#Chilean columnist

[tempting-seduction]

Born on 20 February 1953 in Valparaíso, Chile, Roberto Ampuero is a Chilean author, columnist, and the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile, a position he held from March 11, 2018 to June 13, 2019.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Ruth Ben-Ghiat at Lucid:

"Florida could start looking a lot like Hungary," noted New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg in Feb 2023., writing about Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's quest to restructure higher education in line with his far-right views. Although many GOP politicians have made pilgrimages to Budapest to proclaim their alignment with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's repressive policies, DeSantis has been arguably the most aggressive adopter of Hungarian-style restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights and attacks on higher education. The sad sight of all those books discarded by far-right New College employees in a dumpster for being politically “unacceptable” will stay with me a long time, not least because it is similar to what happened to books from public and private libraries during the right-wing Chilean military dictatorship, the Chinese Communist “Cultural Revolution,” and many other regimes.

As the Tampa Bay Times reported, 13,000 books were thrown into a dumpster as though they were trash or toxic waste. After images of the dumpster circulated, causing a public outcry, New College went into damage control mode. They made a preliminary decision to fire the dean of the college library for not following proper procedures, including justifications for each book selected for elimination. But the New College was just fine with having hundreds of other books discarded as part of a purge of the Gender and Diversity Center! As the GOP transforms into an autocratic entity allied with foreign far-right parties and governments, it's worth understanding how Orbán and other illiberal leaders target universities. They don't only shut down intellectual freedom and change the content of learning to reinforce their ideological agendas, but also seek to remake higher education institutions into places that reward intolerance, conformism, and other values and behaviors authoritarians require.

Authoritarian Visions of Education: Italy and Chile

The regime of Benito Mussolini (1925-1943) provided the template for right-wing authoritarian actions. Leftists, liberals, and anyone who spoke out against the Fascists were sent to prison or forced into exile. Since most universities were public, professors and researchers were civil servants and could be pressured through bureaucratic means. First came a 1931 loyalty oath to the King and Fascism, then a 1932 requirement to join the Fascist Party to apply for jobs or promotions. Student informers monitored their peers and their teachers, recording any critical remarks or anti-regime jokes, and new university student organizations inculcated Fascist values through extra-curricular activities. In the Cold War era, Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, who seized power through a 1973 U.S.-backed coup, claimed that universities were hotbeds of Marxism and targeted them for "cleansing." By 1975 24,000 students, faculty, and staff had been dismissed (and thousands sent to prison), and philosophy and social science departments had been disbanded. [...]

Hungary, Model for the GOP and the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025

Today’s right-wing autocrats mostly come to power through elections and extinguish freedom slowly. Yet universities continue to be the targets of leaders who seek to eradicate free thinking and turn campuses into sites of informing, mistrust, and fear. Orbán had already started to drive the liberal Central European University out of Hungary when his 2018 re-election accelerated his crackdown on education. Much of this repression has centered on LGBTQ populations. A 2018 ban on gender studies preceded the 2020 end of legal recognition of transgender and intersex people. In 2021, a law outlawed any depiction or discussion of LGBTQ identities and sexual orientation, and some universities came under the authority of "public trusts" run by Orbán cronies. Like his fellow far-right strongmen, Orbán aims to discredit and dismantle all liberal and democratic models of education to produce a new authoritarian-friendly population. As someone who grew up under Communism, Orbán knows the power of political socialization. He also knows that universities have always been sites of resistance to authoritarianism (a theme of the resistance chapter of Strongmen).

[...] If some of this sounds familiar to readers in America, that's not surprising. DeSantis's maneuvers to remake New College as a model of far-right pedagogy take a page from Orbán's crusades. Increasingly, it's not just "make America Florida," as the DeSantis camp advocates, but "make America Hungary" —a goal fellow Orbán fan and former Fox host Tucker Carlson also supported. [...]

Watch for higher education professionals to be increasingly attacked as agents of the destruction of family, faith, and decency as GOP politicians compete to seem more extremist and authoritarian —which will bring them even further into line with autocrats such as Orbán. On that note, “anti-Judeo-Christian values” is now a category of offense for the authoritarian targeting site Professor Watchlist. Checking my page there to see what new outrage I have committed is one of my back-to-school rituals. Far from being “ivory towers” closed off from society, higher education institutions are often front-line targets of those who seek to destroy democracy. What happens on campus reflects, and often anticipates, transformations of societies as authoritarianism takes hold.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat takes a look at how authoritarians target universities in the war on dissent and free expression.

[mariacallous]

When tensions flare in the contested South China Sea, age-old territorial feuds or military drills are typically to blame—not American popstars known for their blond tresses and affinity for cats.

Yet Taylor Swift found herself at the center of a heated regional spat in February, when Singapore was accused of secretly paying Swift’s team up to $18 million to ensure the island was the sole stop in the Southeast Asia leg of her record-breaking Eras Tour. Singapore’s confirmation of having made a payment of an undisclosed amount intensified the backlash, with one peeved Filipino lawmaker accusing the island of operating by “the law of the jungle.”

Singapore wasn’t too worried. Hosting the extravaganza may have caused some bad blood, but it is estimated to have injected between $260 million and $375 million into the country’s economy, as more than 300,000 fans descended on the island for the tour. And that’s just a fraction of the more than 10 million people worldwide who turned out in force to shake it off with Swift during her marathon tour (including, admittedly, this Foreign Policy reporter).

Those are just some of the staggering figures that have emerged from Swift’s Eras Tour, which wrapped in December after a nearly two-year run. Before Eras, for example, no tour had passed the billion-dollar mark in ticket sales; Swift shattered that record, raking in $2.2 billion in gross earnings.

Yet that number doesn’t even begin to account for all of the revenue generated beyond concert ticket sales. In September 2023, the U.S. Travel Association estimated the tour’s total economic impact at the time had surpassed some $10 billion—and that was just five months in.

“If she were her own economy, she would be bigger than 50 or so of the poorest nations in the world,” said Adam Gustafson, a professor of music at Penn State Harrisburg, who likened Swift’s influence to a “massive gravitational pull.”

Swift may have humble origins in West Reading, Pennsylvania, but the Eras Tour has laid bare just how powerful her gravitational pull has become.

She has drawn in powerful world leaders, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who attended her show in Toronto, and Chilean President Gabriel Boric, a known Swiftie who once leapt to her defense on Twitter, tenderly sending “hugs from the south.” Her tour has captured the attention of the Bank of England and the U.S. Federal Reserve. And the force of her fandom has, quite literally, shaken the world, with the dancing at her concerts in Edinburgh and Seattle generating enough of a seismic shock that scientists took notice.

“I don’t think we’ll ever see anything like it again, and I don’t think we’ve seen anything like it before,” said Ryan Herzog, an economics professor at Gonzaga University who partnered with New York Times columnist and economics professor Paul Krugman to develop a class on “Swiftonomics.”

You don’t have to be a devout Swiftie to have felt the economic reverberations of the popstar’s marathon tour, which extended into the far reaches of the global economy over its nearly two-year run.

The numbers alone are eye-popping: $2.07 billion in ticket sales, 10,168,008 attendees, 149 shows, 51 cities, 21 countries, five continents.

Beyond the gold rush in ticket sales, the Eras Tour pumped up hotel revenue; drove up demand for flights—prompting Southwest Airlines to add new flights to “help Swifties get to and from her concerts,” per a company statement; and spiked retail and restaurant spending. The bead market also boomed: Michaels, a retailer known for its arts and crafts supplies, reported that its sales for bracelet materials surged, popularized by the beaded friendship bracelets that have become a trademark of the Eras Tour.

“The magnitude of her impact was large everywhere she went,” said Herzog.

The last time that Swift toured was in 2018, after she released Reputation, a defiant album defined by its slithering snakes and angsty feuds. (Remember “Look What You Made Me Do”?) Reputation spanned 53 shows and 7 countries, but even that feels small compared with the colossal Eras Tour.

In an evolving music industry now dominated by streaming giants, such as Spotify or Apple Music—which give artists only a sliver of profits—experts said touring can be a key source of income for many musicians.

“Artists really don’t get a lot of money from streaming; that is why they’re putting on these big shows,” said Kara Reynolds, an economist at American University who teaches a class on Swiftonomics. “All the money now in the music industry is really in touring.”

But for almost five years, Swift took a break from touring. Rather than hitting the road, particularly when much of the world shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, Swift churned out four new albums: Lover (2019), folklore (2020), evermore (2020), and Midnights (2022). Her most recent album, The Tortured Poets Department (2024), was released during the Eras Tour.

Some of the Taylormania can be traced back to the isolation of the pandemic and pent up demand for Swift’s new music. “The timing after COVID just was impeccable,” said Herzog, who said that there was a “perfect recipe” of factors. “The fact that she hadn’t toured enabled her to put on a show unlike anything anyone had experienced.”

Yet all recipes, no matter how perfect, need capable hands. With some two decades of experience under Swift’s belt, economists and seasoned watchers described her as a savvy businesswoman and marketing whiz, one who has leveraged social media to her advantage and strategically made bold, even unusual, professional decisions to directly connect with fans and establish her empire.

Dani Winchester, co-host of the Swift-focused Taylearning podcast, likened Swift to a “two-headed dragon.” “One head is her immense talent, her unparalleled pen, and just what an incredible musician and artist she is,” she said. “The other head is this absolutely insane businesswoman.”

Take, for example, Swift’s decision to rerecord her older albums, allowing her to rerelease her music under her ownership, as Taylor’s Version. There’s all of the Easter eggs that she has planted in music videos, social media posts, and interviews, offering clues and veiled messages to her legions of fans. There’s the nearly three-hour Eras Tour movie she released last October, and the hardcover tour book that she dropped in November. It’s also hard to forget her feud with Ticketmaster, which ultimately helped pave the way for a Justice Department lawsuit against the company and its parent firm, Live Nation Entertainment.

And then there’s the career-spanning Eras Tour, which by some estimates is set to funnel some $4.1 billion directly into Swift’s pocket.

For Gustafson, the Penn State Harrisburg professor, understanding Swift’s economic impact starts with seeing her as Swift Inc. When you start “thinking about her as a financial engine rather than as this artist,” he said, “you start realizing that the hundreds and hundreds of people below her, they’re all kind of at work to make this cultural product happen.”

The sun had yet to rise when Megan Wysocki clambered out of bed and rushed over to her local Target store in New Jersey. A student at American University, Wysocki is decidedly not a morning person, she told Foreign Policy—but this was something even she couldn’t miss.

She wasn’t alone. When Wysocki arrived at Target in the early hours of Nov. 29, a line had formed of people who were there for the same reason: snagging Swift’s self-published Eras Tour Book, a 256-page tome packed with more than 500 glossy images of Swift as well as her reflections. Swift released the book exclusively through the retailer on Black Friday, prompting eager fans to turn to Reddit to mastermind plans to secure a copy.

“Will people camp out? What time should I arrive?!” one Swiftie asked. “Obviously no one here can answer that question but I was curious if anyone had a game plan yet.”

Wysocki, for her part, appeared to be bracing for chaos. “Prior to going, I was fully expecting, like, it’s going to be unorganized … there’s going to be a stampede, I’m going to have to fight someone for this book,” she said, laughing. It was, mercifully, a fairly seamless process—no brawls necessary—and by the time she left the store at around 6:45 am, she said there were only two or three books left.

“I think if Bill Gates went and wrote a book, people would not be lining up at Target at 5:30 in the morning,” she added.

Wysocki’s purchase of the Eras Tour Book was just one of 814,000 print copy sales of the volume over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Those sales smashed yet another record for Swift: the biggest total first week print sales of 2024.

To see the Eras Tour in the United States, some fans paid steep prices, shelling out thousands on resold concert tickets alone. Others travelled abroad to Europe, where a stricter regulatory environment helped ensure that ticket prices were some 87 percent cheaper than they were in the United States. In Paris, for example, more than a quarter of tickets sold for Swift’s shows in the city were snapped up by Americans.

Others tuned in online. At every show, tens of thousands of fans unable to attend in person would watch unofficial fan-organized livestreams, complete with shaky video footage, frenzied live chats, and even engagement proposals. It’s euphoric. It’s electric. It’s adoring. It’s Swiftiedom.

“Her fan base, I think, genuinely feels that she’s authentic, that they’re seeing a real her,” said Gustafson. “That sort of feeling of authenticity, and attachment to it, is really something that I think just draws fans in—that they’re not just consuming the movement; they’re actually a part of it with her.”

Whether you’re pining for a stranger who doesn’t know you exist, reeling from crushing heartbreak, experiencing the thrill and agony of a new crush, spiraling in self-doubt, recovering from professional setback, or reveling in a tender friendship, fans say, Taylor Swift has a song for you.

“She has mastered the art of autofiction and of taking stories that have happened to her—no matter how small—and turning them into these moments, through her songs, that we can relate to, that we can listen to, and experience, and grow with her,” said Winchester.

It’s a bond that spans generations. “When [I was] a young teenager, I found that my feelings weren’t taken as seriously … because, you know, I don’t even take my feelings as a 15-year-old as seriously as 15-year-old me would like,” said Olivia Kotarski, who co-hosts the Taylearning podcast with Winchester. “But Taylor Swift took them seriously when I was 15,” she said.

After the whirlwind of the Eras Tour, what’s next for Swift? Spending the holidays with beau Travis Kelce, for one. Professionally, Swift is sure to keep writing songs, and there are two more album rerecordings in the pipeline, said Stephanie Burt, a professor at Harvard University who taught a course called ���Taylor Swift and Her World” and is writing a book on the popstar.

Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess. But Burt is excited.

“We have no idea,” she said. “I just feel like it’s going to be awesome.”

[wikiuntamed]

On this day in Wikipedia: Monday, 11th September

Welcome, Benvenuto, Välkommen, Dzień dobry 🤗 What does @Wikipedia say about 11th September through the years 🏛️📜🗓️?

11th September 2022 🗓️ : Death - Javier Marías Javier Marías, Spanish novelist, journalist and translator (b. 1951) "Javier Marías Franco (20 September 1951 – 11 September 2022) was a Spanish author, translator, and columnist. Marías published fifteen novels, including A Heart So White (Corazón tan blanco, 1992) and Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me (Mañana en la batalla piensa en mí, 1994). In addition to his..."

Image licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0? by Mr. Tickle

11th September 2016 🗓️ : Death - Alexis Arquette Alexis Arquette, American actress, musician and cabaret performer (b. 1969) "Alexis Arquette (born Robert Arquette; July 28, 1969 – September 11, 2016) was an American actress...."

Image licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0? by Toglenn

11th September 2013 🗓️ : Death - Andrzej Trybulec Andrzej Trybulec, Polish mathematician and computer scientist (b. 1941) "Andrzej Wojciech Trybulec (29 January 1941 in Kraków, Poland – 11 September 2013 in Białystok, Poland) was a Polish mathematician and computer scientist noted for work on the Mizar system...."

Image licensed under GFDL? by Krystyna Kuperberg

11th September 1973 🗓️ : Event - 1973 Chilean coup d'état A coup in Chile, headed by General Augusto Pinochet, topples the democratically elected president Salvador Allende. Pinochet exercises dictatorial power until ousted in a referendum in 1988, staying in power until 1990. "The 1973 Chilean coup d'état was a military overthrow of the Popular Unity government in Chile led by the democratic socialist Salvador Allende as president of Chile. Allende, who has been described as the first Marxist to be democratically elected president in a Latin American liberal democracy,..."

Image licensed under CC BY 3.0 cl? by Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile

11th September 1923 🗓️ : Birth - Betsy Drake Betsy Drake, American actress (d. 2015) "Betsy Drake (September 11, 1923 – October 27, 2015) was an American actress, writer, and psychotherapist. She was the third wife of actor Cary Grant...."

Image by Trailer screenshot

11th September 1823 🗓️ : Death - David Ricardo David Ricardo, English economist and politician (b. 1772) "David Ricardo (18 April 1772 – 11 September 1823) was a British political economist, politician, and member of the Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland. He is recognized as one of the most influential classical economists, alongside figures such as Thomas Malthus, Adam Smith and James..."

Image by Thomas Phillips

11th September 🗓️ : Holiday - Christian feast days: Protus and Hyacinth "Saints Protus and Hyacinth were Christian martyrs during the persecution of Emperor Valerian (257–259 AD). Protus' name is sometimes spelled Protatius, Proteus, Prothus, Prote, and Proto. His name was corrupted in England as Saint Pratt. Hyacinth is sometimes called by his Latin name Hyacinthus (in..."

Image

[rottenappleusach]

2nd Writing Contest Second Prize

“Chile the Oasis that never was” by Roberto Arenas

On October 8th, 2019, President Sebastián Piñera deemed Chile a ‘true oasis’ amongst all the instability of the rest of Latin America (Baeza). Ten days later, Piñera’s oasis was —both literally and figuratively— on fire. The discontent over the $30 increase to the subway fare had been ramping up for a week, with high school students jumping over turnstiles in protest, until it reached a boiling point and our country erupted into chaos on October 18th. In the aftermath of the so-called ‘social outburst,’ Twitter users —along with columnists and political adversaries— were quick to point to the aforementioned comment as evidence of the president’s disconnect with the struggles of the people he is supposed to represent, and with good reason: Piñera’s vision of Chile as some kind of Latin American dreamland only served to underscore our country's abysmal inequality and abundant shortcomings.

For over a decade now, Chile’s pride and joy has been its economy. Afterall, our country represents one of the fastest-growing economies in the region, with an estimated GDP per capita of US$24.928 —the highest in South America (Cárdenas). This means that Chile produces over 20 million pesos for each of its inhabitants in a given year; unfortunately, this wealth is not distributed equally across Chileans. The richest 10% of the population concentrates 65% of the country's wealth (Molina). If our economy was a birthday party with ten guests, one of those guests would be eating two-thirds of the cake (how rude!), leaving only one-third for the other nine to share. This is particularly problematic in a highly privatized country such as ours, where people’s financial situation determines their access to housing, education, healthcare, transport, electricity, and water among other basic services.

It should be noted that Chile’s prosperous economy and outrageous inequality are two sides of the same coin, or rather two results of the same historical process; that is, the economic policies implemented during Pinochet’s military regime. These free-market reforms were arguably successful in recovering the country’s economy; nevertheless, this success came at a steep price. For one thing, the state delegated the administration of schools to municipalities and the private sector, granting them subsidies on the basis of enrollment with the aim of making them compete for students just as companies compete for customers. In a similar manner, the healthcare system was divided into two: the state-funded Fondo Nacional de Salud (FONASA) and the privately-owned Instituciones de Salud Previsional (ISAPREs). Apart from this, the pension system was completely privatized, giving way to our current —and much hated— Administradoras de Fondos de Pensiones (AFPs).

These measures were at the center of the Constitution of 1980, which was promulgated under the military dictatorship. It is not surprising then that a new constitution became the main demand of the numerous demonstrations that took place amid the ‘social outburst.’ The most notable being ‘La marcha más grande de Chile’ (The biggest march of Chile), which gathered more than 1.2 million people in Santiago alone to express their hopes and dreams for a ‘new’ Chile (Villaroel and Flores). Without a doubt, the images from that day were awe-inspiring. After the rude awakening that represented the events of October 18th, the sight of millions of people from all walks of life marching peacefully together was heartening. It even turned the tide on the conversation around this period of social unrest, since the government could no longer characterize protesters as extremists who wanted to destroy the country when there was a sea of people showing otherwise a few blocks away from La Moneda.

As it can be seen, our country reached a breaking point. To paraphrase Langston Hughes’s 1935 poem “Let America Be America Again”: the oasis never was an oasis for us. Forty years ago, the state took a step back, so to speak, and left the wellbeing of its citizens in the hands of the free market. The private sector was indiscriminately welcomed into every aspect of people’s lives, thus creating an unbridgeable gap between those who could afford to join it and those who were relegated to what little was offered by the state. Just think of how different the prospects of a student in a municipal school in Puente Alto are to those of a student in a private institution in Lo Barnechea. We have endured far too long a system that not only allows inequality but actually encourages it, and so it is time for things to change —or at least that is what the 78% of Chileans who voted in favor of writing a new constitution believe (Labra). This oasis has never been an oasis for most of us, but perhaps one day it will be.

Works Cited

Baeza, Angélica. “Piñera asegura que “en medio de esta América Latina convulsionada, Chile es un verdadero oasis con una democracia estable”.” La Tercera, 8 Oct. 2019. https://www.latercera.com/politica/noticia/pinera-asegura-medio-esta-america-latina-convulsionada-chile-verdadero-oasis-una-democracia-estable/851913/. Accessed 30 November 2021.

Cárdenas, Rodrigo. “FMI: PIB per cápita de Chile es el más alto de Sudamérica y será el primero en llegar a los US$30 mil”. La Tercera, 6 April 2021. https://www.latercera.com/pulso-pm/noticia/fmi-pib-per-capita-de-chile-es-el-mas-alto-de-sudamerica-y-sera-el-primero-en-llegar-a-los-us30-mil/KLVZXGEQKFE2VILZBXDI5YK5LM/. Accessed 30 November 2021.

Hughes, Langston. “Let America Be America Again.” 1935. Poets.org, https://poets.org/poem/let-america-be-america-again. Accessed 30 November 2021.

Labra, Alberto. “Histórico plebiscito y 50% de participación: Chile aprueba por amplia mayoría tener una nueva Constitución.” La Tercera, 25 Oct 2020. https://www.latercera.com/politica/noticia/en-historico-plebiscito-chile-aprueba-por-amplia-mayoria-tener-una-nueva-constitucion/3E4Q4CBD3BCYRMCISEOEII3KXU/. Accessed 30 November 2021.

Molina, Tomás. “Banco Mundial: Chile es el décimo país más desigual de Latinoamérica y el segundo con mayor PIB per cápita”. EMOL, 5 Nov. 2019. https://www.emol.com/noticias/Economia/2019/11/05/966244/Chile-decimo-mas-desigual-Latinoamerica.html. Accessed 30 November 2021.

Villaroel, María José and Jonathan Flores. “Plaza Italia reúne 1,2 millones de personas y se convierte en la mayor marcha en 30 años.” BioBioChile, 25 Oct. 2019. https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/nacional/region-metropolitana/2019/10/25/comienzan-a-concentrarse-manifestantes-en-plaza-italia-para-la-marcha-mas-grande-de-chile.shtml. Accessed 30 November 2021.

[honeyleesblog]

Providing In-Depth Horoscope and Personality Analysis for May 10 Birthdays

They are not forceful or risky individuals, but rather they are unfaltering and firm: their fearlessness is solid. They will foster thanks to their own encounters and those of others. They are delayed to simply decide, and their perspective is consistently pragmatic and strong. Your brain is very free. They slowly ascend to the highest point of their beliefs, and that is the point at which they quit considering just themselves. The lacking person on this birthday is exceptionally pompous, dictatorial, and undeniably challenging to please. Notwithstanding that, his huge childishness empowers him to make material progress. With respect to the calling, they are magnificent in proficient cooking, horticulture, cultivating, and land. They additionally well as developers, vocalists, or specialists. Defect: They generally must have the final word. They are obstinate, unflinching, and imperious of character, qualities that become more unmistakable with age and industriousness. Loaded up with nobility and pride, they can be dependent upon risky interests and explosions of outrage. They are not liberated from the sensation of jealousy. What undermines them: They might go through deterrents and afflictions in their lives that influence their arrangements. What would it be advisable for them to desire? To assume command over her exotic nature, which is communicated with incredible power. Sicknesses: You can capitulate to mental despondency, and your body can show an inclination to heart conditions. Over the long run they can accomplish a decent position or have a decent profession, regardless of whether they come from a less fortunate foundation. Providing In-Depth Horoscope and Personality Analysis for May 10 Birthdays 

 Assuming your birthday is on May 10, your zodiac sign is Taurus May 10 - character and character character: dauntless, flawless, curious, wild, adversary, saved; calling: physicist, review or, dressmaker; colors: olive, blue, dim; stone: diopside; creature: indulgent person; plant: poinsettia; fortunate numbers: 22,25,34,35,45,57 very fortunate number: 5 Occasions and observances - May 10 Pastorate Day Mother's Day in: El Salvador, Joined Middle Easterner Emirates, Guatemala, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Pakistan, US, Qatar, Singapore, Chile. World Day of transient birds World Lupus Day. Spain: Pastorate Day May 10 Superstar Birthday. Who was conceived that very day as you? 1900: Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, English American cosmologist and astrophysicist (d. 1979). 1901: John Desmond Bernal, Irish-English crystallographer and physicist (d. 1971). 1901: Max Lorenz, German tenor (d. 1975). 1902: Anatole Litvak, Ukrainian-American producer, maker and screenwriter (d. 1974). 1902: David O. Selznick, American movie maker and chief (d. 1965). 1905: Mდ¡rkos Vamvakდ¡ris, artist lyricist, bouzouki player and Greek Rebetician performer (d. 1972). 1906: Benjamin Cid, Chilean legal advisor (f. 1990). 1909: Arturo Moreno, Spanish sketch artist and artist (f. 1993). 1913: Geoffrey Stagg, Spanish Hispanicist (d. 2004). 1915: Denis Thatcher, English military and finance manager, spouse of Margaret Thatcher (d. 2003). 1916: Milton Babbitt, American writer and instructor (d. 2011). 1918: Diva Diniz Correa, Brazilian zoologist (f. 1993). 1919: Eugenio Suდ¡rez, Spanish columnist and money manager (f. 2014). 1921: Luis Ciges, Spanish entertainer (f. 2002). 1922: Nancy Walker, American entertainer, artist and chief (d. 1992). 1923: Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijani general and lawmaker, third Leader of Azerbaijan (d. 2003). 1923: Otar Korkia, Georgian b-ball player and mentor (d. 2005). 1925: Jaime Campmany, Spanish columnist and author (f. 2005). 1925: Juanita Martდ­nez, entertainer and Argentine vedette (d. 2001). 1925: Nდ©stor Rossi, Argentine footballer (d. 2007). 1926: Hugo Banzer Suდ¡rez, Bolivian military and despot (f. 2002). 1928: Arnold Rდ¼დ¼tel, Estonian legislator and agronomist, Leader of Estonia. 1928: Lothar Schmid, German chess player (d. 2013). 1929: George Coe, American entertainer and maker (d. 2015). 1929: Antonine Maillet, Canadian author and writer. 1930: George E. Smith, American physicist and specialist, Nobel laureate in material science. 1931: დ‰ttore Scola, Italian movie producer and screenwriter (d. 2016). 1932: Rodolfo Zapata, Argentine vocalist and humorist. 1935: Larry Williams, American vocalist, lyricist, piano player and maker (d. 1980). 1937: Tamara Press, Ukrainian disk hurler and competitor. 1938: Manuel Santana, Spanish tennis player. 1940: Arthur Alexander, American vocalist and lyricist of nation and soul (d. 1993). 1940: Wayne Dyer, American author and teacher (d. 2015). 1940: Vicente Miera, Spanish soccer mentor. 1941: Eric Barney, Argentine competitor had some expertise in shaft vault. 1942: Jim Calhoun, American b-ball player and mentor. 1942: Carl Douglas, Jamaican vocalist and musician. 1942: Fernando Gallardo, Chilean entertainer (f. 2004). 1943: Lucinda Worsthorne, English author, photographic artist, TV host and maker. 1944: Jim Abrahams, American movie producer, maker and screenwriter. 1944: Juan Josდ© Lucas Gimდ©nez, Spanish lawmaker. 1944: Marie-France Pisier, French entertainer, chief and screenwriter (d. 2011). 1945: Rafael Ribდ³, Spanish legislator, leader of Iniciativa per Catalunya. 1946: Donovan, English vocalist, musician, guitarist, maker and entertainer. 1946: Graham Gouldman, English guitarist and author. 1946: Maureen Lipman, English entertainer. 1948: Meg Encourage, American entertainer. 1949: Miuccia Prada, Italian style originator. 1952: Kikki Danielsson, Swedish vocalist. 1952: Vanderlei Luxemburg, Brazilian footballer and administrator. 1953: Salvador Domდ­nguez, Spanish performer, of the band Los Canarios y Los Pekenikes. 1953: Tito Santana, American expert grappler. 1954: Jorge Rossi, Argentine TV moderator (d. 2012). 1955: Imprint David Chapman, American resident, killer of English artist John Lennon. 1956: Vladislav Listyev, Russian columnist (d. 1995). 1957: Sid Awful, bassist and English artist, of the troublemaker band Sex Guns (d. 1979). 1958: John Bonello, Maltese footballer. 1958: Rick Santorum, American government official and legal counselor. 1958: Yu Suzuki, Japanese computer game maker. 1959: Danny Schayes, American ball player. 1960: Bono (Paul Hewson), Irish artist, lyricist, performer, money manager, giver and lobbyist, head of the band U2. 1960: Merlene Ottey, Jamaican-Slovenian sprinter. 1961: Danny Carey, American drummer, of the band Device. 1962: დ?ngel Mateo Charris, Spanish painter. 1963: Lisa Nowak, American space explorer. 1965: Linda Evangelista, Canadian model. 1965: Rony Seikaly, Lebanese-American ball player and radio moderator. 1967: Youthful MC, American rapper. 1968: Darren Matthews, English grappler. 1968: Al Murray, joke artist and English TV moderator. 1969: Dennis Bergkamp, Dutch footballer and chief. 1969: John Scalzi, American sci-fi essayist and blogger. 1970: Gabriela Montero, Venezuelan musician. 1970: David Weir, English footballer and chief. 1971: Monisha Kaltenborn, Indo-Swiss legal advisor and money manager. 1971: Craig Mack, American rapper and maker. 1972: Radosვ‚aw Majdan, Clean footballer. 1972: Rodrigo Ruiz, Chilean soccer player. 1972: Christian Wდ¶rns, German footballer. 1973: Joshua Falcon, Australian tennis player. 1973: Aviv Geffen, Israeli artist, lyricist, guitarist and maker. 1973: Rდ¼ვ?tდ¼ Reდ§ber, Turkish footballer. 1974: Sylvain Wiltord, French footballer. 1974: An Or more, American rapper, of the band Spirits of Naughtiness. 1975: Hდ©lio Castroneves, Brazilian engine hustling driver. 1976: Claudio Flores, Uruguayan soccer player. 1977: Henri Camara, Senegalese footballer. 1977: Scratch Heidfeld, German motorsport driver. 1977: Hugo Silva, Spanish entertainer. 1977: Juanma Castano, notable Spanish columnist. 1978: Bruno Cheyrou, French footballer. 1978: Reinaldo Navia, Chilean soccer player. 1978: Kenan Thompson, American entertainer. 1978: Antonio დ?lvarez, Venezuelan baseball player, artist and legislator. 1979: Alfredo Canario, Venezuelan baseball player and artist. 1980: Carlos Bueno, Uruguayan footballer. 1981: Belდ©n Arjona, Spanish pop-rock craftsman. 1981: Samuel Dalembert, Haitian-Canadian ball player. 1981: Humberto Suazo, Chilean soccer player. 1983: Gustav Fridolin, Swedish lawmaker and writer, Swedish Clergyman of Schooling. 1984: Edward Mujica, Venezuelan baseball player. 1984: Santiago Ramundo, Argentine artist, entertainer and legal advisor. 1984: Edward Mujica, Venezuelan baseball player. 1985: Jon Schofield, English canoeist. 1985: Odette Yustman, American entertainer. 1986: Emilio Izaguirre, Honduran soccer player. 1987: Wilson Chandler, American ball player. 1987: Carla Cardona, Mexican entertainer and model. 1987: Emmanuel Emenike, Nigerian footballer. 1988: Adam Lallana, English footballer. 1989: Lindsey Shaw, American entertainer. 1990: Salvador Pდ©rez, Venezuelan baseball player. 1992: Charice Pempengco, Filipino artist, musician and entertainer. 1993: Tდ­mea Babos, Hungarian tennis player. 1993: Halston Savvy, American entertainer. 1994: Nam Tae-hyun, South Korean artist. 1995: Missy Franklin, American swimmer. 1995: Gabriella Papadakis, French artist. 1996: Tyus Jones, American ball player. 1996: Kateვ?ina Siniakovდ¡, Czech tennis player.

[berniesrevolution]

This past week was perhaps one of the most important weeks in one of the most important election seasons in the history of the Democratic Party. Elizabeth Warren is on the rise. Coverage of her array of policy proposals and hard campaigning has put her in second place over Bernie Sanders in at least one national poll and a few state polls. Sanders, meanwhile, delivered a major address this past Wednesday defining “democratic socialism,” a self-applied label that sets him apart from Warren, who has called herself “capitalist to my bones.” Each putatively offers a different tack for the Party’s reinvigorated progressive wing to take against the current front-runner, Joe Biden, and President Trump in the general election.

But since Sanders entered the race many commentators have expressed the view that the substantive differences between Warren and Sanders don’t extend very far. “Why would Democratic voters choose Sanders when Warren is running?” the writer Moira Donegan asked in the Guardian earlier this year. “The two are not ideologically identical, but the differences between their major policy stances, on regulation of financial services and the need to extend the welfare state, are relatively minor, especially compared to the rest of the field.”

This is mostly true, particularly on domestic policy. A Sanders Administration may well pursue many of the proposals Elizabeth Warren has put out, from a progressive wealth tax to large new investments in affordable housing. Warren has backed Sanders’s criticisms of Amazon’s labor practices, and both candidates support the Green New Deal. There is a key difference, however, on one of the race’s key issues: Warren is a co-sponsor of Sanders’s Medicare for All bill but has yet to state whether she supports its call to eliminate private health insurance, a provision that other candidates who nominally support the Sanders plan have waffled on or rejected.

Can, or should, one draw broader abstract distinctions between the two, beyond these specific points of contrast? Donegan and others advocate for Warren over Sanders partly on the basis of Sanders’s tetchiness on identity politics. In February, for instance, he drew criticism for his comments on the political representation of women and minorities. “We have got to look at candidates, you know, not by the color of their skin, not by their sexual orientation or their gender, and not by their age,” he said in an interview. He has also voiced concerns about adopting an overly permissive immigration policy and has declined to endorse reparations for the descendants of slaves, which Warren has said that she supports.

It should also be said that Sanders and Warren talk about foreign policy differently. In an address at American University in November, Warren suggested that, at some point during the nineteen-eighties, American foreign policy had been captured and derailed by the same moneyed interests that she argues have rigged the economy, further bloating the country���s military-industrial complex and fuelling reckless, expensive, and counterproductive interventions. “The defense industry will inevitably have a seat at the table—but they shouldn’t get to own the table,” she said. “It is time to identify which programs actually benefit American security in the twenty-first century, and which programs merely line the pockets of defense contractors—then pull out a sharp knife and make some cuts.”

Sanders’s critique of American foreign policy generally runs deeper and goes back farther. In his foreign-policy speeches, Sanders refers to decades’ worth of failures and moral disasters—including American support for the Iranian coup of 1953 and the overthrow of the democratically elected Chilean President Salvador Allende, twenty years later—to make the case that American foreign policy has long been destructive, under both Democratic and Republican Administrations. “Far too often, American intervention and the use of American military power has produced unintended consequences which have caused incalculable harm,” he said in a speech at Westminster College, in 2017. “Yes, it is reasonably easy to engineer the overthrow of a government. It is far harder, however, to know the long-term impact that that action will have.” He has also been increasingly critical of Israel, going so far as to say that it is now run by a “right-wing, dare I say, racist government” during a televised town hall in April. “I am not anti-Israel,” he added. “But the fact of the matter is that Netanyahu is a right-wing politician who I think is treating the Palestinian people extremely unfairly.”

But the starkest apparent point of contrast lies in how the two candidates describe themselves ideologically. Sanders calls himself a socialist; Elizabeth Warren identifies as a capitalist. The two ideologies, as traditionally conceived, are, on paper, diametrically opposed. You either believe that the productive constituent parts of the economy should be controlled by workers themselves or the state or you do not.

But Sanders has complicated things. His campaign is reportedly contemplating proposals that would expand worker ownership and management in the United States, and Sanders has sponsored legislation aimed at providing worker-owned firms with financial assistance and guidance. But worker ownership has not, as yet, figured largely into the descriptions of socialism Sanders has offered on the Presidential campaign trail.

(Continue Reading)

[xtruss]

The Biggest Threat to America Is America Itself

— June 23, 2021 | The New York Times | OPINION: NICHOLAS KRISTOF

America is back” became President Biden’s refrain on his European trip this month, and in a narrow sense it is.

We no longer have a White House aide desperately searching for a fire alarm to interrupt a president as he humiliates our country at an international news conference, as happened in 2018. And a Pew Research Center survey found that 75 percent of those polled in a dozen countries expressed “confidence in the U.S. president to do the right thing,” compared with 17 percent a year ago.

Yet in a larger sense, America is not back. In terms of our well-being at home and competitiveness abroad, the blunt truth is that America is lagging. In some respects, we are sliding toward mediocrity.

Greeks have higher high school graduation rates. Chileans live longer. Fifteen-year-olds in Russia, Poland, Latvia and many other countries are better at math than their American counterparts — perhaps a metric for where nations will stand in a generation or two.

As for reading, one-fifth of American 15-year-olds can’t read at the level expected of a 10-year-old. How are those millions of Americans going to compete in a globalized economy? As I see it, the greatest threat to America’s future is less a surging China or a rogue Russia than it is our underperformance at home.

We Americans repeat the mantra that “we’re No. 1” even though the latest Social Progress Index, a measure of health, safety and well-being around the world, ranked the United States No. 28. Even worse, the United States was one of only three countries, out of 163, that went backward in well-being over the last decade.

Another assessment this month, the I.M.D. World Competitiveness Ranking 2021, put the United States No. 10 out of 64 economies. A similar forward-looking study from the World Bank ranks the United States No. 35 out of 174 countries.

So it’s great that we again have a president respected by the world. But we are not “back,” and we must face the reality that our greatest vulnerability is not what other countries do to us but what we have done to ourselves. The United States cannot achieve its potential when so many Americans are falling short of theirs.

“America’s chronic failure to turn its economic strength into social progress is a huge drag on American influence,” said Michael Green, chief executive of the group that publishes the Social Progress Index. “Europeans may envy America’s corporate dynamism but can comfort themselves that they are doing a much better job on a host of social outcomes, from education to health to the environment.

“Rivals like China may see the fraying of America’s social fabric as a sign of strategic weakness,” he added. “Emerging economies, whose citizens are starting to enjoy quality of life ever closer to that of Americans, may be less willing to take lectures from the U.S. government.”

Biden’s proposals for a refundable child credit, for national pre-K, for affordable child care and for greater internet access would help address America’s strategic weaknesses. They would do more to strengthen our country than the $1.2 trillion plan pursued by American officials to modernize our nuclear arsenal. Our greatest threats today are ones we can’t nuke.

America still has enormous strengths. Its military budget is bigger than the military budgets of the next 10 countries put together. American universities are superb, and the dynamism of United States corporations is reflected in the way people worldwide use their iPhones to post on their Facebook pages about Taylor Swift songs.

But they also comment, aghast, about the Capitol insurrection and attempts by Republicans to impede voting. American democracy was never quite as shimmering a model for the world as we liked to think, but it is certainly tarnished now.

Likewise, the “American dream” of upward mobility (which drew my refugee father to these shores in 1952) is increasingly chimerical. “The American dream is evidently more likely to be found on the other side of the Atlantic, indeed most notably in Denmark,” a Stanford study concluded.

“These things hold us back as an economy and as a country,” Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, said Tuesday.

More broadly, the United States has lost its lead in education overall and in investments in children. The World Bank Human Capital Project estimates that today’s American children will achieve only 70 percent of their potential productivity. That hurts them; it also hurts our nation.

We can’t control whether China builds more aircraft carriers. We can’t deter every Russian hacker.

But to truly bring America back, we should worry less about what others do and more about what we do to ourselves.

— Nicholas Kristof has been a columnist for The Times since 2001. He has won two Pulitzer Prizes, for his coverage of China and of the genocide in Darfur. You can sign up for his free, twice-weekly email newsletter and follow him on Instagram. His latest book is "Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope." @NickKristof • Facebook

[ericfruits]

Chile staggers towards a new constitution

Nov 23rd 2019

IN 2014 MICHELLE BACHELET, a Socialist, swept into Chile’s presidency for a second time on a programme of radical reform of tax, education and pensions. She also aspired to enact a new constitution that would guarantee “more balance between the state, the private sector and society”, as she told your columnist over tea at the Moneda presidential palace. She argued that her “struggle against inequality” was a last chance to deal with discontents that, if neglected, could push Chile towards populism.

At the time that seemed alarmist. And several of Ms Bachelet’s reforms were poorly designed. They faced implacable opposition from business and the right. Her public standing was hurt by a scandal involving a bank loan secured by her son. But in retrospect Ms Bachelet was right on the big things. For the past month, because of the discontents she identified, Chile has been seared by a social conflagration. This has seen huge peaceful protests, savagely violent disorder and heavy-handed policing.

A different country is set to emerge. Chile inherited from the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet both a fast-growing market economy and a “market society” of pay-for-it-yourself pensions, health care and education. Under democratic governments over the past 30 years, social provision has been incrementally reformed. Chileans are much less poor and their incomes are less unequal. But that is not how many of them see it. The protests are a cry for more redistribution and better public services.

Ms Bachelet’s successor, Sebastián Piñera, a billionaire businessman turned politician of the centre-right, was elected on a promise to boost economic growth by correcting her reforms. Lacking a congressional majority, he made little progress. His handling of the protests has been erratic. After the Santiago metro suffered co-ordinated arson attacks last month, he declared that Chile was “at war” and sent the army to the streets. For many Chileans, that stripped credibility from his subsequent criticism of policing that has left six dead and some 2,400 hurt, more than 200 with eye injuries. Almost 2,000 police have been injured, too, but they failed to prevent the burning of churches, supermarkets and public buildings.

Mr Piñera promised an immediate increase in the minimum pension (but to only $165 a month), a small increase in the minimum wage and measures to cut the cost of medicines and electricity. He resisted other changes: a cabinet shuffle was smaller than expected and he dodged demands for more taxes and for a new constitution. “It was too little, too late,” says Heraldo Muñoz, who was Ms Bachelet’s foreign minister.

The president has now lost control of events. His new finance minister, Ignacio Briones, agreed with the opposition to raise taxes, to finance higher pensions and better health care. After a general strike and violent protests on November 12th, the president was talked out of reimposing a state of emergency. Instead, Gonzalo Blumel, his new interior minister, negotiated a national accord for a referendum in April on whether to have a new constitution and what kind of body should write it. All parties except some on the far left and the far right have signed it. The accord enjoys 67% popular support, according to one poll this week.

Protests are starting to tail off. The agreement offers Chile a potential path back to peace and consensual reform. There are safeguards against a constituent assembly following the path of Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela. Its job will be purely to draft a constitution, and two-thirds of its members must agree on the text. “The great majority of Chileans are sensible,” says Patricio Navia, a political scientist. “They want to share out the cake better, they don’t want to blow up the cake.”

Others are more pessimistic. “The neoliberal experiment is completely dead,” according to Sebastián Edwards, a Chilean economist. What will replace it? Some fear a descent into fiscal populism. The economy has already taken a hit, and investment is unlikely to recover until the outline of the new model is clear. Chile has discovered some harsh truths about itself. Its once-admired police force, the Carabineros, have shown themselves to be incompetent as well as brutal. The intelligence service has been proved to be clueless.

Many in the moderate centre hope that from this catharsis will come a political model that preserves a competitive market economy while creating a European-style welfare state. That would be a breakthrough for Latin America. Getting there will not be straightforward.■

This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline "Chile staggers towards a new constitution"

https://ift.tt/35ood9s

[spicynbachili1]

Argentina pressed to probe Saudi prince over Yemen, Khashoggi | News

Argentina has been requested to analyze Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for doable conflict crimes in Yemen and the homicide of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

New York-based Human Rights Watch mentioned it submitted the request to Argentina’s federal decide Ariel Lijo on Monday.

HRW’s Center East and North Africa director Sarah Leah Whitson mentioned the worldwide rights group took the case to Argentina as a result of Prince Mohammed, also referred to as MBS, will attend the opening of the G20 summit this week in Buenos Aires.

Argentina’s structure recognises common jurisdiction for conflict crimes and torture, that means judicial authorities can examine and prosecute these crimes irrespective of the place they have been dedicated.

Yemen: 85,000 youngsters could have died from hunger

“We submitted this information to Argentine prosecutors with the hopes they’ll examine MBS’s complicity and accountability for doable conflict crimes in Yemen, in addition to the torture of civilians, together with Jamal Khashoggi,” mentioned Whitson.

“There’s a particularly robust foundation for Argentina to intently study a really broad document of documentation and details. Folks all over the world are determined to see actual accountability for people who find themselves getting away with horrible crimes,” she instructed Al Jazeera.

Neither Lijo’s workplace nor the workplace of Argentina’s public prosecutor responded to requests for remark.

Argentine media cited judicial sources as saying it was extraordinarily unlikely authorities would take up the case towards the crown prince, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler.

The killing of Khashoggi, a Washington Submit columnist and a critic of the crown prince, at Riyadh’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2 has strained Saudi Arabia’s ties with the West and battered Prince Mohammed’s picture overseas.

World’s worst humanitarian disaster

Instances profiting from common jurisdiction have had success previously, most notably in 1998 when Spanish Decide Baltasar Garzon was in a position to order the arrest in London of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.

“The crown prince’s attendance on the G20 summit in Buenos Aires may make the Argentine courts an avenue of redress for victims of abuses unable to hunt justice in Yemen or Saudi Arabia,” mentioned Kenneth Roth, govt director of Human Rights Watch, in an announcement.

Tunisia protesters name for cancellation of MBS go to

Since March 2015, the Saudi-Emirati led coalition has carried out scores of indiscriminate air strikes on civilians in Yemen, hitting houses, colleges, hospitals, markets, and mosques. The alliance has additionally imposed a naval and air blockade on Yemen that has severely restricted the stream of meals, gas, and medication to civilians.

The UN estimates about 14 million folks, half the nation’s inhabitants, are dealing with famine.

America and different Western international locations have more and more known as for an finish of combating to deal with the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe, the world’s worst.

Senate grilling

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Pentagon chief James Mattis will transient US senators on Wednesday on developments associated to Saudi Arabia.

Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Overseas Relations Committee, instructed reporters Pompeo and Mattis would transient the total Senate at 11am (16:00 GMT) in a closed-door session.

Corker mentioned he additionally hoped Central Intelligence Company Director Gina Haspel would attend.

Trump final week known as Saudi Arabia a “steadfast companion” and mentioned it was unclear whether or not Prince Mohammed was conscious of the plan to kill Khashoggi.

With tensions excessive over Saudi Arabia and Yemen, Corker mentioned it was essential to “hear from the administration as to the place that is going”.

UN envoy Griffiths resulting from arrive in Yemen’s Hodeidah

The briefing comes as liberal Senator Bernie Sanders strikes to re-introduce a decision, as early as this week, to finish US participation within the Yemen conflict, months after his preliminary effort fell brief.

Corker signalled it may have broader backing this time.

“I’ve a reasonably good gauge on how folks really feel about Saudi Arabia proper now, and I would say we’re in a really, very completely different place than once we saved this from occurring” in March, Corker mentioned.

“I am contemplating what the choices are to guarantee that we deal appropriately with Saudi Arabia on a number of points proper now.”

Republican Senator Marco Rubio additionally expressed concern, saying he had supported US involvement within the conflict as a verify on Iran’s affect and since he believed American expertise offered to Saudi Arabia would assist keep away from the killing of civilians.

“Sadly, that hasn’t performed out that approach,” Rubio mentioned.

Some US lawmakers have additionally known as for a powerful US response to Khashoggi’s homicide, together with blocking arms gross sales and imposing sanctions.

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from SpicyNBAChili.com http://spicymoviechili.spicynbachili.com/argentina-pressed-to-probe-saudi-prince-over-yemen-khashoggi-news/

[spiked-watch-blog]

Boardroom revolutionaries

By Nick Cohen, from the Observer, October 1998

When I was a student there was a popular caricature of an unbending Marxist who refused to give money to starving beggars because charity ameliorated the contradictions of capitalism and postponed the day when revolution would sweep the land. I thought the joke was just that, but now... 

We move to Trafalgar Square on 31 March 1990. Mark Steel, the comedian and writer, was watching the Metropolitan Police fail to contain tens of thousands of demonstrators. The anti-poll tax riot led to the biggest campaign of civil disobedience since the War, and the fall of Margaret Thatcher. Next to Steel was a commissar from the Revolutionary Communist Party which dismissed those who fought a tax that took from the poor and gave to the rich as wet liberals. 'There's nothing to be concerned about,' he sneered down a phone to head office, 'just a bunch of middle-class kids playing about.' 

The revolutionary party also despised Anti-Apartheid for 'helping capitalism' by supporting sanctions against South Africa and had nothing but contempt for the NHS. At about the time of the poll tax revolt, Yunus Baksh, secretary of a Unison branch in Newcastle upon Tyne, was organising protests against cuts in funding. At one, members of the RCP handed out leaflets denouncing the cause of better pay for miserable cleaners and porters. Nurses were jostled and abused when they questioned whether the NHS was really an instrument of the repressive state. After a second demo, Baksh and ambulance drivers worried about their jobs met members of the party in a Newcastle pub. The comrades shouted at Bakshand punched him in the face. 

You might think that a tiny group of cranks-so far gone it agreed with the Sunday Times that Aids was a 'gay plague' which could never be contracted by heterosexuals and opposed rallies against the British National Party-would be a footnote in political history. But today the RCP is the acme of fashion, all the rage. Join it, my dears, and see the doors of the media, big business and high culture open when you ring. 

Looking good was always a revolutionary priority for the RCP. A man, who asked to be called 'John' because he did not want to be troubled by his former friends, said supporters had to serve an apprenticeship with a handler who monitored their progress. They were allowed to become full members only when they had shown they had imbibed the correct ideology by sitting an exam on the party's theory. 'If you passed you got a clothing allowance, he said. 'You had to be attractive, trendy, so you would go down well when we tried to find wealthy recruits at the Edinburgh Festival and outside Sloane Square tube.' 

The party stopped active work in the early Nineties and adherents clustered on its magazine, Living Marxism, which was renamed LM. Last year Channel 4 broadcast Against Nature a three-hour series devoted to LM's theme that environmentalists are modem Nazis who throw fabricated concerns about global warming and the mass extinction of species in the way of progress. The green movement isn't sacred and should be able to answer hostile questions, but viewers would have known where Against Nature was coming from if they had been told that the assistant producer, Eve Kaye, was a co-ordinator of LM, and that the director Martin Durkin described himself as a Marxist. (He denied any link with LM but followed its line.) The documentaries quoted two 'independent experts' who praised human cloning and condemned sustainable development in the Third World as a western conspiracy against the wretched of the Earth. One was John Mott, LM's science correspondent; the other was Frank Furedi, LM's star columnist and all-round media don from Kent University. (Furedi used to be known as Frank Richards, incidentally. Like Lenin and Trotsky, many at LM fight under a nom de guerre.) 

LM continues the RCP tradition of striking reactionary postures. Last week a howling book was printed by Jonathan Hunt, a second-hand car salesman turned journalist, which accused my colleagues on the Guardian of framing Neil Hamilton. That mighty moralist and spanker Paul Johnson and the rest of the Spectator crowd hate the paper for having the impertinence to tell the truth about Jonathan Aitken, and abuse it weekly. Even they could not bring themselves to endorse Hunt. He was, however, able to cite support from LM in his defence. When I dropped into the LM office they gave me Hamilton's home number and urged me to phone the old brute. 'He calls us his friends,' said LM's James Heartfield whose real name is James Hughes.

Last year LM ran a story from a German engineer turned journalist who defends the Serbian leadership against all too clear charges of murder, systematic rape and ethnic cleansing. The magazine claimed ITN had fooled the world by forging its famous pictures of starving Bosnians herded behind barbed wire by the Serbs. ITN sued and the liberal aristocracy LM loathes came to its aid. Harold Evans, Doris Lessing, Fay Weldon and Paul Theroux reproached ITN for a 'deplorable attack on press freedom'. 

Decent journalists see the British libel laws as a menace. They know that powerful frauds, such as Aitken and Hamilton, can use them to suppress awkward inquiries. Doubtless Evans and the rest thought they were defending a plucky little magazine against an overbearing media conglomerate. As George Monbiot points out in an article in Prospect, global capital and living Marxists get on famously. Anti-imperialist LM runs pieces by Roger Bate of the far right Institute for Economic Affairs which believes that African countries would be better governed if they were sold to multinationals. This year it printed the theory of one Ron Arnold who claimed that the Unabomber was an environmentalist and QED! - environmentalists were therefore terrorists. Arnold is Vice President of the Centre of the Defence of Free Enterprise, which campaigns against restrictions on corporate America. Against Nature not only featured LM contributors, but Reaganite economists and members of the Cato Institute, another wellendowed American think-tank which works with the British Adam Smith Institute to promote the dismantling of the Chilean welfare state by the topical General Pinochet as a model for the US and UK. All agreed with LM that leftie greens were endangering human happiness. 

The Independent Television Commission forced Channel 4 to make a prime-time apology. The links with corporations are not merely ideological. A leaked memo is causing great hilarity in the consumer movement. It appears to show the radical Frank Furedi/Richards offering his services to the supermarket cartel. For £7,500 be will provide research which will 'educate' consumers towards a 'less emotive' consideration of food safety. 

Businessfriendly dismissals of 'panics' about BSE and genetically modified food feature strongly in LM's 'libertarian' philosophy. Furedi says that although he has received no money from supermarkets he would be willing to accept payments.I think it is it at this point that an obscure group becomes an authentic representative of the spirit of an age where corporate values undermine all others. The party leaders talk of 'UK plc', as if democracy were a business and the electorate were consumers to be swindled by advertising executives (or spin doctors, as Westminster journalists call them) and chivvied into snapping up bargain buys by the shop girls formerly known as politicians. 

Last week David Blunkett announced a new training college for head teachers would be set up at a business school. The Education Secretary said heads were like 4 managing directors of big companies' and showed no sign of knowing that managing directors do not have a duty to produce an educated public which appreciates learning for its own sake, and would be sacked in seconds if they said they did. I could quote examples for ever. I think, however, it is with LM that we see multinational triumphalism reaching an apotheosis. We can now gaze on the gorgeous spectacle of corporate Marxists: the boardroom's revolutionary arm.

If, that is, you can say that LM is revolutionary. Its spokeswoman, Clare Fox (I don't know if that's a real name), said in true Blairite fashion that differences between Left and Right didn't amount to a hill of beans these days and she is far more concerned with restraints on freedom. Yet there was one organisation that supported the poll tax, low pay for hospital workers, the lifting of sanctions against South Africa, Neil Hamilton and unlimited freedom for corporations: the Conservative Party. Most put it on the Right.The Conservatives had no time for drips who gave change to beggars. Nor does RCP/LM. 'John,' our former supporter, was out with his handler when he passed a beggar and dropped 50 pence into his hat. His minder exploded. 'Don't you realise you're helping capitalism?' he roared. 'Don't you realise you are subsidising poverty? All John realised was that he had had more than enough of 'middle-class kids playing about' and quit.

[honeyleesblog]

Astrological Outlook and Character Analysis for Individuals with a May 13th Birthday

They are strangely delicate individuals and have a kind of conduct that makes it simple for them to be tricked by others. Their fearlessness, conviction of their solidarity, and internal strength are very sensible. In any case, they express profoundly clashing political abilities. Brimming with enthusiasm, expectations, projects: they need to satisfy their objectives and plans no matter what. The most straightforward method for beating your imperfections is love. What compromises them: That they can arrive at a high spot, however lose it in a lamentable mishap. They are additionally at risk for falls. Their overstated desire can likewise drag them into perilous circumstances. How to bring up a youngster brought into the world on this day? They have a great deal of persistence and enthusiastically follow the case of others. So their instructors ought to safeguard them from superfluous attributes. Despite the fact that they are extremely difficult, they can be reached with compassion and love. Individuals brought into the world on this day have an inconceivable feeling of excellence, an affection for style, and an imaginative energy that should be sustained. More than anything, they must be enjoyed their propensity to turmoil. Astrological Outlook and Character Analysis for Individuals with a May 13th Birthday 

 In the event that your birthday is May 13, your zodiac sign is Taurus May 13 - character and character character: insightful, quiet, well-suited, energetic, malicious, twofold sided; calling: dental specialist, janitor, railwayman; colors: green, cream, green; stone: red emerald; creature: orangutan; plant: Basil; fortunate numbers: 4,5,11,22,41,46 very fortunate number: 11 Occasions and observances - May 13 Guatemala: Typographer's Day. Spain: დ?scar (Valladolid): Virgin of the Saints, supporter holy person of the town. Spain: Valladolid: San Pedro Regalado, supporter of the city. May 13 VIP Birthday. Who was conceived that very day as you? 1900: Inocencio Burgos, Spanish lawmaker (d. 1988). 1900: Pedro Laxalt, Argentine entertainer (d. 1965). 1900: Karl Wolff, German SS official (d. 1984). 1901: Murilo Mendes, Brazilian essayist (d. 1975). 1901: Witold Pilecki, Clean military man (d. 1948). 1904: Pepდ­n Bello, Spanish author (d. 2008). 1904: Betty Compton, American entertainer (d. 1944). 1904: Gilberto Owen, Mexican author (d. 1952). 1905: Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Hindu legislator and attorney, fifth Leader of India (d. 1977). 1906: Hans Krainz, Swiss botanist (d. 1980). 1906: Mauricio Magdaleno, Mexican author and columnist (d. 1986). 1906: Nils Tycho Norlindh, Swedish botanist (d. 1995). 1907: Daphne du Maurier, English author (d. 1989). 1907: Emilio Guinea, Spanish botanist (d. 1985). 1908: Carlos Iniesta Cano, Spanish military (d. 1990). 1909: Ken Darby, American guide and author (d. 1992). 1909: Jany Holt, French entertainer (d. 2005). 1911: Kosta Naე', Yugoslav military (d. 1986). 1912: Gil Evans, Canadian jazz piano player, arranger and writer (d. 1988). 1912: Edward David Freis, American doctor (d. 2005). 1912: Federico Lohse, Chilean painter (d. 1992). 1913: William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberian legislator, twentieth Leader of Liberia (d. 1980). 1914: Antonia Ferrდ­n Moreiras, Galician mathematician and space expert (d. 2009). 1914: Joe Louis, American fighter (d. 1981). 1914: Carlos Riquelme, Mexican entertainer (f. 1990). 1915: Bernard Schultze, German painter (d. 2005). 1917: Luis Pasquet, Uruguayan author, guide and musician (f. 2013). 1920: Toni Schneiders, German picture taker (d. 2006). 1920: Judith Sulian, Argentine entertainer (d. 1991). 1920: Stuart Max Walters, English botanist (d. 2005). 1922: Lillian Adams, American entertainer (d. 2011). 1922: Otl Aicher, German visual originator and typographer (d. 1991). 1922: Beatrice Arthur, American entertainer (d. 2009). 1922: Billy Gabor, American b-ball player. 1923: Red Festoon, American musician (d. 1984). 1923: Jean Haritschelhar, French author (d. 2013). 1923: Wenceslao Lდ³pez Martდ­n del Campo, Mexican analyst and teacher (d. 1981). 1924: Robert Bailey Drummond, South African botanist and naturalist (d. 2009). 1924: Giovanni Sartori, analyst in the field of Italian Political Theory. 1924: Harry Schwarz, South African legal advisor and legislator (d. 2010). 1925: Sergio Castillo Mandiola, Chilean stone worker (d. 2010). 1926: Wallace Breem, English essayist. 1926: Dewey Phillips, American circle jockey (d. 1968). 1926: Jo Roos, South African craftsman (d. 2010). 1927: Juan Bautista Avalle-Arce, Argentine scholarly pundit (d. 2009). 1927: Herbert Ross, American producer (d. 2001). 1928: Enrique Bolanos, Nicaraguan president somewhere in the range of 2002 and 2007. 1928: დ‰douard Molinaro, French entertainer and producer (d. 2013). 1928: Washington Ortuno, Uruguayan soccer player. 1929: Rigoberto Lდ³pez Pდ©rez, Nicaraguan writer (d. 1956). 1929: Juan Munoz Martდ­n, Spanish essayist. 1930: Josდ© Jimდ©nez Lozano, Spanish essayist and writer. 1930: Emilio Laguna, Spanish entertainer. 1931: Miguel Fernდ¡ndez, Spanish writer (f. 1993). 1931: Jim Jones, American strict (d. 1978). 1931: Gდ©rard Mulliez, French finance manager. 1931: Oscar Cantuarias, Peruvian Ecclesiastical overseer. (f. 2011). 1932: Riverito, Argentine TV have. 1935: Waldemar De Gregori, Brazilian humanist. 1935: Burny Mattinson, American illustrator, screenwriter and chief. 1935: Jan Saudek, Czech craftsman. 1935: Andrდ© Georges Marie Walter Albert Robyns, Belgian botanist (d. 2003). 1935: David Wilkinson, American cosmologist (d. 2002). 1937: Trevor Baylis, English innovator. 1937: Josდ© Agustდ­n Ortiz Pinchetti, Mexican legislator. 1937: Beverley Owen, American entertainer. 1937: Roger Zelazny, American author (d. 1995). 1938: Giuliano Amato, Italian legislator. 1938: Roberto Carnaghi, Argentine entertainer. 1938: Francine Pascal, American author. 1939: Saby Kamalich, Peruvian entertainer. 1939: Harvey Keitel, American entertainer. 1940: Bruce Chatwin, English writer (d. 1989). 1940: Enrique Escudero de Castro, Spanish legislator (f. 2001). 1941: Senta Berger, Austrian entertainer and author. 1941: Jean Froc, French scientist (d. 2009). 1941: Pedro Sabando, Spanish legislator. 1941: Ritchie Valens, American vocalist (d. 1959). 1941: John Vermeulen, Belgian author (d. 2009). 1942: Pდ¡l Schmitt, Hungarian legislator. 1943: Kurt Trampedach Danish painter (d. 2013). 1944: Armistead Maupin, American creator. 1945: Sam Anderson, American entertainer. 1945: Lasse Berghagen, Swedish vocalist and guitarist. 1945: Eduardo Pდ­o de Braganza, Portuguese admirer. 1945: Maneco Galeano, Paraguayan performer (d. 1980). 1945: Lou Marini, American saxophonist. 1945: Adriდ¡n Ramos, Mexican entertainer (f. 1999). 1945: Philippe Roussel, American PC engineer. 1946: Ismail Haron, Thai vocalist (d. 2012). 1946: Marv Wolfman, American illustrator. 1947: Marisa Abad, Spanish moderator. 1947: Marდ­a Badდ­a, Spanish legislator. 1947: Charles Baxter, American author. 1947: დ"scar "Cuervo" Castro, Chilean film and theater entertainer. 1947: Stephen R. Donaldson, American author. 1948: Pepe Cibriდ¡n Campoy, Argentine entertainer, theater chief and dramatist. 1948: Carlos Dდ¡vila, Spanish writer. 1948: Senior member Meminger, American b-ball player and mentor (d. 2013). 1950: Conrado Domდ­nguez, Mexican painter. 1950: Joe Johnston, American movie producer. 1950: Faisal container Abdullah canister Mohammed Al Saud, Saudi legislator. 1950: Ferran Ranდ©, Spanish entertainer. 1950: Stevie Marvel, American performer. 1951: Miguel დ?ngel Uzquiza Gonzდ¡lez, Spanish lawmaker and teacher. 1951: Jorge Trezeguet, French-Argentine footballer. 1952: John Kasich, American lawmaker. 1952: Luis Oruezდ¡bal, Argentine soccer player. 1952: Jorge Luis Siviero, Argentine footballer and mentor. 1953: Kiti Mდ¡nver, Spanish entertainer. 1954: Alejandro Encinas, Mexican lawmaker. 1954: Jorge Garcდ©s, Chilean footballer. 1954: Eugenio Leal, Spanish footballer. 1954: Johnny Logan, Irish vocalist and lyricist of Australian beginning. 1954: Renდ© Stockman, Belgian strict. 1955: Pedro Alba, Spanish footballer. 1955: Marდ­a Cecilia Botero, Colombian entertainer. 1955: Ermy Kullit, Indonesian vocalist. 1956: Oscar Roberto Domდ­nguez Couttolenc, Mexican cleric. 1956: Josდ© Damiდ¡n Gonzდ¡lez, Spanish writer. 1956: Sri Ravi Shankar, Indian Hindu strict. 1956: Roberto დ?lvarez, Spanish entertainer. 1956: Vjekoslav Bevanda, Bosnian-Croat lawmaker. 1956: Michael Jacklin, Dutch stone carver. 1956: Fred Melamed, American entertainer. 1957: Alan Ball, American screenwriter and movie producer. 1957: Kenneth Eriksson, Swedish assembly driver. 1957: Inmaculada Gonzდ¡lez, Spanish legislator. 1957: Claudie Haignerდ©, French researcher, space traveler and lawmaker. 1957: Andrea Klump, German fear monger. 1957: Miguel Sebastiდ¡n, Spanish legislator and financial expert. 1957: Koji Suzuki, Japanese author. 1957: Stefano Tacconi, Italian footballer. 1958: Tshala Muana, Congolese vocalist and artist. 1958: Juan დ?ngel Napout, Paraguayan financial specialist and sports pioneer. 1958: Willie Gonzდ¡lez, Puerto Rican vocalist. 1959: Morten Sather, Norwegian cyclist. 1960: Alberto Mდ¡rcico, Argentine soccer player. 1960: Teresa Palacios Criado, Spanish appointed authority. 1961: Siobhan Fallon Hogan, American entertainer. 1961: Nდ©stor Montalbano, Argentine movie producer. 1961: Dennis Rodman, American b-ball player. 1961: Yutaka Sado, Japanese guide and arranger. 1961: Guido Sდ¼ller, Argentine TV character, entertainer and designer. 1962: Roxana Baldetti, Guatemalan legislator and VP. 1962: Jesდºs Casillas Romero, Mexican legislator. 1962: Eduardo Palomo, Mexican entertainer (f. 2003). 1963: Fernando Carrillo Flდ³rez, Colombian attorney and ambassador. 1963: Alison Goldfrapp, English vocalist. 1963: Wally Masur, Australian tennis player. 1964: Stephen Colbert, American entertainer. 1964: Ronnie Coleman, American jock. 1964: Chris Maitland, English drummer, of the band Porcupine Tree. 1964: Jordi Sდ¡nchez Zaragoza, Spanish entertainer, author, screenwriter and maker. 1964: Tom Verica, American entertainer and movie producer. 1965: Josდ© Antonio Delgado Sucre, Venezuelan mountain dweller (d. 2006). 1965: Chris Washburn, American b-ball player. 1966: Alison Goldfrapp, vocalist and English

[zillowcondo]

On the Hotlist in April and Win a Pair of Luxury Shoes 

The month of April is known for its flower blossom, showers and of course for April Fool’s Day and Easter. Spring is finally in the air and we can enjoy longer, lighter days. It’s the perfect time to get out and about and make the most of the warmer weather. We have some great suggestions for things to do in April, together with style tips and restaurant recommendations. There’s also a fantastic competition to win a luxurious pair of ladies shoes, so read on to find out how to enter.

April Events

The English National Opera is renowned for its groundbreaking performances and for making this art form accessible to a wide audience. The company has a new production of La Traviata by Verdi, running from 3-18 April 2018. It’s actually the most frequently performed opera in the world. ENO also have a new seasonal menu in the stylish Edwardian dining room at the London Coliseum. 

Style File

Now is the time to shake up your beauty regime and to try some innovative new products. We’re particularly taken with the No. 1 Nourishing Face Serum by Vanderohe. This British luxury beauty brand founded by Olivia Thorpe is entirely organic. The face serum is made from the finest oils, sourced in their country of origin. Organic apricot kernel, frankincense, Roman chamomile, neroli, rose otto, myrhh, rose geranium, grapeseed, lavender, rosehip and cedarwood oils form a highly potent serum. It’s so nourishing that many users are able to replace their arsenal of beauty products with this one moisturizer. The packaging is stylish too, featuring botanical sketches of the ingredients and 10% of profits are donated to the Marine Savers Programme in the Baa Atoll, Maldives. It comes in a regular 30 ml size or handy 10 ml travel bottle, perfect for in-flight moisturizing.

SmoothSkin is well known for its groundbreaking IPL devices. Their new SmoothSkin Muse is the most advanced home hair removal device on the market for use at home. It automatically selects the best light intensity for your skin tone and has a built in UV filter to avoid any skin damage. In an independent study, 96% of women who tried it would recommend it to their friends. Treating the whole body takes less than 20 minutes and the device has unlimited flashes. They held their launch at Dalloway Terrace, which has a gorgeous floral wall.

New aesthetic wellness clinic W One Knightsbridge is sure to be a hit. Founded by Dr Amanda Wong-Powell, it specializes in facial rejuvenation, skin peels, hormone balancing programs and medical facial. Lead Medical Director, Dr Terry Loong, has over 10 years experience in the aesthetic industry.

One of the most relaxing bath oils we have come across is Olverum, a blend of 10 pure essential oils. Siberian fir needle, rosemary, lemon, eucalpytus, lavandin, juniper, lime, geranium, verbena and lavender are combined to great effect. Not only does it smell amazing but it works wonders to relieve stress and sore muscles. Try it after a workout, before going to sleep or if you have a cold and want to boost your immune system. You only need half a capful so your skin will absorb virtually all the oil and there’ll be no greasy residue in the bath afterwards.

Travel Tales

There are some stunning luxury spas in Thailand and we take a tour of several of the best in Krabi, Phi Phi, Koh Yao Noi, Koh Yao Yai and Phuket. South Thailand island hopping is great fun, taking traditional long-tail boats or speedboats. Check out our vlog to see some of the most scenic places on the Andaman coast.

Florida is another of our favourite destinations and there are many great things to do in Sarasota County, like visiting The Ringling. It’s the State Art Museum for Florida and houses the historic Asolo theater, an impressive museum of art and Ca’ D’ Zan mansion as well as the famous circus museum. The new Kotler-Coville Glass Pavilion features 68 glass artworks from 5 continents. We share our pick of the best beaches and restaurants in Sarasota County, Florida.

Wining and Dining

OSH is a fantastic new restaurant in Beauchamp Place, Knightsbridge. Spread over three floors of an elegant Georgian townhouse, it includes a cocktail bar, private lounge and dining areas. Specializing in Central Asian cuisine, it showcases the intercultural heritage of the region. Blending the best traditional and contemporary influences, OSH takes you on a culinary journey along the Silk Route.

We were impressed with how healthy the food is, particularly the soups and salads. Persimmon, pomegranate and tangerine was a novel combination that worked really well, whilst tiger prawns with crispy sweet potato in a chilli sauce were a moreish treat. OSH has a market section where you can purchase a wide variety of traditional Uzbek fruits and vegetables to take home. These are delivered from Central Asia on a daily basis, so everything is extremely fresh. Pickled Asian cherry tomatoes were bursting with flavour and an Uzbek tomato carpaccio was equally delicious. We also recommend the Kamtchatka King Crab with red caviar and avocado mousse. Shashlik is a popular dish of grilled and skewered fish or meat cubes popular in Central Asia. OSH has a great selection of these, such as the Chilean sea bass with lemon and ginger or the duck, lemongrass and honey shashlik. There’s an extensive wine list and artisanal cocktails to enjoy with your meal. Save room for the superb desserts including the signature honey cake, sour cream cake or fresh fruit sorbets.

Chocolate is one of our guilty pleasures yet thanks to OCTO chocolate it’s now guilt-free…This dairy-free, organic chocolate is also vegan friendly, gluten-free and soy-free. They use the highest grade organic Coconut Blossom Nectar as a natural sweetener and the best cocoa beans sourced only from ecological farms. It’s a lovely range of craft chocolate bars, nuts and figs covered with chocolate. Our personal favourite are the dates covered in raw chocolate. If you mention code Suze10x when purchasing before midnight on 8 April 2018 you’ll receive 10% off and a free bonus product – a Raw Chocolate Bar with Goji Berries.

Win A Pair of Luxury Handmade Shoes

Talking of winning, we have a great competition for you this month, to win a pair of luxury espadrilles or shoes of your choice from Zaccys London. The brand was created by Meg Cope, a former consultant eye surgeon who took a career break when her youngest son Zac was diagnosed with leukemia. Thankfully Zac was cured and Meg named her new venture after him. The collection is designed in London and handmade in Spain by the factory that manufactures Louboutin, McQueen and Valentino shoes.

What really sets Zaccys shoes apart is how comfortable they are. With a signature insole for breathable support, full leather lining and a high density memory foam layer they provide all day comfort. Natural cork wedges are excellent shock absorbers and all the shoes are showerproof. Each pair of Zaccys shoes comes with a stylish shoe bag and the company donates £5/€5 to two children’s charities. Whether you choose these gorgeous Gisele Sunset Wedge Sandals with a mid heel height, a pair of Cinderella metallic mule slides or a Cristina High Wedge Sandal, you’re sure to look a million dollars.

Let us know in the comments which design from Zaccys London you would like to win and follow the steps below to enter. Best of luck and have a lovely April!

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[hollywoodjuliorivas]

Avoiding the Trap of Immigration Porn Héctor Tobar AUG. 7, 2017 Continue reading the main storyShare This Page Share Tweet Email More Save LOS ANGELES — See if you can ride along with some agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement rounding up Latino immigrants, the photo editor tells the photographer. Go capture a group of brown-skinned innocents being led away in cuffs. And if one of the ICE agents is also Latino, the editor adds, so much the better. In the Trump era, such conversations are unfolding again and again in newsrooms across the United States. Our best “shooters” are sent out on a hunt for images of undocumented immigrants at perhaps the most vulnerable and degrading moment in their lives. These images have been a staple of American journalism for as long as I’ve been in the business. Very often, they seem a kind of immigration porn. When I was young and angry and saw such pictures for the first time, I confronted one of its purveyors. A photojournalist and artist had filled a San Francisco art gallery with his black-and-white images of Mexicans and others being tied up and hustled away by the Border Patrol near Tijuana. This was in the mid-1980s, long before any fence or wall was built there. The detained immigrants had the startled expressions of children caught misbehaving, or confused peasants caught up in a modern system they couldn’t hope to understand. Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story One handcuffed woman wore a shirt that bore the words “High Life.” The photograph seemed to revel in the irony. Photo The true image of undocumented America captures the beauty and complexity of the lives of working people seen as they truly are. Credit Todd Heisler/The New York Times I told the photographer I objected to the quantity and monotony of the images. They hit the same pathetic and melodramatic note over and over. To mount them on a wall and call it art was deeply offensive, I told him. Each of his subjects possessed a story and a personality he had completely overlooked. “Dude, this isn’t who they are,” I said. “This isn’t who we are.” The photographer was a well-meaning liberal. My comments stunned him. He had never met a young guy with immigrant parents and a college degree telling him he’d failed to see the full humanity of his Latino subjects. Today, immigration porn is ubiquitous. You are many times more likely to see a deportee on the TV news than a Latino doctor or teacher. Images of immigrants facing deportation have accumulated in our collective national consciousness as the essence of the Latino experience. The Latino is a tragic mestizo: the illegal immigrant who will always be denied a share of the American dream; the “conflicted” immigration agent forced to round up his own people; the boy outside a federal building, tears streaming, freshly separated from his father. My objection is not to the coverage of deportations and the drama of desert border crossings. Parents are separated from their children, people are tortured by smugglers, and many die. We cannot, should not, look away. But the humiliated and hunted people you see in coverage of the deported are not the whole person. Tenacity and stubbornness are the defining qualities of undocumented America. This is precisely what is absent in the media’s depiction of the more than 11 million people who live there. Newsletter Sign UpContinue reading the main story Sign Up for the Opinion Today Newsletter Every weekday, get thought-provoking commentary from Op-Ed columnists, the Times editorial board and contributing writers from around the world. Sign Up You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. SEE SAMPLE MANAGE EMAIL PREFERENCES PRIVACY POLICY OPT OUT OR CONTACT US ANYTIME If I could, I would resurrect Dorothea Lange, the legendary photographer of the Great Depression, to capture a truly defining image of that experience. When taking her most famous photograph, “Migrant Mother,” Lange ignored the pile of dirty clothes next to her subject, an itinerant farmworker sitting by the roadside with her children. ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story “She would never embarrass her subjects,” her biographer Linda Gordon writes in “Dorothea Lange: A Life Beyond Limits.” I like to imagine Lange drifting through the barrios of California in her old Ford, loaded down with her Graflex camera. Rather than see her subjects as objects of pity “living in the shadows,” as today’s liberal malarkey has it, she would immerse herself in their lives. She might encounter a Mexican immigrant sitting on his porch in Los Angeles, weary from his day’s labors. I see her taking a step back and observing him lost in thought as he watches his children play in the front yard. In the face and gestures of that copper-skinned man, her photograph would depict the ineffable qualities of the immigrant present: weariness and hopefulness, uncertainty and pride. His dignity and his burdens would be plain to see, but perhaps also a certain raffish quality — the lively brown eyes of a man who has found his way through adversity with wit and wiles. That is the true image of undocumented America. Not immigrant porn, but something infinitely more interesting. Art. The beauty and complexity of the lives of working people seen as they truly are. Héctor Tobar (@TobarWriter), an associate professor at the University of California, Irvine, is the author of “Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free” and a contributing opinion writer. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTopinion), and sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter. A version of this op-ed appears in print on August 8, 2017, on Page A23 of the New York edition with the headline: The Trap of Immigration Porn. Today's Paper|Subscribe Continue reading the main story

[ericfruits]

Days and nights of rage in Chile

WITH SIX lines, modern trains and 136 stations, the Santiago metro is in many ways a model public service in a region where such things are lacking. It carries 2.7m passengers a day in a city of 7m, and has persuaded part of the middle class to leave their cars at home. But in a paroxysm of rage that began on October 18th protesters set fire to stations and trains, leaving only one line operating. This arson was part of a collective nervous breakdown in Chile, ranging from peaceful protests demanding a fairer and less unequal society, to nightly looting of supermarkets and feral criminality, with marauding delinquents robbing homes. Sebastián Piñera, the centre-right president, declared a state of emergency and curfew and sent the army onto the streets for the first time since General Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. At least 18 people died, most of them looters.

These events have shaken what was Latin America’s most stable and successful country. They come as the region is convulsed by turmoil. Rioting forced Ecuador’s government to reinstate fuel subsidies. Peru’s president has dissolved the country’s congress. Protests hit Bolivia, where the president may be trying to steal an election. Populists are in power in Brazil and Mexico and will be soon, perhaps, in Argentina.

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The details vary. But there are some common threads. They include the sense of frustrated expectation among the region’s middle classes. Six years of economic stagnation have made Latin America’s deep inequalities less tolerable. Corruption scandals have discredited politics and politicians. Weak political parties no longer channel discontents. There is a copycat element: arsonists have smart phones, and watch events in Barcelona, Paris or Quito.

The immediate trigger in Chile was a modest 3.7% rise in the metro’s peak-hour fares, but discontent has been growing there for more than a decade. Since 1989 the country’s restored democracy has maintained the broad outline of the free-market policies installed by Pinochet’s dictatorship. Those policies have brought economic success. The poverty rate has fallen from over 40% in 1990 to under 10% today. The middle classes now form a majority. Income inequality is below the Latin American average. Still, many Chileans struggle to make ends meet.

Polls show that many Chileans think the country’s democracy is rigged in favour of a small elite, and they have a point. Economic and political power is concentrated. Some years ago your columnist attended a drinks party of about 60 people in Santiago. A friend whispered in his ear: “You realise that half of Chile’s GDP is in this room.”

The rich pay less tax as a share of income in Chile than in other countries in the OECD, a club of mainly developed economies. Most Chileans worry about “low pensions, lack of access to decent housing, health care and medicine, and of again falling into the poverty from which they escaped”, the rector of the Catholic University, whose economists dreamed up the Chilean “model”, wrote this week.

Mr Piñera, a billionaire who was president from 2010 to 2014, is part of that elite. He was re-elected in 2017 because in his first term the economy (helped by high copper prices) grew faster than under his successor, Michelle Bachelet, a Socialist. “Better times are coming,” he promised. Voters are still waiting, partly because Chile’s open economy is harmed by President Donald Trump’s trade war with China. Though lacking in spontaneous empathy, Mr Piñera was trying to inject a little more fairness into Chile’s system, as Ms Bachelet did. He promised a bigger public top-up for a private pension system that offers an average benefit of just $340 a month.

But the improvements have been slow to come. Take the health system. Much care is provided by private insurers. A middle-class woman pays around $300 a month (and extra for medicines and operations). Insurers refuse to cover pre-existing conditions, making it hard to switch providers. Many pensioners cannot afford the premium, just when they need care most.

Mr Piñera seems to have got the message. After cross-party talks, he announced an immediate boost to pensions and health-care coverage by the state. Left-wing opponents have been rejoicing at his travails. But that may be premature. The Chilean model can be improved with more social provision and a crackdown on oligopolies. It does not need reinvention.■

This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline "Days and nights of rage"

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[ohgeeiloveyou]

Repost from @eltecogram - In the June 1, 2017 issue of El Tecolote, Mabel Jimenez-Hernandez looks at the troubling reality of journalists in Mexico, who continue to be killed for the work they do; In light of MLVS's financial and legal trouble, a student enrolled in the school comes forward and gives an inside account of MLVS's recent troubles; As the topic of Sanctuary continues to remain a polarizing issue, Gabriela Alemán pens a commentary supporting AB 291, a bill extending tenant protections to undocumented peoples; Arianna Vargas contributes with an op-ed examining how gentrification is an environmental health problem; Plus columnist Carlos Baron returns with The Devil's Advocate, this time looking at late great Chilean singer and composer Rafael Manriquez, and how his musical legacy is being survived by his daughter; plus a staff editorial condemning the killing of Mexican journalists; Carnaval photos by Shane Menez; and more. Out now!