Ijaw group kicks against NDDC appointments, asks Buhari to intervene – Legit.ng

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- There are dissenting voices over the recent appointments of the board of the NDDC

- A group known as Western Ijaw Consultative Assembly say the Ijaws have been sideline on the board

- The group stated that excluding Ijaws from the board is deliberate and an act of injustice and oppression

The Western Ijaw Consultative Assembly have kicked against the recent appointment of the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

The group made its stance known after its monthly meting held recently in Delta state.

Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari recently reconstituted the board of the NDDC.

The office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Tuesday, August 27, released the names of the new NDDC members.

The group described the action of the government as an act of injustice, marginalization and oppression.

They further lamented that the action is the deliberate exclusion of Ijaws from appointments and opportunities due us.

Time and principle enshrined in the NDDC Establishment Act has offered the good people of Delta state the opportunity to produce at least another Managing Director.

This rare opportunity offers any good leader with a sense of history to correct the ethnic bias inherent in the previous board appointments.

However, the very unique opportunity has been snatched by people parading themselves as close allies to of the federal powers, to further their ungodly anti-Ijaw, anti-progress ploy for the sake of satisfying narrow, parochial ethnic agenda by the nomination of another Urhobo national for the third time to occupy the position of the Managing Director of the NDDC.

This is not fair to the Ijaws that produce the bulk of the oil and gas in Delta state; neither does it engender inter-ethnic peace and harmony, the group stated.

The group alleged that some over-zealous politicians are working assiduously to maliciously push the Ijaws out of the political power play in Nigeria.

According to them, politicians like Ovie Omo-Agege and his cohorts have taken liberty of their position in the federal government to oppress us. He has shown that he is anti-Ijaw and does not want our development and progress.

This is a man clamoring to be the next governor of Delta state. If he can treat us this badly as a Deputy Senate President, imagine what will become of him if elected as governor.

The group called on President Buhari to correct this injustice as a matter of urgency.

Similarly, a group, Civil Society Groups for Good Governance (CSGGG), has called for an urgent investigation into the announcement of new board members of the NDDC by President Buhari.

The group in a statement sent to journalists on Wednesday, August 28, and signed by its president, Comrade Dominic Ogakwu, stated that the procedure employed for the purported dissolution of the acting management of the NDDC and appointment of a new board for the commission, lies in bad taste and it is worrisome.

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Ijaw group kicks against NDDC appointments, asks Buhari to intervene - Legit.ng

IOK matter of survival of Pakistan: Firdous – The News International

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IOK matter of survival of Pakistan: Firdous

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan Monday called for unity among different segments of society, including religious and political, to effectively highlight the plight of Kashmiri people.

Speaking at an All Parties Kashmir conference here, she said there were close bonds between the Pakistani nation and Kashmiri people, adding that Pakistan was incomplete without Kashmir.

She said Kashmir was not a political issue but a matter of survival of Pakistan. It is a matter of pride for the nation that a daring leader in the form of Imran Khan is today the prime minister of Pakistan, who has openly challenged Indian PM Modi, she said.

Talking about the governments endeavours to project Kashmir issue, particularly after August 5 illegal actions of Indian regime, she said it was for the first that the European Parliament had discussed the issue of Pakistan.

She continued that the declaration issued by the Human Rights Council was a big success of Pakistan. However, she emphasised that there was a lot to be done yet for settlement of Kashmir issue as per the UN Council resolutions.

India, she noted, had unleashed a wave of oppression in the Occupied Kashmir but the Kashmiri people there were standing firm with regard to their just struggle for the right to self-determination.

She said, It is part of our faith that oppression perishes when it exceeds limits. Dr. Awan contended that the government had effectively highlighted Kashmir dispute at the international level under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan and achieved diplomatic successes.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, she said, had in unequivocal terms exposed the fascist face of Modi government. She said Imran Khan will effectively raise the voice of Kashmiris in the UN General Assembly.

Earlier, in tweets, she said the government's stepsfor prosperity of people and national development had started yielding results. She said the government was implementing the agenda of economic reforms under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan and taking measures to improve the countrys economic condition.

She explained that enhancement of tax revenue and reduction in fiscal deficit were the governments priorities, adding that Rs580 billion tax in the first two months of the current fiscal year had been collected against Rs509 billion in the corresponding period last year.

Moreover, she said six lakh more people had filed tax returns. The credit for this success goes to Prime Minister Imran Khan, who for the first time turned tax revenue collection into a national movement, she said.

Dr. Awan noted it was for the first time that the government income, not of rulers, was increasing. This is a good news for the country and the nation, she remarked.

She said 73 percent reduction in the current account deficit was a major achievement, while there had been a significant increase in exports and decrease in imports. She said Rs70 billion had been received from two cellular companies under license fee, and another Rs70 billion was expected to come from another cellular company.

As a whole, she noted Rs200 billion would be received from this sector, adding that the government was striving to promote economic activities and facilities the business community. Dr. Awan said the government had reduced its expenditures and no supplementary grant was approved during the two months, and the government saved Rs246 billion due to appreciation in the currency value during the last few weeks.

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IOK matter of survival of Pakistan: Firdous - The News International

BC supporter of Modi’s actions in Kashmir insults NDP leader Jagmeet Singh – Ricochet Media

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If the silence of many local New Democrats in Surrey, B.C., over the slandering of their own federal leader by a local Hindu nationalist is any indication, the pro-India lobby is getting stronger in Canada.

Many local NDP representatives, who often come from trade unions and tout their philosophy of international solidarity, have failed to stand up against Parshotam Goel, who described Singh as mentally retarded and called for a boycott of the NDPs federal leader during a press conference held in Surrey on Aug. 15 in response to a question about human rights for the people of Kashmir.

Goel is a supporter of the right-wing Hindu nationalist Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis actions in Kashmir, where the Indian government has recently intensified its military presence and repression after revoking the special status given to the state.

Phones and Internet services have been disrupted, as the region remains cut off from the rest of a country that claims Kashmir is an integral part. Kashmiri politicians have been detained, while physical violence continues to be applied to dissidents with impunity.

Modi and his supporters claim that the move was necessary to contain terrorism and violent struggle for an independent Kashmir. They have gone to the extent of labelling anyone who criticizes their approach to Kashmir as anti-national.

Goel is associated with the Laxminarayan Hindu temple in Surrey, which hosted Modi in 2015. During the Aug. 15 press conference to support the Modi governments decision on Kashmir, Goel insulted Singh after being asked about a recent statement by the NDP leader criticizing the Modi government for committing human rights violations in Kashmir.

He doesnt deserve to be NDP leader, Goel said about Singh when asked about Singhs comments at the press conference by Omni TV reporter Haroon Gaffar. I would especially tell the general public, boycott openly of such a mentally retarded person, Goel added.

Earlier in August, the federal NDP had issued a statement on the repression in Kashmir:

New Democrats are deeply concerned by reports of the Indian governments crackdown in recent days in Kashmir. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently took steps to revoke section 370 of the Indian constitution, which granted Kashmir considerable autonomy, and moved to arrest top Kashmiri political leaders, deploy thousands of troops, impose a shutdown of telephone and internet services and restrict peaceful assembly.

One month since the press conference, there has been no public reaction to Goels comments from most NDP MLAs in Surrey or Singhs party.

Notably, some NDP MLAs are close to the Indian consulate and the lobby group known as Friends of India. They have frequently attended public events where Goel and officials of the Indian government were present. Recently, some of the MLAs participated in a series of events organized and sponsored by the Indian consulate, but they have stayed away from rallies and demonstrations held in solidarity with the people of Kashmir. They have even refused to make a statement on Kashmir, saying this is a federal matter. This despite the fact that NDP MLAs and MPPs in Alberta and Ontario have strongly spoken out against the oppression in Kashmir.

All this suggests how influential the pro-India lobby has become in Canadian politics. If the NDP, which claims to be a champion of social justice, cannot stand up for the underdog and even for its own leader, then there is something seriously wrong with its current crop of political leaders.

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BC supporter of Modi's actions in Kashmir insults NDP leader Jagmeet Singh - Ricochet Media

LIFESTORY: DR SAID AILABOUNI – GOD IS ON THE SIDE OF "REJECTED, OPPRESSED, OCCUPIED", PART II – Sight Magazine

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20 September 2019 IVARS KUPCIS

Follow this link for part I...

Born in Nazareth, Galilee, Rev Dr Said Ailabouni moved to the US at the age of 19 to become a physician. But he was so angry at God that he went to study theology instead, becoming a Lutheran pastor. Now he is leading the Middle East & Europe desk of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Since leaving his hometown 50 years ago, he visits his Palestinian family regularly. As this week marks the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel, Ailabouni agreed to share some of his lifetime observations with theWorld Council of Churches...

What are the Middle East countries in which the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America supports particular programmes?"Jerusalem and the West Bank are major areas where we are investing in support to our companions. The Augusta Victoria hospital in Jerusalem is one of the major institutions that we support. It is a health institution providing specialised care for Palestinians from all over the West Bank and Gaza. It is also the only hospital for cancer treatment for Palestinians. "We are providing support to refugees in Egypt. Like Jesus 2000 years ago went to Egypt to find refuge from King Herod, there are many people now going to Egypt fleeing from tyrants. They are coming from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Iraq. Unfortunately, they are not always welcomed - Egypt is a poor country and they have plenty of hardships themselves. "We also support two seminaries in the Middle East one in Beirut, Lebanon, and one in Cairo, Egypt. Besides supporting Lutheran World Federation work in the Middle East we also support a couple of programmes of the Middle East Council of Churches. These programmes provide women the opportunity to develop skills to earn a living, and to provide trauma healing to church workers who have been traumatized by the war, so that they can recover and go back and serve. "We want to grow our support for the refugees in the four countries where we are working now, which are Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq."

Rev Dr Said Ailabouni, director for Europe, Middle East & North Africa region at the Global Mission Unit of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. PICTURE: Ivars Kupcis/WCC

What has been your experience visiting Palestine after you moved to the United States?"I first came back four years after I started a college in 1973. In those days there was no internet or email, telephone calls were expensive, we mostly could just write letters. It was wonderful to go back my family was still there at the time. "But I was obviously changed, and I was not done with my education yet - I was not even sure I will be transitioning from medicine to theology. That happened after this trip. God was doing something in my life I was not very clear about right then. I just knew there was no future for me back home. "Nowadays, a lot more young people have a future that I did not have back then. There are more people who can go to college and have a future that was not available 50 years ago."

What are your observations on how situation has been changing in Israel and Palestine over these 50 years?"A lot more building, lots more settlements, lots more roads. Our church is committed to a two-state solution - but I do not see how that is going to be possible as more and more land is being taken away. I see a real push to Judaise Jerusalem, when my dream and my wish is that people would live together Jews, Muslims and Christians. That was how my parents and grandparents grew up in Tiberias, living with Jews and Muslims peacefully. "I grew up with both Christian and Muslim friends, we were neighbours, we went to school together I can never think of Muslims as bad people, they are my friends. Of course, there are also people who do bad things among Jews, Christians and Muslims, the extremists, but thats not the majority. It is sad to see this desire in Israel to make it just for Jews a Jewish state. I know that we can live together and enjoy being together. It has always been my experience that it is possible but the push now is to say 'No, we cant do it'. "That scares me, because what is going to happen - does it mean Palestinians will be pushed out? If thats the case, it would be really sad and catastrophic."

How do you see the situation has changed for Palestinians still living in their land?"Palestinians in Israel have more opportunities to have jobs, to go to school, grow economically. But Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank and Gaza have a struggle. Christians or Muslims living in Bethlehem cannot go to Jerusalem which is just six miles away. They need a permit, and that makes it very difficult. There are kids who have grown up just a few miles from Jerusalem, who never have seen Jerusalem, or the Mediterranean Sea. This division is oppressive. And it is also a humiliation of people under occupation. Seeing how people are treated at the checkpoints it is hard to watch."

Do you think Christians worldwide are understanding what is happening between Israel and Palestine?"Unless people go there and see it with their own eyes they wont know. Media does not cover that very well. And often Palestinians are portrayed as violent stone-throwers people never see non-violent resistance to the occupation. Not even the Jews in Israel know, because they are never going to Palestine, they are not allowed. "Now more and more Israeli soldiers are coming out talking about their experiences working in Hebron and other places, saying we did what was wrong, and we are not happy about it. They come out talking about how they treated Palestinians, and they dont like what they did. But most Israelis do not know it. And most people are not interested they are interested in their own lives, they are not concerned about the people they do not see. And you dont see a Palestinian unless you are working in the particular areas."

What do you think are the causes of oppression and suffering taking place? Why would still today someone go to another land, try to take it away and oppress people who have been living there for generations?"Unfortunately, some, including Christians and Jews, use the Bible to justify what they are doing. You can justify whatever you want using the Bible. "But there are also a plenty of other Bible verses that talk about welcoming the stranger, treating them as equal, taking care of widows and orphans there are plenty of verses reminding us of what Gods justice is intended to be for all people. "Certainly Jews have suffered a lot in their lives, and desire to have a place where they can be free and secure and not be oppressed again. But to oppress the Palestinians in the process - I do not think it is fair or just."

We hear about situations when violent acts are done at the both sides of the conflict...Can violence be justified?"Certainly as Christians we should be against any kind of violence we are not supposed to kill one another. I do not think violence is the right answer to anything. For more than a year Palestinians in Gaza have been demonstrating nonviolently, but some of them have been killed for doing that. "Neither side should use any kind of weapons against each other. Humans are too valuable to be killed. We all should be against any kind of destruction and murder."

Qalandiya checkpoint between the northern West Bank and Jerusalem, where thousands of Palestinians try to make their way to Jerusalem each day. PICTURE: Albin Hillert/WCC

With your work at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America you are supporting refugees and contributing to peace in the region. What do you think other churches in the world can do to support justice and peace in Israel and Palestine?"Imagining that all of our churches have policies about human rights and anti-racism, we all have values as Christians that we should lift up and hold everyone accountable for. Human rights is an international treaty for all people. And we are against racism no matter who is being attacked. "There is a lot of racism and a lot of abuse of human rights and dignity, and therefore we as churches should speak up against all that. We should be persistent and as loud as we can working with our government officials to help them realise this is not Gods intention for humanity."

How could churches more actively support peace in the Middle East region?"We need bold prophetic voices to continue speaking. The God we know is the God who loves all people. Including those that we dont like God calls us to reconcile with each other, to love the enemy, to be peace-makers, because peace-makers will be called the children of God. We have a mandate as individuals and as churches to be that kind of light to those in darkness, whether we see results or not. "Ive struggled with hatred myself, and as I grew older, I asked myself can I continue like this, or can I just love, even my enemy. I think we all have to struggle with whats in our hearts, and really to love the other in our lives, whoever they are - especially the ones we do not like. We all can do something, but we have to start with looking at whats inside us and how can we change that for the better."

This article was first published on theWorld Council of Churches' website.Ivars Kupcis is communication officer for the World Council of Churches.

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LIFESTORY: DR SAID AILABOUNI - GOD IS ON THE SIDE OF "REJECTED, OPPRESSED, OCCUPIED", PART II - Sight Magazine

Mohamed Ali: Folk hero, whistleblower, and talk of the town – Middle East Eye

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In early September, as videos of Egyptian film star and property tycoon Mohamed Ali went viral, a group of plainclothes conscripts, working as guards at a Cairo military hospital, were enthralled.

They sat, during their shift, just blocks away from the Ministry of Defence, watching Ali accuse top government and military officials of corruption when suddenly a superior officer walked in.

'Everyone watches them, but no one dares speaking about them'

- Ismail, military conscript

I thought we would be court-martialledand maybe jailed, Ismail, one of the conscripts, told Middle East Eye.

Instead, the officer asked Ismail and his colleagues to send him the videos on WhatsApp: he wanted to watch them, too.

The 43-year-old Egyptian whistleblower has released over a dozen videos from self-exile in Spain, laying out in detail how he says officials misappropriated millions in public funds for their personal projects.

Who is Mohamed Ali? Meet the tycoon-turned-YouTube star with Sisi in his sights

Over the past 15 years,as the owner of a property company that contracted with the Egyptian military on major construction projects, Ali says he has had a front-row seat for all of it - and he's speaking out now because he hasn't been paid.

In a country where media is tightly controlled by the state and public dissent is hard to come by, Alis regular dishing sessions have captured the nations attention.

Everyone from the newcomers to the highest-ranking officers in the hospital or in the unit [where he spends his nights] watch the videos secretly, Ismail said, describing the viral videos as porn.

Everyone watches them, but no one dares speakabout them.

Alongside his contract work, Ali has also worked as a film actor and producer, but his screen time had largely gone unnoticed until he started posting his videos.

Overnight, he became one of Egypts most high-profile and controversial figures, a folk hero to some, an enemy of the state to others, stirring up Egyptians all over the world.

'He is not an officer who is shouting, nor is he a politician in a fancy suit. He is a man of the people'

- Essmat, microbus driver

Now he's called for Egyptians to take to the streets on Friday for one hour. If the number of people who respond and go out reaches 30 million, he told his viewers, Sisi should resign.

You can hate him as much as you want, Noura, a retired journalist, told MEE. But we have to agree that he made millions of people talk about a topic that was an extreme taboo which is corruption in the military.

Noura now starts each day checking Alis Twitter and YouTube accounts to see if Ali has posted anything new overnight. Shes not alone.

Now you can see families and friends who rarely discussed politics or who had very different opinions agreeing on his statements, she said.

Noura said she will participate in the protests that Ali has encouraged: We should not be afraid of the regime, and people should come together to express their discontent.

Alis videos have sparked a public debate over the contradiction between Sisi urging Egyptians to cut their spending, and his alleged use of the armys budget to fund his palatial residences.

Following Mohamed Alis videos, a number of hashtags have gone viral, calling on the Egyptian president to step down.

In a video posted on 15 September, Ali called on Egyptians to use the hashtag #__ (Thats enough Sisi) which was trending at number one in Egypt and at number six worldwide.

Since then, the hashtags # (step down) ___, (The people demand the downfall of the regime ) and #_ (Friday of anger) were also being used widely to express dissatisfaction with the current government.

The videos and trending hashtags have sparked a counter hashtag, # (We are with you Sisi) from government supporters. The hashtags have been a key part of sparking debate about the current conditions in Egypt, with people using them to discuss living conditions and socio-economic problems.

His working-class yet expressive manner of saying what he wants is what made people feel connected to his claims, Essmat, a microbus driver, said of Ali.

He is not an officer who is shouting, nor is he a politician in a fancy suit. He is a man of the peoplewho is wealthy but is not ashamed of his roots or background.

Essmat said that in the first couple of days, when the videos went viral and then Sisi responded last Saturday to the claims during the eighth National Youth Conference, it wasall anyone could talk about as he drovearound Cairo.

People are always comparing their own status and the status of the country and the lack of services and jobs with the lavish lifestyle that Sisi, his wifeand family are living in, the microbus driver said.

During one journey, an argument broke out between an older man and a younger female passenger who was watching one of Ali's videos, with the man yelling at her and calling her a traitor.

I stopped the car, asked the older man to step out of the car ,and gave him back his money, and told him no ass-kissing in this car, he said.

Despite the rules he keeps in his microbus, Essmat said he wont protest, fearing that the police are more violent than ever before.

I fear for my family and many people do, he said. They are angry, but they are afraid of the oppression.

While attracting viral support, Alis work as a military contractor has also drawn criticism from those who say he isa hypocriteattacking the same system that once made benefited him.

He was a part of the scandals that he talks about, and he decided to talk to the public because he didnt get the rest of his money, said Shenoda Saleb, a computer engineer in Alexandria.

'He was a part of the scandals that he talks about'

- Shenoda Saleb, computer engineer

Saleb doesn't sympathise much with Ali, but regardless, he has raised awareness among Egyptians at a time when the state controls much of the media and has snuffed out dissent, something he can get behind.

I dont see him as a Robin Hood, but I am for anything that causes trouble for the regime, he added, saying he will be watching to see if any protests break out.

Its not only the public that has been electrified by Ali, but intelligence officialsaround Sisi have also been rattled.

A source affiliated with Egypts General Intelligence Service told MEE that the president had been advised by intelligence officials to ignore Alis videos and refrain from making public comments.

But Sisi went ahead and made comments at the youth conference anyway his first acknowledgement of Alis accusations saying that intelligence agencies had begged him not to address the claims.

The source said the presidents intervention was poorly received among the intelligence community.

It indeed caused some anger, especially that the non-official manner the president used to address the claims [only] widened the discussion about them, the source said.

Since the speech, there have been several reports of dissentamong military officials, but the source denied the reports, saying there were no divisions in the militarys ranks.

The same source said he believed there is only a small possibility that the protests that Ali has called for on Friday will actually materialise on the streets.

But security forces, he said, may be concerned that his call sparks Egyptians to protest over other issues, like lack of services.

Zamalek-Al Ahly football match to kick off early after call for Egypt protests

On Tuesday, residents in Cairos Eyen el-Sera neighbourhood were demonstrating against the governments decision to forcefully evacuate cemeteries in the Zienhom district.

People then gathered and chanted against the government, the source said.

In response to Ali's call for protests, the Ministry of Interior has declared a high state of alert, cancelling time off for allofficers and personnel, a source in the ministry told MEE.

He said that on Friday, riot police will be deployed in working-class areas, popular squares, and government buildings - just in case.

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Mohamed Ali: Folk hero, whistleblower, and talk of the town - Middle East Eye

Peace for Syria | Bahia Mardini – The Arab Weekly

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My hope is simple. A peaceful Syria.

The Syrian conflict, now in its ninth year, has lasted longer than World War II, but I continue to pray and hope my home country finds peace. I believe this can be achieved through democracy.

Political rights and civil liberties have been compromised and in my opinion dismissed in Syria by one of the worlds most oppressive regimes.

I have witnessed in the United Kingdom that democracy delivers progress, stability and peace. It is key to societys welfare, safety, and human rights. It provides a voice to all corners of society from disadvantaged minorities to those underrepresented communities.

The Assad regime suppresses societys freedom of speech and prohibits any opposing parties from challenging it. There is utter corruption, mass displacement of citizens and rampant regime forces using chemical weapons against opposing rebels, killing civilians in its path.

The Baath Party, or should I say the Assad family, has governed Syria without interruption since the late 1960s. Syrians have been subject to the rule of the Assad regime without any democratic rights or say.

Many had hoped that with the defeat of the Islamic State (ISIS) earlier this year, Syria could begin to return to what it once was. But from my experience, I knew this would not be true. I was a journalist in Damascus the war began. The political climate became volatile, unstable and corrupt. I thought it was my personal duty to research and write about the unfolding violence between Syrian civilians and the Assad regime.

I was often framed as an enemy to Assad regime as I exposed its increasingly tyrannical and vindictive reaction to unrest. I was once interviewed by a Western journalist about my work and following the publication of this piece, I was detained for hours by the Syrian security services.

It has been eight years since the Syrian security services threatened to cut off my hand and I do not doubt that those speaking out against Assad, even after the defeat of ISIS, will face the same threats.

The government has operated for years with minimal transparency and no accountability for their actions. The conditions for civilians have worsened. The military is loyal to the regime and populations are exploited by the regime. Society groups independent from the regime and media outlets are crushed, unable to shed light on the tyranny in Syria.

Someday the Assad regime will be defeated but the people of Syria will still face hardship. The difficulty ahead is building democracy after decades of oppression and almost ten years of bloodshed.

Terror continues to strike in Syria. In northern rural Aleppo, there was an attack leaving 11 people dead and 15 injured. This atrocious crime took place on September 15, only two days after another attack killed 13 civilians, including children, shortly before the weekly Friday prayers. These premediated attacks indicate persistence by the Assad regime and allies on pursuing military goals over peoples lives, undermining any chances for a political solution.

There are those that propagate the Damascus Declaration in Syria today, which calls for a truly democratic country under law, and discusses the role of Islam and the situation of Syrias Kurdish population as equal citizens. I admire the courage of those who wrote it in 2005 and suffered time in prison for exercising their rights. Their devotion, I believe, provided Syrians with the guidelines and foundations to follow. It provides hope that democracy can be one day built.

What can the international community do? While it quickly condemned the Syrian regime during the start of the civil war, nine years on, the world is facing new threats and challenges while Syria continues to suffer. Prospects for a peaceful solution are limited without international support but the most powerful states seem to have different points of view about the Syrian crisis.

While there are conflicting views about how to handle the conflict in Syrian, Russian involvement is not the solution: It will not lead to a better or peaceful Syria. The international allies of the Assad regime have strengthened his reign and his sights remain set on Idlib. It is a beautiful province inundated with fighting. While there is now a ceasefire, we are unsure that it will last and I call on other world leaders to stop the uncontrollable bombing by Russian and the Syrian regime.

The International community needs to continue to condemn Assad openly, diminish his power and hold him accountable for his war crimes and unspeakable human rights violations. This I know will help achieve peace to the country I still love and will always be home.

The world must speak up about the human rights violations Syrians have been forced to endure for too long and there must be democratic elections for peace to really be achieved.

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Peace for Syria | Bahia Mardini - The Arab Weekly

HISTORY: AFTER THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL – DAWN.com

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Police from both sides stands idly by as the Berlin Wall is breached at the Sandkrug Bridge crossing-point on Invaliden Strasse, in November 1989

Speaking at the Brandenburg Gate in the western part of Berlin on June 12, 1987, US President Ronald Reagan made a historic statement: Behind me stands a wall that encircles the free sectors of this city, part of a vast system of barriers that divides the entire continent of Europe Standing before the Brandenburg Gate, every man is a German, separated from his fellow men. As long as this gate is closed, as long as this scar of a wall is permitted to stand, it is not the German question alone that remains open, but the question of freedom for all mankind

General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalisation, come here to this gate.Mr Gorbachev, open this gate!Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

Two years after President Reagans passionate speech, the Berlin Wall collapsed. On November 9, 1989, thousands of people from East Berlin forced the East German security forces to let them cross the wall, leading to the ultimate collapse of the Warsaw Pact.

Thirty years on from the fall of a wall that divided people, what lessons does the event have for us?

CONSTRUCTION OF THE WALL

At the end of World War II, the defeated Germany was split into four Allied Occupation Zones through the Allied peace conferences at Yalta and Potsdam. The eastern part of the country came under the control of the Soviet Union, while the western part went to the US, Great Britain and France. Even though Berlin was located entirely within the Soviet part of the country (about 100 miles from the border between the eastern and western occupation zones), the Yalta and Potsdam agreements split the city into similar sectors.

The Berlin Wall was erected in August 1961 by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) the pro-Soviet East German government to prevent the escape of East Berliners to West Berlin, though the official purpose of the wall was to keep Western fascists from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state. Earlier, the wall only covered the divided city of Berlin, but later it was extended to a dividing line between East and West Germany. It covered a length of 155 kilometres in the form of a concrete wall and fence.

However, this symbol of tyranny, oppression and division of East and West Germany by force, failed to deter those who wanted to cross it and escape to the western part of Berlin. Between 1961 and 1989, around 150 people who tried to cross the wall were killed by the East German security forces. Tunnels were also dug from East Berlin to help people attempting to escape communist rule.

Thirty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, we can analyse how the world changed as a result of this singular event that resulted in the reunification of Germany, the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, the Soviet disintegration and an end to the Cold War. A process of change was set in motion in Europe and throughout the world.

However, the fall of the Berlin Wall failed to have any meaningful impact on some countries where walls have been built, or are being built, to prevent cross-border movement in the name of national security. India constructed a wall/fence along its border with Pakistan all the way from the Rann of Kutch to the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir, while Pakistan built a wall on its border with Afghanistan. US President Donald Trump is determined to construct a wall along the US borders with Mexico in order to prevent illegal migrants. Israel has built a wall in the occupied West Bank in order to separate Jewish settlements from the Palestinian population. The need for protecting borders from terrorists, smugglers, the illegal influx of people and national security have led to policies which focus on dividing instead of uniting people across borders.

It would not be wrong to say that walls reflect an insecure mindset, based on mistrust, suspicion and paranoia. From 1961 till 1989, as the Berlin Wall became a symbol of suppression and denial of freedom to the people of East Germany, West Berlin became a symbol of defiance and resistance against the communist order during the Cold War.

WHAT LED TO THE FALL OF THE WALL?

In the late 1980s, Gorbachevs policy of reforms to liberalise communism such as Perestroika and Glasnost gave an impetus to popular sentiments in the GDR for tearing down the wall. At the same time, Erich Honecker, secretary general of the German Socialist Unity Party (19711989), was forced to quit when he failed to suppress the rising tide of democracy in East Germany. On August 23, 1989, two million people of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania formed a 675.5 kilometres long human chain demanding freedom from the Soviet Union. Moscow did not prevent the massive popular defiance because, by that time, Moscow had given up the Brezhnev Doctrine of November 1968, which warned of Soviet intervention in case of reformist movement in any communist country.

By 1989, the crumbling economy of the then USSR and the strengthening of a pro-reform lobby, led by Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev in the ruling Soviet Communist Party, gave a clear message to the forces of democracy and change in the Warsaw Pact countries, including the GDR, that state retaliation in the wake of popular uprising was not possible, unlike the crushing of popular revolts of 1956 in Hungary and 1968 in Czechoslovakia.

A workers movement in Poland called Solidarity launched under Lech Walesa had been crushed by the military, and martial law had been imposed by General Jaruzelski on December 13, 1981. But under popular pressure, Solidarity was also later legalised by the Polish regime and it won multi-party elections in June 1989.

IMPLICATIONS OF THE FALL OF THE WALL

The fall of the Berlin Wall and its implications in todays world need to be analysed from three angles. First, the defeat of undemocratic and authoritarian regimes, that sustained brutal systems of oppression, received an impetus with the dismantling of the Berlin Wall. But, even after the passage of three decades, it seems that democracy, tolerance and multiculturalism have not been able to take root in former communist societies. In former GDR, the surge of right-wing ultra-nationalism and neo-Nazism is a dangerous sign and a major threat to German democracy.

In 2013, the far-right political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) emerged as a cogent political force with an agenda focusing on anti-migration rhetoric, and a sizeable electoral strength in the former GDR.

Former Warsaw Pact members, such as Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland, despite being members of the European Union, refused to accept migrants according to the standards set by the European Union (EU). In all the four countries one can observe a surge of right-wing and xenophobic groups who are intolerant to non-white immigrants, particularly Muslims. This means that despite the collapse of the communist regimes of Eastern Europe, the mindset of those in the opposition and in the government has not changed because transformation from authoritarian to a democratic political culture takes time. On the positive side, on August 24 this year, thousands of people marched in the East German city of Dresden to express their opposition to the AfD. Demonstrators raised slogans against the neo-Nazis and right-wing extremists.

Second, the collapse of the Berlin Wall and German reunification gave a thrust to the process of European integration. Without united Germany, it would have been difficult to transform the European Economic Community (EEC) into EU. The elimination of restrictions on the free movement of people, goods, services and capital in the EU only became possible when Germany emerged as an economic powerhouse of Europe. Germany was officially united as a single state on October 3, 1990, a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall. During this time, the West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl held crucial negotiations with Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet president and secretary general of the Soviet Communist Party, the French President Francois Mitterrand and the Polish President Mazowiecki for their support for the reunification of Germany. Without the endorsement of Moscow, Warsaw and Paris, it would have been impossible for the West German leadership to give a final shape to the reunification of East and West Germany. The US President George H. Bush also rendered his countrys support to reunify Germany.

In the post-reunification period, France and Germany have emerged as pivotal states of European Union, as their unity has so far worked to keep EU together against all odds. The transformation of EEC to EU on November 1, 1993, according to the historical Maastricht Treaty, was only possible because of the collapse of Berlin Wall. The expansion of the EU, from 12 members in November 1993 to 27 in 2019, has much to do with the reunification of Germany, the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and Franco-German unity.

Third, the euphoria which existed in Germany after the collapse of the Berlin Wall and reunification disappeared with the passage of time. Despite the German governments investment of around 100 billion euros to end economic and infrastructure asymmetry between the eastern and western parts of the country, feelings of uneven economic development and wages still prevail over the former GDR.

On June 30, 2019, Herbert Knosowski from the Reuters news agency reported that Frauke Hildebrandt, a member of the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and professor of early childhood education at the University of Applied Sciences in Potsdam, suggested that an employment quota should be introduced for the residents of East Germany. A study by the German Centre for Integration and Migration Research in April shows that more than 50 percent of East Germans polled said they backed the proposal. In March this year, the SPD introduced a motion in the Bundestag (German parliament) calling for an East German quota, arguing that the German constitution mandates proportionate representation of civil servants from all states.

It is often argued by the supporters of the reunification that a sense of deprivation in the former GDR is exaggerated, because German Chancellor Angela Merkel is from the former East Germany and the level of development in that part of the country in the last 30 years is unprecedented. Even then, the AfD has been able to take advantage of the frustration and anger, particularly among the youth of the eastern part of Germany, to emerge as a major political force taking 25.5 percent and 19.9 percent of votes in Saxony and Brandenburg in the European parliament elections held in May this year.

According to a 2016 study, Who Rules the East? compiled by the Dusseldorf-based Hans Bocker Foundation, while East Germans constitute about 17 percent of the population nationwide, they hold only 1.7 percent of the top jobs. In the areas of the former GDR, 87 percent of people are East German but they only fill 23 percent of high-level positions such as judges, generals, presidents of universities, CEOs and editors-in-chief among others. Of some 200 generals and admirals in the military, for example, only two are East German while there are no East German university presidents anywhere in the country.

Reint E. Gropp, president of the Halle Institute for Economic Research, in Halle, an East German town states: A lot of us thought, admittedly somewhat naively, that people between 30 and 50 the generation that was already working during reunification would be affected. But that was a mistake. The effects are transferred through generations and we still see it today.

Although the quality of life in the GDR was quite low compared to their counterparts in the Federal Republic of Germany, the state was responsible for providing jobs, housing, health facilities and public transport to citizens of East Germany. After the reunification, they lost all such facilities as state enterprises were replaced by a capitalistic economy.

If the world has not significantly changed after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, at least Europe has been transformed with free connectivity, and minimum travel and trade restrictions. The Franco-German and German-Polish borders, hard to cross freely during the Cold War, are now a thing of the past as every year millions of people cross these borders without passing through security checkposts and stringent visa controls. Even the sneaking in of more than one million migrants in Europe in the autumn and winter of 2015 has not led to the transformation of soft borders to hard ones. Populists and right-wing political parties and groups in Germany and other EU countries demanded the imposition of strict border controls in order to prevent further influx of migrants but, despite their demand, the EU borders are generally open.

The fall of the Berlin Wall emerges as a source of inspiration for those who are living under severe restrictions that deprive them of basic freedom. The unification of Jammu and Kashmir has been a long-standing demand of the beleaguered people of that unfortunate territory partitioned since August 1947. But the disappearance of the LoC that separates the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the connectivity of people from both sides is yet to be seen. Like the Germans, Kashmiris living on both sides of the LoC must decide their future and tear down the wall. After decades of suffering, they deserve a better future.

The writer is former Meritorious Professor of International Relations and Dean Faculty of Social Sciences, University of KarachiEmail: amoonis@hotmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, September 22nd, 2019

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HISTORY: AFTER THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL - DAWN.com

Mugabe Is What Happens When A Country Falls For A Charming Socialist – The Federalist

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Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwes dictator and lifelong communist, died on Sept. 6, 2019, at the age of 95. In a country where theaverage life expectancy was only 44 years(according to a 2006 census), he outlived most of his countrymen.

However, his protracted and long life was constructed upon inflicting enormous and unimaginable suffering upon his people and country. For the rest of us, his incumbency should serve as a constant warning about why we should not fall for the next charismatic socialist who heedlessly promises everything.

Mugabe was born into poverty. Abandoned by his father at age 10, he attended a Jesuit missionary school and eventually graduated from theUniversity of Fort Hare in South Africa, the same university Nelson Mandela attended.

While Mugabe was receiving educator training in Ghana in the 1950s, he joined one of Africas nationalist movements, calling for the establishment of an independent country led by the black majority in his homeland, which at the time was still a British colony.The emergence of these nationalist movements coincided with the Cold War. The SovietUnion and Communist China expanded their influence in Africa, hoping to turn former colonies into client states.

Mugabe was imprisoned for a decade due to his anti-government political activities, and while in prison, he was elected as the president of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU). During his long imprisonment, Mugabe thoroughly studied Marxist-Leninist ideology. He became afirm believerthat only socialism could save his homeland, and that only his ZANU could lead the peoples revolution and bring true socialism to Zimbabwe. Therefore, ZANU must always remain in power and remain the only power.

Mugabe also came to see private property owners, such as the white farmers, as a threat to the socialist paradise he wanted to build. Upon his release, Mugabe led the ZANU guerrillas to fight against the white minority rule from Mozambique. Somehow, between prison and guerrilla warfare, he managed to obtain seven college degrees and was commended as an intellectual freedom fighter.

In 1979, the British government broke a Lancaster peace deal that officially ended the white minority rule and the civil war in Zimbabwe, and Zimbabwe held its first democratic election in 1980. Mugabe became the first black prime minister of Zimbabwe with an overwhelming victory. The West accepted Mugabes legitimacy, while perversely ignoring the widely reported voter fraud and voter intimation that occurred.

Initially upon his election, Mugabe put on a good show. He promised the white minority in the country reconciliation anddeclared, If yesterday you hated me, today you cannot avoid the love that binds you to me and me to you. His first cabinet included a former political foe and two white men. He promised his countrymen would never see violence and poverty again.

In his early years, he built schools and clinics that improved blacks literacy rate and health. For a while, his oratory about peace and justice had many in the West fooled. Everyone thought he was another Mandela.

Mugabe was hailed as a liberator, knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, and even nominated with the U.K.s Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1981. Compared to other African nations, Mugabes star power helped attract numerousforeign resources andaidto his country.

Underneath Mugabes caring, freedom-loving facade, however, was a cruel, power-hungry, and murderous despot. Just two years into his rule, he dismissed his political opponent from the government and sent an army of former ZANU guerrillas trained by North Korea to the heartland where rival tribes resided, killing as many as20,000civilians, and arresting, torturing, and raping many more.

His brutal act forced his political foe to surrender, turning Zimbabwe into a one-party state. He proceeded to change the constitution to make himself president in 1987. He famouslysaid, Zimbabwe is mine, and only God who appointed me will remove me.

Through violent oppression, voter fraud, and voter intimidation, Mugabe made sure he was the only head of state in Zimbabwe after every election. He ended up ruling Zimbabwe for the next 37 years, until a military coup forced his resignation in 2017.

During his long reign, some compared Mugabe to Adolf Hitler, a comparison he accepted with pride,saying, I am still theHitlerof the time. This Hitler has only one objective, justice for his own people, sovereignty for his people, recognition of the independence of his people. If that is Hitler, then let me be a Hitler tenfold.

As a self-proclaimed communist and socialist, Mugabe installed a socialist experiment in Zimbabwe. His most notorious economic policy was land reform. Mugabes government, in the name of racial justice and to right historical wrongs, insisted that black Zimbabweans could only obtain equal share of land through a land reform.

So his government passed laws allowing landless black Zimbabweans to expropriate land from white farmers without compensation, and to occupy commercial farmland. The law stipulated that Great Britain should pay reparations for the land taken from the African people during its colonial rule. Women and rival tribes who backed Mugabes political opponents werent allowed to benefit from the land reform.

Government-backed ZANU militias were at the forefront to enforce the land reform with violence because Mugabetoldthem, Our party must continue to strike fear in the heart of the white man, our real enemy.The Human Rights Watchdocumented the widespread human rights violations these militias carried out.

Besides the human cost, the economic impact of the land reform was disastrous. Before land reform, Zimbabwe was nicknamed the breadbasket of Africa. Agriculture products were 40 percent of the countrys exports, and the agriculture industry was the countrys largest employer.

Then land reform forced experienced white farmers torun away, leaving much land unattended. Inexperienced new land owners didnt know how to grow crops. Agriculture production rapidly declined. Instead of exporting produces, Zimbabweans couldnt feed themselves. Now, more than 60 percent of them rely on foreign food aid for basic survival.

The rest of the economy fell along with the agriculture industry: Banks closed, factories shut down, and the unemployment rate skyrocketed. Zimbabwesgross domestic product per capitadropped from $1,105 in 1980 (the beginning of Mugabes reign) to $397 in 2007. Average life expectancy dropped from 60 years in 1980 to 46 in 2007, the lowest in the world.

The Mugabe government responded to its economic woes by printing money. Its inflation rate reached 500 billion percent. Shortage of food, water, and electricity were common. Zimbabwe also experienced unprecedented health crises. About 3 million Zimbabweans (roughly a quarter of the population) fled the country. Of course, Mugabe blamed the West, the same West that has been sending millions of dollars in aid.

While his countrymen lived impoverished and destitute, Mugabe enriched himself, his family, and his cronies. His personal wealth isestimatedto have exceeded U.S.$1 billion, including a $5 million mansion in Hong Kong. His second wife, Grace Mugabe, is even known as Gucci Grace because of her impossible-to-satisfy appetite for expensive European luxuries.

The misery Zimbaweans experienced isnt new or unique. Anyone who has lived under Maos China, Castros Cuba, Kims North Korea, and Maduros Venezuela can tell you they shared similar life experiences. Mugabe wasnt the only charismatic socialist who ruined a country and the lives of millions. Socialism has failed everywhere and every time.

Despite socialisms terrible record, it seems it always finds a charismatic spokesperson, whether they are old and wise or young and cute, trying to convince the rest of us to give socialism another try and promising the outcome will be different this time because the wisest leaders in history have finally arrived and are in charge to take care of us.

Mugabes life should remind us not to be fooled by someone who promises to give us everything and to better our lives in every way. C.S. Lewis warned that a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. Those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth.

Mugabe certainly turned a once-prosperous country into a hell on Earth. Lets not give any socialist in our country any chance to ruin our lives.

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Mugabe Is What Happens When A Country Falls For A Charming Socialist - The Federalist

Winning elections is not enough: the left has a world to transform – LabourList

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Amidst the political turmoil, one thing seems certain: an election is imminent. To win, Labour will need to mobilise on a scale thats never been seen before, bringing millions of people into the campaign.

Electing a Labour government to Westminster will be a historic achievement, opening up a world of possibilities for working-class people across the country, but it is only part of the picture. Sending Jeremy Corbyn into Downing Street without a movement behind him is like sending a cowboy into a shootout with a water pistol. The decisions that affect our lives are not only made in Whitehall, but in the boardrooms of bosses and living rooms of landlords. Building socialism requires the left to get organised in our workplaces and in our communities. Being election ready also means preparing our movement for what happens beyond the election. Thats what were doing at The World Transformed 2019.

The Labour Party has the potential to be an organising force in every part of the country by deploying its greatest resource its members. But if the party doesnt use them, it will lose them. For the promise of a people powered politics to become a reality, members must have a real say on who represents them and the policies the party advocates.

The trigger ballots taking place in constituency parties are not a distraction from election campaigning; they are a crucial means of engaging members and increasing local campaigning capacity. Labour branches should be community hubs and Labour MPs should be community leaders, providing practical solidarity to the struggles of working people. Well be planning how to make these important changes happen.

The Labour movement has always needed both its political and industrial wings to fly. The gains made by the working class after the war would not have been possible without the 1945 Labour government, nor would it have been possible without the strength of Britains trade unions. However, trade union membership continues to decline and is particularly low amongst younger workers. Labours plans for a Ministry of Labour, led by Laura Pidcock, are an exciting prospect, but we cannot wait for a Labour government. This is a defining issue for the left and at TWT, shop stewards, organisers and elected leaders will be strategising about how workers can build power.

The struggle extends beyond the workplace. To live a good life you need adequate wages, but you also need secure and affordable housing. Women and people of colour need to be free from structural oppression. Disabled people need proper support to be able to live free and autonomous lives. Each one of these movements are essential to transforming society and at TWT well be bringing them together with trade unionists and Labour members to plan for the election and beyond.

Were also running a series of policy labs on issues ranging from mental health to constitutional reform. These will be creative experiments in participatory policy making, demonstrating how radical ideas can be drawn from the grassroots. Well be presenting the results of this collaboration in a Manifesto for the Movement that John McDonnell has said will provide inspiration for the forthcoming manifesto.

Over the last four years, the radical left has proven to be bursting with ideas, while it often seems like moderates just want to turn back the clock. It is notable that Tom Watsons well-publicised initiative to pull together the social democrats of the PLP to create policy has produced precisely nothing. Labours 2017 manifesto signalled a fundamental break with the economic orthodoxy of the last 40 years, however, the party has been more conservative in some important areas. This year, well be complementing the efforts of left-aligned delegates on the conference floor with discussions around how activists can push the party further on issues like climate justice, migration and policing.

At this political crossroads, the left cannot shy away from tackling these pressing challenges. We need to be ready for the election when it comes and prepared for the struggles that lie ahead. We hope The World Transformed 2019 will contribute to building an organised movement, both inside and outside of the Labour Party, that is up to the task.

LabourList has more readers than ever before - but we need your support. Our dedicated coverage of Labour's policies and personalities, internal debates, selections and elections relies on donations from our readers.

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Winning elections is not enough: the left has a world to transform - LabourList

The Palestinian voice will be heard at the Labour conference – Middle East Monitor

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John Bercow, the speaker of the UKs House of Commons, will be standing down soon. He has been an animated figure, whose gesticulations and dressing downs of MPs have left a mark with viewers all over the world. At the height of the continuing Brexit saga, my 7-year-old son suddenly shouted order, order! with the kind of emphasis Bercow employs.

On a more serious note however, Bercow was also firm in ensuring that any MP speaking, from the newest to the most senior, was not drowned out by ill-disciplined MPs. His firm reassuring line was the right honourable gentleman will be heard. The voice of every single MP was always heard.

I started with this opening to the article, because that is what came to mind when it became clear that Omar Barghouti, the co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS), who was due to speak at the Palestine Solidarity Campaign fringe meeting on Sunday, would not receive his visa in time. The Labour Party Conference fringe will also be addressed by Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott MP, Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East Chair Lisa Nandy MP and trade union UNITE General Secretary Len McKluskey.

Barghoutis voice, a principled and important mouthpiece for Palestinians, would be silenced by the UKs Home Office. While a Home Office spokesperson put the reason for the delay down to Barghoutis case being a complex case, he stated that Barghoutis application remains within the 15 working day turnaround and that he will receive a decision shortly.

READ: UK minister vows to pressure councils and universities to adopt IHRA definition of anti-Semitism

It is worth reminding readers that the current Home Secretary, Priti Patel, had to resign from her post as International Development Secretary in 2017, over breaches of ministerial conduct when she held meetings with Israeli politicians while on holiday. These meetings were neither authorised, nor coordinated, with the government or the embassy in Tel Aviv. Patel had even considered plans to look into giving tax-payers money to the Israeli military to treat wounded Syrian refugees in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights region a request that was turned down as inappropriate by officials. Patel also visited an Israeli military field hospital in the Golan Heights, which the UK considers illegally occupied Syrian territory. Some of her meetings were attended by Honorary President of Conservative Friends of Israel, Lord Polak, who is known for this blind support of Israel, and for displaying such positions regularly in the House of Lords.

Patel is not the first home secretary to preside over a Home Office that has a record of making it difficult for Palestinians, both from Israel and the Occupied Territories, to come to the UK and to speak freely about the conflict. Former Prime Minister Theresa May ordered the detention of Sheikh Raed Salah, an Israeli citizen and well-known defender of Al-Aqsa mosque and severe critic of the Israeli Government, after his legal arrival in the UK in 2011. He was due to speak at a number of meetings, including in Parliament. This was despite the fact that Israeli citizens travel to the UK without the need for a visa, including illegal settlers and some who may have been involved in the oppression of the occupied Palestinian people. Salah eventually won his appeal against his deportation from the UK.

Barghouti, who lives in the West Bank and is married to a Palestinian citizen of Israel, was instrumental in setting up the BDS movement. Both he, and the movement, have been accused of anti-Semitism. Barghouti will be able to defend himself when he speaks via Skype at the fringe meeting in Brighton. The movement itself, which has at its core freedom, justice and equality, has three demands. All three of its demands are legal and moral. They are: to bring an end to the occupation, for equality for all citizens of Israel and the right of return for Palestinian refugees. Israel and its supporters have been working overtime to smear the movement, claiming it only targets Jews and the worlds only Jewish state. However, Israels supporters cannot point to Israel fulfilling any of the movements legitimate and peaceful demands without external pressure. They claim that the movement and its leaders want to see the destruction of Israel and that they do not support a two-state solution. The same people have been silent while Israel continued to gobble up illegally occupied Palestinian lands, to move settlers illegally into the settlements a war crime under international law and to annex East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. They have been silent on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahus promise to annex the illegally occupied Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea, if elected, a policy he shares with most political parties in Israel.

READ: UK MPs warn Israel is becoming an apartheid state

Supporters of Israel simply want to silence Palestinian voices, and those of their supporters, with the smear of anti-Semitism as they increasingly point to the new definition of anti-Semitism the so called International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition to attack and smear activists and to intimidate and bully operators of possible venues into not take bookings for events at which Palestine will be discussed. The recent decision by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, to ban a reception for the Big Ride for Palestine from one of its parks, is a case in point.

The intimidation and bullying, and the hiding behind procedure, will not silence the Palestinians or their supporters. We will continue to bring the plight of the Palestinians and the shameful actions of the Israeli state to the widest possible audience, both as organisations such as the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and as individuals campaigning for justice for the Palestinians and accountability for Israel.

I would have liked to have given Barghouti a hug on Sunday, but the Home Office has denied me that opportunity. However, in the words of Bercow, the honourable gentleman will be heard. Barghouti will address the meeting via Skype, and the voice of the Palestinians will be heard both at the fringe meeting and beyond, until Palestine is free. The events that led to Israels creation and our dispossession, as well as its continuing apartheid policies, will be heard. That is a promise to Israel and its apologists.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

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As the DFL marks its 75th anniversary, do the party’s Farmer-Labor roots still mean anything? – MinnPost

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The marriage of what were at the time Minnesotas second and third leading political parties was one made more for convenience than for love. Losing will do that.

This year, as the DFL commemorates the 75th anniversary of the union between the Democratic Party and the Farmer-Labor Party, does the combination still have meaning? Or does it simply mean the Democratic Party in Minnesota is called something different from what it is in every other state for reasons lost on most people? Does having the only hyphenated party name simply feed the states need to feel exceptional?

Recent arrivals and old timers both can be confused. As part of a documentary being produced on the history of the Farmer-Labor movement, filmmaker Randy Croce filmed person-on-the-street interviews near the DFL booth at the Minnesota State Fair. What does DFL stand for, they were asked?

Democratic Farmer League? tried one man.

Isnt it Democratic something something? offered a woman.

Something to do with back in the day, replied another woman.

Back in the day turned out to be 1944. At the time, Minnesotas Democrats were barely a factor in state politics or government, having not elected a governor since 1915 and not claimed a U.S. senator since the Civil War.

Though the states dominant political force at the time was the Republican Party, the populist Farmer-Labor Party had managed to do better than the Democrats. Four different Farmer-Labor candidates had won U.S. Senate seats in the 1920s and 30s, and three different FLP governors including Floyd B. Olson were elected during the Great Depression.

Though never in control of both the House and the Senate, whatever New Deal-type legislation passed during those years, it was because of the Farmer-Labor Party, not because of President Franklin Roosevelts fellow Democrats. But the FLPers had lost the governorship to a progressive Republican, Harold Stassen, in 1938, leading to a string of GOP governors that lasted until 1955.

In an interview earlier this month, former Vice President and U.S. Sen. Walter Mondale summarized the futility of the Democrats and the Farmer-Labor Party remaining as two separate entities: There was a built-in fight there, and we always lost.

Then there was Roosevelt himself. The thrice-elected president was seeking a fourth term and worried that the coalition of Democrats and Farmer-Laborites who had helped him carry the state in 1932, 1936 and 1940 was fading.

So who exactly was in the Farmer-Labor Party?

As Croces interviews show, present-day Minnesotans are often confused about the odd name of the present-day party. Where are the farmers? Is labor is as committed to the party as it once was?

Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society

William Mahoney, circa 1910

And while the rural strength of the Nonpartisan League was enough in states like North Dakota, in Minnesota, where there was a robust industrial base, labor was a necessary ally. It was William Mahoney, a St. Paul labor leader and later mayor, who helped bring the L into the FLP, which also benefited from ethnic Germans, who were targets of oppression by the notorious Minnesota Commission on Public Safety, formed to guard against foreign threats during World War I.

Though the party had nearly 40,000 dues-paying members and was fortified by associations around the state that served as the social and education hubs in many communities, their strategy for the Nonpartisan League and the early Farmer-Labor alliance was to work within the existing parties especially the Republicans, which were stronger and contained a liberal wing, says Tom OConnell, a retired Metropolitan State University professor who has written about the FLP.

In a bitter primary fight in 1918, Farmer-Labor-endorsed candidate Charles August Lindbergh (father of the aviator) lost to the governor who had led the Commission of Public Safety. J.A.A. Burnquist. (Lansing notes that the New York Times dubbed Lindbergh a Gopher Bolshevik.)

The Farmer-Labor Party went on to run its own candidates in the general election, and the party was able to elect a U.S. senator in both 1922 and 1923. Its leading figure, both at the time and historically, was Floyd B. Olson, who was elected governor in 1930 and was reelected in 1932 and 1934.

It took a great politician to take them over the top, said OConnell.

Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society

Charles A. Lindbergh, 1918 candidate for governor

Had Olson not died of cancer in 1936 at the age of 45, he could well have gone on to the U.S. Senate or even national office. Instead, he was replaced first by Lt. Gov. Hjalmar Petersen and later by Elmer Benson, who was atop the party in perhaps its greatest election, 1936, where he won as governor and the FLP carried six of nine congressional seats.

But while Olson and Benson had similar politics, Benson lacked Olsons skills as a public speaker and as a pragmatist. Many historians of the party cite a businessman who complained that while Olson mouthed some of the partys most radical positions, this son of a bitch (Benson) actually believes them.

It didnt help that Benson was openly affiliated with more radical elements of the party, including Communists and laborites from the Congress for Industrial Organization. An occupation of the state Capitol and the Senate not only wasnt resisted by the governor it was praised by him. There was also the tendency to exploit government appointments to both put FLPers in power and collect a 3 percent voluntary party dues payment, all of which gave Stassen the opening to run as a reformer and anti-Communist in 1938, wrote Steven Keillor in his history, Shaping Minnesotas Identity.

Like many protest movements before it, the Farmer-Labor Party rose quickly, peaked during a time of troubles, and then plunged rapidly into public disfavor, wrote historian William E. Lass in Minnesota: A History.

The merger between the Democrats and the Farmer Labor Party was finalized on April 15, 1944. With just a few days left in the candidate filing period, lawyers from both parties delivered registration papers to the secretary of state announcing the union that would be known as the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. So close was the deadline that the secretary of state opened the office on a Saturday to receive the filing, said DFL board member and unofficial historian Jules Goldstein.

Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society

Floyd B. Olson in 1932

Yet from the start, the marriage was tense. FDR and World War II were unifying factors early on, but the new party was not only a fledgling union of political factions, there were factions within the factions that emerged once World War II was won and Roosevelt was dead.

One of those factions was Communists who had been welcomed in the Farmer Labor Party and stuck around after the merger to see what would happen. The Communists some out in the open and some secretive had opposed war with Hitler when Josef Stalin was allied with Nazi Germany but embraced it once the Soviet Union was invaded. A Popular Front strategy of working with any group or politician who opposed fascism marked American Communists during the war.

After the war, however, they opposed any U.S. policy that was opposed by Stalin.

Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society

1936 Farmer-Labor Party ticket

Evidence of this tension comes in a 1947 letter that Goldstein discovered in party archives. It was written by Third Ward Farmer-Labor Caucus in Minneapolis chair Ruben Latz to Truman. It reported on a unanimous vote of the caucus asking the president to repudiate a speech given one week before by former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. By introducing Churchill, Truman had lent the prestige of your office for an address that can only result in isolation of one (of) our heroic allies, Latz wrote.

The speech in question was the one given by Churchill at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, in which he warned against an expansionist Soviet Union that had taken control of Eastern Europe and threatened the West and the United states. From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent, Churchill famously said.

In his history of the intraparty battle, Macalester College political science chair G. Theodore Mitau described the combatants as the left wing, led by Benson, and the right wing, led by Hubert Humphrey, who had become mayor of Minneapolis in 1944 and would go on to gain national attention when his anti-segregation speech helped pass a strong civil rights platform at the 1948 Democratic National Convention.

After he mediated the merger, Humphrey expected the FLers to fade away. So he was surprised when he and his allies lost control of the party in 1946 to a still potent Farmer-Labor faction that outworked and out organized them at DFL caucuses and conventions.

In the wake of that takeover, Humphrey had become a candidate for U.S. Senate, and he was determined not to lose at the grassroots again. Marine veteran and then-state DFL secretary Orville Freeman was the person given the organizing task, with help from Macalester student Walter Mondale, doctoral student Arthur Naftalin, future ambassador Eugenie Anderson, law student and veteran Don Fraser and St. Pauls Eugene McCarthy, writes Keillor in Shaping Minnesotas Identity.

Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society

Macalester College President Charles D. Turck, Hubert Humphrey and Walter Mondale in 1948.

Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society

Eugenie Anderson in 1951

Thats about how we stated it, Mondale recalled this month. Who wanted to be connected to a party that was openly conspiring with the Soviet Union? Mondale asked. I was not one of them.

In his autobiography The Good Fight, Mondale recalls helping get Macalester, Hamline and St. Thomas students to a Young DFL meeting in late 1947 to help Humphrey win the endorsement for U.S. Senate.

At one point, someone in the audience asked (Humphrey) if he thought the United Front supporters were actually members of the Communist Party, Mondale wrote. Well, if theyre not members, they are cheating it out of dues money, he said.

Said Mondale this month: That was very un-Humphrey-like. He did not like to be confrontational. But I think he saw that his career was involved in this dispute.

Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society

Don Fraser and Orville Freeman, circa 1956.

Mr. Freeman moved that a letter of congratulations be sent to Mayor H.H. Humphrey on his re-election as Mayor and complimenting him on his outstanding leadership of the progressive forces of the State, the minutes stated. But Herman Griffith, a member of the Farmer Labor faction who was a longtime critic of Humphrey, had a problem with that.

As the minutes noted: Mr. Griffith move that references to outstanding leadership be struck. The his motion succeeded.

Joked Mondale: It shows you what love and affection was going on there.

Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society

Hubert H. Humphrey at the 1948 State DFL Convention in Brainerd.

The Wallace and Benson supporters left the DFL or were kicked out and many did not return for another twenty years, Keillor wrote. Unique Farmer-Labor politics never returned.

OConnell attributes the new DFL that emerged as one more suited for post-war America. While the FLP was a response to the Great Depression, its leaders had grown long in the tooth while the liberal Democrats around Humphrey were younger and more energetic with World War II forming their world view, not the Depression.

Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society

A Democratic Farmer Labor party delegation prepares to leave the St. Paul Union Depot for Washington, D.C., in 1949. The Twin Cities Zephyr is at right.

According to Lass, Humphrey advocated for the combined name not just to ease the transition but because he knew there were thousands of votes to be gained by a candidate who had Farmer-Labor in his or her party name. There are fewer people alive now who know the story or vote for someone because of the L and the F in DFL. As recently as 1999, after a disastrous 1998 election for DFLers, a party chair proposed dropping the extra letters.

Goldstein said he sees the legacy of the merger in modern DFL politics with the Bernie Sanders-Elizabeth Warren wing of the party on one side and the more moderate wing, represented by the likes of Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, on the other.

Courtesy of the DFL Party

OConnell has recently helped revive a nonprofit called the Farmer Labor Education Committee that had been incorporated by the late U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone. It has put on programs and is using state Legacy grants to produce a film about the former party and the populist movement it represented. He said just as his generation of anti-war activists in the 1960s and 1970s didnt recognize their connection to the Farmer Labor Party, the current backers of Sanders and Warren dont know of the connection either.

It is re-emerging without necessarily a historical antecedent, OConnell said. People dont necessarily think of themselves as Farmer-Laborites but as Bernie Sanderites.

The party still does well with some in organized labor, especially teachers, government workers and unions like the Minnesota Nurses and the Service Employees. But it can struggle with skilled trades, which are less politically active and other industrial trades, such as mining and milling, have lost jobs and members as the economy changed. The DFLs loss of the 8th Congressional district seat, which represents the Iron Range, is evidence of perhaps waning support in the north.

DFL candidates have also struggled in what might be considered farm country, due in part to the rise of environmentalism as a core tenet of the Democratic platform, though the Farmers Union stays closer to DFL candidates.

Mondale said he does see challenges outside of the Twin Cities for the DFL, but said he always did well in Greater Minnesota, and he notes that both Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith have strength around the state. In general, though, he said DFL candidates have to get off their asses and work and talk to people in rural areas.

Correction: The original version of this story misstated the date of Hubert H. Humphreys speech advocating for Democrats to adopt a strong civil rights platform. It was at the 1948 Democratic National Convention, not the 1944 convention. The story has been updated and corrected.

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As the DFL marks its 75th anniversary, do the party's Farmer-Labor roots still mean anything? - MinnPost

What killed Adrian Lamo? – Boing Boing

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Adrian Lamo is most famous for turning U.S. Army intelligence analyst and whistleblower Chelsea Manning in to the authorities, but was already well-known among hackers and journalists because of his penetration of The New York Times' source database, subsequent conviction for the hack, and his sparkling personality. He died mysteriously last year in what many assumed was suicide or murder, but NPR's Dina Temple-Raston investigated his last months and found a tragic figure in failing health, evicted by his carers and in chronic pain. He likely died overdosing prescription drugs, kratom and nootropics after suffering a twisted leg.

His doctor was in the process of weaning him off some of the medications, including reducing the three different benzodiazepines he was taking. That is of particular interest because about a month before Lamo died, the FDA came out with a medical alert a warning against mixing benzos with kratom. The combination had been linked to dozens of deaths.

"A few assessable cases with fatal outcomes raise concern that kratom is being used in combination with other drugs that affect the brain, including ... benzodiazepines," the alert read. Rohrig said Lamo had a handful of what he called designer benzos in his system, some of which weren't available by prescription in the U.S.

"The most common way of getting these particular ones is basically off the Internet," Rohrig told us. "You can order them and have them shipped to whatever address you want." Debbie Scroggin assumed that lots of the pills and supplements coming into the house were in those packages addressed to Adrian Alfonso.

CNN reports that the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, personally received deliveries, potentially including hacked materials related to the 2016 U.S. elections, during a series of odd meetings at Ecuadors Embassy in London.

Julian Assange, imprisoned at Belmarsh on a 50-week sentence for jumping bail, was said by his lawyer to be too ill to appear by video link at a court hearing Thursday. The WikiLeaks founder is fighting extradition to the United States over the sites publication of classified U.S. government information. According to WikiLeaks, Assange has []

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What killed Adrian Lamo? - Boing Boing

Latest Report on Nootropics Market Expects an Extensive Growth in ROI of USD 5959 Million By 2024 – News Hours Today

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Zion Market Researchpublished a new industry research reportGlobal Nootropics Market Is Set To Reach USD 5,959 Million By 2024in its database.(Sample Copy Here)The global Nootropics Market report provides significant information about Nootropics Market by fragmenting the market into different segments.This study assists users in decoding the finest distinctions of regional as well as global markets while they enlarge their global reach.The Nootropics Market report updates the user about various market growth strategies and management. It states the various terminologies used in the global Nootropics Market. The globalNootropics Marketreport covers data over the industries and markets, technologies and abilities of the market. It collects the facts and figures over the revenue of the global market and conditions. The report provides the explanation related to the market values and potential market players future scope.

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Accelerated Intelligence, Inc., Nootrobox, Inc., AlternaScript LLC, Onnit Labs LLC, Cephalon, Inc., Clarity Nootropics, Peak Nootropics

The company profile also includes a company overview, revenue information, and product overview. This section helps to understand businesses operating in the industry to understand the strategies of the key players and the factors that are helping them excel in the industry. The competitive scenario is also useful for the new entrants in the business to know their competitors as well as their business plans.

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Latest Report on Nootropics Market Expects an Extensive Growth in ROI of USD 5959 Million By 2024 - News Hours Today

Biohacking: The Art and Science of Upgrading the Human Being – Interesting Engineering

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Biohacking, defined as better living though science, technology, and nature, is quickly taking a front seat in the current global growing emerging technology and biotechnology trends. Biohacking is considered a fast track to upgrading one's self.

Biohacking is all about making humans healthier, happier, and stronger with the vision of double humans' potential lifespan. The term Biohacking is relatively new. It was coined by Dave Asprey, founder of Bulletproof Nutrition Inc., author, Silicon Valley investor, technology entrepreneur, and the Father of Biohacking.

According to Dave Asprey's own definition and which was, by the way, incorporated to Merriam Webster's in 2018, Biohacking is the art and science of changing the environment around you and inside you so you have full control over your own biology.

Biohacking is about optimizing human performance. By using science, advanced technologies, and vast amount of data collected by wearables biohackers live up to the promise of an improved health, wellbeing, and nutrition, enhanced productivity and energy levels, improved quality of sleep and optimized physical activity.

Who can resist submitting to the promise of youthful looks and a healthier, longer life? However, there are many things that need to be learned first. To begin with, let's not confuse biohacking with bodyhacking.

Some people tend to confuse biohacking with bodyhacking. They are not the same.

Bodyhacking, has nothing to do with biology or chemistry, for starters. And some biohacking has nothing to do with a human's body. That is pretty much the first differentiator.

Bodyhacking is usually linked to wearable technologies. Some wearables monitor biological or health data. Some other wearables provide Augmented Reality enhancement of the vision; these wearables are currently used by industries such as healthcare and construction. These are examples of bodyhacking, not biohacking.

On the other hand, biohacking is about manipulating the biology of the brain or the body itself in order to enhance performance. Some aspects of biohacking, though, may include bodyhacking as well.

Boosting life expectancy

Boosting their life expectancy can be done by anyone following some simple habits such as following an improved diet that is usually plant based, exercising regularly, no smoking and reducing alcohol consumption, and improving the quality and amount of sleep. Boosting life expectancy sometimes implies a series of lifestyle changes. These are basic steps for anyone who wants to dip their toes in the biohacking world.

Longevity

Biohacking claims that enhancing and optimizing human performance leads to longevity. Biohackers focus on longevity through everything they do in order to upgrade their life and lifestyle.

Nutrition, stress management, exercising, intermittent fasting, meditation, sleep tracking for an improved sleep, and supplements that are preferably natural and plant based are some of the things that can lead to longevity. Basically, live healthy, live long and prosper.

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy is a cold therapy or ice treatment. By bringing the body temperature down at the tissue and cellular level biohackers claim it is possible to achieve therapeutic benefits and increase your metabolism. However, cryotherapy must be supervised by experts since along with the benefits there are also a few side effects and contraindications.

Cryotherapy can involve treatments with cold packs or ice packs to whole chambers.An introductory level of cryotherapy is to take cold showers for three days in a row for 10 seconds letting the shower hit the forehead. According to Dave Asprey, after day four it feels great. This is not something I am willing to try, though.

A version of cryotherapy in Finland is called avanto. This is a common practice in winter, especially alternating with sauna. It involves making a hole in the ice covering a lake and swimming in the frozen waters for a few minutes. Those who do this regularly say that it is invigorating and energizing. A few minutes of sauna and a good cup of hot coffee afterwards bring the temperature up.

Osteogenic machines

Biohackers claim they can strengthen bones in a matter of minutes by using high-tech machines called osteogenic machines, which are based on the science of osteogenic loading. Weight bearing exercises can improve bone health stimulating bone building and preventing or fighting bone loss.

This is based on the theory that it takes four times your body weight to grow and increase your bone density. This is done by high impact loading, which done only once a week for a few minutes, not more than ten with some exercises requiring just a few seconds. That should be more than enough for an optimized training, leaving long hours at the gym in the past.

OsteoStrong in Los Angeles offers a complimentary session for those who wish to learn more about the osteogenic training and try the technique that can strengthen the condition of their body to gain athletic performance.

Nootropics (smart drugs)

Nootropics are cognitive enhancers. They are natural or synthetic substances that may enhance mental skills and divided into three general categories: Dietary supplements, synthetic compounds, and prescription drugs. Supplements for memory boosting are nootropics that are commonly taken by students during exam periods.

People seeking to optimize cognitive function also follow a nutrient-dense diet, learn how to manage their stress, and work on improving their sleep quality. Nootropics are only a supplement that complements the aforementioned.

Dopamine fasting or intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting is a trend started in Silicon Valley and rapidly expanded to the rest of the world. It can be used for losing weight or to boost brain power and clarity. In Biohacking, it implies improving focus and concentration. Intermittent fasting can boost brain power. According to Dave Asprey, it only takes skipping breakfast and drinking only water, tea, or coffee.

The Biohacking culture has grown so much in the recent few years that dedicated conferences and events are being held around the world. The next Biohacking Summit takes place in Helsinki, Finland in December.

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NASA leader vows to seek answers about space station from Russia – Houston Chronicle

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NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine vowed Thursday to speak to the head of the Russian space agency after reports that the cause of a hole found on the International Space Station last year would be kept secret.

But he was careful to point out that he doesn't want this situation to destroy the country's relationship with Russia, a partner in space since 1975.

"They have not told me anything," Bridenstine told the Houston Chronicle during a question and answer session at a Houston energy conference. "I don't want to let one item set (the relationship) back, but it is clearly not acceptable that there are holes in the International Space Station."

A hole that was allowing air to escape was discovered Aug. 30 in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft attached to the station. The crew was able to plug the hole quickly without any adverse effects on board. But if left unchecked, the leak could have resulted in total air loss for the station in 18 days.

Initial reports indicated that it was the result of space debris, but it was later determined that it likely was the result of sloppy drill work, either here or in space. A Russian suggestion of American sabotage did not sit well with NASA personnel and astronauts.

Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, said Wednesday the country had finally determined what caused the hole. But Russia wasn't going to tell anyone, he said.

"What happened is clear to us, but we won't tell you anything," Rogozin said, according to the state-run news agency RIA Novosti.

The hole -- and its now secret cause -- is especially problematic because the Soyuz has been the only way to ferry astronauts to and from the station since 2011, when the space shuttle program was shuttered. NASA pays Russia $82 million per seat for a ride on the Soyuz.

Bridenstine told the Chronicle that the hole could have been caused by a defect before it launched, or potentially a result of something after it was on orbit. Only Russia knows for sure.

The incident highlights the need for SpaceX and Boeing to launch their commercial crew vehicles, which they have been working on since 2014 to take astronauts to and from the space station.

But both companies failed to meet their launch deadlines in 2018 and have continued to struggle. It's not clear when they will do their first test flights with astronauts on board.

Alex Stuckey writes about NASA and science for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey.

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NASA leader vows to seek answers about space station from Russia - Houston Chronicle

Brad Pitt Calls Space Station Astronaut to Talk ‘Ad Astra’ and Life in Space (Video) – Space.com

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Today (Sept. 16), Brad Pitt, who plays an astronaut in the upcoming sci-fi film "Ad Astra," chatted with NASA astronaut Nick Hague who recently screened the film at the International Space Station about what it's really like to be in space.

Hague and Pitt spoke on a call from space to Earth about everything ranging from who controls the music on the station to NASA's Artemis Program, which is preparing to send the next man and first woman to the lunar surface. Hague and Pitt even chatted about Pitt's performance in "Ad Astra" and how it compared to George Clooney's performance in "Gravity," a space drama from 2013.

"I gotta tell you, this is a real treat real pleasure to be talking to you up there," Pitt said, greeting Hague. "Likewise, a treat for us, actually. We got a chance to sneak preview the movie a few weeks back," Hague replied. "Just wanted to start off by saying thank you for what you're doing to contribute to the mission of awareness and to light that fire in the imaginations in the next generation of explorers," he added.

Watch:See a Sneak Peek of 'Ad Astra' Moon Action!Video:Haunting 'Ad Astra' Score from Dev Hynes of Blood Orange (Exclusive)

Brad Pitt asks NASA astronaut Nick Hague questions about what it's really like to live in space.

(Image credit: NASA/YouTube)

"Now that I have you all the way up at the space station, let's talk about me," Pitt said, jokingly. "How did we do? How was our zero g?" he asked Hague about his work in "Ad Astra."

"I gotta tell you, it was really good," Hague said. But, he added, it's probably "easier for me to enjoy the zero g than it was you, whether it was CGI [computer-generated imagery] or hooked to strings."

On the topic of weightlessness aboard the space station, Pitt asked Hague how he felt in the strange environment. "I was curious," Pitt said, "what are the repercussions on your body in zero g? First of all, would it be morning for you there, would it be night for you there? How do you gauge your waking hours if you see 16 sunrises and sunsets a day?"

Hague explained how the International Space Station operates on Greenwich Mean Time and how scientists have devised a number of specialized ways to try to manage the astronauts' circadian rhythms. These methods include a set workday schedule and the use of different hued lights aboard the space station.

Pitt and Hague continued to chat, discussing India's recent Chandrayaan-2 lunar landing attempt and Hague's Expedition 60 mission to the space station, which is coming to a close in October.

"Growing up on a farm, I never would've thought that I would've been able to be involved with things like that," Hague said to Pitt, about the experiments he has worked on during his time at the space station.

"It really is extraordinary by the way, you're from Kansas? I'm from Missouri. So we're neighbors!" Pitt said.

The dialogue shifted to a slightly more serious tone as Pitt asked about the hardships associated with life in space, "What is that like on the psyche? I'm sure you're always busy, but at the same time missing family and loved ones at home. How do you keep your mental state at peace?"

Hague described the difficulties that come with being away from friends and family on the station, but that because they are positioned in low Earth orbit, they at least are able to stay in contact through phone calls and regular video chats. Still, it remains a challenge that will become only more difficult with crewed missions to the moon and Mars, he said.

"To me it sounds harrowing and really challenging," Pitt said.

The tone lightened as Pitt asked, "OK, most important question: Who controls the jam box?" Hague laughed, and described how nice it was to have an international selection of music rotating on the station.

"Yes, but every now and then I'm sure someone's going, 'I wish Nick wouldn't play that country western anymore,'" Pitt joked. Laughing, Hague responded, "There's that, and to have me stop telling my bad dad jokes."

Pitt went on to say how the "Ad Astra" team originally considered having elements of 3D printing in the movie and show how future lunar settlements might realistically make tools and objects. Hague confirmed that they have been experimenting with 3D printing aboard the station for a while, even 3D printing biological tissues!

Before signing off, Pitt said, "Nick, last question, and I need to call on your expertise. Who was more believable, Clooney or Pitt?" The question was in reference to Pitt's performance in "Ad Astra" versus Clooney's performance in "Gravity." The question elicited audible laughter from both Hague and the NASA ground team coordinating the call.

"You were, absolutely," Hague said.

Hague and the rest of the Expedition 60 crew recently watched "Ad Astra" during their downtime on the space station. The movie follows Pitt's journey across the solar system to find his missing father (played by Tommy Lee Jones), who might pose a critical threat to humanity. While the movie is much more fiction than science, it does incorporate some NASA imagery, and the agency provided some technical guidance.

"We reviewed a script of Ad Astra early in production," Bert Ulrich, NASA's liaison for film and TV collaborations at NASA Headquarters, said in a statement. "Although there was no NASA storyline, we provided some of the exciting images and footage for the film especially of the Moon and Mars. Sci-fi films like Ad Astra, the Martian, Interstellar, and Gravity take movie audiences out of this world incorporating some of NASA"s most inspirational photography and footage."

In addition to Pitt, "Ad Astra" stars Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland and Ruth Negga. The film will be released to the public on Sept. 20.

Follow Chelsea Gohd on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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NASA CubeSat will test lunar space station orbit – Astronomy Magazine

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CAPSTONE offers a lot in a small package, said Bradley Cheetham, the CEO of Advance Space, in a press release.

Along with configuring the orbital path, the CubeSat will test new navigation technologies, which will allow future missions to find their location without having to rely on tracking from Earth. CAPSTONE will also help the team answer how small dedicated launches to the Moon will work, once there are astronauts on Gateway.

CAPSTONE is only about the size of a small microwave. To reach its target orbit, itll take about three months. From there, it will begin a six-month demonstration phase. During this time, the team will understand how the CubeSat will operate in the orbit.

Gateway will be a NASA-built spacecraft that will serve almost as a travelers outpost, orbiting the Moon. The space agency hopes to have astronauts living on the small space station for up to three months, giving them a place to conduct experiments and travel to the lunar surface in a short amount of time. This will also serve as a checkpoint for astronauts, their first stop from Earth to the Moon. As they make their way toward the lunar surface, theyll have to stop at Gateway first.

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NASA CubeSat will test lunar space station orbit - Astronomy Magazine

Von Braun Space Station Could Be First Hotel in Space – NowThis

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Von Braun Space Station Could Be First Hotel in Space

Von Braun Space Station could be the first hotel in space, and it might offer low-gravity basketball and trampolining.

The station is slated to be operational in 2025 for intrepid travelers looking for vacation in Earths orbit. The space stations senior design architect Tim Alatorre described the concept as a space-based cruise in an interview with architectural and design publication Dezeen.

It is designed as a giant wheel that rotates to simulate gravity. Alatorre said this would allow space tourists to go about their daily routines, like using the toilet, showering, and eating. The wheel will be outfitted with 24 modules where guests can sleep.

Alatorre says the Von Braun will have restaurants, bars, concerts, movie screenings, educational seminars, and sports.

Were imagining supersized basketball events where youre running up and down walls, he told NBC News.

The space station will seek to accommodate approximately 400 people including crewmembers. But the trip wont be cheap.

Our goal is to get costs down to where you have a choice: You could save up and go for a weeks vacation in Europe, or you could go to space, Alatorre explained.

Orion Span, a competing space tourism startup, says it hopes to host guests in its space hotel, Aurora Station, in 2022.

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This Inflatable Space Habitat Could House the Next Astronauts to Walk on the Moon – Observer

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Designed to be an independent space station, Bigelow Aerospaces B330 will have its own life-support and propulsion systems, capable of supporting a crew of four indefinitely and could work just about anywhere. Bigelow Aerospace

Fifty years ago, humanity achieved one of its greatest accomplishments: landing on the moon. But before NASAs astronauts stepped on the lunar surface, they had to travel through space in rickety metal cans. Space travelers of the future, however, may instead cruise in cushy inflatable pads.

Decades later, NASA is in a race against itself to send humans back to the surface of the moon by 2024. To meet this ambitious goal, the space agency plans to build what it calls a Lunar Gatewaybasically a mini space station in lunar orbit. This critical piece of hardware is essential to the agencys plans and will serve as a transportation depot; astronauts will board a lander that will descend from there to the moons surface and return to the Gateway when the astronauts are ready to come home.

SEE ALSO: Rocket Insurance Is a Complicated Branch of the Space Industry

It would be comprised of two parts: a docking port where astronauts can transfer from their spacecraft to a lander, and a power module to keep everything running. Since it will be bare bones architecture, NASA is counting on commercial partners to build the other necessary components, like landers and habitat modules.

Although the configuration is not final, this infographic shows the current lineup of parts comprising NASAs Gateway. Modules shown in blue are U.S. contributions; modules shown in purple are proposed international components; and modules in yellow are both U.S. and international, or yet to be determined. NASA

The agency plans to attach those astronaut quarters to the floating station, providing a place where astronauts can work, relax, eat and sleep. To that end, NASA is holding a competitiondubbed the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) programto see which of its commercial partners can build the best habitat.

One such company, Bigelow Aerospace, is taking a slightly different approach to its space abodes. Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, the company thinks expandable habitat modules are the way to go. In contrast to the rigid habs of the past, Bigelows modules would launch in the cargo hold of a rocket, and then expand to full size once on orbit.

Bigelows flagship modulethe B330is essentially a giant, industrial-strength bouncy house in space. Designed to hitch a ride into space compacted, once its free of Earths atmosphere, the B330 will expand outward, creating a cushy crib for visiting astronauts.

For launch, the B330 will be compressed enough to fit inside a 16.5-foot-wide (5 meter) payload fairing; after it reaches space, the module will be inflated using its onboard gas canisters. Bigelow Aerospace

The modules expandable nature is its chief selling point; constructed out of a durable kevlar material, this type of habitat offers many advantages over the bulky, metallic modules carried up by the space shuttle. Not only is it cheaper to launch, but since its bigger on the inside than previous designs, its basically the TARDIS of space habs. For launch, the B330 will be compressed enough to fit inside a 16.5-foot-wide (5 meter) payload fairing; after it reaches space, the module will be inflated using its onboard gas canisters.

According to company representatives, this feature enables B330 to provide more habitable volume than traditional aluminum modules. For comparison, the module boasts 330 cubic meters (11,650 cubic feet) of internal volume, while the International Space Station contains about 930 cubic meters (32,840 cubic feet).

Designed to be an independent space station, B330 will have its own life-support and propulsion systems, capable of supporting a crew of four indefinitely and could work just about anywherein orbit or in deep space.

The B330 is the follow-up to the companys initial prototype, dubbed the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (AKA the BEAM), which was installed on the space station in 2015. The demonstration proved that the materials used to build the BEAM could withstand the harsh environment of outer space. Bigelow hopes that NASA will ultimately select the B330 for use on the upcoming Lunar Gateway. NASA plans to begin construction on the Gateway as soon as 2022 as part of its Artemis program, which aims to put astronauts on the moon by 2024 and establish a sustainable, long-term presence on and around the moon by 2028.

BEAM, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, is pictured installed on the Tranquility module of the ISS and expanded to its full-size volume. NASA

NASA envisions this Gateway, and the proposed lunar exploration program it will support, to be a stepping stone to Mars. So the Lunar Gateway could be just the beginning for Bigelow and the B330. But before it can become the free-floating deep-space hab of the future, B330 needs to pass NASAs tests.

The space agency is currently conducting a two-week-long ground test on the B330 habitat at the companys Las Vegas headquarters. Several NASA astronauts are participating in the testing to give input and assess the module. After all, who better to review a space habitat than someone who has actually been to space?

The B330s cavernous interior provides space for workstations, cooking areas, 3D printers, plant growth facilities and more that needs to be in a fixed location. It also features multiple hand and foot rails, which are necessary features used by astronauts to get around sans gravity. But all of that needs to be laid out just so. Heres where the astronauts come in: Theyve been giving feedback on various things like hand and foothold placement and how the interior flows.

NASA astronauts participating in the B330 ground test pose next to the inflation tanks inside the Bigelow testing unit. Bigelow Aerospace

If things go well for Bigelow, and NASA green-lights the habitat, company officials say that a B330 could be ready to ship in as little as 42 months.

But the versatile hab is capable of more than the Gateway; it can go anywhere, including the lunar surfaceand Mars, as well as free-floating in deep space. Two B330s could also connect, forming a spacious Martian transport system. But testing it in lunar orbit is the crucial first step toward any deep space ambitions.

The habitat could also stay close to home, thanks to a change in NASA policy. Earlier this year, the space agency announced it was opening up the International Space Station (ISS) for commercial use. According to the announcement, private companies will be able to send private citizensAKA space touristson the trip of a lifetime as part of an initiative to help generate a sustainable economy in low-Earth orbit. The opportunities would begin in 2020 and will come with some strict guidelines.

This is a look inside the central core of the B330, which is one of the main translation passages inside the space station. Bigelow Aerospace

Designed to help stimulate an economy in space, the new endeavor will also enable companies to develop and demonstrate technologies that will help NASA to achieve its goal of reaching the moon.

In addition to sending private citizens to the space station, the agency is also hoping that some companies may want to build their own modules that would attach to the station. Bigelow proposed attaching a B330 to the ISS, similar to what the company did with its BEAM module.

In this rendering, a B330 is seen on the forward node of the International Space Station. Bigelow Aerospace

In June, Bigelow even announced that it had bought seats on four launches of SpaceXs Crew Dragon capsule, a new vehicle that will soon be able to transport people to low-Earth orbit. The plans were to sell tickets to tourists for $52 million each; however, those plans have been put on indefinite hold.

Thats because sending tourists to the ISS is way more complicated than anyone realizednot to mention, its incredibly difficult to find people who can shell out more than $50 million for a short sojourn in space.

For now, though, the company is focusing on making it to lunar orbit. If Bigelow can snag that coveted contract, perhaps it can keep its dream of an even more massive deep space habitat alive.

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This Inflatable Space Habitat Could House the Next Astronauts to Walk on the Moon - Observer

Russia and China Are Teaming Up to Explore the Moon – Space.com

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The first country to land a spacecraft on the moon and the only country to do so since the 1970s are teaming up for a lunar return.

In 1966, the Soviet Union made the first soft lunar landing during the Luna 9 mission, which sent the first images from the surface of the moon back to Earth. The country spent a decade exploring the lunar surface but hasn't been back since 1976.

Now, Russia is partnering with modern lunar powerhouse China, the only country to successfully land softly on the moon within the past decade or four. In January, as part of China's current moon mission, the country's Chang'e 4 lander and Yutu 2 rover became the first robots to operate on the far side of the moon.

Related: Chang'e 4 in Pictures: China's Mission to the Moon's Far Side

China has sketched out an ambitious lunar plan, with four future missions under discussion.

Chang'e 5 will launch in the next year and is designed to be China's first sample-return mission. Chang'e 6 will fetch a sample from the lunar south pole in 2023, and Chang'e 7 will explore that region in detail. Another mission will begin progress on China's long-term goal of establishing a science base on the moon.

Russia's lunar plans are running on a different schedule to account for the country's long hiatus in moon visits. The head of the Roscosmos space agency, Dmitry Rogozin, recently walked through those plans, citing a 2024 orbiter, a 2028 sample-return mission, and human flights in 2029 or 2030.

And on Sept. 17, Rogozin and his Chinese counterpart, Zhang Kejian, agreed to work together on lunar projects, according to a statement from Roscosmos. They plan to build a shared data center, with one outpost in each country, for lunar and deep-space research.

Luna 9 the first successful lunar lander, which the Soviet Union launched in 1966 snapped this image of the lunar surface.

(Image credit: NASA National Space Science Data Center)

They also agreed that China's Chang'e 7 lander and a Russian orbiter called Luna 26 should work together, with Luna 26 helping Chang'e 7 find a safe landing site. Each spacecraft may also carry scientific instruments from the other country, assuming scientific analysis proves that would be beneficial.

So far, China has a flawless record at the moon, beginning with its 2007 mission, Chang'e 1. Russia, on the other hand, has struggled recently with hiccups in its human spaceflight program, the only way astronauts can currently reach the International Space Station.

Last fall, a small-but-much-publicized hole in a docked Soyuz capsule prompted continuing speculation, and a rocket anomaly during a crew launch sent two astronauts plummeting back to Earth. Last month, the first-ever uncrewed Soyuz capsule struggled to dock autonomously at the station.

Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.com or follow her @meghanbartels. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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Russia and China Are Teaming Up to Explore the Moon - Space.com