Category Archives: Transhuman News

No more Colony Days in Palmer?

The Palmer Chamber of Commerce has changed the name of its iconic farm-friendly festival, which honored the hard work of pioneers who settled in the area and brought agriculture to Alaska.

The new name is Braided River Festival, in honor of all the rivers that flow through the area. Its a rebrand, and without saying so, the Chamber is indicating that Colony Days is politically incorrect because of the word colony.

Colony Days has gone on for decades, and features a parade, booths, activities for kids, races, reindeer, a rodeo, car shows, and more.

The community of Palmer was founded in 1935, after 200 or more families were relocated to Palmer from the Midwest under the New Deal, a program created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Each family was given 40 acres in the region, and the only requirement was that they establish a self-sufficient farming community. The early colonists, as they were called, suffered many hardships to make a life in Alaska in territorial days. Today, Palmer is the agricultural heartbeat of the state, with farms throughout the area. Families of the colonists are proud of their hearty heritage.

After decades of successfully hosting one of the summers largest festivals in the valley, we felt it was important to rebrand it to reflect what it has grown into: a celebration of the many aspects of what makes Palmer unique, said GPCC Executive Director Ailis Vann. A braided river is made up of smaller rivers, creeks, and tributaries that come together to form one large, powerful force. For decades, the Palmer Chamber has also grown into a larger force thanks to the support of our community partners. It also speaks to the natural beauty of the Palmer area, including the Matanuska and Knik Rivers.

Colony Days and the Colony Christmas festival were originally created by the occupants of the Matanuska Colony Project 86 years ago, the Chamber wrote. The Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce eventually took on organizational duties for the event and grew it into what it is today; a three-day, indoor and outdoor celebration that features a parade, food trucks, vendor booths, family activities, music, and other opportunities to highlight local businesses in Palmer.

This years event is scheduled for June 10-12.

Deputy Mayor Pamela Melin says she is disheartened and saddened by the actions of the Chamber of Commerce, which have taken away the beloved Colony tradition.

My children have celebrated along side me as an adult. Now I have grandchildren who I would love to share these experiences with. To disregard our rich history is not the answer to a cohesive future. If we have truly grown as a people, we wouldnt apply such politically driven and divisive labels such as occupants of the Matanuska Colony Project. I fear the impact to our local businesses that could bear the brunt of such a decision. The people of Palmer deserve to know the following: What led to this radical change and rebranding?Was there data supplied that required this change?Who was the motivator behind determining the need and were there special interest groups involved in the decision making?Who was the key author and designer of the rebrand? Did the board members or members debate or have an opportunity to weigh in on such an impactful decision? Did the members even know this was happening?

There is still a Colony High School in Palmer, but it may be next on the list for a name change to erase the history of the people who came to farm the land.

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Palmer erases 'Colony Days' and replaces it with more politically correct Braided River Festival - Must Read Alaska

No longer about a place as much as a state of mind, Donald Glovers Atlanta returns after nearly four years for a long-delayed third season doing what this series does best: defying expectations.

Few series would dare to open after such a long break between seasons with an episode that hardly shows its main character, instead spinning a racially charged ghost story as prologue to an alarming modern parable about Black children trapped in a perversion of the foster-care system. What are we to make of these disturbing vignettes? Are they a nightmare? If so, whose, and why?

Coco Olakunle/FX

Before you can even process the weirdness of it all, the second episode (airing back-to-back) snaps us back to the world of Earn (Glover), the barely managing manager of his rapper cousin Paper Bois (Brian Tyree Henry) career, which has taken off with a European tour. Earn, as usual, appears to be over his head as well as a perpetual fish out of water in the cultural fast lane. Hes late getting to the latest leg in Amsterdam, nursing a cold and a bad attitude that doesnt improve when he and Paper Boi (aka Alfred) are exposed to an unsettling and politically incorrect local Christmas custom.

Far from a whimsical travelogue, this season of Atlanta promises to sustain an off-kilter vibe that rattles your nerves. Thats especially true during the second episodes bizarre subplot, a Dutch odyssey involving entourage members Darius (LaKeith Stanfield), who in his druggie haze is right at home in the Venice of the North, and Earns currently rootless ex, Van (Zazie Beetz). They follow their zenand a random clue retrieved from a vintage-shop jacketto become witness to an event thats beyond macabre.

With only the first night available for preview, I have no idea what adventures await Earn and his pals in Europe, but I guarantee it will look like nothing else on TV.

Atlanta, Season 3 Premiere, Thursday, March 24, 10/9c, FX

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Roush Review: Expect the Unexpected in Third Season of Atlanta - TV Insider

The Season 3 trailer for "The Boys" has been flagged more than 20 million times since debuting, according to a tweet from the show's official Twitter page. Take your pick for the actual content being flagged. There's the previously mentioned blood and also a little risky business in a bathroom. Homelander (Anthony Starr) appears to take great pleasure in finding the source of his favorite drink: a cow. Plus, there's the always strange The Deep (Chace Crawford), the show's play on Aquaman, except this one has been expelled from The Seven and has been trying to make his way back since. The Deep also has a powerful connection to sea creatures, and Season 3 shows him seductively eyeing an octopus while he's being intimate with what one presumes to be a human.

"Everyone's raving that the Season 3 teaser is 'deeply unhinged' and asking 'what the f**k did we just watch?'" "The Boys" Twitter account wrote in celebration. Some users expressed shock that anyone would be surprised by a trailer for "The Boys" that pushes the envelope."Tell me you've never read the Boys without telling me you've never read the Boys," Twitter user Lymang wrote.User David Olvera added, "wait for them to read the comic."

Fans of "The Boys" have to wait until June 3 for Season 3, but in the meantime, a spinoff animated series titled "The Boys: Diabolical" was released on March 4.

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The Boys Season 3 Trailer Has Led To A Hilariously Weird Flex - Looper

Amanda Miller| Special to The News

Its just three cookbooks, but they feel very heavy. Their weight, however, is due much more to their content rather than to their actual mass.

I think youll understand why they feel that way when I say the cookbooks are what I found at the library on Ukrainian food. Technically, only one is specifically Ukrainian and the other two are more Russian…which might seem very politically incorrect, but honestly, my heart is heavy for all the people involved in the current terrible violence.

I cant type any words that make anything better for the families that are suffering; I cant make the pain, destruction, heartache, terroror loss go away.

One very small thing I can do, however, is cook Ukrainian recipes. The table is such a central aspect of how we live out community, and though Ukraine is across the globe, I want them to feel not so far away. I want to show honor, respectand sympathy, to somehow use bread, honeyand dill to send a hug all the miles over. Ukraines common ingredients and culinary traditions are rich, strongand full of history, and its a privilege to draw from those flavors to bring food to our table.

I always find that the more I research a country and taste its food, the more connected I feel and the more I love it. Food is never just food: it tells stories on the plate.

As I paged through the recipes, a few themes emerged. Poppyseeds and mushrooms both showed up way more than I expected. Hardy vegetables like potatoes, onionsand beets are common, as you might have expected, but produce choices certainly arent limited to them, as a variety of herbs and fruits also feature prominently, and summers are warm enough that home gardens are popular and productive. They enjoy lots of cultured dairy products, which of course I love, as well as a wide selection of fermented vegetables and fruits, way beyond sauerkraut.

Researching recipes also showed me that we in Kansas have a special connection to Ukraine. Theres nothing more Kansas-y than bright yellow sunflowers stretching under a blue sky, or golden wheat waving as far as the eye can see, right?

Apparently there might not be much more Ukraine-y, either!

Kansas is the Sunflower State, and Ukraines official national flower is the sunflower. Sunflowers have been grown in Ukraine since the 1700s, and their oil is crucial in traditional cooking, especially during Lent when animal products are abstained from in the Orthodox church. Sunflowers are now emerging as a symbol of solidarity for Ukraine in this conflict.

Kansas is considered the breadbasket of the U.S., but Ukraine is the breadbasket of the world, purportedly home to the best climate to grow wheat! Not surprisingly then, flour is one of the most prominently featured ingredients in Ukrainian cuisine. Breads of all shapes, sizes, and flavors; doughnuts, rolls, dumplings, noodles, cakes, the list goes on. From savory to sweet, baked to fried, simple to elaborate, everyday to holiday, they have amazing options for flour.

Though its a little early according to the calendar, and technically shouldnt be made during Lent due to all the eggs and dairy, I baked up a traditional Easter bread last week. It is called paska, in eastern Ukraine it is sweeter, tallerand topped with icing; and in western Ukraine it is breadier, rounderand topped with designs of dough; but in both, it is delicious, largeand celebratory.

Like the cookbook it was in, making the bread felt heavy. Partially because I didnt give mine enough time to rise well, so it actually was too dense. But mostly it felt heavy because I so want the promise of Easter, of life after darkness, to be true for the people of Ukraine right now. I want this season of Lent, of waiting and sorrow, to be over for them. But its not yet.

So for now, we eat paska, bread that is sweet and heavy and takes time, bread that is eaten each year as it symbolizes Easter joy after Lenten sorrow. And with each slice, we hope and pray for Ukraine.

Traditionally baked in very large loaves (using up to 5 pounds of flour), paska announces the end of the fast with plenty of eggs and butter. I decreased the recipe size but not the flavor, combining the cloves of one style with the citrus of another style; that might sound wintry to us, but somehow it tastes exactly like Spring, too. This can be served with a very similarly-named pascha, which is a sweet spread made from a cultured cottage-cheese-style cheese called tvorog; you may see a recipe for that in the future, because its super delicious, but you can also just add vanilla and lemon to sweetened cream cheese.

Prep tips: as noted, this does take quite some time to rise, as its a very heavy dough. Give it at least five hours, but remember that is hands-off time and this is really very simple.

1 tablespoons instant yeast

cup warm water

cup sugar

3 eggs

4 tablespoons melted butter

zest and juice of 1 orange

1 teaspoon cloves

cup warm whole milk

5-6 cups flour

In a large mixing bowl, whisk yeast and water with a pinch of the sugar. Let it set until it bubbles, five minutes. Mix in the remaining ingredients, starting with the lesser amount of flour. Knead by hand or with mixer for several minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic, adding flour as necessary. Let rise until doubled. Knead again slightly and shape into a round, placing into a buttered round casserole dish, and letting rise until doubled again. Bake at 325 for 45-60 minutes, until fully golden and firm. Let cool, remove from pan, and ice with a simple powdered-sugar glaze and/or serve slices spread with cream cheese (see note).

TocontactAmandaMiller, email her athyperpeanutbutter@gmail.com

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Cooking Ukrainian recipes and sending a hug by cooking Ukrainian Easter bread - paska - The Hutchinson News

Im struck by the recent movement, currently in at least 36 states, to restrict teaching the history of racism in schools. The motivation is pretty clearly stated in the bills and laws.

Georgia House Bill 1084 bans divisive concepts that include claims that the United States is fundamentally or systematically racist, and instructs that no one should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of his or her race.

Bills using the same language have been proposed in dozens of states, backed by the Center for Renewing America, a think tank led by former Trump administration officials.

The past few years weve seen a lot of conservative criticism about the snowflakes at our colleges and universities. Walter E. Williams of The New American magazine provides just one example when he ridicules spineless college administrators and the college students they cave in to who are easily traumatized by criticism and politically incorrect phrases. They demand safe spaces and trigger warnings . . . as though they must be protected against words, events, and deeds that do not fully conform to their extremely limited, narrow-minded beliefs built on sheer delusion.

Not only do conservative lawmakers whine about acknowledging the realities of our political and social history; theyre passing laws against even discussing them. Theyre so sensitive!

I have to wonder: Who are the real snowflakes?

Russel Feldman

Newton

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Will the real snowflakes please stand down? - The Boston Globe

Kyiv March 24, 2022

During the homily given at the daily Moleben (Paraklesis or Supplicatory Canon to the Theotokos) for Peace offered at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection in Kyiv on March 24, Patriarch Sviatoslav (Shevchuk), Father and Head of the world-wide Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church (UGCC) reflected on the forthcoming consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, reported the Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU).

In his remarks, His Beatitude noted the readiness of the entire UGCC to join in this solemn act of consecration and noted that to speak of the conversion of Russia was at one time considered politically incorrect:

In accordance with the petitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which she proclaimed in the early twentieth century in Fatima, Pope Francis, together with the bishops of the Catholic Church around the world, will consecrate Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Theotokos petitioned for prayers for the conversion of Russia, because otherwise the evil that will come out of it will destroy other countries. Formerly, it was said that we should not talk about the Fatima apparition, so as not to offend Russia, but now the Holy Father wishes to pay attention to this request of the Theotokos for this consecration to defeat the evil that comes to our lands from that part of the world and Europe.

Continuing, His Beatitude noted that Kyivan-Rus and especially the city of Kyiv was initially consecrated to the Theotokos after Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise completed the famous golden domed St. Sophia Cathedral in the 11thcentury, with its central mosaic of the Theotokos Orante or Theotokos, Indestructible Wall.

The Patriarch concluded his homily with a prayer for the defeat of the apocalyptic beast unleashed on Ukraine by the Russian aggressors:

May this evil be defeated in the north, south, west and east of Ukraine. We know that the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a symbol of Her holy and pure will, which she showed when she said yes to the Archangel Gabriel. (Luke 1:38) At that moment, the Blessed Virgin Mary erased the head of the devil, an apocalyptic beast that is raging again, attacking Ukraine from Russia. May this consecration be the moment when the head of this serpent, by the power of prayer of the Theotokos herself, the Immovable Wall of Kyiv, will be raised again in Ukraine! We believe in this and we pray for it. We say: Most Holy Theotokos, save us! Amen.

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The Consecration of Russia Will Be Victory Over Evil: Ukrainian Catholic Patriarch - OnePeterFive

This Sundays Academy Awards will be a litmus test of whether Hollywood can uncouple itself from the political agenda of young woke radicals that is proving so unpopular in the US. Joe Biden had a stab at it during his State of the Union address, criticising the defund the police movement for fear of a Democrat wipeout in the midterms, and the New York Times did an astonishing volte-face last week, publishing an editorial in defence of free speech. A bit rich from the paper that recently forced out its most distinguished science reporter at the behest of its junior staff for using the n-word in a discussion about the appropriate use of the n-word.

But will the luvvies be able to resist trotting out all the usual fashionable platitudes about sex, race and gender? The producers of the Oscars certainly hope so. Last years telecast only attracted 10.4 million viewers, down from 23.6 million in 2020, and various initiatives have been introduced to boost the audience figures.

For instance, this years hosts are three potty-mouthed comedians: Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes. Schumer has said she intends to emulate Ricky Gervais, whose politically incorrect monologues as host of the Golden Globes have attracted huge audiences on social media. Im going to get myself in some trouble, she said earlier this month. Ill burn every bridge.

Then theres the addition of a new fan favourite category, voted for by Twitter users. This is to give the producers an excuse to show clips from some of the most commercially successful films of last year such as Spider-Man: No Way Home, Venom: Let There Be Carnage and No Time to Die, none of which has been nominated for Oscars in any of the major categories. But Twitter has allowed each user to vote up to 20 times a day, creating an opportunity for fans of particular films (and actors) to game the contest. Already, a hard core of Johnny Depp enthusiasts have ensured that his latest film an obscure art-house offering called Minamata is on the shortlist. Its one thing for the Academy Awards to become slightly less woke; quite another to honour a man whose ex-wife has accused him of repeatedly assaulting her.

Presumably, one of the reasons Depps fans have got behind Minamata is because theyre unhappy that hes been dropped by Hollywood its a protest against cancel culture. Which gives me an idea. If the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences really wants to push back against the Torquemadas of the progressive left, it could include an addendum to its In memoriam section listing all the Hollywood celebrities who were cancelled in 2021. Number one on the list would be Alec Baldwin, clutching a prop gun and flashing a cheeky grin.

Heres another suggestion: why not introduce a rule whereby any winner who expresses support for a political cause during their acceptance speech has to forfeit their gold statuette? This is a role that Ricky Gervais was born for. I can imagine him marching up to Steven Spielberg, snatching the Oscar from his hand and saying: Sorry, but a man who owns a $70 million private jet doesnt get to lecture us about climate change.

And if the producers want to win back some of those disgruntled red-state viewers, why not hire the pro-Brexit musical comedian Dominic Frisby to perform some of his songs? Theres one I particularly like called Maybe that includes the line: Maybe Donald Trump is not all bad. Id actually stay up till four oclock in the morning just to see the look on Frances McDormands face. Now theres a clip that would go viral on social media.

But in truth I dont expect 2022s Academy Awards to be much of a departure from previous years, i.e. a snorefest of nonstop virtue signalling. Just as most leading Democrats cannot help but engage in ritualised bouts of racial self-flagellation, even though they know its Kryptonite to white working-class voters, so multi-millionaire movie stars will drone on about the under-representation of women and minorities in spite of the television audiences lack of interest in their political views. I dont suppose Joe Bidens tack to the centre will save his Congressional colleagues in November, and the inclusion of a couple of risqu gags by Amy Schumer wont be enough to stop the Oscars haemorrhaging viewers. It will be a few years yet before Americas liberal establishment learns the lesson thats currently being meted out to the mainstream media: get woke, go broke.

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How to save the Oscars - The Spectator

Debra Soh is a sex neuroscientist, the author of The End of Gender and the host of The Dr. Debra Soh Podcast.

A recent opinion piece in The New York Times spoke to the ideological intolerance and accompanying self-censorship that has crept its way into many peoples lives. The author, a college senior at the University of Virginia, described how students must hold back in class discussions, in friendly conversations, on social media from saying what [they] really think, when discussing subjects like diversity training, racial justice, and gender. It is only when the author is quite literally behind closed doors, speaking in hushed tones with her professors and friends, that ideas can freely circulate, according to the piece.

Its a hostility I know well.

Open dialogue used to be the hallmark of academic conversations and the purpose of pursuing higher education. Instead, I constantly hear from students about how they refrain from asking questions or offering their opinions out of fear that they will anger their peers and alienate their professors. There is a quiet understanding that failing to regurgitate certain preapproved leftist platitudes will bring about disaster in the classroom and beyond.

A survey by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and RealClearEducation found that about four in five university students report self-censoring at least some of the time, and roughly one in five students say they do it often. These effects were found regardless of ones identity markers, including race or sexual orientation.

The problem affects students and academics across the political spectrum, but it is disproportionately felt by right-leaning individuals. This is because left-leaning professors tend to outnumber conservative professors on campus; in social sciences and humanities departments, which are primarily focused on cultural politics and activism, left-leaning professors dominate at a ratio of 14 to one.

The Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology found that more than half of conservative academics admit to self-censoring in their research and teaching, and 70 per cent report a departmental climate that is hostile to their beliefs. Political discrimination takes the form of excluding professors from hiring, funding and social situations, like sitting together at lunch. It also normalizes attitudes about firing them for controversial or politically incorrect research findings.

These consequences are further amplified by university administrators and other professors who fail to defend academics when they are attacked for their work, deciding instead to remain silent or siding with the loud minority of students having a meltdown.

The fact that closed-mindedness is being rewarded throughout a system responsible for educating impressionable minds should be unsettling to anyone enjoying the benefits of living in a democracy. To make matters worse, critics on the political left will too often claim that concerns of self-suppression are overblown, missing an opportunity to use their platforms to advocate for a solution.

We rightfully frown upon discriminating against people based on characteristics like race, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity, yet it remains socially acceptable to exclude and demonize people for their political beliefs. This is not an issue confined to the loony fringes of the academic world, but something that affects everyday people in the workplace, as well.

According to a Cato Institute poll, nearly one-third of Americans say they worry about losing job opportunities or being fired if their political opinions become known. This self-censorship affects people across the political spectrum, but is again particularly pronounced among conservatives (77 per cent say they feel prevented from saying things they believe) and highly educated people (44 per cent of Americans with a postgrad degree say they fear losing their job or missing out on opportunities if their political opinions became known).

Ideological dissenters are not the only ones harmed by this illiberalism. Students who dont fear unwanted consequences for their opinions are also adversely affected. Completing several years or degrees in an academic setting without having to seriously contend with a different point of view reinforces the false perception that the affirmed, often hyper-progressive values are, by default, correct. It impedes ones ability to reconcile that people of different political persuasions or opinions are still fellow humans and thus worthy of respect.

After all, some of the most interesting and inspiring conversations can flourish from disagreement. Students who are shielded from these exchanges miss vital opportunities to refine their critical thinking skills and better understand the world we live in. Instead, our universities are allowing them to languish in a fantasyland in which adhering to popular opinion, and ignoring all others, warrants praise, ascendancy and immunity from criticism.

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Opinion: What is lost when universities self-censor - The Globe and Mail

You might as well debate whether autumn should follow summer, Tony Blair once said, as debate the nature or desirability of globalisation. Blair was, as so often, intellectually clear, politically provocative, and entirely incorrect.

For globalisation the treaties, processes and structures that have made the world more complex, inter-connected and inter-reliant is the product of political choices. Those choices, such as the regulation and deregulation of labour markets, the regulation and taxation of capital, and the terms on which countries traded with one another, determined not only that globalisation proceeded apace, but the nature of change it brought.

Trade in manufactured goods was liberalised, while services were protected. Trade deals with states that would clearly ignore the terms most notably China were agreed with little regard to their abuse. With domestic policies, some countries did more than others to protect their people from the winds of change, and some did more than others to protect their national infrastructure from the prying eyes of hostile states.

For a while, all seemed fine. We imported cheap clothes and manufactured goods. Our borrowing costs and inflation were kept down by government policies and savers in Asia. House prices rose and plenty felt better off for it.

But slowly the costs became more apparent. Mid-skilled work disappeared. Pay stagnated. As productivity increased, returns for workers failed to keep up with those for investors. As factories closed and manufacturing moved to Asia, the link between the success of British companies and the prosperity of British people ruptured: while once executives might have shared some gains with low and mid-skilled workers, these days such workers are employed in other countries.

Even some of the fruits of globalisation are turning to rot. While the limited development of the Chinese economy once kept inflation low, now it drives it up as we compete for scarce resources like oil and gas. While the abandonment of manufacturing was seen as the height of modernisation, during the pandemic we found we were exposed without it. While openness to foreign investment was once our leitmotif, now we understand it is exploited by hostile states to launder dirty money and gain leverage against us.

Even now our leaders are reluctant to see the truth. They cling to long-disproved liberal assumptions that our values are universal, that the rest of the world wants to become like us, that interconnectedness makes war impossible, that the liberalisation of trade inevitably leads to open societies and democratic politics and hope that events might still swing their way.

The longer this foolhardy hope goes on, the more painful the inevitable change will be, and the more our rivals and enemies will conspire to inflict new blows upon us. Russia, so long as it is led by Putin or his allies, cannot expect a return to normal diplomatic or economic relations. And like it or not, Western countries will soon be forced to decouple, perhaps to varying extents, from China.

But if this phase of globalisation is over, what comes next? To answer we first need to be honest with ourselves. We do not, as we often tell ourselves we do, live in a liberal, rules-based order. Since the Cold War we have lived in an American-led order, in which US military and financial might has allowed Washington to dominate the world. American hegemony is preferable to anything that might replace it, but we should not delude ourselves that global institutions and structures are in any way fair. They are backed by force, and the rules are bent to protect American interests.

That US-led order has not been destroyed, but it is challenged. America lost its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Through naivety and neglect, it invited China into the global trading system and watched as Beijing broke all the rules, dumped cheap products on the West, pilfered economic and military secrets, and caused deindustrialisation and social decay across the Rust Belt. American political instability, repeated elsewhere in the West, is directly linked to the economic and social anxiety fuelled in part by globalisation.

The rivals and enemies who challenge us do not seek to export their ideology, overthrow our system of government, or destroy our culture. But as China becomes more powerful, its global interests are growing and with them its security and military interests grow too. As Western relative power declines, the likes of Russia, Iran and North Korea will become more assertive.

The new model, then, needs to resist and restrict our rivals and enemies. It requires recognition that economic might matters, and so the pursuit of growth is not optional. It requires us to prioritise national resilience over the notional efficiency of stretched supply chains. It requires economic nationalism, strategic planning and the maintenance of domestic production and core capabilities.

It also demands closer cooperation across the West, and with allies who stand with us. We need new institutions and fora to secure such cooperation, and coordinated policies on defence and security, access to commodities like energy, and vital tech capabilities, from the manufacture of chips to expertise in sectors like artificial intelligence and telecommunications. We need to be prepared for the end of the open, global internet and a challenge to the dollar as the worlds reserve currency.

We will need to accept the reality of spheres of influence and, engage in a contest for support, power, trade and access to natural resources in non-aligned countries. We will need to accept we cannot help liberals and democrats in every country, and sometimes ally ourselves with countries that are neither liberal nor democratic. We will need to spend more on defence and security policy and use our combined aid budgets to rival Chinas belt and road initiative. At home, we will need to do more to heal the social and economic divides our enemies like to exploit.

There was nothing inevitable about the globalisation of the past three decades. Indeed, we are now approaching its end. But our security, prosperity and liberty depend on us shaping what follows.

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Globalisation has run its sorry course. We must find a new model - The Telegraph

"Go back to your country," yelled a stubby, beet-red-faced Sox fan at a bar, located across from the Orioles stadium, at Camden Yards in downtown Baltimore. It was days after Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old unarmed Black man, was killed in police custody. As a result of the tragedy, a group of community members in combination with a few local activists, had organized a march to plea for justice and the arrests of Gray's uniformed killers.

I participated in that march, as an angry citizen, but more as a reporter. Things were 100% peaceful, until we intersected with the baseball crowd where, "Go back to your country," easily rolled off of the stubby guys tongue, as if he was more than sure we didn't belong in America, without question. As if we all weren't from east or west Baltimore. Needless to say, massive fights broke out shortly after the bigot's chant, and the rest is history.

"Go back to your country," is something that almost every person with Black or Brown skin living in America will hear at some point in their life. White people with heavy accents could yell, "I'm from Sweden, f**k America!" and still would probably never be told to go home. It's actually pretty funny, because the U.S. is always sold as this big ol' melting pot, until a POC pisses off the owners of that said pot and then it's no longer about "we" but more of an "us versus them" kind of thing.

Award-winning playwright Wajahat Ail brilliantly captures the "us versus them" feeling in his new memoir, "Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American."

Ali, who is most known for his New York Times column, and CNN political commentary takes us to his early days of the deplorable nation where he emerged, the United States of America the suburbs of Fremont, California to be exact. There he learned the poison that race is in America at an early age, from how he was treated in school to his parents' unfair incarnation. Ali maintains humor and optimism while showing readers how the Liberals aren't even Liberal, and how nothing has changed, not even in the post-Obama era. Ali details why it's so necessary to find humor in the midst of the chaos that is politics, on a recent episode of "Salon Talks."

Watch my "Salon Talks" episode with Ali here or read a Q&A of our conversation below to learn more about how his family survived the rise of Islamophobia post 9/11, his non-traditional journey into becoming a writer and the hilarious way he demolishes trolls.

The following conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

During the pandemic you got a chance to spend extra time at home with your kids. Are you still a child creation advocate?

My child, Nusayba, as you'll find out in the book is five years old. She's a cancer survivor and she's an immunosuppressed. And as we are recording this to my left she's doing her gym virtually, and my son who's seven is also in the other room doing virtual school. And then I got a baby running around and this wildling might crash through the door.

I hope we're over that pandemic, but 60,000 people died in January. An average of 1,700 deaths a day, just last week. And so, it's one of those situations where I would love for my kids to go to school. Trust me, I got two kids in virtual school. I got three kids running around. I'm exhausted. But at the same time, it's like, whatever keeps them healthy and whatever keeps people healthy. And the second thing I'll say is, I was just thinking about this right before we start recording is I'm like, "Man, I'm so tired. I'm so exhausted." But maybe if I look back on this moment I'm like, "I got to spend time with my kids at this really precious age. Who gets that?"

One of the things about your book "Go Back To Where You Came From" is you cover some very deep topics. Topics that can go dark pretty quickly, but it still has you maintain humor throughout the whole book. Is humor your main coping mechanism?

That's a good question. Is it coping or is it just how I process the world? Maybe it might be both because they often say if you're not laughing, you're crying and I'm not one to cry. My wife thinks I'm a cyborg. She goes, "I've never seen you cry before. What's wrong with you?" For those listening, it's okay to cry, cry. It's good. It's healthy, it's therapeutic. But I have like this, I'm this old antiquated Spartan male from this older generation. We just suffer quietly and suffer well even though I'm completely opposed to it that's how I'm built.

I think laughter and humor allows you catharsis, which is release. It allows you to kind of enjoy an absurdist view of the darkness that oftentimes accompanies life, the challenges, and the pain, and the sadness. And then also sometimes it's a good way just to feel better. I think in a way in conveying these stories and specifically some of the interesting challenges that my family and I went through, yeah, I could have cried about it, but I think processing it through humor gives me a vantage point and a perspective in a way that I could also communicate the story to the audience in an accessible way that allows you I hope to take it very seriously because it's serious stuff, but also find some of the absurd humor in this thing called life.

You're like Generation X, Millennial cusp.

That's right. That's exactly right.

Me too, and I feel like our generation wasn't really allowed to cry. Millennials have it good. They cry, they get awards and plaques and people giving them gifts, but we cry we kind of get ran out of society.

It's like because they got Brene Brown. So, you can Brene Brown your life if you're a Gen Z or a Millennial, like vulnerable. We didn't have these words. Vulnerable is the buzzword right now. Trauma is another buzzword. If you were a dude crying in front of your other boys, let's just be honest, they're like, "Yo, man up. What's wrong with you? You seem like a B." And then now it's like, "It's OK to get in touch with your feelings." We didn't even have the word self-care. That's something beautiful with Gen Z. Ours was suffer well, brush yourself off, man up, work hard, and then die at the age of 65.

Now self-care is get a massage and buy yourself something nice. And I think when we were kids self-care was like the crack era.

You got dudes our age getting pedicures. Get some bath salt and no one blinks, which is good. Look, I'm saying, this is good. You got to take care of yourself because oftentimes the Gen X and Millennial cusp that you and I are, we inherited some of the baggage, the trauma, and the bad behaviors of our elders who weren't given this language, right?

Absolutely.

What they were taught was man up, suffer well, suffer quietly, never talk about your emotions. Even if you got problems, mental health issues, financial issues, you just man up. Man up and stay quiet and grit it with your teeth. And if you're a model minority, smile your white teeth because you are so happy. You're the token, and what will people say? So just smile.

We're at that certain age where you get older and you listen to the older generation, right? The older men and women, they kind of open up to you, and you realized, "Oh, wow. That uncle suffered from depression. That person has anxiety. That person went to jail. That person has been sad for 20 years." All of a sudden you're like, "Oh, I understand this person," but they never had the ability or the permission to share the type of story that I was able to share in this book.

My experience is different from yours, which gave me the space to learn so much to feel more connected to your journey, to that immigrant experience, to the Muslim experience. I've learned so much and it got me thinking about audience because I felt like I'm definitely the audience, but then a part of it also frustrated me because I know that Brock Strong Balls is probably not going to pick up the book. Strong Balls is probably going to look at a tweet or look at a meme, even though that person or that prototype could learn so much and be able to connect with you.

In the opening of the book is I decided to experiment with how a memoir can be written. And so, instead of starting it with "once upon a time," I started with emails that I get. Lovely emails, emails that give me very unsolicited, helpful advice, such as, "Go back to where you came from," and "Go f**k a goat."

A lot of goat f**king.

Why are they so obsessed with goats and camels? These are actual emails that I got, so I just copy-pasted them. And then there's my response. With a book like this, or even most memoirs it's like walk a mile in my shoes type of book, right? So, I'm like, okay, let's just hit it right out of the gate. Let me punch you in the gut. If you were to walk a mile in my shoes and you open up your inbox, this is how you would be greeted by your many fans.

I didn't write the book for Brock Strong Balls. "Brock Strong Balls" is one of my haters who's a hateful missive I wrote in the book, but you'd be surprised because I got surprised that the stuff that you and I have to deal with on a daily basis, Black and brown folks, Muslim folks, women I would even see on the internet just in life, the macroaggressions. Many folks, especially white folks and these aren't the Brock Strong Balls we'll just say liberal center left, center right, they're like, "Wow, you have to deal with this every day? We had no idea." And so, the stuff that's common to you and me sometimes is like completely revelatory to other folks. They're like, and then they feel bad. Like, "We had no idea you had to go through this." And you're like, "Yeah, no s**t."

I'm not trying to get your sympathy, but I'm like, "All right, you want to walk a mile in my shoes? Here we go." Go f**k a goat. Go back to where you came from. Even though you're born and raised in the Bay Area, California. Do you want me to go back to the Bay Area? Okay, subsidize my rent because I can't afford it. You want me to go back to my mom's womb. Let's go Freud. Let's all go back to the womb.

When I think about those comments, the first thing that comes that I always think about is a Trump rally. When Trump was having those rallies it was like the comment section coming to life.

The comment section for my articles throughout my career, oftentimes, were filled with so much hate and anti-Muslim bigotry that the editor just shut down the comment section. And I went to a Trump rally a couple of weeks before the election. And it was every type of white you could meet under the sun. It was old whites, young whites, red-haired whites, brunette whites, blonde whites, biker whites, senior whites, all the whites. This was right after the Access Hollywood tape came out and he bragged about grabbing women by the p**sy. I even asked white women. I'm like, "Aren't you offended by this?" They're like, "Eh, locker room talk."

And then I said, "What about all the horrible vile things he's saying about every group?" And his voters loved it. What they said was, "This is why we like him. He's politically incorrect. He shoots from the hip. He takes on everyone. He doesn't care." The more vulgar he was, the more his base ate it up. It's the comment section come to life. And the comment section back in the day was filled with deplorables. Clinton was actually right in that categorization of the Trump voters, but because we infantilize and romanticize and cover up whiteness and white anxiety and white rage, it wasn't racism. No, no, it was economic anxiety, which is BS and disproven study after study.

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It's sick. I have a friend who's from China. And he actually said that in his culture, "artist," where he's from, it means homeless. When did you first realize as a husky young man that writing was going to be your thing (as long as you're still going to be a doctor)? Can you take us to that moment?

In Pakistani culture, artist means dumb and poor. The kids who weren't smart enough to do engineering or business or law then became artists. I joke in the book that for many immigrant communities, there's a trinity of occupations: It's doctor, engineer, wealthy businessman and failure. So, you and me are basically failures. I always wanted to be storyteller. I always enjoyed making people laugh. But the back of my head I'm like, "How am I going to pull this all off when there's no models of success?" And you get handed down this checklist of immigrant success, kind of not actually handed out, but you hear the conversation you see what's valued. No one ever said writer.

And so, you're a brown kid, a Muslim kid growing up in the bay area. There was no Hasan Minhaj at that time. There was no Rizwan Ahmed. There was no Fareed Zakaria. There was no Mindy Kaling. And so, you're like, all right, I have this dream, but whatever. Maybe I'll just go do something else. And I remember the power of a mentor or a teacher just taking a shot at you, just believing in you. Ms. Peterson in fifth grade told us all to write a one-page short story. I wrote a 10-page short story on Robin Hood. And she gave me an A+++, and then she said, "Get up in front of the homeroom and recite the story." I'm like, "Ms. Peterson, please, I can't do it." She goes, "Shut up, fatty, get up." Maybe she didn't say that, but that's my recollection.

Shout out, Ms. Peterson.

I recited the story and the same kids in my fifth grade homeroom who used to bully me, for the first time ever they just sat there rapt with attention and they laughed at all the right parts. That's when I realized I might have something. A reason why I mention that is oftentimes when folks see this video, or they read this interview, and they see people like you and me they're like, "Who am I? I'm nobody. I can't do this." And I say, "Some of my favorite people are nobody. I'm also nobody." Great things have small beginnings. It's like planting a seed.

You get to the point [in the book] in college and 9/11 happens. A couple of weeks after 9/11, my teacher at that time, Ishmael Reed who's a MacArthur Genius winner, and a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, African American literary giant, he says: My people, Black people have been fighting back for 400 years. They've been trying to erase us and suppress us. The way we fought back is through art and culture and storytelling. We need your story out there. Writing is fighting. You have to write a story about an American family that happens to be Pakistani and Muslim. Write a play. Dialogue and characters are your strengths. I'm like, "What are you talking about?" This is a short story writing class. He goes, "No, no, no, just do a play, and I'll see you in two months. All right. Bye."

Sometimes just having a writer, a mentor, a teacher, a family member, a friend say you got something, and to encourage that seed. Without that, that's a sliding door moment, man. Maybe I wouldn't be here. Maybe I'd be a miserable attorney right now taking Xanax, marrying the wrong woman.

It becomes real when somebody who has that success and they push you, then it goes beyond just a hobby and it becomes a real thing.

Then when someone pays you. When someone gives you a check and you cash the check and they gave you the check because you wrote something you're like, "What? Is this real?" And then when people start inviting you as a writer, this is the whole process. It took me a long time to really own the fact that I'm a writer.

How much was your first check the first time you cashed a check off writing, you remember? I know mine was $25.

That's not bad at all. Mine was $50. My director, Carla Blank told me, "You're a writer." I'm like, "I'm not a writer." She goes, "You wrote something. You gave it to an editor. They gave you a check. You cashed the check. You're a writer."

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White privilege is also a recurring theme in the book, and my question for you is how can I actually get my hands on some of that?

You have to be an average American who's from the Rust Belt who drunk the real coffee, who has economic anxiety, who lives on Main Street, who's part of the mainstream. And then you too, sir, you can have white privilege.

You want to be blunt? Be a white European refugee. Don't be Haitian or Yemeni or Syrian. And by the way, when I say that comment, we have to help and we should help the one million Ukrainians who are fleeing, but I got this article coming out today with the title, "It's Good To Be a White Refugee" because there a whole bunch of other refugees, there are a whole bunch of other refugees right now who are suffering and the borders got closed and there were barriers and walls, but now blue-eyed, blonde-haired, Ukrainian refugees, and we've got many of our colleagues in the media saying, "They look just like us. We have to help them." That's white privilege also.

One of the things that you do in a brilliant way is point out how hypocritical this country is, and people who disagree it seems like they have a problem with understanding that, pointing out the flaws in the country, and then working towards fixing them actually makes the country into what you are trying to push it off as anyway. How do we get past that?

I get called this now. "You are a race-obsessed liberal because you talk about racism." Other stuff you get called is you're a race hustler. You are just sucking at the teat of white guilt and making white people feel bad and trading in that white guilt to create a career. And I'm like, I do suck at the teat of white guilt. It's delicious. Salty, but delicious. It's one of those situations that if you really think about the beating dark heart of America is white supremacy. It's part and parcel of the American nightmare, and oftentimes we never talk about it. We like to promote the fiction of the American dream. And unless you acknowledge it and diagnosis it and take a scalpel and remove it, it will poison everything.

The paradigm, the structures, the education, the housing, the lending, everything. It's like poison. And so, what happens in America instead is we don't want to acknowledge. It's like Voldemort. And if you acknowledge it, it makes people lose their effing mind. I'll give you one quick example. 1619 Project, just look at the freak out over the 1619 Project. How dare you challenge our notion of this myth of America where the white man came here and birthed this nation from nothing? That's the quote from Rick Santorum. Sure, there were some Indigenous folks, but we came here. We were good. Slaves were treated well. I mean, the slaves got . . . I'm not making that up. That's what Bill O'Reilly said, remember? The slaves were treated not too bad. And then, OK, fine. Nobody's perfect. But then we gave you Martin Luther King and Beyonce and Ta-Nehisi Coates.

Look, it's the American dream. And why can't you poor refugees and poor Blacks and poor browns be like the good model minorities who grit their teeth and have resilience and pull their selves up from the bootstraps and work hard and stop complaining. We gave you Obama. We live in a post-racial society. Get over it, darky. Don't mention it. Don't acknowledge it. And if you do mention it, you're extremist. You're hysterical. You're uppity. You're race-obsessed. You're divisive. These are the tricks that white privilege, the mental gymnastics, the type of defensive mechanisms to avoid talking about race because if you avoid talking about race, you don't have to confront racism and you don't have to confront and acknowledge your role in either being against it or perpetuating it. So, instead, keep that privilege because the system helps you, and instead blame the darkies for bringing it up.

Being a race hustler sounds like a pretty good profession. If I could sign up . . . I would rather be a race hustler than a cop.

You want some white privilege? You want some white guilt? I got everything. How much guilt you want today? I got you.

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We spoke earlier about how even though you didn't write the book with the intentions of certain demographics trying to learn and connect, but you also didn't write 10 chapters saying my parents did everything perfect. You mentioned the good, the bad, and the ugly because that is how we heal.

The book has a plot twist in the middle where you're living this model minority myth a suburban kid, 20 years old going to UC Berkeley. My parents, Pakistani Muslim immigrants, like many immigrant parents, worked hard. Middle class, upper-middle class. Mervyn's not Bloomingdales, sometimes Macy's. That's how I describe them. That was my parents. Immigrant parents who looked out for a good deal, but when they had the savings or the money, they spent it, and we went on vacation, but we didn't have F-U money. I was the only kid and I lived a comfortable suburban life. You kind of achieved the American dream, upper-middle class, maybe, that's about it, and my parents were happy.

We had two crisis points in my senior year of college. Number one, 9/11. Overnight everything changed in the perpetual war on terror. And then overnight, you're a model minority. You're now the enemy. You're now them. You're now a suspect. You are now a dirty Muslim. I went from Gandhi, which was what I was called when I was a kid, to Osama overnight. And not just me, but all my people. And then a few months after that in the aftermath of 9/11 when this country went insane, they banned, they canceled Susan Sontag. They banned "Imagine" by John Lennon and the Rage Against the Machine catalog. People forget that. They banned French fries. They banned Dixie Chicks. Dixie Chicks were the whitest women on earth. They canceled the Dixie Chicks for the most benign comment. Muslims were hazed, surveillance, FBI just showing up at your home.

A couple months later, my parents were arrested in part of this operation Cyber Storm where Microsoft and the FBI teamed up and Robert Mueller then the head of the FBI comes to San Jose and says this the biggest piracy crackdown and two dozen people have been arrested. And my parents' luck was they worked in the same office complex as these other folks. They didn't have a single piracy complaint, but Microsoft got them on a licensing charge from a business they did two years ago. So, it doesn't matter a headline as you know flattens everything, and who's on the front page of the FBI? My parents. And what happens overnight is then I experience the American nightmare as experienced by so many communities. You lose the house, you lose the credit, you lose the community, you get hazed, you need money to take care of your family.

Now I leave school and I got both parents in prison, and now you experience the criminal justice system, which like I mentioned in the book and my experience flattens not only the individual who is incarcerated, but people sometimes forget it flattens the families and the communities. It flattens generations. I tried my best to really articulate that to an audience that otherwise was not expecting that story, and also to an audience that oftentimes sees prison and Black, prison and poor. And I'm like, no, no, no. Our prison system incarcerates two million people more than any other country on earth. We talk about rehabilitation in this country and redemption and everyone has a shot, but what about people who went to prison? What about people who just happen to be poor and Black and were using drugs? How come they don't get a slap on the wrist? So, I think this story and that chapter, I hope illuminates also.

I really wish as a collective we would rally around these different narratives and stories so that we can move forward.

A part of me says, "White people, you figure this out. We've had to survive on our own, we'll survive, maybe. Many of us won't, but guys figure this out. You're having a moment." And so, I'm going to live in a bluish state and I'm going to make my money and I'm going to have my community, inshallah, I'll just try to protect myself." That's one instinct.

Another instinct says we have to do everything within our power as usual to save this country from itself. And oftentimes we've been Black folks leading the way, but more and more, there's a multiracial coalition that gets it, and enough whites. This is the key thing. You're not going to get the majority of whites. You're just not. But if we can get enough whites to realize that we have to fight for a multiracial democracy, maybe we have a shot. Maybe we have a shot. Some people say it has to get worse before it gets better. But what I say is sometimes when it gets worse, it just gets worse. And so, we got to do what we always have to do, man. We have to fight for a country that doesn't love us back.

Absolutely.

We have to do our best to protect our communities. And unfortunately through our pain and suffering, this country eventually learns of this thing called white supremacy and the American nightmare. And maybe enough people wake up and realize maybe we can work together to create the American dream for everyone.

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The "race-obsessed liberal" nightmare: "We have to fight for a country that doesn't love us back" - Salon