California beach city bans smoking in apartments, condos – Los Angeles Times

The beach city Tuesday became the first in San Diego County to expressly ban smoking and vaping of cannabis and nicotine products inside all local multifamily residential buildings.

While the city’s ordinance prompted some complaints about government prying into the private lives of residents, others applauded city leaders for prioritizing the health of nonsmokers living in units that are inundated by their neighbors’ secondhand smoke.

Source: California beach city bans smoking in apartments, condos – Los Angeles Times

Revealed: JD Vance promoted far-right views in speech about extremists’ book | US news | The Guardian

…In the book, Up from Conservatism, the authors advocate for the repeal of the Civil Rights Act, for politicians to conduct “deep investigations into what the gay lifestyle actually does to people”, that college and childcare be defunded and that rightwing governments “promote male-dominated industries” in order to discourage female participation in the workplace…

…In his speech, Vance first offered “congratulations on such a great book, and thanks for getting such a good crew together”, and then warmed to themes similar to Milikh’s.

“Republicans, conservatives, we’re still terrified of wielding power, of actually doing the job that the people sent us here to do,” Vance said, later adding: “Isn’t it just common sense that when we’re given power, we should actually do something with it?”

Brad Onishi, author of Preparing for War, a critical account of Christian nationalism and the host of the Straight White American Jesus podcast, said: “Vance, many Claremont people, including some folks in this volume, and especially the ‘post-liberal’ conservative Catholics that he hangs out with, have advocated for a form of big government that will wield its power in order to set the country right.”

He added: “And you may think, well, OK, that doesn’t sound so bad. But here the common good is rooting out queer people, making sure non-Christians don’t immigrate to the country and outlawing things like pornography that are currently a matter of personal choice.

“You end up with this conservatism that promotes an invasive government conservatism rather than a small government.”…

Source: Revealed: JD Vance promoted far-right views in speech about extremists’ book | US news | The Guardian

How New Mexico Made Child Care Free for Most Families

…August 2021, New Mexico dramatically expanded its child-care subsidy program to include families earning up to 400 percent of the poverty line, making roughly half of the state’s children eligible. For a family of four, like Losito’s, that now includes households earning up to $124,800 annually. The state has also waived all co-pays, making child care free for qualified families.

Approximately 70 percent more New Mexico families are now eligible for free child care, according to the Urban Institute. When coupled with its other new policies — including permanent funding and higher provider pay — advocates say New Mexico is a model in early childhood education…

Source: How New Mexico Made Child Care Free for Most Families

How the Oldest Company in the World, Japan’s Temple-Builder Kongō Gumi, Has Survived Nearly 1,500 Years | Open Culture

Image from New York Public Library, via Wikimedia Commons

If you visit Osaka, you’ll be urged to see two old buildings in particular: Osaka Castle and Shitennō-ji (above), Japan’s first Buddhist temple. In beholding both, you’ll behold the work of construction firm Kongō Gumi (金剛組), the oldest continuously run company in the world. It was with the building of Shitennō-ji, commissioned by Prince Shōtoku Taishi in the year 578, that brought it into existence in the first place. Back then, “Japan was predominantly Shinto and had no miyadaiku (carpenters trained in the art of building Buddhist temples),” writes Irene Herrera at Works that Work, “so the prince hired three skilled men from Baekje, a Buddhist state in what is now Korea,” among them a certain Kongō Shigetsu.

Thereafter, Kongō Gumi continued to operate independently for more than 1,400 years, run by 40 generations of Kongō Shigetsu’s descendants. By the time Toyotomi Hideyoshi had the company build Osaka Castle in 1583, it had been established for nearly a millennium. In the centuries since, “the castle has been destroyed repeatedly by fire and lightning,” Herrera writes. “Kongō Gumi prospered because of these major reconstructions, which provided them with plenty of work.” Throughout most of its long history, an even steadier business came from their specialty of building Buddhist temples, at least until serious challenges to that business model arose in the twentieth century…

Source: How the Oldest Company in the World, Japan’s Temple-Builder Kongō Gumi, Has Survived Nearly 1,500 Years | Open Culture

Meet the ‘Bucha Witches’ — the all-female fire teams guarding Ukraine’s skies from Russian drones and missiles — Meduza

The Ukrainian town of Bucha, which became synonymous with Russian war crimes after occupying forces massacred hundreds of civilians there in 2022, is now home to a unique form of resistance. The Bucha Volunteer Territorial Community Formation recently started recruiting all-female mobile fire teams known as the “Witches” and “Valkyries.” Journalists from the Ukrainian outlet Ukrainska Pravda spoke with several of these “Bucha Witches” about their decision to take up arms and what it’s like to defend Ukraine’s skies from Russian drones and missiles. Meduza shares a summary of their reporting in English.

Olena ‘Small’

Originally from Lviv, Olena moved to Kyiv in 2023 and began working as a general practitioner at a clinic in Bucha. In June 2024, while driving back from celebrating her 26th birthday in Odesa with her friend Anhelina, she came across an Instagram post recruiting volunteers for the Bucha Territorial Community Formation. Both she and Anhelina decided to enlist in the “Witches” mobile fire group.

Olena had long wanted to join the Defense Forces but struggled to balance her demanding job with military service. Her family has deep military roots: her great-grandfather served in the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, and her great-grandmother was a liaison for them. Her godfather started taking her to the shooting range when she was just five. “At the training center, they let me shoot a Browning [machine gun]. I hit 11 aerial targets with 25 rounds. High accuracy, low ammo use, so the commander said, ‘You’ll be a machine gunner!’” she recalls.

“My goal is to keep people safe and allow them to sleep peacefully. My dream is for the war to end and for everyone to return from the front and captivity,” says Olena…

Source: Meet the ‘Bucha Witches’ — the all-female fire teams guarding Ukraine’s skies from Russian drones and missiles — Meduza

Dems say Asian voters can be the difference for Harris | AsAmNews

Asian Americans attending the Democratic Convention in Chicago emphasized Wednesday that AAPI voters can be the difference makers in the presidential election.

Tonight, Kamala Harris will officially accept the nomination for president, becoming the first Asian American and Black woman ever to be nominated for the nation’s top office.

Data shared by Christine Chen, executive director of APIA Vote, showed that the number of Asian American and Pacific Islander voters well surpassed the margin of victory in eight hotly contested states.

Source: Dems say Asian voters can be the difference for Harris | AsAmNews

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