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Meet the First Tenured Professor to Be Fired for Pro-Palestine Speech
Thu, 26 Sep 2024 09:00:00 +0000
Maura Finkelstein was terminated by Muhlenberg College for an Instagram repost.
The post Meet the First Tenured Professor to Be Fired for Pro-Palestine Speech appeared first on The Intercept.
For the first time in more than 30 years, the Council of UC Faculty Associations filed a formal complaint against the UC system.
The post California Professors Fight Back Against Violent Repression of Palestine Protest appeared first on The Intercept.
Activists are drawing parallels between the state-sanctioned killing of Williams in Missouri and U.S. backing for Israel’s war on Gaza.
The post “I Saw a Mirror”: Marcellus Williams’s Execution Enrages Palestine Solidarity Protesters appeared first on The Intercept.
A subtle bipartisan shift in the language of immigration has opened the door to vilification and dehumanization.
The post You Should Stop Calling Immigrants “Migrants” appeared first on The Intercept.
Democratic and Republican vice-presidential candidates will face off on 1 October in unusually critical debate
The football coach and the “Yale law guy” go head-to-head in New York City on Tuesday night, as two midwesterners with very different styles and vastly diverging messages slug it out over the future of the US.
Tim Walz, the Democratic governor of Minnesota, faces the Republican senator from Ohio, JD Vance, in a vice-presidential debate that promises to be unusually significant in this white-hot election year. They will joust for 90 minutes under the moderation of CBS News as they seek to give their respective running mates – Kamala Harris and Donald Trump – a leg up to the White House.
Continue reading...After earlier speech in Monroeville, Republican vice-presidential candidate vows to ‘turn Pennsylvania red’ in Newton. This blog is now closed.
Tim Walz paid a visit to Ann Arbor to watch a football game between the University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota.
The Democratic vice-presidential nominee was greeted at the airport by University of Michigan students, who had arrived in a bus donning a banner that read “Put Me In, Coach!”
“I would always tell people in campaigns: If you want a democracy after the election, you have to have an autocracy before the election,” Carville said.
Continue reading...Find out who’s up and who’s down in the latest US presidential election opinion polls
On 21 July, Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Kamala Harris. This historic move changed the landscape of the election and how many felt about the race. As the election enters its final weeks, Guardian US is averaging national and state polls to see how the two candidates are faring. We will update our averages once a week, or more if there is major news.
Continue reading...Polling out this week suggests Kamala Harris could be outperforming Donald Trump in the crucial sun-belt states of Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina. So what happens if these polls are right? Can Donald Trump win the presidency without them?
This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to George Chidi, politics and democracy reporter for Guardian US, about how these states could be be make or break for either candidate
Archive: 11 Alive, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, News Nation,
Continue reading...The source of the quote corrected Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, but they kept accusing the Palestinian House representative of antisemitism anyway.
The post CNN Anchors Won’t Stop Lying About Something Rashida Tlaib Never Said appeared first on The Intercept.
The Tory leadership contest has so far failed to engage meaningfully with the reasons for July’s historic defeat
The Conservatives gather for their annual conference next week at a critical juncture. The main attraction in Birmingham is a parade of candidates to replace Rishi Sunak as leader, but the contest raises deeper questions about the future of a party that has lost its way. The Tories have been beaten before but never as savagely as they were in July, when voters evicted all but a rump of just 121 Conservative MPs from parliament.
From that pool there emerged six leadership contenders, subsequently whittled down to four – Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick and Tom Tugendhat – who will attempt to woo audiences in Birmingham. Then MPs will halve the field, and the final two will go to a ballot of party members. A different mechanism operates in Scotland, where a new leader, Russell Findlay, was installed on Friday after a ballot in which just 4,155 votes were cast overall.
Continue reading...Special counsel prosecutors who investigated Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election set things straight
“The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion,” said the Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election, AKA the Mueller Report. “A Russian entity carried out a social media campaign that favored presidential candidate Donald J Trump and disparaged presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.”
Robert Mueller, the special counsel, did not criminally charge Trump but did not give him a clean bill of health, contrary to misleading claims made by Bill Barr, Trump’s attorney general, in a 24 March 2019 letter – AKA the Barr Report.
Interference: The Inside Story of Trump, Russia, and the Mueller Investigation is published in the US by HarperCollins
Continue reading...Ex-president speaks in Prairie du Chien flanked by anti-immigrant posters and lobs insults at Harris and Biden
Donald Trump spoke on Saturday in the battleground state of Wisconsin, escalating his anti-immigrant rhetoric and taking his personal insults against Kamala Harris up a notch.
Trump’s speech in the small community of Prairie du Chien, where a Venezuelan in the US illegally was detained in September for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman and attacking her daughter, was unusually devoted almost entirely to undocumented immigrants. He wrongfully claimed that immigrants in the US are violent criminals, referring to them as “stone-cold killers”, “monsters” and “vile animals”.
Continue reading...Conservative grandees at the conference in Birmingham fear that none of the candidates can unite the party’s factions
Senior Tories are already predicting that whoever wins the Conservative leadership race is unlikely to survive until the next election, amid criticisms of a “B-list” contest that risks taking the party farther to the right.
Some veteran figures have decided to give this weekend’s conference in Birmingham a miss, fearing the party has learned little from the complete loss of discipline that characterised its final years in government.
Continue reading...Stoking and exploiting racist fears of immigrants is essentially all that Trump is running on.
The post Trump’s Conspiracy Theory Campaign appeared first on The Intercept.
Growing up poor blights children’s lives, and results in lower work and health outcomes that cost the exchequer long term
What’s Labour’s governing philosophy? That was the question posed at a dinner I went to with some MPs and former staffers during the party’s annual conference in Liverpool last week. Is Keir Starmer more influenced by the communitarian blend of leftwing economics and socially conservative values that is “blue Labour”, or is he driven by the Fabian democratic socialism that was at the heart of his campaign to become Labour leader?
A prime minister’s motivating beliefs are always pored over by those interested in what direction a particular government might take. But in this case I’m not sure how much it matters, because there is a third governing philosophy dominating Labour that renders almost everything else moot. Fiscal conservatism.
Continue reading...The struggle between liberalism and reactionary strands of thought has gnawed away at the Tories since the party’s dawn
Conservatism, the late philosopher Roger Scruton wrote, emerged into the modern world as “a kind of ‘yes but…’” response to liberalism. Conservatives, he observed, believe, like liberals, in the importance of the free market, of private property and of individual choice. They believe also in the overriding significance of community and tradition as setting limits to the reach of individualism. Liberalism, for Scruton, made sense “only in the social context that conservatism defends”.
The relationship between these two philosophical wellsprings of conservatism has never been comfortable. The tension between the individualism of the market and private property and the communality of custom and tradition, between promethean capitalist development and the fetters of history and culture, has always gnawed away at the heart of conservatism.
Continue reading...If the prime minister has welcomed the debate in parliament, it is surely because he recognises changing public opinion
Sonia Sodha suggests (“A rushed law is no way to make such a vital, painful decision as how to die”) that assisted dying is being directed by No 10 as a party political issue and has not been given sufficient parliamentary attention.
In fact, as a Liberal Democrat committed to supporting assisted dying, I am free to vote however I want on the issue, with direction from neither my own party nor Labour. Working cross party for seven years, I have secured one debate in parliament, spoken in several others and taken part in fringe meetings at conference.
Continue reading...Embattled Republican lieutenant governor was expected to return to the campaign trail on Saturday
North Carolina’s lieutenant governor, Republican Mark Robinson, received burns on Friday night while attending a truck show as he was campaigning for governor, his campaign said.
Robinson was making an appearance at the Mayberry truck show in Mount Airy when he was injured, campaign spokesperson Mike Lonergan said in a statement.
Continue reading...Neither an Osborne-style handbrake or a Truss-style brick on the accelerator will do. Success depends on changing fiscal culture
The Treasury was ready when Labour arrived in office. In the week after the election landslide, ministers and a cadre of advisers appointed to serve at 1 Horse Guards Road were gathered together by civil servants, and shown a 25-minute PowerPoint presentation laying bare the mess in the public finances.
Those in attendance were left in no doubt: this was an exercise to scare the new recruits. A shock session to get Labour up to speed with its responsibilities, and to make sure Rachel Reeves prioritised fiscal prudence in her first budget.
“The gilt market is not some monster that will bite your hand off.
Continue reading...The state’s shadow treasurer, David Janetzki, says general practitioners would be exempt from payroll tax with David Crisafulli as premier
Queensland’s opposition claims visits to the doctor would be cheaper under an LNP government, but Labor said they haven’t explained how they will pay to make GPs exempt from payroll tax.
The shadow treasurer, David Janetzki, announced on Sunday that the party would make general practitioners a special category under the payroll tax act.
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Continue reading...Bridget McKenzie tells Insiders she is working on the opposition’s transport policy ahead of the next federal election – including EV plans
Liberal senator Bridget McKenzie has again left the door open for a Coalition government to level a road user charge against owners of electric vehicles, indicating concern about decreasing fuel excise and the impact on budgets for road repairs.
But the shadow transport minister also said the Coalition wouldn’t follow the US in banning Chinese-made EVs, which put her at odds with comments on Sunday from Nationals colleague, Barnaby Joyce. He invoked last week’s Hezbollah members’ pager explosions in raising his concern about technology he claimed could be made with a “malevolent purpose” by a “totalitarian state”.
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Continue reading...Former defence chief elected leader of Liberal Democrats and vows to end ‘widespread distrust’ in party
Shigeru Ishiba, a veteran moderate, will next week be installed as Japan’s prime minister after he was elected leader of the governing Liberal Democratic party (LDP).
The 67-year-old, a former defence minister, beat his rightwing rival Sanae Takaichi, who was attempting to become the country’s first female prime minister, by 215 votes to 194 in a runoff election at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo on Friday.
Continue reading...Calling south Beirut a militant “stronghold” makes it sound like a giant military base, rather than a dense and vibrant urban area.
The post Beirut Suburbs or “Hezbollah Stronghold”? U.S. Media Parrots Israeli Propaganda to Justify Bombing Civilians appeared first on The Intercept.
Tory leadership contender says: ‘There was a time when there wasn’t any maternity pay and people were having more babies’
Q: Do you agree with Kemi Badenoch that some cultures are less valid than others?
Jenrick says culture matters. But he says he disagres with Badenoch on immigration numbers. He says he thinks you have to have a cap on numbers. And he also says he believes the UK has to leave the European convention on human rights. He says Badenoch is just talking about developing a plan in a few years time, and that’s “a recipe for infighting and for losing the public’s trust”.
Continue reading...Pat McFadden says ‘unfair’ system has meant ministers and shadow ministers face less scrutiny than backbench MPs
Downing Street will change rules on declaring interests and hospitality so ministers have to abide by the same rules as backbench MPs, a senior minister has said.
Pat McFadden, the chancellor of the duchy of lancaster, said the move would be done to close “a Tory loophole” that gave less scrutiny and transparency to ministers’ interests than to those of other MPs.
Continue reading...There will be ‘meet our candidates’ Q&As, and fringe events – but limited self-reflection at the gathering in Birmingham
The first party conference after a defeat generally tends to be a cross between a wake, an inquest, and a beauty contest for those who believe they have the answers to what went wrong. The Conservatives’ gathering in Birmingham is set to be no different – but with a particular emphasis on the third.
So what is in store from Sunday for the embattled party faithful and remaining MPs, plus sections of the media and lobbying industry who decide it’s worth going along for a look?
Continue reading...Sunday’s poll result is on a knife-edge but populist FPÖ is looking to capitalise on fears about migration
The wiry, bespectacled man in the down vest, looking like an amiable ski instructor, beams on stage as the crowd chants “Herbert! Herbert! Herbert!”, waving hundreds of Austrian flags. Just after sunset behind the soaring spire of Vienna’s St Stephen’s Cathedral, Austria’s far-right leader Herbert Kickl tells voters they have the chance with Sunday’s potentially watershed national election to “take our country back”.
“Five good years,” Kickl promised the audience, with polls showing that his pro-Kremlin, anti-migration Freedom party (FPÖ) could for the first time win the most votes. “Volkskanzler!” supporters shout, using the “people’s chancellor” moniker once used to describe the Austrian-born Adolf Hitler, which Kickl has also come to embrace.
Continue reading...Attorney General Andrew Bailey scuttled a deal that would have spared Williams’s life, and the courts and governor failed to intervene to stop the execution.
The post Missouri Kills Marcellus Williams Over Objections From Prosecutor and Victim’s Family appeared first on The Intercept.
Rosie Duffield says government focused on ‘greed and power’ and the ‘lads are in charge’, day after leaving party
The former Labour MP Rosie Duffield has said Keir Starmer has “a problem with women” and that the government is “more interested in greed and power” than making changes to the country.
In a broadside at Starmer’s leadership, Duffield told the BBC she was Labour “in my heart and soul” but said the scandal over senior party figures’ acceptance of donations and gifts including clothes was indefensible given the party was keeping the two-child benefit cap and had cut the winter fuel allowance for all but the poorest pensioners.
Continue reading...France says Israel must stop strikes, as governments voice alarm over escalation and killing of Nasrallah
European foreign ministers have stepped up calls for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, amid concern that Israel’s killing of Hezbollah’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, risks seriously destabilising Lebanon and the region.
Even as Israeli defence officials continued to raise the prospect of a cross-border operation into southern Lebanon, the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the UK voiced alarm over the latest escalation on the Israeli side.
Continue reading...You’ll need to decide how to trade, where to work, and how to manage your self-assessment account
Here’s how to organise your financial life if you’re a freelancer or sole trader.
Sole trader is the most straightforward business or legal structure if you are self-employed. Depending on the nature of your business, other options include a partnership (with someone else) or setting up a limited company. If you have a partnership or limited company, your business finances should be kept completely separate from your personal finances. But there’s a bit more overlap if you are a sole trader.
Continue reading...If the Labour leader can’t make a minor slip in a speech without being accused of being anti-Israel, no wonder he’s retreated to Arsenal’s corporate box
Addressing the subject of Gaza on Tuesday, Sir Keir Starmer called for the “return of the sausages”, which was a surprise to those of us who didn’t know they were missing. Although, come to think of it, when was the last time you saw a big fat bulldog with a string of them in its mouth being chased down the high street by a butcher in a straw hat? And, when I was young in the 1970s, any drive to the West Country would see the car windscreen covered in splattered sausages, but these days its stays spotless. Make of that what you will.
I’m not thinking straight. I’ve got a virus that’s smothered my brain like psychedelic cement and I’m already a day late filing this. But at least I didn’t say “sausages” when I meant “hostages”. Starmer’s mistake was genuine though. When Boris Johnson talked, just once in June 2019, about his soon-forgotten passion for model buses, it was to game search algorithms away from those other buses, the ones he wrote massive Brexit lies on.
Stewart Lee’s Basic Lee is on the streaming service Now TV, and his 2025 tour Stewart Lee vs the Man-Wulf begins at London’s Leicester Square theatre this December
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk
Continue reading...Over just a few days in 1964, the launch of the shinkansen and the Tokyo Olympics trumpeted the emergence of a new economic and democratic power
At 6am on 1 October 1964, two trains set off in opposite directions in a daring experiment that would quickly turn them into symbols of Japan’s transformation from militarist pariah to global economic powerhouse.
Black-and-white footage shows smartly dressed men, women and children marvelling at the countryside whizzing past their windows, some perhaps trying to calm their nerves at being whisked along at speeds unheard of in rail travel.
Continue reading...  | submitted by /u/BobbyLucero [link] [comments] |
After HMRC urged young Britons to claim the windfalls from CTF accounts, we look at the best ways to maximise the benefits
Is there a pot of thousands of pounds out there with your name on it? HM Revenue and Customs is better known for demanding money than dishing it out, but last week it urged hundreds of thousands of young people to come forward and “cash in their stash”.
The tax authority says 671,000 people aged 18 to 22 have a child trust fund account that has matured, is worth £2,082 on average, and is sitting unclaimed. However, those 671,000 matured pots of cash represent a small fraction of the millions of child trust fund (CTF) accounts out there.
Continue reading...More than 30 businesses have written to the environment secretary calling for mandatory reporting of wasted food
Food companies should have to report how much they throw away as a first step towards reducing the vast amounts of edible food squandered in the UK, a group of prominent businesses have said.
About a third of the food produced globally every year is binned, much of it before it reaches the consumer at a cost of almost £22bn annually to the UK economy.
Continue reading...The former Arsenal player’s legal action against Fifa’s ‘draconian’ rules could lead to the age of Bosman 2.0
By the time Lassana Diarra played his last game as a professional footballer, on 20 October 2018, he had become a “what if?” player. What if he had stayed more than a single season at Arsenal? What if he hadn’t made the catastrophic decision to leave Real Madrid and La Liga for Anzhi Makhachkala and the Russian league? What if he hadn’t made the even more disastrous move from Anzhi to Lokomotiv Moscow? What if he hadn’t had to pull out of Didier Deschamps’s Euro 2016 squad at the very last moment because of a knee problem?
Another injury forced his retirement shortly after a rare cameo for his last club, Paris Saint-Germain, for whom he was no more than a squad player. Diarra was set to remain a footnote in the history of some prestigious clubs, a series of unanswered questions, something of an enigma – but then we have a legal case, which will finally be settled on 4 October, putting the final full stop to a story that has been dragging on for a decade. It is Diarra v Fifa and if the player wins it could completely change the transfer market, possibly leading to anarchy.
Continue reading...But the national carrier says contingencies are in place to prevent traveller chaos in capital cities on Monday morning
More than 1,000 Qantas engineers across Australia will walk off the job in industrial action they claim could kick the week off with peak-hour travel chaos, but the airline says it has contingencies in place and is not expecting any disruptions to travel.
Flights between 7am and 9am across three timezones on Monday morning are set to be affected in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
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Continue reading...A surge in claims for pension credit will make thousands more people eligible for the payments and other benefits
Rachel Reeves has been warned that her cut to pensioner winter fuel payments risks saving hundreds of millions less than anticipated, in a new blow to her attempts to close the hole in Britain’s finances.
The chancellor and her Treasury team are already re-examining parts of a plan to crack down on non-dom tax status over concerns that it may not raise any money.
Continue reading...Prime minister hopes to use talks with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen this week to prepare for a reset in the spring
Keir Starmer will use a meeting with the European Commission president this week to pave the way for a springtime overhaul of Britain’s Brexit deal, amid warnings that closer ties will be essential in his government’s desperate search for growth.
The prime minister will meet Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on Wednesday. However, it comes with home secretary Yvette Cooper still vehemently opposed to an agreement that would allow young people to move more freely between Europe and the UK – a measure that EU diplomats regard as key to unlocking more serious talks in the spring.
Continue reading...‘Economically illiterate’ Defra letter sent to anti-sewage groups cites 2018 report commissioned by water companies
Labour used “economically illiterate” analysis paid for by water companies in order to argue against the nationalisation of the sector, the Guardian can reveal.
In an official letter recently sent to anti-sewage groups, civil servants cited a paper by the Social Market Foundation as a reason to avoid nationalisation as part of its review of the sector. The report from 2018 was commissioned by United Utilities, Anglian Water, Severn Trent and South West Water.
Continue reading...It follows a weekend of wild weather in NSW, where SES responded to 270 calls including two adults and a baby stranded in flood waters near Tweed Heads
A cold front moving across southeast Australia is promising to bring more frosty temperatures through next week after parts of New South Wales and Victoria shivered through a cold, wet and windy spring weekend.
Rain is expected for south-east Queensland, the New South Wales mid and north coasts over the next few days, but not in the quantities seen over the weekend.
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Continue reading...Former prime minister’s claims about wanting to seize Covid vaccines being held in the EU ‘may have been a joke’
Senior Tories have cast doubt on Boris Johnson’s claim that he seriously considered invading the Netherlands to seize vaccines during the pandemic, saying the story had obviously been overblown and reheated to boost sales of his memoirs.
The former prime minister says in his new book, Unleashed, that he asked senior members of the armed forces about the possibility of conducting an “aquatic raid” on a warehouse in Leiden in March 2021 in order to get hold of 5m doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine which he believed the EU did not want to be exported to the UK.
Continue reading...Ugly, overcrowded and undermined by dithering over HS2, the unwieldy terminus needs an urgent rethink – or at least a few less digital billboards
Euston Road, which runs along the north edge of London’s congestion charge zone, is a strange, compromised mishmash of what should be a grand city avenue. A six-lane thoroughfare crammed with traffic, it is also home to the British Library, the Wellcome Collection and three major railway stations, of which by far the ugliest and least loved is the terminus that shares its name with the road: Euston.
Euston, to misquote the misquotation of Apollo 13’s message to mission control, has a problem. It is ill-designed, overcrowded and fraught with passenger frustrations. More long-term, no one yet knows whether it is going to be the London terminus of HS2, as was originally planned.
Continue reading...Women in Football gives progress update at Westminster on its Open Doors agenda and says it will unveil ‘exciting news’
Before the 2023 Women’s World Cup final the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, urged women to “push at the doors” of power in their drive for equality. “With men, with Fifa, you will find open doors,” he said. “Just push the doors. I say to all the women – and you know I have four daughters, so I have a few at home – that you have the power to change.
“Pick the right battles. Pick the right fights. You have the power to convince us men what we have to do and what we don’t have to do. You do it. Just do it.”
Continue reading...From Keir Starmer in the back garden of 10 Downing Street to London fashion week: the best original photographs from the Observer commissioned in September 2024
Continue reading...Early years experts warn of lack of staff, playgrounds and toilets
Primary schools may not have enough space, facilities or staff to deliver the 100,000 new nursery places in England promised by the government, early childhood experts have warned.
Labour is under pressure to create enough capacity to fulfil its promise of 30 hours of free childcare a week for eligible parents of children from the age of nine months to three years from next September – a commitment inherited from the previous government.
Continue reading...Anniversary of pro-democracy demonstration takes place in city where protest has been largely criminalised and activists silenced
A decade ago today Hong Kong’s Central district filled with protesters, angry at Chinese government plans to renege on a promise of a fully democratic vote. What became known as Occupy Central, or the Umbrella protests, paralysed the city’s financial centre and galvanised a generation of young people.
Today Hong Kong’s streets are quiet. Protest has been largely criminalised, and many of the leaders of the Umbrella movement have been exiled, jailed or otherwise silenced.
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Continue reading...Moderate faces challenges over cost-of-living crisis, public trust and threats to regional stability from China and North Korea
Shigeru Ishiba’s determination to lead Japan has never been in question, and now the veteran MP is poised to achieve that goal at the fifth time of asking after winning the race to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP) on Friday.
The 67-year-old will be installed as Japan’s new prime minister on Tuesday by the LDP-controlled parliament.
Continue reading...Mlungisi Makhanya stable in hospital in South Africa, where he was in exile from Africa’s last absolute monarchy
The leader of Eswatini’s main opposition party is in a critical but stable condition after allegedly being poisoned in what allies say is an assassination attempt.
Mlungisi Makhanya is in a hospital in South Africa after the alleged poisoning on Monday night at his home in the capital, Pretoria, where he was living in exile from Africa’s last absolute monarchy, said Penuel Malinga, the secretary general of the People’s United Democratic Movement (Pudemo).
Continue reading...Poll suggests half of Congolese have not heard of deadly disease, as conspiracy theories and rumours spread
For doctors and nurses fighting mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the virus itself is not the only enemy. They are also facing swirling rumours and misinformation.
The first of millions of promised doses of mpox vaccine have finally started to arrive. Now the focus is on ensuring that people who need them will take them when the vaccination campaign begins next month, and teaching wider communities how to protect themselves.
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Two televised debates ahead of 6 October mayoral election turn physically violent, with participants treated in hospital
Brazilians call overcast São Paulo their country’s “land of drizzle”.
But in recent months it has been raining punches not precipitation as Latin America’s largest city endures what observers call the most violent and unruly election in its history.
Continue reading...Second-round victory viewed as widespread rejection of the old political elite amid economic crisis
The Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake has won Sri Lanka’s presidential election, in what was viewed as a widespread rejection of the old political elite who are blamed for the country’s ongoing economic woes.
For the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, the election went into a runoff on Sunday after no candidate managed to get more than 50% of the votes. However, after second-choice votes were counted, Dissanayake was declared the winner in the evening. “This victory belongs to all of us,” he said, writing on X.
Continue reading...Weapons used in earlier Israeli strikes into Lebanon that have killed civilians have been found to be U.S.-made.
The post Israel Bombed Lebanon Today, Killing Hundreds. The U.S. Is Sending More Bombs. appeared first on The Intercept.
After weeks of arguments over the format and rules, the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a key swing state. Both candidates went into the event virtually tied in the polls, in search of a campaign-altering moment
‘They’re eating the cats’: Trump rambles falsely about immigrants in debate
Harris’s powerful abortion stance and Trump’s fact-checks: key takeaways from the debate
Harris slams Trump for falsehoods on abortion and immigration in fiery debate
Israel’s brazen attacks on Hezbollah last week, in which hundreds of pagers and two-way radios exploded and killed at least 37 people, graphically illustrated a threat that cybersecurity experts have been warning about for years: Our international supply chains for computerized equipment leave us vulnerable. And we have no good means to defend ourselves.
Though the deadly operations were stunning, none of the elements used to carry them out were particularly new. The tactics employed by Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied any role, to hijack an international supply chain and embed plastic explosives in Hezbollah devices have been used for years. What’s new is that Israel put them together in such a devastating and extravagantly public fashion, bringing into stark relief what the future of great power competition will look like—in peacetime, wartime and the ever expanding ...
Staff working from home half the week put an inevitable damper on the office property sector. Will changing patterns keep the lights on and returns attractive?
Carl Pei, co-founder and chief executive of smartphone firm Nothing, recently told staff that from October they would be expected to be back at their desks in its London HQ five days a week.
“I know this is a controversial decision that may not be a fit for everyone,” he said in a LinkedIn post that attracted hundreds of comments. “This is a company for grownups, so if you need to be out of the office to deal with some issues, we trust you to make the right decision … We know it’s not the right type of set-up for everybody, and that’s OK.”
Continue reading...Five executions, five states: a glut of judicial killing not seen in 20 years took place last week – and there was nothing random about it
The death penalty is waning in America. Most states have abolished it or put it on pause, the annual crop of executions and new death sentences is in decline, and public opinion is turning steadily against the practice.
So the battle to break America’s primal adherence to a-life-for-a-life is prevailing.
Continue reading...Marina Hyde on the motley crew of enforcers, concealers and NDA experts behind every Al Fayed or Diddy; Liz Taylor’s son, Chris Wilding, discusses his mother’s legend and legacy; and Philippa Perry helps one reader struggling to reconcile the emotions that come with a devastating illness
Far-right president has been battling inflation by imposing steep cuts in spending, resulting in widespread poverty
Argentina’s poverty rate has soared to almost 53% in the first six months of Javier Milei’s presidency, offering the first hard evidence of how the far-right libertarian’s tough austerity measures are hitting the population.
The new poverty rate, reported by the government’s statistics agency on Thursday, is the highest level for two decades, when the country reeled from a catastrophic economic crisis, and means 3.4 million Argentinians have been pushed into poverty this year.
Continue reading...The military tech conference, set for November at one of Google’s Tel Aviv offices, was scrubbed from the internet when The Intercept asked questions.
The post Google Was Set to Host an Israeli Military Conference. When We Asked About It, the Event Disappeared. appeared first on The Intercept.
The rise of artificial intelligence has sparked a panic about computers gaining power over humankind. But the real threat comes from falling for the hype. By Navneet Alang
Continue reading...William Christou and Michael Safi speak to people affected by Israel’s intense bombing campaign in Lebanon
On Sunday night, Dalia Farran decided to sleep on the beach near her beach club in Tyre, southern Lebanon. Across Lebanon that day, people had received warnings in texts and calls that there would be airstrikes.
“Early morning, six o’clock, I woke up to the sound of bombing,” Dalia tells Michael Safi. “I got out of the tent and I saw the whole mountains leading to Naqoura. There were flames, black dark smoke like clouds. It was really like a mirage. It was like a dream, like a bad dream, weird dream. And that’s how the nightmare started.”
Continue reading...JVP leader has positioned himself as opposite to political elites but not all have greeted his win with optimism
As he was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s new president on Monday morning, Anura Kumara Dissanayake heralded a “new era of renaissance” for the country. Many believe Dissanayake’s election marks a significant political pivot for Sri Lanka, which has been ruled by a rotation of the same few parties and families for decades, leading to a continuing economic recession and deep-rooted mistrust of traditional political leaders.
Swathes of the population said it was the promise of change that brought them to vote for the leftist leader for the first time last weekend.
Continue reading...Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Liew and Troy Townsend to preview this weekend’s Premier League games
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; Manchester United laboured to a 1-1 draw with FC Twente in their opening Europa League game and now face a tricky test against Tottenham on Sunday in the Premier League.
Continue reading...Industrial civilisation is close to breaching a seventh planetary boundary, and may already have crossed it, according to scientists who have compiled the latest report on the state of the world’s life-support systems. They say ocean acidification is close to critical threshold, posing a threat to marine ecosystems and global liveability. Ian Sample speaks to Prof Helen Findlay, a biological oceanographer at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, to find out why the oceans have reached this state, and whether there is anything we can do to reverse the damage.
Earth may have breached seven of nine planetary boundaries, health check shows
Continue reading...For more than a decade Pelicot’s husband drugged her and invited other men to allegedly rape her. When she found out, she made an extraordinary decision. Angelique Chrisafis reports
For more than a decade Gisèle Pelicot went to sleep thinking she was in a safe, loving marriage. But when her then husband was arrested she discovered the truth – at night he had been drugging her, so that he could film more than 80 other men allegedly raping her. The trial of Dominique Pelicot and 50 others has horrified France and the world. But the bravery of Gisèle, who has waived her anonymity to raise awareness of violence against women and show that rape survivors have nothing to be ashamed of, has seen her praised for her courage.
Angelique Chrisafis has been in the courtroom and visited the quiet Provence town where the Pelicots lived. She explains how Dominique Pelicot found no difficulty in finding and recruiting men in an online chatroom.
Continue reading...The movement counts among its ranks many disillusioned Arab and Muslim voters in the key swing state of Michigan.
The post Kamala Harris Refused to Meet With Uncommitted About Gaza — and Uncommitted Refused to Endorse Her appeared first on The Intercept.
As the state keeps details around the death penalty hidden, an investigation into its execution team raises questions about how incarcerated people are treated in their final moments.
The post In Alabama, Officers Accused of Violence and Misconduct Carry Out Secretive Executions appeared first on The Intercept.
The far-right, anti-immigration Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is riding a populist wave across Europe’s largest economy.
According to polls conducted this month, the AfD has become the strongest party in Thuringia, a former state of the communist German Democratic Republic (GDR). In Saxony, another former GDR state, the party finished a very close second behind the CDU.
The Guardian's Berlin correspondent, Deborah Cole, explains how the AfD has risen from its eurosceptic origins to a party that is 'managing to set the agenda' in German politics
Success of far-right AfD shows east and west Germany are drifting further apart
Everyone is terrified of a far-right return in Germany. Here’s why it won’t happen
Since 2021, Israeli soldiers have met weekly protests in the West Bank village with deadly force.
The post Israeli Soldiers Killed 15 Protesters in the Same Place They Shot Aysenur Eygi appeared first on The Intercept.
For the first time in more than 30 years, the Council of UC Faculty Associations filed a formal complaint against the UC system.
The post California Professors Fight Back Against Violent Repression of Palestine Protest appeared first on The Intercept.
So far, no one has been able to hold the notorious Israeli spyware firm accountable for complicity in human rights abuses.
The post These Human Rights Defenders Were Hacked by Pegasus. Now They Want Police to Charge the Spyware Maker. appeared first on The Intercept.
Lila Tamea was one of the worshippers inside Abdullah Quilliam Society mosque in Liverpool when it was targeted by far-right rioters in August. Alongside Imam Adam Kelwick, she went out to speak to them and offer food. In the weeks that followed, Lila took a leading role in trying to rebuild her community after the violence. But now, despite promises of community cohesion in Liverpool, fear and paranoia are still a daily reality for Muslim women
Continue reading...A police shooting that injured three people and one officer is the result of New York Mayor Eric Adams’s enforcement-first mentality.
The post There Are So Many Armed Cops on Subways That Now They’re Shooting Each Other 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
An Intercept investigation reveals that the Army National Guard has known about poisonous lead dust at armories open to the public for years, but is doing little to respond.
The post The National Guard Knows Its Armories Have Dangerous Lead Contamination, Putting Kids and Soldiers At Risk appeared first on The Intercept.
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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Attorney General Andrew Bailey scuttled a deal that would have spared Williams’s life, and the courts and governor failed to intervene to stop the execution.
The post Missouri Kills Marcellus Williams Over Objections From Prosecutor and Victim’s Family appeared first on The Intercept.
As the state keeps details around the death penalty hidden, an investigation into its execution team raises questions about how incarcerated people are treated in their final moments.
The post In Alabama, Officers Accused of Violence and Misconduct Carry Out Secretive Executions appeared first on The Intercept.
Activists are drawing parallels between the state-sanctioned killing of Williams in Missouri and U.S. backing for Israel’s war on Gaza.
The post “I Saw a Mirror”: Marcellus Williams’s Execution Enrages Palestine Solidarity Protesters appeared first on The Intercept.
The source of the quote corrected Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, but they kept accusing the Palestinian House representative of antisemitism anyway.
The post CNN Anchors Won’t Stop Lying About Something Rashida Tlaib Never Said appeared first on The Intercept.
A subtle bipartisan shift in the language of immigration has opened the door to vilification and dehumanization.
The post You Should Stop Calling Immigrants “Migrants” appeared first on The Intercept.
Weapons used in earlier Israeli strikes into Lebanon that have killed civilians have been found to be U.S.-made.
The post Israel Bombed Lebanon Today, Killing Hundreds. The U.S. Is Sending More Bombs. appeared first on The Intercept.
For the first time in more than 30 years, the Council of UC Faculty Associations filed a formal complaint against the UC system.
The post California Professors Fight Back Against Violent Repression of Palestine Protest appeared first on The Intercept.
So far, no one has been able to hold the notorious Israeli spyware firm accountable for complicity in human rights abuses.
The post These Human Rights Defenders Were Hacked by Pegasus. Now They Want Police to Charge the Spyware Maker. appeared first on The Intercept.
An Intercept investigation reveals that the Army National Guard has known about poisonous lead dust at armories open to the public for years, but is doing little to respond.
The post The National Guard Knows Its Armories Have Dangerous Lead Contamination, Putting Kids and Soldiers At Risk appeared first on The Intercept.
Since 2021, Israeli soldiers have met weekly protests in the West Bank village with deadly force.
The post Israeli Soldiers Killed 15 Protesters in the Same Place They Shot Aysenur Eygi appeared first on The Intercept.
Sumptuous rich flavours to help you step from summer into autumn
For those who cook with the seasons, this is the bridge between summer and autumn. Many vegetables linger from the abundance of summer, while new things quietly arrive.
As dear to me as they are, it’s not just about porcini mushrooms and game. Sardines, for a example, come into their own, are easier to find and cheaper than ever. Wild fennel is in flower. You can find squash at the market and we fight to be first for new-season apples. These recipes reflect this moment.
Continue reading...Autumn is a great time to join locals as they celebrate the fruits of the season, from the vineyards of Provence to the forests of Transylvania
Croatia’s northernmost region is famous for its olives, and the Meneghetti hotel and winery produces four different varieties of oil from the 750 trees dotted across the estate. From early October to mid-November, guests can join the olive harvest and oil-making process, as well as oyster-shucking on the nearby fjords and truffle hunting (until the end of October). The hotel also offers wine tastings and tours, while the restaurant produces dishes created from the 1.5 hectare kitchen garden, with more than 44 species of fruits, vegetables and herbs.
Doubles from £210 B&B, meneghetti.hr
If the Labour leader can’t make a minor slip in a speech without being accused of being anti-Israel, no wonder he’s retreated to Arsenal’s corporate box
Addressing the subject of Gaza on Tuesday, Sir Keir Starmer called for the “return of the sausages”, which was a surprise to those of us who didn’t know they were missing. Although, come to think of it, when was the last time you saw a big fat bulldog with a string of them in its mouth being chased down the high street by a butcher in a straw hat? And, when I was young in the 1970s, any drive to the West Country would see the car windscreen covered in splattered sausages, but these days its stays spotless. Make of that what you will.
I’m not thinking straight. I’ve got a virus that’s smothered my brain like psychedelic cement and I’m already a day late filing this. But at least I didn’t say “sausages” when I meant “hostages”. Starmer’s mistake was genuine though. When Boris Johnson talked, just once in June 2019, about his soon-forgotten passion for model buses, it was to game search algorithms away from those other buses, the ones he wrote massive Brexit lies on.
Stewart Lee’s Basic Lee is on the streaming service Now TV, and his 2025 tour Stewart Lee vs the Man-Wulf begins at London’s Leicester Square theatre this December
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk
Continue reading...The end results are almost as good as the fun process of making them – and the stories and histories add another layer of flavour
If you like chocolate, a wonderful thing to do, for yourself, for someone else or, maybe all together, is a chocolate course. Lots of places now run them, where you learn all about chocolate, how to temper it and then usually make various incarnations of the stuff.
I went with my two bambine to Melt just off Westbourne Grove in London, up the road from where I grew up, to attend one of its chocolate courses. It was meant to last three hours but, four and a half hours later, we were all still there, laughing and learning.
Continue reading...By focusing on its strengths and pooling information, the west can disrupt Russia’s war machine – but there’s no time to lose
Russia is a “mafia state” trying to expand into a “mafia empire”, the foreign secretary, David Lammy, told the UN, nailing the dual nature of Vladimir Putin’s political model. On one hand Russia represents something very old – a world of bullying empires that invade smaller countries, grab their resources and indoctrinate their people into thinking they are inferior. But it is also something very new, weaponising corruption, criminal networks, assassinations and tech-driven psy-ops to subvert open societies. And if democracies don’t act to stop it, this malign model will be imitated across the globe.
Ukraine is resisting the older, zombie imperialism every day on the battlefield, and democracies will have to arm Ukraine and ourselves to constrain Russia properly. But how should we fight the more contemporary tools of political warfare that Russia pioneers? These are becoming ever more prevalent. Globalisation was meant to make us all so integrated that it would diminish the risk of wars. Instead, the free flow of information, money and people across borders also made subversion easier than ever. At the Labour party conference, Lammy indicated that democracies need to work together to stop Russia: “Exposing their agents, building joint capability and working with the global south to take on Putin’s lies.”
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 250 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at observer.letters@observer.co.uk
Continue reading...More than 30 businesses have written to the environment secretary calling for mandatory reporting of wasted food
Food companies should have to report how much they throw away as a first step towards reducing the vast amounts of edible food squandered in the UK, a group of prominent businesses have said.
About a third of the food produced globally every year is binned, much of it before it reaches the consumer at a cost of almost £22bn annually to the UK economy.
Continue reading...Growing up poor blights children’s lives, and results in lower work and health outcomes that cost the exchequer long term
What’s Labour’s governing philosophy? That was the question posed at a dinner I went to with some MPs and former staffers during the party’s annual conference in Liverpool last week. Is Keir Starmer more influenced by the communitarian blend of leftwing economics and socially conservative values that is “blue Labour”, or is he driven by the Fabian democratic socialism that was at the heart of his campaign to become Labour leader?
A prime minister’s motivating beliefs are always pored over by those interested in what direction a particular government might take. But in this case I’m not sure how much it matters, because there is a third governing philosophy dominating Labour that renders almost everything else moot. Fiscal conservatism.
Continue reading...A pet is a symbol of virtue, its happiness a test of our humanity. This year it’s also a marker of electability…
My friend Shay has acquired a cat. It started when her family got a kitten, but then the kitten attracted a stray, who entered the house and ate all the food, much like that awful tiger who came to tea. He’s a big guy, muscular, itchy, needy, and they took him to the vet, to discover he was unchipped. They put up posters, they asked online if neighbours had lost a cat. “Enjoy your new cat!” said the neighbours. The vet’s advice was not to feed it or pay it any attention. The cat shelter’s advice was to feed it and love it.
They compromised, with a bed in the shed and food outside. Foxes used the bed as a toy – the cat stoically remains at their window. Along the way, Shay’s young daughter has named it Mr Fish, a name both formal and disgusted. I have enjoyed my Mr Fish updates, not just because it’s very funny seeing my friend compelled to care for an animal that, to quote, “gives her the ick”, but because I am refreshed by the admission, in a time when our pets have come to define us, that our relationships with them can be… complicated.
Continue reading...She thought acting was ‘silly’, despite having A-list sisters. Her interests lay in dance, accountancy, agriculture, construction. Here she explains how she conquered her anxiety and embraced being a Hollywood star
The actor Elizabeth Olsen and I are in a London hotel, staring down at her dinner. She lifts the lid from one plate: a bowl of plain black beans. She lifts another: a bowl of similarly spare couscous. You wouldn’t know it, but Olsen is something of a foodie. She takes a set of knives around the world when filming, makes her own ricotta, knows what brand of caviar is best, and records the name of every restaurant she visits. She’s been engaged for years in an LA “croissant crawl” to find the best French pastry in the city, though she takes the hunt international every chance she gets. This past week she’s eaten a huge amount of red meat, she tells me, and developed high cholesterol as a result. Hence the simple grain and pulse dishes before her. Carefully she returns the lids. Then she says, “I am probably not going to eat while we talk.”
In person, Olsen, who is 35, manages the curious combination of being at once unnerving and disarming. Those wide eyes – so expressive and searching on screen – would be unsettling if it weren’t for her easy wit. It’s the eyes that Hollywood has latched on to: they have been deployed to reveal the trauma of an ex-cult member (her indie breakout Martha Marcy May Marlene), a wife in a loveless marriage driven to murder (Love & Death), a grieving widow (Sorry For Your Loss). As Wanda Maximoff, appearing in the Marvel films that have dominated her last decade, her eyes have been used to portray a virtual assault course of loss.
Continue reading...18 at St Andrews serves huge steaks to golf lovers, but more imaginative dishes are well below par
18, Rusacks, Pilmour Links, St Andrews KY16 9JQ (01334 466 899). Starters £13-£18. mains £24-£57.50, desserts £10-£12.50, wines from £32
Busy restaurants often have their own particular smell: of good things searing on the grill, or garlic fizzing in hot butter, or perhaps of a strategically placed trolley full of ripe cheeses trying to make a run for it. The 18 restaurant atop Rusacks, a fancy hotel in St Andrews, smells of newly pumped testosterone. On a weekday night the place is filled with a certain kind of middle-aged man, most of them American. They are not just seated at the tables but thronging between them and leaning over the shoulders of friends at other tables to bark with laughter at each other’s jokes and war stories. The thing that unites them lies on the other side of the long plateglass window at the back of the dining room, shrouded now by night’s fall. It is the 18th hole of the Old Course, the oldest golf course in the world and therefore the holy of holies for golfers the world over. Let us pray.
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Continue reading...Lila Tamea was one of the worshippers inside Abdullah Quilliam Society mosque in Liverpool when it was targeted by far-right rioters in August. Alongside Imam Adam Kelwick, she went out to speak to them and offer food. In the weeks that followed, Lila took a leading role in trying to rebuild her community after the violence. But now, despite promises of community cohesion in Liverpool, fear and paranoia are still a daily reality for Muslim women
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
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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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