Category Archives: Views
The New York Times — Saturday, Nov 18, 2023
Want to Know What’s Bedeviling Biden? TikTok Economics May Hold Clues.
Economic despair dominates social media as young people fret about the cost of living. It offers a snapshot of the challenges facing Democrats ahead of the 2024 election.
Santos Faces New Expulsion Push Led by His Own Party After Damning Report
The resolution from Representative Michael Guest, a Republican, sets the stage for a vote shortly after Thanksgiving.
Facing Financial Ruin as Costs Soar for Elder Care
The United States has no coherent system for providing long-term care, leading many who are aging to struggle to stay independent or to rely on a patchwork of solutions.
A Journey Into Northern Gaza: Ruins, Wreckage and Darkness
New York Times journalists traveled with an Israeli military convoy to catch a rare glimpse of conditions inside wartime Gaza. They saw houses flattened like playing cards, and a city utterly disfigured.
Architecture: Six Square House In The Hamptons, NY
Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Breathtaking Home 00:55 – A Rural Hamptons Location 01:48 – A Family and Landscape Centred Brief 02:24 – The Organisation of The Home 03:25 – Experiencing The Landscape Surrounding the Home 05:03 – The Exterior Material Palette 05:47 – A Neutral and Art Focused Interior 06:37 – The Brazilian Furniture Design 07:00 – Proud Moments
Nestled deep into the large property, this house is defined by half a dozen cubes, which tesselate from a centre point, resulting in a dynamic piece of architecture set amid a lush garden. As architect Bryan Young says, “the gabled modules are arranged to align roof ridges and create continuity from one module to the next.” The contemporary form is connected to nature in a myriad of ways – the cubic volumes feature openings, which act as conduits to the garden; apertures from within frame the landscape; and the internal courtyard captured in the house tour features a garden bed beneath a timber pavilion.
It is holistic and intentional – the type of effect achieved when an architect designs a breathtaking home. The house tour takes viewers inside where the interiors are bright and connected to nature. The living area unfurls to the east and the kitchen sits to the west along the home’s central spine. Up above, the lines of the hybrid roofscape can be traced across the ceiling. Lofty and bright, the sense of openness is unexpected in comparison to the strict, geometric exterior. Bryan speaks to this, saying, “if each of the six volumes can be read as autonomous elements from the outside, from the inside, you begin to realise that in fact they’re conjoined in a very interesting way.”
The New York Times — Friday, November 17, 2023
Santos Won’t Seek Re-election After House Panel Finds Evidence of Crimes
The findings, which were referred to prosecutors, are likely to prompt another attempt to expel the embattled congressman from the House.
Pressure Mounts as Israel Combs Through Gaza Hospital for Hamas’s Presence
The Israeli military said troops had uncovered a Hamas tunnel shaft underneath the Al-Shifa Hospital complex, as well as a vehicle on the hospital grounds packed with weapons.
Jewish Celebrities and Influencers Confront TikTok Executives in Private Call
TikTok faces escalating accusations that it promotes pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel content. “Shame on you,” Sacha Baron Cohen said on the call.
How R.F.K. Jr. Has Turned His Public Crusades Into a Private Windfall
The causes Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has championed have brought him admiration, criticism — and tens of millions of dollars.
The New York Times — Thursday, Nov 16, 2023
Israel Seizes Gaza Hospital That Became Symbol of the War Itself
A raid of a hospital that Israel asserts is a base for Hamas is shaping up as a watershed moment in a conflict that has put the Mideast on edge.
So Thieves Nabbed Your Catalytic Converter. Here’s Where It Ended Up.
The pollution control devices contain valuable metals, making them a hot commodity for recycling. Some beneficiaries of the thefts look the other way.
Biden-Xi Talks Lead to Little but a Promise to Keep Talking
Both American and Chinese accounts of the meeting indicated scant progress on the issues that have pushed the two nations to the edge of conflict.
Palestinian and Israeli Teens Swam in the Same Pool. Then Came Oct. 7.
The teenagers in the Greater Jerusalem swim club made a point of not focusing on their differences. That changed with the war.
The New York Times — Wednesday, Nov 15, 2023
Israel Says Military Has Entered Gazan Hospital Grounds to Root Out Hamas
The operation at the main hospital complex in Gaza came after Israel released videos showing what it said were weapons inside a children’s hospital in the enclave.
Inside the Desperate Effort to Evacuate Young Cancer Patients From Gaza
A mission to rescue cancer-stricken children from the violence in Gaza has involved multiple countries and last-minute connections in the chaos of war.
Jewish Groups Rally for Israel on National Mall
The rally was a response to large protests across the United States and the world denouncing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
Freeway Closed? Just Take the 10 to the 110 to the 5, Angelenos Say.
Southern California residents are bracing for longer commutes over the next month, after a fire forced the closure of a central freeway segment. But they don’t seem to be panicking yet.
National Geographic Magazine – ‘Pictures Of The Year’ (December 2023)
On Tuesday, National Geographic editors revealed their top selections chosen from stories they assigned to photographers in 2023 for the fourth annual year-end retrospective. The final photos were narrowed down from a pool of 2 million.
READ USA TODAY ARTICLE (November 14, 2023)
Design: A Secret Cabin In Nova Scotia, Canada
Video timeline: 00:00 – Introduction to the Architect’s Own Secret Cabin 00:55 – A Shared Childhood Dream 01:26 – A Walkthrough and the Layout of the Cabin 02:39 – A Sparse and Simple Material Palette 04:01 – The Modern Kitchen Design 05:33 – Evolving The Design Elements 05:56 – Favourite Aspects of the Project
it is a deeply personal project that adds a dynamic layer to his studio’s portfolio. It is possible to visualise this secret cabin hidden in the woods in other forest settings, yet the architectural nuances bring a specificity to the design that belong only to this place. From a distance, the cabin is but a small disruption amid the ever-changing colours of the forest, yet up close, its architectural presence is monumental. The steel form is a confident expression of simple geometries and a bold reinterpretation of a typical secret cabin hidden in the woods.
A house tour reveals an aesthetic that is elemental and layered, from the bedrooms to the kitchen. The interior design, which is defined by smoked oak, raw steel shelving and wall-mounted industrial light fixtures, complements the architecture of this secret cabin hidden in the woods. As the lead architect, designer and homeowner, Omar embraced the opportunity to inject his personality into the design. He saw this project as an opportunity to experiment within the framework of his practice, thus, several pieces of furniture created in collaboration with local artisans and makers dot the interiors.
The New York Times — Tuesday, November 14, 2023
Death and Despair at Gaza Hospital as Fighting Reaches Its Doors
“I’m watching patients die in front of my eyes,” one doctor at a besieged hospital said, “and I can’t provide them the slightest bit of help.” Israel said its forces were targeting Hamas fighters.
Rashida Tlaib, Censured by the House, Is Praised and Condemned at Home
The Democratic congresswoman from the Detroit area and the only Palestinian American in the House faces a complicated landscape in her district.
What It Means to Be a Texan Is Changing in Surprising Ways
White people make up a declining minority in Texas, even among those born in the state. And all those people moving in? They’re as likely to be Black, Hispanic or Asian.
Behind Public Assurances, Xi Jinping Has Spread Grim Views on U.S.
Speeches by the Chinese leader show how he was bracing for an intensifying rivalry with the United States from early in his rule.
The New York Times — Monday, November 13, 2023
Israeli Forces Near a Struggling Hospital They Say Covers a Hamas Complex
Israeli officials say that Hamas has built a complex under Al Shifa, a major Gaza hospital. Hamas denies it is operating from beneath the hospital, whose patients face dire conditions amid power cuts.
One Year in the Infuriating and Humiliating Search for a Job in South Africa
Portia Stafford has a high school diploma in hospitality and three certificates from job training programs. She is among a generation of ambitious Africans who spend their days chasing an elusive opening.
F.B.I. Examining Whether Adams Cleared Red Tape for Turkish Government
After winning the 2021 Democratic mayoral primary, Eric Adams successfully pressed city officials to allow the opening of a Manhattan high-rise housing the Turkish Consulate General.
Two Young Democratic Stars Collide Over Israel and Their Party’s Future
Representing neighboring districts in the Bronx, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ritchie Torres have staked sharply divergent positions on the Israel-Hamas war.
Boomers Daily 