It has occurred to me from time to time that there may be significant similarities between the views of secularist advocates of "lifeboat ethics" and the outlook of those fundamentalists who view themselves as inhabitants of "the late great planet Earth." This suspicion has been reinforced by two items I have recently come across. The first is an excellent essay by James Sellers, "Famine and Interdependence: Toward a New Identity for America and the West" (in Lifeboat Ethics: The Moral Dilemmas of World Hunger).
Sellers suggests that lifeboat ethics, as advocated by Garrett Hardin and others, is "a form of ecological chiliasm" ("chiliasm" is synonymous with "millennialism")--although those of us who are familiar with the complexities of evangelical eschatologies might want to be more specific, viewing it as a secularized version of pre-tribulation rapturism. In any event, Seller's suggestion seems to me to be a helpful one. Secularist lifeboaters and fundamentalists both have a rather easy time dividing the world up into "saved" and "lost." And they both seem to be preoccupied with the survival of an elite group who will have the good fortune of escaping the general wrath that is yet to come.


text:
Macedonia FYR
2018 – Lisbon
2017 – Kyiv
2016 – Stockholm
2015 – Vienna
2014 – Copenhagen
2013 – Malmö
2012 – Baku
2011 – Düsseldorf
2010 – Oslo
2009 – Moscow
Home 2020 Norway: Here are the first acts for MGP 2020
2020 Announcements Breaking News Latest News Norway
Norway: Here are the first acts for MGP 2020
By David Popescu
2020 will mark the 60th anniversary for Melodi Grand Prix, how do you celebrate that? Well, according to NRK (National broadcaster of Norway), you expand the show to include the entire country, and today we finally got to know the first few songs.
In 2020, Norway will expand their national final and this years national final has been expanded to include 5 semi-finals, as well as the grand final which will be hosted in Trondheim, the first final to be hosted outside of Oslo in more than 30 years.
25 acts will take part in this year's anniversary edition, but participants will be separated into their respective region.
The 5 semi-finals will consist of participants from following regions:
South Norway
East Norway
West Norway
The final will take place on the 15th of February, and the songs and acts will be slowly released within the coming weeks. More details about how the national final will be like, can be found here.
The Finalists!
Today, NRK decided to reveal the first nine artists, this means that we got to know the 5 pre-qualified finalists, as well as the first 4 participants for the first semi-final.
These are the acts that will take part in the final on the 15th February:
Didrik & Emil – "Out of Air" – (Song to be released on the 17th of January)
Ulrikke Brandstorp – "Attention" – (Song to be released on the 31st of January)
Akuvi – "Som du er" – (Song to be released on the 25th of January)
Sondrey – "Take My Time" – (Song to be released on the 10th of January)
Tone Damli – "Hurts Sometimes" – (Song to be released on the 7th of February)
Among the finalists, we already find one former winner, that is Didrik Solli-Tangen who represented Norway on home soil in 2010 with the song "My Heart Is Yours". There is also a former MGP winner among the songwriters, Kjetil Mørland is behind the entry to be performed by Ulrikke. Mørland represented Norway along with Debrah Scarlett in 2015 with the song "A Monster Like Me".
South Norway!
The first semi-final is already set to take place now on Saturday, the 11th of January. Therefor, we were also presented with the first 4 participants for this upcoming Saturday.
The first semi-final will feature the following artists from South Norway:
Kim Rysstad – "Rainbow"
Raylee – "Wild"
Geirmund – "Come Alive"
Lisa Børud – "Talking About Us"
Among the 4 songs in this semi-final, 2 of them are co-written by Laurell Barker who lately have made her own name within the Eurovision community. Some of her song that have made it to Eurovision include songs such as "Sister" & "Stones". She is behind the songs to be performed by Raylee and Lisa Børud.
Sondrey is set to perform in this semi-final.
So far, the 4 songs from South Norway can be heard here and much more details about the so far released artists. (In Norwegian)
KEiiNO represented Norway last year in Tel-Aviv with "Spirit In The Sky". They qualified to the final, where they finished overall on a 6th place after being crowed the televote winners.
What do #YOU think about the first 4 songs from Norway and do #YOU believe Norway can win in 2020? Visit our forum HERE or our social media sites and share your thoughts
Source(s): NRK.no
Tags2020esc 2020eurovisioneurovision 2020melodi grand prixmelodi grand prix 2020norwaynrk
Previous article Italy: Sanremo 2020 artists announced
Next article Irish Eurovision commentator and RTÉ DJ Larry Gogan passes away at age 85
More By David Popescu
More In 2020
Denmark: Which act in the P4 pre-selection is YOUR favourite?
Denmark's selection is a little different this year and follows a similar path to th…
Armenia: Depi Evratesil to take place on February 15th
Armenia's national broadcaster has confirmed that the selection process for Rotterda…
Moldova: 36 potential songs for Rotterdam revealed!
Back in December doubts started to arise that the Moldovan broadcaster TRM would not use i…
Denmark: Hosts for DMGP 2020 announced
2020 will mark a special edition of Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, since this time, it will be t…
Norway: Artists from Eastern Norway presented
2 days ago, Raylee won the first semi-final of the Norwegian national final Melodi Grand P…
Italy: Sanremo 2020 artists announced
If we go 70 years back in time, there was a time where the Eurovision Song Contest didn…
Load More By David Popescu
Ukraine: Vidbir Semi-Final Acts and running order determined
National Public Broadcaster of Ukraine (UA:PBC) held its semi-final allocation draw today,…
Load More In 2020
Research & Opinion
Something inside so strong: An Anti-Apartheid legend tries out for Eurovision 1978 (Twice)
James Maude
The below editorial features the opinions and views of the author and do not …
Better Than You – Country Spotlight: the NETHERLANDS
Boris Meersman
So, here we are. The last scheduled Country Spotlight for now (though I may …
Miracle Memelords – Country Spotlight: MOLDOVA
Happy New Year! As we have left the old decade to make place for …
© Copyright 2009-2020 escunited.com. All Rights Reserved. Designed by Trece

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Home Newsroom News and press releases ODIHR publishes new guide to assist civil society in building lasting coalitions to address intolerance and discrimination
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
ODIHR publishes new guide to assist civil society in building lasting coalitions to address intolerance and discrimination
Participants in a panel discussion on the role of civil society in promoting tolerance and non-discrimination organized as part of the launch event. Brussels, 26 June 2018. (OSCE) Photo details
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) released a new guide to assist civil society organizations in building lasting coalitions to promote tolerance and non-discrimination and to address anti-Semitism in the OSCE region. The launch event took place in Brussels on 26 June 2018 and was hosted by the European Jewish Community Centre.
The guide, Coalition Building for Tolerance and Non-Discrimination, offers a practical basis for building successful coalitions to address discrimination and build more peaceful and tolerant societies. By providing multiple tools, online resources and good practices, the publication serves as a starting point not only for civil society organizations and communities setting out to join forces to strengthen anti-discrimination laws and norms, but also for all civil society members wishing to establish coalitions to advance their goals.
The publication is the third in a series prepared by ODIHR as part of its project "Turning Words into Action to Address Anti-Semitism".
"Among other objectives, the Words into Action project aims to strengthen joint civil society advocacy to improve responses to anti-Semitism and all forms of intolerance and discrimination," said Cristina Finch, Head of ODIHR's Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Department. "We emphasize the need for a comprehensive, gender-mainstreamed and human rights-based approach that helps organizations work together to achieve common goals."
The project's coalition-building component promotes dialogue between different communities, focusing on specific topics and contexts for building coalitions. Its recommendations are intended to contribute to building more cohesive and inclusive societies for all communities in the OSCE region.
PublicAffairs@odihr.pl
Coalition Building for Tolerance and Non-Discrimination: A Practical Guide
Guide / manual / handbook


An introduction to dividing stock options, restricted stock, or other executive compensation during divorce.
If you or your spouse must decide how to separate stock options, restricted stock (RSU), or other executive compensation, it can be challenging at best. Several of these items provide income and can be difficult to value – or even understand! Let me walk you through a primer and try to remove some of the mystery.
The most common type of non-wage compensation used to be stock options in shares of the employer company. Accounting rule changes have made them less common, but there are still plenty of plans out there. Occasionally, the options can even be for shares of a different, related company. There are two primary types of stock options: Incentive Stock Options (ISOs) and Non-Qualified Stock Options (NQs). Generally, you won't see ISOs anymore since recent tax changes have made them less advantageous for employers. The difference between the two is in tax treatment and transferability. Stock options give an employee the right – not the obligation – to buy stock at a discount at some date in the future and are usually subject to some sort of vesting schedule. Where it gets tricky is if the options are partially vested at the time of divorce but can't be touched for four more years. Obviously, some of the intrinsic value belongs to the spouse, but how much? The calculations are ugly. Trust me: you need to bring in an expert to perform the calculations correctly.
Restricted stock is now the most commonly-used form of executive compensation. This is shares of company stock given to an employee as either compensation for past performance or an incentive for future performance. It's critical to get the actual grant documents to know which the case is since it makes a big difference when determining how many of the shares are marital property. They can be in two forms: either actual shares of stock (RSAs), or a right to acquire shares at vesting (RSUs). RSAs have less risk than RSUs, and they are usually worth something. Again, depending on award dates, vesting schedules, dates of marriage and separation, the marital portion can be quite complex to calculate, but it is critical that you have it done. This is a job for a CDFA® (Certified Divorce Financial Analyst®) or other financial experts familiar with executive compensation issues.
This is a benefit that allows the employee to buy company stock at some regular frequency, usually at a price that is discounted from the current market price. Purchased shares can be sold immediately, or they can be held for at least a year for more favorable tax treatment.
With this option, the employee can choose to defer some portion of current compensation until a future date. These deferrals may be salary, bonus, or even equity compensation. Sometimes the employer will also match these deferrals. They are totally discretionary, so any spousal maintenance should be based on total compensation before any deferrals. Any balances in the plan are likely marital property as well and should be analyzed carefully. Most plans are distributable at retirement, but some plans allow distributions during employment as well. These plans can also be either qualified, pre-tax contributions or non-qualified.
My spouse has executive compensation and has filed for divorce. Now what?
Do yourself a favor and bring in a CDFA as early as possible, preferably before the discovery phase. The CDFA will be able to provide you with a list of exactly what documents will be necessary to properly value the assets and determine marital property vs. separate property. This will prevent any last minute scrambling if you end up at trial. Most CDFA professionals are qualified to do this, but not all. Be sure to find one who is well-versed in executive compensation.
It will also help if the CDFA is available for any depositions so that he or she can be qualified as an expert early and preview for the other party the quality of financial information that you're having prepared. Sometimes, this is just what it takes to encourage a settlement!
The CDFA can also help ensure that the final Settlement Agreement is written to properly reflect the way the compensation will be handled. Executive compensation accounts are not usually eligible to be given to a non-employee spouse at the time of divorce, so the employee spouse must have very specific instructions on what must happen to specific shares, options, and grants upon vesting that takes into account the taxation responsibilities, etc.
Executive compensation can be very complicated, and if you take it on yourself, you're exposing yourself to a lot o risk. These assets are often substantial pieces of the marital pie and it is critical that they are valued correctly so that you can negotiate the best settlement.


text:
Q: SciFi work that had artificial birds turning on humans? Trying to find the original story (I read it in Russian translation, original was most likely English unless it was Lem).
The story plot had artificial birds designed to serve as cops. The birds started attacking humans who were percieved as being aggressive towards anything alive. So they created more advanced birds to protect against the first ones. This worked for a while until the second kind started attacking humans as well. It ended with the idea that they would need another generation to attack the second-generation birds.
The story wasn't very long. I read it a while back (mid-1980s, which means the original was written even earlier, probably before 1980).
Despite a somewhat Asimov-like "misbehaving robots" topic, I'm pretty sure it wasn't Asimov.

A: "Watchbird" by Robert Sheckley. Project Gutenberg etext. Here is a scanned copy of the original Galaxy publication with illustrations by Ed Emshwiller.
There was a TV adaptation. From Sheckley's Wikipedia page:

The short story "Watchbird" was adapted for the short-lived TV series Masters of Science Fiction. It did not initially air in the US, but on February 12, 2012, the Science Channel began airing the episodes, under the title Stephen Hawking's Sci-Fi Masters, beginning with the first domestic airing of the episode "Watchbirds".[10] It was included on the DVD set for the series.

By the way, the term "watchbird" was coined by Munro Leaf; here is an example of one of his watchbirds. I'm not sure if Munro Leaf's watchbirds were the inspiration for Sheckley's story.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange