Latest news with #JamesMurphy
The National
35 minutes ago
- Politics
- The National
SNP must not act as bystanders in run-up to next year's election
James Murphy's piece on Saturday was scathingly critical: 'The reality is that Swinney's plan isn't designed to win independence. It's designed to preserve control of the issue inside the SNP. It's self-interest wearing a saltire.' READ MORE: Every plan to achieve indy must be subject to the test of practicality On the same day, I believe Selma Rahman spoke for many thousands of SNP voters when she said: 'I'm beginning to consider myself voting fodder for the SNP, the way Labour took so many of us for granted in the past.' She'd still vote SNP in 2026, 'but the grassroots/Yes movement and civic society need to come together, speaking out with the (very broad) independence movement.' John Swinney, widely admired for personal qualities, has become rather like a coach addressing his sweating team as they collapse on the benches at half-time of a home game down 0-6: 'There's still time. We've missed chances and conceded gift goals but our tactics are sound. Don't despair! There's still time, plenty of time...' READ MORE: Supreme Court's sex ruling 'rolls back progress for all women', SNP members say And there is still time; nine months until the Holyrood election, and nine months, as we all know, is a long time if you're expecting a delivery (though it's nearly always wonderfully worth the wait). But all John is promising to deliver, as we earnestly hope for a rebirth of our nation, is a prolonged extension of expectancy. So the SNP need to stand up and sharpen up, remember their genetic responsibility and join up with other parties and agencies together to declare in their manifestos a common resolve, given the authority of a majority of the sovereign people, to leave the 1707 Travesty of Union and at last take our rightful place at the table of the world's free and independent democracies. Let's see Holyrood 2026 as more than exciting; its potential is epic. John Melrose Peebles IT is certainly correct to say that a vote for independence in a plebiscite election will not sway Starmer. It is probably true to say that dangling him by the ankles from the Forth bridge will not make him accede to a second referendum (not that I'm suggesting we try that – it would probably pollute the water if he fell). Nothing in our lifetime will make Westminster pay anything other than lip service to the democratic right of the Scots to secede from this pseudo union, so it is time to stop wasting our efforts in trying. READ MORE: Holyrood 2026 is the first step in regaining our political mojo A plebiscite election, whilst it will definitely not persuade Starmer or any other 'elected' dictator to accept our rights, will convince the rest of the world that we are being held prisoner in this farcical facsimile of a democracy. We should have withdrawn our MPs from the palace of hypocrisy when we swept the board. No, it wasn't a democratic majority but under Westminster rules it was a victory. Remember a majority of votes in this 'democracy' never happens but the chancers soldier on regardless. We should have told the world that we were open for business then, and not waited for the electorate to be disheartened by failure. I once knew a retired civil engineer who said: 'I have built bridges, roads and dams in every former British colony and they all had one thing in common with Scotland. The Raj only left either when the fighting became too hot or there was eff all left to steal!' You will never get the thief to leave your house by asking nicely. This one is going to stay until there is eff all left to steal and, given their shortage of water and greed for electricity, that could take a very long time. They won't go until we throw them out, especially given the number of 'patriots' who would rather be serfs for a price than freemen for a fortune, so, whatever we do, begging for a referendum without making it obvious that denial is going to hurt, is not going to work! Les Hunter Lanark THERE are many in Scotland who, despite the prevailing fragmentation of the efforts of popular and party political movements to emancipate us from the current multi-faceted dystopia, retain the grace to be willing, if not able yet, to fully forgive Nicola Sturgeon entirely for wasted years and squandered momentum towards a more hopeful legacy for our children. There is no doubt that her attempts at a qualified apology for errors of strategic judgement, particularly in the distracting domain of gender recognition and the debilitating 'pacts' it necessitated, have made a good start in rehabilitating her posterity. READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon is still as strong a voice as ever for those in need I suspect and hope it represents the understandable human tendency to 'own up' in instalments to more extensive and wide-ranging incompetence. In the case of Nicola et al, the acquiescing to long-term devolution and substandard governance latterly are more difficult to hold hands up to, in addition to matters of judicial/political boundaries being compromised. It is counterproductive in the long run to rehash the derelictions of fallible human beings. The epithet of 'humanum est errare' and to forgive divine is apposite and also an urgent matter in Scottish politics if the current parlous state of the NHS, public health, education and mental health and the devastating inequalities that stalk the land are to be meaningfully transformed in the coming decade in an independent Scotland. While I am suspicious of political auto justifications as per Robin McAlpine's article of August 16, I nonetheless provisionally salute Nicola's gesture and wish the remnant SNP party a full return to health and vigour after their period of malaise and lack of clear vision. Andrew Docherty Selkirk
Toronto Star
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
‘Kim's Convenience,' Amaarae, LCD Soundsystem and more: What the Star's culture team is loving this week
Concert: LCD Soundsystem As detailed in Lizzy Goodman's fantastic oral history, 'Meet Me in the Bathroom,' James Murphy burst onto the scene as an essential player in New York's rock 'n' roll rebirth of the early 2000s, merging Euro-style electronica and Talking Heads art funk with his own signature blasé vocals on songs about the party and the morning after. On Friday, Murphy brings his body-moving disco-rock band — who, by the way, positively smoke live — to History (1663 Queen St. E.) for the first of a three-night stand. —Doug Brod
San Francisco Chronicle
7 days ago
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Stanford preserves legacy admissions by pulling out of Cal Grant aid program
With three weeks to go before California's ban on legacy admissions takes effect at private universities that receive state funding, Stanford has made a stunning decision: To preserve that perk, it's pulling out of the Cal Grant program that benefits hundreds of low-income students at the pricey campus. By declining Cal Grants, Stanford can continue giving admissions preference to hundreds of students who are related to alumni or whose relatives have given money to the university. The statewide ban on such legacy and donor-driven admissions takes effect Sept. 1 under Assembly Bill 1780, which was signed into law last year. Stanford officials say they will cover the canceled aid with university money, and that it will cost just $4 million a year. 'The university will continue to study the consideration of legacy status in admissions and opt out of state financial aid funding in order to comply with recent California legislation,' university officials said in a statement posted on their website over the summer. The statement noted that such admits need to be academically qualified to be considered. 'I was genuinely shocked to see Stanford make this decision. I was surprised that Stanford decided that they would rather put the thumb on the scale for the richest students than take Cal Grant money,' said James Murphy, director of postsecondary policy at Education Reform Now, a think tank that opposes legacy admissions. Stanford is one of six California private schools that last year reported giving preferential admissions to the children of alumni or wealthy donors. Stanford said it admitted 295 students this way in fall 2023, or 13.6% of all undergraduates admitted that year. The other private schools that relied on the practice were Santa Clara University, the University of Southern California, Northeastern University Oakland (formerly Mills College), Claremont McKenna College and Harvey Mudd College. None has said it was pulling out of the Cal Grant program. A wave of opposition to legacy and donor admissions emerged after the 2019 nationwide admissions bribery scandal known as Varsity Blues, in which it was revealed that wealthy parents, including celebrities, had cheated to get their children into Stanford, the University of Southern California, UCLA, UC Berkeley and other prestigious schools across the country. Opposition to legacy admissions strengthened in 2023, after the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed affirmative action in higher education. That ruling made it illegal for universities across the country to consider the race of applicants in admissions decisions. Then-Assemblymember Phil Ting, D-S.F., who last year authored California's ban on legacy admissions, called the practice 'affirmative action for the wealthiest Americans.' Another critic, Stanford alumnus Ryan Cieslikowski, who has pushed for similar bans across the country, said Tuesday that 'by clinging to legacy preferences,' the university is sending the message that 'the children of wealthy alumni and donors come first.' Stanford says that no one who would have received state aid will be able to tell the difference, and they need to take no action. 'Stanford will substitute university scholarship funding for California student financial assistance programs, including the Cal Grant program,' the university told the Chronicle in an email Tuesday. Stanford already pays $486 million a year to fully cover the $67,731 tuition plus room and board for students from families with annual income of less than $100,000. Pulling out of the state aid program will cost the university about $4 million a year to make up the difference, campus officials said Tuesday, noting that about 440 Stanford undergraduates and 60 graduate students received Cal Grants or Golden State Teacher Grants last year. This year's maximum Cal Grant for private school attendance is $9,708. Yet the decision to spend more to preserve legacy and donor admissions comes as Stanford is preparing to permanently lay off or eliminate 363 staff jobs in October to reduce its budget by an unspecified amount in the face or rising costs driven in part by federal policy changes. This includes a new 8% tax on its endowment — up from 1.4% — that is expected to cost Stanford $200 million this year.
Time Out
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
The Four Horsemen is finally getting a follow-up restaurant, a whole acclaimed decade later
Ten years after James Murphy and crew quietly revolutionized the wine bar scene with The Four Horsemen, the team is finally ready for their sophomore act—and they're not straying far. I Cavallini, a 70-seat Italian(ish) restaurant, opens Wednesday, July 16 just across the street from their Williamsburg cult classic, with chef Nick Curtola again at the helm. If The Four Horsemen is a cozy vinyl-spun whisper of a restaurant, I Cavallini is its roomier, moodier sibling with a passport full of Italian stamps and just enough swagger to pull off eel toast. (Yes, that's a thing—crispy-fried with pine nuts and golden raisins.) The name translates to 'the little horses' and the vibe lands somewhere between Florentine trattoria and downtown wine haunt with vintage glassware, reclaimed ceiling beams and an actual sculpture nicknamed Randy. While the initial vision leaned entirely Italian, Curtola and his team wisely zagged. 'A lot of that food works because you're in Italy and you're in some beautiful city in some beautiful old restaurant and there's a nonna in back doing the cooking,' Curtola told Grub Street. 'It felt weird being in Brooklyn trying to re-create that.' So instead of rigid authenticity, I Cavallini channels Italy's soul with a Brooklyn filter: mussel panzanella with lovage and pickled green tomatoes, nervetti salad tossed with chive-blossom vinegar and a bluefin tuna dish with chervil gremolata and rare risina beans imported from Umbria. On the drinks side, it's a full pour: a 100-bottle all-Italian natural wine list (assembled with a wink to late partner and wine savant Justin Chearno) and original cocktails by JoJo Colonna of Attaboy. Think: a Prosecco-meets-absinthe Milo Spritz, a tomato-gin Pomozoni and the mezcal-soaked Cavallo Giallo. Desserts are anything but an afterthought. Honey gelato and melon sorbet get served in Depression-era glassware, while the tiramisu, inspired by Florence's famed Trattoria Cammillo, gets built to order with overnight-soaked ladyfingers and espresso from cult roaster Maru. Many Four Horsemen day-ones are crossing the street to help bring this new vision to life—chef de cuisine Ben Zook, sous-chefs Jonathan Vogt and Max Baez and wine director Flo Barth among them. And with music-geek-worthy acoustics, a menu that sidesteps clichés and just enough sentimental detail, I Cavallini already feels like more than just a sequel.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Erik Karlsson-Maple Leafs Link ‘More Than Just Hearsay,' Claims NHL Insider
Erik Karlsson-Maple Leafs Link 'More Than Just Hearsay,' Claims NHL Insider originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Pittsburgh Penguins are actively exploring trade possibilities for star defenseman Erik Karlsson, and his next destination could reignite a longtime rivalry in the Atlantic Division. Advertisement According to RG's James Murphy, the Toronto Maple Leafs are interested in the former Ottawa Senators blueliner and have emerged as a potential landing spot for the 35-year-old. 'There's more than just hearsay when it comes to the Leafs and Erik Karlsson right now,' Murphy wrote, quoting an NHL source. 'There's probably going to be salary retained, but the thought that there's some kind of bad blood between Dubas and the Leafs still that would prevent something like this is crazy.' Karlsson spent nine seasons with the Senators, won two Norris Trophies in that span, and remains popular among fans in Canada's capital. Advertisement The Leafs are coming off losing a star of their own in forward Mitch Marner, who departed for the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade just before the start of free agency. While not a forward, Karlsson's offensive prowess from the blue line could provide some offensive help to the Leafs next season. Murphy touches on another report linking the Maple Leafs to other potential trade targets, such as New Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton, because of his power-play skillset. Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson (65) skates during Frid-Imagn Images The Maple Leafs have around $5.3 million in cap space, which means landing Karlsson's current $10 million cap hit—after the San Jose Sharks retained roughly 13% in his last move—would require Pittsburgh to retain additional salary. Advertisement The source told RG that if both sides can agree on financial terms, 'this is a business' and past history between Kyle Dubas and Toronto management 'doesn't matter.' Karlsson is under contract for two more seasons as part of the eight-year, $92 million contract that he signed with the Sharks in 2019. He appeared in all 82 games last season scoring 54 points, including 11 goals for the Penguins. Related: Red Wings-Penguins Talks on $92 Million Player 'Intensifying,' Per Report Related: Penguins and Erik Karlsson Reportedly Open to Trade Under Clear Conditions This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
