Amazon has bowed to pressure from the United Arab Emirates and restricted searches related to LGBTQ products in the country. The online retailer has blocked searches for more than 150 keywords such as “lgbtq” and “pride”, while searches for specific books about gay and transgender issues have also been restricted. Documents leaked to the New York Times showed that the Emirati government had given Amazon until Friday to comply with its order or face repercussions. The company said that while it supported gay and transgender rights, it always complied with local laws in the countries where it operates. Amazon has spent heavily to build a business in the UAE, acquiring the country’s biggest online retailer Souq.com in 2017 for $580m (£478m). Many other multinational tech giants have been forced to compromise on the values they claim to support to operate internationally. In 2016, Apple removed a lesbian couple from a Mother’s Day advert in some markets, and in 2019 Netflix … [Read more...] about Amazon blocks LGBTQ searches in UAE after political pressure
Pulling force
Joe Biden’s policies: The President’s views on Covid-19, immigration and the environment
Joe Biden won the US presidential election – with running mate Kamala Harris – after receiving the most votes of any US candidate in history. It is widely expected that Biden will roll the clock back as much as possible to January 2017, when he and Barack Obama left office. Biden wasted no time signing executive orders , with his official schedule for January 20 showing he set aside 30 minutes in the afternoon to begin that process. Biden signed 17 orders and actions just hours after being sworn in as US leader to break from policies of departing President Donald Trump and set new paths on immigration, the environment, fighting Covid-19 and the economy. In first-day moves, he ended Trump’s much-assailed ban on visitors from several majority-Muslim countries and halted construction of the wall that Trump ordered on the US-Mexico border to stem illegal immigration. He also set a mask mandate on federal properties to stem the spread of Covid-19; restored protections of … [Read more...] about Joe Biden’s policies: The President’s views on Covid-19, immigration and the environment
Kwasi Kwarteng: from ‘Britannia Unchained’ to shackling business
Damascene conversions happen all the time in politics. Winston Churchill was once a high-flying Liberal, but ended up as the mightiest Conservative Prime Minister. The Gang of Four split with the Labour party to form the SDP in the early 1980s. But sometimes strategic or ideological u-turns can happen almost by accident. The current Government, for example, is packed with free marketeers boasting impeccable libertarian credentials that are heading the most interventionist, high-spending administration since the Second World War. How did this happen? Partly it is the understandable result of Covid emergency measures. But it also appears to be influencing longer-term strategy. One of the most dramatic conversions may well be that of Kwasi Kwarteng, who was appointed as Business Secretary last month . Once known for his trenchant economic liberalism, as a co-author of the 2012 book Britannia Unchained , the newly-elevated cabinet minister's short tenure has been marked by a … [Read more...] about Kwasi Kwarteng: from ‘Britannia Unchained’ to shackling business
From chronic back pain to bad posture… the little known muscle that could be to blame – and how to stretch it
IF you’re one of the millions of people in the UK that suffers with chronic back pain, a weak core, digestive problems or bad posture - then a little know muscle could be to blame. The psoas muscle, pronounced so-ass, connects the spine to the top of the legs. It allows us to bend our legs towards our chest, assists in moving the leg forward when we walk or run and enables us to bend over. Sitting too long and make it tight, but activities like running, walking, cycling and even standing for too long can also make it strained. But as it's also connected to your fight or flight response - so the muscle will contract due to emotional or physical stresses. So whether you’ve had a car accident, a bad fall or suffered a bereavement your psoas will tighten. When you don’t release your psoas, it remains contracted and the end result is pain in your back. If it becomes too tight it can pull the pelvis forwards creating increased strain on the lower back and … [Read more...] about From chronic back pain to bad posture… the little known muscle that could be to blame – and how to stretch it