#ecuadorian fair food

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 8.4

Holidays

Administrative Professionals’ Day (India)

Air Force Day (Ukraine)

Assistance Dog Day

Backgammon Day

Barack Obama Day (a.k.a. Obama Day; Illinois)

Bartlett’s Quotations Day

Beirut Port Explosion Memorial Day (Lebanon)

Bhoto Jatra (Katmandu Valley, Nepal)

Bowser Day

Coast Guard Day (US)

Constitution Day (Cook Islands)

Cycle to Work Day (UK)

804 Day

Esther Day

Fiestas de la Virgen Blanca (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain)

Founder’s Day (Ghana)

Freedom of the Press Day

Great American Outdoors Day

Hooray for Kids Day

International Clouded Jaguar Day

International Day of Solidarity with the Belarusian Civil Society

International Owl Awareness Day

Johnny Cash Day (Arkansas)

Loch-mo-Naire Pilgrimage (Scotland)

Matica Slovenská Day (Slovakia)

National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day (Australia)

National Architect Day (Chile)

National Day of the Dahlia (Mexico)

National I Got My Happy Back Day

National Guard Day (Venezuela)

National Journalist Day (Colombia)

National Olivia Strong Day

National Owl Day

National Parks Free Entrance Day

New Brunswick Day (Canada)

Nicole Robin Day (US Virgin Islands)

Port of Beirut Explosion Anniversary Day (Lebanon)

Psychic Day

Quotations Day

Railroad Workers’ Day (Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia)

Revolution Day (Burkina Faso)

Satchmo Day

Saturday Evening Post Day

Single Working Women’s Day

Sinjska Alka (Croatia)

Skynet Online Day

Transport Workers’ Day (Kazakhstan)

Venn Diagram Day

Viking Pilgrimage (Spain)

World NTM Awareness Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

American Supermarket Day

Champagne Day

Kentucky Fried Chicken Day

National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day

National Lasagna Day

National White Wine Day

Poppin’ Fresh Day

Raisin Bran Day

Independence & Related Days

Ahmedland (Declared; 2009) [unrecognized]

Cabuyao Cityhood Day (Philippines)

Constitution Day (Cook Islands)

Corennica (Declared; 2010) [unrecognized]

Krzakacja (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

NZRE (Declared; 2016) [unrecognized]

Revolution Day (Burkina Faso)

1st Sunday in August

American Family Day [1st Sunday]

Blessing of the Sea [1st Sunday]

Day of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Ukraine) [1st Sunday]

Day of the Railway Worker (Russia)

Dé Domhnaigh Crum-Dubh (a.k.a. Crom Dubh Sunday; Celtic/Ireland) [1st Sunday]

International Forgiveness Day [1st Sunday]

International Friendship Day (India) [1st Sunday]

National Doll Day [1st Sunday]

National Friendship Day [1st Sunday]

National Kids Day [1st Sunday]

National Peacekeepers' Day (Canada) [Sunday closest to 9th]

Pilgrimage to the Llyn a Fan Fach in Dyfed (Celtic Book of Days) [1st Sunday]

Psychic Day [1st Sunday]

Reason Day (Northeastern Cross-Quarter; Aretéanism) [1st Sunday] (Independent Critical Thinking)

Selaks Wines’ National Roast Day (New Zealand) [1st Sunday]

Sisters' Day [1st Sunday]

World Meditation Day [1st Sunday of Every Month]

World Naked Kitchen Day [1st Sunday]

Weekly Holidays beginning August 4 (1st Full Week of August)

Exercise with Your Child Week (thru 8.10) [1st Full Week]

International Assistance Dog Week (thru 8.10) [Begins 1st Sunday]

Knights of Columbus Family Week (thru 8.10) [1st Full Week]

National Farmers Market Week (thru 8.10) [1st Full Week]

National Fraud Awareness Week (thru 8.10) [1st Full Week]

National Health Center Week (thru 8.10) [1st Full Week]

National Motorcycle Week (thru 8.10) [2nd Week]

National Smile Week (thru 8.10) [2nd Week]

National Stop on Red Week (thru 8.10)

Rock for Life Week (thru 8.7)

Single Working Women’s Week (thru 8.10) [Week containing 8.4]

Weird Contest Week (thru 8.10) [2nd Week]

Festivals Beginning August 4, 2024

Andorra la Vella Festival (Andorra)

Ecuadorian Food Festival (Los Angeles, California)

Folklorama (Winnipeg, Canada) [thru 8.17]

Heritage Fire (Louisville, Kentucky)

Jackson County Fair (Jackson, Michigan) [thru 8.10]

Latin Festival: Tacos & Tequila (Monmouth Park, Oceanport, New Jersey)

Medieval Week on Gotland (Visby, Sweden) [thru 8.11]

NY Now Summer Market (New York, New York) [thru 8.7]

Smukfest (Skanderborg, Denmark) [thruu 8.11]

Feast Days

Aphrodite’s Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Aristarchus (Christian; Saint)

Buckwheat Day (Pagan)

Charles Addams Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Culhwich (Celtic Book of Days)

Dancing in Your Underwear Day (Pastafarian) (Writerism)

Dominic (Christian; Saint)

Dominic (Christian; Saint)

Euphronius (Christian; Saint)

Fairy Drying-Out Day (Shamanismvb

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (Artology)

Frédéric Janssoone (Christian; Blessed)

Hedda Sterne (Artology)

Is and Her Companions (Christian; Martyrs)

John Henry Twachtman (Artology)

John Mary Vianney (Christian; Saint)

Knut Hamsun (Writerism)

Laura Knight (Artology)

Loch-mo-Naire Magical Powers Day (Everyday Wicca)

Long Jane Silver (Muppetism)

Luanus (a.k.a. Lugud or Moles) of Ireland (Christian; Saint)

Manzoni (Positivist; Saint)

Mead Day (Pastafarian)

Molua (a.k.a. Lua; Christian; Saint)

Nicolas-Jacques Conté (Artology)

Paul McCarthy (Artology)

Percy Bysshe Shelley (Writerism)

Raynerius of Split (Christian; Saint)

Robert Hayden (Writerism)

Sithney (Christian; Saint) [mad dogs]

Vigil of Oswald (Christian; Saint)

Zuni Corn Dance begins (Native American) [thru 8.7]

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Sensho (先勝 Japan) [Good luck in the morning, bad luck in the afternoon.]

Premieres

Anaconda, by Nicki Minaj (Song; 2014)

The A-Tom-inable Snowman (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1966)

Babe (Film; 1995)

Barnyard (Animated Film; 2006)

Beauty is Only Skin Deep, by The Temptations (Song; 1966)

Billboard Hot 11 (Song Ranking System; 1958)

The Case of the Screaming Bishop (Phantasies; 1944)

Coyote Ugly (Film; 2000)

Dick (Film; 1999)

Galaxy Express 999 (Animated Film; 1979)

Holiday Inn (Film; 1942)

Hound Dog, by Elvis Presley (Song; 1956)

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (TV Series; 2005)

King Ottokar’s Sceptre, by Hergé (Graphic Novel; 1938) [Tintin #8]

Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (Film; 1950)

Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run (WB Animated Film; 2015)

Magnificent Obsession (Film; 1954)

Pink Tuba-Dore (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1971)

Pornografia, by Witold Gombrowicz (Novel; 1960)

Rocket-Bye Baby (WB MM Cartoon; 1956)

Sex, Lies, and Videotape (Film; 1989)

Ship A’hoy Woody (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1969)

Space Cowboys (Film; 2000)

Sunset Boulevard (Film; 1950)

Super Fly (Fim; 1972)

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (Film; 2006)

The Tao of Steve (Film; 2000)

Young Einstein (Film; 1989)

You Really Got Me, by The Kinks (Song; 1964)

Today’s Name Days

Elizabeth, Johannes, Rainer (Austria)

Ivan, Tertulijan (Croatia)

Dominik (Czech Republic)

Dominicus (Denmark)

Veera, Veronika, Veroonika (Estonia)

Veera (Finland)

Jean-Marie, Vianney (France)

Berta, Elisabeth, Else, Rainer, Ulrich (Germany)

Eskakoustodianos, Maxmilian, Violeta (Greece)

Dominika, Domonkos (Hungary)

Francesco, Nicodemo (Italy)

Edmars, Romāns, Romualds (Latvia)

Domantas, Gerimantas, Irta, Milgedė (Lithuania)

Arna, Arne, Arnhild (Norway)

Alfred, Arystarch, Dominik, Maria, Mironieg, Protazy (Poland)

Maria (Russia)

Dominik, Dominika (Slovakia)

Juan, Rubén (Spain)

Arne, Arnold (Sweden)

Bohdanna (Ukraine)

Barack, Barak, Domenic, Dominic, Dominica, Dominick, Dominique,Reuben, Ruben, Ruby (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 217 of 2024; 149 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of Week 31 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Coll (Hazel) [Day 2 of 28]

Chinese: Month 7 (Ren-Shen), Day 1 (Geng-Zi)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 29 Tammuz 5784

Islamic: 28 Muharram 1446

J Cal: 7 Purple; Sevenday [7 of 30]

Julian: 22 July 2024

Moon: 0%: New Moon

Positivist: 20 Dante (8th Month) [Manzoni]

Runic Half Month: Thorn (Defense) [Day 12 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 46 of 94)

Week: 1st Full Week of August

Zodiac: Leo (Day 14 of 31)

Calendar Changes

蘭月 [Lányuè] (Chinese Lunisolar Calendar) [Month 7 of 12] (Orchid Month) [Earthly Branch: Monkey Month] (Qīyuè; Seventh Month)

[thellawtoknow]

Environmental Justice: Ensuring Fairness in the Fight for a Sustainable Future

Environmental Justice: Ensuring Fairness in the Fight for a Sustainable FutureWhat is Environmental Justice? The History of Environmental Justice Key Issues in Environmental Justice Achieving Environmental Justice The Role of Individuals in Promoting Environmental Justice Examples of Environmental Justice in Action1. Flint Water Crisis (Michigan, USA) 2. Standing Rock Protests (North Dakota, USA) 3. Cancer Alley (Louisiana, USA) 4. Bhopal Gas Tragedy (India) 5. Mauna Kea Protests (Hawaii, USA) 6. Coal Ash Pollution in North Carolina (USA) 7. Chevron-Texaco in the Ecuadorian Amazon 8. Air Pollution in Urban Areas (Worldwide) 9. Climate Change and Pacific Island Nations 10. Water Access in Detroit (Michigan, USA) Conclusion Environmental Justice: Ensuring Fairness in the Fight for a Sustainable Future Environmental justice is a crucial concept at the intersection of environmentalism, social equity, and human rights. It focuses on ensuring that all people, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, or geographic location, have equal access to a healthy environment and are not disproportionately burdened by environmental hazards. As the world grapples with climate change, pollution, and resource depletion, the pursuit of environmental justice becomes an urgent call to action.

In this article, we’ll explore the meaning of environmental justice, its historical development, key issues, and the ongoing efforts to achieve it. What is Environmental Justice? Environmental justice refers to the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people in environmental laws, regulations, and policies. It aims to rectify situations where marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by environmental problems. Such problems include exposure to toxic waste, air and water pollution, and the degradation of natural resources that sustain these communities. The concept also demands that everyone—irrespective of wealth or status—enjoys the benefits of clean air, water, and land. Moreover, communities should have a say in the decisions affecting their environment. This means involving them in the planning processes related to industries, land use, and natural resource management in their area. The History of Environmental Justice The modern environmental justice movement traces its roots back to the early 1980s in the United States. A key moment occurred in 1982 in Warren County, North Carolina, where a predominantly African-American community protested against the siting of a hazardous waste landfill in their neighborhood. This event highlighted the tendency to place environmental hazards in economically disadvantaged and minority communities, sparking nationwide awareness of environmental racism. In 1991, the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit further solidified the movement. This gathering produced the 17 Principles of Environmental Justice, a guiding document that continues to influence activists and policymakers worldwide. Since then, the movement has grown, both in the U.S. and globally, expanding its scope to encompass issues such as climate justice, water rights, and the fair distribution of green energy resources. Key Issues in Environmental Justice - Environmental Racism Environmental racism refers to policies and practices that disproportionately affect minority and low-income communities with environmental hazards. These communities often suffer from increased exposure to pollutants, lack of access to green spaces, and a higher incidence of health problems like asthma, cancer, and developmental disorders. - Climate Change Vulnerable communities bear the brunt of climate change impacts, such as extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and food insecurity. Indigenous populations, coastal residents, and low-income groups face greater risks from climate-related disasters. The unequal distribution of resources to mitigate and adapt to climate change exacerbates this issue, making climate justice a key component of environmental justice. - Pollution and Public Health Industrial sites, waste disposal facilities, and agricultural operations are often located near disadvantaged communities, leading to increased pollution and health risks. Exposure to chemicals, heavy metals, and poor air quality can lead to severe health problems, including respiratory diseases, cancers, and birth defects. - Access to Resources Environmental justice also encompasses the fair distribution of natural resources, such as clean water, fertile land, and energy. Many indigenous and rural communities are denied access to these essential resources, either due to political marginalization or land exploitation by corporations. - Green Gentrification As urban areas develop more green spaces and environmentally friendly infrastructure, housing prices can rise, pushing out the original, often lower-income residents. This process, known as green gentrification, underscores the importance of ensuring that sustainable urban development benefits everyone. Achieving Environmental Justice Efforts to achieve environmental justice involve a mix of grassroots activism, legal reforms, and international agreements. Here are some of the key strategies: - Community Engagement Empowering communities to participate in environmental decision-making is a fundamental aspect of environmental justice. Public hearings, environmental impact assessments, and participatory planning processes allow local residents to voice their concerns and preferences. - Stronger Regulations Governments can enact and enforce environmental laws that protect vulnerable communities from disproportionate exposure to environmental hazards. This includes strict regulations on emissions, waste disposal, and industrial zoning. - Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Addressing climate change in a way that prioritizes the needs of vulnerable populations is essential for environmental justice. This means investing in renewable energy, green jobs, and climate adaptation strategies that benefit marginalized communities. - Corporate Responsibility Corporations, especially those in energy, manufacturing, and agriculture, play a significant role in either perpetuating or addressing environmental injustice. Holding businesses accountable for environmental damage and pushing for sustainable practices can make a profound difference. - Global Cooperation Many environmental justice issues transcend borders, requiring international collaboration. Global agreements like the Paris Climate Accord and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address environmental justice at a planetary scale, aiming to reduce inequalities in climate impacts and resource access. The Role of Individuals in Promoting Environmental Justice While governments and corporations bear much of the responsibility, individuals can also contribute to the movement for environmental justice. Supporting policies that prioritize sustainability and equality, participating in local environmental initiatives, and raising awareness about environmental justice issues are all ways to foster positive change. Moreover, consumers can make informed choices by supporting businesses that prioritize ethical and sustainable practices, and by reducing their own environmental footprints through mindful consumption, recycling, and energy conservation. Examples of Environmental Justice in Action Environmental justice is not just a theoretical concept; it manifests in real-world situations where communities fight for fair treatment and access to a healthy environment. Here are some notable examples where environmental justice issues have come to the forefront: 1. Flint Water Crisis (Michigan, USA) One of the most widely publicized cases of environmental injustice occurred in Flint, Michigan, where a predominantly African-American and low-income population suffered from lead-contaminated drinking water. In 2014, in a cost-saving measure, the city switched its water supply to the Flint River without properly treating the water, which caused lead to leach from aging pipes. The health consequences, including widespread lead poisoning, primarily affected children and vulnerable populations. This crisis highlighted systemic failures in governance and the unequal protection of public health, which are central to environmental justice concerns. 2. Standing Rock Protests (North Dakota, USA) The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's protests against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) exemplified a struggle for environmental justice. The pipeline, intended to transport crude oil, was routed near the tribe’s water supply and sacred sites without proper consultation. The tribe, along with thousands of supporters from across the globe, argued that the pipeline threatened their land, water, and cultural heritage. The protest became a powerful symbol of indigenous rights and environmental protection, raising awareness of how Native American communities often face environmental hazards without adequate legal protections. 3. Cancer Alley (Louisiana, USA) Along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans lies an area known as "Cancer Alley" due to the alarming number of chemical plants and oil refineries concentrated there. These facilities have been linked to high rates of cancer, respiratory issues, and other health problems among residents, most of whom are African-American and low-income. The disproportionate exposure to hazardous chemicals in this region highlights the intersection of environmental justice, industrial pollution, and racial inequality. 4. Bhopal Gas Tragedy (India) In 1984, the Bhopal disaster occurred when toxic gas leaked from a pesticide plant owned by Union Carbide (now a subsidiary of Dow Chemical) in Bhopal, India. Thousands of people died in the immediate aftermath, and hundreds of thousands more suffered from long-term health complications. The majority of the victims were poor, and the Indian government and Union Carbide faced criticism for their slow and inadequate response to the crisis. The Bhopal gas tragedy is a glaring example of how industrial negligence and lack of accountability can lead to severe environmental injustices, particularly in low-income and marginalized communities. 5. Mauna Kea Protests (Hawaii, USA) In Hawaii, the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on Mauna Kea, a mountain considered sacred by Native Hawaiians, became a contentious environmental justice issue. While the telescope was designed to advance scientific discovery, Native Hawaiians opposed its construction on grounds that it desecrated sacred land and violated their cultural and spiritual rights. The protests underscored the tension between scientific progress and the rights of indigenous peoples to protect their land from environmental exploitation. 6. Coal Ash Pollution in North Carolina (USA) In North Carolina, communities living near coal ash disposal sites faced significant environmental health risks due to contamination of groundwater with heavy metals like arsenic, lead, and mercury. Coal ash, a byproduct of coal-burning power plants, contains toxic substances that can leach into soil and water, posing severe health risks to nearby residents. Many of these disposal sites are located near low-income, rural communities, making this an environmental justice issue where corporate interests clash with the right to a safe living environment. 7. Chevron-Texaco in the Ecuadorian Amazon Indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon have been engaged in a decades-long legal battle against Chevron-Texaco for polluting their lands and waterways. From the 1960s to the 1990s, the company’s oil drilling operations dumped billions of gallons of toxic waste into the rainforest, contaminating water sources and causing widespread health issues such as cancer and birth defects. Despite winning a multibillion-dollar judgment in Ecuadorian courts, the affected communities have struggled to enforce the ruling. This case highlights how environmental justice issues are often global in scale and how marginalized groups struggle for accountability from multinational corporations. 8. Air Pollution in Urban Areas (Worldwide) In many large cities around the world, poorer communities often live closer to highways, industrial zones, or waste disposal sites, exposing them to higher levels of air pollution. In cities like Los Angeles, London, and Beijing, low-income and minority populations disproportionately suffer from the health effects of air pollution, including asthma, lung disease, and premature death. These communities are less likely to have access to healthcare, green spaces, or cleaner transportation options, making air pollution a significant environmental justice issue. 9. Climate Change and Pacific Island Nations Small island nations in the Pacific, such as Tuvalu, Kiribati, and the Marshall Islands, are at the frontline of climate change impacts, facing rising sea levels that threaten to submerge their lands. These nations contribute very little to global greenhouse gas emissions but are disproportionately affected by climate change. Their struggle for international support and adaptation funding underscores the global dimension of environmental justice, where the most vulnerable are least responsible for the problem but suffer the most severe consequences. 10. Water Access in Detroit (Michigan, USA) In Detroit, thousands of low-income residents have had their water shut off due to unpaid bills, leading to public health crises in a city already facing economic hardship. Activists argue that access to clean and affordable water is a human right, and shutting off water disproportionately affects the poor and African-American residents. The situation in Detroit reflects broader concerns about the privatization of essential services and the intersection of race, poverty, and environmental justice. These examples illustrate that environmental justice is a multifaceted issue that touches upon race, class, and economic inequality. Communities across the globe, especially those historically marginalized, are fighting to protect their environment and their right to live free from harm. As these cases show, environmental justice is not only about protecting the planet but ensuring that everyone, particularly the most vulnerable, is included in the fight for a healthier, more equitable world. Conclusion Environmental justice is an essential framework for ensuring that all people, especially the most vulnerable, can live in a healthy environment. As environmental challenges like climate change and pollution grow more urgent, addressing these issues through the lens of justice is not only morally imperative but essential for achieving long-term sustainability. By embracing equitable policies, encouraging corporate responsibility, and engaging communities in environmental decisions, we can move toward a world where environmental protection benefits everyone. https://youtu.be/60zKOgRodjE Read the full article

[brookston]

Holidays 8.4

Holidays

Administrative Professionals’ Day (India)

Air Force Day (Ukraine)

Assistance Dog Day

Backgammon Day

Barack Obama Day (a.k.a. Obama Day; Illinois)

Bartlett’s Quotations Day

Beirut Port Explosion Memorial Day (Lebanon)

Bhoto Jatra (Katmandu Valley, Nepal)

Bowser Day

Coast Guard Day (US)

Constitution Day (Cook Islands)

Cycle to Work Day (UK)

804 Day

Esther Day

Fiestas de la Virgen Blanca (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain)

Founder’s Day (Ghana)

Freedom of the Press Day

Great American Outdoors Day

Hooray for Kids Day

International Clouded Jaguar Day

International Day of Solidarity with the Belarusian Civil Society

International Owl Awareness Day

Johnny Cash Day (Arkansas)

Loch-mo-Naire Pilgrimage (Scotland)

Matica Slovenská Day (Slovakia)

National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day (Australia)

National Architect Day (Chile)

National Day of the Dahlia (Mexico)

National I Got My Happy Back Day

National Guard Day (Venezuela)

National Journalist Day (Colombia)

National Olivia Strong Day

National Owl Day

National Parks Free Entrance Day

New Brunswick Day (Canada)

Nicole Robin Day (US Virgin Islands)

Port of Beirut Explosion Anniversary Day (Lebanon)

Psychic Day

Quotations Day

Railroad Workers’ Day (Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia)

Revolution Day (Burkina Faso)

Satchmo Day

Saturday Evening Post Day

Single Working Women’s Day

Sinjska Alka (Croatia)

Skynet Online Day

Transport Workers’ Day (Kazakhstan)

Venn Diagram Day

Viking Pilgrimage (Spain)

World NTM Awareness Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

American Supermarket Day

Champagne Day

Kentucky Fried Chicken Day

National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day

National Lasagna Day

National White Wine Day

Poppin’ Fresh Day

Raisin Bran Day

Independence & Related Days

Ahmedland (Declared; 2009) [unrecognized]

Cabuyao Cityhood Day (Philippines)

Constitution Day (Cook Islands)

Corennica (Declared; 2010) [unrecognized]

Krzakacja (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

NZRE (Declared; 2016) [unrecognized]

Revolution Day (Burkina Faso)

1st Sunday in August

American Family Day [1st Sunday]

Blessing of the Sea [1st Sunday]

Day of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Ukraine) [1st Sunday]

Day of the Railway Worker (Russia)

Dé Domhnaigh Crum-Dubh (a.k.a. Crom Dubh Sunday; Celtic/Ireland) [1st Sunday]

International Forgiveness Day [1st Sunday]

International Friendship Day (India) [1st Sunday]

National Doll Day [1st Sunday]

National Friendship Day [1st Sunday]

National Kids Day [1st Sunday]

National Peacekeepers' Day (Canada) [Sunday closest to 9th]

Pilgrimage to the Llyn a Fan Fach in Dyfed (Celtic Book of Days) [1st Sunday]

Psychic Day [1st Sunday]

Reason Day (Northeastern Cross-Quarter; Aretéanism) [1st Sunday] (Independent Critical Thinking)

Selaks Wines’ National Roast Day (New Zealand) [1st Sunday]

Sisters' Day [1st Sunday]

World Meditation Day [1st Sunday of Every Month]

World Naked Kitchen Day [1st Sunday]

Weekly Holidays beginning August 4 (1st Full Week of August)

Exercise with Your Child Week (thru 8.10) [1st Full Week]

International Assistance Dog Week (thru 8.10) [Begins 1st Sunday]

Knights of Columbus Family Week (thru 8.10) [1st Full Week]

National Farmers Market Week (thru 8.10) [1st Full Week]

National Fraud Awareness Week (thru 8.10) [1st Full Week]

National Health Center Week (thru 8.10) [1st Full Week]

National Motorcycle Week (thru 8.10) [2nd Week]

National Smile Week (thru 8.10) [2nd Week]

National Stop on Red Week (thru 8.10)

Rock for Life Week (thru 8.7)

Single Working Women’s Week (thru 8.10) [Week containing 8.4]

Weird Contest Week (thru 8.10) [2nd Week]

Festivals Beginning August 4, 2024

Andorra la Vella Festival (Andorra)

Ecuadorian Food Festival (Los Angeles, California)

Folklorama (Winnipeg, Canada) [thru 8.17]

Heritage Fire (Louisville, Kentucky)

Jackson County Fair (Jackson, Michigan) [thru 8.10]

Latin Festival: Tacos & Tequila (Monmouth Park, Oceanport, New Jersey)

Medieval Week on Gotland (Visby, Sweden) [thru 8.11]

NY Now Summer Market (New York, New York) [thru 8.7]

Smukfest (Skanderborg, Denmark) [thruu 8.11]

Feast Days

Aphrodite’s Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Aristarchus (Christian; Saint)

Buckwheat Day (Pagan)

Charles Addams Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Culhwich (Celtic Book of Days)

Dancing in Your Underwear Day (Pastafarian) (Writerism)

Dominic (Christian; Saint)

Dominic (Christian; Saint)

Euphronius (Christian; Saint)

Fairy Drying-Out Day (Shamanismvb

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (Artology)

Frédéric Janssoone (Christian; Blessed)

Hedda Sterne (Artology)

Is and Her Companions (Christian; Martyrs)

John Henry Twachtman (Artology)

John Mary Vianney (Christian; Saint)

Knut Hamsun (Writerism)

Laura Knight (Artology)

Loch-mo-Naire Magical Powers Day (Everyday Wicca)

Long Jane Silver (Muppetism)

Luanus (a.k.a. Lugud or Moles) of Ireland (Christian; Saint)

Manzoni (Positivist; Saint)

Mead Day (Pastafarian)

Molua (a.k.a. Lua; Christian; Saint)

Nicolas-Jacques Conté (Artology)

Paul McCarthy (Artology)

Percy Bysshe Shelley (Writerism)

Raynerius of Split (Christian; Saint)

Robert Hayden (Writerism)

Sithney (Christian; Saint) [mad dogs]

Vigil of Oswald (Christian; Saint)

Zuni Corn Dance begins (Native American) [thru 8.7]

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Sensho (先勝 Japan) [Good luck in the morning, bad luck in the afternoon.]

Premieres

Anaconda, by Nicki Minaj (Song; 2014)

The A-Tom-inable Snowman (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1966)

Babe (Film; 1995)

Barnyard (Animated Film; 2006)

Beauty is Only Skin Deep, by The Temptations (Song; 1966)

Billboard Hot 11 (Song Ranking System; 1958)

The Case of the Screaming Bishop (Phantasies; 1944)

Coyote Ugly (Film; 2000)

Dick (Film; 1999)

Galaxy Express 999 (Animated Film; 1979)

Holiday Inn (Film; 1942)

Hound Dog, by Elvis Presley (Song; 1956)

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (TV Series; 2005)

King Ottokar’s Sceptre, by Hergé (Graphic Novel; 1938) [Tintin #8]

Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (Film; 1950)

Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run (WB Animated Film; 2015)

Magnificent Obsession (Film; 1954)

Pink Tuba-Dore (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1971)

Pornografia, by Witold Gombrowicz (Novel; 1960)

Rocket-Bye Baby (WB MM Cartoon; 1956)

Sex, Lies, and Videotape (Film; 1989)

Ship A’hoy Woody (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1969)

Space Cowboys (Film; 2000)

Sunset Boulevard (Film; 1950)

Super Fly (Fim; 1972)

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (Film; 2006)

The Tao of Steve (Film; 2000)

Young Einstein (Film; 1989)

You Really Got Me, by The Kinks (Song; 1964)

Today’s Name Days

Elizabeth, Johannes, Rainer (Austria)

Ivan, Tertulijan (Croatia)

Dominik (Czech Republic)

Dominicus (Denmark)

Veera, Veronika, Veroonika (Estonia)

Veera (Finland)

Jean-Marie, Vianney (France)

Berta, Elisabeth, Else, Rainer, Ulrich (Germany)

Eskakoustodianos, Maxmilian, Violeta (Greece)

Dominika, Domonkos (Hungary)

Francesco, Nicodemo (Italy)

Edmars, Romāns, Romualds (Latvia)

Domantas, Gerimantas, Irta, Milgedė (Lithuania)

Arna, Arne, Arnhild (Norway)

Alfred, Arystarch, Dominik, Maria, Mironieg, Protazy (Poland)

Maria (Russia)

Dominik, Dominika (Slovakia)

Juan, Rubén (Spain)

Arne, Arnold (Sweden)

Bohdanna (Ukraine)

Barack, Barak, Domenic, Dominic, Dominica, Dominick, Dominique,Reuben, Ruben, Ruby (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 217 of 2024; 149 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of Week 31 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Coll (Hazel) [Day 2 of 28]

Chinese: Month 7 (Ren-Shen), Day 1 (Geng-Zi)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 29 Tammuz 5784

Islamic: 28 Muharram 1446

J Cal: 7 Purple; Sevenday [7 of 30]

Julian: 22 July 2024

Moon: 0%: New Moon

Positivist: 20 Dante (8th Month) [Manzoni]

Runic Half Month: Thorn (Defense) [Day 12 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 46 of 94)

Week: 1st Full Week of August

Zodiac: Leo (Day 14 of 31)

Calendar Changes

蘭月 [Lányuè] (Chinese Lunisolar Calendar) [Month 7 of 12] (Orchid Month) [Earthly Branch: Monkey Month] (Qīyuè; Seventh Month)

[lordzannis]

alternative soda brands that are not owned by PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, or Keurig Dr Pepper associated with Israel or Zionism to replace Monster energy,its for extreme sports, esports, and music/pop culture.

Here are some alternative energy drink brands that are not owned by PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Keurig Dr Pepper, or associated with Israel/Zionism, which could potentially replace Monster Energy drinks for activities like extreme sports, esports, and music/pop culture:

RUNA Clean Energy Drink RUNA is a certified organic, fair trade, and non-GMO energy drink made from the guayusa plant native to the Ecuadorian Amazon. It contains a moderate amount of caffeine from guayusa and no taurine or artificial ingredients.

Yerba Mate Aguante This brand offers energy drinks made from yerba mate, a caffeinated plant-based ingredient from South America. Their drinks are vegan, non-GMO, and free of taurine and artificial sweeteners.

ZWAY Bamboo Energy Drink ZWAY uses bamboo leaf extract as a natural source of antioxidants and caffeine. Their vegan, non-GMO drinks have no taurine, artificial colors/flavors and are packaged in plant-based materials.

MATI Energizing Drinks MATI makes sparkling energy drinks from guayusa and yerba mate with moderate caffeine levels. They are non-GMO, vegan, and free of taurine and artificial ingredients.

Sambazon Amazon Energy Drink Made from Brazilian açaí berries and yerba mate, Sambazon offers plant-based, certified organic energy drinks without taurine, artificial colors/flavors.

Hiball Energy Drinks Hiball uses organic caffeine from coffee beans and no taurine or artificial ingredients in their lightly carbonated energy drinks aimed at an active lifestyle.

While not as mainstream as Monster, these ethical brands provide natural, plant-based alternatives for an energy boost without being tied to companies supporting Israeli apartheid policies based on the search criteria. Many also avoid artificial additives common in conventional energy drinks.

Citations: [1] https://fifthperson.com/3-companies-own-us-soft-drink-market/ [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PM2pOppAzo [3] https://www.reddit.com/r/Soda/comments/113sgnz/oc_reference_chart_for_what_company_owns_which/ [4] https://thegoodshoppingguide.com/ethical-soft-drinks/ [5] https://www.thestreet.com/restaurants/kroger-walmart-rival-kills-popular-coca-cola-soda-alternative

Cycle Soda This Tampa company produces natural craft sodas like Pineapple Cream and Ginger Lemongrass that avoid high-fructose corn syrup, aligning with an active lifestyle.

Jitney Samurai Cream Ale While not technically a soda, this craft beer brand's anime-inspired branding could appeal to gaming and pop culture enthusiasts looking for a unique beverage.

Stubborn Soda The Miami-based craft soda maker offers bold flavors like Black Cherry Tarragon and Lemon Berry Acai in vintage-style bottles. Their edgy branding could resonate with alternative music fans.

Jones Soda Co. This independent Seattle-based brand is known for unique flavors like Fufu Berry and quirky label designs featuring consumer-submitted photos. Their energy drinks like Jones GABA and sugar-free options could appeal to extreme sports enthusiasts.

Ale-8-One This ginger ale from Kentucky has a cult following and quirky branding that could mesh with indie/alternative music scenes.

There are a few alternative snack brands that align with extreme sports, music/pop culture, and are not owned by large corporations or Zionist companies:

Hippeas is an organic chickpea snack brand that recently launched limited-edition Minions-themed snacks, aligning with the popular movie franchise[4]. They have a fun, youthful branding that appeals to pop culture.

Bhu Foods makes sweet energy bites and bars from natural ingredients, avoiding cane sugar and grains. Their branding has an earthy, alternative vibe that could resonate with extreme sports enthusiasts[1].

Lytepop is an electrolyte-infused popcorn brand that has recruited NBA player Trae Young as a spokesperson, appealing to sports fans[1]. However, their "electrolyte-infused" premise is somewhat dubious.

Made in Nature is an organic dried fruit brand that started as a pear farm in Oregon in 1989, giving it an alternative, natural image[1].

Goodfish upcycles wild Alaskan salmon skins into crispy snacks, which could appeal to outdoor enthusiasts with its sustainable, upcycled ingredients[1].

It's important to note that while these brands have alternative positioning, I could not definitively confirm their ownership structures to rule out any Zionist connections. Their branding and product positioning align with the query, but verifying corporate ownership is difficult.

Citations: [1] https://www.insidehook.com/food/healthy-snacking-brands-to-know [2] https://www.theconfettibar.com/designing-happiness/resources/healthy-movie-snacks [3] https://www.mensjournal.com/food-drink/7-healthy-snack-alternatives-junk-food [4] https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hippeas-launches-limited-edition-minions-themed-snacks-301299948.html [5] https://tcg.co/portfolio/

[angryexpertherodonkey-blog]

San Sebastian-Cuenca a wonderful place to visit

San Sebastián was one of the first neighborhoods in Cuenca where it was initially characterized by the trade of pottery, tile making, tailoring, and also carpentry. It is part of the history of the city, since its origin dates back to 1557, the year Cuenca was founded. For some years now it has become a point of tourist interest due to the beauty of its central park, church and the security it offers to visitors. Gastronomy Cuenca has become a city of gastronomic experimentation, a place to show proposals for Ecuadorian or international cuisine. In recent years, the growth in the gastronomic offer in the city and its surroundings has been notorious, which is why the San Sebastián neighborhood has also joined this trend and we can currently find a large number of restaurants with all kinds of food.

In Ecuador, the Historic Center of Cuenca is one of the largest and best preserved in Latin America, a true heritage treasure. The San Sebastián neighborhood currently has a wide range of hotels, colonial houses have been restored and enabled to function as lodging places, so both national and foreign tourists can enjoy these beautiful places that combined with the warmth of the service of the cuencanos will make a trip to Cuenca a pleasure.

Municipal Museum of Modern Art Transformed into a museum in 1981 and inaugurated in February 1992. Its first funds come from the donation of the late Cuencan painter Luis Crespo Ordóñez, who at the time of the foundation of the entity delivers a selection of his best works. Subsequently, the museum increases its collections of contemporary art, with works by renowned artists from different latitudes, who exhibit their creations in this field over almost a quarter of a century of continuous activity. The Museum has collections made up of a wide variety of works of art, including drawing, painting, engraving, serigraphy, ink, lithography, wood-painting, etching, intaglio, sculpture, art-object, installations, photography, etc.

Craft Shop: MAKI The store was inaugurated in 2004, its name comes from the Kichwa word maki which means hand. Here we can find macanas, toquilla straw hats, shigras, tendidos (necklaces), sheep wool ponchos, among other handicrafts made by the skilled hands of 40 artisans who work with the store through artisan associations from different parts of the province. Maki is the only artisan gallery in Cuenca that has international fair trade certification from the World Fair Trade Organization.

[lacapitaldelchocolate]

LA CAPITAL DEL CHOCOLATE 

presente en  Ecuatorian Food Fair. 2020

[kayr0ss]

The Masterplan (Diakko)

[LWA, Diakko, kind of an AU?, funny, absolutely disastrous, nothing goes according to plan, but their friends are so supportive!!!!! ...car chase??]

Summary: Akko is planning a confession. On the other side of the playing field - Hannah and Barbara are dead-set on their best-friend getting the girl of her dreams.So of course nothing goes to plan. Not even close. It's a complete, fast-paced, adorable disaster. [Modern AU]

--

Akko was on a mission.

She was riding shotgun in Lotte’s car, speeding through the highways of Glastonbury city with the urgency of a government spy. It was finally go-time.

She was finally confessing to Diana Cavendish.

They’ve gone over The Plan three-times over by now—Sucy, Lotte, and herself—and the warm glow of a perfect Friday afternoon felt like an omen for good-and-romantic things to come. The time was nigh—it was now or never.

Now, Akko was no fool. She knew that Lotte and Sucy were only in it so she’d shut up about The Masterplan once and for all, but she appreciated their help nonetheless. And maybe she’d take back what she just said because Lotte seemed genuinely invested in planting the seeds of love and romance.

“Flowers. Lights. Confession.” Akko muttered to herself for the hundredth time, earning an eyeroll from Lotte (who was in charge of lights) behind the wheel.

“It will be fine, Akko.”

“It’s me!” She groaned, throwing a hand up to gesture emphasis. “Anything that can possibly go wrong goes wrong with me!”

“I second this.”

“Thanks for the support, Sucy.” Akko groaned sarcastically. “I ate way too much, way too fast in my nervousness earlier and now I’m bloated and likely ruined my appetite for our dinner!”

“Dinner?” Lotte spared her a sidelong glance, zipping through the highway and causing her passengers to lurch in their seats. “That wasn’t part of The Masterplan. You completely overlooked any sort of food-prep.”

“Kuso!” Akko groaned. “I’ll just wing it! Let’s just get those flowers.”

“Take a left here,” Sucy tapped on Lotte’s shoulders. She was a botanist and therefore assigned to help with the flowers. She made plans to arrange a bouquet with her contact at the local shop, and had reluctantly sworn an oath to forego anything poisonous—with sucked—but it was for Akko, and it was just for one night.

Time was of the essence.

Lotte drummed her fingertips against the steering wheel in anticipation when they came to halt along a stoplight. The Masterplan’s execution was set for eight o’clock, and it was already four-thirty in the afternoon.

Three and half hours.

Set-up their small backyard patio with lights.

Get ready with the best flowers.

And let Akko handle the confession.

Simple. Effective.

Ultimately, disastrous.

 ---

“She said it’d be just the two of you?” Barbara leaned forward, watching with a mixture of excitement and apprehension as Diana paced around her office at the hospital.

“Yes.” The blonde woman had sunk into a trance-like state of thought. Thinking. Thinking at a hundred miles per hour. This was the opportunity she had been waiting for.

“I—I’m going to confess.”

“Finally!” Hannah practically slammed her fist down the table.

“It must be done perfectly.” Diana said with conviction. “I must get her flowers, and I should at least offer to cover our meal. Do you think she likes Japanese?”

“Likes? She is Japanese! Though she might be sick of it.” Barbara shrugged.

“Or—” Hannah perked up. “—missing it terribly after having stayed in London for so long.”

Curses. They were only at ‘food’ and it was already beginning to get complicated.

“Should I just ask her?”

“No way!” Barbara gasped. “You’re gonna blow Kagari away with a surprise without spoiling anything.”

“She is rather fond of surprises.” Diana stopped her pacing to run her hand through perfect, blonde hair.

“So what’s the plan, Dia?” Hannah urged, already sharing a grin with Barbara.

“Flowers. Food. Confession.”

Simple.

Hannah was already calling the flower store.

 ---

“What do you mean someone reserved them already?!”

Sucy glowered at the shopkeeper, and Lotte and Akko had to physically back away as though she had grown fangs.

“I’m sorry!” The clerk raised his hands defensively. “Like, just five minutes ago!”

“After everything we’ve been through, Hendrick?! I even called that I was coming by!”

“You always buy the weird stuff you know? And besides, I’ve got other roses aside from Ecuadorian ones, I think—”

“Not settling for anything other than the best.” Sucy was determined. “Names. I need names. Who bought them?”

“I can’t tell you—”

“You can and will.”

“Look, I—”

“You two!” Sucy had spun around, locking her eyes with Lotte. “Get back and get the garden ready. I’ll deal with this mystery buyer and follow in a minute.”

“’Deal with’?” Lotte gawked. “How are you even going to—”

Sucy Manbavaran would never be outdone when it came to plants. This was personal now.

“Go!”

 ---

“I’ll pick them up and meet you in a few!” Hannah grinned excitedly. “Barbs, you know what to do!”

“She does?” Diana blinked, allowing herself to get dragged by the wrist towards Barbara’s car in the hospital parking lot.

“You’re not going on a date wearing your scrubs.”

“I had no such plans to.”

“Casual won’t do either!” Barbara nagged, fishing for her keys. “You’ve gotta look drop-dead gorgeous.”

“I—I don’t think it’s necessary to.”

“Shush, hon. I just want you to relax and think Akko thoughts, or whatever.”

“Akko thoughts aren’t exactly… relaxing as of the moment.”

“Fair point.”

“Where to?”

Barbara took a quick glance towards her watch and pursed her lips in thought. “Shopping. Then food.”

“Shopping—?”

“Shut up and get in the car!”

 ---

“She’s crazy!” Akko shrieked. “She had that crazy look in her eyes, like she’s about to poison someone!”

“Well we’re going to have to trust her because it’s five-fifteen and the patio is far from ready!”

Lotte was back behind the wheel, zooming through traffic towards her trinket shop. It was a lot less time than she was comfortable with. Lacing the gazebo with firefly lights and battery-operated teacup candles likely took longer than her mental estimate.

“How are you feeling?” She glanced towards Akko. “You’re looking pale.”

“I—I’m fine.” The brunette said in a contorted voice. Lotte brushed it off as nervousness (which was a rare enough emotion for Akko).

“You sure?”

“Yup!” Akko nodded in determination, steeling her resolve. “Kami-sama, why can’t we just be dating already?”

“Just a few more hours until you are, Akko.”

“If she likes me back!”

“Which she will.”

“But have you seen her Lotte?” Akko began to ramble.

“Many times, yes.”

“How is she even real—what am I doing?! Oh no, oh no, oh no am I seriously going to confess—”

“Breathe!”

Lotte gave her best friend the surest smile she could muster.

“She will.”

 ---

It was now five forty-seven.

“You.”

Sucy narrowed her eyes, staring straight into hazel. She had camped out in the flower shop, figuring that whoever placed such an urgent order would show up any minute to pick them up. True enough, a familiar woman in a white-coat with auburn hair came bursting through, shouting for her order of Ecuadorian roses.

“Sucy.” Hannah sneered, crossing her arms. “What’s the meaning of this?”

“Those flowers you ordered are mine. I got here first.”

“No way!” Hannah challenged. “I put in the call. He said they were available.”

“How can that take precedence over a client already in-store and paying on the spot?” Sucy turned her calm but heavy glare towards Hendrick, who was sweating bullets while looking between the two women.

“I already paid!” Hannah pulled out her phone triumphantly, showing the screenshot of an online payment transfer. Sucy cursed herself for not having the foresight to have done so earlier.

“I—I don’t make the rules ma’am.” Hendrick conceded, carefully presenting the lovely bouquet of twenty-four roses to the woman who happened to be Sucy’s friend—if only through the sheer force of Akko’s gravitational-friendship-pull. The poor shopkeeper looked pale, trapped between the two very different yet equally threatening auras.

“I’m leaving. Buy something else!” Hannah had turned around dramatically, stepping out through the door with her hair bouncing through the motions.

“You never told me you had online orders.” Sucy told Hendrick evenly.

“I—It was launched recently.”

“Screw that,” she said with gritted teeth. On whim, she decided to follow Hannah, walking into the street and whistling as loudly as she can towards the nearest cab.

A middle-aged man with a bushy moustache looked up from behind the window. “Where to, missy?”

“No questions!” Sucy jumped into the front seat. “Follow that car—and don’t fucking call me missy!”

---

“You’re being—what?” Barbara shrieked as quietly as she could. Just as Diana entered the dressing room a minute ago, her phone began ringing with Hannah’s photo popping up. “Chased? By Sucy? For the flowers?”

[“Yes! She’s a madwoman! Probably going to blow something up with another potion or—"]

“Don’t call me while you’re driving!” Barbara hissed, looking back towards the dressing room which was slowly opening.

Diana stepped out, looking lovely in a sheer white top and cream slacks. She asked how she looked and Barbara had quickly tossed another top for her to try, desperately trying to keep up with Hannah’s rambling on the other line.

“You look great—love the pants—try this blue one! Come on, come on! In you go, nothing to stress about!”

“Stress about?” Diana blinked, frowning. “Is that Hans on the phone?”

“Yeah, it’s all going swell!” Barbara’s voice pitched a little too high. “In you go!”

“O—Okay.”

She had practically slammed the door into Diana’s face, and with a deep breath she diverted her attention back to Hannah.

“Don’t overspeed, and why are you two having a car chase?! It’s just flowers!”

 ---

“Just flowers?!” Hannah repeated, aghast. “Not when it’s for one of the most important days of our best friend’s life, they aren’t!”

She took a sharp turn at the nearest street, going nowhere in particular if only to shake Sucy off. It was an unfortunately wide road and she was opposite the rush hour lane, leaving it relatively traffic free. She had no intention of breaking speed limits and was forced to stay at seventy. Soon enough, the cab pulled up at her right.

Sucy rolled down the window, looking as worked up as Hannah had ever seen her in their time knowing each other. The driver seemed like he was having the time of his life. “I’ll pay for its price plus ten pounds on top!”

“You think I’m cheap?!” She shouted back, doing her best to keep her driving steady.

“Twenty!”

“You can’t buy me, Sucy! Not for this occasion—not ever!” She grit her teeth and banked towards the left, putting a truck in between them.

Barbara was still in the call.

[“By the nines, Hannah!”]

---

“Whoa!” Akko blinked, head whipping to the side while she followed a familiar-looking SUV speed down the road, seemingly chased by a cab. “Shit’s crazy today!”

“Come on, Akko!” Lotte led her out of the trinket shop’s front and back to her parked car. It took them around forty-five minutes just trying to find the perfect set of lights and the clock was ticking. Akko’s nerves were beginning to fray, and the woman was jumpy, reckless (more so than usual) and generally hyper—

“Akko, be careful!”

—active.

By the nine.

There was a loud thud—and the resonance of something very hard bumping into metal.

That was it.

The Masterplan would have to wait.

Akko ran into a lamppost and passed out with a bleeding nose.

 ---

“I haven’t heard from Akko.”

It was now seven in the evening and Diana was beginning to fret. She and her friends had returned to her flat to get her ready, but she thought the brunette would at least message her. Should she send another text? She did just half-an-hour ago, informing the brunette she was heading home to get ready. Is a call too forward?

Goodness. She shook her head—why would it be too forward? They were by no means strangers. Far from it! She blushed, this whole thing was getting to her and she hated it. Deciding she could very much call Atsuko Kagari whenever she pleased, she slipped out her phone and dialed.

“She has a heart emoji after her name?” Hannah snickered.

Diana ignored it, flushing red. Her phone rang. And rang. But Akko never picked up.

She exhaled in frustration, wondering if Akko had gotten herself mixed up in another form of disaster. It wasn’t a far-fetched assumption. Or did she ditch her? No, she wasn’t like that. Was she?

Her eyes fell towards the navy-blue top she had picked from the store, and then towards the most beautiful bundle of roses she had ever seen.

It looked perfect. Except—

“Did you really get into a car chase for this?”

“Yup!” Hannah raised a fist in victory. “And I won too. Sucy just up and backed off.”

“That’s suspicious.” Barbara narrowed her eyes. “But I still insist you are absolutely insane for pulling that!”

“What matters—” Hannah crossed her arms. “—is I got the job done.”

Diana sighed, growing anxious and excited at the same time. She glanced back towards her phone. “Let’s just hope I get to give them.”

 ---

“A lamppost.” Sucy stared at Lotte evenly. “Unbelievable. I got into a fucking car chase only for this moron to walk into a lamppost.”

“That’s what you’re worried about?”

“It’s Akko. She’ll be fine. Hasn’t she broken like, every bone in her body at this point?”

Well. She wasn’t wrong. They were in the Glastobury hospital and Lotte hoped Diana would be on-duty, but upon asking the nurse’s station she clocked out early for today.

“What did Diana say?” Lotte asked Sucy.

“Huh?”

“You didn’t text her?”

“I thought you did.”

“Sucy!”

“You’re the one with her number.”

“But I—”

“Are you her flat-mates?” A young-looking doctor peered through the door of Akko’s recovery room. She broke her nose—but there was no need for a rhinoplasty and therefore she didn’t need admission. Broken nose aside, Akko was in surprisingly good health, bearing an almost-Olympic endurance which in hindsight explained her ability to recover from seemingly anything.

“Yes!” Lotte nodded diligently.

“Well you can take her home now. This one is crazy—she’s already sitting up after an hour of recovery. But I do need to warn you she’s—uh—”

“She’s?” Sucy prodded, hiding her concern under the guise of impatience.

“High as a kite?”

---

Akko was having a good time.

A good time.

She laughed, her head feeling woozy, her hands moving as though they were floating in water and—it was just so funny! By the nines this was the shit!

Her nose kinda felt funny though. Weird.

“Akko?”

Huh? Is—it’s a friend! Akko grinned. Her best friend! “Oh Lotte.”

“That’s just trippy.” Another voice said.

One eye only? Oh it must be Sucy!

“Your hair—” Akko smiled whimsically. “It’s freaking whack, Sucy.”

“Why does she still sound like herself?” Sucy turned to Lotte.

“I told you to be careful!” Lotte wailed, moving to her side to help her up.

“This is place is so bright.” Akko narrowed her groggy eyes, her head lolling about while she inspected her surroundings. Then she gasped. “Where’s Diana! This is Diana’s work!”

“She isn’t here.” Lotte placated. “And sit down—you’ll hurt yourself again!”

In the snap of a finger, Akko was done laughing and suddenly began to pout.

“I miss Diana.”

“I’m sure she’ll be here any second—”

“She said she’d go hooooome first.” Akko pointed towards her phone, sitting on the bedside of the outpatient recovery room.

Lotte sighed. “Come on, you need to go home too.”

“Can you do me a favor?” Akko asked innocently before leaning in and whispering to the two as though to share a secret. Then she broke into another grin—a charming, lopsided grin that screamed ‘painkillers!’

Lotte looked towards Sucy. The latter just shrugged. “Why the hell not? Saves her the time to go here and she’d know what to do with Akko.”

---

It was now seven-forty-six.

Barbara sped down the highway to the hospital, feeling every bit sorry for Diana who was cradling her head in her palms in the passenger’s seat. Although it was a little funny, and apparently Hannah thought so too, based on the snickering in the back.

“That’s just like her, though!” Hannah finally grinned.

Hannah was right. And honestly, Diana knew she’d be fine. But of course this would happen—and only to Akko. The world wasn’t so kind as to allow the night she finally decided to confess to be easy, right?

Dr. Strenger had dutifully informed her that a patient he recognized as Diana’s friend was admitted for a nasal fracture. All she needed to hear was ‘brown hair’, ‘red eyes’, and ‘lamppost’ and it was enough. Thankfully, it seemed Akko’s recovery was marvelous (unsurprising) and that Lotte and Sucy had accompanied her.

They pulled up into the parking lot and Hannah groaned. “Back to our workplace, yikes. You better do good by that bouquet, Diana! I almost died for that!”

She huffed, stepping into the familiar entry way dressed way too nicely for the hospital and holding a gigantic bouquet of flowers.

The receptionist blinked. A few of the nurses had turned their heads at the sight of her. “Dr. Cavendish?”

“Spare me the comments.” She lamented. “What room us is—ah.” Why was she blushing? In front of her colleagues! “Atsuko Kagari.”

“Oh, miss Akko!”

Right. Between accidents and visiting Diana, the staff knew her by now.

“She came in a pretty bad shape, but she didn’t need to be admitted. Dr. Strenger sent her home.”

“She isn’t here?”

“Actually,” the receptionist tilted her head. “On their way out she was screaming rather loudly that she was going to straight to your place?”

Her—what?

---

“I don’t think this is Diana’s house.”

Sucy elbowed Lotte, the pair of them standing behind a still-delirious Akko who rang the doorbell to a three-story tall apartment. It looked every bit as posh as its red-brick façade suggested. It was imposing. Classical. Nestled in a street of similarly luxurious dwellings that had cars Lotte had only seen in magazines—parked in garages or even right at the streets.

“But this is where Akko directed us to.” Lotte shrugged.

The door finally opened, and they tried so very hard not to face-palm.

 ---

“Atsuko.”

Akko grinned, feeling woozy, and reaching forward to shake the hand reluctantly offered to her. As she’s told herself earlier in the day, she was no fool. She knew she was tripping—her guess was either anesthesia or painkillers—or wait, were those the same things? Or like… not? Huh. She should ask Diana alter and—oh-right-she-was-still-shaking-Aunt-Daryl’s-hand!

“Hello!”

“A—Are you quite alright?” The elder Cavendish tentatively asked, eyeing her nose.

“Oh yah.” Akko waived a hand, giggling. “Lamppost.”

“Of course.”

Akko swore that was a little smile! It was a lot of work, but they at very least didn’t hate each other anymore. Unlike at first. Charming—that was Akko’s middle name! Actually it wasn’t, but—

“It may as well be.” Daryl commented.

Holy shit, did she say that out loud?

“You did.”

“Anyway—” Akko squeaked “—I came to visit Dia?”

Daryl blinked, then looked over to the two friends Akko had brought with her.

“I think you should come inside.”

Akko nodded, the action of it made her still-groggy head spin and eventually she lost her balance, falling forward—

—and getting caught by the wrong Cavendish’s arms. So wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. Not this one!

“I’mma take you up on that offer.” Akko mumbled, apologizing profusely while she righted herself.

 ---

A soft 'ping' alerted Diana to a text message.

Daryl Cavendish (1)

“What on earth does she want at this hour?” Diana mumbled to herself, sulking once again in Barbara’s passenger seat. “As if I don’t have enough to worry with Akko—oh by the nines!”

The sheer volume of her voice was enough to make both Hannah and Barbara snap in attention.

8:26 Daryl Cavendish: Diana. Someone very interesting has come to visit, although I’m afraid she forgot your updated address.

“Christ.” Barbara groaned. “That’s at the opposite end of where we’re going. I love you but I’m getting real tired of driving you around.”

8:27 Daryl Cavendish: I look forward to hearing your side of this story. 8:27 Daryl Cavendish: 😉

Diana’s ears turned bright red. Hannah looked over her shoulder to read and outright laughed.

“Just drive, Barbs. Have mercy on Diana’s poor soul.”

---

“She said that?” Daryl’s eyebrows inched upwards every so lightly.

“She totally did! Diana’s a lot cheesier than people think.” Akko smiled smugly.

She had checked her nose via a mirror in the living room, and all she could do was laugh. Cause she didn’t feel like she had a nose. Or an… anything. It was so weird to move her hands around and like, not feel them moving.

Daryl paused for a moment to check at her phone. “Hm. Diana will be here shortly.”

“Yeesh.” Akko grinned, rubbing at the back of her head sheepishly. “I can’t believe I forgot she moved out last year.”

“You helped her move.” Daryl said pointedly.

“I know!” Akko shrugged. “I forgot that too. Head’s all woozy. Having a good a time though!”

“I… am glad to hear that?” The elder Cavendish turned towards Lotte and Sucy. “Are you two alright?”

The two women held up their hands, shaking their heads with jumbled responses of “Yep!” and “We’re fine!” and “Just go ahead and talk!” and “Take your time!”

---

“Well this takes me back.” Barbara peaked up at Daryl’s excessive apartment through the driver’s side window. “Alright”, she elbowed Diana. “Go get your woman!”

Diana looked absolutely spent. But also, a bit relieved. She’ll finally see her—the circumstances didn’t matter. Somehow all this craziness felt just like Akko and after hours of chasing her around she was… just excited to see her again.

She felt a swell of affection in her chest. The same feeling that pushed her to think about confessing in the first place.

“Will—Will you two come with me?”

Hannah clapped her shoulder. “You think after this entire afternoon we’d ditch on you now?”

Barbara grinned at her, encouragingly. “Come on, lover girl.”

“Please don’t ever call me that again.”

---

“Diana!”

Akko practically wept, running across Daryl’s living room (“Akko, no!”) and into the (proper) Cavendish’s arms.

“I missed you todaaay!” The brunette whined.

The reaction was a bit excessive, even for Akko, and at Diana’s confused reaction Sucy had helpfully supplied that she was—“Still high as kite. Painkillers, or whatever.”

Akko pulled back, lip trembling. “You’re so pretty.”

“Th—Thank you. Goodness, your nose!”

“Lamppost.”

“I heard,” Diana said softly, hand coming up to cup Akko’s cheek. She had been so worried. She inspected the wound with such tenderness that she could hear Barbara swooning in the back.

“Ahem.”

Right.

“Aunt Daryl. Thank you for taking care of her.”

“No worries.” Daryl replied with a lilt in her voice, smirking. “I’ve grown rather fond of this one.”

The miracles of Akko’s charm, Diana supposed.

The next thing she noticed was Sucy glowering towards Hannah—and the flowers. Her eyes widened, suddenly remembering their car-chase, and that the entire point of the evening was supposed to be—

“Easy now.” Diana said carefully, intent on alleviating whatever tension remained. “At least we know Akko’s alright.”

 ---

Oh she’s pretty.

What the hell! She’s already in her arms but she’s so so pretty and Akko could just breathe in the smell of her hair and oh Diana is right here!

Never-mind Daryl, and Sucy, and Lotte, and Barbara, and Hannah—Hannah?

Akko blinked, looking towards the auburn-haired woman. Then she grinned. Flowers! The sight of the bouquet triggered what felt like a distant memory through the hazy fog of her mind:

Flowers. Lights. Confession.

Diana.

She gasped.

Akko then suddenly grabbed the bundle straight out of Hannah’s hands—faster than anyone thought she could move.

“Hey!”

But she didn’t care, she pulled on Diana’s arm, urging her to look back towards her—and oh the lights were so pretty in this house—it felt perfect, it really did, the only word that echoed in Akko’s addled mind was:

Confess!

“Diana.”

She said softly, as if in a moment of clarity. She shoved the flowers towards the blonde.

“I love you!”

---

I love you.

Diana’s jaw had dropped.

She said I love you.

All she could see was the blinding grin that Akko was shooting her way and really—really Akko? Right now? In this situation?

But she couldn’t believe that she was smiling back. Because she realized she didn’t care. Akko had just told her she loves her.

This entire day was a disaster.

But she loves her.

She loves her!

Diana wants to say she loves her back. Goodness, when did her mouth stop working? She settled for pulling her closer—keeping her steady, Akko was still a little out of it—but she couldn’t help it. Diana pulled Akko in, cupping her cheek and—and—

Diana kissed her.

It wasn’t easy—she had to do so gently to avoid disturbing the gauze and plaster on top of Akko’s broken nose.

But Akko’s eyes had fluttered to a close so prettily, and she actually kissed her back. They pulled apart—Diana was suddenly aware of the people and their surroundings—and Akko looked up to her. Smiling. Surprised. And then—

Between the blood-loss, being heavily drugged, and Diana kissing her?

Akko’s eyes rolled back into her head and she fainted.

-

fin

-

A/N: Every time I write something I realized I like to focus on singular, detailed moments that are slow and soft. Then I read this hilarious twitter thread about a guy who interviewed George Clooney despite rupturing his gall bladder who got high as kite on his pain killers, and then I throught "That's some big fucking Akko energy", and likewise decided, "what if I just wrote whatever the hell I wanted and get tripping" and here we are

Hope you enjoy this - this is something a bit different for me and I just sat down for like four hours straight and spweded this out, am i ok, LOL

[thebibliomancer]

50 More Days of Comics! 37/50: Dark Horse Presents #137 (1998)

An anthology! I love an anthology! Ask anyone!

Apparently Dark Horse Presents was the first comic published by Dark Horse. Which is fair enough. And it ran from 1986 to 2000 when it was cancelled. And then volume 2 of Dark Horse Presents ran from 2007-2010 and was published on MySpace!

Wild.

Anyway, this comic has the Predator fighting Nazis so it must be exceptional.

So the first of the three stories is Predator: Demon’s Gold.

The story is narrated by an Ecuadorian remembering back to when he was a child. The Nazis came and burned his village and killed everyone in it except for him. Him, they needed.

Narrator: “They wanted the same thing white men have always wanted from my land: silver and gold. They wanted what was hidden high in the Llanganati Mountains, the secret my village had kept so long.”

And they tell him they’ll let him live if he leads them to it.

Something I learned while googling the Llanaganati Mountains to try to find out where on Earth this was set is that the Treasure of the Llanganatis is a pre-existing legend and not something this comic made up.

Per the legend, it was the gold and silver and platinum and assorted other treasures hidden in the mountains by the Incan general Rumiñahui. He had been gathering it as a ransom for King Atahualpa but when conquistador Pizarro just went and had Atahualpa killed anyway, Rumiñahui hid the treasure and never revealed where it was.

Except in this story where he told somebody who passed it down to a nameless village and a nameless narrator.

Knowing that actually adds to the story weirdly enough.

When frightened boy Narrator leads the Nazis to the “sweat of the Sun, tears of the Moon” treasure, they plan to kill him anyway.

And like in the legend, if you renege on a promise to let someone live in exchange for two rooms full of treasure, you don’t get the treasure.

Because as the boy prays to the Inca gods, his prayers are answered in a way.

I don’t know why he was there but a Predator was there and he starts murdering the Nazis in his gruesome Predator way. 

Narrator: “These men who had butchered my village, they were ripe corn before the harvest blade.”

He kills the Nazi leader last, pulling his spine out by his head, like some kind of Mortal Kombat.

The boy assumes the Predator, who he thinks is a demon because sure, will kill him last “would demand one more sacrifice in return for protecting the sweat and tears” but with a swipe of his wrist blades, he cuts Narrator’s bonds and walks out of the cave.

Narrator: “But it spared me. And vanished back to whatever pit had given it birth. That was long ago: I’m an old man now. My own death draws near. You ask me where the treasure is? That secret I take with me.”

There’s so much intriguing potential here. Who was he telling the story to? Was this like a Titanic the Movie setup? Why was the Predator guarding Incan treasure? But alas, as far as I know, they remain mysteries.

STORY 2! My Vagabond Days.

Set April 4th, 1968 and centered around a boy named Martin who is generally unenthusiastic about school. But his teacher talks about Apollo 6 and tells the students to write three paragraphs on “What Would I Like to Accomplish.”

Martin and his friend Jerome already know they want to be astronauts!

And later at dinner, Martin tells his parents about his assignment, his mom noting he sounds excited considering he doesn’t usually do his homework without a spanking.

Martin: “I am! ‘Cause I know exactly what I want to be!”

Dad: “Oh yeah? And what’s that?”

Martin: “I’m gonna be ‘n astronaut!”

Dad: “Ha! Oh you are, are you? Is that what you think?”

Dad: “Astronauts get good grades, and they don’t get caught stealing an’ lying all the time. So where does that leave you, spaceboy?”

And Martin runs to his room to cry. Mom berates dad because this is the first time she’s ever seen him excited about his homework but dad says Martin will be lucky to get a job at all the way he’s going.

Later, Jerome calls Martin out to climb to the roof of their building and use binoculars to look at the moon.

They obviously don’t see astronauts on the Moon with binoculars.

Jerome: “So, what do you think you’ll accomplish in your lifetime, Martin?”

Jerome: “Martin?”

Martin: “... nothin’.”

Jerome: “No, I’m serious.”

Martin: “Yeah... Me too...”

Kids internalize stuff, parents!

This was kind of a bummer after seeing the Predator fight Nazis. Kind of jerking my emotions around, Dark Horse Presents.

Last story: The Ark Part Four

The last part of a multiple part story? You fooled me, Dark Horse Presents! Uncool!

Anyway, near as I can gather, there was an alien spacecraft that got shot down and unleashed a bunch of alien monsters who seem animalistic and not gleep glorp take me to your meepmorps.

Also they’re fairly resistant to bullets.

There are several convicts from the nearby prison and some prison guards or cops? who are with them and worried that the prisoners will attempt to escape in the confusion and then there’s a main guy maybe called Guidry.

He has the idea that since the town of Pruitt has been evacuated, they can vent the natural gas pipes underground, saturate the town, and then drop a match. Boom, no more alien monsters.

On his way into the sewers, Guidry cautions everyone not to take up smoking.

Jonas: “No problem. I’ve got a rule about cigarettes. Only after sex... Or when somebody punches up Leann Rimes on the tavern’s juke box.”

Guidry, later: “I’d like to buy her a carton of Marlboros, and I don’t mean for some country-pop listening party...”

Once the gas has been vented, the group runs into another problem. Somebody has to set it off. And there’s a monster now between them and the manhole.

Then somebody steps up to take the sacrifice.

Narrator: “I don’t know what prompted Dylan to do what he did. Was it out of some suddenly-discovered sense of obligation? I doubt it. Serial arsonists rarely undergo that sort of epiphany. But I can’t help remembering the look on his face. He wasn’t thinking of the pain, or the finality of death. He was looking for the cleansing embrace of the flames. I only hope it was all he had ever dreamed.”

And then the town blows up.

And all the monsters blow up. Except for the biggest and meanest of them. And now its pissed.

The four survivors flee the surviving monster and wind up back at the prison.

Guidry: “Guns, grenades, hell, Warden Moeller probably keeps whips and leather in the basement -- That doesn’t work, we can throw cafeteria food at the thing till it pukes to death--”

Hah.

The warden won’t let them in, even though one of the survivors is Sheriff Hiatt from Pruitt. So Jonas just kicks a prison bus open and drives it through the fence.

Jonas tells Warden Moeller to stfu and the prison guards open fire on the monster, to no avail.

Guidry has one last plan though and tells Jonas he’ll need her help.

So he aggros the monster to chase him through the prison -- and holy crap, this thing is tearing through prison bars like they’re twizzlers -- and all the way to the electric chair room.

He dodges behind the chair to trick the monster into skewering it with its claws and then Jonas turns on the power.

The monster is finally dead. And Guidry voluntarily turns himself in to serve out the remainder of his prison sentence because Pruitt (the town that’s currently on fire and flattened) is his entire life and home and between another six months in jail vs never seeing it again? Easy decision.

Plus, he’s also sweet on Jonas and she seems to be into him too. “I’m a firm believer in rehabilitation.” So, yeah, that’s disciplinary action waiting to happen.

[automaticcreatorphilosopher]

life story p3

5/20/22

My parents are a big part of who I am. If I didn’t know their stories, I think I would view immigration and women significantly differently from what I know. Their stories make them but they definitely make me. Would I have the same ideals? If I was born in Ecuador-and not New York-would I be as open-minded as I am? Would I be as involved in social activism as I am? These factors may seem small but they are actually more influential to what makes a person. Women in Ecuador are limited because they have to fit into this box that labels them as something they are not.

I love that I am more than simply Ecuadorian or American. I have insight into more than one culture and I learn from each one every day. I don’t think I would be considered me if I really was one or the other.

My dad taught me that being American is “dope”- as he would put it. He grew up in the city that never sleeps. Don't get me wrong, he has had his fair share of trauma because of the neighborhood he was in but he never let that stop him from experiencing it. He would tell me stories of him and his friends hanging out in all parks and playing handball. How he would have pizza with them and walk the Brooklyn Bridge every chance he got. How he would meet people all the time and learn from their travels. 

He told me that growing up, his family was poor, so they never really traveled or went out to try new restaurants. His New York experience as a teenager was extremely different from mine. My dad pushed for us to travel every year. At least once internationally and locally as much as possible. His upbringing influenced our upbringing. He taught my three siblings and I to take chances and to gain new experiences. One summer, my dad thought we should go to Galapagos Islands which is off the coast West of Ecuador. We went one vacation to the islands and later went to visit family in Guayaquil, a big city in Ecuador. There, my dad taught us the importance of family. He said that we might not choose it, but we have to make do we what we have, and that are are always ways to improve family. We would always visit my mom’s family because they are who we felt closer to and we could always trust to have memories; whether good or not. My mom had to leave her family which took a hard toll on her. 

My mom grew up in Ecuador. She came to New York after she married my dad. She was alone for majority of the time. All her family and friends were in Guayaquil and my mom had to adapt to a different world. My dad couldn’t really understand considering he grew up in New York. My parents really had to make it work, even with all the challenges they faced. My mom really was the epitome of, “the traditional woman”. She took care of us, the house, food, etc. while by dad worked. When I was growing up, I thought she was happy because she dedicated herself to her life and ours. As I got older, I realized that she wasn’t in love and that she wasn’t reaching her true potential. Don’t get me wrong; she was happy when she was with us but what happened when we went to school? Or hung out with friends? Now I can see why she always taught us to love ourselves and make sure we don’t change for anyone else.

When my mom emigrated, she would talk to family over the phone any chance she got because they were her comfort. She was always given advice as to how to raise us or how to treat my dad but their advice was never what my mom needed. She listened but she later realized that it was harming her relationship with us and how she viewed herself. 

My parents may have not been the best for each other, but for their kids, they pushed themselves to be there for us as much as possible. Though they aren’t the best couple, they are the best parents. They really shaped who I was, who I am, and who I will continue to be. I am very family-oriented but I do tell them when they have crossed a boundary; something I wouldn’t have been able to do when I was younger. They have realized, for the better, that they have opened doors for us to figure out who we are, without conditions. Conditions are something that limit a person and strain relationships. My parents are figuring out who each of their kids are, but they are also figuring out their relationships with their kids.

Attempting to maintain tradition when you have two different cultures within a household, is a challenge indeed, especially for immigrant parents, but when you have children who are teaching you as much as you’re teaching them, it is for the better. My parents support the fact that I am involved in feminism, an ideal that is still hard to comprehend in Ecuador. They have changed a lot since we have become older, and the fact that our relationship has improved is something that I greatly appreciate.

-automaticcreatorphilosopher

[elstelsblog]

Investor-State Dispute Settlement

So called investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) have become an instrument of international law by various bilateral investment treaties as they have been signed with many developing countries. Europe is affected by the Energy Charter Treaty from 1998 which has already been signed by 51 countries, the European Union as well as Euratom. Investor-state dispute settlements guarantee investors the right to file a lawsuit against a foreign government whenever their future profits should be at risk. What may sound harmless and justified is in deed an unjust regime which already accounts for many human rights violations, mainly in developing countries. ISDS as they are currently state of the art have already heavily compromised the democratic legislation of many affected states. They can require the public to pay high indemnifications or even worse to take back and abolish consumer, social, environmental or other regulations. The trials are held under exclusion of the public and without any possibility to appeal. The lawyers are neither voted democratically nor are they designated by the public.

The planned free-trade agreements between Europe, the USA and Canada (TTIP, CETA, TiSA) have also been devised to contain such a special clause for investor protection which allows companies to sue against states. After vehement protests of EU citizens against TTIP and CETA there are no more negotations about TTIP and the ratification of CETA has been deferred. A verdict of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on th 6th of March which applies to an investor protection treaty between the Netherlands and Slovakia gives us reason for hope because it says that a concurrent legislative system and investor state dispute settlement courts are incompatible with EU law.

Nonetheless the lobby does not sleep: On the 20th of March the governments of the EU member states have convened to entrust the European Commission with negotiations about rules for a new global investment court. The new global investment court is no more called ISDS but now it is called MIC “Multilateral Investment Court”. An advantage of the MIC towards the ISDS is that lawsuits will not be excluded from the public. Furthermore parties will have the right to appeal. However if the Multilater Investment Court would be installed in deed then big companies can continue to sue states based on poorly defined clauses like the 'fair and equitable treatment'. Only foreign state investors are allowed to file a complaint. Big transnational companies would acquire unimagined rights for profit without incuring any duties like complying with human rights. It can only be the aim of the population to fully get rid of the unjustified special actions as granted to big companies by a global investment court like the MIC, the Multilateral Investment Court.

Read more about TTIP

When Bolivian Water had been a Highly Profitable Investment

The lawsuit of Agua del Turani against Bolivia is one of the worst examples for investor state dispute resolutions (Aguas del Turani S.A. v. Republic of Bolivia - ICSID Case No.RB/02/3). A non-public contract from 1999 about the privatization of the water supply of Cochabamba was the base for the lawsuit. It included concessions about the water delivery for 40 years with a guaranteed annual cash flow of 16%. The privatization of the water supply was a precondition for new credits from the World Bank. The majority shareholders of Aguas del Turani were the company Bechtel the largest construction and plant engineering company of the USA and the Spain multinational Abengoa.

As the contract was put into practice in November 1999 a violent increase in prices was the result. According to Aguas del Turani the rise in prices accounted for just 10% while other sources state increases from 50% up to 200%. Tany Pardees an affected person commented the dramatic surge in prices like the following: ‘What we pay for water comes out of what we have to pay for food, clothes and the other things we need to buy for our children.’.

As a result people protested heavily for their right on an affordable water supply. The government tried to suffocate the protests with police and military and even declared martial law. After the death of a 17 year old adolescent (Victor Hugo Danza) things went out of control so that the concern left Bolivia in April 2000. The government took the concession back and passed a new law for water delivery. In November 2002 Aguas del Turani sued Bolivia at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Bolivia was condemned to pay 50 Mio USD of lost revenue though the company had just invested 1 Mio USD. At the background of ongoing protest Aguas del Turani and Bolivia finally agreed for a symbolic compensation payement in 2006.

Egypt was Sued Because it Introduced a Minimum Wage

The French concern Veolia which was engaged by the Egyptian state e.g. for water purification has sued Egypt for its introductin of a minimum wage. The minimum wage reduced the companies prospective profits. Amount in controversy: 82 Mio. USD. There is not much known about this lawsuit as it is held behind closed doors. With more than 100 bilateral contracts including investor state dispute resolutions there are likely more companies which would have to agree with the Egyptian state on the introduction of minimum wages. More than just a clear loss of national sovereignity.

Arbitration Award for RDC against Guatemala and the Customary International Law

In 1997 Guatemala has privatized its well equipped railway network which was no more sufficiently utilized since the upgrading of the road system and the closing of banana plantations. The privatization contract contained the commitment to invest about 10 Million USD into the railway network which was already suffering from decay.

However the Railroad Development Corporation never adhered to the commitments it was considered having agreed upon so that Guatemala sued against the company by a so called leviso proceeding (leviso, es: inimical). As a consequence the company sued back. In 2012 Guatemala was condemned to pay 50 Million US-Dollars of lost revenue, the 10 Million USD the company should have invested into the countries railroad sytem plus 5 Mio. USD of process costs while the leviso proceeding against the company were already closed.

Basically the free trade contract should have guaranteed “fair and equitable treatment” (FET) which means that the judicature would need to adhere to the minimum standard as provided by customary international law. Customary international law is part of the law of nations. However law was interpreted “investor friendly” which means in parctice that the leviso preceedings were condemned though they are part of the legal order in many many South American states.

The so called fair and equitable treatment is also part of TTIP and CETA. The analysis of the precedent case and its possible effects on Europe if these free trade agreements should become signed has not yet been finished by the Technical University of Dresden.

Peru: Mining Combine Refused to Accept Environmental Regulations and Sues Back because it had to Close Down

According to the Blacksmith Institute La Oroya has been one of the ten most polluted areas of the world in 2006 and 2007. It is the centre of Peruvian mining activity with large deposits of lead, copper, zinc and silver. In 1997 it has been baught by Doe Run Peru, an US-American company which is part of the Renco Group. The waste waters of the smeltry are contaminated with heavy metals and its sulphurous exhaust gases contain lead, arsenic and cadmium. The acidic rain pollutes areas under cultivation and the Rio Mantaro which is the source of drinking water for La Oroya. Seven of Ten children in La Oroya had 20-40μg lead in their blood while the maximal acceptable concentration as given by the WHO is 10μg. Many people suffer from asthma bronchial, kidney diseases and nervous affections.

Environmental Assignments were part of the contract when Doe Run Peru bought the area like f.i. to equip the smeltries with filters. The company entirely failed to implement any of these environmental specifications so that its operating license was taken back in 2010 by the Peruvian state. As a consequence the company has filed a lawsuit of about 800 Million Dollars against the state which is still running (2014).

Chevron against Ecuador

Before the Texaco Petroleum Company (TexPet) has been baught by Chevron in 2001 it had mined crude oil in the Ecuadorian Amazon however without deploying state of the art technology. 17 Million gallons of crude oil and 64 Billion liters of toxic waste have been spilled contaminating huge areas while flaring natural gas. The drinking water of people has been contaminated. Many people have died from cancer. Some indigenous communities have been braught close to extinction.

In this case TexPet Ecuador was the first to start a complaint against the Ecuadorian state. Ecuador should have falsified its demand in oil and thus have received unjustifiable cost advantage. Ecuador was condemned by a court of arbitration (UNCITRAL) to pay an indemnification of 100 Million USD. As a consequence the Ecuadorian state was pressed to sign the “Settlement Agreement” in 1995 while the “Final Release” was signed in 1998. It says that Ecuador will not be alowed to sue TexPet because of the environmental disaster it has caused because it had already taken some cosmetic measures against the oil spill like covering crude oil sinks with earth.

The solely remaining possiblilty was that the population itself sued against Chevron which was done by the “Largo Agrio” claim in 2011. It resulted in Chevron being demanded to pay 18 Billion USD which could however only be prosecuted by foreign courts because Chevron had no more possesions in Ecuador at that time. Nonetheless Chevron sued back on top of the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) Ecuador had signed in 1997. The result was that Ecuador would have to pay the 18 Billion USD itself or that it would stop the proceedings. In deed the claimants demanded the tribunal to override the Ecuadorian constitution and its obligations under the human rights treaties in favour of the BIT. Until today Chevron has persistently refused to pay any indemnification or to mitigate the suffering of the affected people.

Lone Star tries to claim Tax Avoidance Tricks

During the finance crises Lone Star Fonds Korea Exchange Bank Holdings a letter-box company in Belgium baught the Korea Exchange Bank from South Korea just in order to resell it to the Private Equity Funds Lone Star the rather buyer. As the bank was sold from a holding in Belgium and not directly from South Korea the bank endorsed itself by a free trade agreement signed in 1976 to pay no more capital yields taxes as no such tax used to exist in Belgium. However South Korea did not accept this as their administration of justice reasoned that the rather buyer was the investment fund Lone Star on from the beginning.

As you may already suppose Lone Star opened up an investor state dispute resolution against South Korea demanding 2.7 Million Euro of already paid taxes back. Lone Star simply tried it with similar tax avoidance tricks as many other big companies like Google, Starbucks and others desiring to claim them enduringly basing on the investor state dispute resolution of the said free trade agreement (If Lone Star wins the proceedings there will be another precedent case and no possibility to appeal.).

Metalclad is Allowed to Build a Disposal for Hazardous Waste

In 1992 the US-american company Metalclad has baught a treatment plant for hazardous waste in Guadalcazar, Mexico. It wanted to transform it into a landfill and had obtained a permission by the Mexcian state to do so. However the construction approval of local authorities was missing because the location was inappropriate for such a disposal. The local population had already been complaining about contaminated drinking water for years.

Metalclad started to transform the site into a landfill and local authorities imposed a suspension of building work. In 1995 they refused to give it an operating license. Basing on NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, Metalclad sued the Mexican state demanding compensations of 90 Million USD. The arbitration court condemned Mexico to pay 15.6 Million USD and allowed the dispose hazardous waste at the landfill.

Pharama Concern Sues Canada for its Interpretation of Patent Law

The pharma concern Eli Lilly sues Canada for 500 Million USD. Canada has declared the patents for the medicinal drugs Straterra (against ADHS) and Zyprexa (against schizophrenia) because of lacking long term studies invalid. The benefit of these drugs was put at doubt. Note that Zyprexa is a medicine which is administered to people against their will and which can have severe side effects like up to a sudden unexplainable death in seldom cases. The lawsuit was filed by a competitive producer of generic drugs. It is said that the main goal of Eli Lilly would not be the indemnification but a change in Canadas constitution.

Ethyl Sued Canada in order to Sell a Harmful Fuel Additive

At the end of the 90ies Ethyl Corp sued Canada to sell its Fuel Additive MMT containing manganese which was suspected to harm the nerval system. The additive was already forbidden in the United States. While the respective long term studies demanded by Canadian law were still missing Canada had issued an explicit embargo for the import and transport of this substance. This was considered an “expropriation” by the arbitration court of the ICSID as governed by the World Bank and set in force by NAFTA. Canada accepted a settlement of the dispute and paid 13 Million USD to Ethyl Corp. Nonetheless it had to allow the substance.

The described case contributed to mobilize “globalization critics” (I would rather say critics of carnivore capitalism and corporocracy) to participate in the protests in Prague (2000) an Genova (2001). Even the Chrétien government which was fighting for this free trade agreement had to admit a defeat.

Canada Pays because it Stopped Export of Toxic Waste

On the 5th of May in 1992 Canada ratified together with many other nations the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazarduos Wastes and Their Disposal. Hazardous wastes must not be exported to foreign countries but disposed professionally on-site. When the U.S. environmental protection agency allowed such an export in October 1995 of PCB from Canada to the USA Canada stopped the export on base of the Basel agreement. PCBs have been globally forbidden by the 2001 Stockholm Convention`s Dirty Dozen among twelve especially toxic and hazardous substances.

However the company S.D. Myers Inc. which would have profited from such an export sued on base of NAFTA, the North American Trade Agreement for 20 Million USD. The court decided that the Canadian state had to pay 4.8 Million Dollars.

Canada Sued because of Fracking Moratorium

In 2011 Quebec had administered a fracking moratorium until an environmental impact assessment could be made for mining gas at the St. Lawrence River (e.g. At some sites of the USA the drinking water became inflamable and contaminated by fracking activities.). In 2012, as a result the US-american company Lone Pine Resources Inc. sued against Canada demanding 250 Million USD at the base of NAFTA. The government would have acted ‘arbitrary, indiscriminately and illegal’. The mining rights would have been held back ‘without a “fair” trial, without compensation and without any recognizable public interest’.

Vattenfalls first Stroke against Germany

In 2007 the local CDU government permitted the construction of a new coal-fired power plant for Hamburg. When the CDU lost its absolute majority in 2008 the green party joined the government. However they could not achieve a withdrawal of the concession. Neither could they achieve a gas power plant to be built instead because it would have been rarely feasible to construct a gas power plant with the same power output. Management spokesman of Vattenfall Hans-Jürgen Cramer had threatened the new government to be sued for Billions of Euros.

Consequently the coal-fired power plant was constructed. However the new coalition enacted a legal ordinance that the power plant may only work throttled for 250 days of the year. After a lawsuit at the higher administrative court of Hamburg had been unsuccessful Vattenfall sued against Germany in front of the ICSID (International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes) demanding 1.4 Billion USD. The lawsuit was possible due to the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) which came into force in 1998. Currently 51 countries, the European Union as well as Euratom have signed the treaty. The outcome of the lawsuit is yet unknown to the public because of nondisclosure agreement clause. Even well known experts are not allowed to see the documents.

Vattenfall sues against the Nuclear Phaseout of Germany

As a consequence of the Fukushima worst-case nuclear accident the Lower House of German Parliament has decided to phase out nuclear energy with overwhelming majority. The extension of the running time for many nuclear power plants approved in the year before was canceled. Eon, RWE and Vattenfall appealed on a constitution complaint for 15 Billion Euro at the Federal Constitution Court which was dismissed. EnBW which is also running nuclear power plants in Germany did not take part in the complaint (we suppose likely due to ethical reasons).

The Swedish Vattenfall concern did however even go further. Vattenfall sued due to the ECT (see for the last section) at the ICSID (belonging to the World Bank) against the decision of the Lower House of the German Parliament. The volume of the complaint amounts to 3.7 Billion Euro. The proceedings do now already extend for years. An inquiry of the green party was dismissed due to nondisclosure clause signed bywith the ECT. 2015-08-01: The ICSID in Washington has decided that Germany should pay an unbelievable amount of 4.7 Bio. Euro to Vattenfall; Take Action at SumOfUs.

Italy: against Oil Drilling in the Adria

The British oil and gas company Rockhopper sued Italy in May 2017 because Italy had refused to allow for oil drilling in the Adriatic sea. Before the Italian parliament had forbidden all oil and gas activities because of environmental concerns and because of the problem of earthquakes. Rockhopper sues on top of the Energy Charta Treaty (ECT) for indemnification in the amount of 200-300 Million USD. There has been no decision on the issue yet (2019).

Although Italy has already left the Energy Charta Treaty (ECT) it can still be obliged to pay. Italy can be sued up to 20 years with hindsight for any investment taken before Italy has exited the ECT (January the 1st of 2016); a 'zombie' clause in the treaty makes this possible.

Curchill Mining wants Indonesian Coal

In May 2007 Churchill Mining PLC baught mining rights from four companies over an Indonesian affiliate from the Ridlatama Group. However the investment contract between the Ridlatama Group and Churchill Mining PLC was declared invalid by the South Jakarta District Court because the company did not even have a license to mine coal in Indonesia. Churchill Mining had caused offences against existing licenses during mining activities in the woods. As a result no additional license was granted.

Though the company had only invested 40 Million Dollar into the exploration of a coal deposit it sued at the base of the UK-Indonesia-BIT and the Australia-Indonesia BIT for Billions of Dollars.

… and Even More Examples

There are even many more examples for investor state disputes like Mexico being sued for a 20% tax on High Fructose Corn Sirup which has been confirmed to be a special cause for obesity or Australia for its Tobacco Plain Packaging Regulations in 2011 which lays down the design of the packaging because producers had obscured or hidden the health warning notes as required by law. Though Australia had won the dispute about tobacco packaging (the lawsuit had been dismissed because of ‘formal reasons’) the public still had to pay 39 million USD. Ecuador had to pay 2.3 Billion Dollar while the compensation for the nationalization of Occidental Petroleum amounted only to 1.8 Billion Dollar. The nationalization was done after an offence of contracts by Occidental Petroleum. South Africa was not allowed to prescribe a certain national percentage at the auction of mining rights …

The Investors do not Cry for Argentinia

While we do not want to examine the reasons for the Argentinian crises in detail where private people have been expropriated by locking the money on their banking accounts in order to use it to pay off the depth of the state (Yes they have simply looted their peoples banking accounts to serve the debtors of the state.) we want to set an eye on some of the investor state disputes held with Argentinia.

Under the pressure of public debts many sectors of the Argentinian economy have been privatized in the 90ies: water supply, energy supply, remote communications and a large share of public transport. While the poverty of the people exacerbated and all life sustainmant costs were on the rise the government found itself constrained by heavy riots to do something against the rise in prices for electric current and water which did especially hit the poorer classes of the population: The government mandated a cap in prices for electricity and water.

The result were heavy international dispute settlement claims. In the year 2006 on third of all ICSID claims were targeted against Argentinia. Some lawsuits have already been finished: Argentinia is supposed to pay 165 Million USD to the water supplier Azurix (USA), 54 Million USD to the energy supplier National Grid (UK), 133 Million USD to the gas supplier CMS (USA) and 185 Million USD to the investment group BF (UK).

In the face of these horrifying prospects the Argentinian government considers to break up with all of its free trade agreements which contain so called investor protection clauses. This may be the only viable way for the future. Other countries like Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia have already done so.

We believe that it should not be necessary to comment any further about any of these issues as we believe that most people will have a natural feeling of justice. Isn`t it direly perverted to prosecute those people by law who should in deed be saved against various partially severe crimes commited by leaders of international concerns and companies? .- apart from the fact that many, most or all of the said cases seem to contradict legal conceptions as they are currently established a.o. in the member states of the European Union (The really bad thing is that these courts take precedence over national courts.).

For those who simply can not believe what they have just read it should be time to wake up!

Joining one of the free trade agreements like TTIP, CETA or TISA at least without discarding the clauses for investor state protection may be the end of the “European Dream”. It is most likely that Europe would simply fall apart into singleton nation states (which we believe can defend themselves much worse than a joint union of states; one could just remember the GATS which was taken back in Austria only because of joining the European Union) because withdrawing from such agreements and staying part of the European Union would only be possible if all government heads consented. We believe it to be almost impossible that any folk of the world will bear such an aggravation of injustice, crime and deterioration of living circumstance in endurance.

Note that in our opinion not even an economic justifications can be given for so called investor state dispute resolutions. Interest rates and profits are considered to be a compensation for economic engagement and especially the risks. If there is no more risk for the investor because the public becomes liable for enterpreneurial risks then what justification is there for high profits? (We also see this with large banks which are considered “system critical”.) It is heavily unfair in order not to say that it is a crime to challenge the public for expected profits and the risk of loss; apart from that: How fair is a game where those who are in leadership can change the rules of the game arbitrarily? Article Source - https://www.elstel.org/ISDS.html.en

[easyfoodnetwork]

What Is an Anti-Gentrification Restaurant?

Restaurants have been a driving force in gentrification for decades. Here’s how not to be.

Shortly after the news broke that Sqirl, one of LA’s most popular restaurants, had been serving jam from buckets that developed mold, it became clear that food handling was just one of Sqirl’s issues. Jessica Koslow was accused of taking credit for her employees’ contributions and, then, the spotlight turned to comments she had made about Sqirl’s Virgil Village neighborhood years ago. Alongside moldy jam, there was another issue that could no longer be ignored: Koslow was unapologetic about her restaurant’s role in the area’s gentrification.

Sqirl opened in 2011 in Virgil Village, a pocket of Los Angeles populated by Salvadoran churches, Ecuadorian restaurants, and auto garages. Rent for the 800-square-foot space, by Koslow’s admission, was incredibly cheap. “My cheat is this shitty corner on Virgil and Marathon,” she said in 2016. “My cheat is like, I pay $2 per square foot.” Soon after opening, the restaurant’s grain bowls and $15 jars of seasonal jam drew lines of customers. The notion that Sqirl was the first desirable business in a neighborhood populated mostly by Central Americans became a part of the restaurant’s origin story: On another occasion, Koslow described the location as being “on a street no one knew about, in a neighborhood no one cared about.”

“There’s an image that the restaurant is looking to cultivate,” former Sqirl sous chef Gabe Rios recently told the LAnd magazine. “And over time, the image became very clearly not where the community was, but where it was going.” But against the backdrop of this summer’s Black Lives Matter movement and calls to support BIPOC-owned businesses, an outwardly progressive restaurant could no longer support gentrification without scrutiny.

Gentrification is the process by which more affluent people and businesses move into a neighborhood, effectively changing the character of that neighborhood by creating a rent gap between existing land values and potential ones. (A 1976 study by the Urban Land Institute described gentrifiers as those “establishing a new investment climate” in an area.) The change can take place over decades, and while the technical definition of gentrification doesn’t include race, gentrification in the United States by and large impacts Black and Latinx communities who are displaced by wealthier white people. The pattern repeats itself in neighborhoods in nearly every city: Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights in New York, Boyle Heights in Los Angeles, the Old Fourth Ward in Atlanta, West Philadelphia, and so on.

The forces that drive gentrification are based in policy, many of them racist. When it was founded in 1934, the Federal Housing Administration would deny mortgage insurance in Black neighborhoods, a process that became known as redlining. Those measures essentially prevented Black people from owning their homes, making it easy for them to be pushed out, and although the 1968 Fair Housing Act made redlining by the FHA illegal, its basic upshot — a systematic denial of services to selected groups of people — still happens in the public and private sectors.

Elsewhere, zoning regulations that once enforced segregation have been changed to bring new people to a neighborhood. But often, they follow similar redlining measures and disproportionately up-zone, or add population density, to minority neighborhoods, inviting in more outsiders while decreasing the amount of rent-stabilized or low-income housing as demand goes up. Other current policies that support gentrification come in the form of tax abatements that lure in new income-eligible homebuyers (who again, can pass an often racist mortgage and lending process), new development, and new businesses at the expense of those longer standing.

“Gentrification happens from the top, down. Revitalization, to me, is change in the community from the bottom, up.”

While gentrification was happening in cities throughout the 20th century, the cycle we’re currently in started in the 1990s, when members of the white creative class were compelled to move back to cities by low rents and the promise of cultural capital, spurring a reversal of white flight described by theorists like Richard Florida as “urban revitalization.” As these new residents moved in, businesses that catered to them soon followed; the initial third-wave coffee shop or destination restaurant or fake dive bar then signaled to other outsiders that the neighborhood had appealing amenities. More outsiders moved in, and more restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques, and fancy bars followed, the cycle repeating itself over and over again in urban neighborhoods across America. “‘Foodie’ culture often serves as gentrification’s leading edge,” according to a CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute brief, “by signifying that a community is ripe for investment.”

But, while restaurants have been beneficiaries of this process, in recent years, some have taken an even bigger role in neighborhood shifts. As developers in cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta recognized the cultural appeal of restaurants, they began courting chefs to open restaurants as flagship tenants, often expressly to attract new residents from outside the community. Developers and policymakers may describe these investments as revitalization, but when “revitalization” replaces the people who live in a place with wealthier white residents, prohibiting them from enjoying any of the new investment in the neighborhood, it’s gentrification. “Gentrification happens from the top, down,” Devita Davison, founder of FoodLab Detroit, says. “Revitalization, to me, is change in the community from the bottom, up. And what that means is that change is controlled by the people who live there. Gentrification is a tool used by the people who want to live there. They’re different things.”

Restaurateurs haven’t paid enough attention to gentrification, and restaurants that otherwise espouse liberal philosophies, like fair wages and ethical sourcing, are often less cognizant of how they may contribute to displacement. In the restaurant business, with its slim margins, operators likely want a mix of customers; destination diners mean a potentially infinite customer base. Owners might assume that neighbors will appreciate having a nice restaurant nearby, but its physical existence doesn’t equal accessibility to the people that live there. Compounding the problem, restaurants that move into a community without making any attempt to be for the community are nonetheless deemed “approachable neighborhood restaurants” by their peers and media — also, largely, outsiders to the neighborhood in question. Sqirl, for example, was praised for its accessible menu of moderately priced, unfussy breakfast foods, not whether it had been embraced by its immediate neighbors.

If these past months have been good for anything, it’s taking stock of the ways we can all do better. Restaurants will continue to seek out locations in neighborhoods with low rents, and while they can’t on their own reverse the policies that stack affordable rents in gentrifying communities of color, they can make strides to be actually accessible to the wider community and not harbingers of displacement. This work is essential. “Gentrification,” says Davison, “is a social justice issue.”

Accessibility should be a goal of neighborhood restaurants. Many restaurateurs recognize the value of affordable pricing — having an entree or two under $10, or $2 happy hour beers — but they overlook the other ways a restaurant should define “accessible.” Ultimately, restaurants should aim to become third places for the wider neighborhood. “With the call for change within our communities and government institutions, we also need change to come from within the restaurant industry,” Amethyst Ganaway wrote on Eater in June 2020, during the first weeks of the Black Lives Matter protest movement. “New third places should be created, tearing down old racist and classist ideologies and putting systems in place that represent true inclusivity and compassion.”

To become this kind of third place, restaurateurs need to be aware of the face they present to the community. A new business with an entirely white staff isn’t going to appear welcoming to a community of Black and Latinx residents who may already be concerned about displacement. Restaurants should strive to hire locally for both back of house and front of house. “A gentrifying restaurant that’s all white — or looks all white from its front of house staff — in a community of color can do things very differently,” says Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage and co-founder of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United. “[Instead, they can] rely on that community of color as clients rather than bring in a community of consumers from outside of the neighborhood.”

Jayaraman believes that investing in the community will only help a restaurant in the long run. Start “thinking about your workers as consumers, thinking about their families as consumers, thinking about their community as consumers,” she says. With this kind of thinking, there are “bottom-line benefits,” like a built-in customer base and, if those hired from the community are paid as well as they should be, less turnover.

Restaurateurs need to understand who lives in a community in order to serve it, and this takes work. Kamau Franklin, founder of the Atlanta-based Community Movement Builders collective, encourages restaurateurs to dialogue with neighborhood associations and community groups about what the restaurant’s role should be. Restaurateurs and restaurant organizations should be “looking at what those neighborhoods continually look like, talking to the leadership of folks in those neighborhoods, and trying to figure out what those folks are saying they need.”

At a bare minimum, a restaurant should respect a community’s culture. In her 2019 essay “Dear Gentrifiers,” Ryan Shepard describes the time she dined at a new restaurant in a historically Black D.C. neighborhood with a cocktail menu that seemed to reference the trans-Atlantic slave trade. In 2018, a white woman opened a restaurant in Crown Heights, a gentrifying neighborhood of Brooklyn, and in a press release characterized the building as “a long-vacant corner bodega (with a rumored backroom illegal gun shop to boot)” and boasted about “a bullet hole-ridden wall” (it was more likely cosmetic damage). That kind of insensitivity, as Shepard writes, shows how restaurant owners “are all too happy to co-opt Black urban spaces or culture (and often, cheaper property values) to make a profit, all while disrespecting, disregarding, and displacing the very people whose communities they’re in.”

Mindful community involvement from groups of restaurant owners can lead to deeper policy change.

Mindful community involvement from groups of restaurant owners, hopefully, can lead to deeper policy change. The CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute urges food advocates and community activists to take part in neighborhood planning meetings so that they can oppose zoning changes that may disadvantage existing businesses. With more awareness of the forces that threaten neighborhoods, they can lobby for the kinds of policy that keep communities intact.

Greater recognition of restaurants’ capacity to fuel gentrification is starting to happen. In recent weeks, Koslow’s role in the changing demographics of Virgil Village was scrutinized, most astutely by the LAnd article co-written by Samanta Helou Hernandez, the founder of This Side of Hoover, an Instagram account that documents gentrification in Virgil Village. The account, which has more than 8,500 followers, acknowledges the existing community and its resilience as new residents and construction move in post-Sqirl. And as Black Lives Matter generated calls to pour money into Black communities, other websites and Instagram accounts that similarly amplified POC-owned neighborhood businesses gained new support. That increased awareness translated into a meaningful response: The spotlights and lists in June boosted sales at Black-owned businesses, including restaurants in gentrifying neighborhoods, such as Peaches Hot House in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood.

This support needs to outlast the summer. And just as food media once galvanized the Sqirls of the world, it can lift up the longstanding restaurants in Black and Latinx neighborhoods, and more thoughtfully question the restaurateurs who declare their businesses to be neighborhood restaurants. “[Journalists should be] asking, ‘Do you think about what your role is in terms of community?’ and not accepting a standard answer like, ‘We’re going to help turn this community around,’” Franklin says. “I think there is this plethora of set answers that folks in business like to give, which is, ‘We’re a part of the community fabric and dynamic.’ Too many times they get away with it because people don’t ask the follow-up questions.”

In thinking about a future with truly accessible restaurants, ones that aren’t signposts of gentrification, there are lessons to take from those leading the charge right now. Restaurants in cities from NYC to Los Angeles to Providence have transformed their spaces into third places for protesters. White restaurant owners, like Greg Baxtrom of Maison Yaki in NYC, are turning over their restaurant spaces to support Black businesses. Chefs like Josef Centeno in Los Angeles are using their skills to feed hospital employees and out-of-work restaurant workers and not asking for money in return. These are restaurants that have reverted to their first purpose: feeding the community.

Of course, some were doing this work long before the pandemic and protests. “I think community work is something that is just so overlooked,” Zenat Begum, owner of the five-year-old Playground Coffee Shop in Bed-Stuy, told Eater. “It wasn’t until COVID that we were able to get a platform to really start talking about a lot of the stuff that we have done in the last five years.”

Before the pandemic, Playground offered programming like yoga classes and readings; when the pandemic began, it set up community fridges. In nearby Bushwick, Francesca Chaney opened her vegan cafe Sol Sips with sliding-scale brunches and a message that vegan food was for Black people, too. These restaurants were opened by people with meaningful roots in their neighborhoods, not outsiders. But if outsiders must open in gentrifying neighborhoods, these are the examples they should look to.

For these restaurants, and the models that have emerged during the pandemic, profit is secondary. As long as restaurants are operating under capitalism, they will struggle to be completely compatible with the support of Black and Latinx communities in gentrifying neighborhoods: When profitability is at the forefront, anything else becomes disposable, Davison says.

Restaurants can’t fix gentrification, but no one is asking them to; few are calling for restaurants to stop opening in gentrifying neighborhoods. Changes to policies that favor wealthy homeowners over lower-income residents and new developments over investment in community are the only ways to meaningfully curb gentrification. What restaurant owners can and should do to support that is incorporate the community into their visions.

“These people are customers, too,” Franklin says, referring to the people who live in neighborhoods long before they become targets for investment. When considering opening a new restaurant, restaurateurs shouldn’t be driven by “what they think is going to be the best for them in five years or 10 years based on their projection for what’s happening to the community. Instead, it takes looking at people like they’re human beings, like they matter, like they should have a role and a say.” Which, really, should have been the way restaurants operated all along.

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/34TKfDO https://ift.tt/2ERSJ3q

Restaurants have been a driving force in gentrification for decades. Here’s how not to be.

Shortly after the news broke that Sqirl, one of LA’s most popular restaurants, had been serving jam from buckets that developed mold, it became clear that food handling was just one of Sqirl’s issues. Jessica Koslow was accused of taking credit for her employees’ contributions and, then, the spotlight turned to comments she had made about Sqirl’s Virgil Village neighborhood years ago. Alongside moldy jam, there was another issue that could no longer be ignored: Koslow was unapologetic about her restaurant’s role in the area’s gentrification.

Sqirl opened in 2011 in Virgil Village, a pocket of Los Angeles populated by Salvadoran churches, Ecuadorian restaurants, and auto garages. Rent for the 800-square-foot space, by Koslow’s admission, was incredibly cheap. “My cheat is this shitty corner on Virgil and Marathon,” she said in 2016. “My cheat is like, I pay $2 per square foot.” Soon after opening, the restaurant’s grain bowls and $15 jars of seasonal jam drew lines of customers. The notion that Sqirl was the first desirable business in a neighborhood populated mostly by Central Americans became a part of the restaurant’s origin story: On another occasion, Koslow described the location as being “on a street no one knew about, in a neighborhood no one cared about.”

“There’s an image that the restaurant is looking to cultivate,” former Sqirl sous chef Gabe Rios recently told the LAnd magazine. “And over time, the image became very clearly not where the community was, but where it was going.” But against the backdrop of this summer’s Black Lives Matter movement and calls to support BIPOC-owned businesses, an outwardly progressive restaurant could no longer support gentrification without scrutiny.

Gentrification is the process by which more affluent people and businesses move into a neighborhood, effectively changing the character of that neighborhood by creating a rent gap between existing land values and potential ones. (A 1976 study by the Urban Land Institute described gentrifiers as those “establishing a new investment climate” in an area.) The change can take place over decades, and while the technical definition of gentrification doesn’t include race, gentrification in the United States by and large impacts Black and Latinx communities who are displaced by wealthier white people. The pattern repeats itself in neighborhoods in nearly every city: Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights in New York, Boyle Heights in Los Angeles, the Old Fourth Ward in Atlanta, West Philadelphia, and so on.

The forces that drive gentrification are based in policy, many of them racist. When it was founded in 1934, the Federal Housing Administration would deny mortgage insurance in Black neighborhoods, a process that became known as redlining. Those measures essentially prevented Black people from owning their homes, making it easy for them to be pushed out, and although the 1968 Fair Housing Act made redlining by the FHA illegal, its basic upshot — a systematic denial of services to selected groups of people — still happens in the public and private sectors.

Elsewhere, zoning regulations that once enforced segregation have been changed to bring new people to a neighborhood. But often, they follow similar redlining measures and disproportionately up-zone, or add population density, to minority neighborhoods, inviting in more outsiders while decreasing the amount of rent-stabilized or low-income housing as demand goes up. Other current policies that support gentrification come in the form of tax abatements that lure in new income-eligible homebuyers (who again, can pass an often racist mortgage and lending process), new development, and new businesses at the expense of those longer standing.

“Gentrification happens from the top, down. Revitalization, to me, is change in the community from the bottom, up.”

While gentrification was happening in cities throughout the 20th century, the cycle we’re currently in started in the 1990s, when members of the white creative class were compelled to move back to cities by low rents and the promise of cultural capital, spurring a reversal of white flight described by theorists like Richard Florida as “urban revitalization.” As these new residents moved in, businesses that catered to them soon followed; the initial third-wave coffee shop or destination restaurant or fake dive bar then signaled to other outsiders that the neighborhood had appealing amenities. More outsiders moved in, and more restaurants, coffee shops, boutiques, and fancy bars followed, the cycle repeating itself over and over again in urban neighborhoods across America. “‘Foodie’ culture often serves as gentrification’s leading edge,” according to a CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute brief, “by signifying that a community is ripe for investment.”

But, while restaurants have been beneficiaries of this process, in recent years, some have taken an even bigger role in neighborhood shifts. As developers in cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta recognized the cultural appeal of restaurants, they began courting chefs to open restaurants as flagship tenants, often expressly to attract new residents from outside the community. Developers and policymakers may describe these investments as revitalization, but when “revitalization” replaces the people who live in a place with wealthier white residents, prohibiting them from enjoying any of the new investment in the neighborhood, it’s gentrification. “Gentrification happens from the top, down,” Devita Davison, founder of FoodLab Detroit, says. “Revitalization, to me, is change in the community from the bottom, up. And what that means is that change is controlled by the people who live there. Gentrification is a tool used by the people who want to live there. They’re different things.”

Restaurateurs haven’t paid enough attention to gentrification, and restaurants that otherwise espouse liberal philosophies, like fair wages and ethical sourcing, are often less cognizant of how they may contribute to displacement. In the restaurant business, with its slim margins, operators likely want a mix of customers; destination diners mean a potentially infinite customer base. Owners might assume that neighbors will appreciate having a nice restaurant nearby, but its physical existence doesn’t equal accessibility to the people that live there. Compounding the problem, restaurants that move into a community without making any attempt to be for the community are nonetheless deemed “approachable neighborhood restaurants” by their peers and media — also, largely, outsiders to the neighborhood in question. Sqirl, for example, was praised for its accessible menu of moderately priced, unfussy breakfast foods, not whether it had been embraced by its immediate neighbors.

If these past months have been good for anything, it’s taking stock of the ways we can all do better. Restaurants will continue to seek out locations in neighborhoods with low rents, and while they can’t on their own reverse the policies that stack affordable rents in gentrifying communities of color, they can make strides to be actually accessible to the wider community and not harbingers of displacement. This work is essential. “Gentrification,” says Davison, “is a social justice issue.”

Accessibility should be a goal of neighborhood restaurants. Many restaurateurs recognize the value of affordable pricing — having an entree or two under $10, or $2 happy hour beers — but they overlook the other ways a restaurant should define “accessible.” Ultimately, restaurants should aim to become third places for the wider neighborhood. “With the call for change within our communities and government institutions, we also need change to come from within the restaurant industry,” Amethyst Ganaway wrote on Eater in June 2020, during the first weeks of the Black Lives Matter protest movement. “New third places should be created, tearing down old racist and classist ideologies and putting systems in place that represent true inclusivity and compassion.”

To become this kind of third place, restaurateurs need to be aware of the face they present to the community. A new business with an entirely white staff isn’t going to appear welcoming to a community of Black and Latinx residents who may already be concerned about displacement. Restaurants should strive to hire locally for both back of house and front of house. “A gentrifying restaurant that’s all white — or looks all white from its front of house staff — in a community of color can do things very differently,” says Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage and co-founder of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United. “[Instead, they can] rely on that community of color as clients rather than bring in a community of consumers from outside of the neighborhood.”

Jayaraman believes that investing in the community will only help a restaurant in the long run. Start “thinking about your workers as consumers, thinking about their families as consumers, thinking about their community as consumers,” she says. With this kind of thinking, there are “bottom-line benefits,” like a built-in customer base and, if those hired from the community are paid as well as they should be, less turnover.

Restaurateurs need to understand who lives in a community in order to serve it, and this takes work. Kamau Franklin, founder of the Atlanta-based Community Movement Builders collective, encourages restaurateurs to dialogue with neighborhood associations and community groups about what the restaurant’s role should be. Restaurateurs and restaurant organizations should be “looking at what those neighborhoods continually look like, talking to the leadership of folks in those neighborhoods, and trying to figure out what those folks are saying they need.”

At a bare minimum, a restaurant should respect a community’s culture. In her 2019 essay “Dear Gentrifiers,” Ryan Shepard describes the time she dined at a new restaurant in a historically Black D.C. neighborhood with a cocktail menu that seemed to reference the trans-Atlantic slave trade. In 2018, a white woman opened a restaurant in Crown Heights, a gentrifying neighborhood of Brooklyn, and in a press release characterized the building as “a long-vacant corner bodega (with a rumored backroom illegal gun shop to boot)” and boasted about “a bullet hole-ridden wall” (it was more likely cosmetic damage). That kind of insensitivity, as Shepard writes, shows how restaurant owners “are all too happy to co-opt Black urban spaces or culture (and often, cheaper property values) to make a profit, all while disrespecting, disregarding, and displacing the very people whose communities they’re in.”

Mindful community involvement from groups of restaurant owners can lead to deeper policy change.

Mindful community involvement from groups of restaurant owners, hopefully, can lead to deeper policy change. The CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute urges food advocates and community activists to take part in neighborhood planning meetings so that they can oppose zoning changes that may disadvantage existing businesses. With more awareness of the forces that threaten neighborhoods, they can lobby for the kinds of policy that keep communities intact.

Greater recognition of restaurants’ capacity to fuel gentrification is starting to happen. In recent weeks, Koslow’s role in the changing demographics of Virgil Village was scrutinized, most astutely by the LAnd article co-written by Samanta Helou Hernandez, the founder of This Side of Hoover, an Instagram account that documents gentrification in Virgil Village. The account, which has more than 8,500 followers, acknowledges the existing community and its resilience as new residents and construction move in post-Sqirl. And as Black Lives Matter generated calls to pour money into Black communities, other websites and Instagram accounts that similarly amplified POC-owned neighborhood businesses gained new support. That increased awareness translated into a meaningful response: The spotlights and lists in June boosted sales at Black-owned businesses, including restaurants in gentrifying neighborhoods, such as Peaches Hot House in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood.

This support needs to outlast the summer. And just as food media once galvanized the Sqirls of the world, it can lift up the longstanding restaurants in Black and Latinx neighborhoods, and more thoughtfully question the restaurateurs who declare their businesses to be neighborhood restaurants. “[Journalists should be] asking, ‘Do you think about what your role is in terms of community?’ and not accepting a standard answer like, ‘We’re going to help turn this community around,’” Franklin says. “I think there is this plethora of set answers that folks in business like to give, which is, ‘We’re a part of the community fabric and dynamic.’ Too many times they get away with it because people don’t ask the follow-up questions.”

In thinking about a future with truly accessible restaurants, ones that aren’t signposts of gentrification, there are lessons to take from those leading the charge right now. Restaurants in cities from NYC to Los Angeles to Providence have transformed their spaces into third places for protesters. White restaurant owners, like Greg Baxtrom of Maison Yaki in NYC, are turning over their restaurant spaces to support Black businesses. Chefs like Josef Centeno in Los Angeles are using their skills to feed hospital employees and out-of-work restaurant workers and not asking for money in return. These are restaurants that have reverted to their first purpose: feeding the community.

Of course, some were doing this work long before the pandemic and protests. “I think community work is something that is just so overlooked,” Zenat Begum, owner of the five-year-old Playground Coffee Shop in Bed-Stuy, told Eater. “It wasn’t until COVID that we were able to get a platform to really start talking about a lot of the stuff that we have done in the last five years.”

Before the pandemic, Playground offered programming like yoga classes and readings; when the pandemic began, it set up community fridges. In nearby Bushwick, Francesca Chaney opened her vegan cafe Sol Sips with sliding-scale brunches and a message that vegan food was for Black people, too. These restaurants were opened by people with meaningful roots in their neighborhoods, not outsiders. But if outsiders must open in gentrifying neighborhoods, these are the examples they should look to.

For these restaurants, and the models that have emerged during the pandemic, profit is secondary. As long as restaurants are operating under capitalism, they will struggle to be completely compatible with the support of Black and Latinx communities in gentrifying neighborhoods: When profitability is at the forefront, anything else becomes disposable, Davison says.

Restaurants can’t fix gentrification, but no one is asking them to; few are calling for restaurants to stop opening in gentrifying neighborhoods. Changes to policies that favor wealthy homeowners over lower-income residents and new developments over investment in community are the only ways to meaningfully curb gentrification. What restaurant owners can and should do to support that is incorporate the community into their visions.

“These people are customers, too,” Franklin says, referring to the people who live in neighborhoods long before they become targets for investment. When considering opening a new restaurant, restaurateurs shouldn’t be driven by “what they think is going to be the best for them in five years or 10 years based on their projection for what’s happening to the community. Instead, it takes looking at people like they’re human beings, like they matter, like they should have a role and a say.” Which, really, should have been the way restaurants operated all along.

from Eater - All https://ift.tt/34TKfDO via Blogger https://ift.tt/2QJYgvE

[sciencespies]

Ecuador says Galapagos fuel spill 'under control'

https://sciencespies.com/environment/ecuador-says-galapagos-fuel-spill-under-control/

Ecuador says Galapagos fuel spill 'under control'

Ecuador authorities had activated emergency protocols when a transport barge sank in a port on San Cristobal Island, spilling 600 gallons of diesel fuel into the water

Ecuador officials announced Sunday that a fuel spill in the Galapagos Islands, caused when a barge sank carrying 600 gallons of diesel fuel, was “under control.”

Authorities had activated emergency protocols earlier Sunday to contain the environmental impact of the spill in the Galapagos archipelago, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is home to one of the most fragile ecosystems on the planet.

“The situation is under control, and a series of actions have been deployed to mitigate the possible effects,” the presidential communications office said in a statement, adding the response operation had “controlled” the spill.

The accident, in which one person was injured, occurred in a port on San Cristobal Island, the easternmost island in the chain, when a crane collapsed while loading a container holding an electric generator onto a barge.

The falling container destabilized the ship, which was carrying 600 gallons of diesel fuel, causing it to sink.

The generator and the loading crane were also submerged.

The Emergency Operations Committee (COE) took “immediate action to reduce the environmental risk” in the so-called Enchanted Islands.

Personnel from the Galapagos National Park (GNP), the official nature reserve authority, and the Ecuadorian Navy set up spill containment barriers and oil absorbent cloths around the fuel patch.

Galapagos minister Norman Wray told reporters that work was under way to recover the diesel. He also said the generator, which was intended to supply energy on Isabela Island, and the barge would be replaced “as soon as possible.”

Isabela Island, the largest island, is currently facing energy rationing. Wray assured reporters that food supply levels in the Galapagos would remain normal despite the loss of the barge.

The same barge, which is used to transport fuel and construction materials to the Galapagos, had sunk previously in February 2018 due to a weight imbalance, in a port on the Guayas River.

The Galapagos Islands, located 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) east of mainland Ecuador, helped English naturalist Charles Darwin develop the theory of evolution.

Explore further

Ecuador emergency over stricken Galapagos freighter

© 2019 AFP

Citation: Ecuador says Galapagos fuel spill ‘under control’ (2019, December 23) retrieved 23 December 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2019-12-ecuador-galapagos-fuel.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

#Environment

[lavidaatravezdeunavion]

Week One

June 15/16

The long and grueling travel is finally over;  I’m in Buenos Aires!!  Let me mention that my flight from MIA to EZE was delayed an hour but coincidentally, my roommate and another friend were also in MIA because their flight was also delayed...five hours. They had been there since 6pm so i couldn't really complain too much about my delay but I got on the next available flight and was delighted to get the aisle seat. I settled in with my free pillow and blanket, I browsed the free inflight entertainment and watched Captain Marvel (it was as tony the tiger would say “There GRRRRRRReat!”). I fell asleep soon after dinner was served around 2am and thankfully was able to sleep for about five hours, but that last hour and a half was full of turbulence.

When we finally landed, I was a little sad since it was rainy and dark outside. On top of that, there was a country wide black out (our taxi driver said that the dam that generates the power for Argentina was broken! He said it might have been an accident but he wouldn't doubt that someone might have done something to it on purpose...) We were in the taxi for about 40 mins; I was too tired to keep my eyes open and had fallen asleep! As we pull up to the residence, the taxi driver yells “levantase mija ya llegamos.” I got into the room and wanted to take a shower immediately; I felt like after traveling for 12+ hours you just feel so nasty. Of course I hopped into the shower using my phone flashlight to make sure I didn’t slip, but to be fair our shower is like 2ft by 2ft so there really is no room to fall. I got out the shower and then took a four hour nap, and thankfully when I woke up the power was back on.

I got ready to go to dinner with our group at a restaurant called “Rietti” (Jorge Luis Borges 2205) it was a cute cafe a couple blocks from our residence. I ordered a “Milanesa de Carne con Puree de Papas” - which I would rate about a 6/10. The meat wasn’t as flavorful as i thought i'd be, and the mashed potatoes were pretty plain. Thankfully I had a glass of red wine; I couldn't tell you the name but it was great!

After dinner we went back to our residence and made friends with other people who also live and go to school here. We met some Peruvians, an Ecuadorian, a Costarican, a Chilean, and of course some Argentinians. They were all studying here and had been away from their families for months but were determined to finish school so they could have a career and help their families after. I admired them for being brave and studying in a different country where they don't know anyone. Now being 2 hours from home doesn't seem too bad. This was the end of my first night here, I went to bed feeling excited that I had made new friends and that they welcomed me with open arms.

June 17

This morning we walked to the Subte, which is what they call their metro, and bought and loaded cards so we can be prepared for our first day of school tomorrow. We took the Subte to Las Heras and went to grab lunch at this cute cafe that had dog paintings all over the walls. It kind made me feel like I was in the “Dogs Playing Poker” painting. I got a ham & cheese omelet which was subpar; maybe because I wasn’t very hungry it wasn't that appetizing, but it was just not for me. On the bright side, I ordered orange juice and let me tell you it was BOMB.COM. Honestly, that was probably the best part of my meal.

After lunch, we went back to the residence and proceeded to take a nap. After the nap, my roommate and I went to a restaurant that a friend recommended about fifteen minutes from here and it was called “Chicken Bros”. As my roommate and I were deciding what to order, the guys behind the counter asked us where we were visiting from. Usually, I tell people I'm from right outside of DC just because people know DC. Anyway, turns out that one of the guys was from Woodbridge, which isn’t too far from where I’m from in VA! It was cool to see an American-owned restaurant in a foreign country. Besides the owners being really cool, the food was great and the ambiance of the restaurant was really amazing. The table markers they were handing out were people from american pop culture so it was funny to see that. After this, we went home and went to sleep since tuesday would be our first day in class.

June 18

If you know me at all, you know that I am NOT a morning person. I am THE queen of sleeping in and sleeping for hourssssss. With this being said, waking up at 7am was not the most exciting thing to do. We got up to eat breakfast, and I tried my best to eat something because I knew it was going to be a really long day. For transportation, we use the Subte (their version of the metro) to get to class. It takes us about half an hour to get to school which isn’t too bad; the only thing is that the Subte is really crowded with everyone trying to get to work and school so you kinda have to be aggressive to just push yourself onto the train. We got to Expanish which is where all of our classes are being held. The first two weeks of classes are a crash course of spanish, so they did an oral exam to make sure they were placing us in the right level. Being a native speaker, it wasn't too difficult for me so I was placed in the advanced class. There were only two other kids in my class: an Italian girl and a Swiss guy. I was kind of nervous that our class was so small but throughout the day it felt better because she was able to pay more attention to how we spoke and we were also able to have more in depth conversations about different topics. Today was an exception because we had to take the oral exam but usually class starts at 9:30 and went till 1:30 then we had an hour break then class started again at 2:30 until 4:30. It sounds excruciating, and it is, but the class is fun and time goes by pretty fast. As the class finished, everyone was drained and we all went home on the Subte.

Once we got home, my roommate and I decided we wanted to go find a snack so we walked out of the residence and just started to walk. If you didn't know, street art is a big part of the culture here and is legal, so here in Palermo everywhere you look there is graffiti on the buildings. We started to walk all over the neighborhood and just took pictures and looked at all the beautiful art around us. We ended up walking around for about two hours. Once we got back home we took another nap and then got ready for dinner. We went to this bar in Palermo called “Ragnar” I got myself a burger, and because im legal here i got my first mojito which was really tasty. I really enjoyed the view from the rooftop that they had. Overall it was a really long day but we were finally getting on some kind of schedule. After dinner we went back home and got ready for bed.

June 19

I had a normal school day today but since the women's Argentinian soccer team was playing in the World Cup, we headed over right after class to my teachers favorite bar to watch the game! I later went with Gloria (the italian girl from my class) to eat at a sushi place about a block from our school. I got myself a Mexican Poke bowl which was absolutely delicious. It was my first time eating a poke bowl so i didn't have anything to compare it to. After lunch, we went back to Expanish and waited for everyone to get out of class.

After class we all signed up for a tango class. We waited for our teacher to come and she taught us the basics of Tango; I learned that Tango is not a dance where the point is to move all of your body but it should be a continuous motion (not sure if this makes sense but its not like merengue where your hips, legs, and shoulders move). I think after this class I have more of an appreciation for tango just because I had never really been exposed to it and it didn't look that interesting to me, but dancing it was a whole other thing.

After the tango class we all hopped on the Subte back to the residence. We all took naps (as you can see naps are a crucial part of our routine here lol) and then got ready for dinner. We all decided to go to a bar and to be able to watch the Argentina-Paraguay game. Not sure what bar we went to but it wasn’t too special; I got a quesadilla and some nachos on the side. The most exciting thing about dinner was seeing everyones excitement when argentina scored. The bartender even had a vuvuzela! Since we didn’t have class Thursday, after dinner we walked about two blocks and went into a club. The thing about Argentinian nightlife is that things don’t start poppin till 2am. This is something that we all questioned but it makes sense because they eat dinner at about 10pm. A group of us were just hanging upstairs until about 1:30 and then finally the music started to get really good so we all went downstairs to dance, it was one of the funnest nights so far. We left the club at about 3:30am and got home and all knocked out. 

June 20

Waking up at 9:30 after a night out was not ideal, but you do what you gotta do right? Since we didn't have school today our professor from JMU (and our mom for the trip) took us to La Boca which is where the city of Buenos Aires first was established. It’s now very touristy but let me tell you... it is beautiful. All the buildings are so colorful, and craftwork and artwork they sell on the streets were mesmerizing.

We went to the“Museo de Bellas Artes Benito Quinuela Martin,” this museum was in Benito Quinuela Martin house that he lived at the time. The gallery is free to enter and I definitely recommend going if you have time.

The exhibits they had were really interesting my favorite exhibit was the one they had for Roberto Cortes. He is able to depict perfectly what La boca entails and also the struggles and oppression that argentina has faced. The museum also had the rooms made up like how Benito Quinuela Martin had them while he was alive and it was interesting to see how someone lived during the early 20th century. I'm not much of an art person but this entire museum was really interesting, especially to see how different artists show the oppression they have faced as a country.

After the museum, we went to lunch at a restaurant down the street called “La Perla”. I was not the biggest fan of this restaurant just because their service was bad, and the food was mediocre. 

We later hopped on a bus back to Plaza de mayo. I'm going to give a little back story for this next part:

During the 1970s, Argentina was facing a “Dirty War” where anyone who was against the government was persecuted. Most of the people speaking out against the government were college students, and because of this students started to disappear all over. Once mothers started to notice that their kids were not the only ones missing they started to organize themselves and want to get answers. This government was obviously very oppressive and because loitering was illegal, mothers would get into groups of two and march in circle in front of La casa rosada (equivalent to our white house) they would wear white scarves on their heads as symbols that these were mothers looking for their missing children. In total over 30,000 students went missing during this dictatorship. There is so much more to this but I personally do not want to write a whole dissertation on how horrible this situation is so here is a link to more information: https://www.history.com/news/mothers-plaza-de-mayo-disappeared-children-dirty-war-argentina

To this day, every thursday, these mothers still march on Plaza de Mayo. We all had the honor of seeing these mothers, family members and activists march in front of la casa rosada. There are now two groups from my understanding one group is still looking for answers for what happened to their children and so this group would walk around La Plaza de Mayo and they would read the names of the disappeared students outloud and after each name the group would yell “Presente” (Present) just to show that their kids will never be forgotten. The other group is now more politically active and strives to make more changes so that this never happens and they walked around the plaza saying different chants. It was remarkable to see that even fifty years later these mothers are still the front of the movement.

After seeing them march, we walked over to a cafe to get some coffee but I personally got a Submarine which is THE best hot chocolate you can drink. It’s basically a bar of chocolate that melts in the boiling milk its delicioso! After we all finished we went back home to the residence, and you guessed it, we took a nap. After our wonderful nap we went to go get dinner at a restaurant around here called “el Galeon”, not my favorite but it was a 6/10, to be fair I only got a salad but the chicken in the salad was a bit questionable. After dinner we went home and got into bed.

June 21

Today was our last day of having class till 4:30; we had two holidays this week since we had to make up for the class time missed. But I am so,so,so happy we do not have to be in class for seven hours anymore. Today in class, I realized that my vocabulary needs to expand more so now i'm glad that we were talking about topics I usually don’t discuss in spanish like the economy and politics. Other than that, class had been fun but I was a little sad today since my friend Gloria was graduating from the program and won't be in class but since shes still gonna be here for another five weeks we plan on hanging out so i'll update you guys when I get to see her again

After class we all went home and then later that night we got ready to go to dinner at a restaurant called “La Robla,” this was a spanish inspired restaurant in Palermo. I shared a Milanesa Clasico with Mashed Potatoes and we also got a side salad. This has been one of my favorite meals so far. The milanesa was to die for and those mashed potatoes really had me begging for more.

After dinner we went to a bar called “Chupitos,” we paid 140 pesos to get in and the entrance fee comes with two shots. I got a shot called “Poseidon,” it had tequila, lime juice and some blue liqour in it but i thought I wasnt going to like it but it was really good. I also took a picture of my friends beer because i mean just look at it...

After the bar we went to a techno club which was really cool to see EDM in a different country. We stayed out till about 5am with everyone and some of the guys from our residencia. After that we all went home and went directly to bed.

P.S.

I know this was a really long post so I may try and keep it to three or four day a post but I just am living in the moment an enjoying life right now so it might be a bit difficult so you all will have to bear with me. Thanks for your support!

Con mucho amor,

T.L.  

[quicklycybermoon-blog]

Coffee and Shrimp Production Goes Blockchain

Blockchain initiatives have gone well beyond cryptocurrencies. In fact, they get more recognition in the shipping and logistics industry these days. The latest example comes from Ecuador. The local Sustainable Shrimp Partnership (SSP) has partnered with IBM. The partnership will result in SSP taking part in IBM's Food Trust Ecosystem, which aims to make food shipping more transparent and fair. In this case, we are talking SSP shrimp quality. Once SSP's products are put on the blockchain, retailers and consumers can track them and check details about their production. In a press release from May 6, Pamela Nath, director of SSP said: “Our aim is to have SSP premium quality shrimp in supermarkets and on menus where the consumer can scan the QR code and find out which farm it is from, how it was farmed, and key indicators on its food safety and sustainability profile.” SeafoodSource reports that the SSP is comprised of 11 Ecuadorian shrimp farms. Just in March this year, the SSP has sold 1000 metric tons of shrimp in the United States alone. “We expect to see increasing demand of SSP shrimp in the coming months. We are already in dialogue with multiple partners in the marketplace who are looking for premium products which meet the growing consumer demand, for clean, safe, and sustainable seafood,” Nath said. The Food Trust Ecosystem was finally launched after 18 months of testing in October 2018. A strategic move from IBM since research firm Gartner suggested that by 2025 as much as 20% of the largest grocers in the world will hop on the blockchain train. Senior Analyst Joanne Joliet even claimed that blockchain development will be primarily driven by grocers. In related news, Starbucks is set to track coffee production but using Microsoft's Azure Blockchain Service instead of IBM's Food Trust Ecosystem. The US-based coffee chain started its blockchain tracking system back in 2018 when it partnered with farmers from Rwanda, Costa Rica, and Colombia. “Many years ago, our controls and transactions were all done by paper, and today we are even talking about blockchain technology. This shows us that, more than being at the front of every technological advancement, having the information and being flexible and adaptable are important,” elaborated Ronald Peters, executive director of the Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE). Microsoft's Azure Blockchain Service operates as a blockchain-as-a-service, supporting Quorum and JPMorgan Chase's Ethereum-based platform. Read the full article

[quitblow5-blog]

Links 11/29/18

Strange waves rippled around the world, and nobody knows why National Geographic

Rare and diverse giant viruses unexpectedly found in a forest soil ecosystem Phys.org

New Zealand whale stranding: ‘I will never forget their cries’ BBC

Can lab-grown human brains think? The Week

Risky Corporate Debt Among Top U.S. Threats Flagged in Fed Financial Stability Report Fortune (J-LS).

Resource-Rich New Mexico Has a $322 Million Methane Problem Bloomberg

Alberta officials are signalling they have no idea how to clean up toxic oilsands tailings ponds National Observer

Syraqistan

Senate Defies Trump on U.S. Involvement in Yemen War Slate. From the URL: senate-yemen-saudi-sanders-murphy-lee. Note the erasure.

What’s Behind the US-Saudi Nuclear Mega-Deal? Wolf Street (EM).

If The Saudi’s Oil No Longer Matters Why Is Trump Still Supporting Them? Moon of Alabama

How a Saudi Family Feud Fueled Paranoia That Led to Khashoggi’s Murder David Ignatius, WaPo. Note the provenance….

North Korea

Kim Jong Un’s Puppy Diplomacy Pays Off With Railway Deal Bloomberg

China?

The Road to Confrontation NYT. “They didn’t like the West’s playbook. So they wrote their own.” In Chinese, no doubt.

China Blue-Collar Wave Strengthens Xi’s G-20 Hand Bloomberg. Finally some reporting on what in IMNSHO is the critical known unknown.

How Cheap Labor Drives China’s A.I. Ambitions NYT

Silicon Valley’s Chinese Dream The Baffler

China’s Most Popular App Is Full of Hate Foreign Policy

Why China will wait until 2030 to take back Taiwan – unless the island forces Xi Jinping’s hand South China Morning Post

Massive sandstorm engulfs Gansu in northwestern China Sidney Morning Herald. 100 meters tall.

Leave them alone: on the Sentinelese The Hindu

Meet the ‘vigilante’ grandfathers protecting indigenous forest life in Cambodia Mekong Eye

Bison bars were supposed to restore Native communities and grass-based ranches. Then came Epic Provisions. New Food Economy

Brexit

EU withdrawal scenarios and monetary and financial stability (PDF) Bank of England and Official Brexit forecasts show Britain getting poorer FT

A Series of Miscalculations Has Brought Britain to the Brink Der Spiegel. The section head: “Isle of Madness.” (Incidentally, note the graphic. I’m seeing the ol’ slanted text dodge everywhere since AOC used it in her campaign posters. Sorry to be a squeeing fanboi; I’ll stop soon.)

UK car industry and Airbus cautiously back PM’s Brexit deal Guardian

Trump Transition

Veterans Affairs Dept. tells Capitol Hill it won’t repay underpaid GI Bill benefits recipients NBC (DK).

Trump charity that gave away millions before 2016 election did not donate last year Los Angeles Times

The $1.7 Million Man Bloomberg. A smallish grift, by elite standards, but real, like the link below. Is this a trend?

Politically connected Syracuse group flips NY marijuana license for pot of gold Syracuse.com (Bob).

Fake News

We went from this: Manafort held secret talks with Assange in Ecuadorian embassy, sources say (Guardian), to this: Did Someone Plant a Story Tying Paul Manafort to Julian Assange? (Politico) in 24 hours. A single news cycle. An impressive achievement by our trans-Atlantic political class. (“Someone” is — and I know this will shock you — Russia).

TRIBAL FICTIONS: Purity of heart is to know one thing! Daily Howler. Media critique of this NYT Manafort story (“Manafort’s Lawyer Said to Brief Trump Attorneys on What He Told Mueller“).

The godfather of fake news BBC. A neckbeard from Portland, ME. Personally, I would have said the godfather of fake news was Bill Keller, serial WMD fabricator Judy Miller’s editor at the New York Times, but at the end of the day, when you look at the bottom line, and you throw everything into the balance, mene mene tekel upharsin-style, as it were, what are the chances a multi-trillion dollar slaughterhouse could outweigh a clickbait headline about the Clintons on Facebook?

Democrats in Disarray

When Chimamanda met Hillary: a tale of how liberals cosy up to power Guardian

Fairness of Georgia elections challenged by far-reaching lawsuit Atlanta Journal-Constitution

PA Recount Settlement a Victory for Voters Everywhere Voting Justice. From the settlement: “The Secretary will only certify new voting systems for use in Pennsylvania if they meet these criteria: a. The ballot on which each vote is recorded is paper3; b. They produce a voter-verifiable record of each vote; and c. They are capable of supporting a robust pre-certification auditing process. 3A VVPAT receipt generated by a DRE machine is not a paper ballot.” So I have to say: One for the Greens! (I take the strong position: “Hand-marked paper ballots, hand-counted in public.” That means digital is expunged from every phase of the process, critical because that which is digital is hackable, including scanners, printers, etc. The recount settlement does not take that position, although implementations of the agreement might.)

Health Care

Health, United States 2017 with Special Feature on Mortality (PDF) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

U.S. life expectancy declines again, a dismal trend not seen since World War I WaPo. Suicide and opioids; deaths of despair. Everything’s going according to plan…

Report: Death Rates Increase for 5 of the 12 Leading Causes of Mortality Pharmacy Times. A useful summary.

Sources of Supplemental Coverage Among Medicare Beneficiaries in 2016 KHN. The neoliberal infestation of Bush’s Medicare Advantage slowly chewing away at Medicare’s foundations…

Imperial Collapse Watch

Exclusive: The Pentagon’s Massive Accounting Fraud Exposed The Nation. “The firms concluded, however, that the DoD’s financial records were riddled with so many bookkeeping deficiencies, irregularities, and errors that a reliable audit was simply impossible.” Defense spending is a phishing equilibrium?

Guillotine Watch

Secret luxury homes: how the ultra-rich hide their properties FT

How a future Trump Cabinet member gave a serial sex abuser the deal of a lifetime Miami Herald. It’s good that the Epstein sack of pus has been lanced, again, but see Gawker back in 2015, before Hulk Hogan and Peter Theil mortally wounded it: Flight Logs Put Clinton, Dershowitz on Pedophile Billionaire’s Sex Jet, and Billionaire Pervert Jeffrey Epstein and His Famous Friends: A Primer. It makes sense, when you think about it, that private planes would be a lawless hellscape where elites, very much elites plural, indulge their worst (and thoroughly bipartisan) impulses with even more impunity than they already have. Private planes are like private equity in that way.

Class Warfare

Restoring middle-class incomes: redistribution won’t do Brookings Institution

Why 536 was ‘the worst year to be alive’ Science

Counterperformativity New Left Review. Dense, but intriguing. `

Antidote du Jour (via):

Trying to level up my dog game, here. Bonus antidote:

A friend put a toilet roll over their camera lense to make their dog look like the moon and I am in love pic.twitter.com/mGB3G7N6SQ

— Eliza Berlage (@verbaliza) November 26, 2018

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

This entry was posted in Guest Post, Links on November 29, 2018 by Lambert Strether.

About Lambert Strether

Readers, I have had a correspondent characterize my views as realistic cynical. Let me briefly explain them. I believe in universal programs that provide concrete material benefits, especially to the working class. Medicare for All is the prime example, but tuition-free college and a Post Office Bank also fall under this heading. So do a Jobs Guarantee and a Debt Jubilee. Clearly, neither liberal Democrats nor conservative Republicans can deliver on such programs, because the two are different flavors of neoliberalism (“Because markets”). I don’t much care about the “ism” that delivers the benefits, although whichever one does have to put common humanity first, as opposed to markets. Could be a second FDR saving capitalism, democratic socialism leashing and collaring it, or communism razing it. I don’t much care, as long as the benefits are delivered. To me, the key issue — and this is why Medicare for All is always first with me — is the tens of thousands of excess “deaths from despair,” as described by the Case-Deaton study, and other recent studies. That enormous body count makes Medicare for All, at the very least, a moral and strategic imperative. And that level of suffering and organic damage makes the concerns of identity politics — even the worthy fight to help the refugees Bush, Obama, and Clinton’s wars created — bright shiny objects by comparison. Hence my frustration with the news flow — currently in my view the swirling intersection of two, separate Shock Doctrine campaigns, one by the Administration, and the other by out-of-power liberals and their allies in the State and in the press — a news flow that constantly forces me to focus on matters that I regard as of secondary importance to the excess deaths. What kind of political economy is it that halts or even reverses the increases in life expectancy that civilized societies have achieved? I am also very hopeful that the continuing destruction of both party establishments will open the space for voices supporting programs similar to those I have listed; let’s call such voices “the left.” Volatility creates opportunity, especially if the Democrat establishment, which puts markets first and opposes all such programs, isn’t allowed to get back into the saddle. Eyes on the prize! I love the tactical level, and secretly love even the horse race, since I’ve been blogging about it daily for fourteen years, but everything I write has this perspective at the back of it.

Post navigation

← Global Uncertainty Is Rising, and That is a Bad Omen for Growth

Source: https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2018/11/links-11-29-18.html

[lollipoplollipopoh]

🇻🇪 Can the international community solve Venezuela's crisis? l Inside Story by Al Jazeera English Pressure is growing on Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro, but he shows no sign of giving in to calls from the international community for him to step down. In the days since National Assembly leader Juan Guiado declared himself interim president, dozens of countries in the Americas and Europe have recognised him as Venezuela's legitimate leader. But Maduro has rejected calls that he step aside or call new, free and fair, elections. Venezuela's economy is near collapse, with critical shortages of food and medicine growing by the day, but with the country having already laboured for years under sanctions, it's an open question whether more pressure can do much to convince Maduro to go. On Thursday representatives of EU and Latin American nations met in Uruguay to discuss the crisis. There were calls to avoid politicising the delivery of aid, but that has not stopped Venezuela's military from stopping shipments of American-donated food and medicine from crossing into the border from neighbouring Colombia. So, can international pressure change the situation in Venezuela? PRESENTER: Peter Dobbie GUESTS: Guillaume Long - Former Ecuadorian Minister of Foreign Affairs. Phil Gunson - International Crisis Group. Charles Shapiro - President of the World Affairs Council of Atlanta and a former US Ambassador to Venezuela. - Subscribe to our channel: http://bit.ly/291RaQr - Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AJEnglish - Find us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/1iHo6G4 - Check our website: http://bit.ly/2lOp4tL #AlJazeeraEnglish #Mauduro #Venezuela