Global

The easiest way to cope with the news is to shrivel it into an us-vs.-them abstraction and, thus, to extract as much humanity from it as possible.

I’m thinking about the recent protest death of Aaron Bushnell, who set himself on fire — doused himself in flammable liquid, lit a match and ignited himself — in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. this past Sunday, Feb. 24. The last words he shouted were “Free Palestine!”

No, this is not the first such death. Over the centuries — and particularly in recent decades, since the Vietnam war — a number of people, spiritually distraught over war or other social conditions, have killed themselves in protest by self-immolation . . . that is, in the most painful way imaginable. You might say they entered hell of their own accord. Why? The question tears at the soul.

The Palestinian city of Rafah is not just older than Israel, it is as old as civilization itself.  

 It has existed for thousands of years. The Canaanites referred to it as Rafia, and Rafia has been almost always there, guarding the southern frontiers of Palestine, ancient and modern. 

 As the gateway between two continents and two worlds, Rafah has been at the forefront of many wars and foreign invasions, from ancient Egyptians to the Romans, to Napoleon and his eventually vanquished army. 

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Eighteen years after a military coup toppled one of Thailand's most politically powerful leaders, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra walked free on parole, finishing six months in a police hospital and sparking fears he now shares power with his party's pliant prime minister.

"There is only one prime minister under the constitution. That's me," their Pheu Thai party's less popular Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin insisted to reporters hours after Mr. Thaksin was freed on February 18.

Some warn that Mr. Thaksin, 74, is so influential and Machiavellian that this Southeast Asian, Buddhist-majority nation now has "double prime ministers".

"Thai society now knows that Thaksin is the shadow prime minister with real power," Wanwichit Boonprong, a Rangsit University political science lecturer, said in an interview.

Mr. Thaksin's six-month hospital incarceration and parole also sparked complaints.

"Even though he [was] a prisoner, he has received special medical treatment privileges in the police hospital without ever having been in prison for a single day," Mr. Wanwichit said.

The 32nd Pan African Film & Arts Festival, America’s largest Black-themed filmfest, took place Feb. 7 – Feb. 19 in Los Angeles. During Black History Month PAFF annually screens movies ranging from Hollywood studio productions and Hallmark Channel TV-movies to indies, foreign films, documentaries, low budget productions, shorts, animation, etc. Films span the spectrum from Oscar nominees to hard-to-find gems from Africa, the Caribbean, America and beyond that L.A. viewers are unlikely to be able to see at any other venue. Here are reviews of short films that audiences had an opportunity to see at PAFF as part of the “New Media” screening:

MOMENTS: A GROUP HUG FOR GROUP THERAPY FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS

The 32nd Pan African Film & Arts Festival, America’s largest Black-themed filmfest, took place Feb. 7 – Feb. 19 in Los Angeles. During Black History Month PAFF annually screens movies ranging from Hollywood studio productions and Hallmark Channel TV-movies to indies, foreign films, documentaries, low budget productions, shorts, animation, etc. Films span the spectrum from Oscar nominees to hard-to-find gems from Africa, the Caribbean, America and beyond that L.A. viewers are unlikely to be able to see at any other venue. Here is a review of just one of the off-the-beaten track films that audiences have an opportunity to see:

THIS IS LAGOS: A CRIME DRAMA IN URBAN AFRICA

The rich history of genocides does not show us combination like the one we
have today:
1) Overwhelming evidence of intent broadcast and available to everyone on
instant communication devices (phones, tablets, computer) and based on a
messianic model of chosenness linking to biblical mythologies of conquest
of Canaan, wiping out other nations etc
2) Wanton destruction of people and their livelihood. Destroying all their
means of livelihood denying them food, medicine, water, fuel etc. Man made
famine of thsi scale and meanness never happended before. Addedto direct
bombing of civilians, hundreds die daily and so far 1 in 20 people in Gaza
iskilledorn injured.
3) Wanton destruction of property to make life unnlivable even after the
genocide stops. 70% of all building are destroyed so far: homes hopsitals,
mosques, churches, civil defence, police buildings, water facicilities,
trees etc
4) Wanton attack and destruction of humanitarian aid organizations and
their facilities(e.g. the UN agencies)
5) Never in history do we see such division between the wishes of hundreds