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China installing surveillance app

When passing through Chinese security, you shouldn’t be worried about them taking your stuff away from you but rather adding to your belongings in a way you probably don’t want. According to an investigative report by The Guardian, in partnership with Süddeutsche Zeitung and The New York Times, border police in China’s Xinjiang region have been secretly installing apps on visitors’ phones designed to download their personal information.

More specifically, they are targeting Muslim travelers attempting to enter the region from Kyrgyzstan. Their phones are being taken by border guards, who secretly install an app that extracts emails, texts, and contacts. Travelers are not notified in advance or given any information about the software. Analysis of the app, however, has found that it searches Android phones for information that meets certain criteria. This includes anything related to Islamist extremism, weapons and operation manuals, and fasting during Ramadan, in addition to literature by the Dalai Lama and music by a Japanese metal band called Unholy Grave.

There are several points of entry at the Kyrgyzstan crossing, and at once, travelers must unlock and give border agents their phones and cameras. The devices are brought to a separate room and returned later. iPhones are plugged into a reader that scans them while Android phones are fitted with the app. Usually, the app is uninstalled before the phone is returned, though some people have reported that it was still there after being returned.

One traveler told The Guardian of his experience having the app downloaded on his phone. “We thought it was a GPS tracker,” he said. “There was another checkpoint about two hours away and I was thinking that maybe they had downloaded things and they would have all of their analysts going through it all while we were traveling, and then maybe they [would] send people back when they got to the next place.”

The Chinese government has also been increasing surveillance on Muslims and restricting freedoms, like installing facial recognition cameras on streets and in mosques. In the past, it’s defended its surveillance of citizens in Xinjiang, saying it has improved security in the region.

Unsurprisingly, the Chinese authorities did not reply when The Guardian contacted them for comment.

H/T: The Guardian

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Amazon deforestation every minute

It’s no secret that deforestation is a major issue plaguing hundreds of ecosystems around the world, but in the Amazon — perhaps the most important forest of them all — the situation is dire. Due to the policies of Brazil’s new right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, massive chunks of the Amazon are being cleared by using heavy machinery. In some areas, illegal loggers are carving new tracks to reach valuable hardwood trees, which they sell on the black market. The ultimate result is a staggering loss of trees at an alarming rate — about the length of a soccer field every minute.

According to satellite images, since Jair Bolsonaro became president of Brazil in the first half of this year, there has been a noticeable decline in the number of trees. Specifically, an average of 2.4 acres have been cleared every minute over the past two months.

The reason behind this rampant deforestation appears to be populist politics. Bolsonaro was elected primarily by agricultural businesses and small farmers who generally believe that the Amazon region is too heavily protected and that environmental staff wields too much power. Many hold the opinion that the extensive network of protected areas is too restrictive for a region that needs to create jobs. To satiate his base, Bolsonaro is enacting an agenda designed to weaken the laws protecting the forest and even attacking civil servants who protect the trees.

One environment official, who remained anonymous, told the BBC that “it feels like we are the enemies of the Amazon, when in fact we should be seen in a completely different way, as the people trying to protect our ecological heritage for future generations.” He added that “there’s a government attempt to show that the data is wrong [regarding official deforestation figures], to show the numbers don’t portray the reality.”

“People need to know what’s happening,” the environment official explained, “because we need allies to fight against invasions, to protect areas, and against deforestation.”

H/T: BBC

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Kuhio Highway opens again

Two miles of Hawaii’s heavily trafficked Kuhio Highway closed in April 2018 after heavy rainfall led to floods, and now it’s finally open again.

The highway on the northern part of Kauai is the only access point to the popular Napali Coast State Wilderness Park and Haena State Park — an access point that has been closed for over 14 months.

To prevent the area from once again being overcrowded with tourists, the Haena State Park master plan calls for limiting visitor numbers to 900 a day (previously, 3,000 people were entering the park daily). Non-Hawaii residents who walk, bike, drive, or come by shuttle will be required to make advance reservations and pay a small fee. Hikers who go beyond the two-mile mark at the stream crossing are required to make reservations and obtain a special camping permit for $20 a night. Reservations can be made online, and will cost $1 per person and $5 per vehicle; a parking reservation grants park access for the driver and passengers.

Local residents aren’t exactly thrilled with the highway’s reopening, however, as it means an inevitable influx of tourism. A code of conduct called the Aloha Pledge has even been created, with tips on how to behave when visiting the area.


More like this: Popular Kuhio Highway in Hawaii reopens after a 14-month closure

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Heavy rain in Japan forces evac

It might be summer, but the sun is not shining for everyone. Japan is experiencing such heavy rain that more than one million residents have been ordered to evacuate.

The island of Kyushu has seen 39 inches of rainfall since Friday, and the rain is projected to continue. Residents in parts of Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures were ordered to move to safety without delay, with over one million people across the island in the midst of forced evacuations. In addition to the entire populations of Kagoshima city, Kirishima, and Aira, another 930,000 people in the south of the island were also ordered to move to safety.

Unfortunately, one woman in Kagoshima has already died after her home was hit by a mudslide, the BBC reported.

Japan’s defense forces have even been enlisted to help with disaster relief as floods and landslides are anticipated.

According to CNN, Kyushu expects more than 13.7 inches of rain tomorrow, which is more than the average rainfall for the island for the whole month of July.


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Best LGBTQ books for Pride

Queer literature is in a renaissance. It seems, especially during Pride Month, that there is an unprecedented abundance of literature written about, by, and for the LGBTQ+ community. Never before have queer stories been so accepted into the mainstream canon, exploring sexualities and identities through comprehensive works of fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels, and the like. If you are not quite ready to stop celebrating Pride and are in need of a summer novel, here are five books, each unputdownable reads for a beach day, lounging in the park, or even cramped in the middle seat of an airplane.

1. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Photo: Amazon

A modern-day fairytale love story, Red, White & Royal Blue is as cute as it is enthralling. Alex Claremont-Diaz, son of the US female president, falls in love with Henry, the Prince of England. Their relationship initially begins as archnemeses with a years-long, highly publicized animosity. But an international incident involving a $75,000 cake and a royal wedding leads them to form a friendship, first to keep up positive transatlantic relations, then blossoming into something more on one snowy night at the White House.

McQuiston does an excellent job of encapsulating the conflicting, gut-wrenching feelings of coming to terms with one’s own sexuality, but makes sure to portray this self-discovery in a stigma-free fashion. It’s not Alex’s bisexuality that’s the issue, rather the high stakes of their romance that accompanies a blinding public spotlight. You’ll never want Red, White & Royal Blue to end, wishing to stay in Alex and Henry’s world just a little bit longer — plus, Alex’s mom, President Claremont, is a total badass.

2. I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver

Photo: Amazon

When Ben de Backer comes out as nonbinary, their parent’s reaction is less than ideal. Deaver spares the reader the fallout from this, but Ben’s heart-wrenching disappointment, fear, and dejection are so poignantly written. His estranged sister, Hannah, takes them in and shows love and compassion, even when she doesn’t fully understand what nonbinary means. Shortly after, Ben meets Nathan, a charismatic senior at their new high school, whose good-natured attempts at a friendship eventually melts defenses, leading to a romantic connection between the two teenagers.

Deaver’s storytelling style vacillates between tender, with Ben’s burgeoning relationship with Nathan; and cutting, a knife to the reader’s heart when Ben’s parents kick them out. One can imagine that Deaver poured his own struggles as a nonbinary person into these pages, the backdrop on which he paints Ben’s story. I Wish You All the Best is a moving read, wonderful for those looking to learn more about gender identity and the coming-out process of a nonbinary person.

3. Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht

Photo: Amazon

A Cold War lesbian spy novel? Count us in. Who Is Vera Kelly?? follows titular character Vera Kelly as she navigates 1965 Buenos Aires, a year when the country is poised for an inevitable coup d’etat. As a CIA operative with a knack for radio communications, Vera is tasked with wiretapping an Argentinian congressman and infiltrating student activist groups. Knecht delicately intersperses Vera’s current story in Buenos Aires with vignettes of her past, first as a girl discovering her sexuality in Maryland to Greenwich Village’s underground gay scene, in a pre-Stonewall era. But when revolution strikes in Buenos Aires and Vera is cut off from her CIA counterparts, she quickly finds herself doing what is necessary to survive, maneuvering between shady allies and a beautiful Argentinian student named Victoria.

The titular question finally feels resolved in the closing chapters of the book. Vera’s character is elusive, and the novel itself is a slow burn, with the main action taking place in the last third of the book — but, man, does it become a page-turner.

4. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Photo: Amazon

When magazine journalist Monique Grant is chosen by illustrious starlet Evelyn Hugo to be her biographer, she is honored but stunned — why her? As we move through the story, we quickly realize that there is far more to Evelyn Hugo than what meets the eye, beyond her famous seven husbands — she is bisexual, now proudly married to another woman and ready to tell her story. Reid crafts a gripping tale, pulling back the facade of old Hollywood glamor to reveal the homophobia, racism, and sexism that Evelyn dealt with in her life. Her story will make any young queer reader grateful for the freedom of self-expression we have today. We leave you with this quote from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo — “They are just husbands. I am Evelyn Hugo. And anyway, I think once people know the truth, they will be much more interested in my wife.”

5. Less by Andrew Sean Greer

Photo: Amazon

As soon as you finish this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, you’re going to be wanting more. This travelogue follows failed novelist Arthur Less as he journeys on an international literary tour, the ultimate excuse to avoid attending his ex-boyfriend’s wedding — to his archnemesis’ son. Greer’s lyrical prose brings you around the world with Less, from the dramatic, colorful streets of Mexico City to huddling inside a hot, crowded tent in the middle of a Morrocan sandstorm. Arthur Less is so extremely well written, fleshed out, and endearing, you can’t help but fall in love with this character as he fumbles and triumphs on the leadup to his milestone 50th birthday.

The paperback is small and light at only 260 pages — it’s so engrossing you can easily spend an entire day on the beach devouring it, crying and laughing through it all.


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Chicago’s ‘The Bean’ vandalized

Chicago’s iconic Cloud Gate sculpture — also known as “The Bean” — has been vandalized this week, and seven suspects have been taken into custody. According to authorities, around midnight last night the group spray-painted several areas of Maggie Daley Park and Millenium Park, including The Bean and Cancer Survivors’ Wall, benches, and other surfaces. They were spotted by an off-duty security guard, who then alerted authorities.

The structure was finished in 2006 by British sculptor Anish Kapoor, who is known for his massive works of stone and reflective steel. One-hundred-sixty-eight stainless steel plates were used to create the sculpture, which stands 33 feet high, 42 feet wide, and 66 feet long.

Officers said that the suspects were known taggers who call themselves the “35th Street Crew” and usually mark their targets — including the Bean — by spray painting “35th,” the Roman numerals for three and five, and the word “crew” onto the surface.

According to the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, which is tasked with the cleanup, “Last night’s vandalism to Chicago’s iconic ‘Cloud Gate’ is reprehensible,” adding, “Crews are in the process of removing the graffiti.”

The suspects remain in custody, and charges for the incident are still pending.

H/T: Chicago 5

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Airbnb’s open letter to the EU

Last week, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bordeaux, Brussels, Krakow, Munich, Paris, Valencia, and Vienna wrote a joint letter to the EU, arguing that Airbnb was negatively changing neighborhoods by leading to housing shortages and rising rent, and asking for help fighting the home-sharing giant. Now, Airbnb is firing back with a letter of its own. In an open letter to European governments and regulators, Airbnb touts its positive economic impact on the communities it serves and emphasizes its collaborative relationships with cities.

“European cities believe homes should be used first and foremost for living in,” the cities argued in their initial letter. “Many suffer from a serious housing shortage. Where homes can be rented out more lucratively to tourists, they vanish from the traditional housing market.”

Airbnb fired back with some pretty staggering numbers. “New data released today,” its letter reads, “shows that travel on Airbnb had an estimated direct economic impact of more than €36 billion in EU Member States in 2018 alone. Made up of host earnings and reported guest spending, that’s almost €100 million per day.”

It does, however, concede that its services should be regulated. “Every day,” the letter reads, “we are investing in working with governments around the world to proactively seek new regulations to help diversify tourism and protect housing, and to make it easier for more hosts to pay more tax.”

Airbnb’s letter also (unsurprisingly) takes direct issue with the letter penned by the EU cities, pointing out sections it believes to be erroneous:

“First, the letter overlooked many of the tourism challenges facing cities today. For example in Amsterdam, guests on Airbnb account for just 8% of overnight visitors to the city, and more than two thirds of Airbnb guests stay outside the city centre, helping to create a sustainable tourism model that benefits locals in more communities.”

“Secondly, we feel the letter misrepresents the collaborative relationship we want to have — and already do — with many cities across Europe. In Amsterdam again, we have worked with the city since 2014 to help hosts share their homes, follow the rules and pay their fair share of tax. We are one of the only platforms to limit how often hosts can share their space.”

It concludes by expressing Airbnb’s wish to “continue working together on rules and regulations that work for everyone and that will help more people benefit from modern, healthy and sustainable tourism in the EU.”

The full letter is available online.


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Family books Pride flight

Accidentally booking tickets to a themed experience could potentially be an awful situation, but this family from Essex, England, certainly lucked out. Kerry Powell, her husband Sean, and their two sons, inadvertently booked themselves on Virgin Atlantic’s Pride flight from London to NYC on Friday. They had booked the flight in September, and when Virgin notified them in October that their flight had been selected to host the Pride event, they decided to keep the reservation.

Hosted by TV and Broadway star Tituss Burgess, the flight featured celebrities and drag queens, including Courtney Act of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Scarlett Moffatt of I’m a Celebrity, and AJ Prichard from Strictly Come Dancing.

The family said the time flew by, and the flight was incredibly entertaining. “It was amazing,” said Mrs. Powell. “We knew what it was all about, it wasn’t a surprise. Everyone was so lovely to the kids.”

Indeed, this video shows the children jumping enthusiastically and dancing with the rest of the crew.

This unsuspecting family accidentally booked on to the @VirginHolidays @VirginAtlantic #PrideFlight for their holiday – and they absolutely COMMITTED to the madness

Atlantic City hotel sells 40k drink

A night out in Atlantic City doesn’t come cheap, but if you don’t lose all your money at the craps tables, you can probably escape the weekend having only spent a few hundred bucks. Unless you stop by the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa for a top-class drink, however. The hotel is offering a one-of-a-kind drink called the Bambino for the totally reasonable cost of $40,000 to celebrate the opening of its new Level One ultra-lounge. The Bambino is a drink, yes, but it’s much more than that.

If you’re willing to shell out the $40,000, the experience includes a long pour of 1940 Macallan Fine & Rare Vintage and some pretty priceless gifts so you won’t feel totally empty inside once you finish your glass. The main gift is a $100 check signed by Babe Ruth, made out to his second wife, Claire Merritt. The check is deemed to be in mint condition, and has been evaluated by Ruth’s granddaughter, Linda Ruth Tosetti. Needless to say, this is a singular drink option and there’s only one available.

If that’s not enough to make you satisfied with your $40,000 investment, you will also receive a vintage Victrola record player. So once you’ve returned home to your spouse and explained why you’re $40,000 poorer, at least you can fall asleep to the sound of some old-school tunes while wondering if it was all worth it.


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Arctic fox walks 2,000 miles

Arctic foxes are much more than cute balls of fur, they’re apparently also incredibly athletic and adventurous creatures. Indeed, this arctic fox that was fitted with a tracking device in July 2017 has proven to be quite the explorer — it walked on the sea ice from Norway’s Svalbard archipelago to Ellesmere Island in Canada, a 2,000-mile distance, in just 76 days.

Fjellreven vandret via havisen fra #Svalbard i Europa til #Canada i Nord-Amerika i et tempo ingen forskere tidligere har dokumentert. Foto: Elise Stømseng Les mer: https://t.co/Gk3xirq3YE pic.twitter.com/adzOVNFfyx

— Norsk Polarinstitutt (@NorskPolar) 26 juin 2019

As reported by The Guardian, on March 26, 2018, the female fox left Svalbard and arrived in Greenland 21 days later. It continued on to Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada, where it arrived yesterday.

Photo: Norwegian Polar Institute

The Norwegian Polar Institute published a research paper about the fox’s incredible feat across the Arctic, explaining that it walked an average of 28.6 miles per day. While on the sea ice in northern Greenland, scientists even recorded a day during which the animal walked 96.3 miles — “the fastest movement rate recorded for this species.”

While the journey might seem improbable, if any animal could do it, it’s definitely the arctic fox. According to National Geographic, thanks to their furry-soled paws, short ears, and short muzzle, they can survive incredibly cold temperatures (as low as minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit).


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