Category Archives: Viva!

Permission of the state

First you Survive/ Then you Thrive

How is Black on Black crime different from white on white crime?

We live in a segregated society and crime is often defined by proximity.

The police however have taken an oath and sworn a duty to serve and protect.

They are trained and armed and sent into our community by the government, by the state.

They murder us with the

permission and

training and

equipment of the government.

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I am Woman #survival #poetry

penned in moon dust

so many walked

Looking up at the crack in the sidewalk

Unable to scream, I shudder

I feel the concrete about me move

“no please, not again” I mutter

I see the hand ready to strike

I brace myself like steal

I hear a board contact

There’s nothing that I feel

I look out at the falling snow

powdered sugar lightly shaken

oh to be nature pure

what hasn’t man from me taken?

I gather up my will

There are sounds beyond the mist

gentle breezes blow ahead

so many things I’ve missed

I look out at the falling snow

powdered sugar lightly shaken

wishing I could be pure

what hasn’t man from me taken?

You may not know my name

my boots trudge the well known way

“Survivor” I lay claim

with love this path is paved

The prompt this week at Poets United is Survival. The prompt is in recognition…

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(2/3) “It began to seem like my destiny was to be a fashion…

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(2/3) “It began to seem like my destiny was to be a fashion designer. So many things started happening for me. I started studying fashion at the Art Institute. I was invited to show at Fashion Week in South Africa. I won an award for emerging designers. Then right before graduation, the greatest thing of all happened. I got an email from my favorite actress’s stylist. You have to understand how much I loved this actress. I used to daydream about being her best friend. She was my inspiration. She was the model I used for all my sketches. And now she wanted to wear one of my dresses during a trip to Kenya! The stylist requested that I send ten samples to choose from. I borrowed $5,000 to make the dresses. I worked for weeks. I couldn’t sleep. I even skipped my final portfolio presentation to deliver the samples. I told everyone: my friends, my professors, and even the president of my school. Everyone hugged me and said: ‘We aren’t surprised. You have so much talent. You were meant for greatness!’ Over the next few weeks, I refreshed the actress’s website all day long, waiting to see my dress.”

Cholera – Iraq

WHO received notification from the National IHR Focal Point of Iraq of additional laboratory-confirmed cases of cholera.

As of 22 November, a total of 2,810 laboratory-confirmed cases of Vibrio cholerae 01 Inaba had been confirmed at the Central Public Health Laboratory in Baghdad, and only 2 deaths related to cholera were reported. These cases were reported from 17 Governorates of the country, namely Baghdad (940 cases), Babylon (675 cases), Qadisiyyah (442 cases), Muthanna (287 cases), Karbala (157 cases), Basra (102 cases), Wassit (68 cases), Najaf (46 cases), Thyqar (20 cases), Missan (21 cases), Dahuk (16 cases), Kirkuk (19 cases), Erbil (10 cases) Diyala (3 cases), Salaheddine (2 cases) Sulaimanneya (1 case) and Ninewa (1 case).

Microcephaly – Brazil

The Ministry of Health (MoH) of Brazil has provided PAHO/WHO with an update regarding the unusual increase in the number of cases of microcephaly among newborns in the northeast of Brazil.

As of 21 November, a total of 739 cases of microcephaly were being investigated in nine states in the northeast of Brazil. The distribution of the cases was as follows: Pernambuco (487 cases), Paraíba (96 cases), Sergipe (54 cases), Rio Grande do Norte (47 cases), Piauí (27 cases), Alagoas (10 cases), Ceará (9 cases), Bahia (8 cases) and Goiás (1 case). One fatal case was reported in the state of Rio Grande do Norte.

(1/3) “I used to work at a bank in Cameroon. I designed…

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(1/3) “I used to work at a bank in Cameroon. I designed clothing as a hobby, but I never really saw it as a possible profession. There really is no such thing as a ‘fashion designer’ in Cameroon. If you make clothes, you are known as a ‘seamstress.’ When I arrived in America, I realized that it was possible to pursue a career in fashion. At first I tried to become as Western as possible. I tried to change my accent. I wore extensions and straightened my hair. I started wearing high-end name brands. But when I finally went back to Cameroon for a visit, I was able to see my country with new eyes. I’d always viewed the culture as local and primitive because it was all I’d ever known. But having gotten some distance, I could appreciate its beauty. As soon as I got back to America, I cut my hair and sewed myself a traditional dress. I wore the dress to my job at Saks 5th Avenue, and a customer asked me where she could find it in the store. That gave me so much confidence.”

Standing Tall: A study of Women In Need’s dedication to combating violence against women

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Featured image courtesy Amalini de Sayrah

Yesterday (November 25) marked the International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women.

To mark this day, Groundviews decided to study an organisation dedicated towards combating violence against women in Sri Lanka – Women In Need.

On November 25, Groundviews launched a series of photos on Instagram documenting the important work that Women In Need does – featuring courageous women who shared the darkest time of their lives with us, as well as the WIN employees who help them get back on their feet.

Access their stories (compiled using Sway) here.

http://bitly.com/1NRdSlY

groundviewssl?d=yIl2AUoC8zA groundviewssl?i=x5jUgmxkBkI:MjoUssipxNs: groundviewssl?d=qj6IDK7rITs

International travel and acquisition of multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae: a systematic review

International travel is considered to be an important risk factor for acquisition of multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (MRE). The aim of this systematic review was to determine the effect of international travel on the risk of post-travel faecal carriage of MRE. Secondary outcomes were risk factors for acquisition of MRE. A systematic search for relevant literature in seven international databases was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Articles needed to report on (i) foreign travel, (ii) screening of asymptomatic participants, (iii) antimicrobial susceptibility data and (iv) faecal Enterobacteriaceae carriage. Two researchers independently screened the abstracts, assessed the full article texts for eligibility and selected or rejected them for inclusion in the systematic review. In case of disagreement, a third researcher decided on inclusion. Eleven studies were identified. In all studies, a high prevalence (> 20%) of carriage of MRE after international travel was found. The highest prevalence was observed in travellers returning from southern Asia. Foreign travel was associated with an increased risk of carriage of MRE. Further research is needed to assess if this leads to an increase in the number of infections with MRE. Systematic review registration number: PROSPERO CRD42015024973.

From Indonesia, a Muslim Challenge to the Ideology of the Islamic State – The New York Times

“The spread of a shallow understanding of Islam renders this situation critical, as highly vocal elements within the Muslim population at large — extremist groups — justify their harsh and often savage behavior by claiming to act in accord with God’s commands, although they are grievously mistaken,” said A. Mustofa Bisri, the spiritual leader of the group, Nahdlatul Ulama, an Indonesian Muslim organization that claims more than 50 million members.“According to the Sunni view of Islam,” he said, “every aspect and expression of religion should be imbued with love and compassion, and foster the perfection of human nature.”This message of tolerance is at the heart of the group’s campaign against jihadism, which will be carried out online, and in hotel conference rooms and convention centers from North America to Europe to Asia. The film was released Thursday at the start of a three-day congress by the organization’s youth wing in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta.

Source: From Indonesia, a Muslim Challenge to the Ideology of the Islamic State – The New York Times