Right-Wing Bogeyperson Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Challenges Sen. Joe Manchin's Energy Committee Role

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Right-Wing Bogeyperson Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Challenges Sen. Joe Manchin's Energy Committee Role

Politico writes Monday that Ocasio-Cortez is leading a group of progressives very unsettled by the prospect of West Virginia Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin assuming a minority leadership position on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

At a Friday rally outside the Capitol, Ocasio-Cortez joined other Democratic lawmakers and other incoming Democratic freshmen, arguing that allowing Manchin to become the ranking member of the Energy committee would undercut the momentum behind their "Green New Deal" proposal that calls for transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy sources within a decade of initiating the plan.

“The vast majority of Americans believe that we should not be taking money from the industries that we are legislating and really presiding over in our committee work, but in D.C. that’s a controversial opinion,” Ocasio-Cortez said alongside youth climate activists from the Sunrise Movement.

Manchin, who has a 47 percent lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters Joe Manchin has a steady — and expected position given that he’s elected to support voters in his coal country state — regularly accepts election campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry.

Supporters of the Green New Deal say the activism that propelled candidates like Ocasio-Cortez to Washington underscores the citizen support for action on climate change. The argument gained momentum with federal scientists from 13 agencies last week issuing a report forecasting dire economic and physical consequences across America if greenhouse gas emissions continue rising.

“A decade ago it was a little easier to hide behind, ‘I’ve got a state where we can’t do this,’” Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) told POLITICO after the event, noting her Maine delegation colleagues Sens. Angus King (I) and Susan Collins (R) often side with Democrats on climate issues. “It may be hard for Joe Manchin to be there, but I think there’s going to be a lot of other colleagues who say, ‘Hey, this needs to be on our agenda, we’ve got to move forward with some legislation.’ And they could be on both sides of the aisle.”

Rihanna Plays Naughty in SAVAGE X Holiday 2018 Collection By Charlotte Rutherford

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Rihanna has launched her holiday SAVAGE X Holiday 2018 lingerie collection in a series of scalding images by Charlotte Rutherford. There’s a grand tradition of church hats in the African American and Caribbean communities and Rihanna wears a perspex bubble chair with a wide-brim had made of electric blue tulle.

Her holiday collection will offer denim reworked into lingerie and sleepwear, including printed denim chiffon in a range of sizes from 32A to 40DDD in bras and XS to 3X in underwear and sleepwear. 

'We getting NAUGHTY-not-NICE this season,' the pop star/fashion designer captioned the sultry images on Instagram, where she poses in scarlet briefs that read naughty on the waistband.

In a marketing move that’s a true volley across the net to Victoria’s Secret, Rihanna is promoting her 12 Days of Savage, with a special collection selling at a deep discount with a different style/item every day.

Rihanna’s SAVAGE X brand is a blip on the screen, compared to the embattled Victoria’s Secret brand. But her marketing prowess gives key pointers in how to play David and Goliath hardball with the retail giant.

Guide to Donating To HIV/AIDS Awareness This Holiday Season By CreditCards.com

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APPLE STORE LOGOS GO RED FOR WORLD AIDS DAY AS APPLE PROMOTES (RED) W/ APP STORE STORIES

Guide to Donating To HIV/AIDS Awareness This Holiday Season By M2M.org

The Trump Administration proposed budget cuts for the 2019 fiscal year that would take away millions in federal funding from multiple HIV/AIDS prevention programs. While Congress denied those budget cuts, advocacy groups around the world are worried that similar cuts will be passed in the future.

With World AIDS day coming up on December 1 and Trump’s recent budget cut proposals in the news, the spotlight on HIV and AIDS awareness has returned, causing many people to consider how they can donate to organizations looking to help with the epidemic domestic and abroad.

Donating to causes such as HIV and AIDS research has become easier than ever as more organizations begin using online donation portals and partnering with businesses such as Amazon. This year, holiday shoppers can effortlessly support the fight against HIV and AIDS just by being mindful of where they shop for Christmas gifts.

Shop smarter and make a difference

Organizations such as (RED) have been partnering with brands to help raise money and awareness for the fight against HIV/AIDS. By shopping for these brands or through certain portals, you can contribute to health and community programs around the world that are working to stop HIV/AIDS.

(RED) Partners

(RED) is one of the largest and most well-known organizations dedicated to the elimination of HIV/AIDS. Every year, they partner with big brands to collaborate on special edition items. Brands donate a certain amount to the Global Fund for each purchase of a (RED) collection item.

Here are some their 2018 partners:

  • Apple. Apple has an entire line of products to support (RED), including a special edition iPhone XR.

  • Bank of America. From November 20 to December 31, 2018, Bank of America donates the cost of a day’s worth of medication for each dollar spent during the (RED) shopathon.

  • Beats. Beats donates a portion of every sale of (PRODUCT)RED™ headphones and speakers.

  • Belvedere Vodka. Toast the holidays with Belvedere’s special edition bottle, and they’ll donate 50 percent of the proceeds to Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa.

  • Telcel and Claro. These companies donate a portion of every (TELCEL)RED phone purchase to help fund programs in high-prevalence countries in Africa and Latin America.

  • Starbucks. On December 1, Starbucks will donate 25 cents (USD) for every featured holiday specialty drink purchased.

  • Durex. A percentage of each purchase of (DUREX)RED condoms will go towards The Keeping Girls in School Programme in South Africa, helping promote sexual health practices that prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

  • AirAsia. If you plan to fly to Southeast Asia this holiday season, you could help raise funds and awareness by flying on the first-ever (RED) plane. The airline is also donating money for each flight booked on airasia.com.

Aspirin Could Help Reduce HIV Infections In Women -- A Dramatic, Promising Research Result In Nairobi

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WOMEN IN KENYA. PHOTO BY JOHN MCARTHUR ON UNSPLASH

Aspirin Could Help Reduce HIV Infections In Women -- A Dramatic, Promising Research Result In Nairobi

By Colin Graydon, PhD Candidate in Medical Microbiology, University of Manitoba and Monika Kowatsch PhD Student in Medical Microbiology, University of Manitoba. First published on The Conversation Africa.

With nearly two million new infections and one million associated deaths each year, the HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) pandemic is alive and well. Thirty-seven million people are now living with HIV, more than half of whom are women.

Today, most HIV transmission occurs through sex. Fortunately, you can protect yourself and others by keeping HIV away (abstinence, condom use, circumcision) or by inactivating HIV (microbicide gels or a combination of prophylactic anti-HIV drugs such as PrEP). However, these methods are not always feasible for many and can come with stigma.

Imagine though, if instead of targeting the virus, we could make people less susceptible to HIV and address the needs of communities by using a relatively safe, affordable and globally accessible drug with no associated stigma. This is where Aspirin comes in.

It may sound like a fairy tale, but results from our lab’s pilot study published last monthsuggest it may be true. Plus, there’s good science behind the explanation.

Amber Heard Rocks Proud In 'High Tide' Lensed By Olivia Malone For Porter Edit November 2018

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Amber Heard Rocks Proud In 'High Tide' Lensed By Olivia Malone For Porter Edit November 2018

Actor Amber Heard is styled by Tracy Taylor in sleek denim and leather looks from Versace, Anna Quan, Orseund Iris, Totême Isabel Marant, Saint Laurent, Joseph and more. Photographer Olivia Malone is behind the lens, flashing ‘Hide Tide’ for Porter Edit November 30, 2018.

Ajesh Patalay sits down with superheroine Mera to chat about her blockbuster movie ‘Aquaman’, turning around her hellish personal life and why she almost walked away from her future as the Queen of Atlantis.

Heard speaks of her role as Mera in ‘Aquaman’, co-starring with Jason Momoa and Nicole Kidman, within the context of her public 2010 discussion around her bisexuality. At the time, the revelations were explosive and probably did impact her career. Heard has no regrets.

What am I going to say to my sister: ‘Sorry, I blew it, because I have a big mouth’? I was scared to death.” So why do it? “It was wrong [not to],” she says. “A lie is never sustainable. The truth is the only thing that’s sustainable.” She now campaigns on LGBTQ rights.

Amber Heard pulls no punches in her discussions around the challenges women face — not only around the cultural hypersexualization of women and also not believing women — that we don’t tell the truth. I invite you to read her comments on this topic. ~ Anne

The Surprising Way Plastics Could Actually Help Fight Climate Change

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The Surprising Way Plastics Could Actually Help Fight Climate Change

What do your car, phone, soda bottle and shoes have in common? They’re all largely made from petroleum. This nonrenewable resource gets processed into a versatile set of chemicals called polymers – or more commonly, plastics. Over 5 billion gallons of oil each year are converted into plastics alone.

Polymers are behind many important inventions of the past several decades, like 3D printing. So-called “engineering plastics,” used in applications ranging from automotive to construction to furniture, have superior properties and can even help solve environmental problems. For instance, thanks to engineering plastics, vehicles are now lighter weight, so they get better fuel mileage. But as the number of uses rises, so does the demand for plastics. The world already produces over 300 million tons of plastic every year. The number could be six times that by 2050.

Petro-plastics aren’t fundamentally all that bad, but they’re a missed opportunity. Fortunately, there is an alternative. Switching from petroleum-based polymers to polymers that are biologically based could decrease carbon emissions by hundreds of millions of tons every year. Bio-based polymers are not only renewable and more environmentally friendly to produce, but they can actually have a net beneficial effect on climate change by acting as a carbon sink. But not all bio-polymers are created equal.

EYE: Alessandra Ambrosio For Numero Russia #53 | Alessandra + Nicoli Oddi +Alanui | GlamTribal Woolly Mammoth Jewelry

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EYE: Alessandra Ambrosio For Numero Russia #53 | Alessandra + Nicoli Oddi +Alanui | GlamTribal Woolly Mammoth Jewelry

Supermodel and former Victoria’s Secret Angel Alessandra Ambrosio owns three covers of Numero Russia issue #53, edited with a look a fashion’s future: NATURAL, EDGY and SENSUAL. Ovidiu Buta styles Alessandra in a faux fur Max Mara coat, a MM6 Maison Margiela t-shirt, Comme des Garcons coat and more for images by Elio Nogueira.

Alessandra Ambrosio’s relationship with Nicolò Oddi is going strong.

Alessandra was first seen with Italian fashion designer Oddi at the September 2018 Green Carpet Fashion Awards in Milan.

Nicolò Oddi launched his fashion label, Alanui, in 2016 with his sister and business partner Carlotta Oddi. The label carries over-sized cardigans designed for the nomad in each of us with the brand’s name meaning “large path” in Hawaiian.

Halima Aden's TEDx Talk From Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya

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Halima Aden's TEDx Talk From Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya

Rising fashion star Halima Aden made another appearance in the pages of Vogue Arabia, posing in the November 2018 for images by An Le. The AOC post prompted me to circle back to watch Halima Aden’s TEDx Talk in Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp, now that it’s available online.

Aden expressed profound thanks for getting the opportunity to revisit the Kakuma, which was founded in 1992 and is currently home to more than 185,000 inhabitants. “This camp taught me so many lessons and I’m so grateful I had the chance to return,” the model told her 620,000 Instagram followers. “A lot has changed since I’ve left but we still have along way to go.” 

At this moment when refugees are under assault globally, including in America, Halima’s words are deeply felt here at AOC. I also found this essay expressing in words by Halima many of the concepts expressed in her TEDX talk, posted on Dream Refugee.org.

Immersed in trying to piece together all of the refugee models and their intersections with each other, I momentarily forgot my own words from April 1, in which I already wrote that Halima Aden and Adut Akech were both born in the same refugee camp: Kakuma.

Girl Baby Elephants Become Proxy Matriarchs At Kenya's Reteti Elephant Sanctuary

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Girl Baby Elephants Become Proxy Matriarchs At Kenya's Reteti Elephant Sanctuary

Sunday night has been elephant update night for Anne. My head is swimming in new information and stories. Before I venture out, let me share this charming, empathetic story in National Geographic about Kenya’s Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in Kenya.

A few weeks ago, AOC featured the entire short virtual reality film ‘My Africa’, narrated by Lupita Nyong’o and set among the Samburu people. The region of the film and this May, 2017 article includes the Turkana, Rendille, Borana, and Somali peoples — besides the Samburu. Knowledgeable about many of the civil wars that have ravaged Africa (and America) I’m not familiar with tensions in this area. The point of our story and ‘My Africa’ is how these ethnic groups are working together today to strengthen their communities while protecting the estimated 6,000 elephants, according to National Geographic, who share the land.

In fact, I pursued the article because of this beautiful image of Mary Lengees, one of Reteti’s first female elephant keepers and Shyian. Upon landing at National Geographic, I felt a poignant moment for Shaba, a little female elephant who is now the boss. So much has been written about the great elephant matriarchs, strong leaders who sleep hardly at all to protect their herd.

The notion of a baby girl elephant’s natural instincts taking hold, making her the leader and caretaker long before her time is due reminds me of stories of young girls with countless siblings — too many for mom to manage — or even orphan girls with young brothers and sisters who suddenly rise to positions of leadership, almost out of instinct.

Handmaiden Topiary Trees Are Preparing A Holiday WH Invasion In Hopes Of A National Do-Over

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Melania Trump wants the nation to celebrate a holiday invasion of morbid, blood-sucking topiary trees devoid of magic or inspiration. What she doesn't understand is each topiary houses a Handmaid's Tale activist seeking REVENGE on her husband.

Remember the Trojan War from Greek History when ODYSSEUS and his men entered Troy in the wooden horse? Well, when all those blood-sucking trees start moving towards The Donald while he chows down on cheese burgers in bed, even FOX News won't be able to help him. Trump is terrified of germs (TRUTH not satire) so imagine his heartfelt response when he looks up and sees that he is under attack by an invasion of blood-thirsty topiary trees, each carrying a living, breathing, ranting Handmaiden seeking justice. Sweet! ~ Anne

For the real story on yet another Melania Trump style flop, read about America’s joyous holiday decorations at Vanity Fair.

Mississippi Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith Celebrates Mississippi Confederacy At Every Opportunity

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“I ENJOYED MY TOUR OF BEAUVOIR. THE JEFFERSON DAVIS HOME AND PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY LOCATED IN BILOXI,” HYDE-SMITH WROTE IN A CAPTION ON THIS PHOTOS POSTED TO HER FB PAGE IN 2014. DAVIS WAS THE CONFEDERATE PRESIDENT DURING THE CIVIL WAR. HIS FORMER ESTATE NOW SERVES AS A MUSEUM AND LIBRARY IN HIS HONOR.

“THIS IS A MUST SEE,” HYDE-SMITH WROTE. “CURRENTLY ON DISPLAY ARE ARTIFACTS CONNECTED TO THE DAILY LIFE OF THE CONFEDERATE SOLDIER INCLUDING WEAPONS. MISSISSIPPI HISTORY AT ITS BEST!”

Mississippi Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith Celebrates Mississippi Confederacy At Every Opportunity

U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith attended and graduated from a segregation academy that was set up so that white parents could avoid having to send their children to schools with black students, a yearbook reveals. Hyde-Smith enrolled her own daughter at Brookhaven Academy, another Mississippi segregation school founded in 1970, the Jackson Free Press reported.

The latest race-related battle around Tuesday’s Mississippi Senate race with Democrat Mike Espy follows a recent leaked tape in which Hyde-Smith said that she would gladly attend a “public hanging” is one of her supporters invited her. The statement was outrageous, given Mississippi’s history as the lynching capital of the United States.

One of the most famous lynchings in Mississippi was the savage and brutal death of 14-year old Chicago child Emmett Till.

Hyde-Smith is very proud of Mississippi history and has no hesitation to celebrate the segregated south, saying that the Confederacy represents “Mississippi history at its best.”

I thought of Hillary Clinton, when reading this story. At considerable personal risk to herself, then 24-year-old law student Hillary was working for Marian Wright Edelman, the civil rights activist and prominent advocate for children. Mrs. Edelman had sent her to Alabama in 1972 to help prove that the Nixon administration was not enforcing the legal ban on granting tax-exempt status to so-called segregation academies, the estimated 200 private academies that sprang up in the South to cater to white families after a 1969 Supreme Court decision forced public schools to integrate.

Hillary posed as a young wife, telling the guidance counselor of a seg school that her husband had just taken a job in Dothan, that they were a churchgoing family and that they were looking for a school for their son.

Like many white activists from the North who traveled south to help on civil rights issues, Mrs. Clinton confronted a different world in Dothan, separate and unequal, and a sting of injustice she had previously only read about.

Third Love Lingerie's Heidi Zak Pens Open Letter To Victoria's Secret After Razek Interview

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THIRDLOVE CEO HEIDI ZAK (L); L BRANDS CMO ED RAZEK (R)

Third Love Lingerie's Heidi Zak Pens Open Letter To Victoria's Secret After Razek Interview

The fallout from L Brands CMO Ed Razek’s now infamous Vogue interview in advance of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show continued with the publication of ThirdLove's co-founder and co-CEO, Heidi Zak’s open letter to Victoria’s Secret, published in Sunday’s New York Times.

In a long list of frankly stupid comments from a smart man I worked with for years, Razek cited his small but mighty ThirdLove competitor in the lingerie space, saying “We’re nobody’s ThirdLove, we’re their first love.” Pissed off people protested over Razek’s arrogance, particularly in view of Victoria’s Secret and PINK’s current death spiral in revenue. It was not a moment to give women and men one more reason not to shop Victoria’s Secret at the critical holiday season.

TOMS Shoes Launches Anti-Gun Violence Campaign With $5 Million Donation + Background Checks Campaign

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TOMS Shoes Launches Anti-Gun Violence Campaign With $5 Million Donation + Background Checks Campaign

TOMS’ Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie is expanding his already legendary activism and philanthropy. The recent deadly shooting that left 13 dead in Thousand Oaks, Calif grabbed Mycoskie’s brain, telling him thoughts and prayers for yet another mass shooting in America, weren’t cutting it.

The shoe company is well known for its “One for One” program (you buy a pair, they give a pair), which has expanded now to also providing safe water and eyeglasses to communities in need. TOMS has never engaged in political action.

 Mycoskie made a $5 million dollar donation on behalf of his Los Angeles-based company to a diverse coalition of anti-gun violence organizations, making it the largest public corporate donation toward gun violence in America’s history.

In addition to the donation — which benefits organizations like March for Our Lives, Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action, among others — Mycoskie launched a Toms campaign called "End Gun Violence Together," aimed at engaging citizens with the gun violence epidemic in America.

The initial focus is a call for universal background checks before a gun is sold. The initiative is supported by 90% of Americans but not Trump’s Republican Party. Jimmy Fallon filled out his postcard on Jimmy Fallon’s ‘The Tonight Show’ Monday night, with Tom’s producing an actual postcard w/the sender’s name and zip code. I just filled out mine.

TOMS’ retail stores and social media are also part of the project and will become advocacy centers.

Emily Ratajkowski Launches M / RATA Lingerie On Nov. 22, Adding Another Wound To Victoria's Secret

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Emily Ratajkowski Launches M / RATA Lingerie On Nov. 22, Adding Another Wound To Victoria's Secret

Victoria’s Secret is about to get another lingerie sector challenger with the announcement that Emily Ratajkowski is launching a new lingerie line called M / RATA in a collab with Blush Lingerie. Ratajkowski’s new baby will make its debut on November 22, 2018 just in time for the holidays.

M / RATA lingerie is committed to ethical manufacturing under the Blush umbrella, reflecting the growing demands and concerns especially among younger consumers. The rules governing its manufacturing practices are posted on the company’s website.

M / RATA by Blush is also committed to size inclusivity, a topic that haunted Victoria’s Secret once again after the brand’s recent, tone-deaf Vogue.com interview by VS pros Ed Razek and Monica Mitro.

Robyn Denholm, A Chairwoman Co-driver for Elon Musk at Tesla

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Robyn Denholm, A Chairwoman Co-driver for Elon Musk at Tesla

By Isabelle Chaboud, Associate Professor of Financial Analysis, Audit and Risk Management, Grenoble School of Management (GEM). First published in The Conversation la France.

Robyn Denholm, 55, was officially named on November 7, 2018 to replace the iconic Elon Musk as chairman of the board of Tesla, the US electric vehicle manufacturer. Why this choice ? Is it announcing a desire to profoundly reform a governance questioned by certain investors? Can she tame the whimsical boss? And can she really play her role independently?

The appointment comes in the wake of the SEC's sanctions against Elon Musk after the famous tweet of August 7, 2018, in which the automaker's boss said he planned to withdraw Tesla from the $ 420 stock market with guaranteed financing. Elon Musk had been fined $ 20 million and resigned as chairman of Tesla's board of directors. A function that he has been prohibited from exercising for at least three years. While some investors and stakeholders may welcome the separation of power between the CEO and the new Chair of the Board, others may see a new blow of communication and ask questions about the real independence of Robyn Denholm.

Why Robyn Denholm?

How We Arrived At A $1 Billion Annual Price Tag To Save Africa’s Lions

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How We Arrived At A $1 Billion Annual Price Tag To Save Africa’s Lions

By Luke Hunter, Chief Conservation Officer of Panthera, Research Associate, University of KwaZulu-Natal Research Fellow; originally published on The Conversation

A billion dollars. That’s approximately what it would cost, to save the African lion. That’s a billion dollars each year, every year into the foreseeable future.

The startling price tag comes from a calculation we did, starting with a new database we compiled of available funding in protected areas with lions. To our knowledge it’s the most comprehensive and up-to-date database of its kind.

Protected areas are the cornerstone of conservation yet we found that most of Africa’s extraordinary parks face grave funding shortfalls. Parks without funding often become protected in name only. Their staff, including the rangers and guards on the frontlines, simply cannot function without funds that pay for working equipment, rations, petrol and to keep the electricity running. Sometimes even salaries go unpaid.

Using the conservation needs of lions as a proxy for wildlife more generally, we compiled a dataset of funding in Africa’s protected areas with lions and estimated a minimum target for conserving the species and managing the areas effectively.

'See Know Evil' Documentary By Charles Curran Revisits Davide Sorrenti Story & Rise Of Heroin Chic

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'See Know Evil' Documentary By Charles Curran Revisits Davide Sorrenti Story & Rise Of Heroin Chic

On May 20, 1997, Amy M. Spindler wrote for the New York Times about the fatal heroin overdose of the promising young photographer David Sorrenti, 20. Spindler questioned the degree of complicity the entire fashion industry embraced in the advancement of the trend known as ‘heroin chic’.

Unlike the music industry, which has rallied with interventions and programs to get musicians off drugs, or the film industry, where known users have been subjected to drug tests for insurance on movies, the fashion industry has done little to combat the problem among the young in its ranks. The only event mounted to commemorate Mr. Sorrenti's death was a photo exhibition in his memory, called the ''Art of Fashion Photography,'' at a Flatiron district studio during March fashion week in New York. The drugged-looking photos from Detour were on view at that show.

In May 1997, President Clinton denounced the American fashion industry for cynically abusing teenagers and helping spread heroin usage to a new and younger group of people. “Some fashion leaders are admitting flat-out that images projected in fashion photos in the last few years have made heroin addiction seem glamorous and sexy and cool," President Clinton stated. “And as some of the people in those images start to die now, it's become obvious that is not true. The glorification of heroin is not creative, it's destructive. It's not beautiful, it is ugly. And this is not about art, it's about life and death. And glorifying death is not good for any society.”

As his name implies, Davide Sorrenti came from a family of photographers including his mother Francesca, his older brother Mario and sister, Vanina — “the Corleones” of fashion photography according to Francesca. His girlfriend and muse at the time Jaime King had her own struggles with heroin use, writes Models.com.

A key reason for the Naples-born Sorrenti family coming to New York in the early 1980s was Davide’s painful blood condition, Cooley’s anemia. The disease required frequent blood transfusions and caused the young Sorrenti to look even younger than his age.

Last week Charlie Curran premiered his seven-year-in-the-making documentary “See Know Evil”, a film attempting to tell Davide’s story, at Manhattan’s SVA Theatre, A second screening was held Thursday night, November 15.

Eye: Beyoncé's Parkwood Entertainment Buys Out Sir Philip Green's 50% Stake In Ivy Park Amid #MeToo Claims

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Eye: Beyoncé's Parkwood Entertainment Buys Out Sir Philip Green's 50% Stake In Ivy Park Amid #MeToo Claims

Earlier this week, Ivy Park, the sporty brand owned by Beyonce and Sir Philip Green, the chairman of the conglomerate of Arcadia, that owns Topshop, released its Resort 2019 lookbook.

Behind the scenes, choppy waters threatened to capsize the business love boat, as Green was named as the man center stage in Britain’s newest high-profle #MeToo story. In spite of a court-ordered gag order, Lord Peter Hain, a member of Parliament, named Green in the House of Lords, saying felt it was his “duty under parliamentary privilege to name Philip Green as the individual in question given that the media have been subject to an injunction preventing publication of the full details of this story which is clearly in the public interest.” He also said the allegations were of a “serious and repeated” nature and he had them heard from someone “intimately involved in the case.” via The Cut.

The Telegraph has spent the past eight months investigating Green’s multiple accusations of sexual harassment, racially-based abuse, bullying, and misuse of non-disclosure agreements to hide his misdeeds.  

Hours ago on Thursday Novembefr 15, Beyoncé’s Ivy Park became solely owned by her company Parkwood Entertainment, after she acquired Green’s 50 percent share of the label, launched with Green in 2016. The BBC reports have been that activists — including Equality Now — have been pressuring Beyoncé’s camp to divest from the partnership, pointing out her avowed allegiance to feminist principles.

“Beyoncé has put herself forward as a women’s rights activist. She and her team need to look closely at these allegations,” Equality Now’s Yasmeen Hassan told the BBC in October.

Another activist, Nimco Ali, said: "Beyoncé should say 'I don't want to work with Philip Green'."

Adut Akech Covers Vogue Australia December 2018 With In-Depth Look At Life + Family

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Adut Akech Covers Vogue Australia December 2018 With In-Depth Look At Life + Family

It’s been a phenomenal time for Adelaide, Australia’s rising star model Adut Akech. Launched as a Saint Laurent exclusive beginning in September 2016, she became the second black woman to ever close a Chanel fashion show, finding herself center stage with Karl Lagerfeld in the Chanel Haute Couture Fall 2018 presentation. In between these major fashion career milestones, Adut was center stage in Tim Walker’s 2018 Pirelli calendar, with its first all-black cast.

Now the former refugee finds herself on the cover of Vogue Australia’s December issue, in a feature about her life, her friends and family, even her school. Adut is also one of four models covering separate issues of British Vogue’s December issue.

Jillian Davison styles Adut, with photography by Charles Dennington. Alice Birrell conducts the interview.