Children are no less susceptible to becoming star struck than the rest of us. While adults tend to appreciate a smaller pool of celebrities, children have whole worlds of animated characters to watch out for in the real world. One adorable example of this excitement took place at a Costco in Hawaii where two girls thought the cashier was Maui from Disney’s “Moana.”   Rella Rivera told People that her daughters, five-year-old Rylyn and eight-year-old Ryley, couldn’t contain their excitement when they spotted the cashier who resembled Maui. “That’s Maui,” they screamed while jumping up and down. Being a kind soul who can appreciate a solid Disney movie, the cashier (who…

Then Laurel got a job in Idaho. She called me to tell me the news. She would be leaving in two months. I didn’t take it well. I hung up. Frantically, she called me over and over, texting me, begging me to answer, to talk it out, to listen to some ideas she had, some kind of compromise. She told me she wouldn’t even take the job if it meant losing me. That it wasn’t worth it, that she’d find something else. Just please text back. I love you, Henry. Please talk to me. You’re breaking my heart. After an hour of ignored calls, I responded with this: STOP TEXTING…

The Ministry of Finance, Buenos Aires. Wikimedia Commons. A few months back, in an article published in democraciaAbierta, we gave an account of the current Argentine crisis, highlighting the excessive vulnerability the economy was being exposed to as a result of the impact of the financial opening carried out by President Macri. Three aspects in particular threatened the country's future prospects: a strong exchange deregulation policy that failed to stop the flight of capital, a boom in foreign debt (at record level among emerging countries) and the promotion of speculative capital inflows to carry trade (buying a title issued by the Central Bank called LEBAC). When international conditions worsened and…

One of the biggest takeaways from the June 5 primaries may be the performance of California Democrats looking to flip vulnerable Republican house seats in the Orange County area. These races are critical for Democrats’ path to taking back the House.  The state’s “jungle” primaries pit candidates against each other regardless of party affiliation, with the top two vote-getters facing each other in November. Democratic strategists felt that the large number of Democrats running in the primaries would spread votes too thin, benefitting Republican candidates. It was also a great night for women running for governor. Republican voters in Alabama and South Dakota nominated female governors, as did Democrats in New Mexico. All three candidates have a…

British PM Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker after their meeting on Brexit at EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Ye Pingfan/ Press Association. All rights reserved. All eyes in British politics are on the negotiations between the UK and the EU over the terms of the forthcoming British withdrawal from the Union, or Brexit. Surprisingly, questions of bargaining strategy – once the preserve of diplomats and niche academic journals – have become some of the most defining issues in contemporary British politics. The new politics of bargaining Cabinet disagreements over the conduct of the negotiations led to the resignation of David Davis and Boris Johnson in early July…

There’s still plenty of evidence to suggest women continue to come second. So much evidence, in fact, it’s hard to know where to begin. So, why not begin where all things begin? Sex. Did you know 75% of women do not reach orgasm in sexual intercourse, and only 38% of women have admitted to masturbating in the past twelve months? Worse yet, 30% claim to have pain during sex and generally they suffer from pain for almost a decade before admitting it to a doctor or partner. I came across the unfortunate statistics thanks to a socially-conscious sleepwear brand called Lunya, founded by Ashley Merrill. Her commitment to female empowerment…

Standing in a quiet corner by the buffet table, Anne Wilson ate a handful of delicious frosted grapes, one by one, and tried to remember the obscure minor poet who had once said that many a dangerous temptation came in fine, gay colors. She had never seen such a lovely room. But the crowd of people milling about it laughed and chattered heedlessly, ignoring the incredible view of the city beyond the wide windows, abandoning their glasses to leave damp circles on the priceless antique furniture, crushing the white carpet, demolishing the lavish buffet like a horde of greedy locusts. They were obviously accustomed to temptations, Anne thought ruefully, and…

Antoine Deltour and his lawyers Philippe Penning and William Bourdon at the Criminal Court of Luxembourg, May, 2016. Wikicommons/Ato Grosso. Some rights reserved.In an era where there is an ever-growing thirst for transparency and accountability, whistleblowers who expose threats or harm to the public interest are increasingly important. Nonetheless, they continue to face retaliation including prosecution, loss of jobs, intimidation, physical assaults and forced exile around the world. Moves to ring-fence secret spheres in Europe pose an additional threat to the protection of whistleblowers. Indeed, the European trade secrets directive, laws protecting national security, and national case-laws on confidentiality of investigations imperil freedom of expression and the capacity of individuals…

Doing good was a little hard for Sarah Magnoss. She had been raised with three brothers, and competition had been drummed into her — fastest, strongest, smartest, first. She’d even had to eat fast because the boys ate faster, and if she blinked the food was gone. But she was middle-aged now, determined to decide what she herself wanted instead of grabbing for something because someone else wanted it. She had seen an item on TV about the Altruism Project. Was it possible to change the human tendency to err? Could people learn to do better? The news item was half tongue-in-cheek, but Sarah suspected that was because the reporter…

Clubs across Major League Baseball celebrated Jackie Robinson Day on April 15 with all of the players and on-field personnel in the league wearing the late baseball Hall of Famer and activist Jackie Robinson’s iconic number, 42. Throughout the league, practice attire and various uniform elements featured a 42 logo, and on-field pregame ceremonies took place — some of which included Jackie Robinson Day Foundation Scholars — as well as activities in some of the clubs’ respective communities. Robinson’s wife, Rachel Robinson, and their daughter and son, Sharon and David, attended Jackie Robinson Day ceremonies at Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets, sharing Jackie’s story of breaking the color barrier in baseball…