NEW YORK // Jonathan Tasini took on and lost to Hillary Clinton when he ran for her New York Senate seat four years ago. Undeterred, the labour activist is bidding again for the Senate, believing his progressive politics will resonate among voters agitated by the economic crisis.
A consummate outsider, he has raised only about US$100,000 (Dh367,000) and is ignored by the celebrity machine of the New York Democratic Party. His opponent in September's Democratic primary, Kirsten Gillibrand, who replaced Mrs Clinton when she became secretary of state last year, has raised more than $7 million so far.
Mr Tasini is the only declared candidate to stand against Mrs Gillibrand after one other potential challenger decided last week not to run, raising his chances of eventually generating a higher profile and more funds.
"The press ignores me," he said. "They decide who's credible by how much money you have. If I had $1 million, it would be different, but people don't see me as a threat."
He sounds less like a man indulging in sour grapes than someone who has a point when comparing his media profile to the column inches devoted in the New York press to Harold Ford, a former Tennessee congressman with powerful Wall Street connections, who gave lots of interviews but then decided against a primary challenge.
Mortimer Zuckerman, a high-profile publisher, also decided this week not to run in the Republican primary even though as owner of the tabloid Daily News he had a head start in generating publicity.
"If you want to run for the Senate, you have to have a powerful vision and run for the right reasons, not to promote your career," Mr Tasini said. "I'm the only voice willing to stand for the people."
Mr Tasini, 53, was a journalist and union leader, has never held political office and stands on the left of the Democratic Party on a host of issues, from wanting government-run health care available for all to speaking out against what he called Israel's disproportionate use of force against its neighbours.
He did not make many friends within the management of The New York Times when he successfully sued the newspaper and other publishers a decade ago on behalf of freelancers who were not being paid when their work was distributed on the internet.
He has long spoken out about what he saw as the excesses of Wall Street capitalism and his most recent book was called The Audacity of Greed: Free Markets, Corporate Thieves and the Looting of America.
He said he believes progressives such as himself are poised to reap support from ordinary voters fed up with the government's response to the financial collapse and rising unemployment much in the same way the Tea Party movement has managed to channel widespread frustration towards right-wing leaders.
"Not everyone's crazy in the Tea Party, which is playing on people's natural fear of what's happening in the economy and around them," he said. "A lot of people are furious and are striking out at the most visible expression of what they think is power and big government and not at Wall Street. I think the Republicans are incompetent, but my fight is to change the Democratic Party."
He has won the support of some national progressive groups including Democrats.com, a left-leaning website that has launched a Jobs not War platform. As in 2006, when he ran against Mrs Clinton, Mr Tasini was clear about his desire to end the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He remained equally outspoken about Israel, where he lived as a student but left after the election of Menachem Begin as prime minister in 1977. He was keen to encourage his fellow American Jews to speak out when wrongs were committed, such as the siege on the Gaza Strip.
"American Jews have a hard time believing Israel can do anything wrong, but we as Jews have to speak out," Mr Tasini said. "Israel is the greatest military force in that region and there's no way anyone would let it be destroyed." Mr Tasini registers barely five-per-cent support in polls, which also show minority support for Mrs Gillibrand, who was a little-known upstate congresswoman before her elevation to the Senate. In the Senate, she has appeared to have switched positions on such issues as gun control, which she now favours, to appeal to more liberal-leaning voters in New York City.
"Everywhere I go, I'm met with energy, particularly from students who totally understand the crisis and uncertain future they're facing," Mr Tasini said. "If I'm wrong about how people are feeling, then I can't win even if I had $20 million."
@Email:sdevi@thenational.ae
Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
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Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
