Tag Archives: March 2023

Front Page: The New York Times – March 15, 2023

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Russian Warplane Hits American Drone Over Black Sea, U.S. Says

The MQ-9 Reaper drone is a staple of the United States’ military air fleet and is used both for surveillance and for attacks.

The incident was the first known physical contact between the two militaries since the war in Ukraine began last year.

Stubborn inflation makes the Fed’s interest rate decision fraught.

CREDIT

The Consumer Price Index cooled to a 6 percent annual increase in February, but a closely watched monthly index climbed quickly.

Inside the Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank

While its leader extolled innovation and the future of tech, the bank paid less attention to risk management and was caught flat-footed by economic change.

How Washington Decided to Rescue Silicon Valley Bank

Officials were initially unsure about the need for the measures they eventually announced to shore up the financial system, but changed their minds quickly.

Travel: The Historic Trans-Bhutan Trail Is Reopened

BBC News (March 14, 2023) – Once the lifeline of Bhutan, the 403km Trans-Bhutan Trail connected the affluent western districts of Haa to the remote far eastern Trashigang. The trail dates back to the 16th Century, and was used by monarchs, traders, pilgrims and messengers for hundreds of years, but fell into disuse soon after Bhutan developed its highway in the 1960s. Now, more than 60 years later, the historic trail has reopened.

Trans Bhutan Trail
A local walks in a field in Paro; 70 percent of the kingdom is covered with greenery.

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Views: 2023 Sony World Photography Awards

Discover the results of the Sony World Photography Awards 2023 Open competition which awards the best single contemporary images.
Sony World Photography Awards 2023 open horse
Zhenhuan Zhou/Sony World Photography Awards 2023; Motion category

Sony World Photography Awards 2023 open wildlife
Dinorah Graue Obscura/Sony World Photography Awards 2023; Natural World & Wildlife category
Jordi Coy/Sony World Photography Awards 2023; Landscape category
Bing Li/Sony World Photography Awards 2023; Landscape category

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News: U.S. Banking Failure Fallout, Moldova Foils Russian-Backed Unrest

March 14, 2023: Following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, is Joe Biden facing a crisis of confidence in US financial institutions?

Plus: political turbulence in Moldova, Nicaragua’s decision to suspend relations with the Vatican and a special interview with Estonia’s former president Toomas Hendrik Ilves.

Front Page: The New York Times – March 14, 2023

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Regional Banks Slammed by Fear of a Broader Financial Crisis

Across the country, banks of various sizes are battling market turmoil as customers rushed to withdraw their deposits and investors, worried about more bank runs, dumped bank stocks.

Back-to-Back Bank Collapses Came After Deregulatory Push

On Sunday, regulators shut down Signature Bank, fearing that a sudden exodus of deposits had left it on dangerous footing.

Officials with Signature and Silicon Valley banks, which regulators seized in recent days, called for looser financial requirements for midsize banks.

Federal Reserve’s Path Is Murkier After Bank Blowup

The Fed has been rapidly raising interest rates to fight inflation. But making big moves could be trickier amid instability.

‘Russia Outside Russia’: For Elite, Dubai Becomes a Wartime Harbor

In the exclusive neighborhoods and palatial shopping malls of the United Arab Emirates’ biggest city, wealthy Russians can build a new life without having to cut ties to their home country.

Heart Health: Cardiology Magazine – March 2023

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CARDIOLOGY MAGAZINE – MARCH 2023 ISSUE:

The Triple Whammy: Obesity, Diabetes and Sleep-Disordered Breathing and Their Impact on CVD

MARCH 2023

“It’s extremely important we as health care professionals address diabetes, poor sleep and poor sleep hygiene, and obesity as they are modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease,” says Nishant P. Shah, MD, FACC, a preventive cardiologist at Duke Heart Center, Duke University School of Medicine, in Durham, NC.

Obesity, diabetes and sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) are considered to be extant and growing public health crises. A wealth of information links these conditions to each other and to increased morbidity, reduced quality of life and death. While managing these conditions that often occur together may be challenging for patients and clinicians, successfully addressing them represents a real opportunity to reduce cardiovascular disease and prevent cardiovascular events.

READ CARDIOLOGY MAGAZINE DIGITAL ISSUE ONLINE

Opinion: Avoiding War In Taiwan, Mystery Of Dead Britons, Office Irritations

March 13, 2023: A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, how to avoid war over Taiwan, the mystery of 250,000 dead Britons (9:50) and the small consolations of office irritations (18:20).

Aging: 34% Of The Elderly Feel ‘Socially Isolated’

Changes in feelings of social isolation, 2018-2023

In 2023, one in three adults age 50–80 (34%) reported feeling isolated from others (29% some of the time, 5% often) in the past year. This represents a marked decline compared with the 56% (43% some of the time, 13% often) who felt isolated in 2020, but a greater proportion than the 27% (22% some of the time, 5% often) who reported feeling isolated in 2018.

National Poll On Healthy Aging (March 2023) – More than one in three older adults (37%) reported feeling a lack of companionship (29% some of the time, 8% often) in the past year, compared with 41% (32% some of the time, 9% often) in 2020, and 34% (26% some of the time, 8% often) in 2018.

One in three older adults (33%) reported infrequent contact (once a week or less) with people from outside their home in 2023 (14% once a week, 10% every 2–3 weeks, 9% once a month or less). This rate of infrequent contact was significantly less than the 46% reported in 2020 (19% once a week, 11% every 2–3 weeks, 16% once a month or less), but higher than the 28% reported in 2018 (15% once a week, 7% every 2–3 weeks, 6% once a month or less).

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Cover: Claremont Review Of Books – Spring 2023

Claremont Review of Books

Claremont Review of Books (Spring 2023):

He Could Spellbind and Slay

He Could Spellbind and Slay

Is Willmoore Kendall’s constitutional morality still possible?

One King to Rule Them All

One King to Rule Them All

Cyrus should be counted among history’s greatest men.

Remembering the Answers

Remembering the Answers

Lamenting the death of the 

Italy Travel: The ‘Via Di Linari’ Pilgrimage Route

Emilia Romagna Tourism (March 13, 2023) – Walking along the Via di Linari, an ancient pilgrimage route towards Rome (alternative to the Via Francigena) which connects Fidenza to the Linari Abbey, a religious settlement that once stood on the mountain ridge between Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna.

It was established as a safer route to Tuscany compared to the Via Francigena, and it soon became an important road both for pilgrims on their way to Rome and as a trade route for the city of Parma. Like the  St Vicinio Way, the Linari Way was dotted with parish churches and hospitalia, places where travellers could find shelter from the elements and bandits.