Latest news with #Pines
The Guardian
22-04-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Wellwater by Karen Solie – landscapes in distress captured with raw candour
It is human nature to prefer our landscapes neatly framed – walls and wooden fences create the illusion that the great outdoors can be controlled and contained. Yet Karen Solie's wildly unpredictable collection Wellwater flips the script. In this blazingly honest catalogue of human-made hazard and harm, we celebrate instead the contemporary landscapes refusing to be tamed. Solie, who teaches at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, in western Canada, where vast prairies supply much of the world's pulse crops. This fertile expanse in Wellwater, however, seems tired of endless service. The poem Red Spring witnesses how 'weeds jump up unbidden, each year a little smarter'. They are trying, almost courageously, to outwit what Solie condemns as 'zombie technology', whose genetically modified 'terminator seeds' sprout terrifying plants that are 'more dead than alive'. There is some flicker of peace in less apocalyptic pastoral scenes, as when the 'white-tailed fawns sleep inside wild chokecherry/in hollowed-out rooms' and drought-soothing rain falls like confetti from 'the mansions of the skies'. But for much of this poetry, as in Pines, the landscape writhes 'in distress'. The pages reek of fungicide and glyphosate, a weedkiller that is linked poignantly by the poet to a case of non-Hodgkin lymphoma: 'ask the crew boss who cleared the nozzle of my sprayer/by blowing through it,' Solie insists, 'they can't go back.' This shocking correlation, examined squarely, inspires a refreshing honesty as the poet acknowledges her own flaws: 'I don't know how to make this beautiful', she confesses. 'Can we go back? Meet each other in the old knowledge?' If only we could, is the tragically bitter aftertaste of these poems – a sweet life on the prairie with braids, bonnets and beauty could not be more distant if Solie tried. In Bad Landscape and the trembling aftershock of fracking and radiation, each word hangs thrillingly from a 'low hum of menace'. Any last echo of picturesque expectations splinters with the post-industrial horror – it spills out with the oil and the sea's treasure chest of toxic waste. It's not just 'bad landscapes' that burst violently into view. Solie also eats 'bad sandwiches' in bad flats. The worst of these hellish boltholes are the 'windowless and the bug-ridden', which are spectacularly reimagined in Toronto the Good as 'tiny museums of illegality'. It is here where the real gem of Wellwater sparkles into sight, reinforcing a striking foundational premise: we are all bad landlords of the planet we call home. Or rather, collectively, we are instead bad tenants, as her condemnation of 'greed and neglect' encourages us to more humbly concede. In Basement Suite the image of childhood as a room with barred windows is fascinating, as are the doors between dimensions that creak open in Antelope. Occasionally, you wish Solie would linger a moment longer, lifting the latch to fully let us in. Some ideas remain tantalisingly locked, but her flourishing imagination in The Trees in Riverdale Park stuns – our vegetal cousins somehow 'thrive like understandings'. So while some of these gems feel uncut, their intended meanings left unresolved, the raw candour of her reflections leaves us captivated nonetheless. There is surprising depth, too – profound observations in Orion explain how the 'dead can be kinder/than the living,/if you are not related to them', and in The Bluebird how 'Good and bad don't always line up opposite'. What does line up clearly, however, is the conceit and the content, framing Wellwater in the image of its intriguing namesake – dark and deep, rippling secrets and surprise. Wellwater by Karen Solie is published by Picador (£12.99). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at Delivery charges may apply
The Guardian
22-04-2025
- General
- The Guardian
‘He stood for love and peace': Australian parishioners and politicians pay tribute to Pope Francis
As Armina Pines lit a candle inside Melbourne's St Patrick's Cathedral, the jovial smile of the late Pope Francis beamed from a portrait on the wall. For Pines, Pope Francis embodied his legacy as the people's pope. The pontiff, who reshaped the Catholic church to be more inclusive, helped her feel embraced by the institution as a gay woman, Pines said. 'He's just a very special pope to us. He's the most welcoming one,' she said. 'Me and my partner, we thought the church was a difficult place to go to, but the pope made us feel welcome.' Visiting from Sydney, Pines and her partner lit candles on Tuesday morning as worshippers trickled through to pay their respects to Francis, 88, who died on Monday. Earlier, under Melbourne's drizzly skies, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, returned to the cathedral he visited briefly on Monday evening for its 7am mass. Seated in the front row, Albanese was among about 50 mourners scattered in the cathedral's pews. Monsignor Stuart Hall, the dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, told mourners the 'beloved' Pope Francis called out to a range of voices, including the dispossessed. On the cathedral's steps, Alice D'Cruz welcomed Albanese choosing to attend the service and join mourners praying for the pope. 'It shows his humbleness. He came to offer his grief,' she said. 'Although you're on a pedestal, you've got to come down to be a normal human being to pray for the head of the Catholic church.' Peter August, who attends 7am mass each weekday, said there was 'a lot of love being shown' in the global reaction to Francis' death. 'He engendered a lot of affection from a lot of people around the world. I just hope the next pope can do the same.' At St Mary's cathedral in Sydney, the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, joined a crowd at the 6:45am Easter Tuesday mass. The Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, remarked on the timing of Francis' death – a day after blessing thousands of people gathered for mass in St Peter's Square in Vatican City. 'That we got to Easter, that we had him that last extra bit, I think there is a great gratitude,' he said. Francis made only a handful of public appearances after leaving hospital and returning to the Vatican on 23 March. The driving values behind Pope Francis's leadership mirrored those of his namesake, Saint Francis of Assisi, 'a man of the poor and a man of the environment', Fisher said. 'We heard him many times talking about the need for the church to go out to the peripheries, to the people who feel alienated, people who are financially poor or emotionally poor,' he said. 'And our passion for our common home, the Earth, that we look after, this world that we've been given, that we leave it as good or better than we received for the next generations.' Fisher described a 'hushed quiet' inside the cathedral on Tuesday morning – a different atmosphere to the usual joy and excitement that follows Easter. Francis was a vocal champion of the world's poor, dispossessed and disadvantaged and a blunt critic of corporate greed and social and economic inequality. Within the Vatican, he criticised extravagance and privilege, calling on church leaders to show humility. Weeks out from the federal election, it was a morning for prayer and remembrance, with both Albanese and Dutton cancelling campaign events as a mark of respect. Albanese on Monday said he had ordered commonwealth flags to be flown at half-mast on Tuesday. On Monday the prime minister paid tribute to Francis, describing him as a 'devoted champion and a loving father'. In Sydney, parishioner Steeven described the loss of the pope as 'a very sad feeling'. 'The holy father, as I've known him, he's been one of the nicest people on Earth. He stood for love and peace.' Sinisita, another parishioner, said she was 'so grateful that we had him'. 'I love this pope. He was my pope.'
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. Bitcoin Purchase of 1 Million Coins Could Push Price to $1 Million, Says Policy Institute
The Bitcoin Policy Institute has suggested that Bitcoin could reach a price of $1 million if the U.S. government were to purchase 1 million BTC. Zach Shapiro, head of policy at the institute, said in a Bitcoin Magazine podcast, 'If the United States announces that we are buying a million Bitcoin, that's just a global seismic shock. [...] I think first, Bitcoin price goes through the roof. I think we'd probably go very quickly to something like a million dollars per Bitcoin.' The discussion took place in the context of a March 7 executive order by President Donald Trump that established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile. The order also directed the Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce to develop methods for acquiring Bitcoin in a way that does not increase the federal budget. One of the suggested approaches was the use of revenue streams not tied to taxation. Matthew Pines, executive director at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, said in the same discussion that the ability to hold more Bitcoin would reflect how serious the U.S. is about becoming what Trump has described as a 'Bitcoin superpower.' Pines said, 'If Donald Trump wants to make good on his promise to be a Bitcoin superpower, that ultimately comes down to how much Bitcoin you have. This is a measure of how much the United States is making good on that rhetorical objective.' Pines explained that there are several ways the U.S. government could accumulate Bitcoin without additional taxpayer burden. He said, 'Revenues that the government can use to acquire more Bitcoin would be things like tariff revenue or other fees that the government collects that are not tax-based fees.' He also mentioned the possible use of royalties from oil and gas leases, sales of federal land, physical gold, and other digital assets as budget-neutral funding options. On April 2, a second executive order from President Trump imposed a 10% baseline tariff on all imports into the United States. The order also included reciprocal tariffs against countries that place tariffs on U.S. goods. The administration has identified tariff revenues as one of the ways to fund further Bitcoin accumulation. On March 12, Senator Cynthia Lummis reintroduced the BITCOIN Act, formally named the Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide Act. The bill aims to push U.S. Bitcoin holdings beyond 1 million BTC. According to Pines, other countries are closely monitoring the U.S. government's approach to Bitcoin as they consider their own digital asset strategies. At the time of the statements, Bitcoin was trading at $84,352. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House committee asks University of Maryland president for information about Chinese students
A congressional committee asked the University of Maryland, College Park's president for detailed information about Chinese students in a letter to the school's president last week, prompting students and faculty to petition Darryll J. Pines not to comply with the letter. Pines said Monday in a response to the petition's signatories that the school's administration would 'do our very best to be responsive' to the 20-point request from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, which is seeking a response by April 1. But Pines added that any response would be in compliance with the school's policies and procedures, 'as well as our commitment to first amendment rights and academic freedom.' The Republican-led committee's letter to Pines seeks numerous details about Chinese students, such as how their tuition is being funded and what programs they participate in, alleging concerns over national security. The school's Graduate Labor Union, which circulated the petition, said on social media that the letter was 'an escalation of existing xenophobic policies' from the federal government during Donald Trump's presidency and a 'blatant attempt to attack higher education.' A spokesperson for the university did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday. The union and multiple student groups condemned Pines' response later Monday in a joint Instagram post. The university president's response offered 'no actionable guarantee to protect Chinese researchers on campus,' said the groups, which included the university's Asian American Student Union and Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines. They described the letter as a call from the Trump administration to 'profile and gather information on' Chinese students. The congressional committee also sent letters seeking similar information to five other universities last week, claiming that American universities are 'increasingly used as conduits for foreign adversaries to illegally gain access to critical research and advanced technology.' It cites a report released last fall by the select committee and an education committee, which jointly determined that 'hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. federal research funding over the last decade' had helped China achieve technological breakthroughs, including military applications. The committee's letter to Pines is signed by committee's chair, Republican Michigan Rep. John Moolenaar. In addition to various statistics about the school's Chinese student body, Moolenaar also requested the university to 'list all university programs that include Chinese national participants' and how they are funded, and provide a 'country-by-country breakdown of applicants, admittances, and enrollments at your university.' Days before the letters were sent, a group of House Republicans introduced a measure to bar Chinese nationals from studying at U.S. universities altogether, citing similar security concerns. Have a news tip? Contact Dan Belson at dbelson@ on X as @DanBelson_ or on Signal as @danbels.62.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Stage 1 fire restrictions begin on the Lincoln National Forest
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – The Lincoln National Forest is implementing fire restrictions for visitors. Forest officials have entered stage one fire restrictions due to dry fuel conditions and an increased risk of wildfires across the forest. Under the restrictions, fires, campfires, charcoal grills, and coal and wood stoves are only allowed in designated campsites or picnic areas where state-built rings or grills are provided. Campfires are not allowed at other camping sites. Ruidoso implementing upgraded level of fire restrictions Meanwhile, stoves, lanterns or heaters fueled by propane or other liquid petroleum fuels may be used in areas cleared of flammable materials. Smoking is only allowed in cars, buildings, or developed recreation sites. As a reminder, fireworks are always prohibited on public lands. The restrictions are implemented in these areas: Smokey Bear Ranger District Oak Grove Campground Three Rivers Campground Sam Tobias Memorial Group Campground in Cedar Creek Cedar Creek Picnic Area Skyline Campground Sacramento Ranger District Trestle Recreation Area James Canyon Campground Karr Canyon Campground Upper Karr Campground Sleepy Grass Day Use Area Sacramento Ranger District — Hosted Campgrounds Saddle, Apache, Upper Fir, Lower Fir, Deerhead, Aspen, Pines, Slide, Black Bear, Sleepy Grass Silver, and Silver Overflow Guadalupe Ranger District Sitting Bull Falls Picnic Area Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
