An excerpt from the Atlantic -
Why Airlines Can Get Away With Bad Customer Service
As much as other types of companies might want to ignore their lowest-margin patrons, most don’t have that luxury.
By KAVEH WADDELL
A security guard stops a customer as she tries to enter a well-stocked aisle in a large department store. “Sorry, ma’am,” the guard says. “This sale is for our silver, gold, and platinum shoppers only.” He points her toward the meager discount corner at the back of the store, where bronze-status shoppers are allowed. She passes attendants who smile only at the elite shoppers, offering them refreshments and guiding them toward the best deals. When she stops for gas on the way home, she gets in a long line for the basic pump, while the priority pump sits empty and unused. At the grocery store, she doesn’t have enough points to approach the organic produce.
This beleaguered consumer lives in an alternate reality where businesses can discriminate between their high-value and low-value clientele at will, enticing the biggest spenders to stay while marginalizing bargain hunters and coupon cutters. Most companies couldn’t get away with triaging their customers this way. But some already do: airlines.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/04/why-airlines-can-get-away-with-bad-customer-service/523011/
Sunday, April 16, 2017
High Tech Pipeline
An excerpt from the Atlantic -
Getting High-School Grads Into the Closed-Off World of Tech
A Silicon Valley program is matching young, lower-income workers with employers eager to diversify their ranks
By ALANA SEMUELS
SAN JOSE—On a recent weekday, an unlikely crew of 18-to-24 year-olds gathered in a classroom in an office building, proving wrong a mantra often heard in economic development: Training programs aren’t effective at getting people good jobs.
From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the students, mostly minorities from poor families, will tinker with computers, hone their e-mail skills,work on PowerPoint presentations, and even practice giving professional handshakes. And in a few months’ time, the 80 students will move on to coveted internships in Silicon Valley, all the more impressive since the students do not have college degrees.
This is Year Up, a training program that serves more than 3,000 students nationwide every year and that is effective in getting people without college degrees into good jobs. The model solves a growing problem in a tight economy: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of people are stuck in low-paying jobs with little room for upward mobility, while employers complain that they can’t find enough qualified workers for jobs that don’t require college degrees. Year Up takes students who might not otherwise know how to negotiate the working world and gives them the skills they need to make it in in-demand jobs. After six months of intense training in a classroom and counseling from mentors, it connects them with six-month internships in fields like business, technology, and finance. The students in the San Jose classroom will move on to internships doing IT support or as administrative support staff at companies like Google, Salesforce, Facebook, and Tesla. In many cases, those internships will lead to full-time employment. Year Up also pays students a stipend while they go through the program.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/04/training-for-tech-jobs/522921/
Getting High-School Grads Into the Closed-Off World of Tech
A Silicon Valley program is matching young, lower-income workers with employers eager to diversify their ranks
By ALANA SEMUELS
SAN JOSE—On a recent weekday, an unlikely crew of 18-to-24 year-olds gathered in a classroom in an office building, proving wrong a mantra often heard in economic development: Training programs aren’t effective at getting people good jobs.
From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the students, mostly minorities from poor families, will tinker with computers, hone their e-mail skills,work on PowerPoint presentations, and even practice giving professional handshakes. And in a few months’ time, the 80 students will move on to coveted internships in Silicon Valley, all the more impressive since the students do not have college degrees.
This is Year Up, a training program that serves more than 3,000 students nationwide every year and that is effective in getting people without college degrees into good jobs. The model solves a growing problem in a tight economy: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of people are stuck in low-paying jobs with little room for upward mobility, while employers complain that they can’t find enough qualified workers for jobs that don’t require college degrees. Year Up takes students who might not otherwise know how to negotiate the working world and gives them the skills they need to make it in in-demand jobs. After six months of intense training in a classroom and counseling from mentors, it connects them with six-month internships in fields like business, technology, and finance. The students in the San Jose classroom will move on to internships doing IT support or as administrative support staff at companies like Google, Salesforce, Facebook, and Tesla. In many cases, those internships will lead to full-time employment. Year Up also pays students a stipend while they go through the program.
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/04/training-for-tech-jobs/522921/
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Upping the Ante
From the Huffington Post -
Delta Now Pays Up To $9,950 If You Volunteer To Switch Flights
They’re willing to pay you a whole lot more to voluntarily switch flights.
By Suzy Strutner
Delta Air Lines is making a dramatic change in the wake of United’s PR disaster, in which a man was violently dragged off a plane after refusing to accept approximately $800 in exchange for his seat.
HuffPost has obtained a company memo from Delta (who declined to comment) that has raised the maximum dollar amount its employees can offer to passengers who voluntarily surrender their seats on oversold flights.
Under Delta’s former caps, customer service agents could offer up to $800 in compensation to passengers who volunteered to switch planes, and employees with higher titles could offer up to $1,350. Today, those limits were upped to $2,000 and $9,950 respectively.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/voluntary-boarding-delta_us_58f11a12e4b0b9e9848bc15f
Delta Now Pays Up To $9,950 If You Volunteer To Switch Flights
They’re willing to pay you a whole lot more to voluntarily switch flights.
By Suzy Strutner
Delta Air Lines is making a dramatic change in the wake of United’s PR disaster, in which a man was violently dragged off a plane after refusing to accept approximately $800 in exchange for his seat.
HuffPost has obtained a company memo from Delta (who declined to comment) that has raised the maximum dollar amount its employees can offer to passengers who voluntarily surrender their seats on oversold flights.
Under Delta’s former caps, customer service agents could offer up to $800 in compensation to passengers who volunteered to switch planes, and employees with higher titles could offer up to $1,350. Today, those limits were upped to $2,000 and $9,950 respectively.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/voluntary-boarding-delta_us_58f11a12e4b0b9e9848bc15f
Friday, April 14, 2017
History Lesson - Pauli Murray
An excerpt from the New Yorker -
THE MANY LIVES OF PAULI MURRAY
She was an architect of the civil-rights struggle—and the women’s movement. Why haven’t you heard of her?
By Kathryn Schulz
This was Murray’s lifelong fate: to be both ahead of her time and behind the scenes. Two decades before the civil-rights movement of the nineteen-sixties, Murray was arrested for refusing to move to the back of a bus in Richmond, Virginia; organized sit-ins that successfully desegregated restaurants in Washington, D.C.; and, anticipating the Freedom Summer, urged her Howard classmates to head south to fight for civil rights and wondered how to “attract young white graduates of the great universities to come down and join with us.” And, four decades before another legal scholar, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, coined the term “intersectionality,” Murray insisted on the indivisibility of her identity and experience as an African-American, a worker, and a woman.
Despite all this, Murray’s name is not well known today, especially among white Americans. The past few years, however, have seen a burst of interest in her life and work. She’s been sainted by the Episcopal Church, had a residential college named after her at Yale, where she was the first African-American to earn a doctorate of jurisprudence, and had her childhood home designated a National Historic Landmark by the Department of the Interior. Last year, Patricia Bell-Scott published “The Firebrand and the First Lady” (Knopf), an account of Murray’s relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt, and next month sees the publication of “Jane Crow: The Life of Pauli Murray” (Oxford), by the Barnard historian Rosalind Rosenberg.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/17/the-many-lives-of-pauli-murray
THE MANY LIVES OF PAULI MURRAY
She was an architect of the civil-rights struggle—and the women’s movement. Why haven’t you heard of her?
By Kathryn Schulz
This was Murray’s lifelong fate: to be both ahead of her time and behind the scenes. Two decades before the civil-rights movement of the nineteen-sixties, Murray was arrested for refusing to move to the back of a bus in Richmond, Virginia; organized sit-ins that successfully desegregated restaurants in Washington, D.C.; and, anticipating the Freedom Summer, urged her Howard classmates to head south to fight for civil rights and wondered how to “attract young white graduates of the great universities to come down and join with us.” And, four decades before another legal scholar, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw, coined the term “intersectionality,” Murray insisted on the indivisibility of her identity and experience as an African-American, a worker, and a woman.
Despite all this, Murray’s name is not well known today, especially among white Americans. The past few years, however, have seen a burst of interest in her life and work. She’s been sainted by the Episcopal Church, had a residential college named after her at Yale, where she was the first African-American to earn a doctorate of jurisprudence, and had her childhood home designated a National Historic Landmark by the Department of the Interior. Last year, Patricia Bell-Scott published “The Firebrand and the First Lady” (Knopf), an account of Murray’s relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt, and next month sees the publication of “Jane Crow: The Life of Pauli Murray” (Oxford), by the Barnard historian Rosalind Rosenberg.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/17/the-many-lives-of-pauli-murray
A New Way to Buy a Used Car
From the New York Times ~ California Today -
Online Upstarts Seek to Disrupt Used-Car Buying
By MARY M. CHAPMAN
Emily Hurwitz, an advertising supervisor who lives in San Francisco, doesn’t like buying cars from traditional dealerships. In fact, she recently bought a 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan through Shift, a start-up that arranges online sales of used cars. She is happy with her car, which the company brought directly to her apartment to try out. Shift financed the $18,000 vehicle.
Speaking of conventional car dealerships, Ms. Hurwitz, 28, said: “I always think they’re going to swindle you. You’re talking to a guy who’s sizing you up. It’s a very overwhelming situation, and you feel like you have to be on top of things and on guard.”
A handful of nascent online used-car companies, including Shift, are capitalizing on sentiments like these. Although most online sites merely refer consumers to dealers, these companies are aiming to disrupt the industry by skirting dealer markups and promoting what they see as a better buying and selling experience.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/13/automobiles/wheels/online-used-car-sales.html?emc=edit_ca_20170414&nl=california-today&nlid=38867499&te=1&_r=0
Side note - I purchased my car using Roadster, an online broker. It was a great experience.
Online Upstarts Seek to Disrupt Used-Car Buying
By MARY M. CHAPMAN
Emily Hurwitz, an advertising supervisor who lives in San Francisco, doesn’t like buying cars from traditional dealerships. In fact, she recently bought a 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan through Shift, a start-up that arranges online sales of used cars. She is happy with her car, which the company brought directly to her apartment to try out. Shift financed the $18,000 vehicle.
Speaking of conventional car dealerships, Ms. Hurwitz, 28, said: “I always think they’re going to swindle you. You’re talking to a guy who’s sizing you up. It’s a very overwhelming situation, and you feel like you have to be on top of things and on guard.”
A handful of nascent online used-car companies, including Shift, are capitalizing on sentiments like these. Although most online sites merely refer consumers to dealers, these companies are aiming to disrupt the industry by skirting dealer markups and promoting what they see as a better buying and selling experience.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/13/automobiles/wheels/online-used-car-sales.html?emc=edit_ca_20170414&nl=california-today&nlid=38867499&te=1&_r=0
Side note - I purchased my car using Roadster, an online broker. It was a great experience.
History Lesson - A Renaissance Man
From Atlas Obscura -
The ‘Black Mozart’ Was So Much More
Between composing concertos, Joseph Bologne fenced and fought in the army.
By Andrea Valentino
The 40 years between the American Revolution and the defeat of Napoleon gifted the world some wonderful music. From Haydn’s string quartets, through Mozart’s symphonies, to Beethoven’s dazzling works for piano—a music lover could paddle around the period forever. But one great figure of the age is often ignored: Joseph Bologne, also known by his noble title the Chevalier de Saint-Georges. This is a pity. A person of Bologne’s talents—musical and military—is impressive whatever the era. That Bologne was black, and thrived in a racist society, is remarkable.
Bologne was born in Guadalupe, a French colony in the Caribbean, in 1745. His father was a wealthy plantation owner, his mother a black slave. As a mixed-race child, Bologne enjoyed considerable freedom and eventually went to study in France, where he quickly settled into the life of a rich enlightened Parisian. “Bologne had access to everything money could buy as a young man,” explains Chi-chi Nwanoku, founder of the Chineke! Orchestra, for ethnic minority musicians. It helped that his father was from an “aristocratic family,” adds Nwanoku.
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/joseph-bologne-black-mozart
The ‘Black Mozart’ Was So Much More
Between composing concertos, Joseph Bologne fenced and fought in the army.
By Andrea Valentino
The 40 years between the American Revolution and the defeat of Napoleon gifted the world some wonderful music. From Haydn’s string quartets, through Mozart’s symphonies, to Beethoven’s dazzling works for piano—a music lover could paddle around the period forever. But one great figure of the age is often ignored: Joseph Bologne, also known by his noble title the Chevalier de Saint-Georges. This is a pity. A person of Bologne’s talents—musical and military—is impressive whatever the era. That Bologne was black, and thrived in a racist society, is remarkable.
Bologne was born in Guadalupe, a French colony in the Caribbean, in 1745. His father was a wealthy plantation owner, his mother a black slave. As a mixed-race child, Bologne enjoyed considerable freedom and eventually went to study in France, where he quickly settled into the life of a rich enlightened Parisian. “Bologne had access to everything money could buy as a young man,” explains Chi-chi Nwanoku, founder of the Chineke! Orchestra, for ethnic minority musicians. It helped that his father was from an “aristocratic family,” adds Nwanoku.
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/joseph-bologne-black-mozart
More Marches
From Salon -
Grab your signs: There are 3 big anti-Trump marches coming up this month
The administration's April cowards bring protesters empowered
By ILANA NOVICK, ALTERNET
http://www.salon.com/2017/04/14/grab-your-signs-there-are-3-big-anti-trump-marches-come-up-this-month_partner/
Grab your signs: There are 3 big anti-Trump marches coming up this month
The administration's April cowards bring protesters empowered
By ILANA NOVICK, ALTERNET
http://www.salon.com/2017/04/14/grab-your-signs-there-are-3-big-anti-trump-marches-come-up-this-month_partner/
My Hero
An excerpt from Slate -
Bless Dianne Bentley, Who Undid Her Cheating Governor Husband With His Exceedingly Boring Sexts
By Christina Cauterucci
There are several losers in the extramarital affair that brought down Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, starting with the man himself, who ended up resigning on Monday and pleading guilty to two misdemeanor crimes. There’s also his paramour, Rebekah Mason, who resigned from her job when news of the affair first broke last year. The entire state of Alabama lost its governor and took another hit to its already-tattered reputation in the same month a hit podcast named one of its municipalities “Shit Town.” Poor Robert, poor Rebekah, poor Alabama.
But, to the extent that sex scandals that lead to ethics violations and campaign-finance missteps can have winners, the Alabama fiasco has a big one: Dianne Bentley, Robert’s ex-wife. This hero was instrumental to the state legislature’s investigation and Robert’s eventual downfall, giving her the upper hand in a familiar scenario that usually relegates politicians’ scorned spouses to the role of the “Good Wife” or hurt victim.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2017/04/13/bless_dianne_bentley_who_took_down_alabama_s_governor_her_cheating_boring.html
Bless Dianne Bentley, Who Undid Her Cheating Governor Husband With His Exceedingly Boring Sexts
By Christina Cauterucci
There are several losers in the extramarital affair that brought down Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, starting with the man himself, who ended up resigning on Monday and pleading guilty to two misdemeanor crimes. There’s also his paramour, Rebekah Mason, who resigned from her job when news of the affair first broke last year. The entire state of Alabama lost its governor and took another hit to its already-tattered reputation in the same month a hit podcast named one of its municipalities “Shit Town.” Poor Robert, poor Rebekah, poor Alabama.
But, to the extent that sex scandals that lead to ethics violations and campaign-finance missteps can have winners, the Alabama fiasco has a big one: Dianne Bentley, Robert’s ex-wife. This hero was instrumental to the state legislature’s investigation and Robert’s eventual downfall, giving her the upper hand in a familiar scenario that usually relegates politicians’ scorned spouses to the role of the “Good Wife” or hurt victim.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2017/04/13/bless_dianne_bentley_who_took_down_alabama_s_governor_her_cheating_boring.html
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Black Twitter is on the Case
From the Huffington Post -
United Passenger David Dao Was Compared To Rosa Parks. Twitter Isn’t Having It.
“I need folks to stop comparing people to civil rights activists.”
By Lilly Workneh
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/united-passenger-david-dao-was-compared-to-rosa-parks-twitter-isnt-having-it_us_58efc28ce4b0da2ff85f1976?tgkir24vmdie8kt9&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
United Passenger David Dao Was Compared To Rosa Parks. Twitter Isn’t Having It.
“I need folks to stop comparing people to civil rights activists.”
By Lilly Workneh
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/united-passenger-david-dao-was-compared-to-rosa-parks-twitter-isnt-having-it_us_58efc28ce4b0da2ff85f1976?tgkir24vmdie8kt9&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
The Best Airlines in the World
From TripAdvisor -
https://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-Airlines-a_Mode.expanded
https://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-Airlines-a_Mode.expanded
History Lesson - The First Black Umpire
From the Undefeated -
Emmett Ashford, first black umpire in the majors, makes his debut
‘He overwhelmed people with his endurance and his charm’
BY RHIANNON WALKER
Was it a bird? Maybe a plane? No, with catlike quickness and a knack for theatrics, it was none other than Emmett Ashford running down the third-base line.
The third-base umpire could turn his hips to chase down a ball with better precision than a cornerback. He had eyes like a hawk to make the calls and the ability to entertain everyone in the stadium.
Almost 20 years after Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, Ashford did the same when he became the first black umpire in the majors.
https://theundefeated.com/features/emmett-ashford-first-black-umpire-in-the-majors-makes-his-debut/
Emmett Ashford, first black umpire in the majors, makes his debut
‘He overwhelmed people with his endurance and his charm’
BY RHIANNON WALKER
Was it a bird? Maybe a plane? No, with catlike quickness and a knack for theatrics, it was none other than Emmett Ashford running down the third-base line.
The third-base umpire could turn his hips to chase down a ball with better precision than a cornerback. He had eyes like a hawk to make the calls and the ability to entertain everyone in the stadium.
Almost 20 years after Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, Ashford did the same when he became the first black umpire in the majors.
https://theundefeated.com/features/emmett-ashford-first-black-umpire-in-the-majors-makes-his-debut/
Sorry
An excerpt from the New York Times -
Why ‘Sorry’ Is Still the Hardest Word
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
The fine art of repentance is a skill taught in business schools and promoted by high-priced consultants. But all kinds of offenders in public life still seem to struggle with the execution. Corporations like BP and Wells Fargo have faced criticism for dawdling responses to cascading crises, while politicians from Bill Clinton to Anthony Weiner have had difficulty admitting to peccadilloes.
The key to contrition, according to public-relations experts, is projecting sincerity, humanity, and a plain-spoken demeanor — the better to convince a cynical public. And in this age of whipsawing social media, you had better do it fast.
“The head of United should never have been allowed to take three swings at correcting and apologizing for an incident that was on more social media than Kim and Kanye’s wedding,” said Mortimer Matz, a New York consultant who has guided decades’ worth of clients through crises small and large.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/business/media/apology-sean-spicer-holocaust-oscar-munoz-united.html?emc=edit_nn_20170413&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=38867499&te=1
Why ‘Sorry’ Is Still the Hardest Word
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
The fine art of repentance is a skill taught in business schools and promoted by high-priced consultants. But all kinds of offenders in public life still seem to struggle with the execution. Corporations like BP and Wells Fargo have faced criticism for dawdling responses to cascading crises, while politicians from Bill Clinton to Anthony Weiner have had difficulty admitting to peccadilloes.
The key to contrition, according to public-relations experts, is projecting sincerity, humanity, and a plain-spoken demeanor — the better to convince a cynical public. And in this age of whipsawing social media, you had better do it fast.
“The head of United should never have been allowed to take three swings at correcting and apologizing for an incident that was on more social media than Kim and Kanye’s wedding,” said Mortimer Matz, a New York consultant who has guided decades’ worth of clients through crises small and large.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/business/media/apology-sean-spicer-holocaust-oscar-munoz-united.html?emc=edit_nn_20170413&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=38867499&te=1
Targeted Giving for Girls of Color
From the AP -
Buffett foundation unveils $90M plan to help girls of color
By DEEPTI HAJELA
In the 15-year existence of her girls' empowerment organization, Joanne Smith has dealt with funders and donors but never quite like this: a foundation putting $90 million toward helping girls of color by letting them determine their needs instead of being told what the funds have to be used for.
The NoVo Foundation, founded in 2006 by Jennifer and Peter Buffett, the youngest son and daughter-in-law of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, officially announced on Thursday how its $90 million commitment over seven years will be carried out.
http://bigstory.ap.org/23dfb87a8ece47ce81ba3e1445606615
Buffett foundation unveils $90M plan to help girls of color
By DEEPTI HAJELA
In the 15-year existence of her girls' empowerment organization, Joanne Smith has dealt with funders and donors but never quite like this: a foundation putting $90 million toward helping girls of color by letting them determine their needs instead of being told what the funds have to be used for.
The NoVo Foundation, founded in 2006 by Jennifer and Peter Buffett, the youngest son and daughter-in-law of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, officially announced on Thursday how its $90 million commitment over seven years will be carried out.
http://bigstory.ap.org/23dfb87a8ece47ce81ba3e1445606615
Teachers Cashing In
Excerpts from the AP -
Million-dollar teachers: Cashing in by selling their lessons
By CAROLYN THOMPSON
Miss Kindergarten is in the million-dollar club. So are Lovin Lit, the Moffatt Girls and about a dozen other teacher-entrepreneurs who are spinning reading, math, science and social studies into gold by selling their lesson plans online to fellow teachers around the world.
Despite worries from some educators, such online marketplaces are booming, driven by rising standards and the willingness of teachers to pay out of their own pockets for classroom-tested materials.
~~~~~~~~~~
Teachers Pay Teachers contends that it hit a milestone last year, when its 80,000 contributors earned more than $100 million, and that at least a dozen have become millionaires since the site launched a decade ago. Other major sites including Teachwise and Teacher's Notebook, and recently such corporate players as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Amazon, have launched sites of their own.
https://apnews.com/3c2537fcbb2b470c8e652bf5481e4dc1
Million-dollar teachers: Cashing in by selling their lessons
By CAROLYN THOMPSON
Miss Kindergarten is in the million-dollar club. So are Lovin Lit, the Moffatt Girls and about a dozen other teacher-entrepreneurs who are spinning reading, math, science and social studies into gold by selling their lesson plans online to fellow teachers around the world.
Despite worries from some educators, such online marketplaces are booming, driven by rising standards and the willingness of teachers to pay out of their own pockets for classroom-tested materials.
~~~~~~~~~~
Teachers Pay Teachers contends that it hit a milestone last year, when its 80,000 contributors earned more than $100 million, and that at least a dozen have become millionaires since the site launched a decade ago. Other major sites including Teachwise and Teacher's Notebook, and recently such corporate players as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Amazon, have launched sites of their own.
https://apnews.com/3c2537fcbb2b470c8e652bf5481e4dc1
Women Rocking in the OR
From CNN -
Why female surgeons are posing like this New Yorker cover
By Christina Zdanowicz
(CNN)Malika Favre has designed several covers for the New Yorker. But she's never seen any take off like her latest one.
It shows four women in blue doctors' scrubs over an operating table. And it has struck a chord.
Female surgeons around the world are now posting photos of themselves online, recreating the pose.
"It shows the power of an image and how you can touch a lot of people," Favre told CNN.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/12/health/female-surgeons-new-yorker-cover-trnd/index.html
Why female surgeons are posing like this New Yorker cover
By Christina Zdanowicz
 |
| Who runs the world? Female surgeons do. |
(CNN)Malika Favre has designed several covers for the New Yorker. But she's never seen any take off like her latest one.
It shows four women in blue doctors' scrubs over an operating table. And it has struck a chord.
Female surgeons around the world are now posting photos of themselves online, recreating the pose.
"It shows the power of an image and how you can touch a lot of people," Favre told CNN.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/12/health/female-surgeons-new-yorker-cover-trnd/index.html
Wasted Talent
From CNN -
Investigation found Ohio inmates built and hid computers in prison
By Gisela Crespo
(CNN)Lax security allowed inmates at an Ohio prison to build two computers and connect them to the state's Department of Rehabilitation and Correction's network, investigators found.
The computers were found hidden in the ceiling of the prison in Marion County in 2015, prompting an investigation by Ohio's Inspector General.
The computers contained applications for credit cards using another inmate's information, pornography, research on tax refund fraud, recipes for homemade drugs and message exchanges.
The Marion Correctional Institution inmates were also able to issue passes to gain access to multiple areas within the prison.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/12/us/ohio-jail-computers-trnd/index.html
Investigation found Ohio inmates built and hid computers in prison
By Gisela Crespo
(CNN)Lax security allowed inmates at an Ohio prison to build two computers and connect them to the state's Department of Rehabilitation and Correction's network, investigators found.
The computers were found hidden in the ceiling of the prison in Marion County in 2015, prompting an investigation by Ohio's Inspector General.
The computers contained applications for credit cards using another inmate's information, pornography, research on tax refund fraud, recipes for homemade drugs and message exchanges.
The Marion Correctional Institution inmates were also able to issue passes to gain access to multiple areas within the prison.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/12/us/ohio-jail-computers-trnd/index.html
Winning Strategies
From the Street -
Amazon's Jeff Bezos New Letter to Shareholders Reveals 4 Big Secrets to Being Successful in Business
By Brian Sozzi
With Amazon's (AMZN) stock up a mind-boggling 47 percent over the past year, founder Jeff Bezos has every reason to share some wisdom on how he is making all the magic happen.
Here are several key business tips Bezos outlined in his latest annual shareholder letter released on Wednesday. Taken together, they offer good insight into how to get ahead in the cutthroat world of business (something in which Amazon's bricks-and-mortar rivals should take to heart).
https://www.thestreet.com/story/14083292/1/amazon-s-jeff-bezos-new-annual-letter-reveals-several-big-secrets-to-being-successful-in-business.html
Amazon's Jeff Bezos New Letter to Shareholders Reveals 4 Big Secrets to Being Successful in Business
By Brian Sozzi
With Amazon's (AMZN) stock up a mind-boggling 47 percent over the past year, founder Jeff Bezos has every reason to share some wisdom on how he is making all the magic happen.
Here are several key business tips Bezos outlined in his latest annual shareholder letter released on Wednesday. Taken together, they offer good insight into how to get ahead in the cutthroat world of business (something in which Amazon's bricks-and-mortar rivals should take to heart).
https://www.thestreet.com/story/14083292/1/amazon-s-jeff-bezos-new-annual-letter-reveals-several-big-secrets-to-being-successful-in-business.html
Scared of a Little Girl
An excerpt from the New York Times -
Wounded by ‘Fearless Girl,’ Creator of ‘Charging Bull’ Wants Her to Move
By JAMES BARRONAPRIL 12, 2017
“Charging Bull” had a message for “Fearless Girl” on Wednesday, and it was more “Get out of my space” than “Here’s looking at you, kid.”
The message actually came from Arturo Di Modica, the sculptor who created “Charging Bull” nearly 30 years ago. He also copyrighted and trademarked the three-and-a-half-ton sculpture that stands near Wall Street. Since March 7, “Charging Bull” has faced off against “Fearless Girl,” a statue of a girl posed with her fists on her hips that was commissioned by State Street Global Advisors, a financial firm based in Boston.
Mr. Di Modica said that “Fearless Girl” was an insult to his work, which he created after the stock market crashes in the late 1980s. “She’s there attacking the bull,” he said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/nyregion/charging-bull-sculpture-wall-street-fearless-girl.html?_r=0
Wounded by ‘Fearless Girl,’ Creator of ‘Charging Bull’ Wants Her to Move
By JAMES BARRONAPRIL 12, 2017
 | |
| Arturo Di Modica, the sculptor who created “Charging Bull” nearly 30 years ago, says “Fearless Girl” miscasts the meaning of his statue and violates his copyright. Credit Mark Lennihan/Associated Press |
“Charging Bull” had a message for “Fearless Girl” on Wednesday, and it was more “Get out of my space” than “Here’s looking at you, kid.”
The message actually came from Arturo Di Modica, the sculptor who created “Charging Bull” nearly 30 years ago. He also copyrighted and trademarked the three-and-a-half-ton sculpture that stands near Wall Street. Since March 7, “Charging Bull” has faced off against “Fearless Girl,” a statue of a girl posed with her fists on her hips that was commissioned by State Street Global Advisors, a financial firm based in Boston.
Mr. Di Modica said that “Fearless Girl” was an insult to his work, which he created after the stock market crashes in the late 1980s. “She’s there attacking the bull,” he said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/nyregion/charging-bull-sculpture-wall-street-fearless-girl.html?_r=0
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Filed Under "Karma is a B*tch"
An excerpt from the New York Times -
Congressman Who Shouted ‘You Lie’ at Obama Hears the Same From Constituents
By JONAH ENGEL BROMWICH
Representative Joe Wilson, the South Carolina Republican who gained a measure of infamy after shouting “you lie” at President Barack Obama during a joint session of Congress in 2009, had that memorable catchphrase hurled back at him by a group of his constituents at a town hall event on Monday.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/us/politics/joe-wilson-you-lie-obama-town-hall.html?_r=0
Congressman Who Shouted ‘You Lie’ at Obama Hears the Same From Constituents
By JONAH ENGEL BROMWICH
Representative Joe Wilson, the South Carolina Republican who gained a measure of infamy after shouting “you lie” at President Barack Obama during a joint session of Congress in 2009, had that memorable catchphrase hurled back at him by a group of his constituents at a town hall event on Monday.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/us/politics/joe-wilson-you-lie-obama-town-hall.html?_r=0
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Monday, April 10, 2017
A guerilla gardener in South Central LA | Ron Finley
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/dining/gangsta-garden-ron-finley-eviction-los-angeles.html?emc=edit_ca_20170410&nl=california-today&nlid=38867499&te=1
Honoring the OGs
An excerpt from the LA Times -
A young man in Oakland has captured the wisdom of his elders on a blog and in a book
"OG Told Me"
By Robin Abcarian
I am not sure how I first learned about Pendarvis Harshaw, but I was taken by the idea that this young man from Oakland had spent years asking older black men — many of them strangers he encountered as he biked — whether they had any wisdom to impart to kids like him.
Their answers, and photographs, appear on Harshaw’s blog, OG Told Me. “OG” is a term of respect that has transcended its literal meaning, “original gangster.” Nowadays, as one of Harshaw’s interview subjects points out, it really just means “old guard.”
Harshaw’s OGs are mostly regular guys. Some are athletes, street preachers or former Black Panthers. Others are educators, activists or drunks. Some give only a first name, others only a last. Some give pseudonyms.
Harshaw, a product of UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism by way of Howard University, chats them up about their lives, and his last question never varies: “Given your life experience, if you had a chance to talk to young people, what advice would you give them?”
http://www.latimes.com/local/abcarian/la-me-abcarian-og-harshaw-20170409-story.html
A young man in Oakland has captured the wisdom of his elders on a blog and in a book
"OG Told Me"
By Robin Abcarian
I am not sure how I first learned about Pendarvis Harshaw, but I was taken by the idea that this young man from Oakland had spent years asking older black men — many of them strangers he encountered as he biked — whether they had any wisdom to impart to kids like him.
Their answers, and photographs, appear on Harshaw’s blog, OG Told Me. “OG” is a term of respect that has transcended its literal meaning, “original gangster.” Nowadays, as one of Harshaw’s interview subjects points out, it really just means “old guard.”
Harshaw’s OGs are mostly regular guys. Some are athletes, street preachers or former Black Panthers. Others are educators, activists or drunks. Some give only a first name, others only a last. Some give pseudonyms.
Harshaw, a product of UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism by way of Howard University, chats them up about their lives, and his last question never varies: “Given your life experience, if you had a chance to talk to young people, what advice would you give them?”
http://www.latimes.com/local/abcarian/la-me-abcarian-og-harshaw-20170409-story.html
The LA Times Takes a Stand
Check out this series.
Sunday, April 9, 2017
Coding For Toddlers
From the NewYork Times -
A Toy for Toddlers Doubles as Code Bootcamp
By ZACH WICHTER
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/05/business/smallbusiness/stem-education-technology-engineering-coding-toys.html?contentCollection=weekendreads&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=c-column-middle-span-region®ion=c-column-middle-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-middle-span-region
A Toy for Toddlers Doubles as Code Bootcamp
By ZACH WICHTER
 | |
| Cubetto, a wooden robot developed by Primo Toys, wheels around under its own power, along a course charted by the human behind the machine. It teaches children as young as 3 the basics of computer programming. Credit Andrew Testa for The New York Times |
You Might Be Dating An Idiot If . . .
From StumpleUpon -
10+ People Who Just Realized They’re Dating An Idiot
By Inga Ko
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/4b8seI/:1hZMPfe5q:p5.7xH@Q/www.boredpanda.com/funny-silly-boyfriends-girlfriends-significant-others-husband-wives
10+ People Who Just Realized They’re Dating An Idiot
By Inga Ko
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/4b8seI/:1hZMPfe5q:p5.7xH@Q/www.boredpanda.com/funny-silly-boyfriends-girlfriends-significant-others-husband-wives
MAX Motor Dreams (European Version)
http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/4/7/15223920/ford-smart-baby-crib-replicates-car-ride
Saturday, April 8, 2017
Filling A Need
From the Washington Post -
The next phase of the on-demand economy: Haircuts by delivery
By Thomas Heath
Every three weeks or so, a black, custom-outfitted recreational vehicle rumbles into a cul-de-sac in Alexandria. The neighbors pour out of their homes to greet it.
“It’s kind of like the ice cream truck,” said Mary Beth Buchholz, who lives on the tree-lined street. “All the kids come running.”
Grown-ups, too.
The RV pulls up to the curb, the driver’s door swings open and out steps Rubie Williams, entrepreneur and owner of Hair Nirvana, the mobile hair salon that delivers her to her 100-plus customers all over the Washington region.
It’s her answer to the era of on-demand services.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/the-next-phase-of-the-on-demand-economy-haircuts-by-delivery/2017/04/07/01779c22-1944-11e7-9887-1a5314b56a08_story.html?utm_term=.29828896a2c8&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
The next phase of the on-demand economy: Haircuts by delivery
By Thomas Heath
Every three weeks or so, a black, custom-outfitted recreational vehicle rumbles into a cul-de-sac in Alexandria. The neighbors pour out of their homes to greet it.
“It’s kind of like the ice cream truck,” said Mary Beth Buchholz, who lives on the tree-lined street. “All the kids come running.”
Grown-ups, too.
The RV pulls up to the curb, the driver’s door swings open and out steps Rubie Williams, entrepreneur and owner of Hair Nirvana, the mobile hair salon that delivers her to her 100-plus customers all over the Washington region.
It’s her answer to the era of on-demand services.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/the-next-phase-of-the-on-demand-economy-haircuts-by-delivery/2017/04/07/01779c22-1944-11e7-9887-1a5314b56a08_story.html?utm_term=.29828896a2c8&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
Friday, April 7, 2017
Hand-in-Hand Protest
From Upworthy -
Dutch men around the world are holding hands in support of a gay couple that was attacked.
ERIC MARCH
http://www.upworthy.com/dutch-men-around-the-world-are-holding-hands-in-support-of-a-gay-couple-that-was-attacked?c=upw1&u=6861cbea6edfdfe5a709ee39ad3c14b64135e61f
Dutch men around the world are holding hands in support of a gay couple that was attacked.
ERIC MARCH
http://www.upworthy.com/dutch-men-around-the-world-are-holding-hands-in-support-of-a-gay-couple-that-was-attacked?c=upw1&u=6861cbea6edfdfe5a709ee39ad3c14b64135e61f
Thursday, April 6, 2017
Journalism Scholarships! Please Share!
From ProPublica -
Students! ProPublica Wants to Pay For You to Attend NAHJ, NABJ, AAJA or NAJA
We’re awarding 12 scholarships to students across the country. Apply!
by Lena Groeger
We are proud to announce that for the second year in a row, ProPublica is sponsoring need-based scholarships to attend the conferences of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the National Association of Black Journalists. And for the first time, we are expanding our scholarship program to send students to Asian American Journalists Association and Native American Journalists Association events as well. In total, we are awarding 12 scholarships of $500 each to students who would otherwise be unable to attend. These conferences offer great opportunities for networking and professional development, especially for those just starting out in journalism.
~~~~~~~~~~
Follow the link below to apply.
https://www.propublica.org/article/students-propublica-wants-to-pay-for-you-to-attend-nahj-nabj-aaja-or-naja
Students! ProPublica Wants to Pay For You to Attend NAHJ, NABJ, AAJA or NAJA
We’re awarding 12 scholarships to students across the country. Apply!
by Lena Groeger
We are proud to announce that for the second year in a row, ProPublica is sponsoring need-based scholarships to attend the conferences of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the National Association of Black Journalists. And for the first time, we are expanding our scholarship program to send students to Asian American Journalists Association and Native American Journalists Association events as well. In total, we are awarding 12 scholarships of $500 each to students who would otherwise be unable to attend. These conferences offer great opportunities for networking and professional development, especially for those just starting out in journalism.
~~~~~~~~~~
Follow the link below to apply.
https://www.propublica.org/article/students-propublica-wants-to-pay-for-you-to-attend-nahj-nabj-aaja-or-naja
The Buck Stops . . . Not Here
From the Washington Post - (Bold is mine)
Personal irresponsibility: A concise history of Trump’s buck-passing
By Dana Milbank
“I inherited a mess!” President Trump complained at a news conference with Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Wednesday afternoon.
For the second day in a row, he blamed the Obama administration for Tuesday’s chemical weapons attack by Syria’s Assad regime and, for good measure, he blamed his predecessor for “one of the worst deals I have ever witnessed,” with Iran. “Whether it’s the Middle East, whether it’s North Korea, whether it’s so many other things, whether it’s in our country, horrible trade deals — I inherited a mess,” he repeated.
No, Mr. President, we’re the ones who inherited a mess. Problems are piling up quickly, and Trump is pointing his finger everywhere but inward.
~~~~~~~~~
This was just the latest item on a long and growing list of Trump’s problems that he blames on others. Here is a partial compilation of his buck-passing since taking office:
He blamed the failure of the GOP health-care bill on Democrats, moderate Republicans, conservative Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus, the Heritage Foundation, the Club for Growth and, indirectly, Paul Ryan.
He blamed a Yemen counterterrorism raid that didn’t go according to plan both on his generals and on Obama.
~~~~~~~~~~
(The list is long. Follow the link below to see this shameful running record that is destined to grow even longer).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/personal-irresponsibility-a-concise-history-of-trumps-buck-passing/2017/04/05/b94fc804-1a31-11e7-9887-1a5314b56a08_story.html?tid=ss_mail&utm_term=.85242261ece5
Personal irresponsibility: A concise history of Trump’s buck-passing
By Dana Milbank
“I inherited a mess!” President Trump complained at a news conference with Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Wednesday afternoon.
For the second day in a row, he blamed the Obama administration for Tuesday’s chemical weapons attack by Syria’s Assad regime and, for good measure, he blamed his predecessor for “one of the worst deals I have ever witnessed,” with Iran. “Whether it’s the Middle East, whether it’s North Korea, whether it’s so many other things, whether it’s in our country, horrible trade deals — I inherited a mess,” he repeated.
No, Mr. President, we’re the ones who inherited a mess. Problems are piling up quickly, and Trump is pointing his finger everywhere but inward.
~~~~~~~~~
This was just the latest item on a long and growing list of Trump’s problems that he blames on others. Here is a partial compilation of his buck-passing since taking office:
He blamed the failure of the GOP health-care bill on Democrats, moderate Republicans, conservative Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus, the Heritage Foundation, the Club for Growth and, indirectly, Paul Ryan.
He blamed a Yemen counterterrorism raid that didn’t go according to plan both on his generals and on Obama.
~~~~~~~~~~
(The list is long. Follow the link below to see this shameful running record that is destined to grow even longer).
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/personal-irresponsibility-a-concise-history-of-trumps-buck-passing/2017/04/05/b94fc804-1a31-11e7-9887-1a5314b56a08_story.html?tid=ss_mail&utm_term=.85242261ece5
Sifting Through Greatness to Find Kindness
An excerpt from the New York Times -
Check This Box if You’re a Good Person
By Rebecca Sabky
The problem is that in a deluge of promising candidates, many remarkable students become indistinguishable from one another, at least on paper. It is incredibly difficult to choose whom to admit. Yet in the chaos of SAT scores, extracurriculars and recommendations, one quality is always irresistible in a candidate: kindness. It’s a trait that would be hard to pinpoint on applications even if colleges asked the right questions. Every so often, though, it can’t help shining through.
The most surprising indication of kindness I’ve ever come across in my admissions career came from a student who went to a large public school in New England. He was clearly bright, as evidenced by his class rank and teachers’ praise. He had a supportive recommendation from his college counselor and an impressive list of extracurriculars. Even with these qualifications, he might not have stood out. But one letter of recommendation caught my eye. It was from a school custodian.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/04/opinion/check-this-box-if-youre-a-good-person.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage®ion=CColumn&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&src=me&WT.nav=MostEmailed&_r=1
Check This Box if You’re a Good Person
By Rebecca Sabky
The problem is that in a deluge of promising candidates, many remarkable students become indistinguishable from one another, at least on paper. It is incredibly difficult to choose whom to admit. Yet in the chaos of SAT scores, extracurriculars and recommendations, one quality is always irresistible in a candidate: kindness. It’s a trait that would be hard to pinpoint on applications even if colleges asked the right questions. Every so often, though, it can’t help shining through.
The most surprising indication of kindness I’ve ever come across in my admissions career came from a student who went to a large public school in New England. He was clearly bright, as evidenced by his class rank and teachers’ praise. He had a supportive recommendation from his college counselor and an impressive list of extracurriculars. Even with these qualifications, he might not have stood out. But one letter of recommendation caught my eye. It was from a school custodian.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/04/opinion/check-this-box-if-youre-a-good-person.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage®ion=CColumn&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&src=me&WT.nav=MostEmailed&_r=1
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Quads Earn Top Spots
From the Washington Post -
Accepted, 8 times over: Ohio quadruplets earn spots at Yale, Harvard
By Sarah Larimer
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/accepted-8-times-over-ohio-quadruplets-earn-spots-at-yale-harvard/2017/04/04/6b52f60c-1938-11e7-855e-4824bbb5d748_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories_accepted-710a%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.a27d6bb04d8d
Accepted, 8 times over: Ohio quadruplets earn spots at Yale, Harvard
By Sarah Larimer
 |
| (Photo courtesy of Aaron Wade/The Wade brothers, left to right: Nigel, Zach, Aaron and Nick.) |
Facts Prevail Again!
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
These high school journalists investigated a new principal’s credentials. Days later, she resigned.
By Samantha Schmidt
The student journalists had begun researching Robertson, and quickly found some discrepancies in her education credentials. For one, when they researched Corllins University, the private university where Robertson said she got her master’s and doctorate degrees years ago, the website didn’t work. They found no evidence that it was an accredited university.
“There were some things that just didn’t quite add up,” Balthazor told The Washington Post.
The students began digging into a weeks-long investigation that would result in an article published Friday questioning the legitimacy of the principal’s degrees and of her work as an education consultant.
On Tuesday night, Robertson resigned.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/04/05/these-high-school-journalists-investigated-a-new-principals-credentials-days-later-she-resigned/?utm_term=.2345090a9c58&wpisrc=nl_most-draw7&wpmm=1
These high school journalists investigated a new principal’s credentials. Days later, she resigned.
By Samantha Schmidt
The student journalists had begun researching Robertson, and quickly found some discrepancies in her education credentials. For one, when they researched Corllins University, the private university where Robertson said she got her master’s and doctorate degrees years ago, the website didn’t work. They found no evidence that it was an accredited university.
“There were some things that just didn’t quite add up,” Balthazor told The Washington Post.
The students began digging into a weeks-long investigation that would result in an article published Friday questioning the legitimacy of the principal’s degrees and of her work as an education consultant.
On Tuesday night, Robertson resigned.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/04/05/these-high-school-journalists-investigated-a-new-principals-credentials-days-later-she-resigned/?utm_term=.2345090a9c58&wpisrc=nl_most-draw7&wpmm=1
Slapping Back With Facts
From Salon -
ProPublica had the best response after Spicer called it a “left-wing blog”
Spicer made the mistake of mis-categorizing ProPublica. No one might ever come for ProPublica again
By RACHEL LEAH
http://www.salon.com/2017/04/04/propublica-had-the-best-response-after-spicer-called-them-a-left-wing-blog/?source=newsletter
ProPublica had the best response after Spicer called it a “left-wing blog”
Spicer made the mistake of mis-categorizing ProPublica. No one might ever come for ProPublica again
By RACHEL LEAH
http://www.salon.com/2017/04/04/propublica-had-the-best-response-after-spicer-called-them-a-left-wing-blog/?source=newsletter
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
KKK, Empowered by Trump
From Slate -
The Alt-Right of the Ozarks
What one town’s fight with the KKK says about the latest battle over white nationalism.
By Bret Schulte
In the Ozarks, the normalization of white supremacist ideology started decades ago. The credit goes largely to Thomas Robb, who in 1989 took control of David Duke’s Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. The rebranding began with one of his first acts in charge. Instead of the creepy Grand Wizard moniker, Robb opted for the urbane: national director.
~~~~~~~~~~
Though Robb’s compound sits some 15 miles away from Harrison—up a hill from an unincorporated heap of marred trailers, dirt roads, and despair called Zinc, pop. 103—his Harrison address, and its history as a Sundown Town, has given the Boone County seat an unsavory reputation, even within Arkansas. In November, the U.K.’s Daily Mirror dubbed it “the most racist town in America.”
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/04/what_harrison_arkansas_fight_with_the_kkk_says_about_the_alt_right.html?wpsrc=newsletter_tis&sid=554654ea10defb39638b510d
The Alt-Right of the Ozarks
What one town’s fight with the KKK says about the latest battle over white nationalism.
By Bret Schulte
In the Ozarks, the normalization of white supremacist ideology started decades ago. The credit goes largely to Thomas Robb, who in 1989 took control of David Duke’s Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. The rebranding began with one of his first acts in charge. Instead of the creepy Grand Wizard moniker, Robb opted for the urbane: national director.
~~~~~~~~~~
Though Robb’s compound sits some 15 miles away from Harrison—up a hill from an unincorporated heap of marred trailers, dirt roads, and despair called Zinc, pop. 103—his Harrison address, and its history as a Sundown Town, has given the Boone County seat an unsavory reputation, even within Arkansas. In November, the U.K.’s Daily Mirror dubbed it “the most racist town in America.”
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/04/what_harrison_arkansas_fight_with_the_kkk_says_about_the_alt_right.html?wpsrc=newsletter_tis&sid=554654ea10defb39638b510d
Female Mathletes
An excerpt from OZY -
BRAZIL'S STELLAR FEMALE MATHLETES
By Catherine Osborn
In April, the women will become Brazil’s first team to compete at the annual female math Olympics, the European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO), in Switzerland. Brazil was invited to participate in the event, which was founded to increase women’s participation in math; later this year, Brazil will compete in the world’s biggest coed math Olympiad on its home turf with a team that may include some of these girls. Here, in the nation of 200 million, these women are converging conversations about gender and poor preparedness in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields. Between 2012 and 2015, Brazil’s score fell 14 points in math and 4 points in science in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment.
But some corners of Brazil’s math system are thriving, like the Olympics program, which reaches outposts like the rural northern hometown of 14-year-old Rebouças. A cheery girl sporting red spectacles, Rebouças is known for hunting the internet for good math jokes. Wisecracking Carvalho, 17, signed up from Brazil’s southeast, as did Saltiel and 15-year-old Groff, who’s often spotted at extracurricular events in her military-school uniform. The women have repeatedly beaten tens of thousands of men in recent years to medal in Brazil’s math Olympic finals; at a January competition, they won travel to Switzerland sponsored by one of Brazil’s premier mathematical institutions, the National Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA).
http://www.ozy.com/rising-stars/brazils-stellar-female-mathletes/76323
BRAZIL'S STELLAR FEMALE MATHLETES
By Catherine Osborn
In April, the women will become Brazil’s first team to compete at the annual female math Olympics, the European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO), in Switzerland. Brazil was invited to participate in the event, which was founded to increase women’s participation in math; later this year, Brazil will compete in the world’s biggest coed math Olympiad on its home turf with a team that may include some of these girls. Here, in the nation of 200 million, these women are converging conversations about gender and poor preparedness in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields. Between 2012 and 2015, Brazil’s score fell 14 points in math and 4 points in science in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment.
But some corners of Brazil’s math system are thriving, like the Olympics program, which reaches outposts like the rural northern hometown of 14-year-old Rebouças. A cheery girl sporting red spectacles, Rebouças is known for hunting the internet for good math jokes. Wisecracking Carvalho, 17, signed up from Brazil’s southeast, as did Saltiel and 15-year-old Groff, who’s often spotted at extracurricular events in her military-school uniform. The women have repeatedly beaten tens of thousands of men in recent years to medal in Brazil’s math Olympic finals; at a January competition, they won travel to Switzerland sponsored by one of Brazil’s premier mathematical institutions, the National Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA).
http://www.ozy.com/rising-stars/brazils-stellar-female-mathletes/76323
Stanford Agreed
From the Root -
Muslim Teen Writes #BlackLivesMatter 100 Times for His Stanford Application Statement, Gets Accepted
By Monique Judge
Is your activism performative or substantive? One New Jersey teen knew exactly how to show his answer to that question when filling out his application to Stanford University. Asked “What matters to you, and why?” the teen could think of only one thing: #BlackLivesMatter.
Ziad Ahmed wrote the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter 100 times, and that one act of activism paid off. According to a Mic profile of Ahmed, he received his letter of acceptance from Stanford on Friday.
http://www.theroot.com/muslim-teen-writes-blacklivesmatter-100-times-for-his-1793975181
Muslim Teen Writes #BlackLivesMatter 100 Times for His Stanford Application Statement, Gets Accepted
By Monique Judge
Is your activism performative or substantive? One New Jersey teen knew exactly how to show his answer to that question when filling out his application to Stanford University. Asked “What matters to you, and why?” the teen could think of only one thing: #BlackLivesMatter.
Ziad Ahmed wrote the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter 100 times, and that one act of activism paid off. According to a Mic profile of Ahmed, he received his letter of acceptance from Stanford on Friday.
http://www.theroot.com/muslim-teen-writes-blacklivesmatter-100-times-for-his-1793975181
His Only Qualification . . . He Married Well
From the New Republic -
Speaking on CNN last night, Daniel Drezner, a political scientist at the Fletcher School and Washington Post contributor, became exasperated as he listed off Kushner’s absurdly long to-do list. “I’m just assuming that Jared Kushner stayed at the best Holiday Inn Express imaginable last night,” Drezner quipped on CNN, referring to the famous ad campaign. “Because that’s the only explanation I have for why anyone would have the kind of hubris to think that you can solve U.S. relations with Mexico, U.S. relations with Canada, U.S relations with China, bring peace to the Middle East, solve the opioid crisis, solve the V.A. problem and, by the way, I believe reform all of the federal government...His one qualification is that he married well.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/141835/scary-power-nepotism-trumps-white-house
Speaking on CNN last night, Daniel Drezner, a political scientist at the Fletcher School and Washington Post contributor, became exasperated as he listed off Kushner’s absurdly long to-do list. “I’m just assuming that Jared Kushner stayed at the best Holiday Inn Express imaginable last night,” Drezner quipped on CNN, referring to the famous ad campaign. “Because that’s the only explanation I have for why anyone would have the kind of hubris to think that you can solve U.S. relations with Mexico, U.S. relations with Canada, U.S relations with China, bring peace to the Middle East, solve the opioid crisis, solve the V.A. problem and, by the way, I believe reform all of the federal government...His one qualification is that he married well.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/141835/scary-power-nepotism-trumps-white-house
Great Answer!
From the Washington Post -
Would Neil deGrasse Tyson ever take SpaceX to Mars? Only if Elon Musk’s mom does it first.
By Amy B Wang
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/04/03/would-neil-degrasse-tyson-ever-take-spacex-to-mars-only-if-elon-musks-mom-does-it-first/?utm_term=.8925d4514a9f&wpisrc=nl_most-draw7&wpmm=1
Would Neil deGrasse Tyson ever take SpaceX to Mars? Only if Elon Musk’s mom does it first.
By Amy B Wang
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/04/03/would-neil-degrasse-tyson-ever-take-spacex-to-mars-only-if-elon-musks-mom-does-it-first/?utm_term=.8925d4514a9f&wpisrc=nl_most-draw7&wpmm=1
Monday, April 3, 2017
A Book That Celebrates Girls
From the Huffington Post - The link to order the book is below.
New Children’s Book Teaches Black Boys To Treat Black Girls With Respect
“We have to change the narrative that the more melanin you have means you’re uglier.”
By Zahara Hill
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/new-childrens-book-teaches-black-boys-to-treat-black-girls-with-respect_us_58dec1a3e4b0b3918c837947?d3t3fub2ovoeu680k9&
http://lawrencelindellstudios.bigcartel.com/product/from-black-boy-with-love
New Children’s Book Teaches Black Boys To Treat Black Girls With Respect
“We have to change the narrative that the more melanin you have means you’re uglier.”
By Zahara Hill
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/new-childrens-book-teaches-black-boys-to-treat-black-girls-with-respect_us_58dec1a3e4b0b3918c837947?d3t3fub2ovoeu680k9&
http://lawrencelindellstudios.bigcartel.com/product/from-black-boy-with-love
1400 Days To Go
An excerpt from the LA Times -
Our Dishonest President
PART I
By THE TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD
Still, nothing prepared us for the magnitude of this train wreck. Like millions of other Americans, we clung to a slim hope that the new president would turn out to be all noise and bluster, or that the people around him in the White House would act as a check on his worst instincts, or that he would be sobered and transformed by the awesome responsibilities of office.
Instead, seventy-some days in — and with about 1,400 to go before his term is completed — it is increasingly clear that those hopes were misplaced.
In a matter of weeks, President Trump has taken dozens of real-life steps that, if they are not reversed, will rip families apart, foul rivers and pollute the air, intensify the calamitous effects of climate change and profoundly weaken the system of American public education for all.
http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-ed-our-dishonest-president/
Our Dishonest President
PART I
By THE TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD
Still, nothing prepared us for the magnitude of this train wreck. Like millions of other Americans, we clung to a slim hope that the new president would turn out to be all noise and bluster, or that the people around him in the White House would act as a check on his worst instincts, or that he would be sobered and transformed by the awesome responsibilities of office.
Instead, seventy-some days in — and with about 1,400 to go before his term is completed — it is increasingly clear that those hopes were misplaced.
In a matter of weeks, President Trump has taken dozens of real-life steps that, if they are not reversed, will rip families apart, foul rivers and pollute the air, intensify the calamitous effects of climate change and profoundly weaken the system of American public education for all.
http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-ed-our-dishonest-president/
Necessity is the Mother of Invention
An excerpt from the Associated Press -
Cuban uses condoms, tropical fruit to make own brand of wine
By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ
Today, Estevez, his wife, son and an assistant tend to 300 jugs containing five gallons (20 liters) of wine apiece. The main ingredient is Cuban grapes, but added flavors include tropical fruits and vegetables of virtually every variety.
The winery has become a neighborhood attraction, with residents of the El Cerro neighborhood sitting on the curb at all hours sipping Estevez's wine from green glasses.
The most remarkable sight, however, are hundreds of bottles capped with condoms that slowly inflate as the fruity mix ferments and produces gases. When the fermentation is over and there are no more gases, the condom stops inflating and falls, and the wine is ready for bottling.
"Putting a condom on a bottle is just like with a man," Estevez said. "It stands up, the wine is ready, and then the process is completed."
http://bigstory.ap.org/2174698b2f7c47f5bc49eedfd25a2457
Cuban uses condoms, tropical fruit to make own brand of wine
By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ
 |
| In this March 30, 2017 photo, winemaker Orestes Estevez poses among dozens condom topped wine jugs |
Today, Estevez, his wife, son and an assistant tend to 300 jugs containing five gallons (20 liters) of wine apiece. The main ingredient is Cuban grapes, but added flavors include tropical fruits and vegetables of virtually every variety.
The winery has become a neighborhood attraction, with residents of the El Cerro neighborhood sitting on the curb at all hours sipping Estevez's wine from green glasses.
The most remarkable sight, however, are hundreds of bottles capped with condoms that slowly inflate as the fruity mix ferments and produces gases. When the fermentation is over and there are no more gases, the condom stops inflating and falls, and the wine is ready for bottling.
"Putting a condom on a bottle is just like with a man," Estevez said. "It stands up, the wine is ready, and then the process is completed."
http://bigstory.ap.org/2174698b2f7c47f5bc49eedfd25a2457
Sunday, April 2, 2017
Quote
From the New York Times' Roger Cohen - (bold is mine)
Audacious ignorance is hard at work in the White House. The only solace is that, with Trump, it’s accompanied by paralyzing incompetence.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/31/opinion/donald-trumps-parrot.html?hpw&rref=opinion&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0
Audacious ignorance is hard at work in the White House. The only solace is that, with Trump, it’s accompanied by paralyzing incompetence.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/31/opinion/donald-trumps-parrot.html?hpw&rref=opinion&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=well-region®ion=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0
Saturday, April 1, 2017
Avoid These
From the Huffington Post -
9 Bad Manager Mistakes That Make Good People Quit
If you want your best people to stay, you need to think carefully about how you treat them.
By Dr. Travis Bradberry, Contributor
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/9-bad-manager-mistakes-that-make-good-people-quit_us_58dc073ae4b0fa4c0959854e?3840h4d9ih70c0udi&
9 Bad Manager Mistakes That Make Good People Quit
If you want your best people to stay, you need to think carefully about how you treat them.
By Dr. Travis Bradberry, Contributor
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/9-bad-manager-mistakes-that-make-good-people-quit_us_58dc073ae4b0fa4c0959854e?3840h4d9ih70c0udi&
A Second Chance
From Tasting Table -
New Beginnings
How the formerly incarcerated are finding hope for a new life in kitchens across America
BY ALISON SPIEGEL
While being one of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy, according to the National Restaurant Association, it's also an industry having trouble filling entry-level positions.
"People are really struggling to find reliable, engaged team members," Joe DeLoss, founder of Hot Chicken Takeover, says. "It's a pretty pervasive problem." This translates to an incredible opportunity, financially and socially, for both the formerly incarcerated and food businesses.
The restaurant industry is currently the "top employer of former inmates in the United States," Saru Jayaraman, cofounder and codirector of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC), says in an article for Fast Company. Indeed, the culinary world across the board—from fast-casual joints to fine dining spots, bakeries to food trucks—is stepping up to the plate.
https://www.tastingtable.com/dine/national/restaurants-formerly-incarcerated-drive-change
New Beginnings
How the formerly incarcerated are finding hope for a new life in kitchens across America
BY ALISON SPIEGEL
While being one of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy, according to the National Restaurant Association, it's also an industry having trouble filling entry-level positions.
"People are really struggling to find reliable, engaged team members," Joe DeLoss, founder of Hot Chicken Takeover, says. "It's a pretty pervasive problem." This translates to an incredible opportunity, financially and socially, for both the formerly incarcerated and food businesses.
The restaurant industry is currently the "top employer of former inmates in the United States," Saru Jayaraman, cofounder and codirector of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC), says in an article for Fast Company. Indeed, the culinary world across the board—from fast-casual joints to fine dining spots, bakeries to food trucks—is stepping up to the plate.
https://www.tastingtable.com/dine/national/restaurants-formerly-incarcerated-drive-change
Resist With Your Pocketbook
From GrabYourWallet.org
https://grabyourwallet.org/What%20We're%20About.html
https://grabyourwallet.org/What%20We're%20About.html
The Haves and Have Nots
From the Guardian -
Living under a tarp next to Facebook HQ: 'I don't want people to see me'
The sprawling Silicon Valley campus has cafes, bike repair services, even dry cleaning. But across the road a homeless community epitomizes the wealth gap
By Alastair Gee
In a patch of scrubland across the road from the Facebook headquarters in Silicon Valley, a woman named Celma Aguilar recently walked along some overgrown train tracks. She stopped where a path forked into some vegetation, just a few hundred yards from the tourists taking photos by an enormous image of a “Like” icon at the campus entrance.
“Welcome to the mansion,” Aguilar said, gesturing to a rudimentary shelter of tarps hidden in the undergrowth.
The campsite is one of about 10 that dot the boggy terrain, and are a striking sight alongside the brightly painted, low-slung buildings housing the multi-billion-dollar corporation. The contrast epitomizes the Bay Area wealth gap.
Harold Schapelhouman, a fire chief whose department has dealt with conflagrations on the land, said he was struck by the disparities. “Their employees are very well taken care of. They have on-site medical facilities, dry cleaning, bicycle repair, they feed them and there are restaurants that are there. It’s amazing what Facebook does for its employees. And yet within eyeshot – it really isn’t that far – there are people literally living in the bushes.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/31/facebook-campus-homeless-tent-city-menlo-park-california?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1
Living under a tarp next to Facebook HQ: 'I don't want people to see me'
The sprawling Silicon Valley campus has cafes, bike repair services, even dry cleaning. But across the road a homeless community epitomizes the wealth gap
By Alastair Gee
In a patch of scrubland across the road from the Facebook headquarters in Silicon Valley, a woman named Celma Aguilar recently walked along some overgrown train tracks. She stopped where a path forked into some vegetation, just a few hundred yards from the tourists taking photos by an enormous image of a “Like” icon at the campus entrance.
“Welcome to the mansion,” Aguilar said, gesturing to a rudimentary shelter of tarps hidden in the undergrowth.
The campsite is one of about 10 that dot the boggy terrain, and are a striking sight alongside the brightly painted, low-slung buildings housing the multi-billion-dollar corporation. The contrast epitomizes the Bay Area wealth gap.
Harold Schapelhouman, a fire chief whose department has dealt with conflagrations on the land, said he was struck by the disparities. “Their employees are very well taken care of. They have on-site medical facilities, dry cleaning, bicycle repair, they feed them and there are restaurants that are there. It’s amazing what Facebook does for its employees. And yet within eyeshot – it really isn’t that far – there are people literally living in the bushes.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/31/facebook-campus-homeless-tent-city-menlo-park-california?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1
Friday, March 31, 2017
When the Ducks Had Just One
From the Undefeated -
Oregon basketball team’s first out-of-state black player paved the way with his struggles and success
The Ducks’ majority-black roster didn’t always look that way — but my father is part of the reason it does
BY KURT STREETER
It’s a team picture I’ll always cherish, even though I’d never seen it until 11 years ago, shortly after my father died.
It shows him as a young man, in the early 1950s. He was in college then, at the University of Oregon, where he was a fixture on the basketball team. In the photograph he’s No. 11, sitting in the front row, a familiar gleam in his eye. His teammates were all white. My father, Mel Streeter, was the only African-American player on the Ducks.
As much as I love this photograph, it also presents a mystery. My dad didn’t talk all that much about his playing days, or what it was like to be a dark-skinned, 6-foot-4 black guy in a virtually all-white town and a virtually all-white state in the years of Truman and Eisenhower. I can’t stop wondering what those days were really like for him.
https://theundefeated.com/features/oregon-ducks-basketball-ncaa/
Oregon basketball team’s first out-of-state black player paved the way with his struggles and success
The Ducks’ majority-black roster didn’t always look that way — but my father is part of the reason it does
BY KURT STREETER
It’s a team picture I’ll always cherish, even though I’d never seen it until 11 years ago, shortly after my father died.
It shows him as a young man, in the early 1950s. He was in college then, at the University of Oregon, where he was a fixture on the basketball team. In the photograph he’s No. 11, sitting in the front row, a familiar gleam in his eye. His teammates were all white. My father, Mel Streeter, was the only African-American player on the Ducks.
As much as I love this photograph, it also presents a mystery. My dad didn’t talk all that much about his playing days, or what it was like to be a dark-skinned, 6-foot-4 black guy in a virtually all-white town and a virtually all-white state in the years of Truman and Eisenhower. I can’t stop wondering what those days were really like for him.
https://theundefeated.com/features/oregon-ducks-basketball-ncaa/
Podcast Love
From the New York Times -
Liked ‘Serial’? Here’s Why the True-Crime Podcast ‘S-Town’ Is Better
By AMANDA HESS
“S-Town” is not another tale of a journalist trying to solve a murder with just a microphone and a little elbow grease, and thank God. Instead, “S-Town” transcends the podcast procedural with a destabilizing narrative structure in which one small-town mystery leads to another, all surrounding Mr. McLemore and his acquaintances. There is that murder, but also a treasure hunt, a land grab and a mysterious benefactor. Mr. Reed’s investigation turns psychological and emotional — into how people come to be branded as bad, and the hidden relationships among men in the rural South.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/30/arts/true-crime-podcast-s-town-serial.html
Liked ‘Serial’? Here’s Why the True-Crime Podcast ‘S-Town’ Is Better
By AMANDA HESS
“S-Town” is not another tale of a journalist trying to solve a murder with just a microphone and a little elbow grease, and thank God. Instead, “S-Town” transcends the podcast procedural with a destabilizing narrative structure in which one small-town mystery leads to another, all surrounding Mr. McLemore and his acquaintances. There is that murder, but also a treasure hunt, a land grab and a mysterious benefactor. Mr. Reed’s investigation turns psychological and emotional — into how people come to be branded as bad, and the hidden relationships among men in the rural South.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/30/arts/true-crime-podcast-s-town-serial.html
This Will Wake You Up
From Food & Wine -
The Most Caffeinated Coffee in the World Is Now Available in the US
By Mike Pomranz
Launched in 2016, Black Insomnia, a South Africa-based coffee company, is the most recent brand to claim that title, saying it has scientific proof that its blend is the most caffeinated in the world – with “dangerously high levels of caffeine” as the brand awkwardly boasts. And now, the king of caffeinated coffees is finally available in the US.
http://www.foodandwine.com/news/black-insomnia-coffee-available-us
The Most Caffeinated Coffee in the World Is Now Available in the US
By Mike Pomranz
Launched in 2016, Black Insomnia, a South Africa-based coffee company, is the most recent brand to claim that title, saying it has scientific proof that its blend is the most caffeinated in the world – with “dangerously high levels of caffeine” as the brand awkwardly boasts. And now, the king of caffeinated coffees is finally available in the US.
http://www.foodandwine.com/news/black-insomnia-coffee-available-us
We invited Ugandan Olympic hopefully Brolin Mawejje to forerun the slope...
http://www.ozy.com/rising-stars/the-extraordinary-story-of-ugandas-first-major-snowboarder/74962
Wow!
From Deadspin -
Here Is A Rugby Player With His Face In Another Rugby Player's Bare Ass
By Billy Haisley
http://deadspin.com/here-is-a-rugby-player-with-his-face-in-another-rugby-p-1793895706
Here Is A Rugby Player With His Face In Another Rugby Player's Bare Ass
By Billy Haisley
 |
| Photo credit: Matt King/Getty |
Play Only. Keep Your Opinions to Yourself.
From the Washington Post -
NFL players and the value — and potential cost — of political activism
“It’s amazing, I think, to see how many people will call us ‘athletes’ and will tell us we need to be in the communities and we need to serve in the different communities that we play in or live in,” Boldin said, walking the tunnels beneath Capitol Hill, hustling from House to Senate side Thursday afternoon. “But as soon as you take a political stand, they tell you, ‘Stick to football.’ You can’t have it both ways. If you’re expecting me to be a role model for younger kids or for society in general, how is it wrong for me to speak out when I do see injustices?”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/nfl-players-and-the-value--and-potential-cost--of-political-activism/2017/03/30/8d8793d8-1580-11e7-9e4f-09aa75d3ec57_story.html?utm_term=.bb676013577f&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
NFL players and the value — and potential cost — of political activism
By Barry Svrluga
“It’s amazing, I think, to see how many people will call us ‘athletes’ and will tell us we need to be in the communities and we need to serve in the different communities that we play in or live in,” Boldin said, walking the tunnels beneath Capitol Hill, hustling from House to Senate side Thursday afternoon. “But as soon as you take a political stand, they tell you, ‘Stick to football.’ You can’t have it both ways. If you’re expecting me to be a role model for younger kids or for society in general, how is it wrong for me to speak out when I do see injustices?”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/nfl-players-and-the-value--and-potential-cost--of-political-activism/2017/03/30/8d8793d8-1580-11e7-9e4f-09aa75d3ec57_story.html?utm_term=.bb676013577f&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1
Thursday, March 30, 2017
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