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‘Serious questions’ over ceasefire after US air strike kills Syrian troops

The latest Syrian ceasefire is under threat as Russia has severely criticised US air strikes in eastern Syria as the most “extraordinary display of American heavy-handedness” to date.

It follows a US-led coalition strike on Deir Al-Zour a week within of the Syrian ceasefire coming into effect.

Russia says 62 Syrian government troops were killed in the bombings on Saturday (18 September), where forces were in contact with Islamic State (Isis) fighters.

The attack caused heated exchanges between the US and Russia and led Russia to call for an emergency session of the Security Council.

Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the US air strike put “a very big question mark” over the future of the US and Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement, reported the AP.

He said the timing of the US airstrike is “frankly suspicious” because it came two days before the US and Russia were supposed to implement an agreement on military coordination in Syria.

He added that the US had not previously targeted IS (Daesh) forces fighting Syrian government troops.

Churkin also said in his decades as a diplomat he had “never seen such an extraordinary display of American heavy-handedness as we are witnessing today”.

Russia earlier suggested that the Syrian ceasefire was in jeopardy after US-backed rebels stepped up their activity.

US Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power said the US has “relayed our regret” for the unintentional loss of life of Syrian forces fighting the IS, but accused Russia of pulling a “stunt” by calling an emergency Security Council.

churkin — Samantha Power (R), the American ambassador to the United Nations talks to Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin (2014)Reuters

She said: “Since 2011, the Assad regime has been intentionally striking civilian targets with horrifying, predictable regularity and yet in the face of none of these atrocities has Russia expressed outrage.

“Nor has it demanded investigations, nor has it ever called for a Saturday night emergency consultation in the Security Council.”

The US Central Command said it immediately halted the strikes when coalition officials were informed by Russian officials that it was possible the personnel and vehicles targeted were part of the Syrian military.

“Syria is a complex situation with various military forces and militias in close proximity, but coalition forces would not intentionally strike a known Syrian military unit,” they said. “The coalition will review this strike and the circumstances surrounding it to see if any lessons can be learned.”

[Source:-IBT]

The Latest: Russian criticizes US response on Syria attack

Russia’s Foreign Ministry is sharply criticizing the United States as being obstructive and deceptive regarding the airstrike by coalition warplanes on a Syrian military position that killed more than 60 soldiers.

A ministry statement on Sunday said that in an emergency U.N. Security Council session called following the airstrike, the United States took “an unconstructive and indistinct position.”

The Americans “not only turned out to be unable to give an adequate explanation of what happened, but also tried, as is their custom, to turn everything upside down,” the statement said.

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11:45 a.m.

Syria’s state news agency is reporting that troops have regained control of areas they lost to the Islamic State group in the east of the country after an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition.

SANA quotes an unnamed military official as saying Sunday that dozens of IS fighters were killed in the offensive under the cover of Syrian airstrikes.

The Syrian military official said government troops had regained control of areas the extremists captured, “as a result of the American aircraft aggression.”

The U.S. military said it may have unintentionally struck Syrian troops while carrying out a raid against IS on Saturday.

Russia’s military said it was told by the Syrian army that at least 62 soldiers were killed in the Deir el-Zour air raid and more than 100 wounded.

[Source:-The News]

JD Sports shows a clean pair of heels to stumbling Sports Direct

Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley once promised to finish off JD Sports, but now finds himself being trounced by his rival.

JD Sports, the self-styled King of Trainers, is not only valued at a cool £1.1bn more than the Newcastle United owner’s chain, but last week revealed its sales and profits growth were a well-shod leap ahead of the rest of the UK fashion market.

While other clothing retailers have spent the last two years moaning about unsuitable weather and claiming that shoppers are more interested in holidays and gadgets than the latest fashion, JD has powered on. Sales at stores open more than a year rose 10% in the six months to the end of July.

Even executive chairman Peter Cowgill sounded surprised by the group’s 66% rise in underlying profits, revealed on Tuesday, saying they “exceeded reasonable expectations.”

But the performance should not be a shock. The sportswear market is generally less weather-dependent than the rest of the clothing market and JD is at the centre of the catwalk-led “athleisure” trend for sportswear as fashion.

Major brands such as Nike and Adidas have been expanding their ranges to include the kind of sportswear meant to be worn outside the gym. Celebrities such as Beyoncé – whose athleisure line, Ivy Park, is sold in JD – have given a boost to the trend, which is drawing more women into sport stores.

Sales in JD’s womenswear are soaring, having traditionally made up less than 30% of the chain’s sales compared with 60% for the whole UK clothing market.

Of course trends come and go, so there is some debate whether JD’s mini-boom will drop off once young people move on to something new. Cowgill argues: “We can never predict the future but I don’t think it’s a trend. I think it’s a culture, a lifestyle situation. Not long ago you couldn’t go into a bar with trainers on: now it is more acceptable.”

And it’s not only bars. Sales of trainers are rising around the world as casualwear becomes the norm in offices as well as at social events.

Beyoncé’s Ivy Park range being advertised outside Topshop in London. Photograph: Matthew Chattle/Rex/Shutterstock

Richard Hyman, the veteran independent retail analyst, says: “Trainers have become shoes and the key beneficiary has not been traditional footwear retailers or apparel retailers with footwear departments. This market is highly branded, whereas mainstream fashion is very own-label. People want the credibility of a brand and JD has built a business on that.”

Of course, Sports Direct has also benefited from that trend, but to a lesser extent, as JD has a much stronger relationships with the key brands. This gives it access to more exclusive products, and launches of sought-after new designs.

Cowgill says fostering those relationships through investment in the look and ambience of stores has been key to keeping such brands on board.

Kate Calvert, an analyst at JD’s house broker Investec, says: “Sports Direct has had quite a turbulent time with the two major suppliers, Nike and Adidas – they’re always falling in and out of love with each other.” In that environment, JD has been able to get access to premium products at premium prices, insulating it from some of the wider market deflation.

Sports Direct has cottoned on to this and is trying to woo the brands back with investment in stores, alongside efforts to tackle the employment and governance practices that have drawn so much bad publicity. Fiona Paton, an analyst at Verdict Retail, says: “[JD] has benefited from Sports Direct’s mass of bad publicity and the distractions that has caused its senior management.

“However, this will not go on indefinitely, and Sports Direct has announced plans to target more premium brands with investment in its Flannels fascia, so JD Sports is likely to face tougher competition in the near future.”

Cowgill counters: “All our competitors worry us. We’ve got to keep an eye on various parts of the market.” He adds with a smile about Sports Direct: “It remains to be seen if they get their act together. We try to avoid being in direct competition. We see the market as huge enough for the two of us.”

That market increasingly includes Europe, where JD is expanding its main chain in France, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark and, most recently, Portugal. It also owns Sprinter in Spain, Chausport in France and has taken its trendy Size? footwear chain into five countries over the channel. Further afield, it has bought outlets in Malaysia and Australia. Revenues are up 38% in Europe and 14% elsewhere, although the profitability of these operations is not yet clear.

Last week, Cowgill was in a bullish mood. “We never rest on our laurels and we are gutted if there’s even a day when our numbers are negative. We drive as hard as we possibly can.” It could be a speech from a professional sportsman.

[Source:-The Guardian]

Kids And Social Media: How Young Is Too Young?

As students get back to their school routines, many find themselves in a new environment and interacting with different peer groups. And growing up in 2016, they’re likely drawn to sign up for Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

But how young is too young to be on social media?

While adults may join and navigate these sites without much deliberation, the issue is much more fraught when it comes to kids. There are potential dangers, emotional pitfalls and future consequences to consider.

Here’s what parents should know:

1. Children under age 13 are not allowed on most social media sites.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat all have policies prohibiting children under 13 from signing up. This is because the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act strictly regulates the way companies can interact with young people online, and children under 13 cannot have their data collected without parental permission.

Some parents may think their kids are mature enough to join these sites at younger ages and conclude that it’s not a big deal if kids lie about their age to gain access. But research on this practice found that it leads to a serious problem: Kids who say they’re 13 when they’re younger than that may eventually be viewed as 18-year-olds, and thus adults, when they are still minors.

So if an 11-year-old pretends to be 13 to get on Facebook, by the time she’s 16, Facebook will think she is 18.

What does that mean? Children between the ages of 13 and 17 are given greater protection than adults and can’t be seen by anyone outside who’s not their friend. But a 16-year-old that Facebook thinks is 18 could be viewed by potential employers or university admission committees, even if they don’t realize it.

There are, however, some social media sites specifically designed to be a safe space for kids under age 13.

2. Each child is different, and you need to tailor your rules to your child’s needs.

Even if, by the rules of Facebook and Congress, children are allowed to sign up for mainstream social media accounts at age 13, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ready yet. Children grow and mature at different rates and in many different ways, so there’s no one rule that works for every child.

So what kinds of considerations should parents take into account when considering whether their kid should go on social media?

“If we’re already struggling around schoolwork, if we’re already struggling around screen time and focus, or sleep, or attention span, than introducing new technology isn’t setting our kid up for success,” said Janell Burley Hofmann, author of “iRules: What Every Tech-Healthy Family Need to Know About Selfies, Sexting, Gaming and Growing Up.”

Basically, the key is to have a good sense of what your children can handle. Kids who are extremely distractible or are always finding ways to get in trouble may be best kept off Facebook until they settle down. If your kid is relatively well-adjusted away from the computer or smartphone, and he expresses a desire to sign up for a social media site, it may be worth letting him try it out.

3. Consider setting a “social media curfew.”

But letting your kid sign up does not mean giving them free rein; it’s still important to set boundaries.

Ellen Mossman-Glazer, author of “The Parent’s Handbook for Talking WITH Your Teens About Social Media: The Right Words and Effective Techniques to Get Your Kids Safely On Board,” recommends thinking of these boundaries as a “social media curfew.” Just as you may let your children spend time at night with their friends as long as they’re home by a certain time, you can set limits to make sure their use of social media doesn’t get out of control.

Hofmann suggests one rule that might make parents feel more comfortable about their children’s activity is only letting them “friend” or “follow” other kids whom the parents have met. That way, your child can start to learn about and experience social media in a relatively controlled and safe framework.

It also may be important to limit the amount of time your child spends on social media, especially if it’s likely to conflict with other responsibilities.

But again, both Hofmann and Mossman-Glazer emphasize that the key to setting boundaries is to know your own kids, and try to figure out what will work best for them.

4. Parents need to educate themselves

“For all of us, we’re figuring out technology right alongside our children,” said Hofmann.

Many parents today didn’t grow up with anything like Snapchat or Twitter. If they want to help their kids navigate these platforms wisely and safely, parents need to know what these sites and apps are all about. This probably means getting their own accounts.

“I encourage parents to ‘friend’ their child when their child is on social media,” said Mossman-Glazer. However, don’t be surprised if this leads to some pushback. As Mossman-Glazer admitted, “Adolescents want to be their own boss.”

Parents may even have to do what few people have ever done — read Facebook’s terms and conditions and privacy policies — to know exactly what it is their kid is signing up for.

5. Navigating social media can be very challenging for kids.

As much as kids might want to go on social media, they may not realize how emotionally involved and taxing it can be. And social interactions online persist in a way that they never have in the past.

“Before, if I said something unkind in person or over the phone, it kind of disappeared after I said that,” said Hofmann. “But now we can ruminate, because we can go back [online] and read what’s been said.”

And it used to be the case that if a child didn’t get invited to go to the movies or the mall with a group of friends, that might be the end of it. But now, when all those pictures end up on social media, your child can have a vivid reminder of being excluded.

There are also many other potential dangers online, such as cyberbullying and contact from strangers. Ensuring that you have a strong and trusting rapport with your child, so they feel comfortable coming to you if these problems arise while on social media, is vitally important.

“Engage with your kids so you’re on the same page, so that you’re a team,” said Mossman-Glazer.

6. Remember: Social media can be a lot of fun.

While there are clear challenges parents should watch out for, it’s necessary to remember that social media isn’t all bad. In fact, in many ways, it’s quite good and enjoyable, and that’s why kids are so drawn to it.

A recent study even found that interacting with Facebookfriends can contribute significantly to personal well-being.

Hofmann noted that she really valued the connections she has formed with her own children online. “We share a lot of humorous content with each other, it’s actually a way we deeply bond, by sharing memes, or sharing articles — all sorts of content,” she said.

Acknowledging that there’s a lot of enjoyment to be found online may also help kids take parents more seriously when they’re warned of the dangers. And when parents recognize that socializing online is not just some weird quirk of the new generation, but perhaps a valuable new facet of life, they will better understand and be better able to connect with their kids.

“It’s OK for us to fall in love with the internet,” noted Hofmann.

[Source:-Accross American Path]]

Week In Sports: Olympic Drugs Exemptions And National Anthem Protests

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We want to spend a few more minutes on a story we mentioned earlier about the release of some private medical information about some prominent athletes. It’s believed to have been stolen by Russian hackers. The hacker revealed that some of the medicines that athletes have been taking with the approval of anti-doping officials in their respective sports leagues. According to the officials in those leagues, the drugs were allowed because those athletes had legitimate medical needs. But it’s also just the latest example of how sports isn’t just sports any more – if it ever was. It’s deeply connected to politics. We wanted to talk more about this, so we’ve called Kevin Blackistone. He’s a professor at the University of Maryland. He’s also a columnist for The Washington Post, among a number of other jobs. Welcome back, Kevin, thanks for joining us.

KEVIN BLACKISTONE: No problem.

MARTIN: So hackers got into the computer systems of the World Anti-Doping Agency, and it revealed that athletes like Simone Biles, for example, had so-called therapeutic use exemptions to take medicines that would otherwise be banned by doping authorities so they can use these substances without being penalized. Though, we have to set aside how this information was obtained.

BLACKISTONE: Right.

MARTIN: But now that it is public, the question that emerges now is whether elite athletes should be allowed to use medicines for something like ADHD, which some people could argue could give you an athletic advantage by improving your focus. What’s your take on this?

BLACKISTONE: Well, you know, sports have been medicated for many, many years, and it wasn’t really until USADA and WADA – USADA being the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, an arm of WADA – got involved to put together a list of medications that could be approved by athletes depending on their medical conditions and a list of those substances which must be banned because they can be considered enhancements or against the spirit of the sport or just dangerous to the body. And it is a lengthy, lengthy list. Anybody can go to USADA or WADA and view the list for themselves. But you can get exemptions, and it’s been going on for quite some time. And I’ll tell you one of the more interesting ones that really hasn’t been figured out yet by either organization and that’s people who train at high altitudes or train in hyperbaric chambers, I believe that they’re called, which do the same thing is as EPO, which increases the oxygen that – the cells that carry the oxygen in the blood and give you an advantage. And that’s one of those things that they really have not figured out how to handle. So it’s a – it’s pretty complicated.

MARTIN: Is this changing – is this latest hack, though, is this changing the conversations around this?

BLACKISTONE: You know, I don’t think it changes the conversation, but what I do think it changes is how much politics, as you mentioned, are a part of sports now, and this was clearly a retaliatory measure by some Russian nationalists upset that the Russian track and field team had been kicked out of the – kicked out of the Olympics for the state-sponsored drug program. And by the way, they also hacked into the medical records of the whistleblower in Russia, the Russian athlete who really caused all of this to come to the fore.

MARTIN: We only have a couple more minutes and there’s so many sports stories this week. It was actually hard to pick just a couple to talk about. But one that I just feel we really need to talk about is this issue around the national anthem protest that was started by 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick who’s been refusing to stand during the anthem. He says it’s to protest how black people are treated in this country, particularly involving police violence. Now the protests are spreading.

BLACKISTONE: Yeah.

MARTIN: We’ve seen a number of other athletes, not just professionals but also down to the high school level…

BLACKISTONE: How about that.

MARTIN: …Addressing this. This has not been universally popular…

BLACKISTONE: No.

MARTIN: …As you know. A number of places there have – people in the communities are not pleased about this. I just wanted to get your opinion about this. I do want to mention President Obama said Kaepernick is using his constitutional right to start an important discussion. Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, suggested Kaepernick find another country to live in. What’s your take on it?

BLACKISTONE: Well, it certainly wasn’t popular when the most famous protests involving the national anthem and the flag took place in 1968 in Mexico City, John Carlos and Tommie Smith punching their black-gloved fist into the air as they got their medals for the 200-meter final. And people are still very, very uncomfortable with the method and are not paying enough attention to the message. And if you look at the high schools that where athletes have gotten involved in this, these are athletes who mostly are of color, and they are athletes who represent the very essence of the other end of police brutality and extrajudicial killings of black men in this country. And so I understand how they can be – how they feel so aggrieved to the point where they would take this stand.

MARTIN: That’s Kevin Blackistone. He teaches at the University of Maryland. He’s also a columnist for The Washington Post. Kevin, lots more to talk about, more to come. Hope you’ll come back. Thanks for joining us.

[Source:-NPR]

Here’s what happens if you limit people to 15 minutes of social media per day

NEARLY three-quarters of Australians use social media. On average, they’re spending the equivalent of half a day (12.5 hours) each week on Facebook alone. For many, it’s become more than a way to connect — it’s a habit.

But how hard is that habit to crack?

Clinical psychologist Louise Adams analysed the results of our experiment and says: “Social media is a convenient and interesting feature of modern life but because it’s so compelling, it’s easy to fall into the habit of frequent checking and we can lose hours of our precious time.

“Don’t forget that the real world deserves your full attention — without devices — and make sure the time you do spend online is quality rather than quantity.”

We asked four social media users to limit their scrolling, liking and posting to 15 minutes a day for a week. Here’s what happened …

BRIANNA SCULLY

Age: 20

Occupation: Video producer

Daily social media use: At least four hours

Best bit: I was a lot more productive. Instead of scrolling through my phone, I exercised, cooked dinners and got organised for work.

Hardest part: I’d often reach for my phone to fill in time and realise I couldn’t. When I uploaded something to Facebook, I kept wanting to check the “likes” and comments. I also missed messages from friends and family, and was concerned I came off as rude.

Most surprising: I was worried I’d miss a whole heap of notifications but I found that the less I engaged, the less people engaged with me. Facebook was the hardest to restrict but by turning my notifications off, I didn’t know what I was missing.

Will you make any changes?

I want to restrict my social media use in social situations. When I was out to dinner with friends, they all spent time online — it was like the event wasn’t worth attending unless they could get an Instagram shot or funny Snapchat. It made me realise I had that mindset too.

Adams says: Brianna’s decision to be present in social situations rather than record them for Snapchat was a great result. Recording a moment isn’t as meaningful as being in it.

ANDREW WARREN

Age: 30

Occupation: Musician, teacher

Daily social media use: 1-2 hours

Best bit: I was more productive at work

and more proactive when it came to getting things done at home. When I sat down to watch TV,

I was more focused and less distracted because I wasn’t scrolling through Facebook.

Hardest part: Having to monitor the time so I didn’t go over my 15-minute limit.

Most surprising: How quickly 15 minutes can go by and realising that opening up my Facebook app had become a habit.

Will you make any changes?

I don’t think I’ll limit my social media use but I’m going to try to resist the urge to check my phone while I’m having downtime so I can be in the moment.

Adams says: Prior to the experiment, Andrew reported that social media had no impact on his mood, yet limiting his use improved his productivity and concentration. This suggests he may not have noticed how social media was impacting him generally. Cutting down his time online also helped Andrew to become less of a “phone slave” and more able to be present.

LINDA MOORE

Age: 50

Occupation: Medical receptionist

Daily social media use: 2 hours

Best bit: I watched more TV in the evening.

Hardest part: For me, social media isn’t the most important thing, so restricting it wasn’t the problem. But as it has become such a normal part of my life, it was difficult to remember to leave the phone alone when I was bored.

Most surprising: I found myself, purely out of habit, reaching for my phone or laptop to scroll through Facebook.

Will you make any changes?

No. I spend a fair amount of time scrolling through Facebook but I don’t see that as a problem. It’s a great way to keep up with friends.

Adams says: As someone who grew up in the pre-social media era, it was interesting to see Linda didn’t feel out of the loop when she limited her use.

CLAIRE NASS

Age: 29

Occupation: Registered nurse

Daily social media use: 2 hours

Best bit: I read more of my book and I enjoyed not having my phone on me all the time.

Hardest part: Feeling out of the loop [by not checking Facebook].

Most surprising: I found the time before bed more relaxing because I wasn’t looking at my phone.

Will you make any changes?

Yes. Social media isn’t the first thing I think of when I reach for my phone now.

Adams says: Reducing her social media use helped Claire to improve her outlook on life.

HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?

“There’s no ‘right’ amount of social media time, as everyone is different,” Adams says. But there are clues that your use might be getting out of control:

PRODUCTIVITY SUFFERS

Your online life is causing you to fall behind at work, study or in daily chores.

RELATIONSHIPS ARE AFFECTED

Real-life relationships are being neglected in favour of your online crew. For example, checking Facebook and ignoring your kids.

LACKING SLEEP

Social media keeps you up until the wee hours, and you suffer the next day.

SOCIAL DISTRACTION

It is becoming impossible to sit through a conversation or meal without checking your phone.

LOSING TIME

You have every intention of just checking in but then still being on social media hours later.

FEELING BAD

Social media is making you feel negative about your body or achievements.

6 TIPS FOR KICKING THE HABIT

1. Write down all the social media you’re using.

2. For each type of social media, ask yourself if your use is mainly fun, productive or habitual.

3. Keep enjoying checking in with the fun and productive ones.

4. Cut down on the habitual ones. This could be by banning yourself from checking your phone while at the dinner table, for example.

5. Stay in tune with how your social media use is affecting your mood and get rid of anything that makes you feel down.

6. Cut your social media use down to 15 minutes each day for seven days, then decide how much time being “on social” suits you

[Source:-Daily Telegraph]

TS to have new sports policy

Telangana Government will soon come out with a new sports policy which could be the best in India in terms of encouraging everyone from coaches to athletes to physical education teachers, according to Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari.

Speaking at the felicitation function organised by Telangana Athletes Welfare Society under the stewardship of former national champion athlete P. Shankar in honour of athletics coach Nagapuri Ramesh and the chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopi Chand at Fateh Maidan Indoor Stadium, Mr. Srihari said it was a privilege to be present to honour a true Telangana son – Ramesh. “I didn’t know him till I read his name as one of the recipients of Dronacharya Award recently. Entire Telangana is proud of him being the first Dronacharya in the newly formed State,” Srihari remarked. “We have all seen how Gopi from his Academy has been producing champions with the kind of commitment which is adorable. It is a fact that sports has been neglected for long both by the Central and the State governments and that is the reason we are not producing too many Olympic medallists,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.

“Yes, there have to be lot of sacrifices by all involved in the sports – including officials, athletes and coaches – to produce champions. Keeping in view the needs and aspirations of the sports fraternity, the State Government is in the process of drafting a new sports policy which should usher in a new era,” Mr. Srihari remarked.

Replying to the felicitations, Ramesh recalled his journey from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Warangal when he had to stop dreaming big in athletics because of an injury and focus on coaching.

“I am fortunate to be blessed by all the seniors in my formative days and later to have worked with the likes of VVS Laxman, Gopi, Mukesh Kumar. My stint in the then AP Sports School in Hakimpet near here helped me producing quality athletes like Shankar, Sathi Geetha, Samaiah, Mrudula to name a few,” he said. “But, I must say the results were possible because of the hard work they had put in,” he added. “My only plea to the State Government is to recognise the efforts and services of the coaches from the junior grade level to encourage them to dream big and produce results on bigger stages,” Ramesh remarked. “The other key segment is PETs who should be given a new different direction and made to play a lead role in shaping young talent from school level,” he said.

Gopi, who was also felicitated, said he was really glad that Ramesh got the Dronacharya Award. “I wish there are many more coaches like him in all disciplines,” he said.

[Source:-The Hindu]

Nude photos: 6 social media mistakes that will ruin your career

In this day and age, nearly everyone has a Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn account. People regularly share photos, status updates and information about their lives on the Internet. But could your everyday social media posts destroy your career? Here are the five social media mistakes experts say you need to stop making:

Lying about your sick days: “Posting pictures of yourself in a pub when you called in coughing and hacking, pretending to be sick is pretty much going to get you written up or fired,” warns Kimberli Taylor, a paralegal and office manager.

Nude photos: Imagine your future employer seeing your nudes on social media! Well you will never get that job. Even vulgar posts can put you in trouble, like the case of the Kenya Airports Authority employee whose graphic post on Facebook could have been interpreted to reveal tendencies of a paedophile.

Lack of social media presence: “The worst thing an applicant for a job on my team can do is NOT have any social presence. Are you hiding something? Just not that into other people? Not technically savvy? That’s what your absence is preaching,” says one senior manager.

Bashing your past employers: The worst thing to find on a job applicant’s social media accounts is anything negative about a previous or current employer. So either stay positive or post nothing at all. Nothing is accomplished in posting negatively online.

Poor grammar: “To me, poor grammar implies a complete lack of regard for detail,” said Jessica Green, founding director of Cursive PR .So, revise your posts before making them public.

Drinking and profanity: You can have a few unflattering photos on your social media, but not a profile picture of you doing a keg stand.

[Source:-SDE]

Off The Campaign Trail, Onto The Gridiron: 5 Sports Books For Fall

Fall sports season is kicking off — and we’ve got some good reads to go with it. Getty Images/Mint Images RF hide caption

toggle caption Getty Images/Mint Images RF

Fall sports season is kicking off — and we’ve got some good reads to go with it.

Getty Images/Mint Images RF

Election year or not, nothing says fall like football and basketball — and while politics may dominate the public consciousness, there are a lot of people flipping the channel to sports for a respite from that kind of action.

As a long-suffering Miami Dolphins fan, I’m preparing myself for more of the same: Exhilarating leads that go swiftly to hell in the closing moments of the fourth quarter. And as far as my Miami Heat are concerned, I’ll be surprised if we even make the playoffs in 2017. At the very least, there are books — yeah, books — to help wash some of the pain away. But let me not cry you a river. Instead, here are five books that will be a welcome treat for readers and sports fans.

Boys Among Men: How the Prep-to-Pro Generation Redefined the NBA and Sparked a Basketball Revolution

by Jonathan Abrams

•

Hardcover, 326 pages, Random House Inc, $28, published March 15 2016 | purchase

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Title: Boys Among Men
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Author: Jonathan Abrams

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One of the most fascinating reads of the year, Boys Among Men takes a deep dive into the lives and careers of a special group of basketball prodigies, specifically those who made the leap into the NBA straight out of high school between 1995 and 2005. From Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant to Dwight Howard and LeBron James, there is no shortage of illuminating anecdotes. Award-winning basketball writer and former Grantland staffer Jonathan Abrams ignites every page with clear, fine-tuned prose and analysis. In addition to never-heard-before stories Abrams got through interviews with some of the NBA’s most elite athletes, there are details into some of this generation’s “busts” — players like Kwame Brown, who was drafted by the Washington Wizards in 2001. Brown was the first number one draft pick to be selected straight out of high school, but, like many others before him, he fell short of the glory. Boys Among Men is a fresh and heartbreaking account of what happens when teenagers put it on the line and go hard at the big boys.

God Is Round: Tackling the Giants, Villains, Triumphs, and Scandals of the World’s Favorite Game

by Juan Villoro

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Paperback, 255 pages, Restless Books, $16.99, published April 19 2016 | purchase

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Title: God Is Round
Subtitle: Tackling the Giants, Villains, Triumphs, and Scandals of the World’s Favorite Game
Author: Juan Villoro

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In God is Round, the respected Mexican writer and journalist Juan Villoro crafts one of the most enthralling books on soccer in years. Translated by Thomas Bunstead, God is Round is something of a love letter to the world’s most beloved game — which, given its international popularity, Villoro calls “football” rather than “soccer.” Villoro weaves the lyrical and the journalistic with the rhythm of a poet, taking a novelistic approach to the writing, and offering insights into the larger complexities of the game. By looking at sports, Villoro writes, “we can understand behaviors that relate to how we express and give in to our emotions in contemporary society.”

Writings on the Wall: Searching for a New Equality Beyond Black and White

by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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Hardcover, 245 pages, Time Home Entertainment Inc, $27.95, published August 23 2016 | purchase

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Title: Writings on the Wall
Subtitle: Searching for a New Equality Beyond Black and White
Author: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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While most sports fans know Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as a Hall of Fame basketball star and six-time NBA Most Valuable Player, he’s much more than that. Since retiring from the court in 1989, Abdul-Jabbar has worked with the NBA in several different capacities, as well as becoming a widely revered writer, journalist, and activist. In the straightforward but engagingly-writtenWritings on the Wall, Abdul-Jabbar tackles topics like sports, politics, parenthood, and the Black experience in America. WhileWritings on the Wall is not wholly a sports book, Abdul-Jabbar’s keen insights into the world of sports — one chapter demands to know, “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?” — and their meaning in broader culture are worth investigating.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal: The Lives and Careers of Two Tennis Legends

by Sebastian Fest

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Title: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal
Subtitle: The Lives and Careers of Two Tennis Legends
Author: Sebastian Fest

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Everyone loves a great sports rivalry; they inspire intense levels of excitement, debate, and anticipation among fans. Muhammad Ali versus Joe Frazier, Magic Johnson versus Larry Bird, Serena Williams versus Venus Williams — and then there’s the decade-long competition between tennis gods Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, which ultimately made each a sharper, more well-rounded player. In a new book, translated by Don McGinnis, Argentine author and sportswriter Sebastián Fest delves into the match-up that has come to define one of the best eras of tennis. “Neither of them are military men,” Fest writes. “But the metaphor is especially valid for defining their styles of play. There are variations, yes, but the pattern is basically thus: from Nadal’s side bombs are dropped, and from Federer’s sector missiles are returned.”

Forward

by Abby Wambach

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Hardcover, 230 pages, HarperCollins, $26.99, published September 13 2016 | purchase

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Title: Forward
Author: Abby Wambach

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In her new memoir, soccer star, coach, and two-time Olympic gold medalist Abby Wambach tells the story of her struggles on the field and off, including a battle with alcohol and prescription drugs. She also sheds light on a competitive upbringing alongside six siblings: “Even manners are a contest. It is widely acknowledged that the Wambach kids are the nicest and best behaved in all of Pittsford.” Wambach has built a reputation as one who never bites her tongue, and in this lucid and wrenching debut, she remains true to that. In chapters like “Lesbian,” “Tomboy,” and “Addict,” she gives readers a piece of her mind on things like gender equality, drugs and alcohol, and her divorce from longtime partner and former teammate Sarah Huffman. With 184 goals, Wambach is the all-time leading career scorer on the U.S. women’s national team, and Forward puts that achievement in context with painful and beautiful candor.

[Source:-NPR]

Bo Burnham talks Netflix special, blasts social media

Bo Burnham started putting comedy videos on YouTube back in 2006, when he was just 16. They went viral, and today, Burnham is regarded as the first YouTube star as well as one of the most talented comedians of our time.

But Burnham is also an outspoken critic of the medium that boosted him to the top, reports “CBS This Morning: Saturday” co-host Anthony Mason.

“Do you think of yourself as a comedian?” Mason asked.

“Yeah, totally, I do. I think of myself as a writer-performer, yeah, that’s funny, yeah,” Burnham said.

Burnham has rewritten what it means to do standup in the internet age, combining a theater background with satirical comedic songwriting. He’s been honing his craft for 10 years with the World Wide Web watching.

When Burnham first began posting on YouTube, it was merely to share it with his brother, who was in college.

“It was like a digital snail mail. It wasn’t about anything happening career-wise, and then it just sort of happened and I fell into this weird thing,” Burnham said.

“How quickly did you see it happen?” Mason asked.

“Well like virally it just happens. I mean it got like a million hits in a day and you have you know, 20,000 comments, and your life doesn’t change at all in any way, but… it’s severely, severely weird,” Burnham said.

Burnham’s first video of him singing a satirical song, “My whole family thinks I’m gay” — released when he was just 16 years old — was viewed nine million times. He would release 12 more over the next 18 months alone. Burnham began touring on the weekends while still in high school, opening for comedians like Joel McHale. He skipped college at New York University to pursue comedy full-time.

“There was a distance between what I was interested in, which was theater, and what I was doing, which was standing up and telling silly songs,” Burnham said. “And I think the last six years has been me trying to bridge that gap to bring the elements of theater that I love into my standup act.”

From his parents’ attic, Burnham landed a four-album deal with Comedy Central, becoming the youngest comic to have his own special. By age 19, he was appearing alongside comedians like Garry Shandling, Judd Apatow and Ray Romano.

Now 26, Burnham’s already a veteran stage performer. He said the idea behind his shows is to give his audience “the things that great musicals or concerts give you in the context of a comedy show.”

“I like the idea of conceiving a show and putting on a show, and especially when I got to the place where I could play theaters,” Burnham said. “I wanted a show that could fill a theater, show that actually — because I went to see comedians in theaters that I loved, and I was in the back row and it’s just this person… and I’m like, I might as well be listening to a CD with 1,200 other people. Like I love the spaces of these things and I want a show that can fill that.”

Burnham’s latest special, “Make Happy,” was released on Netflix in June. It explores the conventions of being a modern-day performer. He explained that there’s a “very strange relationship” between people around his age and the idea of an audience.

“I mean just up until six years ago, this sort of floor fell out, and it felt like everyone was given an audience. It used to be famous people as like this bourgeois class, and then everyone normal,” Burnham said. “But at a certain point, like the floor fell out and then now it starts at like one ‘like’ and ends with Kim Kardashian. It feels like we’re all on this weird continuum. And I feel like people in the crowd relate to the idea of having an audience, of people watching them, of cultivating their own life, of performing their life on social media.”

But 10 years after becoming a viral sensation, Burnham now rages against the social media machine that propelled him to stardom.

“Facebook became ubiquitous when I was 16 so I vaguely formed a sense of myself, a little bit,” Burnham said. “I had kind of learned to think a little bit before the stuff was everywhere. But people that are 21 — that it happened when they were 12 and 13 I think they have absolutely no chance. People are now like a condensed version of a PR team… so you have artists that are 80 percent branding experts and 20 percent actually making things. And they’re kind of giving people like a steady stream of like an IV drop of mediocre stuff every week that is, you know, not going to last and ages like milk.”

“And you don’t want that?” Mason asked.

“I don’t want that and I had to endure that you know, between specials — we took like three years — and by year two I had people tweeting at me ‘Are you dead?’ ‘What happened to you?’ ‘Remember him?’” Burnham said. “And it’s like you can’t take two years to make something. That’s what I worry the most, because I felt the pressure myself… not because I’m above it, it’s because I felt it. For young people creating things, I really worry that to make something good no matter what, it takes retreating away, making something, working on it, refining it, and then giving it to people. And that process has just been obliterated.”

“Because you can broadcast anywhere, anytime, anything. There is this unquenchable appetite for somebody to just keep putting stuff out,” Mason said.

“Absolutely, but I’m of the belief that one hour of something that I worked on for three years is better than 80 hours of things that I worked on for three years that I put out in little chunks, that you just have to be patient,” Burnham said. “I know, I sound like my grandfather… but I think a lot of people feel that way. That’s like the whole point of social media is that like, it’s used and hated. Everyone’s on Facebook, everyone hates it. Everyone’s on Twitter, everyone hates it. Everyone thinks everyone else is being lame on Twitter and they’re being lame because they have to be. It’s like, ‘No, we’re all being lame because we have to be.’ Because it’s horrible.”

[Source:-CBS news]