Published Jun 13, 2020 at 8:00 am (Updated Jun 13, 2020 at 10:42 pm)

People often compare, and confuse, chess and bridge and there are endless discussions on which is the better game.

For me there is no better they are both brilliant mind games, but they are really different.

In terms of pure brain-crunching analysis there is no doubt in my mind that the top chess players would outdo the top bridge players, but once you get beyond that, bridge requires a wider variety of skills beyond memory and the power to analyse.

I grew up on chess, played it a lot and was fortunate enough to win a few things at it. But once bridge came on the scene it was as if my obsession with chess had never happened.

I still read the occasional chess column and did make a brief appearance at the local chess club some years ago, but that is the extent of my involvement.

In bridge, there is a lot of history to be taken into account before making the right play what was the bidding, what was led, what cards have been played, who are the opponents, etc, whereas in chess, the board is the board and what went before is just not as important as it is in bridge.

For that reason, the top chess players can play 40 opponents at the same time and beat them all.

Chess computers have now mastered the game and, at this time, I believe the top chess computer is virtually unbeatable.

But bridge declarer play programs are not there yet relative to the top players, but they are getting there.

One aspect that both games have in common is the need to analyse the opponents actions and figure out what is behind them, and that leads me to todays hand.

Dealer East

E/W Vulnerable

North

S A107

H A42

D AQJ10

C QJ103

West

S 3

H QJ106

D 76432

C 876

East

S K62

H AK987

D 8

C K942

South

S QJ985

H 453

D K95

C A5

The bidding:

East South West North

1H 1S 3H 4S

West led the Queen of Hearts against four Spades. East overtook this with the King and returned the 8 of Diamonds. Declarer deduced that this had to be a singleton and that the only reason East could make that play was if he had control of the Trump suit, so both the opening bid and the play market him with the Trump King, and if the Diamond was a singleton, East probably had Kxx in Spades as opposed to Kx.

So he decided that it would be pointless, and dangerous, to take the Trump finesse East could win, return a low Heart to partner and get a Diamond ruff for down one.

To cater for this, as it was almost certain that East had the King of Clubs, declarer decided to attempt to cut the defenders communication in Hearts.

Declarer took the Diamond shift in dummy and ran the Queen of Clubs. After playing a second Club to his Ace, declarer crossed to dummy with a trump to the Ace and led the Jack of Clubs. East covered with the King and, rather than ruffing this trick, declarer discarded his remaining Heart.

This loser-on-loser play gained nothing directly, but it prevented a Diamond ruff by severing the Heart link between the defensive hands. East now tried a fourth round of Clubs, but declarer ruffed high and, as West could not overruff, declarer was home. He was then able to claim his contract, conceding a trick to the King of Trumps, losing only one Heart, one Club and the Trump King.

Wonderful analysis and execution by declarer in the face of a really thoughtful defence by East.

Bridge Results

Thursday, June 4

1, Linda Pollett/William Pollett

2=Claude Guay/

Sharon Shanahan

2=Miodrag Novakovic/

Margaret Way

Friday, June 5

North/South

1, Clifford Alison/Craig Hutton

2, Charles Hall/William Pollett

3, Patricia Siddle/

Marilynn Simmons

East/West

1, Joyce Pearson/

Lorna Anderson

2, Inger Mesna/John Rayner

3, Edward Betteto/

Sancia Garrison

Saturday, June 6

1, Linda Abend/Julia Patton

2= Marion Silver/

Duncan Silver

2= Claude Guay/

Sharon Shanahan

2= Judith Kitson/

Gill Butterfield

Monday, June 8

1, Richard Gray/Wendy Gray

2, Lynanne Bolton/

Peter Donnellan

3, Gertrude Barker/

Jane Smith

Wednesday, June 9

<149

1, Marion Silver/Duncan Silver

2, Joann Dawson/

Michael Dawson

3, James Mulderig/

Robert Mulderig

North/South

1, Patricia Siddle/Diana Diel

2, Marilynn Simmons/

Margaret Way

3, Linda Pollett/William Pollett

East/West

1, Magda Farag/

Sheena Rayner

2, Lorna Anderson/

Heather Woolf

3, Julia Beach/

Sancia Garrison

See the rest here:

There is no 'better' game when comparing chess with bridge - Royal Gazette

Grand Chess Master and member of Iran's national chess team Ghazal Hakimi has forsaken her Iranian nationality and will compete under the Swiss flag in international chess tournaments.

The twenty-six-year-old chess champion who is currently a student in Zurich, Switzerland, achieved the rank of Grand Master (WGM) in 2016. Her sister Raana Hakimifard also was granted the FIDE Master (WFM) title in 2015.

In a tweet in February Nigel Short, the Vice President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), had said that Hakimifard had applied to switch to the Swiss Chess Federation. "She most certainly will not be the last," he maintained.

The website of FIDE now shows her profile as a member of the Swiss team.

Several female Iranian chess players have switched nationality to play for other countries over the past few years. Expulsion for not complying with the compulsory Islamic dress code (hijab), or not wishing to do so is often a reason for Iranian female athletes switching to other nationalities.

In 2017 the nineteen-year-old Dorsa Derakhshani who had been expelled from the national team for attending an international competition without wearing hijab joined the U.S. team.

On January 2, the Iranian Chess Federation expelled another veteran chess grand master, Mitra Hejazipour, for boldly removing her scarf during the World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championship in Moscow.

More recently, in February 2020, international chess arbiter and the former Secretary-General of the Iranian Chess Federation Shohreh Bayat decided not to go back to Iran after photos showing her not wearing the compulsory headscarf during Shanghai Women's World Championship 2020 games were published.

Punishment for not wearing the compulsory headscarf can even be extended to the families of players. Earlier this month, Bayat's father said he had been pressured by the Sports Ministry to resign from all his sports activities because his daughter "had not respected the so-called Islamic dress code".

Read this article:

Another Female Chess Grand Master Forsakes Iranian Nationality To Join Swiss Team - Iran News By Radio Farda

GM Elmars Zemgalis was born in 1923 in Riga, Latvia. In 1951, Zemgalis emigrated to the United States where he became a mathematics professor, and in 1952, he was sponsored as part of a program to bring European sportsmen to the state of Washington. Shortly after, he permanently settled in Seattle.

Zemgalis continued to play chess, beating Olaf Ulvestad in a match (Zemgalis won 3-1.), won the Washington State championship twice (winning 9-0 in 1953 and 6-0 in 1959) and continued playing for another fifteen years. He received an honorary grandmaster title from FIDE in 2003, and he died in 2014 (aged 91).

IM Jeremy Silman's Final Article

We encourage our readers to share comments with IM Silman in the comments below, or better yet, purchase one of his incredible and acclaimed books!

You might say, All and well, but was he really grandmaster strength? Lets take a look:

Zemgalis suffered hard times after Latvia was invaded in 1944 by the Soviet Union (twice!). Fortunately, he managed to flee to Germany as a displaced person. After World War II, he played in twelve international tournaments. Here are a few:

As you see, Zemgalis was getting stronger and stronger, and in 1949, he hit his peak.

Wade, who was in the tournament, wrote this: Elmars Zemgalis, a 25 years old' Latvian, owed his success to a careful style and a faculty for playing according to the needs of the position, not the score. He was unbeaten, in fact, he has been unbeaten for eighteen months.

Zemgalis and Bogoljubow were tied for first. Other players included Rossolimo, Unzicker, OKelly, and Saemisch.

Because of that, I (Silman) looked for something better and found it.

This shows you that there are wonderful ideas hiding, even if it takes decades to find them.

A soothing positional kill, dominating in the middle game and concluding in the endgame.

Perfect play should end with a draw. However, instead of saying, Draw?, Zemgalis decided to toss a trick at Black.

This endgame looks like an easy draw. However, the truth is that White is suffering a bit. Thus, White will try to find the best defense while Black will put as much pressure on his opponent as possible.

If you like endgames, especially this endgame, then you can spend a lot of energy finding out what's really going on.

Zemgalis was a fantastic blitz player. He won this tournament 7-0.

Its very rare to play a perfect game. If you want to see one, look at what Zemgalis did here.

If you wish to know more about this amazing man, look for this book by IM John Donaldson. The name: Elmars Zemgalis: Grandmaster Without The Title.

See the original post:

The Downs And Ups Of GM Elmars Zemgalis (Silman's Last Article) - Chess.com

The forthcoming fall of the values of capitalism in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, a recipe of progress for the Arab and Islamic worlds, and the obstruction of enlightenment and the quest to reach it are among the ideas explored in this interview with Mahmoud El-Werwary.

Releasing his latest book Ahl Al-Aql (People with Brains) in January, El-Werwary had just finished introducing a full Ramadan season of radio production under the same title on the Sawt Al-Arab (Voice of the Arabs) Egyptian Radio Service, continuing his research for the reasons of the Arab and Islamic civilisation's rise and fall, a project he has been working on on Al Arabiya TV throughout his four-year programme.

The well-known TV news presenter, being among the pioneers of the 1990s in Egyptian TV before appearing, leading and founding some of the prestigious TV channels across the Islamic region, such as ART, Mehwar, Al Arabiya, Al-Alam, Alarabiya Alhadath, has been busy with the cause of enlightenment for long years.

El-Werwary is a prominent columnist with Asharq Al-Awsat and Al Ain Al Ekhbariya and has an outstanding impact on literature as well, publishing over 22 books from novels, plays, documents, media and enlightenment publications. Some of his novels competed for regional prestigious awards, including the Arab Poker for 'Halet Soqout' and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award for 'Kharf Al-Balad Al-Kabir'.

The 1990 Cairo University's Economic and Political Science graduate has covered news from the majority of hot zones in critical times, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Palestine and Egypt, of course, being among the most significant news presenters of the 2011 revolution times.

He produced a large collection of analytic political programmes like 90 Minutes, Al-Hadath Al-Masri and Manarat, in addition to a few documentaries, like a five-hour documentary series about the Salafi current in Egypt.

While presenting Ahl Al-Aql on the radio, Ahram Online interviewed the veteran media person during his quarantine in Dubai in an attempt to shed light on his valuable efforts to enlighten the Arab and Muslim civilisation.

AO: You choose the radio medium to discuss such an important topic at the age of social media. What is the future of radio amid the foggy future of print newspapers and TV channels?

MW: Each medium has its own followers. There are enough fans for the radio, same as print newspapers and television. Some follow more than one medium as well and radio fans are always nostalgic for it.

Ahl El-Aql started on Al Arabiya channel in a programme called 'Manarat' (Beacons) that continued for almost four years. It was a huge project where we roamed the Arab and Islamic world to scan various ideologies. For example, we went to Mauritania to meet thinkers like Islamic philosophy professors, sociologists or known historians, thinkers of the weight of El-Jabri, Arkoun, Mohammed Sabila, and Hassan Hanafi.

The project became a book published by Al Dar Al Masriah Al Lubnaniah at the 20th Cairo International Book Fair, January 2020 under the title of 'Ahl El-Aql'. This book was written out of the inspiration of these important interviews.

I was able to scan and document the thinking movement from Mauritania to Afghanistan, asking two questions mainly. One question revolves around the idea of the religious brain, the topic of extremism, violence, Islamic State, Al-Qaeda and the phrase of 'renewing religious thought'. The other question is an enlightenment question about why we, Arabs and Muslims, fell behind while others progressed. The project was already on TV and in book forms, so I introduced it on the radio as well.

Radio has its own fans and it is an easy medium. Radio goes from ears to hearts directly. I admire the radio and I am deeply attached to it. Throughout my TV career across the Arab countries and the Gulf, I always made my work connected to the radio. I love it.

In the peak of print newspapers and TV journalism problems, radio was less vulnerable to TV virus diseases, especially in Egypt. Radio will always be there. It could face some challenges just as much as print journalism in the game of media generations. In the 90s, we argued that printed books were going to be a thing of the past amid the rise of visual and audio books, but eventually printed book dominated. The same goes for printed newspapers in the early 2000s. It is true they are weaker now and some papers closed due to the increasing internet websites but believe me; they will always remain, same as radio and TV and other media. No medium cancels another. Media could rise or fall amid competition but each medium will always remain. Thus radio will always remain.

AO: The majority of your writings, programmes and interviews revolve around enlightenment and the conditions for the progress of Arab and Islamic countries. How much do you believe media can make an influence, and from where does change begin?

MW: Enlightenment is a national project. At some point, all factors will meet to form enlightenment. There are always movers and receivers. Meaning, there are many who are pushing towards enlightenment and others who are making it happen.

When I met the great Moroccan philosophy professor Mohammed Sabila, he said the media is part of the problem and he thought that the Arab media has been unintentionally involved in making Arab brains more shallow and silly. I respect this point of view deeply.

Media people are accused of being shallow and part of the problem. Yes, I agree that we in the Arab media, since the start of the satellite era in the early 90s, were part of this crisis, failing to be enlightened. I can't say this is an absolute judgement but it's part of the truth indeed.

The first Arab satellite experience was Egyptian, in December 1990, followed by MBC within weeks and then all the Arab world followed. Unhappily, this occurred during a huge global transformation after the dissolution of the Soviet Union that meant the falling of the communist model and resulted in the rise and spread of the capitalist liberal example with all of its market economy values.

So, the Arab media was forced to deal with the greed of capitalism and the media became a tool in businessmen's hands. This appeared clearly in the Egyptian experience that delivered a disfigured product that can't be described as television, radio or journalism.

In TV today, you see someone talking for two or three hours in front of a camera in a form that you can't name as a visual opinion piece, radio programme or TV. If you close your eyes, it's radio and if you open them it's TV and if you pay attention; you'll find the anchor revealing his former post as a journalist in a known newspaper and because of his relationship with a businessman.

In fact, Arab satellite media was launched in the victorious time of greedy capitalism, to turn into a commodity and the mouthpiece of capitalism which is always against the concept of enlightenment. Enlightenment works on values, while capitalism works on commoditisation.

Hence, you cannot be so surprised when you see the idea of commoditisation of religion that produced the new preachers phenomenon. Commoditisation of arts ended with the collapse of valuable theatre and good artists. Those we used to call messengers of values in the Arab world turned into servants at the court of gluttonous capitalism, shooting advertisements of boxers and fancy cars.

Therefore, the media has unintentionally got involved -- and I am aware of the intentions of people working in the field -- in the concept of commoditisation while enlightenment became an arduous value for a society that is, frankly, chasing only profits.

The media may play its role when someone poor like me presents an enlightening programme knowing that his audience will be very few, but in the end if I can get to just one person this could lead to a big change in the brains around him.

AO: What is the recipe for progress, and how long does it need to effect change?

Answering this key question took me over 30 episodes of 'Ahl El-Aql' programme and it wasn't actually enough. The renaissance question has been inquired during the 1930s by the great Lebanese thinker, Amir Al-Bayn; Shakib Arslan when he wondered in his important book 'why Arabs have fallen behind while others progressed?'

In search of this progress; I thought let's scan the civilisations that rose up and check their paths. We're not reinventing the wheel because their path was not intentional or planned but it actually is the normal movement that is based on the function of human brain's response.

In the 30 episodes of Ahl El-Aql, I only tried to answer just the second half of Arslan's question, which is 'why non-Muslims progressed' and I took the closest civilisation to us, the West, to which we handed the torch of culture. Civilisations don't die but rather move, said Hadi Al-Alawi. Therefore, the Western civilisation is actually the Muslims' civilisation that reached its peak during the Abbasid era.

The West took the Islamic culture, including Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Al-Ghazali, Al-Kindi and Al-Farabi. No civilisation was ever born completely on the carpet of a specific nation. But when people of a civilisation are weakened, it is carried by those who are capable. But it's the same torch of culture in the end.

The torch of the civilisations of the Romans and Greeks was handed to the Muslim nation who too eventually became weak so the West carried the torch.

The Islamic culture was based on the translations of Ibn Ishaq, Plato, Aristotle and other Greek intellectuals and their ideas moved to the Islamic world.

The renaissance recipe that, I claim, I presented in such inclusivity and accuracy in 'Ahl El-Aql' is 'to develop, you must first go through a path of progress'. At first, you need to solve your problem with the religious brain to reach the square of the brain of knowledge, philosophy and enlightenment that leads to the maturity of the scientific brain, the industrial brain that leads to positive full-change political revolutions to eventually reach the renaissance. To prove this theory, let's scan the Western culture and see how they developed.

The West progressed by a group of individuals. Martin Luther, the most important reformer, not to confuse him with the American Martin Luther King, in 1540s started the reform of the church so he solved the religious brain problem in his 95 thesis we call today 'renewal of religious speech'. The man renewed the Christian speech at his time inspiring the founding of the Lutheran and the Orthodox Church by translating the Bible and completely blowing the church's concepts of indulgences and mediation between people and God.

This renewal or correction of the religious brain consequently created brains like Immanuel Kant and Ren Descartes who would not exist without the earlier existence of Martin Luther. He launched freedom of thinking and killed fear as if he were saying; go ahead, think freely without worrying that we would consider you faithless or hit you with a death penalty for heresy. So Descartes and Kant who shaped the same philosophy also produced Hegel, Rousseau and all these genius intellectuals.

This opened the door to scientific brains like Copernicus in the 1600s, only a century later. Copernicus clashed with the church, with all of its insensitive powers at this era. The Church believed the earth is the centre of the universe then Copernicus dared to differ, saying the sun is. But he died before accomplishing his victory. Then Galileo continued the clash and eventually won. That was the first time Western brains accepted the idea that the church could be wrong.

After Galileo comes James Watt, 60 or 70 years later, to shift the Western society from riding horses to using the steam engines he invented. Then after another 60 or 70 years came Adam Smith to establish the economy before the West moved to the enlightenment era. Accordingly, the final change occurred, the three important revolutions took place; the British in the 1600s, the French and the American in the 1700s to change the Western culture. Later came the great pioneers of enlightenment, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Montesquieu to turn the world into what it is today.

Have all these steps occurred intentionally? Of course not, but the human brain must go through these stages and the same applied as a salvation recipe for the Arab world where you must start from solving problems with religion. As Mohamed Abdu said "When revelation stopped, there became no authority over thinking" and Imam Al-Shafii said earlier that all is debatable except the Prophet Mohamed.

The prophet's death rendered all people equal and none was infallible, including Abu Bakr and Omar who are humans that may be right or wrong. With this mentality you re-read everything, including jurisprudence of the companions of the prophet to conclude that it belongs to its age and can't work at the current time so you need to filter it and come up with new jurisprudence that fits. Imam Al-Shafii when moved from Iraq to Egypt changed his mind about more than 30 issues.

Do we have bold jurisprudents capable of clashing like Abdu in the 19th century? We need brave and powerful religious reformers to face the society that created its own fear. When you free the religious mind and give power to poor thinkers and philosophers that can't afford to make ends meet when the lowest-standard belly-dancer in the Arab world is more famous than Mohamed Abed Al-Jabri, Arkoun, Hassan Hanafi. Shakoosh is more famous than all of these. This is an upside-down society, where a footballer's price is more expensive than the most important brains in the Arab world. This is absolutely wrong. This is the recipe you asked about.

AO: What is the role of countries and people who travelled faster down the path of progress and enlightenment towards countries still suffering dark accumulations, especially with occupation?

MW: We'd better ask, 'what have you lost from your drop?' This is a very important question as you'd better read the reasons of your defeat for yourself not for others.

This questions lead to another which is 'Is the West also to blame for our drop?' In fact, they are responsible too. Algerian thinker Malek Bennabi spoke about the readiness of being colonised. This is a very significant theory.

The West conquered the Arabs only because we were ready to be defeated. We are that kind of people who have the willingness of being conquered because weakness creates passion and curiosity for powerful others to 'ride' us. Iranian thinker Ali Shariati wrote a book that discussed the concept of ride-ability that developed Malek Bennabi's ideas. He says that the donkey is the only animal that doesn't resist its rider, unlike the horse that needs taming. People turn to ride-able nations that could be dominated by the worst people on earth.

Colonialism led to isolation and boycott. What happened? We were in the front line during the Abbasid eras of Harun Al-Rashid, Al-Maamun and other regimes that followed. What happened is that we experienced a period of boycott. For around 500 years, it was the responsibility of the Ottoman colonialism and 300 years earlier it was the Mameluke's. They created a boycott experienced by hundreds of generations who lived during these dark ages inheriting their ignorance. Ignorance turned into heritage.

This boycott is also the responsibility of British and French colonialism. The French campaign in Egypt was documented by some as a contribution to the renaissance that resulted in intellectuals like Mohamed Abdu, Jamal Al-Din Al-Afghani, Rashid Rida, Rifa'a Al-Tahtawi and others. But at the same time, the occupation also strengthened boycott because people got busy with the idea of liberation more than the idea of enlightenment.

This is what Al-Afghani thought in his disagreement with Abdu. This is very important. Al-Afghani said there was no enlightenment without liberation, accusing Abdu of being discouraging and depressing because the latter thought you cannot fight in two battles at the same time while you're weak. He thought you would either struggle against conquest, like what the Algerians did against the French, or you either fight in an enlightenment battle.

Another question: how come the enlightenment led by Abdu and Al-Afghani occurred during the British conquest and when the occupation ended and Egypt was ruled by an Egyptian the fall down started? You were liberated from a former conquest to experience a nationalistic tyranny.

The unity in the struggle against the British conquest turned into an approval of Arab oppressive rules that proved their failure, like the Arab Nationalism and these kinds of ideas that all broke down on the rock of the 1967 defeat. After the failure of the Arab nationalism concept, the Islamic current popped in the 70s claiming to be a solution or an alternative. Sheikh Ali Abdel-Raziq, one of Mohamed Abdu students, revenged after losing his scientific degree and job when he opposed the concept of the caliphate in his book 'Islam and the Foundations of Rule'. In 1928, Hassan El-Banna's ideas were brought to the fore as a result. These are consecutive accumulations. El-Banna came out after you turned off the light of Sheikh Abdel-Raziq: bats come out when the light goes out.

AO: What's next after Ahl El-Aql?

MW: I feel my hands are tied although I try to use any opportunity to say something that could benefit the people. When you tell anyone that you want to produce an enlightening programme, he will laugh at you but if you pitch him a series of episodes about Hassan Shakoosh, Hamo Bika, Oka and Ortiga, he will agree.

Although the capitalism model is actually falling down in this time of coronavirus, still enlightenment is in eeriness. The world walks upside down. Compare the price of a footballer and a big thinker you will find out the show is up and the brain is down. As Mustafa Mahmoud once said 'As if the world is thinking with its feet' not brain. We are driving, my friend, with the speed of a rocket but backwards not forward.

I will tell you what our crisis is. We have lots of brains and thinkers and lots of genius projects. Mohamed Abed Al-Jabri worked on the criticism of the Arab brain discussing its problems and how to solve them in a big series. Georges Tarabichi replied back deconstructing Al-Jabri's criticism. Arkoun criticised the religious brain in a huge referential project. Then came the Egyptian genius Hassan Hanafi deconstructing the heritage. So we already have solutions for our three major crises in the Arab world but who would accomplish the change? That is the question. Where is the will? Who crippled the turning of thinking into action?

I call this 'the equation of obstruction'. Look, some thinking is like crude oil and its refining produces different fuel oils, vaseline, kerosene, shampoo and all these derivatives. Who turns this crude oil into derivatives that could be daily used by the people? To turn crude thinking into usable ideas by the people, you need three elements: a businessman, a political decision and a religious opinion that says it's lawful to use this shampoo.

These three pillars are what I meant by the 'equation of obstruction' that hinders pure thinking from reaching people's daily lives. The first obstructer is a tyrannical politician whose benefits would be influenced by people's thinking as they rule by enforcing hunger and ignorance. The second is a retroactive jurist that forbids everything.

You know that coffee was prohibited for decades, same as photography, and even trousers were debated. A very stupid story. The third obstructer is a greedy capitalist that could produce a series about Hassan Shakoosh but cannot produce a series about Ibn Rushd.

These are the three main factors of the Arab and Islamic world's crisis. Throughout history, these three used to be enemies but today they are friends and they agreed to be against the Arab and Islamic world's nations.

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INTERVIEW: Mahmoud El-Werwary reveals the recipe for renaissance and equation of obstruction - Books - Ahram Online

THE squabbles over Dominic Cummings might seem a faint memory but politicians from all parties are still demonstrating their double standards. They happily cheer on Black Lives Matter (BLM) demonstrators, gathering in their thousands around the country, while its stillillegal for the rest of us to visit our elderly parents. Whatever the one rule for them and another for us judgmentover Cummings, it is nowquite clearthere is one rule for law-abiding citizens who obey the draconian lockdown and one for the thugs creating havoc in the name of protesting against racism.

Of the absurd as well as shocking images weve been besieged with from these protests worthy of Chairman Maos show trials during the Cultural Revolution the most obscene has been the sight of politicians and police taking the knee.

Its high time that those who have participated in this craven gesture understand exactly what they are doing and who they are bowing down to.The uncomfortable truth is that as an organisation BLM is in danger of becoming less about human rights and more aboutvirulent racismand anti-Semitism.

Although the Movement for Black Lives coalition, of which BLM is a prominent member, has largely coalesced around charges of mass incarcerations of black people in the US, police violence against them and other domestic issues (disputed by American academic John McWhorterhere) it has also called for the ending of military aid to Israel,falsely accusing it of being an apartheid state, despite the country arguably being the only democracy in the Middle East.

Four years ago theMovement for Black Livescame out with a manifesto called A Vision for Black Lives,a truly Marxist revolutionary document which inter aliaaccuses Israel of genocide against Palestinians. This is a lie and a blood libel.A string of sympathetic Jewish organisations, from the Anti-Defamation League to the Reform movement and the National Council of Jewish Women, condemned this use of genocide and apartheid language.

Underling this gross defamation is the activists oxymoronic belief that by allying with Islamist agendas, including the destruction of Israel, they are fighting racism.So anyone who criticises their anti-Semitism by definition is pronounced a racist and this becomes, in this mindset, yet another form of racism, a recent phenomenon on which I have written several times.

Two years ago I questioned the political motives of BLM and warned about their anti-Semitism and connection with the Islamist group,the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).I also warned thatBLM were tragically demolishing most of the good work done by equal rights campaigners over the past 50 years: As they up their anti-Semitic rhetoric, pitting black Americans against Jewish ones, the once-supportive alliance between the two groups is being forgotten and eroded.

The liberal elite appear as ignorant of BLMs anti-Semitism as they are of its perverse and conspiracy theory world-view of white supremacistand patriarchal oppression.A man from Mars reading A Vision for Black Lives would be forgiven for believing there was no one man one vote, no equality under the law and no human rights in theUS at all, that its capitalism was as oppressive and brutal as Stalinism.

In their enlightenment, the woke prefer to castigate President Trump while remaining wilfully ignorant about the revolutionary cult theyare endorsing.In the last week, since the protests began inLos Angeles home of the woke celebrity Jewish business owners have been targeted.BLM protesters have vandalisedtheir shops and synagogues. One Iranian Jewish stallholder had his business targeted and destroyed by more than 50 thugs wielding bats and crowbars.

Being taught to hate Israel is shamefully having an effect. Free Palestine and Kill the Jews, war cries of the far Left and Islamists, were scrawled on to the walls of these shops and synagogues. So far BLM have not raised any objections to this vandalism.

Last week at a BLM rally held with the Rhodes Must Fall mob at Oxford University, anti-Semitic slurs and conspiracy theories about Israel abounded.

When some students objected, they were made to feel so uncomfortable that they left the rally.

Its not only Jews who have been subjected to the wrath of the BLM mob. Churches have also been attacked.

Anti-Semitism, like anti-capitalism, is a virus and it spreads.

Britains politicians need to wake up and get a grip. They are foolishly letting an increasingly supremacist BLM, with an anti-Semitic obsession, lead the narrative on racism. Their own overt anti-Semitism, extreme intolerance and prejudice makes theirown claim to fight racism ring hollow. Liberals must never forgethistory norever give anti-Semites a free pass.

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BLM spreads the virus of anti-Semitism - The Conservative Woman

This is the new normal, I say to myself as I gaze into my laptop to venture into the Museum of Nepali Arts 360-degree virtual exhibition: InceptionA collection of Nepali masterpieces, which celebrates paubha works. The show was put up on June 5, and it is MoNAs second virtual exhibition as the country remains in an eased lockdown. But Inception steers away from anything to do with Covid, except it comes to viewers via a virtual platform because of the gloomy reality that still overcasts us.

The exhibition is a collection of paubha works from 15 Nepali artists. And all the works are stories wrapped in strokes, if one takes the time and effort to understand them that is. While some artworks presented deviate from traditional paubha paintings, they all talk about Buddhism and Hinduism and the functioning of the universe. And each artists stylistic is distinctively discernible. The variety of the exhibition also shows how the practice of paubha has evolved with generations.

The first painting is Ganesha, by Raj Prakash Man Tuladhar, and perhaps the exhibition purposely begins with it as the belief goes that the deity is a remover of obstacles. A mandala ignites behind the deity like a nimbus and it seems the artist is drawing a convergence of Hinduism and Buddhism together. The mandala also embodies the principle of life and is considered as the vehicle to seek enlightenment. And so, the exhibition sets its premise in wisdom and philosophy. And the title Inception carries the show, giving an outlook into these works to understand the theory of life.

The exhibition also presents veteran paubha artist Lok Chitrakars Chakrasamvara with consort Vajravarahi which represents the enlightened tantric form of Buddha. And although it might seem like a sexual union between two deities for people, the underlying metaphor is the fastening between compassion and wisdom to work selflessly for the benefit of all. The painting reveals the philosophy with various symbolic elements emulating good and bad emotions telling viewers one must transcend beyond dualities because there is good and bad in everything. The art discusses emptiness and bliss to reach enlightenment.

As stated earlier, some works in the exhibition differ from traditional paubha strictures, particularly in the use of materials and presentation: like Prem Man Chitrakars Dipankara Buddha, which illustrates Dipankara Buddha with meditative buddhas Amitaba and Vairochana in acrylic painting, and the late Manik Man Chitrakars Bratabandha of Siddhartha Gautam Shakya, which is a pigment painting on canvas. Theres also contemporary paubha artist Samundra Man Singh Shresthas oil on canvas painting of Green Tara that represents the element of air and compassion.

Nevertheless, all the works are incredible to marvel at. But perhaps if the exhibition had been in a physical space, the scale of the paintings would have given an even more gratifying experience.

Paubha is a traditional religious painting of deities in Hinduism and Buddhism and is unique to the Newar community. It has traditionally been practised as devotional work, which over the years has commercialised. But earlier, paubha works could only be made by artists who had taken necessary initiation on the subject, locally known as dekha, and required artists to follow ground rules. The latter is still relevant. Unlike other art, paubha has specific norms like these works should follow a story of a deity, reflect their philosophies and should strictly pertain to the articulate iconographies of the deities.

Those who purchase paubha also see a difference between buying a paubha and buying other art works, as they believe paubha transcends the beauty of art and has religious significance and ties. Many Newar communities also consecrate these paintings to use them in their esoteric chambers and are used as a tool for meditation. Paubha making is also part of the Newar tradition where family members commission their priest or artist to make new paubha in various festivals, like Janko, which is celebrated when an elderly person reaches a certain age. And so paubha in itself becomes a powerful work that not just represents a story of a deity, but our intricate connection with this world that evokes spirituality in us. And this perhaps is also why we hesitate to critique paubha works.

Consequently, this leaves us to do what we usually do when we dont understand the depth of certain works: we say they are beautiful and significant; we say we should take pride in the artists skills. But when we say such things, we should be wary of the fact that beyond the aesthetics there is a gap in the discourse of paubha. Yet, without addressing that gap, we just see them as traditional paintings and abide by the deference that our elders have asked from us. And for many, this exhibition may just be that.

The virtual show will make you revel in this art form and make you feel proud. After all, paubha paintings are much more than just art; they are heritage. But here is the catch: sometimes beauty alone cannot make things meaningful. Sure, the work can be alluring, but its allure will be fleeting. And we need to get past this. While MoNA does bring paubha to people, the gap remains un-bridged. And that is something not just for the museum to work at; it is also for the artists and the community to make an effort to see that the knowledge of the artwork is transferred beyond its beauty.

But it is commendable that MoNA is keeping its ambition to promote Nepali art and support Nepali artists despite the outbreak of the virus disrupting our lives. It is continuing with works that will spark discussions about native art like paubha. The museum was also one of the first institutions to shift its focus to the digital medium after the covid outbreak with a 360-degree virtual exhibition that explores the setting of the Kathmandu Guest House where the museum is. And in recent days, their exhibition Inception has received rave reviews from international museums.

Their enthralling beauty makes them accessible on an emotional level even without a knowledge of tantric iconographies they embody, writes Dr John Clarke, curator of Asian Department in Victoria & Albert Museum, in London, on MoNAs website.

But I cant help but think about the possibilities of enriching the virtual experience with this exhibition. The curatorial experience could have benefitted from using sounds to pull in the audience, maybe voiceovers of artists explaining their work or their experience. It could have used the museum space itself to give a context into its storytelling and explored an innovative presentation.

Not that the exhibition looks unimaginative, but it falls short because the digital world is fast-paced. MoNA emphasises the artists voice, and it also provides information to the audience, but they are not engaging enough. Navigating through buttons that take time to respond means losing the audience halfway. And if this digital medium is to become the new normal or a new asset to explore art, the curatorial experience needs to experiment and go beyond just uploading works digitally. It needs to be immersive and interactive because, in the virtual world, its easy to hop from one place to another.

Those who have an interest in paubha will strive to click through all the works, but perhaps not everyone will. Nevertheless, the exhibition is a good start for Nepali art in the virtual world.

Heres the link to the exhibition: https://www.360mona.com/inception/

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Why the virtual exhibition 'Inception' is a bit hit and miss - The Kathmandu Post

Photo credit: John Francis

From Cosmopolitan

I know youre feeling some type of way about going back to school soon. Dont lieyou clicked on this story for a reason. Maybe its your love of highlighters (same) or just seeing your friends on the reg. Or maybe its because you know that back-to-school szn 2020 is going to be weird.

Regardless, if youre here because youre looking for a quote to write in your planner, caption a gram, or create some fun DIY art to deal with those feels, we got you. (Even if youre stuck at home for another semester instead of on campus with your Twin XL sheets.)

Here, we gathered more than 30 (!!!) quotes to turn up your school spirit again. Your 6-hour study sessions, 20-page papers, and finals week are no match for this positivity boost to go alongside your 3,210,328th cup of coffee.

School is a building which has four walls with tomorrow inside. Lon Watters

Education is the key to unlocking the world, a passport to freedom. Oprah Winfrey

You learn something every day if you pay attention. Ray LeBlond

Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world. Malala Yousafzai

The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next. Abraham Lincoln

Learning is never done without errors and defeat. Vladimir Lenin

The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be ignited. Plutarch

He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever. Chinese proverb

Powers not given to you. You have to take it. Beyonc Knowles Carter

A good education is a foundation for a better future. Elizabeth Warren

You dont have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. Zig Ziglar

Youve got to get up every morning with determination if youre going to go to bed with satisfaction. George Lorimer

Im not going to school just for the academics. I wanted to share ideas, to be around people who are passionate about learning. Emma Watson

The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain. Dolly Parton

Everything is a learning process: Any time you fall over, its just teaching you to stand up the next time.Joel Edgerton

The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows. Sydney J. Harris

If you dont go after what you want, youll never have it. If you dont ask, the answer is always no. If you dont step forward, youre always in the same place. Nora Roberts

The only difference between success and failure is the ability to take action. Alexander Graham Bell

Story continues

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Eleanor Roosevelt

When we empower girls hungry for education, we cultivate women who are emboldened to effect change within their communities and globally. Meghan Markle

Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better. Maya Angelou

Knowledge will bring you the opportunity to make a difference. Claire Fagin

Believe you can and youre halfway there. Theodore Roosevelt

Education is not just about going to school and getting a degree. Its about widening your knowledge and absorbing the truth about life. Shakuntala Devi

Dont try so hard to fit in and certainly dont try so hard to be differentjust try hard to be you. Zendaya

The expert at anything was once a beginner. Helen Hayes

Youre perfect when youre comfortable being yourself. Ansel Elgort

It always seems impossible until its done. Nelson Mandela

Nothing is impossible. The word itself says, Im possible. Audrey Hepburn

If people did not do silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done. Ludwig Wittgenstein

Courage doesnt always roar. Sometimes, courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, I will try again tomorrow. Mary Anne Radmache

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TOKYO (AP) Buddhism suffers from a gloomy image in Japan. It is so closely linked to death funerals, graves and memorial rituals in which priests chant sutras based on Chinese rendering of Sanskrit texts that no one else understands that people refer to it as funeral Buddhism.

The powerful forces of secularization and population decline have caused the religion to steadily wane in Japanese society, with disinterest in Buddhism and faith in general particularly pronounced among the young.

Buddhist leaders say a third of the countrys 75,000 temples are barely functioning, with rural flight hurting the traditional danka system of financial support by parish households, to the extent that some country temples have closed and priests are taking second jobs.

Meanwhile, intensifying competition from discount funeral businesses and nonreligious cemeteries has cut into income from the death rituals and grave plots.

But a younger generation of priests is working to reverse the faiths downward spiral, innovating to try to make Buddhism more appealing and relevant to daily life and the modern world.

We need more priests to be aware of the needs of people around them and how to maintain the temple not as a business but based on Buddhist teachings, said Yoshiharu Tomatsu, secretary-general of the Japan Buddhist Federation, an umbrella group overseeing the countrys 58 sects. Otherwise, we have no reason to exist in this society.

Since most people dont have much opportunity to interact with Buddhist priests, 43-year-old Yoshinobu Fujioka spends evenings in downtown Tokyo at his Vowz Bar, a play on bouzu, Japanese for monk.

The watering hole typically sees 100 customers crammed into two small second-floor rooms on weekend nights or at least it did until the coronavirus pandemic hit. A Buddhist altar sits in the corner while jazz music plays in the background.

Unlike Buddhist priests elsewhere, those in Japan can marry, drink alcohol and eat meat, thanks to an 1872 imperial edict. Sharing cocktails in a cozy atmosphere encourages people to open up about their struggles, Fujioka said.

Twice a night he spends 15 minutes leading customers in chanting sutras, followed by a short talk or story. One evening in March, amid the growing pandemic, he talked about non-financial ways of giving alms, such as looking kindly on people, smiling and paying attention to those in need.

Lots of young people come and listen earnestly, said Fujioka, who also performs with a band in live clubs. Buddhism gives wisdom for living. Everyone is starving for truth. Hearts are dry. ... If we offer that to people, they will soak it up.

Haruka Umeyama, a 30-year-old tour guide, described herself as a typically religiously confused Japanese who didnt know much about Buddhism but felt at home at Vowz.

I came here and its great, she said. They make the words of Buddha easy to understand. And for some reason, even though I wasnt brought up religious at all, some of the things they say here make sense.

Kanho Yakushiji, a 41-year-old Zen Buddhist priest from the southern island of Shikoku, grew up loving music and formed a band in his 20s because he didnt want to inherit his fathers temple, as is typical in Japan. Music was kind of an escape for me, he said.

But he gradually began exploring his Zen roots, which emphasize meditation and discipline, and realized he needed to confront his fears about becoming a priest. At 30 he entered a two-year training regimen at a Kyoto temple that included grueling cross-legged meditation sessions lasting for hours.

Yakushiji emerged convinced he wanted to incorporate music into his ministry. Today hes recorded three solo albums and has toured Japan, China and Taiwan, playing his guitar in his priestly vestments, his head shaved.

His early songs were pop or folk tunes about family, friends and his hometown. Most didnt contain explicit references to faith but were more subtle: Treasuring the important things in life and Buddhist teachings are really one and the same, he said.

Lately Yakushiji has been experimenting with a different and distinctly Buddhist sound: harmonized sutras chanted to dreamy guitar chords. His recent arrangement, Heart Sutra, has garnered 2.8 million views on YouTube.

Buddhism has done little to spread, Yakushiji said. But now young priests are reaching out in a lot of different ways, so I think things are changing.

Like the other priests interviewed for this story, 37-year-old Naoyuki Ogi of southern Yamaguchi prefecture said he spreads Buddhist teachings because they offer practical help in daily life and ultimately a roadmap to nirvana, or enlightenment.

Among such core tenets are the importance of self-reflection and self-improvement, as well as awareness that all living things are connected. Another is the idea that ones ancestors protect and help the living and can be prayed to or even worshipped.

Ogi goes on TV shows to promote those and other teachings, and also works at the Society for the Promotion of Buddhism, which distributes copies of The Teaching of Buddha in hotel rooms.

My primary purpose is not to convert people to Buddhism or expand my temples members, said Ogi, whose temple danka has shrunk to 110 families from 150 about 20 years ago. My main goal is, how do I introduce Buddhist teachings to people? Because they are so useful.

Unlike Christianity and Islam, mainstream Buddhist groups in Japan generally dont seek converts, although some offshoots are zealous about proselytizing.

Religion is a flexible concept anyway for most Japanese, who often mix Buddhism with Shinto, the indigenous worship of spirits in nature, or even Christianity. Many people dedicate their children at the local Shinto shrine, tie the knot in Christian weddings and hold Buddhist funerals, without considering any of that contradictory.

That makes it hard to pin down religious affiliation. Government data based on tallies from temples and shrines shows Japan is roughly split between followers of Buddhism and Shinto, with some people counted in both camps. But when Japanese were asked to pick one religion they believed in, in a 2018 survey by the International Social Survey Program, 31 percent of respondents said Buddhism, 3 percent Shinto, 1 percent Christianity and 62 percent no religion at all.

For Ogi, creed doesnt matter when it comes to his ministry.

Even if you are a Christian, and you like Buddhist teachings, please use them, he said. No problem.

Tsuyuno Maruko, a 33-year-old priest in the Tendai sect, found her niche in the often humorous storytelling tradition called rakugo. In one story she likens various Buddhist hotoke, or godlike figures, to shopkeepers on a street, noting how each has a store serving different needs.

Maruko is among those abandoning the danka system. She's building a new temple in the southwestern Hyogo prefecture modeled on a Christian church and supported by visitors contributions and her own storytelling performances.

I think many Japanese view religion as something suspicious or a bit dangerous, she said. We need to communicate that faith is part of everyday life, just like eating our meals.

Maruko, whose husband is Christian, said many priests are either complacent or too inwardly focused on whether their temples will survive.

That kind of preoccupation with ones own livelihood seems to have lost sight of the essence of religion, she said.

That was going to be the gist of her message to fellow priests at an April seminar on addressing the crisis facing Buddhism, but it was postponed due to the pandemic. She still plans to drive home the point that you should not be working for yourself but for others.

Ittetsu Nemoto, 48, had no interest in religion as a youth. By his own account, he partied hard, danced all night and was kind of a delinquent.

But he practiced Buddhist meditation as part of his karate training, believing it helped him discern opponents moves. After a motorcycle accident sent him to the hospital, Nemoto began questioning his life, felt empty and decided to become a Zen priest.

Around that time, about 15 years ago, Japan saw a surge of suicidal people meeting online and then taking their lives in small groups, often through carbon monoxide poisoning in sealed vehicles. Nemoto, who had lost an uncle and two former classmates to suicide, began seeking them out through the internet and going to talk with them.

After sharing their stories, they would become friends and give up their suicide plans, he said. He created a web-based support group to keep in touch with them.

By the time Nemoto became chief priest of a small temple in central Gifu prefecture, he had a reputation as a suicide counselor. Over the next several years, he counseled thousands of people by phone, in person and in small groups.

He developed a workshop, depicted in the 2017 documentary The Departure, with mock funerals that force participants to confront their own death. In one activity, people are asked to write down things they hold dear, helping them see what they would be giving up.

Nemoto farms to help support his family. And while he doesnt want his 700-year-old temple to close, he is a staunch believer in reorienting ministry, perhaps around technology instead of the temple.

Outside needs are growing and temple needs are declining, Nemoto said. With just your smartphone, you can do almost anything. Buddhism needs to think about how it will function in that world.

In unsettling times of pandemic, loneliness and natural disasters, Nemoto sees growing spiritual hunger and believes Buddhism can help.

Buddhism saved me from a messed-up youth and helped me see things clearly, he said. If it cant be used to save people from death, it has no value.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through the Religion News Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

___

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Young Japan priests try to breathe life into fading Buddhism - Religion News Service

The National Museum of China is showcasing its collection of Buddhist art in Beijing. Artwork representing Tibetan Buddhism is a major part of the collection. Other highlights of the show include an iron sculpture from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), a wooden sculpture of Guanyin head dating to the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and a colored wooden sculpture of Guanyin from the Song era.[Photo by Lin Qi/China Daily]

Sculptural representations in Buddhism convey people's supreme devotion. They are also testaments to the aesthetic evolution and maturity of workmanship over centuries, promoting their status to an important department at either museums or the art market today.

There are more than 30,000 items of Buddhist art in the National Museum of China's collection, ranging from sculptures to thangka paintings in different media such as gold, bronze, textile and paper, according to Tong Chunyan, a curator at the museum.

A selection of Buddhist sculptures had been on show at the museum since the museum opened in 2011. In December, Tong and her colleagues reorganized the artwork to give this permanent display a face-lift.

The new Ancient Chinese Buddhist Sculpture exhibition gathers 265 fine examples, navigating the evolution of Buddhist art in China.

Link:
Confluence of ideas - Chinadaily.com.cn - Chinadaily USA

Here are some important facts to note about the future of the worlds Buddhist population.

Buddhists monks pray in Bangkok, Thailand. Image credit: PhaiApirom/Shutterstock.com

Unlike most other major religions of the world, Buddhism is projected to witness a decline in the number of followers in the coming decades. According to forecasts by Pew Research Center, the Buddhist population will initially rise from 488 million in 2010 to an estimated 511 million in 2030. However, it will thenceforth drop to around 486 million. In contrast, the global human population is projected to increase considerably during the same period. As a result, the share of Buddhists in the population is projected to decrease from 7% to 5% between 2010 and 2050. Here are some other important facts to note about the future of the worlds Buddhist population:

Buddhists are older than most of the major religious groups of the world except for Jews. The Buddhist population has a median age of 36 that is equal to that of the religiously unaffiliated population. Muslims, Hindus, and Christians have a median age of 24, 27, and 30 respectively. Thus, an older population of Buddhists means that there will be fewer people of child-bearing age to produce children to add to the population.

Buddhist women have a Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of only 1.6 children per woman which is way low than that of Muslims (2.9), Christians (2.6), and Hindus (2.3). It is also below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman which is the number needed to maintain a stable population given other influencing factors remain the same. The TFR of Buddhists is also lower than that of the total population of the Asia-Pacific region (2.1) where most of the worlds Buddhists live.

Currently, around 99% of the worlds Buddhists reside in the Asia-Pacific region and this scenario is predicted to remain largely unchanged in 2050 as well. However, the absolute number of Buddhists as well as their percentage share in the regions total population are both projected to fall in the coming decades. Between 2010 and 2050, the share of Buddhists in the total population of Asia-Pacific is expected to decrease from 12% to 10%. Their numbers are projected to decline from an estimated 481 million to 476 million during the same period.

Interestingly, although the share of Buddhists in Asia-Pacifics population is forecasted to experience a drop, the share of the same in most other world regions will increase. The Buddhist population in the Middle East and North Africa is expected to grow by 137% that is higher than the regions overall population growth of 73%. In Europe and North America, the Buddhist population is also expected to grow at a faster rate than the regions total population growth rate.

There is little reliable data available to predict religious switching in the Buddhist population. North America is the only region where adequate data related to this aspect of the Buddhist population has been noted. If this data were to be taken into account, then the Buddhist population is expected to experience a net loss of numbers due to religious switching. However, as the Buddhist population in North America is very low, this trend does not provide a clear picture of religious switching in the global Buddhist population.

Oishimaya is an Indian native, currently residing in Kolkata. She has earned her Ph.D. degree and is presently engaged in full-time freelance writing and editing. She is an avid reader and travel enthusiast and is sensitively aware of her surroundings, both locally and globally. She loves mingling with people of eclectic cultures and also participates in activities concerning wildlife conservation.

This page was last updated on June 9, 2020.

By Oishimaya Sen Nag

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5 Facts To Know About The Future Of Buddhism - World Atlas