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Nadine Lustre, Kiana Valenciano open up on dealing with anxiety, depression
By: Niña V. Guno
INQUIRER.net / 04:37 PM October 11, 2018
Nadine Lustre Image: Instagram/@paulnebres
A day after World Mental Health Day, Nadine Lustre and Kiana Valenciano bared their uphill battle with mental health in videos on social media.
The videos are seen on the IGTV of Lustrous, Lustre's makeup line with BYS.
Both Lustre and Valenciano have been advocates of mental health awareness, and in the videos they were candid and emotional about their personal journeys.
LOOK: Nadine Lustre reaches out to fan with depression, 'Love yourself'
Lustre revealed that she learned she had depression about five years ago and that she has anxiety.
Chief Creative Designer for Lustrous, @nadine, opens up about her personal experiences with anxiety and dives deep into her own struggles with depression. Hear her story. #IAmLustrousHearHerStory To watch the full video, visit @lustrousph on IGTV and Facebook.
A post shared by Lustrous (@lustrousph) on Oct 10, 2018 at 3:47am PDT
"I get anxiety from nothing. It's hard because I don't know how to solve it," she said.
She spoke about having good days and finding depression suddenly "creeping up on me." Initially, she worried about telling friends because of the misconception that she could be going crazy.
At one point, she went on a trip to South Korea with friends and thought of never coming back. She described the feeling: "Lunod na lunod na ako (I was drowning) and I can't swim."
Opening up to friends and boyfriend James Reid has helped her manage her emotions. "He taught me to open up and whatever I feel now I should just tell him," she said of Reid's advice.
"It's actually okay to be sad. It's okay to be vulnerable, it's okay to show weakness," Lustre assured. "You're gonna be able to stand up and be a stronger person."
Valenciano showed a more emotional side of her as she opened up on dealing with depression and anxiety. "Every day is a bit of a battle," she said of dealing with mental illness.
As a steadfast advocate for mental health awareness, singer-songwriter @kianavee reveals her own personal battle with anxiety and depression. Hear her story. #IAmLustrousHearHerStory To watch the full video, visit @lustrousph on IGTV and Facebook.
A post shared by Lustrous (@lustrousph) on Oct 10, 2018 at 9:54pm PDT
She said that it had been two years since she noticed that she was confused as to why she would worry about things. "I personally can't pinpoint what causes it," she admitted.
"It feels like there's a deadline coming. Your hands are clammy," she described anxiety. "You're overthinking every single decision that you have to make."
Teary-eyed, she spoke of feeling misunderstood. "It doesn't make sense to people outside because it seems like how could you not be OK when you're living this life that a lot of people want or dream of," she said.
Like Lustre, having a support system such as close friends helps Valenciano through her mental health struggles. Having an outlet in writing also helps her cope.
She also had a message of hope: "I just want you to know that you're not alone. And there's so much more in store for all of us." /ra
Kylie Verzosa urges people to 'speak up about mental health before it's too late'
Kiana Valenciano 'saved,' reveals battling anxiety and depression
'Depression is real': PH celebrities speak up on mental health
Robin Padilla imagines his ninang Miriam Defensor-Santiago's disapproval: 'Di ka bagay sa Senado'
Follow @NGunoINQ on Twitter
TAGS: anxiety, Depression, Kiana Valenciano, Mental Health, Nadine Lustre


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The 50 U.S. Cities With the Worst Air Quality
Sara Jayne Crowupdated on May 11, 2017
Sara Jayne Crow
Sara Jayne Crow has written for music publications such as Rolling Stone, Entrepreneur, XLR8R, Resident Advisor, Flavorwire and URB. She launched an online lifestyle magazine in 2000 and now lives in LA.
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More than half of all Americans -- 166 million people -- live in places where they are exposed to unhealthy levels of year-round particle and ozone pollution, according to the American Lung Association. Every year the association produces the State of the Air report, which details pollution levels at official monitoring sites. The best and worst cities in the United States are ranked under three categories: short-term particle pollution, year-round particle pollution and ozone pollution. Acute effects caused by high ozone levels are generally reversible, whereas "long-term exposure to air polluted by particulate matter" can exacerbate chronic disorders like heart disease and diabetes. If you're curious about the air you're breathing, here's the ALA's list of the 50 U.S. cities with the worst year-round pollution.
50. Charleston, West Virginia
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Charleston is the capital city of West Virginia, making it a metropolis of business and culture. Throughout the year, Charleston hosts FestivALL Fall, a citywide celebration of visual art, music, dance, theater and more. It includes more than 130 events and 360 performances. Unfortunately, the Charleston-Huntington-Ashland metropolitan area also hosts a high concentration of dangerous air pollutants, due to its proximity to gas fields and industrial plants, according to West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Deborah Brown, president and CEO of the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic, tells the Charleston Gazette-Mail that the area needs "stronger air-quality standards" in order to continue improving its air.
44. Rome, Georgia
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Rome, Georgia, sits on seven foothills of the Appalachian Mountains surrounding three rivers that meet in the downtown area. The Oak Hill/Martha Berry Museum illuminates the story of Appalachia, while the Chieftains Museum provides a glimpse into Cherokee history. The city also is also home to Berry College, which ranks 7th among colleges in its region, according to the U.S. News and World Report. Coastal Georgia benefits from air currents from the Atlantic that help to clear the air. Unfortunately, Rome is about as far from the coast as you can get in Georgia. Growing population and traffic congestion contribute to the poor air quality there, according to the Rome News-Tribune.
44. Raleigh, North Carolina
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Raleigh is North Carolina's capital city. It's nicknamed the "City of Oaks" for the oak trees that beautify the city. Locals call Raleigh-Durham-Capital Hill the Research Triangle because those three cities house North Carolina State University, Duke University and the University of North Carolina, respectively. The triangle made the ALA's list for having some of the highest levels of year-round particle pollution in the United States. Tom Mather, spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Air Quality, tells ABC-11 that since the Clean Smokestack Act passed in 2002, power plants have cut their emissions by about 75 percent. ALA director Melissa Forde says that the area still has a long way to go.
44. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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With more than 17 museums and 150 state and county parks, Milwaukee is Wisconsin's largest city. For 11 days every year, it hosts Summerfest, the world's largest music festival. If that's not enough, visitors and locals can enjoy a variety of cultural celebrations throughout the year, including Mexican Fiesta, Polish Fest, Bastille Days, Indian Summer Festival, German Fest and Irish Fest. Milwaukee borders 22,300 miles of Lake Michigan. Research found that 31,961 square miles of the Great Lakes are contaminated with mercury from industrial plant emissions, according to Environment Michigan. Those emissions end up not only in the water, but also in the air the locals and visitors have to breathe.
44. Columbus, Ohio
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Columbus, Ohio's capital and largest city, bustles with activity and culture. It ranked 32nd on Bloomberg's list of America's 50 Best Cities. It's home to Ohio State University, which is among the top universities in the nation. While Columbus finds itself in the top 50 U.S. cities with the worst year-round particle pollution, Shelly Kiser, advocacy director for the ALA in Ohio, says that the federal Clean Air Act standards are working. "We've cleaned up our federal coal-fired power plants. We've moved toward gas-fired power plants. We've moved toward more renewable energy. We've cleaned up our diesel. Those things are all working," she tells The Columbus Dispatch. According to them, Ohio legislators are currently working against policies that would help to clean the air, such as those requiring more of the state's energy to come from renewable sources and President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan.
44. Chattanooga, Tennessee
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Several bodies of water surround Chattanooga, including Chickamauga Lake and Nickajack Lake, which are part of the Tennessee River. Expansive bridges radiate out across rivers from its central downtown area. The city is home to the Chattanooga Choo Choo, a museum of railroad history and model trains. The city's fleet of zero-emission electric buses provides transportation for commuters and visitors, but it could stand to expand this fleet to further improve air quality.
Related: Learn more about visiting Chattanooga, Tennessee.
44. Atlanta, Georgia
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The birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr., Atlanta is a busy metropolis packed with lofty skyscrapers. Its dome-topped Georgia State Capitol building was constructed in 1889, and its metropolitan area is the eighth-largest economy in America and 17th-largest in the world. It's also home to the global headquarters for The Coca-Cola Company, UPS, Home Depot, AT&T and Newell-Rubbermaid. It's no wonder that pollution is a problem in such a populated area. Michael Halicki of the Clean Air Campaign advises Atlanta residents to "run errands consecutively instead of separately … and skip the drive-through."
43. Baltimore, Maryland
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Baltimore is located in central Maryland along the Patapsco River and the Chesapeake Bay. It is home to a large seaport, and the downtown area is centered on the gorgeous Inner Harbor. However, the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington area creates difficult geographic challenges "from air pollution from power plants, animal waste and fertilizer and pollutions washed off hard surfaces by runoff," according to a CBS Baltimore report. The metropolitan area should begin by strengthening laws for power plant emissions.
Related: Learn more about visiting Atlanta, Georgia.
41. Youngstown, Ohio
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Youngstown is situated on the Mahoning River southeast of Cleveland. Originally a steel-manufacturing locus, today Youngstown is the only city in the United States with a population that has decreased more than 2 percent in recent years. Youngstown can reduce pollution by strengthening emissions controls, and Ohio is already well on its way: The U.S. Environmental Defense Fund Report recently named Ohio as a leader in reducing air emissions and creating jobs.
Related: Learn more about visiting Youngstown, Ohio.
39. South Bend, Indiana
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South Bend is home to the prestigious University of Notre Dame. The campus is famous for the awe-inspiring Basilica of the Sacred Heart, which features beautiful high ceilings and stained-glass windows. Visitors can also peruse the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, a small replica of a French shrine, where students light candles and pray. Despite improvements in other counties throughout Indiana, South Bend experienced an increase in short-term particle pollution. It also ranked higher on the year-round particle pollution list than ever before this year, according to an ALA press release.
39. Missoula, Montana
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According to University of Montana chemistry professor Tony Ward and Missoulian, 55 to 80 percent of outdoor air pollution in Missoula comes from wood smoke sources. These sources include smoke from woodstoves, prescribed burning and forest fires, which are exacerbated by climate change causing hotter and drier summers. "Particles that size are not just causing coughs or bronchitis or lung cancer," former director of women's health at St. Patrick Hospital Dr. Georgia Milan tells Missoulian. "They're getting absorbed into the bloodstream and causing heart attacks, strokes and immune system dysfunction." Factors that are helping to improve the Missoula air quality include improvements in automobile engine exhaust, traffic reduction and the growing usage of woodstoves that burn cleaner, according to Missoula City-County air-quality specialist Ben Schmidt.
39. Hattiesburg, Mississippi
In the late 19th century, Captain William Harris Hardy planned railroads from Meridian to New Orleans and from the Gulf Coast to Jackson. At their intersection he established Hattiesburg, named for his wife. Present-day Hattiesburg's population is more than 148,000. The city's African American Military History Museum is the only public World War II-era United Service Organization club in the U.S. that's built for African-American soldiers. Animal lovers can stop by the Hattiesburg Zoo, which has added more than 20 new facilities since 2010.
36. Terre Haute, Indiana
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One of the smaller communities on the ALA's list, Terre Haute was a quarter-finalist in this year's America's Best Communities prize competition, which provides grants toward community revitalization. The Coca-Cola bottle was created there in 1915, and it's home to the world's first pay toilet. According to television station WTHR, the largest sources of air pollution in Indiana are power plants. "Here in Indiana, we are under assault by thousands of megawatts of coal-fired electricity, and coal-fired power plants are the biggest polluters on the planet," ValleyWatch founder John Blair tells WTHR. Coal-fired power plants release arsenic, lead and mercury along with millions of pounds of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide into the air. Locals can help by using less electricity to burn less coal and driving less to reduce gasoline use.
36. San Diego, California
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San Diego's hilly downtown area descends to its oceanfront boardwalk in a charming display of "city meets nature." The city stretches north to the quaint surfing town of Encinitas and south to the border of Mexico. According to Fox 5 News, climate change is largely to blame. The prolonged drought and frequent heat waves in the San Diego-Carlsbad area have made it difficult to clean the air. The American Lung Association's Debra Kelley advises San Diegans to "create more communities where walking and biking are encouraged. More public transportation would help too."
Related: Learn more about visiting San Diego, California.
36. New York, New York
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New York, the city that never sleeps, is home to some of the most iconic landmarks of the United States. The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Central Park, the Empire State Building, the Guggenheim Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art are all notable landmarks of the Big Apple. The city is making great strides to reduce pollution by setting forth a number of municipal codes. Still, air quality in the New York-Newark area can be further improved through large-scale environmental development plans like the recent Staten Island Bluebelt, an ecologically sound storm-water management program.
Related: Learn more about visiting New York, New York.
33. Owensboro, Kentucky
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According to its website, Owensboro is the "industrial, medical, retail and cultural hub of western Kentucky." It borders the Ohio River, making Smothers Park a beautiful outdoor destination for visitors. Unfortunately, the Ohio River leads the nation in industrial pollution, according to the Courier-Journal. While Owensboro has poor air quality when it comes to year-round particle pollution, it actually made the ALA's "cleanest" list in the short-term particle pollution category. "If we can do more to save lives, we should and we can," Heather Wehrheim, director of advocacy for the ALA, says in a press release. "The Lung Association calls on Kentucky's leaders to develop a strong strategy for implementing the Clean Power Plan and reinstating our state's renewable energy and energy efficiency standards to reduce harmful emissions from power plants that worsen climate change and immediately harm health."
33. Dallas, Texas
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Dallas was historically a center for the oil and cotton industries. The arterial Trinity River is surrounded by the lush Greenbelt Park bordering downtown, providing stunning views of the city skyline reflected in the river. Sadly, the Dallas-Fort Worth area has had "little traction in improving air quality," according to the Texas Tribune. The city can further reduce pollution by strengthening regulations on coal plant emissions.
Related: Learn more about visiting Dallas, Texas.
33. Columbus, Georgia
Columbus developed along the Chattahoochee River, which spans 434 miles down to the Georgia-Florida border. Visitors and residents enjoy the RiverWalk, a 15-mile path that ambles along the river. For anyone looking for daring adventure, the Chattahoochee River also lodges the longest urban whitewater rafting in the world. While the Columbus-Auburn-Opelika metropolitan area ranked poorly in the year-round particle pollution category, it received an "A" grade from the ALA when it came to ozone pollution levels.
31. Medford, Oregon
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For anyone who loves pears and trains, Medford is the place to be. It's the birthplace of Harry & David, the gift-basket company that specializes in the luxurious Comice pear. Visitors can also stop by the Medford Railroad Park, built on a 49-acre former sewage-treatment plant. It features miniature built-to-scale steam trains (that you can ride for free), full-size cars and locomotives and a working telegraph system. Wildfires are a major air pollutant in the Medford-Grants Pass area of Oregon. Climate Central found that air quality in cities within 50 to 100 miles of a wildfire experience air quality five to 15 times worse than normal. According to them, the Douglas Complex and Big Windy fires made the air quality in Grants Pass unhealthy for people to be outside for nine days in the summer of 2013.
31. Kansas City, Missouri
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Known as the City of Fountains, visitors can see more than 200 water features that dapple the city. The J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain was built in Paris in 1910 and salvaged from a scrapyard. It features four horsemen representing the four rivers of the world. And, purchased in 1920 in Venice, Italy, the Meyer Circle Sea Horse Fountain features three mythological sea horses. Unfortunately, Kansas City experiences high levels of sulfur dioxide. James Turner of the Sierra Club tells KCTV 5 that coal-burning factories are to blame for the high levels of air pollution in Kansas City. This year a chemical spill at a distilling plant in nearby Atchison released a noxious cloud into the air that sent 34 people to the hospital, according to KRQE News 13. Wind conditions helped to disperse the cloud.
28. Shreveport, Louisiana
The Red River divides Shreveport from Bossier City, which together earned a 28th spot on the ALA's list of the worst U.S. cities for year-round particle pollution. Marylee Orr, director of Louisiana Environmental Action Network, tells the Shreveport Times that there are a number of factors that contribute daily to air pollution there. These include "Calumet Specialty Products emissions, the hydraulic fracturing process that follows oil and gas well drilling throughout the Haynesville Shale area, lignite mining and burning at the AEP-SWEPCO/CLECO plant near Mansfield, paper and pulp mills like International Paper Co. and even routine open burning of hardwoods and pine forests for vegetation control." Orr urges the community to "be aware and participate" in air quality control.
28. Macon, Georgia
Just southeast of Atlanta, Macon houses North America's only reconstructed earth lodge, a type of Native American dwelling. William Butler Johnston, ignobly known as the keeper of the Confederate treasury, left behind the Hay House, an 18,000-square-foot Italian Renaissance Revival mansion, which is open to visitors. Like much of the nation, the Macon-Warner Robins metropolitan area saw its air quality improve this year. The city can thank improvements in transportation and power plant emissions, June Deen of the American Lung Association of the Southeast tells Georgia Health News. The implementation of "green" locomotives, which WABE (Atlanta's National Public Radio station) reports would use one diesel engine to run two trains, could further progress toward cleaner air.
28. Evansville, Indiana
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According to Jamie Smith Hopkins from the Center for Public Integrity, there are seven coal-fired power plants within 30 miles of Evansville. "A third of the toxic air releases in 2014 from power plants, factories and other facilities came from just 100 complexes out of more than 20,000 reporting to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency," she writes in USA Today. Academics call these plants "super polluters." Mary B. Collins, a State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry researcher, found that low-income communities and people of color are disproportionately exposed to poor air quality created by super polluters. And although Indiana is one of the biggest coal-burning states, it has no renewable-energy requirements and no contingency plan regarding climate change.
26. Phoenix, Arizona
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As with many of the cities on this list, Phoenix's geography is detrimental to the city's air quality. The central valley forms a concave region that traps pollutants. Although the city is surrounded by the natural beauty of the mountains and desert landscapes with blooming saguaro, poor air quality discourages enjoyment of that splendor. At dusk, the Cholla Trail on Camelback Mountain features sweeping views of the glittering valley to one side and the Scottsdale foothills on another -- if you can see past the pollution. The city currently displays large signs above freeways reading, "HIGH POLLUTION ADVISORY. CARPOOL -- USE BUS," but more proactive steps are necessary for air-quality improvement. The Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area of Arizona can improve air quality by further developing public transportation to support its growing population.
Related: Learn more about visiting Phoenix, Arizona.
26. El Paso, Texas
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El Paso has a rich cultural heritage, mapping a past of political turmoil and transition. Visitors can learn about Native American culture at the Tigua Indian Cultural Center of the Ysleta de Sur Pueblo, which "celebrates over 300 years of tribal history in El Paso," according to the Visit El Paso website. According to Environmental Health News, more than 80 percent of residents identify as Hispanic, and the city's poverty rate is 6 percent higher than the state average. Trucks traveling along the U.S.-Mexico border, railways, the El Paso International airport and Fort Bliss, the second largest military base in the country, all contribute to air pollution in the El Paso-Las Cruces metropolitan area. According to ABC-7, the city's air-quality manager, whose name is omitted from the article, says that officials have no current plans to reduce emissions.
25. Little Rock, Arkansas
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Little Rock is a Midwestern town situated on the banks of the Arkansas River and serves as the capital of Arkansas. And there's no shortage of trees or natural beauty: The edge of the city is nestled in foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Its state capitol building is a replica of the White House and was built with Arkansas granite and features Tiffany chandeliers and a dome with a 24-karat gold-plated cupola. But investing in advertising to encourage commuter rideshares would reduce emissions and improve air quality.
Related: Learn more about visiting Little Rock, Arkansas.
23. Wheeling, West Virginia
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Wheeling's Grand Vue Park is a beautiful destination for anyone who loves the outdoors. If that's not enough, there's the Centre Market, the Eckhart House, the Good Zoo, Grave Creek Mound and more. Annual year-round particle levels have been improving since 2010, according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail. Fred Durham, director of the Division of Air Quality for the state Department of Environmental Protection, tells the Gazette "the reductions in ground-level ozone and particulate matter across the country can be attributed to efforts to reduce emissions, particularly nitrogen oxide." Kevin Steward, American Lung Associations director of environmental health for the mid-Atlantic region, suggests that air-quality standards need to be stricter to combat pollution.
23. Fairbanks, Alaska
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Pollution from wood burning -- in stoves and backyard furnaces -- is a major problem in Fairbanks. "Most people think of Alaska as one of the last great escapes from urban pollution," Kim Murphy writes for the Los Angeles Times. "But they have not spent a winter in Fairbanks or the nearby town of North Pole, where air-quality readings in November [2013] were twice as bad as Beijing's." Wood and coal burning is a hard habit to break for the city's residents, who live in one of the world's coldest inhabited regions, especially since they have limited access to natural gas. The area's first-ever burn ban was issued in November of 2015. Environmental groups are currently suing the EPA for their failure to change the Fairbanks North Star Borough designation from moderate to serious. The change would force the region to enact stricter measures, "such as requiring power plants to place additional filters in their smokestacks," the Associated Press reports. "Old wood and coal stoves would also need to be removed before a home can be sold."
22. Birmingham, Alabama
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Birmingham was founded in 1871 as a center for railroad transportation and mining. Little has changed: Coal mining and manufacturing remain central to the city's economy. Birmingham's picturesque skyline rises to views of the Appalachian Mountains in the distance. Birmingham boasts more green space per capita than any other American city and is home to the 19-acre Railroad Park, with lakefront biking trails, sculptured gardens and fountains. This wealth of natural beauty should be protected, and the city's active Metropolitan Planning Organization is taking good measures to clear the air in the Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega area of Alabama by planning to improve public transportation, maintain strict emissions standards and promote rideshares.
Related: Learn more about visiting Birmingham, Alabama.
21. Erie, Pennsylvania
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Erie is located (you may have guessed) on the coast of Lake Erie, where industrial plants are major contributors to air pollution. The production of coke, a fuel made from coal, has been an issue in Erie for some time. The Environmental Protection Agency is currently suing Erie Coke because it claims that "the company has failed to fix leaks of the chemical benzene, excessive exposure to which can cause cancer," GoErie.com explains. Kevin Stewart, director of environmental health for the ALA, tells the Allegheny Front that the implementation of the Cross State Air Pollution rule -- an EPA standard aimed at improving air quality -- will help to clean the air. "Once that happens, that will help us meet the air-quality standard and spread the burden of meeting that air-quality standard out more equitably according to the sources where that pollution originates," he says.
20. Detroit, Michigan
In River Rouge, a town just outside Detroit, there are 52 sites of heavy industry within a three-mile radius, according to Newsweek. The area has also been "out of compliance" with federal restrictions on sulfur dioxide for years. State officials finalized a plan this year that requires four industrial operations in the Detroit area to reduce their sulfur dioxide emissions. "We keep spending more and more money on these plants that just are marginally performing units," James Clift, policy director of the Michigan Environmental Council, tells the Detroit News. "If you look at the pollution and the public health impacts and calculated that against the cost of replacing those plants, it would be a simple answer that we should not continue operating them."
16. Johnstown, Pennsylvania
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Johnstown, Pennsylvania (aka "Flood City"), has been a canal port, railroad center, steelmaking center and coal mine. Visitors can check out the Johnstown Inclined Plane, the steepest vehicular incline in the world, which connects downtown to the higher grounds of Westmont Borough. On a quieter day, visit the Johnstown Flood National Memorial, which honors the 2,209 citizens who died when the South Fork Dam failed in 1889. The city winds along the Conemaugh River, which could explain why it has some of the worst year-round particle pollution in the country. Carnegie Mellon University professor Albert Presto charted air pollution in Allegheny County, just 70 miles west of Johnstown, and found that the river valleys had the most heavily concentrated air pollution. "The emissions can get trapped down there," he tells WESA, Pittsburgh's NPR news station.
16. Lancaster, Pennsylvania
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The heart of "Dutch Country," Lancaster is located in central Pennsylvania and is the oldest Amish settlement in America. An Amish community still thrives here, relying on horse-drawn carriages for transportation and eschewing electricity. Perhaps non-Amish residents can learn from the low carbon footprints of their neighbors: "Lancaster's air still stinks," reports Lancaster Online. Deb Brown, CEO of the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic, recommends that to improve Lancaster's air quality, "We must set stronger health standards for pollutants and clean up sources of pollution in the York region to protect the health of our citizens."
Related: Learn more about visiting Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
16. Houston, Texas
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Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States after New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The city is known for the Sam Houston monument erected in honor of General Sam Houston, the president of the Republic of Texas. With such a booming population, the city's Green Houston initiative recommends carpooling, walking, biking and using mass transit to reduce carbon emissions.
Related: Learn more about visiting Houston, Texas.
16. San Luis Obispo, California
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Called America's Happiest Town on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," San Luis Obispo is lauded for its beautiful location and laid-back culture. "The Central California Coast is wine country unspoiled, where vineyards still border cattle ranches, big-city tastes mix with simple pleasures, and you can't tell the billionaires from the beachcombers," Conde Nast Traveler reports. Although California's statewide emissions of smog-forming pollutants have decreased by more than 50 percent since 1990, the ongoing drought threatens to undo the state's progress, according to the 2015 report California's Progress Toward Clean Air that was released by the California Air Pollution Control Officers Association. The association calls for tougher federal standards.
14. Altoona, Pennsylvania
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Altoona developed around the railroad industry. As such, many of its main attractions honor its history with the Pennsylvania Railroad, including the world-famous Horseshoe Curve. Drive along this feat of engineering at the base of the Allegheny Mountains, accomplished by the toil of about 450 workers. Visitors can also see the aptly named Altoona Curve baseball team play at the Peoples Natural Gas Field. Unfortunately, the city came in 14th place on the ALA's list of cities with the worst year-round particle pollution and 39th on its list for short-term particle pollution.
14. Cincinnati, Ohio
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The Great American Ball Park, home of the Cincinnati Reds, is a major attraction for locals and visitors alike. Tourists can also stop by the Cincinnati Zoo, where tickets start at $16 for adults and $12 for children. Unfortunately, outdoor activities may not always be an option for the 213,812 locals with asthma. Major factors include traffic emissions and topography. "Similar to California's Central Valley, high traffic volumes in the Cincinnati area contribute to high pollution levels," 247 Wall St. writes. "In addition, the city is located in a valley, which, like the mountains surrounding the Central Valley, helps trap emissions."
13. Indianapolis, Indiana
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Indiana's capital city is known for sporting events, such as the annual Indianapolis 500, the NHRA U.S. Nationals, the Big Ten Conference football championship and the NCAA basketball tournament. Forbes ranked the city as one of the nation's best downtown areas, lauding the Fountain Square district for its "growing and productive bohemian vibe that is a big part of the city's identity." It's no surprise that pollution is a problem in Indianapolis because it's a locus for manufacturing and industry as well as a distribution center for companies like Target, FedEx Express, Amazon and CVS. The key to reducing particle pollution in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie area of Indiana involves passing laws regulating power plant pollution.
Related: Learn more about visiting Indianapolis, Indiana.
12. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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Historically, Philadelphia played a major role in the American Revolution: The Founding Fathers met in Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Constitution in 1787. The city is rich in history as well as greenery. The gorgeous Fairmount Park is the largest landscaped urban park in the world. Unfortunately, the air quality in the Philadelphia, Reading and Camden area of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland ranks among the worst in the nation. To improve air quality, Joyce Epps of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Air Quality recommends "the retirement, deactivation or shutdown of certain coal-fired power plants."
Related: Learn more about visiting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
11. Cleveland, Ohio
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Cleveland's picturesque downtown is situated on the banks of Lake Erie in northern Ohio. The city is known for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a robust economy owing to such diverse industries as manufacturing, financial services, biomedical and health care. All of this has left the air in the Cleveland, Akron and Canton area of Ohio polluted. The Ohio EPA says, "We want to keep our environment clean, but we enjoy modern conveniences that create pollution, like air emissions from electric plants and automobiles and hazardous waste like leftover paint and cleaning chemicals." Many coal plants in the area support the economy, and the state is currently considering how to reduce coal plant emissions while maintaining profitability.
Related: Learn more about visiting Cleveland, Ohio.
10. Louisville, Kentucky
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Louisville, one of the oldest American cities west of the Appalachian Mountains and situated adjacent to the Falls of the Ohio River rapids, is home to the Kentucky Derby and headquarters of Kentucky Fried Chicken. The city has more than 120 parks and the nation's largest urban forest. About a third of the country's bourbon is manufactured in Louisville. While the liquor-derived economic boon is certain, manufacturing taxes the ecology of the Louisville, Jefferson, Elizabethtown and Madison area of Kentucky and Indiana. How can Louisville improve air quality? According to Louisville's Courier-Journal, "Louisville needs a strong regulatory agency to lead the way. Whether [they] have one, however, remains uncertain. The Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District was rocked last year by state and federal audits that found its air-monitoring data could not be trusted."
Related: Learn more about visiting Louisville, Kentucky.
9. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
credit: David Coleman/iStock/Getty Images
As Pennsylvania's capital, Harrisburg is a manufacturing powerhouse. The steel, coal and food industries are booming in the city, along with the nearby Hershey's chocolate manufacturing center. Harrisburg is sadly known for the Three Mile Island accident, a partial nuclear meltdown in 1979 that was the worst disaster in American nuclear history. The toxic problems continue, as the city is often covered in brown-tinged smog. Local news site PennLive says of the issues: "Much of the area's problem is attributed to its high concentration of trucking businesses and the presence of Interstate 81 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the traffic they bring. There's also a coal-fired power plant near York Haven in York County. Local experts have also said the region is greatly impacted by power plants in other areas." It seems that regulating the manufacturing industry is key to improving air quality in the Harrisburg, York and Lebanon area of Pennsylvania.
Related: Learn more about visiting Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
8. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
credit: Rudolf Balasko/iStock/Getty Images
With miles of riverfront trails, Pittsburgh residents and visitors enjoy running and walking along the city's Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers. These converge near central downtown at Point State Park, a gorgeous spot to take in the reflections of the high-rise buildings' lights on the water at sunset. The Pittsburgh, Newcastle and Weirton area of Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia can thank emissions for their high rank on this list. According to WESA, Pittsburgh's NPR news station, pollution rolls into Pennsylvania "from nearly 300 coal-fired power plants in 15 states and the District of Columbia." However, the air quality is the best it's been in the past 17 years, ever since the report has been published. National Senior Vice President of Advocacy Paul Billings tells WESA that this is due to the continued improvement of "transit use, regulation of pollution-causing industries and public awareness."
Related: Learn more about visiting Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
7. San Francisco, California
credit: Can Balcioglu/Adobe Stock
San Francisco is the cultural and financial hub of Northern California. It's famous for sites like Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, Fisherman's Wharf and the Painted Ladies. It's also known for its bohemian, provocative counterculture in which beatniks and hippies flourished. Unfortunately, extensive mountain ranges surround San Francisco, trapping air pollution. Despite its high rank on ALA's list of worst cities for year-round particle pollution, San Francisco has been striving toward cleaner air for more than 40 years, according to China Dialogue. Recently, it has raised California motor vehicle-emissions standards, adopted specifications for lower pollutant-emitting fuels and implemented "measures to improve traffic flow" and "promote carpooling and more transit use," the publication writes.
6. Modesto, California
credit: Heather Craig/iStock/Getty Images
Despite Modesto's motto claiming it as the city of "water, wealth, contentment and health," the city's San Joaquin Valley location creates environmental challenges because pollutants stagnate between its surrounding mountains. While there's no shortage of things to do in Modesto -- golf courses, public parks, antique malls and museums abound -- the lack of clean air puts a damper on these outdoor activities. Modesto also inspired the film "American Graffiti" and hosts an annual "American Graffiti" car show. But because the Modesto-Merced area is beset with geographical and weather-related challenges, there's little strategy available to improve air quality. According to the Huffington Post, "Air-pollution officials say the technology doesn't yet exist to lessen the valley's pollution and bring the region into compliance, though the district is investing in research and giving grants for things such as the new generation of battery-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers."
Related: Learn more about visiting Modesto, California.
5. El Centro, California
credit: James Steidl/Adobe Stock
El Centro perches just north of the U.S.-Mexico border. According to Desert U.S.A., it's the largest city in the country that's below sea level, and it typically receives less than about three inches of rain every year. It maintains temperatures in the 70s and 80s throughout the winter, making it a great holiday destination. Sadly, the city's climate exacerbates any air-quality issues. CNN Money reports that the city covers any dirt roads and farm drives with water or crushed asphalt to prevent flying dust. Traffic from Mexico also contributes to air pollution there. Furthermore, Mexico, its neighbor, has more lenient air-quality laws than the U.S., leaving El Centro vulnerable to any polluted air that drifts in.
4. Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles. The City of Angels. Home to Hollywood, the Walk of Fame and Universal Studios. The city's history in the entertainment industry is well known. What many people don't know about Los Angeles, however, is that it had a robust streetcar and public transportation system in the 1940s. The city was swindled during the "great American streetcar scandal," in which a shell company made up of General Motors, Firestone Tire, Standard Oil and other corporate interests purchased existing streetcar systems and converted them into bus operations. It is surmised that the companies had forecasted a growing population and realized that a great deal of money could be made on oil and tires if Los Angeles remained dependent on oil -- and it has. According to ABC News, the American Lung Association urges people living in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area to reduce pollution by driving less, reducing electricity use and not burning wood or trash.
3. Fresno, California
credit: kai koehler/iStock/Getty Images
Fresno is known as the "Asthma Capital of California." Along with Bakersfield and Modesto, the city's Central Valley geography makes pollution an ongoing problem. Tourists often pass through the city on their way to Yosemite to enjoy such attractions as the 4.5-acre historical Forestiere Underground Gardens that are reminiscent of catacombs. While the Fresno-Madera area's natural beauty is augmented by its proximity to famous natural parks, air quality remains a threat. It seems that there's little that Fresno can do to improve air quality, unless the city is willing to shell out advertising dollars promoting car shares and burn bans during the drought months.
2. Visalia, California
credit: SandyS/Adobe Stock
Nicknamed "America's Salad Bowl," the Visalia-Porterville-Hanford area of California houses a fertile agricultural valley in which farming is a major industry. According to its travel website, Visit Visalia, it's the gateway to the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. It's an outdoor destination, tempting visitors to hike, bike, raft and snowshoe. Unfortunately, its bowl-like topography makes it a trap for air pollutants arising from farming, oil drilling and traffic on Highway 99 and Interstate 5, according to The Guardian. Bonnie Holmes-Gen recently told Visalia Times-Delta that the transportation sector needs to "move away from internal combustion engines" in order to improve the air quality there.
1. Bakersfield, California
credit: Gary Tognoni/iStock/Getty Images
Bakersfield is situated in California's Central Valley area just south of the pristine Sierra Nevada Mountain range. The area contributes greatly to California's economy: It generates 76 percent of the state's oil supply as well as a large amount of agriculture. The Hart Memorial Park features a family of peacocks roaming in vibrant display and hosts outdoor music events each Thursday. However, the geography of Bakersfield makes keeping the air free of pollutants a challenge because its valley "creates a bowl that traps air pollution," reports Time magazine. According to a press release from the Sierra Club, Bakersfield can further improve air quality by reducing pollution and passing laws to discourage "a polluting, publicly subsidized, coal-fueled fertilizer and chemical plant."
Related: Learn more about visiting Bakersfield, California.
credit: michal_staniewski/iStock/Getty Images
Do you live in one of these cities? What do you do to stay active while avoiding the poor air quality? What have you noticed your city do to improve conditions, and what would you like to see them do?
And make sure you check out the 50 U.S. cities ranked as having the best air quality.
Related: The 50 Best Cities Ranked by Air Quality
The Human Impact On Air Pollution
The Causes, Effects & Solutions for Air Pollution
The 21 Most Lethal Places to Live in America
21 Top Destinations for Active and Adventurous Vacations
Facts of Car Pollution

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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text:
'Indiana Jones' debut survives critics
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, earned a respectful reception at the Cannes Film Festival.
Harrison Ford 88 224. (photo credit: )
Indiana Jones received louder applause going in than he did coming out. His latest adventure, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, earned a respectful - though far from glowing - reception Sunday at the Cannes Film Festival, avoiding the sort of thrashing the event's harsh critics gave to The Da Vinci Code two years ago. Yet Indy's fourth big-screen romp is not likely to go down as one of the most memorable. Some viewers at its first press screening loved it, some called it slick and enjoyable though formulaic, some said it was not worth the 19-year wait since Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Harrison Ford made the last film. Cast and crew were unconcerned about how critics might dissect the film. "I'm not afraid at all. I expect to have the whip turned on me," Ford told reporters after the screening. "It's not unusual for something that is popular to be disdained by some people, and I fully expect it." But, he said: "I work for the people who pay to get in. They are my customers, and my focus is on providing the best experience I can for those people." The new movie hurls archaeologist Jones into the Cold War in 1957. He survives a nuclear blast in the desert in typically creative fashion and is reunited with Raiders flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen). As speculated, the film has an alien connection. And it reveals the relationship between Indy and his new sidekick, an angry young motorcycle rebel played by Shia LaBeouf. Crystal Skull is so hotly anticipated that it will be virtually immune to critics' opinions. The film is expected to put up blockbuster box-office numbers when it opens globally Thursday.
Jewish women take home gold at 2014 Emmys
By JTA
Dance review: Maya Brinner –'Local' Jaffa Port
By ORA BRAFMAN
Resurrecting Chagall
By GRAHAM LAWSON
'Armed' and dangerous
By ORI J. LENKINSKI
US music legend Seymour Stein to scout Israeli artists


Training ranges from a half-day instructor led quick-start session to a comprehensive 5 day hands-on course to get the most from automation with TestArchitect.
This course will dive deeper into the Action Based Testing (ABT) method for automation-ready test design.
In Action Based Testing a modular organization of tests helps the creation and maintenance of their automation. Rather than focusing on technical challenges this class test design take central stage. You will see how the ABT process of test design enables non-technical testers and other stakeholders to create tests that have the kind of structure and re-use that normally would take experienced engineers to achieve. The focus on test design as the driver for automation enables the participation of the whole team rather than only the testers and automation engineers.
Knowledge taught from the course will help you to deal with challenges in automation, and make your test cases concise and easy to read, with clear business functionality coverage, easy to maintain and scale over time, over different releases, or different configurations.
The Test Design for Automation course is usually given as an online session, but can also be taught on-site. Although Action Based Testing is the foundation of TestArchitect, most of the concepts presented in this class can also work well for other tools.
This course is most beneficial for testers, automation engineers, and their managers. Domain experts and business analysts can profit from this class as well, since it can help them to contribute to a business oriented design of tests.
This hands-on course is one online session to help you learn the basics of working with TestArchitect. The course will make you familiar with TestArchitect's functionality and its user interface. You will learn to create and execute Action Based Tests, and to work with the user interface of an application under test.
While not required, additional instruction in Action Based Testing (ABT) – The "Test Design for Automation" course is recommended. ABT is the method TestArchitect is based on, and understanding of it can help you with making/creating more effective and maintainable automated tests.
The material in this class is often presented as the introduction of our more comprehensive courses, but in itself will be sufficient if you plan to use TestArchitect on a small scale for relatively simple test cases. Students will get hands on experience with creating and reviewing tests that have been created by the LogiGear services organization, and do a peer review.
The hands-on Fundamentals Course provides you with knowledge on a wide range of topics. It includes all the topics of the Basics Course, plus more in-depth knowledge on TestArchitect features.
The Fundamentals Course provides interactive, hands-on instruction to get you up-to-speed quickly with many of the features of TestArchitect. The participants will get experience using TestArchitect's features for test development and test automation by seeing and practicing "how-to's" using the tool's functionality.
The course starts with an overview of the components and functionality of the TestArchitect toolset, followed by hands-on exercises in in a range of topics. You will be creating and executing action-driven tests, data-driven tests, and cross-platform tests. You will also practice special actions like looping and conditions. And you will work with various ways to execute tests, to debug them and to review and analyze their results.
The Fundamental Course is usually given as three online sessions, but can also be taught on-site.
Test developers, automation engineers, and test managers alike. The course will help you to effectively design, automate and execute large-scale, complex tests, optimize test assets for high reusability, and interpret results. It includes all topics in the Basics Course and add much more in-depth knowledge about TestArchitect's features and how to use them.
Creation of reusable tests to run across platforms: different browsers, different versions, languages, OS, etc.
Control of test flows, including loops and conditions, which can be based on conditions of windows', controls' states, or results of comparisons.
Execution of tests locally and remotely specific test cases, or sets of multiple test modules, Asynchronous remote execution, Synchronous remote execution, batch execution. You will also learn how to set behaviors for executions if errors or failures occurs during executions.
Using the debugger tool to track, step through test lines, monitor variables, and nail down causes of failed tests.
How to sort out failures due to known bugs of the application under test to save time in interpreting test results. Students will also learn how to identify bugs that are fixed in test results.
Quickly identify differences in test results of the same test cases over different executions, different test environments, or different versions of application under test. From there, testers can promptly conclude the differences are expected or need to take further actions.
Creation of a variety of reports: statistics, trends, heat-maps, for all kind of test assets in text or graphical formats to show project's health over time, over builds.
Working with graphical objects and set tolerances for pixel differences to cope with different monitor resolutions, and/or graphic cards.
This hands-on Comprehensive Course provides you with knowledge on a wide range of topics. It includes all the topics of the Fundamental Course, and takes a deeper dive into test management and best practices.
The Comprehensive Course provides interactive, practical instructions to familiarize attendants with many features of TestArchitect, thus equipping them with knowledge about managing test assets and applying automation best practices to their projects. The participants will get experience using TestArchitect's features for test development, test automation, and test management by seeing and practicing "how-to's" using the tool's functionality. They will also learn about dos and don'ts practices in test creation to have manageable, scalable tests.
The course starts with an overview of the components and functionality of the TestArchitect toolset, followed by hands-on exercises in a range of topics. Attendants will be creating and executing action-driven tests, data-driven tests, and cross-platform tests. Participants will also practice special actions like looping and conditions, will work with various ways to execute tests, to debug them and to review and analyze their results. Administrative functionalities including version control, project subscription, repository replication, and user management are also covered. This course also provides trainees best practices in test developments, test execution, and test management to build and maintain effective, efficient, readable, and stable automation projects.
The Comprehensive Course is usually given as five online sessions, but can also be taught on-site.
While not required, additional instruction in Action Based Testing (ABT) – The "Test Design for Automation" course is recommended, since this is the method TestArchitect is based on, and understanding of it can help you make more effective and maintainable automated tests.
This course is recommended for test and automation professionals, in particular those who may take on lead or admin roles.
Managing projects, repositories and users.
Creating and running suites of tests.
Project Subscription to share common test assets which helps to speed up new project creation and lowers maintenance effort when changes occur.
Version control to manage test assets' histories and team collaboration.
Help give directions to the team about effective test design and automation.
Guide the team in applying best practices to develop scale-able and well-organized automation projects.
Automation experts work directly with individuals and groups to provide hands-on tutoring and guidance for proper implementation of TestArchitect and ABT, and other tools that may be utilized in the testing effort. Testing experts provide coaching on coding standards and coding skills for automated test case design and problem solving that will provide a quick ramp-up to efficient and highly maintainable test automation.
Coaches are available for team/1-on-1 assistance on-site or remotely via web or video conference workshop, or for individual phone coaching.
Accelerates the adoption of test design methods that improve testing efficiency.
Shortens the learning curve in gaining proficiency with ABT and the TestArchitect toolset.
Coaches work directly alongside individuals for guided learning and problem solving.
Facilitates quick adoption of test methods and test case design that improve testing efficiency.
Saves time and money by making teams more efficient.


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K J Else
Evidence that cytokine-mediated immune interactions induced by Schistosoma mansoni alter disease outcome in mice concurrently infected with Trichuris muris.
A J Curry, K J Else, F Jones, A Bancroft, R K Grencis, D W Dunne
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.181.2.769
In murine models of Schistosoma mansoni infection, egg production is associated with a switch from T helper cell (Th)1- to Th2-type responses to both schistosome-specific and unrelated antigens. Polyparasitism is common in human populations within S. mansoni endemic areas. We have, therefore, examined whether coinfection with S. mansoni could affect the outcome of a second parasitic infection, through Th2 cytokine-dependent modifications to the host immune response. We find that when mice susceptible to infection with the gut nematode Trichuris muris are coinfected with S. mansoni, they acquire the capacity to resolve T. muris infection, thus demonstrating a resistant phenotype. This ability to expel T. muris is associated with the production of Th2-associated cytokines, and corresponding antibody isotypes, in response to S. mansoni egg antigens. The Th2 response shows that there is no compartmentalization between spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes, and that the expulsion of T. muris is not caused by any changes in the host intestine associated with excretion of schistosome eggs. This influence of schistosome infections may be important, not only for the outcome of infections with unrelated pathogens in endemic areas, but also for the efficacy of vaccines in such areas.
Cytokine-mediated regulation of chronic intestinal helminth infection.
K J Else, F D Finkelman, C R Maliszewski, R K Grencis
Most inbred strains of mouse infected with the intestinal nematode Trichuris muris are resistant to infection expelling the parasite before adult worms establish. However, a few susceptible strains exist that are incapable of worm expulsion and harbor chronic infections of mature adult worms. Analyses of in vitro cytokine production by cells from the draining lymph node (mesenteric lymph node) have indicated that expulsion phenotype is tightly correlated with the selective expansion of helper T cells (Th) of the Th1 or Th2 cell subset within the mesenteric lymph node, resulting in susceptibility and resistance to T. muris, respectively. We have now confirmed and extended our in vitro observations in a series of experiments involving the in vivo manipulation of host cytokine levels. Depletion of interferon (IFN)-gamma in normally susceptible mice resulted in expulsion of the parasite, representing the first evidence for a role for IFN-gamma in the establishment of chronic helminth infection. Blocking interleukin (IL)-4 function in normally resistant animals prevented the generation of a protective immune response allowing adult stages of the parasite to develop. Conversely the administration of IL-4 to a normally susceptible host facilitated expulsion and indeed enabled established adult worms to be expelled when administered late in infection. In all cases assessment of a variety of in vivo parameters indicative of a Th1- or Th2-type response (parasite-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) G2a and the parasite-specific IgG1, total IgE levels and intestinal mastocytosis, respectively) demonstrated that the in vivo modulation of a Th1- or Th2-specific cytokine allowed the reciprocal Th cell subset to expand and become dominant with dramatic consequences for worm expulsion.


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Contributed Pics
National And World
National And World Sport
Foxy and JR
The Boss's Dog
Ernesto's Manifesto
Movie night this weekend
By David Rak
It's show time: Seymour Uniting Church members Ken Daniel and Michael Easton get comfy for the church's upcoming movie night.
Seymour Uniting Church's community movie night is back.
Film fans can turn up on Saturday at the Uniting Church Hall at 11-13 Crawford St, Seymour, from 6.30 pm. The movie starts at 7 pm.
Popcorn and drinks will be available for purchase. Entry is free but a donation will help cover the costs of the night.
People are encouraged to bring bean bags and cushions to enjoy the movie in comfort.
For more information, phone Michael on 0458 742 362, or visit the Seymour Uniting Church Facebook page.
Woodworking shed is Len Taylor's favourite space
Nestled behind Shepparton Sports Stadium is a small shed housing a creator's dream. With wood samples lining the walls, machines humming in the background and sawdust coating the floors, it is obvious how this would be a woodworker's paradise...
I can't believe it's been a year since I didn't become a better person
SANDY LLOYD'S RESOLUTIONS GO IN ONE YEAR AND OUT THE OTHER It's the third week of January, 18 days since 2020 began — so how are those new year's resolutions going? The promises to yourself to lose weight or get fit or clean...
Sandy Lloyd
Sarah Todd gives tips for stress-free school lunches
PHOENIX'S CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Considered approach nets big haul
Ross and Denise Gregson had a cool, calm and collected approach to two minutes of free shopping at O'Keefe's IGA in December. As the owners of the winning ticket in the Goulburn Options 'grocery grab' raffle, the...
David Rak
Local officer recognised
First Constable Jason Crossing was the recipient of the Rotary Club of Seymour's 2019 Community Police Award. The award recognises a police officer who goes above and beyond community expectations. First Constable Crossing has a background in...
Community dug deep for Christmas
Thank you to the community of Seymour and district for supporting A Little Ray of Giving from Ray White Seymour and Euroa. The Little Ray Of Giving campaign was supported by the community extremely well to the point the staff were overwhelmed with...


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Bio and contact information for Janell Blackmer, NWCPHP Associate Director for Center Operations.
Janell Blackmer is responsible for grant, contract, and budget development and management at NWCPHP. She supervises the NWCPHP administrative team, and assists the Director with administrative day-to-day operations and personnel matters for the Center. In addition, Janell is the program manager and contact person for the Public Health Management Certificate.
Janell has worked with NWCPHP since 2001. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Mathematics from the University of Washington.


And They Stop on Tuesday….
This is a response to the last @ChrisBrogan post that I read, and commented on. There's an outside chance you may read this first, therefore, you should read that, and then come back here, and read my response.
Or not, up to you. I'll wait in either case.
Back yet? My first reaction can be found in the title. Most people won't stick with something for more than 24 hours. Those people must learn determination. Set a goal. Don't stop 'til you achieve your goal. That's the simplest definition, at least, mine.
My second reaction, was simply, "Why do they HAVE TO start on Monday?" Chris' analogy does play, that most people start work on Monday, therefore they start other things, too. But the seven day work week may not start the same day for everyone.
There was a game show in the 70's, not sure of the exact timing, however, that can be looked up at this point…Celebrity Sweepstakes. If you remember seeing this show on more than one occasion, we are contemporaries. Good to meet you.
For the rest of you, here's how the game worked; 6 Celebrities, 3 contestants, Standard live studio audience (probably around 300 if I remember my walking around Television City days), and one Game Show Host, Jim McKrell. He's on IMDb. Growing up, I wanted to BE him. I faked sick, just so I could stay home and watch Celebrity Sweepstakes with my dad, that's how important it was to me, and ultimately, to my father. More on that part another time, or else this post will go in an entirely different direction.
Three rounds of the game, plus the final all or nothing round. More on that one another time too.
The question: What is the first day of the week?
The celebrities lock in their answers.
The three in question all return even money, and as I believe this was indeed the all or nothing round, you could double your money, or go home empty handed if you get it wrong.
The contestants bet on the three celebrities in question, each betting all there money. If you're a fan of poker, they went all in.
They did the reveal in reverse order, as anyone whose seen a round of Final Jeopardy can tell you.
Next contestant bet all her money on George Hamilton, and achieves the same result.
Two contestants, no winners. Shall we try for three?
Now, what's all this got to do with you? I'll tell you.
You don't have to use either of these as the first day of the week. The Comic Book Business uses Wednesday, or new comic book day, for those that know. As we know from a previous post, or The Bible if you don't want to read anymore, God worked for six days, and rested on the seventh. That means that the day of rest for those in the comic book field is Tuesday.
My pastor takes Monday off, so, he starts his work week on Tuesday.
With these few examples, I think I've made the point that Chris was making in the original post. Even though you have the opportunity to be connected all the time, and working on being connected all the time, you don't have to. You'll feel better.


EXEN air knocker: Clinging and compacter materials are broken loose by the impact force of knocker piston. The impact force can be adjusted as necessarry by adjusting the air pressure.
It will perform and provide results on any necessary work type, especially effective against fine powders such as dust in the dust collector, toner, flour, lithium – ion battery and sticky or clinging materials in the hopper, chute, silo and pipes.
The micro vibration created by air-vibration type will in fact deplete the air between particles, condensing the substance, which will in turn make it more difficult to discharge. In contrast, the impacts by the Knocker will successfully discharge the work even if the content is made of fine particles or those with sticky materials.


we cough 2 sailfish yesterday morning at only 7 miles offshore with our 36 footer boat named LosVinchi. Our captain and mate did a great job to make customers happy with pictures and at the end 1 of the fish was released. Dorados also were caught as normally catch at this period of the year.


text:
Hundreds of LAPD officers gather for downtown…
Hundreds of LAPD officers gather for downtown L.A. service to honor fallen Officer Juan Diaz
Diaz was off-duty when he was shot in Lincoln Heights, near the area where he grew up and dreamed of being a cop.
LAPD Officer Juan Jose Diaz' family sisters Sarahy, Anahi and his parents Candelario and Rocio leave flowers on his his coffin during his funeral at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills on Monday, August 12, 2019. Diaz was killed while off-duty in Lincoln Heights after visiting a taco stand. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
By Josh Cain | jcain@scng.com | Los Angeles Daily News
PUBLISHED: August 12, 2019 at 7:47 am | UPDATED: August 12, 2019 at 4:32 pm
The funeral for a Los Angeles Police Department officer gunned down while off duty in Lincoln Heights last month drew hundreds of his peers to a downtown L.A. cathedral Monday morning.
Flanked by dozens of LAPD vehicles along Temple Street just outside Cathedral Our Lady of the Angels, the hearse holding the casket of Officer Juan Diaz pulled up with red and blue lights blaring, and a small, fluttering American flag attached its hood.
LAPD officers place flowers on LAPD Officer Juan Jose Diaz' coffin during his funeral at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills on Monday, August 12, 2019. Diaz was killed while off-duty in Lincoln Heights after visiting a taco stand. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
During LAPD Officer Juan Jose Diaz's funeral, his mother Rocio wipes tears while sitting with her husband Candelario and daughters Anahi and Sarahy at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills on Monday, August 12, 2019. Diaz was killed while off-duty in Lincoln Heights after visiting a taco stand. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Los Angeles Police Department officer Juan Jose Diaz's family follows his casket into Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Monday, August 12, 2019. Diaz was killed while off-duty in Lincoln Heights after visiting a taco stand. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Los Angeles Police Department officer Juan Jose Diaz's casket is carried into Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Monday, August 12, 2019 for his memorial service. Diaz was killed while off-duty in Lincoln Heights after visiting a taco stand. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Los Angeles Police Department Officer Juan Jose Diaz' funeral is held at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills on Monday, August 12, 2019. Diaz was killed while off-duty in Lincoln Heights after visiting a taco stand. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
During LAPD Officer Juan Jose Diaz's funeral, his father and mother Candelario and Rocio wipe tears at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills on Monday, August 12, 2019. Diaz was killed while off-duty in Lincoln Heights after visiting a taco stand. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Rocio Diaz receives the flag from her son's coffin during his funeral at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills on Monday, August 12, 2019 while seated with her husband Candelario and daughters Anahi and Sarahy. LAPD Officer Juan Jose Diaz was killed while off-duty in Lincoln Heights after visiting a taco stand. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
LAPD Chief Michel Moore and his wife Cindy attend Officer Juan Jose Diaz' funeral at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills on Monday, August 12, 2019. Diaz was killed while off-duty in Lincoln Heights after visiting a taco stand. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
LAPD Officer Juan Jose Diaz's sisters Anahi and Sarahy and parents Candelario and Rocio receive flowers during his funeral at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills on Monday, August 12, 2019. Diaz was killed while off-duty in Lincoln Heights after visiting a taco stand. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Los Angeles Police Department Officer Juan Jose Diaz' funeral is held at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills on Monday, August 12, 2019. Diaz was killed while off-duty in Lincoln Heights after visiting a taco stand. His blue truck is right. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Anahi Diaz places a flower on her brother LAPD Officer Juan Jose Diaz's casket with her family at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills on Monday, August 12, 2019. Diaz was killed while off-duty in Lincoln Heights after visiting a taco stand. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Family and friends lay flowers on LAPD Officer Juan Jose Diaz' coffin during his funeral at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills on Monday, August 12, 2019. Diaz was killed while off-duty in Lincoln Heights after visiting a taco stand. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
A Mexican Tomborazo band performs as family and friends lay flowers on LAPD Officer Juan Jose Diaz' coffin during his funeral at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills on Monday, August 12, 2019. Diaz was killed while off-duty in Lincoln Heights after visiting a taco stand. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
LAPD officers place flowers on LAPD Officer Juan Jose Diaz' coffin and hug his family during his funeral at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills on Monday, August 12, 2019. Diaz was killed while off-duty in Lincoln Heights after visiting a taco stand. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
An LAPD officer hugs Anahi Diaz after placing a flower on her brother Officer Juan Jose Diaz' coffin at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills on Monday, August 12, 2019. Diaz was killed while off-duty in Lincoln Heights after visiting a taco stand. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
LAPD Officer Juan Jose Diaz' truck was parked during his funeral at Forest Lawn in the Hollywood Hills on Monday, August 12, 2019. Diaz was killed while off-duty in Lincoln Heights after visiting a taco stand. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)
Just before 9 a.m., six pallbearers – three of Diaz's cousins dressed in white, and three LAPD officers in uniform – took the casket from the hearse.
They carried him inside the cathedral, where Chief Michel Moore, Mayor Eric Garcetti and the officer's family and friends were waiting.
The shooting that killed Diaz "has shaken the department to our core," LAPD spokesman Josh Rubenstein said outside the cathedral.
Diaz, a 24-year-old rookie, was sitting inside a pickup truck driving away from a taco stand near Artesian Street and Avenue 26 after midnight on July 27 when, detectives said, a gang member ran up and fired at the vehicle.
Diaz and another man inside the truck were struck. After his girlfriend flagged down a nearby LAPD cruiser, officers tried to save Diaz, but he died at the scene. The other man suffered facial injuries but survived.
Suspect Christian Facundo, 20, of Temecula was angry after Diaz spotted him tagging a wall near the taco stand and told him to stop, police have said.
After an argument, Facundo and another man, 23-year-old Francisco Talamantes, left the scene but quickly returned, authorities said.
Police said Facundo was the shooter, with both men getting arrested on Aug. 2 in Temecula and now facing murder charges. A third suspect, 18-year-old Ashlynn Smith, faces an accessory-to-murder charge.
Diaz grew up in the Lincoln Heights area, dreaming of becoming a cop. He was assigned to the Special Operations Division unit of the department's Professional Standards Bureau.
He is survived by his father, mother and two sisters.
Inside the church on Monday, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez presided over the ceremony. Father Tesfaldet Asghedom, the pastor for the Diaz family from Sacred Heart Parish in Lincoln Heights, gave the homily.
Following the ceremony, a procession took Diaz to his burial site at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills.
At the foot of steep hills, dozens of LAPD officers stood at attention, over looking Diaz's flag-covered casket. About 250 people gathered under green tents or looked on from across a road in the afternoon heat.
Four LAPD officers on horses led a fifth horse, without a rider and with boots in its stirrups facing backward; the officers and horses escorted the hearse to the burial site.
After a blessing, a "missing man" formation of four LAPD helicopters flew overhead – with one helicopter breaking off from the formation and flying over the hills, out of sight, as the others continued on.
Seven officers fired three shots each, followed by the playing of bagpipes.
Chief Moore took the wrapped American flag, which had been on the coffin, and presented it to Diaz's mother.
And a tamborazo, a small Mexican-style band, played as the family placed white roses on the casket before it was buried.
Joshua Cain is a crime and public safety reporter for the Southern California News Group, based at the L.A. Daily News in Woodland Hills. He has worked for SCNG since 2016, previously as a digital news editor in the San Gabriel Valley, helping cover breaking news, crime and local politics.
Follow Josh Cain	@joshpcain


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Baked Alaska No-Shows Scottsdale Hearing, Warrant Issued
Arizona Democrats Call for Federal Investigation into Local GOP Lawmakers' Role in Riot
Parties, Basketball, Slip-and-Slides: ASU Student Employees Say Campus Is a Health Risk
Erasmus Baxter
| ASU |
Erasmus Baxter | August 26, 2020 | 2:26pm
Photos provided by student employees show students gathering in groups without masks on the ASU campus since returning to school.
Composited by Erasmus Baxter
Arizona State University hadn't even completed a full week of classes when President Michael Crow announced yesterday that there were 161 positive COVID-19 cases across the university's four campuses.
The numbers include both on-campus and off-campus students. But they came as little surprise to those tasked with looking after the 13,000 students currently living on campus.
Six community assistants tell Phoenix New Times that a number of students have been packing into dorm parties, gathering in large clusters to head to off-campus parties, and playing close-contact sports — all while flouting mask mandates. The student employees asked to remain anonymous because they're worried about losing their jobs or facing other repercussions for speaking out. At least one said supervisors had threatened termination for speaking to the media.
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"I've been busting a lot more parties than last year," said one second-year community assistant, or CA — ASU's version of a resident adviser — who has encountered up to 20 people crammed into one room for a party.
Another said he'd busted a 20-person party with attendees from multiple other residence halls as well as off-campus residences. He said a group of 20 to 30 students had been gathering in a huddle between two residence halls around midnight each night, in what he described as an almost "cult-like" ritual.
It's not just unofficial gatherings that have been an issue. Some community assistants have been skipping meals due to crowding in the dining halls as students pick up their take-out meals.
"It's frustrating because I want fresh vegetables," said one assistant who has been buying meals from a campus convenience store instead.
Another CA went on a 40-person gym tour that involved the group maneuvering through close quarters and crowding around the person giving the tour, she said.
While ASU and Crow have promoted the university's COVID-19 procedures — physical distancing requirements, mask-wearing, mandatory testing — as a way to offer a safe return to campus, the lack of institutional backing means the university's COVID-19 measures amount to empty promises, the assistants said.
Students cluster on the ASU campus on August 17.
Courtesy of an ASU student
"If everyone follows the guidelines in our Community of Care plan, wears a mask, social distances, (completes the) health check, testing if you're showing symptoms, we're not going to have any problems," university president Michael Crow told the student newspaper, The State Press, two weeks ago in a quote that has since appeared in at least two articles about students apparently attending off-campus parties.
In his most recent release, Crow said that cases were expected as testing proceeded and the university has experience with isolating students as necessary.
After the videos of students at off-campus parties surfaced last week, the ASU Community of Care Coalition, a campus group concerned about the reopening, told New Times last week that ASU should reconsider its reopening plans instead of blaming students.
"The behavior seen in these videos makes abundantly clear what common sense should have dictated to ASU leadership in the first place: efforts to enforce consistent student social distancing and mask-wearing will fail," the group wrote. "ASU should not continue to risk the health of students, employees, and the broader community."
Universities across the country are seeing hundreds of COVID-19 cases among students after re-opening — many after students flocked to bars or parties. Some experts have argued that opening college campuses is a recipe for disaster.
ASU's dean of students for the Tempe campus, Cassandra Aska, told New Times that everyone is adjusting and the goal is to remind students about and to reinforce rules around masks and physical distancing. She emphasized that it was still early in the school year and said adjustments can be made as needed if administrators are notified.
"School has just started and we're seeing, for the most part, people are wearing masks, but when individuals are being seen not wearing their masks, the first thing is we educate them," Aska said, adding that she walks around campus and reminds people to put their masks on. Community assistants can write up students not following the policies and refer them to the university's discipline system, she said.
But there's been confusion about those policies.
According to two training documents reviewed by New Times, community assistants were initially told that no visitors were allowed in dorm rooms at all. When a parent complained about the policy, Joanne Vogel, the university's vice president for student services, told the parent in an email that community assistants who enforced the no-visitors rule were providing inaccurate information based on their "personal beliefs that students should be minimizing or eliminating contact." Vogel added that it would merely be "smart" for students to wear face coverings when visiting others.
"No bait and switch here — only overzealous students," Vogel wrote in the message, referring to the CAs.
In a later email, Vogel clarified that the inconsistent messaging regarding the rules was actually the result of a miscommunication between housing administrators, and not the fault of the CAs. But the damage was already done. After Vogel's response was shared in an ASU-parent Facebook group, a number of students sent it to their CAs, leaving them feeling thrown under the bus for following instructions. Within 24 hours, the CAs were pulled in to a Zoom meeting on half-hour notice and informed the new policy was to allow visitors as long as they all lived in the same dorms.
This was around a week ago. Community assistants say the more lenient policy has reduced their ability to enforce physical distancing and mask requirements as students gather behind closed doors. Some have been told by supervisors to avoid writing up students for violations of the visitor policy due to the lack of clear policy, or to only address violations if there were other issues such as alcohol use.
"For the last week we haven't really been able to enforce COVID policy," said one assistant.
Asked about this, Aska said if students are not wearing their masks in public areas or are in residence halls they don't live in, community assistants are supposed to document that, and then the violation will go through the disciplinary process.
"That is the protocol, that is the policy — that they get documented," she said.
In his message about the case numbers yesterday, Crow emphasized that face coverings are required at all times besides when eating and that students who gather without following health protocols or violate the visitor policy are subject to suspension. An ASU spokesperson said that anyone who sees students clustering in shared spaces should report them to the dean of students office.
Students gathered around a slip-and-slide Tuesday night. ASU's president announced there were 161 cases associated with the university the same day.
Community assistants, many of whom rely on their job for housing and receive less than $120 a month in compensation apart from food and board, say they're in a difficult situation. They know there are COVID-19 cases on campus and they've heard through the grapevine that at least one community adviser is isolating after exposure. At the same time, ASU will not tell them where the cases are, and their contract requires them to engage with residents in person and conduct patrols for violations. That means entering dorms crowded with maskless students to break up parties.
In fact, the university has actually increased the number of responsibilities that bring CAs into contact with students since last year. CAs must now work five hours a week manning the front desk after the university eliminated what had previously been a separate job. Assistants are also required to "volunteer" to help students move into the dorms, which this year has often meant interacting with unmasked family members dropping their students off. (Dean Aska said the university told parents they would have to follow campus guidelines, including wearing masks, while dropping students off.)
While ASU has trumpeted the fact that students had to have tested negative for COVID-19 in order to return to campus, out-of-state students were allowed to present tests from a week ago or more — even from before they flew to Arizona and were potentially exposed in the process. (An ASU spokesperson said he believed the window for test results was two weeks before arriving at campus, but could not confirm for sure by press time.)
Community assistant's contracts — sent just a few weeks before they returned to campus — call for them to only work 20 hours a week. But one of the CAs showed New Times a spreadsheet where she documented working around 70 hours a week over the two weeks of the move in, including her eight-hour on-call shifts. It also took several days for the university to begin providing water to the assistants working in the heat, she said.
What was once weeks of training for assistants was crammed into a few days to facilitate the lengthened move-in process. The assistants who spoke with New Times said that questions and concerns were either left unanswered or met with hostility.
"If you don't feel comfortable, you should leave," is how one assistant summed up the administration's message in response to concerns. Some student employees already have. But others say they need the job and housing to continue attending school.
Dean Aska said that community assistants can raise issues or concerns with her staff and housing leadership. She said they're also welcome to bring any issues directly to her office.
When questioned as to whether assistants with concerns should resign, Aska said, vaguely, that the community assistant program is a professional development program and the school wants to support assistants in figuring out that decision for themselves.
ASU spokesperson Fiscus said that there had already been some meetings between students and administrators.
"Through this whole process it's good that we're hearing from everybody, because sometimes they have misinformation, and sometimes they have information that's really valuable that we can follow up on, and this is an evolving thing," Fiscus said. "So you know we can make tweaks and adjustments as necessary."
In the meantime, community assistants are hanging on, doing their best to try and stay safe. One said he's getting tested for COVID-19 three to four times a week.
"I'm doing everything I can to not be the person who infects a resident," he said.
Erasmus Baxter is a staff writer for Phoenix New Times.
Twitter: @baxter_eh
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George Clooney Helps Reveal How South Sudan's Civil War Has Enriched Leaders
First Vice President of South Sudan and former rebel leader, Riek Machar (L), and President Salva Kiir (R), sit for an official photo with the 30 members of the new cabinet of the Transitional Government at the Cabinet Affairs Ministry, in Juba on April 29, 2016.
ALBERT GONZALEZ FARRAN—AFP/Getty Images
By Tara John
Updated: September 12, 2016 8:31 AM ET
South Sudanese leaders responsible for atrocities in the country's violent civil war have amassed vast fortunes during the conflict, according to a new report by an initiative co-founded by actor George Clooney.
The Sentry's two-year investigation found that the families and top generals of conflict's main opponents, President Salva Kiir Mayardit and deposed Vice President Riek Machar, stay in five-star hotels, own luxury cars and live in multi-million dollar mansions in Kenya, Uganda and Australia. According to the report, they reap the benefits of a system of nepotism "all while much of their country's population suffers from the consequences of a brutal civil war, and in many places, experiences near-famine conditions."
The report also accuses the two leaders of benefitting "financially from the continuing war and have effectively ensured that there is no accountability for their human rights violations and financial crimes."
In an Washington Post editorial, Clooney and The Sentry co-founder John Prendergast suggest a new approach to "counter mass atrocities" in the world's youngest country: "The essence of a new strategy would combine readily available anti-money-laundering measures with targeted sanctions focused on top regime officials and their international facilitators, while encouraging banks to help provide essential services to innocent South Sudanese."
After achieving independence in 2011, the country plunged into civil war when Kiir Mayardit accused Machar of plotting the coup. Fighting between both sides grew into an ethnically influenced conflict that has displaced millions and killed thousands.


Metal Analysis: 4.7/10 - Is it Safe to Invest in MTL Now?
The Metal Pay network is a rewards style payment application. A user who utilizes this app to send and receive money can earn rewards in the platforms native cryptocurrency, Metal. This app not only offers crypto enthusiasts a sort of "cash back scheme" for spending their money, but it could also be a valuable tool for turning mainstream users on to the idea of cryptocurrencies in general.
This application can also act as a zero fee exchange, as users can convert USD to MTL easily. They also will allow merchants to easily accept crypto assets as payments, cheaper than through a card style system.
There are lots to love about this platform, and if you choose to make a Metal investment it could be a good move. I feel that platforms like this that are easy to use will bridge the gap for cryptocurrency between enthusiasts and casual users. However, there are a couple of pain points which I must address, read on for those concerns.
It's possible to buy Metal on several exchanges, including at least one very popular platform, so you should have no trouble acquiring your coins. There are several high liquidity trading pairs including Bitcoin, Ethereum and the South Korean Won for investors to choose from.
This is an ERC20 token, so it's easy to find an appropriate wallet to store your investment. There are a ton of wallets that are compatible with these Ethereum assets, but if you need a few suggestions you could try the Ledger hardware wallet, Coinomi's mobile application for Android or iPhone, or My Ether Wallet if you'd prefer an online version.
Is it safe to invest in MTL now?
I love the idea of being able to collect rewards for payments, and I think others will too. I feel this type of "cryptocurrency" rewards type platform will be very popular in the future. Other services are already trying to implement similar programs into mobile games and applications.
Many mainstream users are still skeptical of cryptocurrencies, but if they had opportunities to earn them, like with MTL or from playing games, they would probably be much more likely to try them. Once the initial concerns of "magic internet money" most people have worn away, I feel they would find them quite useful, and even interesting.
For those reasons, it seems a rather no-brainer to invest in MTL. This intuitive platform will seamlessly connect traditional finance options like bank accounts with cryptocurrencies, and that's a good thing.
There is one particular pain point which I don't like about MTL. It doesn't work with bank cards. While I realized that they are trying to offer a more "cost-effective" solution to merchants, I feel this will be very difficult for them. Too many people are used to using them, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.
The ability to just swipe and pay is just too easy for most people. It's also not totally explained how the application works. Can you only pay merchants that explicitly accept metal? Who exactly can be paid using this service?
I would find it pretty useful if the application could be used to pay bills that require ACH payments, however, that information is not very clear at this time. If payments can only be made to those who use the app, then that severely limits the usefulness of its application for payments.
In short, I find the MTL platform an exciting journey into mainstream cryptocurrency adoption. I do however have a few questions remaining on how they actually handle payments. They do offer a merchant incentive in the form of $5,000 per month in Popp for providing this service for their customers.
However, that type of adoption will likely take a long time, and most of the network traffic will likely be confined to people sending money to their roommates who they annoyed until they downloaded the app.
Their disregard for the bank cards many have become so accustomed to worries me somewhat and other earning style programs that don't require the inconvenience of changing the way you send money may be more successful in creating a bridge to the mainstream.


Sir John Armitt today welcomed the central role that infrastructure continues to play in the Government's Industrial Strategy one year on from its launch – and the alignment between its commitment to clean growth and improved productivity and the recommendations in the UK's first-ever National Infrastructure Assessment.
The chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission urged Ministers to use next year's National Infrastructure Strategy to adopt the Commission's proposals, including around supporting electric vehicle take-up, making the most of renewable energy sources and devolving powers and funding to city leaders to develop long-term plans to meet their local transport needs.
He also highlighted where progress is already being made, including the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review which in line with the National Infrastructure Assessment includes plans to subsidise the roll-out of full fibre broadband to rural communities to ensure nationwide coverage, and the increased role of low-carbon sources in meeting the UK's electricity needs.
"One year ago, we welcomed that infrastructure had a place at the heart of the Government's Industrial Strategy – with particular focus on delivering low-carbon technologies, improving transport networks and using the latest digital technologies.
"Since then we've published the National Infrastructure Assessment, the recommendations from which are in line with these aims and others. In particular, we highlight the need to roll-out full fibre broadband across the whole country which is already being enacted, making the most of what renewables can offer, and developing the charging network needed to support ever-greater take-up of electric vehicles. We've also proposed putting more funding and powers in the hands of city leaders to develop long-term transport plans for their communities.