Month: September 2018

Time Magazine is being sold by Meredith Corp. to Marc Benioff, a co-founder of Salesforce, and his wife.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the iconic news magazine is being sold for $190 million to Benioff, one of four co-founders of Salesforce, a cloud computing pioneer.

The sale is occurring nearly eight months after Meredith Corp. completed its purchase of Time Inc.

Meredith, the publisher of such magazines as People and Better Homes & Gardens, had put four Time Inc. publications up for sale in March. Negotiations for the sale of the three other publications — Fortune, Money and Sports Illustrated — are continuing.
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The usual suspects — Wonder Woman, Spider-Man and Darth Vader — roamed at Comic Con Africa. A few African characters were also on display: Kwezi, Captain South Africa and Shaka Zulu.

The success of Marvel’s “Black Panther” film spiked interest in African stories, and creators on the continent hope to capitalize with more comic book characters of their own. The three-day convention ending Sunday in South Africa was a platform for their efforts, even if it was dominated by the global superheroes, villains and other pop culture figures who have been around for decades.

Many of the first African comic books are “caricatures of Supermans, of Captain Americas,” said Bill Masuku, a Zimbabwean artist and writer. “But if you allow that to grow, giving it time, you will get better quality story-telling that is naturally African.”

One example is Masuku’s Captain South Africa, a black female superhero who “doesn’t want to punch criminals because that doesn’t end crime,” he said at a convention stall where he also promoted another of his creations, Zimbabwean superhero Razor-Man.

Thousands of people, many in costume, turned out for the suburban Johannesburg event introduced by Reed Exhibitions. ReedPOP, a subsidiary of the global company, hosts similar conventions around the world and brought its model to Africa for the first time.

Lagos, Nigeria and Nairobi, Kenya have been running their own “comic con” festivals for several years; South Africa’s annual ICON comic and games convention started in 1992.

Hurricane Florence scrapped plans by Anthony Mackie, the actor who has played Marvel’s Falcon superhero, to travel to Comic Con Africa. Aquaman actor Jason Momoa also canceled. Kevin Sussman from “The Big Bang Theory” and Yetide Badaki from “American Gods” made it, to the delight of autograph and photo op seekers.

“If you have issues with personal space, comic cons are not for you,” said ICON director Les Allen as he waded through crowds. Up ahead, video gamers playing a “Counter-Strike” first-person shooter in sound-proof booths battled each other on giant screens as spectators followed the combat. Someone in a reptilian “Predator” outfit paced the hall, posing with fans. Other people had masks, hoods, swords and staffs and there was plenty of spandex and hair spray, of course.

“Shaka Rising: A Legend of the Warrior Prince,” a glossy graphic novel about the real-life Zulu king who built an empire at a time of European expansion into Africa, was among home-grown projects on display. The story of power and intrigue was written and drawn by South African Luke Molver.

“To a large extent, African stories get told by people outside of Africa, about people in Africa,” said Robert Inglis, the book’s promoter and director of Jive Media Africa, a company based in South Africa. Part of the reason is that many African stories circulate through “word of mouth” and don’t have the “lasting kind of print space” to resonate internationally, he said.

Nearby, Janine Evans was offering capes modeled on traditional Basotho blankets and other clothing merchandise associated with a band of southern African superheroes.

“Our aim here is to actually take the Afrocentric from the fantasy world and bring it into people’s everyday lives,” she said.

One African superhero is Kwezi, a comic book character drawn by creator Loyiso Mkize. He is a young man who learns he has special powers, and then sorts out problems in the local community. In a short video animation, a flying Kwezi checks a phone message that summons him to an urban Johannesburg neighborhood: “Trouble in Braamfontein, we need you now!!!!”

Other promotions at Comic Con Africa include “The Tokoloshe,” a South African horror movie whose name refers to an evil spirit; and “Apocalypse Now Now,” a South African short film and novel whose name plays on the uniquely South African phrase meaning “soon.”

The goal is “to normalize the existence of African content and creators,” said Masuku, the Captain South Africa creator. “We’re still making the steps to get there. I’m happy with where we are right now.”
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Catherine V. Harry is 23, has 243,000 Facebook followers, generates between $1,000 to $2,000 a month from her vlog, A Dose of Cath, which focuses on sexual and reproductive health, and she doesn’t much care if people disagree with her on women’s rights as long as they discuss the topics she considers important.

In Cambodia, what sets her apart is her willingness to take on the traditional social and cultural code, the chbap srey, which defines expectations for Cambodian women. Although no longer taught in schools, it is a mindset with deep cultural roots that sees good women as quiet and obedient. Harry, however, sees it as a tool of oppression, one that enshrines gender inequality and masks violence toward women in and out of their homes by encouraging them to remain silent.

Harry started her women’s rights advocacy in 2012 as a blogger confronting the chbap srey. She launched her Facebook vlog in February 2017 with enough weekly topics mapped out to see her through the first 50 weeks.

She posts every Saturday night, a time slot that appeals to her audience, mostly young women like herself. 

“I talk to them as friends,” she says. “I won’t lecture them so I can be one of their friends. I share what I know to them. So, they can relate themselves to what I share.”

Taking on taboo topics

Harry vlogs about taboo topics, such as menstruation, contraception, abortion. Most of her clips average about 100,000 views. A post on virginity, “Is the value of women determined by virginity?,” has passed 2 million hits and thousands of comments — not bad in a country of 16.3 million people, 6.8 million of them on Facebook.

Harry intentionally selects what she describes as “the controversial topics” and issues a call to action with each post.

She responds to all comments and appreciates negative feedback because, as her vlog production assistant and boyfriend, Panha Chum, the 25-year-old owner of a Phnom Penh translation firm, says, “At least they are able to understand what we want them to know.”

“I want people to debate about the topics that I raise. Their disagreement won’t matter much to me,” Harry said.

Not everyone appreciates Harry’s outspokenness, said Chindavotey Ly, coordinator of the Student Success Program and former president of the student senate at Pannasastra University of Cambodia. 

“But when she talks about those topics, both men and women can understand that those are the issues of women’s rights,” Ly said.

Within a year of the launch of the vlog, Forbes magazine put Harry on its “30 under 30” list for Asia.

“It is important to have a debate on the topics that have not been discussed or have been restricted,” said Chantevy Khoun, who heads the Women’s Rights Team at ActionAid Cambodia, which has worked with Harry. “She … dares to break the taboos.”

Raised conservatively

Harry wasn’t always a taboo-buster. Born in Phnom Penh, her parents, Solyna Svay and Sambath Hun, named her Soksovankesor Sambath, and raised her conservatively. Her father stressed things like not wearing short shorts in public, and not meeting friends in the evening.

“When I was young … I didn’t care about gender and inequality in the society,” Harry said. That changed in junior high when, without internet access at home, she began going online at coffee shops “to learn about social issues. … I think my life has changed since then.” She also became involved with the Love 9 project at BBC. “I met many people who were passionate about women’s rights. I took action. I eventually became who I am today.”

New name, life at 17

Harry cast aside Soksovankesor Sambath when she was 17 and took the name Catherine V. Harry, to represent her new personality and worldview.

Her mother embraced her new daughter. 

“My mother was so tough on me when I was young. She dictated all my decisions. I told myself that I wouldn’t pass it on to my daughter,” Solyna Svay said. “My daughter … lacked confidence when she was young. Now she contributes; she helps society. She empowers other girls to make decisions independently and to challenge traditional … practices.”

Harry defines feminism as people who work to promote the equality of all people.

“Sometimes, when I drive or ride on the road, I have been catcalled by strangers,” Harry said. “I, sometimes, have been followed or approached by strangers after dark. So, my freedom of movement is not granted. I feel I am living under pressure and unsafe.”

Men lose, too

Cambodia’s patriarchal norms also hurt men, Harry says, because “a man cannot reveal his emotion. Sometimes male victims of rape and sexual violence are discouraged to speak [because] culturally a man is not considered a victim of rape.”

Harry, often criticized, isn’t considering backing down anytime soon. 

“I touch the sensitive issues of the society. If there will be no negative comments on my videos, I don’t think it would be effective. I want people to start discussing the topics. People, who agree or disagree with what I am doing, have a platform to exchange their ideas,” Harry said.

“I think it is not a bad thing, but conservatives find it intensely unacceptable,” said Solyna Svay, who worries about Harry, “but I’m still positive. Others’ comments are others’ issues.”

Harry said that while many people support and appreciate her work, many disagree with and devalue it. Some of her friends unfriended and unfollowed her on Facebook.

Some still prefer to preserve a norm that Harry deems oppressive, the chbab srey.

“A friend of mine said, ‘That is not in the school’s curriculum anymore. Why would you care about it, while others wouldn’t?’ ” Harry said.

“That person doesn’t understand that the concept of chbab srey is embedded in people’s minds. Whether we have known it or not, we still practice it,” she added.

But things do change. Harry now has her father’s full support.

“My dad debates with people who criticized me on my Facebook page,” Harry said. “He explains to them that I want changes on women’s rights.”

Harry’s boyfriend, Chum, another convert, says “feminism is not just about women — it is for all.” Harry’s stance is, in his mind, “logical. Humans should be equal.”
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When Thunyatorn “Cheng” Ng speaks about Thai fashion and style, she tears up.

The 34-year-old Connecticut-based fashion entrepreneur and stylist specializes in creating traditional Thai outfits and costumes. Her designs were showcased during this month’s New York Fashion Week, at an event September 10 hosted by the Council of Aspiring American Fashion Designers at the Pier59 Studios in the Chelsea Piers complex on the Hudson River.

Ng prepared her show, featuring headpieces themed to the Chinese zodiac, in just seven days, after a spot came open. 

“It was the biggest show of my life, so far,” in terms of attendance, she said.

“I have to confess: I never thought it’d come to a point where I’d do New York Fashion Week with my clothes,” said Ng of an event known for launching and accelerating careers.

​Start with formal attire

Ng’s styles shown on the runway were provocative and stylized, with ornate headpieces and gold accessories. The result might seem theatrical, but Ng says her designs often start with the formal clothes Thais wear on important occasions.

“I liken this to Japan’s kimono. Not even the Japanese wear kimonos every day — only on formal occasions,” she adds. “But if you take the cloth of a kimono, modify and customize to make it fashion” as Ng does with Thai clothing, “now, that’s interesting.”

A native of Lampang in northern Thailand, Ng believes Thais, especially those who live overseas, should show more pride in traditional Thai clothing and fashion. Ng knows it is tough to compete with the allure of Asian cultural heavyweights like China or India, but says Thailand’s strikingly unique fashion and textiles heritage deserves more attention than they receive.

“The clothes themselves are beautiful. And I’m Thai, I want to show that I am Thai,” says Ng, a graduate of Bangkok University who majored in communications and the performing arts.

“My sense is that this is a viable business, one with enough promise and profit to support me, as a real livelihood,” she added of her choice to become a Thai tailor and dressmaker. “I also feel pride each time I’m able to exhibit Thai heritage and culture, to preserve it and pass it down, through this medium of clothing.”

​An early interest in textiles

Ng first became interested in Thai textiles as a child, growing up surrounded by traditional silk production in northern Thailand. She renewed her interest as an adult living in the United States. That was when she realized Thai textiles and fashions had an image problem. They were so obscure as to be virtually unknown even though Thai fashion itself is partly a product of Thai kings adapting clothes from Europe, says Ng, who presented her work at New York University (NYU) during a November 2015 symposium on Southeast Asian dress and textiles, an event overseen by adjunct faculty Daniel James Cole.

Credit: Beauty and Fashion

Student to entrepreneur

Ng came to the U.S. in 2009 to study English. She worked as a freelance makeup and hair stylist, and as an assistant chef. Despite her fractured schedule, she found the time to fall in love. And in 2012, even in the famously diverse and worldly New York metropolitan area, she discovered the Thai wedding clothes she wanted to wear for her marriage weren’t readily available.

So she imported what she wanted, then undertook the task of customizing the garments, realizing stitch by painstaking stitch, that she held in her hands the underpinnings of her niche business.

For years, Ng ran Thunyatorn LLC from her home basement studio in Elmhurst, Queens, a New York City neighborhood. She imported, modified and designed Thai clothes for weddings or other formal occasions for clients in the eastern half of the U.S. She is now based in the New York suburb of Greenwich, Connecticut, where she also owns a day spa.

Clients fly her in and put her up in their homes, all to have her help realize a Thai wedding, a service that only a handful of U.S. companies can provide, nationwide.

At her busiest, Ng makes four out-of-state trips in a month for clients, handling hair, makeup, clothing, and even providing Thai wedding gear like ceremonial water tables.

Chuthaphorn “Gai” Sricharoenta was one of Ng’s brides. Sricharoenta works at Yale University’s health care services group, which includes the dining hall and dietary aid divisions.

She met Joseph Weems online. He’s an executive chef at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. The couple had their first date at a Thai restaurant, on New Year’s Eve in 2014.

Sricharoenta wanted a Thai wedding for her second marriage. She decked out her two half-Thai children in clothes rented from Ng, while her 68-year-old mother flew in from Chiangrai for the wedding, July 22 near New Haven, Connecticut.

“I want to showcase what it is to be Thai. I also want my American friends, my colleagues and others, to understand Thai culture,” said Sricharoenta, 44, a Chiangrai native, hours before her wedding ceremony.

Weems supported his wife’s desire to share her culture on their big day.

“I like diversity. I embrace diversity, and this is a way of bringing a lot of people together, with diverse cultures. So this [Thai wedding] is a great thing,” said Weems, a 58-year-old Lancaster, Pennsylvania, native who wore a cream outfit, with Thai pants rented from Ng.

Non-Thais welcome

Non-Thais wearing Thai dress, including traditional outfits, “is not something strange or offensive. It’s just that the world isn’t used to it … people know more about Thai food than about Thai fashion,” Ng said.

Ng believes Thais are much more sensitive about foreigners who misinterpret Thai religion than non-Thais who wear Thai clothing.

“Fashion is more about your individual personality,” and what a person feels comfortable with, while religious customs are more about respecting tradition, said Ng.

“So I believe the wearing of Thai dress, mixing and matching Thai traditional designs and modern fashion, is not strange for foreigners to wear. I’d actually feel good if more people adopted that, and if I can help to make that happen.”
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New York, one of the world’s fashion capitals, goes all out for eight days every September with an extravaganza of runway shows known as Fashion Week. For the designers, it is a prime opportunity to exhibit their creations. And as Laura Sepulveda reports, for the city, it is a major source of revenue.
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There are about 3.5 million Muslims living in the United States. The vast majority are from South and Central Asia. While many see America as the “land of the free,” some say the current political climate has made it difficult to be Muslim in America. In an effort to increase cultural understanding, the Smithsonian recently curated a group of artists and gave them a stage to make their Muslim American identities visible through a performance titled “Now You See Us.” Niala Mohammad has more.
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Female journalists are facing a “relentless” barrage of attacks and harassment, with nearly a third considering leaving the profession as a result, media support organizations have warned.

More than half of women in media have suffered work-related abuse, threats or physical attacks in the past year, found a survey by the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) and TrollBusters, which supports reporters being harassed.

“Female journalists are dealing with harassment on a daily basis,” said Elisa Lees Munoz, executive director of the US-based IWMF, which promotes women journalists. “It is almost generally accepted as part of their everyday work environment.”

The majority of women said their gender was a key reason they had been targeted, in a survey of nearly 600 female journalists in the United States and around the world.

More than half reported they had been threatened or abused in a face-to-face encounter in the course of their work, with over a quarter saying they had been physically attacked.

Nearly two-thirds said they had suffered online harassment or threats, with more than one in ten reporting it happened often or daily.

“We believe this is a concerted effort to discredit women’s voices in the media and to intimidate them into leaving the profession,” TrollBusters founder Michelle Ferrier, a former journalist, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

She added that women’s “tenuous position” in male-dominated newsrooms meant they were often wary of complaining due to a fear they might suffer professionally as a result.

Online harassment was particularly concerning, said the report’s authors, with female journalists now facing an endless stream of abuse in real time, which in some cases was deliberately co-ordinated by hate groups.

One former female journalist in the United States quoted in the report said she left her job after receiving a stream of online abuse, including a message with a racial slur saying “I will rape you and throw you in the gutter.”

Female journalists also said they felt abuse was increasing, with nine in ten saying they had seen a rise in both physical and online threats over the past five years.

Most said they feared for their safety, with more than a third saying they avoided covering certain stories as a result and a similar percentage saying they were considering leaving the profession altogether.

“Such on and offline attacks against women journalists are an attempt to silence women working in the media and deter others from doing their jobs,” said Michelle Stanistreet, head of Britain’s National Union of Journalists.

“Inaction risks further undermining press freedom and much-needed diversity in journalism.”
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Actress Olivia Munn is thanking an outpouring of support online for keeping up her morale following “The Predator” controversy.

Munn blew the whistle on a fellow actor after she learned he was a registered sex offender. Her intervention prompted 20th Century Fox to cut the sex offender’s single scene.

Then came what Munn considered a frosty reception from her fellow actors. Munn described feeling lonely and isolated. But online, Munn was praised and she made her case on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

On the arrivals line at a screening Wednesday in Los Angeles, most of the actors from “The Predator” were now singing Munn’s praises.

Munn thanked bloggers and social media, saying “Without the support from online, I would have just still been one voice.”

 
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Country singer Gretchen Wilson has agreed to donate $500 to charity to settle a criminal charge related to a disturbance at a Connecticut airport last month.

The Grammy-winning “Redneck Woman” singer appeared Thursday in court in Enfield. A misdemeanor breach of peace charge will be dismissed based on the donation to a fund for injured crime victims.

Wilson was arrested August 21 at Bradley International Airport near Hartford en route to a private show at the Mohegan Sun casino. State police said Wilson was in a minor disturbance on the plane involving another passenger and a bathroom, and was arrested after becoming “belligerent” with troopers.

Wilson said Thursday everyone has bad days, but celebrities are targeted when they have one. She was to return home to Tennessee on Thursday.
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Cuba’s street vendors are bringing back the pregon, the art of singing humorous, rhyming ditties with double entendres about the goods they are selling, with some modernizing the tradition by setting their tunes to reggaeton.

The pregon is a centuries-old tradition that has inspired famous songs like “El Manisero” (the peanut vendor), composed in the late 1920s by Cuban musician Moises Simons on son music, the backbone of salsa.

It faded out in Cuba after Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution did away with most free enterprise. With the tentative liberalization of the centralized economy over the last few decades, however, it has made a comeback.

Cubans can now get a permit to make and sell their own goods on the street, from coconut ice cream to juices. Vendors often opting for that option, rather than opening a shop, which remains an onerous venture given ongoing restrictions on private business.

Others just illegally sell wares from stores at a mark-up, hoping to avoid authorities and a fine.

Not all street vendors bother with the pregon. Some just shout out what they are selling and their prices in a blunt manner on a loop, often using loudspeakers that they strap to rickety carts or bicycles, adding to the urban cacophony.

Cuba’s pregoneros however, like Lyssett Perez, who hawks paper cones of roasted peanuts to tourists in Old Havana, believe their ditties help them stand out.

“Firstly, it’s so people listen to me. Secondly, so they love me,” said Perez. “For me the pregon means joy.”

Perez has opted for more traditional pregons. She dresses up in colonial-style dresses with voluminous skirts and white aprons in order to catch the eye of potential clients.

“If you want to have fun by the mouth, buy yourself a peanut cornet,” she sings in a deep, melodious voice as she meanders up and down Old Havana’s pebbled and picturesque streets.

Other pregoneros are updating the genre. Gilberto Gonzalez raps about his wares to the beat of reggeaton that blends reggae, Latin and electronic rhythms.

“Toilet paper, so the chorus goes, buy me my people, to clean your bottom, hands in the air!” he raps in a video captured by a passer-by that subsequently drew tens of thousands of views on YouTube.

The video appeared just months after shortages of toilet paper in Havana, adding to its humorous appeal. Cubans are notorious for dealing with constant shortages of basic goods by making fun of them.

Such was its success that one of Cuba’s top DJs, DJ Unic, did a remix that further spread Gonzalez’s peculiar renown. Sporting a cap that reads “Money on my Mind,” Gonzalez said he was just trying to “make ends meet.”
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Girls’ soccer in the U.S. is widely seen as a white, suburban sport that often requires athletes to join costly clubs to advance their skills. But a nonprofit organization in St. Paul, Minnesota, called Like a Girl, wants to open the doors for more racially diverse girls’ soccer by embracing daughters of immigrant, refugee and low-income families. In this report narrated by Carol Pearson, VOA’s June Soh introduces us to Like a Girl’s founder, Kyle Johnson.
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Dozens of colorful pianos are available for the public to play and enjoy this month in several parks in Atlanta, Georgia, during the second annual festival of Pianos for Peace festival, which runs through Sept. 22.

Founded by Syrian-American composer and pianist Malek Jandali, the festival aims to celebrate diversity and help engage people in civil dialogue. 

“It is a true symphony for peace that celebrates our diversity. When we get to know our neighbors, we realize how much we have in common, and that leads to strength, peace and unity in our communities,” Jandali told VOA.

The festival is part of the Pianos for Peace charity, which Jandali founded in 2015 with the goal of building peace and harmony through music and education.

According to the festival’s volunteers — over 1,000 artists, educators, musicians, filmmakers and piano technicians — the community has responded positively to their initiative. Organizers hope to receive similar feedback this year as well.

The Pianos for Peace charity collaborates with the Fulton County Arts and Culture Center, the city of Atlanta and the Atlanta public school system, among others, and relies on funds raised by the community.

The organization plans to expand its peace-building work to art projects and support different art programs in the city.

“It’s about beauty, truth and preserving our shared American and human values,” Jandali said.

Color and sound

The coloring of pianos represents the diversity of the communities in Atlanta. Artists and other members of the community participated in coloring the pianos.

“Not only does the instrument itself become a beautiful, unique work of art, it helps to start a conversation, a dialogue that unites people and encourages them to sit at the bench and listen to each other while playing or singing together,” Jandali told VOA.

The campaign also has its own application that will help locals and visitors see pictures of the colored pianos and learn about the artists.

Once the festival ends, all pianos will be donated to schools, community centers, nursing homes, rehab centers and other organizations of underserved communities.

The organizers hope to distribute about 100 pianos by the end of the year.

“Last year, thousands of Atlantans and visitors were able to enjoy the pianos, and we hear from so many people who say that stumbling across a beautifully painted piano in a park or train station or community center reignited their passion for music, and also encouraged them to become more active in their local communities,” Jandali told VOA.

Syrian children

Jandali said he advocates for building a better future for children and embraces young talent. He has personal reasons for helping children.

“When I was a child in my hometown [in Syria], I did not have access to a piano for lessons, and had to travel several hours every week just to practice with my professor. It broke my heart to see students across metro Atlanta who did not have access to music,” Jandali said.

Jandali wrote a number of symphonies supporting Syrian children’s plea for a better life and future during the past seven years of violence in the country. Syria’s civil war has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians, including children, and has forced millions of others to leave the country.

“Everyone deserves to live in peace, and I am blessed to be able to use my music as a platform to share that message around the world. The Syrian children deserve to live in peace rather than rest in peace, and it’s my duty to serve and give back to that community as well,” Jandali said.

Jandali is a well-known musician in Atlanta and in his hometown of Homs. He has produced several symphonies in an attempt to preserve the culture and history of Syria and promote diversity in the country.

In 2009, he produced Echoes from Ugarit, the first arrangement of the oldest music notation in the world. The musical notation was inscribed on clay tablets found in Ugarit, a historical site in western Syria.
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