In Hebei province, a major location for China’s Winter Olympics in 2022, ice and snow sports venues reported a drop of 2.78 million visits from 2019, according to Peng Weiyong, deputy director of the economic department of the General Administration of Sport. For the 2018-2019 season, Hebei province reported 10 million trips to its winter sports venues. Peng noted that more than 770 ski resorts have been built nationwide, and most have been closed since Jan. 24 due to the coronavirus. The closures also come amid historically high snowfall in the region. —Cheng
Cuando pensamos en una isla, la imagen que nos viene a la mente es algo parecido a lo que describe la Real Academia Española…
1. f. Porción de tierra rodeada de agua por todas partes.
Sin embargo, como la premisa básica de una isla es un pedazo de tierra rodeada por un ambiente totalmente distinto que las aísla, geográficamente existen también islas del cielo.
La idea de la isla del cielo nació en el continente americano, más precisamente en el desierto de Chihuahua, que se extiende a ambos lados de la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México, por los estados de Nuevo México, Texas y Arizona, a un lado, y Sonora, Chihuahua y Coahuila, por el otro.
El primero en introducirla fue Natt N. de Dodge, quien en un artículo para la revista Arizona Highways de 1943 describió a las montañas de Chiricahua como “islas de montaña en un mar de desierto“.
Derechos de autor de la imagen iStock
Pero fue el escritor naturalista estadounidense Weldon Heald quien popularizó el término a través de su libro “Isla del cielo” de 1967.
En el mismo año fue publicada una monografía muy influyente llamada “Teoría de la biogeografía insular“, escrita por dos respetados investigadores, los ecologistas Robert H. MacArthur, de la Universidad de Princeton, y Edward O. Wilson, de la Universidad de Harvard.
En ella, establecieron y explicaron los factores que afectan la riqueza de las especies de comunidades naturales.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Dominio Público
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MacArthur y Wilson se refirieron a las cimas de las mismas montañas del desierto de Chihuahua como islas del cielo.
Además, la monografía expandió el concepto de lo que es una isla, sacándola del océano y abriéndole un lugar en la tierra.
La teoría MacArthur-Wilson usó el término “islas del cielo” para referirse a las mismas cimas de las montañas del desierto de Chihuahua que Heald.
El término tuvo tal aceptación que a las montañas de la región que va desde la Sierra Madre de México hasta las Montañas Rocosas de Estados Unidos se las conoce como el ArchipiélagoMadrense.
Y con el reconocimiento del concepto se identificaron islas del cielo en otros lugares del mundo donde las montañas están aisladas por hábitats de tierras bajas.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Getty Images
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En las Ghats occidentales de India, con picos que se levantan entre 900 a 2.600 metros sobre el nivel del mar, hay varias islas del cielo espectaculares y únicas con una increíble variedad de microclimas.
Más que un bonito nombre
Aunque todas las cimas de las montañas nos parezcan aisladas, sobre todo cuando estamos en ellas, lo que tienen de especial las que reciben el nombre de islas del cielo es su hábitat.
Las islas del cielo a las que Weldon Heald se refirió -las montañas del sureste de Arizona- estuvieron aisladas desde el período glacial reciente, cuando los bosques montañosos quedaron rodeados por un mar de desierto.
Así como el agua en el caso de las islas, la arena actúa como una barrera para la dispersión de las especies y facilita la divergencia de las poblaciones aisladas.
Gracias a ello, en ellas se pueden encontrar especies endémicas -que no se encuentran en otras partes del mundo- y especies de refugiados o poblaciones relictas (organismos que solían ser abundantes y de las cuales sólo quedan pocos), así como animales cuyas migraciones son verticales, de abajo a arriba y viceversa.
No sorprende que para los científicos sean todo un tesoro.
En el agua o en el cielo, las islas siempre han sido lugares atractivos para los científicos, pues proveen un área controlada para el estudio, como lo fueron la islas Galápagos para Charles Darwin y el archipiélago Malayo para Alfred Russel Wallace, en las que ambos desarrollaron sus teorías de la evolución en el siglo XIX.
Los maravillosos tepuyes
Derechos de autor de la imagen Getty Images
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Los tepuyes son las formaciones expuestas más antiguas en el planeta; su origen data del Precámbrico, la primera y más larga etapa de la historia de la Tierra.
El concepto general de las islas del cielo se fue expandiendo y ahora incluye una variedad de hábitats de alta elevación separados por tierras bajas inhóspitas, que pueden ser mesetas, paramos y hasta praderas alpinas.
Hay islas del cielo mucho más antiguas que las del Archipiélago Madrense, como las de la región de la Gran Sabana Venezolana, que se formaron por la erosión de una meseta enorme.
Los ríos fueron cavando sus profundos cauces, dejando altas mesetas con paredes verticales llamadas tepuis, con bosques subtropicales fríos y húmedos en las alturas, separados por tropicales tierras bajas.
Muchas de las especies y subespecies que se encuentran en esa región evolucionaron in situ.
Pero si lo que buscas es una isla del cielo muy parecida a las del mar, la tuya es la Sierra del Carmen del norteño estado mexicano de Coahuila.
Está tan aislada que muestra los fuertes efectos de insularidad típicos de las islas oceánicas, como diversidad reducida de especies y la resultante expansión ecológica de nicho así como densidad aumentada de varias de las especies de aves residentes.
Polacos y norirlandeses medían fuerzas en un Stade de Nice en ebullición gracias a las dos aficiones, ambas de las más numerosas del torneo. En un estadio teñido de verde y rojo echó a andar el Grupo C de esta UEFA EURO 2016.
Irlanda del Norte llegaba a la cita en una espectacular racha y sin haber encajado ningún gol en los últimos tres partidos. Polonia, por su parte, tropezó en sus dos últimos amistosos antes de la fase final en Francia.
La primera parte fue de claro dominio polaco, si bien fueron incapaces de materializar esa superioridad. Milik tuvo la mejor ocasión en el 30’ tras una internada de Piszczek por banda derecha, pero el delantero del Ajax mandó alto su remate con la izquierda. Nueve minutos después, fue Kaputska el que lo intentó, pero McGovern despejó a córner. Con el 0-0 se llegó al descanso.
Polonia siguió intentándolo tras el paso por vestuarios, y finalmente obtuvo su recompensa en el 51’. Milik, muy activo durante todo el encuentro, tuvo tiempo para controlar la pelota dentro del área tras una buena subida de Jakub Błaszczykowski por banda derecha. Demasiada ventaja para el delantero del Ajax, que mandó la pelota al fondo de la red con un disparo raso.
Błaszczykowski, un puñal por la derecha, pudo ampliar distancias con un disparo en el 68’, pero cruzó en exceso el esférico. También estuvo cerca Grzegorz Krychowiak en las postrimerías del encuentro, con un derechazo que rozó el palo. Al final, triunfo por la mínima para Polonia.
Jugador del Partido: Grzegorz Krychowiak El jugador del Sevilla completó 71 de sus 79 pases, 18 de ellos en la parcela ofensiva. También realizó un disparo a puerta y ha ganado tres duelos aéreos. El poderoso centrocampista ha sido quien ha sujetado el centro del campo polaco.
Aspecto clave: talismán Milik Si cualquier gol siempre es una buena noticia, los polacos tienen doble motivo de celebración cuando marca Milik. El delantero ha anotado once goles con el combinado nacional de Polonia, que nunca pierde cuando marca el del Ajax.
The 28-year-old Australian national, who Fox News is not naming, was seen in a white prison suit and showed no expression as District Court Judge Paul Kellar read one charge of murder to him. The appearance lasted only a minute as he was led back out in handcuffs. He did not enter a plea. He was ordered to return to court again April 5.
During the appearance, the suspect allegedly flashed an “OK” hand gesture during the court appearance. The gesture is seen as a “white power” hate symbol. The suspect’s face is not allowed to be seen in photos due to the country’s strick media laws.
The Australian-born man suspected in shootings in shootings at two mosques in New Zealand that killed 49 people Friday appeared in court Saturday, March 16, 2019. (Reuters)
After the suspect left, the judge said that while “there is one charge of murder brought at the moment, it is reasonable to assume that there will be others.”
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said “gun laws will change” in the country. Ardern said the guns used in the attack “appeared to have been modified.” The alleged gunman obtained a gun license in November 2017.
Two other armed suspects were taken into custody while police tried to determine what role, if any, they played in the cold-blooded attack that shocked the world and is the deadliest shooting in the country’s modern history.
The suspect allegedly used a helmet-mounted camera to livestream the massacre at the Masjid Al Noor mosque in central Christchurch and allegedly posted a white nationalist manifesto online. The New Zealand Herald reported Ardern’s office “received a copy of a manifesto from the alleged gunman less than 10 minutes before the attacks.” The media outlet reported “70 other recipients,” including media outlets, received the manifesto.
Ambulance staff take a man from outside a mosque in central Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, March 15, 2019, following a mass shooting. (AP)
In the gunman’s rambling manifesto, he said he was not a member of any organization but had donated to and interacted with many nationalist groups, though he acted alone and no group ordered the attack. He said he chose New Zealand because of its location, to show that even the most remote parts of the world were not free of “mass immigration.”
The video that was allegedly livestreamed by the shooter shows the massacre in horrifying detail. The alleged gunman spends more than two minutes inside the mosque spraying terrified worshippers with bullets, sometimes re-firing at people he has already cut down.
A man reacts as he speaks on a mobile phone outside a mosque in central Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, March 15, 2019. (AP)
At one point, he exits the mosque to rearm before going back inside to shoot more people. Eventually, the man flees as emergency vehicles can be heard approaching in the background.
Several more people were killed in an attack on the Linwood Masjid mosque, about three miles away from Masjid Al Noor a short time later. It was not immediately clear if the same person was responsible for both shootings.
Fox News’ Greg Norman and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Timmothy Pitzen, left, was 6 years old when he vanished in 2011. The photo of him on the right provided by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, shows him age-progressed to 13 years old. (Aurora Police Department)
Investigators claim that a 14-year-old boy in Ohio identified himself on Wednesday as Timmothy Pitzen, a 6-year-old boy who vanished in 2011, and said he had just escaped the grasp of two kidnappers who allegedly held him for seven years.
The boy told police that on Wednesday morning, he had “just escaped from two kidnappers” whom he described as white men with body builder physiques, according to an incident report from the Sharonville Police Department obtained by The Associated Press.
“One had black curly hair, Mt. Dew shirt and jeans, & has a spider web tattoo on his neck,” the report stated. “The other was short in stature and had a snake tattoo on his arms.”
The self-identified Pitzen said the men were driving a newer model of a Ford SUV with Wisconsin license plates. The boy said that after he escaped, he “kept running across a bridge into Kentucky.”
Sharonville Police wrote on Facebook that they had no contact with Pitzen, and the aforementioned report included information from a dispatch log.
Investigators have said that Pitzen disappeared after his mother, 43-year-old Amy Fry-Pitzen, picked him up from school in May 2011. It’s believed she took the boy to the zoo and a water park in Wisconsin before apparently killing herself in a hotel room in Illinois.
Fry-Pitzen left a note saying her son was fine. Police investigating her death said she took steps that suggested she might have, as she said in her note, dropped her son off with a friend.
The FBI Louisville field office confirmed on Twitter Wednesday that they were working with several law enforcement agencies — including the Cincinnati field office, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio and police in Aurora, Illinois, Newport, Kentucky and Cincinatti, Ohio — on a missing child investigation.
Aurora Police Sgt. Bill Rowley told the AP Wednesday afternoon that the boy “disappeared ten years ago and we’ve probably had thousands of tips of him popping up in different areas.”
“We have no idea what we’re driving down there for,” he said. “It could be Pitzen. It could be a hoax.”
The department said they know there’s a boy involved but don’t know who he is, or if he has any connection to Pitzen, Rowley said, adding the force is sending two detectives to Cincinnati to investigate.
The press praised president Biden’s first address to Congress; reaction from ‘The Five.’
MSNBC reporters apparently had trouble locating many people who watched President Biden‘s address to a joint session of Congress Wednesday night.
As NewsBusters highlighted, NBC News correspondent Priscilla Thompson reported from Atlanta on Thursday ahead of Biden’s drive-in rally to mark one hundred days in office and tout the agenda he presented to the American people during his prime-time address.
“I’ve got to tell you, most of the folks that I’ve spoken to here did not actually watch Joe Biden’s address last night,” Thompson told MSNBC anchor Hallie Jackson. “I’ve spoken to around a dozen folks and only two of them watched and listened to what he had to say last night.”
Jackson then turned to correspondent Ellison Barber, reporting from Coral Gables, Florida, and asked her what “voters” there thought of Biden’s speech.
“Yeah, we’re seeing some of what Priscilla touched on there,” Barber responded. “About two-thirds of the people who we have tried to talk to here said they did not watch the president’s address — not necessarily because they were boycotting it or intentionally not watching it, they just went to bed, they had to work, they had other things. This wasn’t top of their to-do list, though many said they plan to catch up on it some time today.”
MSNBC’s failed attempt to find a sizable number of people who watched Biden’s speech appears in keeping with the poor ratings that the televised address received.
Deadline, citing Nielsen, reported Thursday that just 22.6 million viewers tuned in Wednesday to the seven major networks that broadcast the 46th president pitching his liberal agenda to the American people.
Biden’s viewership pales in comparison to his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, whose first address to Congress in February 2017 drew more than 48 million viewers. Trump’s last and least-watched State of the Union Address, delivered in February 2020 still pulled in 37 million viewers.
Former President Barack Obama’s first address to a joint session of Congress in February 2009 drew a whopping 52.3 million viewers, far outstripping Biden’s ratings.
As we reported earlier in the week, FEMA has begun to approve states for the enhanced federal unemployment insurance benefit authorized by President Trump on August 8th. While some states have been approved, some are still in the process while others have turned down the assistance. And at least one state has already started sending out $300 weekly benefits to its citizens.
To stay up to date on this developing story, we’ve gathered information here on a state-by-state basis. It includes whether the state had or will seek FEMA approval for the $300 benefit, the status of the application, whether the state intends to pay the matching $100 benefit, and when claimants can expect to begin receiving the payments.
The timing of payments is still largely unknown. While one state has begun making payments, others are still making adjustments to their computer systems. As Forbes has previously reported, the average time to start sending out benefits once approved by FEMA is three weeks.
States FEMA Has Approved
Arizona: FEMA approved Arizona’s application on August 15, 2020. Arizona started sending out $300 weekly payments to eligible claimants on August 17th.
Colorado: FEMA Approved Colorado’s application on August 16, 2020. In response to written questions submitted to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, we received a written response on August 17, 2020 that a decision had not been made as to whether the weekly benefit would be $300 or include a state matching benefit of $100. In terms of timing, the written statement said that they “are still estimating development timeliness as systems require reprogramming. We have no timeline on . . . payments at this time.”
Iowa: FEMA approved Iowa’s application on August 15, 2020. To date, Iowa has not released information on when the $300 payments will begin. On the Iowa Workforce Development website a notice states that “FEMA and USDOL continue to issue guidance, and IWD will continue developing the implementation processes required for this program, including any necessary steps for claimants to apply. We will update our website as additional information becomes available, including timelines for application and payment. Please do not contact customer service regarding whether you are eligible for this benefit or when it may be paid.”
Louisiana: FEMA approved Louisiana’s application on August 15, 2020. Governor John Edwards had previously announced that the state would participate in the $300 federal benefit. In response to written questions submitted to the the Louisiana Workforce Commission, we received the following written statement on August 17th:
“The Louisiana Workforce Commission is working closely with our federal partners at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and United States Department of Labor. We submitted our ‘Other Needs Assistance-Supplemental Payments for Lost Wages’ application on August 14, 2020, which has been approved. As of now, details are pending and we do not have a date as to when claimants can expect payment. We are expecting more clarity and information to become available in the coming days.”
Missouri: FEMA approved Missouri’s application on August 16, 2020. To date it is unclear whether the benefit will $300 or $400 or when it will begin. An announcement on the Missouri Department of Labor website states that “[w]hile awaiting additional guidance from FEMA and the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL), Missouri will continue as expeditiously as possible to implement the LWA program for eligible unemployed Missourians to be able to receive the additional benefits as soon as possible. We will update our website as more information becomes available, including any additional eligibility requirements and timelines for payment.”
The Missouri Department of Labor has not responded to a request for comment.
New Mexico: FEMA approved New Mexico’s application on August 15, 2020. According to a message on the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, “President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum on August 8 to offer “lost wages assistance” to enhance unemployment insurance benefits. There is no need for claimants to contact the Department of Workforce Solutions at this time. We will announce more information once it becomes available.”
Attempts to reach the Department of Workforce Solutions for comment have not been successful.
Utah: FEMA approved Utah’s application on August 16, 2020. In response to written questions, the Utah Department of Workforce Solutions confirmed in writing that the additional benefit would be $300 and that they “are projecting the payments will go out to those eligible in approximately three weeks.”
States Seeking FEMA Approval
Alaska: On August 13, 2020, a press release stated that Governor Mike Dunleavy had authorized the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development to begin the FEMA application process. The statement said the process would result in a $300 weekly increase in unemployment benefits.
Idaho: Governor Brad Little announced that Idaho would apply to FEMA for the federal $300 assistance. The announcement didn’t indicate whether Idaho would fund the extra $100 per week.
North Carolina: Gov. Roy Cooper said this week that he has begun the process of applying for unemployment benefits with FEMA. Based on this report, North Carolina plans to fund the $100 state match, bringing total benefits to $400 a week. The state funding, however, has not been approved by the legislature.
Ohio: It’s been widely reported that Governor Mike DeWine has said Ohio will be moving forward to apply for the $300 benefit.
Oklahoma: On August 17, 2020, Governor Kevin Stitt announced that Oklahoma had submitted its grant application for LWA to FEMA. The announcement noted that the process would allow the state to send out $300 weekly benefits.
West Virginia: On August 10, 2020, Governor Jim Justice said that West Virginia would pay the $100 state match, giving eligible claimants a $400 weekly benefit: “Hands down, period, West Virginia is going to pay it,” Gov. Justice said. “We do so very willingly.”
States Either Undecided or Declining President Trump’s $300 Unemployment Benefit
Based on our analysis of publicly available information, the following states have are either still evaluating their options or have turned down the federal unemployment assistance. In some cases, we have inferred their rejection of the aid based on comments by state officials.
Mississippi: It’s been reported that Gov. Tate Reeves had turned down the assistance. However, in response to a written question, we received the following written comment from Renae Eze, a spokesperson for the Governor’s office:
“We have not turned down the federal unemployment assistance at this time. In consultation with the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, Governor Reeves and his team continue to review all options to provide assistance through our state’s unemployment trust fund and ensure the well-being of all Mississippians out of work due to this pandemic. We appreciate President Trump stepping up and trying to help American workers during this difficult time.”
Pennsylvania: In a letter dated August 13, 2020, Governor Tom Wolf was critical of Mr. Trump’s executive action authorizing the enhanced unemployment benefits. While his statement didn’t explicitly rejected the aid, it suggested Pennsylvania would not be submitting an application to FEMA.
Governor Wolf’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Oregon: David Gerstenfeld, interim head of the Oregon Employment Department, said that uncertainties make it difficult to know what implementing the federal benefit would require: “There are still a huge number of uncertainties about the program that was discussed in that executive order.” He added that they “don’t know exactly what it would take to implement because we don’t know what we would be implementing.”
South Dakota: Governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota declined unemployment assistance because the state doesn’t need it: “My administration is very grateful for the additional flexibility that this effort would have provided, but South Dakota is in the fortunate position of not needing to accept it. South Dakota’s economy, having never been shut down, has recovered nearly 80% of our job losses.”
We will update this developing story as information on additional states becomes available.
Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who announced a sweeping “Green New Deal” on Thursday that promises to render air travel obsolete, get rid of flatulent cows and ensure economic security for everyone in less than a decade, seemingly contradicted herself in a span of twelve hours on the nature of the government’s role in the massive undertaking.
NPR host Steve Inskeep asked Ocasio-Cortez Thursday morning about concerns from conservatives that the 29-year-old former bartender’s proposal involves an unconstitutional government overreach, as well as the unsustainable and dangerous elimination of huge swaths of the American economy.
“One reason that people who are politically conservative are skeptical of efforts to combat climate change is that it sounds to them like it requires massive government intervention, which they just don’t like,” Inskeep asked. “Are you prepared to put on that table that, ‘Yes actually they’re right, what this requires is massive government intervention?'”
Ocasio-Cortez responded: “It does, it does, yeah, I have no problem saying that. Why? Because we have tried their approach for 40 years. For 40 years we have tried to let the private sector take care of this. They said, ‘We got this, we can do this, the forces of the market are going to force us to innovate.’ Except for the fact that there’s a little thing in economics called externalities. And what that means is that a corporation can dump pollution in the river and they don’t have to pay, but taxpayers have to pay.”
But later in the day, in an interview with MSNBC’s Chuck Todd, Ocasio-Cortez blamed conservatives for suggesting that she wanted a massive government program.
“I think one way that the right does try to mischaracterize, uh, what we’re doing as though it’s, like, some kind of massive government takeover,” Ocasio-Cortez told Todd. “Obviously, it’s not that, because what we’re trying to do is release the investments from the federal government to mobilize those resources across the country.”
“I don’t say that,” Ocasio-Cortez responded, when asked by Todd if she considers herself a capitalist. “I believe in a democratic economy, but — but the but is there.”
In what may be the most far-reaching proposal to ever be considered in Congress, Ocasio-Cortez unveiled the “Green New Deal” hours earlier — a government-led overhaul of virtually every aspect of American life that would guarantee a host of taxpayer-covered benefits for all and phase out fossil fuels.
Along the way, her office says the plan would aim to make air travel obsolete, upgrade or replace every building in America to ensure energy efficiency and give economic security even to those “unwilling” to work.
“Today is the day that we truly embark on a comprehensive agenda of economic, social and racial justice in the United States of America,” she said alongside Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and other lawmakers outside the Capitol. “That’s what this agenda is all about.”
The plan, which calls for a massive package of big-government proposals including health care for all, quickly picked up the backing of major 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls including Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Cory Booker, D-N.J. — who all co-sponsored the resolution.
“Our history is a testimony to the achievement of what some think is impossible — we must take bold action now,” Booker tweeted.
Cows may be eliminated by the Green New Deal announced Thursday. (iStock)
While the resolution itself would do very little because it is non-binding, it is the first time the policy proposal has been formally outlined in Congress. The resolution says “a new national social, industrial and economic mobilization on a scale not seen since World War II and the New Deal” is an opportunity to tackle systemic injustices toward minority groups, create millions of high-wage jobs and “provide unprecedented levels of prosperity and economic security for all people of the United States.”
Its proposals include “net-zero greenhouse gas emissions through a fair and just transition for all communities and workers;” job creation; infrastructure investment; guarantees of clean water, healthy food and sustainable environment; and a curiously undefined “access to nature.”
Beyond those broad proposals, the plan and accompanying documents from Ocasio-Cortez include a range of far-fetched goals — and drew swift scorn from Republicans and other critics. The Republican National Committee dubbed it a “socialist wish list” that would kill at least 1 million jobs and disrupt global trade — while costing trillions.
The resolution, for instance, includes a proposal to “upgrade all existing buildings” in the country in order to achieve energy efficiency, safety, affordability, durability and comfort.
An accompanying FAQ, released by Ocasio-Cortez’s office and first obtained by NPR, goes even further, calling to “upgrade or replace every building in the US for state-of-the-art energy efficiency.” A second similar FAQ on her website echoed some of those prescriptions though was later removed.
The resolution also backs the concept of high-speed rail as a proposal to reduce carbon emissions — but the FAQ goes so far as to urge that development “at a scale where air travel stops becoming necessary.”
It also promises “economic security for all who are unable or unwilling to work.”
What constitutes economic security is not clear, but the plan does call for programs including a federal job guarantee, universal health care and “affordable, safe, and adequate housing.”
The FAQ also notes that it has set a goal of net-zero, rather than zero, emissions in 10 years “because we aren’t sure that we’ll be able to get rid of farting cows and airplanes that fast.”
As for how to pay for the Green New Deal?
“The same way we paid for the New Deal, the 2008 bank bailout and extended quantitative easing programs,” Ocasio-Cortez’s FAQ states. “The same way we paid for World War II and all our current wars. The Federal Reserve can extend credit to power these projects and investments and new public banks can be created to extend credit.”
The FAQ continues: “There is also space for the government to take an equity stake in projects to get a return on investment. At the end of the day, this is an investment in our economy that should grow our wealth as a nation, so the question isn’t how will we pay for it, but what will we do with our new shared prosperity.”
However, the push is likely to see resistance not only from Republicans but even some Democrats. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, was asked about the plan to replace planes with high-speed rail and did not seem impressed.
“That would be pretty hard for Hawaii,” she laughed.
On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared to dismiss the plan.
“It will be one of several or maybe many suggestions that we receive,” Pelosi told Politico on Wednesday. “The green dream or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they’re for it right?”
Even aside from the Green New Deal, conservative commentators have argued that most proposed solutions to global warming would do more harm than good, and also have accused climate activists of crying wolf. In 2006, a NASA scientist and leading global warming researcher declared that the world had only 10 years to avert a climate catastrophe — a deadline that has come and gone.
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Cuando tenía 20 años, Jill Dodd vivió una relación muy distinta a las que terminan en “y se casaron y vivieron muy felices” que se escriben para el cine en su nativa Los Ángeles.
El pasado de la empresaria y diseñadora Jill Dodd, fundadora de la marca internacional de ropa deportiva Roxy, es sin duda exótico. Su vida tuvo un giro inesperado un fin de semana a principios de los ochenta, cuando con 20 años trabajaba como modelo en París. Le reveló a la BBC un mundo que pocos conocemos.
Todo empezó con una invitación a una fiesta…
“Mi agente me llamó para preguntarme si yo quería ir a Monte Carlo con ella y le dije ‘¡Sí… maravilloso!’. La noche que llegamos fuimos a una fiesta loquísima”.
El lugar era Le Pirate, donde camareros de pelo largo y sin camisa tocaban guitarra mientras una fogata crepitante, de seis metros de altura, iluminaba el cielo.
“Un ‘pirata’ me entregó una copa de champán. Me lo tomé y tiré la copa al fuego, como los demás invitados. Todo era tan salvaje y decadente. Quería bailar y vi a un hombre sentado en la mesa que parecía inofensivo: era como el papá de una amiga. Nos miramos y empezamos a bailar alrededor de la fogata”.
“Mientras estábamos bailando, mi agente se acercó y me preguntó si sabía con quién estaba bailando. Le contesté que no, que no me importaba. Me dijo: ‘Adnan Khashoggi’ y le pregunté: ‘¿Qué es Adnan Khashoggi?’… no le entendí nada“.
Khashoggi era un multimillonario saudita, comerciante de armas y conocido por su papel en algunos de los más famosos escándalos de los ochenta, entre ellos el Irán-Contra o Irangate, (1985 y 1986), en el cual Estados Unidos, bajo el gobierno de Ronald Reagan, le vendió armas al gobierno iraní que estaba en guerra con Irak y financió el movimiento Contra nicaragüense, dos operaciones prohibidas por el Senado. Khashoggi fue un intermediario clave.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Getty Images
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A finales de los 80, Khashoggi fue extraditado a EE.UU. para ser juzgado por establecer negocios ilegales con Ferdinand Marcos de Filipinas. En la foto se le ve al salir de la cárcel en Nueva York tras pagar la fianza de US$10 millones. En 1990 fue absuelto.
Escrito con sangre
“Cuando nos sentamos, él me subió la manga y escribió “Te amo” en mi brazo en letras grandes y rojas”.
“Al principio no me di cuenta de que lo había escrito con sangre”.
“Me senté para tratar de entender lo que acababa de pasar (…)
Estaba perdida en mi propio mundo, mareada por el alcohol y rodeada de extraños en este loco lugar. Lo único que hacía era mirar mi brazo (…)
Me gustó que escribiera ‘Te amo’. No me lo limpié“
Jill Dodd en su libro “The currency of love” (La moneda del amor)
“Me pareció divertido. Cuando bailamos era tan inocente, infantil y divertido. Y cuando hizo eso me pareció que era muy imaginativo. La gente hace cosas locas en Europa en las fiestas… escandalosas, a veces”.
“Al final de la noche, mi agente me dijo que Adnan quería que fuera a su bote a tomar café. Le contesté que lo único que quería era irme a dormir”. Me dijo: ‘Pero es ese bote que ves allá’, señalando hacia el Mediterráneo. Ahí estaba un barco que parecía un transatlántico… yo nunca había visto un barco tan grande“.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Getty Images
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El yate de Khashoggi era el más grande del mundo en esa época y fue usado en la película de James Bond “Nunca digas nunca”. Cuando tuvo problemas financieros se lo vendió al Sultán de Brunei quien a su vez se lo vendió a Donald Trump.
Jill no fue a tomar café esa noche, pero aceptó una invitación a cenar la noche siguiente.
A bordo
“El barco era enorme. Tenía al menos diez habitaciones, una discoteca, un hospital en el que se podía hacer cirugía a corazón abierto (…) Cuando llegamos nos preguntó si nos queríamos cambiar de ropa y nos llevó a un cuarto repleto de trajes de noche de alta costura. Me impresionó”.
“Tras una elegante cena me preguntó si quería que me mostrara el barco. Fuimos a su cuarto: la cama estaba cubierta de pieles, las manijas de las puertas eran de oro y tenía paredes estilo James Bond que rotaban para revelar habitaciones ocultas… me pareció que todo era una gran máquina ingeniosa”.
Una máquina cuyo siguiente dueño fue Donald Trump, el actual presidente de Estados Unidos.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Getty Images
Image caption
Las paredes revestidas de piel de gamuza en una sala de estar amarilla, diseñada por Luigi Sturchio, a bordo del yate de 86 metros cuando ya era de Donald Trump. Él lo bautizó “Trump Princess”. (1988)
“Adnan se comportaba como si realmente quisiera saber quién era yo y cuáles eran mis intereses. Nos sentamos a charlar por horas. Aunque me dijo: ‘Tengo que ser honesto: sé todo sobre ti. Tuve que investigarte por razones de seguridad'”.
“Sabía dónde había nacido, que mi papá era bombero, en qué había trabajado… una persona normal se habría quedado atónita pero yo no era muy rápida juzgando a la gente”, recuerda.
“Después de esa noche, yo definitivamente quería volverlo a ver, pero no sabía si alguna vez sucedería. ¿Sabes cómo a veces conoces personas que te parecen familiares, como si las hubieras conocido antes, y no sabes por qué pero todo encaja?”.
“Además, me dejó una buena impresión el que no hubiera tratado de besarme. Eso hizo que pensara más en él”. Y así continuó la relación por un tiempo, sin que hubiera nada físico.
Derechos de autor de la imagen JILL DODD
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Jill se ganaba la vida como modelo en París.
Esposa de placer
“Estábamos con un grupo en Marbella y Adnan aún no había llegado. Una noche me despertó, me tomó de la mano y me llevó a su suite. Empezamos a hablar y de repente preguntó: ‘¿Te gustaría un baño de espuma?’. Me metí a la bañera, él se sentó en el borde y charlamos.
“Luego fuimos a su recámara y para entonces yo quería besarlo. Pero dijo: ‘No puedo besarte hasta que aceptes un contrato’. No entendía de qué estaba hablando. Me explicó: ‘Yo no me caso de la manera tradicional’. Se comparó con la realeza en Arabia Saudita y otros hombres poderosos que tienen permitido tener tres esposas legales y 11 esposas de placer.
“‘Me gustaría que fueras mi esposa de placer. Hagamos un contrato de 5 años. Yo me encargaré de ti, me podrás contactar en cualquier momento, si quieres verme enviaré el avión. Podrás salir con otros hombres…’, así me propuso matrimonio de placer”.
“A mí no me importaba todo eso. Yo quería ser independiente… y quería besarlo”.
Yo era unos 12 cms. más alta que él, su cabeza era redonda y calva y tenía barriga… ¡A mí me parecía adorable!”
El contrato no era escrito, sino verbal. Con un beso quedó sellado y Jill se convirtió en su esposa de placer.
“Eso significaba que yo tenía su estilo de vida cuando estaba con él: vivía en sus hermosas casas, atendida por empleados domésticos, alimentada por chefs, relajada por masajistas. A Adnan le fascinaba la moda y le gustaba vestirme”.
“No lo dejé todo para estar sólo con él. Seguí pagando mi arriendo, vivía sola y trabajaba”.
Armas
Jill era consciente de que estaba con un hombre extremadamente rico, pero no sabía todavía que Khashoggi era comerciante de armas.
“Ni siquiera sabía bien cuál era su apellido. Y no había internet… ¿cómo iba a encontrar esa información? Lo que sabía era que me interesaba y que quería estar más tiempo con él”.
“Pasó mucho tiempo antes de que me enterara de cómo ganaba dinero. Le pregunté al principio pero no mencionó armas”.
“Fue en un viaje a Las Vegas que me dijo que estaba cerrando un gran negocio. Cuando me explicó de qué se trataba exclamé: ‘¡Pero son máquinas de guerra!‘ y me respondió: ‘No tienen todos los países el derecho de defenderse de una guerra con otros países?'”.
Derechos de autor de la imagen JILL DODD
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Jill no dejó su trabajo cuando se “casó” con Khashoggi. La llamaban mucho para modelar trajes de baño. Después empezó a estudiar y eventualmente fundó Roxy, una marca conocida entre surfistas.
Las otras mujeres
“Conocí a las otras esposas de placer en reuniones o en cenas. Con el tiempo se volvió normal. Nos tratábamos con respecto pero guardábamos la distancia. Yo sentía que yo era especial para él. Fue más tarde que empezó a cambiar”.
“Una noche me trajo un collar que era para otra persona. Yo estaba dormida en mi cama y él entró en medio de la noche con un paquete. Me besó en la cabeza y me volteé y dijo: ‘¡Me equivoqué de habitación! Quédate con el regalo'”.
“Me sentí destrozada. Esa fue la primera vez que realmente me hirió”.
Separación
“Había empezado a estudiar y así que no estaba con él tanto como antes. Entonces me di cuenta de que estaba buscando otra mujer. Me pareció horripilante. Adnan y yo estábamos en su suite cuando un hombre entró con un folder negro grande que tenía fotos de modelos”.
Las empezaron a mirar y de repente caí en cuenta de lo que estaba pasando.
‘¿Qué estás haciendo? ¿Estás buscando chicas para comprar? ¿Fue así como me encontraste? ¿Me escogiste en un catálogo?‘. Se miraron y empezaron a reírse”.
“Me sentí traicionada. Todo estalló en ese momento. En ese entonces, él tenía hordas de mujeres a su alrededor. Todo era cada vez era más sórdido”.
Derechos de autor de la imagen Getty Images
Image caption
La actriz italiana Lory Del Santo en el baño del yate de su amigo Adnan Khashoggi, en marzo de 1981, la época en la que Jill Dodd todavía estaba con él.
“Luego conocí a una chica llamada René, que era idéntica a mí, sólo que menos alta y más joven. Empecé a sentir que era muy vieja para él (tenía 22 años)”.
El fin
Jill se fue, pero siguió en contacto con Khashoggi por años.
“Me llamaba y me preguntaba si quería volver con él. Si alguna vez me hubiera dicho que me amaba y que quería estar sólo conmigo, sin harén, lo habría considerado”.
“Adnan murió el día que publiqué mi libro (6 de junio, 2017). Para mí fue un shock que me duró una semana. En medio de la noche me levantaba llorando y sentía que estaba hablando con él, diciéndole que lo quería”.
Derechos de autor de la imagen jill dodd
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Khashoggi murió el mismo día en el que “La moneda del amor” salió a la venta.
“Realmente no tengo más que recuerdos gratos de él. Por más que suene loco, fue una de las relaciones más sanas que he tenido con un hombre”.
“Hubo mucha honestidad. Me respetó, nunca me habló con crueldad. De hecho, después de la relación con Adnan, estuve en una relación abusiva con un estadounidense que fue horrenda. Como una mujer adulta -tengo 57 años y he estado felizmente casada por casi 20 años- aún la recuerdo como una hermosa amistad”.
No obstante, si una de sus dos hijas le dijera que está en una relación como la que ella tuvo con Khashoggi, “sentiría terror”.
Millions of people around the world will be watching Santa’s journey on Christmas Eve, thanks to the Official NORAD Santa Tracker. With it, you can find out where is Santa Claus right now? And, you can estimate what time he will arrive in the United States tonight.
As of 1 p.m. Eastern Time on Christmas Eve, Santa Claus was in Russia and had delivered more than 2 billion gifts so far. If his schedule keeps up with previous years he should arrive near the U.S. East Coast tonight around 10 p.m. You can follow Santa’s journey tonight live below.
The tracker, which is run by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), has been tracking Santa Claus and his trip since 1955. NORAD is a binational organization that controls aerospace and monitors man-made objects in space.
NORAD Tracks Santa Program Director Preston Schlachter previously told Newsweek that the command had received a phone call more than 60 years ago from a boy due to a typo in a department store newspaper ad, telling children they could make phone calls to Santa.
“We know that Santa Claus flies West from the International Date Line and only comes when children are sleeping,” Schlachter previously told Newsweek. “So he takes off right at the beginning of the day and zigzags up and down the different time zones, generally North to South and then coming back South to North.”
The biggest day for NORAD is on Christmas Eve. As of Monday 8:30 a.m. EST, Santa Claus has passed through Rockhampton in Australia and is heading for Maryborough, Australia, according to the NORAD Santa Tracker. To watch Santa’s journey around the world, click here.
Before Christmas Day, NORAD had set up a Santa countdown trackers on its website and gave visitors the chance to explore the North Pole with Santa’s village. The website also gave visitors movies to watch and Christmas games to play.
This December 24, 2012, photo shows a woman monitoring the progress of Santa Claus in Washington, D.C. The Santa tracker, set up by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), follows Santa’s journey around the world every year. KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images
The NORAD website also answers questions about Santa, his trip and his reindeer. Some of the questions asked: What is Santa’s favorite cookie, and if certain siblings were placed on Santa’s naughty or nice list.
Despite the partial government shutdown, NORAD announced on Twitter that it will still track Santa’s journey on Christmas Eve.
“In the event of a government shutdown, NORAD will continue with its 63-year tradition of NORAD Tracks Santa on Dec. 24. Military personnel who conduct NORAD Tracks Santa are supported by approximately 1,500 volunteers who make the program possible each and every year,” NORAD tweeted on Friday.
Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on Foxnews.com.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova hit at Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby on Saturday after he got emotional talking about her country’s invasion of Ukraine.
In a post on the messaging platform Telegram, she wrote in an “opinion” post that the press secretary is “losing his nerve.”
She called his comments “rude, insulting and troublesome,” noting he “said some nonsense” about Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Among other gibberish, he said it was ‘hard to look at what Russian forces are doing in Ukraine.’ Really? How hard can it be for an American rear admiral to look at anything?” she asked.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby gets emotion while talking about the war in Ukraine during a briefing, April 29, 2022. (Fox News)
Nearly 5.5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the assault began on Feb. 24 and while the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reports 6,134 civilian casualties in Ukraine as of Friday, the office states that the actual figures are considerably higher.
Kirby, answering a question from a reporter about whether Putin is a rational actor, said Friday that he would not go into the psychology of the Russian leader.
“It’s hard to look at what he’s doing in Ukraine, what his forces are doing in Ukraine and think that any ethical, moral individual could justify that,” he replied. “It’s difficult to look at the – sorry. It’s difficult to look at some of the images and imagine that any well-thinking, serious, mature leader would do that. So I can’t talk to his psychology, but I think we can all speak to his depravity.”
PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. – According to Pinellas County documents, Roberta Laundrie checked into Fort De Soto Park on September 6. The documents show she checked out on September 8.
Brian Laundrie’s attorney confirmed Brian and his parents visited the area together. He said that all three of them left on September 7 despite the park records showing they left a day later.
NBC2 spoke to a Fort Myers couple who camped next to the Laundrie family on September 6.
They looked back on their photos and found a red truck with a camper attached to it. They are similar to the truck and camper that has been parked in front of the Laundrie family home for the past two weeks.
We asked North Port Police if they physically saw Brian Laundrie on September 11 and they said no. We then asked if police saw him at any point in time after September 11 until the 14th. Police said they have been asked to withhold that information for the integrity of the investigation.
President Donald Trump doubles down on his criticism of Rep. Elijah Cummings and the Baltimore community he serves. USA TODAY
On Sunday, former Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh addressed his role in stirring racist rhetoric in politics in the past while announcing his intentions of challenging President Donald Trump in the Republican primary.
Walsh apologized for his past comments during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” in which he said he had a role in Trump’s ascension.
“I helped create Trump, there’s no doubt about that,” he said.
Walsh went on to offer his opinion of Trump: “He’s nuts, he’s erratic, he’s cruel, he stokes bigotry.”
He also wrote in a recent New York Times op-ed that Trump “inspires imitators” but brought up his own “share of controversy.”
“At times, I expressed hate for my political opponents. We now see where this can lead,” he wrote. “There’s no place in our politics for personal attacks like that, and I regret making them.”
Walsh’s past comments
In 2014, Walsh was pulled off the air during his radio show for using racist slurs. He also promoted the “birther” conspiracy during former President Barack Obama’s time in office and said Obama was only elected because he is black.
Just got kicked off the air until further notice. Tried to have honest discussion about racist terms and management censored my language.
When asked by Stephanopoulos on Sunday to address instances of his own racism, including his promotion of the false conspiracy that Obama is Muslim and remarks against Sen. Kamala Harris, Walsh said he has reflected on his previous statements.
“I said some ugly things about President Obama that I regret,” Walsh said.
In 2017, Walsh tweeted “We LOWERED the bar for Obama. He was held to a lower standard cuz he was black.”
“I had strong policy disagreements with Barack Obama, and too often I let those policy disagreements get personal,” he said Sunday.
I have a right to pray to whatever God I want to pray to.
I have a right to call Obama a Muslim and call Trump a thin-skinned ego maniac.
I have a right to use an AR-15 to defend my family and my home.
Walsh has a history of inconsistency in his opinions of Trump’s rhetoric. At times, he has denounced the president as a racist. This summer when Trump told four Democratic congresswomen, who are people of color and citizens of the U.S., to “go back and help fix” the countries he said they “originally came” from before trying to make legislative changes in the USA, Walsh spoke out.
“To say ‘go back to where you came from’ is gross. It’s offensive, ignorant, anti-American, and racist,” Walsh tweeted.
The most racist thing Donald Trump said yesterday? Of Baltimore, he said: “No human being would want to live there.”
So all those black Americans who live in majority black Baltimore aren’t human beings?
But it was not that long ago that Walsh thought Trump’s language made him a bully, but not a racist, and that Walsh was still making racist claims about Obama:
Trump treats everyone like shit. Not just black women.
Walsh said the one good thing about Trump’s language since he has been in office is that Trump has made him realize his attacks were inappropriate. The difference between them?
“We have a guy in the White House who’s never apologized for anything he’s done or said. I think it’s a weakness not to apologize,” Walsh told Stephanopoulos. “I helped create Trump, there’s no doubt about that. The personal, ugly politics, I regret that and I’m sorry for that. And now we’ve got a guy in the White House, George, that’s all he does.”
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