At any rate, whatever the shady or ludicrous reasons for that Palm Beach real estate deal, at least we know the house itself was vulgar as fuck.

The story begins in March 2001, when health care tycoon Abraham Gosman, who had moved from Massachusetts to Palm Beach a few years earlier and reinvented himself as a philanthropist, declared bankruptcy. That financial catastrophe would eventually result in tax fraud convictions for Gosman and his wife.

One of the casualties of the bankruptcy was the 62,000-square-foot mansion Gosman had built and dubbed Maison de l’Amitie, the House of Friendship. A showcase for his charity events just a mile north of the vaunted Breakers hotel, it included a ballroom with a capacity

On International Women’s Day:

A new bronze statue had New Yorkers stopped in their tracks Tuesday as a “Fearless Girl” statue was strategically placed in front of Wall Street’s iconic bull.

The statue shows a young girl standing straight with her head held high as she stares down the bucking bull that has become synonymous with Wall Street and big business.

The statue was installed by State Street Global Advisors, a branch of Boston-based State Street Corporation, to send a powerful message about gender equality in the workplace.

The defiant girl was placed in the financial epicenter of the Big Apple to encourage more companies to add more women in leadership roles and in the male-dominated Wall Street.

Ah Saudi Arabia.

They have invented a thing they call a girls’ council, which is apparently a place for men to show off their fashion sense.

See, it says Girls Council right there on the sign, so we can’t blame a faulty translation. There’s the Girls’ Council, and there are all the men, looking manly.

The male-dominated photos have been circulating widely on social media, after the meeting took place on Saturday.

It has been compared to another viral hit – an image of US President Donald Trump, surrounded by men, signing an abortion policy in January.

It’s a proud tradition, men deciding what women can and can’t do. Trump can barely write his own name, but he gets … Read the rest

The owners of a popular wine bar in DC are suing Trump and his DC hotel.

Mr. Pitts and Ms. Gross claim that the Trump International Hotel, in the Old Post Office building in Washington, and the restaurants within enjoy an illegal advantage in the city’s restaurant market because of their association with Mr. Trump and that Cork has suffered as a result.

“We’re used to a lot of competition — it makes you better, faster, stronger — but the competition that’s coming from the hotel is not fair,” Ms. Gross said.

The wine bar, which serves more than 50 varieties by the glass, has hosted events for a variety of groups, including White House officials, members of Congress,

The racists are, of course, feeling emboldened.

Senior Republican congressman Steve King has sparked a backlash on social media after tweeting his support for the Dutch anti-Islam politician, Geert Wilders.

“Wilders understands that culture and demographics are our destiny,” Mr King wrote on Twitter.

“We can’t restore our civilisation with somebody else’s babies,” he added.

That’s a pretty choice of phrase, isn’t it? “Somebody else’s babies.” It’s so tidily othering. We are we, and those other people we don’t like are “somebody else.” Who, exactly? Oh, you know. Them. Not-us.

Anthony Zurcher dares to call it white nationalism.

Congressman Steve King has a history of walking on the edge of white nationalist rhetoric, and on Sunday afternoon he once

Here’s another:

H/t Stewart… Read the rest

Now this is familiar.

… Read the rest

Oh good lord.

At Pink News one Josh Jackman explains what women are.

There seems to be an epidemic of otherwise intelligent, respectful, feminist people suddenly blurting out that trans women “aren’t real women.”

*grits teeth*

One, he mentions two people (and things Germaine Greer said years ago); two is not an epidemic. Two, it’s neither stupid nor disrespectful nor unfeminist to say that trans women are not women in every sense of the word. Three, nobody “blurted out” anything; two women made reasoned arguments.

After that, Josh Jackman (I don’t dare say “he” lest I be accused of misgendering…them) gets down to the hard work of explaining why it’s wrong to say that trans women are not women … Read the rest

Michael Safi reports from Delhi:

As India’s raucous spring festival of Holi approached this year, a memo circulated among two women’s dormitories at the University of Delhi.

Undergraduate women would be locked inside the student halls from 9pm on Sunday until 6pm on Monday, it read – well after most Indians had finished smearing each other in dye, dancing or drinking from cups of bhang lassi, a milky cannabis-based concoction.

The decision of the hostels highlights a darker side to one of India’s most joyous festivals: as inhibitions decrease, many women say the street harassment endemic to Delhi life also surges.

And naturally the solution to that is to imprison the women. Literally imprison them for 21 hours. Literally … Read the rest

The health commissioner of Baltimore ponders what she would have faced if she had had no health insurance when she got pregnant.

Even though I’m a relatively healthy 34-year-old, I have several medical conditions that call for more frequent monitoring. My doctor recommended that I return every two weeks for a physical exam and ultrasound. Closer to delivery, I should plan to see him every week.

I didn’t hesitate to follow my doctor’s recommendations. I have excellent health insurance with no copay for doctor’s visits and a minimal cost for tests.

But what would I have done if I didn’t have insurance?

One obstetrician visit would cost $150. With an ultrasound each time, it would be $400. A Pap