'Everybody has their bit of struggles and learnings. It will only end when you stop breathing.'

New York : Balzer + Bray, 2022.

Meta is struggling to fully contain and address hate speech ahead of the U.S. election, according to research shared exclusively with the Thomson Reuters Foundation

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Work of OM Romania among the Roma population

A anti-terrorism court on Saturday adjourned the hearing of cases pertaining to anti-state and hate speeches against leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and London factions without any proceedings because of the coronavirus lockdown.The hearings of as many as 27 identical cases was...

Georgia is one of four states that does not have a hate crime law. It became an issue this week with the arrest of a white father and son accused of shooting and killing an unarmed black jogger.

A reported hook-up between the AFL and coaches has come to light, which took place mere hours before the Crows’ training breach came to light.

Victor Grayson was briefly the most famous socialist in Edwardian England. But in 1920 he disappeared. His fate remains one of the most compelling mysteries in British political history

“Oh mad, foolish Grayson!”
Editorial in the socialist magazine The Clarion, August 1907

In the aftermath of the general election of February 1974, the mood in Marsden socialist club in west Yorkshire was grim. David Clark, the young Labour MP for Colne Valley, in which the former mill town of Marsden sits, had lost his seat. Clark gamely attempted to lift his activists’ spirits with a rousing speech. But one elderly stalwart remained unmoved: “Old Harry was sitting at the bar nursing a pint,” recalls Clark, who is now 80 and a Labour peer. “He said: ‘All due respect to master Dave, but we’ve only ever had one true socialist MP around here. And that was Victor Grayson.’”

Jenny Morrison, 52, has been in lockdown for six weeks at the Prime Minister's luxurious Canberra residence with her daughters Abbey, 12, and Lily, ten.

While I was undergoing a life MOT, I realised there was one area I had overlooked - my hearing

United Nations, May 8: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday the coronavirus pandemic keeps unleashing “a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering.” The UN chief said “anti-foreigner sentiment has surged online and in the streets, anti-Semitic

United Nations, May 09: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the coronavirus pandemic keeps unleashing a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering. The UN chief said anti-foreigner sentiment has surged online and in the streets, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have spread,

In the cation of the title mol­ecular salt, C15H19N2+·PF6−, the dihedral angle between the benzene and pyridine rings is 38.21 (10)°. In the crystal, weak C—H⋯F inter­actions arising from methyl and methyl­ene groups adjacent to the quaternary N atom generate (001) sheets.

The title compound, C26H22O2P+·PF6−·C4H7O, crystallizes as a cation-anion pair with a single solvent mol­ecule in the asymmetric unit. Hydrogen bonding occurs between the carb­oxy­lic acid group on the cation and the oxygen atom of the solvent mol­ecule. Longer hydrogen-bonding inter­actions are observed between fluorine atoms of the anion and H atoms on the phenyl rings of the cation.

The structure of the title complex, [Ag(C11H15N3S)2]PF6, has monoclinic (P21/c) symmetry, and the silver atom has a distorted square-planar geometry. The coordination complex crystallized from mixing silver hexa­fluorido­phosphate with a concentrated tetra­hydro­furan solution of N,N-di­ethyl­phenyl­azo­thio­formamide [ATF; systematic name: 3,3-diethyl-1-(phenyl­imino)­thio­urea] under ambient conditions. The resultant coordination complex exhibits a 2:1 ligand-to-metal ratio, with the silver(I) atom having a fourfold AgN2S2 coordination sphere, with a single PF6 counter-ion. In the crystal, however, one sulfur atom from an ATF ligand of a neighboring complex coordinates to the silver atom, with a bond distance of 2.9884 (14) Å. This creates a polymeric zigzag chain propagating along the c-axis direction. The chains are linked by C—H⋯F hydrogen bonds, forming slabs parallel to the ac plane.

In the title compound, bis­(2-meth­oxy­ethyl xanthato-κS)(N,N,N',N'-tetra­methyl­ethylenedi­amine-κ2N,N')zinc(II) acetone hemisolvate, [Zn(C4H7O2S2)2(C6H16N2)]·0.5C3H6O, the ZnII ion is coordinated by two N atoms of the N,N,N',N'-tetra­methyl­ethylenedi­amine ligand and two S atoms from two 2-meth­oxy­ethyl xanthate ligands. The amine ligand is disordered over two orientations and was modelled with refined occupancies of 0.538 (6) and 0.462 (6). The mol­ecular structure features two C—H⋯O and two C—H⋯S intra­molecular inter­actions. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by weak C—H⋯O and C—H⋯S hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional supra­molecular architecture. The mol­ecular structure was optimized using density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6–311 G(d,p) level. The smallest HOMO–LUMO energy gap (3.19 eV) indicates the suitability of this crystal for optoelectronic applications. The mol­ecular electrostatic potential (MEP) further identifies the positive, negative and neutral electrostatic potential regions of the mol­ecules. Half a mol­ecule of disordered acetone was removed with the solvent-mask procedure in OLEX2 [Dolomanov et al. (2009). J. Appl. Cryst. 42, 339–341] and this contribition is included in the formula.

In the title compound, (2,2'-bi­pyridine-κ2N,N')bis­(2-meth­oxy­ethyl xanthato-κS)zinc(II), [Zn(C4H7O2S2)2(C10H8N2)], the ZnII ion is coordinated to two N atoms of the 2,2'-bi­pyridine ligand and two S atoms from two 2-meth­oxy­ethyl xanthate ligands. The ZnII ion lies on a crystallographic twofold rotation axis and has distorted tetra­hedral coordination geometry. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming supramolecular chains propagating along the a-axis direction. Weak intra­molecular C—H⋯S hydrogen bonds are also observed. The inter­molecular contacts in the crystal were further analysed using Hirshfield surface analysis, which indicates that the most significant contacts are H⋯H (36.3%), followed by S⋯H/H⋯S (24.7%), C⋯H/H⋯C (15.1%), O⋯H/H⋯O (14.4%), N⋯H/H⋯N (4.1%) and C⋯C (2.9%).

The polymeric title compound, [Cu2(C2H3N)2(C3H6S2)2](PF6)2, represents an example of a one-dimensional coordination polymer resulting from the reaction of [Cu(MeCN)4][PF6] with 1,3-di­thiol­ane. The cationic one-dimensional ribbon consists of two copper(I) centers each ligated by one aceto­nitrile mol­ecule and inter­connected through two bridging 1,3-di­thiol­ane ligands. One S-donor site of each ligand is κ1-bound to Cu, whereas the second S atom acts as a four-electron donor, bridging two Cu atoms in a κ4-bonding mode. The positive charge of each copper cation is compensated for by a hexa­fluorido­phosphate counter-ion. In the crystal, the polymer chains are linked by a series of C—H⋯F hydrogen bonds, forming a supra­molecular framework. The crystal studied was refined as a two-component twin.

The solvated title salt, [Ir(C9H7N2)2(C8H6N2)]PF6·CH2Cl2, was obtained from the reaction between 1,8-naphthyridine (NAP) and an orthometalated iridium(III) precursor containing a 1-phenyl­pyrazole (ppz) ligand. The asymmetric unit comprises one [Ir(ppz)2(NAP)]+ cation, one PF6− counter-ion and one CH2Cl2 solvent mol­ecule. The central IrIII atom of the [Ir(ppz)2(NAP)]+ cation is distorted-octa­hedrally coordinated by four N atoms and two C atoms, whereby two N atoms stem from the NAP ligand while the ppz ligands ligate through one N and one C atom each. In the crystal, the [Ir(ppz)2(NAP)]+ cations and PF6− counter-ions are connected with each other through weak inter­molecular C—H⋯F hydrogen bonds. Together with an additional C—H⋯F inter­action involving the solvent mol­ecule, a three-dimensional network structure is formed.

Crystals of the new compound, AgSr4Cu4.5(PO4)6, were grown successfully by the hydro­thermal process. The asymmetric unit of the crystal structure of the title compound contains 40 independent atoms (4 Sr, 4.5 Cu, 1 Ag, 6 P and 24 O), which are all in general positions except for one Cu atom, which is located on an inversion centre. The Cu atoms are arranged in CuOn (n = 4 or 5) polyhedra, linked through common oxygen corners to build a rigid three-dimensional motif. The connection of these copper units is assured by PO4 tetra­hedra. This arrangement allows the construction of layers extending parallel to the (100) plane and hosts suitable cavities in which Ag+ and Sr2+ cations are located. The crystal-structure cohesion is ensured by ionic bonds between the silver and strontium cations and the oxygen anions belonging to two adjacent sheets. Charge-distribution analysis and bond-valence-sum calculations were used to validate the structural model.

Deuterated potassium orthophosphate hepta­hydrate, K3PO4·7D2O, crystallizes in the Sohnke space group P21, and its absolute structure was determined from 2017 Friedel pairs [Flack parameter 0.004 (16)]. Each of the three crystallographically unique K+ cations is surrounded by six water mol­ecules and one oxygen atom from the orthophosphate group, using a threshold for K—O bonds of 3.10 Å. The highly irregular coordination polyhedra are linked by corner- and edge-sharing into a three-dimensional network that is consolidated by an intricate network of O—D⋯O hydrogen bonds of medium strength.

Single crystals of the m = 8 member of the low-dimensional monophosphate tungsten bronzes (PO2)4(WO3)2m family were grown by chemical vapour transport technique and the high crystalline quality obtained allowed a reinvestigation of the physical and structural properties. Resistivity measurements revealed three anomalies at TC1 = 258 K, TC2 = 245 K and TC3 = 140 K, never observed until now. Parallel X-ray diffraction investigations showed a specific signature associated with three structural transitions, i.e. the appearance of different sets of satellite reflections below TC1, TC2 and TC3. Several harmonics of intense satellite reflections were observed, reflecting the non-sinusoidal nature of the structural modulations and a strong electron–phonon coupling in the material. These transitions could be associated with the formation of three successive unconventional charge density wave states.

Bone crystallite chemistry and structure change during bone maturation. However, these properties of bone can also be affected by limited uptake of the chemical constituents of the mineral by the animal. This makes probing the effect of bone-mineralization-related diseases a complicated task. Here it is shown that the combination of vibrational spectroscopy with two-dimensional X-ray diffraction can provide unparalleled information on the changes in bone chemistry and structure associated with different bone pathologies (phosphate deficiency) and/or health conditions (pregnancy, lactation). Using a synergistic analytical approach, it was possible to trace the effect that changes in the remodelling regime have on the bone mineral chemistry and structure in normal and mineral-deficient (hypophosphatemic) mice. The results indicate that hypophosphatemic mice have increased bone remodelling, increased carbonate content and decreased crystallinity of the bone mineral, as well as increased misalignment of crystallites within the bone tissue. Pregnant and lactating mice that are normal and hypophosphatemic showed changes in the chemistry and misalignment of the apatite crystals that can be related to changes in remodelling rates associated with different calcium demand during pregnancy and lactation.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis produces glycogen (also known as α-glucan) to help evade human immunity. This pathogen uses the GlgE pathway to generate glycogen rather than the more well known glycogen synthase GlgA pathway, which is absent in this bacterium. Thus, the building block for this glucose polymer is α-maltose-1-phosphate rather than an NDP-glucose donor. One of the routes to α-maltose-1-phosphate is now known to involve the GlgA homologue GlgM, which uses ADP-glucose as a donor and α-glucose-1-phosphate as an acceptor. To help compare GlgA (a GT5 family member) with GlgM enzymes (GT4 family members), the X-ray crystal structure of GlgM from Mycobacterium smegmatis was solved to 1.9 Å resolution. While the enzymes shared a GT-B fold and several residues responsible for binding the donor substrate, they differed in some secondary-structural details, particularly in the N-terminal domain, which would be expected to be largely responsible for their different acceptor-substrate specificities.

The cationic cyclo­metallated iridium(III) complex [Ir(C9H7N2)2(C12H8N2)](PF6) has been synthesized and crystallized by the inter-diffusion method. It contains an unknown number of solvent mol­ecules and has a different space-group symmetry (C2/c) structure than its solvatomorph (P21/c).

The cationic complex in the title compound, [Ir(C9H7N2)2(C12H8N2)]PF6, comprises two phenylpyrazole (ppz) cyclometallating ligands and one 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) ancillary ligand. The asymmetric unit consists of one [Ir(ppz)2(phen)]+ cation and one [PF6]− counter-ion. The central IrIII ion is six-coordinated by two N atoms and two C atoms from the two ppz ligands as well as by two N atoms from the phen ligand within a distorted octahedral C2N4 coordination set. In the crystal structure, the [Ir(ppz)2(phen)]+ cations and PF6− counter-ions are connected with each other through weak intermolecular C—H...F hydrogen bonds. Additional C—H...π interactions between the rings of neighbouring cations consolidate the three-dimensional network. Electron density associated with additional disordered solvent molecules inside cavities of the structure was removed with the SQUEEZE procedure in PLATON [Spek (2015). Acta Cryst. C71, 9–18]. The given chemical formula and other crystal data do not take into account the unknown solvent molecule(s). The title compound has a different space-group symmetry (C2/c) from its solvatomorph (P21/c) comprising 1.5CH2Cl2 solvent molecules per ion pair.

The crystal structures of caesium di­hydrogen arsenate(V) bis­[tri­hydrogen arsen­ate(V)], Cs(H2AsO4)(H3AsO4)2, ammonium di­hydrogen arsenate(V) tri­hydrogen arsenate(V), NH4(H2AsO4)(H3AsO4), and dilithium bis­(di­hydrogen phosphate), Li2(H2PO4)2, were solved from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. NH4(H2AsO4)(H3AsO4), which was hydro­thermally synthesized (T = 493 K), is homeotypic with Rb(H2AsO4)(H3AsO4), while Cs(H2AsO4)(H3AsO4)2 crystallizes in a novel structure type and Li2(H2PO4)2 represents a new polymorph of this composition. The Cs and Li compounds grew at room temperature from highly acidic aqueous solutions. Li2(H2PO4)2 forms a three-dimensional (3D) framework of PO4 tetra­hedra sharing corners with Li2O6 dimers built of edge-sharing LiO4 groups, which is reinforced by hydrogen bonds. The two arsenate compounds are characterized by a 3D network of AsO4 groups that are connected solely via multiple strong hydrogen bonds. A statistical evaluation of the As—O bond lengths in singly, doubly and triply protonated AsO4 groups gave average values of 1.70 (2) Å for 199 As—OH bonds, 1.728 (19) Å for As—OH bonds in HAsO4 groups, 1.714 (12) Å for As—OH bonds in H2AsO4 groups and 1.694 (16) Å for As—OH bonds in H3AsO4 groups, and a grand mean value of 1.667 (18) Å for As—O bonds to nonprotonated O atoms.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and CDC Director Robert Redfield will appear before a Senate committee on May 12.; Credit: Patrick Semansky/AP

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will join Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield and other administration representatives in testifying before a Senate committee on May 12.

The announcement comes as members of President Trump's coronavirus task force are being asked to limit their appearances on Capitol Hill despite ongoing calls from lawmakers for more oversight into the administration's coronavirus response. Last week, the Trump administration blocked Fauci from appearing before a House committee on the subject of spending on coronavirus testing.

President Trump told reporters Tuesday that he doesn't want the officials appearing before House Democrats.

"The House is a setup," Trump said. "The House is a bunch of Trump haters."

White House officials gave a less adversarial explanation when justifying the decision to limit task force testimony in a memo to top congressional aides.

"For primary response departments, including HHS, DHS, and State, in order to preserve department-wide resources, no more than one COVID-related hearing should be agreed to with the department's primary House and Senate authorizing committee and appropriations subcommittee in the month of May, for a total of no more than four COVID-related hearings department-wide," the memo stated.

Congressional Democrats are demanding greater oversight over the roughly $3 trillion that has already been approved for the coronavirus response. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has launched a new select committee to conduct the oversight, but Republicans have so far refused to name members to the panel despite the plan to make the panel bipartisan.

The Senate hearing was announced shortly after the administration sent the memo to Capitol Hill banning committee appearances from task force members during May unless approved by the White House chief of staff.

Deputy White House Press Secretary Judd Deere said the decision to block Fauci from the House committee appearance was intended to allow him to focus on his primary task of overseeing the coronavirus response.

"While the Trump Administration continues its whole-of-government response to COVID-19, including safely opening up America again and expediting vaccine development, it is counter-productive to have the very individuals involved in those efforts appearing at Congressional hearings," Deere said. "We are committed to working with Congress to offer testimony at the appropriate time."

Fauci, Redfield, HHS Assistant Secretary Brett Giroir and FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn are scheduled to discuss "safely getting back to work and back to school" when they appear before the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions — or HELP — Committee next Tuesday.

Senate Democrats, including Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the HELP committee, have called for the administration to provide greater transparency and a nationwide plan for testing. So far their demands have not received a response.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills, which consist of everyday consumer items, are potential long-term sources of emissions that could threaten the environment and human health if they are not managed carefully after closure. New research has presented a methodology to estimate future emission levels for closed MSW landfills and the impact of different aftercare strategies.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills, which consist of everyday consumer items, are potential long-term sources of emissions that could threaten the environment and human health if they are not managed carefully after closure. New research has presented a methodology to estimate future emission levels for closed MSW landfills and the impact of different aftercare strategies.

Phosphate is added to domestic drinking water to reduce lead levels in the UK, to help meet EU Drinking Water Directive standards. New research has now found that phosphate can also reduce the amount of copper in domestic sewage by more than a third. This method could help Member States meet forthcoming “safe” levels for water discharged to the environment, under forthcoming EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) proposals.

Landfill leachate is the liquid that seeps through or out of waste deposits in landfill sites. EU regulations, such as the Landfill Directive1, have significantly reduced the volume of leachate produced, a study on leachate management in Ireland has found. Leachate, mainly from younger landfills in Ireland is, however, stronger since implementation of the legislation, and the researchers say the future treatment of leachate under stricter environmental protection regulations will continue to be a long-term concern for landfill operators and regulators.

The proposed alliance — to be named the Information Trust Alliance (ITA) — will be a grouping of digital platforms and publishers, fact checkers, civil society and academia that will aim to control the spread of harmful content, including fake news and hate speech. So far, discussions have taken place among Facebook, Google, Twitter, Byte-Dance, ShareChat and YY Inc.

No matter how much nostalgia they generate, they're out of step with $4 a gallon gas and concern about foreign oil dependence.

Dubbed the "Jacuzzi of Despair," this lake on the ocean floor is made of heavy water rich with toxins.

From the earliest efforts at clear-cutting to our continued assault on national lands, we love our forests ... even as we continue to put the squeeze on them.