A lot of times when I'm explaining IVF treatment options to patients, I find that their eyes glaze over while I am explaining the intricacies and nuances of IVF treatment. They often seem to wonder - Why you telling me all this ? Why do I have to know all this ? Aren't you the expert ? Isn't this your job ? I know that you're a good doctor and have faith that you will do the right thing for me, so why are you telling me all this ?
I can understand why many patients are not very keen on learning all the intricacies about medical treatment - after all, biology was not everyone's favorite subject in school. Some of these concepts can be difficult to understand , and it takes time and energy to figure out what's happening – and busy patients have other things to do in their life !
I explain to patients that I am not trying to make them IVF specialists, but there are many reasons it is extremely important to know all the ins and outs of your treatment.
For one thing , the success rates with any treatment are never going to be hundred percent. And because the outcome is uncertain , unless patients invest time and energy in understanding the process , they will never have peace of mind that they've given it their best shot .
Equally importantly , not every doctor is necessarily good and competent, which is why you need to do your homework. How do you know whether what your doctor is proposing makes sense or not ? Yes, it's s important to trust your doctor , but you cannot blindly give this away, just because of his reputation or because it's convenient for you to do so .
Also, do remember that even if the doctor is well-meaning, he cannot possibly read your mind . The very fact that there are so many treatment options available in IVF - ranging from basic IVF to donor eggs to embryo adoption to surrogacy , that you must know exactly what your priorities are . If you don't , it's quite likely the doctor may end up overtesting and overtreating you - and this is likely to hurt !
know all this stuff is because it's very comforting to leave everything in the doctor's hands and let him do what he thinks is best ! If this were a perfect world, where you had the best possible doctor in the world , who would know exactly what was right for you , and if IVF had a 100% success rate, this would be perfectly reasonable . Unfortunately , the real world is far messier. Doctors are not always perfect - and many may have a hidden agenda . This is why it's so important to do your homework for yourself !
I had the good fortune to meet Harold Rosen , the CEO of Grass Roots Business Fund in Mumbai, at a meeting they held for the Mumbai Angels, of which I am a member. GRBF has have been doing some great work with helping social entrepreneurs create businesses which are sustainable, scalable and have a social impact . He talks about converting Social enterprise ( with a capital S ) to a social Enterprise with a capital E. The logical extension would be to create a Social Enterprise with both a capital S and a capital E !
Is it possible to achieve that balance between doing both social good and being profitable ? This is very similar to the question of achieving work-life balance which all of us face in our daily lives - how do we manage to balance both personal satisfaction with professional achievement ? We manage to learn over time as we mature - and I think companies can learn this as well, as they mature - they need to learn to balance profitability with impact !
The problem is that because it's so easy to measure profitability , this is what economists have spent most of our time and energy doing. It's easy to work with numbers ! However, it's much harder to measure impact, because it's often intangible . However, businesses do this all the time – for example, when they put a value on their brand name or goodwill. The Grass Roots Business Fund is now creating social metrics , to allow us to do this for impact as well.
I do not think these companies should be called nonprofits. This is a very negative word, which suggests that they make losses – and that it's acceptable for them to do so ! A far better word for them would be Beyond Profit Companies - BPC or BPO ( Beyond Profit Organisations) . As you grow older , you realize that the measure of your life should no longer be just how many dollars you earned , but far more importantly - what legacy you have left behind and what impact you have had on the world . As we mature , we understand the importance of going beyond just counting the amount of money we have in our bank balance ! As capitalism matures, companies will realize that just being profitable is not enough !
Rebranding these companies as being Beyond Profit companies, rather than calling them nonprofit companies is important, because the term nonprofit really doesn't express anything. We need a better meme !
A Beyond Profit company is one which not only makes a profit, but also does extraordinary things which ordinary companies don't do – they help to make lives better , while making money ! This also fits in well with the aspirations of the younger generation , who understand it's important to strive both for making money and for creating an impact. Otherwise you end up becoming a very rich 50-year-old senior bank executive, who have a humongous bank balance , but who now suffer form mid life angst, because they wonder what good they've accomplished with their lives !
They then start thinking about what they can do to help other people who are less fortunate than them – which is why you have people like Bill Gates who set up philanthropic foundations ! Now this is a good thing to do – but a better model would be to start when you're younger , and start doing both things – making money and doing good simultaneously, so that you then create a positive virtuous cycle !
Names are important, and the problem with the label non-profit is that these nonprofits are considered to be a second class asset class. Investors are reluctant to invest in them because they feel that the returns on investment are not going to be good enough. The only reason these companies design themselves as being nonprofit is that they have the insight to understand that the only goal in life is not to maximize their profits ! Trying to do so means that you often end up ripping customers and charging them an arm and leg. This is not always the best way of doing business – either for the customer, the company, ,or its employees ! In the long run, it may be more enlightened to reduce the amount of money you make , to ensure that everyone benefits in the long run . These companies are driven by vision , and if they need to remain honest to their mission, it's important that they think about goals which are more important that on maximizing profits.
Take the example of Healthwise , whose mission is to help people make better healthcare decisions . This is one of the reasons why they will not accept any funding from any pharmaceutical company or medical device manufacturer, even though these companies would be very happy to buy out Healthwise ! If Healthwise were a for profit company, it'd be extremely logical for them to sell out and make big bucks ! After all , if your first responsibility is to your shareholders, and you run a company for making money, then this is the " right " thing to do. However, if you take that route , the trouble is that the information you provide gets corrupted and contaminated as a result of corporate influences , and then you are no longer an influence for good - you actually end up being and influence for creating harm !
Rather than think of them as being as second-class companies , which don't offer as good a return on investment as for-profit companies , we need to realize that they actually offer a better return on investment , because not only are they capable of making money, they are also capable of doing something which is far more important - doing good in this world. The world has more than enough money - what it really needs is more people and more companies whose focus is on doing good , and not just one getting rich.
As an analogy, compare the life of a CEO and a doctor . While the financial income of doctors is a small fraction of a corporate honcho, their emotional income is a hundred times better ! The satisfaction we get when we see our patients smiling because they are getting better; the satisfaction we get when patients say thank you because you saved my life; the satisfaction we get when patients say Thank you , Doctor , for doing such a good job of taking care of my father – how can the happiness a CEO gets by doubling his bottom line possibly compare with this kind of joy ? One of the reasons people become doctors is because they want to help others. Being of service to others is very fulfilling - and after a particular point, the amount of money you have in your bank balance makes very little difference to the amount of happiness you have in your life. The best way of being happy yourself is to create happiness for others, and doctors have the good fortune to experience this delight daily, by being of service to others.
Beyond profit companies also have the same ethic , and this is why these are the kind of companies which attract mature and motivated employees , who are extremely faithful and committed , and who will remain with the company for long periods of time , because they understand that there is more to life than just earning money . They are grateful that their company gives them a chance to interact with people whose lives they can improve – and this helps them to feel good about themselves. This gives them far more job satisfaction than just earning a little more money !
Does the fact that not-for-profit companies are less profitable than for-profit companies mean that the grapes are sour, and that I am concocting arguments to justify their poorer financial performance ? Not at all ! It actually requires a lot of maturity for a person to say - I have enough for myself, and I do not need anymore ! My focus should no longer be on just trying to earn more money , but on trying to create a better and happier life both for myself , my employees , and my customers ! It's when you reach that stage of enlightenment that not only are you personally satisfied , you are also professionally contented that you will leave behind a legacy which you can be proud of. This is what our focus should be on. Many of us take a long time to reach thus maturity – and some of us never get it. Often by the time they're 45 of 50 , many of us have an epiphany, by which time it's often too late to reinvent yourself. The good news is that the younger generation seems to be much smarter , and realizes that there is far more to life than just earning a higher paycheck .
Beyond Profit Companies have the wisdom to be able to say – Enough ! Others are forced to resort to gimmicks and window dressing in the garb of Corporate Social Responsibility, in order to salve their conscience.
When you see a successful organization like Healthwise, the first question you ask is - What makes this organization so different and so special ? Why does it work so well ? How is it possible to replicate them ?
A lot of what makes them so special is intangible.
The Healthwise mission statement is simple – We help people make better healthcare decisions. Most companies have equally memorable mission statements, but what makes Healthwise remarkable is the fact that this actually does drive the entire organization . This is something that each individual employee believes in – it's not just something which is published on a website or plastered on the Annual Report.
There are three principles which guide the work done at Healthwise. The first is respect. The second is teamwork . The third, and perhaps the most important of all is - do the right thing. This is an organization which doesn't just pay lip service to these statements , unlike most other organizations . The employees actually live and breathe these principles in every act they perform . I think this is what differentiates a good organization from a great one.
This is one of the key criteria which Healthwise uses in selecting new employees – is this the kind of person who believes in our values ? Will she be able to live by them ?
The other remarkable feature is how humble everyone here is . They have great self-esteem, and are proud of what they are doing , because they know they are doing some great stuff - but they are not being self-congratulatory about it at all . They just get on with doing their job, to help improve the world and make it a better place for all of us !
The founder and leader plays a great role in shaping the DNA of an organization , and Don Kemper is a great role model. He truly inspires his employees , all of whom hope to follow in his footsteps !
Even though I have been working with Healthwise for over eight years, I am ashamed to say I didn't know much about how they actually went about creating their patient educational content until I visited them in Boise.
We've been having a hard time promoting patient education in India , even though there is such a great need for it. Patients are all online , and are looking for information which they can trust - but they often get lost and confused , because there is much garbage online. Doctors often get irritated by patients who carry pages and pages of Internet information , because so much of it is unreliable.
Healthwise provides a win-win solution, because they have done a great job of producing high-quality patient educational content , which is distributed through hundreds of sources in the US - hospitals ; health insurance companies ; web portals ; and even the government . They all use the content regularly and routinely .
I needed to learn how we can replicate what they've done so successfully in the US in India as well. The common denominator between HELP and Healthwise is that we both put patients first – and that patients are the same all over the world ! However, hospitals , health insurance companies and governments in India are stuck in a world which is at least 20 years away from where the USA is today.
While I have always been very impressed by the high quality of the content which Healthwise produces , it's only when I actually visited their office did I realize the amount of effort , time and money which they invest in order to create such as high quality product. Healthwise has over 250 employees – of which more than 30 are IT engineers ! They continue to spend energy in modifying and creating and delivering their information , according to the patient's needs , which evolve as the world progresses.
Because they put patients first, they place a lot of emphasis on user experience. It's not just a question of saying – Okay , here's this information – read it and do what it tells you ! It's far more complex than this, because you need to engage the patient to make sure that he acts based on the information which you provide .
We are finding it hard to get Indian companies to license this health information , so they can provide it free to their customers and patients, even though it is of such high quality. Even though Healthwise has been very successful in doing this in the USA, most Indian companies are not willing to learn from the market leaders in the USA. There is still a lot of resistance in actually investing in these patient educational resources ! Hospitals don't seem to see any value – and they come up with the same excuse - No one else seems to be doing it , so why should we bother ? Health insurance companies in India are still not profitable enough as yet , to be able to invest resources which will help them to differentiate themselves from the competition .
I think it's a matter of time till India catches up with the US , because Indian patients are as demanding as patients in the US - it's just as important for them to make the right decisions , as it is for patients in the US ! In fact, the need in India is far more, because there is such an acute scarcity of reliable information which patients can trust. We hope that by learning from Healthwise , we will be able to leapfrog and catch up with the US far more quickly than we would otherwise !
What can husbands do for their wives during their IVF cycle ?
This is a guest post from an expert patient !
If your wife is going through IVF, there are many ways you can support her. Most couples find it difficult to talk about their infertility problems and experiences with family and close friends. This leaves them isolated without much emotional and moral support from the outside. Women need to talk about their problems and feelings in order to feel better and to gain a realistic perspective on things. Going through infertility treatment is difficult enough, but going through it alone, with no one to share your feelings with is much worse. Unfortunately, I think most women end up in this predicament because they feel they have no one to talk to who understands what they are going through. Husbands know everything that is going on and so they are the perfect person to step in and act as the support system. This means talking with her about how she feels and about how you feel, and listening to her no matter how much she wants to talk about it. Make sure she knows that it is not her fault and that no matter what the outcome is you love her and your life will be fine even if you don't succeed in having a baby. Try to be her cheerleader. Infertility slowly takes a huge toll on a woman's self-esteem, so do whatever you can to remind her that nothing is wrong with her and she is not any less of a woman.
A good way to get some insight as to what your wife might be thinking and feeling is to read the hundreds of infertility forums on the Internet, which are full of women talking about their feelings. Reading about it might make it easier for you to talk to your wife and offer support. Also, it will probably make your wife feel pretty good if she knows that you are reading the forums and trying your best to understand. Speaking of the Internet, your wife probably spends countless hours researching everything there is to know about infertility and treatment options. I think most wives would appreciate it if their husbands spent a little bit of time doing some research too, and being active about making plans. Often it is the wife who takes care of everything, but I'm sure she would appreciate if she felt your commitment in a more pro-active way.
If you and your wife are going through an IVF cycle, there are also little things you can do to make your wife feel that you are more involved. For example, you can remind her when to take her medication and even offer to give her the shots. Ask her everyday how she feels and if there are any side effects from the medications (she is pumping a lot of hormones into her body)? Any little thing you can do to let her know that you are going through this with her and are there for her will help. Even if it is just outwardly showing her that you are as anxious to know how many embryos have and if any implanted. The two-week wait is more bearable if you are both counting down the days together.
It's always a pleasure meeting Don Kemper, the CEO and Founder of Healthwise. He is one of the world's thought leaders as to what the healthcare system can do to put patients first ! He has coined a great new term for what I call patient advocates – he calls them Health Guardians . This is a great description ! He believes that there are two constants when a patient is admitted in the hospital: one is his medical record , which everyone refers to ; and the second is the person who's looking after him . We would traditionally call this person a patient advocate , but health guardian is a much better term because it conveys precisely what patient advocates do. The word patient advocate has the negative connotation of being associated with lawyers and disputes and courts and confrontations - but guardian is much more positive . Words carry a lot of weight – and using the right term ensures everyone's interests are aligned ! When a doctor says - I need to talk to your health guardian, the patient feels a lot more confident - and so does the doctor and the guardian.
Health guardians guard your health: they keep a close eye to make sure you are getting the medications and treatments you are supposed to; they ensure things do not fall between the cracks; they prevent medical errors; the make sure that your preferences are respected and that the medical team taking care of you understands your needs; and that the medical staff washes their hands before examining you !
Health guardians act as guardian angels – and we all need one when we enter a hospital !
I just spent a week in Boise, learning how Healthwise creates health educational materials .
If you haven't heard of either Healthwise or Boise, this is quite understandable ! It's a little known secret that Healthwise is the world leader in creating high quality health educational materials – content which is curated, updated , reliable, trustworthy and simple to understand . Now one would think that creating patient education material cannot be such a big challenge - all you need to do is to find the facts ; get a medical writer; simplify the facts ; and then present them ! How hard can that be ? Can't you just Google for information and find everything you wanted to ? Doesn't wikipedia provide tons of free patient education information for everyone ?
challenging ! Writing and delivering content which leads to a change in behavior is one of the hardest thing in the world to do – and this is the standard which Healthwise uses when judging the quality of their content.
Healthwise has a large team of medical content writers who specialize in writing content - but this is not enough. After writing the content , you need to make sure that you can deliver it ! In the old days, you just needed to publish a book – but the print book format is something which is no longer very valuable in this day and age , where most people access information digitally . Healthwise has an entire engineering team, which creates products, which allow them to deliver their content in chunks , which people can use, when they want it - either on the smart phone or on the PC . Learning how to be able to use technology to deliver content in a fashion that is relevant to the user and is tailored to the user's needs is not a trivial exercise. It involves a lot of additional technology such as meta-tagging and responsive design, so that it's possible for the user to get exactly the right information which she needs at that particular time!
Even after creating an engine to deliver the content , you then need to continue making sure that the content is updated ; is trustworthy ; and doesn't get outdated. This is an ongoing exercise ! Unfortunately, Indians still don't understand the value of good-quality health content , and are very reluctant to pay for it. But as Mark Twain once famously said - Be careful when you read a health book – you may die of a misprint. This is especially true today, when there's so much unreliable and untrustworthy information on the net - information which comes from quacks ; and from commercial sources such as medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies , whose information is often contaminated and untrustworthy because it's biased – they are just trying to sell their products !
The great thing about the Healthwise information is that because it is produced by a nonprofit organization , whose sole mission is to help people make better healthcare decisions, this is high-quality information which can be trusted. In fact , it can be trusted perhaps even more than you can trust your doctor , because they have no biases or prejudices.
This is why spending the week at Healthwise and learning how they actually go through the process of creating this information was very inspiring !


Why did I get such delight out of creating my very first Gantt chart — let alone admit that I'm proud of it?
If you use Gantt charts (made by someone else), it's a big "ho hum" from you.
If you make them, I see an indulgent head-shake, because you know this is the simplest Gantt chart in the world, using a template from Someka.net (bless them).
If you don't use them, I caught you rolling your eyes.
I wanted to break down the jobs involved in running a summer writing school in accordance with the principles of project management. The thinking took most of the time required to construct the Gantt chart, of course. After I succeeded, I spent the next week in a glow of self-satisfaction. And I think that's fair enough.
I found a template that worked — what an achievement.
It's something I have admired for years.
I don't have an IT department to help me.
It took a week: long enough to require perseverance, short enough to avoid frustration.
It certainly helped me to analyse what I need to do to make the summer writing school a success.
It also showed me what a massive project this is going to be.
Mastering a new skill is a pleasure: end of story.
I do feel frightfully efficient today.
Well, I guess by boasting about the chart I must now get going! And you will keep me honest.


text:
Dexter Filkins on the Air Strike that Killed Qassem Suleimani
With David Remnick
Photograph by Sipa / Shutterstock
Listen with:
WNYC
Qassem Suleimani was Iran's most powerful military and intelligence leader, and his killing, in a U.S. air strike in Baghdad on Thursday night, will likely be taken as an act of war by Tehran. Dexter Filkins, who wrote the definitive profile of Suleimani, in 2013, spoke with David Remnick about the commander's central role within the Iranian regime. Reprisals against the U.S., he says, might be carried out anywhere in the world, either by Iran's Quds Force or by affiliates such as Hezbollah. The Trump Administration experiences tension between a desire for regime change and the President's desire to avoid foreign wars; Filkins notes that embattled Presidents, like Bill Clinton during his impeachment, often have itchy trigger fingers.
David Remnick has been editor of The New Yorker since 1998 and a staff writer since 1992. He is the author of "The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama."
Never miss a podcast episode again! Subscribe to our newsletter for a weekly roundup of the latest New Yorker podcasts.
Iraq's Post-ISIS Campaign of Revenge
Ben Taub discusses his reporting on the corruption and cruelty of Iraq's response to suspected jihadis and their families, and how that will likely lead to the resurgence of the terror group.
The Shadow Commander
Dexter Filkins's 2013 Profile of Qassem Suleimani, whom a former C.I.A. officer called "the single most powerful operative in the Middle East."
By Dexter Filkins
The Killing of Qassem Suleimani Is Tantamount to an Act of War
The death of the leader of Iran's élite Quds Force capped a week of hostilities between the United States and Iran which escalated with lightning speed.
By Robin Wright

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


coloring pages for girls hard special offer games page pdf col.
coloring pages for girls hard printable ring teens teenage girl animal pictures adults free.
coloring pages for girls hard free printable difficult adults of animals kindergarten.
coloring pages for girls hard fairies of adults easy.
coloring pages for girls hard flower girl printable flowers me sheets cool blank book really color animals realistic.
coloring pages for girls hard horse page free printable adults easy colorin.
coloring pages for girls hard free printable difficult adults quotes of download.
coloring pages for girls hard little girl page of fo.
coloring pages for girls hard complex color by number as well sheets animals.
coloring pages for girls hard kids printable difficult sheets to print ki.
coloring pages for girls hard free food to print adults animals col.
coloring pages for girls hard fairy pdf book.
coloring pages for girls hard best big girl color images on books animals realistic.
coloring pages for girls hard girl page manga adults quotes ha.
coloring pages for girls hard teenagers teens free printable apps apple pencil adults animals gi.
coloring pages for girls hard chick page baby printable children animals adults c.
coloring pages for girls hard online mandala girl teen teenagers quotes kindergarten first day of school adults anima.
coloring pages for girls hard free printable color number adults little girl by li.
coloring pages for girls hard beach scene printable to cure page pdf free download.
coloring pages for girls hard of download collection drawings kids cars ki.
coloring pages for girls hard a little horse only print one on page thank you to publications animals realistic.
coloring pages for girls hard animals best squad goals book images on live pdf disney.
coloring pages for girls hard printable kids adults in kindergarten h.
coloring pages for girls hard flower adult together with of flowers sugar skull games pdf adults page best shots books ki.
coloring pages for girls hard designs shirts kids printable.
coloring pages for girls hard full size of girl adults easy black pro cute penguin teens.
coloring pages for girls hard heavenly that you can print free best girl pics pdf.
coloring pages for girls hard flower pdf book.
coloring pages for girls hard large printable to colour colouring pdf free download animal how color.
coloring pages for girls hard adult pdf.
coloring pages for girls hard printable kids adults in collection of animals with big eyes col.
coloring pages for girls hard free collection of gymnastics kids unicorn.
coloring pages for girls hard charming idea flowers printable flower page heart cards pdf free download.
coloring pages for girls hard flower and up kids cars 1.


BeMyDress.la is an online store where you can find all kinds of dresses such as day dresses, off shoulder dresses, stripe dresses, work dresses, little black dresses and more. All their products are high quality at competitive prices.
Use this code at Be My Dress, buy one item and get the second with 80% OFF.
Enjoy free worldwide shipping on all orders at BeMyDress.la with this offer.
Apply this code at BeMyDress.la and get 50% OFF on your order.


15%84°53°Night - Mostly cloudy. Winds variable at 11 to 14 mph (17.7 to 22.5 kph). The overnight low will be 64 °F (17.8 °C).Mostly cloudy with a high of 74 °F (23.3 °C) and a 40% chance of precipitation. Winds variable at 8 to 13 mph (12.9 to 20.9 kph).
Tonight - Mostly cloudy. Winds variable at 11 to 14 mph (17.7 to 22.5 kph). The overnight low will be 64 °F (17.8 °C).
Today - Mostly cloudy with a high of 74 °F (23.3 °C) and a 40% chance of precipitation. Winds variable at 8 to 13 mph (12.9 to 20.9 kph).


text:
Russian troops have apparently been firing deadly cluster munitions into Kherson city since they were forced to retreat, watchdog says
The remains of a cluster bomb rocket and other ordnance were collected as the Ukraine Army troops dug in at frontline trench positions to continue repelling Russian attacks, east of the strategic port city of Mykolaiv, Ukraine, on March 10, 2022.
Scott Peterson/Getty Images
Russia is apparently firing cluster munitions at the city of Kherson, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.
Cluster bombs contain multiple explosive submunitions that spread across a targeted area.
Ukrainians survived Russian occupation "only to be subjected to new indiscriminate attacks," per HRW.
Russian forces retreated from the city of Kherson last month, but they continue to terrorize the civilian population they left behind, Human Rights Watch charged Tuesday, accusing Moscow of using widely prohibited cluster munitions against targets with no military value.
The attacks have killed at least 15 people, the group said, and "might constitute a war crime."
An early war win, Kherson was the first and only regional capital that Russia captured after its Feb. 24 invasion. In September, the Kremlin claimed to have annexed the city and surrounding province only to order troops to retreat across the Dnieper River less than six weeks later.
Since that humiliating setback, HRW said its researchers had personally witnessed "intensified" attacks on Kherson and visited bombing sites consistent with the use of cluster munitions. In one instance, the weapon appears to have been fired into a populated area in Kherson with no Ukrainian soldiers in sight, according to witnesses who described seeing a man and a woman who had feet blown off near a bus station.
HRW staff visited the site on November 22 and "saw pools of blood from both victims," the group said in a statement, as well as three "munition impact sites" that tracked with the use of cluster bombs. They also spoke to witnesses of nearby attacks, including one near a high-rise apartment building, that resulted in civilian casualties.
"Residents of Kherson survived eight months of Russian occupation, and are finally free from fear of torture, only to be subjected to new indiscriminate attacks, apparently including cluster munitions," Belkis Wille, associate crisis and conflict director at HRW, said in a statement.
Cluster bombs, which can be fired from the ground or dropped from the air, contain multiple explosive submunitions that spread across a targeted area, which critics argue makes them inherently indiscriminate. Submunitions that do not explode upon impact can also pose a risk for years after a conflict ends.
As of August 2022, Ukraine was the only country in the world where cluster bombs were being actively deployed, according to the Cluster Munition Coalition, a monitoring organization. Russia has used the weapons "extensively" since invading, the group said. Ukrainian forces also appear to have used them on at least three occasions.
More than 100 countries have signed a treaty prohibiting the use of cluster munitions. However, Russia, Ukraine and the United States have refused to join the agreement.
In addition to cluster munitions, Russia has also been accused of leaving landmines behind in Kherson, some in the form of apparent booby traps. According to the Associated Press, a main road in Kherson was blocked off with a sign that warned "Mines Ahead" — but it was the detour that was rigged with explosives.
Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com
← U.S. lawmakers unveil bipartisan bid to ban China"s TikTok → Positive Moderna, Merck cancer vaccine data advances mRNA promise, shares rise
Home » Audio Sources - Full Text Articles » Russian troops have apparently been firing deadly cluster munitions into Kherson city since they were forced to retreat, watchdog says


Co-star Roma Downey confirmed the news.
Della Reese, the music legend and star of Touched by an Angel, has died, a rep for Reese's Touched by an Angel co-star Roma Downey confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. She was 86.
"On behalf of her husband, Franklin Lett, and all her friends and family, I share with you the news that our beloved Della Reese has passed away peacefully at her California home last evening surrounded by love," the statement reads. "She was an incredible Wife, Mother, Grandmother, friend and Pastor, as well as an award-winning actress and singer. Through her life and work she touched and inspired the lives of millions of people. She was a mother to me and I had the privilege of working with her side by side for so many years on Touched by an Angel. I know heaven has a brand new angel this day. Della Reese will be forever in our hearts. Rest In Peace, sweet angel. We love you."
People was first to report Reese's death.
"People need something to help them with their lives," Reese said in a 2008 interview with the Archive of American Television. "In Touched by an Angel, we didn't tell you what to do. If you were distraught and at a place where you felt there was nothing else to do, we would make a suggestion: 'Did you ever think about it like this? It doesn't have to be that way. You can change your mind and change your life.' It gave people at home, in the privacy of their homes, a chance to know that they, too, could change their minds and change their life."
In a statement, CBS, which aired Touched by an Angel, said: "We're deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Della Reese. She was a multi-talented, award-winning performer who shined brightly on soundstages and in concert halls. For nine years, we were privileged to have Della as part of the CBS family when she delivered encouragement and optimism to millions of viewers as Tess on Touched By An Angel. We will forever cherish her warm embraces and generosity of spirit. She will be greatly missed. Another angel has gotten her wings."
Touched by an Angel aired on CBS for nine seasons (1994–2003). It was a big family hit on Sunday nights. It co-starred Downey as the angel Monica, with Reese playing her tough supervisor, Tess. Reese was nominated for Emmy Awards in 1997 and 1998.
Delloreese Patricia Early was born on July 6, 1931, in Detroit.
Her father worked in a mill pouring steel, and her mother was a cook and housekeeper.
She had five sisters (one was 20 when she was born) and a brother.
"My mother says that when I was born and they slapped me, I didn't cough, I began to sing, and I never stopped," Reese said. "When I was 6, I sang continuously until people were nervous."
One day, one of Mahalia Jackson's backing singers, who was pregnant, fainted in church and was prohibited by a doctor to accompany the gospel legend on a tour on the South. Reese, just 13 years old at the time, then took her place.
"I thought when I got away from my mother I would be able to get down and break it loose, but Mahalia was stricter than my mother was," she said.
Reese attended Wayne State for two years, moved to New York to pursue a singing career and worked with the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Billy Eckstine, Sarah Vaughan, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis.
Her first tour was with Nat King Cole, whom she adored. She appeared 17 times on The Ed Sullivan Show, the first time in 1957.
In 1969, Reese began a career transition into acting; her first onscreen appearance as an actor came on a 1968 episode of The Mod Squad. She followed with stints on such shows as The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, Police Woman, The Rookies, McCloud and Chico and the Man. Reese played Della Rodgers on that latter NBC show, which ran from 1974-1978. She also starred opposite Redd Foxx on the CBS sitcom The Royal Family.
Reese appeared in Eddie Murphy's 1989 film Harlem Nights.
She hosted her own talk/variety show, Della, in 1969-70, and once co-hosted The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson. In 1980, Reese was taping a song for that night's Tonight Show when she suffered a brain aneurysm that nearly killed her. Ten days after surgery, she said she was doing commercials for Campbell's Soup. Reese became an ordained minister in the 1980s.


The 32-year-old faced on-track temperatures of 38 degrees but kept his cool to use his Attack Mode to perfection in first overtaking Pascal Wehrlein and then Sebastien Buemi after an error from the Swiss driver sent him into the wall.
A potential Formula E star was born in rookie Wehrlein who scored his first ever podium in just his second Formula E race – admitting afterwards that he would have liked to have pushed Bird harder to take victory. His countryman Daniel Abt finished third for Audi - their first podium of the season.
Formula E is famed for its street-racing and the dirty street track caused more chaos which has marked the Season 5 season with only 14 of the 22 drivers being able to finish the race and regular contact between them.
But with reigning champion Jean-Eric Vergne retiring from the race and the first three races seeing three different winners and seven different drivers of four different teams on the podium the Championship is up in the air.
Bird was joined in his garage earlier in the day by popstar Rita Ora who was the latest in a long line of celebs to flock to experience what Formula E had to offer - and was able to cheer on her countryman to victory. Having also experience being given a full-speed hot lap of the Santiago track in the BMW i8 Safety Car by Formula E Chairman and Founder Alejandro Agag, Ora insisted she was another Formula E convert.
She said: "The lap was amazing - I didn't expect it to be as fast as it was to be honest. I've seen all the other kinds of car racing, but this is so unique and incredibly futuristic. It's so amazing to see the electric energy and the cars are really similar in some ways but because it is clean it is actually better.
"I think Formula E is different because the car just goes straight away, there's no slow start. It's straight in and obviously healthy for the environment but at the same time it's fast and furious - it genuinely is. I'm very happy and had an amazing experience, so much fun.
"Alejandro took me round. I don't know what he's like as a driver because I haven't compared him to anyone yet but it was great. I've got to see the drivers first, but you know what, I felt safe. Apart from that skid the first time round that is!
"[The fight against climate change] is undeniably one of the most important things in the world right now and I feel like the more attention we bring to it the better it is for everybody, and it's so easy too. It's one of those things that isn't hard to achieve, it just needs a lot of support. That's half the reason I was here today, and also to have a bloody good time."


Our personnel are generally in the spirit of "continuous improvement and excellence", and together with the outstanding top quality merchandise, favorable price tag and fantastic after-sales solutions, we try to gain every single customer's rely on for Gym Used Recycled Gym Flooring , Recycled Gym Flooring , Cheap Recycled Gym Flooring , suitable package and timely delivery will be assured as per customers' demands. We sincerely hope to build business relationship with you on the basis of mutual benefit and profit in the very near future. Warmly welcome to contact us and become our direct cooperators.
Our company aims to operating faithfully, serving to all of our customers , and working in new technology and new machine constantly for Gym Used Recycled Gym Flooring , Recycled Gym Flooring , Cheap Recycled Gym Flooring , We take measure at any price to attain essentially the most up-to-date gear and procedures. The packing of nominated brand is our a further distinguishing feature. The solutions to assure years of trouble-free service has attracted a great deal customers. The items are obtainable in improved designs and richer variety they're produced scientifically of purely raw supplies. It accessible in a variety of designs and specs for the selection. The newest forms are much far better than the previous one and they're extremely popular with several clients.


text:
Memphis weather updates: Citing power outages, MSCS postpones optional school application date
Memphis' Antonio Gibson motivated by former high school coach's memory
Evan Barnes
By his own admission, Antonio Gibson struggled to find his way at Memphis after transferring from East Central Community College before spring 2018.
Part of the difficulty came from learning coach Mike Norvell's playbook, a tough task for most first-year arrivals. Gibson spent most of last season contributing on special teams.
"I had to do certain stuff I didn't want to do," Gibson said. "I ended up liking it, but at first, I was like … I want to be on offense. I want to be a playmaker."
A year later, the senior is proving to be just that. Of Gibson's seven receptions this season, four are touchdown catches. Three of those touchdowns have gone for 50 or more yards. He is also second in the AAC with 286 kickoff return yards.
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Gibson has become the most consistent deep threat for the No. 20 Tigers (5-0, 1-0 AAC) and will look for his fifth consecutive game with a touchdown reception on Saturday (11 a.m., ESPN2) against Temple (4-1, 1-0) in Philadelphia.
The success on the field is not only a reflection of his maturity, but also Gibson's patience and willingness to learn, which was identified by his high school coach, Joe Teknipp.
Early success, overcoming tragedy
As a freshman at Eagle's Landing High School in McDonough, Georgia, Gibson had dreams of playing for the varsity, but Teknipp used him on the scout team because he was too small at 5-foot-8. Even then, he learned to embrace different roles on both sides of the ball.
The experience helped Gibson crack the starting lineup the next year on defense at safety, but an ankle injury ended his season. While Gibson recovered, Teknipp encouraged him to remain optimistic and take pride in the classroom as much as being a great player.
"He always made him feel positive and confident that he could play at the next level," said Gibson's mother, Annette Williams.
Gibson was back on the field his junior season in 2014 and had 44 receptions for 912 yards and 10 touchdowns. Tragically, Teknipp died July 4, 2015, after a battle with stomach cancer.
"It was just a shock. We were told he was able to leave the hospital, and I think the day after or the day he left, he passed," Gibson said. "It was pretty tough just to hear that because of how it happened."
The team adopted the motto "Tek Strong" for the next season, and Gibson, along with his fellow seniors, helped Eagle's Landing transition under interim coach Shawn Jones.
Jones said Gibson mostly led by example but also learned to speak up more as a senior. Gibson also filled in at quarterback in addition to being receiver, safety and kick returner.
"He wasn't the biggest rah-rah kid, and he wasn't in people's faces," Jones recalled, "but he, along with a few others, took command and control of the team. We were in good hands that year."
College struggles
At East Central, Gibson focused on improving his grades while excelling at receiver and kick returner for the junior college in Decatur, Mississippi.
Success, however, was harder to find at Memphis. He caught two touchdowns in the 2018 spring game but had a quiet regular season with only six catches for 99 yards and two touchdowns.
Norvell said he considered redshirting Gibson but didn't because of the value he brought to special teams. Williams said whenever her son voiced his frustrations about playing time, she reminded him nothing was guaranteed.
As Gibson struggled with the playbook, his mother told him to study harder and keep being a team player.
"When you get that chance and get out there, that's your chance to take somebody's spot," Williams said.
It's advice Gibson has used this season.
Gibson has become a team leader, as evidenced by Norvell naming him a captain for the first time last week against Louisiana-Monroe.
"He's really done a nice job of capitalizing on the opportunities," Norvell said. "He's a guy that not only on the field but off the field, you see the maturity and confidence starting to really show."
Gibson credits his support system for helping him develop both. That includes Teknipp, who Gibson knows would be pleased with his success so far.
"He'd be like, I know that's what you can do," Gibson said. "I knew it, too, but he knew the steps I had to take to get ready to where I was my junior and senior year of high school. I think he'd be proud."
Want to stay informed on the latest Memphis Tigers football news? A Commercial Appeal subscription gets you unlimited access to the best inside information and updates on local preps sports, and the ability to tap into sports news from throughout the USA TODAY Network's 109 local sites.
You can reach Tigers football beat writer Evan Barnes on Twitter (@Evan_B) or by email at evan.barnes@commercialappeal.com
Former Memphis football assistant John Simon accused of sexual harassment, but case closed Memphis' partnership with Opendorse aimed at helping athletes maximize NIL opportunities The college sports landscape is undergoing rapid change, and Memphis should be just fine | Giannotto


Attention poets: I have an opportunity to help promote some of your poetry.
Marketing poems isn't easy. I see several wonderful poetry blogs here at WordPress (I follow many of them).
I have an idea that may help a little. Any help is better than no help, right?
I want to create an educational page on Read Tuesday, designed to illustrate the wide variety of poems that poets write.
The page will consist of a wide array of terminology for different kinds of poems and features of poems, such as limericks, haiku, or iambic pentameter.
I would list the term, describe what the term means, and provide links to examples of poems that illustrate that term.
What I need are examples of poems that illustrate the different kinds of poems that a poet could write.
I won't copy your poem. I will just provide a link to it.
Your poem needs to appear in a post on your blog so that I can provide a hyperlink. People will click on the hyperlink to visit your blog and read your poem.
Very specific kinds of poems that illustrate very specific features are better.
Obviously, I can only list a few examples of each kind of feature. So, for example, if 100 people submit an example of a haiku, I won't include all 100 examples.
But if you have a specific kind of haiku, that may improve your chances of having your example included.
I will try to be as inclusive as possible, and since I don't expect to receive a 100 examples of any one kind of poem, in many cases I probably won't have to exclude anyone.
Just use this contact form to submit a poem for consideration. It's free.
In the comments section, include the url to one of your poems. Briefly describe which poetry concept you would like for your poem to illustrate.
If, after a week or so, you don't see your example on the poetry page (once this page goes live), feel free to use the Contact Us button on the Read Tuesday website or leave a comment on this post. Occasionally, for whatever reason, a message doesn't get through (if so, we apologize for the inconvenience).
TIP? When you post a poem on your blog, do you ever follow it up with a brief paragraph describing the poem or your inspiration for it? I don't mean to explain it, but say you write a cinquain. In that case, you could briefly explain what a cinquain is. I wonder if this might help slightly with search engine potential, for example (along with, say, the category poem and the tag cinquain).
Great idea, Chris! You are always coming up with something new and original! I write a bit of poetry, but I'm not a student of poetry, so I'm not sure I fit any particular category, but I'll have a look and see if I have anything suitable. Thanks!
Would you like some exposure for your poetry? Pick your favorite piece of work and post it with the Read Tuesday site.
I do hope you will feature the forms Fixe like the various forms of Rondeau, and Sonnet, as well as the Villanelle and Rhyme Royal.
Calling all poets! Chris McMullen, founder of Read Tuesday, is looking for examples of different types of poems from we bloggers. Poems will be chosen to illustrate different styles, such as haiku, iambic pentameter, etc. Do take a look at his post!
Terrific idea Chris! Thank you for helping spread the love of poetry.
True. I love haiku because of the tight limit on word choice. I rely on word fields to communicate. It would be hard for me to take apart what I write. On my blog I have dozens of haiku, some really good I think and others that miss the mark. How do you think I can contribute to your and Colleen's project? One thing that holds me back is the technology of linking,etc. I do not even cut and paste. I've tried and I'm not willing to get into the frustration of my lack of computer tech skills. I just write.
I just need the url for a page with a haiku that you feel illustrates the concept well. If you can tell me a few words in the haiku that probably aren't in most of your other posts, I may be able to search your blog and find it.
P.S. I took Poetry 201 last summer and loved trying out the many forms of poetry.
Please give me the definition of a url and I will find a haiku to send you. My basic tech problem is I don't know the vocabulary.
When you view the post on your blog, look at the browser bar at the top of the page. The url starts http://www. Though you might not see the http:// part.
My url is http://cronechronicler.wordpress.com. I'll choose a haiku and tell you the date so you can look at it. Thanks.
Chris, check out the haiku posted May 9 on Cronechronicler. There is a free verse poem posted July 3 that is an example of another form of my poetry.
The poem I posted July 10 is one I wrote from a feeling place in free verse but no particular attempt at form. I usually to get the most response when I write about personal things. I think maybe this is not what you are looking for. That's all for now. Have a good weekend.


text:
Nostrification
Conditions on admission
How to prepare for entrance exam?
office(at)lf1.cuni.cz
Secondary School Education Recognition
General Information on recognition
Detailed information on foreign education completion documents
Language of requested documents
Temporary certificate / diploma
Diploma requirements for faculty nostrification for direct entry applicants.
Legalization od the documents
Forms of verification by the country
Each student studying at a university in the Czech Republic must have their secondary school education recognized by the Czech Educational Office.
- Students who have completed secondary school education are considered eligible for medical degree study programs in General Medicine (6 years) or Dentistry (5 years) those, who could be admitted on the basis of the provided secondary school documents to the same study program in their home countries.
There are two basic conditions that must be fulfilled to be enrolled:
1) successful passing of the written entrance exams and oral interview and
2) presentation of a valid certificate of completed secondary education.
If you completed the previous level of education at a foreign secondary school, submit one of the following documents:
a) authenticated document from your secondary school which is recognized as valid in the Czech Republic (so-called "nostrification")
b) document proving that European Baccalaureate was granted, or document from foreign secondary school exam which must be valid in Czech Republic in accordance with its international agreements without further administrative procedures (a "maturita school leaving certificate" from Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, or Slovenia)
c) Document from foreign secondary school to be assessed by the faculty (for a fee of CZK 880)
What to submit to prove one of above mentioned options:
a) Nostrification by the education department at any regional authority (Krajský úřad) in the Czech Republic. More information about this process available here
b) The European Baccalaureate diploma (NOT an IB diploma which requires either below option -(a) or (d) - details here https://www.eursc.eu/en/European-Schools/European-Baccalaureate
c) Diploma issued by a secondary school accredited in Slovakia, Poland, Hungary or Slovenia
d) Nostrification in terms of the admission procedure – processed by our faculty, more information here.
The following may be used as completion documents of foreign secondary education:
A) proof of authenticity of the document from your secondary school which is recognized as valid in the Czech Republic (so-called "nostrification") :
Certificate of equivalence recognition of a foreign certificate
Decision on the equivalence recognition of a foreign certificate
You must submit:
application for nostrification - section Proof of education in the module Admission
Verified copy of a document according to "Act No. 561/2004 Sb., to regulate pre-school, basic, secondary, tertiary professional and other education (the Education Act)" of legal regulation that proves your foreign secondary education is recognized by the Czech Republic.
It is issued by- Regional Authorities (krajský úřad), the Metropolitan Authority of the Capital City of Prague (Magistrát hlavního města Prahy), or by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
Free of charge (a fee of CZK 1,000 is paid to the Regional Authority or the Metropolitan Authority within the proceedings of recognition of the equivalence or validity of a foreign secondary education.
B) a document proving the awarding of a European Baccalaureate.
An authenticated copy of the European Baccalaureate diploma – Free of charge.
This does not apply to the International Baccalaureate (IB Diploma) which is considered a document of Higher Education Act. For IB is applicable section (D). If you have IB diploma and "Maturita" from Czech language (Secondary school exam)- please contact us at jana.silhankova@lf1.cuni.cz.
C) Documents automatically deemed as valid:
A document concerning a foreign secondary education completed with the "maturita" examination. Document is deemed equivalent in the Czech Republic in accordance with its international agreements. These are documents proving obtainment of the equivalent of Czech "maturita" in Slovakia,Slovenia, Poland ("swiadectwo dojrzalosci") and Hungary ("érettségi bizonyítvány").
An authenticated copy of the foreign certificate or a similar legal document proving your graduation from foreign secondary school under the legal regulations of another state.
If needed the faculty will also request from you to submit the following documents:
Original or an authenticated copy of a document describing the content and scope of education completed at a foreign school (an overview of subjects completed during period of study)
D) a foreign document concerning a foreign secondary education
It is necessary to provide a certificate of accreditation of a secondary school (a document of the Ministry of Education or other state institutions in the country providing school education) if this information is not part of the diploma.
If needed, the faculty will request from you to also submit the following documents:
Additional information on the content and scope of foreign secondary education.
A confirmation from the relevant foreign body (e.g., a Ministry of Education) that document is from authorized institution which provided education under the Education Act (a statement on "accreditation"). The confirmation is accepted also in a form of a link to the local MOE where the school is notified.
This concerns documents to which the procedure under section (C) cannot be applied.
Result of faculty assesment :
- in the case of a positive assessment - the document is accepted.
- in the case of a negative assessment - you are required to submit a document under section (A) ("nostrification")
IMPORTANT: The assessment is valid only for the admissions procedure at one faculty in one academic year.
Should you receive your final diploma/ Cambridge results only in August, please request your school to issue a certificate of predicted grades. This document can be sent by the school directly as an original document in a sealed envelope.
As soon as the official final results are published, the official certificate would be handed in to the faculty. Eventually you can share the login details with the Study Department to check the final results which would replace the attestation of hard copies.
Documents which are not originally issued in the Czech, English, or Slovak languages must be officially translated into the Czech or English languages by a court (sworn) translator (Czech or foreign one).
The sheets with translations must be attached to the authenticated copies of the documents they relate to in such a way that makes it impossible to change or replace the sheets containing the translation. Translations attached to unauthenticated copies of documents shall not be accepted.
If your situation requires it, you also need to submit following documents:
a. A power of attorney - if you are represented by an attorney for the purposes of proving compliance with the requirement for admission under the Higher Education Act.
b. If your name changes - an authenticated copy of a document proving it (e.g., a certificate of marriage).
c. decision to award international protection -An authenticated copy if the assessment is requested by a person listed in section 90 (4) of the Higher Education Act and if this person wishes to use the possibility of substituting a document with an affirmation.
A document that temporarily replaces a certificate or diploma. Can be accepted within the admission process. It must be properly legalized and contain the information normally found on a certificate / diploma.
i.e.: the name of the secondary school and study program completed, the level of education attained, the expected date of issue of the certificate or diploma and the date of issue.
The certificate of completion should be issued by the same secondary school, which will also issue a certificate or diploma.
DIPLOMA REQUIREMENTS FOR FACULTY NOSTRIFICATION FOR DIRECT ENTRY APPLICANTS
LEGALIZATION OF THE DOCUMENTS
All of the above-mentioned documents have to be validated (officially verified) by a lawyer, solicitor or notary public and must contain apostille or super-legalization clause.
Apostille is sufficient for countries listed here: https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/authorities1/?cid=41
Documents issued in countries where an Apostille is not sufficient require super-legalization Documents must be verified:
a) by the Foreign Office of the respective country
b) by the relevant embassy of the Czech Republic.
Forms of verification by the country:
https://cuni.cz/UKEN-593-version1-formy_overeni_abecedni_seznam_statu_ss.pdf
IMPORTANT: The documents have to reach our Study Department by August 31, 2023 before enrolment into study.
PLEASE NOTE that all documents have to be officially translated into English or Czech language!
Nostrification in Terms of The Admission Procedure
Nostrification of your secondary school education is necessary for enrolment into study. You can apply for the nostrification in terms of the admission procedure, which is done by the faculty.
If you would like to apply, please follow the below instruction:
1. Make sure that you have officially verified copies of your secondary school certificates including Apostille or super legalization if needed.
2. Arrange for official translation of all documents that are originally not in the Czech or English language (only Czech or English translations are acceptable)
3. Send scans of your certificates for a preliminary check to Mrs. Jana Šilhankova
4. Once approved by the Study Department as complete, send the documentation by post to the faculty address. The documents have to reach the Study Department by 31st August 2023 at the latest
Odkaz na web na RUK: https://cuni.cz/UKEN-593.html


text:
Counseling & Services
(888) 425-2666, www.al-anon.org
Support groups and referrals for families and children of alcoholics.
Casa Youth Shelter in Los Alamitos
(562) 594-6825, www.casayouthshelter.org
Counseling and classes for teens and parents. 24-hour helpline: (800) 914-CASA (2272).
Community Family Guidance Center
(562) 924-5526, Toll-free, 855-329-8080, www.cfgcenter.com
Mental health services for children and young adults (0-21). There is no cost for eligible minors. Serving Southeast LA County.
Health Line Youth Counseling
(562) 273-0722, www.hycinc.org
Counseling, treatment, education, and support services for youth and families. Sliding scale.
(562) 594-4555, (714) 891-8121, www.intervalhouse.org
Comprehensive domestic violence services and specialized housing programs in over 70 different languages to individuals and families in Los Angeles County and Orange County.
(949) 303-9016, www.calyouthservices.org/jade
Provided by California Youth Services, the Juvenile Alcohol and Drug Education provides drug and alcohol education and intervention for adolescents and their parents through techniques and strategies based on the 12-step philosophy.
Jewish Federation Family Services
Long Beach: (562) 427-7916, www.jfcslongbeach.org
Services for families, adolescents, and children that include individual and family therapy. Services for children include support around divorce, loss, anger, challenging behaviors, anxiety, depression, blended family issues, and assistance adjusting to new situations. Therapy includes art, play, and more traditional talk therapy. Payment is on a sliding-scale fee basis.
Magnolia Park Family Resource Center
(714) 530-7413, www.tinyurl.com/mpfamily
Provided by the City of Garden Grove, the resource center provides counseling, case management, family support, parenting education and more.
Mariposa Women and Family Center
Orange: (714) 547-6494. San Juan Capistrano: (949) 429-6888, www.mariposacenter.org
Counseling center where women and families can address mental health issues, substance abuse, violence, trauma, or any other challenges that keep them from leading productive, fulfilling, and healthy lives.
Straight Talk Clinic
Santa Ana: (714) 828-2000. La Mirada: (562) 943-0195, www.straighttalkcounseling.org
Affordable mental health, substance abuse, and rehabilitative services to individuals and families in need.
The Guidance Center
Long Beach: (562) 595-1159. Compton: (310) 669-9510. San Pedro: (310) 833-3135, www.tgclb.org
Comprehensive mental health treatment for disadvantaged children and their families struggling with mental illness and abuse..
The Priority Center
(714) 543-4333, https://theprioritycenter.org
Formerly known as The Child Abuse Prevention Center. Their mission is to assist people in crisis by giving them the tools and support necessary to end the generational cycle of trauma- including prevention of child abuse and neglect, through early intervention and mental health services and advocacy.
WomenShelter of Long Beach
24-Hour Crisis Hotline: (562) 437-4663, www.womenshelterlb.org
Free supportive services to children and youth victims of domestic violence. Children and youth ages 7-17 may enroll to receive peer-counseling, support groups, therapy, and more.


Positive psychology is a relatively new branch of psychology first introduced by Martin Seligman, Ph.D., and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Professor of Psychology at the Drucker School of Management. Both felt that the field of psychology was missing something. Traditionally, the practice had focused on two things: describing mental illnesses and finding ways to treat them.
Since positive psychology's founding, hundreds of practitioners have chosen to work in the field. Using an evidence-based scientific approach, these professionals learn more about happiness by studying groups of people as opposed to lab rats.
This has led "positive" psychologists everywhere from suburban America, where high levels of dissatisfaction are found, to Africa, where Masai warriors, who own little more than huts, clothing, and the weapons they hunt with, have one of the highest "happiness quotients" in the world.
Three primary barriers to happiness have been identified by positive psychology researchers: destination addiction, the hedonic treadmill, and cynicism.
First described by Dr. Robert Holden, founder of the United Kingdom's Happiness Project, destination addiction is a focus on what one wants tomorrow versus what one has now. It can contribute to feelings of depression and frustration when people don't achieve their objective, which is often material wealth. Holden describes the condition as "living in the not now' and likens it to eating a banana to get to its end instead of enjoying it while eating.
Closely related to destination addiction is the hedonic treadmill. This is permanent dissatisfaction with acquiring material goods. As individuals earn more money, they look at their current standard of living and always believe they can do better. Their expectations are constantly on the increase and when they reach the next level they only want more.
Cynicism is a general attitude of negativity marked by a distrust of the integrity or professed motives of others. It perpetuates negative thinking, which has detrimental psychological and physical effects.
Cynicism contributes to a state of chronic mental unhealthiness. The negative thinking generated by it also damages neurons and may actually kill them, according to researchers at Stanford University, impairing vital functions of the brain including memory and problem-solving.
Altruism, gratitude, and playfulness are three behaviors that have been identified by positive psychologists as contributing to long-term happiness.
According to the book The Psychology of Happiness, altruism has decided evolutionary advantages because cooperating for the benefit of others benefits one's own well-being. Early man realized the advantage of working together because it increased the supply of food and helped defend against enemies. Altruism also promoted the development of other kinds of positive social behaviors including communication and sharing.
Today altruism is often expressed in volunteering, generosity, and "random acts of kindness." While most people no longer work to increase the food supply or fight external threats, altruism still has many benefits.
In a study by researcher Allen Luks, a majority of those who helped others reported a kind of "helper's high." Helper's high is a feeling of exhilaration and a burst of energy very much like the ones generated by exercise.
Helpful behaviors seem to stimulate the brain's positive emotion centers and trigger the release of endorphins ("feel-good" hormones). According to nationally known psychotherapist Arlene Uhl, scientists working with MRI brain scans have shown that regions of the brain associated with positive emotions are extremely active when men and women experience compassion and empathy.
Gratitude has also been found to make people happier. A number of research groups have focused on what happens when people pause to think about what they are truly thankful for. Nearly all have found a positive correlation between gratitude and happiness.
In one study, participants were asked to keep a gratitude journal. In the evening before going to bed they wrote down three things that made them feel good that day and had to write or recite a phrase that expressed gratitude for those things.
The results of the "Three Good Things" experiment showed that expressions of gratitude increase happiness and decrease symptoms of depression. Sixty percent of participants said they still ended the day the same way six months after the study's conclusion.
Finally, playfulness is a behavior that can increase long-term happiness. According to Time magazine, research shows that a high level of participation in fun leisure activities is a major contributor to life satisfaction.
It's not hard to see why playfulness has such an influence on happiness. Active pastimes such as riding jet-skis and playing touch football are major energizers and mood enhancers that, like altruism, activate the positive emotion centers of the brain.
Even though modern society often makes people feel like they're moving "a mile a minute," Time also reports that Americans actually have more leisure time now than forty years ago. Unfortunately, most of it is spent on passive activities like watching television, which have a much smaller effect on well-being than activities requiring energy and exertion.
While altruism, gratitude, and playfulness are key contributors to long-term happiness, they're just the three behaviors that have been studied most extensively. Rewarding work, parenting, exercise, friendship and other behaviors increase happiness as well.


A community is a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals and is essential to positive mental health.
Tiffany Pham created the global technology and media empire, Mogul, at 27 years old. On this episode, Tiffany shares the personal tragedy that led to discovering her "why" and a blueprint for you to use to learn the skills you need to start a business, reach your goal or achieve your dream.
Tiffany's new book You are a Mogul: How to Do the Impossible, Do It Yourself and Do It Now.
Jennifer Sanchez is a on mission to remove the stigma from the word "fat." As she prepares to run her first marathon, in her hometown of Chicago, Jennifer is using #FatGirlsRun as her mantra to prove to herself and everyone else that you can start where you are and still achieve your goal.
Motivational speaker and businessman, Jim Rohn, once said, "You're the average of the 5 people you spend most of your time with." The people around you matter and you need people who will challenge you and help you grow.
Episode 62: Would You Walk Away from $100 Million?
Choosing to walk away from his family's $100 million business was the hardest decision Joe Pardo has ever made. He started in the business at 6-years old sweeping floors and over the years learned the details of every department. Most people dream of the kind of success Joe achieved, but in 2014, Joe resigned.
Maria Taylor is the co-host of ESPN's College Gamedayand sideline reporter for ABC's Saturday Night Football. She's just signed a new deal that will keep her on ESPN's networks for years to come.
Why her first experience as a college football sideline reporter felt like "trial by fire"


FP's Situation Report, presented by the UAE Embassy: U.S. accuses Iran of breaching nuclear sanctions; Drone strikes and a prisoner return thaw U.S.-Pakistan ties; Israel conducts airstrikes in Syria; and much more.
The United States accuses Iran of secretly breaching U.N. nuclear sanctions. As Secretary of State John Kerry hints that a nuclear deal with Iran could be done in a matter of months, Washington has evidence that Tehran is trying to buy new equipment for a key nuclear facility. But the White House isn't willing to say anything publicly about it.
FP's Colum Lynch: "The United States has privately accused Iran of going on an international shopping spree to acquire components for a heavy-water reactor that American officials have long feared could be used in the production of nuclear weapons-grade plutonium.… The American allegations, which have never before been reported, come more than a year after the Iranian government pledged as part of an interim agreement with the United States and other big powers to scale back Iran's most controversial nuclear-related activities, including the enrichment of high-grade uranium, in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief. They stand in stark contrast to recent remarks by Secretary of State John Kerry, who has repeatedly credited Tehran with abiding by the terms of the November 2013 pact, which bound Tehran to suspend some of its work at Arak. 'Iran has held up its end of the bargain,' Kerry said last month in Vienna as he announced a seven-month extension of the timetable for big-power talks." More here.
U.S. conducts airstrikes in North Waziristan as it returns a senior militant leader to Pakistan, marking a thaw in U.S.-Pakistan relations. A day after Hagel made an unexpected visit to neighboring Afghanistan, U.S. drones launched strikes in the North Waziristan tribal region that reportedly killed at least four people. The strikes targeted Ustad Ahmad Farooq, a Pakistani commander with al Qaeda links in the Indian subcontinent. The strikes came as the United States returned Latif Mehsud, a senior Pakistani Taliban leader arrested under questionable circumstances, to Pakistan. Pakistani officials said both the airstrikes and the prisoner release are indicative of improving relations between Pakistan, the United States, and Afghanistan.
The New York Times' Declan Walsh: "Since coming to power in September, the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, has made a concerted effort to improve relations with Pakistan, a country that his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, regularly accused of supporting the Afghan Taliban. In a recent visit to Islamabad, Mr. Ghani held talks with Pakistan's military leadership. In London last week he smiled and shook hands with the Pakistani premier, Nawaz Sharif, on the steps of 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain looked on." More here.
Israel conducted airstrikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces in the Damascus suburbs Sunday. The strikes were likely targeting Hezbollah, the militant group in Lebanon backed by Assad, and come as the United States continues to support Syrian rebels who are also trying to take down the Assad regime as part of its plan to defeat the Islamic State. Israel has conducted airstrikes against Assad before, targeting stores of advanced weapons or convoys.
The New York Times' Isabel Kershner: "Israel has repeatedly said it has no intention of intervening in the bloody civil war between the government of President Bashar al-Assad and rebel forces in Syria. But Israel has vowed to prevent any transfer of advanced missiles or chemical weapons from Syria to Hezbollah, a militant Shiite group in Lebanon that fought a monthlong war with Israel in 2006." More here.
Defense News's Aaron Mehta on a defense industry pivot: "Amid a global downturn in defense spending, the training and simulation world is booming. But … executives for some of the world's largest defense firms acknowledged that the sector's market strategy is changing." More here.
The Wall Street Journal's Rachel Louise Ensign on ties between U.S. and Russian companies: "Some of the people and entities on the new lists of sanctions, part of the U.S. government's effort to pressure Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, have extensive connections to other companies in countries throughout the world. That poses hurdles for American companies, which are restricted in doing business with some companies owned by those that are blacklisted." More here.
Reuters reports that Russian gas is set to start flowing to Ukraine today: "Russia cut gas deliveries to Ukraine in mid-June in a dispute over prices and debts and supplies have remained suspended while the haggling played out against a background of worsening political relations caused by the separatist war in Ukraine, which Kiev says Moscow is promoting." More here.
Defense News's Paul McLeary on DoD's 2016 budget: "The White House is developing a fiscal 2016 defense budget that would align with its long-planned $535 billion top line, ensuring that the administration would ignore the congressionally mandated budget caps put in place in 2011." More here.
The Wall Street Journal's Ian Talley on low oil prices bolstering the global economy: "Many of the world's top policy makers are rewriting their economic forecasts for the U.S., Europe, Japan and elsewhere, betting plummeting oil prices will lead to an overall boost in the global economy." More here.
The Washington Post's Carol Morello on the timing of a nuclear deal: "Secretary of State John F. Kerry predicted Sunday that a deal to limit Iran's nuclear capacity could be reached in three or four months, or even sooner." More here.
Reuters on Iran's plans to increase military spending: "Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will hike military spending by more than a third in the next fiscal year." More here.
The Washington Times' Guy Taylor on the Washington Post reporter detained in Iran: "The State Department on Sunday condemned the Iranian government's leveling of unspecified charges against Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, who has been detained in the Islamic republic since July." More here.
The Wall Street Journal's Julian E. Barnes and Adam Entous on a push to slow the U.S. drawdown: "President Ashraf Ghani is pushing the U.S. to slow its drawdown of forces in the next two years, an effort that threatens to put the Obama administration in a bind as it seeks to end large-scale military involvement in Afghanistan." More here.
The Guardian's Jon Boone on how life has become harder for the Pakistani Taliban after a U.S. drone attack: "[W]ith the election of a more amenable president in Kabul and a dramatic improvement in relations between Islamabad and Washington, the Pakistani Taliban fighters hiding inside Afghanistan have suddenly become vulnerable, as a surge of counter-terror operations take place on both sides of the border." More here.
The Washington Post's Missy Ryan on the urgency of the U.S. support mission: "The United States faces a tight timeline between the start of the U.S.-led NATO mission in 2015 and hitting the first milestone in President Obama's plan for concluding the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan — closing the regional training sites, narrowing the effort to the capital, Kabul, and halving the number of U.S. troops on the ground — by Dec. 31, 2015." More here.
Vice's Meredith Hoffman on the death of a militant plotting against America: "The militant, Adnan Shukrijumah, was on the FBI's most wanted list and served as al Qaeda's head of external operations, a role formerly occupied by 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed." More here.
The Christian Science Monitor's Christa Case Bryant on a U.N. report on Israel's contacts with Syrian rebels over the past 18 months: "Though some in Israel appear to support the Assad regime as the lesser evil, Israel is no doubt interested in gleaning intelligence from rebel groups in order to better assess and defend itself against jihadi activity in the occupied Golan Heights." More here.
The Jerusalem Post's Yaakov Lappin on Iran and Syria smuggling weapons to Hezbollah: "The Assad regime, despite its dwindling control of Syria, remains Hezbollah's main weapons depot, from where both Syrian-made and Iranian-produced arms often pass through en route to Hezbollah storage facilities in Lebanon." More here.
The Pentagon transferred six prisoners from the U.S. military detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the largest transfer since 2009, reports the Washington Post's Adam Goldman: "Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel initially was reluctant to approve the transfer.… The administration is legally required to provide a 30-day notice to Congress of its intent to transfer detainees out of Guantanamo Bay." More here.
The Wall Street Journal's Felicia Schwartz and Taos Turner: "The six — four Syrians, a Palestinian and a Tunisian — are the first Guantanamo detainees to be resettled in South America, and the largest resettlement at one time from the prison since 2009. The men had been held at Guantanamo for 12 years and had been cleared to leave the prison since 2009." More here.
The Associated Press's Leonardo Haberkorn and Ben Fox on Uruguay accepting the prisoners: "Uruguayan President Jose Mujica agreed to accept the men as a humanitarian gesture and said they would be given help getting established in a country of 3.3 million with a total Muslim population of perhaps 300 people." More here.
The Wall Street Journal's Julian E. Barnes, Patrick McGroarty, and Alexis Flynn on the failed rescue mission of American Luke Somers and South African Pierre Korkie: "The Pentagon isn't reviewing the use of special-operation forces to rescue hostages despite a weekend mission that led to the death of two men held by militants in Yemen, defense officials said." More here.
The New York Times' Rukmini Callimachi on Pierre Korkie: "Hours before his expected release, the South African hostage was killed by his Qaeda guards when a military operation by the United States to save his cellmate — Luke Somers, an American photojournalist — went wrong. Mr. Somers and eight civilians were also killed in the raid." More here.
The Associated Press's Christopher Torchia on the United States being unaware of talks underway to free Korkie: "The United States did not know about talks on the reportedly imminent release of a South African hostage who died in a U.S. raid on al-Qaida militants in Yemen." More here.
Al Jazeera's Rahul Radhakrishnan created a list of failed U.S. attempts to rescue hostages. More here.
Writing for Foreign Policy, Aaron David Miller on Israel's proposed nationality legislation: "[I]f this effort to define Israel as a Jewish state (again) does become law, it's likely to consecrate, codify, and make even more permanent two already deeply entrenched realities rather than to revolutionize Israel's politics." More here.
The Wall Street Journal's Joshua Mitnick on investigations around last summer's conflict: "Israel's military said it opened eight new criminal investigations into soldiers' conduct during the summer's Gaza conflict, including the deaths of at least 27 members of one family who were killed in one of the deadliest strikes during the fighting." More here.
Time magazine's Mark Thompson on Hagel skipping the announcement of his replacement on Friday: "It's the latest in a string of snafus that has marred the transition between President Obama's third and fourth Defense secretaries." More here.
The Financial Times' Sam Jones on NATO efforts to counter Russian propaganda: "National intelligence agencies in the alliance point to what they say is alarming anti-Nato and anti-European rhetoric in the Russian media. The Kremlin has been particularly masterful, they believe, at using a web of disinformation to generate doubt internationally over its huge military support for separatists in Ukraine." More here.
Writing for Foreign Policy, Nathalie Rothschild on feminists taking on Putin: "Margot Wallström, the newly minted foreign minister, has said that under her leadership Sweden will become the only country in the world to conduct a 'feminist foreign policy.'" More here.
The Associated Press on concerns about the report's release: "Foreign governments and U.S. intelligence agencies are predicting that the release of a Senate report examining the use of torture by the CIA will cause 'violence and deaths' abroad, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said Sunday." More here.
The Daily Beast's Shane Harris and Tim Mak on the CIA: "The agency will neither defend the so-called rendition, detention, and interrogation programs. Nor will the CIA disavow those controversial efforts entirely." More here.
The New York Times' Peter Baker on Bush administration officials ahead of the report: "A long-awaited Senate report condemning torture by the Central Intelligence Agency has not even been made public yet, but former President George W. Bush's team has decided to link arms with former intelligence officials and challenge its conclusions." More here.
Reuters's Kahyun Yang and Jim Finkle on North Korea's role in the Sony cyberattack: "The Pyongyang government's state-run media said the cyber attack on Sony's Hollywood studio may have been the work of pro-North Korean supporters in a report on Sunday that dismissed charges that the country itself was to blame as 'wild rumor.'" More here.
The Military Times' Hope Hodge Seck on low troop morale: "The services have weathered several years of deep cuts in funding and tens of thousands of troops have been unceremoniously given the boot. Many still in uniform and seeking to retire from the military fear the same fate, as those cuts are not yet complete." More here.
The South China Morning Post's Li Jing on the territorial dispute between China and the Philippines: "In a position paper, China outlined its arguments against the jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague to take up the case filed by the Philippines last year that could have implications for Beijing's claims over the South China Sea." More here.
The Washington Post's Lenny Bernstein on Ebola survivors: "Recovering from one of the most fearsome infections known to humankind should provide a time of unsurpassed joy. But it doesn't always work out that way." More here.
The New York Times' Denise Grady interviewed a doctor who survived Ebola. More here.
Writing for Foreign Policy, Georgia Holmer on vigilantes in Nigeria: "Vigilante action is a controversial but common measure to counter Boko Haram — and one that may complicate efforts to find a longer-term solution to extremist violence in the country." More here.
FP's David Francis on a Navy spying scandal: "Mustafa Ahmed Awwad, a 35-year-old employee of the Navy, was indicted Friday for trying to steal plans for the USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy's newest nuclear aircraft carrier, to send to the Egyptian government." More here.
Fortune's Tory Newmyer on Obama's Ebola czar: "With the Ebola crisis seemingly in hand, Ron Klain … is planning a late-winter return to the private sector." More here.
The EU's new foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini appoints her predecessor Catherine Ashton as the lead negotiator in talks with Iran. More here.
And finally, Reuters's Treena Shapiro covered yesterday's 73rd commemoration ceremony of the Pearl Harbor attacks. More here.


Whether you're installing new or upgrading an outdated heating system in your primary residence or vacation home, the project involves a great many decisions and details. The choices you make now impact the long-term satisfaction and value of your investment. With 27 years of local experience, Florida Cool Inc. upholds a proven reputation for trusted, quality, and lasting solutions. Contact us at (239) 244-3219, and we'll guide you through a smooth start-to-finish process, and deliver rewarding results.
Florida Cool Inc. has earned recognition as a Carrier Factory Authorized Dealer by consistently meeting exacting standards of knowledge, expertise, and business ethics. We offer a broad range of heating innovations and cater to your specific goals, customizing design and adhering to industry-proven installation procedures.
For all your heating install needs, call on Florida Cool Inc.!
Our fully certified and dedicated technicians optimize the efficiency, comfort, safety, health, and management of your home through exceptional products and job performance. Focused on great service, we provide honest and expert heating installation across Bonita Springs, FL, North Naples, FL, Estero, FL, Naples, FL, Fort Myers Beach, FL, Bonita Bay, FL, Pelican Bay, FL, Park Shore, FL & Vineyards, FL.


In new Disney game online that you can play at TheFrozenGames.com the blonde princesses Elsa Frozen, Rapunzel and Cinderella want some modern looks to flaunt during this lovely summer day. Let's play this cool Disney Princesses game to enjoy a great makeover and dressup with them.
Play Disney Princess Team Blonde game online at TheFrozenGames.com using mouse and have fun with Disney blonde Princesses. Disney Princess Team Blonde is a game for girls from frozen game, frozen games collections. Disney Princess Team Blonde Rating: 84.62% with 13 votes. Disney Princess Team Blonde has been added on July 22, 2015 and you can play it now. Disney Princess Team Blonde game has been already played 2357 times.


text:
Posted on October 23, 2017 October 23, 2017 by The Flying Carpet
The veil and the mistery of the feminine
Anthropology, said Levy Strauss, is the science of fragments.
Born as the "colonial" science "par excellence" from the diaries of the first explorers, traders, missionaries, at their encounter with different cultures, anthropology – unlike sociology, philosophy, history, the so-called "big social sciences" aiming to draw universal laws starting from a self-centred vision of the social phenomena – collects small details, minimal descriptions of the daily life of people, colourful fragments that, however, often prove to be dystonic to the whole picture, hence enlarging our cultural frame.
When you live in a foreign country the daily life acquires some kind of mystery and even the simplest things of ordinary life can become, at the same time, surprising and disconcerting, beautiful and menacing.
On the one side, in fact, your experience of a newcomer is guided by the curiosity of an observer with a different eye, who makes comparisons with her own culture – the Polish anthropologist B. Malinowsky called "participant observation" a similar way of being, at the same time, in and out of a social context -; on the other side, you are longing for participation, pushed by the deep desire to be an integral part of the new community, to be accepted as a real member.
In order not to get lost in the new reality and to experience the much needed feeling to be at home in a foreign country, you have no choice but to rely on the controversial emotions that resonate on you at every encounter with the new culture, trying to decipher their "symbolic language". Symbols, in fact, are "catalysts for relationships", catching the attention with meanings that resonate on you transcending their content.
They are active agents of change for the "tension between opposites" they convey; while preserving their mystery, they provide, at the same time, glimpses of possible discoveries.
"Symbols are not signs or allegories for something known; they seek rather to express something that is little known or completely unknown", said C.G. Jung.
Since my first arrival in Dubai the captivating force of the female world, symbolized by the veil, strongly grabbed my attention.
"What do I have in common with the black-dressed veiled Arab women I meet daily in the streets, on the trains, in the malls?" I asked myself while struggling with the feeling of being estranged in a foreign world.
In my view of an "emancipated Western woman", in fact, the veil was a sign of submission, dependence, inferiority of women to men. However, there was something deeply captivating in those black-veiled women whose existence I perceived only through their beautiful eyes, something extremely powerful in the way they disappeared, made themselves invisible in the public space, which seemed to me like an extreme form of escaping control, a form that maybe in the West we have totally lost despite our identities of successful liberated women we are so proud of. While confronted everyday with such a different, powerful image of the feminine, I had therefore to admit that, if I looked deeply into myself, I could not help to be fascinated by the mystery of those veiled women, their severe postures, the solemnity of their looks.
Their intense extreme presence could not be avoided, as if they were at the same time all similar and strongly individuated, surrounded by a mystery that stood beyond any rational meaning. You cannot guess what lies beneath the veil, which could be at the same time a sign of submission and the memory of an ancient power, which made me think that, in some way, those women were preserving the mystery of the existence we had lost.
The political context of the veil
We need here a bit of social frame about the question of the veil, which is today a divisive and highly debated issue in the public discourse.
The veil has been taken up in the last decades as a political issue by the many who, both in the East and the West, claim for an irreducible "clash of civilizations"; and this dispute intensified after 9/11, when the entire Muslim world was identified as evil, the container of all the westerner's worst fears and nightmares.
Chosen as the most evident symbol of the male domination upon women in the Islamic world, the veil became in the last decades a pretext to assert, once again, the moral, religious, spiritual supremacy of the Western civilization, thus contributing to discharge our bad colonial conscience and to justify ideological domination.
No differentiation is commonly made, in fact, between the influence of religion and tradition on veiling, or to the different types of covering which often refer to traditional customs and familiar constraints rather than religious dictates. Also, no differentiation is usually made between the Muslim countries, underestimating the huge differences existing, in example, between Saudi Arabia, where women are not allowed to be uncovered in public no matter their nationality or religion, and Turkey, where the use of the veil in public was abolished by law in 1928 by Ataturk, and covering is nowadays claimed back again as a female right.
The political debate about the veil is today a dominant issue for all the fundamentalisms of both sides, forcing women in a paradoxical situation that goes over their heads and has nothing to do with freedom of choice and the empowerment of their role within the society.
Even if those highly controversial issues are not the main concern of my work, I would argue that, face to the state of the public debate, we should ask ourselves not "Why women in the Islamic world cover their face?, but "Why are we, in the Western world, afraid of their covering?".
Categoriesstory
Previous PostPrevious One year at Dubai
Next PostNext Migratory Restlessness
Imagining personal development in moments of change