Prince's giant footprint on the 20th century; the first open(ish) election for UN secretary general; Maine's governor literally wants heroin addicts to die sooner.
Prince's influence on culture went beyond his musical genius. The baroque androgyny and sexuality of his persona, as Vox's Michelle Garcia wrote, "gave black kids permission to be weirdos."
Of course, Prince wasn't an uncomplicated hero of the sexual revolution — after converting to the Jehovah's Witnesses, he frowned on homosexuality and some of his own past lyrics.
…or you might see it as compulsive litigiousness over copyright (which is also the reason Prince has fewer songs available on YouTube than other artists).
The UN is having relatively open elections for its next secretary general, who will be elected this year to succeed current SG Ban Ki-moon (who's stepping down after two terms).
Last week, each declared candidate met for questioning with the UN General Assembly (and civil society groups), as well as participating in live town hall meetings.
The playing field isn't exactly level. There's an unofficial regional rotation among UN heads, and it's generally considered Eastern Europe's "turn" — and Russia is especially keen on seeing that through.
One of the presumed frontrunners, Bulgarian Irina Bokova (current head of UNESCO), checks both these boxes. But some officials found her performance last week unimpressive, and she might be losing ground to two non-Eastern Europeans: former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark (Dylan's favorite).
The relatively-open process has its drawbacks. Richard Gowan complains that the desire to be as broadly appealing and inoffensive as possible has made the candidates boring.
And ultimately, the next UNSG will still be chosen by the five permanent members of the Security Council — which means it could very easily come down to a backroom deal, same as always.
Gov. LePage vetoed the bill because saving the life of a heroin addict apparently "perpetuates the cycle of addiction." That is horrifying. But his veto should also be a reminder that despite the popular narrative that the whiteness of the heroin epidemic has led to a softer policy response, the reality is complicated.
But several states — most recently Indiana — have increased their mandatory minimum sentences for heroin dealers as a result of the epidemic, which is War On Drugs 101 stuff.
Ultimately, argues Maia Szalavitz, the idea that addiction is a "disease" won't gain traction in policymaking as long as possession of drugs is illegal. Addicts will always be seen as criminals first.
A thoughtful meditation on artistic theft versus inspiration, on the transmission of ideas through social media, and how funny it is to Photoshop Kanye's face onto Kim's so that it looks like he's making out with himself.
"I must however challenge the assertion at the end of his review that I 'believe in brunch.' There is nothing in my book to support that claim, and minimal fact-checking would have confirmed that I hold no such belief."
"It is virtually impossible to criticize a system as generous as Austria’s … But the result of these laws is that early parenthood here is particularly gendered."
"For those in need, we support providing supplementary income, health insurance, educational support, and other social welfare programs—and then we erase their value by making our cities too expensive for those most in need of these benefits."
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