EXAMINER READERS SPEAK:

CHICAGO’S LIGHTFOOT NARROWLY ECLIPSES L.A.’S GARCETTI AS WORST MAYOR IN U.S. – OUT OF OFFICE DE BLASIO WOULD HAVE WON IN LANDSLIDE:

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot slightly beat out L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti as the “Worst Current Mayor” in the United States according to a large LBN Examiner reader poll with voters in all 50 of the United States and 26 foreign countries. Though his name was not on the reader poll since he’s out of office, former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio would have won an overwhelming majority of votes had he still been in office, according to thousands of readers who expressed their strong feelings in the poll.

Unfortunately, even tragically, when you look around the major urban areas of America, there’s much competition for the worst mayor from Chicago to Seattle, San Francisco to Atlanta, Philadelphia to Chicago and from Portland to Los Angeles. “Let’s be honest, they’re both disgraceful, so it’s hard to pick which one is worse,” said longtime LBN reader Doctor Clark H., a prominent orthopedic surgeon and resident of Denver, CO. “Look at the cities. The crime, the filth, the decay, the schools.”

However, the big surprise in the reader poll came in just how many people mentioned former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio as the worst mayor in the U.S. and perhaps of all time. Though de Blasio is recently out of office, thousands of LBN Examiner voters nominated him for worst mayor in America, not to mention all time. “Bill de Blasio took a well-run city after 20 years of Rudy Giuliani and Mike Bloomberg and turned it into a disaster that is [an] unsafe, filthy decaying national laughingstock,” said New York business owner Guy F., who’s lived in Manhattan since 1976, “de Blasio was worse than any mayor in New York City history including David Dinkins!”

Florida Doctor Gets Probation After Strangling Girlfriend and Killing Father:

A Florida doctor has reportedly gotten house arrest and probation after shooting his father and strangling his girlfriend in 2018. Rafael Azulay, 47, was already on probation after three arrests for domestic violence against his girlfriend, including felony charge of battery-strangulation, when he asked his parents to visit and then shot his father, court documents showed. His mother later attested that the entire incident was an accident and that she didn’t want her son prosecuted. After signing a plea deal for domestic battery by strangulation and homicide-manslaughter by culpable negligence, Azulay will now spend 10 years on probation following two years of house arrest in a home with his mother. For the battery charges, the arrest documents claim Azulay’s girlfriend was afraid to testify against him, claiming he threatened he had a gun and told her he would “bring her to her mother in a body bag.” Now that he is to be released, she told the Miami Herald she’s “making plans to change my name and move out of the state.”

Elderly Chicago Couple Beaten Senseless in Broad Daylight:

An elderly Chicago couple was brutally attacked by a stranger as they walked home from a subway stop last week in yet another instance of the city’s spiraling crime wave. Bob Tataryn and his wife, Kathryn, were walking home from the Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line stop in the city’s upscale Irving Park neighborhood, where houses go for $5.5M to $750K, last week when a man started following them. As the man continued to stalk the couple, Bob decided to confront him, at which point the man, who has not yet been identified, started punching them before fleeing the scene – without even stealing any of the couple’s personal belongings. Bob was left with a broken nose and severe bruises to his face in the aftermath of the attack, and Kathryn needed two surgeries to deal with broken wrists and a broken jaw. She is now unable to open her mouth, Bob told CBS 2, and can only eat liquid food. “My wife and I are not doing well,” Bob explained, adding that they are “mentally weak” and “physically improving.” But, Bob said, he is not going to let the brutal attack deter them from enjoying the city, even as its crime rates continue to soar. “It definitely crossed our minds but I’m hoping we get over the shock,” Bob said. “The city is our city. [We] can’t let the bad guys win!”

Examiner – Lens:

Kim Stanley Robinson’s novels envision the dire problems of the future – but also their solutions. The Ministry for the Future displays novelist Kim Stanley Robinson’s anti-anti-utopianism: its prognosis is both heartening and harrowing.

Lifting Weights for Just 30 Minutes a Week Lowers Risk of Death from all Causes:

Bigger muscles may be the key to a longer life. According to a study out of Japan, lifting weights at the gym or even doing some heavy lifting around the house for just 30 minutes a week cuts the risk of dying early by up to a fifth. Prior studies show that building muscle is linked to a lower risk of death, but scientists had not probed what the optimal “dose” might be. Researchers from the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine report that muscle strength training for 30 to 60 minutes each week cuts the risk of death from heart disease, diabetes and cancer by 10% to 20%. And when combined with aerobic exercise the risk can drop by 40%. Not a fan of the gym? Scientists say that similar levels of muscle-building, such as heavy gardening activities, counts as a strength training session just as much as lifting weights or doing push-ups does. Interestingly, however, the study finds that working out for longer than that does nothing to cut the risk further.

CHINA – The Price of Admission:

Before the Winter Olympics, Chinese officials cautioned athletes against speaking out about topics that cast them in a bad light. Then, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told American athletes not to anger the Chinese authorities. It was the latest sign that China’s campaign to stifle dissent is succeeding in an important way: U.S. institutions and businesses are increasingly silencing themselves to avoid angering the Chinese government.

The professional wrestler and actor John Cena apologized, in Mandarin, last year for calling Taiwan a country. In 2019, a Houston Rockets executive apologized for tweeting support for pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong after Chinese officials complained, and a top video game publisher suspended an e-sports competitor who voiced support for the protests. The 2013 movie World War Z was rewritten to clarify that its zombie-spawning virus didn’t originate in China.

American businesses and institutions want access to this enormous market. Given China’s authoritarian leadership, that means playing by the Chinese Communist Party’s rules – and, in particular, avoiding criticism of its human rights abuses. So cultural institutions that are influential bastions of American values like free expression are now frequently absent from public conversations about China.

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Examiner – 20 Years – A Look At 2002

The LBN Examiner was founded on June 1, 2002, an incredible 20 years ago. Let’s take a look back at what was going on in 2002:

** On March 21 In Pakistan, suspects were charged with murder for their part in the kidnapping and killing of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

** On March 5, MTV premiered the reality TV program “The Osbournes” featuring the family of Ozzy Osbourne.

Examiner – Lens:

The Parthenon temple is seen atop the Athenian Acropolis during heavy snowfall in Athens, Greece, January 24.

Examiner – Commentary by Nellie Bowles:

** Saudi Arabia snubbed President Biden’s request to release more oil, which would tame prices at the pump. The Saudis would rather keep their deal with Russia and let American gas prices stay high.

** Parents have gotten very organized against the unpopular ultra-woke politics seeping into public school classrooms, and a few different backlashes are going on. There is the movement for “Curriculum Transparency,” which would have schools post lesson plans, teacher trainings, and curricular materials so that parents can see what’s up. This idea seems extremely reasonable to me and puts the left in the unenviable position of arguing against government transparency. They’ve taken the bait, of course: The ghost ship that is the ACLU is opposing transparency efforts. We thought they were fans of freedom of information.

** Christina Yuna Lee, 35, walked up to her sixth-floor apartment in New York City this week. Her alleged murderer, Assamad Nash stayed slightly behind as he followed her up the stairs and into her home. She screamed for help. Police arrived to the door. They say Nash imitated a woman’s voice at one point, telling them there was no need for any help. When police finally got in, Lee had been killed with 40 jabs to the neck and torso with her own kitchen knife. Nash had been arrested previously at least a dozen times. Basically the new rule in America’s cities is that no one goes to jail until they do a murder.

** In 2014, there were 13,953 cars stolen in Los Angeles. In 2021, it was more than 24,000. In New York, car theft is up 92% between 2019 and 2021. When crime rises like this, you feel it. We all have to start living like it, myself included. It doesn’t feel good though. Trusting makes us happy and makes a better, stronger, richer society. The stress of living in an unsafe neighborhood makes for worse pregnancy outcomes and poorer mental health. Having to think a lot about our physical safety is a mental and physical tax.

Examiner – Did You Know:

** Google Search data from 2021 shows a world still finding its footing after a year of uncertainty. Discover how PR Prime can help marketers stay nimble in a rapidly changing marketplace. —- www.PRPrime.net

Covid – Update

** The CDC has reported that the Omicron variant is half as likely to cause hospitalization and 91% less likely to cause death in infected patients when compared to Delta.

** The CDC also reports that 75% of people who die from the virus have at least four co-morbidities.

** Americans no longer fear Covid. A 68% majority say the economy is now their biggest concern.

Examiner – Lens:

Japanese artist Sachi shows off her creation of a realistic 3D cat portrait, made by using felted wool, at her house in Sagamihara, Japan, on January 21.

Examiner – (Notable) Remarks:

** Perhaps a healthier response from Neil Young would’ve been for him to start his own Spotify podcast. More speech rather than less is the classical liberal tradition of getting closer to the truth. The new progressive tenet of less speech is a philosophy that shares a little too much in common with the darker societies of old. If Neil has the answers, let’s hear them. —- Winston Marshall

** Gambling addicts can imperil themselves and their families by wagering more than they can afford. In the extreme, that can lead to bankruptcy, embezzlement, family violence and suicide. More often, people gamble more than is healthy even though they may fit only one or two of the American Psychiatric Association’s criteria for gambling addiction, which include being “restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop gambling” and a need to “gamble with increasing amounts of money in order to achieve the desired excitement.” The question society hasn’t squarely faced is whether the good, clean fun that some people get from placing wagers outweighs the harm suffered by gambling addicts and the much larger group of problem gamblers, and if the bad outweighs the good, what to do about it. —- Peter Coy

** Whoopi Goldberg, I think it’s safe to say, is not a deep thinker, and wouldn’t claim to be. She’s also clearly not an anti-Semite. She’s a talented entertainer and merely reflects many (but not all) of the assumptions of Hollywood types – well-intentioned, rarely ruffled, cultural leftism. But that’s precisely why her comments on “The View” about antisemitism and the Holocaust are so interesting. They expose some aspects of “anti-whiteness” and “antiracism” as these CRT ideas have trickled down into the public consciousness, and also a deep, long-standing sense among some African-Americans that Jews in America are not usually the oppressed, but often the oppressor. These are things no one wants to explore very much – because it’s complicated, fraught, and, well, who needs the grief? —- Andrew Sullivan

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Examiner – Humankind

> An Illinois dad gets a tattoo to match his 4-year-old daughter’s scar from heart surgeries. READ

> A 5-year-old boy sporting a tux asks a classmate to be his valentine. WATCH

> An Indiana man receives life-saving kidney transplant after holding up a sign at a football game. READ

> Long-lost brothers are reunited thanks to a local news report. READ

Examiner – Investigates:

** How the nation of Ukraine ranks: 1st) in Europe in proven recoverable reserves of uranium ores; 2nd) place in Europe and 10th place in the world in terms of titanium ore reserves; 2nd) place in the world in terms of explored reserves of manganese ores (2.3 billion tons, or 12% of the world’s reserves); 2nd) largest iron ore reserves in the world (30 billion tons); 2nd) place in Europe in terms of mercury ore reserves; 3rd) place in Europe (13th place in the world) in shale gas reserves (22 trillion cubic meters); 4th in the world by the total value of natural resources; 7th) place in the world in coal reserves (33.9 billion tons).

** In addition, Ukraine is an agricultural country: 1st) in Europe in terms of arable land area; 3rd) place in the world by the area of black soil (25% of world’s volume); 1st) place in the world in exports of sunflower and sunflower oil; 2nd) place in the world in barley production and 4th place in barley exports; 3rd) largest producer and 4th largest exporter of corn in the world; 4th) largest producer of potatoes in the world; 5th) largest rye producer in the world; 5th) place in the world in beet production (75,000 tons); 8th) place in the world in wheat exports; 9th) place in the world in the production of chicken eggs; 16th) place in the world in cheese exports. Ukraine can meet the food needs of 600 million people.

** Further, Ukraine is an industrialized country: 1st) in Europe in ammonia production; 2-е) Europe’s and 4th largest natural gas pipeline system in the world (142.5 bln cubic meters of gas throughput capacity in the EU); 3rd) largest in Europe and 8th largest in the world in terms of installed capacity of nuclear power plants; 3rd) place in Europe and 11th in the world in terms of the rail network length (21,700 km); 3rd) place in the world (after the U.S. and France) in the production of locators and locating equipment; 3rd) largest iron exporter in the world; 4th) largest exporter of turbines for nuclear power plants in the world; 4th) world’s largest manufacturer of rocket launchers; 4th) place in the world in clay exports; 4th) place in the world in titanium exports; 8th) place in the world in exports of ores and concentrates; 9th) place in the world in exports of defense industry products; 10th) largest steel producer in the world (32.4 million tons).

Any wonder why Russia wants to take over all these assets and productivity?

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Examiner – Reader Poll:

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Beating the System:

** Working hard, or hardly working? This employee discovered that by sticking the control key down with tape, it made it look like they were always online while working from home.

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Examiner – A Different View:…

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