Author: Ohart

The most beautiful art is born where there is pain. This idea became the moving force behind the success of Iranian-born twin sisters Bahareh and Farzaneh Safarani. They moved to Boston from Tehran in order to advance their art and show it to the world, and they never regretted the decision. Karina Bafradzhian has the story.
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A leading anti-doping group hinted at changing the structure of the World Anti-Doping Agency, saying the decision to reinstate Russia’s drug-fighting operation was a sign that WADA leaders were saddled with “conflicting priorities.”

The Institute of National Anti-Doping Organizations (INADO) said in a statement Friday that members of the WADA executive committee had pressures surrounding the decision that went beyond doping.

The committee voted 9-2 on Thursday to end RUSADA’s suspension after weakening the standards originally agreed upon for reinstatement.

The committee is headed by Craig Reedie, whose status as a member of the International Olympic Committee has long been viewed by people in the anti-doping community as a conflict of interest.

The other spots on the committee are divided among sports and government leaders.

Linda Helleland, the minister of children and equality in Norway, was among those voting “no,” and after the vote said, “Today, we failed the clean athletes of the world.”

The institute said WADA “surrendered to pressure from the IOC and the Russian government to substantially weaken the terms” for reinstatement.

“This is not good governance, nor does it reflect a good governance model,” the statement said. “WADA must be an effective and resolute global anti-doping regulator and governor — exclusively.”

The comments from a body that represents 67 anti-doping agencies around the world largely echoed what U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart said in the hours following the decision, when he called for revamping WADA. 

“It starts by removing the inherent conflict of interest that comes about from the IOC fox guarding the WADA henhouse,” Tygart said.

Recommendation on Russians rejected

Before the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, WADA had recommended that the IOC not allow Russian athletes to participate in the wake of the McLaren Report, which documented a state-sponsored doping scheme designed to help win medals at the Winter Games in Russia. 

The IOC ignored that recommendation and allowed in Russian athletes.

After that decision, Reedie issued a statement saying: “The McLaren Report exposed, beyond a reasonable doubt, a state-run doping program in Russia that seriously undermines the principles of clean sport embodied within the World Anti-Doping Code.”

It was a rare rebuke of the IOC by one of its own members, and one that Reedie hasn’t repeated.

Among the conditions WADA originally set for RUSADA’s reinstatement was that Russia accept the findings of the McLaren Report. That was changed to a requirement that Russia accept the IOC’s Schmid Report, which put less emphasis on the Russian government’s role in the cheating.

The other change allows Russia until Dec. 31 to turn over lab samples and data, instead of demanding possession before reinstatement.

While others have suggested WADA caved to pressure from the IOC, Reedie has portrayed WADA’s moves as nothing more than a pragmatic and realistic approach to bringing RUSADA back into the fold.

INADO took exception to that thinking.

“As the global regulator, WADA should have been objectively enforcing the agreed sanctions and requirements, not compromising them,” the group said. 
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A Kenyan court on Friday temporarily lifted a ban on the movie Rafiki. Justice Wilfrida Okwany said that during a seven-day period, the film, a lesbian love story produced in Kenya, can be screened to willing adults. The ruling means that Rafiki will be eligible for Oscar consideration as the best foreign-language film.

Kenya’s Film and Classification Board banned Rafiki in April, just hours before it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

 

Directed by Wanuri Kahiu, it was the first Kenyan film ever chosen to be screened at the festival.

 

Rafiki, the Swahili word for “friend,” is a film about two girls who fall in love and as a result become outcasts in their community.

 

The Kenyan film board banned it for its homosexual theme. Board CEO Ezekiel Mutua said the film had “a clear intent to promote lesbianism in Kenya.”

 

Kahiu filed a suit against the board on September 10, leading to Friday’s ruling.

 

Carol Liam, a lesbian activist in Nairobi, was elated over the judgment.

 

“Today is a victory not just for members of the LGBTI community, but a victory for everyone who upholds human rights. The old colonial laws have caused us a lot of grief, we are glad that the cords are being broken slowly by slowly,” Liam said.

 

After the ruling, Kahihu tweeted “Our constitution is STRONG! Give thanks to freedom of expression!!!! WE DID IT! We will be posting about Nairobi screening soon.”

Timing issue

Time is of the essence. For the film to be eligible for Oscar consideration as best foreign-language film, it must be screened in its country of origin for seven days before the Sept. 30 deadline.

Mutua, the head of the film board, expressed outrage over the court’s decision in a series of tweets.

One read, “It would be a tragedy and a shame to have homosexual films defining the Kenyan culture.”

In a press release, Mutua said the ruling “was a sad moment and a great insult, not only to the film industry but to all Kenyans who stand for morality.”

He also warned the board is watching to see which theater will show the film without the board’s approval.

Homosexuality is illegal in Kenya and punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

 

On Thursday, a Kenyan court is set to rule on another landmark case that seeks to repeal sections of the penal code that criminalizes gay sex in Kenya.

The National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission argues that sections 162, 163 and 165 of the code are in breach of the constitution and basic rights of Kenyan citizens.

 

The laws were introduced in Kenya in 1897, when the country was under British rule.

 

In April, British Prime Minister Theresa May said she “deeply regretted” Britain’s legacy of anti-gay laws in its former colonies and urged those countries to overhaul what she called “outdated” legislation.
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It has been a question plaguing the museum dedicated to one of America’s greatest presidents: Is the hat real?

The hat in question is of the stovepipe variety that adorned the head of Abraham Lincoln — recognized for his fashion sense and lauded for ending slavery.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Illinois had displayed the chocolate brown, beaver fur hat as one that had in fact been on the 16th U.S. president’s head.

It is a prized possession, a big visitor draw, and valued at $6.5 million — one of only three such Lincoln hats displayed at an American museum.

But it may not be Lincoln’s hat after all.

FBI analysts and curators at the national Smithsonian Institution have analyzed the hat at the unpublicized request of the Illinois museum’s foundation, an independent organization responsible for fundraising and acquiring objects.

Even DNA testing was done — comparing samples taken from the hat to Lincoln’s blood recovered from the night of his assassination in 1865.

The result: inconclusive.

Historians wrote a report telling the museum it “might want to soften its claim about the hat” given the fact that its origins cannot be definitively authenticated.

The results were not shared with the public until Chicago radio station WBEZ uncovered them this week.

Museum chief Alan Lowe expressed frustration over the foundation’s secrecy, but downplayed the DNA test results, saying it would be hard to get a perfect match from a 180-year-old item handled by many people.

“It is important to understand that neither of these initiatives produced new evidence about the hat’s origins,” Lowe said in a statement.

Thanks to the publicity, the museum will begin a new search for evidence about the hat’s past, he added.

“What we learn, no matter what it says about the hat’s origins, will be shared with the public.”

For now, the hat is stowed away.

The museum will decide how to present it to visitors once the additional research is completed.
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A nine-track album from Prince’s vast vault of unreleased material goes on sale Friday, along with a new video highlighting gun violence.

“Piano & A Microphone” is compiled from a 1983 home studio cassette of the late musician playing jazz piano versions of some of his own songs and those of others, record company Warner Bros. said Thursday.

Prince, 57, died of an accidental overdose of the opioid fentanyl in 2016, leaving behind thousands of recordings and videos in the vaults of his home studio in suburban Minneapolis.

The new video, shot recently in New York City, accompanies the album track “Mary Don’t You Weep,” a 19th century spiritual.

It is intended to pay tribute to the hundreds of people who are killed or wounded by gun violence in the United States, the record company and the singer’s estate said in a statement.

Prince in 2015 performed at a Rally 4 Peace concert in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray from injuries suffered in police custody. The “Mary Don’t You Weep” video begins with a quote the musician made at that rally, “The system is broke. It’s going to take young people to fix it.”

“Piano & A Microphone” hears Prince working through his songs “Purple Rain” and “17 Days,” as well as a version of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You.”

It is one of a handful of recordings released posthumously by Prince’s estate, including an expanded edition of his “Purple Rain” album and “Anthology: 1995-2010,” a selection of 37 of his biggest hits.
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Former rap mogul Marion “Suge” Knight pleaded no contest Thursday to voluntary manslaughter for running over and killing a Compton businessman nearly four years ago and agreed to serve nearly 30 years in prison.

The Death Row Records co-founder entered the plea in Los Angeles Superior Court and has agreed to serve 28 years in prison. The plea came days before jury selection was scheduled to begin in the long-delayed case.

Knight was charged with murder, attempted murder and hit-and-run after fleeing the scene of an altercation in January 2015 outside a Compton burger stand. Knight and Cle “Bone” Sloan, a consultant on the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton, were involved in a fistfight that ended with Knight clipping the man with his pickup truck and running over businessman Terry Carter, who died from his injuries.

Knight’s attorneys have said he was acting in self-defense and was fleeing armed attackers when he ran over Carter and Sloan. Sloan has denied he was carrying a gun during the confrontation.

During Thursday’s hearing, Knight answered Judge Ronald Coen’s questions, loudly and quickly saying “no contest” when the judge asked for his plea. He will be formally sentenced Oct. 4.

The plea deal calls for Knight to serve 22 years in prison on the voluntary manslaughter count, and another six years because it is a third strike violation.

Carter’s daughter, Crystal, sat in the front row of the courtroom and displayed no visible reaction to the proceedings. “I’m surprised he pleaded out,” Crystal Carter said outside court. “Normally he likes the cameras to be on him 24-7.”

Courtroom drama

Delays, detours and drama marked the runup to Knight’s trial, which was expected to begin Oct. 1 under tight security and secrecy. Court officials had said that no witness list would be released ahead of the trial, and that some witnesses might not be identified by name during the case.

Knight collapsed during one court hearing, two of his former attorneys were indicted on witness-tampering charges, and his fiancee pleaded no contest to selling video of Knight hitting the two men with his truck.

His attorney Albert DeBlanc Jr., appointed by the court five months ago, was his 16th, and Knight tried to fire him and get yet another lawyer just a day before the deal was reached. DeBlanc declined comment Thursday.

While awaiting trial, Knight was also accused of threatening Straight Outta Compton director F. Gary Gray.

Knight would frequently, against the advice of Coen and his attorneys, speak extensively during hearings, complaining about jail conditions, his attorneys and his health issues.

While Coen read legal language about the plea and told Knight he was subject to deportation if he was not a citizen, Knight said “ICE is coming to get me?” to a smattering of laughs.

Prior convictions

The 53-year-old was a key player in the gangster rap scene that flourished in the 1990s, and his label once listed Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg among its artists. Knight lost control of the company after it was forced into bankruptcy. He has prior felony convictions for armed robbery and assault with a gun. He pleaded no contest in 1995 and was sentenced to five years’ probation for assaulting two rap entertainers at a Hollywood recording studio in 1992.

He was sentenced in February 1997 to prison for violating terms of that probation by taking part in a fight at a Las Vegas hotel hours before Shakur was fatally wounded in a drive-by attack as he rode in Knight’s car just east of the Las Vegas Strip. Shakur’s slaying remains unsolved.

Knight had faced life in prison if convicted of murder for killing Carter.
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Every part of Lebanon’s national drink, arak, is infused with tradition — from distilling the aniseed-tinged liquor to the ritual of mixing it at the table, when the transparent liquid suddenly turns milky white as water is added.

Arak is a staple of big Sunday meals. With a sweet taste and high alcohol content, around 40 percent, it’s best consumed with food — lots of it. That makes it perfect for Lebanon’s traditional meze, spreads of never-ending small dishes that family and friends linger over for hours.

Aficionados say arak is vital to digesting the homemade raw meat dishes that are central to a meze. The real impact comes at the end of the meal, when you stand up after all that eating and the alcohol from glass after glass really hits.

But the tradition is facing competition in Lebanon as young generations opt for liquors like vodka or whiskey that are easier to mix and drink — without a meal.

Arak is comparable to Greece’s ouzo or Turkey’s raki, which are also grape-based drinks with the licorice-like flavor of anise. Lebanese say arak is smoother. Many families make it at home, each boasting their particular flavor and kick. Restaurants often serve both commercially produced versions and homemade varieties, known as “Arak Baladeh.” Regulars usually opt for the homemade.

With so much home production, it is hard to tell how much arak is made. Lebanon’s Blom Bank estimated in 2016 that around 2 billion bottles a year are produced in the country, with nearly a quarter of it exported, mostly for Lebanese expats yearning for their local drink.  

At a recent festival in Taanayel, a town east of Beirut, several commercial companies and smaller boutique houses showcased their araks in a celebration aimed at promoting the drink to the young.

Christiane Issa, whose family owns one of Lebanon’s largest arak producers, Domaine des Tourelles, said the drink is a natural digestif. It was a nod to Lebanon’s growing market for holistic and natural products.

“The most important thing about arak is that our grandfathers used herbs to treat illness, not medicine. They believed in herbs, so they chose to make arak with green anise because it has anethole, a compound that aids digestion,” said Issa, the company’s administrative manager.

Some Beirut bars have introduced an infused version of arak, adding a twig of basil or rosemary, to attract young drinkers. Issa suggests watermelon.

Passions run strong over every detail of arak tradition.

It is to be drunk from small glasses — bigger than a shot glass but smaller than an Old Fashioned glass — arranged on a tray at the top of a table laden with meze. A new glass is used with each new serving. Some prefer to drink it in a tall glass.

It is often mixed in a traditional glass pitcher, round with a short beak-like spout. That makes it easy to drink straight from the pitcher when the party really gets going.

Drinkers staunchly debate the best way to mix.

Some prefer half water, half arak — a strong, sweet mix, usually not for the newbies. More common is one-third arak to two-thirds water, to prolong the drinking and the gathering.

The ice cubes are another discussion. For some, the glass is filled with ice cubes first before pouring the drink. Those truly religious about the drink insist that ice must come last.

No one can clearly explain the difference, but theories abound. Some say arak is further weakened if the ice is already sitting in the glass. Others say, don’t question tradition.

The making of arak is a family affair, with secrets passed from one generation to another.

Central to the process is a triple distillation using a still called a “karakeh” in Arabic.

The harvest is in September and October. The grapes are crushed and left to ferment for three weeks. The mix is then put in the lower part of the karakeh, where it is heated until it evaporates and cooled in the top part by a stream of cold water.

At this stage, it is pure alcohol. Anise and water may be added in the second or third distillation. The mix is what makes each house’s taste unique.

Homemade arak usually goes straight into gallon containers after distillation, ready for drinking. In commercial production, the arak sits in clay jugs for a year, making it smoother, Issa said.

“Wine ages but arak rests,” Issa said.

Issa’s father introduced a new technique, letting it sit in the clay jugs for five years before going to market. Her family bought Domaine des Tourelles 18 years ago and now it produces 350,000 bottles a year of Arak Brun, named after the Frenchman who founded it in 1868.

At the Taanayel festival, visitors sipped on the sweet drink with their meals.

Michel Sabat was marketing his new Arak al-Naim, or “Arak of Paradise.”

He said with so many producers, arak can only get better.

“There is a lot of competition here in Lebanon, so those who produce arak have to make sure it is very good quality.”

  
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Award-winning Egyptian-French actor Gamil Ratib died Wednesday in Cairo. He was 92.

Ratib is widely considered one of the greatest Egyptian movie actors of all time because of his screen presence and personal style.

He acted in French and Egyptian movies, including David Lean’s 1962 epic “Lawrence of Arabia” with Anthony Quinn and Omar Sharif, and Carol Reed’s 1956 movie “Trapeze” with Gina Lollobrigida, Burt Lancaster, and Tony Curtis.

Ratib once said on an Egyptian television show that he was a very good friend of Quinn, that the late American movie star helped him several times to find a job in the movie industry. He later became an icon of cinema and theater.

Ratib was one of Egypt’s top-grossing movie stars, performing in many films in a career spanning 65 years.

He was honored several times in film festivals and picked up many awards, including the French Legion d’Honneur, the highest French order of merit for military and civil merits.

 

Ratib was born in Cairo, Egypt, in November 1926. He studied law and arts in France and performed in several French plays. In the early 1950s, Ratib joined “La Comédie-Française,” one of the oldest theaters in the world.

He made his movie debut in ‘I Am The East’ in 1945. Later, he played leading roles in such films as Deuxième Bureau Contre Terroristes (1961), Réseau Secret (1967), L’Alphomega (1973), L’Étoile du Nord (1982), and Un été à La Goulette (1996). He lived between Paris and Cairo.
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Thousands of Prince fans are asking federal authorities to open a grand jury investigation into his death.

The petition to the U.S. Attorney’s Office has been signed by more than 6,000 people. One of the petition’s organizers, Nicole Welage, says more answers are needed about the rock star’s accidental fentanyl overdose in 2016. Welage tells the Star Tribune that the person who supplied the drug must be held accountable.

Federal, state and county investigators spent nearly two years looking into Prince’s death , but were unable to trace the source of the drug that killed him .

Prosecutors have said there is no credible evidence that will lead to federal criminal charges. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has declined to comment on the petition.

 
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Renovation work is nearly complete on an Armenian cemetery in Cairo whose graves reflect a 100 years of the community’s history in the Egyptian capital.

Workers have fixed and cleaned up tombstones, statues and busts that sit on top of graves.

The site dates back to 1924, when the Armenian community was granted a piece of land adjacent to an older one. It fused Egyptian, Armenian and European architectural designs.

“There was a period when this place was neglected, and the renovation project was a great initiative because the area was restored to what it once was,” said Nairy Hampikian, an archaeologist and conservation specialist who has overseen the renovation project.

“The first thing we did was remove the dust from all the pathways inside the cemetery. After that the signs that you see over there that were mostly scattered on the ground and covered in dust appeared when we cleaned up.”

Armenians began settling in Egypt in the Fatimid era from the 10th to 12th Centuries and were given a piece of land by Mohamed Ali Pasha in 1844 in an area now known as old Islamic Cairo.

The size of the Armenian community in Egypt would fluctuate, driven by the country’s political and economic situation.

But it was not until after the events of World War I – when Ottoman forces killed as many as 1.5 million Armenians in 1915 – that a large number of Armenians fled to Egypt and other countries.

Turkey says many Christian Armenians who lived under the Ottoman Empire were killed in clashes with Turkish soldiers but contests the figures and denies that a genocide took place.

The Armenians in Egypt thrived in cosmopolitan cities such as Cairo and Alexandria, which were also home to Italian and Greek communities.

Today, the Armenian community in Egypt has shrunk to about 3,000 people, and according to the president of Goganian Armenian cultural club in Cairo, Kevork Erzingatzian.

But the burial ground serves as a reminder of the Armenians’ cultural and religious heritage.

“We found tombstones that date back to the 1830s, 40s, and 50s,” Hampikian said.

Restoration work began in 2014 and is scheduled for completion at the end of 2018. The Armenian Patriarchate of Cairo, with help from donations from the Armenian community, funded the project.
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Fifty years after creating the Che Guevara poster that still adorns student bedrooms around the world, Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick is delighted at its ubiquity, but concerned at its exploitation for commercial gain.

Fitzpatrick created the image in 1968 from a photograph of the Argentine Marxist revolutionary taken in 1960 by Cuban photographer Alberto Korda, and made it available for free to anyone who wanted to use it.

It was quickly adopted by left-wing movements, appearing on T-shirts, posters and leaflets, but has also been used by companies to brand products – something that annoyed Fitzpatrick and pushed him to reclaim the copyright in 2010.

“It didn’t bother me at first, I couldn’t give a hoot who was doing T-shirts,” he told Reuters.

“But when a big commercial company, like a cigarette company, who have literally stolen my image, produce cigarette packs with my image twisted around the other way, left to right, as though that solves the copyright problem, then I have severe problems, because I detest that kind of commercial exploitation.”

Speaking in his home studio in Sutton, north of the Irish capital Dublin, Fitzpatrick recounted how the image was created.

“I did a couple of posters of it, but the one that matters, the red and black one that everyone is familiar with, the more iconic one, that was done after (Guevara’s) murder and execution while a prisoner of war, for an exhibition in London called Viva Che,” he said, referring to Guevara’s death at the hands of Bolivian forces in 1967.

“The Che is very simple. It’s a black and white drawing that I added red to. The star was painted by hand in red,” he said, displaying a large print of the image. “Graphically, it’s very intense and straightforward, it’s immediate, and that’s what I like about it.”

Fitzpatrick said he offered the copyright of the image to the Guevara family, who have not yet returned the documents necessary for him to turn it over to them, and that he may bequeath it to a local charity instead.
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In a disused hangar in Istanbul, Turkish artist Ahmet Gunestekin uses thousands of metal human skulls and twisting, spiky animal horns to re-tell some ancient myths in a towering, fearsome installation.

Gunestekin says his work “Chamber of Immortality” draws on the Epic of Gilgamesh – the Sumerian king who tried in vain to find the secret of everlasting life, and on the closely related Biblical story of Noah, whose ark some believe landed on Mount Ararat, Turkey’s highest peak.

The centerpiece is an enormous metal skull with a twisting animal horn jutting from its mouth, made up of 11,000 smaller skulls, all crafted by hand. Around it sit two curved walls made of yet more skulls, some of which sprout animal horns from their ears, temples and mouths.

The large skull represents Noah, while the tongue-like horn that spills from its mouth represents animals, Gunestekin said.

“In a way, it shows how the concepts of human and animal are nested within one another,” he said.

The structure, which tool 4-1/2 years and $1 million to create, is inspired by Gobeklitepe, a 12,000 year-old temple in Turkey that this year became a UNESCO World Heritage site.

A self-taught artist, he is known for unconventional techniques to depict oral narratives, myth and legends mainly from Anatolian and Greek civilizations.

“Chamber of Immortality” will travel to London, Berlin and New York after being exhibited in Contemporary Istanbul on Sept. 20.
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HBO’s record-breaking fantasy epic “Game of Thrones” stormed back onto the Emmys stage on Monday, winning the coveted best drama series prize on a night full of surprises, including an on-air marriage proposal that stunned the audience.

The other big story of the Hollywood gala, television’s answer to the Oscars, was the huge success of “The Marvelous Mrs Maisel,” Amazon’s story of a 1950s housewife-turned-stand up comic, which took home eight Emmys overall, including the best comedy award.

“The Handmaid’s Tale” — last year’s best drama and an early favorite for more hardware in 2018 — went home empty-handed from the star-studded event at the Microsoft Theater, after winning three minor awards handed out a week ago.

The ceremony hosted by “Saturday Night Live” regulars Colin Jost and Michael Che took on a decidedly political hue at the start, with a barrage of edgy jokes on hot-button issues from diversity in Hollywood to #MeToo and Donald Trump.

The gala also saw several sentimental favorites take home their first Emmys.

Matthew Rhys won for best drama actor for spy thriller “The Americans,” Claire Foy was named best drama actress for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in “The Crown” and Henry Winkler triumphed for supporting comedy acting on “Barry.”

But the coveted drama prize went to “Game of Thrones,” which was ineligible for last year’s Emmys, and series star Peter Dinklage took home the best supporting actor prize for his portrayal of Tyrion Lannister.

“Writing for these actors behind us is the honor of a lifetime,” said the show’s co-creator David Benioff.

“But we didn’t invent these characters. That was George R.R. Martin. The show could not be without the mad genius of George.”

“GoT” won nine Emmys this year, meaning the blood-spattered cinematic tale of noble families vying for the Iron Throne — which returns in 2019 for an abbreviated eighth and final season — now has 47 awards overall.

That breaks the program’s own record as the most decorated fictional show since the Television Academy first handed out prizes in 1949.

‘Mrs Maisel’ breaks through

In the comedy categories, “Mrs Maisel” bested all comers in its first year of eligibility, sweeping the female acting prizes (star Rachel Brosnahan and co-star Alex Borstein) and best series honors.

Earlier this year, “Maisel” won two Golden Globes.

“One of the things I love the most about this show… it’s about a woman who is finding her voice anew,” Brosnahan said.

“It’s something that’s happening all over the country right now. One of the most important ways that we can find and use our voices is to vote. So if you haven’t already registered, do it on your cell phone right now.”

HBO dark comedy “Barry” notched two acting wins — for Winkler and series star Bill Hader.

Politics and #MeToo

The Emmys opened with a daring song-and-dance number poking fun at myriad controversies including the problem of ensuring diversity in Hollywood productions.

“We solved it!” crooned “SNL” nominees Kate McKinnon and Kenan Thompson, with back-up from pop stars John Legend and Ricky Martin — and even RuPaul.

They then yielded the stage to Jost and Che — who let the zingers fly.

“This year, the audience is allowed to drink in their seats. Hope you’re excited about that — because the one thing Hollywood needs right now is a bunch of people losing their inhibitions at a work function,” Jost said, in a reference to #MeToo.

 An Emmy-winning proposal

Looking to boost audience ratings, Emmys organizers said they were hoping to shake up the broadcast — and indeed they did, intentionally and unintentionally.

A surprise marriage proposal from Emmy-winning director Glenn Weiss won over the audience — and the internet.

As Weiss accepted his award for directing the Oscars, he asked Jan Svendsen, who was sitting in the audience, to marry him.

“You wonder why I don’t like to call you my girlfriend? Because I want to call you my wife,” he added to cheers, applause and a few teary-eyed actors in the audience.

Svendsen then joined Weiss on stage as the director got on one knee and formally proposed.

The moment was especially poignant as Weiss revealed his mother had recently passed away — and offered Svendsen the ring his father had given his mom.

Drama showdown

Other big winners included FX’s “The Assassination of Gianni Versace,” which won Emmys for best limited series and an acting prize for Darren Criss, who earned rave reviews for his dark turn as the designer’s killer Andrew Cunanan.

Thandie Newton won the best supporting actress in a drama statuette for her work on HBO’s futuristic western “Westworld.”

“I don’t even believe in God but I’m going to thank her tonight,” Newton quipped.

“Saturday Night Live” won the award for best variety sketch series.

In the emerging battle of traditional networks vs new platforms, streaming giant Netflix and HBO ended in a dead heat at the top — at 23 Emmys each.

Stay tuned for the next episode in that duel… at next year’s Emmys.

 
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In Baltimore, a free after school music program called OrchKids is being used as an instrument of change for children in underprivileged neighborhoods. In the past 10 years, more than 1,300 children have received free group music lessons, and free instruments, from flutes to trumpets to violins.

The program was started by Marin Alsop, music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, who said OrchKids also aims to create social change in a city where about 40 percent of the population live in poverty. She hopes that if more children of color learn an instrument that “orchestras will better reflect the diversity of our communities.”

For 15 year old Nema Robinson, OrchKids has given her more opportunities than she ever imagined. Four years ago, the quiet teenager started taking the group violin lessons and quickly progressed. 

Her teacher, Ahreum Kim, grew up in Korea and studied at the prestigious Peabody Institute in Baltimore. 

“Nema’s determination has helped make her a top violin student” Kim said. “OrchKids is doing a lot for Nema, by giving her confidence, the practice of being in front of an audience, and musical skills she can be proud of,” she added.

Nema’s musical journey began when she and her mother, Susan Johnson, saw an OrchKids concert. Johnson was amazed to see black kids performing classical and opera music. “You just don’t see that,” she recalled thinking, “And I’m elbowing Nema and telling her, ‘This is what you should be doing.”

Nema enthusiastically agreed, and soon after started taking violin lessons that have given her the opportunity to play all kinds of music. She is especially proud of being a violinist in the Orchkids jazz band.

OrchKids has been instrumental in guiding many students, some from difficult backgrounds, by providing a place where they feel respected and safe.

“Some of the students come into the class with baggage,” said Kim. “That could be due to poverty, or trouble at home. It is helpful when I learn about their families.”

Nema had a rough start in life as a drug addicted baby. With both her parents in prison, her aunt became her guardian and mother.

“She’s my number one supporter and has helped me a lot,” said Nema appreciatively. She pushes me. If it wasn’t for my mom I don’t think I would really be this good at playing the violin.”

Aside from the camaraderie and the encouragement that OrchKids provides, Nema also enjoys performing. I like seeing the audience, and their clapping and standing up after the performance,” she said. “It just makes my day.”

Thanks to her free violin lessons, Nema was accepted into the Baltimore School for the Arts where she now studies music.

She hopes to earn a college degree in music so she can teach other black children, like herself, how to live their lives on a high note. 

“It doesn’t matter what race you are, you can play music. If it’s your passion then it’s your passion,” Nema said with a smile.
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“Game of Thrones” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” won the top prizes at the Emmy awards on Monday on a night of upsets for the highest honors in television.

HBO’s “Game of Thrones” was named best drama series, beating last year’s champion “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” about a 1950s housewife who turns to standup comedy, took home the Emmy for best comedy series. “Mrs. Maisel” also won four other awards, including a best actress for Rachel Brosnahan.

Claire Foy beat presumed front runner Elisabeth Moss, star of Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” to win for her quiet but formidable portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in Netflix drama “The Crown.”

“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” said a surprised Foy.

Matthew Rhys took his first best drama actor Emmy for playing a conflicted Russian spy in the final season of the FX Cold War series “The Americans.”

“Saturday Night Live” won, as expected, for variety sketch series, taking its lifetime Emmy total to a record-setting 72 wins.

“The Assassination of Gianni Versace” took the Emmy for best limited series and brought an acting trophy for Darren Criss, who played the gay serial killer who murdered the Italian designer in Miami in 1997.

One of the biggest shocks of the night came when presumed front runner Donald Glover, the star and creator of the surreal hip-hop-inspired FX show “Atlanta,” lost out in the comedy acting category to Bill Hader’s hitman-turned-struggling actor in HBO’s showbusiness satire “Barry.”
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“Game of Thrones” or “The Handmaid’s Tale”? “Atlanta” or “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”?

The best drama and comedy series races for television’s highest honors are too close to call ahead of Monday’s Emmy awards, where the field is so packed with quality contenders that some shows may leave empty-handed.

Monday’s ceremony isn’t just about the winners. “Saturday Night Live” stars Michael Che and Colin Jost host for the first time on an evening where barbs about U.S. President Donald Trump and other topical issues are expected to feature.

“They are outrageous political satirists and if they don’t shine on stage in that way, people will be disappointed,” said Tom O’Neil, editor of awards website goldderby.com.

The Emmy Awards will be handed out in Los Angeles on Monday in a ceremony broadcast live on NBC.

HBO’s crowd-pleasing medieval series “Game of Thrones” goes into Monday’s ceremony with a leading 22 nominations, but awards pundits say it faces a strong challenge from streaming service Hulu’s bleak “The Handmaid’s Tale” for the best-drama series Emmy.

The latest season of “Game of Thrones” aired almost a year ago and may suffer for being out of sight and out of mind, IndieWire Executive Editor Michael Schneider said.

“‘Handmaid’s Tale’ is a newer show. It won last year (in its first season) and it still feels very timely and part of the conversation,” he said.

“Handmaid’s Tale” star Elisabeth Moss could also be a repeat Emmy winner. Yet the drama actress field is particularly strong with contenders Claire Foy as the quietly formidable Queen Elizabeth in Netflix royal series “The Crown,” Keri Russell in her final turn as a ruthless Russian spy living as an ordinary American housewife in FX’s “The Americans,” and Sandra Oh, who could become the first woman of Asian descent to win a best-actress drama series Emmy, in BBC America’s “Killing Eve.”

While the Emmys are known for surprises, some actors appear to be shoo-ins for the statuette. Donald Glover is expected to be named best comedy actor for “Atlanta,” the absurdist FX show about life on the margins of the hip-hop community, which he also created. “Atlanta” could also win best comedy series.

“It’s very daring. It’s not a conventional comedy in any way,” O’Neil said of the show.

Rachel Brosnahan is widely favored as best comedy actress for playing an exuberant 1950s housewife who turns to stand-up after her husband leaves her in Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” while Darren Criss is a favorite in his role as a gay serial killer in FX’s limited series “The Assassination of Gianni Versace.”

NBC’s sentimental family show “This is Us” could bring repeat honors for Sterling K. Brown as empathetic dad Randall Pearson.

“Sterling K. Brown is a shoo-in whenever there is an award.

People just love him,” said Schneider.

Veterans returning to the spotlight include former “Happy Days” star Henry Winkler as a self-important acting coach in HBO’s satire “Barry,” Tony Shaloub in “Mrs. Maisel” and former “Cheers” actor Ted Danson for comedy “The Good Place.”
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A new bakery opened in Washington DC last fall has a unique approach to baking – using whole grains grown locally, and milled on-site. As Faiza Elmasry tells us, “Seylou” is the culmination of a journey for a young man who started out as a musician and became a baker. Faith Lapidus narrates.
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A Belgium court has ruled that there is no reason to return a Spanish rapper to Spain.

Spain had asked Belgium to extradite rapper Jose Miguel Arenas Beltran, better known as Valtonyc, on the grounds that the entertainer had written lyrics that “glorified terrorism, insulted the royal family, and contained threats.”

Valtonyc had received a two-year sentence in Spain because of his lyrics, but fled to Belgium.

Simon Bekaert, the rapper’s lawyer said Monday in Ghent that “the judge has decided there will be no extradition and discarded all three charges.”

Bekaert said the judge ruled “there is no terrorism involved, so there is no question of a crime, according to Belgian law.”

It was not immediately clear if prosecutors would appeal the judge’s decision.

 

 

 
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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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