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☆ When Mental Health Treatment Becomes a Political Identity
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

As a rising young Democratic star and the top elected official of Harris County, the most populous in Texas, Lina Hidalgo surprised many people last summer when she announced that she had checked herself in at a residential mental health clinic for serious depression. She had been struggling privately for years, even as she stepped forward assertively to preside over Houston’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and help residents throughout the county deal with flooding and a devastating winter freeze. Then, during a brutal re-election fight in 2022, her mental state worsened. Aides were aware that something was wrong — there were missed campaign events, and shortness with staff members — but few knew just how dire things had become. “I remember feeling really suicidal, and saying to David, my boyfriend, and to my therapist at the time, ‘We have to do something,’” Ms. Hidalgo said.

Persons: Lina Hidalgo, assertively, David, ’, Ms, Hidalgo Organizations: Democratic Locations: Harris County, Texas

WASHINGTON (AP) — Taiwan’s top diplomat in Washington has a message for both the island's Chinese adversaries and its American friends: Don’t worry that Taiwan’s new president-elect will worsen relations with Beijing and possibly draw the U.S. into a conflict. But Yui said Lai is willing to engage with Beijing, even as the island seeks to strengthen its unofficial ties with Washington for stability in the region. Shortly after Taiwan's election, Biden told reporters that his administration does not support Taiwan’s independence. Yui said it is incumbent upon both Beijing and Taipei to keep the Taiwan Strait peaceful. Before he came to Washington, Yui briefly served as Taiwan's representative to the European Union and Belgium.

Persons: — Taiwan’s, Lai Ching, Alexander Tah, Ray Yui, Lai, Yui, ”, Taiwan's, Tsai Ing, Tsai, he’s, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Biden, Scott Kennedy, “, Kennedy, we're, We're, Mike Johnson, Sen, Ben Cardin, ” Yui, Hsiao Bi, Hsiao Organizations: WASHINGTON, Associated Press, AP, Democratic Progressive Party, ”, Washington, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Republican, Republicans, Democrats, U.S . Congress, Democratic, Senate Foreign Relations, M University, European Union, Cultural Locations: Washington, Beijing, Taiwan Strait, U.S, Taiwan, United States, China, Nauru, “ Beijing, Taipei, Panama, Texas, Paraguay, Belgium

☆ How Jewish People Built the American Theater
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Jesse Green | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +46 min

Let Us Tell You A Story How Jewish people built the American theater as we know it. The theater, which for many Jews was a major way of becoming American in the first place, seems unable to acknowledge that the danger that American Jews face is not just historical, and not just onstage. (Both of Adler’s parents were Yiddish theater stars — her father, Jacob Adler, was a renowned Shylock in 1903.) Embedding their own observation and experience within Stanislavsky’s, along with the best of Yiddish theater and a generous dollop of Freud, they converted the American theater to Judaism. Sara Krulwich/The New York TimesThe Jewish contribution to the creation of the American theater was built on the acknowledgment of a larger humanity alive within each of us, available to some, with natural empathy and rigorous training.

Persons: Glocca, “, Lerner, Loewe, ”, Isidore Hochberg, Burton Lane, né Burton Levy, William Goldman, “ Killybegs, Sammy Davis Jr, Julie Andrews, Connie Francis, Rosemary Clooney, Tommy Dorsey, Davis, —, Arthur Miller’s “, joyously, Jason Schmidt, Christine Jones, Miller, I’ve, Marilyn Monroe, Robert Brustein, Neil Simon’s, ” Cynthia Ozick, Sholom, Philip Roth, Simon, Leonard Bernstein, Matt Nadel, Bradley, Bernstein, “ Maestro, Shylock, William Shakespeare’s “, Venice ”, Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe’s, Farah Karim, Cooper, Bard ”, “ Merchant, Tom Stoppard’s, Sara Krulwich, Ansky’s, Stella Adler, Bessie Berger, Clifford Odets’s, Arthur Miller, Elia Kazan, Francis Joseph Bruguière, Billy Rose, Eugene Smith, Roth, Arthur Schnitzler, Juliet Stevenson, Ruth Wolff, Lorraine Hansberry’s, Sidney’s, Alex Edelman’s “, Leo Frank, Bernard B, Frank, Mandy Patinkin, James Lapine, Stephen Sondheim’s, George, Martha Swope, outspokenness, creatives, Oscar Isaac, Sidney, “ Sidney Brustein, Isaac, Stevenson, Robert Icke, Roman Catholic Cooper, Rachel Brosnahan, Maisel, Joan Rivers —, Brosnahan, Sidney Brustein’s, Alec Guinness, Fagin, “ Oliver Twist, I’m, Micaela Diamond, Ben Platt, Lucille, Alfred Uhry, Jason Robert Brown’s, Rivers, Wolff, Robert, Republic ”, isn’t, LEE Strasberg, Konstantin Stanislavsky’s, Fyodor Ivanovich, Strasberg, Israel Strassberg, Zalmon, Srulke, Joseph Stein, Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Bock’s “, Bette Midler, Jackie Hoffman, Photofest Stanislavsky, Theater’s, Isaac Butler, Stanislavsky, Harold Clurman, George Bernard Shaw, Henrik Ibsen, Clurman, Adler, Jacob Adler, Freud, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Ruthie Rivkin, Jerome Weidman, Harold Rome’s “, John Weidman, disown Strasberg, Sanford Meisner, Bobby Lewis, né, Marlon Brando, James Dean, Meisner, Robert Duvall, Lewis, Meryl Streep, Clifford Odets, Jacob Garfinkle, Jules Garfield, Odets, Sam Feinschreiber, Garfield, Ralph Berger, wasn’t, John, Tovah Feldshuh, Golda Meir, William Gibson’s, Aaron Epstein, exigencies, Bessie, Feinschreiber —, loveless, William Fox, Louis B, Mayer, Jack Warner, Marjorie Morningstar ”, Morgenstern, Marjorie, Natalie Wood, Anne Frank ”, Millie Perkins, Audrey Hepburn, Susan Strasberg —, Ibsen, Sholom Aleichem, August Wilson, Daveed Diggs, Thomas Jefferson, Lin, Manuel Miranda’s “ Hamilton ”, Adrian Lester, Emanuel Lehman —, Barbra Streisand, Marmelstein, George Silk, Miller’s, Sophie Okonedo, Elizabeth Proctor, Ben Whishaw, John Proctor, Jan Versweyveld, Don’t, — Bernstein, Stoppard, Schnitzler, Jeanine Tesori, Tony Kushner’s “ Caroline, Sharon D Clarke, Adam Makké, Noah Gellman, Leo, Stoppard —, Hermine, ” Leo Frank, there’s, Matthew Broderick, Eugene Jerome, it’s, Edelman’s, Queens bigots, David Yosef Shimon ben Elazar Reuven Alexander Halevi Edelman, Woody Allen, Joshua Harmon’s, — George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Richard Rodgers, Porgy, Bess ”, Barns, Alex Edelman, Paula Vogel, Harvey Fierstein, Jordan Taylor Fuller, — that’s, Wendell Pierce, Friedman, Jacobs, Hirschfeld, Gershwin, Rodgers, PAULA VOGEL, BRANDON URANOWITZ, DAVID CROMER, MICAELA DIAMOND, TONY KUSHNER, Diamond, Monica Rich Kosann, Marco Bicego, JESSE EISENBERG, MATTHEW BRODERICK, AMY HERZOG, LESLIE RODRIGUEZ KRITZER, JOEL GREY, Herzog, Michael Kors, Kritzer, Marco, HARVEY FIERSTEIN, LIEV SCHREIBER, ETHAN SLATER, IDINA MENZEL, TINA LANDAU Organizations: Broadway, Broadway’s Lyceum, “, of Venice, New York Times, Defamation League, New York Public Library, Performing, Vandamm, Billy, Billy Rose Theatre Division, Performing Arts, New, Jacobs, Empire State, Nazi, Goyim Defense, The New York Public Library, Roman Catholic, New York City, Street, Moscow Art, Group, Hollywood, Disney, Everett, The New York Times, Philadelphia, Brit, Times Locations: Poland, American, kilts, E.Y, Harburg, Kilkerry, Kildare, Philadelphia, New York, Polish, Massachusetts, Vichy, Biloxi, Venice, Malta, of, ”, Germany, playgoers, Sweden, England, United States, Pittsburgh, Nazi, Brustein’s, Greenwich, Georgia, Gutenberg, “, Atlanta, Republic, New, Konstantin Stanislavsky’s Moscow, Russian, America, Moscow, Stanislavsky’s, Clurman, Eastern Europe, Czech, Austrian, Auschwitz, Heini, Southern, Brighton, Rivers, French Republic, “ Brigadoon

☆ Why the Bronx Voted Republican for the First Time in a Generation
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Ginia Bellafante | More About Ginia Bellafante | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

But a City Council race on Tuesday managed to bring uncommon suspense. By Wednesday the contest had been called in favor of an X-ray technician who became the first Republican to win public office in the Bronx in nearly 20 years, a place where Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 10 to 1. With the support of Ms. Velázquez, the plan moved forward to unanimous approval by the City Council. A few days before the vote, they protested outside her office demanding that she be voted out. At one point a billboard truck drove by attacking her as the “Benedict Arnold” of Throgs Neck.

Persons: Marjorie Velázquez, Velázquez, Benedict Arnold ” Organizations: Council, Republican, Country Club, City Council Locations: New York, Bronx, Bruckner

☆ Opinion: Why Biden supports Israel so wholeheartedly
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Stephanie Griffith | Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Why does Biden support Israel so wholeheartedly? The first is a lifelong understanding of Jewish history and the indispensable role a Jewish state plays in countering millennia of antisemitism. For Biden, these imperatives – strategic, historic, moral, emotional – come together in the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hamas, a terrorist group founded on the goal of destroying Israel. Biden learned Jewish history at his father’s foot. Where many see a war between Israel and Hamas, Biden sees something much larger.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, CNN —, Joe Biden, “, Frida Ghitis CNN Biden, Biden, Israel, ”, Trump, Hitler, Michael Oren, Biden’s, Vladimir Putin, don’t, viscerally Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Star, Hamas, Israel, Ukraine Locations: United States, Israel, Gaza, Tel Aviv, Chile, Ukraine, China, Iran, Dachau, Charlottesville, Va, Europe, Russian, Russia, Hezbollah, Lebanon

☆ Opinion | Why We Need to Talk More Openly About Birth Control Side Effects
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Jessica Grose | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Part of the reason that some non-hormonal birth control methods seem to have gained such traction on social media is that there is a tendency among some medical professionals to downplay the side effects of hormonal birth control methods that many women experience. Most women who use birth control are completely or somewhat satisfied with their methods of choice, but a minority of them experience reactions unpleasant enough to seriously impede their daily lives. Over the years, I have heard anecdotally about — and experienced — various side effects to different types of contraception: heavy breakthrough bleeding and abdominal pain with IUDs, mood disturbances with different types of pills, and sexual side effects with everything. Discussion of these issues, often confined to intimate chats among women, was aired out in a great extended bit from the comedian Beth Stelling’s new Netflix special, in which she recounts the various kinds of birth control she’s “experimented recreationally” with over the years. But some physicians say without data that point to the prevalence of some side effects, they find it difficult to respond.

Persons: Beth Stelling’s, she’s “, ”, “, Sara Cravatts, Cravatts, —, Kat Tenbarge, Kate White, they’re Organizations: Netflix, “, Stat, NBC News, Boston Medical Center

☆ Oil falls $1 ahead of Fed rate decision
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Emily Chow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Prices fell despite a bigger-than-expected draw in U.S. oil stockpiles and weak U.S. shale output that indicated tight crude supply for the rest of 2023. Global benchmark Brent crude futures were last down 88 cents, or 0.9%, at $93.46 a barrel by 0650 GMT. Moya added that the oil market is still "very tight" and will remain so over the short-term. "Unless Wall Street grows nervous that the Fed will kill the economy, the crude demand outlook should (only) gradually soften, but the oil market will easily have a supply deficit throughout winter." U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell last week by about 5.25 million barrels, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Tuesday.

Persons: Pedro Nunes, Brent, Edward Moya, Moya, Goldman Sachs, Yuka Obayashi, Emily Chow, Sonali Paul, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Kim Coghill Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S, Brent, . West Texas, American Petroleum Institute, Reuters, Exxon Mobil Corp, Thomson Locations: Lisbon, Portugal, Rights SINGAPORE, U.S . Federal, U.S, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Nigeria, Tokyo, Singapore

☆ Goldman Sachs raises international oil price forecast to $100 a barrel
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Oil prices are looking to edge as high as $100 a barrel, according to Goldman Sachs. Goldman raised its 12-month ahead Brent forecast to $100 per barrel from $93. The commodity has rallied 30% since late June due to OPEC supply cuts and strong demand. "The key reason is that significantly lower OPEC supply and higher demand more than offset significantly higher US supply," Struyven said in a Wednesday note. Higher oil prices have boosted inflation , sparking concerns in the market.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Brent, WTI, Daan Struyven, Struyven, Michael Bloom Locations: U.S, Europe

☆ I took my first self-driving car ride with my teenage son and it felt comfortably dull
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Matt Rosoff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

My son Marlon has been obsessed with self-driving cars this year, as we've seen more and more Waymos and competing GM Cruise vehicles tootling around San Francisco without safety drivers. Last month, Waymo and Cruise won approval to operate driverless cars in San Francisco at any time of day. So with self-driving cars a common feature of our local landscape, we were excited to give one a try. The car pulled up with my initials, MR, on the display below the rotating lidar sensor on the roof. I was a skeptic about the promise of self-driving cars.

Persons: Waymo, Marlon, Cruise Organizations: Cruise, NBC Bay Area Locations: San Francisco

☆ Italy's Meloni champions 'family values.' But critics say she's doing little to protect women from violence
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Barbie Latza Nadeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“Perhaps we should start passing this message across and be a little more protective, in terms of vocabulary and language,” he added. We don’t know what to do with a woman in government who penalizes women,” the Democratic Women caucus said in a statement to CNN. Instead, Meloni has focused on her own family, which is increasingly prominent in party politics. Giorgia Meloni and Francesco Lollobrigida talk during the election of the new President of the Chamber of Deputies, on October 14, 2022 in Rome, Italy. Meloni’s party won the September 22 elections last year with nearly 26% of the vote.

Persons: Rome, Giorgia Meloni, ” Meloni, Andrea Giambruno, ”, you’d, Giorgia, Ivan Romano, Giambruno, don’t, ’ ”, Ginevra, Joe Biden, Meloni, Pope Francis, “, “ Donna Moderna ”, assertively, ” Giorgia Meloni, Gian Mattia D'Alberto, Rosa, –, Elly Shlein, Donna, Francesco Lollobridgida, Arianna, Meloni’s, Massimo Milani, Francesco Lollobrigida, Alessandra Benedetti, Corbis, Giovanni Montuori, Giovanni, Silvio Berlusconi Organizations: Rome CNN, Italy’s, Democratic, Democratic Women, CNN, Brothers Locations: Caivano, “ Italy, Italian, Sicilian, Palermo, United States, Italy, Rome, Rome’s Garbatella

[1/2] Republican presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at the first Republican candidates' debate of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. August 23, 2023. According to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted before the debate, 8% of Republicans supported Pence, 7% backed Ramaswamy and 5% supported Haley. SEVERAL CONTENDERSCandidates like Pence, Haley and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott receiving attention from donors and voters is bad news for DeSantis. Jay Zeidman, a Houston-based donor and DeSantis bundler, said "the governor did what he needed to do" at the debate. But DeSantis was hardly mentioned by his rivals, and he ended up speaking less than Pence, Haley and Ramaswamy.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Brian Snyder, Donald Trump's, Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, Pence, Ramaswamy, Haley, DeSantis, Trump, Brett Doster, Robert Doar, Tim Scott, assertively, Dan Eberhart, Jay Zeidman, DeSantis bundler, Nikki, Christie, Vivek, Scott, Chris Christie, Gram Slattery, James Oliphant, Alexandra Ulmer, Ross Colvin Organizations: Republican, Florida, REUTERS, Rights, American Enterprise Institute, Trump, South, DeSantis, Reuters, America, New, Thomson Locations: Milwaukee , Wisconsin, U.S, Florida, Milwaukee, Tallahassee, United States, Ukraine, South Carolina, Houston, Texas, New Jersey, California, Washington, San Francisco

☆ Drastic Economic Moves Highlight Russia’s Wartime Bind
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Anatoly Kurmanaev | More About Anatoly Kurmanaev | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For years, Russia’s central bank has skillfully shielded the country’s economy when crisis has loomed, drastically raising interest rates, restricting money movements or taking over ailing banks. The swift, sharp moves conveyed a clear message that, despite increasingly bitter economic conflicts with the West, economic stability would be maintained at any cost. The bank raised the benchmark interest rate by 3.5 percentage points to 12 percent. High interest rates raise the cost of borrowing, inhibiting spending. But political considerations can push in the opposite direction, for low interest rates that stimulate spending and keep the economy moving.

Persons: Elvira Nabiullina, Vladimir V Organizations: West Locations: assertively, Ukraine

☆ Kamala Harris Takes on a Forceful New Role in the 2024 Campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Zolan Kanno-Youngs | More About Zolan Kanno-Youngs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In recent weeks, Vice President Kamala Harris has dashed off to Florida on short notice. She sparred with the state’s conservative governor, Ron DeSantis, over how to teach slavery in schools. And she flew into Iowa to defend abortion rights while 13 Republican presidential candidates were having dinner a few miles away. Once a rising star as a senator in California, Ms. Harris has for years been saddled by criticism of her performance as vice president. Concerns about her future spread as Democrats pondered whether she would be a political liability for the ticket.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Ron DeSantis, Harris, Joseph R, Biden, “, ”, Cedric Richmond, Republican Party — assertively Organizations: Republican, Republicans, White House, Democratic National Committee, Republican Party Locations: Florida, Iowa, California

☆ Germany urges companies to 'de-risk' from China, emphasizes it is not seeking a decoupling
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Germany said there is an urgent need for companies to de-risk from China, while "not pursuing a decoupling" of economies. "For Germany, China remains a partner, a competitor, a systemic rival. The minister was presenting the country's strategy on China and explaining how the country plans to protect its interests. "China's economic strategy aims to make it less dependent on other countries, while making international production chains more dependent on China," the foreign ministry said in a 64-page report published Thursday. "In terms of foreign policy, China is pursuing its own interests far more assertively and is attempting in various ways to reshape the existing rules‑ based international order.

Persons: Olaf Scholz, Li Qiang, Annalena Baerbock Organizations: Mercator Institute for China Studies Locations: Berlin, Germany, China, Europe

London/Berlin CNN —Germany announced Thursday that it would reduce its dependence on China in “critical sectors” including medicine, lithium batteries used in electric cars and elements essential to chipmaking. The government published its first ever “Strategy on China,” a 40-page document that highlights the tightrope Berlin must walk in managing its dependence on the world’s second-largest economy amid growing criticism of Beijing’s human rights record and attitude towards international law. China is Germany’s most important trading partner, with imports and exports between the two nations reaching nearly €300 billion ($335 billion) in 2022, according to the government. China is a crucial partner in tackling climate change, pandemics and sustainable development, the strategy paper added. China is a key market for several major German companies, including Volkswagen (VLKAF) and BMW, and the government said it planned to hold talks with firms “particularly exposed to China” with a view to “identifying concentration risks.”

Persons: Berlin CNN —, ”, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s, ” Scholz, Olaf Scholz, Germany Heiko Becker Organizations: Berlin CNN, Siemens, Reuters, Volkswagen, BMW Locations: Berlin, China, ”, Beijing, Germany, overdependent, EU, Bavaria

☆ Hunter Biden Isn’t Hiding. Even Some Democrats Are Uncomfortable.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Peter Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Yet some Democrats, including current and former Biden administration officials, privately saw it as an unnecessary poke-the-bear gesture. Had he been advising Mr. Biden, Mr. Eisen said, he would have warned him about “the flak they were going to take” but added that it would be a matter of optics, rather than rules. “That’s probably more of a question for an etiquette czar than an ethics czar,” he said. “Certainly, there’s no violation of any ethics rule as long as they didn’t talk about the case.”The White House said Mr. Biden was simply being a father. “In all administrations, regardless of party, it’s common for presidential family members to attend state dinners and to accompany presidents to Camp David,” Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman, said on Tuesday.

Persons: “, ”, Norman Eisen, Barack Obama’s, Biden, Eisen, “ That’s, Mr, Camp David, ” Andrew Bates, Hunter Organizations: Biden, White

☆ U.S. Officials Face Challenge Sorting Through Intelligence on Wagner Rebellion
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

While U.S. officials picked up intelligence that pointed to Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's move on the Russian military , it would have been difficult to anticipate specific outcomes of a revolt with high confidence, former U.S. intelligence officials said. The events of the weekend “were not only unprecedented in modern times, but were also nearly impossible to predict,” said Jamil Jaffer, a former senior counsel to the House Intelligence Committee and national security official in the George W. Bush White House. The intelligence community, former officials said, would have likely been doing some guesswork on how assertively and swiftly Progozhin intended to act and the extent of the challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime, given the mercurial personalities at play. The difficulty of discerning from communications what was genuine and what amounted to idle venting of frustrations, and the lack of any comparable situation in recent Russian history would have also posed a challenge, former officials said.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin's, ”, Jamil Jaffer, George W, Bush, Vladimir Putin's Organizations: U.S, Wagner Group, House Intelligence, House

Late last month a Chinese fighter jet flew in front of a U.S. warplane over the South China Sea, drawing a rebuke from the United States. China regards the United States as an outsider interfering in a region in which it sees itself as a force for peace and stability. The United States says such patrols defend the right of all countries to sail in international waters. Some analysts say Chinese military commanders have been encouraged to act more assertively against foreign military ships and planes. And that's when the United States would eventually take the necessary measures to reduce the risk."

Persons: Xi Jinping, ”, Jennifer Parker, Derek Grossman, China's, Tong Zhao, Nancy Pelosi's, Michael Martina, Martin Pollard, Yew Lun Tian, Laurie Chen, Don Durfee, Gerry Doyle Organizations: U.S, People's Liberation Army Navy, PLAN, PLA, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, RAND Corporation, Communist Party, Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs, Pentagon, ., Reuters, Washington, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, BEIJING, Chinese, U.S, Taiwan Strait, South China, United States, China, CHINA, Beijing, Asia, Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hainan

☆ Putin has given up on his ambition to conquer Ukraine after military losses that may take a decade to repair, US intel claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin has scaled back his ambitions in Ukraine, US intel says. Russia has suffered serious setbacks in its bid to seize control of Ukraine. But Ukrainian forces repelled the Russian military in the Kyiv region, then pushed them back along a broad front of territory they had seized in southern and eastern Ukraine. Despite the setbacks, last June Haines said Putin still believed that seizing control of most of Ukraine was possible. Putin may believe that a ceasefire would be to his advantage as a way of prolonging the conflict, and eroding Western support for Ukraine, said Haines.

☆ Job cuts, a sole CEO, and AI bets: How Bridgewater is shaking itself up after the Ray Dalio era
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The firm's CEO, Nir Bar Dea, said in a memo that it would lay off employees and restructure. Bar Dea had been a rising star at Bridgewater, which has transitioned leadership in recent years. Former co-CEO Mark Bertolini is also stepping out of the role and returning to Bridgewater's board as an independent director, leaving Bar Dea as sole CEO. "Over time, we expect this platform to produce the next round of growth in the business," Bar Dea wrote. 'Finding a home'As far as high finance executives go, Bar Dea has an unexpected background.

☆ There's nothing but 'zombie arguments' for not giving Ukraine fighter jets, one of its closest partners says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Jake Epstein | Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine has placed advanced Western fighter jets at the top of its military hardware wishlist. He said the way some Western countries approach giving Ukraine weapons needs to be altered, saying there's "certain psychological taboos and I think we need to revise this negative approach." RADOSLAW JOZWIAK/AFP via Getty ImagesAmong the countries that initially rejected the idea of sending fighter jets to Ukraine are the US and UK. On Wednesday, the British government said it would offer to train Ukrainian pilots to fly "sophisticated" NATO-standard fighter jets in the future. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the UK was considering the provision of fighter jets.

☆ Sarcasm, the silent treatment, and gossiping are all passive-aggressive work behaviors. Here's how to keep them out of your office culture.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Marc Havercroft | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Workplace passive aggression can appear as sarcasm, the silent treatment, or spreading gossip. However, the sudden shift from in-person interactions to online communication has led to numerous issues, including an increase in passive aggression. "Quiet Quitting" has been gaining popularity and can be linked to the rise of passive aggression in the workplace. Identify the causeWorkplace passive aggression can manifest itself through a number of different behaviors, such as sarcasm, giving someone the silent treatment, or spreading gossip. Educating your workplace on how to improve their communication, time management, and problem-solving skills is the key to preventing passive-aggressive behaviors before they happen.

☆ Investors are stampeding into boring old bonds to start the year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Michael Santoli | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Yet boring old bonds have just about kept pace, as investors rush to lock in healthy-seeming yields after one of the worst years ever for fixed-income returns. The Federal Reserve's historically aggressive tightening campaign last year gouged debt portfolios but quickly rebuilt the supply of safe yield on offer for today's buyers. I made the case for bonds' value from this perspective in a column here three months ago , just as Treasury yields were peaking. The good news is that "real yields," meaning yields above the market's implied outlook for inflation, remain positive. The American Association of Individual Investors' monthly asset allocation survey for December showed bonds at 14.3%, below the survey's long-term average of 16%.

☆ The Visions of Octavia Butler
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Lynell George | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +27 min

As a science fiction writer, Butler forged a new path and envisioned bold possibilities. Mural with a portrait of Octavia Butler and her name, composed of dots of various densities in 3-D space. In 1995, she became the first science fiction writer to be awarded a MacArthur “genius” grant. “‘Kindred’ was a story of ordinary people trapped in fantastic circumstances,” Butler wrote in a 1988 notebook. Her point of view was one not traditionally found in science fiction and, simply by writing, she demanded a larger world.

☆ A wave of layoffs is sweeping the US. Here are the major companies that have announced cuts so far, from Gap to Peloton.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Netflix: About 150 peopleNetflix Co-CEO Reed Hastings. Getty Images LatamNetflix laid off around 150 people in mid-May, its second round of layoffs in 2022. The latest layoffs, which impacted "mostly US-based" staff, were due to "slowing revenue growth," according to a statement from a Netflix spokesperson. And executives warned at the time that further subscriber losses were predicted for the future. They blamed "revenue growth headwinds" in a report to shareholders and said that heavy Netflix use during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic had "obscured the picture until recently."

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