American Women Suck

By Shantell Kirkendoll-Duke Researchers using the long-running CARDIA study looked at data from nearly 2,000 adults, average age 60, and found that nearly 1 in 3 were taking five or more medications—a threshold considered polypharmacy. Those taking five or more prescriptions walked slower, had weaker grip strength, and showed worse balance than peers on fewer medications. “What this tells us is that physical decline related to medication use may not be just a problem for people in their 70s or 80s,” says lead study author Caroline Sloan, an internist at Duke Health and expert in population health sciences. “It could start showing up in your 50s or early 60s, when people still expect to be independent and mobile.” There’s strong evidence that taking five or more medications can worsen physical function and increase the risk of falls in older adults, partly due to drug interactions or overlapping health conditions. But few studies have looked at these effects in middle-aged adults. Sloan worked with Duke Health geriatrician and chronic disease expert Christopher Barrett Bowling on the study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. The researchers measured physical function using five standardized tests—including grip strength, gait speed, and a six-minute walk—and combined the results into a single score called the CARDIA Physical Performance (CAPP) score. Those taking five or more medications scored, on average, 1.24 points lower on the 20-point CAPP scale than those not taking multiple medications—a gap that reflects a real and meaningful difference. Results from an additional part of the study suggest that it’s not necessarily the type of drug that matters, but the sheer number. The researchers examined the use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs), a category defined by the Beers Criteria as medications that should be avoided in older adults that includes heart and anxiety medicines along with other drugs. While 25% of participants were taking at least one PIM, use of these medications alone did not independently predict lower physical performance once polypharmacy was accounted for. “We expected that the specific drugs considered inappropriate for older adults would have the biggest impact,” Sloan says. “But instead, it was really the number of medications that stood out.” To be clear, the study doesn’t prove that taking multiple medications causes poor physical function. Polypharmacy is common in adults, and people may be taking more medications because of underlying health problems that also affect their strength and mobility. Still, the association offers a potential red flag for clinicians, especially primary care doctors who may not routinely assess physical performance in patients under age 65. “If I’m seeing a 58-year-old on 15 medications, that should prompt me to think about their physical function,” Sloan says. “They may benefit from a physical therapy referral or an exercise program and more broadly, it’s an opportunity to take a closer look at their medication list.” The study found no significant differences in the impact of polypharmacy by sex or race. However, women and Black participants were more likely to be on higher numbers of medications, highlighting potential disparities in how chronic conditions are managed in midlife. The research adds to growing calls for more individualized prescribing and more attention to functional health—not just blood pressure and lab values—as people enter older age. Funding for the work came from the National Institute on Aging and Duke Pepper Older Americans Independence Center. Source: Duke University Original Study DOI: 10.1007/s11606-025-09692-3 — Previously Published on futurity.org with Creative Commons License *** – The world is changing fast. We help you keep up. We’ll send you 1 post, 3x per week. Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here. — Photo credit: unsplash The post Too Many Pills in Middle Age May Harm Your Strength and Balance appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

By Keerti Gopal & Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, Grist “This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.” Growing up in Chicago, Chakena D. Perry knew not to trust the water coming out of her tap. “It was just one of these unspoken truths within households like mine — low-income, Black households — that there was some sort of distrust with the water,” said Perry, who later learned that Chicago is the city with the most lead service lines in the country. “No one really talked about it, but we never used our tap for just regular drinking.” Now, as a senior policy advocate for the Natural Resources Defense Council, Perry is part of a coalition that fought for stricter rules to force cities like Chicago to remove their toxic lead pipes faster. Last year, advocates celebrated a big win: The Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency mandated that water systems across the country replace all their lead service lines. Under the new rule, most water systems will have 10 years to complete replacements, while Chicago will likely get just over 20, starting in 2027, when that requirement kicks in. But the city’s replacement plan, submitted to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency in April per state law and obtained through a public records request, puts it 30 years behind that timeline. Chicago’s plan adheres to state law and an outdated EPA rule from the first Trump administration. It aims to replace the city’s estimated 412,000 lead service lines by 2076 — completing 8,300 replacements annually for 50 years, starting in 2027. The latest federal rule requires Chicago to replace nearly 20,000 pipes per year beginning in 2027 — more than double the speed of the city’s current plan. Documents show city officials are aware of the new requirements, but have not yet updated their plans. A delayed timeline will expose many more children and adults to the risk of toxic drinking water, and rising temperatures from climate change may exacerbate the risk by causing more lead to leach off pipes and into water. Coming soon: More reporting on Chicago’s lead service lines, plus an interactive map to explore which areas are most at risk. Sign up to be notified when these stories and tools are available. Have you been affected by lead pipes or lead exposure in Chicago? Tell us what happened. For Perry, even 20 more years of lead pipes was a compromise. “People are already being exposed — they’re being exposed daily,” Perry said. “There is no number [of years] that is satisfactory to me, but 20-ish years is better than 50.” In recent decades, drinking water crises in Washington, D.C., and Flint, Michigan, put the public health threat of lead on the national map. Lead pipes are a danger across the country, where about 9 million lead service lines need to be replaced to adhere to the new requirements. About a million of those are in Illinois — the most of any state in the country. Among the five U.S. cities estimated to have the most lead pipes — Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Detroit, and Milwaukee — only Chicago has yet to adopt the latest federal deadline. The rest plan to replace their lead pipes within a decade of 2027. Lead can damage the human brain and nervous system, kidney function, and reproductive health, and it’s also an underappreciated cause of cardiovascular problems. Lead is particularly harmful to children: It can hamper brain development and cause permanent intellectual disabilities, fatigue, convulsions, comas, or even death. Lead exposure during pregnancy can also cause low birth weight or preterm birth. Experts emphasize that there is no safe level of lead exposure. In Illinois, the Metropolitan Planning Council found that people of color are up to twice as likely as white people to live in a community burdened by lead service lines. Because of a three-year grace period in the 2024 EPA rule — the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, or LCRI — the city does not have to begin complying with the new replacement requirements until 2027. But Chicago’s plan outlines a timeline that starts the very same year and is significantly slower. “I’m not sure what Chicago is thinking there,” said Marissa Lieberman-Klein, an Earthjustice attorney focused on lead in drinking water. Chicago is facing a Herculean task. Even with a 50-year timeline, it will have to start moving much faster than its current replacement speed: The city will need to replace more lead service lines annually than the total of 7,923 it managed over the past four years ending in March. Of these replacements, about 60 percent occurred alongside repairs for breaks and leaks or water and sewer main replacements. Megan Vidis, a spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Water Management, said Chicago is ramping up its replacement speeds. The city will replace 8,000 lines this year, she said. “We have been and will continue to move as quickly as resources allow to replace lead service lines,” Vidis wrote in an email. Asked about the feasibility of the current EPA rule’s 20-year replacement timeline, Vidis wrote, “We need substantial additional funding, particularly the kind available to help pay for private side replacements.” That refers to the city’s split ownership structure, where homeowners own one part of the line and the city owns the other. Erik D. Olson, senior strategic director for environmental health at the NRDC, said these financial woes are a reason for Chicago to put forward a more ambitious replacement plan. Olson pointed out that $15 billion in national lead service line replacement funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the bipartisan infrastructure law, expire next year. “If Chicago isn’t beating down the doors to get that money, that is tragic, because that money could evaporate,” Olson said. “They should be front-end loading as much of the service line replacement as they possibly can.” U.S. EPA spokesperson David Shark confirmed that Illinois water systems are currently under the new rule. But the agency did not answer specific questions about Illinois’ obligations between now and when the compliance deadlines start in 2027, citing pending litigation on the rule. Illinois EPA spokesperson Kim Biggs wrote in an email that the state is operating under the replacement requirements included in the 2021 EPA rule and the state’s law until 2027. Lead service lines were required by Chicago’s municipal code — reportedly influenced by lead companies and the plumbers union — for decades after much of the country stopped using them due to health concerns. According to a study published last year, two-thirds of the city’s youngest children — under 6 years old — live in homes with tap water containing detectable levels of lead. Drinking water is just one way that people are exposed to lead. It’s also found in soil and paint. But experts estimate that water could make up at least 20 percent of a person’s exposure. When lead pipes corrode, the toxic material can dissolve or flake into water and poison residents without their knowledge. Rising temperatures due to climate change could be exacerbating lead risks, and researchers have found that childhood lead poisoning levels spike during hotter periods. Perry now lives in Oak Forest, one of Chicago’s southern suburbs, but she also owns the home her mother lives in, on Chicago’s South Side. That home has a lead service line, Perry said, and she doesn’t know when it will be replaced. The city has “a responsibility to the residents in the city of Chicago to protect them at all costs,” Perry said. “There’s no price that’s too high to pay for safe drinking water.” Chicago’s plan is based on a 2021 state law requiring that water systems with 100,000 or more lead service lines — which includes Chicago — replace all of them within 50 years from 2027. At the time of its passage, this state law was stronger than the federal Lead and Copper Rule Revisions of 2021, which did not require replacement in most cases. Experts and advocates criticized and even sued the EPA over that rule — enacted by the Trump administration in the final days of the president’s first term — saying it weakened existing efforts to achieve safe drinking water nationwide. Near the end of President Joe Biden’s term, the EPA finalized the current rule. Most systems across the country must replace all their lead service lines before 2038, with deferral allowances for places with large proportions of lead service lines — like Chicago, which would likely get until mid-2049 to finish. The EPA estimated that each year this rule will prevent up to 900,000 cases of low birth weight and 1,500 cases of premature death from heart disease. Many advocates praised the rule, while others noted that two more decades of lead pipes still pose significant health risks in Chicago. But according to the document the city submitted to the state, Chicago’s plan hasn’t yet caught up to the newer federal law. The plan acknowledges the faster federal timeline but notes that Chicago isn’t abiding by that yet. The city, its plan states, will comply “if the regulations go into effect.” Nationally, the regulation is already in effect, Earthjustice’s Lieberman-Klein said, and the EPA does not need to release any additional documents to make that true. But what city officials might be thinking, she said, is that given the continued rollbacks of many environmental and health regulations by President Donald Trump’s EPA, this requirement might eventually be wiped off the books. “It’s possible Chicago is just looking at what this administration has been generally saying about rules promulgated by the previous administration, and it’s saying, ‘We’d like to wait and see what they say about this rule,’” Lieberman-Klein said. Some congressional Republicans tried to revoke the lead pipe replacement rule legislatively, but they missed the deadline to do so. Last year, the American Water Works Association — a water industry organization — challenged the rule in court, alleging that its requirements are not feasible. Environmental groups stepped in to defend the rule, but it remains to be seen whether the EPA will do likewise. The agency declined to comment on the pending litigation. Chicago’s water department cited the lawsuit as one of its reasons for submitting a plan that doesn’t account for the 20-year replacement timeline. But the rule isn’t on pause, Earthjustice’s Lieberman-Klein clarified. “The litigation does not stay the rule or change its effective date,” she said. “It still went into effect at the end of October and nothing about the compliance dates have changed.” Over the past few years, Chicago officials say each service line replacement has averaged about $35,000, although they plan to lower these costs by more frequently replacing the service lines for full blocks at a time. This is much higher than national estimates, which range from about $4,700 to $12,000 per line. Regardless, it will be no easy feat for Chicago to piece together the funds to finish the job quickly, and big proposed cuts to federal funding would make a challenging task even harder. The Trump administration’s proposal for the EPA next fiscal year would cut the agency’s budget by more than half. Part of that plan: slashing almost all the money for the low-interest loan program that states rely on to update water pipes. Trump’s budget proposal says “the states should be responsible for funding their own water infrastructure projects.” Chicago’s plan notes that $2 million of expected funding for a program focused on replacing lead service lines in daycares serving low-income communities was lost this year in the blanket elimination of congressional earmarks. Megan Glover, co-founder and former CEO of 120Water, an Indiana-based company that runs a digital platform to help water systems manage lead replacement programs, wasn’t surprised by the news. Federal funding is a concern for her company’s customers across the country, she said. “All grants and earmarks, we’re kind of starting from a ground-zero standpoint,” Glover said. “All of that is kind of up for grabs at this point with the new administration.” Anna-Lisa Gonzales Castle is director of water policy at Elevate, a Chicago-based nonprofit focused on water and energy affordability that is also involved with local lead service line replacement programming. She said that ramping up replacement speeds will be a challenge, but homeowners shouldn’t be left on the hook for something that wasn’t their fault. “We want to see the city move swiftly, and we want to see the federal government and the state bring resources to bear on this too,” she said. “It’s gonna be an all-hands-on-deck approach.” Explore which areas are most at risk from lead pipes. Sign up to be notified when we release more reporting on Chicago’s lead service lines and an interactive map. This article originally appeared in Grist at https://grist.org/accountability/chicago-lead-pipe-service-line-replacement-plan-epa/. Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Learn more at Grist.org — This Story Was Originally Published by Grist. *** – The world is changing fast. We help you keep up. We’ll send you 1 post, 3x per week. – Photo Credit: iStock The post Chicago Residents Risk Daily Lead Exposure From Toxic Pipes. Replacing Them Will Take Decades. appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

 Not because you’re bitter. Not because you’ve stopped believing in love. But because something deep within you has shifted — a quiet knowing that the kind of love you deserve doesn’t need to be chased, decoded, or earned. It just needs to be seen. If you’ve ever found yourself anxiously waiting for a text, overexplaining your heart, or shrinking to keep someone interested, this is for you. It’s time to stop begging to be chosen. Because you, my love, were never meant to audition for a role in someone else’s life. You were meant to walk in as the main character. Let’s talk about why we chase, why it hurts, and how to choose ourselves so deeply that the love we attract reflects that same wholeness. The Wound Behind the Chase We don’t beg to be chosen because we lack intelligence, beauty, or value. We beg to be chosen because somewhere along the way, we were taught that love is something you have to earn. Maybe it was a parent who was emotionally unavailable. Maybe it was a string of relationships where affection was conditional. Maybe you’ve always been the one who gave more, hoping it would eventually be enough. That’s not love. That’s a trauma pattern. And the truth is, the version of you that keeps trying to prove your worth is probably still healing from the times you were overlooked. But you’re allowed to evolve. You’re allowed to grow into the woman who no longer chases clarity, but demands it. Who no longer performs to be loved, but simply is. Signs You’re Begging to Be Chosen (Even Subtly) Let’s call it out — gently, lovingly, but truthfully. You overthink your texts, tone, or appearance around someone you’re interested in. You initiate all the conversations and make all the plans. You accept inconsistent effort because you fear losing the connection. You feel anxiety, not peace, in their presence. You internalize rejection as a reflection of your value. When you’re constantly adjusting who you are to feel worthy of someone else’s attention, you’re not being chosen — you’re being consumed. And you deserve better than that. Why It Hurts So Much Begging to be chosen hurts because it disconnects you from your own truth. Every time you silence your needs, ignore your intuition, or settle for crumbs, you betray your inner knowing. It’s not just about them — it’s about the version of you that believes you have to be something more, do something more, or give something more to be loved. But real love? Real love won’t ask you to shrink. Real love will meet you in your wholeness. Real love will recognize you from across the room and say, “There you are. I’ve been waiting for you.” Reclaiming Your Energy: What Choosing Yourself Actually Looks Like Choosing yourself isn’t just a buzzword — it’s a daily practice. And it starts with quiet, consistent acts of self-loyalty. 1. Say No to Mixed Signals Ambiguity is not romantic. If someone wants to be with you, you’ll know. If you’re confused, that’s your answer. Clarity is love. Consistency is love. 2. Honor Your Emotional Capacity Stop stretching yourself to be enough for someone who keeps moving the finish line. Your heart is not a proving ground. 3. Let Silence Speak You don’t need to send another follow-up text. You don’t need to fight for someone to choose you. Let their silence be the closure. Let their inconsistency be the answer. 4. Return to Self-Intimacy Nurture the relationship you have with yourself. Date yourself. Pour into your own life. When your world is full, love becomes an addition — not a lifeline. 5. Surround Yourself with People Who Reflect Your Value Being around emotionally mature, deeply supportive people reminds you what it feels like to be respected, not tolerated. But What If I’m Scared to Let Go? Letting go of someone you care about — even someone who wasn’t choosing you — is one of the hardest things you’ll ever do. But here’s the truth: Staying in almost-love keeps you from real love. Settling for half-hearted effort blocks you from wholehearted commitment. The love you crave cannot enter while your hands are full of what no longer serves you. You have to make room. You have to believe that something better exists. And more than that — you have to believe you deserve it. The Shift: From “Choose Me” to “I Choose Me” This shift doesn’t happen overnight. But one day, you’ll wake up and realize you’re not obsessively checking your phone. You’re not wondering what you did wrong. You’re not trying to fix what was never yours to fix. Instead, you’ll feel peace. Not because they came back. But because you came home — to yourself. You’ll start choosing: Peace over panic Clarity over confusion Consistency over chemistry Depth over performance And when you choose you first, everything changes. Call to Action: What to Do Next If this spoke to you, take this as your invitation to step into a softer, more self-honoring era of your life. Start small: Unfollow or mute people who drain your energy. Journal on what being chosen actually feels like to you. Write a letter to your past self and forgive her for the times she begged. Go deeper: Sign up for therapy or coaching that helps you unpack emotional patterns. Join a community of women who are also healing, growing, and leveling up. Commit to 30 days of radical self-loyalty. Ask yourself daily: Does this honor me? And most importantly: Don’t wait to be chosen. Choose yourself so powerfully that it becomes impossible for anyone to choose you halfway. The Love You Deserve Is Not Behind a Chase It’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to be enough. It’s easy to internalize rejection. It’s easy to think that maybe, just maybe, if you were a little quieter, prettier, more patient… they’d stay. But you don’t have to be more. You just have to be aligned. Aligned with your worth. Aligned with your truth. Aligned with the love that doesn’t need to be earned — because it recognizes your value from the start. So here’s your permission slip: Walk away from people who make you feel like a question mark. Create space for the ones who show up like an answer. And above all — choose yourself. Every single time. Because the moment you stop begging to be chosen… is the moment you start attracting the kind of love that never makes you ask twice. — This post was previously published on medium.com. *** Does dating ever feel challenging, awkward or frustrating? Turn Your Dating Life into a WOW! with our new classes and live coaching. Click here for more info or to buy with special launch pricing! *** —– Photo credit: Danilo Ćalić on Unsplash The post You Deserve to Be Chosen Without Begging for It appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

By Rory Harris [LONDON, SciDev.Net] Growing so-called “shade trees” on cocoa farms could play an important role in reducing the industry’s environmental impact. But adoption of this practice, known as agroforestry, remains low, leaving its potential unrealised, say researchers. Due to the widespread deforestation that has made way for these farms, cocoa is one of the biggest producers of greenhouse gases in agriculture. Supporters of agroforestry say it can offset these emissions and capture large amounts of carbon. It was very surprising to me just how low the shade tree cover was across the board. Wilma Blaser-Hart, agroforestry researcher, University of Queensland In a study published this month in the journal Nature Sustainability, researchers used machine learning to analyse satellite data and assess tree cover across Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, where almost two thirds of the world’s cocoa is grown. They found that only about five per cent of cocoa is grown on farms where there is at least 30 per cent shade cover from large trees. If enough trees were planted to reach this target, then the resulting carbon storage would offset 167 per cent of cocoa-related greenhouse gas emissions in the two countries, without having to reduce production, according to the study. Wilma Blaser-Hart, a lead researcher of the study from the University of Queensland, Australia, told SciDev.Net: “It was very surprising to me just how low the shade tree cover was across the board.” Keep Science Journalism Alive SciDev.Net provides award-winning science news coverage free of charge. We rely on donations from readers like you to keep going. Donate to SciDev.Net today Processing ... Donate now Stripe Payments requires Javascript to be supported by the browser in order to operate. Growing cocoa under shade trees has a number of benefits for cocoa crops. The trees create a microclimate in the undergrowth that helps the soil retain more moisture. Cocoa crops are then less vulnerable to extreme heat and drought, which are both becoming increasingly common due to climate change. The approach also protects biodiversity and, importantly for farmers, the midges that pollinate cocoa flowers do much better in agroforestry systems. Farmers reluctant But researchers say their study shows that the practice is still not being widely used, despite these advantages. “Farmers are not adopting agroforestry because of its perceived potential impact that it has on their yield,” said James Seutra Kaba, an expert in agroforestry from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, who was not involved in the study. Incorporating trees into farms costs time and money. It also reduces the amount of space that can be used for cocoa plants. So, for the tenant farmers who want to maximise their yield, agroforestry may be seen as an obstacle. There is also a problem around ownership of the trees. Most farmers in the region do not own the farmland, so they might not be able to get the full benefit of growing a tree to maturity. Examining maturing cocoa pods. Researchers have found that about five per cent of cocoa is grown on farms where there is at least 30 per cent shade cover from large trees. Copyright: FAO photo (This photo has been cropped). “Let’s be frank, if you use agroforestry, your yields are not going to be the same,” added Kaba. “A farmer who goes into agroforestry will likely be contributing to environmental benefits, but the farmer is not necessarily being compensated. “If this can be dealt with, I am sure farmers will be happy to adopt agroforestry.” Blaser-Hart acknowledges that having too many other trees would be “bad” for cocoa production. She says her previous research indicates that 30 to 40 per cent shade tree cover is optimal. Both experts agreed that while shade trees might limit the space for growing cocoa plants, they could ultimately improve the yields of those plants, making them more resilient to climate change. 43 million seedlings Much work has been done already to build agroforestry into cocoa production. According to the World Cocoa Foundation, 43 million tree seedlings have been distributed since 2018 as part of the Cocoa and Forests Initiative, a commitment by cocoa producing countries to end deforestation and restore forests. “Even though this sounds like a huge number, we still need to do so much more if we want to increase shade tree cover across the entire region,” said Blaser-Hart. “These 43 million trees would only cover about 11 per cent of the entire region if they were all planted and grew to maturity.” Agroforestry can be implemented for cocoa farms across the world, as well as for many other crops, such as coffee. Researchers hope the new technique for assessing the use of agroforestry through machine learning will allow people to better target the planting of trees and highlight the benefits of the approach. Blaser-Hart added: “What I hope is that this work motivates people to not just move on to the next sustainability challenge, but keep going and continue to plant more trees.” This piece was produced by SciDev.Net’s Global desk. You might also like [related-articles] This article was originally published on SciDev.Net. Read the original article. — Previously Published on scidev.net with Creative Commons License *** – The world is changing fast. We help you keep up. We’ll send you 1 post, 3x per week. Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. A complete list of benefits is here. — Photo: unsplash The post Cocoa Growers Show Lack of Appetite for Agroforestry appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

— In today’s digital-first world, choosing a software development partner is one of the most important things any organization can do if it wants to grow. A good partner can provide you not just solid technology, but also long-term value by making sure that new ideas fit with your company objectives. There are a lot of suppliers out there, so companies need to go beyond price and delivery time to select a partner that can guarantee quality, scalability, and long-term development. Getting to Know the Role of a Development Partner A software development partner is more than just a company that sells you a product. Instead, they are a strategic partner who offers technical knowledge, problem-solving skills, and advice that goes beyond coding. A dependable partner helps businesses respond to changing market needs by turning original concepts into working solutions and supporting updates and integrations. When looking for possible partners, businesses should think about how well the supplier knows their sector, technical needs, and long-term goals. This makes sure that the collaboration isn’t only about transactions, but also about working together on a journey. Important Things That Affect the Decision There are a number of things that set a good development partner apart from one that just meets basic needs. The following things should be at the top of businesses’ lists: Proven Knowledge Across Technologies Technical skills are essential for good software development. A excellent partner supports several programming languages, frameworks, and architectures. This lets you design personalized solutions instead of forcing customers to pick pre-made ones. Providers that show off prior projects that used a variety of technology stacks frequently have better problem-solving abilities. Think about how scalable and ready for the future it is. Software shouldn’t only work for today; it should be able to change as a firm develops. A good development partner creates with scalability in mind, making sure that apps can manage more traffic, more complex features, and more integrations in the future. For example, TRUEiGTECH’s software development services focus on creating strong, future-proof solutions that help clients reach their growth objectives. Open communication and working together Strong cooperation need trust and open communication. A development company should make it easy for customers to communicate, update them often, and include them throughout the process. It prevents confusion and keeps everyone in sync. Working together also leads to new ideas since companies and IT specialists may come up with solutions together. A promise to make sure quality To make sure that software is dependable and free of bugs, it has to go through strict testing and quality assurance. To lower risks, a professional partner puts money into automated testing, performance checks, and usability studies. By fixing problems early, businesses save money in the long run and make users happier. Practices for Security and Compliance Businesses now have to deal with complicated rules on compliance and risks to cybersecurity. A good partner makes sure that security processes and compliance checks are part of every step of development. TRUEiGTECH’s software development solutions come with strong security frameworks that protect both company data and the privacy of end users. How a Partner Affects Business Growth? The perfect partner may have an effect on much more than just technical execution. A firm may get continual innovation, simpler operations, and speedier entrance into the market when it hires a good software development company. Customized tools, integrations, and applications help businesses stay ahead of the competition and spend resources effectively. Innovative technologies like AI-driven analytics, cloud-native infrastructure, and automation frameworks may be suggested by an aligned partner. Using these insights, businesses may go beyond their usual ways of doing things and make their processes smarter and their decisions better. Things to Look Out For Businesses need to be on the lookout for warning indicators when looking for a software development partner. Providers that promise too much or don’t provide references may not be trustworthy. Poor communication, not enough paperwork, and contracts that can’t be changed frequently lead to bad consequences. A good partner doesn’t care about short-term profits; they care about being honest, being able to grow, and providing demonstrable value. Creating a Partnership for the Long Term It doesn’t happen suddenly that you become successful in developing technologies. Long-term work with a partner who shares responsibility for corporate objectives leads to lasting results. Providers who give ongoing support, upgrades, and optimization after launch build confidence and dependability. TRUEiGTECH’s software development knowledge comes from building long-lasting relationships with customers, where they get not just technology but also advice on how to change their tactics. Final Thoughts Choosing the correct software development partner is a choice that affects how things are done now and how they will evolve in the future. When choosing, businesses should put expertise, openness, scalability, and security at the top of their list. By doing this, they make sure that not only is a product delivered, but also that a solution is made that will work for a long time. Trueigtech is a reliable source for businesses looking for innovative software development services that combine technical accuracy with strategic insights. Partnering with Trueigtech gives organizations that are ready to take the next step in digital transformation access to new solutions that work and show results. — This content is brought to you by Sky Link Building iStockPhoto The post Finding the Perfect Technology Partner for Software Development appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

By Le Ondra Clark Harvey California prides itself on being a state of second chances, a place where people can rebuild their lives with dignity. But are we truly living up to those values if we continue to leave incarcerated individuals behind? Nowhere is this more clear than with how we treat Californians with alcohol use disorder (AUD), one of the most underdiagnosed, underreported, undertreated and deadliest behavioral health conditions. Approximately 9 percent, or 2.9 million, Californians age 12 and older had a substance use disorder in the past year, with 6 percent, or 2 million, reporting symptoms that met the criteria for alcohol use disorder. Justice-involved individuals, in particular, are disproportionately affected by substance use disorders. Recent state prison data shows that 44 percent of the incarcerated population has a confirmed or possible substance use disorder, with AUD making up 25 percent of that population. Additionally, 66 percent of Californians in jails or prisons have a need for substance use disorder treatment, yet in 2022, only a little more than 31,000 were treated. These figures underscore the urgent need for comprehensive and consistent treatment strategies, particularly for justice-involved populations. Untreated AUD increases the chance of relapse, worsens chronic conditions and raises the likelihood of recidivism. The California Department of Health Care Services has acknowledged the importance of addressing substance use disorders in its CalAIM Justice-Involved Reentry Initiative. The program aligns with federal guidance, which requires screening for all substance use disorders, including alcohol use disorder, and providing access to all FDA-approved medication assisted treatments during incarceration and into the post-release period. Unfortunately, access to treatment remains inconsistent and, in some places, nonexistent. The state health care agency has encouraged use of all three FDA-approved medications for substance use disorder as a best practice, and the department set a goal for counties to provide at least two of the medications. However, because the county-to-county approach is optional — and thus fragmented — the medications aren’t available everywhere. California policymakers must realize that health equity is at stake. People of color, who are overrepresented in jails and prisons, are also disproportionately impacted by alcohol-related illnesses. If we don’t prioritize and mandate AUD treatment during reentry planning, we are reinforcing the very inequities that CalAIM was designed to dismantle. To truly reduce recidivism, improve health outcomes and support successful reentry into our communities, clear guidance to counties, facilities and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is needed. Screening for all substance use disorders, not just opioid use disorder, is a legal requirement, as is access to all FDA-approved forms of medication assisted treatment — both pre-release and post-release. It’s also critical that the state establish strong oversight and accountability mechanisms to track progress and address care gaps. Our community behavioral health system, and the state’s broader safety-net, needs stronger support. A recent report from the Steinberg Institute warns that California’s hard-won progress in mental health, especially in efforts to divert individuals from jails and emergency rooms, is now at serious risk of being undone. Fortunately, we know what works. We have the science, the policy and the tools to treat Californians with dignity and respect. What we need now is the will to follow through with clarity, consistency and compassion. Le Ondra Clark Harvey is a psychologist and CEO of the California Behavioral Health Association. This article first appeared on California Health Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. — Previously Published on calhealthreport.org with Creative Commons License *** – The world is changing fast. We help you keep up. We’ll send you 1 post, 3x per week. Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. A complete list of benefits is here. — Photo credit: iStock The post Opinion: California Is Failing People With This Health Condition. Here’s a Solution appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

A police officer was injured as the suspect drove onto the diplomatic premises in Sydney A man has been arrested after a car crashed through the gates of the Russian Consulate General in Sydney on Monday morning, injuring a police officer during the incident, according to local media reports. New South Wales police said officers were called to the consulate on Fullerton Street in Woollahra at around 8am after reports of a suspicious vehicle in the driveway. When officers attempted to speak with the driver of a white Toyota Kluger SUV, he allegedly accelerated into the gates and onto the property. The 39-year-old man was arrested at the scene and taken to Surry Hills police station, where he is assisting with inquiries. Police confirmed that no consulate staff were harmed. BREAKING: watch aerial shot of car after it crashes into Russian Consulate Sydney No official statements from Consulate yet https://t.co/W4ujaKfed7 pic.twitter.com/VlWLGh0YWk — Rapid Report (@RapidReport2025) August 31, 2025 A 24-year-old police constable suffered a cut to his hand during the response and was treated by paramedics. Authorities said there were no other injuries reported. Footage from the scene showed the SUV on the consulate’s lawn with shattered glass in its front doors as officers inspected the vehicle. The motive for the incident has not been disclosed, and police said investigations are ongoing. View the full article

By Sonali Kolhatkar The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted a recruitment message on social media this summer saying, “America has been invaded by criminals and predators. We need YOU to get them out.” Setting aside the racist overtones of this messaging, even DHS itself says it’s not true. Border crossings have fallen to an all-time low — DHS’s own website boasts about it. Moreover, federal data shows undocumented people have lower rates of criminal convictions than U.S.-born citizens. Yet immigration enforcement has dramatically ramped up. Starting this summer, the Trump administration began deploying masked, flak-jacketed men wearing military fatigues sporting the word “Police” against low-income communities of color in immigrant-heavy Southern California and elsewhere. Some people have exhorted city police to protect people from ICE agents, but evidence abounds of local law enforcement collaborating with ICE. And ICE has routinely posed as local law enforcement in order to gain entry into workplaces and people’s homes. This is no surprise — ICE agents are essentially federal police officers. The Trump administration has also unleashed police and ICE agents on the nation’s capital, citing high crime rates as justification. But like immigration, violent crime has fallen nationwide, especially in Washington, D.C. Among ICE’s favored targets in D.C. are delivery drivers — not exactly fitting the profile of dangerous criminals. Police officers have been documented conducting traffic stops while ICE agents check immigration status and then make arrests. Given all this, it’s disturbing that DHS is offering potential ICE recruits a $50,000 signing bonus — and often hiring people on the spot at job fairs. Imagine public school teachers, librarians, nurses, or child care workers being offered $50,000 bonuses and on-the-spot hiring. If there’s a bottomless well of taxpayer funds for waging war on people, there ought to be plenty of money to spend in service of them. Instead, Republicans have consistently chosen policing over real public safety. But not only Republicans. As policing expert Alex Vitale pointed out in Current Affairs, “Democratic politicians have leaned into a conservative law-and-order politics that has been a key enabler of Trump’s return to power and his current dictatorial moves.” Both parties are to blame, albeit to varying degrees. When racial justice activists in 2020 popularized the slogan “Defund the Police,” establishment media and politicians, including liberal ones, roundly criticized them. But the flip side of that incendiary call was a demand to fund institutions and systems that truly promote public safety: housing, healthcare, education, and more. Similarly, when antiwar activists for years — going at least as far back as the Iraq war — called for “Money for Schools, Not for War,” they were making the equation that the war machine sucks up resources that ought to fund the public good. Now, with the hyper-expansion of funding for immigration enforcement — which comes at the expense of Medicaid, SNAP, and other constructive programs — that demand is more relevant and necessary than ever. Lawmakers have always carved out funding for policing, the Pentagon, and agencies like ICE while claiming there isn’t enough to fund health care, education, child care, elder care, and more. Isn’t it time we flipped our priorities? — Previously Published on otherwords.org with Creative Commons License *** Does dating ever feel challenging, awkward or frustrating? Turn Your Dating Life into a WOW! with our new classes and live coaching. Click here for more info or to buy with special launch pricing! *** On Substack? Follow us there for more great dating and relationships content. Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here. — Photo credit: iStock The post Let’s Fund Real Public Safety, Not ICE appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

It was in Lisbon, at a little café tucked into an alleyway painted with blue tiles. I was telling a story I’d never told out loud before — one of those fragile ones that lives at the bottom of your chest. Halfway through, I stopped. I expected the usual — a quick reassurance, a joke to break the heaviness, or worse, advice I hadn’t asked for. But you just sat there. Eyes steady. No interruption. Just silence, and your presence holding mine. And in that pause, I felt more understood than a thousand well-meaning words could have ever offered. … Why Silence Feels Like Safety Our brains are always scanning for signals — is this person really listening, or just waiting for their turn? Neuroscience shows that when someone resists the urge to fill the space, mirror neurons fire differently. We don’t just hear quiet — we feel it. That kind of silence tells the nervous system: You don’t need to defend yourself here. And so, we soften. … Three Silences That Speak Louder Than Words 1. The Pause After Confession When you admit something raw — and instead of rushing in, they give you air to breathe. That’s not indifference. That’s reverence. … 2. The Listening Without Fixing You don’t need a solution. You need a witness. Silence becomes the proof that they’re not afraid of your mess. … 3. The Shared Quiet That Doesn’t Feel Empty On a late-night walk. In a car ride with the windows cracked open. The kind where you don’t need to say anything because the connection hums on its own frequency. … The Gift of Saying Nothing We think intimacy is built from words, but often it’s built from restraint. The willingness to stay still. The trust to let someone find their own ending, without rushing them there. The silence between words is where our hearts finally exhale. It’s not absence. It’s presence — at its most profound. — This post was previously published on medium.com. Love relationships? We promise to have a good one with your inbox. Subcribe to get 3x weekly dating and relationship advice. Did you know? We have 8 publications on Medium. Join us there! Hello, Love (relationships) Change Becomes You (Advice) A Parent is Born (Parenting) Equality Includes You (Social Justice) Greener Together (Environment) Shelter Me (Wellness) Modern Identities (Gender, etc.) Co-Existence (World) *** – Photo credit: Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash The post The Silence Between Words That Makes Someone Feel Understood appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

The identity of the alleged shooter who gunned down Andrey Parubiy has yet to be revealed Ukrainian law enforcement has detained a suspect in the killing of far-right MP and former parliamentary speaker Andrey Parubiy, President Vladimir Zelensky announced on Monday. The arrest comes less than 48 hours after Parubiy was gunned down in broad daylight in the western city of Lviv. Zelensky said he was informed of the development by Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Igor Klimenko and Security Service (SBU) chief Vasily Malyukon Sunday night. “I have instructed that the available information be presented to the public,” Zelensky said in a post on X. “I thank our law enforcement officers for their prompt and coordinated work. All the circumstances of this horrendous murder must be clarified.” The identity of the suspect remains unknown while “necessary investigative actions are ongoing,” Zelensky added. In a separate statement, he said he had spoken with Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who confirmed that the suspect had already given an initial testimony. “Urgent investigative actions are currently underway to establish all the circumstances of this murder,” Zelensky noted, adding that “the entire law enforcement team and the prosecutors are working around the clock.” Parubiy, 54, was shot eight times by an unknown assailant on Saturday while walking along a sidewalk in Lviv. Surveillance footage, which has circulated online, appears to show a man posing as a food delivery courier approaching Parubiy from behind before raising a firearm and fleeing the scene. The motive behind Parubiy’s killing remains unclear. A prominent figure in Ukraine’s far-right political circles, Parubiy co-founded the Social-National Party of Ukraine in 1991 – a party known for its neo-Nazi symbolism and ideology. Parubiy played a central role in the 2014 Maidan coup, where he coordinated paramilitary protest groups and served as commandant of the protest camp in central Kiev. After the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovich, he was appointed secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, overseeing early military operations in Donbass and the government crackdown on anti-Maidan protests. Parubiy’s career was further marred by was his alleged role in suppressing protests in Odessa in May 2014, which culminated in a fire at the Trade Union building and killed more than 40 activists opposed to Kiev’s coup-installed government. In 2018, he drew international criticism for stating in a televised interview that “the greatest man who practiced direct democracy was Adolf Hitler in the 1930s” – a comment he later claimed was misunderstood. View the full article

August 31st is quickly approaching… It is a day that we will remember forever… It marks one year since Catherine Estelle Dublin took her final breath, and tonight, as I sit here in a different home than the one we shared together, I’m struck by how much has changed while so much of what she gave our family remains constant. A year ago on that day at 4:02 pm, I thought I knew what loss looked like sitting in that hospice room as the funeral home came to take her away… I’d spent two years watching cancer slowly take pieces of the woman I loved, preparing myself for the inevitable. But nothing could really prepare you for everything that followed — the daily barrage of Facebook Memories showing highlights of your life before (and during) cancer, the absence of Taylor Swift music blaring or her laugh echoing through the house, the empty spot on her side of the bed, the realization that all those little daily interactions you kinda took for granted are suddenly just memories. Yet as this year has unfolded, I’ve come to understand something that is impossible to know until you’ve lived through it: love doesn’t end when someone dies. It transforms. It grows. It finds new ways to show up in your life. My relationship with Cat taught me how to love. It showed me what it meant to unconditionally choose someone every day, not just when things were easy but especially when they weren’t. During her illness, when the woman I married slowly disappeared and was replaced by someone fighting for survival, I learned that real love isn’t about clinging to the version of the person you fell for… It’s about the choice you make to keep showing up for your person, no matter what changes. That’s what real commitment is. She didn’t live to see me become the man I am today, but she definitely helped create him. Every difficult conversation I’ve navigated this year, every moment I’ve had to be vulnerable with our children, every time I’ve chosen to remain open instead of closing myself off — those responses were shaped by her. She taught me that strength isn’t about being unbreakable; it’s about breaking and still choosing to show up and to love without limits. The boys carry her forward in ways that continue to make me smile every day. Chris has her thoughtfulness and her way of considering everyone’s feelings at all times. DeAngelo inherited her emotional side and protective instincts. Ollie has her infectious laugh and her ability to find joy and laughter in the smallest things. Watching them navigate this year without her has shown me what strength really looks like. Although our family dynamics have changed dramatically, our bond remains strong. This year has brought changes I never expected. We left the house where Cat and I had started to build our new life together in North Carolina and created a new home in Uptown Charlotte. I’ve fallen in love again with someone whose beautiful soul has given her the capacity to love me while understanding that loving me means making room for Cat’s memory in our house. I’ve traveled to new places, made new friends, and built new traditions and routines with the boys. With each of these changes, I’ve learned that moving forward isn’t about leaving her behind; it’s about taking everything I’ve learned about myself through loving her into whatever comes next. She never got to experience who I’ve become in the aftermath of losing her, but I know she would recognize him. I believe she’d be proud of him. She would see the father who talks to his children about grief and joy with equal honesty. She would see a man who relentlessly shows up for and invests in his children. She would see the partner who knows how to love deeply because she helped teach him how. She would see someone who refuses to let tragedy and sadness have the final word in his story because she never let it have the final word in hers. People sometimes ask me how I’m able to find happiness again so “soon” after such a profound loss. The answer is simple: Her cancer journey and loss taught me that life is meant to be lived fully, that love is meant to be shared freely, and that joy is not something you earn through suffering; it’s something you choose despite it. Honoring her memory doesn’t mean staying frozen in sadness and in grief; it means living the lessons she helped teach me about what it means to be fully alive. Catherine is deeply missed by everyone whose life she touched. The boys miss their mother’s voice, her laugh, and the way she could solve any problem just by listening to them, hugging them, and telling them everything would be okay. Friends and family miss her warmth and the light she brought to every interaction. Her absence is felt in countless ways, large and small, by all of us who were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to love her in close proximity. But none of us is defined by what we’ve lost. We’re defined by what she left with us… The capacity to love without reservation, the strength to be vulnerable, the wisdom to know that the most profound love sometimes means letting go, and the understanding that happiness and grief can coexist in the same heart at the same time. A year later, Cat is still here. She’s present in the way I parent our children, in the lessons I’ve carried into my new relationship, in the courage I find to embrace unexpected changes, and in the deep well of love that her life created in mine. She’s in every choice I make to stay open instead of shutting down, to love instead of closing myself off to it, to live instead of just surviving. This weekend, I’m traveling to Columbus, OH, to watch the Buckeyes play their home opener against Texas; stacking new memories and experiences has helped keep things moving in a positive direction for me. It is a game and a trip that I’ve very much looked forward to. Before I go, though, I’ll give the boys gifts to commemorate the great memories we shared with her. I’ll honor her quietly and remember the woman who changed everything about how I understand love, loss, and what it means to be a man and a father. We also plan on celebrating her memory on September 13th at the Headed For Hope 5K (to donate or join our team — https://runsignup.com/teamcatherine), an event that she was extremely passionate about and participated in. Several friends and members of her family are coming up to Charlotte to participate with us in her honor. But this week, while the memory of August 31st has led to many tears and several sleepless nights, I remain grateful. Grateful for the time we had, grateful for the man she helped me become, and grateful that love doesn’t end — it just finds new ways to grow. Rest in peace, Cat. You are loved. You are missed. Thank you for everything. Walt — This post was previously published on medium.com. Love relationships? We promise to have a good one with your inbox. Subcribe to get 3x weekly dating and relationship advice. Did you know? We have 8 publications on Medium. Join us there! Hello, Love (relationships) Change Becomes You (Advice) A Parent is Born (Parenting) Equality Includes You (Social Justice) Greener Together (Environment) Shelter Me (Wellness) Modern Identities (Gender, etc.) Co-Existence (World) *** – Photo courtesy of author. The post One Year Later… Carrying Love Forward appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

By MetroHealth, Buckeye Flame If you have a prostate, you need to be screened regularly for prostate cancer starting around age 45—or around age 40 if you are Black or have a family history of prostate cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, having a parent or sibling with prostate cancer more than doubles a person’s risk. Modern screening for prostate cancer is a PSA test, or prostate-specific antigen test, where a blood sample is analyzed for a specific protein produced by the prostate gland. Sounds simple, right? Unfortunately, studies show that gay men and transgender women appear to have lower rates of prostate cancer screening. Even if they get screened one time according to recommended guidelines, they’re less likely to be screened regularly, making it difficult to understand fluctuations in the PSA levels that indicate prostate cancer. And, according to Kirtishri Mishra, MD, a board-certified urologist and the Director of Sexual Health and Gender Reconstructive Surgery at MetroHealth, that’s putting lives at risk. “Prostate cancer screening saves lives,” says Dr. Mishra. “Prostate cancer is incredibly treatable if you pick up the disease early. But if the cancer spreads outside of the prostate, it can be deadly.” Breaking Barriers So, if prostate cancer screening is a simple blood test and prostate cancer is easily treatable in early stages, why don’t more gay men and trans women get screened? To Dr. Mishra, the problem is two-fold. First, healthcare disparities—including access to care and discrimination—are more common for members of the LGBTQ+ community. And because the disease disproportionately impacts Black men, it’s not uncommon for gay Black men and Black trans women to face additional disparities. “It’s on us as providers,” says Dr. Mishra. “Many providers aren’t comfortable talking about these issues with LGBTQ+ patients.” Kirtishri Mishra, MD, board-certified urologist and the Director of Sexual Health and Gender Reconstructive Surgery at MetroHealth That’s why Dr. Mishra has been on a personal journey to improve his knowledge about LGBTQ+ health issues. While he’s been at the forefront of gender-affirming surgery, a recent teleconference caused him to reflect on how he can improve. “They were telling a story about the partner of a gay man who was in the room when a prostate cancer diagnosis was explained, and the provider wouldn’t look at the partner—only the patient—and didn’t discuss the sexual side effects and prognosis,” recalls Dr. Mishra. “I realized that I was guilty of doing that sometimes, too. I had to reflect on my own practice and proactively work towards eliminating bias.” Secondly, he wants the field of urology to improve. “My ask of my urology colleagues is to have sexuality and gender baked into cancer care,” says Dr. Mishra. “Let’s offer the same benefits to LGBTQ+ patients as we do to straight and cisgender patients.” Understanding Prostate Cancer Treatment Within Gender/Sexuality Contexts For those with a prostate, treating prostate cancer has the same side effects for gay men and trans women as it does for straight, cisgender men. Surgical treatment often has immediate drawbacks that can improve over time. Incontinence and erectile dysfunction are common in the six weeks that follow surgery. Meanwhile, radiation treatment may not produce immediate side effects, but one to two years later, incontinence and erectile dysfunction can occur. However, one immediate side effect of radiation treatment is often proctitis, or inflammation of the rectum’s lining. It can cause fecal incontinence and irritation. While the side effects are universal, the cultural contexts are vastly different. Sexual health is incredibly important to the identities of gay men. Erectile dysfunction— both as someone who performs and receives penetrative anal intercourse—isn’t just about sexual performance, it’s about identity. If one partner is unable to perform due to treatment, it can create guilt and resentment, feeling like one partner is a “prisoner” to another’s disease. That’s why, according to Dr. Mishra, patients can’t be looked at in a cold, clinical light. They have to be seen for who they are. “The conversation about treatment with gay men and their partners must include intimacy and their sexual life,” says Dr. Mishra. “We talk about what sexual activities are a part of their life, how each intervention might impact those activities and ways to preserve intimacy in their relationships. The discussion must empower patients to understand the pros and cons of each treatment.” Sexual Health is Health Helping LGBTQ+ patients who have a prostate understand the impact of treatment on their sexual lives—and work to improve their sexual lives during a diagnosis—is critical to survivorship. That’s why MetroHealth launched a new rehabilitation program aimed at helping all patients with a prostate cancer diagnosis have the healthiest sexual health outcome possible. Patients meet with a sexual health expert before treatment. The provider understands the level of erectile dysfunction prior to surgery and may start patients on medication to improve blood flow to the groin. Continuing the medication after surgery allows for improved healing. Other therapies within the clinic include pelvic floor physical therapy before and after treatment to reduce urinary incontinence. Prostate Cancer and Trans Women: Still At Risk Dr. Mishra isn’t surprised anymore when he receives a call from a primary care doctor asking this question: “Does she still have a prostate? I don’t see it on the X-ray.” “Gender-affirming surgery is still an area where some providers don’t have all of the details,” says Dr. Mishra. “There’s a poor understanding among providers regarding the anatomical arrangement of a person’s pelvic area after gender-affirming surgery.” During a vaginoplasty, the prostate is not removed. Removing the prostate can cause incontinence and poor sexual function in trans women, plus, the prostate has many erogenous nerves that provide sexual pleasure. And even though gender-affirming hormone therapy often shrinks the prostate, trans women are still at risk for prostate cancer, much more than previously thought. Mishra knows. He did the research. “There’s still much to discover about the risk of prostate cancer after gender-affirming surgery and hormone therapy,” says Mishra. “But research I contributed to in 2024 shows that prostate cancer isn’t rare at all in transgender women, despite previous thinking.” The message for trans women is clear: find a culturally competent provider and get screened for prostate cancer. “Unfortunately, people in the LGBTQ+ population encounter providers who aren’t comfortable talking about these issues, let alone treating them,” says Mishra. “That’s why we’re fortunate at MetroHealth to have the MetroHealth Pride Network. Cultural competency is critical.” About The MetroHealth Pride Network The MetroHealth Pride Network offers primary and mental healthcare for adults and children and gender-affirming care for adults. While people in the LGBTQ+ community have similar routine healthcare needs as cisgender or heterosexual people, providers in the MetroHealth Pride Network have specialized training and experience related to sexuality and gender. Pride Network providers can be found in five MetroHealth locations—Brecksville, Brooklyn, Cleveland Heights, Parma and Rocky River as well as a clinic in the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland. Learn more at www.metrohealth.org/pride. — The Buckeye Flame is an online platform dedicated to amplifying the voices of LGBTQ+ Ohioans to support community and civic empowerment through the creation of engaging content that chronicles their triumphs, struggles, and lived experiences. — Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. A complete list of benefits is here. — Photo: thebuckeyeflame The post The Organs You Have: What Gay Men and Trans Women Need to Know About Prostate Health appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

By Martha A. Lavallie Building emotional availability in your marriage can make a big difference in your relationship. Research shows that when couples focus on becoming more emotionally available to each other, they often experience greater satisfaction and deeper intimacy.1 Here’s how building emotional availability can help you and your partner improve your connection and enjoy a more fulfilling relationship. What is Emotional Availability Emotional availability means being open and willing to connect with your feelings and those of others. It’s about being present and attentive when your partner shares their emotions. When you’re emotionally available, you listen, understand, and respond in a caring way. In a relationship, emotional availability helps build trust and a deeper connection. It allows both partners to feel valued and understood, making the relationship stronger and more fulfilling. Why Emotional Availability Matters in Marriage Emotional availability is crucial in marriage because it helps both partners feel connected and understood. Here’s why it matters: Builds Trust: When you’re open and honest with your feelings, your partner feels safe and trusted. This trust is essential for a strong relationship. Deepens Connection: Sharing emotions and listening to each other brings you closer. It helps you understand each other’s needs and feelings better. Resolves Conflicts: Being emotionally available allows you to talk about problems calmly and find solutions together. It helps avoid misunderstandings and arguments. Provides Support: When you’re there for your partner emotionally, it shows you care about their well-being. It makes them feel supported and valued. Enhances Intimacy: Emotional closeness leads to a stronger bond, which can improve your physical and emotional intimacy. Being emotionally available helps keep your marriage healthy and happy by creating a strong, supportive connection between you and your partner. Indicators of Emotional Unavailability Here are some signs that you or your partner might be emotionally unavailable: Avoiding Deep Conversations: If you steer clear of talking about feelings or important topics, it might mean you’re not ready to open up. Being Distracted: If you’re often distracted or not fully present during conversations, it can be a sign of emotional unavailability. Difficulty Expressing Feelings: Struggling to talk about your own emotions or being vague when discussing them might indicate emotional distance. Shutting Down: If you tend to shut down or become defensive when emotions are brought up, it can show you’re not ready to engage emotionally. Lack of Empathy: Not showing understanding or concern for your partner’s feelings can be a sign of being emotionally unavailable. Keeping Secrets: Hiding important details or not being honest about your thoughts and feelings might mean you’re holding back emotionally. Recognizing these signs can help address emotional barriers and improve communication and connection in your relationship. How to Foster Emotional Availability Here are some simple steps to help you become more emotionally available: Practice Listening: When your partner talks about their feelings, really listen without interrupting. Show you’re interested and understand what they’re saying. Share Your Own Feelings: Be open about how you feel. Talk about your emotions honestly and let your partner know what’s going on with you. Be Present: Spend quality time together and be fully engaged. Put away distractions like your phone and focus on your partner. Show Empathy: Try to understand how your partner feels and respond with care. Let them know you’re there to support them. Communicate Openly: Talk about any issues or concerns you have in the relationship. Address problems together rather than avoiding them. Be Patient: Building emotional availability takes time. Be patient with yourself and your partner as you work on improving your emotional connection. By taking these steps, you can build a stronger and more supportive relationship, where both partners feel valued and understood. Emotional Availability is an Ongoing Journey Being emotionally available isn’t something you achieve once and for all. It’s an ongoing journey that requires continual growth, as both emotions and relationships evolve over time. It’s important to keep working on understanding and sharing feelings as things change. Regular communication is key; consistently talking about your feelings and listening to your partner helps maintain emotional closeness. Life brings new challenges and changes, and being emotionally available means adapting to these shifts and supporting each other through them. Practicing patience is also important, as both you and your partner may struggle with emotions from time to time. Patience and persistence in improving your emotional connection can make a big difference. Lastly, learning from past experiences is essential. Reflect on what has worked well and what hasn’t, and use these insights to grow and strengthen your relationship. Staying emotionally available is about continuously working on your connection with your partner and being open to growth and change. Source: Frontiers in Psychology — This article was published and syndicated by Viral Chatter. — Subscribe to The Good Men Project Newsletter Email Address * Subscribe If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project, please join us as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here. — Photo credit: iStock The post How to Cultivate Emotional Availability in Your Marriage appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

It would “not bother” the US president if former officials James Comey and John Brennan ended up in custody US President Donald Trump has said he would not mind seeing ex-FBI Director James Comey and ex-CIA Director John Brennan handcuffed and arrested live on TV due to their alleged role in the Russiagate hoax. Trump made the remarks in an interview with the Daily Caller published on Saturday, stating that it would “not bother [him] at all” if the two former intel chiefs end up in custody. “What they did is a disgrace. They cheated, they lied, they did so many bad things, evil things that were so bad for the country, and because they did something to me that should have never been done, nobody thought they’d ever do that,” Trump stated. “They should be [arrested] because they’re crooked and they got caught,” he added. The situation with Brennan and Comey is different from what the US administration had on its hands with Hillary Clinton, Trump suggested, apparently referring to the email controversy dating back to her tenure as the US secretary of state. “Hillary’s a good example. We had Hillary cold. I didn’t want to see that. I didn’t want the, you know, the wife of a president, to go to jail, but she was stone cold guilty of things,” Trump stated. The Trump administration launched a probe into the Russiagate hoax shortly after the US president assumed the post for the second time early this year. The investigation has been spearheaded by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who has repeatedly pledged to get to the bottom of what she described as a “treasonous conspiracy” to delegitimize Trump’s 2016 election victory and a “years-long coup.” Since mid-July, Gabbard has released multiple documents that allegedly expose a coordinated effort by senior Obama-era officials, as well as structures linked to billionaire George Soros, to falsely accuse Trump of colluding with Russia. Moscow has consistently denied any interference in the 2016 election, with Russian officials describing the allegations as a product of partisan infighting. The Russiagate scandal heavily damaged relations between Moscow and Washington, resulting in sanctions, asset seizures, and a further erosion of diplomatic engagement. View the full article

By Shashwat Mishra Emissions testing plays an essential role in controlling vehicle pollution and conserving the environment. These evaluations confirm that vehicles comply with legal regulations for the release of harmful gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Nonetheless, certain car producers have been discovered to be cheating in these evaluations. The main motive for is monetary. Achieving emissions standards frequently necessitates costly technologies such as sophisticated catalytic converters or more environmentally friendly engine designs. For car manufacturers, these enhancements may reduce profits or increase vehicle prices for buyers, possibly leading to lower sales. By engaging in deceit, companies can evade these expenses while still seeming to adhere to regulations. Moreover, tougher emissions regulations in areas such as the European Union and the U.S. exert notable pressure on manufacturers to innovate quickly. When deadlines appear unattainable, certain automakers resort to shortcuts by altering test outcomes. Cheating also helps preserve a company’s reputation. For example, VW heavily marketed its “Clean Diesel” vehicles as Eco-friendly alternatives, but later investigations revealed the use of defeat devices—software designed to manipulate results during tests. These devices made cars appear cleaner while emitting up to 40 times the legal limit of pollutants in real-world driving. Toyota was recently fined for cheating, showing that even trusted industry leaders sometimes prioritize profits over compliance. Other manufacturers have also faced accusations. Nissan falsified emissions data in Japan due to poorly managed testing systems. Opel was also found using defeat devices in Europe in 2015. And BMW was involved in an “emissions cartel” that sought to limit progress in AdBlue, a technology designed to decrease nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. Even Mercedes-Benz faced allegations of using defeat devices, though the company refutes the claims. John Stoll explains, “The emissions information says what the test needs it to say so that it passes regulatory tests. And then in real-world conditions, it emits far more of the harmful emissions such as NOx into the air than is legally allowed.” While it’s unlikely that every car company cheats, the problem appears widespread enough to warrant concern. Weak enforcement and the potential for profit make cheating an attractive option for unethical companies. Nonetheless, many manufacturers do focus on compliance and put resources into cleaner technologies, demonstrating that innovation can occur without resorting to fraud. To tackle emissions fraud, authorities need to enhance enforcement and apply stricter penalties. Third-party organizations should handle emissions tests to ensure impartiality, and carmakers should be incentivized to develop sustainable technologies. As consumers, we can help by choosing vehicles that have confirmed eco-friendly certifications, and insisting on increased transparency from carmakers. CONTACTS Toyota Whacked with Gigantic Fine for Diesel Emissions Cheating Volkswagen: The scandal explained EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy Scheer & Doug Moss for the 501(c)3 nonprofit EarthTalk. See more at https://emagazine.com. To donate, visit https://earthtalk.org. Send questions to: question@earthtalk.org. — Previously Published on emagazine *** Subscribe to The Good Men Project Newsletter Email Address * If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project, please join us as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here. — Photo: istock The post Cheating on Emissions: A Problem for All Automakers? appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

I’ve been thinking a lot about presence lately. Maybe it’s because I’m coming up on my birthday in a few days, or because I skipped a Saturday post to pack boxes, wrangle kids, and buy wood for the flooring project that is inevitably going to test my patience and Craig’s knee joints this week. Maybe it’s because Rowan wasn’t feeling well yesterday and instead of writing, I found myself sitting beside him, slowing down, just being with him in the stillness. Whatever the reason, presence has been on my heart. The thing about presence is that it doesn’t require a passport, or a perfect view, or even a carefully orchestrated moment. And yet, I’ve lived enough of life to know that presence does sneak in when you least expect it. Sometimes in the middle of a waterfall hike in Oregon, sometimes around a fire in the woods with my children bundled in blankets, sometimes at a dinner table with too much noise, too many elbows, and just enough laughter to make you forget the dishes waiting in the sink. I’ve had the joy of traveling to many places. I’ve camped under the wide expanse of desert sky, and I’ve walked through bustling cities where the air itself felt like energy made visible. I’ve taken my children on adventures across borders, through museums and musicals, into mountains and rivers, teaching them not just about geography but about wonder. And yet the thing I remember most from every trip isn’t the itinerary, it’s the faces. The laughter. The inside jokes that made no sense to anyone else. Presence is not in the where. It’s in the who. I think of sledding trips when cheeks turned red and fingers froze, and still the kids begged to go “one more time.” I think of fishing excursions where we caught more sunburns than fish, but everyone swore they’d seen “the big one.” I think of the prayers, the closing words I have whispered every single night for 27 years, words so stitched into our family fabric that my children could repeat them even in their sleep. It’s wild when you think about it. Twenty-seven years of the same prayer. Thousands of nights, thousands of moments, one thread weaving them all together. Some people might think it monotonous, but for me, it’s a heartbeat. A rhythm. A gift of presence that has carried my children and me, through storms and sunrises alike. And then there’s Craig. The warrior of my heart. The protector. My earth angel. Sometimes I look at him and I swear I’ve loved him for a thousand years, like every path we’ve walked separately was always leading here. With him beside me, even the ordinary feels extraordinary. A grocery store run. A walk by the lake. The long car rides when the conversation meanders from childhood memories to half-baked plans for the future. Presence becomes love when it’s shared. I am blessed. Not in the Instagram-perfect, hashtag-polished sense of the word, but in the gritty, real, this-is-my-life sense. I am blessed with children who are each their own constellation of uniqueness — bright, wild, tender, brilliant in their own ways. I am blessed that Levi is here after his accident, breathing, laughing, creating, teaching me daily that survival can turn into thriving. And then there is Damieon, my grandson. My heart warrior. The boy whose laugh is pure medicine, whose strength humbles me more than anything else in this world. Every time I see his smile, I am reminded that joy is not found in ease but in endurance. That little soul has taught me more about presence than any book I’ve ever read or written. He is here, now. Fully. And being with him reminds me to be, too. I am blessed to watch my eldest daughter’s strength, the kind of strength that doesn’t come from choice but from necessity, from the fire forged in the furnace of motherhood and resilience. Blessed by my clients, souls who have entrusted me with their stories, who have allowed me to walk alongside them in their healing. Blessed by friends who’ve walked in and out of seasons, but who have never really left my heart. Even the pain has been a blessing. The suffering. The nights when I thought I would break. The heartbreaks and betrayals, the loneliness and uncertainty. They carved me open. They hollowed out the places where joy could take root. And in their wake, I’ve come to know gratitude in ways I couldn’t have imagined. My guides. My guardians. My angels. I’ve felt them for as long as I can remember, sometimes whispering, sometimes roaring, always reminding me that presence isn’t just about what we see, but about what we feel. And then there’s the passion, the crusader spirit that God has put inside me. Sometimes it’s exhausting to carry a fire this big, but more often than not, it’s the reason I wake up in the morning. To write. To love. To fight. To keep saying the words that others are too afraid to say. Every heartbeat. Every breath. A gift. Sometimes we forget that. Sometimes we get lost in the noise, the hustle, the what’s-next of it all. But slowing down, being present, that’s where the real magic is. That’s where joy lives. That’s where God shows up, not just in the monumental but in the mundane. This is what I wanted to capture in my books, too. Sober Sex is not about banishing alcohol or demonizing weed. It’s about asking: why do we reach for them? Are we softening into presence, or are we escaping it? Are we saying yes with full consent, or are we numbing our way into disconnection? That book was born from presence, from my own hard-won journey of returning to authenticity. Empowered but Empty is my wrestling with the world we live in, the promises of modern feminism and the cracks it’s left in our families, our relationships, our hearts. It’s about stripping away the noise and coming back to what matters most. And The Voice That Made You — that one is pure presence. A hundred poems of dialogue with the Divine, words that came not from striving but from sitting still long enough to listen. All three are pieces of my story, but more than that, they are invitations into presence. And this week, for my birthday, they are all just $2.99 on Kindle. Not because the words are cheap, but because the gift of presence is worth sharing widely. So today, as I write this, I feel the hum of gratitude in my chest. For my family. For my clients. For my readers. For my guides. For every single messy, beautiful, holy ordinary moment that has stitched my life together. Presence is the real gift. And it’s the one I don’t want to miss. The gift of presence is available to all of us, but sometimes, we need a little reminder to slow down, breathe, and return to ourselves. That’s why I write. If you’ve been craving more honesty, more depth, more real conversation around intimacy, family, healing, and faith. My books are my offering to you. As always loving you from here, Rene Schooler — This post was previously published on medium.com. Love relationships? We promise to have a good one with your inbox. Subcribe to get 3x weekly dating and relationship advice. Did you know? We have 8 publications on Medium. Join us there! Hello, Love (relationships) Change Becomes You (Advice) A Parent is Born (Parenting) Equality Includes You (Social Justice) Greener Together (Environment) Shelter Me (Wellness) Modern Identities (Gender, etc.) Co-Existence (World) *** – Photo credit: Brian Wangenheim On Unsplash The post The Gift of Presence appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

Get Apple’s free iWork Suite: Pages, Numbers and Keynote give you powerful tools for documents, spreadsheets and presentations, all free on Mac, iPhone and iPad. Check it out here. The post Get Apple’s free iWork Suite appeared first on Komando.com. View the full article

Assassins failed to take the Orange Man out. Impeachment didn’t stick. Is the Grim Reaper the new favored candidate? Is US President Donald Trump on death’s doorstep? That’s the question that Trump haters have been asking as they’ve suddenly turned to armchair medical analysis – their latest great hope. It all kicked off with some recent shots of the back of Trump’s hands covered in poorly blended women’s makeup, ostensibly covering some bruising. Social media has been rife with amateur sleuths manipulating the contrast on the images in an attempt to determine whether there are any signs of intravenous puncture that could perhaps be indicative of a serious medical condition – like heart failure. As supporting evidence, they also cite recent shots of his swollen ankles – or “cankles” – debating whether they’re expanding and contracting like an accordion, and if so, what that means for the number of days that he has left, both in power and in life. TikTok in particular has given rise to a whole new category of content called “hopecore,” with Trump haters citing medical or medical-adjacent experience in publishing content opining about how Trump’s days are numbered – although there’s usually much debate over exactly how many. That uncertainty is a source of great frustration for commenters seeking certainty in nailing down the exact amount of time that they have to put up with him. Some even keep spreadsheets, charts, and countdown clocks like they’re managing fantasy football teams, except instead of touchdowns they’re tracking anatomical anomalies. The White House has openly commented on Trump’s “chronic venous insufficiency,” which would explain the bruising and swelling. But even before that, back in June, his appearance at a UFC fighting event led to much zooming in on the crotch area of this 79-year-old man, with some speculating that he was wearing a catheter. Others argued that it was just something in his pocket. Some internet detectives even claimed it was a subtle Olympic-level flex that defies both anatomy and comprehension. Why is this even a thing, though? I guess gossip and speculation makes politics accessible for those who prefer the entry bar to be at floor-level. Policy and issues are complex and require work, particularly when the objective is to eject someone from power. It’s much more fun to just place all hope in fate to do the heavy lifting for you. And to cheer it along on a daily basis with your like-minded tribe. Add a hashtag, a TikTok filter, and suddenly it’s an entire movement. One that doesn’t even require you to get off the couch to make you feel like you’re part of something big – like a child tugging an escalator handrail convinced they’re moving everyone to the top. Guess they’re now putting all their hope on the Grim Reaper to take Trump out. Assassins failed to do it with actual bullets. Impeachment didn’t stick. Not even his disqualification through the courts came through for them. The Grim Reaper is now effectively their candidate of choice, and they seem more psyched about him than they ever did about Kamala Harris or Joe Biden. Go figure that there’s a glaring overlap between these people and those who also glom onto every health-related tidbit about Russian President Vladimir Putin. Over the years, it’s been reported in Western publications that he’s suffered from strokes, Parkinson’s, “terminal” pancreatic cancer (over a decade ago), thyroid cancer, and leprosy. Again, basically a fantasy football roster of health crises, all projected onto one man. It’s hardly a coincidence that many of those conjuring up death fantasies also happen to be proponents of regime change, including former MI6 officer Christopher Steele, former CIA officer Ralph Goff, Danish intelligence sources, Kremlin critic Valery Solovei, or former Ukrainian intelligence chief Kirill Budanov. All waiting for Mother Nature to spring into action like she’s on USAID payroll. When Putin and Trump were together in Alaska recently for Ukraine peace talks, it was a double whammy field day for the death pool watchers. They glommed onto Trump’s somewhat non-linear walk down the tarmac’s red carpet to greet Putin as “proof” of his ongoing decline. Then their radar went off again when Putin shifted his weight from one leg to the other while chatting with Trump. Evidence that he was about to collapse, surely! If not immediately, then imminently! It’s a classic case of anxiety displacement. Instead of grappling with why a political leader has power or support, they funnel their unease into scrutinizing movements, coughs, or missed steps. The result is a culture of obsessive speculation where nothing is sacred – not posture, not hands, not ankles, and certainly not the crotch region. But the more interesting question is why exactly do they feel the need to take refuge in this kind of nonsense? It represents a super low-effort power grab. Fate does the heavy lifting and clears the way for their preferred alternative over which they feel they have more control. There seems to be a lot of projection going on, though – the mistaken belief that what comes after would be more aligned with their interests. Or that the eradication of a particular leader through natural biological processes would somehow shift the tectonic plates of the political landscape. History shows that this is hardly ever the case. Just ask all the folks in Che Guevara or Martin Luther King t-shirts. Trumpism won’t end with Trump. Nor will the growing appetite for institutional reform of Washington. So then what’s the plan? To start all over again with a J.D. Vance death watch? At this point, someone should probably invent an app to track ankle swelling and gait analytics in real time. Because if you’re too lazy or inept to win, you can at least obsess over your opponent’s every micro-movement. View the full article

Assassins failed to take the Orange Man out. Impeachment didn’t stick. Is the Grim Reaper the new favored candidate? Is US President Donald Trump on death’s doorstep? That’s the question that Trump haters have been asking as they’ve suddenly turned to armchair medical analysis – their latest great hope. It all kicked off with some recent shots of the back of Trump’s hands covered in poorly blended women’s makeup, ostensibly covering some bruising. Social media has been rife with amateur sleuths manipulating the contrast on the images in an attempt to determine whether there are any signs of intravenous puncture that could perhaps be indicative of a serious medical condition – like heart failure. As supporting evidence, they also cite recent shots of his swollen ankles – or “cankles” – debating whether they’re expanding and contracting like an accordion, and if so, what that means for the number of days that he has left, both in power and in life. TikTok in particular has given rise to a whole new category of content called “hopecore,” with Trump haters citing medical or medical-adjacent experience in publishing content opining about how Trump’s days are numbered – although there’s usually much debate over exactly how many. That uncertainty is a source of great frustration for commenters seeking certainty in nailing down the exact amount of time that they have to put up with him. Some even keep spreadsheets, charts, and countdown clocks like they’re managing fantasy football teams, except instead of touchdowns they’re tracking anatomical anomalies. The White House has openly commented on Trump’s “chronic venous insufficiency,” which would explain the bruising and swelling. But even before that, back in June, his appearance at a UFC fighting event led to much zooming in on the crotch area of this 79-year-old man, with some speculating that he was wearing a catheter. Others argued that it was just something in his pocket. Some internet detectives even claimed it was a subtle Olympic-level flex that defies both anatomy and comprehension. Read more White House explains Trump’s swollen ankles and bruised hand Why is this even a thing, though? I guess gossip and speculation makes politics accessible for those who prefer the entry bar to be at floor-level. Policy and issues are complex and require work, particularly when the objective is to eject someone from power. It’s much more fun to just place all hope in fate to do the heavy lifting for you. And to cheer it along on a daily basis with your like-minded tribe. Add a hashtag, a TikTok filter, and suddenly it’s an entire movement. One that doesn’t even require you to get off the couch to make you feel like you’re part of something big – like a child tugging an escalator handrail convinced they’re moving everyone to the top. Guess they’re now putting all their hope on the Grim Reaper to take Trump out. Assassins failed to do it with actual bullets. Impeachment didn’t stick. Not even his disqualification through the courts came through for them. The Grim Reaper is now effectively their candidate of choice, and they seem more psyched about him than they ever did about Kamala Harris or Joe Biden. Go figure that there’s a glaring overlap between these people and those who also glom onto every health-related tidbit about Russian President Vladimir Putin. Over the years, it’s been reported in Western publications that he’s suffered from strokes, Parkinson’s, “terminal” pancreatic cancer (over a decade ago), thyroid cancer, and leprosy. Again, basically a fantasy football roster of health crises, all projected onto one man. It’s hardly a coincidence that many of those conjuring up death fantasies also happen to be proponents of regime change, including former MI6 officer Christopher Steele, former CIA officer Ralph Goff, Danish intelligence sources, Kremlin critic Valery Solovei, or former Ukrainian intelligence chief Kirill Budanov. All waiting for Mother Nature to spring into action like she’s on USAID payroll. Read more From cold war to cold peace: What the Anchorage and White House meetings mean for the world When Putin and Trump were together in Alaska recently for Ukraine peace talks, it was a double whammy field day for the death pool watchers. They glommed onto Trump’s somewhat non-linear walk down the tarmac’s red carpet to greet Putin as “proof” of his ongoing decline. Then their radar went off again when Putin shifted his weight from one leg to the other while chatting with Trump. Evidence that he was about to collapse, surely! If not immediately, then imminently! It’s a classic case of anxiety displacement. Instead of grappling with why a political leader has power or support, they funnel their unease into scrutinizing movements, coughs, or missed steps. The result is a culture of obsessive speculation where nothing is sacred – not posture, not hands, not ankles, and certainly not the crotch region. But the more interesting question is why exactly do they feel the need to take refuge in this kind of nonsense? It represents a super low-effort power grab. Fate does the heavy lifting and clears the way for their preferred alternative over which they feel they have more control. There seems to be a lot of projection going on, though – the mistaken belief that what comes after would be more aligned with their interests. Or that the eradication of a particular leader through natural biological processes would somehow shift the tectonic plates of the political landscape. History shows that this is hardly ever the case. Just ask all the folks in Che Guevara or Martin Luther King t-shirts. Trumpism won’t end with Trump. Nor will the growing appetite for institutional reform of Washington. So then what’s the plan? To start all over again with a J.D. Vance death watch? At this point, someone should probably invent an app to track ankle swelling and gait analytics in real time. Because if you’re too lazy or inept to win, you can at least obsess over your opponent’s every micro-movement. View the full article

🤳 Fix blurry phone photos: If tapping to focus isn’t working, your lens is probably dirty. After all, your phone lives in your pocket, collecting dust and grime. Folks, don’t reach for your T-shirt. Go with proper lens wipes that are scratch-free and streak-free. I found a pack of 200 for under $10. We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective. The post Fix blurry phone photos appeared first on Komando.com. View the full article

The order would mandate voter identification, restrict mail-in voting, and allow paper ballots only, the US president says US President Donald Trump has pledged to issue an executive order that would heavily restrict mail-in voting and mandate identification for every ballot. Trump has repeatedly pledged to overhaul the US voting system, alleging that it has become too susceptible to fraud. The US president made the announcement in a post on Truth Social on Saturday, signaling that the action will have the vote-by-mail system effectively dismantled with only a few exceptions allowed. “Voter ID must be part of every single vote. No exceptions! I will be doing an executive order to that end!!! He added: “Also, no mail-in voting, except for those are very ill, and the far away military. Use paper ballots only!!!” Earlier this month, Trump revealed the executive order concerning the voting system is “being written … by the best lawyers in the country.” The US president has long been critical of the country’s election system and has repeatedly pledged to overhaul it. Trump has repeatedly blamed his 2020 loss to Joe Biden on widespread fraud, claiming mass voting by non-citizens and irregularities in mail-in voting, among other complaints. He has also questioned voting machines, pushing for paper ballots and manual counting instead. Voting rights groups, however, have criticized Trump’s plans to overhaul the system. Mandatory identification has been among the most contentious issues. Rights groups argue that a sizeable chunk of eligible US voters do not have such documents on hand. According to a 2023 report compiled by the Brennan Center for Justice and other groups, some 21.3 million people, which is around 9% of US citizens of voting age, do not have proof of citizenship readily available. It also remains unclear whether the US president will actually be able to enforce the changes, given that federal elections are administered at the state level. Trump’s critics have been accusing him of overstepping his authority, arguing that the president does not have explicit constitutional powers to change the election system. View the full article

👪 Try Snapchat with your kids: You might not want them on it. Download the app (iOS, Android), tap the Search icon, type their username, and hit Add. Don’t see them? Tap View More to expand the results. The post Try Snapchat with your kids appeared first on Komando.com. View the full article

European leaders are attempting to derail US president Donald Trump’s efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict, Dmitry Peskov has claimed The European “war party” is trying to sabotage the diplomatic process launched by the US and Russia to end the Ukraine conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. He added that this approach contradicts the efforts of US President Donald Trump. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have for months floated the idea of sending a joint military contingent to Ukraine in a so-called peacekeeping capacity if Kiev and Moscow reach a truce or peace deal. Moscow has strongly opposed the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine in any role. On Sunday, Peskov said the stance of the “European war party” is “in stark contrast to the approach pursued” by Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The Europeans are hindering the [peace] efforts,” as part of their strategy to “contain” Russia, the Kremlin spokesperson told journalists. He added that certain NATO member states have been encouraging Ukraine to refuse to negotiate with Russia in good faith – a strategy that “will do no good to the Kiev regime.” “Russia is still ready to settle the [conflict] by political-diplomatic means,” Peskov said, but Kiev has to show reciprocity for the hostilities to end. Last weekend, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov argued that European nations “don’t want peace” in Ukraine, citing their reaction to the Putin-Trump summit in Alaska earlier this month. Last week, speaking to reporters after a follow-up meeting between the US president and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, as well as several European leaders at the White House, Macron insisted that Europe “will need to help Ukraine with boots on the ground.” Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Romania, and Croatia have ruled out taking part in the mission. On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that a significant proportion of the EU population is “opposed to any deployment that places troops in harm’s way.” View the full article

How growing arsenals and proxy wars are pushing the region closer to the brink Modern conflicts are increasingly hybrid, blending conventional warfare with cyber operations, economic pressure, and proxy battles. Nowhere is this more visible than in the Middle East – where the interests of the US, Russia, China, Iran, Türkiye, Israel, and the Arab states collide. In this environment, missile arsenals have become one of the decisive tools of war. Alongside airpower, they allow militaries to strike across great distances, punch through defenses, and project strategic pressure far beyond their borders. To understand the balance of power in the region, it’s essential to look at the missile capabilities of its key players. Iran: Missiles as the core of deterrence Despite the June 2025 clash with Israel – which exposed some vulnerabilities and cost Tehran a number of assets – Iran still fields the largest and most diverse missile arsenal in the Middle East. Its rockets are deployed both directly by the Iranian military and indirectly through proxy groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and Shia militias in Iraq. Iran’s arsenal covers a wide range of systems: Short- and medium-range ballistic missiles (500-2,500km). Solid-fuel designs that increase survivability and reduce launch prep times. A growing focus on hypersonic technology, with the two-stage Sejil capable of reaching 2,500km and reportedly carrying a reentry vehicle traveling at up to Mach 10. The Fateh-110, a precision-guided missile with a range of 300km and a circular error of less than 10 meters thanks to satellite navigation. The liquid-fueled Khorramshahr, with a range over 2,000km, can carry multiple warheads to overwhelm missile defenses during a mass strike. © Wikipedia The real strength of Iran’s strategy lies in its ability to saturate defenses with large salvos. Even advanced systems struggle to stop every missile when dozens are launched simultaneously. That said, as was shown in June, effective airpower can blunt this advantage by striking mobile launchers and intercepting missiles in flight. Iran has also invested heavily in drones. Its Shahed-series loitering munitions have become a signature weapon, deployed in large numbers against Israel. But in June, Israel countered with new air-to-air missiles adapted specifically for anti-drone warfare, neutralizing much of the threat. Even so, Iran retains sheer volume as its trump card. With more than 2,000 missiles of various types in its inventory, Tehran sits at the forefront of the Middle East’s missile race – and shows no sign of slowing down. Israel: Precision strikes and missile defense Israel is the other major missile power in the region, though its strategy looks very different from Iran’s. Rather than relying on sheer volume, Israel combines advanced airpower, layered missile defenses, and a nuclear deterrent shrouded in deliberate ambiguity. The nuclear part is never openly acknowledged. West Jerusalem has never confirmed its stockpile, but most analysts believe the Jericho-3 ballistic missile – with an estimated range of 4,800 to 6,000km – is capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Israel’s air force is also thought to maintain a nuclear strike option with gravity bombs. © Cyclowiki Where Israel is fully transparent is in its conventional arsenal. Its air force is the backbone of its offensive power: More than 300 modern fighters, including F-15s, F-16s, and fifth-generation F-35s. Armed with guided missiles, precision bombs, and air-launched ballistic weapons, these aircraft give Israel the ability to suppress enemy air defenses, seize air superiority, and deliver devastating precision strikes. The June 2025 conflict underscored this: When Israeli jets dismantled air defenses, Iran’s missile salvos lost much of their impact. Equally important is Israel’s layered missile defense architecture – from the Iron Dome to David’s Sling and Arrow-3 – which has proven highly effective at intercepting rockets, drones, and even ballistic threats. Together with airpower, this defensive shield ensures that Israel not only wields powerful offensive capabilities but also neutralizes much of the threat posed by its adversaries’ arsenals. This combination – precision strike capability, layered defenses, and a nuclear backstop – makes Israel’s military one of the most formidable in the Middle East. And it didn’t achieve this alone: Sustained US support has been essential to building and maintaining this edge. Türkiye: A growing missile power Türkiye is positioning itself as one of the most ambitious military innovators in the region. Its strategy is to build as much as possible at home – from a fifth-generation fighter program (KAAN) to advanced drones like the Kizilelma, its own main battle tank, a modern navy, and an expanding missile arsenal. The centerpiece of Ankara’s missile effort is the Tayfun program, an operational-tactical ballistic missile with a range of around 500km. Currently in testing, Tayfun is expected to evolve into a mobile missile system comparable to Russia’s Iskander – highly accurate, difficult to intercept, and designed to strike critical targets despite modern missile defenses. Turkish officials suggest it could enter service within the next year or two, significantly enhancing the country’s strike capability and making Türkiye one of the strongest missile powers in both the Middle East and Europe. © Fikret Delal / Anadolu via Getty Images Beyond ballistic systems, Türkiye fields a sizable air force and has become a drone superpower. Its UAVs can deliver precision-guided munitions, including air-to-surface missiles. Against advanced air defenses, these drones are vulnerable, but against most regional opponents they give Türkiye a decisive edge. What’s more, developing a 500-kilometer-class missile is only a first step. The same technical foundation could, with political will and resources, be extended to missiles with ranges of 1,000 or even 5,000 kilometers. As North Korea has already shown, scaling up is possible for a determined state. And Türkiye, with its growing defense industry and economic base, has both the ambition and the capacity to get there. Saudi Arabia and the UAE: Dependent arsenals Saudi Arabia’s missile arsenal is sizable but heavily dependent on foreign suppliers. Its backbone consists of Chinese-made ballistic missiles acquired decades ago. The DF-3, delivered in the late 1980s, has a range of around 3,000km but is essentially a 1950s-era design, comparable to the old Soviet R-12. Its accuracy is poor, making it useful mainly for striking large-area targets such as cities. Reports also suggest that Riyadh has more modern DF-21 solid-fuel missiles with a range of about 2,100km. Unlike the DF-3, these are mobile, more accurate, and potentially capable of precision strikes against military targets. Interestingly, Saudi Arabia has never developed nuclear weapons. If it had, the original acquisition of the DF-3 would have made more sense as a nuclear delivery platform. Instead, these missiles have been relegated mostly to parades and symbolic shows of force. © Wikipedia The United Arab Emirates, for its part, relies almost entirely on advanced Western aircraft and missile defense systems, with little in the way of indigenous ballistic missile capabilities. Its strength lies in integration with the US and allied systems, rather than in building its own arsenal. Conclusion The Middle East today is not just a patchwork of proxy wars and shifting alliances – it is also an active missile theater, where states large and small are investing in strike capabilities that can alter the regional balance almost overnight. Iran leans on mass salvos and regional proxies to project power across borders. Israel counters with high-end fighters, layered missile defenses, and a nuclear deterrent shrouded in silence. Türkiye is rapidly building the foundations of a domestic missile industry that could extend far beyond its neighborhood. Saudi Arabia and the UAE, though dependent on external suppliers, remain important players whose arsenals serve as both symbols and potential assets in a crisis. What ties all of this together is the region’s volatility. Hybrid wars, drone swarms, and missile barrages are already shaping the battlefield. The next escalation may not come from a conventional invasion or a single strike, but from the convergence of these tools in a conflict where no side can fully control the outcome. Missiles have become the pressure points of Middle Eastern geopolitics – both a shield and a sword. And as the arsenals grow, so does the risk that one spark could ignite a chain reaction far beyond the region itself. View the full article

🗂️ Show file extensions in Windows: By default, Windows hides the suffixes at the end of file names (like .jpeg, .mp4 or .exe). You’ll want these visible, so you don’t accidentally open a malicious file that looks like a photo but is actually an executable. To turn them on, open File Explorer > View > Show > File name extensions. The post Show file extensions in Windows appeared first on Komando.com. View the full article