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murdershegoat · 4 years

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the one you’ll love forever

(also on ao3 // kofi)

lena’s had the envelope for as long as she can remember; it’s thick and padded and the very last thing her father gave to her before he killed himself. though it’s yellowed with age, lionel’s immaculate script still stands out, the ink as black as when he first wrote on it.

open when you find the one you’ll love forever

she had almost opened it once before, young and reckless and hopelessly in love with her high school girlfriend. part of her is glad she caught her cheating before she decided to open it, part of her - a much larger, more bitter part - still hates veronica sinclair with a fiery passion.

but now she knows it’s finally time.

it’s been a long time since she and kara first met. it’s been a long time since they said ‘i love you’ for the first time, since she cleared a drawer for kara at her place. their lives are so far intertwined that lena can no longer imagine what life would be like without kara by her side.

but this morning, lena rolls over in bed and although kara’s side lies empty, she can smell the coffee percolating and she sees a note scribbled in kara’s messy scrawl.

bad guys who start before 8 are evil guys. coffee and bagels waiting for u -- love u!

and somehow, lena knows. she knows, as a peaceful warmth spreads through her body, that this is all she’ll need forever.

kara is the only person she ever wants to love.

she stretches as she stands up, her neck annoyingly stiff, and heads to the safe that sits in the very back of her closet.

and then, as she drinks her morning coffee she finally opens the envelope. there’s no long letter like she used to dream of, but instead she finds a key and a piece of paper with an address. a quick google search later, she’s already scheduled her private, ridiculously fast Luthorcorp jet to leave for switzerland in a couple of hours.

she’s already on board and sitting across from jess when she gets a call from kara.

‘hello, sweetheart,’ she says, blushing as she sees the little smirk on jess’s face.

‘i called your office and they said you’re out for the day,’ kara says quickly. ‘everything okay?’

‘just a last minute meeting in switzerland,’ lena lies easily. ‘thought it would be easier to convince them to sign the contract if i was there in person.’

‘do you want me to meet you for lunch?’

‘that little place in zurich?’ lena offers.

‘you read my mind. okay. gotta run, love you.’

‘love you, too,’ lena replies, this time whispering into the phone, lest jess smirk at her expense one more time.

it’s only when they’re in the air, each with a drink in their hand that jess says,

‘strange, i don’t remember seeing a meeting on the books for today.’

lena laughs nervously. ‘how very strange indeed.’

///

zurich is much colder than national city, but lena welcomes the change in weather. she wishes she could go skiing or sightseeing, but instead the car takes her straight from the airport to a bank in the middle of the old town. the building is aging, yet beautiful, and as soon as lena steps inside she is greeted by a woman who takes her coat and leads her to a counter.

‘my name is lena luthor--’

‘of course, ms. luthor,’ the concierge cuts her off. ‘we’ve been expecting you since this morning!’

lena frowns; she hadn’t informed them of her impending visit. but she bites her tongue as she’s led through the building. eventually, she finds herself on the seventh floor in an empty office.

‘ms. luthor!’ says an older man walking in after her, and going to stand behind his desk. ‘my name is rudy, i’m an old associate of your father’s. it is a pleasure to meet you.’ he shakes her hand warmly, and despite the instincts she’s spent a lifetime refining, she decides she can trust him.

‘i’ve got this,’ she says, skipping pleasantries and holding up the key.

‘i know,’ he says, and lena manages to hide her surprise. ‘there is a sensor in the key that lets us know when it has been held by a person. it was advanced technology back in the day, courtesy of mr luthor.’

so that’s how they knew she was coming.

‘that key, as you may have guessed, opens a safety deposit box that has been held here for you for a very long time.’ he buzzes the intercom and doesn’t even say anything. moments later, a young banker walks in with the box.

‘and it’s never been opened?’

‘not since your father closed it.’ he regards her for just a moment, in an almost grandfatherly way. ‘you know, you don’t look a thing like him. but there is a kindness in your eyes that i fondly remember was in his as well.’

lena doesn’t know how to respond; she can’t remember the last time somebody said something nice about her family to her face. rudy senses her awkwardness, and smiles graciously.

‘i’ll give you some privacy.’

he retreats from the room and suddenly lena is alone with the mystery that’s been with her for most of her life. she inserts the key into the lock, and turns it. with a satisfying click, the latch opens.

inside, she finds a ring box, and a handwritten note, again in her father’s writing.

it was your mother’s, and her mother’s before that. i’m sure you know by now, but her name was Anne, and she was absolutely wonderful in every way imaginable. she loved you more than life itself, and i know she would’ve wanted you to have this.

lena knows that her mother’s name was anne -- she had hired a private investigator a long time ago. but seeing it confirmed in her father’s handwriting brings tears to her eyes, and suddenly she feels like a child again, lost without the parents for whom she so desperately yearns. there’s a polaroid attached to the note. in it, anne sits on a window ledge, staring out at the view. her hand grasps the sill she sits on, and a ring sparkles on her finger, catching the light in a glorious way.

she opens the ring box, and is surprised (yet again that day) to find, not a claddagh ring, but a simple silver band with a modest diamond set in it. it’s so unlike any of the luthor jewelry she has - big and extravagant and worth millions.

and yet, it is priceless.

she slips the box into her purse, along with the note and polaroid. she thanks rudy for his kindness.

and then she meets her girlfriend for lunch.

///

‘so the meeting went well?’ kara asks an oddly quiet lena. they’ve finished lunch, and slowly work on the hot chocolates kara decided they both needed. lena decides she doesn’t want to lie to her.

‘i didn’t have a meeting,’ lena says. ‘i was emptying a safety deposit box.’

‘oh,’ kara says with a frown. ‘why didn’t you tell me?’

‘i wasn’t sure what i was going to find.’

a beat passes.

‘well? what was it?’

lena hesitates for just a moment.

and then she puts the box on the table between them, and flips it open.

‘oh my god.’

‘i know this moment is supposed to be thought out and planned and romantic or whatever. i don’t know. this ring was my mom’s and-and my father left it for me to give to ‘the one i’ll love forever.’’

‘lena--’

‘i know we haven’t talked about marriage much, and i don’t want to make you feel pressured in any way. but i know that my love for you feels... it feels steady. it feels like i’ve had it in my heart forever. and i know that this ring is meant for you, if you want it.’

kara smiles. she smiles and lena feels as though she wants to cry because of the overwhelming love that aches in her chest.

‘there’s a ring sitting in my old room in midvale that eliza’s been keeping safe for me. my mother heard me talking about you when i was last on argo city and handed it to me almost immediately.’

‘a ring?’ lena asks, her voice breaking.

‘i love you, lena. i plan on loving you forever, if you’ll let me.’

‘forever doesn’t seem long enough,’ lena says, and kara laughs. she leans across the table and kisses her deeply.

‘i’m sure we can figure something out, then.’

#lena luthor #kara danvers #supercorp #supergirl #fanfic

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blackswaneuroparedux · 3 years

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Fashion is an instrument through which you show you belong to a group.

- John Weitz

John Weitz was a man for all seasons. Handsome, intelligent, and debonair. He was a novelist, historian, businessman, spy, and above all a renowned mens and ladies fashion designer. James Bond was fiction but he was the real deal.

Born in Berlin in 1923, Hans Werner Weitz was the son of a prosperous clothing manufacturer and German first world war hero, who had won the Iron Cross in the infantry. The family was living well when Christopher Isherwood visited. But they were Jewish, quick to understand what was about to happen, and, in the early 1930s, moved to London, where the young Weitz went to well known private school, St Paul's in London. At St Paul’s he said it was normal to be caned if he didn’t wear morning clothes to class, so he always did with lapels rolled properly. “On weekends we wore blazers…correctly…with the collar up and with a scarf and with brown suede shoes, which were very new then….but never, of course, after six,” he once reminisced.

He was an apt pupil and Oxbridge seemed to be a seamless next stage. However he lasted only a year studying at Oxford University.

Instead he headed off to Paris to begin an apprenticeship with the women's tailor, Captain Edward Molyneaux. In 1938, at the age of 18, Weitz was falsely arrested as an enemy agent while working in the London office of the Paris fashion house Molyneux.

His father was already in America and in 1939, and when France was overuun at the outbreak of the war, Weitz could see he had to get out of Europe. After a tortuous trip through Shanghai, China and later Yokohama, Japan to reach the USA.

In 1943 and now a naturalised American citizen and aged 21, John (as he was now dubbed) was recruited by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the CIA, operating in Germany until 1946. He was fluent in both French and German which came in handy in his work during the war in Europe.

He would only ever describe his work in Germany until 1946 as "sensitive," though, much later, his publisher John Fairchild told the New York Times that Weitz "loved all that romantic part of his past. He was a perfect gentleman." What is known about his OSS work was that he was part of a 1944 mission in support of the plan to assassinate Adolf Hitler formulated by German Wehrmacht officers, under the instigation of Claus von Stauffenberg. After the war, Weitz helped to liberate the Dachau concentration camp

Weitz was also a man with connections, as when he confirmed that a former OSS boss had shown him gangster blackmail photos of the longtime FBI director J Edgar Hoover with his boyfriend, Clyde Tolson. In the 1970s, Weitz's friend Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, producer of the James Bond movies, teased him about his resemblance to the character - adding that Weitz was better looking.

Weitz returned to New York in the 1940s, a young garment trader well placed to pick up on American women's new taste for informal sportswear, leather coats and men's shirts.

Weitz founded his women’s sportswear business, John Weitz Designs, in 1954, and launched men’s wear a decade later. For his women’s wear, he often tailored the best of men’s designs for the female figure, with looks such as shaped houndstooth checked coats, formal shirts with jet buttons and cuff links, and corduroy pants.

“Whatever happens in women’s pants comes from the men’s pants,” he said in 1965.

In the Sixties, Weitz began phasing out his women’s and children’s apparel business to concentrate on men’s wear. By 1977, Weitz had 18 licensees and $150 million worldwide retail sales of products bearing his label, including sunglasses, belts, umbrellas and even cigars. That year, he also reentered the licensed women’s apparel category, because, he said, he saw the need for an alternative to coordinated sportswear merchandising.

“I’m rather sick of seeing American working women treated as children with prepackaged clothes,” Weitz said at the time.

In 1964, he launched his menswear range, applying the technical standards of manufacture he had learned from his father. Unusually, in that era of obsolescence, he went for ease and wear - clothes, he said, should be worn "as if they are old and valued friends".

Of course he committed fashion faux pas here and there. This was the 1970s after all. But the previaling zeitgeist had to be understood before we laugh or wince at the designs today. None left a lasting impression quite as strong as the posthumously awarded ‘king of the ‘70s’—the leisure suit.

Once hailed by top designers John Weitz and Calvin Klein as a garment with staying power, the leisure suit was ostracized from the kingdom of en vogue before the 1970s ever came to an end. Just as it had swiftly risen to the top of fashion, it fell into the leagues of comic relief twice as fast. Today we laugh at the cheesy styles, feminine colors, and garish plaids. But what we seem to have forgotten is that the leisure suit did more than just provide us with years of laughs. The leisure suit helped men open themselves up to new ideas in clothing. It allowed them to experiment outside of the style box they’d been locked in for too many years. If the 1970s had passed without the leisure suit, “business casual” for men might never have developed as soon as it did. The leisure suit may have been a fashion catastrophe, but it laid the groundwork for men to strut their fashion stuff for decades to come.

He was his own dream model - "healthy and scrubbed," with a flat stomach - and toured stores showing off his new line of narrow, European-cut shirts, half the width of the standard American style. His navy suit, alphabet-patterned ties and aubergine socks are commonplace now, but were then part of a new, executive self-presentation, more about putting it together than design. By 1974, he had become a household name, with annual earnings of $18m and a Coty Award, fashion's prize for innovation.

Weitz skilfully let his name generate money by itself, using witty advertisements to maintain a high public profile. A poster on the back of New York buses announced, for example, "She ditched him, John Weitz ties and all".

He also used his writing abilities to promote the business image: his book Man In Charge, The Executive's Guide To Grooming, Manners And Travel (1974), became a bestseller, but was really just part of his trade in suavity and martinis. Even his headquarters was above Madison Avenue. There were also two well received novels, Friends In High Places and The Value Of Nothing.

Two other books, however, marked out Weitz as a historian of the Nazi period. He wrote Hitler's Diplomat, a biography of the third reich foreign minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop, and Hitler's Banker, about the president of the Reichsbank, Hjalmar Horace Greeley Schacht.

He was repeatedly asked about reconciling the sale of navy blazers and researching von Ribbentrop, but he saw no clash: "Who else but a fashion designer would understand such a worldly man?" Weitz certainly comprehended the Nazis genius for the projection of personal image, and, though never a major historian, established a sufficiently solid reputation as a researcher that the president of Germany consulted him on the subject.

Meanwhile, he lived the life of his executive book, raced cars at Sebring in the 1950s, and belonged to the New York Yacht Club and the Vintage Sports Car Club. In his Park Avenue apartment, a Chinese chef cooked dinner parties for his friends - among them the novelist Tom Wolfe- and film people.

In 1964, he married the actor Susan Kohner, and their two sons, Christopher and Paul, remembered Ingmar Bergman taking them to the circus, and film directors John Huston and Billy Wilder dropping in for coffee -"just nice old men around the house every once in a while". The boys' chief complaint about their father was that he made them wear blue blazers. Both Chris and Paul would go on to forge their own Hollywood careers as the producers and directors of such movies as American Pie (1999) and About a Boy (2002).

John Weitz had a deep fondness for cats which raised eyebrows amongst his more masculine following. But Weitz was unrepentent. Weitz adored their elegance, and was quoted on them more often than on the Nazis. "Even overweight cats instinctively know the rule: when fat, arrange yourself in slim poses," he wrote.

John Weitz died on 3 October 2002 at the grand old age of 79. He remained a dashing figure and aged well - like the American version of Gianni Agnelli. He had throughout his life the air of adventure, even danger. He was stylish fashion designer who lived up to the executive image of his clothes. It’s no wonder no one balked when he made a name for himself with the nowadays unthinkable ad slogan, “John Weitz designs for the woman who wishes her husband could afford her.” His was a life well lived.

#john weitz #weitz #quote #fashion #spy #history #style #menswear #gentleman #icon #oss #germany #war #america #europe #culture #society

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celestesenvironmentalpanic · 3 years

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Blog Post #1:Too Much and Not Enough Blame Being Placed on Individuals

First Entry 9/14/21 (Edited 9/23/21)

Many of the environmental studies journals and articles we read today focus on the role of the individual in reducing their carbon footprint. There is some validity to this assertion, as noted by the theory of the Tragedy of the Commons, while individual action in itself seems futile the collectivity of individual’s behaviors are what in large part contribute to the use and decimation of natural resources (Miller and Spoolman 2021,10-11). However, I think that far too often, we shift the blame of climate change and resource depletion onto individuals as opposed to the larger entities which are responsible for creating the choices provided to individuals, as well as for an even more significant amount of carbon emissions.

When analyzing the varying responsibilities of individuals vs larger corporate and government entities, it is overwhelmingly clear that organizations, not individuals, are responsible for emissions. According to the Carbon Majors Report, just 100 corporations are responsible for 71% of emissions (Riley 2017). Additionally, according to a study done by Brown University, the US military alone (not including the country) has a larger carbon footprint than many industrialized nations (McCarthy 2021).These studies provide a stark reminder that no matter how many take out containers one recycles, no matter how many times one opt for travel on foot as opposed to more carbon-intensive modes of transportation, or how many bottles of “Love, Beauty, and Planet™” shampoo you buy, ones efforts prove futile in comparison to the environmentally destructive practices of many corporations.

One may argue that corporate carbon-emitting activity is only generated in response to the demand from consumers, and that if individuals really want to generate real changes within these corporations it comes down to their consumption. However, the idea that individuals have any control over the demands of corporations is ludicrous. Individuals are going to buy what is accessible and affordable to them. And corporations are currently mostly going to create products that generate a profit at a minimal expense. I believe that the only way to generate change among individuals is by forcing corporations to change their practices and products, through legislation and economic sanctions. Contrary to what a CEO of a major company would want you to believe, the price difference created by the transition from unsustainable to sustainable products is negligible, and could be covered by the cost of that CEO’s 15th yacht.

On the topic of a CEO’s 15th yacht, if we are going to be emphasizing individual action I believe we need to start with the actions of the individuals within the global .0001%. I’m not talking about the individuals who generated enough wealth to ensure a comfortable life for themselves and their families. I’m not even talking about the individuals who live in Luxurious Central Park S apartments and spend most of their time golfing while their investment banker generates even more wealth for them (although they definitely aren’t off the hook). I’m talking about the individuals who, in the midst of a global pandemic, wildfires raging the west, and record rains pummeling the east, chose to have a galactic d*ck measuring contest just for seven minutes of barely breaching the surface of the atmosphere (and in the process generating an exorbitant amount of unnecessary carbon emissions). These are the men who, while their companies profit off of “sustainable” products whose uptick in demand is generated by environmental panic of consumers, and while encouraging individuals to live more sustainably, are sitting in their corporate lairs laughing at our panic and continuing to, emissions-wise, destroy our atmosphere and air quality with their private jumbo jets and their separate yacht just for their helicopter (News18 2021)

Don’t get me wrong, I believe that the actions of individuals are important. In fact, the only way that we are going to be able to make a difference is by overwhelming collective action of individuals pressuring their local, federal, and international legislative bodies to actually pass legislation regulating corporations and forcing them to take accountability for their actions, as well as to reallocate funding from the carbon-intensive defense industry and towards climate mitigation. But I am just tired of feeling guilty for enjoying a hamburger every once in a while when it is so overwhelmingly obvious that the people who are most responsible for climate change and the degradation of our air and water quality are the people who seem to care the least. It’s time for governments to force them to take accountability and stop taking handouts from these CEOs to fund their political campaigns.

Word Count: 753

Works Cited

Desk, Trending. “Jeff Bezos to OWN Mega Luxury Yacht Worth $500 Million That Has a Support Yacht AND HELIPAD.” News18, May 11, 2021. https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/jeff-bezos-luxury-yacht-support-yacht-helipad-amazon-millionaire-3725993.html.

McCarthy, Niall. “Report: The U.S. MILITARY Emits More co2 than Many Industrialized Nations [Infographic].” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, June 30, 2021. https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2019/06/13/report-the-u-s-military-emits-more-co2-than-many-industrialized-nations-infographic/?sh=401151df4372.

Miller, G. Tyler, and Scott Spoolman. “Chapter 1 The Environment and Sustainability.” Essay. In Living in the Environment, 10–11. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2021.

Riley, Tess. “Just 100 Companies Responsible for 71% of Global EMISSIONS, Study Says.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, July 10, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jul/10/100-fossil-fuel-companies-investors-responsible-71-global-emissions-cdp-study-climate-change.

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bountyofbeads · 5 years

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Disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, awaiting sex trafficking charges, dead of apparent suicide

https://news.yahoo.com/jeffrey-epstein-found-dead-jail-132552127.html

Disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, awaiting sex trafficking charges, dead of apparent suicide

Published August 10, 2019 12:58 PM ET| USA TODAY | Posted August 10, 2019 1:27 PM ET |

NEW YORK — Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who was being held in a Manhattan jail awaiting federal sex trafficking charges, died early Saturday from an apparent suicide, according to federal authorities.

Attorney General William Barr said he was "appalled" by the report of Epstein's apparent suicide while in federal custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Centel, a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility that operates under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice.

“Mr. Epstein’s death raises serious questions that must be answered," Barr said in a statement. "In addition to the FBI’s investigation, I have consulted with the Inspector General who is opening an investigation into the circumstances of Mr. Epstein’s death."

After being found "unresponsive in his cell" at around 6:39 a.m. and given life-saving measures, Epstein was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to a statement by the MCC. The center referred to his death as an "apparent suicide.".

It was not immediately clear how Epstein could have killed himself or whether he was under suicide watch. Three weeks ago he was found unconscious in his cell at the center. He had suffered injuries to his neck in what appeared to be a suicide attempt or jailhouse assault.

Epstein, 66, an investment banker who counted among his powerful connections Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and Prince Andrew, had pleaded not guilty to charges of drug trafficking and allegedly sexually abusing dozens of underage girls in New York and Florida.

Epstein was convicted in 2008 on Florida charges of soliciting and procuring a person under 18 for prostitution.

He avoided what could have been a lengthy prison sentence under a plea deal with then-U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta. The deal drew intense scrutiny and led Acosta to resign as President Donald Trump's labor secretary.

Epstein's death came within 24 hours after long-sealed documents were released by a federal court in a since-settled lawsuit against Epstein’s ex-girlfriend by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s accusers.

The documents included depositions of years of alleged sex acts involving underage girls. The material, released as a result of petitions by the Miami Herald and other news media, included sordid allegations involving prominent individuals.

Among the documents are police reports, flight logs and even a purported memoir by a woman who says she was a victim of Epstein's when she was teenager.

Sigrid McCawley, Giuffre’s attorney, said Epstein’s suicide less than 24 hours after the documents were unsealed “is no coincidence.” McCawley called on federal authorities to continue their investigation, focusing on Epstein associates who she said “participated and facilitated Epstein’s horrifying sex trafficking scheme.”

“The reckoning of accountability begun by the voices of brave and truthful victims should not end with Jeffrey Epstein’s cowardly and shameful suicide,” McCawley said in a statement. “The victims await the true justice they have sought and deserve.”

Jennifer Araoz said in a statement Saturday she and other accusers will be scarred for the rest of their lives, while he won’t confront the consequences of the “trauma he caused so many people.”

Brad Edwards, a lawyer for nearly two dozen other accusers, called Epstein’s suicide a “selfish act” that was “not the ending anyone was looking for.”

Epstein was arrested by federal agents in July at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey after his private jet landed from Paris.

The federal indictment claims Epstein "incentivized his victims" by paying them hundreds of dollars for each girl they recruited. Encounters with his victims would begin with a "massage" before Epstein would “escalate the nature and scope of physical contact with his victim,” the indictment says. It also says unnamed employees of Epstein aided in scheduling the girls.

Nicholas Biase, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, declined to comment on the reported suicide or the future status of the Epstein case.

It was unclear before Epstein's death whether federal prosecutors were pursuing a superseding indictment that would include additional charges and defendants beyond Epstein.

Julie K. Brown, a reporter for the Miami Herald whose dogged reporting led to a re-examination of the Epstein saga, told CNN Saturday that his death may bring out more witnesses.

"It might open up the case even more," she said. "There will be people that maybe will not be as afraid to talk now."

Contributing: Joey Garrison and The Associated Press

#u.s. news #politics #donald trump #trump administration #politics and government #president donald trump #us: news #international news #legal issues #world news #criminal-justice #corruption #u.s. department of justice #impeachthemf #united states department of justice #impeachtrump #jeffrey epstein #sex trafficking #sex crimes

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mostlysignssomeportents · 5 years

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#10yrsago Why CNN Struggles to Cover The Economic Panic

Dale Dougherty:

The current economic collapse is a difficult story for TV. It's a peculiar period in between an election and an inauguration. This most important story, this great-or-not-so great depression, is also the hardest for CNN to tell. I have more than enough reasons why in this late-night rant.

1) It's not a hurricane so Anderson Cooper of CNN is unable to position himself in the middle of the storm for optimal drama. In other words, TV anchors can't get wet and windblown, while viewers worry about their safety. The state of the economy is a disaster but not a natural disaster. Nobody's leaving the studio for this one. There's no place to go.

2) It's like a war and we keep losing ground each day. In the place of casualties, we have falling stock indices but it's hard to show the real damage. There's only so much you can do with oversized charts to tell a story. The war on terrorism featured a real enemy. We've just never been able to find them, no matter who goes after them. (Maybe it's not so different.) Campbell Brown ("No Bull, No Bias") should say that what the capitalism's finest did to themselves and to us was worse than any terrorist could have imagined.

3) Few CEOs, fewer economists, and almost no one in the financial industry, want to step forward and say with conviction what will happen. A year ago we couldn't get them to stop telling us what great things to expect in the next quarter. Not now. They don't know what's coming and they aren't willing to say even that much. They are MIA. Insider information is at an all-time low.

Memo to all American CEOs: don't presume in ten years' time to write business books about your leadership skills; maybe there's a gripping survival story to be told about how you held on to your job.

We want them to face the music. Even the Watergate hearings, which had a large cast of characters, were compelling to watch day after day.

4) There is not a President at the center. Bush is just not there. Like us, he's watching TV to find out what to think. Reporting from the White House doesn't have any relevance today. Moreover, the satisfaction in blaming Bush for everything is diminishing.

In addition, with the election over, reporters can't simply ask the candidates to react to the day's bad news. It seldom produced much insight anyway but it filled time. Now Obama is filling time, and he keeps repeating that "there's only one President" but there's really not a President. There's a leadership vacuum waiting to be filled by Obama. (BTW, this story is much bigger and more important than Obama's election and I think he understands that.) Bottom line is we're waiting for a central figure to emerge.

5) Real experts are hard to find, especially ones with big hair. So over-present talking heads such as Suze Orman ramble on and on in front of Larry King and others. Here's an incredible ramble from Suze Orman on CNN:

People feel they need medication because they are panicking. It’s as if the economy right now is in the I.C.U. unit of a hospital. We are in intensive care and they are throwing everything type of medication at us to cure what is going on. They are panicking because why? Nothing is working. They tried this, it didn’t work. They tried that medication, it didn’t work. They are running out of prescriptions to give it. We are going to be in the I.C.U. unit for a while. Eventually, I don’t know when that will be, six months, a year, year and a half, we will get out, we’ll be in the hospital then. We’ll stay in the hospital for about a year or two. After another year or two we will end up in rehab and then we’ll be okay. This is a long stretch. People have to stop panicking. CNN link

Makes me think of Amy Winehouse singing "They try to make me go to rehab, I say no, no, no." Rehab is taking place over on CNBC.

6) Where are the winning and losing teams? We have learned more about Al Queda cells and Saddam Hussein's Elite Guards than about the people in power behind CITI, Goldman Sachs, Lehmann Brothers, AIG, etc. We know more about the New York Jets than we do about CITI Bank. Are the slow-moving Detroit Manufacturers competing head-to-head against the fast-talking Wall Street Financiers? Please tell us more about these teams as we're entrusting them with such large amounts of public money. Maybe we need to start thinking that, as with football, we care because we're betting on teams to win. We have our money at stake.

7) I can almost hear producers wondering each night if there isn't a better story to lead with. "Isn't there a story we can do on Sarah Palin? Like her or hate her, people can't get enough of her." At least that appears to be the thinking behind her getting the most air-time in the week following the election. Would you rather hear about Sarah Palin pardoning a turkey or David Gergen saying no one knows what to make of the economic mess? At least, the Palin piece will have something interesting going on in the foreground and the background.

8) "Why can't this be happening to Russia or China? If it was only happening there, and not here, we would know how to cover it." CNN would send Christiane Amanpour there. "Live from...". We don't have visuals like people knocking down walls, rushing into the streets or standing in lines. The Fall of the Berlin Wall is the Fall of Communism, the fall of Saddam's statue -- now these are stories of new freedoms. In America today, we have a big fall without a distinctive symbol, without a video loop, without an exotic locale.

Also, how do you explain that China is providing the bail for the bailout? As David Gergen said tonight on CNN, "China's become our banker." Even harder to tell that kind of "freedom" story.

9) The problems aren't going away and there's no timeline. So, where's the equivalent of "America Held Hostage: Day XN"? Nightline evolved from a special report to become a nightly hard-news program to follow the ongoing story of Iran holding American hostages during the Carter Administration. Why isn't this economic story played front-and-center in the same way? Isn't there a TV journalist saying "Holy Christ, this is the biggest story of my career and I'm going to bring it to you every night"? Ted Koppel, Edward R. Murrow, where are you?

Here's my list of names for a new Nightline-like special series on the economy:

America's Panic Attack

The Joke's on US

Invisible Hand-Wringing

Capitalism on the Ledge

The Economy on the Couch

Future Shock & Awe

Hitting the Wall And Falling on the Street.

America Sucks Right Now

US: Out of Order

10) Lastly, the TV media is no better off than we are at understanding this complex crisis. On a gut level, viewers know what the story is, that it's about them, their future and their children's future. They have specific questions that are difficult to answer (see the Suze Orman blog on CNN where it is promised that she'll answer these many, many questions; she doesn't, of course.) and they have general worries (should I panic?) that are hard to resolve. While we try to absorb as much information as possible, we keep having the same conversation over and over: Q. What's going on? A. I don't know. It's hard to tell.

https://boingboing.net/2008/11/25/why-cnn-struggles-to.html

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rottenappleheart · 6 years

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mm liveblog part 2

majora’s mask, unfiltered notes for the entire first 3-day cycle until you get the ocarina back and are no longer a slave to the passage of time

DAWN OF

THE FIRST DAY

72 HOURS REMAIN

tatl's thesis - that we should ask the great fairy for help, because the skull kid is no match for the great fairy - is deeply flawed. i have met great fairies. do you know what they don't do? help much.

that said i now like the idea of the skull kid being periodically taken to task by various great fairies

"sit down and tell me what you did this time"

"i made you a sandwich"

"are you sorry"

i know it's meant to be irritating but i love that the guards will stop both deku link and normal link (until they see he's armed, and also looks like he hasn't slept in seven years) from exiting. becasue they are doing their job and keeping the population safe. and that means not letting children wander around alone.

I LOVE CLOCK TOWN OKAY

I TALK TO EVERYONE ABOUT THEIR LIVES AND I READ ALL THE POSTERS FOR THE LOCAL BANDS AND THE GUARD RECRUITMENTS AND I WATCH THAT ODD MASKED PERSON PICK UP THEIR MAIL AND I TRY TO BEFRIEND THE LOCAL STRAY DOGS AND IT IS JUST SO GOOD

the grown deku scrub who promised his wife a moon's tear, i just have to ask: is that a thing that normally happens? does the moon always just... cry onto the surface of the planet? what???

i love their banners and streamers and their happy music and their busy bustling lives and it's so good

what the fuck kind of ink does the banker use that remains indelible even as time itself unwinds

yikes i want to stop and just look at everything but the first sunset is already closing in and i haven't done anything

I FORGOT HOW NERVE-WRACKING THIS GAME IS BEFORE YOU CAN SLOW TIME DOWN

i... just found a lottery shop in clock town. i literally never knew this was here. how have i missed it all these years.

NIGHT OF

THE FIRST DAY

60 HOURS REMAIN

how is time passing so fast aaaaaaa

clocktown is such a nice place, they have a whole section of town set aside for a public park with a playground and gardens and everything ;___;

okay so the great fairies though

remember what i was saying about how this game is actually very heavily voiced for being an ostensibly unvoiced game? everyone sighs, grunts, yells, hmms? and so on. and sometimes you'll catch almost a word.

except for the great fairy, it just sounds like she's squeaking "PLEASE ME" which is. an uncomfortable request. at the best of times.

but especially when i am in the form of a young potted plant.

idk what that was supposed to sound like but the midi-ified file is NOT GREAT, nintendo.

members-only late night milk bar... aw yeah please spike my milkshake, that is a great idea and i love it

(i'm not joking i love spiked milkshakes)

(also i love the milk bar and all the scenes that take place in there, especially on the last night, when you can just have very quiet calm conversations with people doing their best to be calm in the face of their unavoidable deaths)

DAWN OF

THE SECOND DAY

48 HOURS REMAIN

oh no oh no oh no WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO BE DOING IN THE FIRST GO-ROUND

oh right i have literally two tasks

phew

i forgot to go into the stock pot inn on the first day, and i missed seeing kafei at the mailbox, so i am THIRSTY for EVERYONE'S FAVORITE CANONICAL FIANCEES

seriously, another weird but lovely choice on the part of the developers when they were ganking oot character models for this game. "who's a potential spooky villain? how about that one merchant guy? sure! and for an attractive bride-type character, what are our options? hmmm... how about the cuccoo lady with all the allergies? it's perfect"

i love not just anju and kafei but everything involved in their storyline - how kafei's friendship with the curiosity shop manager saved him, how anju's best friend is cremia on the ranch and they talk about their lives and how cremia will save her life (if she can), how you can spend actual in-game hours just sitting with anju's ancient senile grandmother hearing her stories as she thinks she is telling them to her long-dead son, how anju's mom will quietly not like kafei and kafei's mom will love and worry about him on a serious level very unlike her public persona... it's all so very real and human and i love it so

also heck the whole cast of characters staying in the inn

AH THERE SHE IS

THE BRIDE

anju i'm going to fix this ;___;

hello guardsmen if you are concerned about the state of today's youth maybe you should talk to THE BOMBER GANG i'm just saying

people who have played the more recent loz games, is the trend of "horrible underaged gangs of roving thugs" still a thing? or are mm and ww the only two games where they inflicted that on the player?

NIGHT OF

THE SECOND DAY

36 HOURS REMAIN

i'm sweating, i am just trying to find the bomber gang so i can get into the observatory so i can get the moon's tear so i can get the flower launch pad so i can get to the top of the clock tower and not die in a fiery inferno as gravitational forces rip the world apart

is that so much to ask

THERE'S THE LITTLE RUGRAT

COME HERE SO I CAN PUMMEL YOU

i refuse to feel bad about spin-kicking this child in the face because 1) i am technically also a child, in any body they put me in and 2) they are super racist if you talk to them while you are still a deku scrub! VERY RUDE

heck they let fergus over there man the door and he is still in diapers

gonna fill their hideout with encouraging tracts and stuff helping them grow into better people

so, fun fact

i remember many things about this game

but not that there is a skulltula in the waterway leading to the observatory

that was an unpleasant surprise

you probably could have heard me yell from three states away

(also, nothing has attacked you yet in the game (that actually does damage, and is not part of the story) so it's a little wake-up call: hey, don't forget to use Tatl to scout ahead, don't forget that you have a shield

also just

don't

be a moron

anyway

i was about to ask who the dickens put balloons with majora's mask on them all over the place - it's a weird choice, since no one... knows... what's going on? but technically, so far, all of the balloons are being interacted with by the bombers, or in places where the bombers go, and skull kid was, however briefly, a member of the bombers' secret society for justice (AND ALSO RACISM) so actually it makes more sense than i expected

when you first walk into the basement of the observatory and... the music changes... and there's a chicken??? it is what i assume being high is like.

DAWN OF

THE FINAL DAY

24 HOURS REMAIN

plays just as i lunge for the moon's tear

okay i've got this, i can stop fretting, the while last day can just be me looking around at stuff and being sad because i can't help anybody

yet

DON'T WORRY PEOPLE I WILL SAVE YOU

EVENTUALLY

IN A DIFFERENT LIFE

YOU'RE DEFINITELY BONED IN THIS ONE

SORRY ABOUT THAT

BUT I'M A STUMP THAT CHEWS BUBBLE GUM RIGHT NOW AND I DON'T THINK YOU CAN ASK VERY MUCH OF ME

I CAN'T EVEN REACH THE DOORKNOBS OF THIS TOWN SO TBH I WASN'T GOING TO BE MUCH GOOD AGAINST AN INTERSTELLAR BODY CRASHING INTO THE PLANET

a more srs thought: it was an interesting choice of curse skull kid lays on link at the start, making him into a deku scrub, and i think we can unpack some stuff there: he's drawing on his woodland roots (which link shares), he's making link into something small and largely helpless (like skull kid is, without the mask), he's... actually giving link a very similar kind of body to his own?

i don't know what the exact taxonomical differentiation is between deku scrubs and skull kids, but they are both wooden-bodied, whether grown or carved, they both have radiantly glowing eyes unlike most other things in the world, they both clothe themselves in bright layers of leaves... i imagine that if you sandblasted all the drama off a skull kid, you'd find something pretty similar to the lankier deku scrubs.

in that case, what he did is... he really kinda turned link into himself. but his helpless, powerless, abandoned, friendless, pre-mask self. to taunt him with all those awful feelings that skull kid himself experienced.

(mythological distinction for skull kids: they are people who got lost in the woods, and became cursed. if i'm not mistaken.)

(link is literally becoming a skull kid.)

(good times y'all!)

oh gosh the music is so frantic on the third day, and it's such a good bit of development on the design team's side: every day, clock town's music gets a little faster, a little shriller, as their time runs out

if you talk to the guards who block you in on the third day, instead of their usual "hey kiddo it's dangerous outside" they'll start saying "hey, are you alone, where is your family, are you okay, someone is probably worrying about you, please find them and get out of town as soon as you can"

fun fact: one of the things that consistently Wrecks me about this game is how the guards stand at their posts, jaws clenched, holding their fists to their hearts, as they watch their world be destroyed... because they will not abandon their duty.

seriously, every time i die.

and the cow figurines all over town that, if you hadn't noticed before, have bobbleheads, because as the earth starts shaking they do too, and it's another tiny detail that makes it all The Worst.

awkward council meeting eavesdropped on

("nothing is wrong!" is a lot less believable when the ground is literally shaking from the gravitational stresses being exerted by the falling moon, but hey, 2018)

the carpenters shouting back and forth "hey dudes i'm sorry but i'm gonna jet" "are you kidding if i stay i get a promotion"

;_______;

SO MANY RACISTS IN CLOCK TOWN, the merchant's hipster assistant will literally refuse to talk to you if you're "just" a deku scrub

meanwhile the bomb shop guy's grandmother (the one who gets robbed, if you're not paying attention, like i wasn't) is just "oh goodness you are a very small customer, please be careful in our shop of very dangerous things"

NIGHT OF

THE FINAL DAY

12 HOURS REMAIN

eeeeeeeeeeep

finally got into the milk bar (everyone's a member when the world is ending!) and madame aroma, the scary and powerful socialite, starts with a very gentle "are you okay with not fleeing? it looks like we are all going to die here in town. is anyone looking for you?"

if i had all my masks and instruments i would love to invoke that scene right now and be the band on the titanic and give her and the other customers a few minutes of... life, if not joy, and beauty, if not quite comfort.

snuck into the now-abandoned stock pot inn, as well, and... okay, i'm going to say it, i don't know wtf is going on with anju's wedding dress. is her midriff made out of ivy? why is her romantic wedding-day mask (which is a neat concept btw!) a grinning rictus? what are we saying about love in this moment???)

(also, if you have ever made the mistake of helping kafei but forgetting to tell anju to wait for him, or telling anju to wait and then not helping kafei deal with sakon... it's a shitshow, it's bad for you, it darkens your heart forever)

during the last 12 hours the guards will say "i want to help you get out of her asap, run find your folks and i will let you out, please hurry"

nooooooo ;_______;

the postman sobbing because "flee for your life" is not written on the schedule

he wrote himself a letter saying that he is doing a good job and he requests that he himself flee ;__________________; but he can't do it ;__________________________;

oh no here we go

here it comes

the clocktower

the fireworks

the moon

the six hours remaining music

HEART CLUTCH

soft wailing

ngl that sad and weary music is the best part of the entire narrative experience to me

and then skull kid's impotent fury against all that immense power

tatl to skull kid: "what if we... didn't???"

also a good and valid point: friends don't hit friends

JUST LOOK ABOVE YOU

IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN BE STOPPED

JUST TRY AND STOP IT

(his voice is still so horribly thin and shrill, like a child)

but one well-placed gum bubble to the face and we are BACK IN BUSINESS

the BUSINESS

of RUNNING FOR OUR LIVES

from THINGS WE CANNOT FIGHT

i like that the one time zelda appears in the game, it is such a gentle and tender scene, reminding you of the bond she MUST have had with Link, for him to have done so much, and how much trust he puts in her

(... ask me again about the Song of Endings)

("even though it was only a short time, i feel like i've known you forever")

("i believe in my heart that a day will come when i shall meet you again")

(--> all my worst most wretched tp emotions about the wolf and the shrouded lady in the tower)

the song that reminds her of herself and link is the song of time, not anything else... the song about cycles and memory and history and second chances and legends

;_________________;

WELL FUCK I GUESS I'M HAVING PRINCESS ZELDA FEELS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GAME IN WHICH SHE DOES NOT PLAY A ROLE

i have to play the songs in the right time, i can't just half-ass it by speeding through the buttons, idk why

("the goddess of time is watching over you" --> old old questions about who the goddess of time is, and which sage zelda was, etc)

the PLOT TWIST when you equip the ocarina and it turns into A GOSHDARN BRASS QUINTET STRAPPED TO YOUR BACK i love it

(each little snail yeah knows how to wail yeah)

tatl saying [as midna will, centuries later]: um dude i mean sir WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU, HAVE I MISJUDGED, SUDDENLY I AM WORRIED ABOUT MY MANNERS

and we are... not victorious, but reprieved!!!

i'll do better this time everyone i promise

DAWN OF

THE FIRST DAY

AGAIN...!!!

#yelling about mm #i am very glad i did this tonight #deeply misjudged how long it would take me and how stressful it would be #since you can't save at all during that first cycle #but now i can tool around to my heart's content wasting time and lives so that i can admire the architecture of termina

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mycryptosuite · 8 months

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dibbletailor42 · 3 years

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2020 Election Numbers: FiveThirtyEight Vs. Betting Markets

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jobsearchtips02 · 4 years

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Stocks Rally as Trump Flags Deal on Oil Production: Live Updates

Right Now

Amazon said it hired 80,000 new workers to keep up with demand.

Oil prices surge after Trump tweets about production cuts.

Oil prices surged, setting off a rally in shares of energy companies, after President Trump said on Thursday that he expected that Saudi Arabia and Russia would substantially cut their oil production to halt the collapse of prices.

Mr. Trump said in a tweet that he spoke with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who had spoken with President Vladimir V. Putin. “I expect & hope that they will be cutting back approximately 10 million barrels,” he said. That figure represents about 10 percent of normal world consumption. The president later said the cut could be as much as 15 million barrels.

Saudi Arabia called on Thursday for an urgent meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil-producing countries with the “aim of reaching a fair agreement to restore” balance in the oil markets. The Saudis said in a statement that they were acting to support the global economy and in “appreciation” of Mr. Trump’s request.

The Kremlin denied that Mr. Putin had spoken to the Saudi crown prince, as Mr. Trump had said in his Twitter message. “No, there was no conversation,” Dmitri S. Peskov, spokesman for Mr. Putin, told the Interfax news agency.

Still, crude oil futures, which had already been climbing on Thursday, surged by about 20 percent, and shares of oil and gas companies rallied. Occidental Petroleum was the best performing stock in the S&P 500, with a gain of about 16 percent. Halliburton rose about 12 percent.

Oil prices had been hammered as the coronavirus pandemic all but eliminated travel and damped demand for energy. A price war that broke out between Saudi Arabia and Russia last month intensified the decline. After the countries failed to reach a deal on production cuts, both instead increased output in an effort to gain market share.

The combination of slumping demand and the contest between two of the world’s largest oil producers had pushed crude oil prices down by 55 percent in March alone, wreaking havoc on the energy industry, with oil companies slashing budgets, and refineries cutting production of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

The possibility of some relief to the industry was also welcomed by stock investors.

Though the rally in energy companies Thursday bolstered the stock market — with the S&P 500 rising as much as 2 percent at one point — those gains eventually faded. Earlier on Thursday, a report on jobless claims showed that 6.6 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week in the latest sign of the economic damage wrought across the country by the coronavirus pandemic.

Businesses dependent on consumer spending were battered as a result. Retailers ranging from Gap to Walgreens Boots Alliance fell. Live Nation Entertainment, which produces concerts and sells tickets to events, was one of the worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500.

Another 6.6 million joined the U.S. unemployment rolls last week.

million

6,648,000

Claims were filed last week

Initial jobless claims, per week

Seasonally adjusted

The week before was revised

up 24,000 to 3,307,000

RECESSION

’04

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million

6,648,000

Claims were filed last week

Initial jobless claims, per week

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RECESSION

’04

’08

’09

’12

’16

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million

6,648,000

Claims were filed last week

Initial jobless claims, per week

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The week before was revised

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RECESSION

’04

’08

’09

’12

’16

’20

million

6,648,000

Claims were filed last week

Initial jobless claims, per week

Seasonally adjusted

The week before was revised

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RECESSION

’04

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’09

’12

’16

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More than 6.6 million people filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, setting a grim record for the second straight week.

The latest claims brought the two-week total to nearly 10 million.

The speed and scale of the job losses is without precedent. Until last month, the worst week for unemployment filings was 695,000 in 1982.

“What usually takes months or quarters to happen in a recession is happening in a matter of weeks,” said Michelle Meyer, chief U.S. economist for Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

A month ago, most forecasters still thought the United States could avoid a recession. Today, with the pandemic shuttering businesses and forcing vast layoffs, many economists are expecting a decline in gross domestic product that rivals the worst periods of the Great Depression.

Pressure builds on Congress to do more to help workers and businesses.

Image

Many economists have warned that the $350 billion included in that most recent package for aid to small businesses will not prove sufficient.Credit…Ting Shen for The New York Times

The Labor Department’s report on Thursday that 6.6 million Americans filed claims for unemployment benefits last week only increases the pressure on President Trump and members of Congress to ready another package to further aid workers and businesses through the coronavirus crisis.

The $2.2 trillion package that Mr. Trump signed into law last week includes enhanced benefits for unemployed workers for up to four months, along with aid for large and small businesses and direct payments to millions of individuals, as the country struggles through a shutdown of economic activity meant to slow the spread of the virus.

Many economists have warned that the $350 billion included in that most recent package for aid to small businesses will not prove sufficient to help all of the companies that might otherwise go under during the shutdowns.

R. Glenn Hubbard, a Columbia University economist and former adviser to President George W. Bush, said in an interview that the necessary assistance was likely to be “closer to $1 trillion,” which would require another $650 billion appropriation from Congress.

Democrats, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, have pushed for additional payments to reach more Americans, to help people continue to pay their bills through the crisis. Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio has called for federally funded “hazard pay” for doctors, nurses, grocery store clerks, postal carriers and other workers on the front lines of the virus.

Mr. Trump and Democratic leaders have also called for a sweeping investment in infrastructure, like broadband expansion and bridge repair, that could put millions of Americans to work once the crisis abates. Republican leaders in the House and Senate have shown less enthusiasm for many of those ideas.

States are taking action to close Hobby Lobby during the pandemic.

The arts-and-crafts chain Hobby Lobby was accused of defying stay-at-home orders in at least four states during the coronavirus outbreak, prompting officials to take action against the retailer.

The moves by state and local authorities in Colorado, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin to shut the stores down came as governors across much of the United States have signed stay-at-home orders and health authorities have urged Americans to practice social distancing. Still, some haven’t heeded the advice, from spring breakers to some megachurches. In Florida, a pastor was arrested after defying virus orders.

W. Eric Kuhn, the senior assistant state attorney general of Colorado, where there are 10 stores, sent a cease-and-desist letter to the company after it had reopened its stores in the state this week. The letter said the company’s actions violated a March 25 executive order signed by Gov. Jared Polis directing Coloradans to stay at home and requiring all businesses to close that were not designated by state health officials as critical. Mr. Kuhn wrote that the company had until 5 p.m. on Thursday to comply with the closing order or the state would seek court relief, including a temporary restraining order.

Ohio’s attorney general, Dave Yost, wrote on Twitter on Wednesday that he had sent a similar cease-and-desist letter to Hobby Lobby and that the company had agreed to close stores in his state, where there are 10.

Banks say structure of new small business lending program is unworkable.

With a $350 billion emergency lending program for small businesses supposed to begin on Friday, bank lobbying groups have told the Treasury Department that the structure is unworkable and creates too much risk.

The program, created as part of a $2 trillion spending plan passed by lawmakers last week, offers companies and nonprofit organizations with up to 500 workers a low-interest loan to cover up to two months of payroll and other expenses. Most — and in some cases, all — of the loan will be forgiven if the borrower retains workers and does not cut wages.

In letters and telephone calls, the groups have warned the Treasury Department that the program as written will not be workable, and that millions of businesses expecting funds to be approved and released in a matter of hours are likely going to be disappointed if the current government guidance is not updated.

The top concern among banks is about their own liability as they try to rush money to borrowers while being required to verify their applications and keep tabs on potential fraud. Banks are concerned that they could be held liable for loans made to borrowers who provide inaccurate or fraudulent information.

Remuneration for taking on these risks is also a worry. The Independent Community Bankers of America sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Wednesday complaining that the existing guidelines that call for loans to be made with 0.5 percent interest rates means that banks will not be able to break even on those loans, creating “unacceptable losses” for lenders.

Amazon says it will improve worker safety after criticism.

Amazon, which has come under fire from employees and politicians for not taking sufficient steps to protect workers on the job during the pandemic, said it would ramp up safety efforts.

The company said in a blog post on Thursday that temperature checks, which it began at certain facilities last Sunday, were likely to be put in place across all of its U.S. and European facilities and Whole Foods stores by early next week, and that it was already checking the temperatures of more than 100,000 workers each day. Anyone with a fever of more than 100.4 degrees is sent home and asked to stay home until they are free of fever for three days, the company said.

The company also said it was in the process of procuring more hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes for workers, and that it was beginning to distribute millions of masks to workers.

Workers who learned they had contracted the coronavirus or presumed they had but were unable to get tested could receive extra paid time off, and any worker who had contact with a person with the illness would receive 14 days of paid leave, Amazon said.

Amazon also said that it had already hired 80,000 of the 100,000 new workers it had pledged to hire in mid-March to keep up with recent demand.

Delta to let employees stay at home if they are worried about the coronavirus.

Delta Air Lines told employees on Wednesday that it would allow flight attendants, baggage handlers, gate agents and other so-called front-line employees who were concerned about the coronavirus to stay home and still get paid.

Any employee concerned for their safety would be allowed to take voluntary leave and continue to be paid “in some form,” according to an internal memo to managers that was viewed by The New York Times. Managers, who are referred to as “leaders” at Delta were also instructed not to question the employees about whether they were personally at higher risk and were told to share guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on high-risk factors associated with the virus.

“This is the right thing to do for our people who may be part of a high-risk group based on the latest C.D.C. guidance,” the airline said in a statement to The Times.

Separately, International Airlines Group, which operates British Airways, Iberia and other airlines, said on Thursday it was slashing its schedule by 90 percent in April and May. And British Airways said it had reached an agreement in which each of its 4,000 pilots would take four weeks of unpaid leave over the next two months.

Catch up: Here’s what else is going on.

Governors and mayors across the country are answering questions about the virus on Twitter, using the hashtags #AsktheGov and #AsktheMayor. Governors from Rhode Island, California, Washington, Illinois, and 10 other states took questions on Thursday, while mayors from at least nine cities said they would answer questions on Friday.

Amazon said on Thursday that it was restricting the sale of N95 masks and large bottles of hand sanitizer to hospitals and government agencies in an effort to ease the supply shortages of medical supplies from the coronavirus. It said small-volume bottles of hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes for personal use would remain available on the site.

Google said on Thursday that it was looking at relaxing some of its restrictions for ads related to the coronavirus to allow hospitals, medical providers, governments and nongovernmental organizations to place advertisements featuring information about the virus or next to virus-related searches. The company had been broadly blocking ads pertaining to the coronavirus since January under its “sensitive events” policy.

The aviation unit of General Electric said it would temporarily furlough about half of its staff involved in engine assembly and component manufacturing. The furlough will last four weeks and the thousands of affected employees will still receive health benefits and at least some pay.

Amazon announced that its Prime Video service had partnered with the SXSW Film Festival to offer consumers the chance to view some of the movies that were scheduled to screen during the March event in Austin, Tex. The 10-day virtual experience will be provided free to customers with an Amazon account. SXSW filmmakers have until April 7 to opt into the festival, which Amazon hopes to introduce by the end of the month.

The chief executive of Boeing, Dave Calhoun, announced voluntary layoffs in a note to staff on Thursday, with details on eligibility and benefits to come in three to four weeks. “We’re in uncharted waters,” he said, adding that the layoffs would provide a bridge to recovery, provided “we’re not confronted with more unexpected challenges.”

Reporting was contributed by Nicole Sperling, Niraj Chokshi, Jim Tankersley, Peter Eavis, Stanley Reed, Ben Casselman, Patricia Cohen, Clifford Krauss, Andrew E. Kramer, Mary Williams Walsh, Keith Bradsher, Neal E. Boudette, Kate Conger, Daisuke Wakabayashi, Stefanos Chen, Keith Collins, David Yaffe-Bellany, Mohammed Hadi, Carlos Tejada and Daniel Victor.

Updated March 24, 2020

How does coronavirus spread?

It seems to spread very easily from person to person, especially in homes, hospitals and other confined spaces. The pathogen can be carried on tiny respiratory droplets that fall as they are coughed or sneezed out. It may also be transmitted when we touch a contaminated surface and then touch our face.

Is there a vaccine yet?

No. The first testing in humans of an experimental vaccine began in mid-March. Such rapid development of a potential vaccine is unprecedented, but even if it is proved safe and effective, it probably will not be available for 12 to18 months.

What makes this outbreak so different?

Unlike the flu, there is no known treatment or vaccine, and little is known about this particular virus so far. It seems to be more lethal than the flu, but the numbers are still uncertain. And it hits the elderly and those with underlying conditions — not just those with respiratory diseases — particularly hard.

What should I do if I feel sick?

If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.

How do I get tested?

If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested.

What if somebody in my family gets sick?

If the family member doesn’t need hospitalization and can be cared for at home, you should help him or her with basic needs and monitor the symptoms, while also keeping as much distance as possible, according to guidelines issued by the C.D.C. If there’s space, the sick family member should stay in a separate room and use a separate bathroom. If masks are available, both the sick person and the caregiver should wear them when the caregiver enters the room. Make sure not to share any dishes or other household items and to regularly clean surfaces like counters, doorknobs, toilets and tables. Don’t forget to wash your hands frequently.

Should I wear a mask?

Experts are divided on how much protection a regular surgical mask, or even a scarf, can provide for people who aren’t yet sick. The W.H.O. and C.D.C. say that unless you’re already sick, or caring for someone who is, wearing a face mask isn’t necessary. The New York Times and other news outlets have been reporting that the wearing of face masks may not help healthy people, noting that while masks can help prevent the spread of a virus if you are infected, most surgical masks are too loose to prevent inhalation of the virus and the more effective N95 masks, because of shortages at health centers worldwide, should be used only by medical personnel. But researchers are also finding that there are more cases of asymptomatic transmission than were known early on in the pandemic. And a few experts say that masks could offer some protection in crowded places where it is not possible to stay 6 feet away from other people. Masks don’t replace hand-washing and social distancing.

Should I stock up on groceries?

Plan two weeks of meals if possible. But people should not hoard food or supplies. Despite the empty shelves, the supply chain remains strong. And remember to wipe the handle of the grocery cart with a disinfecting wipe and wash your hands as soon as you get home.

Can I go to the park?

Yes, but make sure you keep six feet of distance between you and people who don’t live in your home. Even if you just hang out in a park, rather than go for a jog or a walk, getting some fresh air, and hopefully sunshine, is a good idea.

Should I pull my money from the markets?

That’s not a good idea. Even if you’re retired, having a balanced portfolio of stocks and bonds so that your money keeps up with inflation, or even grows, makes sense. But retirees may want to think about having enough cash set aside for a year’s worth of living expenses and big payments needed over the next five years.

What should I do with my 401(k)?

Watching your balance go up and down can be scary. You may be wondering if you should decrease your contributions — don’t! If your employer matches any part of your contributions, make sure you’re at least saving as much as you can to get that “free money.”

from Job Search Tips https://jobsearchtips.net/stocks-rally-as-trump-flags-deal-on-oil-production-live-updates/

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Midterm; Final blog posts #1-6

Blog Post #1:Too Much and Not Enough Blame Being Placed on Individuals

First Entry 9/14/21

Many of the environmental studies journals and articles we read today focus on the role of the individual in reducing their carbon footprint. There is some validity to this assertion, as noted by the theory of the Tragedy of the Commons, while individual action in itself seems futile the collectivity of individual’s behaviors is what in large part contributes to the use and decimation of natural resources {Miller and Spoolman 2021,10-11}. However, I think that far too often, we shift the blame of climate change and resource depletion onto individuals as opposed to the larger entities which are responsible for creating the choices provided to individuals, as well as for an even more significant amount of carbon emissions.

When analyzing the varying responsibilities of individuals vs larger corporate and government entities, it is overwhelmingly clear that organizations, not individuals, are responsible for emissions. According to the Carbon Majors Report, just 100 corporations are responsible for 71% of emissions {Riley 2017}. Additionally, according to a study done by Brown University, the US military alone (not including the country) has a larger carbon footprint than many industrialized nations {McCarthy 2021}. These studies provide a stark reminder that no matter how many take out containers one recycles, no matter how many times one opt for travel on foot as opposed to more carbon-intensive modes of transportation, or how many bottles of “Love, Beauty, and Planet™” shampoo one buys, one’s efforts prove futile in comparison to the environmentally destructive practices of many corporations.

One may argue that corporate carbon-emitting activity is only generated in response to the demand from consumers and that if individuals want to generate real changes within these corporations it comes down to their consumption. However, the idea that individuals have any control over the demands of corporations is ludicrous. Individuals are going to buy what is accessible and affordable to them. And corporations are currently mostly going to create products that generate a profit at a minimal expense. I believe that the only way to generate change among individuals is by forcing corporations to change their practices and products, through legislation and economic sanctions. Contrary to what a CEO of a major company would want you to believe, the price difference created by the transition from unsustainable to sustainable products is negligible and could be covered by the cost of that CEO’s 15th yacht.

On the topic of a CEO’s 15th yacht, if we are going to be emphasizing individual action I believe we need to start with the actions of the individuals within the global .0001%. I’m not talking about the individuals who generated enough wealth to ensure a comfortable life for themselves and their families. I’m not even talking about the individuals who live in Luxurious Central Park S apartments and spend most of their time golfing while their investment banker generates even more wealth for them (although they aren’t off the hook). I’m talking about the individuals who, in the midst of a global pandemic, wildfires raging the west, and record rains pummeling the east, chose to have a galactic d*ck measuring contest just for seven minutes of barely breaching the surface of the atmosphere (and in the process generating an exorbitant amount of unnecessary carbon emissions). These are the men who, while their companies profit off of “sustainable” products whose uptick in demand is generated by the environmental panic of consumers, and while encouraging individuals to live more sustainably, are sitting in their corporate lairs laughing at our panic and continuing to destroy our atmosphere and air quality with their private jumbo jets and their separate yacht just for their helicopter (News18 2021)

Don’t get me wrong, I believe that the actions of individuals are important. The only way that we are going to be able to make a difference is by the overwhelming collective action of individuals pressuring their local, federal, and international legislative bodies to pass legislation regulating corporations and forcing them to take accountability for their actions, as well as to reallocate funding from the carbon-intensive defense industry and towards climate mitigation. But I am just tired of feeling guilty for enjoying a hamburger every once in a while when it is so overwhelmingly obvious that the people who are most responsible for climate change and the degradation of our air and water quality are the people who seem to care the least. It’s time for governments to force them to take accountability and stop taking handouts from these CEOs to fund their political campaigns. Do you think the burden of sustainability should be on individuals or corporations?

Word Count: 753

Works Cited

Miller, G. Tyler, and Scott Spoolman. “Chapter 1 The Environment and Sustainability.” Essay. In Living in the Environment, 10–11. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2021.

Blog Post #2: Oysters, Coral Reefs, and Mangroves: The Solution to Rising Sea Levels that Has Always Existed

(9/23/21)

Due to climate change, the ocean and the weather that affects it is undergoing many changes; not only are sea levels physically rising, but the ocean is acidifying and weather patterns which cause ocean-related disasters such as hurricanes and floods as a result of increased atmospheric carbon are increasingly common.

Sea level rise is caused by a combination of two factors; first, increased average temperatures have caused the ocean water to physically expand, following the law of thermal expansion which states that heat makes things expand. Additionally, due to increasing temperatures, the massive ice sheets that exist off of places like Greenland are beginning to melt, with large sheets breaking off into the ocean, causing it to physically rise {Miller and Spoolman 2021, 161}. The best way to understand this phenomenon is by comparing it to a glass of water with ice; when the ice cube is added to the water, the level of the water in the glass becomes physically higher.

Ocean acidification is caused in large part by the excessive amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; “ the oceans absorb about 25% of the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere by human activities, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels. The CO2 reacts with ocean water to form a weak acid (carbonic acid). This reaction decreases the levels of carbonate ions necessary for the formation of coral reefs” {Miller and Spoolman 2021, 158}. As a result of ocean acidification, in recent years massive coral bleaching events have taken place in vital reefs such as the Great Barrier Reef. The destruction of reefs stands to affect not only the ~500 million people who depend on coral reefs for food and income {Miller and Spoolman 2021, 158} but the ecosystems dependent on it, as well as the ability of coral reefs to act as a buffer for storm surges.

In addition to sea-level rise and ocean acidification caused by excess CO2 in the atmosphere, climate change caused by excess CO2 has brought about more erratic and dangerous weather events, such as hurricanes, tidal waves, and floods. Due to human expansion and activity, our normally existing defenses for tidal surges (coral and oyster reefs, mangrove forests, and wetlands) have been destroyed {Miller and Spoolman 2021, 167}. These ecosystems work to protect the inland from storm surge by absorbing some of the shock of waves and decreasing their strength when they finally reach land. While humans have attempted to respond to rising sea levels and storm surge by building flood barriers and seawalls, these structures are costly, must be maintained, and disrupt the local ecosystem which they are built into.

However, not all hope is lost when it comes to defending against rising sea levels and storm surge. A possible, more sustainable solution has always existed; Coral and oyster reefs, mangrove forests, and wetlands all provide a fair amount of protection from storm surge. Reefs and mangrove forests protect against storm surge by working as a natural sea wall, absorbing some of the shock from the high-pressure waves and decreasing the power and magnitude of the wave when it finally reaches the inland. Wetlands on the other hand protect against flooding by absorbing rising water before it can reach inland, as well as providing a similar buffer effect to waves. In addition to providing a natural buffer for rising sea levels, these ecosystems also work to absorb excess carbon and other pollutants such as silt and nitrogen {AMNH}. Human development near coasts has resulted in the decimation of these ecosystems.

In recent years, many initiatives have taken place to restore these ecosystems. Scientists have begun rebuilding coral and oyster reefs by propagating pieces of coral {Papp, 2020} and creating artificial oyster reefs out of old oyster shells {Vox, 2021}. Additionally, legislation has been passed protecting oyster-based ecosystems in places like the Chesapeake Bay that has been very successful; oyster populations in the region have been on the rise since 2007 {Miller and Spoolman 2021,163}. Additionally, initiatives such as the Mangrove Action Project have taken place to replant mangrove forests to mimic the natural process. Lastly, the Environmental Protection Agency of the US has also begun initiatives to restore wetlands.

These solutions may seem trivial in the grand scheme of the magnitude of climate change. However, with the way things are going with the feedback loop of climate change, we have reached a point where we are no longer focused on the prevention of climate change but rather the mitigation of its worst effects, namely, sea level rise. If we are going to be able to make a dent in the massive problem of climate change, looking back to the Earth’s natural processes may be the solution. What are some ways in which natural structures and mangrove and grasslands infrastructure can be incorporated into existing infrastructure?

Word Count: 770

Works Cited

“The Importance of Mangrove Forests: Diverse Ecosystems: Amnh.” American Museum of Natural History. Accessed September 24, 2021. https://www.amnh.org/explore/videos/biodiversity/mangroves-the-roots-of-the-sea/why-mangroves-matter.

Mas, Kim. How Oysters Can Stop A Flood. YouTube. Vox, 2021. https://youtu.be/UcN6RXT7qpw.

Miller, G. Tyler, and Scott Spoolman. “Chapter 8 Aquatic Biodiversity.” Essay. In Living in the Environment, 154–71. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2021.

Papp, Ashleigh. “Scientists in Costa Rica Are Growing New Corals to SAVE REEFS.” Mongabay Environmental News, December 8, 2020. https://news.mongabay.com/2020/11/scientists-in-costa-rica-are-growing-new-corals-to-save-reefs/.

“Principles of Wetland Restoration.” EPA. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed September 24, 2021. https://www.epa.gov/wetlands/principles-wetland-restoration.

“‘CBEMR’ Mangrove Restoration.” Mangrove Action Project, June 25, 2021. https://mangroveactionproject.org/mangrove-restoration/.

Blog Post #3: Looking to the Past to Fix the Future

(9/28/21)

The concept of environmental degradation and the subsequent desire to preserve the environment is not a concept that merely evolved as a reaction to environmentalism. Humans have been degrading soil to the point of desertification since humans began cultivating the land in an attempt to sustain themselves. Air pollution has also existed since humans began making fires in enclosed spaces such as caves, which may have resulted in “unhealthy inhalation of smoke and soot” but would not have been substantial enough to cause any damages to the climate as a whole {Miller and Spoolman 2021, Supplemental Reading}.

As early as the middle ages, however, wood-burning fires used for cooking and to heat homes created dense smoke over highly populated urban areas {Miller and Spoolman 2021, Supplemental Reading}. However, wood also had value as a building material, and it required a lot of wood to upkeep a fire. Ironically, the advent of the burning of coal in homes relieved the local environment from more deforestation by reducing the need for wood {Lewis and Maslin, 193}. But, in the long term, the burning of coal would prove detrimental to air quality, especially in urban centers. And combined with the increased demand for energy as a result of the industrial revolution, the burning of coal in both homes and factories resulted in air quality being poor enough for people to develop respiratory diseases like asthma and bronchitis, which affected vulnerable populations like children and the elderly {Miller and Spoolman 2021, Supplemental Reading}.

In the 1850s, a mixture of coal smoke and fog engulfed London in the winter months. Multiple coal smoke and fog events took place in the following decades that resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of the city’s citizens. “In December 1952, an even worse yellow fog lasted for 5 days and killed 4,000–12,000 Londoners. Visibility was so low that people walking outside during the day could not see their feet. So many people died that undertakers ran out of coffins” This tragedy convinced the British government to pass the Clean Air Act of 1956, which eventually resulted in the improvement of air quality in the city (but not before several more coal smogging events) {Miller and Spoolman 2021, Supplemental Reading}.

The events in London are a case study of just how much of a role human activity plays in air and water quality degradation, and how powerful it can be for governments to take action against issues. But it’s not an anomaly. Many cities that previously experienced very poor air quality chose to take action that has since improved the quality of air in recent years, such as Los Angeles.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, a movement for environmental conservation and preservation emerged (for this blog I’ll be discussing the US). Theodore Roosevelt was the first environmentalist President; he initiated the designation of Federal Lands as forest reserves, as well as creating designated nature preserves for endangered species. During his administration, Congress also founded the US Forest Service in 1905 to manage and protect the reserves. World War I brought with it a period of the privatization of Federal Lands for development. However, with the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, came the founding of the Civilian Conservation Corps, which was a double-edged sword in terms of providing economic stimulation to a recession-ravaged economy and restoring forests.

In the 1960s, a focus of the environmental movement partially shifted from the preservation of forests to the concern about environmental degradation from other human activity, such as the use of pesticides like DDT in agriculture, as outlined in Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring”, which brought a new awareness to the public about industrial and agricultural chemicals that could potentially be poisoning citizens. In the 1970s, the environmental movement in the United States took flight, culminating in massive public demonstrations to promote the preservation of the Environment, as well as the founding of the EPA. However, as a reaction to new regulations, many corporate interests retaliated by lobbying and organizing to defeat environmental laws and regulations. “In 1980 the US led the world in [renewable energy research]….however, Congress slashed 90% of government subsidies for renewable energy research….eliminated tax incentives for residential solar energy. As a result, the US lost its lead in developing [renewable energy]” {Miller and Spoolman 2021, Supplemental Reading}.

If we are going to do something about climate change, I think it is important that we look to the past and examine what mistakes we made and what worked out for the better. It is overwhelmingly obvious that government environmental regulation can help reduce the degree to which human activity is affecting the environment. However, it will be impossible to motivate politicians to get anything done until we not only force politicians to come face to face with the ramifications of climate change, but also take the dirty corporate money out of politics and require campaigns to be publically funded. Then maybe politicians would have a desire to represent the interests of their constituents as opposed to CEOs. Can you name any politicians/initiatives that have attempted to remove corporate money from politics?

Word Count: 832

Miller, G. Tyler, and Scott Spoolman. “Supplemental Reading.” Essay. In Living in the Environment: Principles, Connections, and Solutions. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, 2015.

LEWIS, SIMON L. “Chapter 5: Globalization 1.0, the Modern World.” Essay. In Human Planet: How We Created the Anthropocene, 193. S.l.: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2022.

Blog Post #4: Changing Mindsets to Change the Course of Climate Change

10/5/21

Growing up as a kid in suburban northern Virginia, I spent most of my childhood outdoors; climbing trees, wading through and fishing in the creek, making “soup” out of mud and wild onions. Getting older, and watching the environment I spent my childhood in change for the worse, has made me realize I took my childhood for granted; many of the trees I used to climb near my house have since been cleared for new housing developments, and the creek experienced an oil spill from a nearby overturned tanker that caused a “dead zone” in the stream for years. Even the beach I spent my childhood visiting, which is supposed to be the site of an environmental preservation initiative, has been gradually shrinking over the years as a result of erosion and rising sea levels. When I think about the fact that I may be part of the last generation to experience the environment as it was, I become despondent. The reality that in my lifetime we may experience an environmental apocalypse has begun sinking in.

According to chapter 25, people’s environmental worldview is what shapes their perception of their relationship with the earth and their responsibility to its preservation. For years, the consensus (especially among capitalists) was that the earth was a source of infinite resources that exist to serve human advancement and development, or the human-centered worldview {Miller and Spoolman 2021, 637}. It is this worldview that has, in part, led us to many scientific discoveries about the world around us. However, it is also this worldview that has led us to the situation we are in today; to the point where we have surpassed several ecological tipping points, and we are well on our way to surpassing several more {Miller and Spoolman 2021, 638}.

I believe that part of the reason why the situation with our environment has gotten so bad is that the people responsible for polluting have not been forced to come face to face with the consequences of their actions, and have been able to reap the benefits for far too long. Meanwhile, the people who are the least responsible, and have been able to reap the benefits of the environment the least, are the ones who have had to deal with the consequences of environmental degradation the most {Bullard, 2001}. Growing up in Virginia, I recognize that I was able to have an excellent, immersive relationship with the environment around me; many people around the world are unable to say the same, and I believe it is for this reason that many people have developed a skewed environmental worldview.

According to Leov, existing in nature, especially as a child, is integral for the proper physical and emotional development of individuals. He refers to this environmental deprivation as “nature-deficit-disorder”, and argues it is responsible for the disturbing uptick in childhood ailments, such as obesity, attention disorders, and mental illnesses. I believe it is also for this reason that many people have developed a human-centric worldview; the only exposure many people have with nature often involves urbanized parks, many of which are unable to provide refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city. The perception of nature for many individuals is that it exists only to serve humans.

I believe that to change the course we are on in terms of environmental degradation, it will require a revolution of mindset, as a result of changing experiences. According to Leopold “We can be ethical only in relation to something we can see, feel, understand, love, or otherwise have faith in” {Miller and Spoolman 2021, 214}. To get people to develop an earth-centered environmental worldview, as opposed to a human-centered-worldview, we must demonstrate to people what real, unobstructed nature looks like, so that they may see how they are connected to the earth, the trees, and all the living organisms that inhabit it. After all, the differences in DNA between us and the species in nature only differ by a few genes.

Living in the Bronx, I often see people openly littering. My first instinct is to get angry at them. However, I have to remind myself that, for many people, their perception of the environment is contained to these few blocks, with the closest unobstructed environment being the New York Botanical Garden. It is not their fault that they view a city filled with concrete and trash to be their personal trash can. To convince people like these, as well as the people who are responsible for creating the waste in the first place, we need to demonstrate to people their direct connection to the environment. We can achieve this by expanding urban green spaces as well as creating opportunities for people in urban environments to visit more remote, verdant green spaces. Additionally, we must find a way to force polluters to come face to face with the consequences of their pollution, even if that means bringing them to sites of environmental degradation as a result of human development. All in all, in order to have any hope of stopping climate change it’s going to require a revolution of people’s mindsets. What are some things you can say to apathetic individuals to convince them to care about the planet?

Word Count: 854

Works Cited

Bullard, Robert D. “Environmental Justice in the 21st Century: Race Still Matters.” Phylon (1960-) 49, no. ¾ (2001): 151–71. https://doi.org/10.2307/3132626.

Leopold, Aldo. “The Land Ethic.” Essay. In The Land Ethic, 214, 1933.

Leov, Richard. Last Child in the Woods. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2006.

Miller, G. Tyler, and Scott Spoolman. “Chapter 25: Environmental Worldviews, Ethics, and Sustainability.” Essay. In Living in the Environment: Principles, Connections, and Solutions, 20th ed., 637–39. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, 2015.

Blog Post #5: Sustainability is Good for the Economy

10/15/21

In discussions about making the transition from an economy based in nonrenewable energy and a disposable lifestyle to an economy based in sustainability, many pro-free-market economists argue that this transition would negatively impact the economy and job prospects. However, analyses of the future economic impacts of the effects of unmitigated climate change have shown that the cost of the damages incurred as a result of increasingly catastrophic weather events, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires, droughts, etc. will end up costing much more in the long run than the cost of transitioning the world economy to one based in sustainability. Not to mention the value natural capital provides to us in our human activities, free of cost. In addition, transitioning to a sustainable economy has already allowed several industrialized nations to boost their economic output

To analyze the true extent to which environmentally degradative activities are affecting the economy, ecological economists determine the value of natural capital. Natural capital is all of the free services provided to us by the earth’s natural processes, such as oxygen production from trees or soil preservation from wetlands; “economist(s)… estimated the value of 17 ecosystem services provided by the earth’s major biomes to be at least $125 trillion per year, much more than the $85.5 trillion that the entire world spent on goods and services in 2018” {Miller and Spoolman 2021, 593}. In traditional economic exchanges, the value of natural capital and its degradation is not included in the cost, making the cost much less expensive than the cost placed on the environment. However, if the harmful environmental and health effects of certain industrial activities, such as burning coal, were included in its cost, the cost would certainly increase. Costs for consumers may increase initially, but as a result, many unsustainable businesses would end up shutting down, and more sustainable and innovative businesses would take their place; such is the nature of a “dynamic and creative capitalist economy” {Miller and Spoolman 2021, 596}.

However, natural capital aside, environmentally degradative businesses are already costing the government, and in turn, taxpayers, exorbitant amounts of money. Subsidies for industries that lead to environmental damage are called “perverse subsidies”. Tax breaks and subsidies for industries such as fossil fuels and timber harvesting cost the world’s taxpayers $2 trillion a year; for the average American taxpayer, this is about $2,000 per year, per person. {Miller, Spoolma, 596}. Many environmentalists have advocated for the rollback of these harmful subsidies. Yet, due to the extremely profitable nature of fossil fuel industries, their seemingly limitless financial resources have allowed them to wield great power over ruling bodies, through lobbying and campaign finance; lobbyists spent an average of $8,200 per member of Congress in 2018. Unfortunately, many regulatory industries are often staffed by or in close relation with members of industries they were charged with regulating in the first place {Miller and Spoolman 2021, 617}

While great progress has been made in the last century in the United States in terms of the formation of environmental organizations such as the EPA, founded with the intent of reducing environmental degradation, this progress has been limited in part due to the vested interests of nonrenewable resource industries. As a result, the interests of these industries have been placed over the safety and wellbeing of American Citizens. The people who are often most vulnerable to environmental threats as a result of industrial activity are those who have the least amount of power, financially and politically, to address the threat. Out of these threats have emerged a movement for environmental justice, a grassroots movement often organized by the victims of environmental injustice themselves {Miller and Spoolman 2021, 614}. Despite its widespread and increasing popularity, the phrase “environmental justice” has not appeared in any laws passed by the US Congress {Miller, Spoolman, 614}, and claims of environmental injustice have been dismissed 95% of the time, according to a study done by the Center for Public Integrity {Miller and Spoolman 2021, 615}.

In looking at the countries that have successfully implemented beneficial environmental regulations, it has stimulated economic activity. For example, countries that have introduced “green taxes”, such as Germany and Costa Rica, have managed to create many new jobs and fund environmental preservation and efforts to lift their citizens out of poverty {Miller and Spoolman 2021, 599}. In addition, innovation-friendly environmental regulation has motivated several companies to create products that not only create jobs but boost profits and make them more competitive in national and international markets. Lastly, transitioning to more energy-efficient technologies has allowed companies to save money on energy costs {Miller and Spoolman 2021, 602}. As renewable energy sources such as wind and solar become more widely available, they will in turn also become more affordable and accessible. Do you think that governments should find ways to incentivize companies to transition to more eco-friendly practices, or do you think the natural processes of the economy will foster this transition?

Word Count: 814

Miller, G. Tyler, and Scott Spoolman. “Chapter 23 and Chapter 24.” Living in the Environment: Principles, Connections, and Solutions, 20th ed., Cengage Learning, Stamford, CT, 2015, pp. 590–632.

Blog Post #6: The Secret to Carbon Mitigation Lies in Population Control, Infrastructure, and Regulation

10/20/2021

Following the expansion of the public consciousness of climate change and the fact that human activities are impacting it, some environmental organizations began preaching individual action, with books titled like “50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth” {Luke 1997, 119}. They suggest simple things, like recycling or replacing energy-expensive appliances with energy-efficient ones. While individual actions are important and may have an impact over a larger scale (naively assuming that every citizen will participate in these “eco-friendly” strategies), the actions listed in these books not only enable citizens to think they are being eco-friendly while continuing behaviors that are carbon-expensive, but also takes the burden away from the ultimately carbon-expensive process of production and places the burden on the consumer {Luke 1997, 120}, a result of government lobbying by corporations. To be able to make real change, it will require governments to take action not just against the carbon-expensive actions of consumers, but to invest in infrastructure that reduces public carbon emissions as a whole, to regulate the much more pollutive actions of corporations, and to take a multi-scalar approach, incorporating international legislative bodies to incorporate real strategies to mitigate things like overpopulation, which contributes to the exhaustion of limited natural resources.

It is no secret that the current track of population growth that we are on is unsustainable, and will ultimately contribute to the depletion of natural resources; 2.3 billion more people were born between 1950 and 2018, most of which being in Less Developed Countries {Miller and Spoolman 2021,110}. Poorer families in LDCs are incentivized to have more children to use them as a source of labor, and consequently, income, and because high infant mortality rates ensure that at least some of their children will not make it to working age. In addition, fertility rates tend to be higher in places where women are less educated {Miller and Spoolman 2021,115}. The good news is that poor citizens of LDCs, on an individual level, tend to live less carbon-expensive lifestyles than citizens of developed countries. The bad news is that citizens of LDCs tend to have the most limited resources, due to causes like poor infrastructure, a large number of people relying on over-extended resource supplies, and climate change exacerbating resource shortages through early-season glacial melt and droughts. However, there is a very simple solution that may not be able to reach all citizens due to traditional and religious values but can certainly have an impact; family planning. International governing bodies can promote the utilization of family planning methods, by distributing free birth control and teaching proper sex education. On a less immediate level, governments and international bodies can also reduce the need for families to have so many children by investing in anti-poverty campaigns, providing subsidies to poor families, and investing in female education at a young age.

On a larger scale, governments of developed countries can take many different measures to decrease carbon emissions. One major contributor to carbon emissions, especially in the United States, is the dependency of citizens on cars as a method of transportation. This is due to lacking or nonexistent public transportation in many cities, and infrastructure that prioritizes cars over humans. As a result, many inner cities are heavily polluted, and the infrastructure of these cities doesn’t allow the absorption or removal of pollutants {Miller and Spoolman 2021, 575}. To address this issue, governments need to massively fund new infrastructure programs with sustainability in mind; build new light and heavy rail systems, build cities in a way that promotes density and accessibility to things citizens need (so instead of needing to drive a few miles to the grocery store citizens can walk, bike, or take public transport a few blocks) {Miller and Spoolman 2021, 580}, and construct new building infrastructure that incorporates greenspaces and renewable energy resources right into the city itself, which will absorb the high volume of carbon emissions, decrease dependence on nonrenewable energy resources, and increase overall citizen happiness by adding beauty to mostly concrete spaces.

Governments also need to address the high levels of pollution and general unsustainable practices at the production level; the majority of environmental degradation occurs here. Governments can take action against industrial pollution by incorporating carbon-mitigation strategies such as “cap-and-trade”, subsidizing corporations who find ways to reduce their carbon emissions while punishing those that continue to pollute. In addition, instead of placing the burden on consumers to make “greener” decisions by purchasing “eco-friendly seal” products that, “beyond the seal, very little, if anything, may have changed in the cycle of producing, distributing, consuming, and disposing of the product” {Luke 1997,131}. Instead, governments should regulate corporations through subsidies and punitive action to make their products ACTUALLY “green” in the first place, as well as affordable, so that everyone regardless of financial ability can afford to consume sustainably.

Ultimately, the sake of our future as a species depends on the capability of corporations and governing bodies (both on the state and international level) to change their practices to promote decreased population growth, decreased carbon emissions, and sustainable practices. What are some other ways in which governments can facilitate sustainable business practices and infrastructure?

Word Count; 841

Luke, Timothy W. “Green Consumerism.” Essay. In Ecocritique: Contesting the Politics of Nature, Economy, and Culture, 115–36. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1997.

Miller, G. Tyler, and Scott Spoolman. “Chapter 22: Urbanization and Sustainability.” Essay. In Living in the Environment: Principles, Connections, and Solutions, 566–85. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, 2015.

Miller, G. Tyler, and Scott Spoolman. “Chapter 6: The Human Population.” Essay. In Living in the Environment: Principles, Connections, and Solutions, 110–23. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, 2015.

My experience with the Fordham climate impact initiative was one for the better. My experience with the work I did gave me a profound revelation about the power of the action of individuals and how it can create change on a much larger scale.

I, unfortunately, was unable to join the club activities for a large portion of the semester (besides the club meetings, which I joined via zoom)due to the extremely busy schedule I have this semester taking 18 credits. I was, however, able to pick an initiative working for their social media team. In addition, I was able to do some hands-on volunteer work for the organization.

The most profound experience I had was when I picked up trash in Aqueduct Walk park in the Bronx. New York City is one of those places that are renowned for being covered in trash, especially in places where waste management services are underfunded. So before I got there I thought that we wouldn't even be able to make a dent in the trash at the park. Much to my surprise, because we were so efficient despite a limited number of people we finished early because there was no more trash to pick up! It made me realize the power of organizing individuals in creating a change. It gave me the idea of a revitalization of the civilian conservation corps, to be dedicated to picking up trash and reviving our greenspaces

A more unfortunate realization I had was just how much plastic has become embedded into our ecosystems. There were many times in which I picked up a plastic bag that had become buried under the dirt and had become part of the landscape. It made me realize just how large the scope of the problem was. However, I also noticed that much of the trash was caught in trees and bushes. It made me realize the potential for utilizing plants as a method of capturing trash and creating a natural filtration system to prevent plastics and other pollutants from getting into our waterways.

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cinnabarb · 4 years

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MIDWEEK MINDFULNESS DIVINATION

As the EARTH maintains ‘rest in place’ how fitting that the DIVINATION for today was the Tarot card ‘HIGH PRIESTESS.’ In the I CHING, the Divine Feminine, the wife, and all the feminine aspects – i.e. intuition, inspiration, stability - symbolize EARTH. I found this gorgeous rose on our walk yesterday signifying the earthly gift of beauty and love. The reading speaks to our current state of health, how we need to listen to our inner knowing, and how the state of affairs is still within the realm of the unknown. Deep contemplation is needed now to stay calm, centred and healthy. We’ve begun to settle into this new routine of detachment from work, friends, even family members, and we are seeing how the planet is healing by our slowdown, how the air is cleaning with blue skies returning, the waters are clearing turning turquoise in colour, the trees, plants and flowers are sprouting happily blown about by the March winds, and the animals are taking back a bit of their territory crossing quiet roads that were once dangerous to their very existence. It seems like MOTHER NATURE is having her way, stopping our inane mindless state of being in the world. The divination also addresses our constant consummation of everything, especially in the West, how we have pushed our local communities and Gaia to her limits. More, more, more, for what? Just these last few weeks we’ve seen just how ridiculous this has become, with tales of people hoarding food, hand sanitizer, and the unbelievable toilet paper syndrome – thinking of only me, me, me, not thinking of the other, their neighbour. The possibility that someone else might also need to survive through this stressful period, the willingness to share, to think of another, has almost disappeared in our day-to-day dealings. Here’s a quote from the NY Times on these effects in the Hamptons: “On Long Island, private plane and jet traffic increased at East Hampton Airport, with everything from single-engine Cessnas and Piper Cubs to Gulf Streams and Falcon jets landing. “We’ve had helicopters, seaplanes, corporate planes,” said Jim Brundige, the airport director. “A little bit of everything.” Stores there have also been stripped. Some people are even buying extra freezers, residents said. “They want to make sure they have enough for a year,” said Jonathan Amaral, the house manager and chef at a gated estate on Southampton’s Main Street. “The shelves were bare. For us locals and middle class people, that hurts.” Thankfully we are now hearing some of the good that is being done not only by our courageous health workers, but also by the organized small and large groups taking care of and assisting the elderly, lonely and needy and it seems that the governments of the world are finally taking notice and implementing relief. We're seeing and sensing the opening of hearts like a good mother who takes care of her children and her family. If this incident is to teach us one thing it is that we are all one family, one globe, one energy system and we need to work together to survive. The push by our magazines, social media, and especially by Instagram Influencers fighting to be known as the best-dressed, the “must haves” showing the best and most expensive outfits, which by the way were mostly sewn by a near slave worker abroad doesn’t bother us at all – out of sight out of mind. Bigger, better, smarter, richer, prettier – this obsession with More and Beauty – just how much Botox can a woman put in her body or just how much money can one have? In my area, I am hearing of women demanding their hairdressers, their manicurists, and their estheticians come to their homes - who is going to see them?!? I am a Libra Rising, I adore Beauty and all things beautiful, but there is a limit. What if we used all this energy, power and influence to promote Beauty in other more natural ways? This 'alone time' might give us the creativity to come up with some amazing ways to put things back into perspective, to a natural balance – that’s that Libra part speaking! Our competitive nature, which used to be of the healthy kind, that stimulated invention, an honest good race, and a handshake in the end, has gone over the top into greed, slander, out and out lies, absurd manipulations of truth, and subversion of economic, political and everyday life in our current Neoliberal society. We’ve transferred control of economic factors to the private sector from the public sector with our bail-out of investment bankers, our sell out to drug, oil and large corporations instead of helping and bailing out the average citizen, but the most critical point which many of our young people are now up in arms about, is where we’ve put our environment in radical danger, our Mother in total stress, forgetting that she is the one who feeds us, clothes us, delights us with her natural beauty. How far away from our true nature we have strayed. But we can change this and I believe that we are being given our chance to reflect, to dig deep into the HEART, into that inner Feminine, SHE is a part of all of us, to find new ways to nurture, share and heal together as one family – we only have one MOTHER.

A quote from Grandmaster Hua-Ching Ni (OmNi) on the Trigram EARTH says it succinctly: “This hexagram expresses the essential process of self-development…these virtues are the essence of KUN and also of the Earth…Too many people struggle to be above, and this has led to all the disturbances and wars in the world. People never realise that their true significance and worth reside in the very being of their individual lives, and that MOTHER EARTH and the entire UNIVERSE embrace all beings equally. Is there any true advantage in being “above” someone else? If people stopped this useless vanity, there would be no more contention in the world. Every truthful individual life is like the EARTH, low and receptive, motherly and gentle, giving support to everyone and everything selflessly without discrimination. To be like the EARTH is to be like HEAVEN.”

I am compiling and mixing the meaning from the FENG SHUI TAROT with some classical meanings for this card and adding an interpretation for the TRIGRAM EARTH: II THE HIGH PRIESTESS: TRIGRAM & DOMINANT ELEMENT - EARTH ~ DIRECTION: SOUTH WEST ~ ASTRO: CANCER, Element of WATER The HIGH PRIESTESS is the archetype of Feminine Consciousness, intuition and inspiration. Her knowledge resides in the Heart. The number two represents balance. She prompts you to look deeply inside yourselves to cultivate your own wisdom, inner answers and study of nature because if you want the benefits of evolution, you will have to cooperate with spirit. It is important for the HIGH PRIESTESS to be centred and balanced in her site, enabling the strong foundations for her unbending faith and intuitive knowledge. In keeping with the HIGH PRIESTESS’ sense of aloofness and detachment, the Torah from traditional Tarot cards has been replaced in this image with a symbol more ambiguous – a ceramic pot with vapor, which represents the veiled knowledge of the HIGH PRIESTESS. The CORE ASPECT of the card urges the need to be mindful of shared confidences. Your intuition is truly an asset. Follow your feelings to success to more effectively bring your inner spiritual practice to the material world. Accept nothing at face value, as you don’t have all the information you need to make a decision. Question diagnosis, tests, and physicians – if it doesn’t feel right at gut level. Listen to your body, heed dreams, and be aware of synchronicities that pertain to your health. CONTEMPLATION: Mystery grows as we proceed; the answer comes when we need. Something is hidden in your life; a mystery or secret eludes you. The answer may be found in your memories or dreams of the past. Rely more on intuition than intellect now. DIRECTIVE: Subtle vibrations are working beneath the surface. The whole situation has not yet solidified. Patience will be rewarded. Things may be slow for a while, but surprise new opportunities may arise. You come up with a new way of doing something that increases your efficiency and saves you time. You may discover that you are becoming more attuned to your intuitive level as the situation begins to reveal itself to you. EARTH/KUN/FIELD: the womb that gives birth to all things. This spirit nourishes everything; without it nothing could exist or take shape. Its symbol is EARTH, its action is to yield, serve and bring forth and is reliable and dependable. In the family, it is the mother. As a spirit guide, FIELD opens, yields and closes all things to her. Earth's’ hands give blessings; she receives the dead. EARTH describes the wide surface of Earth on which everything grows. It maintains and preserves, promotes exchange and interchange, the central hub of pivot and place of transformation, centring movement and assuring a free flow of thought. Earth is the moment of transition between the YIN and YANG cycles, significant of deep changes, a moment without movement, a centred state of being. Read the full article

#cinnabarB #COVID-19 #Earth #FengShui #FengShuiTarot #GateoftheMoon #HighPriestess #OmNi

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megacircuit9universe · 4 years

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Shades of 2008

FRI MAR 13 2020

So, today Trump declared a national emergency... which is quite warranted under the circumstances, but also kinda scary... as that’s a technical step closer to martial law, god forbid.*

Meanwhile, today was another historical first for the markets... the first time ever that all US bonds, regardless of their length, fell below 1%. It makes that inverted yield curve from last year look like a little walk in the park.**

At his press conference today, Trump had on hand, not only health officials, but leaders of different corporations... attempting to convince them, and get them to convince us, that the economy’s gonna be just fine.

But it also broke today that the reason why Covid19 testing is so scarce and so impossible to get is... by Presidential order. No testing... no rise in the number of infections. And while this is still hearsay... it’s perfectly in character for this callous criminal President, and we all know it’s true.

...which is why the markets aren’t gonna rally back, no matter how many speeches he makes, or what governmental levers he pulls to try and stimulate the markets.

I normally go shopping for groceries every two weeks, and I go after work, which is midnight, to a 24 hour grocery store which is normally nearly empty except for stockers hard at work in the aisles.

I’d been hearing about people making runs on the supermarkets this week, hoarding toilet paper, and other paper products, thanks to a rumor that we may run out of such stuff because it all comes from China.

But I didn’t think I’d actually see it here, where I live. That kinda stuff only happens in big cities far away, but not around these parts.

Yet, lo and behold, when I got to my store tonight, at midnight, the parking lot was full, and a long train of people were rolling out the front doors with shopping carts overfilled with food and... bulk paper products.

They were being forced out of the store and nobody else, including me, was being allowed in. This 24 hour supermarket, that I’ve been shopping at for twelve years, was closed.

The guy at the door told me they still had plenty of product in the stock room but had to close in order to actually restock the shelves overnight.

I asked him if it tomorrow night would be better.

With a bit of a laugh, he said, “Tomorrow night? Right now, we’re just taking it hour by hour.”

I drove to the only other 24 hour store in town... the big chain drug store on the main strip. They have a small section for groceries. They were open, thank goodness, but their toilet paper section was stripped bare. Nothing at all... just like all the pictures I’d seen online today from other parts of the country.

Thankfully, I wasn’t here for toilet paper... my main concern was cat food... and thankfully they did have a 12 pack of Fancy feast, cat litter, and milk. As far as paper products, they still had facial tissue, so I bought three boxes of that, just in case there’s still no toilet paper next week.

I said a few entries ago that the panic was worse than the virus, and this was firsthand evidence of how true that is.

I’ve only seen this kind of thing a couple other times, when a big blizzard is approaching... the old bread and milk thing... when people panic about being stuck at home for several days. But that’s always a local thing.

This is a nationwide panic, that isn’t just clearing the supermarket shelves of toilet paper and hand sanitizer, but crashing the stock and bond markets.

It’s difficult to imagine how such a visceral experience, for every citizen on the ground this week... does not affect the voting on Tuesday.

Last Tuesday, the fear of the virus was there, but daily life was going on as usual. There were groceries on the shelves. The President hadn’t declared a state of emergency. Schools were in session. TV shows had studio audiences. Sports were doing their normal thing.

Last Tuesday it was, “wash your hands, everybody, and... by the way, Biden’s the guy for the job, so vote Biden.”

It’s only three days later (!) and the fucking world is ending because of a public health crisis.

Now it’s two days until the debate between, “Good Time’s Joe,” and “FDR of Health Care.” What do you think the focus of that debate is gonna be about on Sunday night? And who do you think is gonna have better answers about how to deal with a global pandemic?

My guess is that Bernie is gonna crush Joe in such a debate, no matter how early in the morning they do it, and no matter how many uppers they give Biden beforehand to keep him lucid enough to speak in full, connected sentences.

The asshole already said if a Medicare for All bill ever came across his desk as President, he’d veto it. How’s he gonna backpedal on that when half the viewers at home are down to their last roll of toilet paper, terrified to go out in public for fear of Covid19?

Then it’s gonna be two more long days of pandemic hysteria before we actually go to the polls... so... as I said in the last entry... if this does not turn the tide to Bernie... nothing ever will.

That said, It’s worth reviewing that all of this panic not only stems from Trump’s fundamental inability to deal with a global pandemic... but also the terrifying realization that Biden may be even LESS competent to deal with it, or any other existential threat that may be waiting in the wings for us.

The latter, as evidenced by the market’s downturn beginning immediately after Super Tuesday... when the media was attempting to coronate Biden as the Democratic nominee.

Rich people and Corporations may not like the idea of having to pay their fair share of taxes, but they are a little bit more allergic to the specter of a global economic collapse... which last reared it’s ghoulish face into the skies back in 2008.

This does, to me... now feel more like 2008, than any other Presidential election in modern history.

That time around, it began with the housing bust in early 2007, which brought on a recession, and inevitably lead to the near banking collapse of 2008.

That year, Hillary Clinton was, around this time in March, presumed to be the Democratic nominee, with her only opponent, Barack Obama, starting to be treated as an, “also ran,” in the mainstream media.

But the scarier things got, the better Obama did... not only winning the nomination... but then going on to win the Presidency... taking over from GWB in one of the darkest hours this country has seen since 1929.

Rich people and Corporations knew then, what they must still know now... Republican governments are great for letting everybody have fun on the playground, amassing mountains of wealth at the expense of the lower classes...

...but, when they break the game... as they always do... Democrats must be called in to fix it, before all of civilization collapses. And in such a case, the more progressive the better... hence, Barack over Hillary.

And fix things, Obama did, over his eight years.

Fixed the economy so good, it was now a self driving money machine that could not be crashed even if you had the worst, most drunken driver at the wheel.

That meant a big green light for Republican government! And this time... permanently! No more Democrats necessary ever again! Trump 2016. Trump 2020. Trump 2024, 28, 32, 36... impeachment means nothing. Senators can be bought. DOJ can be fixed. No more regulations. Hahahaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

And then a pandemic plague came out of China... like they always do. Like they’ve been doing since the Black Plague of old.

And this one just happens to be hitting the upper class the hardest... because it’s hardest on the elderly, in this historical moment of peak elderly power. And it’s hardest on those who travel the world, and love to hang out in huge crowds... as the powerful elderly love to do...

...cruise ships... jet setting... political rallies... awards events... back room meetings... shaking hands with every motherfucker they see all day long.

For them, Covid19 doesn’t just threaten their lives directly... but their huge piles of money, if it triggers the collapse of the dreaded, “everything bubble,” economists have been warning us about for a few years now... in the few venues where their voices have not been stifled completely.

This week, they are beginning to realize... they’ve crashed the self driving economy. And they did it in only four years of Republican government.

Only an FDR can save this.

Only an FDR can halt the collapse of the everything bubble, and save them from dying of a pandemic disease for which there is currently no cure.

I’m sure they’re not happy about that.

But... as the TikTok meme goes... “it is what it is.”

I’m going to bed.

* I’ve learned the day after writing that marital law is not on the table here because it can only happen in a time of war.. and only when the judicial branch no longer exists?

Neither of those scenarios are coming down as the result of this current pandemic... which is no threat to babies, children, teens, or young adults at all.

Yes, it may be a threat to the boomer voter base... but they do not have the power to enforce anything close to martial law.

**Let us not forget the Pronunciation Book warning about Dalton (Donal T):

“...He is rich. He is strong. And he is going to crash the stock market. Sidewalks crack, and streets go dark. Ten Thousand bankers shake and scream for Dalton’s pyramid.”

The last video on the channel, published on September 24th, 2013... six years prior to the date that Pelosi would announce formal impeachment hearings.

And even though he made it through that... boasting about the great economy the whole time... here we are.

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nightmare-afton-cosplay · 4 years

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Jeff Bezos Is Shopping for a $100M-Plus L.A. Home: Which One Will He Pick?

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images; realtor.com

Is Jeff Bezos looking to make another land grab on the West Coast? According to the New York Post, the Amazon.com titan, who already owns two properties in Beverly Hills, is apparently poking around Los Angeles for another mansion to add to his California collection.

And since money is no object, billionaire Bezos and his girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez, have reportedly been touring the priciest mansions—the ones over $100 million—in Beverly Hills and Bel Air, some of the Los Angeles area’s toniest enclaves.

The Bezos real estate empire is already quite vast and varied, with several adjacent apartments overlooking Central Park in New York City, a nearly 30,000-acre estate in Medina, WA, a massive ranch in west Texas, and two properties in Washington, DC.

“Bezos represents today’s new ultrahigh net worth buyer—one who’s getting increasingly younger, is concerned with privacy but also wants huge ‘wow’ factor,” says Cara Ameer, a bicoastal real estate agent with Coldwell Banker in Los Angeles.

The challenge for these luxury buyers is that much of what’s on the market isn’t designed for the way people actually live today.

“No one wants formal living spaces or heavy, ornate finishes—it’s all about sleek, clean, modern elegance,” adds Ameer.

So what will he pick next? As befits a man with some of the deepest pockets in the world, here are five impressive L.A.-area properties priced over $100 million.

67 Beverly Park Court, Beverly Hills, CA

Price: $165,000,000

67 Beverly Park Court, Beverly Hills, CA

realtor.com

Fancy an Italian palazzo? That’s the inspiration for this 20-bedroom, 20,000-square-foot property, which took seven years to build and includes its own private street access. The nearly 10-acre property should accommodate Bezos and his entire entourage, as the front courtyard can easily hold 30 cars. And he’ll stay superfit and trim in the pool, on the tennis court, and on the jogging path that encircles the manse.

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9505 Lania Lane, Beverly Hills, CA

Price: $129,000,000

9505 Lania Lane, Beverly Hills, CA

realtor.com

Bezos could economize a tad and go for this Mediterranean-style mansion, known as “Palazzo di Amore.” While it features just 12 bedrooms, at 50,000 square feet it’s twice the size of the above property and has nearly 25 acres of land that include vineyards, plus city and ocean views.

Bezos and Sanchez can entertain properly with the bowling alley, theater, disco, and home theater, and then retreat to the enormous master suite with its Turkish hammam spa. Don’t forget the pool choices—there’s a regular one and a stunning 128-foot reflecting pool as you enter.

“The views from this spot are spectacular, and when you’re buying something on this level in Southern California, the outdoor setting is just as important—if not more—than the property itself because you can always alter the interior but you can’t add a view in most cases,” notes Ameer.

The vineyards are another distinctive feature, since Bezos could cultivate his own wine right on the property.

———

141 South Carolwood Drive, Los Angeles, CA

Price: $115,000,000

141 S. Carolwood Drive, Los Angeles, CA

realtor.com

A nine-bedroom home may seem diminutive for a billionaire, but for $115,000,000, this one still hits all the right posh notes. Stately hedges hide this Italian Renaissance Revival designed in 1936 by architect Robert D. Farquhar. Ten acres of lush lawns surround the main house, pool house, and tennis court in Holmby Hills, one point of L.A.’s “platinum triangle” that includes Beverly Hills and Bel Air.

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2571 Wallingford Drive, Beverly Hills, CA

Price: $110,000,000

2571 Wallingford Drive, Beverly Hills, CA

realtor.com

If Bezos is itching for some new construction, this recently rehabbed 12-bedroom, 46,000-square-foot mansion fits the bill. Gated access and close proximity to the private airport in Van Nuys mean Bezos can jet in easily, and then relax in the largest zero-edge pool in Beverly Hills. And working out is made extra convenient in the built-in sports complex—think basketball court, boxing ring, and a home gym, plus a sports lounge and bar for green juice after a good sweat.

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1441 Angelo Drive, Beverly Hills, CA

Price: $110,000,000

1441 Angelo Drive, Beverly Hills, CA

realtor.com

The final pick in this fabulous quintet isn’t a home at all, but a chance to put a personal stamp on a stunning 120-acre piece of land called “Enchanted Hill.” Originally purchased by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 1987, this property has two gated entrances and a one-mile private drive with unparalleled views of the city and ocean. If nothing else appeals in the City of Angels, Bezos could build the home of his dreams on this rare undeveloped hilltop.

The post Jeff Bezos Is Shopping for a $100M-Plus L.A. Home: Which One Will He Pick? appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

from https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/jeff-bezos-is-shopping-for-a-100-million-dollar-la-home/

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emedhelp · 5 years

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Jeffrey Epstein dead of apparent suicide.

Disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, awaiting sex trafficking charges, dead of apparent suicide

Doug Stanglin and Kevin McCoy USA TODAY

Published 7:17 PM EDT Aug 10, 2019

After being found "unresponsive in his cell" at the Metropolitan Correctional Center at around 6:39 a.m. and receiving life-saving measures, Epstein was transported to nearby New York Presbyterian-Lower Manhattan Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to a statement by the MCC. The center referred to his death as an "apparent suicide."

Attorney General William Barr said he was "appalled" that Epstein's died of apparent suicide while in federal custody at the MCC, which is part of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility under the Department of Justice.

U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse, a Republican from Nebraska, in turn, took Barr to task over the affair with a stinging letter to the attorney general demanding that "heads must roll."

"Every single person in the Justice Department — from your Main Justice headquarters staff all the way to the night-shift jailer — knew that this man was a suicide risk, and that his dark secrets couldn’t be allowed to die with him," wrote Sasse, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

This March 28, 2017, file photo, provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry shows Jeffrey Epstein.

Epstein, 66, an investment banker who counted among his powerful connections former President Bill Clinton, President Donald Trump and Prince Andrew, had pleaded not guilty to charges of drug trafficking and allegedly sexually abusing dozens of underage girls in New York and Florida.

He repeatedly refused to answer questions regarding the lurid sexual allegations against him or the possible involvement of others, including high-profile figures.

His death came within 24 hours after long-sealed documents were released by a federal court in a since-settled lawsuit against Epstein’s ex-girlfriend brought by Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s accusers.

Among the thousands of pages of documents was the partial transcript of a 2016 videotaped deposition in which Epstein pleaded the Fifth Amendment against incriminating himself when asked a series of explosive questions, including whether he was a member of the Mar-a-Largo resort in Florida owned by Trump.

Three weeks ago, Epstein was found unconscious in his cell at the center. He had suffered injuries to his neck in what appeared to be a suicide attempt or jailhouse assault.

A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that Epstein had been taken off suicide watch. The person wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. It wasn’t immediately clear when he was taken off suicide watch.

The New York Times, quoting a person familiar with Epstein's detention, reported that he was removed from suicide watch July 29 and returned to the special housing unit, which has extra security.

Epstein had been housed in the jail’s Special Housing Unit, a heavily secured part of the facility that separates high-profile inmates from the general population, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

Three members of Epstein’s defense team, lawyers Reid Weingarten, Marty Weinberg and Michael Miller, issued a statement saying, “We are enormously sorry to learn of today’s news. No one should die in jail.” They declined to comment on the circumstances of his death.

Another Epstein lawyer, Marc Fernich, issued a personal statement calling Epstein's death an "unthinkable tragedy" and criticizing prosecutors, plaintiffs' lawyers, jailers and the press, among others.

"All seem to have a share of Mr. Epstein’s blood on their hands," he said. "All should be ashamed of their behavior."

Fernich said in the statement that he was speaking as an “outraged citizen and defense lawyer, not as a representative of Jeffrey Epstein’s defense team."

Epstein was convicted in 2008 on Florida charges of soliciting and procuring a person under 18 for prostitution.

New York City medical examiner personnel leave their vehicle and walk to the Manhattan Correctional Center where financier Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, Saturday Aug. 10, 2019, in New York.

Bebeto Matthews, AP

The recently released documents included depositions of years of alleged sex acts involving underage girls. The material, released as a result of petitions by the Miami Herald and other news media, included sordid allegations involving prominent individuals.

Among the documents are police reports, flight logs and even a purported memoir by a woman who says she was a victim of Epstein's when she was teenager.

Sigrid McCawley and David Boies, lawyers for accusers of financier Jeffrey Epstein, addressed the media after a hearing at Manhattan Federal Court, July 8, 2019, for Epstein, charged with sex trafficking.

Bebeto Matthews/ AP

Brad Edwards, a lawyer for nearly two dozen other accusers, called Epstein’s suicide a “selfish act” that was “not the ending anyone was looking for.”

Epstein was arrested by federal agents in July at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey after his private jet landed from Paris.

Nicholas Biase, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, declined to comment on the reported suicide or the future status of the Epstein case.

The federal investigation into the allegations remains ongoing, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said.

It was unclear before Epstein's death whether federal prosecutors were pursuing a superseding indictment that would include additional charges and defendants beyond Epstein.

Julie K. Brown, a reporter for the Miami Herald whose dogged reporting led to a re-examination of the Epstein saga, told CNN Saturday that his death may bring out more witnesses.

"It might open up the case even more," she said. "There will be people that maybe will not be as afraid to talk now."

Contributing: Joey Garrison and The Associated Press

Published 7:17 PM EDT Aug 10, 2019

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