Monthly Archives: August 2018

One year after Charlottesville

The Washington Post: ‘It’s still hard to look at’. “The story behind the searing photo of Charlottesville’s worst day”.

“On April 16, [Ryan Kelly] and his wife were flying home from Amsterdam, where he had accepted an award for the photo. “We landed, I turned on my phone, and it was just swamped with texts and tweets and calls,“ Kelly said.

He had won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking-news photography, an accolade that leaves him both proud and pensive.

“I’ve also been very aware that it came at the expense of the death of Heather Heyer, of dozens of other people being injured, of Charlottesville being torn apart,“ Kelly said, […]. “I think about that every day.“ “

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If walls could talk…

Arch Daily: The Oldest Building in Every US State.

“The United States is a comparatively young country, but one with a rich and diverse history. From the ancient villages of New Mexico’s Pueblo people and the early Spanish settlers in Florida, to the Russian traders of Alaska and 19th-century missionaries in Utah, each of the 50 states has its own story to tell.

There’s no better way to trace this history than through buildings, which is why we’ve mapped out the oldest intact building in each US state. Whether they’re cottages, grand mansions, fortresses or churches, these historic sites offer us a glimpse into the early days of the regions. They help us to understand what brought early inhabitants to the state – and what their lives might have been like.”

Of the buildings mentioned, I’ve been to these:

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“Heißzeit”

Deutsche Welle: Domino effect could heat up Earth by 5 degrees Celsius — despite Paris climate deal. “Even if the Paris Agreement is successfully implemented, the planet could still heat up by 5 degrees Celsius, scientists warn. This “hothouse” climate would make parts of the world uninhabitable.”

“The global average temperature in such a case would in the long-term settle between 4 to 5 degrees warmer compared to pre-industrial levels, their study found.

Sea levels would rise 10 to 60 meters (33 to 197 feet), flooding numerous islands and coastal cities such as Venice, New York, Tokyo and Sydney. Such major population centers would have to be abandoned.

Scientists call this a “hothouse Earth” climate scenario.”

Deutsche Welle: Domino-Effekt könnte Erde um fünf Grad aufheizen – trotz Pariser Klimavertrag. “Selbst wenn das Pariser Abkommen erfolgreich umgesetzt würde, könnte sich die Erde wegen eines Domino-Effekts um vier bis fünf Grad erwärmen, warnen Wissenschaftler. Teile der Welt wären dann unbewohnbar.”

“Die globale Durchschnittstemperatur würde sich in diesem Fall auf lange Sicht zwischen vier bis fünf Grad über dem Durchschnitt der vorindustriellen Zeit einpendeln. Meeresspiegel würden um 10 bis 60 Meter steigen. Zahlreiche Inseln und Küstenstädte wie Venedig, New York, Tokio und Sydney würden überschwemmt, Teile der Erde unbewohnbar werden. Wissenschaftler nennen dieses Szenario “Heißzeit”.”

“Osama’s son Hamza may well cloud the family’s attempts to shake off their past”

The Guardian: My son, Osama: the al-Qaida leader’s mother speaks for the first time. “Nearly 17 years since 9/11, Osama bin Laden’s family remains an influential part of Saudi society – as well as a reminder of the darkest moment in the kingdom’s history. Can they escape his legacy?”

“Alia Ghanem is Osama bin Laden’s mother, and she commands the attention of everyone in the room. On chairs nearby sit two of her surviving sons, Ahmad and Hassan, and her second husband, Mohammed al-Attas, the man who raised all three brothers. Everyone in the family has their own story to tell about the man linked to the rise of global terrorism; but it is Ghanem who holds court today, describing a man who is, to her, still a beloved son who somehow lost his way. “My life was very difficult because he was so far away from me,“ she says, speaking confidently. “He was a very good kid and he loved me so much.“ Now in her mid-70s and in variable health, Ghanem points at al-Attas – a lean, fit man dressed, like his two sons, in an immaculately pressed white thobe, a gown worn by men across the Arabian peninsula. “He raised Osama from the age of three. He was a good man, and he was good to Osama.“ “

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