Simon's News Media Productions

26/04/2021

ABOUT SIMON'S NEWS MEDIA PRODUCTION
Simon’s News Media Production (SNMP) is a compact news channel focusing on Politics, Education, environment, migration, Culture, Gender development, Science & Technology, Transport, Peace and Security, Human rights, these news are delivered in many formats necessary and possible for accessibility and use. It’s base office is in Brooklyn, New York and news focus locations are hoped to spaced out.
SNMP has news project outlets in the Philippines, Liberia and Laos. Additional new outlets are currently in negotiations in Thailand, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Congo DR and Nigeria.
Simon’s News Media does not have affiliation with any political group nor in alliance with political party of any kind and of anywhere. We write context stories and provide context images to substantiate our feeds.
Affairs and work commitment are been managed by a Director and Content editor, while standard image and quality is monitored by the board.
Feel free to contact us for any issues of concern.

04/04/2021

Philippines Magic coconut oil

02/04/2021

it is about c**k fighting gambling in the Philippines, not on illaborated as it should be but classic idea of how the fight and rrangemnt goes and cruelty on these animals.

02/04/2021

02/04/2021

Philippines C**k Fighting

30/03/2021

Meet Liberia’s Only Female Commercial Driver
By Jacob Eagan Bright
Meet Liberia’s Only Female Commercial Driver
LISTEN MAY 20, 2016 0

In a hot scotching sun of Liberia's last month to rainy season, is a woman, dressed in a pinkish flowered tank , 5ft tall with ebony dazzled short hair , is the Liberia's only female Taxi driver; Ola as she is popularly called by everyone is 42 years and a single mother with feminine body but blessed or have acquired manly looks ,especially her eyes which makes her thrive and survive in a trade predominantly controlled by men.

Ola is as well the only commercial female bus driver and for now the only bus conductor one could see plying around, for these reasons she deserved to be featured on this site for being the only woman in Liberia's macho male world of chosen vocation. Since the ascendancy of Liberia's first female head of state significant progress in the women's' part of individual growth has been scored.

More and more females are tremendously becoming hard working and successful. Six years down the line, the country and gender development on self-reliance have produced a sole female taxi driver. Ola is widely known for being the only rare in male dominant chore, she has already adopted male style of dressing, she covers 8 hours a day and 16-18 trips of shuttling passengers from Gardnersville to down-town Monrovia and changes route within time to Monrovia- Mamba point. Keenly observed her wheel navigation, there are no glaring differences from a male warco style of driving. She is sharp, careful, observant and fast. She holds authority on the wheel and a full confidence aboard. Here is an excerpt of Modern Ghana interview with wonderful Ola kinde.

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MG: Hello, how are you and welcome to Modern Ghana microphone.

OK: Thank you Sir
MG: I see you are a Taxi Driver?
OK: Yes I am and a happy one!
MG: How long have you been a commercial driver?

OK: I have been a commercial driver for 6 years

MG: What made you become a taxi driver?
OK: I was a cook for so many years in my restaurant and at one time I was sick to the point of death and the doctor who healed me said my sickness emanated from heat of cooking and advised me to refrained from that. Then when I recovered I started thinking what next I have to do that will generate same kind of money the restaurant gives me. That is when the idea of driving came through between my brother and me.

MG: Then how did it all begin, getting on the road?

OK: When I agreed on the point to become a commercial driver, the next was what kind? I decided to buy a bus, 14- seater Bus, I arranged with my brother for us to share or change routines of driving time. When my brother gets tired I will take over from him and when he is on the wheel I will take care of passengers and fair collection. I learn too, names of drop off and pick up points and final destinations keys, and other jargons applied to it.

MG: Why Bus?
OK: You know bus brings more money and I needed to know the reason of being on the road for so many hours and long days, and Bus made me to realize a huge and fast return.

MG: How did it feel being on the road for the first time and first day?

OK: You know I have been driving my private car for many years and to become a commercial engaged driver is a total different thing, having to talk with people all the time and talking to much is tough job by itself, the heat from the car engine is a bit of hell oozing on your leg and feet, seating too long, which makes you to sweat and get damped underneath is all an uncomfortable part of the whole thing, but its paid.

MG: How have the Police and passengers viewed your work?

OK: Honestly, I must admit, the police have been very friendly, I have got away with too many things just because I am a woman driving commercially, the passengers looks at me with second levels of appreciation, bewildering, shock and negative conclusions, some have said that I am a gay, that's why am doing men work and others said that I am frustrated and many men gives me encouragement and like to see me drive pass them and feel excited. The public at large feels it's a good thing to happen in Liberia to have women /woman challenging men.

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MG: what can you term as positive outcome of your driving?

OK: Many women have come to me, wanting me to teach them driving, want bto be like me, many men have asked me to get married to them and I declined, I have managed to build a bout three 4 bedroom houses, I send my daughter to one of the high cost universities here, now I have a Taxi I drive for myself and a Bus, I am happy I have money all the time to settle my problems.

MG: why have you declined on men proposals for marriage?

OK: I am not sure there is anything I want from a man now, marrying a man now will tie me down and prevents my advancement into many plans I have. But don't misunderstand me, I still feel a man in my life, I should have a male friend when I feel it's necessary.

MG: Where did you derive your inspiration?
OK: God and the President; Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. God is my strength all and every day, and in human; our president is my Idol, if she can rule a tough country like Liberia, then I can do anything I want as well.

MG: What word can you leave for Liberian women and what do you think the future holds for Liberian women?

OK: I can only talk to those women thinking acting soft and looking up to male folks is the answer should wake up and face the reality that there is no free lunch and your hand is only friends that can support you. The future of Liberian women looks a lot brighter, if things continue the way it is at the moment. We hope the next president will continue to support women independency and self-development.

MG: Ola kinde, thank you so much for your time.

OK: I am happy you found me today and thank you.

20160520

30/03/2021

20.05.2016

What Happens When You Elect Women, According To Science.
By Jacob Eagan Bright
MAY 20, 2016
Ellen Johson Sirleaf, First Female president of Liberia and First Female African head of State

In one of bright mornings of October 2005 Liberians went to the poll for a democratic course, to elect with a resounding choice of a leader that will govern the collapsed state, devastated from the war destruction and pillaging, as that was fulfilled, an educated, long time politician was elected and constitutionally enshrined she was elected and January 2006 it was inaugurated. Afterward woman power jab and tangy failures emerged. The catalogue sprawls from Liberia, Germany, Brazil, Philippines, Malawi and the current; Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton who hopes to have assistance from legend Bill to govern. But with science? What’s the real significance of electing the first female president of any country? Is the symbolism itself revolutionary? Are the young women who don’t endorse fellow female betraying the sisterhood — or conversely, are the women who do support any female presidential aspirant following her blindly? What should it mean to voters of any country to elect woman to lead a nation?

“Women in politics,” however, means far more than just Ellen Johson Sirleaf herself and others. The world and Africa is 50+ percent female. And there is potential of bringing more women leadership as aspiration is growing considerably. Plus, there’s evidence that electing more women is something that could make a real difference for any country as a whole. Here’s what we know from the recent research in psychology, political science, and economics:

Female leaders help close everyday gender gaps

Simply having more local female politicians can boost aspirations and educational achievement among young women, according to a landmark study co-authored by MIT economist Esther Duflo and published in Science.

Duflo and her colleagues surveyed roughly 8,000 adolescents and parents from West Bengal, a state in eastern India where quotas reserve one-third village council leader positions for women.

In villages that had never had a female political leader, parents were 45 percent less likely to expect daughters and sons to reach the same level of education. The girls themselves were 32 percent less likely to have the same aspirations as the boys. Correspondingly, boys were more likely to attend school, and had higher rates of literacy.

Seeing women in charge persuaded parents and teens that women can run things

By contrast, in villages where a female political leader had served for at least two terms, girls’ educational aspirations soared to meet the boys’, and parents were much more likely to expect their daughters to reach the same level of education as their sons. Beyond expectations, in reality the education and literacy gap between men and women disappeared. Liberia is an example of that.

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“We think this is due to a role-model effect: Seeing women in charge persuaded parents and teens that women can run things, and increased their ambitions,” said Duflo in a press release .

West Bengal was an ideal place for the study specifically because its quota system is randomized, and researchers were able to rule out other factors that could shift attitudes around women’s roles, and thus make it more possible for a woman to be elected.

That makes this study all the more powerful: Simply having a prominent example of a female leader shifted people’s attitudes around women’s capabilities, and inspired young women to dream bigger and aim higher.

Women need female role models — more than men need male ones

Having examples of female success can also elevate how women think about themselves. Indeed, role models of the same gender are more important for women than men, according to research published in Psychology of Women Quarterly — perhaps because both men and women grow up surrounded by images of male success.

Male and female students at the University of Toronto were given pamphlets describing outstanding achievements of men and women in their chosen fields, and then completed a questionnaire about themselves. After women read about a female role model with a similar career path, they rated themselves more positively than they did after reading about a man. For the male students there was no difference between those that read about a male or female role model.

A lack of female powerful role models leads to a vicious circle

A separate study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, showed that when women are exposed to female role models, they actually perform better.

In the experiment, male and female students were tasked with giving a public speech. The back wall of the room was either blank or had a picture of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Hillary Clinton, Angela Merkel, or Bill Clinton. Women who were exposed to the picture of Hillary Clinton, Ellen Johson Sirleaf or Angela Merkel spoke longer, were rated as being better speakers by others, and rated themselves as having spoken better. Male participants performed equally well regardless of what was on the back wall.

“A lack of female powerful role models leads to a vicious circle, because if women fail to take leadership positions, they also fail to provide role models for junior women to follow,” the authors wrote .

Women help things get done more effectively

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In policy, and in US evidence suggests that politicians who reflect the people they serve better represent their needs. For example, in terms of racial diversity, a study published in the Annual Review of Political Science found that black and Latino legislators better represent the concerns of their respective groups than non-minority legislators, as assessed by their roll-call votes, committee membership, and bill sponsorship.

Research also suggests that female legislators/parliamentarians are incredibly effective: On average, they bring about 9 percent more national spending to their home district, and sponsor three more bills, compared to their male colleagues.

This may be because women may need to be work twice as hard to overcome gender bias and to get to Congress in the first place, according to a study in the American Journal of Political Science.

“If voters are biased against female candidates, only the most talented, hardest working female candidates will succeed in the electoral process. Furthermore, if women perceive there to be s*x discrimination in the electoral process, or if they underestimate their qualifications for office, then only the most qualified, politically ambitious females will emerge as candidates,” write the authors.

If that’s true, then if eventually women achieve parity the effect may disappear. Even then, though, it would still conclusively prove that women are at least as capable as men.

Research from the private sector — where, like Congress, boardrooms are overwhelmingly white and male — suggests that mixed gender groups might also just be more effective in general.

Firms that have women in their top management levels — including up to the CEO level — on average see an increase of $42 million in firm value. They also deliver higher average returns on equity and better average growth .

Having more women in top management also motivates women in middle management , in a direct example of women at the top paving the way for those below.

More women in power could lead to more women running for office

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One of the quandaries when it comes to the low proportion of female elected leaders is the fact that when women do run, they actually fare about as well as men. The gender gap exists, in large part, because women don’t put themselves forward for office in the first place.

Study after study has found that compared to men, women are much less likely to think they are qualified to run for office. They are also much less likely than men to be encouraged to run by anybody else, and more concerned about facing gender bias ( s*xist portrayals of female candidates can actually discourage other women from running).

Yet all the evidence suggests that one way to inspire women to lofty aspirations is for them to see themselves reflected in positions of power — and that once there, they not only inspire the next generation but get things done .

It’s a chicken and egg problem: if there were more women in power, it’s likely that more women would run for positions of power.

And, it would probably change how people collectively think about women as well. Many studies have found that when people picture a prototypical “leader,” they think of a man — and are thus more likely to tap men for promotions or candidacy. Having more easy, salient examples of female leaders is important in large part because it could shift subconscious biases so that they better match the reality — women can be just as effective leaders as men.

30/03/2021

NOISE POLLUTION IN THE PHILIPPINES
PART 2 -NOISE DECIBELS
Estimated Reading Time: 7 min
Eagan J. Bright | September 04, 2020 Managing Editor, Simon's News Media Productions
• Environmental Noise Pollution -Philippines
• AWE International -Philippines
• Village Green Global – California
Noise pollution is an invisible danger. It cannot be seen, but it is present nonetheless, both on land and under the sea. Noise pollution is considered to be any unwanted or disturbing sound that affects the health and well-being of humans and other organisms.
Sound is measured in decibels. There are many sounds in the environment, from rustling leaves (20 to 30 decibels) to a thunderclap (120 decibels) to the wail of a siren (120 to 140 decibels). Sounds that reach 85 decibels or higher can harm a person’s ears. Sound sources that exceed this threshold include familiar things, such as power lawn mowers (90 decibels), subway trains (90 to 115 decibels), and loud rock concerts (110 to 120 decibels).
Noise pollution impacts millions of people on a daily basis. The most common health problem it causes is Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). Exposure to loud noise can also cause high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep disturbances, and stress. These health problems can affect all age groups, especially children. Many children who live near noisy airports or streets have been found to suffer from stress and other problems, such as impairments in memory, attention level, and reading skill.
Noise pollution also impacts the health and well-being of wildlife. Studies have shown that loud noises cause caterpillars’ hearts to beat faster and bluebirds to have fewer chicks. Animals use sound for a variety of reasons, including to navigate, find food, attract mates, and avoid predators. Noise pollution makes it difficult for them to accomplish these tasks, which affects their ability to survive.
Increasing noise is not only affecting animals on land, it is also a growing problem for those that live in the ocean. Ships, oil drills, sonar devices, and seismic tests have made the once tranquil marine environment loud and chaotic. Whales and dolphins are particularly impacted by noise pollution. These marine mammals rely on echolocation to communicate, navigate, feed, and find mates, and excess noise interferes with their ability to effectively echolocate.
Some of the loudest underwater noise comes from naval sonar devices. Sonar, like echolocation, works by sending pulses of sound down into the depths of the ocean to bounce off an object and return an echo to the ship, which indicates a location for object. Sonar sounds can be as loud as 235 decibels and travel hundreds of miles under water, interfering with whales’ ability to use echolocation. Research has shown that sonar can cause mass strandings of whales on beaches and alter the feeding behavior of endangered blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus). Environmental groups are urging some developed countries like the U.S. Navy to stop or reduce using sonar for military training.
Seismic surveys also produce loud blasts of sound within the ocean. Ships looking for deep-sea oil or gas deposits tow devices called air guns and shoot pulses of sound down to the ocean floor. The sound blasts can damage the ears of marine animals and cause serious injury. Scientists believe this noise may also be contributing to the altered behavior of whales.
Among those researching the effects of noise pollution is Michel Andre, a bioacoustics researcher in Spain who is recording ocean sounds using instruments called hydrophones. His project, LIDO (Listening to the Deep Ocean Environment), collects data at 22 different locations. Back in the lab, computers identify the sounds of human activities as well as 26 species of whales and dolphins. The analysis aims to determine the effects that underwater noise is having on these animals. Andre hopes his project will find ways to protect marine animals from the dangers of ocean noise.
Noise pollution: how to reduce the impact of an invisible threat?
Atmospheric pollution is not the only type of contamination that is harming living beings on the planet. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is one of the most dangerous environmental threats to health. And according to the European Environment Agency (EEA), noise is responsible for 16,600 premature deaths and more than 72,000 hospitalizations every year in Europe alone.
According to the WHO, noise is harmful when it exceeds 75 decibels (dB) and feels painful at levels above 120 dB. Drivers honking the horn, groups of workers drilling the road surface, aircraft flying over us in the sky... Noise, noise and more noise. Cities have become the epicenter of a type of pollution, acoustics, which, although its invisibility and the fact that coronavirus crisis reduced it until almost yearn it, is severely damaging to human beings.
Not only does it hurt humans, it is bad for animals, too. According to the National Park Service (NPS) in the United States, noise pollution has an enormous environmental impact and does serious damage to wildlife. Experts say noise pollution can interfere with breeding cycles and rearing and is even hastening the extinction of some species.
WHAT IS NOISE POLLUTION?
Not all sound is considered noise pollution. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines noise above 65 decibels (dB) as noise pollution. To be precise, noise becomes harmful when it exceeds 75 decibels (dB) and is painful above 120 dB. As a consequence, it is recommended noise levels be kept below 65 dB during the day and indicates that restful sleep is impossible with nighttime ambient noise levels in excess of 30 dB.
CAUSES OF NOISE POLLUTION
There are many sources of noise pollution, but here are some of the main ones:
Traffic noise
Traffic noise accounts for most polluting noise in cities. For example, a car horn produces 90 dB and a bus produces 100 dB.
Air traffic noise
There are fewer aircraft flying over cities than there are cars on the roads, but the impact is greater: a single aircraft produces 130 dB.
Construction sites
Building and car park construction and road and pavement resurfacing works are very noisy. For example, a pneumatic drill produces 110 dB.
Catering and night life
Bars, restaurants and terraces that spill outside when the weather is good can produce more than 100 dB. This includes noise from pubs and clubs.
Animals
Noise made by animals can go unnoticed, but a crowing rooster,howling or barking dog, for example, can produce around 60-80 dB.

Produced by World Hearing and WHO and SNTEF-2018, Mini Hearing Technologies GMBH

EFFECTS OF NOISE POLLUTION
As well as damaging our hearing by causing — tinnitus or deafness —, constant loud noise can damage human health in many ways, particularly in the very young and the very old. Here are some of the main ones:
Physical
Respiratory agitation, racing pulse, high blood pressure, headaches and, in case of extremely loud, constant noise, gastritis, colitis and even heart attacks.
Psychological
Noise can cause attacks of stress, fatigue, depression, anxiety and hysteria in both humans and animals.
Sleep and behavioral disorders
Noise above 45 dB stops you from falling asleep or sleeping properly. Remember that according to the World Health Organization it should be no more than 30 dB. Loud noise can have latent effects on our behavior, causing aggressive behavior and irritability.
Memory and concentration
Noise may affect people's ability to focus, which can lead to low performance over time. It is also bad for the memory, making it hard to study.
Interestingly, our ears need more than 16 hours' rest to make up for two hours of exposure to 100 dB.

SOLUTIONS TO REDUCE NOISE POLLUTION
International bodies like the WHO agree that awareness of noise pollution is essential to beat this invisible enemy. For example:
 Avoid very noisy leisure activities,
 Opt for alternatives means of transport such as bicycles or electric vehicles over taking the car.
 Do your housework at recommended times.
 Insulate homes with noise-absorbing materials.
 Educating the younger generation is also an essential aspect of environmental education.
Governments can also take measures to ensure correct noise management and reduce noise pollution. For example:
 Protecting certain areas — parts of the countryside, areas of natural interest, city parks, etc. — from noise,
 Establishing regulations that include preventive and corrective measures
 Mandatory separation between residential zones and sources of noise like airports, fines for exceeding noise limits, etc. —,
 Installing noise insulation in new buildings, creating pedestrian areas where traffic is only allowed to enter to offload goods at certain times,
 Replacing traditional asphalt with more efficient options that can reduce traffic noise by up to 3 dB, among others.

30/03/2021

Strategies for dynamic climate change reporting
byAbigail Adcox
Mar 15, 2021 in Specialized Topics
Plant in hand

The year 2020 will go down in history for the deadly COVID-19 pandemic that has swept the world. It will also land in the record books for another worrying reason: 2020 was one of the hottest years the world has ever experienced.

As the consequences of climate change become increasingly unavoidable it’s critical that reporters and newsrooms develop effective beats and dynamic strategies for reporting on the environment.

In a recent Covering Climate Now (CCNow) webinar, a panel of experts discussed how to build an all-of-newsroom approach to covering the climate. They also delved into how to deal with climate change deniers and skeptics, and offered resources to cover the beat safely and productively.

Taking part in the panel were Bernadette Woods Placky, chief meteorologist and director at ClimateMatters, Kate Sheppard, a senior enterprise editor at HuffPost, Ben Tracy, a senior national and environmental correspondent at CBS News, and Justin Worland, a climate correspondent at TIME Magazine. CCNow Executive Director and The Nation Environment Correspondent Mark Hertsgaard, moderated the session.

Here are some key takeaways.
An all-of-newsroom approach

Generating buy-in from across the newsroom is critical for effective environmental reporting, the panelists said. It’s a complex issue that touches on every beat in the newsroom. “I try to take an all-of-beats approach to climate in our newsroom because it’s a huge challenge across all these issues that we cover,” said Sheppard. “It's a political challenge, it's a policy challenge, it's a science challenge, it's international relations, it's health. I see climate as the opposite of a niche beat — it underlies so many things. Having an understanding of those connections is really important for any reporter in 2021.”
Tracy noted that his new role at CBS this year as a senior national and environmental correspondent is the first time the network has had a dedicated climate change correspondent. “I'm grateful that they're investing in this beat and the coverage that we will do,” said Tracy. “I think there's just going to be so much more news and action on climate if the [Biden] administration lives up to its promises.”
CBS has used collaboration within the newsroom to produce comprehensive coverage of climate issues, Tracy said. This included reporting on when the U.S. rejoined the Paris Climate Accord for which Tracy sat down with the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. Alongside this discussion, the newsroom’s digital division published a primer on the Paris Climate Accord.
It’s important for reporters to recognize the intersection of climate coverage with environmental justice. “We can see, just in the last year, the effects of disproportionate impact of pollution on people of color with COVID, and the way in which the health effects from living near a toxic facility has left people at greater risk,” said Worland.
On environmental justice, Sheppard noted that many reporters are tracking how COVID has further deepened inequalities and vulnerabilities within society.

Engaging climate change deniers and skeptics

Many deniers and skeptics who argue against the reality of climate change have not felt its effects on their own lives, the panelists noted. To counter this, it’s helpful to make connections to issues that will resonate with them. “One thing that I’ve learned over the years is always to try to connect what we know about climate change to what people already care about. And you'll find that that is actually pretty easy,” said Sheppard. “I grew up on a farm. I know lots of Republican farmers [for instance] who totally understand that what they're seeing is not normal, whether it's precipitation patterns or extreme weather events. I think it's something you can clearly communicate with them about.”
Approaching climate naysayers when reporting requires tact, said Tracy. “I believe we should attempt to bring people into the tent and not alienate people from this, so they can learn,” said Tracy. The mission of your coverage should be to help people understand how something they’ve been skeptical about could affect their lives, he added.
Climate reporting requires approaching the topic from a variety of angles. This includes embracing investigative tools and resources to uncover more in-depth stories and relay their impact.

Resources for climate reporting

Journalists should also prepare for climate reporting, by turning to literature on the issue, reading other journalists’ reporting and seeking training. Tracy said he had been reading up on subjects such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill, for instance, to prepare for his new role as an environmental correspondent.
Sheppard discussed how she looks for Red Cross safety training courses, which prepare her for the type of extreme weather events that she might be reporting in. Said Sheppard, “Be ready for the long haul because the climate crisis is going to be here for a long time.”

Additional resources mentioned during the webinar

The Basics: Climate Science 101
10 Best Practices for Climate Reporting
How a Texas TV Reporter Gained Confidence to Cover Climate Change

Abigail Adcox is a Communications Intern at ICFJ.

Photo by Akil Mazumder from Pexels.