Shocking rebound of child labor

Henry James’s short novel “What Maisie Knew” was suggested by a friend’s casual mention of “some luckless child of a divorced couple” caught in a custody fight. In the 1890s this kind of situation was perhaps more remarkable than it is now, but James’s interest was, as always, less in the sensational aspects of the story than in the window it offered into the relational dynamics of human psychology. In our own time, divorce and its consequences seem more banal than scandalous, but James’s tale of a young girl, “rebounding from racket to racket like a tennis ball or a shuttlecock” as her parents pursue their own narcissistic ends, still has the power to trouble and to shock. In their brilliant, haunting adaptation of “What Maisie Knew,” set in 21st-century Manhattan, the directors, Scott McGehee and David Siegel, and the screenwriters, Nancy Doyne and Carroll Cartwright, take liberties with the Master’s plot while remaining true to the “design” that he somewhat boastfully explained in … [Read more...] about Adult Head Games, Focused on a Child

Wayward royals Harry and Meghan have “partnered” with an organisation that, reports note, promotes childhood transgenderism. Harry and Meghan’s Archewell charity has teamed up with the Global Boyhood Initiative, an NGO that has publicly backed teaching transgender ideology to children. The partnership is prominently displayed on the NGO’s own website. The Global Boyhood Initiative, which aims to crush “toxic manhood” and stop parents from pushing “gender roles” on their children, is primarily backed by Equimundo, an NGO aimed at achieving gender equality worldwide. Equimundo in turn receives funding from both the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as well as George Soros’ Open Society Foundation, as well as a variety of other corporations, NGOs and government organisations. As a report by the UK’s Telegraph notes, the organisation has pushed ideas wrapped up in transgender ideology, attacking parents for “ gendering ” before their birth, instead backing the idea … [Read more...] about Meghan and Harry Throw Weight Behind Child Transgenderism NGO

HOUSTON — During his presidential campaign, Donald J. Trump repeatedly hailed the Keystone XL pipeline as a vital jobs program and one that sharply contrasted his vision for the economy with that of Hillary Clinton. “Today we begin to make things right,” President Trump said Friday morning shortly after the State Department granted the pipeline giant TransCanada a permit for Keystone construction, a reversal of Obama administration policy. The pipeline would link oil producers in Canada and North Dakota with refiners and export terminals on the Gulf Coast. It has long been an object of contention, with environmentalists saying it would contribute to climate change and the project’s proponents — Republicans, some labor unions and the oil industry — contending that it would help guarantee national energy security for decades to come. When President Barack Obama rejected the project in late 2015, he said it would undermine American leadership in curbing reliance on carbon fuels. … [Read more...] about U.S., in Reversal, Issues Permit for Keystone Oil Pipeline

(CNN) The family of Bruce Willis has announced that the actor has been diagnosed with a form of dementia called frontotemporal dementia, or FTD for short. In a statement shared Thursday, the 67-year-old star's family stated that while the news "is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis." "Today there are no treatments for the disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead. As Bruce's condition advances, we hope that any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research," the statement said. Willis' family — including wife Emma Heming Willis, ex-wife Demi Moore and his daughters — first disclosed his diagnosis of aphasia back in 2022. They said at the time that Willis was suffering from a medical condition that was affecting his cognitive abilities and would be taking a break from acting. JUST WATCHED VIDEO: These … [Read more...] about Bruce Willis’ family shares an update on his health and new diagnosis

One of the most historically unusual aspects of the Biden administration has been the harmonious relations between the president and progressive activists. Historically , progressives generally spend most of their time complaining about Democratic presidents, both because they are temperamentally prone to negativity and because they believe in the tactical value of holding presidents’ feet to the fire. President Biden has enjoyed unusually warm support from the left. But that may be coming to an end. Reporters have detected a pattern in three of the administration’s recent moves. Biden is declining to block a bill in Congress overriding a liberalization of the D.C. criminal code, angering both advocates of D.C. sovereignty and anti-police activists. He approved a plan to allow ConocoPhillips to drill oil in Alaska. And he is signaling an intent to reinstate family detention along the southern border in order to deter migrants. Another perhaps even more significant sign comes … [Read more...] about Why Joe Biden’s Honeymoon With Progressives Is Coming to an End

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 11 DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Teri Patrick bristles at the idea she wants to ban books about LGBTQ issues in Iowa schools, arguing her only goal is ridding schools of sexually explicit material. Sara Hayden Parris says that whatever you want to call it, it's wrong for some parents to think a book shouldn't be readily available to any child if it isn’t right for their own child. The viewpoints of the two mothers from suburban Des Moines underscore a divide over LGBTQ content in books as Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds pushes an especially sweeping crackdown on content in Iowa school libraries. The bill she's backing could result in the removal of books from school libraries in all of the state's 327 districts if they're successfully challenged in any one of them. School boards and legislatures nationwide also are facing questions about books … [Read more...] about School library book bans are seen as targeting LGBTQ content