• As the Titanic was the height of luxury in 1912, some celebrities had tickets for its maiden voyage.
• But not all of them ended up boarding the ship.
• J. Pierpont Morgan and Milton Hershey were among those who missed the disaster.

The sinking of the Titanic in April 1912 still captivates us today, with numerous books, a multibillion-dollar movie, museums, and, controversially, expensive tours of the wreckage available.

Interest in the ship led to another maritime tragedy last year when an OceanGate submersible went missing on the way to the wreckage and was eventually confirmed to have imploded, killing all five people on board.

In the aftermath, stories emerged about people invited to participate in one of OceanGate's trips but decided against it — much like, more than 100 years ago, how people were fascinated with those who had almost been on the Titanic.

Here are seven notable figures, some of whom were among the richest people in the world, who were supposed to sail on the Titanic's maiden voyage but didn't — and four well-known people who were booked to go on a future journey with the ship.

Milton Hershey, the founder of Hershey's, sent the White Star Line a $300 check to reserve a spot on the Titanic, but he ended up sailing home on the SS Amerika instead.

As they aged, Hershey and his wife, Catherine, spent their winters on the French Riviera. In December 1911, the couple left for another extended European vacation. For their return journey, Hershey wrote a $300 check from the Hershey Trust Company to the White Star Line to reserve places on the maiden voyage of the company's brand-new ship, the Titanic.

According to Lancaster History, pressing business matters forced Hershey to cut his vacation short, and he left Europe just days before the Titanic would set sail, instead heading home on a German liner called the Amerika, which would later warn the Titanic about the dangerous amount of ice.

Hershey's canceled check is still in the possession of the Hershey Community Archives, and you can view it online.

J. Pierpont Morgan — yes, J. P. Morgan himself — had a personal suite on the Titanic and had attended its launch party in 1911. But he extended his French vacation and missed the sinking.

"I've never been able to find an authoritative 1912 source explaining the exact reason why J. P. Morgan canceled his passage on the Titanic," the Titanic expert George Behe told Reuters in 2021. Some speculated that the reasons were that he was in bad health or having issues with customs because of his art collection.

However, we know that Morgan, the cofounder of General Electric, International Harvester, and US Steel, was also the founder of the International Mercantile Marine, which in turn owned White Star Line. According to The Washington Post, he was even on hand to witness its 1911 launch.

"Monetary losses amount to nothing in life," Morgan told a New York Times reporter after the sinking. "It is the loss of life that counts. It is that frightful death."

Guglielmo Marconi, the Nobel Prize winner who invented the radio, opted to head to the US three days earlier on the Lusitania, forgoing a free ticket on the Titanic.

You might know that Marconi was considered a hero after the sinking of the Titanic because his invention, the wireless radio, helped ships in the surrounding area find where to look for the lifeboats.

But did you know he was almost on board the ship himself?

His daughter Degna wrote in her 1926 book, "My Father, Marconi," that he was offered a free ticket aboard the Titanic. But because his stenographer got seasick, Marconi opted to sail to the US on the Lusitania because he trusted that ship's stenographer more than Titanic's, Degna wrote.

Henry Clay Frick, the chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, missed the sailing of the Titanic because his wife sprained her ankle in Italy and needed to be hospitalized.

Visitors to New York City might recognize Frick's name from the Frick Collection or the Henry Clay Frick House. He was an important industrialist and a patron of the arts — and he was close to sailing on the doomed voyage.

"The Fricks booked the suite first, and then Mrs. Frick sprained her ankle while they were in Europe buying art and touring and things; so, they stayed behind to get medical attention," the historian Melanie Linn Gutowski told CBS News Pittsburgh in 2012.

"The suite that they booked, that some historians think that they booked, was some kind of savior suite in a way," she continued. "Everybody who booked it managed to survive either by not being on the ship, or jumping into a lifeboat at the last minute."

Eventually, the tickets made their way to J. Bruce Ismay, the chairman and managing director of the White Star Line. Controversially, he was one of the few men who made their way onto a lifeboat and survived. He was criticized for this for the rest of his life.

Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt canceled his ticket on the Titanic at the last minute. He was on board the Lusitania when a German U-boat sank it in May 1915.

As a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt was a well-known member of New York society, so there was media coverage when it was revealed he'd narrowly escaped the Titanic.

Unfortunately, just a few years later, he was aboard the Lusitania, a British ocean liner that was sunk by German U-boats in 1915. He was one of the 1,200 passengers who did not survive the attack.

The American journalist Theodore Dreiser was persuaded by his publisher to take a cheaper ship home across the Atlantic.

Dreiser wrote about his brush with disaster in a chapter of his 1913 memoir, "A Traveler at Forty." Slate said the section about the Titanic, "The Voyage Home," was "one of the most gripping chapters in the memoir."

Dreiser wrote that he wanted to sail home with the rich and powerful people aboard the Titanic to get a peek at how the other half lived, but added that his publisher convinced him to sail home on the Kroonland, a cheaper ship, two days before Titanic sank.

"The terror of the sea had come swiftly and directly home to all," Dreiser wrote, according to Slate. "To think of a ship as immense as the Titanic, new and bright, sinking in endless fathoms of water. And the two thousand passengers routed like rats from their berths only to float helplessly in miles of water, praying and crying!"

John Mott, another Nobel Prize winner, was also offered a free ticket on the ship, but he chose a smaller ship, the Lapland, instead.

Mott, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who was the longtime leader of the YMCA, was another near-miss. Gorden R. Doss, a professor at Andrews University, said that Mott came close to death a few times.

First, he skipped the Titanic and opted for the Lapland. Three decades later, in 1943, he narrowly avoided a train crash.

Mott said, "The Good Lord must have more work for us to do" upon hearing about the sinking, according to Sotheby's.

There were other celebrities who had tickets to sail the Titanic in the future, had it not sank. J.C. Penney was set to sail on the ship's next trip from England to New York.

According to the Smithsonian Magazine, the founder of JCPenney was set to sail on the Titanic's second voyage from England to the US.

Frank Seiberling, the cofounder of Goodyear Tires, was booked to return to Southampton on the Titanic's next voyage.

The Akron Beacon Journal reported that Seiberling, the cofounder of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, and his wife frequently traveled to England and were huge admirers of English architecture. But one of their trips was postponed when their ship out of the States, the Titanic, sank.

So was John Alden Dix, the governor of New York.

Smithsonian Magazine also reported that Dix, the governor of New York from 1911 to 1913, was on the passenger list of the Titanic's return trip to England.

Henry Adams, a historian who was a descendant of President John Adams and President John Quincy Adams, was also booked on this trip.

"My ship, the Titanic, is on her way," Adams wrote in a letter on April 12, 1912, "and unless she drops me somewhere else, I should get to Cherbourg in a fortnight." As history tells, Adams was never able to board the ship and was forced to book passage elsewhere, The New Republic's Timothy Noah wrote.

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/k2QKEis
via IFTTT

• Business Insider asked style experts about the most popular watch brands worn by technology titans.
• They say a watch has become more than a status symbol — it's a tool for personal branding.
• Old-school brands like Casio are hot, and luxury brands like Omega and Cartier are on the rise.

Unlike professionals in finance who have long seen the value of "a statement," those in the tech industry have been characterized — and even mocked — for their fixation on utility and simplicity. (Think: the old tech bro uniform of jeans and a hoodie.)

But some tech titans are moving toward fancier fashion choices of their own, and since the pandemic, that increasingly involves a watch, according to experts.

Paul Altieri, CEO and founder of online watch resale marketplace Bob's Watches, told Business Insider that there are two kinds of Silicon Valley elite. "Some, like Bill Gates, go for the $50 model, and some are wearing Omega, Richard Mille, or Rolex," he said.

Plus, there are those like Apple CEO Tim Cook and 23andMe cofounder Anne Wojcicki who prefer the convenience of a smartwatch.

Most executives are looking for "the genius factor" or something unique about their timepiece, Victoria Hitchcock, a fashion lifestylist and personal brander in the San Francisco Bay area, told BI. 

And as they have more public-facing roles, they're looking to up their style and status as potential fashion icons, Hitchcock said.

What you have on your wrist, it seems, has become yet another tool of personal branding. With that in mind, here's a closer look at the watches trending in Silicon Valley.

Casio is considered an old favorite among Silicon Valley's heavy hitters.

Casio is a Japanese electronic manufacturing company that was founded in 1946. Microsoft founder Bill Gates is often seen sporting a Casio Duro, a model that retails for around $70.

 

Omega has an extensive history of being worn by those in engineering and science.

Omega has been making Swiss luxury watches since 1848. The 1970 Apollo 13 mission relied on the capabilities of the Omega Speedmaster watch to help the crew return safely to and from Earth.

In 2021, Jeff Bezos wore an Omega Speedmaster on his own expedition into space.

Elon Musk has also been seen wearing an Omega watch. His model of choice appears to be the Seamaster Aqua Terra, according to GQ.

And more recently, Hitchcock said she has clients asking after an Omega made in collaboration with fellow watchmaker Swatch. The Mission to the Moonphase collection features two space-themed watches with Snoopy from "Charlie Brown" on the dials for $310.

"That one actually is a very low ticket one, but it's sought after by a handful of people already," she said.

Oracle chief technology officer Larry Ellison has been photographed wearing a Richard Mille RM 0029.

The Swiss luxury brand Richard Mille is known for creating watches that cost up to $2 million, and it's a favorite of athletes and musicians. Yet it also remains popular with the tech crowd for its understated approach to luxury.

"Across sectors, professionals select watches that broadcast their identity and aspirations. Watches remain profound personal statements regardless of whether one is developing software or sealing a game-changing deal," Altieri said.

Altieri said watches, in general, are being used more and more for personal branding. There's a level of showmanship to wearing a watch now, even if Silicon Valley leaders are sticking to their tried and true favorite brands.

For example, Oracle CTO Larry Ellison has an extensive Richard Mille collection, according to Altieri.

The Apple Watch performs as an extension of the iPhone.

Apple debuted its Apple Watch in 2015, and it quickly gained popularity among those looking for wearable technology. Apple Watch models range from a few hundred dollars to over $1,000 on the company's official site.

While most of Silicon Valley sports understated gray or black smartwatch faces — including 23andMe's Anne Wojcicki — some women gravitate toward yellow or rose gold accents for the face, Hitchcock said.

Appropriately, Apple's chief executive Tim Cook is often photographed sporting his Apple Watch with a variety of band colors.

In more recent shots, it looks like Cook is sporting the latest Apple Watch Ultra 2.

The tech giant has had trouble rolling out its Ultra 2 and Series 9 watches in the US over patent disputes, but the pieces are still available for purchase on Apple's website. The Ultra 2 retails for around $800.

Mark Zuckerberg has said he's not a watch guy, but he was wowed by another billionaire's Richard Mille.

Zuckerberg was among many billionaires invited to a wedding hosted by India's richest family. A clip of him being stunned by Anant Ambani's 18-karat rose gold Richard Mille RMS10 Asia Tourbillon Koi fish Edition went viral online.

The watch, which has a dial decorated with koi fish — as the name suggests, falls under the "distinctive" category that Hitchcock said more tech execs are looking for.

"You know, I never really wanted a watch, but after seeing that, I was like, 'Watches are cool,'" Zuckerberg can be heard saying in the video.

The blinged-out timepiece would reportedly cost him about $1.25 million, but he can certainly afford it.

Cartier makes watches for both new collectors and seasoned enthusiasts with pieces ranging from under $3,000 to more than $1 million on the secondary market.

Jack Dorsey has been seen wearing a rare rose-gold skeleton Cartier Crash — a rare watch that fetches at least six figures on the resale market.

Yet many people in Silicon Valley who wear the French brand opt for simpler watch models. Hitchcock said the Ballon Bleu de Cartier is becoming a favorite with women in tech and can cost up to $30,000 for larger models.

 

Dorsey was spotted among Jay-Z and Beyoncé at Super Bowl LVII wearing a flashy watch.

This isn't the ultra-rare, uber-expensive Cartier Crash he's been seen in, but the watch still makes a statement with its yellow dial.

Still, exactly which brand he decided to wear to the Super Bowl in February is unclear.

Demand for Rolex watches surged throughout the pandemic as people began seeing their investment potential.

While prices for Rolex watches have recently dropped to record lows on the secondary markets over the past two years, they remain popular for their design.

Caitlin Hausser, a store director for a New York-based official Rolex retailer, told BI that she often sees female clients looking to celebrate milestones like a promotion or a new baby.

While Casio watches may be the cheapest brand on the list, Hitchcock believes the piece still makes a statement about its wearer.

"They are the same people who are buying the old-school kind of daddy sneakers or grandpa sneaker buyers," she said, adding that there's a nostalgia factor to the brand.

Patek Philippe watches remain popular with tech professionals for their understated take on luxury, Altieri told BI.

In general, Altieri describes a "Patek Philippe enthusiast" as the kind of person who digs into the finer details of watchmaking.

"They're all about craftsmanship, complex features, and exclusivity," he added, not to mention having a pretty high budget for a timepiece. 

The Patek Philippe Nautilus Chronograph, a go-to for the tech crowd, can be upward of $100,000.

Hitchcock said the luxury Italian brand Panerai is one of her "all-time" favorites.

Because Panerai produces just a fraction of the timepieces that a brand like Rolex does yearly, they're not likely to be spotted on everyone, Hitchcock explained.  

"Part of the allure is recognizing its small group of in-the-know fans," she said. "Those that know it definitely discuss it amongst each other in social settings and business."

But Altieri said that Panerai has experienced a "lull in marketability" compared to other luxury watches in 2024. Still, he said the company has the potential to bounce back.

Timex watches are known for their affordability and dependability, and most models are priced under $500.

In its nearly 170-year history, Timex watches have been worn by celebrities and US presidents alike. Hitchcock said the no-frills functional brand is also a staple in the tech industry.

"I believe that a good timepiece, even if it's a Timex or Casio, does say something about someone," Hitchcock told BI. "It should have function; it should be streamlined and customized to that person's personal brand and personality."

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/5z1OjxW
via IFTTT

• As an interior decorator, there are several items I wouldn't add to my home in 2024.
• This year, I'm avoiding heavy drapes and tabletops with reflective surfaces.
• I'm also not buying any new furniture or items with disco-ball motifs.

Since people aren't moving as often as they used to, sales on goods in adjacent categories — like home decor, appliances, and furniture — have taken a dive as well. As an interior decorator, I know furnishing a home can be expensive, so it's important to invest in pieces that will stand the test of time.

I've spent years playing with trends and figuring out what isn't worth investing in when decorating my home. Recently, I've realized there are a few items I'd avoid adding to my space in 2024.

Here are nine things I wouldn't add to my home this year.

I'm not buying any new furniture in 2024.

Lately, I've seen more one-of-a-kind, unique, lived-in furniture. Old-fashioned shapes like bobbin legs are returning, so many designers are passing up new, modern furniture for secondhand treasures.

Rather than seeking a new, mass-produced couch or table, I plan on upcycling classic pieces with new finishes or upholstery.

I won't use heavy drapes in my decor.

Statement curtains add a cozy softness and texture to a room, but heavy drapes can weigh a space down. This dramatic look also doesn't pair well with on-trend designs.

Instead, I recommend balancing style and practicality with layered window treatments. I plan to incorporate blinds or shades alongside sheer curtains for a bright, romantic look.

I'm ditching boring, flat walls for pattern and texture.

More designers are replacing smooth, minimalistic, polished surfaces with lived-in, textured finishes.

Textured layers are perfect for those who prefer a minimalist design because they achieve visual interest without adding much color. I like to add soft luxury to a space through limewash walls, which have a chalky look, or tiles with a natural patina, which have an oxidized, aged appearance.

I won't invest in any products with checkered patterns.

Like chevron once had its heyday, checkered patterns were everywhere in 2023. This year, I'm ready to branch out to other, less geometric patterns.

Large-scale organic shapes and hand-drawn styles are a refreshing contrast to the checkered pattern's rigidity. I might also incorporate toile, a canvas-like fabric with a repeated pattern, when I want to stay away from geometric shapes.

Faux furs and animal prints don't feel sophisticated in 2024.

Animal-print patterns can create a wild-jungle look, but they don't usually pair well with the bold patterns or decor currently in style.

I recommend swapping a faux-hide rug for one with an irregular shape to keep the visual interest of an uncommon floor covering. I'd also replace animal-print blankets with ones with striped patterns or bubbled textures to blend a classic fabric with a modern style.

Washable rugs are not for me.

I don't like synthetic-fiber rugs, but I especially avoid washable ones. The easy-to-clean rugs are great for busy families with young kids or pets, but often have a thin construction.

These rugs are designed to be thrown into a washing machine, so their backing is made of flexible materials that can cause the edges to curl up over time. Many synthetic fibers cannot withstand a lot of heat, so using hot water or a dryer can cause these threads to fray.

Though the wide range of cool styles can be attractive, washable rugs feel like a fast-fashion trend to me. I recommend investing in rugs made with natural materials instead.

I avoid tabletops with reflective surfaces.

Shiny chrome, acrylic, and glass furniture can balance organic looks with sophisticated glam, but I'd avoid certain pieces.

Reflective or glass-top tables smudge easily, so they often require constant cleaning. Take it from me — wiping away the fingerprints will become a never-ending chore.

Cool tones aren't my favorite style trend.

Cool tones, including blue, gray, and icy white, seem to have fallen out of favor. Recently, I've seen more designers using orange, peach, and caramel-y browns to embrace warmth and vibrancy instead.

For a neutral take on the warm-color trend, I recommend painting walls a creamy off-white color and adding furniture or accessories made from materials like terracotta and natural oak-stained wood.

Disco-ball motifs are fun, but I find them to be overdone.

The 1970s era has inspired many decor trends, but I can't get on board with the disco-ball craze.

The mirrored look is a fun way to brighten a room, but I think artwork depicting disco balls is overdone. It's a reproduction of the style choice, so in my opinion, it lacks the original item's impact.

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/DQyTKEC
via IFTTT

• Restaurants are scaling back 'ghost kitchen' operations due to added stress and customer complaints.
• Brands like Wendy's and Kroger are shutting down their ghost kitchens, the Times reported.
• Ghost kitchens were an exciting pandemic-era innovation. But the anonymity bred lower standards.

Ghost kitchens — once celebrated as an efficient innovation for the food industry — have instead been haunted by their own anonymity.

Ghost kitchens are restaurants with no storefront and no seating that customers never see and which only do delivery. It seemed like a good idea during the COVID-19 pandemic. Restaurants and so-called virtual brands invested heavily in them.

But demand decreased as the pandemic subsided and reliance on multiple layers of faceless technology gave rise to complaints about quality. Ultimately, customers never connected to many of the brands. And, now, many restaurants and virtual brands say the stress is not worth the payoff, according to The New York Times.

Several influencers and celebrities have used ghost kitchens to produce their own lines of food, like YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, known online as Mr. Beast, who created MrBeast Burger in December 2020.

"Stranger Things" actor Noah Schnapp also opened a chicken tender chain called TenderFix in March 2023, which worked out of about 1,000 IHOP kitchens to prepare its food. It's also unclear if TenderFix is still in operation. The company's social media pages have not been updated in at about a year and its website is no longer available.

Large brands like Wendy's and Kroger are scaling back on their ghost kitchen operations after the kitchens struggled to keep up with orders and received customer complaints, according to the Times.

Brinker International, which owns Chili's and numerous other restaurant chains, opened two virtual restaurants during the pandemic called It's Just Wings and Maggiano's Italian Classics, which used the Chili's locations to prepare their food. But last year, as more customers started to return to dining in person, the company found it difficult to juggle both. So Brinker closed Maggiano's and reduced the scale of It's Just Wings in 2023, according to the Times.

"Everyone thought if you have the labor and the equipment, it would be easy to run virtual brands, but the reality is, most of the delivery times for virtual brands transact during busy times for the regular restaurant," Brinker CEO Kevin Hochman told the Times. "It was too much to have a busy dinner rush with an influx of virtual orders coming in, too."

And as quality issues and late delivery times worsen, some ghost kitchens are starting to see legal challenges. In August 2023, Donaldson sued his ghost kitchen partner, Virtual Dining Concepts, claiming in court documents that some customers complained they had received raw meat. For now, Virtual Dining Concepts is still operating MrBeast Burger.

"One father of two felt as though he had 'let his children down' by ordering MrBeast Burgers when he received terrible quality food in unbranded packaging that he was able to trace back to a 7-11," the lawsuit says.

Cracker Barrel also opened its own virtual restaurant using CloudKitchens, another ghost kitchen group, according to Restaurant Business.

CloudKitchens, which Uber cofounder Travis Kalanick owns, is facing a class action lawsuit that claims the company misrepresented the true origin of the food that customers are ordering on food delivery apps like Grubhub and Doordash.

Still, some chains like Denny's are fully embracing the cloud kitchen model, the Times reported. The company owns three virtual brands, Banda Burrito, The Meltdown, and Burger Den.

Denny's President and CEO, Kelli Valade, told the outlet that it is able to meet higher customer demand than most other chains because Denny's locations are open 24 hours a day.

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/KZivmc7
via IFTTT

• The UK's Royal Navy has relaxed its entry requirements due to recruitment problems.
• New recruits no longer need to prove swimming proficiency prior to joining.
• This change aims to streamline enlistment, but internal critics called it a "race to the bottom."

The UK's Royal Navy has relaxed its entry requirements for new recruits, no longer requiring them to demonstrate swimming proficiency prior to joining, Sky News reported.

A source within the defense community told the publication that the change was "a sign of true desperation to increase recruitment numbers" to the service, which was once the world's most powerful navy.

It exemplifies how the Royal Navy, the most feared world sea power in the 19th and early 20th centuries, is struggling to stay fit for purpose in the 21st century.

A Royal Navy spokesperson rebuffed claims of lowered standards, telling Sky News that all recruits would still undergo a swim test during training.

The spokesperson said the adjustment aims to remove barriers for non-swimmers or weak swimmers, streamlining the enlistment process without compromising operational readiness.

But the Sky source argued that such a move could lead to prolonged training periods.

Concerns have also been raised about the potential need for additional swimming instructors to accommodate the influx of recruits requiring remedial training, the UK news outlet reported.

"I absolutely get that there is a growing issue around young people being able to swim and therefore, maintaining the swim test could be seen as reducing the 'pool of eligible candidates,'' but at what point do we say enough is enough?" they continued.

They added that there was "outrage, unadulterated utter outrage" over the move internally. "It's a race to the bottom — literally the bottom."

Business Insider contacted the Royal Navy for comment.

One UK politician told British ministers in March that falling levels of recruitment in the British armed forces presented a national security crisis.

"We need to get back towards 80,000, 90,000 regular forces, we need to grow the reserve force – 30,000 is not enough even if that 30,000 were real, which I don't believe it is – we have to significantly grow the reserve force," MP Danny Kruger said.

Embarrassing setbacks

Alongside struggles to recruit new candidates, the Royal Navy's fleet has suffered several recent setbacks.

In February, the Royal Navy's flagship, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, was forced to withdraw from NATO Exercise Steadfast Defender, the alliance's largest military exercise since the Cold War, after an issue with one of its propellers was discovered at the last minute.

In 2022, its sister ship, the HMS Prince of Wales, broke down around the Isle of Wight off mainland England's south coast after experiencing a similar problem.

Meanwhile, the UK is stretching its naval capabilities by providing protection to vessels in the Red Sea targeted by Houthi rebels.

"There is a dissonance between the UK's military ambitions and its capabilities," Richard Barrons, former head of Britain's armed forces, said, per the Financial Times. "The risk is that we get drawn into a conflict and can't sustain our presence, and this exposes a strategic weakness

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/nwqU0uM
via IFTTT

• Russia's growing partnership with China isn't going to fade, a think-tank director said.
• That's because Moscow's alliance with Beijing checks off three big goals for Putin.
• The West should consider enforcing economic sanctions on China as well, he said.

Russia's no-limits partnership with China is here to stay, as tying Moscow's economy to Beijing's is the only option Vladimir Putin has to sustain his war and his antagonism toward the West, according to Alexander Gabuev, the director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.

In an op-ed for Foreign Affairs, the think-tank director pointed to Russia and China's economies becoming increasingly intertwined since Moscow began its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The two nations scaled up their trade partnership to a record $240 billion last year, partly because China has snapped up key Russian commodities while the West has shunned trade with Moscow. Meanwhile, Russia has bought up huge amounts of Chinese goods as it becomes increasingly isolated from the global economy.

Russia is keen to keep its alliance with China, Gabuev said, as the partnership "emphatically" helps Russia with three of its goals: helping it win its war against Ukraine, helping its ailing economy, and helping the nation push back against the West for its support for Ukraine. 

Those are key incentives for Russia to continue its partnership with China, even as Beijing appears to be holding an advantage over Moscow as a trade partner. Its economy is larger and still maintaining a connection with the West, while some Russian trade is struggling under Western sanctions.

"Russia is now locking itself into vassalage to China," Gabuev said. "A couple years down the road, Beijing will be more able to dictate the terms of the economic, technological, and regional cooperation with Moscow. The Kremlin is not blind to this prospect, but it does not have much choice as long as Putin needs Chinese support to fight his war in Ukraine, which has become an obsession."

A lasting partnership between Moscow and Beijing suggests that the West needs to consider enforcing economic sanctions on China similar those imposed on Russia, Gabuev added. He noted that the current situation differed from the past when the US was able to step in and offer China strategic deals during the Cold War.

"Indeed, the deepening of this partnership is one of the most consequential results of the Ukrainian tragedy. Moscow and Beijing may never sign a formal alliance, but the evolution of their relationship in the years ahead will increasingly affect the world and challenge the West," he said. "US officials cannot extend a deal … to either Moscow or Beijing at this point. Any hopes of peeling them away from each other are nothing more than wishful thinking," Gabuev added.

Other political affairs experts have also noted potential risks stemming from Russia and China's growing ties, especially amid rising geopolitical concerns around the world.

An alliance between China, Russia, and North Korea could pose a "significant threat" to the world's financial system and security, Bruce Klingner, a research fellow for a Washington, DC-based think-tank wrote in a recent note.

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/OfIqzMG
via IFTTT

• A 25-year-old private tutor told BI about his experiences working in the UAE.
• He said he had taught the children of some of Dubai's richest people.
• One of his pupils paid him $3,000 to do his homework, he said.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with a 25-year-old private tutor and academic governor in Dubai. They were granted anonymity to speak freely about their experiences. This essay has been edited for length and clarity. The names of children have been removed to protect their identity.

I moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2020 to work for an international tutoring agency.

I've since taught children from some of Dubai's most elite families — millionaires and billionaires who had made their money from oil investments, tech startups, and other entrepreneurial ventures.

One of the families I taught lived in one of Dubai's most expensive apartments, which boasted an art room, a massage room, a gym, and a cinema. It was spread over five floors and also had a private elevator and guard dogs on the door.

Families like these often had dozens of staff, including security, maids, drivers, cooks, nannies, and, of course, tutors.

The parents often weren't around, but those I did encounter were almost always friendly to me.

I had most contact with the nannies, who were at the children's beck and call.

They would cook me dinner and bring me drinks, and I almost felt like I was a part of the family, sort of like a big brother.

One of my younger pupils had his own bespoke classroom in the family house — it was better equipped than anything you'd ever see in a normal school.

Having finished an arts and crafts class with him one time, I said we needed to clean up the mess.

"Absolutely not," he said. "I do not pay you to clean. I pay her to clean," as he pointed at the nanny.

With another child, who was around seven at the time, we had been studying birds in biology and he demanded we get an owl to observe it.

The next time I went to the house, an owl was perched on the kitchen counter.

Another student was told by his brother to "not bother doing any work" because "Dad would sort it out." He then paid me $3,000 to do his homework for him.

But this was normal behavior in Dubai, as the kids were used to extreme wealth.

The families would give me with gifts

These sorts of financial "incentives" were by no means rare.

Sometimes, the parents would go to great lengths to start a bidding war with one another.

If they knew I would be at one client's house at a time they wanted, they would offer to pay double, triple, or even more to convince me to come to them instead.

And each time I thought I'd seen it all, the job would find new ways of surprising me.

One time, my car broke down, and I turned up late for a lesson with one of my regular pupils. I told the mother the reason I was late, and the next time I had a class with that child, she gave me $7,000 in cash to pay for repairs.

The same family gave me a huge tip of more than $20,000 at the end of the year.

I spent the summer sailing the Italian coast on a yacht

Last summer, I was hired to look after two brothers, who were four and six years old. Their family had planned a trip on their private yacht and were looking to sail along the Italian coast for two months.

A few weeks after signing the contract, I found myself in a speedboat heading across the Mediterranean toward a superyacht the size of a ferry.

As I joined my new employers on the deck, uniformed staff offered Champagne (although I was not allowed to drink while working), and I spent the next few months jet-skiing, paddle-boarding, touring vineyards, and eating expensive foods.

This family was from Russia, and there was a marked difference in the way they treated me, often wanting to keep me out of sight.

While they partied on the upper levels, I was told to stay below deck.

They had hired me to be a kind of glorified babysitter for their kids, playing with them and keeping them entertained while speaking English to them.

For the Russian elite, having someone who speaks English with a native accent is a big boasting point.

Perhaps one of the funnier moments was when we returned to their villa on the south coast of France. On either side of the front door were two stone busts of the father's face.

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/rT2JUBa
via IFTTT

• Jayne Ashton, 63, is a native Californian with conservative politics.
• She moved to Arizona around 2017 to flee California's liberal politics.
• But she only stayed three months before realizing there's no place like home. 

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jayne Ashton, a 63-year-old retired police dispatcher who moved from Homeland, California, to Benson, Arizona, in 2017 to escape California's liberal politics and be closer to family. She only stayed in Arizona for three months before realizing she wanted to return home to California.

Jayne: I'm a born and raised Californian, originally from Bloomington in San Bernadino County. I stayed there until I was in my 20s.

I eventually settled in Homeland, California, where I lived for about 25 years. I reared my daughter there with my ex-husband and commuted 87 miles one way each day. I owned a home and lived on an acre and a half. I took my daughter to school with a pony and cart every day.

You see, California isn't what people think it is. When you say you're from California, they think of LA, San Francisco, and San Diego. But California is so vast. You can live out rural and live just as good as if you lived in Tennessee.

I'm a conservative and I'm always trying to hold down the red in this crazy state. I'm a retired police dispatcher and believe crime needs to be punished, and I don't think it is here in California.

It was politics and crime that initially got me thinking about leaving California around 2016 and 2017. The increase in high-density housing and traffic throughout the state played a part too.

Everybody was telling me California was going downhill and I needed to move. I was concerned the state was going to tax my retirement, which didn't end up happening. But I had a family member in Benson, Arizona, about an hour east of Tuscon.

So, I sold my house and I moved. It seemed like a mass exit at the time, so I felt the need to do it too. It was almost like fleeing sheep.

I chose Arizona because it was only a six-hour drive from California. But even as I was leaving, I was thinking it was a big mistake.

Benson, Arizona is in the middle of nowhere.

There's nothing out there but a Walmart, an Ace Hardware, and a Safeway. And there's only so much you can buy at Walmart.

I'm a vegetarian. I haven't eaten meat since 1969 and I was starving in Arizona. I would have to drive an hour to Tuscon to go to Whole Foods to get any food I was used to. People would say: "You're a weirdo. You've got to eat meat." In California, you can find vegetarian places all day long.

I had money from selling my house and I initially wanted to buy a place in Arizona. But the houses I looked at fell through on inspection and I thankfully never did.

The state was good for me politically. A lot of people had the same beliefs as I do. But I don't live politics every day, and they did. I have it in the back of my mind but it's not a driving force for me.

People would always say to me: "Oh, you're a Californian? Well, I hope you don't bring your beliefs here." There was always some derogatory comment. They wanted to bitch about California. They don't want us there.

I'm also religious and I missed my church. I just wasn't happy. It was a dark cloud over me. I missed California every day. I only lasted three months in Arizona before moving back home.

When you're born and raised in California, you need to be in California.

It's like the Beach Boy's song, California Girls. It's an instilled trait. Californians don't always love other Californians, but we love California.

I ended up buying a house in Hemet, in Riverside County. It was all boarded up. It didn't have any electricity. It was horrible. But I was glad to be home. I'd rather live in a shitty part of California than live out of the state ever again.

I ended up living there for five years. I fixed up the house to some extent, sold it, and made a profit. Then I got the heck out of there and came to Tehachapi, where I've wanted to live since 1999.

Tehachapi is a lost treasure. It's one of the last conservative strongholds in Southern California. We have elk and deer and fox and everything. It's beautiful.

California has a reputation for being very liberal. But if you were born in a place like Tehachapi or Clovis, you're so far from someone who was raised in LA. It's a very different mindset. We're more of a country-western-cowboy-cattle-type of people.

It doesn't necessarily bother me that everyone else in the country thinks of California as being only Los Angeles or San Francisco. I know what I believe and what I stand for. People shouldn't judge California by its big cities.

I love the beauty of the state and the stable weather. You can go to the beach in an hour, you can go to the mountains in an hour, you can go to the desert in an hour. You can't beat the topography.

I don't ever want to leave California again.

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/VUd6fyu
via IFTTT

• At a Pennsylvania rally, Donald Trump appeared to endorse his supporters, chanting, "Genocide Joe."
• "Genocide Joe" was coined by Pro-Palestine supporters to protest US support for Israel's Gaza siege.
• Trump also said: "God bless the people of Israel."

At a rally in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, Donald Trump appeared to endorse some of his supporters who were chant "genocide Joe," in reference to President Joe Biden's handling of the Middle East conflict.

"They're not wrong," Trump said, "He's done everything wrong."

The "genocide Joe" moniker was coined by Pro-Palestinian supporters protesting against Israel's attack on Gaza and the perceived unstinting support Biden has shown toward the Israel Defense Forces siege of the enclave that has left over 33,000 dead, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

However, at the rally, Trump also expressed his support for the Jewish state. "God bless the people of Israel. They are under attack right now," he said.

The GOP frontrunner went on to say that the overnight drone and missile attacks on Israel by Iran were the result of the Biden administration's "weakness" on the world stage.

The attack would not have happened if he were still in office, he said.

On Saturday night, in retaliation for a deadly attack on an Iranian consulate in Damascus earlier this month, Tehran launched a barrage of over 300 missile and drone strikes against Israel.

The US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has said the US military had intercepted dozens of missiles and drones. The UK, France, and Jordan have also said they came to Israel's aid.

Trump repeated well-worn attack lines against Biden at the rally, calling him "crooked Joe" and a "demented tyrant," going as far as to say that "everything he touches turns to shit."

Biden has cut short his weekend trip to his Delaware beach home, returning to the White House Saturday to meet with his national security team on events in the Middle East.

Trump also criticized the president for the price of gas and the "border bloodbath," with immigrants coming "from prisons, from mental institutions, they're coming from all over the world."

Trump concluded, "If we don't win this election, this country is finished."

On Monday, Trump's hush money trial is due to begin jury selection. The former president faces allegations he falsified 34 business records to cover up a $130,000 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 election.

In a Friday press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Trump told reporters he plans to testify in the trial, which he called a "scam" and "witch hunt."

"I'm testifying. I tell the truth. All I can do is tell the truth; the truth is they have no case," he said.

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/1wMmPAB
via IFTTT

• I split my year between Los Angeles and Athens, and the cities are quite different. 
• Beach culture and public recreational spaces tend to be more lax in Greece than in the US. 
• I hardly ever run into traffic in Athens, but it's normal to sit on the clogged freeway in LA. 

I spent the first few years of my life in Greece and then moved to the US.

But just like the influx of travelers helping to set record-breaking tourism numbers on the islands, I couldn't stay away from my beautiful birth country for long.

I currently split my time between Los Angeles and Athens for work — six months in the US and the other half of the year in Greece.

Now that I've been going back and forth between the countries for a few years, I've noticed a lot of stark differences.

I find Greek people much blunter than Americans.

I know that Greek people can come across as rude, especially to tourists. But being overly polite or smiley with strangers isn't part of the nation's social culture.

I actually appreciate knowing where I stand with people when I'm in Greece. I get much more constructive criticism and real talk from friends.

On the other hand, people in the US tend to smile and offer some degree of friendliness and politeness — whether they're interacting with customer-service workers, strangers, or friends.

I can party all night (and into the morning) in Athens.

Angelenos already knew LA shuts down relatively early for a major city. Most places close by 2 a.m. largely due to the time regulations on serving alcohol.

In Athens, I can easily stay out until 4 a.m. And if I'm willing to head out to the club district or one of the many bouzoukias (clubs with live music), I can stretch the night out even longer.

Beach life is handled very differently.

Both Athens and LA have absolutely stunning beaches.

But Greeks tend to build cafés and bars very close to the shoreline, so there are always refreshments close by — even if I question the environmental effects of having infrastructure so close to the water.

In LA, if I go to the beach with friends, I pack coolers like I'm camping because we usually can't get any food or drink service on the sand.

It makes going to the beach in LA more of a full-day plan if you don't live super close.

LA has more regulations for recreation and public space.

In LA, it feels like everything involving recreation — including going to the beach — is regulated.

You usually can't have glass containers, alcohol, animals, or loud music in recreational areas. And if you stay too late, it might be considered loitering.

In Athens, I pass young people drinking beers in a city square, skateboarding around public parks, and hanging out until 2 or 3 a.m. That's pretty much impossible to do in LA without getting some sort of side-eye or written warning.

LA's streets are much wider.

Geographical differences aside, LA streets, businesses, and even parking spaces feel massive compared to Greek standards. I frequently park in Greece with barely an inch to spare between my bumper and my neighbor's.

Many of the bigger cars I see in LA wouldn't fit on some of Athens' central streets.

What Greek people consider bad traffic is amusing to me now.

Athens has a few central thoroughfares that can get pretty clogged during rush hour. But most of the time I drive on the city's highways, I don't have to slow down even once for traffic.

In LA, it's hard to find a time when the freeways aren't clogged — unless it's 1 a.m.

Athens has a lot more foot traffic.

Athens' city center is very walkable, as are many of its more suburban neighborhoods. It's not uncommon to come across pedestrian-only streets and central squares lined with lively bars, restaurants, shops, and cafés.

I love seeing more people out and about on the streets. Most of the sidewalks lining LA boulevards (when they exist at all) seem deserted because of the city's deep car culture.

Restaurant service works very differently.

Getting the check at restaurants in Greece can frustratingly take forever. Plus, restaurants frequently serve free dessert or fruit at the end of a meal, extending my time there.

Although service in the US is much faster and generally friendlier, it can also feel hurried toward the end of a meal. Servers will continuously remind me that they've left the bill on the table.

That said, I kind of understand the difference. US servers generally rely on tips (which requires more turnover), but Greek servers tend to care more about their hourly wage.

from All Content from Business Insider https://ift.tt/eST5EQK
via IFTTT