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Sandra J. Lindow: Black to Okorafor: Entering an Intersection of Afrofuturism, Comics, and the Women's Movement
In recent years women of color have consistently won awards for their often transgressive speculative fiction. Hugo and Nebula award winner Nnedi Okorafor is one of these nontraditional writers who have achieved success by taking African history and culture and giving it a fantastic, futuristic feminist twist. In the September/October 2017 issue of Asimov's, sf old guard writer/critic Norman Spinrad calls her Hugo-winning novella Binti "something else again," suggests that "nothing quite like this has ever been written and published in English" and concludes that "This would be a kind of post-modern space opera if it weren't so serious in literary, psychological, and anthropological intent" (204). Structurally Okorafor's stories often depart from both golden age sf and the heavy, complexly interwoven literary novels of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but they do not come out of nowhere. (Until now, Spinrad obviously has not been paying attention to a substantial sea change that has been occurring in the genre particularly since the beginning of the twenty-first century.) Most of Okorafor's work is well-honed YA hero journeys, often structured in a series of vignettes similar to comic books or graphic novels. (In her Wahala Zone Blog, Okorafor explains that she learned about Joseph Campbell's hero journey from her instructor at Clarion, Steven J. Barnes ["My Report"].) Furthermore, the lives of her characters are inextricably entwined with popular culture: food, music, art, and technology. To best understand her work, it is valuable to examine its dynamic connection to the Afrofuturist movement that began after World War II.
Afrofuturism is a way of looking at the past and imagining a future where Africans, African-Americans, and other African diaspora can be equal participants in creating a sustainable, egalitarian future. It is a movement that has been significantly influenced by music and art. Like other writers of color such as Octavia Butler, Nalo Hopkinson, N.K. Jemisin, and Nisi Shawl, Okorafor was informed by the Civil Rights Movement's active reclamation of black history and culture that resulted in the Afrofuturist movement. Beginning with stories written in early creative writing classes, Okorafor takes contemporary problems such as bullying, racism, bigotry, ecological disaster, and out-of-control venture capitalism and moves them into the fantastic landscapes of Afrofuturism.
Going Back to the Roots
The roots of the Afrofuturist movement began decades ago in the '50s, '60s, and '70s when people of color sought to reclaim the cultural richness of African descent through music and art as well as literature (Womack, 16–17). Although slavery had been officially abolished, ideological and political racism remained. Despite DNA proof of the unity of the human race, segregation continued to divide cities and performance of specific racially defined behaviors was expected. (In the late '50s, this author's Tennessee aunt had a black housekeeper who cooked fried chicken for the family but would not join us for dinner because it was not considered proper.)
Beginning in the '50s, Afrofuturism was informed by the futuristic music of American jazz composer Sun Ra, born Herman Poole Blount (1914–1993), who legally changed his name to Le Sony'r Ra. Inspired by the space race, he sometimes wore spacesuits when he performed and claimed he was an alien abductee from the planet Saturn on a mission to preach peace. Throughout the rest of his life, he refused to recognize any other cultural identity (Wilson np). Correspondingly, '60s psychedelic poster art combined with an Afrocentrist Black Arts movement that melds modern digital art techniques with fantastic African patterns and colors (Womack, 144). It is a surreal expressionist style that informs contemporary comic books and graphic novels and has recently rebloomed on the covers of scholarly books and literary anthologies created by artists such as John Jennings, "an advocate of using comics to shape black identity and Afrofuturism" (Womack, 144). In January 2017, Jennings published a graphic novel adaptation of Octavia Butler's Kindred.
Cover to Damian Duffy & John Jenning's adaptation of
Octavia Butler's Kindred (Abrams 2017)
Cover to Mothership, edited by Bill Campbell and Edward Austin Hall (Rosarium Press, 2013)
Four of Jennings's covers are shown here. They demonstrate a blending of historical, technological, tribal, and magical tropes, an intertextual weaving seen in Okorafor's work as well. The cover illustration of Mothership is reminiscent of Phoenix, the main character in Okorafor's novel The Book of Phoenix (2015).
Cover to Afrofuturism by Ytasha L. Womack (Chicago Review Press, 2013)
The illustration on Ytasha L. Womack's Afrofuturism perhaps bears a resemblance to a prosthetically enhanced, techno-feminist Lieutenant Uhura, magically cyborged by the third eye of enlightenment.
Octavia's Brood, edited by Walidah Imarisha & Adrienne Maree Brown (AK PRess, 2015)
These and the cover of Octavia's Brood all depict young women who have been empowered in various magical ways, suggesting that the line between science fiction and fantasy has been breached. (Throughout her work Okorafor has explored the transformative nature of art. This is particularly true in her children's book, The Girl with the Magic Hands [2016]. Similarly, transformation of the human body through technology is central to The Book of Phoenix.)
Space, the Final Frontier
The 1960s Star Trek series began with the line "Space, the final frontier." The metaphor of the frontier is important in the American mindset: it represents an often lawless place where problems of contemporary culture can be explored and redefined and a new order restored. Early science fiction writers such as Leigh Brackett (1915–1978) frequently wrote both in sf and other pulp genera such as westerns and mystery. Later, writers such as Ursula K. Le Guin and Octavia Butler used extraterrestrial frontier worlds to explore the dynamics of dystopia and utopia-in-progress. In the wagon train era of US history, the frontier was reached by crossing the Mississippi. During the Golden Age of Science Fiction, crossing the dangerous emptiness of space held similar promise of freedom in new lands. Within the context of Afrofuturism, crossing the emptiness of space has the significance of an escape from a kind of modern-day slavery characterized by economic barriers and low-end jobs. The Negro spiritual "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" includes the line: "The River Jordan is deep and wide, milk and honey on the other side." Before the Civil War, the River Jordan codedly referred to crossing the Ohio River that divided the slave South from the free North, but later the song continued to have significance due to the dangerously swift and wide social and economic rivers that had to be crossed in order to partake in the American Dream.
Okorafor first won recognition for her stories based on their magical re-envisioning of African culture. Initially she was hesitant to write about space flight; she mentions on her blog, "I am not a fan of flying. It's a control thing." However, she recently moved her stories into outer space with Binti, which received the 2016 Hugo Award for Best Novella. On July 15, 2011, her blog describes how she and her daughter, Anya, attended the final space shuttle launch from Kennedy Space Center:
I've always had a hard time writing about space. I am very much an earthling. I don't see myself ever leaving this planet while I am alive (I may be more adventurous after I die, heh). There is so much yet to discover (and fix) on earth, why look elsewhere? And my spiritual beliefs and the systems of magic I'm attracted to are earth-based, born and rooted deep in the soil. They are not in the "heavens." Also, when I write about something, I have to get and feel close to the subject. I never feel close to "space," no matter how much research I do. Maybe if I see the Space Shuttle launch this will change, I thought. ("Space Flight Awareness")
Later she describes the launch as a "serious" "o-m-g moment," and then she concludes that "maybe I can write about space now" (ibid.). Her description of the launch is intensely personal:
Once everyone saw the plumes of exhaust, people started cheering.... It was happening right in front of me..... And I was tingly with exhilaration and fear, it was so close. Then there was the noise. It was pressing on my face. Vibrating through my body.
Up up up, it went. Then it punched through the thin clouds. And then it was gone. You could see its shadow reflecting on the clouds. It took less than a minute. (ibid)
The immediacy of the launch seems to have overcome Okorafor's hesitancy to write about space. Binti begins like a futuristic wagon train saga. It describes a young Himba woman's travel between the stars, living among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs. In this story, the cultural artifacts and red clay earth that she takes with her are essential in resolving an interstellar conflict. When Binti takes a spaceship to a university on another planet, her ship is attacked, and her fellow students are murdered by warriors from a spear-wielding alien culture who have a legitimate grudge against the university. Through intelligence, quick wits, and endurance, Binti is able to overcome her fears enough to communicate with the jellyfish-like aliens.
In the story, Binti is looking for the "milk and honey" of an off-world university education. During the '60s, many young black women's dreams of extraterrestrial "milk and honey" possibilities were first sparked by Nichelle Nichols's Star Trek character, Swahili-speaking Nyota Uhura (1966–69). ("Uhuru" is Swahili for "freedom," and "Nyota" is "star.") When Nichols considered resigning after the first season because she had so little to do in those initial episodes, Martin Luther King met her at a convention and asked her to reconsider: "You are changing the minds of people across the world. For the first time, through you, we see ourselves. What we can be, what we are fighting for, what we are marching for" (Womack 99). Fortunately, Nichols decided to continue, for Womack writes that Dr. Mae Jemison, the first black woman to go into space, was, as a child, inspired by Uhura to become an astronaut. In 2012 Jemison launched the 100 Year Starship project, a nonprofit whose goal is to achieve interstellar travel by 2112 (Womack, 99).
Racism, Double Consciousness, Cognitive Processing of Oppression
Much of Okorafor's fiction evolves from her anger regarding sexism and racism. Early Afrofuturism was informed as a response to the conscious and unconscious racism that was an intrinsic part of American culture from the beginning. In 1903, W.E.B. Du Bois described the inability of blacks to have a single unified identity as a "double consciousness." In The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois wrote:
The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife,—this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He would not Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa. He would not bleach his Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message for the world. He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face. (3)
Black identity was separate from American identity, and Du Bois implied that full adulthood as a man depended on an as-yet-to-be-defined psychological integration of identity; however, African Americans had internalized the racist concepts that kept them in their place, making integration extremely difficult if not impossible. Furthermore, black women had an even deeper hurdle to overcome because they were objectified in their own culture as well as in the American, a problem Du Bois could not see when in Chapter 13, "Of the Coming of John," he wrote:
"Why, there isn't even a girl worth getting up a respectable flirtation with," he growled. Just then his eye caught a tall, willowy figure hurrying toward him on the narrow path. He looked with interest at first, and then burst into a laugh as he said, "Well, I declare, if it isn't Jennie, the little brown kitchen-maid! Why, I never noticed before what a trim little body she is. Hello, Jennie! Why, you haven't kissed me since I came home," he said gaily. (111)
Afrofuturism was a literary movement that generated popular and critical interest in writers of color who were aware of their own biases and could use "double consciousness" as a tool to depict their characters' struggles as universal human struggles against the evils of colonialism and paternalism. Being gender queer or female was no longer a literary problem because those issues could be safely discussed when set outside the here and now in the landscapes of Afrofuturism. In the '70s, alienated young people who felt like cultural outsiders sought vicarious empowerment though books like Samuel R. Delany's Dhalgren (1975) and Butler's Kindred (1979), novels where viewpoint characters use their wits to battle against the forces of evil and oppression. In the late '70s and early '80s, Butler's Patternmaster series (1976–84) became very popular with college students partly because it championed the creation of networks to battle against evil. What is important is that a metacognitive environment had been established where black writers could envision a future that cherished who they were and where they came from and transcended the lingering post-colonial limitations that had caused them to be ghettoized in northern cities and eyed skeptically whenever they were in white neighborhoods. Okorafor has mentioned that as a member of the only black family to move to South Holland Park, a suburb of Chicago, she was often the focus of racist comments and abusive behavior by other children; however, her family support had given her the self-esteem to keep from being broken by racism. She explains:
The racism was "quite epic," she says.
We were always running from racist older kids. But racism never deterred me from doing anything. Coming from Nigeria, my parents were aware that the United States had a lot of issues, but they were also aware that it had a lot of opportunities. I was instilled with that attitude—there are issues here but you get over them. Obstacles should not keep you from attaining what you seek. (Hand, n.p.)
This courage to press onward is depicted throughout Okorafor's fiction. It corresponds with a measured response to racist behavior that recognizes it but doesn't let it distract from personal goals. This is particularly depicted early in Binti when Binti feels her hair being pulled by a group of veiled Khoush women but does not allow this to deter her progress through the line at the shuttle station. She straightforwardly returns the gaze of the offending women but keeps her future goals at the forefront of her mind: "Those women talked about me, the men probably did too. But none of them knew what I had, where I was going, who I was" (17).
Black Power, Women, and the Comics
One of the ways that Afrofuturism has found self-expression is through digital art and comic books. Beginning with the early American comic books, the nature of power has been explored through primary colors, spiky lines and text interjected with all the prerequisite whams, bangs, and pows. In 1966, Stokely Carmichael acclaimed the importance of "Black Power" and black became "beautiful". In "Brave Black Worlds: Black Superheroes as Science Fiction Ciphers," Adilifu Nama explains that
Indeed, "black" not only became the appropriate term for designating a new type of political consciousness, but it also provided a synchronous template for the creation of a regal, super-intelligent, and highly skilled hunter-fighter black superhero [named Black Panther] from the fictional African nation of Wakanda. (137)
Black Panther usually appears as if he has been carved from particularly heavy black onyx and ebony. His yellow-eyed, sculptured, sweat-shiny, hulking power is evident. The message is that to be truly powerful, a man must appear invincible to the point that he no longer appears really human. But what does it mean to be a powerful black woman? At first, although women could claim the beauty of being black, power was essentially a male descriptor. In 1964, a Black Panther spokesman—either Carmichael or Chaka Walls—had announced that the only position for women in SNCC (The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) was "prone" (Daniel, 305). By "prone" he clearly implied sexually enhanced support services, but black women who had been essential to the movement from the beginning were envisioning their own paths to power.
After World War II, women had been moved out of powerful, well-paying, "hard" factory jobs and back into "softer" homemaking roles, but by the '60s women had begun to rebel against these restrictions. Girls growing up in the '50s and '60s wanted to read comics where women as well as men had powers. Wonder Woman, perhaps the oldest feminist icon in popular culture (predating even Rosie the Riveter), first appeared in 1941 and had a mid-70s TV show which inspired a generation of little girls to lobby for belts and armbands and to spin around just like Wonder Woman. (In the 1970s, Samuel R. Delany wrote two issues of Wonder Woman, part of a longer series where she temporarily abandoned her super powers to become a secret agent [202 and 203]. Wonder Woman was restored to her original costume and powers in part in response to her adoption as a symbol by Ms. Magazine in 1971.) Stanford Carpenter, president and cofounder of the Institute for Comics Studies, has explained that such cosplay is about "empowerment." He believes that it "inherently pushes against many of the stereotypes that are thrust upon us" by pushing the boundaries of what a person can be and in so doing, imagining "a whole new world and possibilities that can extend beyond the cosplay experience" (Womack, 14). Little girls believed that if Wonder Woman could fly, perhaps they could, too. Despite her initial conventionality regarding heterosexual love, marriage, and family, Wonder Woman still inspired self-confidence and the ability to leave everyday restrictions behind. (Depiction of Wonder Woman's sexuality has evolved. The highly acclaimed 2017 Wonder Woman movie starring Gal Gadot and directed by Patty Jenkins implies her bisexuality, as have many recent storylines in the comics. Diana is an Amazon princess and comes from the island of Themyscira but already understands sexual pleasure when American World War I pilot Steve Trevor, played by Chris Pine, crashes offshore of the island and is rescued by her.)
In "The Mother of All Superheroes: Idealizations of Femininity in Wonder Woman," Zechowski and Neumann explain that "central" to Wonder Woman's power "is the idea that any woman (or girl) could be a Wonder Woman" (124). It can be argued that Wonder Woman evinces each era's idea of the intersection of femininity and power. The Wonder Woman movie depicts a Wonder Woman who is not only strong and smart but also an effective leader able to do what men think impossible. In a June 16 review in the Learned Fan Girl, author Inda explains, "The entire No-Man's Land sequence is a defiant refutation of the idea that a thing can't be done just because men tell you it's not possible. Not only can women tread (and stomp, and smash) where men say they cannot, they can inspire others to follow and fight for themselves." Comic books, which gained considerable cultural importance for Baby Boomers, were marketed to girls from their inception in the 1930s. Black-clad characters such as Catwoman, who first appeared in Batman #1 in 1940, could be considered codedly black, a possibility that was eventually explored in the 2004 Catwoman movie where the eponymous character was played by Halle Berry.
Although the first superheroes were adults, teenagers soon became a focus. Supergirl was created in 1958 and was a recurring feature in the Superman line of comics of the '60s. She appeared in her own comics beginning in the '70s. Although blond, blue-eyed, and perpetually teenaged, she did have agency and the ability to have her own adventures, paving the way for other young superheroines who appeared later. (The present Supergirl TV show, which debuted in 2015 starring Melissa Benoist, reflects twenty-first-century values, allowing an adult, not teen, Supergirl/Kara Danvers to have a career in publishing as well as having adult relationships.) In 1993, Milestone Comics, the first comic book company formed by black writers, artists, and editors, created Raquel "Rocket" Ervin, the first black teenaged unwed mother to become a superhero. Her inertia belt allowed her to manipulate kinetic energy. The name of the belt is interesting, having a double consciousness of its own. While in physics, inertia refers to the property of a body to remain at rest if it is at rest or to remain in motion if it is in motion, in popular parlance, the word commonly refers to apathy or an inability to move or act. This psychological stagnation is exactly what the Afrofuturist movement attempted to thwart by supporting hopes and dreams.
Much of Okorafor's fiction explores the nature of power and what it means to be powerful, and her work has taken hold with feminists partly because women of every ethnic background readily see the value of rising above gender stereotyping and prejudice. At present she's writing a comic arc starting Black Panther as well as another Marvel comic based on the character Ngozi (created by Okorafor with artist J. Tana Ford), a Nigerian teenage girl who is bonded to the alien symbiotic organism Venom.
The adventures of superheroines who can fly intersects with African-American legends of people who flew away from slavery, both becoming fantastic histories that informed Okorafor's early Windseeker stories and later her post-apocalyptic The Book of Phoenix. Flight is one of the central unifying tropes of Okorafor's fiction, and her work demonstrates a conscious attempt to explode the previous cultural limitations on a young woman's right to be a hero and use powers equal to a man's. For the most part her viewpoint characters are believably young and imperfect but also magically talented, super girls on the verge of becoming wonder women. In "How Inyang Got Her Wings" (2013), a short story taken from an early unpublished novel, a young woman realizes that she has inherited the ability to levitate and even fly. It begins:
She circled high above her village, looking down. It would be the last time she ever saw it as it was. Okodon-Ndem, Calabar, Nigeria, 1929. The rectangular adobe sleeping quarters with cooking fires burning in front of them. Built in a circle. A courtyard in the center. The spaces between the huts filled in by forest. Yam and manioc farms close by....
She shed no tears. Instead, she looked ahead. To the east. The sun was rising. (61)
Here the rising sun symbolizes a chance at a better life less controlled by the traditional values that kept women in their place. Like Octavia Butler before her, Okorafor is deeply interested in the idea of autonomy and having control over one's life/destiny.
The most significant black female superhero in comics is Ororo Munroe, known as Storm, who first appeared in the X-Men series in 1975, created by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. An earlier "Storm" appeared in 1961, when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the superheroine Susan Lee Storm, the Invisible Girl, as part of Marvel Comics's Fantastic Four. They (particularly Lee) still wore the sexist blinders of the '50s and seemed to lack any clear understanding of how a girl could be heroic. Sue was, in fact, initially expected to disappear when the Four faced danger, and she often needed to be rescued because she had not yet grown into her own powers; it took until 1985 for her to become "The Invisible Woman" (Durowski, 202, Edmunds, 212). However, by the '70s and '80s, T. Keith Edmunds writes that comic book heroines seemed "more independent and purposeful than their predecessors" (212). In an article in African Identities, Adilifu Nama suggests that Storm "epitomizes the imaginative space between science fiction and the supernatural" with her mutant abilities to fly and to change the weather, powers associated with the elemental energy of earth and air as well as the environment" (142). Symbolizing the struggles that women of color face and resist, Storm, the orphaned daughter of a Kenyan tribal princess, overcomes her early life on the streets of Harlem and Cairo to become a competent leader of the X-Men, a superhero organization dominated by white men (142). Storm has appeared in five installments of the live-action X-Men film series, where she is portrayed initially by actress Halle Berry and by Alexandra Shipp in the most recent, X-Men: Apocalypse.
Okorafor's early Windseekers, genetically mutated humans who can fly, may be seen as literary descendants of Ororo. Okorafor begins her chronicle of these Windseekers before the turn of the twentieth century. To have a future, the past must be clearly understood, and her windseeking characters follow a learning curve that parallels the history of the Women's Movement in the United States, although The Book of the Phoenix reflects a dystopian future where rights violations are once again common but now horrifyingly intertwined with scientific advances in genetics and technology.
Although the roots of Afrofuturism were already deep in American cultural soil, the movement itself was not identified as such until the 1990s when there was renewed interest in Afrocentrism. As Ytasha L. Womack explains in her book Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture (2013), Afrofuturism reflects an "intersection of imagination, technology, the future, and liberation" (9). Nisi Shawl says it a slightly different way: "Afrofuturism is a movement focused on African contributions to, perspectives on, and presence in the future" (Inda). The term was first coined by cultural critic Mark Dery in "Black to the Future," his 1993 essay that included interviews with black writers Samuel R. Delany, Greg Tate, and Tricia Rose. With a bit of contextual dark humor, Dery wondered why so few African Americans were then writing sf since they could be considered the descendants of "alien abductees" (180). To which, Delany theorized that black literary writers had more in common with Toni Morrison and Ishmael Reed than with the hard science fiction writers of the sf Golden Age. In response, Tate suggested that "Black people are already living the estrangement that science fiction writers imagine" (212), and he noticed that black teenagers were increasingly drawn to the elaborately enhanced "Sci-Fi" superheroes that were then appearing in pop culture comics, video games, TV, and movies (109). Tate also noted an integration of outer space themes with contemporary music by black groups, demonstrated by the cover of the X Clan record, To the East, Blackwards, which depicts a pink Cadillac heading into starlit space carrying the faces of black martyrs and reflecting the mysticism embraced by many musicians of the time (Dery, 210).
Although the role models pictured on the cover are for the most part male, the Cadillac is very pink. What "Black to the Future" describes is a conceptually fecund atmosphere for something to happen, and in the next few years, it does: A literary movement takes shape that embraces both male and female, past and future. As Tate explains, "You can be backward looking and forward thinking at the same time" (211), and this backward/forward dynamic is one of the major unifying principles throughout Okorafor's fiction.
Okorafor and the Landscape of Afrofuturism
This backward and forward looking was taking place on college campuses when Okorafor enrolled at the University of Illinois as a freshman in 1992. Chicago at that time was becoming a focal point for Afrofuturist thought and culture. Growing up, Okorafor had spent many summers in her father's home village in Nigeria where, despite her love for the flora and fauna, she was frequently bullied for believing in her own rights as a young woman. In America, Okorafor's family lived within a closely knit Nigerian-American community that had always honored African customs and traditions; however, as a result of a renewed interest in African Studies classes, American black college students were also celebrating African food,1 clothing, and culture, and some of these students were also participating in sf fandom, conventions, gaming, and cosplay while following larger-than-life black superheroes in comics, television and films. Lando Calrissian, portrayed by Billy Dee Williams, first appeared in the second Star Wars movie, The Empire Strikes Back, in 1980. More recent movies provide easy access to contemporary Afrofuturism. From 1986 to 1993, black actor LeVar Burton starred in Star Trek, the Next Generation (and in films after that); his blind character, Geordi La Forge, wore a prosthetic visor that allowed him to see. Movies such as Wesley Snipes's Blade Trilogy (1998–2004) and Denzel Washington's The Book of Eli (2010) explored post-apocalyptic Afrofuturist landscapes. For the most part the biggest black stars were male with Halle Berry the exception, but in 2009 Zoe Saldana starred in the neocolonial adventure, Avatar, and beginning in 2014, she has starred as green-skinned Gamora in Marvel Studios's multicultural hit series, Guardians of the Galaxy.
Womack explains that these students identified race as a kind of "technology, a human–created categorization process enforced by law and violence that deemed darker people as alien" (Uncanny). They theorized that if race were an artificial construct, it followed then that "imagination and improvisation" could become tools for mastering racism and transcending the impacts of racial bias through technology. They concluded that when all humanity was valued, all isms would end (Uncanny, n.p.).
Imagination and improvisation are essential tools of Okorafor's hero journeys as well as characteristics of her own life. When she entered college, she assumed she would be a professional athlete. She came from an athletic family. Her parents were excellent athletes, her mother part of Nigeria's Olympic javelin team, her father a famous hurdler in Africa. She ran track, and as teenagers, she and her sister were nationally recognized in tennis, but after her freshman year in college, she was temporarily paralyzed after spinal fusion surgery to correct her scoliosis. It was during her slow recovery that she began to write and then took her first creative writing class her sophomore year.
With her complicated cultural background, Okorafor was in the perfect place to move to the forefront of what would be identified as Afrofuturist writing. Her early stories meld technology with African mythology, culture, and landscapes. In "Spider the Artist," 2008, her first clearly science fiction story, she describes a robotic AI designed by the military industrial complex to protect Nigerian oil pipelines:
The government and the oil people destroyed our land and dug up our oil, then they created robots to keep us from taking it back.
They were originally called Anansi Droids 419 but we call them 'oyibo contraption' and most often Zombie. (Kabu Kabu, 104)
Eme, the viewpoint character, is a young woman living in an environmentally destroyed village with an alcoholic husband who beats her. Eme's hero journey is emotional. She is clearly in despair when she essentially falls in love with one of these robots who has developed consciousness, as well as an appreciation and aptitude for music that can work to heal dysfunctional relationships. Eme calls him Udide Okwanka, a name that in Igbo means "spider the artist" (111). In many African mythologies, Anansi the Spider is considered the trickster-creator of all stories. In this story, Anansi's name has been appropriated and corrupted by capitalism. The number given to the spider-shaped robots is also significant because 419 is the number for banking-fraud scams in the Nigerian criminal code. The intent of the robot developers is to protect their investment at all costs, but it becomes apparent that a true Anansi spirit is working through this robot when it goes rogue to befriend and protect Eme. In her later novel, Lagoon (2014), Okorafor further identifies Udide as narrator and author of all stories, a synesthetic spinner who can "feel taste" and "hear touch" (291). Udide is cousin to Anansi and an immortal who has been called from semi-retirement under the city of Lagos to protect the city from environmental destruction through its trickster talent and willingness to "play dirty" (293).
WisCon at Work
While Okorafor was at work developing the Afrofuturist universe that interconnects her novels and short stories, the novement picked up support from a slightly different direction: WisCon, the feminist science fiction convention that in 1990 created the Tiptree Award for gender-bending speculative fiction. WisCon, which first began in 1977 as a small, regional convention held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, had always welcomed writers of color, but beginning in 1997. panels considered how the feminist community could be more supportive of writers of color. Then in 1999, discussions regarding Delany's essay "Racism and Science Fiction" published in the New York Review of Science Fiction (August 1998), led to the creation of the Carl Brandon Society, a group whose mission is to "increase racial and ethnic diversity in the production of and audience for speculative fiction" (CBS website). Delany wrote:
Because we still live in a racist society, the only way to combat it in any systematic way is to establish—and repeatedly revamp—anti-racist institutions and traditions. That means actively encouraging the attendance of nonwhite readers and writers at conventions. It means actively presenting nonwhite writers with a forum to discuss precisely these problems in the con programming. ("Racism," n. p.)
Since 2005, the Society has offered two $1000 awards, the Kindred and the Parallax, for speculative work by writers of color and for works that examine race, ethnicity, and culture. In 2007, Okorafor won the Parallax Award for Shadow Speaker, and in 2010, she received the Kindred Award for Who Fears Death.
According to Womack, the Afrofuturist movement began to develop momentum in 2000 when Alondra Nelson, a student–turned–professor, created an Afrofuturism listserv that became "a discussion portal for students and artists wrestling with the dynamic intersection of black history, technology, and the future" ("Afrofuturism Rising"). Since 2000 there has been a flowering of fiction and criticism that explores Afrofuturist landscapes and concerns, as well as increased recognition for those who write it. Part of this renaissance has involved discovering and republishing stories by African American writers. In 2000, Sheree R. Thomas published an important Afrofuturist anthology, Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora, which included a story published by Charles W. Chesnutt that had been written as early as 1887 and one by W.E.B. Du Bois that was originally published in 1920. In 2004 Okorafor published a short story in Thomas's second volume, Dark Matter: Reading the Bones.
By the beginning of this century, writers of color were beginning to draw considerable critical attention. Many of them were women. In 2002, Nalo Hopkinson was the first person of color to be a WisCon guest of honor. In 2010 Nnedi Okorafor shared the honor with writer/editor Mary Anne Mohanraj, and since then there have been six more Afrofuturist guests: Nisi Shawl, Andrea Hairston, N. K. Jemisin, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Sofia Samatar, and Nalo Hopkinson again. The WisCon web site has announced that the 2018 WisCon's invited guests of honor are Saladin Ahmed, writer of Black Bolt for Marvel Comics, and award-winning novelist/screenwriter Tananarive Due, who teaches Afrofuturism at UCLA. The feminist sf community has embraced these writers, and they in turn have infused feminist sf/f with creative energy at a time when the original second-wave feminist sf writers are no longer in the forefront. Their popularity is based on their willingness to break the mold of traditional sf tropes and not be guided by the constraints of Western mythology. They also tend to ignore essentialist concepts of gender and binary norms. Womack writes that "Women Afrofuturists have decision-making power over their creative voice. They make their own standards and sculpt their own lens through which to view the world and for the world to view them" (104). Feminist Afrofuturists such as Okorafor are creating their own norms and their own characters based on their own experience and their own understanding of history. Their protagonists tend not to reflect the stereotypical "modest maidens, wicked temptresses, pretty schoolmarms, beautiful bitches ... [and] faithful wives" that Joanna Russ found so limiting in her 1972 essay "Why Women Can't Write" (81). Adjectives like submissive and subservient don't usually describe their protagonists, and they envision cultures where women, children and animals are respected while males, especially white males, no longer have some of the uncontested privileges they have so long enjoyed. In doing so, they have aroused the ire of some male sf writers and fans, an opposition, however, that has done little to slow the feminist Afrofuturist momentum. (In 2015 and 2016, a group called the Rabid Puppies, led by sf writer and publisher Vox Day, tried to rig the Hugo Awards, a move that caused fans to rally in support of writers of color with the result of the 2016 awards for fiction all going to women, with four of the five women of color. Vox Day had previously called N.K. Jemisin an "ignorant half savage" although Jemisin has a master's degree in education from the University of Maryland. The World Science Fiction Convention, which issues the Hugo Awards, responded with a series of rules changes to make such hijacking much more difficult in the future.)
In her essay, "Race in Science Fiction: The Case of Afrofuturism," Lisa Yaszek suggests that historically, Afrofuturist stories have been created in response to a series of questions: "Will there be a future for black people?" "What is it that black people will have to do to secure a future where they are free citizens?" "Is some kind of apocalyptic event required to level the playing field?" and "What role can science and technology play in creating a less hierarchical future?" (Yaszek, 6). Whereas Okorafor's early Windseeker stories depict secret fantastic histories, beginning with Zahrah the Windseeker (2006) her work examines the importance of soft sustainable technology, and with The Shadow Speaker, (2007) she depicts the results of apocalyptic events such as the Peace Bomb, a device that, once detonated, destroys electronics and opens a gap between alternate universes. In addition to Yaszek's questions, Okorafor joins Nalo Hopkinson in asking, "What role will the mythic supernatural have in human evolution?" and like Octavia Butler before them, "What role will alien intervention play?" (Hopkinson interweaves mythology and the supernatural in her fiction often in transgressive ways as in her novel The Chaos where Baba Yaga and her flying chicken-legged house appear in downtown Toronto. Butler's Xenogenesis series describes the spacefaring Oankali who travel the universe exchanging genetic information and thus changing every intelligent culture they meet.) Is an infusion of alien influence and genetic material necessary to end man-unkind's propensity toward prejudice, corruption, violence, and war? Okorafor explores this question in her novel Lagoon. Furthermore, her answers must be interpreted through the lens of third-wave feminism and a desire to recreate a world where all women have equal respect and agency.
Heartfelt Heroines
Okorafor's heroines earn the right to succeed through intelligence, hard work, and perseverance. She is part of a generation of women of color who were informed by a media landscape that was taking tentative steps toward racial equality and feminism. (The first interracial kiss on American network television occurred in a Star Trek episode, "Plato's Stepchildren," which aired on November 22, 1968, when Captain Kirk [William Shatner] kisses Lieutenant Uhura [Nichelle Nichols].) She grew up at a time when women's rights were being dragged, sometimes forcibly, to popular culture's center stage. Beginning in 1972, feminine physical strength was being validated through Title IX equality in education programs. Ms. Magazine, boasting a cover picture of Wonder Woman, was first published in December 1971 and very early began to champion the writing of women of color. Writers such as Joanna Russ recognized that within the constraints of cultural conventions, it was hard to write heroic women and insisted that girls had a right to their own hero stories. (Russ published Kittatinny, her own Bildungsroman for girls, in 1978.) Science fiction by women writers bloomed in the '70s and '80s, creating female characters who were strong and brave and just as likely to rescue as to be rescued. Beginning in 1969, Ursula K. Le Guin insisted on black protagonists in her Earthsea series and later books. In Butler's Kindred (1979) and Jewelle Gomez's ethical vampire book The Gilda Stories (1991) Afrofuturism attempts to redirect the hopeless futurelessness of the slave/minority mindset and to redefine morality in a way that transcends the imposed political/ideological limitations of the dominant culture, what Martin Luther King described in 1963 as a "deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars" (King).
In transcripts from a 2008 Black Writers Conference at Medgar Evers College, Walter Mosley suggests that science fiction and speculative fiction are the only forms of fiction that are "truly revolutionary" (ibid.). Mosley concludes that sf/f is revolutionary in that it "overthrows a way of thinking" and puts pressure on the writer "to figure out, what are you going to do now that you're here?" (ibid.). Okorafor's protagonists Zahrah, Ejii, Sunny, Onye, and Binti all must rethink their behavior and create meaning from novel Afrofuturist environments, a process that is essential to their moral development. In each case there are revolutionary personal and societal results. In Octavia's Brood : Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements, Sheree Renée Thomas has written that social justice represents one of the most serious challenges to the conscience of our world" (Thomas, 1). In the Introduction, Walidah Imarisha explains that "Visionary fiction is a term intended to differentiate science fiction that validates 'freer worlds'" than those depicted in mainstream sf, a landscape which, according to Imarisha, "most often reinforces dominant narratives of power" (4). Correspondingly, Okorafor writes fiction that evolves from social justice issues. In particular, The Book of Phoenix is a cautionary tale about what happens when social justice is denied.
In "Outro," the conclusion to the Brood anthology, Adrienne Maree Brown provides three tools for writing fiction that explores current social justice issues through an sf lens. The first tool is visionary fiction that evidences "power inequalities" and is "conscious of identity and intersecting identities" by centering in particular on those who have been marginalized. With her emphasis on the Bildungsroman adventures of young women from minority cultures, Okorafor's work clearly represents this focus, in particular when her viewpoint characters are bullied and harassed for being different.
Brown's second tool is "emergence," which looks at providing strategies for change that is not "linear, hierarchical," or "outcome oriented" or developed in ways that cannot adapt to changing conditions (280). Emergence respects and valorizes change as emphasized in Butler's Parable of the Sower, where protagonist Lauren Olamina's mantra has become an sf cultural icon: "All that you touch, you change. All that you change, changes you. The only lasting truth is change" (1). Beginning with her early short stories, Okorafor consistently depicts emergent talents and cultures. Butler's mantra is particularly reflected in the second chapter of The Shadow Speaker, which begins, "History is change" (10). Okorafor's ideal for change is primarily that of natural, sustainable emergence although there are specific cases where out-of-control evil is met with revolutionary violence. As Okorafor demonstrates in The Shadow Speaker, change that is based on coercion cannot last, but change that is built on an understanding of nature and human nature has a chance. Although preparedness is essential (and all her heroines prepare for their journeys), there is always an aspect of life that cannot be controlled; because of either chaotic natural forces or unfathomable divine design; throughout her work, a mythopoeic trickster tendency exists that is always at work generating serendipitous events and unexpected answers; therein lies a sly, cosmic humor.
Brown's final tool is networking. One reason for the recent flowering of Afrofuturist fiction has been effective mentoring and communicating. Samuel R. Delany, whose apocalyptic landscapes defined early Afrofuturist fiction, began publishing in 1962, and in 1970, Delany mentored Octavia Butler at Clarion. Clarion, which has been in existence since 1968, has consistently provided literary midwifery for the genre. Butler's first story was workshopped at Clarion and published in 1971. Later, Butler taught at Clarion, and in 1995 she was the recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Fellows (the so-called "Genius Award"). After Butler died in 2006, a Clarion scholarship for writers of color was established in Butler's name. Steven Barnes first published in 1974 and later became a teacher at Clarion. Many of Okorafor's early stories were created in 2000 and workshopped at "The Future (Re-)Envisioned," the 2001 Clarion Writers' Workshop in Lansing, Michigan. One of her teachers was Steven Barnes; another was WisCon Motherboard member Pat Murphy. Prior to Clarion, many of her university instructors had tried to warn her away from sf/f, but after Clarion, she found her place in a vibrant community.
In conclusion, Okorafor is presently part of a loosely connected network of writers of color who know and support each other that, among others, includes Steven Barnes, Tananarive Due, Andrea Hairston, Nalo Hopkinson, Walidah Imarisha, N.K. Jemisin, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Nisi Shawl, and Sheree Renée Thomas. A 2015 conference, attended by many of the aforementioned writers, generated the following manifesto:
We claim the freedom to write whatever the fuck we want and be the artists we need to be.
We commit to supporting each other's growth.
We recognize the power/danger/potential of the images we create and proliferate.
We experiment and learn: "Never a failure; always a lesson!" (Shawl, 157)
Clearly this manifesto is one that Okorafor has embodied from the beginning of her career, and now there is strength in numbers, an ever-increasing number of award-winning Afrofuturist stories and novels where women have power and the powerful tools to say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done.
Sandra Lindow lives in Menomonie, Wisconsin.
Bajac-Carter, Maja, Norma Jones, and Bob Batchelor, editors. Heroines of Comic Books and Literature: Portrayal in Popular Culture. Lanham, Massachusetts: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.
Brown, Adrienne Maree. "Outro." 2015. In Brown and Imarisha, Octavia's Brood.
—— and Walidah Imarisha, editors. Octavia's Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements. Oakland, California: AK Press, 2015.
Butler, Octavia. Dawn. New York: Warner Books, 1987.
——. Kindred. Boston, Massachusetts: Beacon Press, 1979.
——. Parable of the Sower. New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 1993.
——. Seed to Harvest. New York: Warner Books, 2007. Omnibus edition of four Patternmaster novels, 1976–84.
Campbell, Bill and Edward Austin Hall. Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond. College Park, Maryland: Rosarium Publishing, 2013.
Daniel, Robert L. American Women in the Twentieth Century: The Festival of Life. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1987.
Delany, Samuel R. "Racism and Science Fiction." New York Review of Science Fiction 120 (August 1998). <www.nyrsf.com/racism-and-science-fiction-.html> Accessed 19 November 2017.
Dery, Mark. "Black to the Future: Interviews with Samuel R. Delany, Greg Tate, and Tricia Rose." The South Atlantic Quarterly 92:4 (Fall 1993).
——, editor. Flame Wars: The Discourse of Cyberculture. Durham: Duke University Press, 1994.
Darowski, Joseph. "Invisible, Tiny, and Distant: The Powers and Roles of Marvel's Early Female Superheroes." In Bajac-Carter et al, Heroines of Comic Books and Literature.
Du Bois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folk. Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Company, 1903. <www.wwnorton.com/college/history/give-me-liberty4/docs/WEBDuBois-Souls_of_Black_Folk-1903.pdf>. Accessed 30 September 2017.
——."The Comet" (1920) In Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora. Edited by Sheree Renée Thomas. New York: Warner Books, 2000.
Due, Tanarive. "The Only Lasting Truth." In Brown and Imarisha, Octavia's Brood.
Edmunds, T. Keith. "Heroines Aplenty, but None My Mother Would Know: Marvel's Lack of an Iconic Superheroine." In Bajac-Carter et al., Heroines of Comic Books, 2014.
Gomez, Jewelle. The Gilda Stories (1991). San Francisco, California: City Lights Publishers, 2016.
Hand, Elizabeth. "The Speculative Fiction of UB Faculty Member Nnedi Okorafor." At Buffalo, January 29, 2016. <www.buffalo.edu/ubnow/stories/2016/01/profile_okorafor.html> Accessed 30 September 2017.
Hopkinson, Nalo. The Chaos. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2012.
Imarisha, Walidah. "Introduction." 2015. In Brown and Imarisha, Octavia's Brood.
Inda. "Underground, Everfair, and AfroRetroFuturism" The Learned Fan Girl: A Critical Look at Pop Culture and Technology, February 23, 2017. <thelearnedfangirl.com/2017/02/underground-everfair-and-afroretrofuturism/> Accessed 30 September 2017.
Nama, Adilifu. "Brave Black Worlds: Black Superheroes as Science Fiction Ciphers." African Identities. Vol. 7, No. 2. (May 2009).
Okorafor, Nnedi. Binti. New York: Tor.com Books, 2015.
——. The Book of Phoenix. New York: DAW Books, 2015.
——. "How Inyang Got Her Wings." Kabu Kabu. New York: Prime Books, 2013.
——. "My report on the Octavia Butler Symposium/My first trip to New York." Nnedi's Wahala Zone Blog, April 3, 2009. <nnedi.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-report-on-octavia-butler-symposiummy.html>. Accessed 19 November 2017.
——. "Organic Fantasy." African Identities. Vol. 7 Issue 2, (May 2009).
——. The Shadow Speaker. New York: Hyperion, 2007.
——. "Space Flight Awareness: Witnessing the Launch." Nnedi's Wahala Zone Blog, July 15, 2011. <nnedi.blogspot.com/2011/07/space-flight-awareness-witnessing.html> Accessed 19 November 2017.
——. "Spider the Artist" (2008) Kabu Kabu. New York: Prime Books, 2013.
——. Zahrah the Windseeker. As by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu. New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2005.
Russ, Joanna. "What Can a Heroine Do? Or, Why Women Can't Write" (1972). In To Write Like A Woman: Essays in Feminism and Science Fiction. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995.
Shawl, Nisi. "Across the Lies of Space and Time." In The WisCon Chronicles, Vol. 10: Social Justice Redux. Edited by Margaret McBride. Seattle, Washington: Aqueduct Press, 2016.
Spinrad, Norman. "Outside America." Asimov's Science Fiction. Vol. 41, Nos. 9/10 (September/October 2017).
Trota, Michi. "Are All the Men Really Necessary? A Critical Look at Wonder Woman." The Learned Fan Girl: A Critical Look at Popculture and Technology, June 16, 2017. <thelearnedfangirl.com/2017/06/are-all-the-men-really-necessary-a-critical-look-at-wonder-woman/> Accessed 30 September 2017.
Wilson, Nancy, et al. "Sun Ra: 'Cosmic Swing'" (radio). NPR Jazz Profiles. National Public Radio, October 31, 2007. <www.npr.org/2007/10/31/15774733/sun-ra-cosmic-swing> Accessed 30 September 2017.
WisCon 41 Newsletter. "Announcing our WISCON 42 guests of honor—Saladin Ahmed & Tananarive Due". May 28, 2017. <wiscon.net/2017/05/28/announcing-our-wiscon-42-guests-of-honor-saladin-ahmed-tananarive-due/> Accessed 30 September 2017.
Womack, Ytasha L. "Afrofuturism rising." Uncanny: A Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. March 9, 2015. <uncannymagazine.com/article/afrofuturism-rising> Accessed 30 September 2017.
——. Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture. Chicago: Lawrence Hill Books, 2013.
Yaszek, Lisa. "Race in Science Fiction: The Case of Afrofuturism." Virtual SF.com. August 2013. <virtual-sf.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Yaszek.pdf> Accessed 30 September 2017.
Zechoski, Sharon and Caryn E. Neumann. "The Mother of All Superheroes: Idealizations of Femininity in Wonder Woman." In Bajac-Carter et al., Heroines of Comic Books and Literature. 2014.
1 In a 2015 issue of Uncanny Magazine, Womack explains that "Depictions of Black people in the future were a major prong in the platform of answers. Music was a liberator. Organic food and holistic living was an answer, too. This seamless relationship between art, history, music, mysticism, and science appeared to be the keys to unlocking the destinies of lives in need of a refresh" (n.p.).
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Russel is the Chief Technology Officer for Telstra Health. In his role he is accountable for three things, supporting the technology elements of any large new sales deals, providing technical strategy guidance and responsibility for the centralised technology teams (Operations, Architecture and R&D).
Prior to joining Telstra Health, Russel owned the company formerly known as Emerging Systems which Telstra Health purchased in 2015 and prior to that was the CIO at Sydney Adventist Hospital.
Russel has degrees in Education, Information Technology and Science.
In his spare time, Russel can be found gazing through his collection of telescopes, riding motorcycles, or building unusual things in his small machine shop.


text:
FAQs for Employers on the OSHA Vaccine Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS)
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is issuing an emergency temporary standard (ETS) to protect unvaccinated...
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is about to require 80 million working Americans to get vaccinated. You may be among...
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With any new Democrat presidency comes a variety of changes across government, especially one area of change that will affect thousands,...
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced a final rule allowing operators to fly small drones over people under certain...
What to Expect During the Biden Administration
President-elect Biden has released the outline of his plan for curbing the spread of COVID-19. The outline makes no specific mention of...
OSHA Ripped Over Small COVID-19 Fines for Meatpackers
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., left, elbow bumps Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia . OSHA has cited JBS Foods Inc. in Greeley, Colorado, for...
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Questions and Answers about Covid-19 Employers across the country are facing an unprecedented challenge in responding to the COVID-19...

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text:
using BLOM
using Base.Test

model = BLOM.Model()
x1 = BLOM.Variable(model, start = 1.0)
x2 = BLOM.Variable(model)
x3 = BLOM.Variable(model)

ex1 = convert(BLOM.GeneralExpression, x3)
ex2 = convert(BLOM.GeneralExpression, x1)

@test getValue(sin(x1)) == sin(1.0)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Angular2 - changing location without triggering a Route I have a view which uses service to load a list of items. I'm always displaying only one item, moving between items with << >> buttons.
Is there any way to change address in browser's address bar and to add record to browser's history without triggering Angular's routing system?
I know that if I use:
location.go('users/3');

it will do above-mentioned things, but it also triggers Angular's route system, which in turn calls my services again.
Edit:
it seems like location's function
location.replaceState('users/3');

is getting close to what I want to do - it changes url in browser without triggering any Angular internals, unfortunately it replaces latest location in history instead of pushing the new one at the top.

A: If you don't add the service to the components provider: list you won't get a new instance for this service. Make the service global instead by only registering in bootstrap(AppComponent, [MyGlobalService]).
Implementing CanReuse see also Angular 2: Swapping between different components without destroying them might help to prevent re-initializing components when the same route is reused.

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This is an edited collection of my favorite recipes--all crowd pleasers and all recipes I come back to over and over. Bon appetit!
Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with Mustard + Creme Fraiche (for an easy make-your-own creme fraiche recipe, click here).
Winter Squash Soup - even without the Gruyere croutons, this is the best squash soup!
I loved your sour milk biscuits and have made them a few times. I can't seem to find the recipe again here or over at Zupas. Can you help me out? Thanks!
Here you will find a great collection of the best French dishes you can make for your family and friends, including french dessert recipes, French bread recipes, horsdoeuvres, pate recipes, fish recipes and the most divine French pastry!
I'm on a mission to make all these recipes!!
Looking forward to trying the cheese souffles. In a college class (about a hundred years ago) we made a variety of of souffles one day and it was the funnest experience. I'd been looking for a recipe to try this out again and I love that this one can be done in a couple of ramekins. Thanks a bunch!
I see that someone above - vi da nam - on November 9, 2011, has written a comment - all stolen from my website.
Would you please be kind enough to remove this for me.
Hello Gaynor, I went ahead and deleted the comment per your request. I'm not sure why someone did that, but whatever. Have a great day!


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Tax information center : Newsroom : Around Block : Financial statements
H&R Block Announces Fiscal 2021 First Quarter Results
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) today released its financial results1 for the fiscal 2021 first quarter ended July 31, 2020.
Strong finish to the tax season resulted in total U.S. tax filing growth of 3.3%2.
Fiscal first quarter financial results improved significantly compared to the prior year due to the extension of the most recent tax season to July 15; revenues increased 300% to $601 million.
Pretax earnings of $124 million compared to a pretax loss of $207 million in the prior year. GAAP earnings per share from continuing operations3 (EPS) improved to $0.48 compared to a loss of $(0.72), while non-GAAP adjusted EPS4 improved to $0.55 compared to a loss of $(0.66).
Following the fiscal first quarter, the company completed the issuance of $650 million aggregate principal amount of 3.875% notes due August 2030 and intends to use the proceeds to repay existing senior notes at maturity in October 2020.
The company entered into a long-term agreement with MetaBank, N.A. ("Meta") in August to act as the facilitator of the Company's suite of financial services products.
"As evidenced by our strong finish to the tax season, we demonstrated innovation, agility, and resilience in navigating historic disruption and remained focused on helping our clients," said Jeff Jones, H&R Block's president and chief executive officer. "Serving more clients this year than last is a testament to the strength of our brand and our ability to serve people in any way they prefer."
"Our results in the first quarter were strong, resulting in a positive start to the fiscal year," said Tony Bowen, H&R Block's chief financial officer. "We're in a solid financial position and are continuing the work of driving efficiencies in our business to fund our growth initiatives."
Key Financial Metrics
Total revenues increased $451 million, or 300%, to $601 million due to the extension of the U.S. tax season which resulted in higher revenue in both the Assisted and DIY business, as well as increased international tax preparation fees due to the extension of the Canadian tax season.
Total operating expenses increased $103 million, or 30%, to $448 million primarily due to variable compensation and other expenses on the increase in revenue, as well as planned increases in marketing related to the extension of the tax season. These increases were partially offset by decreases in other expenses.
The resulting pretax income of $124 million compared to a pretax loss of $207 million in the prior year. GAAP EPS from continuing operations increased to $0.48 compared to a loss of $(0.72), while non-GAAP EPS improved $0.55 compared to a loss of $(0.66).
The company was also pleased to announce the following recent developments related to its capital structure:
As previously announced, a quarterly cash dividend of $0.26 per share is payable on October 1, 2020 to shareholders of record as of September 11, 2020. H&R Block has paid quarterly dividends consecutively since the company went public in 1962.
The company ended the fiscal first quarter with $2.6 billion of cash, including $2.0 billion from its line of credit, which remains fully drawn. The company intends to pay down the full balance of the line of credit this month, using available cash. Future draws on the line of credit are anticipated to fund seasonal cash flow needs, consistent with prior practice.
The company recently completed the issuance $650 million aggregate principal amount of 3.875% notes due August 2030 and intends to use the proceeds to repay existing senior notes at maturity in October 2020.
MetaBank, N.A. Agreement
The company recently announced that it entered into a program management agreement with Meta, under which Meta will act as the bank provider of H&R Block-branded financial products, including Emerald Advance, Emerald Card, Emerald Savings, Refund Advance, and Refund Transfer through the company's retail and digital channels.
Discontinued Operations
For information on Sand Canyon, please refer to disclosures in the company's reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, and other filings with the SEC.
Discussion of the fiscal 2021 first quarter results, tax season 2020 results, outlook, and a general business update will occur during the company's previously announced fiscal first quarter earnings conference call for analysts, institutional investors, and shareholders. The call is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Eastern time on September 1, 2020. To access the call, please dial the number below approximately 5 minutes prior to the scheduled starting time:
U.S./Canada (866) 987-6821 or International (630) 652-5951
Conference ID: 2117669
The call, along with a presentation for viewing, will also be webcast in a listen-only format for the media and public. The link to the webcast can be accessed directly at https://investors.hrblock.com. The presentation will be posted on the Quarterly Results page at https://investors.hrblock.com following the conclusion of the call.
A replay of the call will be available beginning at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time on September 1, 2020 and continuing for seven days by dialing (855) 859-2056 (U.S./Canada) or (404) 537-3406 (International). The conference ID is 2117669. The webcast will be available for replay beginning on September 2, 2020 and continuing for 90 days at https://investors.hrblock.com.
H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) provides help and inspires confidence in its clients and communities everywhere through global tax preparation, financial services and small business solutions. The company is disrupting the tax industry by providing consumers price transparency and with digital platforms such as Tax Pro GoSM. H&R Block believes the best solutions blend digital capabilities with human expertise and care. For more information visit the H&R Block Newsroom and follow @HRBlockNews.
About Non-GAAP Financial Information
This press release and the accompanying tables include non-GAAP financial information. For a description of these non-GAAP financial measures, including the reasons management uses each measure, and reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, please see the section of the accompanying tables titled "Non-GAAP Financial Information."
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the securities laws. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include words or variation of words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "commits," "seeks," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," "targets," "would," "will," "should," "goal," "could" or "may" or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements provide management's current expectations or predictions of future conditions, events or results. All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future are forward-looking statements. They may include estimates of revenues, client trajectory, income, effective tax rate, earnings per share, cost savings, capital expenditures, dividends, share repurchases, liquidity, capital structure, market share, industry volumes or other financial items, descriptions of management's plans or objectives for future operations, products or services, or descriptions of assumptions underlying any of the above. They also include the expected impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, including, without limitation, the impact on economic and financial markets, the Company's capital resources and financial condition, the expected use of proceeds under the Company's revolving credit facility, future expenditures, potential regulatory actions, such as extensions of tax filing deadlines or other related relief, changes in consumer behaviors and modifications to the Company's operations related thereto. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and reflect the company's good faith beliefs, assumptions and expectations, but they are not guarantees of future performance or events. Furthermore, the company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions, factors, or expectations, new information, data or methods, future events or other changes, except as required by law. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to a variety of economic, competitive and regulatory factors, many of which are beyond the company's control, that are described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2020 in the section entitled "Risk Factors" and additional factors we may describe from time to time in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You may get such filings for free at our website at http://investors.hrblock.com. In addition, factors that may cause the company's actual estimated effective tax rate to differ from estimates include the company's actual results from operations compared to current estimates, future discrete items, changes in interpretations and assumptions the company has made, and future actions of the company. You should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors and, consequently, you should not consider any such list to be a complete set of all potential risks or uncertainties.
Investor Relations: Colby Brown, (816) 854-4559, colby.brown@hrblock.com
Media Relations: Angela Davied, (816) 854-5798, angela.davied@hrblock.com
TABLES FOLLOW
Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Because these measures are not measures of financial performance under GAAP and are susceptible to varying calculations, they may not be comparable to similarly titled measures for other companies.
We consider our non-GAAP financial measures to be performance measures and a useful metric for management and investors to evaluate and compare the ongoing operating performance of our business.
We make adjustments for certain non-GAAP financial measures related to amortization of intangibles from acquisitions and goodwill impairments. We believe removing the impacts of amortization of acquired intangibles and goodwill impairments provides a more meaningful indicator of performance and will assist in understanding our financial results.
We may consider whether other significant items that arise in the future should be excluded from our non-GAAP financial measures.
We measure the performance of our business using a variety of metrics, including earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) from continuing operations, adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations, EBITDA margin from continuing operations, adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations and free cash flow. We also use EBITDA from continuing operations and pretax income of continuing operations, each subject to permitted adjustments, as performance metrics in incentive compensation calculations for our employees.
Contact the Media Desk
H&R Block Reports Fiscal 2022 Second Quarter Results; Reiterates Fiscal Year Financial Outlook
H&R Block today released its financial results for the fiscal 2022 second quarter ended December 31, 2021. Read more.
H&R Block Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend
H&R Block announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 27 cents per share, payable April 1, 2022. Learn more.
H&R Block's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 27 cents per share, payable July 1, 2022. Read more.
H&R Block Reports Fiscal 2022 Third Quarter Results; Increases Financial Outlook
H&R Block today released its financial results for the fiscal 2022 third quarter that ended March 31, 2022. Read more.
Questions? Contact the media desk


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How to Make Healthier Versions of Fried Foods
November 15, 2016 | BY: Ariane Resnick
November 15, 2016 Ariane Resnick
Ah, fried foods. They're crunchy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside, and definitely not good for your body. While healthy fats — monounsaturated and omega-3s, in particular — are a necessary part of a healthy diet, the oils used for frying tend to be lacking in health value.
What's a fried-food lover to do? Wouldn't it be great if you could capture the mouthfeel and texture of deep-fried foods, but have the dish actually be healthy (or, at least, healthier)? Good news: You can!
Instead of submerging the food in a pool of less-than-healthy oil, baking it can yield similarly crunchy results. But, the real secret to mimicking the crackly, savory crust of a chicken tender, for example, is in the breaded exterior. You can coat the outside of a piece of chicken with a number of different things to get that crunchy bite — crushed corn flakes, crackers, or panko breadcrumbs will do the trick. But, we recommend trying more healthful options (see below).
We include two techniques: breading (dredge food into beaten eggs then coat it with seasoned flour, bread crumbs, or crackers), and battering (a liquid mixture of one or more flours). The whole-food flours we recommend below are widely available at large grocery stores nationwide.
How to Make Breaded Fish Fillets With Almond Flour
Almond flour is made by grinding whole, blanched almonds and, thus, has the same nutrient profile as the raw nuts. It's rich with monounsaturated fat and vitamin E, and provides a good source of protein and gut-healthy fiber. Almond flour is easy to use as a breading alternative, and because it contains protein and fat, helps you have a feeling of fullness similar to something fried.
To replicate the bread-crumb effect, whisk two whole eggs together in a dish. In another dish, mix one cup of almond flour with salt and pepper and any dried herbs you like. Dip fish fillets into the beaten eggs then into the almond flour until the fish is completely coated. Roast the fillets in the oven at 400°F for 10 minutes for thin fillets, and up to 15 minutes for thicker ones.
How to Make Breaded Zucchini Fries With Flax Meal
Flax meal is a gluten-free flour alternative that is sold as golden or a mix of golden and dark; I prefer the golden unless you're after a heavier rye-like flavor. It is one of the richest sources of the omega-3 fatty acid ALA, and it contains antioxidant lignans and a good source of protein, insoluble fiber, and calcium. Since it's high in fiber, it's best consumed with water, so the high water content of veggies make the two a natural pair.
Mix one cup of flax meal with salt and pepper, whisk two eggs together, then dip veggies — such as zucchini strips or rounds — in the egg mixture, then in the breading. Bake until golden and crispy at 375°F for 25–30 minutes.
How to Make Battered Coconut Shrimp
If battering is more your game than breading, coconut flour is a sound choice. It contains medium chain fatty acids, which can help you to feel satiated. It also provides magnesium, manganese, and phosphorus, as well as approximately five grams of fiber and two grams of protein per two tablespoons.
To create a coconut flour batter, mix half a cup of the flour with one egg, one and a half teaspoons baking powder, and salt and pepper. Dip shrimp (this recipe can coat 20–24 pieces of shrimp, depending on how large) into the batter and bake at 375°F for 20 minutes.
How to Make Battered Chicken Fingers With Brown Rice Flour
Brown rice flour provides a high-protein and high-fiber replacement for wheat: One cup contains approximately 11 grams of protein and seven grams of fiber. When ground into flour, brown rice maintains its phenolic compounds, which exert potent antioxidant activity.
To make chicken fingers: Mix half a cup of brown rice flour with one egg, one and a half teaspoons baking powder, salt and pepper. Add extra flavor with either smoked paprika or cayenne pepper, if desired. Dip chicken pieces in the batter, and bake at 375°F for 20 minutes for a delicate, crispy, kid-pleasing meal.
These suggestions are springboard ideas. Go forward and create whatever combination of flour alternative plus protein or vegetable best suits your needs and tastes and share them with us in the comments.
Try These 5 Baked-and-Better-for-You Versions of Classic Fried Foods
Almond-Crusted Chicken Fingers With Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
Zucchini Fries
Breaded Pork Cutlets Stuffed With Mushrooms and Parmesan
Crispy Oven Fried Garlic Mushrooms
Baked Fish Sticks With Lemon Caper Sauce


No fees. The price you see is the price you pay. Transfers to All Destinations. Shared / Private Transfer. 24 Hours / 365 Days. Express Shuttle Service. High Quality Services. Own fleet of vehicles. Meet & Greet at Airport. Late bookings available. No Extra Fees. Online Confirmation.


Offering a barbecue and views of the river, Rain Forest Guest House is located in Timbanglawang. The guest house has a terrace and views of the garden, and guests can enjoy a meal at the restaurant.
Some units feature a seating area for your convenience. A balcony or patio are featured in certain rooms. Rain Forest Guest House features free WiFi .
This guest house has water sports facilities and car hire is available. You can engage in various activities, such as fishing and hiking. The nearest airport is Kualanamu International Airport, 84 km from Rain Forest Guest House.


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package org.mbtest.javabank.fluent;

import org.mbtest.javabank.http.predicates.Predicate;
import org.mbtest.javabank.http.predicates.PredicateType;

public class PredicateValueBuilder implements FluentBuilder {
    private final Predicate predicate;
    private PredicateTypeBuilder parent;

    public PredicateValueBuilder(PredicateTypeBuilder predicateTypeBuilder, PredicateType type) {
        predicate = new Predicate(type);
        parent = predicateTypeBuilder;
    }

    public PredicateValueBuilder method(String method) {
        predicate.withMethod(method);
        return this;
    }

    public PredicateValueBuilder path(String path) {
        predicate.withPath(path);
        return this;
    }

    public PredicateValueBuilder query(String parameter, String value) {
        predicate.addQueryParameter(parameter, value);
        return this;
    }

    public PredicateValueBuilder body(String body) {
        predicate.withBody(body);
        return this;
    }

    public PredicateValueBuilder header(String name, String value) {
        predicate.addHeader(name, value);
        return this;
    }

    @Override
    public PredicateTypeBuilder end() {
        return parent;
    }

    public Predicate build() {
        return predicate;
    }
}


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A Summer Music Program for Adults
Catawba County News
From what we see at the library, adults love learning as much as kids! And while a lot of that education is self-directed in the form of books, videos, and other media, we also like to offer special courses that bring folks together to spread their wings a little more.
We're especially excited to be offering a course on music this summer. (The theme of Summer Learning is 'Libraries Rock,' of course!) The perennial joke is that in music appreciation classes, an instructor plays a tune, and the students say, "I appreciate that." Well, this class does not fit that model! Instead, we'll draw on the expertise and knowledge of local musician Joyce O'Neal, who is intent on imparting her love of music to a new circle of participants.
Joyce will introduce a variety of pieces and will compare them to other similar pieces and also contrast them with pieces that are quite opposite in tone, rhythm, or purpose. This sort of approach helps participants see music as a continuum and as both innovation and response. It's certain to be eye-opening on a number of fronts.
And lest you think that the course will be weighted too heavily toward classical pieces, be assured that a variety of genres will be discussed, including rock 'n roll, Broadway tunes, and more. Joyce will talk about the creative and social impulses behind these tunes and will also explain why they matter as works with a certain degree of longevity. She'll also touch on how they matter in terms of structure and their role in the musical canon.
To participate in this exciting program, make plans to attend the session at 4 pm on Friday, June 8 at the Sherrills Ford-Terrell Branch Library.
Planning & Parks
Volunteer with Catawba County
Funds Available for Cooling-Related Crises
Adult STEAM: Manufacturing Solutions Center
Meet Libby at Narrow Coffee & Nosh
Star Party & Space Science with Ms. Jan
Get a Good Night's Sleep


We would like to see you having a great shopping experience in our site and we are here to help! You can simply have a quick look in our FAQ to see if your query is covered first.
If you are not sure about what is in your mind, we would love to help you individually. Please leave us a message and our Customer Service team would contact and answer your question right away.
If you are about to make a bulk order of our products, we would love to assist you individually. Please leave your information and our wholesale team will contact you as soon as we can.


The Holy Quran (Summary): Chapter 105 Sūrat al-Fīl (The Elephant) ~ Islam My Ultimate Decision .
Sūrat al-Fīl (pronounced as feel) is one of the sūrahs of the Holy Qur'an that were revealed in Makkah and is in the 30th part of the Holy Qur'an with its five verses. This sūrah in fact is the narration of an actual event that occurred in 570 AD, months before the birth of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). This sūrah is called "The Elephant" because a large army under the command of Abraha Al-Ashram, the Christian viceroy of Yemen (then ruled by the Abyssinians) which came with the intention to destroy the Ka'bah at Makkah. Since the invading army also included battle elephants, the sūrah is appropriately named.
"Have you (O Muhammad (Peace be upon him)) not seen how your Lord dealt with the owners of the Elephant?
And He sent against them birds, (Martin swallows) in flocks.
This sūrah was revealed to apprise the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) of this historic event in which Allah saved its house, Ka'bah from destruction at the hands of the Christians. Although, Ka'bah was then under the control of pagans of Makkah, it has been built by Prophets Abraham and Ismael (may peace be upon them) as House of Allah thousands of years ago and Prophet Abraham had prayed to Alla for its safety and security.
After the death of Prophet Ismael, the message of Allah gradually faded away and the pagans of Makkah started to prevail till Ka'bah came under their control. Thus while Makkah became a thriving trade center of the whole of Arabia, Ka'bah became the center for annual pilgrimage of non believers and became an idol house.
Jealous of people of Makkah for their thriving trade, King Abraha built a huge cathedral in San'a and hoped they he would be able to divert trade towards his country. But this did not happen for pagans Ka'bah was more holier than a Christian church. This infuriated Abraha and he led a huge army to destroy Ka'bah. When the Arabs saw a huge army with big beasts (elephants) they had never seen before, they panicked and prayed to their gods for security of Ka'bah, while throwing away the towel. Although Ka'bah wasn't house of Allah anymore for it it had become a idol worshiping place, Allah remembered his promise with Prophet Abraham for its security.
Thus when the Abraha and its army approached Makkah, instead of armies of pagans, a large number of small birds appeared on the sky, quoted in history as Martin swallows carrying small pebbles of baked clay and threw on the invading army. Although these small pebbles could not have had inflicted any damage or casualties to the army of horses and elephants, they did not know that these pebbles had the divine force embedded in them. So when these hit the Abraha army, it killed them instantaneously and as the last verse of the sūrah says: "It left an empty field of stalks (of which the corn has been eaten up by cattle)." Abraha too was fatally wounded and died.
The Arabs described the year as the Year of Elephants for a long time.The pagans too understood that the victory was not due to their gods, bu Allah and secretly acknowledged it too. For it was in fact Allah that saved His house (Al-Ka'bah) by destroying the large Abraha army that included elephants, through a flock of tiny birds carrying small pebbles.


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Telford >
Dawley
Albrighton & Cosford
Worldwide tributes to Shropshire cricketing stalwart Peter Byram
By Toby Neal | Wellington | News | Published: Nov 19, 2019
Tributes have poured in from across the world to a major figure on the Shropshire cricket scene who was a stalwart of the Wellington Cricket Club for over 60 years.
Peter Byram, flanked by sons Gavin, on the left, and Adam.
Peter Byram, who also served as the sports editor of the Shropshire Star as part of a 42-year career in journalism, was a life member of the Wellington club and served as its general secretary between 1973 and 2018.
He died at his Wellington home on November 15, aged 75.
Peter Byram
After hearing of his illness, Yorkshire legend Sir Geoffrey Boycott sent him a personal message – Peter was a big Yorkshire cricket fan and had met Sir Geoffrey several times – and about 10 days ago England and Yorkshire batsman Jonny Bairstow took time during the England tour of New Zealand to send him a video message.
We are devastated to report that Peter Byram, our Groundsman, former General Secretary and a lifelong servant of Wellington Cricket Club, has passed away at the age of 75. Our thoughts are with his family at this terribly sad time. https://t.co/mbiSH3WIFi pic.twitter.com/lUIkXucfSq
— Wellington CC (@wellington_cc) November 16, 2019
Peter's son, Gavin, said: "Dad loved it. Dad had cricketing friends all over the world, and we have had messages from all over the world.
"Cricket was his life. He said what cricket had given him was irreplaceable."
An online tribute on Wellington Cricket Club's Facebook site says: "He was a pivotal figure in the day-to-day running of the club and a key architect behind its development.
Top bloke and what a gent. RIP Peter. Our condolences go out to the entire Byram family and fiends. 🙏
— Charles Harrison (@justzim1) November 16, 2019
"Younger members may know Pete best for his tireless work behind the mower – he became ground chairman in the early 2000s – but in truth this represented only a fraction of his vast contribution over six decades.
"Pete's passing will leave a massive hole in the fabric of Wellington Cricket Club."
Born at Bradley Moor nursing home, in Haygate Road, Wellington, Peter only moved about 200 yards during his lifetime, living first with his parents in Haygate Road and then, on his marriage to Margaret, buying the house next door.
The couple celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on April 18.
Educated at Wellington Grammar School, football, cricket, and badminton were his main loves and as a youngster he played badminton in the All England championships.
He joined the old Wellington Journal & Shrewsbury News on May 28, 1962, and soon after the Shropshire Star was launched joined that paper on the sports desk, rising to become sports editor in July 1987.
At the time of his retirement in June 2004 he was sports editor of Shropshire Weekly Newspapers.
He was on the committee of Wellington's cricket club since the age of 18 and was the captain of the second team for many years.
Gavin added: "He gave up when me and my brother Adam started playing more. The three of us did get to play in the same team in one game, Wellington 3rds against Burwarton, when I was only about 10 and Adam 13, and he top scored out of the three of us, and decided to retire after that, going out on that note."
Peter proudly followed Adam and Gavin's cricketing progress as they played in Wellington's first team which won the Shropshire league and then won the Birmingham Premier League twice in a row. Gavin was captain, and Adam, vice captain. Another proud moment was joining them on the players' balcony at Lord's.
Of his four grandchildren, Elliot and Freya continue the family's Wellington cricketing tradition, with Freya playing for the girls' team.
Funeral details are being finalised.
Wellington Telford Local Hubs News Cricket
By Toby Neal
A journalist in Shropshire for 40 years, mainly writes features and columns, especially about aspects of Shropshire history. Lives in Telford and is based at the Ketley headquarters.
Wellington | 1 hour ago
Lisa Nandy's campaign for Labour leadership receives double boost


All the well-appointed rooms have their own silent fridge with fresh milk and complimentary bottled water, cafetiere with fresh coffee, flat-screen TV, free Wi-Fi, hairdryer, iron/ironing board and black out blinds. The modern en-suite bathrooms all have large, powerful showers, heated towel rails, shaver points, complimentary toiletries and big, fluffy towels.
Belford House has the benefit of being based in the pretty, market town of Haltwhistle, with all amenities within walking distance, and yet the beautiful, unspoilt Northumberland countryside is on its doorstep. There is free on-street parking outside the property and free car parks nearby.


A 2013 Federal Trade Commission report cited complaints that totaled 5 million in losses to romance scams alone, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Still, these criminals must stay a step ahead of their victims.
"They're pretty systematic." ENTRIES OPEN: Establish your company as a technology leader.But, these Internet criminals are not working alone.From blackmail to money laundering schemes, online dating websites mask a dark underworld where criminals target unsuspecting victims from behind anonymous usernames, and usually from overseas in what one industry expert called "little sweat shops." Much of the black-market activity has recently surfaced.Of course, all of a sudden, she has decided to book the tickets because she got a better price.She was right, her price was only half what I could find.This is after a 14 hour flight and did not sit well with me.
I would to sit down and knock out a blog at a moment's notice.