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Republicans in North Carolina pass sweeping changes to consolidate power
Wed, 20 Nov 2024 22:02:22 +0000
The last-minute inclusions strip the incoming Democratic governor and attorney general of significant authority before the GOP loses its supermajority.
Match ID: 0 Score: 145.00 source: www.washingtonpost.com age: 0 days
qualifiers: 30.00 republican, 30.00 politics, 30.00 democrat, 25.00 election, 15.00 legislature, 15.00 elections
Take Out the Trash: A Proposal to Clean Up the Democratic Party
Mon, 18 Nov 2024 10:00:00 +0000
Democrats are in disarray. It’s time to name our enemies and assert our demands to build a party that can win.
The post Take Out the Trash: A Proposal to Clean Up the Democratic Party appeared first on The Intercept.
Experts warn assuming minority groups will reject a racist candidate ignores nuance, particularly on the economy
Since Donald Trump won the 2024 US presidential election, many have publicly speculated why people of color – with whom Trump made some gains – would vote for a racist candidate. Throughout his campaign, Trump and his supporters spouted a series of racist remarks aimed at Black and Latino people, immigrants at large and other marginalized groups. He also promised to utilize the military to carry out mass deportations, ban sanctuary cities, and escalate attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts at the federal level.
Swaths of non-white voters still supported Trump at the ballot box. And though this sort of data can vary in reliability, experts agree that Trump made inroads among some minorities despite his bigoted comments.
Continue reading...Silicon Valley has successfully rebranded military contracting as a proud national duty for the industry.
The post Trump’s Election Is Also a Win for Tech’s Right-Wing “Warrior Class” appeared first on The Intercept.
Sanders’s resolutions to block arms sales to Israel gained momentum, but ran headlong into White House opposition.
The post Bernie Sanders Lost Vote to Block Arms for Israel, Says U.S. Is “Funding the Starvation of Children in Gaza” appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump campaigned on mass deportations. Now he’s threatening to use the U.S. military to carry them out.
The post “Absolutely Insane”: Pentagon Officials on Trump’s Military Deportation Plan appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump’s nominee for defense secretary under scrutiny after report alleges he sexually assaulted a woman in California seven years ago
According to the report, the woman, identified as Jane Doe, “stated she observed Pete Hegseth acting inappropriately” with women at the conference, adding that he told her she was a “nice guy”.
The report stated:
“Hegseth would rub the women on their legs and Jane Doe thought that his actions were inappropriate. Jane Doe had texted [redacted] that Hegseth was giving off a ‘creeper’ vibe. The women thought Hegseth was ‘dreamy’ and wanted pictures with Hegseth. Jane Doe stated she had also taken a picture with Hegseth, earlier in the day …”
“Jane Doe stated she remembered walking out of the bar and assumed Hegseth followed her because she argued with Hegseth near the pool. The argument was about Hegseth’s actions with the women at the conference. Jane Doe remembered Hegseth tell her that he was a nice guy.
Jane Doe stated the next memory she had was when she was in an unknown room. Jane Doe did not know where she was and how she got to the room. Hegseth was in the room with her. Jane Doe remembered having her phone and Hegseth inquired to whom Jane Doe was texting. Hegseth took her phone from her hands. Jane Doe stated she got up and tried to leave the room, but Hegseth blocked the door with his body. Jane Doe remembered saying ‘no’ a lot. Jane Doe stated she did not remember much else.”
The Senate has rejected Bernie Sanders’ effort to block arms sales to Israel which the Vermont senator introduced out of concerns over the mass killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces in Gaza.
Joe Biden is set to sign the Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act today which will reauthorize the national research, surveillance and awareness program on heart disease.
Trump is likely to choose Johns Hopkins surgeon Martin Makary – who raised concerns about various public health issues including opposing vaccine mandates – as head of the Food and Drug Administration.
Continue reading...A joint resolution from Sen. Bernie Sanders would block arms sales to Israel. The challenge is convincing Democrats to act.
The post Senators Have a Chance to Halt Weapons Sales to Israel. Will They Take It? appeared first on The Intercept.
RFK Jr has articulated what our Democratic and Republican leaders have largely ignored: our healthcare system is a national disgrace hiding in plain sight
Among the cast of characters poised to join the Trump administration, no one is as exasperating, polarizing or potentially dangerous as Robert F Kennedy Jr. But in a twist that is emblematic of our times, no single nominee has the potential to do as much good for the American people.
Bear with me. RFK Jr has been rightly pilloried for promoting a litany of theories linking vaccines with autism, chemicals in the water supply to gender identity, how people contract Aids and saying the Covid-19 vaccine, which in fact stemmed the deadliest pandemic of our lifetimes, was itself “the deadliest vaccine ever made”. He claimed Covid-19 was meant to target certain ethnic groups, Black people and Caucasians, while sparing Asians and Jewish people.
Continue reading...The Republicans were always the party of big business, but Mr Trump is turning them into a playpen for oligarchs
One person turns up surprisingly often at Donald Trump’s side. Not his No 2, JD Vance, nor his wife, Melania, but another man a quarter-century younger and about $300bn heavier: Elon Musk. The two hunkered down in Mar-a-Lago on the night of the election, celebrating the results. This week they were in Texas, watching Mr Musk’s staff test-launch a spacecraft. During the campaign, Mr Musk personally chipped in $130m, made speeches at rallies and organised campaigns to “get out the vote”. Last week, the world’s richest man was picked by the president-elect to run a new “department of government efficiency”. So close are the pair that Mr Musk dubs himself “First Buddy”.
American politics has always been coiled around money, tight as a vine around a trunk. Nearly 25 years ago, George W Bush joked at a swanky white-tie dinner: “Some people call you the elites; I call you my base.” Nor is it confined to the right wing. Of the two main candidates in this month’s election, more billionaires backed Kamala Harris. One result is a highly warped politics that works against the very people it urges to go out and vote.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...Nine health care workers at UCSF report censorship or punishment for speaking out about human rights for Palestinians — or simply wearing a pin.
The post San Francisco’s Biggest Hospital System: Don’t Talk About Palestine appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump’s pick for attorney general attempts to win over skeptical lawmakers amid ethics report controversy
The scandal-plagued former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz reportedly told senators skeptical of his suitability to be attorney general that he would not seek retribution against Donald Trump’s enemies – in his first week on the job, at least.
“Look, I’m not going to go there and indict [the former Wyoming congresswoman] Liz Cheney, have storm troopers bust through the studio door at MSNBC, and arrest [the retired public health official] Anthony Fauci in my first week,” Gaetz told senators, according to the Bulwark, a never-Trump conservative site.
Continue reading...The former culture secretary’s ‘real-life political thriller’ takes in sex parties and pasta plotters – but raises more questions than it answers
Does Nadine Dorries know, in Downfall, she’s borrowing her title from a much-giffed film about the last days of Hitler? When the publishers blurb on the back that this is an “astonishing real-life political thriller”, do they mean its facts are as lurid as fiction, or are they trying to gloss the account as fiction to avert legal challenge? Why, in her anonymous, deep-throat encounters, do her sources tend to start by telling her how much they enjoyed her last book, The Plot?
This is nominally the story of Christmas 2023 to July 2024, and how the so-called “pasta plotters” tried to get rid of Rishi Sunak. There is no way on God’s Earth you would ever get that from the narrative, which doubles back on itself so often, to praise and defend Boris Johnson and castigate his enemies, that you never have any idea where you are, chronologically, or what point Dorries is trying to land. It’s like trying to map terrain by following a dog. You have to take that time period, and that subject matter, on trust from the author, and I just cannot stress strongly enough how much you shouldn’t do that.
Continue reading...A breakaway party of Labour leftists would only benefit the far right, warns Dr Anthony Isaacs. Plus letters from Andrew Shepherd, David Howard and Bruce Henderson
Andy Beckett correctly concludes that there is political space to the left of the Labour party (Meet the groups trying to create a new leftwing party – and channel the energy missing from Starmer’s Labour, 15 November). The question is whether there is electoral space. He notes the succession of new leftwing parties over the past 30 years, a few of which had some short-lived success, though the history of splits on the left goes back more than a century.
Nor is disillusion with Labour in power a recent phenomenon. The Guardian’s own Richard Gott stood for the Radical Alliance in the 1966 North Hull byelection. This was a chance to make a significant impact in a Labour marginal, with increasing opposition to the Vietnam war and the Wilson government’s majority hanging by a thread. In the event, there was a major swing to Labour, Gott taking less than 1% of the vote.
Continue reading...In new videos, Vice editor-in-chief Shane Smith treats immigrants as a problem and apologizes to Elon Musk for past coverage.
The post Vice’s Hard-Right Turn to Trumpism appeared first on The Intercept.
Whisky and migration thwarted earlier deal but UK PM hopeful of reaching agreement with Narendra Modi
Keir Starmer is to restart the aborted UK-India trade talks in the new year after an agreement stalled amid disagreements over whisky tariffs and migration.
No progress has been made on the deal since early this year after the last round of talks concluded. As prime minister, Boris Johnson promised a swift deal, but Rishi Sunak was said to be deeply uneasy with some of the provisions that had been negotiated by his predecessor. Talks were put on hold in March while both countries prepared for general elections.
Continue reading...Progressives in Congress are urging party leaders to use their two remaining months in power to erect barriers to Trump’s agenda.
The post Squad Goals: Democrats Must Use Lame-Duck Power to Fight Trump Now appeared first on The Intercept.
Reports of the criminal justice reform movement’s death are greatly exaggerated.
The post Elon Musk Quietly Tried to Oust a Reform DA. Here’s Why He Failed. appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump’s pick for attorney general shows that loyalty is the only qualification that matters.
The post Matt Gaetz Is Barely a Lawyer appeared first on The Intercept.
Trump’s Pentagon pick accused of 2017 sexual assault after Republican women’s conference in California
A woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Pete Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave, according to a detailed investigative report made public late on Wednesday.
Hegseth, a Fox News personality and Donald Trump’s nominee to be defense secretary, told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing, the report said.
Continue reading...Dozens of Democrats still support the bill — giving the Republican-controlled House plenty of breathing room to pass it next week.
The post House GOP Moves to Ram Through Bill That Gives Trump Unilateral Power to Kill Nonprofits appeared first on The Intercept.
A violent, white supremacist regime is coming, but there is room to organize — and capture the backlash when it fails.
The post How to Fortify Against the Trump Agenda While There’s Still Time appeared first on The Intercept.
The fate of the new “click-to-cancel” rule will show whether some Republicans are serious about cracking down on anti-competitive practices.
The post The Looming GOP Battle Over Whether You Have to Go to Hell and Back to Cancel Amazon Prime appeared first on The Intercept.
Former health secretary is facing questions at the UK Covid-19 inquiry
British prime minister Keir Starmer says he is “deeply saddened” to hear that Prescott has died, and called him a “true giant of Labour”.
In a statement on X, he said, “I am deeply saddened to hear of the death of John Prescott. John was a true giant of the Labour movement. On behalf of the Labour Party, I send my condolences to Pauline and his family, to the city of Hull, and to all those who knew and loved him. May he rest in peace.”
He possessed an inherent ability to connect with people about the issues that mattered to them – a talent that others spend years studying and cultivating, but that was second nature to him.
He fought like hell to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol and was an unwavering champion of climate action for decades to come. I’m forever grateful to John for that commitment to solving the climate crisis and will miss him as a dear friend.”
Continue reading...Thousands of farmers descended on Westminster this week, to protest against changes made in last month’s budget over inheritance tax. The government claim that this will affect a small minority of farms. But with slim profits and many farmers saying it will spell the end of their businesses, has the government got it wrong? The Guardian’s John Harris speaks to some of those protesting against the changes, and environmental correspondent Helena Horton
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Continue reading...From long-range missiles being launched to North Korean troops being drafted in, Dan Sabbagh looks at whether the rapid escalation could signal the beginning of the end of the conflict
Tuesday marked 1,000 days of the Ukraine war – a conflict that for months had seemingly no end in sight. Russia has been advancing, but its progress has been grindingly slow, with Ukraine’s resistance struggling with a lack of weapons and aid. Both sides have had problems with morale and recruitment.
Over the past week, things have changed. Russia has drafted in North Korean troops, while Ukraine has hit Russia with long-range missiles provided by the US. Dan Sabbagh is in Ukraine and explains how hits to the energy grid could make the difference on the ground, and how important the use of North Korean troops could be given the lack of willing Russian conscripts.
Continue reading...The letter urges President Joe Biden to follow through on an ultimatum his administration issued to Israel over humanitarian aid.
The post White House Staffers to Biden: “You Are Running Out of Time” on Gaza appeared first on The Intercept.
In the face of a second Trump term, the left must cultivate a politics of everyday life that goes beyond voting, says columnist Natasha Lennard.
The post Radical Action Under Trump appeared first on The Intercept.
Former health secretary also pressed at Covid inquiry on the ‘slowness’ of the resumption of elective care
The former health secretary Matt Hancock has said he “reluctantly” approved of the decision to pause non-urgent planned care during the pandemic.
Ministers prioritised hospital capacity for Covid and emergency patients, and so paused elective (non-urgent) treatment from April 2020.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Jacinta Allan has been criticised by Labor and Greens over agreement signed before the 7 October attacks
A secretive memorandum of understanding between the Victorian government and the Israeli defence force will not be renewed.
Guardian Australia has confirmed the MoU between the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions and the international defence cooperation directorate of the Israel defence ministry, which was signed on 7 December 2022, will lapse when it expires next month.
Continue reading...Communications minister says there is ‘no place for sexist, racist or otherwise derogatory language’, but PM declines to comment on Kyle and Jackie O show
Kyle Sandilands has boasted about being able to broadcast sexually explicit content on breakfast radio, as he comes under fire for the “derogatory” language used on the Kyle and Jackie O show.
Following Guardian Australia’s report into how the show skirts decency standards despite having underage listeners, Sandilands and his Kiis FM co-host Jackie O Henderson took to the airwaves, playing audio of someone reading out one of Henderson’s sexual fantasies, which was read despite Henderson’s repeated objections.
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Continue reading...People are being threatened and punished at the hint of cross-party cooperation. It’s control freakery we cannot afford
In June 2023 I was served notice by the Labour party that my 44-year membership could be terminated over a retweet supporting cross-party progressive cooperation. Almost 18 months later I, quite nervously, opened an email telling me I had been found “not guilty”. In most ways I matter not a jot: I was probably being used as a more high-profile example to warn others off such abhorrent behaviour.
Less robust and less well-connected figures, those for whom their party membership matters enormously, find such a trial a real ordeal. I’ve been let off by people I don’t know in a system operating in the dark. I made a big public fuss. Others can’t, and suffer their fate alone. And there are many of them. Their plight matters, but more importantly: why is this happening, and what does it tell us about Labour’s deep purpose and culture?
Neal Lawson is director of the cross-party campaign organisation Compass
Continue reading...Steve Reed says he may not agree on inheritance tax changes but government will listen to rural Britain
The UK environment secretary has promised to reform the food system to ensure farmers are paid fairly for the food they produce, after many filled the streets of Westminster to campaign against inheritance tax changes.
Speaking at the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) conference, Steve Reed said: “I heard the anguish of the countryside on the streets of London earlier this week. We may not agree over the inheritance tax changes, but this government is determined to listen to rural Britain and end its long decline.”
Continue reading...They disagree on the climate crisis, Farage and the president-elect – so how did they have such a nice time?
Wendy, 55, Bristol
Occupation Works in IT
Continue reading...Say Nothing, about 1972 abduction and murder of Jean McConville, is horrendous, says Michael McConville
The son of Jean McConville, a woman who was murdered and buried in secret by the IRA, has condemned a new Disney series on her death as “horrendous” and “cruel”.
The series is based on the acclaimed book Say Nothing, about McConville and the wider role of the IRA during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, written by the US journalist Patrick Radden Keefe.
Continue reading...Gynaecology has one of the longest waiting lists in the UK. Women’s health has been neglected for too long
A few weeks ago, a police officer came to my urogynaecology clinic for a follow-up appointment. She told me that, since her surgery, her life had changed completely. When I first met her she had been waiting years for treatment for incontinence, and she was miserable. She’d been taking more and more time off work as her condition deteriorated, and had started to feel that there was no hope. Now, after a relatively simple operation, she’s back at work and thrilled with life. I love my job, and I cannot measure the joy that we give to patients when we manage to help them, but I’m frustrated that they often have to wait so long.
As a new report from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) shows, women such as my patient are the tip of the iceberg. It found that more than three-quarters of a million women are on waiting lists trying to get treatment for serious gynaecological conditions – and they are just the ones who have seen a GP and been referred onwards for specialist care. Gynaecology has one of the worst waiting lists across the UK. More than three-quarters (76%) of women waiting for care reported worsening mental health and more than two-thirds (69%) said they were unable to take part in daily activities, including work, socialising, having relationships and caring responsibilities. Many of them mentioned experiencing pain, exhaustion, breathlessness, dizziness, anaemia and infections because of their worsening conditions.
Ranee Thakar is president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and a consultant obstetrician and urogynaecologist at Croydon university hospital
As told to Katy Guest
Continue reading...John Prescott, who has died at 86, served as deputy prime minister for more than a decade under Tony Blair, and was seen as a custodian of the Labour party’s traditional values in the face of a modernising leadership. Blair and Gordon Brown led tributes, with Blair telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme he was 'one of the most talented people I ever encountered in politics'
Continue reading...We would like to hear your memories of John Prescott – whether you met him, or appreciated his work in politics
John Prescott, former British deputy prime minister, has died aged 86. Prescott was a former trade union activist and a significant figure of the New Labour movement. Prescott served as deputy prime minister under Blair, and was seen as a custodian of the Labour party’s traditional values in the face of a modernising leadership.
We would like to hear your tributes and memories of John Prescott – whether you met him, or appreciated the work he did in politics.
Continue reading...Debt interest payments push public finances deeper into the red in fresh blow to Rachel Reeves
The UK government borrowed more than expected in October as debt interest payments pushed the public finances deeper into the red, piling pressure on Rachel Reeves as she attempts to grow the economy.
Borrowing rose to £17.4bn last month, the second highest October figure since monthly records began in 1993 and despite a rise in inheritance tax receipts.
Former trade union activist, who had Alzheimer’s, died peacefully at care home, says family
John Prescott, the former British deputy prime minister and stalwart of the New Labour movement, has died aged 86.
Tony Blair and Gordon Brown led tributes on Thursday to Prescott, who had Alzheimer’s, after his family announced he had died peacefully at a care home.
Continue reading...The chancellor is said to have ‘rounded up’ her years of service. But if she did plump up her working achievements a bit, who hasn’t?
There are lies, evasions and manipulations by politicians that, when they come to light, can make the politician in question seem even less relatable than the average. (So many to choose from, but I’m thinking in particular of Boris Johnson’s weird ad-hoc claim to relax by making models of buses). And then there are the exaggerations that can make a politician seem mildly more human, one of which, I would suggest, is CV inflation – the tweaking of one’s professional details to look better than they actually are. Didn’t Rachel Reeves spend “a decade” working at the Bank of England in the same way that, in our resumes, we are all at some level fluent in French?
The exact breakdown of how Reeves spent her working life in her 20s and 30s has, over the past week or so, been pored over by journalists looking for inconsistencies after it emerged that she may have rounded up somewhat in the details. According to the website Guido Fawkes, when Reeves claimed to have worked as an “economist” at the Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) straight out of university, she had, in fact, been in an administrative role that mainly managed complaints and small projects. After more digging, the website claimed that Reeves, possibly alerted to the fact that she’d been busted, changed her LinkedIn profile so that “economist” became “retail banking”. Then the Telegraph piled in asserting that Reeves’s claim to have spent “a decade” at the Bank of England was actually more like six years. (It was also later suggested on X that one of those years was spent studying for a masters at LSE).
Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...The former British deputy prime minister John Prescott has died aged 86. His family said he ‘spent his life trying to improve the lives of others, fighting for social justice and protecting the environment’
Continue reading...From the niqab reimagined as a luxury brand good to the plights of female boxers in Lagos, this year’s festival mixes politics with panache
Continue reading...Relatives of those killed in 1974 attack urge government on its 50th anniversary to set up statutory inquiry
Relatives of the victims of the Birmingham pub bombings have said “England’s biggest unsolved mass murder of the 20th century” should be at the top of the government’s list as they renewed their calls for a public inquiry on the 50th anniversary of the atrocity.
On 21 November 1974, 21 people were killed and 220 injured when bombs exploded in two Birmingham pubs, in an attack widely believed to have been orchestrated by the Provisional IRA.
Continue reading...At least 17 state agencies to be created or overhauled, a challenge the IfG says will require major investment
Labour is creating or overhauling at least 17 public bodies, a move which is likely to come with high costs, an Institute for Government report has found.
Launching a new “tracker” of public bodies, the thinktank warned of some of the pitfalls when setting up government agencies from scratch, saying: “Successfully creating a new public body is difficult and entails high fixed costs in terms of time, budget and leadership focus.”
Continue reading...Cheap, better-run public transport can transform people’s everyday lives. The government should be more ambitious in its plans to deliver it
Six years ago, when Jeremy Corbyn focused on failing bus services during prime minister’s questions, the then leader of the Labour opposition was greeted with mirth and derision. Tory backbenchers amused themselves with shouts of “Taxi!”, as Mr Corbyn urged Theresa May to give metro mayors the powers to take the industry back under public control. To a certain kind of Westminster mind, buses were far too parochial a concern to warrant the political centre-stage. But Mr Corbyn proved to be on the right side of history.
By January 2025, all of Greater Manchester’s bus services will be part of the publicly run Bee Network. Since launching two years ago – after lengthy legal battles in which the private sector fought re-regulation tooth and nail – the franchise model has delivered impressively on mayor Andy Burnham’s vision of a low-fare, high-patronage service for the region. A buses bill soon to be introduced by Louise Haigh, the transport secretary, will give local authorities across England new powers to follow suit. Plans are already under way to replicate the approach in Liverpool City Region and West Yorkshire.
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Continue reading...Communities on Paraná River fear privatisation of waterway operations will destroy way of life
River communities in Argentina fear that Javier Milei’s plans to privatise operations on a key shipping route could lead to environmental damage and destroy their way of life.
Since taking office almost a year ago, the self-styled “anarcho-capitalist” president has pledged to privatise a number of the state’s assets. The latest is the Paraguay-Paraná waterway – a shipping route of strategic importance for Argentina and its neighbours.
Continue reading...Peter Riddle says the government has been pretending that it can rebuild essential services without having the courage to introduce the necessary tax regime. Plus a letter from Chris Taylor
John Harris does speak an uncomfortable truth when he says that unless Labour significantly increases financial support for local authorities, the impact of austerity will continue to grind down local communities (The streetlights going out over Britain tell a brutal story: austerity isn’t over – it’s getting worse, 17 November). Fourteen years of Conservative budget cuts have resulted in my own local authority plummeting from being one of the highest-performing “beacon” authorities in England to one that is now in debt and heading towards the bottom rung of the ladder.
The closure of children’s centres, care homes and budget cuts in every service area, from special needs education and social care to library services, have resulted in a threadbare support network locally. This is being replicated across the country.
Continue reading...Diane Abbott and the Conservative Sir Edward Leigh, mother and father of the House, say law has been rushed
Britain’s longest-serving MPs, Labour’s Diane Abbott and the Conservative Sir Edward Leigh, have issued a joint call urging the Commons to reject the assisted dying bill, arguing it is being rushed through and puts vulnerable people at risk.
Writing for the Guardian, Abbott and Leigh – the mother and father of the house – said there had been insufficient scrutiny of the law and urged parliament to instead focus on better health and care services.
Continue reading...Amid a protest in central London on Tuesday against changes to inheritance tax announced by Labour, the Guardian discovered a mistrust of politicians, fear over the future of UK farming and suspicion of Bill Gates
Continue reading...The fights over Gaza protests are playing out online, in campus quads, internal disciplinary proceedings, and in the courts.
The post From Campus to the Courts, the “Palestine Exception” Rules University Crackdowns appeared first on The Intercept.
I get Kennedy’s appeal, but Trump will undo the protections with the most direct, proven impact on our health.
The post RFK Jr. Talks About Public Health, but He’s Joining an Administration That’ll Make Us Sicker Than Ever appeared first on The Intercept.
We would like to hear about your favourite new podcast you’ve been listening to this year and why
We would like to hear about your favourite new podcast you’ve been listening to this year and why. Let us know and we’ll run a selection of your recommendations in December. Tell us your favourite using the form below.
Continue reading...The eight-year conflict between the country’s French- and English-speaking populations has its roots in the colonial past and modern injustice
Two plants sprouting from the rusty-red soil mark the grave behind the family’s mud house in the Mokwebu neighbourhood of Bamenda, capital of Cameroon’s embattled north-west. Morine Ngum’s husband, Calistus Nche, was killed in 2022 by soldiers of the country’s francophone-dominated government in a civil war he had joined four years earlier.
Calistus Nche, a separatist fighter shot by government troops in Bamenda in 2022. Photograph: Morine Ngum
Continue reading...  | submitted by /u/chrisdh79 [link] [comments] |
Fine Gael is seeking an unprecedented fourth successive term in office and could well achieve it on 29 November
Ireland’s voters go to the polls on Friday 29 November, three weeks after the prime minister, Simon Harris, ended months of speculation by dissolving the coalition government before the end of its five-year term in March next year.
Harris’s centre-right Fine Gael is seeking an unprecedented fourth successive term in office, a prospect that looks far from impossible given its recent dramatic recovery in the polls – and the equally dramatic collapse in support for its rival, Sinn Féin.
Continue reading...The House nixed a bill empowering the Treasury Department to revoke nonprofits’ tax-exempt status over alleged ties to “terror.”
The post Lawmakers Reject Bill That Would Let Trump Destroy Nonprofits appeared first on The Intercept.
Tom Homan, Trump’s former acting ICE director who contributed to Project 2025, will be “border czar” in the next administration.
The post Trump’s Family Separation Czar Is Back appeared first on The Intercept.
Exclusive: Confidential report seen by Guardian Australia does not mention cashless gaming cards trial and recommends ‘account-based gaming system’
Anonymous gambling on poker machines in New South Wales should be allowed until 2028 and operating hours should not be further restricted, according to senior members of the government’s independent panel for gaming reform.
A leaked report by the panel’s three-person executive committee, which outlines a “draft roadmap for gaming reform”, has also warned that a buyback scheme for pokies “would be costly and not likely impact gaming machine numbers in a significant way”.
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Continue reading...Hampshire have been accused of taking part in a “sportswashing vehicle” before their participation in this month’s Global Super League in Guyana, a T20 tournament sponsored by oil giant ExxonMobil.
Hampshire’s participation in the GSL comes despite their venue’s public commitment to playing a leading global role in environmental sustainability. The Utilita Bowl celebrated switching on more than 1,000 solar panels before a T20 between England and Australia in September. David Mann, chief executive of the Utilita Bowl, used the initiative to highlight “our commitment to being the greenest international cricket venue”.
Continue reading...Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Wilson and Jonathan Liew to preview the Premier League action this weekend
Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.
On the podcast today; Pep Guardiola will stay at Manchester City beyond this season. The panel debate whether it is good for the Premier League and how it will affect the players before their game against Spurs on Saturday.
Continue reading...Resolute Mining chief executive Terence Holohan and two employees had been held since 9 November
Three British mining executives who had been detained by the government of Mali have been released and are “safe and well”, days after agreeing to pay $160m to settle a tax dispute.
Resolute Mining, an Australian company, said on Thursday its chief executive, Terence Holohan, and two other employees, who had been held in the country since 9 November, have been freed.
Continue reading...The pronatalist movement in the US is gathering pace once again, rekindled by Silicon Valley personalities and hard-right conservatives who are becoming increasingly vocal about whether or not women are having enough babies. But it's not just in the US, some governments in other countries have launched marketing campaigns encouraging people to have more children, while others have offered financial incentives. But while many of these policies claim to be about halting population decline, there are other factors at play. Josh Toussaint-Strauss interrogates efforts around the world to boost birth rates, as well as the underlying political motivations, from bodily autonomy to immigration
Birthrates are plummeting worldwide. Can governments turn the tide?
When desperate measures to persuade women to have children fail, it’s time for fresh thinking
Ofwat uses new powers to ensure investors pay at Thames, Yorkshire, and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water
Investors at Thames Water, Yorkshire Water, and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water will be forced to pick up the tab for executive bonuses after the regulator determined that the sector had awarded “undeserved” extra payments, worth £6.8m.
Ofwat said on Thursday it had used new powers to ensure that shareholders and bondholders at the three companies paid for bonuses because they had not “adequately reflected overall company performance issues”.
Continue reading...Science editor Ian Sample joins host Madeleine Finlay to discuss some of the most intriguing science stories of the week. From a study finding that fat cells ‘remembering’ past obesity drives yo-yo dieting, to concerning developments in the bird flu virus, and research pinpointing which parts of the UK are best at spotting fake accents
Clips: RTE, BBC, Global News
Can you spot a fake accent? Take part in a new study from Cambridge University
Continue reading...Watchdog’s highly critical inquiry finds Hannah and Colin Ingram-Moore culpable of ‘serious and repeated’ misconduct
The family of the NHS charities fundraiser Captain Sir Tom Moore personally benefited from the charity set up in his name through a series of lucrative deals worth more than £1m, the charities watchdog has ruled in a highly critical report.
A Charity Commission inquiry concluded the late Captain Tom’s daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband, Colin Ingram-Moore, were culpable of “serious and repeated” instances of misconduct, mismanagement and failures of integrity.
Hannah Ingram-Moore “initiated the process to secure her appointment as chief executive” of the charity, suggesting she should be paid a salary of £150,000. The charity proposed paying her £100,000 but this was blocked by the commission and she was eventually hired on £85,000.
Hannah Ingram-Moore received £18,000 from Virgin Media in September 2021 to judge its Local Legends awards when she was chief executive of the foundation. This was unauthorised and a conflict of interest, and there was no evidence it was undertaken, as she claimed, in a personal capacity.
The Ingram-Moores used the charity’s name inappropriately and for their private benefit in a planning application to build a private spa pool in the grounds of their family home. The building was subsequently demolished.
Continue reading...Council in Yukon territory deadlocked, citing the crown’s tarnished relations with Indigenous peoples in the region
The council of a town in Canada’s Yukon territory has been locked for weeks in bureaucratic standstill after its members refused to swear a mandatory oath of allegiance to King Charles, citing the crown’s tarnished relations with Indigenous peoples in the region.
The standoff, which threatens to cost them their seats, reflects a complicated view of the country’s head of state, who lives thousands of miles away, and increasingly serves as a reminder to a history of violence and broken promises
Continue reading...Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Paul Watson, Ewan Murray and Ben Fisher to round off the latest international break as Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all finish strongly
Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.
On the podcast today: we begin with the news that Pep Guardiola has agreed a one-year contract extension at Manchester City before moving on to talk about promotion for Wales in the Nations League, with manager Craig Bellamy remaining unbeaten as they thrashed Iceland 4-1.
Continue reading...The Biden administration will continue to arm Israel — even after it failed to meet the U.S. deadline on allowing aid into Gaza.
The post “A Final, Deadly Exclamation Point”: Biden Backs Down on 30-Day Israel Arms Ultimatum appeared first on The Intercept.
In the rapidly advancing landscape of AI technology and innovation, LimeWire emerges as a unique platform in the realm of generative AI tools. This platform not only stands out from the multitude of existing AI tools but also brings a fresh approach to content generation. LimeWire not only empowers users to create AI content but also provides creators with creative ways to share and monetize their creations.
As we explore LimeWire, our aim is to uncover its features, benefits for creators, and the exciting possibilities it offers for AI content generation. This platform presents an opportunity for users to harness the power of AI in image creation, all while enjoying the advantages of a free and accessible service.
Let's unravel the distinctive features that set LimeWire apart in the dynamic landscape of AI-powered tools, understanding how creators can leverage its capabilities to craft unique and engaging AI-generated images.
This revamped LimeWire invites users to register and unleash their creativity by crafting original AI content, which can then be shared and showcased on the LimeWire Studio. Notably, even acclaimed artists and musicians, such as Deadmau5, Soulja Boy, and Sean Kingston, have embraced this platform to publish their content in the form of NFT music, videos, and images.
Beyond providing a space for content creation and sharing, LimeWire introduces monetization models to empower users to earn revenue from their creations. This includes avenues such as earning ad revenue and participating in the burgeoning market of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). As we delve further, we'll explore these monetization strategies in more detail to provide a comprehensive understanding of LimeWire's innovative approach to content creation and distribution.
LimeWire Studio welcomes content creators into its fold, providing a space to craft personalized AI-focused content for sharing with fans and followers. Within this creative hub, every piece of content generated becomes not just a creation but a unique asset—ownable and tradable. Fans have the opportunity to subscribe to creators' pages, immersing themselves in the creative journey and gaining ownership of digital collectibles that hold tradeable value within the LimeWire community. Notably, creators earn a 2.5% royalty each time their content is traded, adding a rewarding element to the creative process.
The platform's flexibility is evident in its content publication options. Creators can choose to share their work freely with the public or opt for a premium subscription model, granting exclusive access to specialized content for subscribers.
As of the present moment, LimeWire focuses on AI Image Generation, offering a spectrum of creative possibilities to its user base. The platform, however, has ambitious plans on the horizon, aiming to broaden its offerings by introducing AI music and video generation tools in the near future. This strategic expansion promises creators even more avenues for expression and engagement with their audience, positioning LimeWire Studio as a dynamic and evolving platform within the realm of AI-powered content creation.
The LimeWire AI image generation tool presents a versatile platform for both the creation and editing of images. Supporting advanced models such as Stable Diffusion 2.1, Stable Diffusion XL, and DALL-E 2, LimeWire offers a sophisticated toolkit for users to delve into the realm of generative AI art.
Much like other tools in the generative AI landscape, LimeWire provides a range of options catering to various levels of complexity in image creation. Users can initiate the creative process with prompts as simple as a few words or opt for more intricate instructions, tailoring the output to their artistic vision.
What sets LimeWire apart is its seamless integration of different AI models and design styles. Users have the flexibility to effortlessly switch between various AI models, exploring diverse design styles such as cinematic, digital art, pixel art, anime, analog film, and more. Each style imparts a distinctive visual identity to the generated AI art, enabling users to explore a broad spectrum of creative possibilities.
The platform also offers additional features, including samplers, allowing users to fine-tune the quality and detail levels of their creations. Customization options and prompt guidance further enhance the user experience, providing a user-friendly interface for both novice and experienced creators.
Excitingly, LimeWire is actively developing its proprietary AI model, signaling ongoing innovation and enhancements to its image generation capabilities. This upcoming addition holds the promise of further expanding the creative horizons for LimeWire users, making it an evolving and dynamic platform within the landscape of AI-driven art and image creation.
Sign Up Now To Get Free Credits
Upon completing your creative endeavor on LimeWire, the platform allows you the option to publish your content. An intriguing feature follows this step: LimeWire automates the process of minting your creation as a Non-Fungible Token (NFT), utilizing either the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. This transformative step imbues your artwork with a unique digital signature, securing its authenticity and ownership in the decentralized realm.
Creators on LimeWire hold the power to decide the accessibility of their NFT creations. By opting for a public release, the content becomes discoverable by anyone, fostering a space for engagement and interaction. Furthermore, this choice opens the avenue for enthusiasts to trade the NFTs, adding a layer of community involvement to the artistic journey.
Alternatively, LimeWire acknowledges the importance of exclusivity. Creators can choose to share their posts exclusively with their premium subscribers. In doing so, the content remains a special offering solely for dedicated fans, creating an intimate and personalized experience within the LimeWire community. This flexibility in sharing options emphasizes LimeWire's commitment to empowering creators with choices in how they connect with their audience and distribute their digital creations.
After creating your content, you can choose to publish the content. It will automatically mint your creation as an NFT on the Polygon or Algorand blockchain. You can also choose whether to make it public or subscriber-only.
If you make it public, anyone can discover your content and even trade the NFTs. If you choose to share the post only with your premium subscribers, it will be exclusive only to your fans.
Additionally, you can earn ad revenue from your content creations as well.
When you publish content on LimeWire, you will receive 70% of all ad revenue from other users who view your images, music, and videos on the platform.
This revenue model will be much more beneficial to designers. You can experiment with the AI image and content generation tools and share your creations while earning a small income on the side.
The revenue you earn from your creations will come in the form of LMWR tokens, LimeWire’s own cryptocurrency.
Your earnings will be paid every month in LMWR, which you can then trade on many popular crypto exchange platforms like Kraken, ByBit, and UniSwap.
You can also use your LMWR tokens to pay for prompts when using LimeWire generative AI tools.
You can sign up to LimeWire to use its AI tools for free. You will receive 10 credits to use and generate up to 20 AI images per day. You will also receive 50% of the ad revenue share. However, you will get more benefits with premium plans.
For $9.99 per month, you will get 1,000 credits per month, up to 2 ,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 50% ad revenue share
For $29 per month, you will get 3750 credits per month, up to 7500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 60% ad revenue share
For $49 per month, you will get 5,000 credits per month, up to 10,000 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share
For $99 per month, you will get 11,250 credits per month, up to 2 2,500 image generations, early access to new AI models, and 70% ad revenue share
With all premium plans, you will receive a Pro profile badge, full creation history, faster image generation, and no ads.
Sign Up Now To Get Free Credits
In conclusion, LimeWire emerges as a democratizing force in the creative landscape, providing an inclusive platform where anyone can unleash their artistic potential and effortlessly share their work. With the integration of AI, LimeWire eliminates traditional barriers, empowering designers, musicians, and artists to publish their creations and earn revenue with just a few clicks.
The ongoing commitment of LimeWire to innovation is evident in its plans to enhance generative AI tools with new features and models. The upcoming expansion to include music and video generation tools holds the promise of unlocking even more possibilities for creators. It sparks anticipation about the diverse and innovative ways in which artists will leverage these tools to produce and publish their own unique creations.
For those eager to explore, LimeWire's AI tools are readily accessible for free, providing an opportunity to experiment and delve into the world of generative art. As LimeWire continues to evolve, creators are encouraged to stay tuned for the launch of its forthcoming AI music and video generation tools, promising a future brimming with creative potential and endless artistic exploration
Are you looking for a new graphic design tool? Would you like to read a detailed review of Canva? As it's one of the tools I love using. I am also writing my first ebook using canva and publish it soon on my site you can download it is free. Let's start the review.
Canva has a web version and also a mobile app
Canva is a free graphic design web application that allows you to create invitations, business cards, flyers, lesson plans, banners, and more using professionally designed templates. You can upload your own photos from your computer or from Google Drive, and add them to Canva's templates using a simple drag-and-drop interface. It's like having a basic version of Photoshop that doesn't require Graphic designing knowledge to use. It’s best for nongraphic designers.
Canva is a great tool for small business owners, online entrepreneurs, and marketers who don’t have the time and want to edit quickly.
To create sophisticated graphics, a tool such as Photoshop can is ideal. To use it, you’ll need to learn its hundreds of features, get familiar with the software, and it’s best to have a good background in design, too.
Also running the latest version of Photoshop you need a high-end computer.
So here Canva takes place, with Canva you can do all that with drag-and-drop feature. It’s also easier to use and free. Also an even-more-affordable paid version is available for $12.95 per month.
The product is available in three plans: Free, Pro ($12.99/month per user or $119.99/year for up to 5 people), and Enterprise ($30 per user per month, minimum 25 people).
To get started on Canva, you will need to create an account by providing your email address, Google, Facebook or Apple credentials. You will then choose your account type between student, teacher, small business, large company, non-profit, or personal. Based on your choice of account type, templates will be recommended to you.
You can sign up for a free trial of Canva Pro, or you can start with the free version to get a sense of whether it’s the right graphic design tool for your needs.
When you sign up for an account, Canva will suggest different post types to choose from. Based on the type of account you set up you'll be able to see templates categorized by the following categories: social media posts, documents, presentations, marketing, events, ads, launch your business, build your online brand, etc.
Start by choosing a template for your post or searching for something more specific. Search by social network name to see a list of post types on each network.
Next, you can choose a template. Choose from hundreds of templates that are ready to go, with customizable photos, text, and other elements.
You can start your design by choosing from a variety of ready-made templates, searching for a template matching your needs, or working with a blank template.
Inside the Canva designer, the Elements tab gives you access to lines and shapes, graphics, photos, videos, audio, charts, photo frames, and photo grids.The search box on the Elements tab lets you search everything on Canva.
To begin with, Canva has a large library of elements to choose from. To find them, be specific in your search query. You may also want to search in the following tabs to see various elements separately:
The Photos tab lets you search for and choose from millions of professional stock photos for your templates.
You can replace the photos in our templates to create a new look. This can also make the template more suited to your industry.
You can find photos on other stock photography sites like pexel, pixabay and many more or simply upload your own photos.
When you choose an image, Canva’s photo editing features let you adjust the photo’s settings (brightness, contrast, saturation, etc.), crop, or animate it.
When you subscribe to Canva Pro, you get access to a number of premium features, including the Background Remover. This feature allows you to remove the background from any stock photo in library or any image you upload.
The Text tab lets you add headings, normal text, and graphical text to your design.
When you click on text, you'll see options to adjust the font, font size, color, format, spacing, and text effects (like shadows).
Canva Pro subscribers can choose from a large library of fonts on the Brand Kit or the Styles tab. Enterprise-level controls ensure that visual content remains on-brand, no matter how many people are working on it.
Create an animated image or video by adding audio to capture user’s attention in social news feeds.
If you want to use audio from another stock site or your own audio tracks, you can upload them in the Uploads tab or from the more option.
Want to create your own videos? Choose from thousands of stock video clips. You’ll find videos that range upto 2 minutes
You can upload your own videos as well as videos from other stock sites in the Uploads tab.
Once you have chosen a video, you can use the editing features in Canva to trim the video, flip it, and adjust its transparency.
On the Background tab, you’ll find free stock photos to serve as backgrounds on your designs. Change out the background on a template to give it a more personal touch.
The Styles tab lets you quickly change the look and feel of your template with just a click. And if you have a Canva Pro subscription, you can upload your brand’s custom colors and fonts to ensure designs stay on brand.
If you have a Canva Pro subscription, you’ll have a Logos tab. Here, you can upload variations of your brand logo to use throughout your designs.
With Canva, you can also create your own logos. Note that you cannot trademark a logo with stock content in it.
With Canva, free users can download and share designs to multiple platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Slack and Tumblr.
Canva Pro subscribers can create multiple post formats from one design. For example, you can start by designing an Instagram post, and Canva's Magic Resizer can resize it for other networks, Stories, Reels, and other formats.
Canva Pro subscribers can also use Canva’s Content Planner to post content on eight different accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Slack, and Tumblr.
Canva Pro allows you to work with your team on visual content. Designs can be created inside Canva, and then sent to your team members for approval. Everyone can make comments, edits, revisions, and keep track via the version history.
When it comes to printing your designs, Canva has you covered. With an extensive selection of printing options, they can turn your designs into anything from banners and wall art to mugs and t-shirts.
Canva Print is perfect for any business seeking to make a lasting impression. Create inspiring designs people will want to wear, keep, and share. Hand out custom business cards that leave a lasting impression on customers' minds.
The Canva app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. The Canva app has earned a 4.9 out of five star rating from over 946.3K Apple users and a 4.5 out of five star rating from over 6,996,708 Google users.
In addition to mobile apps, you can use Canva’s integration with other Internet services to add images and text from sources like Google Maps, Emojis, photos from Google Drive and Dropbox, YouTube videos, Flickr photos, Bitmojis, and other popular visual content elements.
In general, Canva is an excellent tool for those who need simple images for projects. If you are a graphic designer with experience, you will find Canva’s platform lacking in customization and advanced features – particularly vectors. But if you have little design experience, you will find Canva easier to use than advanced graphic design tools like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator for most projects. If you have any queries let me know in the comments section.
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ESA and Thales Alenia Space have signed a contract amendment today at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan to extend the Lunar View refuelling module for the lunar Gateway.
Science editor Ian Sample joins host Madeleine Finlay to discuss some of the most intriguing science stories of the week. From a study finding that fat cells ‘remembering’ past obesity drives yo-yo dieting, to concerning developments in the bird flu virus, and research pinpointing which parts of the UK are best at spotting fake accents
Clips: RTE, BBC, Global News
Can you spot a fake accent? Take part in a new study from Cambridge University
Continue reading...The double Olympic triathlon champion Alistair Brownlee has announced his retirement. The 36-year-old Briton became the first triathlete to successfully defend his Olympic title when he retained the title in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, four years after triumphing on home soil at London in 2012.
“It’s time to close this chapter … This marks my transition from professional triathlon, a moment approached with both dread and excitement in equal measure,” Brownlee, whose first significant title came in winning the 2006 Junior European Duathlon, wrote on social media.
Continue reading...‘Stoney’ has been worn by everyone from Drake to Keir Starmer, but its position as label of choice on the terraces gets the highest attention score. We talk to its chair and former owner
In a quiet corner of Stone Island’s flagship London store in Soho, the brand’s Italian chair, Carlo Rivetti, is talking about darts. “You see these big fat guys,” says Rivetti, who is sporting whiskers that make him look more like a trawlerman than a fashion magnate. “Pom … pom … pom,” he adds, imitating the noise a dart makes when it hits the board.
Darts is possibly the one British subculture that Rivetti’s brand hasn’t touched: football casuals, rappers, politicians, musicians and athletes have all reached for “Stoney” as it is known in the UK, as a sign of masculine cool. Darts might just be the final frontier.
Continue reading...The fate of the new “click-to-cancel” rule will show whether some Republicans are serious about cracking down on anti-competitive practices.
The post The Looming GOP Battle Over Whether You Have to Go to Hell and Back to Cancel Amazon Prime appeared first on The Intercept.
I get Kennedy’s appeal, but Trump will undo the protections with the most direct, proven impact on our health.
The post RFK Jr. Talks About Public Health, but He’s Joining an Administration That’ll Make Us Sicker Than Ever appeared first on The Intercept.
Mathangi Arulpragasam has been mixing it up for more than 20 years, blending Bollywood and Suicide samples with funk, electro and hip-hop. We select her standout cuts
In contrast to her first attention-grabbing mixtape (2004’s Piracy Funds Terrorism), 2023’s Bells Collection slipped out virtually unnoticed: to say its lo-fi, Christian-themed contents divided fans is putting it mildly, but Solitude’s murky synth arpeggios and reflective mood were good enough to surmount some clumsy lyrics (“You used to have gurus, now it’s Google” etc).
Continue reading...Three recipes that get their sweetness more from fruit than added sugar: a flaky-crusted apple pie, a buttery bourbon apple slab tart, and a date and pecan pie
During the holidays, Thanksgiving included, many people crave familiar flavours, not cutting-edge cuisine. The recipes that follow do have a twist – they get most of their sweetness from fruit – but this apparent novelty is arguably rooted in tradition. The idea of looking beyond cane sugar, honey and maple syrup to sweeten desserts may sound newfangled, but, as Michael Pollan explained in his 2002 book The Botany of Desire, fruit is what often satisfied the sweet tooth before the broad accessibility of purer sugars. In addition to fruits in fresh, dried and pureed forms, the pastries below are suffused with unexpected sweetness from miso paste, bourbon, pecans, and spices.
You can also view these recipes and many more in the new Feast app, which has a cups calculator for US users
Continue reading...Trump’s nominee for defense secretary under scrutiny after report alleges he sexually assaulted a woman in California seven years ago
According to the report, the woman, identified as Jane Doe, “stated she observed Pete Hegseth acting inappropriately” with women at the conference, adding that he told her she was a “nice guy”.
The report stated:
“Hegseth would rub the women on their legs and Jane Doe thought that his actions were inappropriate. Jane Doe had texted [redacted] that Hegseth was giving off a ‘creeper’ vibe. The women thought Hegseth was ‘dreamy’ and wanted pictures with Hegseth. Jane Doe stated she had also taken a picture with Hegseth, earlier in the day …”
“Jane Doe stated she remembered walking out of the bar and assumed Hegseth followed her because she argued with Hegseth near the pool. The argument was about Hegseth’s actions with the women at the conference. Jane Doe remembered Hegseth tell her that he was a nice guy.
Jane Doe stated the next memory she had was when she was in an unknown room. Jane Doe did not know where she was and how she got to the room. Hegseth was in the room with her. Jane Doe remembered having her phone and Hegseth inquired to whom Jane Doe was texting. Hegseth took her phone from her hands. Jane Doe stated she got up and tried to leave the room, but Hegseth blocked the door with his body. Jane Doe remembered saying ‘no’ a lot. Jane Doe stated she did not remember much else.”
The Senate has rejected Bernie Sanders’ effort to block arms sales to Israel which the Vermont senator introduced out of concerns over the mass killings of Palestinians by Israeli forces in Gaza.
Joe Biden is set to sign the Congenital Heart Futures Reauthorization Act today which will reauthorize the national research, surveillance and awareness program on heart disease.
Trump is likely to choose Johns Hopkins surgeon Martin Makary – who raised concerns about various public health issues including opposing vaccine mandates – as head of the Food and Drug Administration.
Continue reading...Steve Reed says he may not agree on inheritance tax changes but government will listen to rural Britain
The UK environment secretary has promised to reform the food system to ensure farmers are paid fairly for the food they produce, after many filled the streets of Westminster to campaign against inheritance tax changes.
Speaking at the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) conference, Steve Reed said: “I heard the anguish of the countryside on the streets of London earlier this week. We may not agree over the inheritance tax changes, but this government is determined to listen to rural Britain and end its long decline.”
Continue reading...(Bella Union)
The singer-songwriter sticks to apocalyptic first principles on his sixth album, couching contemporary chaos in soaring ballads and discofied yacht rock
Nine years after his breakthrough album I Love You, Honeybear turned Josh Tillman from a minor indie singer-songwriter (and the former drummer of Fleet Foxes) into a critical cause célèbre, most people with any interest know broadly what to expect from a new release under the Father John Misty name. There will be blackly comic depictions of existential angst and apocalyptic dread. Songs that suggest life in the 21st century is basically unbearable and that the world is irredeemably screwed will vie with fourth wall-breaking moments where Tillman confesses his own complicity in screwing up the world. There will be barbed drawings of human relations, bleakly funny ruminations on ageing, self-lacerating reflections on his own music and career, stuff about Los Angeles, Tillman’s adopted home town, and, frequently, a lurid microcosm of all that’s wrong with the world.
Suffice to say that Mahashmashana ticks all those boxes. Indeed, it ticks quite a lot of them over the course of the opening title track, which sets a melody that evokes FJM’s most enduring musical touchstone, early 70s Elton John, to an arrangement that recalls the overripe Phil Spector production of George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass. It takes its name from a Sanskrit world meaning “great cremation ground” and alternates between describing “the next universal dawn” breaking over a silent world, and a troubled relationship between a man whose body is metaphorically compared to a chain of southern Californian gourmet food markets and a woman whose soul is a “fallen star”. Modern-day life is “a scheme to enrich assholes”, Tillman avers, before poking his head through the fourth wall and taunting himself for his pomposity: “Such revelations,” he sings, with a parenthetical roll of the eyes, “which only singers can describe.”
Continue reading...Israeli attacks have destroyed huge areas of land used for crops, with 90% of cattle killed, analysis shows
More than 90% of cattle have died and about 70% of land for crops in Gaza has been destroyed or damaged since the beginning of the war in the territory, an analysis of satellite imagery by the UN has found.
More than half of sheep and goat herds have been wiped out, while more than three-quarters of the territory’s famous orchards have been destroyed or damaged, the survey in September found.
Continue reading...There are some conversational subjects that are guaranteed to get listeners yawning. And I’ve tried them all …
There are three things I find fascinating about myself that I can’t tell anyone about without boring them to death: music, food and dreams. Someone in an audience the other day asked me what music I liked, what moved me. Don’t get me wrong: I was flattered to be asked. It’s just that there’s no way of answering the question without losing the interest of the audience, including the nice chap who asked the question in the first place.
What kinds of music do I listen to? Lots of different things. What moves me? Well, lots of stuff but, now you mention it, there was this old song by a Yugoslav pop singer, which I heard sung by a Croatian tenor at a recital in Split last summer, and I just started sobbing, I couldn’t help myself … And then I look up and see the worst sight in the world – people stifling yawns. Quite right, too, because it’s so boring listening to people bang on about what music they like.
Continue reading...Wars have spread and intensified, with far-reaching impacts on global economic growth and food security, according to latest Conflict Intensity Index
The proportion of the world engulfed by conflict has grown 65% – equivalent to nearly double the size of India – over the past three years, according to a new report.
Ukraine, Myanmar, the Middle East and a “conflict corridor” around Africa’s Sahel region have seen wars and unrest spread and intensify since 2021, according to the latest Conflict Intensity Index (CII), published by risk analysts Verisk Maplecroft.
Continue reading...Sanders’s resolutions to block arms sales to Israel gained momentum, but ran headlong into White House opposition.
The post Bernie Sanders Lost Vote to Block Arms for Israel, Says U.S. Is “Funding the Starvation of Children in Gaza” appeared first on The Intercept.
Nine health care workers at UCSF report censorship or punishment for speaking out about human rights for Palestinians — or simply wearing a pin.
The post San Francisco’s Biggest Hospital System: Don’t Talk About Palestine appeared first on The Intercept.
Police say 350-400 people have stayed in Stilfontein mine to avoid arrest after minister vowed to ‘smoke them out’
South African authorities are assessing whether it is safe to rescue potentially thousands of illegal miners who may be trapped underground, after police stopped food, water and medicine being delivered to them about two weeks ago to try to force the miners to the surface.
A police spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe, insisted to reporters on Tuesday that the miners were not trapped in the abandoned goldmine in Stilfontein, a town about 100 miles south-west of Johannesburg, but rather staying underground to avoid being arrested.
Continue reading...From timeless kitchenware to trending ingredients, here’s the Observer Food’s Monthly’s pick of presents to bring good cheer
We’ve assembled some of the most delightful and desirable culinary-adjacent items you might wish to give, or receive, this season.
Kitchen utensils that are as aesthetically pleasing as they are useful, quirky homewares and jars of things we love to eat – our list runs the gamut from “essential” to “truly essential”.
Continue reading...In the face of a second Trump term, the left must cultivate a politics of everyday life that goes beyond voting, says columnist Natasha Lennard.
The post Radical Action Under Trump appeared first on The Intercept.
I get Kennedy’s appeal, but Trump will undo the protections with the most direct, proven impact on our health.
The post RFK Jr. Talks About Public Health, but He’s Joining an Administration That’ll Make Us Sicker Than Ever appeared first on The Intercept.
A weekly email from Yotam Ottolenghi, Meera Sodha, Felicity Cloake and Rachel Roddy, featuring the latest recipes and seasonal eating ideas
Each week we’ll send you an exclusive newsletter from our star food writers. We’ll also send you the latest recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigel Slater, Meera Sodha and all our star cooks, stand-out food features and seasonal eating inspiration, plus restaurant reviews from Grace Dent and Jay Rayner.
Sign up below to start receiving the best of our culinary journalism in one mouth-watering weekly email.
Continue reading...Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, direct to your inbox every Thursday
Style, with substance: what’s really trending this week, a roundup of the best fashion journalism and your wardrobe dilemmas solved, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday
Explore all our newsletters: whether you love film, football, fashion or food, we’ve got something for you
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Imagine a world in which you can do transactions and many other things without having to give your personal information. A world in which you don’t need to rely on banks or governments anymore. Sounds amazing, right? That’s exactly what blockchain technology allows us to do.
It’s like your computer’s hard drive. blockchain is a technology that lets you store data in digital blocks, which are connected together like links in a chain.
Blockchain technology was originally invented in 1991 by two mathematicians, Stuart Haber and W. Scot Stornetta. They first proposed the system to ensure that timestamps could not be tampered with.
A few years later, in 1998, software developer Nick Szabo proposed using a similar kind of technology to secure a digital payments system he called “Bit Gold.” However, this innovation was not adopted until Satoshi Nakamoto claimed to have invented the first Blockchain and Bitcoin.
A blockchain is a distributed database shared between the nodes of a computer network. It saves information in digital format. Many people first heard of blockchain technology when they started to look up information about bitcoin.
Blockchain is used in cryptocurrency systems to ensure secure, decentralized records of transactions.
Blockchain allowed people to guarantee the fidelity and security of a record of data without the need for a third party to ensure accuracy.
To understand how a blockchain works, Consider these basic steps:
Let’s get to know more about the blockchain.
Blockchain records digital information and distributes it across the network without changing it. The information is distributed among many users and stored in an immutable, permanent ledger that can't be changed or destroyed. That's why blockchain is also called "Distributed Ledger Technology" or DLT.
Here’s how it works:
And that’s the beauty of it! The process may seem complicated, but it’s done in minutes with modern technology. And because technology is advancing rapidly, I expect things to move even more quickly than ever.
Even though blockchain is integral to cryptocurrency, it has other applications. For example, blockchain can be used for storing reliable data about transactions. Many people confuse blockchain with cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum.
Blockchain already being adopted by some big-name companies, such as Walmart, AIG, Siemens, Pfizer, and Unilever. For example, IBM's Food Trust uses blockchain to track food's journey before reaching its final destination.
Although some of you may consider this practice excessive, food suppliers and manufacturers adhere to the policy of tracing their products because bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella have been found in packaged foods. In addition, there have been isolated cases where dangerous allergens such as peanuts have accidentally been introduced into certain products.
Tracing and identifying the sources of an outbreak is a challenging task that can take months or years. Thanks to the Blockchain, however, companies now know exactly where their food has been—so they can trace its location and prevent future outbreaks.
Blockchain technology allows systems to react much faster in the event of a hazard. It also has many other uses in the modern world.
Blockchain technology is safe, even if it’s public. People can access the technology using an internet connection.
Have you ever been in a situation where you had all your data stored at one place and that one secure place got compromised? Wouldn't it be great if there was a way to prevent your data from leaking out even when the security of your storage systems is compromised?
Blockchain technology provides a way of avoiding this situation by using multiple computers at different locations to store information about transactions. If one computer experiences problems with a transaction, it will not affect the other nodes.
Instead, other nodes will use the correct information to cross-reference your incorrect node. This is called “Decentralization,” meaning all the information is stored in multiple places.
Blockchain guarantees your data's authenticity—not just its accuracy, but also its irreversibility. It can also be used to store data that are difficult to register, like legal contracts, state identifications, or a company's product inventory.
Blockchain has many advantages and disadvantages.
I’ll answer the most frequently asked questions about blockchain in this section.
Blockchain is not a cryptocurrency but a technology that makes cryptocurrencies possible. It's a digital ledger that records every transaction seamlessly.
Yes, blockchain can be theoretically hacked, but it is a complicated task to be achieved. A network of users constantly reviews it, which makes hacking the blockchain difficult.
Coinbase Global is currently the biggest blockchain company in the world. The company runs a commendable infrastructure, services, and technology for the digital currency economy.
Blockchain is a decentralized technology. It’s a chain of distributed ledgers connected with nodes. Each node can be any electronic device. Thus, one owns blockhain.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, which is powered by Blockchain technology while Blockchain is a distributed ledger of cryptocurrency
Generally a database is a collection of data which can be stored and organized using a database management system. The people who have access to the database can view or edit the information stored there. The client-server network architecture is used to implement databases. whereas a blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, stored in a distributed system. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, timestamp and transaction information. Modification of data is not allowed due to the design of the blockchain. The technology allows decentralized control and eliminates risks of data modification by other parties.
Blockchain has a wide spectrum of applications and, over the next 5-10 years, we will likely see it being integrated into all sorts of industries. From finance to healthcare, blockchain could revolutionize the way we store and share data. Although there is some hesitation to adopt blockchain systems right now, that won't be the case in 2022-2023 (and even less so in 2026). Once people become more comfortable with the technology and understand how it can work for them, owners, CEOs and entrepreneurs alike will be quick to leverage blockchain technology for their own gain. Hope you like this article if you have any question let me know in the comments section
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