‘It is devastating’: the millennials who would love to have kids – but can’t afford a family
People need to stop telling me to ‘just get on with it’ if I want to have children,” Jen Cleary says, clearly exasperated. “Most of my generation simply cannot afford to. Being childless is out of my hands and it is a devastating and frustrating reality.” Cleary, a 35-year-old former teacher, is recounting how financial precariousness means that her dream of having a family may never come true. It is an experience that many millennials – defined roughly as those born between 1981 and 1996 – have encountered.
Facebook whistleblower behind major leak is going to testify in Europe
LONDON — The Facebook whistleblower who leaked internal company research showing that Instagram can be harmful for teens is set to testify in Europe. Hot on the heels of her appearance in Congress, Frances Haugen is now set to give evidence to lawmakers in British Parliament, according to a statement released on Monday. She will appear in a parliamentary committee on Oct. 25, marking the first time she has given testimony in Europe, the statement said. Haugen, a former Facebook product manager, told a Senate panel last week that leadership at the company prioritizes “profits before people,” and called on lawmakers to intervene.
Covid: The UK is Europe’s virus hotspot – does it matter?
The rates certainly look troubling. Only a handful of countries, including Romania and Serbia, have higher infection levels than the UK. And compared with the big nations in western Europe, the numbers are significantly higher.
There is a variety of reasons for this. The UK – or rather England – was the first nation in Europe to fully unlock when it ended most Covid restrictions on 19 July. It was not until late August that an EU country – Denmark – followed suit.
Others, such as Norway, have only taken this step in recent weeks, while many have retained a significant number of measures, such as limits on large gatherings, Covid passports to enter bars and restaurants, social distancing and mandatory mask-wearing.
For example, in Germany and Italy there are still restrictions on large crowds at events like football matches. And in a number of nations, such as Spain, social distancing remains in schools as does wearing masks from the age of six.
The Ozy Media collapse, explained
Ozy Media raised $70m+ as the next great media startup. But it all collapsed after the NYT reported that its COO potentially committed securities fraud during a fundraising episode with Goldman Sachs.
A somewhat ironic clip from the featured video on Ozy Media’s YouTube page (Source: YouTube / Ozy Media)
A week ago, The New York Time’s Ben Smith published a shocking story: The COO of Ozy Media impersonated a YouTube executive in an effort to secure a $40m investment from Goldman Sachs.
Absurdly, the Ozy exec’s deception included the use of a voice modulator app. Goldman eventually reached out to YouTube and — when the parties uncovered the potential securities fraud — they contacted the FBI.
Ozy framed the episode as a “mental health issue” but the blowback from the report was immediate. On Friday, Ozy Media shut down.
Media startup Ozy shuts down after New York Times report raises concerns
Ozy, a digital media startup, is shutting down less than a week after a New York Times column raised questions about the organization’s claims of millions of viewers and readers, while also pointing out a potential case of securities fraud.
The story triggered canceled shows, an internal investigation, investor concern and high-level departures at the company.
An emailed statement Friday from Ozy Media’s board called it a company with many “world-class journalists and experienced professionals to whom we owe tremendous gratitude”. It said it was “with the heaviest of hearts that we must announce today that we are closing Ozy’s doors”.
IBPOC Digital Marketing Scholarship Announced
New scholarship aims to create opportunities within the rapidly growing field of digital marketing
With the support of Alacrity Canada, PlusROI Online Marketing is launching a Digital Marketing Scholarship for students or workers who are Indigenous, Black or People of Colour.
Support for successful applicants will include:
– Payment of any tuition fees for the Alacrity Digital Marketing Boot Camp (certain applicants may already qualify for fee coverage in this program).
– One on one career mentorship with the leaders at PlusROI Online Marketing, a 14 year old digital marketing agency doing work for clients around the globe.
– One on one meetings with PlusROI and JumpStart Web team members who are experts in various digital marketing fields.
– Experience working on actual (paid) digital marketing projects.
The goal of the scholarship is to help members of under-represented groups access training, mentorship and hands on experience to be able to identify viable paths to a successful career in the industry.
Energy crisis, rolling blackouts in China could disrupt global supply chain
China is grappling with a power crunch that threatens to curb economic growth and worsen product shortages that have roiled global supply chains in recent months.
Surging coal and gas prices, as well as rising demand for electricity amid a boom in manufacturing and exports, have led to severe power shortages across China, with more than half of all provinces reporting problems.
The shortages have resulted in rolling blackouts in some areas, and factories have been forced to close or suspend operations during certain hours to conserve power.
The impact on industries is broad and includes power-intensive sectors such as aluminum smelting, steelmaking, cement manufacturing and fertilizer production. Suppliers for Tesla Inc. and Apple Inc. have also reportedly been forced to halt production.
Staycations drive Scottish hotel occupancy up for fourth consecutive month
Scottish hotel occupancy rates jumped 6% in August, as the staycation market increased levels for the fourth consecutive month.
Accounting group RSM’s Hotels Tracker analysis – based on data compiled by hospitality analytics firm STR – showed that the average occupancy rate in Scotland has risen from 64% on July to 71% in August.
However, despite the staycation boost, Scotland didn’t reach the pre-pandemic, Edinburgh Festival-driven highs of 86% occupancy rates in 2019.
By comparison, the average UK occupancy rate also increased 6% to 71% in August, from 65% in July.https://get-latest.convrse.media/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.insider.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fstaycations-drive-scottish-hotel-occupancy-25090728&cre=center&cip=7&view=web
The average room rate across the UK has almost recovered to pre-pandemic levels at £94, with Scotland reaching £98, up from £86 the previous month.
In addition, revenue per available room across Scotland was £70 in August, up from £36 the same time last year, but still behind pre-pandemic levels at £93.
Lack of social mobility in UK risks fuelling populism, says Fiona Hill
A lack of social mobility in Britain’s “left behind” communities risks fuelling populism and becoming a national security crisis, according to Fiona Hill, the coalminer’s daughter who became a top White House adviser.
Hill, who was born in County Durham and went on to serve under three presidents and become US national security council director for Europe and Russia, warned that Britain’s social divide is so wide that some communities feel like “another world” to the cities.
The 55-year-old, who shot to prominence as a witness in the Donald Trump impeachment trial, where she described how her background and “very distinctive working-class accent” held her back in England in the 1980s and 90s said that class barriers today were still holding back people with regional accents.