Taylor Calandro, Wine & Spirits Director from Calandro’s, joined Matt to take your whiskey questions.
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
Democrats Burn the Dictionary: Why AOC’s Border Newspeak Should Be Ditched - National Review - Dictionary
NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE D imly aware that the border crisis is taking a toll on its popularity, the Democratic Party has finally resolved to do something concrete: It is going to burn the dictionary.
Wands outstretched and shouting incantations, prominent Democrats have begun to curse our language. In a livestream performed last night, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attempted to change the meaning of the word “surge” in the hope that she might be able to magic away the news from the border. “They wanna say, ‘But what about the surge?’” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Well, first of all, just gut check, stop. Anyone who’s using the term ‘surge’ around …
Urban Dictionary's Latest Addition: "Vaxhole" | 93.1FM WIBC - WIBC - Indianapolis News & Politics - Dictionary
Do you frequently find yourself engaged in the act of shaming others for not wearing a mask?
Are you staunchly opposed to voter I.D. laws but absolutely insistent upon TSA agents having full access to the medical history of private citizens prior to boarding a commercial airliner?
Did you applaud Jenny McCarthy for her “courageous contribution” to a rise in infectious diseases, fiercely argue that children are healthier building “natural immunity” to polio – even if it kills them – yet now proclaim it is every American’s “patriotic duty” to get the Coronavirus vaccine?
If so, dear friend, you’re might be a “vaxhole.”
“Ah, but what is a ‘vaxhole?'” you inquisitively ask!
According to the fine and studious people of the Urban Dictionary, a “vaxhole” is defined as follows:
“VAXHOLE”
“One who has been fully vaccinated for the COVID-19 virus and brags about it.Two weeks after the second shot and that vaxhole is posting selfies from a Cancun bar.”
Don’t: Be a “Vaxhole.”
Do: Click below to hear more informative tips on this important topic from your friends at the Hammer and Nigel Show.
Latvia's ancient poetry is getting its first major translation - The Economist - Translation
OVER THE years, Swedes, Germans and Russians have all had a go at conquering Latvia and imposing their flavours of Christianity on it. Today Lutherans worship mainly in the country’s west, and Russian Orthodox in the east. But Latvia’s deepest rituals are still inspired by its home-grown brand of paganism. They include wild summer-solstice parties and a national song-and-dance festival every five years.
Your browser does not support the <audio> element.
Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android.
The hymns of this prehistoric faith are folk poems, typically four lines long, called dainas. Thanks to Krisjanis Barons, a folklorist who encouraged Latvians to note down such quatrains in the 19th and early 20th centuries, over a million of them are on file at the national library in Riga, the capital. Some have musical notation, but since dainas follow predictable schemes the tunes tend to be repeated, as in Celtic jigs and reels.
For the past 22 years, Ieva Szentivanyi has been rendering dainas into English. Her first volume was published in 2018 and the second is ready for the press. The rhythm of Latvian is hard to translate, but more difficult is conveying the affection of the language’s diminutive suffixes. The English diminutive of “book” is “booklet”; in Latvian, she explains, it more like a “dearest, sweetest, most beloved book”. Dainas are short, but rich in metaphor and symbolism:
Birch tree, dear, thou art so ample All the way to the ground; Dearest wife, thou art so lovely All the way to deep old age.
Aficionados say this canon of folk poems is as significant as any body of classical literature. Ms Szenivanyi calls them Latvia’s wisdom to share with the world. Some scholars claim a few could date from the Bronze Age: in one a warrior duelling with his sister’s abuser breaks his sword against a gatepost, something an iron weapon would be unlikely to do.
There is one class of daina that Mrs Szentivanyi dares not touch, mythical ones that speak of melting seas and waves of sunshine, which are confusing enough in the original Latvian. She aims to finish 2,000 of them. It is a daunting challenge: as one of her favourite dainas has it, “the words go on and on”.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline "Folk histories in four lines"
Courtesy Translation: Additional restrictions on sports, commerce, culture and gathering of people – night curfew between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. in Mainz - DVIDS - Translation
Press Release from the Mainz city government, 30 MAR 2021
Courtesy Translation: Nadine Bower, Community Relations
Further restrictions on sports, commerce, culture and gathering of people – night curfew between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. in Mainz.
Press release: Incidence levels in Mainz exceed limit value of 100 last Sunday – City of Mainz significantly tightens measures to protect the population against coronavirus infections
Yesterday, the administrative staff of the state capital Mainz met again under the leadership of Lord Mayor Michael Ebling and assessed the current developments in the spread of coronavirus infections. Since Sunday, the 7-day incidence - i.e. the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants per week - in the state capital Mainz is above the limit of 100 - at the same time the forecasts of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) assumes further growing values nationwide.
The administrative staff has therefore decided, in accordance with the 18th Corona Control Ordinance of Rheinland-Pfalz (18th CoBeLVO), to take further measures to protect the population against coronavirus infections. These will be published tomorrow, Wednesday with a general decree and will apply starting Thursday, Apr. 1st, 2021, at midnight until at first and including Sunday, Apr. 11th, 2021:
Contacts
Staying in public spaces is only permitted alone or with the members of one’s own household and a person of one other household (children of both households up to and including six years old are not included in the determination of the number of persons).
Night curfew
Leaving one’s apartment or accommodation located in the area of the state capital Mainz and the stay outside one's own apartment or accommodation is generally prohibited daily between 9 p.m. until 5.00 a.m. of the following day.
During the period referred to in the first sentence, staying in the territory of the above-mentioned localities is in principle also prohibited for persons who are not residents there.
Exceptions to these restrictions apply only if there is a valid reason. The main reasons are:
(a) professional activities;
(b) actions necessary to avert an imminent danger to life, limb and property;
(c) the use of urgent necessary medical and veterinary care services;
(d) visiting spouses, partners within the meaning of the Civil Partnership Act, close relatives (within the meaning of Section 1589 paragraph 1 sentence 1 of the German Civil Code), the elderly, the sick or people with restrictions (outside institutions) and the exercise of the right of custody and access in the private sector;
(e) the support and care of persons and minors in need of assistance;
(f) the accompaniment of the dying and persons in urgent life-threatening conditions;
(g) caring for animals, including the walking the animal (only one person);
(h) the pursuit of hunting in order to reduce the risk of the spread of animal disease, in accordance with the hygiene concept of hunting;
(i) the attendance of Easter services.
Businesses and retail
Commercial facilities are closed to customer traffic, unless otherwise specified below. Pickup and delivery services of commercial facilities are permitted upon prior order in compliance with the general protective measures.
Commercial establishments may open if, by prior agreement, individual appointments are made in which only persons belonging to the same household are granted access to the establishment at the same time.
The obligation to register contacts applies for such individual appointments.
If several individual appointments are allocated for one day in a row, a period of at least 15 minutes between the end and the beginning of the individual appointments shall be kept free. The above also applies to libraries and archives.
Excluded from closure are:
- retail establishments for food,
- direct marketers of food,
- beverage markets,
- drugstores,
- baby markets.
In addition, excluded are also:
- booths on farmer’s markets whose supply of goods corresponds to the permitted retail establishments,
- pharmacies, medical centers, health centers,
- gas stations,
- banks and savings banks, post offices,
- laundromats
- newspaper and magazine sales, bookstores,
- tool stores, animal supply markets,
- wholesale,
- flower shops,
- gardening stores, horticultural establishments and horticultural markets.
If an establishment offers other goods or services in addition to the above-mentioned goods or services, this is permitted, provided that the additional range of goods or services is not the focus of the sales assortment or offer.
If the distance between persons cannot be complied with because of the nature of the service, such as in beauty studios, wellness massage salons, tattoo or piercing studios and similar establishments, the activity is prohibited.
Medical-hygienic services
Services intended for medical or hygienic reasons, such as those provided by:
- opticians,
- hearing aid acousticians,
- hairdressers,
- foot care and podiatric,
- for physical therapy, occupational and logo therapies,
- in rehabilitation sports and functional training (within the meaning of Section 64 paragraph 1, number 3 and 4 of the Ninth Book of the Social Law Code).
Only those services of the hairdressing trade may be provided where compliance with the mask obligation is possible. Hairdressers have to control access by prior appointment. For all offers, the distance requirement must be observed between customers.
The mask requirement applies if the type of service permits, provided that a medical face mask (surgery mask) or a mask of the standards KN95/N95 or FFP2 or a comparable standard is to be worn. In addition, the obligation to register contacts applies.
Gastronomy
Dining facilities inside and outside are closed.
Sports
Training and competition in amateur and leisure sports in team sports and in contact sports are prohibited.
Individual training in amateur and leisure sports on and in all public and private uncovered sports facilities is only permitted outdoors and only alone, in pairs or with persons belonging to one’s own household.
In addition, the distance requirement applies.
Cultural institutions, museums
Museums, exhibitions, galleries, memorials and similar facilities remain closed.
Regulation on additional sales outlets
Outlets and similar establishments, in particular gas stations, kiosks, retail shops and supermarkets, are prohibited from selling alcoholic beverages between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
By way of derogation from Section 3 No. 2 of the Rheinland-Pfalz Shop Opening Act, sales outlets close no later than 9 p.m.
On the basis of the Infection Protection Act, in agreement with the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labor, Health and Demography of the State of Rheinland-Pfalz and the local health office, the state capital Mainz therefore will issue a corresponding general decree for these measures, which will be announced on Wednesday, 31 March 2021 and thus will enter into force on Thursday, Apr. 1st, 2021, midnight. The general decree will initially apply until the end of Apr. 11th, 2021.
Lord Mayor Michael Ebling said: "The additional significant increase in infection rates, not least due to the British mutation, shows us that the coronavirus pandemic is far from over and that we must continue to exercise the utmost care and caution. The measures are being taken to protect all citizens - and we are all demanding concessions. I appeal to everyone: please observe the strict guidelines, continue to adhere distance and hygiene rules at all times, avoid meetings and accept the curfews that have been imposed, as have been and will be accepted in other cities and states. This approach is in line with the agreements made by the federal and state governments to apply the 'emergency brake' with incidence levels over 100. This is a time of sacrifices, but that is the only way we can protect our neighbors, our families, from contagion and help reduce the number of infections. However, the increasing number of vaccinations and rapid tests will contribute to the improvement of the situation in the long term. Until then: Stay disciplined and remain patient."
The administrative staff of the state capital Mainz will continue to monitor the development of coronavirus infections continuously and will adapt the measures accordingly. The administrative staff shall meet at close intervals.
Up-to-date information from the Mainz City Council on the protective measures to control coronavirus infections under https://ift.tt/3fsgj7b.
Source: https://ift.tt/2OeQ1ds
| Date Taken: | 03.31.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.31.2021 11:08 |
| Story ID: | 392682 |
| Location: | WIESBADEN, HE, DE |
| Web Views: | 12 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
PUBLIC DOMAIN 
This work, Courtesy Translation: Additional restrictions on sports, commerce, culture and gathering of people – night curfew between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. in Mainz, by Nadine Bower, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://ift.tt/2vbbNT7.
NEC and Sumitomo Introduce Translation App for Multilingual Workplaces - Mobile ID World - Translation
NEC and Sumitomo Mitsui Construction have unveiled a new translation system that is designed to facilitate communication in settings in which multiple languages are being spoken. The system has already been deployed in Sumitomo’s DoKoMinaPhone smartphone application, which will initially be marketed to organizations in the construction industry.
According to NEC, the new system is noteworthy because it introduces a broadcast function that allows someone to make an announcement to an entire workplace, knowing that the message will be translated and received in each listener’s preferred language. The system currently offers support for Japanese and English, though NEC is planning to add additional languages to the platform in the months and years ahead.
With the DoKoMinaPhone app, users can use their phone to record a voice message. The app will then translate that message, using a neural translation engine that mimics the sound of human speech. The app will also create a text version of the original message and its translated counterpart. For those interested, the app can reverse translate the text message back to the original language so the sender can confirm that the translation is correct.
The neural engine that powers the system comes courtesy of the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). The app uses QR codes to make it easy for new employees to join pre-set working groups.
NEC will use feedback from early deployments to refine the app over time. The company is already planning to add a hands-free utility, and improve the system’s vocabulary to better deal with industry-specific terms and phrases.
The new app expands on NEC’s existing relationships with various Sumitomo entities. The Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group used NEC’s facial recognition technology in a payments trial in 2016, while Sumitomo Electric has worked with NEC to develop technologies for connected cars. Financial Group CEO Jun Ohta also joined the NEC Board of Directors in March of 2020.
Courtesy Translation: Administrative staff: Avoid contacts and take quick tests - DVIDS - Translation
Official press release from the state capital Wiesbaden, 31 March 2021
Courtesy Translation: Nadine Bower, USAG Wiesbaden Public Affairs
Administrative staff: Avoid contacts and take quick tests
Lord Mayor Gert-Uwe Mende as well as Mayor and health department head Dr. Oliver Franz appeal to all Wiesbadeners to continue to reduce personal contacts with other people – especially during the upcoming Easter holidays. "Although there is no officially extended Easter rest, the holidays offer the opportunity to contribute to the containment of infection through responsible behavior – especially by reducing contacts," said Mende and Dr. Franz. Contacts outside the home should be restricted and, if possible, limited to a constant group of people.
Regular or event-related quick-tests also make an important contribution to breaking infection chains. However, even these tests are always only a snapshot, so they do not replace contact avoidance, adherence to hygiene rules and the requirement to wear a mask. The administrative staff reminds that there are currently quick test centers in a total of eleven locations in the state capital Wiesbaden. These centers are spread over the city. In addition, many pharmacies offer quick tests. The locations, the operators and further information can be found on the city's homepage under www.wiesbaden.de. According to the test regulation, every citizen is entitled to at least one quick test per week. This right also applies to persons of foreign nationality, even if they are only temporarily present here. The costs for the tests are borne by the federal government, the settlement is made via the health insurance association. "Corona tests are essential in containing the pandemic. Get tested," say Mende and Dr. Franz. "We ask all Wiesbadeners to continue to be patient and thank them for their understanding. Please follow the measures and wear a mouth-nose cover."
The state capital Wiesbaden and the Wiesbaden fire department continue to ask not to call the emergency number 112 if you have any questions about the coronavirus. The information hotline of the Health Department can be reached by phone at (0611) 312828; Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and on weekends from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Hessen-wide Corona hotline can be reached by calling (0800) 5554666. Vaccination dates cannot be schedule by calling these two numbers. Online, the state informs about the vaccinations under https://ift.tt/2PnvbJm. Up-to-date information on the topic of Corona is also available at wiesbaden.de/coronavirus.
Source: https://ift.tt/3djroom
| Date Taken: | 03.31.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.31.2021 11:08 |
| Story ID: | 392687 |
| Location: | WIESBADEN, HE, DE |
| Web Views: | 5 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
PUBLIC DOMAIN
This work, Courtesy Translation: Administrative staff: Avoid contacts and take quick tests, by Nadine Bower, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://ift.tt/2vbbNT7.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)