An excerpt from the OZY -
RISING IN THE MIDDLE EAST: FORCED LABOR FROM AFRICA
By Laura Secorun Palet
It was a Wednesday afternoon in August 2017 and dozens of people were lining up on the platform of Noor Bank metro station, in Dubai. As the train approached, a man jumped in front of it.
The police report revealed he was a 36-year-old migrant worker from Uganda. His embassy said he was likely “frustrated” by poor working conditions, a local daily wrote a few paragraphs on the case, then the news moved on.
But the suicide only punctuated a widespread new pattern of labor exploitation of thousands of African migrant workers in the Persian Gulf States. A recent report by a Ugandan parliamentary committee revealed that, in 2017, at least 35 Ugandans killed themselves in the United Arab Emirates — mostly as a result of unpaid wages and abuse.
While continued international pressure on the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar has managed to improve the working conditions of many South Asian and Southeast Asian migrants, recruitment agencies are now moving on to Africa.
http://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/rising-in-the-middle-east-forced-labor-from-africa/82554?utm_source=dd&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=01072018&variable=e3bf1057d4e3c0988a79ae4bce515610
Sunday, January 7, 2018
Getting Schooled on Prison Life
An excerpt from the OZY -
THE BEST BOOKS ON PRISON GANGS I READ WHILE SERVING TIME
By Seth Ferranti
When I first got locked up, in 1993, I didn’t know a thing about prison, so I had to learn fast. It was either that or end up on the wrong end of a shank. I had a release date, and I was intent on making it. Prison has its own parlance, unofficial rules and customs. As a guy from the suburbs, I needed to immerse myself in prison gang culture real quick. So I read a lot. By reading I gained insight into where the gangs were coming from, which I hoped would alleviate any potential problems. (By reading I also satisfied my insatiable appetite, which began in my youth, for the unknown and potentially dangerous.) Here are best of those books.
http://www.ozy.com/good-sht/the-best-books-on-prison-gangs-i-read-while-serving-time/82163?utm_source=dd&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=01072018&variable=e3bf1057d4e3c0988a79ae4bce515610
THE BEST BOOKS ON PRISON GANGS I READ WHILE SERVING TIME
By Seth Ferranti
When I first got locked up, in 1993, I didn’t know a thing about prison, so I had to learn fast. It was either that or end up on the wrong end of a shank. I had a release date, and I was intent on making it. Prison has its own parlance, unofficial rules and customs. As a guy from the suburbs, I needed to immerse myself in prison gang culture real quick. So I read a lot. By reading I gained insight into where the gangs were coming from, which I hoped would alleviate any potential problems. (By reading I also satisfied my insatiable appetite, which began in my youth, for the unknown and potentially dangerous.) Here are best of those books.
http://www.ozy.com/good-sht/the-best-books-on-prison-gangs-i-read-while-serving-time/82163?utm_source=dd&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=01072018&variable=e3bf1057d4e3c0988a79ae4bce515610
Ingenious!
https://uw-media.ydr.com/video/embed/109179352?sitelabel=reimagine&platform=desktop&continuousplay=true&placement=uw-videoassetplayerhtml5&broadcastonly=true&pagetype=video-asset
Stepping Up
An excerpt from the Washington Post -
A school sought 50 men to stand in for absent fathers at ‘Breakfast with Dads’ — nearly 600 showed up
By Valerie Strauss
Something somewhat extraordinary happened last month at Billy Earl Dade Middle School in Dallas.
The school — with a student population of nearly 900, about 90 percent from low-income families — planned to host its first “Breakfast with Dads,” according to the Dallas Morning News. About 150 male students, ages 11 to 13, signed up. But event organizers were concerned that some would attend without a male figure at their side, so they put out a call for volunteers who could serve as mentors.
“When a young person sees someone other than their teacher take interest in them, it inspires them. That’s what we want to see happen,” the Rev. Donald Parish Jr., pastor of True Lee Missionary Baptist Church and the event organizer, told the Morning News.
A call for volunteers by children’s advocate Kristina Chäadé Dove — who has served on what is called a site-based decision-making team for the middle school — was published on social media in early December.
When the day came for the event, nearly 600 men showed up to help and mentor the boys, some of them volunteering for the first time.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2018/01/06/a-school-sought-50-men-to-stand-in-for-absent-fathers-at-breakfast-with-dads-nearly-600-showed-up/?utm_term=.11c622323ae2
A school sought 50 men to stand in for absent fathers at ‘Breakfast with Dads’ — nearly 600 showed up
By Valerie Strauss
Something somewhat extraordinary happened last month at Billy Earl Dade Middle School in Dallas.
The school — with a student population of nearly 900, about 90 percent from low-income families — planned to host its first “Breakfast with Dads,” according to the Dallas Morning News. About 150 male students, ages 11 to 13, signed up. But event organizers were concerned that some would attend without a male figure at their side, so they put out a call for volunteers who could serve as mentors.
“When a young person sees someone other than their teacher take interest in them, it inspires them. That’s what we want to see happen,” the Rev. Donald Parish Jr., pastor of True Lee Missionary Baptist Church and the event organizer, told the Morning News.
A call for volunteers by children’s advocate Kristina Chäadé Dove — who has served on what is called a site-based decision-making team for the middle school — was published on social media in early December.
When the day came for the event, nearly 600 men showed up to help and mentor the boys, some of them volunteering for the first time.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2018/01/06/a-school-sought-50-men-to-stand-in-for-absent-fathers-at-breakfast-with-dads-nearly-600-showed-up/?utm_term=.11c622323ae2
Saturday, January 6, 2018
Shoveling While Black
An excerpt from The Atlantic -
I Was Racially Profiled in My Own Driveway
A retired Major League Baseball player explains how he's trying to turn an upsetting encounter with the police into an opportunity for dialogue.
By DOUG GLANVILLE
A police officer from West Hartford had pulled up across the street, exited his vehicle, and begun walking in my direction. I noted the strangeness of his being in Hartford—an entirely separate town with its own police force—so I thought he needed help. He approached me with purpose, and then, without any introduction or explanation he asked, “So, you trying to make a few extra bucks, shoveling people’s driveways around here?”
All of my homeowner confidence suddenly seemed like an illusion.
It would have been all too easy to play the “Do you know who I am?” game. My late father was an immigrant from Trinidad who enrolled at Howard University at age 31 and went on to become a psychiatrist. My mother was an important education reformer from the South. I graduated from an Ivy League school with an engineering degree, only to get selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft. I went on to play professionally for nearly 15 years, retiring into business then going on to write a book and a column for The New York Times. Today, I work at ESPN in another American dream job that lets me file my taxes under the description “baseball analyst.”
But I didn't mention any of this to the officer. I tried to take his question at face value, explaining that the Old Tudor house behind me was my own. The more I talked, the more senseless it seemed that I was even answering the question. But I knew I wouldn’t be smiling anymore that day.
After a few minutes, he headed back to his vehicle. He offered no apology, just an empty encouragement to enjoy my shoveling. And then he was gone.
https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/04/i-was-racially-profiled-in-my-own-driveway/360615/?utm_source=&silverid=MzEwMTkwMTQ4ODk4S0
I Was Racially Profiled in My Own Driveway
A retired Major League Baseball player explains how he's trying to turn an upsetting encounter with the police into an opportunity for dialogue.
By DOUG GLANVILLE
A police officer from West Hartford had pulled up across the street, exited his vehicle, and begun walking in my direction. I noted the strangeness of his being in Hartford—an entirely separate town with its own police force—so I thought he needed help. He approached me with purpose, and then, without any introduction or explanation he asked, “So, you trying to make a few extra bucks, shoveling people’s driveways around here?”
All of my homeowner confidence suddenly seemed like an illusion.
It would have been all too easy to play the “Do you know who I am?” game. My late father was an immigrant from Trinidad who enrolled at Howard University at age 31 and went on to become a psychiatrist. My mother was an important education reformer from the South. I graduated from an Ivy League school with an engineering degree, only to get selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft. I went on to play professionally for nearly 15 years, retiring into business then going on to write a book and a column for The New York Times. Today, I work at ESPN in another American dream job that lets me file my taxes under the description “baseball analyst.”
But I didn't mention any of this to the officer. I tried to take his question at face value, explaining that the Old Tudor house behind me was my own. The more I talked, the more senseless it seemed that I was even answering the question. But I knew I wouldn’t be smiling anymore that day.
After a few minutes, he headed back to his vehicle. He offered no apology, just an empty encouragement to enjoy my shoveling. And then he was gone.
https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/04/i-was-racially-profiled-in-my-own-driveway/360615/?utm_source=&silverid=MzEwMTkwMTQ4ODk4S0
Shipping Container Homes
From the Travel Channel -
http://www.travelchannel.com/interests/travels-best/photos/11-creative-shipping-container-homes-around-the-u-s
http://www.travelchannel.com/interests/travels-best/photos/11-creative-shipping-container-homes-around-the-u-s
Carpet Stain Remover Art
.@NathanWyburnArt created a celebrity artwork of Harry & Meghan, using @DrBeckmannUK Carpet Stain Remover! He used our award-winning product to clean a stained carpet to reveal a portrait of the glamorous royal couple 😍— Dr Beckmann (@DrBeckmannUK) January 5, 2018
RT+F to #win this amazing product and try it yourself! pic.twitter.com/aiM6GrJm2a
Friday, January 5, 2018
Experiencing Prejudice
An excerpt from E! News -
Jennifer Hudson Reveals How She Experiences Prejudice on a Regular Basis
by MIKE VULPO
Just because she's a celebrity doesn't mean Jennifer Hudson is exempt from experiencing prejudice.
While the Oscar-winning actress and powerful singer has found huge success in such a competitive industry, The Voice coach can't forget some occasions where she felt less than.
"There have been several situations where I get on a plane and [the air steward] assumes that I'm [meant to be] in the back of the plane," Jennifer recalled in the February issue of Cosmopolitan UK. "That happens a lot. I'm like ‘No, my seat is up there [in first class], thank you.'"
In fact, some of the prejudice Jennifer experiences happens at her house.
"People also assume that my home belongs to my white driver, Charles. One time, I was having something moved into my house and they wanted to know where to put it. I said, ‘There.' [The removal man] just stood there," she recalled. "When Charles came in, he asked him, ‘So where would you like these things?' Charles said, ‘She said she wanted it right there. You're talking to the wrong person.'"
http://www.eonline.com/news/903851/jennifer-hudson-reveals-how-she-experiences-prejudice-on-a-regular-basis
Jennifer Hudson Reveals How She Experiences Prejudice on a Regular Basis
by MIKE VULPO
Just because she's a celebrity doesn't mean Jennifer Hudson is exempt from experiencing prejudice.
While the Oscar-winning actress and powerful singer has found huge success in such a competitive industry, The Voice coach can't forget some occasions where she felt less than.
"There have been several situations where I get on a plane and [the air steward] assumes that I'm [meant to be] in the back of the plane," Jennifer recalled in the February issue of Cosmopolitan UK. "That happens a lot. I'm like ‘No, my seat is up there [in first class], thank you.'"
In fact, some of the prejudice Jennifer experiences happens at her house.
"People also assume that my home belongs to my white driver, Charles. One time, I was having something moved into my house and they wanted to know where to put it. I said, ‘There.' [The removal man] just stood there," she recalled. "When Charles came in, he asked him, ‘So where would you like these things?' Charles said, ‘She said she wanted it right there. You're talking to the wrong person.'"
http://www.eonline.com/news/903851/jennifer-hudson-reveals-how-she-experiences-prejudice-on-a-regular-basis
Thursday, January 4, 2018
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
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