No masking Trump's popularity at Chinese Partytime Factory

Masks are displayed in the showroom of Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Dolls hang out to dry at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Masks of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump are seen at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A worker paints a doll at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Boxes with different products are seen at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Masks of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump lie in a box at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A box is filled with parts of dolls at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Masks of different politicians are displayed in the showroom of Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Used moulds are seen between buildings at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Masks, including some of U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, are seen at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

People work at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A mask of U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is placed on the desk of a staff member at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Masks of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump are seen drying on shelves at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. EUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

People work at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A worker checks a mask of U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, which she just painted, at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

The manager of Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory wears a mask of U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as he poses and gestures a victory sign while showing products to reporters at his factory's showroom in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

A worker checks masks of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A worker checks a mask of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

A worker carries a freshly made mask of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Moulds for different masks, including those of U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, are seen at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A worker paints a mask of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

Masks are made at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

The manager of Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory wears a mask of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as he poses after talking to reporters in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

The manager of Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory wearing a mask of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump poses as he presents products to reporters at his factory's showroom in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

A man makes a mask of U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at Jinhua Partytime Latex Art & Crafts Factory in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. The race for the White House may be far from over, but one Chinese mask factory is already calling the contest in favour of presumptive Republican candidate Donald Trump. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art & Crafts Factory, which produces rubbery masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, both Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. But while in terms of orders the two might currently be neck and neck at around half a million each, for the management, Trump is the clear winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this (the Trump) mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

The manager of Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory wears a mask of U S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders as he poses and gives a thumbs-up as during a presentation of products to reporters at his factory's showroom in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China, May 25, 2016. There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes. At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out. Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner. "Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask. REUTERS/Aly Song SEARCH "JINHUA MASK" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "THE WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.

JINHUA, China, May 26 (Reuters) - There's no masking the facts. One Chinese factory is expecting Donald Trump to beat his likely U.S. presidential rival Hilary Clinton in the popularity stakes.

At the Jinhua Partytime Latex Art and Crafts Factory, a Halloween and party supply business that produces thousands of rubber and plastic masks of everyone from Osama Bin Laden to Spiderman, masks of Donald Trump and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton faces are being churned out.

Sales of the two expected presidential candidates are at about half a million each but the factory management believes Trump will eventually run out the winner.

"Even though the sales are more or less the same, I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out," said factory manager Jacky Chen, indicating a Trump mask.

The firm was already beginning to stockpile the de facto Republican candidate's mask, he said.

Just like with the sales of the $4-$5 masks, Trump is now running nearly even with Democrat Hillary Clinton among likely U.S. voters ahead of the November election, a Reuters/Ipsos poll from May 11 showed.

That is a big turnaround for the real estate billionaire once considered a fringe figure in the race, but now the Republican party's presumptive presidential nominee.

Trump has been less than positive in his comments about China, asserting that the world's number two economy had waged "economic war" against the United States, and used crafty business practices to steal American jobs.

China has largely refrained from responding to Trump's barbs, but Finance Minister Lou Jiwei described him as "an irrational type" in an interview in April.

Such issues are far removed from the Trump mask production line at the factory in Zhejiang province, south of Shanghai.

Asked if he knew whose face he was making, 43-year-old worker Liu Dahua told reporters: "It's the president of the U.S., right?".

More from AOL.com: Trump believes in climate change -- for business Clinton calls Trump too unsteady to be president Trump: I've used 'aliases' in business to save money

Summary: 'I think in 2016 this mask will completely sell out,' said the factory's manager, holding up a mask of one of the presidential hopefuls.


Apple CEO Tim Cook opened the firm’s Mar. 21 town hall event on an uncharacteristically defiant note. Cook began by obliquely but firmly addressing Apple’s current fight with the FBI over the security of its phones, the subject of a recent TIME magazine cover and interview.

Without getting into the details of the case, which will reach another turning point when Apple and the government meet in court Mar. 22, Cook said he feels a personal responsibility to safeguard customers’ data and privacy. “We will not shrink from this responsibility,” said the 55-year-old chief executive.

MORE: Inside Apple CEO Tim Cook’s Fight With the FBI

“We built the iPhone for you, our customers,” Cook said. “And we know that it is a deeply personal device. For many of us, the iPhone is an extension of ourselves. About a month ago, we asked Americans across the country to join in a conversation. We need to decide as a nation how much power the government should have over our data and over our privacy. I’ve been humbled and deeply grateful for the outporuring ofsupport that we’ve received from Americans across the country over all walks of life.”

For more on the case and Cook’s response, read the full story here.

Summary: The CEO opened the company's iPhone town hall on a defiant note


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Swifites, Directioners and the Beyhive may be some of the most die-hard fans in the industry, but unfortunately, they don't go the extra mile when it comes to traveling for their favorite artists.

That top honor goes to Phish phans, who dock an average of 152.3 miles to see Trey Anastasio, Mike Gordon, Jon Fishman and Page McConnell perform.

SEE ALSO: 6 must-see summer tours from McCartney to Maroon 5

Secondary ticket marketplace Vivid Seats gathered data from orders over the past four years to determine the distance fans have traveled to see their favorite acts live in concert.

Summary: Swifites and Directioners may be some of the most die-hard fandoms, but they don't go the extra mile when it comes to traveling for their favorite artists.


TAMPA, Florida — A quarter of Florida’s primary voters can now ignore candidates’ TV ads that are blanketing the airwaves in the state’s six major media markets.

More than a million Florida voters have already cast their votes.

Florida elections officials say upwards of 1.23 million voters in the Sunshine State have already made their choices official, and by March 15 (primary day), more than 2 million early votes will likely have been cast.

Of the votes cast, either in person or by mail, so far: 56 percent (690,071) have come from registered Republicans while 43.9 percent (540,990) are from registered Democrats.

RELATED: First Read: Is Trump losing momentum? Tuesday will tell

Florida is a closed primary state, meaning only those registered in a political party can vote in that party’s primary. Independent voters cannot participate in choosing a either party’s nominee.

So who benefits most from all of this early voting?

Florida Atlantic University political science professor Kevin Wagner said “polling at FAU showed Donald Trump well ahead of the field in Florida in January.”

“Having that kind of lead is powerful when combined with early voting. While candidates can close the gap with Trump on Election Day, you cannot reverse ballots that are already cast,” Wagner said.

But early votes can also become wasted votes.

The presidential campaign: Jeb Bush

At the start of the Republican presidential primary race, former Florida governor Jeb Bush was widely viewed as the establishment candidate to beat.

Florida supporters who voted early for Republican Jeb Bush will have their votes counted but they’re meaningless because he suspended his campaign on Feb. 20.

Ironically, it was then-Gov. Jeb Bush who signed the early-voting law into effect in Florida.

Early voting is well-established nationwide. Thirty-seven states now allow in-person early voting.

Other states, like Oregon and Washington, have exclusively moved to mail-in ballots.

“Florida was a little late to the early voting movement,” Wagner said. “The Florida legislature authorized early voting in 2004. This was part of the reforms spurred by the well-documented problems in the 2000 election.”

The melt-down gave birth to the phrase coined by the late NBC News moderator of “Meet the Press,” Tim Russert: “Florida, Florida, Florida.”

With 99 delegates in Florida on the Republican side and 214 on the Democratic side, the winner-take-all primary in “Florida, Florida, Florida” could well determine who wins each party’s nomination.

This article first appeared on NBCNews.com.

Summary: Florida elections officials say upwards of 1.23 million voters in the Sunshine State have already made their choices official.


AS IF TOUCHED BY THE LEGENDARY KING MIDAS HIMSELF, everything from tablets to the water faucets of bespoke private jets are coated with shiny, shimmering gold these days. Indeed, some investors can't seem to get enough of the lustrous metal, especially many of the ultra-affluent, who were made even richer in recent years after placing some huge bets on gold.

Some of that frenzy has cooled in the past year or so. But the excitement from it has spurred a massive and still continuing global hunt to find and extract even more of the treasured commodity. Some call it the world's greatest gold rush. What follows is a rare look into the deepest gold mine on the planet, located in South Africa, through an edited excerpt from the new book, "Gold: The Race for the World's Most Seductive Metal," by Matthew Hart.

A SAFFRON LIGHT WAS SEEPING ONTO THE VELD when I drove out to the gates of hell. The midwinter air was dry and sharp. The silhouettes of headframes made blue shapes against the dawn. Forty miles from Johannesburg, I turned off the highway at Mponeng mine, the deepest manmade hole on earth—a vast, stifling oven of toiling men, thousands of them, buried miles underground as they blasted and scraped for the metal that has bewitched and harassed man for 6,000 years. What else but gold.

Picture Manhattan sliced in half at the waist, and the top part set up on its end. Mponeng mine would fill the grid between 59th Street and 110th Street, its tunnels and shafts exposed like a giant ant colony. The half-lit streets would tower into the sky before you, block upon block, to an altitude of almost three miles. You could stack 10 Empire State Buildings on top of each other in the distance from the bottom of the mine to the surface. This gargantuan warren devours as much electricity as a city of 400,000. Rivers of water pulse through its plumbing. Its maze of passageways howls with the noise of ventilation. Two hundred and thirty-six miles of tunnels lace the rock—30 miles longer than the New York City subway system. Every morning, 4,000 men vanish into its subterranean web of shafts, ore chutes and haulage tunnels, and the narrow slots called stopes, where miners crouch in the oppressive heat to drill the gold.

Their target was a 30-inch-wide strip of ore. Considered against the immensity of the mine, as thin as a hair. But on the July morning in 2012 when I went down Mponeng mine, owned by Johannesburg-based AngloGold Ashanti, the price of gold was $1,581 an ounce. That wisp of rock was spilling out $948 million worth of gold a year.

The world is awash in gold. When the price was rising fast in the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, gold attracted one legendary billionaire after another. At the end of 2009, George Soros had $663 million in a single fund. John Paulson, the hedge-fund wizard, was reported to have made almost $5 billion personally on his gold bets. Fear drove the price. Banks tottered and currencies shrank, and in the three years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers the gold price gained $1,000. Spurred by the rising price, explorers ransack the planet in the greatest gold rush ever. At the bottom of Mponeng mine, in the brutal closeness, where the ore plunges steeply down into the rock below the deepest level, they are chasing it with drills. Certainly they will go down and get it.

I joined a small group that was going down. We met in a thatched reception hall. A table was spread with a breakfast of sweet pastries, little tubs of yogurt and a steaming tray of boerewors, a pungent, coarse-cut country sausage that South Africans extol but do not always eat. A group of sturdy males from the mine's underground management stood growling among themselves and eyeing us with pleasure, as if we were Christians that they thought the lions might enjoy. Then they sat us in folding chairs to tell us about the dangers of the world we were about to enter.

Deep mining destabilizes rock. Six hundred times a month, they said, a "seismic event" will shudder through Mponeng mine. Sometimes the quakes cause rockbursts, when rock explodes into a mining cavity and mows men down with a deadly spray of jagged rock. Sometimes a tremor causes a "fall of ground"—the term for a collapse. Some of the rockbursts had been so powerful that other countries, detecting the seismic signature, had suspected South Africa of testing a nuclear bomb. "You will certainly feel a little shake when you are down there," Randel Rademann, the mine's general manager, rumbled in his gravelly, Dutch-inflected English. "A leetle shike," it sounded like. He was an enormous man in a plaid shirt, with hands like shovels and a beard that looked as if it would score glass.

After Rademann, a safety officer showed us how to use the Dräger Oxyboks self-rescuer, a device that came in a small, frail-looking aluminum case. Self-rescue was not an idea I had grappled with, and now that I was forced to, did not like. In an emergency, you were supposed to open the little case and inflate the rubber bag inside by blowing into it, then strap the bag into place like a gas mask. The device would filter out toxic gases. It would keep you alive for 30 minutes.

We changed into white overalls and steel-toed rubber boots and buckled on heavy belts. They gave us miner's hats and lamps. I attached the heavy lamp battery to my belt, threaded on the Oxyboks and went clumping down a sort of cattle chute to the cage.

Each cage, or elevator car, holds 120 people in a three-deck stack. When the first deck has filled with its load of 40 miners, the car descends 10 feet and stops, and the deck above it fills in turn with another 40.

The hoisting apparatus for a cage that carries people instead of rock is called a man winder. Sometimes it winds men to their death. On May 11, 1995, in the Vaal Reefs gold mine, 90 miles south of Mponeng, an underground railway engine broke loose. Pulling rail cars after it, the engine plunged 7,000 feet down a shaft onto a two-deck cage, killing the 105 men who were returning to the surface at the end of shift. On May 1, 2008, at Gold Fields' South Deep mine, 30 miles southwest of Johannesburg, nine miners died in a sub-shaft when a winder rope broke and the cage fell 196 feet.

Once our cage was full, a dispatcher signaled with a sequence of electric bells. Slowly, very slowly at first, the cage crept down. The bright tunnel disappeared and the light faded, and the black rock closed in. Almost imperceptibly the speed increased, until at last the operator, controlling the cage from a distant room in a separate building, took off the brake and dropped us down the shaft at 46 feet a second.

My stomach sailed into my ribs. My ears blocked. Air whistled in the wire mesh. The cage squeaked and rattled as it plummeted down the shaft. Water collected on the metal frame and dripped on our heads. It was pitch dark: The only illumination came from a lamp that someone held in his hand; in its light I could see water falling like a light rain. Sometimes the light of a tunnel flashed by.

As the cage hurtled down the shaft, the suspended weight increased. The cage by itself weighed 20,000 pounds, and a full load of men roughly doubled that. Then there was the weight of the steel rope that held the cage. The rope was 2.5 inches thick and weighed 12 pounds a foot. That meant that for every thousand feet we dropped, the rope added six tons to the weight it had to hold—an extra ton every 3.6 seconds. I pictured the steel rope unspooling in a blur, packing steel onto our plummeting car.

In four minutes we traveled 1.6 miles into a zone where the rock was always stirring. Immeasurable tonnages shifted, radiating spasms that miners feel as trembles in the rock. We stepped into a large, bright tunnel with whitewashed walls, and made our way to a second cage.

The depth that a single hoisting system can reach is limited by its design. In the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, 57 elevators shuttle people up and down the tower, often in stages through upper-floor "sky lobbies." We had traveled five times the distance covered by the Burj Khalifa's system, and had done it in a single drop. We made our way to the cage that would take us deeper, to the active mining levels that lay far below. We stepped into the second cage and in two minutes dropped another mile into the furnace of the rock.

In an effect known as the geothermal gradient, the temperature of the earth increases with depth. We emerged into a tunnel where the rock temperature was 140 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity 95 percent. In this dim sauna, perspiration soaked us in a moment. Sweat ran down my body until the socks were squishing in my boots and the cotton overalls were pasted to my skin. We had gone as deep as we could by cage—2.3 miles. To reach the deeper levels the miners either rode in open vehicles or, more often, walked. From the surface to the deepest tunnels, the journey took an hour, and most of that time was spent on the last half mile. I clambered into the back of a Toyota truck. We started down a stifling, gloomy, long decline.

In the city of the underground, there are no vistas. I peered ahead through the cab to see where we were going. All I could make out was the endless ramp, the wall rock, thick cables bolted to the granite, looping on ahead until they disappeared where the headlights lost themselves in the dark air.

The tunnel roof scraped by above our heads, lit by bulbs spaced far apart. When at last we came to a corner and turned, I felt a momentary surge of relief to be escaping the airless tunnel; but of course there was no escape. Every turn took us further into the rock, further from the cage, closer to the reef and the deep galleries. We passed a cavernous recess, where men gathered around a large tracked vehicle. They watched us go by. We turned a bend into another hot, dark tube with light bulbs dangling from the roof and cables stitched to the wall, and continued down.

AngloGold Ashanti [which formed through the merger of AngloGold and Ashanti Goldfields] selects miners for the deeps only after screening for susceptibility to heat. In a special chamber, applicants perform step exercises while technicians monitor them. The test chamber is kept at a "wet" temperature of 82 degrees. The high humidity makes it feel like 96. "We are trying to force the body's thermoregulatory system to kick in," said Zahan Eloff, an occupational-health physician. "If your body cools itself efficiently, you are safe to go underground for a 14-day trial, and if that goes well, cleared to work."

I wondered how well any screening could predict the ability to work in that asphyxiating dungeon. Nothing lived naturally in the depths of the mine except a kind of bacteria, an organism that survives without photosynthesizing sunlight. The bacteria take their energy from ambient radioactivity.

It takes 6,000 tons of ice a day to keep Mponeng's deepest levels at a bearable 83 degrees. They make the ice in a surface plant, then mix it with salt to create a slush that can be pumped down to underground reservoirs. There, giant fans pass air over the coolant and push the chilled air further down, into the mining tunnels. Cool air goes down at a temperature of 37 and comes back, heated up by the rock, at 86. I walked past one of these hot air returns—a black, growling tunnel that exhaled rank air from the bottom levels.

A deep mine is a truce that will always break. Mining at depth makes rock unstable. Every day at Mponeng mine they detonate 5,000 pounds of explosives. Every day they take away 6,400 tons of rock. The laws of compressive force dictate that the rock will try to close the spaces left by mining. To prevent this, engineers backfill stopes with rock and concrete. They reduce rock stress at the mining face, "softening" the rock before they blast it by drilling complex patterns around the blasting holes. In one deep mine they "fool the rock" by drilling out six-foot horizontal slots above the stopes. Since stress propagates through rock, but not through space, the empty spaces hinder the transmission of stress.

In tunnels, yard-long rock bolts anchor the unstable rock on the tunnel roof to the more stable interior of the rock mass. Patterns of rock bolts inserted in clusters are said to "knit" the rock together. Wire mesh and sprayed concrete stabilize the tunnel walls. Seismic sensors in the mine detect tremors at the first twitch, warning men to leave the rock face. But in the gold mines of South Africa there is a destabilizing force beyond the reach of engineers. It seems beyond the reach of anyone—a huge, pervasive, violent and desperate invading army of thieves.

Swarming the gold mines, a skilled rabble of impoverished men and women siphon off hundreds of millions of dollars a year worth of ore. Abetted by criminal gangs, they occupy vacant mining tunnels, sometimes inside working gold mines. Because South Africa's leading mines have elaborate security, invaders can't move in and out easily. Once they penetrate a mine, they may stay down for months. Deprived of sunlight, their skin turns gray. The wives and prostitutes who live with them turn gray. In South Africa they call them ghost miners. They inhabit an underground metropolis that in some goldfields can extend for 40 miles, a suffocating labyrinth in which the only glitter is the dream of gold.

By the end of the year, Mponeng's owner expects total group production from its mines of 4.1 million ounces of gold—worth around $5 billion.

From Gold by Matthew Hart. Copyright © 2013 by Matthew Hart, Ltd. Reprinted by permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Summary: Welcome to what some call the world's greatest gold rush. We take a rare look inside the deepest gold mine on the planet.


Mingled with the nostalgia one senses Brahms’s regrets over the failures in his love life, though you can’t help suspecting the failures were engineered. If any composer deserves to be called a confirmed bachelor, it’s Johannes Brahms.

I love this piece because it expresses that typically Brahmsian emotion of dignified, repressed sadness so well. It’s in the minuet-and-trio form Haydn and Mozart made familiar. We hear a minuet, followed by a contrasting dance, followed by the minuet again — but Brahms changes the form in ways that deepen its emotional undertow, as we’ll see. The range of colours Brahms conjures from the apparently monochrome string quartet is one of this piece’s pleasures. In the Trio, he makes the quartet skip with a balletic lightness that Tchaikovsky might have envied.

00.00 The beginning is more grave than sad, like a vision of aristocratic couples dancing by candlelight. The three high instruments are spaced close together over a drone in the cello. It creates a sound of unearthly tenderness, especially in this performance by the Vertavo Quartet. The tempo is a slow three, with the third beat often subdivided in three: ONE-TWO-tatata-ONE-TWO-tatata etc. Notice how Brahms upsets the regularity at 00.11 by subdividing the second beat into three, instead of the third. For a moment we don’t know where we are.

00.50 After a repeat of the opening phrase, the second half of the minuet begins, leading at 1.04 to a reprise of the beginning, with slightly altered rhythms. Then comes the surprise...

1.31 Instead of being another dance in triple-time, the Trio is a scurrying chase, which pulls us suddenly into a scene full of sunlight and movement. If we imagine the Minuet as someone sitting in a garden looking at photographs of long-ago scenes of childhood happiness, the Trio magically takes us there.

2.06 The minuet comes back, now filled with nostalgia. But it’s only for a moment before...

2.17 The scurrying Trio rushes back in again, in a more elaborate form.

3.02 Again, a sudden unbearably poignant moment of nostalgia. This dies away and leads back to the original Minuet at 3.26. The ending is stern, with only a short ‘rounding off’ passage at 4.26. The light is fading; the photographs are hard to see now. A chill breeze stirs.

Brahms wasn’t always sad or nostalgic. There’s a rich vein of beery cheerfulness in Brahms, which comes out in this rollicking Scherzo from his second Serenade for orchestra. Notice the off-beat “kick” in the rhythm at 00.05, and the gruff way the harmony shifts up at 00.29 (this is a very Beethoven-like moment. Brahms revered Beethoven, and modelled whole pieces on his works). What I really love about this piece is the way Brahms builds excitement in the middle section with an unmoving bass, starting at 00.48.

13 Canons for Women’s Voices: No 13

Brahms loved to write canons for the same reason some poets like to write sonnets: it’s really hard. In a canon the melodic parts come in one after another, each imitating the rise-and-fall of the one before with iron exactness. It’s very hard to do without producing harmonic chaos, and in this canon Brahms makes life even harder for himself. It’s written for women’s voices, so the range is very narrow. Plus he weaves in a quotation from Schubert: the sad little tune of an organ-grinder, as imagined in the final song in Schubert’s Winterreise. That’s in the high voices; the canon is tucked away down below, in the altos, so we hardly notice it.

It’s a perfect example of art concealing art, and it also goes so well with the words, which speak of the strange attractiveness of sad songs.

Piano Quartet in C minor: Scherzo

The scherzo form is like a fast minuet, so fast you don’t feel ONE-two-three, you just feel an irresistible galloping motion. Brahms took the form over from Haydn and Beethoven, and gave it a massive, clotted energy, combined in this one with a kind of fury.

The anger hardly dies down for the contrasting middle section (the Trio), beginning at 1.15. This piece is a good example of how in classical music the transitions (the bits that join one main event to another) are often as gripping as the main events themselves. Listen out for the way Brahms builds the tension for the return of the Scherzo, beginning at 2.00. It’s finally discharged at 2.39.

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Summary: The latest in Ivan Hewett’s 50-part series on short works by the   world’s greatest composers.


An Australian father facing deportation from the Scottish Highlands next week, along with his wife and Gaelic-speaking son, has called on the Home Office “to live up to their side of the deal” after the visa scheme that first attracted his family to Scotland was retrospectively cancelled.

Gregg Brain told the Guardian that he, his wife Kathryn and seven-year-old Lachlan had been “absolutely humbled” by the local Highland community’s response to his family’s predicament. “We have been overwhelmed by the response and it just reinforced our belief that this is the community where we want to bring up our son,” he said.

The family will travel to the Scottish parliament on Thursday afternoon at the invitation of first minister Nicola Sturgeon, who has already intervened personally in with case by writing to home secretary Theresa May asking her reconsider the deportation.

Gregg added that, while the family were living out of a couple of suitcases as their belongings waited in storage in Inverness, Lachlan was treating the experience “as a bit of an adventure”. “He has a seven-year-old’s understanding and a child’s resilience, so that’s fortunate.”

Related: The Sardinian professor fighting to save Gaelic – and all Europe’s minority tongues

George Osborne was urged to help stop the family’s deportation by Angus Robertson, the SNP leader at Westminster, who raised the case at prime minister’s questions, where the chancellor was standing in for David Cameron.

Robertson urged Osborne to urgently look again at the Brain family’s situation. They are to be sent back to Australia on Tuesday despite having arrived as part of a Scottish government initiative, supported by the Home Office, to attract people to live and work in the Highlands.

Gregg and Kathryn first visited Scotland in holiday in 2001. “We fell in love with the place, and when we went up into the Highlands, there was just something about the place that we felt a real connection with,” explained Gregg.

The professional couple returned on a “scouting trip” in 2005. “We wanted to take off the holiday goggles and see if we could really live here,” he added. As they researched work, study and visa options, they were attracted by the Highland Homecoming initiative, advertising in Australia for those with Scottish roots to return to the area and ease depopulation. Both have Scottish ancestors. Kathryn’s maiden name is Munro.

They moved to the Inverness area in 2011, initially on Kathryn’s student visa and intending to move onto a post-study work visa after that. But a year later, the Home Office cancelled that visa scheme retrospectively, leaving the Brains and thousands of other people without recourse.

The couple are particularly concerned about their son, who attends the Gaelic medium primary school in Dingwall. “He is a bright kid and doing very well at school, but he has been taught only in Gaelic, because we thought we would be staying and jumped at the chance of bilingual teaching,” Gregg said.

“He would be going into primary three in Australia, having had no instruction in reading or writing in English and we fear that he’ll go from being the clever kid to the struggling one, creating an academic deficit he may not recover from.

“Essentially, we are just asking the Home Office to live up to their side of the deal.”

Since the original visa arrangement fell through, the Brains have been granted two brief extensions to their stay but, he argues, “while this is entirely true it is not the entirety of the truth”.

The family have now been forced to apply for a tier two visa, for people from outside the European Economic Area who have already been offered a skilled job in the UK, but Gregg argues that this visa scheme is far more demanding.

“Meeting the requirements for this visa are extraordinarily hard to do, and requires an employer who is willing to invest time and money in sponsoring you,” Gregg said. “The requirements are very strict and it’s a big ask when you’re coming in to an employer cold. With the post-study work visa, the employer had time to see you at work first.”

Both partners had been working while seeking a job offer that would qualify for the tier two visa’s stricter requirement, until their right to work was removed in mid-March, requiring them to leave their full-time jobs without notice.

Gregg said that he had been “disappointed” by George Osborne’s response to Robertson’s question. Asked what he had to say to Gregg and Kathryn Brain, Osborne said: “As I understand it the family don’t meet the immigration criteria. The home secretary says she’s very happy to write to the right honourable gentleman about the details of this specific case.” He added that the SNP should use their “very substantial tax and enterprise powers if they want to attract people to the Highlands of Scotland” from the rest of the UK.

After PMQs, Robertson said the chancellor’s reply was “shameful and frankly not good enough”. He said: “He clearly had no knowledge of the Brain family and their plight despite the case being front-page news in Scotland and SNP MPs repeatedly raising it in parliament.

“Appeals have been made to the home secretary to allow the Brain family to stay. There have been interventions by the first minister, by the local MP, by the local MSP, by community members.

“The problem of the Highlands has not been unwanted immigration – it has been emigration. Even at this late stage will the chancellor, the home secretary and government look again at this case and let the Brain family stay in the Highlands?”

Summary: Gregg Brain moved with his wife and Gaelic-speaking son to Scottish Highlands on an initiative that has now been cancelled


Uber has announced a major expansion of its internal mapping program. Uber’s head of mapping, former Google Maps exec Brian McClendon, described the initiative as a “doubling down on our investment in mapping.” The Financial Times reports that the amount of the investment will be $500 million.

McClendon announced that Uber’s own mapping cars—similar to those used by Google—will expand this summer from the U.S. to Mexico, and after that to other countries.

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Uber currently relies on a mix of mapping technology and data, including Google’s and its own, to direct its drivers. But as McLendon points out, the generic data gathered by the likes of Google is in some cases superfluous (ocean topography), and in other cases inadequate for Uber’s particular needs—such as data on specific pickup and dropoff locations.

Perhaps just as important, the relationship between Uber and Google remains complicated, at best. Google’s Ventures arm was an early investor in Uber, with a stake that has been speculated to be about 7%.

But the two companies have some competing priorities, and keep each other decidedly at arms length. Google’s Waze unit actually partnered with Uber competitor Lyft earlier this year. For good measure, Waze rolled out its own pilot ride-sharing service (though it’s focused on carpooling, not taxi hailing).

For more on Uber, watch our video:

But all of that pales in comparison to the fact that both Google and Uber are working on self-driving cars, which rely heavily on extremely accurate maps. Should the two end up direct competitors in that space—say, if both of them were to launch networks of autonomous taxis—dependency on Google’s maps would amount to a significant vulnerability for Uber.

This new mapping push may indeed be a move to guarantee that Uber’s future robot cars have exactly the data they need. But more than that, it’s to ensure that Uber owns it all.

Summary: The ride-hailing service doesn't want to be tied down to another company's data.


We asked dozens of prominent Americans to share a favorite thing about the U.S. for the Fourth of July.

From small-town diners to big-city trains, their picks will ensure you’ll always have something to do—whatever state you’re in.

See more of TIME’s Reasons to Celebrate America Right Now here

I have visited New Orleans often throughout my life, and I really enjoy eating seafood—and eating it at Dooky Chase’s in New Orleans is just about as good as it gets.

Aaron is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Metacomet is the park in my hometown where every T-ball, baseball, tennis and soccer game was played when I was growing up. It reminds me of all the ease and fun that life can be when we focus on the simple things: community and family.

Aduba, a native of Medfield, Mass., stars in Orange Is the New Black

The North Market in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the oldest markets in the Midwest, and there is so much history there and so much support for food businesses. Opening a stand there gives entrepreneurs and chefs a captive audience to test their ideas and build a fan base. Plus, it’s the place in Columbus to eat.

Britton Bauer is the founder of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams

Besides great sporting events, Indianapolis now has a world- class Children’s Museum, one of the top zoos in the country and a vibrant downtown that features a lot of interesting neighborhoods. You can walk, run or bike almost anywhere. I’m proud to call it home.

Bird is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame

Sun Cedar at Penn House, a nonprofit organization in Lawrence, Kans., that employs and aids at-risk individuals (homeless persons, recovering addicts and those with past felony convictions) as they reintegrate into the mainstream workforce. I love supporting those who are striving to support themselves.

Bell, an actor, stars in the upcoming film Bad Moms

The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark., is an absolutely breathtaking building. And beyond offering a collection you can’t see anywhere else, it’s a peaceful spot to enjoy a great dinner.

Brewer is the CEO of Sam’s Club

There are two scenic trails that run between the beach towns of Lewes and Rehoboth, both in Delaware. The best way to earn your 60 Minute IPA calories is by biking between them, taking the Junction & Breakwater bike path to Rehoboth and the waterfront Gordons Pond Trail in Cape Henlopen State Park, on the way back to Lewes.

Calagione is the founder of Dogfish Head Brewery

Arnold’s Country Kitchen in Nashville is home cooking that’s unpretentious and delicious. They serve a type of “meat and three” with a cafeteria-style service that is going to become more popular in the next couple of years. I crave eating here and absolutely love the community feel of the space.

Chang is a chef and founder of Momofuku

I grew up in a tiny town called Niskayuna, N.Y. It’s a great place, but I wasn’t exposed to a lot of different people or opportunities. No one told me I could start a company because we didn’t know anyone who did. I wish every child in this country, regardless of their economic situation, had the chance to be exposed to the world, to great mentors and to keep dreaming about what’s possible.

Chesky is the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb

When I go to festivals, I see the happiest people: they’re about something simple, like Buffalo wings or gumbo, and locals want to share what their region produces. My favorite is the Asparagus Festival in Stockton, Calif. Deep-fried asparagus is the healthiest food I eat in competition—and it was the first contest I ever won.

Chestnut, a California native, set the record at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest (as of press time)

A few years ago, a friend took me to King’s Burgers, an old-time spot in Northridge, Calif., with $5 pastrami sandwiches. It’s run by a Korean family, and—as I was told—the son had become a high-end L.A. sushi chef and then returned to help his mother run the business. He had opened a counter in the shop, where we ate world-class sushi surrounded by families in flip-flops having burgers and Coke. In America, creativity can pop up like a blade of grass through the sidewalk.

Cho, an actor, stars in the upcoming film Star Trek Beyond

My favorite thing is to meet with student researchers, to hear what projects they are working on, and to see the spark in their eyes as they talk about the work they are doing. The U.S. is still the country that provides the greatest opportunity for a young person to make a difference.

Collins is the director of the National Institutes of Health

I’ve lived in Oklahoma City my entire life, and watched it become a unique combination of an old, hardworking Midwest cow town and young, art-minded party city. The Academy of Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma is in what used to be the abandoned warehouse district. It’s a trip: young musicians on their cell phones, carrying computers and synthesizers over streets that at one time were filled with trucks and farm equipment.

Coyne is the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter for the Flaming Lips

Any Philadelphia pretzel stand— there is something about the water in Philadelphia that makes the pretzel bread perfection.

Daniels, a Philly native, is a filmmaker and co-creator of Empire

I love Bethany Beach— the beach, awesome food, and it’s also a great family spot.

Delle Donne, a Delaware native, is the MVP forward for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky

There’s almost nothing in the cultural world that’s harder to get right than a Broadway musical, but when someone does, there’s nothing more invigorating or satisfying. In an increasingly digital age, it’s so refreshing to see real live people telling a story onstage. No filtered photos, no holograms, no VR—real human beings sharing a moment together. It never gets old.

Eichner, an NYC native, hosts Billy on the Street

I love visiting the red rocks in Sedona, Ariz. It feels like being on a different planet.

Ferrera, an actor, stars in Superstore

The New York City subway.

Franzen is a National Book Award–winning author

Unique in every way, the Mississippi Delta is like no other place on earth. Not only is it the birthplace of American music, I love it because it is home.

Freeman, an Oscar-winning actor, will appear this summer in Ben-Hur

Every summer I go to the weekend matinees at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago. This summer they are showing masterpieces by Akira Kurosawa, Fritz Lang and Billy Wilder. Watching classic movies in this classic theater is just a big bowl of wonderful.

Garlin, a Chicago native, stars in The Goldbergs

West Virginia to me is the smell of just-caught trout, coated in cornmeal, frying in Crisco in a black skillet at breakfast time at Smoke Hole on the South Branch of the Potomac, in the region where my family has lived since the 18th century. That’s about as close to Heaven as you can get on God’s green earth.

Gates is an author and professor

The thing I love most about West Virginia is the resiliency of its people. They celebrate the state by embracing its Appalachian culture, feeding its spirit through culinary specialities like the pepperoni roll and preserving the beauty of its hills and valleys.

Gee is the president of West Virginia University

Correction: The original version of this story misstated where Gordon Gee is president. It is West Virginia University.

Some 40 years ago, I stood before a lifelike bronze statue of a charioteer at a museum in Delphi that brought me to tears. I realized then that part of our mission was to create spaces and places that expressed feelings. In its show of Greek bronzes, the Getty Museum in L.A. reminded me of that simple thought.

Gehry, a Santa Monica, Calif., resident, is an acclaimed architect

The historic vibe of downtown Charleston, S.C., is the perfect backdrop for amazing restaurants like Poogan’s Porch, Hyman’s Seafood, Fleet Landing and High Cotton—and a brownie sundae from Kaminsky’s. And make sure you tip the kids selling the flowers made out of sweetgrass.

South Carolina native Lenard McKelvey, a.k.a. Charlamagne Tha God, co-hosts The Breakfast Club radio show

At the Whitney Museum’s new building in New York City, the portrait show “Human Interest” brings together over 200 works that not only showcase the breadth and innovation of American art but also celebrate the diversity and beauty of the people these works depict.

Golden is director and chief curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem

In the hustle bustle of New York City, there is serenity on the rooftops!

Goldsberry, an actor and singer, won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton

Like most of Indianapolis’s best restaurants, Recess is located in an unassuming minimall storefront, but in an age where “fresh” and “local” are buzzwords, the menu (which changes each day) offers food that is actually fresh and actually local.

Green, an Indianapolis native, is a writer whose YA novels include The Fault in Our Stars

The Mütter Museum of medical history in Philadelphia is the place to go if you’re fascinated by the mysteries of the human body. Exhibits include the preserved corpse of the woman known as the Soap Lady, a wax model of a 10-inch horny protuberance that grew out of the forehead of a Parisian woman, a dried megasize colon and slides of slices of Albert Einstein’s brain.

Gross is the host of public radio’s Fresh Air

The Dolphin restaurant in Hanalei, on the north shore of Kauai, because I can drive my boat there, and the atmosphere and environment are beautiful.

Hamilton is a California- and Hawaii-based big wave surfer

Luv-it Frozen Custard: It’s authentic downtown Las Vegas.

Harper, a Las Vegas native, is the MVP outfielder for the Washington Nationals

Every week, I have a crab omelet at Gertrude’s in the Baltimore Museum of Art with my mother. You can enjoy the magnificence of the BMA’s art outdoors and drown yourself in the beauty of the gardens.

Hayden, the CEO of Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, has been nominated to be the next Librarian of Congress

Las Cruces, N.M., small, farm-grown jalapeños and my sister Sara’s roasted and hand-peeled long green chiles! It is part country perfume and part ecstasy. What makes this come together are the brother-sister conversations while we’re chopping the jalapeño into piñata-colored pico de gallo and peeling the long-tall green one at the kitchen sink. Outside the kitchen, the mural sky with the Organ Mountains reminds you that the earth provides many gifts—joy on a plate, the palette, planet and la familia.

Herrera is the U.S. poet laureate

When I was growing up, just going to high school was enough. Now, it isn’t just the rich kids going to college, and there are more opportunities to continue your education. Our next generation is going to be even smarter than we are—they’ll take care of us.

Huffman, a teacher at Charles Pinckney Elementary School in Mount Pleasant, S.C., was named the 2015 National History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

MA‘O Farms is one of the most inspirational places in Hawaii. Not only are they growing organic produce in a state that ships in 90% of its food, they are growing Hawaii’s future by putting youth from the Wai’anae coast through college.

Johnson, an Oahu native, is a singer-songwriter

One of my favorite July 4 memories is from Memphis, which is such an American city with so much culture and history. We had a few of days off while on tour and did the whole thing: barbecue, a Memphis Redbirds minor-league baseball game, great music and fireworks on the Mississippi River.

Jonas is a singer and actor whose most recent album is Last Year Was Complicated

The Wednesday noon special at Cy’s Cafe in Dwight, Neb., population 204 at the last census. Roast pork, kraut, dumplings, applesauce and a drink, prepared and served by the Nemec sisters: Janet, who does the cooking, and Sharon, who works for the Catholic parish but comes to help during the noon hour. This is to be followed by a two-hour deep and altogether dreamless nap.

Kooser was the U.S. poet laureate from 2004 to 2006

My house, which is on a hilltop overlooking a lake in rural Maine, faces east. Early in the morning, when I watch the deer grazing in my meadow as the sun rises, each day seems filled with promise. There is no place on earth I’d rather be.

Lowry is a Newbery award-winning author

The pueblo feast days in Zia Pueblo, N.M. The corn dances are filled with prayers to bring blessings for all, and I am pleased to see the joy and happiness of our people as they carry on these traditions.

Lucero is governor of Zia Pueblo and an operator of the Sante Fe Indian School

You can go anywhere on our roadways. They’re very democratic and a masterpiece of mass cooperation and organization, like veins that run through the country. Even though they need work, the basic infrastructure is there. And many of them, like the Pacific Coast Highway and Route 66, inspired some great songs.

Marsalis is the managing and artistic director for Jazz at Lincoln Center

I love the life I get to live—going to bull-riding events and rodeos across the country. And when I can sit down to a great steak dinner at Cattlemen’s in Fort Worth, it’s even better.

Mauney is a two-time champion of the Professional Bull Riders tour

The breakfast at Kitchens Hardware & Deli in my hometown of Mineola, Texas, is classic. It’s in an old hardware shop, and my grandparents have been going there as long as I can remember.

Musgraves is a singer-songwriter; her latest album is Pageant Material

My career has taken me around the world, but there is no place where I’m happier than at home—be it in Central Ohio or South Florida. Columbus is where I’m from, and where I met my wife Barbara. And Palm Beach County is where we raised all five of our children and have lived for parts of six decades. The common thread is small-town charm and friendliness.

Nicklaus is a Hall of Fame golfer, course designer and philanthropist

I live in Bardstown, Ky., the bourbon capital of the world, and every day people make a pilgrimage to this place my family started over 200 years ago. You can always sit down and enjoy a drink, no matter where you’re from.

Noe, the great-grandson of Jim Beam, is its master distiller

Our Founders created a democracy that has survived unrest, upheaval, progress and change. We may fray, but we never break. Meanwhile we keep creating, developing and amazing the world with our ingenuity, innovation, hard work and generosity, too.

Oberhelman is CEO of Caterpillar Inc.

I like the fried fish at the Springhill Restaurant in Pflugerville, Texas. They fry it stiff so you can break it.

Overton, 110, is considered the oldest living American World War II veteran

My mama and daddy instilled in me the belief that this country is the greatest place on earth and that our freedoms were hard earned on the backs of our forefathers. I’ve never taken that for granted and I know that it’s because of their sacrifices that I get to live out my dreams. All of us should see freedom as a gift; my goal is to treasure that gift every single day.

Parton is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame

I’m on the road—a lot—giving speeches, preaching the need for an energy plan for America and looking for soft-serve ice cream. Everywhere I go, I ask the driver, “Is there a Dairy Queen around?” I’m a sucker for a Blizzard. A Blizzard with Butterfingers or Heath bar.

Pickens is an investor and the chairman of BP Capital

Our universities are admired and respected everywhere in the world, if not in our own legislatures. We have created a splendid experience for our young people in this very American achievement, and should do everything possible to see that it is shared much more broadly.

Robinson is a Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist

For July 4th, I like to be at home in L.A. listening to loud music, swimming and having a BBQ with my family.

Rose is an actor, model and designer

The center of my universe is Fifth Avenue and Central Park. It is where I live, 10 minutes from where I work and within walking distance of three of the greatest museums in the world, plus Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. It is a true crossroads of the world, and for a boy who lived above a country store in North Carolina, wild-eyed and curious, it is larger than any dream he had.

Rose is a talk- show host and journalist

There are two kinds of music: good and bad. Much of the good can be found in the American songbook, created by George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin and others. This music holds my attention like nothing else. Songs like “Long Ago and Far Away” and “Dancing in the Dark” are emotional gold.

Schwartz is the host of public radio’s The Jonathan Schwartz Show

The Talkeetna Mountains. As you climb up, you look out on the most epic views of Denali.

Seavey is a four-time winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

It’s kind of a tie for me: I love the Arbuckle Mountains, near where I live, because it’s one of the oldest mountain ranges in the U.S. But the Wichita Mountains have buffalo and elk in a really cool setting—a mountain range on the plains.

Shelton, an Oklahoma native, is a coach on The Voice. His latest album is If I’m Honest

The Atchafalaya Basin in Louisiana has this particular beauty. It’s so unusually American because no one ever thinks of it. I have a friend, the saxophonist and artist Dickie Landry, who lives on his family’s 80-acre pecan orchard near there, in a little town called Cecilia. He’s the guy who introduced me to zydeco music when I was making Graceland. So I’ve been friends with him and a bunch of other people down there for a long time. I just like hanging there.

Simon is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His new album is Stranger to Stranger.

Frederick Douglass’ home in Washington’s Anacostia neighborhood. I’m hopeful that it will become a gathering place for a generation that may have forgotten his legacy.

Soskin, 94, is the oldest National Park Service ranger

The Siuslaw National Forest, where the trees meet the sea. The poetic mind of nature rules in this majestic and pristine coastal forest. A visit here is always humbling, inspiring and a reminder of why we absolutely must protect our national parks and forests.

Spalding is a singer and bassist; her latest album is Emily’s D+Evolution

New Orleans Rock ‘N’ Bowl is a family-friendly honky-tonk. On Thursdays, walk past the Catholic saint’s altar and Carnival decor to join a dance floor of Creole cowboys who zydeco two-step and waltz en français … or you can bowl to the music!

Spitzer, a New Orleans resident, is the host of public radio’s American Routes

Lake Pend Oreille in northern Idaho. Hardly any development or boats and incredible sunrises.

Stein is a writer, lawyer and actor

Each homecoming from a long trip reaffirms that I live in the right place: Edmonds, Wash. I love to stroll along the bluff over Puget Sound—ringed by snowcapped peaks—and watch the seagulls escort the ferries in and out, while parents chase their children on the beach as if the green line of kelp defines a timeless playground.

Steves is a travel author and TV host

Climbing the hills and mountains and walking the trails of Acadia National Park. There’s so much to see, learn and witness on an early morning walk, hike or climb. It is breathtaking!

Stewart is founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

Driving through the ponderosa pine forest along the Mogollon Rim in Arizona, from Payson to our cabin in Show Low, there is a turnout view area on the road to Woods Canyon Lake, where my husband Brad scattered his parents’ ashes. It’s a breathtakingly inspiring vista that bonds you with the majesty of nature.

Takei is an actor and author

Nothing can compare to an evening of exquisite Bach, Beethoven or Berlioz under the stars on a tender summer night at Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, in the company of like-minded music lovers with their picnics laid out on the grass. It belongs to another time and is a rare respite from the mayhem of modern life: you will leave the place ennobled and changed for the good. And the kids’ll have fun.

Taylor, a Boston native, is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Some small towns still have a general store where you can buy practically anything. Sag Harbor, N.Y., is among them. Even though the floors at Sag Harbor Variety Store will likely squeak and you might require 15 minutes to find what you want among the endless shelves of knickknacks, what’s always there, whether or not it’s Independence Day, is an American flag you can buy.

Tyson, a New York City native, is director of the Hayden Planetarium

The Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, is my favorite place to visit in the U.S. Now more than ever, it’s relevant beyond belief. There’s a bittersweet joy underneath the sadness, given how far we’ve come since Dr. King died but how much further we have to go.

Veeck is part owner of five minor-league baseball teams across the U.S.

One of the best green spaces in the Minneapolis park system is Minnehaha Park, best enjoyed by sharing crab cakes and a bottle of wine outside at Sea Salt, a seasonal restaurant nestled near the park’s trails and Minnehaha Falls.

Viso is executive director of the Walker Art Center

My favorite thing to notice is that the ravages of greed have not entirely destroyed nature’s ability to surprise us with its beauty. Some of the beauty is quite ravaged too: like the Grand Canyon or some of the tree-stripped hills that manage to cover themselves each spring in radiant bright grass.

Walker is a Pulitzer Prize–winning author

The Made in America movement that started gaining momentum a few years ago shows no signs of slowing, reminding us all of the importance of keeping jobs in the USA.

Wallace, of Rhode Island, is the first person to grow a 1-ton pumpkin

Spending time outside engaging with nature is restorative and awe-inspiring. It is when I do some of my best thinking and when I feel most at peace and most alive. Everyone should have a chance to experience the beauty and comfort of nature—especially children.

Waters is the owner of Chez Panisse restaurant and founder of the Edible Schoolyard Project

Atomic Books in Baltimore is a bookstore that caters to extreme literary tastes and perfectly reflects its blue-collar-meets-bohemian neighborhood. If I were looking for new friends, this is where I’d loiter.

Waters, a Baltimore native, is a filmmaker and author

The stacks of the Sterling Memorial Library at Yale with the sneakers of Maggie a Girl of the Stacks making little skid shrieks as she retrieves and reshelves books.

Wolfe is an author; his forthcoming book is The Kingdom of Speech

Soaking up the game-day atmosphere at the University of Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium—which usually means plenty of brats and beer.

Wood, a UW alumnus, is a co-founder of the veterans’ service organization Team Rubicon

Summary: Picks from Frank Gehry, Blake Shelton, Martha Stewart, Neil deGrasse Tyson and many more


Three years ago I joined the Green party. Since then I have twice been a candidate in local council elections and next month I am on the ballot paper for the West Central seat on the London Assembly – the panel of 25 elected alongside the mayor whose job is to scrutinise him.

The odds are stacked against me. Conservative incumbent Kit Malthouse – he of the advice to the Met to stop wasting time and money investigating News International – sits on a vast majority. But in this election, with its proportional London-wide list (that's the orange form: if you want to vote Green once, do it there) every vote counts, and Greens are not the only ones to believe we could oust the Lib Dems as London's third party (we already have two assembly members; they have three. We have Jenny Jones as mayoral candidate; they have Brian Paddick).

After May, who knows? I have no plans to give up the day job. I like being a journalist and, unlike politics, it pays me a salary. But then again, until I joined the Green party I had never dreamed of standing for anything.

I think more people should get involved in politics. I'm not cynical but I think most politicians are pretty bad, not as individuals so much as in their collusion with a dysfunctional system (just look at party funding). So this is my beginner's guide to getting involved: 10 easy steps to becoming a politician.

1 Join a political party

This is not compulsory. This year's mayoral contest features one independent and the Independent Network exists to offer support. But unless you are George Galloway, it is very hard to get elected without a big party machine behind you. Guardian columnist Suzanne Moore and climate activist Tamsin Omond both stood for parliament as independents in 2010, and neither got more than 300 votes. "The way politics is done, it is not really possible," says Moore. "Even things such as getting leaflets printed, put into boxes and taken to the post office, you need people to help. However loyal your friends are, it's a lot to ask. But I think putting an X against your own name is an experience everyone should have. It's fun. I started off trying to be as honest as I could, and within two weeks I found myself giving these faux-expert answers and turning into this awful political thing that I despise. It gave me a lot more sympathy with politicians. To me it was a gesture about puncturing the spectacle. I suppose I did it as an anarchist."

If you decide to take the conventional route, you will need to decide what your politics are, then work out which party offers the closest match. As for prices, Conservative membership costs £25, Labour £43, Green £31, Lib Dems £12, SNP £13. All have various special offers. And be warned: even before you have clicked "submit", they will ask for more.

This might sound silly, but unless you live in area where your party is in charge, getting elected is incredibly difficult. In Surrey, the last Labour MP was elected in 1945, while Scotland in 2012 has just one Conservative. If you find yourself in hostile territory, and unwilling to contemplate upheaval, you could set up a pressure group and try to influence things that way. Alternatively, you could commit to a life of opposition. Someone has got to do it, and you may find there is less infighting in a local party where so little power is at stake.

3 Consider the House of Lords

The average age of peers is 69 but the youngest members of the second house of parliament are in their 30s: Nat Wei, former big society tsar, and lawyer Elizabeth Berridge. You will need to be appointed, so you will need to join a party first (though if this is impossible you could become a crossbencher after a life of public service).

The huge advantage of the Lords is that you do not need to get elected, so no leafletting, no canvassing and no risk of humiliating defeat. What's more, and weird, the fact you are not elected doesn't seem to matter: Lord (Peter) Mandelson was business secretary after leaving the Commons, Baroness (Sayeeda) Warsi became a cabinet minister having been soundly beaten in Dewsbury, and Lord (Andrew) Adonis became secretary of state for transport despite never even standing for parliament.

Labour peer Bryony Worthington, who worked for Ed Miliband before he appointed her, says: "The Lords is a much more collegiate atmosphere, not quite so tense and adversarial. And it doesn't require you to give up your day job, so you keep a foot in the outside world. The people you work with are amazing and, surprisingly, it's quite family-friendly – they have never had a mum with a baby before but they have been very welcoming." Lib Dem peer Meral Hussain-Ece, a councillor for 16 years before being appointed two years ago, says the Lords "takes some getting used to – all the rules and customs that aren't written down. But it's a wonderful place to work, I won't make any bones about it. It's a huge privilege, the staff and attendants are so supportive, and the level of debate is second to none – far higher than anything you hear in the Commons."

4 Check you won't get fired

Some employers are funny about politics, especially if yours aren't the same as theirs, or they think you should spend all your time in the office. The Guardian doesn't mind my Green activities (they are viewed, I think, as a harmless hobby), but BBC journalists must seek the advice of the chief adviser politics before doing anything that could compromise impartiality.

Civil servants "must comply with any restrictions that have been laid down", which in practice depends how high up they are, while Britain's biggest employer, Tesco, told me politics is fine so long as it is "kept separate from our work duties and doesn't influence how we behave" (doesn't politics influence all behaviour?). If you work for a small business, or an opinionated one, it may be more a question of personalities.

5 Make a choice: No 10 or village hall

If you want to be prime minister chances are it's too late, though the next PM and the one after that must be out there somewhere. Parliament should not be out of reach, though it could be harder if you are much past 40 (the average age of 2010's new intake was 42 and a half).

Get selected now to fight a seat in the next general election (even if it's one you have no chance of winning), and build from there. The party will notice if you do well, even if you are defeated, and next time you could be on a shortlist for something winnable.

Nick Bent was the narrowly defeated Labour candidate in Warrington South in 2010, and is sticking around to fight the same seat next time.

"I worked my socks off, and I was gutted," he says. "I went to every community meeting I could and talked to thousands of people, but unfortunately my Tory opponent had been selected three years before and in the end I lost by a few hundred votes. But I'm very bloody-minded, and determined to try again. Last year, Labour won back control of Warrington borough council and the momentum is definitely with us."

If your ambitions are more modest, becoming a local councillor should be fairly straightforward, provided you have some useful skills and are prepared to make an effort. All three parties admit to needing new talent (a recent Be a Councillor! event at the House of Commons was designed to attract new entrants). Outside big cities there are county, district and town or parish councils to choose from, the latter especially suitable if you don't want to join a party since half of England's parish councils (Scotland and Wales are different) aren't party-political at all.

6 Check your bank balance

Until you get elected, politics is unpaid. As a hobby it's very affordable (knocking on strangers' doors is free) but as soon as it starts encroaching on the working week (if you want to do anything with the local press, for example, who mostly don't work weekends) costs mount up. I spent £40 on my first local election campaign, which hopefully wouldn't put many people off, but to do the London Assembly is going to cost me at least £1,000, mainly because I have "bought" some time off work for campaigning (I'm keeping my annual leave for holidays) and some extra childcare. I am also contributing to my £1,000 deposit (which I'll get back if I win 5% of the vote), donating to the Green mayoral campaign, and I need to upgrade my crummy phone if I am to get any better at social media.

But this is peanuts compared with the cost of fighting a parliamentary election. Bent took four months off work to campaign in Warrington, and in any seat it believes to be winnable a constituency party will want the candidate to commit a similar period of time – which, of course, means money.

Still, the richest candidate doesn't always win. Justin Fisher, political science professor at Brunel University, says the key is "manpower. If you've got a well-organised campaign you can counter the money. Voters prefer a knock on the door to a telephone call."

In many places you don't really need to campaign to get elected to local government. Most council seats, like most parliamentary ones, don't usually change hands, and in Westminster, where I live, the Conservatives could put more or less anyone on the ballot paper in Belgravia and still get them elected. On the other hand, the greater the likelihood of getting elected, the more competition there is. Decide whether you prefer to fight a campaign within your party, for selection to a safe seat, or take the fight to the other side.

In marginal seats, parties devote huge resources to collecting data and residents are courted intensively with personalised letters and information (Labour in 1997 devised a new science of targeting called Excalibur) and even in the friendliest territory it's essential to knock on some doors, go to meetings (residents' associations, single-issue campaigns, coffee mornings, the WI) and meet constituents, if only so you know what to expect once you have been elected.

But don't forget the issues: when Green party leader Caroline Lucas fought one of the stand-out campaigns of the last election to become Britain's first Green MP, she thanked thousands of supporters for their hard work but said the result showed voters care about social justice and the environment.

8 Be in the media

Learn to spot a story and write a press release. Attend community events and plan some actions and campaigns of your own: petitions, protests, talks. Write letters to the local papers and be in the news as often as you can.

Make sure your local party website is kept up to date, write a blog, start a Facebook page and Twitter account. Labour MP Michael Dugher said that George Galloway's victory in Bradford was "the first byelection fought and even won on social media". But don't give up on old media. When she lost to Labour's Karen Buck in Westminster North in 2010, Conservative high-flyer Joanne Cash used her speech to blame the local papers.

You need to look tidy, at least to start with. There is plenty of election lore about the taller candidate, or the one with more hair or the less sweaty skin winning (Kennedy v Nixon in 1960 is the classic case) but fortunately for those of us without image consultants, this mainly applies to world leaders. I was grateful to the friend who told me not to wear green – a rosette is enough.

Local parties, believe it or not, obsess over the alphabetical placement of candidates. It's better to be higher up the list, allegedly, so if your name is Rustin and you insist on keeping it, try to make sure you aren't competing against a Cameron.

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Summary: Ever wanted to make your voice heard by entering the political fray? Susanna Rustin, who is standing for the London Assembly, offers her guide