It was the best of times, the worst of times and the stupidest of times. Twenty-eighteen was an exhausting, eventful year.

On the one hand, it was a year of progress: the #MeToo movement grew globally, catalyzing not just conversation but policy change. Record numbers of women ran for, and won, office in the US. Bill Cosby was convicted in the first big celebrity criminal trial of the #MeToo era. Ireland repealed its abortion ban.

From pop culture to politics, there were a lot of firsts. Sandra Oh became the first Asian actress to be nominated for an Emmy. Beyoncé became the first black woman to headline Coachella. Rashida Tlaib became the first Muslim woman elected to Congress. Canadian physicist Donna Strickland became the first woman in 55 years to win the Nobel prize in physics.

But progress isn’t linear; 2018 also had a deeply anti-feminist thread. The row over Serena Williams’s catsuit proved you can be a sporting superstar and still have your clothing policed by the patriarchy. We saw the rise of male supremacist groups. Several US states tightened access to abortion, with Iowa passing one of the strictest abortion laws in the industrialized world. Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right misogynist, was elected president of Brazil. Donald Trump remained misogynist-in-chief of America.

A lot happened, and we’re here to recap the highlights and lowlights for you. From Bill Cosby’s conviction to Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, here are 10 big moments from the year in patriarchy.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/29/year-in-patriarchy-brett-kavanaugh-serena-williams-metoo?CMP=twt_gu

- Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has signed into law requirements that letter grades be issued for each public school in the state.

- Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has signed a law making it harder for groups to put proposals on the statewide ballot and vetoed one that would have diluted the power of the incoming Democratic attorney general.

- He vetoed one that would have blocked any future attempts to force the disclosure of donors to nonprofits, including political groups whose sway has grown in elections.

- He signed an environmental cleanup bill that Democrats say would make it harder to toughen the standard for protecting drinking water from certain toxic chemicals.

- He also has signed a law requiring Democratic Gov.-elect Gretchen Whitmer’s administration to better justify new regulations that are stricter than those mandated by the federal government.

- Gov. Rick Snyder has vetoed bills that would have authorized online gambling in Michigan, including wagers placed on sports.

- Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has vetoed legislation that would have made permanent a ban against Michigan doctors prescribing abortion-inducing drugs with webcams or other forms of telemedicine.

- Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has signed $1.3 billion budget legislation that shifts new tax revenue for schools to other priorities such as roads and environmental cleanup.

https://apnews.com/dec8e9605f35480e81b1b9844e982731?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP&utm_campaign=SocialFlow

From recycling to rail fare: Istanbul has a new way to encourage environmentally-aware attitudes

What incentive do you have to make sure a plastic bottle you use ends up in a recycling bin?

The answer is probably very little, unless you’re determined to get 5 to 10 cents per bottle at the recycling center or unless you happen to live in one of the few cities or states that have mandatory recycling laws or plastic bottle bans.

Recently, Istanbul devised a more direct incentive to boost recycling rates by installing "reverse vending machines" that allow people to trade recyclables for credit on Istanbulkart cards, which are used to pay for public transportation.

“With those smart machines, our waste management department and the municipality’s Smart City Technologies Company [İsbak] will contribute to the protection of the environment,” the municipality said on Twitter.

The machines, dubbed "Smart Mobile Waste Transfer Centers," are able to scan and assign a value to recyclables before crushing, shredding, and sorting the material. The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality plans to install at least 100 of the machines in 25 locations by the end of 2018.


https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/09/istanbul-s-reverse-vending-machines-trade-recyclables-for-metro-fare

This email is... something. Walter Schull Jr, a physical therapist in Texas, would like me to know that he uses the n-word all the time but that doesn't make him a racist.

"What’s the worst that can happen?” I thought when I put my house on Airbnb. While I didn’t have a warm feeling about strangers sleeping in my bed, I was intrigued by the idea. I was recently divorced and I bought my home, with three bedrooms and views of New York’s Hudson River, at the end of 2016. It represented a new chapter for me. Its contemporary architecture isn’t for everyone, but I was seeking to simplify my life. My two teenage boys stay with me half the time.

Last December, I put the house on Airbnb and rented it four or five times. The listing explicitly said no parties. Then a request came through to book the house for one night on New Year’s Day. It was from a young man, probably in his early 20s. He had one review but it was terrific. He told me he owned a small record label and wanted to use the house to get some Instagram shots. I’d had a model with the same request before, so it wasn’t unusual.

The night before the booking, on New Year’s Eve, two couples with infants had stayed and I spent three hours with a cleaning crew to get the place ready – changing sheets, cleaning the hot tub on the roof. By the end, the house was pristine. The guest arrived at 3pm and was respectful. He said there might be a couple of people coming over, but that was it. I picked up my boys and we stayed down the road at my mother’s apartment.

I went to work the next morning, and around noon, which was checkout time, I texted the guy to say I was heading over. As I approached, I noticed his car wasn’t in the driveway. Then I saw that he’d texted to say he’d woken up late and could I give him half an hour. So I went and bought a sandwich. When I got back I saw three or four cars in the driveway. I threw my food down and knew I was screwed.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/dec/28/experience-my-airbnb-guests-threw-a-party-for-300-people?CMP=twt_gu

In a move that definitely does not make her an abject motherfucking hater, now-former Sen. Claire McCaskill has shared that she’s “confused” about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez being “the thing.”

According to CNN, in a thinly veiled attempt to give Ocasio-Cortez “advice” during an exit interview—a classic inroad to being a shady asshole—McCaskill (D-Mo.) stated that she “doesn’t know her” when asked about the freshman representative. (I’m not throwing a Mariah Carey meme in here for giggles; she actually said that.)

Despite this, McCaskill had some choice words for Ocasio-Cortez, calling her a “bright, shiny new object [who] came out of nowhere and surprised people when she beat a very experienced congressman” and, well, shit—after implying that voters are like distractible children or magpies going after pretty things, I cannot imagine why McCaskill lost her Senate seat! I’m also sure this sentiment has nothing to do with McCaskill being one of those “very experienced” congress members who were ousted, or her being nakedly salty-as-fuck about the buzz Ocasio-Cortez has garnered.

Continuing with her “Are you sure you don’t know her, sis?” moments, McCaskill continued speaking on Ocasio-Cortez for a hot second, per CNN:

https://www.theroot.com/claire-mccaskill-hates-on-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-from-1831338782

University of Utah track and field athlete Lauren McCluskey was fatally shot earlier this year by a man she had recently dumped after she found out he had lied to her about his name, age, and criminal record. The man, Melvin Rowland, 37, died by suicide hours later. But for weeks before her Oct. 22 murder, McCluskey, her family, and her friends knew she was in danger and kept asking for help, according to documents and 911 audio released this month. As early as late September, two friends spoke up to a resident assistant in her dorm. By early October, McCluskey was calling campus police. Worried campus police weren’t acting fast enough, McCluskey called Salt Lake City police too.

Here is a timeline of those requests for help, based off two reports released this month—one by the University of Utah, another by the state’s public safety department—as well as recently released 911 calls.
University Housing

It was on Sept. 30 that two friends spoke to an RA, according to the report released by the university, saying “they are very concerned that Lauren is in an unhealthy relationship with an older man who was controlling her.” On Oct. 1, a decision was made by someone (it’s unclear who, as names are redacted) to submit a housing report, but the computerized system was down. From the report:

Over the following days, reviews were done by housing officials but the decision was made “not to ‘overstep’ in assistance to Lauren unless she was seeking support,” the university report said.

On Oct. 9, McCluskey broke up with Rowland after learning that he had lied about his name, age, and criminal history. But she allowed him to borrow her car to run errands. Trying to get her car back the next day led to the McCluskey family’s first call to campus police.

https://deadspin.com/all-the-times-lauren-mccluskey-asked-for-help-before-sh-1831328570