Alverno College, Ascension Wisconsin Announce Letter of Intent for Strategic Alliance | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Alverno College
May 22, 2019
Alverno College and Ascension Wisconsin have signed a letter of intent to establish a strategic alliance to improve the health of the state’s residents, Alverno President Dr. Andrea Lee and Bernie Sherry, Ministry Market Executive for Ascension Wisconsin, announced Tuesday.
This relationship will amplify the existing clinical relationship between the two Catholic institutions and seeks to further develop a skilled, mission-driven workforce to help meet the needs of the state’s rapidly evolving healthcare environment. It also will further advance the initiatives of Alverno and Ascension Wisconsin, grounded in their shared Catholic and Franciscan values, to strategically drive improved health outcomes for the state’s residents.
Alverno will expand its existing academic degree, certificate and credential programs in healthcare and develop new programs. This includes degrees and continuing education opportunities for employees at Ascension Wisconsin’s 24 hospital campuses and more than 100 clinics statewide. Ascension Wisconsin will provide expanded access for Alverno students to the clinical education experiences necessary in their preparation as healthcare professionals. This includes clinical placements and career placement opportunities within Ascension Wisconsin’s statewide integrated system of care.
“This is a logical and desirable alliance for Alverno College,” Sister Andrea said. “Providing accessible, high-quality and affordable healthcare to residents of the city, region and state, especially for those with limited access to care, is a highly recognized characteristic of Alverno healthcare professionals and of Ascension Wisconsin associates.”
“As an anchor in communities from Racine to Eagle River, Ascension Wisconsin is focused on providing compassionate, personalized care to all people, especially those living in poverty and who are most vulnerable,” Sherry said. “This alliance will build on our shared commitment to strengthen educational opportunities for the next generation of nurses, with a focus on increasing diversity in the workforce.”
As part of the Alverno-Ascension Wisconsin strategic alliance, leaders of the two institutions have signed a letter of intent and are engaged in serious discussions to combine Alverno’s JoAnn McGrath School of Nursing and Health Professions and the 118-year-old Columbia College of Nursing (CCON), part of Ascension Wisconsin, located in Glendale, Wis., subject to receipt of all necessary approvals. Once finalized, CCON’s coeducational programs will be administratively housed in Alverno’s School of Adult Learning and New Initiatives, with curricular oversight by the JoAnn McGrath School of Nursing and Health Professions.
“We are eager to collaborate with our CCON nursing colleagues and are especially interested in the possibility of expanding our footprint with a north side presence,” said Patricia Varga, Ph.D., dean of Alverno’s JoAnn McGrath School of Nursing and Health Professions.
“We share a passion for excellent nurse preparation,” explained Heather Vartanian, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, president and dean of Columbia College of Nursing. “Collaborating around our shared mission in healthcare education will only enhance our capacity to contribute positively to the evolution of healthcare delivery in the region.”
“Healthcare is changing rapidly, so rapidly that demand for skilled healthcare providers cannot keep pace with the need, a clear indicator of the power of alliances such as this and others across the region,” Sister Andrea said. “Ascension Wisconsin and Alverno educators will have significant roles in advancing important conversations on healthcare delivery in the future. We are excited to continue the conversation and to move quickly to action.”
Given that the Alverno and Ascension Wisconsin’s strategic alliance will not be exclusive, both Alverno and Ascension Wisconsin will continue their current and emerging business relationships with other institutions and healthcare systems.
# # #
About Alverno College
Founded in 1887, Alverno College is a four-year, Catholic liberal arts college sponsored by the School Sisters of St. Francis. Student learning and personal and professional development are the central focus of everyone in the Alverno College community. The college also offers graduate programs, including doctorates in Nursing and Education, and growth in graduate enrollment is a primary strategic goal. In fall 2019, Alverno College enrolled about 1,700 students in its undergraduate programs for women and its graduate, two-year and degree completion programs for women and men.
The college was ranked among the top four Midwest Regional Universities in the 2019 U.S. News & World Report “Strong Commitment to Teaching” category and highest in Wisconsin for the eighth consecutive year. In addition, Alverno consistently ranks among the top regional universities in the Midwest in the “Most Innovative Schools” category and is Wisconsin’s first Hispanic-Serving Institution.
About Ascension Wisconsin
Ascension Wisconsin (ascension.org/wisconsin) operates 24 hospital campuses, more than 100 related healthcare facilities and employs more than 1,300 primary and specialty care clinicians from Racine to Eagle River. Serving Wisconsin since 1848, Ascension is a faith-based healthcare organization committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. As such, Ascension Wisconsin provided more than $292 million in community benefit, including care of persons living in poverty in Fiscal Year 2018. As one of the leading non-profit and Catholic health systems in the U.S., Ascension operates 2,600 sites of care – including 151 hospitals and more than 50 senior living facilities – in 21 states and the District of Columbia.


Post From Community: START…in the name of love | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Cindy Novak
August 10, 2022
Editor’s note: Posts from the Community is the place for community announcements and event postings. If you have a community-oriented event you feel our readers would be interested in, please submit here.
Saturday, Aug. 27, 9:00 a.m.-noon.
The Wellness Commons – Walnut Way
2240 N 17th Street, Milwaukee
Light refreshments will be available.
?
Contact Joyce McGhee at
414-460-2282 or loretta.mcghee@aah.org


Poland, Hungary: Secret Prison · Global Voices
Nathan Hamm

Pestiside.hu, Hungarian Accent, and the beatroot all discuss the allegations that the CIA is operating a secret prison in Eastern Europe.


Maldives: No Plan To Combat Terrorism · Global Voices
Rezwan

Hassan Ziyau complains that a full proof plan to combat religious terrorism has been absent during the tenure of successive governments in Maldives.


Polish Lawmakers Move Forward With a New Abortion Ban That Critics Say Will Be ‘Hell for Women’ · Global Voices
Kasia Odrozek

Polish #BlackProtest poster. Photo used with permission of author Kasia Babis.
In the face of a “Black Protest” movement that has gripped the Polish Internet and several city squares throughout the country, the Polish Parliament voted in favor of moving ahead with legislation that would outlaw abortions in nearly all circumstances, introducing prison sentences for both women having the procedure and doctors who perform it. The lawmakers’ decision has already led to even more protests.
This Friday, members of parliament supported the controversial draft law's development, voting to refer it to a legislative committee for review and revisions. Lawmakers also voted to dismiss another piece of legislation that would have taken Polish reproductive rights in the opposite direction, liberalizing existing laws.
Poland's parliament is currently controlled by the rightwing Law and Justice Party, which enjoys the support of the Roman Catholic Church.
Critics of the push to restrict abortion rights even further in Poland say the new law would be “hell for women,” referring to a famous collection of essays by the Polish writer and doctor Tadeusz Boy-Żelenski, who in 1930 described the suffering endured by women in that era as a result of limits on reproductive choice.
Opponents of the new proposed abortion ban list several nightmare scenarios that would result, if the law is passed, such as forcing women who are raped to give birth to children, and even throwing criminal suspicion on mothers who miscarry naturally, raising police concerns that the miscarriage may have been deliberate. The one narrow exception that law would preserve for carrying out an abortion—instances when a mother's life is in danger—will put doctors in the dangerously awkward position of deciding when a pregnancy's threat to a mother's life is “direct enough.” Making the “wrong” decision in these cases could presumably land a physician in prison, too.
I say NO to prison for abortion, I say NO to #Poland where miscarriage is a crime #CzarnyProtest pic.twitter.com/B4fYUEqI2Q
— Ela Żywiczyńska (@rosiomak) 21. September 2016
Since Thursday, Poland's “Black Protest” movement appears to be gaining momentum, which participation online continuing to grow.
The backlash against Poland's controversial legislation is no longer restricted to Poles, either. Internet users from around Europe and the United States have joined the protest movement, sharing photos and posts expressing solidarity with Poland's pro-choice demonstrators.
Kasia Babis, a Polish illustrator, published a poster in English calling people to join the “Black Protest,” depicting some of the legislation's likely consequences. At the time of this writing, the poster has more than 3,000 “likes” on Facebook and more than 1,800 “shares,” including one by noted libertarian and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.
We stand in solidarity with Polish women facing antiquated and repressive new laws #CzarnyProtest #blackprotest pic.twitter.com/TiZz8BXLiR
— Rachel Hamada (@rachelhamada) 24. September 2016
After the vote in the parliament this weekend, the left-wing party RAZEM announced a series of “Black Protest” demonstrations against the bill in nine major Polish cities on Sunday, September 25.
Wychodzimy jutro z domów! #czarnyprotest pic.twitter.com/o5Qro6Hsi0
— Karolina Kociołek (@karo_koc) 24. September 2016
Tomorrow, we won't just sit at home! #BlackProtest
At the same time, many spontaneous solidarity gatherings took place or are planned abroad, including rallies in London, New York, Vienna, and Berlin.
Family photo at the end of #repealthe8th #blackprotest at @PolishEmbassyUK pic.twitter.com/1cosItdUgh
— Jakub Krupa (@JakubKrupa) September 24, 2016
Soli- Kundgebung gegen #Abtreibungsverbot in #Polen und in #Irland findet am 28.9. in #Wien statt. https://t.co/xkJg7c8Sw6 #CzarnyProtest pic.twitter.com/1sOYgONNm2
— dieSpielfrau (@VickySpielfrau) 23. September 2016
Facebook event: International Solidarity with the Women of Ireland and Poland
Tweet: Solidarity Rally against abortion ban in Poland and Ireland will take place in Vienna on September 29. #BlackProtest
The hashtags #czarnyprotest (“#BlackProtest,” found here on Facebook and Twitter) and #blackprotest (Facebook, Twitter) continue to serve as rallying points for dissemination of information about the protest movement.


Solar i-Pod charger · Global Voices
Luisetta Mudie

Afromusing promises to test out a new gadget: a solar powered i-Pod and mobile phone recharger.


Algeria: Language Revitalisation Opens Old Wounds · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

“Not everyone welcomes language revitalisation efforts,” writes Lameen Souag from Algeria. “Apart from anything else, it often implies that a major decision taken by you or your parents – to speak to the children in a different language – was wrong, and, by increasing your exposure to the endangered language in question, puts you in a position where you can't help but notice that this decision's implications are nearly irreversible,” he explains.


South Africa: Controversies in South African cricket · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

South African Cricket Scene writes: “Jacques Kallis has refused to reconsider being the South African vice-captain, however he has committed himself to South African cricket in the future.”


Political Exile On Board the Eritrean Presidential Jet · Global Voices
Abdoulaye Bah

The blog “les Erythréens” has this report [fr]:
Yesterday morning (October 3rd) two Eritrean pilots defected—in their Eritrean Air Force jet—to Saudi Arabia, requesting political exile upon landing at the airport in Jizan.


Armenia-Azerbaijan: Sometime in my lifetime · Global Voices
Onnik Krikorian

Scary Azeri makes a guest post on Armenia-Azerbaijan relations in the context of the still unresolved conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh as part of a series of entries using new and social media to bring the two sides closer together. Noting the popularity of her own posts with Armenians as well as her own native Azerbaijanis, in addition to many cultural similarities between the two nations, the blogger says she hopes peace will come to the region sometime in her lifetime.


Japan throws good money after bad - 360
Makoto Nishibe
Published on December 21, 2021
By Makoto Nishibe, Senshu University and Adrian Black, 360info
Japan, a stalwart of cash society, is shifting to digital as the pandemic pushes payments into a new paradigm.
Cash is still king. But since 2011, the cashless payment ratio has more than doubled, and in 2020 cashless payments accounted for 29.7 percent of consumption spending in Japan.
Several private, QR-code-based payment systems have been operating since 2018, and are now in fierce competition as consumers tap into their smartphones to transact contactlessly.
The current leading system, PayPay, had roughly 25 million users as of February 2020.
This trend is intersecting with community currencies — currencies issued at a local level to encourage growth and development — to reduce both the COVID infection rate and the outflow of currency from communities.
Japan has a mature ecosystem for community currencies, having experimented with them since 1973.
The Volunteer Labor Bank’s purpose was to support women volunteering in childcare and healthcare, and would offer one point (about 400 yen) to volunteers per hour of service.
A decade later the scheme was replicated in other parts of the country, with varying levels of success.
Gresham’s Law — that “bad money drives out good (money)” — explained the public tendency to hoard legally undervalued coins, whilst circulating legally overvalued currency.
Gresham, an English merchant and financier living in the 1500s, was exploring the debasement of minted coins. But the concept of “good money” is increasingly applied to modern digital currencies such as cryptocurrencies.
Hayek, an economist writing four centuries after Gresham, argued a currency could become “good money” when multiple currencies of different quality mutually compete, and offer a choice to consumers.
In this case, he argued, “good money drives out bad”.
Today,digital community currencies such as Sarubobo Coin in Hida Takayama City and Aqua Coin in Kisarazu City, are spreading in local communities and aiming to become “good money”.
To encourage their use, employees of local government, local institutions and chambers of commerce receive those coins as part of their monthly payment packages.
Whether they will be able to create a local virtual local currency market in the local community and achieve regional development is another question.
If the circulation of these currencies can spread from the consumer goods market to include production goods, investment goods and labour, then these digital currencies will be on their way to becoming ‘good money’ in their communities.
Both Sarubobo Coin and Aqua Coin are pegged to the Yen, offering a stability not enjoyed by many other digital currencies such as cryptocurrencies.
However the principle of choice in currency does not apply while currencies are monopolised by the state and legal tender is dominant. The “one nation, one money” institution of modern money still prevails.
For choice in currency to apply, the currencies must have different denominations of measure, and their exchange rates mustn’t be fixed entirely.
The question is, is it a good time to be pegged to a native currency?
For digital community currencies with relatively low circulation, the answer is almost certainly yes. However central bank balance sheets across the world have rapidly expanded as countries grapple to support their economies in response to the COVID crisis.
The Bank of Japan, under its Abenomics policy, continued quantitative easing (QE), or an unlimited supply of cash currency with negative interest rates, in an attempt to achieve an inflation target of 2 percent.
Japan has seen two prime ministers since Shinzo Abe, but its approach to monetary policy has remained largely unchanged.
The weaker Yen improved the performance of exporting companies and boosted stock prices. However, inflation has not occurred as expected because banks have not increased their lending to supply deposit money to the market, because of the risks of lending in a slow economy.
The government’s inflation targeting policy aims to improve the economy by raising nominal prices through an increase in money stock despite the lack of favourable investment opportunities.
Elsewhere, fears of above-target inflation fuelled by pandemic-related supply chain shocks have caused markets to slide, as fears of the Omicron variant are priced in and uncertainty reigns.
Will this cause native currencies to “drive out” digital community currencies? Or will the need to support local communities catalyse a revolution in community currency uptake?
Time will tell whether Gresham’s or Hayek’s law will apply.
Makoto Nishibe is a Professor of Economics at Senshu University. He declared no conflicts of interest in relation to this article.


Yemen: Yemeni Protesters Greet Saleh With a Shoe in New York · Global Voices
Noon Arabia

This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.
Yemenis in New York threw a shoe in the direction of outgoing Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, whom they say should be standing before the International Criminal Court (ICC) and not staying at Manhattan's Luxury Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The shoe did not hit Saleh but sent home the message that Yemenis are angry he is getting pampered instead of facing justice for his crimes against the Yemeni people.
On Thursday February 2, 2012, a press conference was organized in front of the Ritz Carlton, where Yemenis and Yemeni Americans standing on the sidewalk opposite the hotel expressed their anger by waving placards with slogans saying “democracies should not host dictators,” as well as photographs of people who were killed in Yemen's year-long revolution.
Amel Ahmed @iiamelii, a NYC-based freelance writer, law student and member of the Yemeni American Coalition for Change speaking to Democracy Now (video starts at “10:45) said:
Dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh is staying at this hotel, so we came out to protest the fact that our government would allow him into this country to begin with. We don’t feel that he should be here in the United States of America. We think it sends the wrong message to the Middle East, if you’re saying that you support democracy in the Middle East, and you’re anti-extremism in the Middle East, then you shouldn’t be supporting dictators. You should be supporting people on the ground who are calling for a democracy. I mean, for years, we’ve criticized the Muslim world, for turning to extremism and not sharing the same democratic values, meanwhile we have an entire generation that’s rising up and demanding democracy, and meanwhile, you’re hosting a dictator in a five-star hotel. The message is conflicting, and there should be a consistent message coming from the White House.”
Another protester rally was staged on Sunday (Feb 5), when Saleh himself exited the Ritz Carlton, confirming his debatable stay at the hotel. Protesters shouted at him, “O'Afash (an offensive name given to Saleh by Yemenis) you will be prosecuted for killing innocent people,” when Saleh provokingly waved at them and blew kisses at them as shown in this video (posted by: ahmedfathinyc) prompting a shoe to be hurled at him from a protester. Another tried to cross the police barricade but was arrested.
@SummerNasser, who was at the protest, tweeted:
@SummerNasser: SALEH CAME OUT OF THE RITZ, throwing kisses at us. one protester tried to run across the street to go after him. He got arrested!!!!!
@SummerNasser: The chants that we said were: “ICC not NYC” ; “Shame On Ritz for hosting criminals” ; Obama must choose a side, Human rights or genocide”
@SummerNasser: I can't believe I saw the man that killed thousands of my people back home. No words to describe what I was feeling. No words..
She tweeted a photograph of a sign another fellow activist, Ahlam Said, was carrying:
@SummerNasser: @AhlamS's sign for the rally today. pic.twitter.com/elI9JIU7
A sign Ahlam Said was carrying in the protest in front of the Ritz Carlton Hotel in New York
@AhlamS, an online organizer and daughter of Yemeni immigrants, tweeted:
While Yemenis at Guantanamo bay r being tortured w/out a trial, Saleh is livin it up at the ritz carlton. THE RITZ! #yemen
@AhlamS added:
video of #Saleh n NY waving & throwing kisses at the #Yemeni protestors. Medical treatment my @$$. He looks fine 2 me ht.ly/8Tb7e
She finally added:
@monaeltahawy picture of us with the shoe that was few feet frm hitting #Yemen's brutal dictator #Saleh ow.ly/i/rHHG
@SamWaddah expressed what the majority of Yemenis felt:
@SummerNasser @AhlamS Proud of you guys! Saleh has faced humiliation today like never before!
@wsaqaf tweeted with irony:
Protester who threw #Saleh with shoe in #NYC got arrested by police yet when Saleh threw bombs at his people, he was rewarded!
A statement issued by the Yemeni American Coalition for Change, the organizers of the rally said:
[We] are outraged and disgusted with our government's decision to grant the dictator temporary haven and diplomatic immunity….We demand with a unified voice that that these hotel chains respond to what the international community has classified as the work of war criminals.
Yemenis, especially the Yemeni-American community living in the US have been protesting against Saleh's visit to the US, which was under the pretext of seeking medical treatment. Many believe Saleh is in the US for a treat rather than a medical treatment. When the Obama administration decided in December to permit Saleh to visit the country, an official said that NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital would be providing his treatment, but the hospital has not confirmed that report.
Update: If the purpose of the visit to the US was really medical @GregoryDJohnsen suggested:
This all could have been avoided http://nyti.ms/zjvMjA Instead of bringing Salih to the US, could have brought US doctors to Salih in Saudi
This post is part of our special coverage Yemen Protests 2011.


Barbados: Oil Rights  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

Keltruth Corp. is worried about the fact that Barbados has awarded its first offshore oil-exploration rights: “If there is a substantial oil discovery off Barbados, tremendous sums of money will change hands. Who will benefit?  Unfortunately with no rules, all we can do is sit back, and blindly trust the Government to manage our property.”


A harrowing journey through the desert of despair: 'Aadujeevitham' unveils the Gulf's grim reality - New Canadian Media
George Abraham
April 4, 2024
It’s been more than two decades since I left the Persian Gulf, but the harsh, guttural utterance “Hey Hindi!” still rings in my ears.
It wasn’t long after I landed in Dubai, in 1989, that I first heard those debasing words in reference to the millions of Indians who work in the six autocracies that collectively call themselves the Persian Gulf.
Labour from India quite literally built the whole region, and yet, little has changed – despite the lip service paid by rulers on both sides. The Gulf sheikhs continue to confuse a language with a proud people.
This is the backdrop for the epic Aadujeevitham (The Goatlife, every breath is a battle), a Malayalam movie that opened in theatres, including in North America, on March 28.
However, the movie had not been cleared for release in five of the six countries of the Persian Gulf, except the United Arab Emirates.
It’s not hard to divine why: the portrayal of the Gulf’s inhumane kafala (sponsorship) system that has reduced millions of foreign workers to virtual slave labour is shocking and heart-wrenching. That such a system can be a feature of the 21st century in countries that are an integral part of international geopolitics (thanks to the Gulf’s petroleum reserves) tells us a lot.
That said, The Goatlife has a somewhat nuanced portrayal. There is one good Saudi who shows up in a Rolls Royce as the forced goat herder Najeeb (played by Prithviraj Sukumaran) tries to flee his cruel sponsor in the middle of the kingdom’s barren Najd desert. But, overall, the film is about a heartless system of indentured labour that has persisted for a long time, despite the advances in human and labour rights elsewhere.
The movie does a great job of showing the depths of depravity that drive sponsors to treat migrant workers worse than the goats and camels in their keep, depriving them of food, shelter and dignity, making no effort to understand each other or share a common humanity. Until the very end, both the sponsor and herder don’t speak a single word that is comprehensible to each other.
Over three hours, the director (Blessy Ipe Thomas) shoots Najeeb’s harrowing experiences in vivid detail – his sun-beaten, darkening visage, overgrown scraggly beard, calloused feet, parched, purple lips – set against the featureless desert landscape where it is dune after dune after dune of fine sand for miles around.
The film does a fine job of juxtaposing these wretched scenes against the hopes and dreams of Najeeb’s wife Sainu (played by Amala Paul), who’s also expecting their first baby. They have borrowed money to pay off an agent in their native village to organize this lifeline to Saudi Arabia, only to be duped the moment Najeeb lands at the airport there.
The film derives its name from the herd of goats and camels that Najeeb is supposed to feed and milk, although that is not what he signed up for. He finds tenderness in the goats. The agent in the Indian state of Kerala (where Malayalam is the mother tongue) promised him a job as a “helper” (which could mean anything from an office “tea boy” to a cook in a household), but something goes awry at the Saudi airport. The “sponsor” never shows up to claim Najeeb. Instead, a Saudi shows up, puts Najeeb in the back of a pickup truck and drives him to the middle of nowhere, leaving him amid a flock of goats and camels to learn the occupation of herding.
Fresh off the plane, Najeeb speaks no Hindi or Arabic and hence is subjected to unending misery. He calls out to God – the same God that his masters call out to – but there is no redemption. The hapless migrant hasn’t even been able to place a telephone call home informing his wife that he has arrived in this foreign land.
While the story’s bare outlines have been told in several Indian languages, the visuals and cinematography make this a cinematic extravaganza. Some of that imagery will stay with me for a long time. Composer A. R. Rahman’s haunting music complements the sombre tenor of the movie, which is derived from a Malayalam-language novel Goat Days that was based on a true migrant story.
There are English subtitles, as well, making it well worth a viewing by non-Malayalis.
As an immigrant who traces his roots to this particular state in India, it was an experience to visit a theatre in Ottawa to watch a just-released movie, signs of a growing trend to bring in films that cater to diaspora audiences. Such movies with universal themes cut across culture and language, shining a light on issues we should all care about.
George brings 30 years of writing and newsroom management experience to New Canadian Media. He began his journalism career with The Times of India in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), followed by stints at the Khaleej Times in Dubai and as managing editor of The Peninsula in Qatar. A journalist with high ethical standards, George won the prestigious Nieman scholarship at Harvard University (1994-95), and more recently, pursued a Master’s in Journalism at Carleton University (2004).


Ukraine: “Pynzenyk Memo Divides Cabinet” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Ukrainiana writes about the reactions to “a written wake-up call from Finance Minister Viktor Pynzenyk that extrapolates current economic data and warns of an impending economic meltdown.”


Côte d’Ivoire: Armed Men attack Army Positions in Abidjan, Dabou and at the Liberian Border · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Bernard Assandé narrates the latest attack [fr]  on the Force Républicaine de la Côte d'Ivoire (FRCI, the national army of Côte d'Ivoire) in Dabou on August 15. The army regained control of the city after a night of confrontation.  On August 6, 7 people were killed in Abidjan [fr] after similar attacks. Fighting were also reported on August 13 in the Pehkan Military Barracks close to the Liberian Border.


Laos: Blog of a coffee cooperative · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A blog was set-up by a coffee cooperative in southern Laos.


‘Absolute Six-Month Minimum’ for Electoral Reform Referendum: Chief Electoral Officer - New Canadian Media
BJ Sierkieski
April 23, 2016
Elections Canada would need a bare minimum of six months to carry out a referendum on electoral reform, owing in large part to a loss of corporate memory on how to manage the process, Chief Electoral Officer Marc Mayrand said Thursday.
Appearing before the standing committee on procedure and house affairs, Mayrand was asked by Conservative democratic reform critic Scott Reid to elaborate on a risk highlighted in the agency’s 2016-17 report on plan and priorities (RPP).
In the RPP, the agency states that it isn’t currently prepared to hold a referendum — something Reid and the Conservatives insist is essential if the Liberal government changes the way Canadians vote.
Reid believes that any change to the electoral system requiring a boundary redistribution isn’t going to allow enough time for one.
And he’s convinced the Liberals are trying to run out the clock on the possibility of a referendum without rejecting the idea outright — though Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hinted strongly on Tuesday that it was off the table.
“It might be difficult now, but it’s more difficult than it would’ve been six months ago,” Reid told iPolitics.
“And I’m trying to make the point now — because maybe it’s still possible — but a month from now it’ll be less possible. And with every passing day it becomes less feasible, which I think is the whole point.”
The Elections Canada RPP notes that the committee on procedure and house affairs began but didn’t complete a 2009 review of the Referendum Act, and Elections Canada suspended “readiness activities” pending the implementation of legislative amendments.
“In order to conduct a referendum, the agency would require a minimum of six months following legislative changes,” the RPP says.
Reid asked Mayrand Thursday whether six months was, in fact, the minimum amount of time they would need.
“It’s an absolute minimum — six months. Corporate memory is loose now, after more than 25 years. Not many people have run a referendum in our organization. So there’s a lot of work to do,” Mayrand said.
Furthermore, though it would be feasible to conduct a referendum under the current legislative framework, Mayrand said that wouldn’t be his preference.
“The Referendum Act is outdated — it has not been changed since 1992, which is the last time we had a national referendum. In that regard, it’s very much out of sync with the Elections Act — particularly around political financing,” he explained.
There would be no limit on union and corporate donations, for example.
“There’s no limit on contribution by any entities, so this might come as a shock. But again, the legislation still stands. Is it possible to conduct a referendum on the current legislation? It is possible,” he said.
“It would be, at times, awkward. But it is possible. It is feasible. My preference would be to see it amended, updated. But again it would not be impossible.”
For the NDP, which doesn’t see the need for a referendum, the greater concern is that the clock will run out on electoral reform itself.
NDP MP David Christopherson asked Mayrand to provide a “trigger point” after which it will no longer be possible to have reform in place for the 2019 election.
“I would put before the committee that legislation enacting reform should be there at least 24 months before the election…There’s all sort of hypotheses — I don’t know exactly what the reform will be — but if it involves a (boundary) redistribution exercise, which PR (proportional representation) does by definition — this is a significant undertaking,” Mayrand answered.
In accordance with both the constitution and the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, after each decennial (10‑year) census a riding redistribution process has to be undertaken to reflect changes in where Canadians are living. That was last done in 2012, adding 30 seats to the House of Commons.
“How long would it take to engage the Electoral Boundaries Redistribution Act? I assume an amendment would actually be required to allow it to happen out of normal sequence. But how long would the actual process take?” Reid asked Mayrand Thursday.
“You’re correct. It would need legislation for it to happen. And the bare minimum — and again, it’s difficult, because I’m not sure what’s on the table — the bare minimum for a standard redistribution is 10 months,” he answered.
That, however, is only from the setup of electoral boundary commissions to the issuance of their final reports for the redistribution.
“There’s another seven months after that for implementing,” Mayrand said.
Republished in partnership with iPolitics.ca.


Kidnapping: Police Arrest 5 Suspected Criminals, Others In Ebonyi - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Editor 4
June 8, 2019
In a related development,The Ebonyi Police Command has arrested five suspected kidnappers that abducted one Chigozie Igwe in front of his residence at Goddy Ogbaga Avenue in Abakaliki.
The Commissioner of Police in Ebonyi, Awosola Awotunde, said in Abakaliki that the victim was kidnapped in his car.
Awotunde said that operatives of Anti-kidnapping wing of Operation Puff Adder immediately swung into action and the victim was rescued at Ukwuachi along Abakaliki/Enugu express road.
He added that one Chibueze Opara, 33 years a suspected member of the gang was arrested on May 19 at Nkwegu Army barrack’s mammy market by operatives of PUFF ADDER.
According to him, the arrest of Okpara led the police team to Enugu state where the kidnap kingpin and other members of the gang including Chinedu Okorie, 31 and Chibuzor Onuigbo 30 were arrested.
The CP said that items recovered from the gang include one locally made revolver pistol, two live AK 47 ammunition, one expended ammunition used during the operation and seven different brand of cars.


Int’l Women’s Day: Coalition Tasks NASS On 35% Affirmative Action In Governance - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
March 9, 2020
A coalition of women groups under the PACFaH@Scale project has called on the National Assembly to pass laws on 35 per cent affirmative action for women involvement and inclusion in governance.
Thewomen groups made the call while briefing newsmen as part of activities tocommemorate this year’s International Women’s Day with the theme of this year’scommemoration is “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights.”
ThePresident of the National Council of Women Societies, NCWS  Gloria LarabaiShoda, who spoke on behalf of the coalition called on the three tiers ofgovernment to fund, implement and ensure accountability of programs to achievethe Sustainable Development Goal, SDG 5, which is  ‘Achieving genderequality and empowering all women and girls.’
Thecoalition also called on all ties of government to fund, strengthen and ensureaccountability of the national and state primary health care boards.


Are Former Chief Ministers exempted from Security Check at Airports?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 17, 2019
Following the frisking of Chandrababu Naidu recently at the Vijayawada airport, there
were protests by TDP MLAs and cadre about the incident. Some even went to the extent of saying that he served as the CM for 14 years and hence deserves exemptions.
But do the rules allow exemption from security check for former Chief Ministers (CMs)?
Who are those VVIPs that are exempted from the pre-embarkation security check at the civilian airports in the country? What is the basis for extending such exemptions?
What is the basis for Exemptions?
The reply received from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India in response to an RTI application filed by Factly  has the answers.
According to the reply, a total of 32 categories of people are exempted from pre-embarkation security check at the civilian airports. Such exemption is granted on the basis of the following
Who all are exempted?
President
Vice President
Prime Minister
Governors of States
Former Presidents
Former Vice President
Chief Justice of India
Speaker of Lok Sabha
Union Ministers of Cabinet rank
Chief Ministers of States
Deputy Chief Ministers of States
Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha
Holders of Bharat Ratna Decoration
Ambassadors of foreign countries, charge D’ Affairs and High Commissioners and their spouses
Judges of Supreme Court
Chief Election Commissioner
Comptroller & Auditor General of India
Deputy Chairman Rajya Sabha & Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha
Minister of State of the Union Council of Ministers
Attorney General of India
Cabinet Secretary
Lt Governors of Union Territories
Chiefs of staffs holding the rank of full General or equivalent rank
Chief Justices of the High Courts
Chief Ministers of Union Territories
Deputy Chief Ministers of Union Territories
Visiting Foreign dignitaries of the same status at SI. Nos. 1 to 4,7,8,9 above
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
SPG Protectees
Spouse of the President of India is exempted from pre-embarkation security checks at all civil airports even when he/she is not accompanying the President
Former Prime Ministers of India
Note: The Accompanying spouse of the above said VVIPs/VIPs is also exempted from pre-embarkation security checks at all civil airports in the country
It is clear that the former CMs are not in the list of exempted category of individuals. Hence frisking of Naidu was as per rules.
What is the SPG?
The Special Protection Group (SPG) is formed in 1988 by an act of the Parliament for “providing proximate security to the Prime Minister of India and former Prime Minister of India and members of their immediate families.” Family members of a serving Prime Minister (PM) may decline security. Former PMs and their immediate family members may also, if they choose, decline SPG security.
The issue of Robert VadraThis list had undergone changes in 2015 after the furore over the inclusion of Robert Vadra’s name in the exempted list. This new list of VVIPs/VIPs who are exempted from pre-embarkation security checks at all civil airports in the country does not include the name of  Robert Vadra. The only other change compared to the old list is an additional note at the bottom of this list that says, ‘The Accompanying spouse of the above said VVIPs/VIPs is also exempted from pre-embarkation security checks at all civil airports in the country’.
This  means that if Mr. Robert Vadra is accompanying Mrs. Priyanka Gandhi and if she is a SPG protectee, then Mr. Vadra would still be exempted from pre-embarkation check.


Iraq: Fuel prices · Global Voices
Haitham Sabbah

Ongoing shortages of fuel and constant attacks on oil refineries are causing abrupt increases in official fuel prices as well as price hikes on the black market in the capital, Baghdad. A litre of poor quality petrol is now being sold informally for as much as US $1. Many drivers are complaining of the use of water and dyes to increase the volume and make buyers believe that fuel being sold is of a higher quality, Christian Iraq said.


Russia, Saudi Arabia: Hajj Quotas Cut Again · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Window on Eurasia reports that Saudi Arabia has cut Russia’s hajj quota, “creating problems” for Dmitry Medvedev.


Russia: Photos From the Tyva (Tuva) Republic · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Oleg Klimov's photos [ru] from the Tyva (Tuva) Republic – here, here, here, and here.


COVID-19 Fight: Humanitarian Body To Complement Federal Government’s Effort To Secure Economy - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Editor 4
August 20, 2020
Convener and Chief Humanitarian, NIHA, Kletsaint Akor, who made the pledge at a news conference in Abuja, noted that COVID-19 had become as devastating to human lives as it had to the socio-economic wellbeing of all Nigerians and other nations worldwide.
He said that NIHA would mobilise and collaborate with humanitarian, professional organisations, individuals and other service-oriented bodies to address the COVID-19 impact on the people and the economy.
Akor also said the NIHA would unveil its Reach-out Initiative on September 8, to build institutional synergy to raise 2.4 billion dollars to mitigate the consequences of Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria. The Convener explained that the initiative was a strategic, non-governmental instrument designed to consolidate the Federal Government’s efforts to rebuild the nation’s economy


Arotile:Senate President Mourns Nigeria’s First Female Combat Copter Pilot - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Editor 4
July 16, 2020
President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has expressed shock and sadness at the tragic news of the death of Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot, Tolulope Arotile.
Lawan said despite her brief service, the deceased flying officer, 24, left indelible footprints as a dedicated officer and Nigeria’s first female combat helicopter pilot.
The Senate President noted the attestation of the Nigeria Airforce that Arotile flew several combat missions and made remarkable contributions to the military efforts against banditry and other criminal activities, particularly in the North Central states.
Lawan said Arotile was a role model for young women and the Nigerian youths in general with her focus and dedication to service and calling.
Lawan condoled with the family of the late Flying Officer, the Chief of the Air Staff, her officer colleagues, other airmen, and airwomen.


How to evaluate for-profit schools | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Wisconsin Better Business Bureau
September 28, 2016
You can check online to see if a school is accredited by a legitimate organization. (Photo by Allison Steines)
While for-profit trade schools have become a popular option, they are not all the same. Some schools mislead students about the cost and the quality of the education they will receive. For-profit schools generally offer certificates or degrees that specialize in career and job-related training. And, many tend to enroll students who rely heavily on federal student aid in the form of grants, loans and military benefits. Without that aid, many students wouldn’t be able to attend.
Working towards a college degree is an important commitment, so choose wisely where you invest your time, energy and money.
Nobody can foresee a school closing, like ITT Technical Institute did recently; however if you’re thinking of applying to a for-profit school, keep in mind the following:
• Take time to do your research; it takes a minute to check free reports with BBB.org. Complaint detail and vetted customer reviews are included in the reports. Google the school’s name. See what others are saying.
• Verify that the school is accredited (to award certificates, diplomas and associate degrees) by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. Also check with the U.S. Department of Education
• Be aware of high-pressure sales tactics, like claiming you have to sign up immediately. A reputable school will take time to answer any questions you have, allow you to talk to a financial aid advisor, and not require a quick decision. (Find out if you can cancel within a few days of signing up.
• Beware of any school that guarantees you will get a job after completing its program. Ask for references and contact graduates to see what their experience is.
• Confirm the school’s promises of future wages with third parties to make sure the school is accurate with its message.
• Before you enroll, compare total costs with other for-profit schools and public colleges. (Are there fees for dropping or adding a class? What is the cost for books? Does the community college offer a similar program for a fraction of the cost?)
• Ask plenty of questions when talking to recruiters. Reputable schools will clearly describe the program’s duration, costs and graduation rates.  –
• Consider how you will pay for it. If using a federal loan, note that there is a lifetime cap on the total amount of federal loans a student can take out (and you might hit the cap before you’re finished with your education).
• Don’t commit to any program unless you understand what you’ll have to do to complete it. Get details about the required courses and other requirements for the degree/certificate.
• If you’re pursuing a profession that requires a license, contact your state licensing organization to find out what training and credentials it requires. Ask if the school’s program meets the state’s licensing requirements.
• Ask if you can transfer credit you earn at this school to other schools.
• Ask what percentage of students graduate and what percentage of graduates are late in paying back their loans (a high default rate among graduates could be a tip off that students are burdened by too much debt or having trouble finding jobs in their field).
• You can go online to check if a school is accredited by a legitimate organization at the database of accredited academic institutions posted by the U.S. Department of Education or at the Council for Higher Education Accreditation database.
Before enrolling in an online university or other for-profit college, look out for the following red flags:
• No studies or exams. Accredited colleges may give a few credits for specific experience, but not an entire degree.
• No Attendance. Legitimate colleges or universities, including online schools, require substantial course work.
• Flat Fee. Many diploma mills charge a flat fee for an entire degree. Legitimate colleges charge by the credit, course or semester.
• No Waiting. Operations that guarantee a degree in a few days, weeks or even months aren’t legitimate.
• Click Here To Order Now! Accredited colleges don’t use spam or high-pressure telemarketing to market themselves.
• Advertising through spam or pop-ups. Legitimate institutions, including distance learning programs, won’t advertise through spam or pop-ups.


ProPublica Launches New Version of SecureDrop
Trevor Timm
January 27, 2014
Today, ProPublica became the first US news organization to launch the new 0.2.1 version of SecureDrop, our open-source whistleblower submission system journalism organizations can use to safely accept documents and information from sources.
ProPublica, an independent, not-for profit news outlet, is known for their hard-hitting journalism and has won several Pulitzer Prizes since its founding just five and a half years ago. ProPublica’s mission focuses on "producing journalism that shines a light on exploitation of the weak by the strong and on the failures of those with power to vindicate the trust placed in them.”
It's exactly the type of journalism that we aim support at Freedom of the Press Foundation and we hope SecureDrop will help ProPublica further that mission.
Threats to press freedom around the world are at an all-time high. Sign up to stay up to date and take action to protect journalists and whistleblowers everywhere.
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To send documents to ProPublica, download the Tor Browser Bundle, and then copy and paste this Tor onion URL into the browser: http://qzpl6f4fyx4pxzdu.onion/ . Remember, do not submit information from your home or office Internet connection and use public wifi. For additional safety, consider submitting using the Tails operating system.
ProPublica’s security precautions in their implementation of SecureDrop can also serve as a model for other journalism organizations considering launching their own version. SecureDrop is really only as secure as the environment around it, and ProPublica has made sure to follow security best practices in creating it. ProPublica’s SecureDrop landing page is HTTPS by default, they’ve placed no trackers or analytics tools that would give third parties access to who visits the page, and have implemented all the correct security headers to mitigate potential attacks (which you can confirm here).
ProPublica’s Mike Tigas explained why this is important in their blog post announcing the launch:
The information page at securedrop.propublica.org contains instructions on how to send us material the system. The information page itself is on a server that is not connected to the SecureDrop server. But as an important part of the system, it needs to follow good security practices, so we’ve configured it according to security recommendations by the Freedom of the Press Foundation. We enforce HTTPS connections to that domain by using the “Strict-Transport-Security” HTTP header. We prevent external content and browser frames from accessing that page, to ensure that the information you see there isn’t tampered with. It does not store any access logs or create any cookies.
They’ve also contributed to further the security of the open-source project by publishing their configuration file so other news organizations can easily implement the correct security headers on their own landing page in the future.
We’ve documented the nginx configuration file we use on our information page and are publishing it today. Other sites may use our example config for similar small websites requiring HTTPS and high browser security.
SecureDrop was originally created by the late technologist and transparency advocate Aaron Swartz. Freedom of the Press Foundation has been managing the project since the fall of 2013. Version 0.2.1 was recently put through a thorough security audit, which you can read here. We are currently on the road installing the service for several other major news organizations. So stay tuned for more.


Russia: Anti-Government Slogans Published On a Hacked Soccer Club Website · Global Voices
Alexey Sidorenko

Blogger pilgrim67 publishes [ru] a screenshot of the “Zenit” soccer club website that has been hacked this morning (now restored). A hacker had defaced the website and posted pictures of Valentina Matvienko (mayor of Saint-Petersburg) and Vadim Tyulpanov (speaker of the city assembly), both members of “United Russia” party, and called the visitors to vote against the ruling party.


Algeria: What Independence means · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Algerian algerianna, at Patriots on Fire, asks readers to share their views on the true meaning of their country's independence.


Updated- N40bn Probe: Reps C’ttee Summons Akpabio, NDDC MD, Others - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Editor 4
July 18, 2020
The House of Representatives Committee on Niger-Delta Development Commission, NDDC has summoned the Minister of Niger-Delta Affair, Godswill Akpabio to answer the allegation of 81.5 billion naira irregular expenditure in the commission.
The committee also asked the NDDC Acting Managing Director Kemebradikumo Pondei and the Managing Director of AHR Global Service limited among others to appear before it.
The decision which was reached at the ongoing investigative hearing on the alleged 40 billion naira irregular expenditure was sequel to the refusal of the officials to honour invitation to appear and respond to allegations of wrong doing.
The Chairman of the Committee Olubumi Tunji-Ojo ruled that they should appear unfailingly on Monday, July 20 to answer questions.
Earlier, the Head, Directorate of Research and Programmes, Act for Positive Transformation Initiative, NGO, Johnson Kolawole, accused that the Interim Management Committee, IMC of the NDDC of gross abuse of budget implementation process.
He stated that the Interim Committee had expended over 80 billion naira between January 2020 and May 2020 as against the 22 billion naira.


China: HIV Test Accused of Discrimination · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Josie Liu from China in Transition blogs about the recent criticisms on the HIV test on Chinese citizens returning from overseas.


How One Couple's Love Story Sparked Change In Their Community, Block By Block : NPR
February 15, 20195:13 AM ET
February 15, 20195:13 AM ET


The bridge that made Milwaukee famous | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Margaret Rozga
May 16, 2016
Margaret Rozga, poet, civil rights activist and professor emerita of English at UW-Waukesha, invites Milwaukeeans to participate in planning the 50th anniversary of the open housing marches led by Father James Groppi and the Milwaukee NAACP Youth Council in the 1960s.
“We’d like to walk across the bridge,” Yolanda Hare said. “Would you be able to walk with us?” The bridge in question is the James E. Groppi Unity Bridge, formerly the 16th Street Viaduct, site of the best known of the 200 consecutive nights of marching for open housing in Milwaukee in 1967-68. Yolanda, a staff member at Minneapolis’s Southside Family Charter School, served as coordinator for the middle school’s extended civil rights tour this April.
Of course, I said yes. This walk across the bridge was a way to insure that the movement in Milwaukee for local and national fair housing legislation would not be forgotten, its energy not lost. Milwaukee’s open housing marches can be a source of inspiration for ongoing work for social and racial justice. Commemorating them has been a priority for me since planning the celebration of their 20 anniversary. That was when the idea for renaming the viaduct was born, and the Common Council resolution to rename the bridge succeeded a year later.
The original 1967-68 marches for fair housing were not the first step in the struggle to secure adequate housing here for African-Americans in the post-World War II period. The African- American community in Milwaukee nearly tripled in size from 21,172 persons in 1950 to 62,458 in 1960. But the amount of housing available to African-Americans did not correspondingly grow. By 1967, African Americans were 12 percent of Milwaukee’s population living on 5 percent of the city’s land, with a population density four times greater than elsewhere in the city.
As early as 1962, Vel Phillips, the first African-American and the first woman on Milwaukee’s Common Council, introduced an open housing bill. It was defeated, with her vote the only one in its favor. Each time she re-introduced the bill, the results were the same.
Early in 1967 the Milwaukee NAACP Youth Council offered to support Phillips’ efforts. The Youth Council had first addressed the housing crisis by working on the issue of lax enforcement of the city’s building code. Youth Council members, among them children in the upper grades at St. Boniface School, attended the trials of property owners charged with building code violations on their inner city properties being rented by African-Americans. Even when these landlords were found guilty of failing to keep the properties up to code, their fines were sometimes merely one dollar, only token punishment, with no incentive to change.
The Minneapolis middle school students and their teachers who visited last month wanted to honor Milwaukee’s open housing movement, which included young people their own age. That inspired these students. Their presence here seemed a sure sign that this Milwaukee story was weaving itself into the regional, maybe the national narrative of the civil rights struggle. Four years ago students at NOVA High School in Milwaukee also found inspiration in learning about Milwaukee’s open housing movement, turning their study of the movement into a museum exhibit, the March to Equality project, shown at the Arts @ Large Gallery in 2012. The students also guided multiple civil rights tours of Milwaukee that year and the next.
Recently there was further evidence of the power of Milwaukee’s open housing movement. The Frank Zeidler Center for Public Discussion hosted a brainstorming session to generate ideas for the 50 anniversary of the marches. Response to the open invitation to this brainstorming session had been promising, with 28 people registering. Turnout was even better; about twice the number of people actually attended.
In energetic small group discussions, a wide array of suggestions emerged. Included were ideas focusing on youth, the role of the arts, education about the historic events, re-enactments, commemoration in physical forms such as buildings, statues, plaques and billboards, public conversations about racism, and policy initiatives to address one or more present-day housing issues.
Follow-up meetings to this initial session will aim to specify what the course of action should be on the themes now in rough form. These follow-up meetings, like the initial brainstorming session, are open to all. Times and places of future meetings will be posted on the March On Milwaukee: 50th Anniversary Facebook page.
On a Milwaukee bridge, the movement for open housing legislation gained momentum. The open housing struggle then grew to be a movement for social and racial justice. That’s worth remembering. That’s worth continuing.


Health/Wellness: Physical Activity Said To Reduce Liver, Cancer Risk - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Editor 4
June 8, 2019
New research presented at Digestive Disease Week 2019, reveals that chronic liver disease is increasing, partly due to the obesity epidemic, and currently there are no guidelines for the optimal type of exercise for the prevention of cirrhosis-related mortality.
Researchers hope these findings will help provide specific exercise recommendations for patients at risk for cirrhosis and its complications. New compound that repairs cancer cells SEC moves to revive margin lending
Lead researcher, Tracey Simon, said the benefit of exercise is not a new concept, but the impact of exercise on mortality from cirrhosis and from liver cancer has not yet been explored on this scale.
Researchers observed that adults in the highest quintile of weekly walking activity had 73 percent lower risk for cirrhosis-related death than those in the lowest quintile.
Further risk reduction was observed with combined walking and muscle-strengthening exercises.


Bermuda: Mixed blessing · Global Voices
Skye Hernandez

21 Square and Vexed Bermoothes wonder whether the high cost of the Bermuda Music Festival was justified.


World Safety, Health Day: Nigeria Red Cross Tasks Stakeholders To Prioritise Employee Safety - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
Abubakar Abubakar
April 29, 2019
The Nigerian Red Cross Society has called on employers of labour and other key stakeholders to prioritise the safety of workers. This is coming as the world commemorates the 2019 World Safety and Health at work places.
The organisation said it could be achieved by ensuring that the work environment was safe and healthy for workers at all levels.
The organisation’s Head Communication and Advocacy Nwakpa Nwakpa said that 2019 World Safety and Health at Work has its theme as “Safety and Health at the heart of the future of work’’.
He added that the day was commemorated on April 28thannually to ensure that safe and healthy environment for workers was respected at all levels.
Nwakpa said every year people die as a result of occupational accidents and work related diseases which results in extended absence from work which further has a huge consequence on the economy. He however said it was important to prioritise the safety of workers by ensuring the work environment was safe and by equipping the members of staff with adequate knowledge on First Aid.


Tajikistan: Energy Crisis at the Boiling Point · Global Voices
Adil Nurmakov

Vadim says that Tajikistan is going to have more problems with electricity supply in the beginning of February.


Bulgaria: Update on Arevik Shmavonyan’s Case · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Maya's Corner posts a detailed update on the case of Arevik Shmavonyan, a pregnant Armenian citizen who is still being kept at the Special Centre for Temporary Accommodation of Foreigners in Busmantsi, and on the legal status of David Arutyunyan, Arevik's boyfriend.


SHARP Literacy announces first public fundraising campaign to help meet the demand for school programs | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
SHARP Literacy
December 4, 2017
(Photo courtesy of SHARP Literacy)
SHARP Literacy Inc., a southeastern Wisconsin-based arts and education program for urban students, has announced its first public fundraising campaign to help bring its programming to additional students in urban southeastern Wisconsin schools.
SHARP Literacy helps K4 through fifth grade students build reading, writing and researching skills by using the visual arts as the primary tool for learning. The goal of the arts-integrated program is to help reduce the achievement gap Milwaukee-area students face. Currently, only 15% of third grade students in the City of Milwaukee demonstrate reading proficiency on the state-administered reading assessment, making Milwaukee one of the lowest performing cities in the country. Those results are even more alarming considering that reading proficiently by the end of 3rd grade is a determining factor in a child’s long term academic success. According to recent post-assessment scores, student performance gains on the SHARP Assessment averaged 25-30 percentage points from the pre- to post-assessment in 2016-17.
SHARP is currently in 39 Milwaukee and Waukesha County schools serving more than 8,500 elementary school students. As a privately funded, non-profit organization, SHARP Literacy offers its arts-based program at no cost to the schools. Currently, no other program like SHARP Literacy exists that is fully funded and offered at no cost to participating schools and students. Programming cost is $104 per student per school  year.
More than 1,200 students in 12 schools are on a waiting list to bring SHARP Literacy’s programs to their classrooms. To meet current waiting list needs alone, SHARP needs to raise more than $124,800. Ultimately, the more that can be raised, the more students SHARP can serve, as well as continuing to add new programs in the future. To continue offering SHARP Literacy’s programs, more funding is needed, which is the reason SHARP Literacy is reaching out publicly for the first time to all Milwaukee and Waukesha County-area businesses and additional donors. Eighty-two percent of the funds that are raised go toward SHARP Literacy programs.
“The need to bring SHARP’s programs into more schools is our greatest challenge,” said Lynda Kohler, SHARP Literacy president and CEO.” To bring more students into the program, we need to find additional donors who believe in our mission.”
With continued cuts in school arts programs, SHARP Literacy has seen a significant demand for and growth in enrollment. SHARP Literacy has seen a 45 percent increase in enrollment in the past three years and has added six schools this year. While the state’s recent budget for 2017-19 included the largest increase in per pupil aid for education, an increase in arts education was not included in the budget recommendations.
In addition, this year Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) has committed bringing an integrated arts program into all MPS schools for the 2017-18 school year with its new “Year of the Arts Initiative.” The goal of the initiative is to be sure that every student is afforded quality arts opportunities.
SHARP provides hands-on learning experiences to 4K through fifth grade students, reaching and positively impacting students in the most at-risk schools. Programs serve a diverse urban Milwaukee and Waukesha student population that is 53% African-American, 29% Hispanic, 9% Caucasian, 6% Asian, and 3% other ethnicities. Through the use of classroom-supported programs, hands-on activities, educational tours, collaborative summer and after-school programs, public art mural projects, writing, researching and publishing books and more, SHARP helps guide students toward new ways of learning that promote creative thinking and problem solving.
“Through SHARP Literacy’s programs, we strive to give our children better futures,” added Kohler. “But to do that, we need help from area donors and to establish additional corporate partnerships to bring more educational and learning experiences to our community’s children.”
An example of an interactive, hands-on unique learning experience that SHARP Literacy offers second grade students is an upcoming Discovery World tour on Monday, December 4.
“Through Discovery World’s collaboration with SHARP Literacy, we have been able to connect two areas of great need – literacy and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Education – for hundreds of second grade students in our community,” said Joel Brennan, CEO at Discovery World. “By working together and uniting Discovery World learning labs with important vocabulary terms, Discovery World and SHARP are opening the eyes of these young people to the Great Lakes and the opportunities that await them through literature and interactive education in the years to come. Our partnership is just one example of how SHARP Literacy collaborates with other community partners to put more young people on a path to being better and stronger readers, students and community members in the years to come. The work of SHARP Literacy is critically important in Milwaukee and Discovery World is a proud partner in their efforts.”
The tour at Discovery World is comprised of three sessions that take approximately 25 minutes each. The first part of the tour, called “The Life of a Salmon,” takes place in the Freshwater Sustainability Lab. During this section, students will draw a freshwater habitat where salmon may live, and will learn about other critters that live in freshwater. The vocabulary words used in this section include “freshwater,” “habitat,” and “horizon.”
The second session is titled “Great Lakes Past and Present” and takes place in the Great Lakes Future exhibit. Students will take a visit in a time machine to learn about the formation of the Great Lakes, learn about the water cycle and see a simulated thunder storm in the exhibits to demonstrate the water cycle. Students will then see a sculpture based upon life on the Great Lakes and discuss the sculpture’s imagery. The vocabulary words used in this section are “glacier,” “Great Lakes,” “movement,” “water cycle,” and “sculpture.”
The final session takes place in the Discovery World Reiman Aquarium. Students will take a tour of the aquarium to observe the various fish that live in salt and freshwater. Along the way, students will observe the various movements that fish make, the components of their habitat, and also pet several types of fish. Then, students will view and reflect upon an underwater life mosaic art piece. The words used in this section are “movement,” “Great Lakes,” “habitat,” and “freshwater.”
SHARP welcomes anyone interested in finding out more about their programs or considering a contribution to help it expand its programming, businesses looking to partner with SHARP, or individual donors wishing to donate, call<PHONE_NUMBER> or visit the website at www.sharpliteracy.org.


Bangladesh bids farewell to Argentinian football legend Maradona · Global Voices
বিজয়

Football fever spreads in Bangladesh. Playing football in front of a wall colored with different national flags of the participants in the FIFA World Cup. Jatrabari, Dhaka. Image by Sourav Lasker. Copyright Demotix (8/6/2014)
Argentinian football superstar Diego Armando Maradona is as popular in Bangladesh as he is in his own country. Maradona's death at his Buenos Aires home on November 25 came as a shock to Bangladeshi fans, who took to social media to express what the football legend meant to them.
Twitter user Akteex summed up the feelings of a nation in one succinct post:
I can hear Bangladesh crying
— t (@akteex) November 25, 2020
Noting that Maradona had became a household name in Bangladesh, football fan Sabbir responded:
I knew his name tracing back to the very first memories I have. At that time I was a kid who lived in a remote village in Bangladesh, and thought if I could walk far enough I would fall off this world because it's flat, but I knew the name Maradona. That's how great he is.
— Sabbir (@sal_b2bg) November 25, 2020
The very next day, Bangladeshis paid tribute to Maradona during different events, such as in this cricket match in the capital, Dhaka:
1 minute silence observed by all today's 4 teams for football Legend Diego Maradona. The event took place immediately after the post-match presentation of the first match. pic.twitter.com/jWmtdcVQBV
— Bangladesh Cricket (@BCBtigers) November 26, 2020
Although the South Asian country ranks very low in the FIFA World Football ranking, the sport is very popular. Most Bangladeshi football fans follow Latin American football leagues and revere icons like Maradona and Brazil's Pele. Some fans simply could not believe that Maradona is no more.
Anisul Kabir, associate editor of the satirical magazine Unmad, wrote on Facebook:
পৃথিবীতে ম্যারাডোনা নামের অবাক করা মানুষটি নাই, ব্যাপারটা বিশ্বাস করতে কষ্ট হচ্ছে। ফুটবল বিশ্ব সেরাদের মধ্যে সেরা একজন লিজেন্ড হারালো। খারাপ লাগলো খবরটা শুনে।
The wonder named Maradona is no longer around, this is hard to digest. The football world has lost a legend. I am very sad today.
Sports enthusiast Noman Mohammed added:
ডিয়েগো ম্যারাডোনা মারা গেছেন। খবরটা মিথ্যা হোক, খুব করে চেয়েছিলাম। বিশ্বের বিভিন্ন দেশের ওয়েবসাইটে ঢুকে বুঝতে চেয়েছি, কেউ যেন এটিকে গুজব বলে। কিন্তু তা হল না।
I wanted the news of the death of Maradona to be a hoax. I tried to browse different international websites to find out the truth. But my wish did not come true.
Meanwhile, iTazin tweeted:
Football Legend Diego #Maradona left us on Wednesday 25th November.
As like rest of the World Bangladesh has huge fan following since his football career. We brought up seeing his magic on the ground.
Rest in Peace Maradona
My condolences to his #Family & #Friends We LOVE You ❤ pic.twitter.com/0ZcrIp6x1L
— iTazin (@htajin) November 26, 2020
Most Bangladeshis became loyal supporters of the Argentine football team because of the amazing skills Maradona displayed during its 1986 World Cup victory. On Facebook, Sakibur Rahman Khan explained:
অবৈধভাবে ক্ষমতা দখল করে স্বৈরাচারী হোসেন মোহাম্মদ এরশাদ ১৯৮২ সালে বাংলাদেশে প্রথম চমকটি দেখান সরাসরি বিশ্বকাপ ফুটবল টেলিভিশনে দেখিয়ে । বাংলাদেশের সকল মানুষের সাথে আমিও সেই বাল্যকালে নেশায় বুঁদ হয়ে ব্রাজিলের ভক্ত হয়ে যাই । সেই ওয়ার্ল্ড কাপ ফুটবলে বাংলাদেশের মানুষ ম্যারাডোনাকে খুব একটা চিনলো না। ১৯৮৬ সালে যখন ওয়ার্ল্ড কাপ ফুটবল শুরু হয় তখন আমরা দেখি ম্যারাডোনার জাদুকরী ফুটবল খেলা । বাংলাদেশের প্রায় অর্ধেক মানুষ ব্রাজিল ছেড়ে আর্জেন্টিনার সাপোর্ট করা শুরু করে। ঢাকা শহরের আমিনবাজার, Old town তখন ছেয়ে যায় আর্জেন্টিনার পতাকায় । তার পরের ইতিহাস শুধুই ম্যারাডোনার।
In 1982, the dictator Hossain Mohammad Ershad surprised the nation by telecasting the World Cup live on television for the first time in Bangladesh. This was my childhood watching the games, I became a fan of Latin-American football, especially Brazil, like many others. At that time, we did not know much about Maradona. When the 1986 World Cup began, many Bangladeshis were mesmerized by Maradona's magical football skills. Opinions in Bangladesh became divided. About half of the people in Bangladesh rooted for Brazil and the other half supported Argentina. Parts of Dhaka, especially Aminbazar, were then covered with the Argentine flag. Maradona ruled in the following couple of decades.
Expat Bangladeshi Sardar Jobayer Hossain recalled how Maradona became an icon in Bangladesh:
স্কুলের খাতায় ম্যারাডোনা, বাজারের ব্যাগে আর্জেন্টিনা, বাড়ির চার দেয়ালে আকাশি-সাদা ডোরা, আমাদের শৈশব ছিল ৫ ফুট ৫ ইঞ্চির ম্যারাডোনাময়। ধানমন্ডিতে মিরপুরের রোডের উপর চাইনিজ রেস্টুরেন্টের নাম ছিল ম্যারাডোনা। পাড়া মহল্লায় আর্জেন্টিনা- ব্রাজিলের নামে ফ্রেন্ডলি ফাইটিং পর্যন্ত চলত। ৮৬ সালের পর বাঁশের আগায় দুইখান পতাকা রাখতাম ঘরে। একখান আর্জেন্টিনা, আরেকখান ঢাকার মোহামেডান । আহা দিন!
Maradona's image was printed on school pads and shopping bags, the Argentinian colours – sky blue and white — printed on the walls. Our childhood was filled with the image of the 5 foot 5 inch Maradona. A Chinese restaurant at Mirpur Road in Dhanmondi was named after Maradona. There were friendly football matches in our locality between teams named after Brazil and Argentina, which sometimes led to clashes. After 1986, I used to keep to flags hoisted at home — one of Argentina and one of Dhaka Mohamedan [a local football club]. Ah, those days!
So intense was Maradona's popularity in Bangladesh that people would treat Argentina's wins — or losses — as their own. In the 1990 World Cup, when Argentina lost to Germany in the final, Bangladesh cried with Maradona. In fact, many fans, unable to accept the defeat, took to the streets to protest the referee's actions.
That same year, Moudud Ahmed, then vice president of Bangladesh, announced that Maradona was to make a visit to the country, but it never came to pass. It was later alleged that the purpose of the announcement was to subdue growing protest movements against the regime of the time.
There were subsequently other attempts to bring the football hero to Bangladesh: in 2008, when he visited neighbouring India, and ironically, in 2020, the year of his death. He was supposed to visit the country to celebrate the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the “Father of the Nation” and the first President of Bangladesh.
In 1994, Maradona played his last World Cup. During the event, he was banned from the game for doping, forcing Argentina to withdraw from the tournament. Interestingly, Bangladeshi fans were not angry with Maradona, but with FIFA.
Documentary filmmaker Asef Hadi tweeted about that time:
“When he [Maradona] was kicked out of the ‘94 World Cup: several hundred people in #Bangladesh had attempted mass suicide as a result. It is impossible to overestimate the scope and intensity of #Maradona’s popularity” – #RIPDiego pic.twitter.com/l7YSHqn23P
— Asef Hadi (@AsefHadi) November 25, 2020
Despite Bangladeshis love for Maradona, some didn't like his lifestyle. Exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin tweeted:
Addiction killed Maradona.
— taslima nasreen (@taslimanasreen) November 25, 2020
Maradona undoubtedly led a complex life, but amidst all the ups and downs, he was aware of how Bangladeshis felt about him: the South Asian country's passion for the South American soccer star was referenced in Maradona's autobiography “El Diego” — and for some Bangladeshis, that is enough.


'Resettling as a refugee is depressing and hard' - New Canadian Media
Rohullah Naderi
June 15, 2022
I landed in Toronto, Canada in September 2017 and applied for asylum before an immigration officer at Toronto Pearson International Airport. I had no idea that the asylum application would entail a long and difficult psychological struggle.
Arriving in Canada was a shock. Winter is extremely cold here — almost unbearable. Some can experience seasonal depression during these colder seasons and I vividly remember being confined to my room during my first winter.
With few socialization opportunities, no employment, and no recreational activities — it was a perfect doom and gloom situation, similar to the confinement and lack of social interactions imposed by COVID-19.
However, the primary factor that leads to mental health challenges for an asylum seeker is the application process.
It is long, soul-killing and time-consuming. The painful part is the uncertainty involved, and the prospect of rejection.
In the province of Ontario, it takes up to two years for an asylum application to be processed. Sometimes, the wait becomes so frustrating and stressful that you consider withdrawing your application altogether. Some of my friends withdrew their applications citing struggles with social isolation, loneliness, lack of employment opportunities, and the waiting period.
While waiting for a response an applicant mentally battles nerve-racking questions about the status of their application and the risks of returning home if their application is rejected.
These questions are significant sources of stress and anxiety. No matter how hard one tries to distract themselves, the questions haunt you, not to mention the added stress from an actual asylum hearing.
Even if you are accepted, there are more challenges awaiting, such as a lack of employment opportunities. Speaking English is certainly a huge advantage, but the English spoken in Afghanistan (my country of origin) is totally different, with an accent that is easily distinguished by Canadian employers. This level of English is never sufficient for employers to hire you. Most people call language incompetency a barrier, but I call it discrimination.
Expecting an immigrant from a developing country mired in four decades of conflict and a broken education system to speak fluent English is extremely illogical and unfounded.
Nonetheless, let’s assume I somehow overcome the language hurdles. I still have no Canadian work experience and no university degrees from Canadian schools. I have just arrived in Canada and yet employers can overlook me because they expect degrees from Canadian educational institutes.
Having a decent job with a dignified income gives meaning, respect, and purpose. When this is absent, one feels frustration, sadness, anxiety, hopelessness and depression. It is quite challenging being forced into a job that does not line up with your expertise. Additionally, it does not help grow professionally nor does it pay you enough. This situation can make one feel worthless, which certainly leads to depression and loneliness.
Another impact on the applicant that is hard to reckon with is the sense of loss. Moving from familiar to unfamiliar and from stability to instability. Part of the painful migration process is that the circumstances that have led to your migration are not of your own making. This makes the entire process very bitter and filled with indignation.
I remember a famous quote from a filmmaker who was forced to flee Afghanistan and resettle in Europe.
He said: “My family, like leaves ripped away from a tree in a storm, was taken from our land and thrown in every direction by outside forces.”
The entire process of resettlement is depressing and hard. It can be emotionally draining, but to have your family to fall back on, especially in desperate times, is very encouraging. I have felt the absence of my family dearly and there have been times that I have gone for long walks to temporarily forget about their absence.
Some assume refugees voluntarily leave their home, family, culture, and emotional supports to benefit from economic opportunities. The economic opportunities that are often cited by xenophobes and anti-immigration forces are almost non-existent. Refugees usually get stuck at the very bottom of the economic ladder earning a meagre amount that can hardly sustain them.
Additionally, it is not just about financially sustaining oneself. Money is needed back home too. In my experience, due to the continued violent conflict in Afghanistan, it is extremely hard to find employment. The unemployment rate there has crossed 30 per cent. Most families in Afghanistan depend heavily on their relatives in Canada and elsewhere to support them financially. This challenge is an added source of stress for Afghan refugees as you have to take responsibility to care for yourself, your family and your extended family.
In reality, mental health problems start from the pre-migration period when you realize that you need to take refuge in a safer place. That realization is filled with tension and stress. Even the process of figuring out all the details of fleeing to somewhere safer takes a heavy toll on your mental strength. En route, some asylum seekers may experience or do unimaginable things that can result in trauma later on.
According to a study done by the Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of B.C. (AMSSA), newcomers to Canada are generally healthier than the average Canadian. This concept is known as the “healthy immigrant effect.”
The study explains that the effect tends to diminish over time.
“The health of newcomer populations tending to decline and converge towards the Canadian average. The Canadian Medical Association’s clinical guidelines for immigrants and refugees note that forced migration, low income, and limited proficiency in English or French increase the risk of a decline in health and should be considered in the assessment and delivery of preventive care.”
This is exactly what I have experienced as a refugee.
What makes the experience of migrating to Canada so distressing is that no one really cares about you. You are just an unwanted and unwelcome refugee who is presumed to be preying on government benefits without showing any desire to work. Those who indulge in this sort of blame game have no idea about the towering barriers that refugees face in finding a decent job.
After suffering all these hurdles, barriers, discrimination and apathy, I honestly regret coming to Canada, but going back is not an option as my life is in danger. Safety and security in Canada make the economic hardships tolerable, but for how long?
Rohullah Naderi is an Afghan political observer based in Toronto. A former Fulbright Scholar, he has a graduate degree in political science from Lehigh University, USA. He can be reached at<EMAIL_ADDRESS>Well said, I am in my home country right now and preparing for an English exam to get direct PR in Canada. Got the same opportunity nearly 2 years back but Covid ruined it completely, my English test report expired and I am again stuck in the struggle phase. Hope so that Express entry starts soon , have applied for Study Visa at present. The pre-stress is so high that imagining the one after coming there was always unimaginable and somewhat vague but your article cleared the doubt and prepared me about whats coming next.


Working Visit: IOC President Tasks FG On Grassroots Development And Infrastructure - Liberty TV/Radio - News - Voice For All! Vision For Alll!
November 15, 2019
President of the International Olympic Committee, IOCThomas Bach has urged the Federal Government to strengthen grassroots sportsdevelopment and infrastructure in order to produce more Olympic champions.
Bach gave the advice in Abuja during an interactivesession with Nigerian Olympians as part of his two-day working visit toNigeria, saying the visit was part of efforts to support the country’s Olympicpreparations and further boost the ideals of the Olympics.
IOC Boss, thereafter, toured the Moshood AbiolaNational Stadium, Abuja, and visited an NOC partner-school as part of hisworking visit.
Bach rounded off his engagement for the visit with theinauguration of the National Olympic Committee of Africa, ANOCA headquartersbuilding in Abuja. He said the inauguration of the building would automaticallytransform Nigeria to the capital of Olympic sports in Africa.
Earlier, Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare described the event as a great landmark in the development of sports in Africa. He recalled that the journey to the commissioning started about 13 years ago when Nigeria, alongside six other African countries, bide to host the headquarters of ANOCA.


Serial faker ShankhNaad attributes fake quote to actress Swara Bhasker - Alt News
Arjun Sidharth
31st January 2018 / 4:48 pm
“Being raped by invader and become their sex slave is way better than committing jauhar (suicide) to avoid that life”. This ludicrous statement was apparently made by actress Swara Bhasker, according to ShankhNaad. The communal rabble-rousing page put out this quote attributed to her.
The quote has circulated widely among right-wing twitter handles and Facebook pages. Recently, Bhasker had written an open letter to Sanjay Leela Bhansali, director of the movie Padmaavat and expressed her disagreement and disapproval of the portrayal of the queen and her decision to commit ‘jauhar’ after Chittor had been besieged by Alauddin Khilji. Bhasker’s view gained much traction on social media. She was attacked for her view by certain sections, some of whom stooped rather low.
Swara bhaskar should go to a
Taliban/ ISIS camp for a few days
and
stay there to understand why our Women committed Jauhar .. pic.twitter.com/G0HtGy7WhP
— Mahesh Vikram Hegde (@mvmeet) January 30, 2018
We have interviewed many ‘ex-naxal’ women in Bastar. Each has gut-wrenching stories to tell, full of abuse, rape and misogyny If they marry, they aren’t allowed to have children. I think fake feminist @ReallySwara must make a trip to understand how the Real Vagina feels like.
— Vivek Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) January 30, 2018
Now @ReallySwara will tell the girl she had the right to be raped 100 times during 10 months, and will blame her for succumbing to ‘patriarchy’ by burning her face! #sickening. https://t.co/tmGXpWf50M
— Shefali Vaidya (@ShefVaidya) January 30, 2018
Mahesh Vikram Hegde is followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on twitter, and is the founder and admin of the fake news website Postcard.news which only recently had shared a fake quote attributed to actor Farhan Akhtar over the communal violence in Kasganj, U.P.
Bhasker spoke to Alt News. Expressing outrage, she said “This meme by ShankhNaad is an utter and blatant lie. I have literally not used these words strung next to each other in any utterance nor anything I’ve ever said or written in public or in private. I think this perverse, wilful twisting of my article and the argument in the article has been done to serve the hateful and poisonous motives of Shanknaad and it reeks of vicious intent.
It’s scary and shameful that a politely worded review of a film should be twisted for such sinister purposes. I think this amounts to criminal defamation”.
This is a BLATANT LIE. @ShankhNaad pls publish an official apology or we can take this to court.. https://t.co/yJQe6UpX7l
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) January 30, 2018
Forced on the backfoot and threatened with lawsuit, ShankhNaad deleted the tweet containing the quote and issued a ‘clarification’ and an ‘apology’, hiding behind ‘technicalities’.
If I say “I want to consume KCN” doesn’t mean someone can quote me saying “I want to die”. Apologies for technicalities, here @ReallySwara , corrected it.. pic.twitter.com/IxI8Y4UPO7
— ShankhNaad (@ShankhNaad) January 31, 2018
For those who are aware of the kind of inflammatory content that ShankhNaad shares, such mischief is not surprising and sadly, not unexpected. This is because no action has been taken against the page and its owner despite being repeatedly exposed over its blatantly communal agenda, posting malicious content with regularity and impunity.
Arjun Sidharth is a writer with Alt News. He has previously worked in the television news industry, where he managed news bulletins and breaking news scenarios, apart from scripting numerous prime time television stories. He has also been actively involved with various freelance projects. Sidharth has studied economics, political science, international relations and journalism. He has a keen interest in books, movies, music, sports, politics, foreign policy, history and economics. His hobbies include reading, watching movies and indoor gaming.
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Skb at Lahore Metblogs reports: “During last two hours, Lahore experienced four blasts near Alflah building on Mall Road and the recent, fifth blast is just heard near Tamaseel Theatre on Ferozpur Road.”


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Laurence Caromba, writing in the South African group blog Commentary, points out the difficulties that the home-grown London bombers pose for political theory: “it robs the neoconservative explanation of terrorism (in a nutshell: illiberalism) of some of its power… it also destroys the arguments of … the anti-war left and the isolationist right…”


Russia: J. Arch Getty and Claudia Verhoeven Author Interviews · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

For New Books in Russia and Eurasia, Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog interviews J. Arch Getty, the author of “Yezhov: The Rise of Stalin’s Iron Fist,” and Claudia Verhoeven, the author of “The Odd Man Karakozov: Imperial Russia, Modernity, and the Birth of Terrorism.”