Xue Qiwen, 43, in her Shanghai apartment, decorated with furniture from her favorite brand, Versace, 2005. In 1994 Xue started a company that sells industrial cable and has since run four more. She is a member of three golf clubs, each costing approximately $100,000 to join.
← Looking back at the ostentatious tribes of the early 2000s.
By Lauren Greenfield,
Director of Award Winning Ad Campaign “Like a Girl”, anthropologist and writer.
Generation Wealth is the fruition of a twenty-five-year documentary inquiry into what I have called “the influence of affluence.” Consciously at times—and at other times unconsciously—I have captured signs of a seismic shift in our culture. I began to recognize the pattern in 2008, during the financial crisis, and I have been trying to decipher it ever since, both by making new work for this project and by editing the photographs I’ve made throughout my career.
The title of the project and many of the pictures could mislead the reader to think that this is a work about the 1 percent, about people who are wealthy. It is not. This work is about the aspiration for wealth and how that has become a driving force—and at the same time an increasingly unrealistic goal—for individuals from all classes of society. We have less social mobility now than we had in prior generations, and, more than ever before, a greater concentration of wealth is in the hands of the few. Flouting this reality, the “American Dream” has grown to outsized proportions. “People don’t dream in modest terms anymore. They all want to live in Mar-a-Lago with Donald Trump,” says social critic Chris Hedges, whom I interviewed for this book and companion film. As our political system becomes less democratic—with wealthy donors and well-funded special-interest lobby groups exercising disproportionate influence on elections and legislation—we have experienced a democratization of the signifiers of wealth. Luxury for the common man, woman, and child defines the new American Dream. And if you don’t have money, as Emanuel, one of my teenage subjects in Los Angeles, assures us, “There are ways to make it seem like you do.” The aptly named rapper Future explains that the strategy is to “fake it till you make it.” This sentiment is echoed by many of my subjects who seek material-based status, from Minnesota to Milan, South Central Los Angeles to Shanghai, Dubai to Moscow. As Hedges attests, fictitious representations of a luxury lifestyle have replaced actual social mobility. The fact that many of the images in this book appear to be of worlds of wealth and belie their reality is precisely the point for both the subjects and for the image-maker (me) in an image-based culture.
As a photographer and filmmaker, and in a variety of media, from analog to digital, I have been asking questions about the culture of materialism, the cult of celebrity, and presentation-based status since my first major project, Fast Forward: Growing Up in the Shadow of Hollywood, which I began in 1992 and published as my first book in 1997. That work explored those themes in the context of youth culture in Los Angeles and was inspired by my own high-school experience. At the time, I was struck by the early loss of innocence in our media-saturated culture, taking stock of a generation impacted by what I called “the values of Hollywood.” In that early work, I documented the excesses of the affluent, the attraction of what we now term “bling” among the poor, and the desire for fame and status-based image across boundaries of class, race, and neighborhood. What started to emerge in front of my camera was the dramatic influence of commercial pressures on young people’s values and behavior, as well as an unexpected homogenization of youth culture resulting from the shared consumption of increasingly ubiquitous media messages. I remember saying on the radio, while discussing my Fast Forward book, that despite the dramatic divisions in the city revealed by the L.A. riots, which I had covered in 1992, rich kids and poor kids had found common ground that their parents had not, and it was a shared love for Versace.
During the global financial crisis of 2008, I documented uncannily similar imagery and phenomena across the United States and around the world, from California to Florida, and in Dubai, Ireland, and Iceland. I realized that many of the stories I had photographed and filmed since the early nineties were part of a larger narrative. The international and catastrophic nature of the 2008 crisis revealed a meta-story connecting the hundreds of stories I had covered and forming a morality tale in which we were all implicated. Once again, irrespective of class, race, age, and nationality, individuals—and by extension entire countries—made the same mistakes and suffered similar consequences. They held in common their human nature, a diet of mass media, and their participation in an interconnected global financial system. In the end what was shared was more powerful than cultural and historical differences; traditional institutions of family, religion, and government; even, in the case of Iceland, geographic isolation that in prior times might have insulated against the forces that affected them all during the crash. The repetitions and echoes—both visually apparent and underlying—in radically different contexts made me realize that I was unearthing a pattern with more far-reaching significance than the individual stories revealed.
Christina, 21, a Walmart pharmacy technician, en route to her wedding in Cinderella’s glass coach, drawn by six miniature white ponies and with bewigged coachman. Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida, 2013.
The influence of affluence
Ilona at home with her daughter, Michelle, 4, Moscow, 2012. Ilona’s sw eater was produced for her in a custom color by her friend Andrey Arty omov, whose Walk of Shame fashion line is popular among the wives of oligarchs.
In 2007 I met Jackie Siegel at a party at the Versace boutique in Beverly Hills hosted by Donatella Versace, whom I was photographing for Elle. At that time, Jackie, the wife of time-share billionaire David Siegel, was spending more than $1 million a year on shopping. I made a photograph of Jackie and two of her friends holding Versace handbags that Time magazine published in its 2007 “Pictures of the Year” issue as representative of the “new Gilded Age.” (That photograph is on the back cover of this book.) Eventually, I began to film Jackie and David in their ambitious quest to build the biggest house in America, near Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, for what became the documentary film The Queen of Versailles. I was interested in the over-the-top consumerism that was the expression of their personal narratives of success. They both had come a long way from their modest origins—David as a TV repairman, and Jackie as an IBM employee turned beauty pageant winner who realized her looks were a better tool for upward mobility than her degree in engineering. Their rags-to-riches story was articulated with striking references to self-anointed royalty—he the “Time-share King,” she the beauty queen—in a portrait that hung in their home. It was one of many indications the Siegels displayed of the scale and ambition of the new American Dream.
On their Seagull Island estate, I was equally captivated by the small army of immigrant nannies and housekeepers in the Siegel household, with their own compelling American Dream stories. In some cases they had made huge personal sacrifices in a Faustian bargain to win a better economic life. In unexpected, ironic parallels, billionaire David Siegel and his Filipina nanny Virginia were unable to spend time with their children because of their desire to make a better life, which for both was expressed by the building of a house that would impress their respective communities—his, the entire nation; hers, a small town in the Philippines. David and Jackie’s dream of upscaling from a 26,000-square-foot mansion to a 90,000-square-foot palace, inspired by the seventeenth-century Château de Versailles in France, was a window into the addictive nature of consumerism. Facilitating the same cycle of addiction in his business, David makes his money by selling dreams of luxury vacations to his time-share customers, largely people of modest means whom his son Richard describes as “the Walmart customer, the Johnny Lunch Bucket.” David asserts, “Everyone wants to be rich. If they can’t be rich, the next best thing is to feel rich—and if they don’t want to feel rich, then they’re probably dead.” He is proved right by the appetite for his product. Similarly, David uses real estate Donald Trump–style to demonstrate success with “mine is bigger than yours” skyscrapers that brandish his company name as prominently as possible. In The Queen of Versailles, David bragged that the sign on his new flagship building on the Las Vegas Strip—the tallest time-share in the world—was brighter than the sign on Trump’s building nearby and that Trump had complained to him about it.
Because David believed in leveraging to the hilt, during the 2008 crisis the as-yet-unfinished Versailles and his proudest achievement, the $600-million time-share tower in Las Vegas, ended up in foreclosure. In the context of my work, Siegel’s story became an allegory about our insatiable consumer appetites and the consequences of overreach. The bigger story was more than an economic one, however, and didn’t start or end with the crash. The international financial crisis was a time of reckoning that laid bare the human and institutional forces at work. It was a teachable moment—though history has shown that what we learned may not be remembered far beyond the period of our suffering. The crash for me marked a creative disruption that revealed the way our values had changed, how the American Dream had evolved, and how far we had moved toward an unsustainable future, economically, environmentally, and spiritually. We had lost our moral compass and were partying on the deck of the Titanic with reckless abandon. The crash provided a moment of sobriety and lucidity that has since been succeeded by an even more frenetic and licentious dance that, as Hedges explains, is consistent with the end of empire.
In this work, I have tried to examine how we, as Americans, have gone from a traditional ethos, underpinned by Judeo-Christian values, of modesty, thrift, humility, and discretion; of “you can’t take it with you”; of helping others less fortunate, to a culture of bling, celebrity, and narcissism. We now live in a society in which our highest public servant is a real-estate developer and reality-TV star who lives in a penthouse on the sixty-sixth floor emblazoned with his name and decorated in a Louis XIV style, with ceilings painted with 24-karat gold, marble walls, and Corinthian columns. He won votes by talking about how great he is and promising to do for America what he has done for himself. Along the way, I have also tried to understand how a woman who launched her career with a sex tape can become a major celebrity admired by children around the world, and how there can be waiting lists to buy a Birkin bag, a handbag that can cost up to $300,000. Why is this handbag a known quantity to people as diverse as teenagers in Los Angeles, a CEO in China, a psychologist in New York, a socialite in Toronto, and a party official in Moscow? Generation Wealth is not about Trump, Kim Kardashian, or the Hermès Birkin bag, but it is an examination of the culture that has made all three possible and how we Americans have effectively exported it around the world.
I have been compiling Generation Wealth for the last eight years from work made over the past three decades, editing more than half a million pictures with the help of curator Trudy Wilner Stack, making more than fifty thousand new ones, and conducting over five hundred interviews. Since this is clearly obsessive behavior on my part, and a subject of this work is addiction, I will disclose some of my own background to shed light on my passion for the subject matter. My dad grew up without money, and my mom grew up with lots of it, but both rejected its importance. When I was young, my parents genuinely didn’t seem to care about the creature comforts that have become so important in our time. My mom used to say that such caring “skips a generation” and that I always liked the “fancy things,” but I think what I actually yearned for was the security and sense of identity that I believed those things represented. My parents separated when I was six years old and moved from Boston to California, my mother to Santa Cruz and my father to Los Angeles. Influenced by the egalitarian values of the sixties, they rejected their own conventional suburban upbringings in New Jersey and Ohio and started two different communes, where, as single parents, they could more easily bring up my brother, Matthew, and me. When they each moved to the seaside Los Angeles neighborhood of Venice in the mid-seventies, it was a community that creatively constructed families like ours shared with drug dealers, artists, hippies, the homeless, and street gangs.
My mother repudiated the bourgeois lifestyle of her parents, which centered around socializing and playing golf at the country club. She says she felt abandoned by her mother and father, who left the hands-on task of child-rearing to “the help”—a cook/housekeeper and a butler. She wanted to be a different kind of mom to us, and that was partly her motivation for choosing communal living. Having friends to look after us aligned with her “it takes a village” ideology. Later, though, when she became involved in the women’s movement and while navigating her commitment to a major academic career, she decided that we should live with my dad and fly up to see her every other weekend in Santa Cruz. This arrangement, which lasted for two years, meant that we often took the plane as unaccompanied minors and contributed to my youthful disenchantment with an unconventional upbringing (but got me accustomed to travel at an early age).
Former hedge-fund manager Florian Homm, 55, in the Royal Suite at the Schlosshotel Kronberg, Frankfurt, 2014. Homm has been on the FBI’s Most Wanted list, accused of defrauding investors of $200 million in a stock manipulation scheme. Arrested in Italy in 2013, he spent fifteen months in prison awaiting extradition, but was released on a technicality and sought asylum in his native Germany. Though he once owned a castle in Luxembourg and a private zoo in Majorca, he now embraces a life of austerity and religious devotion.
Democratization of the signifiers of wealth
My mom eventually decided the flying back and forth wasn’t good for us kids and moved to the same block in Venice as my dad, allowing them both to be “full-time parents,” even though they eventually divorced and my dad remarried. Living in close proximity to both parents was a huge gift to my brother and me, but the positive memories of the strong relationships we shared and the unconditional support I had from them are mixed with more difficult memories of the turbulence of divorce, of moving back and forth between two houses—which always remained more their own domains than ours—and of the regular break-ins that occurred, not to mention the stressful occasions when my mom was arrested during protests against local real-estate development (gentrification).
At the age of fourteen, eager to experience something different and inspired by my Francophile and elegant maternal grandmother, I jumped at the opportunity to move to France when my mother took a sabbatical in Paris. After three months, when we were scheduled to return home, I decided to stay on for the school year. Through an organization that placed students with French families, my mother found a host family for me who happened to belong to one of France’s old aristocratic families. The father had a modestly paid job in the military, and the family took in student boarders to supplement their income. In their Paris apartment, I found a second home. I loved their pride in their lineage and their comfort “in their own skin,” their sense of the importance of family and community, and the unexpected way their status within an elite class was not dependent on the vicissitudes of financial fortune. The aristocrats knew what their values were and successfully taught their children how to act, what to do and not to do, and whom to marry. Among the “old” families of France—an “old family” being a common euphemism for aristos—there didn’t seem to be any adolescent loneliness and anomie. In L.A., not only were kids expected to rebel, but many of their parents, my own included, were still rebelling. It was comforting to be like these French kids—not to have to think about whether to do drugs, whether to have sex, and whether to do what your parents told you to do (if they even set rules). I quickly assimilated, learning to speak like my French peers, to have proper table manners, and to act “bien élevée.” Occasionally, though, I would hear an anti-Semitic remark, not from my host family but from a member of their circle, and that would wake me up to the differences between us and remind me that, while I felt close to them personally, the elitism and conformity of their cloistered world was incompatible with the values I had grown up with, which prized diversity, social mobility, and democracy.
By the time I moved back to Venice for eleventh grade, I was sensitized to issues of class, money, and status. I began attending Crossroads, a private school in Santa Monica, where many students’ parents worked in the entertainment business. When I interviewed my dad recently, he told me that he saw it as a privilege for me to be able to experience two worlds—shuttling between my home in Venice and a well-heeled private-school environment. But he also recognized that it was hard for a kid not to have a lifestyle like her friends had, and not to have the clothes and the cars that were the requirements of belonging among my classmates. One of my friends wasn’t allowed to have a sleepover at my house because we lived in a “dangerous neighborhood.” Once, when I slept at her house, her mother threw away a beloved pair of shoes I had bought in Paris because they looked so worn. My dad tells a story of driving me to school in his “narc” car (a secondhand police car) and my asking to be dropped off a block away to prevent embarrassment.
This was the west side of L.A. during the eighties, the time and place that Bret Easton Ellis so vividly captures in his 1985 novel Less than Zero, about the drugged-up decadence of alienated young people who wander the city without supervision or direction. In my private-school world, my peers had money, independence, and exclusive access—things like tickets to movie premieres and backstage passes at rock concerts. Los Angeles is a city where, maybe more than anywhere else in the world, class is defined strictly by money. I remember reading Madame Bovary for eleventh-grade English and my classmates not understanding how the woman who mended the linen at Bovary’s school could be from a higher social class than the students. My dad recalls a Crossroads PTA meeting at which another father asked him what he did for a living. When he said that he was a professor of medicine, the man replied, “That’s too bad—you must not make much money,” and walked away.
Though I had everything I needed and was privileged when it came to education, travel, and cultural exposure, I felt lacking by comparison with my peers. Ellis went to Buckley, another private school, where he told me he had a similar experience. When I interviewed him recently, he said, “Looking back, we had a nice, upper-middle-class lifestyle. But all my friends lived in this kind of fantasy world of elaborate houses, with their own horses, ice-cream machines and whatever at birthday parties, tickets to Rams games, huge bar mitzvahs at the Beverly Hills Hotel. I was jealous of the fact that my friends had this lifestyle that I did not have, which is sick to a degree. I’ve talked to a lot of other people who grew up well-to-do in Los Angeles but who, when put into this world of L.A. wealth, felt that they didn’t live up to it.” My mother still insists it was a mistake not to give me a car when I was sixteen, because it made me a social pariah. But my stepmother, Sherrie, jokes that it worked out in the end, because I “made a career out of it.” In retrospect, I do think these childhood struggles navigating various social worlds helped develop an insider/outsider perspective that has always informed my photography and filmmaking, a point of view where empathy and my own sporadic urges of material aspiration coexist alongside social criticism.
I didn’t realize until I started working on this book and film that the period in which I came of age and started taking pictures was the beginning of a new era in terms of our relationship to money and wealth. As Hedges notes in the pages that follow, the Harvard historian Charles Maier posits that the seventies was a turning point, when America began a transformation from an empire of production to one of consumption. Ellis said, “The values of the Reagan eighties really placed this emphasis on wealth and, to a degree, celebrity—the idea that you were better off driving a BMW and looking super hot.” In what seems fitting now, my first self-assigned subject in my Photo 1 course in college was a 1984 Republican rally, when Reagan was running for reelection (p. 491). Florian Homm, the former hedge fund manager accused of fraud (whom I met when we were both at Harvard), remembers, “During the Reagan period, the value system changed completely: it wasn’t about who you are, but about what you are worth. . . . Morals are completely nonproductive in that value system.” The character of Gordon Gekko embodies that sentiment when he introduces us to the idea that greed could be “good” in Oliver Stone’s 1987 film Wall Street. Stone intended the corporate raider to be portrayed as a villain, but many Wall Street players idolized him, including Homm and the real-life “Wolf of Wall Street,” Jordan Belfort, both of whom spent time in jail accused of financial crimes (and are included in this book). Stone told me that the worship of money grew enormous in the eighties and that he was surprised to see the next generation take it much, much further.
This is not a project about the One Percent, it is about aspiration and individuals from all parts of society.
Jackie, 41, and friends with Versace handbags at a private opening at the Versace store, Beverly Hills, 2007. A Versace devotee, Jackie shopped from monthly shipments of new merchandise that the design house sent to her home.
In 1987 I took a course at Harvard, The Photograph as Social Description, taught by the photographer and curator Barbara Norfleet. She had just published a book, All the Right People, about the world of American old-money society. Her work, and the revelation that photography could function as sociology, inspired me to shoot my first documentary project. I returned to France to photograph what was left of the French aristocracy, going back to the milieu I had inhabited at age fourteen and gaining access through the mother of my French family, to whom I remained close. I adopted Norfleet’s technique of interviewing subjects, a part of my methodology that has remained consistent, even as my practice has transformed the process from recording on audio tape to the high-resolution 4K video I use today. I was also influenced by Norfleet’s insight that little documentary photography existed of the upper classes, who historically had been careful to control uses of their image. Documentary photographers tended to shoot “down,” gravitating toward the easier access afforded by the street, as well as toward the pressing social issues of the third world. In Norfleet’s work as photo historian and curator of the Harvard photography archive, she found that pictures of the wealthy were limited to commissioned portraits and the occasional society photo. As she reminded me when I interviewed her recently, the old-money WASPs believed one should be in the newspaper only three times in a lifetime—birth, marriage, and death—in stark contrast to many of my fame-seeking subjects. In compiling this project, I have often thought about Norfleet’s lessons, as I’ve considered how the shift in our relationship to fame is part of the story of contemporary wealth, as well as the importance of penetrating the barriers to documentary access in the rarefied worlds of the upper class, particularly as it grows in influence.
Nevertheless, like so many other photographers, I began my professional career by shooting “the exotic” in the third world. After an internship at National Geographic, I got my first assignment at the magazine: my mother had been doing cross-cultural psychology in a Zinacantec Maya village in Mexico where National Geographic had never been able to get permission to photograph, and we proposed to document its people—she as the writer and I as the photographer. But while I was in the highlands of Chiapas, struggling with access in a culture that I little understood, I realized that I wanted to examine a subject that I knew well and that was closer to my heart—the world I grew up in and, specifically, the world of high school, of which I had ambivalent memories. I wanted to study a culture that would allow me to bring my own experience to my perspective.
I returned to L.A. and embedded myself at my alma mater, Crossroads, hanging around the alley that bisected the campus and served as the student parking lot and central hangout place (appropriately, often in cars). One day while I was photographing, three boys asked what I was doing. When I told them I was photographing “growing up in L.A,” they said, in that case, I had to “show money. That’s what it’s all about.” They pulled bills out of their pockets, and I shot the boys holding them up. It wasn’t until I developed the film and looked at the images with a loupe that I saw that these thirteen-year-olds were waving $100 bills. In my first interview for the project, another thirteen-year-old, named Adam, confided that “money ruins kids. Money has ruined me.”
Many of the trends and phenomena that kids like Adam helped me understand in L.A. have exploded and expanded across the globe since the mid-nineties. We have seen the proliferation of TV channels and the advent of the Internet and social media. Globalism and mass connectivity have exported the values of materialism, celebrity culture, and the importance of image to every corner of the globe. Many kids interviewed talk about wanting to be rich and famous before any other goal. Social media enables people to brand and promote themselves from an early age and to endorse products. Not only can everyone be famous today—via social media and the rise of reality TV—but celebrities have become more and more a part of our everyday lives. Ellis observed that “L.A. kids were the first to have this intimate access to the movie business—how it works, who its stars were. . . . That narcissism that is so full-blown in the culture now was just beginning to rear its head in that moment in L.A. . . . before it spread out everywhere.” In today’s world, where we take for granted access to celebrity-like lifestyles, where the Kardashian offspring are household names, and where taking an Uber allows teens to have their own “limo” at the touch of their smartphones, it is hard to remember why readers were shocked by my picture of two girls eating pizza in the back of a limousine on the way to a rock concert when it was first published in the Los Angeles Times Magazine in 1992 (p. 21).
My subsequent multiyear work on the way girls’ bodies become all-consuming projects for themselves and for the beauty industry also constitutes a case study in the context of the Generation Wealth project. In The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf (paraphrasing Betty Friedan) explains insecurity marketing: “Why is it never said that the really crucial function that women serve as aspiring beauties is to buy more things for the body? . . . Someone must have figured out that they will buy more things if they are kept in the self-hating, ever-failing, hungry, and sexually insecure state of being aspiring ‘beauties.’”In this work, I am interested in the psychology that fuels our desire to acquire, the striving to be other than we are. Extending beyond girls’ body-image insecurities, the striving applies to the old in a society that worships youth, the poor amid the glorification of wealth, the middle class in a world of excess, ethnic minorities who want to assimilate, even citizens of Russia and China, where we see the enormous appeal of achieving status through luxury brands against the backdrop of the Communist societies that once attempted to level class distinctions.
Research shows that the more we watch TV, the more we imagine others have more than they actually do.And the economist Juliet Schor tells us that unlike in the old days, when we compared ourselves to the family down the road that was a little more successful, we now compare ourselves to the celebrities with whom we spend more time than our actual neighbors. Like the children of L.A.’s rich, whose parents enabled them to live out media-influenced fantasies, such as driving fancy cars or having a party with a Madonna impersonator or a go-go dancer, the era of cheap money that led to the 2008 crash enabled many to use credit to realize their dreams of living like the celebrities.
Lil Magic, general manager of Magic City, the legendary strip club in Atlanta, observes that people can’t tell the difference between entertainment and reality anymore. He says that people don’t value hard work but instead want easy money. The rap promoter Kingpin goes on to postulate that in our parents’ generations, people valued education, but that for the youth of today, “Status is the new ‘Dr.’ in front of your name. . . . They wanna be the freshest, the flyest, the coolest.” President Obama, in the late stage of the 2016 presidential campaign, compared the election to reality TV. And, of course, now a flashy reality-TV star—the apotheosis of Generation Wealth—has been elected as the leader of the free world. Life imitates art, and we struggle to discern the difference.
Though this journey has at times felt like watching the decline of Western civilization, I hope it can serve as cautionary tale as well as sociological document. Amid the darkness, there are glimpses of hope: in Iceland’s response to the 2008 crash and the real social change its citizens made following the crisis; in Florian Homm’s finding the meaning of life after losing his wealth; in the spendthrift Kathy’s discovering the beauty and peace of living by the sea—her lifelong “favorite thing”—even though it took becoming homeless for her to experience it. And in knowledge gained: David Siegel admits at the end of The Queen of Versailles that he regretted building so many resorts and says that “it’s a vicious cycle.” He adds, “No one is without guilt.”
Then there’s the mantra repeated by so many—the realization that family and community are more important than money. Homm tells us, “What you’re sold in this world is a bag of rotten goods. The striving for more and bigger will never, ever lead you to the right place. All of us are following a dream, a toxic dream. It’s not going to fulfill us. It isn’t as important as relationships, as love.”
Despite the wisdom of Homm’s words, when I interviewed his son, he felt unsure whether his father had really changed or if his new philosophy was a temporary reaction to hard luck. Have any of us really changed? Many of the financial insiders I met have predicted another painful bust, because we haven’t made the reforms we need to make. And, like Sisyphus rolling his rock up the hill, David Siegel is back to constructing his palace of Versailles, which he saved from foreclosure when business got better.
Still, even Siegel admits that money doesn’t make you happy. It just makes you “unhappy in a good section of town.” The subjects in these photographs and interviews are the truth tellers. I am grateful for their candor, their perspectives, and their generosity in allowing me into their lives and trusting me to tell their stories. Their interviews represent their subjective points of view, just as the photographs represent mine, and both should be understood as such. What I learned from many of them is that chasing wealth is unending and ultimately unsatisfying. As the former Wall Street trader Sam Polk recognizes, it’s an addiction like any other, and the more you have, the more you want and the more you think you need. Shelley, one of the eating-disorder patients from my film THIN, told me she thought that my addiction was my work. My mom recently said that she thought one of the failures of the women’s movement was that, instead of ensuring that men are home more with kids, it has helped give us a world where both parents are working all the time. We then argued about whether she or I was the bigger workaholic. Homm refers to his work addiction as a diamond-studded hamster wheel. Once again, I find myself an insider/outsider who is not immune to the trends I document. And as I run faster and faster toward the finish line of this project, I promise myself I will spend more time with my children when it is done.


text:
Srinagar, January 22, 2016 (PPI-OT): In occupied Kashmir, APHC leader and the Chairman of Jammu Kashmir Peoples League (JKPL), Mukhtar Ahmad Waza has said that peace in region is not possible without settlement of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the Kashmiris’ aspirations. Mukhtar Ahmad Waza addressing a gathering in Yaripora area of Kulgam said that the dispute could be resolved only when the Kashmiris were made a party to the dialogue process as the issue was the matter of their right to self-determination.
Expressing satisfaction over the realization of the international community that the Kashmir dispute needs to be settled without any further delay and only way for emancipation is to give the Kashmiri people the opportunity to decide their political future by themselves.
Condemning fresh arrest spree launched by Indian forces in ahead of January 26, the Republic Day of India, Mukhtar Ahmed Waza said that the youth were being subjected to brute force for their freedom sentiment. He urged people to observe complete shutdown on January 26 to apprise the international community that Kashmiris were striving for the peaceful resolution of Kashmir dispute.
He also prayed for the early recovery of those Pulwama youth injured due to Indian troops’ firing on peaceful protesters in Pulwama. He urged the international human rights groups to take cognizance of the prevailing human rights situation in the territory.
For more information, contact:
Kashmir Media Service
Phone: 92-51-4435548, 4435549

domain: news


POSIX systems such as GNU/Linux use root filesystems where each file has mandatory permissions set on it.
The superuser (aka.
root) on such a system can access anything. Raspbian exploits the sudo application to do something which would normally be considered moronic, since it short circuits a basic tenant of the permissions system, which is that a normal user used to e.g., browse the web, should not have permission to do anything. But via
pi user can. It's implicit in this that the default Raspbian configuration assumes:
That anyone who uses the system as is has no real security concerns: Your pi is connected to your LAN and is a toy device.
That the user is unfamiliar with file permissions, etc., and doing this makes it easy since you do not have to learn much about it, you just have to use
Is there any way of viewing your user privileges and changing them to full administrative so I am able to access this folder.
You already have that as much as it is possible, you just have to use
sudo. Via this you can read and change permissions/ownership (see
man chmod and
man chown) on anything.
There are a couple of gotcha's, such as the fact that
sudo does not work across shell redirection. However, you should be able to use
su (switch user) to become
su root). If this does not work you may need to set a root password first via
sudo passwd root. Beware this is not the same as user


David Leonhardt; Kofi Annan, Former Secretary-General of the United Nations
- Episode Description
"David Leonhardt, Washington bureau chief of The New York Times. Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the UN, and more recently, as joint UN-Arab League envoy to Syria on his new memoir, "Interventions: A Life in War and Peace"
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Explanation Of Data Encryption
Data encryption is the process of converting plain text information into a code or cipher, making it unreadable to unauthorized users. This helps protect data from being accessed by hackers or cybercriminals who may try to gain access to sensitive information. The encryption process involves using an algorithm and a key, which can be either symmetric or asymmetric.
Symmetric encryption uses the same key for both encrypting and decrypting data, while asymmetric encryption uses different keys for these processes. Asymmetric encryption is considered more secure since the private key used for decryption is kept secret, making it difficult for unauthorized users to access the data.
Data encryption can be applied at various levels – from individual files and folders on a computer to entire networks and cloud storage solutions. Some common types of data that are encrypted include passwords, credit card numbers, personal identification information (PII), healthcare records, financial records, and intellectual property.
Importance Of Encrypting Data
Data encryption is becoming increasingly important in today’s digital age. With the rise of cyber threats and data breaches, it’s crucial that businesses take steps to protect their sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands. Encryption is a proven method for safeguarding data by converting it into a code that can only be deciphered with a specific key or password.
Not only does encrypting data provide an extra layer of security, but it can also help businesses comply with industry regulations and legal requirements. Many industries, such as healthcare and finance, have strict guidelines on how sensitive information should be stored and protected. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in hefty fines or even legal action.
In addition to protecting against external threats, encrypting data can also prevent internal breaches caused by human error or malicious intent. By limiting access to confidential information through encryption, companies can reduce the risk of employees accidentally sharing sensitive data or intentionally stealing it
Types Of Data To Be Encrypted
Sensitive data refers to information that, if accessed by unauthorized individuals, could lead to adverse outcomes. This kind of data includes personal identification numbers (PINs), credit card information, medical records, and social security numbers. Protecting sensitive data is vital because it can lead to identity theft, loss of confidential information, or legal penalties. Encryption is one way that organizations protect sensitive data.
To ensure effective encryption of sensitive data, companies need to implement an end-to-end solution that provides secure storage and transmission channels for all their confidential communications. This solution may include software programs such as VPNs or antivirus software in addition to hardware like firewalls and routers designed explicitly for secure network access control systems.
Companies and organizations are collecting vast amounts of information about individuals, ranging from their names and addresses to their browsing history and shopping habits. This personal data can be used for targeted advertising, market research, or even identity theft. As a result, it’s essential to protect your personal data from unauthorized access and use. Encryption ensures that even if this information is stolen by hackers or unauthorized users, it cannot be accessed or used for nefarious purposes.
This includes credit card details, bank account numbers, and any other financial transactions made online. Without proper encryption measures in place, financial information can easily fall into the wrong hands leading to identity theft or fraud.
Encryption Tools and Techniques
Symmetric encryption is a popular method of data encryption that uses the same key to encrypt and decrypt data. The advantage of symmetric encryption is that it is fast, efficient, and easy to use. However, this method has some limitations when it comes to securing large amounts of data or sharing the key safely among multiple parties.
To ensure effective symmetric encryption, it’s essential to generate strong keys using secure algorithms such as AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) or DES (Data Encryption Standard). These algorithms provide a high level of security by scrambling the data into an unreadable format that can only be decrypted with an appropriate key.
One important consideration in using symmetric encryption is securely managing the shared key between the sender and receiver. One way to do this is through key distribution protocols such as Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange or Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).
Asymmetric encryption is a powerful technology that ensures data security, especially when data is transmitted over the internet. Unlike symmetric encryption which uses a single key to encrypt and decrypt data, asymmetric encryption relies on two keys – a public key and a private key. The public key is shared with anyone who wants to send an encrypted message while the private key is kept secret by the recipient. With this setup, only the intended recipient can decrypt the message using their private key.
Asymmetric encryption algorithms are widely used in secure communication protocols such as SSL/TLS for web browsing, SSH for remote logins, and PGP for email communication. They provide an effective way of securing sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, and other personal information from being intercepted by hackers or eavesdroppers during transmission.
Despite its effectiveness in securing data transmissions over insecure networks like the Internet, asymmetric encryption has some limitations. It requires more processing power than symmetric encryption and can be slower in encrypting large amounts of data due to the complexity of generating key pairs.
Hashing is a process that takes data of any size and maps it to a fixed-size output. This technique is commonly used in cryptography to ensure data integrity by creating unique identifiers for the input data. Hash functions are designed to be one-way, which means that once the hash value is created, it cannot be reversed or decrypted back into the original message.
One practical use of hashing is in password storage, where instead of storing user passwords in plain text, they are hashed and stored as hash values. When a user logs in, their entered password gets hashed by the system and compared with the stored hash value. If they match, access is granted; if not, access is denied.
Hashing algorithms have different levels of complexity and security depending on their design. Some popular ones include MD5 (Message Digest 5) and SHA-3 (Secure Hash Algorithm 3). However, since MD5 has been found to have vulnerabilities and weaknesses over time, it’s recommended to use more modern hashing algorithms such as SHA-2 or SHA-3 for better security.
The best practices for key management include implementing strong passwords or passphrases to protect the keys from unauthorized access, using separate keys for different types of data to minimize the risk of compromise, and regularly rotating or updating the keys to prevent them from becoming obsolete.
In addition, organizations should also consider using hardware-based security modules (HSMs) that provide additional layers of protection for their cryptographic keys. HSMs can be used to securely store and manage digital certificates, perform cryptographic operations, and enforce access controls that limit the use of certain keys only to authorized users.
Steps to Encrypt Data
Identifying Data To Be Encrypted
To ensure that data is properly encrypted, it is crucial to first identify the type of data that needs to be protected. This can include sensitive information such as personal identification details, financial records, and confidential business documents. Identifying this data may require a thorough review of all files and databases within an organization to determine which elements are sensitive enough to warrant encryption.
Selecting An Encryption Method
Symmetric encryption is a popular choice for protecting large quantities of data because it is fast and efficient, asymmetric encryption may be a better choice for protecting sensitive information like passwords or financial transactions.
Consider the level of security required. Some industries and organizations are subject to strict regulations that require them to use specific types of encryption methods with specific key lengths. In addition, some types of data may require stronger forms of encryption than others due to their sensitivity or potential impact if they were compromised.
Choosing An Encryption Tool
Consider the type of encryption method used by the tool. Some common methods include symmetric encryption, asymmetric encryption, and hybrid encryption. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it’s important to choose a method that fits your specific needs.
Consider the level of security provided by the tool. Look for tools that use strong algorithms and key lengths to ensure maximum protection against hacking and other types of cyber threats. Additionally, consider the ease of use and compatibility with your existing systems when choosing an encryption tool.
Creating An Encryption Plan
Establish who will have access to the encrypted data and how they will access it. This involves developing secure login protocols and implementing role-based access control systems. Ensure that your encryption plan meets industry standards and regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA if applicable.
Regularly review and update your encryption plan as new threats emerge or technology advances. Regular audits should be conducted to identify areas where improvements can be made in terms of security measures, software updates, and employee training programs.
Best Practices for Data Encryption
Use Strong Passwords
OA strong password is a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters that are difficult to guess or crack. Passwords that are easy to remember such as “password” or “123456” should be avoided at all costs.
Keep Keys Safe
If your encryption key falls into the wrong hands, all of your encrypted data is essentially compromised. Therefore, it’s crucial to take steps to secure and protect your encryption keys. By backing up your encryption keys and storing them in secure locations such as a cloud-based storage or a safe deposit box at a bank, you can easily recover them if they are lost or stolen. Additionally, consider implementing multi-factor authentication for accessing encrypted data. This adds an extra layer of security by requiring additional verification beyond just entering a password or passphrase.
Regularly Update Encryption Software
Hackers are constantly finding new ways to bypass outdated encryption methods, leaving your information vulnerable to cyber attacks. By keeping your encryption software up-to-date, you can stay ahead of these threats and ensure that your data remains secure.
Test Your Encryption System
You can use various tools and techniques to perform these tests depending on the type of encryption you are using. For example, if you are using symmetric encryption, you can use a tool like Hashcat or John the Ripper to try and crack your passwords. If you are using asymmetric encryption, you can use OpenSSL to generate keys and test their strength.
Performing a penetration testing or vulnerability assessment exercise. These exercises involve simulating an attack on your network or application to determine how well your security measures hold up in real-world scenarios. This approach will help identify any vulnerabilities in your system’s design or implementation.
Encryption In Transit
TLS encryption, also known as Transport Layer Security encryption, is a security protocol that ensures secure data transmission over the internet. TLS works by encrypting all data transmitted between two systems, such as a website and a user’s device. This encryption ensures that any third-party attempting to intercept the communication will only see encrypted data that they cannot decipher.
TLS encryption is commonly used in web browsing to secure online transactions and protect sensitive information such as credit card details and personal information. It provides an additional layer of security on top of standard HTTP connections, which are vulnerable to interception and tampering.
SSL encryption, also known as Secure Sockets Layer encryption, is a security protocol used to encrypt data between a web server and a user’s browser. It ensures that the information transmitted through the internet remains secure and private from third-party access. SSL certificates are essential for e-commerce websites or any site collecting sensitive information from users, such as credit card details.
With SSL encryption, data is encrypted at the source (webserver) and decrypted at the destination (user’s browser). This process provides an additional layer of security by preventing unauthorized access to sensitive information during transit. Moreover, SSL certificates help prevent phishing attacks where malicious actors attempt to steal personal information by posing as legitimate entities.
HTTPS encryption is used to encrypt the communication between web servers and clients, protecting sensitive information from being intercepted by hackers. This type of encryption provides an extra layer of security that prevents unauthorized access to users’ personal data, financial information, and other sensitive details.
The use of HTTPS encryption has become increasingly important in recent years, especially with the rise of cybercrime. Hackers are constantly looking for ways to steal valuable data, such as credit card numbers or login credentials. By implementing HTTPS encryption on your website, you can reduce the risk of these attacks and protect your customers’ privacy.
VPN encryption works by creating a secure tunnel between your device and the VPN server. All data sent through this tunnel is encrypted so that no one else can read it, not even your internet service provider. The level of encryption used depends on the VPN protocol you are using and the key length used to encrypt and decrypt data.
Encryption in Storage
Full Disk Encryption
Full disk encryption is a security feature that protects data by encrypting an entire hard drive. This means that if a computer or device is lost, stolen, or hacked, the data on it cannot be accessed without the correct decryption key. Full disk encryption can be particularly useful for businesses and organizations that handle sensitive information such as financial records, medical records, and personal identifying information.
File and Folder Encryption
File and folder encryption involves encrypting individual files or entire folders to protect them from unauthorized access. Encryption ensures that even if cybercriminals gain access to your files, they will not be able to read or modify the contents without the decryption key. To encrypt a file or folder, you can use software such as VeraCrypt, 7-Zip, or AxCrypt.
Cloud Storage Encryption
With cloud storage, data is stored remotely, making it vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Encryption helps protect sensitive information by converting plain text into code that cannot be read without the appropriate decryption key.
There are two main types of cloud storage encryption: client-side encryption and server-side encryption. Client-side encryption occurs before data is uploaded to the cloud, meaning only the user has access to the decryption key. Server-side encryption occurs after data is uploaded to the cloud and is managed by the service provider.
It’s important to note that not all cloud service providers offer comprehensive encryption options. Some may only offer server-side encryption or may not encrypt data at all, leaving it open for potential breaches.
By encrypting sensitive information in databases, organizations can protect against unauthorized access and mitigate the risk of data breaches.
One important consideration when implementing database encryption is selecting the appropriate encryption algorithm. There are multiple algorithms available, each with unique strengths and weaknesses. AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is one widely used algorithm that offers strong security and high performance. However, it’s important to note that encryption alone isn’t sufficient to ensure comprehensive Data protection; other measures such as access controls and network Security must also be implemented.
Maintaining Data Privacy
Access control involves setting up rules and procedures to ensure that only authorized individuals can view, edit, or delete specific data. Access controls can be physical (such as locks and security guards) or digital (such as passwords and biometric scans).
Implementing access control measures not only protects your sensitive data from unauthorized users but also helps you comply with regulatory requirements such as HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI DSS. With data breaches becoming more common every day, access control plays an essential role in keeping your organization’s confidential information safe.
Data Backup and Recovery
By creating regular backups, businesses can ensure that their data remains safe and easily retrievable in the event of a disaster or system failure. There are two main types of backup methods: full backups and incremental backups. Full backups involve copying all the data to another location, while incremental backups only copy files that have been changed since the last backup.
Recovery is also a crucial part of data backup management as it involves restoring lost or corrupted data from previous backups. The recovery process should be tested regularly to ensure its efficiency and effectiveness in case of an emergency. Additionally, it’s recommended to store backups offsite to prevent loss in case of fire, flood, or other natural disasters. Choosing a reliable cloud-based backup service provider can also provide added security and convenience for businesses that want to keep their data encrypted at all times.
Data Destruction and Disposal
When creating a data destruction policy, one must consider various factors such as the type of media being used and the level of sensitivity of the data in question. For instance, hard drives containing personal health information (PHI) are subject to HIPAA regulations which mandate secure disposal procedures. Additionally, businesses should establish clear procedures for wiping clean storage devices using specialized software tools or physical destruction methods.
Incident Response Plan
A well-designed incident response plan not only helps organizations respond quickly and effectively to security incidents but also aids in preventing future attacks by identifying gaps in the existing security infrastructure. It allows companies to evaluate their current security posture, identify areas of weakness, and make improvements where necessary. In addition, an effective incident response plan can help businesses comply with relevant regulatory requirements related to data privacy and cybersecurity.
Why Is Data Encryption Important?
Data encryption is essential to protect sensitive information from cyber attacks. Without encryption, hackers can easily gain access to confidential information such as bank account details, personal health records, and social security numbers.
Moreover, data breaches not only result in financial loss but also damage an organization’s reputation. Data breaches can lead to lawsuits or regulatory penalties because of failure to comply with privacy laws. Companies must ensure that they implement robust encryption techniques and policies that meet industry standards so that they can protect their customers’ data.
What Is The Best Encryption Method?
One popular encryption method is Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). It is widely adopted and recognized as one of the strongest encryption algorithms available today. AES uses a block cipher, which divides the message into fixed-length blocks before encrypting them individually. This makes it extremely difficult for attackers to decrypt the message without knowing the proper key.
Ultimately, deciding on the best encryption method boils down to assessing your risk level and determining what kind of data needs protection. By understanding how different algorithms work, you will be able to make informed decisions when choosing an appropriate form of data encryption that suits your specific needs.
How Does Encryption Impact System Performance?
The extent of this impact depends on several factors such as the encryption protocols used, the type of hardware being used, the level of encryption strength applied, and specific use case scenarios. For example, if we are dealing with large files like videos or high-resolution images then the amount of processing power required for encryption is higher than for smaller files. Moreover, if we are using older computers or mobile devices that have slower processors then adding an encryption layer may cause even further slowdowns.
On the other hand, modern hardware has specialized circuitry designed specifically to handle cryptographic operations more efficiently in order to reduce performance degradation caused by encryption itself. This means that while there may still be some impact on system performance when using newer devices with enhanced cryptography acceleration features built-in should offer faster overall system operation when running encrypted applications or accessing encrypted data stores.
Can Encrypted Data Be Hacked?
Although encrypted data is considered to be secure, it can still be hacked. Hackers are constantly finding new ways to bypass encryption protocols and access sensitive information.
Is Encryption Necessary For All Types Of Data?
It may not be necessary for all types of data. Some data may not be sensitive or confidential and can be shared without any risk. For instance, if you are sharing a public announcement or a press release about your company, encrypting the information may not be necessary.
However, for any type of personal or sensitive information such as financial records, medical records, or customer data; encryption is an absolute necessity. This helps prevent unauthorized access to the information and ensures that only authorized individuals can access it.
Data encryption is an essential aspect of keeping sensitive information safe and secure. Whether you are a business owner, healthcare professional, or simply someone who wants to protect personal data, implementing proper encryption protocols is crucial. The steps outlined in this guide can help ensure that your data remains encrypted and inaccessible to unauthorized users.


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© 2018 - International Centre for Investigative Reporting
Buhari should withdraw the dancing python before it is too late
By Musa Toyyib Olaniyi
It is not pessimism neither is it doomsday prophecy, but we hardly need any seer at the moment. Everybody, without crystal ball, except those in power, can see the tearing apart of our country. But when an individual or a group of people continuously follow a path and expect a result different from the standard outcome of such exertion, such a situation can only be described as insanity at worst or idiocy at best.
Since time immemorial, Nigeria has been seen as a potential giant in Africa that will also find her place in the world. But again, there is a whole world of difference between potentiality and reality. Even the regional champion Nigeria considers her birthright by virtue of her population and remarkable natural endowments is fast slipping off her fingers. So, in essence, Nigeria has continued to disappoint both her internal and external admirers who are expecting greatness from her. Yet again, Nigeria is anything but great except in potentials and things that make sane people query the intelligence of her people.
The line that Nigeria is hanging on a cliff or standing on the precipice seems to be a jaded one that has always been sung to successive governments that have had the fortune to preside over her affairs. Still, none of these administrations has deemed it fit to move Nigeria away from that often cited precipice.
Though, it all started on a wrong foundation when the British for their pecuniary interests and imperialistic agenda set foot on this vast land and forcibly bring together different people and nationalities that are disparate in almost all particulars. That was in 1914. Nigeria has since celebrated a century of that amalgamation without unity, even though the conceptualisation and the form of the celebration were subjects of contention.
A hundred and three year old man could be wizened but sagacity birthed of years of accumulated experiences should not be absent in his virtues just as a fifty seven year old should be a grandfather, if the normal ordering of human life prevails. In the case of Nigeria, the country has continued to crawl and act like a toddler. Everything about her appears infantile.
Between 1967 and 1970, the country fought a vicious civil war that claimed about three million lives between both sides of the war and yet the country learnt nothing. Perhaps, our lack of empathy for fellow human beings and utter lack of respect for the sanctity of life emanated from that unholy kiss with war and cruelty.
Today, a python is dancing in the Southeast and there are strong signals that if care is not taken, the country may again blow up the fragile fraternity among her component units and shamelessly descend into another brutal civil war. And I have heard severally that no nation can survive two civil wars. Why Nigeria is intent on treading that path is unfathomable.
The tense situation in the country today is not strange as those who are reflective enough have spoken loudly enough and written copiously on the critical issues that will invariably imperil the country if not addressed.
The greatest misfortune of Nigeria as a nation is the ignorance and outright blindness of her leaders. Agitations, impunity and lawlessness are rampant all over the country. While some of the perpetrators of these felony and affray are treated with kid gloves, pythons are set after the others. Before the Northern Youth Coalition retracted their threat and quit notice to Igbo living in the North, the government found it difficult to arrest and prosecute those purveyors of hate speeches.
The government has also found herself helpless in dealing decisively with the felonious herdsmen threatening the peace of the nation. Sending pythons to the East without sending the monarch of the reptiles after the murderous herders and those who spewed hate in the North to counter Nnamdi Kanu’s hate rhetoric amounts to injustice and a leader must be fair to his people.
Underlining these ricocheting hate speeches is the disenchantment of the components units with the country. In this 21st century hallmarked by the liberalisation of access and production of knowledge, I don’t understand why Nigerian leaders are still stuck with the sentiment that our unity is non-negotiable. If to them, that represents patriotism, such patriotism is what Samuel Johnson referred to as the last refuge of the scoundrel. There is no better time than now to quickly restructure this country before it goes up in flame. True federalism will no doubt turn the potentiality of the country into reality.
The elites are no less culpable in the gathering armaggedon all over the country. In the North, the elites deliberately pauperised their people to maintain their hegemony. It is plain feudalism in action there and the system has bred Boko Haram as the monster that will continue to give the country sleeplessness. When the complete degradation and defeat of the insurgency will be achieved is uncertain.
In the East, the elites have succeeded in turning justifiable grievances to criminality and we have on our hands dangerous cases of militancy and secession. The West too is not exempted as the systematic pauperization of her people has turned them to ritual killers and armed robbers who can go to any length just to live the good life. All over the country, noble values have been debased and the worst among men are presiding while the best are gaping like spectators.
If there is a competition to determine the gullibility of nationalities, Nigerians will likely come first in the world. Their lives have been so bastardized that they will grovel and praise -sing their leaders for doing nothing at all. And they so love their tormentors as they always exhibit the familiar Stockholm syndrome of falling in love with their chains and oppressors. Rather than hold the dregs of leaders to account and strongly demand good governance, they will herd themselves to prayer houses where again, they are fleeced by ‘supposed’ men of God, who in reality, are entrepreneurs thriving on the gullibility of unwary compatriots.
From the North to the South, the cannon fodder bearing the brunt of wickedness in high places and cataract-infected leadership is the youth. Today, a python is dancing in the East, majority of the victim of that misadventure will be young men who are recruited into the mob of IPOB because of idleness just as those that are detonating bombs and planting caliphate in the Northeast are young men and girls who the society have neglected and who are now clamouring for alternative society. What a heedless nation!
Since the critical soft infrastructures mentioned above are absent, we cannot possibly talk about societal institutions. Sometimes, when a society is struck with the misfortune of selfish, ignorant and blind leaders, the institutions in the society may temporarily fill the gap and rapidly make the necessary adjustment to remove the distortion, but in our case, there are no institutions. In any case, where are the men to build the institutions? So sad!
This predicament, though gloomy, is not without exceptions. There are still men of honour either in the government or outside of the government but their numbers are too little and too few to make any appreciable impact. No doubt, there are great Nigerians in the country and all over the world, who are the exact materials to effect the necessary changes that will jumpstart our journey to greatness. But are they within the power centres?
The python that is dancing in Southeast should be recalled from the dancing floor. Though, it is sad that the Igbo nation has ceded her representation and advocacy to the mob and a man who is clearly intellectually incapable of dealing with the grave challenges of nationalism and nation building. Kanu calls Nigeria a zoo and revels in incendiary rhetorics, calling for open enmity and disaffection between Igbo and the other nationalities in the country. But apple does not fall far away from its tree as they say just as a man can only give what he has.
If Nigeria is a zoo and his compatriots are animals as he insinuates, definitely an irrational animal must be living within him, with him providing the hide and mouth for the beast in him. This is the man leading the Igbo today. This calls for sober reflections. Where were the Igbo Intelligentsia when Nnamdi Kanu seized the narrative on behalf of their people. Where were the political class when the rabble were being roused?
In spite of the glaring failure of the cream of the Igbo nation to provide the necessary leadership for their people, President Muhammadu Buhari cannot win this vociferous demand for restructuring through strong-arm tactics or by rolling out tanks as he just did in the southeast. When a state responds always with threat, intimidation and suppression of the genuine grievances of her citizens in order to subjugate them, such a state is loosing the narratives and initiatives and it is heading towards failure. The demand to tinker with the federation as presently structured is becoming a din and if hearkened to, the Igbo may after all find secession less attractive. Is the President there?
God bless Nigeria.


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First loss on our road to the final
In the fourth game of this years semifinals, our rival wins for the first time. The match ended with the 2:3 score. It means that we need at least one more game to see who will qualify to the final. This match will be played in Katowice, on Saturday. Goals for our team were scored by Bychawski and Zygmunt.
T. Coolen (Tauron KH GKS): - Our first two periods, we played very well. We know the situation. We won tonight, but the whole series has been very close. In the third period, we were defending the lead. They were coming at us and they did a really good job of almost tying the game up, but we held. We banned but we did not broke. I was very happy to get our first win in a long time coming. Im happy to get this win tonight and now we are going back to Katowice.
R. Roháček (Comarch Cracovia): - We lost, but I can still be happy about this game, because we played very well in the third period. Our players had a lot of motivation and fought in this part of the match. We didnt had enough luck. These are playoffs, we lead 3:1 in them. On Saturday we will play in Katowice.
Comarch Cracovia - Tauron KH GKS Katowice 2:3 (0:1, 1:2, 1:0)
0:1 - Martin Čakajík -
Maciej Urbanowicz - Oleg Jaszyn (16:39)
0:2 - Bartosz Fraszko - Dušan Devečka - Patryk Wronka (22:25)
0:3 - Maciej Urbanowicz - Filip Starzyński - Oleg Jaszyn (33:31)
1:3 - Bartłomiej Bychawski (38:06)
2:3 - Paweł Zygmunt - Filip Drzewiecki (47:05)
Referees: Paweł Breske, Włodzimierz Marczuk - Patryk Kasprzyk, Daniel Lipiński
Penalties in minutes: 14-20
Semifinals stats (until four victories): Cracovia leads 3:1
Cracovia: Kopřiva (Kowalówka) - Kruczek, Czarnaok, Drzewiecki, Bryniczka, Kapica - Rompkowski, Noworyta, Bepierszcz, Vachovec, Csamangó - Bychawski, Ježek, Švec, Domogała, Tvrdoň - Kisielewski, Gajor, Kamiński, Brynkus, Zygmunt
Coach: Rudolf Roháček

domain: game


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Another 38-story tower is now in planning in Brickell after a developer completed the purchase of a property last week, according to the SFBJ.
Alta Development paid $15m for the .47 acre property at 180 and 160 SW Ninth Street. A 24-unit apartment building on the site will be demolished.
An unnamed company from New York is a partner with Alta on the acquisition.
The new 38-story tower is planned to have 320 apartments.
Behar Font has been retained as the project architect.
Groundbreaking is planned for mid-2023.
Colliers South Florida Senior Director Virgilio Fernandez as lead, Executive Managing Director Gerard Yetming, Managing Director Mitash Kripalani, and Senior Financial Analyst Julian Zuniga represented the buyer, Alta Development LLC., in the deal. The Colliers team also represented the seller, Progesti Corp., in the transaction.
Alta secured Rapid Transit Zoning from the county before the purchase, nearly tripling development density to 500 buildable units an acre, a press release said.

domain: economics


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Published in November 2013 issue of Prospect Magazine
It’s a bleak portrait that George Packer presents of the United States (p20), crippled to the point of standstill, apparently, by its own constitution, a text which it has offered to the world for so long as the blueprint for governing a democracy. As both Packer and Jacob Kierkegaard argue (p22), the wreckage in Washington is, in one sense, a narrower problem than it might seem. The repeated gerrymandering of districts in the House of Representatives, now calculated by computer, means that a minority can hold the entire legislative process to ransom. In what Packer calls “mutinous irrationality,” a bloc of House Republicans have now thrown up a barricade with themselves on one side, and every piece of legislation that the President or other members of Congress might want to pass on the other. Even those who argue that there should be no modern reinterpretation of the constitution cannot say that this is what the Founding Fathers intended.
Packer, however, drives home the point that for Republicans this may be the last roll of the dice. The parties’ prospects have swung around in a generation, from the point when it seemed as if Democrat support would survive only in a few coastal pockets. Democrat presidential candidates have won a majority of the popular vote in five of the last six elections, he points out. Unless the Republican Party radically reinvents itself, demographic changes mean that America’s future is Democrat, he argues.
Maybe. But that future is the other side of the barricades. The rift between people with opposing views of how to solve America’s problems now goes so deep that it has entirely changed politics. It isn’t a disagreement in views of which policy is better; it is a clash of beliefs about values and of visions of the f…

domain: law


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Don't forget to be the way you are.: I'm laughing... →
terytrixie: Egotistical fucks don’t appeal to the audience #UnfollowAdam @AdamLambert, no copy cat; you just wish you could sing like @JDurbinAI10 @AdamLambert Take your glittery ass out of the media and step aside, @JDurbinAI10 IS KICKING YOU OUT #UnfollowAdam @JamesDurbinNews you…
Adam's Turtle Porn tweet.
nosanctuaryfromyourallure: Adam tweeted: “Today’s inspiration: http://t.co/HaV9lrQ” So we’re excited and click like: So we watch the whole entire video: And end up laughing so hard like: And we wonder how he ever stumbled upon such a video: And now Adam has just made our day by just being him XD: THANK YOU ADAM. Never stop being your rediculous self. <3
makkiee: makkiee: Adam Lambert - Kiss and Tell...

domain: entertainment


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Upcoming news for 03.02.2016
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 3, ARMENPRESS. “Armenpress” state news agency introduces on the air of Lratvakan.am all that you will read, hear and see on today’s news.
Summary of Ministries’ activities is continuing today, on February 3. Armenian Minister of Economy Karen Chshmarityan will talk on the implemented work of 2015. He will also refer to the economic, regional developments and the ensuing economic opportunities.
Economic topic will continue but over agricultural direction. Agrarian-Peasant Union of Armenia Hrach Berberyan will refer to prospects for increased exports and the creation of projects on corporations.
Regional topics are various in upcoming news. Expert in Iranian studies Vardan Voskanyan will talk on Armenia-Iran cooperation in the context of regional developments. Artsakh War Hero, Major General Arkady Ter-Tadevosyan will refer to Karabakh conflict, PACE and the discussed anti-Armenian reports.
Forensic experts and stakeholders are focused on the subject of errors.
February 4 is World Cancer Day. The goal is to attract public attention to this global problem, to its prevalence and danger.
Yerevan State choreographic will be provided college with musical instruments.
Music and art school students will get new instruments in the frames of the opening ceremony.
More on these and other topics is available on armenpress.am. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.


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One of the USA’s promising up-and-comers, young guitarist/composer Cameron Allen began his musical journey early in life. After receiving his first electric guitar for his sixth birthday, he spent his formative years composing and playing instrumental music.
After years of playing and recording with various projects, he attended the Atlanta Institute of Music, where he received the Merit Scholarship and graduated with honors in 2010.
In 2012, he garnered attention with the release of his latest album, Between The Lines, which can be described as a true “fusion” project – a stimulating sonic mosaic of rock, jazz, classical, funk, and metal influences glued together by rich arrangements and lush textures, decorated with enough guitar gymnastics to satisfy even the most die-hard shred aficionados.
Cameron made even more waves in the international guitar community when he won the worldwide Next BendNote Talent Competition for guitarists, which was held in Paris, France in December 2012.
His album, Between The Lines, is available on iTunes, Amazon, and CDBaby.com.
Cameron has got a brand new solo album that is set to be released in early 2015! I will also be touring in the US and Canada during April, May, and June 2015 supporting the band Ministry with the Sixxis!
Guitar Pro is a fantastic product! Its intuitive layout, ease of use, and a wide variety of instruments available make score-writing a breeze, and exchanging ideas with other musicians quickly has never been easier!
It is truly a must-have!

domain: artistic


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SPRINGFIELD, Ore. — Looking for something to do for the holidays? There’s no better place to celebrate with the family than one of Oregon’s most beloved places, Silver Falls State Park! There will be plenty of fun including crafts as Oregon’s largest state park is transformed into a magical holiday event.
The festival includes live music, free refreshments, wreath making, building gingerbread houses, holiday lights, winter hikes around the gorgeous waterfalls, and even a visit from Santa himself.
Read the full story from The Oregon Live.


Houston Justice Coalition (HJC), a non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization, is hiring a LEAD ORGANIZER for the 2018 election cycle to work 9 weeks leading up to Election Day. Our campaign has the ambitious goal to register 5,000 eligible voters in Houston. We are specifically targeting the formerly incarcerated and their families.
As part of our organizing team, your mission will be to register eligible voters and build a grassroots voter contact program. You'll recruit and train volunteers to lead canvasses and run phone banks.
This is not a standard field organizing job. We're reaching out to potential voters at HJC events, homeless shelters, the Harris County Jail, and face to face conversations. You'll use Slack and Google Apps as much as you use VAN.
RESPONSIBILITIES• Recruiting volunteers to register voters at scheduled tabling/canvassing events.• Leading volunteers at scheduled tabling/canvassing events.• Participating in (2) canvass Saturdays in September recruiting volunteers and registering voters.• Becoming a super user of key productivity (Google Apps, Slack, Maestro, etc.) and voter contact (Relay, LiveVox, VAN) technologies and patiently teaching volunteers to use them.• Meticulous daily reporting.
QUALIFICATIONSWhile we encourage everyone who is interested to apply, great candidates will:• Believe in volunteer leadership. Volunteers are at the center of everything we do, and everything you do will contribute to developing volunteer leadership.• Have experience volunteering on a political or issue-based campaign.
All candidates must:• Possess a valid U.S. driver's license, proof of auto insurance, and an automobile for business use.• Live in or be willing to relocate to assigned region in Texas.• Expect to regularly work evening and weekend hours.• Be available to work through November 6th.
COMPENSATIONPay for this temporary contract position is $17/hourly at 20-25 hours per week, plus a $25/month cell phone stipend.
NEXT STEPS-If available, please send resume and/or cover letter to email@example.com.
-Applicants selected to move on to the next step will be called for phone interview during the afternoon of Thursday, August 16th with final interviews taking place on Saturday, August 18th.
-Formerly incarcerated applicants encouraged to apply.


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A charming standing figurine, an ornament brings a smile the perfect gift for any dog lover. Who doesn’t love when your Dog holds his lead eagerly waiting for a walk. This beautifully modelled and accurate sculpture is holding a lead in its mouth lovingly waiting for its master to take it for ''walkies''.
Dimensions 15 x 9 x 17cm
HOW MUCH INTEREST DO I HAVE TO PAY?
This payment option is entirely Interest Free!
Total Amount of Credit: €80.00 over 4 equal payments.
4 equal weekly payments of €20.00
0% interest rate. No application fee, No monthly account fee. APR of 0%. Total Amount Payable: €80.00 Plus P+P if required.
HOW DO I APPLY?
All you have to do to apply for credit, is…
Fill up your shopping cart with everything you’d like to purchase, and proceed to Checkout
Fill in your Billing & Shipping Information
Select PayWhirl as your payment method, and follow the instructions to set up your PayWhirl account

domain: finance


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Men of Worth joins us for A Celtic Christmas
The folk-music duo, Men of Worth, was formed by James Keigher (Ireland) and Donnie Macdonald (Scotland) in 1986. Both exiles, it was through the Celtic music scene in Southern California that James and Donnie first met, and within a couple of years a partnership developed that was simultaneously serious and fun.
Geographical changes now find James and Donnie living in Southern Oregon and Northern California respectively. Whilst remaining true to their Gaelic roots, Men of Worth have successfully evolved as entertainers. Together Men of Worth blend their voices with harmony and support their collection of songs with their varied selection of instruments. Their show is a unique combination of humor, exciting tunes, and soulful, heartfelt ballads.
The Sacramento Master Singers are thrilled to have Men of Worth as guest artists on all of our December concerts. For further info on this exciting duo, visit http://www.menofworth.com
Vance George inspired us as guest conductor in May 2011
Vance George is internationally recognized as one of America’s leading choral conductors. He has conducted throughout the U.S. as well as Europe, Australia and Asia; most recently in Salzburg, Sydney, Minneapolis, and Indianapolis. He has received great acclaim for his unique knowledge of musical styles, languages, mastery of vocal colors, and synthesis of the choral-orchestral tradition.
His work embodies the legacy of the great maestros he has known as protégé and colleague, especially Kurt Masur, John Nelson, Helmut Rilling, Robert Shaw, Julius Herford, Margaret Hillis, Robert Page, Otto Werner-Mueller, and Mary Oyer. During his 23 years with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus the group was hailed as one of the finest in the world. On their behalf he accepted two Grammy awards for Best Performance of a Choral Work Orff’s Carmina burana – 1992 and Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem – 1995 Other Grammy-winning recordings featuring the chorus include Stravinsky’s Perséphone and Mahler’s Symphony III. TV and film credits include an Emmy for Sweeney Todd in 2002 and soundtracks for Amadeus, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and Godfather III.
His performances encompass the choral/orchestral works of Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, Beethoven, Verdi, and Faure. Twentieth century composers include Stravinsky, Schoenberg, V. Williams, Penderecki, Lutoslawski and Meredith Monk. Highly regarded as a teacher of conducting he has presented workshops throughout the U.S. including Buffalo, Eastman, Cincinnati, Berkeley, and the San Francisco Conservatory. A graduate of Goshen College he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Kent State University, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Chorus America. He has served on the board of Chorus America and the National Endowment of the Art and was awarded the 2009 life membership of NCCO, the National Collegiate Choral Organization.
For further information regarding Maestro George, visit his website at http://vancegeorge.com


Pier Paolo Pasolini on Netflix
This is a regularly updated list with movies, series and documentaries with Pier Paolo Pasolini on Netflix. The best rated item with Pier Paolo Pasolini on Netflix is "The Canterbury Tales" and appeared on screen in 1972.
About Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini (March 5, 1922 – November 2, 1975) was an Italian film director, poet, writer, and intellectual. Pasolini distinguished himself as a poet, journalist, philosopher, linguist, novelist, playwright, filmmaker, newspaper and magazine columnist, actor, painter and political figure. He demonstrated a unique and extraordinary cultural versatility, becoming a highly controversial figure in the process.
Below you find an overview of all movies and series with Pier Paolo Pasolini on Netflix. We found 1 titles with Pier Paolo Pasolini on Netflix.


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About achieving inner peace (EN)
So I made a little research on this sensitive topic… I know that we all are struggling with finding that oasis for our stressed busy lives and the thought of not having some moments of total peace is stressing us more than anything. I know that this, that little thought puts so much pressure on us.. to be honest, even on me.
Read this answer that I’ve found on Quora.
I haven’t thought about stress in that way. Neither about happiness. There are so many of us that think that if our lives are busy, we actually need to calm down immediately. We don’t think about this chaos as being an important part of our lives. And this is where my mind has been stopped. What made us think about the fact that riding off the stress in our lives will give us a better life? Where would we have been if there was no thoughts or alarms going on and off in our heads, keeping us in a continuous energy and power for doing what we have to do? Having a busy life in a productive way means that we actually are having a meaningful life. We do what we enjoy or what will help us to achieve those levels that we want with the help of this little amount of stress. We need that stress. It’s healthy for both our mind and our bodies.
But when that stress begins to define us and starts consuming our energy and productivity… We really have to stop for a bit and rethink our lives. Is that giant amount of stress gonna help me or those around me in a positive way? No? Then why do I bother? Or I’ve got another good question that we need to ask ourselves from time to time: is that stress even real? Is it based on real facts or they are just scenarios made up by me? That’s a good one. I found out that many of the stressed episodes that are even keeping me up at night are nothing but the stress made up by my mind. It’s not even real and it still making me lose so many nights worrying about it. This isn’t fair.
So I truly think that inner peace is not something to achieve, because it’s just a blink of an eye. Inner peace shouldn’t be that state where nothing can ever bother you because that mood is nothing but the emptiness of our souls. And that’s definitely not peace or happiness or whatever you want to achieve. This is more a consequence of the stress eating us alive.
And I love the end of that answer
Keep that in mind.

domain: sociology


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Scientists have estimated exactly when men stop listening to what other people tell them.
When talking a woman is able to hold the average man’s attention for about 6 minutes, his friends are able to do that for about 15 minutes.
Almost 2,000 men took part in the survey and the scientists found out that men are able to listen to their partners only 6 minutes. Those men said that they are least interested in the discussions of colleagues, celebrities, clothing, news from social networks, a lunch menu or horoscopes. Women were slightly more attentive to the partner.
However, both men and women willingly talk to their friends. Men are ready to be actively interested in the subject of the conversation almost 15 minutes.
Sport events, movies or sex life are their favorite topics.
Relationship is the most popular topic for discussion with friends among women. What is also significant is that both men and women are apt to lie or hide information from the partner than from friends.
About a fifth of all men admitted that usually they watch sports channels or surf the net when communicating with a partner on the phone. Men respondents were able to recall at least 4 situations per week when they were not listening to their woman when he clearly should be. Whereas 55% of women reported that they always double-check whether their partners really hear what they are saying.

domain: psychology


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Great idea for an herb garden. Paint Can Herb Garden from Simple Stylings
18 Creative Diy Herb Gardens 10
7 Infographics Thatll Teach You Everything About Growing An Indoor Herb Garden | Balcony Garden Web
I want an entire windowsill of these in my kitchen! | Make An Adorable Herb Garden With Old Glass Jars
Growing Organic Herbs with natural pest control methods that work well in keeping pests and diseases under control. Learn about organic aphid control and managing fungal diseases in your organic herb garden.
Catmint herb is a nice addition to your herb garden, not only for tea but also for a medicinal herb. Learn more.
Easy Indoor Herb Garden — I was an indoor container gardening failure, until I decided a different approach was in order. Find out how you can create this simple indoor herb garden in under 10 minutes! | via Tara Kuczykowski | Unsophisticook on unsophisticook.com
Create a simple DIY indoor herb garden in under 10 minutes!
Vertical Herb Garden www.youtube.com/…
Easy DIY Kitchen Herb Garden in Deck Pots tips at the happy housie

domain: agronomy


Last year, Sandy Mortham and Katherine Harris had no trouble sharing credit for an annual $12 million boost to state funding for the arts. They had both helped push the funding increase through the Legislature and they were both Republican women rising through the state's party hierarchy.
Mortham, in her first term as Secretary of State, had asked Harris, a first-term state senator from Sarasota, to sponsor dozens of bills since the two were elected in 1994. Besides increasing the arts budget, they cut the State Department's budget by $15 million, limited corporate campaign donations and helped extend the term of concealed weapons permits so they have to be renewed every five years instead of every three.
The two women had worked together for so long that after gubernatorial candidate Jeb Bush picked Mortham as his running mate last year, Harris decided to run for the office her longtime ally was vacating.
Mortham had all but groomed her for the job. And Harris, in announcing her candidacy, made a point of praising Mortham's "attitude of accountability and excellence."
But that was before revelations that Mortham's office diverted a $60,000 museum donation to buy cuff links and paperweights for supporters, to throw a Christmas party for her employees and to make a tourism video for her home county of Pinellas.
The revelations forced her to withdraw from the race for lieutenant governor. But when a subsequent investigation showed she had broken no laws, she declared she had made the Secretary of State's office a model department for Florida and announced her intentions to keep the job.
"I am a fighter, and I felt it would have been wrong for me to quit," she said.
Harris, however, refuses to back down.
Now the two are candidates rather than collaborators, and each wants sole credit for that $12 million arts funding boost and the rest of their joint accomplishments.
"She was a freshman, and very often people like to help freshmen out," said Mortham, 47. "I saw that as a tool."
Counters Harris, 41, "She couldn't be claiming credit for it if I hadn't passed it in the Senate."
The latest polls show the two are tied among likely Republican voters. The winner will face Karen Gievers, a Miami lawyer who was unopposed for the Democratic nomination, in November's general election.
A former commercial real estate agent and board member of the Ringling Museum, Harris entered politics partly out of the frustration of having to beg legislators for money to run the museum each year.
While it took Mortham's help to secure a dedicated funding source for the museum, Harris also can tout accomplishments that have nothing to do with the Secretary of State's office. She served on five committees, and was appointed chairwoman of one: Commerce and Economic Opportunities. She also sponsored bills for tougher graduation requirements, merit pay for teachers and open disclosure of financial records at Enterprise Florida, a quasi-public organization that works to attract business to the state.
But the problem Harris faces is the same one Mortham faced. Both women have worked together for so long that it is hard to find issues on which they differ. Both want to post campaign contributions on the Internet. Both want even more money for the arts. And both envision running the State Department in the same way.
It's not just a matter of running the elections and managing state museums and libraries, both say; it's a matter of advocating for cleaner elections and for the arts.
Both figure they'll spend about $750,000 on the primary. But if there is a major difference between the two, it is where that money comes from.
Mortham opposes the state's public financing plan for candidates.
"I do not believe you, as a taxpayer, should pay for my campaign if you don't support me," she said. "I find that abominable."
Harris, who has filed for public financing and received $250,000 so far, says the program makes it possible for candidates to concentrate on issues, rather than money.
"I don't have to concentrate on dialing for dollars all the time," she said.
The two also differ on their priorities. Harris says she would concentrate on education. Mortham wants to push for more cultural programs for troubled kids, such as a Tallahassee boys' choir in which almost all of the members have risen from being marginal students to making the honor roll.
But with the primary only weeks away, and their distinctions so subtle, each candidate has begun to attack the other.
Harris has run a series of television ads criticizing Mortham for flip-flopping on a Cabinet vote. And Mortham has circulated fund-raising letters that accuse Harris of once vowing to buy the primary, even if it meant dipping into her personal $5.6 million stock portfolio.
Mortham's campaign manager, Greg McGee, has seen former allies torn apart by a campaign before. As Mortham's aide, he has helped draft many of the bills Harris sponsored. He's a friend to both, he said, but he's not sure both will be friends after the primary is over.
"While I would hope Secretary Mortham and Katherine Harris could put it behind them, it's hard not to take it personally when it's your name out there," he said. "And that's a real shame."