Daily Archives: September 15, 2022

In the wake of Dobbs, pro-abortionists will leave no stone unturned to use as they did before Roe the most extreme cases, (like the 10-year-old Ohio girl who went to Indiana for an abortion) to tar the latest Supreme Court decision as extremist, while attempting to codify truly extremist abortion policy into law.

Today, as was true before Roe (1973), the vast majority of abortions conservatively, at least 96 percent are performed for social, economic, and other non-medical reasons.

Back then, that motivation was called convenience, a term clearly politically incorrect in contemporary discourse. Calling abortion reproductive health care now is how abortion advocates seek to disguise the reality: by redefining health in ever more elastic and innovative ways.

We need to be clear about pro-abortion extremism. While pro-abortionists will cite hard cases, their goal is not to debate them but to exclude any consideration of motivation from the abortion decision, a move necessary to shield the 96 percent-plus of abortions chosen that have nothing to do with rape, incest, or medical necessity.

Like the no-fault divorce movement, pro-abortionists aim to exclude any consideration of cause or reason for the choice. These are moral positions disguised under seemingly neutral legal terminology. What they really mean is that no marriage should ever be immune from dissolution, no pregnancy from termination.

This is wholly in keeping with a morally relativistic viewpoint that refuses to examine causes, but wants only to deal with consequences. Pre-teens should not be stopped from having sex; they should be issued condoms. If they get pregnant, they obviously should have abortions.

And if parents get in the way, well, Americas public schools should assimilate these children to the mores of liberal democracy, not their parents outdated views. After all, children have rights!

A full-on, frontal assault on this widespread propaganda is likely to be ineffective, largely because our culture has traded reasoned discourse for gripping soundbites, an exchange that benefits politicians even as it impoverishes political discourse.

So, I suggest an incremental approach, not because the rights of the unborn only deserve partial protection, but because the cultural corruption that has metastasized in the half-century-long culture of death following Roe will require baby steps to walk back. But as with every major turn in the moral life, everything starts with small steps.

Parents currently filling in school forms must sign multiple waivers to allow medication to be given to a child by a school during school hours.

Yet among Roes bastard jurisprudential offspring was Planned Parenthood v. Danforth, which launched a long line of federal and state court decisions limiting a parents right to consent or even to know if an underage daughter seeks an abortion via a judicial bypass provision, because a judge, unlike father, always knows best.

Those seeking to codify Roe admit their proposals continue this curtailing of parental rights. And their codifications of Roe dont just allow children to get everyday drugs like aspirin at school. They effectively exclude parents from a minor daughters abortion (though the parents, not a federal judge or a Congressperson, will have to care for the girl if something goes wrong).

Even in the states that have codified abortion places like New Jersey or New York local right-to-life groups should consider reopening those debates using parental rights as a wedge.

The same might be tried in places like Alaska where state supreme courts have belatedly discovered abortion rights in state constitutions. Or a place like Virginia, where there seem to be possibilities for moving beyond the old status quo and into the new moment post-Dobbs.

Parental rights can help advance the debate. You might not want to ban abortion after week X, but you certainly would see the value of parental involvement.

If change cant be achieved in a given state legislature, parents should press boards of education to adopt pro-life policies regarding teen pregnancy. Find ways to emphasize the simplicity of the message. Hold up an aspirin or an asthma inhaler, and ask why those items, truly for healthcare, require parental knowledge and consent, but abortion does not.

If you succeed but the state claims the right to preempt such local policies, its an opportunity to re-litigate parental rights in the courts, which again shines a public light on the usurpation of parental rights.

The growing parental-rights counterrevolution against efforts to use schools to advance liberal race and gender ideologies against the consent and without the knowledge of parents offers a winning political dynamic that pro-lifers should latch on to.

And remember: all this is no more than the advancing of two key principles of Catholic social thought: that the most vulnerable, including the unborn, deserve protection of their fundamental rights from conception; and that parents, not the state, are the primary teachers and guides of their children.

This is not politics; its basic theology.

*Image: The Guardian Angel Protecting a Child from the Demon by Bartolomeo Gennari, c. 1640 [Muse Magnin, Dijon, France]

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LATEST ON BIZNEWS RADIO:Neal Froneman Hersov is right; SA Govt can take leaf out of Sibanye book, urgently address Good, Bad and Ugly.(For Spotify,click here)

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During the opening minutes of his powerful keynote at BNC#4, Rob Hersov quipped that the audience better keep an eye out for a snipers red laser rangefinder as what followed would make him a marked man. That wasnt too big an exaggeration. His explosive talk reverberated in the portals of power and hit a sweet spot among gatvol countrymen.

Over 70,000 members of the BizNews community had watched the recording within 24 hours of itspublication on YouTubeTuesday evening. Among the appreciative crowd was Sibanyes similarly outspoken CEO Neal Froneman who referred favourably to Hersovs messagein our interviewyesterday.

Thats the kind of politically incorrect material we do not shy away from. And serves as something of a disclaimer for my request. As BizNews is reverting to a mostly-remote model, were looking for a like-minded company to share our beautiful 250m of office space in Bryanston. Because we simply no longer need all of it.

So, if youre not afraid of ducking an occasional laser rangefinder (just kidding), need super fast connectivity, immunity to loadshedding and would like to share your workspace with a bunch of passionate journalists, please drop a line to[emailprotected]. Let her know a bit about yourself and your needs and, of course, contact details. And perhaps well soon be roomies.

To receive the Daily Insider every weekday at 6am in your inboxclick here. You can alsosign upto the weekends BizNews Digest for a wrap of the best content BizNews has to offer, for a leisurely Saturday read.

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Street Art has origins from a time we are yet to fathom and, in time, discover, writesGajanan Khergamker

Limited as we are by man-made language, nomenclature, and terminology besides the means so simplistic and apparent like paper and other media, like say walls, Art, and in particular, Street Art, is an extension of that what can be generated on traditional medium but extends to public spaces.

On the European front, skewedly propagated as a world platform, it was in the French Revolutions iconoclasm era, when rebels defaced high-end art to protest French societys toxic hierarchy creating a niche called graffiti that became synonymous with vandalism. It was the waves of political and economic turbulence that triggered the rise of street art around the world: The Berlin Wall's one-sided graffiti being projected as a fight of colourful expression on one side versus the stark totalitarianism of bland emptiness on the other being a rather simplistic definition.

So, French Street Artist James Colomina's installation of Vladimir Putin in Central Park in early August 2022, five months after the Ukraine war started, was predictably bold in both its content and process. The artist who does not reveal himself because most of his installations "are unauthorised," is "already facing problems with the authorities."

Ironically the installation, bold as it was, appeared in New York City of the United States of America where, according to a recent Data USA study, 85.4 per cent of archivists, curators, and museum technicians were White and the next most common ethnicity (Hispanic White) clocked in at a mere five per cent.

The statistics conveniently exclude those who do not fit in with them. Technically, and those valued, artists are predominantly White men, with 85.4 per cent of works in all major US museums belonging to White artists, 87.4 per cent by men.

The diversity is not much greater for museums that specialise in modern art. At the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, for example, only 11 per cent of the artists in the collection are female, 10 per cent are Asian, and two per cent are black or African-American. At theSan Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 18 per cent of the artists are female, seven per cent Asian, and two per cent black or African-American.

Wealthy Patrons Decide Merit Of Art

It is the acute dearth of public funding owing to which museums and galleries are forced to rely on the wealthy patrons sitting on their executive boards to influence what art is worthy for public display. In October 2019, aNew York Timesanalysis revealed that 40 per cent of museum trustees are Wall Street tycoons revealing that control on high-end art world isn't merely determined by if a trustee is wealthy, but also where they derive their wealth from.

Street Art is different. And what makes Street Art this way is its ability to steer clear, well mostly, of political influence and economic compulsions. What binds Street Art and its proponents across the world is the 'unauthorised' nature of its existence and populist accolades derived from swimming against the current.

James Colomina's installations are a case in point. And, James, on his part, is clear with his modus operandi. "I'm not really afraid of the authorities. It's a bit of a cat-and-mouse game. You must not get caught otherwise the installation is ruined," he says gleefully.

James' last installation in Berlin where he installed a sculpture of a little girl going over the wall and another above the railway tracks caused quite a flurry. The authorities had to close the tracks for two hours to remove the sculpture.

"Why, even train-drivers slowed down as they approached the sculpture. They thought it was a real child," he recalls with relish. Another facet of Street Art is that it must not, ordinarily, always be liked or be popular. "A lot of people don't like me, but that's okay. It's even so much the better. It would bother me to please everyone. I try to tell the truth with my sculptures and sometimes it hurts," he says.

Art Can Be Politically Incorrect, Hurt Too

Much on the lines of James installation in New York City's Central Park, a thousand odd miles away in South Minneapolis, atop the Cup Foods convenience store, where a 911 call led to George Floyd's police killing, today stands a hoarding complete with memorial art. This one, as opposed to Putins, for sure, is not as popular.

Local illustrator, muralist and teacher Melodee Strong created 'Mama' after George Floyd's dying plea, depicting grieving black mothers, against a backdrop of the US flag.

"I am a mother, and when George cried out for his 'mama' as he was taking his last breaths, I also cried," revealed Strong.

"That's what we do when we are in trouble or scared, we cry out for God or our mothers. My son has been harassed and mistreated by the police. I have witnessed numerous times how the people I love have been abused by police.

"The anguish we feel from the fear and the experiences of those too many incidences is what I feel in the faces I painted Even though this piece is about George Floyd, it's more a dedication to all the mothers who have lost their child to police violence." Melodees cry resonates with those of mothers across the world and how.

Predictably, followingBlack Lives Matterprotests erupting in cities, large corporations all around the country responded by nailing plywood across their doors and massive windows, to deter the possibilities of violent interludes.

Yet, even after protests end, it's the Street Art in the form of graffiti that stands tall as a testament to the protestors' collective voice. It is, today through social media that belongs to the masses instead of selective and controlled fora, that protests get documented and become a part of history.

Calling Macrons Bluff, Through Art

Like the time when French President Emmanuel Macron was elected, he made loud proclamations that there would be no more homeless people but, as usual, it was far from being true. "It was even worse, so I put him in a tent with homeless people," says Colomina.

"Why, the homeless were delighted with the move. The site stands on the edge of the Saint-Martin canal in Paris. At first, I asked some homeless people if they would welcome President Macron with them in a tent. They told me they were delighted; So, for his birthday, I put him in a tent to shed some light on the homeless," he added.

"My intention was also to put the one who is at the very top of the pyramid, at the very bottom."

It was in the 1970s, that graffiti artists in America successfully unionised for the first time. Between 1974 and 1980, over 20,000 artists and arts support staff secured full-time employment through Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) making it the largest federally-funded arts project since the Works Progress Administration (WPA) created during the Great Depression, putting more than 8.5 million people to work.

In New York City, the Cultural Council Foundation (CCF) launched the CETA Artists Project in 1978, with a budget of USD 4.5 million a year to fund the work of 300 artists, paying them USD 10,000 year plus benefits (nearly USD 46,000 today) to work directly with community organisations, on project teams, with performing companies, or on a wide array of public works.

Showcasing Only A Few For High-End World

Then, the wealthy responded by carefully choosing only certain graffiti artists to amplify and opened up the high-end art world selectively, incentivising street art for the sole purpose of earning money within the curated spaces set up by the elite. As a result, and inevitably, there was infighting and resentment that led to the unions eroding.

Today, the present-day continuation of excluding non-male and non-White artists from museums and the wealth associated with high-end art is no coincidence. The statistics highlight the high-brow art world as another example of the White and Wealthy very conveniently excluding those who do not fit in with them.

Activists like California-based Nancypili Hernandez use Street Art as a crucial tool in telling suppressed stories. Creating and directing many different murals, working in San Franciscos Latinx community to document peoples history that isnt told in the history books, it's her work in the Mission District that highlights the struggles of the Latinx residents, amplifying the stories of a native community passed over by San Franciscos tour guides.

In 2015, Polish street artist based in New York City, Agata Oleksiak aka Olek arrived in New Delhi in 2015 to work on a massive project and use the technique of crocheting to give expression to everyday occurrences and inspirations; her artwork often examines sexuality, feminist ideas and the evolution of communication.

She visually transformed one of the 184 homeless shelters in New Delhi, to raise awareness about the lives of the desperate people who live in them. Covering the entire 40 feet long and 8 feet high structure with crocheted yarn with a team of local volunteers, she worked for seven days to put together the entire installation that was part of the Rain Basera project.

Dressing Up A Charging Bull, At Night

Why, on Christmas Eve in 2010, she even cloaked the iconic "Charging Bull" statue on Wall Street - from horn to hoof - with a pink, camouflage-patterned cover that she crocheted herself at 3 am! It took her miles of yarn to create the fabric over Six seasons ofLost' as she puts it.

While she kept waiting for the police to stop her, they didn't. "They were human and understood that I didn't want to harm the statue," but the installation lasted for merely two hours as 'a grumpy city worker tore it down'.

Ironically, the Charging Bull itself had appeared as a Christmas gift to New York City from Arturo Di Modica, an Italian sculptor. Di Modica, who moved to New York in the 1970s, sensing the concern and uncertainty in the United States after the crash in 1987, wanted to create a powerful symbol of the strength of the American economy.

He made plans to create a three-and-a-half ton, 18-foot-long bronze bull to reference a bull market, a robust stock market where share prices are rising, encouraging investors to buy more.

And, in the morning of 15 December 1989, Di Modica and a few friends parked a truck outside of the New York Stock Exchange. Within moments, they placed the bull under a Christmas tree and left.

Di Modica hadnt expected for the bull to stay there in the long term as he thought of it as a temporary gift. And, the New York Stock Exchange, predictably, didnt like the idea and had it removed. However, in time, it returned and went on to become one of the most visited spots of Manhattan and a hot favourite tourist destination of New York.

Opponents Say Stay Legal, Display In Private

Generally, Street Art is quickly dismissed as 'vandalism' and an illegal activity when not in private galleries or sponsored by non-profits. Those opposing Street Art keep insisting artists must resort only to legal methods of art in the privacy of their homes, while conveniently ignoring the glaring fact that the high-end art world is discriminatory, much to a selective convenience.

Keep America Beautiful(KAB), a large non-profit with corporate sponsors like H&M, PepsiCo, and McDonalds, began a program in 2007 calledGraffiti Hurts. They even offer grants upwards of USD 2,000 to local governments and police departments for fighting Street Art. Their slogan? We keep America beautiful so Americans can do beautiful things. Now, the non-profit is conveniently silent on which Americans are given the right to create those beautiful things? And, at whose expense?

KAB maintains that while graffiti vandals known as guerrilla artists believe their actions harm no one, graffiti hurts everyonehomeowners, communities, businesses, schools, and you. They maintain, those who practice it risk personal injury, violence, and arrest. The prime difference between Graffiti and Art remainsPermission!

Over the summer of 2020, a portrait recurred on city walls across the world: an image of the black American George Floyd, who was brutally suffocated to death by police officer David Chauvin on 25 May 2020. Most of these portraits were based on Floyd's 2016 selfie, taken from his own Facebook account; many referred to the torment of his killing, and his final words.

Support To Floyd From Pakistan, India

Thousands of miles from the US protests, numerous graffiti tributes to Floyd appeared in European cities and in Asia, Africa and Australia. In what transcended borders, even bridged differences between two sworn enemies was Karachi-based truck artist Haider Ali's portrait of Floyd inscribed with English tags '#blacklivesmatter' and song lyrics 'Goron Ki Na Kalon Ki, Duniya Hai Dilwalon Ki' meaning The World does not belong to the Whites or Blacks but to those with hearts and Hum Kale Hain Toh Kya Hua Dilwale Hain meaning So what if we are Black, we have hearts.

Interestingly, the Pakistani artist has used lyrics from a 1982 Indian Hindi film Disco Dancer song penned by Indian lyricist Anjaan and sung by Suresh Wadkar and Usha Mangeshkar. The second song has lyrics from a 1964 Indian Hindi movie Gumnaam song penned by Indian lyricist Shailendra and sung by Mohammad Rafi and Mehmood.

The truck artist's brilliant blending of George Floyd's portrait tackling the issue of colour and hate in the USA with neighbouring India's legendary love-hate relationship with Pakistan, was an exquisite work of art in itself, to say the least.

The very public horror of Floyd's killing (captured on videocam) lingers in recent memory but his isn't a case in isolation. Memorials also say the names of generations of innocent black US victims: among them, Breonna Taylor (killed by the police in her own home, 13 March 2020); 12-year-old Tamir Rice (fatally shot by the police, 22 November 2014); 14-year-old Emmett Till (lynched by racists, 28 August 1955) and more.

Testament To Protestors Collective Voice

In graffiti, evidently unauthorised, illegal and without permission, international artists find resonance who then bring to focus their issues like accusations of police brutality in Kenya and others.

That the Black Lives Matter movement has transgressed beyond borders is evident in the works of contemporary artists who continue to embody its energy. The works of London-based Ghanian Street Artist and educator Dreph (aka Neequaye Dsane) appearing around the world, including residencies in Brazil and Cape Verde, says, "We are bombarded with negative imagery all day long; what do we do with that energy? It's got to be moulded into something positive I want to constantly make authentic, inspiring, meaningful, thought-provoking work, regardless of the context."

In Britain, his street-portrait series includesMigrations, a celebration of multi-cultural local heroes especially resonant around the Windrush scandal, where hundreds of Britons of Caribbean descent were wrongly threatened with deportation and refused vital services through the UK government's "hostile environment" policy.

Dreph sums it up when he says, he can go pretty much to any country in the world and meet a local within minutes because of the graffiti movement. Its a network.

Born in 1961 in Larache, a harbour town in northern Morocco, Drephs father emigrated to England in the 60s, so he spent his formative years with his mother, auntie, grandma and sisters.

He moved to North London in 1973 when he was 12 to join his father. He recalls it as being a tough time, where he was unable to speak English and was immersed in a new culture, in a time where London wasnt as cosmopolitan as it is today.

Free Art Elbows Compulsions Of Commerce

In Londons multicultural Brixton, a sizeable chunk of the 30-foot-tall Michelle Obama mural remains painted over as Dorrell Place becomes the place for graffiti artists/taggers/scrawlers to showcase their works of art. The homage to the former First Lady of the United States that first appeared on the side of the Marks & Spencer store in October 2018 was the creation of Dreph who made the advert in collaboration with Penguin Random House to promote the publication of Obamas autobiography Becoming, released on 13 November 2018.

Yet, by February 2021 the bottom half was painted over, and in the last couple of years the rest of the mural has dwindled to naught, almost symbolising the triumph of free art over the compulsions of commerce.

One of Drephs latest murals depicts Hassan Hajjaj who joined the burgeoning west London immigrant community. He felt very much a foreigner and many of the people he befriended were people who had had a similar journey and shared experiences of being the outsider. In this period, he made a lot of friends, many from the Caribbean, India and Pakistan, and says that they stuck together and looked after one another.

That said, strife is perhaps the most significant commonality in Street Art; and, its this strife that is symbolical of the processes even the resistance to populist trends and capitalist markets.

In India, the Street Art scenario in financial capital Mumbai, in the absence of creative spunk even controlled by political entities and permitted more often than growing organically as in the rest of the world, has failed to impress in comparison.

The two-month long St+art Urban Art Festival for Mumbais Sassoon Dock Art Project kickstarted on 11 November 2017 and ran until 30 December 2017 featuring an exhibition of structures and images of workers at Indias first wet dock and the oldest in Mumbai, situated in Colaba.

Pitched as having remained a forgotten space of Mumbai, only home to the native Kolis living in a world of their own making, the paintings depicted Kolis, a community that has grown organically even before the formation of Mumbai and live and work in the sea on the other side of Colaba at Machchimar Nagar, having poor little to do with the trade at Sassoon Docks.

Glossing Over Details To Fact, Flavour

Sassoon Docks instead, is a commercial venture with docks where fish are cleaned, packed and exported to markets across the world. The Sassoon Docks provides livelihood for a range of communities from across India, apart from Kolis, who, at best, buy the fish locally for sale in markets in suburban Mumbai. The depiction in the Street Art seemed way off the mark and the local flavour and details to facts, sadly amiss.

In the same year, under an initiative of St+art Foundation, Asian Paints and Western Railways, a mural depicting Mahatma Gandhi exiting a train was created by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra at South Mumbais Churchgate Railway Station. A structural audit of the faade, even declared it fit during an inspection in 2018.

However, a part of the cladding of the 81 ft x 54 ft mural broke loose during a cyclone in 2019 and fell on a 62-year-old pedestrian, killing him. The entire faade including the painting was ultimately brought down by the Western Railways.

I have been painting nature, architecture, and local heritage on walls and in public spaces across the city, says self-taught street artist Sapna Patil who has been involved with painting real-life thematic images in and around Mumbai.

Sapna is known for her painting of a seemingly-real train across a wall at Budhwar Park, in what was earlier a rather drab-looking passage, connecting South Mumbais Fourth Pasta Lane to Machchimar Nagar on the other side of the zone and passing through a Railway Colony.

Her detailed depiction of the train, complete with windows, bars, steps even handles is exquisite. I wish I get more opportunities to paint about issues that affect people too, she says.

Sapna Patils works are symbolic of theChanging Colours of Colabaand transformations in Mumbai's oldest precinct where, among other changes, public walls are given colourful make-overs through strategic paintings depicting the zones architecture and life.

On similar lines is the work of Chandigarhs Sachita Aditi Sharma now based out of Himachal Pradesh in North India. After having painted an entire village in Punjab to inspire villagers and show them a life that goes beyond drugs, walls in Goa even at venues in Hyderabad," Sachita now works across India.

Ive cleaned little corners and walls in cities strewn with garbage and excreta and created works of art, says Sachita who feels the entire ordeal of getting permissions from local administration which is either inaccessible or simply not keen to comply, defeats the purpose of beautifying public zones.

Delhi-based artist and President Awardee Roop Chand feels the potential of artists being able to tap on public sentiment and educate masses has not been utilised to its fullest potential. "There is so much that artists can do to contribute. It's just that their potential has not been realised," maintains Roop Chand.

Why, he feels that something as simple as propping up a social message on a brightly-painted waste-bin in a public place may make all the difference. I have done it personally and seen it work. People actually stop, read and take in the message, he says.

A Film Industry Splashed On Public Walls

The walls adjoining the streets of Mumbai's Western suburb Bandra are strewn with art works depicting old Hindi films, graffiti and the works, converting the zone into a virtual art-lovers paradise. The wall-paintings are impressively colossal in size, strategically placed and sure to leave an indelible mark in public memory.

The Street Art that has begun making pleasant appearances across Mumbais streets has been facilitated by the civic authorities and overseen by local politicians. With all permissions in place and authorisations, even financial support provided through non-profits involved in the venture, Mumbais Street Art completely overlooks issues of strife and sensitivity that feature on public walls in most other foreign cities.

Unlike French Street Artist James Colomina, who literally lives underground and refuses to even identify himself or his family for fear of reprise, the artists working across Mumbais streets feature, without fear, across media. Why, most of them are art teachers, commercial artists, some even out-of-work poster artists who have been provided livelihood by the surge in Street Art across Indias financial capital.

There is simply no element of conflict in the Street Art across the public spaces of Mumbai. Theres a slim chance of an artwork being politically incorrect or harming populist sentiments when all of it has to go through the fine comb of a local politician before being vetted thoroughly by the authorities before seeing the light of the day.

And, that, is the difference in Street Art in India. Not that it isnt good or lacks punch. Its just that its different. Positively different, colourful yet bordering on inane and socially irrelevant. I wish I can use art to highlight the issues faced by my community, in time, sums up Sapna Patil, herself an Agri tribal based out of Thane in Maharashtra.

Figures On Walls To Lead The Way

Look at Swaero Artists For Empowerment of Society (SAFE), an alumna of artists who studied in state-run social welfare schools and colleges who feel, Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world; "Swaero Bano-Hero Bano"; "If not now, when? If not we, then who?"

A tiny Dalit colony in Kollapadakal village of Maheshwaram that lies an hour away from Hyderabad registers the inspirational lines on a colourful mural that has become all-too-familiar to locals.

In different colours on the walls of homes, over 30 murals, featuring prominent world leaders, are popular selfie points in the area. The Street Art walls were inaugurated by senior IPS officer RS Praveen Kumar Swaero, the secretary of the Telangana Social & Tribal Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society in 2020.

Interestingly, several murals of contemporary student achievers that include mountaineer Malavat Poorna, Kamatam Madhuri, Nemali Siddharth, Darshanala Sushma, Praveen Kumar IPS and Dalit billionaire Pagidipati Devaiah were also painted on the walls. And because, as the SAFE president feels "painting local figures will make students think to become one of them.

Empowering Marginalised With Art To Start Anew

Literally transforming the face of Mumbais slums has been Misaal Mumbai a slum painting and repairing initiative by artist, muralist and social worker Rouble Nagi started after Paint Dharavi in 2016 in Mumbai where she, with her team, painted and water-proofed houses. The aim being not just to beautify the walls of the slums but to connect to people through Art and bring a positive change in their mindset.

Plugged as the first slum painting initiative in India, the Rouble Nagi Art Foundation painted and repaired 1,50,000 plus homes to date and are currently working in over 163 slums and villages across India.

Educating through art about the importance of children education, empowering women, creating job opportunities for youth, cleanliness, hygiene, sanitation, waste management, and children health in slums and villages, Rouble Nagi reaches out key messages through Street Art.

Besides being a quick way to create visual impact, our projects employ people and give them a sense of ownership over the artworks they create in their own community while improving the condition of their houses, says Rouble.

And now, with Misaal Kashmir underway, the Mumbai-based artist with 800 murals to her credit and having organised over 150 exhibitions, is focusing on the youth of Kashmir. She believes that they need to navigate their lives with the vision of growth and positivity, stop following peers and politicians "if you feel they are leading you towards a negative path".

Along with her team, Rouble has been travelling through Watlab, Sangrama, Handwara, Langate and the rural belt of Pulwama armed with nothing but art and paints to empower women to generate a livelihood for themselves.

The village reformation project, 'Misaal Kashmir' helps artists transform the community by tapping the local creative energy. Its part of the 'Misaal India' initiative launched in 2018. Rouble Nagis attempts are bearing fruit, slowly yet surely, heralding a new beginning for those for whom all seemed lost.

Art Provides Healing Balm, Soothes The Hurt

Probably the most peaceful yet powerful influence of Street Art can be gauged by Japanese garden designer Itaru Sasaki who initiated the Wind Phone project in 2010 to help cope with his cousin's death.

After Itaru lost his cousin to terminal cancer, he set up an old telephone booth in his garden in December 2010, to continue to feel connected to him by "talking" to him on the phone. The wind phone was not designed with any specific religious connotation but as a way to reflect on his loss.

On 7 January 2017, strong winds blew off the roof of the wind phone and broke the glass doors. On hearing about it, local carpenters, including ones who had previously visited the wind phone, swiftly volunteered to repair it on 10 January 2017 and the wind phone was reopened by the very next day.

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Bold, Inspiring And Grabbing Headlines - The - The Draft

When Bored Ape Yacht Club launched at the height of last years NFT frenzy, Ryder Ripps shrugged off the collections off-putting imagery. The series of 10,000 cartoon apes were rife with the meme aesthetics of the internets darkest corners, but if you spend enough time online, its something you tend to just look past. Then a few months later, a friend showed him the collections logo beside the Totenkopf, a skull-and-cross bones insignia widely used in Nazi Germany. It dawned on him: The Apes, now viral and promoted widely by crypto-hawking celebrities, might be an elaborate, malicious troll.

I realized this shit was intentional, Ripps, a 36-year-old conceptual artist and creative director who has worked with major artists like Kanye West and Grimes and brands like Nike, Red Bull, and Gucci, told ARTnews. Theyre ruining the internet.

Since December, Ripps has led a crusade against the irreverent collection, its parent company Yuga Labs currently valued at a whopping $4 billion and founders Greg Solano, Wiley Aronow, Kerem Atalay, and Zeshan Ali.

Ripps contends that BAYC, from its logo to the Apes accessories like sushi chef headbands inscribed with kamikaze in Japanese kanji and spiked Prussian Pickelhaube helmets is threaded with racist imagery and ties to the online alt-right. Ripps and Yuga Labs are currently embroiled in a legal battle after the company sued the artist for creating copycat NFTs that Ripps says are meant to satirize the collection. (Yuga Labs and BAYC have previously denied the allegations of racism.)

Ripps has cast himself as Laocoon the priest who begged the Trojans not to let the Greek horse into the city warning that Yugas founders are trying to slip toxic imagery and ideas into the larger culture by packaging it as just another absurd, but ultimately innocuous NFT collection. But is he the best messenger for his warning?

When asked why hes so sure that Solano, Aronow and their counterparts are trolls, Ripps laughed. Takes one to know one, he said.

The rest is here:
Who is Ryder Ripps, Artist Trying To Take Down Bored Ape Yacht Club ARTnews.com - ARTnews

Considering he said he was glad to be rid of the role, Im sure actor Daniel Craig doesnt appreciate his name being linked to the character of James Bond, but its what catapulted him to stardom so Im going to do it.

Daniel Craig, best known for playing secret agent James Bond, will be honored at the Montclair Film Festival and his latest film will open the festival at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair.

Craigs new film Glass Onion: a Knives Out Mystery, described by the festivals website:

In this follow up to KNIVES OUT, Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) travels to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery involving a new cast of colorful suspects, featuring Edward Norton, Janelle Mone, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, and Madelyn Cline with Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista. Written and Directed by Rian Johnson, GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY will release globally on Netflix on December 23.

Craig will be interviewed on stage by Stephen Colbert (theyre calling it a conversation not an interview), the late-night host whose wife is the president of the festivals board of trustees.

"MacBeth" Broadway Opening Night

The festival begins on Oct. 21 at the Wellmont, but the conversation with Daniel Craig is on the 28th at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC).

We are thrilled to honor Daniel Craig at the Montclair Film Festival with our 2022 Tribute, and to share his work in Rian Johnsons uproarious new thriller Glass Onion on opening night, Tom Hall, co-head and artistic director of Montclair Film, said in a statement. We look forward to welcoming Mr. Craig to the festival and to a fun, celebratory evening hosted by Stephen Colbert exploring Mr. Craigs unforgettable roles and his exceptional career.

Tickets go on sale Sep. 17 to the public and are available through Ticketmaster.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle only.

You can now listen to Deminski & Doyle On Demand! Hear New Jerseys favorite afternoon radio show any day of the week. Download the Deminski & Doyle show wherever you get podcasts, on our free app, or listen right now.

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.

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Originally posted here:
Daniel Craig will be honored at Montclair Film Festival - New Jersey 101.5 FM

THE BBCs wall-to-wall coverage of the macabre pomp and ceremony following the Queens death has angered, annoyed, bored and generally bothered most not utterly obsessed with the royal family.

Even BBC Question Time favourite and letter-writer-in-chief for the Unionist cause Jane Lax described it as dire.

But amid Nicholas Witchell pontificating on the late monarchs feelings about independence and the plainly incorrect assertion the Protestant reformer John Knox cleared the Catholics out of Scotland (a suggestion met with laughter by other presenters), there have been some moments of sanity among the coverage.

Enter Alan Little, a veteran BBC presenter who led the broadcasters controversial coverage of the 2014 independence referendum.

READ MORE:Celtic fans unveil 'f*** the crown' banner prior to Shakhtar Donetsk tie

To the rumouredannoyance of Gordon Brown and the Scottish Secretary, Little stated some plain facts about the political state of play.

The Telegraph reports he said on the Ten OClock News on Monday that Scotland had been diverging from the rest of the UK politically for 40 years, where support for independence is as high as its ever been.

Well, whats wrong with that? Its basically correct, isnt it?

Not if youre the former PM or Alister Union Jack who were said to be privately fizzing about the comments.

They may have become catatonic when the BBC man added that Charlies reign could be defined by the eventual dissolution of the United Kingdom itself.

READ MORE:Prince Andrew continues role which could see him stand in for King Charles

Someone who is not Brown appears to have complained to the Telegraph that Littles lines echo that of the SNP. They might also echo authoritative works on the recent political history of Scotland and the Union, but thats beside the point.

A "source close to" Alister Union Jack added: The BBC should really not be introducing the independence debate into the Queens death - theres no link.

Littles comments came amid a veritable tsunami of political interventions by BBC pundits, talking heads and hacks who wondered idly about the Queens diplomatic role (did she bring about peace in Northern Ireland?) and her apparently grave concern the country she spent her summer holidays in could become foreign.

There was significantly less noise from the Unionist press about those musings, needless to say.

Jack had sufficiently recovered himself to take on a role standing guard at the Queens coffin in Westminster today, in his role as a member of the Royal Company of Archers the monarchs Scottish bodyguard.

See the article here:
Alister Jack and Gordon Brown 'fume over BBC linking Queen's death to indy' - The National

Remember that story when the sun and wind entered into a bet to see who would be able to take off a mans jacket first? The wind blew with all its might, but the man would only fasten his jacket even more to hold it in place. When it was its turn, the sun simply radiated heat until the man felt so hot he took off the jacket himself. And the sun won.

If the story rings a bell, it is because you are old enough to have read it many times over in the popular school textbook Id-Denfil.

Id-Denfil has since been taken off the school syllabus but cartoonists are bringing it back in a short, animated series on television.

The creators, Turi Animation Studio, say the series is a tribute to the much-beloved books, but more importantly, it aims to create Maltese content for young children, who spend a lot of time consuming similar videos in English but have almost no such videos in Maltese at all.

The cartoons are all produced in a 2D, hand-drawn animation style, the creators said.

Our animators create one drawing after another to create motion. The style and technique are quite similar to some of the most beloved cartoons available.

First published in 1976, Id-Denfil accompanied entire generations through primary school.

Its simple orange cover featuring a blueish-grey breaching dolphin became a nationwide recognisable symbol of childhood, leading modern souvenir makers to feature it alongside other iconic images like the old Benna milk carton, the old Maltese bus and the yellow Cisk beer bottle.

Id-Denfil was eventually abandoned in schools, not least because some of its narratives and language style began to sound out of date and politically incorrect in modern times.

Written for different generations in an entirely different time, the six books fundamentally featured stories about traditional, heterosexual, catholic families in which the father was the breadwinner, the mother was a housewife, everyone was white and went to church religiously and people smoked cigarettes.

The creators of the new cartoon series said they are well aware of these contexts, and while keeping the spirit of Id-Denfil as people know it, the characters, narratives and story details have been tweaked and adapted for todays societal realities.

Independent journalism costs money. Support Times of Malta for the price of a coffee.

Read the original here:
Id-Denfil to return as an animated cartoon series on TV - Times of Malta

BILLINGS A judge will hear arguments Thursday in the latest legal wrangling between the state of Montana and the ACLU over efforts to prevent people from changing their sex designation on their birth certificate.

The ACLU of Montana is asking District Court Judge Michael Moses to clarify his April ruling temporarily blocking a 2021 law that required transgender people to undergo surgery and obtain a court order before changing their birth certificate.

The laws requirement for a surgical procedure was unconstitutionally vague because it did not say what kind of surgery was required,Moses said in his April ruling. He told the state to go back to using a previous rule stating that people wanting to change their birth certificate in Montana needed only to provide an affidavit to the state health department.

Since that ruling, however, the state health department issued a new rule banning anyone from changing their sex on their birth certificate unless it was incorrect due to a clerical error. The ACLU argues that new rule violates the previous court order.

The legal dispute comes as conservative lawmakers in numerous states have sought to restrict transgender rights, including with bans on transgender girls competing in girls school sports.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led a group of 17 state attorneys general who pushed back on Monday against a Biden administration proposal that would solidify protections for transgender and gay students. The attorneys general claimed the proposal would coerce schools to indoctrinate children with what they called politically driven gender identity theories.

The Biden administration move would reverse a Trump-era policy and declare that discrimination based on gender identity will be treated as a violation of federal law. In announcing the change, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said it was needed so gay, lesbian and transgender students could learn in schools free from discrimination.

In Montana, the issue of changing a persons sex designation on their birth certificate has led to a flurry of lawmaking and legal challenges.

A 2017 rule issued by the state health department under former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock eased the process of changing ones birth certificate.

But in early 2021, with a Republican in the governors office, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 280, which called for repealing the 2017 rule and adding the requirement for a surgical procedure.

That was challenged by transgender plaintiffs represented by the ACLU of Montana, who have said a birth certificate that doesnt match their gender identity puts them at risk of embarrassment, discrimination, harassment or violence if they are asked to provide their birth certificate.

Moses temporary injunction in April said the state should go back to the status quo, which he defined as the rule that existed before Senate Bill 280 passed.

A month after Moses handed down the temporary injunction, thehealth department enacted a new temporary ruleeffectively banning birth certificate changes.

The ACLU thenasked Moses to clarify his April rulingand to declare the temporary rule invalid.

In the meantime, thetemporary rule was adopted permanentlylast week.

State officials have denied that the new rule preventing changes to birth certificates was adopted in bad faith following the courts injunction.

Assistant Attorney General Kathleen Smithgall said in court documents that state officials last year had canceled the 2017 rule that allowed birth certificate changes. So when the injunction was put in place, Smithgall wrote, the state had to fill a regulatory gap and did so with the emergency rule.

Thursdays hearing will allow the ACLU and the state to make additional arguments.

Continue reading here:
Judge to Hear Arguments on Transgender Birth Certificate Law - Flathead Beacon

There is a good chance that both MK Bezalel Smotrich and MK Itamar Ben Gvir will be part of the next Netanyahu government (if MK Benjamin Netanyahu forms the next government). Anyone who follows the news here knows that all sorts of accusations have been made against both Smotrich and Ben Gvir: Racists, homophobes, transfer supporters, and most of all fans of (Jewish) terrorists. Chances are that I would agree with these accusations, at least in part.

Think of Baruch Goldsteins picture of in Ben Gvirs living room (I dont know if he still has the picture but for the sake of argument lets say that he does) and then say the words Itamar Ben Gvir, Minister of X. The very idea of Itamar Ben Gvir being a minister in the government, being able to speak at cabinet meetings, being an official representative of the State of Israel in a way which is significantly different that being a mere MK, is infuriating, correct?

The Times of Israel made these points very clearly.

(Of course some cabinet positions would be more significant than others, but that isnt the issue.)

The conclusion from all these accusations is that both of them (along with MK Avi Maoz), but Ben Gvir especially, cannot be part of the coalition and even more so, cannot serve as a minister.

What is strange about all the noise being made about Ben Gvir being so treif is that the same people making this noise have no problem with other MKs who are just as bad or as I will argue much worse than Ben Gvir, from a moral point of view. Who are these MKs? The vast majority of the Arab MKs. MKs from the Islamic Party Raam along with their coparliamentarians from the Joint List are at least just as guilty as Ben Gvir of all these various crimes.

Much of what will be brought up here has received little if any mention in the English press. Even in the Hebrew media these subjects arent discussed that much. Only a few journalists, like Kalman Liebskind or Ishay Fridman have tried to make these issues part of the general discussion, largely to no avail. The topic is politically incorrect in the extreme and even raising these issues can bring a fearsome backlash. But it is what it is and these MKs support what they support.

This is a long read but background information must be given before getting to the heart of the matter. One last note: I am NOT writing here in support of the Religious Zionist party or any of its members.

The number one accusation against Itamar Ben Gvir is his support or admiration for Baruch Goldstein, perpetrator of the Cave of the Patriarchs Massacre. OK, sounds bad. But what about Mansour Abbas, head of Raam? A few factoids will shed some light on his position about terrorism and terrorists.

In 2013, when Abbas served as deputy chairman of the Islamic Movement, Abbas went to visit families of various Palestinian prisoners in commemoration of Palestinian Prisoner Day (think about that, a day to honor terrorists). Abbas started by visiting the family of Fawzi Nimer. Nimer, an Israeli citizen, headed a cell that carried out 22 terrorist attacks. Rachel Bresler, Haim Manikovitz, and Victor Guetta were murdered by Nimers people.

Abbas (and other members of the Islamic Movement) then went to visit the Bachri family. Two of their sons aided the terrorist who carried out the Meron Junction Suicide Bombing (nine people killed).

In addition, the delegation visited the families of terrorists who threw grenades into a crowd in Haifa and the family of someone who tried to join Hezbollah.

How does visiting these families in their homes, speaking about the prisoners and their deeds, showing them respect, compare to hanging a picture of someone on the wall? More importantly, does this sound like support for terror? Frankly, I cant imagine the push-back if an MK dared to visit any of Baruch Goldsteins relatives in this way.

By the way, Fawzi Nimer was sentenced to life in prison but was released as part of the Jibril Agreement. Nimer died in Gaza in 2013 and was eulogized by MKs from Balad and Chadash.

To be clear, it was not just Mansour Abbas who participated in these types of ceremonies. Other Raam MKs such as Mazen Ganaim and former MK Abdulmalik Dehamshe also participated in similar ceremonies. Does this sound like support for terror?

At this point, maybe people are thinking this is all ancient history. Raam has changed. Mansour Abbas condemned the destruction of Lod synagogues. Lets test that assumption. Jump back to a little over a year ago, during the last flareup between Gaza and Israel (Shomer Chomot) when Arabs rioted throughout the country. In one of these incidents, rioters set the Effendi Hotel on fire. In the ensuing fire, 84 year old Avi Har Even was killed. Har Even, a brilliant, award-winning engineer who made significant contributions to Israels defense, was staying at the hotel when the riots started. Raam MK Said Alharumi participated in a demonstration demanding that Arab rioters who killed Har Even be released from jail (along with other rioters). At that time, Alharumi was dying of cancer (he died a few days after the demonstration) but made the effort to help free these people. Does this sound like support for terror?

Yes, Mansour Abbas condemned the burning of synagogues in Lod. Did other Raam MKs (not as far as I know)? How about this test: Baruch Kra, one of Israels most important reporters, wrote that if Itamar Ben Gvir really wants to repudiate his past he needs to voice his shame about hanging Goldsteins picture and for supporting certain racist policies (see this tweet). Has Abbas or his MKs done anything similar? Has anyone like Kra demanded that they do anything similar? Those are rhetorical questions.

Yet with all this, Raam was welcomed with open arms into the coalition.

Maybe one could argue What do you want, Raam is a Muslim fundamentalist party, but secular Arab parties dont support terrorists. Good argument, but wrong. A few highlights:

This is a sampling of the Arab MKs actions and statements. I could go on but the point is clear: Many Arab MKs fully support terrorists and terrorism and go out of their way to show their support. How does that compare to having a picture on the wall?

Note: Labor MK Ibtisam Maraana and Meretz MK Issawi Frej have consistently condemned terrorism. Maraana has apologized for controversial statements that she made in the past

Lets be clear: You need a microscope, an extremely high-powered microscope, to find differences in Raam and the Religious Zionists approach towards homosexuals (see this article where MK Walid Yusuf Taha labeled gay people as perverts). Yet this opposition to homosexual rights didnt stop Meretz from sitting in the same coalition with Raam. As part of the last governments coalition agreement, each party had a veto on any legislation which ensured that no reforms would be made in these issues. While Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz made a few changes within his ministry, no government reforms were advanced.

I have heard interviews with coalition MKs in which they were asked about Raams position and the standard answer was I disagree with them on this point.

Again, the issue isnt simply Raam. Tibi has been open that he will oppose any legislation that advances the needs of the gay community. Meretz MK Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi had an (infamous) incident in which she stated that she would abstain from any vote banning conversion therapy out of respect for her communitys conservative stand on the issue. She later backed down but the damage was done.

So explain: How is it that MK Avi Maoz can be derided endlessly for his opinions but Raam is kosher? How is it that Zahava Galon attacks certain rabbis over this issue but has nothing to say about Muslim MKs?

When Russia invaded Ukraine a few ago, Chadash put out a statement. Yes, they called for the war to stop immediately and stated that they opposed the invasion. That was one sentence. The rest of their long statement was a condemnation of the West for forcing the war to happen, imperialism, and all sorts of other crimes. Putin couldnt have been happier with that statement. That was the first and last statement that the Israeli Communist Party has made about the war. About the Russian war crimes, bombardments of civilian populations, mass executions, displacement of millions, they have nothing to say.

Regarding Syria, Ayman Odeh (again, the moderate) vetoed a statement by the Joint List condemning Assad. He repeated his refusal to condemn the Syria leader in 2018. Search the web for any mention of a condemnation of Assad or any human rights issue within the Arab world; it will be hard to find.

Think that the Orthodox parties can be rough on womens rights? Raam had an MK, Talab Abu Arar, who has two wives.

All the above show very clearly there is little if any moral difference between Ben Gvir and Arab MKs in Raam or the Joint List. If anything their support for these horrible people and policies is leaps and bounds greater than anything that Ben Gvir or Smotrich have stated in the past. The previous coalition included Raam and there is every indication that the next (possible) Lapid government will also include the Joint List. Why do the people (this includes Meretz, Labor, much of Yesh Atid and Gantz party not to mention much of the press and public) who are disgusted and infuriated at the thought of a Netanyahu coalition that includes Ben Gvir give these MKs a pass? What possible moral difference is there justifies this split approach?

Often this question is answered in silence. Sometimes people will be straight forward and state that the difference is that Ben Gvir is Jewish (or more to the point, a religious Jew) and the Arabs arent. Therefore we hold the latter to a lower standard. Does that make any sense whatsoever? We are not talking about the criteria that one applies when voting for someone but who is morally fit to be a cabinet minister. Moral criteria must be applied universally or they become simple preferences, comfort zones if you want, and nothing more than that. No better than anyone elses comfort zone.

It is true that Israel is (correctly) held to higher moral standards than countries like Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and any other Arab country. That is because by definition these countries are non-democracies, dysfunctional in all sorts of ways, and many of them are regular violators of basic human rights (including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and even genocide). No one in their right mind would want to be held to the same standard. But you cannot argue that Israel should be held to a higher standard and at the same time, accept that some ministers will be held to a lower moral standard. That destroys the states very moral fiber from the inside.

A second idea is that the Arab MKs wont be able to make significant changes so therefore they represent much less of a threat to Israeli democracy. First of all, this point is a distraction. If people want to start discussing Ben Gvirs and Balads policies, please do so. Anyone looking a Balads manifest will find plenty of stuff which is objectionable (at best). However the question about Ben Gvir is his picture on the wall; i.e. he is defined as being morally unfit to serve. In addition, given that the last government fell (at least in part) because two Arab MKs werent given everything that they wanted, it is a very dangerous gamble to expect that Benny Gantz or Yair Lapid will restrain Ahmad Tibi.

A third idea raised is that bringing these parties into a coalition will lead to greater integration of the Arab population. This type of thinking is better known as exitus cta probat (the ends justify the means): these MKs may be treif but having them in the coalition serves a greater good. No doubt people in the Likud can also construct a greater good that including Ben Gvir serves. In addition, I would ask these people if having the Chareidi parties in coalitions led to greater or less integration of that sector.

Probably the real justification is that Lapid and Gantz will do anything possible to keep Benjamin Netanyahu from returning to power. If that means forming a coalition with terrorist supporters, homophobes, and fascist supporters, so be it. Another variation of the the ends justify the means thinking and frankly, an indication of moral bankruptcy. (Dont take this as support for Netanyhau.)

If the imagery of Goldsteins picture in Ben Gvirs salon still bothers you, think about this image: In 2023 PM Lapid agrees to release thousands of Palestinian terrorists in exchange for the return of Israelis being held in Gaza. Health Minister Tibi or Welfare and Social Affairs Minister Aida Touma-Sliman or Housing Minister Abbas travel to Um El Fahm in their government-issued car, protected by Israeli government security people, to greet some of the released prisoners. They go to their homes, dance with them, hug them, and join in the festive meal. Out of respect for the feelings of Israeli Jews, the ministers refrain from having any knafeh.

Anyone willing to have this scenario become reality has absolutely no right complain about Minister of Environment Itamar Ben Gvir.

Go here to see the original:
Ben Gvir is treif, but Abbas is OK? Why? - The Times of Israel

A majority of Americans52 percentnow believe the nation is experiencing an invasion on the southern border, and 49 percent say that migrants are responsible for an uptick in U.S. drug overdoses because they are transporting fentanyl and other drugs. Those are among the findings of an NPR/Ipsos poll released in August that suggests support for immigrants is diminishing.

These shifting perceptionsoften based on political rhetoric and a misunderstanding of the facts on the groundmay help explain why there has been little, if any, movement on immigration reform in Congress.

The American Dream and Promise Act, for example, passed by the House last year, would create a pathway to citizenship for Dreamersadults who as children were brought into the country without documentationand other individuals who now have temporary legal status. Despite broad bipartisan support, the measure is not expected to be brought before the Senate before the midterm elections.

The Farm Workforce Modernization Act likewise passed the House, but it is not expected to be approved by the Senate despite bipartisan support. Supporters argue the measure, which creates new opportunities for legal migration, would alleviate shortages of agricultural workers and lower the cost of food.

While the impasse on immigration reform continues in Washington, efforts to reduce opportunities for asylum claims are pushing some migrants into life-and-death decisions at the U.S.-Mexico border.

At least two Trump administration policies have prevented asylum seekers from pleading their cases in the United States: the Migration Protection Protocols and Title 42.

The Migration Protection Protocols, commonly known as the Remain in Mexico policy, required asylum seekers at the border to be returned to Mexico to await their day in court. The Biden administration attempted to end M.P.P. repeatedly, but those efforts have been blocked in court. This summer, the Supreme Court ruled that the administration could end the program, and M.P.P. was finally shut down in August.

Immigration advocates considered the court ruling a victory, if one limited in scope. Joanna Williams, executive director of the Kino Border Initiative, said her organization has helped around a dozen migrants from Nicaragua enter the United States since M.P.P. ended.

But two single mothers who fled persecution in El Salvador were disappointed to learn that the programs official end would not allow them to move on from the border camp in Nogales, Mexico, where they have been living since January. Ms. Williams had to explain that the end of M.P.P. did not affect the status of migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras or Mexico.

For Dylan Corbett, executive director of the Hope Border Institute, the end of M.P.P. called to mind those who were turned away because of the program in the past. Many gave up and returned to precarious conditions in their home countries. Others decided to make dangerous crossings outside the asylum process. And we know that some people did lose their lives, he said.

In June, 53 migrants died in a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Tex., a tragedy Mr. Corbett sees as demonstrating the index of desperation that governs the risk-taking among migrant people. In August, a 5-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy drowned days apart in the Rio Grande. In fact, a record 609 migrants have died crossing the border through July this year.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports nearly two million encounters with unauthorized migrants this year. While the crossing numbers have unquestionably been on the rise, Mr. Corbett noted that individual migrants often make multiple attempts to enter but are repeatedly turned back by Border Patrol agents.

I understand that the border becomes politicized, but people [in the United States] need to understand that [migrant] people are coming in need, Mr. Corbett said. Its not something we dont have the capacity to respond to. Its a moral call to solidarity. And as a country, well be better off if we accept people with compassion and dignity.

Under Mr. Trump, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention invoked Title 42, a health ordinance used to summarily expel immigrants since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. While M.P.P. affected more than 70,000 people, Title 42 has led to the expulsion of two million people since it began to be invoked in March 2020.

Title 42, in many ways, is a lot worse than M.P.P., Mr. Corbett said. But the intention of both programs was to essentially make life as painful as possible for people who are approaching the border seeking protection. Both administrations are guilty of using those programs in tandem to expel as many people as they could.

For the first 15 months of his administration, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. left Title 42 in place. When he did attempt to end the program in April, he was blocked in court.

The Biden administration has not done enough to end Title 42, according to Luis Guerra, a legal advocate with the Catholic Legal Immigration Network. Were now stuck in this limbo through the legal process that could have been avoided if they would have moved quicker and more decisively, he said.

Mr. Guerra, who regularly works in Tijuana, just south of San Diego, said there are two ways that migrants and asylum seekers attempt to enter the United States. The first is through a port of entry.

Right now they would just flat out be denied entry, he said. He has seen immigration officials at the international line walking among cars seeking to identify presumptive asylum seekers and using Title 42 to turn them back before they can reach U.S. soil, where they can make a legal claim.

When migrants are denied legal routes, many make the second choice, a dangerous entry into the United States across desert terrain or border waterways. Border Patrol agents who intercept them often use Title 42 to return them quickly to Mexico, Mr. Guerra said.

The biggest challenge for organizations on the ground is that there is no rhyme or reason many times on who makes it through and who doesnt, he said, an inconsistency that has encouraged some migrants to take greater risks.

Prospects are grim for those returned to Mexico.

Now theyre living on the streets, and guess whos ready to pick them up? Organized crime, Mr. Guerra said. We see a lot of cases of kidnapping for ransom because a majority of the folks have ties in the U.S., and organized crime takes advantage of that relationship.

Mr. Guerra argued that the asylum process effectively does not exist at ports of entry along the southern border. Asylum only exists for people of means who can arrive through an airport. Title 42 would have to go away for things to return to the status quo, as they were before the pandemic.

A number of public health experts, including within the Biden administration, said the implementation of Title 42 was not based on strong scientific evidence that it would succeed in hindering the spread of Covid-19, according to David Spicer, senior policy advisor with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Weve actually seen that Title 42 caused further spread of Covid-19, he said. You have migrants being expelled back to Mexico on buses and planes. And theyre not being offered vaccinations from our countrys surplus.

Ending Title 42 is important for building a more compassionate and realistic border policy, but it is only the first step, according to Ms. Williams. We need to look at this in a more long-term way and in a more complex way, she said.

Advocates at the border are seeing a greater diversity of nationalities among migrant people at the border, Ms. Williams said, reflecting trends in global displacement. She noted, for example, Muslim Indians arriving at the border who had been persecuted by the Hindu Nationalist Party. There are also migrants from Venezuela, often enduring a second displacement after seeking safety from that nations political turmoil in Colombia.

The Kino Border Initiative serves meals to 200 to 300 people a day, she said, and the shelter has been at capacity each day over the last month.

The effort is stretching staff capacity, but were going to be O.K., she said, adding that when they run out of the prepared meal, the cooks just make quesadillas. No one is going to go away hungry. She described it as a daily miracle of the loaves and the fishes.

Kinos adaptability to changing border conditions is a stark contrast to the lack of progress at the congressional level. According to Don Kerwin, the executive director of the Center for Migration Studies in New York, it has been 33 years since Congress passed a major immigration reform legislationthe Immigration Act of 1990and the last general legalization legislation passed in 1986.

Theres just been a lot of political dysfunction and bad faith about the immigration debate, period, Mr. Kerwin said. Migrants have been transformed into political instruments.

With some small exceptions, immigration policy does not seem to be a priority to congressional leaders or to voters, according to Mr. Kerwin.

People dont vote primarily on immigration, said J. Kevin Appleby, a longtime immigration advocate. People dont perceive or perhaps dont immediately feel the impact of immigration on them like they do inflation, or the absence of health care, or housing costs.

If anything, he said, congressional leaders who are pro-immigrant tend to get hurt politically because of that stance. Candidates who focus on border security often do better in elections, Mr. Appleby said.

Mr. Guerra agreed. Those who create policies that are humane and dignified start worrying about being classified as open borders or too liberal, he said.

The NPR/Ipsos survey suggests anti-immigrant rhetoric is working. Fewer Americans today56 percentsaid immigrants reflect an important aspect of national identity than in 2018, when 75 percent believed that. Slightly more46 percent, up from 42 percent in 2018now support building a wall along the southern border. Ms. Williams found the poll striking, almost shocking, suggesting that many of the positions supported by the people surveyed were just factually incorrect.

She supports stronger efforts to evangelize those Americans through authentic encounters. I dont think that we often allow enough space for transformation in our society, she said. We can wax poetic about politicization, but what are we really doing to give people the opportunity to meet Christ and be transformed by Christ?

The Kino Border Initiative wants to be a place of that kind of encounter, she said. No matter what someones political beliefs are, we have the capacity to be good people, Ms. Williams said. We have the capacity to be good neighbors. And we can really work miracles that way.

Over the long term, walls and border enforcement are not going to solve the problem, Mr. Corbett said. We need to imagine a system that is completely different. We need to put policies in place that are welcoming, that are humane and that break through this logjam of politics.

In the meantime, he said, we have to fight for the dignity of the undocumented and the restoration of asylum.

Find out more about changing public attitudes about immigration.

See original here:
The majority of Americans think migrants are 'invading' the U.S. Meanwhile, suffering at the border continues. - America Magazine