Open threat exchange

Calling himself “a bit feminist,” Pope Francis has pictured what the church would be like without the consecrated women religious: “It would be missing maternity, affection, tenderness, and a mother’s intuition.” Hereabouts, some nuns who are ministering to needy, neglected communities in remote places feel they are being surveilled, if not persecuted, by government forces. I say forces because they are a fearsome lot, their words alone can translate into making life difficult for these women who have vowed to serve. Sometime back, I did write a piece (“Catholic women religious in the trenches,” 7/12/2018) describing the difficult but liberating work nuns are doing here and all over the world. They are in the news again. Inquirer news headline on Aug. 16, 2022: “Four nuns, 12 others charged with channeling funds to Reds.” The report said: “The Department of Justice (DOJ) has found probable cause to indict 16 individuals, including four nuns, for allegedly channeling funds to the … [Read more...] about Nuns in the crosshairs

PHUKET: Many readers responded to the recent article “Retirement is all about safety first” (story here ). Many could relate to the common pitfalls that expats have discovered in Thailand. While investing in a bar or restaurant is typically a losing proposition, at least the foreigner would still have a place to eat and drink. Where things take a really ugly turn is when retirees get burned on insurance-linked investment sales products and bad investments. Last week a reader reported the latest scandal involving the LM First Mortgage Income Fund and the LM Managed Performance Fund. Investors were told their investments were secure and backed by mortgages on Australian real estate. Investors got returns that were slightly above market rates and appealed to retirees looking for a steady income in retirement. Now LM Investment Management has collapsed. What’s most alarming is that the agents who sold these investments have earned their commissions and moved on. Those who invested … [Read more...] about Be on the lookout for dubious investments

In Dobbs v. Jackson, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the half-century-old precedent that guaranteed federal abortion protections. After the controversial June decision, the matter was kicked back to the states, leading to a tangle of laws. It’s an ever-evolving landscape. Cost varies. Abortions are less expensive in the first trimester than later in the pregnancy. According to Planned Parenthood, the procedure can cost up to $750 in the first trimester, though it’s often less, and that amount climbs up to $1,500 later in the pregnancy. According to the latest available data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Abortion Surveillance System, the vast majority of abortions happen in the first trimester, with 92.7% occurring at or before 13 weeks of gestation, which is the beginning of the second trimester. However, as discussed below, advocates say that sending the matter to the states has increased costs in some circumstances, potentially putting … [Read more...] about How To Pay for and Access a Legal Abortion

Make that four weeks in a row of gains for the U.S. stock market, as the rally has become undeniable. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both climbed more than 3% last week, with the the Dow up 2.9%. The S&P 500 has now climbed 15% from its lows in mid-June, while the Nasdaq has clawed back 20% since then. That could technically be described as a new bull market for the index. A 20% retracement from a recent low fits the bill—or the bull—but there are a lot of opinions about that. But we can't deny the strength of the rally, especially when we dig into the charts. The average stock in the Nasdaq Composite index is up 34% from its lows. Remember, just a few months ago, we were talking about the average Nasdaq stock being down 50% from its highs. The pendulum has swung back in a big way. Across the market, the breadth thrust has been pretty impressive. And no, that's not a swimming stroke. The breath trust indicator is a technical indicator used to ascertain market momentum … [Read more...] about Going Back to School with Stock Market Fundamentals

UNSAFE The building of Dugong Elementary School in Bucay, Abra, shows cracks, and its columns and beams are shattered after the magnitude 7 earthquake that hit the province on July 27, 2022. An inspection by local authorities on August 11 shows the school is not safe for occupancy. —PHOTO FROM DUGONG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FACEBOOK BAGUIO CITY — Four Abra schools were still serving as evacuation centers just days before the opening of the new school year on August 22, an official of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Wednesday. Among these was Supo National High School, which currently housed 21 families, or 58 individuals, from Barangay Supo in Abra’s Tubo town, said Enrique Gascon Jr., the DSWD assistant director for the Cordillera, at a press briefing on Wednesday. Post-quake assessment Gascon said the displaced residents live in an “unsafe” area in their village, citing a post-quake assessment by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and the Philippine … [Read more...] about DSWD: Some Abra schools still serve as evacuation sites after quake

Working from home certainly has its perks; but in the past few years, coworking spaces have become a seriously desirable alternative. My own company Masthead Media is based out of a coworking space, and we love the flexibility it offers us (our employees can work from any of its 90+ locations around the world). Beyond location independence, shared offices deliver valuable business resources, networking opportunities, and -- perhaps most enticingly -- a place to work that requires you to change out of your PJs. Despite the benefits, many female entrepreneurs weren't sold on their shared environments--perhaps because so many of the spaces were dominated by men. Enter: women-only coworking spaces. This trend-within-a-trend has been picking up serious steam, with new offices popping up all over the U.S. (and the world). In the #MeToo era, when conversations surrounding workplace harassment continue to take center stage, these hubs aim to offer a more safe and … [Read more...] about Women-Only Coworking Spaces Are Having a Huge Moment. Here’s Why They’re Here to Stay.

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin InnovationRx is your weekly digest of healthcare news. To get it in your inbox, subscribe here . A study published this week in the data science journal Patterns suggests some digital health companies may be funneling sensitive patient data to Facebook to help target advertisements. Forbes senior writer Alexandra Levine reports that while the scale of the study was small – it tracked the online activity of 10 participants active in online cancer communities – it points to bigger issues around data-sharing trends in digital health and who is ultimately responsible for patient privacy, with three of the five companies analyzed going against their own privacy policies by sharing this information. Andrea Downing, cofounder of the Light Collective, a research group focused on online privacy issues that conducted the study, said this data gathering and algorithms for advertising are “one of the biggest threats to … [Read more...] about InnovationRx: Facebook Ads And Patient Data; Plus, Covid And Neurological Damage

Davao-based businessman Dennis A. Uy’s PH Resorts Group Holdings saw losses swell in the first semester of 2022 as it continued developing its Emerald Bay Resort Hotel and Casino in Cebu. From January to June, losses ballooned by about 90 percent to P333.1 million, its quarterly report showed. The bulk came from a more than 330-percent jump in foreign exchange losses to P191.65 million, as the weakening Philippine peso made its US dollar-denominated debts more costly. The company continued to suffer from the impact of the pandemic, despite the steady recovery in the broader hotel sector due to more relaxed COVID-19 restrictions. It recorded no revenue in the first semester as its due to the closure of the Donatela Resort & Sanctuary in Bohol. “With the continuing resumption of both domestic and international flights and the general reopening of the economy, the company is pursuing plans to reopen Donatela by the start of the fourth quarter of the year,” it said in its … [Read more...] about PH Resorts Group losses ballooned in H1

Three major US poultry producers will pay over $84 million dollars to settle a suit filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) which alleged the group shared payroll information to collaboratively lower costs, according to a Monday press release by the DOJ. The lawsuit alleged that Cargill Meat Solutions, Sanderson Farms, and Wayne Farms collaborated with one another by sharing information about employee wages and benefits, according to the complaint filed by the DOJ. The data consulting firm Webber, Meng, Sahl and Company (WMS) is alleged to have acted as a go-between, sharing this information amongst the defendants via a series of “surveys” that shared identifiable information, according to the complaint. The lawsuit was both filed and settled on Monday, with no defendant admitting any wrongdoing, according to The Wall Street Journal . “Through a brazen scheme to exchange wage and benefit information, these poultry processors stifled competition and harmed a generation of … [Read more...] about Biden DOJ Takes A Big Bite Out Of Big Meat With Eight-Figure Legal Settlement

FILE PHOTO: An oil pump jack pumps oil in a field near Calgary, Alberta, Canada on July 21, 2014. REUTERS/Todd Korol NEW YORK — Oil prices gained about 3% on Thursday as robust U.S. fuel consumption data and an expected drop in Russian supply later in the year offset concerns that slowing economic growth could undercut demand. Brent futures rose $2.47, or 2.6%, to $96.12 a barrel by 11:41 a.m. EDT (1541 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $2.16, or 2.5%, to $90.27. Prices rose more than 1% during the previous session, although Brent at one point fell to its lowest since February, as signs of a slowdown mounted in some places. The oil complex is “advancing off the big (U.S.) crude stock draw, increased product demand and (the) apparent stall in Iranian nuclear negotiations,” analysts at energy consulting firm Ritterbusch and Associates said in a note. U.S. crude stocks fell by 7.1 million barrels in the week to Aug. 12, Energy Information Administration … [Read more...] about Oil up 4% on robust U.S. fuel consumption, tight supply outlook