Al Jazeera: Writers aim to challenge stereotypes about Gaza

Aiming to rectify the mainstream perception of Gaza as merely a place of death and war, the storytelling project We Are Not Numbers was launched two years ago under the umbrella of the nonprofit Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor. [...]

"Most of the Palestine-related news stories are about how many were slain, badly injured or turned homeless, but these numbers are impersonal and do not hail Palestinians' steadfastness," Mohaisen told Al Jazeera, noting that the project also offers young writers in Gaza a chance to connect with more experienced, published authors who act as mentors.

The following is an excerpt from a piece by Rana Shubair 

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America Magazine: Politeness, the forgotten virtue

Politeness is rarely the object of ethical analysis. (Interestingly, it is women who have pioneered the field of politeness arbitration: Amy Vanderbilt, Letitia Baldridge, Miss Manners.) Yet much of our daily life revolves around our reaction to polite or impolite behavior. We are irritated by the faculty colleague who continually interrupts us in departmental meetings. We know which nephew sends a thank-you note for a gift and which nephew does not. Shortly before Easter I visited our local DMV office, a place not renowned for courtly manners. I was impressed by the courtesy of the clerk as she processed my papers, explained the fees, suggested an allergy remedy and wished me a happy weekend. On Easter morning I passed by the playing fields of Loyola on my way to the university chapel for Mass. I wished a happy Easter to a woman walking her Chihuahua on the campus. She muttered back, “How would you like my dog to sic you?” So much for Easter joy. [...]

In its mature form politeness is a species of charity. In the contemporary church, we seem to be searching for a deeper spirituality of hospitality. But the very term “hospitality” seems rather pale. What we seek is something more than a cozy loveseat by the hearth. Politeness opens our heart to see and respond to the needs of those in difficulty. A good conversationalist knows how to draw out the silent guest and how to avoid topics that provoke anger (Amy Vanderbilt was right about the danger of diving into partisan politics). The polite person exercises a steely asceticism out of love for the wounded other person. The sick must be visited, the grief-stricken must be comforted and the unexpected guest welcomed. An evening at the cinema or before the computer screen can be readily sacrificed for such quiet goods. The discreet charity of the polite is a major grace.

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Quartz: Portraits show Iran’s hidden minority of Afro-Iranians

German-Iranian photographer Mahdi Ehsaei has spent the last three years documenting a lesser known community in his home country: Iranians of African heritage. His portraits, taken in Iran’s southern province of Hormozgan, document the country’s participation in the Indian Ocean slave trade until the practice was abolished in 1928. The photos appear in his recently published book, Afro-Iran, the Unknown Minority.

Few Iranians are aware of this part of their history or even the presence of Afro-Iranians in their country, according to Ehsaei, who first became interested in the topic after watching a team from Hormozgan play in a football match. He noticed the team’s fan leader was a black Iranian man who led the supporters in a song that struck Ehsaei as more African than Iranian. Ehsaei began researching the topic and eventually raised money online to fund part of the project. [...]

Aside from their color and their concentration in particular locations, Afro-Iranians aren’t any different than other Iranians. They feel Iranian and feel uncomfortable when asked about their origins. Some of them know of their cultural background, some don’t.

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IFLScience: This Is What Happens To Your Dog When You Leave It Alone

“The first 30 minutes after being left alone is usually the most stressful time for the majority of dogs,” they note. “However, for some individuals, this elevated level of stress can last for the whole time that they are left.”

The most common markers of painful isolation are “vocalizations” of protest and “destructive behavior”, but some signs are more subtle. Pacing and excessive salivation are also often markers of acute stress. They likely urinate on the floor as a way of relieving stress.

Dogs, it seems, can never get used to you leaving. After a while, they recognize certain cues of yours – walking towards the front door, looking for your keys, locking the bathroom, and so on – that notify them that you’re about to disappear, and the panic begins to set in earlier rather than later.“Dogs are social animals, so it is difficult to know for sure what they’re thinking when they’re left alone,” the CBWT add. Sadly, as they aren’t great conversationalists, we can’t ask them. It’s just not clear if they think we’ve abandoned them forever, or they’re just incredibly needy creatures. Some may not be fearful but merely bored without you providing them with entertainment. [...]

The idea is that your pet will realize that these specific treats will only come out when you leave the house. Over time, as their confidence grows, you can spend longer away and they’ll hopefully be more of less content with their box of distractions. Closing the curtains, to stop them being distracted by the sight of you leaving, may also help matters.

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CityLab: Singapore, City of Sensors

Today’s Singapore provides free WiFi inside subway stations, and it’s paved the way for its first driverless taxis. With limited access to fresh water, the city-state has also developed technology to catch rain and desalinate some 100 million gallons of seawater a day. Even its fabled fancy bus stops get a dose of high technology. [...]

In short, Singapore is a city—and nation—of sensors, barely noticeable to the average citizen. But they know they’re there. It’s all part of the government’s plan to become the world’s first “Smart Nation,” which was kick-started in 2014 with the rollout of 1,000 sensors. In the grand scheme, Singapore wants to build a network of sensors to collect and connect data from all aspects of urban life—not just traffic and infrastructure but also human movement and behavior. All that information, collected across various departments, will then feed into a central platform, accessible to all governmental agencies. The engineers behind it have dubbed the plan “E3A,” for “Everyone, Everything, Everywhere, All the Time.” [...]

The thing is, Singapore is as exciting for the future of big data and connected technology as it is unsettling for those concerned about the role of privacy in a smart city. It’s been successful in providing public services in part because it can collect vast amounts of data on its citizens without raising much public concern about mass surveillance—something that U.S. cities would find difficult.[...]

Singaporeans have a remarkable amount of faith in public institutions: One survey found that 74 percent of the general population trusts the government. Meanwhile in the U.S., the 2013 leak of National Security Agency documents by Edward Snowden have put Americans on edge, and seemingly harmless initiative like making streetlights smarter often brings up the question of whether the technology could be turned into a surveillance tool. From Oakland, California, to Seattle, to Chicago, cities have faced backlash over smart initiatives to learn from big data collection.

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