Latest news with #Diversity
Miami Herald
12 hours ago
- Science
- Miami Herald
‘Strange' sea creature with retractable tentacles is new species in Japan. See it
A 'strange' creature recorded in the deep waters off the coast of Japan represents an exceptionally rare kind of discovery. With a body shaped like Mount Fuji, the new-to-science sea anemone is not only a new species but is also part of a new genus and family, according to a study published June 18 in the journal Diversity. To put that into perspective, it would be like someone discovering a new distinct branch of bird, like parrots or owls, and not just a new species within those groups. The anemone, named Discoactis tritentaculata, or 'umi-no-Fujisan,' which translates to 'Mount Fuji of the ocean' in Japanese, is small, measuring just over half an inch in height, researchers said. It starts out with 14 to 18 retractable tentacles, 'striped with pale red and dark red,'but the anemone lose some as it matures, according to the study. Its pedal, or the main part of its body, is semitransparent, flat and disc-like, researchers said. Another distinct feature of the new species is that the tentacles around its mouth are arranged in 'triplets,' or groups of three, unlike other anemone species. The Mount Fuji of the ocean anemone was collected by trawlers and depths between 259 and 1,316 feet, according to the study. Despite the rarity of the discovery, the species appears to be fairly common, with more than 10 of them collected from various waters, including the Pacific Ocean, Sagami-Bay, Suruga Bay, Otsuchi-Bay, Bungo Strait and the Sea of Japan, researchers said. The research team included Takato Izumi, Kensuke Yanagi and Hisanori Kohtsuka.
Time of India
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Is Pentagon erasing Juneteenth? A mail from Pete Hegseth's office to staff has raised concerns
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 's office sent an email to staff requesting a "passive approach" to celebrating Juneteenth. Observed on June 19 each year, Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the US and commemorated to end the slavery in the country, reported Rolling Stone. Hegseth, whose work includes scrubbing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) from the US military, downplayed the holiday, requesting that the Pentagon take a 'passive approach' with its Juneteenth messaging this year. Pete Hegseth on Juneteenth This messaging request for Juneteenth was transmitted by the Pentagon's office of the chief of public affairs. This office said it was not poised to publish web content related to Juneteenth, Rolling Stone reported. A Pentagon official told Rolling Stone that the Defense Department 'may engage celebrations that build camaraderie and esprit de recognition of historical events and notable figures where such recognition informs strategic thinking, reinforces our unity, and promotes meritocracy and accountability.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like At Last, An ED Pill for 87¢ That Actually Works Health Alliance by Friday Plans Learn More Undo ALSO READ: Why has Trump dropped Pete Hegseth, Tulsi Gabbard from his inner circle to navigate secret Iran action plan? The mandate comes at a time when Trump's attack on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives (DEI) across the government, including the US military, which Pete Hegseth has enthusiastically executed. Live Events 'The President's guidance (lawful orders) is clear: No more DEI at @DeptofDefense,' Hegseth said in a January post on X. 'The Pentagon will comply, immediately. No exceptions, name-changes, or delays,' Hegseth also wrote. He posted an apparently hand-written note that read 'DOD ≠ DEI.' Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has continued to promote anti-DEI rhetoric, alleging that DEI policies endanger military personnel. He has not provided any evidence to corroborate his claim. During a Senate hearing last week, he said, "DEI is dead. We replaced it with a colur-blind, gender-neutral, merit-based approach and the force is responding incredibly." When asked by Rolling Stone, the Pentagon said that the Department of Defense "may engage in the following activities, subject to applicable department guidance: holiday celebrations that build camaraderie and espirit de corps; outreach events (eg, recruiting engagements with all-male, all-female, or minority-serving academic institutions) where doing so directly supports DoD's mission; and recoginition of historical events and notable figures where such recogintion informs strategic thinking, reinforces our unity, and promotes meritocracy and accountability." ALSO READ: Amazon's 30-day deadline to employees amid mass layoff fear: Resign in 60 days or... Asked for comment by the Guardian, a defense spokesperson said: 'We have nothing additional to provide on this.' No DEI programs at Pentagon Shortly after he was confirmed as Defense Secretary, Hegseth said there would be "no more" DEI programs at the Pentagon. This was followed by President Donald Trump's executive order ending DEI programs across the government. The Pentagon went on to cancel a slew of historical and cultural annual events, including observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pride Month, Holocaust Days of Remembrance, National Disability Employment Awareness Month and Women's History Month. The Defense Department also marked thousands of files for deletion in a purge of so-called DEI content, the Associated Press reported in March. In late April, Hegseth declared that he had 'proudly ENDED' the Pentagon's Women, Peace, and Security program. The initiative was originally established under the Women, Peace, and Security Act, which Trump signed into law during his first term. The legislation aimed to ensure that the U.S. supported the meaningful inclusion of women in efforts to prevent, manage, and resolve violent conflicts through mediation and negotiation. ALSO READ: Trump vs Tulsi Gabbard: Is US President planning to fire US spy chief over provocative anti-war video? Trump signed an executive order in January that eliminated DEI in the military. He also appeared to sound off on DEI initiatives in an address to graduating West Point cadets on 24 May. 'They subjected the armed forces to all manner of social projects and political causes, while leaving our borders undefended and depleting our arsenals to fight other countries' wars. We fought for other countries' borders but we didn't fight for our own borders, but now we do like we have never fought before,' Trump said. He also stated 'the job of the US armed forces is not to host drag shows or transform foreign cultures', an apparent allusion to drag shows on US military installations.
News24
a day ago
- Business
- News24
New York pride launches ‘peer-to-peer campaign' as company funding declines amid Trump hostility
New York's pride parade has had a decline in corporate funding. The Trump administration attacked diversity, equity and inclusion policies in both government and the private sector. The parade will be held on 29 June. New York's pride parade, the highest-profile annual US LGBTQ gathering, is ramping up efforts to raise funds from individual community members, with corporate donations on the wane as Washington demonises diversity. Following US President Donald Trump's attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion policies in both government and the private sector, several companies have cancelled or curtailed their sponsorships of pride parades this year. NYC Pride's spokesperson Kevin Kilbride said 'just about 80% of the fundraising goal' for the city's largest pride parade group had been met. The parade itself will be held on 29 June and according to organisers could draw as many as two million attendees. 'That gap we're trying to fill with a community fundraising campaign. So in the middle of May, we launched a peer-to-peer campaign so folks can start their own fundraiser online, share it with their friends, and then have folks donate to that,' he said. The group was 'wanting to lean a little bit more into individual giving and support from the community', he said. The organisation behind the annual parade as well as several other community projects said it raised 'nearly $25 000 from almost 200 donors' in a matter of days. In years past, flamboyant floats sponsored by large corporations have paraded down Manhattan's Fifth Avenue alongside those organised by community groups. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images And while many will still participate, some have quietly cut back their commitments. Muneer Panjwani, who runs Engage for Good, said 'there's been a massive pullback over the last year, specifically in corporations that have long supported pride events that have decided not to support anyone.' Panjwani's organisation connects companies to non-profits, and reports on the sums raised from 'checkout giving' - where consumers are given the option of donating while paying for goods in a store. 'While companies are pulling away their philanthropic dollars at the top level, from the bottom up, consumers are saying: 'We still care about this issue,'' he said. READ | Ghana pushes anti-LGBTQ+ bill as defence of 'family values' One of the most prominent brands that reportedly stepped back from its previously high-profile involvement with pride was discount department store Target. For a time, Target was reportedly asking to forego publicity and donate to New York Pride silently, but according to Kilbride, it has now reinstated its float at the parade. The retailer has come under fire and seen its share price dip after a boycott was organised online in response to it curtailing diversity programmes, citing 'the evolving external landscape'. 'We will continue to mark Pride Month... (by) sponsoring local events in neighbourhoods across the country,' a Target spokesperson told AFP. At Brooklyn's annual pride parade, progressive Democratic city councilman Chi Osse told AFP that 'pride started grassroots through community, and corporations bowing the knee at a president who thinks he's a king just shows us who they are to us.' Brooklyn's pride event is a smaller affair and has long been seen as a more radical gathering than its Manhattan sibling - albeit with a handful of its own corporate participants. John Senter/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images One of those leading the twilight parade's Sirens Women's Motorcycle Club contingent, Anya Glowa-Kollisch, said: 'It's great when companies are willing to say that they support equal rights.' 'But I think at the end of the day, it's a movement that's driven by people demanding their rights, and a lot of corporations just kind of do this because they think they should,' they said. 'So it's really valuable to have people in the community coming out and showing that this is who we are.'
BBC News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Stormzy: Big Man role was tough to separate from real me
Stormzy says playing a rapper in his first lead role made it hard to separate himself for the Mike stars as Tenzman in Big Man - the first release from the grime star's production company #MerkyFilm and his first lead at the film's premiere, he tells BBC Newsbeat: "It was really tough if I'm honest."It felt like I'm playing a rapper but I am a rapper, it's tough to totally separate." #MerkyFilm follows Stormzy's other projects like #MerkyBooks and #MerkyFC which have aimed to elevate black British voices and talent."In every single area that we've tried to infiltrate we've said, 'if this is the status quo, we want to try and do things a little bit different'," he says moving into film has been a dream of his for a long time - as for why he's waited until now, he says he can't describe it."I just know why it's important in general," he says. This year marks 10 years since actors started boycotting the biggest event in the film world, The Oscars, over criticism about a lack of then, campaigns like #OscarsSoWhite have seen calls grow louder for improved representation on screen."What we've tried to do at Merky, whether it's music, sports, whatever, we do we just want to stand in our truth, tell our stories, but also not from the same perspective that it's always been told from," Stormzy says. "Even being black British, it's such a nuanced experience – you've got the black experience, you've got the British experience, and then you've got the black British experience. "We want to tell it from our perspective which is nuanced, it's brilliant, it's different, it's not always the same, it's not a monolith." 'A challenge I was honoured to be part of' One of Stormzy's co-stars, 15-year-old Klevis Brahja, tells Newsbeat how he was scouted for the film on the street."I never knew I wanted to do acting and then out of nowhere I'm in auditions," he says."It's crazy to be near someone like Stormzy and to have an opportunity like this. A lot of people dream for this and we're the lucky ones, it's amazing."Stormzy also worked with Oscar-winning director Aneil Karia, known for projects including The Long Goodbye and Surge, on Big Man, which was shot entirely on a phone."It was really tough but it was a challenge I was so honoured to be a part of," Stormzy says."I like to be challenged, I like to be a bit uncomfortable so I love it." Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
Ottawa Citizen
3 days ago
- Politics
- Ottawa Citizen
Gearey: In the federal public service, simple gender parity isn't enough
Recently, I took part in a public service workshop examining hypothetical risks to Canada. Each table of participants was provided a dozen risks that we were asked to rank in order of perceived importance. Article content One potential risk card read something akin to: 'Diminished Male Relevance.' Article content I blinked twice, unsure if I'd read it correctly. Women are still crawling out of the long shadows of exclusion in Canada, still pressing for equity, and we're already anticipating a crisis of male relevance? Article content Article content That moment stayed with me. Perhaps it offered a glimpse into how some people perceive change: as erosion, not evolution. As someone losing versus the creation of a new partnership. Article content What was really on my mind was what's happening south of the border. In the United States, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs in government and elsewhere are being dismantled. Furthermore, a man found liable for sexual assault, ordered to pay more than $83 million in damages, is president. That kind of backslide doesn't stay confined to politics; it seeps into culture, rewiring progress. Article content Canada leads other countries Article content In contrast, Canada's federal public service has something to be proud of. It has surpassed gender parity: women now represent 56.8 per cent of its workforce and 52.5 per cent of its executive roles. We've seen women serve as Clerk of the Privy Council, and also in top defence, foreign affairs and finance roles. The government also mandates Gender-Based Analysis-Plus across all departments. Furthermore, the OECD's Government at a Glance 2023 report places Canada among the top tier for women in public leadership, outpacing most G20 peers. Article content Article content Canada's public service didn't evolve this way by accident; it arrived here through litigation, legislation, years of sustained pressure and conscious strategy. Article content Article content In March, the federal government eliminated the position of minister for Women and Gender Equality, sparking intense criticism. Within weeks, the role was reinstated. The public response made it clear that gender equity is still a priority for Canadians. Article content Culture is the operating system that's unseen but runs everything. I've known women in the public service being told they were 'too assertive' or 'not collaborative enough.' Their leadership styles are questioned. Their confidence mistaken for abrasiveness. This is feedback that men are far less likely to receive. These aren't isolated events, they're patterns.
