FRIDAY FELON / JURY FINDS TRUMP GUILTY OF 34 CHARGES. HERE THEY ARE IN DETAIL

 

The indictment accused ex-President Trump of falsified business records to conceal $130,000 hush money payment meant to suppress information about a 2006 sexual encounter with porn actress Stormy Daniels that could have negatively impacted his run for the presidency. Below is a recap of the 34 felony counts Trump has been convicted on in New York City.  Note:  Payments were made after Trump was President.  Trump has walked away from larger debts which raises the question why a billionaire would involve himself in such a relatively chump change situation.

 Charge 1 Invoice. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about February 14, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated February 14, 2017, marked as a record of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 2 Detail General Ledger. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about February 14, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, bearing voucher number 842457, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization 

 3 Detail General Ledger. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about February 14, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, bearing voucher number 842460, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 4 Check. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about February 14, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust Account check and check stub dated February 14, 2017, bearing check number 000138, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 5 Invoice. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about March 16, 2017 through March 17, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated February 16, 2017 and transmitted on or about March 16, 2017, marked as a record of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 6 Detail General Ledger. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about March 17, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, bearing voucher number 846907, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 7 Check. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about March 17, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust Account check and check stub dated March 17, 2017, bearing check number 000147, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 8 Invoice. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about April 13, 2017 through June 19, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated April 13, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 9 Detail General Ledger. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about June 19, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 858770, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 10 Check. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about June 19, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated June 19, 2017, bearing check number 002740, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 11 Invoice. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about May 22, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated May 22, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 12 Detail General Ledger. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about May 22, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 855331, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 13 Check. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about May 23, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated May 23, 2017, bearing check number 002700, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 14 Invoice. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about June 16, 2017 through June 19, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated June 16, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 15 Detail General Ledger. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about June 19, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 858772, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 16 Check. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about June 19, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated June 19, 2017, bearing check number 002741, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 17 Invoice. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about July 11, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated July 11, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 18 Detail General Ledger. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about July 11, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 861096, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 19 Check. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about July 11, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated July 11, 2017, bearing check number 002781, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 20 Invoice. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about August 1, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated August 1, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 21 Detail General Ledger. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about August 1, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 863641, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 22 Check. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about August 1, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated August 1, 2017, bearing check number 002821, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 23 Invoice. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about September 11, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated September 11, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 24 Detail General Ledger. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about September 11, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 868174, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 25 Check. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about September 12, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated September 12, 2017, bearing check number 002908, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 26 Invoice. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about October 18, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated October 18, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 27 Detail General Ledger. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about October 18, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 872654, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 28 Check. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about October 18, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated October 18, 2017, bearing check number 002944, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 29 Invoice. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about November 20, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated November 20, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 30 Detail General Ledger. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about November 20, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 876511, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 31 Check. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about November 21, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated November 21, 2017, bearing check number 002980, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 32 Invoice. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about December 1, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated December 1, 2017, marked as a record of Donald J. Trump, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 33 Detail General Ledger. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about December 1, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for Donald J. Trump, bearing voucher number 877785, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. 

 34 Check. The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about December 5, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, a Donald J. Trump account check and check stub dated December 5, 2017, bearing check number 003006, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization. ## 

AMERICANA / 9 FRENCH JETS FLY OVER U.S. CEMETERY IN NORMANDY

 

REMEMBERED.

DESIGN / TOUGH GUY ACTOR IS DEVELOPING AN ENTIRE ISLAND FOR HIS MUM

Freetown, capital of Sierra Leone.

GUEST BLOG / By Tom Ravencroft, dezeen online design magazine--Architecture studios Sasaki Associates and Foster + Partners are masterplanning a smart city for up to a million people on Sherbro island in Sierra Leone. 

According to the BBC, the studios are creating a masterplan for the entire island as part of a project led by actor Idris Elba, whose father was born in Sierra Leone, and Siaka Stevens, grandson of the country's former president. 

A "beautiful retirement home for my mum" Elba described the plans, by UK studio Foster + Partners and US studio Sasaki Associates, to redevelop the 65-mile-long island into a self-reliant "smart city" as "a dream". 

 

Idris Elba: "I'm qualified to dream big."

"It's a dream, you know, but I work in the make-believe business," Elba told BBC. "It's about being self-reliant, it's about bringing an economy that feeds itself and has growth potential." 

"Part of me wants to build that beautiful retirement home for my mum," he continued. "Never in my lifetime would I have thought I could build the foundation for a new smart-city... I'm not qualified for that. But I am qualified to dream big." 

Development for "up to a million people" According to the BBC, the project for the island in the southwest of the country is set to be "financed through a public-private partnership", with Sherbro designated as a special economic zone. Few details of the development have been released, but Stevens told the BBC that the masterplan would initially be focused on the town of Bonthe – the largest settlement on the island with a population of around 10,000. 

According to Stevens, the whole 230-square-mile island is within the project's scope with the potential of "a population of up to a million people". Sherbro Alliance Partners, which is co-ordinating the masterplan, has enlisted energy company Octopus to develop a strategy for electricity generation based on wind power. 

 The Sherbro island development is the latest in a series of smart cities that have been proposed around the world. In 2020, Senegalese-American singer Akon signed an agreement with the government of Senegal to build a cryptocurrency-based development named Akon City. 

Photos from Sherbro Island:

John Obey Beach resort is near Freetown.  To ensure privacy, guests are rowed from the mainland to the resort.

Rural Sierra Leone

Mozza Beach Resort, Sierra Leone

TUESDAY IN THE TREES / A POEM OF UNCOMMON BEAUTY

GUEST BLOG / By Joyce Kilmer. 

Trees (1914) 

I think that I shall never see 

A poem lovely as a tree. 

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest 

Against the earth’s sweet breast; 

A tree that looks at God all day, 

And lifts her leafy arms to pray; 

A tree that may in summer wear 

A nest of robins in her hair; 

Upon whose bosom snow has lain; 

Who ultimately lives with rain. 

Poems are made by fools like me, 

But only God can make a tree. 

BIOGRAPHY. Alfred Joyce Kilmer (December 6, 1886 – July 30, 1918) was an American writer and poet mainly remembered for a short poem titled "Trees" (1913), which was published in the collection Trees and Other Poems in 1914. 

 Though a prolific poet whose works celebrated the common beauty of the natural world as well as his Catholic faith, Kilmer was also a journalist, literary critic, lecturer, and editor. At the time of his deployment to Europe during World War I, Kilmer was considered the leading American Catholic poet and lecturer of his generation, whom critics often compared to British contemporaries G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) and Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953). 

He enlisted in the New York National Guard and was deployed to France with the 69th Infantry Regiment (the famous "Fighting 69th") in 1917. He was killed by a sniper's bullet at the Second Battle of the Marne in 1918 at the age of 31. He was married to Aline Murray, also an accomplished poet and author, with whom he had five children. 

While most of his works are largely unknown today, a select few of his poems remain popular and are published frequently in anthologies. Several critics—including both Kilmer's contemporaries and modern scholars—have dismissed Kilmer's work as being too simple and overly sentimental, and suggested that his style was far too traditional, even archaic.

Sad that something so simple, so pure is judged so harshly.

Tree photo: PillartoPost.org

Spring 2024, Terra Granada Road, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek) CA.

AMERICANA / ROSES FOR THE FALLEN

 Retired US Navy officer Amanda Moore with assistance from her fiance distributed six dozen roses to honor those veterans resting forever at Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetary in San Diego.  She hopes to do so as along as she is able.  Magnificent setting honoring those who served our country.  Photos: Amanda Moore (above) and Phyllis Shess (below).

View from Point Loma scans entry to San Diego Bay and Coronado Shores in the distance.

    

MEDIA MONDAY / GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE OPENS TO PUBLIC, 1937

Golden Gate Bridge looking East from Marin County, 2007

Black Lives Matter Demonstration, June 6, 2020

1934

USS Yorktown glides under Golden Gate Bridge August 8, 1946

SUNDAY REVIEW / EXCERPT FROM THE MYSTERY OF THE BLUE TRAIN

The following is Chapter 3 from Agatha Christie’s 1928 detective mystery, The Mystery of the Blue Train, a Hercule Poirot mystery from the Project Gutenberg. 

Heart of Fire 

Rufus Van Aldin passed through the revolving doors of the Savoy, and walked to the reception desk. The desk clerk smiled a respectful greeting. 

"Pleased to see you back again, Mr. Van Aldin," he said. 

The American millionaire nodded his head in a casual greeting. 

"Everything all right?" he asked. 

"Yes, sir. Major Knighton is upstairs in the suite now." 

Van Aldin nodded again. "Any mail?" he asked. 

"They have all been sent up, Mr. Van Aldin. Oh! wait a minute." He dived into a pigeon hole, and produced a letter. "Just come this minute," he explained. 

Rufus Van Aldin took the letter from him, and as he saw the handwriting, a woman's flowing hand, his face was suddenly transformed. The harsh contours of it softened, and the hard line of his mouth relaxed. He looked a different man. He walked across to the lift with the letter in his hand and the smile still on his lips. 

In the drawing-room of his suite, a young man was sitting at a desk nimbly sorting correspondence with the ease born of long practice. He sprang up as Van Aldin entered. 

"Hallo, Knighton!" 

"Glad to see you back, sir. Had a good time?" 

"So-so!" said the millionaire unemotionally. "Paris is rather a one-horse city nowadays. Still—I got what I went over for." He smiled to himself rather grimly. 

"You usually do, I believe," said the secretary, laughing. 

"That's so," agreed the other. He spoke in a matter-of-fact manner, as one stating a well-known fact. Throwing off his heavy overcoat, he advanced to the desk. "Anything urgent?" 

"I don't think so, sir. Mostly the usual stuff. I have not quite finished sorting it out." 

Van Aldin nodded briefly. He was a man who seldom expressed either blame or praise. His methods with those he employed were simple; he gave them a fair trial and dismissed promptly those who were inefficient. His selections of people were unconventional. 

Knighton, for instance, he had met casually at a Swiss resort two months previously. He had approved of the fellow, looked up his war record, and found in it the explanation of the limp with which he walked. Knighton had made no secret of the fact that he was looking for a job, and indeed diffidently asked the millionaire if he knew of any available post. 

Van Aldin remembered, with a grim smile of amusement, the young man's complete astonishment when he had been offered the post of secretary to the great man himself. 

"But—but I have no experience of business," he had stammered. 

"That doesn't matter a cuss," Van Aldin had replied. "I have got three secretaries already to attend to that kind of thing. But I am likely to be in England for the next six months, and I want an Englishman who—well, knows the ropes—and can attend to the social side of things for me." 

So far, Van Aldin had found his judgment confirmed. Knighton had proved quick, intelligent, and resourceful, and he had a distinct charm of manner. The secretary indicated three or four letters placed by themselves on the top of the desk. 

"It might perhaps be as well, sir, if you glanced at these," he suggested. "The top one is about the Colton agreement—" 

But Rufus Van Aldin held up a protesting hand. "I am not going to look at a durned thing to-night," he declared. "They can all wait till the morning. Except this one," he added, looking down at the letter he held in his hand. And again that strange transforming smile stole over his face. 

Richard Knighton smiled sympathetically. "Mrs. Kettering?" he murmured. "She rang up yesterday and to-day. She seems very anxious to see you at once, sir." 

"Does she, now!" The smile faded from the millionaire's face. He ripped open the envelope which he held in his hand and took out the enclosed sheet. As he read it his face darkened, his mouth set grimly in the line which Wall Street knew so well, and his brows knit themselves ominously. 

Knighton turned tactfully away, and went on opening letters and sorting them. 

A muttered oath escaped the millionaire, and his clenched fist hit the table sharply. "I'll not stand for this," he muttered to himself. "Poor little girl, it's a good thing she has her old father behind her." He walked up and down the room for some minutes, his brows drawn together in a scowl. 

Knighton still bent assiduously over the desk. 

Suddenly Van Aldin came to an abrupt halt. He took up his overcoat from the chair where he had thrown it. 

"Are you going out again, sir?" 

"Yes; I'm going round to see my daughter." 

 Knighton asked, "If Colton's people ring up—" 

"Tell them to go to the devil," said Van Aldin. 

"Very well," said the secretary unemotionally. 

Van Aldin had his overcoat on by now. Cramming his hat upon his head, he went towards the door. He paused with his hand upon the handle. "You are a good fellow, Knighton," he said. "You don't worry me when I am rattled." 

Knighton smiled a little, but made no reply. 

"Ruth is my only child," said Van Aldin, "and there is no one on this earth who knows quite what she means to me." A faint smile irradiated his face. He slipped his hand into his pocket. "Care to see something, Knighton?" He came back towards the secretary. 

From his pocket he drew out a parcel carelessly wrapped in brown paper. He tossed off the wrapping and disclosed a big, shabby, red velvet case. In the centre of it were some twisted initials surmounted by a crown. He snapped the case open, and the secretary drew in his breath sharply. 

Against the slightly dingy white of the interior, the stones glowed like blood. "My God! sir," said Knighton. "Are they—are they real?" 

Van Aldin laughed a quiet little cackle of amusement. "I don't wonder at your asking that. Amongst these rubies are the three largest in the world. Catherine of Russia wore them, Knighton. That centre one there is known as Heart of Fire. It's perfect—not a flaw in it." 

"But," the secretary murmured, "they must be worth a fortune." 

"Millions" said Van Aldin nonchalantly, "and that is apart from the historical interest." 

"And you carry them about—like that, loose in your pocket?" 

Van Aldin laughed amusedly. "I guess so. You see, they are my little present for Ruthie." 

The secretary smiled discreetly. "I can understand now Mrs. Kettering's anxiety over the telephone," he murmured. 

But Van Aldin shook his head. The hard look returned to his face. "You are wrong there," he said. 

"She doesn't know about these; they are my little surprise for her." He shut the case, and began slowly to wrap it up again. "It's a hard thing, Knighton," he said, "how little one can do for those one loves. I can buy a good portion of the earth for Ruth, if it would be any use to her, but it isn't. I can hang these things round her neck and give her a moment or two's pleasure, maybe, but—" He shook his head. "When a woman is not happy in her home—" 

He left the sentence unfinished. 

The secretary nodded discreetly. He knew, none better, the reputation of Ruth's husband, the Hon. Derek Kettering. Van Aldin sighed. Slipping the parcel back in his coat pocket, he nodded to Knighton and left the room. 

Actress Jamie Murray from the 2005 film of the same name is shown wearing the Heart of Fire diamond

Imperial crown of Catherine the Great of Russia.
The Heart of Fire flawless ruby is the centerpiece.

Original "Le Tren Bleu" in Paris, Circa 1910

COFFEE BEANS & BEINGS / GUANTANAMO’S TRIPLE “C”

The Caribbean Coffee and Cream (Triple C) is a morning favorite for residents of Guantanamo Bay. Serving a wide variety Starbucks coffee, lattes, mochas and tea the "Triple C" is the Bay's only full-service coffee bar. Also serving an assortment of

Breyer's ice cream flavors, the Triple C is one of the many wireless internet cafes offered around the base by MWR. The Triple C is a family favorite for splits, sundaes and a Guantanamo specialty, "the hurricane." Aside: the Navy base is home to the only McDonald's in Cuba.

FRIDAY FIXER / 5 CLOSET IDEAS INTO EXTRA ROOMS

Make a nursery out of a closet

GUEST BLOG / By L. Payton, New York Magazine—This article is titled “My Closet, My Office, My Nursery. How five urbanites turned closets into extra rooms. It is part of the New York magazine’s Small Spaces series. With the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan hovering around $6,000, it’s no surprise that many New Yorkers are opting to stay put in their studios or one-bedrooms even when they need more space. One solution that sounds hellish but can be game-changing: Clear out a closet and live in it. Five New Yorkers share the DIY transformations that have given their apartments an entire extra room. 

 CLICK HERE for the article. 

New baby?  No problem.  Here's a home office in a tiny flat.

THE FOODIST / TWO BEST MEXICAN FOOD CAFES IN CALIFORNIA

SAYS A SURVEY BY YELP. 

This is a list of the top Mexican food spots in the US, according to Yelp, ranked using a number of factors, including the total volume and ratings of reviews. 

Yelp included only two businesses per state for geographic diversity. When available, all businesses on this list have a passing health score as of February 13, 2024. 

And the nationally ranked winners in California are: 

#3 

 The Char Market, 

Carmichael, CA, 4717 Whitney Ave. 

Char’s famous bone marrow plate 

***

#6 

 Restaurante Los Primos, 

Palm Desert, CA 73030 El Paseo Ste.103 

Chilaquiles with Carne Asada 

DESIGN / I’LL BE READY IN A SECOND

“Woman on the Phone,” in classic gouache and watercolor medium from American artist Coby Whitmore (1913-1988). Painted in 1940s, the illustration was a popular style with WWII American troops in calendars and advertisements. 

Maxwell Coburn Whitmore was an American painter and magazine illustrator known for his Saturday Evening Post covers, and a commercial artist whose work included advertisements for Gallo Wine and other brands. 

Coby Whitmore

LOCAL / GRAND OPENING NEW BISTRO NORTH PARK

FROM NORTH PARK MAIN STREET...

SPACE CADETS / WHY DIDN’T THE RECENT SOLAR FLARES TURN US INTO BURNT TOAST?

Solar Flare Sizzle

Editor’s Note: A radio program apparently made a prediction that radiation from a large solar flare was going to devastate the Earth and possibly kill most of the life forms currently alive on the Earth. Below, we discuss whether such a thing is possible and/or if such an event can be predictable. 

GUEST BLOG / By Douglas Biesecker, School of Physics and Space Research, University of Birmingham, UK-- The size of a solar flare is actually a difficult question to answer. 

If what we want to know is what will the effect at Earth be, then we want to know the total number of photons and the total number of particles of different energies that will strike the Earth's atmosphere. The actual volume the flare occurs in, or the size in miles, is not important. 

Prof. Biesecker

A flare emits photons, and sometimes particles, from the Sun, which sometimes reach the Earth. Whether or not they reach the Earth does not depend on the size of the flare, but depends only on where on the Sun the flare occurred. 

Fortunately, no matter what, flares do not have a significant effect on us here on Earth. The Earth's atmosphere more or less acts as a shield to prevent the cosmic radiation from reaching us. There can be measurable effects at ground level, but the amount of radiation is pretty insignificant. 

The largest flare ever recorded was in August, 1972. That flare has had no discernible effects on any terrestrial populations, including people. 

What sort of fluxes would have to strike the Earth to wipe us out? I don't know the answer to that, but obviously, we've never even observed a solar event big enough to have any measurable effects on human health. 

It is also unlikely that the Sun could produce such a flare. 

Solar scientists are very much interested in forecasting active magnetic disturbances, in particular, the flares that arise out of active regions. They run complex code that models the magnetic field of the Sun. But it is very much like weather forecasting, an imprecise science. So they can give probabilities, based on their model results, only. 

Bottom Line: To be safe during solar flare-ups: add more sunscreen.

POLITICS / IT'S THE ECOLOGY, STUPID

People march from the U.S. Capitol to the White House protesting former President Donald Trump’s environmental policies in April 2017. Astrid Riecken/Getty Images

Climate change matters to more and more people – and could be a deciding factor in 2024.

GUEST BLOG / By Matt Burgess Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, University of Colorado Boulder--Via The Conversation.org--If you ask American voters what their top issues are, most will point to kitchen-table issues like the economy, inflation, crime, health care or education. 

Fewer than 5% of respondents in 2023 and 2024 Gallup surveys said that climate change was the most important problem facing the country. 

Despite this, research that I conducted with my colleages suggests that concern about climate change has had a significant effect on voters’ choices in the past two presidential elections. 

Climate change opinions may even have had a large enough effect to change the 2020 election outcome in President Joe Biden’s favor. 

That was the conclusion of an analysis of polling data that we published on Jan. 17, 2024, through the University of Colorado’s Center for Social and Environmental Futures. 

What explains these results, and what effect might climate change have on the 2024 election? We used 2016 and 2020 survey data from the nonpartisan organization Voter Study Group to analyze the relationships between thousands of voters’ presidential picks in the past two elections with their demographics and their opinions on 22 different issues, including climate change. 

The survey asked voters to rate climate change’s importance with four options: “unimportant,” “not very important,” “somewhat important” or “very important.” 

 In 2020, 67% of voters rated climate change as “somewhat important” or “very important,” up from 62% in 2016. Of these voters rating climate change as important, 77% supported Biden in 2020, up from 69% who supported Hillary Clinton in 2016. 

This suggests that climate change opinion has been providing the Democrats with a growing electoral advantage. Using two different statistical models, we estimated that climate change opinion could have shifted the 2020 national popular vote margin (Democratic vote share minus Republican vote share) by 3% or more toward Biden. 

Using an Electoral College model, we estimated that a 3% shift would have been large enough to change the election outcome in his favor. These patterns echo the results of a November 2023 poll. This poll found that more voters trust the Democrats’ approach to climate change, compared to Republicans’ approach to the issue. 

 What might explain the effect of climate change on voting 

So, if most voters – even Democrats – do not rank climate change as their top issue, how could climate change opinion have tipped the 2020 presidential election? 

 Our analysis could not answer this question directly, but here are three educated guesses: 

--First, recent presidential elections have been extremely close. This means that climate change opinion would not need to have a very large effect on voting to change election outcomes. In 2020, Biden won Georgia by about 10,000 votes – 0.2% of the votes cast – and he won Wisconsin by about 20,000 votes, 0.6% of votes cast. 

--Second, candidates who deny that climate change is real or a problem might turn off some moderate swing voters, even if climate change was not those voters’ top issue. The scientific evidence for climate change being real is so strong that if a candidate were to deny the basic science of climate change, some moderate voters might wonder whether to trust that candidate in general. 

--Third, some voters may be starting to see the connections between climate change and the kitchen-table issues that they consider to be higher priorities than climate change. For example, there is strong evidence that climate change affects health, national security, the economy and immigration patterns in the U.S. and around the world. 

 Where the candidates stand Biden and former President Donald Trump have very different records on climate change and approaches to the environment. Trump has previously called climate change a “hoax.” In 2017, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, an international treaty that legally commits countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. 

 Biden reversed that decision in 2021. 

 While in office, Trump rolled back 125 environmental rules and policies aimed at protecting the country’s air, water, land and wildlife, arguing that these regulations hurt businesses. 

 Biden has restored many of these regulations. He has also added several new rules and regulations, including a requirement for businesses to publicly disclose their greenhouse gas emissions. Biden has also signed three major laws that each provides tens of billions in annual spending to address climate change. Two of those laws were bipartisan. 

On the other hand, the U.S. has also become the world’s largest producer of oil and gas, and the largest exporter of natural gas, during Biden’s term. 

 In the current campaign, Trump has promised to eliminate subsidies for renewable energy and electric vehicles, to increase domestic fossil fuel production and to roll back environmental regulations. 

In practice, some of these efforts could face opposition from congressional Republicans, in addition to Democrats. 

Public opinion varies on particular climate policies that Biden has enacted. 

 Nonetheless, doing something about climate change remains much more popular than doing nothing. 

For example, a November 2023 Yale survey found 57% of voters would prefer a candidate who supports action on global warming over a candidate who opposes action. 

What this means for 2024 Our study found that between the 2016 and the 2020 presidential elections, climate change became increasingly important to voters, and the importance voters assign to climate change became increasingly predictive of voting for the Democrats. 

If these trends continue, then climate change could provide the Democrats with an even larger electoral advantage in 2024. Of course, this does not necessarily mean that the Democrats will win the 2024 election. For example, our study estimated that climate change gave the Democrats an advantage in 2016, and yet Trump still won that election because of other issues. 

Immigration is currently the top issue for a plurality of voters, and recent national polls suggest that Trump currently leads the 2024 presidential race over Biden. 

Although a majority of voters currently prefer the Democrats’ climate stances, this need not always be true. For example, Democrats risk losing voters when their policies impose economic costs, or when they are framed as anti-capitalist, racial, or overly pessimistic. 

Some Republican-backed climate policies, like trying to speed up renewable energy projects, are popular. 

Nonetheless, if the election were held today, the totality of evidence suggests that most voters would prefer a climate-conscious candidate, and that most climate-conscious voters currently prefer a Democrat. 

SUNDAY REVIEW / ICONIC LITERARY MAGAZINE STILL PUBLISHING

Letter from Paris Review Editor

GUEST BLOG / By Emily Stokes, editor of The Paris Review, Spring 2024 edition--Early in the new year, returning home from the office one evening, I picked up a story by the Argentinean writer Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell. The opening pages of “An Eye in the Throat” place us in the thrall of an escalating family emergency, one that might belong to a work of autofiction. But in time, the nature of the story’s reality transforms. On finishing—I had to unclench my jaw and pour myself a drink—I realized that the narrative, like a tormenting Magic Eye, could be read in at least two distinct, and equally haunting, ways. 

Like Schweblin’s story, several of the works in this issue seem to disclose, as if by optical illusion, a previously hidden plane of reality. Joy Williams gives us Azrael, the angel of death, who mourns the limited possibilities for the transmigration of souls as a result of biodiversity loss. In “Derrida in Lahore” by the French-born writer Julien Columeau, translated from the Urdu by Sana R. Chaudhry, an aspiring scholar studying in Lahore, Pakistan, is introduced to Derrida’s Glas (“You must read this,” his professor tells him, “it has fire inside it. Fire!”) and becomes a deconstructionist zealot. And in Eliot Weinberger’s “The Ceaseless Murmuring of Innumerable Bees,” bees become variously the symbols of socialism and constitutional monarchy, good luck and witchcraft, war and peace, and much else besides. 

The subjects of our Writers at Work interviews, too, slip between worlds. Jhumpa Lahiri, in her Art of Fiction interview, describes “the woeful treadmill of needing approval” that drove her, at the height of critical and commercial success, to leave her American life behind. “It’s only when I’m writing in Italian that I manage to turn off all those other, judgmental voices, except perhaps my own,” she tells Francesco Pacifico, with whom, in Rome, she spoke in her new language. And in her Art of Poetry interview, Alice Notley describes the need, in her work, to go beyond conscious thought and the “scrounging” of everyday life—beyond, even, the grief of losing loved ones. “You might just freeze, but if you don’t, other worlds open to you,” she tells Hannah Zeavin, before adding, casually, “I started hearing the dead, for example.” 

Perhaps a kind of doubleness is fitting for the spring we’re in: the season of hope, which is, this year as ever, filled with dread. When we asked the Swiss artist Nicolas Party to make an artwork for the cover of our new issue, he sent us not one image but two. Like in de Chirico’s The Double Dream of Spring, painted early in the First World War, each image exerts a kind of formal terror, at once seductive and monstrous. We decided that, for the first time in the magazine’s seventy-one-year history, the issue would have twin covers. Subscribers will receive the cover featuring a still life, an array of uncannily sagging apples and pears against rich blue. Buyers at newsstands and bookstores can pick up the version featuring a coastal landscape, albeit one in which the ocean is green and the sky a candy pink. If you’d prefer to alternate between realities, you can always have both. 

CLICK HERE to subscribe to the Paris Review. 

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COFFEE BEANS & BEINGS / THE COFFEE BEARER

John Frederick Lewis [1804 - 1876] painted “The Coffee Bearer” in 1857. He was an English Orientalist painter. He specialized in Oriental and Mediterranean scenes in detailed watercolor or oils, very often repeating the same composition in a version in each medium.

Circa 1860s

Lewis, left, lived for several years in a traditional mansion in Cairo, and after his return to England in 1851 he specialized in highly detailed works showing both realistic genre scenes of Middle Eastern life and more idealized scenes in upper-class Egyptian interiors with little apparent Western influence. 

Other work by Lewis:

"The Harem," 1876

FELINE FOIBLES FRIDAY / MEOW WOWS

Cat lovers, especially those who appreciate feline foibles, have found a kindred spirit in Northern California based artist Scott Metzker, who has been cartooning since 1996. Scott has made us happy by drawing feline comics portraying the adventures of cats with hilarious human like behaviors. 

 More info: Metzgercartoons.com | Facebook | Instagram | Linktr.ee