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Filmmakers Rebecca and Josh Tickell, along with music royalty, Julian Lennon, have worked tirelessly to produce the film, Kiss the Ground, an important documentary coming to Netflix on September 22nd. The film could not come at a better time, when our planet and the living beings that inhabit it are in need of healing on a grand scale. This film takes a close look at our earth's most powerful unsung hero, our soil. We quite literally cannot live without it. Julian Lennon, the first-born son of late Beatles legend John Lennon and his late first wife, Cynthia Powell Lennon, grew up with the weighty knowledge that his father changed the landscape of popular music forever. His mother was a singer, songwriter and artist in her own right who also went on to make her mark on both British and American popular culture. Julian's own music career has delivered beautifully composed and vocalized hits like Too Late For Goodbyes, Valotte and Saltwater, an impassioned song about humans' destruction to our planet. Julian Lennon has devoted the majority of his life to humanitarian work with his White Feather Foundation (the white feather is a nod to Lennon's late father, John), bringing life-saving natural resources to people in developing nations around and doing his part to safeguard our environment. Lennon's latest project is the film, Kiss the Ground, where he came on board as the film's Executive Producer, ensuring the project had the talent, funding and resources it needed to be seen by as many of us as possible. Filmmakers Rebecca and Josh Tickell are tireless and extraordinarily gifted documentary filmmakers who co-wrote and co-directed Kiss the Ground, and as Rebecca Tickell explains, "Due to COVID-19, never has there been a time on our planet when wellness has been such a priority for so many. When most of us think about wellness we think of our own bodies. It is easy to miss that our wellness is a function of the ecosystem we live in." "It's a healthy ecosystem, healthy soil, and healthy food that leads to healthy people," says Josh Tickell. "The inverse is also true, and we are living the proof of that now. If we want to live to our fullest potential as the caretakers of this great garden we call earth, we need better manuals, better narratives, and a better framework for co-existing with our beautiful planet." With their film, Kiss the Ground, their goal is to tell a new story, which in some ways is an ancient story of how to live in a way that creates the most health for the most people, while also regenerating the ecosystem that sustains us. When I ask the Tickells what Julian Lennon's involvement has brought to their film, they tell me Lennon is "a rare human being with magical gifts." In 2011, Lennon serendipitously attended a party that Rebecca and Josh Tickell were hosting at the Cannes Film Festival for the premiere of their film, The Big Fix, and remained in touch. "He was so moved by the idea of Kiss the Ground," Josh Tickell beams, "that he came on board as an Executive Producer and has been helping ever since." In addition to Julian Lennon's work behind the camera, Woody Harrelson, Ian Somerhalder, Patricia and David Arquette, Rosario Dawson, Jason Mraz, Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady appear in the film. Their collective passion for cultivating a healthier planet is obvious from the moment they each step onto the screen. Interview by Allison Kugel Allison Kugel:  You came on board as Executive Producer of Kiss the Ground later on in production. Did you learn about the film through your White Feather Foundation? Julian Lennon: I heard about the film through a longtime English friend, Darius Fisher, who is an incredible editor and producer, himself.  I knew of some of his previous work with Rebecca and Josh Tickell (co-directors/writers of "Kiss the Ground") and I always loved the stuff that Josh and Rebecca have done. A few years ago, Darius said they were in the early stages of this interesting project called Kiss the Ground and were looking for guidance, support, and sponsorship; whatever I could possibly bring to the table. They showed me some of the earlier [footage] and immediately I fell in love with the project and wanted to be part of it. Allison Kugel: In our modern times most of us are quite disconnected from how we get our food. When we think of food insecurity, people equate it with money or the lack thereof.  Most people think if they have plenty of money, they will always have plenty of food. Obviously, money is a key element here, but the part of the equation that people are missing is that the true source of our ability to feed ourselves, the true wealth, is in the earth and in our soil, which is currently compromised and proving to be a finite resource. Julian Lennon: Yes, absolutely. I think 80% or 90% of people don't realize the value in soil and its health. That is one of the points that comes across in this film. Without healthy soil, we’re all screwed. As they say in the film, there are more organisms in a handful of soil than there are billions of stars in the universe. Trying to get your head around that to start with is a pretty big one, but understanding that biodiversity in our soil and in our food is such an important relationship for us and all living species is key. It's about understanding and tying that to microclimates and how one thing leads to another. Without one, the other cannot survive. It is a necessity to keep the soil, and your localized soil, as healthy as it possibly can be. It is for the benefit of all. We could talk about this for hours (laugh). Allison Kugel: Up through the very early 20th century, human beings had to work much harder for their food. They had to work hard to eat. They had to plant their fruits and vegetables, milk their own cows, raise their own chickens, cultivate their own eggs. As a result, I think they were much more connected to the life cycle and what it takes to feed ourselves. Julian Lennon: Correct. And a lot of my friends and I now have greenhouses. I’m now growing all my own vegetables. I think a lot of people are really beginning to understand, especially in today's world where a lot of people are becoming sick, the relationship between health and food. In today's world you see so many people becoming sick from chemicals that are put, not only into our water, but the run-off from the methods of farming of the last 50 years. These so-called modern farming methods have gone on to destroy so much goodness in the world. A lot of people are finally recognizing the relationship between these chemicals and the way farming is done today, and their own health. The cancer rates are up tenfold, if not one hundred-fold, from what they used to be. I honestly believe it all comes down to what we have been feeding ourselves over the last 50 years, and even before that. I also think a lot of us were not aware of that situation, and I wouldn't say only governments are to blame, but certain farming cultures were doing this without our knowledge in their farming on such a mass scale. Allison Kugel: There were two things explained in this film that I didn't know. One, I thought tilling the land was a good thing. I thought you had to till the land to plant seeds. As it turns out, tilling the land degrades and deteriorates our earth's soil. Two, I thought dirt and soil were synonymous. After becoming educated from this documentary, I am a bit embarrassed about what I didn't know, but grateful to learn it. Julian Lennon: Well, in the film you can see that we are actually educating farmers on how to farm properly again, and to realize that at the end of the day, even with finances coming into play, doing it organically is not only healthier for everybody, but you can make a better buck out of it, and know that you’re doing the right thing for everybody involved. It's not only for this generation but for generations to come. Allison Kugel: I'm glad this documentary found a home at Netflix, because Netflix has become this amazing superhighway of information for people. Julian Lennon: I absolutely agree with that. Netflix is a good home, but it still needs to be seen and still needs to be heard. I have personally felt that there is still a lot of crap out there with some of the documentaries coming forward, that have no clarity to them. What I believe with our film Kiss the Ground is there is absolute clarity and absolute awareness of solutions within our film. With a lot of the documentaries I see these days, they leave you wondering, "Well, what do I do next?  What are the answers?" Thankfully, I think this film leaves you with answers as to what we can do to make a difference and have a healthier world and a healthier planet. Allison Kugel: Let's talk about composting. There was a part of the film I thought was interesting, where they were showing how in San Francisco, composting has become a way of life for the entire city. Everyone has their compost bins and civil servants collect everyone's compost along with all other recyclables like plastic and paper. Can you explain exactly what composting is and how people can compost on their own? Julian Lennon: I'm not a scientist. I'm a layman too (laugh). Allison Kugel: Well, from one layman to another (laughs). From your personal experience… Julian Lennon: All I do know is that with the breakdown of food, I compost at home, and it helps regenerate the soil and fertilize the soil that I'm using to grow my own food in. Allison Kugel: How do you compost at home? Share with us how you do that. Julian Lennon. I have a compost bin (new and used compost bins are available for just about any budget) that all leftover food scraps go into, and that stays in there for a few months at a time. Then I use that as a fertilizer for the food that I'm growing. That's how it operates and how it has worked for me. It's fantastic, the way it works. Allison Kugel: So, you just put the loose scraps of organic food waste into a compost bin, let it sit for a recommended amount of time so that it can break down, and then you add it to your soil? Julian Lennon: You've got it. I've only just started getting into all of this myself, since this lovely year started (laughs), so I'm a newbie. All I know is that it works, and it is a good way to move forward chemical-free. I’m also out at a few garden centers these days, which I love to do, and they now have professional compost bins. There are a few I have my eye on. I just need a few moments to dig in and do my research on which ones are the best for my situation. The pro ones make it so easy to compost your food. They’re not an expensive thing to do, and I think if you are going to try and grow your own food in whatever capacity, composting is going to be a much better thing for the overall health of your food, your soil and our planet. Allison Kugel: I know you are an Executive Producer on this film. However, I'm curious why you didn't want to be on camera? People should know about the work you do advocating for natural resources all over the world. Julian Lennon: I never saw myself in the project as such. I came along as a supporter to bring all the elements together. Had we sat down and talked about it, I would have been there in a heartbeat to do it. I was coming in as a friend, as a supporter, and I just didn't see it from that perspective, in terms of being in the film. For the most part, it was a project where we already had most of its parts filled in. Yes, I could have jumped in there, but it didn't need me. I don’t think this will be the last film of this kind that I'll be supporting. So, perhaps next time around. I'm just glad I was able to be there to introduce this to outside sponsors and supporters, and that other producers came on board. Allison Kugel: One bit of information in the film is that we only have enough healthy and fertile topsoil for about 60 more years of harvesting. That really blew me away. Julian Lennon: There are absolute changes that we could still implement to turn the negative around on all the environmental and humanitarian issues we face. There are some amazing professionals in this world that are working so hard regardless of political scenarios and governmental problems and trying to turn things around. There are incredible people at hand that really are doing the best they can. Certainly, I would have to say Josh and Rebecca and this film sit at the top of the table, if not at the head of the table, with trying to put forward a positive change for environmental and humanitarian issues moving forward. Allison Kugel: What is the connection between eating locally grown, organic plant-based food and protecting or regenerating the soil on our planet? Julian Lennon: A long time ago I was at a dinner in the UK sitting next to the [Italian] actress Greta Scacchi. At the time I was young and into the pop world, and really hadn't been involved in environmental issues at all at that stage. But she said to me at the dinner table, "Excuse my French, but why are they serving this fucking Evian water when we could be drinking locally sourced water?!" She really went off on it, and I couldn't understand what it was all about at first. Then, of course, she went into explaining and she began to change my thinking about all of this. Greta raised the important point, "Why are they shipping bottles of water around the world to other parts of the world?" And just discussing the insanity of it all made sense to me. The cost of it, the pollution of it, alone… we're talking 30 years ago and I was horrified to learn about that scenario and what it's doing to our world, not only the soil but the oceans too. That moment made a heavy imprint on me and it's been a long time now that I just shop locally.  I know the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker in my local areas now.  I know everything about where things come from, and it’s all locally orientated. Allison Kugel: How has buying locally changed your life for the better? Julian Lennon: For my personal experience, I have all kinds of allergies. Certainly, since I have been eating locally grown food and honey, I have not had any of the issues that I had before with allergies or illnesses. You become part of the little universe you inhabit, and I think that's an important role each of us can play. Obviously, it is more difficult when you're living in cities. But I also know there are a lot of projects moving forward where in some cities, a lot of buildings are now incorporating the growing of food within interior greenhouses or even rooftops of cities. Some cities are now designing buildings with the idea that they are almost living buildings. Allison Kugel: There are urban co-op gardens. I know people who have started some. Julian Lennon: It's a major step forward. I eat what is available when it's available, locally. For me, that has made a major difference in life and I think this film also is a step towards other people understanding how it benefits all of us. Allison Kugel: I have to ask you the spiritual question that I ask everyone. What do you think you came into this life as Julian Lennon to learn, and what do you think you came here to teach? Julian Lennon: I would have to say that it's about compassion and empathy. I obviously have found myself in a very unique position in life, and I’ve had a choice in which direction I could've gone in. I believe that really it was my mother (the late Cynthia Powell Lennon, first wife of the late John Lennon) on the spiritual front who influenced me, through discovering and observing what she went through in her life. It made me a better person, and I wanted to make her proud in anything and everything that I was doing. To do that one needs to be as good a person as one can be. I have obviously taken that on board and that has been a hugely important lesson for me. Because of the choices I have made, I've been able to travel around the world, from the standpoint of my photography, and also with the White Feather Foundation (Lennon's non-profit foundation). Allison Kugel: What are some of your past charitable excursions you are most proud of? Julian Lennon: Oh, going to Ethiopia to see the water wells, going to Colombia and meeting with the Cochise Tribe, which is one of the oldest tribes around. Doing a documentary about the Aboriginals in Australia. Not that I do it to feel good, but I do feel better as a person when I'm trying to do better work and educate people further, whether that's through music, photography, documentary films, or otherwise. I also feel you cannot shove this stuff down people’s throats. It is about affecting the right balance and causing enough interested people to want to do something about it or want to learn more. I feel I've been pretty good at that, whether it's been through songs like Saltwater or through the documentary work, or through my photography. That's all part of my purpose, I think. It's passing on the education, the world education that I have learned through the travels of work that I do. Sometimes, especially with the news and the world today, things have become so insular that you forget there is another world out there. Allison Kugel: What do you hope the audience will take away from watching this film? Julian Lennon: I hate to be blunt, but if you kill the soil, you kill yourself. We all depend on each other, from the smallest atom to the largest living organisms in this world. We are all connected. That is what I think people must realize. When you do something, it affects not only you, but everybody else too.  Being aware of that allows you to be a bit more understanding in the problems that we face. Allison Kugel: What can people do in their own community to contribute to the rejuvenation of our earth and our soil? Julian Lennon: Do everything locally. That is what my takeaway from this film, Kiss the Ground, and this movement would be. Not only on the pollution front and the horrendous stuff we do in the world, but by keeping it local you can keep it clean, and fresh.  That is the important takeaway. Photo Credits: Big Picture Ranch, Deborah Anderson for Julian Lennon Images The new movie Kiss the Ground, premiering September 22nd on Netflix, focuses on soil regeneration and how it can help climate control. Visit KissTheGround.com and follow on Instagram @kissthegroundmovie. You can also join the movement on Instagram @kisstheground. Allison Kugel is a syndicated entertainment columnist and author of the memoir, Journaling Fame: A memoir of a life unhinged and on the record. Follow her on Instagram @theallisonkugel and at AllisonKugel.com.

The Craig Robins collection, displayed within the Miami Design District headquarter offices of Dacra, is a private collection of contemporary art and design that represents a broad range of artistic perspectives. The collection is home to works by world-renowned artists including John Baldessari, Richard Tuttle, Kai Althoff, Marlene Dumas and Nicole Eisenman to name a few. The multifaceted collection encompasses a range of disciplines from design to architecture and art. Currently, the exhibition within the headquarter offices of Dacra is closed. However, based on the belief that art should be shared, the Miami Design District is pleased to debut a series of artist monograph exhibitions taking place in Palm Court Suite 102 & 202, showcasing some of the most cutting-edge contemporary works in the Craig Robins collection. The exhibition will showcase renowned international creatives beginning with 16 works by distinguished artist, Paulina Olowska. Driven by the belief that “art can change the world,” Paulina’s artworks are often centered on female protagonists depicted smoking and/or drinking, evoking past nostalgia within an imagined present. The artist takes inspiration from Eastern European history and artistic practices as much as from American popular culture, advertising and fashion. The result is a unique contemporary visual language that equally melds memory, Socialist symbols, mass media and more. Working in collage, painting, photography, sculpture, film and performance, Paulina’s art-making process is as unencumbered as her embrace of diverse interests. Craig Robins was introduced to Paulina’s work by collector and museum director, Karola Krauss. Immediately drawn to the artist’s creative energy, Craig began collecting her work. This exhibition is a selection of Craig’s acquisition highlights spanning almost two decades. Craig has defined his collection through a long-term investment in the artists he believes in, collecting their work over years and in depth. Paulina’s exhibition will be on view through November 10th and serves as a preview to the larger annual exhibition of Craig Robins’ Art Collection taking place in December. Location: Palm Court Suite 102 & 202 Dates: Now - November 10, 2020 Times: Mon-Sat 11am-7pm and Sun 12-5pm (Staff will be available to give art tours) ABOUT PAULINA OLOWSKA Within Paulina Olowska’s practice, industry, leisure, and socialist symbolism occupy the same visual and cultural space. Her realist paintings, drawings, and collages borrow imagery from Eastern European and American popular culture creating a cross cultural reference that is evident throughout her practice, whilst engaging with the concepts of consumerism, feminism, and design. The outward appearance of Olowska’s female subjects is equally as important as the historical memories interwoven seamlessly throughout her collages and paintings. Olowska’s treatment of her subject’s materialization acts as a direct display of the spirit of the individual, which is likely to be contrasted against a uniformed surrounding reminiscent of life experienced behind the iron curtain. Olowska’s affinity with performance-based art accounts for much of her appreciation. Most notably is Alphabet (2005), her adaptation of Czech designer Karel Teige's typographic book ABECEDA. Presented at MoMA in 2012, performers mold their bodies to affix the letters of the alphabet, forgetting conventional forms to construct a new system of meaning. At the heart of Olowska’s artistic practice is her collaborative work, lending a platform to her contemporaries who are underrepresented. Demonstrating the disjunction of time and cultural impermeability of Eastern Europe, Olowska’s multifaceted oeuvre establishes a dialogue with the past; she calls upon forms recognizable from multiple collective histories of modernism to adhere with an invented contemporary environment. Notable career achievements include solo exhibitions at Kunsthalle Basel; the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; and the Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw. She received the prestigious Aachen Art Prize in 2014, with an associated exhibition at the Ludwig Forum for International Art, Aachen, Germany. She has also staged performances at Tate Modern, the Carnegie International, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

For many Black Americans, he is next to a Messiah. For many non-Black Americans, he is thought to be an agitator, riling up already uncomfortable societal quagmires that are better left swept under the rug. Media image aside, Reverend Al Sharpton is neither of these things. The boy raised by a single mother in working class Queens, New York, developed a passion for civil rights activism as a pre-teen. He began marching alongside Reverend Jesse Jackson and other prominent civil rights activists at the tender age of thirteen, seeking to progress the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s message of civil disobedience and taking the high road to equal rights under the law for Black Americans. As the years progressed, though the American civil rights movement has remained something of a moving target, much of the fight has landed at Reverend Al Sharpton's doorstep. Families of victims of police brutality, fatal racial discrimination and other hate crimes come to him in their quest to gain the media attention they need to enact criminal justice and legislative reform on behalf of their loved ones. The powerless and voiceless look to Reverend Sharpton to get their voices heard. As Sharpton, himself, put it to me during our conversation, "People have called me an ambulance chaser, but we are the ambulance." He is referring to victims' families who have been helped by Sharpton's National Action Network (NAN), providing everything from the media attention these families need to pressure prosecutors to take action towards justice, to gaining the attention of congress for policy reform, as well as emotional and financial support in some instances. Now, with his new book, Rise Up: Confronting A Country At The Crossroads, Reverend Al Sharpton outlines his unrelenting position on the weightiest political and societal issues of our time, recounts some hard lessons learned, and offers an inside glimpse into the mentors who shaped the man we see today. Most importantly, Reverend Sharpton outlines his plan for an America at the crossroads. Interview by Allison Kugel Allison Kugel: In light of recent news in the Breonna Taylor case (no criminal charges were filed in her death), what was your first reaction when you heard that decision? Reverend Al Sharpton: It was alarming, but not surprising. I didn’t have confidence in this investigation, because of the obvious policies of the prosecutor. The prosecutor guides the grand jury and there is nobody in there besides the prosecutor. This prosecutor is a protege of Mitch McConnell. I did not think that he was going to do anything. I did feel that the indictment of the other officer, [Brett] Hankison, for the endangerment of everybody but Breonna was just as offensive. What they are saying is that he was reckless in who he was shooting at and putting others at risk. What about who they shot, and her being at risk? It is one of the reasons why we do what we do, in saying there needs to be new laws. We just had a big march with tens of thousands of us, three weeks ago. Among two of the things we wanted are The George Floyd Policing and Justice Act that sat in the House, but the Senate hasn’t taken it up. It would strengthen the laws that would have eliminated the no knock laws and put this whole thing in a different perspective. That's one of the things I talk about that in this new book (Rise Up, Hanover Square Press). Allison Kugel: Many people believe that you just show up wherever the action and media attention is. It's important for people to know that you and your National Action Network (NAN) are the ones who work to bring national attention to these cases in the first place. For example, it was your organization, NAN, that brought national attention to Trayvon Martin's murder and to George Floyd's murder. Without your hard work, the world wouldn't know the names Trayvon Martin or George Floyd. Why isn't this common knowledge? Reverend Al Sharpton: A lot of the media just doesn’t say it. Ben Crump (Attorney for the Floyd family) and the families have said it. In fact, Breonna Taylor’s mother's first interview was on my show (MSNBC's "PoliticsNation"). They couldn’t get a national show before my show. Sybrina Fulton (Trayvon Martin's mother) wrote about it her book on Trayvon. Ben Crump brought them to New York to ask me to blow up Trayvon [in the media]. Trayvon had been buried for 2 weeks. I didn’t even know about Trayvon until they came and met with me in my office. We made it an issue and called the first rally and had about 10,000 people out there. It ended up being the day my mother died, and I went ahead with the rally anyway. I said in the eulogy to George Floyd that people call me to blow things up, and I have an infrastructure with NAN where we support the family, we help them get legal advice and media advice, and we stay with them. Sometimes people can’t cover their expenses if they need to do a rally. Some of them need to pay their rent, and NAN helps with that. They call us because they know we'll come. Allison Kugel: Who is your heir apparent once you reach a certain age and you are no longer able to do this work? Reverend Al Sharpton: That would come up through the ranks of NAN (Sharpton's National Action Network). We have a lot of young people in our youth and college division, and some of them have a lot of potential. It is not up to me to choose who it will be, but I think it will come up from the ranks of the movement. That is why I built an organization. I could have just resigned from NAN several years ago, not worried about raising five to ten million dollars a year, and just done radio and TV and been a personality. I built a structure because I wanted to go way beyond my viability. I came out of that kind of structure, but nobody anointed me. The point person before me was Reverend Jesse Jackson who was one of my mentors, but he didn’t choose me. Cream rises to the top. You’re going to take a lot of scrutiny. You’re going to take a lot of attacks. I’ve been stabbed and done time in jail for marching. There is a downside to this, and not everybody is built for that. Allison Kugel: What you are saying is actually a great life lesson. Nobody anoints you. Nobody taps you on the head and says, "You are the chosen one." It has to come from within, and a person takes it upon themselves to take the ball and run with it. That applies to anything in life. Reverend Al Sharpton: Absolutely, and you will only do it if it comes from inside. If I sat down and asked somebody if they would go through what I went through… I’ve done 90 days in jail at one time. Who would apply for that? But if it is in you, you take it as it comes because your commitment and your beliefs are bigger than whatever it is you are going to face. But this is not a career move. I started to write when I was 12, I started preaching before that, and I became youth director under Jesse and Reverend William Jones when I was 13. When I was 13 years old, I didn’t sit down and say, "If I do this, one day I’ll have a show on MSNBC." When I started, there was no MSNBC. There was no radio show syndication owned by blacks. You do things out of commitment and things result from that, but your critics will act like you just figured out this will make you famous. How would I know at 13 years old where this was going to go? Allison Kugel: After reading your book cover to cover I went to sleep and woke up the next morning with this thought: We are supposed to be the smartest, most sophisticated species on the planet. However, we have trillions of dollars in circulation on this planet, and millions of people are broke. We have more than enough food, to the point that we throw out ridiculous amounts of food every day, and millions of people are starving. So, we can’t be that smart. Reverend Al Sharpton: I think you should be an activist. You are absolutely right. It’s a matter of will and a matter of using the intelligence we claim to have to distribute things more wisely, and to make people the priority rather than greed and ego. It's a decision that we throw out food and not feed everybody. There is enough food for everybody. It is a decision to allow the water and the air to be polluted for people's profit. We can clean up the air and the water. That is part of why I’m saying we need to Rise Up (the title of Sharpton's new book, out 9/29), and this is not a book that just deals with blacks. I deal with climate change. I deal with LGBTQ rights. I'm saying, across the board, we could be better than this, but we are not rising up and demanding these things. Allison Kugel: In your book you illustrate a parallel between The Great Depression and The New Deal put in place by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and our current economic crisis due to COVID-19 and the potential solution of a Green New Deal. Have you had the chance to speak with Kamala Harris or Joe Biden about this? Reverend Al Sharpton: During the [primary] campaign, yes. There was the meeting when Kamala came to Harlem and went with me to Sylvia’s soul food restaurant. I’ve talked to them separately. I’ve not talked to them at length since they were nominated. Obviously, we've talked on the phone, but this is something that I’m pushing out and I’m encouraging them to do. With COVID-19 this country is going to go through a tremendous economic challenge. We need a Marshall Plan and government involvement to bring the country back. If we don’t have that kind of engagement, we are going to have a very difficult 2021 and 2022. Allison Kugel: How do you see a Green New Deal rolling out despite the strong lobby for oil? How can a new administration circumvent that? Reverend Al Sharpton: Rise up and vote in this election and put in office people that will not be in any way swayed by the lobbyists. We have to change the lawmakers. Lobbyists can only go as far as who they can influence. You currently have people in the Senate and the Congress that they can influence. They have to have that majority commit to it; the same way Roosevelt did with The New Deal. That is why I wanted this book out before the upcoming election, to lay all of this out. Allison Kugel: With the worldwide protests that erupted after the murder of George Floyd, what do you ultimately see resulting from all the protesting? Reverend Al Sharpton: The legislation is one, as I said, but the overall result should be how we as a culture redefine policing and move past police being above the law while questioning the actions of some police is thought to be anti-police. I think legislation can enforce this, or we need a cultural shift. One of the reasons the Floyd case caught on the way it did is that it happened in the middle of a pandemic and everyone was in lockdown. There were no sports, so people were watching the news to see what was happening with the lockdown. They kept seeing this footage over and over again, and they couldn’t turn to sports as a distraction. There was no distraction with George Floyd, and I think that caused an eruption. How could somebody press their weight with their knee on someone’s neck for more than eight minutes unless there was some venom there? Allison Kugel: I believe everything happens for a reason. I love how you said that God chooses the most unlikely people to make the biggest impact on the world. George Floyd's story and his likeness will be passed down for generations to come. Has the Floyd family grasped the enormity of that? Reverend Al Sharpton: Yes, we talk about it all the time. His brother, Philonise, who does a lot of speaking for the family, we talk almost every day. We talked last night, and I think they have begun to understand the impact. Their immediate reaction was they didn’t understand it, because they were suddenly thrust into something [public] and they were also mourning. As time has gone on and they see people responding to George and his image, they understand that maybe God used him as an instrument. I told them God absolutely used him as an instrument. Nothing but God could have brought it to this level, and you have to be at peace with that and also set your responsibility in that. Allison Kugel: I want to talk to you about Defund the Police. I read where you are not in favor of it, and I’m definitely not for it. Rather than defund the police, I am of the mind that some funds should be reallocated towards programs for compassion, empathy, tolerance, psychological competency, and things like that. What are your thoughts? Reverend Al Sharpton: I think that we should redistribute how we do the resources like dealing with some of the things you outlined. A month after we did the eulogies for George Floyd, I did a eulogy for a 17-year-old kid killed by a stray bullet in the Bronx, and a eulogy for a one-year old baby that was killed by a straight bullet in Brooklyn. How can we say we don’t need policing when our communities are disproportionately victims of crime? We are the only community that has reasonable fear of cops and robbers. I think we need to reallocate how we deal with the funds for police. We must have police in presence because right now we are inundating our communities with guns and drugs, and that is reality. Ironically though, I think what people don’t understand, Allison, is the one who has defunded the police is Trump. By Trump ineffectively handling COVID-19, most of these cities are going to be in deficit and will be laying off police. That is a bigger threat than people stating it at rallies. They have run out of funds. They are laying off teachers and policeman in some cities. Allison Kugel: Good point. And whether you love Trump or hate him, every American should be aware that an important part of our democracy is a free press, as well as our postal service. When you have somebody in the highest office in the land who essentially gaslights the American public and says, “You can’t trust the media, you can’t trust the medical experts; only believe Me,” that is very dangerous rhetoric and undermines our democracy. Why do you think so many Trump supporters aren't seeing that? Reverend Al Sharpton: It baffles me on one level, and on another level, I think because the country is so divided, and they have been divided by the media. The media has convinced people that everybody but FOX {News] and a few radio talk show guys are buffaloing you or fooling you. They set a climate where a guy like Trump, who really is representing himself almost as an autocrat, can rise up and take advantage of that. He can say, "Don’t believe them, believe me. I’m one of you." There is nobody more not one of them than Trump, with the glitzy billionaire lifestyle he lives. Whether he is a real billionaire or not, we don’t know. But he’s been able to sell that to people who are suffering through existence issues that are lower-middle class or poor, like I grew up. It's appealing to them that they are doing this to me, and he has identified "they" as the liberal media. He gives everybody a blame game. In the interim, he does policies that don’t help them, but that they can feel that it is not his fault, instead it’s their fault. Allison Kugel: Throwing it back to the 2016 presidential election, do you think Hillary Clinton was a strong and viable candidate? Reverend Al Sharpton: I think she was a strong and viable candidate, but she did not run a strong and viable campaign. They did not engage the ground enough. To lose Michigan by 12,000 votes, I know three churches that could have given her that. They never went into Detroit. They never really went into Milwaukee. I think there was almost this feeling of, "We got this. Nobody is going to vote for Trump." She certainly had the credentials. I think she had the vision, and I think she is a decent person. I knew her since she was First Lady, but I think her campaign was too up in the air, too high ground. They didn't get on the ground, and that is where the voters were. It left an opening for Trump to do it. I think that Biden has not run that campaign so far. Allison Kugel: Meaning he has been on the ground? Reverend Al Sharpton: He has been on the ground and he has his infrastructure on the ground. Allison Kugel: As a Jewish American, this next question is more personal. There is a faction of the Black American movement that has become antisemitic as of late. It's confounding to me based on our shared history and a lot of our shared activism. How can we clear up some of these misconceptions? Reverend Al Sharpton: We need to stand and walk together and go back to the history. When I was a kid, I will never forget, Reverend Jackson brought me to the Jewish Theological Seminary, and I met Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel who marched with Dr. King. Rabbi Heschel gave me a collection of his books and I still have some, like God and Man, and some others. There are people like Heschel, who were part of the backbone of the Civil Rights Movement. I tell a lot of people today that when we talk about voting rights, Goodman, Chaney, and Schwerner, were three Jews who died to get us the right to vote. I don’t think enough of us talk about that in the Black community. And yes, we may have had our disagreements, but the history of it is not put out enough and we have to deliberately deal with the misnomer that we have not come together and suffered together. I remember when 9/11 happened. I went to Mort Zuckerman, who was then the head of the Conference of Jewish Organizations, and I said I want to go to Israel and identify with the fact that they live under this kind of terrorism all the time, and we just went through it in New York. [Former Israeli President] Shimon Peres invited me as his guest to Israel and I went and met with him. He asked me to take that message to [Yasser] Arafat. He set up a meeting with [Yasser] Arafat (late Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization), and I went and worked with them. There are people on both sides that don’t want to let certain things go, but we have to keep standing up and represent the facts of history. We've suffered together, we've fought together, and at this time we cannot afford to be separate. We are fighting the same enemy. Most people that are racist are also antisemitic, and those who are antisemitic are mostly racist. We are connected and we need to stop acting like we are not. Allison Kugel: I like that. A big part of your organization, the National Action Network, is Criminal Justice Reform. Recently Kim Kardashian worked with President Trump to have the life sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a nonviolent offender, commuted. Would you ever be open to following suit and working with this current administration on Criminal Justice Reform? Reverend Al Sharpton: I don’t trust Trump. I did support the [Emergency Community Supervision Act of 2020] bill that Corey Booker and Hakeem Jeffries came to me with. They said, "Even though we are working with Jared Kushner, would you support this bill?" Van Jones called me, and he was working very closely with Jared Kushner. I said, "I’m not going to do photo ops with them, but I support the bill." I went on my show and endorsed the bill. I think you have to put principle over personality, but I don't want a photo opp with this president. He called me after he won and invited me to Mar-A-Lago, and I wouldn’t go because I believe he is just a cynical manipulator. Even bad people can sometimes deliver good results, and I didn’t want to get in the way of the results. I wanted to support it even though I do not trust him. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Allison Kugel: (Laugh) Lastly, there has been a lot of rioting and looting mixed in with peaceful protesting. Your organization's famous slogan is, “No Justice, No Peace.” Do you want to clear up, for people, what you mean by that? Reverend Al Sharpton: It means the only way we are going to have real peace, where we can live together as a society that respects each other, is to have justice. I don’t mean "no peace" in the sense of violence. I am absolutely, unequivocally against violence. I have denounced it everywhere and will continue to. As far as the two cops shot in Louisville, Kentucky, I think it is morally wrong. You cannot become like the people you are fighting. If you become like that, if you have the same values and the same moral code, they have already defeated you. At the same time, I think there’s a difference between peace and quiet. Quiet means just shut up and suffer. Peace means let’s strive to work together even if we've got to march and make noise together to get an equal society for everybody. That is what I mean by “No Justice, No Peace.” Rise Up: Confronting A Country At The Crossroads, the latest book by Reverend Al Sharpton, is out Tuesday, September 29, 2020, everywhere books are sold. Visit www.alsharptonbooks.com for links to purchase. Follow Reverend Sharpton on Instagram @real_sharpton and on Twitter @thereval. To learn more about the National Action Network (NAN), visit www.nationalactionnetwork.net. Photo of Reverend Al Sharpton Courtesy of Michael Frost. Book Cover Art, Courtesy of Hanover Square Press. Allison Kugel is a syndicated entertainment and pop culture columnist and author of the book, Journaling Fame: A memoir of a life unhinged and on the record. Follow her on Instagram @theallisonkugel and at AllisonKugel.com.

An industrial designer by trade, Diana Hernandez, partner and designer for The Spot Barbershop and co-owner of Blos Roses, started her creative journey in the toy industry. Over the years, she worked on a number of incredible projects that allowed her to grow and establish herself within the competitive industry. From packaging, branding, product development, commercial space design, home furnishings and interiors. … design is what she does. "Most people never get to experience that feeling. Creating something that didn’t previously exist is intoxicating and addictive. First there’s an idea, then over time it turns into this amazing thing that exists, and you are its creator. Once you’ve been bitten by the design bug, you’re a lifer. Thats what I’m most proud off: I will never forget the first time one of my designs hit the shelves. Walking down the aisle of ToysRus with so much pride "I CREATED THAT.” - Diana Hernandez. The Spot Barbershop was founded by the Perdomo brothers and since bringing on-board their family friend Diana Hernandez, the dynamic trio have created a sophisticated, stylish and recognizable brand in a rising niche market and are always one step ahead of what every man thinks they need when it comes to their barbershop, including great prices. By creating an experience, not just as service, The Spot set out to bridge the gap between the $15 barbershop and the $60 salon by offering full-service haircuts and facial grooming for an average of $30, they also offer manicures, pedicures, and waxing services, which start at just $15.  The moment you step into any of The Spot locations, you immediately feel relaxed and catered too. With an open bar to take the edge off and a chill lounge where you can set up shop and indulge in a library full of contemporary books. Every location’s atmosphere is on-point. Each design slightly catering to the shop location but all include a rustic, vintage and industrial design theme – each barber chair is a luxurious, rare vintage piece which are sourced worldwide, lots of edgy artwork, antique motorcycles and car parts, and trendy beats playing in the background – all brought to you by the trio’s interior design guru, Diana Hernandez. Not only is The Spot loved by the local communities of Miami, but celebrities Conor McGregor and Cedric Gervais among others, can’t seem to get enough. 16 babershops later (with many more coming soon!), Diana  expanded her portfolio once again with the help of her partner, Karolyn Henao. Diana and Karolyn launched Blos Roses last year and it is quickly changing the beauty market in Miami with their innovative concept. Blos Roses is a concept like none other that bridges the gap between high-quality beauty services and time. Blos Roses introduces the first combo chair where all three services can be performed at once: blow dry, manicure and pedicure in less than 60 minutes - perfect for the modern woman or mommy on the go. Blos Roses understands the evolving patterns in the beauty industry and through this unique offering, Blos Roses provides a differentiated opportunity for customers. Diana Hernandez recognized that there was an incredible opportunity to make a difference in the beauty service industry and knew that by creating a collective beauty experience, she would give every modern woman, like herself, an opportunity to take back one of the most valuable commodities that money can’t buy — TIME! "As a businesswoman and mother I found a gap in the beauty industry where high quality and time are disconnected. The modern woman finds her self coordinating numerous events in her life This presented as a perfect opportunity for me to jump from the barbershop business and expand into the female category. Studies show that 49% of women say they don’t have enough free time to do things they enjoy, such as going to the salon. I felt the need to create and experience for the modern woman, why should we have to sacrifice time for beauty?"  - Diana Hernandez. By ML Staff. Images by The Spot Barbershop

Enjoy the Miami Open by purchasing a Grandstand Packages which allows you witness some of the game's greatest stars at a discounted rate compared to Miami Open's Stadium Court seats. To learn more go to Miami Open's website. By ML Staff. Image courtesy of Miami Open.

The Miami Design District continues to celebrate and support the arts by curating special feature exhibitions showcasing cutting edge art and design by the world’s best creative talent. Highlighted below are recently debuted installations currently on view, including Antonia Wright’s site-specific project and Alec Jerome Kreisberg’s “Phone Alone USA”--a video collage/animation where the artist is displayed actively exploring social media news in a frenetic fashion given the vast amounts of information available; as well as upcoming installations and shows, from Kerry Phillips, who explores the natural impulse of keeping objects in a “Junk Drawer” and “The Altered Image” Dina Mitrani Gallery Show, which showcases a various pieces by female artists who use old photographs that are then manually stitched, cut and painted to create works characterized by layers and symbolic stories. Read on to learn more about each exhibition on view and check these out next time you plan to visit the neighborhood! ANTONIA WRIGHT SITE SPECIFIC PROJECT To create Map, Antonia Wright made unique cyanotype prints by smashing glass with a hammer, laying it over chemically treated paper to create non-negative exposures in the sun. Each photogram is then digitally transposed to vinyl and placed seamlessly into the storefront windows as an unexpected intervention. These performative images respond visually and viscerally to this incendiary moment of American history where our country erupted protesting racial injustice. Through the action of smashing, Wright evokes the vulnerability and power of the human body and glass as material. The accompanying video Suddenly We Jump depicts the artist being thrust face-first through a sheet of glass, capturing a transformative moment where Wright's own body becomes a fully functional, mechanized weapon of simultaneous destruction and creation. Wright uses smashing as a creative gesture to draw attention to the visual appearance of broken glass as a system of mapping, and to offer a new interpretation of breaking as empowering. LOCATION: 176 NE 41st St. DATE: On View Now ALEC JEROME KREISBERG'S PHONE ALONE USA Phone Alone USA is a video collage/animation displaying the artist actively exploring social media for news in 2020, discovering various intersecting truths within a shifting altered state of consciousness induced by scrolling through media. The overwhelming aspect of consuming large amounts of information, BLM riots, the transparency and controversy around the idea of anti-Semitism, performative internet behavior, Pornography, COVID-19, and the philosophical debate the US is internally waging about which ideology it should look towards moving forward are explored in a frenetic fashion. LOCATION: Paradise Plaza, 133 DATE: On View Now - October 11, 2020 KERRY PHILLIPS JUNK DRAWER In this show Kerry will further explore the seemingly natural impulse towards keeping objects and the accidental collections that may result, starting with the Junk Drawer. Called by different names and located in various places within the home, it’s that catch-all place where you put things, you’ll likely need again but don’t have anywhere else for them to go. It seems to be a byproduct of necessity & space and Kerry is curious to see how others sort & store the things they keep. While looking over the objects she’s precisely assembled together that have come out of her parents’ junk drawer, Kerry asks viewers to also share stories, memories and pictures of their current or past junk drawers as part of her ongoing research into this tendency. People can send in their junk drawer experiences via her website www.kerryphillips.com/junkdrawer or in person while visiting the exhibition. LOCATION: Paradise Plaza, 127 DATE: September 30, 2020 - October 30, 2020 DINA MITRANI GALLERY SHOW: “THE ALTERED IMAGE” This exhibition brings together female artists who use photography as a starting point to create their artworks. The materials they combine with their photographs vary, as do the narratives and meanings they aim to depict. Many start with vintage photographs, some from old family albums and others that are found, and they manually stitch, cut and paint the images, creating layers of texture and symbolic stories. LOCATION: Paradise Plaza, 127 DATE: October 1, 2020 - October 30, 2020

Voter fraud is very rare, whether people vote in person or by mail. That much is clear from a large body of research. One of us is a political scientist at the University of Washington, and the other is a former elections commissioner who now studies voting laws. We can explain why voter fraud is so rare – especially for mail-in ballots, which have drawn both the interest and concern of many people this year. The goal, of course, is to make sure that ballots received by mail are legitimate – that they are cast by registered voters, not by others lying about their identity, and that each voter casts only one ballot in a single election. The mail-in voting process has several built-in safeguards that together make it hard for one person to vote fraudulently, and even more difficult to commit voter fraud on a scale capable of swinging election outcomes. 1. Only valid voters can get a ballot in the mail People don’t get ballots in the mail by accident. Some states mail them to all registered voters automatically – as in Oregon, Washington, Utah, Colorado and Hawaii, which conduct all elections by mail even when there’s not a pandemic. These states mail ballots to eligible voters at the address where their registration form says they live. In other states, voters have to request a ballot – and it’s not mailed out until an election official has confirmed that the person is an eligible voter. This is actually a higher standard than in-person voting: In many states, people are allowed to fill out a registration form and cast their ballot at the same time, with their ballot counting only once their registration is formally approved. 2. It is very hard to make fake ballots Ballots feature particular design elements that are difficult to copy. They are printed on special card stock, with exact page size, color and thickness varying by state, or even county or town. Marking a choice differs, too, with some places asking voters to “fill in the bubble” while other people must “connect the arrow” or “darken the box.” The text on ballots is also different from place to place. Presidential candidates may remain constant across the country, but each state has different races for members of Congress, as well as statewide positions like governor or attorney general. And every voting district may have a different choice for state legislatures, court and school positions, local political councils, and even sewer commissioners. Voters may not notice all the little details, but election officials certainly would if they received a ballot that wasn’t quite right. A sample ballot from Cobb County, Georgia. Ballots are specific to very particular locations, including counties, municipalities and even sewer districts. AP Photo/Amy Beth Hanson 3. Voters must affirm their identity Every state has a process for verifying that absentee voters – the technical term for people who return ballots by mail rather than in person – really are who they say they are. In most states, voters must sign the outside of their return envelope. This signature usually cannot deviate significantly from the signature on their original voter registration card, or the ballot will be rejected. If anything, the process of matching these signatures is often too strict, critics say, leading election administrators to unfairly reject authentic votes from registered voters due to slight signature discrepancies. Some states also require voters to obtain a signature from one or more notaries or witnesses. A few even make voters submit a copy of their official government ID, like a driver’s license. 4. It’s very hard to duplicate mail-ballot envelopes In general, voters cannot return their absentee ballots in just any old envelope. Rather, the ballots must be returned inside an official government envelope, which is typically mailed directly to voters along with the ballot itself. Many of these ballot envelopes feature unique bar codes to identify each voter – and to allow voters to track their ballot’s progress through the mail and the counting process. An outsider who wanted to manufacture and distribute fake ballots on a large enough scale to affect election results would need to do more than duplicate the special envelope and the bar codes. They would also somehow need to prevent the original, authentic envelopes and bar codes from being used. Otherwise, election officials would notice that a unique bar code was being used more than once. Mailed ballots sit in a box. In most states, ballots must be mailed in official envelopes. AP Photo/Hans Pennink 5. The Postal Service will notice oddities Anyone hoping to conduct mail-voting fraud would have to avoid detection by not only regular election officials, but also the U.S. Postal Service. The Postal Service coordinates with state and local election departments to flag any ballots that deviate in even minor ways from typical procedure. For instance, a Texas county commissioner was deemed guilty of voter fraud after post office employees found him improperly returning 56 mail-in ballots completed by other voters. The agency also has its own police force, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which investigates potential crimes that relate to the mail. [The Conversation’s science, health and technology editors pick their favorite stories. Weekly on Wednesdays.] 6. Voter fraud is a serious federal and state crime For a federal election, each act of voter fraud can be punished by five years in prison and a US$10,000 fine, plus any additional state penalties. By contrast, all that work put into attempting fraud would net the perpetrator only a single vote in favor of their preferred candidate. As a report from the Brennan Center for Justice succinctly put it, “That single extra vote is simply not worth the price.” Voters who choose to vote by mail in November can be confident that their own ballot – and those of their neighbors – will be protected from fraud. By Charlotte Hill Ph.D. Candidate in Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley & Jake Grumbach Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Washington. Special thanks to The Conversation for this story and images. You can support the independent network which provides news by donating today.

Plastic production and consumption has snowballed since large-scale production began in the 1950s. In 2020, an estimated 24 million to 34 million tonnes of plastic waste will enter the world’s lakes, rivers and oceans. That is roughly the weight of 21,000 rail locomotives. And if trends continue without improvements in the way we manage plastic waste, we could be spewing as much as 90 million tonnes of plastic waste into the world’s waters by 2030. Already, an estimated 10,000 tonnes of plastic waste enter the Great Lakes every year. Back in 2015, the world agreed that eight million tonnes of plastic waste contaminating the ocean alone was unacceptable. Several international platforms emerged to address the crisis, including Our Ocean, the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the G7 Ocean Plastic Charter, among others. These are ambitious commitments, but will they meaningfully reduce plastic pollution? New research published in Science shows that even if governments around the world adhere to their global commitments to address plastic pollution, and all others join in these efforts, in 2030 we will still emit between 20 million and 53 million tonnes of plastic waste into the world’s aquatic ecosystems. Global commitments do not match the scale of the problem — we need to rethink our strategy. The myth of plastic recycling Plastics are commonly tossed into mixed-recycling bins to be conveniently collected and — we incorrectly assume — remade anew. The reality is that we’re “wishcycling.” In fact, less than 10 per cent of plastics are recycled. Virgin plastics are cheaper to produce than recycled products, undermining the viability of the recycling sector. For example, in 2019, California’s largest recycling plant closed, laying off 750 employees, because of increased business costs and falling prices for recycled materials. The abundance of disposable plastic has led to waste colonialism — the dumping of large quantities of mixed-plastic waste in developing countries, most commonly Southeast Asia. These practices are fuelled by policies that harken back to European colonization of the Americas. They give companies access to the raw materials used to make plastics today — oil and ethane gas — often without approval, and that directly endanger the lives of Indigenous women. Unequal health impacts Across the globe, health problems associated with plastics production disproportionately affect lower-income Black, Indigenous, people of colour (BIPOC) communities. That’s because the bulk of the petrochemical plants producing plastics are located in communities of colour. Thousands of toxic chemicals are used in plastics production and most are unregulated. Bisphenol A (BPA), banned from many consumer plastics, has simply been replaced with other bisphenols such as BPS or BPF, even though they maybe as hazardous to human health. Subsequently, plastics workers suffer high rates of respiratory and cardiovascular disease and cancers. It’s no coincidence that Louisiana, a hotbed for the petrochemical sector, is the epicentre of what is known as “Cancer Alley.” Perhaps a more appropriate name would be “Cardiovascular-respiratory-illness-reproductive-disorder-cancer Alley.” BIPOC communities have been overburdened with pollution for decades, and air pollution from petrochemical plants is a leading cause of chronic respiratory illnesses contributing to greater risks of morbidity from diseases like COVID-19. A refinery in Baton Rouge, La. (Jim Bowen/flickr), CC BY-SA Globally, plastic waste treatment facilities (collection, sorting, processing, recycling, incineration facilities and landfill sites) are frequently located in communities of colour, exacerbating negative health outcomes. An estimated 15 million waste pickers worldwide pluck the most valuable pieces of plastic from mountains of imported waste to make their living. Often the remaining plastic is burned, belching carbon-rich smoke into the atmosphere. Everyone unfortunate enough to be in its plume inhales carcinogenic furans and dioxins. Plastics that aren’t burned or processed are piled high or buried, contaminating previously arable soils and waterways. What does genuine progress look like? Progress requires us to address the structural inequality that encourages and normalizes the waste of resources, ecological destruction and the perpetuation of colonial systems. Progress requires decolonial policies, where justice and equity are prioritized. That means the equitable investment in effective collection, sorting, cleaning, reuse, repair and recycling infrastructure, where BIPOC don’t carry the burden of pollution. It requires policies that dissuade the unabated extraction of resources and ensure companies are responsible for the life cycle of their plastic products. This would include abolishing US$296 billion in subsidies provided annually by governments to petrochemical companies and introducing laws that require companies to pay for waste collection, recycling or disposal, rather than taxpayers. Quantifying the scale and extent of plastic pollution helps us understand the kind of effort needed to make change, but just as vital is mapping the health, economic, cultural and human rights dimensions of this toxic industry. By rallying for policies that tackle the underlying structures that perpetuate the plastic pollution crisis, we can reverse inequality, fulfil human rights obligations, improve the health of all communities and prevent and mitigate ecological damage. Policies like the Green New Deal are moving us in the right direction, but we need to do more. If ever there was a time to redefine the business-as-usual plastics industry and transition to a healthy and more equitable global society, it is now. Stephanie B. Borrelle, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Ecology and evolutionary biology, University of Toronto. Special thanks to The Conversation for this story and images. You can support the independent network which provides news by donating today.

It’s another hot and sweaty summer day, and you see an ad for a sports T-shirt claiming it is made out of a material that will instantly make your skin feel cool. Intriguing, but does it work, and if so, how? Companies have embraced what are called cool touch materials for all sorts of products. Bed sheets that will ease hot flashes, facial tissues that will calm a sore nose, or a business suit that will keep you comfortable during a tough interview - these are just some ways companies have turned to cool touch technologies. I am a professor of sports product design and my research looks at how apparel materials can help keep athletes cooler in hot environments. Staying cool is important because it can affect performance psychologically and physiologically and cool touch materials are one way designers like me can enhance performance. Thermal effusivity can measure how any material – a fabric, a rock or air – feels to the human touch. Madhav Gajjar/EyeEm via Getty Images Measuring material heat transfer Effusivity is a heat transfer property present in all materials that incorporates the thermal conductivity, density and heat capacity of a material. Thermal effusivity describes how fast and how much heat can be transferred from one material to another. If you touch something that has high effusivity, the transfer of heat from your skin into the material produces the sensation of coolness The higher the thermal effusivity value a material has, the cooler it will feel to the touch. The lower that value, the warmer a material will feel. For example, air has an effusivity value of 6, natural rubber is 518, human skin is 1360 and silver is 23688. Even when a piece of natural rubber and silver are the same room temperature, the silver will still feel colder because it has a higher effusivity value. On a winter morning, differences in thermal effusivity are what make stepping onto a cold hardwood floor with your bare feet so much less comfortable compared to when you’re wearing wool slippers. This happens because the wood has a higher effusivity value, so it feels much colder. On the other hand, if you got out of bed and put on some woolly slippers - your bare feet and slippers have effusivity values that are closer together, therefore your toes will feel super cozy. This same principle can apply to athletic T-shirts. My colleagues and I wanted to identify materials that have high effusivity values so that the next time you are getting ready for a pick-up game of basketball in the grueling heat, you could choose a T-shirt that will give you a cool feeling next to your skin. It’s in the material So, what T-shirt material provides athletes the best cool touch feel? To get to the bottom of this question, our research team collected effusivity data from seven sport T-shirt materials made of polyester, recycled polyester, rayon, wool, nylon, cotton and spandex fibers. To keep the competition fair, we made sure all of the fabrics were made the same way – with a common jersey knit construction. The face (left) and back (right) sides of a jersey knit material have different effusivity properties. Jeremy Stangeland, CC BY-ND Jersey knits have distinct face and back side aesthetics. The face side has vertical rows of knit stitches and is the outside of a T-shirt. The back side of a jersey knit has stitches assembled horizontally and is usually on the inside of a T-shirt. [Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.] And the winner is… If you are a connoisseur of sports apparel, you probably expected that a shirt made of 100% recycled polyester fiber-based materials would have performed the best, and cotton ones the worst. But in our upcoming paper to be published, we found the exact opposite. Materials composed of recycled polyester fibers had the lowest effusivity and would therefore feel the warmest next to your skin on a hot day. The winner and the material with the highest effusivity in our study was a fabric made of 95% cotton and 5% spandex. If you want something to feel cool on your skin on a hot day, this is the best choice. The higher the thermal effusivity of a material, the cooler it feels to the touch. Susan Sokolowski, CC BY-ND But the types of fibers were not the only thing that affected effusivity. Our team found that the back side of the material that touches your skin had higher thermal effusivity than the face side. As most T-shirts are made from jersey knit materials, if you ever find yourself a bit chilly, simply turning your shirt inside out might help. In addition to the thermal effusivity, sweat management, airflow, reduction of cling and many other attributes go into making a piece of apparel that keeps you cool. Krista Long/Moment via Getty Images Effusivity alone does not make a cool shirt While the thermal effusivity of a material is one important design attribute for a cool T-shirt, it is not the only thing to consider. Wicking – the ability for a material to transport sweat from the skin to the environment to promote evaporation – is also incredibly important. As the sweat evaporates from the shirt’s material, it cools you down. Air moving through a T-shirt material can also help cool you down, and that can be achieved with ventilation holes or mesh. Materials can also be engineered to be less clingy and insulative. Clingy shirts not only feel uncomfortable and sticky, they also reduce airflow and make you feel hotter. Materials that are too insulative just keep you warmer, and who needs that in hot weather? Cool, high-tech T-shirts can be quite complex to design, but when the details are carefully considered and balanced, you can get a shirt that will make you feel cool through effusivity, wicking, ventilation and reduction of insulation and cling – and of course, probably the most important factor, make you look cool too. By Susan L. Sokolowski, Director & Associate Professor of Sports Product Design, University of Oregon. Special thanks to The Conversation for this story and images. You can support the independent network which provides news by donating today.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on September 18, 2020, the Supreme Court announced. Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement that “Our nation has lost a jurist of historic stature.” Even before her appointment, she had reshaped American law. When he nominated Ginsburg to the Supreme Court, President Bill Clinton compared her legal work on behalf of women to the epochal work of Thurgood Marshall on behalf of African-Americans. Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg paying a courtesy call on Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y., left, and Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., in June 1993, before her confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court. AP/Marcy Nighswander The comparison was entirely appropriate: As Marshall oversaw the legal strategy that culminated in Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 case that outlawed segregated schools, Ginsburg coordinated a similar effort against sex discrimination. Decades before she joined the court, Ginsburg’s work as an attorney in the 1970s fundamentally changed the Supreme Court’s approach to women’s rights, and the modern skepticism about sex-based policies stems in no small way from her lawyering. Ginsburg’s work helped to change the way we all think about women – and men, for that matter. I’m a legal scholar who studies social reform movements and I served as a law clerk to Ginsburg when she was an appeals court judge. In my opinion – as remarkable as Marshall’s work on behalf of African-Americans was – in some ways Ginsburg faced more daunting prospects when she started. Thurgood Marshall, in 1955, when he was the chief counsel for the NAACP. AP/Marty Lederhandler Starting at zero When Marshall began challenging segregation in the 1930s, the Supreme Court had rejected some forms of racial discrimination even though it had upheld segregation. When Ginsburg started her work in the 1960s, the Supreme Court had never invalidated any type of sex-based rule. Worse, it had rejected every challenge to laws that treated women worse than men. For instance, in 1873, the court allowed Illinois authorities to ban Myra Bradwell from becoming a lawyer because she was a woman. Justice Joseph P. Bradley, widely viewed as a progressive, wrote that women were too fragile to be lawyers: “The paramount destiny and mission of woman are to fulfil the noble and benign offices of wife and mother. This is the law of the Creator.” And in 1908, the court upheld an Oregon law that limited the number of hours that women – but not men – could work. The opinion relied heavily on a famous brief submitted by Louis Brandeis to support the notion that women needed protection to avoid harming their reproductive function. As late as 1961, the court upheld a Florida law that for all practical purposes kept women from serving on juries because they were “the center of the home and family life” and therefore need not incur the burden of jury service. Challenging paternalistic notions Ginsburg followed Marshall’s approach to promote women’s rights – despite some important differences between segregation and gender discrimination. Segregation rested on the racist notion that Black people were less than fully human and deserved to be treated like animals. Gender discrimination reflected paternalistic notions of female frailty. Those notions placed women on a pedestal – but also denied them opportunities. Either way, though, Black Americans and women got the short end of the stick. Ginsburg started with a seemingly inconsequential case. Reed v. Reed challenged an Idaho law requiring probate courts to appoint men to administer estates, even if there were a qualified woman who could perform that task. Sally and Cecil Reed, the long-divorced parents of a teenage son who committed suicide while in his father’s custody, both applied to administer the boy’s tiny estate. The probate judge appointed the father as required by state law. Sally Reed appealed the case all the way to the Supreme Court. Ginsburg did not argue the case, but wrote the brief that persuaded a unanimous court in 1971 to invalidate the state’s preference for males. As the court’s decision stated, that preference was “the very kind of arbitrary legislative choice forbidden by the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.” Two years later, Ginsburg won in her first appearance before the Supreme Court. She appeared on behalf of Air Force Lt. Sharron Frontiero. Frontiero was required by federal law to prove that her husband, Joseph, was dependent on her for at least half his economic support in order to qualify for housing, medical and dental benefits. If Joseph Frontiero had been the soldier, the couple would have automatically qualified for those benefits. Ginsburg argued that sex-based classifications such as the one Sharron Frontiero challenged should be treated the same as the now-discredited race-based policies. By an 8–1 vote, the court in Frontiero v. Richardson agreed that this sex-based rule was unconstitutional. But the justices could not agree on the legal test to use for evaluating the constitutionality of sex-based policies. New York Times article about the Wiesenfeld case, which refers to Ginsburg as ‘a woman lawyer.’ New York Times Strategy: Represent men In 1974, Ginsburg suffered her only loss in the Supreme Court, in a case that she entered at the last minute. Mel Kahn, a Florida widower, asked for the property tax exemption that state law allowed only to widows. The Florida courts ruled against him. Ginsburg, working with the national ACLU, stepped in after the local affiliate brought the case to the Supreme Court. But a closely divided court upheld the exemption as compensation for women who had suffered economic discrimination over the years. Despite the unfavorable result, the Kahn case showed an important aspect of Ginsburg’s approach: her willingness to work on behalf of men challenging gender discrimination. She reasoned that rigid attitudes about sex roles could harm everyone and that the all-male Supreme Court might more easily get the point in cases involving male plaintiffs. She turned out to be correct, just not in the Kahn case. Ginsburg represented widower Stephen Wiesenfeld in challenging a Social Security Act provision that provided parental benefits only to widows with minor children. Wiesenfeld’s wife had died in childbirth, so he was denied benefits even though he faced all of the challenges of single parenthood that a mother would have faced. The Supreme Court gave Wiesenfeld and Ginsburg a win in 1975, unanimously ruling that sex-based distinction unconstitutional. And two years later, Ginsburg successfully represented Leon Goldfarb in his challenge to another sex-based provision of the Social Security Act: Widows automatically received survivor’s benefits on the death of their husbands. But widowers could receive such benefits only if the men could prove that they were financially dependent on their wives’ earnings. Ginsburg also wrote an influential brief in Craig v. Boren, the 1976 case that established the current standard for evaluating the constitutionality of sex-based laws. Ginsburg at the 2015 State of the Union address. Reuters/Joshua Roberts Like Wiesenfeld and Goldfarb, the challengers in the Craig case were men. Their claim seemed trivial: They objected to an Oklahoma law that allowed women to buy low-alcohol beer at age 18 but required men to be 21 to buy the same product. But this deceptively simple case illustrated the vices of sex stereotypes: Aggressive men (and boys) drink and drive, women (and girls) are demure passengers. And those stereotypes affected everyone’s behavior, including the enforcement decisions of police officers. Under the standard delineated by the justices in the Boren case, such a law can be justified only if it is substantially related to an important governmental interest. Among the few laws that satisfied this test was a California law that punished sex with an underage female but not with an underage male as a way to reduce the risk of teen pregnancy. These are only some of the Supreme Court cases in which Ginsburg played a prominent part as a lawyer. She handled many lower-court cases as well. She had plenty of help along the way, but everyone recognized her as the key strategist. In the century before Ginsburg won the Reed case, the Supreme Court never met a gender classification that it didn’t like. Since then, sex-based policies usually have been struck down. I believe President Clinton was absolutely right in comparing Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s efforts to those of Thurgood Marshall, and in appointing her to the Supreme Court. By Jonathan Entin, Professor Emeritus of Law and Adjunct Professor of Political Science, Case Western Reserve University. Special thanks to The Conversation for this story and images. You can support the independent network which provides news by donating today. Gif image courtesy of Boss Dotty. Boss Dotty, founded by Theresa Berens. is an independent paper goods company celebrating strong women through playful illustrations laced with humor and a can-do attitude.

After two years under construction, the 50m luxury yacht from Rossinavi “LEL” was launched earlier this year. The motor yacht (M/Y) “LEL” project has been developed by Kurt Lehmann, Chairman of Yacht Moments, in collaboration with Design and Architecture practice Luca Dini, who approached Rossinavi to build this new dream yacht. M/Y “LEL” is the perfect balance between the sporty lines of traditional Italian yacht design of the exteriors and with the interiors of the new generation vessels created for entertaining. With exteriors and interiors designed by acclaimed architecture practice Luca Dini – Design & Architecture, M/Y “LEL” is the first collaboration between Rossinavi and the Florence-based studio. “The owner’s main request was to emphasise the open spaces to make the most of the open air and water, and I believe I achieved the objective because M/Y “LEL” is like an actual terrace overlooking the sea, un pied dans l’eau, where nature meets technology,” says Luca Dini. Built with a superstructure in aluminium to abide the increasingly-more-fundamental limit of 500 GT while achieving an attractive external design, M/Y “LEL” is a celebration of fluid forms contributing to a dynamic silhouette which harmonically culminates into both decks and hull. The generous size of the main common areas make M/Y “LEL” one of a kind in the segment of mega yachts with a similar gross tonnage giving it a substantial competitive advantage. Click below to launch slideshow > M/Y “LEL” boasts a rather large beach club that allows for a dynamic and natural interaction with the surrounding environment. When the side and stern doors are lowered, interiors and exteriors organically merge into one vast and comfortable entertaining space featuring an indoor bar area where the tender can also be accommodated. The beach club is therefore an adjustable area of the yacht also including a garage which can be isolated and managed separately by closing the automatic door on the staircase that leads to the main deck. Here, the cockpit provides a] double usage thanks to its raised panoramic area that overlooks the second bar ensuring maximum privacy without sacrificing entertainment space when the staircase is closed off. The upper deck features a tranquil dining area which can be transformed into a private and protected environment with a removable veranda. This innovation features outdoor heating lights and a room air conditioning system which allows for the boat to be enjoyed throughout the year and in different weather conditions. Click below to launch slideshow > At the top of M/Y “LEL” is the sun deck fitted with sunbathing and relaxation areas by the pool pointing towards the horizon and equipped with a dedicated bar station. Indoor, the main saloon features refined and understated luxury interiors achieved by a combination of contemporary design furniture, elegant textiles, precious leathers, and bespoke finishes for a tactile perception of timeless elegance. The owner’s cabin is located within the main deck and is of generous dimensions. In order to increase the comfort of this area, a large walk-in-closet has been installed and the cabin also features a private balcony directly suspended on the sea. Four guest cabins are all well-equipped with the latest comforts and marry the versatile character of M/Y “LEL” as these can merge into one grand VIP cabin just by closing off the main doorway in the hall. For more info, visit www.rossinavi.it. By ML Staff. Images by Michele Chiroli

Don't miss the much anticipated French Open 2020 starting Sunday, Sept. 27. Live tennis coverage of the French Open will be provided by NBC Sports, Tennis Channel and Peacock. What is at stake? There is much to expect this year at Roland Garros including Rafael Nadal trying to win a historical 13th title and tie Roger Federer's male records of 20 career Grand Slam major single titles. Top-seeded Novak Djokovic is also trying to win his second French Open title while Serena Williams continues her quest for a record 24th Grand Slam singles title. FRENCH OPEN TV SCHEDULE Sunday, Sept. 27 5 a.m.-3 p.m. Tennis Channel First Round Sunday, Sept. 27 12-3 p.m. NBC First Round Monday, Sept. 28 5 a.m.-3 p.m. Tennis Channel First Round Tuesday, Sept. 29 5 a.m.-3 p.m. Tennis Channel First Round Wednesday, Sept. 30 5 a.m.-3 p.m. Tennis Channel Second Round Thursday, Oct. 1 5 a.m.-3 p.m. Tennis Channel Second Round Friday, Oct. 2 5 a.m.-3 p.m. Tennis Channel Third Round Saturday, Oct. 3 5 a.m.-12 p.m. Tennis Channel Third Round Saturday, Oct. 3 11 a.m. Peacock Third Round Sunday, Oct. 4 5 a.m.-12 p.m. Tennis Channel Fourth Round Sunday, Oct. 4 11 a.m. Peacock Fourth Round Monday, Oct. 5 5 a.m.-3 p.m. Tennis Channel Fourth Round Monday, Oct. 5 11 a.m. Peacock Fourth Round Tuesday, Oct. 6 6 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tennis Channel Quarterfinals Wednesday, Oct. 7 6 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tennis Channel Quarterfinals Thursday, Oct. 8 5 a.m.-2 p.m. Tennis Channel Women’s Semis Thursday, Oct. 8 11 a.m. NBC, NBCSN Women’s Semis Friday, Oct. 9 5 a.m.-4 p.m. Tennis Channel Men’s Semis Friday, Oct. 9 11 a.m. NBC, NBCSN Men’s Semis Saturday, Oct. 10 9 a.m. NBC Women’s Final Sunday, Oct. 11 9 a.m. NBC Men’s Final By ML Staff. Image courtesy of Roland Garros