Fashion
MIDTERMS. REPUBLICAN RED TSUNAMI A PALE PINK PIDDLE
The Donald has a terrible day, blames everyone else.
by Vijaya Chandrasoma
November 7, 2022.
I am starting this essay on the eve of the most consequential Midterm elections in the history of the nation, on Tuesday, November 8, 2022.The tradition of trusting the results of an election is the cornerstone of any democracy, and the complete antithesis of dictatorships and authoritarian systems of government. North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un was recently re-elected to power with 100% of the votes cast.
This tradition was honoured twice, in recent times, in the USA. First, when Democrat Al Gore conceded the presidency to George W. Bush. The Republican majority Supreme Court overruled an order by the Florida Supreme Court to continue with recount of the votes of the state election, on grounds that the “safe harbour” deadline, set by federal law, by which states are required to resolve any disputes and announce the result, had passed. At that stage, before the recount was completed, there was a small majority in favour of George Bush. Gore accepted the decision of the Supreme Court and conceded the election.
It was also honoured in 2016, when Hillary Clinton conceded just hours after the Electoral College called the victory for Trump, despite widespread rumours, later proved by the Mueller Report, that the Russians had interfered with the election.Both Gore and Clinton won the popular vote, the former by over 500,000 votes, the latter by nearly three million.
This tradition has never been breached in the USA until 2020, when Trump refused to concede an election which he had lost by a landslide. He lost the Electoral College 306/232 and the popular vote by seven million votes, both considered to be conclusive defeats.
Trump and his minions alleged election fraud and filed over 60 cases before the courts, including three before the Republican majority Supreme Court. All were thrown out for lack of a shred of evidence. The Elections Commissioner of the United States stated that that “the presidential election of 2020 was one of the fairest in the history of the nation”. Even Trump appointed Attorney General William Barr, who had covered up for Trump on numerous occasions in the past, said that there was absolutely no evidence of any significant fraud which would have affected the outcome of the election.
The conventional wisdom over the past few weeks, is that the main issues facing the voters are the economy and inflation. The economy and inflation are global and temporary, felt everywhere in the world. Biden has done everything to ease the impact of a difficult economy caused by the increase of oil prices and the Russian invasion of a sovereign nation. However, Biden has been accused of not addressing these issues, and talking more about the threat to democracy, which is, to put it mildly, of a more permanent nature.
The polls have all but ignored the impact that will be caused by the probable destruction of democracy if the Republicans gain control of Congress. They have also lost sight of the opposition of 80% of Americans against the recent ruling of the Republican Supreme Court, overturning legislation which granted women reproductive freedom without government interference.
The Republican Party has openly promised that no Democrat will be ever elected to the presidency if they gain control of Congress. With their predicted majority in the House, Republicans have promised to rig the electoral process by ensuring that the counting of the votes in the battleground states that determine the result of the election, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio and Iowa, will always be controlled by Republicans. Which spells the end of USA’s Great Experiment.
I do not think that the House will go under Republican control with a majority of 30/50 seats, if at all. I feel (hope} that the Democrats will, against all odds, hold their tenuous majority in the House.So with the Senate. The current numbers are 50/50, which has given the majority to the Democrats with Vice President Harris having the casting vote. I predict the Democrats will retain control of the Senate, 50/50, or even flip a Republican Senator to bring the number to 51/49.
My third prediction is the most important: that Trump will lose his loathsome influence on the majority of the Republican Party. Trump has now become an anchor, not a crutch for the Republican Party, which will be shown by the defeat of the many candidates he has endorsed for this election. He will be seen by his own Party as a liability to be avoided at all cost.
Trump made an amazing but typical statement before the election, which makes sense only in the mind of a four-year-old. Talking about the many candidates he has endorsed in the midterms, he said, “If they win, I take the credit. But if they lose, it’s their fault!”. Heads I win, tails you lose.In any event, the Party in power in the last 36 years, led by Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump were all shellacked in their first midterm elections.The midterms serve as a bellwether of the administration in power. Their results do not usually affect the outcome of a President seeking a second term, as evinced by Clinton, Bush and Obama.
Only twice impeached Trump failed this test. He refused to accept his loss, although he knew that he had been conclusively defeated. A loss confirmed by the elections authorities, his so far sycophantic Attorney General, and unanimous rulings of the Supreme Court, which had a 6/3 Republican majority, with three Justices appointed by him.
A loss which has left him so narcissistically angry that he invented the Big Lie, that the election was stolen from him. He incited, using this Big Lie, on January 6, 2021, an insurrection to prevent the orderly, constitutional transfer of power to the legally elected president. Incredibly, this treasonous crook still walks free, retaining control of the cult which has become the Republican Party of today. Hopefully, after the current midterms, not for much longer.
I will end this section of the essay with an extract from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, of a conversation between Hobbits Samwise Gamjee and Frodo Baggins:
It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad has happened?
But, in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine the clearer…..
But, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in these stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going because they were holding on to something.
That there is some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for.This passing thing, this shadow, this darkness, this threat to democracy will pass. There is some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for.
I will conclude this essay on Friday morning, when my partisan optimism would have been exposed. Though I am still hoping for an “I told you so!”
November 11, 2022
So my unlikely dreams have all but come true. Based on the latest numbers, Republicans are likely to win control of the House with a razor thin, maybe five or six, majority, though a Democratic win is still mathematically possible. The huge Red Wave predicted by the polls of Republicans flipping 30/50 House seats has proved to be a mirage. The current House score stands at 211/198 favouring Republicans, with 26 results to come. The magic winning number is 218.As for the Senate, the Republicans lead 49/48 with three elections, Nevada, Arizona and Georgia, still in the balance. Nevada is a toss-up, the Democrats are strongly favoured to take Arizona. In Georgia, Democratic incumbent Rev. Ralph Warnock leads Herschell Walker by a fraction of a point.
However, according to Georgia election law, a Senator has to win by 50% plus one vote to qualify for a Senate seat. As both candidates will probably not achieve this threshold (a Libertarian candidate has claimed 2% of the vote, acting as the spoiler), there will be a run-off between these two candidates on December 6, 2021. Which is the date the fate of Senate majority will be sealed. Currently, Rev. Warnock is the clear favourite to win that run-off, because Libertarian voters will almost certainly cast their votes for the Democrat.
At the conclusion of the December 6 Georgia run-off, the Senate will likely maintain the status quo of 50/50, a Democratic majority with the casting vote of Vice President Harris.But my third, and possibly the most significant prediction is being proved right. Many of the Republican candidates endorsed by Trump lost, others won in spite of Trump. His reputation as a kingmaker is severely tarnished, and the poor showing of candidates he endorsed at the midterms has just about ended his presidential aspirations for 2024. His grasp on the Republican Party also seems to have loosened.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, after a resounding gubernatorial victory in the midterms, has emerged as the front-runner for the Republican nomination in 2024. Although DeSantis is also a radical right Republican, Trump’s particular brand of narcissism, mendacity, ignorance, fraud, cruelty and treason, will be impossible to emulate. Thank heaven for small mercies.
President Biden continues to state that he intends to run in 2024, when he will be 82 years of age. We all hope that he will remain healthy and live to a ripe old age, but if he runs and wins the Presidency, he will retain the toughest job in the world up to the age of 86. And I can personally vouch that mental and physical faculties of octogenarians deteriorate by the day. I am 81 years of age, and I can’t remember if I have taken my meds today. I sure as hell would not know what to do with nuclear codes!
Biden had the best midterm election results on Tuesday since the 1990s. In perspective, Obama dropped 63 seats in the House and six in the Senate in his first midterms in 2010. He has done a fine job under difficult circumstances over the last two years, which will only become more challenging in the next two years with an aggressive, hostile House. I have no doubt he will continue to display the integrity and decency he has shown in decades of public service.
But perhaps it is time the Democratic Party started grooming younger, more aggressive candidates for the 2024 presidential election. There is no shortage of such eminently eligible candidates within the ranks. The names of Vice President Kamala Harris, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, California Governor Gavin Newsome and California Congresswoman Katie Porter immediately come to mind.
My personal favourite, New York Congresswoman, Alexandria Occasio Cortez, would barely have reached the minimum required age of 35 by November 2024. Her ideology and her vision are far ahead of her time. American time, that is. To most white Americans, she is just a “damn Commie”.
That she is, a Commie who works tirelessly towards a socially just economy which represents the standards enjoyed by citizens of all other developed nations in the world today. This election has convincingly proved that all elections in the future will be decided by young people, who voted in droves at the midterms. Ocasio-Cortez represents that generation.
Her time will come, when Americans finally realize that they are living in the 21st century.
*** I apologize for an error made in my essay last week about the British Prime Minister. Rishi Sunak was educated at Oxford at Lincoln College, not at Worcester College, as I have written.
By Zanita careem
Modelling is sometimes an undiscovered and unknown way, it might be something that you have dreamed about and to your surprise you are destined to that route.This statement holds so true for Ines, a model from France, she is a model and she knows how to nail it. Ines believes in uniqueness and the moment the camera turns on she is there to give that unique and perfect shot. Her styling secret is to go elegant yet comfortable.Ines loves to work hard to be the perfect one out there and this could be something that could really motivate and inspire other people.
Q: Tell us a little about you and what was life growing up?
A: I’m Ines, born and raised in Paris with a family rich in values, primarily emphasizing independence and an entrepreneurial spirit.
I’ve had a passion for traveling ever since my mother took my brother and me on a year-long world tour when I was 12. Since then, I’ve pursued my studies in hospitality management online, and my journey led me to Sri Lanka, where I’ve been living for five years now.
Meeting people has helped me practice languages, and after traveling to more than 20 countries, I speak 4 languages including Sinhala. I live in the southern part of Sri Lanka where nature, tranquility, and the sound of the ocean reign.
Q: How were you discovered and how has your journey being so far?
A: As a hospitality student during the COVID lockdown, I was approached by clothing brands to work as a model. Prior to moving to Sri Lanka, I had done photo shoots for friends’ brands and especially for my mother’s jewellery line, but I never imagined having a professional career in this field.
I embrace challenges and seize new opportunities, hence I embarked on a career in modelling, which grew to such an extent that I established my own company as a freelance model. Additionally, as a dancer and artistic director, I also work on creative concepts that go beyond the typical photo shoots in Sri Lanka.
Q: Have you always had a passion for fashion and modelling?
A: I discovered this passion when I began posing in front of a camera. As a child, I always enjoyed shopping and dressing up, but I never imagined it would become my profession, especially since I struggled with my weight when I was younger. I believe that nothing in life happens by chance, and if I have fallen in love with Sri Lanka, it is for a reason. This country is full of opportunities; one simply needs to work hard and stand out from the rest.
Q: Biggest hurdle what are some obstacles you faced?
A: I do not encounter specific obstacles in my professional career, but my weakness lies in my sociability. I need to continue working and managing my energy and preserving it for projects that truly bring me happiness. Given the high level of tourism in the southern part of the country, interactions are plenty but can be challenging.
Q: Some latest and up coming projects?
A: The latest project I am currently working on is establishing a career in content creation. I aspire to express and unleash my creativity while collaborating with brands and hotels that hold significance to me. A future project that I have dreamt of for a long time is launching my own clothing brand… but everything takes its own time…
Q: Top tips that keep you looking youthful?
A: Appearing young is of no importance to me; what truly matters is feeling comfortable in one’s own skin and being happy. Youthfulness is largely defined by attitude and energy. What brings me happiness is my family, projects, travels, dancing, and surfing.
Q: What are some of the pros of being a model?
A: The benefits of being a model include constantly being on the move and sometimes even travelling. Additionally, I am deeply grateful for the attention and care that teams provide; it makes me feel like a princess. Representing a brand or company also fosters self-confidence and gratitude.
8. Q: If you could change anything about the fashion industry, what would it be?
A: If I were to change something in the fashion industry in Sri Lanka, it would be to encourage brands to be more creative and accept models of diverse body shapes. Moreover, it’s crucial for them to recognize the beauty of the majority of the population’s natural, dusky skin tones. It’s time to dispel stereotypes associated with fair skin. Sri Lankan dusky skin is beautiful, and it’s imperative to stop labelling it as inferior to fair skin.
Q: What is your mantra?
A: My life philosphy is one of positivity towards everything I do and everything that happens to me. There is always a lesson to be learned
Q: Some of your favourite designers?
A: My favourite designer is Kami Hewavitharane and a brand labelled the Colombo Batik brand.. This brand produces unique and colorful designs and thier collections are breathtakingly beautiful.
Q: If you weren’t a model what would you be?
A: In addition to my career as a model, I work as a manager in hospitality and restaurant management. It’s one of my passions. Otherwise, I would have liked to pursue a career as a professional dancer, but it requires years of practice.
Q: So, has your perception of the fashion industry changed over time?
A: My perception of the industry has not changed much, but I feel now the industry has moved forward for the better. There is originality and creativity amongst most of the designers, and I see an increasing number of women venturing into it, which pleases me.
Q: What was the most important moment in your life?
A: What a difficult question haha! So many beautiful moments, and even the tough ones, have contributed significantly to my growth and evolution. However, the most crucial moment was staying in Sri Lanka despite the COVID conditions and France’s requirement for expatriates to return. I stayed back and took up challenges to pursue my own brand.
Q: What do you think about the state of fashion today?
A: I believe that the state of the fashion industry in Sri Lanka is undergoing significant evolution, with Sri Lankans becoming increasingly independent, liberated, and enterprising.
The little black dress plays such a starring role in our wardrobes that it has its own special designation: the LBD. Vogue’s Hamish Bowles takes us through its history, decade by decade, from Coco Chanel to Cushnie on black dress.
It’s Mademoiselle Chanel who is credited with popularizing the look and, in doing so, making the colour black, previously worn only when in mourning or to express piety (as in ecclesiastical garb), fashionable. In 1926 Vogue dubbed a drawing of one of her snappy, drop-waisted LBDs, “The Chanel ‘Ford’—the frock that all the world will wear.”
They did, and do—men have recently gotten in on the game—though not all carry the Chanel label. In the 1950s, Christian Dior defined the look of the LBD: full-skirted and wasp-waisted. The little black dress Hubert de Givenchy designed for Audrey Hepburn in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s is as representative of the early 1960s as Yves Saint Laurent’s sheer, feather-trimmed number of the latter part of that iconoclastic decade.
Cocktail dresses and LBDs, which are defined by their short(ish) length, are often one and the same. One of the reasons neither will ever go out of style is that there are myriad ways to play “mixologist” with the spare, neat LBD to give it just the kick you want. Cheers!
The little black dress plays such a starring role in our wardrobes that it has its own special designation: the LBD.
In 1926 Vogue dubbed a drawing of one of her snappy, drop-waisted LBDs, “The Chanel ‘Ford’—the frock that all the world will wear.”
From the moment Coco Chanel presented it to the world in the 1920s, the eternal dress became a canvas that almost every designer wanted to weave something of their own into. Although it has moved away from its basic principles, the little black dress has retained the same charm and the same note of seductiveness it once had, and new variations, as with every season so far, also graced the runways in the fall/winter 2024 collections.
Ultra-short models shone on the runways from Tom Ford, Schiaparelli, Givenchy, Giambattista Valli to Ferragamo, as well as many others, proving once again that the little black dress is a garment that will function in every collection and that will, ultimately, also surely be worn. Although the models of these fashion names differ and each has brought their own vision to the iconic dress, what they have in common is that they all serve as a good reminder that the charm of the little black dress does not fade and that we will always return to it, precisely because it is so timeless and versatile.
From the moment Coco Chanel presented it to the world in the 1920s, the eternal dress became a canvas that almost every designer wanted to weave something of their own into. Although it has moved away from its basic principles, the little black dress has retained the same charm and the same note of seductiveness it once had, and new variations, as with every season so far, also graced the runways in the fall/winter 2024 collections.
Ultra-short models shone on the runways from Tom Ford, Schiaparelli, Givenchy, Giambattista Valli to Ferragamo, as well as many others, proving once again that the little black dress is a garment that will function in every collection and that will, ultimately, also surely be worn.
Although the models of these fashion names differ and each has brought their own vision to the iconic dress, what they have in common is that they all serve as a good reminder that the charm of the little black dress does not fade and that we will always return to it, precisely because it is so timeless and versatile.
At a very young age Thushani Rodrigo discovered her love for fashion. An entrepreneur and a fashion designer, she loves to create clothes and garments for people to wear with pride.
Sri Lanka’s fashion landscape is about to experience a transformative shift as Thushani Rodrigo, the visionary founder of Todos, introduces Bliss in Paradise her latest collection with the inspiring ethos, “Wrap Yourself in Kindness.” Under the theme “Fashioning Tomorrow,” Thushani’s collection invites individuals to embrace Vegan Silk as a symbol of kindness towards animals and the environment.
The ethos “Wrap Yourself in Kindness” embodies the essence of Thushani’s collection, emphasizing the importance of compassion and sustainability in fashion. Through the use of Vegan Silk, derived from eco-friendly plant sources, Thushani encourages individuals to adopt a lifestyle of kindness towards animals and the planet.
Despite facing a hearing impairment, Thushani Rodrigo’s passion and determination have propelled her to remarkable heights in the world of fashion. At the age of 16, she earned her Diploma in-Dress Making from Singer School, laying the foundation for her entrepreneurial journey.
Today, Thushani stands as a beacon of innovation and sustainability in the fashion landscape. Her latest venture, which will be retailed at Cotton Collection underscores he- unwavering commitment to ethical fashion practices and environmental responsibility.
Vegan silk, also known as “plant-based silk” or “cruelty-free silk,” serves as the cornerstone of Thushani’s groundbreaking collection. Derived from sustainable plant sources, Vegan Fabric offers a sustainable and animal-friendly alternative to traditional silk.
Thushani’s designs, meticulously crafted from Vegan Fabric, embrace the female form while seamlessly blending sensuousness with practicality.
The launch of Thushani Rodrigo’s Vegan Fabric Collection with Cotton Collection heralds a new era of sustainable fashion in Sri Lanka. By embracing cruelty-free materials and ethical production practices, Thushani paves the way for a more conscious and compassionate fashion industry.
Join us in celebrating this monumental milestone in sustainable fashion as Thushani Rodrigo and Cotton Collection redefine the future of style with their innovative Vegan Fabric Collection.
For media inquiries, please contact: Ruwanthi Rodrigo 0777660477
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- Talented Tushani Rodrigo
Pix by Thushara Attapathu
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