All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Mimi Writes…….: Join Peace Bloggers on the Internet NOVEMBER 4, 2020 for “Peace in the Time of Quarantine”

Source: Mimi Writes…….: Join Peace Bloggers on the Internet NOVEMBER 4, 2020 for “Peace in the Time of Quarantine”

‘The way I am is an outrage’: the Indigenous Brazilian musicians taking back a burning country | Music | The Guardian

Kaê doesn’t rule out signing with a big record label, as long as she can keep singing about the Indigenous cause: “I am afraid of whitening myself. I have to be careful to keep my roots and accomplish my mission: infiltrate power structures that say Indigenous peoples no longer exist.” Her songs are already being used as learning material by dozens of school teachers.

The sociopolitical perspective driving Kaê’s music connects with a recent cultural movement gaining popularity among urban Indigenous artists, known as Indigenous futurism. Kaê says it is about “daring to envision ourselves in the future, and using new technologies to enhance Indigenous visibility”.

The term was coined in 2012 by Portland State University’s Dr Grace Dillon, who is descended from the Anishinaabe people from Canada and the US. According to Klaus Wernet, an ethnomusicologist at the University of São Paulo, it was also around 2012 when Brazil’s Indigenous communities started buying smartphones and built “strategic music partnerships” via WhatsApp and social media. Journalist Renata Tupinambá, organiser of the Yby festival – Brazil’s first for contemporary Indigenous music – says Indigenous futurism uses technology to make “art, music and literature tools of cultural survival. It defies the racist mindset that Indigenous peoples are stuck in the 16th-century colonial imaginary.”

Source: ‘The way I am is an outrage’: the Indigenous Brazilian musicians taking back a burning country | Music | The Guardian

U.S. reports over 80,000 new COVID-19 cases for 2nd straight day – Axios

The U.S. reported 83,718 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, marking the second day in a row that the country topped 80,000 daily infections, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Why it matters: The coronavirus is surging across the U.S. and threatening to overwhelm hospitals, especially in rural areas. The government’s top infectious-disease expert Anthony Fauci told MSNBC earlier this month the U.S. is “facing a whole lot of trouble” as it heads into the winter, with cold weather likely to contribute to further spread of the virus.

By the numbers: Saturday’s case count nearly topped the record of 83,757, set a day earlier. The daily high before that had been 77,362 on July 16.

Source: U.S. reports over 80,000 new COVID-19 cases for 2nd straight day – Axios

They Lost Their Jobs In The Pandemic. Now Defeating Trump Is Full-Time Work. | HuffPost

Meniano poses for a portrait while canvassing. Norberto Meniano feels as though everything in his life is riding on this election. So when the 49-year-old unemployed restaurant worker knocks on doors for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in Las Vegas, he starts the conversation by talking about himself.

As a native of the Philippines, Meniano shudders at the way President Donald Trump denigrates immigrants like himself. As a gay man, he worries about the direction of LGBTQ rights under a conservative Supreme Court. As the husband of a man protected from deportation by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, he wonders if the love of his life will be forced to leave. And as a cook on the Las Vegas Strip who’s been out of work since March, he fears he will lose the home he bought last year.

Sometimes, Meniano doesn’t even make it through his story before voters are crying in their doorways, tears running down into their masks.

“They tell me, ‘Thank you for doing this,’” said Meniano, who became a U.S. citizen in 2012. “It makes me want to knock on 10 more doors, 20 more doors.”

Source: They Lost Their Jobs In The Pandemic. Now Defeating Trump Is Full-Time Work. | HuffPost

Belarus: Over 100,000 protest against Lukashenko ahead of strike ultimatum | News | DW | 25.10.2020

More than 100,000 Belarusians flooded the streets of the capital Minsk on Sunday, on the final day before a deadline set by the opposition for President Alexander Lukashenko to resign, following months of protests.

People streamed in from different directions along Victors’ Avenue to the Hero City Obelisk on a central square that commemorates World War II.

Source: Belarus: Over 100,000 protest against Lukashenko ahead of strike ultimatum | News | DW | 25.10.2020

The lynx effect: Iberian cat claws its way back from brink of extinction | Environment | The Guardian

An Iberian lynx

Spotty of coat, tufty of ear, and teetering on the verge of extinction less than two decades ago, the Iberian lynx is continuing to claw its way back across Spain and Portugal.

According to the latest survey, the lynx population on the peninsula has increased ninefold over 18 years, rising from 94 in 2002 to 855 this year. Experts say that if the current conservation and reintroduction efforts can maintain their momentum, the species could be out of danger by 2040.

Source: The lynx effect: Iberian cat claws its way back from brink of extinction | Environment | The Guardian

They became American citizens just to vote against Trump – Los Angeles Times

A woman with a face mask and I Voted sticker “My dad always loves to talk politics,” he said. “And he hates Trump. He’s from a different generation. You can’t have falta de respeto [lack of respect] for people. And that’s what Trump has against Mexicans.” “My grandpa came as a bracero to Bakersfield,” Gabby said. “And he’d always say about the United States that those who take advantage of the opportunities and didn’t do anything bad could get ahead. But Trump’s only done bad. My parents get angry at what he has done to this country.” While the Serrano kids were kind and funny, I wanted to talk to their parents. So Juan dialed up Rafael and Carmela on FaceTime. The two sat at a plastic-wrapped kitchen table in their Guadalajara home and beamed. They reminded me of my aunts and uncles — soft-spoken, of few words. Gente decente. How did they feel about voting for the first time? “Happy, content, and proud,” Rafael said. “Our hearts fill up for being able to participate,” Carmela responded. What’s so bad about Trump? “He talks a bunch of things that doesn’t sit well with you,” Rafael said. “This man sows division.” “The U.S. is a strong country,” Carmela said. “A president that’s just is the best.” What did they want ot

Source: They became American citizens just to vote against Trump – Los Angeles Times