Understanding the Symbolism of That Flag

An excerpt from the New Republic - (Bold is mine)

The Confederate Flag Is a Racist Symbol. Just Ask the KKK.

According to both Cunningham and Hague, in the ’50s and ’60s the flag began to fly over statehouses and city halls in the south, and was embedded in state flags and other official state symbols. But the flag also began to appear in far more disturbing places: Klan rallies. At the time of the murder of civil rights activist Viola Liuzzo, who was killed just after the Selma to Montgomery march, there were Klan rallies of anywhere from 500 to 5,000 people happening somewhere in the South almost every single night, says David Cunningham. In a small town in North Carolina, the Klan celebrated three of Liuzzo’s murderers; there’s footage. Cunningham describes the rally as even “mainstream white southerners wildly cheering this murder… [And] very front and center is the waving of Confederate flags.” He continues. “It would be difficult to find any public presence of the Klan during that period that didn’t feature multiple Confederate flags.”

“There is a particular brand of southern life where the flag is used most pronouncedly,” says Cunningham. “We see the remobilization of the flag during the most pronounced defiance to civil rights... It gets brought out most strongly in times when white supremacy is attacked most directly.”

It shouldn’t surprise us, then, that a bitter battle over the Confederate flag has followed a year of scrutiny of police violence against unarmed black men, a fresh wave of civil rights activism and legislation, and the rise of #BlackLivesMatter and the movement it symbolizes. And it’s just as predictable that the KKK would rally around the Confederate flag on the South Carolina Statehouse grounds in the midst of a push to take it down. This isn’t about rallying for the Confederate flag, it's about rallying for what the flag represents for the Klan, which is what it represented for Charleston shooter Dylan Roof. In rallying around the flag, the Ku Klux Klan will be rallying around Roof, a man who murdered nine black Americans for being black. He committed exactly the kind of senseless, racist violence the group has always celebrated. The Confederate flag just happens to be one of their symbols. 

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/122216/confederate-flag-still-flying-today-because-kkk

Black Like Me

From The New York Times -

Joy of a Black Planet

In 2011, Zim Ugochukwu was traveling on the Jagriti Yatra, a 15-day train trip through India for aspiring entrepreneurs. Her time in India wound up sparking an idea for a start-up, though perhaps not in the way the trip’s organizers intended. Ugochukwu was struck by the fact that, out of a group of about 500, she was one of just three African-Americans. She thought about how mainstream travel publications, even those online, weren’t speaking to them or their experiences. ‘‘When I searched ‘black travel’ on Google, I saw a black suitcase,’’ she said. ‘‘That’s not what I meant.’’

In September 2013, Ugochukwu created Travel Noire, a resource for black globe-trotters, continuing in a long online tradition of pulling together otherwise diffuse groups of like-minded people: tattoo artists on Pinterest, gamers on Reddit, and so on. In keeping with the times, Travel Noire is more of a brand than a publication, taking on many incarnations: a website, a vivid Instagram account and private forums. ‘‘I wanted to create a place for people to dream about a destination and read about how another person did it,’’ Ugochukwu said.

What she understood was that black travelers had to be able to picture themselves in entirely new territory, beyond the comfort of a cruise or weekend trip to Miami. Ugochukwu tapped into her generation’s most popular mood board (and envy-stoking machine), Instagram, flooding it with images of young, hip, black travelers hiking in Thailand, sky-diving in the United Kingdom and rafting in China, images perfectly crafted to provoke wanderlust. In July, Ugochukwu plans to introduce group packages called Travel Noire Experiences that include locales with black histories, like the Afro-Brazilian communities of Bahia or a tour of black-owned wineries in South Africa.

There is also a more somber, practical purpose to the site. Some Travel Noire readers may also use the site to avoid potentially unfriendly destinations. Much of Travel Noire’s approach, however, involves debunking the notion that certain places might be unwelcoming. Take, for example, Greece, which has a reputation for discrimination and harassment against dark-skinned people. But when one of Ugochukwu’s writers visited the country, she ended up having an amazing time.

‘‘That really changed the narrative,’’ Ugochukwu said, ‘‘just by showcasing it for our audience.’’

A Short Story

With a quiz at the end.

Captivating.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/06/reading-comprehension-text-no-1

Not a Boxing Fan, But . . .

This looks good.

Boss Lady

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/06/30/ad-boss-leverages-virtual-reality--bond-consumers-and-brands/29477147/

Do You Swear To Tell the Truth?

From The Huffington Post - 

How Data From Wearable Tech Can Be Used Against You In A Court Of Law

 When wearable computers can disprove what someone told police, you know you're living in a future that has arrived sooner than expected.

According to LancasterOnline, a woman in Pennsylvania has been charged with knowingly filing a false report after forensic evidence and the data from her Fitbit undermined her claim of rape.

The court affidavit obtained by LancasterOnline indicated that data from her wearable fitness tracker showed that the woman in question, Jeannine Risley, was awake and active the entire night, including at the time she told police officers she was sleeping.

This wasn't the the first time that Fitbit data has been used in a court room. Last November, Parmy Olson reported how a Fitbit was used in a personal injury claim by a personal trainer in Calgary, Canada. In that case, data from the activity tracker was analyzed to establish a baseline reference for her level of fitness to compare it to someone of her age and profession.

In the case in Pennsylvania, however, Fitbut data was directly used to contradict a claim. As Kashmir Hill observed at Fusion, "it's likely we'll see more Fitbits being trotted out in court in the future, as the wearable trend takes hold, and self-tracking leads to self-incrimination."

That's why this case should catalyze a national discussion about when and how suspects can or should disclose data from a wearable computing device, whether it's a Fitbit, Apple Watch or Google health wristband. Last June, in a landmark decision on a crucial civil liberties issue, the United States Supreme Court applied the Fourth Amendment to the digital domain, holding that "the police generally may not, without a warrant, search digital information on a cell phone seized from an individual who has been arrested."

According to ABC 27, Risley gave the username and password to her Fitbit account to the local police department, which also discovered the device itself was in the hallway after she claimed it had been lost.

If she had refused to provide access to her account or the device data, it might have led a prosecutor to need to go to court to get a warrant to access the device. If the data was also accessible on Fitbit's servers, however, it would have fewer legal protections than data on a cellphone or home computer, as is the case with Web-based email and other cloud-based data.

That loophole is one reason that many civil liberties and privacy advocates have been pushing Congress to update the Electronic Communication Privacy Act to give citizens digital due process.

As the United States of America nears its 239th Independence Day, this liberty remains unprotected on the 4th of July. Despite 284 cosponsors for theEmail Privacy Act (H.R. 699), the bill has yet to be brought to a vote. Even it passed into law, however, there's no passage in H.R. 699 that refers to data from wearable computing.

It may be years before police officers will need to read an updated version of the Miranda Warning to citizens upon arrest: "Anything your data says you did may be used against you in a court of law."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexander-howard/how-data-from-wearable-te_b_7698764.html

50 Years of Funk

Check out the Rolling Stone article -

Kool & the Gang: Our Life in 15 Songs

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/kool-the-gang-my-life-in-16-songs-20150629#ixzz3ec4S1thj 

Here they are performing arguably their most popular song.

She Did It!

From The Huffington Post - 

History was made in the ballet world this week when soloist Misty Copeland was promoted to principal dancer, thereby becoming the first black female principal in the 75-year history of the American Ballet Theatre. 

Copeland, now 32 years old, has been dancing with the American Ballet Theatre for over 14 years, nearly eight as a soloist. Most recently, she starred as Odette/Odile in "Swan Lake" at the Met, a role dance critic Alastair Macaulay called "the most epic role in world ballet." 

"Two aspects of [Misty's] performance ... proved marvelous," Macaulay wrote in his review. "One: that it all happened successfully. Two: the curtain calls."

Copeland's name is known far beyond the traditional confines of the ballet world, in part due to her emphatic openness regarding the problematic relationship between race and ballet. As Elizabeth Blair explained on NPR: "It's hard for any ballet dancer to succeed, regardless of race, but a black dancer is up against a centuries-old aesthetic -- the idea, for example, that the swan must be feather-weight and snow white, and so does her prince."

Copeland's rise to fame, despite the centuries of tradition working against her, has served as an inspiration for young dancers who don't fit the mold around the world. During "Swan Lake," she repeatedly experienced cheers so intense they stopped the show, according to The New York Times. The ballerina is also the author of an illustrated children's book and a memoir, both elaborating on her journey overcoming the odds to pursue her passion. 

Both because of her immense talent and candor regarding her personal hopes and struggles, Copeland has become a heroine to young dancers around the world. She has over 516,000 followers on Instagram and her breathtaking ad for Under Armour received over eight million views on YouTube.

"Something that my mother instilled in me, as a biracial woman herself, and me being biracial, was that the world was going to view me as a black woman, no matter what I decided to do," Copeland said at the Time 100 gala, where she was honored. "I had no idea that that was going to be my truth at some point in my life, when I moved to New York City at 17 years old and joined American Ballet Theatre and realized I was the only African American woman in a company of 80 dancers."

Copeland grew up in San Pedro, California, and took her first ballet classes for free at the Boys & Girls Club in the neighborhood. At the time, her family was living in a motel, part of a personal narrative that strays greatly from the traditional tale of a young ballerina. Copeland has said that she always hoped to rise to the level of principal, the highest status in a company. "My fears are that it could be another two decades before another black woman is in the position that I hold with an elite ballet company," she explains in her memoir. "That if I don’t rise to principal, people will feel I have failed them."

Arthur Mitchell was the first African-American dancer to become a principal dancer, breaking grounds at the New York City Ballet in 1962. Years later in 1990, Lauren Anderson became the first African-American principal at the Houston Ballet. Anderson, along with Raven Wilkinson, a dancer and mentor of Copeland's, handed her bouquets on stage following her recent "Swan" performance. 

There has never before been a female black principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, until now. "Seven amazing dancers from American Ballet Theatre were promoted today," Kevin McKenzie, Artistic Director of the American Ballet Theatre explained in an email to the Huffington Post. "Each has demonstrated the talent and hard work needed to succeed in a highly competitive environment. I couldn't be prouder." We reached out to Misty Copeland for comment and have yet to hear back.

"I never saw a ballerina who looked like me before," Copeland has said. "And I’m here to be a vessel for all these brown ballerinas who have come before me." 

Congratulations, Misty, on a historical accomplishment, one that is sure to shape the future of ballet's diversity in ways we can only imagine. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/30/misty-copeland-principal-dancer_n_7697872.html

Dummy Proof Cooking

Just what I need.



Available at Amazon.  Search:

Drop Kitchen Scale for iPad

Ask Siri

To divide zero by zero.

Not game?

OK.

Here's her response:

"Imagine that you have zero cookies and you split them evenly among zero friends. How many cookies does each person get? See? It doesn't make sense. And Cookie Monster is sad that there are no cookies, and you are sad that you have no friends."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/06/30/why-you-should-ask-siri-divide-zero-zero/29503775/

Job Seekers

Check out this app . . . SWITCH.  It calls itself the Tinder for jobs, whatever that means.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/switch-job-search-find-jobs/id879185767?mt=8

As seen in USA Today.

http://college.usatoday.com/2015/06/30/switch-mobile-app-find-jobs-tinder/

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

This man spent 30 years on death row for a crime he didn't commit.

What a travesty of justice.  He died on Monday.


ABC US News | World News

Happy 4th of July!

Dogs Watching TV

A Lack of Diversity in the Workforce

From The Atlantic - 

The Least Diverse Jobs in America

Eight out of every 10 lawyers are white. Social scientists and architects are probably in need of some diversity too.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/06/diversity-jobs-professions-america/396632/

Trying to Get Comfortable

If the guy would just get off the couch, all would be well.

Footballer With a Powerful Message

Doug Baldwin on Facebook - 

~~~~~~~~~~

Pensacola, FL. Home sweet home.. 

I can respect freedom of speech. Hell, I've been known to rub people the wrong way the times when I have publicly stood for something I believed in. And I guess, there is the occasional football rant.. But that is a different story. Today I want to discuss this picture, depicting individuals demonstrating their freedom of speech, taken in my home town. It is not surprising to see, however it is still a very frustrating image to me for various reasons. Why? Well, I grew up in this area and know the population all too well. A noose hanging from a rearview mirror wasn't outside the realm of what I would see in my high school parking lot. My experiences in life have taught me that you can't expect ignorance to educate itself. Being an African-American born in the South, there is some confirmation bias in play here but I'm going to attempt to share some history while stating my stance on the subject based on those facts of history. 

First, let's discuss some facts of history. The flag that we are debating over is not even the original confederate flag. This information may seem irrelevant but it is important to point out for the sake of validity in my argument. Although it wasn't the official flag of the Confederate States of America, it was the battle flag used by Robert E. Lee, a general in the Confederate Army. So the flag at some point did indeed represent the "rebel" cause. These "rebels", for the most part, were fighting against the union in an effort to keep slavery in place. (You can check this fact by googling the Articles of Secession). For the sake of this argument, let's negate that simple fact. (Which is a key element to an argument a lot of supporters of the flag are making.) So what is the relevance of the flag without the context of the civil war?

Ever heard of the civil rights movement? In the late 40's, the flag was an adopted symbol of the segregationist Dixiecrat party. Article 4 of their platform stated, "We stand for the segregation of the races." In 1956, the battle flag was a prominent feature on the redesign of Georgia's state flag partly in response to the Supreme Court's ruling to desegregate schools just two years earlier. They have since removed it. The argument we hear today is that the flag represents "Southern Heritage" and "Southern Pride". The only relevant "heritage" I could find in history not pertaining to civil war was associated with racism and segregation. Is this the heritage and pride you speak of? 

That brings me full circle. By understanding the significant historical symbolism of Robert E. Lee's battle flag, we can easily identify the various messages that flying the flag represents. But to all of you exercising your right to freedom of speech, do you even know what you are supporting? To those arguing against the flag, make sure your argument is based on the facts. 

I'm sure there are those individuals that understand what the flag stands for and still support it. And to that group I say, may God bless you because I'm having a hard time with grace myself. As a 26 year old who grew up in the south around many supporters of the confederate flag, I would like to ask those same people to answer this question: What does southern pride and heritage really mean? Is it the sweet tea and hospitality? Or is this a sense of pride for the rebellious actions against a national government who had the audacity to say that secession was unconstitutional and slavery was wrong? Furthermore, I’d like to ask, how does this symbol which produces such a strong feeling of offense by those who were oppressed under it, best represent that pride and heritage? If you can answer these questions and defend this flag in a way that isn’t rooted in a sense of emotional, stubborn, pride for the oppressive intent this flag has represented in the past, then I’ll gladly commend you for it. But until then, I’ll be patiently waiting for the day ignorance can educate itself and will do my part to try and educate it in an assertive, respectful manner. 

Respectfully,

- DB

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/29/doug-baldwin-confederate-flag_n_7687208.html

Swift Justice

From The National - 

ABU DHABI // A woman has been given the death sentence for the vicious stabbing murder of the American teacher Ibolya Ryan at a mall on Reem Island in December last year.

Alaa Al Hashemi, 30, an Emirati mother of six, was found guilty of stabbing Ryan to death with a large kitchen knife in a toilet stall at Boutik Mall. 

Al Hashemi, flanked by four police officers, showed no emotion as the verdict and sentence were announced in the State Security division of the Federal Supreme Court.

As she was escorted from court she smiled and waved at her father and brother. 

Paul Ryan, the victim’s former husband with whom she had three children, said: “We pray that justice has been served today. Nothing will return the beautiful and delightful mother of my children.

“But if today’s verdict raises awareness and dissuades another so filled with hate to reconsider, to still her hand, something of worth will yet be salvaged from this horror, the remains of which my family bears day by day.”

Mr Ryan thanked the “attentive” Royal Family for paying for “the finest of educations” for his three children, allowing them to “maximise their opportunity to make the most of themselves, any parent’s dream – especially Ibolya’s”.

He said his children worked every day to make their mother “proud as she watches over them”. 

“We feel deeply the kind wishes and prayers we have received from all over. They support and sustain us, and we are grateful. We wish peace in return to all,” said Mr Ryan.

Al Hashemi was convicted of making a handmade bomb that she planted in front of an apartment owned by an Egyptian-American doctor. 

But the bomb failed to detonate.

Al Hashemi was also convicted of using an online account to spread information that ridiculed and harmed the country.

She was found guilty of sending money to Al Qaeda in Yemen, knowing that would be used to fund terrorist acts. 

Before announcing the verdict, Judge Falah Al Hajeri said: “The UAE, with the Grace of Allah, over its history has been and will always remain a haven of safety and stability, and it is a model of correlation and societal peace.”

He said that in the past few years “criminal techniques” new to the UAE had been “committed to terrorise and inflict violence”.

“Their purpose is to disturb the overall system of the country and expose society to danger by committing harmful acts. And that is in the implementation of a collective or individual act that harms people, puts their life, freedom or security at risk.

“So when the danger threatens the overall stability of the nation, then it is important to revise and confront the actions, which is why the new anti-terror law was achieved – to combat terrorism and eliminate it.”

The judge ordered the confiscation of all evidence and for the online account Al Hashemi had used to be shut down.

The court ruling will be sent to the President, Sheikh Khalifa, for final approval and ratification. 

Verdicts issued by the Federal Supreme Court are final.

http://www.thenational.ae/uae/courts/death-sentence-for-reem-island-killer?utm_source=Communicator&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=&utm_campaign=UAE%20petrol%20prices%20among%20most%20affordable%20in%20world

He Makes Complicated Concepts Easy to Understand

From The New Yorker - 

Malcolm Gladwell discusses tokens, pariahs, and pioneers. 

ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING!

(This video is almost 1.5 hours, but he only speaks for an hour, then there's a Q & A).






He also has a riveting article on automobile safety.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/05/04/the-engineers-lament?intcid=mod-most-popular

I Love . . .

Viola Davis.

Check her out in this new movie trailer.