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Congress just passed an extremely important bill protecting victims of sexual misconduct

The Senate passed a significant bill on Thursday that effectively prevents employers, universities, and other institutions from immunizing themselves from lawsuits alleging sexual harassment or assault. The bill <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-10/senate-passes-landmark-metoo-bill-to-ease-workplace-lawsuits">passed the House on Monday</a>, and President Joe Biden is expected to sign it into law.
The bill, known as the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4445/text">Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act</a>, targets “forced arbitration,” a practice <a href="https://archive.thinkprogress.org/neil-gorsuch-lashes-out-at-american-workers-cfaf9930ddf1/">championed by Republicans on the Supreme Court</a>. Forced arbitration allows companies to shield themselves from lawsuits — and to shunt legal disputes into a privatized arbitration system that <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/12/21133486/doordash-workers-10-million-forced-arbitration-class-action-supreme-court-backfired">overwhelmingly favors corporate parties</a>.
The new legislation provides that plaintiffs alleging sexual assault or sexual harassment may elect to have their dispute decided by a real court, even if they previously signed a forced arbitration agreement.
<a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8345012189188610773&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr">Employers</a>, <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/chase-is-bringing-forced-arbitration-clauses-back-to-its-most-popular-credit-cards-2019-06-04">banks</a>, <a href="https://www.elderlawanswers.com/new-rule-once-again-allows-nursing-home-arbitration-agreements-17278">nursing homes</a>, and numerous other companies require their workers, customers, and patients to sign contracts containing a forced arbitration provision. Under these provisions, if a legal dispute arises between the company and its workers or consumers, the dispute will not be resolved in a real court. Instead, the case will be resolved by a private arbitrator — often one supplied by an arbitration provider that is chosen by the company that drafted the forced arbitration provision.
Data shows that <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/12/21133486/doordash-workers-10-million-forced-arbitration-class-action-supreme-court-backfired">corporate parties are far more likely to prevail</a> before an arbiter, as compared to a court. And when non-corporate plaintiffs do prevail before an arbiter, they typically receive much less money than they would if their case had been litigated.
The Court’s Republicans often present forced arbitration cases as <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8345012189188610773&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr">ordinary contract disputes</a>. As Neil Gorsuch argued in one of his first decisions as a justice, workers and companies both signed forced arbitration agreements, so they should both be bound by them.
But non-corporate parties rarely have the choice not to sign such an agreement. Many companies refuse to do business with anyone who doesn’t submit to forced arbitration. And the Supreme Court’s decision in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8345012189188610773&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr">Epic Systems v. Lewis</a> (2018) permits employers to order their employees to relinquish their right to sue the employer under pain of termination. The upshot of that decision is that employees can easily be forced into a situation where their options in a legal dispute are arbitration or nothing.
Interestingly, while the Supreme Court frequently <a href="https://archive.thinkprogress.org/justice-ginsburg-republican-colleagues-consent-39721c42421e/">splits along party lines</a> in forced arbitration cases — with Republican justices cheerleading the practice and Democratic justices dissenting — the new bill passed both houses of Congress with bipartisan support. The bill passed the House by a <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202233">lopsided 335-97 vote margin</a>, with 113 Republicans joining all House Democrats. It passed the Senate in an <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-10/senate-passes-landmark-metoo-bill-to-ease-workplace-lawsuits">unrecorded voice vote</a>.
Congress passed the Federal Arbitration Act of 1925, in the words of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, to allow “<a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/577/14-462/">merchants with relatively equal bargaining power</a>” to resolve disputes through private arbitration.
Arbitration is a benign and <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/2/12/21133486/doordash-workers-10-million-forced-arbitration-class-action-supreme-court-backfired">even potentially beneficial practice</a> in disputes between parties with reasonably equal bargaining power — disputes between an employer and a labor union, for example, are commonly resolved through arbitration — because it can be quicker and less expensive than litigation. Merchants in specialized industries can also choose an arbitrator who is more familiar with their industry than most judges.
Starting in the 1980s, however, the Supreme Court started to read the Arbitration Act expansively to allow companies to require ordinary consumers and workers to submit to arbitration.
In recent decades, moreover, the Court frequently divided along party lines in cases involving arbitration. Often, the Court’s decisions expanding forced arbitration read the text of the Arbitration Act <a href="https://archive.thinkprogress.org/neil-gorsuch-lashes-out-at-american-workers-cfaf9930ddf1/">so implausibly</a> that it’s questionable whether the justices in the majority were acting in good faith.
To give just a couple of examples, the Arbitration Act explicitly exempts “<a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=13997435562158688431&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr">workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce</a>.” Yet in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=13997435562158688431&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr">Circuit City v. Adams</a> (2001), a 5-4 Supreme Court held that nearly all workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce may be forced into arbitration.
The Arbitration Act is also completely silent on the subject of class actions — a form of dispute resolution where multiple plaintiffs with similar claims join together in a single lawsuit. But in <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3870951188038012616&hl=en&as_sdt=6&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr">AT&T v. Concepcion</a> (2011), the Court voted along party lines to permit companies to insert a clause into arbitration contracts that also ban class actions.
These decisions are a windfall for corporate parties, and a significant blow to the rights of workers and consumers. A <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/the-arbitration-epidemic/">2015 study</a> of forced arbitration in the workplace, for example, found that workers are <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/mandatory-arbitration-unfairly-tilts-the-legal-system/?utm_content=buffer76362&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer">significantly less likely to prevail before an arbiter</a> — as compared to a lawsuit heard by a real judge.
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And when workers do prevail over their employer, they are typically awarded about a fifth as much money as a similarly situated worker whose case was heard by a court.
In any event, once Biden signs the new legislation into law, forced arbitration will no longer exist in cases alleging sexual harassment or assault.
The bill targets “<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4445/text">predispute arbitration agreement[s]</a>,” so the parties to a sexual harassment suit may agree after a dispute arises to submit the case to an arbitrator. But companies will no longer be able to use blanket forced arbitration contracts to immunize themselves from lawsuits for sexual misconduct.
That’s an important victory for workers and consumers — though also a fairly limited one. The overwhelming majority of legal disputes do not involve sexual assault or harassment; in the federal courts, for example, sexual harassment suits are typically styled as civil rights suits, but civil rights litigation made up <a href="https://www.uscourts.gov/statistics-reports/us-district-courts-judicial-business-2020">less than 10 percent</a> of the federal judicial docket in 2020.
So the new law will help workers. But decisions like Circuit City and Concepcion will continue to govern the overwhelming majority of disputes.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/2022/2/10/22927461/forced-arbitration-congress-bipartisan-supreme-court-metoo-sexual-harassment-assault">https://www.vox.com/2022/2/10/22927461/forced-arbitration-congress-bipartisan-supreme-court-metoo-sexual-harassment-assault</a>

vox Congress just passed an extremely important bill protecting victims of sexual misconduct

The Senate passed a significant bill on Thursday that effectively prevents employers, universities, and other institutions from immunizing t...

New documentary series on white people dubbed ‘racist’

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Conservatives have lambasted Showtime over a new docu-series, claiming it gives an anti-white slant to race relations in the US. 
Promising to “give white America a black eye,” the documentary ‘Everything’s Gonna be All White’ premieres this Friday, but outraged commentators have already slammed its trailer as “racist anti-white propaganda.”
The trailer, which was released last Tuesday, opens with actress Amanda Seales declaring: “I think what annoys me most about white people is when they pretend that they’re the victim. What’s also annoying is when they, you know, when they kill us.”
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From there, the trailer features black and minority academics and celebrities condemning white people for a variety of sins. “Whiteness” is defined as a form of “ignorance,” whites living today are blamed for their ancestors’ involvement in the slave trade, Civil War monuments are described as “mementos of racism,” and white people are portrayed as “the problem.”
According to a writeup on <a href="https://tvline.com/2022/02/08/everythings-gonna-be-all-white-amanda-seales-showtime-documentary/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TV Line</a>, the show also features “edifying interviews with comedic actress Margaret Cho, journalist Jemele Hill, author Ibram X. Kendi, historian Dr. Nick Estes, and rappers Roxanne Shante, Styles P and Willie D.” Of these names, Kendi’s is perhaps the most widely known, with the “antiracist” author a leading proponent of so-called ‘critical race theory’ in the US.
Globalist thugs and a potential false flag in Ottawa, Canada at the Freedom Convoy
“Conservatives: we’re in a scary new world,” JD Vance, a US Senate candidate from Ohio, <a href="https://twitter.com/JDVance1/status/1491420242811437056" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>. Describing the series as “ethnomasochism,” former Trump administration official Darren Beattie <a href="https://twitter.com/DarrenJBeattie/status/1491219171488976896" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">declared</a> that “the people who created this are a far greater threat to the well-being of real Americans than the Chinese or the Russians.”
“The US is the only country in the world that not only demonizes its core demographic, but encourages and celebrates that demonization,” writer Pedro Gonzalez <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/emeriticus/status/1491196096835911681" target="_blank">added</a>. “It won’t stop until white people demand that it stops.”
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Now Showtime is brazenly profiting from anti-white racist propaganda. 
Very reminiscent of Germans talking about Jews in the 1930s. 
<a href="https://t.co/QU3gD6yl6g">pic.twitter.com/QU3gD6yl6g</a>
— Mr Reagan 🇺🇸 (@MrReaganUSA) <a href="https://twitter.com/MrReaganUSA/status/1491153239454400512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2022</a></blockquote>
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While YouTube’s dislike function is disabled by default, by installing a browser extension one can see how many dislikes a video has garnered. At time of writing, the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ2f5OVZ7Oo" target="_blank">trailer</a> for ‘Everything’s Gonna be All White’ has received 1,300 likes and more than 35,000 dislikes.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.infowars.com/posts/new-documentary-series-on-white-people-dubbed-racist">https://www.infowars.com/posts/new-documentary-series-on-white-people-dubbed-racist</a>

news New documentary series on white people dubbed ‘racist’

Conservatives have lambasted Showtime over a new docu-series, claiming it gives an anti-white slant to race relations in the US. Promisin...

Autopsy Confirms College Student Died From “COVID-19 Vaccine-Related Myocarditis”

24-year-old New York college student George Watts Jr. died on October 27, 2021, due to complications related to the Pfizer Covid-19 shots he took in August and September.
Thanks to Corning Community College’s <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.corning-cc.edu/student-life/health-office/immunization-requirements.php" target="_blank">mandatory vaccination policy</a>, Watts had to get an experimental Covid jab in order to attend classes in person.
<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.rochesterfirst.com/news/regional-news/i-dont-know-what-else-to-do-or-where-to-even-go-from-here-covid-19-vaccine-to-blame-for-southern-tier-mans-death/" target="_blank">According to his parents</a>, George Jr. chose to receive the Pfizer “vaccine” because it had been recently given full FDA approval.
They also said he discovered blood in his urine after the first shot and felt flu-like symptoms that wouldn’t go away after the second jab.
“I noticed he was starting to get puffy in the face like a sinus issue… He had a cough and I decided to take him to the emergency room to see what was going on,” the boy’s father explained.
Next, the father took his son to the hospital twice within a couple of weeks to seek help for his illness only to be given antibiotics and told to go home.
George Jr. eventually began coughing up blood, and experienced pain in his feet, hands, and teeth, even becoming extremely sensitive to sunlight.
“I told him that I was going to take him to the emergency room the next day after I got out of work,” George Sr. said. “We never made that trip to the emergency room.”
<div class="2l2lgsBR"><a href="https://www.infowarsstore.com/survival-shield-x-3-1-oz?ims=oscuk&utm_campaign=x3hero&utm_source=Infowars+Hero&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=x3hero" target="_blank"><img src="https://api.directus.libertycdn.com/uploads/_/originals/X3-hero-385-2.jpg" /></a></div>
The student was found collapsed in his room on October 27, 202, and was pronounced dead later on that morning.
After an autopsy was performed, the Bradford County Coroner’s Office revealed George Jr. died from “COVID-19 vaccine-related myocarditis.”
The county’s Chief Deputy Coroner Timothy Cahill Jr. said, “The cause of death is the COVID-19 vaccine-related myocarditis. We are currently working on other cases that are related to vaccine and booster-related issues within our county.”
“The manner of death was ruled as ‘natural,’” Cahill noted before explaining that myocarditis is what Watts died from, but that it was induced by the shot.
“So, the vaccine caused the heart to go into failure, caused an infection in the heart,” he said. “So, it means that it’s just of a natural cause. But, if it wasn’t for the vaccine, he wouldn’t more than likely be passed away right now.”
“I don’t know what else to do, or where to even go from here,” the grieving father said.
As Cahill noted by admitting Bradford County is dealing with other Covid vaccine-related deaths, this is not an isolated incident.
Last month, <a href="https://www.infowars.com/posts/pfizer-booster-listed-as-cause-of-death-in-26-year-olds-autopsy-death-certificate-after-work-mandated-jab/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Infowars reported on</a> a 26-year-old man named Joseph Keating who died from myocarditis after a Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine booster jab.
According to the certificate of death, Keating died from “multifocal myocarditis involving the left ventricle and septum,” with the second cause of death listed as “Recent Pfizer Covid-19 booster vaccine.”
In October of 2021, <a href="https://www.infowars.com/posts/sheriffs-office-attributes-california-teens-death-to-second-pfizer-jab/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Police in Sonoma County, California blamed Pfizer’s experimental mRNA jab</a> for causing the sudden death of a local teen.
The teenager’s death report states that after a postmortem examination was conducted by a forensic pathologist, “the cause of death was determined to be: ‘STRESS CARDIOMYOPATHY WITH PERIVASCULAR CORONARY ARTERY INFLAMMATION (hours to days), due to, UNKOWN ETIOLOGY IN SETTING OF RECENT PFIZER-BIONTECH COVID-19 VACCINATION (days).’” [emphasis theirs]
Related:
<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.infowars.com/posts/pathology-results-show-93-of-people-who-died-after-being-vaccinated-were-killed-by-the-vaccine/" target="_blank">Pathology Results Show 93% of People Who Died After Being Vaccinated Were Killed By the Vaccine</a>
<a href="https://www.infowars.com/posts/first-autopsy-of-covid-vaccinated-patient-found-spike-proteins-in-every-organ-of-body/">First Autopsy of COVID Vaccinated Patient Found Viral RNA In Every Organ of Body</a>
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Remember, almost every person hurt by these shots, and every person with a family member injured or killed by them, was once also a believer in the experimental technology.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.infowars.com/posts/autopsy-confirms-college-student-died-from-covid-19-vaccine-related-myocarditis">https://www.infowars.com/posts/autopsy-confirms-college-student-died-from-covid-19-vaccine-related-myocarditis</a>

news Autopsy Confirms College Student Died From “COVID-19 Vaccine-Related Myocarditis”

24-year-old New York college student George Watts Jr. died on October 27, 2021, due to complications related to the Pfizer Covid-19 shots he...

Why the Olympic monobob event is only for women

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Bobsledding (or bobsleighing) is one of the oldest Olympic sports, dating back to the very first Winter Games in 1924. Back then, women were barred from competing in nearly every event except <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Chamonix-1924-Olympic-Winter-Games">figure skating</a>. Of the 250 athletes that arrived for the first Winter Olympics, only 11 were women.
Times have changed. The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing is considered the most gender-balanced to date, with female athletes making up <a href="https://olympics.com/ioc/news/women-at-the-olympic-winter-games-beijing-2022-all-you-need-to-know">45 percent of the roster</a>. But sexist regulations and outdated “science” still creep in. Who could forget the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, when the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/sports/norway-beach-handball-team.html?smid=tw-share">Norwegian handball team was fined</a> for refusing to wear bikinis? Or questionable testosterone tests that <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57748135">barred female sprinters from competing</a> in an event?
As recently as 2008, the Winter Olympics was riddled with controversy over gender inclusion issues; female aerial skiers <a href="https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2022/01/17/ski-jumping-olympics-usa-women/">sued the Vancouver Organizing Committee</a> over alleged discrimination. In 2005, the president of the International Ski Federation stated that ski jumping “<a href="http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1963484_1963490_1963447,00.html">seems not to be appropriate for ladies from a medical point of view</a>.”
Uteruses, am I right?
As for bobsledding, it wasn’t <a href="https://olympics.com/en/beijing-2022/sports/bobsleigh/">until 2002</a> that female athletes were invited to participate in the Games, but only in a single event: the two-woman bob. Since 1932, men have had two events (the two-man and four-man bob). In 2022, a new all-women bobsledding event was introduced: the monobob, a single-woman sled. But is it actually leveling the playing field? Maybe, but not entirely in the way you might think.
Further reading:
You can find this video and the entire library of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLXo7UDZvByw2ixzpQCufnA">Vox’s videos on YouTube</a>.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/22925785/olympic-monobob-women-event-gender-equality">https://www.vox.com/22925785/olympic-monobob-women-event-gender-equality</a>

vox Why the Olympic monobob event is only for women

Bobsledding (or bobsleighing) is one of the oldest Olympic sports, dating back to the very first Winter Games in 1924. Back then, women wer...

Peloton’s problems aren’t just Peloton’s

<div><img class="ff-og-image-inserted" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/72LZDSnWy1jooeMs_oQ4xqwrWmI=/0x246:3500x2078/fit-in/1200x630/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23229681/GettyImages_1316519581.jpg" /></div>
Peloton is spiraling, and its downfall could be a harbinger of real trouble for an entire industry. The at-home digital exercise company is one of several that thrived during the pandemic and <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/11/14/18088390/peloton-hugh-jackman-spin-bikes-hydrow-tonal">promised</a> <a href="https://time.com/5839552/peloton-ceo-john-foley/">to</a> <a href="https://www.vox.com/ad/20976068/mirror-home-gym-fitness">change</a> forever how we work out. But now, it’s not clear if they’ll be around to finish <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/5/6/21241805/yoga-with-adriene-youtube-workout-at-home">the at-home fitness revolution</a> they started.
There’s no denying that the pandemic made working out at home extremely popular. After gyms were forced to close their doors, people canceled their memberships and invested in exercise equipment and online class subscriptions instead. So much so that companies like Peloton couldn’t keep up with demand, leaving many customers <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/5/22266121/peloton-shipping-delays-earnings-q4-2020">to wait months</a> for their bikes and treadmills to be delivered. But Covid-19 restrictions didn’t last forever. Eventually, when gyms started reopening, people stopped buying — <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/pandemics-peloton-obsession-turns-to-peloton-fatigue-11633097818">and using</a> — exercise equipment with the same enthusiasm they had in the spring of 2020.
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This transition has been brutal for Peloton. Sales of new bikes <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/11/05/peloton-sales-gym-memberships/">have slumped</a>, and people haven’t bought enough of the company’s newer products, which include <a href="https://www.onepeloton.com/tread?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Recode%202.9.22&utm_term=Recode">two treadmill models</a> and <a href="https://www.onepeloton.com/shop/accessories/dumbbells">weights</a>, to make up the difference. After losing <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/business/dealbook/peloton-ceo-sale.html">$439 million last quarter</a><a href="https://link.recode.net/click/26652173.43833/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMi8wMi8wOC9idXNpbmVzcy9kZWFsYm9vay9wZWxvdG9uLWNlby1zYWxlLmh0bWw/608c6cd87e3ba002de9a4dcaC68ed54e5">,</a> Peloton <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/20/peloton-to-pause-production-of-its-bikes-treadmills-as-demand-wanes.html">decided</a> in January that it would temporarily halt production of its bikes and treadmills to cut costs, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/20/peloton-to-pause-production-of-its-bikes-treadmills-as-demand-wanes.html">according to internal documents obtained by CNBC</a>. Then, on Tuesday, the company said that it would <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/peloton-ceo-john-foley-to-step-down-become-executive-chair-11644314403">lay off 2,800 people</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peloton-factory-ohio-scrap-plans-construction-bike-treadmill-john-foley-2022-2">cancel its plans for a new $400 million factory in Ohio</a>, and that its CEO, John Foley, would step down. Former Spotify CFO <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/peloton-ceo-john-foley-to-step-down-become-executive-chair-11644314403">Barry McCarthy</a> will take his place.
Many of the issues Peloton faced were specific to the company. Some investors had <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/activist-investor-to-call-on-peloton-to-fire-its-ceo-11642982211">argued</a> that Foley — who led the company for a decade — just wasn’t up to the task of scaling the company so quickly. Peloton also had a series of slip-ups, including supply chain problems, a <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/home-product-recalls/peloton-tread-tread-plus-treadmills-recalled-serious-safety-hazards-a6638931886/">very public recall of its treadmills</a>, and a <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22895463/peloton-stock-price-bike-cost-production">controversial ad campaign</a>.
But Peloton’s demise also coincides with a trend in more people working out like they used to do: at gyms. Demand for in-person <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/07/07/business/back-gym-fitness-classes-gym-memberships-rebound-after-pandemic-era-hiatus/">fitness classes and gym memberships</a> has rebounded, while Google searches for home gym equipment overall <a href="https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%205-y&geo=US&q=home%20Gym%20equipment">have continued to fall</a> since their high in March of 2020. Foot traffic to gyms has now returned to the same levels as January 2020, according to data from SafeGraph, a geospatial data company. Planet Fitness alone <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-01-28/desperate-to-hit-the-gym-again-planet-fitness-is-thrilled-peloton-not-so-much">said</a> that, by November, it had recovered 15 million customers, which amounts to just half a million customers less than its pre-pandemic peak.
In the wake of the return to gyms, Peloton’s competitors are starting to see signs of trouble, too. Mirror is one of them. The company sells a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/can-the-mirror-really-replicate-the-studio-fitness-class-experience/">$1,495 smart mirror</a> that streams virtual exercise classes on the surface of the device as you work out. Just a few months into the pandemic, Lululemon bought Mirror for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/29/business/lululemon-buys-mirror.html">$500 million</a> in a bid to capitalize on the big transition to at-home fitness. Over a year later, the athleisure brand has cut its estimated <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/4-lululemon-analysts-react-to-post-earnings-weakness-challenging-year-in-digital-fitness-1031042007">revenue expectations</a> for Mirror in half.
“As you know, 2021 has been a challenging year for digital fitness,” Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/lululemon-spent-500-million-high-131115205.html">told investors</a> in December. “We have seen increasing pressures on customer acquisition costs that are impacting the entire industry.”
Meanwhile, NordicTrack’s parent company, iFIT, announced that it would go public last September, but a month later, it delayed the move, citing “<a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ifit-postpones-ipo-citing-adverse-market-conditions-2021-10-07">adverse market conditions</a>.” And Nautilus, which owns fitness brands like Bowflex and Schwinn, also <a href="https://sgbonline.com/nautilus-q3-revenues-decline-on-reduced-direct-sales-and-shipping-constraints/">reported late last year</a> that some of its products haven’t been selling as well as they did earlier in the pandemic, though many are still more popular than they were back in 2019.
It’s possible that Peloton could find a path forward if a larger company acquires it. But there are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/business/dealbook/peloton-ceo-sale.html">reasons to believe that won’t happen</a>, even with its new CEO. Some activist investors want a larger company to buy Peloton and have suggested <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/peloton-potential-buyers-blackwells-berkshire-hathaway-lululemon-nike-john-foley-2022-2">at least 19 possible candidates</a>, including Apple, Netflix, and Lululemon. But these companies may <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/business/dealbook/peloton-ceo-sale.html">not be interested</a> in an expensive but niche fitness business. Apple, for instance, is already wary of buying more companies and catching the attention of antitrust regulations. Netflix isn’t in the device business, and the streaming giant has generally avoided fitness content. Lululemon already has Mirror.
But as Peloton searches for a buyer, plenty of other companies are building streaming platforms for fitness content that allow people to use any equipment they want — and for a lot less money. These services include <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fVFsbcXBkI">Apple’s Fitness+</a>, on-demand home workouts from <a href="https://classpass.com/try/home-workout-videos">ClassPass</a>, and millions of fitness videos on YouTube. These streaming options tend to make money through advertisements or low-cost monthly subscriptions without pushing people to buy specialized equipment.
Whether other companies will go the way of Peloton remains to be seen. Of course, this would hardly be the first time an at-home fitness fad has come and gone. Every generation of tech seems to come with its own spin on the home fitness revolution, from VHS aerobics to the exercise equipment sold on QVC. This time around, Peloton thought streaming and touchscreens would be the breakthrough to keep people hooked. Unfortunately for Peloton, the company may have just built another expensive clothing rack.
This story was first published in the Recode newsletter. <a href="https://www.vox.com/pages/newsletters">Sign up here</a> so you don’t miss the next one!
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22925513/peloton-recall-gyms-nordictrack-mirror">https://www.vox.com/recode/22925513/peloton-recall-gyms-nordictrack-mirror</a>

vox Peloton’s problems aren’t just Peloton’s

Peloton is spiraling, and its downfall could be a harbinger of real trouble for an entire industry. The at-home digital exercise company is...

Ohio State University Tells Students to “Replace Your Mask Between Bites and Sips”

After Austria became the first European country to <a href="https://summit.news/2021/11/19/austria-makes-vaccines-mandatory-vows-penalties-for-those-who-resist/">mandate COVID vaccines</a> for the ENTIRETY of its population, details have emerged on how the government plans to enforce the measure.
<a href="https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/non-vaccinated-austrians-to-be-fined-starting-from-march-15/">Reports note</a> that citizens will be stopped randomly in the street and pulled over in their vehicles and forced to comply with vaccine status checks by the ‘authorities.’
If, heaven forbid, a person is found to be unvaccinated they will be fined on the spot, with the penalty increasing for each violation.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true" readability="6.9530201342282">
"government plans to send a letter to all Austrians [] giving them a month to comply [] That changes in mid-March, when the police are to start conducting random checks of vaccination status — including during traffic stops."<a href="https://t.co/0MCN0LqAdR">https://t.co/0MCN0LqAdR</a>
— tomitka crow (@tomitkacrow) <a href="https://twitter.com/tomitkacrow/status/1489997206761345028?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
A first ‘offense’ will mean a €600 ($687) fine, with subsequent violations reaching up to €3,400 ($3,890).
The Austrian government will check citizens’ vaccination status against their vaccine registry. Anyone found to not have two vaccines plus a booster will be punished accordingly.
The development confirms previous reports that the Austrian government will <a href="https://summit.news/2021/12/21/austria-hiring-people-to-hunt-down-vaccine-refusers/">hire people to “hunt down vaccine refusers.”</a>
Indeed, this is merely an official confirmation of what has already been happening in the country. After the government placed the unvaccinated under an unprecedented lockdown, <a href="https://summit.news/2021/11/16/austrian-police-patrol-shops-highways-hunting-for-the-unvaccinated/">footage emerged showing police patrolling shops and highways</a> checking people’s vaccination status.
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🇦🇹 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Austria?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Austria</a>'s police and military have began manhunts for unvaccinated people.
They patrolling the streets, public spaces and shopping areas and asking for vaccine passports. <a href="https://t.co/vUC87oGHW5">pic.twitter.com/vUC87oGHW5</a>
— Terror Alarm (@terror_alarm) <a href="https://twitter.com/terror_alarm/status/1460641335589941259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Austrian police demand people show proof of vaccination as they shop in one of Vienna’s busiest shopping streets Mariahilferstraße <a href="https://t.co/Rs6Fu4gX6S">pic.twitter.com/Rs6Fu4gX6S</a>
— Richard Medhurst (@richimedhurst) <a href="https://twitter.com/richimedhurst/status/1460724538480775169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Days after imposing the lockdown on the unvaccinated, <a href="https://summit.news/2021/11/18/days-after-locking-down-the-unvaccinated-austria-hits-covid-case-record/">Austria hit a new COVID case record.</a>
In addition, the Austrian government has shortened the period in which vaccinations remain valid, meaning citizens are required to receive their next dose 90 days earlier than previously.
<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/" target="_blank">SchengenVisaInfo</a> News reports that “‘From February 1, 2022, two-dose vaccinations are only valid for 180 days in Austria (exception: 210 days for under 18-year-olds). However, for ENTERING, the 270 days remain in place. The booster vaccination is valid for 270 days in both scenarios,’” the Austrian authorities explained.”
The government has put a sunset on the law, for January… of 2024, meaning Austrians face at least another two years of COVID tyranny.
As we have <a href="https://summit.news/2021/12/10/unvaxxed-in-austria-could-be-imprisoned-for-a-year/">previously reported</a>, an amendment to the law could also see those who refuse to pay the fines for being unvaccinated imprisoned.
The amendment also orders people who are jailed to pay for their own imprisonment.
“If detention is carried out by the courts, the associated costs shall be recovered by the courts from the obligated party in accordance with the provisions existing for the recovery of the costs of enforcing judicial penalties,” it states.
No one will be “forcibly brought” to a vaccination center to get jabbed against their will, although rest assured, they will be <a href="https://summit.news/2021/11/30/unvaccinated-austrians-face-prison-time-huge-fines-for-non-compliance/">“forcibly” placed behind bars</a> if they continue to refuse.
It remains to be seen whether other European countries will follow suit. Several countries have begin to scrap restrictions, including vaccine passports. However, the <a href="https://summit.news/2022/02/04/eu-wants-to-keep-vaccine-passports-in-place-for-another-entire-year/">EU wants to keep the passes in place for another entire year.</a>
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source <a href="https://summit.news/2022/02/09/ohio-state-university-tells-students-to-replace-your-mask-between-bites-and-sips/">https://summit.news/2022/02/09/ohio-state-university-tells-students-to-replace-your-mask-between-bites-and-sips/</a>

revolution summit Ohio State University Tells Students to “Replace Your Mask Between Bites and Sips”

After Austria became the first European country to mandate COVID vaccines for the ENTIRETY of its population, details have emerged on how t...