Independents Could Be Decisive in Both New Hampshire Primaries - The New York Times:
"ROCHESTER, N.H. — There are few titles in American democracy as privileged as “undeclared New Hampshire voter.”"
'via Blog this'
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
South America’s Culture of Graft - The New York Times
South America’s Culture of Graft - The New York Times:
"BUENOS AIRES — South America is a vast continent of light, yet it has a dark soul. Nestled in its political class, like a snake from the rain forest, corruption poisons the core of government."
'via Blog this'
"BUENOS AIRES — South America is a vast continent of light, yet it has a dark soul. Nestled in its political class, like a snake from the rain forest, corruption poisons the core of government."
'via Blog this'
Friday, December 25, 2015
Honduras Follows Guatemala’s Path to Fight Corruption - The New York Times
Honduras Follows Guatemala’s Path to Fight Corruption - The New York Times:
"An unusual partnership between local prosecutors and international law enforcement experts brought down President Otto Pérez Molina of Guatemala in September, as a large corruption investigation reached the highest levels of the country’s political elite."
'via Blog this'
"An unusual partnership between local prosecutors and international law enforcement experts brought down President Otto Pérez Molina of Guatemala in September, as a large corruption investigation reached the highest levels of the country’s political elite."
'via Blog this'
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Americans Held Hostage in Iran Win Compensation, 36 Years Later - The New York Times
Americans Held Hostage in Iran Win Compensation, 36 Years Later - The New York Times:
"WASHINGTON — After spending 444 days in captivity, and more than 30 years seeking restitution, the Americans taken hostage at the United States Embassy in Tehran in 1979 have finally won compensation."
'via Blog this'
"WASHINGTON — After spending 444 days in captivity, and more than 30 years seeking restitution, the Americans taken hostage at the United States Embassy in Tehran in 1979 have finally won compensation."
'via Blog this'
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Bernie Sanders: To Rein In Wall Street, Fix the Fed - The New York Times
Bernie Sanders: To Rein In Wall Street, Fix the Fed - The New York Times:
"WALL STREET is still out of control. Seven years ago, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department bailed out the largest financial institutions in this country because they were considered too big to fail. But almost every one is bigger today than it was before the bailout. If any were to fail again, taxpayers could be on the hook for another bailout, perhaps a larger one this time."
'via Blog this'
"WALL STREET is still out of control. Seven years ago, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department bailed out the largest financial institutions in this country because they were considered too big to fail. But almost every one is bigger today than it was before the bailout. If any were to fail again, taxpayers could be on the hook for another bailout, perhaps a larger one this time."
'via Blog this'
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Number of Migrants Entering Europe in 2015 Passes One Million - The New York Times
Number of Migrants Entering Europe in 2015 Passes One Million - The New York Times:
"LONDON — The number of migrants and refugees who have entered Europe by sea and land this year has passed the one million mark, a long-expected but symbolically significant capstone to a year in which displaced people flocked to the Continent in historic proportions."
'via Blog this'
"LONDON — The number of migrants and refugees who have entered Europe by sea and land this year has passed the one million mark, a long-expected but symbolically significant capstone to a year in which displaced people flocked to the Continent in historic proportions."
'via Blog this'
Monday, December 21, 2015
Spanish Election Marks Another Rejection of Austerity - The New York Times
Spanish Election Marks Another Rejection of Austerity - The New York Times:
"MADRID — European leaders and economists are still locked in a heated debate about whether austerity policies have done more to help or hurt people in the region, particularly in Europe’s heavily indebted south."
'via Blog this'
"MADRID — European leaders and economists are still locked in a heated debate about whether austerity policies have done more to help or hurt people in the region, particularly in Europe’s heavily indebted south."
'via Blog this'
Friday, December 18, 2015
Academy Narrows Foreign-Language Contenders to 9 - The New York Times
Academy Narrows Foreign-Language Contenders to 9 - The New York Times:
"Hungary’s “Son of Saul,” a first feature set at Auschwitz during World War II, and the Franco-Turkish drama “Mustang” are among the nine films to make the short list for Oscar for best foreign-language film, the Academy announced Thursday.
"
'via Blog this'
"Hungary’s “Son of Saul,” a first feature set at Auschwitz during World War II, and the Franco-Turkish drama “Mustang” are among the nine films to make the short list for Oscar for best foreign-language film, the Academy announced Thursday.
"
'via Blog this'
U.N. Security Council Approves Resolution on Syria Talks - The New York Times
U.N. Security Council Approves Resolution on Syria Talks - The New York Times:
"UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved on Friday a resolution calling for a cease-fire and political talks to help end the civil war in Syria."
'via Blog this'
"UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved on Friday a resolution calling for a cease-fire and political talks to help end the civil war in Syria."
'via Blog this'
Clash Erupts Between Bernie Sanders Campaign and Democratic Party - First Draft. Political News, Now. - The New York Times
Clash Erupts Between Bernie Sanders Campaign and Democratic Party - First Draft. Political News, Now. - The New York Times:
"Updated, 3:44 p.m. | A fight between the campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders and the Democratic Party’s leadership went public on Friday, on the eve of the year’s final primary debate, as the Sanders camp accused the party of actively trying to help Hillary Clinton.
"
'via Blog this'
"Updated, 3:44 p.m. | A fight between the campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders and the Democratic Party’s leadership went public on Friday, on the eve of the year’s final primary debate, as the Sanders camp accused the party of actively trying to help Hillary Clinton.
"
'via Blog this'
How to Fix Latin America’s ‘Strongman’ Problem - The New York Times
How to Fix Latin America’s ‘Strongman’ Problem - The New York Times:
"In early December, Ecuador’s lawmakers voted to throw out presidential term limits, a divisive move that quickly spurred street demonstrations in the capital, Quito. To appease protesters, President Rafael Correa backed a law making him sit out the next election. He may still find a way to renege on the deal or return early, but regardless, the new law lets him run for office indefinitely after 2021."
'via Blog this'
"In early December, Ecuador’s lawmakers voted to throw out presidential term limits, a divisive move that quickly spurred street demonstrations in the capital, Quito. To appease protesters, President Rafael Correa backed a law making him sit out the next election. He may still find a way to renege on the deal or return early, but regardless, the new law lets him run for office indefinitely after 2021."
'via Blog this'
Spain’s Enigmatic Leader Faces New Generation in Election - The New York Times
Spain’s Enigmatic Leader Faces New Generation in Election - The New York Times:
"MADRID — In their first debate before this Sunday’s national election, the leaders of Spain’s four main competing parties each took their places on stage, with one exception."
'via Blog this'
"MADRID — In their first debate before this Sunday’s national election, the leaders of Spain’s four main competing parties each took their places on stage, with one exception."
'via Blog this'
Crimes Against Muslim Americans and Mosques Rise Sharply - The New York Times
Crimes Against Muslim Americans and Mosques Rise Sharply - The New York Times:
"WASHINGTON — Hate crimes against Muslim Americans and mosques across the United States have tripled in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., with dozens occurring within just a month, according to new data."
'via Blog this'
"WASHINGTON — Hate crimes against Muslim Americans and mosques across the United States have tripled in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., with dozens occurring within just a month, according to new data."
'via Blog this'
Anger: An American History - The New York Times
Anger: An American History - The New York Times:
"WHERE, many have asked these last weeks, do the rhetorical fireballs — the raging suspicion and rabid xenophobia — come from? Barring people from our shores, Paul Ryan reminds us, is “not what this country stands for.” Emma Lazarus would have agreed. But while the demonizing may sound un-American, it happens also to be ur-American."
'via Blog this'
"WHERE, many have asked these last weeks, do the rhetorical fireballs — the raging suspicion and rabid xenophobia — come from? Barring people from our shores, Paul Ryan reminds us, is “not what this country stands for.” Emma Lazarus would have agreed. But while the demonizing may sound un-American, it happens also to be ur-American."
'via Blog this'
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
A Losing Debate for Donald Trump - The New York Times
A Losing Debate for Donald Trump - The New York Times:
"Something must have gone right in Tuesday’s Republican debate, because Donald Trump complained it was unfair. Which meant, of course, that his opponents put a few dings in The Donald. "
'via Blog this'
"Something must have gone right in Tuesday’s Republican debate, because Donald Trump complained it was unfair. Which meant, of course, that his opponents put a few dings in The Donald. "
'via Blog this'
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Los Angeles Schools Closed After Bomb Threat - The New York Times
Los Angeles Schools Closed After Bomb Threat - The New York Times:
"LOS ANGELES — Public schools were abruptly shut down and students were sent home on Tuesday after the police here received what officials described as a credible bomb threat."
'via Blog this'
"LOS ANGELES — Public schools were abruptly shut down and students were sent home on Tuesday after the police here received what officials described as a credible bomb threat."
'via Blog this'
Monday, December 14, 2015
Bernie Sanders Urges Cuomo to Raise CUNY Professors’ Pay - The New York Times
Bernie Sanders Urges Cuomo to Raise CUNY Professors’ Pay - The New York Times:
"While the rest of the presidential field was talking about how to confront global terrorism, Senator Bernie Sanders in recent days had a very local issue on his mind: getting a raise for professors at the City University of New York."
'via Blog this'
"While the rest of the presidential field was talking about how to confront global terrorism, Senator Bernie Sanders in recent days had a very local issue on his mind: getting a raise for professors at the City University of New York."
'via Blog this'
A Mansion, a Shell Company and Resentment in Bel Air - The New York Times
A Mansion, a Shell Company and Resentment in Bel Air - The New York Times:
"LOS ANGELES — The most notorious new house in Los Angeles hangs from a Bel Air hillside, high above the sprawl and smog, unfinished and unloved."
'via Blog this'
"LOS ANGELES — The most notorious new house in Los Angeles hangs from a Bel Air hillside, high above the sprawl and smog, unfinished and unloved."
'via Blog this'
Sunday, December 13, 2015
Democrat Elected Mayor of Houston - The New York Times
Democrat Elected Mayor of Houston - The New York Times:
"HOUSTON — Voters here on Saturday kept the largest city in Texas in Democratic hands, electing a longtime lawmaker as mayor in a tight race over a Republican-leaning businessman."
'via Blog this'
"HOUSTON — Voters here on Saturday kept the largest city in Texas in Democratic hands, electing a longtime lawmaker as mayor in a tight race over a Republican-leaning businessman."
'via Blog this'
Friday, December 11, 2015
Syrian Refugees Greeted by Justin Trudeau in Canada - The New York Times
Syrian Refugees Greeted by Justin Trudeau in Canada - The New York Times:
"OTTAWA — Canada welcomed 163 Syrian refugees under its new accelerated entry program late Thursday night, the first of 25,000 the country has promised to take in by March."
'via Blog this'
"OTTAWA — Canada welcomed 163 Syrian refugees under its new accelerated entry program late Thursday night, the first of 25,000 the country has promised to take in by March."
'via Blog this'
The Durst Dynasty’s Rise, a Scion’s Descent - The New York Times
The Durst Dynasty’s Rise, a Scion’s Descent - The New York Times:
"Douglas Durst, a onetime hippie who had sought a career in international diplomacy, had just taken the reins of one of the most powerful family-owned real estate companies in New York City."
'via Blog this'
"Douglas Durst, a onetime hippie who had sought a career in international diplomacy, had just taken the reins of one of the most powerful family-owned real estate companies in New York City."
'via Blog this'
The Words That Killed Medieval Jews - The New York Times
The Words That Killed Medieval Jews - The New York Times:
"DO harsh words lead to violent acts? At a moment when hate speech seems to be proliferating, it’s a question worth asking."
'via Blog this'
"DO harsh words lead to violent acts? At a moment when hate speech seems to be proliferating, it’s a question worth asking."
'via Blog this'
Gloria Contreras, a Leading Mexican Choreographer, Dies at 81 - The New York Times
Gloria Contreras, a Leading Mexican Choreographer, Dies at 81 - The New York Times:
"Gloria Contreras, a leading Mexican choreographer who chronicled her development as a dance maker under George Balanchine’s mentoring, and who created more than 260 ballets for companies she directed in New York and Mexico, died on Nov. 25 at her home in Mexico City. She was 81.
"
'via Blog this'
"Gloria Contreras, a leading Mexican choreographer who chronicled her development as a dance maker under George Balanchine’s mentoring, and who created more than 260 ballets for companies she directed in New York and Mexico, died on Nov. 25 at her home in Mexico City. She was 81.
"
'via Blog this'
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Are the Best Things in Life Free? - The New York Times
Are the Best Things in Life Free? - The New York Times:
"The very best thing in life, happiness, can only be a byproduct of something that’s authentically good (e.g., a kind deed, a good night’s sleep, love) and is absent from any market. The second-best things, to which we turn out of impatience or despair, are pricey because no price can approximate the value of the best things."
'via Blog this'
"The very best thing in life, happiness, can only be a byproduct of something that’s authentically good (e.g., a kind deed, a good night’s sleep, love) and is absent from any market. The second-best things, to which we turn out of impatience or despair, are pricey because no price can approximate the value of the best things."
'via Blog this'
Connecticut to Ban Gun Sales to Those on Federal Terrorism Lists - The New York Times
Connecticut to Ban Gun Sales to Those on Federal Terrorism Lists - The New York Times:
"Gov. Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut announced on Thursday that he would sign an executive order that would ban people on federal terrorism watch lists from buying firearms in the state."
'via Blog this'
"Gov. Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut announced on Thursday that he would sign an executive order that would ban people on federal terrorism watch lists from buying firearms in the state."
'via Blog this'
Australian Police Raid Home of Man Said to Be Likely Creator of Bitcoin - The New York Times
Australian Police Raid Home of Man Said to Be Likely Creator of Bitcoin - The New York Times:
"SYDNEY, Australia — The Australian authorities on Wednesday raided the home of a computer expert and entrepreneur in suburban Sydney, just hours after two news outlets identified the man as a likely creator of the digital currency Bitcoin."
'via Blog this'
"SYDNEY, Australia — The Australian authorities on Wednesday raided the home of a computer expert and entrepreneur in suburban Sydney, just hours after two news outlets identified the man as a likely creator of the digital currency Bitcoin."
'via Blog this'
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
#You Ain’t No American, Bro - The New York Times
#You Ain’t No American, Bro - The New York Times:
"Two weeks ago, I was in Kuwait participating in an I.M.F. seminar for Arab educators. For 30 minutes, we discussed the impact of technology trends on education in the Middle East. And then an Egyptian education official raised his hand and asked if he could ask me a personal question: “I heard Donald Trump say we need to close mosques in the United States,” he said with great sorrow. “Is that what we want our kids to learn?”"
'via Blog this'
"Two weeks ago, I was in Kuwait participating in an I.M.F. seminar for Arab educators. For 30 minutes, we discussed the impact of technology trends on education in the Middle East. And then an Egyptian education official raised his hand and asked if he could ask me a personal question: “I heard Donald Trump say we need to close mosques in the United States,” he said with great sorrow. “Is that what we want our kids to learn?”"
'via Blog this'
Friday, December 4, 2015
FIFA Case Upends Soccer Politics in Latin America - The New York Times
FIFA Case Upends Soccer Politics in Latin America - The New York Times:
"RIO DE JANEIRO — No one epitomizes the ups and downs of Brazilian soccer quite like Ricardo Teixeira."
'via Blog this'
"RIO DE JANEIRO — No one epitomizes the ups and downs of Brazilian soccer quite like Ricardo Teixeira."
'via Blog this'
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
The Horror in San Bernardino - The New York Times
The Horror in San Bernardino - The New York Times:
"America’s gun violence shifted Wednesday to San Bernardino, Calif., where at least 14 people were killed and at least 17 wounded."
'via Blog this'
"America’s gun violence shifted Wednesday to San Bernardino, Calif., where at least 14 people were killed and at least 17 wounded."
'via Blog this'
Lori Berenson Heading Home to the U.S. From Peru - The New York Times
Lori Berenson Heading Home to the U.S. From Peru - The New York Times:
"LIMA, Peru — Putting an end to a two-decade-long journey through radical politics, rebellion and punishment, Lori Berenson prepared to fly home to the United States on Wednesday night, after years of prison and parole for aiding leftist rebels during a period of intense upheaval and violence in Peru and the region."
'via Blog this'
"LIMA, Peru — Putting an end to a two-decade-long journey through radical politics, rebellion and punishment, Lori Berenson prepared to fly home to the United States on Wednesday night, after years of prison and parole for aiding leftist rebels during a period of intense upheaval and violence in Peru and the region."
'via Blog this'
San Bernardino Shooting Leaves as Many as 20 Reported Victims - The New York Times
San Bernardino Shooting Leaves as Many as 20 Reported Victims - The New York Times:
"Emergency crews responded Wednesday to reports of a shooting with multiple victims in San Bernardino, Calif., the city’s fire and police departments reported."
'via Blog this'
"Emergency crews responded Wednesday to reports of a shooting with multiple victims in San Bernardino, Calif., the city’s fire and police departments reported."
'via Blog this'
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
American Convicted in Peru Plot Plans to Return to U.S. - The New York Times
American Convicted in Peru Plot Plans to Return to U.S. - The New York Times:
"LIMA, Peru — Lori Berenson, an American who has completed a 20-year sentence for aiding a rebel group that planned to take members of Peru’s Congress hostage, could be deported as early as Wednesday, a government official here said."
'via Blog this'
"LIMA, Peru — Lori Berenson, an American who has completed a 20-year sentence for aiding a rebel group that planned to take members of Peru’s Congress hostage, could be deported as early as Wednesday, a government official here said."
'via Blog this'
Chicago Police Superintendent Is Fired - The New York Times
Chicago Police Superintendent Is Fired - The New York Times:
"CHICAGO — Mayor Rahm Emanuel ousted Chicago’s police superintendent on Tuesday, after the city’s police department came under fire over an officer shooting a teenager 16 times, and for resisting, for more than a year, to release of a video of the fatal shooting."
'via Blog this'
"CHICAGO — Mayor Rahm Emanuel ousted Chicago’s police superintendent on Tuesday, after the city’s police department came under fire over an officer shooting a teenager 16 times, and for resisting, for more than a year, to release of a video of the fatal shooting."
'via Blog this'
Long-Hidden Details Reveal Cruelty of 1972 Munich Attackers - The New York Times
Long-Hidden Details Reveal Cruelty of 1972 Munich Attackers - The New York Times:
"In September 1992, two Israeli widows went to the home of their lawyer. When the women arrived, the lawyer told them that he had received some photographs during his recent trip to Munich but that he did not think they should view them. When they insisted, he urged them to let him call a doctor who could be present when they did."
'via Blog this'
"In September 1992, two Israeli widows went to the home of their lawyer. When the women arrived, the lawyer told them that he had received some photographs during his recent trip to Munich but that he did not think they should view them. When they insisted, he urged them to let him call a doctor who could be present when they did."
'via Blog this'
Monday, November 30, 2015
Cover-Up in Chicago - The New York Times
Cover-Up in Chicago - The New York Times:
"THERE’S been a cover-up in Chicago. The city’s leaders have now brought charges against a police officer, Jason Van Dyke, for the first-degree murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. But for more than a year, Chicago officials delayed the criminal process, and might well have postponed prosecution indefinitely, had it not been for a state court forcing their hand."
'via Blog this'
"THERE’S been a cover-up in Chicago. The city’s leaders have now brought charges against a police officer, Jason Van Dyke, for the first-degree murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. But for more than a year, Chicago officials delayed the criminal process, and might well have postponed prosecution indefinitely, had it not been for a state court forcing their hand."
'via Blog this'
Saturday, November 28, 2015
During Planned Parenthood Shooting, a Scene of Fear and Chaos at Nearby Shopping Center - The New York Times
During Planned Parenthood Shooting, a Scene of Fear and Chaos at Nearby Shopping Center - The New York Times:
"COLORADO SPRINGS — The injured man staggered into the grocery store, his face and chest bloodied. Customers stopped and stared. “He lifted his shirt up and he had holes in his chest,” said Miranda Schilter, 17, who had been waiting for a drink at an in-store coffee shop."
'via Blog this'
"COLORADO SPRINGS — The injured man staggered into the grocery store, his face and chest bloodied. Customers stopped and stared. “He lifted his shirt up and he had holes in his chest,” said Miranda Schilter, 17, who had been waiting for a drink at an in-store coffee shop."
'via Blog this'
News Article Appears to Contradict Trump's Claim About Reporter - First Draft. Political News, Now. - The New York Times
News Article Appears to Contradict Trump's Claim About Reporter - First Draft. Political News, Now. - The New York Times:
"The New York Daily News released an archived news article on Friday that seemed to contradict a claim by Donald J. Trump that he knew nothing about a reporter whose disability Mr. Trump appeared to mock at a rally earlier this week."
'via Blog this'
"The New York Daily News released an archived news article on Friday that seemed to contradict a claim by Donald J. Trump that he knew nothing about a reporter whose disability Mr. Trump appeared to mock at a rally earlier this week."
'via Blog this'
Thursday, November 26, 2015
4 Arrested in Shooting at Black Lives Matter Protest Are Identified - The New York Times
4 Arrested in Shooting at Black Lives Matter Protest Are Identified - The New York Times:
"MINNEAPOLIS — The police on Wednesday released the names of four men arrested in connection with a shooting during a Black Lives Matter protest outside a police station that injured five protesters."
'via Blog this'
"MINNEAPOLIS — The police on Wednesday released the names of four men arrested in connection with a shooting during a Black Lives Matter protest outside a police station that injured five protesters."
'via Blog this'
Bernie Sanders Gets Immigration Policy Right - The New York Times
Bernie Sanders Gets Immigration Policy Right - The New York Times:
"Senator Bernie Sanders released his immigration plan on Tuesday. To read it — and every citizen should — is to be yanked back in time, to an America that not so long ago was having a reasonable immigration discussion and a time when major reform had strong bipartisan support and a shot at becoming law."
'via Blog this'
"Senator Bernie Sanders released his immigration plan on Tuesday. To read it — and every citizen should — is to be yanked back in time, to an America that not so long ago was having a reasonable immigration discussion and a time when major reform had strong bipartisan support and a shot at becoming law."
'via Blog this'
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Black Leaders in Chicago Push for Investigation of Police Department - The New York Times
Black Leaders in Chicago Push for Investigation of Police Department - The New York Times:
"CHICAGO — A day after city officials released graphic video of a white police officer shooting a black teenager 16 times, some of the city’s most prominent black leaders called on Wednesday for investigations into the Chicago Police Department and its handling of the shooting. They expressed anger and dismay toward the department’s leadership, and some demanded the resignation of the police superintendent."
'via Blog this'
"CHICAGO — A day after city officials released graphic video of a white police officer shooting a black teenager 16 times, some of the city’s most prominent black leaders called on Wednesday for investigations into the Chicago Police Department and its handling of the shooting. They expressed anger and dismay toward the department’s leadership, and some demanded the resignation of the police superintendent."
'via Blog this'
Letter From Saudi Arabia - The New York Times
Letter From Saudi Arabia - The New York Times:
"RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia is a country that is easier to write about from afar, where you can just tee off on the place as a source of the most austere, antipluralistic version of Islam — the most extreme versions of which have been embraced by the Islamic State, or ISIS. What messes me up is when I go there and meet people I really like and I see intriguing countertrends."
'via Blog this'
"RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia is a country that is easier to write about from afar, where you can just tee off on the place as a source of the most austere, antipluralistic version of Islam — the most extreme versions of which have been embraced by the Islamic State, or ISIS. What messes me up is when I go there and meet people I really like and I see intriguing countertrends."
'via Blog this'
Reporter Who Forced Release of Laquan McDonald Video Is Barred From News Event - The New York Times
Reporter Who Forced Release of Laquan McDonald Video Is Barred From News Event - The New York Times:
"The freelance journalist whose lawsuit forced the Chicago Police Department to release video of a fatal police shooting of a black teenager says he was barred from attending a news conference with the mayor and police superintendent on Tuesday."
'via Blog this'
"The freelance journalist whose lawsuit forced the Chicago Police Department to release video of a fatal police shooting of a black teenager says he was barred from attending a news conference with the mayor and police superintendent on Tuesday."
'via Blog this'
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Chicago Officer Charged in Death of Black Teenager - The New York Times
Chicago Officer Charged in Death of Black Teenager - The New York Times:
"CHICAGO — As this city prepared to make public a video from the fatal shooting of a black 17-year-old by a white Chicago police officer, a state prosecutor charged the officer with first-degree murder on Tuesday."
'via Blog this'
"CHICAGO — As this city prepared to make public a video from the fatal shooting of a black 17-year-old by a white Chicago police officer, a state prosecutor charged the officer with first-degree murder on Tuesday."
'via Blog this'
Gunmen Shoot 5 at Minneapolis Black Lives Matter Protest - The New York Times
Gunmen Shoot 5 at Minneapolis Black Lives Matter Protest - The New York Times:
"Five people were shot and wounded Monday night near a police precinct in Minneapolis where demonstrators have been protesting the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man, the police said."
'via Blog this'
"Five people were shot and wounded Monday night near a police precinct in Minneapolis where demonstrators have been protesting the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man, the police said."
'via Blog this'
U.S. Economy Grew at 2.1 Percent Rate in Third Quarter - The New York Times
U.S. Economy Grew at 2.1 Percent Rate in Third Quarter - The New York Times:
"The American economy turned in a better performance last quarter than first thought, expanding at a 2.1 percent rate, the government said on Tuesday."
'via Blog this'
"The American economy turned in a better performance last quarter than first thought, expanding at a 2.1 percent rate, the government said on Tuesday."
'via Blog this'
Turkey Shoots Down Russian Warplane Near Syria Border - The New York Times
Turkey Shoots Down Russian Warplane Near Syria Border - The New York Times:
"ISTANBUL — Turkish fighter jets on patrol near the Syrian border on Tuesday shot down a Russian warplane that Turkey said had violated its airspace, a long-feared escalation that could further strain relations between Russia and the West."
'via Blog this'
"ISTANBUL — Turkish fighter jets on patrol near the Syrian border on Tuesday shot down a Russian warplane that Turkey said had violated its airspace, a long-feared escalation that could further strain relations between Russia and the West."
'via Blog this'
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Argentina Considers Shift as Upstart Rises in Presidential Race - The New York Times
Argentina Considers Shift as Upstart Rises in Presidential Race - The New York Times:
"HUMAHUACA, Argentina — Winding down a presidential campaign that is upending this country’s politics, Mauricio Macri dutifully chewed on coca leaves, a symbol of the resilience of indigenous culture in this remote corner of northern Argentina. Raising his voice barely above a murmur, he asked Mother Earth for the wisdom to guide Argentina down the “righteous path.”"
'via Blog this'
"HUMAHUACA, Argentina — Winding down a presidential campaign that is upending this country’s politics, Mauricio Macri dutifully chewed on coca leaves, a symbol of the resilience of indigenous culture in this remote corner of northern Argentina. Raising his voice barely above a murmur, he asked Mother Earth for the wisdom to guide Argentina down the “righteous path.”"
'via Blog this'
Friday, November 20, 2015
More Mexican Immigrants Leaving U.S. Than Entering, Report Finds - The New York Times
More Mexican Immigrants Leaving U.S. Than Entering, Report Finds - The New York Times:
"More immigrants from Mexico are leaving the United States than coming into the country, according to a report published Thursday by the Pew Research Center, a finding that indicates the end of the largest wave of immigration from a single country in American history."
'via Blog this'
"More immigrants from Mexico are leaving the United States than coming into the country, according to a report published Thursday by the Pew Research Center, a finding that indicates the end of the largest wave of immigration from a single country in American history."
'via Blog this'
Saturday, November 14, 2015
France Confronts ‘Absolute Barbarity’ - The New York Times
France Confronts ‘Absolute Barbarity’ - The New York Times:
"PARIS — François Granier, a wine consultant and rock music fan, thought the Friday night concert he was attending had simply taken a particularly raucous turn."
'via Blog this'
"PARIS — François Granier, a wine consultant and rock music fan, thought the Friday night concert he was attending had simply taken a particularly raucous turn."
'via Blog this'
Friday, November 13, 2015
Republicans’ Lust for Gold - The New York Times
Republicans’ Lust for Gold - The New York Times:
"It’s not too hard to understand why everyone seeking the Republican presidential nomination is proposing huge tax cuts for the rich. Just follow the money: Candidates in the G.O.P. primary draw the bulk of their financial support from a few dozen extremely wealthy families. Furthermore, decades of indoctrination have made an essentially religious faith in the virtues of high-end tax cuts — a faith impervious to evidence — a central part of Republican identity."
'via Blog this'
"It’s not too hard to understand why everyone seeking the Republican presidential nomination is proposing huge tax cuts for the rich. Just follow the money: Candidates in the G.O.P. primary draw the bulk of their financial support from a few dozen extremely wealthy families. Furthermore, decades of indoctrination have made an essentially religious faith in the virtues of high-end tax cuts — a faith impervious to evidence — a central part of Republican identity."
'via Blog this'
Thursday, November 12, 2015
ISIS Claims Responsibility for Deadly Blasts in Southern Beirut - The New York Times
ISIS Claims Responsibility for Deadly Blasts in Southern Beirut - The New York Times:
"BEIRUT, Lebanon — Two suicide bombers carried out a coordinated attack Thursday in a crowded area of southern Beirut controlled by the Hezbollah militia, and the Lebanese Red Cross said the blasts killed more than three dozen people and wounded nearly 200."
'via Blog this'
"BEIRUT, Lebanon — Two suicide bombers carried out a coordinated attack Thursday in a crowded area of southern Beirut controlled by the Hezbollah militia, and the Lebanese Red Cross said the blasts killed more than three dozen people and wounded nearly 200."
'via Blog this'
A Lost Generation of Democrats - The New York Times
A Lost Generation of Democrats - The New York Times:
"As Republicans never tire of pointing out, the Democratic candidates for president are old."
'via Blog this'
"As Republicans never tire of pointing out, the Democratic candidates for president are old."
'via Blog this'
Greece Disrupted by First General Strike Under Syriza-Led Government - The New York Times
Greece Disrupted by First General Strike Under Syriza-Led Government - The New York Times:
"General strikes have been common in Greece in recent years, as the country has struggled with the privations of recession, high unemployment and the belt tightening the country’s foreign creditors have demanded. But Thursday’s general strike was the first under the Syriza-led government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras."
'via Blog this'
"General strikes have been common in Greece in recent years, as the country has struggled with the privations of recession, high unemployment and the belt tightening the country’s foreign creditors have demanded. But Thursday’s general strike was the first under the Syriza-led government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras."
'via Blog this'
Waiting for the Republican Shakeout - The New York Times
Waiting for the Republican Shakeout - The New York Times:
"Watching Tuesday’s Republican presidential debate, with the eight prime-time contenders talking over and past one another, the question arises: Should the party show a few of these candidates the door?"
'via Blog this'
"Watching Tuesday’s Republican presidential debate, with the eight prime-time contenders talking over and past one another, the question arises: Should the party show a few of these candidates the door?"
'via Blog this'
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Mexico’s Governing Party Vows to Stop Using Neuromarketing to Study Voters - The New York Times
Mexico’s Governing Party Vows to Stop Using Neuromarketing to Study Voters - The New York Times:
"MEXICO CITY — The leader of Mexico’s governing party has said it will stop hiring neuroscience consultants to register voters’ brain waves and read their facial expressions, responding to a political outcry over its use of the tools of neuromarketing to shape its campaign and governing messages."
'via Blog this'
"MEXICO CITY — The leader of Mexico’s governing party has said it will stop hiring neuroscience consultants to register voters’ brain waves and read their facial expressions, responding to a political outcry over its use of the tools of neuromarketing to shape its campaign and governing messages."
'via Blog this'
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
René Girard, French Theorist of the Social Sciences, Dies at 91 - The New York Times
René Girard, French Theorist of the Social Sciences, Dies at 91 - The New York Times:
"René Girard, whose explorations of literature and myth helped establish influential theories about how people are motivated to want things, died on Nov. 4 at his home in Stanford, Calif. He was 91."
'via Blog this'
"René Girard, whose explorations of literature and myth helped establish influential theories about how people are motivated to want things, died on Nov. 4 at his home in Stanford, Calif. He was 91."
'via Blog this'
University of Missouri Reviews Ties to Professor Who Ordered Journalist to Leave Protest - The New York Times
University of Missouri Reviews Ties to Professor Who Ordered Journalist to Leave Protest - The New York Times:
"After a University of Missouri professor was seen on video calling for “some muscle” to remove a journalist from a public demonstration, the university’s journalism school said on Tuesday that it was reviewing its ties to the professor as protest organizers — and the professor herself — joined college officials in stating that journalists had a right to be present."
'via Blog this'
"After a University of Missouri professor was seen on video calling for “some muscle” to remove a journalist from a public demonstration, the university’s journalism school said on Tuesday that it was reviewing its ties to the professor as protest organizers — and the professor herself — joined college officials in stating that journalists had a right to be present."
'via Blog this'
Monday, November 9, 2015
University of Missouri System President Resigns - The New York Times
University of Missouri System President Resigns - The New York Times:
"COLUMBIA, Mo. — Amid a wave of student and faculty protests, primarily over racial tensions, that all but paralyzed its flagship campus here, the president of the University of Missouri system resigned Monday, urging everyone involved to “use my resignation to heal and start talking again.”"
'via Blog this'
"COLUMBIA, Mo. — Amid a wave of student and faculty protests, primarily over racial tensions, that all but paralyzed its flagship campus here, the president of the University of Missouri system resigned Monday, urging everyone involved to “use my resignation to heal and start talking again.”"
'via Blog this'
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Elder Bush Says His Son Was Served Badly by Aides - The New York Times
Elder Bush Says His Son Was Served Badly by Aides - The New York Times:
"WASHINGTON — After years of holding back, former President George Bush has finally broken his public silence about some of the key figures in his son’s administration, issuing scathing critiques of Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld."
'via Blog this'
"WASHINGTON — After years of holding back, former President George Bush has finally broken his public silence about some of the key figures in his son’s administration, issuing scathing critiques of Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld."
'via Blog this'
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Bitcoin Surges, Emerging From a Lull in Interest - The New York Times
Bitcoin Surges, Emerging From a Lull in Interest - The New York Times:
"After a long period of quiet, the price of the virtual currency Bitcoin is surging again as signs of interest from China and Wall Street have helped kick off a new speculative frenzy."
'via Blog this'
"After a long period of quiet, the price of the virtual currency Bitcoin is surging again as signs of interest from China and Wall Street have helped kick off a new speculative frenzy."
'via Blog this'
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Houston Voters Repeal Anti-Bias Measure - The New York Times
Houston Voters Repeal Anti-Bias Measure - The New York Times:
"HOUSTON — A yearlong battle over gay and transgender rights that turned into a costly, ugly war of words between this city’s lesbian mayor and social conservatives ended Tuesday in a defeat for supporters of gay rights, as voters repealed an anti-discrimination ordinance that had attracted attention from the White House, sports figures and Hollywood celebrities."
'via Blog this'
"HOUSTON — A yearlong battle over gay and transgender rights that turned into a costly, ugly war of words between this city’s lesbian mayor and social conservatives ended Tuesday in a defeat for supporters of gay rights, as voters repealed an anti-discrimination ordinance that had attracted attention from the White House, sports figures and Hollywood celebrities."
'via Blog this'
Latino Groups Call on ‘SNL’ to Drop Donald Trump - The New York Times
Latino Groups Call on ‘SNL’ to Drop Donald Trump - The New York Times:
"The decision by “Saturday Night Live” to invite Donald J. Trump as its host this week is no laughing matter — at least for the Hispanic and pro-immigration groups that have intensified their calls for Lorne Michaels, the show’s producer, to rescind the invitation."
'via Blog this'
"The decision by “Saturday Night Live” to invite Donald J. Trump as its host this week is no laughing matter — at least for the Hispanic and pro-immigration groups that have intensified their calls for Lorne Michaels, the show’s producer, to rescind the invitation."
'via Blog this'
Small Donors Are Clicking More With Democrats Than Republicans - The New York Times
Small Donors Are Clicking More With Democrats Than Republicans - The New York Times:
"SOMERVILLE, Mass. — In an office here with all the trappings of a Silicon Valley tech firm, a band of mostly 20-something political junkies has built a formidable Democratic fund-raising machine that is fueling the insurgent presidential campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders against Hillary Rodham Clinton and leaving even Republican rivals envious."
'via Blog this'
"SOMERVILLE, Mass. — In an office here with all the trappings of a Silicon Valley tech firm, a band of mostly 20-something political junkies has built a formidable Democratic fund-raising machine that is fueling the insurgent presidential campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders against Hillary Rodham Clinton and leaving even Republican rivals envious."
'via Blog this'
Leaders of China and Taiwan to Meet for First Time Since 1949 - The New York Times
Leaders of China and Taiwan to Meet for First Time Since 1949 - The New York Times:
"HONG KONG — The presidents of China and Taiwan will meet on Saturday in Singapore, a spokesman for Taiwan’s president said early Wednesday. It would be the first such meeting since the Chinese Communist Revolution in 1949 that divided the two, in a prolonged and sometimes hostile conflict that has helped shape Asia politics for more than a half-century."
'via Blog this'
"HONG KONG — The presidents of China and Taiwan will meet on Saturday in Singapore, a spokesman for Taiwan’s president said early Wednesday. It would be the first such meeting since the Chinese Communist Revolution in 1949 that divided the two, in a prolonged and sometimes hostile conflict that has helped shape Asia politics for more than a half-century."
'via Blog this'
Neuropolitics, Where Campaigns Try to Read Your Mind - The New York Times
Neuropolitics, Where Campaigns Try to Read Your Mind - The New York Times:
"In the lobby of a Mexico City office building, people scurrying to and fro gazed briefly at the digital billboard backing a candidate for Congress in June."
'via Blog this'
"In the lobby of a Mexico City office building, people scurrying to and fro gazed briefly at the digital billboard backing a candidate for Congress in June."
'via Blog this'
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Thousands Start Life Anew With Early Prison Releases - The New York Times
Thousands Start Life Anew With Early Prison Releases - The New York Times:
"Michael Keating’s 11-year prison sentence for methamphetamine production was supposed to end next June. But he is one of thousands of federal prisoners who are benefiting from a reduction in drug sentences, and on Friday he became an ex-prisoner more than seven months earlier than he ever had reason to expect."
'via Blog this'
"Michael Keating’s 11-year prison sentence for methamphetamine production was supposed to end next June. But he is one of thousands of federal prisoners who are benefiting from a reduction in drug sentences, and on Friday he became an ex-prisoner more than seven months earlier than he ever had reason to expect."
'via Blog this'
Friday, October 30, 2015
Fed’s New Rule Would Ease Strain From Dying Banks - The New York Times
Fed’s New Rule Would Ease Strain From Dying Banks - The New York Times:
"Hillary Rodham Clinton said this week that, if it came to it, she would let a big bank fail — and it would not be surprising if other presidential candidates adopted her anti-bailout stance."
'via Blog this'
"Hillary Rodham Clinton said this week that, if it came to it, she would let a big bank fail — and it would not be surprising if other presidential candidates adopted her anti-bailout stance."
'via Blog this'
Thursday, October 22, 2015
6 Arrested, Including Lawyer, in El Chapo’s Escape - The New York Times
6 Arrested, Including Lawyer, in El Chapo’s Escape - The New York Times:
"MEXICO CITY — During the 17 months that Mexico’s notorious drug kingpin, Joaquín Guzmán, was in the country’s most secure prison, he met frequently with one of his lawyers."
'via Blog this'
"MEXICO CITY — During the 17 months that Mexico’s notorious drug kingpin, Joaquín Guzmán, was in the country’s most secure prison, he met frequently with one of his lawyers."
'via Blog this'
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
WikiLeaks claims it has CIA director's emails - POLITICO
WikiLeaks claims it has CIA director's emails - POLITICO:
"WikiLeaks announced today that it had obtained the contents of CIA Director John Brennan's email account and is planning to release them."
'via Blog this'
"WikiLeaks announced today that it had obtained the contents of CIA Director John Brennan's email account and is planning to release them."
'via Blog this'
Joe Biden Will Not Run for President - The New York Times
Joe Biden Will Not Run for President - The New York Times:
"WASHINGTON — Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. said Wednesday that he will not be a candidate in the 2016 presidential campaign, bringing to a close a three-month exploration that began shortly after the death of his eldest child and threatened to fracture the Democratic Party."
'via Blog this'
"WASHINGTON — Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. said Wednesday that he will not be a candidate in the 2016 presidential campaign, bringing to a close a three-month exploration that began shortly after the death of his eldest child and threatened to fracture the Democratic Party."
'via Blog this'
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Police Leaders Join Call to Cut Prison Rosters - The New York Times
Police Leaders Join Call to Cut Prison Rosters - The New York Times:
"More than 130 police chiefs, prosecutors and sheriffs — including some of the most prominent law enforcement officials in the country — are adding their clout to the movement to reduce the nation’s incarceration rate."
'via Blog this'
"More than 130 police chiefs, prosecutors and sheriffs — including some of the most prominent law enforcement officials in the country — are adding their clout to the movement to reduce the nation’s incarceration rate."
'via Blog this'
Friday, October 16, 2015
Jonas Mekas
Jonas Mekas took his first photograph at age 17, when Soviet tanks rolled into his village in Lithuania. He immigrated to New York when he was almost 27, made his first autobiographical film at 46, started his website at 83 and, at 92, presided over a gigantic installation of his work at a Burger King in Venice, during this summer’s Biennale. A few weeks ago, at a party in the East Village, Mr. Mekas assessed his life as a subject.
“I’m so boring,” he said. “Nothing dramatic happens — no hospitals or surgeries. I have nothing interesting to report.”
Mr. Mekas, who will turn 93 on Christmas Eve, is one of six New Yorkers over the age of 85 that I have been following since the beginning of the year.
Their stories have been unpredictable and event-filled over that time. But none has moved as puckishly as his.
On a Saturday afternoon in March, for instance, it involved a descent into a Greenwich Village jazz club, the Zinc Bar, where Mr. Mekas held court at a table of student opera singers visiting from Lithuania. He had come to read from an unpublished novella called “Requiem for a Manual Typewriter,” about the bewildering prospect of trying to decide what to write about. Like most of his work, it took the shape of a diary and spoke in a voice of wonder. “Have you ever thought about how amazing, really amazing, life is?” Mr. Mekas read on stage, to laughter from a full house.
85 and Up
Articles in this series will be looking at the lives of a group of New Yorkers age 85 and older, and how they navigate life at the upper end of old age in this city.
Later, at the table, Mr. Mekas and the teenage opera students were joined by two New York writers in their 70s, Lynne Tillman and Amy Taubin, whose careers he had supported — a typical scattering of ages and backgrounds, with Mr. Mekas at the center, a generation older than the next in line.
“All my friends, when I say I’m going to New York, they say, are you going to meet Jonas Mekas?” said Bernardas Garbaciauskas, 17, a baritone. “Many young people find him inspiring. What Jonas Mekas was doing years ago with his film diaries, Instagram and Facebook are doing now. Jonas Mekas is the future.”
WHAT MAKES SOME people seem to stop living in old age, and others to hum along with no visible loss of energy? Karl Pillemer, a gerontologist at Cornell University who specializes in life span development, calls this “the most extraordinary question. Why do people turn out this way? I don’t think we have an answer. Of what we do know, some is exactly what you’d think, and some is surprising.”
Each of the other five people interviewed for the series struggles with physical challenges: failing knees or eyes, poor circulation, sore joints, spells of loneliness. Two are all but housebound, one lives in a nursing home, the other two in buildings for older adults, with various levels of care.
Mr. Mekas, by comparison, lives like someone much younger.
“He’s the reason I’m energetic,” said Phong Bui, 50, who publishes a free arts magazine called the Brooklyn Rail, and has become a part of Mr. Mekas’s universe. “We have found a way to feed off other people’s energies as well, by being somewhat selfless. We both love being in the center of the tornado. When you’re in the center you’re not touched.”
Mr. Mekas, when asked what kept him going, pointed to disruptions in his youth — first when the Soviets occupied Lithuania in 1940, then when he was interned in a Nazi forced labor camp, then his five years in displaced persons camps in Germany after the war. A sickly child, he surprised neighbors by surviving even that long.
“When I landed in New York I was 27,” he said, bending the chronology slightly, “but since I had missed so much I decided to remain 27, you see, because there was so much to catch up, and I am still trying to catch up.”
His life, he said, was a series of good breaks:
“People say, ‘Oh, it’s so sad through what you had to go.’ No, I’m happy that I was uprooted, because I was dropped in New York in the most exciting period, when all the classical arts had reached culmination, like Balanchine and Martha Graham, and something else was coming in. I caught Marlon Brando and Tennessee Williams and Miller; I saw the end of the old when I came in ’49, and I saw the beginning of the new, John Cage and Buckminster Fuller and the Living Theater and the Beat Generation. And I was a sponge for all of it.”
Another day, he said, “I trace everything to my childhood on a farm.”
ANYONE WHO HAS spent much time around older people has noticed that those who are more engaged with the world tend to be more resilient to the changes that come with age. Little is known about the biological mechanisms at work inside the brain. Do good health and sharp wits lead people to be more purposeful and engaged? Or does purpose work at a cellular level to make the brain and body resistant to the woes of old age?
“This hasn’t gotten a lot of focus in the scientific literature,” said Patricia Boyle, a neuropsychologist and researcher at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, a part of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. “We focus on disease, on what predicts bad outcomes. We need to understand what predicts human flourishing. They’re not flip sides of the same coin.”
In a long-term survey of more than 1,400 older people, Dr. Boyle and a research team observed what others in the field had noted: that people who felt their life had a goal or purpose showed lower rates of memory loss and other diseases associated with old age.
The researchers wanted to know why.
They examined the brain tissues of 246 people who died during the study. The autopsy results, reported in Archives of General Psychiatry, were striking. The brains of people who had very different levels of cognitive decline often showed similar levels of damage from Alzheimer’s — what neurologists call “plaques” and “tangles” in the brain circuitry. The brains that functioned better, it turned out, belonged to people who in surveys had indicated more purpose in life.
In other words, what was going on at the cellular level seemed to affect people differently according to whether they had a life’s goal.
Dr. Boyle proposed a concept of “reserve,” borrowed from physiology. Most systems in our bodies are able to sustain some level of damage before they start to malfunction. Having a purpose in life may not slow the formation of plaques and tangles, but it appears to increase the reserve that the brains can call on before they start to break down, perhaps by spurring other healthy brain connections that compensate for the decline.
The stronger the purpose, the more it added to the reserve.
The results held up even after the researchers controlled for differences in exercise levels, education and other factors.
Dr. Boyle said the results were just a first step toward understanding why some people aged differently, but that their implications were vast. People’s sense of purpose, she said, “is something we can change.”
“Part of it is getting people to sit down and say, ‘What do I want my life to look like at the end of the day?’” she said. “‘What do I want my mark to be?’”
For Mr. Mekas, this has never been an issue.
On a recent afternoon in his Brooklyn loft, where he lives with his son, Sebastian, 33, he talked about what motivated him to keep making art. On the wall was a handwritten mission statement he created for the designer Agnès B., a friend: “Keep dancing. Keep singing. Have a good drink and do not get too serious.”
“Something is in you that propels you,” he said. “It’s part of your very essence, what you are. Like, go back to Greeks and muses. How they explained that, the muse enters you at birth or later, and you have no choice. It becomes part of you. You just have to do it.”
His hands shake slightly, and he started wearing glasses after laser surgery a few years ago, but otherwise he has made few concessions to age. If anything, he said, he has become more “obsessed” with his writing and filmmaking since he moved to Brooklyn from SoHo in 2005 (after he separated from his wife, Hollis Melton), because he has cut down on the time and energy he spent at Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan.
“I don’t feel like I’m working,” he said one day in his apartment, sorting through a binder of film frames for a project that was still taking shape. “It’s fun. And when I grew up on a farm we did not consider that we were working. We were just doing what had to be done that day. We had to plant certain things, to milk certain cows. The concept of workers came when the Soviets came in and organized the workers. Suddenly everybody was a worker. But we were not workers until then. So I’m continuing what I was doing when I was growing up: I’m just doing what has to be done.”
Mr. Mekas does not take vacations or weekends off — though he travels for his exhibitions — and does not begin his days with plans. Instead, he said, he wakes up without intention or worry. “I’m not seeking,” he said. “I’m not a thinking person, and I’m not planning. The best I could describe it is I make angels work.”
He has avoided what Dr. Pillemer of Cornell identifies as the debilitating factors of old age: physical or mental disability, extreme poverty and low levels of happiness or well-being earlier in life. In New York City, 58 percent of people age 85 and older say they have problems walking, and 31 percent say they have cognitive difficulty, according to an analysis of census data for The New York Times by Susan Weber-Stoger of Queens College. One in five say they have hearing problems and half say they have trouble living independently; 19 percent live in poverty.
Though Mr. Mekas cut back on drinking a few years ago, he still enjoys wine with friends. When he leaves the house he carries a pepperoni and some bread in case he gets hungry — and to share with friends, he said.
“I think he’s amused by his aging,” said the filmmaker Ken Jacobs, 82, a friend since the early 1960s. “He doesn’t hide his age. He wears a hat too much, but you can see he’s an old guy.”
IN ONE WAY, Mr. Mekas has not been able to avoid the losses of old age. His youngest brother, Adolfas, died in 2011 at 85. In February, Mr. Mekas was given a Courage Award by his longtime friend Yoko Ono, 82, at a dinner at which he reminisced with another honoree, Ornette Coleman, who used to rehearse in Mr. Mekas’s loft. In July, Mr. Coleman died at age 85. If Mr. Mekas grieved, he did not do so in public. He had little to say after the death. What was there to say? Life went on.
“I’m not a very introspective person,” he said one day at the Anyway Cafe in the East Village, over pickled herring and beer. “When you come from a farmer’s background — village life — people live, they don’t analyze themselves. It’s more communal, more like being, living, communicating with friends, neighbors. I’m not analyzing myself, even if I’m being diaristic in video and writing. It’s self-centered, but if you read Anaïs Nin and Henry Miller, they’re very introspective and convoluted, but I’m not that type of person, so my diaries are not that personal.”
In an unpublished 2005 poem, Mr. Mekas encapsulates much of his attitude toward old age: “I worked all my life to become young / no, you can’t persuade me to get old / I will die twenty seven.”
A BENEFIT OF LIVING so long, and of keeping good company, is that many of his belongings have become quite valuable. Mr. Mekas arrived in the United States in 1949 with only three bags of books and one set of clothes, but he has spent the time since acquiring. He paid most of his son’s college tuition bills by selling five posters from Andy Warhol’s film “My Hustler” for $10,000 each. For the last eight years he has lived on proceeds from his sale of materials from the 1960s “anti-art” Fluxus movement to a museum in Vilnius, Lithuania.
“But now it’s the end,” he said. “So now it’s complex. I know that the Smithsonian is buying a copy of ‘Walden’ ” — Mr. Mekas’s first autobiographical film — “so that will pay maybe a year’s rent.” In the last few months, he got notice that his rent would rise 12 percent and received an offer from a family-run foundation to cover the increase for the next three years. Still, he said, he will most likely have to move eventually.
“Since I landed in New York I always managed to survive,” he said. “Always something came. Angels are watching. If I can’t figure it out, angels will figure it out. I just do every day what I do.”
His angels are both metaphorical and literal. Mr. Mekas believes specifically in “other realities” containing “angels and fairies,” but also more broadly in forces aligned toward beauty and art, and he is determined to move among them.
“Consciously or unconsciously, I made a choice,” he said. “My time is limited, I choose art and beauty, vague as those terms are, against ugliness and horrors in which we live today. I feel my duty not to betray those poets, scientists, saints, singers, troubadours of the past centuries who did everything so that humanity would become more beautiful. I have to continue in my small way their work.” Detachment from these forces, he said, is what causes so many people to get old.
“What keeps him alive is that he is an enthusiast,” said Johan Kugelberg, 50, a curator and an owner of Boo-Hooray gallery, who is publishing a collection of Mr. Mekas’s writings and photographs called “Anecdotes, or a Dance With Fred Astaire.” He described Mr. Mekas as “the anti-Warhol, Obi-Wan Kenobi to Warhol’s Darth Vader. He is my hero because he never succumbs to the dark side. And neither will I, because of Jonas.”
In the meantime, Mr. Mekas surrounds himself with younger people and new art. On an October day, he enthused about having just seen a digital exhibition that was so new, he could not say whether it was good or bad, art or not art, but he knew he could never master the technology. It did not upset him; it excited him. “We’re at the beginning of many things,” he said.
In a 1974 essay, “On Happiness,” Mr. Mekas concludes with a meditation on a plate of grapes that might serve as his summary of his life. “This plate is my Paradise,” he wrote. “I don’t want anything else — no country house, no car, no dacha, no life insurance, no riches. It’s this plate of grapes that I want. It’s this plate of grapes that makes me really happy. To eat my grapes and enjoy them and want nothing else — that is happiness, that’s what makes me happy.”
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