Category Archives: Transhuman News

The Taliban didn't regain control of Afghanistan overnight, and while their return to power was years in the making, the Trump administration's agreement with the group last year helped speed up the process, Lisa Curtis, the director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, writes for Foreign Affairs.

Curtis zeroed in on three errors the negotiation team, led by Zalmay Khalilzad, made out of "desperation to conclude a deal" and put an end to the decades-long U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan. The first, she writes, was believing the Taliban would eventually sit down with the Afghan government to hash out a long-term political settlement. This led Washington to exclude Kabul from their talks with the Taliban in Qatar, which Curtis argues "prematurely conferred legitimacy on the" insurgents.

The next mistake, in Curtis' opinion, was that the U.S. didn't "condition the pace of talks on Taliban violence levels." Negotiations continued even amid escalating violence on the ground in Afghanistan, and ultimately the Taliban only had to "reduce violence for six days before signing the agreement." Finally, Curtis believes the Trump administration was operating under "wishful thinking" that the Taliban was seriously interested in political negotiations instead of fighting their way back to power. The U.S., therefore, forced Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners without simultaneously securing a "commensurate concession" from the group.

"The United States would have been far better off negotiating its withdrawal directly with the Afghan government, something that Ghani himself proposed in early 2019," Curtis writes. "By doing so, the United States would have avoided demoralizing its Afghan partners as Washington pulled back U.S. forces." Read about how Curtis thinks the Biden administration should deal with the Taliban going forward at Foreign Affairs.

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3 U.S. negotiating errors that previewed the Taliban's return - The Week Magazine

After Mike Richards' short-lived stint as Jeopardy! host, Mayim Bialik is again stepping behind the lectern and it sounds like she's ready to stay there.

The Big Bang Theory star will take over asJeopardy! guest host Monday after Richards, the former executive producer of Jeopardy!,resigned as its new host after a single day of taping.In an essay in Newsweek, Bialik reflected that when she previously served as one of the guest hosts ofJeopardy!, she remembers thinking, "I don't want to leave."

"When I left The Big Bang Theory, I said that there would never be another job like it," she says. "It was the best job I had ever had, besides being a parent. I can now say that there is no other job I'd rather have than this job on Jeopardy!. I joke that I would give up my first child to host permanently! I think my son and I have a close enough bond that he will come back to me!"

Jeopardy!'s previous plan for replacing late host Alex Trebek was to have Richards host the regular daily show and Bialik host primetime and spinoff shows. But after Richards stepped down due to past offensive podcast comments, there has been speculation that Bialik could be hired for the full-time gig, assuming she's able to fit it into her schedule.Another frontrunner is former champion Ken Jennings, and Jeopardy! recently announced Bialik and Jennings will share hosting duties until the end of the year. A permanent daily host has still yet to be announced.

In her Newsweek essay, Bialik also reflected a bit on the Richards controversy, saying she doesn't "wish ill on him, or anyone," and adding, "The complexity of these situations is not something that can be summed up easily."She also pays tribute to Trebek, writing, "It probably sounds crazy, but you definitely feel Alex's presence on that stage."

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Bialik: 'No other job I'd rather have than' Jeopardy! host - The Week Magazine

Sally Holt, Rami Shapiro and Ossama Bahloul| Murfreesboro Daily News Journal

Editor's Note: Ron Messier, 76, died Sept. 2, according to his obituary from Woodfin Memorial Chapel.Messier was professor emeritus inhistory at Middle Tennessee State University where he taught Islamic history and historical archaeology from 1972-2004. He served as director of the honors program from 1982-92. He was also a senior lecturer at Vanderbilt University from 1992-2008. Messier was also an author, including"Jesus, One Man Two Faiths: A Dialogue between Christians and Muslims."

A Memorial service will be held Oct. 27 at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 116 N Academy St. inMurfreesboro.

Ron was exceptional in many ways. With his warm approach and genuine friendship, he influenced many around him.

He recognized the power of religion and the role of the religious institution. He was attached to his church and proud of its role within our city.

On a recent Thanksgiving, he wrote about his blessings:

"For a church family that extends selfless love to all whom it comes into contact with no exceptions."

A man with genuine optimism and a clean heart.He once wrote that in response to hatred "solidarity in prayer is a good response."

His optimism influenced his theology. When speaking about the end of the world, he said, "I also believe in the renewal rather than the destruction of the world in which we live."

Ron was generous in his feelings and a true friend. He wrote, "I will be praying for you as you travel. I ask you to do the same for me as I travel to Morocco. Thank you for being my friend."

Our routine lunches were priceless. Through our friendship, we cared for our community using the power of our different faiths. Our friendship was a practical example of what the faith community can do together. Ron truly deserves the bulk of the credit for establishing and fostering this relationship.

Ron was a man with an abundance of energy and a good spirit, eager to participate in any effort that could bring people together and create a better understanding. Even surgery could not stop him. One of our annual conferences was held five days after one of his surgeries and he was able to persuade his surgeon to allow him to attend.He was OK scheduling a luncheon one day after returning from a long journey. Another time when he could not attend an event, he sent a note:

"Here in North Carolina, I will be thinking about you guys. Wish I was with you."

Ron had a deep appreciation for Judaism and Islam and worked closely with the Atlantic Institute to further Americans' understanding of Islam in general and Turkey in particular. We would often appear together on inter-faith panels and could be counted on to articulate what was unique about his faith even as he spoke what was true in all our faiths.

Ron was a generous man, with his time and his wisdom, and actively sought out relationships with others and worked for ways to make the world a better place for all.

Ron, you have been a true friend and a great partner in doing good and simply a beautiful soul. You will be greatly missed.

Our thoughts and prayers with Emily and the family.

Sally Holt is a professor of religion at Belmont University; Rabbi Rami Shapiro is an author of many books, including six onreligion, spirituality and recovery;Imam Ossama Bahloul has beenthe resident scholar at the Islamic Center of Nashville since 2016 and previously served for eight years as thereligious leader at the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro.

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'We lost a dear friend': Ron Messier, former MTSU professor, author remembered as great friend - Daily News Journal

Vice President Mike Pence brings first motorcade to Mackinac Island

Vice President Mike Pence leaves the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in an eight-vehicle motorcade Saturday. It's the first automobile motorcade on the island, where cars are generally banned.

Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press

Randy "Trucker Randy" Bishop, a Republican activist and former county GOP chairman from northern Michigan, is an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump who promotes the unsubstantiated and widely debunked viewthat voting equipment was programmed to "shave" votes from Trump and assign them to Democratic President Joe Biden.

Wendy Lynn Day is a former grassroots chair of the Michigan Republican Party who was state director of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's unsuccessful bid for the 2016 presidential nomination. Day, of Livingston County, does not support Trump and believes the fight over the 2020 presidential election is "more of the same" of what she saw in 2016 people "willing to believe anything if it was their side saying it."

Though they have opposing views about Trump, Bishop and Day have something in common. They used to regularly attend the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conferencebut will not be at the 34th biennial event that begins Friday at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. Neither is attributing their absence to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

"I won't support that event on Mackinac in any way, shape or form," said Bishop, who views the conferenceas part of a planned "coronation" of former Detroit Police Chief James Craig as the party's 2022 nominee for governor.

Bishop will skip the conference to emcee an eventwith GOPgubernatorial candidate Garrett Soldano in Antrim County, which became ground zero for conspiracy theories about voting equipment after a Republican clerk's November error causedunofficial results to briefly show Biden getting more votes than Trump in the solidly red county.

Day will not attend despite the fact that Trump is no longer president and Cruzwill be onthe island to give the Friday keynote address.

"I'm not doing a lot of politics right now," said Day, who was stripped of her Michigan GOP post in 2016 for refusing to support Trump.

Attendance isdown from a record 2,370 registrants in 2015, and the usually fully booked Grand Hotel still had weekend rooms available on its website Thursday morning. Michigan Republican Party spokesman Gus Portela said the conference is about soliciting new ideas tohelp defeat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other Democrats in 2022, and that the party does not take sides in primaries. He expects late registrations will bring attendanceto around 1,500, which he said is comparable to recent years.

Attendance is down at most events during thepandemic, but several Michigan Republicans said heightened partisanship has made them less active in politics, even when they cited family or other reasons for staying away from Mackinac this year.

Among the panel discussions Bishop and Day will missare one about "election integrity" featuring Thor Hearne, a Missouri attorney who filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Trump campaign seeking tohalt the counting of absentee ballots in Detroit, and Minnesota attorney Erick Kaardal, who was referred for sanctions by a federal judgefor filinga "risible" lawsuit against former Vice President Mike Pence, seeking to block certification of theelection results.

Portela said it is important to discuss what can be done to improve election integrity, but the partly isfocused on 2022, not relitigating the 2020 election.

In addition to the speech from Cruz, a potential candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, the conference will feature:

Both former Vice President Mike Pence and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley had been announced as conference speakers, but later canceled.

Mike Bishop, an Oakland County Republican who served two terms in Congress until the end of 2018 and earlier served as majority leader in the state Senate, said he will arrive on Mackinac Island Saturday for a panel discussion on criminal justice reform and leave the same day.

Bishop, who is no relation to Randy Bishop, said the Republican Party tends to be "very good at circular firing squads" and has much work to do to "come together under our principled foundational issues" before the 2022 election.

More: Michigan Republicans choose U-M Regent Ron Weiser as party chair after bitter fight

More: Michigan GOP asks federal judge to block unlimited campaign donations to Whitmer

But Bishop does not attribute the sag in conference attendance to factional infighting or loss of interest in the wake of Trump's one-term presidency. It likely has more to do with COVID-19, he said.

As for concerns about the integrity of the 2020 election, "I don't think there's any question that there were shenanigans that went on in the electionthere always are," Bishop said.

State legislatures in Michigan and elsewhere are correct to pursue policies to ensure maximum integrity in future elections, said Bishop, who supports strict voter ID laws but said he is not familiar enough with other Republican initiatives to say whether they are reasonable and common sense.

"I don't believe it's voter suppression when you ask someone to produce some valid ID to vote," Bishop said. "But we're so tribal right now, people are at each other's throats and you propose anything that has to do with how voting is done in this country and they immediately call you a racist or some other nasty title. It really worries me about the state of our union right now."

Randy Richardville, a Monroe Republican who also served as majority leader in the state Senate, said he is busy with family obligations and will not be attending the conference, as he has in the past.

Richardville, who is vice-chairman of the Monroe County Board of Commissioners, said he has become less proactive about politicsbecause of the extreme divisiveness between the left and right, except at the local level, where he said he does not see that level ofpartisanship.

But like Mike Bishop, Richardville attributed reduced attention at Mackinac more to concerns about traveling during the pandemic than to party fractures. He said this weekend's conference will be animportant early sign of whether the party can unite around Craig as the best candidate to face Whitmer in 2022.

The 2018 split between backers of GOP gubernatorial candidates Bill Schuette, the former attorney general who won the primary, and Brian Calley, the former lieutenant governor who fought hard against him, never really healed and helped Whitmer win, Richardville said.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com.Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.

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Michigan GOP to tackle 'election integrity,' critical race theory at Mackinac conference - Detroit Free Press

UNION CITY The Union City High School Athletic Hall of Fame held its annual Team of Fame game this past Friday as the Chargers pulled off an epic OT thrilling victory over the Reading Rangers, winning 26-20 in overtime.

This year the Union City Athletic Hall of Fame honored three different teams from three different sports, all of whom found glory on the field of play wearing the maroon and gray of the Chargers.

The first team being honored in 2021 was the 1970 Union City Football team, a team that has cemented its legacy as one of the best teams in UCHS history with a place on the vaunted Wall, a special place inside the halls of Union City High School honoring those football teams who have ended their respective regular season unbeaten.

This team was meant to be honored last year during the 2020 ceremony, which would have been a celebration of the 50th anniversary of their undefeated season in 1970 when they finished 9-0, however the COVID-19 pandemic forced postponement to this years ceremony.

The 1970 Charger football team lived up to their pre-season goals by posting a perfect 9-0 record, claiming the Little C conference crown and finishing the season as the seventh ranked team in the state in Class C.

Tailback Al Pepper led a potent rushing attack by carrying the ball 235 times for 1351 yards, scoring 20 touchdowns and 13 two-point conversions while fullback Ron Hoover added another 502 yards and 7 TDs on 112 carries.

The Chargers were also potent through the air with quarterback Russ Freds finding talented receivers like Pepper, Cliff Heisler, Duane Watkins, and Ward Miller 41 times for another 850 yards and 11 TDs.

Supporting the overall effort was an undersized yet stout offensive line and a swarming defense that led to Union City outscoring their opponents by a margin of 260-110.

Highlights of the season were tough wins over Jonesville and Bronson, and a season ending 20-18 win over Cassopolis on the road. A defensive stop of a two-point conversion with under a minute to play secured the win and the perfect 9-0 season.

Named to the Little C All-Conference First Team were team members Al Pepper, Russ Freds, Cliff Heisler, Duane Watkins, Mike Dunn, Walt Tresenriter, and Ron Hoover. Honorable mention selections were Paul Brecheisen, Louie Denning, David Hicks, Bill Hileman, and Ward Miller.

Pepper was also selected as captain of the Class C All-State team while Freds and Heisler were named All-State Honorable Mention.

Team members for the 1970 Union City Football team include manager Randy Timperly, Jerry Avery, Steve Parks, Bill Hileman, Mike Dunn, Mike Stemaly, Cliff Heisler, Larry Cross, Al Pepper, Ron Hoover, manager Dave Emmel, Dan Arlt, Tom Brecheisen, Rick Johnson, Walt Tresenwriter, Dan Kever, Bruce Little, John Page, Chuck Swarthout, Russ Freds, Paul Brecheisen, Ward Miller, David Hicks, Duane Watkins, Jim Casteel, Bob Jasper, Kim Philson, Louie Denning and coaches Gene Pensari, Ron Gaffner, and head coach Fred Pessell.

Also being honored at the Team of Fame event was the 1971 Union City Baseball team, a team celebrating the 50th anniversary of a tremendous season.

The 1971 Charger baseball team used a combination of stingy pitching, booming bats, and stellar defense to dominate throughout the regular season schedule and finish with a record of 14-0 and a Little C conference championship.

Highlights for the season would include two victories over the defending conference champion Bronson Vikings by scores of 7-0 and 5-1. Union City continued to dominate at the district tournament by defeating Galesburg Augusta, Battle Creek Springfield, and Athens by scores of 11-0, 13-0 and 17-5 to improve to 17-0 on the season. The win streak would end in the regional tournament with a heartbreaking 4-3 eleven inning loss to Decatur. The Chargers finished the season with 17 wins and 1 loss and outscored their opponents by a 143-36 margin. Russ Freds, Dan Kever, Al Pepper, and Duane Watkins received first team berths on the all-conference team while Paul Brecheisen, Keith Patton, and Cliff Heisler were named to the second team. Vern AcMoody, Mike Dunn, and Steve Parks received honorable mention.

Handling the pitching for Union City was Dan Kever who finished with a record of 8-0, Vern AcMoody who sported a 7-1 record and Al Pepper who went 2-0. Duane Watkins led the Chargers offense with a .533 batting average.

Team members include Greg Magner, Tom Brecheisen, Dan Dunithan, Keith Patton, Steve Parks, Al Pepper, Vern AcMoody, Ward Miller, Steve Claar, Paul Brecheisen, Bob Jasper, Mike Dunn, Cliff Heisler, Duane Watkins, Russ Freds and Dan Kever along with manager Jamie Seals.

The final team to be honored on the night was the the 1991 Union City Boys Track and Field team who celebrated the 30th anniversary of their undefeated season. That year the Chargers earned the first Big 8 Conference Championship and the first Regional title in school history.

The first team to use the all weather track in Union City, the 1991 Chargers wasted no time in setting records.

The team boasted 46 members, one of the largest track teams Union City has ever had. The best dual meet team in Charger history, they could place 3 athletes in almost every event. They were undefeated in both dual meets and invitationals, winning the Big Eight Conference Championship and the Conference Meet Championship.

They also captured the first regional championship in the history of Union City Mens Track.

The team also set School Records in 10 of the 17 events in 1991.

Included in those school records were all four relay records. Setting the 400 Meter Relay record was the team of Scott Lepper, Spencer Kever, Chad Etchison and Lance Fraley while the record breaking 800 Meter Relay Team consisted of Lepper, Kever, Jim Hicks and Fraley.

The record setting 3200 Meter Relay team was made up of athletes Ken Davenport, Steve Funk, Cody Claar, and Chris Lloyd while the 1600 Meter Relay team consisted of Lepper, Davenport, Lloyd and Fraley who set the record with a time of 3 minutes, 27.6 seconds, which is still a record today.

Individual school records were set in 1991 by Spencer Kever in the Pole Vault at 13 feet, 4 inches; Josh Miller in the High Jump at 6 feet, 5 inches which is still a record to this day; Lance Fraley in the 200 Meter Dash at 22.5 seconds and in the 400 Meter Dash in a time of 49.8 seconds; Chris Lloyd in the 1600 Meter Run at 4 minutes, 25.8 seconds, which also is still a record; and Justin Alford in the 300 Meter Hurdles.

Members of the 1991 Union City Charger Track and Field team included Justin Alford, Ben Bishop, Marvin Boyes, Andrew Burgett, Chad Campbell, Cody Claar, Kent Clayton, Brandon Coats, Mason Converse, Trevor Curtis, Eric Davenport, Ken Davenport, Eric Dunithan, Chad Etchison, Mike Eyre, Theo Foote, Joe Fraley, Lance Fraley, Steve Funk, Mike Gaborink, Jon Halder, Steve Herman, Damon Hicks, Jim Hicks, William Jeager, Chris Jones, Spencer Kever, Karl Koch, Scott Lepper, Chris Lloyd, Matt Luna, Pete Mathis, Shawn Mears, Don Moss, Ryan Nagel, Randy ODell, Jamie Palmer, Jason Parks, Ronnie Peet, Nathan Rutan, Rick Simington, Noel Spooner, Ryan Tundevold, Jessie Underwood, Mark Valentine, Sean Whitcomb, Coach Garry Parks and head coach Chris Katz.

Congratulations to the 2021 Union City High School Teams of Fame.

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Union City Hall of Fame honors three legendary teams on Team of Fame night - Coldwater Daily Reporter

At the age of 89, Jimmy Carter believes the time is right to release his first solo album.

"I've always wanted to do one, though I knew it would be a challenge," said Carter, who asthe eldestmember of the esteemed Blind Boys of Alabama, has sung for threepresidents, won fiveGrammy Awards and collaborated with musical legends like Peter Gabriel and Willie Nelson.

Carter's new and roots-y gospel album, "Blind Faith," cameout Sept. 21, bearingthe considerable imprint of South Beaver Township songwriter Ron Pullman, who wrote all ninesongs.

"Jimmy gave me full creative freedom in that regard," Pullman, a Blackhawk graduate, said."I spent a lot time trying to understand what Jimmy wanted; thefeel and message, andthe overall sound."

Pullman originals like "After The Storm," "Love to Pray"and the "Blind Faith" title track find Carter singing witha weathered-many-hardshipsrawness and upliftingpositivity.

Instrumentation rangesfrom country-western fiddle and dobro, to New Orleans piano, to Spanish flamenco guitar andblues harmonica.

On bluesy closing track "Why Me," Carter suddenly breaks away from singing, talking conversationally to listeners as he admits he's askedGod why he was the only one of six siblings born blind. As a listener, it stops you in your tracks you mean after eight straight faith-filled songs, Carter is now questioning his divine destiny?

But then Carter explains, in thelargely improvised passage,how he came to understand he was born blind to beput on hisamazing journey that has inspired countless people.

"It hasn't been easy, but God has been faithful," he says in the song.

Carter joined the Blind Boys of Alabama in 1982, helpingthe groupemergefrom Southern church concert circuitto globallyrecognized stature. Carter technically was there at the group's onset in 1939, one of thekids at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind who would sing for fun. A few of the older kids there forgeda gospel group that began playing church engagements in the Deep South. Carter was too young to join them on the road.

The Blind Boyspersevered through an unparalleled eightdecades to become one of the most recognized and decorated gospel music groups.

As the band's bio states, "Its almost unbelievable that a group of blind, African-American singers, who started out touring during a time of whites-only bathrooms, restaurants and hotels, went on to win five GrammyAwards, a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, be inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and to perform at the White House for three different presidents (Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.)"

Musical stalwartslike Mavis Staples, Ben Harper and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver enlisted the Blind Boys' vocal talents. The group toured internationally, playing a2011 headlining show at the Three Rivers Arts Festival in Pittsburgh.

Well aware of the Blind Boys' prodigious talents and stellar reputation, Pullman hired the group to sing on one of his solo songs,Crossing The Threshold, in a Columbus, Ohio, recording session on June 5 (his birthday)2017.

"That was to be the first song on my first gospel record that I was writing," Pullman said.

Jimmy Hoyson, of The Vault recordingstudio on Neville Island, did the producing,havingworked with the Blind Boys on their Grammy-winning 2001 traditional Southern gospel recordSpirit of the Century.

Pullman had collaboratedwith rock stars before, co-writing withDenny Laineof The Moody Blues and the Paul McCartney-ledWings, and writing for Lenny Zakatek, lead vocalist for The Alan Parsons Project ("I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You.")

"I initially asked The Blind Boys to sing on another song that was to be on my soft-rock record, but they turned me down, citing they dont sing on love songs," Pullman said.

"Theirmanager, Charles Driebe, later wrote me and said,'Please dont be discouraged because we have refused to sing on other peoples songs, the likes of Elton John and Jimmy Buffett.'"

Driebe said the Blind Boys would consider singing on othergospel songs.

Pullman stayed in touch with the group, mainlyCarter, the longest-tenured member who called him in 2020 saying he was readyto record asolo album.

"I liked his material, he liked my voice, and the rest is history," Carter said in a phone interview.

Their"Blind Faith" sessions would include guest vocals from the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, and the choir at the now-namedAlabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, whichCarter and theBlind Boys of Alabama founders attended.

With "Blind Faith"out now on major platforms, Carter and Pullman will focus on promotion, hoping to score TV or radio interviews. Carter, who recalls a trip to Pittsburgh's Hill District to try Willie Stargell's chicken restaurant, says he hopes to appear on KDKA-AM because he's listened to it often.

"We'd also really like to do some nice-end tour dates sprinkled here and there," Pullman,who made a guest appearance this summer at the Tribute to The Music of Elton John show at Beaver's Linn Park,said.

"The knowledge I have gained from these experiences is that every good and perfect gift is from above," Pullman said.I think of my gift of songwriting as a vessel, being used by the Lord to promote His message of peace."

For Carter, a new album is the latest chapter of a musical journey begun 80 years ago.

"I have always wanted to help people. I love people," Carter said. "I hope this project will energize people and change lives. Where there is light, there is hope; and where there is hope, there is a chance."

BeaverValleymarchingbands: BeaverValleymarchingbands to shine at 43rd annualinvitational

Beaver County entertainment: Let's make Beaver County more fun

Scott Tady is thelocal Entertainment Reporterfor The Beaver County Times and Ellwood City Ledger. He's easy to reach at stady@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @scotttady

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Blackhawk grad and Gospel Hall of Famer collaborate on album - The Times