Thursday, December 24, 2020

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

 



As it is Christmas Eve,  please accept our best wishes as we will be going "dark" through January 6, 2021.    Our Twitter Corner ,  Live Broadcast POD and Facebook Corner will be available  

Happy Holidays &  Merry Christmas 
Onward to 2021:


Please Enjoy the following as a final Virtual Gift: 


We’ve been this way for a while. We are set in our ways. We’ve always had a short fuse. We’ve always been sad about our childhood. We’ve always had trouble with our eating. We’ve never been much good at being faithful.

Maybe you have a mean streak. Maybe you’re too timid. Maybe you don’t like to try very hard. Maybe you don’t think you’re good enough.

How’s that working out for you? Why keep going down a road that leads nowhere?

Marcus Aurelius talks about how crazy it is that we just go on staying the same person we’ve always been—how we just “keep being mauled and degraded” by the life we’re living. And for what? It’s not even pleasurable. It’s not even getting us what we want.

A person who can’t change, who refused to change, he says are “like those animal fighters at the games—torn half to pieces, covered in blood and gore, and still pleasing to be held over till tomorrow… to be bitten and clawed again.”

The definition of insanity, they say, is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. There is nothing sadder than a person who can’t grow, who cannot turn over a new leaf, who cannot take a leap of faith forward, into the dark.

You have to be willing to change. You must change. You must get better.

Not later, not eventually, but now.

Why not start 2021 by actually taking the steps to create a better life? To actively step toward being the person you know you can be?

That’s why we created the New Year, New You Challenge. It’s a set of 21 actionable challenges—presented one per day—built around the best, most timeless wisdom in Stoic philosophy. Our goal is to help you make 2021 your best year yet.

Every year—this year right in front of you—can be the most important year of your life. The one where you become your best, most creative, most centered, most self-reliant and resilient self. But you have to be willing to change.

Our New Year, New You Challenge is all-new content, guided by thousands of responses and reactions to our previous challenges, courses, videos, and emails. It’s a whole new challenge based on painstaking research and timeless science, for an all-new, life changing experience.

The challenge is designed to help you:

  • Stop procrastinating on your dreams
  • Learn new skills
  • Quite harmful vices
  • Make amends
  • Learn from past mistakes
  • Have more hope for the new year
  • And much, much more…

What are the risks or the downsides of NOT taking control of your life? For allowing another year to pass not living up to your potential? Not changing your ways? Most of the risks aren’t dire, but none of the downsides are good. Some are just downright miserable. Don’t let that happen in 2021. Again.

You have to be willing to change. Don’t wait to better yourself. Stop being mauled and dragged down by the life you’re living. Don’t wait to demand more of yourself. Start Now.


In his 91st Letter, Seneca tells Lucilius about his friend Liberalis who is “in some distress at the present moment following the news of the complete destruction of Lyons by fire.” It was a terrible, savage tragedy that calls to mind the images we see on the news all over the world on a day-to-day basis.

In our interview with Anthony Long—one of the most respected philosophers at one of the most important universities in the world—he talked about why Seneca was writing this letter to his friend. It wasn’t to panic his friend with thoughts of natural catastrophes. It wasn’t to say ‘Wow, did you hear what happened? Can you believe it? What a tragedy! We’re all doomed!’ No. “In describing these catastrophes,” Long told us, “Seneca, like other ancient Stoic philosophers, totally belied the modern image of the unconcerned Stoic:”

Ancient Stoicism was actually a philosophy of action. It did not teach resignation, much less apathy, but realistic acceptance of human vulnerability and making the best of oneself and one’s situation in all circumstances, good and bad alike. Writing about the devastating fire of Lyons, Seneca fully acknowledges the horror of the event. His advice for the future is to cultivate readiness for anything: letting nothing catch you completely unprepared, acknowledging the suddenness and unpredictability of change (think of how the US stock market went from boom to bust in a few days), taking a comprehensive view of human history (think of the rise and fall of empires), recognizing that the rumor mill always exaggerates, and that fortune is no respecter of status or success or wealth. As he says sharply but accurately: “born unequal, we die equal”. Another helpful tactic is to concentrate on the present, neither pinning hopes on the future nor regretting the past, but recognizing that we are fully alive and effective only in the present fleeting moments.

As we grapple now with the kind of foe that the Romans were well familiar with—a global pandemic—we would do well to think of this example. Our job as philosophers is to be prepared. We must never, as Seneca said, find ourselves in that shameful position of saying, “I did not think it could happen.” We can’t do what so many world leaders did as COVID-19 was beginning its exponential spread and look to our neighbors suffering and think, “I’ll be spared. I will be skipped.”

No. We have to be aware. We have to be prepared. We have to care. The fate of one is the fate of all. We are all vulnerable and our ignorance only makes us more so. And we must seize and drink in the present while we can. Don’t let the mob distract you. Don’t take people for granted. Do what you can right now. Before it’s too late.

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Notations From the Grid (Special Year-End Edition): Pope Francis Speaks....

Monday, December 21, 2020

Notations On Our World (Final Year-End Edition): On Our World

 We hereby present a snapshot courtesy Visual Capitalist.

Happy Holidays!!!

 
 
Mapping the Recovery from the Global Recession of 2020

The global recession of 2020 will cause overall GDP to fall by 4.2% this year. Which countries are forecast to recover the fastest?

The Year in Review: 2020 in 20 Visualizations

These 20 charts, maps, and visualizations help capture what happened in a tumultuous year around the globe.

Mapped: The Risk of Eviction and Foreclosure in U.S. States

Which U.S. states are most at risk of experiencing mass evictions and foreclosures in the next two months?

Ranked: The Most Valuable Nation Brands in 2020

Here’s a look at the most valuable nation brands in 2020, and how the brand values of these countries have changed over time.

SPONSORED 
Making Moves in the Gaming Market

Gaming is a booming industry, and more companies are making moves in the field and driving gaming investments.

Tracking COVID-19 Vaccines Around the World

Visualizing the share of COVID-19 vaccines purchased by different countries and the companies that are manufacturing them.

SPONSORED 
Five Priorities for HR Leaders On the Way to Recovery

The future of the workplace remains uncertain. To set the course, PwC reports reveal five takeaways to help refine recovery strategies.

Comparing Vaccine Development Timelines

This infographic looks at how long vaccine development has historically taken for pandemics dating back to the 1900s.

This Week's Flashback Favorites:

Breaking the Ice: Mapping a Changing Arctic

As the Arctic becomes more accessible due to reduced ice cover, countries with polar real estate are increasingly viewing the region through an economic lens.

Originally from December 2019

Notations From the Grid (Final Year-End Editoin): On Showcasing VW

 We are great fans of VW and its' technology--we hereby present the following as our final edition of "Notations From the Grid" for the year:


2021 ID.4 electric SUV
2021 ID.4 electric SUV


2020...

In looking back at this unprecedented year, I think our entire community can feel pride at the resilience we showed in the face of its challenges. As we resolve to make 2021 a more unified, less divisive and safer year, let’s review the times of light and the times of trial that drove ADL during the past 12 months.

  • We started the year marching in the streets of New York, joined by voices from across the country concerned about attacks on the Orthodox Jewish community that were the final straw in a surge in levels of antisemitic incidents in 2019 that were the highest ADL had ever recorded.
  • In early 2020, we published Antisemitism Uncovered, a landmark online guide that connects centuries of antisemitic tropes to the hatred we are experiencing today.
Year in Review Video
ADL video recap of 2020
  • In March, the nation prioritized masks and social distancing as the menace of COVID spread. The ADL community stepped up to fight coronavirus scapegoating, which led to anti-Asian hostility, fear of immigrants and attempts to link the spread of the pandemic to Israel and to the Orthodox Jewish community. We also spoke out for the urgent need to help the marginalized people in our communities, who have been disproportionately devastated by the cascading impact of COVID.
  • ADL also played an important role in fighting a related threat, Zoombombing, as hate and harassment found a new way into our homes. Gatherings from children’s storytelling to community board meetings to synagogue services were interrupted by antisemitism and other hostile words and images. ADL worked directly with Zoom, and with local communities, to both address the flaws in the video platform and provide guidance to people who were convening these online gatherings.
  • In May, the murder of George Floyd, who died while pinned under the knee of a police officer, led to national outrage. ADL stood up alongside the Black community to demand that we reexamine and overcome the systemic racism in our country. Further killings — of Breonna Taylor, of Jacob Blake and too many more — continued to drive home the need for justice.
  • In June, the ADL-founded Hate Free Georgia Coalition celebrated as Georgia’s Governor signed off on the bipartisan-supported HB 426, making the state the 46th to pass comprehensive hate-crimes legislation. The law’s protections went into effect immediately.
  • Also in June, ADL helped launch the #StopHateforProfit coalition to address the antisemitism, harassment, swatting, doxing, physical attacks and other online hate that were often going unchecked on social media platforms. The coalition began its efforts by lining up a massive national Facebook advertising pause that over 1,200 businesses and nonprofits took part in during July. Several weeks later, dozens of A-list celebrities took part in a pause on Facebook-owned Instagram, further raising awareness of the need for collective pressure to drive change. We saw the first fruits of this campaign as Facebook banned QAnon messages, began to categorize Holocaust denial as hate speech, and made other modest changes, though still falling far short of #StopHateforProfit’s recommendations.
  • Several high-profile athletes and entertainers took to social media in July to parrot the hateful words of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who ADL considers the most popular antisemite in America. After ADL and others, including many athletes and entertainers, raised concerns, NFL player DeSean Jackson and actor Nick Cannon both apologized for their comments and agreed to take actions to better understand the impact of their words.
  • In August, ADL and the National Urban League launched a national initiative to promote voting rights and to address other issues of mutual concern to the African American and American Jewish communities.
  • In further actions to support ballot access for all Americans, ADL launched resources, tracked extremist activity that might disrupt the election, and supported legal challenges to voter suppression in Texas alongside partners like the Brennan Center and the NAACP that went all the way to the state’s Supreme Court.
  • In September, ADL celebrated as Israel officially signed agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and we launched a series of efforts to share our expertise in the Gulf region to combat antisemitism and violence. As UAE Ambassador Al Otaiba said to me during an ADL webinar, “extremism is extremism” and peace agreements like this can set an example for the next generation to reject the hatred that decades of Middle East hostilities have engendered. Another breakthrough, an official accord with Morocco, came later in 2020.
  • In October, in what felt like a positive counterpoint to the tensions of the pending election, the ADL community held our first virtual Walk Against Hate, expanding a popular ADL unifying activity to a national scope.
  • We have been tracking extremists who have the potential to react with online hate and real-world attacks linked to November’s elections. This past weekend’s rallies in Washington, D.C., which were punctuated by violence, were the latest example of this threat.
  • In response to a surge in antisemitic acts in schools, in November ADL and EVERFI launched BINAH, a new national digital antisemitism curriculum for high school students.
  • In late 2020, we expanded our flagship Never Is Now Summit on Antisemitism and Hate, the largest annual event of its kind, by taking it virtual and international. People are continuing to watch the recordings of each Summit session. We followed that just weeks later with the first virtual ADL In Concert Against Hate, taking the 26th annual concert to new levels and recognizing inspiring honorees.
  • As we look back on the year, we also mark the loss of so many respected figures, including Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, our longtime ally in the fight for civil rights Rep. John Lewis, and Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, the longtime UK chief rabbi and a prolific writer whose works touched people around the world.

During all of these unprecedented moments, the ADL community was there, vigilant in rejecting antisemitism and finding ways to Fight Hate for Good. We thank all of you for speaking up, showing facts and sharing strength in 2020.

Your support for ADL’s mission of fighting antisemitism and working to secure justice and fair treatment to all has been vital this year and will be equally critical in 2021 and beyond.

Sincerely,
JG signature
Jonathan Greenblatt
CEO and National Director
ADL

Sunday, December 20, 2020

Notations From the Grid (W-End Edition): On The Prowl Celeberatng World Culture

 Today is Winter Solstice that Persian Speakers around the World celebrate--we hereby present a snapshot of Persian Culture we hope all find of interest....

We Welcome
Chef Yavar Gharibi
Vancouver
Episode 32 - Sushi Style "Baghali Polow" by Yavar Gharibi
This week we travel to Vancouver, British Columbia and visit private Chef Yavar Gharibi's kitchen to learn about his inventive recipe for "Baghali Polow" (Fava Bean and Dill Rice with Lamb Shank).

Chef Yavar is extremely passionate about presenting Iranian cuisine with innovative and modern techniques, all while still preserving the traditional flavors and authentic roots of each dish. "Baghali Polow" is one of his all-time favorite Iranian dishes, and he has chosen to present it in two formats today, one inspired by Japanese sushi as an appetizer and one as a plated main course.
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Watch all our current episodes
Duck a la "Fesenjoon" by Alireza Sarraf
"Koofteh Hooloo" by Ava Iadpanah
Pistachio-Saffron Soup by Chef Armita Hosseini
3-Layer “Tahdig” Cake by Chef Parisa Parnian
"Gormeh Sabzi" by Chef Masoud
"Koodoo" Stew by Chef Elahe Mirafzali
"Boloroni" by Chef Fiona Afshar
Cardamom & Rose Roulette by Chef Nadia Deljou
Jeweled Four Fruit Rice by Chef Katayoun Amidi
Persian Style "Pirashki" by Chef Ashkan Ashtari
Low-Carb "Tahchin" by Chef Shiva Sahebandfard
Saffron-Halva Cake by Chef Nicole Dayani
"Faloodeh Shirazi" by Chef Afrand Nikoukar
"Shooli Yazdi" by Chef Elehe Mirafzali
"Dizi - Āb-gūšt" by Chef Mojdeh Eghbal
"Ghalieh Mahi" by Chef Saeed Pourkay
"Borani" by Chef Shane Fatemian
"Albaloo Polow" by Chef Omid Roustaei
Pistachio & Cardamom Cake by Chef Maryam Amirsardary
"Chelo Kabab Koobideh" by Chef Mojdeh Eghbal
"Kal Kabab" Dip by Chef Jessica
Quick Vegan "Fesenjoon" by Chef Ariana Bundy
"Gaot-E Sangak" Salad by Chef Hamid Salimian
Vegetarian "Dolmeh-E Kalam" by Chef Penny Davidi
"Makaroni Tahdig" Pasta by Chef Omid Roustaei
"Ab-Doogh-Khiar" by Chef Erin Mahoney
Saffron "Toot" by Chef Fariba Nafissi
Tabrizi Chicken by Chef Nicole Dayani
"Ash-E Pesteh" by Chef Behzad Jamshidi
"Kebab Loghmeh" by Chef Soroosh Golbabae
Baghalah Ghatogh by Chef Shane Fatemian

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