Robin Wright Talks 'House of Cards' Finale, Pour Les Femmes Clothing Project For Porter Edit August 31, 2018

Robin Wright Talks 'House of Cards' Finale, Pour Les Femmes Clothing Project For Porter Edit August 31, 2018

'House of Cards' star, activist, humanitarian, entrepreneur, mom and newlywed Robin Wright covers the August 31 issue of Porter Edit. Helen Broadfoot styles Wright in relaxed, casual looks including multiple selections from Pour Les Femmes, her new clothing project inspired by Wright's first trip to the Congo over 10 years ago.  Lensed by Boo George, Robin Wright will be spending plenty of time in Paris, having married Clément Giraudet, Saint Laurent VIP relations manager in mid-August.  

The interview spends too much time on the disgraced Kevin Spacey -- although the dialogue is worth the read -- and not enough time on the women in the Congo, people far more important to Robin Wright than the former star president of 'House of Cards'.

AOC has covered all the topics in Wright's reflection on her involvement in the Congo. While we pull them together, the humanitarian activist reflects on her socially conscious clothing line Pour les Femmes:

The story behind the brand is pretty powerful: inspired by a trip to Congo over 10 years ago, Wright started the company with her friend Karen Fowler to provide economic opportunities – and a skilled trade in sewing – for women in conflict zones around the world. The range consists largely of pajamas, partly because both of them love to sleep (“I wish I could sleep like a teenager. But I love being in bed, working in bed, watching movies in bed,” says Wright), but also because pajamas represent comfort and security, which women in war-torn regions rarely have. “Buy our pajamas because you are helping a woman start her life again after being raped repeatedly,” she says, frankly. “It’s pretty simple.”

Dior Launches 'Joy' With Jennifer Lawrence As Face Behind Its Third Pillar Fragrance

Dior Launches 'Joy' With Jennifer Lawrence As Face Behind Its Third Pillar Fragrance

Joy' by Dior is a big deal for the luxury house, becoming its third pillar fragrance for women, following Miss Dior (launched in 1947) and J'Adore Dior (1999). Consider a pillar fragrance the mother goddess brand -- Gaia, if you will -- from which all streams flow. The subbrands are like children: J'Adore Dior gave birth to J'Adore L'Or and J'Adore L'Absolu. 

Everything about Joy by Dior is aimed at millennials. “The company had evolved and grown on these two pillars,” said Claude Martinez, chief executive officer of Parfums Christian Dior. “And, three years ago, we felt it was about time to add another one that appealed to the next generation of consumers. … The new generation in Europe and the U.S. — people in their 20s, I’m talking about — are not that much in favor of fragrances. They are disconnected. A brand like Dior needs to be able to talk to them.”

Jennifer Lawrence is the perfect face, says Martinez. "She's very spontaneous . . . She can be laughing one second and crying the next. . . . Joy doesn't last forever. It can disappear as fast as it appears" and for us, Jennifer "is the true incarnation of this joy."

Lawrence had a hand in shaping the new Dior scent according to the man who created it. “It was about six months into the project when she came to visit the laboratory,” said François Demachy, the Parfums Christian Dior perfumer-creator. 

Chopard Adds Sustainable Garden of Paradise Fragrances To Growing Green Credentials

Chopard Adds Sustainable Garden of Paradise Fragrances To Growing Green Credentials

The Financial Times How To Spend It Magazine turns our focus to eco-perfumes and an interesting entry into the fragrance category by watchmaker and jeweler Chopard's Garden of Paradise fragrances. 

Chopard was the first watchmaker and jeweller in the world to enable small scale mining communities to reach Fairmined certification as well as provide training, social welfare and environmental support. With a multi-year track record of high credibility in the sustainability sector, Chopard reaffirms its commitment to honoring both the earth and its everyday laborers toiling for the luxury market by introducing the first perfumes composed of ingredients from the Naturals Together programme.

Chopard first stepped out in the sustainable luxury sector at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival with the launch of the High Jewellery Green Carpet Collection, guided by Caroline Scheufele in partnership with Eco-Age and its creative Director Livia Firth. 

Arbitrator Stephen Burbank Rules That Colin Kaepernick NFL Collusion Case Will Proceed

Arbitrator Stephen Burbank Rules That Colin Kaepernick NFL Collusion Case Will Proceed

New York Magazine reports that on Thursday an arbitrator rejected the NFL's request to dismiss Colin Kaepernick's collusion grievance against the National Football League. As a result, the case will move to a trial-like hearing not open to the public. 

Arbitrator Stephen Burbank ruled that Kaepernick has enough evidence to pursue his claim that NFL owners have acted in collusion against him in not hiring him to play in the league. Kaepernick is seeking damages equal to what he would have earned if he were still playing in the league. Kaepernick could be awarded compensatory damages for the pay he lost due to collusion, in addition to punitive damages, potentially totaling tens of millions of dollars.

The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback began protesting police violence against African Americans by taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem. The protest action created enormous criticism from President Trump, even though taking a knee is a historical form of civil rights protests, and the national anthem was not part of NFL proceedings until the US military became a major NFL sponsor. 

French Open Bans Serena Williams From Wearing Life-Saving, Anti-Blood Clot Catsuit

French Open Bans Serena Williams From Wearing Life-Saving, Anti-Blood Clot Catsuit

Serena Williams wasn't trying to be some slutty woman of color when she wore her black Nike catsuit before dropping out of the 2018 French Open with an injury. Williams dealt with a life-threatening, post-pregnancy blot clot scare in 2017.  The G.O.A.T. dedicated her ultimate power suit to "all the moms out there who had a tough recovery from pregnancy" on Instagram. 

Serena agreed that the design was a partial nod to 'Black Panther'. "I call it, like, my Wakanda-inspired catsuit." The French Tennis Federation will have no more Wakanda-inspired dress on its professional tennis courts, banning Serena -- or any of her wannabes -- from wearing similar sartorial outfits in the future.

Bernard Giudicelli, the president of the French Tennis Federation, told Tennis magazine her catsuit was specifically a problem. “It will no longer be accepted. One must respect the game and the place,” he said. “I think that sometimes we’ve gone too far.”

Just to be clear, Williams' suit had a potentially live-saving functionality. As a full-body compression garment, it was designed to help with blood clots, a life-threatening health issue Serena's dealt with frequently. Williams was sidelined for a year, with several blod clots in both lungs in 2011. And when she was giving birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia, last year, she had a pulmonary embolism that could have killed her. It was only her own knowledge of these life-threatening problems that demanded medical action when doctors and nurses were oblivious to what was happening.

“I had a lot of problems with my blood clots, and, God, I don’t know how many I have had in the past 12 months. So it is definitely a little functionality to it,” Williams said of the suit. “I have been wearing pants in general a lot when I play, so I can keep the blood circulation going. It’s a fun suit but it’s also functional, so I can be able to play without any problems.”

Giudicelli said the rules won’t be as strict as Wimbledon, which makes everyone wear white, but they will be asking designers to give them an advance look at designs for players and will “impose certain limits.”

A Sexy Hailey Baldwin Sends Vogue Mexico Balenciaga Message For UN World Food Programme

A Sexy Hailey Baldwin Sends Vogue Mexico Balenciaga Message For UN World Food Programme

On the heels of my comments on the new VS 'Tease Rebel' fragrance campaign, Hailey Baldwin drops into the pages of Vogue Mexico's September 2018 issue. It's a perfect setup to ask: What's sexy now?

Hailey's wearing a Balenciaga hoodie with the WFP logo is part of that conversation, one that AOC has engaged around with readers for a decade: : the rise of  Smart Sensuality Women who are smart, sexy and have great heart. 

When Demna Gvasalia became creative director of Balenciaga, one of his first moves was to unveil a partnership with the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, the World Food Programme. Vice wrote: "Rooted in Balenciaga’s conviction to be a pacemaker for positive change, this partnership uses fashion to engage global consumers with the issue of hunger and to raise awareness of the World Food Programme‘s work in emergencies and with local communities to build resilience."

“It’s about using fashion as a tool of communication,” Gvasalia explained post-show while wearing a co-branded WFP logo-adorned cap with its ‘Saving Lives, Changing Lives’ slogan written on its side. “Now as a designer, if I create a graphic, it has to mean more,” he added.

“We consider this partnership to be an important step in making fashion useful in a different way and supporting good causes with our products whenever possible.”

In no way am I suggesting that Victoria's Secret should strike a partnership with the UN. But they need to strike a partnership around a genuine values set that resonates with a very changing branding landscape. Hailey Baldwin may be flashing a priceless engagement ring in these sensual images but she's also embracing a larger set of humanitarian values under assault worldwide.

Hailey is styled by Celia Azoulay in casual denim and cozy sweater looks lensed by Bjorn Iooss. / Hair by Joey George; makeup by Fulvia Farolfi. 

VS Angel Taylor Hill Fronts 'Tease Rebel' Fragrance Campaign -- Is This Sexy Now?

VS Angel Taylor Hill Fronts 'Tease Rebel' Fragrance Campaign

Victoria's Secret Angel Taylor Hill stars in the brand's new fragrance 'Tease Rebel', a companion for its signature 'Tease' fragrance. Hill anchors the rebel message wearing branded hoodies, form-fitting jeans and leather jackets. 

One wonders if the rebellious floral with notes of wild rose, two types of violets and white leather is the brand boost that VS needs right now.  Reflecting yesterday on another quarter of weak sales for Victoria's Secret, the Wall Street Journal writes: "The brand is still struggling as young consumers now prefer more authentic marketing and garments that resemble crop tops, with simple sizing and lower prices."

Young consumers know that there is nothing rebellious about Victoria's Secret, a brand that takes a stand on nothing that runs against the mass-opinion current. And post Parkland students and #MeToo, VS is feeling very old-fashioned these days. Being a 'tease' is not a positive message for millions of American women -- and global, too -- sorting out the #MeToo movement.  Young consumers want to own their sexuality and their bodies Rihanna style: sexy yes, but deeply close to her followers and supporters and a global activist to boot. 

As a VS veteran, I love the brand but left over primarily marketing and positioning issues. Loop Capital analyst Laura Champine recently dubbed Victoria’s Secret the “Sears of Brassieres', a true gut punch insult to the world's biggest lingerie brand. LikeFast Company, I've written about the decline of VS for years. Their May 2018 comments about the brand's marketing ring tightly with my own around branding like Rebel Tease:

The lingerie brand still dominates the market, but it hasn’t altered its marketing, which focuses on being sexy for a male audience. The brand’s flagship event, a massive fashion show where supermodels don angel’s wings and diamond-studded bras, seems anachronistic in the current #MeToo moment.

AS VS sales continue to plummet, the Victoria's Secret brand needs to look beyond product categories and into its very soul. Headlines like Business Insider's RBC: Victoria's Secret is trading at 'negative value' from Aug. 21 are not good. Let's hope a new breed of modern women angels whisper some sweet nothings into the ear of VS marketing genius and primary stockholder Les Wexner.

Marie Claire US September 2018 Issue Devoted To Immigration In America & Women Immigrants

Marie Claire US September 2018 Issue Devoted To Immigration In America & Women Immigrants

The September 2018 issue of Marie Claire US devotes its entire issue to the talents and contributions "of female authors, executives, actresses, athletes, designers (all of whom have become activists)—including Priyanka Chopra, Constance Wu, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Maria Cornejo, among other equally formidable women—with roots in foreign lands."

After a huge dose of womanly inspiration, Marie Claire gets down to business with these timely articles:

1)The Women Fixing How the US Treats Immigrants; 2)True Stories from the Border and 3) Easy Ways to Help Immigrant Kids Right Now

Flipping on Marie Claire's first story, in walks Laurene Powell Jobs and her Emerson Collective.

Known for their focus on education and publishing (They now own The Atlantic), the Emerson Collective is developing a major arm to help immigrants and asylum seekers. In the image at the top, I'm pretty sure that's JR with Jobs.

Carine Roitfeld Breaks Ranks With Gigi & Halima Promoting UNICEF USA & Doing Good In CR Fashionbook #23

Carine Roitfeld Breaks Ranks With Gigi & Halima Promoting UNICEF USA & Doing Good In CR Fashionbook #23

Models Gigi Hadid and Halima Aden cover CR Fashion Book Issue 13, an issue dedicated to UNICEF USA, according to editor Carine Roitfeld.  Carine broke away from the fashion pack with her fall issue, dedicated to doing good by raising awareness for the global children's relief organization with two of its newest ambassadors Hadid, the half Palestinian daughter of a Syrian refugee and Aden, a Somali refugee and prominent Muslim, hijab-wearing model. 

“The state of fashion media is absolutely in flux so it was really important for me to use my existing platform for good,” Roitfeld told The Hollywood Reporter. Choosing to spotlight UNICEF USA was a response to the international news. According to the organization, “more children are on the move now than at any point since World War II,” notes Roitfeld, the editor of Vogue Paris for a decade before founding CR Fashion Book in 2012.

Reflecting on the state of magazines generally, Carine Roitfeld says: "It’s difficult for me to talk about the future because things are constantly changing. Over 15 years ago I was asked this question while everyone was going digital and no one knew what was going to happen. Print survived then and it’s still trying to survive now," she says. "Today we are up against social media, which is a blessing and curse. People have much more access in real time — they don’t want to wait until an issue hits stands to read something. I think maybe some magazines will stay but they have to be very beautiful, like a collector’s item. They have to feature people and topics that are unique, that stand out but also resonate globally.”

Yasmin Le Bon Test Drives Ford Mustang GT For Vanity Fair UK September 2018

Yasmin Le Bon Test Drives Ford Mustang GT For Vanity Fair UK September 2018

Yasmin Le Bon buckles up in 'Fast Forward', styled by Hannah Teare. Photographer Matt Holyoak flashes Le Bon in her city test drive of a Ford Mustang GT for Vanity Fair UK September 2018 (En Route Supplement)./ Hair by Paul Donocan; makeup by Liz Pugh

Le Bon's critique of the car is surely an example of future editorial relationships between magazines and sponsors. The editorial doesn't say sponsored content -- and I agree with that decision, although others would not. Vanity Fair is hemorrhaging money and new sources of income must be developed. I personally subscribed to the magazine recently, to gain total access to all the content,  as it's going behind a tight pay wall. 

New grandmother Le Bon strikes a perfect balance with her newsy critique of the car that's filled with details about her own life and what the Mustang GT has meant to her over the decades. She doesn't give it 5-stars and yet there's a lot of solid, positive accolades for Mustang to market around the article. 

The New York Times' Vanessa Friedman was critical of Vanity Fair US's September 2018 cover with Michelle Williams wearing Louis Vuitton but not writing 'sponsored cover' . Williams is a LV ambassador and she was photographed by new LV photographer Collier Schorr. I could argue that this is also a boost for women photographers. This complex relationship between journalism and business reminds me of the dating game profile option "it's complicated". Knowing how difficult it is to make money online in a world where consumers think everything shold be free or very cheap, I will refrain from the criticism. 

Dionni Tabbers & Charlie Dupont Are Scalding In Honey Birdette Lingerie Fall 2018 Campaign

Dionni Tabbers & Charlie Dupont Are Scalding In Honey Birdette Lingerie Fall 2018 Campaign

Australian lingerie label Honey Birdette creates sensual drama with a provocative, sexually-charged new campaign Indecent Manor. Shot on a picturesque estate in the South of France, the campaign features the always sizzling Dutch bombshell Dioni Tabbers and fierce French brunette Charlie Dupont.

The two beauties engage in a hot affair lasting only one weekend, before visiting the estate’s chapel to confess their sins. The campaign features 11 new lingerie collections infused with decadence and steeped in old world luxury and religious symbolism. Inspired by rich European textures, these predominantly dark collections are brought to life with iridescent metallic motifs, embossed embellishment and gilded embroidery layered over crystal tulle, fine lace and form-flattering cuts.

#MeToo Leader Asia Argento Paid Her Own 17 Year-Old Accuser $380,000 For His Silence

#MeToo Leader Asia Argento Paid Her Own 17 Year-Old Accuser $380.000 For His Silence

I slept in this am, being just drained from work. I read yesterday about CNN making a documentary about the extraordinary human Anthony Bourdain, who committed suicide a few months ago. I miss him so much.

And now I wake up this morning to read that Bourdain's girlfriend Asia Argento, one of Harvey Weinstein's chief accusers of rape in 1997 and a leading figure in the #MeToo movement, quietly arranged to pay $380,000 for her own alleged assault against Jimmy Bennett when he was 17 and she 37.

UN Ambassador Gigi Hadid Visits Jamtoli Refugee Camp In Bangladesh, Housing Rohingya Muslims

UN Ambassador Gigi Hadid Visits Jamtoli Refugee Camp In Bangladesh, Housing Rohingya Muslims

Gigi Hadid has embarked on her first humanitarian mission as a UNICEF ambassador, visiting the Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh as part of a United Nations Children’s Fund initiative. The part Palestinian model is documenting her visit with Muslim children in Cox's Bazaar's Jamtoli Refugee Camp on her Instagram account. The Jamtoli Refugee Camp is currently home to approximately 45,000 Rohingya refugees who escaped Myanmar after the 2012 riots that resulted in the displacement of over 90,000 people.

The 23-year-old showed her 40 million followers a football game with some of the children, along with this text:

“As well as psychosocial work to help them get through trauma through activities like art, they also can play sports, learn music, and learn to read & draw (some for the first time in their lives). Separate from educational spaces, the importance of these spaces is huge due to the fact that refugee children can spend a majority of the day working, usually collecting fire wood from miles away so their families can cook, taking care of siblings, helping around the house, etc., and here they can just focus on having fun!”

Hadid also visited the ‘Women/Girl Friendly’ zones in the Jamtoli Camp: a safe place for females, young and old, to come learn basic education as well as personal hygiene, skills such as sewing, and also a place where they can share and connect with other women and girls.

AOC missed the June announcement that Gigi Hadid was joining HM Queen Rania of Jordan, Serena Williams, Priyanka Chopra and Katy Perry as a UNICEF International Ambassador.  We've never been critical of Gigi, including when she speaks in support of Palestinians, but it thrills us extra, when she puts her celebrity status to good works like this visit to Bangladesh. This is true beauty!!

Killer Mike Joins Atlanta's High Museum Board, Talks Arts Education & Inclusivity

Kerry James Marshall's 'Past Times' 1997 Image, private collection of rapper and Atlanta High Museum Board Member Michael Render

Killer Mike Joins Atlanta's High Museum Board, Talks Arts Education & Inclusivity

Atlanta’s High Museum of Art has been unusually successful in attracting young people and people of color to the museum in recent years. Now, Killer Mike, the 43-year-old rapper, who is a committed activist and father of four, is the newest member appointed to the board

Killer Mike, whose given name is Michael Render, is known for hard-hitting, hip hop rhymes about income inequality, police brutality, and systemic racism, topics that also infuse his political commentary and activism. The rapper garnered headlines with Democratic progressives in 2016 with his embrace of Bernie Sanders. Render has become a sought-after contributor on the news and political panels, and a guest lecturer at some of America’s top colleges and universities with his articulated views on the intersection of art and culture.

Beyond the headlines, Killer Mike has deep roots in the visual arts (he turned down several fine art scholarships to pursue a career in music), his appointment to the board of Atlanta's major American museum is uncharted territory for the Atlanta native. Killer Mike is up for the challenge.

In a conversation with artnet News, the rapper outlined his goals to increase African American and working-class attendance at the High. Render also touched on the importance of arts education, the role of public schools, and the convergence of the art world and hip hop in recent years.."

KERRY JAMES MARSHALL’S PAST TIMES (1997). IMAGE COURTESY OF SOTHEBY’S.

The Blame Game: Taylor Swift Delivers Emotional Thank You; PA Condemns Over 300 Priests As Perpetrators Of Sexual Abuse

The Blame Game: Taylor Swift Delivers Emotional Thank You; PA Condemns Over 300 Priests As Perpetrators Of Sexual Abuse

It's a year ago that Taylor Swift won her sexual assault case against Colorado DJ David Mueller, who sued her for $3 million in damages after she claimed he placed his hand under her skirt and grabbed her butt hile posing for a photo. Swift filed a countersuit asking for a symbolic $1 in damages, which the jury awarded her in winning her case. 

Swift addresed the issue during an emotional speech for her Tampa Reputation concert. Thanking her fans for their support while stressing the need for better justice for sexual assault victims, Taylor said: "I guess I just think about all the people that weren’t believed and people who haven’t been believed and the people who are afraid to speak up because they think they won’t be believed. And I just wanted to say that I’m sorry to anyone who ever wasn’t believed because I don’t know what turn my life would take if people didn’t believe me when I said that something had happened to me. And so I guess I just wanted to say that we have so, so, so much further to go, and I’m so grateful to you guys for being there for me during what was a really, really horrible part of my life." viaELLE US

The pop star's words ring so relevant this morning, with publication of "a searing report" about bishops and other leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Pennsylvania covering up child sexual abuse by more than 300 priests over 70 years. The report covered six of the state's eight Catholic dioceses, identifying more tha 1,000 victims of sexual abuse at the hands of priests. 

The World Needs More Staircases of Knowledge Like The University of Balamand in Lebanon

The World Needs More Staircases of Knowledge Like The University of Balamand in Lebanon

In a moment when Trump is just dumbling down America, it was so refreshing to find this images of 'The Staircase of Knowledge' located at the University of Balamand in Lebanon. Sasaki Architects explain the misson of the university and creates context around the staircase. 

The University of Balamand, established twenty years ago in the aftermath of the Lebanese civil war, occupies a spectacular site in North Lebanon on a steep hillside overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Established by the Orthodox Church, the university is committed to promoting understanding between the Christian and Muslim faiths, and to developing a secular education based on dialogue, transparency, and resistance to dogma and fundamentalism. The university plans rapid expansion over the next twenty years to an enrollment of 5,000, drawing students from throughout the Middle East. Sasaki's master plan accommodates this expansion while reflecting the university's overall goals. A dominant theme of the plan is a Path of Learning that links the secular—expressed by an ancient stone-vaulted goat house restored as a faculty center at the upper end of the campus—to the spiritual, expressed by a thousand-year-old Orthodox monastery at the lower end of the campus. 

'Crazy Rich Asians' Star Constance Wu Is Lensed By Max Abadian For Fashion Magazine Canada

'Crazy Rich Asians' Star Constance Wu Is Lensed By Max Abadian For Fashion Magazine Canada

Actor Constance Wu believed a starring role in 'Crazy Rich Asaians' was not in her destiny. "Crazy Rich Asians" would be the first studio-made Asian-American movie in 25 years, and Wu's shooting schedule for her sitcom 'Fresh Off the Boat' was a total conflict with this golden opportunity.  Constance Wu, who has been a front line crusader for Asian-American representation in Hollywood, would have to sit this historic moment out.

Then she had one more grade A idea worthy of her crazy Asian diva reputation. With her penchant for drama, Wu composed an email to the director of 'Crazy Rich Asianas', director Jon M. Chu. 

"I said, I know the dates don't work out and whoever you cast, I will be the first in line and I will be their No. 1 fan and supporter, but I did want to let you know that I would put 110 percent of my heart into this project and I know what to do with it and how to carry a movie and if you can just wait for me, I don't think you'll regret it," Wu, 36, said. "I did NOT think this email would work. I did it more for me so that I felt that I had told my truth. But then he read it and said, "You guys, we've got to push the production."

She got her part, and Constance Wu is making daily headlines deadlines with the launch of 'Crazy Rich Asians'.  In these images, Max Abadian captures the star for the September 2018 issue of Fashion Magazine Canada./ Hair by Derek Yuen; makeup by Jo Baker

Read the Interview with Greg Hudson

Serena Williams Will Wear Virgil Abloah Collab For Nike At US Open 2018

Serena Williams Will Wear Virgil Abloah Collab For Nike At US Open 2018

Serena Williams will wear a new Nike Collection, designed for her by Louis Vuitton's menswear designer Virgil Abloh, in the US Open tennis championship. The one-shoulder dress was inspired by Serena's love of ballet and dance. includes a ruffled, tulle skirt with “logo” printed above the Nike swoosh and “Serena” printed alongside the sleeve.

“What I love about tennis is the gracefulness. It’s an aggressive and powerful game, but it takes touch and finesse,” Abloh said in a statement. “So the dress is feminine, but combines her aggression. It’s partially revealing. It’s asymmetrical. It has a sort of ballerina-esque silhouette to symbolize her grace. It’s not about bells and whistles and tricks. It’s just about it living on the body, and expressing Serena’s spirit with each swing of the racket.”

Beehive Fences and Elephants: Tanzanian Case Study Offers Fresh Insights

Beehive Fences and Elephants: Tanzanian Case Study Offers Fresh Insights

When people cultivate food crops on or near wild lands it can be assumed that wild animals will eat them – what’s known as crop-raiding. Farms in the vicinity of protected areas can expect to be visited by a range of wild animals including birds, rodents, and large mammals like monkeys, bushpigs and elephants.

Because of their size, elephants are the most conspicuous crop-user and may, in addition to eating crops, trample farmers’ fields and break fences. Using nonlethal ways to deter elephants from farms is the most humane and effective defence long-term. But elephants are still being shot and killed, particularly if they threaten people or property.

Given that elephant numbers are dwindling, creative solutions need to be found to reduce crop losses and improve the chances of elephants and people coexisting.

Federal Court Reverses EPA Relaxing Ban On Chlorpyrifos, Gives Agency 60 Days To Reinstitute Ban

Federal Court Reverses EPA Relaxing Ban On Chlorpyrifos, Gives Agency 60 Days To Reinstitute Ban

The ninth circuit federal court on Thursday ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to ban chlorpyrifos, a pesticide widely linked to brain damage in kids. The court ruled in a 2-to-1 decision that the EPA offered “no defense” of its decision to delay a ban on chlorpyrifos ― a move the court said violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The law governs pesticides, mandating that the EPA ban chemicals from being used on food, if scientific evidence establishes that they cause harm. 

The agency has 60 days to finalize a ban initiated by the Obama Administration in November 2015.

The Trump administration's then head of the EPA Scott Pruitt reversed the ban on chlorpyrifos in March 2017, almost immediately after taking the office and with little explanation. 

Critics were furious with Pruitt and Trump for putting DOW Chemical profits ahead of the health of Americans. In a joint letter to Pruitt in June, the American Academy of Pediatrics and Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit advocacy group, said they were “deeply alarmed” by his decision. 

“EPA has no basis to allow continued use of chlorpyrifos, and its insistence in doing so puts all children at risk,” they wrote. 

The decision to relax rules around pesticides came at a time when Ivanka Trump was promoting feeding children organic food not contaminated by pesticides. Her silence on the proposed reversal of a chlorpyrifos ban was one of the earliest examples of Ivanka saying she stands for women and children, but then takes little positive action to help them, if it means disagreeing with her father. 

All concerned bloggers and activists noted at the time that now-retired Dow CEO Andrew Liveris was then the head of President Trump's new American Manufacturing Council. Oh, and he also donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration.

Dow celebrated Pruitt's actions on reversing the ban on chlorpyrifos and activists went to court. The Council headed by Dow's Liveris was disbanded after multiple CEOs refused to serve any longer after Trump equivocated in his remarks about white-nationalist violence in Charlottesville, one year ago this weekend. 

The absurdity of Ivanka Trump's silence at the time of the EPA actions contrasted with the advice given by her health coach on IvankaTrump.com:

“The average conventional apple is sprayed with over 45 different chemicals, including six that are known or suspected carcinogens, 16 suspected hormone disruptors, five neurotoxins (a.k.a brain cell killers), and six developmental or reproductive toxins… It is definitely worth the premium price tag.”

More than 24 studies have found "chlorpyrifos to be  a neurotoxin that very likely affects the development of children’s brains, most particularly if the exposure is prenatal." The pesticide was banned in residential use 17 years ago but continued to be used in agriculture.