text: Digital APOCALYPSE WATCH: Women Making $70 'Feminist' Shirts Earned $1 Per Hour By Shawn Paul Wood|November 3, 2014 Share By Shawn Paul Wood|November 3, 2014 Share Ever since the days of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton to today with Glorias Steinem and Allred, feminism is something that has been necessary to help position the accomplishments of women and see them rewarded justly for what they have done. Good times, right? These three knobs (pictured above, left to right) are Ed Miliband, Harriet Harman, and Nick Clegg. Ed is leader of the UK's Labor Party (or Labour, if you pardon the silent and snotty "u"). Harriet is leader of the British House of Commons. And Nick is Deputy British Prime Minister and "Lord President of the Council" because he needed a more overblown title on his business card. They all support women's rights, which is why they are wearing the same tee shirt. The problem, here is that they aren't as interested in (or even aware of) the struggles of the women who actually made the clothes they're wearing. Not good. According to the UK's Daily Mail, the three Brit politicians were posing for an Elle magazine shoot for an article on feminism (see pictured above). The shirts, with the thought "This is what a feminist looks like" emblazoned across them, really got people thinking. They weren't thinking about the sentiment, though; they wanted to find more dirt on this troika. Turns out the shirts about feminism were made in a Mauritis sweatshop by women making 62 pence an hour (that's less than a whole buck)! The tropical locale is an island in the Indian Ocean. While the scenery is pretty for the pretentious, local sweatshop machinists are known to sleep 16 to a room. (Photo Credit: Craig Hibbert, Daily Mail) At one factory visited by The Mail on Sunday, a female worker told us: 'How can this T-shirt be a symbol of feminism when we do not see ourselves as feminists? We see ourselves as trapped.' An official from factory owner Compagnie Mauricienne de Textile (CMT) told us he 'would not be happy' if the women left the work camp during the week in case they turned up for work 'hungover'. This is a huge #PRFail story across the pond because of the people wearing them — in addition to the talking heads seen above, the shirts have also been seen on celebs like Benedict Cumberbatch, Tinie Tempah and Eddie Izzard. However, the stink surrounding these shirts' origins have people using them as dust rags. More reason for concern: Fayzal Ally Beegun, president of the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Union, told the paper: "The workers in this factory are treated very poorly and the fact that politicians in England are making a statement using these sweatshop t-shirts is appalling." Your move, Queen Elizabeth. Share http://adweek.it/2kWj9Ff copy Adweek Adweek


text: Societal Vengeance Wreaked Upon The Deadbeat Dad, by Wade Mackey, Ph.D. A look at the myth vs truth behind the "Deadbeat Dad" image that society and the media Recent concern on fatherless families in (especially) the U. S. has created what would otherwise be viewed as a scapegoat: the Deadbeat Dad. The imagery, approaching the mythological in character, of the Deadbeat Dad has cast such individuals as the villainous cause of the plight of the American family. By what is close to a definition, the Deadbeat Dad is viewed as a man who has fathered a child, deserted the mother and her & his children, and then refused to share the economic responsibilities of nurturing his child to independence. Thereby, were Deadbeat Dads to shoulder their financial responsibilities toward their children, then family problems would vanish or at least be ameliorated. It is suggested that such imagery camouflages a reality more difficult for the populace to accept, much less to devise an appropriate public policy which would cope with the reality. While Deadbeat Dads do create financial burdens for the mother, mothers' choices, in the main, create fatherless families. Within the last few years, the rise in the number of children in the U. S. who are being reared by a single parent has gravitated from a descriptive demographic statistic to a matter of some concern to governmental officials as well as to the professional and popular presses/electronic media. The single parent is overwhelmingly the mother. In 1995, 28% of minor children lived with mother only, 4% with father only, and 5% with neither parent. Sixty-three percent of the minor children lived with both parents (U. S. Bureau of the Census 1996). Framed differently, 75. 7% of children who were not living with their two parents were living with mother only, 10. 8% were living with father only, and 13. 5% were living with neither their mother nor their father. Note that more minor children were living with neither parent than with the father only. Hence, the bulk of the changes in family structure which have occurred have involved the abrading of the father-figure from the mother-child dyad. The net costs of fatherlessness to the child have been a source of some debate. For examples of emotional, psychological and social deficits in children which are aligned with fatherlessness, see Blankenhorn (1995), Hanson, McLanahan & Thomson (1996), Hofferth et al. (1 994), Phares & Lum (1997), Popenoe (1996) (of Adams, Milner, & Schrepf 1984). In what may be a barometer on how the folklore of the society operates, the reaction to the abrading is most interesting. The focus upon ameliorating those problems which would flow from fatherlessness has not been on the causes of the abrading. The focus has tended to be on the economic (ir)responsibilities of the "father" after the man has been precluded from or peeled away from the role of social father. Furthermore, the wrath of politicians and the literati and the academics has been directed at the biological father's dereliction of his economic duties to the child he has sired. A new bogeyman was invented in our urban mythology: the Deadbeat Dad. Of interest is the fact that, if 100% of the Deadbeat Dads fully carry out 100% of their financial responsibilities, the problem of fatherlessness is not addressed at all. Only the financial burdens of the mother are lessened. The family is still sundered. The child is still fatherless. Women's choices and fatherlessness. It is argued here that "fatherlessness" is very much a function of women's choices. In only a small proportion of incidences do men/fathers have even a marginal opportunity to affect the choices made by the women. If such an argument does have a dollop of eternal verity, a most intriguing problem then presents itself: Can the U. S. , or any society, analyze the eventuality or even entertain the possibility that women's priorities for their own independence trump that of the welfare of their children? The persona of the Deadbeat Dad. A search in one of the current data bases -- Infotrac -- found that there were 38 sources which included the key word "Deadbeat". Of those 38, 20 were aligned with "Dad", hence Deadbeat Dad. A search for "Deadbeat mother" found four sources. All four described how mothers deal with Deadbeat Dads. There were no sources which used the phrase "Deadbeat Mom". Some of the more lyrical titles of articles related to Deadbeat Dads included: "Collecting from deadbeat dads" (Mansnerus 1996), "Deadbeat dads under fire" (Cross 1996). "Triumphing over a deadbeat dad" (Anonymous 1995), "Clinton cracks down on deadbeat parents" (Laabs 1995), "Dunning deadbeats" (Van Biema 1995). Van Biema's abstract is informative: "The Clinton Administration has taken aim at deadbeat dads, and Congress has given new child-support enforcement tools to the states. The new form bounty hunters who seek out these deadbeat dads are discussed". (emphases added). How the men came to be separated from their children was very systematically avoided. There are only two main routes to the chronic separation of fathers from their children: single parent births and divorce. (1) Each of these two will be examined below. Single parent births & the Deadbeat Dad. There are three steps involved in this route for a man to become a Deadbeat Dad. First, the man is to become a biological father, then Second, he does not enter into the role of social father, and then Third, he fails to make court mandated payments to the mother. A note on these payments is useful here. The payments are entitled "child support"; however neither the father nor the child nor the governing unit, which mandates the payments, has any control or monitoring how the man's funds are actually spent. The term "child support" could represent a triumph of optimism, hope and naivete over rigorous accounting procedures. The first step: Become a biological father. Let's look at the first point: "Become a biological father". The Roe v. Wade decision created a salient gender asymmetry. With abortion legal, a pregnant woman could and can choose to become a parent or not. The government cannot mandate that the woman must carry the "conceptus" to term, nor can the government mandate that the woman must abort the conceptus. The choice on the future of the pregnancy belongs to the woman, and only to the woman. The government cannot coerce parenthood upon the woman. Once a conception has occurred, the man, as a matter of contrast, has zero choice concerning his potential parenthood, none whatsoever. If the woman decides to abort his child, his child is aborted. The man has no legal recourse. If the woman does decide to carry the child to term and to give birth, the man cannot prevent her. He has no legal recourse. If the woman decides for herself to become a parent, she also decides that the man will become a parent. The government then determines that the genitor is a "parent", whether he wishes to be or not. The government can then dun him -- the genitor -- for "child support" for at least eighteen years. The government can coerce parenthood upon the man. What is an unacceptable act it directed toward the woman -- coerced parenthood -- happens to men everyday. The differential public response to female circumcision, invariably viewed as inappropriate, versus male circumcision, invariably not reported at all, represents an interesting analogue. The second step: Avoid the role of social fatherIf the man offers marriage to the woman, she may accept or reject his proposal. If she rejects him, the man has no legal recourse. He cannot force marriage upon the woman. The government cannot force marriage upon the woman. Once his child is born to the single mother, the man has virtually no de facto rights toward his child. The unmarried father does have de jure rights vis-a-vis his child, and family law, in most states has articulated a gender-neutral position in terms of custody (Weyrauch & Katz 1983; Westfall 1994). However, in day-to-day realities, women dominate in receiving custody of the child (again, more children live with neither parent than with father-only). In effect, all of his "parenting" efforts must be funneled through the single mother. His level of parenting can be determined by the personal decisions of a particular woman. How the women fulfills her role of "gatekeeper" more depends upon her individual circumstances and her personality than upon legal edicts. The government is simply not in a structural position to influence effectively the level of parenting by unwed fathers. The numbers here are not trivial. Approximately 1,529,000 abortions occur each year or 379 abortions per 1,000 live births. In addition, 31. 0% of all births, or 1,240,000 births (in 1993) were to single parent mothers (U. S. Bureau of the Census 1996). Of these 2,769,000 conceptions (1,529,000 + 1,240,000 = 2,769,000), the man has no legal recourse to influence any of them: zero. Thus, women's choices are driving single parent births, not men's. Women's choices are creating these fatherless families. The Deadbeat Dads are lowering the resources available to the mother, but are not leaving the role of social father. They were never in the role of an on-going, social father, nor do they have any legal mechanism to adopt that role. Divorce & the Deadbeat Dad. The second main route for a fatherless family is through divorce. The steps in this route for a man would be: First, the man would marry a woman, and then, Second, he would become a biological & social father, and then Third, a divorce would occur with the mother receiving custody of any children, then Fourth, he would fail to make mandated payments to the mother. Patterns in petitioning The key questions become: What are the central tendencies?Who is petitioning for divorce?An important point to note is that most petitioners are female. And here a caveat needs to be made. The micro-politics of divorce can be convoluted, and divorces are not always predicated on simple, straightforward truths. The legal system -- even in the simplified world of "no-fault" divorce -- plus deeply felt emotions, plus ambivalences of divided loyalties create a multi-dimensional human map with complex stratagems and motivations (see Chesler 1986; Luepnitz, 1982; Maccoby & Mnookin 1992; Wallerstein & Blakeslee 1989; Wallerstein & Kelly 1980). For example, a petition may occur more as a preemptive strike than as a marker for the more dissatisfied partner. In gist, however, although there is probably not a perfect consonance between marital reality and who petitions versus who responds, there is probably a substantial overlap between the stated, overt dissatisfaction and the actual, covert dissatisfaction of a marriage entering into the arena of dissolution. End of caveat. Because all the states have some equivalent of "no-fault" divorce, if one spouse wishes to end the marriage, the divorce will occur. Legally, the wishes of the respondent are irrelevant. Custody of children and property can be contested, but the divorce, itself, cannot be contested. In the interval for which data are available both by petitioner and by number of children, 1982-1986, the mean percentage of divorces petitioned by men was less than the mean percentage petitioned by women at all numbers of children (zero children to three-or-more). The low percentage for the wife was 55. 9% at zero children and the high was 65. 7% at three-or-more children. The low percentage for the husband occurred at three-or-more children (27. 4%) and the high was at 35. 5% when zero children were involved (National Center for Health Statistics 1989, 1996). In 1988, 32. 5% of all divorces were petitioned by the husband and 60. 7% of the divorces were petitioned by the wife (number of children were not available) (National Center for Health Statistics 1996). Again, women predominated as petitioner. See Buckle et al. [1996) for a similar pattern in England and Wales, and see the Beijing Review (1995) for a similar pattern in China. Here, too, the U. S. numbers are not trivial. For the U. S. , in 1990, 1,075,000 minor children were involved in a divorce situation (U. S. Bureau of the Census 1996). Germane to this exercise is what happens when at least one child is involved in the divorce. When comparing childless divorces to the divorces with at least one child, the percentage of women petitioners increased when a minor child was involved and the percentage of men petitioners decreased when a minor child was involved. That is, when a child is added to marriage, mothers became more prone to petition for divorce and fathers became less prone to petition for divorce. The following figures are of special interest. The percentages of husbands' petitions in marriages with no children were higher (35. 5%) than the percentages of husbands' petitions in marriages with one child (27. 8%), two children (27. 6%) and three or more children (27. 4%) (Z-scores of 49. 8, 46. 7 and 33. 7 respectively; p < . 001; 2-tailed). [Note that, after the first child, as additional children are involved in a divorce, the father's tendency to petition for divorce does not change. The figures are virtually identical (one child, 27. 8%, two children, 27. 6%, and three-or-more children, 27. 4%). This pattern of the husbands contrasts sharply with that of the wives' pattern. For the wives, the percentages of petitions in marriages with no children (55. 7%) were lower than the percentages of petitions in marriages with one child (64. 8%), two children (64. 7%) and three-or-more children (65. 6%) (Z-scores of 55. 1, 50. 1, and 39. 1 respectively; p < . 001; 2-tailed). Again, after the first child is considered, additional children do not affect the tendency to petition. The figures are one-child (64. 8%), two children (64. 7%), and three-or-more children (65. 6%). When considering all of the divorces petitioned by the husbands, 51. 3% of all of their petitions were from childless marriages. For wives, only 41. 8% of all of their petitions were from childless marriages. The percentage of husband's petitions (51. 3%) in childless marriages was significantly higher than that of the wives' (Z-score = 64. 7; p <. 001; 2-tailed). However, for divorces with one, two, and three-or more children, the percentage of wives who petitioned for divorces was higher than similar figures for husbands (Z-score of 35. 8, 30. 8, and 21. 0 respectively; p <. 001; 2tailed). It should be noted that once a divorce occurs, the tendency is that contact between the biological father and his child diminishes rapidly. See Dudley (1 991), Furstenberg et al. (1 983), Furstenberg et al. (1987), and Seltzer (1991) for examples and figures. See Braver et al. (1991) for a discussion on reasons for the lessened contact. Accordingly, the legalistic notion of "visitation rights" which is devised to maintain contact between the father and his children is usually supplanted by the behavioral pattern of an ever lessening father-child contact. Let's return to those fathers who were separated from their children via divorce. Almost two-thirds (65. 1%) of the divorces involving children were petitioned by the mother, not the father. With the earlier caveat of the intricacies and machinations of divorce strategies and counter-strategies still in effect, it is clear that it is the mother who is mainly responsible for the legal separation of the father from his children. To investigate the magnitude of, the gender asymmetry, let's follow a normative cohort of 100 married men (from Mackey 1996). U. S. Divorce Data and married men. Sixty to eighty men will marry, but not divorce. Twenty to forty men will divorce: two-thirds of the divorces involve 0 or 1 child (13 to 27 men) :one-third of the divorces involve two-or-more children (7 to 13 men). Thus, most men who become biological & social fathers have entered fatherhood for the long haul, at least until their children reach adulthood. They marry, become a parent, and stay in that role. Those fathers that do separate (or are separated) from their children represent a small minority of fathers as a class. Parenthetically, although indelicate to present, the idea of cuckoldry is quite relevant. It is clear that men do initiate some divorce proceedings. If a husband becomes aware that the child whom his wife has delivered was not his child, but another man's biological child, then the husband has a choice to make. He can decide to be a social father to another man's lineage, or, on the other hand, he may have no intention of raising another man's child. At that moment, were the husband to petition for a divorce, from his perspective, he has terminated a childless marriage. And, again from his vantage point, his divorce involved zero children. Husbands generally take a very dim view of being cuckolded (Shapiro 1987; Sullivan & Allen 1996; see Ellis & Walsh [1997] for estimates of percentages of children born into such circumstances). Jealousy cum cuckoldry have resulted in many a violent denouement (see Daly & Wilson [1987, 19881 and Blankenhorn, [1995] for discussions on family violence). Of the 7 to 13 men who marry and divorce with 2-or-more children, only 2 to 4 of the men would have initiated the divorce proceedings. How were the figures of 2 to 4 men generated?From Table 1, about 27. 5% of the divorces involving two-or-more children were petitioned by the father; thus (7 men x 27. 5% =1. 925 or 2 men), and (13 men x 27. 5% = 3. 575 or 4 men). Thus, for a cohort of 100 married men, only 2%-4% of the men petition for a divorce involving 2-or-more children. If a non-zero percentage of the men also gain custody of their children, then the figures for fathers who deliberately desert their children are even less. Perceptions of motivations to divorce. The National Survey of Families and Households (1987) (from Chadwick & Heaton 1992) asked men and women who had divorced: Who wanted the divorce?Both the former husbands and the former wives indicated that it was the wives who more wanted the divorce. The former wives, compared to the former husbands, were more salient in the female bias. That is, the women's estimation of their own wishes to terminate the marriage was higher than the men's estimation of the women's wishes to terminate the marriage. Thus, the "court" data -- quantitative in character -- on a female bias to petition for divorce is consonant with the "perception" data -- qualitative in character -- from the surveyed participants. Reasons to divorce It should be noted that, when surveyed, women strongly indicate that they want to divorce for reasons of removing psychological constraints or of removing levels of psychological unhappiness, i. e. lack of sufficient happiness (Burns 1984; Cleek & Pearson 1985; Gigy & Kelly 1992; Greif & Pabst 1988; Thurnher, Fenn, Melichar, & Chiribota 1983). Note also in Table 4 (not re-printed here, but available from the author), that, across the six surveys, reasons for divorce which would probably impact directly and negatively upon the children of the family were not ranked very high by the women. These reasons are highlighted in the Table. For example, "financial problems" ranked 5(th), 5(th), 8(th), 9(th), 3(rd) and unranked. "Spouses' drinking" ranked 7(th), 6(th), unranked, lst, unranked and unranked. "Spouse is violent"/Physical abuse" ranked 9(th), unranked, unranked, 3(rd), 8(th), and 5(th). "Disagreement over children" was ranked in only one survey (Burns 1984 [an Australian study]) and that was a rank of 1 0. Of course, an unhappy mother may not create an optimum environment for her child; however, the relative (dis)advantage of such an environment for the child compared to a fatherless environment remains unknown. Women's choices Again, the thesis being offered here is that the separation of fathers from their children, via divorce, is primarily driven by women's choices, by mothers' choices. It is at this juncture, that our, perhaps any, culture may have lurched into a difficult quandary. Mothers, in large numbers, are choosing either to preclude men from their role of social father, hence from their own children, or to peel away fathers from their children through "no-fault" divorce. A reasonable interpretation is that, in the mother's hierarchy of priorities, her own independence often has greater potency than the needs of her child(ren) for a father. To the extent this reasonable interpretation is accurate for a non-trivial number of mothers. , a structural problem would assuredly arise in the relevant commonweal. The image of mothers. In societies across the world's community of cultures, the image of "mother" is a very positive one indeed. To wit: "God could not everywhere, and therefore He made mothers". Jewish proverb "It is safer to be in a mother's lap than in a lord's bed". Estonian proverb "He's bare of news who speaks ill of his mother. " Irish proverb "No bones are ever broken by a mother's beating. " Russian proverb "An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest". Spanish proverb "An ounce of motherwit is worth a pound of clergy". Scottish proverb "In the eyes of its mother, every beetle is a gazelle". Moroccan proverb Certainly Western literature is replete with a positive imagery of the Mother-figure or Madonna. For example, If I were hanged on the highest hill,Mother o'mine, 0 mother o'mineI know whose love would follow me stillMother o'mine, 0 mother o'mine-- Rudyard Kipling Who ran to help me when I fell,and would some pretty story tell,Or kiss the place to make it well?My mother-- Ann Taylor Womanliness means only motherhood. All love begins and ends there-- Robert Browning Jung's (1968) archetype of "mother" reflects the universally positive image of the mother figure (cf Margolis 1984; Rohner 1975). On the other hand, the image of the U. S. father has been batted around like a shuttlecock, from the bumbling Dagwood (Day & Mackey 1986, LaRossa & Reitzes 1993) to the aloof patriarch (Biller 1974; Biller & Meredith 1975; Coolsen 1993; cf Smuts 1995), to the egalitarian mother surrogate (Clary 1982; Greenberg 1985; Greene 1984; Levine 1976), to the sub-par domestic (Coltrane 1996; Coverman & Sheley 1986; Hochschild 1989; Nakhaie 1995; Shelton 1992; Shelton & John 1993). Aside from a few Freudian sorties, the American mother has been virtually taboo to challenge. There have been critics of different types or emphases of mothering, but the value of a mother, per se, has remained largely unchallenged. Clearly, as a matter of contrast, the value of a father in the current U. S. is quite problematic for large segments of our society. CONCLUSION The above data do suggest that a core to the nuclear family has been fragmented, and it is the mother who is driving the fragmentation. The question becomes: Why is the mother not the focus of any analysis of family fragmentation? The following is an attempt at a partial answer. Just as "witches" served as scapegoats or vents for Medieval peasants when forces over which they had no control were vexing them, e. g. plagues, crop failures, drought, storms (Harris 1974), the Deadbeat Dad, rather than the mother, is much the more palatable target for our citizens to focus upon and to deride and to vilify. In the instances of both the "witch" and the "Deadbeat Dad", the populace can feel like it is doing something in response to a problem that is otherwise unmanageable. A psychological poultice is applied which is soothing, but does not address the cause of the distress. Castigating "motherhood" itself may create a good deal of social turbulence. Kuhn's (1962) idea of a paradigm is relevant here. Virtually all societal baselines or frames of reference include the mother-child dyad which acts as a spine of the society (Barry & Paxson 1971; Hewlett 1992; Mackey 1996; Weisner & Gailimore 1977; cf Schlegel 1972). Attached to this spine is a consistent on-going man, a social father. The man is usually the biological father, but occasionally the mother's brother (avunculus) fulfills the role. This triad of man-woman-child is an epicenter around which all other societal institutions must seamlessly mesh. If the woman herself perturbates the triadic core, then it is argued here that the society really has no perspective on how to deal with the perturbation. There is no precedent, hence no paradigm, available to guide societal responses. Thereby, rather than challenge the core beliefs or assumptions in a commonweal, scapegoats are a much more inviting, and much less threatening, target. Furthermore, the end-game for the problem with Deadbeat Dads is easy to imagine. The men are merely to pay out more dollars. The concept is simple and concrete. The solution is manageable. Everyone can understand the dynamics of writing a check. The mechanisms or dynamics by which women are pressured to forego single parent births or to stay in a non-ecstatic, non-fulfilling marriage are much harder to envision, which less execute. Nonetheless, it is argued here that our mega-tribe has a priority to resolve. Either women's independence is to be evaluated by the commonweal to be more important than a child's need for a father or the reverse. Footnotes 1) Minor sources of chronic separations of children from their fathers include jail, military duty, and widowhood (which was formerly the major source of fatherlessness). ReferencesAdams, P. L. , Milner, J. R. & Schrepf, N. A. . 1984. Fatherless children. New York: Wiley Anonymous (1995). Triumphing over a deadbeat dad. People Weekly 44: 147. Barry, H. & Paxson, L. 1971. 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Reasons for divorce: Perspectives of divorcing men and women. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage 18: 169-186. Greenberg, M. 1985. The birth of a father. NY: Continuum. Greene, B. 1984. Good morning, merry sunshine: A father's Journal of his child's first year. NY: Atheneum. Greif, G. L & Pabst, M. 1988. Mothers without custody . Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath. Hanson, T. L. , McLanahan, S. , & Thomson, E. 1996). Double jeopardy: Parental conflict and step-family outcomes for children. Journal of Marriage and the Family 58:141-154. Harris, M. 1974. Cows, pigs, wars, and witches. NY: Random House. Hewlett, B. S. (ed. ) 1992. Father-child relations: Cultural and biosocial contexts . Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter. Hochschild, A. R. 1989. The Second Shift: Working parents and the revolution at home. NY: Viking. Hofferth, S. L. & West, J. , & Henke, R. 1994. Access to early childhood programs for children at risk. Washington, D. C. : U. S. Department of Education. Jung, C. Gm 1969. Man and his symbols. NY: Doubleday. Kuhn, T. S. 1962. The structure of scientific revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press Laabs, J. J. 1995. Clinton cracks down on deadbeat parents. Personnel Journal 74: 11-12. LaRossa, R. , & Reitzes, D. C. 1993. Continuity and change in middle class fatherhood, 1925-1939: the culture-conduct connection. Journal of Marriage and the Family 55: 455-468. Levine, J. A. 1976. Who will raise the children? New options for fathers (and mothers). New York: Lippincott. Luepnitz, D. A. 1982. Child Custody. NY: Lexington. Maccoby, E. E. & Mnookin, R. H. 1992. Dividing the child: Social and legal dilemmas of custody. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Mackey, W. C. 1996. The American father: Biocultural and developmental aspects. NY: Plenum Mansnerus, L. 1996. Collecting from deadbeat dads. Good Housekeeping 222: 157. Margolis, M. 1984. Mothers and Such. NY: Basic Books. Nakhaie, M. R. 1995. Housework in Canada: The national picture. Journal of Comparative Family Studies 26: 417-422. National Center for Health Statistics 1980-1991. Vital statistics of the United States (marriages and divorce). Washington, D. C. : U. S. Government Printing Office. National Center for Health Statistics 1989. Children of divorce. Vital and health statistics. Series 21, #46. DHHS Pub. No. (PHS) 8901924. Public Health Service. Washington, D. C. : U. S. Government Printing Office. National Center for Health Statistics. 1996. Vital Statistics of the United States,1988 vol. III: Marriage & Divorce. Washington, D. C. : Public Health Service. Phares, V. & Lum, J. J. 1997. Clinically referred children and adolescents: Fathers, family constellations, and other demographic factors. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology 26: 216-223. Popenoe, D. 1996. Life without father: Compelling new evidence that fatherhood and marriage are indispensable for the good of children and society. NY: The Free Press. Rohner, R. P. 1975. They love me, they love me not. New Haven, CT: HRAF Press. Schlegel, A. 1972. Male dominance and female autonomy. New Haven, CT: HRAF Press. Seltzer, J. A. 1991. Relationships between fathers and children who live apart: The father's role after separation. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 53: 79-101 Shapiro, J. L. 1987. The expectant father. Psychology Today (January): 36-42. Shelton, B. A. 1992. Women, Men, and Time: NY: Greenwood Press. Shelton, B. A. & John, D. 1993. Does marital status make a difference? Journal of Family Issues 14(3): 401-420. Smuts, B. 1995. The evolutionary origins of patriarchy. Human Nature 6: 1-32. Sullivan, R. & Allen, J. S. 1996. Cuckoldry, divorce, and evolution: A study of New Zealand Supreme Court Statistics of Divorce 1922 - 1987. Paper presented at the Human Behavior & Evolution Society 8(th) Annual conference. Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. Thurnher, M. Fenn, C. B. Melichar, J. & Chiribota, D. A. 1983. Sociodemographic perspectives on reasons for divorce. Journal of Divorce 6: 25-35. U. S. Bureau of the Census 1996. Statistical abstract of the United States: 1996 (116(th) ed. ) Washington, D. C. : U. S. Government Printing Office. Van Biema, D. (1995). Dunning deadbeats. Time 145: 49-50. Wallerstein, J. S. , & Blakeslee, S. 1989. Second chances: Men, women & children: A decade after divorce. NY: Ticknor & Fields. Wallerstein. J. S. & Kelly, J. B. 1980. Surviving the breakup: How children and parents cope with divorce. NY: Basic Books. Westfall, D. 1994. Family Law. St. Paul, Minn. : American Casebook Series. Weyrauch, W. O. , & Katz, Sanford N. 1983. American Family Law in Transition. Washington, D. C. : The Bureau of National Affairs. Weisner, T. S. & Gallimore, R. 1977. My brother's keeper: Child and sibling caretaking. Current Anthropology 18: 169-190.

subset: commoncrawl


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We may be in a golden age of superhero movies, but even with the almost endless list of characters that have become household names of late, Spider-Man still stands out as one of the most recognizable characters in pop culture.
From Tobey Maguire to Andrew Garfield and now Tom Holland, the friendly neighbourhood web-slinger has been revisited time and again, to varying results. Sam Raimi's films from the early 2000's are much beloved (well, the first two are at least). The Andrew Garfield-led Amazing Spider-Man films are not remembered as fondly, but Tom Holland's young, high-schooler Spider-Man as part of the MCU seems to be loved by all.
But there's a new kid in town: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is the first major film adaptation of Spider-Man to be animated, as well as the first that sees young Miles Morales take up the mantle (though he is teased by Donald Glover's character in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and appears in the 2018 video game). In both ways, this film brings a whole new perspective to one of the most widely known stories out there. Miles, voiced brilliantly by Shameik Moore, is a struggling high schooler, sent to a prep school against his will and struggling to fit in with a side of Brooklyn that he's never seen before.
Miles isn't even Spider-Man at the start of the film: there's already a Peter Parker running around in this universe (voiced with great emotional depth by Chris Pine). Miles' dad is a cop that doesn't much care for Spider-Man, but there are news stories and comic books dotted around Brooklyn that cement Spider-Man as a pop culture figure in this world.
This is one of the things that I think Spider-Verse does fantastically. Spider-Man is already the stuff of legend at the very beginning of this movie; when Miles is bitten by the spider and becomes Spider-Man, his struggle to live up to that expectation and responsibility becomes the focal point of his emotional arc. This movie is aware of how much its audience has seen of Spider-Man and then hands over the mask and web cannons to a kid that never asked for them. High school is tough on him, he's struggling to talk to girls and now a spider from an alternate dimension has made him a bona fide superhero? Not only that, but a superhero that his dad already hates? That's a pretty wild coming of age story, if you ask me.
Of course, Miles isn't the only Spider-Man in town. The aforementioned Chris Pine-voiced Peter Parker is slinging around, but thanks to a nefarious plot, dimensions are torn asunder and a number of Spider-people start turning up. It's quite the ensemble: another Peter Parker (Jake Johnson), Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), a 1930s noir detective (quite possibly the greatest role Nicholas Cage has ever taken on), an anime girl with a robot (Kimiko Glenn), and cartoon pig (John Mulaney) all show up alongside the newly spider-bitten Miles. It's quite an ensemble; while only two or three of them end up being main characters, none of them are wasted and they're all valuable pieces of the puzzle. Despite having this many versions of one superhero, the focus is never lost: Into the Spider-Verse is very clearly a Miles Morales story and the presence of so many other Spider-Men doesn't distract from that.
And what a fantastic story it is. It's a perfect coming of age tale, full of emotion and heartbreak and terrible advice from Miles' uncle. All of the characters we meet are charming and the world they inhabit is vibrant and beautiful. This movie is gorgeously animated and truly feels like a comic book movie come to life: even the aesthetic of comic panels and text boxes is utilized, both for the sake of action and comedy. Spider-Verse allows itself to be as stylish as possible.
The highly stylized aesthetic doesn't detract from the films emotional core, however: in fact it serves it, highlighting poignant moments in ways live action could never capture. It's funny, fast-paced and often goofy, but that doesn't take anything away from the moments of genuine heartbreak. Miles is caught in the middle of his transformation into Spider-Man and it's not an easy ride: more than any other Spider-Man before him, he really has to struggle with his powers, learning as much about himself as he does about his new abilities along the way.
I have always liked Spider-Man, but I've never really understood why he's easily the most beloved superhero. That is, I didn't until I watched Into the Spider-Verse. Miles Morales is a young kid who doesn't know quite how he fits into the world and this movie chronicles his journey to understanding himself and who he ought to be. I know there are more superhero movies than you can shake a Funko Pop at these days, but I promise you, you shouldn't ignore this one.


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Bathroom Wall Decor Set of 4 • Cottage Blue Bath
Regular price $30.00
Discounted Set: 50% off Prints, 20% off Prints, 20% off Canvas Wraps, 20% off Plaques & Wood
This listing features a curated set of four soft aqua prints perfect for the bathroom. Display these four prints as a wall gallery, on separate walls, stacked - any way you choose! Their soft pastel blue colors tie your cottage bathroom decor together perfectly.
• PRINTS: Created on premium, archival luster-finish paper (not glossy). Standard, easy-to-frame sizes. Framing required.
• MATTED PRINTS: Arrive ready to frame, pre-mounted with an archival, 4-ply white mat with backing. Ready to pop into a frame. Great gift presentation! Framing required: Matted 5x7 fits 8x10 frame | Matted 8x10 fits 11x14 frame | Matted 11x14 fits 16x20 frame | Matted 16x20 fits 20x24 frame.
• READY TO HANG CANVAS: Archival canvas print is professionally wrapped around 3/4" or 1.5" deep wooden stretcher frame with pre-installed hanging wire. 3/4" canvas wraps have an open back, 1.5" have a solid back.
• READY TO HANG PLAQUES: Archival luster-finish print is heat mounted to 3/8" deep wood substrate with white beveled edge (black available by request) and keyhole hanger. Finished with a matte, non-glare protective coating.
• WOOD SIGNS: Image is printed directly onto premium laminated baltic birch plywood with a textured, rustic finish. 1/4" exposed beveled edge and keyhole hanger. No two the same, due to the unique characteristics of the wood. Solid, not planked.
Canvas, plaques & wood signs ship to US addresses only, please.
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Gjithnjë e më shumë zëra që pretendojnë të përfaqësojnë "historinë" shumëvjeçare të vendit tonë, ngjallin një jehonë interesante në atë qëështë ndjerë e dëgjuar gjithnjë, se Geto-Dakët ishin njerëz poligamistë, hanin mish dhe më e keqja nga të gjitha ishin konsumues të mëdhenj të alkoolit. More
Geto-dakët "Fisi më i drejtë dhe i guximshëm Trak"
November 13, 2011
Shqip alkoolit, anglisht mead, Balltikut, Baltikët, Bebrikianët, Bebrykianët, besët, Bithini, Bithyni, brenda, Briges, Bryges, burebista, comati, Dakët, danisht, danubit, Dákai, Dekeni, Deti i Zi, Detin, drejtë, e cila pi qumësht, Ezti në baske, Fisi, Fisi më i guximshëm dhe i drejtë trak, Frigianëve, Frigianëve dhe Trojanëve, Frygjianët, Frygjianëve, getae, Getët, Geto-Dak, Geto-Dakët, Geto-dakët "Fisi më i drejtë dhe i guximshëm Trak", geto-dakiane, Gjeografinë, Gjeografinë" e Strabonit, Gjermanët, gjermanik, Gjithnjë, gjysëm, gjysmë, grekët, Grekët mendonin që Getët, guximshëm, Historianët, historinë, Homeri, Homerit, hydromel në portugalisht, Hydromeli në gjuhën klasike latine, Idromele në italisht, kabanis, Kapitullit, karpiani, Keltët, kelte, Komatit, kostoboci, Krishtit, librin, Lidianëve, livadh, Lydianëve, maedet, marihuana, Med në ukrainisht, medet, Medovina në çeko-sllovakisht, Menjëherë Dekeni, Met në gjermanisht, miód në rusisht, Midus në letonisht, Migdonët, Moesianë, Moesianë; origjina e Mysianëve është nga Mosianët, Mosianët, Mygdonët, Mysianët, Mysianëve, në frëngjisht, në spanjisht Hidromiel, një fis Trak, norvegjisht, oceanospotamos, Ordianët, pa jetës w dhe njerëzit më të saktë, pa jete, Perëndive, Pijes, Pijes së Perëndive, Pijes së zotave, Pitagorës, polonisht, Poseidoni, Protesilaos, Protesilaos "gjysëm, qumështorët e shenjtë e pelës, Rumuneve, serbo-kroatishtdhe sllovenisht-ur, Shqipërinë, si Migdonët, Sima në finlandisht, strabonit, suedisht, tarabostes, Themelues, Thini, thraceve, thrakie në Shqipërinë, thyni, trak, trakas, Trakë, Trakianët, trakiane, Tral, tribalet, Trojanëve, ura, veriut, www.kogaionon.info Thrakët Leave a comment
Geto-Dacians "The most Brave and Fair Thracian tribe"
March 28, 2009
English adevar, alcool, ancient, antiquity, balkan, balkans, baltici, bautura, bebrycii, Bithyni, Bithynia, bithynii, Briges, brigi, Bryges, burebista, capillat, capillati, capillatus, carne, carpi, carpiani, celti, comatus, daci, decebal, decebalus, divinitate, divinitati, English, ezti-ur, frigia, frigieni, gebeleizis, geografia, germanici, getae, geti, getians, geto-daci, hidromiel, Homer, hydromel, hydromeli, idromele, info, Istorie, kogaion, kogaionon, lydia, lydieni, maedobithynii, mariandynii, mead, med, medavina, midus, mied, miere, miod, Mitologie, mjod, moesi, moesia mysia, moessi, Mygdones, Mygdonia, mygdonii, mysi, mysia, Mysians, myssi.mysieni, myssieni, oceanospotamos, Odrysian, odryzi, odryzians, odryzy, pagan, paganism, Phruges, Phryges, phrygia, Phrygians, poligami, poligamie, Poseidonios, religie, sacerdotal, scandinavi, sima, strabo, strabon, tarabostes, thrace, thracian, thracians, thyni, Thynia, thynii, traci, tracians, tracologie.info, trakia, troia, troieni, zalmoxis, zamolxis, zei, zeilor Leave a comment
More and more voices claiming to represent "history" of our multi-millennial nation, evokes an echo in what is increasingly felt and heard, that the Geto-Dacians were polygamist people, eating meat and the worst of all, were high consumers of alcohol.
To demonstrate once for all that the Geto-Dacian, Germanic, Celtic and Baltic people, like other Thracian tribes, were not consumers of alcohol, just because they diddnt knew any alcoholic beverage outside of "The Drink of Gods" "called mead (Hydromel in French, in Spanish Hidromiel, Idromele in Italian, hydromel in Portuguese, English Mead, miód in Russian, Polish, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Med in Ukrainian, German Met, Medovina in ceho-Slovak, Serbo-Croatian and Slovenia-ur Ezti in Basque, Sima in Finnish, Hydromeli in classical Latin, Midus in Latvian) we will quote an important historical source of the I century AD.
The most important evidence we find in "Geography" of Strabon, specifically in the Book VII of Chapter III:
"[…] Greeks considered that Getae were a Thracian tribe. They lived on both banks of Danube, I mean both Getae and Mysians as well. Mysians were Thracians too but in present time, their name is Moesians; the origins of Mysians are from Moesians, which live among Lydians, Phrygians and Trojans.
Phrygians themselves are Bryges (Briges), a Thracian tribe, like Mygdones, Bebrycians, Bithyni, Thyni and maybe Mariandynii too.
All of them left quick Europe, but Mysians remained on place together with the other Thracians.
My opinion is that Poseidonios correctly assumed that Homer designates with this name, Mysians, in Europe (I mean those from Thrace) when he says:
His eyes light ii returned back to see
The Country of Thracians populated by those who curb sirepii,
And Mysians who fight each other from close distance. […]
Poseidonios says that Mysians are out of meat products from a particular religious faith, just because they don't grow animals. They feed with honey, milk and cheese, living alone, as they are called pious men from gods and capnobates.
There are Thracians which live without girls, they are called Founders. They are considered saints, because of their honor and live without fear. Poet Homer called them "holy milkers of mare, which drink milk, without life w and the most correct people". They are nicknamed "without life" especially because they live without girls, Homer himself say about widowhood that is only a half life as he called the house of Protesilaos "half" just because he was a widow man.
Mysians are called "fighters from closer distance" because they are undefeated and excellent warriors. In the book of the XIII chapter (the Iliad) it must be writen "Moesians, fighters from closer distance" instead of Mysians (claim Poseidonios) .
But certainly, it is foolhardy to change the text of Homer, considered good across so many years. Indeed, it's much more believable that they were appointed from the beginning Mysians and now they changed the name in Moesians. The epithet "without life" could be rather in the sense of "widow" than the "unfeeder" or "with houses on carts. […]
And the practice of Pythagoras which say to abstain from meat, remained for them as a dictation from Zamolxis. […]
About the information that tell us that:
"Shortly Deceneu himself was considered as a God, as I said when I talked about Zamolxis. And in a sign of obedience, Getae people were convinced to cut vine and to live without wine […]" we cant specify the exact location for these "Getae" as we dont know if the text make reference to Tarabostes or Comati.
Probably a part of Geto-Dacian nobility go negative way, but just because of dirty Greek and Roman influence, or perhaps just because the Geto-Dacians who remained in the fortresses on the Black Sea to administer the territories conquered by the emperor Burebista began this shameful practice, a humiliating practice for the northern tribes of Thracians.
I'd like to mention that the Odrysians and other southern Thracian tribes, drink wine and take various hallucinogens substances such as magic mushrooms, hemp (weed, cannabis), or even oriental opioids.
All these facts came later, due to influence of Greek and later the Roman influence, and various mythraic influences from Orient.
Therefore, the Geto-Dacians and Moesians, Carpiani and Costobocii, and all the "barbarian" tribes from the north of Danube, diddnt consume alcohol, but only mead as all "barbarians" from North. These Tendencious statements released against our ancestors are just some attacks which have a single intention: degeneration of our great and divine ancestors, the Geto-Dacians, "The most brave and fair Thracian tribe" !
Our polygam enemies, large consumers of alcohol and drugs, seem to be envious on our ancestors and their sacred lives, as well about their divine origin.
Article written by Kogaion


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After four albums on her own and one with her frequent touring/recording partner Rod Picott, it seems safe to assume that Amanda Shires would have a fairly secure handle on the process. But when the time came to begin writing material for a new album, Shires was well into her first pregnancy and housebound while husband Jason Isbell was on the road. Rather than reflecting marital security and maternal contentment, the songs that flowed from Shires' creative consciousness focused on doubt, anxiety and conflicting emotions.
After the birth of her daughter, Shires and her stacked deck of Nashville talent (Isbell, producer Dave Cobb, bassist Paul Slivka, drummer Paul Griffith) transformed the brilliantly moody and insightful songs into the slim yet powerful "My Piece of Land."
Fueled by strong emotions and a bittersweet melancholy, and informed by her poetry post-graduate work, Shires created a resonant set that perfectly frames her uncertainty while still shining a light into its dark corners. The Marty Robbins-tinged Tex-Mex folk of album opener "The Way It Dimmed" makes its point about problematic love in a brisk two-plus minutes, which is followed by "Slippin'" and the resignation of its chorus, "Tonight could be the night you go slippin' away from me." Shires' Dolly Parton-meets-Emmylou Harris warble is fully displayed on the laconic heartstring pull of "Harmless," while her more subtly aggressive feelings come to the fore on the galloping "When You're Gone."
But the album packs its best punches at the end of the bout, with the gospel hymn of "I Know What It's Like" ("I know what it's like to want to give up on life...") and the gutsy closer, the darkly optimistic "You Are My Home," that swaddles its ultimately uplifting realization in a gloomy arrangement that finds Shires' violin keening as though she's battling Charlie Daniels' devil for her soul. Although the album is short at just under 35 minutes, "My Piece of Land" never feels half-done; the album is appropriately stripped and unburdened by artifice or veneer with Shires' emotions and vocal translation of them in the soft spotlight.


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DeepFlex port project secures funding
The Houston company building a pipe-making plant at the Port of Pensacola will offer contractors with liens against the project payment assurances via third-party bonds.
Some $200,000 in liens remain outstanding against the DeepFlex project, which is currently stalled at the port, but high-ranking company officials in town Tuesday guaranteed contractors and city officials that construction of the facility will move forward.
According to information from the meeting provided to the News Journal, DeepFlex intends to complete the plant at the port and begin making its flexible, underwater pipe within 14 months.
"There's light at the end of the tunnel," said John Myslak, an independent contractor representing Deepflex, which is based in Houston. "It appears the plan is viable and solid."
The liens filed against DeepFlex, six in total, were for services ranging from design and engineering to concrete pouring. The liens remain outstanding, but according to people close to the company, DeepFlex will offer contractors a form of payment insurance common in the construction industry.
"They are doing their due diligence and will offer them a vendor bond," wrote Buddy McCormick of Offshore Inland, the port's other major tenant and a partner with Deepflex.
DeepFlex recently secured emergency funding through its Brazilian parent company, and now has five investors for the port project, according to Myslak. Moreover, the state has appropriated a $679,000 grant toward the project, thought DeepFlex will have to put up matching funds to use that grant money.
Last week, Myslak said, DeepFlex got a vote of support from the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America, an oil and gas industry consortium with backing from the Department of Energy.
Construction of the port facility, the largest private commercial development ever at the Port of Pensacola, stopped in March following a sharp decline in global oil prices. DeepFlex produces underwater pipe for the oil and gas industry.
Calls to DeepFlex's offices in Texas had gone unanswered in recent weeks, but with their new funding the company is seemingly resuming operations.
"They literally just gained reentry into their offices in Houston on Monday," Myslak said.
When Mayor Ashton Hayward announced in July that DeepFlex would partner with the port's other major tenant, Offshore Inland, he said he expected the deal would create approximately 200 high-paying jobs.
The project was awarded nearly $7 million in incentives, but people with connections to the new facility have stressed that the incentives are performance-based and won't be paid until those jobs are created.


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Troop 1011 Introduces
Stars and Stripes Across
East Montgomery County
Our Troops goal is to provide leadership experience and confidence through our outdoor program and service to the Community. Participating in a patriotic flag program instills values of citizenship and personal pride in knowing that the Scout is supporting their own outdoor adventures while providing a valuable Community service.
We are initiating our Troops Stars and Stripes program this year and are off to a great start.
To ensure that we provide a quality product we have elected to cover the following holidays in 2018 for $40:
Memorial Day
Fourth of July
September 11th
Veteran's Day
For more information please email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Scouts and ScoutMasters of Troop 1011


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Monthly Archives: April 2018
A Changing World – Technology Advances
Privileged to review Set My People Free before publication, it suggests specific comprehensive solutions to the economic and political problems encountered in the American political tradition. Expanding on the foundational premise which is required of all successful enduring political and economic relationships from the individual to the corporate to between nations, immutable Law demands that love be bound by justice and vice versa. Unfortunately, individual morality authorizing governments and intended by the Framers and Founders to direct and hold legislative bodies accountable has not kept pace with technology.
Turnabout Is Fair Play or What Goes Around Comes Around
Turnabout Is Fair Play or What Goes Around Comes Around
One must remember that the main reason Russia left Afghanistan after suffering horrible military losses is that the U.S. supplied those attacking them with arms and other logistic support.
Now with one of the largest natural resource supplies of rare earth elements in the world, Afghanistan has a strategic importance far exceeding any isolated political or opium supply agenda.
Also, do not forget that Russia, like China, responds to past humiliations in ways that "save face". Viewing the fact that America's foreign policies have had significant undesirable effects on both nations from the break up of the Soviet Union as a result of the economic impact of Vietnam to China's losses in Vietnam and Korea, it is not surprising that neither nation trusts us.
Additionally, our foreign policy errors such as imposing majority rule (Shi'ite) in Iraq unintentionally helped al-Qaeda and ISIS. Russia's Syrian involvement is partially a response to our policies. Both China and Russia view Sunni jihad as a serious security threat.
With all that is going on, be it in the Ukraine, Georgia, or the South China Sea, it is more reasonable to assume that turnabout is fair play is to be expected from those we are at war with, at least economically speaking.
Regardless, whether it is in individual personal relations or playing out on the world's political stage, integrity and trust are necessary for success. For all governments, from the corrupt Putin dynasty to the merciless Chinese totalitarianism of the Communist Party, injustice sustained by force cannot endure.
"We've had weapons brought to this headquarters and given to us by Afghan leaders and [they] said, this was given by the Russians to the Taliban."
Russia arming Taliban For months, U.S. military commanders have sounded alarms that Russia is supporting the Afghan Taliban, and now the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Gen. John Nicholson, has gone a step further, accusing Moscow of directly arming the Taliban.
"We've had weapons brought to this headquarters and given to us by Afghan leaders and [they] said, this was given by the Russians to the Taliban," Nicholson said in an interview with the BBC.
Meanwhile, American military commanders are drumming up support for the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, promising that new troops and equipment and a closer relationship with Afghan forces will reverse Taliban gains.
"This is not another year of the same thing we've been doing for 17 years," Gen. Joseph Dunford , chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Washington Post. "This is a fundamentally different approach."
That note of optimism comes as the Taliban have made significant territorial gains, with the group now openly active in 70 percent of Afghanistan's territory. Afghan military forces, meanwhile, are taking casualties at a record level. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani continues to drum up support for a peace initiative that would bring the Taliban to the negotiating table, but so far a a breakthrough appears far off.
China's global kidnapping campaign Extralegal renditions and coercive repatriations are an increasingly common tool of the Chinese government, Foreign Policy contributor Zach Dorfman reports.
Chinese officials have beaten and drugged Chinese economic or political fugitives living abroad and forced them onto planes or shipping vessels headed back to China. In other cases, they have threatened family members to get their targets to return home. It may even be happening within U.S. borders.
Idlib in the crosshairs With Syrian government forces and their Russian allies pursuing a scorched earth strategy to reclaim rebel-held territory, Idlib province may be their next target, the New York Times reports. The population of the province, which borders Turkey, has doubled in recent years, and Idlib now represents the largest patch of rebel-controlled territory.
Getting tough on Russia? Some advisers to President Donald Trump are pushing him to adopt a tougher line on Russia on the heels of the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain and an ensuing diplomatic crisis, according to the New York Times. Trump so far hasn't signed on to a policy of levying additional sanctions on Moscow.