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Near the front of Thomas Mores 16th century book Utopia there is an illustration of a small island, dotted with rolling hills and populated with neat little castles; from the harbour a large ship sets off, presumably to conquer faraway lands and preach its vision of a perfect world. Looking down at this isolated kingdom on the day the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, I am reminded of another island that imagined its green and pleasant land as a glorious haven if it could only take back control. Centuries have passed since More set out his idealistic future, but our utopian dreams seem to have struggled to develop beyond a desire to own a small patch of the planet where private castles can be maintained, and a particular culture can be protected and promoted.

At the dawn of Brexit, Utopias at the Whitworth in Manchester draws together art, literature and maps from a range of sources and artists to try to work out why the search is still on for a land flowing with milk and honey. Because, despite the fact utopia famously derives from the Greek ou-topos and means no place, the idea of a golden future is still a captivating concept. It was the main motivator behind Brexit regardless of which way you voted and if that nearly 50/50 vote is anything to go by, Brexit holds the key to why well never find utopia; no one can agree on what it should look like.

Beginning with a first edition of Mores 1516 book, the exhibition is arranged thematically rather than chronologically to uncover our timeless utopian obsessions. A 1920s map of the British Empire with the UK proudly at the centre sits alongside a 2018 photograph, Between the Acts by Simon Roberts, of people walking along the Seven Sisters cliffs in Sussex. Vivid green grass gives way suddenly to white jagged cliffs that fall away into the sea this is the gap between the UK and the rest of the world, it is the natural boundary that keeps others out. Both works are about land and borders, but whereas Roberts reflects on the preservation of one nation, the map quietly highlights the hypocrisy in plundering and invading numerous others with total disregard.

The red-faced shame that is slowly climbing up my neck reaches fever pitch when I arrive at William Hogarths invasion plates from 1756. Produced in response to fears of a French invasion, the first plate depicts a French rabble, disorderly and disorganised, sharpening axes and pointing guns. The second plate is set in England, where someone is drawing a crude painting of the French and the troops stand smartly in the background. Text under the first plate reads: But soon well teach these bragging foes that beef and beer give heavier blows than soup and roasted frogs. The pure stupidity of it would be laughable if it wasnt for its similarities to Ukips Breaking Point campaign, where fleeing refugees are reframed as hordes of unruly intruders.

Utopian propaganda is all over this exhibition and none of it is comfortable viewing. Lilian Lancasters 19th century comic maps of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales refer to England as a Queen Victoria, Queen of Hearts and Scotland as a gallant piper, struggling through the bogs, his wind bag broken, wearing his clay clogs. Nathan Coleys lightworks are covered in handprinted Zuber wallpaper inspired by the pilgrims who founded America. Smart, expensively dressed Europeans in carriages and steamboats arrive into a stunning landscape akin to Eden; to the side, a group of stereotypical Native Americans dance, adorned in leaves and feathers. This wallpaper hangs in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House.

Sweaty-palmed and stressed, by the time I reach the soft clouds and luscious greenery of Palmer, Constable and Turner, I find no affection for the land that has nurtured me all my life. There is light relief in Grayson Perry and Stephen Walters critiques of the utopian ideal. Walters Nova Utopia and Perrys Map of an Englishman are minutely detailed, black-and-white maps that reveal the impossibility of a perfect location. Contradictions are rife; Walters more literal map locates a place where they come to get away next to no trespassing and Perrys botox and eternal life buildings are next-door neighbours.

The hope in Utopias can be found in the final section, curated by the Whitworth Young Contemporaries, a diverse group of 16 to 24-year-olds. Rather than choosing one work each, they curated collectively, pressing through their differing opinions to present 16 pieces (ranging from Richard Hamilton to Christopher Nevinson) that encapsulated their varied perception of a utopia. Any utopic thing once enforced, becomes inherently dystopic, reads the groups manifesto. Perhaps the only utopia we can really hope for is the one where we agree to disagree.

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Utopias review the centuries-old illusion of 'taking back control' - The Guardian

EditorsNote: Edits in 5th graf

Paul George and Landry Shamet scored 23 points apiece, and the Los Angeles Clippers earned a 128-111 victory Wednesday over the visiting Miami Heat, who lost Jimmy Butler to an injury.

Kawhi Leonard, Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams each scored 14 points for the Clippers, who had eight players reach double figures.

Derrick Jones Jr. had 25 points and nine rebounds while Bam Adebayo scored 22 points and grabbed 11 boards for the Heat. Kendrick Nunn and Goran Dragic chipped in 13 points apiece.

Butler left the contest in the third quarter with a strained right shoulder and did not return. He had 11 points and seven assists in 26 minutes. Butler scored a season-high 38 points in a lopsided win over the Philadelphia 76ers, his former club, on Monday.

A 6-0 surge capped by a Jones dunk allowed the Heat to cut a double-digit deficit to 109-103 with about four minutes left. However, the Heat got no closer as the Clippers pulled away down the stretch.

The two clubs combined to attempt 96 3-pointers. The Clippers set franchise records for 3-pointers made and attempts, converting 24 of 54 (44.4 percent) to 16 of 42 (38.1 percent) for the Heat.

Los Angeles got off to a sluggish start before taking control in the second half. The Clippers went on a 16-2 run to take a 76-65 advantage after a pair of foul shots by George midway through the third quarter.

Miami pulled within six before Los Angeles increased the margin to 92-80 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Heat led by as much as 12 in the first half before the Clippers rallied to slice the gap to 58-55 at the break.

The Clippers recorded a season-high 35 assists to 29 for the Heat.

Los Angeles guard Patrick Beverley, who finished with five points and five rebounds in 22 minutes, left the game in the third quarter due to a sore right groin and did not return.

The Heat played without rookie guard Tyler Herro (sore right foot) and center Meyers Leonard (left ankle sprain).

--Field Level Media

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Clippers handle Heat as Butler exits - TheChronicleHerald.ca

WUHAN, China The Chinese government scrambled to contain not only the coronavirus epidemic but also growing expressions of public fury over the management of the crisis as the death toll rose on Tuesday to at least 106.

Chinas National Immigration Administration on Tuesday encouraged Chinese citizens to reconsider the timing of overseas travel to curtail the spread of the coronavirus, it said on its WeChat account. That came as the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged American citizens to avoid nonessential travel to China.

Premier Li Keqiang, the prime minister of the Chinese government, flew on Monday into Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, to show support for medical workers and to pledge needed medical supplies only to be mocked online for leading workers in an encouraging cheer.

Mr. Lis visit, which featured prominently in state media, came as Wuhans mayor, Zhou Xianwang, acknowledged that the local authorities had moved too slowly in the first days of the crisis.

In an interview with CCTV, the main state television network, the mayor said that information about the coronavirus had not been shared with the public in a timely manner, and that he and the citys Communist Party secretary, Ma Guoqiang, were prepared to resign to appease public indignation.

Our names will live in infamy for shutting the door of the city, Mr. Zhou said. But we believe that as long as it helps to control the disease, helps keep peoples lives safe, Comrade Ma Guoqiang and I will shoulder any responsibility, Mr. Zhou said.

The offer to resign, which was not immediately acted on, suggested that Chinas harshly practical party hierarchy could settle on local officials like the mayor and the party secretary as sacrifices to ease public ire over a spiraling public health crisis that also threatens to take a large economic toll.

With the death toll rising to at least 106, and infections spreading to still more countries, the impacts reverberated globally. Stocks tumbled and oil prices fell on Monday as the viruss spread worried investors worldwide.

The S&P 500 fell 1.6 percent, its sharpest decline in nearly four months, with shares of airlines and companies dependent on tourism from China particularly hard hit.

Major stock benchmarks in Europe were down more than 2 percent. While many markets in Asia were closed for the holiday, Tokyos benchmark Nikkei 225 index sank 2 percent.

Chinas currency also fell, while investors moved into safe havens like gold.

In China, the government announced that it would extend for three days the weeklong holiday for the Lunar New Year, which had been scheduled to end on Thursday. The countrys economy, which is experiencing its worst slowdown in nearly three decades, is already hurting from the impact of the outbreak, and there are fears that consumer spending will fall as residents stay home over the extended holiday.

In Beijing, where 72 cases had been reported by Monday morning, officials warned that anyone who returned to the city from other parts of China must confine themselves to their homes for 14 days.

That could significantly reduce the citys work force even after the extended holiday ends. Hundreds of millions of people travel during the holiday, which began on Saturday, and would normally begin returning in the coming days.

In Shanghai, the countrys financial center, the authorities ordered businesses to stay closed until midnight on Feb. 9. In nearby Suzhou, a large manufacturing hub, businesses there were ordered to open no sooner than Feb. 8. Some companies, including the internet giant Tencent, also told their workers to stay home until Feb. 10.

The epidemic has already shuttered many major tourist attractions, including the Disney theme parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong, as well as the Forbidden City and sections of the Great Wall outside of Beijing.

Major film studios postponed the opening of movies at what would normally have been a peak viewing season, while several sporting events were canceled or postponed. Chinas professional basketball league, the C.B.A., announced that it would suspend its season indefinitely.

The crisis has emerged as an unexpected challenge for the Communist Party leadership, especially for President Xi Jinping, who said nothing in public about the matter until he convened an extraordinary meeting of the partys Politburo Standing Committee on Saturday.

Mr. Li, an economist who has been premier since 2013, has taken the formal lead of Chinas crisis management team for the epidemic. But the much more powerful Mr. Xi, who is also the Communist Party leader, has signaled that he is the real power in charge.

Only days earlier, Mr. Li had reflected less urgency about the viral outbreak when discussing it without wearing a medical mask while meeting medical workers in faraway Qinghai province.

On Monday, by contrast, he made several appearances around Wuhan, visiting a hospital, where he promised to deliver 20,000 surgical masks, and a supermarket, where now wearing a mask he led workers in a chant.

Wuhan, he said. Jia you, they responded in chorus, using a phrase that means add oil but is roughly translated as a rousing Go!

On Twitter, which is blocked in China, the gesture was mocked. Wuhan pneumonia is afraid of slogans, one user posted in Chinese.

Wuhans residents have largely hunkered down to quietly wait out the epidemic. They mostly stay inside their homes, venturing out for supplies and food, medical visits and occasional bursts of exercise.

Still, several said they had heard about Mr. Lis visit and welcomed it as a sign that the central leadership was committed to supporting the city and surrounding areas, which have been locked down since last week.

This shows that theyre getting serious, said Shao Shigui, a retired steelworker from southwest China who was strolling on a promenade by the Yangtze River. He had come to Wuhan with his wife to help their daughter, who is pregnant, and said he was taking a break from the monotony of staying indoors.

In China, if a leader visits, that shows that all the resources of the government can be mobilized, he said.

The United States, Japan, France, Russia and other countries, meanwhile, scrambled to get citizens who were trapped in the city out, after the government shut down the major modes of transportation.

Since then the city of 11 million has descended into a surreal quiet except around the hospitals.

Most shops remained closed, but supermarkets, fresh produce stores and pharmacies opened, although many pharmacies have run out of protective masks, hand disinfectant and other supplies needed to protect against the virus.

Residents with fevers and coughs who worried that they may have contracted the coronavirus continued to line up at clinics and hospitals, but in fewer numbers than previous days. The streets were mostly free of cars, and many residents walked or rode bicycles to do their shopping.

Its possible to live, but its not a real New Year, said Qiu Dongjun, a 38-year-old construction worker from rural Hubei who was carrying a bag of groceries. Ive been eating so many containers of instant noodles that my mouth and nose are flaming raw.

He said Mr. Lis visit was a promising political gesture.

People in Wuhan have many practical problems, he said. How will our wages get paid? What if businesses go under? Who will ensure we get our unpaid wages? These are practical problems, he said, his voice partly muffled by his protective mask.

You cant expect all those problems to be solved in Beijing, he said before walking off.

The mayor of Wuhan, Mr. Zhou, defended his actions even as he accepted responsibility for falling short. He said he had been hampered from alerting the public sooner because of the reporting rules under the laws governing disease outbreaks. He suggested he had to wait for approval from higher-level officials.

One woman responded angrily in the comments page below the Peoples Dailys live stream of the mayors interview on Weibo, the popular Chinese social media platform. She noted that the government had informed the World Health Organization on Dec. 31, but not the public most directly affected until Jan. 20.

The Wuhan government will be condemned throughout the ages if it turns the map of China all red, she wrote, referring to maps depicting the spread of the virus.

After weeks of limited steps before the gravity of the epidemic was recognized, government agencies have galvanized to fight the crisis, setting aside other priorities for now.

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission said in a notice dated Sunday that banks must not blindly call in loans, cut off lending or hold off on lending in response to the crisis.

On Monday, State Grid, the government-controlled electricity provider, said it would halt the shut-off of electricity to residents whose bills fall into arrears while authorities deal with the outbreak.

Chris Buckley reported from Wuhan and Steven Lee Myers from Beijing. Raymond Zhong, Alexandra Stevenson and Katie Robertson contributed reporting. Elsie Chen, Claire Fu, Zoe Mou and Elaine Yu contributed research.

Originally posted here:
Chinese Officials Race to Contain Anger Over Virus - The New York Times

A deadly novel coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 4,500 people and spread to 15 countries since emerging in China, has also spawned many false claims on social media.

Here's a selection of misinformation debunked by AFP's Fact Check service.

In Australia, multiple Facebook posts shared hundreds of times claimed to show a list of foods and locations in Sydney which have been contaminated by the new coronavirus strain first discovered in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late December.

One post, published on January 27, identified different types of rice, cookies and onion rings that allegedly contain traces of the virus. It also claimed that a "bureau of diseasology" had run tests and discovered the strain in several Sydney suburbs.

But the local health authority told AFP the locations listed posed no risk to visitors, and the foods named did not appear in the New South Wales food authority's list of recalls and advisories.

A video viewed more than 88,000 times on Facebook purported to show the market in Wuhan where the virus strain materialised. In reality, it was filmed at an Indonesian market.

The misleading post was published on an account in the Philippines on January 26, 2020. The footage showed bats, rats, snakes and an assortment of other animal meat products being sold at a bustling market.

However, a reverse image search using key frames extracted from the video led to another identical YouTube clip uploaded on July 20, 2019.

AFP was able to confirm the video was in fact captured at the Langowan market in Indonesia's North Sulawesi province.

In Sri Lanka, a Facebook post shared thousands of times claimed doctors were projecting that the entire population of Wuhan - a city of 11 million people - would likely die of the novel coronavirus.

This is false; Chinese authorities have made no such projection.

There is currently no vaccine for the new strain of coronavirus. But the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention stated that most people will recover on their own.

The post also claimed the virus could be caught by eating the meat of the Chinese cobra but this has not yet been established.

Multiple posts on Weibo, Twitter and Facebook shared in January claimed top Chinese respiratory expert Zhong Nanshan had told people to rinse their mouths with salt water solution to prevent infection from a new virus outbreak.

But the claim is bogus; the expert's team said saline would not "kill" the new virus and urged people not to believe or share medically-inaccurate online rumours.

The World Health Organization also told AFP there was no evidence that saline solution would protect against infection from the new coronavirus.

Multiple posts on Facebook and Twitter alleged that the novel coronavirus was created on purpose - with theories including that it was manufactured by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The posts included patents to buffer their claim. But these were in fact patents registered in an effort to combat different strains of coronavirus, for example by developing vaccines.

In France, several social media posts have circulated with claims that people had been contaminated with the novel coronavirus in the departments of Val d'Oise, Savoie, Lot-et-Garonne and Pyrenees-Orientales.

These false reports were accompanied by images made to look like they were screenshots from several French news sources - including AFP.

However, these images were digitally manipulated. No cases have been confirmed in these departments.

Agence France-Presse

Excerpt from:
These Lies And Conspiracies About The Wuhan Coronavirus Are Totally False - ScienceAlert

Data-Driven Thinking is written by members of the media community and contains fresh ideas on the digital revolution in media.

Todays column is written by Rishad Tobaccowala, chief growth officer at Publicis Groupe and author of Restoring the Soul of Business: Staying Human in the Age of Data (Harper Collins, publishing on Jan. 28, 2020).

All leaders, and particularly those in marketing and media, face many challenges today, including organizational designs built for the past vs. the present, hierarchical command-and-control management styles that do not resonate with a new generation and employees who question their intent.

One key change that companies are making to address these issues is to ensure that they have a more diverse work force that will resonate with the marketplace and with their talent.

Ensuring diversity is not just the right thing to do, but is proven to be good for the bottom line as a representative workforce is a competitive advantage when talent is key, change is widespread and new ways of looking at things become critical.

However, ensuring a diversity of faces is a necessary but insufficient step. Not only do companies need different faces around the table, but they also need diversity in thinking. We need to ensure that every person in a firm and around the table has a voice.

Most importantly, it is critical to have voices that can speak truth to power, question the status quo, call out potential issues and be heard without the risk of being punished.

Today in the field of marketing and technology, there are huge issues that need to be discussed including a) the control major platforms have over marketers, who find themselves with limited data and customer relationships; b) how advertising technology built for engagement has become a society operating system that has created polarization and a breakdown in trust; and c) the long-term secular decline of advertising, which will be accelerated by cheap, ad-free streaming services.

There are voices that question and have suggestions on how to solve or mitigate these issues.

If such voices were listened to, many companies, such as Wells Fargo and possibly Boeing, would not have suffered their reputational and market valuation losses. There were people who knew there were issues, but they either kept quiet or were silenced or ignored.

For true diversity it is key that people can call out the turd on the table when everyone else is celebrating what looks like a delicious brownie.

This is very difficult since the issues being called out are challenging. Financial impropriety. Cutting corners to make deadlines, which hurts product or service quality. Loathsome behavior by management. Incompetence in adapting to change.

In addition to the difficulty of speaking out, there is the risk of job loss, increased workload to fix the problem, career blackballing and, of course, the possibility of being wrong.

But speaking ones mind is not just important in helping to avoid big problems or issues. It also creates an environment that helps day-to-day business.

Speaking up is difficult in all circumstances but particularly if management and the culture is not supportive.

Studying many companies and organizations, including firms as diverse as Pixar and the Navy Seals, has revealed some best practices that one can unleash to encourage diversity of voice.

Being sensitive to diversity of voices as much as to diversity of faces will ensure long-term success for companies.

Follow Rishad Tobaccowala (@rishad) and AdExchanger (@adexchanger) on Twitter.

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Diverse Faces Are Not The Same As Diverse Voices - AdExchanger