Sunday morning roundup

Ivory is not okay.

India is determined to remain a contender for violence-against-women capital.

Russia's nationalistic nostalgia brings about a Cossack revival.

Charlene Schiff leaves this world with her teachable horror stories.

Where is the outrage over the backlog of unprocessed rape kits? This is an issue in DC, too.

More coffee growers are taking ownership of the supply chain. Also: microfinance is not always the best idea; try microsavings.


Rhode Island is among the states that saw a doubling of food stamp participation. This is fascinating:

Of the few jobs still available in Woonsocket, many were part-time positions at grocery stores like his, with hours clustered around the first of the month.

Pichardo catered his store to the unique shopping rhythms of Rhode Island, where so much about the food industry revolved around the 1st. Other states had passed legislation to distribute SNAP benefits more gradually across the month, believing a one-day blitz was taxing for both retailers and customers...

Pichardo had placed a $10,000 product order to satisfy his diverse customers, half of them white, a quarter Hispanic, 15 percent African American, plus a dozen immigrant populations drawn to Woonsocket by the promise of cheap housing. He had ordered 150 pounds of the tenderloin steak favored by the newly poor, still clinging to old habits; and 200 cases of chicken gizzards for the inter-generationally poor, savvy enough to spot a deal at less than $2 a pound. He had bought pizza pockets for the working poor and plantains for the immigrant poor. He had stocked up on East African marinades, Spanish rice, Cuban snacks and Mexican fruit juice.

What actually went down at Bretton Woods?

Foreigners (i.e., non-Spaniards) are taking up Flamenco.

GMO labeling is about transparency.

Do we need twist-ties or plastic clips?

Alexandria's waterfront will be rezoned.

Um, I love Sweden, but I don't take my lifestyle cues from Sweden. Especially not as the home of Ikea. And I don't think the body-image uproar is surprising or a big deal.