Sunday, April 03, 2022

Part of a wave of Americans who emigrated during divisive conflict, she eventually established herself in Ontario, writing acclaimed poetry and practising psychotherapy

12:50 PM · Apr 3, 2022·dlvr.it

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What I Think About the Situation in Ukraine

By: Viet Thanh NguyenApril 3, 2022

The Nguyen family, in the early 1980s in San Jose, Calif., where his parents owned the New Saigon Mini Market. Photograph courtesy Viet Thanh Nguyen

Viet Than Nguyen posted the following statement on his Facebook page on March 18, 2022. We thank him for permission to publish it.

Some people have asked me what I think about the situation in Ukraine. A prominent magazine also asked me. Here’s what I wrote. I wonder if they’ll publish it:

I was born in Viet Nam and made in America.

I fled from Viet Nam as a refugee in 1975 and came to the United States. While I’m grateful for American aid, I wouldn’t have needed American aid if the United States hadn’t invaded Viet Nam in the first place.

As a refugee, I am aware that wars kill more civilians than soldiers, and that wars always produce refugees. I have seen that wars do not end simply because we say they do, and that war’s effects will ripple through bodies, minds, and souls for decades afterwards.

As a refugee, a writer, and a human being, I stand with the people of Ukraine, who are suffering now and will suffer in the future even after the violence is over. I stand against Putin and authoritarians and autocrats and Russia, and I stand against powerful, imperial nations invading or imposing their will on smaller and weaker countries. I believe that all Ukrainian refugees should be accepted everywhere with open borders, open hearts, open arms, and open minds.

Therefore, I also stand against every instance of nations unilaterally invading other countries, which means I oppose my own government and the United States in its many instances of imposing its will on other nations, from Iraq and Afghanistan in very recent memory to many other instances, such as the Philippines, Cuba, Haiti, Viet Nam, to name just a few, in addition to the many indigenous nations that the United States currently occupies.

Since I oppose authoritarians and autocrats, I also oppose whenever the United States and its allies support authoritarians and autocrats, in places present and past like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Guatemala, and South Korea, to name a few examples. Since I oppose occupations of all kinds, I am not only opposed to Russia’s attempt to occupy Ukraine, I am opposed to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and to the United States’ unwavering support for Israel.

And since I support Ukrainian refugees, I support refugees no matter where they come from, what religion they believe in, what color their skin is, what language they speak, and regardless of whether or not my country will benefit politically, economically, or morally for taking them in.

As a Vietnamese refugee from a communist victory, I am well aware that I was let into the United States because it was advantageous for the United States to show the evils of communism. Likewise, Ukrainian refugees are welcome now because it is in the interest of the West and the United States to demonstrate the evils of Putin.

What about all the other refugees who need our compassion, our empathy, our love, and our action? Will we stand for them?

Posted Russia, Ukraine, War and peace

About Author
Viet Thanh Nguyen is a novelist.

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Hasan Aycın (yenisafak.com)

Israeli escalation to lead to explosion: Palestine

Israeli forces kills 3 Palestinians near Jenin

News Service

April 02, 2022

File photo

The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Saturday condemned the Israeli killing of three Palestinians in the West Bank, warning that the Israeli escalation risks to explode the situation in the region.

"The dangerous Israeli escalation, which coincided today with the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, is strongly rejected and condemned, and it would explode the situation," PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said in a statement cited by the state news agency Wafa.

He slammed the Israeli actions as constituting “a flagrant challenge to international legitimacy and international law.”

Abu Rudeina called on Tel Aviv to “stop all these dangerous practices” which threaten security and stability, noting that Jewish extremists still continue to storm the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound hence “creating an atmosphere of tension.”

Israel’s domestic intelligence service Shin Bet said early Saturday that three Palestinians were killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli forces near the city of Jenin. Four Israeli soldiers were injured in the violence.

An official with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society told Anadolu Agency that Israeli forces seized the bodies of the three dead Palestinians.

For his part, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Shtayyeh described the killings as a "crime” and called on the International Criminal Court to hold accountable those responsible.

In a statement, Shtayyeh called on Israeli leaders to "stop committing crimes and violations against the Palestinian people, respond to their legitimate rights to freedom and independence, end the occupation and establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital."

'Unscientific and Unlawful': Biden EPA Will Not Regulate Rocket Fuel Chemical in Water

A boy pours tap water into a drinking glass. On Thursday, the Biden administration announced it will not impose new limits on perchlorate in drinking water. (Photo: Teresa Short/Getty Images)

"The Trump EPA gave perchlorate a pass; it was a bad decision then, and it's a bad decision now," said one environmental advocate.

JULIA CONLEY

April 1, 2022

Public health advocates said Thursday that they plan to resume litigation against the Environmental Protection Agency after the Biden administration announced it would uphold former President Donald Trump's decision to not regulate drinking water levels of a chemical used to make rocket fuel and explosives.

Former President Barack Obama's administration proposed limits for perchlorate after finding in 2011 that drinking water for 16 million people may have unsafe levels of the contaminant, which poses a risk to the development of children and fetuses.

"Tap water across America will remain contaminated by this toxic chemical."

Groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) were outraged when Trump refused to impose the limits, claiming regulation was "not in the public interest." The EPA's announcement this week sparked renewed criticism, with the NRDC calling the decision "unscientific and unlawful."

"The Trump EPA gave perchlorate a pass; it was a bad decision then, and it's a bad decision now," said Erik D. Olson, senior strategic director for health at the organization. "Tap water across America will remain contaminated by this toxic chemical, which threatens the brain development of babies in the womb, infants, and young children at extremely low levels."

The Trump administration claimed that 56 parts per billion (ppb) was an acceptable level of perchlorate in drinking water—far higher than limits that Massachusetts and California have imposed at the state level, requiring water to contain no more than two ppb and six ppb, respectively.

Before Thursday's announcement, the American Academy of Pediatrics had called on the EPA to establish the "strongest possible" limits on the chemical.

Exposure to perchlorate has been linked to measurable decreases in IQ in newborns; the chemical interferes with the thyroid gland and stunts the production of hormones needed for proper child development.

High concentrations of perchlorate have been found in at least 26 states, with communities near military bases at high risk for exposure because the chemical is a component in munitions.

The limits proposed by the Obama administration were met with aggressive lobbying by military contractors including Northrup Grumman and Lockheed Martin and were never imposed. The NRDC sued the EPA after it failed to set new standards, securing a court order requiring the agency to regulate the chemical by 2019.

The group then sued the Trump administration when it announced it would not impose limits, but paused the litigation after Biden won the 2020 election.

The risk sciences department at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said the EPA's decision represents "a step backwards that leaves the states and communities most impacted out there by themselves."

The EPA said that instead of imposing limits, it will develop a plan to clean up detonation sites with very high levels of perchlorate contamination, provide a "web-based toolkit" to advise water systems about perchlorate, and "continue to consider new information on the health effects and occurrence of perchlorate."

According to Olson, "By refusing to establish a standard or water testing requirements, the EPA decision will also keep members of the public in the dark, without even basic information about whether they are being exposed to perchlorate."

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.

Perchlorate - Wikipedia

A perchlorate is a chemical compound containing the perchlorate ion, ClO−4. The majority of perchlorates are commercially produced salts. They are mainly used as oxidizers for pyrotechnic devices and to control static electricity in food packaging.^[2] Perchlorate contamination in food, water, and other parts of the environment has been studied in the U.S. because of harmful effects on human health. Perchlorate ions are somewhat toxic to the thyroid gland.

Most perchlorates are colorless solids that are soluble in water. Four perchlorates are of primary commercial interest: ammonium perchlorate NH4ClO4, perchloric acid HClO4, potassium perchlorate KClO4 and sodium perchlorate NaClO4. Perchlorate is the anion resulting from the dissociation of perchloric acid and its salts upon their dissolution in water. Many perchlorate salts are soluble in non-aqueous solutions.

Perchlorate

Perchlorate (ClO4-) is an inorganic compound that occurs naturally in nitrate deposits and potash ore. It may also be present in air, soil, and water as a result of the industrial uses of perchlorate salts (perchlorate combined with another element or compound such as sodium or ammonium) and nitrate fertilizers. Perchlorate salts are primarily used in solid fuels, explosives, fireworks, road flares, air bag inflators, rubber manufacturing, paint and enamel manufacturing and pulp and paper processing. As a result of its ubiquitous presence in the environment, trace amounts of perchlorate may also enter the food chain.

In humans, high doses of perchlorate have been used to treat hyperthyroidism since it has the ability to disrupt the function of the thyroid gland by preventing the uptake of iodine. However, the potential exposure to perchlorate from the diet is expected to be orders of magnitude less than a therapeutic dose.

Health authorities became concerned with perchlorate when it was detected in a number of well water and drinking water supplies across the United States in the 1990s. However, it was mostly detected in water sources in proximity to military areas or perchlorate salt production facilities. Perchlorate has been detected in samples of ground and surface water in Canada, but levels are so low that there would be no human health concern associated with consuming this water. It has also been detected at low levels in certain foods.

Perchlorate

G. Karimi, R. Rezaee, in Encyclopedia of Toxicology (Third Edition), 2014

Water

Perchlorate was sampled in drinking water supplies as part of the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation (UCMR) 1, List 1 Assessment Monitoring program. Occurrence data for perchlorate was collected from 3865 public water supplies between 2001 and 2005. Approximately 160 (4.1%) of these systems had at least one analytical detection of perchlorate (in at least one entry/sampling point) at levels ≥4 μg l−1. These 160 systems are located in 26 states and two territories. Approximately 1.9% (or 637) of the 34 331 samples collected by all 3865 public water supplies had positive detections of perchlorate at levels ≥4 μg l−1. The maximum reported concentration of perchlorate, 420 μg l−1, was found in a single surface water sample from a public water supply in Puerto Rico. The average concentration of perchlorate for those samples with positive detections for perchlorate was 9.85 μg l−1 and the median concentration was 6.40 μg l−1. There is limited information on the release of perchlorate to ambient water. Perchlorate may be released to water from its manufacture, processing, or use. Perchlorate may ultimately be released to surface water from the runoff or erosion of sand or soil contaminated with the compound, whereas the percolation of water through contaminated sand or soil could result in perchlorate contaminating groundwater.

Identities divided (Pt. 2): Okinawan Amerasians fight racism, embrace their Black roots

April 2, 2022

(Mainichi Japan)
Japanese version

Ai Oyafuso, who makes original clothing using local plant dyes and runs a cafe at a market, is seen in Motobu, Okinawa Prefecture, on Feb. 21, 2022.

(Mainichi/Shinnosuke Kyan)

NAHA -- Okinawa, Japan's southernmost prefecture, was under U.S. military rule for 27 years after World War II. Even after its return to Japan in 1972, it has continued to be host to most of the U.S. military bases in the country. Okinawans have rejected the United States' power over their islands, but some children have been caught in the middle: those born between local parents and Americans affiliated with the bases.

The stories of these Amerasians are often painful, laced with prejudice over their appearance and otherness. And the group to suffer the worst of this hateful bullying are those with Black ancestry.

Ai Oyafuso, who makes original clothing using local plant dyes and runs a cafe at a market, is seen in Motobu, Okinawa Prefecture, on Feb. 21, 2022. (Mainichi/Shinnosuke Kyan)

One Amerasian woman in her 50s living in the south of the main island told the Mainichi Shimbun that her father, a U.S. serviceman, had both Black and white roots, though it wasn't obvious from his appearance. Her Okinawan mother did not know he had Black ancestry, and was surprised by her newborn daughter's dark skin tone. Her mother complained that she had been "cursed with bad karma." At age 5, the woman moved in with her maternal grandparents, but was still the target of discrimination outside the home.

At elementary school, when she handed copies to classmates, they told her, "Don't touch them. They'll get dirty," and someone dumped muddy water into her backpack. When locals began protesting U.S. B-52 bombing missions flown over Vietnam from the U.S. military's Kadena Air Base near her home, kids yelled, "B-52 go home!" at the school gate. And sometimes she did.

Once, she bought some U.S.-made bleach with her allowance, dissolved it in the bath and used a brush to scrub herself, trying to turn her skin white. "Won't it get white?" she wondered. She felt like her whole body had been scalded, but her skin stayed dark. She found it increasingly tough to go to school, and she would hide under the bedcovers, crying. "I wanted to run away from the world," she recalled.

After graduating from junior high, she went to a private high school far from her hometown. There, for the first time, she met people who had gone through the same things. "It was like paradise," she said. She continued to face discrimination and prejudice at every turn, including when she got a job and when she was married. However, she also recognized that, "because I went through that hardship, I'm capable of being kind, and strict, with people."

Ai Oyafuso, a 39-year-old living in the Okinawan town of Motobu, has a Black father who was once in the U.S. military. Although she was born after the end of direct U.S. military rule in 1972, since she was young she has still been subjected to painful racist barbs from people she doesn't know. That pain has grown new dimensions as her four children suffer similar experiences.

Several months ago, her eldest daughter's third-grade classmates painted their skin with calligraphy ink and crowed, "We're black!" Her eldest son, in fifth grade, has also been called "gaijin," which literally means "outsider" and is used to refer to foreigners.

"I can ignore words aimed at me. But I cannot tolerate it when they're aimed at my children," she said. She has approached the school and talked with the children responsible for the racist acts as well as their parents, urging them to be open to diversity.

Oyafuso has also joined protests against the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, to the Henoko district of Nago, also in Okinawa. However, when she hears others speak with open antagonism toward the U.S. military, she feels uncomfortable and out of place. She said, "I've asserted my identity as an 'Uchinanchu' (Okinawan), but society and those around me will not let me be one. I've always been Black in their eyes."

It was the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement that rippled through the United States and across the world in 2020 that made her feel more positive. Oyafuso also joined BLM demonstrations near Kadena Air Base with family and friends, holding signs condemning anti-Black racism.

Through creating information pamphlets on Black history and Black Lives Matter, she gradually began to feel good that she'd been born Black. When she was young, Oyafuso used to be insecure about her hair, but she now enjoys styling it with colorful braids.

"I feel much more at ease now than the time I wanted to avoid being seen as a Black person," she said. She said hopefully, "Although society doesn't change easily, I'd like Amerasians to get educated about diversity and live without blaming themselves. After all, it's always the side engaging in the discrimination that is 100% in the wrong."

(Japanese original by Shinnosuke Kyan, Kyushu Photo Department)

Related Articles

Identities divided (Pt. 1): Amerasians recall discrimination, pain growing up in Okinawa

Identities divided (Pt. 3): Amerasian school in Okinawa encourages kids to embrace roots - The Mainichi

'There is no discrimination in Japan': survey results show statement is far from true

2nd-gen. Japanese American reflects on internment camp, slams anti-Asian hate crimes (Pt.1)

Iranian short film awarded in US Big Water Film Festival

TEHRAN, Apr. 04 (MNA) – Directed by Alireza Ghasemi, the Iranian short film

"Better than Neil Armstrong" won the prize of the Audience Favorite at the Big Water Film Festival.

This is the 21st international prize for Ghasemi's short film.

The synopsis of 'Better than Neil Armstrong' reads, "Four kids start their journey to the moon with the mission of finding a mysterious place called The Redland but the gates of Redland are being guarded by a mischievous snake."

Some of the short film's cast includes Asal Shakeri, Golnoosh Ghahremani, Kian Alipanah, Nooshika Khodashenas, and Ilia Hasani.

The Big Water Film Festival takes place on the shores of Lake Superior, in Ashland, Wisconsin and surrounding communities.

The 14th Annual Big Water Film Festival, shown virtually over eight weeks, is now completed.

MP/5457815

VIDEO: For the first time in US history, Muslims perform Taraweeh prayers at New York Times Square

Worshippers gather for the Taraweeh prayers at Times Square.

Syed Shayaan Bakht, Gulf Today

In a rare event, hundreds of Muslims gathered and prayed Taraweeh at Times Square in New York on Saturday to mark the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

For the first time in history, Muslims performed the Taraweeh prayer in this iconic place in the United States.

The event organiser told local media that Muslims living in the United States want to celebrate Ramadan in this emblematic place in the heart of New York City to show others that Islam is a peaceful religion.

The organisers said that there is a misconception about Islam.

“We want to explain our religion to all who don`t know what is it about… Islam is a religion of peace.”

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan — when the faithful fast from dawn to dusk - began at sunrise on Saturday.

Muslims follow a lunar calendar and a moon-sighting methodology can lead to different countries declaring the start of Ramadan a day or two apart.

Ramadan tradition calls for colourful lanterns and lights strung throughout narrow alleys and around mosques in many Middle Eastern countries.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment

Sunday, April 03, 2022

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Perchlorate

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Iranian short film awarded in US Big Water Film Festival

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