By Unknown Author from NYT Fashion https://ift.tt/2ZLpjIR
Saturday, August 31, 2019
Woman with house full of hedgehogs says 'no more'
Paula Garner is currently nursing more than 80 poorly hedgehogs back to health.
Thai palace shares unusually candid images of king’s consort
Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi is shown flying a fighter jet, wearing combat fatigues, and firing a gun.
Mat Dan: 'I became an accidental celebrity 6,000 miles from home'
When Daniel Tyler went backpacking, little did he know he'd end up a star in Malaysia.
Sheryl Crow on her final album, #MeToo and being an outsider in the 1990s
The star talks about singing with her heroes on her 11th and apparently final album Threads.
What we learned from the Harvey Weinstein documentary Untouchable
Women who accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault shed light on their stories in a new film.
Friday, August 30, 2019
Iran tanker row: US blacklists vessel 'bound for Syria'
The US says the Adrian Darya 1 is being used by Iran to fund "illicit activities" in the region.
Taliban Attack Afghan City as They Talk Peace With U.S.
By BY NAJIM RAHIM AND MUJIB MASHAL from NYT World https://ift.tt/2ZF3quQ
Two Homers by Todd Frazier Lead the Mets Past the Phillies
By BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/2Zt3G4T
Yankees Lose Series Opener to the A’s
By BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/2Lcm61h
Quotation of the Day: ‘Iffy’ Forecasts Add to Anxiousness Over Whether to Stay Put or Go
By Unknown Author from NYT Today’s Paper https://ift.tt/2PwXwfu
Khalid Sheikh Mohammad: Trial date set for 'architect of 9/11'
Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and four other men face the death penalty if found guilty.
U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Wandering Iranian Oil Tanker
By BY ALAN RAPPEPORT AND DANIEL VICTOR from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2MMkux5
DJ Arafat: Thousands pay tribute at Abidjan concert
Fans flock to honour the influential Ivorian musician, who died in a motorcycle accident this month.
La semana en imágenes
By BY THE NEW YORK TIMES EN ESPAÑOL from NYT en Español https://ift.tt/2ZK6x9a
Trade war: US set to hit China with new wave of tariffs
The trade war between the world's two largest economies is set to intensify with new tariffs.
Poland still counts losses from WW2 invasion
As the world marks the 80th anniversary of the start of World War Two, Poland has reparations on its mind.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
She’s a World Famous Model. So Why Did an Australian Magazine Get Her Photo Wrong?
By BY ISABELLA KWAI from NYT World https://ift.tt/2NFWXh6
James R. Leavelle, Detective at Lee Harvey Oswald’s Side, Dies at 99
By BY RALPH BLUMENTHAL from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2UdVNKX
Jin Young Ko Beats Tiger Woods’s Bogey-Free Streak. And Then Some.
By BY KAREN CROUSE from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/2zzJPS4
Las principales noticias del viernes
By POR MARINA FRANCO from NYT en Español https://ift.tt/2ZrAUlh
Google finds 'indiscriminate iPhone attack lasting years'
Criminals used previously unknown vulnerabilities to implant monitoring software, research shows.
Review: Opinions Collide in the Explosive Comedy ‘Eureka Day’
By BY BEN BRANTLEY from NYT Theater https://ift.tt/2LdppE2
Joshua Wong arrested: Hong Kong pro-democracy activist
Mr Wong's political party says the leading activist was "forcefully pushed into a minivan" by police.
Man gored to death by bull at Spanish festival
The man had attended the festival in Cuellar as a spectator but was attacked by the bull.
Joe Biden Dismisses Report That He Told False War Story
By BY KATIE GLUECK from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/32jbUcZ
Poor Conditions Persist for Migrant Children Detained at the Border, Democrats Say
By BY ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2L83kbb
Trump’s Personal Assistant, Madeleine Westerhout, Steps Down
By BY ANNIE KARNI AND MAGGIE HABERMAN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2MJ2yn9
WeWork Is Going Public. Are Its Numbers Too Private?
By PETER EAVIS from NYT Business https://ift.tt/2zuUehY
Mika Rottenberg’s ‘Easypieces’ Transports You to Parts Unknown
By MARTHA SCHWENDENER from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/2HtPZYj
S Korea ex-leader Park and Samsung heir Lee face bribery retrials
The Supreme Court also orders a retrial for Samsung's Lee Jae-yong for bribery in the same scandal.
Samsung’s Leader at Risk of More Prison Time After Court Rules Against Him
By CHOE SANG-HUN from NYT World https://ift.tt/342mvux
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Hong Kong: Protesters join MeToo rally against police
Thousands gathered to demand answers after protesters accused the police of using sexual violence.
What’s on TV Thursday: ‘Escape Room’ and ‘Poltergeist’
By GABE COHN from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/2LfDGAc
A Windswept Plain, a Sea of Oil and a Mountain of Money
By STANLEY REED and NANNA HEITMANN from NYT Business https://ift.tt/2MFMX7T
Concern for student welfare must never excuse racism
A lecturer describes how her university failed to act when she was racially victimised by a student receiving mental health support
With the start of a new academic year just weeks away, universities are again promoting the multiple mental health initiatives they provide to support students.
Unfortunately, experience has taught me that such support can be exploited in alarming ways. Although I have always encouraged students to make use of any help available, I am equally of the view that mental health issues do not excuse what is often simply bad behaviour, which can be ruinous to the welfare of others in the university, most notably its staff.
My own story includes a period of one year in which I was the subject of malicious allegations by a white female student known to be suffering from mental health problems. The initial concern arose when she began making baffling connections between lecture slides and Donald Trump while simultaneously making outrageous complaints about me – a British female academic from an Indian background. Initially, I was sympathetic towards her and inclined to not take things personally even though her claims were evidently untrue.
At the same time, the student had struck up a friendly rapport with (the all-white) senior management. With them, she was polite and markedly courteous, and she could rely on them fully to grant her extensions on assessments whenever she needed (which was all the time). This was coupled with the ongoing support that she was receiving from the university’s well-being team.
In subsequent months, the student’s accusations against me escalated. Her nonsensical claims were also accompanied by clearly racist comments and behaviour. Did this situation arise as a symptom of her obviously distressed state of mind? That would be a highly charitable view. But whatever duty of care that universities have towards students, there must come a point at which we need to draw a sharp line between mental health issues and what is unquestionably outrageous behaviour. Put simply, universities have a duty to demonstrate that racism will not be tolerated, even if it is a symptom of mental ill health.
This summer, The Guardian published a hard-hitting series of articles highlighting the failures of universities to tackle racism. Testimonials of mistreatment endured by ethnic minority academics contained the usual vocabulary: “discrimination”, “racial harassment”, “bullying”. There was no mention of the impact that racism has on the mental health of ethnic minority staff. Tales of the toll exacted on the mental health of staff in academia seem to surface in the news only when they relate to excessive workloads, precarious job positions or performance management. There is scant attention given to the fact that some university staff can find themselves in far more vulnerable positions than others.
As the only female permanent lecturer of a minority ethnic background, I was certainly aware of just how vulnerable I was. I had hoped that my reputation within my law department would have helped to protect me; I had been nominated for lecturer of the year and had won acclaim within the wider university for my efforts to enhance student engagement and inclusivity in the classroom. But the desire to excuse this student’s shameful behaviour meant that at no point did my managers explain to her that racism would not be tolerated under any circumstance.
My experience of student harassment and the department’s unwillingness to tackle it head-on was both demeaning and distressing. Despite what the university’s policies might suggest, no steps were taken to assure me that I, as a member of staff, had the right to work in an environment that was free of harassment, including from students. Equally disturbing for me was witnessing the ways in which staff protection was prioritised only when it concerned white members of staff. For example, when an altercation arose between a white male colleague and a black male student, the focus was on what more could be done to protect staff; no consideration was given to the ways in which the student himself had felt aggrieved or to his claims to having been subjected to racism from other white staff just days earlier.
Perhaps in hindsight I should have expected this because the warning signs had been there all along. On one occasion, a white female colleague of mine, who specialised in law enforcement and policing, went as far as showing her reluctance to address the student’s racism. Sitting in a staff meeting, the colleague casually revealed that she had received from the student an email expressing racist opinions against minority ethnic men (same ethnicity as me) and had chosen to delete the message instantly rather than report it.
If senior management in universities are reluctant to tackle racism, that attitude then filters down to rank-and-file staff, who in turn feel no discomfort or unease in admitting to others their unwillingness to address racist behaviour and language, that makes you only too aware that there is something very seriously wrong with the culture of that institution. And no amount of training workshops on unconscious bias or diversity will be of help to a university that works so relentlessly to avoid addressing the problems that exist inside it.
Universities need to ensure that all staff are well supported and are never put in a position where they must witness senior management excusing the bad behaviour of a student to the detriment of an employee’s own well-being. In the end, what my workplace taught me was that some people’s race, gender and mental health matters – just not mine.
With the start of a new academic year just weeks away, universities are again promoting the multiple mental health initiatives they provide to support students.
Unfortunately, experience has taught me that such support can be exploited in alarming ways. Although I have always encouraged students to make use of any help available, I am equally of the view that mental health issues do not excuse what is often simply bad behaviour, which can be ruinous to the welfare of others in the university, most notably its staff.
My own story includes a period of one year in which I was the subject of malicious allegations by a white female student known to be suffering from mental health problems. The initial concern arose when she began making baffling connections between lecture slides and Donald Trump while simultaneously making outrageous complaints about me – a British female academic from an Indian background. Initially, I was sympathetic towards her and inclined to not take things personally even though her claims were evidently untrue.
At the same time, the student had struck up a friendly rapport with (the all-white) senior management. With them, she was polite and markedly courteous, and she could rely on them fully to grant her extensions on assessments whenever she needed (which was all the time). This was coupled with the ongoing support that she was receiving from the university’s well-being team.
In subsequent months, the student’s accusations against me escalated. Her nonsensical claims were also accompanied by clearly racist comments and behaviour. Did this situation arise as a symptom of her obviously distressed state of mind? That would be a highly charitable view. But whatever duty of care that universities have towards students, there must come a point at which we need to draw a sharp line between mental health issues and what is unquestionably outrageous behaviour. Put simply, universities have a duty to demonstrate that racism will not be tolerated, even if it is a symptom of mental ill health.
This summer, The Guardian published a hard-hitting series of articles highlighting the failures of universities to tackle racism. Testimonials of mistreatment endured by ethnic minority academics contained the usual vocabulary: “discrimination”, “racial harassment”, “bullying”. There was no mention of the impact that racism has on the mental health of ethnic minority staff. Tales of the toll exacted on the mental health of staff in academia seem to surface in the news only when they relate to excessive workloads, precarious job positions or performance management. There is scant attention given to the fact that some university staff can find themselves in far more vulnerable positions than others.
As the only female permanent lecturer of a minority ethnic background, I was certainly aware of just how vulnerable I was. I had hoped that my reputation within my law department would have helped to protect me; I had been nominated for lecturer of the year and had won acclaim within the wider university for my efforts to enhance student engagement and inclusivity in the classroom. But the desire to excuse this student’s shameful behaviour meant that at no point did my managers explain to her that racism would not be tolerated under any circumstance.
My experience of student harassment and the department’s unwillingness to tackle it head-on was both demeaning and distressing. Despite what the university’s policies might suggest, no steps were taken to assure me that I, as a member of staff, had the right to work in an environment that was free of harassment, including from students. Equally disturbing for me was witnessing the ways in which staff protection was prioritised only when it concerned white members of staff. For example, when an altercation arose between a white male colleague and a black male student, the focus was on what more could be done to protect staff; no consideration was given to the ways in which the student himself had felt aggrieved or to his claims to having been subjected to racism from other white staff just days earlier.
Perhaps in hindsight I should have expected this because the warning signs had been there all along. On one occasion, a white female colleague of mine, who specialised in law enforcement and policing, went as far as showing her reluctance to address the student’s racism. Sitting in a staff meeting, the colleague casually revealed that she had received from the student an email expressing racist opinions against minority ethnic men (same ethnicity as me) and had chosen to delete the message instantly rather than report it.
If senior management in universities are reluctant to tackle racism, that attitude then filters down to rank-and-file staff, who in turn feel no discomfort or unease in admitting to others their unwillingness to address racist behaviour and language, that makes you only too aware that there is something very seriously wrong with the culture of that institution. And no amount of training workshops on unconscious bias or diversity will be of help to a university that works so relentlessly to avoid addressing the problems that exist inside it.
Universities need to ensure that all staff are well supported and are never put in a position where they must witness senior management excusing the bad behaviour of a student to the detriment of an employee’s own well-being. In the end, what my workplace taught me was that some people’s race, gender and mental health matters – just not mine.
Chinese Catholic bishop ordained with Pope's approval
The first bishop is ordained under a new deal between Beijing and the Vatican.
Jeremy Lin, Out of N.B.A. Options, Is Headed to China
By DANIEL VICTOR from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/3414c8W
US deports foreign student 'over friends' social media posts'
A Palestinian teen admitted to Harvard says his visa was cancelled after officials searched his phone.
Deadly Explosions Target Hamas Police Checkpoints in Gaza
By IYAD ABUHEWEILA and DECLAN WALSH from NYT World https://ift.tt/2zqEjRV
China Rejects U.S. Warship’s Visit Amid Trade War Tensions
By MIKE IVES from NYT World https://ift.tt/2ZB33le
48 Years Later, a Cold Case Mystery: Who Killed Officer Bolden?
By MICHAEL WILSON from NYT New York https://ift.tt/2ZoYv60
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
On Politics: China Is Using LinkedIn to Recruit Spies
By Unknown Author from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2L2q8t0
Costco shoppers jostle for chicken at China's first store
The US retailer has opened its first physical store in China - and was quickly overwhelmed.
What’s on TV Wednesday: ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ and the Real Oz
By GABE COHN from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/322kc8O
Costco forced to shut first China store early due to crowds
The firm's push into China comes as other foreign retailers have struggled to compete in the country.
Colombia drugs: Police seize 300kg of cannabis in coffin
Police seized the drugs after inspecting the vehicle and coffin at a check-point.
Gaza violence: Suicide bombers kill three officers
The bombers, who struck two checkpoints, were affiliated with the Islamic State groups, sources say.
Palestinian conflict: Diaries of childhood in Israeli military detention
Palestinians who were made to go through Israel's military court system as children speak out.
'Mushroom foraging saved me from my grief'
When Long Litt Woon lost her husband she was overcome by grief. She rediscovered happiness foraging in the woods.
Sudan crisis: Activists achieve 'big win' over generals
The junta has agreed to a civilian government after months of protests against its rule.
Has Kenya's plastic bag ban worked?
Plastic carrier bags were made illegal, so how has the government enforced the ban?
Fortnite Maker Wants to Sell More Games, and Build a Platform to Do It
By JASON M. BAILEY from NYT Business https://ift.tt/2ZfEQFE
Monday, August 26, 2019
Why You Need a Password Manager. Yes, You.
By ANDREW CUNNINGHAM from NYT Smarter Living https://ift.tt/2KZLvLn
Indonesia Confronts, Belatedly, a Huge Oil Spill Near Jakarta
By MUKTITA SUHARTONO from NYT World https://ift.tt/33ZGji6
On Politics: Trump Pivots on Trade War, Again
By Unknown Author from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2Lcx718
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