. It’s a little quieter, with less wind and road noise on the highway, and its ride is smoother. Winner: Taycan EDMUNDS SAYS: These two luxury EVs are very closely matched. The Tesla Model S offers more range and features for less money, while the Porsche Taycan counters with more refinement and driver engagement. From Edmunds’ standpoint, the Taycan squeaks out a slight win here. Source

The Kadokawa Culture Museum is a Tokyo-based cultural complex that opened its doors just last year. The complex houses many temporary and permanent exhibitions, as well as natural history and anime museums. However, one of its most impressive attractions has to be the Bookshelf Theater – an enormous library with eight-meter tall bookshelves designed by Kengo Kuma that contains over 50,000 publications from various Japanese publishers and private collections. Recently, this impressive Bookshelf Theater was captured by Japanese photographer Ryosuke Kosuge, aka RK, and the photos are absolutely breathtaking. In a recent interview with DeMilked, Ryosuke said he has been into photography for about 6 or 7 years and initially started out shooting and editing using nothing more than his iPhone. Source

Sloppy Joes (Courtesy of Cattlemen’s Beef Board) Plan ahead: Save enough beef, vegetables and cobbler for Monday; save enough ice cream for Saturday. MONDAY: Slice and heat the leftover beef and layer it on dense white bread. Top with beef gravy for Open-Faced Beef Sandwiches. Serve the leftover vegetables on the side along with a mixed green salad. Warm the leftover cobbler for dessert. TUESDAY: Full-flavored and meatless, Mushroom Risotto With Peas (see recipe) is a delicious dinner. Add a romaine salad and garlic bread on the side. Slice kiwis for dessert. WEDNESDAY: Make the kids happy with Sloppy Joes (see recipe). Serve with buttered and roasted red potato wedges. Halved red and green grapes are good for dessert. THURSDAY: Perk up ordinary chicken breasts and turn them into Santa Fe Chicken. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts in a baking dish coated with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1 tablespoon Southwestern seasoning and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Brush mixture on both sides of chicken and bake 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Serve with canned black beans, yellow rice (from mix) and sourdough bread. Sliced peaches are good for dessert. FRIDAY: Buy or make egg salad for sandwiches and spread on whole-grain toast. Add a little dill to the egg salad for flavor. Garnish the sandwich with leaf lettuce. Accompany the sandwiches with deli (or canned) tomato soup. (If you have any leftover rice from Thursday, add it to the soup.) Finish with plums. SATURDAY: Treat the family with Italian-Style Halibut With Tomatoes and White Beans (see recipe). Serve with steamed broccoli, salad greens and a baguette. Top leftover ice cream with hot fudge sauce for dessert. THE RECIPES Mushroom Risotto With Peas 3 tablespoons butter 3 cups (about 8 ounces) assorted sliced fresh mushrooms (such as button, crimini, shiitake) 1/3 cup sliced onions or shallots 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 ¾ cups Arborio rice 4 cups unsalted vegetable broth ¾ cup dry white wine ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper 2/3 cup frozen peas, thawed Asiago cheese shards and fresh Italian parsley leaves for garnish In a large skillet, melt butter on medium. Add mushrooms, onions and garlic; cook 5 to 7 minutes or until mushrooms are lightly browned and liquid is evaporated, stirring occasionally. Stir in rice; cook and stir 1 more minute. Transfer mixture to a 3 ½- or 4-quart slow cooker. Stir in broth, wine and pepper. Cover and cook on low 2 ¾ hours or high 1 ¼ hours or until rice is tender. Stir in peas. Garnish each serving with cheese and parsley. Makes 6 servings. Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 297 calories, 6 g protein, 6 g fat, 50 g carbohydrate, 15 mg cholesterol, 203 mg sodium and 2 g fiber. Carbohydrate choices: 3.5. ■ ■ ■ Sloppy Joes 1 cup minced sweet onion 1 pound very lean ground beef 1 cup minced green bell pepper 1 (14 ½-ounce) can unsalted tomato sauce ¼ cup barbecue sauce ¼ cup ketchup 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 2 teaspoons packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon dry mustard Coarse salt to taste 4 whole-grain hamburger buns Dill pickle slices, coleslaw, American or cheddar cheese slices (if desired) Heat large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook 3 to 5 minutes until golden brown. Add ground beef and bell pepper; cook 8 to 10 minutes, breaking beef into ½-inch crumbles and stirring occasionally. Stir in tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and mustard; increase heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil; cook 5 to 10 minutes or until sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally. Season with salt to taste. Divide mixture among buns. Garnish with dill pickles, coleslaw and cheese, if desired; serve. Makes 4 sandwiches. Nutrition information: Each sandwich (without garnishes) contains approximately 264 calories, 27 g protein, 6 g fat, 26 g carbohydrate, 62 mg cholesterol, 412 mg sodium and 3 g fiber. Carbohydrate choices: 1.5. ■ ■ ■ Italian-Style Halibut With Tomatoes and White Beans 2 tablespoons olive oil ½ cup sliced green onions 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 (14 ½-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with basil, onions and oregano, lightly drained 1 (15-ounce) can Great Northern or cannellini beans (rinsed) 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar ¼ cup sliced fresh basil leaves or 1 tablespoon dried basil 4 (4- to 6-ounce) halibut or cod filets Coarse salt and pepper to taste In a medium pan, heat oil on medium. Add onions and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes or until vegetables are softened but not browned. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beans, vinegar and basil. Bring to a boil; simmer 2 minutes. Remove tomato-bean mixture from heat. For the fish: Season filets with salt and pepper and coat with cooking spray. Place on rack of broiler pan coated with cooking spray and lined with foil. Broil 5 to 7 minutes, turning once, or until opaque throughout. Serve fish over tomato and bean mixture. Makes 4 servings. Nutrition information: Each serving contains approximately 315 calories, 29 g protein, 8 g fat, 29 g carbohydrate, 56 mg cholesterol, 915 mg sodium and 5 g fiber. Carbohydrate choices: 2. Source

A grain bowl with roasted veggies and lemon-garlic salmon is a great way to observe fish Fridays for Lent. (TNS/Post-Gazette/Gretchen McKay) the recipe has several components, but that's no reason to fret. Each can be made up to a day in advance and then assembled when it's time to eat. Or, roast the fish and veggies while you're cooking the farro. It just depends on whether you want to serve the bowls warm, chilled or at room temperature. If you don't like farro, substitute any favorite grain — white or brown rice, quinoa, bulgur or wheat berries all work. I built the bowl on a bed of mixed kale, mustard and baby greens. Unless you like to drown your bowls in dressing, you'll end up with leftover lemon-garlic sauce. That's a good thing, as it can be used to dress salads, drizzle over roasted chicken or as a dipping sauce for just about anything. Lemon-Garlic Salmon Farro Bowl For the lemon-garlic sauce: Zest and juice of 1 large lemon 2 tablespoons lemon-infused or regular olive oil 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon dried oregano Kosher salt and ground black pepper For the salmon, farro and veggies: 1 pound boneless, skinless salmon filet Kosher salt and ground black pepper 1 cup farro, cooked according to package directions 2 sweet potatoes, diced or cut into half moons ½ bunch thin asparagus, woody ends snapped off and cut into 2-inch pieces 1 cup cherry tomatoes 2 cups mixed salad greens For the lemon-yogurt dressing: Juice of 1 lemon 1 tablespoon rice wine or champagne vinegar 1 large clove garlic, minced ½ cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt 2 tablespoons lemon-infused or regular extra-virgin olive oil Kosher salt and ground black pepper Pinch of fresh chopped dill Heat oven to 425 degrees. Make lemon-garlic sauce by whisking together lemon juice and zest, olive oil, minced garlic, and oregano in a medium bowl. Add a good grind of black pepper and whisk again. Line a cookie sheet with a large piece of foil. Brush a little olive oil over the surface. Pat salmon dry with a paper towel, then season on both sides with salt. Place on top of foil, and drizzle lemon-garlic sauce on top. Fold the foil over the fish to create a package. Prepare veggies: Place diced or sliced sweet potatoes, asparagus and tomatoes in a large bowl, pour remaining lemon-garlic sauce over top and toss to coat. Place on a second cookie sheet, and season with salt and pepper. Place in oven, and roast until the veggies are fork tender and tomatoes have started to burst, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and cover with foil to keep warm. Place fish in the oven, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until salmon is almost cooked through at the thickest part. (Time will vary depending on how thick the filet is.) Meanwhile, stir together the dressing ingredients in a medium bowl. Remove fish from oven and open up the foil to uncover the top of the fish. Turn oven to broil. Broil fish for 3 to 5 minutes, watching closely so it doesn't burn. Salmon is done when the top is starting to brown and has a slightly crusty texture. Remove fish from oven, allow to cool for a few minutes, then cut into large pieces or flake with a fork. Build bowl: Divide salad greens between two large bowls. Spoon as much cooked farro on top as you like. Add roasted veggies around the perimeter and then top with fish. Drizzle lemon-yogurt dressing on top, and garnish with chopped fresh dill. Makes 2 servings. Source

One of my favorite things to make for dinner was and still is picadillo — ground meat sauteed and simmered in a deep red tomato-based sauce, well-seasoned and savory with onions, garlic, cumin and olives. It's popular throughout Latin America, and can be a meal in itself, but it's also a component in more elaborate dishes, including tacos, empanadas, pastelon, chiles en nogada and alcapurrias. The recipe can change from region to region and cook to cook, and every family puts their own spin on it, adding olives, raisins, potatoes, plantains or squash, depending on whether they like it sweeter or more savory, simple or hearty. I put raisins and olives in my picadillo — I like the little sweet and salty dance they do in your mouth — but you could omit one or both. The recipe here is a streamlined beef picadillo based on the one I grew up eating. It doesn't require a sofrito, as some picadillos do, but if you have some or want to make it, do: Your picadillo will be even better. Make it a one-pot meal by adding a few handfuls of shredded spinach or kale and letting them melt into the sauce or tossing in bite-sized pieces of roasted potatoes or squash. Picadillo 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped (see note) ½ bell pepper, any color, finely chopped (optional) 5 stems fresh cilantro and their leaves, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced or finely grated 1 pound lean ground beef ½ teaspoon salt, plus more as needed 1 teaspoon ground cumin ½ teaspoon paprika ½ teaspoon dried oregano ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper 1 (15-ounce) can crushed or diced tomatoes, preferably with no salt added 2 tablespoons tomato paste ¼ cup dark or golden raisins, optional ¼ cup pimento-stuffed green olives, halved, optional In a wide skillet over high heat, heat the oil until it shimmers. Add the onion and bell pepper, if using, and cook, stirring often, just until they begin to brown, about 3 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and add most of the cilantro — reserving a few leaves for garnish — garlic and ground beef. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, break the ground beef into bits so it cooks evenly. Stir in the salt, cumin, paprika, oregano and black pepper. Cook the beef until its fat has rendered and it's brown with a few pink spots, 5 to 8 minutes. (Drain excess fat, if desired.) Stir in the tomatoes and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium heat for another 5 minutes, using a spoon or spatula to break up any large chunks of tomato. (If the mixture starts to look dry, add a splash or two of water to loosen it.) Stir in the raisins and olives, if using, and simmer until they've softened, 3 or 4 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings, keeping in mind that the raisins add a little sweetness and the olives add salinity and a touch of acidity. Garnish with the reserved cilantro leaves and serve the picadillo hot. Makes 4 to 6 servings. Note: You may replace the onion, bell pepper, garlic and cilantro with ¾ cup sofrito. Nutrition information: Each serving (based on 6) contains approximately 250 calories, 15 g protein, 20 g fat, 8 g carbohydrate (4 g sugar), 54 mg cholesterol, 259 mg sodium and 3 g fiber. Source

Ingredients 2 medium ears sweet corn, husks removed 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 pound fresh or frozen pizza dough, thawed 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1/3 cup crumbled Cotija cheese, divided 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided 1 tablespoon lime juice 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1/8 teaspoon pepper Directions Brush corn with 1 tablespoon oil. Grill corn, covered, over medium heat until lightly browned and tender, 10-12 minutes, turning occasionally. Cool slightly. Cut corn from cobs; transfer to a large bowl. On a lightly floured surface, roll or press dough to a 15x10-in. oval (about 1/4-in.-thick); place on a greased sheet of foil. Brush top with 1 tablespoon oil. Carefully invert crust onto grill rack, removing foil. Brush top with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Grill, covered, over medium heat until bottom is golden brown, 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from grill; cool slightly. Add mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons cheese, 3 tablespoons cilantro, lime juice, chili powder and pepper to corn; stir to combine. Spread over warm crust. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and cilantro. Nutrition Facts 1 piece: 211 calories, 13g fat (2g saturated fat), 4mg cholesterol, 195mg sodium, 20g carbohydrate (2g sugars, 1g fiber), 5g protein. Source

bn

As we all know, nature is full of surprises. Whenever we think that there can be nothing more surprising than this, we come across something stunning. Like this time, we came across a 1 in 146k yellow penguin that looks simply amazing. If you also want to see this one-of-a-kind yellow-colored penguin, scroll down. Penguins are known for their ‘tuxedo’ like the exterior, but did you know there are also yellow penguins? Yves Adams, a Belgian photo-tour, expedition guide, and wildlife photographer has clicked the picture of this penguin. “I’d never seen or heard of a yellow penguin before,” Adams said. “There were 120,000 birds on that beach and this was the only yellow one there.” Belgian photo tour guide Yves Adams managed to find one such specimen in South Georgia The bird’s yellow color is caused by leucism, a condition that makes the animal partially lose its pigmentation It is estimated that leucism occurs in 1 in 20,000 to 146,000 penguins Ever since the pictures surfaced, they have been going viral, getting over 100k upvotes on Reddit alone “It was heaven that he landed by us. If it had been 50 meters away we wouldn’t have been able to get this show of a lifetime,” said Adams Source

The posters were distributed in the city of Plock in 2019. Polish LGBT rights activists gather outside a court which acquitted three women who faced trial on accusations of desecration, in Plock, Poland, Tuesday March 2, 2021. A Polish court has acquitted three activists who had been accused of desecration for adding the LGBT rainbow to images of a revered Roman Catholic icon. In posters that they put up in protest in their city of Plock, the activists used the rainbow in place of halos on a revered image of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski) A Polish court has acquitted three activists who had been accused of desecration and offending religious feelings for producing and distributing images of a revered Roman Catholic icon altered to include the LGBT rainbow. The posters, which they distributed in the city of Plock in 2019, used rainbows as halos in an image of the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus. Their aim was to protest against what they considered the hostility of Poland’s influential Catholic Church towards LGBT people. The court in Plock did not see evidence of a crime and found that the activists were not motivated by a desire to offend anyone’s religious feelings, but rather wanted to defend those facing discrimination, according to Polish media. The conservative group that brought the case, the Life and Family Foundation, said it planned to appeal. “Defending the honour of the Mother of God is the responsibility of each of us, and the guilt of the accused is indisputable,” the group’s founder, Kaja Godek, said on Facebook. “The courts of the Republic of Poland should protect (Catholics) from violence, including by LGBT activists.” The case was seen in Poland as a freedom of speech test under a deeply conservative government that has been pushing back against secularisation and liberal views. Abortion has been another flashpoint in the country after the recent introduction of a near-total ban. One defendant, Elzbieta Podlesna, said when the trial opened in January that the 2019 action in Plock was spurred by an installation at the city’s St Dominic’s Church that associated LGBT people with crime and sins. She and the other two activists — Anna Prus and Joanna Gzyra-Iskandar — faced up to two years of prison if found guilty. An LGBT rights group, Love Does Not Exclude, welcomed the ruling as a “breakthrough”. “This is a triumph for the LGBT+ resistance movement in the most homophobic country of the European Union,” it said. The image involved an alteration of Poland’s most-revered icon, the Mother of God of Czestochowa, popularly known as the Black Madonna of Czestochowa. The original has been housed at the Jasna Gora monastery in Czestochowa — Poland’s holiest Catholic site — since the 14th century. Ms Podlesna told the Onet news portal that the desecration provision in the penal code “leaves a door open to use it against people who think a bit differently”. “I still wonder how the rainbow — a symbol of diversity and tolerance — offends these feelings. I cannot understand it, especially since I am a believer,” she said. She was arrested in an early morning police raid on her apartment in 2019, held for several hours and questioned over the posters. A court later said the detention was unnecessary and ordered damages of about 1,400 awarded to her. Source

The US Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly said in a statement that the ruling 'was a very long time coming. Not swift justice, but sweet and righteous just the same.' In this Nov. 2, 2016, file photo, leaders of the Jewish Reform and Conservative movements carry Torah scrolls as they march to the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray in Jerusalem's Old City. Israel's Supreme Court on Monday, March 1, 2021, dealt a major blow to the country's powerful Orthodox establishment, ruling that people who convert to Judaism through the Reform and Conservative movements in Israel also are Jewish and entitled to become citizens. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner, File) JERUSALEM (RNS) — An order by Israel’s high court requiring the government to allow those who converted to non-Orthodox Judaism in Israel to become citizens has elicited strong support from Reform and Conservative Jews and condemnation from Orthodox rabbis and lawmakers. The ruling “was years in the making and reflects the diversity and vibrancy of Jewish life in Israel and around the world,” said Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union of Reform Judaism, of Monday’s (March 1) court decision, which came 15 years after non-Orthodox converts first petitioned the court for permission to immigrate. “We hope this ruling establishes a precedent that will lead to further recognition of the Reform and Conservative movements in Israel,” said Jacobs. Until now, the Israeli government has recognized converts to Reform and Conservative Judaism if they converted to Judaism outside Israel — but solely for the purpose of citizenship: The Chief Rabbinate, which has sole authority over Jewish matters in Israel, does not consider either group of converts authentically Jewish. Israel has steadfastly refused to accept the authority of Reform and Conservative rabbinical courts within Israel over matters of conversion, marriage, divorce and other matters pertaining to Judaism. The ruling promises to become a political hot potato, coming just three weeks before Israelis are set to go to the polls for the fourth time in less than three years. The country’s Orthodox parties, a crucial voting bloc, are vowing to introduce legislation to nullify the ruling and expect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to support the legislation. Netanyahu must decide whether to alienate the Orthodox coalition partners he will almost certainly need to win the next election or anger American Jews, the vast majority of whom are non-Orthodox and who support religious pluralism in Israel. The ruling has incensed Israel’s government-supported religious establishment, which is run by Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox rabbis. “What the Reform and Conservatives call ‘conversion’ is nothing but a forgery of Judaism,” Chief Sephardic Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef said in a statement, calling on lawmakers to find a “quick” way to overturn the ruling via legislation in the parliament. The U.S. Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly said in a statement that the ruling “was a very long time coming. Not swift justice, but sweet and righteous just the same.” Referring to Orthodox threats to void the ruling via legislation, the movement called on “all parties” in Israel “to respect the decision of the court and to proactively protest attempts to legislate against religious freedom in Israel, as well as Jewish communities abroad.” Uri Regev, a Reform rabbi and president and CEO of the NGO Hiddush: For Freedom of Religion and Equality, said the Orthodox backlash against the court’s decision, coming just prior to the national election, “should illustrate to us how critical the upcoming elections are for the future of the State of Israel and the Jewish people.” Source

All school pupils are on course to be back in the classroom immediately after Easter. While no indicative dates were revealed as the Executive published its roadmap out of the latest lockdown, it states that there would be a full return to school in step three of the five step programme. With P1-P3 due to return on March 8, and Years 12-14 on March 22, the door is now open for the remaining pupils across the board to move back to face to face learning once the Easter holidays are over. First Minister Arlene Foster said she hopes to be in a position to confirm a return date for the remaining pupils when the Executive next meets to discuss lockdown restrictions on March 16. NI Coronavirus: Outdoor sports facilities to open first as part of Executive’s road map out of lockdown Coronavirus Northern Ireland: Michelle O'Neill outlines Executive's 'tentative' roadmap out of lockdown amid two deaths and 149 new cases “As a party we wanted to give clarity to parents, young people and teachers before now,” she said. “Of course we are in a coalition and we have to seek consensus. “We’re in a position now where P1 to P3 return next week. Years 12-14 on March 22. I very much hope that when we come to talk about this matter again on March 16 that we can give clarity for the rest of the school years so that they will know when they are coming back. “I hope, given all of the data that’s there, that it will mean everybody can return after Easter. We’ll not be able to take that decision until we review what’s happening on March 16.” Step Two of the Executive roadmap is due to start on March 8 with the return of P1-P3 to classrooms, with remote and online learning remaining an option. It would also see a return to practical face-to-face learning for Further Education students and apprentices. The Executive hopes that the education sector can move to step three at the end of the Easter holidays. That would see a full return of schools and a resumption of extended school activities. Step four would see inter-school sport resume, increased face-to-face teaching for Higher and Further Education students, and apprentices, with school clubs, FE colleges and university student extra-curricular and support activities and youth services resuming. By step five FE colleges and universities would begin moving towards more face-to face teaching and spectators would be allowed at school sports and performance events. Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill said that while it remains a cautious approach to ending restrictions, she would “expect to see a full return of schools “on the other side of Easter”. “That’s obviously providing that the transmission of the virus stays in check and everything stays as is. It is our priority to return children to school, but it must be safe,” she said. Ken Webb, chair of the Further Education Colleges Principals' Group, said the recovery plan was welcome and that attention now must turn to the safe return of students and staff to campus and the resumption of face-to-face learning. “College life has been disrupted now for one year with lengthy periods being spent in online, remote learning,” he said. “This learning format cannot replace practical skills development that takes place in college campuses and coupled with remaining uncertainty over arrangements to replace examinations, there is real anxiety being felt amongst our college communities, between both students and staff .“Our students’ education has no doubt been impacted during this time, and our focus now is to build on the fantastic work our staff have provided during the restrictions of this last year. “Many of the courses we provide are practical in nature, therefore our students need to be on campus for the applied, in-person teaching that is required. We are pleased to see that this has been recognised by the Executive and inserted early in Stage Two of the recovery pathway. “As we begin our own pathway back from the pandemic, our priority is the safe return of all staff and pupils and ensuring that all our learners receive the education they deserve. We look forward to working with our full college community to guarantee a smooth transition back to on-campus learning.” Dr Graham Gault, president of the National Association of Head Teachers, said principals were excited as the prospect of pupils returning to class comes closer. “Our school principals are so excited about having our children and young people return to face-to-face teaching,” he said, but urged parents to remain patient as the situation becomes clearer. “Parents, please have patience with your schools as we seek to reintegrate your children back into the classroom environments, because there are so many significant and complex things that the staff have to consider.” Source

A formal offer on teachers' pay for 2019 and 2020 has been accepted by the five main teaching unions, who said the agreement is "a step in the right direction". The pay settlement will see teachers' salaries increase by 2%, payable from September 1, 2019, and an additional 2%, payable from last September 1. Education Minister Peter Weir said: "I am pleased that the five trade unions which make up the Northern Ireland Teachers' Council (NITC) have accepted a pay offer today on behalf of their members." He said the pay award is applicable to all salary scales and teaching allowances. It has yet to be approved by the Department of Finance. Mr Weir added: "Teachers play a vital role in the Northern Ireland education system and I want to put on record my appreciation for the hard work they do on a daily basis, which has been made more difficult by the challenges of this pandemic." Unions welcomed the successful conclusion to negotiations. Gerry Murphy, Northern Secretary of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, said: "This salary uplift for the two years in question takes us further along the pathway in restoring teachers' salaries to the levels they should be at. "It is a task INTO will stick at and we remind our members that at the end of the summer we will begin negotiation with DE and the employing authorities on the next pay uplift. "The uplift agreed of 2% for each of the years along with the associated back pay and the fact that the uplift comes with no strings attached is a positive step. INTO members can expect to see this uplift reflected in their salaries before the summer break." A spokesperson for the NASUWT added: "Today's 2% pay award for 2019 and 2020 is a step in the right direction for teachers. It is entirely unfair that FE lecturers are being offered less along with demands for detrimental changes to their contracts." The offer was made on Wednesday, February 10. Negotiations involved the employers and the Northern Ireland Teachers Council (NITC) which represents five unions - INTO, the NASUWT, Ulster Teachers' Union UTU, the National Education Union and National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), along with the Department for Education and the Education Authority. Source

A very rare Winston Churchill painting (gifted by him to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II) has been sold for nearly $11.5 million after fees. It was purchased by ex-beau Brad Pitt for Angelina Jolie a few years ago and is now touted to be the most expensive of Churchill’s pieces to be sold. The artwork features the long shadows and warm tones of a sunset in Marrakech, Morocco. It is titled ‘Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque’ and is the only painting done by Churchill during the Second World War. It was held in a private collection in the U.S. for several years before it was given to Jolie by her ex-partner, Brad Pitt. Source

The artwork, "Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque," completed in 1943 by Winston Churchill, fetched some four times its auction estimate of between $2.1 million and $3.5 million. File Image courtesy of Christie's March 2 (UPI) -- A painting by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and once owned by Angelina Jolie broke auction records in London this week, selling for $11.59 million. The artwork, Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque, completed in 1943, fetched some four times its auction estimate of between $2.1 million and $3.5 million, Christie's London said. The landscape is of Marrakesh, Morocco, a favorite subject of Churchill's. The previous record for a Churchill painting was set in 2014, when a painting of a pond -- The Goldfish Pool at Chartwell, sold for $2.82 million as part of a Sotheby's auction. It was part of a sale of personal possessions owned by Mary Soames, the last-surviving daughter of Churchill who died earlier that year. Churchill gifted the Mosque painting to former U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who later passed it to his son, Elliot Roosevelt. It eventually made its way into the possession of the Jolie Family Collection in 2011. It was most recently on exhibit at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at Washington University in St. Louis as part of a show entitled "The Paintings of Sir Winston Churchill" in 2015-16. The Monday auction involved two other Churchill paintings, Scene At Marrakech, which sold for $2.63 million and St. Paul's Churchyard, which sold for $1.51 million. In total, Christie's spring 20th century sale realized $61.14 million, with the second-highest single artwork -- La Mousmé by Vincent van Gogh -- fetching $10.44 million. "The auction of Modern British Art demonstrated the vibrant and dynamic nature of this market with exceptional provenance as witnessed in the Churchills, Lavery, the Collection of Mireille and James Lévy and the Estates of L.S. Lowry and Carol Ann Lowry," said Nick Orchard, the head of Christie's Modern British Art Department. "These works generated international interest with competitive bidding throughout the evening, resulting in Christie's second highest total for a Modern British Art evening sale." Source

SALEM, Mass. – A painting by celebrated 20th century American artist, Jacob Lawrence, that had been missing for more than 60 years has been discovered and will join the five-stop national exhibition tour of “Jacob Lawrence: The American Struggle,” organized by the Peabody Essex Museum. Panel 28 is one of 30 that comprise Lawrence’s powerful epic series “Struggle: From the History of the American People” (1954–56), and it will be reunited with the series’ other works for the final exhibition tour stops at the Seattle Art Museum (March 5–May 23) and The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. (June 26–Sept. 19). This announcement follows the discovery of Panel 16 in October 2020. The location of three remaining paintings from Jacob Lawrence’s “Struggle” series, Panel 14, Panel 20 and Panel 29, remain unknown. It is the museums’ hope that the increased awareness of Jacob Lawrence’s work will help fully reunite this historic painting series for the first time since. Until its recent discovery in a New York City apartment, Panel 28 had not been seen publicly for decades and was known through a black-and-white reproduction. The painting, called Immigrants admitted from all countries: 1820 to 1840—115,773, was inspired by a table of immigration statistics published in Richard B. Morris’s Encyclopedia of American History (1953), one of Lawrence’s sources of inspiration for the “Struggle” series. The gathered figures in Lawrence’s painting portray a message of hope and promise: a shawled woman cradles and nurses an infant baby while a brimmed hat man in the middle clutches a pot of a single rose—America’s national flower. Lawrence exaggerated the size of the hands to symbolize what it meant to arrive only with what could be carried. Panel 28 has generously been lent to the national exhibition tour by its owner, who wishes to remain anonymous. The owner inherited the painting through family members who, like the figures depicted in the painting, were themselves immigrants to America. Source

While I'd hardly call myself a psychology genius by any means, I have been teaching psychology courses continuously at the college level since 1994. And I recently wrote the book Own Your Psychology Major! A Guide to Student Success (published by the American Psychology Association). So I figure I know a thing or two. Based on this experience, I thought it'd be useful to put together a straightforward quiz to help people gauge their basic knowledge of the field of psychology. Good luck! 1. Piaget's ideas on cognitive development largely focus on which of the following: A. How young adults come to understand abstract philosophical concepts B. How young adults come to understand technical concepts such as algebra C. How young children come to understand dimensions of the physical world, such as volume D. How young children come develop social and emotional skills 2. Classic research on social influence, such as Stanley Milgram's work on obedience to authority, generally showed that ______. A. people are often highly susceptible to situational and social influences in terms of their actions B. people are generally highly independent in their thinking and are largely unaffected by social and situational influences C. the personality trait of extraversion plays the largest role in shaping how people are influenced by social situations D. the personality trait of emotional stability plays the largest role in shaping how people are influenced by social situations 3. The evolutionary perspective in psychology suggests that many behavioral patterns in humans ______. A. were shaped to help the species of Homo sapiens survive relative to other species B. were shaped by evolutionary forces to facilitate survival and/or reproduction of individuals C. are exclusively the result of social-constructionist processes D. are unrelated to such forces as natural and sexual selection 4. Nerve cells, also called ____, release chemicals called _____ which underlie psychological phenomena. A. t-cells; hydroblasts B. neurons; hydroblasts C. t-cells; neurotransmitters D. neurons; neurotransmitters 5. Experimental methods, including such processes as random assignment to conditions, are largely designed to allow researchers to see ______. A. if two variables are causally related to one another B. if two variables are negatively correlated with one another C. the effects of dispositional influences on behavior D. the effects of demographic factors on behavior 6. In terms of visual perception, animals that are largely nocturnal tend to have disproportionately high numbers of these cells in their retinas: A. t-cells B. b-cells C. rods D. cones 7. The field of psychology that largely focuses on psychological processes as they play out in the workplace and in organizational contexts is known as which of the following? A. Office Science B. Counseling Psychology C. Political/Educational Psychology D. Industrial/Organizational Psychology 8. Work on attachment styles in young children generally relates to how securely children are attached to ______. A. their friends B. their toys and pets C. their caregivers D. adults in general 9. Which of the following is NOT considered one of the "Big 5" personality traits (traits thought to underlie most of the traits that characterize human personality)? A. open-mindedness B. emotional intelligence C. neuroticism D. extraversion 10. Freud's brand of therapy, known as psychoanalysis, is famous for largely focusing on which of the following: A. learning processes B. the unconscious C. cognitive-behavioral outcomes D. operant conditioning Answer key: 1. C : Piaget's famous work focused on how children develop in terms of their understanding of the physical world, such as how they come to learn about volume of liquids. 2. A : Classic work on the topic of social influence by researchers such as Stanley Milgram is famous for showing how highly influenced human behavior is by situational and social factors that are external to the person. 3. B : The evolutionary perspective in psychology focuses on a Darwinian perspective, which addresses how behavioral attributes can be thought of as adaptations that help to facilitate survival and reproduction of individuals within a species. 4. D : The nervous system is comprised of millions of nerve cells called neurons that release chemicals called neurotransmitters that underlie psychological phenomena. 5. A : Experimental methods in psychology are designed to see if two variables are causally related to one another (in other words, to see if scores on Y caused by scores on X). 6. C : Rods on the retina largely serve the function of facilitating vision under low-light conditions. Many nocturnal animals have high proportions of rods on their retinas as an adaptation to such conditions. 7. D : Industrial/Organizational Psychology is the sub-field that focuses on psychological processes in work and organizational contexts. 8. C : Work on attachment styles in children primarily focuses on how children are behavioral attached to their caregivers. 9. B : The Big Five personality traits are extraversion, neuroticism, open-mindedness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Emotional intelligence is not one of them. 10. B : A core idea that underlies Freudian approaches to therapy is that of the unconscious. So how'd you do? Here is a quick guide to help give you a sense of your general psychology knowledge: 9-10 : Psychology ace! You probably majored in psychology and did really well in your classes. Congratulations! 7-8 : Not bad! This is about how well a student who has mastered some psychology classes might score. 5-6 : Getting there! Seems like you have some psychology knowledge, but you have a bit to learn yet. 4 or lower : You might want to read up on your psychology! Source

SINGAPORE: More than 30,000 parents have benefitted from the Positive Parenting Programme, which teaches them techniques to manage their children’s behaviour, said Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Social and Family Development Eric Chua on Wednesday (Mar 3). The “evidence-based” programme, also known as Triple P, was first piloted in 2014 and has since been rolled out at schools and social service agencies islandwide. It is currently available via an e-learning platform or over Zoom, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “Triple P has been proven to be effective, with parents reporting sustained reduction of around 20 per cent in both their children’s problematic behaviour scores and parenting stress scores three months after completing the programme,” said Mr Chua. The parenting programme is one of the ways in which the ministry is working to promote youth mental health awareness, and better equip parents to support these youth, said Mr Chua, in response to a parliamentary question by MP Carrie Tan (PAP-Nee Soon). These efforts come especially as the COVID-19 pandemic has “posed new challenges and highlighted the importance of strengthening the mental health and well-being of our youths”, he said. Mr Chua also noted that additional digital resources were developed amid the pandemic to support parents. This includes a dedicated website that provides resources and tools for caregivers. For families who need more assistance, an online counselling service was set up in April last year by the ministry and the Community Psychology Hub. This service helped more than 1,200 clients last year, Mr Chua noted. “We will continue to work together with other agencies and community partners to help parents better support their children’s mental health and well-being,” he said. Source

Why Early Diagnosis Can Be Difficult The early signs of skin cancer can be easy to miss depending on where the lesions are located. According to health professionals, skin cancer is not often diagnosed in the early stages. Many persons only consult with a doctor when the cancerous tumors have spread to other areas in the body. Even though African Americans don’t develop skin cancer as often as other ethnicities, they run a greater risk of late diagnoses because their skin lesions may not look the same as others. Additionally, there is some evidence that African Americans can be misdiagnosed, which means an accurate identification of their skin cancer takes longer. How Technology Can Help For some time, developers were unable to design software that could effectively identify skin cancer lesions. Fortunately, a new computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system has been created that can make a lot of difference to telehealth. Patients can take pictures of any area they have concerns about and send the images to their doctors. The CAD software can then compare the patients’ images to its database and determine if there’s a reason for concern. With this software, patients don’t need to worry about having specific equipment to take their pictures as images from regular cameras or phone cameras are acceptable. Health professionals are excited about this new development because research has shown that the software identifies potential skin cancer lesions with significant accuracy. It’s also easily used by general practitioners so patients don’t need to see a dermatologist for an initial diagnosis. Another great thing about this new CAD system is that it continues to learn so it’s likely that its accuracy will increase over time. Tips For Preventing Skin Cancer It’s true that an early diagnosis is best when dealing with skin cancer. However, it’s even better to take care of your skin and prevent the development of skin lesions. The key here is to protect your skin from sun damage. That means you should wear protective clothing and sunscreen when you go outside. Since some medications can increase the skin’s sensitivity to the sun, take specific precautions during this time. To be on the safe side, check your skin thoroughly for any changes and consult your doctor as soon as you find anything. Source

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Health experts in China say their country is lagging in its coronavirus vaccination rollout because it has the disease largely under control, but plans to inoculate 40% of its population by June. Zhong Nanshan, the leader of a group of experts attached to the National Health Commission, said the country has delivered 52.52 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Feb. 28. He was speaking Monday at an online forum between U.S and Chinese medical experts hosted by the Brookings Institution and Tsinghua University. The target is the first China has offered publicly since it began its mass immunization campaign for key groups in mid-December. China has been slow to vaccinate its people relative to other countries, administering 3.56 doses per 100 people so far, according to Zhong, in a population of 1.4 billion. The fastest to vaccinate is Israel, which has given 94 doses per 100 people. The U.S. has vaccinated about 22% of its population. Chinese health experts say the country has enough vaccine supply for its population, although the country has pledged to provide close to half a billion doses abroad, roughly 10 times the number it has delivered at home. “The current vaccination pace is very low due to outbreak control (being) so good in China, but I think the capacity is enough,” said Zhang Wenhong, an infectious diseases expert based in Shanghai who also spoke on the panel. Developers of China’s four currently approved vaccines have said they could manufacture up to 2.6 billion doses by the end of this year. Still, vaccinating China’s massive population will be a daunting task. Even at the rate of vaccinating 10 million people a day, it would take roughly seven months to vaccinate 70% of its population, Zhang noted. The experts all acknowledged the complex task of vaccinating the world’s population, pointing to the slowness in the global rollout of vaccines. “Demand will outstrip supply for many months, and unless there is more manufacturing, … for years,” said Tom Frieden, the former director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They also cautioned against expecting a quick return to normal. The head of China’s Center for Disease Control, Gao Fu, predicted that life could return to an “approximate normal” in summer next year. Gao, along with Zhong and other Chinese health experts, urged more U.S.-China cooperation. Gao specifically called on the U.S. and China to cooperate on COVAX, an initiative to distribute vaccines more fairly across the developing world. Source

Merge.

As Normal player I had not experience in Supervisor, but +1.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw and David Oyelowo are going into real estate together (sort of): The two will star in HBO Max’s limited series adaptation of The Girl Before, TVLine has learned. Based on the bestselling thriller by JP Delaney, The Girl Before centers on Jane (Mbatha-Raw), who moves into a gorgeous house designed by an enigmatic architect (Oyelowo). The only catch is, Jane has to live according to the architect’s exacting rules. Plus, she discovers that the house’s previous occupant, a woman named Emma, died there. “As the two women’s timelines interweave, Jane begins to question if her fate will be the same as the girl before,” according to the official synopsis. HBO Max will co-produce the four-episode limited series with BBC One. Delaney will pen it, with Marissa Lestrade co-writing Episodes 2 and 3. Lisa Brühlmann (Killing Eve, Servant) will direct. Mbatha-Raw co-starred on the freshman season of Apple TV+’s The Morning Show as talent booker Hannah Shoenfeld. She also starred opposite Mackenzie Davis in the Black Mirror episode “San Junipero” and is set to appear in the upcoming Disney+ Marvel series Loki. Her film credits include Beyond the Lights, Concussion and Beauty and the Beast. Oyelowo is best known for his film roles, including starring as Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2014 Ava DuVernay film Selma, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. He also scored Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for starring in the HBO original movie Nightingale, and played Javert in PBS’ 2018 adaptation of Les Misérables. Source

Celestial, three-part harmony comes naturally for the three Staveley-Taylor sisters, who make up the British musical act the Staves NEW YORK -- Many nights growing up, some combination of the Staveley-Taylor sisters huddled on the staircase to listen when their parents invited friends over and took out guitars to sing Bob Dylan or Crosby, Stills and Nash songs. They were supposed to be in bed. Let that be a lesson, parents. Kids are always absorbing things, and you never know if it will change their lives. Today, Emily, Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor perform together in their own band, the Staves, characterized by the celestial harmonies of three sisters who grew up blending their voices. “There was always music on in the house,” said 31-year-old Camilla, the youngest of the trio. “Our parents were very musical. They could sing and harmonize and we soaked that in. I don't really remember a time when we didn't sing together.” The sisters' first gig, when Camilla was only 14, came at the Horn pub in their native Watford, a town in Hertfordshire, England. Family and friends heard them cover songs by Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, the Beatles and Norah Jones. “I think everyone we had ever met came down,” said Jessica, 34. “We had done our most successful show and it was the first time in our lives. We thought, ‘This is great, we can pretty much take over the world now.’” About a decade ago, their educations complete, the sisters decided to take a stab at a career in music. Most popular at home in England, the Staves released their third album, “Good Woman,” last month after a long and rough layoff. It's lyrically and sonically bolder than the more stately folk sound typified by the aching beauty of “No Me, No You, No More” on a 2015 album produced by Justin Vernon, aka Bon Iver. The voices remain ever central, however. The Haim sisters are a modern-day comparison, although Haim's sound is sunnier, California pop-rock. A more apt reference point is the American trio of Maggie, Terre and Suzzy Roche, first active in the 1970s. All three Staveley-Taylor sisters write music, although older sister Emily, 37, took on more of an editor's role recently since becoming a mom in 2019 (tending to her daughter, Emily sat out a Zoom interview with The Associated Press). To avoid arguments, all songs are credited to the Staves. Middle sister Jessica most often sings the melody, with Camilla taking the high harmonies and Emily low. They mix it up a bit on “Good Woman,” including some unison singing. “We always kind of feel that until the others can fit into a song, only then does it become a Staves song,” Jessica said. “If not, maybe it's for another project.” The sisters have spent some time in the United States, moving briefly to Nashville in their early days, and to Minnesota near Vernon when they made an album with him. “Every time we'd go and do something in America, our friends would say, ‘Have you broken America?'" Jessica said. “They think it would be like the Beatles coming in to JFK.” The Staves weren't planning on a near six-year wait between albums. Their mother, Jean, died in the summer of 2018, two weeks after their grandmother died. Camilla, who had stayed behind in Minnesota, saw a long-term relationship break up and she, too, headed back to England. “We just felt very alone and very at sea,” Jessica said. “It ended up that we just needed some time away to be a family and not worry about being a band, and to look after each other. In an annoying way, we just sort of imposed a lockdown on ourselves.” With that break came a crisis in confidence. Did they even want to do this anymore? What kind of band did they want to be? Would Emily still want to be a part of it? Were the songs they had written any good? They had intended to make “Good Woman” themselves, but instead called in producer John Congleton for some perspective. His enthusiasm proved infectious. Most of these life experiences are evident in the new songs, if you listen closely enough. Pulling through self-doubt, in a relationship or a chosen field, are themes of the title cut, “Failure” and “Paralysed.” The luminous “Sparks” references the loss of their mother. “When you miss someone's presence, you don't really think about the huge things,” Camilla said. “You think about the small things — how someone smells, hearing the keys in the door or how their footsteps sound. At the time, that was kind of the only way we could express our sadness and how we were feeling. It would take far longer for us to zoom out and be remotely philosophical about it.” Part of what they were trying to capture on “Good Woman” was the way their band gives the Staves a fuller, more muscular sound than is often heard in their recordings. “We pushed ourselves and pushed the limits on certain songs of where they could go,” Jessica said. “I like the feeling of confidence and boldness. It comes, I must say, from growing older and experiencing more of life and more things that cement your sense of self... I think we found more of a voice for this record.” Source