Unwrap the latest AI features with Amazon Fire Tablets"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" To keep reading, please log in to your account, create a free account, or simply fill out the form below.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Margaret Sanchez is the new president and CEO of Esperanza, a Cleveland nonprofit that focuses on education in the Hispanic/Latinix communities. Sanchez previously served as the vice president of development at YWCA Greater Cleveland, a statement from Esperanza said. Throughout her career, she has advocated for minority communities, through her work at various nonprofits, such as Hispanic Unity of Florida and the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, Esperanza added. She was chosen after a yearlong search. She serves as a board member for the Northeast Ohio Hispanic Business Center, the Latin American Presidential Mission and on the city of Cleveland Hispanic Advisory Board. Pamela Hobe, Esperanza’s board president, said in a statement that the organization was “fortunate to find the ideal candidate right here in Northeast Ohio.” “Margaret’s broad experience, unique perspective, understanding of our community and collaborative leadership style will foster growth and lead us to the future,” Hobe said. Sanchez replaces Victor Ruiz, who announced in December 2023 that he was stepping down as president and CEO after 15 years . The organization worked with Koya Partners, a firm that specializes in executive searches and recruiting, particularly for mission-driven roles, on the national search for the new president and CEO. “Her passion for Esperanza’s mission and her diverse experience makes her the ideal leader to drive strategic solutions for our growing Latino community and successfully expand support services to learners of all ages,” he said. Esperanza offers programs for kids, adult learners and post-secondary students. It also has a Hispanic youth and leadership program, mentoring and a STEAM summer camp for students interested in science, technology, engineering, arts and math. It provides over 100 scholarships to local students.It was after one particularly emotional premiere of the new biopic about his life that Robbie Williams resolved he couldn't be “the crying guy” at every screening. “Better Man,” which chronicles the life of Williams, the British pop star and former Take That singer, can hit him differently at different times. Jet lag is a factor. So is who's in the building. One screening with his band, he says, was “healing.” But he's self-conscious enough about all the emotion that he can be defensive about it. “In real life I don’t cry that much,” Williams says and then smiles. “You have a (expletive) biography about you and have the world go, ‘I’ve seen you and heard you’ and come tell me how you deal with it.'” One twist? The Williams heard in “Better Man” is Williams, himself. But the Williams seen in the movie is a computer-generated chimpanzee. Michael Gracey, who directed the 2017 musical hit “The Greatest Showman,” had the novel idea that Williams should get the big-screen biopic treatment, but with a monkey. Relying on Weta's motion capture technology, the actor Jonno Davies stands in for Williams. In “Better Man,” which will open in limited theaters Dec. 25 and expand nationwide Jan. 10, that makes for a compelling spin on the music biopic, partly because it's still a quite R-rated journey through the ups and downs of mega pop stardom. Williams, who met a reporter last month on a stopover in New York, also hopes it will expand his footprint in America, where he's famously less famous than he is in Europe. “If I want to phone Macron, I phone Macron. If I want to phone Keir Starmer, I phone Keir Starmer. If I want to phone Trump, he’s not taking my call," Williams says with a laugh. “Maybe he would, I don’t know.” “Maybe this film moves the needle for me," Williams, 50, adds. "Or if it doesn’t, I’ll do something else.” What both a conversation with Williams and “Better Man” have in common is a frankness about the experience of fame. More than it's a litany of chart-topping successes, “Better Man” is a chronicle of fame-induced trauma, complete with drug addiction and mental breakdown. Williams, now, though, is a reformed bad boy — a family man with four kids with all kinds of plans, like building hotels and buying sports teams. “At the moment," he says, "I have the wide-optimism of a new artist.” AP: Did your identification with monkeys predate “Better Man”? WILLAMS: Well, let me know, in the biography of your life, what animal would play you? AP. I don’t know. A chipmunk? WILLIAMS: I asked my friend this morning, Joey McIntyre, from New Kids on the Block, and he said, “an owl.” And I agreed with him. An owl would be good for him. Did this predate? I guess so, subconsciously. My MO has been cheeky. What’s more cheeky than a cheeky monkey? I’ve been a cheeky monkey all my life. There’s no more cheekier monkey than the coke-snorting, sex-addict monkey that we find in the movie. AP: I’ve never seen a monkey do so much coke. WILLIAMS: Yeah, we’ve seen a bear do a lot of coke but never a monkey. AP: Do you think it's easier for audiences to empathize with a monkey than for you? WILLIAMS: We care for animals more than we care for humans, most of us. I guess there is a removal, as well. It’s very much a human story but if you’re watching it and someone’s playing Robbie Williams, you’re thinking: Does he look like him? Does he act like him? Does he talk like him? AP: As someone who’s been open about difficulties in life, you’re not new to the idea that people don’t have a lot of sympathy for wealthy pop stars. You were probably suffering very human things at a time when people didn’t see you as human. WILLIAMS: I think they have sympathy once you come through the other side and you’re talking about something in the past. Everybody loves a story of redemption. The redemption is: I was this guy who experienced this thing but I’ve endured and overcome it. You throw in a word like “endure,” and I can already hear British people going “(Expletive) you! What did you endure? Knickers being thrown at you.” Dude, I was mentally ill. I still am, but I’m in a good place. I couldn’t derive joy from anything because I was mentally ill. I won a sprinting race with two broken legs. AP: It was that bad? WILLIAMS: Yeah. My story’s not unusual. There’s a boy band documentary that’s going to be on tele in Britain that I’ve taken part in, and everyone’s story is the same. They’ve got the bends. They experienced this thing that warped them and gave them mental breakdowns. I can’t apologize for the truth, and the truth is there’s something about this matrix-bending, washing-machine fame that’s deeply unhealthy. No matter what job you have or what path you choose in life, you spend the second 20 years of your life sorting out the first 20 years. It just so happens I did it in public and told people exactly what was going as it was going on. And still do. AP: When One Direction singer Liam Payne died, you seemed to understand what he might have been going through. WILLIAMS: Here’s the thing: I’m always astonished — may he rest in peace, bless him, beautiful boy — that the entertainment industry isn’t littered with those types of cases, that we can’t point to 30 of them. AP: Fame, as you describe it, would seem clearly unhealthy. But does some part of you need it? WILLIAMS: It’s different now. I (expletive) love it. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I’m 50 and I’m incredibly grateful for fame. It facilitates everything that I need and want to do with my life. I was just too young to receive it, and I wasn’t surrounded by good people. And I wasn’t good people. But now I can’t speak highly enough of it. (Laughs) AP: Part of your appeal has always been your candor. In your experience, though, does show business work against remaining authentic? WILLIAMS: It depends who you are. Most people I meet in the industry, they’re nice folk. But a lot of the people that I meet also are narcissists and they understand on some level that it’s best to cover up their true nature. So they do. Now there’s cancellation, so you’ve got a lot of people terrified of saying the wrong thing. The interesting that I’ve carved out for me, by mistake, is that the only villain in my story when I talk is me. None of my opinions are political. None of my opinions are cancellable. The only person that can cancel me is me. AP: So how did you turn your life around? You've often credited your wife. WILLIAMS: Ayda was credited with saving my life before she saved my life. I was like, “You (expletive).” I was like: I’ve done a lot of work on myself here. Don’t give her all the credit. But now I can give her way more credit than I was giving her because I’ve realize how much she’s done. Without that grounding, my life would be a lot different. I probably wouldn’t be here. Because I have somebody in my life that’s worth me being the best version of myself 24 hours out of the day, I’m better. And because there’s four young souls that need looking after, my purpose is a lot different. I suppose my purpose at one time, due to finding hedonism incredibly intoxicating, was to be the most (expletive) person in the room. But now I want to be the most well person in the room. I intend to be the wellest person in the mother-(expletive) room. (Laughs) AP: When you go on a worldwide tour next year, do you do things differently to help you stay sane? WILLLIAMS: Yeah and no. The no bit is: It’s OK. I’ve come to realize, I didn’t die. There’s a bit more wisdom now. The lunatic that was in the car is still in the car, but he doesn’t drive anymore.
Fort Bend County officials broke ground on a new Information Technology building for county staff in Richmond on Dec. 16, according to a December news release. Two-minute impact Fort Bend County Judge KP George hosted the ceremony for the new facility, which will support the county's current 91 employees and 83 county departments and offices who serve over 900,000 residents and businesses, per the release. The landmark project is a "critical step in Fort Bend County's commitment to advancing technology and fostering innovation and talent in the information technology field," according to the release. Officials did not provide a completion date for the construction by press time. The details Designed by firm FS Group Architects, the 60,000-square-foot building will feature multiple stories and consider both aesthetics and functionality to create an inviting and efficient workspace, according to the company's website . The building will be located next to the Richmond tax office, per the news release. 1419 Eugene Heimann Circle, Richmond www.fortbendcountytx.gov
Beyond Bank and Cognizant join forces to lead the future of customer-owned banking
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Saquon Barkley becomes ninth running back to rush for 2,000 yards in a season
Saquon Barkley becomes ninth running back to rush for 2,000 yards in a seasonIt was no different for Jimmy Carter in the early 1970s. It took meeting several presidential candidates and then encouragement from an esteemed elder statesman before the young governor, who had never met a president himself, saw himself as something bigger. He announced his White House bid on December 12 1974, amid fallout from the Vietnam War and the resignation of Richard Nixon. Then he leveraged his unknown, and politically untainted, status to become the 39th president. That whirlwind path has been a model, explicit and otherwise, for would-be contenders ever since. “Jimmy Carter’s example absolutely created a 50-year window of people saying, ‘Why not me?’” said Steve Schale, who worked on President Barack Obama’s campaigns and is a long-time supporter of President Joe Biden. Mr Carter’s journey to high office began in Plains, Georgia where he received end-of-life care decades after serving as president. David Axelrod, who helped to engineer Mr Obama’s four-year ascent from state senator to the Oval Office, said Mr Carter’s model is about more than how his grassroots strategy turned the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary into his springboard. “There was a moral stain on the country, and this was a guy of deep faith,” Mr Axelrod said. “He seemed like a fresh start, and I think he understood that he could offer something different that might be able to meet the moment.” Donna Brazile, who managed Democrat Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign, got her start on Mr Carter’s two national campaigns. “In 1976, it was just Jimmy Carter’s time,” she said. Of course, the seeds of his presidential run sprouted even before Mr Nixon won a second term and certainly before his resignation in August 1974. In Mr Carter’s telling, he did not run for governor in 1966, he lost, or in 1970 thinking about Washington. Even when he announced his presidential bid, neither he nor those closest to him were completely confident. “President of what?” his mother, Lillian, replied when he told her his plans. But soon after he became governor in 1971, Mr Carter’s team envisioned him as a national player. They were encouraged in part by the May 31 Time magazine cover depicting Mr Carter alongside the headline “Dixie Whistles a Different Tune”. Inside, a flattering profile framed Mr Carter as a model “New South” governor. In October 1971, Carter ally Dr Peter Bourne, an Atlanta physician who would become US drug tsar, sent his politician friend an unsolicited memo outlining how he could be elected president. On October 17, a wider circle of advisers sat with Mr Carter at the Governor’s Mansion to discuss it. Mr Carter, then 47, wore blue jeans and a T-shirt, according to biographer Jonathan Alter. The team, including Mr Carter’s wife Rosalynn, who died aged 96 in November 2023, began considering the idea seriously. “We never used the word ‘president’,” Mr Carter recalled upon his 90th birthday, “but just referred to national office”. Mr Carter invited high-profile Democrats and Washington players who were running or considering running in 1972, to one-on-one meetings at the mansion. He jumped at the chance to lead the Democratic National Committee’s national campaign that year. The position allowed him to travel the country helping candidates up and down the ballot. Along the way, he was among the Southern governors who angled to be George McGovern’s running mate. Mr Alter said Mr Carter was never seriously considered. Still, Mr Carter got to know, among others, former vice president Hubert Humphrey and senators Henry Jackson of Washington, Eugene McCarthy of Maine and Mr McGovern of South Dakota, the eventual nominee who lost a landslide to Mr Nixon. Mr Carter later explained he had previously defined the nation’s highest office by its occupants immortalised by monuments. “For the first time,” Mr Carter told The New York Times, “I started comparing my own experiences and knowledge of government with the candidates, not against ‘the presidency’ and not against Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. It made it a whole lot easier”. Adviser Hamilton Jordan crafted a detailed campaign plan calling for matching Mr Carter’s outsider, good-government credentials to voters’ general disillusionment, even before Watergate. But the team still spoke and wrote in code, as if the “higher office” were not obvious. It was reported during his campaign that Mr Carter told family members around Christmas 1972 that he would run in 1976. Mr Carter later wrote in a memoir that a visit from former secretary of state Dean Rusk in early 1973 affirmed his leanings. During another private confab in Atlanta, Mr Rusk told Mr Carter plainly: “Governor, I think you should run for president in 1976.” That, Mr Carter wrote, “removed our remaining doubts.” Mr Schale said the process is not always so involved. “These are intensely competitive people already,” he said of governors, senators and others in high office. “If you’re wired in that capacity, it’s hard to step away from it.” “Jimmy Carter showed us that you can go from a no-name to president in the span of 18 or 24 months,” said Jared Leopold, a top aide in Washington governor Jay Inslee’s unsuccessful bid for Democrats’ 2020 nomination. “For people deciding whether to get in, it’s a real inspiration,” Mr Leopold continued, “and that’s a real success of American democracy”.
Notable quotes by Jimmy Carter
