Maverick Payments Recognized as Third Fastest Growing Private Company in Los Angeles at 2024 Disruptor Awards9bet casino 。

Scheifele scores as the Jets beat the Blackhawks 4-2 in Sorensen's first gameStock market today: Wall Street hits more records following a just-right jobs reportImagine a world where food on grocery store shelves is ranked by its healthiness, with simple, research-backed scores. In some countries, that world already exists. Nutrient profiling systems, or NPSs, support clear front-of-package labels that assess food quality based on nutrient content . Nutri-Score in France is a rainbow-colored system grading foods from A to E. Health Star Rating in Australia is a five-star system rating foods in half-star increments. And the Traffic Light System in the U.K. labels nutrient levels as green, yellow or red. In contrast, the U.S. lacks a front-of-package ranking system for food. Food Compass was recently developed out of Tufts University to help address this gap and shortcomings in other systems. But it uses nutritional information not currently available for most foods and consumers. As a gastroenterologist and physician-scientist , I focus on making the latest microbiome and nutrition data more accessible to the public. Drawing on this research, I developed Nutrient Consume Score, or NCS , which rates foods from 1 to 100 using nutritional information available for all foods and incorporates factors important for a healthy microbiome. But how do nutrient profiling systems work? And how do they compare to other nutrition guides for consumers? Nutrient ciphers Each nutrient profiling system uses different scoring algorithms , but most assign positive points to nutrients and foods that are typically underconsumed, such as fiber, fruits and vegetables. Conversely, negative points are given to overconsumed nutrients like sugar, saturated fat and sodium, which are often added to processed foods. These points are combined into a single score: higher scores indicate healthier foods, while lower scores indicate less healthy options. For example, kale—rich in fiber, potassium and unsaturated fats , while low in sugar, sodium and saturated fats—would earn a high score. In contrast, Twinkies, which are high in sugar, sodium and saturated fats, but low in fiber, potassium and unsaturated fats, would receive a low score. A food like black olives, high in fiber but also high in sodium, would fall somewhere in between. Nutrient profiling systems work similarly to the Nutrition Facts labels on the back or sides of food packages in helping consumers make informed choices. These labels provide information about a food's nutrient content, including calories, macronutrients, and key vitamins and minerals. The values are determined through laboratory analysis and nutrient databases based on standardized serving sizes regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. But NPSs differ in that they combine nutrition information into a single actionable score. This means you don't have to spend time deciphering Nutrition Facts labels, which are often in small print and can be confusing to interpret. Ultraprocessed profiling Nutrient profiling system algorithms are all quite similar in their high ranking of unprocessed foods—beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables and whole grains—and low ranking of processed foods like hot dogs, soft drinks, cakes and cookies. They help people rebalance their diets that have been skewed by food processing, or the degree to which the ingredients have been altered. They complement the NOVA classification system developed by researchers at the University of São Paulo, which categorizes foods based on their level of processing. This system introduced the term " ultra-processed foods ," which are foods that have undergone significant industrial processing and contain ingredients not typically found in home cooking. While NOVA has linked ultra-processed foods to poor health outcomes like obesity, worse mental health, cancer and early death, it treats all such foods equally, overlooking differences like amount of sugar, sodium and other additives. Nutrient profile systems help provide nuance by identifying healthier options within the ultra-processed category. For example, plant-based milks, such as almond or soy milk, may be classified as ultra-processed under the NOVA system, but they can have relatively higher NPS scores if they contain minimal added sugars and salt. Ratios and bioactives in balance While nutrient profiling systems can be useful for choosing healthier options, current systems have limitations. They don't always align perfectly with other research , often overlook the bioactive chemicals that regulate the microbiome and body processes, and may rely on incomplete data. Current systems also don't account for the caloric and health effects of alcohol. The Nutrient Consume Score I designed aims to address these gaps by incorporating these neglected components of food. For example, it uses food categories as proxies for areas with limited data, including bioactive compounds like polyphenols, omega-3 fats and fermentable fibers . Proxies for bioactive compounds found in unprocessed foods—such as fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts and seeds—are integrated into the score's core algorithm, which uses nutrient ratios to measure the degree of food processing. Nutrient ratios —including carbohydrate-to-fiber, saturated fat-to-unsaturated fat and sodium-to-potassium—reflect the natural balance of nutritional content of the cells in unprocessed foods, which research has shown correlate with cardiometabolic health . For example, the cell walls of plants provide structural strength and are rich in fiber, while their energy vesicles store carbohydrates. Fiber reduces sugar absorption and is fermented into the compound butyrate , which maintains blood sugar and regulates appetite . The fat profiles of unprocessed foods are similar to the fat composition in cell membranes . Saturated fat-to-unsaturated fat ratios capture how different types of fat , affect inflammation and weight. Finally, the potassium-to-sodium ratio reflects the natural function of cell membrane pumps , which concentrate potassium inside cells while transporting sodium out. This affects blood pressure as well as the microbiome and metabolic health. Research currently under peer review shows that the Nutrient Consume Score compares favorably with other systems. Derived from nutrition data from nearly 5,000 Americans, NCS sores are linked to blood pressure, waist circumference and weight. NCS has also been incorporated into a smartphone app intended for public use, currently in beta testing . Empowering smart choices While nutrient profiling systems are a promising tool for healthier food choices, they come with important caveats. Most studies testing how well they work focus on how two factors relate to each other rather than whether one directly causes the other. Correlation doesn't prove causation. Further studies are needed to assess whether these systems influence buying habits, consumption trends, and health outcomes like weight and blood pressure. Additionally, individual dietary needs can vary, and personalized algorithms could help refine these scores for tailored recommendations. Despite these considerations, nutrient profiling systems are promising tools to combat rising rates of metabolic disease. Their use in Europe demonstrates their potential to shift consumer purchasing habits and inspire food companies to create healthier products. Americans may one day see similar front-of-package labels in the U.S. Until then, smartphone technologies can offer a practical way to help consumers make smarter choices today. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article .Sacha Inchi Market 2024 Size, Share, Growth Report 2032

Playing high-level basketball is nothing unusual for the Milton Eagles. That is for good reason. Milton is located just 30 miles from the basketball hotbed of Atlanta. “Most nights you are going to see a college kid or more,” Milton head coach Allen Whitehart said. “We played Norcross High School last weekend and there were probably overall 8 to 10 Division I kids on the floor.” There will be a few of those this week when the Eagles take part in The Classic at Tennessee High (formerly the Arby’s Classic) at Viking Hall. Whitehart, in his eighth season at Milton, first learned of the tournament from the late-Dale Burns and current director Richard Ensor followed up. “We are just grateful to have the chance and the opportunity to be there,” said Whitehart, in his 21st season as a head coach, having gotten into education after a stint in the Marines. “You can invite any team throughout America and we are one of the blessed teams to have the opportunity to get invited. We are grateful to Mr. Ensor for his hospitality and thinking of us and letting us come to his tournament so we are grateful for that.” Milton (7-1), which finished 20-11 last season, losing in the state semifinals to national powerhouse Grayson, has one loss this year, that also coming to Grayson, which is currently the fourth-ranked team in America according to MaxPreps.com . “We are a pro-set system. We run a lot pro-sets,” Whitehart said. “Mainly man-to-man defensive team, we like to play with tempo, we like to share the ball. We really like to share it, we have got some really good kids.” Leading the way are several talented seniors, led by 6-foot-1 guard Josh Dixon, who tallied 23.4 points and five rebounds a game last season. There is also 6-8 Daniel Ogunyemi (16 ppg, 9 reb), who has committed to Yale, 6-2 Jaydon Cole (19 ppg) and Braxton Gielser, who will play at Young Harris in Conference Carolinas. That is far from all. Nathan Earl, a 6-2 junior, who tallied 17 points a game last year, has received offers from California, Central Florida and Auburn, while 6-foot junior Grant McDuffie has an offer from Alabama State. Don’t forget about 6-8 sophomore Solomon Bratton, who Whitehart said will eventually be a top-100 kid in the nation. “We have got some depth,” Whitehart said. “We have got kids that have played at a pretty high level and are going to be able to help us not just this year, but next year as well.” Whitehart went looking for another calling after his stint in the Marines and found it as a coach and teacher. “I think it is just impacting young men really, helping them,” he said. “They want to achieve on the court dreams and goals, but I think more importantly I am having an impact on them helping them just figure out life.” Part of that development are tournaments like The Classic and the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions next month in Springfield, Mo. Milton has traveled the nation, even as far as Hawaii, to play the best teams they can find. “I think it is good to go on these trips because it gives us a chance to bond, spend some time together where we are together 24/7 over the week that we are there,” Whitehart said. “Just some team bonding and then find out a little bit about who we are by playing people outside of our area. Finding the different styles in different areas, it just gives us a chance to really lock into basketball and have a growth period over the holiday break. “It gives us a chance to essentially learn more about each other as a team because roles change every year so we are still trying to figure that out early in the season. Really it is just about bonding and being able to compete at a high level.” Up first for Milton on Thursday will be Greeneville, which has its own highly-touted prospect in 6-8 junior Trey Thompson, along with 6-3 senior Isaac McGill. “They have got the big boy and then they have got the guard. We have got our work cut out for us, no doubt,” said Whitehart, who explained how teams prepare for schools they haven’t seen before. “You have got to track what their success is, track who they are playing and what they are playing and then you try to request film just so you can get an understanding of how they play and who their key players are. Hopefully you don’t get wrong.” More often than not, the Eagles get it right. “We are blessed to have some longevity and success,” he said.Maupay also had a dig at Everton when he departed on loan to Marseille in the summer and his latest taunt has further angered the Premier League club’s supporters. The 28-year-old said on X after Sean Dyche’s side had lost 2-0 to Nottingham Forest at Goodison Park on Sunday: “Whenever I’m having a bad day I just check the Everton score and smile.” Whenever I’m having a bad day I just check the Everton score and smile 🙂 — Neal Maupay (@nealmaupay_) Former boxer Tony Bellew was among the Toffees’ supporters who responded to Maupay, with the ex-world cruiserweight champion replying on X with: “P****!” Maupay endured a miserable spell at Everton, scoring just one league goal in 29 appearances after being signed by the Merseysiders for an undisclosed fee in 2022. He departed on a season-long loan to his former club Brentford for the 2023-24 season and left Goodison for a second time in August when Marseille signed him on loan with an obligation to make the deal permanent. After leaving Everton in the summer, Maupay outraged their fans by posting on social media a scene from the film Shawshank Redemption, famous for depicting the main character’s long fight for freedom.Older adults in the U.S. skip needed medical care at much higher rates compared to other developed countries, according recent survey conducted by The Commonwealth Fund . The study said 8% to 9% of older Americans skip necessary treatment compared to just 2% of seniors in countries like Sweden, the Netherlands, the U.K. and Germany. The survey said nearly all Americans aged 65 or older are covered by Medicare and have access to most basic health services. Yet they pay more for health care and are more likely to postpone or skip needed care because of the cost. RELATED STORY | Medicare enrollment is complicated, but saving money doesn't have to be Nearly a quarter of older adults in the U.S. spent at least $2,000 over the past year on out-of-pocket expenses, compared to less than 5% in France and the Netherlands who spent the same amount, the survey said. The survey results are similar for dental and mental health care, The Commonwealth Fund said. One in five older adults in the U.S., Australia and Canada reported skipping needed dental care, compared to 5% or less of older adults in the Netherlands and Germany. The survey said less than 5% of older adults in all countries reported skipping mental health services over the past year because of the cost. RELATED STORY | Medicare premiums will rise yet again in 2025. Here's what you need to know

DETROIT — The reliability of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids has dramatically improved, narrowing a wide gap with gas-powered automobiles, according to the latest survey by Consumer Reports. But vehicles with internal combustion engines and gas-electric hybrids are still far more dependable, the survey found. Consumer Reports subscribers, who filled out surveys during much of 2024, reported that electric vehicles had 42% more problems than gas autos on average. But that was down from 79% more in the 2023 survey. The survey released Thursday measured reliability of vehicles mainly from the 2022, 2023 and 2024 model years. Plug-ins, which travel a short distance on battery power before a hybrid powertrain kicks in, had 70% more problems than gas vehicles, but that was less than half the difference found in last year's survey. The reason for the improvement? EV and plug-in technology are maturing, said Jake Fisher, head of Consumer Reports' automobile test center. “As the automakers get more experience with the new technologies and new platforms, they will improve,” Fisher said. He said he expects plug-in and electric vehicles to keep getting better, further closing the gap with gas vehicles. But one thing may stand in the way: Automakers often test new automation and other features on EVs, and the new stuff is prone to glitches. “Until we get to where an EV is just a car that does practical things with their own powertrain, I'm not sure they'll ever catch up totally” to gas vehicles, Fisher said. The new technology may offer more than the next wave of EV buyers would like, as EVs move from early adopters to more practical mainstream buyers, Fisher said. “There are people who just want a car that’s easy to maintain,” he said. “I don’t use gas. I don’t need this automation feature and electric door handles or whatever the heck they are putting out.” Consumer Reports has noted that concerns about EV and plug-in quality add to issues that may have buyers hesitating before switching from gasoline engines, including concerns about higher up-front costs, too few charging stations and long charging times. Gas-electric hybrids, which switch from internal combustion to electric power to get better mileage, were about as reliable as cars with combustion engines. While the technology is pretty technical, it has been refined for a quarter century, mainly by pioneer Toyota, Fisher said. “CR's tests have shown that they are often quieter, quicker and more pleasant to drive than their gasoline-only counterparts,” he said. Through September of this year, the last month for which all automakers have reported results, electric vehicle sales are up 7.2%, plug-in sales rose 11.6%, but hybrids led with a 32.6% increase, according to Motorintelligence.com . Consumer Reports said its 2024 survey of subscribers representing about 300,000 vehicle owners found that Subaru was the most reliable brand for the first time, followed by perennial top finishers Lexus and Toyota. Rounding out the top five were Honda and its Acura luxury brand. It was the first time since 2020 that neither Toyota nor its Lexus luxury brand were in the top spot, Fisher said. The highest-ranked brand from a U.S.-based automaker was General Motors' Buick at No. 11. The five lowest of 22 brands that were ranked were electric upstart Rivian, followed by GM's Cadillac luxury brand, GMC, Jeep and Volkswagen, Consumer Reports said. The magazine and website didn't get enough data this year to rank Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Lucid, Maserati, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Porsche and Ram. Electric vehicle sales leader Tesla finished 17th, down three spots from last year's survey. Subaru took first place in the survey by following the same formula that Toyota uses to get high reliability scores: It doesn't make huge changes when updating or unveiling new vehicles, Fisher said. Instead of going with new engines or transmissions, Subaru carries parts over from the prior generation. “They don't fix what's not broken,” he said. “They continue to refine their products, and because the products perform quite well, they don't have to have big changes.” Rivian, Fisher said, is a new company with new electric models that have more glitches. Since the company is a startup, it can't use proven powertrains from prior generations yet. “It's expected that you're going to have issues when you have nothing to carry over” from previous model years, he said. The survey found that the gas-powered Toyota RAV4 small SUV was the most reliable vehicle, followed by the Toyota Corolla compact car. The RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid was third, followed by the RAV4 gas-electric hybrid, Fisher said. Consumer Reports' survey of its subscriber base does not represent all vehicle purchasers in the U.S. or the population that bought specific vehicle types. The survey results were released at a meeting of the Automotive Press Association of Detroit.An Absurd play in Parliament: Qualifications versus education

SKorea arrests ex-defence minister over martial law

Neal Maupay: Whenever I’m having a bad day I check Everton score and smileImagine a world where food on grocery store shelves is ranked by its healthiness, with simple, research-backed scores. In some countries, that world already exists. Nutrient profiling systems, or NPSs, support clear front-of-package labels that assess food quality based on nutrient content . Nutri-Score in France is a rainbow-colored system grading foods from A to E. Health Star Rating in Australia is a five-star system rating foods in half-star increments. And the Traffic Light System in the U.K. labels nutrient levels as green, yellow or red. In contrast, the U.S. lacks a front-of-package ranking system for food. Food Compass was recently developed out of Tufts University to help address this gap and shortcomings in other systems. But it uses nutritional information not currently available for most foods and consumers. As a gastroenterologist and physician-scientist , I focus on making the latest microbiome and nutrition data more accessible to the public. Drawing on this research, I developed Nutrient Consume Score, or NCS , which rates foods from 1 to 100 using nutritional information available for all foods and incorporates factors important for a healthy microbiome. But how do nutrient profiling systems work? And how do they compare to other nutrition guides for consumers? Nutrient ciphers Each nutrient profiling system uses different scoring algorithms , but most assign positive points to nutrients and foods that are typically underconsumed, such as fiber, fruits and vegetables. Conversely, negative points are given to overconsumed nutrients like sugar, saturated fat and sodium, which are often added to processed foods. These points are combined into a single score: higher scores indicate healthier foods, while lower scores indicate less healthy options. For example, kale—rich in fiber, potassium and unsaturated fats , while low in sugar, sodium and saturated fats—would earn a high score. In contrast, Twinkies, which are high in sugar, sodium and saturated fats, but low in fiber, potassium and unsaturated fats, would receive a low score. A food like black olives, high in fiber but also high in sodium, would fall somewhere in between. Nutrient profiling systems work similarly to the Nutrition Facts labels on the back or sides of food packages in helping consumers make informed choices. These labels provide information about a food's nutrient content, including calories, macronutrients, and key vitamins and minerals. The values are determined through laboratory analysis and nutrient databases based on standardized serving sizes regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. But NPSs differ in that they combine nutrition information into a single actionable score. This means you don't have to spend time deciphering Nutrition Facts labels, which are often in small print and can be confusing to interpret. Ultraprocessed profiling Nutrient profiling system algorithms are all quite similar in their high ranking of unprocessed foods—beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables and whole grains—and low ranking of processed foods like hot dogs, soft drinks, cakes and cookies. They help people rebalance their diets that have been skewed by food processing, or the degree to which the ingredients have been altered. They complement the NOVA classification system developed by researchers at the University of São Paulo, which categorizes foods based on their level of processing. This system introduced the term " ultra-processed foods ," which are foods that have undergone significant industrial processing and contain ingredients not typically found in home cooking. While NOVA has linked ultra-processed foods to poor health outcomes like obesity, worse mental health, cancer and early death, it treats all such foods equally, overlooking differences like amount of sugar, sodium and other additives. Nutrient profile systems help provide nuance by identifying healthier options within the ultra-processed category. For example, plant-based milks, such as almond or soy milk, may be classified as ultra-processed under the NOVA system, but they can have relatively higher NPS scores if they contain minimal added sugars and salt. Ratios and bioactives in balance While nutrient profiling systems can be useful for choosing healthier options, current systems have limitations. They don't always align perfectly with other research , often overlook the bioactive chemicals that regulate the microbiome and body processes, and may rely on incomplete data. Current systems also don't account for the caloric and health effects of alcohol. The Nutrient Consume Score I designed aims to address these gaps by incorporating these neglected components of food. For example, it uses food categories as proxies for areas with limited data, including bioactive compounds like polyphenols, omega-3 fats and fermentable fibers . Proxies for bioactive compounds found in unprocessed foods—such as fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts and seeds—are integrated into the score's core algorithm, which uses nutrient ratios to measure the degree of food processing. Nutrient ratios —including carbohydrate-to-fiber, saturated fat-to-unsaturated fat and sodium-to-potassium—reflect the natural balance of nutritional content of the cells in unprocessed foods, which research has shown correlate with cardiometabolic health . For example, the cell walls of plants provide structural strength and are rich in fiber, while their energy vesicles store carbohydrates. Fiber reduces sugar absorption and is fermented into the compound butyrate , which maintains blood sugar and regulates appetite . The fat profiles of unprocessed foods are similar to the fat composition in cell membranes . Saturated fat-to-unsaturated fat ratios capture how different types of fat , affect inflammation and weight. Finally, the potassium-to-sodium ratio reflects the natural function of cell membrane pumps , which concentrate potassium inside cells while transporting sodium out. This affects blood pressure as well as the microbiome and metabolic health. Research currently under peer review shows that the Nutrient Consume Score compares favorably with other systems. Derived from nutrition data from nearly 5,000 Americans, NCS sores are linked to blood pressure, waist circumference and weight. NCS has also been incorporated into a smartphone app intended for public use, currently in beta testing . Empowering smart choices While nutrient profiling systems are a promising tool for healthier food choices, they come with important caveats. Most studies testing how well they work focus on how two factors relate to each other rather than whether one directly causes the other. Correlation doesn't prove causation. Further studies are needed to assess whether these systems influence buying habits, consumption trends, and health outcomes like weight and blood pressure. Additionally, individual dietary needs can vary, and personalized algorithms could help refine these scores for tailored recommendations. Despite these considerations, nutrient profiling systems are promising tools to combat rising rates of metabolic disease. Their use in Europe demonstrates their potential to shift consumer purchasing habits and inspire food companies to create healthier products. Americans may one day see similar front-of-package labels in the U.S. Until then, smartphone technologies can offer a practical way to help consumers make smarter choices today. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article .WGO INVESTOR NEWS: Winnebago Industries, Inc. Investors that Suffered Losses Are Encouraged to Contact Rosen Law About Ongoing Investigation into the Company (NYSE: WGO)

by Jayantha Somasundaram (First part of this article appeared yesterday (23 Dec., 2024) In the early years of the Twentieth Century the Irish and the Jews were unwittingly united by their military campaign against British rule in Ireland and Palestine. “Reasons for these allegiances are complex and rooted in shared experiences of imperialism” wrote M. C. Rast author of Shaping Ireland’s Independence: Nationalist, Unionist and British Solutions to the Irish Question 1909-1925 in History Today’s June 2024 edition. Ireland is divided not only geographically between the north and south but also between Roman Catholicism and Protestant Christianity; while the Republican South is consciously pro-Palestine, Northern Ireland is pro-Israel. As the British tried to escape from the turmoil in both colonial Palestine and Ireland by resorting to partition, just as they would do in British India, the parallels become evident. The Government of Ireland Act (1920) and the Anglo-Irish Treaty (1921) only led to civil war and religious rioting; just what partition would do for Palestine and British India. Palestine became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1516 and was fought over during World War I. The British captured Palestine from the Ottomans during the War and were mandated by the League of Nations (the precursor to the United Nations) to progress Palestine towards independence. Jewish settlers had initially welcomed the British Mandate because they believed that London would, in terms of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, create a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Up to the first century AD Palestine had been Jewish-majority, then a Christian-majority society (second to the eleventh century) and thereafter Muslim-majority. “In 1919 there were approximately 58,000 Jews in Palestine, with ‘non-Jewish communities’ constituting 91.7 per cent of the population...by 1937 the Jewish population had risen to 386,084, comprising 27.9 per cent of the total,” explains Rast. In the half century beginning 1880, the USA was the destination of choice for European Jews, with two and a half million migrating over that period. This tide however was stemmed when the US Congress passed the Immigration Act in 1924 limiting this flow. European Jewish immigration therefore was redirected to Palestine. The 1937 Peel Commission would recommend partition; it used the Irish partition as its model saying that “the gulf between Arabs and Jews in Palestine is wider than that which separates Northern Ireland from the Irish Free State.” To which The Derry Journal retorted “Britain cares not a fig for the welfare of either Jew or Arab, any more than for Catholic or Protestant Irishman, except in so far as the one can be played off against the other for purposes of imperial policy.’ Irgun As a consequence of Arab rioting in August 1929 which saw 67 Jews killed in Hebron, a tragedy that led many Jews to believe in the need for armed action, Irgun – Hā Irgun Ha-Tzvaʾī Ha-Leūmī b-Ērētz Yiśrāʾel – the National Military Organization in the Land of Israel – was formed in 1931. Until his death in 1940, its leader was Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky (later Ze’ev Jabotinsky) a Russian Jew. The number of members of Irgun varied from a few hundred to a few thousand. But Jabotinsky’s influence survived his early death, his ideas being carried forward by Menachem Begin (Israel’s Prime Minister 1977–1983) and the son of his secretary the Polish Jew, Benzion Mileikowsky: Israel’s current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Besides Irgun another important paramilitary group Lehi emerged in British Palestine. It was founded in 1940 by Avraham Stern. Stern was born in Poland in 1907 but moved to Palestine when he was 18 to study at the Hebrew University and would later join Irgun which was debating what stance should be adopted towards the British who were now fighting Nazi Germany. Stern argued that the Irish example during World War I provided the model for the Jews; to exploit Britain’s preoccupation with a war in Europe to mount pressure on them. He and his followers broke with Irgun in August 1940 and formed the Lohamei herut yisrael (The Fighters for Israel’s Freedom) or Lehi. Stern’s ideas were taken from Mikhail Bakunin the 19th century Russian anarchist. Bakunin stressed armed struggle and Stern viewed the two millennia of exile as lulling the Jewish people into complacency. According to Professor Shlomo Shpiro of Bar-Ilan University in Israel, a specialist in intelligence, terrorism and security, for Stern the task of nation building in Palestine and the struggle for statehood would enable Jewish exceptionalism to consummate itself. “Our nation has a culture and a level of development higher than those of other nations. We have higher moral values. Some call this ‘the Chosen People.’ We must be a unique group within a unique nation.” Lehi Stern believed that suffering and privation as a consequence of an armed struggle for nationhood and statehood would enable the Jews to rediscover themselves. The armed struggle must not however end with the achievement of statehood; it was a means not an end for the Jewish nation. Combat was therefore not merely the responsibility of the soldier. “Our nation will fight for a long time in its own land before it establishes its own sovereign rule...therefore, many more generations of Jewish children will go to school to learn the skills of the sword, and for many generations to come will the Hebrew Kingdom be as a military camp in the Oriental Arab desert.” Armed struggle was the duty of all; every Jew had to be a warrior. Religion more than political ends raised armed struggle to a ritual above any other facet of human endeavour. ‘‘Hallelujah with machine guns! The Lord is a Man of War! Hallelujah with battle and bomb! Hallelujah with rifle and grenade! Hallelujah to the Ruler of Zion!’’ Unlike many East European Jews who had socialist sympathies and admired the emancipation of the Jews that followed the Russian Revolution, Stern was influenced more by radical right-wing European conservative thinking and the practical gains of De Valera and the Sinn Fein in Ireland. In fact Yitzhak Shamir his lieutenant and successor adopted Michael as his nom de guerre in memory of Michael Collins, the Irish rebel. Stern succeeded in creating a nationalist ideology with messianic Jewish elements. “Stern was the first modern Jewish thinker to propound violence and terrorism as a core ideology of national liberation and independence, rather than a temporary or expedient means of self-defence.” (SHPIRO, Shlomo The Intellectual Foundations of Jewish National Terrorism: Avraham Stern and the Lehi (Terrorism and Political Violence Vol. 25, No. 4, 2013 pp 606–620) By early 1942 the British Police had effectively penetrated Lehi, had hunted down and killed or arrested its cadre and Stern had become a fugitive. He was finally tracked down and killed on 12 February 1942. Stern was succeeded by Yitzhak Yezernitsky (later Yitzhak Shamir) from Belarus, who would be a future Israeli prime minister (1983–84 and 1986–1992). Under Shamir, Lehi adopted Bakunin’s cell structure, became better organised, better equipped and drew new recruits enabling it to launch more effective attacks against the British in Palestine. He ordered the assassination in Cairo in November 1944 of the most senior British official in the region, the Minister Resident for the Middle East, 1st Baron Moyne, Lord Walter Edward Guinness DSO* PC. During and after the Second World War there was a huge influx of illegal Jewish refugees arriving in Palestine in ever increasing numbers, though even as late as 1947, the Palestinians, both Muslim and Christian, still made up two thirds of the population. King David Hotel In July 1946 Begin directed the bombing of Jerusalem’s King David Hotel. The explosives were placed below its southern wing which “housed the nerve centre of British rule in Palestine: the government secretariat and the headquarters of both British military forces in Palestine and Transjordan and British intelligence.” (HOFFMAN, Bruce The rationality of terrorism and other forms of political violence: lessons from the Jewish campaign in Palestine 1937-1947 (Small Wars & Insurgencies Vol. 22, No. 2, May 2011, pp 258–272) King David Hotel: After the attack The blast killed 91 persons and injured 45 others, many of them civilians. The King David Hotel attack which is regarded as the single most lethal terrorist incident of the twentieth century secured Irgun’s political objective. It drew the world’s attention to Palestine, the struggle of the Jews and the military impotence of British colonial rule. It exposed the hollow claim of the British Mandate authorities that they were prevailing militarily against terrorism. Begin had successfully created panic among the British public and shaken their confidence in London’s ability to govern Palestine. Back in the UK newspaper editorials swayed public opinion with this typical report in the Manchester Guardian that the bombings “will be a shock to those who imagined that the Government’s firmness had put a stop to Jewish terrorism and had brought about an easier situation in Palestine. In fact, the opposite is the truth.” (Hoffman 2011:264). In Palestine the Mandate authority responded with harsh measures: daily curfews, cordon-and-search operations and even martial law. These extreme measures only alienated people from the British. Begin explained his strategy in these terms: “‘The very existence of an underground must, in the end, undermine the prestige of a colonial regime that lives by the legend of its omnipotence. Every attack which it fails to prevent is a blow at its standing. Even if the attack does not succeed, it makes a dent in that prestige, and that dent widens into a crack which is extended with every succeeding attack.’ Thus, even though the British forces outnumbered the terrorists by twenty to one – so that there was, according to one account, ‘one armed soldier to each adult male Jew in Palestine’ – despite this overwhelming numerical superiority, the British were still unable to destroy the Irgun and maintain order in Palestine.” (Hoffman 2011:265) Invisible Armies In July 1947, in response to the execution of three convicted Irgun terrorists the group publicly hung two captured British Army sergeants. According to the British Colonial Secretary Arthur Creech-Jones this outrage was the most significant factor that determined London’s withdrawal from Palestine. “For both the British public and the press, the murders seemed to demonstrate the futility of the situation in Palestine and the pointlessness of remaining there any longer than was absolutely necessary.” (Hoffman 2011:266) Britain had deployed 100,000 troops in Palestine, saturated Jerusalem and turned it into a fortified camp controlled by barbed wire and curfews. Finally, unable to cope Britain handed the Palestine issue over to the United Nations. “In 1947 the British Cabinet decided to abandon Palestine after three years of attacks by Jewish terrorists, most belonging to the right-wing Irgun and Lehi (Stern Gang)...This was one of the most successful terrorist campaigns ever waged.” (BOOT, Max Invisible Armies (New York: Liveright Publishing 2013) p325) Both in Palestine and globally, many Jews were critical of this terror campaign. In 1948, The New York Times published a letter signed by a number of prominent Jewish figures including Hannah Arendt, Albert Einstein, Sidney Hook, and Rabbi Jessurun Cardozo, which described Irgun as “a terrorist, right-wing, chauvinist organization in Palestine.” Hoffman concludes that “it is indisputable that, at the very least, the successes won through violence by the Irgun clearly demonstrated that, notwithstanding the repeated denials of governments, terrorism can, in the right conditions and with the appropriate strategy and tactics, indeed ‘work’. Even if the Irgun’s success did not manifest itself in terms of the actual acquisition of power in government (Begin and his Herut Party remained in opposition for some 30 years)...their success in attracting attention to themselves and their cause, and most significantly both hastening and affecting government decision-making, cannot be disregarded... Thus the foundations were laid for the transformation of terrorism in the late 1960s from a primarily localized phenomenon into the security problem of global proportions that it is today. Indeed, when US military forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001, they found a copy of Begin’s seminal work, The Revolt, in the well-stocked library that al Qaeda maintained.” (Hoffman 2011:268).

The standard Lorem Ipsum passage, used since the 1500s "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" To keep reading, please log in to your account, create a free account, or simply fill out the form below.

Maupay also had a dig at Everton when he departed on loan to Marseille in the summer and his latest taunt has further angered the Premier League club’s supporters. The 28-year-old said on X after Sean Dyche’s side had lost 2-0 to Nottingham Forest at Goodison Park on Sunday: “Whenever I’m having a bad day I just check the Everton score and smile.” Whenever I’m having a bad day I just check the Everton score and smile 🙂 — Neal Maupay (@nealmaupay_) December 29, 2024 Former boxer Tony Bellew was among the Toffees’ supporters who responded to Maupay, with the ex-world cruiserweight champion replying on X with: “P****!” Maupay endured a miserable spell at Everton, scoring just one league goal in 29 appearances after being signed by the Merseysiders for an undisclosed fee in 2022. He departed on a season-long loan to his former club Brentford for the 2023-24 season and left Goodison for a second time in August when Marseille signed him on loan with an obligation to make the deal permanent. After leaving Everton in the summer, Maupay outraged their fans by posting on social media a scene from the film Shawshank Redemption, famous for depicting the main character’s long fight for freedom.BOGOTÁ, Colombia -- One of Colombia’s legendary drug lords and a key operator of the Medellin cartel has been deported back to the South American country, after serving 25 years of a 30-year prison sentence in the United States. A short while later, Fabio Ochoa was again a free man. Ochoa arrived in Bogota on a deportation flight on Monday afternoon, wearing a modest grey sweatshirt and carrying his personal belongings in a plastic bag. After stepping out of the plane, Ochoa was met by immigration officials in bullet proof vests. There were no police on site to detain him. Immigration officials took his fingerprints and confirmed through a database that Ochoa is not wanted by Colombian authorities. The country's immigration agency said on the social media platform X that Ochoa was “freed so that he could join his family.” “I was framed,” Ochoa claimed as reporters at Bogota’s El Dorado Airport asked if he regretted his actions. The former cartel boss smiled as he hugged his daughter, whom he had not seen in seven years, and said he would go to Medellin to live with his family. “The nightmare is over” said Ochoa, 67. Ochoa and his older brothers amassed a fortune when cocaine started flooding the U.S. in the late 1970s and early 1980s, according to U.S. authorities, to the point that in 1987 they were included in the Forbes Magazine’s list of billionaires. Living in Miami, Ochoa ran a distribution center for the cocaine cartel once headed by Pablo Escobar . Escobar died in a shootout with authorities in Medellin in 1993. Ochoa was first indicted in the U.S. for his alleged role in the 1986 killing of Barry Seal, an American pilot who flew cocaine flights for the Medellin cartel, but became an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration. Along with his two older brothers, Juan David and Jorge Luis, Ochoa turned himself in to Colombian authorities in the early 1990s under a deal in which they avoided being extradited to the U.S. The three brothers were released from prison in 1996, but Ochoa was arrested again three years later for drug trafficking and was extradited to the U.S. in 2001 in response to an indictment in Miami naming him and more than 40 people as part of a drug smuggling conspiracy. He was the only suspect in that group who opted to go to trial, resulting in his conviction and a 30-year sentence. The other defendants got much lighter prison terms because most of them cooperated with the government. Ochoa’s name has faded from popular memory as Mexican drug traffickers take center stage in the global drug trade. But the former member of the Medellin cartel was recently depicted in the Netflix series Griselda, where he first fights the plucky businesswoman Griselda Blanco for control of Miami's cocaine market, and then makes an alliance with the drug trafficker, played by Sofia Vergara. Ochoa is also depicted in the Netflix series Narcos, as the youngest son of an elite Medellin family that is into ranching and horse breeding and cuts a sharp contrast with Escobar, who came from more humble roots. Richard Gregorie, a retired assistant U.S. attorney who was on the prosecution team that convicted Ochoa, said authorities were never able to seize all of the Ochoa family’s illicit drug proceeds and he expects that the former mafia boss will have a welcome return home. “He won’t be retiring a poor man, that’s for sure,” Gregorie told The Associated Press earlier this month.Mr Carter, a former peanut farmer, served one term in the White House between 1977 and 1981, taking over in the wake of the Watergate scandal and the end of the Vietnam War. After his defeat by Ronald Reagan, he spent his post-presidency years as a global humanitarian, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. His death on Sunday was announced by his family and came more than a year after he decided to enter hospice care. He was the longest-lived US president. Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia. pic.twitter.com/aqYmcE9tXi — The Carter Center (@CarterCenter) December 29, 2024 His son, Chip Carter, said: “My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights and unselfish love. “My brothers, sister and I shared him with the rest of the world through these common beliefs. “The world is our family because of the way he brought people together, and we thank you for honouring his memory by continuing to live these shared beliefs.” World leaders have paid tribute to Mr Carter, including US President Joe Biden, who was one of the first politicians to endorse Mr Carter for president in 1976 and said the world had “lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian”. He said: “Over six decades, we had the honour of calling Jimmy Carter a dear friend. But, what’s extraordinary about Jimmy Carter, though, is that millions of people throughout America and the world who never met him thought of him as a dear friend as well. “With his compassion and moral clarity, he worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil rights and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless, and always advocate for the least among us. “He saved, lifted, and changed the lives of people all across the globe.” Irish President Michael D Higgins said Mr Carter was “a principled man who dedicated his life to seeking to advance the cause of peace across the world”. He added: “On behalf of the people of Ireland, may I express my sympathies to President Carter’s children and extended family, to President Joe Biden, to the people of the United States, and to his wide circle of colleagues and friends across the globe.” Mr Carter is expected to receive a state funeral featuring public observances in Atlanta and Washington DC before being buried in his home town of Plains, Georgia. A moderate democrat born in Plains in October 1924, Mr Carter’s political career took him from the Georgia state senate to the state governorship and finally, the White House, where he took office as the 39th president. His presidency saw economic disruption amid volatile oil prices, along with social tensions at home and challenges abroad including the Iranian revolution that sparked a 444-day hostage crisis at the US embassy in Tehran. But he also brokered the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel, which led to a peace treaty between the two countries in 1979. After his defeat in the 1980 presidential election, he worked for more than four decades leading the Carter Centre, which he and his late wife Rosalynn co-founded in 1982 to “wage peace, fight disease, and build hope”. Under his leadership, the Carter Center managed to virtually eliminate Guinea Worm disease, which has gone from affecting 3.5 million people in Africa and Asia in 1986 to just 14 in 2023. Mrs Carter, who died last year aged 96, had played a more active role in her husband’s presidency than previous first ladies, with Mr Carter saying she had been “my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished”. Earlier this year, on his 100th birthday, Mr Carter received a private congratulatory message from the King, expressing admiration for his life of public service.