Monthly Archives: January 2023
News Stories: New Russia Military Strategy, Vietnam President Resigns, 2023 Art
January 18, 2023: How does Russia plan to change its military strategy in Ukraine? Plus: the resignation of Vietnam’s president, the latest art news and why a US county is still recounting ballots from the 2020 election.
Front Page: The New York Times – January 18, 2023
As Debt Limit Threat Looms, Wall Street and Washington Have Only Rough Plans
A default would most likely rattle markets and carry big risks, no matter how the Federal Reserve and Treasury try to curb the fallout.
China’s Population Falls, Heralding a Demographic Crisis
Deaths outnumbered births last year for the first time in six decades. Experts see major implications for China, its economy and the world.
How Restaurant Workers Help Pay for Lobbying to Keep Their Wages Low
The National Restaurant Association uses mandatory $15 food-safety classes to turn waiters and cooks into unwitting funders of its battle against minimum wage increases.
Pentagon Sends U.S. Arms Stored in Israel to Ukraine
Israeli officials had initially expressed concerns that the move could damage its relations with Russia.
Cover Preview: Scientific American – February 2023
The Search for Extraterrestrial Life as We Don’t Know It
Scientists are abandoning conventional thinking to search for extraterrestrial creatures that bear little resemblance to Earthlings
Satellite Constellations Are an Existential Threat for Astronomy
Growing swarms of spacecraft in orbit are outshining the stars, and scientists fear no one will do anything to stop it
Solving Cement’s Massive Carbon Problem
New techniques and novel ingredients can greatly reduce the immense carbon emissions from cement and concrete production
Culture/Politics: Harper’s Magazine – February 2023
Is Liberalism Worth Saving?
Where once disagreements concerned differing interpretations of liberalism’s demands or balancing liberalism’s conflicting goals of freedom and equality, now populist movements on both the left and the right are challenging the legitimacy of liberalism itself.
Swamplandia
The money behind Ron DeSantis’s populist façade
Falling Like Leaves
The war in Ethiopia and its crimes against civilians
Architecture Tour: Emily House In Sydney, Australia
Working together, Aldini and Isaac Group have turned an abandoned warehouse into a modern dream home. Sitting on a small plot of land, the warehouse was in dire need of a contemporary lift – therefore the employment of organic shapes, elements and materials became the key focus for both interior designer and builder.
Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Modern Dream Home 00:25 – The Location of Emily House 00:38 – A Walkthrough of the Modern Dream Home 01:10 – Maximising the Previous Small Space 01:29 – The Builder 01:51 – Relationships and Working as a Team 02:14 – Utilising Natural Elements and Organic Shapes 03:10 – Elements of Softness and Curves 03:34 – Harnessing the Natural Light 04:02 – Favourite Parts of the Modern Dream Home 04:29 – Proud Moments
With a brief that only required the cathedral ceilings to be kept, the interior architecture was imbued with soft curves, natural shapes and materials, and a flood of natural light. In the end, the client’s home was turned into a modern dream home that would become a hub for connection, light and simple opulence.
Located in the inner west of Sydney, Emily House strikes an unassuming appearance with dark tones, leafy greens and a timber batten façade that hints at what is inside the modern dream home. Following the house tour inside, the front of the home contains the master bedroom and ensuite before offering a glimpse of the opulent kitchen – which is designed to be the hub for connection.
While using marble, granite and terrazzo throughout the modern dream home to add an opulence, the elements of curved bamboo, which is seen in the bathrooms and on the kitchen island bench, is used to soften the hardness of these materials. In the downstairs spaces, large steel windows, bi-fold doors and skylights have been installed to help bring more natural light inside while also adding to the sense of space inside.
Following the kitchen’s marble bench top and dark palette cabinetry, the dining and living room reference the same colours through the furnishings and marble that has been employed on the shelving and fireplace. To combat the hard lines of the steel and marble, the softening of elements has been encouraged throughout the interior design, which is seen in the soft curving of the Venetian plaster wall above the fireplace.
After the doors are opened, the courtyard helps to expand upon the liveable space and, with its terrazzo floor, curved seating arrangement and green wall the space, the downstairs living areas extend upon the client’s wish of creating a hub for connection. Upstairs, the inclusion of two more bedrooms and a bathroom further employs the use of stone, light and a natural colour palette.
Infused with natural light, the bedrooms offer guests an opulent stay that is reminiscent of five star hotels. Working together, the interior designer and builder established the modern dream home to become a space where the client could entertain. Additionally, the house is filled with a sense of softness – to which the client can find reprieve in the moments when it is needed.
News: Russia-Belarus Joint Military Exercises, World Economic Forum In Davos
January 17, 2023 – We head to Davos for a special show from the World Economic Forum. Plus: Russia and Belarus begin joint military exercises, and what next for Iranian-UK relations after the execution of Alireza Akbari?
Front Page: The New York Times – January 17, 2023
A Florida School Received a Threat. Did a Red Flag Law Prevent a Shooting?
Judges in 19 states and the District of Columbia are issuing orders to keep guns out of the hands of people deemed dangerous, like a Fort Lauderdale teenager who threatened a school shooting.
Alarmed by A.I. Chatbots, Universities Start Revamping How They Teach
With the rise of the popular new chatbot ChatGPT, colleges are restructuring some courses and taking preventive measures.
Global Push to Treat H.I.V. Leaves Children Behind
Sub-Saharan Africa has made steady progress in delivering lifesaving medication to adults, but young patients are harder to reach and 100,000 are dying of AIDS each year
China’s Latest Source of Unrest: Unpaid ‘Zero Covid’ Workers
Companies that reaped windfalls helping the government implement strict ‘zero Covid’ controls are now struggling to pay and keep workers.
Cinematic Travel: A Tour Of Northern Albania (4K)
Albanians refer to themselves as shqiptarë—often taken to mean “sons of eagles,” though it may well refer to “those associated with the shqip (i.e., Albanian) language”—and to their country as Shqipëria. They generally consider themselves to be descendants of the ancient Illyrians, who lived in central Europe and migrated southward to the territory of Albania at the beginning of the Bronze Age, about 2000 BCE. They have lived in relative isolation and obscurity through most of their difficult history, in part because of the rugged terrain of their mountainous land but also because of a complex of historical, cultural, and social factors.
Walks: Mutianyu Section Of The Great Wall, China
History of Mutianyu Great Wall
Mutianyu was originally a small mountain village before with fluctuating mountains and lush trees. For its vital and special situation, Mutianyu had been an important martial barrier for long time. And till Ming dynasty, a series of war broke out. In order to protect the national capital and the imperial mausoleum of Ming dynasty, the Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋) ordered his general Xu Da (徐达) to build this great wall in 1368. Although Mutianyu Great Wall has experience damages and reparation for several times, it is the most-preserved section of great wall relics of Ming dynasty.
Boomers Daily 