Photographers capture the rise of South Korea’s ‘loner’ culture

In a striking image by Korean photographer Nina Ahn, a solitary figure stands by a window, street lights glimmering around her. Another shows a woman in her 20s sitting alone on a guardrail beside an empty highway in Seoul.
The photographs are intended to capture the loneliness of South Korea’s youth — specifically a subculture referred to as “honjok,” a neologism combining the words “hon” (alone) and “jok” (tribe).

The term is often used to describe a generation that embraces solitude and independence, reflecting the country’s growing number of single-person households and changing attitudes towards romance, marriage and family.
“It’s a sense of giving up,” Ahn said in a phone interview from Seoul. “We live in a generation where simply working hard for a bright future doesn’t guarantee happiness, so why not invest in ‘me’ time?
“The fact that my photos carry a sentiment of dreariness means that (it) is the face of the current generation.”

Fight Back: How to Combat Racial Wealth Inequality

When Saundra Davis decided to change careers in her mid-40s, she opted to earn a master’s degree in financial planning. Her goal, she says, was to understand what wealthy folks knew about acquiring, building and transferring wealth and apply those principles to her low- and moderate-income clients.

As she got to work, Davis encountered a system that historically kept poor people, including people of color, out of the running when it came to building and passing down assets. “There were things [wealthy] people knew about money that most black, brown and poor white folks just didn’t know,” says Davis, who now works as a financial coach and financial behavior specialist in San Francisco. “We have to help people recognize their personal power within this larger construct, which is, quite frankly, designed to crush them,” she adds.

Where Do I Fall in the American Economic Class System?

Understanding where you fall in the American economic class system isn’t as simple as pulling out a calculator or looking at a pay stub.
Myriad forces shape individuals’ economic class and their views on where they rank alongside other Americans.

When asked how they identify their social class, 62 percent of Americans said they belonged to the upper-middle or middle classes, according to a 2017 survey from Gallup. In determining their social class, people often don’t just think about income, experts say, but about other factors, including education, location and family history.

Larger economic trends may also impact how people view their class rank.

On one hand, experts note, the American middle class is shrinking, with individuals moving toward the higher- and lower-income brackets. “There’s a loss of jobs in the middle and growth at the top and bottom,” says Robert J. Gordon, professor of economics at Northwestern University. “In that sense, the middle class has been hollowed out.”

Elon Musk Apologizes to Thai Cave Rescue Diver He Called a “Pedo”

In what could be the final episode in Elon Musk’s bizarre intrusion on the Thai cave rescue story, Musk apologized on Wednesday to Vernon Unsworth, the British caver he publicly and baselessly called a pedophile.

“[My] words were spoken in anger after Mr. Unsworth said several untruths & suggested I engage in a sexual act with the mini-sub, which had been built as an act of kindness & according to specifications from the dive team leader,” Musk said on Twitter. “Nonetheless, his actions against me do not justify my actions against him, and for that I apologize to Mr. Unsworth and to the companies I represent as leader. The fault is mine and mine alone.”

The comment about a “sexual act with the mini-sub” appears to refer to a suggestion by Unsworth, who participated in the widely publicized rescue of a dozen Thai boys from a flooded cave, that Musk “stick his submarine where it hurts.”

The feud between these two men revolved around Musk’s efforts to build a miniature submarine to transport the children trapped in the cave. Musk did build a version of the submarine and bring it to Thailand, but officials involved in the rescue operation chose not to use it. Unsworth told CNN in an interview soon afterward that the submarine was a “PR stunt” with “absolutely no chance of working.”

In response, Musk tweeted that “we will make [a video] of the mini-sub/pod going all the way to Cave 5 no problemo.” He added, “Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it.”

As Musk was being widely criticized for abusing his considerable influence on Twitter to attack a far less powerful man who played a leading role in the rescue operation, Unsworth told the press that he was weighing legal action.

Unsworth told Reuters on Wednesday that he was aware of Musk’s apology but did not comment any further on it.

Musk did not seem wholehearted in his contrition. After all, while he apologized to Unsworth, the apology appeared in a response to another user’s tweet that linked to a defense of Musk. “Journalism is dead,” the Twitter user wrote.

SOURCE : https://slate.com/technology/2018/07/elon-musk-apologizes-to-thai-cave-diver-over-twitter-comments.html

Miami Herald’s Jacqueline Charles wins Maria Moors Cabot Prize

Jacqueline Charles, the Miami Herald’s Caribbean correspondent, has won a 2018 Maria Moors Cabot Prize. Emily Michot emichot@MiamiHerald.com

Jacqueline Charles, who has reported on the Caribbean for the Miami Herald since 2006, has been awarded a 2018 Maria Moors Cabot Prize — the most prestigious award for coverage of the Americas.

Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism announced Wednesday that Charles was among the four recipients of this year’s Cabot Prizes, the oldest awards in international journalism.

While Charles covers various Caribbean nations, Haiti is her specialty. The Cabot judges highlighted that in their citation:

“Charles’ great contribution has been as a narrator of the agonies of Haiti, the hemisphere’s poorest country, crippled by misgovernment and battered time and again by nature.”

Jacqueline Charles, center, the winner of a 2018 Maria Moors Cabot award, is shown with the late Don Bohning, left, and Bernard Diederich. Bohning, who served as Latin America editor for the Miami Herald, was a 1974 Cabot award winner, and Diederich, a long-time Caribbean correspondent, won the award in 1976. Miami Herald

Continue to read here :
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article215038775.html

BY MIMI WHITEFIELD
mwhitefield@miamiherald.com

If You See This Plant, Don’t Touch It—Seriously

There’s a new invasive species that’s been spreading across the United States. It sounds like an evil creature straight out of a fairytale—and trust us, you should avoid it just the same.

This dangerous plant is called the giant hogweed and it’s been classified by the government as a noxious weed. It grows to about 14 feet tall and has a thick green, hairy stem with large leaves at the top and white flowers. The reason you should avoid touching it at all costs: It’s covered in toxic sap that can cause painful burns, scarring, and potential blindness. Make sure you’re also watching out for these other summer health dangers.

Giant hogweed is originally from the Caucasus mountain region of Eurasia and was brought over to the United States in the early 1900s through birds and waterways. Because of its large size, it produces about 20,000 seeds that can travel by wind and water thus making it very easy for it to take over. The non-native plant has now been identified in Virginia, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, Washington, and Oregon.

The Royals Released Official Photos of Prince Louis’ Christening

Kensington Palace has released four official photos to mark Prince Louis’s christening.

Taken by leading celebrity portrait photographer Matt Holyoak, who also photographed the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on their 70th wedding anniversary, the snaps show the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with all of their children for the first time.

A larger group shot features the royal baby alongside his closest relatives, including the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Pippa Middleton and James Matthews, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and Carole and Michael Middleton.

Ángela Ponce will become the first transgender woman to compete in the Miss Universe pageant.

MADRID — Asked when she first realized that she was a girl, Ángela Ponce answered with her own question: “And when did you first know you were a boy?”
After winning Spain’s national beauty contest last month, Ms. Ponce will become the first transgender woman to compete in the Miss Universe pageant. But she is also on a mission to challenge traditional concepts of gender and beauty, as well as to break down what she sees as unacceptable barriers in the fashion industry.

“Having a vagina doesn’t make a woman,” she said in an interview. “Even if many people don’t want to see me as a woman, I clearly belong among them.”

‘People judge me’: Woman with lupus scars denied a manicure due to her inflamed skin

Jeniffer Dreyer Brown, 47, posted an emotional video on her Facebook on July 6 detailing a heartbreaking experience she had at a Laguna Niguel, Calif., nail salon.

Brown said that a manicurist at Happy Nails and Spa denied her a manicure due to the appearance of the inflamed skin on her hands and arms, which is a symptom of lupus.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease, which means that a person’s immune system attacks healthy cells by mistake. It can affect a person’s joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart, and lungs. Often, UV rays can cause lupus symptoms to worsen.

Do not eat this cereal’: As Honey Smacks outbreak expands, recalled cereal still sold in stores

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not mince words when it issued a health warning about Honey Smacks cereal on Thursday: ”Do not eat this cereal.”

A salmonella outbreak caused by the popular Kellogg’s breakfast cereal has grown since it was first reported in June, and has now infected 100 people in 33 states — with at least 30 people hospitalized due to the foodborne illness.

The Food and Drug Administration reported that despite a voluntary recall by the Kellogg Company in mid-June, recalled boxes of Honey Smacks cereal are still being offered for sale. “Retailers cannot legally offer the cereal for sale and consumers should not purchase Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal,” the agency stated on Thursday.

The CDC confirmed that it detected salmonella in samples of Honey Smacks. “Do not eat recalled Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal in any size packaging,” the agency stated. “Check your home for the recalled cereal and throw it away, or return it to the place of purchase for a refund.”