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David Brooks: Searching for humanity in the Middle East

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:58:31 GMT

We’re living through an era of collapsing paradigms. The conceptual frames that many people use to organize their understanding of the world are crashing and burning upon contact with Middle Eastern reality.Woke-ismThe first paradigm that failed this month was critical race theory or woke-ism.Yascha Mounk has a good history of this body of thought in his outstanding book “The Identity Trap.” But as it applies to the Middle East, the relevant ideas in this paradigm are these: International conflicts can be seen through a prism of American identity categories like race. In any situation, there are evil people who are colonizer/oppressors and good people who are colonized/oppressed. It’s not necessary to know about the particular facts about any global conflict, because of intersectionality: All struggles are part of the same struggle between the oppressors and the oppressed.This paradigm shapes how many on the campus left saw the Hamas terror attacks and were thus pushed into a series...

Soucheray: We’re just islands in the anti-automobile stream

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:58:31 GMT

Street construction in St. Paul features concrete islands being built on Fairview Avenue between Montreal and Randolph avenues. Maybe between Edgcumbe Road and Randolph. Hard to say. The Fairview project has been underway since about 1956, it seems, and it’s been difficult to get a picture of whatever the vision might be.The fellows could be hard at work in other parts of the city, too. Islands might be the new fad.The islands appear to be architectural affectations that serve only to remind motorists that they are unwanted. Perhaps they are intended to be calming. We seem to elect people who, if they even own a car, do so reluctantly and apparently believe that motoring is a wild exercise fraught with anxiety and danger. So, they fuss and jimmy with perfectly good streets and create, to induce calming, bump-outs, more bike lanes and islands, which only increase blood pressure.Perhaps the islands are meant to be sanctuaries for pedestrians. Maybe pedestrians are now supposed to cros...

Working Strategies: C-suite candidates and the needed paperwork

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:58:31 GMT

Amy Lindgren“Send me your materials.”Résumé? Curriculum vitae? Biography? What should executive-level candidates forward when recruiters make this request? Lesson one for executive job search: In this situation feel free to reply, “What do you prefer?”For the moment, the most adaptable and widely used document is your résumé, so that’s a good place to start. Once you have that organized, you can improve your LinkedIn profile, draft a one-page bio, and consider whether a CV is needed. Here are some tips to help you get prepared.Résumés for the C-SuiteIf you’re focused on a C-suite position, that is, a leadership position with the word “chief” in the title, your résumé needs to promote your “C” qualities. For example, CFOs (chief financial officer) are long past the days of entering financial data or developing quarterly reports. Those skills are assumed but unlikely to be used — which means they don’t need to be highlighted.If a CFO isn’t going to showcase accountin...

St. Louis police investigating double homicides in overnight shootings

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:58:31 GMT

ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is currently investigating two separate fatal shootings that occurred during the early morning hours. The first incident took place near downtown, shortly after 12:30 a.m., where an unidentified man shot someone else in the back at the intersection of Evans and Vandeventer avenues. Homicide is investigating this case.  In another incident around the same time, a second man died due to a shooting in the Tower Grove South neighborhood. This incident happened on Beck Ave., with officers responding to a man who had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the chest.  If anyone has any information related to either of these events and wishes to maintain their anonymity, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-371-TIPS. 

Maine officials give update after reports suspect found dead

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:58:31 GMT

LEWISTON, Maine (NewsNation) — Robert Card, the man accused of killing 18 people and injuring 13 more in two Maine shootings, is dead, federal law enforcement sources tell NewsNation.A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that Card is believed to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police are expected to provide an update on the investigation at a 10 p.m. news conference.Card has been sought since Wednesday, when investigators say the suspect allegedly entered two separate Lewiston businesses — Schemengees Bar and Just-in-Time Recreation — and opened fire, killing and injuring multiple people. Murder warrants were issued against the 40-year-old.According to eyewitness Kenny Moore, the gunman’s AR-style rifle allegedly jammed at the bowling alley and the shooter fled the facility shortly after.Investigators were able to identify Card through vehicle registration after his white Subaru was discovered near the Lisbon boat dock. According to information from ...

Photos: Bay Area high school football Week 10, 2023

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:58:31 GMT

Los Gatos 24, Wilcox 21See a photo you like? Click Here to see these and more and to purchase high-quality prints or a keepsake photos on mugs, buttons, greeting cards, and more.Wilcox running back Elijah Walker (31) rushes for a 13-yard touchdown against Los Gatos in the PAL Bay Division championship high school football game, Friday, Oct. 27, 2023, in Santa Clara, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) Wilcox quarterback Tyson Bonilla (8) rushes into the red zone on a 4th quarter touchdown drive against Los Gatos, in a PAL Bay Division high school football game, Friday, Oct. 27, 2023, in Santa Clara, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) Los Gatos running back Boxer Kopcsak-Yeung (22) rushes for 28 yards on a game-winning touchdown drive against Wilcox in a PAL Bay Division high school football game, Friday, Oct. 27, 2023, in Santa Clara, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) Los Gatos wide receiver Jaylen Thomas (3) dives for yards after a reception on a ga...

Warriors 3 Things: Steph Curry, Golden State are playing the beautiful game

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:58:31 GMT

These Warriors play a beautiful brand of basketball.Yes, it helps when Steph Curry is showing off his superhuman powers.But the addition of Chris Paul — while not paying full dividends yet — to a team with a clear understanding of both pace and space has created an aesthetic juggernaut.In the prescient words of Deion Sanders (and no one else): look good, play good.The Warriors played well in their season-opening loss to the Suns, and they played well again in Friday’s road debut against the Kings.Surely, there will be things to nit-pick in both contests — the Warriors nearly choking away a big, late lead Friday wasn’t ideal — but the Warriors have acquitted themselves nicely against two likely Western Conference playoff teams to start the season.And you can’t be too hard on these Dubs — they won their first road game of this season nearly a month earlier than last season.Related ArticlesGolden State Warriors | Steph Curry’s 41-points fuel Warriors first win over Sac...

California shoppers get 4% less for their money after inflation’s bite

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:58:31 GMT

”Survey says” looks at various rankings and scorecards judging geographic locations while noting these grades are best seen as a mix of artful interpretation and data.Buzz: California consumers are getting less for their money this year as inflation trims already cooling shopping habits.Source: My trusty spreadsheet sought to quantify how the rising cost of living eroded buying power and cash register activity. So state-by-state retail sales were matched against the inflation rate from the Consumer Price Index. Then we looked at how 2023’s first half spending compared with recent history.ToplineCalifornia retail sales in the first half of the year grew 0.9% vs. 2022’s first six months. Meanwhile, inflation averaged 4.9% in this period.So shopping, adjusted for the bite of a significant cost of living hike, suffered a 4% one-year drop.MORTGAGE NEWS: What’s up with rates? Who’s lending? CLICK HERE!That was a middle-of-the-road result. California ranked 25th in this buying...

Close call: Serra gets a challenge from Valley Christian but survives

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:58:31 GMT

It’s rare for a team to go through an entire season playing at its best in every game, even one as strong as Serra.The Padres had rolled to an 8-0 record, winning each game by an average of 35 points.In five West Catholic Athletic League wins, the average score was 51-8.But against Valley Christian on Friday, the margin wasn’t anything like that as Serra survived on the road 24-13.With less than two minutes left in the third quarter, Serra clung to a 14-13 advantage. Then quarterback Maealiuaki Smith threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Kyon Loud, making it 21-13 with 1:27 left in the period.That was followed by a 31-yard field goal by Thomas Gooch with 8:18 left in the game.Serra is 9-0 with one game remaining next Friday at home against St. Ignatius.No matter the outcome, the Padres will be the No. 1 seed in the Central Coast Section Open/Division I playoffs.While Serra might not have played its best game Friday, Valley Christian is a prideful program that has traditionally pla...

Vehicle slams into divider along I-280, killing one

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:58:31 GMT

(BCN) -- At least one person is dead after a vehicle slammed into the center divider along Interstate Highway 280 in Los Altos Hills early Saturday morning, the California Highway Patrol said.As of 5 a.m., all southbound lanes of Interstate 280 north of El Monte Road were still blocked as a result of the collision, officers said.The crash, first reported at 3:33 a.m. Saturday, occurred just south of the El Monte Road offramp on Interstate 280 in Los Altos Hills. The driver of the vehicle was confirmed dead on the scene, according to the CHP.Information about the crash victim and the circumstances of the accident were not immediately available. Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.