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text:
Home Football FAI Board Member John Earley Resigns "With Immediate Effect"
FAI Board Member John Earley Resigns "With Immediate Effect"
Robert Redmond June 19, 2019
John Earley has resigned from the Football Association of Ireland's board with "immediate effect."
Irish football's governing body made the announcement on Wednesday evening. Earley is the third board member to step away from the FAI since March. The Tipperary native has been on the board since 2015 and was the chair of the underage committee. According to the association, he will continue to be involved with the Schoolboy Football Association of Ireland.
The FAI confirmed the news with a tweet sent on Wednesday evening, which reads:
"The FAI can confirm that John Earley has resigned with immediate effect from the Board of the Football Association of Ireland and as Chairman of the Underage Committee. The Board thanks John for his service and wishes him well with his continued involvement with the SFAI."
— FAIreland ⚽🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) June 19, 2019
Earley released a statement of his own via the SFAI, which reads:
"In light of recent events, and after much discussion with my family and others, I regretfully confirm my resignation from the board of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) and as Chair of the FAI Underage Committee, with immediate effect.
"My time on the board, which came via my election as Chair of the FAI Underage Committee, has given me the opportunity to work alongside some excellent people within and outside of football in Ireland and elsewhere.
"To my board colleagues and members of the FAI Underage Committee, both past and present, and to the staff in Abbotstown, I wish to extend my thanks.
"In my role as Chairman of the Schoolboys Football Association of Ireland (SFAI), I have always tried to ensure the underage game in this country is recognised as one of the integral parts of the game.
"With up to 120,000 young players under the umbrella of the SFAI, my role as Chairman is, and has always been, to try and provide them with the best environment to play the game we all love.
"However, a combination of recent events during the ongoing governance review, and the failure to address my concerns at board level, has left me with no other option but to resign.
"I wish all those working to better the game of football in this country the very best of luck, and I look forward to continue working with many of you in my role as Chairman of the SFAI."
Changes On The FAI Board In Recent Months
Michael Cody, who served as honorary secretary, and Eddie Murray, who served as honorary treasurer and chair of the finance committee, walked away from their positions on the FAI board following an Oireachtas Committee hearing in April.
John Delaney moved away from his position on the board when his role was changed from CEO to executive vice president in March. He has since voluntarily stepped away from his role with FAI.
Minister for Sport Shane Ross said in April that the entire FAI board have informed him that they intend to step down at the association's AGM in July.
"The existing board will step down to allow for a new board to be constituted in the best interests of football," Ross said.
"There will be no further funding until we have received credible answers. I will be closely monitoring developments on corporate governance and the conditions that no new capital payments will be made by my department to the FAI until I am satisfied with the new measures."
FAI Top Story	2019-06-19
About Robert Redmond

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Having asthma can add considerable challenges to everyday life, especially while you're exercising or are in an environment with potent smells. Although visiting an asthma specialist and getting the right medication will greatly improve your quality of life, you can also make everyday changes to your lifestyle to reduce the frequency of asthma attacks or difficulty breathing. Although home-based remedies aren't an alternative to seeking professional care, taking the proper steps can keep you breathing easy. Here are some ideas to implement.
Improving the quality of the air that circulates through your home might sound like a major undertaking, but a series of simple changes can make a difference. During the summer months, shut your windows and turn on your air conditioner. Doing so reduces the instances of asthma-triggering particles in the air, which is especially common when pollen is at its peak. In the winter, limit your use of the fireplace and ensure your furnace filter is replaced regularly. Regardless of the season, prohibit smoking in your home, ask guests to abstain from wearing heavy scents, and dust and vacuum your rooms regularly.
The choices you make in the kitchen can positively impact the frequency and severity of your asthma symptoms. When you cook, using anti-inflammatory spices such as turmeric, ginger, cinnamon and oregano can be beneficial, while foods such as fish, berries and garlic are each widely recognized for their anti-inflammatory properties. You can further reduce inflammation in your body by limiting your intake of grains, unhealthy fats and added sugars. Another approach is to opt for small, regular meals throughout the day instead of three large meals and to avoid eating too closely to your bedtime.
Frequent bouts of high stress can easily lead to an asthma attack, and taking steps to manage how you respond to life's major and minor challenges can improve your ability to handle your asthma. The methods you can use to manage stress are vast, including taking up a calming hobby such as yoga, devoting time each day to something you enjoy, spending time outside or with your family, speaking about your stress to a qualified health professional or making regular massage therapy appointments. Don't be afraid to try something out of your comfort zone -- practicing meditation and breathing calmly allow you to learn the steps that help you relax and work toward a stress-free life.
For more help reducing your asthma symptoms, contact a company like The Regional Allergy Asthma & Immunology Center, PC.


Osteoporosis, which means "porous bone," is a condition in which bones become weak and thin due to lack of calcium and/or vitamin D. People with osteoporosis have an increased risk of bone fractures (breaks).
Osteoporosis is most commonly seen in women over age 50, but younger people and men can also have it. While the bones of the spine, hip and wrist are the most common bones to become fractured as a result of osteoporosis, metatarsals and other bones in the feet can be affected. In fact, some people first find out they have osteoporosis because of a fracture in the foot.


Who are the additional users in my subject?
Additional users may be added to LMS subjects to support staff and students. Who are they, and what access do they have?
The Indigenous and Tutorial Assistance Scheme allows for qualified tutors to work one-to-one with enrolled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to assist with their academic studies. If these tutors are working with students in your subject, you may see an additional username in your subject of the form itas.username. .
ITAS tutors have student-level access to the subject only.
Tutorial staff associated with the University's Colleges and Halls of Residence are given access to subjects in order to assist students with their study. If College Tutors have been added to your subject, you will see additional users in your subject of the form ct.username.
College tutors have student-level access to the subject only.
People without a University of Melbourne staff or student username may be added to the student/participant list of a subject/community as an External User. You will see External Users in your subject with the form ex.username. .
External users have student-level access to the subject only.
The Student Equity and Disability Support service provides eligible students with assistance in their study. Part of this assistance can involve an LMS subject, where a relevant accessibility officer is given access to a subject. .
Accessibility officers appear with their normal staff username and are often added as a Designer with limited staff-level access.
From time time, support staff from your faculty or from the central Learning Environments area may be added to your subject to provide administrative and/or teaching and learning support..
Administrative support users will appear with their normal staff username and have staff-level access.
If you have any queries or concerns about any users appearing in your subject, please contact Learning Environments by submitting a support request.


text:
More Than 3 Million NYC Voters Cast Ballots In 2020 Election, With A Record-Breaking 22% Relying On Absentee Ballots
by Brigid Bergin
Polling workers inspect and count absentee ballots on November 10, 2020, in Manhattan
John Minchillo/AP/Shutterstock
The New York City Board of Elections officially certified the results of the November general election on Tuesday with more than 3 million votes counted in the race for president and vice president, expanding the margin of victory by four points for Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris from the unofficial results on Election Day.
While more ballots were cast this year than in the last two presidential contests, when voters and election officials had no public health emergency to contend with, the percent of turnout remained roughly the same at 55% of registered voters.
The final tally included votes cast during early voting and in-person on Election Day, as well as a record-breaking 662,314 absentee ballots, made more readily available because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While absentee ballots accounted for just 4% of the total vote four years ago, this year they made up nearly a quarter of all votes cast, at 22%.
Voter drops off her absentee ballot during early voting at the Park Slope Armory YMCA on October 27, 2020
Mary Altaffer/AP/Shutterstock
While every election poses its own set of unique challenges, the city BOE struggled throughout the year to stay ahead of changing regulations, an influx of people voting by mail, legal challenges, vendor snafus, and the implementation of policies like early voting (never used before in a presidential election year.)
"Like the other five boros, they've done a tremendous job under horrendous circumstances in pulling this election off," Fred Umane, the city BOE's Republican Commissioner for Manhattan, said during their virtual commissioners' meeting Tuesday, praising city BOE staff for their work and echoing the sentiments of the other nine commissioners, despite missing Saturday's state-mandated certification deadline.
The long-awaited certified results provide a more holistic view of the counting challenge the city BOE faced, made more acute by a surge in absentee ballots. Manhattan voters made up the largest share of those who voted by mail, with 225,877 or a third of all the absentee ballots cast in the city. The boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens both accounted for about a quarter of the absentee ballots, followed by the Bronx at 10% and Staten Island at 5%.
When looking at how the absentee ballots factored into the total number of votes cast by borough, some different trends emerge. In Brooklyn, where more than 100,000 voters were mailed a second absentee ballot because of a printer error earlier this fall, absentee ballots only accounted for about 18% of the 920,880 total ballots from the borough.
By comparison, Brooklyn made up the largest share of more than 1.1 million voters who cast ballots during early voting, with more than 370,000 people voting early, according to data compiled by the state BOE throughout the early voting period. More than 250,000 voters in Queens, 238,000 in Manhattan, 153,000 in the Bronx and 104,000 in Staten Island cast ballots during early voting.
Among the city's most closely watched races was the hard-fought contest in New York's 11th congressional district, covering all of Staten Island and a portion of South Brooklyn, where incumbent Democrat Rep. Max Rose unsuccessfully tried to fend off a challenge from Republican Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis. While she declared victory after the polls closed on Election Day, with a 37,000 vote lead based on the unofficial election results, that margin shrank in half to 18,410 votes once absentee ballots were counted.
Still, anticipating that losing outcome, Rose conceded on the third day of counting, which began on November 10th.
This was always going to be a busy year for the city BOE, with the presidential primary originally scheduled for April, followed by state and congressional primaries set for June. As the pandemic rose to its first peak in the spring, a reduced number of city BOE staff continued to report to work to prepare for those election events. Two staffers contracted COVID-19 and died, while dozens of others were sickened.
As the virus surged, Governor Andrew Cuomo waited until late March to announce his order to move the presidential primary, just three weeks before what would have been the start of early voting for the originally scheduled April 28th contest. He also ordered election officials to expand access to absentee voting to try to discourage voters from congregating at poll sites, which led to increased COVID outbreaks in other states.
While intended as a public health measure, the sudden expansion of the absentee ballot system put a serious strain on local BOE officials, and ultimately frustrated some voters who in many cases either never received their absentee ballot or received it too late to submit it.
Inside West Side High School on October 30, 2020
Jen Chung / Gothamist
The mail-in ballots were also a source of scrutiny in federal court where several local candidates successfully sued the state BOE over the postmark requirement set in state law, forcing election workers to count ballots that arrived the day after the election regardless of the postmark.
In advance of the general election this fall, the city BOE made changes intended to improve the absentee ballot application process. Most notably, they launched an absentee ballot tracker that was supposed to enable voters to monitor the status of their absentee ballot from the time they applied for it until it was received by the board. But voters reported long waits to see updates to the systems.
One of the biggest sources of stress for city election officials was the overwhelming turnout during early voting, and the disproportionate allocation of voters to early voting sites. Voters and lawmakers demanded changes after Gothamist/WNYC first reported that nearly 120,000 voters were assigned to one of the early voting site on Manhattan's Upper East Side. The BOE eventually expanded hours and added an additional early voting site to address the crowds there.
The certification process on Tuesday came after three weeks of counting, through a process that some state lawmakers would like to speed up for future elections. There is also a proposal to expand early voting sites and even some hints that the state legislature may review the structure of the agency and how bipartisan control impacts its effectiveness.
State election officials will hold a certification meeting on Thursday to finalize New York's full results.
#election 2020
#absentee ballot
Woman Dies, Several Critically Injured In Bronx Explosion
NJ Fund For Immigrants Distributed A Fraction Of Aid, Reallocated $34M For State Budget
Karen Yi
NYS Health Department Recalls 250,000 Free Masks Given To Teachers And Libraries
Rosemary Misdary
Featured in News
Pediatric COVID Hospitalizations Quadruple In NYC
Unvaccinated children make up the majority of pediatric COVID patients admitted in the last week amid concerns about school safety and testing protocols.
Jaclyn Jeffrey-Wilensky


text:
« Newer Entries
Fitna bust
Thaddeus Tremayne (London) · Media & Journalism · Middle East & Islamic · UK affairs
I suspected this much would happen but perhaps not quite so quickly.
In the post below, I provided a link to 'Live Leak', the only internet video site that was willing to host the movie. Apparently, YouTube and Google were approached but their joint and several response was to hastily gather up their skirts and run away screaming like a pair of Victorian maiden aunts.
The owners of Live Leak are clearly made of stronger stuff but they can hardly be blamed for pulling the plug once their lives had been threatened. The film has been removed from their server. Their official statement says:
Following threats to our staff of a very serious nature, and some ill informed reports from certain corners of the British media that could directly lead to the harm of some of our staff, Liveleak.com has been left with no other choice but to remove Fitna from our servers.
[Emphasis mine].
I cannot say that I am entirely surprised by this development but what I do find discomforting is the reference to 'certain corners of the British media'. Which 'corners' are they talking about? I think we ought to know. Does anybody have any details here?
Anyway, it seems that the film is now being spread virally on all manner of mirror sites so, if you are interested, you will still be able to find it, albeit that you may have to dig a little deeper.
Tonight's feature presentation is…
Thaddeus Tremayne (London) · Middle East & Islamic
Fitna. The film made by Dutch MP Geert Wilders.
Make of it what you will.
WARNING: May not be worksafe.
March 28th, 2008 | 8 comments - (Comments are closed)
Discussion point XXII
Islam is winning.
Discussion point XXI
Thaddeus Tremayne (London) · Civil liberty & Regulation
Should the possession and/or distribution of child pornography be a crime in a free society?
More than muttering
Thaddeus Tremayne (London) · European Union · UK affairs
Down in the West Country, fires are being lit:
Imagine, if you can, a party rally, put on by one of its regional branches, and attended by several hundred decent, ordinary people. Imagine, then, being able to watch a dozen or so people called to the podium to speak fluently and with passion about what they truly think. Imagine also being able to mingle throughout with the leaders and elected representatives of that party. Imagine all this, and you have UKIP.
The excellent speeches from that rally can be viewed here.
I spoke to Sean Gabb the following day. He told me that he perceived a 'great suppressed anger' among the people he met.
Discussion point XX
Thaddeus Tremayne (London) · Historical views
History is the oppression of the weak by the strong.
Discussion point XIX
Thaddeus Tremayne (London) · Personal views
You are on death row awaiting execution. What would you order for your last meal?
March 4th, 2008 | 44 comments - (Comments are closed)
La vie en moonbat
Thaddeus Tremayne (London) · Arts & Entertainment · Middle East & Islamic
Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for Marion Cotillard, Oscar-winning actress and qualified electronic engineer:
Marion Cotillard, the Oscar-winning French actress, will not apologise over remarks she made describing the 9/11 attacks as a conspiracy and believes that the comments had been taken out of context and misunderstood…
Cotillard said that the towers were destroyed not as part of a terrorist plot, but because it would have been too expensive to rewire them. She also reheated an old conspiracy theory about the 1969 moon landing never having happened.
Of course, working in the entertainment industry does not disqualify Ms. Cottilard from having opinions, nor (heaven forbid) should she ever be restrained from expressing them. However, and equally, I am not disqualified from calling her an ignorant jackass. I hope she spends the rest of her career in French dinner-theatre emoting pointlessly before an audience of coughing, hawking, shouting, farting, senile old-age pensioners who are slupring down a mediocre bowl of bouillabaisse before shuffling home to die alone in a heatwave. How do you like them pommes, Ms. Cotillard?
Discussion point XVII
Is capital punishment an acceptable legal sanction?
Image is everything
Thaddeus Tremayne (London) · Sui generis
Some people are their own worst enemies. Take, for example, the rather eccentric-looking chap in the photograph below. He appears to have rather clumsily allowed himself to be portrayed as a depraved menace when he is but a makeover away from becoming a card-carrying member of The Great and The Good.
A network of "suicide gurus" who use the internet to advise people how to kill themselves has been exposed…
One of the most notorious figures on the internet suicide scene is Nagasiva Yronwode, a self-confessed Satanist who runs a shop selling occult books and charms in the small Californian town of Forestville, north of San Francisco.
Yronwode, 46, describes himself as the "outreach director" for an extremist cult called the Church of Euthanasia, which advocates suicide as a means of saving the world from the effects of overpopulation.
Does this self-defeating fool not appreciate just how seductive his central message would be to the bien pensant? Indeed, they are treading water just waiting for someone like him (only a plausible, marketable version) to come along. All he needs to do is to make himself a bit more presentable. → Continue reading: Image is everything
Discussion point XV
Thaddeus Tremayne (London) · Opinions on liberty
Would laws to protect animals from cruelty and/or neglect be legitimate in a free society?
Lost weekend
Thaddeus Tremayne (London) · Civil liberty & Regulation · North American affairs
A new bill in Mississippi would make it illegal for restaurants to serve obese customers.
The legislation, introduced by three members of the state's House of Representatives, would allow health inspectors to revoke the licence of any restaurant that "repeatedly" feeds extremely overweight people.
SCENE: Int. Day. A diner somewhere in Mississippi. A customer enters and sits down. The waitress approaches.
WAITRESS: What do you need, honey?
CUSTOMER: Hi, I'd like a steak, please, with some french fries and a side order of cole…
WAITRESS: Whoa, whoa, whoa….back up, fatboy. Everything's off.
CUSTOMER: Everything??!!
WAITRESS: I can bring you some water.
CUSTOMER: But I'm famished.
WAITRESS: I don't make the rules, sweetie.
CUSTOMER: But that man over there is eating a club sandwich.
WAITRESS: That man over there has a 32-inch waist. See the sign? 'No six-pack, no lunch pack'.
CUSTOMER: Isn't there anything you can bring me?
WAITRESS: 'Lose the guts. No ifs, no buts'.
CUSTOMER: But, look, I'm not fat, I'm just big-boned.
WAITRESS (calling out): Joe, bring me out the calipers.
CUSTOMER: Okay, okay. Listen, its my glands. I've got a glandular problem. Can I help it if my glands won't work properly?
WAITRESS: You're wasting my time here, honey. I've got plenty of slim, healthy customers to serve.
CUSTOMER: Oh please! I'm starving.
WAITRESS: Not starving enough, sweetie.
CUSTOMER: Can't I just have some bacon and eggs? Please? Oh come on, pleeeeeeeease?
WAITRESS: Listen, I'd like to help you. Tell you what, come in again next week and if you've dropped maybe five, six pounds, I can serve you a cup of black coffee and maybe a slice of dry toast. How'd that be?
February 4th, 2008 | 19 comments - (Comments are closed)


text:
Arcadia "Arkady" Darell este un personaj fictiv feminin din Seria Fundația a lui Isaac Asimov. Darell apare în A doua Fundație. Ea este fiica lui Toran Darell II și nepoata lui Toran și Bayta Darell (prin Bayta, Arcadia este descendentă directă a lui Hober Mallow). Arcadia Darell devine faimoasă după ce scrie nuvele istorice și o biografie a bunicii sale Bayta.

La vârsta de 14 ani, ea-și spionează tatăl și pe colegii săi conspiratori care vânează A doua Fundație. Arcadia se ascunde apoi pe nava spațială a lui Homir Munn, când acesta călătorește pe Kalgan pentru a studia palatul Catârului. Lordul Stettin, conducătorul Kalganului, refuză inițial solicitarea lui Munn, dar devine curând interesat de Arkady ca potențială soție. Amanta lui Stettin, Lady Callia, o ajută pe Arkady să scape, dezvăluindu-se accidental ca agent al Celei de-a doua Fundații și îndrumând-o pe Arkady către locația acesteia.

În timpul fugii sale, Arkady decide să plece spre Trantor și nu către Terminus. Ea are norocul să dea peste Preem Palver și soția sa, care trăiesc pe Trantor. Ei o ajută, iar când sosesc pe Trantor, Arkady îl convinge pe Palver că ar câștiga bani buni dacă ar livra alimente către Terminus și astfel l-ar putea contacta și pe tatăl ei. Palver pleacă și duce cu el indiciul lui Arkady către locația Celei de-a doua Fundații; totuși, A doua Fundație a supravegheat atent întregul proces, așa că a rămas nedescoperită pe Trantor.

Referințe
A doua Fundație, Editura Nemira, Colecția Nautilus nr. 29, traducere Emilian Bazac, 1994, 240 pag., ISBN 973-369-000-4

Personaje fictive din universul Fundației
Personaje fictive introduse în 1953
Scriitori fictivi

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Andrews Labor Government Delivers More Support For Animal Welfare
The Andrews Labor Government is taking action to deliver more support for animal welfare and will establish a dedicated public sector group called Animal Welfare Victoria.
Animal Welfare Victoria will bring together all aspects of domestic animal and animal welfare research, policy, education and compliance.
It will be overseen by the Minister for Agriculture and Regional Development, Jaala Pulford, and will see animal welfare officers continue to operate through the RSPCA, Agriculture Victoria and local government.
Alongside these changes, the Government will also review the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act in close consultation with key stakeholders and the Victorian community replacing it with a modern animal welfare act in 2019.
The new act will recognise the sentience of animals, reflecting the strong evidence that exists showing animals fear and feel pain. This will ensure animal welfare management and legislation in Victoria develops to meet community expectations.
To support the delivery of these changes, the Labor Government's Ambassador for Animal Welfare, Lizzie Blandthorn, will lead stakeholder engagement in the development of a new Animal Welfare Action Plan.
The Government will also commit to publishing an annual Animal Welfare report by Animal Welfare Victoria that outlines achievements, challenges and actions regarding better animal welfare outcomes in Victoria.
Animal Welfare Victoria is expected to be up and running by February 2018. It will deliver $500,000 in animal welfare grants to non-profit community organisations within its first year of operation.
These reforms build on the work of the Andrews Labor Government to end puppy farming, release the draft Animal Welfare Action Plan for community consultation, establish the role of the ambassador for animal welfare and provide additional funding to the RSPCA to improve domestic animal enforcement and compliance.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford
"All Victorians are committed to good animal welfare. We are working to deliver more effective and efficient animal welfare laws."
"Whether it's in our industries, in our communities, in our homes or in the wild, the community rightly expects we do the right thing by animals."
"Animal Welfare Victoria will ensure that wherever animals are, their well-being and welfare is a priority."


text:
Q: accessing struct members in array like manner: padding in structs different than in arrays? Suppose I have a structure comprising several members, each being of the same type. I'd like to safely access the members both by name and by an array index, so I introduced a union that comprises the actual struct and an array, which corresponds to the members of the struct in terms of number and type. See the following code, which illustrates how I'd like to "view" the struct in two different ways by using such a union:
#include <iostream>

template<typename elemT>
struct productData {
    elemT color;
    elemT size;
    elemT application;
    elemT division;
};

template<typename elemT>
union productDataAsArray {
    struct productData<elemT> p;
    elemT arr[(sizeof(productData<elemT>) / sizeof(elemT))];
};

int main() {

    union productDataAsArray<int> myProduct;
    myProduct.p.color = 10;
    myProduct.p.size = 20;
    myProduct.p.application = 30;
    myProduct.p.division = 40;

    for (int i=0; i<4; i++) {
        std::cout << "elem #" << i << ":" << myProduct.arr[i] << std::endl;
    }
}

Is it safe / guaranteed by the standard to assume that the memory layout of the array corresponds to the memory layout of the struct, such that the two different access methods achieve the desired results for any type elemT?
The following static_asserts with several different types indicate that it should work. But is it actually guaranteed?
static_assert(sizeof(productData<int>)==sizeof(productDataAsArray<int>::arr), "padding/alignment inconsistency");
static_assert(sizeof(productData<char>)==sizeof(productDataAsArray<char>::arr), "padding/alignment inconsistency");
static_assert(sizeof(productData<double>)==sizeof(productDataAsArray<double>::arr), "padding/alignment inconsistency");
static_assert(sizeof(productData<char*>)==sizeof(productDataAsArray<char*>::arr), "padding/alignment inconsistency");

class alignas(16) testClass {
    int x;
    int y;
    virtual void test() {};
};

static_assert(sizeof(productData<testClass>)==sizeof(productDataAsArray<testClass>::arr), "padding/alignment inconsistency");

A: Your way is UB, you may instead do something like:
template<typename elemT>
class productData {
    elemT data[4];
public:
    const elemT& operator[](int i) const { return data[i];}
    const elemT& color() const { return data[0]; }
    const elemT& size() const { return data[1]; }
    const elemT& application() const { return data[2]; }
    const elemT& division() const { return data[3]; }

    elemT& operator[](int i) { return data[i];}
    elemT& color() { return data[0]; }
    elemT& size() { return data[1]; }
    elemT& application() { return data[2]; }
    elemT& division() { return data[3]; }
};

A: No need to talk about memory layout here to begin with.
You already invoke UB by reading from a union member other than the one last assigned to. There is no exception to this rule in standard C++.
So to be explicit: The answer to all your "Is it safe/guaranteed"-questions is "No".

A:
But is it actually guaranteed?

No.
You invoke Undefined Behavior by accessing an inactive member of a union.

A: As the other posts have mentioned, it is not guaranteed.
Your static_asserts also are not sufficient to check, as you could have padding in different places. You should explicitly verify memory location in your static asserts:
namespace {
const productDataAsArray<int> testObj{0};
static_assert(&testObj.p.color == &testObj.arr[0]);
static_assert(&testObj.p.size == &testObj.arr[1]);
static_assert(&testObj.p.application == &testObj.arr[2]);
static_assert(&testObj.p.division == &testObj.arr[3]);
}

The better solution is to index with an enum:
enum productDataIndexes {
  PRODUCT_COLOR = 0,
  PRODUCT_SIZE,
  PRODUCT_APPLICATION,
  PRODUCT_DIVISION,
  NUM_PRODUCT_INDEXES
};

int main() {
    ...
    myProduct[PRODUCT_COLOR] = 10;
    myProduct[PRODUCT_SIZE] = 20;
    myProduct[PRODUCT_APPLICATION] = 30;
    myProduct[PRODUCT_DIVISION] = 40;

    for (int i=0; i<NUM_PRODUCT_INDEXES; i++) {
        std::cout << "elem #" << i << ":" << myProduct[i] << std::endl;
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
November 27, 2018 / 1:57 AM / 8 months ago
Mitsubishi Motors says Nissan-Renault alliance can survive turmoil
Maki Shiraki
OKAZAKI, Japan (Reuters) - A senior executive at Mitsubishi Motors Corp (7211.T) said on Tuesday its alliance with Nissan Motor (7201.T) and Renault SA (RENA.PA) can survive management upheaval, a day after it fired Carlos Ghosn as chairman over financial misconduct allegations.
FILE PHOTO: Carlos Ghosn, chairman and CEO of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, speaks at the Tomorrow In Motion event on the eve of press day at the Paris Auto Show, in Paris, France, October 1, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo
The future of the 19-year alliance, one of the biggest automotive groups in the world, has been thrown into doubt after the Nov. 19 arrest and subsequent ousting of Ghosn as chairman of both Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors.
Ghosn, 64, is the architect of the alliance and its chairman. He also remains CEO and chairman of Renault.
Senior executives of the alliance are due to meet for their regularly scheduled gathering later this week in Amsterdam that sources said would start on Wednesday.
Executives are also expected to discuss Ghosn's chairmanship of the alliance, one source at Nissan told Reuters, seeking anonymity because the contents of the meeting are not public.
Mitsubishi CEO Osamu Masuko said on Monday he would join the meeting via video link, while Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa, who remains in Japan, hasn't decided whether he will travel for the meeting, two company sources said. Nissan declined to comment.
A major longer-term focus is whether and how the ownership structure of the alliance might evolve, as Ghosn, under pressure from the French government, had pushed for a deeper tie-up, including potentially a full merger between Renault and Nissan, despite strong reservations at Nissan.
Renault holds around 43 percent of Nissan, which in turn owns a controlling 34 percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors. Nissan, the biggest partner in the alliance by sales, has a non-voting 15 percent stake in the French partner.
Speaking to reporters at a research and development center in Okazaki, central Japan, Mitsubishi Executive Vice President Mitsuhiko Yamashita said that regardless of the shape the alliance takes, the three companies would continue to source more parts together and leverage their ties to develop new technologies.
"I can't say how the three-way partnership might evolve, but as car-making requires more and more new technologies, the days when a single car maker can handle everything on its own are going to disappear," Yamashita, who once served as Nissan's top engineer, said.
RENAULT AUDIT
Renault will appoint a new chief compliance officer to head the carmaker's own independent audit triggered by Nissan's allegations against Ghosn, three sources said on Tuesday, two days after Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire announced the probe.
The investigation will conduct checks on Ghosn's pay and benefits as well as those of his immediate staff and executives, they said. The promotion of security chief Eric Le Grand to the new compliance role was first reported by Les Echos.
Ghosn is in detention in Tokyo over suspicion of financial misconduct, including alleged understating of his income and personal use of corporate money. He has denied those allegations, public broadcaster NHK has reported.
He has not made public comments on the allegations and Reuters could not contact him or his lawyers for comments.
Yamashita said the alliance would need to work out who would make decisions, and how, without the binding figure of Ghosn, but was confident the partnership was strong enough to withstand the challenge.
"Renault and Nissan have a history of nearly 20 years, and we're coming up on two years since Mitsubishi Motors joined," he said. "The foundation on which the cooperation has been built is becoming strong so I have faith that we can work with that."
Sealed in 1999 when Nissan was rescued from near-bankruptcy, the Franco-Japanese alliance was enlarged in 2016 to include Mitsubishi and enabled the members to jointly develop products and control costs.
Yamashita's remark echoes comments by Saikawa who told staff in a town hall meeting on Monday that the alliance remained important to generate synergies.
Saikawa also said there was an "excessive concentration of power" on Ghosn, and that in future alliance members should communicate better to help preserve their independence.
FRESH ALLEGATIONS
In fresh allegations on Tuesday, Japanese media reported that Ghosn had shifted personal investment losses incurred during the 2008 financial crisis to Nissan to avoid millions of dollars in losses for himself.
Mitsubishi Motors executive stresses importance of alliance with Nissan, Renault
Citing several unidentified sources, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said that when Ghosn's bank had called for more collateral from the executive, he instead handed the rights over the derivatives trade to Nissan, which effectively shouldered 1.7 billion yen ($15 million) in losses.
Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) discovered this incident during that year's routine inspection, the newspaper said.
Nissan said it could not comment on the report. An SESC spokesman said the watchdog could not comment on individual cases.
Reporting by Maki Shiraki, Chang-Ran Kim, Ritsuko Ando, Kaori Kaneko, Takahiko Wada, Sam Nussey, Norihiko Shirouzu and Laurence Frost; Writing by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Miyoung Kim, Muralikumar Anantharaman and Mark Potter


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Tag: Graduation
Introducing the Trailblazer programme: Free CPD for Bristol Business School alumni
Author Faculty of Business and Law | Posted on 29 August 2018 29 August 2018
Bristol Business School are offering our alumni a pioneering and exclusive complimentary professional development programme, relevant across disciplines, regardless of when you graduated.
Launching in September 2018, our Trailblazer Programme will blend face-to-face sessions with webinars and social events. You will be motivated to maximise personal impact, boost effectiveness and develop leadership skills.
Facilitated by experienced academics, seasoned practitioners, and inspirational speakers, this programme echoes the mantra of learning by doing what is integral to our Bristol Business School and Bristol Law School.
Offered exclusively to UWE Bristol alumni on a complimentary basis, this is a chance to continue the learning that you began when you were a student. The programme enables you to take advantage of your lifelong connection to our expertise and community.
There are no formal entry requirements for this programme, however places will be offered exclusively to UWE Bristol alumni from our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
The programme incorporates four face-to-face sessions alongside online learning through webinars and two social events per a cohort.
Session 1 – Leading Self for Personal Effectiveness: Learn how to adapt your behaviour and actions when dealing with different individuals, tasks and situations. Acquire the skills to deliver exceptional performance, authentically.
Session 2 – Leading Others for Impact: Practical tips on creating high performing teams focusing on; healthy team dynamics, influencing and communicating.
Session 3 – Coaching and Mentoring: Transform your personal management style in this practical session by developing your coaching and mentoring skills to enhance performance and encourage self-exploration.
Session 4 – Design Thinking: Experience the creative process of finding new and transformative solutions to problems whilst also generating innovative ideas and opportunities.
Webinars: Webinar topics will be decided at the start of the programme to ensure these are relevant to the current business environment.They will be available live or pre-recorded.
Graduation: Graduation event for the year's cohorts.
We are seeking to get this programme approved by the CPD Certification Service, meaning you will receive a certificate to demonstrate your CPD hours through completion of this programme*.
The growing network of participants will benefit from lasting relationships with likeminded professionals.
*subject to approval being granted.
Places for the course are limited to 40 participants per cohort. For more information and to apply for your free place, please see here.
Honorary degree awarded to Kalpna Woolf
UWE Bristol awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration to Kalpna Woolf in recognition of her contribution and commitment to economic and social equality and diversity initiatives in Bristol.
The honorary degree was conferred at the Awards Ceremony of the Faculty of Business and Law at Bristol Cathedral on Wednesday 18 July at 10:30.
Kalpna completed her early education in London culminating in a BA Hons in Russian from University of London, Queen Mary College. Since she came to Bristol 20 years ago, Kalpna has been a major influencer for change in our region – both at senior board and grassroots level. After an award-winning career in the BBC, where she was Head of Production overseeing a £100m global business including the BBC's world-renowned Natural History Unit (including 'Planet Earth, Antiques Roadshow, Rick Stein, Countryfile and many other factual series), Kalpna was recognised for her work in the media in 2013, winning the national Asian Women's Achievement Award.
She continues to work within the creative sector and alongside this, she has established an impressive portfolio career underpinned by her business track record and her passion for social justice and equality. She has held positions on business and charity boards including Chair of Trustees for Frank Water, business advisor and Chair of the Skills Group to the West of England LEP Board. Her board work and drive for inclusive and economic equality has led her to launch the BeOnBoard programme which is striving to deliver diversity on business boards.
She devised a Masters programme in Production Management in the Media for UWE and was awarded Visiting Professorship for the Faculty of Business and Law.
She has written a best–selling food book – Spice Yourself Slim – and in 2015 she founded 91 Ways to Build A Global City – an innovative charity which reaches out to unite all the 91 language communities in Bristol, to bring greater understanding, break down barriers and build a more cohesive city. Three years on, the charity has run Peace Cafes connecting more than 10,000 people at over 100 events and modeled a template for similar projects to be rolled out in other cities in the UK.
Kalpna has won four other national awards including the BBC's Food and Farming Hero Award, the Guild of Food Writers Inspiration Award and MTM Woman of the Year award.
Honorary degree awarded to Vanessa Moon
UWE Bristol awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration to Vanessa Moon in recognition of her contribution and commitment to enterprise development, the third sector and the local community.
The honorary degree was conferred at the Awards Ceremony of the Faculty of Business and Law at Bristol Cathedral on Tuesday 17 July at 17:00.
Vanessa Moon is Managing Director of Moon Consulting Ltd, a leading Executive Search firm which is based in a beautifully converted Old Fire Station in Pill, Bristol with a satellite office in London. Vanessa co-founded the business in 2000 perceiving a need for a return to the personal touch in senior level recruitment and is a firm advocate of the company's core values of being distinctive, ethical and approachable in all their undertakings.
Moon Consulting has grown steadily to a full-service team of 11 managing high level and confidential executive search and head hunting campaigns for clients in the UK and Internationally. Clients range from start-ups, family owned concerns, major banks as well as AIM and FTSE Listed businesses. They also have significant experience in the 'not-for-profit' and charity sectors.
Vanessa herself brings 30 years senior management and board level Executive recruitment experience, recruiting mainly board level roles for her clients; specialising in the placement of Non-Executive Directors, CEOs/ MDs, CFOs, Sales, Operations and HR Directors.
Prior to Moon Consulting, Vanessa graduated from Aston University in 1983 with a BSc (Hons) in Human Communication and then worked for Rank Xerox. After that she worked for a US owned Accountancy recruitment firm moving to Bristol in 1992 to manage their regional office and then joined a Venture Capital Backed search firm before setting up Moon in 2000.
Outside of Moon Consulting, Vanessa has always been involved with the wider Bristol community. She is currently Senior Warden of the Bristol Guild of Guardians and was appointed President of the Dolphin Society for 2017/2018. She is a member of the South West Regional Council of the CBI and is on the Advisory Board of The Faculty of Business and Law for The Bristol Business School at the University of the West of England. She is on the committee of the Lord Mayor of Bristol's Children Appeal and Gift Gala, a Trustee with The Royal West of England Academy and a former Trustee of Spike Island.
Honorary degree awarded to Rob Law MBE
UWE Bristol awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration to Rob Law MBE, in recognition of his contribution and commitment to enterprise and entrepreneurship.
Rob Law MBE is the founder and CEO of Trunki, the brand behind the much-loved ride-on suitcase for tots. From one of the most famous rejections on BBC Dragons' Den in 2006, Rob has successfully built a team who have pioneered a new retail category of children's travel products, designing and creating a range of innovative solutions which help families on the go.
Since Trunki launched in May 2006, the company has sold 3.8 million suitcases in over 100 countries with consumers spending over $200 million on his brand. Trunki employs 25 people at their funky head office in Bristol called The Mothership, and a further 55 people at its UK manufacturing and distribution facility – Magma Moulding – in Plymouth.
The company has won over 120 awards within the design, trade, consumer and business sectors including reaching 42nd on The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 and winning The National Business Awards SME of the Year.
Rob originally hails from Chester and is 40 years old. He graduated with a First Class Honours Degree in Product Design in 2000 from the University of Northumbria and has worked internationally, including periods in New York, Taiwan, Australia and for some of the UK's leading design consultancies.
On New Year's Day 2011, Rob was awarded an MBE for Services to Business, and went on to receive an honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering from Bath University in 2015.
Rob is a popular and engaging personality on the speaking circuit, not least for his 'dragon slaying' tips, his fresh take on running a business and how to navigate the ever evolving challenges in the global marketplace, sharing his motivational story at large business conferences through to blue chip management teams.
He is also passionate about inspiring future business leaders and designers, as well as a judge for several national business awards, he also holds the following pro bono positions:
• UWE Advisory Board member at Faculty of Business and Management
• Prince's Trust Ambassador and recipient of support in 2002
• ACID (Anti-Copying In Design) Ambassador
• Cystic Fibrosis Trust Patron for the Sixty-Five Roses Club
• Design council Spark programme Investment committee
When not designing tomorrow's must have on-the-go products, Rob enjoys spending time with his young family and is an amateur triathlete, often found cycling around his adopted home of Bristol.
Honorary degree awarded to John Pullinger
Author Faculty of Business and Law | Posted on 19 July 2018 19 July 2018
UWE Bristol has awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science to John Pullinger in recognition of his contribution to the communication of statistics and economics, particularly for the advice, support and engagement of the Civil Service with the higher education system.
The honorary degree was conferred at the Awards Ceremony of the Faculty of Business and Law at Bristol Cathedral on Monday 16 July at 17:00.
John Pullinger has been the National Statistician, Head of the Government Statistical Service (GSS) and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority since July 2014.
His role is to safeguard the production and publication of high quality official statistics by all public departments, agencies and institutions in the UK. On appointment he described his role as to mobilise the power of data to help Britain make better decisions. His priorities are to improve measurement of the economy, to bring better evidence to public policy debates and to enhance data capability.
John's career began in 1980 when he joined the Civil Service after graduating in geography and statistics from Exeter University. After several statistical, research and policy roles in different departments, John joined the Central Statistical Office as a senior civil servant in 1992. He was the project manager for the creation of the Office for National Statistics and was the policy lead on the development of the GSS. He worked on diverse projects and subject areas, including responsibility for flagship publications like 'Social Trends', leading the neighbourhood statistics programme as well as being actively involved in the creation of the Statistics Commission and National Statistics in 2000.
In 2004, John became the 14th Librarian to the House of Commons a post he held until taking up his current role.
John is a Chartered Statistician and was President of the Royal Statistical Society (2013-14). He has represented the UK internationally in EU, UN, OECD and other forums, was Chair (2015) and Vice-Chair (2016) of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) and is a member of the Board of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data.
John is married with three adult children. He was appointed as a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 2014 for services to Parliament and to the community, is a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and holds honorary degrees from the universities of Exeter and Essex.
Tips for being a good mentor
At the early stages of my career, I had a mentor who would always give me time whenever I had an issue, however, to get his attention I would have to go and stand outside with him whilst he listened, quietly puffed away on his pipe and asked me a few questions. This approach worked for me (despite the pipe-smoke) and I quickly developed in my role as felt trusted to do a good job. On reflection, he demonstrated all five factors identified by Julie Starr (2014) of what good mentors do well:
Connect through effective listening
Build a relationship of engagement and trust
Maintain an effective focus
Help overcome false limits, roadblocks or barriers to progress
Help someone grow
However, if your mentoring is online, rather than face-to-face what are the key factors to bear in mind when you volunteer to be someone's mentor?
Building rapport and a relationship is still important – some recent research found that alignment of values may be more important in e-mentoring than other factors such as matching gender or ethnicity (Bierema, 2017)
Be clear about the purpose of the mentoring – you both need to have a shared understanding of the mentoring process and agree expectations between you.
Most importantly, when online, ensuring you respond to your mentee in a timely Set a realistic expectation of how much time you can commit to mentoring right at the start.
Encourage your mentee to identify their own goals and work through ways towards these rather than going straight in with advice/ suggestions. Good mentoring is rarely just about advice (see five points above)!
Think about the structure of your mentoring and how you can enable the mentee to move on. At a mutually agreed end point, encourage a bit of reflection and share feedback and learning.
Just as 'random acts of kindness' can make us feel great, so too can offering your time and a 'listening ear' as on online mentor. Of course, if you get started as an online mentor and really enjoy your role, you can further develop your coaching/ mentoring capability on one of our programmes at Bristol Business School.
Gina Burns
Senior Lecturer Organisation Studies
Bierema, L (2017) e-Mentoring: Computer Mediated Career Development for the future in Eds. Clutterbuck, D. A, Kochan, F.K, Lunsford L, Dominguez, N & Haddock-Millar, J, The Sage Handbook of Mentoring, London: Sage Publications.
Hooley, T, Hutchinson, J and Neary, S (2016) Ensuring quality in online career mentoring, British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 44 (1), pp26-41.
Starr, J (2014) The Mentoring Manual, Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd.
BA Accounting and Finance student receives prize from Grant Thornton
Author Faculty of Business and Law | Posted on 2 July 2018 2 July 2018
Cherily Lim, a BA Accounting and Finance student, has been awarded a prize by chartered accountants Grant Thornton for scoring the highest in the Audit and Corporate Governance exam.
Cherily is a student from Taylor's University in Malaysia. Taylor's is one of our partner universities and because of that Cherily had the opportunity to study for her final year of her degree at UWE Bristol.
Cherily commented:
" I found it interesting and enjoyable to study at UWE Bristol. I really enjoyed how each lecture was taught, especially for the Audit & Corporate Governance module.
The audit simulation helped me a lot in understanding every procedure of an audit. I worked really hard for the exam so I'm so pleased all the hard work paid off and I achieved the highest grade"
Cherily will be awarded the prize at her graduation ceremony.
Congratulations Cherily!
David Hong Tsung Lan to receive honorary degree for government role
Author Faculty of Business and Law | Posted on 22 November 2017
Professor Dr David Hong Tsung Lan is to be awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration by the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol)in recognition of his long and prestigious career in government in Hong Kong and his contribution to international trade and education.
Born in Shanghai, David completed his early education in Hong Kong, joining the Hong Kong Civil Service in 1961 before studying to become a Chartered Secretary in addition to earning an external BA degree from London University.
During his time with the Hong Kong Civil Service, David worked in a variety of departments, including the Transport and Housing Authority. In 1979 David was appointed Official Justice of the Peace in Hong Kong.
In 1988, he was appointed Regional Secretary for Hong Kong and Kowloon before being appointed to Hong Kong's Principal Economic and Trade Representative based in Japan. In 1997, after the handover of Hong Kong, David became the first Secretary for Home Affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government.
David currently holds a variety of Board positions in the banking, commercial, infrastructure development and trust sectors including non-executive directorship to Nanyang Commercial Bank (Hong Kong) and Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd, Hong Kong.
David has been conferred with many awards including Doctor of Humanities and two Visiting Professorships from overseas institutions. In 1991, David was awarded the Imperial Service Order for his services to the Civil Service and in 2000 the Gold Bauhinia Star Medal in recognition of his contribution to public service.
The honorary degree will be conferred at the awards ceremony of the Faculty of Business and Law at Bristol Cathedral on Tuesday 28 November at 5pm.
Journalist to receive honorary degree for contribution to business engagement
Andrew Lynch is to be awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration by the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) in recognition of his contribution to business and academic-business engagement.
Andrew, 58, has served as assistant business editor of The Sunday Times since 2009.
He graduated from Bristol Polytechnic, where he read humanities, in 1984 and joined the Bristol Evening Post as a reporter. After spells at the Financial Times, the Guardian and Sunday Telegraph, Andrew spent 10 years in Hong Kong as deputy night editor at the South China Morning Post and then editor of the rival Hong Kong Standard. He returned to the UK in 2002, working at the Daily Mail, the Evening Standard and the Irish Daily Mail in Dublin. He spent a year organising research and events for the Paris-based World Association of Newspapers.
At The Sunday Times, Andrew oversees production of the business section as well as writing about small businesses or editing the diary column. He also arranges events focused on the business agenda and has produced magazines and supplements such as 50 Years of Business, The Start-up List and The MBA List. He also curates the annual Maserati 100 list of entrepreneurs.
UWE Academics attend UWE Graduation at the National Economics University in Vietnam
Author Faculty of Business and Law | Posted on 11 August 2017
Patricia Voaden and Ray Priest represented the Bristol Business School at the UWE Graduation held at National Economics University (NEU) on August 8th. NEU is one of the leading universities in Economics, Public Management and Business Administration in Vietnam and is one of UWE Bristol's partnership Universities.
It is a prestigious centre for economic research and a consulting centre for economics and management.
51 students graduated from the BA Business Management and BA Banking and Finance degree programmes. Their success was celebrated in style with beautiful flower arrangements adorning the hall and hundreds of parents and staff in attendance.
This was the ninth cohort to graduate with UWE degrees at NEU and, as always, the results achieved by students were outstanding.
The new Vice President of NEUpraised the support his staff received from UWE colleagues and said that he was determined to expand provision by 2020 as part of their strategic plan.
He commented that the values of both institutions in preparing students to be confident, articulate and caring graduates was what made our partnership so enduring and asked for his congratulations to the whole of the Bristol Business School to be shared.
One student,Vu Thuy Duong, who received a First Class Honours Degree in Banking and Finance, received a special £3000 scholarship for her postgraduate studies at UWE. She received a letter from Donna Whitehead praising her for her achievements and this was read to all present. On receiving the award, Thuy said that:
"she promised not to let down all the staff at UWE who had such faith in her"
Congratulations to all who graduated. More information on our partnership with NEU and other institutions globally can be found here.


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'I had to learn to walk again' – Ashleigh Goddard joins London Bees after stroke recovery
By Lovabledaniels
Ashleigh Goddard rejoins London Bees after recovering from a stroke
Six months ago former Crystal Palace captain Ashleigh Goddard couldn't walk after suffering a stroke during surgery to remove a brain aneurysm.
With the surgery carrying a 5%-10% chance of a stroke, Goddard woke up paralysed on her left side, describing it as "the worst thing that could happen other than dying".
After learning to walk again, six months on she has signed for London Bees to resume her football career.
"It is my proudest achievement," she told BBC Sport.
"I didn't know if I'd ever be able to play football again. I hoped it and I remember texting my friend five days after my stroke saying I think I can play again, but that was when I couldn't even walk."
The winner of Sky TV's Wayne Rooney's Street Striker aged 17, Goddard, now 29, came through Arsenal's academy and represented England at under-17 level.
After studying and playing for DePaul University in Chicago, she returned to England to play semi-professionally for London Bees, before going on to play in both Denmark and Cyprus, returning to London in the summer of 2019 to join Crystal Palace.
Ashleigh Goddard left Championship side Crystal Palace in May 2021
When Palace faced London City in the Women's Championship in November 2019, an incident happened which ultimately saved Goddard's life.
"I went to receive the ball from a throw-in and I think her forearm hit me in the back of the head or the neck and I was unconscious for a few seconds."
She struggled with a small lingering headache following the concussion and eventually got it checked out in January 2020.
The scan showed no lasting effects of the knock to her head, but it did show she had a brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM) – a tangle of blood vessels connecting arteries and veins.
Another scan followed in March, but she wasn't too worried by the results. It wasn't until she had a hospital appointment in September – and was told the AVM had caused a brain aneurysm that required surgery – that she realised the seriousness of the situation.
"They said it would burst at some point in my lifetime," she said.
"They couldn't say if it would be tomorrow or in 20 years, but that I needed treatment. They said it would be either fatal or that it would cause a life-changing disability."
It was a condition she could have had from birth, but in many people an AVM doesn't cause any symptoms unless it ruptures and causes bleeding.
Goddard described receiving the news as "like what you see in the movies".
She added: "They said it could be fatal and everything froze. They carried on talking and I couldn't hear them. I was in shock. I'm an athlete and the possibility of not being able to move or something being fatal, it was scary."
Her operation was scheduled for July 2021 and she tried to keep playing in the meantime – although she barely featured for Palace and left the club in May.
During what would have been an otherwise successful surgery to suppress the aneurysm, the unthinkable happened and Goddard suffered a stroke.
"I woke up and I couldn't move my left side, I was paralysed," she said.
"I couldn't talk, my face had dropped, my arm couldn't do the most basic of movements. They told me something was wrong but I would have never guessed a stroke. It was the worst thing other than dying that could have happened."
Despite being told she may never get her movement back, Goddard was determined.
"Truthfully I never thought that I wouldn't," she added.
"I have to give huge credit to the nurses; they told me because I was a young athlete I had a chance if I did rehab properly. From there I just thought, 'OK then'.
"I had to learn to walk again, I had to learn how to use a knife and fork again and when it came to football I had to learn it all again.
"I did thousands of reps of each type of pass and each touch and eventually things just started to get easier."
While she continues to be treated for the AVM, she praised the "incredible" London Bees – in the third tier National League South – for giving her a second chance in football.
"I've worked with the manager before and I reached out to her really early," she said. "They've let me go in and train and just do whatever I can do and just push myself as far as I can. They've been amazing.
"I can't wait to get back on the pitch, it will be a huge moment when I step out for the first time."
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What's the sitch with the American peanut butter market?
Today, peanut butter is consumed by 90% of American households. Per year, we eat about 700 million pounds of the stuff, not counting the consumption of peanut butter contained within some of our most popular candy bars. The average American child will eat 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before graduating from high school. The fun facts go on, but I'll stop there, having gotten my point across: we are peanut butter crazy in America, and this behavior spans nearly every demographic.
Peanuts themselves are a legume native to the eastern foothills of the Bolivian Andes. They have been cultivated for more than 7,000 years, and the earliest mention of grinding them into paste was documented as far back as the Aztecs. That said, "the milling of roasted peanuts into a semi-fluid state," was not patented until 1884 by Marcellus Gilmore Edson, a Canadian pharmacist. At the time, the paste was peddled as a source of protein for people who had trouble chewing due to various dental afflictions. Dr. Edson had no idea how popular his paste would become to chewers and non-chewers alike.
Its chameleon skin and widespread appeal make peanut butter so interesting. It can be advertised honestly as both a health food and a sweet treat. It is cheap enough for the masses, quick enough for the busy mom, and yet comforting enough to be chosen even by the refined palates of the aristocracy. It can stand on its own, via large spoonfuls directly from jar to mouth, or it can be made into a rich peanut sauce for a delicate Southeast Asian stir-fry. There are few foods that evade categorization as completely as peanut butter. Peanuts aren't even nuts!!
Now, I'm a man who loves peanut butter. But until recently, I haven't had an approach to my purchasing, and therefore have spent far too long in the peanut butter section, having the same debate in my head each month when I go to re-up. Making impulse decisions on peanut butter is a fine tactic, and will undoubtedly work out with such a delicious paste. But I personally wanted a little direction, a little guidance toward the tub of brown goo most suited to my interests… my needs. So I lookedinto the differences between brands, the companies that control them, and why I should care.
At first glance it seems so simple. There's Jif, there's Skippy, or there's some kind of natural stuff, with the oil. As I delved into this sticky saga, I realized there was much more just below the glistening surface.
The current rankings, by brand name, of peanut butter sold per year are:
1. Jif
2. Skippy
3. Peter Pan
4. Smucker's
We see that Jif and Skippy are indeed one and two. Peter Pan is third, followed by Smucker's, generally recognized as a major player on the fruit-based side of the sandwich. These are the titans of the peanut butter industry, arguably the most influential companies in America, at least in terms of keeping the seething masses content.
J.M. Smucker's Co
In 1897, somewhere near rural Orrville, Ohio, Jerome Monroe Smucker began selling apple butter out of a horse-drawn wagon. The first batches of his product were produced from orchards planted by Johnny Appleseed himself. By 1921 the J.M. Smucker Company was incorporated and making all kinds of jellies. Four generations of Smuckers later the company is still family run and based in Orrville, Ohio, though now raking in over five billion dollars of revenue per year. Amurca.
With past slogans such as, "If you find a better jelly, you buy it!" and "The only brand of jams that can make a piece of bread lively," their focus was clearly fruit spreads for much of their history. In 1994, they sneakily acquired the peanut butter producing branch of the Laura Scudder Potato Chip dynasty, a company that had invented modern packaging of potato chips in the 1920's and had been slowly being sold off piecemeal since the late '80's. Smucker's then also acquired Adam's Natural Peanut Butters in 1997, followed closely in 2001 with a patent for the production of, "sealed crustless sandwiches with crimped edges…" now known universally by their brand name "Uncrustables." This patent didn't stand due to vagaries in its language, as well as other companies already selling similarly crimped and sealed products. J.M. Smucker's didn't really give a f#@k. They got public schools to serve Uncrustables in cafeterias. They had a vision of costumers needing only Smucker's products when they craved PB&J… a historically successful jelly company getting into the peanut butter racket.
Next, in 2002, J.M. Smuckers acquired the Jif peanut butter brand from Procter & Gamble for about a billion dollars in stock. Jif had been the leading brand of peanut butter in America since 1981. Recall the order of peanut butters from above? J.M. Smucker's Company, with Jif at #1, and its own lines of Smucker's Peanut Butter at #4, controls 40% of the peanut butter market share. The company also controls 37% of the "sweet spreads' market with its jelly offerings (a market that includes honey). They are not kidding around when it comes to delicious spreads.
Another man who was serious about spreadable foodstuffs was Joseph Rosefield. In 1922, he invented a method for modernizing the primitive peanut butter that was being sold at the time. He partially hydrogenated the peanut oil in his mixture, making the peanut butter creamy and homogenous, with a much longer shelf life to boot. He licensed this new production method in 1923 to Swift & Company for a hefty sum, and they began selling peanut butter under the brand name 'Peter Pan.' Currently the third most popular peanut butter in America, Peter Pan is now owned by industry giant ConAgra Foods and holds about 13% of the peanut butter market share.
Skippy Peanut Butter
A few years after Peter Pan hit the shelves, Mr. Rosefield realized he wasn't satisfied being on the sidelines for the thickening scrum over America's potential peanut butter windfall. In 1932, Rosefield Packing Company began marketing their own product called 'Skippy Peanut Butter.' This brand has since become a household name, controlling 21% of the peanut butter market share, second only to Jif.
Skippy has some interesting advantages over its competitors that could portend a seismic shift in the peanut butter rankings, despite currently selling far less peanut butter than Jif worldwide. Firstly, Skippy has the coveted www.peanutbutter.com domain name. This will only become more of an asset as millennials increasingly do their shopping and brand research on internet connected devices from the comfort of their ragged futons. If Skippy can sink its talons into the hearts of this screen-dependent generation, in a decade, when those same punks are hurriedly throwing together bagged lunches for their children, Skippy will be in the pantry instead of Jif. Secondly, Skippy is the most popular brand of peanut butter in China. Currently, Chinese consumption only accounts for about 10% of Skippy's worldwide sales. But, with a population of more than four times that of the United States, if even a fraction of them develop a taste for puréed peanut spread, Jif could be in trouble.
It seems as though Skippy's potential for future profits caught the eye of at least one megalith within the processed food industry when, in 2013, Hormel Foods (of Austin, MN) bought the Skippy brand for $700 million from international behemoth UniLever. Hormel has traditionally been a processed meats company, most famous for bringing animal flesh into the 20th century with SPAM, a canned 'meat' that will be around and semi-edible long after humans have perished. As Americans have become slightly more health and environmentally conscious, Hormel has expanded its portfolio to include vegetarian pantry items, such as Wholly Guacamole, Muscle Milk, and most recently Skippy. You can think of Hormel as a non-perishable protein distributer, in whatever form that takes. So they are approaching the peanut butter market from a completely different angle than J.M. Smucker's.
Peter Pan Peanut Butter
Briefly, let's take a look back at the third highest grossing PB on the market, Peter Pan Peanut Butter. As mentioned earlier, this brand was there from the beginning of the modern peanut butter era, and has consistently held onto a sizable slice of the figurative pie. Peter Pan has maintained this consistency in a number of ways. Most obviously, their peanut butter mascot is a character we all recognize and associate with the golden afternoons of our youth; Peter Pan is, after all, the boy who never wants to grow up. This has kept Peter Pan entrenched in the pantries of 30-somethings yet to become Jif-moms, as well as recently divorced men trying to forget the most recent decade of their quickly fading lives.
Another area where Peter Pan has been in front of the curve is in the way they have packaged their spread. Originally sold in tin cans with a turn key, they switched to glass jars as metal became scarce (and expensive) during the second World War. Then in 1988, they were again front-runners, as they became the first major player to start selling peanut butter in plastic jars. They have never been the class of the peanut butter industry, but they have survived by being a little bit cheaper and by holding onto a chunk of loyal consumers.
In February of 2007, Peter Pan took a huge hit when their product was linked to 425 cases of salmonella across the US, the first such outbreak in the history of US peanut butter. They were forced to recall all peanut butter produced at the ConAgra-owned Sylvester plant dating from as early as 2005. This was a costly misstep in an unforgiving market, especially when they had succeeded for so long by staying out of the news.
While they have held steady through this controversy, they are still dealing with the fallout many years later. In a more recent salmonella-contaminated peanut butter scare in 2012, they had to publicly defend themselves, though their plants had nothing to do with the incident. On the Peter Pan peanut butter website, under 'frequently asked questions,' the final two questions on the list are about the 2007 outbreak and about more recent recalls. This seems to be an association that just won't fade away from the publics consciousness. Peanut butter consumers care about reasonably priced spreadable nuts… but they also care about safety.
ConAgra Foods
One has to wonder whether Peter Pan's shaky safety record has anything to do with their parent corporation ConAgra foods. Of the three corporations on the current peanut butter-sales podium, ConAgra is the largest, with total revenues approaching 14 billion dollars per year, 6 billion more than Hormel Foods, and almost triple JM Smucker's mainly spread-based revenue. ConAgra is also the most diverse of the three, selling everything from Hunt's ketchup to Orville Redenbacher's popcorn to Slim Jim's meat sticks to P.F. Chang's readymade frozen dinners. These massive profits spread over such diverse foodstuffs means they have the least riding on their yearly peanut butter sales.
ConAgra has revealed itself to be an uncaring corporate machine on a variety of issues. In a 2006 report by CERES, a nonprofit organization working to address global climate change, 100 leading global companies were scored on their response to climate change; ConAgra scored 4/100, the lowest of any food company evaluated. They have been in the news for labor issues as well, with charges of hiring discrimination in the aftermath of a strike at a plant in California. They settled this suit for $1.5 million.
Lastly, in 1997, ConAgra pled guilty to federal charges of spraying water on stored grain to increase it weight before sale, also bribing federal inspectors in the process. They ended up paying close to $9 million in fines, compensation for illegal profits, and attorney fees. Multinational Monitor, a corporate watchdog organization, names ConAgra one of the 'Top 100 Corporate Criminals of the 1990s.' Shay-hay-haydy stuff.
One has to wonder whether the bigwigs running a corporate giant such as ConAgra truly care about whether Joe-from-down-the-street has a delicious, textured, peanut-based butter in his cabinet that he can count on after a long day at the factory, whether they care about the world Joe's children are growing up in, or whether they only care about their dirt-smeared bottom line.
Now, JM Smucker's and Hormel Foods are not without their own dark, corporate underbellies. But, at least in my investigation, they have done less to get negative press than ConAgra. Since 1998, JM Smucker's has been listed on FORTUNE Magazine's annual listing of the '100 Best Companies to Work for in the United States,' even ranking number one in 2004. In 2010 and 2011, Hormel made the Corporate Responsibility Officer Magazine's list of the '100 Best Corporate Citizens.' They also have 'The Hormel Institute,' which, in partnership with the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic, has funded biomedical research for many decades. Not bad at all.
Private-Label and Organic Products
At this point, you have done the math and may be wondering who controls the other 26% of the peanut butter market share. About 19% of the market share is attributable to 'Private-label,' peanut butter brands. Private-label products are those manufactured by one company but then sold under another company's brand name. The Walmarts and Cub Foods and Targets of the world don't own peanut butter factories; they contract with private-label companies who do.
These companies are inherently tougher to get a read on; their products are disguised by labels of the stores who's shelves they inhabit. With names like 'American Blanching Company,' and 'Producers Peanut Company,' these companies are not in the marketing business. They are in the producing business. They keep a low profile, and prefer it that way. You eat their products without knowing, when you buy 'Market Pantry' or 'Kirkland' brand spreads from your grocer of choice. Often, generic brands available at large food retailers are produced at one factory, by one private-label company, then packaged with various labels and sold with the force of the different grocers behind it. Fascinating.
The last piece of the market share is controlled by organic or natural peanut butter producers, now controlling 7% of peanut butter sales, a number that is rapidly growing. There are long-standing brands in this small chunk, such as Adam's Peanut Butter (now owned by Smucker's) and MaraNatha Natural Peanut Butter. But it is also where new faces can carve out a niche of their own, such as Monkey Butter, which was founded in 2011 and has already made its way onto the shelves of many higher end grocery stores.
This final 7% of the peanut butter market is also where some of the fiercest competition is taking place between established producers, with Jif and Skippy both recently coming to the market with all-natural options of their own. Another example is Old Home Foods, a traditionally dairy-based brand that has, in recent years, come out with a line of natural peanut butters, looking to build brand loyalty among the choosier customers in the grocery aisle. The fact that these established brands are innovating in this sector suggests that this 7% share of the market may swell in the coming years, though this won't necessarily mean more profits for the little fish in the viscous peanut butter pond.
Oil Chemistry
Switching gears a little bit, an explanation of the differences between peanut butters that are purportedly 'natural,' versus those that admit to being processed, might be useful here.
I like foods with less ingredients; it is easier to know that what I'm shoving in my face isn't going to hurt me when the only things listed are roasted peanuts and salt. I think many of you have similar feelings. One caveat to these brands is that, if the peanut butter you are buying is truly only made of peanuts, its oils will rise to the top, forcing you to slow down your frenzied spreading to an unacceptable rate lest you make a mess in the process.
Many brands will have 'natural' on their label, but conspicuously will not include 'no added ingredients' on that very same label. That is because they add palm oil to their spreads. Palm oil has a much higher melting point than peanut oil, and therefore at room temperature it remains semi-solid, whereas peanut oil at the same temperature will be liquid.
The reason for this difference in melting points is the content of saturated fats in these oils. Saturated fats have less 'kinks' in their carbon chains, allowing them to snuggle together more tightly than unsaturated fats. This also means they more readily stick to each other once they are in your arteries, which is obviously a bad thing, as blood is supposed to flow through those tubes unhindered.
That is the crux of the issue; the qualities we want from a fat while it's in our pantry are the opposite of the qualities we want from that fat once it is in our bodies. Palm fruit oil is about 50% saturated fat, while peanut oil is only about 17%. Both Skippy and Jif 'Natural' lines of peanut butter have added palm oil (as do many, seemingly more legit brands of 'natural' peanut butter… just something to consider).
Another type of fat that will extend shelf life and reduce separation are 'trans fats.' These are most commonly natural vegetable oils that are artificially hydrogenated. This process reduces the natural kinks in these fatty chains, giving them the qualities desired for our pantries. (Recall… this process was first introduced to the peanut butter industry by Joseph Rosefield, leading to both Peter Pan and Skippy… and the modern American peanut butter era). Research has shown that these types of fats are at least as bad as saturated fats (pound for pound) and more than likely are the worst possible type to put in our bodies. Trans fats have been shown to markedly raise bad cholesterol levels, and have been loosely linked to colon cancer, among other really unhealthy things.
Processed varieties of peanut butter often use these hydrogenated vegetable oils because they are cheaper than more natural, saturated fat alternatives (and perhaps because they extend shelf life even further). The tricky part of this corporate double-cross is that, food regulations only require you put trans fats on your label if the product has more than 0.5 grams of the stuff per serving; if there is less than this, companies are free to put '0g trans fats' under their nutrition facts. It seems pretty dishonest, but it isn't illegal. An easy way to see behind this curtain is to check the ingredients; you will see 'partially hydrogenated vegetable oil,' or some such conceit, toward the end of the list.
So… What's The Sitch?
That was sort of an extensive introduction. But without a working knowledge of the major players in this tragic comedy, the analysis would fall short. And if you don't think this delicious, versatile, tan, American paste is as fascinating as it gets, then I suppose you're either a communist, an illegal immigrant, or God forbid, both.
By now you may be thinking, "I still don't know which variety of peanut butter to buy."
The answer to this question is not the same for every peanut butter enthusiast. It probably isn't even the same for a single purchaser over the course of a year. That said, while there may not be correct answers, there are wrong ones.
I'll start with peanut butter-specific forks in the road. First of all, crunchy or smooth. This is largely a matter of opinion, and again, you don't have to make one decision and stick with it (no pun intended) forever. I personally am probably a 2/3rds crunchy man, but I'll snag a pint of smooth now and again, especially during a summery month when I'm feeling especially carefree and don't need the added grit.
Once you decide on a general texture category, next in this decision is whether to go with a natural product or a processed version.
One understandable reason to by natural peanut butter is for the health reasons mentioned earlier; just remember to check that label and make sure it only says peanuts and salt (and maybe sugar if you want that). While the jury is still out on trans fats versus saturated fats, neither are great in large quantities (i.e. eight spoonfuls of pure P-butter to the dome), and substituting one for the other is sort of missing the point.
The other problem with natural options is they are always going to be more expensive. Then again, with how salivarily-stimulating peanut butter is, the most expensive jar is still a great deal. If a little extra cost isn't that big of a deal for you, the truly natural option is sort of the obvious way to go. I recommend Old Home Peanut Butter, as it is a Minnesota company, it is reasonably priced (as far as natural peanut butters go) and it is damn delicious.
If you aren't fixated on a few unhealthy ingredients when it comes to such an overall incredible foodstuff, especially within a life of much worse health-related decisions, a palm oil-augmented 'natural' variety can be a decent not-quite-all-the-way-processed middle option. This is especially true for those generally unable to make a decision and stand by it, for those unable to commit to anything in life let alone a definitive variety of peanut butter, for those who would rather continue to live a lie than admit to themselves that they have no control over the direction they are headed…for those people, the name-brand 'natural' peanut butters might really be perfect. [I can't confirm or deny that I have some Skippy Natural in my pantry right now.]
But, once you've really settled on living a little bit and going fully processed, splurging on a product that won't separate, that will undoubtedly taste awesome, and that is more in your price range, the choice becomes murky once again.
In the processed PB conversation, the difference between the price, taste and nutritional values of each brand are squeezed into such narrow ranges that those qualities may not be the best fulcrums on which to hinge the decision. All of the processed name brands cost nearly the same amount per ounce, plus or minus a few cents. All peanut butter tastes really, really good, especially processed varieties. And they all have hydrogenated vegetable oils, at least in small (but significant) amounts. So deciding which to buy requires going further down the considerations list, to the company that produces them, and maybe even to the probability that the chosen spread will be around to purchase for years to come.
We've already been through why ConAgra is the least trustworthy corporation among the top three peanut butter sellers in our discussion, and we don't need to restate those flaws. With such small differences between peanut butter candidates, there's no reason to spend my money on Peter Pan Peanut Butter, when it probably means adding another pinstriped suit to the wardrobe of some douche in a ConAgra skyscraper (I buy a lot of peanut butter). Don't buy Peter Pan, regardless of how much you miss your childhood.
That was the easy one. Now we enter into the age-old debate, Jif or Skippy? I guess I really could have started this article with that line. But I didn't, and we are all better for it. Jif or Skippy… I'll end this quick. Skippy. There it is.
This was a tough decision for me, and so during the few weeks thinking about this article, I've gone through a jar of each. I'll start by saying, both were worth every stinking Abraham Lincoln-stamped copper coin I spent (and I did pay for them in pennies. The cashier wasn't amused until I showed him how he made it into my whatsthesitch.com article… turns out he's a huge fan, so we are on good terms now, me and that cashier).
Jif tastes great. They have a solid marketing team that regularly produces quality slogans and memorable advertising campaigns. Their jars are simple, yet attractive. And I respect JM Smuckers as a company. They know what they are good at, which is delicious spreads, and they focus on their strengths. They have a long, rich history of high-quality products and American elbow grease. But those things just aren't enough to overcome the seductive aura that Skippy is able to create. It is hard to explain attraction, but I'll try.
First of all, Skippy is owned by Hormel, which is another Minnesota company. While this is an unfair advantage, and I should try to stay unbiased, I'd be lying if the brand's current ties to my home state didn't influence me in some way.
Next, when looking at the Skippy brand itself, not at Hormel, or JM Smuckers, Skippy was there from the beginning of the modern American peanut butter era. It is a friggin' classic. As I mentioned before, Joseph Rosefield, the man who started the trend of hydrogenating oils in peanut butter, started the Skippy peanut butter brand in 1933. Jif didn't get into the game until 1958!! They were still a twinkle in their father's eye the entire time Skippy was providing comforting peanut spread to scared Americans during World War II AND the Korean War! You can't beat a classic.
Next, Skippy's crunchy option is called 'Super Chunk.' That's awesome. It is definitely more crunchy than Jif's crunchy option. At least I'm pretty sure. Now that I think about it, Skippy does not offer a 'Regular Chunk' option… but they wouldn't say 'Super' unless it was more crunchy than a regular crunchy peanut butter, right? I'm not going to overthink it. I'm glad it's in their repertoire.
Furthermore, Jif has about one-third of the peanut butter market. They have held the top spot since 1981. Everyone buys Jif. Who wants to root for the team that wins all time? I want to root for a lovable underdog with a legitimate shot at the title. Skippy finds has found a perfect middle ground, where they are a successful, but not nauseatingly successful.
Which brings me to the next point in the Jif vs. Skippy debate: the future. A stranglehold on the Chinese market, along with the powerful www.peanutbutter.com will both undoubtedly start paying dividends in the decade to come. Also, while JM Smucker's' focused mission is in many ways a positive, I do worry about the lack of diversity in their portfolio. They are really counting on America to continue to eat peanut butter and jelly at a similar rate moving forward. We all know this infallible sandwich isn't being left off the menu for the majority of sane, hardworking people in this great country, not now, not never. But sugar is in the news more and more. Carbs are taking hits left and right. As people try to eat less bread, jelly and peanut butter may suffer because of it. Hormel is far better equipped to deal with a movement away from bread than JM Smuckers. Now, I'm not here to recommend which company's stock to buy or anything; in that discussion I have no idea. All I'm saying is, if you give your loyalty to one of these brands now, and plan on living and eating peanut butter for the next 60 to 100 years, you might want to choose the brand that will still be a major force way down the line.
Lastly, I like the name. Skippy. Makes me giggle. It has a playful quality that gets me excited to buy their product, run home, and eat it. Jif feels a little more functional, keeping the youth of America nourished. It is the choice for choosy moms. That's very important, of course, but it doesn't make me daydream about cracking open a fresh jar and diving in headfirst.
For all of those reasons, when choosing between the top two behemoths of the American peanut butter industry, I'm happy to say I choose Skippy brand.
Lastly, the private-label option… this is admittedly an intriguing one. These jars often go for up to 50 cents less than one of the name brands, and they don't make you think about who you are buying from. But honestly, that's my problem with them. What are they hiding? Why don't they take pride and responsibility for the creamy spread they've painstakingly produced? Why do they allow Rainbow Foods or Safeway to take credit? They are counting on mindless consumers, stunned from astringent lighting and identical aisles, to reflexively grab a generic tub off of an aluminum shelf, and continue shuffling past, overfilled carts cold from the lack of familiar brandname items.
In some cases, generics are great, such as with medicines. That is a realm where removing all emotion from the purchasing decision makes a lot of sense. These two drugs are exactly the same. One is cheaper. That's the one I'll buy.
I don't want purchasing peanut butter to be as logical and calculating as all of that. And that is what these private-label companies are pushing us toward. Buying peanut butter should still be a romantic pursuit, where there is no objectively correct answer. I want to live in a world where a catchy slogan paired with a well-designed jar and a splash of that special-something will influence me into buying somebody's product.
So, if you are loyal to a grocery provider, such as a Target or Costco, then by all means, buy the peanut butter option that they provide. But when you're at a grocery store that you don't have any loyalty to, that you don't frequent as often, or one that you aren't proud to be inside of (re: Walmart, Kmart, etc.) make sure to consider what other brand names might speak more directly to you; what companies might spend more of their day thinking about the people in this country who love peanut butter.
Best peanut butter for a classic PB & J on white bread = Skippy Creamy
Best peanut butter for a hearty PB & J on grainy, wheat bread = Old Home All Natural Crunchy
Best peanut butter for dipping an apple slice into = Old Home All Natural Honey Creamy
Best peanut butter for dipping a carrot into = Old Home All Natural Creamy
Best peanut butter for ants on a log = Skippy Super Chunk
Best peanut butter for spooning directly from the tub = Skippy Super Chunk
Best peanut butter for vegetarians in search of protein = Check your co-op
Best peanut butter for spreading on your balls and having your dog… nvm = Skippy Creamy
Best peanut butter on a budget = Great Value Creamy Peanut Butter (Walmart)
Best peanut butter for a hippie on a budget = 365 Crunchy Peanut Butter (Whole Foods)
Best peanut butter for making peanut butter cookies = Skippy SuperChunk
Best peanut butter for making a peanut sauce = Old Home All Natural Creamy
Best peanut butter for a busy family of six = Two-pack of Jif Creamy
Best peanut butter for grandparents who only have it around to feed to their grandkids = Peter Pan Creamy
Extensive research was done in the writing of this article… unfortunately, almost none of it was recorded. All of the facts can be found within the top six links of a well-worded Google search. Much of the supporting information was found on Wikipedia or the companies' own websites.
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