#news around nigeria today

[reasonsforhope]

Here's the top 2 stories from each of Fix The News's six categories:

1. A game-changing HIV drug was the biggest story of 2024

In what Science called the 'breakthrough of the year', researchers revealed in June that a twice-yearly drug called lenacapavir reduced HIV infections in a trial in Africa to zero—an astonishing 100% efficacy, and the closest thing to a vaccine in four decades of research. Things moved quick; by October, the maker of the drug, Gilead, had agreed to produce an affordable version for 120 resource-limited countries, and by December trials were underway for a version that could prevent infection with just a single shot per year. 'I got cold shivers. After all our years of sadness, particularly over vaccines, this truly is surreal.'

2. Another incredible year for disease elimination

Jordan became the first country to eliminate leprosy, Chad eliminated sleeping sickness, Guinea eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus, Belize, Jamaica, and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis, India achieved the WHO target for eliminating black fever, India, Viet Nam and Pakistan eliminated trachoma, the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness, and Brazil and Timor Leste eliminated elephantiasis.

1. The EU passed a landmark nature restoration law

When countries pass environmental legislation, it’s big news; when an entire continent mandates the protection of nature, it signals a profound shift. Under the new law, which passed on a knife-edge vote in June 2024, all 27 member states are legally required to restore at least 20% of land and sea by 2030, and degraded ecosystems by 2050. This is one of the world’s most ambitious pieces of legislation and it didn’t come easy; but the payoff will be huge - from tackling biodiversity loss and climate change to enhancing food security.

2. Deforestation in the Amazon halved in two years

Brazil’s space agency, INPE, confirmed a second consecutive year of declining deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. That means deforestation rates have roughly halved under Lula, and are now approaching all time lows. In Colombia, deforestation dropped by 36%, hitting a 23-year low. Bolivia created four new protected areas, a huge new new state park was created in Pará to protect some of the oldest and tallest tree species in the tropical Americas and a new study revealed that more of the Amazon is protected than we originally thought, with 62.4% of the rainforest now under some form of conservation management.

1. Millions more children got an education

Staggering statistics incoming: between 2000 and 2023, the number of children and adolescents not attending school fell by nearly 40%, and Eastern and Southern Africa, achieved gender parity in primary education, with 25 million more girls are enrolled in primary school today than in the early 2000s. Since 2015, an additional 110 million children have entered school worldwide, and 40 million more young people are completing secondary school.

2. We fed around a quarter of the world's kids at school

Around 480 million students are now getting fed at school, up from 319 million before the pandemic, and 104 countries have joined a global coalition to promote school meals, School feeding policies are now in place in 48 countries in Africa, and this year Nigeria announced plans to expand school meals to 20 million children by 2025, Kenya committed to expanding its program from two million to ten million children by the end of the decade, and Indonesia pledged to provide lunches to all 78 million of its students, in what will be the world's largest free school meals program.

1. Solar installations shattered all records

Global solar installations look set to reach an unprecedented 660GW in 2024, up 50% from 2023's previous record. The pace of deployment has become almost unfathomable - in 2010, it took a month to install a gigawatt, by 2016, a week, and in 2024, just 12 hours. Solar has become not just the cheapest form of new electricity in history, but the fastest-growing energy technology ever deployed, and the International Energy Agency said that the pace of deployment is now ahead of the trajectory required for net zero by 2050.  

2. Battery storage transformed the economics of renewables

Global battery storage capacity surged 76% in 2024, making investments in solar and wind energy much more attractive, and vice-versa. As with solar, the pace of change stunned even the most cynical observers. Price wars between the big Chinese manufacturers pushed battery costs to record lows, and global battery manufacturing capacity increased by 42%, setting the stage for future growth in both grid storage and electric vehicles - crucial for the clean flexibility required by a renewables-dominated electricity system. The world's first large-scale grid battery installation only went online seven years ago; by next year, global battery storage capacity will exceed that of pumped hydro.

1. Democracy proved remarkably resilient in a record year of elections

More than two billion people went to the polls this year, and democracy fared far better than most people expected, with solid voter turnout, limited election manipulation, and evidence of incumbent governments being tamed. It wasn't all good news, but Indonesia saw the world's biggest one day election, Indian voters rejected authoritarianism, South Korea's democratic institutions did the same, Bangladesh promised free and fair elections following a 'people's victory', Senegal, Sri Lanka and Botswana saw peaceful transfers of power to new leaders after decades of single party rule, and Syria saw the end of one of the world's most horrific authoritarian regimes.

2. Global leaders committed to ending violence against children

In early November, while the eyes of the world were on the US election, an event took place that may prove to be a far more consequential for humanity. Five countries pledged to end corporal punishment in all settings, two more pledged to end it in schools, and another 12, including Bangladesh and Nigeria, accepted recommendations earlier in the year to end corporal punishment of children in all settings. In total, in 2024 more than 100 countries made some kind of commitment to ending violence against children. Together, these countries are home to hundreds of millions of children, with the WHO calling the move a 'fundamental shift.'

1. Space exploration hit new milestones

NASA’s Europa Clipper began a 2.9 billion kilometre voyage to Jupiter to investigate a moon that may have conditions for life; astronomers identified an ice world with a possible atmosphere in the habitable zone; and the James Webb Telescope found the farthest known galaxy. Closer to Earth, China landed on the far side of the moon, the Polaris Dawn crew made a historic trip to orbit, and Starship moved closer to operational use – and maybe one day, to travel to Mars. 

2. Next-generation materials advanced

A mind-boggling year for material science. Artificial intelligence helped identify a solid-state electrolyte that could slash lithium use in batteries by 70%, and an Apple supplier announced a battery material that can deliver around 100 times better energy density. Researchers created an insulating synthetic sapphire material 1.25 nanometers thick, plus the world’s thinnest lens, just three atoms across. The world’s first functioning graphene-based semiconductor was unveiled (the long-awaited ‘wonder material’ may finally be coming of age!) and a team at Berkeley invented a fluffy yellow powder that could be a game changer for removing carbon from the atmosphere.

-via Fix The News, December 19, 2024

[widefuturesss]

Trans woman, Area Mama of Abuja, was murdered last night in Abuja. And of course, like most news of violence in Nigeria, the evidence of such a horror comes in the form of a photograph - a blurry photograph of a corpse captured on a phone, usually taken by a passerby at the site of the brutalisation. Black death spectacle. Evidence of corpses are littered all over this cyberspace I That is because they are also littered around the earth in broad daylight.

We have to apply more agency to this space of visual reconstruction.

My afropessimism with our current archives lies especially with the spectation of Black death. We engage a lot in visual consumption of evidence and re-production of violent memory. Rememory to me is a space through which we can tend to the missing. I can be intentional with how and why I choose to remember the image and what it speaks/sings.

I can exercise an aesthetic of hope towards bigger imaginations and realities. I once took screenshots of Area mama with her back to the camera, It was a video or live she had shared on tiktok, an essence of the scene called to my spirit and today I find a comfort in what it remembers against. What is held in a photograph is not exclusive to the photograph, but this photograph moves and works, is shown, was seen, shone, says, is animated, resounds, broken, breaking song of, song for, something before, like the Music, which is, as Mingus says, not just beautiful, but terribly beautiful.

Rest up my sister, we will honor your wayward on/in our own way forward - beautyful woman

[follow-up-news]

Instagram investigated and removed around 63,000 Instagram accounts in Nigeria that were trying to financially sextort users, according to a blog post from Meta.  The accounts, which were removed at the end of May, primarily targeted American men, Meta said, and were mostly unsuccessful. Among the 63,000 accounts was a network of 2,500 accounts that Meta linked to 20 individuals. “Today we are announcing the strategic network disruption of two sets of accounts in Nigeria that were affiliated with Yahoo Boys and were attempting to engage in financial sextortion scams,” Meta said in a news release. The Yahoo Boys are a loosely organized group of cybercriminals based in West Africa and are banned under Meta’s Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy. NBC News reported about the Yahoo Boys’ rise in January. The Yahoo Boys have been referred to in popular songs in West Africa and used as an example by some of how to get rich quickly. According to a June report by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and an anti-child sexual abuse company, which focused on the targeting of teen boys, victims are often led to believe that they are talking to someone similar in age. In reality, it’s a fake account. In a financial sextortion scam, the scammers ask victims to send explicit images of themselves and then demand payment or they'll release the images to the victim’s friends and family.

[bbymunsonx]

The Last Time (Ted's Version)

Chapter Four

chapter warnings: language, implied sexual content, sexual tension hehe

word count: 2.4k

After embarrassingly crying to Ted about my sex life, I quickly had to run back to my flat before I embarrassed myself even more. 

When I get back to my flat, I took out my laptop and started to Google all the players on the team. Jamie Tartt, Roy Kent, Sam Obisanya. I even decided to Google Ted, purely out of curiosity. I thought I'd get a bit more caught up before our first official day of work. 

Jamie's results were what I expected. I'm definitely gonna have to work on his branding, I thought to myself.

Roy's results were pretty clean. Most of the articles just talked about how he should start to think about retiring because of his age and his supposed knee problem. 

Sam's results were about how he came to England from Nigeria to play for AFC Richmond. In every interview he does, he mostly just talks about how much he misses home. 

Ted's results made my heart drop. There were some positive things about him, but most of the things that people were saying about him online were sickening. 

Ted Lasso: Richmond's New Hillbilly Coach. 

One of the links had a video of Ted with the Wichita State Football Team. It looked like the team was in the locker room after winning a game, where they were all dancing with Ted. The football players all honestly looked like they adored that man. One of the football players in question, Julian Silva, my lovely ex-boyfriend. 

After getting to know Ted better, seeing footage of him and Julian together is enough to make my stomach churn. They are complete polar opposites. Knowing Ted, he was probably way too kind to him. A lot kinder than he deserved. 

***

The next day was our first "official" day at AFC Richmond. Naturally, Ted welcomed me at my front door with a coffee in one hand and a box of fresh made biscuits in the other. 

"What's this?" I asked while taking the box. 

"Just a little something. You gotta let me know how they are before I give 'em to the boss. Just take a little nibble." Ted eagerly waited for me to take a bite. 

"Holy shit-" I said with a mouth full of biscuits, "This is delightful. How the hell do you know how  to make this shit?"

"Google... and baking shows, of course." Ted answered. 

"The Great British Bake Off baby," Coach Beard chipped in. 

"I'm telling you, you two become more and more interesting by the day." 

When we arrived at the stadium, we all went our separate ways. Ted went to find Rebecca to give her his homemade biscuits, Coach Beard went out on the pitch, and I found my way down to my office. 

Being logged onto Richmond's socials and keeping an eye on all the comments, especially the comments revolving around Ted, was quite exhausting already. People on the internet could be so cruel. After moderating their socials for a bit, I found a livestream from Richmond's official page that they were doing a press conference, right now.

Shit, Ted probably had no idea they were dong this, I thought to myself. After reading the comments, it seemed like probably one out of ten people had something nice to say. Then it went down to zero after Ted had accidentally spit on the entire audience of journalists. Today was going to be a long day. 

After closing my laptop for a quick breather, someone knocked on my door. "Anyone in here?"

"Yeah, come on in." I responded. In came a girl that I thought looked vaguely familiar. She looked around my age, maybe a little bit older than me. Where have I seen her before?

"Hello! I just wanted to come and meet you in person! I'm Keeley Jones!" She came running up to me and giving me a hug. 

"Hi! I'm Lacy." I hugged her back, why not?

"I know! God, you're fucking fit." She took a step back and really stared at me for a second. 

"I'm not really sure what that means, but thanks!" I awkwardly laughed. "So what do you do around here?"

"I'm kinda famous for being almost famous, if that makes sense. I was with Jamie Tartt for a little, but we actually broke up a few days ago. I do a lot of PR work for the team, too, yeah?"

"Oh shit," I exhaled. Now I know where I know her. She came up when I was looking up Jamie earlier. Thank God I'm not a homewrecker. 

"But I'm not taking your job or anything. You're actually way more qualified than me." Keeley laughed. "We'll be working together, if that's alright. I do more of the 'getting them sponsorships' and shit and you're more of their public image of the players and the overall club. I have a feeling we're gonna be great friends, Lace." Keeley smiled.

"Me too, Keeley." I smiled back. 

***

"Lacy, come in here a second, would ya?" Ted called from his desk to mine. I'd been splitting my time evenly between being on the pitch with the coaches and the players and being in my office. I wanted to make sure I knew what they were doing, but I also wanted to make sure I was doing my job and moderating their socials. 

"Yes, Coach?" I said with my voice slightly raised and my lashes fluttered, obviously being facetious. Why not have some fun and spice up the day?  I decided to get comfortable and sit atop of his desk. 

After clearing his throat, visibly affected by my comment, Ted managed to say, "I wanna throw a birthday party for Sam. He's just feeling a bit homesick at the moment and he needs to know that we're on his side. So are you free tonight?"

"What makes you think I'd literally be doing anything else?" I raised an eyebrow. 

"Well, I didn't know if you had plans with a certain Mr. Ja-," Ted laughed as I cut him off. 

"No, Ted. I will be there."

"Great, see you later," Ted got up and touched my arm before leaving the office, causing my heart to almost fall out of ass as I looked over at Coach Beard, who of course, had his head in a book and didn't witness any of what happened. Ted always touches people in their arms when he talks to them. That's just his thing. 

"Are you gonna go to the party tonight, Beardo?" I asked. 

"Beardo?" I finally got him to put the book down.

"Is that alright?" I questioned. Maybe Ted touching my arm is causing me to act all weird. 

Beard took a second to think before responding with, "I'll allow it." He then got up and left the office, leaving me just sitting there on Ted's desk, all alone.

***

 After going back to my flat and getting ready for the party, I settled on a little cocktail dress that Rebecca put in my closet. 

Ted Lasso: You ready, spaghetti?

Lacy Watson: As ready as I'm gonna be.

Coach Beard: Can I bring a girl I met today?

Lacy Watson: When did you meet a girl? You were at work all day?

Ted Lasso: We're just gonna keep tonight a work casual thing. If she's like any of your other gals, we don't wanna scare Sam. Maybe next time, Bud. 

Coach Beard disliked " We're just gonna keep tonight a work casual thing. If she's like any of your other gals, we don't wanna scare Sam. Maybe next time, Bud."

Rhythmic knocks rapped against my door. "Come in!" I yelled down. A few sets of footsteps came up my stairs when suddenly Ted and Coach Beard rounded the corner into my living room. A part of me panicked realizing this was their first time in my flat. 

"Look at you!" Ted called out to me, causing me to roll my eyes. 

"Let's just go." I groaned. 

I wore my sneakers during the walk so I wasn't suffering in my heals. When we arrived at the stadium, Ted had sent Coach Beard in while he helped me change into my heals that I brought in my bag. Ted, being the gentleman he is, knelt to the ground to help give me some balance. 

"Are you nervous about seeing Jamie? You didn't really see him today at training." Ted questioned, while letting me hold onto his shoulders while putting on my heals. 

"I'm not that bothered by it. Either way, tonight is all about making Sam feel at home. I have to put my stupid boy drama aside for the night."

"Panda?" Ted looked up at me. There was just something about this man knelt before me, looking up at me, that made my stomach do acrobatics. 

"I think we should choose a different word. There's just something about a grown man saying the word panda that's just a little funny," I joked to change the subject. 

"Whatever you want." Ted looked down and smirked. Just as he was about to say something else, Coach Beard came running outside, huffing all out of breath. 

"There you guys are! I thought you got lost!" He exclaimed. 

"You're such a smart-ass." I laughed. Ted got off his knees and escorted Coach Beard and I into the stadium. 

Football players were standing all throughout the locker room with drinks in their hand, deep in conversation. The locker room was filled with balloons, streamers, and miscellaneous birthday decorations. "Who did this?" I questioned. 

"Oh, that would be me." Nate came out of nowhere. 

 "You did an awesome job, Nate-dawg. It looks great." Ted slapped Nate on the back, to which he smiled. 

"Yeah, this looks awesome, Nate." I smiled at him. "If you'll excuse me, real quick. I'm gonna go find Sam."

After looking around the locker room, I found Sam deep in conversation with Colin Hughes. "Hi, Sam! Happy birthday!" I went to shake his hand since I didn't formally meet him yet. He pushed my hand away and gave me a hug. 

"Thank you, Ms. Watson! This is such an amazing surprise. It's been really hard being away from my family, so thank you for helping me feel less alone."

"Of course, Sam. And please, I'm only four years older than you. Please just call me Lacy."

"Yes, Lacy." Sam smiled back. 

"Enjoy the party." I gave Sam a side hug as he continued his conversation with Colin. As I went throughout the locker room, looking to see if Keeley had showed up, I saw the last person I wanted to see, Jamie Tartt. 

"Hi, Jamie." I decided to be civil, especially if I have to work with him. 

"Hiya, Lacy. Nice party." He took a sip of his drink, probably his second or third drink of the night. 

"Hm." I just nodded in response, not really knowing what to say. 

"Let's get you a drink." Jamie took my hand to get me a drink. I didn't really feel like a drink tonight, especially because I wanted to get some work done when I got back to my flat. 

"That's alright, Jamie. I don't really want to." I looked to my left and saw Ted staring daggers at Jamie. He was on the complete other side of the locker room, so he couldn't even possibly hear what we were saying. 

"Cmon, just one drink. For old times sake," Jamie winked at me. 

"How can that possibly be for old times sake, that was three days ago." Sometimes Jamie genuinely confused the fuck out of me. 

"Just have one drink with me and I'll leave ya alone, yeah? Let's just be civil." Jamie continued to persuade. 

As soon as I saw Ted start to walk over to us, I heard a deep voice come from behind me, "She's not having the fucking drink, so get the fuck out of here." Roy Kent. 

"No one's talking to you, Grandpa." Jamie looked behind me and stared down Roy. 

"Is there an issue going on here, fellas?" Ted finally made his way over, standing directly next to me. 

"No one's talking to you, wanker. I'm trying to give Lacy an opportunity with a real man, yeah?" Jamie laughed to himself. 

"I think you've had too much to drink tonight, Jamie. How about you just go home before we all do something we regret." Ted sternly said to him. If looks could kill, Jamie would be dead on the floor. 

"This party fucking blows anyway." Jamie threw his drink on the floor and walked out. Tears started to form in my eyes. I really wanted to be civil with Jamie, but he may be making that impossible. 

"Come here," Ted took my arm and I went with him but stopping him before we got too far. 

"Wait a second," I pulled away for a moment to turn around to Roy, "Thank you, Roy." I gave him a tiny hug, to which he grunted and walked away. I was gonna break through him. I could feel it. 

I ran back up to Ted as he was talking to Beard, "I'm just gonna take her home. You've got it from here?" 

Coach Beard nodded. 

***

It was a very silent walk back home with neither one of us knowing exactly what to say. 

Ted broke the silence first, "Do you want me to say something to him tomorrow?"

"No, Ted. It's alright. He was drunk. I don't think he's a bad guy, just stupid." I laughed a little, to which Ted nodded. 

"Alright, then. Just give me the word and he'll be off my team." Ted responded sternly. No hint of a joke behind his tone. I just nodded. 

When we made it back to the flats, Ted stopped at the foyer and as always, asked if I wanted to join him inside for a drink. 

"I think I'm gonna call it a night. I gotta catch up on all our socials and I don't even think I have the energy to do that." 

"Well, don't work too hard," Ted pointed a finger at me. 

"I make no promises. I gotta prove to the boss lady that I'm worth keeping around."

"Touche. Well, have a good night, Lacy Loo."

"Goodnight, Teddy."

He walked into his flat the same time I walked into mine. After the door shut, my back pressed against the door as I felt it difficult to catch my breath. All I could feel were the butterflies in my stomach, trying to pull me into his flat. Though it's only been three days, I had to stop lying to myself. I wasn't just being flirty for the hell of it. I didn't reject Jamie Tartt because he's not a good looking guy. 

No. I was falling for Ted Lasso. 

Fuck. 

authors note: these next few chapters are gonna get sooooo good I love writing jealous Ted and I wanna keep writing more of him hehe I cannot wait to write the gala ep I'll leave it up to your imagination for now. also!! lacy and roy's friendship is gonna be the end of me I swear <3 im gonna try to have a chapter out every other day :)

taglist: @nerdgirljen

[christianbelievers]

IF YOU WERE GOD

Last night I was watching a journalist recording his news story in front of the hotel where he was staying. He was in Israel covering the war. As he was speaking, a few people walked in and out of the hotel. They were nicely dressed and walking casually as if they were heading out for dinner, or shopping. But it struck me a little strange, as Israel is currently in a war for its very survival.

I think of the Vietnam and Korean wars, the 1st and 2nd world wars, the twin towers attack, and so many other times and places where people feared for their lives, even to the point of hiding in their own homes. In Nigeria, people are looking for food, water, and shelter all while being hunted down just because they call themselves Christians.

But when I saw those people casually walking by the camera last night, it reminded me of another time, a time when people were going about their day to day routine as if everything was just fine and dandy, yet oblivious to the devastation that was just around the corner. Jesus told us about that time…

“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” (Matthew 24:37-42)

God had become remorseful that He had created mankind. The world had become violent and wicked.

“The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.”

(Genesis 6:5)

That’s why He sent the flood. But thanks to Noah, God would try once more. But it wasn’t long after that, that a man named Lot came along, and the process started all over again. Wickedness and evil eventually slithered out of its hole and began to corrupt the world once again.

“Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."

Then the LORD rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.

But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.”

(Genesis 18:20-21 and 19:24-26)

"It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.”

"It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.” (Luke 17:28-30)

Is it the same today, as it was in the days of Noah and Lot? If those people walking by the camera were any indication, I would say yes. But it’s not just there in Israel, it’s all over the world, including the United States.

If you look around the world, where you live and otherwise, what do you see? Do you see evil getting bolder? Do you see evil things being considered good, and things that used to be considered good now being called bad? I’ll give you a quick example…just a few days ago the Pope said, “Yes, there are some rogues and sinners, but the heart itself is good.” WRONG! The Bible says…

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” (Jeremiah 17:9 KJV)

If you were God, how would you compare today with the days of Lot and Noah?

Noah’s time: “The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.”

Lot’s time: "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me.”

Well, God said that “every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” And that the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah was “so great and their sin so grievous.”

Of all the people on the Earth at that time, only Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. In Sodom and Gomorrah, only Lot, his two daughters, and his wife were spared the fire and sulfur that rained down from Heaven. But after being warned not to look back, Lot’s wife did…and she perished…becoming a pillar of salt.

Why was Lot’s wife turned into salt? First of all, the Lord’s angels had given them the warning not to look back. So, her being disobedient to God’s command probably caused His wrath to overcome her along with Sodom and Gomorrah.

An interesting note about this passage: When the angels told them that it was time to go, they had to take hold of Lot and his family…

“But he lingered; and the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.” (Genesis 19:16)

Lot and his family were hesitant to leave with the angels…why? They may not have believe that God would totally destroy the area. Or they thought of friends and things that would have to be left behind.

We’re prone to do the same things. We don’t like to act until we have to. We don’t want to just leave our home and all our memories. But there comes a point when you have to leave a burning house. Staying is not going to make the fire go out. It’s called being saved.

Since 2017, many Christians have been looking for the Lords return. They’ve been looking at all sorts of dates and events that might give a clue as to when exactly this is going to occur.

Some have gone back to their old thinking of “It’s been 2000 years, it’ll probably be another 2000  before He comes back.” It could be, but I highly doubt it. The times are very much like they were in the days of Noah and Lot. Where the dividing line is, none of us know. But we do know that we were told to watch and be ready for the Lords return. And that’s one thing that I don’t see a lot of Christians doing.

It's time to stop hesitating and get serious about our Lord. He is not an Easter/Christmas God. He is a 24/7 God. He is constantly watching over us and providing for us. Are we taking the time to thank Him for that each day?

Our God deserves the best that we can give Him. I personally know that I don’t give Him as much of myself as I want. But I’m human…and He understands that. But I think there is one thing that we all have to be leery of doing, and that is being hesitant, like Lot and his family. It cost his wife her life.

We need to truly ask ourselves, our we living for God, or just showing up according to a scheduled appointment like Sunday’s, Easter, and Christmas? Don’t look back at the world once you’ve asked Jesus to be your Savior. He paid with his life to save you. And He did it because He loves you. I think we forget that sometimes…that He loved us so much that He gave his life for ours.

Well, I’ve said enough for now. But I will leave you with one last thought. September 23rd of this year will mark the seven year mark as to when the Revelation 12 sign appeared in the stars. Noah and his family were shut in the ark for seven days before the flood waters began. The number seven stands for perfection, or completion. Perhaps this seven year warning/waiting time is about over and we can go home.

“Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.” (1st Thessalonians 5:1-6)

[mariacallous]

Ads containing abortion-related misinformation are allowed to run on Facebook and Instagram in countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, while legitimate health care providers struggle to get theirs approved, new research has found.

The report, released today from the Center for Countering Digital Hate and MSI Reproductive Choices, an international reproductive health care provider, collected instances from across Vietnam, Nepal, Ghana, Mexico, Kenya, and Nigeria. Between 2019 and 2024 in Ghana and Mexico alone, researchers found 187 antiabortion ads on Meta’s platforms that were viewed up to 8.8 million times.

Many of these ads were placed by foreign antiabortion groups. Americans United for Life, a US-based nonprofit whose website claims that abortion pills are “unsafe and unjust,” and Tree of Life Ministries, an evangelical church now headquartered in Israel, were both linked to the ads. Researchers also found that ads placed by groups not “originating in the country where the ad was served were viewed up to 4.2 million times.”

In the report, researchers found that some of the ads linked out to websites like Americans United for Life, whose website describes abortion as a “business” that is “unsafe” for women. The abortion pill is widely considered safe and is less likely to cause death than both penicillin and Viagra. Other ads, like one run by the Mexican group Context.co, linked to a Substack dedicated to the topic that implied there is a secret global strategy to manipulate the Mexican populace and impose abortion on the country.

One ad identified in Mexico alleged that abortion services were “financed from abroad … to eliminate the Mexican population.” Another warned that women could suffer “severe complications” from using the abortion pill.

Meta spokesperson Ryan Daniels told WIRED that the company allows “posts and ads promoting health care services, as well as discussion and debate around them,” but that content about reproductive health “must follow our rules,” including only allowing reproductive health advertisements to target people above the age of 18.

“This is money that Meta is taking to spread lies, conspiracy theories, and disinformation,” says Imran Khan, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate.

In these countries, where Meta often has partnerships with local telecom companies that allow users to access its platforms for free, Facebook is a key source of information. Some of these ads also ran on Instagram. “Anybody with a cell phone can access information. People use it to find services. When we ask clients, how did you hear about us? a lot of them will cite Facebook, because they live on Facebook. It's where they know to search for information,” says Whitney Chinogwenya, marketing manager at MSI Reproductive Choices. So when disinformation runs rampant on the platform, the impact can be widespread.

“Good health information saves lives. By actively aiding the spread of disinformation and suppressing good information,” Khan says, “[Meta is] literally putting lives at risk in those countries and showing that they treat foreign lives as substantially less important to them than American lives.”

Many of the countries impacted by this report also have high maternal mortality rates, making access to reproductive services particularly crucial. In Nepal, for instance, there are 239 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, as opposed to only 32 in the United States. In Ghana, it’s even higher: 319 deaths per 100,000 live births. This comes as the US continues to grapple with the implications of the 2022 Supreme Court decision that struck down Roe v. Wade. On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a milestone abortion case that will determine access to the abortion pill across the country. These laws and policies in the US are often fodder for those seeking to roll back abortion rights elsewhere in the world.

These findings are not the first instances of right-wing groups using social media to promote antiabortion messaging abroad. In 2022, the Spanish far-right group CitizenGo orchestrated a disinformation campaign on Twitter to rebrand a reproductive health bill focused on regulating surrogacy as an “abortion bill.” (The legislation did not address abortion.) A 2023 report from Amnesty International also cited social media as a key way that antiabortion groups disseminate their messaging and target reproductive-health workers.

The report also found that the problem extends beyond just abortion. In one instance, Meta removed one MSI Reproductive Choices ad for cervical cancer screenings in Nepal, saying it involved “sensitive information.” Another ad promoting breast cancer awareness in Ghana was also flagged, as was one in Kenya providing information on vasectomies.

After trying and failing to place ads on Meta’s platforms in Nepal and Vietnam, MSI’s local accounts were restricted from placing any further ads, forcing the organization to start new ones. “But of course, it doesn't have as much audience as we did on the original page,” Chinogwenya says.

Glenn Ellingson, a former Meta employee who worked on civic misinformation, tells WIRED that there are several factors that might lead to an ad being rejected from the platforms, including if it’s targeting a group considered “sensitive,” particularly in an automated system.

“When you’re operating at the scale Meta is at, there are always going to be errors,” he says, adding that greater investment in humans who could review and flag content would likely help the platform distinguish between content that violates its policies and content that doesn’t.

[saintmeghanmarkle]

Meghan in the nudes: the First Lady of Nigerias speech and some headlines from mainstream media by u/Mickleborough

Meghan in the nudes: the First Lady of Nigeria’s speech, and some headlines from mainstream media As reported in this sub a couple of days ago, Senator. Oluremi Tinubu, the First Lady of Nigeria, made a speech on 25 May at the ‘Celebrating the Woman’ event, marking the first year of her husband’s administration.These words set the tone for her speech: ‘The message here is that we have to salvage our children.’She goes on to say: ‘We don’t accept nakedness in our culture.’The Meghan moment - where she alludes to the Meg is below (with my intepretation, based on logic): ’Even they [Nigerian children / girls] are mimicking and trying to emulate film stars from America. They [American film stars] don’t know where they come from. Why did Meghan come here looking for Africa? That is something we have to take home with us. We know who we are, and don’t lose who you are. God bless you.’ [Speech ends.]In my view, the literal interpretation‘s that the First Lady’s citing Meghan as an example of an American film star who doesn’t know where she comes from (her roots, her identity, sense of self - take your pidk). So - no criticism of Meghan’s flashing her flesh on her recent Nigeria visit.However it’s a logical inference, from the First Lady’s speech, that American film stars who don’t know where they come from flaunt their nakedness. And as Meghan‘s American film star in search of her roots, ergo Meghan goes around naked.In any event, Meghan’s nakedness has made the nudes:https://ift.tt/T6Jfr7y Sun (UK), 26 May.The Daily Mail (UK), 27 May.The Hindustan Times (India), 27 May.https://ift.tt/F5Iwei6 New York Post (US), 27 MayPakistan Today (Pakistan), 27 May.https://ift.tt/bAFxMUy Independent (UK), 28 May.India Today (India), 28 May.NDTV (India), 28 May.Scottish Daily Express (UK), 28 May.Sky News (Australia), 28 May.The Telegraph (UK), 28 May.The last word:Attendees at ‘Celebrating the Woman’.https://ift.tt/3iVuhvy and Meghan at ‘Women in Leadership’.Meghan exercising her Second Amendment right. post link: https://ift.tt/FsuSU15 author: Mickleborough submitted: May 29, 2024 at 10:54PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[richincolor]

New Releases

Five new books coming out this week to add to your growing list. I'm reading Nigeria Jones for this month's review and I'm excited to get started. Keep an eye out for that upcoming review. What books look interesting to you?

Only This Beautiful Moment by Abdi Nazemian Balzer & Bray

2019. Moud is an out gay teen living in Los Angeles with his distant father, Saeed. When Moud gets the news that his grandfather in Iran is dying, he accompanies his dad to Tehran, where the revelation of family secrets will force Moud into a new understanding of his history, his culture, and himself.

1978. Saeed is an engineering student with a promising future ahead of him in Tehran. But when his parents discover his involvement in the country’s burgeoning revolution, they send him to safety in America, a country Saeed despises. And even worse—he’s forced to live with the American grandmother he never knew existed.

1939. Bobby, the son of a calculating Hollywood stage mother, lands a coveted MGM studio contract. But the fairy-tale world of glamour he’s thrust into has a dark side. Bobby is forced to hide his sexuality for fear of losing everything.

Set against the backdrop of Tehran and Los Angeles, this tale of intergenerational trauma and love is an ode to the fragile bonds of family, the hidden secrets of history, and all the beautiful moments that make us who we are today. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi HarperCollins US

Warrior Princess.

That’s what Nigeria’s father calls her. He’s raised her as part of the Movement, a Black separatist group based in Philadelphia. Nigeria is homeschooled and vegan and participates in traditional rituals that connect her and other kids from the group to their ancestors. But when her mother—the perfect matriarch to their Movement—disappears, Nigeria’s world is upended. She finds herself taking care of her baby brother and stepping into a role she doesn’t want.

Nigeria’s mother had secrets. She wished for a different life for her children, which includes sending her daughter to a private Quaker school outside of their strict group. Despite her father’s disapproval, Nigeria attends the school with her cousin, Kamau, and Sage, who used to be a friend. There, she slowly begins to blossom and expand her universe.

As Nigeria searches for her mother, she starts to uncover a shocking truth. One that will lead her to question everything she thought she knew about her life and her family.

You Don’t Have a Shot by Racquel Marie Feiwel & Friends

Valentina “Vale” Castillo-Green’s life revolves around soccer. Her friends, her future, and her father’s intense expectations are all wrapped up in the beautiful game. But after she incites a fight during playoffs with her long-time rival, Leticia Ortiz, everything she’s been working toward seems to disappear.

Embarrassed and desperate to be anywhere but home, Vale escapes to her beloved childhood soccer camp for a summer of relaxation and redemption…only to find out that she and the endlessly aggravating Leticia will be co-captaining a team that could play in front of college scouts. But the competition might be stiffer than expected, so unless they can get their rookie team’s act together, this second chance—and any hope of playing college soccer—will slip through Vale’s fingers. When the growing pressure, friendship friction, and her overbearing father push Vale to turn to Leticia for help, what starts off as a shaky alliance of necessity begins to blossom into something more through a shared love of soccer…and maybe each other. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

The Iron Vow: The Iron Fey: Evenfall #3 by Julie Kagawa Inkyard Press

After leaping through the portal to Evenfall, Meghan and her companions find themselves in a terrifying new world where Nightmares roam and glamour is nearly nonexistent. As their magic wanes and the creatures of Evenfall rise against them, the race to find the Nightmare King grows ever more desperate. But what they discover–about Evenfall, about the Nightmare King, about themselves–will shake everything they thought they knew to the core.

The Nightmare King stirs. A world hangs in the balance. And as twilight descends upon all the realms of Faery, Meghan and her allies must make one more impossible choice. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

I’m Not Supposed to Be in the Dark by Riss M. Neilson Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

Seventeen-year-old Aria Cayetano dreams of ghosts. She used to see them too, but thanks to a special tea brewed by her grandfather, Aria’s connection to the spirit world has been severed. Until a decades old rosebush suddenly dies across the street, convincing Aria that something supernatural is happening in her neighborhood.

She aches to investigate it, but the rosebush sits on her ex best friend Derek Johnson’s front lawn, and she can’t question him because he hates her now. Aria doesn’t know what drove them apart years ago, but she does know Derek’s been acting strange for weeks, sneaking out in the dead of night to who knows where.

Then, days after the rosebush dies, Derek begins speaking to her again. At least Aria thinks it’s him. Until she discovers there’s a ghost inside of Derek that will take his life if it doesn’t find what it’s searching for. As Aria and Derek race to uncover the mystery, another kind of magic takes them by surprise: love. But Aria has to decide how far she’s willing to go to save Derek, especially when helping the ghost means tapping into whatever the tea has buried inside of her.

Bone-chilling and spellbinding, I’m Not Supposed to Be in the Dark is an alluring ghost story that’s about exorcising the past to find a future to believe in. — Cover image and summary via Goodreads

[rainbowmustard14]

Back when I was in Nigeria I had discovered bl and the LGBT community entirely...I knew they existed but I never really gave them much. Thoughts? After I discovered BL, I was in love with it and I was not afraid to vocalize my interest in it. I told my girl classmate even my boy classmates and they recognized me as someone who is an ally and they wouldn't ever talk on homophobic s*** with me. So turned out most of my girl classmates were be all bl lovers and it made me so happy that it was something we were able to talk about and gush about ,something that just made us happy ,even when a new girl came. She also loved bl. I thought this meant that they were all not homophobic but turned out I was wrong. Nigeria is a country where the LGBT community can literally be killed on site and if you are someone that supports them are not even part of them, you can be killed too. It's a dangerous topic to talk about in public and all of our teachers wear homophobic. I remember my economics teacher talking about a male student hugging him showing gratitude towards him, but he interpreted us him being gay and he literally wanted to use a king to harm him, which is something Nigerians usually do to children in the educational system. I find it's f***** up but that's how it is... That's day the new girl who everybody's already accustomed with and another of my classmate literally went "ew" and I was shocked at the time I thought they didn't want to be found out as people that were allies so I shrugged it off. The new girl wasn't someone that was my close friend at the time so I didn't confront her about it. I only confronted my other friend and I asked her why would you say that when you know you're someone who enjoys BL then he talks about something that f***** up and idiotic and you say ew? She apologized to me about it but I always felt it was something that she should have looked deeper inside her. But she did tell me she didn't want to be found out and she just went with the flu so I believed her ask for the other girl. We still grew closer even after what she did. I didn't help hold it against her. I remember her having a conversation about Disney putting LGBT characters in their cartoons and she said the statement "children growing up. Would Think it's right" and I was literally shocked... That day made me realize That's being a bl lover doesn't make you someone who's not homophobic till today. I don't seem to get how you like that genre of romance but don't like it when you see it in cartoons. I still can't wrap my head around it.

[biglisbonnews]

Are the Benin Bronzes Made From German Brass—And Does It Matter? On a humid February day in 1897, with smoke from relentless shelling hanging heavy in the royal city, the invading force advanced. More than a thousand British soldiers, bolstered by auxiliary troops, attacked the centuries-old seat of the forest kingdom, among the most powerful in West Africa. England would claim the military operation was retaliation for the killings of a few of its citizens after they violated the kingdom’s sovereignty. But in truth, it was a ruthless assault to vanquish the Kingdom of Benin and gain control of its wealth. By the time it was over, Benin City was in ashes. Amid the untold civilian casualties, destruction of homes, and other brutalities, the invaders looted thousands of royally-commissioned figures, masks, plaques, and other objects, some carved from wood or ivory but most cast in brass or bronze. Collectively known today as the Benin Bronzes, these treasures were hauled to the coast, loaded onto ships, and, eventually, made their way to some of the most famous museums and private collections in Europe and the United States. There, for more than a century, the Benin Bronzes were displayed, often without mention of their significance as religious or commemorative objects. More recently, as the importance of the Benin Bronzes as cultural heritage has been more broadly acknowledged, the magnificently detailed faces and intricate scenes of royal life have been at the center of often-heated political, cultural, and legal debates over repatriation and reparation for their violent theft. Now, there’s a new wrinkle in the story. Published today in the journal PLoS One, a novel geochemical analysis suggests that the raw material used in the production of Benin’s famous metalworks came from Rhineland, in western Germany. The findings are a scientific first, but the bigger question is: Does it matter where the metal came from? “I don’t think this is of enormous interest to the Edo people themselves. Where the material originally came from is a bit neither here nor there,” says Barnaby Phillips, journalist and author of Loot: Britain and the Benin Bronzes. (The term "Edo" can refer to both the historic kingdom of Benin, also known as the Benin Empire or Edo Empire, and the modern Nigerian state, located at what was the heart of the ancient kingdom; some experts prefer to use the term Edo to distinguish the kingdom and its people from the modern country of Benin, to the west of Nigeria.) Perhaps the most interesting thing about the paper is its method: The team compiled data from previously published analyses of metals used in objects considered Benin Bronzes, and compared those results with new analysis of something perhaps unexpected: artifacts retrieved from shipwrecks. Specifically, the team analyzed the composition of dozens of objects called manillas, retrieved from five shipwreck sites around the Atlantic and three archaeological sites in West Africa and Europe. Manillas are small, c-shaped pieces of brass that were manufactured in Europe and used by Portuguese traders as currency along much of the West African coast from the late 15th to the 19th century. All of the manillas analyzed in the study came from sites or shipwrecks, from Massachusetts to Sierra Leone, that had ties to Portuguese trade during this era. After comparing the previously published chemical signatures of the Benin objects with those of the manillas and an established database of European ores, the researchers concluded that “this study definitively identifies the Rhineland as the principal source of manillas.… Millions of these artifacts were sent to West Africa where they likely provided the major, virtually the only, source of brass for West African casters between the 15th and the 18th centuries.” It’s the first time anyone has tied the raw material ultimately used to produce the Benin objects to a specific geographic area—but a European origin for the material is not a surprise to scholars familiar with the Benin Bronzes. “A significant part of the metal that constitutes Benin bronze came from Europe. It’s only natural to start with the Portuguese connection [when researching its origin],” says Ndubuisi Ezeluomba, curator of African art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond. Ezeluomba, who has written extensively about the objects from an arts management perspective, says he found the paper “exciting,” but would like to see more details. Despite the new paper’s emphasis on a German origin for the raw material Benin artists used, brass objects had been produced in West Africa long before European contact. While some regional metalworking traditions lasted for a century or two, the Kingdom of Benin’s casters were at work for at least 500 years, and possibly much longer. “What helped in the Benin case was it was under the control of the king, he was the sole patron at that time,” says Ezeluomba. “These were not objects made for the ordinary person. They were made to beautify the palace and decorate royal shrines. All the plaques you see were just like normal photographs, put on the palace wall to decorate them.” Despite its longevity���or perhaps because of it—the very roots of Benin’s bronze and brass casting tradition remain a mystery, and a source of contention between people in today’s Edo state and surrounding regions, notably the Yoruba people to the northwest, many of whom have ancestral ties to the ancient Ife Kingdom. The dates of manufacture for many of the items are also uncertain or contested. “There is a great historic rivalry between the Ife and Benin kingdoms, and there is a great deal of sensitivity as to which came first and which influenced the other,” says Phillips. “[But] the Ife civilization is producing these amazing objects, certainly predating contact with the Europeans.… Of course, Edo historians are adamant that their own metal casting tradition, be it bronze or brass, predates the arrival of the Europeans.” One thing researchers, historians, and curators alike agree on: “The arrival of the Europeans is a catalyst for expanded production,” says Phillips, adding that the sudden and substantial availability of brass, in the form of manillas, would have given the Benin artists much more material to work with. The paper’s lead author and designated media contact Tobias Skowronek declined interview requests for this story. Skowronek is a geochemist at the Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola in Bochum, near Dusseldorf and coincidentally close to the area where his team believes the raw material for the Benin Bronzes was mined. Some feel the new research may be less about a scientific breakthrough and more about researchers wanting to participate in some way in the broader discussion of the objects, currently a popular topic on social media and elsewhere. “The Benin Bronzes have become emblematic of the debate around colonial looted art for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that they are very fabulous, [and] the way in which they were taken was particularly egregious,” says Phillips. “And if you’re more or less anywhere between Seattle and Stockholm, there are Benin Bronzes in your nearest museum. So it has great resonance in different countries and has fitted into the postcolonial discourse.” It’s unclear what, if any, impact the new paper may have on ongoing political and legal maneuvering around efforts to return the artifacts to Nigeria. While museums in some countries, notably Germany, have already returned dozens of the objects or have committed to do so, some opposition continues. In 2022, the Restitution Study Group (RSG), which describes itself as a nonprofit concerned with slavery justice, launched a legal challenge to the Smithsonian Institution’s transfer of ownership of several objects to the Nigerian government. RSG’s argument is that the Benin Bronzes are culturally significant to descendants of enslaved people in the United States, and should remain accessible to them, because they were cast from melted-down manillas that Europeans traded with Benin nobility “in exchange for abducted and enslaved neighboring non-Beni people.” ("Beni" or "Bini" is another name for the language, also known as Edo, spoken in the kingdom.) While a judge denied RSG’s attempt to stop the transfer in October, the legal battle points to a question of much greater significance than where the metal in the Portuguese manillas was mined: “To put it crudely, to what extent were these [manillas] being traded for slaves?” says Phillips. The answer, based on historical evidence, appears to be that the Kingdom of Benin had fewer connections to the transatlantic slave trade than other regional kingdoms. “The history of how those things were removed, that’s what gets me.” Phillips notes that the forest kingdom, which was inland and not directly accessible to ships involved in the slave trade, had significant natural resources and industries, such as palm oil, ivory, and textiles. “I think Edo historians are on to something when they say their own kingdom was a lot more powerful than many of the other kingdoms that Europeans engaged with, and crucially had other things the Europeans wanted to buy,” he adds. While the links between the slave trade and the manillas melted down for the casters’ use remain uncertain and controversial, the brutality with which the Benin Bronzes were taken is incontrovertible. Ezeluomba, who grew up in modern Benin City, says he considers the objects as art, and studies them with professional detachment. However, he adds, “The history of how those things were removed, that’s what gets me. The sheer scale of the human casualties that these guys unleashed on Benin, the number of bullets that came out of those machine guns, those are the facts that actually get me.… It was very brutal. I always have that in the back of my mind.” For advocates of the return of the Benin Bronzes to what is now Nigeria, repatriation is a start, but only the first step in what must be a thoughtful process of remediation. Ezeluomba says it’s not just about returning the stolen goods to Benin City; Western museums, governments, and scholars should assist in infrastructure building, training, and other initiatives that will preserve the items for generations to come. Considered in this broader context, the question of whether the Benin Bronzes were cast from material mined in western Germany is a footnote. “If a Nigerian artist buys all their paints and canvas from Europe, is it European art?” Ezeluomba asks. “It’s not about the materials, it’s about who made the work.” https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/benin-bronze-origins

[thetarttfuldickhead]

One thing about those photos - international call ups are never done on a league match day. The coaches may be going round the room celebrating the players who are leaving for international duty, be it Sam or Jamie or whoever, but this is not going to be a moment where the players find out if they're called up. That isn't how call-ups work. Edwin being in the episode absolutely is a guarantee there's an issue with Sam and Nigeria, and I am very sure Jamie already knows he's called up for England and that's what he and Roy look happy about - maybe Ted is giving his congrats or something to everyone about to depart after the match. But the photos released today? That will not be The Moment any player in the room finds out they're called up. 100% guarantee.

Yeah, I'm certainly not going to argue with you, nonny. Partly because I don't have the requisite knowledge to do that, and partly because i've never assumed today's pictures show the moment when the players learn if they've been called up. (That said, the show bends the rules of football when it suits them, so I would never be too sure about something not happening on the show just because it couldn't happen in reality either.)

I find the idea of the coaches wishing everyone going off good luck highly plausible; I even wrote a ficlet about just that yesterday. (Though if that's what Jamie and Roy are so happy about, the ficlet's been immediately -- and very happily! -- jossed! But that was bound to happen as soon as the episode aired anyway. XD I don't work with predictions, I only like playing around with possibilities.)

Thanks for chiming in, nonny! One of the happier side effects of this new Ted Lasso obession are all the things I learn about football, and I love it when you share your knowledge! <3

[holdinbacksecrets]

happy saturday! i miss you.

i’m heading to starbucks and possibly a bookstore before heading to work.. how’s your saturday so far??! love your ring btw!!!!!

hello friend! i’ve missed you, too! i’m always happy to see mail from you 🥰 how are you?

did you end up going to the bookstore? how has work been? have you made any decisions about staying or quitting?

my saturday has been peachy and peaceful. i went to our downtown this morning, walked around, and shopped (as i shared in my post). i just got home from seeing my uncle before he heads back to nigeria. now i’m rewatching a comfort drama of mine: my ID is gangnam beauty, and i plan on going to campus to get some work done later. i’ll probably bring my new books as well. the weather today is gorgeous— 60s, sunny, no wind. in love.

thank you! moss agate is seriously so stunning 🖤

[spellbook-gayboy]

Cape-Watch Monthly Bulletin- January 2023

Hey, y’all! I’m your host, Christina Cabello, ringing in the new year with the first Cape-Watch Monthly Bulletin of 2023! This year’s gotten off to a flying start for the superhero community, and we have no shortage of hot stories to share with you below the cut!

Meet The Team

Kicking off our list is quite possibly one of the hottest stories of the year yet! After over two months of intense try-outs and meticulous selection, through controversy after controversy, the line-up of the new superhero team Breakthrough was officially unveiled this month at a public press event at the Pentagon. Here, our field reporter Noah Pinker managed to score an exclusive interview with the team’s leader and legendary superhero Frontline, who had this to say:

‘I can’t tell you how happy it makes me feel, standing her today. Being able to continue a team I feel such a strong personal bond with into modern times is such a good feeling. It was difficult, I’ll admit, with everything going on in the try-outs, but I think we’ve managed to put together a real group of heavy hitters. All that’s left now is to try and get them to work with each other without burning the place down!’

Speaking of which, I’d be remiss to not mention the five members that will be serving alongside Frontline. Filling the role of the team’s second-in-command, and by far one of the most popular picks, is the Nigerian heroine Omi, who easily cleared her way through both continental and final stages of the selection process, ending with a spectacular knockout against the Japanese hero Tengu. Compared to her peers, she is also the most popular, achieving national recognition as one of Nigeria’s greatest heroes, to the point where she is frequently described as a ‘gift from the orisha (powerful spirits and minor gods in the religion of Isese, the religion of the Yoruba people of Nigeria)’. The heroine herself recently bid farewell to her home city of Port Harcourt before entrusting it to a fellow hero known as Neon Knight. It will certainly be interesting to see how she fares on a team as international as Breakthrough, but I think it’s fair to say that she’ll do well. 

Another two of the new members include the titan of Paris, Quark Crusher (or Broyeur de Quarks for the French speakers), who has defended his home city since his teenage years if estimates are to be believed. Joining him is a fairly surprising arrival, the German heroine Ms. Cinnabar (or Frau Zinnober). The psionic super hails from Stuttgart, where she has worked for years without much of a media presence, preferring a quiet and low-key approach to heroics until now. When asked for comment at the press event about her reasons for applying for a slot on Breakthrough, she explained that while she did enjoy her time as a city-level hero, she also felt the need to push her limits and try to have a bigger impact. This coincides with her finally setting up an Instagram account, which surprised her previously small and scattered fanbase. To say that it’s rare for a previously minor superhero to suddenly shoot to stardom is an understatement, but nevertheless, I wish her the best of luck!

And finally we come to two surprising choices, who have both gathered their own fair amounts of gossip and speculation. The biggest of these two is the mysterious Bolivian vigilante known only as Vaquera, who secured her slot following a knockout victory against the Welsh superhero Green Knight. Despite there being a warrant for her arrest in her home country, the Bolivian government has still seemingly accepted her as their representative on Breakthrough, although it should be noted that this was only announced after the governments of Argentina, Colombia and Peru publicly offered her their support. She was also the only member that refused to answer any questions during the press event, which is hardly surprised given that she is generally known to be very quiet and guarded around others. Fighting alongside her will be the final member to talk about, the South Korean speedster Trailblazer (선구자). After an eight-year long stint as a member of the superpowered K-Pop group Hot Stuff, in which he cultivated a catalogue of popular songs with his co-stars, he applied late after the breakdown of the group over ‘creative differences’, going on to secure his slot after defeating the Italian super Brigante. Despite admitting himself to be ‘out of practice’, he also boasts a record as the only applicant who never once got hit throughout the entire process, thanks in part to his superspeed. While the element of stardom certainly mixes up the team dynamic, there is also the question of whether he’ll be able to fare as well against foes that might wish to hurt him far worse than other heroes would. In conclusion, Frontline has managed to assemble quite the crew, but only time will tell if they can rise to the heights of other teams like the Guardians of the Globe, or if they are doomed to sink the same depths as others such as Fight Force. 

A New Atlantean Archon

Our next story comes from quite the strange place, from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean where the sunken metropolis of Atlantis resides, where quite a strange series of events has recently taken place regarding the superhero Invincible. Apparently, under Atlantean tradition, the murderer of an Atlantean must marry the victim’s widow. Since Omni-Man, who murdered the king Aquarus along with the rest of the Guardians of the Globe almost two years ago now, was no longer on Earth, that responsibility fell to his son. Invincible was also the reason this story even broke in the first place, when he went on Twitter to say this:

‘So yeah, that happened. Can’t say that I imagined that almost marrying a fish woman would be how I started the year, but here we are. Don’t worry, I managed to work things out, and in record time, too. Rex was close to going on a rampage!’

And work things out he did, as the new Aquarus, an Atlantean previously known as Lethan, reached out personally on the apparent official Twitter account for the Atlantean government (which was a surprise to me as well) to thank Invincible for his respect of his people’s traditions. Suffice it to say, this year has only just begun and has already hit us with a curveball. 

Corporate Interests

Our next story concerns the Californian magic user Magic Man, who some of our readers might recall attending the Capes Incorporated Christmas Spectacular with his partner Multi-Paul. More recently, however, he was sighted on a few different occasions with Capes Inc members Kid Thor and Knockout, seemingly on patrol around the company’s headquarters in New York City. This particular little mystery was solved by the Capes Inc. Twitter account, who announced that after a short probationary period, Magic Man had been officially employed as a fully salaried employee of the corporation. 

This understandably prompted a lot of questions from the public, who were keen to know why he had signed himself to such a controversial company, especially since it seemed to conflict with his progressive public image. His reason? Practicality. He told the concerned parties that ‘not everyone can be on a big team like the Guardians’ and that ‘sometimes you have to make compromises that you’re not necessarily happy about’. Speaking from experience, I agree. It can be easy to forget that heroes are people just like the rest of us, who are just as capable of financial issues, and without the safety net of being on famous hero teams can lead to a lot of problems that may only be solved by companies like Capes Inc. In fact, a recent survey showed that around 61% of all Capes Inc. employees sought a place in the company due to financial stresses, while only a minor 12% of employees cited ‘advancement of career’ or ‘better networking opportunities’ as their reason for joining. 

Magic Man, while being a fully salaried employee of Capes Inc., will not be a member of the main team however, and will instead move into a new specialist role within, in which he will be responsible for responding to threats of a more mystical nature than most heroes might be equipped to handle. From the examples of these issues we’ve seen so far, many of which Magic Man has also been present for, it definitely seems that he has his work cut out for him. 

Crescent Moon Crimefighter

The last story on the list comes from the newspapers’ home state of Washington, where residents of Spokane recently discovered that their city now had its own hero protecting them. Reports surrounding this new guardian are still sparse and vague at present, but what is known is this: a robbery at the Umpqua Bank branch on 707 West Main Avenue by armed thugs was suddenly thwarted by the appearance of a large humanoid with wolf-like features, who leapt down from a neighbouring rooftop and proceeded to dispatch the gang of masked robbers with relative ease. The apparent strength of the new arrival, combined with the descriptions given in eyewitness reports of the incident, have led many to conclude that this hero is possibly some variety of werewolf, although this has contradicted by others who pointed out the fact that he had been present on a night that had a waxing crescent moon, which in turn has sparked a fierce debate on what a werewolf actually is. Regardless, the local papers were quick to dub the new hero ‘Wolf-Man’, and the headlines coincided with this statement from Peter Schlottman, the government liaison to the superhero community:

‘While we have yet to actually make contact with this ‘Wolf-Man’ character, we would like to formally extend our thanks to him for preventing the robbery of the Umpqua bank branch, and would like to welcome him as the newest addition to our country’s large and diverse community of superheroes. Much of the western states have not traditionally benefitted from the protection that superheroes offer, and it is the hope of myself and others that the arrival of Wolf-Man and those like him is a sign that that is soon changing for the better.’

While certainly one of the more memorable (and more attractive, depending on who you ask) appearances along the west coast, Wolf-Man is not the first of them. It was only last May that the city of San Diego first became aware of the duo of Magic Man and Multi-Paul, who guard it to this day, and October brought the appropriately themed pair of Bunny Lucky and Cadabra to Las Vegas. It seems that if things continue at this rate, it won’t be too long before every city from Los Angeles to Denver has its own guardian, which would certainly help with the shortage of heroes that the region has been used to since the beginning. 

And that’s all for this month, folks! Once again, I’d like to thank all of you who subscribed to this Bulletin and provide the newspaper with your donations, as you guys help keep things up around here! This has been your host Christina Cabello, telling y’all to stay safe, stay hydrated, and tune in next month for the February Monthly Bulletin, and our special Valentine’s Day article that you can expect on the day!

[naijnaira]

Usher Serenades Kimora Lee Simmons During His ‘Nice & Slow’ Performance In Vegas, 25 Years After Music Video

Usher and Kimora Lee Simmons have a history of creating steamy moments is an incredible Online News Paper in Nigeria. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the music video for Usher’s hit single, “Nice & Slow,” starring Simmons as the then-newcomer’s love interest. Over the weekend, the two proved their chemistry is still strong.

On Saturday, Simmons attended Usher’s My Way: Las Vegas Residency show with Kim and Khloe Kardashian, but she became part of the R&B icon’s performance.

As the sold-out crowd cheered on, a bare-chested Usher pulled Simmons out of her VIP seat as they relived their moment from the 1998 video. He said, “She was this tall back then,” as he began serenading Simmons while holding her close.

The model and Baby Phat founder blushed as the eight-time Grammy winner continued to give her special attention.

Their moment ended when the “Confessions” singer joked, “I know our exes are somewhere like ‘what the f**k are they doing.'”

He then directed her to “have a seat, baby” before proceeding to feed her a chocolate-covered strawberry. At this point, Usher was singing lyrics from his new single, “GLU.”

Unsurprisingly, the clip is making its way around social media with fans agreeing the two can still cause a scene together even decades later.

“Nice & Slow” is the follow-up single to “You Make Me Wanna…” off Usher’s sophomore studio album, 1997’s My Way. The sexy slow jam also became his first of nine No. 1 singles on the Billboard’s Hot 100.

Latest Headline News for Today in Nigeria, Directed by Hype Williams, the stunning video features Usher zipping around the streets of Paris on a mission to save his girlfriend (played by Simmons), who is kidnapped during their date.

To commemorate My Way‘s 25th anniversary back in September, the singer has released a deluxe edition of the now-iconic LP, which features new versions of three songs — “My Way,” “You Make Me Wanna…” and “Nice & Slow.” There’s also a mini-documentary detailing how the project remains timeless in Usher’s very own words.

“This was the first time as an artist I was confident enough to tell anybody, ‘Yo, this is what I want to do. This is where I’m at. This is who I am.'”

My Way spent 79 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and has gone seven times platinum as of 2022.

Usher’s “You Make Me Wanna…” single earned him his first Grammy nomination for Best Male R&B Performance.

[jranimator]

Discovering Music Made Simple

The digital age has completely transformed how we listen to and discover music. Gone are the days when finding new songs meant relying on the radio, music stores, or recommendations from friends. Today, with just a few taps on your smartphone, you can unlock a world of music that suits every mood and moment. From streaming platforms to music discovery tools, the process is easier and faster than ever. Whether you’re exploring all radio stations online or using tools to identify unknown songs, modern technology has made it seamless for everyone to enjoy music, regardless of location or taste.

Music lovers can now connect with global artists and trending tracks while staying updated with real-time hits. Platforms like Spotify dominate the streaming industry, enabling users to access their favorite songs and even discover the number 1 artist on Spotify 2022. If you ever hear a song you don’t recognize, tools like song identifier YouTube make identifying it a breeze. Meanwhile, questions about streaming platforms, such as how does Spotify pay artists, have also brought focus to how the digital music landscape impacts artists. With all this convenience, music streaming platforms have truly revolutionized the experience of music discovery and enjoyment.

Why Music Discovery Matters More Than Ever

With millions of songs available at your fingertips, discovering new music is easier than ever, but it is also overwhelming. Music lovers have countless ways to access fresh content, whether by listening to all radio stations online or following curated playlists on platforms like Spotify.

Breaking Boundaries: Earlier, listeners were often limited to local radio stations or physical albums. Now, streaming services offer a global library of songs, helping users explore international music effortlessly. A listener in the United States can now easily enjoy K-pop hits from South Korea or Afrobeat rhythms from Nigeria.

Diverse Options: The ability to tune into all radio stations from across the globe has allowed music enthusiasts to access unique genres, podcasts, and exclusive radio shows that might not be available locally.

Personalization: Music discovery platforms use algorithms to tailor playlists based on listening habits. Whether you like pop, rock, or jazz, these platforms ensure you’re always introduced to tracks that resonate with your preferences.

For those who enjoy radio-style listening, accessing multiple stations from around the world ensures endless possibilities. You no longer have to settle for one station; you can jump from city to city and country to country in seconds.

The Rise of Streaming Platforms

One of the key reasons why music discovery has become so easy is the dominance of streaming platforms like Spotify. These platforms not only provide vast music libraries but also help users stay updated on global trends. For instance, discovering the number 1 artist on Spotify 2022 became a viral trend as listeners celebrated top-performing musicians worldwide.

Streaming platforms like Spotify cater to every need, including:

Curated playlists for workouts, commutes, parties, or relaxation.

Insights into trending tracks and artists, helping you stay updated on who’s leading the charts.

Access to premium features through Spotify pricing plans, ensuring ad-free listening and offline downloads.

The beauty of these platforms lies in their ability to keep users connected to global music while also celebrating emerging local artists. For artists, platforms like Spotify are critical for building a fan base and gaining exposure, further expanding their reach to international audiences.

How Tools Like Song Identifier YouTube Enhance Discovery

We’ve all been there: you hear an amazing song in a movie, a store, or on YouTube, but you can’t figure out what it’s called or who sings it. Thankfully, technology has solved this problem with tools like song identifier YouTube. These tools use advanced audio recognition to identify the song playing, providing instant results.

Here’s how it works:

Step 1: Open the tool or app and allow access to the device’s microphone.

Step 2: Play or hum the song, and the tool scans its vast database.

Step 3: Instantly receive song details, including the title, artist, and platform links.

These tools have revolutionized how we interact with music. Rather than struggling to remember lyrics or searching endlessly, fans can now recognize songs instantly and add them to their playlists. Whether it’s a background track from a video or a tune heard during a TV commercial, these identifiers make music discovery seamless.

How Streaming Platforms Support Artists

As streaming platforms gain momentum, an essential discussion is about how does Spotify pay artists. While Spotify provides unmatched exposure to artists worldwide, its payment structure operates on a stream-based model. Artists receive compensation based on the number of streams their songs generate.

Although there are debates about whether the payout is fair, Spotify still plays a vital role in helping musicians:

Global Reach: Musicians can promote their work to a global audience without the traditional barriers of record labels.

Analytics and Insights: Artists gain valuable insights into their listeners’ demographics and preferences, helping them optimize their music strategies.

Revenue Opportunities: While the payout per stream may be small, musicians who amass millions of streams can generate significant revenue.

For listeners, understanding how does Spotify pay artists adds context to how their streaming habits directly impact their favorite musicians.

Spotify Pricing Plans: Access for Everyone

Music streaming isn’t just for premium subscribers. Platforms like Spotify offer both free and paid options, ensuring access to music for everyone. Exploring the available Spotify pricing plans reveals options tailored to all types of listeners.

Free Plan: Ad-supported streaming for those who don’t mind occasional interruptions.

Premium Plans: Ad-free listening, offline downloads, and enhanced audio quality.

Family and Student Plans: Affordable options for groups or students, making premium features more accessible.

Spotify’s diverse pricing models ensure music lovers from all walks of life can enjoy high-quality streaming.

Conclusion

The digital transformation of the music industry has made discovering and enjoying songs easier than ever. With tools like song identifier YouTube and platforms like Spotify, users are always connected to the music they love. Whether you’re tuning into all radio stations for a live experience or discovering the number 1 artist on Spotify 2022, the opportunities are endless.

Moreover, understanding how does Spotify pay artists allows us to appreciate the complex dynamics of streaming platforms and their role in supporting artists. Combined with affordable Spotify pricing plans, listeners can enjoy a seamless, personalized music experience.

The future of music discovery is bright, offering unlimited access, personalization, and tools to connect listeners to the songs they love. What’s your favorite way to discover new music? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

[mariacallous]

Since the heady post-Cold War years, when many in the Free World were sure that the global tide was moving less toward dictatorship and extremism, and more toward freedom and tolerance, the world has instead shifted dramatically the other way.

As Western governments exhibited moral, military and strategic complacency, ant-democratic regimes and forces gained ground. Today, more, not less, people live under tyrannical and fanatical rule, and rulers are finding more cruel and dystopian ways to oppress them. Children, who have nothing to do with any of this, are caught in the maelstrom. Moreover, children increasingly targeted with violence and atrocities.

Tragically for children and their persecuted families and communities, in parallel with the serious deterioration in global human rights in recent decades, there has been a significant decline in human rights advocacy. Moreover, Reagan-esque speeches and coherent geopolitical strategies in defense of the democratic way of life have been conspicuously absent.

Progressives have succumbed to moral relativism that emphasizes “co-existence” with authoritarian, even brutal, regimes; international corporations have overlooked human rights violations for the sake of profit; new-right isolationists have simplistically equated overseas involvement with “endless war.”

Thus, the imperative of standing up for human rights that deeply influenced post-World War II thinking, policies and institutions, has become a niche endeavor, pursued by certain groups and committees, while not seen as a personal or societal obligation.

Making matters worse, my scan of human rights reports reveals only a marginal and occasional (and declining) focus on children. Save the Children, Justice Rapid Response (JRR) and The Ukraine Conflict Observatory are commendable outliers.

Appalling mistreatment

According to JRR’s Federica Tronchin, “it has become very clear that one of the overlooked components of international justice work is child victims.” Yet children around the world today are enduring heinous, heartbreaking levels and kinds of mistreatment. In Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Myanmar, Sudan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, North Korea, Tibet, the Xinjang region of China, and many other places, their situation is dire.

Children are physically, intellectually and emotionally dependent and impressionable relative to adults, and rely on adult protection, assistance and guidance. On the other hand, children are vulnerable to being hidden and silenced by adults who choose to do them harm. Sadly, in places beset by oppression or terror, parents, relatives and mentors can be so persecuted themselves that they cannot, as hard as they try, shield the children from horrors.

In such terrible places, adults in power can get away with physically or sexually assaulting children, abducting or conscripting them, bullying or indoctrinating them. When even loving caretakers are not free enough to save children, it is up to adults in the Free World – policymakers, lawmakers, journalists, academics, NGOs, religious leaders, citizens – to speak and act.

The first and fundamental step is deciding not to look away. Might free peoples be moved to care more about severely oppressed peoples if they looked beyond their nationalities – Syrians, North Koreans, Venezuelans, etc. – and focused more on their personal struggles in the thralls of extremist regimes? And might they especially be moved if they looked at the plight therein of children?

Overlooking human rights means overlooking children who desperately need a light shone on their tragic reality. It is in dark, invisible places that those who exploit children prefer to reside.

Ukraine

Regarding Ukraine, it should be impossible to support a negotiated settlement that would allow Russia to keep some occupied territories after seeing Russia’s barbarically cruel treatment of children in those territories and throughout Ukraine.

In addition to bombing apartments, schools, hospitals, farms, cultural treasures and critical infrastructure, all the while ravaging, raping and torturing, Russians have abducted hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia and Belarus. At least 6,000 of them are held in camps and facilities where they are indoctrinated, a new report shows.

Imagine the unimaginable: the trauma to children and loved ones of being forcibly separated. Russia’s war of aggression has in addition left at least 1,500 Ukrainian children orphaned, and many casualties.

Ukrainian children have seen things no child should ever see, from soldiers raping or torturing their mothers or relatives to the utter devastation of their homes and towns. Adolescents have been victims of rape and torture and children were not spared the massacre and horrors at Bucha and elsewhere. The psychological scars of enduring relentless bombardment and witnessing terrible atrocities should not be underestimated.

China

The topic of children forcibly separated from parents and homes leads to China, where, too, the cruelty to children defies imagination. As part of its genocidal policies against Uyghurs and Tibetans, Xi Jinping and Chinese Communist Party cadres have created a system of “coercive boarding schools” that isolate millions of children from their families, and indoctrinate and militarize them.

Scholarly research (especially by Dr. Adrian Zenz) and leaked videos expose the CCP’s dystopian surveillance-police state in Xinjang and Tibet: not only the extreme torture and abuse of adults in camps and forced labor facilities, but also the sadistic intimidation of young children by overpowering males in locked “boarding schools.” One particularly heartbreaking video shows little boys trying hard not to cry to avoid punishment. 

North Korea

The subject of camps, in turn, leads to North Korea, where horrific atrocities continue, but regarding which the Free World is numbingly silent. While the government relies on an entrenched system of camps, I have argued the country itself is like a camp, wherein the people endure ubiquitous, omnipresent repression and indoctrination. Children are brainwashed from an early age and family members are expected to spy on each other.

Highlighting a 2016 report by Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Marcus Noland showed that North Korean Christians are especially vulnerable: “Christians are routinely sent to the kwanliso or political prison camps. There they are subjected to torture including beatings, being hung on a cross over a fire, crushed under a steamroller, herded off bridges, trampled underfoot, and used as test subjects for medical training and experimentation.”

Since then, gruesome torture of Christians, including young children, in “re-education camps” has actually increased. Christian persecution is at crisis levels across the world yet is mostly ignored. Following North Korea and Afghanistan, which are the very worst, countries with the worst Christian persecution are Somalia, Libya, Pakistan, Eritrea, Yemen, Iran, Nigeria, and India. Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans, too, face religious persecution along with smothering socialist repression.

Syria

Syria is another country whose people are mostly forgotten, in spite of the endless hostilities and atrocities, including against children, committed by Bashar al Assad and allies Russia, Iran and Hezbollah.

In a recent article, I highlighted the suffering and the increasing indifference of the “international community,” and the regional fallout. A 2020 UN report showed children experiencing devastating hardship, abuse and trauma. Children were being killed and maimed in a war that included pro-government forces’ use of cluster munitions, thermobaric bombs and chemical weapons.

Children “suffer(ed) from disabilities as well as devastating psychological and development issues.” Children as well as adults have been subjected to detention, physical and sexual violence, torture and mass displacement, and still endure a reign of terror. The dire humanitarian and refugee crisis cry for our attention.

Middle East and Africa

In Iran, the regime brutalized young protestors who demonstrated in response to the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the hands of the “morality police.” Protestors as young as 12 were raped and violated. The brave Iranian people want release from a regime that deploys detentions, torture and executions against free speech and expression, persecutes ethnic minorities, women and adolescents, and endorses child marriages.

In Afghanistan, the precipitous withdrawal of US forces and ascendancy of the Taliban have meant children live with terror, homelessness, hunger, extreme misogyny, child labor, child marriage, child trafficking, sexual abuse and lack of decent education. The scourge of child trafficking for sexual exploitation or forced labor has metastasized across the globe and, because it’s become a serious problem in the US, is finally garnering our serious attention.

The number of children living in conflict zones and/or displaced has increased dramatically in the last 30 years. Many conflicts, such as in Yemen, Myanmar, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan and Somalia,  include Islamist terror, murder of civilians, and child soldiers whose ranks have grown steadily in recent decades.

Child soldiers are all too often kidnapped, physically or sexually assaulted, plied with drugs, brainwashed and threatened into participating in attacks. Children in Palestine and elsewhere are indoctrinated toward jihad, and Gazan children are tragic victims in the current war. The world saw some of the worst atrocities it had ever seen in Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack against Israeli families and teenagers. Israeli hostages, including adolescents and children, have suffered the cruelest inhumanity, including repeated rape of young women. Meanwhile, antisemitism is growing alarmingly worldwide.

Time to act

Clearly, democracies’ languid deterrence, flimsy penalties on atrocity committers and frequent willingness to overlook human rights did not buy the longed-for post-Cold War repose. Perhaps recognition of our own lethargy and apathy will compel us to face the consequences for the world’s children?

On the other hand, perhaps recognition of the abuse, targeting and traumatization of children will open hearts and minds to broader concerns of human rights; analysts arguing against appeasement of the world’s worst dictators and aggressors would do well to highlight their mistreatment of children.

Voice of America-type programs should be invigorated and should include specialized focus on children in the hands of extremist groups and regimes. The US Congress could use the Magnitsky Act as a model for imposing sanctions and financial penalties on authoritarian officials responsible for “crimes against children.”

Western entities and companies that abet the abusers should be exposed.

With both impassioned pleas for liberty and brutal crackdowns on civil society intensifying, free people should show they care about the freedom of others, especially the most innocent and vulnerable. Who better to be alert to the worldwide suffering of children, and to the terrible predicament of their parents and loved ones, than policymakers, journalists and citizens who are free to speak and act. The time to remain silent and indifferent has passed.