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The Herald Scotland
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Why do men hate Nicola Sturgeon? What would Maggie have made of it?
Who was that author? Boris Johnson, JD Vance, Sarah Vine? It was Nicola Sturgeon, whose publicity juggernaut for her memoirs is revving its engines and preparing to flatten all in its path. Says one blurb: 'From a shy childhood in working-class Ayrshire to wielding power in the corridors of Holyrood, Scotland's longest-serving First Minister shares her incredible story.' I'm guessing our man on Sauchiehall Street won't be first in the queue for a signed copy. Ditto Rupert Everett, the actor, who used an interview with The Herald at the weekend to call Ms Sturgeon a 'witch'. Read more According to Everett, he once loved Nicola but now cannot bear her. The reason: she ruined the arts in Scotland. Before Sturgeon, the country's arts scene had been internationalist and outward-looking, but after that, oh dear. 'As soon as the witch Sturgeon came into power … everything had to be about being Scottish'. That must have come as a surprise to all those performers who took part in Edinburgh International Festivals and Fringes while she was First Minister. Ms Sturgeon was having none of this. She wrote on Instagram: 'What is it with (some) men who can't disagree with a woman without resorting to deeply misogynistic tropes? His substantive point is baseless rubbish too.' Kate Forbes, the Deputy First Minister, yesterday joined in the condemnation of Everett's remarks, calling them 'misogynistic' and 'abhorrent'. I would like to report that there was a general outpouring of support for Ms Sturgeon on this, but most of the responses on social media were worse than Everett's original remarks. It is the same whenever she appears in the media, mainstream or social. What is going on here? Before her book is published is as good a time as any to ask. Is there a problem with Ms Sturgeon in particular, or with assertive women in general? Is misogyny limited to 'some' men, or is it rife in society and becoming worse? And what would Margaret Thatcher have made of it all? That last one is more pertinent than might at first appear. Margaret Thatcher on a walkabout in George Square, Glasgow in February 1975 (Image: STAFF) In a strange twist of fate, the girl from Irvine who grew up opposing everything that Mrs Thatcher stood for has ended up in the same place. Both women political leaders, both subject to levels of personal and political abuse that no male politician has had to endure, both considered by many to have been in the wrong. In Mrs Thatcher's case, the comments from her colleagues were jokey at first. Attila the Hen. That Bloody Woman (TBW). By the time she was forced out of office she had been called worse. Much worse. But unlike Ms Sturgeon she did not have to contend with social media. If she had, one wonders how the famously non-feminist Prime Minister would have reacted. Would she have seen it as just another example of the free market in operation, however grisly, or would she have been appalled and taken action? I reckon a few rude tweets about her son and words would have been exchanged behind the scenes. Mrs Thatcher operated in a political environment that was male-dominated and, as we know from revelations since, deeply misogynistic. New institutions, including the Scottish Parliament, were supposed to change that. How is that working out? Not well, according to a survey of women MSPs by Holyrood magazine. It found 'almost all' who responded had experienced online abuse, including death threats and rape threats, and the situation was becoming worse. One said Holyrood was becoming 'a hostile environment for women'. What a depressing development. And how dispiriting that a quarter of the way into the 21st Century, (some) men are still calling women witches. Not only that, they are being cheered on by other men, and (some) women too. Read more It would be nice to ignore Rupert Everett. He's an actor for pity's sake. You might as well listen to an angry gerbil (although I have enjoyed his memoirs). But we cannot turn the other way because misogyny is on the march everywhere, the clocks are whirring backwards. Kate Forbes was speaking at a Women in Public Life event in Edinburgh. Chairing the session was one Cherie Blair, herself no stranger to misogyny. There is a lot of it about, and as Ms Forbes agreed, it has only grown worse with time. If you haven't experienced it, you are either incredibly fortunate, not a woman, or you haven't been paying enough attention, because it is out there. It is in every walk of life, on every street. It used to lurk in the shadows or hide behind a mask, but now it is bolder. Misogyny has gone mainstream. So no, Mr Everett, it is not okay to call a woman a witch. I don't care how much you miss the Citizens and the European theatre tradition of Peter Stein and Nina Bausch (and what do you think Bausch would have thought about your language?), or how disillusioned you are with politics today (yawn), your language is not on. While we are on the subject, what are the chances of Scotland keeping the heid when Ms Sturgeon's book eventually sees the light of day? It is a political memoir, but these things are inevitably personal too. Words will be exchanged, accounts traded and opinions challenged. It will be a very boring memoir if it doesn't provoke a reaction, but let's at least try to keep our cool. And for gawd's sake, no one send Everett a copy. Alison Rowat is a Herald feature writer and columnist
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Nonprofit ready to help address trauma after in line of duty death
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As the community prepares to lay a Kansas City Fire Department paramedic to rest at the end of this week, trauma experts say the road to healing is ahead. 'I don't think people have a good understanding of the trauma that first responders witness on a daily basis,' Clinical Director for The Battle Within, Jamie Wehmeyer, said. Infectious disease test ordered for woman connected to KCFD paramedic's death The Battle Within says it's ready and able to provide help and services for those who need it. 'We are standing at the ready. With our Frontline Therapy Network, at the beginning of the week, we reached out to them and said, 'Who has immediate availability to see somebody who is in crisis?'' Wehmeyer shared. The Kansas City community and beyond are mourning the loss of firefighter-paramedic Graham Hoffman. 'The community is amazing right now. Everybody is loving on the family. Everyone is loving on the fire department, but in three weeks, people move on because that's what we do, and that's when we need to make sure that we are present because when it gets quiet, that's when we know the suffering starts.' Hoffman died over the weekend while on the job, investigators say, at the hands of a patient he was serving. 'We've reached out to a lot our folks, our alumni, knowing the impact of an event like this,' Wehmeyer shared. 'Those first responders, who were either directly impacted, because they were also on the scene, or his station house brothers and sisters, right on down the line, right now, they are just in survival mode, they are just trying to deal with the crisis of getting through the next few days. What we anticipate is that in the coming weeks, we will be getting folks who are really needing additional support and additional services.' Wehmeyer says addressing trauma takes time, and the organization is standing by.'When the parade shooting happened, we had an influx of folks who came into both our five-day program and our Frontline Therapy Network, and I anticipate that will happen again,' she said. The Battle Within serves veterans, first responders and frontline health care workers, and says all traumas are worthy of treatment. Suspect in Kansas City Tesla arson freed from federal custody TBW offers different programs, including the Revenant Journey, a five-day group therapy program created by veterans and first responders to help others suffering from PTSD understand trauma they've endured in service, provides an introduction to integrative tools that set the stage for healing, and develop a community of support. Since 2018, there have been 434 Revenant Journey graduates. There's also the Frontline Therapy Network, where individuals are interviewed to determine the proper method of therapy and who may be providing it. The Battle Within says it offers six free therapy sessions to treat traumas. TBW says, since 2018, over 2,500 hours of Frontline Therapy services have been provided. You can learn more and sign up for services here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Veolia and Tampa Bay Water Bring Major Expansion to Regional Water Supply
Expansion project will increase regional water capacity by 12.5 million gallons a day to support regional growth and sustainable economic expansion Additional water supply builds on Veolia's 25-year relationship with Tampa Bay Water TAMPA, FL / / April 15, 2025 / Veolia North America, the leading environmental services company in the United States, has finalized an agreement with Tampa Bay Water (TBW) to lead the design, construction and operation of a major expansion of TBW's capacity to deliver high-quality drinking water to more than 2.5 million customers along the Gulf Coast of Florida. The project marks a new chapter in Veolia's nearly three-decade partnership with TBW, which has protected the region's environment and provided superior quality water for the region's booming population and thriving economy. The $181 million expansion at TBW's Regional Surface Water Treatment Plant in Tampa will increase its daily production of drinking water by as much as 12.5 million gallons, and has been identified as a priority project for the group to meet the demands of future regional growth. Tampa Bay Water approved Veolia's proposal under a progressive design-build model, with both parties collaborating throughout the design process to ensure the final proposal meets the utility's financial, technical and environmental expectations. "Veolia is proud of its long-standing role supporting Tampa Bay Water's transformative work to provide robust and reliable water supplies for a region that once was plagued by declining water tables and environmental risks," said Karine Rougé, CEO of Municipal Water at Veolia North America. "Veolia's unique combination of technology, expertise and experience helps communities develop long-term water solutions, and our work with Tampa Bay Water shows how we build true partnerships with communities to help them, their residents and their environment." New construction continues productive partnership Veolia North America, through a predecessor company, built the utility's existing infrastructure and has been providing drinking water services to the region since Tampa Bay Water was founded in 2000. Tampa Bay Water approved a five-year extension to its operating contract with Veolia in 2023, and both parties finalized their agreement to move forward on the expansion project in March. The additional infrastructure planned for Tampa Bay Water's plant includes a fifth system of Veolia's ACTIFLO and ozone treatment processes, supplementing the four already in operation; additional filtration; enhancements to the treated water disinfection, storage and transmissions systems; and improvements to the filter backwash and solids handling systems. The expanded system is expected to provide a sustainable capacity of 110 million gallons per day, and a maximum rated capacity of between 140 million and 150 million gallons a day. The expansion project exemplifies the goals of Veolia's global GreenUp strategy, which strives to lead the ecological transformation of the planet by accelerating water quality improvement, hazardous waste treatment and disposal, decarbonization and technological innovation. ABOUT VEOLIA GROUP Veolia Group aims to become the benchmark company for ecological transformation. Present on five continents with 215,000 employees, the Group designs and deploys useful, practical solutions for the management of water, waste and energy that are contributing to a radical turnaround of the current situation. Through its three complementary activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, to preserve available resources and to renew them. In 2024, the Veolia group provided 111 million inhabitants with drinking water and 98 million with sanitation, produced 42 million megawatt hours of energy and treated 65 million tons of waste. Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE) achieved consolidated revenue of 44.7 billion euros in ABOUT VEOLIA NORTH AMERICA A subsidiary of Veolia Group, Veolia North America (VNA) offers a full spectrum of water, waste and energy management services, including water and wastewater treatment, commercial and hazardous waste collection and disposal, energy consulting and resource recovery. VNA helps commercial, industrial, healthcare, higher education and municipality customers throughout North America. Headquartered in Boston, Mass., Veolia North America has more than 10,000 employees working at more than 350 locations across the CONTACTVEOLIA NORTH AMERICADavid HeinzmannCommunications Manager+1 View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Veolia North America on Contact Info:Spokesperson: Veolia North AmericaWebsite: info@ SOURCE: Veolia North America View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire Sign in to access your portfolio
The Guardian
10-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘A place between fiction and reality': small town dreamscapes
Photographer Dylan Hausthor's lyrical visions delve into themes of storytelling, faith, folklore and the inherent queerness of nature. Small-town gossip, relationships to the land, the mysteries of wildlife, the drama of humanity and the unpredictability of human spectacle inspire the stories in these images and installations. What the Rain Might Bring by Dylan Hausthor is published by TBW books Dylan Hausthor: 'I'm fascinated by the instability of storytelling and hope to enable character and landscape to act as gossip in their own right: cross-pollinating and synthesising' Within Hausthor's untamed world, characters and landscapes become conduits, weaving together new narratives that challenge perceptions of reality The imagery – an owl mid-flight, a procession of figures, an infant nursing at its mother's breast, a towering mushroom, spiders in their webs – paints a world where human roles feel fragile, overshadowed by the dominance of nature. Each photograph oscillates between the eerie and enchanting, the humorous and the haunting Hausthor's photography integrates elements of ad hoc investigative journalism, disinformation and performance, disrupting traditional approaches to nature photography. The viewer is drawn into a space where the line between truth and artistic licence is deliberately blurred Dylan Hausthor: 'I was recently visiting my home town and stopped to fill up my car. I noticed a woman sitting outside the gas station drinking coffee and recognised her as my old ballet teacher. I sat down next to her and we caught up. She had been going blind for a decade since I last saw her. She had fallen out of love, started growing a garden and found God. She had a small collection of freshly picked mushrooms next to her and handed me one, saying 'Mushrooms have no gender, did you know that?'' Cultural systems, communities bound by belief, ruralism, the ghosts that haunt landscapes and the disentangling of colonial narratives are what drive these installations, images and videos 'Two moths mating, taken as I wait for a tow truck' 'A strange field of sunflowers, ones that refused to look at the sun. Instead of drinking the sunlight, as most of their species do, this field turned their backs. This image was taken during a time I was working at a sheep farm' 'There is a time of year where the black ice is worse than ever. For a week or so, it overlaps with the time that spiders are still making webs before going into diapause' 'An exercise in care and attention that takes place at a Zen Buddhist monastery in which one person leads another around after they've dunked their head into mud' Photograph: Dylan Hausthor The images evoke a sense of pagan, Wiccan, religious, anarchic and mystic rituals, offering a visual exploration that is at once candid and full of hidden secrets 'I hope for the viewers and readers of my work to find themselves in a space between fiction and reality – to push past questions of validity that form the base tradition of colonialism in storytelling and folklore and into a much more human sense of reality: faulted, broken and real' Hausthor's book is named after David Arora's famed mushroom identification guide, All That the Rain Promises and More It can be seen as an exploration of a post-fact world, where the boundaries between parable and reality dissolve, leaving the viewer to question what they believe
