Tag Archives: August 2023

Analysis: How Airbnb Is Rattling Housing Markets

CNBC International (August 15, 2023) – In the Italian city of Venice, the number of beds dedicated to tourists is now almost on par with the number of beds allocated to residents.

An electronic counter installed by activists in the city tracking this number illustrates the ever-growing demand for short-term rentals, popularized by the home-sharing platform Airbnb, which is now as popular as hotels. The short-term rental market is projected to be worth $228.9 billion in 2030, boosted by the rise of commercial operators.

But as the housing crisis deepens worldwide due to land and labor shortages, residents are questioning the impact of Airbnbs and second homes locally. “We have more than 7,000 apartments involved in this kind of system of short-term tourist rentals.

And now it’s very difficult for a young guy or a new family to find an affordable house to rent,” Dario Nardella, Florence city mayor, told CNBC. So what is the economic impact of Airbnb and short-term rentals? And can restrictions ease the crisis? Watch the video to find out.

#CNBC #Airbnb #Housingmarket

Previews: Country Life Magazine – August 16, 2023

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Country Life Magazine – August 16, 2023: This week’s issue features a look at Britain’s sharks, classic posters, nightjars and dramatic wallpaper.

No fin compares to you

Far from being scary, our native sharks are friendly, sleekly swift and even bioluminescent. Helen Scales takes a dip

And all that jazz

The Roaring Twenties saw war-damaged Britain come alive in a swirl of cocktails and flapper dresses, finds Claire Jackson

A dramatic revival

The ruins of Hellifield Peel Tower, North Yorkshire, have been transformed. Jeremy Musson tours a splendid family home

News: German Leadership In War, Economic Crisis In Cuba, India Penal Reform

The Globalist Podcast, Tuesday, August 15: Germany’s position on the Ukraine conflict, Cuba’s looming economic crisis, plans to reform India’s colonial-era penal laws and the unveiling of a special new Qantas livery.

The New York Times — Tuesday, August 15, 2023

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Trump Indictment, Part IV: A Spectacle That Has Become Surreally Routine

Former President Donald Trump was indicted on Monday for trying to reverse Georgia’s 2020 election results. This is his fourth indictment in four months.

The former president has sought to systematically drain the suspense from his criminal cases. But the Trial(s) of the Century loom.

Sentenced to Life as Boys, They Made Their Case for Release

A man with a full gray beard and bald head looks down at photographs arrayed on a table. His eyebrows are knit together and he is wearing a light, button-down shirt. Shadows from a window cross his face and body.

At age 17, Donnell Drinks was one of many young men in Philadelphia who went to prison for life without parole. Today, the city has resentenced more of those prisoners than any other jurisdiction.

Judge Rules in Favor of Montana Youths in a Landmark Climate Case

The court found that young people have a constitutional right to a healthful environment and that the state must consider potential climate damage when approving projects.

Opinion: The Biden China Strategy, Saudi Arabia’s Sports Push, Green EV’s?

‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (August 14, 2023) Three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, why Biden’s China strategy isn’t working, Saudi Arabia’s plan to dominate global sport (10:20) and how green is your electric vehicle, really? (17:55).

AI Poetry Books: Werner Herzog Reads “I Am Code”

I Am Code: An Artificial Intelligence Speaks: Poems
By Joseph Bernstein, August 14, 2023

THE NEW YORK TIMES – If artificial intelligence had a voice, what would it sound like? Calm, like HAL 9000? Perky, like Alexa? Polite, like C-3PO?

A young man stands next to Mr. Herzog. Both are looking into the camera lens.
Brent Katz, an editor of the A.I.-generated poetry collection, with Mr. Herzog at a Los Angeles recording studio.Credit…via Brent Katz

For the editors of “I Am Code: An Artificial Intelligence Speaks,” a collection of poems generated by A.I., the answer was obvious: Werner Herzog.

The 80-year-old German director, actor and author is a titan of independent cinema whose films often concern the hubris and folly of humankind. His speaking voice, known to audiences mostly through the stark, literary voice-over narration that accompanies many of his documentaries, carries an existential pathos and Teutonic gravitas that have made it a pop culture trademark.

Something like this, anyway, was on the minds of Brent Katz, Josh Morgenthau and Simon Rich, the editors of “I Am Code,” when they reached out to Mr. Herzog to ask if he would lend his formidable instrument to the audiobook version of their project.

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Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – August 21, 2023

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The New Yorker – August 21, 2023 issue: This week’s cover features Kadir Nelson’s “Rideout” – The artist discusses biking, bridges, risk, and scale.

How the Writer and Critic Jacqueline Rose Puts the World on the Couch

Jacqueline Rose photographed by Robbie Lawrence.

Enlisting Freud and feminism, she reveals the hidden currents in poetry and politics alike.

By Parul Sehgal

“Psychoanalysis brings to light everything we don’t want to think about,” she said. “If you can acknowledge the complexity of your own heart


The Ukrainians Forced to Flee to Russia

A woman and child standing in between broken down buildings.

Some are brought against their will. Others are encouraged in subtler ways. But the over-all efforts seem aimed at the erasure of the Ukrainian people.

By Masha Gessen

How Carl Linnaeus Set Out to Label All of Life

A man sitting on a large flower looking at a list of paper.

He sorted and systematized and coined names for more than twelve thousand species. What do you call someone like that?

By Kathryn Schulz

News: Russia Destroying ‘Normal Life’ In Ukraine, Wagner Group In Poland

The Globalist Podcast, Monday, August 14: The latest from Kyiv with Ukrainian MP Lisa Yasko, the morning’s papers with Paul Waldie, Europe correspondent at ‘The Globe and Mail’ and interview former Polish foreign minister, Radek Sikorski MEP, on how Poland has changed in recent years.

Plus: the results of the Argentinian elections and why zine culture is on the rise in Japan.

The New York Times — Monday, August 14, 2023

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Two Months in Georgia: How Trump Tried to Overturn the Vote

Former President Trump in the White House briefing room after making a statement on Nov. 5, 2020.

The Georgia case offers a vivid reminder of the extraordinary lengths Mr. Trump and his allies went to in the Southern state to reverse the election.

How Trump Benefits From an Indictment Effect

After Donald J. Trump’s first indictment, the priorities of the conservative movement and its media ecosystem shifted.

In polling, fund-raising and conservative media, the former president has turned criminal charges into political assets.

As Inferno Grew, Lahaina’s Water System Collapsed

Firefighters who rushed to contain the Maui wildfire found that hydrants were running dry, forcing crews to embark instead on a perilous rescue mission.

‘His Name Was Bélizaire’: Rare Portrait of Enslaved Child Arrives at the Met

For many years, a 19th century painting of three white children in a Louisiana landscape held a secret. Beneath a layer of overpaint meant to look like the sky: the figure of an enslaved youth.

Wilderness Travel: Hiking Oregon’s Timberline Trail

Kraig Adams Films (August 13, 2023) – Timberline Trail is a hiking trail around Mount Hood in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is mostly in wilderness but also goes near Timberline Lodge, Cloud Cap Inn, and Mount Hood Meadows ski area.

Video timeline: 00:00 Timberline Lodge 1:12 Ramona Falls – Day 1 (28 miles) 7:33 Cloud Cap – Day 2 (14 miles) 10:28 Panorama Ridge 12:36 Vancouver13:23 Timberline Trail behind the scenes 15:56 Portland