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August 12, 2022
In his upcoming film, Vigilantes: Georgia’s Vote Suppression Hitmen, Greg Palast and his investigations team bust the most brazen, racist attack on voting rights yet — engineered by Georgia’s Brian Kemp to ensure victory in his rematch with Stacey Abrams. You’ll meet Kemp’s army of vigilante vote challengers — one who dresses up like Old-West vigilante Doc Holliday and is fully armed.
Weird and funny — but no joke. “Doc Holliday,” has challenged the right to vote of 4,000 Georgians of color, targeting Black soldiers. He’s also a Republican Party chairman in Georgia. The secretive vigilante posse has targeted hundreds of thousands of Georgians.
And you’ll meet “Doc’s” voter targets and the heroes of the fight in Georgia for rights we assumed had been won decades ago. Featuring LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter… and a host of Confederate “reenactors” waiting for next insurrection, the film busts open the secret source of Brian Kemp’s ancestral wealth and power: slavery.
Kemp has kept his history of privilege and political fixes well hidden — including the long history of exploitation by his family aimed at both enchained Blacks and politically helpless poor whites. It’s not a story of Democrat versus Republican, but a story of Right versus Wrong, history versus smothered truth.
For release, Fall 2022.
A film from Academy Award winning producer Maria Florio and Executive Producer Martin Sheen.
Vigilantes: Georgia's Vote Suppression Hitmen [Trailer]
In his upcoming film, Vigilantes: Georgia’s Vote Suppression Hitmen, Greg Palast and his investigations team bust the most brazen, racist attack on voting rights yet — engineered by Georgia’s Brian Kemp to ensure victory in his rematch with Stacey Abrams. You’ll meet Kemp’s army of vigilante vote challengers — one who dresses up like Old-West vigilante Doc Holliday and is fully armed.
Weird and funny — but no joke. “Doc Holliday,” has challenged the right to vote of 4,000 Georgians of color, targeting Black soldiers. He’s also a Republican Party chairman in Georgia. The secretive vigilante posse has targeted hundreds of thousands of Georgians.
And you’ll meet “Doc’s” voter targets and the heroes of the fight in Georgia for rights we assumed had been won decades ago. Featuring LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter… and a host of Confederate “reenactors” waiting for next insurrection, the film busts open the secret source of Brian Kemp’s ancestral wealth and power: slavery.
Kemp has kept his history of privilege and political fixes well hidden — including the long history of exploitation by his family aimed at both enchained Blacks and politically helpless poor whites. It’s not a story of Democrat versus Republican, but a story of Right versus Wrong, history versus smothered truth.
For release, Fall 2022.
A film from Academy Award winning producer Maria Florio and Executive Producer Martin Sheen.
August 11, 2022
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/08/donald-trump-exploiting-uncertainty-mar-a-lago-search
https://archive.ph/D31Ta
Donald Trump’s allies have spent the better part of two days demanding that the Justice Department explain the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago Monday. But the DOJ’s silence is, at this point, perhaps the best thing the former president has going for him: In the absence of an official narrative, MAGA world has been able to fill in the blanks with the most nefarious conjecture they can come up with. Baseless accusations of political targeting, unhinged references to the Gestapo, and even suggestions of planted evidence — this is what’s taken over the dead air on the right, from its far-out fringes to its establishment in 2022.
https://twitter.com/oneunderscore__/status/1556791792858796032
https://twitter.com/CBSMornings/status/1556988918670626817
This victim narrative is characteristically disingenuous for Trump: Were the former president truly the victim of a political “assault” by Joe Biden, the DOJ, and the “Radical Left Democrats,” as he characterized the raid in a statement, he would almost certainly be in the unique position of being able to prove it by releasing the search warrant or explaining what investigators may have taken. That he has not may speak to the damning nature of the evidence the DOJ had against him when they greenlit the explosive move.
“For the department to pursue a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago tells me that the quantum and quality of evidence they were reciting — in a search warrant and affidavit that an FBI agent swore to — was likely so pulverizing in its force as to eviscerate any notion that the search warrant and this investigation is politically motivated,” as David Laufman, the former head of the DOJ’s counterintelligence division who led the agency’s probes into the handling of classified materials by Hillary Clinton and David Petraeus, told Politico.
Much of the investigation remains shrouded in uncertainty for the general public. It has been reported that it is centered on a dispute between Trump and the National Archives, which in February asked the DOJ to investigate the former president’s handling of classified materials after he returned 15 boxes of documents to the agency. The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that officials apparently came to suspect Trump and people close to him may still have been holding on to some of the government materials. But the nature of those materials, including the 12 boxes a Trump lawyer says the FBI confiscated during this week’s search, and other aspects of the probe are not clear.
snip
Donald Trump and His Allies are Exploiting the Uncertainty Around the Mar-a-Lago Raid
The FBI likely needed to clear an exceptionally high bar to search the former president's home. But with few firm details about the investigation available to the public, Republicans are filling in the gaps with wild accusations and dangerous rhetoric about civil war.https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/08/donald-trump-exploiting-uncertainty-mar-a-lago-search
https://archive.ph/D31Ta
Donald Trump’s allies have spent the better part of two days demanding that the Justice Department explain the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago Monday. But the DOJ’s silence is, at this point, perhaps the best thing the former president has going for him: In the absence of an official narrative, MAGA world has been able to fill in the blanks with the most nefarious conjecture they can come up with. Baseless accusations of political targeting, unhinged references to the Gestapo, and even suggestions of planted evidence — this is what’s taken over the dead air on the right, from its far-out fringes to its establishment in 2022.
https://twitter.com/oneunderscore__/status/1556791792858796032
https://twitter.com/CBSMornings/status/1556988918670626817
This victim narrative is characteristically disingenuous for Trump: Were the former president truly the victim of a political “assault” by Joe Biden, the DOJ, and the “Radical Left Democrats,” as he characterized the raid in a statement, he would almost certainly be in the unique position of being able to prove it by releasing the search warrant or explaining what investigators may have taken. That he has not may speak to the damning nature of the evidence the DOJ had against him when they greenlit the explosive move.
“For the department to pursue a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago tells me that the quantum and quality of evidence they were reciting — in a search warrant and affidavit that an FBI agent swore to — was likely so pulverizing in its force as to eviscerate any notion that the search warrant and this investigation is politically motivated,” as David Laufman, the former head of the DOJ’s counterintelligence division who led the agency’s probes into the handling of classified materials by Hillary Clinton and David Petraeus, told Politico.
Much of the investigation remains shrouded in uncertainty for the general public. It has been reported that it is centered on a dispute between Trump and the National Archives, which in February asked the DOJ to investigate the former president’s handling of classified materials after he returned 15 boxes of documents to the agency. The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that officials apparently came to suspect Trump and people close to him may still have been holding on to some of the government materials. But the nature of those materials, including the 12 boxes a Trump lawyer says the FBI confiscated during this week’s search, and other aspects of the probe are not clear.
snip
August 11, 2022
Seattle architecture studio Olson Kundig Architects has collaborated with Greg Faulkner and his wife Lesa to create a home in a Californian forest that incorporates a steel-clad tower. The 5,420-square-foot (504-square-metre) Analog House is in Truckee, California – just over the state's border with Nevada – an area known for its forests, winter sports and lakes.
Olson Kundig Architects founder Tom Kundig worked with Faulkner – founder of Faulkner Architects – to create a home for the later that incorporates cement, steel and glass with minimal interruption of the surrounding ponderosa pine, manzanita and exposed basalt. "Tom's an architect's architect," said Faulkner. "It is all about the work with no real exposed personal ego when you are in a meeting with him "It was really a team effort."
Kundig said that he was excited about the prospect of designing with and for the Berkeley-based architect on his own turf – Faulkner Architects has a second office in Truckee – referencing the pairs' preexisting friendship and mutual respect as a starting point for the collaboration. "To be under the scrutiny of a terrific architect that's been delivering great work is no small task," said Kundig. "Greg and I are both old enough to be mature and confident in our voices and ability to collaborate as designers."
The result was a structure with many perpendicular volumes with the pour-in-place concrete that reference Faulkner's prior output mixed with a series of "kinetic devices that engage both the built environment and natural context". Concrete walls extend away from the envelope and jut into the forest. A series of hallways rooms and patios twists through the landscape, oriented around a central internal courtyard filled with foliage that includes three adult trees.
snip
Tom Kundig designs Truckee, California home with metal "treehouse" for Faulkner Architects founder
https://www.dezeen.com/2022/08/02/olson-kundig-faulkner-architects-analog-house-truckee/Seattle architecture studio Olson Kundig Architects has collaborated with Greg Faulkner and his wife Lesa to create a home in a Californian forest that incorporates a steel-clad tower. The 5,420-square-foot (504-square-metre) Analog House is in Truckee, California – just over the state's border with Nevada – an area known for its forests, winter sports and lakes.
Olson Kundig Architects founder Tom Kundig worked with Faulkner – founder of Faulkner Architects – to create a home for the later that incorporates cement, steel and glass with minimal interruption of the surrounding ponderosa pine, manzanita and exposed basalt. "Tom's an architect's architect," said Faulkner. "It is all about the work with no real exposed personal ego when you are in a meeting with him "It was really a team effort."
Kundig said that he was excited about the prospect of designing with and for the Berkeley-based architect on his own turf – Faulkner Architects has a second office in Truckee – referencing the pairs' preexisting friendship and mutual respect as a starting point for the collaboration. "To be under the scrutiny of a terrific architect that's been delivering great work is no small task," said Kundig. "Greg and I are both old enough to be mature and confident in our voices and ability to collaborate as designers."
The result was a structure with many perpendicular volumes with the pour-in-place concrete that reference Faulkner's prior output mixed with a series of "kinetic devices that engage both the built environment and natural context". Concrete walls extend away from the envelope and jut into the forest. A series of hallways rooms and patios twists through the landscape, oriented around a central internal courtyard filled with foliage that includes three adult trees.
snip
August 11, 2022
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/10/us/politics/trump-republicans-abortion-climate-marriage.html
https://archive.ph/PKCIz
Blake Masters, the Republican nominee for Senate in Arizona, has supported a federal “personhood” law that would establish that foetuses are people.
Much of the attention paid to Donald Trump’s favorite candidates running in the midterms has focused — rightly! — on their support for relitigating the 2020 election. (Which, for those still unsure, was not stolen.) But across a range of policy issues, including abortion, climate change, same-sex marriage and education, Trump’s MAGA warriors have taken positions that put them on the fringes of the Republican Party — let alone the nation as a whole. The usual caveats apply: Candidates often say things to win a primary that they then jettison or downplay when facing general-election voters. But the nature of political partisanship in America has changed over the last decade or so, raising doubts about whether that conventional wisdom still holds. If they are elected in November, the Trump crowd could shove American politics sharply rightward. Let’s take a look:
Abortion
Nowhere is the starkness of the these candidates’ positions more evident than on abortion, which has become a much more urgent litmus test on the right since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Kari Lake, the Republican nominee for governor of Arizona, has said she supports enacting a “carbon copy” of the Texas abortion law in her state. That law does not include exceptions for incest or rape. It also contains an unusual provision that was meant to work around Roe v. Wade before the decision was thrown out in June: Anyone can report someone violating the law and claim a $10,000 bounty from the state.
https://twitter.com/karilake/status/1433587153909469189
Blake Masters, who won the G.O.P. nomination for Senate in Arizona, has supported a federal “personhood” law that would establish that foetuses are people. He has also raised questions about whether Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court decision granting couples the federal right to use contraception, was correctly decided — but he does not support a ban on contraception. The list goes on: In Georgia, Herschel Walker, the party’s nominee for Senate, has told reporters, “There’s not a national ban on abortion right now, and I think that’s a problem.” Doug Mastriano, who is running for governor of Pennsylvania, introduced a foetal heartbeat bill as a state senator. Again, the bill contained no exceptions for incest or rape.
Climate change
Skepticism of the human impact on the planet’s climate abounds, despite mounting scientific evidence that severe flooding, rising global temperatures, droughts and volatile weather patterns have already arrived. Mastriano, for instance, has called climate change a “theory” based on “pop science.” Mehmet Oz, the Republican candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania, has leaned on his background as a doctor to adopt a markedly unscientific pro-carbon position. The “ideology that carbon is bad” is “a lie,” Oz said during a forum among primary candidates in Erie in March. “Carbon dioxide, my friends, is 0.04 percent of our air. That’s not the problem.” Asked about the Green New Deal during a Georgia campaign event in mid-July, Walker expounded on his own theory about global wind currents that even Fox News found “head scratching.”
Herschel Walker, who is challenging Senator Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, in Georgia, has put forward dubious theories on climate change.
snip
How a New Class of Republicans Could Push America to the Right
Beyond elections and voting issues, these Trump-aligned candidates could shape the country’s policies on abortion, climate change, same-sex marriage and much more.https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/10/us/politics/trump-republicans-abortion-climate-marriage.html
https://archive.ph/PKCIz
Blake Masters, the Republican nominee for Senate in Arizona, has supported a federal “personhood” law that would establish that foetuses are people.
Much of the attention paid to Donald Trump’s favorite candidates running in the midterms has focused — rightly! — on their support for relitigating the 2020 election. (Which, for those still unsure, was not stolen.) But across a range of policy issues, including abortion, climate change, same-sex marriage and education, Trump’s MAGA warriors have taken positions that put them on the fringes of the Republican Party — let alone the nation as a whole. The usual caveats apply: Candidates often say things to win a primary that they then jettison or downplay when facing general-election voters. But the nature of political partisanship in America has changed over the last decade or so, raising doubts about whether that conventional wisdom still holds. If they are elected in November, the Trump crowd could shove American politics sharply rightward. Let’s take a look:
Abortion
Nowhere is the starkness of the these candidates’ positions more evident than on abortion, which has become a much more urgent litmus test on the right since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Kari Lake, the Republican nominee for governor of Arizona, has said she supports enacting a “carbon copy” of the Texas abortion law in her state. That law does not include exceptions for incest or rape. It also contains an unusual provision that was meant to work around Roe v. Wade before the decision was thrown out in June: Anyone can report someone violating the law and claim a $10,000 bounty from the state.
https://twitter.com/karilake/status/1433587153909469189
Blake Masters, who won the G.O.P. nomination for Senate in Arizona, has supported a federal “personhood” law that would establish that foetuses are people. He has also raised questions about whether Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court decision granting couples the federal right to use contraception, was correctly decided — but he does not support a ban on contraception. The list goes on: In Georgia, Herschel Walker, the party’s nominee for Senate, has told reporters, “There’s not a national ban on abortion right now, and I think that’s a problem.” Doug Mastriano, who is running for governor of Pennsylvania, introduced a foetal heartbeat bill as a state senator. Again, the bill contained no exceptions for incest or rape.
Climate change
Skepticism of the human impact on the planet’s climate abounds, despite mounting scientific evidence that severe flooding, rising global temperatures, droughts and volatile weather patterns have already arrived. Mastriano, for instance, has called climate change a “theory” based on “pop science.” Mehmet Oz, the Republican candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania, has leaned on his background as a doctor to adopt a markedly unscientific pro-carbon position. The “ideology that carbon is bad” is “a lie,” Oz said during a forum among primary candidates in Erie in March. “Carbon dioxide, my friends, is 0.04 percent of our air. That’s not the problem.” Asked about the Green New Deal during a Georgia campaign event in mid-July, Walker expounded on his own theory about global wind currents that even Fox News found “head scratching.”
Herschel Walker, who is challenging Senator Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, in Georgia, has put forward dubious theories on climate change.
snip
August 11, 2022
https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/the-ten-best-hotel-pools-in-the-world
Villa d’Este - Lake Como, Italy
Summer isn’t the only time a hotel pool comes in handy. After a day of sightseeing or safari, unwinding with a dip is about more than just cooling off—it’s also about winding down (preferably with a glass of something refreshing in hand). But that doesn’t mean all pools serve the same purpose—some are so architecturally stunning, they’ve become a destination in themselves. We’ve scoured the globe to find 10 of our favorite pools that offer everything from sky-high views over some of the world’s most sought-after cities to prime viewing platforms of herds of elephants grazing by. From the Serengeti to Santorini, here are some of the most scenic swimming pools at hotels around the globe.
Amanyara
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos
Sitting on an 18,000-acre nature reserve, along the white-sand beaches of Providenciales’s North West Point Marine National Park, Amanyara is about as close as you can get to being on your own island (some villas even have their own private beach, infinity pool, and waterfall). Soak up sea views from one of the salas, or open pavilions, lining the spa’s impressive infinity pool, crafted entirely from Indonesian black lava stone.
Mystique Hotel
Santorini, Greece
Cliffside pools are one of the main selling factors of the island of Santorini. And while some hotels hide plunge pools within cave rooms, Mystique takes advantage of its prime locale in Oia, the sunset hotspot of Santorini, with Jacuzzis and infinity-edge pools in many of the suites and villas—plus two pools showing off sweeping views of the caldera and active volcano in the distance.
The Oyster Box
Umhlanga, South Africa
The main draw to this beachfront South African hotel, near downtown Durban, may be the extravagant curry buffet (there are 11 different curry dishes daily), but the centerpiece pool, overlooking the Indian Ocean and landmark lighthouse, is just as much of a highlight. The matching, red-and-white-striped lounge chairs and umbrellas also make for the perfect Instagram backdrop.
snip
The 10 Best Hotel Pools in the World
Take a sky-high swim.https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/the-ten-best-hotel-pools-in-the-world
Villa d’Este - Lake Como, Italy
Summer isn’t the only time a hotel pool comes in handy. After a day of sightseeing or safari, unwinding with a dip is about more than just cooling off—it’s also about winding down (preferably with a glass of something refreshing in hand). But that doesn’t mean all pools serve the same purpose—some are so architecturally stunning, they’ve become a destination in themselves. We’ve scoured the globe to find 10 of our favorite pools that offer everything from sky-high views over some of the world’s most sought-after cities to prime viewing platforms of herds of elephants grazing by. From the Serengeti to Santorini, here are some of the most scenic swimming pools at hotels around the globe.
Amanyara
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos
Sitting on an 18,000-acre nature reserve, along the white-sand beaches of Providenciales’s North West Point Marine National Park, Amanyara is about as close as you can get to being on your own island (some villas even have their own private beach, infinity pool, and waterfall). Soak up sea views from one of the salas, or open pavilions, lining the spa’s impressive infinity pool, crafted entirely from Indonesian black lava stone.
Mystique Hotel
Santorini, Greece
Cliffside pools are one of the main selling factors of the island of Santorini. And while some hotels hide plunge pools within cave rooms, Mystique takes advantage of its prime locale in Oia, the sunset hotspot of Santorini, with Jacuzzis and infinity-edge pools in many of the suites and villas—plus two pools showing off sweeping views of the caldera and active volcano in the distance.
The Oyster Box
Umhlanga, South Africa
The main draw to this beachfront South African hotel, near downtown Durban, may be the extravagant curry buffet (there are 11 different curry dishes daily), but the centerpiece pool, overlooking the Indian Ocean and landmark lighthouse, is just as much of a highlight. The matching, red-and-white-striped lounge chairs and umbrellas also make for the perfect Instagram backdrop.
snip
August 10, 2022
https://www.thedailybeast.com/if-democrats-fought-an-all-out-culture-war-against-republicans-theyd-win
The GOP’s furious desire to transform America into Gilead gives Democrats a perfect opportunity to turn the tables in the upcoming midterm elections, but only if they go all-in and commit to fighting the culture war. Earlier this week, passionate opponents of Roe v. Wade were eagerly expecting conservative Kansas voters to allow the Republican-dominated state legislature to potentially outlaw abortion. In a stunning plot twist, Kansas voters rejected the hateful amendment by a nearly 20-point margin.
Surely, there can be only one explanation: latte-loving, vegan liberals, who eat avocado toast and change pronouns as frequently as their hybrid vehicles, emerged and voted en masse from their biodegradable plastic bubbles. Nope. Turnout was enormous across the board, even in solidly red conservative and rural areas. It seems that a majority of Americans in the 21st century recognize women as human beings who deserve to have autonomy over their bodies, and they refuse to be handmaidens subservient to a radicalized GOP that won’t rest until it creates a Christian theocracy.
A Monmouth Poll released this week backed it up. American voters’ top concern after economic policy (24 percent) was abortion (17 percent) and gun control (17 percent). The right to privacy is a “kitchen table” issue after all. There’s something about losing a 50-year constitutionally protected right to people who claim to be “pro-life” that seems infuriating and hypocritical when juxtaposed to videos of children in school trying their best to outrun bullets because many Republicans refuse to support gun control. Even with inflation, a pandemic, disinformation, and high gas prices, a majority of Americans still want Democrats to retain political control.
Those numbers are astounding in light of President Biden's dismal approval ratings, which have hovered in the high 30s, and the fact that, historically, the president’s political party gets trounced in the midterms. None of this data tracks the normal political trends. Then again, nothing has been normal since a corrupt vulgarian was narrowly elected president in 2016. Now, we’re dealing with an increasingly hostile GOP that believes the big lie, loves assault weapons more than our kids, rejects science, and is willing to potentially ban contraceptives and end marriage equality. It seems the modern GOP, backed by right-wing hacks in black robes, won’t rest until it aggressively takes away our freedoms and chokeholds this country back to 1953.
snip
If Dems Fought an All-Out Culture War, They'd Win
Republicans are the ones attacking our cultures and freedoms, and it is time for Democrats to fight back aggressively.https://www.thedailybeast.com/if-democrats-fought-an-all-out-culture-war-against-republicans-theyd-win
The GOP’s furious desire to transform America into Gilead gives Democrats a perfect opportunity to turn the tables in the upcoming midterm elections, but only if they go all-in and commit to fighting the culture war. Earlier this week, passionate opponents of Roe v. Wade were eagerly expecting conservative Kansas voters to allow the Republican-dominated state legislature to potentially outlaw abortion. In a stunning plot twist, Kansas voters rejected the hateful amendment by a nearly 20-point margin.
Surely, there can be only one explanation: latte-loving, vegan liberals, who eat avocado toast and change pronouns as frequently as their hybrid vehicles, emerged and voted en masse from their biodegradable plastic bubbles. Nope. Turnout was enormous across the board, even in solidly red conservative and rural areas. It seems that a majority of Americans in the 21st century recognize women as human beings who deserve to have autonomy over their bodies, and they refuse to be handmaidens subservient to a radicalized GOP that won’t rest until it creates a Christian theocracy.
A Monmouth Poll released this week backed it up. American voters’ top concern after economic policy (24 percent) was abortion (17 percent) and gun control (17 percent). The right to privacy is a “kitchen table” issue after all. There’s something about losing a 50-year constitutionally protected right to people who claim to be “pro-life” that seems infuriating and hypocritical when juxtaposed to videos of children in school trying their best to outrun bullets because many Republicans refuse to support gun control. Even with inflation, a pandemic, disinformation, and high gas prices, a majority of Americans still want Democrats to retain political control.
Those numbers are astounding in light of President Biden's dismal approval ratings, which have hovered in the high 30s, and the fact that, historically, the president’s political party gets trounced in the midterms. None of this data tracks the normal political trends. Then again, nothing has been normal since a corrupt vulgarian was narrowly elected president in 2016. Now, we’re dealing with an increasingly hostile GOP that believes the big lie, loves assault weapons more than our kids, rejects science, and is willing to potentially ban contraceptives and end marriage equality. It seems the modern GOP, backed by right-wing hacks in black robes, won’t rest until it aggressively takes away our freedoms and chokeholds this country back to 1953.
snip
August 10, 2022
German automotive company Volkswagen has launched its ID Buzz van – an update to its iconic hippie-era T1 Transporter that brings it into the electric vehicle age. Production has begun on the all-electric ID Buzz, which boasts a look similar to the T1 that was first launched in the 1950s and became associated with the hippie movement in the 1960s and '70s. It was sometimes also known as the kombi, campervan or "Bulli". Like its historical counterpart, the ID Buzz, which is now available to order in Europe, has a flat front with almost no overhang and a V-shaped face adorned with an oversized VW logo. Optional two-tone paintwork further emphasises the likeness.
"The T1 was an icon of the 1950s," said Volkswagen head of design Jozef Kabaň. "With the ID Buzz, we're transferring its DNA into the age of electromobility. It's conveying the icon's genes and design elements into the digital age." "And it is the proportions that make the ID Buzz so unique," he continued. "In the T1 you are practically sitting on top of the front axle – there's no front overhang. While providing everything of relevance to safety and technology, the ID Buzz has wonderfully short overhangs." The ID Buzz is available in Europe with a 77kWh battery and a rear-mounted 150kW electric motor. When charged at a direct-current quick-charging station, its battery level rises from five to 80 per cent in about 30 minutes, according to Volkswagen.
"The T1 was an icon of the 1950s," said Volkswagen head of design Jozef Kabaň. "With the ID Buzz, we're transferring its DNA into the age of electromobility. It's conveying the icon's genes and design elements into the digital age." "And it is the proportions that make the ID Buzz so unique," he continued. "In the T1 you are practically sitting on top of the front axle – there's no front overhang. While providing everything of relevance to safety and technology, the ID Buzz has wonderfully short overhangs." The ID Buzz is available in Europe with a 77kWh battery and a rear-mounted 150kW electric motor. When charged at a direct-current quick-charging station, its battery level rises from five to 80 per cent in about 30 minutes, according to Volkswagen.
The interior is conceived as an open, lounge-like space that sits five people, making it a multipurpose vehicle or minivan rather than a microbus. Six- and seven-seater configurations are due to follow in the future. Volkswagen encourages the space to be seen as a "digital living room" or "mobile home office", with features such as optional folding tables on the front seat backrests for laptops or tablets and up to eight USB ports. No leather was used for the interior, which features only materials of non-animal origin, some made with recycled content. "We have developed a vehicle layout with a logical and intuitive interior concept and variable use of space," said Kabaň.
snip
Volkswagen starts production on 1960s-informed all-electric ID Buzz van
https://www.dezeen.com/2022/08/01/volkswagen-1960s-inspired-all-electric-id-buzz-van-design/German automotive company Volkswagen has launched its ID Buzz van – an update to its iconic hippie-era T1 Transporter that brings it into the electric vehicle age. Production has begun on the all-electric ID Buzz, which boasts a look similar to the T1 that was first launched in the 1950s and became associated with the hippie movement in the 1960s and '70s. It was sometimes also known as the kombi, campervan or "Bulli". Like its historical counterpart, the ID Buzz, which is now available to order in Europe, has a flat front with almost no overhang and a V-shaped face adorned with an oversized VW logo. Optional two-tone paintwork further emphasises the likeness.
"The T1 was an icon of the 1950s," said Volkswagen head of design Jozef Kabaň. "With the ID Buzz, we're transferring its DNA into the age of electromobility. It's conveying the icon's genes and design elements into the digital age." "And it is the proportions that make the ID Buzz so unique," he continued. "In the T1 you are practically sitting on top of the front axle – there's no front overhang. While providing everything of relevance to safety and technology, the ID Buzz has wonderfully short overhangs." The ID Buzz is available in Europe with a 77kWh battery and a rear-mounted 150kW electric motor. When charged at a direct-current quick-charging station, its battery level rises from five to 80 per cent in about 30 minutes, according to Volkswagen.
"The T1 was an icon of the 1950s," said Volkswagen head of design Jozef Kabaň. "With the ID Buzz, we're transferring its DNA into the age of electromobility. It's conveying the icon's genes and design elements into the digital age." "And it is the proportions that make the ID Buzz so unique," he continued. "In the T1 you are practically sitting on top of the front axle – there's no front overhang. While providing everything of relevance to safety and technology, the ID Buzz has wonderfully short overhangs." The ID Buzz is available in Europe with a 77kWh battery and a rear-mounted 150kW electric motor. When charged at a direct-current quick-charging station, its battery level rises from five to 80 per cent in about 30 minutes, according to Volkswagen.
The interior is conceived as an open, lounge-like space that sits five people, making it a multipurpose vehicle or minivan rather than a microbus. Six- and seven-seater configurations are due to follow in the future. Volkswagen encourages the space to be seen as a "digital living room" or "mobile home office", with features such as optional folding tables on the front seat backrests for laptops or tablets and up to eight USB ports. No leather was used for the interior, which features only materials of non-animal origin, some made with recycled content. "We have developed a vehicle layout with a logical and intuitive interior concept and variable use of space," said Kabaň.
snip
August 10, 2022
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-house-gops-plan-to-troll-biden-with-investigations-is-a-shitshow-on-steroids
Even before federal agents stepped onto the grounds of Mar-a-Lago on Monday, Republicans in Congress were eagerly preparing their plans to investigate President Joe Biden and his administration ahead of an expected takeover of Capitol Hill after November’s elections. But the FBI raid on Donald Trump’s south Florida estate—reportedly to execute search warrants related to official document preservation—immediately turned investigations from a top priority into the potential main event of a Republican-controlled Congress next year.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)—the presumptive House speaker if Republicans pull off a takeover of the chamber—did not wait for more details to emerge about the raid before calling for Attorney General Merrick Garland to appear for testimony next year. “When Republicans take over the House, we will conduct immediate oversight of this department, follow the facts, and leave no stone unturned,” McCarthy said on Monday night. “Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents and clear your calendar.”
The Department of Justice, which is weighing whether to criminally prosecute the former president, was always going to be in the “crosshairs of oversight” for the GOP, said Aaron Cutler, a former House Republican staff attorney who now heads up congressional investigations work for the law firm Hogan Lovells. But the FBI raid on Monday, and the lack of public knowledge about the extraordinary move, has “really infuriated” the GOP, said Cutler. “It makes Republicans want to dig in even more to the administration,” he said.
That enthusiastic digging isn’t poised to simply stop at the doors of the DOJ. Over the last year, GOP lawmakers in both the House and Senate have publicly outlined dozens of areas where they want to investigate the Biden administration. Some of those areas are straightforward and could even invite some bipartisan cooperation. Republicans want to dig into the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan last year and the often confusing COVID-19 guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; some Democrats could come onboard for those investigations.
snip
'Shitshow on Steroids': The House GOP's Plan to Troll Biden With Investigations
If Republicans do manage to win control in November, GOP lawmakers have a slate of troll-y investigations they plan to open.https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-house-gops-plan-to-troll-biden-with-investigations-is-a-shitshow-on-steroids
Even before federal agents stepped onto the grounds of Mar-a-Lago on Monday, Republicans in Congress were eagerly preparing their plans to investigate President Joe Biden and his administration ahead of an expected takeover of Capitol Hill after November’s elections. But the FBI raid on Donald Trump’s south Florida estate—reportedly to execute search warrants related to official document preservation—immediately turned investigations from a top priority into the potential main event of a Republican-controlled Congress next year.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)—the presumptive House speaker if Republicans pull off a takeover of the chamber—did not wait for more details to emerge about the raid before calling for Attorney General Merrick Garland to appear for testimony next year. “When Republicans take over the House, we will conduct immediate oversight of this department, follow the facts, and leave no stone unturned,” McCarthy said on Monday night. “Attorney General Garland, preserve your documents and clear your calendar.”
The Department of Justice, which is weighing whether to criminally prosecute the former president, was always going to be in the “crosshairs of oversight” for the GOP, said Aaron Cutler, a former House Republican staff attorney who now heads up congressional investigations work for the law firm Hogan Lovells. But the FBI raid on Monday, and the lack of public knowledge about the extraordinary move, has “really infuriated” the GOP, said Cutler. “It makes Republicans want to dig in even more to the administration,” he said.
That enthusiastic digging isn’t poised to simply stop at the doors of the DOJ. Over the last year, GOP lawmakers in both the House and Senate have publicly outlined dozens of areas where they want to investigate the Biden administration. Some of those areas are straightforward and could even invite some bipartisan cooperation. Republicans want to dig into the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan last year and the often confusing COVID-19 guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; some Democrats could come onboard for those investigations.
snip
August 10, 2022
https://archive.ph/kjwgX
In this salad, variety in textures keeps you angling for bite after bite. Plump tomatoes meet soft spoonfuls of yogurt, as well as the kind of crispy-gone-soggy pita that’s beloved in fattoush. The yogurt is dolloped on top of the tomatoes, so you can discover pockets of plushness as you eat, and no two bites are the same. Recipe note: The tomatoes and yogurt can be seasoned and dressed up to 3 hours ahead.
No two bites are the same in this soft, juicy and crunchy tomato salad
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2020/08/25/no-two-bites-are-the-same-in-this-soft-juicy-and-crunchy-tomato-salad/https://archive.ph/kjwgX
In this salad, variety in textures keeps you angling for bite after bite. Plump tomatoes meet soft spoonfuls of yogurt, as well as the kind of crispy-gone-soggy pita that’s beloved in fattoush. The yogurt is dolloped on top of the tomatoes, so you can discover pockets of plushness as you eat, and no two bites are the same. Recipe note: The tomatoes and yogurt can be seasoned and dressed up to 3 hours ahead.
August 10, 2022
https://www.thedailybeast.com/netflixs-the-sandman-kept-a-disturbing-lesbian-plot-and-is-better-for-it
The landscape for lesbian-adjacent television is a bit strange right now. For every prestige series like Yellowjackets, there is a cancelled cheesy romp like First Kill. A more satisfying balance between serious dramas and easy-to-watch guilty pleasures hasn’t particularly been achieved yet, even if lesbian representation has increased on both cable and streaming in recent years.
GLAAD’s Where We Are on TV report for the 2021-2022 season reports that lesbian characters make up 40 percent of LGBTQ+ characters on shows currently broadcasting. However, whether these characters are written to be more than just walking stereotypes depends on who you ask. Seriously, think of the lesbian characters you see on TV currently, then think about if they are given any storylines besides those involving their sexuality. Can you think of any that don’t?
That brings us to Netflix’s recently released series, The Sandman. Adapting the Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg comics of the same name, it largely tells the story of Dream (Tom Sturridge), a powerful being attempting to restore his full powers after a lengthy absence. When it arrived on Netflix on Aug. 5, it was met with mostly positive reviews based on its faithfulness to its source material.
The show actually does a fairly good job at including LGBTQ+ characters that are more than their identities—Mason Alexander Park’s iteration of Desire has the chance to be a nonbinary awakening for some viewers. This is partly because the entire concept of The Sandman is one that cannot be circumvented into strict binaries or societal norms. While it might not be a win for everyone who watches it, you can’t deny that it succeeds in showcasing LGBTQ+ identities that aren’t there for shallow representation points.
snip
'The Sandman' Kept a Disturbing Lesbian Plot--and Is Better for It
With the need for positive queer representation dominating discourse about TV, it’s a surprise that “The Sandman” didn’t shy away from a controversial but necessary storyline.https://www.thedailybeast.com/netflixs-the-sandman-kept-a-disturbing-lesbian-plot-and-is-better-for-it
The landscape for lesbian-adjacent television is a bit strange right now. For every prestige series like Yellowjackets, there is a cancelled cheesy romp like First Kill. A more satisfying balance between serious dramas and easy-to-watch guilty pleasures hasn’t particularly been achieved yet, even if lesbian representation has increased on both cable and streaming in recent years.
GLAAD’s Where We Are on TV report for the 2021-2022 season reports that lesbian characters make up 40 percent of LGBTQ+ characters on shows currently broadcasting. However, whether these characters are written to be more than just walking stereotypes depends on who you ask. Seriously, think of the lesbian characters you see on TV currently, then think about if they are given any storylines besides those involving their sexuality. Can you think of any that don’t?
That brings us to Netflix’s recently released series, The Sandman. Adapting the Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth, and Mike Dringenberg comics of the same name, it largely tells the story of Dream (Tom Sturridge), a powerful being attempting to restore his full powers after a lengthy absence. When it arrived on Netflix on Aug. 5, it was met with mostly positive reviews based on its faithfulness to its source material.
The show actually does a fairly good job at including LGBTQ+ characters that are more than their identities—Mason Alexander Park’s iteration of Desire has the chance to be a nonbinary awakening for some viewers. This is partly because the entire concept of The Sandman is one that cannot be circumvented into strict binaries or societal norms. While it might not be a win for everyone who watches it, you can’t deny that it succeeds in showcasing LGBTQ+ identities that aren’t there for shallow representation points.
snip
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