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PBS News-October 14-18, 2019, BBC-Turkey’s Erdogan vows to ‘crush heads’ of Kurdish fighters, CNN, TEDx and More

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PBS News:October 14-18.2019, How ‘Sesame Street’ is still supporting families, 50 years after its debut, What Turkey’s assault on northern Syria means for civilians, regional stability, How ‘Deep State’ book disputes accusations of Trump bias at FBI, DOJ

WATCH: ‘History will haunt us’ if U.S. fails to act in Syria, Sen. Blumenthal says

BBC: Turkey’s Erdogan vows to ‘crush heads’ of Kurdish fighters

CNN: SE Cupp: Don’t be surprised if this is what undoes Trump

The Kurds: The Most Famous Unknown People in the World | Stephen Mansfield | TEDxNashville

Turkey, Kurds, Language: Nicholas Glastonbury at TEDxGallatin

Kurdistan: Homeland of Diversity | Levi Clancy | TEDxDuhok

Bombs, mountains and an unlikely female voice | Dashni Morad | TEDxErbil

Advocate for the Kurdish community: Tara Fatehi at TEDxAdelaideChange

Communication in a mass communication society | Joakim Medin | TEDxUppsalaUniversity

PBS NewsHour full episode October 18, 2019

Oct 18, 2019  PBS NewsHour

Friday on the NewsHour, the battleground in northeastern Syria appears to be quieting, as a Turkish operation there pauses to allow Kurdish fighters to leave. Also: Violence in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, more questions about Boeing’s handling of the 737 MAX, former Gov. John Kasich on overcoming political divisions, Shields and Brooks, the art of Native American women and a historic spacewalk. Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6

PBS NewsHour full episode October 17, 2019

Oct 17, 2019  PBS NewsHour

Thursday on the NewsHour, U.S. and Turkish officials agree that Turkey’s military offensive in northern Syria will pause. Plus: Another U.S. diplomat testifies on Capitol Hill as President Trump’s acting chief of staff disputes wrongdoing around U.S. aid to Ukraine, remembering Rep. Elijah Cummings, a possible Brexit deal, resolution of the General Motors strike and using big data creatively. WATCH TODAY’S SEGMENTS: Turkish official denies Erdogan agreed to a ‘cease-fire’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOENn… How impeachment inquiry and Senate trial could unfold https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpY3k… News Wrap: New England lashed by powerful nor’easter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEtD-… Remembering lawmaker, civil rights advocate Elijah Cummings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSKwv… The EU approved Johnson’s Brexit plan. Will Parliament? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63Ay9… What tentative GM deal says about American organized labor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtU4f… How customers’ big data is transforming creative commerce https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs7Cg…

WATCH: ‘History will haunt us’ if U.S. fails to act in Syria, Sen. Blumenthal says

Oct 17, 2019  PBS NewsHour

A bipartisan group of senators announced a bill to impose additional sanctions on Turkey in the wake of the country’s invasion in Syria. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Chris Van Hollen, who introduced the bill, were joined by Sens. Marsha Blackburn, Richard Blumenthal and Jeanne Shaheen. The lawmakers expressed concern about President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria. “History will haunt us,” Blumenthal said. “We are going to be complicit in the ethnic cleansing that occurs as a result of this absolutely abhorrent action.” Later in the day, Vice President Mike Pence announced a 120-hour cease-fire between Turkey and the Kurds. Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6

PBS NewsHour full episode October 16, 2019

Oct 16, 2019  PBS NewsHour

Wednesday on the NewsHour, President Trump defends his decision to remove U.S. troops from Syria as violence escalates, and the U.S. House votes overwhelmingly to condemn the move. Also: Critical moments in last night’s Democratic debate, a new frontier in the fight against Alzheimer’s, a chef reintroducing Native American culinary traditions and a Brief but Spectacular take on opioid addiction. WATCH TODAY’S SEGMENTS: Syria and impeachment put Trump on defensive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cj1v… News Wrap: GM and UAW reach tentative deal to end strike https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orBra… Warren becomes debate target as moderates vie for breakout https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RnD5… Can ultrasound be used to fight Alzheimer’s? https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/can… Traditional Native foods are the Sioux Chef’s key ingredient https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yxxd… What tackling the opioid crisis will require https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srrtH… Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6

PBS NewsHour full episode October 15, 2019

Oct 15, 2019  PBS NewsHour

Tuesday on the NewsHour, revelations that John Bolton raised alarms about Rudy Giuliani and the Ukraine affair add fuel to the impeachment inquiry. Also: A Syrian city as microcosm of the larger fight, a Texas officer is charged with murder, what to watch in the Democratic debate, defining the criteria for impeachment, the soaring cost of student housing, and Elizabeth Strout’s new novel. WATCH TODAY’S SEGMENTS: Testimony reveals officials raised concerns about Giuliani https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ8VS… News Wrap: Hundreds charged in Barcelona protests https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EyQL… Syria’s Manbij embodies consequences of Trump’s decision https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7O3m… What makes officers more likely to use deadly force? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL9wC… Van Hollen: Sanctions ‘next best’ way to influence Turkey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0_0P… The hot topics 2020 Democrats could debate tonight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DHYE… How the founders defined impeachment-worthy crimes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTVPZ… How soaring housing costs are straining college students https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PbOG… How fiction draws Elizabeth Strout home to Maine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od2Lw… Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6

PBS NewsHour full episode October 14, 2019

Oct 14, 2019  PBS NewsHour

Monday on the NewsHour, how U.S. withdrawal from northern Syria is reshaping the region’s conflict. Plus: President Trump’s former top Russia adviser is deposed, analysis of the Syrian battleground, House Democrats who aren’t supporting the impeachment inquiry, Politics Monday, Ronan Farrow on revelations in his latest book, a Detroit museum’s hands-on experiences and a “NewsHour” announcement. WATCH TODAY’S SEGMENTS: As U.S. leaves Syria, Kurds join Assad to fight a NATO ally https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E5YM… Former Russia adviser Fiona Hill speaks to House committees https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLx7U… News Wrap: Texas police officer resigns over fatal shooting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdVwS… What Trump’s Syria withdrawal means for the Middle East https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bBPE… House Democrats in Trump districts face impeachment quandary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT9we… Amy Walter and Domenico Montanaro on impeachment inquiry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ImL3… Ronan Farrow on the systemic coverup of sexual assault https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttgIt… At this Detroit art museum, engagement on community terms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFa2K… PBS launches “NewsHour West,” based in Phoenix https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B5o9… Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6

How ‘Sesame Street’ is still supporting families, 50 years after its debut

Oct 10, 2019 PBS NewsHour

November marks the 50th anniversary of public television’s “Sesame Street,” a cultural landmark widely praised for its approach to children’s programming. But beyond the songs and fun, “Sesame Street” does some serious work for those in need, providing special support and guidance for military families and addressing topics like autism and addiction. Hari Sreenivasan reports. Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6

What Turkey’s assault on northern Syria means for civilians, regional stability

Oct 10, 2019  PBS NewsHour

Turkey continued its military assault into northern Syria on Thursday. Aid agencies warn that nearly half a million people near the border are at risk from the violence, which is drawing criticism from many U.S. officials. Amna Nawaz reports and talks to Sinam Mohamad, U.S. representative for the Syrian Democratic Council, and Soner Cagaptay of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6

How ‘Deep State’ book disputes accusations of Trump bias at FBI, DOJ

Oct 10, 2019  PBS NewsHour

In a new book, Pulitzer winner James B. Stewart explores two controversial recent investigations by the FBI and the Justice Department: Probes into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server when she was secretary of state and Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Stewart talks to William Brangham about how his research contradicts President Trump’s “deep state” narrative. Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2Jb8twG Find more from PBS NewsHour at https://www.pbs.org/newshour Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2HfsCD6

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50108417

BBC: Turkey’s Erdogan vows to ‘crush heads’ of Kurdish fighters

4 hours ago  Turkey offensive in Syria

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Up to 300,000 people are said to have fled the violence in northern Syria

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that Turkey will “crush the heads” of Kurdish fighters if they do not withdraw from a planned safe zone area in northern Syria.

Turkey agreed on Thursday to suspend an offensive for five days to allow the Kurds to retreat from the area.

But on Saturday both sides accused the other of violating the ceasefire.

Ankara views the Kurdish forces as terrorists and wants to create a “safe zone” buffer inside Syria.

Despite the temporary ceasefire, some sporadic violence has continued – particularly around the border town of Ras Al-Ain.

What did Erdogan say?

Speaking at a televised event in the central Turkish province of Kayseri on Saturday, President Erdogan said that if Kurdish fighters did not withdraw by Tuesday evening – as agreed in the ceasefire – “we will start where we left off and continue to crush the terrorists’ heads”.

The Turkish leader is due to hold talks next week with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. On Saturday he said that if those talks did not produce a solution, Turkey would “implement its own plans”.

Turkey’s defence ministry earlier accused Kurdish forces of carrying out 14 “provocative” attacks in the last 36 hours, mostly in Ras Al-Ain, but insisted Turkish forces were fully abiding by the agreement.

However, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) accused Turkey of violating the ceasefire.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Turkish-backed Syrian rebels are still active along the border

They also accuse Turkish troops of failing to create a safe corridor for the evacuation of civilians and wounded people from the besieged town.

On Saturday the SDF urged US Vice-President Mike Pence, who helped to broker the temporary ceasefire, to pressure Turkey to allow the passage of civilians.

“Despite the constant communication with the American side and the promise made by them to solve this problem, there has not been any tangible progress in this regard,” the SDF said in a statement.

Turkish presidency spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said they wanted the US to put pressure on Kurdish forces to withdraw.

“We have told our American colleagues to use their leverage, their connections, to make sure that they leave without any incidents,” he told AFP news agency.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said deliveries of humanitarian aid had been prevented from entering Ras Al-Ain.

The monitor group said on Friday that the civilian death toll from the Turkish operation had now risen to 86.

Between 160,000 and 300,000 people have reportedly fled their homes since the offensive started 10 days ago.

What prompted the offensive?

Turkish forces first launched their assault on 9 October, following an announcement US troops would withdraw from the Syria-Turkey border region.

Media captionThe BBC’s Martin Patience explains what’s behind the conflict

The Turkish plan is to clear Kurdish fighters from a buffer zone extending more than 30km (20 miles) into Syria. It would run for about 440km along the border, President Erdogan said on Friday, and be monitored from observation posts.

Turkey also plans to resettle up to two million Syrian refugees, currently on its territory, in the buffer zone but critics warned the move could trigger the ethnic cleansing of the local Kurdish population.

The goal was to push back a Kurdish militia group – the People’s Protection Units (YPG) – that Turkey views as a terrorist organisation.

Since the offensive was launched, President Donald Trump has been accused by some, including senior Republicans, of abandoning a US ally. The SDF – a group dominated by the YPG – fought alongside the US against the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria.

There has been growing international concern about possible war crimes committed by Turkey and its allied militias during the offensive.

Media captionMike Pence announces Turkish ceasefire in Syria

Amnesty International says it has gathered “damning evidence” of war crimes and other violations by their side and the United Nations has called on Turkey to investigate the allegations.

Unconfirmed reports have also emerged that Turkish-allied forces have used white phosphorus, a chemical weapon which causes bad burns, in Syria.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said it was aware of the claims and was gathering evidence.

What is the latest with the ceasefire?

The pause in hostilities followed talks in the Turkish capital Ankara between Mr Erdogan and Mr Pence on Thursday.

President Trump celebrated news of the ceasefire and claimed the pause in hostilities would lead to “millions of lives” being saved. He remained optimistic in comments made on Friday, despite reports the ceasefire was failing to hold.

Media captionPresident Trump on Turkish and Kurdish forces: “Sometimes you have to let them fight a little bit”

SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali tweeted on Friday morning to allege that Turkey was breaking the ceasefire near Ras al-Ain.

“Despite the agreement to halt the fighting, air and artillery attacks continue to target the positions of fighters, civilian settlements and the hospital,” he wrote.

President Erdogan dismissed reports of continuing clashes on Friday as “misinformation” but international news media recorded explosions in Ras al-Ain during the morning.

The SOHR said Saturday that the SDF had not yet started to pull back from the border region.

Local Kurdish media are reporting that five civilians and 13 Kurdish fighters in Ras-al-Ain have been killed since the ceasefire began, but the BBC has not been able to independently confirm that.

For more information please visit the following link:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50108417

SE Cupp: Don’t be surprised if this is what undoes Trump

Oct 19, 2019  CNN

SE Cupp says President Donald Trump’s Syria policy is one of the only issues that has prompted swift criticism from the Republican party, and argues it may be the one issue that could put his presidency in danger.

Category  News & Politics

The Kurds: The Most Famous Unknown People in the World | Stephen Mansfield | TEDxNashville

May 18, 2016  TEDx Talks

The Kurds are an ancient and noble people who are now the primary “boots on the ground” against ISIS in the Middle East. They are 35 million strong worldwide, the largest people group on earth without their own homeland. In this stirring talk, Stephen Mansfield tells the story of the Kurds and does so, surprisingly, through the lives of three women. Stephen Mansfield is a New York Times bestselling author who first rose to global attention with his groundbreaking book, The Faith of George W. Bush, a bestseller that Time magazine credited with helping to shape the 2004 U.S. presidential election. He has written celebrated biographies of Barak Obama, Booker T. Washington, George Whitefield, Winston Churchill, Pope Benedict XVI, and Abraham Lincoln, among others. Mansfield’s latest book, The Miracle of the Kurds, is a timely introduction to the Kurdish people that reached bookstores just as Kurdish troops began standing heroically against the evils of ISIS in the Middle East. The book has been named “Book of the Year” by Rudaw, the leading Kurdish news service. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://ted.com/tedx

Category   Nonprofits & Activism

Turkey, Kurds, Language: Nicholas Glastonbury at TEDxGallatin

Sep 21, 2013  TEDx Talks

Nicholas Glastonbury is a graduate of the NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study. His studies focused on the intersections of human rights law, nationalism, anthropology, political science, theories of representation, feminist theory and queer theory. About New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study Creativity, flexibility and rigor characterize the academic program of the Gallatin School of Individualized Study. At Gallatin, students have the opportunity to combine the best of a small college experience with the best of a large research university. A Gallatin education is unique. The individualized structure of the program and its relationship to the rest of NYU are part of what makes the school so special. For more information visit gallatin.nyu.edu/ About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations) video produced by Charles Q. Drexler vfx animation by Michael J. Green opening music by Gabriel S. Beam Hyphenate Media www.hyphenatemedia.com

Category   Nonprofits & Activism

Kurdistan: Homeland of Diversity | Levi Clancy | TEDxDuhok

Oct 10, 2017  TEDx Talks

Levi Clancy shares his experience in Kurdistan, the homeland of multi-cultures and many religions, showing the co-existence and peace it has. Levi was born and grew up in 1990 in Los Angeles in the United States. When he was still a kid, he started taking college courses and when he was only 13 years old he transferred to the University of California! At 15, he was abandoned by his family and had to leave university, and started working in medical research as well as web development and graphic arts in order to support himself and make it month to month. At 18, he received a scholarship to return to university, and reconnected with his family. After finishing his baccalaureate in Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics (MIMG) with a minor in Mesopotamian history, he moved to Erbil. Levi has worked for University of California as a researcher in electron microscopy, oncology and flow cytometry. He has also worked in marketing for clients including the LA Lakers, NCAA, Verizon and AT&T. Currently, he works as a software developer and as a freelance journalist. Levi has been featured on CBS News and LA Times. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Category   Nonprofits & Activism

Bombs, mountains and an unlikely female voice | Dashni Morad | TEDxErbil

Feb 10, 2015  TEDx Talks

Imagine Iraq. Then imagine pop music. Dashni Morad is now in her tenth year as the leading successful singer of modern pop in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. From the little girl whom fled Saddam Hussein’s tyranny to the strong woman whom challenged the status quo, Dashni tells us her heartbreaking coming of age tale. Born in the city of Sulaimanya, raised in Netherlands, lost between two cultures and struggling between accomplishing dreams. Dashni Morad, a Kurdish/Dutch Pop singer and a TV personality who was known for her show on Kurdistan TV “Bi Control”, flee Kurdistan at the age of eleven to become a refugee in Netherlands due to the unstable political situation in Iraq and Kurdistan. Since moving to the Netherlands, Dashni, worked hard to accomplish being a musician and a TV presenter to entertain the Kurdish audience since it was much needed at the time in Kurdistan. Today, she is recognized as a national and international artist who broke through the impossible to give the gift of modern music to Kurdistan and presenting it outside of the Middle East region. Her songs presented messages such as women empowerment, peace, and the love for Kurdistan. She, however, didn’t stop at making music and TV presenting, she also founded a small non-profit under the name “Green Kids” supporting education to the kids of Kurdistan, as well as, raising funds for refugees and IDPs in Kurdistan, and also many group and student participation to clean the mountains of Kurdistan. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://ted.com/tedx

Category   Nonprofits & Activism

Advocate for the Kurdish community: Tara Fatehi at TEDxAdelaideChange

Jul 9, 2013  TEDx Talks

Tara comes from one of the oldest living civilizations and indigenous people in the world, which today is under constant oppression and war, her ultimate goal is to make sure the Kurdish people don’t forget themselves so the world never forgets the Kurdish people. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

Category   Nonprofits & Activism

Communication in a mass communication society | Joakim Medin | TEDxUppsalaUniversity

Dec 18, 2015  TEDx Talks

Joakim Medim is a freelance journalist who, among other things, documented the military coup in Honduras, covered the political development in Central America, Hungary and Turkey and specialized in the refugee crisis and the socio-political response in Lebanon. Medin tells the stories that have been untold and fight for media where it has been oppressed. In 2014, when he was covering the humanitarian crisis in Syria, Medin was arrested by the Syrian government and was kept in isolation in a 3-by-6-foot cell. After heavy interrogation he was moved to Damascus for further questioning. It was only after the intervention of Syrian Kurdish officials that Medin and his translator were finally released. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://ted.com/tedx

Category   Nonprofits & Activism

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Gandhi: Peace and Nonviolence for the World and Syria War

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Gandhi: Peace and Nonviolence for the World

Sixteen years ago I wrote a book entitled “Remember Gandhi-The Man Of His Century” and the following is the beginning portion of my introduction:

“When I was young in Thailand, in early grade school we read a book about a man named Gandhi who was born in India.  He was married at age thirteen.  As a young man, Gandhi went to study in Britain and became a layer.  He went to work in South Africa where he experienced discrimination.  Because of this he devoted himself to fight for human equality.  The lessons learned in this fight were carried with him to India where he led his country to freedom from British colonial rule thereby creating an independent Indian country.

I was very impressed with Mr. Gandhi’s fight for human rights.  He helped his country gain independence from the British by nonviolent means without using weapons to achieve his goal.”                                                       

“NONVIOLENCE”, is a word that seems to have no meaning for a lot of countries around the world.  It hurts so much to see the pictures of starving children and adults in Syria.  What are you doing Syrian leaders?  Both sides of Syrian political divide, the government and the opposition use the same tactics trying to win over the other side by cut off the food supply to the villages of their opponents.  The pictures of these starving children and adult Syrians reminds me of pictures of Jewish people liberated from the concentration camps of Nazi Germany by American soldiers.   Why are you so cruel?  Do you all have hearts and feeling as decent human beings?   Please!!! Please!!!———A million times please, I beg you on of both sides.  Please stop fighting!!!  Do you know what happiness is? Please have a peace talks.  Both of your sides have destroyed so much.  Your country is in ruins.  Civilians work hard, only to have you buy weapons to kill them and ruin their livelihood.  Both of your sides are not good leaders for your country.  If you cannot make the country more prosperous and bring happiness to your citizens, what good is it to be leaders of your country?  Please do not let your greediness rule over humanity.  We all will be dead someday sooner or later, and history will record whatever you did.  But you do not die yet; you still have a chance to make things better than the past.  Please have peace talks and remember how Gandhi gained independence for his country by nonviolent means.  

I produced 40 artworks for the book.  The following pictures are four of my artworks of Gandhi that I used for the front and back covers of my book respectively.  Two more are from the inside of the book:

Gandhi: Man Of Peace & Nonviolence 1       

Artwork by Ing-On Vibulbhan-Watts  2000 

Gandhi: Man Of Peace & Nonviolence 2         

Artwork by Ing-On Vibulbhan-Watts  2000

Gandhi: Man Of Peace & Nonviolence 3                          

Artwork by Ing-On Vibulbhan-Watts  2000 

Gandhi: Man Of Peace & Nonviolence 4                         

 Artwork by Ing-On Vibulbhan-Watts 2000 

I also did more artworks on the subject of Gandhi in 2010 that is shown below.

Gandhi: Man Of Peace & His Words                         

 Artwork by Ing-On Vibulbhan-Watts  2010

Gandhi & Spinning Wheel Of Life         

Artwork by Ing-On  Vibulbhan-Watts 2010

Gandhi & Ing’s Poem, Peace Comes To You                   

Artwork by Ing-On Vibulbhan-Watts  2010

I was very thankful and glad to find an article from the BBC News on, “Rare pictures of the last 10 years of Gandhi’s life”.  These are shown below:

Rare pictures of the last 10 years of Gandhi’s life

Soutik Biswas Delhi correspondent

Here’s an anxious-looking Mahatma Gandhi making a telephone call from his office in Sevagram village in the western state of Maharashtra in 1938.

India’s greatest leader had moved to a village called Segaon two years earlier. He had renamed it Sevagram or a village of service. He built an ashram, a commune which was home to “many a fateful decision which affected the destiny of India”. Gandhi had moved in with his wife, Kasturba, and some followers. There was also a steady stream of guests.

Kanu Gandhi, a callow young man in his 20s and a grand nephew of the Mahatma, was also there. Armed with a Rolleiflex camera, he was taking pictures of the leader.

He had wanted to become a doctor, but his parents had goaded him to join Gandhi’s personal staff doing clerical work, looking after accounts and writing letters at the ashram.

Kanu Gandhi had developed an interest in photography, but Gandhi had told him there was no money to buy him a camera.

The nephew did not relent. Finally, Gandhi asked businessman Ghanshyam Das Birla to gift 100 rupees ($1.49; £1.00) to Kanu so that he could buy the camera and a roll of film.

But the leader imposed three conditions on the photographer: he forbade him from using flash and asking him to pose; and made it clear that the ashram would not pay for his photography.

Kanu made do with a stipend from a Gandhi acolyte who liked his work. He also began selling his pictures to newspapers.

Over the years and until Gandhi’s assassination in 1948, Kanu Gandhi shot some 2,000 pictures of the greatest leader of the Indian Independence movement. For decades, his pictures remained in obscurity, once surfacing with a German researcher who began compiling and selling them.

Now, 92 of those rare pictures of Gandhi during the last decade of his life have been published in an exquisitely produced cloth-bound monograph by the Delhi-based Nazar Foundation, a non-profit trust founded by two of India’s most well-known photographers Prashant Panjiar and Dinesh Khanna.

This is possibly my most favourite image from the book. Here Gandhi is standing on a weighing scale at the Birla House in Bombay (what is now Mumbai) in 1945.

For a man who undertook more than a dozen fasts during the freedom movement as a part of his non-violent protests – to bring peace, demand Muslim rights or to shame rioting mobs – the picture is telling.

“This is a picture of a man keeping an eye on his weight, testing himself all the time. It tells you a lot about the man,” says leading photographer Sanjeev Saith who went through more than 1,000 images and helped curate the monograph.

Here, Gandhi is seen in front of his office hut at Sevagram ashram in 1940. A pillow covers his head as protection against the severe heat.

It is, at once, an intimate and remote image.

Which is one of the reasons, many say, that made Kanu Gandhi’s pictures of the Mahatma so special.

“Although he had incredible access to the icon, we are always struck at the way Kanu, perhaps because he was in awe of Gandhi always kept a respectful distance, and yet managed to convey a sense of intimacy and proximity,” says Panjiar.

“And because he kept a certain distance, Kanu intuitively found a more modern language of photography than what was prevalent in those times in India, framing many of his images with an interesting and unconventional use of the foreground, breaking many of the accepted rules of composition”.

Kanu Gandhi travelled far and wide with the leader.

Here’s his image of a van carrying Gandhi being pushed by Pathans and Congress workers over some rough terrain in the North West Frontier Provinces in October 1938.

This is a picture of Gandhi, and his wife Kasturba, in Abottabad in November, 1938.

Kanu Gandhi’s first-ever book of photographs chronicles the leader’s political and personal journey in his last decade in vivid detail. There are pictures of Gandhi in his many moods – brooding, joyous, pensive, grieving – and with his supporters.

Here Gandhi is being massaged by a relative and his elder sister Raliatbehn during a three-day fast in Gujarat’s Rajkot city in March 1939.

“These images may be old, but they are not old-fashioned. They are not straightforward, beautifully shot and carefully framed, neat pictures which were popular then,” says Panjiar.

“It possibly helped that Kanu was not a trained photographer because many of his images would have been rejected by his contemporaries on account of being blurred, slightly out of focus or double exposed. But these find pride of place, lovingly pasted by own hands in albums.”

Gandhi and his wife Kasturba are seen here at a wedding of a Christian man and an untouchable woman in Sevagram ashram, 1940.

Sanjeev Saith says the picture of a dying Kasturba Gandhi lying on a bed at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune in 1944 a few months before her death counts among his favourites. A broken shaft of light is streaming in through a window behind her.

“Here is this austere woman lying regally on this stately bed, she is about to die. This picture just shakes me up,” he says.

And then there is this historic 1938 picture of Gandhi in a convivial mood with freedom hero and radical nationalist Subhas Chandra Bose. In the background, Kasturba Gandhi is drawing her sari, and looking into the distance.

This was the high noon of Bose’s political life: he had been elected as president of the Congress party. Gandhi had overruled objections from independence hero Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who had objected to Bose’s appointment.

The two leaders had shared a complex relationship and fell out later over differences.

“This is an amazing picture,” says Saith. “It contains two of India’s greatest heroes in one frame. Bose is young, cherubic, almost looking at Gandhi in admiration. Gandhi has his characteristic toothless grin. It is a nice, warm moment.”

Here’s Gandhi and Nobel Prize-winning poet Rabindranath Tagore in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, in February 1940, a study of two great men in meditation.

“Look at the bottom of the picture. It is an accidental double exposure [a technique which combined two different images into a single image]. It’s rather inventive. Kanu Gandhi knew it was a good picture, and he didn’t throw away the negative,” says Saith.

There’s a series of pictures of Gandhi collecting donations for a fund for the untouchables during a three-month long train journey that took him to Bengal, Assam and southern India in 1945-46.

In some he’s stretching his arm from a carriage for money; in others he’s surrounded by people and collecting the money in a slender basket.

“He’s an old man, but he looks agile. He’s almost begging for alms, and he’s serious about picking up every bit of money for a good cause. He understands money,” says Saith.

“I am a bania and there is no limit to my greed,” Gandhi once said, alluding to his Indian caste comprising mainly of moneylenders.

Being the only person who was allowed to take Gandhi’s photographs at any time, Kanu Gandhi was shooting every day.

Sometimes Gandhi intervened: one such moment was when Kasturba, lay dying in his lap at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune.

The nephew, however, was allowed to shoot this image of the leader, draped in a shawl, looking at Kasturba after she passed away in February 1944.

According to several accounts, Gandhi kept a vigil for hours, sitting by her side, praying.

“After sixty years of constant companionship,” he said later that night. “I cannot imagine life without her.”

Ironically, for a man who followed Gandhi like a shadow, Kanu Gandhi was away in Noakhali in east Bengal when his leader was killed in 1948.

“Gandhi’s death had a profound effect on Kanu and his wife, Abha’s life. For Kanu, photography was no longer as important as the need to convey his leader’s message,” says Panjiar.

Kanu Gandhi died after a heart attack while on a pilgrimage in northern India in February 1986.

Photographs by Kanu Gandhi/© Gita Mehta, heir of Abha and Kanu Gandhi.

For more information please visit the following link:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35259671

The Following are some pictures, information and links on The Destruction of Syria.

KOBANE, Syria — A heap of dust is all that remains of the house where Alan Kurdi was born and raised, before war sent his family fleeing and he drowned on the short sea crossing between Turkey and Greece.

The image of the toddler’s lifeless body washed up on a Turkish beach turned him into an instant symbol of the suffering of Syrians so desperate to reach Europe that they are prepared to risk their lives making the dangerous journey.

His flattened home, destroyed in an American airstrike in the landmark battle for control of the Syrian town of Kobane last year, has not been so widely seen. It is just one of thousands of buildings leveled, among hundreds of thousands more that have been obliterated in Syria during the four-year-old war.

As the conflict drags into a fifth year with no end in sight, little heed is being paid to the enormity of the havoc being wreaked on the country. Some 2.1 million homes, half the country’s hospitals and more than 7,000 schools have been destroyed, according to the United Nations.

The cost of the damage so far is estimated at a staggering $270 billion — and rebuilding could run to more than $300 billion, according to Abdallah al-Dardari, a former Syrian government minister who heads the National Agenda for Syria program at the U.N.’s Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia. That’s more than 10 times the amount spent by the United States on reconstruction in Iraq, with few discernible results.

   When a Turkish soldier picked up the body of Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi in September, it became an instant symbol of Syrian refugees’ suffering and desperation. Alan was the son of Abdullah Kurdi, a native of Kobane, who lost his wife and two sons when their dinghy sank off the coast of Turkey. | Graves hold the remains of Kurdi’s family members.

If or when the war ends, any government will find itself “ruling over a pile of rubble,” Dardari said. “I don’t know who will fund this.”

The immense human toll is a far more immediate and obvious concern. As many as 250,000 people are dead, 1 million have been wounded, 7.6 million are displaced within Syria and 4 million have fled across the borders, according to the U.N.

[As tragedies shock Europe, a bigger refugee crisis looms in the Middle East]

The numbers rise daily with each new airstrike and each new offensive launched, as Russian planes join Syrian and American ones in bombing the country and the various factions sustain their relentless attacks on one another with rockets, mortars and artillery.

So, too, does the damage, compounding the tragedy in small and unseen ways that also kill people or drive them to seek new lives elsewhere. The more buildings are flattened, the more homes, shops and businesses are lost, the greater the incentive to flee the country — and the less people will have to return to whenever the war finally ends.

“We’re allowing a level of destruction we will never have the means to address,” said Peter Harling of the International Crisis Group. “They’re wiping one city after another off the map.”

Kobane stands as a small reminder of how much is being lost.

 Abdullah Kurdi had fled to Turkey to work, but he chose to make the dangerous trip to Greece because he didn’t make enough money to live in Istanbul. His home was leveled in the battle for Kobane.

For more information please visit the following link:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/world/2015/11/13/kobane/

For more information please visit the following link:

https://www.newsweek.com/2015/08/28/syria-war-bombing-aleppo-364035.html

Horror of the starving Syrians cut off from the world: People living in three towns under siege from Assad forces and rebels are forced to eat cats, dogs and grass as food supplies are unable to reach them

  • Madaya near Damascus has been under siege by Assad’s troops since July
  • Activists say desperate residents have resorted to eating domestic animals
  • Some have been killed by snipers or landmines while scavenging for food
  • Foua and Kfarya have been under attack from rebels for more than a year
  • Victims also forced to have surgery without anesthetic due to lack of drugs
  • See full news coverage on Syria at www.dailymail.co.uk/syria

By Simon Tomlinson for MailOnline

Published: 08:00 EST, 7 January 2016 | Updated: 06:33 EST, 8 January 2016

   For more information please visit the following link:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3388505/Starving-survivors-trapped-Syrian-towns-siege-Assad-forces-rebels-forced-eat-cats-dogs-grass-food-supplies-cut-aid-groups-warn.html

  For more information please visit the following link:

https://qz.com/589222/horrifying-images-of-starving-syrians-are-bringing-the-war-back-into-focus/

For more information please visit the following link:

https://abcnews.go.com/International/besieged-madaya-syria-residents-describe-starvation-heartbreaking-conditions/story?id=36233172

Destruction: Parts of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo have been destroyed during the bitter civil war. The aftermath of a separate assault by the Syrian regime on the city is pictured

For more information please visit the following link:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2315102/Syrian-government-using-chemical-weapons-people-crosses-red-line-Britain-David-Cameron-warns.html

The Latest War in Syria, 2019

Syria war: Turkey warns Europe of new migrant wave

5 September 2019  BBC News: Europe migrant crisis

Turkey has warned it may reopen the route for Syrian refugees to enter Europe if it does not get more international support for creating a safe zone in northern Syria.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for “logistical support” to establish a safe zone in Syria’s north-east.

“Either this happens, or we will be forced to open the gates,” he said.

Turkey is hosting more than 3.6 million Syrians who have fled the civil war. The US backs the “safe zone” plan.

But the plan is controversial, because Syrian Kurdish forces are wary of Turkey moving many Syrians into the north-east who are not originally from that area.

The ethnic Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), seen by Turkey as a terrorist group, do not want to make way for Turkish forces in that area.

The US military has backed the YPG against so-called Islamic State (IS) fighters, whose territory is now much diminished.

“Our goal is for at least one million of our Syrian brothers to return to the safe zone we will form along our 450km [280-mile] border,” Mr Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara.

“Give us logistical support and we can go and build housing at 30km depth in northern Syria.”

Exodus from Idlib

Turkey wants US forces to jointly patrol the safe zone, and Mr Erdogan said Turkey was “determined to set it up by the last week of September”.

Turkish officials also fear that heavy fighting in the north-western province of Idlib could push more refugees into Turkey.

Syrian government forces backed by Russian aircraft are pounding rebel and jihadist forces in Idlib. Turkey backs some of the rebel groups there.

For more information please visit the following links:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-49599297?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/cx1m7zg0w5zt/syria&link_location=live-reporting-story

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49668689?intlink_from_url=https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/cx1m7zg0w5zt/syria&link_location=live-reporting-story

GoldenSwallowtailButterfly

naahblubiv  Published on Aug 24, 2013

To All Syrians from the Golden Swallowtail Butterfly

Beautiful Golden Swallowtail Butterfly

Summersaults in the sky

Drinking sweet nectar

For the beautiful wings to fly

The golden wings span out

Showing the black accented lines

A highlight for your beautiful wings

Two perfect tails you have

But a broken wing

Knowing how far you came from

Do you pass by Syria lately?

No! No one cultivates the gardens

They are busy fighting with each other

No trees, no plants

No flowers giving me the nectar to drink

They are running away

From their homes and their land

One million children are refugees now

What are you doing Syrian people?

Everybody stops fighting Please come!

Plant your trees for butterflies and bees

Show your children how nice butterflies can be

They help to fertilize your plants

Producing fruits for your children to enjoy

Syrian people you have a long culture

Your arts and your country are beautiful

Do not ruin your ancestors’ good reputation

Preserve your culture for your children to grow

Show your children your fruitful gardens

And the beautiful Golden Butterfly will visit you

The butterfly says,

You will see no tears

No fear on your children faces

But the sound of your children’s laughter

The joy of seeing my beautiful wings

Everybody stops using weapons Please come!

To enjoy your tasty food Your dance, your music, your arts

And your ancient civilization

We want to visit you

Show us how civilized Syrian Society can be

Ing-On Vibulbhan-Watts, Friday, August 23, 2013, 9:45 pm

The Golden Swallowtail Butterfly was captured by me on Saturday, August 17, 2013 at our backyard garden in downtown Newark, New Jersey. I would like to dedicate this video to all the children in Syria.

Please visit www.ingpeceproject.com

 for more pictures and information

Category   Education

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