Category Archives: Hedonism

Mayor de Blasios announcement of two so-called safe injection sites for drug users one in Washington Heights and another in East Harlem makes New York the first US city to legally permit such facilities.

The hope is, of course, to save lives. But the city will also be taking a side in a pitched legal and moral debate about the effectiveness of such sites and, in fact, authorizing facilities that will be operating in violation of federal drug law. An upcoming court case based on a similar proposal in Philadelphia will reveal whether the Biden administration will move to permit such harm reduction facilities nationwide.

The underlying assumptions of the harm reduction movement are clear. Drug addicts will continue to seek and use increasingly powerful, illegal street drugs and its better to provide clean needles and the on-site overdose reversal drug naloxone than let them join the more than 100,000 Americans who died from an overdose in the year that ended in April, a tragic new record.

Such sites already operate abroad, including in Amsterdam and Vancouver, Canada. And there is no doubt that reversing an overdose as its happening will prevent death. Ronda Goldfein, an advocate for such sites in Philadelphia, recently argued that the overdose crises require an all-hands-on-deck approach despite the inconclusive results of prior research: The idea that well wait, well develop the perfect study, and then well open the doors. . . . What about the people were losing every day?

The two new Overdose Prevention Centers and two more planned will apparently resemble those medical labs where one gets blood drawn. Charles King of Housing Works, which hopes to open a site, told Gothamist/NYC that he envisions a setting with white partitions and a mirror, such that addicts can self-inject hard drugs such as heroin but be observed by nurses or an EMT, in case of an overdose.

But there are still good reasons to be concerned about such facilities. As David Murray, longtime chief scientist at the federal Office of National Drug Control, has said, safe injection sites may not actually be safe: The new generation of fentanyl-laced street drugs may be so potent that overdose-reversal drugs may not be effective. The Harlem and Washington Heights sites, to be operated by OnPoint NYC, will, per the citys feasibility study, offer walk-ins the opportunity to have their drugs tested for fentanyl or impurities to minimize risk. But would such testing be required? What if addicts decline such a test? And what if, despite precautions, someone dies in a safe injection site? Such concerns have prompted opposition to such facilities from Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, who has said that government should not be involved in taking on that type of liability.

But most notably, there is little definitive research that demonstrates SIS improve their surrounding neighborhoods or reduce overall overdoses. Studies abroad have found a decline in syringes in their neighborhoods but found no reduction in area crime, which one would think would be an important measure of success.

Murray notes, Addicts may shoot up in safe injection sites but those are not open 24 hours a day. They will continue to inject drugs elsewhere.

Moreover, he adds, our goal should be to help addicts build productive lives, not simply to facilitate their addiction. Thus, any safe injection sites should closely monitor the fate of those who use them no easy task, given the transience and risks associated with addiction.

Theres another important reason, however, that cities including Philadelphia and San Francisco, where harm reduction advocates have pushed for SIS, have not seen them open. Federal law the Controlled Substances Act prohibits the operation of a facility for the purpose of unlawfully using controlled substances.

The city Health Department brushes off the law, saying our overarching recommendation is to support the piloting of four supervised injection sites despite the risk of criminal prosecution for clients, staff and operators, as well as the risk of loss of licensure of clinical staff and the forfeiture of property for facility operators and landlords. Oh.

Indeed, the efforts of the Philadelphia group Safehouse have been, to date, blocked by the federal courts after the citys Trump-era US attorney brought suit. Safehouse is, however, trying a new legal tack, based on a religious exemption, that will challenge the courts interpretation of the law. In the process, its new suit, due to be heard in early January, will reveal whether the Biden Justice Department will continue the Trump-era opposition to safe injection sites. Acquiescence could open the door to such sites nationwide.

There is much at stake here, including, to be sure, the lives of the addicted. But so, too, is the message that we are sending regarding drug use. At a time when we have already legalized marijuana, as states scrounge for sin tax revenue, we must decide whether we want to give a social seal of approval to what amounts to hedonism to a lifestyle that promotes pleasure and thrill-seeking over the sense of satisfaction and achievement that comes with work well done and healthy families.

A full spectrum of behaviors that were once rightly viewed as temptations to resist, including drug use and gambling, are not only permitted but actively promoted by state governments. Now New York City is asking two low-income neighborhoods to provide sites where addicts will gather and legally use illegal drugs. What message will we send to those in East Harlem and Washington Heights who are raising children to work hard and play by the rules?

For now, this looks to be a fait accompli, as Mayor-elect Eric Adams has expressed strong support and the incoming state health commissioner, Mary Bassett, has just finished serving in the same role in the city. But what if overdoses citywide continue to rise anyway? What if crime surrounding the sites actually climbs? We can only hope that those involved will truly view these sites as pilots and remain open to the possibility that they may bring more costs than benefits.

Howard Husock is a senior fellow in domestic-policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. He hosted a recent AEI event with leading public-health researchers, Safe injection sites in Americas cities.

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Free-for-all sends 'OD'ious message to drug addicts at NYC safe injection sites' - New York Post

The Talmud asks: What is Chanukah? When the Greeks entered the Temple they contaminated all the oil in the Temple. The Maccabees overpowered them, and they searched but could only find one flask of oil with the High Priests seal that would last one day, and it lasted for eight days. The following year they established these days of praise and thanksgiving.

The holiday of Chanukah is the only holiday in the Jewish calendar where there is no mitzvah to eat a meal. Why is this so? Although it is true that the danger presented by the Greeks was spiritual, and consequently the celebration ordained was also spiritual, that hardly seems to be sufficient reason not to have a festive meal, too. Rosh Hashanah is a spiritual celebration as well. So is a bris milah celebration when a child enters the covenant of Abraham, and the bar mitzvah celebration of a boy becoming obligated in mitzvos; yet all these celebrations are marked with a festive meal. Why is Chanukah any different?

My father, Rabbi Ephraim Nisenbaum, offered the following answer: In the Al Hanissim prayer in the service it says that the Greeks tried to cause the Jewish people to forget the Torah. It does not merely say that they banned Torah study, but that they tried to cause them to forget Torah. How did they try to do that?

The Greeks were a hedonistic people who encouraged a life of gluttony, physical beauty and pleasure. When a person is saturated with cheap thrills and pleasures, it is much more difficult for him to enjoy the finer, more subtle pleasures in life. In the same way, when a person is steeped in physical pleasure he becomes desensitized to spiritual pleasure and he is unable to appreciate it.

The Greeks tried to lead the Jews to hedonism, thus causing them to forget Torah. The Midrash finds an allusion to the Greek exile in the darkness at the beginning of Creation, because the Greeks darkened the eyes of Israel. Why should the Greeks be alluded to by darkness more than the Babylonians, Persians or Romans? If anything, they were more civilized and enlightened than the other exiles.

The answer is that while the other exiles may have operated in darkness by persecuting the Jews, the Greeks operated in the light. They darkened the eyes of the Jews by blinding them in the artificial light of hedonism. When the Maccabees vanquished the Greeks, they were freed from this darkness and they regained their sensitivity. Once again, they were able to appreciate the subtle beauty of Torah.

When the rabbis established Chanukah as a yom tov, they deliberately avoided celebrating with festive meals. The celebration of Chanukah was meant to allow us to appreciate pure spiritual delight, and physical pleasure can actually serve as an impediment to achieving that goal.

Rabbi Yossi Nisenbaum is the director of programming at Jewish Learning Connection in University Heights.

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Chanukah the party-less holiday - Cleveland Jewish News

Skin in the Game, an exhibition of work by 35 diverse artists, curated by Zoe Lukov and presented by Palm Heights, is a collective offering. The exhibition is about touch, transmission, and skinthe potential, vulnerability and risk contained thereinas a boundary to protect from danger or as a porous border to receive. It seeks to establish a dialogue with the erotic and has through lines that touch on game, color, race, the hunt, sport,religious iconography and competition. The exhibition, which is free and open to the public, will be on view from November 29December 10, 2021.

Having skin in the game is about power, danger, currency, play, joy, indulgence as well as the taboo, the voyeuristic and the hedonistic," said Lukov, an independent curator based in Los Angeles on her inspiration for the exhibition. There is an inherent violence and vulnerability, as well as a promise of pleasure, that comes with being in ones skin. This is an opportunity to explore skin as a site of potential transmission, of hand-sanitized stickiness, of lost contact. There is a desire to understand what touch can be nowthe ecstasy after global isolation.

An international roster of artists from Argentina, Barbados, China, Colombia, Cuba, France, Japan, Mexico, Syria, U.K. and USA, whose work is diverse in terms of genre, trajectory, and perspective include Derrick Adams, Isabelle Albuquerque, Tosh Basco, Lynda Benglis, Carlos Betancourt, Ral de Nieves, Jen DeNike, Jane Dickson, Amir H. Fallah, Gonzalo Fuenmayor, Nicholas Galanin X Merritt Johnson, Theaster Gates, Generic Art Solutions, Clarity Haynes, Micol Hebron, Camille Henrot, Zhang Huan, Jesse Krimes, Marilyn Minter, Maynard Monrow, Carlos Motta, Paul Pfeiffer, Elizabeth Prentis, Gabriel Rico, Erin M. Riley, Florencia Rodriguez Giles, Sheena Rose, Moises Salazar, Eduardo Sarabia, Hank Willis Thomas, Urara Tsuchiya, Juana Valdes, Kennedy Yanko and Jwan Yosef.

Taking over an unlikely Art Deco space in the heart of South Beach, where Lincoln Road meets Washington Avenue, where anesthetized urban mall shopping meets bikini-clad bombshells and boxing buffs, amidst the vestiges of a bygone south beach-past of tattoo parlors, sex shops and strip clubs, the exhibition presents a multiplicity of interpretations on skin.

Among the historic works on loan to the exhibition like Lynda Bengliss Eat Meat (1969/1975), Jane Dicksons Peepseries (1992-96) and Zhang Huans 12 (Meat + Text) (1998), are new pieces created specifically for the exhibition by Ral de Nieves, Gonzalo Fuenmayor, Sheena Rose, Moises Salazar and Eduardo Sarabia. Early and rarely-seen works by Carlos Betancourt and Carlos Motta will be presented, as well as new works by Gabriel Rico and new, never-before-seen photographs by Tosh Basco. Works on loan from major private collections will be on view such as Theaster Gatess Reliquary, Clarity Haynes Genesis, Marilyn Minters Pamela Anderson and works from the iconic series Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Paul Pfeiffer as well as his Caryatid (Rios).

The artworks included are a proposal to exfoliate the exoskeletons of our collective desire and fear, to circumnavigate the edges of our hungering, our wanting, continued Lukov. This is about indulgence amidst scarcity. There is pornography with sanctity, hedonism with decadence, but there are also tidal waves of swelling climactic joy.

Gabriella Khalil stated, In keeping with our commitment to provide alternative formats for contemporary culture around the world, we support programs that are aligned with our mission and encourage cross-cultural collaboration. We are excited to support for the first time a major exhibition during Miami Art Week. Now, more than ever we need to come together around arts and culture that bucks the general norms and opens up new dialogue.

The exhibition is presented by Palm Heights, a hub for arts and culture. Founded in 2019 by Creative Director Gabriella Khalil, Palm Heights maintains a rigorous year-round arts and choreography residency that provides space for diverse cultural practitioners to create without limits and explore the hybrid cultural currents of the Caribbean.

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"Skin in the Game" at Miami Art Week - Art & Object

It was a strange year for local music, as many venues re-opened, outdoor shows proliferated, and long postponed albums were released, but delta has kept things different than normal.

That meant albums probably didnt get the time on the road that they require to build attention (and earn some income.) And plenty of groups released great records this year despite the turbulent environment around them.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the streaming service Bandcamp has held Bandcamp Fridays, where it waives its fees to pass along the money directly to the creators.

Here, in alphabetical order, are some of the albums by local groups that caught my ear and are worth checking out.

Abstract Aprils, "Odyssey"

Abstract Aprils, 'Odyssey'

Nothing brought ambient music into popular culture like the pandemic did, so heres a shout-out to the local artist making ambient in western Montana.

Odyssey falls onto the more serene Music for Airports end of the spectrum it doesnt engage with menace or anything too jarring, and its all instrumental, with some admittedly dusty touches. The series of nine pieces are chopped up into song length with arcs of their own, although theyre fairly subtle by design.

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Arrowleaf, 'Getting By'

Arrowleaf cover the gamut of moody indie-folk and pop sounds on Getting By with contemporary production and local detail.

Thrift Store Dukes sounds bouncy and playful on the surface but the lyrics put someones arrogance under a microscope. River is an a cappella piece in out there Neko Case mode, with epigrammatic lines (no one tells a river where to run). Mtn Peak finds the protagonist wandering through the landscape with deep guitar and trumpet to match.

Sarah Marker is the voice of the group, and along with the full band (Amanda Ceaser, Jon Filkins, Jim Riach, and Brady Schwertfeger, plus guests), they carefully packaged them

Ash Nataanii, "Exit Music for Exit Wounds"

Ash Nataanii, 'Exit Music for Exit Wounds'

Nataanii, the voice of rock group Fuuls, explores a mellower (though not necessarily lighter) mood on her solo project, Exit Music for Exit Wounds.

It a classic bedroom recording project feeling, from the comforting sound of drum machines and relatively low-key guitar sounds to the subject matter introspective and self-eviscerating lyrics that go down easier thanks to the calm production style that can feel like 1980s anthems faded by tape decay.

25 to Life addresses her youth growing up in North Dakota as an Indigenous person in a religious household; idgf has the desperation of someone looking to reconnect, and Nataaniis voice, which has a lot of range, expresses the varied moods of that desperation, not unlike the record as a whole.

Cosmic Sans, "Cosmic Sans"

Cosmic Sans, 'Cosmic Sans'

While rock n roll has always been vehicle for hedonism in college towns, the genre seems to have shifted toward psych rather than punk in the past handful of years. Regardless, the reckless spirit is alive in groups like Cosmic Sans, but the rhythms are different and the effects pedal-boards are bigger. As befits the genre, this debut album is all-over the place, with jump cuts between genres and sounds, sometimes within a jam. The mid-tempo songs keep all the antic energy grounded.

Junior, "Warm Buildings"

Junior, 'Warm Buildings'

The trio of Caroline Keys, Jenny Lynn Fawcett and Hermina Jean Harold teamed up before the pandemic for this project, where empathetic harmony vocals, shared songwriting and spare instrumentation that keeps the songs and voices as the centerpiece. The live shows have been rare, but a highlight of last summer, so the studio treatment is more than welcome.

Queenager, 'Easy'

Sarah Frazier and Bryan Curt Kostors teamed up for this synth-pop project, where her calmly focused delivery is matched with heady synth sounds they conjured up together during COVID. Kostors, a visiting professor at the University of Montana School of Music, wrote an orchestral arrangement to The Line, with an actual orchestra. As the Missoulian wrote in August, "following the dips and waves and hops and pitters of this new synth-pop album is a journey in itself as it turns a mirror on listeners allowing them to face their own truths."

Ro Myra, "Nowhere, Nebraska"

Ro Myra, 'Nowhere, Nebraska'

Myras record, cut in Nashville, revisits her upbringing in rural Nebraska and the hardships of small-town life (including a loved one with alcoholism.) That said, the singer-songwriters voice and melodic skills off-set the hard looks at life, and the band she recruited help lift the mood up toward closure.

Rob Travolta, "Slumber Soul" (Anything Bagel)

Rob Travolta, 'Slumber Soul'

This duo project between bassist Rob Cave and drummer Cole Bronson, both of whom play in other groups around town, sets aside vocals and guitar (mostly) for evocative instrumental rock thats progressive but not show-offy. Some local guests help fill out the core instruments with synth, steel, guitar, harp and trumpet, but the core remains a solid lo-fi record for road trips.

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The year in Missoula music: Local albums from 2021 - The Missoulian

Whats my next album going to be based on? Divorce, babe divorce, Adele gleefully exclaimed on Instagram Live during the announcement of her latest album, 30. The album titled after her age during the recording process is the songstress first offering in six years, following the blockbuster success of her previous albums 21 and 25.

In the six years following her last release, Adele has publicly grappled with a barrage of life-changing events. The singer divorced her husband, received backlash for losing weight and lost her father, with whom she maintained a strained relationship. With confessional lyricism being one of Adeles artistic staples, 30 doesnt hold back in thoroughly exploring these melancholic themes.

[This album] was my ride or die throughout the most turbulent period of my life, Adele wrote on Twitter. Ive painstakingly rebuilt my house and my heart and this album narrates it.

The album opens with the subdued lullaby Strangers By Nature. It evokes a startlingly grim undertone, depicting Adele delivering flowers to the cemetery of [her] heart to commemorate previous relationships. Forlorn lyrics aside, the song marks exciting new territory for Adele. The track is her first to openly use contemporary instrumentation. Synth keyboards and digitally augmented vocals are paired with the singers classic orchestral arrangements. The pairing of contrasting sounds gels surprisingly well and continues through the rest of the album.

Easy On Me the first single released is a return to form for the songstress. The ballad harkens back to classic Adele songs, such as Someone Like You and Hello, with Adele belting over a familiar piano background. Fans will be pleased to find that Adeles voice sounds clearer and healthier than ever, after the singers lengthy struggle with maintaining proper vocal health.

My Little Love sees Adele experiment further with new sonic landscapes. In an interview with Vogue, Adele detailed an anecdote where her son, Angelo, claimed he metaphorically couldnt see her because of how preoccupied she was with anxiety. In My Little Love, Adele extrapolates upon this concept, composing the songs verses with muffled clips of a recorded conversation between herself and her son. The songs content is staggeringly voyeuristic, with the voice memos portraying Angelo claiming he feels his mother doesnt love him and Adele eventually breaking down in tears over her loneliness, rendering the anxieties of motherhood.

Listeners shouldnt be discouraged by the albums initial somber pace, as the tracklist also features a variety of upbeat moments although the lyrics do remain rather dismal. At first glance, Cry Your Heart Out features Adele cheerily channeling 60s girl groups and doo-wop music. When looking beyond the bright exterior, listeners will find that Adele is describing her disillusioned attitude toward life, with her lamenting, When I wake up, I'm afraid of the idea of facing' the day / I would rather stay home on my own, drink it all away.

The singers musical experimentation carries on in Oh My God, an electronic, slinky ode to careless hedonism after a breakup. Can I Get It co-written by prominent pop hitmaker Max Martin also places Adele outside of her comfort zone, with the singer crooning over a 90s-inspired acoustic guitar, reminiscent of the likes of Beck. All Night Parking is a smooth, trip hop interlude where Adele sings about finding love again over a trap beat.

Although seeing Adele innovate her sound by dipping her toes into a variety of musical genres, 30 excels when presenting the singers speciality lovelorn ballads.

Woman Like Me a standout on the album portrays an anguished Adele composing a scathing diatribe against her ex-husband. The song is down-tempo, with the singer utilizing the deeper parts of her range to cultivate an angry, ominous tone. The lyrics describe her husband as complacent and too lazy to maintain a relationship with a woman like [Adele], citing how her success makes him feel small.

The track Hold On traverses the subject of existential dread. The refrain, which encourages listeners to hold on through their personal hardships, is inspired by a phrase that Adeles friends would use when coaching her through anxiety. The song starts off slowly and builds into an uplifting anthem, with Adeles friends featured as members of a gospel choir that encourages listeners to be gratuitous and patient as love will come soon.

The album closes with the nearly seven-minute cinematic song, Love Is A Game. Its inspired by the film Breakfast at Tiffanys, with the singer claiming she wrote the song as if [she] were writing the [films] soundtrack. Adele pulls out all stops, including a soaring full orchestral arrangement and an invigorating key change.

30 acts as a well-earned victory lap for Adele as she enters a new decade showcasing her undeniable talent while also allowing the industry veteran to play with fresh sounds. With music industry experts predicting the album to sell over 800,000 copies a rarity when todays consumers simply stream music listeners are bound to tune in.

Contact Jake Dodohara at dodohajh@dukes.jmu.edu . For more on the culture, arts and lifestyle of the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the culture desk on Twitter and Instagram @Breeze_Culture.

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Review | Adele makes her triumphant return on '30' - The Breeze

Are you going to get dumped the moment spring arrives? (Picture: Getty)

Its officially cuffing season a magical time when the drop in temperatures and coupley Christmas events (were looking at you, Winter Wonderland) makes people want to get into relationships, sharpish.

The mad dash to not be single for the colder months can make dating a bit of a minefield.

Some people will, genuinely, only want to be with you until spring arrives, while others will settle for people entirely wrong for them due to cuffing-goggles.

Its key to be on the lookout for these cuffing-induced couplings, so you know exactly what youre getting yourself into.

But how can you spot when someone only wants you for the sake of cuffing season, and will likely crush your heart as things start to heat up again?

Relationships expert Neil Wilkie breaks down 10 warning signs

Living in the moment is a wonderful thing, but if you want something long-term, a partners reluctance to talk about anything months away will start to grate.

There will come a time when hedonism will fade and reality will intrude, Neil tells Metro.co.uk. You will want to know about the future and have some plans.

Be clear about the future that you want and discuss with your partner what they want. If they dont want to talk about it or just say I dont know, that is a clear sign that theyre there for the short term and not aligned with you.

The sex may be good but in a relationship its important we have something else to talk about, says Neil. If all you talk about is stuff rather than feelings that is a clear sign that they are just a winter visitor en route to the sun.

Talk about your feelings and see if they engage. See if you feel listened to and important.

Take a moment to think about how well you actually know this person. Do you know their hopes and dreams? Their parents names? Whether they prefer cats over dogs?

Someone who isnt really committed wont bother to tell you much about themselves, their pasts, or their future.

Neil recommends: Ask questions to try to find more about them. If all you get is evasion or an unwillingness to answer, then maybe they just want to be a two-dimensional visitor to your life.

Wait, are they stashing you?

Neil says that a big warning sign is when the two of you are snuggled up in your warm nest and they dont want you to meet important people in their life.

He adds: This may tell you that they are embarrassed and do not want to explain to their family or friends that it is just a passing fling.

Ouch.

Maybe it just feels rather transient and that you are two people living in parallel in one place, says Neil.

They are making a little effort to connect with you, and you are feeling taken advantage of.

Try and connect physically with long hugs, emotionally with laughter and tears and psychologically with deep conversations. If this fails, then be ready to wave them off.

Are you just seeing each other, with no sign of a chat about going exclusive or whisper it getting into an actual relationship?

Thats a sign this might just be a cuffing season fling.

Neil asks: Does it feel like a Chinese takeaway? As soon as you finish eating you feel hungry again.

You may laugh and have fun but that passes quickly, there is no depth to it.

Fun is hugely important to a relationship, but it needs to be in the context of all the other elements being right.

Enjoy it while you can knowing that it all may end before you want it to.

Every day may feel like Groundhog Day, explains Neil. You are stuck, they are stuck, and the relationship is not growing.

You need to have a plan for what you want in the future and how the relationship will grow.

If they dont want to engage with this, that gives you a very clear message that it has to end.

Trust is a pretty important thing in a relationship, so if its not there, alarm bells should be ringing.

You dont know where they are what theyre doing or who theyre communicating with, Neil says. You cannot predict how they will respond. You do not feel that they have your back.

This may be okay for one night stand, but can you sustain it for several months?

Love is not mentioned, or if it is there is no depth or authenticity to it, says Neil.

If you love them tell them and see how they respond. If they change the subject or mutter platitudes, that is a clear sign theyre only involved for cuffing season.

The key for dealing with these concerns is clear communication.

Talk to your partner and see if this helps give you clarity, suggests Neil. If not, ask them straight whether they just want to be free to go when the spring comes.

These answers will help you decide whether to say goodbye or stay in the nest together.

Stay warm, value yourself and find the person you want and deserve.

Neil Wilkie is a relationship expert, psychotherapist, author of the Relationship Paradigm Series of Books and creator of online couples therapy programme,The Relationship Paradigm.

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Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.

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10 warning signs that they only want to date you for cuffing season - Metro

The Soviet-Afghan War was a conflict that has up till now reverberated through history. It moulded and formed the basis upon which the Afghanistan of the present banks upon.

The Mujahideen had always been portrayed during the course of the war as awe-inducing nationalists who had taken up arms against the hedonism of the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, they were the bane the Afghans had been trying to avoid.

In that very same conundrum, the ironic face of suffering, Sharbat Gula, found acclaim as the fodder for Western medias depiction of the conflict. To think that the entirety of the world stood still as America backed Mujahid forces captured the Afghan hinterland, is delirious, to say the least.

However, to put matters into perspective, it should be through the eyes of the Green-Eyed Afghan girl that we note a journey of such adversity.

As the war between the Soviet Union and the guerilla Mujahideen fighters raged beyond and through the hinterland of Afghanistan, many civilians found themselves without shelter or a place to call home.

Unfortunately, the authorities realized nothing and the infernal flames of warfare took over one district after another. The American government alongside its NATO allies and China kept providing the Mujahid forces with arms of qualities unparalleled.

To put matters into perspective, the entire conflict led to a constant sense of threat all along the Afghan country. Both the Soviet Union and the rebels kept committing to the offensive as fear became their weapon of choice. Massacres upon massacres of the common citizenry alongside wanton rape and destruction had become the norm.

Among these villagers, a green-eyed 12-year-old girl found refuge in a certain refugee camp, much like others. However, it was her expressive eyes that found recluse in the international sphere. These eyes expressed the anguish of the ages as the suffering brushed against global sensibilities.

As US photographer, Steve McCurry, took the picture of Gula in 1985, she was still an adolescent of 12, however, it was right then that we were provided with a vision into the plight of the Afghans.

The picture found release in a National Geographic magazine however, her identity was yet not known. It was on McCurrys second visit that he tracked her down to note her identity. Gulas contribution to the state of Afghanistan can be best described with former President, Ashraf Ghanis statement;

As a child, she captured the hearts of millions because she was the symbol of displacement. The enormous beauty, the enormous energy that she projected from her face captured hearts and became one of the most famous photographs of the 1980s and up until the 1990s.

Gulas life during Afghanistans wonky transition into a democratic republic had turned fairly strange, to say the least. She had found herself in a strange state as she was found illegally living in Pakistan, having left Afghanistan, in 2016.

She was arrested and placed before a court in Peshawar for purchasing an illegal identity card. However, after this incident, it was adjudged by the court that she would be deported back to her place of origin. Coupled with that she had to spend 15 days in jail and submit a fine of 110,000 Pakistani Rupee.

Upon being deported back, her strife to normalcy would be short-lived as the Afghan Taliban forces took over the country within a space of a few years. Gula, now a woman of 40, with four children and widowed, appealed to the Italian government to help her escape the Taliban and its government.

The Italian government had spearheaded refugee welfare in the country and had imbibed upon itself the duty of evacuating civilians to safety.

Thus, with the Italian Government in tow, she found solace, having been promised to be provided with necessary assistance required to accommodate herself with regular life in the country.

The Italian Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, recognized the countrys service to the Afghan people and also, to such an icon of Gulas stature who explained an entire eras suffering in a singular picture. He said that the photograph had come to symbolise the vicissitudes and conflict of the chapter in history that Afghanistan and its people were going through at the time.

Gula deserves some rest now for one cannot spend an entire lifetime running away from their oppressors. A moment of respite is necessary.

Image Source: Google Images

Sources: Hindustan Times, Sky News, CBS

Connect with the blogger: @kushan257

This post is tagged under: sharbat gula, green eyed afghan girl, green eyes, afghan, Afghanistan, Taliban, Government, war-torn, freedom of speech, rights, womens rights, women, human rights, human rights violation, humanity, Afghan people, humanitarian, Peace, interim government, mullah baradar, annas haqqani, haqqani network, Afghanistan, haqqani, haqqani taliban, taliban, taliban Afghanistan

Dalits Suffering In Punjab Due To Land

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Fascinating Story Of The Afghan Green Eyed Girl As She Gets Provided With Shelter In Italy - edtimes.in

Express News Service

Its been a year of smackdown movies. Back in March, Godzilla and Kong tore up the world. Then came Venom: Let There Be Carnage, with its dual symbiotes. Closer home, if youre the masochist type, you can watch John Abraham battle himself in Satyameva Jayate 2. Or you may not. For the truly valiant viewer, theres a whole new bout in town.

Aayush Sharma, brother-in-law of Salman Khan, made his debut in the 2018 musical Loveyatri. The film was produced by Salman, but clearly that wasnt enough. So now he must step into the ring. The role Salman has, in Mahesh Manjrekars Antim: The Final Truth, is a dual one: he must back Aayush up while also bringing him down. To decode the films logic, a family that bleeds together, stays together.

Aayush plays Rahul, a violent village boy who migrates to Pune with his family. There, his father takes up hard manual work at the citys Market Yard. This is not a life Rahul sees for himself, subsisting on crumbs and letting middlemen and thugs push them around. Ill eat the whole thali, he announces proudly. With sweet dish. So he falls in with gangsters, gladly and gleefully killing a few to become the Bhai of Pune.

Thats a title screaming out for a comeback. It materializes in the form of Rajveer, a Sikh cop played by Salman. The actor had last draped a turban in Heroes (2008), mostly in military green. In Antim, he gets to try on red, blue and khaki variants. Whats more touching, though, is his decision to swap out the bracelet, ditching it for a sharp, shiny kara. As for his accent, thats just asking too much. He slips from Hindi to Punjabi without the slightest change in texture or pitch. Oye tu fikar na kar lands as flatly as humare haath bandhe hue hai (our hands are tied).

Antim is a remake of the 2018 Marathi hit Mulshi Pattern, with the cop character played up. What is originally a gritty gangster story is dressed up as campy Bollywood fare. The film is concerned with big themesland-grabbing, the abuse and exploitation of farmers in Maharashtrabut also plays as a bro-on-bro deathmatch. Its primary focus is Rahul, whose descent into crime and hedonism is held against the humble appeals of his father. Yet Manjrekar isnt quite interested in a character study. He indulges Rahul throughout, giving us a villain to root for (Vaastav, Manjrekars first Hindi film, never tipped that way).

Aayush cuts an odd figure between Jesse Pinkman and a young Sanjay Dutt. This is his show, sprinting and snickering and shooting enemies in the chest. Salman, of course, knows this, and has to deliberately subordinate himself in scenes (it doesnt worksince Manjrekar knows hes making a Salman Khan film and has to at least deliver the goods). The ensuing tension leaves little room for anyone else. Upendra Limaye, who was the cop in Mulshi Pattern, is now a gangster says something about Bollywood remakes and Jissu Senguptas tapodi accent never leaves Tollygunj.

My favourite, by far, is Sachin Khedekar as Rahuls father. Receiving his son after a hard days work, his hunched shoulders drop even further. Rahul says hes changing his ways, that the future is looking bright. Im joining politics, he informs. Sachins expression in the scene is to die for. Go on, son! he appears to scream. Do me proud.

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Antim-The Final Truth movie review: The end is far - The New Indian Express

Actress Zheng Shuang who earlier this year was fined 299 million yuan for tax evasion. Photo / Getty Images

The Cyberspace Administration of China has announced its celebrities will be banned from showing off their wealth on social media.

New rules in China's latest crackdown on the entertainment industry mean celebrities in the country will no longer be allowed to "show off wealth" or "extravagant pleasure" on social media.

Business Insider has reported social media accounts of celebrities and fans must adhere to "public order and good customs, adhere to correct public opinion orientation and value orientation, promote socialist core values, and maintain a healthy style and taste".

The rules went on to state celebrities will not be allowed to publish false or private information as a way to provoke fans to spread rumours about other fan groups.

The latest law changes come after China's celebrities attended an entertainment industry symposium hosted by the Communist Party where they were warned to "oppose the decadent ideas of money worship, hedonism and extreme individualism".

Both senior party officials and show business bosses attended where they too faced new rules including being told they had to conform to social ethics, personal morality and family values.

The symposium was held in Beijing in September and was seen to have a slogan saying "Love the party, love the country, advocate morality and art".

State media reported everyone who attended the conference was told they must "consciously abandon vulgar and kitsch inferior tastes, and consciously oppose the decadent ideas of money worship, hedonism, and extreme individualism."

In August a list of "misbehaving celebrities" circulated social media alleging celebrities had been blacklisted from Beijing.

The list included Chinese actress, Zheng Shuang, who was fined 299 million yuan for tax evasion and undeclared income. Shuang had become a household name in China after starring in many successful series and movies but in light of her recent fine China's state broadcasting regulator has ordered producers not to hire her for future opportunities.

Another Chinese actress, Zhao Wei was also listed after she was erased from China's entertainment history earlier this year.

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China released new rules in its latest attempt to crack down on the entertainment industry - New Zealand Herald

Event promoters, nightclub owners and barkeeps seem to be fiddling while Michigan burns with Covid fever.

Drinking and dancing spots host holiday eve events Wednesday night with DJs, splashy listings and pitches such as "time to party" and "celebration."

Business owners are eager to revive a tradition of Thanksgiving Eve crowds as students back from college, out-of-town visitors and others kick off a long weekend and holiday months. Last November, the governor issued an order the week before Thanksgiving that prohibited indoor service at bars and restaurants for three weeks.

Twelve months later, some spots want to let the good times roll again despite a fourth surge in pandemic cases.

"It's the biggest bar night of the year, and kids are home from school, all that fun stuff," Nemo's Bar manager Patrick Osman in Detroit is quoted by the Free Press as saying. "And the Wings always play. It's a great night to see people you haven't seen in a long time."

At another end of the spectrum, the theme of a 9 p.m. Wednesday soiree at Birmingham's Townsend Hotel is a stark example of some people's mood after 20 months of masks, restrictions and caution: "C'est La Vie" is the name of a ballroom event sponsored byLa French Platinum Vodka and Paragon Entertainment. (The French phrase for "that's life" is an English idiom expressing acceptance or resignation -- equivalent to oh well or so it goesor shit happens).

Let's drink vodka and dance near strangers, in other words, for who knows what tomorrow holds.

It's raw material for histories of an American health crisis, a chapter that could be titled "Heedless Hedonism."

For now, medical professionals warn of potential risks from holiday season crowds indoors, even in homes -- particularly if unsure of others' vaccination status or possible exposure.

"If you think youve been exposed, if you havent been vaccinated or if youve got symptoms for the love of Pete get tested and do NOT go to a bar or a Thanksgiving gathering this week," pleads a Monday tweet from Ruthanne Sudderth, a senior vice president of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association in Lansing.

Bridge Michiganrelays that sense of urgency in a holiday week roundup:

Health officials are begging people to once more play it smart, mask up and even stay home.

That some folks may pack bars and restaurants this week is mind-boggling to those in public health who have spent the better part of 20 months asking Michiganders to stay safe.

A physician at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Dr.Justin Skrzynski, tells the Freep why even bars full of resilient young adults can create "a big chance for super spreader events:"

"We don't expect to see the elderly at bar night, but what we do have is people who are going to be getting potential Covid exposures, and then going to visit elderly or ill relatives who had been previously sheltering, previously isolating to avoid Covid exposure.

"That is, unfortunately, a great way to bring Covid to communities and households [that] were previously secluded from that."

Among a dozen-plus local event listings we click, just one says anything about showing a vaccination card -- UFO Factory on Trumbull Avenue in Corktown, where three bands play from 9 p.m. to 1 p.m. tonight, posts: "You must bring proof of vaccination (take a pic on your phone) or a recent negative covid test (within 72 hours of event) for entry."

Most drink businesses encourage, but don't require, servers to be vaccinated, the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association's director told Bridge this week.

Wednesday's blowouts are "a pretty high-risk situation [for the unvaccinated], especially right now, in terms of our community numbers," Dr. Skrzynski says in the Freep article.

"Incidence is way up, percent positivity is way up. That indicates that there's a much greater chance that wherever you go in the community, there could be Covid present."

And from Ann Arbor, Dr. Matthew Wasco, a St. Joseph Mercy Hospital pathologist, tweets Monday: "I am just hoping that anyone with any hint of symptoms or concerns of infection stays away from family gatherings this week. Hospitals are very, very busy."

Amid the warning flags, these nine Detroit bars sites Thanksgiving Eve parties:

Trust: DJs, $20 cover, 10 p.m. start

Legends: 8 p.m., "Biggest Bar Night of the Year" party

Level Two Bar & Rooftop: DJ, $60 after 8:30 p.m.

The Annex: 4 DJs, 10 p.m. start, "time to party the night before you join the fam and get fat!"

Russell Industrial Center: "Bruiser Thanksgiving with Danny Brown," 9 p.m. hip-hop show, $35

The Marble Bar: 3 DJs, 10 p.m.

Garden Theater: 9 p.m., ninth annual "Welcome Home" party for "business professionals, trendsetters and socialites"

Bleu Detroit: 10 p.m.

Deluxx Fluxx: DJ Andre Power, co-founder of Soulection, 10 p.m.

Related:

Southeast Michigan has 1,900 hospitalized Covid patients

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Thanksgiving Eve is 'time to party,' not to fear Covid, at Detroit-area clubs and bars - Deadline Detroit