Russia, Russia, Russia —
Russia’s actions recently, seems to be raising red flags in Sweden and France. Here in the US, there’s stuff happening in Alaska —
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Top intelligence office informs congressional committees it'll no longer brief in-person on election security
(CNN)The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has informed the House and Senate Select Committees on Intelligence that it'll no longer be briefing in-person on election security issues, according to letters obtained by CNN. Instead, ODNI will primarily provide written updates to the congressional panels, a senior administration official said.
The official added that other agencies supporting election security, including the Department of Justice, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security, intend to continue briefing Congress.
Still, the abrupt announcement is a change that runs counter to the pledge of transparency and regular briefings on election threats by the intelligence community.
It also comes after the top intelligence official on election security issued a statement earlier this month saying China, Russia and Iran are seeking to interfere in the 2020 US election, a warning that prompted some backlash from Democrats on Capitol Hill who have continued to push for the public release of more information about the nature of those efforts.
Facebook…
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Palate cleanser —
This is the Itzl Alert Network. (Itzl is the name of the dog in the picture.) We publish
Wakanda forever!!
a diary here every day, just before midnight. This group is here for us to check in with each other, to let people know we are alive, and doing OK.
We have split up the publishing duties, but we welcome everyone in IAN to do daily diaries for the group! Every member is an editor, so anyone can take a turn when they have something to say, photos and music to share, a cause to promote or news! If you would like to write a diary, let us know in a comment.
We would love it if you joined our list of writers. You can sometimes alternate with someone. New voices are always good for a group.
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Monday: Crimson Quillfeather. Tuesday: ejoanna. Wednesday: Pam from California. Thursday: art ah zen. Friday: FloridaSNMOM. Saturday: OPEN. Sunday: loggersbrat
Wakanda forever!
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I first read Black Panther - Jungle Action in the mid 1990’s. My sibling found a nearly wrecked copy in a grungy used bookstore somewhere in London. It was really not in good shape but it was readable...barely. He read it, brought it home and left it lying around until I found it and read it. It was a feast. A complete package intimating and commenting on history, law, politics and spirituality. Something I’ll never forget. Reading is one thing, but to see it manifest on screen is something entirely different, and I was not disappointed. It was just as powerful and profound as when I’d first read it.
[Also, if you’re a Marvel maniac, how can one forget — T’Challa was married, however briefly, to Storm of the X-Men. ]
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In Africa, Chadwick Boseman’s ‘Black Panther’ was also warrior against stereotypes
Africa is a continent of 54 countries and over 1.2 billion people, but in Western media it is often portrayed as monolithic, Abosede George, a history professor in Barnard College’s Africana studies department, told Inside Edition. Wakanda, in contrast, notably presented a diversity of aesthetics and environments, she said.
The ongoing legacy of European colonization of the continent remained a constant thread throughout the movie’s narrative. In “Black Panther,” one of the keys to Wakanda’s success is that it escaped the European scramble to divide up the continent in the 19th century, allowing it to maintain control of its own political sovereignty and national resources. ✂️
“I was like, ‘No, this is such an important factor that if we lose this right now, what else are we gonna throw away for the sake of making people feel comfortable?” Boseman said. If T’Challa had a European or American accent, the actor argued, it wouldn’t be authentic to Wakanda’s experience of thriving without being colonized.
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I noticed then that Chad was an anomaly. He was calm. Assured. Constantly studying. But also kind, comforting, had the warmest laugh in the world, and eyes that seen much beyond his years, but could still sparkle like a child seeing something for the first time.
That was the first of many conversations. He was a special person. We would often speak about heritage and what it means to be African. When preparing for the film, he would ponder every decision, every choice, not just for how it would reflect on himself, but how those choices could reverberate. “They not ready for this, what we are doing…” “This is Star Wars, this is Lord of the Rings, but for us… and bigger!” He would say this to me while we were struggling to finish a dramatic scene, stretching into double overtime. Or while he was covered in body paint, doing his own stunts. Or crashing into frigid water, and foam landing pads. I would nod and smile, but I didn’t believe him. I had no idea if the film would work. I wasn’t sure I knew what I was doing. But I look back and realize that Chad knew something we all didn’t. He was playing the long game. All while putting in the work. And work he did.
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It could not have been easy being viewed by millions around the world as a hero simply for portraying a fictional one, but Boseman embraced that burden with the same temperament emulated on screen: with dignity and grace. Despite being diagnosed with colon cancer in 2016, he continued pressing to tell powerful stories that the film industry had previously ignored — that of Thurgood Marshall, Black Vietnam veterans, legendary Blues singer Ma Rainey. In his commitment to portraying Black excellence he exemplified it while never hesitating to use his platform to encourage everyone to pursue the excellence within themselves.
Whenever I would see him at my neighborhood gym, we would exchange acknowledgments. One day I saw him while wearing that Wakanda T-shirt and we shared a laugh. King T’Challa may not be real, but for those of us accustomed to holding our breath, his influence was very much so. In that brief moment of laughter, my shoulders relaxed, my heart filled with pride as my lungs filled with air. I wasn’t starstruck. I wasn’t breathing underwater. I was in Wakanda ... paying respect to its king.
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