TTIMES WORLD: Today's News Report

Thursday, November 21, 2024
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Rating Corporate Video Conferencing Apps
Who is Still Toping the List

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As the race to improve and develop the next generation of Video conferencing Apps heats up, so does

the goal to make it widely available every where. Yet those who are setting better standards for top companies to maintain high resolution and effective support to staff needs in the industry are shaping out to be those who have been around in the technology development for some time, but some new players are making a stamp of progress. Here are the top list as we see it in the industry today


1. GoToMeeting

2. Zoom Meeting

3. Microsoft Teams

4. Blue Jeans

5. Ring Central

6. Intermedia Any Meeting

7. U Meeting

8. Lifesize


The advances in cloud technology means that reliable video conferencing has become accessible and affordable, and can easily serve the modern workplace. This has become especially essential during the current pandemic.

Video conferencing has  enabled many businesses to continue to operate by allowing employees to work from home, using conferencing solutions for meetings and updates, as well as general communications.

Additionally, with increasing concerns about the carbon cost of travel to the environment, it makes sense for companies to seek to continue to communicate face-to-face online rather than indulge in the wasteful cost to the business and environment in having face-to-face meetings in a single location.

However, the same video conferencing software and apps available for business are also available to home users, for keeping up with friends and family. Often the same video conferencing providers will cover both business and home users.

We've therefore covered the best video conferencing software apps - both paid-for and free, and linked through to reviews we've recently carried out.

We've also featured:

Making Your Kid Bully Proof
How A Brazilian Ancient Art Jiu-Jitsu can Help

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How BJJ Can Help Make Your Kids Bully Proof

 

 

Bullying is a common problem in schools these days. No matter how strict the administration or the community is supportive, the bullies aren’t going anywhere. Bullying can be the worst nightmare for every parent. Getting to know that your child is a bully is even worse than knowing that your child is being bullied at school.

 

The problem of bullying is not only related to schools anymore. It can happen in your backyard, the playground, or anywhere that you can imagine. Thousands of kids suffer from bullying every day. It might sound bad but if your kids don’t know how to defend themselves then they have more chances of being bullied.

 

Bullies don’t care about the age of kids, they can even bully someone who just started going to school. Not only this, but bullying is also an emerging problem in high schools and even universities. 

 

If you are worried about the safety of your kids and wish that they always stay safe from the evil eyes of bullies then you don’t have to worry because that’s where jiu-jitsu steps in.

Top Negative Impacts of Bullying

●       Kids Can’t Trust Anyone In Their Lives

 

Children at school are often bullied by someone who they used to know well. The bullies get to know the weaker side of someone and they are more likely to use it against them. You might not notice it in the early ages but once the kids reach their teenage years, the deep-seated mistrust for people starts to grow.

●       Impacts Kid’s Ability To Learn

 

The kids who are bullied face a hard time learning something, they can’t focus on their studies because they are constantly thinking about how they can be bullied next. Bullying affects the brain receptors negatively. It can lead to the inability to maintain concentration and eventually depression

●       Increase In School Drop Outs

 

When kids are constantly being bullied at school then they are more likely to give up on studies and drop out of school. An increase in school dropouts will eventually result in increasing crimes, illiteracy, and joblessness.

●       Leads To Depression and Even Suicide

 

This is the worst outcome of bullying, kids can end up in severe depression if they are bullied continuously and no one can step in for their help. Depression is a serious mental illness that can have adverse impacts on the overall health of kids. Initially, depressions can lead to drug abuse. But, it can also lead to suicide. Bullies never realize that something they are doing for the sake of fun can end up ending someone’s life.

 

Benefits of BJJ Against Bullying

 

BJJ steps in to empower your kids with physical strength and unshakable confidence so they can effectively deal with bullies. Jiu-jitsu teaches to overcome bullies without violence but don’t hesitate to use it when violence is the only option left. So, don’t wait and grab a top-of-the-line BJJ Gi for kids and get them ready to roll on the mat.

Fighting Without Violence

 

Most of the martial art programs out there rely on striking punches, kicks, knees, and whatever is possible.  But, BJJ teaches children to deal with confrontations without losing their cool. It allows using non-violent techniques for neutralizing the threat and gaining control.

 

Jiu-jitsu prepares your kids to deal with bullies without actually being a bully themselves. It focuses on discipline, responsibility as well as respect. The kids are always told not to use force until it’s the last option they have got.

Effective Self-Defense Skills

 

Jiu-jitsu is a self-defensive martial art by its nature. Self-defense is something that will be beneficial for your kids in all walks of life. It’s not only effective for dealing with bullies but also boosts their confidence and gives you total peace of mind knowing that your kids can walk down the street without being bothered by anyone.

Develops Unshakable Confidence

 

Bullies are most likely to target those kids who lack self-confidence. Jiu-jitsu is effective for developing confidence in children. BJJ practitioners have confidence in themselves that whenever they face any harsh situations, they will be able to defend themselves. It also teaches children to get comfortable with their bodies. Bullies will never engage with a child that is confident because they know that they could give bullies a hard time.

Protecting Their Peers

 

If your kids have developed the right BJJ skills then they can even protect their peers from bullying. It allows kids to be leaders and helpers. Rather than becoming a bystander and seeing someone being bullied, they take action to stop bullying. BJJ is the only tool your kids will never need to become bully-proof. So, take a step now and enroll your kids in any nearby jiu-jitsu academy.

 

 

 

 

 

History Guide Afro Beat Music
What is Known as Afrobeat

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What Is Afrobeat? 

By Master Class

Afrobeat is a music genre that fuses African music with Black American influences to produce a compelling hybrid of culture and sound. The genre is largely the creation of Nigerian artist Fela Kuti who, with his band Africa 70, forged a rhythmic mix of West African beats (predominantly Nigerian and Ghanaian) and American jazz, soul, and funk, which was shot through with a potent streak of political awareness.

Kuti’s music lit the fuse for Afrobeat, and the torch was carried forward by a mix of African artists, like Kuti’s former drummer, Tony Allen. In the West, performers Brian Eno and David Byrne from The Talking Heads drew on Afrobeat for their groundbreaking album Remain in Light (1980). Listeners can still hear Kuti’s influence in the music of his sons, Femi Kuti and Seun Kuti, and modern Western bands like the Grammy-winning Antibalas.

Afrobeat music is frequently labeled as Afrobeats, an umbrella term for a far-ranging music scene from West Africa and the United Kingdom, which incorporates many popular music styles. The two sounds share only a common heritage.

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A Brief History of Afrobeat

The history of Afrobeat began in the early twentieth century when musicians from Ghana combined West African regional music with Western jazz and calypso. The resulting new sound became known as highlife, which continued to fold additional Western influences into its heady mix over the next few decades.

  • Kuti and Africa 70 carve out the sound: Nigerian musician Fela Aníkúlápó-Kuti, who began his career playing in an array of African highlife and jazz bands, absorbed the sounds of soul, jazz, soca, and rhythm and blues during various tours of America and the United Kingdom. He then unleashed this formidable creation in his band, Nigeria 70 (later Africa 70), debuting his unique new musical style in the early 1970s.
  • Development of the core sound and politics: With their debut album, Zombie, Kuti and Africa 70 established the core sound of Afrobeat, which freely mixed jazz and highlife with the epic funk of James Brown, reggae and Caribbean rhythm, and psychedelic rock. Kuti sang over tracks in English and Yoruba, leading the band on saxophone, keyboards, and other instruments. He also lent Afrobeat a political side by criticizing the human rights records of Nigeria and the United States on record and in his marathon live performances.
  • Continuation under Egypt 80: Kuti remained a major artist in Africa and abroad until his death in 1997; his son Seun renamed the band Egypt 80 and continued to record and perform, as did Seun’s brother, Femi, who enjoyed a degree of popularity similar to that of his father.
  • Afrofunk is born: The most successful figure from Kuti’s orbit was undoubtedly drummer Tony Allen, who expanded on the Afrobeat sound by mixing in elements of hip-hop, dub, and electronica to form a new subgenre called Afrofunk. Allen enjoyed even wider exposure than his former bandleader through collaborations with Air, Zap Mama, and Damon Albarn of Blur, among others.
  • Crossover influence: The work of Fela Kuti and Allen was the bedrock of Afrobeat, but jazz musicians like Roy Ayers also recorded Afrobeat-inspired music in the 1970s. Ayers toured Nigeria with the elder Kuti in the late ’70s. Contemporary artists like Antibalas and Zongo Junction—both hailing from Brooklyn, New York— have carved careers out of the Afrobeat sound. Mainstream rock and soul bands, like TV on the Radio and the Budos Band, have also recorded songs with an Afrobeat flavor.

3 Common Afrobeat Characteristics

Several characteristics define the sound of Afrobeat, including:

  1. 1. Large bands: The Afrobeat recordings of Fela Kuti and sons Femi and Seun typically feature a large orchestra-style band, not unlike James Brown’s JBs or Parliament-Funkadelic. The brass and rhythm section can be sizable: Africa 70 often featured two musicians on bass and two baritone saxophones, while two guitars handled the melody.
  2. 2. Political lyrics: Commentary on African and world politics is a staple of Afrobeat, especially in the music of Fela Kuti and Nigerian musician Lágbájá. Afrobeat music sought to inspire listeners to activism by pointing out societal and governmental issues.
  3. 3. Language and structure: Afrobeat songs are typically sung in West African languages, though Kuti sang in English and Yoruba. Many Afrobeat songs have time structures and lengths more common to jazz or fusion than pop or rock: Kuti often filled an entire album side with a single song.

3 Notable Afrobeat Artists

Here are a few notable artists whose contributions to the genre have helped define it:

  1. 1. Fela Kuti: The primary architect of Afrobeat, Fela Kuti and his band Africa 70 defined the sprawling scope and relentlessly funky sound of the genre from the early 1960s until his death in 1997. His life and music were the basis for the Tony-winning musical Fela!
  2. 2. Femi Kuti: Like his father, Femi Kuti mixed the hard swing of Afrobeat with political activism for his own celebrated and Grammy-nominated career. He began with Egypt 80 before launching his group, Positive Force, in 1988 and has remained active as a recording and touring artist. Femi has collaborated with numerous Western musicians, including Common, Nile Rodgers, and D’Angelo.
  3. 3. Tony Allen: Drummer Tony Allen recorded more than 30 albums with Fela Kuti and helped define the hard-driving rhythm of Afrobeat. He recorded numerous solo albums and laid down the beat for The Good, the Bad, & the Queen, a supergroup featuring Damon Albarn, the Clash’s Paul Simonon, and Simon Tong, before his death in 2020.

What Are the Differences Between Afrobeat and Afrobeats?

Afrobeat and Afrobeats are predominantly distinct in sound and genre. Afrobeat is a mix of African music and American soul and jazz. On the other hand, Afrobeats, also known as Afropop, is a loose affiliation of popular music that draws on African and Western music, including juju, dancehall, soca, Naija beats, house, and hiplife, a Ghanian take on hip-hop.

Afrobeats artists like Wizkid, Mr. Eazi, D’banj, Burna Boy, and Davido are featured on numerous popular playlists on music streaming platforms. They have influenced or collaborated with Western pop music artists like Beyonce, Drake, and Chris Brown.

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James Taylor and Carole King the Story Behind their Big Hit
You've Got a Friend

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Legendary singer-songwriters James Taylor and Carole King, friends and collaborators for more than 50 years, are two of the most successful musicians in American musical history.

Taylor’s confessional lyrics, soulful voice and delicate guitar-playing resonated with audiences. King started as a songwriter, making a long list of chart-toppers for other artists that became instant classics. She broke out with her own style in her 1971 album “Tapestry,” which became a worldwide success, selling more than 25 million copies.

Here is the duo’s biggest hits and the story behind the song.

“You’ve Got a Friend”


King composed “You’ve Got a Friend,” which she said was a song that quickly wrote itself. Taylor heard it the next day and knew the tune was going to be a hit.

“As soon as I heard it, I was just like, man, that’s just it. That’s a great, great song,” recalled Taylor.

At the time, King was recording her own album, but she allowed Taylor to have the first crack at it and he released the song as a single on his own album.

“It was extraordinary,” Taylor said of King’s generous act of friendship.

“Hearing [Taylor’s] rendition of it for the first time, it was like oh my God. It’s perfect,” said King.

Taylor recorded it and won a Grammy for best pop vocal performance in 1971. The song shot to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 100.

During their Troubadour Reunion Tour in 2010, Taylor and King played the song together, King on the piano and Taylor on the guitar.

“After I play ‘You’ve Got a Friend,’ tears are streaming down their faces, and then for that 5 minutes and 12 seconds everybody is getting along,” said King.

Americans Are Uniquely Screwed
When Buying Prescription Drugs

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Americans Are Uniquely Screwed
When Buying Prescription Drug medications. Medicine in the U.S. costs much more than in any other comparable countries, due largely to the U.S.' dysfunctional health care system.


According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, people in the U.S. spend more per capita on medicine than any other surveyed OECD country by large margins, at around $1,000 a year per person. The next closest country is Canada at roughly $771 per year, and many other wealthy countries spend less than half of what the U.S. does on a per capita basis.

Part of the reason U.S. consumers pay so much for their drugs is a lack of bargaining power. Other countries with universal health care systems negotiate the price of prescription medication with pharmaceutical companies. But in the U.S., only Medicaid and the Department of Veterans Affairs can do so, leaving Medicare out. Instead, Medicare drug prices are negotiated by insurance companies, which have much less leverage to bring down the price of drugs.

The situation is further complicated by a lack of competition in certain drug markets. Twenty-year patent rights for most newly developed drugs ensure many newer treatments remain expensive and unavailable in generic forms.

These factors, along with several others, combine to lead to Americans paying, on average, much more for the same prescription drugs than any other comparable country.

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