Category Archives: Zeitgeist Movement

For Conservative Judaism in America, the news lately has been ominous. Looking back over the years, its even worse! Which raises the question: does it have a real future?

I started thinking about this when a friend sent me some news from my old Washington Heights neighborhood (in Upper, Upper Manhattan) where I grew up. The main Conservative synagogue there, Fort Tryon Jewish Center, had to sell off its building to a condominium contractor. A minor piece of news, I thought and then a larger item appeared a few days ago: the American Jewish University in Los Angeles (other than the JTS, the only Conservative Rabbinical Ordination school in the US) was selling off its lovely campus! Yes, it plans to continue working, as the JTA reported: American Jewish University announced the decision in a letter to its students that said the sale would help pay for more academic offerings and community programs as the institution increasingly turns digital. Virtual education might help future rabbis to deal with Zoom prayers, but thats not what minyan Judaism is all about.

And then the true shocker appeared in the news: next year there wont be enough new Conservative rabbis to fill all the vacancies in the movements American synagogues!If the most important role in an organization cant find enough workers, that sounds like the beginning of the movements death knell.

In a sense, none of this should surprise anyone. As a PEW survey in 2021 noted: a quarter of adults who are currently Jewish or were raised that way say they were brought up in Conservative Judaism, while 15% identify as Conservative Jews today. For every person who has joined Conservative Judaism, nearly three people who were raised in the Conservative movement have left it.In short, the Conservative movement has been losing adherents for several decades. It was by far the largest of the three main Jewish-American denominations in the 1950s and 1960s. It barely beats out Orthodoxy today and has fallen far below Reform Judaism.

What happened? The short answer is that for any religious sect or denomination its tough to be caught in the middle. Religion has a tendency to push people to extremes: either liberal universalism (Reform Judaism; Christian Unitarianism) or dogmatic particularism (Orthodox Judaism; Catholicism). Put another way, its easier to either go with general societys zeitgeist flow or hunker down and adhere to strict traditionalism. Finding a middle way is fraught with compromises not something that religion excels in.

Perhaps the best example of this conundrum in which the Conservative Movement found itself was the mass Jewish migration after WW2 from the cities to the suburbs. The problem: in the suburbs people tended to live much further away from the synagogue not in walking distance for most congregants. The question became: should the Conservative movement go along with Reform Judaism that permitted driving to synagogue on the Sabbath, or stick to age-old halakhic proscriptions that traditionally forbade this (because the autos internal combustion engine involved fire)? After much internal, earnest, halakhic debate, a decision was issued to split the baby in half: only driving to synagogue was permitted, but not to anywhere else on the sabbath. It doesnt take a social psychologist to understand that this distinction would not be understood by the movements parishioners, nor adhered to.

Worse yet, not only was the decision halakhically untenable (using fire is one of the 39 totally strict prohibitions regarding Sabbath activity), but this only further encouraged the movements adherents to live further away from the neighborhood where the synagogue was located thereby distancing Conservative Jews from each other even during the week! Any sense of a tight Jewish community quickly evaporated.

Whether because of this decision or not related at all, the ensuing decades were witness to a growing sociological gap between the Conservative leadership (rabbis, etc.) and the laity. Whereas the former (the Jewish Theological Seminary leading the way) continued to try and adhere to Jewish halakha in its decisions (most of the time successfully), many and then most of its Jewish constituency lived lives increasingly disconnected from Jewish law for example, at first eating non-kosher only outside the home, and then also inside the home. There was a limit to how liberal the JTS could be (even the School of Hillel 2000 years ago was flexible only up to a point), and the laity either jumped ship or simply ignored the JTS strictures from on high. Indeed, one of the reasons that there arent enough Conservative rabbis today is precisely this disconnect: who would want to shepherd a flock that refuses to follow the path?

Let it be said that the Conservative movement has done some wonderful work. Its Camp Ramah network is a jewel (I worked there for several years as sports director and educator). The Solomon Schechter Jewish Day School chain has provided great Jewish education to tens of thousands of the movements youngsters. But neither could fully service the million or more congregants that Conservatism had decades ago.

Of course, if the Conservative movement ultimately disappears, that is not to say that its adherents would stop living Jewish lives. Many will continue to move leftwards to Reform Judaism, itself becoming more Jewishly traditional over the years; others will move rightwards and find common cause with Modern Orthodoxy especially its more egalitarian wing that is making mighty efforts to square Orthodoxy with the circle of womens equality. It is questionable whether American Jewry will really suffer in any way if only two major denominations survive (three, if you want to count ultra-Orthodoxy as distinct, which in many ways it certainly is). The future of American Jewry is not a question of how many denominations survive; rather, its a matter of how many Jews remain altogether within the Jewish fold, living lives that can be said to have significant Jewish content.

Prof. Sam Lehman-Wilzig (PhD in Government, 1976; Harvard U) taught at Bar-Ilan University (1977-2017), serving as: Head of the Journalism Division (1991-1996); Political Studies Department Chairman (2004-2007); and School of Communication Chairman (2014-2016). He was also Chair of the Israel Political Science Association (1997-1999). He has published three books and 60 scholarly articles on Israeli Politics; New Media & Journalism; Political Communication; the Jewish Political Tradition; the Information Society. His new book is VIRTUALITY AND HUMANITY: VIRTUAL PRACTICE AND ITS EVOLUTION FROM PRE-HISTORY TO THE 21ST CENTURY (Springer Nature, Dec. 2021): The book's description, substantive Preface and full Table of Contents can be freely accessed here: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-16-6526-4#toc. For more information about Prof. Lehman-Wilzig's publications (academic and popular), see: http://www.ProfSLW.com

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Conservative Judaism: The Beginning of the End? | Sam Lehman-Wilzig | The Blogs - The Times of Israel

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Merryn Somerset Webb: Hello, and welcome to the MoneyWeek Magazine podcast. I am Merryn Somerset Webb, editor-in-chief of the magazine. This podcast is being recorded on February 11th, 2020. With me today is Alec Cutler, who is director and manager of the Orbis Global Balanced Fund. Alec, thank you so much for joining us today.

Alex Cutler: No, thank you.

Merryn: Can we start perhaps by you just telling us a little bit about your fund so we know what it is that you do?

Alec: OK. So just for context, Orbis, Im not sure everyone knows who Orbis is, but we were founded in 1989, and we run 26 billion in sterling over eight strategies by 400 people in ten offices around the world. And Im fortunate enough to lead the multi-asset team and our flagship fund in the multi-asset team is a 3bn Global Balanced Fund.

And the Global Balanced Fund, as the name implies, can invest in equities, in bonds, but it can also use hedging on the equity side and invest in commodities. So a lot of flexibility to deal with all the environments that the markets can throw at us.

Merryn: And how has that worked out over the last couple of years?

Alec: It started out great and we rotated. We were actually a fairly growthy fund for the beginning, for the first few years. Its a ten-year-old fund now. And I rotated towards value and then deeper value and deeper value as it underperformed. So up until last year, we struggled, 2018-2019 and half of 20. And since the bottom of the Covid sell-off, which just happened to be the day the recession started and ended, weve done quite well. So we bounced back quite strongly.

Merryn: Excellent. So my guess is that youre moving into an environment that is really going to suit you at the moment. Now, were talking just as the latest CPI numbers have come out for the US. Quite shocking, and its beginning to look like no, it definitely looks like anyone who at any point over the last year said that inflation is transient was completely wrong. In fact, its beginning to feel a little bit 1970s out here.

Alec: Yes, I couldnt agree more. And I think its sending all the active managers scrambling to find notes from the 1970s and to call their mentors and find out if they know anything about the 1970s. Im fortunate enough to have lived through it. Im old enough.

I did try and Well, I thought about trying to track down my mentors but theyve all been deceased. So it wouldve been wonderful to be able to talk to Allan Gray and Anthony Hitschler, two people I respect greatly. But unfortunately both passed away. So when do you realise youre the old person in the firm? That was it.

Merryn: Yes. Well, its interesting, isnt it? There are so few people around, certainly working, who have experience of managing money or, in fact, doing anything in a heavily inflationary environment.

Alec: Yes. I was a teenager. I went to college in 1984. So it was pretty much my adolescence. And I remember it. I do remember it being a painful period. I do remember my father being out of work. I do remember him bringing home a coal stove that I then had to stoke every morning at 5:30, and four months later, had to try and clean the black soot off the entire inside of the house.

It was not a good time. Stocks went down. Bonds went down. And everything else went up in price. And the investors of today, as you point out, maybe one in 1,000 experienced that environment, and the vast majority of investors have only ever known a 20-year bull market punctuated by three-month sell-offs.

Merryn: Yes. And theres a feeling that most people expect some kind of reversion to what they consider to be the norm. Im hearing a lot of people thinking that this is only going to take a little while and then inflation will fall back down again and interest rates will stay low and the next decade will end up being a little bit like the last decade.

It reminds me of when I first when to Japan to work there in the early 1990s. And the bull market had fairly decisively ended. But nonetheless, most of the brokers still believed that that huge bull/bubble market was the norm and they expected it to return. They all said to me, youre here at just the right time. Its about to take off again. It never did, of course. But its interesting how long that idea that normal is what just happened. It carries on.

Alec: Yes. And its my favourite area of study in behavioural finance, is the anchoring theory, where people anchor at a certain point in time and they tend to anchor at a point in time thats either very fun or happy or a good memory, like a stock price peak, or very, very painful, like the bottom of a bear market when they got out. So that is certainly whats going on now.

And I talk a lot about the five stages of grieving right now because thats the process that pulls you away off that anchoring. You anchor on that wonderful feeling of markets that are going up 10-12% a year, and hey, I own the big mega cap growth tech names and theyre wonderful.

And you get a minor correction and another correction and youre in a state of denial because were always, this is how you get a rebound and buy the dip. And then you blow through the dip and you start to become angry. And youre starting to see investors lash out at their professional money managers whove been telling them to deny everything.

And I suspect, if you flip over to the Federal Reserve and the central bankers, they were the lead cheerleaders. There was no inflation. Then it was transitory. Then it was, well be back to 2% by the end of 2022. That was Powell in December. And now he's, well be back to 2.4% at the end of 2022. And I suspect after this latest inflation reading, he might be talking about 2.6% by the end of 2022. So its a sort of cross this line and Ill kill you type denial.

The anger will come. If this is the real deal, the anger will come towards the Fed. And that will manifest itself in a complete lack of confidence. And as you know, inflation is a confidence game, so once you have a loss of confidence that anyone has control over inflation, then inflation just starts compounding and feeding on itself as people go into inflation behaviour. Buy today whats going to be more expensive tomorrow. Ask for a raise, which is why the Bank of England governor is telling people not to ask for a raise, as tone deaf as that sounds.

Merryn: Yes, I dont think anyone is listening.

Alec: Yes.

Merryn: And certainly, Ive told my readers not to listen. Why should they put up with losing real income every year? It might be better for the economy as a whole, but on an individual basis, why should you be the one who takes a hit?

Alec: Exactly. But what it tells you, more alarmingly than a tone deaf ivory tower attitude, is that if you listen to the central bankers, in order for them to maintain confidence, they say along the lines of, weve got this, dont worry, this isnt the 70s, we have a much better toolkit now. Powell is into toolkits. And if this, if trying to get people to not ask for a raise, is the toolkit, is the new toolkit, were in big trouble.

Merryn: Were in big trouble. OK, now Im getting the sense here, Alec, that you think we are in big trouble. How do you see the next few years panning out in terms of inflation?

Alec: I primarily studied the 70s period as an instructive tool to talk to the investors within Orbis not to use the last ten years as your model for the next ten years. So its really just to drag people off that past is prologue heuristic and to look at and think about periods in the past that might also share some characteristics with the environment were heading into. The 70s was a terrible, awful period. The 2000 TMT bubble crash, that was an awful environment for everyone but value investors, by the way.

Merryn: Oh, it wasnt an awful environment for everyone, was it? Because it was a slightly different time in that, for starters, not everybody was an investor at the time. Many more people are investors now, particularly in the UK, now we have an auto-enrolment system. And it was only really a small part of the market. It wasnt the same all-round crisis that affected lots of people. It was a bit different, wasnt it?

Alec: I think Im affected by my personal experience, where a neighbours father came over and knocked on the door. And he was an anaesthesiologist from New York. And he came to the door and he had some papers and he was crying.

Merryn: Aw.

Alec: And I said, whats going on? And he said, can I talk to you about my portfolio? And he showed me his portfolio and it was all the go-go stocks from the late 90s that had cracked 30%, 40%, 50%, 70%. And he said, I invested in the 70s. I vowed never to invest again. And all my doctor friends were making so much money in the late 90s that I had to get in. And I gave, Im not going to tell the name of the brokerage firm, my savings and its now down 70%.

So I think at least in the US, people really got into it at the end. And as you know, the market causes the most pain to the most people. And there was a lot of pain to go around, in the US at least.

Merryn: OK. Sorry. I shouldnt have made that interruption.

Alec: Thats OK.

Merryn: Were back to the 70s and what a bad time that was.

Alec: Yes, it was pretty awful. And studying it brought the analogies to today home very clearly. And I can best do that by talking about the Microsoft, Google, Amazon name of the day. Do you know what that was?

Merryn: Tell me.

Alec: Lowly IBM. So IBM went public in 1973, and it was And I remember my father talking about IBM and what a great company it was in the 70s. It came public at 40 times earnings in 1973. It was growing earnings at 60% a year.

Merryn: Wow.

Alec: And so came out at a massive premium. Sounds very familiar to some of the things weve seen recently. In fact, it came out at a discount to Amazon. But if you combine Microsoft, Amazon and Googles multiples, it would be about the same as IBM in 1973. For the next two years, it grew earnings at 60%. Cant get much better than that.

Merryn: No.

Alec: The stock price corrected by 50%, went down 50%, despite the fact that it was doing tremendously well. And if you think about it And by the way, it didnt eclipse its IPO price until ten years later.

Merryn: Wow.

Alec: In 1984. So the people that are saying today, well, all I need to do is own great growth companies with fantastic franchises that have very clear visibility of growth, I wont be hurt, no matter the valuation, so thats what Ill hold and just roll through it. You roll through it, you might be rolling through and waiting for ten years to get back to where you are today.

Merryn: Thats interesting, and I still hear this all the time. It doesnt matter what the price is. As long as youve got a quality company, as long as its continuing to grow earnings, etc., youll be fine. But that is absolutely not what history tells us. History tells us, if you pay too much, however good the company, youre going to get hurt.

Alec: No, and of the top five names in 2000, the largest names in the US were Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, General Electric and Walmart. Of those names, the only one thats in the top five today is Microsoft. And in the medium term, between those two points in time, we were buying Microsoft at ten times earnings. We sold it far too early, and its a fantastic company. But to say that that cant happen again is kind of idiotic because it has happened twice. And this is just the type of environment that makes that happen.

Merryn: OK. So what do you think is going to drive the inflation that might bring us back to this 1970s scenario? We know that energy prices have been rising. We know that theres a supply chain crunch, etc. But all those things are possibly reversible. I keep being told that there are signs the supply chain is easing up already and it may be that energy prices stop here, in which case, they need to keep rising for inflation to keep rising, right? So what do you think is going to make inflation come in at these 7% numbers for more than a couple of months more?

Alec: Yes. Inflation is an amazing beast in that it doesnt matter what sparks it, its what comes next. It is does it compound? How is the PMM behaviour reacting to it? So in the 70s, the misnomer is that inflation was caused by the oil embargo in 1973/74, and then again in the Iranian Revolution in 1979. In studying it, inflation was ramping hard before the oil embargo, and prices of raw materials, in particular, but also wage inflation.

And so then you say, well, what caused that? And the cause of that And again, this is a strong parallel to today. The root cause of that was the US going off the Gold Standard. The Bretton Woods Agreement put tight guardrails on money supply. It really restricted what the central banks could do. And when Nixon pulled us off the Gold Standard in 1971, it allowed the Federal Reserve to crank up money supply. Cranking up money supply beyond those guardrails started inflation.

And thats something interesting today. We had a similar thing with quantitative easing and ZIRP [zero-interest-rate policy] and NIRP [negative-interest-rate policy] and all those crazy acronyms where, after the global financial crisis, people said, well, we have a lower limit here. We have a lower bound to how much you can stimulate with money creation.

And the central banks, as smart as they are, figured out a way to blow right through that level and do quantitative easing. And thats an experiment. And the references to the early 70s refer to experimentation. The parallels are incredible in this regard. But that caused inflation, a big increase in money supply, bigger than in any time in the past 20 years.

And then the oil embargo hit and you were off to the races. But then it compounds. And this is what I remember as a kid. I remember waiting in line on our assigned day to go to the gas station and get gas. And I remember the kid going out and changing the numbers on the gas price.

Merryn: Oh, you saw that?

Alec: Sure. And that just meant you wanted to get gas more.

Merryn: Yes.

Alec: Can I get a whole tank of gas instead of half of tank of gas that we were allowed. So that feeding frenzy is really what lights it up and makes it sustaining and very, very difficult to snuff out.

Merryn: And then, of course, that inflation drives everyone asking for more money. It drives the wage demands and it drives the union power as well because people want to collect together to give themselves more power when they see inflation rising. So inflation enhances union power, enhanced union power leads to higher wages, etc., and off we go.

Alec: Yes. And if you look at today, if you look at the elements today and say were those elements there in the early 70s, late 80s, a lot of those elements are there. Some elements are much, much worse.

Merryn: OK, whats worse?

Alec: The valuation levels, particularly in the US and the S&P and the Nasdaq are just much, much, much, much higher than they were in the early 70s. The debt loads, just night and day. The debt loads now, the government debt loads now are on par with the spike in World War Two. And we have not been in a war. Crazy low rates.

So the ten-year Treasury was yielding 4% at the end of the 60s. Its yielding now one It just popped up to 2% today, yesterday. Now its a bit below. But we were as low as 0.5 on the US ten-year and we were negative on the Bund until last week. Quantitative easing is a complete experiment that makes going off the Gold Standard look like childs play from a level of difficulty and trying to understand where this thing is going to go.

The wealth gap now is miles bigger than the wealth gap There wasnt much of a wealth gap at all, in fact, in the late 60s. Coming out of the war, everyone started the same and you didnt have this big gradient between the richest and everyone else, and labour was very strong. A third of workers were in unions in the 70s. 6% in the US, and I think its around 8% in the UK of workers are in unions today. But the popularity, the public sentiment around unions is as high as it was in the early 70s.

Merryn: Oh, really?

Alec: Youve had this

Merryn: Thats interesting.

Alec: Youve had this huge shift. Yes. Youve had this huge shift. And I think it relates to the thing prior. The wealth gap is so high. And in particular, if you look at everything from the GFC through jaundiced eyes, it looks like everything the Fed has done, everything the government has done is to protect the wealthy. Its caused massive financial inflation, financial asset inflation, which the 99 dont really participate in though wed like them to, and its just made the rich richer and richer and richer.

Merryn: And it also protects the old. Thats one of the interesting things about this whole dynamic is obviously the old tend to be wealthier than the young. Theyve had more time to build the wealth. And a lot of the things that we have done with quantitative easing, etc., forcing up asset prices, has been to benefit the old to the detriment of the young. And, of course, thats something weve seen during the pandemic as well. Youve asked the young to give up everything to protect the old.

And I keep looking at this. I was thinking about this this morning. Its such a strange dynamic at a time when fertility rates have collapsed across the Western world and populations outside seven or eight core countries around Africa, etc. are going to start falling relatively soon. We have a falling number of young people, both relative to old people and also actually in many countries in absolute terms.

You would think that with that scarcity of the young, we would want to take care of them beautifully, we would want to look after them even better than wed want to look after our old. But you only have to look at things, the weird dynamics of making children wear masks when adults dont have to and focusing entirely on protecting the wealth of the old at the expense of the young to think, this is really bizarre.

Alec: Yes. We are living through an incredibly bizarre era. But I wouldnt say You have to differentiate the old. So the old that have financial assets, were protecting. The old that are on a fixed income

Merryn: We are not.

Alec: Have been getting hammered. Their cost of living increase has been nil, which is awful for them because the reality is their cost of living has been skyrocketing. The cost of living from a medicine standpoint, at least in the US, thats not as highly regulated as it is in the UK, but old people are really struggling with this low/no rate environment. So theyll at least get some benefit.

So the positive difference is supposed to be, if you listen to the central bank mouthpieces, that they have these great, new tools.. They all studied the 70s. I went back. In looking at literature, trying to find out and learn about the 70s, all the literature, all the academic literature is written by the people at the central bank. Thats what they did in grad school. So they know it really, really well. And I think its given them confidence, perhaps over-confidence, that theyre not going to make those same mistakes.

Merryn: OK. So what are they going to do?

Alec: I dont know. I dont know what they can do. They talk about new tools, but if new tools is represented by yelling at people and telling them not to ask for raises, were in big trouble. I think their new tools might just highlight to them sooner how screwed they are, pardon my language.

Merryn: Yes.

Alec: And how screwed we are. Because talk about sitting between a rock and a hard place. You want to fight inflation but you have a fragile economy. You fight inflation, you go into recession and people lose their jobs. And its very politically unattractive right now, just as it was in the early 70s, by the way.

Nixon was fairly famous for berating the Fed Chairman for not easing interest rates and increasing economic activity. It sounds very similar to the last President we had, and I wouldnt be surprised if Joe Biden, in his kinder, softer way, makes the same points. He desperately does not want a recession into the midterms.

Merryn: Yes. Interesting. Is it possible that central banks dont really have any tools at all to control inflation in that over the last 20 years or so, when theyve thought that it has been them controlling inflation and we hear about their targets and their special tools for doing this, etc., inflation has just been low anyway because of globalisation, because of the opening up of labour markets in Eastern Europe, China entering the world economy, etc. All these things kept inflation low automatically, regardless of what central banks did.

So theyve been bigging themselves up for something that was just happening. And now were moving into an environment where inflation is going to just happen because a lot of the dynamics, the big trends that have given us low inflation over the last 20-30 years are reversing. So it doesnt matter what they do. Its going to happen anyway.

Alec: Yes. Its a little bit And I dont want to be too flip because they can jawbone. But to me, its a little bit like yelling at the TV and thinking youre going to have an outcome on the football game.

Merryn: Thats very good. I like that. Im going to use that one. Im stealing that quote, definitely.

Alec: Youre welcome to have it. So I think theyre in big trouble. I think that when they did their academic papers, they didnt think that this would be the set-up. But its just very hard. And if youre ever going to listen to the very old people, the old people that still get asked to go on podcasts and TV, who want to talk about this, if you see what theyre talking about now, its this. They cant see how we get out of this alive, I guess alive referring to economic health and stability. And I think it might be a good time to listen to old people.

Merryn: Yes. And if we were to listen to those old people, what would they tell us to invest in?

Alec: Yes. So you can imagine that this is where everyone in our firm wants to get to. OK. So what? What do we do? What do we do to protect our clients? And I dont want to sound like a McKinsey consultant, but it does depend on the shape and nature of whats driving this.

So obviously, you referred to the Fed being a bystander, I think the thing where theyre most clearly a bystander is the commodity prices. The Federal Reserve cant pass an act that says go out and build more capacity, go out and drill for oil, go out and drill for natural gas, go build a copper mine. Thats not their remit.

The government can. The government could incent people to go drill for oil and gas. They have in the past. This government doesnt seem to want to, at least in the US. And in fact, no government in the world wants to. But energy would be the first place to look, in that if thats going to be the prime mover, the spark that causes this rolling inflation, then your safest place to be is in those that produce the inflating commodity that starts it and keeps it rolling.

Merryn: Yes, but youre talking about old fashioned energy. So were talking about oil and were probably, in particular, talking about gas, which everyone is gradually coming around to recognising is a major part of the energy transition.

Alec: Yes. Were almost exclusively invested in gas. So we have 15% of the portfolio in energy, and its very highly weighted towards gas because, as you say, gas was lumped in as part of the evil carbon emitter group. Lumping it in with coal is not fun for the gas guys. But it couldnt be farther from the truth.

The only way you get rid of coal It isnt with windmills that arent selling now because the price of steel and copper are too high, and it isnt going to be solar that only works for six hours a day. It has to be natural gas. So if you want to go get rid of coal, youve got to use a lot of natural gas. Its the transition fuel.

And we were able to buy into these names at very low valuations because the zeitgeist drove the valuations down so low and stopped production to the point where you could easily see supply-demand getting out of whack and you could easily see governments following the logic and saying, in the end, we need these. And youre seeing that in the EU. Youre seeing that in the UK. And youre seeing that in the US. And were welcoming it.

Merryn: Its amazing how quickly something stops being evil when you really need it, isnt it?

Alec: Yes. Cold will do that and the cost of electricity. And one thing Im seeing now thats pretty alarming is an echo of whats caused this. So why are we here? Why are natural gas prices and electricity prices so high? Because the zeitgeist, the ESG movement, which is fantastic, its all about participative and democratic capitalism, which I know youre a big advocate for

Merryn: Im very keen on, yes.

Alec: As am I. You have to understand how this stuff works. Otherwise, it wont work for long. Capitalism wont be sustainable if everyone doesnt participate. So its great to see this participation and all these ESG funds pop up. But because its rather new, its missed the target quite a bit, particularly on the global warming side.

And telling BP and Shell that they have to divest, they have to stop producing energy does two things. One, its not like its not going to get produced. When they leave When BP left Iraq, Sinopec comes right in. The Chinese and the Russians come right in and they help pump oil with abandon. And I dont know, if youre a better, whether you want to bet that BP is going to do a better job for the environment or a Chinese or Russian state-owned enterprise. But Ill be willing to bet anyone who listens to the podcast my standard bet, and Ill take BP and Shell.

But the other thing its caused is a reduction in the amount of natural gas being produced. And lo and behold, the windmills and solar and the battery unicorns really cant do it. You need baseload power that can come on and handle it. Thats natural gas, thats coal and thats nuclear. Nuclear has limited capacity. Coal is illegal, basically.

Merryn: Give or take, yes.

Alec: That leaves you with natural gas. And so at the same time the supply of natural gas went down because people forced it down, people power, including taking Shell to court in the Netherlands, so people cannot wipe their hands of this and say it wasnt us, it was us, to now go after those companies and say that theyre making super profits and its their fault because they didnt produce enough and were going to go after them and tax them more, well, what happens when you tax somebody more? You produce less, or you go elsewhere.

So if youre taxing me in the UK, Im not going to produce in the UK. There are plenty of places to go produce. Im going to go to the West Coast of Africa. Im going to go offshore Brazil. Im going to go offshore Guyana. Im going to go to the US and frAlec: in Texas. So were just going to keep the problem rolling.

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Alec Cutler: it feels like the 1970s what should you buy? - MoneyWeek

Towering above a public square in Qingdao, China, the Chamber Church by German-Chinese architecture practice Bro Ziyu Zhuang creates a picture befitting its associations with the divine and otherworldly, through an ethereal, ridged white form that remoulds archetypal elements in a more emotive vein. The project was commissioned by Tianjin-based developer Sunac as part of its Aduo Town project, in the Qingdao Zangma Mountain Tourism Resort. Despite its designation as a church, the structures exterior betrays little of its denominational allegiances, portraying itself in a more secular light. Stripped of any ornamention commonly found in church architecture, the design employs historic architectural precedents in a more abstract light, adopting a style that aims to represent a timeless modernity which creates a sense of the future'.

In the past, creating architecture that was representative of the divine predominantly relied on pastiche and symbolic ornamentation with a touch of grandeur, until the past century when the advent of modernism changed the game entirely. This is particularly true in the case of churches, whose cruciform plans, vaults, and towering spires have been reincarnated many times over, with varying degrees of detail and decoration to better fit the cultural zeitgeist of each era. In a typology as old and somewhat rigid as religious architecture, with its plethora of essential symbols, what is the next form of recontextualisation that can ground a structure, such as a church, within the Information Age?

While searching for an answer to this compelling conundrum, the design team at Bro Ziyu Zhuang first turned their eyes to the past, to create a pure form, worthy of a modern icon, that would still resonate with traditional visions of what constitutes a church. Some common elements included an east-west orientation, spires, lateral symmetry, axial prolongation, and a basilica-style layout. Adopting these as points of reference, the firm overlaid vernacular architectural elements of churches to form a composite, and subsequently created a sequence of slices that generated a towering morphology. The captured form harkens back to colonial-style churches, with a soaring tower that culminates in a pointed spire at the front.

These slices were then translated into a system of aluminium fins reminiscent of buttresses. In essence, the entire structure is defined by this series of cascading slices, whose contours shape its referential bell tower, rose window, and gabled roof, lending a seeming movement to the faade design. This measure also pays heed to the age-old connection between the structure and the articulation of spatial functions within churches - as seen in elements such as domes, flying buttresses, and vaults, to name a few.

The derived prototype," Bro Ziyu Zhuang shares in a press release, "still features the classic components associated with a church, such as the bell tower with a spire and rose window, the cascading interior arches, and the basilica layout, but most of the decorative elements are abstracted - not out of an aversion or rebellion against ornament, but in order to reveal both the interaction of archetype and experiment, and the core issue associated with it: divinity and ritual.

Embodying the composite silhouette of multiple churches, the building's soaring form become a landmark in the vicinity. Embedded into the side of a mountain, with a landscaped patio connecting it to the sinuous terrain around, the structure has been placed at a point where the topography slides upwards, generating a difference in elevation between the church and its preceding square.

To resolve this, the architects made use of a stepped plinth - another hallmark of traditional church architecture - to make up for the change in elevation between the structure and the square preceding it, and to create a strong visual base that reinforces its sanctity. On either side of the central stairway, the steps have been transformed into a water feature. This move also naturally segregates it from the manmade lake that surrounds the building towards the back. As the space in front of the structure serves as a place for people to interact and connect, the lake beyond it ensures privacy. Alongside the main entrance, which lies beyond the ridged archway at the base of the tower, the church also has an auxiliary point of access from the plaza itself, leading to the lower section of the auditorium, as well as VIP facilities in the basement.

To shape the visual composite, the designers made use of a series of portal steel frames aligned with the white aluminium slices. Of these, 11 are main frames, while 60 of them are sub frames binding the former elements together. Main frames define the exterior contours of the faade, and the sub frames delineate the curves of the inner chamber. In contrast to the traditional concept of floor function, the 60 separate and gradual slices can be regarded as 60 independent sections. We have been exploring the relationship between the characteristics of sections, corresponding functions, and operational possibilities in practice for years, note the architects.

Two levels of structural bars have also been utilised, namely, the main beams which tie all frames together, and the secondary beams which have been deliberately misaligned to create a sort of backbone for the faade. Placed over this is a double glazed skin of toughened glass that shields the internal spaces, while filtering light inside through the aluminium fins on the exterior. As stated by the team at Bro Ziyu Zhuang, The entire building is sliced at uniform intervals along the longitudinal axis. Gaps created by this assembly allow light to enter. As it passes between the white slices, it reflects back and forth between them and then spreads evenly and softly into the interior. Throughout the day, the changing angle of the sun and its relation to the gaps and interfaces create varying visual effects.

Additionally, for the interiors, the architects also derived precedents for a sacred quality from more primordial sources, such as caves - humanitys first form of shelter - to invoke a feeling of security. They also ascribed this cavern-esque quality to other spaces, like that of a mothers womb - and in the natural world, such as blue holes in the ocean, or black holes in the cosmos. As per the architects, all these series of existences have taken root in the depths of human consciousness, allowing us to further transcend form and speak to heaven and earth. These inferences were the basis for the vaulted cavern of the main hall, which can also serve as a wedding chapel.

Bursting with rhythm imparted by the smooth contours of GRG frames that have been aligned with their steel and aluminium counterparts - each 5mm thick and spaced 40 cm apart - in the structural framework to generate a layered series of ridges, the cavity intends to create a sense of shelter and security, much like the inner chamber of a cave. The play between direct and reflected light gives the 'cave' a sense of divinity and elation, the architects mention. The interior design echoes the feel of the faade, in a soft white monochrome, broken only by the light wood of the altar and rows of pews - touching upon religious connotations of white as a symbol of purity, and its divine associations. As a stark departure from the sharp geometries of the external form, the fluid spatiality of this hall cascades towards the main altar and podium, looking onto the lake through an arched window.

The architects conclude, We believe that architecture is a carrier of space and of content. The prototype of space is relative to the content, and has a constant relationship with the site in time, linked to the past, and is inseparable from the present. Our design attempts to go beyond the symbolic functional definition of space, to shape a place of relaxation with an abstraction of elements, that can infuse the space with a richer purpose through user behaviours.

Name: Bro Ziyu ZhuangLocation: Qingdao, China Client: Sunac China Holdings Limited Floor Area: 770.91 sqm Year of Completion:2021 Architectural and Interior Design: BUZZ/Bro Ziyu Zhuang Principal Designer: Ziyu Zhuang, Fanshi Yu, Fabian Wieser, Na Li Design Team: Mengzhao Xing, Jialin Song, Yingliu (Intern), Yi Liu, Dongdong Chen, Weihong Dong, Yubing Chen, Zhendong Chen, Di Tian, Ruoyi Song, Nan Zhou (Intern), Lingwei Meng (Intern) Construction Drawings: Qingdao Tengyuan Design Institute Co., Ltd. Construction: Qingdao Jiuan Construction Groups Interior Construction Drawings: Gold Mantis Construction Decoration Interior Construction: Ganghua International Landscape Design: ASPECT Studios Landscape Construction: Guangzhou Yayue Landscape Construction Co., Ltd Structure Consultant: Hejie Architectural Consultant Lighting Consultant: Puri Lighting Desgin (Fang Hu, Yanhui Li) Curtain Wall Consultant: Forcitis Steel Structure and Curtain Wall Construction: Shenyang Lidong Curtain Wall Decoration Co., Ltd.

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Bro Ziyu Zhuang's Chamber Church is an ethereal abstraction of sacred archetypes - STIRworld

Have you heard? There may or may not be a vibe shift coming. And the vibe may or may not be shifting to indie sleaze.

Thats what trend forecasters and apparently all the rest of us are now calling the style that typified the nightlife (and next morning) scene of the mid/late-aughts and very early 2010s. Of course, back then, it was just an unnamed American Apparel-meets-thrift shop look youd rock to both warehouse concerts and, like, a very niche museum.

One Instagram account that has captured the vibe is the user submission-based profile @indiesleaze, which "Document[s] the decadence of mid-late aughts and the indie sleaze party scene that died in 2012," according to the Instagram bio. The account features grainy or fisheye lens photos of candid, messy-haired debauchery. Some of the subjects are celebrities and party icons, most are just kids in glitter and hole-filled t-shirts that could be you or me. It's joyful, embarrassing, scene-y, wistful, and a real good time.

All @indiesleaze photos courtesy of Olivia V. and @ron_snake

The account owner is a 31-year-old who referred to herself only as Olivia V. She began the account in January 2021, and in just over a year it has grown to around 30,000 followers. While that might not sound huge, she's gotten photo submissions from party kings and queens like the fashion designer Jeremy Scott, the photographer @ron_snake who shot on behalf of Mark The Cobrasnake Hunter, Princess Nokia, and more.

"It's been sort of a whirlwind, surreal experience seeing this account grow," Olivia said. "I didn't know that as many people would connect with it as they have."

But people are connecting with the account, and the time and culture it documents. Looking back is 'fun' and 'sad' for those of us who lived it as a way to justify nostalgia for when we were younger and hotter and had more fun. The thought that a culture based on dancing your face off to electro-pop might be coming back is both horrifying and exciting for us young 30-somethings. And to Gen-Zers circulating through trend cycles at warp speed, the year 2009 is already retro, partially because it was the very last gasp of socializing before smartphones. Therefore it's worthy of nostalgic rebirth or at the very least cherry-pickable, fashion-wise.

"It's easy to see how in the moment people were," Olivia said of the photos from that time. "Technology was such a big part of this time, but it also wasn't so integral [that] people couldn't look away from their phones."

Olivia is a Toronto-based producer, video editor, and writer who moved to the city for college in 2008. That's when she developed her indie bona-fides putting on local shows with friends and attending a weekly dance night at a "very cheap" venue where the DJ always ended his set with some MGMT.

Like so many, Olivia found herself unemployed in January 2021 thanks to the pandemic. She was looking for something creative that made her feel good, and thought back to her college and young adult years, a time she associated with fun and connectedness with the scene.

Olivia decided to start an Instagram account to post pictures from that time as a way to have some collective feel-good nostalgia, while also getting a potential jump on what she suspected would be a trend making a comeback. But she needed a name.

She shuddered at any variation of the dreaded term "hipster." She thought "electro-pop" and "blog haus" described more musical genres than the culture as a whole. And "twee" was a cutesy fashion and music movement that, while it occurred alongside nouveau disco looks, was not the same thing. "Indie," however, was the umbrella term for the underground music scene of the time which was really the cultural center, so she landed on that anchor. Olivia also thought about the smudged makeup and the messiness of it all, which made her think of "trashiness," but that felt too negative. Then, she remembered the early 2000s magazine Sleaze, and the Uffie lyric "I'll make your sleazy dreams come true." So there she had it: Indie Sleaze.

"It was like you had to be effortless, or at least appear effortless," Olivia said.

Olivia's thought process was right on the money. The online aesthetics collective Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute (CARI) lists "indie sleaze" as a distinct aesthetic. Mashable asked CARI for a history of the term and it also began with associations to Sleaze magazine. The concept saw some resurgence in the mid-2010s: In 2016, a CARI-affiliated Facebook group called Post-Post-Y2K dedicated to 2000s/2010s aesthetics posted a poll about what the group should re-name itself. Someone suggested "indie ber-sleaze." Two years later, an aesthetics documenter named Dalia Barillaro created a Facebook group called Indie ber-sleaze, and CARI created an official aesthetic category of the same name on its website. In 2021, it shortened the term to Indie Sleaze.

Olivia says that when she looked up Indie Sleaze, there were no hashtags or aesthetics associated with it yet. Probably, the concept was coalescing in more place than one. But it's clear that in the era of nu-disco, blog house, and indie pop, sleaze was in the air.

The word "sleaze" is a reminder that even if that time was fun, it was also problematic. Party pics and American Apparel model campaigns came with a helping of objectification, while the rising prominence of electronic music failed to acknowledge the black and brown communities where many of the sounds originated.

"In retrospect, this term absolutely fits this zeitgeist, as scumbags like Terry Richardson and Dov Charney (American Apparel) were elevated into celebrity and cultural status," Froyo Tam, CARI's lead director, said over email.

Things began to take off for Olivia's account in October 2021. Trend forecaster Mandy Lee, who said she had heard the term on Tumblr and saw it on CARI, posted a video on her @oldloserinbrooklyn TikTok showing how the trend was coming back. The video went viral, and then suddenly, follows and submissions to @indiesleaze started rolling in.

"People started sending me stuff from across the world," Olivia said. "Through this account, I've been really talking with all these people that have been helping me make the account what it is and giving it back this community driven vibe, which is what I experienced at the time when I was growing up here in Toronto."

If the Indie Sleaze vibe is in fact re-surging and not just being fondly looked back upon that's what Olivia hopes we really take from it, especially as we rebuild our social lives. More important than fashion is her hope for the return of affordable venues with a sense of community. That there's an explosion of live music, where bands you love are at the center of your life and your friendships. When we go out, maybe we can keep our phones in our pockets and give party photographers back some business. Maybe we can rediscover the fun of going online to look at a magazine's pictures days later. Also, let's leave the ogling Terry Richardson-esque lens in the past, OK? And after quarantines and lockdowns galore, Olivia hopes the vibe shifts to embracing the sexuality of the time or "get[ting] some of our mojo back," as Olivia put it.

"We can learn from the past and make an even better kind of revitalization of that era," Olivia said. "I think it's good to look back, take the good parts, and incorporate those into a new world."

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The creator of Instagram account indiesleaze weighs in on the 'vibe shift' - Mashable

In 2020, TCCA wanted to find a way to help U.S. farmers not only survive the COVID-19 pandemic but thrive into the future. On September 1, 2020, TCCA announced the first year of the "All ForFarmers" campaign partnership with American Farmland Trust (AFT), a not-for-profit organization working to save farms and ranches. TCCA pledged to contribute 10% of Tillamookbrand product sales during the month of September* to AFT with the first year of the campaign raising $1.6 million for AFT.

Working with TCCA, AFT created the Brighter Future Fund, a microgrant program founded to uplift, support and amplify farmers from all types of farming communities, especially those historically marginalized in the farming space. Of the first 130 farmers awarded, 96% are underserved or underrepresented farmers including female, non-binary, LGBTQ+, BIPOC and beginning farmers,74% are female, 70% are first-time farmers, and 60% identify as LGBTQ+ or BIPOC. After seeing the initial success of the program, TCCA continued their support of the Brighter Future Fund in 2021, underwriting all programmatic costs for two more years and encouraging other businesses and individuals to donate. Since its inception, TCCA and AFT have raised over $2.7 million, ultimately benefitting almost 300 farmers in almost every state across the country.

"Stewardship is at the heart of everything we do here at TCCA," said Kate Boltin, Vice President, Brand Marketing, TCCA. "Our commitment to both the future of farming and inclusion and diversity extends beyond our company operations, employees and farms. It's reflected in our All for Farmers program, and we're honored that our efforts to continue supporting America's farmers are recognized by the esteemed panel of judges for the Anthem Awards."

The Anthem Awards was launched in response to the prevalence social good has taken within the national conversation and cultural zeitgeist in recent years. The inaugural competition received nearly 2,500 entries from 36 countries worldwide. Anthem Winners are selected via independent evaluation by members of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Entries are judged on their own merits based on a standard of excellence for each category as determined by the Academy as well as industry leaders from non-profits, foundations, and purpose-driven brands. Winners for the inaugural Anthem Awards will be celebrated at the first annualAnthem Voices conferencefollowed by a virtual Awards Show on Monday, February 28, 2022.

"It is our distinct honor to recognize the work that brands, organizations, and individuals are all making to create an impact in their community," said Jessica Lauretti, Managing Director, The Anthem Awards. "We launched this platform to show the world that all corners of our culture, from sports and entertainment to business leaders and celebrities, are all standing up to say, it is time for systemic change and that social good is what we value as a society."

About Tillamook County Creamery AssociationFounded in 1909 as a farmer-owned cooperative, Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) recently achieved the distinction as a Certified B Corporation (B Corp) and prides itself on its commitment to bringing to market the most consistent, best tasting, highest quality dairy products made in the most natural way possible. Guided by the belief that everyone deserves real food that makes them feel good every day, TCCA produces internationally recognized, award-winning cheese as well as exceptional ice cream, butter, cream cheese spreads, yogurt and sour cream, made with unwavering values that never sacrifice or compromise quality for profit. TCCA is owned by almost 80 farming families, primarily based inTillamook County, Oregon. TCCA operates production facilities inTillamookandBoardman, Oregonand employs more than 900 people throughout the state. The Tillamook Creamery is the largest tourist attraction on the coast ofOregonand one of the most popular in the state, attracting more than one million visitors each year. For more information on TCCA and Tillamook products, visit Tillamook.com.

About The Anthem AwardsThe Anthem Awards, the Webby Awards newest initiative, was developed to recognize the breadth of social good work (online and offline) around the globe by honoring the organizations, brands, and people creating long-lasting impact; including, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion; Education, Art, & Culture; Health; Human & Civil Rights; Humanitarian Action & Services; Responsible Technology; and Sustainability, Environment, & Climate. By amplifying the voices that spark global change, the Anthem Awards are defining a new benchmark for impactful work that inspires others to take action in their communities.Founded in partnership with the Ad Council, Born This Way Foundation, Feeding America, Glaad, Mozilla, NAACP, NRDC, WWF, and XQ.

About The Webby AwardsHailed as the "Internet's highest honor" by The New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international awards organization honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites; Video; Advertising, Media & PR; Apps, Mobile, and Voice; Social; Podcasts; and Games. Established in 1996, The Webby Awards received more than 13,500 entries from all 50 states and 70 countries worldwide this year. The Webby Awards are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS). Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include Verizon, WP Engine, YouGov, Brandlive, Canva, NAACP, KPMG,Fast Company, Wall Street Journal, MediaPost, Podcast Movement, and AIGA.

*10% of sales, up to$1.6 million

CONTACT:Liz Conant, FleishmanHillard[emailprotected]

SOURCE Tillamook County Creamery Association

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Tillamook County Creamery Association's "All For Farmers" Campaign Recognized with Two Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Awards by the...

Two years ago, Col. Moshe Tal retired from the IDF after 25 years in Military Intelligence. He found himself a fascinating second career, among other things as a sports analyst in the United States. But he has devoted much of his spare time to an exceptional pastime a soon-to-be launched public campaign to re-awaken public debate on the fate of Israels captives and missing in action held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Tal, who began his career in the technology units of Military Intelligence, served in several senior positions, including as head of MIs research division. After his retirement from active service, Tal continued to sit on the IDF negotiating team headed by the prime ministers coordinator for hostages, the former senior Shin Bet officer, Yaron Bloom. Recently, as reported by the public broadcaster Kan, Tal quit the team, citing the lack of progress in talks.

'The New KKK': the danger of Israeli settler violence against Palestinians. LISTEN

In a phone conversation with Haaretz, he says that throughout his involvement in the issue, Israel never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity. I find it hard to explain why this happened, he says.

Hamas is holding the bodies of two soldiers killed during Operation Protective Edge in 2014 Lt. Hadar Goldin of the Givati Brigade, who fell in a battle in Rafah, and Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul from the Golani Brigade, who was killed when his armored personnel carrier was blown up in the Shejaiya neighborhood in the east of Gaza City.

Israeli intelligence believes that Hamas is also holding captive the Israeli civilians Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who crossed the border of their own accord about a year after Protective Edge. The fact that Mengistu and al-Sayed both come from the margins of society (they both suffer from mental health issues; one is the son of Ethiopian immigrants and the other is a Bedouin) at least partly explains the tepid public interest in their fate.

While Hamas employs psychological warfare to try to obscure the picture, the real state of affairs is clear to Israel: The two civilians are alive, the soldiers are dead.

As an intelligence officer, Tal spent years working on the case of the missing Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. In retrospect, he says, it is clear that the security establishment and the Israeli public were both traumatized by the Shalit prisoner swap. Lacking any operational solution to rescue him, the Netanyahu government compromised and paid a high price, releasing 1,027 Palestinian terrorists, including hundreds convicted of involvement in murder, in exchange for a single soldier.

The feeling that it paid an excessive price for Shalit has led Israel to take the slow road towards any solution to the current case. In any event, it is clear that the price Israel is willing to pay for the bodies of the soldiers and the living civilians will be lower than it paid for a living soldier. The fact that attention to the affair, the media pulse, is close to zero, influences this, claims Tal. Behind the scenes, people are dealing with it morning till night, but theres no progress, pedal to the metal without getting anywhere.

For Benjamin Netanyahu, the previous prime minister who appointed him, the government hostage coordinator was a flak jacket to use as protection from any accusations that he wasnt taking care of the issue. Look, theyre working on it. But in fact, Israel isnt trying hard for a deal. Nothing productive is happening. The most obvious sign of that is that at no stage have we reached a real dynamic of negotiations with Hamas. The fact that every few months theres a meeting with Egyptian intelligence to discuss the negotiations is maintenance, not progress.

Tal tells me (for the first time, to the best of my knowledge) about a fascinating move behind the scenes in autumn 2018, a little while before the previous chief of staff, Gadi Eisenkot, completed his term. Eisenkot, who hasnt forgotten his responsibility for the two soldiers whose bodies remain in Gaza, began a discussion with Yossi Cohen and Nadav Argaman, respectively, the heads of Mossad and Shin Bet at the time, about what in their opinions would be a reasonable price Israel could pay for a deal. They presented their conclusions to Netanyahu.

The aim according to Tal was to broadcast to Netanyahu that they have his back to progress in the negotiations and that there was room for maneuver to possibly enable a deal. The initiative died out without any real change.

Last spring, Tal relates, another small opportunity for a breakthrough emerged. In the final months of Netanyahus term there was a certain distancing in his previously excellent relations with the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi. According to Tal, during those months, al-Sissi turned down a number of offers to meet and hold conversations to discuss, among other things, the hostage question. Things changed for the better after Naftali Bennett became prime minister last June. First there was a successful phone call between Bennett and al-Sissi, and then, about a week later, an Israeli delegation met with senior Egyptian intelligence officials in Cairo.

At that meeting, one of the Egyptian officials told his Israeli interlocutors that he had been personally tasked by al-Sissi with achieving a solution, not a deal. Tals interpretation is that from Cairos perspective, the emphasis needed to switch to solving the humanitarian issue of the fate of the missing prisoners, instead of conditioning progress on achieving a broad, long-term arrangement for the problems of the Gaza Strip.

In informal talks, the Egyptians implored the Israelis to be more flexible with their position and to agree to release a larger number of Palestinian security prisoners. As the Egyptians see it, the highest priority of Hamas leader in Gaza, Yehya Sinwar (who was himself released from an Israeli jail as part of the Shalit deal), is freeing more prisoners, not a further easing of economic restrictions.

More flexibility

Egypt itself has a lot to gain from a prisoner swap. Cairo is convinced that Jerusalem could exert its influence on the American administration to ease its human rights demands on Egypt, and thus enable a steady and stable flow of economic and military aid. Cairo is hoping for technological assistance from Israel, among other things, in advancing the large desalination projects that Egypt needs.

Cairo has a further expectation, one that reflects the zeitgeist in the Middle East. Against the backdrop of the Abraham Accords, Egypt hopes to recruit Israel to wield its influence in the Gulf states to garner larger investments in joint technology projects with Egypt. These projects could help the Egyptian economy and ease the suffering of the population somewhat (although prior experience would indicate that a large part of the money finds its way into the pockets of the generals and their confidantes). However, the Egyptian message to Israel remains the same: Be a bit more flexible on your asking price and throw us a few bones, and well bring Hamas to the table.

The updated Egyptian offer sparked a series of deliberations on the Israeli side. Tal thinks there was something in it. In 2011, when Egypt wanted to seal the prisoner swap deal that saw Gilad Shalit released, it put heavy pressure on Hamas. This included detaining Hamas military leader Ahmed Jabari in Cairo for six weeks until he acceded to the deal (Israel assassinated Jabari about a year later during Operation Pillar of Defense). But despite the initial contacts, so far Bennett, like Netanyahu before him, has failed to make progress on a deal.

In the meantime, Tal says, all of Israels assumptions about Hamas behavior have collapsed. Despite easing the restrictions on Gaza, Hamas opted to risk a military conflict in Operation Guardian of the Walls. Further lifting of restrictions since then, which included allowing 10,000 Palestinian workers from the Gaza Strip into Israel, have failed to persuade the organization to enter a comprehensive arrangement that will solve the issue of MIAs and prisoners. Sinwar has remained firm on his demands.

Tal says that the lack of movement on the issue is partly a result of a lack of public pressure on the government. This is why he has decided to give this interview. At the same time, Tal is raising funds for an advertising campaign aimed at reawakening public interest in the prisoners held in Gaza and their families. The campaign will be launched on billboards around the country in March. It is an impressive initiative, and quite extraordinary for a recently retired officer but its hard to imagine how it will convince the government to take the intensive actions necessary to solve the problem.

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New campaign sheds light and urgency on Israelis missing in Gaza - Haaretz

Its about to get super nerdy in here.

When someone said, Hey Steph, do you want to talk about the history of Black Panther? I could not say yes fast enough.

The new documentary podcast, The History of Marvel Comics: Black Panther, chronicles TChallas origins from his introduction to the characters most essential storylines and moments. Across six episodes, bestselling author Nic Stone (Shuri: A Black Panther Novel) leads listeners on a trip through the Wakandan kings biggest triumphs and missteps. And in discussing this project, Stone spoke with The Root about what she learned about TChalla and which character she wants to explore next.

If 2018's Black Panther was your first major introduction to TChalla and the kingdom of Wakanda, you are perfectly welcome to this podcast, as Stone wants everyone to know where the groundbreaking character came from.

As a person who was a little bit more familiar with the comics timeline, Im excited for people who were introduced to Black Panther through the film to get to know where he came from. Because I think its very interesting, she told The Root. Just knowing that he was born in the 1960s during the thick of the civil rights movement. There was a time where they changed his name for a minute, because of the affiliation with the Black Panther Party. All of that stuff is really rich and delicious.

Among the interesting revelations from the first episode is that for a long time no one actually knew Black Panther was Black. He wore a full suit, completely covering himself and his face.

One of my favorite things that I learned was about the mask issue, Stone said. Initially people didnt know he was Black, which was a surprise to me, because what do you mean, you didnt know the Black Panther was Black? Things that would be obvious to us now, werent necessarily obvious to us back then. He reveals his Blackness by calling himself a soul brother.

It is at this moment that Nic and I had to take a minute to compose ourselves. Because really TChalla!? A soul brother!?

We tried to be professionals and get back on track, but then came the discussion of his original name: Coal Tiger. No really, that was his name. Once we got things under control, we discussed how the podcast humanizes the Wakandan warrior, putting his actions in the context of the time the character was living in.

What was really fun about getting to do this project was getting to look at the old TChalla through our 21st-century lens, Stone said. He was born during the civil rights movement, and the time during which he was born was very different to the time were in now.

It got me very curious about how people thought in those times when he was being written before, she continued. The 1960s, 1970s, 1990s, what was going on in the zeitgeist, where were seeing TChalla behave a certain way, were seeing him drawn a certain way, were seeing his story presented in a certain way. It really gave a solid peek, not only into history, but into the way people thought about Black people during those times.

To get the full story on TChalla and Wakanda, Stone speaks with some of the comic book writers whove helped establish Black Panthers lore: Writers Christopher Priest, Don McGregor, John Ridley, Reginald Hudlin and Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Getting to see how this idea of this African nation was built out over the course of years was really interesting, she said. We get to hear about the creation of Killmonger, the creation of the Dora Milaje. Chris Priest brought us the Dora Milaje, Don McGregor brought us Killmonger, Shuri is Reginald Hudlin. You have all of these characters that are so integral to the world now, and actually getting to talk to the people who created those characters was the coolest thing.

And you know if were talking about TChalla, weve got to talk about Storm.

My favorite thing about Storm in the Black Panther world is we get a better grip on the fact that she has African roots, Stone said. Shes the Queen of Kenya at one point. Queen Ororo is who Storm is. And getting to see her as more than the brown lady in the X-Men who can control the weather is pretty dope.

As for whos next on Stones list of character explorations, shes all about bad guys who are misunderstood.

I would love to do a deep dive on Loki or Thanos. I really love antiheroes, and it would be really cool to get to dive into the history of one of them even if I had to go through Thor to do it, Id be totally fine with that too, she said. The other one is the Hulk. I would love to do the Hulk because the Hulk is everything.

The History of Marvel Comics: Black Panther debuts Feb. 14 on the SiriusXM app and Marvel Podcasts Unlimited on Apple Podcasts. Episodes are available a week later on other major podcast apps.

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Marvels New Podcast Takes Fans Through the History of Black Panther - The Root

Its not always easy to recognize a phenomenon or happening or scene when youre standing smack in the middle of it. Its much harder to capture a zeitgeist in its purest natal moment. But thats exactly what authors Jan Reid and Don Roth were able to do with the burgeoning progressive country scene that would go on to influence American music more broadly, as well as provide the Texas capital with its most widely identifiable personality traitslive music and a laid-back vibe.

The Coming of Redneck Hip has proved to be one of Texas Monthlys foundational pieces not just because it appeared in the magazines foundational first twelve months, but because it was so timely in its publication and so on-the-button in its reporting. Right place: Austin. Right time: early seventies. Right writers: Jan Reid and Don Roth.

Reid, who died in 2020 at the age of 75, was a founding contributor to Texas Monthly and over his long career authored dozens of stories on all manner of topicssports, politics, and his own recovery from a gunshot wound suffered in Mexico City in 1998, to name just a few. He would go on to write more than a dozen books, both fiction and nonfiction, including The Improbable Rise of Redneck Rock, which was based on this story, and to chisel his own epitaph as one of Texass most talented writers.

Roth had written a few early pieces for Rolling Stone but was pursuing a doctorate in American history at the University of Texas at Austin at the time. He and Reid met in an English class there. Serendipitously, the two bumped into each other one night at a Michael Martin Murphy show at the legendary Armadillo World Headquarters, the epicenter of the movement in which they found themselves.

Willie Nelson had just announced that he was moving back to Austin from Nashville and we started talking about it over a beer and thought, You know, theres something interesting going on here. And so we said, Lets explore this a bit, and we pitched it, Roth said. And they said, Yeah, go for it.

At the end of the process, Jan looked at me and, in his Wichita Falls drawl, said if he never heard another pedal steel guitar again in his life, hed be okay. We got immersed. It was fun, Roth says. Once the article was done, he turned it into a book and I decided that I would put my energy toward getting my doctorate.

Roth, who counts this story as his only TM byline, went on to an impressive career in performing arts leadership and has, since 2006, been the executive director of the Robert and Magrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at the University of California, Davis. Out here in my work, he says, Ive presented Willie Nelson twice and thats a nice follow-through to the work that Jan and I did. Also, Jan once told me that he had run into an acquaintance who told him that the article had inspired the Austin City Limits television show. If thats true, well, thats a pretty good outcome too.

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The Story Behind the Story: The Coming of Redneck Hip, November 1973 - Texas Monthly

LaQuan Smith, New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2022. Photography courtesy of Imaxtree

Lets unpack this.

By Natalie Michie

Date February 16, 2022

When leggy models strutted down the Miu Miu runway last October with belly buttons, hipbones and upper thighs on display, the Italian fashion house had marked the return of the low-rise, ultra-mini skirt.

After a summer of Y2K revivals (like the whale tail exposed thong and coconut girl aesthetic), Miuccia Pradas presentation upped the ante for early 2000s nostalgia.But by tapping exclusively thin models to wear its skin baring line, the luxury label proved it was living in the past.

Over the past few months, models like Bella Hadid and Hailey Bieber have worn the ultra-mini skirt on casual outings, and the garments been praised as a symbol of fashions return to fun, experimental and risqu dressing. It only makes sense, then, that during New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2022, designers would tap into the mini skirt craze again by presenting their own takes on teeny, low-rise attire.

For his runway show, LaQuan Smith presented micro-mini skirts bound together by ties and what appeared to be safety pins. This collection was really about the revival of New York City and celebrating life again, the designer told Vogue. Australian label Dion Lee also presented a leather variation of the barely-there skirt, featuring nearly undone clasps. What remained the same was the waify models featured on the catwalk.

To be blunt, it sends the message that plus-size people arent attractive/thin enough to wear cool clothes, Monique Black, a model and fashion influencer, tells FASHION. Theres no difference between a flat stomach and one with rolls other than how theyre perceived and categorized.

First gaining popularity in the 60s, the miniskirt represented a rebellion against societal taboos. Born out of a youth-led movement that aimed to counter the repressed post-war fashion of the 50s, the mini skirt went on to become a cultural icon. In the 2000s, the leggy garment was further revised to be low-rise and even more scandalous.

But before that, in the 90s, the idealized fashion standard was heroin-chic, an aesthetic that celebrated thinness and paleness. This narrative continued into the early 2000s, when thin people were glorified as a necessary accessory to complete any high-fashion outfit. Needless to say, fatphobia and body shaming are inextricably linked to that period of time.

Clothing options for plus-size people in the early 2000s were virtually non-existent, thereby completely excluding fat people from fashion, explained model Jessica Blair in a TikTok video. Low rise jeans are viewed as fashionable and trendy on thinner body types, but are typically seen as lazy or unflattering on plus-size bodies.

Y2K fashion trends are cute, sure, but as we bring these styles back, its important to understand the social and cultural context in which they first thrived. Still today, thinness is viewed as something that complements a revealing outfit, while people with larger bodies are often criticized for wearing the very same pieces of clothing. As the micro-mini skirt returns to the catwalk, were leaving behind a key evolution in the world of fashion: body inclusivity.

But Black is ultimately happy about the ultra-mini skirt resurgence. Fashions larger trend of risqu dressing reminds her of the 60s, when women began to wear miniskirts as part of a radical societal shift. Except this time, she says, we get to take that mantra and apply it to all body types.

And while the body positivity movement has moved the needle in fashion, fatphobia still exists within the industry. With Y2K finding its way back into the style zeitgeist, its critical that we dont regress to the body-shaming culture of the noughties. And that starts on the runway.

It really goes back to representation, Black says. If were pulling inspirational pictures from the 2000s to recreate the looks, and all we have are thin, white women to look at, it sends the message that to wear these clothes, you must look this way.

I want more visibly fat bodies on the runwayIts 2022, not 2002.

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The Ultra-Mini Skirt Is Back. But Where's The Body Inclusivity? - fashionmagazine.com

New York City, NY, Feb. 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Compassion in World Farmings Evaluate Your Plate has received the Silver Award for the Best Sustainability, Environment, & Climate Product, in the Inaugural Anthem Awards.

Anthem Winners are selected by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Members include Daniel Dae Kim (actor, producer, and activist); Ashley Judd (Author, Actor, and Social Justice Humanitarian); Mitchell Baker (CEO and chairwoman, Mozilla); Lisa Sherman (president and CEO, Ad Council), Sarah Kate Ellis (president and CEO, GLAAD); Renata Erlikhman (chief investment officer, OW Management); Shayla Tait (director of philanthropy, The Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation); Russlynn Ali (CEO and co-founder, XQ Institute); Marc Ecko (chief commercial officer and board member, XQ Institute); Heidi Arthur (chief campaign development officer, Ad Council); and Alexis M. Herman (chair and chief executive officer, New Ventures, and former U.S. secretary of labor).

Evaluate Your Plate takes a critical look at the foods that comprise the bulk of our food system, including factory-farmed animal products. The tool is two-in-one: Map Your Meal enables users to compare the sustainability of popular meals, and Examine Your Eating allows them to quickly and easily assess their overall diets. In both cases, users receive an eco-impact report card across six sustainability metrics, as well as suggested plant-forward recipes.The tool is designed to inspire individuals, companies, and policymakers to pursue food choices that are good for animals, people, and the planet.

It is our distinct honor to recognize the work that brands, organizations, and individuals are all making to create an impact in their community, said Jessica Lauretti, Managing Director, The Anthem Awards. We launched this platform to show the world that all corners of our culture, from sports and entertainment to business leaders and celebrities, are all standing up to say, it is time for systemic change, and that social good is what we value as a society.

This award is a huge achievement in our campaign efforts to rebalance the plate away from environmentally-destructive meat and dairy and towards climate-friendly plant-based foods, said Ben Williamson, U.S. Executive Director, Compassion in World Farming. Even small shifts in the food we eat can have a big impact on our air, lands, rivers, and everything that lives in them. The Evaluate Your Plate tool is a funand now award-winningway to see a complete picture of what we eat and start us on a journey towards more compassionate eating.

Winners for the inaugural Anthem Awards will be celebrated at the first annual Anthem Voices conference, followed by a star-studded virtual Awards Show on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. Fans will be able to hear from social impact leaders during the day and then watch the show, featuring special moments and hallmark speeches from all you and your fellow winners at http://www.anthemawards.com.

The Anthem Awards was launched in response to the prevalence social good has taken within the national conversation and cultural zeitgeist in recent years. The inaugural competition received nearly 2,500 entries from 36 countries worldwide. By amplifying the voices that spark global change, the Anthem Awards are defining a new benchmark for impactful work that inspires others to take action in their communities. A portion of program revenue will fund a new grant program supporting emerging individuals and organizations working to advance the causes recognized in the inaugural Anthem Awards.

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About Compassion in World Farming:

Compassion in World Farming is a global farmed animal protection organization that campaigns peacefully to end factory farming and replace it with a food system that is compassionate, fair, and sustainable for all. The charity is dedicated to reforming a broken food and farming system and introducing a more humane, fair, and sustainable one. Compassion engages with the worlds leading food companies to create and adopt meaningful animal welfare policies while tracking progress against those commitments to ensure compliance. We work towards a better future for animals, people, and the planet by educating concerned consumers and supporting meaningful public policy. With headquarters in the U.K., we have offices across Europe, in the U.S., China and South Africa.To find out more about Compassion in World Farming or join the movement, visit: ciwf.com and follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

About The Anthem Awards:

The Anthem Awards, the Webby Awards newest initiative, was developed to recognize the breadth of social good work (online and offline) around the globe by honoring the organizations, brands, and people creating long-lasting impact; including, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion; Education, Art, & Culture; Health; Human & Civil Rights; Humanitarian Action & Services; Responsible Technology; and Sustainability, Environment, & Climate. By amplifying the voices that spark global change, the Anthem Awards are defining a new benchmark for impactful work that inspires others to take action in their communities. Founded in partnership with the Ad Council, Born This Way Foundation, Feeding America, Glaad, Mozilla, NAACP, NRDC, WWF, and XQ. Find The Anthem Awards Online:anthemawards.com

About The Webby Awards:

Hailed as the Internets highest honor by The New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international awards organization honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites; Video; Advertising, Media & PR; Apps, Mobile, and Voice; Social; Podcasts; and Games. Established in 1996, The Webby Awards received more than 13,500 entries from all 50 states and 70 countries worldwide this year. The Webby Awards are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS). Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include Verizon, WP Engine, YouGov, Brandlive, Canva, NAACP, KPMG, Fast Company, Wall Street Journal, MediaPost, Podcast Movement, and AIGA.

Ronnika A. McFall, APR Compassion in World Farming USA 6317108224 ronnika.mcfall@ciwf.org

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Compassion in World Farming honored for Best Sustainability, Environment and Climate Product in ... - The Bakersfield Californian