Douglas C. Rigg, a prison warden who advocated rehabilitation and believed life sentences were a waste of the taxpayers' money, has died in a Hayward hospital of complications from pneumonia.

Mr. Rigg, who was 91, died at Kaiser Foundation Hospital on Wednesday. For the past six years, he had been living in the Baywood Court Retirement Community in Castro Valley.

Mr. Rigg was associate warden at San Quentin Prison in the 1940s and 1950s, and warden of the Minnesota State Prison from 1955 to 1960. After that, he went to law school and worked as a defense lawyer in Alameda County, then spent the last 11 years of his career in Oakland as a senior referee in the juvenile division of Alameda County Superior Court.

Born in New Orleans, Mr. Rigg was raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. His mother died when he was 11 and he was raised largely by his father, a chief engineer for various shipping companies. This association with the sea took hold of Mr. Rigg at an early age -- he shipped out, intermittently, from the age of 12 - - and gave him a lifelong love of ships to the extent that he "knew an incredible amount of history about each ship in port and under which flag it sailed," his daughter Christie Rigg said.

Mr. Rigg married his wife, Louise, in 1933, in Oakland, and graduated from UC Berkeley in 1938. In 1941, he went to work for the California Department of Corrections at San Quentin and rose through the ranks to associate warden. In 1955, when Minnesota offered him the top post at its state prison, the Rigg family moved to a house in Stillwater, Minn., across the street from the penitentiary.

Mr. Rigg had already garnered a reputation as being something of a liberal and, at the same time, an extremely able warden.

"If you knew him," Christie Rigg said, "it wouldn't seem contradictory, being in the prison business and being (politically) on the left. He was an idealist. His brand of prison work was this: If somebody broke the rules, they did their time. Hopefully, they were rehabilitated. My father treated each prisoner with respect. They were worthwhile human beings who had made terrible mistakes." Mr. Rigg, she said, wanted the prisoners to "develop skills so when they got out, they would have a livelihood."

She said that when she was a young girl in Minnesota, convicted murderers doing life in Stillwater worked in the warden's house as trusties.

"I adored them," she said. "I never felt frightened. They babysat me, and the trusty who drove my mother would save up the money she gave him and take me to the Dairy Queen. I cried when they got paroled."

At the same time that he was keeping people in prison, Mr. Rigg was an outspoken opponent of punishing people by keeping them in custody for decades or even their entire lives.

In an article he wrote for the Aug. 31, 1957, edition of the Saturday Evening Post, Mr. Rigg said, "Many of my 110 lifers ... have put in from 20 to 40 years for their crimes. Some of them now are lame, halt and blind. Few can look back on memories of love and work and children that most old folks have. Their only memory is time -- prison time.

"I am appalled by the human waste these men represent. There surely must be a better way of coping with the phenomenon of murder than locking a man up for life."

To the immediate retort from those who would say, "Well, isn't that just too tough!" he said, "It is tough. It is tough on these forgotten lifers and tough on the taxpayer." Mr. Rigg said the state would have been better off spending money on rehabilitation and education so the prisoners "could leave prison in a shorter time and not continue to be a drain on the community."

After going to night school in Minnesota and finishing up at Golden Gate University's law school in San Francisco, Mr. Rigg got his law degree in 1961, passed the state bar and began working for the Alameda County Public Defender in 1965. He later went into private criminal defense practice, and in 1972, he took up his career of juvenile court judge.

After his retirement in 1983, he worked another four years as a judge in the juvenile courts.

His daughter said that outside the world of prisons and courts, Mr. Rigg was a "true Renaissance man, in the sense that he was well educated. He knew history, economics and literature. He loved Conrad, Melville and Dickens, and he loved the poetry of Kipling and (Robert) Burns."

In addition to his daughter Christie Rigg of Richmond, Mr. Rigg is survived by another daughter, Janet Rigg of Berkeley.

A memorial service will take place at 1 p.m. on July 3 at the Brazilian Room, Tilden Regional Park, on Wildcat Canyon Road at the intersection of Shasta Road in Berkeley.

The family suggests memorial donations be made to any of these organizations: the San Francisco Maritime Museum, Building E, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA 94123; KQED, 2601 Mariposa St., San Francisco, CA 94110; and NARAL Pro-Choice America (formerly the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League), 1156 15th St. N.W., Washington, DC 20005.

Summary: Douglas C. Rigg, a prison warden who advocated rehabilitation and believed life sentences were a waste of the taxpayers' money, has died in a Hayward hospital of complications from pneumonia.  [...] he went to law school and worked as a defense lawyer in Alameda County, then spent the last 11 years of his career in Oakland as a senior referee in the juvenile division of Alameda County Superior Court.  Born in New Orleans, Mr. Rigg was raised in Brooklyn, N.Y. His mother died when he was 11 and he was raised largely by his father, a chief engineer for various shipping companies.  [...] that he was keeping people in prison, Mr. Rigg was an outspoken opponent of punishing people by keeping them in custody for decades or even their entire lives.  Mr. Rigg said the state would have been better off spending money on rehabilitation and education so the prisoners "could leave prison in a shorter time and not continue to be a drain on the community."  After going to night school in Minnesota and finishing up at Golden Gate University's law school in San Francisco, Mr. Rigg got his law degree in 1961, passed the state bar and began working for the Alameda County Public Defender in 1965.  The family suggests memorial donations be made to any of these organizations: the San Francisco Maritime Museum, Building E, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA 94123; KQED, 2601 Mariposa St., San Francisco, CA 94110; and NARAL Pro-Choice America (formerly the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League), 1156 15th St. N.W., Washington, DC 20005.


David Carr, culture reporter and media columnist for The New York Times, poses for a photograph in 2008.

Carr attends the TimesTalks at The New School on Feb. 12.

Carr and reporter Morley Safer at the afterparty for the New York premiere of "Page One: Inside The New York Times" in 2011.

Carr and former New York Times editor Jill Abramson

Carr arrives for the French premiere of the documentary "Page One: A Year Inside The New York Times" in 2011.

Carr speaks at a conference in San Francisco in 2014.

Autopsy results show New York Times media columnist David Carr died of complications from metastatic lung cancer.

Julie Bolcer, a spokeswoman for the New York City medical examiner’s office, says the autopsy shows heart disease was a contributing cause of death.

Carr collapsed at the newspaper’s headquarters and died on Thursday. He was 58.

He wrote the Media Equation column for The New York Times and penned a memoir about his fight with drug addiction. He was lauded as “the finest media reporter of his generation” by Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet.

Carr’s 2008 memoir “The Night of the Gun” traces his rise from cocaine addict to single dad raising twin girls to sobered-up media columnist for the Times.

Summary: Autopsy results show New York Times media columnist David Carr died of complications from metastatic lung cancer. Julie Bolcer, a spokeswoman for the New York City medical examiner’s office, …


Photo: Frederic Larson, The Chronicle

Aaron Peskin, President of the Board of Supervivors

Aaron Peskin, President of the Board of Supervivors

S.F. Democrats take a sharp turn to the left

The San Francisco Democratic Party has veered dramatically to the left, telling voters that on Nov. 4 they should elect a raft of ultra-liberal supervisorial candidates, decriminalize prostitution, boot JROTC from public schools, embrace public power and reject Mayor Gavin Newsom's special court in the Tenderloin.

That's just what some party members feared after Supervisors Aaron Peskin, Chris Daly and Jake McGoldrick along with others who billed themselves as "The Hope Slate" were elected to the Democratic County Central Committee in June.

The powerful, 34-member panel worked late into Wednesday night deciding endorsements that could play a big role in how the overwhelmingly Democratic city votes this fall.

Peskin, the group's chairman, said Thursday that the progressive endorsements are in step with the priorities of San Francisco's voters and are geared toward making the party bigger and stronger after some left-wing members broke off to join the Green Party.

"We saw over the last many years disenchantment by Democratic Party activists who felt the past policies of the local party were out of step with San Francisco's Democratic values," he said. "We're reaching out to people who were turned off, but we're not alienating people who have been party stalwarts for decades."

The central committee rejected just about every candidate and measure endorsed by Newsom, who enjoyed support of the committee up until June. Nathan Ballard, the mayor's press secretary, said the committee's endorsements are out of whack with Democratic values.

"Democrats in San Francisco care about health care, education and public safety - they don't care about these lunatic fringe issues," Ballard said. "People in San Francisco are smart, and they know better than to follow Chris Daly's advice."

The meeting stretched over five hours, including two hours of public comment - mostly from high school students wanting JROTC to remain in their schools and sex workers who were divided on whether to decriminalize their trade.

"That's the beauty of the Democratic Party," laughed Scott Wiener, the former central committee chairman. Wiener is a part of the group's more moderate faction and lost the chairman post to Peskin last month.

But the meeting turned contentious when the group took up endorsements for seven supervisorial races.

The group endorsed incumbents Carmen Chu and Sean Elsbernd and made no endorsement in District Five where Ross Mirkarimi faces no real challenge, but is a member of the Green Party.

In the four wide-open races, the group picked ultra-liberal candidates Eric Mar in District One, David Chiu in District Three, David Campos in District Nine and John Avalos in District Eleven.

Many of the progressive central committee members support the city's new system of ranked-choice voting, in which voters can pick their first, second and third choices to avoid a costly runoff. Yet, in all but one case - District Three, where Denise McCarthy got a second-choice endorsement - the group declined to back a second or third candidate.

Selecting additional candidates in the other districts would have meant choosing a member of the moderate wing of the party, and Peskin said there simply weren't good candidates to choose as backups in most districts.

Wiener said Peskin and his allies displayed tribal politics at its worst.

"There's a litmus test that some people try to apply that if you don't agree with us on every single issue, you're not progressive," he said.

Sue Lee, a candidate in District One, sat in the audience as she failed to get any nod from the group. She later motioned to her back and asked, "Am I bleeding?" - implying she'd been stabbed by fellow Democrats.

The group also took a position on 22 ballot measures, voting most controversially to support the decriminalization of prostitution. Supporters say the measure would protect prostitutes from assault and rape because they could report the abuse without being prosecuted themselves; opponents say it would make it harder to investigate and prosecute sex trafficking, a major problem in the city.

The central committee also voted against an advisory measure to keep JROTC in the public schools because of the program's military connections and for measures to spend $2.7 billion over the next 15 years on affordable housing and set the city on the path toward public power.

The committee at first couldn't reach a majority on what to do about Newsom's measure to fund the Community Justice Center, which would prosecute misdemeanor and nonviolent felonies in the Tenderloin and South of Market.

It appeared the group would make no endorsement until Daly pushed for another vote at 11:30 p.m. after some pro-court members had left. With smaller numbers, the group chose to endorse a vote against the measure. Daly didn't return a call for comment.

Summary: The San Francisco Democratic Party has veered dramatically to the left, telling voters that on Nov. 4 they should elect a raft of ultra-liberal supervisorial candidates, decriminalize prostitution, boot JROTC from public schools, embrace public power and reject Mayor Gavin Newsom's special court in the Tenderloin.  Peskin, the group's chairman, said Thursday that the progressive endorsements are in step with the priorities of San Francisco's voters and are geared toward making the party bigger and stronger after some left-wing members broke off to join the Green Party.  "Democrats in San Francisco care about health care, education and public safety - they don't care about these lunatic fringe issues," Ballard said.  The meeting stretched over five hours, including two hours of public comment - mostly from high school students wanting JROTC to remain in their schools and sex workers who were divided on whether to decriminalize their trade.  The central committee also voted against an advisory measure to keep JROTC in the public schools because of the program's military connections and for measures to spend $2.7 billion over the next 15 years on affordable housing and set the city on the path toward public power.


Peyton Manning did not need that second Super Bowl victory to solidify his Hall of Fame credentials. What was provided was an upgrade for his plaque — two-time champion rather than one.

Ichiro Suzuki similarly has the bonus now to add all-time pro hit king and soon 3,000-hit man to his plaque. But Ichiro had long ago assured his Cooperstown credentials when he averaged 224 hits a season with a .331 average over his first 10 years as a Mariner.

What followed was familiar to most Hall of Famers — a decline in performance late in a career with overall averages falling while counting stats, such as total hits, kept climbing. Suzuki, as the oldest position player in the majors, has rebounded in 2016 to, so far, atypically produce an average akin to his prime.

Often 3,000 hits or 300 wins or other milestones are celebrated, but occur when the players are shells of who they were when they actually earned their Hall entrance. Derek Jeter, for example, moved from 11th to sixth on the all-time hit list his final season — which will look great on his plaque — but he did it as a .256 batter, not the hit maestro of his prime.

Obvious Hall of Famers can fade and not damage their electability. Miguel Cabrera, Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols — like Ichiro — were Hall of Famers before this season began, and poor results would not harm their candidacies. Those who needed more to push them over the borderline (think Jimmy Rollins) or needed a strong back nine to just get to the borderline (think Mark Teixeira) have faltered this season.

Conversely, there are guys on the tail ends of careers helping their candidacies this season. We are not talking about those with fewer than 10 years of experience in their prime, such as Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw. This is about thirty-somethings who should be more in the accumulating portion of their careers now who, to date in 2016, have upgraded their Hall status by acting like their younger selves:

Beltran already might have done enough to get 75 percent of the electorate, especially because his outstanding two-way career has been enhanced by his postseason brilliance. But going over 400 homers and 2,500 hits this year while having an offensive season that looks like his prime only helps his candidacy.

If he continues at his current pace, Beltran would produce his 11th season of qualifying for the batting title with an OPS-plus of 120 or better (20 percent or better than MLB average factoring in ballpark and league). Others who have the same amount include Joe DiMaggio, Ken Griffey Jr. and Tony Gwynn. This also would mark the 11th year for …

Like Beltran, Ortiz already might have crossed the borderline. But his candidacy is plagued by two factors: 1) he has mainly been a DH and, more importantly, 2) he may have it held against him that he reportedly was among those who failed what was just survey PED testing in 2003. Ortiz always has denied use.

I wonder if yet another brilliant season in his retirement campaign – he led the majors in OPS by 137 points – at a time when MLB is perceived as having tough testing might bring Ortiz more voters. Just in case 500 homers and a reputation as one of the clutch players in history is not enough. He remains the primary cleanup hitter on a contender, just like …

He also already might have done enough for Cooperstown. But if not, he is heading toward 3,000 hits (2,833) and perhaps 500 homers (423) as a still above-average all-around player. He was second on the first-place Rangers in homers and RBIs while still leading AL third basemen in defensive runs saved. You know who else would be second in the AL in a key category …

The lefty symbolized the player who turned a borderline case south by going 23-27 with a 4.81 ERA the past three seasons. Except in 2016 Sabathia is a few innings away from qualifying for the ERA title, and if he did he would be second in the AL.

Sabathia finally has completed a transformation from power to Pettitte — relying heavily on a cutter and the ability to execute the 5-10 pitches a game in critical moments. If he can stay healthy and pitch in this way, Sabathia would deliver his ninth season with an ERA-plus of at least 120, which would be two more than Nolan Ryan, one more than Whitey Ford and the same as Fergie Jenkins.

He still would need more. But what if this is the beginning of Chapter 2 of his career and he has a few years like Andy Pettitte? Could he do enough to get into the Hall, especially factoring in a Cy Young, five other top-five finishes and being the key addition to get the Brewers to the playoffs for the first time in 26 years? He also was the ace of the 2009 champion Yankees (1.98 ERA in five starts that postseason) when he was teammates with …

His terrible first half last season could have been seen as the beginning of his end. His strong second half as garbage time stats after his team was out of it. But he has rebounded in full this year for the contending Mariners.

He had five straight MVP top-six seasons from 2010-14 and might do so again. The last full-time second baseman to be elected to the Hall, Roberto Alomar, had five in his career (2015 inductee Craig Biggio also caught and played the outfield). His 151 OPS-plus going into Saturday would be the highest of his career and — if he can maintain that level — would mark the fifth time in his career he was at 140 or better, the same amount as Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan. His 247th career homer Friday tied Morgan and made him the record holder for most homers by an AL second baseman.

Summary: Peyton Manning did not need that second Super Bowl victory to solidify his Hall of Fame credentials. What was provided was an upgrade for his plaque — two-time champion rather than one. Ichiro Suzu…


By Aili Nahas and Brittany King

07/14/2016 AT 09:00 AM EDT

isn't for everyone – and, it turns out, he ultimately wasn't for

star opens up to PEOPLE in this week's issue about this season's villain and how he blew her away – and not in a good way.

"Chad Johnson was one of my top guys, but I started hearing about drama," says the Dallas-based real estate developer. "The guys assumed Chad couldn't hide that much crazy, but I really had no idea what was going on."

"When I finally saw, it blew me away," adds Fletcher, 25. "Watching Chad is like one of those things where you want to look away from something but you can't. The guys were much happier when he was gone."

while on a two-on-one date between Johnson, 28, and his rival

"He wasn't meant to be my husband," Fletcher adds. "But I wish him the best of luck. I'm going to

And that's exactly what he's doing. The former suitor will be appearing on the upcoming season of

– though he recently revealed that he's still single and "looking for love."

As for Fletcher finding love, "there's no doubt" in her mind that she finds it within the final four guys –

"I have strong feelings for all of the final guys," she

. "No doubt in my mind, I can see myself with each one. The painful part is knowing I won't end up with three of them. The pressure is overwhelming. But I trust my gut, and I feel really good about that."

airs Mondays (8 p.m. ET) on ABC, and

premieres Aug. 2 on ABC.

Summary: The Bachelorette JoJo Fletcher says of Johnson's intense behavior: "When I finally saw, it blew me away"


The authorities were notified in 1998 about a sham doctor who the police suspect may have killed a 35-year-old investment banker last year, state officials acknowledged yesterday. But he was not arrested until October 2002.

Even after his arrest on charges of practicing without a license, the man, Dean Faiello, 44, was able to set up shop in a friend's Manhattan apartment, where investigators believe he treated the analyst, Maria Cruz, on the day she disappeared last April, said Paul J. Browne, the chief spokesman for the New York Police Department.

In Newark on Wednesday, Ms. Cruz's body was discovered entombed in a concrete slab at the former home of Mr. Faiello, who authorities say has fled the country.

Detectives are investigating the possibility that she died as a result of botched illegal surgery performed by Mr. Faiello, and that he then buried the evidence of his error, the police said.

Yesterday, medical examiners in New Jersey confirmed that the body was that of Ms. Cruz, but they did not release the cause of death. No one has been charged in the death.

After learning yesterday that the body had been identified as that of Ms. Cruz, her uncle, Jose Navarro, said that Mr. Faiello should turn himself in. ''Face what you have done. Everyone makes mistakes. As long as you turn yourself in you will be at peace,'' he said.

As Ms. Cruz's fate made headlines, plastic surgeons and malpractice lawyers asked why Mr. Faiello was not stopped sooner, and whether the authorities were vigorously pursuing similar offenders.

Dr. Roy Geronemus, a dermatologist and director of the Laser and Skin Surgery Center of New York, said some of Mr. Faiello's clients had come to him for help. ''He certainly wasn't qualified to do what he was doing,'' he said. ''The real question I would ask the attorney general's office is why haven't they been more diligent in enforcing these regulations?''

State prosecutors said that Mr. Faiello was unlicensed in any medical profession.

Asked about the delay in stopping him from treating patients, Jonathan Burman, a spokesman for the State Education Department, which oversees medical licenses, said that the first complaint about Mr. Faiello was received in late 1998, from a former employer who said he had stolen prescription pads from here might be performing laser surgery without medical training.

In December 1998, an undercover investigator from the department's Office of Professional Discipline visited Mr. Faiello, and he offered to give her anesthesia and laser skin treatment, Mr. Burman said.

The following month, the case was referred to the office of the state attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, Mr. Burman said. The office chose not to prosecute, he said.

Dr. Geronemus, who has led efforts to reform state guidelines on the medical use of lasers, said that despite recent efforts to clarify agency responsibilities, there is a gap in enforcement. In the Faiello case, he said, ''Nobody took the bull by the horns.''

Brad Maione, a spokesman for Mr. Spitzer, defended the office's decision not to press charges at that time. ''Standing alone, that single count was not supportable in the facts or in the law,'' he said, adding that they asked the State Education Department to investigate further.

''It's not a case of them referring it to us and us not doing anything about it,'' Mr. Maione said. ''It's a case of building a better case that was ultimately successful.''

It was more than three years before the department referred the case to Mr. Spitzer's office again, in May 2002, Mr. Burman said. In October, two days after The New York Post ran an article about his practice, Mr. Faiello was arrested on three counts of practicing medicine without a license, including the incident in December 1998, and two other undercover visits, in February and March 2002.

Mr. Maione said that more complaints were received as a result of the Post's investigation.

Mr. Faiello was released on $5,000 bail, on condition that he not continue to treat patients.

In June 2003, he pleaded guilty to one count of practicing medicine without a license and one count of conspiracy to possess narcotics, but fled before he was sentenced.

Mr. Maione said that even before Mr. Faiello's trouble with the state authorities began, he had been arrested by the Manhattan district attorney on charges stemming from forging prescriptions for narcotics, and sentenced to three years' probation.

Just last August, he was arrested again in New Jersey during a traffic stop on narcotics-related charges, a spokesman for Mr. Spitzer said.

Harvey F. Wachsman, a medical doctor and malpractice lawyer, said that there were not enough protections for consumers or strong enough licensing laws. ''I think people don't know,'' he said. ''And the fact is that they're conned.''

More details emerged yesterday about the clues that led investigators to tear up the concrete slab in the detached carriage house on Mr. Faiello's former property, which he sold the month after Ms. Cruz disappeared.

According to Mr. Browne, Ms. Cruz had sought treatment for ''black tongue,'' a colloquial name that sometimes refers to a minor temporary condition resulting from diet or medication, and sometimes refers to a more serious condition known as ''hairy leukoplakia,'' a precancerous overgrowth of the cilia on the tongue, which can be treated by laser.

Investigators knew that she canceled an appointment with Mr. Faiello on April 11 because she had to work late that day. A credit card charge on April 13 at Loehmann's, a clothing store, led them to suspect that she went to see Mr. Faiello that day. Loehmann's, on Seventh Avenue at 16th Street, is close to the apartment at 115 W. 16th Street where the police say Mr. Faiello had moved his practice.

Mr. Browne said he could not say why Ms. Cruz had sought medical treatment in someone's apartment, or whether she had been treated by Mr. Faiello before.

Mr. Faiello is thought to be in Costa Rica. Mr. Browne would not disclose why investigators believe that, but he did say, ''Costa Rica has an extradition treaty, and detectives were reading it today.''

Janon Fisher, in New York, and Adrienne Lu, in Newark, contributed reporting for this article.

Summary: Authorities probe possibility that Maria Cruz, Manhattan woman whose body was found entombed in concrete slab in former home of Dean Faiello in Newark, may have died as result of botched illegal plastic surgery that he performed on her in basement of friend's apartment in Manhattan; Faiello, now believed to be in Costa Rica, was able to set up unlicensed medical practice in Manhattan even as he awaited sentencing for operating without license; was first investigated and warned about performing medical procedures and writing narcotics prescriptions in 1998, but Atty Gen Elliot Spitzer's office declined to prosecute at that time; plastic surgeons and malpractice lawyers ask why authorities did not stop Faiello sooner and if they are vigorously pursuing similar offenders; photo (M)


Eye ought to be emblematic of the Big Society. But its experience suggests that the Big Society has a hole in it. Even Dr Dan Poulter, the local MP, fears that cuts could create a “Cinderella town”, bullied by the Ugly Sisters of Ipswich, the county town, and Needham Market, the seat of the Mid Suffolk District Council.

Not that Eye paints itself as forlorn. For a place that is smaller than many villages, it has an astonishing level of commerce. If you want a coal scuttle, a microwave or a packet of birdseed, not to mention one of the many varieties of mop and broom that country people seem to require, go to the hardware shop. You can pick up a prescription, post a letter, buy sausages, have a carpet laid, cater a wedding or stock up on some quality cheese – all without leaving Eye. I once stopped at Eye, needing a belt for my trousers; I found it at Michael’s outfitters. How so many shops keep going is a mystery, but they do. They contribute to the sense of this small place as an independent community.

Once, Eye was quite a promising borough. That, however, was in the 11th century, when a companion of William the Conqueror heaped up the castle motte. “Eye” means island: in those days it was in a strong defensive position. The next exciting event, as far as I can see, came in about 1804 when a blacksmith from Stoke Ash invented an “extirpator” for removing weeds.

Eye still managed to send two MPs to Parliament until the 1832 Reform Act knocked that scam on the head. But its fate was sealed when the mainline railway bypassed it and went to Diss. Diss grew, Eye didn’t. All that is now left is a church which smells strongly of incense and is handsome even by Suffolk standards, and some streets of mellow, timber-framed houses and Georgian façades. Which, if you’re looking for a retirement spot, is about all you need – except possibly a bus pass.

At the other end of the age spectrum, you may go to college. Eleanor Hucklesby does: to get to Ipswich and back takes her five-and-a-half hours each day. I meet David Jacox, who previously paid £140 a quarter for his disabled grandson to reach a special school; that sum will go up to £200 in September – an extra £240 a year that he can ill afford. The Education Maintenance Allowance of £30 a week which helped some youngsters reach courses has been withdrawn. Blame the Government for that; blame the district council for closing the public lavatories (having a rota of volunteers to keep them open is not thought to be an inviting prospect, particularly since the people who use them don’t generally live in the town). But for most of Eye’s pain, my deputation agrees, blame the county council.

Wait a minute, who’s this striding across the road? From the window of his accountant’s office, Guy McGregor has noticed that something is up, and has come to investigate. As the county council cabinet member with responsibility for roads, transport and planning, Mr McGregor has a rather different perspective from the townspeople who are worried about cuts.

“Have you seen our school?” he asks. “It’s the best in the county, if not the region. Have you seen our delicatessen?” As a matter of fact, I have, but that doesn’t stop the catechism. “Have you visited our dentist? Your teeth look a bit wobbly.” And so it goes on. Although from the same party as the MP, he is particularly irked by the Cinderella comparison. Nobody should do Eye down. Anxious about their library and buses, some residents have adopted the foetal position in advance of the coming cuts. They have a strong sense of foreboding. Could it be that the worst may never come? Buses still run, if perhaps fewer of them; but, as Linda Cummins says, hardly anyone uses them. They share cars. And as services get dispersed and oil prices rocket, cars are expensive.

No wonder Eye is worried. Some local authorities fight 30 per cent cuts; others put their heads in the sand. When I met some of Suffolk county council’s top brass last autumn, I found that they embraced them with an enthusiasm that was almost indecent. They were happy to voice ideas that David Cameron could not – or would not – enunciate, in particular an ideological commitment to reduce the size of the state by outsourcing wherever possible. They hope to shrink a workforce of 27,000 to a few hundred. Angela Hill, the steely chief executive, makes Margaret Thatcher look wishy-washy. Word in Eye has it that neighbouring Essex and Norfolk county councils are not so aggressive. It would take a saint not to observe that the cuts could very well start with Ms Hill’s £218,000 salary.

Mr McGregor is still talking when the other residents decide they’ve done enough. “We love Guy really,” says one of them, as she leaves. It’s all very good humoured, in a British way, however much people worry that the civic character of the town is being eroded. Afterwards, Mr McGregor takes me into the town hall, which, he urges me to note, is being repainted.

As we climb up into the magistrates’ room, he reveals the name of the real villain of the Eye story, and it’s another Tory: Ted Heath. His local government reorganisation in the Seventies delivered the coup de grace to the town as an administrative centre. The magistrates court and police headquarters closed. If “localism” means anything, they should be brought back. But as they have every reason to know in agrarian Mid Suffolk, pigs don’t have wings.

Clive Aslet is editor at large of 'Country Life’

Summary: A small Suffolk town is losing jobs, its youth club, even the local pub. Clive   Aslet hears a cry of distress from local residents.


More millennials can't afford to move out of home than at any other time in the past decade.

A Zillow analysis published Thursday showed that the share of people ages 24 to 34 living with their parents had risen every year since 2005, from 13% then to 21.4% in 2014.

Zillow's data is based on the latest available Census Bureau numbers and its own estimates of the median rent in major cities.

A crisis of housing affordability is being worsened by tight inventories and strong demand.

Rents, Zillow noted, have risen by nearly 3% over the past decade, while incomes have grown by only 2%. And Zillow forecasts that rents will continue to climb.

Related: The best cities for new grads

More millennials are living in their moms' basements than at any other time in the past decade

The report acknowledged that, for some people, the decision to live at home is not just economic. But expensive housing is usually the reason.

"Living with their parents may allow young people to continue to do things like continue their education, save enough money for first and last month's rent, or save for a down payment," said Svenja Gudell, Zillow's chief economist.

El Paso, Texas, had the highest share of millennials still living at home in 2014, at 34%. In the super-hot San Francisco housing market the share was 21%, and it was 30% in New York — up from 21% in 2005.

You can check out the full ranking from Zillow here »

NOW WATCH: FORMER GREEK FINANCE MINISTER: The single largest threat to the global economy

More from Business Insider Dropbox cut a bunch of perks and told employees to save more as Silicon Valley startups brace for the cold A psychology professor reviewed decades of research about having kids, and he came to a depressing conclusion about marriage More millennials can't afford to move out of home than at any other time in the past decade

SEE ALSO: Millennials are leaving these 10 big American cities in droves because of high home prices

Summary: More millennials can't afford to move out of home than at any other time in the past decade due to housing affordability being worse than it has ever been.


Donald Trump is returning to the issue that helped propel him to the top of the Republican race for the presidential nomination, telling The Late Show host Stephen Colbert on Tuesday that he would build a “great and beautiful wall” along the Mexican border.

“We are going to build a wall. You’re going to pay for the wall,” the brash billionaire said he would tell the Mexican government. “The wall itself, we own.”

Trump, who has been riding high in the polls since he entered the topsy-turvy chase for the GOP presidential nomination. He spent the summer hurling invectives at his rivals and offering a string of insensitive assessments of Americans. He also had ugly words for immigrants in the country illegally, and vowed to erect a thousand-mile wall to block new immigrants coming across the U.S.-Mexican border. Voters, in turn, rewarded him with increasingly strong support.

Read More: The Donald Has Landed

Until recently, that is. Last week’s debate at the Reagan presidential library seemed to be the first signs of vulnerability. Fellow business executive Carly Fiorina delivered a stand-out performance and directly confronted Trump about his impolitic remarks about her appearance. Trump was left blushing and spent much of the rest of the debate sulking.

Trump, however, is retrenching. He was his typical self on Colbert’s program, boasting of his crowd sizes, poll numbers and personal wealth. Trump repeatedly says he is not accepting donations from supporters and instead prefers to pay for the campaign out of his deep pockets. After all, that’s the perk of being a billionaire.

“I don’t want the money from the lobbyists and special interests,” Trump said.

When asked by Colbert if the really thought President Obama was not born in the United States, Trump refused to answer. Trump has long peddled questions that Obama was born outside the United States and, thus, is ineligible to be President. (For the record: Obama was born to an American mother and Kenyan father in Hawaii.)

Trump said he didn’t want to talk about Obama’s birthplace any more. Instead, he wanted to talk about veterans. “They’re treated worse than illegals,” Trump said of immigrants in the United States illegally.

Trump’s entire campaign has been draped with a surreal quality. Colbert nodded to doubts that Trump was serious about being President, or if this is all part of Trump’s elaborate play for publicity.

“Would that be a step down for you? You know what the pay is like,” Colbert asked.

“It would be my great honor,” Trump replied. Colbert continued: “You seriously want the job?”

As Trump sat down on Colbert’s stage, the comedian acknowledged that he, like so many television hosts, had enjoyed Trump’s campaign as a punchline.

“You are setting the world on fire,” Colbert said. “I want to think you for running for President. I’m not going to say this stuff writes itself, but you certainly do deliver it on time every day,” Colbert said.

Summary: The billionaire returned to his proposal in an interview with Stephen Colbert.


Michael Bloomberg’s decision to endorse Hillary Clinton for the presidency very much reflects his belief – first articulated in a Bloomberg View column earlier this year — that Donald Trump “has run the most divisive and demagogic presidential campaign” the former New York mayor can remember, “preying on people’s prejudices and fears.”

A Trump presidency could also hurt global companies, very much including the former New York mayor’s own company, Bloomberg L.P.

Mr. Bloomberg has worried that Trump’s threatening China and Japan with a trade war is “dangerously wrong.” He has agreed with many mainstream economists who believe trade wars could trigger a global recession.

Increased globalization of capital markets and trade has fueled Bloomberg L.P.’s growth. The company is privately held and doesn’t release financial information about itself. But in recent years, more than half its annual revenues of about $9 billion have come from the sale of subscriptions to Bloomberg services outside the U.S. Its 19,000 employees work in more than 190 offices around the world. Its best prospects for continued growth are in China and elsewhere in Asia.

The company now sells about 325,000 subscriptions to the Bloomberg Terminal at more than $22,000 a year. Although increased market volatility might make traders more dependent on Bloomberg’s services in the short term, any contraction in global trade and capital markets would inevitably lower demand for the company’s services over time.

A Clinton presidency is not without risk for the global economy and for Bloomberg L.P. Reacting to pressure from Bernie Sanders and his supporters, Clinton has also signaled that she might abandon her earlier support for some trade deals, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Bloomberg can only hope that by endorsing her and speaking on her behalf at this week’s Democratic National Convention, he can play a role in moderating her rhetoric.

(The author is vice-chairman of Time Inc. He was Bloomberg L.P.’s Chief Content Officer 2008-2013.)

Summary: His own financial data company is a big beneficiary of globalisation


Glass bottles have been hurled at police who arrived to break up a wild 21st party in Adelaide’s south.

The party, held at Christie Downs Community House on Morton Road, spilled out onto the street Friday night.

Three teenagers and a 23-year-old woman were arrested after the chaos woke locals and required more officers at the scene.

“It was just ballistic, it went on for hours,” local resident Peter Rogers told 9NEWS.

Broken glass littered the road the next morning.

© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2016


When Courtney Goodings watched her old friend Jaclyn Lusk get married, she didn't have to worry about what to wear or getting to the venue on time. She viewed a live-streaming of the ceremony at her Austin, Texas, home while sharing a slushie with her 2-year-old son, Callum. "I cried as if I was actually at the wedding," says Ms. Goodings, 33.

As wedding season arrives this summer, more guests are being invited to witness nuptials virtually. Live-streaming started out as a way to accommodate friends and relatives who were in far-flung countries or in poor health. But increasingly, couples just want to share their big day with a larger audience.

Meanwhile, professional wedding live-stream services, such as I Do Stream and My Streaming Wedding, are making virtual guests as simple to order up as the cake. The companies can set up couples with a login to give their guests, sometimes providing cameras and crew as well. On the big day, guests simply go to a website and enter the login to watch the ceremony.

Philip Ly, managing partner of I Do Stream, says that more couples are streaming their weddings for their Facebook FB -1.62 % friends—people with whom they have largely virtual relationships. I Do Stream, which can work on about eight to 10 weddings per weekend in peak season, has streamed around 2,500 weddings since its start in 2008, he says.

The wedding industry is taking note of the trend. Brides magazine recently streamed a wedding on Facebook, and TheKnot.com, an online wedding community and publication, held a similar event on its website in February. Lisa Gooder, a digital content director at Brides, says the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, inspired brides to feel like sharing their big day was "a natural thing to do."

Ms. Goodings's friend, Ms. Lusk, exchanged vows with Eric Ruettinger on April 6 in a small wood cabin in Breckenridge, Colo., with 25 people in attendance. "Eric has been a firefighter for many years," says Ms. Lusk, 33, an area manager for a health-care company. "He knows just about everybody in town, so the idea of inviting everyone was just not feasible. We wanted the wedding to be small and intimate, with close friends and family, but we wanted everyone to be part of the day."

A Web search led the couple to I Do Stream, which provided them with the Web page where guests could log in to view the event, as well as an online guest book for congratulations. As many as 50 live viewers could watch the live-stream at a time, though there wasn't a record of how many did watch.

The do-it-yourself package chosen by the Ruettingers cost $200. The couple set up their own videocamera on a tripod, with camera help from the husband of their still photographer. I Do Stream, based in Tolland, Conn., also offers a fuller package that comes with a professional videographer.

My Streaming Wedding, which provides a list of trusted videographers with training in live broadcasting, and a custom event page, charges from $800 to $3,000, depending on the location, for an unlimited number of "guests."

Of course, there is potential for awkwardness or confusion when a guest receives an invitation to view a wedding online rather than to attend in person. To add a personal touch to their virtual ceremony, the Ruettingers mailed out custom-made postcards, in addition to sending the email invites that I Do Stream provided. The cards explained their reason to stream: "Even though the actual event is small, we still wanted to share our big day with so many of you who have made such an impact on our lives…."

One common question: Are online guests on the hook for a gift? Jamie Miles, online editor at TheKnot.com, says the etiquette of online interactions is still being worked out, but it is a "nice gesture" to send a gift because the couple still is sharing their day with you.

For some guests, it wouldn't feel right to attend the proceedings in pajamas. Melissa Weis dressed up her two daughters, Katie, 7, and Maddie, 3, in island dresses to watch her brother, Mike Verheeck, and his fiancée, Jadrian Rawlings, tie the knot on the beach in St. Lucia, via live-stream. The wedding was too far away for them to attend.

"We tried the best we could to enjoy the day without actually being there," says Ms. Weis, 36, an elementary-school teacher from Branchville, N.J.

One concern is the possibility of an iffy Internet connection. I Do Stream says it offers viewer support during the ceremony, with staff monitoring the feed and on call during the streaming, in case of a technical glitch, though it says it can't be responsible for a poor signal at a venue.

Most virtual guests are forgiving. GaLena Wertz had planned to be Ms. Lusk's maid of honor, but a house fire prevented her from attending the event the next week, so she watched from her Amarillo, Texas, home, taking photos of the ceremony on her computer screen. "It was a lot like being there," she says. "The audio on the video wasn't that great and there were some parts missing, but it was amazing to participate in the wedding as much I could far away."

Summary: As wedding season arrives, more guests are being invited to witness nuptials virtually. Wedding live-stream services, such as I Do Stream and My Streaming Wedding, are making virtual guests as simple to order up as the cake.


Aug. 18, 2013 6:31 p.m. ET

Hillary Clinton began her 2016 march to the White House last week, and it wasn't a promising debut. The former first lady and Senator used her first big policy speech since leaving the State Department to portray American election laws as fundamentally racist. The speech was longer on anecdotes than statistics, so allow us to fill in some of the holes.

"In 2013, so far, more than 80 bills restricting voting rights have been introduced in 31 states," Mrs. Clinton told her political base of lawyers at the American Bar Association. She portrayed these laws as part of an effort reaching back years to "disproportionately impact African-Americans, Latino and young voters." And she threw the Supreme Court in as part of this racist conspiracy, assailing its recent decision finding the "preclearance" section of the Voting Rights Act to be unconstitutional.

She claimed the High Court had "struck at the heart" of the law, though all it did was eliminate a section that had forced such states as Mississippi to meet higher legal burdens for election laws than other states with a worse current record of minority voter participation. "Now not every obstacle is related to race," Mrs. Clinton added, "but anyone who says that racial discrimination is no longer a problem in American elections must not be paying attention."

No one thinks racial discrimination has vanished from American life or the human condition. But as for minority voting, Mrs. Clinton is the one who hasn't been paying attention. In particular, she must have missed the May 2013 Census Bureau study on "The Diversifying Electorate—Voting Rates by Race and Hispanic Origin in 2012 (and Other Recent Elections)."

The study, based on data from the November 2012 Current Population Survey, shows that minority voter turnout nationwide has been rising—dramatically so. Take blacks, who as recently as 1996 had a low voter turnout rate of 53%.

As the nearby chart shows, black turnout has jumped in each of the last four presidential elections. In 2012, black turnout as a share of all eligible voters exceeded the turnout of non-Hispanic white voters—66.2% to 64.1%. Nearly five million more African-Americans voted in 2012 (17.8 million) than voted in 2000 (12.9 million). In both 2008 and 2012, black voters even exceeded their share of the eligible black voting age population. In 2012, blacks made up 12.5% of the eligible electorate but 13.4% of those voting.

Having Barack Obama at the top of the ticket no doubt helped this black voter mobilization, but the trend shows that the surge preceded his candidacy. Remember when liberals portrayed Bill Clinton as "America's first black President"? The black turnout surge accelerated after Mr. Clinton's last election. Such a large increase in black voter turnout over 16 years would seem to refute the claim by Mrs. Clinton that racial obstacles to voting are increasing.

Mrs. Clinton ignores all of this and focuses instead on anecdotes, while raising alarm about the voter ID laws that have passed in the last decade. She specifically raises fears about North and South Carolina. Yet the same Census Bureau study shows that black turnout exceeded non-Hispanic white turnout by statistically significant rates in both Carolinas, and was higher in most states east of the Mississippi River outside of New England.

North Carolina, she says, has this year "pushed through a bill that reads like the greatest hits of voter suppression." But that supposed horror show merely reduces early voting by a week, and bars same-day registration and extending voting hours by political whim. All of these are designed to preserve ballot integrity, which is as vital as voter access to public confidence in honest elections. Voters without an ID can get one free at the Department of Motor Vehicles and they can also cast a provisional ballot pending confirmation that they are legally registered.

By the way, Georgia, Indiana and Tennessee have some of the strictest voter ID laws of the more than 30 states that have such laws, yet the Census report says black turnout exceeded that of non-Hispanic whites in 2012 in all three. Where is the evidence that voter ID laws keep minorities from voting?

The disconnect between these facts and Mrs. Clinton's assertions suggests that she is the one playing racial politics. The current narrow Democratic majority is largely a coalition based on gender and racial identity. It requires big turnout among single women and non-whites. As the Obama era winds down, the fear among Democrats is that these voters won't have the same enthusiasm.

Mrs. Clinton can play the "first woman President" card, but she also needs large minority turnout. If she can't motivate that turnout based on rising economic optimism or opportunity, which is hard given the Obama economic record, she and Democrats will play to racial fears to drive it. She wants a racially polarized electorate.

This is a tragedy for the country, and Republicans like Mitt Romney share the blame for doing so little to attract minority votes. But this strategy and Mrs. Clinton's speech don't bode well for a less polarized politics as Democrats try to extend their electoral dominance.

Mrs. Clinton billed her speech last week as the first of a series addressing what she called "eroding public trust" in government. Government could use the help, though note the irony that Mrs. Clinton's party has been running the government even as its reputation sinks. In any case, stoking racial fears based on imaginary government racism won't make Americans feel better about politics or government.

Summary: The Wall Street writes that the former first lady and likely 2016 presidential candidate makes a polarizing pitch that ignores  trends in voter turnout.


Officials from the Bangladesh central bank are visiting Manila this week to pressure the authorities in the Philippines to find ways to return the $63 million that is still missing out of the funds stolen from its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York earlier this year, two people close to Bangladesh Bank said.

Unknown cyber criminals tried to steal nearly $1 billion from the Bangladesh Bank account between Feb. 4 and Feb. 5, and succeeded in transferring $81 million to four accounts at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) in Manila. Only about $18 million has been recovered.

The Bangladeshi officials are alleging that the money was allowed to disappear into the casino industry in the Philippines, where investigators say it was laundered, because of systemic failures at RCBC, the two sources said.

See also: How Hackers May Have Pulled Off the $81 Million Bangladesh Central Bank Heist

Bangladesh Bank is relying on internal RCBC documents to buttress its assertion that the Filipino bank’s Jupiter Street branch in Manila ignored suspicions raised by some RCBC officials when the money was first remitted to the accounts on Feb. 5, and then delayed acting on requests from RCBC’s head office to freeze the funds on Feb. 9, said one of the sources in Dhaka.

RCBC did not respond to requests for comment, but its then president Lorenzo Tan told a Senate hearing in March that the incident was “some judgment error from the people on the ground.”

“I think what happened here is we had the IT controls, the human controls. But unfortunately, it failed in the end, in the execution,” said Tan, who subsequently resigned. “Yes, we are sorry this happened, but you know, it is human error, human judgment or intentional.”

The Bangladeshi delegation consists of Debaprosad Debnath and Abdul Rab from Bangladesh Bank’s financial intelligence unit, Bangladesh Bank lawyer Ajmalul Hossain, and Bangladesh’s ambassador to the Philippines, John Gomes. They plan to meet with officials from the anti-money-laundering council in Manila, the Philippines’ department of justice, the central bank of the Philippines and from RCBC over the next four days, said the sources.

Bangladesh Bank spokesman Subhankar Saha declined to say if the bank had plans to sue RCBC, but added it was trying to recover the money with the help of the Philippines’ central bank.

See also: 5 Takeaways From Cisco’s Big Cybersecurity Report

RCBC has previously blamed its own employees for the ease with which the money left the bank, including the manager of the branch in question. But the Dhaka source said the Bangladesh Bank believes the failures extend beyond individual officers and that RCBC allowed itself to be used as a conduit for the illegal transfer of stolen money.

Bangladesh Bank claims the documents show that RCBC should be accountable for the losses. The documents, which have been reviewed by Reuters, include emails between RCBC managers at the time of the heist in February as well as memos and emails to various RCBC officials during a subsequent internal investigation.

They show that RCBC had frozen the accounts concerned at its Jupiter Street branch in Manila for about an hour on Friday Feb. 5 because of questions from some bank officials about where the money had come from, where it was going, and whether the transfers were legitimate.

See also: Theranos’ Highly-Anticipated Defense of Its Tech Is Called a ‘Bait-and-Switch’

At 6.27 pm on that day, a temporary hold was placed on the accounts at the branch, pending further investigation into the “validity of the remittances and nature of the funds,” according to one memo that was sent on March 21 by the head of RCBC’s human resources group, Rowena F. Subido, to Ismael S. Reyes, its national sales director for retail banking.

Some officials at RCBC’s headquarters, also in Manila, had questioned the transfers after about $22.7 million of the money was withdrawn from one of the accounts in cash at 3.16 pm that day only to be then deposited to another account that was opened at around 3 pm that day at the same branch, according to the notice sent to Reyes.

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However, the hold on the accounts was shortlived. By around 7.30 pm it was lifted after then Jupiter Branch Business Manager Maia Deguito’s “representation to her superiors” that the transactions were legitimate, according to another memo sent to Reyes. Deguito was fired by the bank earlier this year and is under investigation by the Philippines’ anti-money laundering council.

Ferdinand Topacio, lawyer for Deguito, said that RCBC could not escape blame by singling out employees for mistakes.

“If she had any fault, she was negligent and she was naive,” Topacio said. He said RCBC did not act urgently on the stop payment requests from the Bangladesh central bank.

See also: South Korea Suspends Sales of Volkswagen Vehicles in Emissions Probe

The documents show that when the bank reopened on Tuesday, Feb. 9 after the Chinese New Year holiday, RCBC’s settlements department received messages as early as 9.15 am from Bangladesh Bank, alerting it about the fraud. It sent four emails, between 10.59 am and 11.30 am, to its Jupiter Street branch, asking it to recall or freeze the remaining funds, the documents show. The reasons for the delay in sending those emails could not be ascertained.

The branch processed withdrawals, totalling $58.15 million, between 10.24 am and 11.35 am, the documents show. According to former Senator Sergio Osmena, who led a Philippines’ Senate probe into the events, only $15.2 million of this was withdrawn before 11.19 a.m.

“RCBC did not perform its role properly,” Bangladesh Bank’s Saha said. “RCBC is similarly liable as those parties who took money in their accounts.”

Summary: Off they go.


In other words, what we have on our hands is a dolled-up version of the Oasis v Blur pop wars of fond memory. Escala have one incalculable advantage: huge television exposure and the might of the Cowell machine behind them. But Bond have a head start in the rest of the world. Also, you could plausibly argue that they're ever so slightly sexier.

Whether any of the eight musicians had this career move in mind when they took up their instruments is doubtful. They've all cut their teeth with old-fangled wooden instruments. But by the time Bond had started training, the pattern was already established for commodifying the looks of young female soloists. Vanessa-Mae, posing with her instrument in a wet T-shirt, was the first to dive in.

The Bond girls, two of whom are Australian, all graduated from top London music colleges a decade ago. They met doing session music, and rather than hone their Grosse Fuge or Mozart's Haydn quartets, were duly corralled by producer Mike Batt into the recording studio. Batt's Midas touch as a novelty producer was established long before the girls were born, with the Wombles. The quartet's first recording was promptly hurled off the classical charts for being insufficiently classical. When they flew east, they soon found that Yamaha were eager to design prototype instruments for them to play which they could sell into a burgeoning market. Those are the instruments that Escala wielded fetchingly for Cowell.

There are now copycat ensembles mushrooming in every territory, from South American to South Korea, above all in Japan. In some countries they don't run to the full quota. A particularly vampish trio called Gracia sprouted in Hungary playing spiced-up Brahms. There's an Australian threesome called Maske and a slightly scary Lithuanian one called the Electric Ladies.

Like all these outfits, Escala will find that the fanbase varies from continent to continent. In the East their devotees are all under 18, and clamouring to get their mitts on the band's sheet music. Here they are unlikely to make much dent among the under-30s. Bond have turned down all offers to pose for the lads' mags on the sensible grounds that it won't sell them a single CD. Travel to their website and you can find out such necessary details as the cellist's favourite animal (unicorn) and the second violin's favourite colour (ultramarine, bright yellow and fuchsia pink).

In short, the outfits, the legs, the hair-tossing, the coordinated gyrations all mask a deeper reality. The sexy electronic string quartet has nothing to do with appealing to men. It's all about girl power. May the best-marketed quartet win.

Who are Escala? Izzy Johnson and Victoria Lyon (violin), Chantal Leverton (viola), Tasya Hodges (cello). Formed in 2005. Changed their name from Scala to avoid confusion with a Belgian choir.

Can they play? They’re all classically trained and have between them played with the NYO, LSO, RPO and CBSO.

Prospects: Excellent in the short term as Cowell’s operation pushes the debut release. Have just recorded in LA with guitarist Slash. In the longer term it’ll be all about air miles as they follow Bond to the East.

Who are Bond? Elspeth Hanson (first violin), Eos Chater (second violin), Tania Davis (viola), Gay-Yee Westerhoff (cello). Formed 2001. Hanson recently replaced Haylie Ecker, who went off to have a baby.

Svengali: Mike Batt. Remember he’s a Womble?

Can they play? Between them the original members trained at the Guildhall, Trinity College, and the Royal College of Music. Hanson played at the Beijing Olympics ceremony with Jimmy Page and Leona Lewis.

Prospects: They write their own music, which will make them pots of money in the Orient.

Summary: Curiously, Escala quartet of Britain's Got Talent fame aren't the only popular   long-legged all-girl string quartet. Jasper Rees welcomes a dolled-up   version of the Oasis v Blur pop wars.


But gradually, they have. Problems persist from the violent years, but there is a courageous and ground-breaking peace process afoot, and the country is rocking a new profile on the world stage. Colombia has enviable economic growth, and its award-winning literary and arts scenes are feeding a renewed sense of national pride. Add in the highlights of last year’s World Cup, and suddenly Colombia is the most popular kid on the block.

As a result, the place has gone from adventure location to dream family holiday. Tourists are heading this way like never before, and it’s not just the hairy ones who like an illegal puff, or the conflict-zone junkies seeking out a boastably tough destination. No, these days it’s pretty much anyone. And that’s why I’m so insufferably full of I told you so. When one member of the group has a special interest in a place, it can be tedious for the others. Endless reminiscing; murmurs of “Ah, yes”, and “it’s just how I remember!” Luckily, Colombia has distractions in such abundance that my family can largely ignore me.

Not least because, after a couple of days in the capital Bogotá, we are heading to the best of places, the jewel in the Colombian crown – the coffee zone. It’s not deliciously slovenly, with infinite numbers of aphrodisiac fruits like the Caribbean. It’s not culturally superior, with grand but chilly architecture like the uplands. The coffee zone is functional and self-sufficient. Unlike so many exotic tourist destinations, this is a place where the locals live well.

The coffee zone is the jewel in the Colombian crown (Photo: AP/Fotolia)

It’s also sensually gorgeous: rolling, lush green coffee hills, the sound of birds and trickling water, the smell of coffee blossom. Colombia’s famous coffee grows at altitude, on the slopes of the Andes, interspersed with bamboo, papaya and palms. The climate is temperate, and the biodiversity astonishing.

Plenty of working coffee farms open their doors to tourists. We’re staying in the best one. Hacienda Venecia is a stunning farm, over a century old, that hosts travellers and caffeine enthusiasts from around the world. They come for the English-speaking tastings and tours of the coffee process. The casa principal is a traditional structure of wood and bamboo; “a house to humble architects”, according to the internationally renowned architect Simón Vélez.

A hummingbird in Colombia (Photo: AP/Fotolia)

It’s also a bird-spotter’s heaven – there are more than 216 species on the farm. The children aren’t natural twitchers, but even they get excited when the hummingbirds buzz past, and the peacocks swoop down from the mango trees. They wander off to eat granadillas, stalk iguanas, and pick gardenias. They disturb a cloud of yellow butterflies, lifting up through a bamboo grove.

Life in Hacienda Venecia is so enchanted that the modern phenomenon of fomo – fear of missing out – manifests in only one regard: I keep on walking around, recircling the wooden veranda around the perimeter of the house, astonished again and again by the dramatic 360-degree unfurling views. Like a dog turning three times before settling in its basket, the challenge is to find the best aspect before flopping back into another hammock.

We head out coffee-picking and horse-riding, but there is always time for watching the sunset from a hammock, listening to the river rushing below. We meet other guests and, without exception, one glance reveals a common knowledge – everyone is smitten. There’s nowhere like this. On our last day in the coffee zone, not one of us wants to leave.

But leave we must. From here we’re flying north to the Caribbean. Not Cartagena – everyone goes there. Smaller and farther east is Cartagena’s slightly less fabulous sister: Santa Marta. This is Colombia’s oldest city (assuming that history began when the Spanish invaded). “I brought my mum here 20 years ago,” I announce. The kids make vague polite noises. We’re going to stay in the exact same hotel, in the nearby fishing village of Taganga. At least, it used to be a fishing village. Today Taganga is more of a party town. It’s bustling, the breeze is heavy with salt and tropical music. The beach strip is a cheerful, laid-back mix of bars, fishing boats and huts serving fried food. At first I’m annoyed. The coast lacks the gentle perfections of the coffee zone; it’s shabby and slow and very hot. But after a day of adjustment we are all costeños. All it takes is a fried snapper, coconut rice and plantain, with a cold beer by the deepest blue sea.

The beach near Santa Marta (Photo: AP/Fotolia)

The hotels are on the average side, and those seeking stylish glamour should probably stick to Cartagena. But we happily slip into a routine of boat trips to snorkelling reefs and neighbouring beaches, and life is easy. After a few days my husband feels the need to inject a bit more challenge into the proceedings: “Let’s go camping in Tayrona Park.” Tayrona is a huge national park where the snow-peaked mountains of the Sierra Nevada sweep down through jungle into the warm Caribbean sea.

We board the speedboat from Taganga, crammed together. Around the headland, we run headlong into towering waves and winds. It’s a nautical experience of unmitigated horror. My stricken neighbours beg the captain for mercy. Meanwhile, several people upwind of me are extravagantly sick. I keep my eyes clamped shut for most of those long 50 minutes, so can only guess at the majesty of the passing coastline. But as we stagger onshore at Cabo San Juan, drenched children wailing and knees shaking, everyone eventually agrees that it was worth it. The surroundings are unparalleled. Two perfect beaches meet end-on, with a freshwater stream running down the middle, ending in a pool full of small frogs. The coconut trees lean in, rustling soothingly, and there are hammocks draped everywhere. Despite this my indefatigable husband decides we should all hike up to Pueblito, an ancient village of the Tayrona people.

It’s a steep trail but constantly changing, and enticing enough for even the four-year-old to manage. Up and up, with the ocean roar fading behind us, sounds of monkeys, and large iridescent blue butterflies. The village is impressive, and sad. The park is now painstakingly protected, but all rather too late – the Tayrona are long gone. We shelter in the shade, trying to envisage that annihilated civilisation, while the children pan for fool’s gold in the glittering streams running beneath the stone-paved terraces.

Scrambling back down, we plunge through thick foliage straight on to the golden beach, and even the older children have to admit that they completely love it. They scavenge for coconuts and drink the water inside. “Why are the lizards blue?” “Can we play with the tadpoles?” “There’s a crab on my tent!” “Please can we travel back to Taganga by land?”

In our three delicious weeks we have scarcely scratched the surface of what Colombia has to offer. There’s still the Amazon, Medellín, the llanos and the Pacific coast. When the tourist board came up with the slogan “el riesgo es que te quieres quedar” (“the only risk is wanting to stay”), many Colombians were affronted. But the campaign’s success has answered these critics soundly, prompting some to launch witty online comparisons between Columbia, the misspelt violent hellhole featured in movies, and Colombia, the friendly and golden land.

I used to tell people: Colombia’s amazing and you should go there because they need the tourism. But now the place is doing just fine, not a whiff of austerity here. Colombians may be delighted to see a foreign face, but they don’t really need us at all. So instead I urge you to go for another reason: you will never know what you’re missing if you don’t.

Avianca (0871 744 7472; avianca.com) has direct flights from London to Bogotá from £596 return. From there, VivaColombia (vivacolombia.co) flies to numerous destinations within the country, including Pereira, for the coffee zone.

In Bogotá, Abadia Colonial is a popular, Italian-owned, 12-room hotel with cosy rooms and a lovely patio, right in the heart of La Candelaria. Double room with breakfast from £46 (00571 341 1884; abadiacolonial.com).

Hotel de la Opera is a handsome, colonial-style hotel with two restaurants and a spa, right beside the Teatro Colón – it’s probably the smartest small hotel in La Candelaria. Doubles from £82 room only (336 2066; hotelopera.com.co).

In the coffee zone, Hacienda Venecia (320 636 5719; haciendavenecia.com) has double rooms in the main house from about £65 per night; the food is exceptional. Cheaper rooms are available in its nearby hostel, which has a swimming pool.

In the capital, Bogotá Bike Tours (bogotabiketours.com) runs imaginative English-language cycle tours of the city.

In the coffee zone, Hacienda Venecia (details above) organises three-hour coffee tours of the estate for £11.50 per person. It also provides maps and instructions for finding the best birdwatching spots on the property, together with species identification notes.

Yellow fever vaccination is advised for coastal areas, where dengue fever and chikungunya are also present. The coffee zone does not have these health issues, but there are biting insects in daytime, so bring repellent.

Summary: Colombia is shedding its old reputation to become a destination that offers adventure, beauty and endless family fun


Days before they begin their quest for Olympic gold in Rio, America’s top gymnasts expressed concern and frustration over a new report that the agency overseeing organized gymnastics in the U.S. mishandled numerous cases of sexual abuse.

An investigation published Thursday in the Indianapolis Star cites evidence USA Gymnastics, which oversees the sport from early development programs to the elite athletes competing in the Rio, was notified about multiple instances of abuse involving multiple coaches and underage girls but failed to alert law enforcement authorities.

(Read More: Simone Biles is Taking Her Sport to New Heights)

During an ongoing trial involving one victim who sued the federation and one of the coaches cited by the Star, two leading federation officials explained their actions by pointing to a policy of only reporting cases if the victim or victim’s parent notified the federation. Other reports, the officials said, were considered “hearsay.” Indiana law, where USA Gymnastics is based, however, requires reporting by different parties of even suspected cases of sexual abuse of minors.

The report comes just as the sport is ready to showcase its most talented athletes on sport’s biggest stage.

“We try to keep the kids away from that right now for this moment,” Mihai Brestyan, the U.S. women’s Olympic team assistant coach said after the team’s first training session in the Rio Olympic arena. “We have concerns but we are here to do the best we can. It’s a distraction and I don’t understand why [it came out] now.”

Simone Biles, the three time world champion who is heavily favored to win the all-around gold, said the members of the team had not been on social media and “didn’t know about [the report].” As a group, the gymnasts said their focus was on their last few days of training before the team event begins on Tuesday.

(Read More: 60 Athletes to Watch in Rio)

Brestyan, who owns his own gym in Massachussetts, Brestyan’s American Gymnastics, says that careful vetting of coaches by gym owners can only go so far. “It is very difficult to control every one who comes [to the sport]. I really, really check every single coach who comes to my gym. We do background checks, we look into their eyes, we look at the way they are acting with the kids. But we cannot check 24 hours, that’s the problem. It doesn’t matter how many papers you sign, it doesn’t matter how many people you check, it doesn’t matter how many cameras you have in the gym. We still cannot cover 24 hours, 365 days.”

“It is heartbreaking and unacceptable for a young person to have the intolerable burden that results from being a victim of sexual misconduct,” said USA Gymnastics CEO Steve Penny over email. “We share the outrage that sexual assault victims and their families feel. This is why USA Gymnastics has implemented Safe Sport training and created educational materials that encourage members to contact law enforcement first when reporting incidents of abuse.”

(Read More: USA Gymnastics Fails to Protect Athletes)

With the allegations, questions about where the responsibility for detecting — and more importantly responding to — abuse will become even more critical in a sport in which such cases are more common than they should be.

Summary: 'It’s a distraction' says a coach


There’s not much to say about the July jobs numbers beyond this: They’re good news across the board.

More Americans are working, and they’re getting paid more money for their efforts. People who weren’t even looking for jobs now are, and they’re finding them. A blockbuster job growth number for June wasn’t downgraded with further analysis, but rather revised higher.

It’s an election year, which means these numbers will inevitably be viewed through the prism of how they affect the chances of Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump to seize the White House. And to the degree a good economy (and good economic headlines) benefits the incumbent party, there’s no question this helps Mrs. Clinton.

Political science research particularly points to changes in income as being predictors of how people vote, and the July data on average hourly earnings suggest American workers are being paid more: a 2.6 percent gain over the last year, tied for the highest since 2009 and a comfortable gain in workers’ purchasing power in an era of roughly 1 percent annual inflation.

So far in the campaign, Mrs. Clinton has resisted crowing about the strengths of the late-Obama-era economy and instead has emphasized her plans to try to strengthen the areas where conditions remain weak. The unemployment rate among adults over age 25 without a high school diploma was 6.3 percent in July, for example, far above the 2.5 percent for those with at least a bachelor’s degree.

And while the proportion of Americans who were in the labor force — either working or looking for work — ticked up in July, it has recovered only a tiny sliver of its decline since the 2008 recession (it was 66 percent in December 2007, bottomed out last year at 62.4 percent, and has recovered slightly to 62.8 percent).

Part of this drop is because baby boomers are hitting retirement age, but some large portion is less well understood, driven by both men and women of prime working age who tell survey-takers they’re not even looking for jobs.

If you try to search the latest Labor Department numbers for bad news, the closest you’ll find is a rise in the number of people who have been unemployed for 27 weeks — in other words, people who may say they want work but are becoming increasingly unattached from the habits of holding down a job.

So that creates a fascinating backdrop for the economic discussion during the homestretch of the election. The economy truly is growing, and job growth looks to be robust. Expect President Obama and his administration to celebrate (and seek credit for) the good numbers.

Expect Mrs. Clinton to seek to show empathy for those who are being left behind even by this stronger recovery and to avoid claims that the economy is as robust as the headline numbers might suggest. And don’t be surprised if Mr. Trump repeats his claims that the economy is actually very weak. (He would have been on sounder footing using the poor second-quarter G.D.P. report late last week to make that argument, but he was distracted by other battles.)

Here’s an interpretation of the available data over the last several months that incorporates all these realities. You probably won’t hear it on the campaign trail, but if a candidate’s job was to provide nuance rather than get elected, this is what could be said:

The United States economy is creating jobs at a rapid pace; most people who say they want a job are able to find one, and employers are having a hard enough time finding workers that they’re having to pay higher wages. But large segments of the population, especially those without advanced education, left the labor force during the last several years, and relatively few of them are being pulled back in by this improving job market. Fixing that will be an important goal of the next president. Meanwhile, for reasons that aren’t fully understood, economic output is growing much slower than job creation, which will mean lower living standards in the future if that continues. That should be another big worry for whoever occupies the Oval Office in January.

Not the stuff of boisterous campaign rallies, but that’s what the facts are telling us.

Summary: Political science research points to changes in income as being predictors of how people vote, and things were looking up in the July numbers.


WORLD MUSIC, modern art, Chinese food: categories so broad they’re all but useless as descriptors. Add wheat beer to that list.

You can pretty well count on wheat beers being hazy, crowned with a lofty foam and refreshingly light (hence their popularity in summer). Beyond that, though, wheats can be dark or light, strong or subtle, sweet or spicy.

What unites them all is an elevated wheat-to-malted barley ratio. Richer and smoother than other grains, wheat is also high in protein, the source of wheat beers’ trademark haze.

Much depends on the yeast. Wheat beers can ferment with anything from light lager strains to the spicier ones associated with dry saison-style beers, but brewers typically pick from a group of full-flavored yeasts that skew, on the whole, sweet and fruity.

Hops are, for the most part, minor players, making this category a great place for both brewers and drinkers to explore subtle synergies of yeast and grain often lost beneath the bitter blast of hoppier beers. What comes through can be uniquely creamy and complex.

Popular for centuries in Germany and Belgium, wheat beers obtained a foothold stateside in the 1980s. Witbier, a light, unfiltered Belgian style delicately spiced with coriander and orange peel, was the first to really take hold. Born in the mid-90s in Portland, Maine, Allagash White remains the American craft world’s most recognized, and perhaps best, witbier. “We had a lot of explaining to do,” said Allagash Brewing Company brewmaster Jason Perkins. “It was cloudy, full of spices, esters and flavor profiles that [drinkers] weren’t used to.”

Big beer’s acquisitions of brands like Hoegaarden and a simmering backlash against hops helped fuel the rise of mass-made wheats. MillerCoors’s Blue Moon debuted in 1995; Anheuser-Busch released its own wit, Shock Top, in 2006. “I see it as a benefit,” said Mr. Perkins of the proliferation of wheats. “There’s awareness around those styles now.”

German hefeweizens are close kin to Belgian witbiers but without the spice. You’ll taste fruity loam, “like the phenols in a real peaty Scotch,” said Eric Warner, brewmaster at Karbach Brewing Co. in Houston. “Or like a medicine chest, clovey, nutmeggy. A little smoky.” Other German styles are filtered and clear (kristalweizen), still others dark and rich (dunkelweizen, weizenbock).

Traveling the world of wheats, it helps to learn a bit of the language. “Hefe” means yeast. “Weizen” means wheat. “Wit” and “weisse” both mean white. “Dunkel,” dark; “kristal,” light. As with all language, though, there’s dictionary and there’s dialect. You’ll encounter exceptions.

American-made mutts abound, such as Great Divide Brewing Company’s hoppy Whitewater and Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales’ Calabaza Blanca, which trades traditional yeasts for wild strains. Chip McElroy of Live Oak Brewing in Austin, Texas, even offers a smoked wheat on occasion. It’s not your typical wheat beer, but then again, what is?

An even stronger version of the darker, maltier dunkelweizen. Bock, German for goat, may refer to the beer’s town of origin, Einbeck—or to its feisty kick.

Try if you like: dark rums, rich red wines

Exemplary brew: Victory Brewing Company Moonglow, 8.7% ABV. Malty brown bread and stewed fruit, boozy warmth and clove-spiced custard. Like a rum-dipped Fig Newton.

Very light and sharply sour, often cut with fruit syrup in its namesake city.

Try if you like: sour beers, citrusy gin and tonics

Exemplary brew: Bear Republic BrewingCompany Tartare, 4.0% ABV. First, a fiery flash of lemon. A second sip opens onto floral, grassy and briny flavors.

The Belgian classic: light, hazy, spiced, typically with coriander and orange peel.

Try if you like: white rum, un-aged tequila

Exemplary brew: Allagash Brewing Company White, 5.1% ABV. Foamy, fresh and bright as lemon meringue. Subtly spiced and blooming with yeast.

Pale amber, super strong, licked with sweet heat but lighter on the palate than bitter imperial IPAs.

Try if you like: añejo tequila, wheaty bourbons

Exemplary brew: Smuttynose BrewingCompany Wheat Wine Ale, 11.9% ABV. Hot enough to comfort, careful not to burn. Melted caramel laced with liquor and hoppy black-pepper spice.

Not an official style, really, but a subset of American-made wheat beers hopped, instead, like pales.

Try if you like: IPAs

Exemplary brew: Lagunitas Brewing Company Lil’ Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale, 7.5% ABV. Brewed like a wheat, then blasted with hops during fermentation, this beer revs up with aromas of white grapefruit and green grass, then downshifts to a silken finish.

Rarely seen stateside, and uncommon even in its native Germany, a lighter, filtered version of the common Hefeweizen.

Try if you like: pilsners, dry white wines

Exemplary brew: Bayern Brewing Dancing Trout Ale, 5.3% ABV. Juicy white fruit and refreshing carbonation, zesty and bright as Bartlett-pear Pop Rocks.

The traditional German wheat: cloudy-white with a huge foamy head and fruity yeast notes.

Try if you like: sweet creamy Margaritas, fruity white wines

Exemplary brew: Live Oak Brewing Company HefeWeizen, 5.3% ABV. Smooth as whipped cream, buttery as banana bread, with a ticklish spicy finish.

Summary: Wheat beer is a category so broad you could—and should—spend all summer exploring it. Here’s a cheat sheet to the different styles, with recommended bottles to drink now.


Would you want to alter your future children’s genes to make them smarter, stronger or better-looking? As the state of the science brings prospects like these closer to reality, an international debate has been raging over the ethics of enhancing human capacities with biotechnologies such as so-called smart pills, brain implants and gene editing. This discussion has only intensified in the past year with the advent of the CRISPR-cas9 gene editing tool, which raises the specter of tinkering with our DNA to improve traits like intelligence, athleticism and even moral reasoning.

So are we on the brink of a brave new world of genetically enhanced humanity? Perhaps. And there’s an interesting wrinkle: It’s reasonable to believe that any seismic shift toward genetic enhancement will not be centered in Western countries like the US or the UK, where many modern technologies are pioneered. Instead, genetic enhancement is more likely to emerge out of China.

A recent study of 4,726 Americans found that most would not want to use a brain chip to improve their memory

Numerous surveys among Western populations have found significant opposition to many forms of human enhancement. For example, a recent Pew study of 4,726 Americans found that most would not want to use a brain chip to improve their memory, and a plurality view such interventions as morally unacceptable.

A broader review of public opinion studies found significant opposition in countries like Germany, the U.S. and the U.K. to selecting the best embryos for implantation based on nonmedical traits like appearance or intelligence. There is even less support for editing genes directly to improve traits in so-called designer babies.

Opposition to enhancement, especially genetic enhancement, has several sources. The above-mentioned Pew poll found that safety is a big concern – in line with experts who say that tinkering with the human genome carries significant risks. These risks may be accepted when treating medical conditions, but less so for enhancing nonmedical traits like intelligence and appearance. At the same time, ethical objections often arise. Scientists can be seen as “playing God” and tampering with nature. There are also worries about inequality, creating a new generation of enhanced individuals who are heavily advantaged over others. Brave New World is a dystopia, after all.

In China, there are more generally approving attitudes toward old-fashioned eugenics programs

However, those studies have focused on Western attitudes. There has been much less polling in non-Western countries. There is some evidence that in Japan there is similar opposition to enhancement as in the West. Other countries, such as China and India, are more positive toward enhancement. In China, this may be linked to more generally approving attitudes toward old-fashioned eugenics programs such as selective abortion of fetuses with severe genetic disorders, though more research is needed to fully explain the difference. This has led Darryl Macer of the Eubios Ethics Institute to posit that Asia will be at the forefront of expansion of human enhancement.

In the meantime, the biggest barrier to genetic enhancement will be broader statutes banning gene editing. A recent study found bans on germline genetic modification – that is, those that are passed on to descendants – are in effect throughout Europe, Canada and Australia. China, India and other non-Western countries, however, have laxer regulatory regimes – restrictions, if they exist, are often in the form of guidelines rather than statutes.

The US may appear to be an exception to this trend. It lacks legal restriction of gene editing; however, federal funding of germline gene editing research is prohibited. Because most geneticists rely on government grants for their research, this acts as a significant restriction on germline editing studies.

By contrast, it was Chinese government funding that led China to be the first to edit the genes of human embryos using the CRISPR-cas9 tool in 2015. China has also been leading the way in using CRISPR-cas9 for non-germline genetic modifications of human tissue cells for use in treatment of cancer patients.

There are, then, two primary factors contributing to emergence of genetic enhancement technologies – research to develop the technologies and popular opinion to support their deployment. In both areas, Western countries are well behind China.

A further, more political factor may be at play. Western democracies are, by design, sensitive to popular opinion. Elected politicians will be less likely to fund controversial projects, and more likely to restrict them. By contrast, countries like China that lack direct democratic systems are thereby less sensitive to opinion, and officials can play an outsize role in shaping public opinion to align with government priorities. This would include residual opposition to human enhancement, even if it were present. International norms are arguably emerging against genetic enhancement, but in other arenas China has proven willing to reject international norms in order to promote its own interests.

Some genes may have an effect on violent tendencies, suggesting genetic engineering could reduce crime rates

Indeed, if we set ethical and safety objections aside, genetic enhancement has the potential to bring about significant national advantages. Even marginal increases in intelligence via gene editing could have significant effects on a nation’s economic growth. Certain genes could give some athletes an edge in intense international competitions. Other genes may have an effect on violent tendencies, suggesting genetic engineering could reduce crime rates.

Many of these potential benefits of enhancement are speculative, but as research advances they may move into the realm of reality. If further studies bear out the reliability of gene editing in improving such traits, China is well-poised to become a leader in the area of human enhancement.

Aside from a preoccupation with being the best in everything, is there reason for Westerners to be concerned by the likelihood that genetic enhancement is apt to emerge out of China?

If the critics are correct that human enhancement is unethical, dangerous or both, then yes, emergence in China would be worrying. From this critical perspective, the Chinese people would be subject to an unethical and dangerous intervention – a cause for international concern. Given China’s human rights record in other areas, it is questionable whether international pressure would have much effect. In turn, enhancement of its population may make China more competitive on the world stage. An unenviable dilemma for opponents of enhancement could emerge – fail to enhance and fall behind, or enhance and suffer the moral and physical consequences.

Conversely, if one believes that human enhancement is actually desirable, this trend should be welcomed. As Western governments hem and haw, delaying development of potentially great advances for humanity, China leads the way forward. Their increased competitiveness, in turn, would pressure Western countries to relax restrictions and thereby allow humanity as a whole to progress – becoming healthier, more productive and generally capable.

Either way, this trend is an important development. We will see if it is sustained – public opinion in the US and other countries could shift, or funding could dry up in China. But for now, it appears that China holds the future of genetic enhancement in its hands.

This article originally appeared on The Conversation, and is republished under a Creative Commons licence. G. Owen Schaefer is a research fellow in biomedical ethics at the National University of Singapore

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Summary: We may soon be able to edit people’s DNA to cure diseases like cancer, but will this lead to designer babies? If so, bioethicist G Owen Schaefer argues that China will lead the way.


Two Turkish military attaches, both working at the Turkish embassy in Greece, are missing after being called back to Ankara as part of investigations into a failed military coup attempt, according to Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

"Two Turkish military attaches based in Greece fled to Italy and Turkish authorities will contact Italian officials for their return", Cavusoglu told Turkish broadcaster NTV on Thursday.

The Turkish embassy in Athens confirmed to Al Jazeera that two of their military attaches, Staff-colonel Ilhan Yasitli and Colonel Halis Tunc,Â are missing with their families, following an investigation about their alleged links to Fethullah Gulen and his network.

The Turkish government accuses the US-based cleric and businessmanÂ of masterminding last month's failed coup attempt.Â

READ MORE: Turkey's coup attempt captured in dramatic images

Earlier on Thursday, a Turkish official talking to Reuters news agency claimed that a Turkish military attache in Bosnia was also missing, but this claim was swiftly denied by Turkey's embassy in the country.

"Turkey's military attache in Bosnia was not called to Ankara, he is doing his business as usual," a press officer from the embassy said on Thursday, adding that there was only one Turkish military attache in Bosnia.

A total of 160 members of the military wanted in connection with the July 15 failed coup are still at large, including nine generals, according to Turkish officials.

Cavusoglu said that a military attache based in Kuwait had tried to escape through Saudi Arabia, but had been sent back, as well as two generals based in Afghanistan who had been caught in Dubai by UAE authorities and returned to Turkey.

A Turkish rear admiral on a NATO assignment in the United StatesÂ has claimed asylum in the country after Ankara sought his detention following the failed July 15 coup attempt, Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency Â said on Wednesday without giving its source.

Anadolu did not say whether the US had accepted Rear Admiral Mustafa Zeki Ugurlu's claim, which comes at a time of strained relations between Washington and Ankara.

Foreign Minister Cavusoglu later told Turkish broadcaster NTV thatÂ Ankara was still waiting for an answer from US officials about the rear admiral.

Ugurlu, who had been stationed at NATO's Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia, is the subject of a detention order in Turkey and has been expelled from the armed forces, Anadolu reported.

Ugurlu had not been heard from since July 22 when he left the base, it said.

Five employees of Turkey's embassy in the Netherlands were also recalled on suspicion of involvement with the Gulen movement, the Turkish charge d'affaires told the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper this week.

"It wasn't the cook or the servants," Kurtulus Aykan, acting head of Turkey's mission to the Netherlands, was quoted as saying, according to Reuters.

"These were high-ranking staff members. Talented people with whom I had an excellent working relationship. I suspected nothing. That's the talent of this movement. They infiltrate silently."

Cavusoglu has previously said that about 300 members of the foreign ministry have been suspended since the coup plot, including two ambassadors. He said on Thursday that two officials in Bangladesh fled to New York, and another official had fled to Japan through Moscow.

"We will return these traitors to Turkey," Cavusoglu said.

Source:Â Al Jazeera and agencies

Summary: Two Turkish military attaches working in Greece are missing after being called back to Ankara in a post-coup probe


McKayla Maroney may not have been a part of this year's gold-medal "Final Five" gymnastics squad, but her time in the spotlight is far from over.

While Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas of the 2012 "Fierce Five" Olympic champions returned to defend their title, the 20-year-old Maroney opted not to pursue a second Games after several leg injuries in 2014 and 2015. But she has begun to lay the groundwork for pursuing her next passion: A music career.

Maroney's first single, a song titled "Ghost," is scheduled to be released September 8.

"I like to say my genre is vulnerable pop because it's all melody and lyrically driven and heart driven," Maroney told US Weekly.

But the decision to leave gymnastics behind was tough.

"I lost myself. It was an identity crisis, no doubt," Maroney said. "I would go and meet people and they'd tell me, 'You're the gymnast.' And I'm like, now that I'm no longer a competing gymnast, it throws people off and that would throw me off. I don't want to let people down. It was such a big test for me to be like, you know what? No! I'm worth more than a gold medal. I'm worth more than being a gymnast. I am not what I do. I am who I am and I'm what I love."

This year's Olympics have seen some passings of the torch. The gymnastics team featuring three newcomers won the gold, and Maroney's famous "not impressed" look after her silver medal in the 2012 vault unseated by Michael Phelps' scary game face as best Olympic meme fodder.

Here are some recent shots of Maroney from her Instagram account:

A photo posted by McKayla Maroney (@mckaylamaroney) on Jun 25, 2016 at 2:15pm PDT

More Olympics: -- Lolo Jones: I'm Not Hope Solo -- Michael Phelps And Son: Priceless Pics -- How Simone Biles Got Started In Gymnastics -- It Was By Accident

2012 Olympic Games, Fierce Five, Gymnastics, London, McKayla Maroney, Olympics, Retirement, U.S. Gymnastics

Summary: Famous for her 'not impressed' face, 2012 gymnastics gold medalist McKayla Maroney is about to release her first song.