Category: Uncategorized

5th St. Gym Goes Bananas
It’s been about 60 Years since the 5th St. Gym Opened. 40 years since Ali trained there and about 8 years since Angelo Dundee passed away. 17 world champions had been trained at the 5th St. Gym and by Angelo. Since taken over by Dino Spencer and Tom Tsatas, and re-opened in 2010, a decade later the gym has its 20th World World Champion and 1st real full Champion in 25 years. Over the weekend Jeison Rosario shockingly stopped opponent Julian Williams in spectacular fashion for the 154lb WBA, IBF, IBO belts. It was a clear upset and shock. “It’s always a team effort” claims 5th St. Gym co-owner, head coach & trainer as well as top conditioning coach Dino Spencer. Spencer isn’t well known in the main stream but he is no stranger to Boxing. He is mostly known as a celebrity trainer and former martial artist but has probably worked more corners in boxing and worked with more champions than anyone in the sport. David Haye, Bernard Hopkins, Paulie Malinaggi, Chris Algeri, Luis Ortiz, Fres Oquendo, James DeGale and Kid Chocolate are just a few of the pros, challengers and champions with whom he has worked. He is currently head trainer to several ranked and undefeated fighters, Danielle Scardina, Mateo Papa, Charley Hoy and Christian Thun. The gym has serious sparring and attracts the best fighters around the world.

Learning his craft under Freddie Roach and Angelo Dundee, “Stallion” as he’s known to his closest friends (for his love of Rocky and his Italian heritage) got his start in combat fighting at age 5. He began training in Shaolin Kung-Fu and by age 13 he was teaching new students as a Black-Belt. He eventually was trained by Arlene Limas, the 1st woman to win a gold medal in TaeKwon-Do at the 1988 Olympics in Korea. A former pro football player walked into the gym one day which led Spencer to pivot into boxing when he realized the boxer had some talent. He called his best friend and fellow trainee Tom Tsatas in to help and off they were. Seventeen years since that day They resurrected Fres Oquendo’s career and got him a title shot at age 41 and 46, and along the way trained a UFC heavyweight Champion, Andre Arlovski, opened up the most famous boxing gym in the world with Angelo Dundee, became best friends with their mentor Muhammad Ali, and have trained fighters, champions, celebrities and regular folks ever since. It’s not by accident that their gyms 1st true world Champion would come the day after Ali’s and Tsatas’ birthday, and in Philadelphia. “It’s very telling” says Spencer that such a coincidence would happen. Tom and Muhammad always celebrated their birthdays and for some reason Toms would never take center stage” jokes Spencer. “And here it happened, right here in Rocky’s home town is just icing on the cake and very appropriate.” Spencer continues that it’s always a team.”Coach Luis is also responsible in what the gym has accomplished. He is quiet, low key but his passion and commitment to the sport, the fighters and the gym is unparalleled. A true boxing purist” says Spencer.

Spencer’s partner Tom Tsatas sums it up “It’s taken us nearly a decade of hard work, perseverance and dedication to get here. In my opinion, and with absolutely no disrespect to any other trainers or gyms, I believe that 5th St. Gym, Dino, Chiro and all of our team here is the best anywhere. We cannot be inside the ring with the fighter, it’s his will, heart and soul that is in those ropes. But we are the ones who make sure he has the correct tools once he steps between them. Just in case you were wondering all of us here at 5th St. Gym are going bananas.”

Early Western travelers, traveling to India, Persia, Turkey, or China, would frequently remark on the absence of change in fashion in those countries. The Japanese shōgun’s secretary bragged (not completely accurately) to a Spanish visitor in 1609 that Japanese clothing had not changed in over a thousand years.[6] However, there is considerable evidence in Ming China of rapidly changing fashions in Chinese clothing.[7] Changes in costume often took place at times of economic or social change, as occurred in ancient Rome and the medieval Caliphate, followed by a long period without significant changes. In 8th-century Moorish Spain, the musician Ziryab introduced to Córdoba[8][unreliable source][9] sophisticated clothing-styles based on seasonal and daily fashions from his native Baghdad, modified by his inspiration. Similar changes in fashion occurred in the 11th century in the Middle East following the arrival of the Turks, who introduced clothing styles from Central Asia and the Far East.[10]

Additionally, there is a long history of fashion in West Africa.[11] The Cloth was used as a form of currency in trade with the Portuguese and Dutch as early as the 16th Century.[11] Locally produced cloth and cheaper European imports were assembled into new styles to accommodate the growing elite class of West Africans and resident gold and slave traders.[11] There was an Exceptionally strong tradition of cloth-weaving in Oyo and the areas inhabited by the Igbo people.[11]

The beginning in Europe of continual and increasingly rapid change in clothing styles can be fairly reliably dated. Historians, including James Laver and Fernand Braudel, date the start of Western fashion in clothing to the middle of the 14th century,[12][13] though they tend to rely heavily on contemporary imagery[14] and illuminated manuscripts were not common before the fourteenth century.[15] The most dramatic early change in fashion was a sudden drastic shortening and tightening of the male over-garment from calf-length to barely covering the buttocks,[16] sometimes accompanied with stuffing in the chest to make it look bigger. This created the distinctive Western outline of a tailored top worn over leggings or trousers.

The pace of change accelerated considerably in the following century, and women’s and men’s fashion, especially in the dressing and adorning of the hair, became equally complex. Art historians are, therefore ,able to use fashion with confidence and precision to date images, often to within five years, particularly in the case of images from the 15th century. Initially, changes in fashion led to a fragmentation across the upper classes of Europe of what had previously been a very similar style of dressing and the subsequent development of distinctive national styles. These national styles remained very different until a counter-movement in the 17th to 18th centuries imposed similar styles once again, mostly originating from Ancien Régime France.[17] Though the rich usually led fashion, the increasing affluence of early modern Europe led to the bourgeoisie and even peasants following trends at a distance, but still uncomfortably close for the elites – a factor that Fernand Braudel regards as one of the main motors of changing fashio

“My love for accessories, started as a little girl when my mother would take me on shopping trips,” says AdelyaBakhtiyarova. Like every young girl, the Dubai-based jewellery designer spent endless hours playing dress-up in her mother’s closet. “She always had an eye for unique and rare pieces that she bought while travelling to different countries, especially from antique shops in post-Soviet countries,” she explains.

This set the background for Adelya’sfirst collection which she created in 2010. The collection was created for a close circle of friends who influenced Adelya to create her own brand. After the success of the collection she later launched her eponymous brand after gaining a gemstone diploma from the International Gemstone Institute (IGI). Her work is heavily inspired by places where she has lived and visited. “Growing up in places such as Samarkand and Dubai helped me appreciate the rich culture and evolution of architecture and architectural sculpture,” she says. “From there, I decided to create jewellery with similar exotic, beautiful design elements as a way of bringing sculptural appreciation to a smaller, more accessible scale.” International meetings with clients and craftsmen in Paris, Moscow and Hong Kong further fuelled her imagination and drive to create unique and inspired jewellery.

Today Adelya Jewellery is stocked internationally from Dubai to leading boutiques in Moscow, Almaty, Kuwait and Paris. Although Adelya’s collections are distinctively different in design the idea behind every collection is to allow customers to mix and match between collections. This has rapidly made Adelya Jewellery a favourite among fashionistas and jewellery connoisseurs for personal buys or as gifts with individuality and a strong sense of meaning. The Elements collection is the latest collection that draws on sustainability and recycling. The collection key focus is on pressed stones a new technique that originates from Japan where left over pieces from stone cutting are recompressed to form a new stone. This technique minimizes waste and is aimed at reducing stone mining thus making jewellery industry more sustainable. It was important for Adelya Jewellery to start a sustainable line as Adelya believes that is the future for the jewellery industry. The brands must have collections are Love Letters and Felix collections. The Felix line, for example, draws on the ancient belief in numerical relationships for its designs. The eye-catching rings in 18-karat gold and diamonds are perfect for stacking together in different combinations of personalised numbers to bring good luck. Meanwhile the Love Letters collection features rings in diamonds and 18-karat white or rose gold that can spell out a number of special messages.

Adelya’s overriding design philosophy clearly lies in creating jewels that carry symbolism and meaning for the wearer. To this end she also re-imagines vintage pieces into new styles, such as creating clients inherited antique brooches into rings.

Each piece is as standout as it is wearable, and the brand is already looking towards its 2020 collections which will include more pressed stones and ancient Chinese symbolism.

 

Lilly Iaschelcic, combines beauty, athleticism, and intelligence and maximises her natural gifts with determination, dedication, and diligence to exceed potential in multiple fields, all whilst maintaining elegance and integrity.

 

Her beauty and determination has seen her become a successful model held in high esteem by many exclusive and boutique fashion designers. She is the face of Esthetica Clinic one of London’s leading laser treatment centres, was crowned Miss Monaco Grand Prix in 2018, and is now to appear on the other side as a judge in the next Miss Philippines.
Her athleticism and dedication have seen her rise to the top as a black belt Taekwondo champion, regularly beating better known international stars in local competitions. She has now won the English Open Championship 3 years in a row and will defend it again in 2020.
Her intelligence and diligence have seen her qualify as a vet, work for a year in a practice in Chelsea, and then cross over into human medicine. She will shortly be awarded her second degree from the internationally renowned British College of Osteopathic Medicine.
This might be enough for some but she also manages to actively support and promote both the Global Kidney Foundation and Save The Children charities.
Lilly has a deep rooted kindness and some her friends will feel this as she converts them from meat lovers to veganism – kind to them and the animals! Her strong moral and ethical code born from her own freewill and strength of mind means she leads well and follows rarely. This is a Russian girl you won’t catch wearing fur !

In Africa, the opportunities for land administration reform – that is, securing and providing titles and deeds to millions of property owners who previously did not have the privilege – drive the heart of the technology and bundles of products and services Medici Land Governance (MLG) is developing.

Africa is an especially important continent to us at MLG because we are recognizing the potential of the young people’s desire for entrepreneurial small business opportunities and their rapid capabilities for adopting technology. Many African countries have, on average, millions more of young people in comparison to elsewhere in the world. For example, Rwanda is among the youngest countries, in terms of age demographics.

We see mutually strategic benefits and opportunities for working with governments both on a local and national level to reform their land administrations systems with a blockchain platform that provides streamlined, secure access to titles, deeds, and all pertinent information about properties. More importantly, MLG is incorporating a broad bundle of technological applications, such as drones, to augment the work of enumerators working in the field. The net result will be that people who previously were unable to secure legal titles and deeds for their properties will now be able to secure one for their personal economic and business use.

We are seeing first hand how the land administration reforms that are underway in Africa could engage the youth to use their creative power for influencing the world around them and finding solutions to common problems. Perhaps more than other age groups, youth instinctively understand how adopting technology early on opens up creative outlets in their communities to work together and develop new opportunities for their career dreams and aspirations. One area that has gained traction in youth focus is agri-preneurship (small farms or specialized businesses in agriculture). Certainly, reforms in the land records system and access to titles and deeds so that young entrepreneurs can use their properties for economic resources and development open the door to youth engagement initiatives.

Our field work in Africa – Lusaka, Zambia, Rwanda and soon, Liberia – is a gateway to building networks for tech-savvy young people, some of whom have been locally hired to build awareness in their communities as MLG continues its work and as enumerators for collecting the data that will be incorporated into blockchain records platform.

There are opportunities to build business and technical skills that young people can translate into creating their own innovative incubators and micro-enterprises. And, as MLG’s land titling reform work also is focused on economic empowerment for women as titled property owners, there are opportunities for permaculture initiatives and training for capacity development and value chain opportunities. An integral part of MLG’s technology focus on the individual is acknowledging how this enhances the technological culture in the locations where we are carrying out projects. And, young people are definitely being engaged. And, they are enthusiastic about the technology they see in our work.

At MLG, we consider data to be part of the foundation for wisdom and, in turn, direct our efforts to finding the best practices process to create, use and act on information. It is capitalizing on experience for everyone’s benefit.

The approach MLG takes to working with communities and governments is to maximize the personal impact of adopting its technologies into a holistic program uniting commitment and partnership across the board, including women, youth and others who for the first time can enjoy the benefits of having a secure, legal title to their property.

A survey asking companies for details of employees over the age of 50 who wanted to travel to their home country has been released in Abu Dhabi as part of protection for workers’ rights under the current Covid-19 situation.

“With a view towards protecting the labour rights in the emirate of Abu Dhabi and providing support to the same in the present circumstances due to the repercussions of the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis, the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (DED) is pleased to coordinate with entities looking to send the workers whose age is over 50 years and registered with your company, provided that you will pay the costs incurred by their travel to their home country,” said a statement issued by DED.

To facilitate and expedite coordination, DED asked the firms to access this link and fill out the detailed information related to the workers they have nominated for travel.

Companies have also been asked to grant the aged employee indefinite leave during the present conditions so that authorities can enumerate them and determine their travel destinations to their home countries.

The first page of the survey website which requires firms to add all data from the workers aged 50 and above has seven questions or areas to be filled with details of the company before proceeding to other pages. These include the industrial license number, company name as per the industrial license, contact person name (company manager, owner), contact person mobile number, contact person direct land line number, contact person e-mail address.

Commenting on the initiative, Bangladeshi expat, Khalid Muhdeen, 52, working for a facilities management company in Abu Dhabi, said his family stays back home and he was planning to travel home for holiday during March.

“I am happy with this new initiative. I was meant to go home towards end of March. But I couldn’t travel because of the current Covid-19 situation as all international flights had been suspended,” said Muhdeen, adding that he has spent almost two years without going back home to see his wife and children.

Another expat, Mohammed Rafiq, a Pakistani national working for a contracting firm in Musaffah industrial area, also welcomed the initiative.

“Some expats have families and other obligations back home. They would like to travel to their countries but it is not easy given the current situation,” said Rafiq.

“I believe this government initiative will benefit many expats.”

Dubai Based entrepreneur Shahram Kabiri to launch his poetry books!

Shahram Kabiri, an entrepreneur from Dubai and CEO and Advisor of M1 Holding is all set to launch his poetry book “A Thousand Roses” on Tuesday, June 30.

Shahram Kabiri was planned to launch his books on his birthday in march, because of the lockdown situation he couldn’t manage to release his book, despite Covid-19 situation going to release out by end of June. He will hold a virtual launch on his Instagram account, @888shk on Tuesday, June 30st.

Shahram Kabiri was prepared to launch his two books together back in march, but with global pandemic issues he preferred to postponed the release of the second book to another date.

One of his most popular lyrics, “Mohtaj” (Needy), is performed by Siavash Shams. As a writer he has written two books “Sometimes I miss myself” and “A thousand roses”.