Category Archives: Personal Empowerment

WHEN, what seems like several hundred years ago, I worked as a gossip columnist, I was obliged to feign an interest in the royal family, but my heart was never in it. And this, mind you, was during a period of daily ructions so gripping that theyve now been repackaged as the worlds biggest ratings hit, in the form of the Netflix series The Crown.

Like everyone who isnt a foam-flecked revolutionary, I have a great deal of affection and admiration for the Queen. I also on a practical basis, as much as a sentimental one think that, however illogical and strange the idea of monarchy is, a neutral, detached figurehead is probably a better bet than a president, especially if those turn out to come in flavours such as Trump and Macron.

One of the things I liked best about the royal family, in fact, was when they were of very little interest. On the sole occasion I met the Queen Mother, one of the other guests asked her: Maam, what was it like being an Empress? He obtained the reply: It was very nice. While amusing in its own way, that was hardly Dorothy Parker-style wit, or opening up your heart to Oprah.

Scintillating exchanges along the lines of Have you come far? are preferable to the 1980s and 90s when junior members of the Firm (now in their 60s or 70s, or dead) appeared to be playing out storylines pilfered from Dallas or Dynasty. Well, here we are again, though maybe at the level of Knots Landing or Falcon Crest.

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The Duchess of Sussex has run into bother when it emerged, during the Court of Appeal hearing into a judgment she won, that she had forgotten writing, in reference to a letter to her father, Obviously everything I have drafted is with the understanding that it could be leaked.

The initial judgment was that the Mail On Sunday had no hope of winning a trial on whether publishing the letter invaded her privacy (and ordered them to pay costs and print a front-page apology). The fact she apparently expected it to be made public makes that to say the least a rather more open question than the high court ruled.

The legal judgment is of less interest than the question of the judgment, or lack of it, that seems to have been exercised by the Duchess and Prince Harry. He, who has never made any secret of how much he dislikes the attention of the press, has at least the excuse that he never had much say in the matter. That is a harder line for his wife to take, given her former career in a primetime TV series and as leading actress in Hallmark Channel romantic comedies.

To be sure, the actual crown gets more attention even than The Crown, and Suits shown in the UK only on Dave, until they axed it isnt in the same league. I can easily believe that the Duchess found the degree to which her life became public property uncomfortable, and also fairly easily believe that certain factions in royal circles (I dont necessarily mean within the family itself) might have been snooty about her.

READ MORE:COP26 failed, but its left Scotland with a potent movement

But when the pair decided to abandon the formal role of being part of the royal household, with the ribbon-cutting, walkabouts and all that stuff, they cant also have expected that people would see a constant parade on the chat shows, a range of merchandising and a contract with Netflix as an earnest of their desire to back away from the limelight. Or imagined that the public will maintain a sympathetic view of continual cries of how hard done by two quite colossally privileged people have been.

All of this is a shame. Mainly, of course, because of the damage to personal and family relationships, and because nobody emerges well from public rows of this kind. Its also sad, though, because many people initially including, though you wouldnt think it from the Sussexes recent utterances, the press had a positive view of the couple, and they might have proved an asset to the monarchy and, given their interests, to a whole host of good causes, too.

The Duchesss mixed-race background (even if not much else) gave a lot of British people who had nothing in common with the royal family not that any of the rest of us do, either someone more easily recognisable. Being an American was a novelty Wallis Simpson didnt count and Miss Markle, as she was then, was undoubtedly a glamorous turn.

The trouble, as she quickly found out, is that royal life, though it may superficially appear to have much in common with glamour and celebrity is in other respects its antithesis. As a general rule, the less we hear from royalties, the more successful they are. The Princess Royal is an object lesson in getting on with it without feeling the need to let us know what she thinks; the Duchess of Cambridge has been a conspicuous or rather, an inconspicuous success because theres no danger that shes going to express a controversial opinion.

Thats why, in the past, there was an assumption that the best candidates for joining the royal family were other royals, or at least nobility, because they knew the drill. This persisted right up until the Prince of Waless first marriage there was commentary at the time that there hadnt arisen the problem, as some still saw it, of his marrying a commoner.

As it turned out, it would have been much better if he had. The main difficulty then was the shortage of available candidates, since most European royals were Catholic, which, in another thoroughly counterproductive rule, made them ineligible. Perhaps they should have looked further afield, to Japanese, Indian, Thai or African royal families, since there was no similar rule against Hindus, Buddhists or Muslims.

Unfortunately, when we eventually got more imagination and diversity, it turned out to come from California, and to have New Age waffle and personal empowerment as the nearest thing to a religion. But plenty of us have even less interest in Californian celebrities than we do in the royals, and since Harry and Meghan have chosen the former condition rather than the latter, perhaps they should expect to be ignored.

Our columns are a platform for writers to express their opinions. They do not necessarily represent the views of The Herald.

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Harry and Meghan say theyve left public life. I do wish they get on with it, says Andrew McKie - News Nation USA

Watching Amar Singh in actionendlessly pacing and talking on the phoneone could easily imagine him trading stocks on the Nasdaq rather than buying and selling NFTs. However, it soon becomes clear that, despite sharing the ruthlessness of top traders, the art dealer is an unusual hybrid of activist and businessman, putting much of his profits into championing historically excluded female artists, artists of color, and LGBTQ+ artists.

While skeptics may question Singhs motivations, he comes from a long line of social activists. Most notably, his grandmother Veena Singh famously campaigned for womens education alongside Indias first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. As a member of the erstwhile Kapurthala Royal Family, Amar recently leveraged his privileged position to join other campaigners publicly pushing the Indian government to decriminalize homosexuality, which it finally did in 2018.

This activist perspective is also a major component of his art business. When he opened his eponymous London gallery in 2016, Singh spent the early stages of his career dealing and acquiring works by women artists involved in Abstract Expressionism, particularly Grace Hartigan and Elaine de Kooning. This gave him a unique niche in a city flooded with galleries, and showed off strong instincts in identifying untapped markets. Earlier this week, a painting by Hartigan fetched a near-record $462,000, more than three times its high estimate, at Christies.

While he says he largely avoids the bloodbath of contemporary art, Singhs more forays into the market for the new have also focused on women artists, including virtual exhibitions featuring feminist groups like the Guerrilla Girls and Rewind Collective.

The commitment paid off. When Christies executives were seeking to capitalize on their $69 million sale of Beeples NFT EverydaysThe First 5,000 Days, they quickly partnered with Singh to organize the auction houses second major NFT sale in April, pairing physical works by female Abstract Expressionist painters with custom NFTs by Rewind Collective.

Rewind, Remember Us IV (Watch Your Head). Courtesy of Amar Singh Gallery/Christies New York.

The five paintings on sale were from Singhs personal collection, which earned him more than $1 million on top of his role in crafting the format of the auction itself. Singh donated part of the proceeds to Hillary Clintons charity Vital Voices, which is dedicated to female empowerment.

Emboldened by this success, he soon brokered a deal between the digital collectables app VeVe, luxury brand Givenchy Beauty, and Rewind Collective. The collaboration was the first NFT produced for the fashion label and parent company LVMH, with all proceeds going to Le MAG Jeunes (or Mouvement dAffirmation des Jeunes Gais, Lesbiennes, Bi et Trans), which supports LGBTQ+ youth. When the NFT editions officially dropped on June 21, each listed for $100, they sold out in just two secondsraising $128,000 for LGBTQ+ rights in the blink of an eye.

That sale also taught Singh something important about the field of NFTs. Everyone got carried away with the $69 million Beeple sale. That price didnt and still doesnt constitute the bulk of the market, he said. Gen Z and younger millennials buying affordable NFTs are driving the market through the roofdigital editions and accessible NFTs saw an 800 percent increase this quarter. So thats what Ive decided to focus on.

Singh has since been building out his distribution channels for digital art; he recently brokered multi-year deals to produce NFTs with his roster of artists for VeVe, MakersPlace and ConsenSys. The total value of his mammoth NFT deals with these and several other companies is more than $300 million.

Singhs choice of partners is telling: VeVe is one of the leading apps offering one-of-a-kind digital collectables, making thetop 10 list of the highest grossing entertainment apps in the U.S. last month. And both MakersPlace and ConsenSysthe latter started by Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum, the second most valuable cryptocurrencyare rapidly becoming industry hubs for NFT buying.

Rewind, Thinking of Elaine (I Call Bull). Courtesy of Amar Singh Gallery.

Our deal with Amar will be one of the most important collaborations for VeVe, especially with its crossover into social issues, like elevating women and minority groups, VeVe founder and tech investor David Yu told Artnet News. We want people in every corner of the world to be able to access art, but beyond that we want to celebrate the history of these groups in what we call a celebration drop. Especially now that were one of the top-grossing apps, this collaboration will have a massive impact.

Beyond his quest of conquering the world of NFTs, Singh has also pledged to donate $5 million worth of art made by historically underrepresented artists to leading institutions, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art, Londons National Portrait Gallery, and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Just nine months after making the promise, Singh has already delivered on it.

Amar represents a new generation who are supporting museums to make their dreams of diversifying their collections a reality, said Karen Archey, curator of contemporary art at the Stedelijk. His principled approach to philanthropy is simply refreshing and inspiring, and I hope that other aspiring collectors take note.

While Singh has yet to become a household name, hes situated himself to be one of the largest benefactors to come out of the NFT boom and is harnessing the market to further his philanthropy and activism.

Every deal Ive put together incorporates a charitable element and all of them are about celebrating women, LBGTQ+ or minority communities, Singh said. Show me another arts company dealing in NFTs, operating at my scale, who can say the same.

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Meet Amar Singh, the Activist Art Gallerist Who Went From Dealing in Abstract Expressionism to $300 Million Worth of NFTs - artnet News

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We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. Thats a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

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Photo: Kristina Wong stars in Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord at the New York Theatre Workshop. Photo courtesy of Joan Marcus / Provided by Matt Ross PR with permission.

Kristina Wongs new show, entering its final week of performances at the New York Theatre Workshop, retells the story of the Auntie Sewing Squad, a group of hundreds of volunteers who answered Wongs call during the pandemic to sew masks for people who desperately needed them. The monologue piece, called Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord, combines humor and autobiography to hold up a mirror on what the last 20 months have been like. Its a daring play, one that tackles the issues of the pandemic head on, and one that also feels necessary and filled with generosity.

For Wong, an accomplished performance artist and comedian, the creation of the piece was risky. She honestly didnt know whether it would be received well; after all, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed so many lives and continues to rage around the world. Were theatergoers ready to laugh? I feel very glad its going over well because nothing would be worse than doing a pandemic play in a pandemic, and everyone hates it, Wong said in a recent phone interview.

The personal story told in the play begins March 20, 2020, only a few days into the pandemic. That was when Wong sewed her first mask, and then four days later she started a Facebook group that she lovingly called the Auntie Sewing Squad.

And people were like, Oh, this could be your next show. Im like, Fuck you, no one wants to watch a show about the pandemic. I certainly dont want to go through this all over again, Wong said. Everyone is living through this, so why would anyone want to watch a show about it when this is over? But I think when I was just 10 days after starting the group, I was like on the phone with garment companies to get donations. I was on the phone with organizers around the country. I felt like if this had been a corporation, it would have been Amazon built in 10 days, but it was a mutual aid, no-profit situation. It was just so weird.

As the project continued to grow, there was even more evidence of the need for masks and the willingness of the volunteers to rise to the occasion. Wong found herself building her leadership skills and business acumen in order to take control of the situation. She was taking phone calls from a variety of people and groups, all with a need for masks, and more masks, and more masks.

I just felt like this is so crazy, but it also really hit me in those 10 days that it was mostly Asian women, she said. There was a few others, of course, but it was really like, wow, were not just the people being targeted in this moment for starting this virus and spreading it. But were also the face of people who are expressing a lot of solidarity and help because we know how to sew because our mothers and grandmothers did garment work and kind of passed this down to us. And this feels kind of significant that we are at the same time the face of the enemy, but also the people who are manufacturing this sort of protection and support for people who need it.

In their own way, she and the team were re-creating the American manufacturing system, on a small scale, in their individual homes, with no personal contact. She called the experience strange and weird, a true crash course on understanding distribution and escalation in a matter of days.

We couldnt leave our homes, she remembers. Its not like we all met at a factory and started sewing together. None of this infrastructure existed, and I was actively trying to create an infrastructure using the U.S. Post Office, using friends emptying out their drawers. And basically it created this whole remote factory of workers. Thats when it began to feel kind of significant in its storytelling, but mostly what became clear to me was, if civilization can survive this, and we talk about what happened in this time, I just would like a little footnote to remember that we stepped up and did this work. And we werent just people who were being beat up in the street or didnt do anything or were politically neutral. We actually stepped up and did this.

The Auntie Sewing Squad ASS, for short, Wong is after all a comedian eventually amassed a volunteer network of 800 people. They werent active at the same time, but they had a variety of skills, from sewing to cutting to driving to sourcing to making phone calls.

We had to really do a lot of research and figure out, OK, what are the active distribution systems in a pandemic? Wong said. You cant just mail something to someone who lives on the Navajo Nation and think that they are just going to knock on everyones door and give them a mask. We had to figure out how are things getting around in a time of crisis and get exact numbers of how to help things. Some people would say, Just send us what you can, [but] as much as you can can mean 25 masks to some people; it can mean 25,000 masks to others. So we had to really pin people down and get exact goal numbers for what to try to reach so that we werent wasting our finite time.

How the New York Theatre Workshop came onboard is another fascinating story. The off-Broadway institution, where the play continues through Nov. 21, has been the home of many important pieces of theater, everything from Rent to Once to Slave Play. They were interested in working with Wong, who is billed as a NYTW Usual Suspect, and they reached out in March of 2021. That meant she only had a few months to pull Sweatshop Overlord together.

Usually when we think about theater, were thinking about making it a year or two in advance because thats usually how theaters program their seasons, she said. Thats very fast to turn around a show thats not quite written about a time were still living in. There are many moments I have inside the show where Im like, this feels like the evening news because literally the last scene takes place a month and a half ago. Thats very fast for theater, but there were doubts because for me it was more like we cant just go back to theater and look at some story and pretend that the last 15 months didnt happen. I was like, well, then how do I usher people through this?

Helping Wong on her journey was Chay Yew, a director whose previous credits include The Architecture of Loss and Oedipus El Rey. The two decided that this monologue piece needed to be more intimate than a proscenium show would allow, so they crafted the 90-minute work on a thrust stage, with audience members sitting on three sides of the theater. Of course, they are masked.

Its that weird balance of finding humor, but not at the expense of all the loss that we had, but also finding what is there to celebrate in this time because it was so traumatic, the performer said. I had actually gone into this thinking this is the most patriotic thing Ive ever done. I have never loved my fellow Americans so much before, and then I did not think that masks would become a political thing. It just seemed like common sense, right? And how did vaccines become political, like these basic, human, safety, science things. Of course, even in my most patriotic, nave attempts it still becomes the most political thing Ive ever done.

Throughout this experience, of running the Auntie Sewing Squad and creating this off-Broadway show, Wong has found that masks are a great equalizer. Her group made face coverings for people making six figures who were begging for masks. The people who were meeting that demand were volunteers volunteers Wong grew to love.

The most important people were usually the people that we considered maybe the lowest on the economic totem pole, garment workers, she said. The people who knew how to sew were actually the most useful in this moment. It was kind of amazing to see all these people willing to drive all the way from Orange County, drive an hour to pick up elastic to sew for people that theyve never met before. It was incredibly moving to connect with people on that level of generosity, and that I really felt like was the one gift of this moment. I tell people in times of crisis it seems counter-intuitive but find ways to give, find ways that you have something to offer the situation, not something to take from the situation.

She added: I think it was the right choice to give. I think that was much better than panicking and feeling sorry for myself that I had suddenly been pushed out of work because there were people who were also pushed out of work. It was like, I cant feel bad for myself. Were all in this situation. I hope that is more the message I leave everyone in the show is that there are these amazing communities that unfortunately in this situation we met because of a crisis, but what I love is that our community is still very close. Were still doing mutual aid thats not related to just sewing masks, but to supporting some of the communities like Standing Rock and the Navajo Nation and unhoused communities that weve helped with masks, but helping them in other ways. I feel like for a lot of these aunties they felt empowered in a way they have never felt before. Some of them work in public health, but some like me have never been in that position where your labor was the difference of life or death in someones life.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord, written and performed by Kristina Wong, plays through Nov. 21 at the New York Theatre Workshop on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.

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INTERVIEW: Kristina Wong on the empowerment of the Auntie Sewing Squad - HollywoodSoapbox.com

CHICAGO, Nov. 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new report by TransUnion (: TRU) and Aite-Novarica Group found that the collections industry is boosting hiring and technology investments as it transitions into a next normal stage. Approximately seven in 10 collections professionals (69%) said technology solution spending will modestly or significantly increase in the next two years. About two-thirds of collections professionals (67%) said employee compensation will increase in the same time period.

The report, A Transition to the Next Normal: The Collections Industry in 2021, provides the latest annual look at the trends, challenges and opportunities in the U.S. third-party collections industry. The report is informed by a survey of 151 third-party debt collection professionals and interviews with 12 industry thought leaders conducted in Q2 and Q3 2021.

The ramp up in tech and employee investments is occurring against a backdrop of a growing collections employment market. The number of collections employees is expected to increase to 137,928 in 2021 compared to 134,347 in 2020, though it remains below 2018 levels (139,273).

The collections industry is experiencing modest employee growth even as industry activity slowed in recent years. According to the report, in Q3 2021, 77.6 million consumers had at least one collection tradeline, collectively totaling $188 billion in outstanding balancesa 1% and 3% decline, respectively, from year-end 2020.

After a better than expected pivot to remote work and surprisingly good collection rates in 2020, 2021 has brought greater uncertainty for the collections industry, said Jason Klotch, vice president of third-party collections in TransUnions diversified markets business. While collections performance continues to be a bright spot, particularly for larger companies, reduced account volumes, a changing regulatory environment and shifts in the consumer credit market are among the challenges the industry is facing today. Companies, though, expect more accounts to be placed in collections in the coming year and investing in new technologies and employees is critical for the anticipated volume increase.

Technological advancements key for future of industry

While letters and phone calls continue to be nearly universal approaches for collectors communicating with consumers, the use of text messaging has become more common. More than three in 10 respondents (31%) reported that their company uses this channel today compared to 22% in 2020 and 16% in 2019.

The report also found that use of technologies such as online payment portals has multiple benefits: 1) they may be preferable to certain customers who do not want to have a human interaction and want to deal with their debt at a time of their choosing; 2) this service is beneficial due to the limitation on outbound telephone calls that will take effect with the implementation of new regulatory requirements.

While certain technological tools have been adopted somewhat uniformly across the industry, others are far more likely to be in use at larger companies. Medium and large companies have similar adoption rates for online payment portals and predictive scoring tools and at generally much higher rates than smaller companies.

Larger Collections Agencies More Apt to Use New or Recent Technologies

Employees will be a major differentiator

Advancements in technology have also allowed more employees in the collections industry to work from home. More importantly, this practice could help companies retain more of their top employees. Since the onset of the pandemic, 87% of larger companies represented in the survey had collection agents shift to remote work compared to 43% for smaller companies.

Companies that shifted to a remote working environment in response to the pandemic largely expect to continue to offer at least some degree of remote work in the future. This most often takes the form of a hybrid arrangement, rather than never going in to the office. As one interviewee in the report noted, Unless theres a regulatory or client-driven requirement to be in the office, most companies appear to be okay with some sort of hybrid model.

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of companies are either considering or already offering remote work arrangements for new hires. This consideration of remote work is distributed among a variety of roles, including collection agents. The main reason companies are considering remote working arrangements? Approximately 71% say it is to attract better applicants and 62% say it is to increase employee retention. One-third (33%) said it was to reduce costs.

The last two years have proven how resilient the collections industry can be, and as account activity increases it is clear that the agencies that are investing in technology and talent will be best prepared when the market shifts, concluded Klotch.

To download the full report, please click here.

About the reportInsights on the challenges, trends, and innovations occurring in the third-party collections industry are informed by a quantitative survey of third-party debt collection professionals conducted in Q3 2021. A detailed look at the composition of survey respondents is provided in the appendix. Survey results are representative of the market at a 95% confidence interval with an 8-point margin of error. This is the third annual survey of the third-party collections industry conducted by TransUnion and Aite-Novarica Group. The full report is available here.

About Aite-Novarica GroupAite-Novarica Group is an advisory firm providing mission-critical insights on technology, regulations, strategy, and operations to hundreds of banks, insurers, payments providers, and investment firmsas well as the technology and service providers that support them. Comprising former senior technology, strategy, and operations executives as well as experienced researchers and consultants, our experts provide actionable advice to our client base, leveraging deep insights developed via our extensive network of clients and other industry contacts. Visit us on the web and connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About TransUnion (: TRU)TransUnion is a global information and insights company that makes trust possible in the modern economy. We do this by providing an actionable picture of each person so they can be reliably represented in the marketplace. As a result, businesses and consumers can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good.

A leading presence in more than 30 countries across five continents, TransUnion provides solutions that help create economic opportunity, great experiences and personal empowerment for hundreds of millions of people.

http://www.transunion.com/business

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Collections Industry Increases Hiring and Technology Investments While Preparing for the "Next Normal" - GuruFocus.com

(RNS) Since before the pandemic began, the boom in sales of tarot decks has served to complete a piece of the spiritual puzzle surrounding Generation Z: They may be famously areligious, but they are still getting their spiritual fix through old-school practices such as tarot.

A recent study has now added a new piece: Tarots popularity is being led by young people of color.

According to recent research from Springtide Research Institute, young people identifying with various indigenous groups, including First Nations, native Hawaiians and Alaskans, report the highest rate of tarot use, at 64%. That is followed closely by Black youth (62.9%) and then LatinX youth (55.3%).

Traditional tarot divination practices find their roots in European-based gaming, occultism and mystical practices. The most well-known and influential deck is the Rider-Waite-Smith, created by British mystic Arthur Edward Waite and artist Pamela Colman Smith. It was first published in 1910.

RELATED: Study: Gen Z doubles down on spirituality, combining tarot and traditional faith

However, divination practices, often called fortune telling, are found across cultures and are an accepted aspect of many communities.

Emilie Muiz was first exposed to fortune telling as a child in Brooklyn, New York. Her mother would regularly invite spiritualists, or Espiritistas, to their home to do coffee readings, a common practice in Puerto Rican culture in which patterns in coffee grounds at the bottom of a cup or spilled onto a saucer are interpreted as signs. It was normal for us, she said.

When she was 11, one Espiritista told her that she had the gift and asked her to read the coffee. That experience led to tarot, and Muiz has been reading ever since. Today she is a full-time professional reader.

When she began, Muiz said, the tarot community was predominantly white. People of color were out there but not public about their practice or on social media, she said.

The Simplicity Tarot deck by Emilie Muiz. Photo courtesy of Emilie Muiz

Muiz often felt that she needed to do extra to get attention, to be heard, to be taken seriously, she said.

The other hurdle was the decks themselves; she wasnt seeing herself in the figures on the cards, which were also overwhelmingly white. For me it was just a normal thing that we were not included, Muiz said.

She first noticed a change creeping in around 2015. Five years later, in 2020, she launched a kickstarter campaign for her own deck, The Simplicity Tarot, raising $21,000.

The first set sold out immediately, which prompted her to publish a second Red Rose edition that also sold out. A third version will be released by US Games this week. She describes her decks as welcoming and light and uncomplicated, with many different skin tones.

Muizs clients, who are predominantly people of color, have responded well to her vision. The court cards look like people in their life that they are asking questions about, she said, which allows clients to be more open to the reading and more relaxed.

Today, decks that capture underrepresented subcultures or ones that are widely inclusive are increasingly common: The True Heart Intuitive Tarot by Rachel True, The Next World Tarot by Cristy C. Road, or the Seasons of the Witch Oracle series by Lorraine Anderson and Juliet Diaz.

Some deck creators are aiming to directly counter white dominance: Cathleen Abalos is working on a new deck called The Decolonized Tarot: A New Deck for the Global Majority. According to the kickstarter campaign, the deck centers Filipino culture while celebrating all others.

Mawiyah Bomani reads tarot cards. Photo by Nadir Bomani

Abalos began her fundraising campaign Aug. 17, asking $25,000. She reached her goal in five days, and by the end of the campaign in October, she had collected more than twice her goal. The deck is now available for pre-sale.

Mawiyah Bomani, an Ifaniyi and reader in Louisiana, regularly works with the Akamara Tarot, a deck celebrating various spiritual practices throughout the African Diaspora.

Like Muiz, Bomani grew up surrounded by divination. Her grandparents practiced Santeria and her mother Vodun and Hoodoo. Becoming a reader, she said, was inevitable.

Bomani ignored the lack of diversity in representation when she started reading, though she would occasionally transform cards by gluing her own pictures onto them to enhance her connection to their meaning, saying, I hoped and wished to find a deck with me in it.

When the reader can see themselves expressed in the cards, she explained, it enhances the reading. I am immediately connected with the energy of the cards. I know what they feel like intuitively.

Today, Bomani follows the Yoruba tradition and refers to Tarot in all her work. When I read, I am delivering a message from my soul, and cards that visually or spiritually connect to her Yoruba traditions significantly aid in that process.

Images of the Akamara Tarot deck. Photos courtesy of Akamara Tarot

RELATED: Gen Z lost touch with faith communities during pandemic but kept the faith, says study

While longtime clients dont care about the visuals, she finds that people new to readings do want to see themselves in the cards. If they see cards without any expression of themselves or their lives, they turn away from the process. This cant be for me is what they think, Bomani said.

She believes personal empowerment is part of the reason for the growth in tarots popularity. Young people want to be in control of their lives, especially women, she said. Tarot puts them in charge, whether they are a reader or client. It will take you back to the (spiritual) source, she said, and that is what they need.

Muiz agreed, describing tarot as a path of self-empowerment and of change. Divination is embedded in many of our cultures, she added. Tarot is for everyone. Anyone can read. People of color, too.

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A new aspect of the Tarot boom: Diversity in the deck - Religion News Service

Women and girls are at the heart of the freer and fairer world I want to see. They need the freedom to live the lives they deserve, yet many worldwide are dehumanised as second-class citizens, denied the same opportunities as men and subject to acts of violence or even death.

I am fighting to change that as Foreign Secretary and equality minister by pursuing my personal priorities: empowering more women and girls with the opportunity offered by quality education and employment, and ending the violence they suffer.

These global challenges require global action. Under the UKs G7 Presidency, I brought together leading experts onto our independent Gender Equality Advisory Council ranging from the Covid vaccine pioneer Dame Sarah Gilbert to the Nobel Prize winning gynaecologist Dr Denis Mukwege.

They issued a call to arms for world leaders, urging action to tackle major issues including violence against women and girls. This is a global scourge, with one in three women around the world set to suffer physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.

We cannot allow Covid to disrupt our global fight for fairness. Millions more girls are now estimated to be at risk of extremely harmful practices like female genital mutilation and child marriage.

At this critical time, it is vital we double down in this mission. That is why I have decided to restore the women and girls development budget to what it was before the Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) cut, which will reinvigorate our vital work making the world a better place. This is only the beginning. We are on track to restore ODA to 0.7 per cent of gross national income in 2024-2025, in line with our responsible fiscal principles.

Today, I am glad to announce we are going further by pledging 22.4 million to stop violence against women and girls globally as well as tackling appalling practices like child marriage. We will also be hosting a global summit next year to mark the tenth anniversary of the launch of our Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative.

Sexual violence is a devastating and inhumane weapon: shattering lives, tearing apart families and scarring communities. It is grotesque and appalling that sexual violence is used as a weapon of war and to exercise power over women. It can be as destructive in conflict as chemical weapons or landmines, which are both banned by international conventions, but it is yet to be treated as seriously.

Justice and accountability must be the norm for such grave crimes, rather than the exception. That is why I welcome the Gender Equality Advisory Councils call, inspired by Dr Mukwege, that the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war be condemned as a red line that must not be crossed.

It is time to put an end to the culture of impunity and indifference which pervades acts of sexual violence in conflict. Troubling reports from parts of the world like Afghanistan and the Tigray region of Ethiopia underline the urgent need for action.

I am determined that the UK should rise to meet the moment by building a consensus, which already comprises some of our closest partners like Australia and New Zealand, to condemn sexual violence as a red line. All options are on the table, including an international convention, in our shared determination to end such heinous acts once and for all.

The UK is well placed to lead this network of liberty by example, with our flagship What Works to Prevent Violence Programme helping reduce violence by as much as half in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo. We are now building this ground-breaking success by using our tried and tested methods to drive down rates of violence on a global scale.

Fundamentally, our new foreign and development policy is about freedom. The freedom for men and women alike to live and thrive around the world, empowered by education and enterprise. The freedom to be who you want to be and realise your dreams, free from fear. And the empowerment that comes with control over decisions about sex and childbearing. We are also hard-headed in standing up for those whose freedoms are under threat, especially women and girls, from malign actors and abhorrent acts of violence.

The freer people are, the happier, safer and wealthier they will be. That is why the UK is stepping up to help the most vulnerable by tackling violence against women and girls. Together with our friends and partners, we can deliver the fundamental change which will help secure a brighter, freer and fairer future for women across the world.

Liz Truss is Foreign Secretary and Minister for Women and Equality

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Liz Truss: I want to ensure no country can ever again use sexual violence as a weapon of war - iNews

Illustration by Melissa Santoyo.

Hey, yall!

This week, listen to Ben Folds greatest hits at the Kennedy Center, hear model Emily Ratajkowski talk about her new book, and watch movies made by Indigenous filmmakers.

How we should all feel about womens empowerment.

A one-of-a-kind performance: Ben Folds, multi-platinum selling singer-songwriter and artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra, is bringing his greatest hits to the Kennedy Centers Concert Hall for one night only. He will be performing songs from his time as frontman of the Ben Folds Five, his solo career, and his many collaborative records. Monday 11/15 at 8 PM; $39-$79, buy tickets here.

Makin music: Bring the kids downtown for a lunchtime go-go music workshop in Franklin Park. Dante Pope, soul-vocalist and drummer, will teach the young musicians about the role of percussion instruments in creating the funky rhythms. Drumsticks will be provided. Tuesday 11/16 at 11 AM; Free, register here.

Fall vibes: Learn the art of floral design in a fall wreath-making workshop from local women-owned flower shop She Loves Me. While the florists will teach you how to put a variety of fresh seasonal flowers and plants on a brass structure, sip on a complimentary beverage from Denizens Brewing Co. in Riverdale Park, Md. Tuesday 11/16 from 6 PM-8 PM; Free, register here.

Reclaiming herself: Hear from model Emily Ratajkowski as she talks about her new memoir, My Body with New York magazines Hanna Rosin. In her book, Ratajkowski describes her personal exploration of feminism, sexuality, and power in a collection of essays that also investigates societys fetishization of female beauty, the contempt for womens sexuality, and the gray area between consent and abuse. Tuesday 11/16 at 7 PM; $12-$35, buy tickets here.

Have a laugh: Stand-up comedian Ali Siddiq started his comedy career by telling jokes in prison, which gave him the unique perspective and distinct style that has made thousands of people laugh over the past several years. This week, the Bring the Funny finalist will headline for his fourth time at the DC Improv Comedy Club. Wednesday 11/17 through Saturday 11/20 (times vary); $25-$30, buy tickets here.

Wine down: Relax after work with a watercolor painting session at Shop Made in DCs Georgetown location. The self-guided DIY event comes with two prints to paint and two glasses of wine. Bring a friend, or come solo to meet some new friends. Wednesday 11/17 from 5 PM-7 PM; $20, buy tickets here.

Indigenousfilms: The National Museum of the American Indians Native Cinema Showcase started last week, and features several movies and panels from filmmakers from Indigenous communities throughout the Western Hemispheres and Arctic. Films include Rez Metalwhich tells the story of a Navajo heavy metal bands rise to fameand Run Woman Run, about a bereaved single mother who gets her life back on track with the guidance of the ghost of her ancestor. Other programming includes short films that reflect Native storytelling traditions and panels about the hurdles that Indigenous filmmakers face. Through Thursday 11/18; Free, learn more here.

Storytelling through art: Veil is a new art exhibition at Morton Fine Art in Truxton Circle that depicts artist Michael Bookers psychological journey throughout the pandemic and recent moments of social injustices. Booker combines watercolor, pen, and hand stitching to portray the resilience and strength of the Black community through troubling times. Through Saturday 12/4; Free, learn more here.

Nothing screams autumn more than a cup of warm apple cider and a fall wreath.

Thats all for now! Dont forget to drop me a line at dbaker@washingtonian.com to let me know what youre up to.

Join the conversation!

Assistant Editor

Before becoming an assistant editor, Damare Baker started out as an editorial fellow for Washingtonian. She has previously written for Voice of America and The Hill. She is a graduate of Georgetown University, where she studied international relations, Korean, and journalism.

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The Native Cinema Showcase, Ben Folds at the Kennedy Center, and a Fall Wreath-making Class: Things to Do in DC, November 15-17 - Washingtonian

Its no leap in logic to say that healthy daily habits help your mind mature and function at a higher level. Therefore, your ability to operate within the toxic sphere of politics will be increased when you follow some practical steps that improve your daily life. These are steps that I follow, or at least try to, every day and have been proven to help many people.

First, clean your room and make your bed daily. While it might seem a trivial thing to do, and nowhere close to being affiliated with politics, everything has a purpose. It is much more difficult to organize and clean up the structure of western society if an individual is incapable of making their bed daily. Accomplishing small tasks in the morning is good for someones psyche, since it will give an individual the confidence needed to accomplish bigger tasks. It is also well known that an organized room and a neatly tucked bed will help an individual sleep better. If someone sleeps well, accomplishes small tasks to start of their day and eats a good breakfast, they are more prepared to begin the larger tasks of the day, and more prepared to explain their political views.

Laziness is not an option, dont settle for being an unhealthy person.

Next, physical exercise not only helps the human body in an obvious way, but it also sharpens the mind. This is a big task that needs confidence to begin, as walking into TRECS can sometimes be a daunting task as a wave of Gym Shark apparel meets you as you enter the lower level and no this is not a sponsored product placement. If you are seeking political empowerment, try maintaining a disciplined exercise routine its an incredibly obtainable way to gain empowerment. Its also proven that having a healthy amount of physical exercise daily can help prevent getting sick from viral infections, yes even COVID-19.

How does working out help my views on politics? Well, if working out helps strengthen both your body and your mind, then your ability to solve problems increases, which applies to public problems as well. Going to TRECS everyday has helped me respect how much stronger other people are than me and setting a goal to be like them. Dont look at other people that are better off than you, whether were talking about money or gains in the gym, and seek to tear them down for working so hard. Instead, build yourself up to be better than they are. Being a hard worker is more empowering than being jealous and toxic.

Dont wait for other people to empower you, do it yourself.

The last practical step to improve your ability to operate within the world of politics is respect. You have complete control over your emotions and complete control over your actions. Therefore, choosing to respect everyone no matter what is a choice and is very practical to do so. This means republicans need to respect the person who flies the USSR flag in their room, and democrats need to respect those who wear MAGA hats.

Respect does not mean agreement, and it does not mean you cannot stand for what you believe in. It means stop being vile, toxic and rude, and stop acting superior to those who are different than you. Inclusivity and diversity means including everyone no matter what. Respect means you cant use Taylor Swifts music as an excuse to hate men. Respect means putting your ego down and realizing that even if the other person is wildly wrong, they might still have a valid basis of an argument. This will help a lot in your political life but will also help you with family members on Thanksgiving and any other interaction you might have with other people.

Doing these three practical steps will help your personal life increase in prosperity, which will bleed over into your views on politics.

To be a healthy person, you must respect yourself and with others.

Maxwell Hawkins is a junior at UT this year studying political science, public administration and economics. He can be reached at mhawki13@vols.utk.edu.

Columns and letters of The Daily Beacon are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or the Beacon's editorial staff.

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The Search: Healthy habits and your politics | Columns | utdailybeacon.com - UT Daily Beacon

NEW YORK, Nov. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --Champs Sportsx Eastbaytoday announced the two brands are officially coming together within the Foot Locker, Inc. family of brands. With a long history of driving sport performance via Eastbay and sport lifestyle via Champs Sports, the brands will further inspire and empower high school athletes in their journey on and off the court and field specifically with new retail experiences and strategic joint offerings over the coming months.

In celebration, Champs Sports x Eastbay and UNINTERRUPTED have come together to announce an exclusive 'More Than An Athlete' apparel line featuring a combination of performance and lifestyle product. The first of three drops will feature product centered around basketball and include hoodies, tees, joggers, and compression pieces as well as accessories such as socks, beanies, and arm sleeves. Prices range from $10 to $30 for accessories and $30 to $80 for apparel, with a limited release varsity jacket at $840. The collection will launch on Wednesday, December 1, 2021 on Eastbay.com and ChampsSports.com, as well as select Champs Sports locations. Future collections will celebrate baseball and football, with drops slated to be released throughout 2022.

This collaboration with UNINTERRUPTED will have an accompanying 'More Than An Athlete Hotline: Varsity Edition' content series, a collaborative platform for athlete mentors to inspire, motivate and share their experiences with high school athletes. Hosted by YouTuber and former college football kicker, Donald De La Haye, aka Deestroying, and Oregon Women's Basketball superstar,Sedona Prince, the nine-episode series is a co-production between Sports Emmy-award winning athlete empowerment brand UNINTERRUPTED and Champs Sports x Eastbay.

"UNINTERRUPTED'S 'More Than An Athlete' line and content series perfectly align with our brand philosophy," said Guy Harkless, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Champs Sports and Eastbay. "With Champs Sports x Eastbay, our goal is to provide young athletes with the tools they need to be successful, and MTAA provides those same athletes with a space to connect with others and learn from their experiences. Together, we hope to support these athletes as they continue to excel on and off the field."

'More Than An Athlete Hotline: Varsity Edition' will launch Monday, November 22, 2021 on UNINTERRUPTED's YouTube channelwith new episodes rolling out on a monthly basis. On the first episode, hosts Deestroying and Sedona will be joined by two basketball stars UCLA's Johnny Juzang and Sierra Canyon High School's Amari Bailey to discuss the new era of name, image and likeness (NIL) deals. Each episode will feature an 'athlete of the month' to spotlight high school athletes across various sports who exemplify what it means to embody UNINTERRUPTED's core "More Than an Athlete" spirit.

"UNINTERRUPTED's mission has always been to empower athletes," said Devin Johnson, Chief Operating Officer, The SpringHill Company. "This partnership with Champs Sports x Eastbay allows us the opportunity to connect with younger athletes through both content and commerce levers. We also want to communicate to all athletes, especially younger ones, that they have the ability to see growth in their becoming, both on and off the court or field."

The announcement of Champs Sports x Eastbay follows the debut of Eastbay Performance apparel merchandise and the announcement of Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Jalen Hurts as the line's first brand ambassador. The brands coming together will continue to inspire the next generation of athletes by helping them game, train and live at their best, with a mission to be the true expression of sport culture.

For more information, please follow Eastbay, Champs Sportsand UNINTERRUPTED.

About Champs Sports and Eastbay

As part of the Foot Locker, Inc. family of brands, Champs Sports and Eastbay have joined forces at the intersection of sport and style to offer a curated assortment of athletic-inspired footwear, apparel and accessories for the high school athlete. Today's rising star is more than their moves on the court/field and more than their game stats. They are all about performance, but equally focused on perfecting their self-expression and personal style. Eastbay is the authority on sports performance, while Champs Sports is the go-to destination for an athlete's off-court/field sports-inspired lifestyle. One team, here to win.

About UNINTERRUPTED

UNINTERRUPTED is a Sports Emmy-award winning athlete empowerment media, experiences and consumer product brand that is part of The SpringHill Company, the media conglomerate spearheaded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter with the mission to empower greatness in every individual. UNINTERRUPTED's original content properties, including The Shop: UNINTERRUPTED, Kneading Dough and More Than An Athlete, are impacting culture and inspiring important conversations within and beyond sport and entertainment.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/champs-sports-and-eastbay-partner-with-uninterrupted-in-kick-off-of-new-consumer-strategy-to-serve-the-athlete-301424170.html

SOURCE Eastbay

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Champs Sports and Eastbay Partner with UNINTERRUPTED in Kick Off of New Consumer Strategy to Serve the Athlete - WFMZ Allentown