Yummy!

14 Genius Hacks For A Quick Breakfast On-The-Go

The Huffington Post   |  By Jessica Kane

Breakfast is not only the most important meal of the day, it's arguably the most delicious. Sadly, we often let breakfast fall by the wayside with insanely busy schedules.

But abandon breakfast no more. We've rounded up 14 hacks to ensure you get in your first meal of the day without wasting any time.

• 1
  Prepare your pancake batter in an old ketchup bottle.
  Your Modern Family
  Make it the night before, then shake before pouring into a heated pan in the morning. Get the instructions at Your Modern Family.
• 2
  Make waffle cinnamon rolls.
  Little Bit Funky
  Buy the prepared cinnamon rolls, stick them in a waffle iron and drizzle with frosting. Get the instructions at Little Bit Funky. 
• 3
  Bake your eggs in an avocado.
  Lil' Luna
  Because then you can take them with you on the road. Feel free to add toppings like cheese or bacon. Get the how-to at Lil' Luna.
• 4
  Make your pancakes in a jar and take them with you.
  Boy & The Rabbit
  No griddle necessary. Instructions are over at Boy & The Rabbit. 
• 5
  Make hard boiled eggs in advance.
  Dessert Now Dinner Later
  Make a bunch of hard boiled eggs to have in your fridge whenever you need some protein. Find out how to make these eggs that can be easily peeled at Dessert Now Dinner Later.
• 6
  Make a month of frozen smoothies in an hour.
  Hello Natural
  Time saver for an entire month? Yes please. Get the instructions at Hello Natural. 
• 7
  Prepare energy bites you can eat on the go.
  Gimme Some Oven
  These peanut butter energy bites require no baking and very little time. Win, win. Get the recipe at Gimme Some Oven. 
• 8
  Make some cereal bars the night before.
  Chew Out Loud
  Much easier than milk and a spoon when you're running out the door. And you can replace the given cereal with your personal favorite. Find the recipe at Chew Out Loud. 
• 9
  Make a muffin in 60 seconds.
  The Diva Dish
  Muffin? Yes. Only a minute? Double yes. Get the recipe at The Diva Dish.
• 10
  Bake ahead and freeze some savory mini egg muffins. 
  Ring Finger Tan Line
  These grab-and-go breakfast muffins can be frozen and reheated for whenever you're in a rush. Grab the recipe at Ring Finger Tan Line. 
• 11
  Mix up some overnight oats.
  A Pumpkin and a Princess
  The only thing you'll have to do in the morning is throw the container in your bag. Get the recipe for these banana blueberry overnight oats at A Pumpkin And A Princess. 
• 12
  Whip up a batch of breakfast cookies in advance.
  Five Heart Home
  Cookies?! For breakfast?! Done. Find the recipe over at Five Heart Home. 
• 13
  Eat your yogurt on a stick.
  Caramel Potatoes
  Yogurt + fruit - bowl - spoon. Get the instructions at Caramel Potatoes.
• 14
  When in doubt, reheat breakfast pizza.
  Yellow Bliss Road
  Pizza is best in the morning. Make it the night before for dinner, then take a slice or two on the go. Get the recipe for this one at Yellow Bliss Road.
  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/11/quick-breakfast-hacks-on-the-go_n_7562490.html

Worldwide Cost of Living Snapshot

THE COST OF LIVING EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD IN A SINGLE, AWESOME INFOGRAPHIC

by Matt Hershberger

EVER THOUGHT YOUR LIFE is too expensive? Well, if you’re living in the western world, it probably is, but it’s probably not as expensive as life in Switzerland. Movehub, an international moving company, put together this incredible infographic to show you where the cheapest places in the world are, and where the most expensive are, with a bit of info on every country in between as well. 

Hat tip to Ben for sharing this.
http://matadornetwork.com/life/the-cost-of-living-in-every-country-in-the-world-in-a-single-awesome-infographic/?utm_source=Traverse&utm_campaign=adbc259348-Traverse_6_18_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c4e20459d5-adbc259348-77080693

A Celebrated Symbol of Hate

Take Down the Confederate Flag—Now 

Ta-Nehisi Coates

The flag that Dylann Roof embraced, which many South Carolinians embrace, endorses the violence he committed.

Last night, Dylann Roof walked into a Charleston church, sat for an hour, and then killed nine people. Roof’s crime cannot be divorced from the ideology of white supremacy which long animated his state nor from its potent symbol—the Confederate flag. Visitors to Charleston have long been treated to South Carolina’s attempt to clean its history and depict its secession as something other than a war to guarantee the enslavement of the majority of its residents. This notion is belied by any serious interrogation of the Civil War and the primary documents of its instigators. Yet the Confederate battle flag—the flag of Dylann Roof—still flies on the Capitol grounds in Columbia.

The Confederate flag’s defenders often claim it represents “heritage not hate.” I agree—the heritage of White Supremacy was not so much birthed by hate as by the impulse toward plunder. Dylann Roof plundered nine different bodies last night, plundered nine different families of an original member, plundered nine different communities of a singular member. An entire people are poorer for his action. The flag that Roof embraced, which many South Carolinians embrace, does not stand in opposition to this act—it endorses it. That the Confederate flag is the symbol of of white supremacists is evidenced by the very words of those who birthed it: 

Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth... (Emphasis & color is mine)

This moral truth—“that the negro is not equal to the white man”—is exactly what animated Dylann Roof. More than any individual actor, in recent history, Roof honored his flag in exactly the manner it always demanded—with human sacrifice.

Surely the flag’s defenders will proffer other, muddier, interpretations which allow them the luxury of looking away. In this way they honor their ancestors. Cowardice, too, is heritage. When white supremacist John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln 150 years ago, Booth’s fellow travelers did all they could to disassociate themselves. “Our disgust for the dastardly wretch can scarcely be uttered,” fumed a former governor of South Carolina, the state where secession began. Robert E. Lee’s armies took special care to enslave free blacks during their Northern campaign. But Lee claimed the assassination of the Great Emancipator was “deplorable.” Jefferson Davis believed that “it could not be regarded otherwise than as a great misfortune to the South,” and angrily denied rumors that he had greeted the news with exultation.

Villain though he was, Booth was a man who understood the logical conclusion of Confederate rhetoric:

"TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN":
Right or wrong. God judge me, not man. For be my motive good or bad, of one thing I am sure, the lasting condemnation of the North.
I love peace more than life. Have loved the Union beyond expression. For four years have I waited, hoped and prayed for the dark clouds to break, and for a restoration of our former sunshine. To wait longer would be a crime. All hope for peace is dead. My prayers have proved as idle as my hopes. God's will be done. I go to see and share the bitter end….
I have ever held the South were right. The very nomination of ABRAHAM LINCOLN, four years ago, spoke plainly, war -- war upon Southern rights and institutions….
This country was formed for the white, not for the black man. And looking upon African Slavery from the same stand-point held by the noble framers of our constitution. I for one, have ever considered if one of the greatest blessings (both for themselves and us,) that God has ever bestowed upon a favored nation. Witness heretofore our wealth and power; witness their elevation and enlightenment above their race elsewhere. I have lived among it most of my life, and have seen less harsh treatment from master to man than I have beheld in the North from father to son. Yet, Heaven knows, no one would be willing to do more for the negro race than I, could I but see a way to still better their condition.

By 1865, the Civil War had morphed into a war against slavery—the “cornerstone” of Confederate society. Booth absorbed his lesson too well. He did not violate some implicit rule of Confederate chivalry or politesse. He accurately interpreted the cause of Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, men who were too weak to truthfully address that cause’s natural end.

Moral cowardice requires choice and action. It demands that its adherents repeatedly look away, that they favor the fanciful over the plain, myth over history, the dream over the real. Here is another choice.

Take down the flag. Take it down now.

Put it in a museum. Inscribe beneath it the years 1861-2015. Move forward. Abandon this charlatanism. Drive out this cult of death and chains. Save your lovely souls. Move forward. Do it now.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/06/take-down-the-confederate-flag-now/396290/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Vox%20Newsletter%20All&utm_campaign=New%20Campaign

Preaching to the Choir

The ugly truth about hate crimes — in 5 charts and maps

By Christopher Ingraham June 18 at 9:26 AM  

Nine black church congregants were killed by a white shooter last night in Charleston, S.C., a shocking event that local police are characterizing as a hate crime. Below are several pieces of critical context on hate crimes and hate groups from the Southern Poverty Law Center, the FBI and other sources. While the number of active hate groups in the United States has fallen in recent years, the hate crime rate remains steady and blacks remain the racial group most likely to experience racially motivated violence.

1. Among racial groups, blacks experience the most hate crime.

FBI hate crime data show that more than 50 out of every 1 million black citizens was the victim of a racially motivated hate crime in 2012, the highest among any racial group.

But this is almost certainly an undercount. The FBI is reliant on state and local  law enforcement agencies to categorize and report hate crimes correctly. Some agencies do a much better job of this than others, and there is general agreement that the FBI numbers are significantly lower than they should be.

2. Hate crime rates have remained stable over the past decade

The Bureau of Justice Statistics provides the most comprehensive overall count of hate crime incidents. Its data, drawn from interviews with victims, shows the number of hate crimes has remained fairly constant over the past 10 years, hovering between 200,000 and 300,000 annually.

3. The number of active hate groups has fallen in recent years.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the number of active hate groups, which it defines as groups having "beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics," more than doubled from 457 in 1999 to 1018 in 2011.

Since then, the number of active groups has declined to 784. The SPLC attributes this to various causes -- including an improving economy and recent law enforcement crackdowns, as well as widespread internecine squabbling and splintering within the groups themselves.

4. Hate groups are most concentrated in the Deep South, Northern Plains

Hate groups aren't distributed evenly by geography. Controlling for the population in each state, hate groups are concentrated most in the Deep South and in the Montana/Idaho region.

Vermont and New Hampshire also stand out on this map. Partially, this is a function of low population -- Vermont has fewer than 700,000 residents, which combined with its four active hate groups gives it a high per-capita value. But this may not just be an artifact of low population. Researchers at Humboldt State University recently mapped geocoded tweets containing hate speech, and their map does appear to show a high incidence of hate-tweets originating in Vermont.

5. Hardship breeds hatred

Researchers have tried to suss out the causes of hate crime over the years. A 2002 review of hate crime literature by Princeton economist Alan Krueger looked at the economic determinants of hate crime -- whether these crimes rose and fell in response to economic conditions such as the poverty rate and unemployment. Krueger concludes that "rather than economic conditions, the hate crimes literature points to a breakdown in law enforcement and official sanctioning and encouragement of civil disobedience as significant causes of the occurrence of hate crimes."

Not so fast, say economists Matt Ryan and Peter Leeson. In 2010 they examined the links between hate groups and hate crime in the United States. Perhaps surprisingly, they find no relationship between the number of hate groups in a state and the number of hate crimes that occur within that state in a given year. Instead, the primary determinants seem to be economic. "Our results suggest that unemployment and, to a lesser extent, poverty, are strongly associated with more hate crime, particularly crimes that are sexually, racially and religiously motivated," they conclude.

The most recent SPLC data on hate groups also seems to show a relationship between active hate groups and economic conditions in a state. The chart below plots number of active KKK chapters against the percentage of state residents living in poverty, and shows a positive relationship between the two. This fits with an analysis Richard Florida did a few years back in the Atlantic magazine, where he found that the prevalence of hate groups corresponds with various political and economic factors.

And here's more on Wednesday's shooting in Charleston, S.C.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/06/18/5-charts-show-the-stubborn-persistence-of-american-hate-crime/

Calling Him What He Is

Shooters of color are called ‘terrorists’ and ‘thugs.’ Why are white shooters called ‘mentally ill’?

This racist media narrative around mass violence falls apart with the Charleston church shooting.

By Anthea Butler June 18 at 1:00 PM 

Anthea Butler is an associate professor of religion and Africana studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

Media pundits have already started to use the “mental illness” narrative to characterize suspected shooter Dylann Roof. Why not call him a suspected terrorist?  (Facebook account of Dylann Roof)

Police are investigating the shooting of nine African Americans at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston as a hate crime committed by a white man. Unfortunately, it’s not a unique event in American history. Black churches have long been a target of white supremacists who burned and bombed them in an effort to terrorize the black communities that those churches anchored. One of the most egregious terrorist acts in U.S. history was committed against a black church in Birmingham, Ala., in 1963. Four girls were killed when members of the KKK bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church, a tragedy that ignited the Civil Rights Movement.

But listen to major media outlets and you won’t hear the word “terrorism” used in coverage of Tuesday’s shooting. You won’t hear the white male shooter, identified as 21-year-old Dylann Roof, described as “a possible terrorist.” And if coverage of recent shootings by white suspects is any indication, he never will be. Instead, the go-to explanation for his actions will be mental illness. He will be humanized and called sick, a victim of mistreatment or inadequate mental health resources. Activist Deray McKesson noted this morning that, while discussing Roof’s motivations, an MSNBC anchor said “we don’t know his mental condition.” That is the power of whiteness in America.

Here’s what you need to know about Dylann Roof(1:09)

Dylann Roof is in custody after police say he opened fire at a historic African American church in Charleston, SC. Here’s a look at the 21-year-old's background, including recent arrests, and what authorities say happened inside the church. (Alice Li/The Washington Post)

U.S. media practice a different policy when covering crimes involving African Americans and Muslims. As suspects, they are quickly characterized as terrorists and thugs, motivated by evil intent instead of external injustices. While white suspects are lone wolfs — Mayor Joseph Riley of Charleston already emphasized this shooting was an act of just “one hateful person” — violence by black and Muslim people is systemic, demanding response and action from all who share their race or religion. Even black victims are vilified. Their lives are combed for any infraction or hint of justification for the murders or attacks that befall them: Trayvon Martin was wearing a hoodie. Michael Brown stole cigars. Eric Garner sold loosie cigarettes. When a black teenager who committed no crime was tackled and held down by a police officer at a pool party in McKinney, Tex., Fox News host Megyn Kelly described her as “No saint either.”

Early news reports on the Charleston church shooting followed a similar pattern. Cable news coverage of State Sen. and Rev. Clementa Pinckney, pastor of Emanuel AME who we now know is among the victims, characterized his advocacy work as something that could ruffle feathers. The habit of characterizing black victims as somehow complicit in their own murders continues.

It will be difficult to hold to this corrosive, racist media narrative when reporting on the shooting at Emanuel AME Church. All those who were killed were simply participating in a Wednesday night Bible study. And the shooter’s choice of Emanuel AME was most likely deliberate, given its storied history. It was the first African Methodist Episcopal church in the South, founded in 1818 by a group of men including Morris Brown, a prominent pastor, and Denmark Vesey, the leader of a large, yet failed, slave revolt in Charleston. The church itself was targeted early on by fearful whites  because it was built with funds from anti-slavery societies in the North. In 1822, church members were investigated for involvement in planning Vesey’s slave revolt, and the church was burned to the ground in retribution.

With that context, it’s clear that killing the pastor and members of this church was a deliberate act of hate. Mayor Riley  noted that “The only reason that someone could walk into a church and shoot people praying is out of hate.” But we need to take it a step further. There was a message of intimidation behind this shooting, an act that mirrors a history of terrorism against black institutions involved in promoting civil and human rights. The hesitation on the part of some of the media to label the white male killer a terrorist is telling.

In the rapidly forming news narrative, the fact that black churches and mosques historically have been the targets of racial violence in America should not be overlooked. While the 1963 Birmingham church is the most historic, there also was a series of church burnings during the 1990s. Recognition of the terror those and similar acts impose on communities seems to have been forgotten post-Sept. 11. The subsequent Islamophobia that has gripped sectors of media and politics suggests that “terrorism” only applies in cases where the suspects are darker skinned.

This time, I hope that reporters and newscasters will ask the questions that get to the root of acts of  racially motivated violence in America. Where did this man, who killed parishioners in their church during Bible study, learn to hate black people so much? Did he have an allegiance to the Confederate flag that continues to fly over the state house of South Carolina? Was he influenced by right-wing media’s endless portrayals of black Americans as lazy and violent?

I hope the media coverage won’t fall back on the typical narrative ascribed to white male shooters: a lone, disturbed or mentally ill young man failed by society. This is not an act of just “one hateful person.” It is a manifestation of the racial hatred and white supremacy that continues to pervade our society, 50 years after the Birmingham church bombing galvanized the Civil Rights Movement. It should be covered as such. And now that authorities have found their suspect, we should be calling him what he is: a terrorist.

Shooting at historic African American church in South Carolina

View Photos

Officials said nine people were killed and others injured by a gunman at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/06/18/call-the-charleston-church-shooting-what-it-is-terrorism/

Spitting on Their Graves

Why South Carolina’s Confederate Flag Is Still Flying at Full Staff

By Rachel E. Gross

The Confederate flag on the grounds of the State House in Columbia, South Carolina, in 2008.

Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images

If you’re the governor of a state that suffers a tragedy, the common sign of respect is to fly all the state’s flags at half-staff. It’s what Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy did in 2013, after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. It’s what Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper did in 2012 after the Aurora movie theater shooting. It’s also what South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley did today, after a white man in Charleston, South Carolina, allegedly shot and killed nine people at a historically black church in an act that is already being investigated by the FBI as a hate crime.

Lowering the flag is a widely recognized gesture, a way to honor the dead as the state and country mourn. In South Carolina, however, one flag is a potent symbol of racism—and a symbol claimed by the alleged gunman himselfin the form of a decorative plate on his car. So why is the Confederate flag, which flies over the grounds of South Carolina’s Capitol Complex, still waving in the breeze at its peak height?

To understand what seems like a shockingly callous move, first you have to understand what the battle flag is doing there at all. (After all, it’s not South Carolina’s state flag, the palmetto flag, which features a rather beautiful tree and crescent design.) The Confederate flag used to fly proudly atop the State House dome itself, ever since the state’s then-all-white legislature voted that it be so in 1962 as a symbol of defiance against the Civil Rights movement. It would take nearly 40 years, a boycott by the NAACP that reportedly cost the state more than $7 billion, massive protests, and the condemnation of presidential nominee John McCain for the Legislature to reconsider flying such a flag on the building that represents their state government.

Finally, in 2000, the state passed a bill banning the Confederate flag from being flown over the State House dome as well as in the chambers of the Senate and House of Representatives. It was moved to the south side of the Confederate Soldier Monument, where it stands now. Along with the move came a new statute. “This flag must be flown on a flagpole located at a point on the south side of the Confederate Soldier Monument, centered on the monument, ten feet from the base of the monument at a height of thirty feet,” it reads.

What that means is that in South Carolina, the Confederate flag abides by its own rules. While governors—as well as the president—can usually order that all state and national flags within their jurisdiction be flown at half-staff, this one is exempt. Instead, the Confederate flag’s location can be changed only by a two-thirds vote by both branches of the General Assembly. "In South Carolina, the governor does not have legal authority to alter the flag,” said a press secretary for Haley. “Only the General Assembly can do that." That is why, while other flags under the authority of the state have all been lowered in mourning, this one is still flying so audaciously. Even if Haley could order it lowered, it’s not clear that she would; in the past, she’s actually defended keeping the flag on state grounds, reassuring voters that it’s done nothing to harm the state’s image.

Since the General Assembly ended its 2015 legislative session on June 5, it’s likely the Capitol’s Confederate flag will continue to fly high, while the families of the shooter’s nine black victims mourn the carnage of this hate crime.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/06/18/south_carolina_confederate_flag_after_church_shooting_flag_at_capitol_still.html?wpsrc=slatest_newsletter&sid=554654ea10defb39638b510d

Fasting

Today begins the monthlong fast of the Holy Month of Ramadan, that is followed by a three-day feast.  This is an extremely important time for Muslims, one that is respected by all - Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

The folks who are fasting (the majority of people), wake up before sunrise and eat a large meal.  Then they fast all day, forsaking water and food, breaking the fast after sunset, again with a large meal.  In places like here where the days are especially long and extremely hot, it is quite a challenge.

The work day is shortened for all.  Our report time has changed from 7:00 in the morning to 9:00.  We did get out at 1:30 or 2:45 on the two days we have meetings each week, but now our dismissal time is 2:00 everyday.  We're still in school, although the kids have stopped coming.  Our last day is July 9th.

All restaurants and places that serve food are closed during the day.  That includes Starbucks and other fast food establishments.  They reopen again after sunset, staying open into the wee hours of the morning.

The concession stand is closed in the theaters, as well as the ice cream kiosk in the malls.  All food shops are closed in the airports, too.

Any sign of food, or smell of food cooking, is forbidden.

Grocery stores are open regular time, interestingly.

As extreme as it sounds, it's really not bad at all for non-Muslims.  We can eat at any time, as long as it's behind closed doors where we're not seen eating and it does not emit food odors.

Eating in your car while driving is also prohibited, but I've never seen this enforced.

Getting things done during this month is tough, as most everyone takes a very laid back approach to life and business.  There is a lot of lounging around, with no excess effort that might cause fatigue and hunger.

There are folks who are exempt from fasting - kids (usually younger than 10 years old), pregnant women, old folks, and folks whose jobs require exertion.

Attached below you'll find a link to "Ask Ali," a really helpful local who is featured in the paper answering/responding to some of the ex-pats questions about Islam, Muslim culture and traditions.

Ramadan Kareem!  (Happy Ramadan)

http://askali.com/newsletter/uploads/issue23.pdf

Quote

“I identify as black,” Ms. Dolezal told Matt Lauer on the “Today” show this morning. That may be. But actual black people, like me, don’t have the option of choosing. - 
Tamara Winfrey Harris

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/16/opinion/rachel-dolezals-harmful-masquerade.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=opinion-c-col-left-region&region=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region&_r=0

A Touching Message to Moms/Dads

Dedicated to all of the moms who had/have to be both mom and dad.

 

Trailer: 'Dope'

This movie was something I was interested in watching, if for nothing else, then to see the characters navigate through their hood to reach their goals.

I was ready to put it on my list of movies to look out for, until I watched the review below.

I've decided this critic and I don't share the same taste.  So when he says "Go," I say "No."

Watch the link to the movie first.  It's a minute long.  Then watch the review below it.

What do you think?

Go?

Or . . .

No?


Trailer: 'Dope'

Stevie

From USA Today -