Category Archives: Viva!

President Obama & Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Pearl Harbor | 3CHICSPOLITICO

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Barack Obama participate in a wreath-laying ceremony aboard the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on Dec. 27, 2016. Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

Source: President Obama & Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Pearl Harbor | 3CHICSPOLITICO

Netanyahu seeks to rally Israelis around him in anti-Obama assault | Reuters

The Obama administration made a shameful, underhanded move,” Netanyahu said after the vote. It was some of the sharpest criticism he has voiced against Obama, who got off on the wrong foot with Israelis when he skipped their country during a Middle East visit after first taking office in 2009.In a further display of anger, Netanyahu summoned the U.S. ambassador to meet him during a day of reprimands delivered at the Foreign Ministry to envoys of the 10 countries with embassies in Israel among the 14 that backed the resolution.

Netanyahu, who is vying with the ultranationalist Jewish Home Party in his governing coalition for right-wing voters, also took aim at what has become a favorite target – an Israeli media he has been painting as left-wing and unpatriotic.

“Leftist political parties and TV commentators have been rubbing their hands in glee over the anti-Israeli decision at the United Nations, almost like the Palestinian Authority and Hamas,” Netanyahu wrote on his Facebook page.

But more trouble for the Israeli leader could be ahead at a planned 70-nation, French-hosted conference on Middle East peace due to convene in Paris on Jan. 15, five days before Obama hands over to Trump.”(Netanyahu) fears there is a U.S.-French move brewing before January 20th, possibly a declarative step at the French peace convention,” said an Israeli official who attended an Israeli security cabinet session on Sunday.

Source: Netanyahu seeks to rally Israelis around him in anti-Obama assault | Reuters

Mavis Staples on Her Kennedy Center Honor and Fist-Bumping James Taylor – The New York Times “I am really disheartened. I’m about to relive the ’60s. I’ve seen some of it already. I can turn on the news and I can swear I’m back in the ’60s. The way things are going, every day it’s something. I feel like all of this is happening because of the way Mr. Trump is. He’s bringing it on. I’m going to have to start writing songs again. I’m so sorry that we, as black people, don’t have a leader like Dr. Martin Luther King — someone to take charge. We have to do it through our songs and our actions. And try to stay nonviolent.

 

I am really disheartened. I’m about to relive the ’60s. I’ve seen some of it already. I can turn on the news and I can swear I’m back in the ’60s. The way things are going, every day it’s something. I feel like all of this is happening because of the way Mr. Trump is. He’s bringing it on. I’m going to have to start writing songs again. I’m so sorry that we, as black people, don’t have a leader like Dr. Martin Luther King — someone to take charge. We have to do it through our songs and our actions. And try to stay nonviolent.

These Ballerinas from Cairo are Reclaiming their City in a Series of Breathtaking Photographs – The Ladies FingerThe Ladies Finger

These Ballerinas from Cairo are Reclaiming their City in a Series of Breathtaking PhotographsDecember 26, 2016By Soyra GuneYou could argue, as Cairoscene does, that ballet in some aspects is very similar to the city of Cairo.Two directors cum photographers, Mohamed Taher and Ahmed Fathy have taken to the streets of Cairo to create a new image of the city by taking scenic photographs of ballerinas against urban backdrops and posting these images on their Instagram page, Ballerinas of Cairo.

Source: These Ballerinas from Cairo are Reclaiming their City in a Series of Breathtaking Photographs – The Ladies FingerThe Ladies Finger

Egyptian Aak 2016 – Week 51 ( Dec 19-25)

Going to be a strange year with Egypt and others trying to figure out what the Trumpeter is going to do next before figuring out – they are on their own and must find their own way to leadership.

Nervana

Top Headlines

  • Death toll of Cairo’s church bombing rises to 28
  • Egypt defends its decision to withdraw anti-settlement resolution at the UN
  • ‘Sinai Province’ admits its former leader was killed by the Egyptian army
  • Egypt confirms Al Jazeera producer’s arrest fo “provoking sedition”
  • Egyptian novelist Ahmed Naji is released from prison pending final verdict
  • Split in the Muslim Brotherhood deepens with creation of new advisory council

 Main Headlines

 Monday

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Under the Tree #merrychristmas #poetry

penned in moon dust

gifts

as a child I would dream

of ribbons and bows

imagine the contents

things hidden, unseen

now I crinkle the paper

of my inner thoughts

so much more in the meaning

than the things that Ive bought

impoverished  the soul

for those fearing to live

take your pallet and walk

only Jesus could give

There is nothing incorrect

in such love for a world

for the lost He was born

offering nothing untoward

so this year I want Jesus

under my tree

Christ soon is coming

to save you and save me

*

hope is revived

for unto us a child is born

all is well

I wish each of you the hope of peace. It is not an offering that a world leader can make – the cost is too high.

Merry Christmas to all!

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The CBSE has Done Away with an Entire Section of Crucial History about Caste Struggle in India – The Ladies FingerThe Ladies Finger

We may just be witnessing another bout of forced amnesia about caste atrocities. On Monday, the CBSE announced its decision to remove a section entitled ‘Caste, Conflict and Dress Change’ from its social science curriculum for Class IX students, following an order by the Madras High Court that directed it to remove ‘objectionable content’. The removed section of the NCERT textbook, used by the CBSE and 15 state boards, involves a discussion of the Nadar community, whose men and women were forced to keep their upper bodies uncovered by the National Council of the Pidagaikars, the caste council of the Nairs of the state of Travancore in the early 1800s. This was perceived as a sign of respect towards the ‘upper’ castes, and the Nadars had to pay a mulakkaram or ‘breast tax’ if they chose to cover themselves. In 1822, the practice sparked a series of violent agitations known as Maru Marakkal Samaram, or the Channar Revolt, where women from the Nadar and Ezhava communities demanded the right to wear the same clothing as ‘upper’ caste women. Hostility around the issue continued until 1858 because the Nadar women were unsatisfied with the compromises they were being asked to make – those who were Christian converts were allowed to wear a kuppayam (a jacket-blouse of sorts), but not allowed to wear any apparel in the style of Nair women, who wore an upper cloth around their torsos.

Source: The CBSE has Done Away with an Entire Section of Crucial History about Caste Struggle in India – The Ladies FingerThe Ladies Finger

Arachnologist Rajashree Khalap on Discovering the Sorting Hat Spider that Excited even JK Rowling – The Ladies FingerThe Ladies Finger

Perhaps this is also why the spider has been named after the Sorting Hat. The name Eriovixia gryffindori is both a nod to the Harry Potter series that Khalap says everyone on the team loved, and is also an attempt to involve more people in conversations about the eight-legged creatures. “Popular culture has the potential to do this,” she says — even remarking that Pokémon inspired many researchers she knows to enter the field. JK Rowling even tweeted about spider.

Source: Arachnologist Rajashree Khalap on Discovering the Sorting Hat Spider that Excited even JK Rowling – The Ladies FingerThe Ladies Finger