Slooooooooow Down!
A personal note by Chitown Kev
Even under the best of circumstances, it seems as though I am always chasing...something whether it’s trying to cross one more item off of my mental to-do list (I rarely write these things out), read the next article or book, clear my desk off of all but the necessary things, volunteer for the next thing, make the next phone call...and so on.
It does keep life interesting from the just-before-sunlight pot of Bustelo through, occasionally, falling asleep at the desk mid-sentence (my ideal for The Final Sleep).
And then it grinds to a halt because that frenetic pace simply can’t go on in perpetuity. (Can it?)
For the past two weeks, I’ve had two medical emergencies, both requiring stays in the hospital for three days. Both medical emergencies were due to complications from type 2 diabetes.
To be blunt, both emergencies were because of neglecting medical follow-ups of my original 2021 diagnosis.
My grandmother died from this disease.
A nephew that I never met passed from the type-1 version of this disease at the age of eight.
You’d think the I know better.
Black people are twice as likely to become diabetic as non-Hispanic whites.
Diabetes is treatable but I have to prioritize its treatment.
If I eat right, get regular exercise, and don’t blow off periodic medical check-ups as required then I will probably live long and prosper to a ripe old age (well, there’s that smoking thing, too...).
On my second trip to the emergency room, I was cognizant enough to take my laptop so that I would be able to work, so I wasn’t slowed down that much.
But I was slowed down just enough.
I thank everyone for the well-wishes.
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News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
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A day after the publication of a New York Times interview in which Rolling Stone magazine founder Jann Wenner said that Black and female musicians “didn’t articulate at the level” of the white musicians featured in his new book of interviews, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced that he has been removed from its board of directors.
“Jann Wenner has been removed from the Board of Directors of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation,” a terse statement from a rep reads in full; contacted by Variety, a rep for the Hall had no further comment.
Later on Saturday, he issued an apology through his publisher Little, Brown and Company, saying “In my interview with The New York Times I made comments that diminished the contributions, genius and impact of Black and women artists and I apologize wholeheartedly for those remarks.
“‘The Masters’ is a collection of interviews I’ve done over the years,” he continued, “that seemed to me to best represent an idea of rock ’n’ roll’s impact on my world; they were not meant to represent the whole of music and its diverse and important originators but to reflect the high points of my career and interviews I felt illustrated the breadth and experience in that career. They don’t reflect my appreciation and admiration for myriad totemic, world-changing artists whose music and ideas I revere and will celebrate and promote as long as I live. I totally understand the inflammatory nature of badly chosen words and deeply apologize and accept the consequences.”
Rolling Stone distanced itself from Wenner’s comments in a social media post on Monday: “Jann Wenner’s recent statements to the New York Times do not represent the values and practices of today’s Rolling Stone,” and notes that he has not been directly involved in its operations since 2019.
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Cord Jefferson’s story of a novelist (Jeffrey Wright) grappling with the publishing industry’s expectations of black writers is now practically guaranteed serious Oscar consideration. The Guardian: Literary satire American Fiction takes Toronto film festival’s top award
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American Fiction, the literary satire starring Jeffrey Wright as a novelist grappling with the publishing industry’s expectations of black writers, has won the Toronto international film festival’s influential People’s Choice award, a result that practically guarantees it serious Oscar consideration and contention for major awards.
Described by the Guardian as “hilarious and withering”, American Fiction triumphed over pre-festival favourites such as Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers and Hayao Miyazaki’s final film The Boy and the Heron, which were named the runners-up. It is written and directed by Cord Jefferson, a credited writer on TV shows including The Good Place, Watchmen and Station Eleven, and now making his feature directing debut.
The People’s Choice award, voted on by audiences at the festival, has in recent years acted as a clear signpost to future success on the awards circuit. This decade’s previous winners – The Fabelmans, Belfast and Nomadland – all secured best picture Academy Award nominations, with Nomadland going on to win the Oscar. Other People’s Choice winners that went on to win the best picture Oscar include Green Book, 12 Years a Slave and The King’s Speech.
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Saturday’s historic Women’s Championship between American rising star Coco Gauff and now new World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka was the most-viewed Women’s Final of any tennis major ever on ESPN. Gauff’s victory ranks as the second most-viewed telecast for the US Open overall, behind only Serena Williams’ final match in 2022, and the most-streamed telecast of the 2023 tournament on ESPN+.
The 2023 US Open Men’s and Women’s Championship on ESPN this past weekend averaged 2.8 million viewers, up +40% compared to 2022, making it the second most-viewed US Open of all time on ESPN, behind only 2019’s Championships.
Women’s Championship: Coco Gauff vs. Aryna Sabalenka
- Gauff’s win delivered 3.4 million viewers on ESPN, up +92% vs last year’s Women’s Championship making it the most-viewed Major Women’s Championship ever.
- The women’s championship was the most-streamed telecast of the tournament on ESPN+.
- Gauff beat Sabalenka 2:6, 6:3 and 6:2 to win her first major title.
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The full border shutdowns came four days after President Luis Abinader announced that his administration had stopped issuing visas to Haitians and had closed the border near the northern town of Dajabon. Associated Press News: Dominican Republic to close all borders with Haiti in a dispute over a canal
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The Dominican Republic’s president announced Thursday he would close all borders with neighboring Haiti starting Friday in a dispute over a canal on the Haitian side that would use water from a river along their frontier.
President Luis Abinader said air, sea and land borders would close at 6 a.m. local time Friday and would remain shuttered “until necessary,” signaling that last-minute talks between the countries had failed to head off the closure. It is a rare move for the Dominican Republic, and could hit economies in both countries, though it will be most acutely felt in Haiti.
The closure is a response to the excavation of a canal by a farming group on the Haitian side that targets waters from the Massacre River, which runs along the border shared by the two countries on the island of Hispaniola.
The International Crisis Group said work on the canal had been suspended since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, and that it resumed based on inaction by the Haitian government, “which has failed to respond to the problems created by the drought in the agricultural area of the Maribaroux plain.”
The organization has seen no evidence “that suggests there are any major politicians or powerful businesspeople behind it, as the Dominican government has claimed,” according to Latin American and Caribbean consultant Diego Da Rin.
Abinader in recent days suspended issuing visas to Haitians and closed the border near the northern town of Dajabon, paralyzing a key economic lifeline for Haitians who buy and sell goods there several times a week. Those who live in Haiti but work in the Dominican Republic also cross the border daily.
To the left the Haitian side of the border, to the right the Dominican side of the border on Hispaniola
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Since its rollout over the past decade, the India Stack has been credited with squeezing corruption, increasing tax efficiency and empowering citizens previously excluded from formal health, education or banking systems.
Thanks to its open-source digital infrastructure, the government and private companies have been able to build apps, verify the identity of citizens, and transfer payments and private data. Nearly every adult in India now has a 12-digit biometric identity, known as Aadhaar, enabling them to access services.
The UN has already recognised the role of the India Stack in helping the government deal with the Covid crisis, as well as promoting development. “DPI can accelerate global economic growth, support the transition to sustainable and green economies, and grow accessibility and public trust in institutions,” it said in a report last month. The World Bank has also targeted loans at improving digital infrastructure.
Supporters of DPI say its wide scale adoption could have a similar effect on an entire continent: Africa. Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, who co-chairs the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is among those who argue DPI is the key to unlocking growth and meeting poverty-reduction targets across many of the 54 African countries.
“Digitising things reduces overheads massively and it does it in a pro-equity way,” he tells the Financial Times in an interview, shortly after a trip to Nigeria in which he advocated rollout of DPI.
Its adoption could bring tens of millions of people into the financial system and improve state competence, he says.
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WELCOME TO THE TUESDAY PORCH
IF YOU ARE NEW TO THE BLACK KOS COMMUNITY, GRAB A SEAT, SOME CYBER EATS, RELAX, AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF.
