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weyassinebentalb · 3 years ago

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Gaza Conflict Stokes 'Identity Crisis' for Young American Jews

Dan Kleinman does not know quite how to feel.

As a child in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, he was taught to revere Israel as the protector of Jews everywhere, the “Jewish superman who would come out of the sky to save us” when things got bad, he said.

It was a refuge in his mind when white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, chanted “Jews will not replace us,” or kids in college grabbed his shirt, mimicking a “South Park” episode to steal his “Jew gold.”

But his feelings have grown muddier as he has gotten older, especially now as he watches violence unfold in Israel and Gaza. His moral compass tells him to help the Palestinians, but he cannot shake an ingrained paranoia every time he hears someone make anti-Israel statements.

“It is an identity crisis,” Kleinman, 33, said. “Very small in comparison to what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank, but it is still something very strange and weird.”

As the violence escalates in the Middle East, turmoil of a different kind is growing across the Atlantic. Many young American Jews are confronting the region’s long-standing strife in a very different context, with very different pressures, from their parents’ and grandparents’ generations.

The Israel of their lifetime has been powerful, no longer appearing to some to be under constant existential threat. The violence comes after a year when mass protests across the United States have changed how many Americans see issues of racial and social justice. The pro-Palestinian position has become more common, with prominent progressive members of Congress offering impassioned speeches in defense of the Palestinians on the House floor. At the same time, reports of anti-Semitism are rising across the country.

Divides between some American Jews and Israel’s right-wing government have been growing for more than a decade, but under the Trump administration those fractures that many hoped would heal became a crevasse. Politics in Israel have also remained fraught, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long-tenured government forged allegiances with Washington. For young people who came of age during the Trump years, political polarization over the issue only deepened.

Many Jews in America remain unreservedly supportive of Israel and its government. Still, the events of recent weeks have left some families struggling to navigate both the crisis abroad and the wide-ranging response from American Jews at home. What is at stake is not just geopolitical, but deeply personal. Fractures are intensifying along lines of age, observance and partisan affiliation.

In suburban Livingston, New Jersey, Meara Ashtivker, 38, has been afraid for her father-in-law in Israel, who has a disability and is not able to rush to the stairwell to shelter when he hears the air-raid sirens. She is also scared as she sees people in her progressive circles suddenly seem anti-Israel and anti-Jewish, she said.

Ashtivker, whose husband is Israeli, said she loved and supported Israel, even when she did not always agree with the government and its actions.

“It’s really hard being an American Jew right now,” she said. “It is exhausting and scary.”

Some young, liberal Jewish activists have found common cause with Black Lives Matter, which explicitly advocates for Palestinian liberation, concerning others who see that allegiance as anti-Semitic.

The recent turmoil is the first major outbreak of violence in Israel and Gaza for which Aviva Davis, who graduated this spring from Brandeis University, has been “socially conscious.”

“I’m on a search for the truth, but what’s the truth when everyone has a different way of looking at things?” Davis said.

Alyssa Rubin, 26, who volunteers in Boston with IfNotNow, a network of Jewish activists who want to end Jewish American support for Israeli occupation, has found protesting for the Palestinian cause to be its own form of religious observance.

She said she and her 89-year-old grandfather ultimately both want the same thing, Jewish safety. But “he is really entrenched in this narrative that the only way we can be safe is by having a country,” she said, while her generation has seen that “the inequality has become more exacerbated.”

In the protest movements last summer, “a whole new wave of people were really primed to see the connection and understand racism more explicitly,” she said, “understanding the ways racism plays out here, and then looking at Israel/Palestine and realizing it is the exact same system.”

But that comparison is exactly what worries many other American Jews, who say the history of white American slaveholders is not the correct frame for viewing the Israeli government or the global Jewish experience of oppression.

At Temple Concord, a Reform synagogue in Syracuse, New York, teenager after teenager started calling Rabbi Daniel Fellman last week, wondering how to process seeing Black Lives Matter activists they marched with last summer attack Israel as “an apartheid state.”

“The reaction today is different because of what has occurred with the past year, year and a half, here,” Fellman said. “As a Jewish community, we are looking at it through slightly different eyes.”

Nearby at Sha’arei Torah Orthodox Congregation of Syracuse, teenagers were reflecting on their visits to Israel and on their family in the region.

“They see it as Hamas being a terrorist organization that is shooting missiles onto civilian areas,” Rabbi Evan Shore said. “They can’t understand why the world seems to be supporting terrorism over Israel.”

In Colorado, a high school senior at Denver Jewish Day School said he was frustrated at the lack of nuance in the public conversation. When his social media apps filled with pro-Palestinian memes last week, slogans like “From the river to the sea” and “Zionism is a call for an apartheid state,” he deactivated his accounts.

“The conversation is so unproductive, and so aggressive, that it really stresses you out,” Jonas Rosenthal, 18, said. “I don’t think that using that message is helpful for convincing the Israelis to stop bombing Gaza.”

Compared with their elders, younger American Jews are overrepresented on the ends of the religious affiliation spectrum: a higher share are secular, and a higher share are Orthodox.

Ari Hart, 39, an Orthodox rabbi in Skokie, Illinois, has accepted the fact that his Zionism makes him unwelcome in some activist spaces where he would otherwise be comfortable. College students in his congregation are awakening to that same tension, he said. “You go to a college campus and want to get involved in anti-racism or social justice work, but if you support the state of Israel, you’re the problem,” he said.

Hart sees increasing skepticism in liberal Jewish circles over Israel’s right to exist. “This is a generation who are very moved and inspired by social justice causes and want to be on the right side of justice,” Hart said. “But they’re falling into overly simplistic narratives, and narratives driven by true enemies of the Jewish people.”

Overall, younger American Jews are less attached to Israel than older generations: About half of Jewish adults under 30 describe themselves as emotionally connected to Israel, compared with about two-thirds of Jews over age 64, according to a major survey published last week by the Pew Research Center.

And though the U.S. Jewish population is 92% white, with all other races combined accounting for 8%, among Jews ages 18 to 29 that rises to 15%.

In Los Angeles, Rachel Sumekh, 29, a first-generation Iranian American Jew, sees complicated layers in the story of her own Persian family. Her mother escaped Iran on the back of a camel, traveling by night until she got to Pakistan, where she was taken in as a refugee. She then found asylum in Israel. She believes Israel has a right to self-determination, but she also found it “horrifying” to hear an Israeli ambassador suggest other Arab countries should take in Palestinians.

“That is what happened to my people and created this intergenerational trauma of losing our homeland because of hatred,” she said.

The entire situation feels too volatile and dangerous for many people to even want to discuss, especially publicly.

Violence against Jews is increasingly close to home. Last year the third-highest number of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States were recorded since the Anti-Defamation League began cataloging them in 1979, according to a report released by the civil rights group last month. The ADL recorded more than 1,200 incidents of anti-Semitic harassment in 2020, a 10% increase from the previous year. In Los Angeles, the police are investigating a sprawling attack on sidewalk diners at a sushi restaurant Tuesday as an anti-Semitic hate crime.

Outside Cleveland, Jennifer Kaplan, 39, who grew up in a modern Orthodox family and who considers herself a centrist Democrat and a Zionist, remembered studying abroad at Hebrew University in 2002, and being in the cafeteria minutes before it was bombed. Now she wondered how the Trump era had affected her inclination to see the humanity in others, and she wished her young children were a bit older so she could talk with them about what is happening.

“I want them to understand that this is a really complicated situation, and they should question things,” she said. “I want them to understand that this isn’t just a, I don’t know, I guess, utopia of Jewish religion.”

Esther Katz, the performing arts director at the Jewish Community Center in Omaha, Nebraska, has spent significant time in Israel. She also attended Black Lives Matter protests in Omaha last summer and has signs supporting the movement in the windows of her home.

She has watched with a sense of betrayal as some of her allies in that movement have posted online about their apparently unequivocal support for the Palestinians, and compared Israel to Nazi Germany. “I’ve had some really tough conversations,” said Katz, a Conservative Jew. “They’re not seeing the facts, they’re just reading the propaganda.”

Her three children, who range in age from 7 to 13, are now wary of a country that is for Katz one of the most important places in the world. “They’re like, ‘I don’t understand why anyone would want to live in Israel, or even visit,’” she said. “That breaks my heart.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

source https://www.techno-90.com/2021/05/gaza-conflict-stokes-identity-crisis.html

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bates--boy · 4 years ago

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Peter was just about done with work that day, cleaning the bottles for the infant animals when his phone buzzed in his pockets. He shut the sink off, yanked off the wet rubber gloves, and pulled his device out of his pocket. “Oh!” he chirped, seeing the name of the sender.

[Naseem] Yo, Pete, it’s Naz. Was wondering if you have plans for lunch today?

[Naseem] I wanted us to do some extra rap practice and maybe go over the lines between Troy and Stefan before our big night

Peter turned to sit back against the lip of the sink, hugging one of his arms across his torso as he typed.

[Peter] i have a half-day today so i’m free once i clock out at twelve.

[Peter] i’d be happy to buy you lunch if you haven’t eaten yet. i know a great place to get a bite to eat.

[Naseem] Bet. My break’s half past noon. See you at your work?

[Peter] fine by me! see ya!

Smiling at the screen before shoving his phone into his pocket, Peter finished cleaning the rest of the bottles, went to the changing area to wiggle out of the waterproof overalls, and then to the employee area to punch out at the time clock and fetch his hoodie and his copy of the stage play from his locker. He looked down at the practically beaten-up book, some pages curled in, corners folded, colorful tabs poking out of the pages: pink for Josef’s spoken lines, blue for Troy’s; green for Josef’s songs, yellow for Troy’s. Slightly crinkled from the times Peter shoved it into his bag to carry at all times, or when he had his quick bursts of sleep while reading over the thing.

With a quick cleaning at the employee basin, Peter made a brisk walk back to the grounds, heading to the entrance area. He sent a quick message of his location and waited with the play lying open, quietly murmuring Josef’s verses. Soon, the familiar deep blue XC60 rolled onto the lot, with the Nigerian, Palestinian, and Swedish flags painted across the back. Naseem climbed out and waved as he strolled over, a leather messenger bag slung over his shoulder and his copy of the play rolled in his hand. When he drew close enough, Naseem said, “Wow, it’s been a while since I last came here.”

“Ah, so you probably don’t know about the new aerial arts performance they have here,” Peter grinned as they walked back to the conservatory grounds together.

Naseem shrugged. “I have. And I’ve been meaning to come check it out, but, you know. Schedule..”

“Well, the next time you’re free, come on over! I can even sneak you in for a show!” Peter nudged his shoulder against Naseem.

“How are you gonna--” Naseem stopped once he saw the coy grin on Peter’s face. “Lemme guess: you’re the star?”

“One of them.” Peter bobbed his shoulder and looked away in faux modesty. He giggled and patted Naseem’s arm. “Come on, I know a great picnic area we can practice in.”

Peter and Naseem took the stroll to the benches, dodging giggling little kids darting everywhere to get to the next animal enclosure that caught their eye, and the wandering animals that escaped their habitats, mainly small bird and marsupial species. After Peter bought them both bottled smoothies at one of the snack kiosks, they settled at a table near the wooden fence post, drawing annoyed glances from passersby as they sat on the tabletop instead of the benches.

“Which scenes do you want to practice today?” Peter asked before pulling a long draught from his bottle. “We can just do a couple so I can treat you to lunch.”

Naseem skimmed the pages he had marked, going back and forth and shrugging. “Ones that have our characters singing so we can work these vocal cords. Let’s start with...” he consulted his shorthand notes. “Act III, scene 4. So, my character comes up to yours.”

Naseem clambered down the picnic table, took a few steps away, and stomped back. The chills Peter felt may or may not have to do with the complete switch of energy Naseem made. Even his green eyes flared with fury.

“Why the hell did you do that to Josef?!”

Peter sighed as his character did, shifting on the table and leaning forward on his knees. So cool and unaffected, to the point of almost being despondent. Peter still couldn’t figure this Troy out, but he spoke his lines.

“I didn’t do a thing to him, Stef.”

Naseem crossed his arms and tilted his head. “Oh, really? So when he said no to that stage deal because ‘his mom’s gonna die alone in their apartment while he’s out singing for pocket change’, that wasn’t you?” Peter had to pause here, as Troy struggled to find an excuse. Naseem threw up his arms. “God, what is wrong with you?! What kind of a friend are you?!”

“A realistic one.” Peter’s tone remained calm, stoic - a stoner too mellowed out to get worked up.

Naseem rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right. Realistic. Jo finally had what he needed right in his lap, and you couldn’t even be supportive of him because you’re realistic. That’s bull crap, even for you.”

“You can say whatever you want about me, Stef, but of all these people feeding him these wild dreams --” Peter swept his hand about, gesturing to a figurative crowd while a few eyes turned their way. He pointed to his own chest. “--I’m the only one looking out for him.”

“No, looking out for him would be helping him with this. He has a chance to get a better life, but you don't want that for him!"

"I don't--?!" Peter gave a scoffing laughing and rolled his eyes. "You're so far off, it's funny!"

"Yeah? So all this time you kept telling him to don't do it, it's not because you know you're wasting your own life being some bum mad that you lost your trust fund and you're angry that Josef can make it?"

"No!" Peter's voice started to boil, Troy's cool, arrogant façade starting to crack and chip. His free hand curled into a shaking fist.

"Then why? Why are you being such a shitty friend?!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Peter could see a uniformed figure walking up to them, parents trying to distract their kids from the argument.

"Because this would break him just like it almost did me!"

In a blink of an eye, and a sudden flush of heat on his cheeks, Peter was on his feet, too, feeling Troy's despair as he and Naseem were practically nose to nose. For all the anger, the anguish, and the overprotective adrenaline Troy was supposed to feel at that moment, Peter channeled the underlying heartache and exhaustion; he sounded tired.

"Like it did my sister."

"Er, excuse me," the uniformed man said when he came close enough, a hand reaching out to them. "Is there a prob--"

Naseem stared at Peter for a breath. "Your sister?"

Peter gave a soft, sad laugh. "Oh, that's right, I never told you about Anna, did I?" He silently filled his lungs with air.

You don't know the story of a boy and a girl Mommy pleasers destined to dominate the world

The worker looked between the two men, casting an especially long glance at the singing one. "...What?"

Born to hold the dreams that Mommy tucked away Cause she got bare footed and pregnant Waiting on her someday

The worker furrowed his brows. “What is--” he spotted the open scripts in their hands and lowered his own hand. “Oh... okay...”

Peter felt a tickle of a grin almost appearing on his lips, amusement almost breaking his character. Almost.

Commercial deals, toddlers on every single ad Barely out of diapers, and we’re out there selling fads Taught to walk so we could tap dance and do a twirl And hold our hands out for all the gold, silver, and pearls

Yanked outta school when the lime lights calling us Daddy got you a gig, so you better not fucking fuss! Tuck in your gut, tilt up your chin, chest out and sing You’re gonna make it worth taking this diamond ring

What you do with heavy makeup and cameras flashing? Swallow cotton and pinch our cheeks red to stay dashing Seeing enemies in friends looking for a ladder to climb Trying to bring you to ruin when they find the right time To strike, like vipers on the hunt for your big juicy kill And the only way to stop the cracks is a tiny yellow pill

A tiny yellow pill A tiny yellow pill A handful of tiny yellow pills Until her heart went still

Naseem slowly started to unfold his arms, his character Stefan hit with a world-shattering realization. “Oh...”

Peter turned his face away. “Yeah...”

Naseem shook his head and sighed. “Man, I’m... I’m sorry. But, see, here’s the thing...”

I had never known you were crushed this hard Ruled by your fears, beaten, tattered, and battle scarred Now that I think it, so much shit start to make sense Is this why a little stage work gets you so incensed?

I hate that for you, all this pain you’ve been burdened Chasing a high and identity that doesn’t leave you hurtin’ But it’s unfair how you hurt Josef with your sister’s ghost Breaking a dream for someone else’s overdose

What does it do for the person on the other spectrum Piss poor, tryna get meds for his ailing, dying mum When even his close friend is robbing him of a dream Cuz he can’t stop himself from falling apart at the seam? Still blinded by phantom lights, suffocating at the gills? What about Josef’s mum little pills?

Her little pills Her life saving pills If she don’t get hers, then her heart will stand still.

This was the part where Peter is stunned into silence, indignant, hurt, scrambling for more excuses, still trying to cling to the death of his sister -- the crux of Troy’s listlessness and indifference. But then a loud cry rang out around them.

The crowd of mere picnickers grew during their rehearsal, it seemed, now cheering and clapping and whistling, someone even going “You tell him, baby!”

Stuttering, Peter looked towards Naseem and exchanged smiles with him. They stood closer together, held hands, and took a bow.

“Thank you, thank you!” Peter called out, waving to the cell phones held out. “If you want more, purchase tickets for Inner City Lights before they sell out!”

“Written and produced by Gunnar Didig!” Naseem added, calling out the website to purchase over the hooting and whistling.

#note to self: never write a musical #life thus far ( story )#droid noodles ( writing )#and suicide imp tw #long post

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betsynagler · 6 years ago

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The Four (Thousand, New) Questions

When I was growing up, I didn't really have to think too much about what it meant to be a Jewish American. A large part of that was living in New Jersey, where being a member of the tribe isn’t exactly an anomaly. In Newark, pretty much all of my friends were Jewish or Black, until I spent 2nd grade in Catholic School. You’d think that might make it weird, but even then, it wasn’t. All my new friends just had Irish and Italian names, and I got to sit in the back during mass and read, which is the dream of every second grader. And when we moved to the suburbs, things became, if anything, more Jewy. We joined Temple Israel and actually tried going to services every once in a while, and I went to Hebrew school on Saturdays. At my suburban public grade school, I learned the term “Jappy” something my friends and I called other girls that we considered spoiled, regardless of whether or not they were Jewish, and in junior high, the school bus that came from the most wealthy, Jewish neighborhood in town was sometimes referred to as “The Jew Canoe.” Who did we learn these terms from? Other Jews. We were the ones trading in the laughable stereotypes, because that’s American Jewish culture all over: we joke because we can. It’s never been in doubt in my lifetime that we belong here, to the degree that we are comfortable poking fun at ourselves, enough that while we are very aware that we aren’t and will never be the majority — and if you forget that, you always have the 30 to 60 days of Christmas to remind you — we are perfectly okay with that; and enough to feel safe in the knowledge that the past is the past, because in the Tri-State Area in the 1970s and 80s, anti-Semitism was about as real to me as Star Wars: something that existed long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away. The same thing with Nazis. Nazis were the movie villains nobody got upset about. Nobody ever said, “Why do the Nazis always have to be the bad guys?” Why? Because they were the bad guys.

That doesn’t mean that my Jewish identity was 100% uncomplicated, mostly because I was raised to figure stuff out for myself. Mine were the kind of parents who took us to fancy restaurants and said, “Want to order the escargot? Have at it!”, perhaps not realizing that they’d end up with a seven-year-old who liked to try every appetizer on the menu but had a stomach the size of a golfball – which led to my parents gaining weight in the 70s, which led to their joining the exercise craze in the 80s...See how history happens? Being able to make my own decisions meant I could quit Hebrew school after one year (I was already a well-practiced quitter of stuff I didn't like, such as wearing dresses and learning the violin). I felt a little guilty about it, so I was definitely Jewish in that way, but one of the reasons I couldn’t get behind religious school was the fact that Judaism was supposedly my religion, but – go figure – our family was not religious. My parents don’t agree on which type of not-religious they are, since my mother describes herself as an atheist and my father calls himself an agnostic, but that’s only if you push them, since neither of them cares enough about it either way. They still identify as Jewish, and therein lay the confusion for me: Judaism is kind of an ethnic identity as well as a religion, but in a weird way, because you can convert to it, which you can’t do with, say, Slavic, and because it’s not one where we all come from one specific place, since Jews were basically driven out of everywhere. Sure, my family were all driven out of one country, Poland, but that didn’t exactly make them feel Polish. No, we were definitely Jews, just the secular kind, which is actually a thing — although I didn’t know anyone else like that in high school, the result being that in my group of friends, a mix of Jews and non-Jews, I was in my own category of Jewish, But Doesn’t Know When Any of the Holidays Are.

When I went to college on the West Coast, where I was meeting new people all the time, it was common for people tell me I didn’t “look Jewish,” which seemed to just fit right in with every other confusing part of my Jewish identity. You might think that, as a stealth Jew, I’d finally be privy to negativity about us, but that never happened. That was around the time of the rise of the religious right, and there were a lot of born-again Christians at Stanford, my freshman dorm was full of them. But while they may have believed I was going to hell, most of them still seemed happy to hang with me while we were alive – one of them even took me out for fro yo once (that’s short for “frozen yogurt,” and eating it together at Stanford in 1987 was called “dating”). If anything, being Jewish around them was an advantage, because they never tried to rebirth me the way they did other Christians, like my poor freshman roommate – I would come back to our room to find her surrounded by a group of them, looking uncomfortable, like she was getting hit on by Jesus. Mind you, I know now that my school was a liberal bubble inside the liberal bubble that was Northern California, and that protected me from a lot of things. But while we were definitely dealing with racism and sexism on campus at the time, anti-Semitism? That just wasn’t a thing.

Neither was being a Jewish person who didn’t support Israel. I didn’t know all that much about Israel growing up. I knew that it was the Jewish state, where I had once had some relatives, and that my cousins and eventually my brother — who finished Hebrew school — went to visit because they felt like it was an important way to learn about who they were. I didn’t. But when, in college, I had my first conversation with someone who’d lived in Israel about the way that Israelis felt this constant existential threat to their existence that justified their defensive posture when it came to negotiating peace with the Palestinians, even though they clearly had vast military superiority, I didn’t necessarily agree, but I got it. I understood why Israelis felt that, in a visceral, six-million-dead-just-because-they-were-like-you way that I think most non-Jews can’t.

That was probably as much of a surprise to me as it was to anyone: that, on some level, in spite of not looking Jewish, or being able to speak Hebrew, or knowing what Sukkot was (if it wasn’t about eating or presents, it didn’t make it into the Nagler Canon of Holidays), I actually still somehow just was Jewish. And that part of my identity might never have really sunk in if I hadn’t become a New Yorker. Moving here didn’t just mean that I discovered Zabars, or that I was a bagel snob, or that I would be able to have lox at catering pretty much every day (and occasionally take some home if it was really good), although those things did indeed happen. New York was able to absorb and assimilate Jewish culture in a way that allowed it to flourish as one distinct flavor of the whole that is this city of many flavors. New York is a Jewish city – in same way that it’s also Italian, Irish, African-American, Puerto Rican, Chinese, Russian, Indian, Dominican, Pakistani, Caribbean, Mexican, and the list goes on depending on who’s arrived recently and who’s coming next. And so, from the way I relate to food, to my sense of humor, to my analytical and intellectual side, to how forthright/tactless I can be, to my overall worldview: living here enabled me to recognize that I just wouldn’t be this way if I weren’t Jewish.

Everything feels different in 2019 in so many, surreal ways, but what exactly it means to be Jewish in America is definitely a big one. I’ve felt some vulnerability and uncertainty as a woman for most of my life, as you do, but I’ve never felt that way about being a Jew until now. To the point that I can’t call myself “a Jew” any more, because suddenly, that’s an epithet. How the hell did that happen? When did we allow them to take that word away? Then there’s the realization of, Wait, we can’t make those jokes any more because there are people who actually still think that shit about us? And they’re telling other people? Fucking internet. Add to that the fault lines within the American Jewish community over Israel and the ground really starts to feel like it’s swaying under your feet. How much we should continue to support this country that seems increasingly unrecognizable to me, that is so racked by fear and sectarianism that it appears to have given up on peace and democracy, that votes for a leader who has demonstrated time and again that he is both racist and corrupt? Well, now that I’ve put it like that, okay, maybe this is something that Israel and the United States have in common right now, but that doesn’t make it any better for those of use who are trying to stay on the sane side of it all. I’m lucky that most of my family is in agreement with me on these issues, but my mother has some cousins with whom she is close that she had to ask to stop sending her political emails, because their conservative views about Israel seemed to have somehow spread to abortion and immigration, despite that fact that they live in San Francisco. Jewish Trump supporters? From the Bay Area? What the hell is the going on?! Come on, this can’t be us. When an audience at the Republican Jewish Coalition cheers when Trump says “Our country’s full. You can’t come in,” don’t they hear the eerie echos of what the American government said to the boats full of Jews they sent back to be slaughtered in the holocaust? Don’t they know that we are supposed to be sharp, and educated, and fucking liberals? Oh, wait, is “liberal” now a bad word not just among conservatives but for some on the left too, as in the “liberal elite who control everything” that they’re always talking about? But, double wait, wasn’t that just another way anti-Semites used to say “the Jews” without saying “the Jews”? But triple wait, aren’t Bernie Sanders and Glenn Greenwald Jewish? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Of course, this about when all of your older Jewish relatives shake their heads at all of this and say, “See? This is exactly the shit always happens to us. Somehow, when things go bad in the world, and people start believing crazy conspiracy shit, that always turns back on the Jews.” I never believed that before, so to see it sort of happening right before my eyes is really something. But at the same time, I’m sure as hell not going to let that make me just silo up. Yeah, there are the swastikas, and the Tree of Life synagogue shooting, and “Jews will not replace us,” but can we honestly say we have it worse than everyone else who’s under attack in this country right now? What’s the point of joining a grievance competition that just gives the people who are trying to divide the left exactly what they want? It’s how, when the new questions that confuse and divide us just keep coming — What do we say or not say about Ilhan Omar? What about the schism in the Women’s March? What about the Senate bill that would allow state and local governments to withhold contracts from those who boycott Israel that Chuck Schumer supported? — they just get us to go after each other.

Let’s not do that. Sure, maybe this is just another case of me getting older and less able to accept how the world is changing — sort of a, “Damn Nazis, get off my lawn!” type of thing – and maybe I should just go along with this new normal. But that's one thing I know is definitely not me. MoTs like to talk shit out, sometimes too much, but eh. Let’s bring that tradition of analysis and argument — and I mean the kind where you’re forthright and emotional, but you still know how to listen — to bear on the questions we’re having both on the left and in the Jewish community about how we move forward, instead of fleeing back into our fears from the past.

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hummussexual · 7 years ago

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This year, Ramadan–the ninth month of the Islamic year, in which observant Muslims fast to commemorate the revelation of the Quran–happens to coincide with most of Gay Pride month. Quiet as it’s kept, there are uncounted numbers of queer Muslims in the gay community. One of them is Izzadine Mustafa.

Izzadine was born 25 years ago in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His father, a Palestinian Muslim, and his mother, a white Christian, raised him and his two brothers Muslim. They also raised Izzadine female, but when he was 21 and in college, he came out as a transgender man and began, he says, to reinvent himself. He’d always wanted to live in New York, so he got a job at the Institute for Middle East Understanding, based in Brooklyn. Izzy’s now here; he’s queer; and–with due journalistic objectivity–he’s slightly awesome. I started by asking him what it’s like, combining Ramadan with Gay Pride.

IM: Ramadan is a way for me to reflect and recenter myself, and Pride is a month when I’m surrounded by queers and we make community from that. Muslims break our daily fast at dinners called iftars. So it’s been really cool, attending iftars with other queer Muslims, celebrating Ramadan as well as Pride month.

SD: How did your parents meet?

IM: My dad grew up in the occupied West Bank, in a village near Nablus called Jama’in. He got a scholarship to a school in Washington DC, but then he lost it. He couldn’t afford much, so he found the University of New Mexico, which is the cheapest school in the country. He studied business management and actually met my mom in Arabic class. He wanted an easy A and my mom, who’s from Texas, wanted to learn Arabic.

SD: Tell me about being a trans organizer.

IM: It’s really important for me say that I’m a transgender man. Part of the reason I’m out-loud about my trans-ness is that, even within leftist and liberal spaces, trans folk are not that common. There’s lots of stereotyping and ignorance around who we are. Also, I come to the trans community with a lot of privilege, in that I’m a masculine transgender man. I pass. I walk through the world and people don’t recognize that I’m trans. So I have a lot to learn from the trans community.

I want to be there, especially for young trans people. When I make public that I’m transgender, Muslim, and Palestinian, I get lots of messages from trans kids who are Muslim and struggling with their identity. It’s important for me to show them that it’s going to be OK, you know?

SD: What do you think you bring to Islam as a trans person?

IM: Perspective. Being a trans man, I understand both gender roles. I’m not blinded by the arrogance and entitlement that societies instill in boys at an early age. I’m hoping to bring to the Muslim community the message not to sweep these issues under the rug. Muslims are so diverse; we’re not a monolith. There are many Muslim communities throughout the world that accept trans folks. I hope all Muslims can see that there are trans and queer Muslims, and that’s OK–because there’s now this global resurgence of white supremacy raining down on everybody. But we’re all in this together. My main mission–why I do this work–is not only for my people but for the collective liberation of everybody.

Izzadine Mustafa. (Photo: Courtesy of Izzadine Mustafa)

SD: And do you think celebrating Gay Pride is liberating?

IM: Pride is when LGBTQ people express themselves; it’s a momentous month. But the reality is that Pride is giving more and more space to groups who oppress people, such as the NYPD, the Israeli military, such as politicians who honestly don’t care about many LGBTQ lives.

In 2013, I went to the New York City Pride Parade – my first since I came out as queer, trans. I was carrying a sign that said, “Don’t Pinkwash Israeli Apartheid.” And a man from the Israeli LGBTQ contingent came up and started yelling, “You’re a terrorist supporter, you’re a terrorist!” Then he spit in my face.

SD: Why were you carrying that sign at a Pride march?

IM: I felt it was important because pinkwashing is one of the things I’m passionate about as a Palestinian trans person and part of the queer community. Pinkwashing is a way the Israeli government covers up the occupation and its human rights abuses against the Palestinian people, my people.

For instance, there’s this campaign called Brand Israel that tries to make Israel look like a gay haven. They say, “LGBT folks of the world, come to Israel. We have a huge Pride; we offer acceptance.” They go to college campuses and queer communities and say things like, “Palestinians don’t accept queer people; they’ll kill you.” This is basically an Israeli far rightwing government, saying they’re LGBTQ-friendly. But when I go home to Palestine, the Israelis don’t see me as LGBTQ; they see me as a Palestinian–and they’re really racist about it.

What Palestinian queers say is, “Of course there’s anti-LGBTQ sentiment in Palestine. Just like in America and all over the world–even in Israel.” I, as a Palestinian trans person, do not want a government giving us legitimacy when it’s used to justify the oppression of my people.

SD: So you’ve actually been to Palestine and Israel?

IM: I grew up in a very white, middle-class neighborhood. But as my dad says, “To know where you’re going, you have to know where you’re coming from.” So when I was nine years old, my parents started sending me and my brothers to the West Bank village where my dad’s family lives. After that, we would go almost every summer, partly to help out my grandmother; partly to see there was more to life than growing up in a cozy American neighborhood.

The first time I went, it was around 1999, before the second Intifada. I would see barbed wire, checkpoints, soldiers, everyone speaking two different languages. It was shocking for me and confusing because here I am, used to just hanging out on the playground with friends. But it was also good to bond with my cousins, who were around my age, and I got really close to my grandmother. As I got into my teenage years, I started to understand the full scope of the occupation.

I’d return to school in August and start debates with my teachers about Palestine. I’m of the 9/11 generation, so there were constant conversations about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the war on terrorism. Palestine would be thrown in, in history class, even in English classes, so I would challenge my teachers on their bigoted statements. In my junior year in high school, I was the newspaper editor and I ran a few pieces on Palestine. Each time I got in trouble.

SD: Why did people object?

IM: Point blank, because many people subscribed to the ideology that Israel should be a land for Jews only. They saw me as challenging that, even though the majority of my friends were of the Jewish faith.

I remember in middle school going to all the bar mitzvahs. Then in high school our friendships started changing. There was this program that would send Jewish kids to Israeli high school for a semester and they would learn how to train in the army. They’d come back and we’d get into these extensive arguments, concluding we couldn’t be friends. I’d say, “You want to join in on the oppression of my family? I’m not going to stand for that.”

SD: What’s queer activism like in Palestine?

IM: There are a number of Palestinian organizations in Israel and the West Bank that work on sexual and gender diversity. There’s Al Qaws, which provides services to queers, and counters Israel’s message that Palestinian queers don’t exist. They also say, “We don’t support this occupation.” And there’s this Facebook page called “Pink Watching Israel,” which is a committee of Palestinian queers and allies. Gaza is a separate situation because they’re under siege, so it’s harder to express any kind of freedom there.

SD: There are about 6,000 Palestinian political prisoners, and I recently read news accounts about some going on hunger strike.

IM: We called it the Dignity Strike. For forty days, about 1,500 Palestinian political prisoners refused to eat. And they won. In Palestine, everyone knows somebody who’s been or is now in Israeli prisons. One in four Palestinian men have been imprisoned in their lives. You have 500 to 700 children prosecuted in Israeli military courts. Kids as young as eight years old are sent to prison. Israel will kidnap a child from their home during a night raid and take them to prison. Their parents have no idea where they are or what’s happening to them. So this was a hunger strike for the most basic demands, like family visitation rights. And the children won better access to see a lawyer and their parents.

I wasn’t involved in the organizing, but I tried to push it into the media. The hunger strike, like the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction movement, used nonviolent tactics to pressure Israel to respect our basic human rights. What this strike did was to galvanize people; to unify Palestinians across Gaza, Israel, and the West Bank. It’s a long time since that happened. It’s the prisoners, we hope, who will unify us as a people.

SD: Has prison affected your family?

IM: One of my uncles deals with mental health issues because of the torture he got when he was 18, 19 years old. He was arrested for participating in demonstrations during the first Intifada and was in prison for years, beginning as a teenager. Every time I go home to my village, there’s always a celebration for somebody who spent years in prison and is just coming home. It’s like a weekly occurrence.

SD: Is there anything that inspires you in all this?

IM: Movements toward justice and liberation. Like the Movement for Black Lives, Standing Rock, and Black Lives Matter. I’ve also noticed there’s been a resurgence of people working on rights for undocumented immigrants, for women’s rights, LGBTQ rights. We seem to be coming together around issues that connect but also separate us. I’m seeing cross-movement building and so many people willing to learn about the occupation of Palestine. I also think there are more young Palestinians who are no longer silent. Growing up, lots of us would hear from our parents, “Don’t talk about Palestine,” for fear of repercussions. Now, there’s young, fearless Palestinians in Students for Justice in Palestine, the Palestine Youth Movement, and a few organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace and Black Solidarity with Palestine. We’re working hand-in-hand, saying, “We’re not afraid.”

Also more people are seeing that the Arab and the Muslim worlds are not the enemy – our enemies are those who try to pit us against each other. So there’s things to be inspired by in this dark, dark time.

SD: How was coming out to your family?

IM: I was worried at first, because growing up in this country, you mostly hear stories of families disowning kids. So I went into it hoping for the best and expecting the worst. But when I came out to my parents, they were actually accepting and welcoming. It took my mom a little longer because she was like, “Oh, I’m losing a daughter.” But I’m their son, now. And when my dad told my grandmother in Palestine about me being trans, she was like, “Amazing! I have a third grandson!”

You know, I’m not the most religious person. I don’t pray five times a day, I don’t go to the mosque often. But something that has grounded me in Islam is the idea of embodying God, right? Or trying to. Compassion, being good to people and to living things. What’s kept me going are those values of love, patience, and good deeds. Yeah.

#trans #Palestine #gender #islam #lgbt #religion and gender #religion and sexuality #religion

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pocinperioddramas · 7 years ago

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Haha whoops, I forgot to say that if you want sources for any of the stuff I mentioned I can track them down for you - the comments were just way too long already. (Thanks again for the thoughtful, civil conversation. I'm trying to find a non-patronizing-sounding way to say I was nowhere near as mature and self-aware as you in high school and I can't, but I swear I don't mean it that way, I just admire that. It took me way longer and I'm not even sure I'm there yet.)

So to start with I’m glad you’ve put so much thought into this. I personally as kind of uncomfortable bringing it up, as I *know* I’m not super well-informed on Israel, but I didn’t feel I could say nothing. With that knowledge in mind, I tentatively support a two-state solution - I’m not sure whether it’s relevant if it could *realistically* happen without further bloodshed - if it TECHNICALLY could, that’s probably what matters. (I’m maybe not expressing myself well - it’s like how a lot of things in Canada/USA which are technically possible are realistically less possible because of conservative obstruction, but we still aim for them.) Or even just… LESS bloodshed then right now.

There’s a post going around that GG posted on fb that’s getting a lot of flak, but the actual post specifically condemns Hamas, not Palestine, and her statements in the post support coexistence - and, yes, young IDF soldiers, but military service is compulsory in Israel - I know I feel for any young people drafted or convinced into combat. Like - it’s still okay to have an issue with her support of the military (although, like I said, her service wasn’t a choice and she wasn’t in combat), but a lot of the problem I think is that her service in/support of the Israeli military is being scrutinized and condemned, while celebrities like, say, Adam Driver, who supports the American military HARDCORE, like, complete with fundraising and stuff, go completely unscrutinized and uncondemed despite the US military’s own horrible track record/activities.

Last thing I think - it’s been my understanding that the creation of Israel created so many problems due to mistakes/racism/anti-Semitism by Western powers, and not Israelis or Jewish people in general. I don’t know how accurate that is - but it complicates the idea of Israel as ‘colonialist.’ (Although obviously the affect on Palestine has been… unjustly detrimental, to put it obscenely mildly.) I’d feel way more comfortable letting a Jewish person speak on this.

I know you’re looking for a mod - have you considered looking for a Jewish perspective, not specifically, but maybe as a desirable thing? Erm. Sorry for length, I didn’t intend for that number of replies. Thanks again for giving this so much thought. (VERY different experience from the last time I sent a blog I like a message like that tbh.)

Hello again, thanks for all your replies! :) I will respond to all of them here, by the way, for easier reading and so there will be not too many replies in that one post alone.

I understand your point about a realistic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict not being that relevant as of now, as that wouldn’t be very easy especially if there is still obstruction from self-interested parties, and you make a fair parallel to the situation there in Canada and the US. So yes, at the very least, less bloodshed than before would be something to aim for, which will hopefully eventually lead to the war’s end and full peace at last.

I saw a screenshot of that post - that was the very post for which people began truly disliking and condemning Gal for since it’s so explicit in its support of IDF. She brings up Hamas in that post - but Hamas can be interpreted as either a fundamentalist group of terrorists or a grassroots organization of freedom fighters, depending on your views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict/war in Gaza. To be honest, I don’t know what my stance on Hamas is yet, as I’ve read contradicting information about the group and I don’t know what to believe as of now. But there is apparently one falsehood that Gal perpetuates about Hamas in that post, whether or not you believe them to be terrorists or noble freedom fighters - she says that Hamas is using Palestinian women and children as human shields, something which has apparently already been disproven by a number of major news organizations (see here and here for more information).

Here’s an important quote from the 2nd article I linked that I find relevant:

“Speaking up for the Palestinians does not mean you are supporting Hamas or even are anti-Israel. It is just impossible to ignore the facts. In this so-called “war” there are way more people dying on one side than the other. And most of the people dying are civilians. Not only that, but hospitals and schools are in the cross-hairs, too. Yes, any nation reserves the right to defend itself. But is this really self defense or a variation of Florida’s barbarian “Stand Your Ground” laws played out on a global scale?

The other thing that bothers me about Gadot’s stance on the conflict is one of the hashtags she uses: #weareright. That hashtag is buttressed by other, more palatable ones like #freegazafromhamas and #coexistance (sp), but it still oozes with the kind of nationalism that leads to the kind of escalation that will ultimately make everything worse for both sides.

Here’s the thing. When you have hundreds of people — most of whom are women and children — dead and hospitals and schools destroyed, no one is right. War is terrible and awful. Not a spectator sport. Supporting one’s country does not mean you have to also support what that country is doing, especially when so much death and destruction is the direct result of those actions.

The fact that Gadot will be the real life embodiment of Wonder Woman for generations to come is what makes this all so ironic. Maybe not as ironic as casting, say, Ted Nugent as Batman, but still. Wonder Woman is supposed to be an ambassador of peace. Of course, she’s also an Amazon warrior who isn’t afraid to take up the sword against evil, but Diana of Themyscira only goes to war for those who cannot fight for themselves.

Is it possible that, were Wonder Woman real, her view of the conflict in Gaza would be filled with more compassion for the oppressed? Isn’t that the kind of justice that a character like Wonder Woman is supposed to inspire?”

As the quote points out, even though she says she supports coexistence in her hashtags, she uses the hashtags #weareright and #loveidf at the same time. I am aware of her history as a soldier serving in the IDF and I’m also aware that in Israel, serving in their military is compulsory, so I do not really condemn her for that. But the fact is that she remains an active supporter of IDF when she doesn’t have to be, because as far as I know, it isn’t compulsory for Israeli citizens to actively show their support and love for the IDF like through social media (unless it is, so please correct me if I’m wrong there - because I don’t know enough about Israeli laws and policies on that front). After her service in the military, she could have just remained quiet and not necessarily have been so public about her support of the IDF (but then that might have been a whole other can of worms as she would be condemned for her silence on the issue, for it could be viewed as being still complicit in the oppression due to her not speaking out on it).

I didn’t know about Adam Driver (who, like Gal, also served in his country’s military, although this time it wasn’t compulsory and thus it is less understandable and he actually served in combat too from what I’ve researched now), and in that area, I think you’re right. That is a troubling phenomenon, and thank you for pointing that out. I first knew of him through “Star Wars”, but I didn’t care much about him (and still don’t) because I like the lead actors - Daisy, John, and Oscar (whose character is not really a main protagonist as of now but Poe is more important to me than Kylo Ren anyway) - much better, and he really didn’t stand out as anything special to me although I suppose he was a good actor too. That’s the thing with US-centrism (and West-centrism in general) - these Americans think their country is too good and progressive to be oppressive to other nations and countries. And in this situation, I do think that it’s more likely than not a case of implicit anti-Semitism (and perhaps even a little sexism) and so-called liberals feeling high and mighty about themselves because they condemn one form of oppression perpetuated by a non-Western country while ignoring the oppression perpetuated by their own country.

I will tread more carefully now where Adam Driver is concerned, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I will boycott “The Last Jedi” and Episode IX. I have never had plans to watch any of his other movies and TV shows (and this just solidifies my stance to not watch them at all), especially ones in which he is the main character, and while he has a significant role in the sequel trilogy, the movies have been more focused on at least Daisy and John (and now Oscar and Kelly) and that is what I’m focusing on too. But I understand that would be a problematic stance to take, as it reminds me of the time people urged others not to boycott “Suicide Squad” so as to show support for the relatively unknown actors of color there for whom these people were afraid that their careers would end and be wasted if SS was a financial flop and the time people also urged others not to boycott “The Get Down” so as to also show support for the relatively unknown actors of color (mainly black, Latinx, and Afro-Latinx) who still deserved it despite people’s legitimate concerns about Jared Leto’s creepy behavior and the allegations of sexual harassment/assault against him and the issue of Herizen Guardiola being a child predator. Rest assured, I will think on that and reevaluate my stances, and I totally understand people who will not watch or who will boycott “Star Wars” due to Adam Driver’s presence and I will not condemn them for that.

For your last point, while that may have been the case at the beginning and that may be somewhat understandable (and I’m not fully convinced), that doesn’t account for all the atrocities that Israel has committed against Palestinians, especially at present. I doubt all of the cruelties they inflicted were a result of mistakes or US anti-Semitism - it’s far too many to all have been the product of mistakes, and they are still doing it now so yeah :/ However, I do understand that Israel owes a lot to US support and the US should be called out as vocally for its continued support for Israel, but there’s a line from this article which I linked to before in my previous response that I think we should consider: “Israel is an extension of US imperialism, doing its dirty work of intimidating regional enemies with periodic military aggression and a rogue nuclear arsenal. The US has no special interest in oppressing the Palestinians, but they are powerless enough to be expendable in the Great Power game.”

It may not be the best parallel to make, but this kind of reminds me (not specifically referring to you or anyone else, sorry if it comes off that way) of our current situation in the Philippines - how our president, Rodrigo Duterte, tries to deflect US criticism of his bloody war on drugs and the thousands of extrajudicial killings and murders that have happened in the course of this war by retorting with call-outs of US imperialism and colonialism in the Philippines in the past (although US imperialism still definitely affects our country at present, but Duterte usually cites things like atrocities committed by the Americans during the Philippine-American War and the American colonial period). Duterte’s call-outs are valid in that the US is still messing us up well into the present and they’ve never really apologized, and the US needs to acknowledge that too, but two wrongs do not make a right. Besides, there are plenty of Filipinos who criticize Duterte and his policies too, so that doesn’t mean all criticism of him is automatically invalid (which it’s still not, even from the US or Americans) because most of it (actually, from what I have seen, Filipinos are the most vocal) comes from the US. (And yes, for those who are curious, I am mainly anti-Duterte [but that doesn’t mean I oppose all his policies, for some do make sense, but in general, he has a terrible track record especially when it comes to actually serving his people as it seems he’s actually killing off a lot of them and violating their human rights as well] - though that doesn’t make me a yellowt*rd or a supporter of the Liberal Party/P-Noy/the Aquinos and the Cojuangcos as many Duterte fans are so fond of making false dichotomies - so if there are Filipino followers out there whom we call DDS (die-hard Duterte supporters), you can unfollow me.)

But it is in no way the fault of Jewish people in general at all - only the fault of the Israeli government, the IDF, and the people who actively continue to support them. Not all Jewish people are Israeli and there are in fact plenty of Jewish people who are anti-Israel (I’ve found more websites now like the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network and Jewish Voice for Peace), so if anyone is blaming them for what is happening in Israel and Palestine right now, they can sit their anti-Semitic asses down and shut up.

I think we could also consider that Zionism may be to Jewish people as the Q word is to LGBT+ people and the N word is to black people - it may be an inherently flawed ideology that is only theirs to reclaim and call out if necessary, so as I said before, this means we should be more careful when it comes to using the different terms involved in this issue.

Finally, for the mod/admin thing, I am considering it - that’s actually a good idea. Preferably Jewish people of color would be good, but if there are white Jewish people who wish to join and contribute to this blog, I will consider them. I will be editing my PSAs about admin applications soon in that case, but that isn’t final yet.

Also, I understand that there are people who do tend to respond to criticism like that aggressively, and while there are some situations - depending on the issues being criticized - where that’s an okay way to go, it doesn’t always help.

And yes, sources would be good too, so thank you in advance :) Thank you for that too - I’m rather flattered. I do think I could be even more mature as I don’t consider myself that mature yet, like if you knew me personally, but thank you anyway :) I hope I was able to make more clarifications too, and that we understand each other.

-Admin Dawn

#theserpentsadvocate #answered ask

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footballghana · 4 years ago

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World Refugee Day: Goal Click and UNHCR on football's global impact

Goal Click tells stories about football around the world, using photography. In the lead-up to World Refugee Day, Goal Click and UNHCR sent disposable cameras to refugees and asylum seekers around the world to document their personal tales. This is Bahram Mia. "I was born in Peshawar, Pakistan, the son of Afghan refugees as a result of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. I came to Australia with my parents and three brothers when I was seven years old, and grew up here in Sydney, where I have graduated from university and work as a community development worker with migrant and refugee communities. The photo shows Team Congo during their quarter-final of the African Cup tournament in 2018. The tournament sees Sydney and Australia's African diaspora participate. I tried to convey the pride, passion and intensity which these young African men hold not only towards the African Cup tournament but also representing their homelands."

Shegofa Hassani: "I came to Australia as a nine-year-old. We fled Afghanistan because of the conflict as we did not see a safe future there. I started playing football in the park with my brothers and dad. I am currently a player and coach with Football United. Now I manage an Afghan team called Sydney United Girls. The photo shows Shogofa Rahimi at a training session. Shogofa was also raised in a family full of sporty boys. Her passion for football started as a child when she played with her brothers. However, she hesitated to pursue it further because of cultural barriers and her family. After years of giving up hope of playing football, she finally got the opportunity to play with Sydney United Girls, when her brother introduced her to the team."

Sofia Wais, at the Homeless World Cup, Cardiff: "I'm Sofia. I am 19 years old, from Afghanistan, and I was raised in Iran. I have been living with my family in Austria for four years and have six older brothers. I was not allowed to play football as a girl in Iran. I am very happy that I am allowed to live in Austria. There are many opportunities for women here. I love football and my food is just a ball - it gives me energy. I've also had tough days because of football, but for me, life is like a carousel and it always turns."

"My name is Khadija Ahmadi. I am 20 and originally from Afghanistan. I came to Austria at the end of 2015. A year later, I heard from a supervisor in the youth accommodation where I was staying that there was an opportunity here for women to play football. This is how I came to the Kicken Ohne Grenzen team. The photo shows my first day as a referee. I wanted to remember this moment. Through football and my new friends, I’ve been able to find myself again. When I say that, people may think that it’s an easy thing to say. But in my case it was different. I didn’t know the language; I didn't know anyone."

"My name is Saleha Kashfi and I’m 17 years old. I come from Afghanistan. I wanted to play football before I came to Austria, but I didn’t have a chance to play for security reasons. When I play football, I forget about my problems. I think about winning and fun and feel no pain or troubles."

Yvan Bikambo, coach with Red Deporte in East Cameroon: "These photos reflect the activity of the Public School of Bindia in East Cameroon, a school supported and built by Red Deporte in 2012. Red Deporte is an NGO, using football to promote performance in school. These kids belong to the community and many of them are refugees from Central African Republic because Cameroon and Central African Republic are neighbours. Most of the children know how to play football because they used to play in their home country."

Yvan Bikambo: "We work to bring them joy, peace and hope through our programme. Every Cameroonian boy dreams to be Samuel Eto’o, but even if they won't be that, they enjoy the dreaming and the process of personal improvement, and the friendship that is built on the way to this dream."

Daniele: "I am a 24-year-old student. I'm currently living in Koblenz, Germany. I was introduced to football in Syria by a school friend when I was in the first class (aged six) in 2002. These photos were taken at the training of TuS International in the German city of Koblenz. The majority of the players are refugees who are living in a camp for asylum seekers - they are Syrian, Iranian, Afghani, Somalian and Eritrean. The local team TuS Koblenz, which is playing in the fifth division in Germany, decided to form a team for the refugees who are living in Koblenz - to give them the chance to integrate into German society and establish a new life in Koblenz."

Reval: "I left Aleppo in Syria because of the war when I was 12 years old with my father and brother - it was too dangerous for us. We had to leave my mother and two small sisters behind. The photos were taken in Skaramagas refugee camp in Athens, Greece. They are girls participating in a football programme. These girls had suffered enough in their countries and on their way to Europe and they were still living under extremely difficult situations in a refugee camp in Greece. Many times they were facing danger during the night, many times there were a lot of fights in the camp. But, despite what they had to deal with, they didn't give up on football. Everything around them was so hard but through football, they were still happy."

Sadio Malang: "I come from Senegal. I left Senegal because there was a bad situation in my region Casamance - there was an ongoing war. I play for Senza Frontiere Football Club (Without Borders) in Italy. Most of the photos show the refugees’ football team of Balon Mundial, Senza Frontiere Football Club (it used to be called Hearts of Eagle). This is a football team formed by refugees and asylum seekers that practises all year and during the summer participates in Balon Mundial -the World Cup of Migrant Communities."

"My name is Maram. I am from Syria, I am 14 and I live with my family that consists of nine people, and now we live in Zaatari camp, near the Syrian border, Jordan."

Maram: "The photos were taken of our girls' football team in a Makani centre in Zaatari camp. I wanted to show our skills in football, the game that I find hope in for my future. When I play football it raises my spirits and it reinforces my self-confidence. Because I am a girl, I can be the person that changes how the community perceives girls’ football and breaks the wall of shame."

Maram: "My wish is to strengthen my skills in football so I can achieve my dream and become a famous footballer, and to travel with my family and play football outside the camp."

"My name is Abdelrahman Hasan al-Attar. These are photos of kids from different families playing street football in my neighbourhood of Hashem Shemali in East Amman. It's historically a refugee area and has more poverty than West Amman. Many have Palestinian heritage. Some of them are my cousins. Even without proper football pitches and regardless of the environment we can adapt and our love of football prevails."

Ismail M Abdalla, Kakuma: "I am 29 and originally from Kalemie in Tanganyika province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I am currently volunteering as a program manager with Faulu Production, a community-based organisation supporting refugees, disadvantaged youth and women, and vulnerable children. Refugees are real people who can enjoy the same full rights as others regardless of their status. Football brings people together and thus creates coexistence and social interaction; it serves as the way for community mobilisation and participation. I play football with Kenyans. Kenyans are good people with a good cultural background. They welcome everyone into their community."

David Philip: "I am from the Nuba Mountains in Sudan. Sudan has never been at peace since I was born, especially in the Nuba region. When I left my home with my family in 2006, Sudan and South Sudan were still one country. We went to Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya where we got support from UNHCR. I spent my childhood as a refugee in Kenya, like many other Sudanese who fled the country. The photos show children and the volunteers of Green Kordofan in Yida refugee camp in South Sudan."

David Philip: "About 60,000 people displaced from their homes by the war live in Yida. Football allowed me to have many friends from different tribes and around the world. It brought me peace and unity with people."

Jacob Viera: "In Liverpool, I play with asylum seekers and refugees from Syria, Sudan, Eritrea and Afghanistan. They fled because of war and conflicts in their countries. Listening to the challenges they have faced and gone through is so painful. Football is important because it is a universal language. I was a professional footballer and played in the Kenyan Premier League for Muhoroni Youth FC. My dream is to become an international Fifa referee. I am part of the FA CORE (Centre of Refereeing Excellence) program. In two or three years I could be a Football League referee. I think I would be one of the first professional referees in the UK from a refugee background."

Mehdi Rakhshandeh: "I was born in Rasht, a city in the north of Iran. I played football regularly as a goalkeeper in Iran - not at a high level or anything, just games with my friends from the local town. I was a sports photographer and reporter in Iran for 15 years. This is a little girl watching football. I think it shows her passion for football. She is in such an awkward position holding herself up against the metal fence but is just excited and wants to watch the football no matter what. It was a football tournament in Middlesbrough during Refugee Week called the Justice First Football Tournament."

Mehdi Rakhshandeh: "Football played a big role in my life as I got accustomed to my new surroundings of the UK and Middlesbrough in particular. I played each week with MFC Foundation and it helped me to meet new people, learn about my new surroundings and improve my English. The football club really made me feel welcome and part of the community."

Samuel Gedeon: "I'm from Haiti, where I discovered one of my biggest passions, which is soccer. I used to play soccer in the streets - futsal - and I had joined some clubs and played real soccer a few times with my friends. In 2015 I moved to NYC with the hopes of finding a good soccer team, but when I came everyone played basketball. With determination in 2017, I found Rooklyn, a Brooklyn-based organisation using soccer to work with refugee, asylee and immigrant youth and provide a space for connection with their peers in a safe and supportive environment."

Fawzi: "I am a football coach. I was playing back in Syria and I was a professional player. I started playing football with al-Shul'a football team in Syria in 2009. I left Daraa in Syria because of the war. The photos are of Blumont students in the playgrounds of District 5, Zaatari, Jordan. Blumont runs the UNHCR community centres. The students are refugees who attend the community's activities. I tried to demonstrate the children’s suffering and represent their story."

Gharam: "The photos show my friends in the Uefa playground in District 9, Zaatari, Jordan. I wanted to show that football can be played by everyone. The photos were during a football tournament in the camp. I did not play before I came to Jordan because of the war. In the beginning, I couldn’t develop my skills, but now I have. I dream of being a famous footballer."

Mahmoud: "I started to love sports when I was a child in Daraa in Syria, and now a day of sports helps me to heal from the depression and sadness in the camp. I played football in my country Syria with my school team but left because of the war. My ambition is to play with a European football team. The photos show children and people inside the Zaatari camp playing football on the playground and streets, and a football field on the edge of the camp."

Source: BBC

source: https://footballghana.com/

0 notes

newyorktheater · 5 years ago

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The Fre at The Flea, by Taylor Mac

Two Broadway veterans — Taylor Mac, Tony-nominated playwright of “Gary” and Greg Kotis, the Tony-winning co-author of “Urinetown” – are back Off-Off Broadway this season, and why would that surprise anybody? That’s where they began, it’s where they honed their craft, and it continues to reflect their sensibility,

Theirs are among the 11 shows I highlight in my first-ever Off-Off Broadway season preview guide.

Now, I’ve been doing separate semi-annual preview guides for Broadway and Off-Broadway for a decade – and I also put together a monthly calendar of openings that includes Off-Off Broadway.

But Off-Off Broadway always struck me as too vast*, too ill-defined* and too complicated** to fit neatly into a preview guide. Typically Off-Off Broadway theaters give little advance notice of what’s coming up, the runs are very short and the official descriptions are often too vague, coy or hallucinogenic to be of much help . Yet an Off-Off Broadway show can be groundbreaking, and sublime. This is relatively rare, yes, but the surprise of seeing something sublime Off-Off Broadway – and for as little as $10 – is so much more satisfying than paying through the nose for the pre-certified sublimity of a Broadway hit. Also it’s year-round, not limited to the similar fare in the theater festivals that get so much concentrated attention in January and during the summer. So in the spirit of experimenting that characterizes Off-Off Broadway itself, below are 11 shows that I’m looking forward to checking out this season, organized by the theaters in which they are appearing, many of which are my favorites. And below that, a list of other Off-Off Broadway venues of repute, linked to their websites. See for yourself what else is playing this season.

La MaMa ETC

La MaMa Experimental Theater Club is one of the quartet of theaters that gave birth to the Off-Off Broadway movement in the 1960s, and the only one that still survives. Since Ellen Stewart launched the theater in an East Village basement in 1961, it has presented more than 150,000 artists from over 70 nations. It launched the careers of an astonishing array of notable American performers and playwrights. It found a worthy successor in Mia Yoo, and won the 2018 Regional Tony Award. It is, in other words, the place to start. There are 20 shows at LaMaMa from now until the end of April. I could make LaMaMa my entire preview guide, but I’ve selected three.

The Transfiguration Of Benjamin Banneker January 23 – February 2 This show by Theodora Skipitares, renowned puppet artist, celebrates the life of Benjamin Banneker, a free black man living in Maryland from 1731 to 1806, who taught himself mathematics and astronomy, and made groundbreaking scientific discoveries. It features dance, live music, the Soul Tigers Marching Band, and a multi-generational cast of Brooklynites, including students from Benjamin Banneker High School , a pioneering puppet artist whose Radiant City ,about Robert Moses using giant puppets of his head, was eye-opening and memorable.

One Green Bottle February 29 – March 8 Bo, Boo and Pickle all have plans, but someone must stay home to care for their pregnant dog, Princess. Trivial disputes and slapstick mischief quickly morph into family feuds and also, possibly, to the end of the world. Playwright Hideki Noda is one of the most celebrated theater artists of japan.

The Beautiful Lady April 30 – May 17 With music by the late Elizabeth Swados, and direction by Anne Bogart,

The Flea

Begun in 1996 by a group including down avant-garde legend Mac Wellman, Jim Simpson and Sigourney Weaver, this theater won me over way back after 9/11, with Ann Nelson’s “The Guys,” and I’ve written about its ambitious plans , its new building and new artistic director,, Niegel Smith who took over in 2015.

Leaving the Blues January 16 – February 8

African-American blues and jazz singer and songwriter Alberta Hunter follows her long-dead friend, black comedian Bert Williams. Written by Jewelle Gomez and produced by TOSOS (The Other Side of Silence), which bills itself as New York City’s oldest professional LGBTQ+ theater I had the pleasure of interviewing Hunter when, after working as a nurse for twenty years, she resumed her singing career at the age of 82.

.The Fre February 28 – April 12 The Fre is written by Taylor Mac, and directed by The Flea’s artistic director Niegel Smith, his collaborator on “Hir” and “24 Decade History of Popular Music” and that makes this show a must-see no matter how weird or uncomfortable it winds up being. “In this queer love story, audiences will literally and figuratively jump into the mud with the Fre to hash out the current cultural divide.”

HERE Arts

Doctors Jane and Alexander January 24 – February 15 A new play by Edward Einhorn about his grandfather, Alexander S. Wiener, who discovered the Rh Factor in Blood. Told through the lens of interviews with his mother, Jane Einhorn, a PhD psychologist and visual artist who had recently experienced a stroke at the time of the interviews Nearly everything I’ve seen by Einhorn and his Untitled Theater Company #61 – from Money Lab to The Iron Heel to The Neurology of the Soul has been, as promised, “a theater of ideas” — inventive and intelligent

The Tank

I Am Nobody March 5 – 29 An unhinged computer chip engineer threatens to destroy the world. What’s most noteworthy about this production is that it’s written by Greg Kotis, the author of arguably the most successful Off-Off Broadway show ever, “Urinetown.”

Dixon Place

One of the venues that simply doesn’t offer much advance notice of its shows, almost all of which have short runs. But I’ve lucked out often enough here to feel it more than a coincidence, and I share their interest in puppetry.

Packrat

January 31 – February 14 nspired by the adventure novel “Watership Down,” this multimedia puppet play follows one peculiar rodent on his journey to discover the interconnectedness of life

NYTW Next Door

New York Theater Workshop offers support and the use of the 60-seat Fourth Street Theatre to a wide range of companies.

La Paloma Prisoner

Based on the true story of a group of incarcerated women selected as beauty queen contestants at the Buen Pastor prison in Bogotá, Colombia, the play centers on a woman who avenged the raped women of Bogotá.

The Bushwick Starr

Bushwick has become something of its own cultural center now, but those not in the know should at least know that it’s just a block and a half from the subway.

The Conversationalists January 8 – 25

I was impressed enough with a previous show by James & Jerome to be drawn to theirnew one despite the confusion engendered by its description: “James & Jerome create an original movie that plays only inside the audience’s minds. This live “movie” is an international melodrama about the triangular friendship (and sometimes enemyship) between a Colombian-born Mexican-raised pop-ranchera star, her teenage son, and a Palestinian-born Jordanian-raised owner of a chess shop in Greenwich Village. The Conversationalists is experienced at once as a theater piece, a concert, a radio play, a night of storytelling, and a movie dreamed together.”

Jack

Best Life In Melissa Tien’s play, a woman of color can rewind time, but only within the last five minutes. The result: her exchange with a white woman in a cafe becomes increasingly alarming

Among the other Off-Off Broadway theaters worth exploring:

Ars Nova Although still offering programs at its Off-Off Broadway building in midtown, it has has taken over Greenwich House Theater, which with 199 seats is an Off-Broadway house.

The Brick has a new artistic director with a stated aim of “multi-week theatrical runs and a dynamic line-up of singular one-off events”

The Clemente , a former school building on the Lower East Side that includes three Off-Off Broadway theaters.

The Invisible Dog

Labyrinth Theater

New Ohio Check out their Producers Club series “we invite familiar and new-to-our-orbit companies into the New Ohio for a couple of days to…test their next great idea.” And DirectorFest

New York Live Arts

Target Margin Theater

Triskelion Arts

Theater for the New City

*Technically, Off-Off Broadway simply means theaters with fewer than 100 seats, but it’s used as a description of companies as well, not just physical buildings. Many of these companies have no permanent home. A recent report issued by the Mayor’s Office Of Media and Entertainment found “748 small venue theater organizations” spread out across the city. **Few Off-Off Broadway companies give much advance notice: For example, one of my favorite Off-Off Broadway theaters, Labyrinth, lists “World Premiere Play TBA Spring/Summer 2020” on its website. In addition, some venues offer a mix of Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway-sized theaters. Most of the venues aren’t producing their own shows, but presenting the work of other companies. So does it even make sense to organize a look at Off-Off Broadway via venues?

Off-Off Broadway Season Preview Guide Two Broadway veterans -- Taylor Mac, Tony-nominated playwright of "Gary" and Greg Kotis, the Tony-winning co-author of "Urinetown" - are back Off-Off Broadway this season, and why would that surprise anybody?

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trendingnewsb · 7 years ago

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The young activists you should be following for International Women’s Day

Image: Rhona Wise/AFP/Getty Images

International Women’s Day is an annual, global event that pushes for women’s rights. In today’s political climate, there’s a lot to be done in achieving equality.

Feminism isn’t all pink hats and snappy tweets — to be an intersectional feminist, you need to acknowledge the many levels of inequality that affect women worldwide.

SEE ALSO: Chloe Kim, Patty Jenkins, and more get their own Barbie dolls for International Women’s Day

From young women fighting for access to clean water to those advocating for gun control or acceptance and trans rights, here are seven young activists you should know about for International Women’s Day.

The woman tackling mental health stigma: Elyse Fox

A post shared by Elyse Fox (@elyse.fox) on Feb 26, 2018 at 10:36am PST

Elyse Fox runs Sad Girls Club, an online and in-person community dedicated to promoting mental health awareness among young women. The 27-year-old got her start on Tumblr, where she wrote about struggling with depression. She released a short documentary about her mental health called Conversations with Friends one year ago.

vimeo

After releasing Conversations with Friends, Fox received hundreds of messages from other young women struggling with mental illness. She created Sad Girls Club as a community to tackle the stigma surrounding mental illness and help other young women with access to therapy. In addition to the online platform, Sad Girls Club hosts monthly meetings in New York.

How to follow Sad Girls Club:

Here are the Instagram and Twitter accounts for Sad Girls Club. You can follow Fox on Instagram, too, at @elyse.fox.

The teenager who organized a mass student walkout in NYC: Hebh Jamal

Thank you @TeenVogue @petracollins #21under21 pic.twitter.com/jCk6SH7RyU

— Hebh Jamal (@hebh_jamal) December 15, 2017

When Hebh Jamal was 15, she was featured in a New York Times article about young people facing Islamophobia in the midst of the 2016 presidential election. After the story was published, Jamal was invited to speak at local schools, and became politically active. At 17 years old, the first generation Palestinian-American organized a mass student walk-out in New York City to protest Trump’s travel ban against majority-Muslim countries.

Since then, she’s worked extensively to organize rallies and advocate against Islamophobic agendas. Still fresh out of high school, she’s now the Director of Public Relations of Integrate NYC, an advocacy group dedicated to diversifying public schools.

She told Broadly that although she understands that her activism is interesting because of her young age, she wants to create a movement of thousands of voices, not just her own. “I want to emphasize it isn’t about one person,” she said, “Although it’s really great that I’m able to have a platform that a lot of Muslim women are not able to have I really want to use it to emphasize that it needs to be a movement.”

How to follow Jamal:

You can keep up with Jamal’s work on Twitter and Instagram.

The first transgender women’s officer in the British Labour Party: Lily Madigan

Did a tv interview for channel 4 x

A post shared by Lily Tessa Madigan (@lilytessamadigan) on Dec 6, 2017 at 12:55pm PST

At only 20 years old, Lily Madigan is the first transgender person to hold public office as a women’s officer in the British Labour Party. She came out as trans when she was 16, but her Catholic high school threatened to suspend her if she presented as a woman in class and insisted on using her male name. Madigan visited law firms in London until she found one that would represent her for free. The school eventually apologized.

She was elected in November 2017 amidst pushback from other politicians who claimed that because Madigan was assigned male at birth, she was unqualified for the position of women’s officer.

Completely false. Obviously. Women’s and trans rights will never be mutually exclusive. Get over yourselves 💁🏼‍♀️ (also stop misgendering?) Nothing like a bit of human decency 👌 https://t.co/MKjuuclowf

— Lily Madigan 🤝🌹 (@madigan_lily) March 2, 2018

Despite the transphobic tweets she’s received, she’s still determined to be the UK’s first trans member of Parliament. In a Guardian essay in remembrance of Harvey Milk, Madigan wrote: “I’m constantly attacked for running for women’s roles as a transwoman. Milk rightly spoke on ending the disenfranchisement of oppressed groups in politics, and how we can’t always be representative but we must be inclusive. To loosely paraphrase him: I fight for women because I’m one of them.”

How to follow Madigan:

You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

The student taking on the NRA: Emma Gonzalez

Image: Rhona wise/Getty Images

Emma Gonzalez survived the mass shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, and has since become an outspoken advocate for tougher gun control in the United States. Her Feb. 17 speech in Fort Lauderdale, three days after the shooting, went viral. She called out politicians who accepted donations from the NRA, and implored her audience to contact their local representatives.

Gonzalez now has more Twitter followers than the NRA, and uses her platform to push for stronger gun control laws.

Friendly reminder that the argument to Protect Schools completely ignores Churches, Malls, Concerts, etc. that have also been host to mass shootings – we can’t build our world out of Kevlar, just remove the guns that cause the most carnage it’s so Simple

— Emma González (@Emma4Change) March 6, 2018

The high school senior also confronted NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch during a CNN Town Hall and told her, “I want you to know we will support your two children in a way that you will not.”

In an essay for Harpers’s Bazaar, Gonzalez criticized the adults who were skeptical of the teen-led movement. “We have always been told that if we see something wrong, we need to speak up; but now that we are, all we’re getting is disrespect from the people who made the rules in the first place,” she wrote, “Adults like us when we have strong test scores, but they hate us when we have strong opinions.”

How to follow Gonzalez:

You can keep up with Gonzalez’s activism on Twitter.

The woman who united Sioux youths to fight the DAPL: Jasilyn Charger

youtube

Jasilyn Charger co-founded the One Mind Youth Movement when she was 19 years old, after a wave of young people on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation died by suicide. The youth group, formed with Charger’s cousin Joseph White Eyes and friend Trenton Casillas-Bakeberg, petitioned the tribal council for youth safe houses. The youth movement became politically active and also protested the Keystone XL pipeline that would cut through the Cheyenne River and the Dakota Access pipeline that would go through the neighboring Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s land.

Charger and White Eyes formed a prayer camp in Standing Rock called “Sacred Stone.” Although it received little support from tribal elders, it became a safe haven from drugs and alcohol for native teenagers. To further raise awareness, One Mind Youth Movement ran a 500 mile relay run from North Dakota to Nebraska to deliver a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers. The letter asked the Army Corp to deny the pipeline’s access to the Mississippi River. The run involved young people from several Sioux reservations, according to the New York Times.

After the run, Charger and other members of the One Mind Youth Movement stayed at Standing Rock to continue to protest. She told Democracy Nowthat she wants more young women to get involved: “Don’t listen to the men. Don’t listen to people telling you to go away. Make that mind up for yourself.”

How to follow Charger:

Although Charger doesn’t have any public social media accounts, you can follow One Mind Youth Movement on Facebook.

The student who ran for city council: Nadya Okamoto

Happy Lunar New Year 🌸 My resolution is that this is going to be the year that I learn to fully embrace my racial and ethnic identity, something I’ve struggled with growing up. I am energized and determined to learn more about my heritage and Asian American culture, and seek out and share the stories of badass AAPI trailblazers who have paved the way for young women like me. 💪🏽

A post shared by Nadya Okamoto (@nadyaokamoto) on Feb 17, 2018 at 6:40pm PST

Nadya Okamoto made headlines last year when she ran for Cambridge City Council in Massachusetts at only 19 years old, making her the youngest candidate in the race. She ran on a platform of housing policy, focussing on the prevention of gentrification in Cambridge’s low-income neighborhoods. Although she ultimately lost the election, the Harvard College student remained active in civic engagement.

In 2014, she co-founded PERIOD, a nonprofit organization that distributes sanitary products to people in need, aiming to de-stigmatize menstruation through social and legal change. Okamoto’s family was homeless during her freshman and sophomore years of high school, and she noticed that care packages for homeless women often lacked menstrual products.

She was inspired to create PERIOD after conversations with other homeless women, who often resorted to unconventional and unsanitary methods because they couldn’t afford pads and tampons.

“It really is a huge obstacle to global development because it’s holding back more than half our population,” Okamoto told The Cut in 2016, “We say the menstrual movement is our push to make menstrual hygiene and menstruation a more open topic.”

How to follow Okamoto:

Follow Okamoto on Twitter and Instagram to keep up with her work.

The girl fighting for clean water in Flint: Mari Copeny

Soon the world will know my name, my time is now. I am not just the future but I am the present, watch me change the world. #HereWeAre pic.twitter.com/u4qVfbfgoE

— Mari Copeny (@LittleMissFlint) March 5, 2018

Amariyanna “Mari” Copeny is one of the youngest activists on Twitter. The ten year old, who posts under the handle “Little Miss Flint” with her mother’s help, has been fighting for clean water in Flint, Michigan for the past few years. Copeny has organized water drives and distributed school supplies to other children in Flint, where costly bottled water claimed many families’ budgets. She also attended the Congressional hearings on the water crisis in Washington, DC.

She became famous for her letter to then-president Barack Obama in 2016, which prompted him to visit Flint himself. “Letters from kids like you are what make me so optimistic for the future,” he wrote back.

Copeny also met President Trump, who had a part in facilitating the $100 million EPA grant to fix Flint’s infrastructure. Her reaction to meeting him was noticeably different. She later criticized Trump in a video because “He didn’t even let me ask one question.”

Little Miss Flint is all of us in 2016. pic.twitter.com/grsNmSTBnd

— Abraham White (@abwhite7) September 15, 2016

Copeny also raised $16,000 through GoFundMe to help underprivileged children in Flint see Black Panther. The campaign raised enough to buy 750 tickets and Black Panther merchandise, according to the Washington Post.

Although Flint’s lead levels are low enough for federal standards, residents say they’re still experiencing negative effects. Copeny has been running a campaign called “Don’t Forget Flint,” selling shirts to remind people that the water crisis isn’t over. Proceeds will go to the anti-bullying program TSP.

How to follow Copeny:

You can follow Copeny on Twitter, where she frequently posts with her mother’s supervision.

The young advocates fighting for equality on all fronts show just what modern feminism should look like. There’s no such thing as “too young” to be an activist.

WATCH: Vans is teaching girls in India how to skate

youtube

Read more: https://mashable.com/2018/03/08/young-activists-to-follow/

from Viral News HQ http://ift.tt/2tOQeZG via Viral News HQ

#IFTTT #Viral News HQ

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news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog · 7 years ago

Text

7 inspiring young activists to follow on International Women's Day

International Women's Day is an annual, global event that pushes for women's rights. In today's political climate, there's a lot to be done in achieving equality.

Feminism isn't all pink hats and snappy tweets — to be an intersectional feminist, you need to acknowledge the many levels of inequality that affect women worldwide.

SEE ALSO: Chloe Kim, Patty Jenkins, and more get their own Barbie dolls for International Women's Day

The woman tackling mental health stigma: Elyse Fox

A post shared by Elyse Fox (@elyse.fox) on Feb 26, 2018 at 10:36am PST

vimeo

How to follow Sad Girls Club:

Here are the Instagram and Twitter accounts for Sad Girls Club. You can follow Fox on Instagram, too, at @elyse.fox.

The teenager who organized a mass student walkout in NYC: Hebh Jamal

Thank you @TeenVogue @petracollins #21under21 pic.twitter.com/jCk6SH7RyU

— Hebh Jamal (@hebh_jamal) December 15, 2017

Since then, she's worked extensively to organize rallies and advocate against Islamophobic agendas. Still fresh out of high school, she's now the Director of Public Relations of Integrate NYC, an advocacy group dedicated to diversifying public schools.

She told Broadly that although she understands that her activism is interesting because of her young age, she wants to create a movement of thousands of voices, not just her own. "I want to emphasize it isn't about one person," she said, "Although it's really great that I'm able to have a platform that a lot of Muslim women are not able to have I really want to use it to emphasize that it needs to be a movement."

How to follow Jamal:

You can keep up with Jamal's work on Twitter and Instagram.

The first transgender women's officer in the British Labour Party: Lily Madigan

Did a tv interview for channel 4 x

A post shared by Lily Tessa Madigan (@lilytessamadigan) on Dec 6, 2017 at 12:55pm PST

At only 20 years old, Lily Madigan is the first transgender person to hold public office as a women's officer in the British Labour Party. She came out as trans when she was 16, but her Catholic high school threatened to suspend her if she presented as a woman in class and insisted on using her male name. Madigan visited law firms in London until she found one that would represent her for free. The school eventually apologized.

She was elected in November 2017 amidst pushback from other politicians who claimed that because Madigan was assigned male at birth, she was unqualified for the position of women's officer.

— Lily Madigan 🤝🌹 (@madigan_lily) March 2, 2018

Despite the transphobic tweets she's received, she's still determined to be the UK's first trans member of Parliament. In a Guardian essay in remembrance of Harvey Milk, Madigan wrote: "I’m constantly attacked for running for women’s roles as a transwoman. Milk rightly spoke on ending the disenfranchisement of oppressed groups in politics, and how we can’t always be representative but we must be inclusive. To loosely paraphrase him: I fight for women because I’m one of them."

How to follow Madigan:

You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

The student taking on the NRA: Emma Gonzalez

Image: Rhona wise/Getty Images

Gonzalez now has more Twitter followers than the NRA, and uses her platform to push for stronger gun control laws.

Friendly reminder that the argument to Protect Schools completely ignores Churches, Malls, Concerts, etc. that have also been host to mass shootings - we can’t build our world out of Kevlar, just remove the guns that cause the most carnage it’s so Simple

— Emma González (@Emma4Change) March 6, 2018

The high school senior also confronted NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch during a CNN Town Hall and told her, "I want you to know we will support your two children in a way that you will not."

In an essay for Harpers's Bazaar, Gonzalez criticized the adults who were skeptical of the teen-led movement. "We have always been told that if we see something wrong, we need to speak up; but now that we are, all we're getting is disrespect from the people who made the rules in the first place," she wrote, "Adults like us when we have strong test scores, but they hate us when we have strong opinions."

How to follow Gonzalez:

You can keep up with Gonzalez's activism on Twitter.

The woman who united Sioux youths to fight the DAPL: Jasilyn Charger

youtube

Jasilyn Charger co-founded the One Mind Youth Movement when she was 19 years old, after a wave of young people on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation died by suicide. The youth group, formed with Charger's cousin Joseph White Eyes and friend Trenton Casillas-Bakeberg, petitioned the tribal council for youth safe houses. The youth movement became politically active and also protested the Keystone XL pipeline that would cut through the Cheyenne River and the Dakota Access pipeline that would go through the neighboring Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's land.

Charger and White Eyes formed a prayer camp in Standing Rock called "Sacred Stone." Although it received little support from tribal elders, it became a safe haven from drugs and alcohol for native teenagers. To further raise awareness, One Mind Youth Movement ran a 500 mile relay run from North Dakota to Nebraska to deliver a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers. The letter asked the Army Corp to deny the pipeline's access to the Mississippi River. The run involved young people from several Sioux reservations, according to the New York Times.

After the run, Charger and other members of the One Mind Youth Movement stayed at Standing Rock to continue to protest. She told Democracy Now that she wants more young women to get involved: "Don’t listen to the men. Don’t listen to people telling you to go away. Make that mind up for yourself."

How to follow Charger:

Although Charger doesn't have any public social media accounts, you can follow One Mind Youth Movement on Facebook.

The student who ran for city council: Nadya Okamoto

A post shared by Nadya Okamoto (@nadyaokamoto) on Feb 17, 2018 at 6:40pm PST

Nadya Okamoto made headlines last year when she ran for Cambridge City Council in Massachusetts at only 19 years old, making her the youngest candidate in the race. She ran on a platform of housing policy, focussing on the prevention of gentrification in Cambridge's low-income neighborhoods. Although she ultimately lost the election, the Harvard College student remained active in civic engagement.

In 2014, she co-founded PERIOD, a nonprofit organization that distributes sanitary products to people in need, aiming to de-stigmatize menstruation through social and legal change. Okamoto's family was homeless during her freshman and sophomore years of high school, and she noticed that care packages for homeless women often lacked menstrual products.

She was inspired to create PERIOD after conversations with other homeless women, who often resorted to unconventional and unsanitary methods because they couldn't afford pads and tampons.

"It really is a huge obstacle to global development because it's holding back more than half our population," Okamoto told The Cut in 2016, "We say the menstrual movement is our push to make menstrual hygiene and menstruation a more open topic."

How to follow Okamoto:

Follow Okamoto on Twitter and Instagram to keep up with her work.

The girl fighting for clean water in Flint: Mari Copeny

Soon the world will know my name, my time is now. I am not just the future but I am the present, watch me change the world. #HereWeAre pic.twitter.com/u4qVfbfgoE

— Mari Copeny (@LittleMissFlint) March 5, 2018

Amariyanna “Mari” Copeny is one of the youngest activists on Twitter. The ten year old, who posts under the handle "Little Miss Flint" with her mother's help, has been fighting for clean water in Flint, Michigan for the past few years. Copeny has organized water drives and distributed school supplies to other children in Flint, where costly bottled water claimed many families' budgets. She also attended the Congressional hearings on the water crisis in Washington, DC.

She became famous for her letter to then-president Barack Obama in 2016, which prompted him to visit Flint himself. "Letters from kids like you are what make me so optimistic for the future," he wrote back.

Copeny also met President Trump, who had a part in facilitating the $100 million EPA grant to fix Flint's infrastructure. Her reaction to meeting him was noticeably different. She later criticized Trump in a video because "He didn’t even let me ask one question.”

Little Miss Flint is all of us in 2016. pic.twitter.com/grsNmSTBnd

— Abraham White (@abwhite7) September 15, 2016

Although Flint's lead levels are low enough for federal standards, residents say they're still experiencing negative effects. Copeny has been running a campaign called "Don't Forget Flint," selling shirts to remind people that the water crisis isn't over. Proceeds will go to the anti-bullying program TSP.

How to follow Copeny:

You can follow Copeny on Twitter, where she frequently posts with her mother's supervision.

The young advocates fighting for equality on all fronts show just what modern feminism should look like. There's no such thing as "too young" to be an activist.

WATCH: Vans is teaching girls in India how to skate

youtube

#_author:Morgan Sung #_uuid:6283eb69-8e4e-3a0d-99f2-fd5bcaf1b004 #_lmsid:a0Vd000000DTrEpEAL #_revsp:news.mashable

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esprit-de-corps-magazine · 7 years ago

Text

THE CAF ON GLOBAL & DOMESTIC STAGES: An Interview With CJOC Commander LGen Stephen Bowes

(Volume 24-11)

By Sandrine Murray

When wildfires were ravaging record amounts of forest in B.C. this summer, the Canadian Armed Forces were there. They spent 10 weeks assisting the province in managing the situation through Operation LENTUS.

The Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC) directed the regional joint task force responsible, as it does for most of the Forces’ operations. It administers the day-to-day management of all kinds of missions for the Chief of Defence Staff, including domestic and global challenges, ensuring Canada’s goals are met. CJOC has six standing regional Joint Task Force Headquarters across Canada, as well as a network of units and task forces that are deployed abroad. Esprit de Corps’ Sandrine Murray recently sat down with CJOC Commander LGen Stephen Bowes to discuss the organization’s efforts, evolution and future. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Esprit de Corps: Since you assumed command of CJOC, what have been your team’s main efforts?

LGen Bowes: I assumed command back in June of 2015, so it’s been two and half years now in this, and I’ve seen the evolutions go through. I’ve seen a government come into office and one of the first big tasks they had was what we called Operation PROVISION, which was to facilitate the movement of Syrian refugees into Canada. We played a role there, on the domestic side.

[Domestic operations are] rather routine for us, in a sense. What we’ve done in British Columbia this summer is not new — we were fighting fires in Fort McMurray and Saskatchewan the years before — and we also supported New Brunswick during the ice storm on the Acadian Peninsula. That’s a very normal set in the run of a year. We’re basically supporting other arms of government as the leads, in bringing the capabilities that we have —both in equipment, but more importantly in people — to those challenging circumstances.

When I look at the world, we break it down in three ways: Canada, North America and the periphery — the United States, Mexico and the countries of the Caribbean — and then we look at the broader set of the world. You can subdivide that in terms of Canadian priorities, but those are the three that allow us to understand what the world really is.

We have an air task force that’s in Romania; a maritime task force that’s in the waters off of Europe; and a land task force that’s in Latvia. That consumes quite a bit of our time, so our focus is managing that mission. We’re in the Middle East and of course the [Persian] Gulf region. And we support a wider set of smaller missions that are currently in support of the United Nations, but also in support of things like the Multinational Force & Observers [an independent international organization] in the Sinai. We’ve been there for quite some time; it’s a very successful peace support mission between Egypt and Israel.

We are also part of something called Operation PROTEUS, which is to support the United States in building up the capacity of Palestinian security forces in the West Bank. We have people in Jerusalem, and across the West Bank, helping to build the capacity of the Palestinian security forces. So there’s a range of missions that are out there. And at the end of the day, the underlying theme in all of this is we focus on the management of the missions and their sustainment.

I divide my responsibilities. I also oversee a joint training program that helps bring all the domains of the Canadian Forces together. Every day I go to work, I am concerned about the Forces’ protection and the well-being of our people that are deployed wherever they’re at, be it Canada or abroad.

Esprit de Corps: Have things changed at all since you took command in 2015, in the structure of the command, in its mandate or goals?

LGen Bowes: The CJOC I took command of is the same basic organization that we have today. We perhaps adapt and change small positions based on the missions, but CJOC is a broader team. It’s a joint team that’s right across the country. We have a joint air component commander in Winnipeg; we have a maritime component commander in Halifax. That structure hasn’t changed. In terms of the cycle of the tasks, things ebb and flow.

You wouldn’t be surprised to hear that I see more on the environmental side. I’ve certainly seen more active engagement by the military in support of other government departments and other branches of Canadian government writ large. I don’t expect that to change too much. There will always be fires and cycles, so we will continue to help Canadians in need as called upon by the appropriate provincial or federal authority. And the trends on the international stage have not changed in the last number of years. Our challenges are still the same. And that’s unlikely to change in the near term.

Esprit de Corps: What have been your main challenges in commanding CJOC?

LGen Bowes: We have a very small force, and we have proven ourselves time and again to the Canadian people and the Government of Canada by delivering operational excellence. And the reason I refer to the smallness of the force is that, well, people tend to identify ships, planes and armoured vehicles, but our most important resources are people. The most important capability they bring to the table is their intellect: It doesn’t know gender, race, creed, colour, or sexual orientation. As we go forward as an organization, it’s how we ensure that the right person with the right skillset is appropriately trained, has the intellect and is assigned to the task. We went through a period in the early part in this decade where our budgets shrunk dramatically. The force got smaller.

Now we’re in a period where we are trying to grow in response to Strong, Secure, Engaged — the defence policy of the Government of Canada. But at the same time, growing is a challenge. We are more active than we were three to four years ago. We have more people deployed on operations. When I come to work every morning and leave every day, I’m always thinking about our people.

Where is the CJOC headed in 2018?

LGen Bowes: I see a continued uptake in the tempo. By tempo, I am referring to our personnel, primarily. We stand by for orders from the government through the Chief of Defence on peace support operations, as an example. If that comes down the pipe, then we will launch out in whatever direction that is given. But based on where the world is at, based on what I’m seeing, in the broader Middle East region, in Europe, in Africa, and in terms of weather and environmental challenges, I think the tempo of Joint Operations is going to be higher in the years ahead. And therefore, we seek to set the conditions to sustain that.

My perspective in this job is a lot shorter in timeline than others. Our service chiefs and others take a look at the longer term, they acquire equipment based on a longer-term piece. I’m focused very near-end, very day-to-day. I still look ahead and I still participate in that dialogue, but the Chief of Defence Staff is looking to me and our team here in Joint Operations Command to have a focus on the day-to-day operations and the near-term challenges.

We think in terms of rotations of our forces overseas. With a previous rotation that may have come out from an operation, we go through a formal lessons learned process. We identify where we need to make changes, how we prepare the force, and what its structure should be. We manage the force that’s there in the moment, and then we look ahead to say, ‘here’s the things we need to do to enable the next team that goes in to have success.’ The clear message coming out of that is our focus is delivering excellence in operations. But excellence in operations is entirely dependent on your personnel.

And now for a few rapid-fire questions:

What is your favourite movie? The Hunt for Red October.

Your favourite travel location? Disney World. I last went there with my granddaughters.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be? Seeing the future.

Favourite sports team? Montreal Canadiens.

Favourite season? Fall.

Your favourite meal? I love food period. Steak … but Thai food would be up there.

Dogs or cats? Dogs.

If you could sit down with one historical figure, who would it be? People who found themselves at a key moment in time and changed the course of history … Abraham Lincoln, Churchill, Roosevelt.

When you were growing up, what did you want to be? I think I wanted to be an athlete. High school to me was football in the fall, hockey in the winter, and baseball in the spring.

You can listen to only one song the rest of your life. Which would it be? I can think of a couple of Beatles’ songs. Hey Jude has got to be up there.

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TOOMEY says Moore should drop out, and Strange should mount a write in — STRAUSS in Alabama: Republicans sticking with Moore — TRUMP ABROAD: Getting along with Russia is a good thing — VF’s new editor

Good Sunday morning. QUESTIONS FOR REPUBLICANS — If Roy Moore wins, do Republicans allow him in the Senate Republican Conference? Do they put him on prime committees? Will there be a movement to expel Moore? And with Steve Bannon on the warpath, do they have the ability to sideline other candidates who are out of step with the party?

— THE SENATE is a club. Friendships run deep. Moore is going to be an outsider in a place where relationships are the only thing that matter.

Story Continued Below

KELLYANNE CONWAY to MARTHA RADDATZ on ABC’S “THIS WEEK” about ROY MOORE: “I said very early in this process that the conduct as described should disqualify anyone from serving in public office and I’ll stand by that. The president and others in the Republican Party have made clear that if the allegations are true this man should step aside. But I’ve gone farther than that, and I reflected something the vice president said as well, which is everyone should know that conduct is disqualifying. And Mr. Moore has denied that conduct. I think you’ve got other people out there talking about what did or did not happen many years ago.”

— SEN. PAT TOOMEY (R-PA.) to Chuck Todd on NBC’S “MEET THE PRESS”: “I have to say, I think the accusations have more credibility than the denial, I think it would be best if Roy would just step aside. … I think a write in is something we should certainly explore. I think Luther Strange would be a strong candidate for a write in.”

— W.H. LEG AFFAIRS DIRECTOR MARC SHORT to Chuck: “I think that there’s a special place in hell for those who actually perpetrate these crimes, and I think Roy Moore has to do more explaining than he has done so far. But I think we here in Washington have to be careful as well in this. Roy Moore is somebody who graduated from West Point, he served our country in Vietnam, he’s been elected multiple times statewide in Alabama. The people in Alabama know Roy Moore better than we do here in DC, and I think we have to be very cautious, as Senator Toomey said of allegations that are 40 years old that arise a month before election day. … There’s no Senate seat more important than the notion of child pedophilia Chuck, I mean that’s reality. But having said that, he has not been proven guilty. We have to afford him the chance to defend himself.”

ON THE GROUND IN ALABAMA — “Moore backers stand by their man,” by Daniel Strauss in Birmingham: Roy “Moore denied the allegations before an audience of about 100 at the Mid-Alabama Republican Club in Vestavia Hills, drawing applause while casting the accounts as part of a conspiracy between the media, Democrats and the Republican establishment. With the report still just days old, it is still unclear if unwavering loyalty from some supporters will be enough to bring Moore a victory on Dec. 12, even in deeply Republican Alabama.

“But in the meantime, the response has shielded Moore against the demands of top Washington Republicans that he exit the race, and his base is prepared to fight on. ‘There was kind of a shock of ‘oh my goodness, these accusations.’ And then the second reaction is, ‘Why now?’ said Ed Henry, a Republican state representative. ‘It just stinks to high heaven. … It’s intended to demoralize and cause Republicans not to vote in December.’”

“Paul Reynolds, a Republican National Committee member from Alabama who attended the Moore event, said he has seen Republicans dividing into two categories since the Moore story broke. ‘There are going to be those who want to wait and see,’ Reynolds said. ‘There will be others that are going to double down and try harder.’” http://politi.co/2zEWfaS

— “Roy Moore Didn’t Deny Kissing Teenagers as 30-Year-Old in Call With Lawmaker,” by Washingtonian’s Elaina Plott: “He couldn’t deny relations with underage women in a phone call with a U.S. senator [on Friday]. According to three sources briefed on the call, Moore could not deny ‘kissing’ or ‘dating’ teenagers while in his thirties. The Republican senator encouraged Moore to drop out of the race, the sources said. A spokesman for Moore declined to comment on an account of the phone call.” http://bit.ly/2zz443L

— Alexander Marquardt (@MarquardtA): “Fmr Dep. DA Theresa Jones, who worked alongside Roy Moore, tells CNN: ‘It was common knowledge that Roy dated high school girls, everyone we knew thought it was weird…We wondered why someone his age would hang out at high school football games and the mall…’”

THE CIVIL WAR CONTINUES — MCCONNELL ON BANNON, via NYT’s Sheryl Stolberg: “Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump’s former chief strategist, is vowing to depose him, telling The New York Times that ‘I have an objective that Mitch McConnell will not be majority leader, and I believe will be done before this time next year.’ Mr. McConnell, he added, ‘has to go.’

“To that, Mr. McConnell laughed. ‘You can write that down,’ he said in an interview on Friday. ‘I laughed. Ha-ha. That’s a perfect response.’ … ‘Mitch will be very calm, he’ll be very strategic, he’ll be very surgical and he will eventually eviscerate Mr. Bannon, and Bannon won’t even know what happened to him,’ said Bill Stone, a former chairman of the Republican Party in Louisville who is close to Mr. McConnell. ‘Bannon is dealing with a man of intellect and a man of experience and a man of patience and resolve like he’s never met in his life.’” http://nyti.ms/2zuY64i

WAPO’S DAN BALZ: “Trump dominates the GOP base. Party leaders live with the consequences”: http://wapo.st/2jkT6IQ

SPOTTED: Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump last night having dinner at Casa Luca

MOVEMENT IN THE MIDDLE EAST – NYT A1, “Trump Team Begins Drafting Middle East Peace Plan,” by Peter Baker: “President Trump and his advisers have begun developing their own concrete blueprint to end the decades-old conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, a plan intended to go beyond previous frameworks offered by the American government in pursuit of what the president calls ‘the ultimate deal.’ After 10 months of educating themselves on the complexities of the world’s most intractable dispute, White House officials said, Mr. Trump’s team of relative newcomers to Middle East peacemaking has moved into a new phase of its venture in hopes of transforming what it has learned into tangible steps to end a stalemate that has frustrated even presidents with more experience in the region. …

“Mr. Trump’s team has collected ‘non-papers’ exploring various issues related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and officials said they expected to address such perennial dividing points as the status of Jerusalem and settlements in the occupied West Bank. Although Mr. Trump has not committed to a Palestinian state, analysts said they anticipated that the plan will have to be built around the so-called two-state solution that has been the core of peacemaking efforts for years. …

“‘There’s nothing new under the sun when it comes to Middle East peace,’ said Philip Gordon, a White House Middle East coordinator under Mr. Obama. ‘When you get into these details, that’s when you come up against the strong objections of the two sides. If they don’t want it to be dead on arrival, they may wind up with vague principles, but as we’ve seen, even vague principles are beyond what the parties are willing to embrace.’” http://nyti.ms/2zRyZJJ

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CATCHING YOU UP ON TRUMP ABROAD …

— TRUMP TO VIETNAMESE PRESIDENT TRUONG TAN SANG ON SOUTH CHINA SEA DISPUTE, per pooler AFP’s Jerome Cartillier: “If I can help mediate or arbitrate, please let me know (…) I am a very good mediator.”

— TRUMP ON PUTIN SAYING HE DID NOT MEDDLE IN U.S. ELECTIONS: “What I said there is that I believe he believes that, and that’s very important for somebody to believe. I believe that he feels that he and Russia did not meddle in the election.

“As to whether I believe it or not, I’m with our agencies, especially as currently constituted with their leadership. I believe in our intel agencies, our intelligence agencies. I’ve worked with them very strongly. There weren’t seventeen as was previously reported; there were actually four. … Now, at the same time, I want to be able — because I think it’s very important — to get along with Russia, to get along with China, to get along with Vietnam, to get along with lots of countries, because we have a lot of things we have to solve. And, frankly, Russia and China in particular can help us with the North Korea problem, which is one of our truly great problems.

“So I’m not looking to stand and start arguing with somebody when there’s reporters all around and cameras recording and seeing our conversation. I think it was very obvious to everybody. I believe that President Putin really feels — and he feels strongly — that he did not meddle in our election. What he believes is what he believes. …

“[I] feel that having Russia in a friendly posture, as opposed to always fighting with them, is an asset to the world and an asset to our country, not a liability. And, by the way, Hillary Clinton had the reset button. She wanted to get back together with Russia. She even spelled ‘reset’ wrong. That’s how it started, and then it got worse. President Obama wanted to get along with Russia, but the chemistry wasn’t there. Getting along with other nations is a good thing, not a bad thing — believe me. It’s a good thing, not a bad thing.”

— TAKING ADVANTAGE OF 280 CHARACTERS: @realDonaldTrump last night at 7:16 p.m.: “Met with President Putin of Russia who was at #APEC meetings. Good discussions on Syria. Hope for his help to solve, along with China the dangerous North Korea crisis. Progress being made.” … at 7:18 p.m.: “When will all the haters and fools out there realize that having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. There always playing politics – bad for our country. I want to solve North Korea, Syria, Ukraine, terrorism, and Russia can greatly help!” …

… at 7:43 p.m.: “Does the Fake News Media remember when Crooked Hillary Clinton, as Secretary of State, was begging Russia to be our friend with the misspelled reset button? Obama tried also, but he had zero chemistry with Putin.” … at 7:48 p.m.: “Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me ‘old,’ when I would NEVER call him ‘short and fat?’ Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend – and maybe someday that will happen!”

ON THE WORLD STAGE — “Duterte to ask Trump to return historic spoils of war taken in 1901,” by CBS News’ Jillian Hughes and Jackie Alemany: “When Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte sits down for his first face-to-face bilateral meeting with President Trump on Monday in Manila, he will come to the table with an unusual request. Duterte wants the United States to return war trophies seized more than 100 years ago: three historic church bells that were taken from the Philippine village of Balangiga after a bloody clash during the Philippine-American War.” http://cbsn.ws/2i9pJWR

— “How Saudi Arabia turned on Lebanon’s Hariri,” by Reuters’ Samia Nakhoul, Laila Bassam and Tom Perry in Beirut: “Sources close to Hariri say Saudi Arabia has concluded that the prime minister — a long-time Saudi ally and son of late prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, who was assassinated in 2005 — had to go because he was unwilling to confront Hezbollah. Multiple Lebanese sources say Riyadh hopes to replace Saad Hariri with his older brother Bahaa as Lebanon’s top Sunni politician. Bahaa is believed to be in Saudi Arabia and members of the Hariri family have been asked to travel there to pledge allegiance to him, but have refused.” http://reut.rs/2AzVBuy

THE TRUMP LEGACY — NYT A1, “Trump Is Rapidly Reshaping the Judiciary. Here’s How,” by Charlie Savage: “In the weeks before Donald J. Trump took office, lawyers joining his administration gathered at a law firm near the Capitol, where Donald F. McGahn II, the soon-to-be White House counsel, filled a white board with a secret battle plan to fill the federal appeals courts with young and deeply conservative judges. Mr. McGahn, instructed by Mr. Trump to maximize the opportunity to reshape the judiciary, mapped out potential nominees and a strategy, according to two people familiar with the effort: Start by filling vacancies on appeals courts with multiple openings and where Democratic senators up for re-election next year in states won by Mr. Trump — like Indiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania — could be pressured not to block his nominees.

“And to speed them through confirmation, avoid clogging the Senate with too many nominees for the district courts, where legal philosophy is less crucial. Nearly a year later, that plan is coming to fruition. Mr. Trump has already appointed eight appellate judges, the most this early in a presidency since Richard M. Nixon, and on Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to send a ninth appellate nominee — Mr. Trump’s deputy White House counsel, Gregory Katsas — to the floor.” http://nyti.ms/2iRhuOv

–“Trump Nominee for Federal Judgeship Has Never Tried a Case,” by NYT’s Vivian Wang: “A 36-year-old lawyer who has never tried a case and who was unanimously deemed ‘not qualified’ by the American Bar Association has been approved for a lifetime federal district judgeship by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The lawyer, Brett Talley, is the fourth judicial nominee under President Trump to receive a ‘not qualified’ rating from the bar association and the second to receive the rating unanimously.” http://nyti.ms/2yvdcmC

MISLEADING CONGRESS? — “After new revelations, Sessions faces another grilling on Russia contacts in Trump campaign,” by L.A. Times’ Joseph Tanfani: “For Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, questions about the Trump campaign and Russia have become a nagging headache that won’t go away. Three times, he has appeared before his former colleagues in the Senate and answered questions about what he knew about contacts with Russians during the campaign. Three times, Sessions stumbled, issuing denials that later proved to be incomplete or wrong.

“On Tuesday, the nation’s highest lawman will face another grilling on Capitol Hill, this time prompted by claims in court documents and congressional testimony that he was told of at least two aides’ meetings with Russian officials — despite his claim last month that he was unaware of any such contacts. ‘The facts appear to contradict your sworn testimony on several occasions,’ all 17 Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee wrote to Sessions last week in advance of his appearance there.” http://bit.ly/2hmzShP

— “Lawmakers question whether key CIA nominee misled Congress,” by AP’s Deb Reichmann: “Two former CIA employees are accusing the Trump administration’s choice for CIA chief watchdog of being less than candid when he told Congress he didn’t know about any active whistleblower complaints against him. Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee asked Christopher Sharpley, the current acting inspector general who’s in line for the permanent job, about complaints that he and other managers participated in retaliation against CIA workers who alerted congressional committees and other authorities about alleged misconduct. ‘I’m unaware of any open investigations on me, the details of any complaints about me,’ Sharpley testified at his confirmation hearing last month.” http://bit.ly/2jkSHGo

AP in Berlin: “A list of heartbreak: Newspaper tallies 33,293 dead migrants”: “The German paper Der Tagesspiegel has published a list of 33,293 people who it says died while trying to immigrate to Europe. The list is 46 pages long and covers the period from 1993 to May 29, 2017. The newspaper cites the victims’ names, ages, countries of origin, circumstances, date of death and the source of information. Often, the names are not given because the dead were not identified.” http://bit.ly/2zRXne3

SUNDAY BEST …

— JAKE TAPPER talks with FORMER CIA DIRECTOR JOHN BRENNAN on CNN’S “State of the Union”: TAPPER: “What is your response, Mr. Brennan, to what President Trump said about Vladimir Putin and U.S. intelligence agencies?” BRENNAN: “Well, I think Mr. Trump knows that the intelligence agencies, specifically CIA, NSA and FBI, the ones that really have responsibility for counterintelligence and looking at what Russia does, it’s very clear that the Russians interfered in the election. And it’s still puzzling as to why Mr. Trump does not acknowledge that and embrace it, and also push back hard against Mr. Putin. The Russian threat to our democracy and our democratic foundations is real. And I think his continuing to not say very clearly and strongly that this is a national security problem, and to say to Mr. Putin, we know you did it, you would have to stop it, because there are going to be consequences if you don’t.”

— CHRIS WALLACE talks with HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS CHAIRMAN KEVIN BRADY (R-TEXAS) on FOX NEWS’ “Fox News Sunday” about whether the House will pass tax reform by Thanksgiving: BRADY: “I believe it will. I feel there’s strong support for this. We continue to make improvements at every step of the way.”

— “Brady: House will not accept repeal of state, local tax deductions,” by Zach Warmbrodt: http://politi.co/2AADcgO

— JOHN DICKERSON talks with TREASURY SECRETARY STEVEN MNUCHIN on CBS’S “Face the Nation”: DICKERSON: “Let me ask you about [lobbyists]. The president said he wanted to drain the swamp in Washington. What instruction has he given you, in putting this package together, to keep lobbyists’ influence out of the process?” MNUCHIN: “Again, I’m not concerned about lobbyists. We’ve reached out to many, many trade groups to get lots of input, okay? Lots of people, lots of CEOs, have had input into this. But this is all about growth. And this is about an economic program that I’ve had the opportunity to work with the president since the campaign. And we’re focused. We’re so excited to get this done and to the President’s desk in December.” DICKERSON: “So no special instructions, though, about lobbyists, getting them out of this process.” MNUCHIN: “I haven’t had any lobbyists really involved with us. We’ve had trade groups that we’ve listened to input. But I’m not concerned about lobbyists at all.”

PHOTO DU JOUR: Vice President Mike Pence cleans a portion of the wall at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Veterans Day on Nov. 11. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo

ALI WATKINS — “Cold War Soviet technology studied in Cuba attacks”: “U.S. intelligence officials are closely studying Cold War-era Soviet technology as they seek to determine whether an electronic weapon was used to disorient and injure 24 American officials in Cuba earlier this year. Two intelligence officials tell POLITICO they’re confident that the attacks were conducted with an ‘energy directed’ or ‘acoustic’ device, possibly similar to one used by Soviet intelligence in Havana more than four decades ago, but remain unsure of its exact nature.

“That has officials combing classified files and even contacting retired intelligence officers for clues to a mystery that has triggered a diplomatic crisis less than three years after President Barack Obama restored diplomatic relations with Havana. ‘We’re trying to talk to guys as far back as the 1960s,’ said one of the intelligence officials. The sweeping, government-wide search for answers — spearheaded publicly by the State Department — has pulled in expertise from intelligence agencies, science and weapons development offices and health officials. Still, answers remain elusive. ‘It’s baffled the entire community,’ the intelligence official said.” http://politi.co/2AyE31L

KOCH WATCH — “Libertarian billionaire Charles Koch is making a big bet on foreign policy,” by WaPo’s Greg Jaffe: “A foundation overseen by billionaire industrialist Charles Koch is making major investments in foreign policy programs at elite American universities, including a soon-to-be-announced $3.7 million grant to Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The latest grant … is part of a larger effort to broaden the debate about an American foreign policy Koch and others at his foundation argue has become too militaristic, interventionist and expensive. It follows about $10 million in similar grants the Charles Koch Foundation has given in recent months to Notre Dame, Tufts University, Catholic University and the University of California at San Diego.” http://wapo.st/2zzefFz

FOR YOUR RADAR — “Woman says she was harassed at defense agency over child-care issues,” by WaPo’s Rachel Weiner: “A female defense agency employee said in court this month that she was isolated and harassed at the office after asking to work from home one day a week because she could not arrange child care. Her bosses at the Defense Security Service say she is simply unhappy she was not given special accommodation. A jury in federal court in Alexandria is expected to decide in the next week which side they believe. Patricia Burke’s suit against the Defense Department is the rare employment discrimination case against the federal government to go to trial.” http://wapo.st/2yVkowq

— “At the SEC, Whistleblowers Blow Whistle on Watchdog,” by WSJ’s Jean Eaglesham: “The watchdog for the [SEC], who encourages staff at the top securities regulator to blow the whistle on misconduct and fraud, is himself the subject of complaints by several whistleblowers. Carl Hoecker, the SEC inspector general, is tasked with rooting out malpractice at the agency. His team investigates alleged misconduct by SEC officials, ranging from insider trading to expenses fraud. The office’s website highlights protections for SEC employees who disclose evidence of waste, fraud or abuse.

“At least two employees working for Mr. Hoecker have filed complaints to a different federal whistleblower-protection agency, alleging that he and his senior staff retaliated against them for calling out misconduct within the inspector general’s office, according to people familiar with the matter and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Raphael Kozolchyk, a spokesman for the SEC Office of Inspector General, said ‘a number of the claims contain significant factual inaccuracies, while others are grossly misleading.’ He added that the office does ‘not comment on ongoing personnel matters.’ Mr. Hoecker didn’t respond to a request for comment.” http://on.wsj.com/2yuCVvt

MEDIAWATCH — “Radhika Jones, a Times Books Editor, Said to Be Next Vanity Fair Editor,” by NYT’s Sydney Ember: “In a dramatic changing of the guard, Radhika Jones, the editorial director of the books department at The New York Times and a former top editor at Time magazine, is expected to be named the next editor of Vanity Fair, according to two people with knowledge of the decision. Condé Nast, which publishes Vanity Fair, plans to make the announcement as soon as Monday. Ms. Jones, 44, will succeed the 68-year-old Graydon Carter, who said in September that he was stepping down from the glossy general-interest magazine after a 25-year run at its helm.” http://nyti.ms/2zwKaGU

BONUS GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman:

–“The Stockholder in the Sand,” by William D. Cohan in March 2013 in Vanity Fair: “[T]he private origins—and exact size—of his massive fortune are the subject of continued debate between [Alwaleed] bin Talal and prominent media outlets. So what’s the truth? And does one of the richest men on Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index—a calorie-counting cell-phone addict who loves texting James Murdoch—really spend his free time throwing dwarves?” http://bit.ly/2jiEUjO … 2012 Business Insider profile by Nicholas Carlson http://read.bi/2yQDhkq

–“Donald Trump Movie Review – Orson Welles’ ‘Citizen Kane’” – From an interview Trump did with filmmaker Errol Morris for a project called “Movie Movie” — 3-min. video http://bit.ly/2yOLCFh

–“The Convert,” by Abigail Pesta in Texas Monthly: “Tania Joya had been married to a jihadist from Texas for ten years, but she was tired of living like a nomad and unnerved by his increasingly extreme ideology. When he dragged their family to war-torn Syria, she knew it was time to get out.” http://bit.ly/2jfXby6

–“In the Land of Vendettas That Go On Forever,” by Amanda Petrusich in VQR: “In Northern Albania, vengeance is as likely a form of restitution as anything the criminal-justice system can offer.” http://bit.ly/2mgl2Px

–“The Long, Bizarre Relationship Between Jann Wenner and Mick Jagger,” by Joe Hagan in Vulture: http://bit.ly/2jg3eTc

–“Disneyland with the Death Penalty,” by William Gibson in the April 1993 edition of Wired — per Longform.org’s description: “On the sanitized wonderland that is Singapore.” http://bit.ly/2zysdVS

–“A Restaurant Ruined My Life,” by Robert Maxwell in Toronto Life: “I was a foodie with a boring day job who figured he could run a restaurant. Then I encountered rats, endless red tape, crippling costs and debt-induced meltdowns, started popping sleeping pills, lost my house, and nearly sabotaged my marriage.” http://bit.ly/2yOcPrs

–“Under the Banner of New York,” by Zadie Smith in the N.Y. Review of Books: “We can often be found screaming at strangers in the street but we just as frequently pick them up off the floor. We are every variety of human. Some of us are dopers and junkies. Some of us are preschool teachers and nuns. None of us deserve to be killed in the street. We are a multiplicity of humans in an elastic social arrangement that can be stretched in many directions. It’s not broken yet.” http://bit.ly/2yowji0

–“Inside Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war — Part 1, the cycle of violence,” by CBS News’ Kylie Atwood: Hitman “Delo, 40, has two children under the age of 10. They do not know their father is a murderer. He worries most about getting killed and about his true work being revealed to his children. ‘I do feel guilty,’ he says. But he claims he can’t get out, even though he would like to. ‘If you try to get out, they might kill you,’ he says. ‘That it’s my family who might be — I might get killed and they might get killed.’” http://cbsn.ws/2zGabS1

–“How to sell a country: the booming business of nation branding,” by Samanth Subramanian in the Guardian: “These days, every place in the world wants to market its unique identity – and an industry has sprung up to help put them on the map.” http://bit.ly/2iJFtPA

–“Meet The Riders Of The Sikh Motorcycle Club Of The Northeast,” by Teresa Mathew in BuzzFeed: “Riding their bikes together offers this group of Sikhs an all-American way to celebrate their faith, in a country where it often makes them targets.” http://bzfd.it/2hrVWLQ

–“Distaff Meeting: When sisterhood flowered in Detroit,” by the Weekly Standard’s Alice Lloyd in Detroit: “It is Rose McGowan, though, who steals the show. With an otherworldly cadence and a militant message, the reformed Hollywood vamp commands her troops: ‘We are planet women, and you will hear us roar!’” http://tws.io/2hkJU3h

–“Frequent Gunfire,” by John Banville in The Nation — per ALDaily.com’s description: “The fake machismo, the boozing, the braggadocio — Hemingway kept up the facade of the hairy-chested artist for as long as he was able. But who was he really?” http://bit.ly/2jiDBkP

–“Could Rome Have Had an Industrial Revolution?” by Mark Koyama on Medium: http://bit.ly/2yO4jZI

–“Mail-Order CRISPR Kits Allow Absolutely Anyone to Hack DNA,” by Annie Sneed in Scientific American — per The Browser’s description: “You can buy a CRISPR kit by mail order for $130 and do some serious genetic engineering in the privacy of your own home. The starter pack shows you how to modify e coli. The rest is up to you. Are we handing rogue scientists the means to flood the world with mutant life-forms?” http://bit.ly/2ArOjsH

— “Teen Girl Posed For 8 Years As Married Man To Write About Baseball And Harass Women,” by Lindsey Adler in Deadspin: http://bit.ly/2hrKRKK

SPOTTED yesterday in Bonn at the COP23 climate talks: Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, former Vice President Al Gore, former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg and California Gov. Jerry Brown. … Lawrence O’Donnell checking his phone outside of Bourbon Steak at the Four Seasons Georgetown in DC last night — pic http://bit.ly/2yUag7i …

… Michael Jordan sitting at a table by the bar at Bourbon Steak last night before getting dinner at the restaurant … Ron Kaufman yesterday at Ophelia’s Fish House … Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) received the Panetta Institute for Public Policy’s bipartisan Lincoln-Jefferson award in Pebble Beach, California.

SPOTTED yesterday at Weekly Standard editor Steve Hayes’ third annual chili cook-off at his family’s house in Davidsonville, Maryland: Bill Kristol, Peter and Kari Boyer, Matt Labash, Jonathan and Betsy Fischer Martin, Andy Ferguson, Mike Warren, Jonathan and Shannon Last, John and Lauren McCormack, Richard Starr, Ethan Epstein, Adam Keiper, Alice Lloyd, Jenna Lifhits, Vic Matus, Jim Swift.

WEEKEND WEDDINGS — Kris Anderson, a partner at Prospect Strategic Communications, former RNC research director and a Romney and Huntsman alum, on Saturday married Natalie Ethridge, who works for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Pool report: The couple “were married in a beautiful sunset ceremony in Cabo on Saturday before family and friends. As one of the GOP’s most prolific oppo researchers, the welcome party included a LexisNexis challenge. Kris and Natalie first met on the Schwarzenegger campaign in 2006 and started dating in 2008. After nearly a decade together, they chose the very apt #FoolsRushIn hashtag to mark the occasion.” Pic by Eric Draper/Eric Draper Photography http://bit.ly/2zAyeUb

SPOTTED: Webber Steinhoff, Ed Murphy, Matt David, Kirsten Kukowski, Jahan Wilcox, Tim Miller (who wore an “I’m with her” shirt) and Tyler Jameson, Sarah Pompei, Joe Pounder, Alex Angel, Francis Brennan, Matt Gorman, Andy Hemming, Jim Bognet, John Wittman and Cait Meisenheimer, Drew Florio and Colleen McGowan, Katie Boyd, Ted Kwong, Tom Merwin, Peter Li, Darrel and Jessica Ng, Tim and Sarah Killeen, Webb Hubbell, Tim Killeen, Fran Brennan, Mason and Chelsea Harrison, Amanda Henneberg, Byron Koay.

–Creigh Behnke, deputy finance director at the NRSC and NRCC alum, on Saturday married Michael Senich, a senior associate at Majority Strategies, at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo. “The couple met at the NRCC when Creigh worked in the Finance Department and Michael worked for the political office of Speaker of the House John Boehner.” Pic http://bit.ly/2iP4BV7

SPOTTED: Tommy Andrews, Katie Behnke, Megan Cummings, Leigh Tenewitz, Lucy Noell Croxton, Megan Becker, Krista Madaio, Chris Hansen, Tom Whatman, Grant Gardner, Seton Gardner, Michael Beach, Bryan Watkins, Lauren Toomey, Josh Penry, Kristin Strohm, Michael Calvo, Jordan Lieberman, Missy Lieberman and Marcus Rose.

–Adam Kennedy, the new White House research director and an RNC alum, tied the knot with health care consultant Kim Wallace at Roofer’s Union in Adams Morgan. The two are college sweethearts. Pic http://bit.ly/2hnMDJf SPOTTED: White House aides Raj Shah, Zach Parkinson, and Tyler Ross and RNC’s Scott Parker and Eric Schulze.

–Julia Krieger, deputy comms director for Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), and Evan Vanderveer, co-founder of Vanshap Capital, had a wedding reception last night at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. The couple previously got married in August in Santorini in a private ceremony. Pic http://bit.ly/2ADHlSc

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Edelman’s Greg Romano and Michael Boisjolie

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Jeremy Skule, SVP and chief marketing officer at Nasdaq and alum of MF Global and Fleishman-Hillard. What he’s reading these days: “‘American Radical: Inside the World of an Undercover Muslim FBI Agent,’ by Tamer Elnoury with Kevin Maurer. I’m fascinated by the work of our intelligence community and my brother is my hero and also in the FBI.” Read his Playbook Plus Q&A: http://politi.co/2mjookr

BIRTHDAYS: Dr. Elena Allbritton … Jeff Zients … Tyrone Gayle, press secretary for Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), is 3-0 … Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) is 68 … Eurasia Group president Ian Bremmer is 48 … USA Today’s Nancy Trejos … former Transportation Sec. Norm Mineta is 86 … Stephanie Kotuby and Rhana Natour of “PBS NewsHour” (h/t Nick Massella) … Facebook’s Katie Harbath … Rex Elsass … Katie Stuntz … Ryan Coyne, founder and CEO of Olympic Media, is 3-0 … Mark SooHoo of Burson-Marsteller … Politico’s Bennett Richardson … Jenn Ridder … Luca Spinelli … ThinkProgress’ Kira Lerner … Leo DiBenigno … Joe Johnston … Dave Weinberg … Takaaki Mizuno is 59 … Kevin Gundersen, director of gov’t relations at Huntsman, is 36 … David Lawrence … Alex Brown … Michelle Perry … Kamal Marell … Jay Lumpkins … Amber Cottle … Vinny Minchillo … Harlan Hill …

… Ross Baird, executive director at Village Capital and author of the new book “The Innovation Blind Spot” … RNC’s Steve Guest … Jessica Kahanek … Maria Cardona, principal at Dewey Square Group … Scott Beauchamp … Josh Britton … Alex Griswold of the Free Beacon … Olivia Lange, a student at Stanford’s GSB … Erica Sackin, director of political comms at Planned Parenthood … Laura Mandy Mszar … Columbia history professor Carol Gluck … Neal Shusterman is 55 … Naomi Wolf is 55 … Nina Brosh … Jake Orta … Crozer Connor … Frank Mazza … former Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.) is 84 … Gina Hill … Sheila O’Connell … Mica Strother … Pam Oatis (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)

****** A message from Morgan Stanley: The next generation of supercomputers appears to be at an inflection point—promising speed and processing power that could redefine business and trigger a new industrial revolution. Quantum computing’s advanced abilities could open the door to dramatic innovation in a variety of industries. Chemical manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies, for example, could simulate the chain of chemical reactions needed to design new and far more complex compounds and materials. And just as past industrial revolutions created many of the sectors that form the core of today’s global economy, quantum computing could give rise to new companies and sectors not yet imagined. Read more. ******

SUBSCRIBE to the Playbook family: POLITICO Playbook http://politi.co/2lQswbh … Playbook Power Briefing http://politi.co/2xuOiqh … New York Playbook http://politi.co/1ON8bqW … Florida Playbook http://politi.co/1OypFe9 … New Jersey Playbook http://politi.co/1HLKltF … Massachusetts Playbook http://politi.co/1Nhtq5v … Illinois Playbook http://politi.co/1N7u5sb … California Playbook http://politi.co/2bLvcPl … London Playbook http://politi.co/2xfDPuK … Brussels Playbook http://politi.co/1FZeLcw … All our political and policy tipsheets http://politi.co/1M75UbX

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mysteryshelf · 7 years ago

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BLOG TOUR - Mind Virus

Welcome to

THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF!

DISCLAIMER: This content has been provided to THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF by Roger Charlie Book Tours. No compensation was received. This information required by the Federal Trade Commission.

About the Book

Robin Fox is a peace-loving professor of world religions, trying to atone for his crimes as a U.S. Army interrogator. But at a Washington prayer rally, a suspect is caught trying to disperse a rare encephalitis virus, the same one used in an attack in Iraq that Fox once foiled. A CIA agent, John Adler, asks Fox for help.

Troubled by this request, Fox consults Emily Hart, his colleague at the United States Peace Research Institute and wife of its strongest supporter in Congress. She, however, has her own troubles. Leila Halabi, a Palestinian peace educator, has disappeared on the way to Washington for a lecture tour. Fox accepts Adler’s request, in exchange for the CIA’s help in finding Leila.

Fox works with a joint FBI-CIA interrogation team, and worries that Adler’s prejudice against Muslims is clouding his judgment. The suspect eventually reveals that he is part of an international conspiracy to eradicate religion, “using one virus to cure another”.

Fox deduces that the next attack is planned for Israel during Passover. Meanwhile, Emily learns that Leila has been imprisoned in Israel, and travels there to campaign for her release. Spurred by danger to the woman he loves – although he could never admit it, even to himself – Fox boards a plane that will reach Tel Aviv before her.

By careful observation, Fox catches another suspect at Ben-Gurion Airport. Now a hero to Israel, he persuades the head of Shin Bet to release Leila and let him interrogate the suspect.

He infers that the next attack is planned for Jerusalem on Holy Saturday. Joined by Adler, he sets up surveillance at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but fails to prevent an explosion.

Suspecting that this attack was a diversion, Fox reinterprets his clues and concludes that the real target is the Vatican. He and Adler fly to Rome in time to catch a suspect in the act of planting an aerosol device in the dome of St. Peter’s during Easter Vigil Mass. Fox breaks her silence by intimating that her love for the group’s mastermind has been betrayed. She reveals the name by which she knows him, and gives up enough information to identify the next target: Westminster Abbey, at an Easter service with the Royal Family attending. But at the same time, he receives a menacing message: Emily has been abducted by the mastermind, who threatens to kill her if any cameras catch Fox there.

Fox goes to London, enters the Abbey in disguise, and uncovers the most elaborate strategy yet: a sleeper agent in the Abbey choir planted the virus in a fire extinguisher, and used a time-release flammable agent to make the Archbishop’s vestments spontaneously combust.

After stopping the attack, Fox roughs up the suspect but learns nothing. His escort from the Security Service takes him to question the mastermind’s mentor at Oxford. Shocked to hear how his teachings have been twisted, he gives up a name: Theodore Gottlieb. They go to Gottlieb’s house, to find him calmly awaiting them with high tea and high explosives.

After a standoff, the bombs detonate and set fire to the house. Fox, cut off from the police, has to chase Gottlieb to the room where Emily is being held hostage. Using his military training, he succeeds in seizing Gottlieb’s pistol, but his principles of nonviolence will not allow him to shoot. They struggle, Gottlieb falls, and the firefighters rescue Fox and Emily in time.

They return to Washington. Adler has promised to tell the Saudis about the final target, Mecca during the Hajj, but Fox suspects he is lying and goes to the Saudi embassy himself. A furious phone call from Adler confirms his suspicions: the CIA was planning to let the attack proceed, and use an Army-designed antiserum to blackmail the entire Muslim world.

After launching Leila’s tour, Fox and Emily walk together through the GWU campus. He yearns to tell her that, when he was sure his life was over, his only thought was of her. But discretion trumps valor, and when they say goodnight, his true feelings for her are still a secret.

Interview with the Author

What initially got you interested in writing?

I’d have to go back in time and ask my 6-year-old self; he’s the one who got me hooked on writing stories, and I haven’t been able to stop since. I finished my first novel-length manuscript in high school, and after a slight detour when I was led astray by the siren song suggesting that publishing academic papers in peer-reviewed journals would be a more prudent channel for my literary ambitions, I’m happily back on track with creative writing.

How did you decide to make the move into becoming a published author?

The time was right. I had a story inside me that wouldn’t let me rest until I shared it with the world. Did I tell it well? You can judge for yourself.

What do you want readers to take away from reading your works?

I hope they’ll take away a new perspective. This book has a religious theme, and religion, whether you’re a believer or not, affects everyone and everyone has an opinion about it. And for most people, these opinions are so strongly entrenched that you could hurl arguments at them until doomsday and never move the needle; the only chance you have of getting anyone to see an alternate point of view is through story. Wherever you fall on the scale, from firebrand evangelical to firebrand atheist, you’ll probably find something in this book to challenge you. Judging from the reviews, it will make your heart beat faster – and it might raise your blood pressure, too!

What do you find most rewarding about writing?

I love the way the story takes on a life of its own. I think writing, as an art form, is less like painting or sculpture and more like growing bonsai: you may start with a clear image of the finished product, and you can twist and trim your material into the shape you want, but it’s still a living thing, and it sometimes wants to grow in a different direction from the one you had in mind, so you have to be flexible and acknowledge that it might know better than you. There are times when a character seems to be speaking to me, suggesting something I hadn’t previously thought of. I love those moments, because it feels not so much as though I’m creating the story out of nothing, as that it’s telling itself through me.

What do you find most challenging about writing?

The difficulty of getting Time, Energy and Inspiration in the room together: they all seem to have such crazy schedules and I can rarely get more than two of them to sit down with me. Sometimes I wake up bursting with ideas, but can’t get a moment to write them down until late at night when I can barely keep my eyes open, let alone remember what the muse was whispering in my ear that morning. Other times, I’m well rested and have a rare block of free time, but the well is dry. I often resort to stealing moments throughout the day for writing – and if you piece together enough stolen moments, eventually you have a book.

What advice would you give to people wanting to enter the field?

There’s a Japanese saying: “Do the best you can and await orders from heaven.” If you have a story inside you fighting to get out, then write it, and polish it, to the best of your ability. Then, when the time is right, it will find its audience. It took years of pounding the pavement before I found my editor, but in light of world events during that time, I’ve come to feel that perhaps the story was waiting until a time when it would be most relevant. So if you ever have moments when you start to doubt your story will ever see the light of day – and I suppose every aspiring author does – don’t be discouraged. It always seems impossible until it’s done.

Is there anything else besides writing you think people would find interesting about you?

I’ve lived most of my adult life in Japan. How I got there, and what I’ve been doing there, would be the subject for a whole different interview, but in large part, I have my life in Japan to thank for this book. Living in a very secularized society helped give me the inspiration for the story, and the desire to keep some kind of connection with my homeland helped light a fire under me to write it.

What are the best ways to connect with you, or find out more about your work?

You can find out more about Mind Virus and my other works on my website: charleskowalski.com. Looking forward to seeing you there!

About the Author

Charles Kowalski currently divides his time between Japan, where he teaches English at a university, and his family home in Maine.

His previously unpublished debut novel, Mind Virus, won the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Colorado Gold Award and was a finalist for the Adventure Writers’ Competition, the Killer Nashville Claymore Award, and the Pacific Northwest Writers’ Association literary award.

Other novels and short stories by Charles Kowalski:

“Let This Cup Pass From Me” (Finalist, American Fiction Short Story Award (New Rivers Press); Honorable Mention, The Maine Review Short Story Competition)

“Arise, My Love”

“The Evil I Do Not Mean To Do”

Charles can be found at his website, and on Facebook and Twitter (@CharlesKowalski).

About the Publisher

About Literary Wanderlust

Literary Wanderlust publishes well-written novels and short story anthologies in the romance, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and thriller genres, as well as obscure history and research topics. Visit us at www.literarywanderlust.com

BLOG TOUR – Mind Virus was originally published on the Wordpress version of The Pulp and Mystery Shelf

#shannon muir #pulp and mystery shelf

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newstfionline · 8 years ago

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At 15, he was shot in the back by an Israeli soldier. Now this Palestinian has dedicated his life to peace.

By Colby Itkowitz, Washington Post, March 3, 2017

Yousef Bashir remembers the blue sky that day. As he lay in the back seat of the car, an Israeli soldier’s bullet lodged in his back, he stared up and out of the window at the sky, wondering whether it would be his last time seeing it.

By that time in 2004, Bashir’s family’s home in the Gaza Strip had been occupied for four years by Israeli soldiers, who had converted it into a military post. The Palestinian Muslim family could have moved, like so many of their neighbors did, but Bashir’s father refused. If he left, they would probably never get their house back. So they stayed, confined to a small area of their home and unable to venture upstairs and required to ask permission to use their own kitchen and bathroom.

For Bashir’s father, this small act of peaceful defiance was a lesson to his children that the Israelis and Palestinians could coexist. No matter how uncomfortable or unfair it seemed, Bashir’s father preached tolerance. Even when his 15-year-old son was shot, an injury that would require 16 months of rehabilitation and leave him forever with piercing pain from the bullet still inside him, Bashir’s father taught love.

It took Bashir some time to appreciate his father’s perspective.

“He approached them like guests. What I didn’t understand is how he could treat them as guests when they’re telling us what to do in our own house,” Yousef Bashir said. “And my father said, ‘That’s what human beings do and that’s what people who care about the Holy Land must do even if it’s the most unrealistic thing in the world, we have to do that, because our destiny is to live in peace as the sons of Abraham.”

Now 28 years old, Bashir is dedicating his life to fulfilling his father’s dream of peace among Israelis and Palestinians. It’s a life mission that brought him to the United States to finish high school, to attend college here and to immerse himself in a country that promises more than he could have ever dreamed in occupied Gaza. He’s interning on Capitol Hill for Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.). And he gives talks, taking what happened to him and using it as a way to start dialogues, particularly with Jewish groups.

A gripping and articulate storyteller, Bashir sees himself as an emissary.

But his story is not about being almost killed by an Israeli soldier. It’s about how Israeli Jews saved his life.

Bashir and his father were standing in their front yard waving goodbye to United Nations peacekeepers who had been by to check on them when the bullet struck Bashir. The Guardian reported in 2005 that the Israeli army had taken responsibility for the shooting but never explained why.

The teen was rushed to a hospital in Tel Aviv, where he was treated by an Israeli doctor. His nurses, his roommates, the visitors were almost all Israeli Jews. They cared about his pain level. He saw them celebrate their holidays. Orthodox rabbis would gather around his bed and sing songs to lift his spirits as they did with all the children. For the first time in his life, he saw Israelis the way his father always wanted him to.

“All of those little moments showed me their humanity, and I can’t get over that ever,” Bashir said. “I still disagree with Israel fundamentally, but I don’t hate them in my heart. What my father was teaching me all my life was that although an Israeli shot me, many Israelis were there to save my life. Suddenly now I understood my father when he said you have to choose forgiveness over revenge, bravery over fear and peace over war, and this is what any Holy Lander should be doing.”

Once he’d healed enough to leave rehab, his father sent him to a summer camp in Maine run by Seeds of Peace, an organization that brings together young Palestinians and Israelis. Bashir was still too injured to participate in any of the traditional camp activities like swimming or sports, so he focused his energy on the daily dialogues. He told his story. Israelis told theirs. Both sides had grievances, but they were learning they didn’t need to be rooted in hate.

After that experience, Bashir was determined to get his education in the United States. He left Gaza to attend a Quaker high school in Ramallah, but he spent his time there singularly focused on getting back to the United States as soon as possible. In America, he said, “if you have any idea and you are passionate about it, you will do it.”

With an unrelenting persistence, he finished high school at a boarding school in Utah--”It was utterly peaceful. I don’t care if it’s on the moon, there were no tanks or soldiers, and that was my biggest achievement at the time,” he said. He went on to get his undergraduate degree at Northeastern University in Boston, though he had really wanted to go to Brandeis, a college with a large Jewish population, but didn’t get in. But he did for graduate school and received his master’s degree in conflict and coexistence.

Going to a largely Jewish college was, to him, a way to promote peace. He needed to show those who thought ill of Palestinians that he was not brought up to hate.

“I need to speak to the ones who think I’m a terrorist, a threat, a bad guy,” he said. “They are the ones I need to go out of my way to speak to them, to shake their hand, because I am confident that if I get to do that there’s no way they will go to bed that evening thinking that guy was terrible. I’m certain of it.”

Sitting in Connolly’s office, Bashir told his story. He’d told it the day before at the J Street National Conference. And he’d tell it the next day to a group of Israeli graduate students studying diplomacy. They would invite him to join them for a meeting with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), where he told Sanders he was the most popular Jew in Gaza since Moses.

He’s been in the United States for 11 years now and has not returned to Gaza. Bashir’s father died in 2009, and he could not return to attend his funeral for fear he wouldn’t be able to leave again. He’s seen his mother only once, last year when she received medical treatment in Germany. This week, he applied for his U.S. citizenship. Living in the District feels like home, he jokes, when he sees calls for statehood.

After his father died, his mother sent him the heartfelt letters they’d received from strangers after news of his being shot made international headlines. He sifted through those letters and reached out to those who offered their support back then. Many people have since contributed to helping him achieve his dreams by financially supporting his schooling, hosting him in their homes, helping him make contacts.

One of those people, Ellie Macklin, an 84-year-old retired family therapist, has become a surrogate mother to him.

“It’s been one of the most gratifying things in my whole life, this connection I have with Yousef,” she said. “I’m very attuned to people who have tremendous need but also tremendous determination to make something significant of their lives. I had this bent to do what was needed when others are willing to do their part. He has impressed me from the beginning with his powerful energy to make powerful change.”

For now, aside from his speaking engagements, Bashir’s role in Connolly’s office is no different than any other intern. But he feels the weight of that responsibility profoundly. When he answers a constituent call and soothes a mother crying that her son who has cancer may lose his health insurance or speaks in Arabic to an Egyptian man needing assistance, it feels as if he’s really giving something back to a country that has accepted him.

It’s not lost on him that the U.S. government is largely pro-Israel, and in a way, the bullet that struck him was “authorized by this place,” he said, in reference to Congress’s financial support for the Israeli military. But there’s a disconnect between the rhetoric and the warmth with which he’s been treated.

“It gives me hope that despite it being the place that authorized the M16 bullet that I carry with me every single day, it embraces me, allows me to come in,” he said. “America has been more than generous to me. Every dream I’ve had so far did come true. You know when someone does you a favor you say, ‘One day I’m going to pay you back and that day never really comes.’ Every day I’m here … I feel that I’m giving back to this county.”

#Yousef Bashir #Palestinians #Israel #Israeli-Palestinian relations

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