Archive for the ‘Media Control’ Category

Spain permit limited nightlife in regions with COVID-19 under control – Reuters

Police officers evict people during a "macrobotellon" (drinking and dancing session) on a street, as the state of emergency decreed by the Spanish Government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) gets lifted in Barcelona. Spain, May 10, 2021. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

Spanish regions with a low coronavirus infection rate will be allowed to reopen nightlife before herd immunity is achieved, which is expected by mid-August, the health minister said on Wednesday after meeting with regional authorities.

Regions with a 14-day notification rate of infections below 50 cases per 100,000 people will be able to open discos and clubs until 3 a.m., although some restrictions will continue.

It was not clear whether dance floors will be allowed and the party group - a maximum of six people inside - has to remain masked, according to local media.

"A gradual and progressive return to normality is needed. Lessons must be learned", the health minister, Carolina Darias, told journalists.

Health standards are in the hands of the regions in Spain, although according to the minister, this agreement is binding.

Madrid, where bars and restaurants are already open until 1 a.m. despite being one of the top five regions with the highest infection rates, rejects the criteria and wants more flexibility.

Spain's overall infection rate fell to 118.5 cases per 100,000 on Wednesday, nearly halving since the end of April, but only the Balearic islands, Valencia and the North African enclave of Ceuta meet the sub-50 requirement.

In medium-risk regions with a downward infection rate - which is most of the country - venues may also be opened but with a 30% indoor capacity.

Despite the drastic reduction in deaths, the official COVID-19 death toll on Wednesday passed the 80,000 mark.

With most Spanish clubs not welcoming revellers until after midnight and staying open well into the small hours, the proposal got a lukewarm welcome from the sector.

"The only good news is that they let us open, but obviously it is not worth opening until 2 a.m.", Ramon Mas, head of the Spain nightlife association Espana de Noche, told state broadcaster TVE.

Although Mas said he was confident the vaccination pace would allow the sector to recover after 10,000 clubs and discos have been closed for more than 14 months, he said government plans lacked a calendar to delay the closing hour or improve capacity.

Mas said clubs could offer a safer alternative than street parties which have been a common scene in Spanish cities during weekends since the state of emergency ended last month and could help drive a recovery in tourism.

"Tourists will come if they have the chance for a good time and the alternative until 2 a.m. is a very limited option," he told TVE.

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Spain permit limited nightlife in regions with COVID-19 under control - Reuters

Supreme Court Suspects Andhra Pradesh Government of Trying To Control Media – Mirchi9

ABN and TV News Channels have approached the Supreme Court after they were included as accused in MP Raghu Rama Krishnam Rajus sedition case FIR by the APCID. The issue came before the Supreme Court on Monday and the Apex court stayed coercive action against the two channels in this case.

The bench hearing the petition expressed a prima facie view that the FIRs are an attempt to muzzle media freedom and Justice DY Chandrachud that it is the time to define the limits of sedition and also opined criticizing a Government does not amount to sedition.

CID has incorporated both the channels in the FIR on the allegation that they alloted premeditated and organized slots to the MP to intentionally malign the state government. The Supreme Court already granted bail to the Accused No 1, Raghu Rama Krishnam Raju in this case.

The MP has alleged custodial violence by the CID and is demanding a CBI inquiry. The issue is also pending before the Supreme Court.

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Supreme Court Suspects Andhra Pradesh Government of Trying To Control Media - Mirchi9

Instagram and Facebook roll out option to remove likes, to give people more control – Best Media Info

Everyone on Instagram and Facebook will now have the option to hide their public like counts so they can decide what works for them.

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It has been done to see if it might depressurise peoples experience on Instagram. Not seeing like counts was beneficial for some, and annoying to others, particularly because people use like counts to get a sense for whats trending or popular, so now the choice is personal.

More ways have been looked upon to give people control over their experience. Thats why they announced new tools to allow people to filter offensive content from their DMs and gave people ways to control what they see and share on Facebooks News Feed like the Feed Filter Bar, Favorites Feed and Choose Who Can Comment.

New options to hide public like counts

From now on, there will be option to hide like counts on all posts in the feed. There will also be option to hide like counts on own posts, so others cant see how many likes on the posts. This way, one can focus on the photos and videos being shared, instead of how many likes posts get.

One can hide like counts on others posts by visiting the new posts section in settings. This control applies to all the posts in the feed.

One can also choose to hide like counts before sharing a post. One can turn this setting on or off, even after it goes live. People want more flexibility, so this option has been given. In the next few weeks one can see both of these controls come to Facebook.

Collaborating with experts and creators

What one person wants from their Instagram experience is different from the next, and peoples needs are changing. They have been working closely with third-party experts to better understand how to empower people, build self-awareness and shape a more positive experience on Instagram.

They are also funding more external research about peoples experiences on Instagram, and how they can improve their policies and products to support their community. They are currently requesting research proposals from global academics and non-profits. If interested find more information here on how to submit.

In India, they also recently collaborated with the Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC) to initiate the fifth edition of the Counter Speech Fellowship, a programme that engages creative teens to use the power of visual storytelling to start meaningful conversations on issues that are important to young citizens around the world. This includes the themes of bullying, diversity, mental well-being and gender equality.

Changing the way people view like counts is a big shift. They will continue working on new ways to give people more choice, so they feel good about the time they spend on their apps.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

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Instagram and Facebook roll out option to remove likes, to give people more control - Best Media Info

David Rosenberg: Is wage inflation getting out of control? – Financial Post

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Everybody's watching this proverbial canary in the coal mine

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By David Rosenberg and Krishen Rangasamy

Inflation watchers are interested in wages because it is the proverbial canary in the coal mine. Excessively high inflation has historically been accompanied by accelerating wage growth, over and above the trend in labour productivity.

Its true that between 1992 and 2000, wage growth picked up without a corresponding increase in actual inflation. But that was a period during which the U.S. dollar was surging, keeping import prices (and hence overall inflation) under wraps. So, could we have another wage-driven inflation spiral la late 1970s/early 1980s?

The latest data do not suggest an acceleration in the pace of nominal wage growth (and at a time when measured productivity is picking up at an even faster rate). And here we are talking not about hourly earnings data from U.S. employment reports which, as we have seen over the past year, can be distorted by composition effects as employment of lower paid workers fluctuates. Instead, were referring to the Atlanta Feds Wage Growth Tracker, which tracks reasonably well the private sector wage component of the Employment Cost Index and measures the growth of wages of the same group of workers over 12 months, making the measure less susceptible to compositional changes. According to that measure, wage growth seems to be levelling off at less than four per cent year over year.

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The loss of momentum for wages should come as no surprise considering still-significant amounts of slack in the labour market. While employment rose for the fourth consecutive month in April, there are still nearly 10 million Americans who are out of work. But looking beyond obvious cyclical factors, it is clear that structural forces continue to weigh on wages. Recall that towards the end of 2019, i.e., when the labour market was booming and the broad unemployment rate was near all-time lows, wage growth remained stuck in the three-to-four-per-cent range.

Back in 1999-2000, a similarly tight labour market generated much higher wage growth. Some will blame accelerated globalization, which moved up a gear in 2001 as China joined the World Trade Organization. Others will point to even earlier trends such as the decline in unionization rates the employment share of union members has dropped by half since 1984 which continues to limit workers bargaining power.

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The level of skills/education may also be affecting the extent of wage growth. Research from the Atlanta Fed shows that wage growth after a period of unemployment tends to be positively related with education. The same research concludes that less educated workers face a double whammy in the sense they are more likely to lose their jobs and also experience slower wage growth once they return to employment. This is exactly what the U.S. labour market is facing over the next year or so, considering most of the job losses during the pandemic were experienced by less educated employees.

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Also note that the pandemic has hurt part-timers (whose employment is down 10 per cent since February 2020) more than those with full-time positions (down less than five per cent). As such, the return to the labour market of part-timers (who also tend to earn less than full-time workers) is likely to keep a lid on overall wage growth in coming quarters.

While the outlook for wage growth is not exactly rosy, let us assume for a minute that firms suddenly feel compelled to dish out raises to workers. And here we are thinking of transformative policies by Congress to strengthen worker bargaining power e.g., increasing wage transparency, reducing the use of non-compete contracts, and reducing labour market monopsony.

Not necessarily. Historically, firms tend to pass on higher costs to consumers when wage growth outpaces productivity growth. There is indeed a clear positive correlation between the annual core inflation rate and the wage-productivity differential.

The good news is that cost-push inflation looks to be under control, with productivity growth significantly outpacing wage growth in recent quarters. It may be too early to assert with complete confidence that we are seeing a structural shift upwards in productivity, but latest data is showing a discernible breakout in trend (incredibly, to more than a four-per-cent rate at the moment).

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While we hear constantly of labour shortages in the media and survey data, the silent majority of the corporate sector has learned to produce more with less labour input during the pandemic (with business expenditure on automation rising nearly 20 per cent in the past year at a time when total labour input is down four per cent). It does look like one of the effects of the pandemic has been to push the capital-labour ratio higher and that, my friends, is not the fundamental ingredient for any sustainable inflation cycle.

Join me on Webcast with Dave on June 15, when I will be hosting Lacy Hunt, executive vice-president of Hoisington Investment Management. Learn more on my website.

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David Rosenberg: Is wage inflation getting out of control? - Financial Post

After Hampton Beach brawls, State Police will step up patrols throughout the summer – Seacoastonline.com

By Max Sullivan| news@seacoastonline.com

After fights broke out at a gathering of teens at Hampton Beach organized on social media last week, state police announced Wednesday they will make additional resources available to the town.

The New Hampshire Department of Safety announced that they will assist with operations throughout the summer season as part of an all-encompassing strategy between local, county, and state law enforcement agencies.

The news comes after residents started a petition on change.org calling on Gov. Chris Sununu to send State Police officers to Hampton Beach this summer for crowd control.

It was created by Hampton residents Rebecca Burlem and Nichole Duggan in reaction to a public disturbance May 26, in which police said 500 teens gathered and fights broke out at the beach.

Previous story: Police disperse 500 teens after fights break out at Hampton Beach

The crowd was dispersed with only one arrest and no injuries or property damage, according to Hampton Police Chief David Hobbs, but videos on social media of the fights that occurred left the petitioners unnerved. They argued there is severe potential danger to our town, dwellings, livelihoods and homes if there should be continuous gatherings such as last night.

The situation that occurred last evening, May 26, 2021, was uncalled for and a major safety concern, the petitioners wrote. We need to show unruly visitors we are not going to stand for such events to occur.

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Videos showed pairs of fighters squaring off in a circle of chanting spectators in the sand and on the boardwalk. One video showed an individual slamming another onto the pavement near the Seashell Stage. Duggan said she was uncomfortable with the twerking and dancing also shown in the video which she said was inappropriate for a family beach.

Duggan has lived at Hampton full-time for two years and has been here on and off for about 10. She said the May 26 event and other recent beach activity has led her to avoid the main beach when it is busy.

We tend to do things Monday through Wednesday, Duggan said. I dont want to bring children up to the sand any day from Thursday through the weekend.

New Hampshire State Police Lt. John Hennessey said there will be between six to 10 state police officers each week this summer starting this coming weekend and lasting through Labor Day.

The New Hampshire Department of Safety announced Wednesday that state police along with local and county law enforcement will make additional patrols along Hampton Beach and surrounding roadways.

Troopers will continue to provide enhanced staffing to the town of Hampton and Hampton Beach throughout the summer, said Col. Nathan Noyes. The safety and security of our residents and those that vacation in New Hampshire is our top priority.

Wednesdays announcement, he said, builds upon the enhanced staffing that the New Hampshire Department of Safety and Division of State Police have provided to the town of Hampton and Hampton Beach during high-traffic days and special events for the past several years.

Hobbs said the event that occurred May 26 was similar to other public disruptions that have occurred in the spring at Hampton Beach when fewer officers are patrolling the beach and part-time officers have not begun their summer season. In May 2016, an incident occurred in which three officers were surrounded by a crowdof people as they attempted to make an arrest, one officer being struck in the head with a football.

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The incident on May 26 was a planned gathering of mostly high-school-age students that was promoted on social media, Hampton Deputy Police Chief Alex Reno said last week. He said alcohol consumption led to small disorderly groups forming in which fights occurred, many of which were captured on social media.

Footage of a similar event at White Horse Beach in Plymouth, Massachusetts, on May 23 has led to speculation on social media that the incidents were linked as organized fight clubs, though Hobbs said he could not confirm whether there was any connection.

A similar event is reported to have occurred at Narragansett Beach in Rhode Island. Beach gatherings have been sparked by social media posts elsewhere in the country this spring with 175 people reportedly being arrested on May 22 in Huntington Beach, California, for joining a kickback party organized on TikTok. A kickback party also occurred in Seattle where a beach was closed by officials as a result.

Hobbs said despite staffing challenges faced by his department and many other agencies in recent years, he expects his department will deliver the best level of service this summer.

Hampton also gets assistance from the Rockingham County Sheriffs Department and police in Epping and the University of New Hampshire to keep their beach sufficiently covered.

More: Seabrook man charged with firing gun outside Hampton Beach bar faces 10-40 years in jail

Gov. Chris Sununu said in a prepared statement, Ensuring a safe and successful summer season for beachgoers and area businesses is a top priority for the state of New Hampshire.

My administration remains in close contact with town officials to address any additional needs as they arise, Sununu said. Hampton Beach is the jewel of New Hampshires Seacoast, and we remain confident that it will be a successful and safe summer season.

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After Hampton Beach brawls, State Police will step up patrols throughout the summer - Seacoastonline.com