American Women Suck

Several regions in the country suffer worst rains in decades with dozens of lives lost and relief efforts underway Muhammad Shaban Mir, 55, was emotionally on the edge following the week-long shutdown of the Jammu-Srinagar highway in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. Kashmir valley’s sole road connection with mainland India was and shut due to the weather situation and stranded his apple harvest. The consignment, bound for Delhi, would have delivered Mir’s family of eight their yearly earnings. On Wednesday, Mir's fear turned to desperation as floodwaters swept away his three-acre orchard, destroying months of work overnight. “We don’t know if we should save our animals, mourn these floods, or see our orchards gone underwater. We are heartbroken,” said Mir as he waited with his family to move from their home in anticipation of a water level increase. Heavy rains since August have caused widespread flooding in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttarakhand. Rivers burst their banks, dams reached their limits, and landslides added to the devastation. © Waseem Andrabi/Hindustan Times via Getty Images Officials say that floods have inundated thousands of houses, destroyed crops, and crippled infrastructure – roads, bridges, and electricity lines. Disaster relief agencies say this is the worst flooding since the mid-1980s, with large-scale rescue efforts still ongoing. “Our field teams are monitoring the situation. We have directed some preventive evacuations. Police and disaster officials have given advisories, and they need to be followed. People in low-lying areas need to relocate to safer locations. We have identified 300 buildings in different districts where we made sure all basic facilities are available. We have sufficient essential supplies available; people need not panic,” Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir Anshul Garg said. © Sajad Hameed/NurPhoto via Getty Images Devastation in Jammu and Kashmir In Jammu, which has witnessed heavy rainfall, flash floods forced the army to transport the elderly and children over inundated streets and lowlands. Rising rivers halted the Vaishno Devi Yatra pilgrimage, with schools and markets shut as the Tawi and Chenab rivers rose above danger levels. Thousands remain in temporary camps in anticipation of deteriorating situations. “We haven’t slept for a week, not knowing if our house will stand at the end,” said Shamim Choudhary from Gujjar Nagar. “We witnessed one flood and were cleaning up when another threatened. I have three children – we don’t know where to go,” she added. Cloudbursts, landslides and flash floods have claimed more than 100 lives in Jammu, with pilgrims traveling to the Vaishno Devi temple in the Katra area of Reasi district especially affected. Road connectivity has also been disrupted. In Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir, the government remains on red alert as river levels rise. A breach in the Jhelum river inundated scores of villages in Budgam on Wednesday. Locals and experts say the Jhelum, considered to be the lifeline of Kashmir, has become more prone to flooding due to silting, encroachment, and erratic rainfall. “It reminds me of the floods in 2014 in Kashmir, when we lost everything,” said Srinagar resident Amin Ahmad. People have parked cars on highways to keep them out of floodwaters, as volunteers lined riverbanks with sandbags. © Faisal Bashir/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Crops lost to flooding In the state of Punjab, more than 1,400 villages were flooded, as the Raavi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers are overflowing. More than 250,000 acres of paddy and sugarcane were destroyed, and poultry farms lost a million birds. Punjab has declared 23 districts flood-affected. ”All the farmers have lost their crops and livelihoods. I lost my entire year’s harvest. This is a big loss for all here,” Hoshiar Singh of Ferozepur, a city on the Sutlej River, lamented. Schools and colleges are closed until September 7 and rescue teams continue evacuations. “Farming is our bread and butter. We will die hungry," he added. In Punjab, 29 lives were lost in the floods, over 120,000 homes damaged, and some 3.5 million people affected. Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party leader, has requested Prime Minister Modi to declare a special relief package for affected areas in Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh. Modi called Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann promising help and support. © Faisal Bashir/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Collapsed infrastructure In the nearby Uttrakhand state, social media videos shared by locals show harrowing scenes of collapsing bridges, cars being swept away, and desperate people escaping landslides across the mountainside villages. “My five family members had a narrow escape. Big rocks hit our car when we were trying to relocate to a safer location. We got a new life,” Manjula Rawat told reporters. Rawat, whose family runs a guest house in Uttarakshi, said that her father is critically ill and needs oxygen supplies frequently. “He was also in the car. We saw death closely. The situation has made us realise how volatile life in the mountains is,” she added. Experts across India have blamed deforestation, floodplain invasion, and uncontrolled slope cutting for infrastructure projects as aggravating the damage, particularly in regards to landslides and the degradation of natural river courses. © Gurpreet Singh/Hindustan Times via Getty Images Since August, the states have witnessed rainfall far exceeding the season’s average, making these the worst floods North India has experienced in four decades. Nine people lost their lives in landslides in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, where schools remain shut as disaster warnings persist. “Highways and tunnels carved into mountains, forests cleared, hydropower projects along river valleys, and uncontrolled tourism infrastructure are disrupting river systems that cannot adapt,” Irfan Ahmad said. The environmental activist in Jammu went on to say that "unless there is a change of priority and the Himalayan ecosystem is protected, every flood and landslide will be more intense than the last one. Resilience will only be achieved when development and ecology complement each other.” Himachal Pradesh-based activist Guman Singh echoed Ahmad’s views and said that unplanned construction near the river beds is entirely responsible for aggravating Himachal’s recurring tragedy. “The time has come to introspect our so-called development model, or else things will deteriorate even further.” View the full article

The potential talks could take place in October in South Korea, the network has reported US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping could meet in October in South Korea during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, CNN reported on Saturday, citing sources. This comes amid trade tensions between the two countries. According to three unnamed Trump administration officials, the president and his top advisers “are quietly preparing” to travel to the APEC meeting and hold talks with the trade ministers of member states. The APEC summit is scheduled for late October to early November in Gyeongju, South Korea. The officials added that “there have been serious discussions about a bilateral meeting” between Trump and Xi on the sidelines of the forum, but “no firm plans are in place.” Trade tensions between the US and China have been running high. In early 2025, Trump imposed sweeping tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods, prompting reciprocal tariffs of 125% from Beijing. The two countries agreed in May, however, to a temporary tariff truce, which has been extended to mid-November. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last month that the current arrangement was “working pretty well,” adding that the sides were holding “very good talks” and are likely to meet again before the truce expires. The CNN report noted that Trump’s presence in the region could open the door to a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the first since 2019, although it is unclear whether he will attend. US officials told the network that more emphasis is being placed on meeting with Xi. This comes in the wake of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in China. Commenting on the gathering on Truth Social, Trump remarked, “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China.” He also claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim are “conspiring” against the US, after the two leaders held talks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected speculation of any plots against the US, suggesting that Trump’s remarks should not be taken literally. View the full article

By Margot Burnell This week, Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) opens the doors of its new medical school in Brampton, Ont. With a focus on preparing future doctors for primary care specialties, the school is an exciting addition to Canada’s medical education programs. As our population grows and ages, the demand for medical care is outpacing the number of physicians we’re able to train. TMU’s inaugural class is part of a national momentum to change that. University of Prince Edward Island launched its Faculty of Medicine earlier this year; in the coming years, Simon Fraser University will open a medical school in Surrey, B.C., and York University in Vaughan, Ont. These programs acknowledge the scarcity of primary care providers across Canada, emphasizing family medicine and training for rural and remote communities. Additionally, many provinces are expanding medical school seats at existing institutions, further bolstering the future of the medical profession. But expansion alone isn’t enough. More than 6.5 million Canadians don’t have regular access to primary care while physicians continue to experience burnout, exhaustion and job dissatisfaction. There are only 1,700 medical school graduates per year, and fewer new doctors are choosing family medicine as a specialty. If we want to build a resilient, equitable health-care system, we need to reimagine how we recruit, train and retain the next generation of doctors – especially in underserved communities. The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) has long advocated for team-based care as one essential strategy to alleviate pressure on primary care providers. With the proper resources, organization and collaboration, interprofessional health teams provide comprehensive care for patients. In 2023, the CMA called on governments to establish primary care teams for 50 per cent of Canadians within five years, and 80 per cent within 10. Our work to reduce unnecessary administrative tasks is also especially important for primary care doctors – 61 per cent say the time they spend on administrative burden is excessive. In Ontario, they spend an average of 19 hours per week on unnecessary paperwork. Administrative burden contributes to burnout, which was at its worst during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to have lasting repercussions. The CMA recognizes that supporting physician wellness starts in medical school. In October, we will be holding the biennial Canadian Conference on Physician Health in Vancouver. This will provide a forum for learners, physicians, researchers, educators and administrators to talk about how to build trust in care, support doctors at all stages of their careers and create an inclusive medical culture. Fortunately, I believe medical students are entering a health-care system at an upswing. While we are still facing serious challenges, there are opportunities to do things differently. AI is just one example of how innovation is rapidly transforming medicine. When I reflect on my own time as a medical student, I remember the excitement, joy – and relentless pace – of learning. I doubt that has changed since I graduated. Medicine is a calling, and I tell new doctors that if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few decades, it’s that patients will give back much more than you will ever give them. I still remember the first patient I met in my first year of medical school. She was being treated for neurofibromatosis, a condition that affects your nervous system and skin. It was a life-changing moment for me, and in many ways the start of my journey as a physician. I understand now more than ever that it’s a privilege to accompany patients and their families on their health-care journeys. I believe the next generation of doctors has a bright future ahead of them. Let’s make sure our health-care system is ready for them. — Previously Published on healthydebate.ca with Creative Commons License *** – The world is changing fast. We help you keep up. We’ll send you 1 post, 3x per week. Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here. — Photo credit: iStock The post Training More Doctors Is a Start. Let’s Make Sure Our Health System Is Ready for Them appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

She walked in under early sun, linen warmed by coffee steam drifting. He was at the table, watching her with the divorce letter in hand. Final. Release. She had done it all: the business, the children, the love, the logistics. She carried both poles until she could carry no more. Strong, then tired. Hollow. He had softened. Purpose drained away. Without direction, the marriage wobbled. His absence wasn’t coldness. It was erosion. Her spark lifted off. Polarity vanished. Silence followed. Heavy and complete. Now imagine we’re sitting across from one another, cups clinking in the hush, because that moment, it’s not uncommon. It’s cultural. We’ve traded energetic contrast for sameness. Polarity flattens out. Feminine takes over both sides, masculine fades. And love loses charge. In many modern relationships, empowerment becomes exhaustion, strength becomes isolation. When men lose purpose, Deida’s words echo: “When a man is unaligned with his masculine purpose, he becomes a burden to the world and a pain to his woman.” That simple energy shift (purpose unaligned) saps intimacy. Without masculine clarity, feminine energy stretches into emptiness. Without feminine softness, masculine direction exists but doesn’t resonate. The charge between fades and with it, connection. And there’s a deeper force at play. Like Krishna teaches in the Gita: “For one who has conquered the mind, the mind is a friend, but to one who has failed, it remains his greatest enemy.” A mind left unchecked fills with craving, fear, resistance and fights itself. In relationships, we project: we push away tension, or blame, or demand more control. Desire drains into noise. Without inner order, polarity can’t hold because we can’t hold ourselves. Let’s talk about parenting, growth, children: polarity is not theory. It’s what shapes identity. A mother who sets loving boundaries and nurtures truth teaches her daughter what strength looks like. A father who leads with presence and emotional clarity teaches his son what balance feels like. Without contrast (without polarity) children internalize confusion. They model neutrality instead of energy. They hesitate in touch, in purpose, in trust. Culture applauds sameness. Everyone should be equal, and they are. but polarity doesn’t stop, it submits. Attraction withers. Marriage drops in ranking. Gender confusion spreads. Kids search for identity without poles to lean into. Purpose drifts. But polarity is simply magnetic interplay, it’s not archaic. It’s alive and tangible. She remains soft, open, creative. He steps forward, decisive, protective. She trusts. He holds. This dance creates charge. Movement. Attraction. When polarity returns, the ordinary becomes electric. Everyday language becomes poetry. The body remembers its longing. Intimacy hums again. This is not about returning to stereotypes or tradition for tradition’s sake. It’s about energy. Living in your nature while honoring the other. Not suppression, but flow. This is alive, dynamic, sacred, but it can crumble if ignored. From years of walking with people, I’ve seen powerful leaders become emotionally barren. Held together, burned out. Marriages end not for violence, but for chambered neutrality. Dissipated charge. The bright sparks went out. Yet polarity can be rebuilt. One step creates it. Flow returns. Addiction to busyness dissolves. Conversation becomes radiant again. If you sense tension or numbness in your relational life, pause. The charge between you might need rekindling. Begin small, let mutual energy re‑form. Let polarity restore the pulse. I invite you: sit down with someone you love tonight. Let contrast live. Let care breathe again. If this resonates, know there’s more within Empowered but Empty, a map back to polarity and presence. From August 5 to 9, it’s FREE on Kindle, and the paperback is discounted. Just days in, it’s already ranked #3,734 in Personal Transformation & Self‑Help. If you’re called to explore, I invite you to: →Download your free Kindle copy, →Read passages that stir something in you, →If it touches you, leave a brief, honest review (just two lines) on Amazon. Reviews aren’t vanity, they’re electricity. They help others discover a message that might light their hearts again. Polarity is electric. Connection is real. When charge returns, love becomes alive again. As always loving you from here, Rene’ Schooler — This post was previously published on medium.com. Love relationships? We promise to have a good one with your inbox. Subcribe to get 3x weekly dating and relationship advice. Did you know? We have 8 publications on Medium. Join us there! Hello, Love (relationships) Change Becomes You (Advice) A Parent is Born (Parenting) Equality Includes You (Social Justice) Greener Together (Environment) Shelter Me (Wellness) Modern Identities (Gender, etc.) Co-Existence (World) *** – Photo credit: Rene’ Schooler(Author) The post Rediscovering Energetic Attraction in Love appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

Dear Kuumba — Or should I say, Dear Creativity, I need to talk to you urgently. I know — I am you — but humor me for a moment. Separating you from me will help me communicate my thoughts better. Genius Albert Einstein once said, “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” Are you still having fun? Or are you trying so hard to defeat algorithms and fit your square pegs into round holes that creating is beginning to feel more burdensome than joyful? You need money. I understand the conundrum. But money that comes at the expense of your joy is poorly gotten and won’t spend well. Focus less on earning and more on creating — creating beauty, expressing truth, and inspiring hope. That’s what you were born to do. Trying so hard to alter yourself to be more palatable or marketable is killing you softly. It’s a hindrance to creativity because it’s a hindrance to joy. And for you, creativity is cultivated through joy. Let me remind you: If it doesn’t feel good to your soul, don’t do it. If it isn’t true, don’t write it. If it has no value or purpose and isn’t helpful, joy eliciting, or illuminating, don’t create it. You are a teacher. Use your gift of creativity to teach. Your classroom has expanded to influence more people. Write the books and blog posts God places on your heart. Don’t worry about whether they will sell or be seen. Don’t be afraid of rejection — it will happen. Create anyway, and trust that your readers will find you. Yes, strategic marketing helps. But it cannot come first, nor can it require you to compromise your authenticity or distract you from creating. Creating is your gift. Marketing is not. Marketing shouldn’t hurt. You’re frustrated with being sick all the time. You can’t walk and get around like you used to. Your body is tired and in pain. Maybe it’s telling you to stop pushing and just be still and know that He is God and YOU ARE NOT. God is the source of your creativity. Feed your creativity, Kuumba, by feeding your soul and taking good care of yourself. You’re not working a 9 — 5 anymore. That flexibility is a gift. Stop looking at your medically retired status as only a loss — use it as a gain. Turn the lemons life has given you into lemonade… and then tell your story. Share your testimony to encourage others. But first things first: you. 1. Radical Self-Care This is your season for radical self-care. Eat nutritious food you actually enjoy — no more “yucky diet food.” Move your body in ways that bring joy, not pain. Go outside daily with your dog Lyla. Watch the birds and butterflies. Breathe. Drink refreshing water. Rest whenever you’re tired. Self-care shouldn’t hurt. It shouldn’t feel burdensome or require strain. 2. Soul-Feeding Tend to your soul, Kuumba: Prayer and meditation. Scripture. Good company. Good books, good music, good entertainment. Time in nature. And lots and lots of laughter. Now, I know you’re a passion flower, but don’t abandon clean living or give in completely to fleeting passions. Keep a clean conscience and keep those channels to God open. He is the Source of all your creativity and joy. When you make a mistake, own it. Apologize. Clean it up. Forgive yourself. Learn from it. Other people are only human, too. Give them the same grace you want for yourself. Carrying guilt, shame, and resentment will block the flow of grace — and your creativity. Let it go.Release it in a song, a poem, or a letter — and let it go. You’re an intellectual. You love learning and being informed. But your sensitivity demands limits. You can’t sit around watching CNN all day, honey. Turn that mess off. Racism and hate are evil. Stop trying to make sense of evil or find virtue in it. Evil doesn’t have logic or virtue. It just is. Can people entrapped by evil be set free? Yes. But not by you. You’ve always had a savior complex. But you are not Jesus. You’re not responsible for saving the world. And please, realize — other people’s racism has nothing to do with you, even when it’s inflicted upon you. You are amazing and remain amazing, even when others can’t see it. Stop internalizing their issues. Give them to God. Only He can heal that. The current state of the world looks dismal. But dwelling on horrors you can’t change will rob you of the power to change what you can. It will drain your spirit, make your body weak and sick, and take away your hope. You can’t do it anymore. Balance and boundaries, Kuumba. Your purpose requires you to be informed, but you get hypnotized by pain. The pain becomes all you can see. Limit your media. Watch the birds. Laugh at Fred Sanford. Laughter is medicine. 3. Atmosphere of Beauty and Comfort Surround yourself in beauty. Your home, car — any space you frequent — should be an outward reflection of your desired inward truth. Your home should be your creative oasis — comfort, joy, peace. Be intentional with colors, scents, textures, art. Make it all you. You live alone. That means you can design your sanctuary exactly how your soul needs it. 4. Purpose-Driven Life Remember your why. You don’t just create to pass the time. You create on purpose, for purpose. Remember the joy you had in the classroom? That joy wasn’t a detour from your purpose — it was your purpose. It still is. You can’t inspire others unless you have joy inside of you. You’re here to educate, inspire, and empower people to find their joy. Even the hard truths in your writing ultimately lead to joy. Everything worthwhile ultimately leads to joy. Kuumba means creativity in Swahili. That’s why I’ve given you this name. You are never just designing a t-shirt, writing a blog post, or building a course. You are creating catalysts for truth and joy. Never forget who you are and whose you are. God bless you, beautiful lady. I love you so much, and I am so proud of all you’ve created — and all you will create. Love, Jade … I believe this letter to myself was divinely inspired. It came out of me very quickly.. I wrote it in about 10 minutes. When I am feeling out of sorts, I refer to it to remind myself of what I need to do to get back on the path. Try it. Write a letter to your creative self. Let me know how it goes in the comments. — This post was previously published on medium.com. Love relationships? We promise to have a good one with your inbox. Subcribe to get 3x weekly dating and relationship advice. Did you know? We have 8 publications on Medium. Join us there! Hello, Love (relationships) Change Becomes You (Advice) A Parent is Born (Parenting) Equality Includes You (Social Justice) Greener Together (Environment) Shelter Me (Wellness) Modern Identities (Gender, etc.) Co-Existence (World) *** – Photo credit: Nick Fewings on Unsplash The post Dear Kuumba: A Love Note To My Creative Self appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

No one really talks about how much work relationships actually take. Not the obvious stuff, the dates, the texts, the check-ins but the small, quiet labor that rarely gets noticed. Like being the one who remembers birthdays. Or the one who keeps the group chat alive. Or the one who always starts the hard conversations so things don’t fall apart. That work doesn’t show up on paper. But it’s what keeps connections from collapsing. And in most relationships romantic, friendships, even family it’s usually not shared equally. … The Backpack You Can’t See I’ve been on both sides of it. Sometimes I’ve carried that invisible backpack organising plans, reaching out first, smoothing over tensions. And honestly, it can feel exhausting. Like you’re pouring energy into something while the other person gets to just… show up. Other times, I’ve been the one coasting. Not out of malice, but out of comfort. I assumed things were fine because they “just worked.” What I didn’t see was someone else quietly doing the heavy lifting so it looked effortless. That’s the catch: when the labor is invisible, it’s easy not to notice until the person carrying it starts to burn out. … The Stories We Tell Ourselves We tend to explain it away. “I’m just more organised.” “She’s just better at remembering things.” “He’s not the emotional type.” But if you look closer, those aren’t always personality quirks. Sometimes they’re excuses. Sometimes they’re signs that one person is doing more work than the other, and everyone’s gotten used to it. Here’s what I’ve realised: effort is love in action. When one person is always the effort-maker, the imbalance doesn’t just tire them out it makes them feel unseen. … When the Weight Stays Silent Invisible labor is tricky because it hides under silence. You don’t get credit for remembering to check in on someone’s bad day. No one applauds you for making sure the fight doesn’t spiral out of control. There’s no scoreboard for being the one who plans, remembers, or smooths things over. But silence has a cost. If it’s never named, resentment builds. Not overnight, but slowly. The kind of resentment that doesn’t explode erodes. … Making It Visible I don’t think the answer is to count favours like tally marks. Relationships aren’t scorecards. But I do think the first step is to name the labor. To say, “Hey, I feel like I’m carrying more of the weight here.” Not as an attack, but as honesty. Then comes sharing it. It won’t ever be perfectly 50/50. Some seasons, one of you will carry more. Other times, the balance shifts. But the difference between healthy and unhealthy is whether the load is acknowledged or assumed. And honestly? A simple “thank you” goes further than we think. Gratitude doesn’t erase imbalance, but it makes the unseen seen. It reminds the person doing the quiet work that it matters. … The Work That Holds Us Together Relationships don’t survive on autopilot. They survive on effort. Some of that effort is loud and obvious, but most of it is invisible. And the people who carry it who keep the glue from drying out deserve more than silence. Because invisible labor might not look like much from the outside. But it’s often the thing holding the whole connection together. And yet, even when we manage the weight between us, there’s another battle we carry inside ourselves: the pressure to always look fine, to stay “positive,” even when we’re anything but. This is Chapter 5 of The Human Condition, Decoded, a series where I’m trying to put words to all the quiet, complicated things that live inside us. If you’ve been stuck in the sea of possibilities too, I hope this helped you feel a little less alone. The next chapter is going to be — The Quiet Tyranny of “Being Positive”: The Cost of Suppressing Our Authentic Emotional Landscape. — This post was previously published on medium.com. Love relationships? We promise to have a good one with your inbox. Subcribe to get 3x weekly dating and relationship advice. Did you know? We have 8 publications on Medium. Join us there! Hello, Love (relationships) Change Becomes You (Advice) A Parent is Born (Parenting) Equality Includes You (Social Justice) Greener Together (Environment) Shelter Me (Wellness) Modern Identities (Gender, etc.) Co-Existence (World) *** – Photo credit: Nil Alves On Unsplash The post The Invisible Labor in Relationships appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

🕯️ This is very personal. An AI company reached out to me recently with an interesting offer. They’d take the photos, videos and voice recordings I have of my mom and use them to create an AI version of her. Not a slideshow or tribute video. Something interactive. When they were done, I could talk to my AI mom and have it talk back to me. My mom passed away after a five-year battle with pancreatic cancer on Sept. 19, 2021. I say a prayer for her every morning when I wake up, and for my father, too. I know they’re reunited in heaven. That photo above is my college graduation. I love that my parents are holding hands. As a prank, they brought me an AT&T T-shirt and balloon because I was interviewing for a job. Now you know it’s in my blood. After my father died, my mother moved in with me when I was 27, and we became more sisters than anything else. When Barry asked me to marry him, I said, “You do know that Mom and I come as a set.” I miss her every day. My heart still aches. I’m pushing back tears now writing this. I talk to her like she’s in the room, sometimes pointing out a great sunset or telling her she was right about the throw pillows. There really are too many on the couch. 🧠 A memory or a machine? The idea of hearing her voice again feels comforting and frightening at the same time. Could I sit across from a screen and listen to her give advice or make me laugh with her great one-liners? Would it feel like a gift or a ghost? This isn’t sci-fi. It’s real, right now. These digital recreations, often called “deathbots,” use artificial intelligence trained on someone’s personal data to bring them back in a virtual form. Through them, some families talk to parents, spouses, even children who are no longer here. In one case, a journalist interviewed an AI recreation of a school shooting victim. In China, companies offer this service as part of the grieving process. 🧬 The rise of generative ghosts The tech behind this is evolving fast. Google researchers are working on “generative ghosts.” These aren’t just replicas. They are digital stand-ins that can learn, grow and even make decisions on someone’s behalf. Think about an AI version of your grandmother telling you what it was like to start a window washing business in NYC when she only spoke Ukrainian (mine did). Or a digital parent reading bedtime stories to the grandkids he never met. ⚖️ Crossing the line? Some say it brings closure. Others say it crosses a line. Therapists warn this could complicate grief. That people might hold on too tightly. These bots can create idealized versions of loved ones and blur the line between memory and reality. And what about consent? If someone didn’t explicitly say yes to being turned into a bot, should it happen? Only a handful of states have laws that protect your image or voice after death. In most places, it’s a gray area. I’m still sitting with the offer. I certainly have everything they’d need. Videos. Voicemails. Photos. A lot of audio of me interviewing her on my show. 💭 So … would you? Should I? If you had the chance to hear the voice of someone you’ve lost, even if it wasn’t really them, would you want to? Or is it better to let those memories stay just that? I can talk myself into either place. When you rate this newsletter at the end, tell me. I’d really like to know. If you’d like to come on my show and talk about it with me, be sure to leave your email address. I’d love that. The post When gone isn’t goodbye appeared first on Komando.com. View the full article

In April, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order revoking federal recognition of any medical schools in the country “engaging in unlawful discrimination” through diversity, equity and inclusion policies. In May, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) removed its diversity programs and partnerships standard for accreditation to comply with this order. For Canadian physicians, this news – if it registered at all – likely was received as one more example of the assault on the profession south of the border. What they might not know is that the accreditation of Canada’s 18 (soon to be 20) medical schools only became fully separate from the U.S. as of July 2025. Here’s how the body responsible for Canadian accreditation, which includes members of the medical profession and the public appointed by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), has been working toward a sovereign undergraduate medical school accreditation process – and how standards differ from the U.S. What does the accreditation of medical schools mean for students and medical faculty? Accreditation is a voluntary process to ensure MD programs meet 12 prescribed standards for quality assurance and continuous improvement of medical education. Standards touch on curricula, student selection and support, faculty productivity and preparation, conflict of interest policies and school resources from IT to call rooms. Currently, all 18 medical schools in Canada are accredited. Graduates of accredited medical education programs have an advantage over others when getting residency positions. Who decides whether a medical school in Canada meets the accreditation standard? Accreditation is determined by peer review. Medical school students, faculty, practising physicians and members of the public are all represented in the process. Canadian medical schools were accredited solely by the LCME until 1979, when a home-grown oversight body was established. But even then, the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) accredited programs jointly with the LCME according to standards set in the U.S. Before 2013, the CACMS and LCME standards were identical. But that year, CACMS introduced social accountability as a new standard for accreditation. And as of July 1, 2025, accreditation in Canada will be completely independent from the U.S. Why is Canadian accreditation of medical schools being “decoupled” from the U.S.? The separation has been in the works for a while. Since the introduction of a new standard for social accountability in 2013, there has been a gradual move to go separate ways. The decision to do a full “decoupling” was made in 2021, but it was building for years before the ultimate decision to separate. “It became more evident there were differences in the Canadian approach to medical education,” says Lisa Graves, CACMS secretary, adding that “expectations of the Canadian public have shifted [too].” The social accountability standard, for example, is defined by CACMS as a commitment by every accredited medical school to “address the priority health concerns of the populations it has a responsibility to serve.” Schools fulfill this standard through everything from admissions to curricula to “types and locations of educational experiences.” Graves says developing standards appropriate for 18 Canadian medical schools is also easier than moving 160 American medical schools in the same direction. “There’s a lot of practicality to this in terms of being able to be more responsive.” What is the CMA’s role in the accreditation of medical schools? The CMA has been a co-sponsor of CACMS for more than 45 years, appointing half of its voting members, including six professionals and one from the public. CMA’s participation in CACMS ensures ongoing grassroots input of practicing physicians into the undergraduate medical education system. Its participation also aligns with the CMA’s advocacy for the profession at a national level, including advancing cultural safety in health care for medical learners, practitioners and patients, and supporting physician wellbeing. Reposted with permission from the Canadian Medical Association. This piece was originally published on June 26, 2025. — Previously Published on healthydebate.ca with Creative Commons License *** – The world is changing fast. We help you keep up. We’ll send you 1 post, 3x per week. Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here. — Photo credit: iStock The post Why It’s Important Canada Accredits Its Own Medical Schools appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

By Minority Africa For Jewel, falling in love isn’t about chemistry. It’s about children. She meets someone, they connect, and they dream out loud together. But once the conversation turns to the future, children, family, and domesticity, the air shifts. Jewel doesn’t want children. Not now. Not ever. It’s not a temporary phase or the residue of heartbreak; it’s a conscious decision. And in Nigeria, where motherhood is still widely regarded as a woman’s ultimate calling, that decision is radical. “I just decided to be free,” she says. And by free, she means childfree. For Jewel, 30, the decision is deeply personal, yet not accidental. As the first daughter in a large family, she practically raised her siblings, nephews, and nieces. That early, prolonged immersion in childcare taught her something important: she loved children, just not enough to become a mother herself. “I love being a doting aunty,” she says. “That’s where it ends for me.” But endings are rarely accepted when they defy social scripts, and in Nigeria, that script is rigidly linked to marriage, motherhood, and sacrifice. She explains that her decision to be childfree does not stem from pain but from clarity: Most men think it’s because you’ve been heartbroken or are still healing from some trauma. That clarity, however, rarely shields her from condescension or outright hostility. She’s been called a “bitter feminist,” told she’ll die alone, and been accused of hating men. In romantic relationships, the backlash is even more acute. She explains: Two of my most serious relationships ended because the men were convinced I’d change my mind. One of them was married within six months after we broke up. These encounters speak to a broader tension in Nigerian society: a growing cohort of women is redefining fulfilment, without children, and the persistent pronatalist ideologies that resist change. In Nigeria, the cultural expectation for women to bear children remains nearly absolute. Motherhood is intertwined with ideas of maturity, morality, and even patriotic duty. A woman who chooses otherwise is not just subverting tradition; to many, she is incomprehensible, yet history complicates this narrative. Before colonialism, motherhood in many Nigerian communities wasn’t just a private affair; it was also a public institution. Historian Lorelle Semley writes of “public motherhood” in Indigenous societies, where maternal roles extended into the political and economic realms. Women held significant power not only as biological mothers but as community leaders, traders, and spiritual authorities. That power was systematically eroded under colonial rule. Victorian gender norms, introduced through missionaries and colonial bureaucracy, confined women to domesticity. As Ifi Amadiume outlines in her book “Male Daughters, Female Husbands,” colonialism didn’t just rewrite gender; it redefined womanhood through Christian ideals of submission and self-sacrifice, enforced by church, school, and state. Today’s childfree women, like Jewel, exist in the long shadow of those historical shifts. But they are also part of a growing countermovement. According to scholar R. Makama, urbanization, rising education levels, and access to digital platforms have given women new scripts. A life without parenthood, once unthinkable, is quietly gaining momentum. “I am not barren. I just don’t want to have children.” Oluchi, 26, came to the decision differently. For years, she believed she was simply “not like other girls.” It wasn’t until she discovered online childfree communities that her feelings finally found language. She notes: There’s a big difference between being barren and being childfree. I am not barren; I just don’t want to have children like [many] women; when I think of my future, they don’t feature in it. The pushback from her family has been intense, sometimes even cruel. Her mother once told her she hoped for an unplanned pregnancy, “thinking I will change my mind.” “I keep reiterating to her not to stress me or ask me for a child,” Oluchi says, undeterred. She has grown adept at protecting her peace. “I try to educate when I can, but most times, I just ignore it.” For Oluchi, this choice is inseparable from feminism. “It gave me the language and the audacity,” she says, emphasising that there’s a direct link where feminism teaches you to question why you want the things you’ve been conditioned to want. That online support system, mostly on TikTok and X, is informal but invaluable. There’s no Nigeria-specific childfree group, she notes, just a loose but loyal collective of women sharing stories, trading memes, and reminding each other that their choices are valid. Jewel’s feminism, too, is foundational to her worldview. She grew up reading, questioning, and deciding early on that motherhood was not inevitable. She says: I knew from the age of eight. And yes, it felt strange at first; being a girl, helping raise siblings. But even then, I knew: this isn’t what I want. It isn’t a compulsory choice, but I have made my choice and stuck with it. That clarity helped her have honest conversations with her parents. She explains: My parents grew to respect my decisions because they have lived their lives and have made choices to be parents based on what they wanted for themselves. Unlike many women, she doesn’t face pressure from her family to get married or bear children, and instead notes, “It’s the men who know your age and shame you for not having a man or child.” One man she dated claimed to share her ideology, and although she was initially excited, she quickly realized that he had his own selfish agenda. “He didn’t even like women,” she says, revealing that he was a closeted misogynist and incel. Jewel quickly adds that the decision to be childfree can also be difficult for a man. Speaking of one of her male friends who wants to be childfree, “they aren’t firm in their decisions like women because of societal expectations.” Now, she dates for companionship, not commitment. Jewel notes: Marriage, however, isn’t my priority, and I have made peace with whether or not I get married. I have siblings, friends and colleagues who are married with two to three children. I am always very happy and supportive [of them]. “When my friends get married, I don’t go around telling women not to have children,” she adds, wishing that she got the same support and respect from people around her. For Ayanfe, a 25-year-old non-binary Nigerian, the decision to remain childfree came at age 12. The backlash, predictably, came from their family. My family thinks I am a freak, especially my mom, who still offers prayers each time I tell her I don’t want children. Jewel’s, Oluchi, and Ayanfe reflect a rising consciousness among Nigerian women and gender-diverse people. For Jewel, this consciousness is linked to reclaiming autonomy and imagining a future where a woman’s worth isn’t tethered to her womb. Oluchi says: I think childfree people often have the most respect for children. We know they deserve love and stability…and we refuse to bring them into a life where we can’t promise that. Jewel agrees. “Every woman has a choice,” she says, reiterating that in a society where womanhood is still defined by marriage and maternity, choosing to be childfree might be the most revolutionary thing a woman can do. “Don’t think [motherhood] is the only path or only way to live your life; there are multiple ways to do so. You own your life and body.” — Previously Published on globalvoices.org with Creative Commons License *** Does dating ever feel challenging, awkward or frustrating? Turn Your Dating Life into a WOW! with our new classes and live coaching. Click here for more info or to buy with special launch pricing! *** On Substack? Follow us there for more great dating and relationships content. Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. A complete list of benefits is here. — Photo Credit: unsplash The post A Growing Number of Nigerian Women Are Upending Traditional Gender Roles and Forgoing Parenthood appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

By Jessica Shuran Yu, The Texas Tribune “Texas sued over its lab-grown meat ban” was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Two cultivated meat companies have filed a lawsuit against officials in Texas over the law that bans the sales of lab-grown meat in the state for two years. California-based companies UPSIDE Foods, which makes cultivated chicken, and Wildtype, which makes cultivated salmon are suing Attorney General Ken Paxton, Texas Department of State Health Services, Texas Health and Human Services, and Travis County, accusing them of government overreach. “This law has nothing to do with protecting public health and safety and everything to do with protecting conventional agriculture from innovative out-of-state competition,” said Paul Sherman, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit law firm that is representing UPSIDE Foods and Wildtype. “That is not a legitimate use of government power.” The background In June, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 261, which bans the sale of lab-grown meat in Texas for two years. Lab-grown meat, also known as cell cultivated meat or cultured meat, is made from taking animal cells and growing them in an incubator or bioreactor until they form an edible product. Lawmakers expressed concerns during the Senate committee hearing on the bill that cultured meat will disrupt traditional family farms in Texas, as well as concerns over product labelling and safety. The ban went into effect on Monday. Before the ban, there was only one restaurant in Texas selling cultured protein. In the last month and a half, OTOKO, a high-end sushi restaurant in Austin, included Wildtype salmon into the omakase menu. Why cultured meat companies are suing Cultured meat company founders and their lawyers held a press conference Wednesday morning to announce a lawsuit over SB 261, saying the ban is “unconstitutional” and “un-American.” “We do believe that Americans should have the freedom to choose what to eat,” said Justin Kolbeck, a co-founder of Wildtype. “We think even if you hate the idea of cultivated seafood, we hope you agree that we’re on a slippery slope if we’re handing over intensely personal choices like what to feed ourselves and our families to the government.” Sherman, the lead counsel on the case, added that the federal government has approved cultivated meat as safe for consumers. In 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave approval for two companies, UPSIDE Foods and GOOD Meat, to sell cell-cultivated chicken and a year later, the U.S. Department for Agriculture (USDA) approved the label of “cell-cultivated chicken” for the products. As of July, four companies have received regulatory clearance to sell cultured meat in the United States, according to the Good Food Institute. Texas lawmakers and the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, who testified in favor of SB 261 before it was passed, said that they are concerned about the safety of cultured meat products. “The USDA and The FDA have agreed that these products are safe,” Sherman said. “If that’s not good enough for some consumers, there’s a simple solution, don’t eat it.” Kolbeck added that Wildtype salmon doesn’t have the contaminants that are commonly found in traditional seafood, such as heavy metals, antibiotics, microplastics, and other pollutants. “Making America healthy requires innovation,” Kolbeck said. What cattle raisers and lawmakers are saying The Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment but previously, Carl Ray Polk Jr., the president of the association, said in an interview that SB 261 isn’t about banning competition. “We’re not pushing back on these products because we have a concern about competition,” Polk said, adding that the cattle industry has welcomed competition with poultry, fish, and plant-based proteins. Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, the author of the bill, said that there are “concerns over the transparency and labeling, risk of contamination, and long term health impacts of consuming cell culture products” when he presented the bill during a March Senate committee hearing. Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, asked the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association if they see the lab-grown meat companies as part of the Make America Healthy Again Movement or against it. “I would see the lab grown meat as against it,” said Dan Gattis, a rancher and lawyer from Georgetown. Broader impact Texas is the seventh state to ban lab-grown meat and this is the second lawsuit in the nation over such bans. Last year, the Institute for Justice also filed a similar lawsuit in Florida. If Texas’s ban on cultured meat sales is lifted, Wildtype said in the lawsuit that they would immediately resume selling their cultivated salmon at OTOKO and reach out to other chefs in Texas to pursue partnerships. However, the state may not immediately see a surge in the sales of cultured proteins. Cultured meat scientists and experts agree that the industry is not ready to sell their products at a large scale yet. Disclosure: Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here. More all-star speakers confirmed for The Texas Tribune Festival, Nov. 13–15! This year’s lineup just got even more exciting with the addition of State Rep. Caroline Fairly, R-Amarillo; former United States Attorney General Eric Holder; Abby Phillip, anchor of “CNN NewsNight”; Aaron Reitz, 2026 Republican candidate for Texas Attorney General; and State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin. Get your tickets today! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase. This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/03/texas-cultivated-meat-lab-grown-ban-lawsuit/. The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org. — The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. *** Does dating ever feel challenging, awkward or frustrating? Turn Your Dating Life into a WOW! with our new classes and live coaching. Click here for more info or to buy with special launch pricing! *** On Substack? Follow us there for more great dating and relationships content. Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. A complete list of benefits is here. — Photo: Roy Mills checks on the cattle at J&R Mills Family Farms in Nacogdoches County on Feb, 26, 2025. Credit: Michael Cavazos for The Texas Tribune The post Texas Sued Over Its Lab-Grown Meat Ban appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

By Donald Heflin, Tufts University A hastily arranged summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is set for Aug. 15, 2025, in Alaska, where the two leaders will discuss a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not attend, barring a last-minute change. The Conversation’s politics editor Naomi Schalit interviewed longtime diplomat Donald Heflin, now teaching at Tufts University’s Fletcher School, to get his perspective on the unconventional meeting and why it’s likely to produce, as he says, a photograph and a statement, but not a peace deal. How do wars end? Wars end for three reasons. One is that both sides get exhausted and decide to make peace. The second, which is more common: One side gets exhausted and raises its hand and says, “Yeah, we’re ready to come to the peace table.” And then the third is – we’ve seen this happen in the Mideast – outside forces like the U.S. or Europe come in and say, “That’s enough. We’re imposing our will from the outside. You guys stop this.” What we’ve seen in the Russia-Ukraine situation is neither side has shown a real willingness to go to the conference table and give up territory. So the fighting continues. And the role that Trump and his administration are playing right now is that third possibility, an outside power comes in and says, “Enough.” Now you have to look at Russia. Russia is maybe a former superpower, but a power, and it’s got nuclear arms and it’s got a big army. This is not some small, Middle Eastern country that the United States can completely dominate. They’re nearly a peer. So can you really impose your will on them and get them to come to the conference table in seriousness if they don’t want to? I kind of doubt it. How does this upcoming Trump-Putin meeting fit into the history of peace negotiations? The analogy a lot of people are using is the Munich Conference in 1938, where Great Britain met with Hitler’s Germany. I don’t like to make comparisons to Nazism or Hitler’s Germany. Those guys started World War II and perpetrated the Holocaust and killed 30 or 40 million people. It’s hard to compare anything to that. But in diplomatic terms, we go back to 1938. Germany said, “Listen, we have all these German citizens living in this new country of Czechoslovakia. They’re not being treated right. We want them to become part of Germany.” And they were poised to invade. The prime minister of Great Britain, Neville Chamberlain, went and met with Hitler in Munich and came up with an agreement by which the German parts of Czechoslovakia would become part of Germany. And that would be it. That would be all that Germany would ask for, and the West gave some kind of light security guarantees. Czechoslovakia wasn’t there. This was a peace imposed on them. And sure enough, you know, within a year or two, Germany was saying, “No, we want all of Czechoslovakia. And, P.S., we want Poland.” And thus World War II started. Can you spell out the comparisons further? Czechoslovakia wasn’t at the table. Ukraine’s not at the table. Again, I’m not sure I want to compare Putin to Hitler, but he is a strongman authoritarian president with a big military. Security guarantees were given to Czechoslavakia and not honored. The West gave Ukraine security guarantees when that country gave up its nuclear weapons in 1994. We told them, “If you’re going to be brave and give up your nuclear weapons, we’ll make sure you’re never invaded.” And they’ve been invaded twice since then, in 2014 and 2022. The West didn’t step up. So history would tell us that the possibilities for a lasting peace coming out of this summit are pretty low. What kind of expertise is required in negotiating a peace deal? Here’s what usually happens in most countries that have a big foreign policy or national security establishment, and even in some smaller countries. The political leaders come up with their policy goal, what they want to achieve. And then they tell the career civil servants and foreign service officers and military people, “This is what we want to get at the negotiating table. How do we do that?” And then the experts say, “Oh, we do this and we do that, and we’ll assign staff to work it out. We’ll work with our Russian counterparts and try to narrow the issues down, and we’ll come up with numbers and maps.” With all the replacement of personnel since the inauguration, the U.S. not only has a new group of political appointees – including some, like Marco Rubio, who, generally speaking, know what they’re doing in terms of national security – but also many who don’t know what they’re doing. They’ve also fired the senior level of civil servants and foreign service officers, and a lot of the mid-levels are leaving, so that expertise isn’t there. That’s a real problem. The U.S. national security establishment is increasingly being run by the B team – at best. How will this be a problem when Trump meets Putin? You have two leaders of two big countries like this, they usually don’t meet on a few days’ notice. It would have to be a real crisis. This meeting could happen two or three weeks from now as easily as it could this week. And if that happened, you would have a chance to prepare. You’d have a chance to get all kinds of documents in front of the American participants. You would meet with your Russian counterparts. You’d meet with Ukrainian counterparts, maybe some of the Western European countries. And when the two sides sat down at the table, it would be very professional. They would have very similar briefing papers in front of them. The issues would be narrowed down. None of that’s going to happen in Alaska. It’s going to be two political leaders meeting and deciding things, often driven by political considerations, but without any real idea of whether they can really be implemented or how they could be implemented. Could a peace deal possibly be enforced? Again, the situation is kind of haunted by the West never enforcing security guarantees promised in 1994. So I’m not sure how well this could be enforced. Historically, Russia and Ukraine were always linked up, and that’s the problem. What’s Putin’s bottom line? Would he give up Crimea? No. Would he give up the part of eastern Ukraine that de facto had been taken over by Russia before this war even started? Probably not. Would he give up what they’ve gained since then? OK, maybe. Then let’s put ourselves in Ukraine’s shoes. Will they want to give up Crimea? They say, “No.” Do they want to give up any of the eastern part of the country? They say, “No.” I’m curious what your colleagues in the diplomatic world are saying about this upcoming meeting. People who understand the process of diplomacy think that this is very amateurish and is unlikely to yield real results that are enforceable. It will yield some kind of statement and a photo of Trump and Putin shaking hands. There will be people who believe that this will solve the problem. It won’t. Donald Heflin, Executive Director of the Edward R. Murrow Center and Senior Fellow of Diplomatic Practice, The Fletcher School, Tufts University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. — Previously Published on theconversation.com with Creative Commons License *** Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view A complete list of benefits is here. — Photo credit: unsplash The post This Isn’t How Wars Are Ended − a Veteran Diplomat Explains How Trump-Putin Summit Is Amateurish and Politically Driven appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

— If you plan to list a home in Oklahoma City or Tulsa, stone choices can move the needle on buyer interest, photos, and final offers. Kitchens and baths sell houses, and the counter surface sits front and center in every showing and listing photo. Pick the right material and color, and buyers picture an easy move-in. Pick a high-maintenance or polarizing look, and they hesitate. Use this guide to choose granite, quartzite, marble, or quartz that fits your neighborhood, your timeline, and your budget. What buyers expect in OKC and Tulsa right now Open layouts, large islands, simple upkeep, and neutral palettes lead most shortlists. Families want surfaces that stand up to weeknight cooking and weekend gatherings. Empty nesters want a clean look that doesn’t demand sealing every few months. Across price points, buyers notice three things first: color tone, seam quality, and how the stone pairs with cabinets and floors. Safe palette targets: soft whites, warm greige, pale taupe, charcoal, and gentle veining. Vibrant stone can look amazing, but go bold only when the home’s style supports it. Match the stone to neighborhood style Oklahoma neighborhoods carry their own character. Let that guide your picks. Historic districts (OKC’s Mesta Park, Heritage Hills; Tulsa’s Maple Ridge, Swan Lake): These homes love classic materials. Honed marble on a baking station or as a powder bath vanity looks right at home. For the kitchen, keep the period charm but reduce upkeep: choose a light quartz with restrained veining on perimeters, then bring character with a small slab of marble on a pastry zone or a quartzite island with soft movement. Stick with eased or small-radius edges to mimic older millwork. Newer luxury pockets (Nichols Hills in OKC, South Tulsa gated communities): Buyers expect statement islands and seamless details. Quartzite shines here. Long, flowing veins create that high-end feel without the upkeep of marble. Consider a waterfall edge on one end of the island and a full-height stone backsplash behind the range. If the kitchen skews modern, a warm white quartz with faint, linear veining looks crisp under recessed and under-cabinet lights. Family-friendly suburbs (Edmond, Yukon, Mustang, Moore; Jenks, Bixby, Owasso, Broken Arrow): Durability wins. Mid-tone granites hide crumbs and fingerprints, and many quartzites shrug off heat and daily wear. If you want simple cleaning, quartz in a soft white, cream, or light gray keeps the room bright and photographs beautifully. Avoid stark, blue-cold whites if your floors and trim run warm. Urban condos and townhomes (Bricktown, Midtown OKC; Downtown Tulsa): Tighter spaces benefit from reflection and continuous lines. Polished quartz or a tight-grained granite in a consistent pattern makes rooms feel larger. Choose an eased edge and thin profile for a modern look, or use a mitered apron for visual weight without extra seams. Granite, quartzite, marble, or quartz: how to choose for resale Granite Choose granite when you want natural pattern, high heat tolerance, and broad appeal. Dense, tight-grained granites in charcoal, coffee, or warm gray feel current and resist stains with basic sealing. Speckled patterns hide daily life, which buyers with kids appreciate. Avoid overly busy slabs if your backsplash or floor already carries strong pattern. Quartzite Pick quartzite when you want the drama of veining with the strength of a very hard natural stone. Subtle, long waves in cream, gray, and whisper-green look luxurious in photos and in person. Seal it on schedule, and it handles daily cooking well. Use quartzite for waterfall islands, full-height backsplashes, fireplace surrounds, and shower walls when you want a single, cohesive look. Marble Reach for marble in spots where you want instant charm and brightness: powder baths, primary bath vanities, and baking stations. Honed marble hides micro-scratches and reduces glare under vanity lights. In kitchens, you can still use marble if you stage it thoughtfully and explain care, but for resale you’ll usually place marble in smaller doses and lean on quartz or quartzite for main worktops. Quartz Choose quartz for low maintenance and consistent color. Soft white, cream, and pale gray sell well across the metro. Subtle veining pairs with shaker cabinets and modern slab doors alike. Remind your installer to protect against direct high heat near the range and to plan seams where they vanish under light. For resale, quartz often delivers the easiest “move-in ready” message. Color moves that pair with Oklahoma finishes Many Oklahoma homes feature warm maple, oak, or knotty alder cabinets, red or buff brick, and hand-scraped floors. Keep stone choices in sync: Warm woods + brick: cream-based quartz, cocoa-fleck granite, or quartzite with beige undertones. Painted shaker in white or greige: light quartz with faint gray veining or a quiet white-and-gray quartzite. Modern flat-panel cabinets: charcoal quartz, leathered dark granite, or a feather-vein quartzite for contrast. Historic trim and vintage hardware: honed marble in baths; on kitchen perimeters, a soft-vein quartz that reads classic. Finishes, edges, and thickness that help listings pop Finish: Polished reflects light and photographs bright; honed looks calm and hides touch marks; leathered adds texture and depth on dark stones. Edges: Eased or small radius works everywhere; a mitered waterfall reads high-end on an island; ogee belongs in period baths, not on a modern island. Thickness: A 3 cm profile looks substantial and signals quality. If you prefer a thinner modern profile, use a clean miter to fake thickness at the apron while keeping a sleek plane. Backsplashes that boost perceived value Tile backsplashes look great, but stone to the uppers often reads as “custom.” In luxury pockets, carry the island quartzite up the wall. In busy family kitchens, run a matching quartz splash behind the range for easy cleaning. If you love tile, keep pattern low-contrast when the stone has movement; let one element lead. Bathrooms that brighten small spaces Small Tulsa and OKC baths turn into showpieces with the right stone. A honed marble vanity with a simple backsplash bounces light without glare. In kids’ baths, choose quartz in a soft white so toothpaste and soaps clean off quickly. For a primary suite, quartzite gives spa-like calm with minimal upkeep. Carry the vanity stone onto a shower bench or curb for a tailored, model-home finish. Fireplaces and feature walls that sell the room If you plan one “wow” moment, book-match a quartzite slab on a fireplace or create a full-height range wall. The mirror-image veins pull buyers across the room during showings and create hero photos for the listing. Keep nearby finishes quiet so the stone leads. Good-better-best plans that fit a presale timeline You don’t need a total gut to win buyers. Align your plan with your timeline: Good (fast refresh): Quartz in a popular soft white on the kitchen perimeter, a matching stone splash behind the range, new cabinet hardware, and updated lighting. Better (2–4 weeks): Quartzite or mid-tone granite island with a simple waterfall, quartz perimeters, new sink and faucet, and a stone-capped niche or floating shelf. Best (strategic wow): Cohesive quartzite across island, perimeter, and a range wall, plus a marble powder bath vanity and a quartz primary bath vanity for balance. Work with your fabricator early Line up details before you order: sink type and size, faucet holes, cooktop cutout, seam placement, and edge profile. Ask for vein-match planning on L-shaped runs and waterfall corners. If you plan a full-height splash, confirm outlet placements and hood dimensions so cuts land clean and symmetrical. Photo-ready staging that helps you sell After install, wipe stones with a pH-neutral cleaner, then remove streaks with a dry microfiber. Add under-cabinet lighting to show subtle veining. Stage islands with wood boards and a neutral runner so the stone reads warm and livable. Clear counters on listing day; let the material carry the frame. Quick room-by-room cheat sheet Kitchen (family suburbs): quartz perimeter in warm white + leathered mid-tone granite island. Kitchen (luxury pockets): soft-vein quartzite across island and splash; simple eased edges. Powder bath (historic districts): honed marble top + unlacquered hardware for period charm. Primary bath: quartzite or quiet quartz, full-height mirror, soft wall color. Fireplace: book-matched quartzite in rooms with tall ceilings. Pick stones that tell one consistent story: durable, calm, light-reflective, and easy to live with. Buyers see that story in photos first and confirm it during showings. When every surface looks intentional and low-maintenance, offers arrive with fewer objections and stronger numbers. — This content is brought to you by Sky Link Building iStockPhoto The post Renovating Before You Sell: Stones that Boost Resale in Key Oklahoma Neighborhoods appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

The building near Independence Square has caught fire, Vitaly Klitschko said The seat of the Ukrainian government in Kiev has been struck by a Russian drone, Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said on Sunday. Ukrainian media reported strikes in different parts of the capital. Klitschko wrote on Telegram that “a government building caught fire following the apparent shootdown of a drone.” Ukrainian news agency UNIAN shared a video showing smoke rising from a building near Independence Square. DETAILS TO FOLLOW View the full article

Hi A, how are you? (It was wild and I loved it)! And just like this, 9 days later, he had resuscitated from the world of the dead. It was great, J, just great, I thought. Years ago a friend of mine shared a wise thought: those who don’t die, return. In my 38 years of experience, this quote has proven to be very accurate. What can you do next? I’ll be honest, I wanted to make my therapist proud and actually take the situation into my own hands. Take accountability for the behavior shown. I wanted to prove I know my self worth. After a couple of kind and a little bit colder texts back, playfully, I said: Just to be clear, what are we doing — like getting to know each other more or more like online sexy flirtation? Because I asked ChatGpt the other night now to send a disappearing photo but that for me was a first. Just talking to you turns me on So the other night? I’m having fun, what’s your mood? I kind of felt like a one night stand the other night not sure it’s very me I respect that It’s just not me. This is the end? I don’t know I guess it was so fun the other night that you kind of seem like an idiot if you’re jsut trying to sleep with me virtually as opposed to actually meeting me? Hahahaha Hahahaha You are delicious He video called me immediately laughing out loud. We laughed together. He explained he’s in a moment in life in which he’s focusing on his work and is seeing multiple people. That he hates lies and that he wanted to be up front about it. I explained how I’m actually stable and looking for something happy and real. We had an hour long conversation in full honesty and transparency. Just as the first call had gone, it was all quite perfect. We agreed it must end there. 15 minutes later… My phone rings again. He’s laughing on video. We just broke up — I joke. Yes I know but I was thinking I’d still like to know you, even as a person, you are so interesting. I get that but we can’t otherwise what’s the point of this? Yes, you’re right, I understand. We laugh a little and hang up. I must admit, I was a bit sad to let him go. He is also just — delicious- as he would put it. 10 minutes later… My phone rings again. Okay it’s not just sex. Right? No I know it’s not, do you know that? Laughter on both sides. I can’t talk now- I say. Okay just a minute in silence don’t hang up. I have to hang up now! We message good night. The next day I wake up wondering how he’s going to be and instead of the usual silence he is super sweet right from the morning. In the evening he calls and we spend 3 hours on a video call where he asks me about my life, about past relationships and all sorts. We talk, we laugh, we go to bed at the same time. It feels practically like we have moved in. Then Friday, silence, little moment of panic (due to previous trauma not to him) and Saturday again texting and all well. We end up spending many more hours on video call to the point where we are waking up and going to bed at the same time on video. We shower together, we brush our teeth, we prepare morning coffee, we share stories and insecurities and learnings of life. I wanted to go this weekend to Porto but we decided it wasn’t right just yet. He is covered in work and he wants to be fully free and available for me when I come. I don’t know if this is ever going to happen, but the truth is that at the moment I feel blessed. I feel blessed that he is honest, that he is transparent, that he put things out in the open. He has shared that we are in two completely different moments of life and perhaps that means it cannot work — I’m at the best ever moment in my career whereas he is just figuring out his. I am ready for a family and he is still building. Perhaps I’m just hyper compensating for my loneliness by attaching to a stranger who has become a virtual but real boyfriend though we are just friends and have never met. I am not sure what it is. However, I do think that he is a lovely human being, sunny on the inside and out, sensitive, emotionally intelligent, direct, real and respectful. I understand it’s not what I was looking for, that he’s too far away and that he is just not ready for me right now, however out of millions of people I could have met I didn’t meet a ghost, on the contrary, I met a wonderful man. Lessons from my therapist: perhaps I’m further than I think from finding real love. I thought I had taken a huge step forward by addressing the situation with him head on. Years ago I wouldn’t have been able to say how I felt. I would have been scared to ask whether he wanted something serious or not in fear of putting him off. I asked, I tried to close when he said he wasn’t ready. However, credit to my therapist for calling me out on the fact that I am still there, I’m still holding space for this man who ultimately cannot give me what I want and deserve right now. Perhaps I got a little lost in his gorgeous smile, or perhaps, as my therapist hypothesized, I am still lacking an appreciation for who I am as a woman and I am taking crumbs instead of standing up for the love I fully deserve. A part of me, a younger part, still feels like she doesn’t deserve that big love. Maybe, somewhere along the way I lost sight of the fact that love is possible. I think I lost my belief. And I so want to believe, my friends. Recently, whether you’re a Swiftie or not, an old video of Taylor Swift resurfaced with her sharing that she would find the right man for her no matter what she was going through. She did. My therapist says that to find love, we need to believe. Our thoughts shape our reality and we cannot let those thoughts design a reality we do not fit in. So here I am, sitting in my beautiful London flat, trying hard to focus on work whilst my mind is immersed in J, hoping I have the strength not to believe J can give me what he clearly said he cannot, yet have the power to believe in love. To be honest, I must admit that I am struggling to find that blind believe once again but I will try my very hardest to hold my heart tighter, to get back up and to try again. They say those who don’t die, return. But maybe the real secret is knowing when to let them go — so we can finally open the door for someone who wants to stay. — This post was previously published on medium.com. Love relationships? We promise to have a good one with your inbox. Subcribe to get 3x weekly dating and relationship advice. Did you know? We have 8 publications on Medium. Join us there! Hello, Love (relationships) Change Becomes You (Advice) A Parent is Born (Parenting) Equality Includes You (Social Justice) Greener Together (Environment) Shelter Me (Wellness) Modern Identities (Gender, etc.) Co-Existence (World) *** – Photo credit: Elise Wilcox On Unsplash The post Those Who Don’t Die, Return. appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

The US vice president has dismissed accusations of war crimes US Vice President J.D. Vance has bluntly rejected accusations that a missile strike on a boat carrying alleged Venezuela-linked cartel members amounted to a war crime. On Tuesday, the US destroyed what President Donald Trump described as a “drug-carrying boat” in international waters in the southern Caribbean, killing 11 people on board. Trump claimed the vessel was tied to the Tren de Aragua cartel, which he has designated as a terrorist organization. Venezuelan officials dismissed the footage as fabricated, calling it “cartoonish.” In a post on X on Saturday, Vance praised the strike, saying that “killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military.” Social media influencer and frequent Trump critic Brian Krassenstein challenged the attack’s legality, arguing that “killing the citizens of another nation who are civilians without any due process is called a war crime.” “I don’t give a s**t what you call it,” Vance replied. While many Trump supporters backed the vice president, Senator Rand Paul condemned his remarks as “despicable and thoughtless.” The strike followed the deployment of a US naval armada in the western Caribbean last month as part of Trump’s crackdown on drug trafficking. In 2020, a US court indicted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on charges of leading the Cartel de los Soles, an allegation he denounced as a plot to topple him. CNN reported on Friday that Trump is considering strikes against cartels inside Venezuela. The president has denied regime change plans but described the country’s 2024 election as “very strange.” View the full article

Shyness is like having an overzealous internal security guard stationed in our brains, patrolling for threats that do not exist, and insisting we present our passport, emotional background check, and a notarized statement of good intentions before we dare speak to another human being. We tell ourselves that we are simply “careful” or “reserved,” but in reality, many of us are just one unreturned smile away from retreating to our emotional fallout shelter with a tub of ice cream and a Netflix queue full of comfort shows. The root of shyness is rarely about lacking conversation skills or needing a list of “fun icebreakers” from the internet. Shyness, more often, is the deep suspicion that if we let someone see us fully, they will make the same grimace we make when we accidentally open the front-facing camera on our phones. We have learned, sometimes through early rejection or betrayal, that keeping our cards close to the chest is safer. We may even convince ourselves that the other person should make all the moves, because if they were truly interested, they would storm our fortress with dramatic declarations of affection and perhaps a trained falcon carrying a handwritten note. Unfortunately, a genuine connection does not work like that. Connection is a mutual crossing of bridges, and in our case, the bridge is often rickety, fog-covered, and guarded by our own Javert-like inner critic who keeps shouting “They will never love you” in a French accent. The critic, of course, is just our fear in a fancier coat, trying to keep things orderly by preventing us from doing anything unpredictable, like revealing our feelings. Overcoming shyness begins with hitting our own version of “bottom.” Not necessarily a dramatic, Les Misérables-level crisis, but perhaps a quieter realization that our lives are becoming a museum of missed opportunities. We grow tired of watching the people we like dance away into the arms of those who had the audacity to simply ask them out. We see that our fear of embarrassment has begun to embarrass us more than embarrassment itself. And so, we decide, sometimes with trembling hands and a queasy stomach, that it is worth trading the comfort of avoidance for the chaos of possibility. Of course, we do not go from anxious wallflower to flirtatious social butterfly in one grand transformation montage. We start small. We risk saying hello first. We let a pause in the conversation stretch for one uncomfortable second instead of rushing to fill it with facts about the weather. We make one genuine compliment without mentally rehearsing it for twenty minutes beforehand. We stop Googling “signs they like me” and start paying attention to how we actually feel when we are around them. Examples of bravery for the shy among us can be deceptively ordinary. It might be bringing someone a coffee without overthinking whether they will think it is “too much.” It could be revealing that we also love the obscure band they just mentioned, without worrying that they will test us on their discography. It might be resisting the urge to apologize for existing every time we take up conversational space. In fact, recognizing and being extraordinarily kind to those attempting that kind of bravery is the brand of a hero. Should we witness that kind of grace, we are in the company of an uncommon soul. The truth is, shyness is not a moral failing, and we do not need to bulldoze our temperament into oblivion. It is a signal of where our safety lies, and sometimes, we need to walk a little outside the safety zone to find joy. Love, after all, is not built on perfect confidence or cinematic charm, but on the gradual courage to let ourselves be seen, awkwardness and all. And while the inner critic will always mutter, it is possible, over time, to turn his volume down until his warnings sound less like prophecy and more like the faint hum of a distant refrigerator. In the end, the shy person’s guide to love is less about becoming bold in the grand sense and more about becoming willing in the small sense. Willing to risk a strange look. Willing to endure a beat of silence. Willing to be known, even in our nervous, overthinking, underconfident glory. Because the truth is, somewhere out there, another shy person is also rehearsing their lines, wondering if we might be the one who finally walks across the bridge. And wouldn’t it be a shame if both of us stayed at our respective ends, waving politely across the void? — This post was previously published on medium.com. Love relationships? We promise to have a good one with your inbox. Subcribe to get 3x weekly dating and relationship advice. Did you know? We have 8 publications on Medium. Join us there! Hello, Love (relationships) Change Becomes You (Advice) A Parent is Born (Parenting) Equality Includes You (Social Justice) Greener Together (Environment) Shelter Me (Wellness) Modern Identities (Gender, etc.) Co-Existence (World) *** – Photo credit: Peter Werkman on Unsplash The post Former Docent at the Museum of Missed Opportunities appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

The older I get, the dumber I feel—and it’s freeing. Getting dumb might be the smartest move you make. 7 Joys of Getting Dumb: #1. Respect for the smarts of others. “Knowing” makes it easy to look down on others. Getting dumber frees you to let others be right. “I neither know nor think that I know.” – Socrates #2. Enthusiasm for learning. People who “know” have nothing to learn. Dumb people stay hungry. They ask, listen, and learn. The joy of getting dumb is staying curious. #3. Less need to impress people. Being the “expert” is draining. Life is more relaxed when you’re not trying to prove how smart you are. Dumb people laugh at themselves. #4. Openness to learn from failure. Dumb people are surprised by success—and they don’t steal the credit. They see failure as normal, not fatal. #5. Freedom to be wrong. Get dumb in a smart way. Replace defensiveness with curiosity. You seek feedback without flinching. You change your mind without shame. “He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.” – Confucius #6. Deeper connections. Openness invites connection. Pretending to know pushes people away. Admitting you don’t know invites conversation. Learning together unites people. #7. Freedom from perfectionism. Perfectionists are procrastinators. Getting dumb means aiming for better, not perfect. “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.” Shunryu Suzuki Power tip: Think of the best questions you’ve heard. Did they come from someone trying to impress? How could you practice getting dumber today? How to be Smart about being Dumb The Art of Being Stupid — This post was previously published on LEADERSHIPFREAK.BLOG and is republished with Creative Commons license. — Subscribe to The Good Men Project Newsletter Email Address * Subscribe If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project, please join us as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here. — Photo credit: iStock.com The post 7 Joys of Getting Dumb appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

— A Childhood Shaped by the Sea Mark Andrew Kozlowski grew up in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, a small fishing town with a strong maritime heritage. His father, a marine biologist, and his mother, a coastal geologist, raised him with a deep respect for the ocean. By the age of 10, Mark was already sailing small boats with his dad and learning navigation skills. At 12, he was exploring tide pools and experimenting with underwater robots made from salvaged parts. “The ocean was my playground,” he recalls. “I didn’t just want to watch it—I wanted to understand how it worked.” That mix of curiosity and technical tinkering carried into his teenage years. He built model ships, coded simple wave simulations, and joined friends in “The Cove Crew,” a group of local kids who spent summers kayaking and camping along the coast. From Dalhousie to Innovation Mark Andrew Kozlowski attended Dalhousie University, where he earned a degree in Offshore Engineering with minors in Environmental Science and Marine Geospatial Technologies. He quickly became a campus leader. He was president of the Marine Robotics Club, co-founder of Oceans@Dal—a student think tank focused on sustainability—and a member of the varsity sailing team. His thesis on AI-driven wave prediction won him the Dalhousie Ocean Innovator Award, and he graduated with the Governor General’s Academic Medal. Reflecting on those years, Mark says: “University gave me the tools. But more importantly, it showed me that technology and sustainability don’t have to compete. They can reinforce each other.” Early Career at Sea After graduation, Mark began his professional journey as a Marine Systems Engineer at OceanEdge Dynamics. There, he worked on offshore turbines, integrating smart sensors that improved energy output while reducing environmental impact. He later joined the UN Global Compact Oceans Program as an Environmental Innovation Fellow. That role exposed him to international policy debates and gave him a global perspective on the Blue Economy—the idea that sustainable use of ocean resources can drive long-term growth. “It was clear to me,” Mark says, “that the future of our economy and the health of our oceans were tied together. We can’t separate them.” Founding Blue Horizon Technologies In 2017, Mark launched Blue Horizon Technologies with a simple mission: merge artificial intelligence with ocean conservation. The company began with real-time ocean monitoring tools and quickly expanded to include offshore wind and tidal energy projects, AI-driven marine data analytics, and sustainable fisheries management systems. By 2024, Blue Horizon had grown to five international hubs in Canada, Norway, Japan, Kenya, and Chile. “We wanted to make ocean data practical,” he explains. “When policymakers, fishermen, and energy companies have better information, they make better decisions.” Global Recognition and Leadership Mark’s work has not gone unnoticed. He received the Global Marine Innovation Prize in 2022, was named a World Economic Forum Ocean Leader in 2023, and later earned the Order of Nova Scotia for his contributions to environmental technology. He also serves on the boards of Ocean Supercluster Canada, the Global BlueTech Coalition, and chairs the Atlantic Marine Innovation Network. These roles keep him at the center of conversations on ocean sustainability and emerging marine technologies. A Belief in Education and Community While Mark spends much of his time leading Blue Horizon, he is equally dedicated to education and outreach. He founded the Kozlowski Foundation for Ocean Literacy, which funds coastal education programs in underserved communities. Blue Horizon donates 5% of its profits to shoreline restoration projects. Every week, Mark also mentors students in STEM programs. “Young people need to see the ocean not just as scenery, but as a system that shapes their future,” he says. Balancing Work and Life on the Water Despite his global responsibilities, Mark remains grounded in Nova Scotia with his wife, documentary filmmaker Leila Hassan, and their twin sons, Ari and Kai. In his free time, he free dives along the rugged coastline, cooks traditional Mi’kmaq and Acadian seafood dishes, and keeps a reef tank featuring native Canadian species. He also writes poetry about the sea, with a small collection titled Tidal Echoes. “I try to live what I preach,” Mark says. “Our home is carbon-neutral, built from recycled marine materials. If we ask the world to change, we have to lead by example.” Looking Ahead Today, Mark continues to push for innovation that balances economic opportunity with ecological responsibility. He sees promise in nature-based solutions like living shorelines and in using advanced data tools to guide smarter ocean policy. “The question isn’t whether we can keep exploiting the ocean,” he says. “The real question is whether we can learn to work with it instead of against it. That’s where the future lies.” — This content is brought to you by Hassan Javed iStockPhoto The post Mark Andrew Kozlowski: Building a Smarter Future for Our Oceans appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

The suspect had cast ballots in her pet’s name twice, the prosecutors say A California woman has been charged with registering her dog to vote and casting ballots in her pet’s name in two elections, the Orange County Attorney General’s Office said on Friday. Prosecutors said Laura Lee Yourex “self-reported” her actions in 2024 and now faces five felony counts. If convicted on all charges, she could serve up to six years in prison. According to the statement, Yourex submitted a mail-in ballot under the name of her dog, Maya Jean Yourex, in the 2021 gubernatorial recall election, which was counted. She attempted to do so again in the 2022 primary election, but that ballot was rejected. In 2022, Yourex reportedly posted a photo of Maya wearing an “I voted” sticker on social media. Two years later, she shared another post showing the dog’s tag alongside a ballot with the caption “maya is still getting her ballot,” even though the pet had already died, prosecutors said. California does not require residents to present identification to register or vote in state elections, though ID is required for first-time voters in federal contests. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly argued that mail-in voting enables election fraud and has vowed to ban the practice before the 2026 midterms. California is among 19 states suing to block his executive order aimed at tightening identification rules and restricting the counting of mail-in ballots. View the full article

By Friedel Marquardt Changing the way we think — and appreciating new perspectives — can be a complex and vulnerable process. Drawing from her research into social media as a space for sharing marginalised narratives, Friedel Marquardt presents the online ‘grace space’ to safely foster transformative conversations around new ideas Transformation needs space and safety. Is social media the answer? Democratic transformation involves moving from one state of being to another, often through engagement with others. My research focuses on the transformation of ideas and mindsets; that is, learning and growing through the understanding of a new perspective. This can be a long, involved and vulnerable process, sparked by a range of factors. Regardless of its cause, this kind of transformation usually involves considering ideas and engaging in conversations to make sense of those ideas, especially in democratic contexts. In the past, the public sphere has been the place for transformative democratic conversations. But the public sphere is also exclusive, and this makes it difficult for transformation to occur, particularly in favour of marginalised groups. Newer public spaces, like social media, can be exclusive, too. Yet social media offers accessibility in a way that traditional public spaces do not. Here, nearly anyone can engage with a conversation online if they have the tools to do so. Social media as place for storytelling My research examines social media as a space for storytelling, especially for groups whose voices have historically been excluded. On social media platforms, previously silenced voices have agency over the stories they present and how they present them, along with some control over who sees their content. You can share perspectives, tell different sides to a story and, potentially, challenge mainstream or dominant ideas. You can support causes, and further your message’s reach. This can be powerful and transformative, particularly for those who have lacked opportunity to speak through traditional media. Sharing online can even lead to movements that influence legislation, as with #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter. This resonates with our Democratic Transformations series. Taina Meriluoto argues that social media allows users to curate their online presence, empowering them to explore new sides of their identities. And as Alfred Moore writes, people can take on anonymous forms to explore an identity they may not otherwise be able to. With improved moderation, could we tap into social media’s accessibility to nurture democratic conversation and transformation? These new democratic transformations are dependent upon platform design. As Jennifer Forestal points out, physical and digital spaces affect how much or little a person engages, which identities they reveal, and which stories they share. Yet, platform design can also have detrimental effects. It could result in negatively targeted messaging and the spread of mis- and disinformation, and it could perpetuate harmful narratives. How far users can participate in detrimental social media engagement depends on platform regulations. Lax or poorly enforced regulations can hinder a person’s willingness to engage with new ideas in these spaces, lest they become targets of online abuse. With improved moderation and the safety of a closed group, could we tap into social media’s accessibility to nurture democratic conversation and transformation? Could such platforms become ‘grace spaces’ where people explore and test new ideas? What is a ‘grace space’? I imagine a grace space as an accessible online platform for personal transformation that welcomes the messiness of the process. Grace spaces are conversational platforms that invite the questions people may otherwise hesitate to ask. They also offer space to openly respond to those questions, and allow people learning to make mistakes as they engage with new concepts. There are, at present, only limited online spaces that invite people to have vulnerable conversations without the risk of trolling or hateful interactions. However, there are spaces online that allude to this kind of conversation. The subreddit r/IAmA provides a space for a ‘crowdsourced interview’, which Reddit calls an ‘ask me anything’. Here, redditors can ask questions in response to someone’s description of themselves and what they do. The subreddit is moderated, with rules around what questions users can ask, and how moderators expect redditors to interact. Topics are diverse, from learning about surrogacy, to immigration law, to celebrities and much more. Online grace spaces allow people to ask the questions they may not be brave enough to ask elsewhere. They welcome the ‘messiness’ of personal transformation r/IAmA is certainly a space for more honest information sharing. But it provides a predominantly unidirectional response to questions. Redditors may comment on the OP’s (original poster’s) response to their question, but the OP does not usually respond to that comment again. The grace space I am proposing is conversational. It is deliberative in nature and would benefit from many of the traits found in citizens’ assemblies, but specifically, mutual understanding and respect. We might even think of it as the r/IAmA subreddit with democratic facilitation, optional anonymity, and in closed-group form. Listening and empathy are key factors in this conversation, because they help create a caring environment that welcomes people and their stories. A space to assist transformative journeys As in online forums, conversations in a grace space have a purpose: participating in democratic discussion about an issue to enhance understanding. In such spaces, people are not condemned or ‘cancelled‘ because of their group identity or affiliation, or because they make mistakes in responding to ideas. They may be corrected if their interactions have a negative impact on others, or even removed from the online space if they are continually disruptive. However, everyone involved enters the space with the understanding that people are there to make sense of what ideas mean for themselves and their identities. All users enter a ‘grace space’ with the understanding that people are there to make sense of what ideas mean for themselves and their identities The grace space is there to help people make sense of their own identity in response to others’ stories and ideas, and to foster conversation among participants throughout the process. It is there to support people’s transformative journeys. No.19 in our Democratic Transformations series This article was originally published at The Loop and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. — Subscribe to The Good Men Project Newsletter Email Address * Subscribe If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project, please join us as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here. — Photo credit: unsplash The post 🎭 How Social Media Can Support Transformative Conversations appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

— The dating world is getting tough out there in 2025, and for single men, it’s important to remember just how essential first impressions are—and how far they truly go. First impressions no longer just apply to superficial things like clothes and initial conversations, because your home will ultimately say a lot about you when you bring a woman back to your place for the first time. This means that the way you maintain and design your home décor can either impress your love interest or instantly turn them off. And the tough truth is that too many single guys are turning women off by their shabby apartments and décor themes these days! So, if you’re a single guy and you’re hoping to make your home more welcoming to lady visitors, it could be time to make absolutely certain that your place doesn’t come off as anything close to a bachelor pad stereotype. Check out the below sections to learn more about 5 common home décor mistakes that single men make—as well as how to fix them for good! 1. Mismatched or Old Furniture If you’re still using hand-me-down furniture or pretty much have a completely random assortment of furniture pieces in your living room, the odds are that your décor looks unplanned and chaotic. And trust us, women will quickly notice if things like your dining chairs don’t match or your couch looks saggy! The solution for this décor mistake isn’t necessarily that you need to buy everything brand new for expensive prices, but you should instead be focusing on creating a cohesive aesthetic. This means committing to one décor style (rustic, modern, minimalist, etc.) and sticking with it throughout your entire home. Don’t put off investing in a comfortable, sturdy sofa any longer—and the same thing goes for coffee tables and dining chairs. After all, it’s 2025, and your home now needs to feel grown-up and intentional! 2. Poor Household Lighting Another common décor mistake that single guys unknowingly make is relying on overhead lightbulbs, or even worse, fluorescent lighting. Not only is fluorescent lighting very unflattering from a dating perspective, but it also creates a sterile vibe in your home that makes it feel more like a Wal-Mart or hospital. It’s just flat-out not relaxing, which won’t do you any favors on your date nights. The solution for this mistake is layering your home’s lighting by adding table lamps, floor lamps, and soft LED bulbs that enhance overall ambience. Dimmer switches are another affordable way to improve your space’s atmosphere, and warm lighting will always go a long way to make your place feel less like a college dorm and more like the home of a professional man that women can trust and get to know better! 3. Bare Floors With No Warmth When you walk into a room that has nothing but bare tile, hardwood or worn carpeting, it inevitably makes the entire space feel uninviting and unfinished. Bare floors also give off a temporary space impression, which a lot of women psychologically associate with their first apartments and college dorm rooms. This is absolutely not how you want your home to come off during a first impression, which is why it’s so important to be on the lookout for high-quality area rugs. And even though it’s partially true that rugs can be expensive, the actual truth is that finding high-quality modern area rugs online has become much easier in recent years. Rugs will instantly add style, comfort and warmth to any room in your home. They’ll also reduce echoes and define specific zones, which will subtly show how you pay attention to life’s finer details! 4. Empty Walls White, blank walls give off a horrible first impression to women—and it’s something that single guys fall for way too often. When you don’t have any art on your walls, it comes off as though you either just moved in recently or you simply don’t care about your personal surroundings and creative expression. Empty walls make homes feel impersonal and sterile, which is an easy way to make a woman feel less comfortable and simply ready to leave… The fix for this décor wreck is to hang framed photos, artwork, or shelves of décor pieces and books. And just remember that you don’t need to spend a ton of money to fill up your walls properly, because there are plenty of affordable options online that’ll reflect your personality and give your home the much-needed character that it deserves! 5. Neglected or Cluttered Bathrooms You better believe that women will thoroughly judge your home’s bathroom. This means that they’ll instantly get turned off by things like missing towels, old toiletries and questionable cleanliness. The solution for this issue is to keep your bathrooms clean, simple and fully functional. Be sure to invest in some fresh towels and a matching bath mat—and never, ever let your shower curtain get dirty! Organizing your cabinets and toiletries will also go a long way to make you come off as an organized dude who has his life together, and bathrooms should always smell extra fresh when you’re expecting visitors. Details Matter For A Single Guy’s Home Décor! You don’t have to spend a fortune to create a welcoming, attractive home that single women will appreciate—because it’s really all about showing thoughtfulness and effort. Women will surely notice when your home feels comfortable, intentional and stylish. And by fixing the above home décor mistakes that guys make way too often, you’ll help guarantee that your home is giving off a positive first impression for that special someone in your life! — This content is brought to you by Sky Link Building iStockPhoto The post 5 Home Décor Mistakes That Turn Women Off—And How To Fix Them! appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

By Sky Chadde, Investigate Midwest, Investigate Midwest After the Civil War, the U.S. government promised 40 acres, either from abandoned plantations or unused land, to formerly enslaved Black people. But then President Andrew Johnson intervened. He pardoned Confederates, returning their land. It became a common theme. In the following decades, some Black farmers gained land through deals with white landowners: After being tenant operators, they could buy acreage, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report. But as Jim Crow laws proliferated in the early 19th century, more and more Black farmers were subject to oppressive farming contracts. In 1920, there were more than 900,000 Black-owned farms in the U.S., many in the South. It wouldn’t last. In the following decades, the number of Black-owned farms nosedived, according to Census of Agriculture data. As of 2022, only about 28,000 farms were owned by Black operators. While the total number of farms has also decreased over the past hundred years, Black farmers have suffered disproportionately. In 1920, Black-owned farms made up about 15% of all operations. In 2022, the figure was 1.5%. Much of the decline has been attributed to the USDA, which used to have the nickname “The Last Plantation.” One Black farmer told Mother Jones the USDA was a “machine that eats up Black farmland.” The National Black Farmers Association has documented the important events. In 1965, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights found the department, when providing financial assistance, discriminated against Black farmers. Twenty-five years later, a Congressional committee had similar conclusions. In 1997, the landmark Pigford lawsuit was filed, resulting in $1 billion in restitution payments two years later to Black farmers. But Johnson’s decision to return land to whites that the government had provided to Black farmers has had long-lasting consequences, according to reporting by Mother Jones, Reveal and The Center for Public Integrity. For instance, about 1,000 freed people received tracts of land on Skidaway Island, just off the coast of Savannah, Georgia. Now, it’s a tony white enclave. Cut off from resources such as land, Black farmers have struggled to obtain funding from the USDA to this day. According to data obtained by NPR, Black farmers are much more likely to be denied loans than their white counterparts. Notes on the data: Census of Agriculture data can be difficult to compare across time. The USDA has added different categories over the decades to more accurately reflect the make-up of America’s farmers. For instance, the USDA used to only record one operator per farm, which could mask the role of women, according to the study, “How the USDA Changed the Way Women Farmers are Counted in the Census of Agriculture.” Now, multiple operators can be counted. The recording of farmers’ race was also inconsistent. The number of Black operators was not recorded in the 1935 and 1945 censuses, for example. Until relatively recently, farmers who were not white or Black were lumped together as “other.” This makes it difficult to draw conclusions about the presence of farmers of different backgrounds. This article first appeared on Investigate Midwest and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. — Investigate Midwest is an independent, nonprofit newsroom. Our mission is to serve the public interest by exposing dangerous and costly practices of influential agricultural corporations and institutions through in-depth and data-driven investigative journalism.Visit us online at www.investigatemidwest.org *** Does dating ever feel challenging, awkward or frustrating? Turn Your Dating Life into a WOW! with our new classes and live coaching. Click here for more info or to buy with special launch pricing! *** On Substack? Follow us there for more great dating and relationships content. Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. A complete list of benefits is here. — Photo credit: investigatemidwest The post Number of Black-Owned Farms Has Decreased Drastically Since 1900 appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

— Enterprise scalability has become one of the most pressing challenges facing modern organizations as they navigate digital transformation while managing explosive growth, evolving market demands, and increasingly complex operational requirements. Mobile applications have emerged as critical tools for addressing these scalability challenges, enabling enterprises to streamline operations, enhance employee productivity, and deliver superior customer experiences without proportional increases in overhead costs. The traditional approach to enterprise scaling—adding more staff, expanding physical infrastructure, and replicating existing processes—has proven inadequate for today’s dynamic business environment. Forward-thinking organizations are leveraging mobile app development services to create scalable solutions that automate workflows, optimize resource allocation, and provide real-time visibility into operations across global enterprises. The key lies in understanding how strategic mobile development can transform scalability from a cost burden into a competitive advantage. Understanding Enterprise Scalability Challenges Modern enterprises face scalability obstacles that didn’t exist even a decade ago. The convergence of remote work, global operations, regulatory complexity, and customer experience expectations has created scalability challenges that require sophisticated technological solutions rather than simple resource multiplication. Operational Complexity Growth increases exponentially rather than linearly as enterprises expand. Adding new locations, products, or market segments creates interconnected complexities that traditional management approaches cannot handle effectively. Mobile applications provide centralized control systems that manage distributed operations while maintaining consistency and visibility across all business units. Resource Allocation Inefficiencies emerge when enterprises rely on manual processes and legacy systems that cannot adapt quickly to changing demands. Mobile apps enable dynamic resource allocation by providing real-time data about capacity utilization, demand patterns, and performance metrics that guide intelligent decision-making at scale. Communication and Coordination Barriers multiply as organizations grow, creating information silos and coordination delays that impede scalability. Mobile platforms break down these barriers by providing unified communication channels, collaborative workflows, and shared data access that enables seamless coordination across large, distributed teams. Customer Service Scalability Limits become apparent when traditional support models cannot handle growing customer bases without proportional cost increases. Mobile applications enable self-service capabilities, automated support processes, and efficient case management that scale customer service without linear staff increases. Strategic Mobile Solutions for Enterprise Scaling Effective enterprise mobile applications address scalability challenges through strategic approaches that leverage automation, data intelligence, and workflow optimization to enable growth without proportional resource increases. Process Automation and Workflow Optimization represent the most direct approach to scalability, enabling enterprises to handle increased volume without adding staff. Mobile applications automate routine tasks, standardize processes across locations, and provide workflow management capabilities that ensure consistent execution regardless of scale. These automated processes reduce human error while enabling teams to focus on high-value activities that drive growth. Real-Time Data Integration and Analytics provide the visibility necessary for effective scaling by connecting mobile applications with enterprise systems to deliver actionable insights. Mobile dashboards aggregate data from multiple sources, provide predictive analytics, and enable data-driven decision making that optimizes resource allocation and identifies scaling opportunities before they become critical bottlenecks. Self-Service and Employee Empowerment solutions reduce administrative overhead by enabling employees to access information, complete tasks, and resolve issues independently through mobile interfaces. These self-service capabilities scale automatically with workforce growth while reducing the burden on support teams and management hierarchies. Customer Experience Scaling through mobile applications enables enterprises to serve growing customer bases with personalized experiences that don’t require proportional increases in support staff. Mobile apps provide automated onboarding, self-service support, and personalized interactions that maintain service quality while accommodating exponential customer growth. Architecture Considerations for Scalable Mobile Applications Building mobile applications that truly address enterprise scalability requires architectural approaches that anticipate growth while maintaining performance, security, and maintainability as usage scales exponentially. Cloud-Native Architecture provides the foundation for scalable mobile applications by leveraging cloud computing resources that can expand dynamically based on demand. Cloud-native mobile apps benefit from automatic scaling, global distribution, and managed services that eliminate infrastructure bottlenecks while providing enterprise-grade reliability and performance. Microservices Integration enables mobile applications to connect with enterprise systems through modular, scalable service architectures. This approach allows different application components to scale independently based on usage patterns while maintaining overall system stability and enabling rapid feature development. API-First Development creates flexible mobile applications that can integrate with existing enterprise systems while adapting to future technology changes. API-driven architectures enable mobile apps to serve as unified interfaces for complex backend systems while providing the flexibility to modify or replace underlying services without affecting user experiences. Offline Capability and Data Synchronization ensure that mobile applications remain functional even when network connectivity is limited, which becomes increasingly important as enterprises scale across diverse geographic regions with varying infrastructure quality. Robust offline capabilities prevent scaling bottlenecks caused by connectivity dependencies. Industry-Specific Scalability Solutions Different industries face unique scalability challenges that require tailored mobile development approaches. Understanding these industry-specific requirements enables more effective mobile solutions that address actual scaling obstacles rather than generic productivity improvements. Manufacturing and Supply Chain scalability challenges include inventory management, quality control, and coordination across multiple facilities and suppliers. Mobile applications address these challenges through real-time inventory tracking, mobile quality inspections, digital work instructions, and supplier coordination platforms that scale operations without proportional administrative increases. Healthcare and Life Sciences organizations face scalability challenges related to patient care, regulatory compliance, and clinical research coordination. Mobile solutions include patient engagement platforms, clinical data collection systems, compliance monitoring tools, and telemedicine applications that scale healthcare delivery while maintaining quality and regulatory adherence. Financial Services scalability requires mobile applications that handle growing transaction volumes, regulatory reporting, and customer service demands. Mobile banking platforms, automated compliance monitoring, customer onboarding systems, and advisory tools enable financial institutions to scale services while managing risk and regulatory requirements effectively. Retail and E-commerce scaling challenges include inventory management, customer service, and omnichannel coordination. Mobile solutions provide staff productivity tools, customer engagement platforms, inventory optimization systems, and unified commerce capabilities that support growth without operational complexity increases. Performance Optimization for Enterprise Scale Enterprise mobile applications must maintain exceptional performance as user bases grow from hundreds to thousands or millions of users. Performance optimization requires proactive approaches that anticipate scaling challenges rather than reacting to performance degradation. Load Balancing and Traffic Management distribute user requests across multiple servers and geographic regions to prevent performance bottlenecks as usage scales. Advanced load balancing includes intelligent routing based on user location, device capabilities, and current system load to optimize response times globally. Caching and Data Management strategies reduce server load while improving response times through intelligent data storage and retrieval. Multi-layer caching approaches include device-level caching, content delivery networks, and database optimization that maintain performance as data volumes and user bases expand exponentially. Database Scaling and Optimization ensures that mobile applications can access and update enterprise data efficiently regardless of database size or query complexity. Modern database scaling includes horizontal partitioning, read replicas, and query optimization that maintain response times as data volumes grow. Monitoring and Performance Analytics provide early warning of scaling issues while identifying optimization opportunities. Comprehensive monitoring tracks user experience metrics, system performance indicators, and business impact measures that guide scaling decisions and performance improvements. Security and Compliance at Scale Enterprise mobile applications must maintain security and compliance standards even as they scale to serve larger user bases and handle more sensitive data. Scalable security requires architectural approaches that strengthen rather than weaken as applications grow. Identity and Access Management becomes more complex as enterprises scale, requiring mobile applications to integrate with sophisticated authentication and authorization systems. Scalable identity management includes single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, and role-based access controls that maintain security while enabling productivity at scale. Data Protection and Privacy requirements intensify as mobile applications handle increasing volumes of sensitive enterprise and customer data. Scalable data protection includes encryption, data loss prevention, and privacy controls that adapt to growing data volumes and expanding regulatory requirements. Audit and Compliance Monitoring capabilities must scale alongside application usage to ensure ongoing regulatory adherence. Automated compliance monitoring, audit trail generation, and reporting capabilities provide oversight without manual overhead that would limit scalability. Threat Detection and Response systems protect enterprise mobile applications from increasingly sophisticated security threats. Scalable security monitoring includes behavioral analytics, automated threat response, and security orchestration that provides protection without limiting application performance or user experience. Integration with Enterprise Systems Scalable mobile applications must integrate seamlessly with existing enterprise systems while accommodating future technology changes and business expansion. Effective integration strategies enable mobile apps to serve as unified interfaces for complex enterprise ecosystems. Enterprise Resource Planning Integration connects mobile applications with core business systems to provide real-time access to financial, operational, and customer data. ERP integration enables mobile apps to support business processes at scale while maintaining data consistency and accuracy across all systems. Customer Relationship Management integration provides mobile access to customer data, sales processes, and service histories that enable personalized interactions at scale. CRM integration supports sales team productivity, customer service efficiency, and marketing campaign effectiveness as customer bases expand. Business Intelligence and Analytics integration provides mobile access to enterprise analytics and reporting capabilities. Mobile BI enables data-driven decision making at all organizational levels while providing the insights necessary for effective scaling and resource optimization. Legacy System Modernization through mobile interfaces enables enterprises to leverage existing technology investments while providing modern user experiences. Mobile applications can serve as contemporary interfaces for legacy systems, extending their useful life while improving user productivity. Development Partnership Strategies Enterprise mobile development for scalability requires expertise that most organizations don’t maintain internally. Strategic development partnerships provide access to specialized knowledge while enabling focus on core business objectives. Enterprise Mobile Development Expertise provides deep understanding of scalability challenges, architectural best practices, and integration requirements specific to enterprise environments. Experienced development teams understand the unique requirements of enterprise scaling and can implement solutions that address actual business needs rather than theoretical capabilities. Technology Partnership and Integration capabilities ensure that mobile applications can leverage best-of-breed enterprise technologies while maintaining cohesive user experiences. Development partners with established technology relationships can implement more effective integrations while reducing implementation risks and timelines. Ongoing Support and Evolution services ensure that mobile applications continue supporting enterprise scaling as business requirements change and technology platforms evolve. Professional development partners provide maintenance, updates, and enhancement services that extend application lifecycles while maintaining scalability benefits. Working with a custom mobile app development company that specializes in enterprise solutions provides access to proven methodologies, scalable architectures, and integration expertise that accelerates development while ensuring long-term scalability success. Measuring Scalability Success Effective enterprise mobile development requires ongoing measurement of scalability benefits to ensure that applications continue delivering value as organizations grow. Success measurement guides optimization decisions while demonstrating return on development investments. Operational Efficiency Metrics track how mobile applications impact productivity, process efficiency, and resource utilization as organizations scale. Key metrics include task completion times, error rates, resource utilization improvements, and automation effectiveness that demonstrate operational scalability benefits. User Adoption and Satisfaction indicators reveal whether mobile applications successfully address enterprise scaling challenges from user perspectives. Adoption metrics include usage patterns, feature utilization, user feedback, and productivity improvements that indicate application effectiveness. Business Impact Measurement connects mobile application performance to business outcomes like revenue growth, cost reduction, customer satisfaction, and competitive positioning. These connections demonstrate the strategic value of mobile development investments while guiding future enhancement priorities. Scalability Performance Indicators track how well mobile applications maintain performance and functionality as user bases and data volumes increase. Performance indicators include response times, system availability, error rates, and capacity utilization that ensure applications continue supporting growth effectively. Companies like Devsinc excel at building enterprise mobile solutions that address real scalability challenges while providing measurable business value, combining technical expertise with strategic understanding of enterprise growth requirements to create applications that enable rather than constrain organizational scaling. Enterprise scalability through mobile app development represents a strategic approach to growth that leverages technology to overcome traditional scaling limitations. Success requires understanding specific scalability challenges, implementing appropriate architectural solutions, and partnering with experienced development teams who can deliver applications that truly enable enterprise growth. Organizations that approach mobile development strategically create competitive advantages that compound over time, while those that treat mobile apps as simple productivity tools often miss the transformative potential that effective mobile solutions provide for enterprise scaling challenges. — This content is brought to you by Ava Sinclair iStockPhoto The post Mobile App Development Services for Solving Enterprise Scalability Challenges appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

Long-distance relationships (LDRs) are often described as tests of love, patience, and character. For Ajit in India and Marissa in Australia, these tests stretched over five years, spanning continents, cultures, faiths, and laws. Their story stands in contrast to that of Lara and Bhanu, who also lived in India and Australia respectively, but found the distance and differences too much to overcome. Through the lens of these two couples, both known to me personally (I am the aunt), and whose journey I followed, we can unravel what helps love to thrive across borders and what, sadly, can make it unravel (with permission). The Story of Ajit and Marissa: Five Years Apart, Together in Spirit Ajit and Marissa’s relationship began like many others, but circumstances; visa delays, religious backgrounds, and vastly different cultures, meant they would live oceans apart. For half a decade, they maintained not just affection, but also a sense of partnership, proving that distance can be measured in miles but also bridged by intent. Their experience can be distilled into several principles: Trust — The Absolute Must: The foundation of their relationship rested on trust. Doubt rarely entered their conversations, and neither tried to control the other’s friendships or activities. Insecure possessiveness has destroyed many relationships, but Ajit and Marissa learned early that confidence in each other was crucial. Embracing Friendship Across Genders: Both maintained friendships with people of all genders. They did not shy away from or fear friendships with the opposite sex, believing that comfort around all people reduced curiosity and temptation. This openness was key to their comfort and security. Constant but Meaningful Communication: Mobile phones and messaging apps kept them connected, but they were selective about how and when they shared. Not every moment needed to be broadcasted, and some stories were saved for dedicated time together, making those conversations special and focused. Spontaneity and Playfulness: Despite the distance, they kept things light; singing songs, video chatting, sending goofy pictures, writing poems, and exchanging homemade cards. These small acts of affection kept excitement alive and made the relationship feel less routine. Integration with Each Other’s Friends: Feeling included in each other’s lives was paramount. By befriending each other’s social circles, Ajit and Marissa reduced feelings of isolation and even collaborated on surprise gestures. Creating Shared Traditions: The couple kept a ‘long-distance book’: a physical keepsake filled with photos, poems, and letters. This tangible reminder of their bond offered comfort during difficult times and became a journal of cherished memories. Resolving Fights Quickly: LDRs can make conflict resolution challenging, but Ajit and Marissa made it a point never to let disagreements fester. Most disputes were settled before the next day dawned, preventing resentment from building up in the void left by physical distance. Hope and Future Planning: They didn’t shy away from talking about the future, whether that meant planning a holiday together or discussing bigger life decisions. These conversations provided hope and a sense of momentum, vital for enduring separation. Ajit and Marissa’s success came not from luck but from daily investment in trust, communication, and inclusion, as well as a refusal to let differences, be they national, religious, or cultural, become obstacles. Lara and Bhanu: When Distance and Doubt Win Lara and Bhanu’s relationship followed a similar path at first. Lara was living in Australia, Bhanu in India. Like Ajit and Marissa, they faced the same barriers of culture, religion, and endless paperwork. But their story diverged, and their relationship ultimately ended. Why? Trust Issues: Unlike Ajit and Marissa, Lara and Bhanu struggled with doubt. Jealousy crept in, particularly regarding new friends and social lives abroad. Restrictions were placed; both subtle and overt on who each could socialize with, which quickly led to frustration, secrecy, and eroding trust. Narrow Social Circles: Both were hesitant for each other to form close friendships with the opposite gender, fearing this would lead to emotional or romantic entanglements. Instead of feeling secure, this created a sense of limitation, making outside friendships seem more alluring and fraught with suspicion. Over-communication and Under-communication: Lara felt pressured to report every detail of her day, while Bhanu sometimes withdrew entirely. This imbalance meant that neither felt truly heard or understood, and both felt at times either suffocated or abandoned. Lack of Spontaneity: Their conversations became routine, focused on logistics and worries rather than joy and playfulness. The relationship, instead of being a respite from daily struggles, became another source of stress. No Shared Community: They didn’t make efforts to befriend each other’s friends, leaving each feeling disconnected from the other’s daily life. It was easy for misunderstandings to grow in these gaps. No Tangible Reminders: Without shared rituals: no “long-distance book,” no exchanged letters or poems, their memories became more digital and momentary. When times were hard, they had little to look back on together. Lingering Fights: Arguments dragged on, sometimes for days, with no easy way to reconcile. The pain of unresolved conflict was magnified by the inability to offer a quick hug or apology in person. Uncertain Future: Unlike Ajit and Marissa, Lara and Bhanu avoided talking seriously about the future. The uncertainty became overwhelming, and the absence of shared plans made hope difficult to sustain. While Ajit and Marissa managed to overcome the classic pitfalls of LDRs, Lara and Bhanu showed how the same challenges, when left unaddressed, can drive a wedge between partners. Ajit and Marissa’s relationship survived, not in spite of the distance, but because they chose every day to trust, to communicate honestly, and to remain present in each other’s lives. Lara and Bhanu remind us that the absence of these qualities can turn distance from a challenge into a chasm. … I was fortunate enough to witness the fruits of this devotion firsthand: I attended Ajit and Marissa’s wedding ceremonies, both Hindu and Christian, where their commitment was celebrated with joy, colour, and the embrace of two families and traditions. Today, they share a life that is as vibrant and harmonious as the vows they exchanged. As for Lara, I remember hugging her tightly during one of those difficult evenings, assuring her that the lessons of this chapter would serve her well, whether in a future long-distance relationship or in one woven from the fabric of everyday, face-to-face moments. I told her, with genuine faith, that her true-life partner was still out there, and that the resilience she’d gained would help her recognise and nurture the love she deserved. If you, or someone close to you, are navigating the complexities of a long-distance relationship, may these stories offer both inspiration and gentle caution: love can span oceans and continents, but only when it is continually nurtured with trust, honesty, inclusion, and the daily, shared decision to hope together. What do you think? Have you had a long-distance relationship? … Thanks for reading dear friends and lovers ღ. © Stephanie Roberts — This post was previously published on medium.com. Love relationships? We promise to have a good one with your inbox. Subcribe to get 3x weekly dating and relationship advice. Did you know? We have 8 publications on Medium. Join us there! Hello, Love (relationships) Change Becomes You (Advice) A Parent is Born (Parenting) Equality Includes You (Social Justice) Greener Together (Environment) Shelter Me (Wellness) Modern Identities (Gender, etc.) Co-Existence (World) *** – Photo credit: Look Studio On Unsplash The post Are Long-Distance Relationships Destined to Fail, Doomed From the Start? appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

— In September 2025, the Berlin International Electronics Show (IFA), a premier global stage for consumer electronics, hosted a highly anticipated product launch. Midea Group chose this world-renowned exhibition to unveil its revolutionary Intrinity Fan series, highlighting the brand’s strong confidence in its innovation capabilities and its determination to penetrate the global high-end market. IFA has long been regarded as the launchpad for flagship innovations, where the products introduced often shape industry conversations for the year ahead. For Midea, debuting the Intrinity Fan Series at such a high-profile venue reflected a clear global strategy: moving beyond its established dominance in home appliances and positioning itself as a leader in the evolution of smart home air management. This launch marked a decisive milestone for the brand, laying the foundation for a new chapter in the global fan industry. The Intrinity Fan embodies a convergence of Midea’s most advanced engineering achievements. Its hallmark is the proprietary Möbius strip blade design, a world-first technology that transforms airflow into an infinite, stable stream. Coupled with an intelligent environmental adaptation system, the series achieves significant gains in both energy efficiency and acoustic performance. Beyond its silent and powerful airflow, the design incorporates eco-friendly materials and recyclable elements, underscoring Midea’s commitment to sustainability and the broader movement toward greener, smarter living. Observers at IFA were quick to point out the strategic value of this product. In an era where consumers increasingly demand home appliances that are both energy-conscious and technologically sophisticated, Midea’s launch met the moment with precision. The brand’s presentation demonstrated not only its prowess in innovation but also its ability to align engineering breakthroughs with real-world consumer needs. By debuting at IFA, Midea effectively elevated the Intrinity Fan Series from a product release to a global statement of intent. The appearance in Berlin serves as the beginning of a broader international rollout. While official market release plans and promotional campaigns are expected to follow through Midea’s global channels, the IFA launch provided the initial spark to capture international awareness and anticipation. For Midea, this was not merely a product introduction but a carefully calculated step in strengthening its influence in the global consumer electronics sector. When Midea launched the Intrinity Fan Series, it made a significant impact on attendees and industry experts alike. The fan’s airflow technology combined quiet operation, powerful performance, and efficiency, making it more than just a seasonal product. We’re excited to see more sustainable approaches to everyday appliances, which reintroduces fans, often overlooked in the smart home conversation, back into the spotlight. — This content is brought to you by Chris Reyes Photos provided by the author. The post Live IFA Report: Midea Intrinity Fan Earns ‘Best Smart Home Appliance’ Nomination on Debut Day appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article