Daily Archives: July 30, 2017

How Will We Deal With Workplace Automation? – The Good Men Project (blog)

Posted: July 30, 2017 at 2:07 pm

Driverless semi trucks are expected to hit the road in full force as soon as 2020. While this will make the industry more efficient, the question over what happens to 3.5 million truck driving jobs remains.

We hear about the potential impacts of work place automation when it comes to trucking, manufacturing, retail and more. Right now there are 1.64 robots to every 100 employees in the U.S. and that number will likely only climb over time. Korea has 4.78 robots per 100 workers, Japan has 3.14 per 100 workers, and Germany has 2.92 per 100.

As the number of robots per worker grows, the cost of implementation for robots in the workplace will shrink. Eventually, it will become cheaper for technology to do the work that humans are currently doing.

Some of the top industries potentially impacted include:

Insurance underwriter

Farm laborer

Construction laborer

Fast food

Trucking

Mail curriers

A global average of 57 percent of jobs will be at risk to work place automation as the future grows. Its scary stuff. So the question becomes, how do we prepare for a future where jobs arent necessarily threatened by immigration, but by technological progression?

The struggle will likely be felt by millions of Americans. Strong political leadership can help smooth out the transition. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently spoke in front of the governors association, with the suggestion of legislating the upcoming artificial intelligence boom.

Its hard to look at a possible bright side when the scope of the jobs created by the automation process isnt immediately clear. There are entire industries now that revolve around technology that wasnt here 20 years ago (cell phones for example), and that trend will likely become more explosive. There will be new careers and new fields permeating the workforce as we enter into an even higher-tech world. Someone will need to make and maintain the technology used.

This list of the 21 hottest jobs of the future still holds several staples such as nurses and elementary school teachers, but it also includes software systems developers, research analysts, computer and information system managers, computer system analysts, software application developers and more. These are the fields that may be most spared by automation and also the jobs that will likely have a hand in shaping the future of the country and the world.

The people in industries most heavily impacted by automation will no doubt struggle. The more you understand about the potential risks you face now, the better. It will be a tough reality for people with 20-30 years experience in these industries.

If we do enter into a situation with millions out of work, how do we prop the economy back up? Thats where universal basic income comes into play. There are a lot of questions surrounding this debate that will need to be answered.

Will a universal basic income work?

Do we have the political will? Right now it seems the government is more interested in tackling an immigration problem.

How much would be given?

How much would it cost and who would pay for it?

What kind of exclusions would we make?

Could this lead to an explosion of creativity and entrepreneurship? Or would it kill productivity?

Can governments continue to afford this on a long term basis?

Avoiding the risk

The main factor for whether your job is at risk for automation is how routine your job is. Everyone in the American workforce will need to look at how vulnerable there industry and specific job is to automation. They might need to be looking at the emerging alternatives as well to determine how to create the most viable future for themselves.

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Photo credit: Getty Images

Matt Brennan is a marketing copywriter, occasional parenting writer, and journalist in the Chicago area. He is also the author of Write Right-Sell Now.

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Abolitionists still have work to do in America – The Guardian

Posted: at 2:07 pm

In this current moment, abolition is more important than ever. Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

What does it look like to build a city, state or nation invested in communities thriving rather than their death and destruction? To ask this question is the first act of an abolitionist.

I am an abolitionist. What does this mean? Abolitionist resistance and resilience draws from a legacy of black led anti-colonial struggle in the United States and throughout the Americas including places like Haiti, the first black republic founded on the principles of anti-colonialism and black liberation.

Black people and our allies fought for black liberation against slave societies and a slavery-based economy and in some cases, we won. Abolition sought to end slavery and white supremacy to their very core and liberate black people as stolen people exploited on occupied lands.

However, abolition has yet to fully achieve a society and a world where black folks and our lives are recognized with equal value and where institutions have repaired the harm caused on our people.

The backlash to the abolition movement transformed slavery and its institutions. And, while we have seen some semblance of emancipation, we still live with the vestiges of slavery everyday in this country.

The remnants of slavery are visible in the militarization of police, the expansion of the prison industrial complex, rampant Immigration and Custom Enforcement (Ice) raids and the Muslim travel ban in place in America today. They are reflected in the US invasions, occupation and war against communities of color domestically and around the world. If a state is the source of 36% of all military expenditures globally, then it is resisting abolition. And with the 45th president, this number is on the rise.

In this current moment, abolition is more important than ever.

The United States has more than 20% of the worlds prison population with only 5% of the worlds population. More than half of those incarcerated in the US are black.

Incarceration rates for black women are among the highest, with black women arrested four times more than white women. And across the nation, one in 35 adults are under correctional control (included but not limited to jail, parole and probation). We know this to be true and higher in black and Latino communities.

The cost of the prison system, militarization and this society weighed down by vestiges of slavery is great. A recent study found that in the US, cost of prisons exceeds $1tn. This comes at the expense of families, children and entire communities. The same study determined that the US governments operational funds for federal and state prisons as well as local jails stands at $80bn.

On top of this lies the emotional, psychological and physical trauma associated with separation, constant policing, raids, arrests, incarceration and law enforcement killings. Black communities and other communities of color are visibly under attack in this country.

Abolition is necessary if we want to see these conditions change. We must commit to transforming these systems.

Were not just fighting against the prison industrial complex, criminalization of black people and other communities of color. We also want the right to determine how we live and build up our communities participation and conditions.

We must ask ourselves, how do we build an abolitionist framework and practice for our movements today?

Abolition pushes us to imagine. Abolition inspires us and abolition reminds us of who we can be.

Imagine a society dedicated to people and our collective well-being. What does it take to get there? What examples already exist that we can draw from?

With abolition, its necessary to destroy systems of oppression. But, its equally necessary to put at the forefront our conversations about creation. When we fight for justice, what exactly do we want for our communities?

These are the fundamental questions that Black Lives Matter and other black liberation movements push ourselves to envision everyday. The Movement For Black Lives (M4BL) did just this when it gathered hundreds of black organizers to build a multi-faceted policy platform rooted in abolition. The policies range from economic justice, political power and reparations.

An abolitionist strategy must encourage social and financial divestment from the military state and its institutions to social welfare. Our communities must demand dignified housing, satisfying jobs and proper labor conditions, our educational system must be culturally relevant, multi-lingual and teach our histories. Our value should not determined by legal records.

Abolitionists today must challenge Jeff Sessions and his revival of the War on Drugs and 1980s Reaganomics under the false pretense of fighting crime. We need to target campaigns against local, statewide and national investment in military, police and their associated structures.

Abolitionism is manifested in the LA No More Jails coalition, which works to stop the county that jails the most people in the world, Los Angeles, and the citys proposal for $3bn dollar expansion. The coalition calls for an immediate stop to jail construction in LA county and a reduction of the number of people locked up. LA No More Jails fiercely advocates that those same resources be redirected into community solutions.

The Anti-Police Terror Projects Defund OPD (Oakland Police Department) committee stands on a similar platform. Their mission, to reduce OPDs budget by 50% and reinvest money into non-police programming in the city.

According to APTPs research, OPD absorbs nearly 50% of the citys general fund. More statistics can be found here. OPD is committed to responding to the citys shameless excuse that theres no money, where do we cut? with concrete strategies that encourage community based initiatives instead of police response or engagement.

It costs $209,000 annually for New York City per inmate at Rikers Island prison. Around 89% of those incarcerated in Rikers are black or Latino. The #CLOSERikers campaign understands that the fight is not simply to close down the prison but also, reduce the number of people arrested and fix the court systems.

This coalition of diverse New York based organizations seeks to boldly reimagine the citys failed criminal justice system and focus on healing communities that Rikers has disproportionately impacted.

Abolition goes beyond borders. When our ancestors fought against slavery in the US, they also aligned themselves with movements against colonialism throughout the world, like the Haitian Revolution and other black and Indigenous movements across the Americas.

Abolition means fighting against the root causes of mass displacement and forced migration. It means taking on the US state and militarization abroad and ending US intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan and beyond.

Abolition calls for an end to US funding and vetting of military and police across Latin America and the Caribbean. The Justice for Berta campaign, named after Indigenous leader Berta Cceres who assassinated in 2016, comes out of long standing solidarity with Central America and the struggles of black and Indigenous peoples.

The campaigns Berta Cceres Human Rights in Honduras Act demands an end to US funding and vetting of Honduran security forces and investigations into the murders of movement organizers gone unsolved and in impunity.

Abolition means standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their fight for liberation. My experience in Palestine radically transformed my analysis and practice of abolition. Sharing space with our Palestinian brothers and sisters made it clear to me that our movements must look at the international ramifications of the US state and militarization abroad. We must continue to participate and support the movement calling for a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against the Israeli state and corporations that support and enable the occupation of Palestinian land.

Our movements must deeply divest from prisons, policing and militarization and demand investment in our communities, our basic needs, services from education, housing, healthcare and reparations.

Abolition centers a call for genuine freedom and places black folks and our liberation at the center because, when black people are free, we are all free.

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Venezuela crisis: Citizens fear vote means end of democracy as Maduro tightens grip on power – The Independent

Posted: at 2:07 pm

One by one, the markers of Venezuelas democracy have been pushed aside.

First, the Supreme Court was packed with loyalists of the President, and several opposition politicians were blocked from taking their seats. Then, judges overturned laws that the President opposed, and elections for governors around the country were suddenly suspended.

Next, the court ruled in favour of dissolving the legislature entirely, a move that provoked such an outcry in Venezuela and abroad that the decision was soon reversed.

Now, President Nicolas Maduro is pushing a radical plan to consolidate his leftist movements grip over the nation: he is creating a political body with the power to rewrite the countrys constitution and reshuffle or dismantle any branch of government seen as disloyal.

The new body, called a constituent assembly, is expected to grant virtually unlimited authority to the countrys leftists.

Venezuelans are going to the polls tomorrow to weigh in on the plan. But they will not have the option of rejecting it, even though some polls show that large majorities oppose the assemblys creation. Instead, voters will be asked only to pick the assemblys delegates, choosing from a list of stalwarts of Mr Maduros political movement.

The new assembly will rule above all other governmental powers technically even the President with the kind of unchecked authority not seen since the juntas that haunted Latin American countries in decades past.

This is an existential threat to Venezuelan democracy, said David Smilde, an analyst at the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights advocacy group.

The list of delegates includes powerful members of the Presidents political movement, including Diosdado Cabello, a top politician in the ruling Socialist Party who was involved in a failed coup attempt in the 1990s, and Cilia Flores, the Presidents wife.

But the push to consolidate power also puts the country at a crossroads, one laden with risk.

As Maduro effectively steers his country toward one-party rule, he sets it on a collision course with the United States, which buys nearly half of Venezuelas oil. On Wednesday, President Donald Trumps administration froze the assets of, and forbade Americans to do business with, 13 Venezuelans close to Maduro, including his interior minister and heads of the army, police and national guard.

The administration is warning that harsher measures could follow, with strong and swift economic actions if the vote happens tomorrow, according to Trump. In a statement, he called Maduro a bad leader who dreams of becoming a dictator.

There is also the potential powder keg on Venezuelas streets. Infuriated by MrMaduros government, the opposition has mobilised more than three months of street protests that have crippled cities with general strikes, rallies and looting. More than 110 people have been killed, many in clashes between the state and armed protesters. Few know how protesters will react to newly imposed leaders.

Even the members of the new assembly themselves are a wild card. Their power will be so vast that they could possibly remove Mr Maduro from office, some analysts note, ending a presidency that has been deeply unpopular, even among many leftists.

Its a crapshoot, a Pandoras box, said Alejandro Velasco, a Venezuelan historian at New York University who studies the countrys leftist movements. You do this and you have so little control over how it plays out.

Mr Maduro contends that the government restructuring is necessary to prevent more bloodshed on the streets and save Venezuelas failing economy, which is dogged by shortages of food and medicine.

The President has refused to negotiate with street protesters, calling some of them terrorists and asserting that they are financed by outside governments trying to overthrow him. A new governing charter would give him wide-ranging tools to construct peace, he and leftists have said.

We need order, justice, Mr Maduro said during an interview with state television this month. We have only one option, a national constituent assembly.

The turmoil gripping Venezuela illustrates the sweeping declines in popularity for the Venezuelan left since the death of its standard-bearer, former president Hugo Chavez, in 2013.

It was Chavez who oversaw the last rewrite of the constitution, in 1999, which was widely backed by the voters who had propelled him to office in the belief that the countrys rule book favoured the rich.

That new constitution and rising oil prices fuelled a socialist-inspired transformation in Venezuela. It helped enable Chavez to redistribute state wealth to the poor, nationalise foreign assets and make him popular with his supporters. The constitution also left open the possibility of another constituent assembly in the future.

Now Mr Maduro has taken that option at a time when the leftists are dogged by their deepest crisis in decades. This time, Venezuelans are seeing it less as a stab at reform than as an attempt by a struggling ruling class to maintain power.

Its a last-ditch effort to secure his base, Mr Velasco said. Hes doing it at a moment of weakness.

Under the rules of the vote, the constituent assembly would take the reins of the country within 72 hours of being officially certified, though it is unclear to most people what would happen after that.

Some politicians have suggested that governorships and mayors be replaced with communal councils. Top members of Mr Maduros party have identified Luisa Ortega, the attorney general, who has criticisedMr Maduros crackdown on protesters, as someone to be immediately dismissed.

But many fear that a likely first step will be the abolition of the countrys legislature, a tactic first used by Chavez when rewriting the constitution in 1999.

Leftists did not control the legislature then, and the same is true today. For more than a year, courts close to MrMaduro have chipped away at the powers of opposition lawmakers there, overturning laws likea measure to release political prisoners and stripping themof budgetary oversight.

Organisers of a symbolic vote against the measure this month said more than 7 million ballots had been cast, with 98 percent backing the opposition.

Juan Guaido, an opposition politician, fears that the constituent assembly will dismantle his chamber, effectively liquidating any political power held by Mr Maduros rivals.

If there was anything left of Venezuelas battered democracy, it was the powers that were legitimately elected by the people, like the National Assembly, he said. The vote would create a totalitarian and repressive dictatorship.

Still, some say the opposition has failed to offer clear alternatives to Mr Maduro. Eva Golinger, an American lawyer who was a confidante of Chavezs, said rivals of the leftists had focused too heavily on wresting power from the President, something that could risk a wider civil conflict.

They only rally around regime change, said MsGolinger, who opposes how MrMaduro has gone about the constitutional rewrite.

The constituent assembly would also be able to take on one piece of work left unfinished by Chavez: creating a more socialist constitution.

Chavez later tried to amend his 1999 document with changes that he argued would speed the course of his populist revolution. But the additional measures were narrowly defeated when they were taken to voters in 2007.

Man suffers violent beating from police in Venezuela

Mr Maduro has indicated that he intends to pick up where Chavez left off. He has suggested a nine-point outline that includes increasing public spending for education and health care, giving socialist organisations increased governing abilities and taking unspecified measures to prevent foreign meddling in Venezuela.

Analysts also expect that the new constitution could dig deeper into the economic policy favoured by the President, which many economists blame for exacerbating the countrys economic crisis.

With much of the opposition expected to boycott the vote, it was mainly Venezuelans loyal to Maduros party who were eager to head to the polls tomorrow.

Maria Elena Perez, 54, a leftist activist in Caracas, the capital, said it was time for a new rule book.

The current constitution is weak, and theres a lot that needs to be fixed, she said.

In the week before the vote, potential delegates were making their pitches on Venezuelan airwaves.

In one video, Ysmael Modoy, a candidate from the western state of Portuguesa, urged voters to defend Chavezs legacy and promised a new constitution that better battled corruption.

Some sought a lighthearted tone. Antonio Leon, a candidate who goes by the nickname the Mask, entered his commercial dancing and singing while crossing an empty street. He didnt address any changes to the constitution, but promised voters that he would make it easier to get government rations.

Remember: you are love, you are life, he said before returning to his dance.

New York Times

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RadKIDS combines safety and fun | K-12 Education … – Columbia Missourian

Posted: at 2:06 pm

COLUMBIA One by one,kids sat in the middle of an open room with helmets strapped under their chins and decked out in training pads.

Either Deputy Eli Burkholder or Detective Cody Bounds, wearing full RedMan training suits, would approach them and feign abduction. Each kid would punch and kick their way free from the officer and run to safety on the other side of the room.

The scene sounds bizarre, but its part of routine training for the Boone County Sheriff's Departments radKIDS program. The program, which stands for resisting aggression defensively, took place Saturday at the department building.The program is a personal empowerment and safety education program for children ages 5-12, according to the department website. The Saturday session was for kids ages 9 to 12.

RadKIDS is a national program that was started in 2000. The program that the Sheriffs Department currently uses, which includes more about internet safety for the modern generation, began in the spring of 2015 when Captain Martina Pounds from the Boone County Fire Departmentgot involved.

The program starts with what Pounds described as classroom time, where she and other instructors talk to the kids about general safety and the difference between good and bad people. Pounds said the class doesnt like to use the word stranger.

Just because theyre a stranger doesnt mean theyre bad, but just because you know them doesnt mean theyre good," she said.

Pounds said they stress that potential predators can be people the kids are already familiar with even family.

Unfortunately, most crimes against children are from people they know, she said.

After classroom time, the kids get a hands-on experience to practice the defensive techniques they learned against Burkholder and Bounds, volunteers to be punched, kicked and yelled at.

In the practice situation, Detective Andy Evans, another instructor, gave each kid an everyday scenario they may be in when an adult shows aggression towards them. When either Burkholder or Bounds approached them or grabbed them, the kids demonstrated techniques like a hammer fist or a heel kick to fight back against their fake attacker.

A tactile experience with that kind of a situation is something that Kirk Wing of Columbia wanted his sons, Bruce, 9, and Henry, 7, to have. That desire came from his own experience learning self-defense.

Me and their mother both took the self-defense course offered by (MU) and we found great value in the techniques we learned to deal with attackers and such, Wing said. I wanted them to get the same type of experience, including the simulation, that I did so theyll be better prepared for whatever they come across.

Despite the real problems theyre learning to defend themselves against, the kids have fun with the demonstration part of the class. Pounds said their enjoyment helps then learn.

Kids tend to remember better when its fun, she said. We try to make it fun for them, but on the other hand we try to make them understand, hey, if youre ever in this situation, you need to know how to defend yourself.

Wings sons now have a foundation of knowledge they can rely on if something were ever to happen.

Weve talked to them about these kinds of situations before, but it never went beyond telling them to avoid situations. This (training session) was unique because this taught them that in a time where they wouldnt be able to avoid it, how do you deal with it? he said. Nine out of 10 times theyre not even going to get in this type of situation because theyll know how to avoid it, but this covers the other 10 percent, so I really feel like theyre well-suited to deal with the situation.

Pounds has found that repetition helps to reinforce the ideas and the simple techniques in kids minds. RadKIDS is also a program implemented in elementary schools, usually in third or fourth grade.

We like doing it in the schools because we have the kids over eight weeks, she said. When you have the kids once a week over eight weeks, you really see them developing a confidence and seeing, oh yeah, I can do this.

They can also repeat the weekend class if they want to, as both the classroom time and the demonstration help to reinforce the ideas. Pounds said the kids are receptive to how important the material theyre learning is.

These guys understand that it could save their life, she said.

Supervising editor is Hannah Black.

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Q&A: New YWCA CEO Vanessa McDowell emphasizes empowerment – Madison.com

Posted: at 2:06 pm

A few weeks ago, Vanessa McDowell made the news when she was named the first African-American CEO of the YWCA Madison, which has been around since 1908.

But as the former interim CEO at the Y, McDowells not new to the job, and shes not new to the city, either. She grew up in Madison and is a longtime member, volunteer and former employee of Mount Zion Baptist Church and an active member of the Madison Alumnae Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, where she currently serves as the chaplain. Plus, shes a DJ on the side, and mixes music around town at parties and events like Dane Dances.

Now, as CEO, shes on a mission to make sure that the community understands the YWCAs mission (like that it has nothing to do with the YMCA) and to empower the populations the Y serves.

As the first African-American CEO of the YWCA in Madison, youve said theres a banner that I carry with it, but also a weight that I carry with it. Can you explain that?

One of the great things about right now is I have a lot of support from the African-American community. Its like carrying this banner of victory, like Yes, were here, were doing it together! But with our mission to eliminate racism and empower women, to be in 2017 and this is just happening is kind of a weight, too. So weve come a way, but we still have a long way still to go.

With the emphasis on being the first African-American CEO, do you think that at all takes away from your personal accomplishments?

Not at all. I mean, for me, this is really not about me, per se. I just happen to be the vessel being used at this time. So I dont really take into account me personally, my accomplishments or things like that. To me, Im a believer in God, and I just believe that God positioned me at this time to carry this banner and take the baton during this part of the race.

What does it mean for African-Americans to look at a CEO and see someone who looks like them?

I think that makes a world of difference. Just like anything, if you dont see yourself represented somewhere, it makes you feel like you dont belong there. For me, its an opportunity that the door has been opened to say, "you belong here." Were able to get into different communities of color in a different way than we have in the past.

One of your focuses is moving from a charity model to an empowerment model. Some people might think, whats wrong with charity?

I think that model is problematic because it comes from a lens that I know better than you what you need. There is no real engagement with the person, its just kind of throwing this program at you and throwing this money at you, take it. Instead of, Let me walk alongside of you and see what it is that you need from me.

Can you give me an example of empowerment on an average day at the Y?

I think specifically about our YWeb Career Academy. The goal is to get women and people of color into the IT field that is currently predominantly white and male. I get to meet them at the beginning, and theyre all nervous and not sure about this. Like, Okay, Im committing 15 weeks of my life here to very intense training and hoping to come out on the other side. But by the end when they get to graduation, they have the ability to really change their lives forever, because the IT field is pretty lucrative. If you go from not really having much, to now youre able to make a family-sustaining wage, thats a major accomplishment. Thats empowerment.

It started in the home. I have phenomenal parents who have been advocates and community leaders here in Madison and have really done some trailblazing work. My mom was the first director of the Multicultural Student Center on campus.

It was huge, because they didnt really have anywhere for students of color to have a place on campus. She provided a lot of support to students of color who still call her mom. One of the inspiring things for me is that she was 36 (when she became director), and Im 36, so its like this whole legacy feeling.

What are your priorities as CEO, and have they changed at all from your time as interim CEO?

Were still working on those three areas I had in my interim: staff development and morale, building nontraditional partnerships and building an empowerment model, and theyre longstanding goals. It's not like magic happens and you're done with them. But my overall vision for YWCA Madison is that whatever touch you have with us, is an empowering touch that inspires you and uplifts you in some type of way. Whether if thats just you surfing our website, you should be empowered by that website. Things that seem small, they still have a way to touch you.

Is there something that you want the Madison community to better understood about your work at the Y?

One of the things that were working on particularly is making sure that we do tell our story better in the community, just by our social media and things of that nature. And then were also trying to make sure we dont get confused with YMCA, which happens a lot. We have two very different missions; we have no affiliation, even though theyre great. Our focus is really on eliminating racism and empowering women. We dont have a gym.

How did you get into DJing?

I grew up in a musical family. The story of my house is kind of that on Saturday mornings, youre doing cleanup and the musics going, you listen to '70s music, '80s music. Probably about seven years ago now, I was always bringing a little iPod to parties. Everybody was like, Vanessa, bring the music! The a light bulb went off, and I was like, I could probably be making a little money, because I just have this belief that everyone needs a side hustle. (Laughs.) So I invested in some equipment, taught myself the software and the rest is history.

I feel like when you picture the CEO of a major nonprofit, and then a DJ, youd think, oh, that couldnt be the same person.

Ive had people run into me, and its almost like theyre scared to ask me, Are you DJ Ace?

Is there anything else you want to add?

I think we are in a pivotal time right now, not only as far as our country but our city. Theres this kind of glossing over sometimes of the tale of two cities here. Race to Equity really brought up a lot of conversation, a lot of discussions, which was good. But now I feel like were at a pivotal place where we can actually figure out a plan to get rid of these disparities. The question is, are we going to rise to the occasion?

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I took an empowering women’s self-defense workshop at a boxing gym, and here’s why everyone should try it – HelloGiggles

Posted: at 2:06 pm

Females Are Strong As Hell

Weve all been there. Its after dark and youre walking alone to your car parked in an empty lot. You hear footsteps behind you. Or maybe you see your attacker standing in front of you, watching you and waiting. You may not know who they are, but most likely, you do. You feel that horrible drop in your stomach, that itchy, sweatiness in your arm pits, the hair on your arms standing on end. You sense youre in danger, but what do you do?

According to Jarrett Arthur, one of the worlds leading experts in womens self-defense, listening to your gut instinct is critical.

Ive worked with survivors for over 14 years, said Arthur during an instructional workshop at Los Angeles BoxUnion boxing studio this month.And the thing I hear [from them] over and over and over again is, Something didnt feel right, and I did it anyway.'

Recently, Arthur and Lynn Le, the founder of womens boxing glove companySociety Nine, led the empowering two-hour self-defense intensive for women in L.A., breaking down the basics of understanding verbals, body language, and commanding space, and coaching the 30-plus women in attendance in physical engagement, reviewing fighting stance, striking, and ground situations.

The inspiring event was a first for BoxUnion, a brand new boxing studio in Los Angeles that boasts state-of-the-art facilities and a community-building approach to boxing for fitness. The studio invited Jarrett to not only offer hands-on physical instruction, but also to engage participants in necessary conversations about the importance of establishing boundaries and self-advocating, imparting techniques that are particularly useful in situations where you know your perpetrator (which, Arthur pointed out, are the most common).

During the workshop,Arthur laid out the three stages of self-defense: the Pre-Fight (the moment when you believe a physical altercation is about to take place and the moments preceding the encounter), the Fight (a person has already engaged you physically), and the Post-Fight (the physical, psychological, emotional, etc. aftermath of a physical confrontation). Arthur said she does not provide Post-Fight instruction, but strongly suggested seeking help following a violent encounter and offered to connect participants with references and resources.

And according to Arthur, it is because of that Post-Fight piece of the experience that she stresses the importance of Pre-Fight boundary-setting using vocal tone and forcefulness, body language, and verbal commands.

I will literally go to all the ends of the Earth to avoid having to actually test my physical skills, said Arthur. I do not want that for me, and I really dont want that for you, so any way you can avoid being in a confrontation, shut it down and set boundaries, that is definitely what you want to do.

Should women find themselves in situations where fighting is necessary, however, Arthur offered a handful of simple strikes to cripple an attacker and create time and space for women to get away and find help:kicks and elbow throws to the eyes, nose, throat, and groin.

Though Arthur has found personal and professional empowerment in training and teaching self-defense, she admitted the everyday grapplings with self-doubt persist. I [still] deal with situations that are universal for women, in which someone makes you feel a little bit smaller, a little bit quieter, and takes away your power. Im not, like, this hulking she-wolf walking around with it all figured out, said Arthur.

No matter what your course of action when confronted with assault, though, theres no victim-blaming here. Arthur insisted whatever choice you make is the right one.

Nothing that you can do or cannot do can warrant being targeted for violence. Nothing. Not what you wear, not where you go, not how much you drink, not who youre with. Nothing.

So get yourself to a self-defense workshop, stat!

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I took an empowering women's self-defense workshop at a boxing gym, and here's why everyone should try it - HelloGiggles

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Sowing education and empowerment with needle and thread – The San Diego Union-Tribune

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As a girl growing up in a city in northern Togo near the Burkina Faso border in West Africa, Lili Klu figured out that a conventional education really wasnt for her. At 15, she decided to learn a trade: sewing. She turned out to be such a natural that she was able to complete the three-year program in one year. When she moved to San Diego with her husband in 2000, she opened L.K. Fashion Boutique on El Cajon Boulevard and has recently started a non-profit program, Lilis Fashion Academy, to teach sewing and the business of fashion design to women.

I love the creativity (of sewing and fashion), the appreciation on a clients face and that I could educate and empower women, she says. Fashion is always about risk, and one of the biggest aspects of creativity is risk. You need it if you want to be successful in the fashion industry. Risk will set you apart from all the designers, and for me to become a designer speaks to my love for fashion and sewing.

Klu, 41, lives in the Grantville neighborhood with her husband and two sons. She took some time to talk about her new non-profit program, her favorite African fashion designers and her inspiration when creating clothes.

Q: Tell us about Lilis Fashion Academy.

A: Its an educational sewing institute that focuses on teaching the skills needed to master sewing with a variety of techniques needed for a successful career in sewing. Sewing machines helped to emancipate women as it gave them a commercially marketable skill. We believe that as our students learn how to sew for themselves and others, they will obtain these marketable skills that will encourage them to become entrepreneurs and financially support themselves, their families, and supply jobs for people in their community.

The program will develop each participants employment readiness because sewing is a window into history, sociology and economics. This class is designed to get students to complete the program knowing the basics of threading the machine, working the controls, selecting stitches, sewing straight lines and curves, and sewing basic seams while pushing them to specific sewing techniques.

Q: How does the academy work?

A: New students will register and pay a $100 registration fee and get an introduction to the program. Then, theyll start lessons that I teach. To successfully complete the year-long program (which requires no other payments beyond the registration fee), students are required to complete an eight-week capstone project. The project consists of students designing their own fashion concept to fit a specific model. This will be a platform where students take what they learned throughout the course of the program and apply it to examine a specific idea around a model. Each student must make five outfits for five models for their graduation fashion show. On graduation day, the students receive a certificate of completion, and owners of fashion businesses in San Diego will be invited to attend the fashion show to see the skills of our students and to offer them future employment.

This is the first year of the program and we currently have eight students who will graduate next March.

Q: How would you describe LK Fashion Boutique?

A: Our mission is to provide men and women with an upscale selection of African clothes and exists to not only attract and maintain customers, but to spread sophisticated fashion and instill confidence with folks in the West. I moved to San Diego in 2000 and started working as an independent designer for the African community in San Diego.

Its a good place to live and raise a family.

Q: Are there meanings or traditions behind different prints?

A: Yes, theres a lot of meaning and tradition behind African prints, lots of hidden meanings. For example, the kente come from west Africa, specifically Ghana. The kente is a vibrant fabric and the pattern and design represent common African motifs, like religious beliefs. The colors on all African prints have a meaning. For example, red symbolizes death, green means fertility, white expresses purity, and blue signifies love.

Q: Whats your opinion of the fashion scene here in San Diego? How would you describe it?

A: San Diego fashion is very laid back, but the casual sweatpants and sandals every day and for every occasion is not cutting it. We need to spice it up little bit.

Q: What do you get the most requests for?

A: Dashiki prints and actual dashikis are the most popular.

Q: How would you describe your personal style?

A: Simple but still elegant.

Q: Who are some African fashion designers youre a fan of?

A: Kofi Ansah, whos from Ghana but based in London. I think Kofi is really one of the first African designers who brought modern African style and design to another level. He gave the fashion industry a new type of style with graphics and new shapes. Theyre not just clothes that you wear; theyre more than that. Theyre visual, theyre art and each pattern has a story. When you think about modern African style, you think about Kofi first. Hes a pioneer.

Deola Sagoe is an African designer whose work I find to be so creative, and who put Africa before fashion success. I admire Deola because shes an African woman who made it in an industry first ruled by men, and because shes African. Lets be real, female fashion designers are still in the minority. Can you believe that out of the 50 major fashion brands only 14 percent are run by women? Daola is an entrepreneur. When it comes to her work, I respect the fact that she could transform traditional Nigerian designs into contemporary designs. Today, shes well-known for her unique style and most of her creations are made with Komole Kandids motifs. Theyre gorgeous and elegant. I want to have my own signature and be well-known in the industry just like her.

Q: What inspires you when youre creating your clothes?

A: African culture. African wax is a unique textile. The simplest dress can be made with African wax and it will look 100 times better than a regular, plain dress. The pattern is what makes the difference. To create an outfit with this type of fabric is an art because of the bright colors and patterns. You need to find the right balance. Its always difficult for me to work with other types of fabric. I love using African wax because it shows who I am, its my identity. Each pattern has a story and each represents a part of Africa.

Q: Whats been challenging about your work with your fashion business and with your new non-profit academy?

A: It hasnt really been challenging at this point. I love what I do and I love empowering women to become fashion designers.

Q: Whats been rewarding about it?

A: Helping and empowering women.

Q: What has it taught you about yourself?

A: Leadership, teamwork and humility.

Q: What is the best advice youve ever received?

A: Love yourself first and make sure you learn something that you really love.

Q: What is one thing people would be surprised to find out about you?

A: I would love to work with Versace or Calvin Klein one day.

Q: Please describe your ideal San Diego weekend.

A: Opening the boutique on Saturday and then spending Sunday at church and then at home with my family.

Email: lisa.deaderick@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @lisadeaderick

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Sowing education and empowerment with needle and thread - The San Diego Union-Tribune

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Shamanic Healer and Teacher Anahata Ananda Presents Powerful 2-Day Shamangelic Breathwork Facilitation … – Benzinga

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Shamanic Teacher and Guide Anahata Ananda of Shamangelic Healing Center in Sedona, Arizona announces the return of her dynamic Shamangelic Breathwork Facilitator Training Course this fall, October 25-26. This popular 2-day intensive incorporates guided visualization, holotropic breathwork and other techniques to facilitate a profoundly personal Sacred Journey of the soul.

Sedona, Arizona (PRWEB) July 30, 2017

Shamangelic Breathwork Teacher and Shamanic Healer Anahata Ananda of Shamangelic Healing, Sedona Arizona's Premier Center for Shamanic Healing and Spiritual Awakening, is proud to offer her powerful Shamangelic Breathwork Facilitator Training, Level III, a unique hands-on professional level training intensive like no other. The weekend training will again be held at Shamangelic Healing Center, among the healing energies of Sedona's beautiful red rocks and vortex energy centers, October 2526, 2017.

This two-day training course is a powerful complement to the two previous levels, Empowerment & Awakening and Healing Tools & Modalities, and part of a 12-day training intensive offered at the Center that lay the foundations for energy healing, setting boundaries, using healing tools, hands on healing techniques and more that prepare participants to be Breathwork facilitators.

Shamanic breathing is the practice of using breath, sound and touch to affect emotional clearing and attract angelic support to clear density and awaken one's true essence. Because of the intense and powerful nature of Shamangelic Breathwork, and the comprehensive training and experience facilitators require, the Empowerment & Awakening and Healing Tools & Modalities courses are prerequisites to this course.

Shamangelic Breathwork Facilitator Training draws on all the previous coursework in this powerful and transformational intensive. It will explore one of the most complex practices for core healing and spiritual awakening, providing various techniques to illicit deeper emotional releases, shifts and expansion than the earlier training.

The Level III course also teaches how to support someone through their process of releasing past traumas, shows facilitators how to set sacred space and conduct it as a ceremonial offering, reveals effective methods for bringing participants back into their bodies after a shamanic journey, and gives a practicum on co-facilitating a live Shamangelic Breathwork ceremony.

Deep Shamanic breathing has been found to facilitate profound emotional release, open new channels of awareness and clear toxicity in the body. This sacred journey incorporates guided visualization, Shamangelic Breathwork, vibrational sound, soulful music, energy healing, Shamanic tools, crystal therapy and lightbody expansion techniques to facilitate a personal Sacred Shamanic Journey into the depths of one's soul. Participants will come away from this comprehensive course empowered and confident to lead themselves and others on soulful, in-depth shamanic breathing journeys.

Shamangelic Healing offers 12-day training intensives at the Center that lay the foundations for energy healing, setting personal boundaries, using healing tools, hands on healing techniques, and more that prepare participants to be Breathwork facilitators.

Shamanic Healer and Spiritual Counselor, Anahata Ananda has trained extensively with gifted shamans, energy healers and spiritual teachers from around the world in order to artfully integrate the fields of spirituality, energy healing, self-empowerment, and shamanic teachings. Her client-base spans the globe with individuals from all walks of life who are seeking to heal and awaken to their fullest potential.

Anahata also offers Shamangelic Tailored Retreats in Sedona that offer a wide range of private sessions to meet the needs of students and clients for their core healing, spiritual awakening or individualized training. Sessions may include Shamanic healing, sacred vortex journeys, Shamangelic Breathwork, Chakra Balancing, Meditation Practices, Tools for Healthy Conscious Relationships, specific training and much more.

The Shamangelic Healing Center is based in Sedona, Arizona. It is nestled beneath Thunder Mountain, with 360 degrees of breathtaking views, and within walking distance to a medicine wheel and healing vortexes, making it the perfect setting for healing and expansion.

Inside, the retreat center's calm and relaxed environment helps to engage all of the senses, making it easy to settle into a session. Clients seeking Spiritual awakening, transformational healing services, counseling, sacred land journeys or training courses may choose from a wide range of options that can be tailored for the ultimate personal experience. Private Healing Sessions with Anahata are also available at the Center where Anahata provides personal sessions in a safe and loving space for deep healing and spiritual awakening.

Whether visitors are seeking a Weekend Intensive on Empowerment & Awakening, a soulful Tailored Sedona Retreat of Transformational Healing and Spiritual Awakening, Shamanic Wisdom Teachings or a Sacred Land Journey Shamangelic Healing provides profoundly empowering experiences, all among the Red Rocks.

The Shamangelic Breathwork Facilitator Training is an intimate experience with limited space and traditionally fills up fast. Participants are encouraged to reserve their spot early. For detailed descriptions and a calendar of all training courses, retreats and spiritual awakening services offered by Anahata of Shamangelic Healing Center visit http://shamangelichealing.com/.

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Shamanic Healer and Teacher Anahata Ananda Presents Powerful 2-Day Shamangelic Breathwork Facilitation ... - Benzinga

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Eyes of Freedom: Traveling memorial depicts sacrifices of Lima Company 3/25 – fox8.com

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SEVILLE, Ohio -- If you, or someone you know or love, have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, today is a special chance to better understand your services and sacrifices.

A traveling memorial to pay tribute to all who have answered our Nation's call will be staged at Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery on Rawiga Road in Seville.

It's called About the Eyes of Freedom: Lima Company Memorial. The exhibit consists of life-size portraits depicting the fallen Lima Company 3/25, one of the hardest hit units in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Organizers will hold a short program at noon at the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery, before a motorcycle escort leads the traveling memorial to the Medina County fairgrounds, where it will be on display for the whole week.

Please note, the portraits will not be on display until the Medina County Fair's opening on Monday.

*Watch above for live video of a portion of the event.

For more information on The Eyes of Freedom, click here.

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Eyes of Freedom: Traveling memorial depicts sacrifices of Lima Company 3/25 - fox8.com

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I Feel Love review a moving celebration of sexual freedom and LGBT rights – The Guardian

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Smooth operator Will Young at the I Feel Love concert in Hull. Photograph: James Stack/BBC

Headlined by Will Young, Marc Almond and Alison Moyet, this concert to celebrate the 50th anniversary of sexual freedom simultaneously broadcast on Radio 2 - doesnt lack party atmosphere. There are ticker-tape explosions and massed singalongs of the Village Peoples YMCA and Donna Summers I Feel Love, led by the Gay Abandon choir. The celebratory piece de resistance is surely the guy in the crowd singing along with a ventriloquists dummy, which has been glammed up in a silver wig. Yet for all the outbreaks of joy, the most effective moments are more downbeat. Presenter Ana Matronic from the Scissor Sisters reminds us that in the 1967 so-called Summer of Love, a section of society could be dragged before a magistrate for holding hands in the street. Actor Allan Corduner reads from Oscar Wildes De Profundis, written while the literary giant served two years hard labour for indecency. He dreamed of a quiet life by the seaside but was dead within three years.

The format of spoken word alternating with stars performing one song per appearance probably works better on the radio. Despite a slightly disjointed feel, however, the performances are often very moving. Marc Almond draws deep for What Makes a Man a Man and Lavender, an impassioned tale of hiding his sexuality as a teen and finding escape through David Bowie. Opera singer Noah Stewarts Youll Never Walk Alone and Nessun Dorma are obvious choices, but he brings down the house. Will Youngs breezy, jazzy renditions of Sades Smooth Operator and Terence Trent DArbys Wishing Well feel lightweight, but Moyet is surely singing better now than in her 80s commercial heyday.

Corduner describes how the great John Gielgud returned to the stage after his 1953 court appearance for cottaging and was cheered to the rafters, as the public and the arts led pressure for legal change. And who knew that Tom Robinsons hit, 2-4-6-8 Motorway, was inspired by an old gay lib chant (2-4-6-8, gay is twice as good as straight)? The BBC once banned his song Glad to Be Gay; now they employ him as DJ. To mark how far weve come he sings the 1978 song queer insults, police brutality and all every bit as furiously as he did then. Its a spine-tingling reminder that, for the 74 countries where LGBT relationships remain illegal, there is a very long way to go.

On BBC iPlayer until 27 August.

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I Feel Love review a moving celebration of sexual freedom and LGBT rights - The Guardian

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