The Nahmias Cipher Report

When the media reported on the attempted rape by Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the IMF (International Monetary Fund) it seemed strange that they referred to

The assignation of this descriptor to the rape victim in the 21st century was incongruous. A fact that must have been noticed as the media in subsequent coverage began to refer to her as a cleaning women. When I heard about the ‘chambermaid’ from Guinea who despite the shame this accusation could cause her, displayed uncommon courage in reporting the attempted rape, I was proud of her.

The ANI association has organized the “Fortnight of Children of Africa,” a conference where leading proponents of the movement will publicly debate the issues and concerns of education in Africa. This is the 4th year of that this event has been held and the theme is “Children of Africa, Children of the World.” Last year’s event was hosted by Rama Yade, a Senegalese French politician who has served in the government of France since 2007. Watch the video of her speech here.

Children are our most precious resource and we must ensure that all children regardless of their country of origin, religion or ethnicity are protected, nurtured, and availed of all the rights, privileges, freedoms and opportunities that are the hallmark of the best of humankind. The well worn statement that “it takes a village to raise a child,” is as apropos today in this technological world as it was when we lived in more pastoral environs. We are the village and though most of us live in virtual worlds, when we choose to be physically present and engaged with people, we are truly powerful and can make a difference.

Much has been written about our world, man’s adverse impact on the planet, and what needs to be done to save Earth. No doubt as our species continues to advance, our expansion and incursion into the remaining pristine corners of our planet will accelerate as we seek illusory security through the treasures the earth can yield to us. However, unlike our planet, our lifespan is akin to that of a flea, and like a dog with an itch, we will voluntarily or involuntarily be cast off.

This perspective was best expressed by Dr. Iain Stewart’s in the 2009 BBC program titled “Earth: The Power of the Planet.” Dr. Stewart stated “in the long run, earth can cope with anything we can throw at it. We could clear all the jungles, but a jungle can regrow over a few thousand years. We could burn all earths’ fossil fuels, flooding the atmosphere with carbon dioxide but even then, it will take the planet only a million years or so for the atmosphere to recover even the animals we are wiping out will eventually be replaced by others equally rich in diversity as a relentless work of evolution continues. It’s only a question of time; the earth will be just fine. So all this stuff about saving planet earth, well that is not the problem: planet earth doesn’t need saving, earth is a great survivor. It’s not the planet we should be worrying about, it’s us.”

Not withstanding that powerful sentiment, this post is tangentially about environmental issues, but primarily about the brilliant, contemporary composers Armand Amar and Philip Glass. Both of these composers possess unparalleled skills in weaving together the unique voices, languages and cultures of people around the world to tell compelling stories through film scores.

Paintings by Max Ernst, German-born painter, printmaker, collagist, and sculptor and one of the major figures of the Dada and Surrealist movement.

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-Chief Last Modified: 04:03 AM EDT, 22 September 2009 During my travels in France, I was introduced by my fellow Africans to the political revolutionary music of Teddy Afro and the Afrocentric pride expressed by Les Nubians. Teddy Afro had been released from prison earlier that year after being jailed by the government [...]