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Celerity

Celerity's Journal
Celerity's Journal
August 31, 2023

The Rome Edition opens in converted 1940s bank building

https://www.dezeen.com/2023/08/23/the-rome-edition-hotel-ian-schrager/









American entrepreneur Ian Schrager's The Edition group has landed in Rome, opening a hotel in a converted bank that makes use of its soaring lobby, original marble staircases and hidden front courtyard. The Rome Edition began welcoming guests earlier this year to the 91-room hotel, located a block away from Via Veneto – the street that was immortalised in the 1960 movie La Dolce Vita.









Schrager and his in-house team spearheaded the renovation of the grand building, utilising many of the original features including a cipollino marble staircase, central courtyards, statues and lamps. "Built in the 1940s and formerly occupied by one of the main Italian banks, the building is a striking example of the rationalist style and was created by Cesare Pascoletti in collaboration with the famed architect Marcello Piacentini," said The Edition team.









Unusually for Rome, arriving guests are escorted through a sunken garden "piazza" – which acts as an outdoor lounge, restaurant extension and gathering place – before reaching the lobby. Once inside, dramatic seven-metre-high ceilings, full-height windows and green curtains, and travertine floors and walls set the tone for The Edition's signature brand of soft minimalism.









Symmetrical arrangements of custom white furniture and low coffee tables exaggerate the strict geometry of the architecture. "The lobby is Edition at its most dynamic," said the team. "It is a place to relax and make merry; a place to see and be seen or play a few games of pool on the custom-made table."

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August 31, 2023

Molly Jong-Fast: From Trump to Vivek: The GOP Is Primed for Another Charismatic Phony



Ramaswamy’s post-debate blitz speaks to the priorities of the media—and state of the Republican base.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/08/vivek-ramaswamy-donald-trump-gop-2024



On this last, slow, hot week in August, we are trapped in a Vivek Ramaswamy news cycle. Ramaswamy has figured out the path to free media is lined with saying extreme things like how “the climate change agenda is a hoax” at last week’s first Republican debate, or more recently, doubling down on calling Rep. Ayanna Pressley a member of the “modern KKK” (CNN’s State of the Union) or suggesting Mike Pence should’ve implemented new voting reforms before certifying the 2020 election (NBC’s Meet the Press). He was still pushing that bizarre January 6 scenario days later on MSNBC.

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1696564232261718513
What’s important about Ramaswamy is not his ideology—he has no coherent one—but how susceptible our political and media ecosystem is to a charismatic phony. He’s become a recurring character on cable news, recently claiming on CNN that he was misquoted in The Atlantic when raising questions about the 9/11 attacks. But The Atlantic’s John Hendrickson had the tape, which of course included Ramaswamy asking, “How many police, how many federal agents were on the planes that hit the Twin Towers?” Denying something that is actually on tape, how very Trumpy.

https://twitter.com/nvrbackdown24/status/1694526028276809823
https://twitter.com/kaitlancollins/status/1693798103797645575
Two days later, at the Fox News–hosted GOP debate, Ramaswamy claimed to be “the only candidate onstage who isn’t bought and paid for” when decrying the climate “hoax.” But it turns out that Ramaswamy is “bought and paid” or at least “paid for” because his investment firm, Strive, has a fund called DRLL, which, as Semafor reports, “invests in US energy companies and urges them to keep drilling for oil so long as it’s profitable.” As Heated’s Emily Atkin put it, “Ramaswamy makes money from climate denial.”

And yet, in the past, Ramaswamy has acknowledged that climate change is “real,” just one of his campaign flip-flops. On recognizing Juneteenth, for instance, he went from supportive—“Let it be a celebration of the American Dream itself,” he said on video—to against the holiday just two months later, telling​​ Iowa voters,“Cancel Juneteenth or one of the other useless ones we made up.”
https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1670802957565034496
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August 31, 2023

What "back to school" means in the era of PragerU



https://www.reckon.news/news/2023/08/what-back-to-school-means-in-the-era-of-prageru.html



After Hurricane Ian hit the west coast of Florida in Sept. 2022, it damaged five schools and destroyed three, displacing 2.5 million children from their normal routines. More than 168,000 kids were kept out of the classroom for weeks in the aftermath following the category 4 storm, with some kids missing as many as 100 school days. For the Reckon Report in September, we’re focusing on education. Public education has long been a flashpoint for debate in America. But in the last few years, school board meetings, school libraries and curricula at all levels of education have faced attacks, especially at the state and local levels. Most recently, that challenged curricula have included climate change denial and numerous other controversial issues related to race, gender and evolution.

As Hurricane Idalia rapidly strengthens on its path toward Northwest Florida and school kids settle into the beginning of their academic year, there’s no better time to transition from climate change to education and take a hard look at PragerU — the conservative education and media group that was recently permitted to show climate denial and other controversial videos to K-5 kids in the Sunshine State. The group has controversial takes on a wide range of topics, including claiming the gender wage gap doesn’t exist, fascism is an idea of the left, and numerous videos criticizing African-American history and the detrimental effects of slavery.

While some counties in Florida have already said they will not show the videos, many will allow them in class. The move, which received the blessing of Gov. Ron DeSantis, is the culmination of decades of lobbying from right-wing education groups and parents who have traditionally targeted evolution and called for a greater emphasis on creationism. Those battles are usually fought behind closed doors by the elected board of education members in any given state. In recent years, however, the topics up for debate have extended from African-American history to basic interpretations of the Constitution. Now, climate change is firmly part of the alternative education debate and is spreading nationwide.

A quick look back

PragerU’s ascent from a fringe media group to the conservative mainstream has partially taken these debates out of school board meeting rooms and dropped them directly into the public domain. Just last week, a Republican member of the State Board of Education in Texas announced that all of PragerU’s resources would be rolled out to public school children in the state. Julie Pickren made the announcement with PragerU’s CEO, Marissa Streit. In the joint video, Pickren, present at the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol building, said, “We are definitely ready to welcome PragerU into the great state of Texas.”

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August 31, 2023

Labour civil war erupts as frontbencher attacks Khan's ULEZ - pressure mounts on Starmer

It is the latest criticism from within Labour to the expansion of London's ultra low emission zone.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1806812/labour-sadiq-khna-ulez-expansion-justin-madders

A Labour frontbencher has attacked Sadiq Khan's ULEZ expansion the day before it comes into force. Justin Madders, the shadow minister for employment rights, said the London Mayor needs to "think about whether this really is the right time to be going ahead with it".

The zone, which currently only covers central London, is set to widen to the whole of the capital from tomorrow, meaning more drivers will be forced to pay the £12.50 daily fee for the most polluting vehicles.

But Mr Madders said it will be an "expense too many" amid the cost of living crisis. He told LBC: “I think he probably needs to be listening to some of the callers you’ve been having on and how it’s affecting them, and think about whether this really is the right time to be going ahead with it.

“We know there’s a massive cost of living crisis at the moment. And asking people to shell out thousands to buy a new vehicle or pay £12.50 every day to go on the road is just an expense too many, too much at this time."

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related




https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/labour-civil-war-erupts-as-sadiq-khan-doubles-down-on-ulez-despite-uxbridge-defeat_uk_64ba36cee4b0dcb4cab86fcb
August 30, 2023

Ocasio-Cortez ponders leaving X: 'A formal break is something that we actively discuss'

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4178866-ocasio-cortez-ponders-leaving-x-platform/


Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, (D-NY), visits the Memory and Human Rights Museum in Santiago, Chile, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said she has pondered leaving X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, following her criticism of owner Elon Musk’s changes to the social media platform. When asked in an interview with The New York Times what would make her leave the platform, Ocasio-Cortez said, “If one monitors my use of that platform, it has fallen precipitously.” “I think what would constitute a formal break is something that we actively discuss, whether it would require an event or if it’s just something that may one day happen,” she added.

While acknowledging that her account has 13.2 million followers, she said leaving the platform is “not something to be taken lightly.” Ocasio-Cortez has publicly criticized X on multiple occasions since Musk’s takeover in October 2022, from blasting the billionaire over suspending several journalists from the social media platform to accusing Musk of boosting a fake Twitter account impersonating her. Last month, she pushed back against Twitter Safety’s claim that more than 99 percent of the content users and advertisers see on the social media platform is “healthy.” She claimed she “has never experienced more harassment on the platform” and said she wished the platform was “usable again.”

The New York lawmaker has used social media throughout her political career to engage with constituents, showcasing her policies on platforms like TikTok and previously on Twitch. Asked if her participation on X could be supporting Musk’s platform, Ocasio-Cortez said, “It’s something that I have absolutely struggled with.” “I’ve certainly pulled back on my activity on the platform due to these concerns, and I do wrestle with that,” she added.

While noting she is trying to build audiences in alternative places, Ocasio-Cortez said having access to a messaging platform that “people trust” is important in the case of extraordinary events, like natural disasters. “But it’s uncomfortable,” she said. “We’ve seen the media take different approaches to this — the differences between NPR or The Washington Post or whatever it may be, contending with the same questions.”

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August 30, 2023

Reducing inequality benefits everyone -- so why isn't it happening?



Those urging world leaders to take action on inequality should study why earlier efforts did not translate to changes in policy.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02551-3



EDITORIAL

Last month, researchers from 67 nations wrote an open letter to United Nations secretary-general António Guterres and World Bank president Ajay Banga, urging them to “redouble efforts to address rising extreme inequality”. The move was motivated, in part, by the lack of progress on the 10th of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Nature is examining each goal in a series of editorials.

The aim of SDG 10 is to “reduce inequality within and among countries”. That means narrowing the difference between the incomes of the richest and the poorest, on both a national and an international level. The goal also proposes ensuring equality of opportunity. Unfortunately, the world is clearly failing to meet SDG 10. The letter’s authors go further, saying that the goal is being “largely ignored”.

This is not the first time that researchers have tried to focus the world’s attention on inequality. For a better chance of success, the letter’s authors should study what happened to previous efforts — in particular, the 2009 publication of the influential text The Spirit Level by epidemiologists Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett. They showed that reducing inequality has a cascade of benefits, from better health to lower crime rates and better educational outcomes.

The book was a sensation. It was read avidly and quoted widely; its findings referenced by David Cameron, later UK prime minister, and Christine Lagarde, now president of the European Central Bank, among others. Yet despite being widely respected, the authors’ careful synthesis of evidence on the benefits of equality — and subsequent invites to give talks and policy advice worldwide — did not change governments’ approaches to inequality.

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August 30, 2023

light a candle..........



August 30, 2023

Donald Trump vows to lock up political enemies if he returns to White House



Former president tells Glenn Beck he would have ‘no choice’ but to lock up opponents ‘because they’re doing it to us’

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/30/trump-interview-jail-political-opponents-glenn-beck



Donald Trump says he will lock up his political enemies if he is president again. In an interview on Tuesday, the rightwing broadcaster Glenn Beck raised Trump’s famous campaign-trail vow to “lock up” Hillary Clinton, his opponent in 2016, a promise Trump did not fulfill in office. Beck said: “Do you regret not locking [Clinton] up? And if you’re president again, will you lock people up?” Trump said: “The answer is you have no choice, because they’re doing it to us.” Trump has encouraged the “lock her up” chant against other opponents but he remains in considerable danger of being locked up himself.

Under four indictments, he faces 91 criminal charges related to election subversion, retention of classified information and hush-money payments to a adult film star. He denies wrongdoing and claims to be the victim of political persecution. Trials are scheduled next year. Earlier this month, Politico calculated that Trump faced a maximum of 641 years in jail. After the addition of 13 racketeering and conspiracy charges in Georgia, Forbes upped the total to more than 717 years. Trump is 77. Both sites noted, however, that if convicted, the former president was unlikely to receive maximum sentences. Nor would convictions bar Trump from running for president or being elected. On that score, Trump dominates national and key state polling regarding the Republican presidential nomination.

In his Tuesday interview on BlazeTV, Trump also said he “never hit Biden as hard as I could have” while in office. Trump’s first impeachment concerned attempts to find dirt on rivals including Biden, related to politics and business in Ukraine. Now, in Congress, Trump’s Republican allies are threatening to impeach Biden over unsubstantiated allegations connected to his surviving son, Hunter. Trump told Beck that Biden was behind the indictments against him. In fact, all were brought by prosecutors independent of the White House: 44 by the justice department special counsel Jack Smith, 34 by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, and 13 by Fani Willis, the district attorney of Fulton county, Georgia.

Trump also claimed “the woman that I never met, that they accused me of rape, that’s being run by a Democrat, a Democrat operative, and paid for by the Democrat [sic] party”. That was a reference to civil claims brought by E Jean Carroll, a writer who says Trump sexually assaulted her in New York in the 1990s. Earlier this year, Trump was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation and fined about $5m. A second trial is due next year. The judge in the case has said Trump has been adjudicated a rapist. Also facing investigations of his business affairs, Trump said Democrats and other opponents were “sick people … evil people”. The twice impeached, four times indicted, 91 times charged ex-president also told Beck he “always had such great respect for the office of the president and the presidency”.

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August 30, 2023

Exposing a Multibillion Dollar FRAUD - Ft. Vivek Ramaswamy for President.



Vivek Ramaswamy *JUST* Responded to Me [Spoiler: It’s BAD]

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Current location: Stockholm, Sweden
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