Tag Archives: OddBox

Trump says he should have left UCLA players in Chinese jail because Lavar Ball didn’t thank him

Lavar Ball – 10 #45 – 0 #LoserTrump #ChumpTrump

trump_ball.jpg

As we all expected, 2017 is culminating in a feud between Donald Trump and Lavar Ball.

DA’ESH THAT IS FOSTERED IN OUR MINDS

“It is not the “Islamic terror” that we need to defy. It is the terror in our everyday teaching of intolerance, conspiracy thinking, and mystification of the past that we need to defy”

I admit that I don’t feel well each time I hear the word “ Islamic” before the world “attack” or whatever is related within these words. Today attack in Mali is another quick example to the world’s hypocrisy. Sometimes, even if the victims are still Europeans or Americans, the fact that they are in the other part of the world where violence is becoming a norm, the world doesn’t react the same. I understand that it would be confusing to raise a flag of a country to victims who are not citizens to that country but the victims in France were all French?

This is just a flying thought.

The real reason for this article is our reactions as “Muslims” to such attacks. A French friend of mine was telling me yesterday how awkward he felt when Palestinian were apologizing to him for the attacks in Paris. I was actually expressing to him a pretty awkward sensation I had and I told him in advance that my English vocabulary might not be fulfilling and accurate to this sensation. And of course if he got me wrong I would easily as well quickly accuse his French English vocabulary). It was actually hard for me to say it, but I wanted to say it infront of a French in that particular situation. I said: “ the moment I learnt about the attacks, I was taken aback for an instant. I was watching the panic that was overwhelming the atmosphere. I definitely felt sad, bad, … but I also felt satisfied”. I was about to explain why, relying on the fact that he will misunderstand the word, thinking “satisfied” is not a word any normal person uses in such a situation. But he quickly said that he understands it completely and that was why he couldn’t understand why the Palestinians here were apologizing.

This was a moment, despite its severe damage, a moment of a global unification. At that moment I felt that everyone is becoming Palestinian. I was happy that my friend was actually a lot more tolerant than me saying it loud: “ those who did it were Muslims and this is just fine. We should ask ourselves why Muslims in France, if they were French are feeling this rage and hate. There is something about us, that we refuse to admit.”

It wasn’t much of a surprise to me later when I read about the French government decision in allowing 30 or 40 thousand refugees as a response to the terror attacks. It was a real moment of pride. And somehow, this took me to this feeling of how our world is becoming unified. If the French government decided to behave like the Israeli government for instance, by revenging and making sanctions and all those Israeli collective punitive actions, the situation would have just went to the worse. By doing this, the French government actually put those people into a corner. There is this important factor that we are all missing here. All of us “spectaculars”. The indirect support these people have from oppressed marginalized people around the globe.

But somewhere, going back to the beginning …

The stigma of Islam and terror being attached in one phrase is not something that Muslims are truly not responsible for. The whole “phenomenon” of ISIS wouldn’t have taken place or such an echo if it wasn’t there somewhere within Islamic teaching. Teaching is not about a book we carry and follow. It is about a whole education system that combines so effectively in our daily lives and strengthens what is known as “ norms”. I am not sure if other religions and cultures are really different from the Islamic cultures. But in this case I can only speak about Islam. The rush of Muslims to defend themselves from these acts. The loud exclusion from ISIS is not out of pure peaceful thinking. As much as there is trouble in the west today. There is trouble with Islamic teachings that have been fostered negatively inside our cultures for decades if not centuries. I cannot point to when did this start and where. I do understand this Islamic pride that has been defeated after ruling half of the world for centuries. There is something about Islam that turned into an act of mystification from one side, and surrounded itself with conspiracy thinking from the other side, that it ended up isolating Muslims inside a wall of conspiracies aired with mystified history that eventually lost sense with itself.

The problem here is that we cannot blame anyone on this. I cannot even blame those Islamic scholars and muftis of the past century, because they contributed to the time they lived in. the problem is with us today, who insist on handling ourselves through the teachings of the past that in depth doesn’t have to do with islam in its basic teaching, if we agree that the Quran is the base of islam. Those people worked effortlessly back then to explain, to put rules, whatever it may be that suited their time and undoubtedly was needed. When one sees that engine of mind- debates among scholars that went on to decades and even centuries to agree or defy or accept or denounce an idea, one cannot but respect how the Islamic mind was effectively working.

Today … Muslim scholars don’t think. They decide to adopt older teachings and apply it to today’s life and persuade us that this was God given choice.

When Muslims rushed in putting the French flag in solidarity. It was an act of telling the world we are not ISIS. But somewhere the hypocrisy of the act was overwhelming. How come a Muslim agrees that Muslims and not making a statement kill another Muslim in Syria and Iraq and elsewhere? Why did the Muslim world fell so easily upon the creation of Da’esh inside the Sunni –Shiites dispute this way? How can a Muslim sympathize to the killing of a French (in this case) and show no remorse to the killings of Muslims in Yemen?

If you cannot sympathize with another Muslim, how can you be genuine in your sympathy with the French in this case? If you believe that this “other” Muslim is deserving to die because of his “different” ways in believing in the same religion you hold, how can anyone believe that you really felt the sorrow in the killings of the “French” people.

Why do we have to prove that we are not like that?

The answer is as simple as that we need to look deep inside our own fears of Da’esh. Da’esh is an outcome of an education and a culture of tribal thinking, patriarchal systems, and conspiracy thinking that dominates the walls of our very own homes.

I have to admit, each time I see a profile picture of a Palestinian, an Egyptian, an Arab, any Arab with the French flag I feel like, and it’s time to block. If we are a nation that lacks empathy with its own people, how can we ever be believed with our emotions towards the others, that we believe that they are in their very best “infidels”?

There is so much that needs to be changed within the Islamic structure of education, that should start by burning all Islamic teaching books except the Qur’an, and start reading it and contemplating about life and Islam within it. The more we work on this, the less complicate Islam will appear. The closer we get to a God that truly is a Creator. No a God that is prejudiced and full of rage.

We claim to be believers, when we really have so many blocks of rocks in our believes that has nothing to do with faith in what we claim faith is.

I feel sorry for the victims of today in Mali, and a few days ago in Nigeria, and the daily victims in Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere where we don’t bother to even see.

I want to apologize for the continuous deterioration of the Muslim mind of today. I apologize for the ignorance that is so intensely built inside Muslim minds of today.

God said in the Qur’an: “Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves”.

It is not the “Islamic terror” that we need to defy . It is the terror in our everyday teaching of intolerance, conspiracy thinking, and mystification of the past that we need to defy ..

Da’esh is an outcome of what is boiled in our heads.

via Da’esh that is fostered in our minds

The Story Behind the Photo of 10-Year-Old Japanese Boy Carries His Deceased Brother to a Cremation Pyre, 1945

Every war produces such love and loyalty to one another on all sides. Such love and loyalty exists all of the time, everywhere – so why do we have wars?

This heart rending photo was taken by Joe O’Donnell, who was sent by the U.S. military to document the horrors inflicted upon the Japanese by air raids and atomic bombs in 1945.

japanese-boy-1945.jpg

In this photo, the little boy had bought his brother to a cremation spot. He was barefooted and in perhaps trying to play the role of oldest functioning family member left remaining, he was clearly copying the stand-to-attention stance he would have seen amongst the warring uniformed adults.

Joe O’Donnell in his words:

“I saw a boy about ten years old walking by. He was carrying a baby on his back. In those days in Japan, we often saw children playing with their little brothers or sisters on their backs, but this boy was clearly different. I could see that he had come to this place for a serious reason. He was wearing no shoes. His face was hard. The little head was tipped back as if the baby were fast asleep. 

“The boy stood there for five or ten minutes. The men in white masks walked over to him and quietly began to take off the rope that was holding the baby. That is when I saw that the baby was already dead. The men held the body by the hands and feet and placed it on the fire. 

“The boy stood there straight without moving, watching the flames. He was biting his lower lip so hard that it shone with blood. The flame burned low like the sun going down. The boy turned around and walked silently away.”

“In 2012, Louis C.K. appeared on “The Daily Show” and said that “comedians and feminists are natural…”

“In 2012, Louis C.K. appeared on “The Daily Show” and said that “comedians and feminists are natural enemies” because “feminists can’t take a joke.” Jon Stewart nodded vigorously and agreed. Today, Stewart is being fawned over for acknowledging, in response to Louis C.K.’s fall, that “comedy on its best day is not a great environment for women.” A friend, the comedian Zahra Noorbakhsh, texted me: Ten years from now a man will win awards for his documentary about all this.

If you believe us now only because your peers are facing professional ruin, that deserves its own reckoning. I’ll wait.”

Why Men Aren’t Funny – The New York Times (via femmesorcery)

A Cultural Way to Get Latino Kids Interested in Health Careers

By Cliff Despres
Salud Today

he U.S. Latino population has grown 243% since 1980. But the number of Latino doctors dropped 22%, a study found.

That’s why we need programs like Roots to Wings.

The innovative Roots to Wings program teams up Latino and Native American middle- and high-schoolers in Washington schools with medical students at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences.

Kids getting on-the-job demonstrations of health activities as part of Roots to Wings.

The teams then “co-mentor” each other.

How?

The kids teach the medical students about their Mexican-American or Yakama Nation heritage.

The medical students teach the kids about medicine and pursuing higher education.

“Roots to Wings is actually an educational pathway for underrepresented youth to enter the health sciences,” Dr. Mirna Ramos-Diaz, who leads the program, recently told the Yakima Herald. “It makes a huge difference in someone’s medical care if I understand your native traditions and values, and I can speak your language.”

roots to wings studentsRoots to Wings participants.

The program worked with Yakama Nation tribal leaders and Latino teachers to build a curriculum. The program mixes traditional cultural dance events with demonstrative lab or clinic lessons on issues like sugar and diabetes, according to the Yakima Herald. The kids in Mt. Adams schools meet with the medical students once a month.

Roots to Wings helps the medical students learn the challenges of providing care to the underserved. It also stirs their desire to serve as doctors in rural communities.

It helps the kids gain academic confidence, and stay true to their values and traditions.

“By keeping culture front and center, directors of the program aim to show the young students that they are welcome and wanted in the medical field,” according to the Yakima Herald article.

Can you start a Roots to Wings program in your schools? Email the staff of Roots to Wings for help!

‘Chinese n*gger!’ Asian man verbally harassed, slapped while riding on California train

Beer talk from a nothing human can get pretty vile – why did no one intervene? Two people in same area were killed earlier this year when they intervened – never can tell – but a rail attendant should have done something or someone should have called for assistance – hope someone did.

bart_racist4.jpg

A video has gone viral on social media showing an older white man harassing an Asian man on a train in northern California, threatening him, slapping him, and calling him a “Chinese nigger.” In the footage, the man is seen verbally harassing his fellow passenger with a steady stream of threats and insults. “I’ll punch you down into your seat. I’ll punch you down,” he says before slapping the Asian man on the shoulder….

C++ Developer

They also need a UI developer – javascript

Location: Oslo, Norway

We make browsers. That’s what we do. And we’re pretty good at it. We made Opera and now we’re making Vivaldi. The recipe for success? Build a kick-ass community that helps us make the browser better. We’re looking for a new teammate to get dirty with the code and create something special with us.

We are looking for a C/C++ developer with 3+ years of coding experience. Your primary responsibility will be to design, develop and maintain the native base of the Vivaldi web browser which is based on the Chromium open-source project.

Check out the details below. If you’re into whipping up brain-melting solutions with a hungry, fast-moving team, get in touch and join the ride. You’re our kind of dev.

Requirements:

  • B.Sc. or M.Sc. in Computer Science or equivalent experience.
  • Strong proficiency in C++, with fair knowledge of the language specification.
  • Knowledge of the Chromium open-source browser project or a keen interest in learning more about it.
  • Experience with developer tools for Windows, Linux, macOS or Android.

You are:

  • Passionate about technology and interested in user experience.
  • Detail-oriented, with focus on writing maintainable and testable code.
  • A doer that doesn’t shy away from challenges and is able to break down complex problems into smaller tasks and follow through with them.
  • Self-driven, with the ability to take initiative and motivate others.
  • Flexible and able to work with distributed teams.
  • Happy to work in a fast-paced environment, applying agile methodologies.
  • Based in Oslo.

Benefits

You get to join one of the most experienced teams in the browsing industry and be part of shaping Vivaldi’s next rocket launch! No need to say the team you’ll be working with is full of awesomeness 😉

Sound like a dream role? Send your CV and a cover letter to hahn@vivaldi.com

New global initiative finishes & publishes the unfinished investigations of murdered journalists

woohoo!

LatinaLista — The notion of a free press is quickly devolving into just that — a notion. Everywhere, journalists have come under threat of either legal action or physical harm if, in the course of doing their jobs, they uncover inconvenient facts that prove criminal acts.

The lucky journalists are the ones who live to finish their investigations, publish their stories and expose the criminals. The unlucky ones are those who end up sacrificing their lives for the sake of justice.

Too many times, murdered journalists not only leave behind grieving families, friends and co-workers but also unfinished stories. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 34 journalists have been killed in 2017.

In response to the growing dangers faced by many journalists, an unique project founded by the Freedom Voices Network, in partnership with Reporters Without Borders, strives to protect the work of journalists under attack.

Forbidden Stories, a non-profit initiative, is comprised of a network of journalists with one mission: “to publish the work of other journalists facing threats, prison, or murder.”

Through the website, any journalist who feels their current line of investigation threatens their safety, can upload their story-in-progress to Forbidden Stories – in one of three secure methods – for the Forbidden Stories team to finish and/or publish in the name of the journalist.

By protecting and continuing the work of reporters who can no longer investigate, we can send a powerful signal to enemies of the press: even if you succeed in stopping a single messenger, you will not stop the message. 

 

فارسة الانجازات

فارسة الانجازات : صفاء ناصر الدين

يتم تكريم الدكتورة صفاء ناصر الدين في هذه الأثناء من قبل القنصل العام الفرنسي وباسم الرئيس الفرنسي , من خلال تقليدها وسام جوقة الشرف الوطني الفرنسي برتبة فارس. هذا الوسام تمنحه فرنسا في كل عام لشخصية تقدم خدمات وانجازات لدعم المجتمع الفلسطيني من خلال البرامج الفرنسية المختلفة.

ولعلي اجد بهذه المناسبة فرصة للتوقف امام شخص الدكتورة صفاء ناصر الدين وانجازاتها على الصعيد الوطني , التي اذا ما جمعناها لا بد انها ستتلقى وساما برتبة قائد فرقة لا مجرد فارس.

صفاء ناصر الدين تعتبر مثالا مشرفا للمرأة المقدسية التي تحمل شعلة الوطن بين كفيها وتسير بإصرار نحو ابقائها مشتعلة. تذكرني صفاء بنشيد المدرسة التي جمعتنا سوية , كلية شميدت للبنات,  عندما كنا ننشد بأعلى صوتنا وبشجون الحالمات المتطلعات الى مستقبل لابد مشرق: “يا فتاة شميدت سيري    في ركاب العلم نورا    وعلى الدرب اثيري    يا فتاة اليوم حربا”

فبعد تخرجها من المدرسة قبيل الانتفاضة الاولى, التحقت صفاء بجامعة القدس بقسم العلوم والتكنولوجيا لتنتهي بدرجتي البكالوريوس والماجستير بمرتبة الشرف وتكمل مشوارها الاكاديمي ببرنامج انتهى الى حصولها على درجة الدكتوراه من الجامعات الفرنسية. شغلت عدة مناصب في خلال مسيرتها المهنية , وكانت في كل منصب تقدم للمكان كل ما يمكن تقديمه من خبرة وتفاني لا يمكن الا التوقف امامه باعجاب. فتقلدت مناصب استشارية في وزارة الاتصالات التي اصبحت فيما بعد على رأس وزارتها . وعملت في جامعة القدس لتصبح عميد كلية هند الحسيني وفيما بعد نائبا لرئيس الجامعة في حرم القدس , وهو المنصب الذي لا تزال تشغله حتى هذه اللحظة.

كم اللجان التي تترأسها وتشارك بها لا يسع لهذا المقال ان يذكره . كما هو الحال, لكم المشاركات المحلية والاقليمية والدولية في المؤتمرات التي تحضرها كعنصر فاعل ومؤثر.

لقد مرت طرقاتي بصفاء للحظات معدودة على مر السنوات . التقاءات كثيرا ما يفرضها واقع المكان وخلفياتنا المهنية والاجتماعية. فمنذ رحلة المدرسة وانتهاء بعملها الحالي بجامعة القدس , كنت اقف في كل التقاء واسأل نفسي : متى ستنجرف هذه  المخلوقة امام مغريات المناصب ؟ ولكنها في كل مرة كانت تثبت ان المنصب ليس مفخرة , بل هو مسؤولية . لا بد ان كل من يعمل معها يعجب بهذا الكم الكبير من التواضع الذي تتحلى به . اهتمامها بكل صغيرة وكبيرة في عملها . وقوفها على رأس اي وكل مهمة تقوم بها . وتنشئتها لطفلتين لا تكاد تتكلم مع الواحدة منهن حتى تقف متعجبا وواثقا, مدركا , ان قائدتين لا بد تنتظرهما هذه البلاد بلحظة بلوغهن مرحلة الانخراط بعالم العلم والعمل.

اتساءل كثيرا , كيف تستطيع هذه المرأة التوفيق بين كل ما تقوم به من انجازات حقيقية . انجازات تراها امام عينيك. ان وعدتك صدقت . وان اعطتك موعدا التزمت , وان دعوتها لبت . ثم اطرد هذا التساؤل واقول لنفسي : انه التفاني والاخلاص وحب الوطن.

صفاء ناصر الدين فارسة حقيقية تستحق ان تكرم. لا تكل ولا تتعب ولا تقبل بأقل من الافضل كنتيجة. تحارب بهدوء وتصل الى هدفها بتروي واصرار , وكمن يمتطي حصانا عربيا اصيلا , تراها تدفع بنفسها قدما بخطى الواثق المؤمن.

اذا ما اردنا ان نجسد المرأة الفلسطينية بأبهى صورها …. فستكون صفاء ناصر الدين هي تلك المرأة

مزيدا من التقدم والعطاء لفارسة هذا الوطن الاصيلة .