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Been There, Smelled That explores the aromas of places around the world. Travel writer Maggie Downs investigates some of the world’s most potent smells, looks at how odor cultivates a connection to place, and presents how humans engage with smells, from scents that have endured generations to the latest innovations in aroma-making.

Years ago, when I was a newspaper reporter at my first job out of college, I wrote a series about a teenager waiting for a heart transplant. When the lifesaving organ finally became available, I was lucky enough to be invited into the operating room to witness the procedure.

I barely remember any of it. In my head, I can only visualize it like a collage of images, as quick and jarring as a trending TikTok. I can’t even picture the room. There’s only a gaping white spot, like a cartoon backdrop that’s been erased. It’s as gone as last night’s dream.

The Green Party has unveiled a manifesto that promises to bring water companies, the Big Five retail energy firms, and the rail network into public ownership, positioning the party significantly to the left of Labour – even if they don’t use that word

Sit in the bathroom and use your creativity to make it the most exciting place in the entire hotel.

Become frustrated that rearranging the towels has failed to turn the bathroom into the most exciting place in the entire hotel.

Remember that your child’s crib has wheels, and see if you can wheel it into the not-particularly-exciting bathroom without waking them up.

Stop moving the crib in a panic after one of your child’s eyelids briefly flutters open. Spend the next ten minutes silently begging them for forgiveness.

Listen to the peaceful sound of your child’s breathing and feel guilty that it is boring you rather than inspiring you to compose a sonnet.

Wonder if going to the hotel bar would count as negligent parenting, given that you and your child would technically still be in the same building.

Decide that going to the bar counts as negligent parenting, but going to the adjacent hotel room would be totally fine.

Remember that you have no idea who, if anyone, is staying in the adjacent hotel room.

Ampika Pickston's AP Care Homes Ltd has been barred for caring for children since late January and is now subject to a Care Standards Tribunal

In today's BCTV Daily Dispatch: TWD: Daryl Dixon - The Book of Carol, The Talamasca, Arcane, The Boys, Doctor Who, Cobra Kai, and lots more!

Migrant communities could be the hidden kingmakers in a border poll, but to engage they must feel safe

Labour ditched its plans in February but has announced a new net zero transition policy - it isn't enough

A poignant connection between the erosions of landscape and memory at a former Japanese internment camp in California

- by Aeon Video

Watch at Aeon

The IMF joint hosted a conference in Tokyo last week – Fiscal Policy and Sovereign Debt – and the continues its misinformation campaign on the ‘dangers’ of public debt. The conference claimed that it brought together ‘leading scholars and senior policymakers’ and upon examination of the agenda it was clear that there was very little…

Source - Patreon

Source - Patreon

Source - Patreon

As Democrats continue with their perennial handwringing over the election and media bigfoots write the 3,785th article about why, despite polls showing a tied election. Joe Biden should drop out it’s interesting to note that the recently convicted felon heading up the other party’s ticket is being deliriously embraced by voters and officials alike. Not even one Republicans has suggested he step down. Not one newspaper or right wing columnist. Nada. The Huffington Post’s S.V. Date takes a look at the GOP’s total unwillingness to even consider dumping Trump: Eight years after a credible effort to dump Donald Trump as their presidential nominee because of his vulgarity, Republicans today appear stuck with the newly convicted felon for November, with no realistic means of taking the nomination away from him at their convention next month, even if they wanted to. “There will be no move to, no mechanism for and no interest in removing Trump at the convention,” said Richard Porter, a Republican National Committee member from Illinois.

Ten books we loved this year.

The post Introducing the Nautilus Summer Reading List appeared first on Nautilus.

Simon Rosenberg has a good one today. He shows that Biden has made some slight gains in the polls in the wake of Trump’s conviction although it’s still essentially tied. He also notes: 538 unveiled its 2024 forecasting model this morning and it gives Biden a 53% chance of winning the election. The key to how we win in this model is our strength in MI, PA, WI, the blue wall states which get us to 269 Electoral College votes, or check as I’ve been calling it. He also notes that we have reports in the last week or so showing that the economy is rolling, crime is way, way down and (I would add, border crossings are also much lower in the last 6 months.) Rosenberg concludes: In the last few weeks we’ve gotten repeated confirmation of the success of the Biden Presidency – inflation is down, food prices are down, crime and murder rates are way down, gas prices are down, the flow to the border is down.

Prediction usually boils down to figuring out essentials.

I’m committed to finding out the 20% which explains 80%. Despite what one might think, that involves quite a lot of work, I’ve read thousands of books over the years, and don’t just get my info on twitter and from news media but I often cover current events and that requires current info, not carefully thought out books. (As an example, I’ve read books on Hezbollah.)

I find a few determined priorities/ideology/power + resource constraints tend to create most apparent complexity (most, not all.) Complexity is mostly in execution, not in ideation or decision.

Much of Fed rate policy from 79 to the 00s, for example, can be explained by a simple commitment to crush wage based inflation. Add in a commitment to increase asset prices and you have two theses which worked very very well predictively at the time and which still have a great deal of utility.

Unpacking Trump’s reelection plans to doom the planet.

This is very good news: The Biden administration Tuesday willannounce rules to block medical debt from being used to evaluate borrowers’ fitness for mortgages and other types of loans, people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post. The proposed rules from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau arrive less than five months before Election Day and are poised to be part of President Biden’s closing argument that he is addressing pocketbook issues as voters rank the economy as their top concern.The White House has repeatedly focused on the issue of medical debt, saying it disproportionately harms low-income Americans and communities of color. “This is going to be an enormous relief for so many people battling bills when it comes to medical visits,” CPFB director Rohit Chopra said Tuesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” teasing the forthcoming rules. The rules set to be announced Tuesday would ban credit reporting agencies from incorporating medical debt when calculating credit scores, said the people with knowledge of the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private discussions.

The Opposition’s shadow minister for home and foreign affairs, Barnaby Joyce, has launched a nation wide campaign to encourage all Australians to pull out. ”Trust me, I know the consequences of not pulling out,” said the member for New England.... Read More ›