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Tag Archives: Florida
Im-Politic: The New York Times' DeSantis Hatchet Job Flunks Even the Competence Test
Posted by Alan Tonelson in Im-Politic
demographics, Florida, Im-Politic, Immigration, journalism, Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Mainstream Media, MSM, Regime Media, Ron DeSantis, The New York Times
Memo to New York Times podcaster Lulu Garcia-Navarro, her editors at the paper's opinion section, and indeed all journalists: If you're going to do a takedown piece on a major politician, or anyone, try to display at least minimal competence.
Had Garcia-Navarro and her editors followed this advice, they'd have never published a recent hatchet job on Ron DeSantis, the Florida Republican governor and possible 2024 presidential candidate, that's a monument to factual cherry- picking and outright misinformation trafficking, and a disgrace even to the increasingly debased practice of opinion writing.
Garcia-Navarro concentrates on debunking the claims of DeSantis and his supporters that the governor "has overseen a growing economy" and that. "Florida now has the fastest-growing population in the country." (I reported on the latter and related developments here.)
Actually, the author claims,
"Florida is not a model for the nation, unless the nation wants to become unaffordable for everyone except rich snowbirds.
"While my home state's popularity might indeed seem like good news for a governor with presidential ambitions, a closer look shows that Florida is underwater demographically. Most of those flocking there are aging boomers with deep pockets, adding to the demographic imbalance for what is already one of the grayest populations in the nation. This means that Florida won't have the younger workers needed to care for all those seniors. And while other places understand that immigrants, who often work in the service sector and agriculture, two of Florida's main industries, are vital to replenishing aging populations, Mr. DeSantis and the state G.O.P. are not exactly immigrant-friendly, enacting legislation to limit the ability of people with uncertain legal status to work in the state."
One obvious reason for doubting Garcia-Navarro's arguments is the lack of documentation. That's likely because had the author decided to present the principal facts, or had her editors insisted upon this, they 'd have watched this indictment melt away.
A balanced picture of Florida's demographics would have begun by noting that DeSantis has only occupied the state house in Tallahassee since the beginning of 2019. Anyone familiar with the Sunshine States knows that it's been a popular retirement destination for decades.
It's possible that DeSantis has had such a powerful impact on Florida's demographics that these patterns have changed dramatically in the last four years? Well, yes. But the statistics surely have been distorted – like virtually all U.S. data – by the CCP Virus.
In any event, Florida's own state government shows that the state's (higher-than-the-U.S. Average) median age rose 0.71 percent between 2019-2021 (the latest figures available) while that of the nation as a whole increased by 0.52 percent. For comparison's sake, during the two years before 2019, Florida's median age advanced by 0.48 percent versus the 1.05 percent for the entire United States.
So these limited samples do show that Florida has been aging at a relatively fast pace under DeSantis, both versus its own pre-DeSantis pace and that of all of America. But the none of gaps or the changes between them is the least bit dramatic.
Between 2017 and 2019, Florida's median age dipped from 110 percent of its total U.S. counterpart to 109.375 percent. By 2021, it bounced all the way back to …109.585 percent. In other words, big whoop.
As for Garcia-Navarro's charge that DeSantis' governorship has benefited only "rich snowbirds" economically, that's hard to square with what the exit polls told us about his 2022 reelection results. Specifically, fully 41 percent of Floridians who voted last year lived in households that earned $50,000 annually or less. Thirty-eight percent of these voters' households earned between $50,000 and $99,000 per year. And 21 percent earned more than $100,000 each year. So clearly, lots of DeSantis voters weren't one percenters or five percenters or ten percenters or even close.
It's true that DeSantis clobbered his Democratic opponent among voters aged 45 or older – by 63 percent to 36 percent. But that group includes lots of non-geezers. And among the 18-44-year olds, DeSantis trailed by just 50-48 percent. So clearly lots of DeSanti voters weren't wealthy seniors, either. Either all these non-super-rich and young and midde aged Floridians are too stupid to vote in thei own economic self-interest, or they know something that Garcia-Navarro and her editors don't.
And has DeSantis really shut off the flow of desperately needed immigrants into Florida? Despite his efforts to "limit the ability of people with uncertain legal status to work in the state" (love that latest euphemism for illegal aliens!), U.S. Census data show that the answer is emphatically "No."
For example, from July, 2021 to July, 2022 (the latest official data available), slightly fewer immigrants moved into Florida on a net basis (125,629) than into California (125,715). And that's even though California's estimated population last year (39.03 million) was much larger than Florida's (22.24 million), and even though California is a self-proclaimed sanctuary state. (See the the fourth xls table downloadable from this Census link.)
These data don't distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants, but for the purposes of this post, who cares? Indeed, do the (not rocket science) math, and even if you believe that more immigrants (includin those with "uncertain legal status) are essential for adequate senior care, it turns out that Florida is in much better shape because it's receiving nearly as many of the foreign born as California even though its population includes many fewer (4.69 million) seniors in absolute terms than California (5.93 million).
Moreover, these numbers are little changed in a relative sense from those of the last pre-DeSantis year. In fact, the data in the fifth xls table available at this Census link show that from July, 2018 to July, 2019, more immigrants came to Florida (88,678) than to California (74,028) even though more seniors (just over six million) lived in the latter than in the former (4.54 million). (Note: this last data describes the situation as of April, 2020. These were the closest Census figures that seem to be available.)
I was able to find all these highly relevant figures without undue difficulty. Why couldn't Garcia-Navarro? Or her editors? No doubt because their intent was not to englighten but to smear. As a result, I feel better than ever about changing my nomenclature for such established news organizations from "Mainstream Media" to "Regime Media."
Im-Politic: A Bad Week in Court…for the Race-Mongers
African Americans, Ahmaud Arbery, Andrew Coffee, anti-semitism, Charlottesville, citizens arrest, criminal justice, Florida, fugitive slave laws, Georgia, Im-Politic, Kenosha, Kyle Rittenhouse, racism, self-defense, systemic racism, Unite the Right, vigilantism, white supremacists
It's been a very bad week for those Americans (and others) convinced that their country's entire society, and especially its criminal justice system, remain so thoroughly infected with racism that nothing less than multiple amputations and lobotomies are required.
As a result, it's been a very good week for those Americans (and others) trying to grapple rigorously with the racism that has historically stained that criminal justice system and larger society, culture, and economy, and with its lingering effects in all their complexity.
For this time period has seen no fewer than three race-infused trials conclude with verdicts that thoroughly debunk claims of bigotry racism in that justice system so pervasive as to be systemic.
The first and most publicized resulted in murder convictions for three white Georgians who killed an African American man jogging through a neighborhood in the southeastern corner of the state. The trio of whites blamed their attack on Ahmaud Arbery on his resistance to their attempts to carry out a citizen's arrest prompted by suspicions of his involvement in several local burglaries.
But the nearly all-white jury ultimately agreed with the prosecutor's observation that the attackers' actions were utterly illegal vigilantism even by the recklessly indulgent standards of a state law that, like many counterparts, is rooted in a history of genuinely shameful fugitive slave statutes – and that was repealed this past May. For none of the defendants saw Arbery engage even in any dodgy act, and possessed no evidence of his possible guilt.
Arbery's family and others argued that the killing took much too long to be investigated, and their charges of attempted cover-up by some local officials seems to have been vindicated by the eventual decisions of area prosecutors and judges to recuse themselves from the trial. So there's a strong case to be made that justice was delayed. But in this instance, it's clear that it wasn't denied.
The second trial attracted less attention, but appears no less important. This past Tuesday, more than a dozen white racist and anti-semitic leaders and their organizations, which organized the tumultuous 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that claimed one life, were found guilty of breaking state law by conspiring to intimidate, harass, or harm counter-protestors and local residents. The verdict by the majority white jury awarded the plaintiffs $26 million in compensatory and punitive damages, and the defendants are almost certain to be tried on the federal charges (of conspiring to commit racially motivated violence) on which the jury failed to reach a decision.
The third trial has received almost no national attention, but is especially interesting given widespread arguments that acquitted Kenosha, Wisconsin shooter Kyle Rittenhouse would have been found guilty of some form of homicide had he been black. (See, e.g., here and here.) This third trial is especially interesting because the verdict actually did acquit on self-defense charges an African American who killed an intruder into his home and attempted to slay another. Special bonus: The two intruders were cops.
The defendant, Andrew Coffee IV, didn't get off scot free. The Vero Beach, Florida jurors found him guilty of illegally possessing a firearm. (He was found guilty of felony battery and evading arrest in 2013.) But his position that he didn't realize that the intruders were law enforcement officers, and didn't hear the SWAT team in question so identify itself, carried the day on the main charge. And here's a fun fact – Coffee's acquittal came the same day as Rittenhouse's.
As noted above, these results don't mean that African Americans have never gotten horrifically raw deals from the American criminal justice system, or even that no such injustices take place today. (I've written about the latter issue, e.g., here.) But these three verdicts – which all came in states belonging to the old Confederacy – cannot possibly have taken place in a country still determined to suppress the rights of blacks (and other minorities). Instead, they took place in a country where, as noted by an African American lawyer quoted here, such outcomes are possible, if not yet often enough, in the first place – and always have been.
Glad I Didn't Say That! A Weird NY Times Definition of "Polarizing"
Posted by Alan Tonelson in Glad I Didn't Say That!
CCP Virus, coronavirus, COVID 19, experts, Florida, lockdowns, Mainstream Media, MSM, politics, polls, public health, reopening, Ron DeSantis, The New York Times, Wuhan virus
Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis "has become a
polarizing leader in the resistance to lengthy pandemic lockdowns,
ignoring the advice of some public health experts in ways that have
left his state's residents bitterly divided over the costs and benefits of
his actions."
– The New York Times, April 10, 2021
Latest two DeSantis Florida approval ratings: 53 % & 60 %
– Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune, March 2, 2021 and The Florida Times-Union, March 4, 2021
(Sources: "Could Ron DeSantis Be Trump's G.O.P. Heir? He's Certainly Trying," by Patricia Mazzei, The New York Times, April 10, 2021, Could Ron DeSantis Be Trump's G.O.P. Heir? He's Certainly Trying. – The New York Times (nytimes.com); "New poll shows 53% of Florida voters approve of DeSantis, a big increase from July," by Zac Anderson, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, March 2, 2021, https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/politics/state/2021/03/02/florida-governor-ron-desantis-approval-rating-sees-big-increase-covid-pandemic-anniversary/6877677002/; and "UNF poll: Gov. DeSantis approval at 60 percent," The Florida Times-Union, March 4, 2021, UNF poll: Gov. DeSantis approval at 60 percent – News – The Florida Times-Union – Jacksonville, FL )
Im-Politic: The Surprising Politics of Mask-Wearing
California, CCP Virus, conservatives, coronavirus, COVID 19, Democrats, Eric Garcetti, facemasks, Florida, Gavin Newsome, Im-Politic, liberals, lockdowns, Los Angeles County, masks, Miami-Dade County, Orange County, Republicans, Ron DeSantis, San Diego County, shutdowns, Trump, Wuhan virus
Republicans and conservatives are recklessly or stupidly or (INSERT YOUR FAVORITE DEROGTORY ADVERB) resisted orders issued by many state and local governments mandating facemask wearing in various circumstances to fight the CCP Virus more effectively. No less than Paul Krugman, one of The New York Times' uber-liberal uber pundits, says so. So do a number of Republicans – especially those from the nearly extinct Bush wing of the GOP. And special ire is reserved for Prsident Trump, who until July 11 refused to wear a mask in public, and who still hasn't issued a blanket endorsement of the practice, and remains opposed to a federal mandate.
In the interests of full disclosure, I wear masks (as required by law) when I patronize indor businesses in Maryland (where I live), and would don them in crowded outdoor areas, too (not required). And I'd abide by any mask regulations elsewhere. Evidently scientific evidence on mask effectiveness has been mixed enough to prevent the World Health Organization (WHO) from encouraging their use until June 5. But these coverings make intuitive sense to me, and although I find tem sort of uncomfortable, they're anything but unbearable.
What I do find irksome is how the Mainstream Media and most of the rest of America's chattering classes have decided that it's only one half of the political spectrum that's to blame for shortfalls in America's mask-wearing record. Because evidence abounds that there's lots of opposition, or at least indifference, to masks among Democrats and liberals, too. And the experiences of Florida and California – two big states whose governor have taken dramatically differing approaches to handling the CCP Virus – make the point nicely.
In case you're ignoring national news completely, Florida deserves special attention because of the "ha-ha factor." As in "Ha ha – Republican Governor Ron DeSantis had been bragging about how the Sunshine State had suppressed the virus with a light regulatory touch, but lately it's become a major hot spot."
Specifically, the indictment against DeSantis began with his refusal to close the state's beaches for spring breakers and Florida natives who relish the shore, continued with his decision to reopen the beaches and the rest of the state after a shelter-in-place order had been in place fairly briefly, and has been reinforced by his own opposition to order mask-wearing state-wide, which is blamed at least in part for Floridians' continually casual attitude about face coverings and related practices like social distancing, and the state's recent spike in cases and deaths. (See here and here for examples.)
But if you look at the pattern of infection in Florida, it quickly becomes clear that Democrats as well as Republicans must be ignoring mask-wearing and distancing en masse. After all, the five Florida counties with the biggest numbers of registered Democratic voters are (in descending order) Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Broward, Palm Beach, and Orange. Indeed, together, they account for nearly 45 percent of the Florida Democratic total. They also happen to be the state's five most populous counties, adding up to just under 42 percent of its population.
Yet this Big Five has contained more than 54 percent of the 80,236 new CCP Virus cases recorded in Florida during the week ending yesterday. In other words, these Democratic strongholds punched significantly above their new cases weight. And Democratic voter champ Miami-Dade all by itself, whose population represents 12.65 percent of Florida's total, is home to more than 24 percent of those new Florida virus cases. And with the exception of one tiny black majority panhandle county, it's also Florida's most lopsidedly Democratic county. So its even greater "out-perform" is all the more noteworthy.
One possible counter-argument is that these five populous Democratic counties are also more densely peopled than state counties with much smaller populations, where the virus' impact has been slighter. But that sounds like an excuse to me. If Democrats are less selfish and/or stupid and/or reckless than Republicans, and therefore more committed to mask-wearing and social distancing and the like, then they should be making much greater efforts to tone down their recreational or social lives to slow the spread, and save the lives of their fellow Floridians.
Obviously, not every resident of these counties, or every registered Democrat, is ignoring the need to fight the pandemic. But the prevalence of Democrats in these counties is just as obviously signaling that many are.
California's a somewhat different story – and an even stronger challenge to the narrative. Unlike Florida, where the Democratic-Republican ratio overall is only 1.06:1, in California, it's Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 1.90:1 margin. Not surprisingly, the Golden State is governed by a Democrat – Gavin Newsom – and its lockdowns came much earlier, and were much more pervasive, than Florida's. So Californians were by no means receiving the kinds of mixed messages about responsible behavior from their statehouse than DeSantis has been accused of sending.
But many of the state's residents evidently decided to ignore them – and pretty quickly. For example, as early as late April, so many Californians were crowding the state's beaches in violation of social distancing protocols that Newsom decided to close them. A little over a month ago, after major increases in the state's CCP Virus case numbers, deaths, and deaths followed Newsom's cautious reopening program, Newsom charged that the problem wasn't a too hasty lifting of economic restrictions, but Californians' irresponsible behavior:
"Simply put, we are seeing too many people with faces uncovered — putting at risk the real progress we have made in fighting the disease. California's strategy to restart the economy and get people back to work will only be successful if people act safely and follow health recommendations. That means wearing a face covering, washing your hands and practicing physical distancing."
Much of this incautious beach-going is surely going on in Orange and San Diego Counties, where the Democratic-Republican split is smaller than in the state as a whole. So even though both counties combined boast nearly 1.3 million Democratic voters, maybe all of theirDemocrats were well-behaved.
But no such case can reasonably be made for Los Angeles County, the state's most populous by far, and a jurisdiction where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by more than three-to-one – much higher than the state average. Here, the virus' comeback has been strong enough that Los Angeles City Mayor Eric Garcetti is warning that he is "on the brink" of imposing another stay-at-home order. And for good measure, he laid much of the blame at the feet of the public:
"It's not just what's opened and closed. It's also about what we do individually. It's about the people who are getting together outside of their households with people they might know. It might be their extended family, it might be friends. They might think because they got a test two weeks ago that it's OK, but it's not… We have to be as vigilant right now as we were the first day…bring 100 percent of our strength the way we did the first or second month."
Even before the debut of the the Trump face covering, Republican and conservative resistance to mask-wearing had been crumbling, and despite my continued uncertainty that the results will be game-changing it's a trend I applaud. And I suspect it would be accelerated if America's Democratic and liberal leaders admitted that their supporters have considerable work to do on this front, too.
Im-Politic: On a Parkland Applicant, Harvard Flunks the Character Test
adolescents, character, college admissions, colleges, Earl Warren, Florida, forgiveness, gun violence, Harvard University, higher education, Hugo Black, Im-Politic, Japanese internment, Ku Kux Klan, Kyle Kashuv, Parkland, racism, school shootings, Supreme Court, universities, World War II
The more I read and think about Harvard University's decision to rescind admission to Kyle Kashuv because this survivor of the Parkland, Florida high school mass shooting last year made a variety of racist and other offensive and bigoted remarks in a digital document two years ago, when he was all of sixteen years old, the more outraged I get. And the more convinced I become that Harvard pounced upon an excuse to respond to pressure to punish Kashuv for refusal to jump aboard the gun control bandwagon.
Let's get one aspect of this incident clear right away. Kashuv's remarks were genuinely appalling. But for any fair-minded observer, the mitigating factors are overwhelming. He was in mid-adolescence – when even good kids often get tempted to do and say lots of stupid and even cruel things. His remarks were so loopy that they even included anti-semitic slurs – even though Kashuv is Jewish. They were made in private digital communications to a handful of apparently equally stupid friends and other schoolmates – i.e. no one has ever accused him of voicing such sentiments in public, an act that would create actual victims. He has admitted responsibility and apologized profusely. Further, nothing known about him so far – and clearly, folks have been looking, since he was outed by a fellow Marjory Stoneham Douglas student who apparently opposed his views on guns – indicates that these remarks ever reflected his actual views, much less do so now.
In fact, overall, Kashuv's behavior has been far more honorable than Harvard's handling of his character issues. To its credit, the university first responded to "media reports discussing offensive statements allegedly authored" by Kashuv by noting the morals clause that's one of its admissions considerations and asking for "a full accounting" so that the matter could be "considered." (The best source for these and the following Kashuv and Harvard statements is Kashuv's Twitter feed: @KyleKashuv.
But Harvard's professed open-mindedness was actually a sham, as is clear from its June 3 letter to Kishuv following his apology and explanation, and rejecting his appeal. The admissions dean William R. Fitzsimmons told Kashuv that he and his colleagues "appreciated [his] candor and…expressions of regret" and "discussed [them] at length." And they bounced him anyway.
It's disturbing enough that Harvard refused to accept a lengthy apology for a 16-year old's misdeeds, an equally lengthy promise to learn and grow, and evidence of actually acting on this promise (in the form of reaching out to the university's diversity office for guidance and counseling). At least as disturbing is seeing this inflexibility at an educational institution – which presumably is in the business of human improvement and focuses on teenagers, who surely represent many of the most improvable individuals on the planet.
As Kashuv himself has wisely noted, Harvard's actions also raise broad moral questions about whether "we live in a society in which forgiveness is possible or mistake brand you as irredeemable." I'd add that the odds of making offensive comments in particular have risen dramatically in recent years, since the amped up coarsening of culture and society is bound to trickle (and even flood) down to the young. Moreover, given how unpopular his guns views tend to be in the left-leaning political cultures on so many college campuses, and especially at so-called elite institutions like Harvard, the school's treatment of Kashuv reeks of a politicized admissions process.
At the same time, the potential practical consequences of such gun jumping (no pun intended) should be sobering. I'm thinking in particular of Hugo Black. This mid-twentieth century Supreme Court Justice belonged to the Ku Kux Klan as a young adult. He was never especially apologetic, either. But on the High Court, he became one of its staunchest proponents of racial integration and a singular champion of free speech and other individual liberties – for Americans regardless of color.
And don't forget Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the Court during much of Black's tenure. As Attorney General and Governor of California during World War II, he was instrumental in carrying out the federal policy of indiscriminately throwing Japanese-Americans into internment camps solely because of their race or ethnicity. Not until his memoirs were published posthumously is there any public record of regret for these actions. Yet as Chief Justice, he became an even more powerful force than Black for racial justice and civil liberties.
The main – and screamingly obvious lessons – it seems to me are:
First, people can evolve even as adults, much less from their childhood and adolescent selves.
Second, the case for affording the benefit of the doubt, especially when the offender is young, and forgiveness is sought, is impressive.
And third, to understand these truths, you sure don't need a Harvard education.
(What's Left of) Our Economy: How Not to Rate the States' Economies – & Their Prospects
Posted by Alan Tonelson in (What's Left of) Our Economy
California, demographics, domestic migrants, entitlement programs, Florida, Forbes, government workers, immigrants, inflation-adjusted growth, innovation, Medicare, Missouri, New York, New York City, Pennsylvania, population, private sector, productivity, retirees, seniors, Social Security, taxes, William Baldwin, {What's Left of) Our Economy
Thanks to Forbes magazine, it's possible today to teach a useful lesson about the limits of statistics and the studies they're based on – especially if those studies seem to be intended to prove a point rather than seek the truth.
The post in question, by former Forbes editor William Baldwin, looks like it makes a claim that's not only important but irrefutable: U.S. states whose numbers of "takers" (government workers plus recipients of government transfer – welfare – and entitlements payments) greatly exceed the "makers" (private sector workers) are in "death spirals." But states in the opposite situation have promising economic futures. In particular, employers are much likelier to create the private sector jobs crucial to continued healthy growth in the "maker" states.
It's easy to understand Baldwin's reasoning. The private sector undeniably is more innovative and productive than the public sector – two of the main ingredients of that healthy growth. And states with big populations of entitlements recipients (e.g., Medicare and Social Security) are almost by definition states with older populations – raising the question of who's going to pay for all those benefits for non-working or even only semi-retired seniors. Case closed? Not exactly.
Interestingly, doubts start arising as soon as you eyeball the author's chart. For example, he places California in the "death spiral" category. Since the Golden State represented 13.40 percent of the entire national economy as of 2014, it's clearly a crucial example. But U.S. government figures also make clear that California enjoyed inflation-adjusted growth last year (2.80 percent) that was considerably faster than the national average (2.20 percent). That doesn't sound like much of a death spiral to me. And in case you're wondering whether 2014 was an outlier, California also out-grew the nation as a whole from 2011 to 2014 – by 7.81 percent to 6.26 percent.
Demographics don't support Baldwin's portrait of California, either. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (click here for the various relevant spreadsheets), between mid-2010 and mid-2015, the United States population as a whole as a whole grew by 12.661 million. Nearly 58 percent of the increase came from more babies being born than legal residents passing away, and the rest came from net migration from abroad.
California was responsible for nearly 15 percent of this increase – which means that the state punched above its weight demographically. In 2010, its share of the national population was only 12.07 percent. So it looks like there will be plenty of new Californians to pay for public services and retirement costs. And although many of the nearly 835,000 immigrants to come to the state during this period were illegals, many obviously were not.
The situation in another one of Baldwin's death spiral states – New York – doesn't look nearly so dire, either, on closer inspection. New York's after-inflation economic growth between 2011 and 2014 wasn't as fast as California's. But at 6.79 percent, it still beat the national average.
New York also lost a little population from 2010 to 2015 (22,308 residents moved away). But births outnumbered deaths by 1.59 to 1, which is a bit better than the national average. And although just over 653,000 New Yorkers moved out of the state during that period, nearly 631,000 immigrants arrived. Of course, many have been illegal and low-wage. But many others have been foreign oligarchs who have rocketed the New York City real estate market into the stratosphere. In fact, the city's property and income tax receipts for the fiscal year ending June 30 are so immense that its budget surplus is likely to approach $1 billion. So there's no revenue shortage there.
Now let's move to one of Baldwin's more promising states: Florida. The Sunshine State has handily beaten the national average on 2011-2014 growth (7.07 percent) – although its performance has been affected by the depth of its housing-bust-fueled recession. On the surface, its population trends look good, too – as has historically been the case. In 2010, Floridians represented 6.09 percent of all Americans, but over the next give years, the state's increase came to 11.58 percent of the national total.
Less good, however, were the internals – especially for Baldwin's "death spiral" thesis. Florida's population growth has been powered by immigrants and Americans from other states to a roughly equal extent. Surely wealthy foreigners have been well represented in immigrant ranks along with poorly paid illegals. But anyone who knows Florida knows that many of the domestic migrants have been retirees. That can't bode well for the tax base.
Florida's neighbor, Georgia, is another odd Baldwin success story. Its 2011-2014 growth trailed the U.S. average (at 5.32 percent). Yet its population growth (4.16 percent of the nation's total) was greater than its 2010 share of the overall population (3.14 percent). It's true that Georgia's subpar population increase may eventually translate into stronger-than-average growth. But should that be considered a solid bet? Stranger still is the author's positive assessments of Missouri and Pennsylvania, which have been under-performing both in terms of economic and population growth.
Of course, Baldwin has pegged many states right. But misses that are this big, especially for places like New York and California, make clear that the sources of healthy growth and bright economic futures are much more varied than entitlement spending, government workforce sizes, and even generational demographics. Lifestyle clearly plays a major role – what else explains California consistently defying predictions of economic doom triggered by alarm over high taxes, burdensome regulations, and the like? Along with New York and Washington state (another one of Baldwin's losers, despite the attractions of Seattle), it's long likely to remain a magnet for talent, as well as wealth (whether ill-gotten or not).
Although I've never met Baldwin, I do know that Forbes has long been one of the media world's strongest champions of Darwinian free market thinking – and of course an equally ardent opponent to Big Government. So it looks reasonable to me that this ideology overwhelmed a more holistic view of economics and business – which his successors at Forbes might have realized just by looking out the windows of their Manhattan offices.
Im-Politic: Jeb Bush's Bubbly Florida Economy
2016 elections, construction, Financial Crisis, Florida, Great Recession, growth, housing bubble, Im-Politic, Jeb Bush, Jobs, mortgages, real estate
To lay my cards on the table right away, I'm not a Jeb Bush fan. I don't like the former Florida Governor's stances on trade and immigration policy. I don't find him at all impressive on any major domestic economic issues or on foreign policy. And I would be troubled by the (further) triumph of nepotism his election as president would signal. (And yes, a Hillary Clinton victory would create much the same problem.)
At the same time, except for the dynasticism angle, I have many of those above problems with many of this year's other Republican presidential hopefuls. So the following isn't meant to sway your political preferences – just to remind you how looking under the hood is every bit as important in evaluating office-seekers as in analyzing economic data. And more specifically, why your antenna should have been set off today by Bush's claims about his economic record in the Tallahassee statehouse.
According to Bush, during his 1999-2007 tenure as governor, "We made Florida number one in job creation and number one in small business creation. 1.3 million new jobs, 4.4 percent growth, higher family income, eight balanced budgets, and tax cuts eight years in a row that saved our people and businesses 19 billion dollars."
But the dates of his term represent a broad hint that these economic achievements amounted to a pyrrhic victory for the state. For Bush's governorship occurred during the interlocking housing and credit bubble that marked the whole U.S. economy during the previous decade. And anyone who's been following housing in recent years knows that few mortgage markets were more bloated than Florida's, and that few states have suffered more from the bubble's bursting.
The official U.S. government data bear out this claim. Between 1999 and 2007, Florida's economy strongly outgrew the nation's as a whole, expanding by 35.63 percent after inflation versus 21.86 percent for the United States overall. But the housing bubble was a major reason. The real estate sector fueled 22.33 percent of the state's real growth during that period, and construction contributed another 6.51 percent. Nation-wide, real estate generated 14.44 percent of real growth from 1999 to 2007, and construction actually shrank, as building activity began losing steam before the financial crisis struck full blown.
Largely as a result, during the two years after Bush left office, Florida's economy contracted by just over 10 percent after inflation – a much deeper downturn than the 3.22 percent nation-wide slump. So Florida during the Jeb Bush years paid even less attention to the quality of growth than did America as a whole during the comparable George W. Bush years, and paid the price.
Jeb Bush is technically correct in touting Florida job creation during his governorship. From 1997 to 2008, total non-farm employment increased by 1.35 million – a 20.28 percent gain that was nearly double the 10.76 percent rise in jobs nationally. But the housing bubble, again, was a major contributor. During the 1999-2007 Bush years, construction and real estate produced 12.90 percent of those Florida job gains, versus 12.61 percent nationally. (All these and the following employment data are not seasonally adjusted.)
Even more revealingly, this job-creation mix resulted in Florida faring much worse than the rest of the nation during the recession in employment terms as well. From the recession's December, 2007 onset (just when Jeb Bush's second term was ending), through the nation's employment nadir in absolute terms (January, 2010), the state lost 11.67 percent of its total non-farm jobs. The overall economy lost 8.26 percent of its jobs. This Florida out-performance was led by a stunning loss of more than 40 percent of its construction jobs (versus 28.81 percent nation-wide) and 16.52 percent of its real estate jobs (versus 10.92 percent nation-wide).
Jeb Bush can by no means be blamed for the housing bubble. But by the same token, that bubble deserves considerable credit for the Sunshine State's apparent economic success during his governorship. Sadly for Floridians, their bubble left them even less well prepared for its bursting than most of the rest of their fellow Americans. Would Jeb Bush perform any better as president? No one can know for sure. What is certain is that his experience in state office can't possibly provide any clues.
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Madiha Afzal
Assistant Professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland
@MadihaAfzal
Madiha Afzal is assistant professor at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy and a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution. Her current work examines the roots of intolerance and extremism in Pakistan; the links between education and radicalization; and elections, voter behavior and legislator performance in Pakistan. Dr. Afzal has published in Public Choice, and is the author of a USIP special report on Education and Attitudes in Pakistan, as well as several book chapters. Her book on extremism in Pakistan will be published by Brookings Press in November 2017. She writes regularly for Pakistani and international publications including Express Tribune, Dawn, The Friday Times, Cairo Review, Foreign Policy, Newsweek, and Washington Post. She has been interviewed by media outlets including BBC World News, BBC radio, NPR, CNN, and VOA. She was named to Lo Spazio della Politica's list of Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2013.
Recent work by Madiha Afzal
Democracy in Pakistan: Elections tell us why politicians behave badly
Politicians in Pakistan provide patronage and are perceived as corrupt. Regime instability and incumbency disadvantage may explain their behaviour.
Articles : Institutions & Political Economy

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About EN
'Tina
matteo@matteobb.com
About enmax2018-08-01T11:27:11+01:00
Matteo B. Bianchi is an Italian novelist and a tv writer.
He published the following novels: "Generations of love", "Fermati tanto così", "Esperimenti di felicità provvisoria" (Dalai editore), "Apocalisse a domicilio" (Marsilio), "Generations of love – Extensions" and the latest "Maria accanto" (Fandango).
He also published the fairy tale "Tu Cher dale stelle" (Playground).
He edited a dictionary, with writer Giorgio Vasta, called "Dizionario affettivo della lingua italiana" (The Italian language affective dictionary).
He wrote the daily radio show "Dispenser" broadcasted by Radio Due Rai and is among the writers of several tv-shows, such as "Victor Victoria" (La7), "Quelli che il calcio" (Rai Due), "The X factor" and the late night show "E poi c'è Cattelan" (Sky Uno). He also wrote the screenplays of five short movies, all directed by Max Croci, for Sky Cinema Channel.
He is the founder and only editor of the literary review 'tina.
His last book is the biography "Yoko Ono – Dichiarazioni d'amore per una donna circondata d'odio" (Yoko Ono – Declarations of love for a woman surrounded by hate) for Add publishing.
Some of his books has been translated abroad.
"Generations of love" was published in France (by Grancher), in Spain (by Egales editorial) and in Slovenia (by Lambda).
The fairy tale, with the title "Cher, upon a midnight clear", was published in the US by Four Cats press.
One of his short stories was published in Germany in the anthology "Animaliter" (by Dusseldorf University Press) and another one in the Netherlands in the anthology "En förebånde dröm" (by Bokförlaget Tranan).
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Home> Publications & Directories> Perspectives on History> Issues> March 2016> AHA Today> The "Depression Disease": What the United States' First National Lead Poisoning Crisis Can Teach Us about the Flint Water Disaster
AHA Today
The "Depression Disease": What the United States' First National Lead Poisoning Crisis Can Teach Us about the Flint Water Disaster
Guest Blogger | Mar 14, 2016
By Leif Fredrickson
In 1932, a young girl showed up at the Johns Hopkins Hospital with dire symptoms suggesting lead poisoning. A physician who went to the girl's home to locate the source initially suspected lead paint, but couldn't find any. When a neighbor suggested that the source could be the battery casings that families in the neighborhood were burning for fuel and warmth, the physician tested them and found that they were saturated with lead. In the months following the discovery of that first case of lead poisoning, dozens more children showed up in Baltimore and other cities' hospitals with similar symptoms.
An advertisement for lead-acid batteries, which came into widespread circulation in the 1920s as automobile useincreased. Once the batteries were depleted, junk yards would recover the lead for re-smelting and discard the wood casing. Although some battery manufacturers began using hard rubber cases, many continued to use wood in the 1930s. These wood cases were soaked in lead, and burned with a foul, poisonous stench when used as fuelwood by the poor during the Great Depression. Source: Horseless Age43 (2): 82/Wikimedia Commons.
Considering past lead poisoning crises, such as the one that struck Baltimore in the 1930s, has the potential to teach us valuable lessons about how current crises in cities like Flint, Michigan, could be resolved. In particular, Baltimore's lead poisoning epidemic during the Great Depression can teach us two things: that framing lead poisoning victims as casualties of larger economic or political forces, rather than focusing narrowly on racial disparities or immediate circumstances, makes them more likely to receive help; and that permanently replacing sources of lead as opposed to applying stopgap measures is critical to both the short- and long-term resolutions.
Within days of learning about the burgeoning epidemic in Baltimore, the City Health Department (BCHD), under commissioner Huntington Williams, took action. The BCHD found that junk dealers were recycling lead-acid batteries, and then selling the metal and discarding the wooden casings. These junk dealers were concentrated in a five by seven block neighborhood in East Baltimore, whose residents were primarily black and poor. With the onset of the Great Depression, these residents began using the discarded casings for fuel in their woodstoves—they lacked gas hookups or even clean burning liquid fuel stoves. As the Great Depression continued, demand for casings increased.
Williams soon sounded a national alarm about the epidemic—he published an article on it in 1933, and more importantly, mailed dozens of letters to commissioners, physicians, and lead industry executives around the United States drawing attention to the problem. At the local level, the BCHD disseminated information about the hazards of burning battery casings using its own publications and radio broadcasts. It also assisted local papers in covering the epidemic, and carried out door-to-door surveys that informed residents and businesses of the problem. Finally, the BCHD helped remove access to the battery casings. Williams banned selling or giving away battery casings, and after junk dealers complained about garbage dumps raising their prices on battery casings in response to the increased demand for disposal, arranged for free delivery and incineration by the city.
Poorly constructed and vented stoves in slum houses caused indoor pollution—a problem that became particularly significant when desperate tenants burned the casings from lead-acid batteries. Source: Citizens Planning and Housing Association Collection, University of Baltimore Langsdale Library Special Collections.
While some households switched fuel sources when they learned of the poisoning danger, many did not. One man with 400 casings in his cellar refused to give them up until another fuel was delivered. The reason is not hard to understand—reliable heating was literally a matter of life and death. Thus, the problem did not end until families were provided alternate sources of fuel, such as coal, from the Family Welfare Association, a charitable organization.
Baltimore's 1930s epidemic is significant because it was the first to gain national attention in the United States, and because it pushed Baltimore, and ultimately the United States, into the modern era of public health approaches to child lead poisoning, which included screening with blood tests, reporting and tracking cases, and enacting policies aimed at prevention. But it is also significant for what it shows us about how to respond effectively to current problems stemming from lead pipes and lead paint in Flint and other places in the United States.
Baltimore organizations sought to replace the source of lead poisoning by not only regulating the source, but by proactively subsidizing an alternative. They banned the sale and distribution of battery casings, and even helped foot the bill for getting rid of them. Most importantly, they funded alternative fuel sources for families. Unfortunately, this was only a stopgap measure—just as the provision of bottled water to Flint residents is. Impoverished Baltimoreans got coal, but not gas hookups. The result was that lead poisoning from battery casings re-emerged during World War II, and later, not just in Baltimore, but also in Butte, Montana; Whiteville, North Carolina; and in other places. Similarly, we can expect more Flints as long as we continue using lead pipes to deliver water to people.
A woman cooks on a wood stove in Baltimore in the 1940s while a baby sleeps nearby. Despite the expansion of gas service in the Baltimore metropolitan area, many low-income Baltimoreans did not have access to this energy source. Some used lead-acid battery casings for fuel, especially during the Great Depression, which exposed residents in cramped quarters to lead pollution. Source: Citizens Planning and Housing Association Collection, University of Baltimore Langsdale Library Special Collections.
One of the reasons that the response to lead poisoning was effective in the short term, but not in the long term, was because of how the framing of the issue changed once the Great Depression was over. During the Depression, rather than blaming either the junk yard owners who distributed battery casings or the families that used them, government officials blamed broader economic forces for the crisis and painted the issue as one that concerned the entire nation. Williams stressed the disproportionate effects on poor blacks, but dubbed the epidemic the "Depression Disease." The Indiana State Board of Health likewise wrote that the poisonings vividly showed "the depth to which economic conditions have driven many people," and it argued that "lead poisoning should not be added to the grim price which many people are already paying for economic conditions over which they have no control." This framing acknowledged social disparities in poisonings while also tying them to a broader issue in a way that cultivated solidarity with, and responsibility for, the victims.
In contrast, once the Great Depression was over, lead poisoning came to be seen as an issue that concerned only racially marginalized groups. Victims of lead poisoning—from batteries, lead paint, and other sources—remained disproportionately black and poor and their plight was seen as separate from larger, shared economic problems. As such, there was little political will to fix them in the name of the broader interest of the cities or the nation. Worse yet, some health experts, with the help of the lead industry, shifted the blame for lead poisoning onto the victims themselves.
In Flint, the negligent and potentially criminal role of government officials has mostly precluded victim-blaming. But there is danger in tying the lead poisoning problems of the city too closely with the proximate actions of Governor Snyder, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other officials. Seeing the issue of lead poisoning in Flint as being limited to the actions of a few government officials narrows both the scope of the problem and how we respond to it. It's important to see the complications with Flint's water supply as arising out of broader issues with deindustrialization and the failure of fractured local governance in the United States to fairly and adequately provide for its citizens.
Moreover, lead exposure in Flint is not only the result of its water supply problems—it is also the result of the lingering problem of lead paint. Indeed, many other cities have worse lead poisoning rates than Flint. The reason is lead paint, which is the most important source of lead exposure. Not only is it important to note the role of the lead industry in pushing a known health hazard, but it is critical to understand the disproportionate impact of lead paint on low-income, black people reflects our history of racist housing policies. Knowledge of past episodes of lead poisoning in the country can allow historians, as well as government officials, to situate lead poisoning and other public health problems in broader political and economic structures. Doing so is good history and good politics.
Leif Fredrickson is a PhD candidate at the University of Virginia and Mellon Fellow at the Digital Scholarship Lab at the University of Richmond. His dissertation is titled "The Age of Lead: Environmental Health, Metropolitan Change, and Urban Underdevelopment in Baltimore, 1900–2000."
This post first appeared on AHA Today.
Tags: AHA Today Current Events in Historical Context African American History Environmental History Social History Urban History


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Budget burns books
Librarians worry about the future of their jobs and of literacy in Nevada schools
Mary Alice McGee, the librarian at Pine Middle School, says she's already swamped, but she fears that things will get much worse—soon.
It is a dark and potentially stormy night for school libraries in Washoe County, where specters of budget cuts loom. Rumors from the far-off Land of California frighten Nevada's Keepers of Words. It is said of California that public school librarians there have gone the way of the dodo. It is said that parent volunteers now take shifts checking out books from the decimated shelves. It is said that instruction in library research has become sporadic and, in some cases, non-existent.
These tales worry school librarians such as Mary Alice McGee at Pine Middle School. McGee, who has a master's degree in library science, calls herself "the real McCoy," and she looks it—from her comfortable shoes to her short, white hair to her wire-framed glasses. Her days are frenzied. This story begins with an apology because she doesn't have time to sit down and talk Friday, though she's happy to have a reporter follow her around as she works.
"We've had projects, projects, projects, projects," she says. "Now we're trying to get everything wrapped up."
Four kids walk in to use the Internet. Besides having one computer in every classroom, Pine's library has four Internet stations for the school's 1,300 students. McGee chats with students, looks up each name in a binder. To use the Internet, each student must have a signed permission slip on file. While McGee looks up names, more students arrive, returning books at the last minute or asking to take quizzes that accompany the school's accelerated reader books.
McGee tells the students that they have to share a computer. They have 10 minutes to find and print out the needed information.
"Then you're out," she tells them. In a half-second between setting up these students and greeting a shy boy she addresses as José, she turns to me: "I'm in the trenches here."
She asks José if he knows where two overdue library books are.
José shakes his head no.
"I'll print out a list of the books you have, and you look for them, OK?"
She turns to another group walking in the door: "Can I help you?"
Parents worry over music and sports in the schools. Talk of cuts to the JROTC receive plenty of attention, as did cuts to alternative education such as the Regional Technical Institute. But possible cuts to the school libraries would affect students at every level of their educations, says Ellen Fockler, the school district's library media coordinator. Studies done in several states, such as Texas, Colorado and Alaska, all show a positive correlation, she says, between well-stocked libraries run by trained librarians and higher test scores.
In Nevada, the growing number of transient and English-as-a-second-language students makes the state goal of getting every child to read by the third grade extra hard. Many of these students, Fockler says, don't have access to printed materials at home. Many have no way to get to a public library other than the one at school.
"So many times libraries operate in the background," Fockler says. "It's one of those things you miss the most when it isn't there. They really are essential, and even more essential now that we have so many little guys who don't have the resources at home."
At first glance, the proposed school district cut doesn't look terribly frightening. On the list of possible trims, a 10 percent cut to library services is sandwiched between identical cuts to counseling for K-12 and school police.
The cut would mean a loss of about 11 full-time-equivalent positions, which translates to losing a bunch of part-time positions. No educational level would be exempt.
In high schools, library assistants would be fired. Since some high schools have libraries that open at 6 a.m. and don't close until after 3:30 p.m. (almost 10 hours a day), Fockler says that the loss of an assistant could cause the library to be closed for part of the day, whether that's in the best interest of students or not.
In middle schools, assistant-librarian hours would be cut and schools would share librarians. That scares McGee, who finds herself stretched just trying to deal with Pine's 1,300 students with help from assistant Anne Dickerson for five hours a day.
What worries Fockler the most is cuts at the elementary school level, where librarians are hourly employees with annual incomes of $13,000 to $21,000. Each elementary school has one such librarian, and the proposed cuts would directly affect both the librarians' already-low salaries and the number of hours the library could be open.
"To reach the amount we have to reach, we have to cut enough hours so that the school libraries will have to be closed one full day every two weeks, or a half-day every week," Fockler says. That will cut into literacy programs like the accelerated reader program, where kids come to the library once a week during class time.
"This limits access to the library," Fockler says. "It's hard enough to get every class into the library every week. … We can't teach these kids to read if we can't give them books to read. Access to the school library is doubly important."
Once upon a time, McGee's annual budget for new books and technology was around $25,000—now it's lurking around $5,000. That has to cover supplies, instructional videos, software, encyclopedias that run between $800 and $1,200 per set and new books (average cost $18) and books to replace about $1,000 worth of reading materials that get lost each year.
One year, McGee spent her entire budget on a new computer.
"The money has dwindled," she says, dismally pointing out old filmstrips and vinyl records that she keeps around because there isn't any money to replace them with updated media. It is hard, she admits, to keep machinery like filmstrip projectors and record players running. You can't exactly buy new parts for these 1960s and 1970s circa gizmos.
McGee is proud of several rows of VHS tapes, including a few homemade tapes. Buying educational material on video tape is getting harder. Seems the rest of the world is moving to something called DVDs. McGee predicts that Pine won't be upgrading any time soon.
McGee moves on through her domain, kicking kids off computers, helping others locate needed materials. She points to stacks of books purchased as Nevada Young Readers and a small shelf of books in Spanish that were purchased through a generous Dermody Foundation donation. Even a few hundred dollars is put to good use, McGee says.
Between students who begin school without speaking any English and those who are in eighth grade and still reading at a kindergarten level, the challenge seems clear.
"We've gotten edicts to get those reading levels up," she says. "So we do everything possible. … But we are swamped. The problem is that there isn't enough time in the day."
McGee credits legislators like Nevada Sen. Bernice Martin Mathews with helping get small amounts of additional funding from the state. At-risk schools can apply for small grants (a few hundred dollars or so) from the fund to buy additional resources for the libraries.
"It may not be a lot of money," she says. "But money is money. … The biggest concern right now is keeping all of this going."
Talking about Iraq
Born to burn
Another Beers bungle
Canine walkers fight for their right to let mutts roam free year-round in part of Rancho San Rafael.
A step up for inmates


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Multiphase flow modeling tools have truly become a wide-spread and mature technology to gain insights into the flow characteristics of a broad range of multiphase flows. A survey of trade journal articles and scholarly publications attests to the increasing impact of multiphase flow modeling in solving everyday design and engineering challenges.
2. The volume of fluid method that is used to model flows that are separated at macroscopic (resolved using a mesh) length scales such as slug flows, open channel flows.


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achieving sustainability with economic goals
Eco & Business
In the previous articles, we have ascertained that Singapore is a country that has achieved a remarkable standard of cleanliness and has a government that possesses a high consideration for sustainability while growing the economy, and was willing to make several inconvenient decisions through the course of its history to defend it position on environmental protection. Now that Singapore has established itself as one of the world's most sophisticated economies, with the 6th highest GPD per capita in the world, how is the nation's economy continuing its pursuit of sustainability today? For that we have to examine Singapore's business scene, and how it is evolving.
Prioritising sustainability is not a natural pursuit for most firms who do not reap direct profits from it — in fact, making sustainability an organisational objective almost certainly increases the cost of operations and cost of production in the short-term. Firstly, some businesses would have to upgrade their capital goods or purchase addition equipment to ensure environmental friendliness. Secondly, greener materials are typically more expensive which would drive up the cost of production. The increased cost of production would then be translated into higher selling prices, which would be detrimental to business. The intrinsic price of a 'green' material (which can include recycled materials) is not greater than 'non-green' materials. According to Edwin Seah, Executive Director of Singapore Environment Council (SEC), "if you increase the demand for green products, it will help to bring the cost to almost the same as products which are not sustainably produced".
Most businesses want to be more sustainable but need an impetus, a push toward it. That is where the government steps in. The Singapore government has many initiatives to give businesses this push. Most come in the form of subsidies and funding schemes over a broad category of aspects.
Energy Efficiency & Clean Energy
Energy Efficiency Improvement Assistance Scheme (EASe)
This initiative, set up by the NEA, helps and provides funding for companies in the manufacturing and building sectors engage energy services companies to conduct energy audits and identify potential areas for energy efficiency improvements. This is beneficial for the company in the long run as they are able to save on energy costs.
Green Mark Incentive Scheme (GMIS)
The GMIS was set up by the BCA and URA to encourage both building developers (for new buildings at its design stage) and building owners (for existing buildings) to focus on energy efficient and to undertake energy improvements in their respective situations. Subsidies would be presented accordingly after the Green Mark has been awarded.
Water Efficiency Funds
This fund encourages firms to be efficient in their usage of water. Subsidies would be given to companies who hit a certain efficiency. Funding is also available for water recycling efforts and use of alternative source of water.
Green Transport and Shipping
Carbon Emissions-Based Vehicle Scheme (CEVS)
Newly imported cars that manage to achieve a certain level of emissions would qualify for rebates from LTA.
These are but 4 of the 35 initiatives started by the government as at 2015.
Besides government initiatives, some private companies like Green Future Solutions are providing consultancy services to help SMEs reduce costs, increase revenue, and become more sustainable promoting environmental awareness and action. Founding Director Eugene Tay believes that "business owners will be in a better position to build up their reputation and enhance their brand as a sustainable company. The business can then market its environmental practices or the environmental benefits of its products or services," His aim is to help businesses reduce the environmental impact of their products throughout its life cycle, at every part of the value chain by exploring the demand for green products and services. The goal is to give them a competitive advantage while increasing environmental consideration.
Eugene Tay, Founder and Director of Green Futures Solutions during a Presentation.
Tay, E (2015, February 16) Sustainability and Business in Singapore. Green Future Solutions. Retrieved from http://www.greenfuture.sg/2015/02/16/2015-guide-to-singapore-government-funding-and-incentives-for-the-environment/
Tech in Asia (2012) How businesses in Singapore are going green. Techniasia. Retrieved from https://www.techinasia.com/how-businesses-are-going-green
URA (n.d.) Planning for Long-term Sustainability. URA. Retrieved from https://www.ura.gov.sg/uol/about-us/our-work/planning-long-term-sustainability.aspx
Saad, I (2015) How companies are going green. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/how-singapore-companies/2189844.html
Author sustainablyeconomicPosted on October 8, 2016 October 12, 2016
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The Romans read entrails to discern the future.
to buy themselves time in the dust of Masada.
ignoring our spot in the extinction parade.
Long unsettled--we're feeling the brunt of it now.
If only we listened to the animals when we could.
Dreaming of insects in our dug out caves.
the snow, stopping to cough, then rising like blurred smoke in the storm.
Donald Trump's administration has reportedly banned the Center for Disease Control from using seven words and phrases, including "science-based" and "transgender," in documents it is working on for next year's budget.
is that we shall hence renounce our sense of entitlement.
transfiguring the fall of entitlement. Now to empower the vulnerable.
Roger W. Hecht is an Associate Professor of English at SUNY College at Oneonta. His poetry collection, Talking Pictures, was issued by Cervena Barva Press. His work has recently appeared in Bracken, A-Minor, Sheila-na-gig, and Yes Poetry. He lives in Ithaca, NY.


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Lesbos (druhý pád Lesbu, řecky: Λέσβος, turecky: Midilli) je řecký ostrov v severovýchodní části Egejského moře. Spolu s okolními malými neobydlenými ostrůvky tvoří stejnojmennou obec, jež je zároveň regionální jednotkou spadající pod kraj Severní Egeis. Se svou rozlohou 1 630 km² a délkou pobřeží 320 km je třetím největším ostrovem Řecka a osmým největším ostrovem Středomoří. Třetina obyvatel žije ve správním středisku Mytilini nacházejícím se na jihovýchodě ostrova. Další větší města ostrova jsou Kalloni, Plomari, Ayassos, Eressos, Molyvos a Petra. Vyrábí se zde proslulé lesboské sardelky a ouzo.

Obyvatelstvo

V obci a tedy i v regionální jednotce žilo v roce 2011 86 436 obyvatel. Obec Lesbos se člení na třináct obecních jednotek, které se dále skládají z komunit a ty z jednotlivých sídel, tj. měst a vesnic. V závorkách je uveden počet obyvatel obecních jednotek a komunit.
 Obecní jednotka Agia Paraskevi (2497) - komunity: Agia Paraskevi (2234), Napi (263).
 Obecní jednotka Agiasos (2373) - komunity: Agiasos (2373).
 Obecní jednotka Eresos-Antissa (5269) - komunity: Antissa (1205), Chidira (472), Eresos (1611), Mesotopos (904), Pterounta (146), Sigri (333), Vatoussa (598).
 Obecní jednotka Evergetoulas (2771) - komunity: Asomatos (259), Ippeio (847), Kato Tritos (646), Kerameia (402), Lampou Myloi (89), Mychos (230), Sykounta (298).
 Obecní jednotka Gera (6101) - komunity: Mesagros (766), Palaiokipos (1112), Pappados (1588), Perama (726), Plakados (302), Skopelos (1607).
 Obecní jednotka Kalloni (8504) - komunity: Agra (1013), Anemotia (449), Arisvi (700), Dafia (1009), Filia (685), Kalloni (2171), Kerami (1054), Parakoila (818), Skalochori (605).
 Obecní jednotka Loutropoli Thermis (3135) - komunity: Komi (139), Loutropoli Thermis (1066), Mistegna (539), Nees Kydonies (553), Pigi (350), Pyrgoi Thermis (488).
 Obecní jednotka Mantamados (2447) - komunity: Kapi (546), Kleio (378), Mantamados (1172), Pelopi (351).
 Obecní jednotka Mithymna (2255) - komunity: Argennos (209), Lepetymnos (167), Mithymna (1570), Sykaminia (309).
 Obecní jednotka Mytilene (37890) - komunity: Afalonas (482), Agia Marina (746), Alyfanta (646), Loutra (1420), Moria (1450), Mytilene (29656), Pamfila (1477), Panagiouda (906), Taxiarches (1107).
 Obecní jednotka Petra (3358) - komunity: Lafionas (154), Petra (1208), Skoutaros (1037), Stypsi (855), Ypsilometopo (104).
 Obecní jednotka Plomari (5602) - komunity: Akrasi (228), Ampeliko (326), Megalochori (347), Neochori (169), Palaiochori (338), Plagia (618), Plomari (3276), Trygonas (300).
 Obecní jednotka Polichnitos (4234) - komunity: Lisvori (453), Polichnitos (2406), Stavros (87), Vasilika (436), Vrisa (852).

Historie
Podle starých bájí byl prvním králem na ostrově Makaras, syn Boha slunce Helia. Podle jeho dětí byla pojmenovaná významná místa na ostrově, podle zetě samotný ostrov. Lesbos je zmiňován v obou dílech Homéra. Zhruba 1 100 let. př. n. l. se rozvíjela první města Mytilény a Achilleion, Ostrov byl v průběhu staletí pod nadvládou Peršanů, Římanů, Benátčanů, Turků. K Řecku byl ostrov připojen v roce 1914. Během druhé světové války byl okupován Němci.

Migrační krize
V průběhu roku 2015 připlulo z Turecka na ostrov Lesbos přes deset tisíc imigrantů ze zemí Asie, jako je Sýrie, Pákistán, Irák nebo Írán. Byl zde zřízen tábor Moria, který ale nápor migrantů nezvládá. Každému příchozímu člověku je přidělena jedna přikrývka a jídlo. Přes den sem přijde přes tisíc uprchlíků, mnoho z nich se ale při cestě utopí a k ostrovu se po moři dostanou pouze jejich těla. Na Lesbos přijíždí tolik migrantů, jelikož se jedná o nejbližší obyvatelný ostrov od Asie.

Zajímavosti
Ostrov Lesbos je také znám jako působiště starořecké básnířky Sapfó. Díky tomu je ostrov vyhledáván páry s lesbickou orientací. Narodil se zde obávaný osmanský pirát řeckého původu Chajruddín Barbarossa. O ostrově psal i poslední český dekadent Josef Šimánek ve své sbírce Bohové na zemi. V novele Ztracený nápěv jeho hrdina s českým jménem Molpovský – řecky Eumolpos proniká do orfických mystérií a tajemství ostrova.

Na ostrově je zkamenělý prales starý 20 milionů let. Další zajímavostí ostrova je starý římský akvadukt v Morii nebo vesnička Eftalou, do které lidé jezdí za léčbou závažných nemocí pomocí místních léčivých vod ze sopečných pramenů. Ve městě Molyvos je větší hrad a v hlavním městě Mytilini je pak jeden z největších hradů Středomoří vůbec, na hradě je obří podzemní cisterna – zakončení akvaduktu z Morie a víc než 600 metrů podzemních krypt. Z městečka Petra je možné jít pěšky do města Anaxos po pláži. V Petře je také kostelík Panny Marie sladce líbající se 114 schody stojící na osamělém skalním suku s výhledem na moře.

Cesta z Česka na ostrov Lesbos trvá leteckou dopravou málo přes 2 hodiny.

Reference

Související články
 Řecké ostrovy

Externí odkazy

 Cestovní příručka o Lesbu (anglicky)
 O Lesbu na Orbionu

Regionální jednotky v Severním Egeis
Obce v Severním Egeis
Ostrovy Severního Egeis
Ostrovy Egejského moře

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


specifications︰ It owns precise optical structure,clear optical line and precise measurement.
Digital display for measurenent result and spearately values displayed for left and right eyes.
Easy operation adn quick speed of measuring.
which could save the electricity and keep the data well.
It can also be used in monocular the left eye and right eye separately.


Low birthrates aren't the result of economic growth and political stability; they're a prerequisite.
There is a well-known story about how a society stabilizes its population. As a country transitions from poverty to affluence, birthrates plunge—from six or eight children per woman to just about two. Population growth levels off. Prosperity and education, the story goes, are just about the best form of birth control there is. But this tale gets it backward. Low birthrates aren't a consequence of national wealth; rather, they're needed to create it. Soaring unemployment, endemic poverty, and flailing schools are quite simply impossible to combat when every year adds more and more people.
Who's Laughing Now: Zelensky or Putin?


Traditional lomi massage in Hawai'i developed over many generations by the people of the islands. Lomilomi begins and centers on a state of consciousness that reflects the grace and aloha of Hawai'i and her people. The most important ingredient of lomilomi is a genuine and unpretentious way of being with yourself, your spirit guides or guardians, your client, and Akua (God or Spirit). Lomilomi is the hands-on manifestation of aloha and unconditional love skillfully delivered into the soft tissues of the body.
In the Hawaiian tradition, purification precedes any hands-on massage. The body is cleansed physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It's just as critical to make pono (realign; correct) the client's self-defeating thoughts, as it is to address his or her physical problems. Individual ties to any negative person, place, or thing are corrected with the help of a higher power. The Hawaiians of old believed that each person was born "a perfect bowl of light" so healing was about helping the process of returning to one's true divine nature. In traditional lomilomi bodywork, medicinal herbs, ti plants, Hawaiian salt, stones, sweat lodges, water immersion, hot rocks, and lomi sticks are all frequently used as healing tools.
Like all healing arts, lomilomi has evolved over the millennia. It was influenced by the Asian healing arts as well as European practices. The techniques are not difficult, yet their proper application takes years to master. They enable the physical and energetic systems of the body to flush out, transform, and revitalize as the soft tissues are gently but firmly loosened, separated, and loved. It encompasses releasing and forgiving in order to bring all aspects of self into alignment. It is holy and holistic, sacred yet practical.
One of the biggest misconceptions people have about lomilomi is that it is a specific set technique or routine. The actual massage techniques were only part of the lomilomi treatment. There are probably more versions of lomilomi than any other type of bodywork. Hawaiian lomilomi has as many styles as it has practitioners. All the great original practitioners did lomilomi differently. Each island, every extended family, each ahupua'a (land division from ocean to mountain), and each system of healing was unique.
Lomilomi is difficult to write or read about because it was essentially an unwritten art. Many people today are trying to understand the depth of the old styles done by the elders who have since 'walked the rainbow' into Sprit. Primarily due to the wonderful oli (chants) and keen memorization skills so valued by their culture, specific family traditions survived for many generations. Medicinal recipes, the gathering and cultivation of secrets, and the knowledge of when it was kapu to use certain practices or substances were mastered and passed down by the kahuna la'au lapa'au (herbal medicine master).After the missionaries taught the native Hawaiians how to read and write, many plant formulas and healing testimonials were written down in the Hawaiian language in journals kept by the herbalists. Some of this knowledge has been archived and preserved for future generations.


text:
Lloyd & Nancy Harline - Mission to Ethiopia
Dec 28, 2018 02:42PM ● By Donia Moore
Lloyd and Nancy Harline with locals in traditional dress.
by Donia Moore
Lloyd and Nancy Harline discovered that bumping into someone can really have a lasting effect, depending where, when and with whom you do it. The longtime San Clemente residents and founders of the Rancho San Clemente Tennis Club got a first-hand look at cultural traditions when they recently relocated to Ethiopia on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Harline Family in Ethiopia
Spending one and a half years living in Addis Ababa, the capital of the east African nation, they learned that warm greetings extended to one another can involve an embrace of bumping right shoulder to right shoulder. For women not only a hand shake but, for men especially, and further to women (if a close friend or relative, then also woman to man) there is a cheek to cheek kiss on one side, then another, then back again (three times).
It feels as though you are instantly closer to that person and the greeting is always accompanied by smiles and warm gestures of friendship," says Nancy. "The word for foreigners there is ferengi, an Arabic word meaning frankish. So, to be 'frank,' there are plenty of things there that were very foreign to us but many of them are becoming our favorite things. Interestingly, when we saw another white ferengi we frequently had the thought, 'Hmmm, he (or she) looks out-of-place,' since we could go days without seeing another white person. Then the thought usually settled in rather quickly that, 'Hmmm that means that WE look out-of-place!' We forgot about our skin color until, perhaps, one of the little children stared at us, smiled, and then might ask to touch our hair (Nancy's auburn hair can look really foreign)! We are truly ferengi in appearance, but were almost always treated as new favorite friends."
During their mission, the Harlines quickly developed a list of favorite ferengi facts. "Ethiopia has a population of 107 million people. In Africa, they are second only to Nigeria, which has 187 million. It is about the size of California and Texas combined (about 67 million, with California at 39 million and Texas at almost 28 million)."
Nancy shared, "Apparently, 50% of its population is under 25 years of age, so we felt rather ferengi being way older than most people. And, we have also lived beyond their average life expectancy of 65 years. By the way, most of the women will straight up ask my age which is definitely a ferengi inquiry among American women. I usually heard either an audible gasp or witnessed a definite raised eyebrow when they heard my answer."
Ethiopia, in the Horn of Africa, is a rugged, landlocked country split by the Great Rift Valley, which stretches all the way to South Africa. With archaeological finds dating back more than three million years, it's a place of ancient culture. Among its important sites are Lalibela with its rock-cut Christian churches from the 12th–13th centuries. Aksum is the ruins of an ancient city with obelisks, tombs, castles and Our Lady Mary of Zion church. This mission provided an amazing opportunity to travel to a developing region that needs assistance in almost every walk of life. The LDS Charities has donated millions of dollars over 30 years in humanitarian aid into Ethiopia.
Nancy and Lloyd did not just step off into the unknown without any preparation. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is known worldwide for its training centers for outgoing missionaries. It provided the Harlines with training about their responsibilities. Among the things they learned was that Ethiopia had two official languages: Amharic and English. Although many people speak English, many more still speak Amharic.
Nancy explains this best. "With 34 characters in the Amharic language, it appears deceptively simple. The challenges start when you realize that each of the 34 characters has the same seven basic sounds attached. So, you have 238 variations along with about a dozen other exceptions to learn as well. Add to that the fact that there are at least 83 other tribal languages and 200 dialects also spoken in Ethiopia and that leaves a lot of room for miscommunication! We mostly were able to communicate in English."
Arriving in Africa in May of 2016, they soon realized that their first few months were going to be challenging. Their responsibilities in Addis Ababa were to support the field missionaries and help with the mounds of paperwork and government regulations that peppered their office. At one point, Lloyd became very ill and had to seek medical treatment. With the help of their Ethiopian office manager, they searched out the best hospital in Ethiopia which turned out to be a Korean-run hospital in Addis Ababa.
So far, so good, however the Harlines discovered that there were major delays for everything and that they had to pay the hospital before treatment could begin. Each process required hours of standing in long lines, sometimes with 50 people or more. After eight hours of delays and tests, it was determined that Lloyd had kidney stones. At the same time, Nancy contracted a viral infection called Bell's Palsy, which partially paralyzed her facial muscles. As the Korean hospital did not have the means to treat either of these afflictions, Nancy and Lloyd had to return to the states for medical care. But it wasn't more than three weeks before they found themselves once again in Ethiopia, readapting to the daily challenges of spotty electricity, unreliable internet, intermittent water service and poor public health.
Time often appears to move slowly in Ethiopia. In fact, it can literally stand still. Ethiopian time is based on a 12 hour day and a 12 hour night with the day beginning at 6am and ending at 6pm. Night is defined as being from 6pm to 6am. Therefore, 7 am western time is 1am Ethiopian time as you go back six hours. Many government and public places will have their clocks on Ethiopian time but almost everyone will look at you as a ferengi (foreigner) and tell you the time for an appointment or meeting according to western time.
Insulated as they were because of language and custom, a civil war was brewing right outside the capital that they did not know was coming. It became very dangerous to discuss politics in Ethiopia in the fall of 2016. A State of Emergency was declared by the government that was expected to last for six months. Nancy and Lloyd remained in Addis Ababa, along with all of the young missionaries who were recalled from outlying areas on the advice of the American Embassy. They could not travel more than 25 miles outside the capital. The presence of the federal police throughout the city exponentially increased. Although threatened, they felt safe and obeyed all the restrictions in the hope that their work could continue. Electricity became a thing of rare value because they never knew exactly when they would have it. "It always seemed to go out when I was in the middle of baking a batch of cookies," said Nancy. The internet went on a semi-permanent vacation when the Ethiopian government restricted it in its struggle to maintain control.
Being involved with construction via the Tennis Club, Lloyd was fascinated by the construction methods employed in Ethiopia. "It seemed to involve mostly sticks and stones," said Lloyd. He was also amazed at how quickly housing appeared. "There are so many high rise apartments that are being built by the government that it's mind boggling!
"The construction includes re-bar, cement and cement blocks, a floor at a time! The scaffolding and floor supports are 4-inch eucalyptus poles. Some buildings have lifts for the concrete to be transported up and some have eucalyptus pole ramps for the workers to walk up carrying buckets of concrete. It is scary, because I walked up one!"
Those who work at risk on the upper floors of the buildings are paid about $7.50 USD a day. The workers below receive about $4.00 USD daily. Cement blocks make up the exterior and interior walls. There is no electrical conduit laid inside the cement blocks. The blocks are chiseled out so the conduit can be placed. Plaster is then applied over the hole. The plumbing is all installed outside of the walls.
The Harline children and grandchildren came for a visit to Ethiopia before Nancy and Lloyd returned home. Impressed by these proud and warm people, they looked for ways that they could help too.
Their daughter, Alison Jennings, who lives in Gilbert, Arizona connected with a "Days for Girls" organization started in the United States which provides feminine hygiene kits for women in developing countries. She was able to receive instructional training and then collect one hundred handmade kits to distribute to women in Addis Ababa.
A young grandson, Garrett Jennings, cemented his Eagle Scout project by collecting over 300 soccer shirts at the end of the soccer season in the U.S., and secured a donation of 56 soccer balls for the avid young soccer players in Ethiopia.
While many people around the world associate Ethiopia with famine and poverty, the Ethiopians do not see themselves in this light. In fact they do not like their ferengi community to see them as other than a proud, unconquered people. And unlike many of their African neighbors, they were never conquered by outside powers: not by the British, not by the French, not by the Italians whom they chased out of their country with stones on several occasions. However, the Italian word Ciao remained behind and continues to be widely used throughout Ethiopia. And even though Addis Ababa is a bustling city of over 4 million people with a light rail system and many modern conveniences, there still can be found some of the worlds most primitive tribes living in southern Ethiopia
Although Lloyd and Nancy have warm memories and deep friendships with many of their Ethiopian neighbors, they are moving into the next phase of their lives. One of their life goals was to sell their popular Tennis Club and then serve their church as missionaries. They have now accomplished both.
When Lloyd was asked about their involvement with the new Fitness Club coming on his former Tennis Club site, he indicated that he was very ready for retirement. "It will be a wonderful addition to San Clemente's health and fitness community. Although they removed six of the 19 original tennis courts and relocated the pool in order to meet the city's requirements for parking, the new 50,000 sq. ft. clubhouse will be a luxury addition to the community."
There is an architectural rendering in the construction trailer on the site showing how the new club will look. In the meantime, the City of San Clemente has a number of tennis courts available throughout the city at Bonito Canyon Park, Forster Ranch Park, Liberty Park, Marblehead Park, San Louis Rey Park, and Verde Park for a friendly free, first come-first served, match; while residents patiently wait to wear their whites at the lovely new facility.
Follow their blog:
www.HarlineMission.com
Travel, People Holiday 2018


text:
@interface FEViewController ()

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@implementation FEViewController

- (void)viewDidLoad
{
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	// Do any additional setup after loading the view, typically from a nib.
}

- (IBAction)btnAction_login:(id)sender
{
    if (_txt_username.text.length == 0) {
        [_txt_username becomeFirstResponder];
        return;
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    if (_txt_password.text.length == 0) {
        [_txt_password becomeFirstResponder];
        return;
    }

    // cache
    id<FEUserModel> user = [FEUserManager createEmptyUser];
    [user setUserID:@"ID123"];
    [user setUsername:_txt_username.text];
    [user setPassword:_txt_password.text];
    [FEUserManager cacheUser:user];

    // segue to another view
    [FEAppDelegate changeRootToViewController:@"home" inStoryboard:nil];
}

@end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Good morning my sweet friends & welcome to another "Do Over Thursday".
Today is the day where my team will do a project OVER from a previous project!
Thank you all for stopping by & I hope you have a FABULOUS day my sweet friends!
As always the design team had beautiful oldies and do overs. Great job ladies!


text:
fbpinger
========

LibEvfibers based multi pinger


text:
Q: SharedPreferences integer addition I have a code... Its excellent save data and load data, but... When i reset application, my score loading, but when i click button for +5 score, my score reset and set 5. I am want that addition +5, but its dont work...
I understand that the problem of addition, because save and load working excellent, but addition doesnt work.
Sorry for my bad English :)
int mCounts;

@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

    setContentView(R.layout.appli);
    Settings = getSharedPreferences(APP_PREFERENCES, Context.MODE_PRIVATE);

    int mCounts = Settings.getInt(APP_PREFERENCES_SCORE, 1);
    score = (TextView) findViewById(R.id.score);

    score.setText(String.valueOf(mCounts));

}
public void five(View view) {
    score.setText(String.valueOf(mCounts += 5)+"");
}

public void onPause() {
    super.onPause();

    SharedPreferences.Editor editor = Settings.edit();
    editor.putInt(APP_PREFERENCES_SCORE, mCounts);
    editor.apply();

}

A: Try this code in your button:
    public void five(View view) {
        score.setText(String.valueOf(mCounts += 5)+"");

     SharedPreferences.Editor editor = Settings.edit();
        editor.putInt(APP_PREFERENCES_SCORE, mCounts);
        editor.apply();
    }

Problem is here:
int mCounts = Settings.getInt(APP_PREFERENCES_SCORE, 1);

Remove int. it will work

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


You are aware that TAX Revenue is collected for city, county. state etc. and not for a business to profit by it.
Go a ahead and complain to the BBB see where that gets you. You should be complaining to your state rep.
Starting on Wedneday Nov 14th.
No Xbox tax. Because they have no games?
Looks like another hit for Rock Star Games. I am sure there will be a PC release in a year. With the success of GTA V Online I do not see Rock Star avoiding the PC Gaming community. The first billion $ or more is in the games sales. The next 3 billion $ in reveune is in the microtransactions it will generate over the next 5 years.
Before GTA VI releases .
Great thread title man. Did you spend a lot of time thinking about it?
Anyway if it was PS3 I could help you.