#protect the school girls of iran

[seethesound]

Iranian teenage girl has died after being severely beaten by Iranian morality police.

16 year old Armita Geravand was pronounced dead after Iranian female officers beat her severely on the Tehran Metro because she was not wearing a hijab.

In Iran it is mandatory for women to wear a hijab, those that don't comply are routinely beaten and killed.

She was treated at Tehran's Fajr hospital, but has passed away

[metalheadsforblacklivesmatter]

@staff we gonna put Iran in stuff we care about yet?

Video is blurred out to protect protestors identities, though it's obvious they aren't wearing their hijabs and they're chanting "Death to the Dictator" in Iranian.

-fae

[richincolor]

New Releases Week of July 17, 2023

What a week! There are so many books to get excited about this Tuesday.

Just a Hat by Shanah Khubiar Blackstone Publishing

It’s 1979, and thirteen-year-old Joseph Nissan can’t help but notice that small-town Texas has something in common with Revolution-era Iran: an absence of fellow Jews. And in such a small town it seems obvious that a brown kid like him was bound to make friends with Latinos–which is a plus, since his new buds, the Ybarra twins, have his back. But when the Iran hostage crisis, two neighborhood bullies, and the local reverend’s beautiful daughter put him in all sorts of danger, Joseph must find new ways to cope at home and at school.

As he struggles to trust others and stay true to himself, a fiercely guarded family secret keeps his father at a distance, and even his piano teacher, Miss Eleanor–who is like a grandmother to him–can’t always protect him. But Joseph is not alone, and with a little help from his friends he finds the courage to confront his fears and discovers he can inspire others to find their courage, too.

Firebird by Sunmi HarperCollins

Caroline Kim is feeling the weight of sophomore year. When she starts tutoring infamous senior Kimberly Park-Ocampo–a charismatic lesbian, friend to rich kids and punks alike–Caroline is flustered . . . but intrigued

Their friendship kindles and before they know it, the two are sneaking out for late-night drives, bonding beneath the stars over music, dreams, and a shared desire of getting away from it all.

A connection begins to smolder . . . but will feelings of guilt and the mounting pressure of life outside of these adventures extinguish their spark before it catches fire?

I’m Not Here to Make Friends by Andrew Yang

Terrace House meets Loveboat, Taipei in this fun, frothy, incisive YA debut, following two teens and their unforgettable summer on a reality show.

When Sabine Zhang is picked for Hotel California, a teen reality show with an all-Asian cast, she jumps at the opportunity. As one of few Asians at her high school in the Midwest, she’s always felt as if she was playing a side character in someone else’s story. But on this show, she’ll finally have a chance to step into the spotlight.

All Yoona Bae wants is to get away. The girls at church think she’s mean, her mom thinks she’s a troublemaker, and she’s tired of fighting against her unearned bad reputation. So when she’s invited to appear on Hotel California, Yoona sees it as an opportunity to chill out, make some friends, maybe even get a tan.

But life on the show isn’t all sunshine and self-actualization. The producers want drama at all costs, even if it means pitting Sabine and Yoona against each other. With the season finale looming, can the girls figure out a peaceful way forward, before they lose control of their own narratives?

Frontera by Julio Anta, Jacoby Salcedo (Illustrator)

Mateo makes the dangerous journey back home to the United States through the Sonoran Desert with the help of a new friend, a ghost named Guillermo in a supernatural borderland odyssey by debut graphic novelists Julio Anta and Jacoby Salcedo. As long as he remembers to stay smart and keep his eyes open, Mateo knows that he can survive the trek across the Sonoran Desert that will take him from Mexico to the United States.

That is until he’s caught by the Border Patrol only moments after sneaking across the fence in the dead of night. Escaping their clutches comes at a price and, lost in the desert without a guide or water, Mateo is ill-prepared for the unforgiving heat that is sure to arrive come sunrise. With the odds stacked against him, his one chance at survival may be putting his trust in something, or rather someone, that he isn’t even sure exists. If you’d asked him if ghosts were real before he found himself face-to-face with one, Mateo wouldn’t have even considered it.

But now, confronted with the nearly undeniable presence of Guillermo, he’s having second thoughts. Having spent his afterlife guiding migrants to safety, Guillermo knows things about the Sonoran Desert far beyond what could be explained by a mere hallucination. But even as Mateo forms an uneasy partnership with Guillermo, survival is still uncertain. The Sonoran Desert, with its hostile temperatures and inhabitants, is teeming with danger as the Border Patrol and rogue militias prowl its deadly terrain. As his journey stretches on, Mateo will have to decide exactly what and who he’s willing to sacrifice to find home.

A Guide to the Dark by Meriam Metoui Henry Holt

You can check out of Room 9, but you can never leave.

The Haunting of Hill House meets Nina LaCour in this paranormal mystery YA about the ghosts we carry with us.

Something is building, simmering just out of reach.

The room is watching. But Mira and Layla don’t know this yet. When the two best friends are stranded on their spring break college tour road trip, they find themselves at the Wildwood Motel, located in the middle of nowhere, Indiana. Mira can’t shake the feeling that there is something wrong and rotten about their room. Inside, she’s haunted by nightmares of her dead brother. When she wakes up, he’s still there.

Layla doesn’t see him. Or notice anything suspicious about Room 9. The place may be a little run down, but it has a certain charm she can’t wait to capture on camera. If Layla is being honest, she’s too preoccupied with confusing feelings for Mira to see much else. But when they learn eight people died in that same room, they realize there must be a connection between the deaths and the unexplainable things that keep happening inside it. They just have to find the connection before Mira becomes the ninth.

Under This Forgetful Sky by Lauren Yero

In the spirit of Paolo Bacigalupi and Laini Taylor, this futuristic star-crossed love story follows two teens in a starkly unequal world struggling to find their place.

Sixteen-year-old Rumi Sabzwari has spent his entire life behind the armored walls of St. Iago, which protect citizens of the Union of Upper Cities from the outside world’s environmental devastation. But when rebels infect his father with a fatal virus, Rumi escapes St. Iago, desperate to find a cure.

In the ruined city of Paraíso, Rumi meets fifteen-year-old Paz, who agrees to guide him on his journey. As they travel together, Rumi finds himself drawn to Paz—and behind her tough exterior, she begins to feel the same way. But Paz knows more about Rumi’s father’s illness than she’s saying and has her own agenda. With the powerful forces at play in their cities putting them at odds, can the two learn to trust in each other—enough to imagine a different world?

Clementine and Danny Save the World by Livia Blackburne

You’ve Got Mail gets a YA twist in this rom-com that spotlights the power of activism and community organizing in the face of gentrification.

Clementine Chan believes in the power of the written word. Under the pseudonym Hibiscus, she runs a popular blog reviewing tea shops and discussing larger issues within her Chinatown community. She has a loyal, kind following, save for this one sour grape named BobaBoy888.

Danny Mok is allergic to change, and the gentrification seeping into Chinatown breaks his heart. He channels his frustration into his internet alter ego, BobaBoy888, bickering with local blogger Hibiscus over all things Chinatown and tea.

When a major corporation reveals plans that threaten to shut down the Mok’s beloved tea shop, Clementine and Danny find themselves working together in real life to save this community they both love. But as they fall hard for this cause—and each other—they have no clue that their online personas have been fighting for years.

When the truth comes to light, can Danny and Clementine still find their happily-ever-after?

I Am Not Alone by Francisco X. Stork Scholastic Press

Alberto’s life isn’t easy: He’s an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who lives with his sister’s abusive boyfriend—but he’d always accepted his place in the world. Until he starts hearing the voice of a man called Captain America, a voice that wants him to achieve more, no matter the cost.

Grace has it all: She has a supportive boyfriend, she’s on track to be valedictorian, and she’s sure to go to the college of her dreams. Still, nothing feels right to her any more after the divorce of her parents, and feels she needs something more.

When Alberto and Grace meet, they have an immediate and electric connection. But when Alberto is present at the scene of a terrible crime, he becomes a suspect. And with his developing schizophrenia, he’s not even sure he believes in his own innocence.

Can Grace find a way to prove Alberto’s innocence to himself and the world?

This is a page-turning thriller and a sensitive story about mental health, love, and community that will appeal to anyone who has struggled with their place in the world, from award-winning author Francisco X. Stork.

What a Desi Girl Wants Sabina Khan

The romance of Becky Albertalli meets the nuanced family dynamics of Darius the Great is Not Okay in this YA novel from acclaimed author Sabina Khan.

Mehar hasn’t been back to India since she and her mother moved away when she was only four. Hasn’t visited her father, her grandmother, her family, or the home where she grew up. Why would she? Her father made it clear that she’s not his priority when he chose not to come to the US with them.

But when her father announces his engagement to socialite Naz, Mehar reluctantly agrees to return for the wedding. Maybe she and her father can heal their broken relationship. And after all, her father is Indian royalty, and his home is a palace–the wedding is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime affair.

While her father still doesn’t make the time for her, Mehar barely cares once she meets Sufiya, her grandmother’s assistant, and one of the most grounded, thoughtful, kind people she’s ever met! Though they come from totally different worlds, their friendship slowly starts to blossom into something more . . . Mehar thinks.

Meanwhile, Mehar’s dislike for Naz and her social media influencer daughter, Aleena, deepens. She can tell that the two of them are just using her father for his money. Mehar’s starting to think that putting a stop to this wedding might be the best thing for everyone involved.

But what happens when telling her father the truth about Naz and Aleena means putting her relationship with Sufiya at risk . . .

The Legacy of Yangchen (The Yangchen Novels #2) by F.C. Lee Amulet Books

Avatar Yangchen has succeeded in bringing a measure of stability to Bin-Er, but her successes have been limited to a single city, and rumors concerning Unanimity—a weapon capable of total obliteration—have led to increasing tensions among the Four Nations.

Desperate to restore diplomacy, Yangchen attempts to de-escalate hostilities between heads of state. But in the wake of a brutal assassination and the freeing of Unanimity, Yangchen is forced to bring Kavik—the trusted former companion whose betrayal crushed her—back into her fold.

As the Four Nations teeter on the brink of conflict and she begins to unravel the power-hungry Zongdu Chaisee’s true agenda, Yangchen is forced to measure the worth of humanity, and how much can be sacrificed in the name of balance.

This taut and provocative fourth installment in the Chronicles of the Avatar series follows Avatar Yangchen as she charts the course of her legacy, finally making peace with her choices and facing Avatarhood with the courage it demands.

Splintered Magic (The Mirror #4) by L.L. McKinney Disney Hyperion

Can dreams come true when you’re living with a family curse?

NEW YORK CITY, 2000

Twins Trey and Tai are not like other high schoolers. Trey struggles to suppress his surging magical abilities, which continually impede his dream of making first chair cello in orchestra. A budding photographer, Tai just wants to take pictures and maybe find someone to take them with. But disturbing images keep appearing in Tai’s camera lens, reigniting the twins’ search for their mother, who mysteriously disappeared ten years earlier. As the two discover more clues, Trey and Tai also uncover strange secrets about their magical ancestors and about a cunning villain who threatens their very survival. Together, Trey and Tai must work to unearth the past and preserve the future of their family.

The Mirror: Splintered Magic is the fourth book in the innovative YA fairy-tale quartet following one family—and the curse that plagues it—over several generations.

[hoperays-song]

Assorted Suki Lane Headcanons

She is Aroace and uses she/her pronouns.

Suki ran cross country in high school and college on her schools' varsity teams and she still runs to this day, meeting up frequently with an old friend from college who was also on the cross country team to do so.

Her first job was actually as a babysitter, followed by being a receptionist at her childhood dance studio, and eventually an assistant coordinator for a few charities before she went to college.

While she is not a master chef, Suki is a pretty decent cook, having gotten used to making food quickly for herself between meetings.

She was in a dance class taught by Ryan's mom as a kid, causing her to have known the boy his entire life, especially since she was his babysitter throughout his childhood.

Her ipad has two cases, one that she uses for work that's more protective and a more casual one that's covered in stickers she's collected over the years.

While their relationship is a bit strained, Suki visits her parents every other weekend and they overall have an ok relationship at the moment.

Suki grew up in Tokyo but moved to Redshore at seven for her parents' jobs, leading to her eventually gaining dual citizenship.

Having known Porsha since the girl was a young teen, Suki is more used to her than pretty much all members of the cast, leading to her dealing with her whenever Buster and Mrs. Crawly can't get her to listen.

She went to Washington University in St. Louis for a degree in Communications and Marketing with a minor in Business in Entertainment. She is also currently getting a Masters degree in Public Relations.

Suki's paternal grandfather moved to Japan from Iran for school, meeting her grandmother there.

She was a star student throughout high school and college, graduating both with honors, even if it meant ducking her extracurriculars to get more study time in, much to her friends' annoyance.

Suki started working for Crystal Entertainment straight out of college and rose the company's ranks extremely quickly to chief communication officer.

She is allergic to buckwheat.

The moped she has was actually repainted by her upon getting it to be her favourite colour and she is extremely careful with it.

She is fluent in Japanese and English, and is semi-fluent in both Cantonese and ASL.

Suki is a morning person and does not enjoy pulling all nighters/working late, despite being in a city known for its nightlife.

Due to the events that occurred in Sing 2, Suki left Crystal Entertainment a few days later, and took on the role of chief communications and pr officer for the New Moon Theatre, bringing a lot of her best staff with her.

Suki and Ryan have stayed close throughout their lives, viewing each other as family, and even when Ryan was working for Klaus, they would regularly meet up to get coffee and just catch the other up with everything going on.

She would be a child of Athena in Percy Jackson and in the Oracle and Potions tracks in The Owl House.

[utvarpcity]

for this international women’s day, please sign this petition for the UN to launch an investigation into the recurring toxic gas attacks on iranian schoolgirls:

Over 1000 schoolgirls in Iran have been viciously poisoned – possibly to try to keep them from going to school. Many have been hospitalised with trouble breathing, nausea, and dizziness.

These toxic gas attacks have been going on for months – and Iran has still not properly investigated who is responsible. But today, we can help change that to hold those responsible to account!

World leaders and UN experts are calling for a transparent and independent UN investigation into these cruel attacks against schoolgirls. But we need massive public backing to push this through – so sign now and we will take our voices straight to the halls of power!

More than 30 girls’ schools have already been targeted with toxic gas since late November, with at least 194 girls reportedly poisoned in the past weeks alone. Parents who are worried sick have been protesting to demand action to protect their daughters – but next to nothing has happened while the attacks continue mercilessly.

These poisonings follow protests by brave schoolgirls after the brutal death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for not wearing her headscarf “properly”. In a country where being a woman can be deadly, protecting girls’ right to safely go to school is more crucial than ever.

So let’s get to 1 million calling for a transparent and independent UN investigation into the schoolgirl poisonings – sign and share now!

[theivorybilledwoodpecker]

"At least 185 people, including at least 19 children, have been killed in the nationwide protests across Iran. The highest number of killings occurred in Sistan and Baluchistan province with half the recorded number," the Norway-based Iran Human Rights said on Saturday. ... A video posted on Twitter by the widely-followed activist 1500tasvir showed security forces armed with clubs attacking students at a high school in Tehran.

In another video, a man shouted "don't hit my wife, she is pregnant," while trying to protect her from riot police in the city of Rafsanjan on Saturday.

A video shared by Twitter account Mamlekate, which has more than 150,000 followers, showed security forces chasing dozens of school girls in the city of Bandar Abbas. 

[prettymeaninglessnonsense]

Feminism is the promotion of women's rights based on the quality of the genders. This. Is the actual definition of feminism from the Oxford languages. I do not see how wanting equal rights makes them a hoax in society. Even though they have several reasons to protest. People believe that now those protests should come to an end as the feminists have finally reached their goals. But have they? Because 2.4 billion women of working age are not afforded equal economic opportunities and 178 out of 195 countries maintain legal barriers that prevent their full participation. 95 countries do not guarantee equal pay for equal work and India is one of them. Women earn only 66 per cent of what their male counterparts do for the same amount of work. India itself needs more feminism because women here deserve more respect and money. By respect I mean being a board member of a firm or holding a position in the parliament. Women are discouraged in fields in which they have to take their stands and lead, considered ill-suited for holding powers in a democracy. Society always has something horrible to say about a woman. For example, if she stands for her rights, she's a hoax in society. Men aren't judged as much as women. They aren't called too modern or too Sanskara. Society doesn't accuse men of ruining our culture. They do that to women who are comfortable in their skin. Men aren't called 'too modern even if they wear T-shirts and jeans to a temple. Even in schools, you don't see a single male teacher wearing Indian clothes whereas you see several female teachers doing that. It's not wrong to wear what you want, I was just giving a few examples. Feminists have been there for decades solving one major problem or another. As you've probably heard about the most recent one, for which the Iranian male footballers and Iranian female volleyball refused to sing their national anthem. I won't further elaborate because this is a sensitive topic but many countries still have laws which prohibit women from doing what they want. There are absolute atrocities taking place around the globe, just because we live in a fair and peaceful place does not validate us into thinking that there are not. Girls are being killed by poisonous gases in the schools of Iran. Women aren't provided with an education in Afghanistan. Women are still oppressed due to political and social norms. And protecting and protesting against it makes you a hoax according to Toxic Masculinity. Yes, there are fake and toxic feminists but most problems they create are severely minor to the problems feminists solve. Therefore, feminism is not a myth or a hoax. We just need to get our facts checked.

I have a debate on 4th may on the topic, 'feminism, a hoax in today's society'

This is my speech that has to be delivered within 4 mins

[g4students]

what is child labor? Child labor is when you let a child work hard work.

like: working as a cleaner or a builder,kids around the world go back from school to there houses, but other kids come back from school to work that is [child labor.]

People also buy kids to work too, child labor is still going on tell this day some countries stopped child labor and even they banned it in some countries,child labor is still in America and Africa.

still people are trying to stop child labor. Child labor is not easy to stop there are over 2.2 Million kids work around the world.

How to stop child labor? You can stop child labor by giving kids money,food,shelter for them and to provide them things they deserve. Cases of child labor. The cases of child labor are ,hungry,poverty, Medical conditions,child trafficking and war.

A girl holding a basket on her head

Three kids from Iran holding trash these kids are looking to food in trash

grade 4B 2 girls want to eat food

I understand that child labor is a big challenge and a big risk for kids because kids should go to school to learn not to work .kids should play enjoy not to get tired. Kids are not for sale people bye kids for them to work these ones pay at least 1 cents only, kids want gust 1 thing only 1 thing and it is food shelter only and these people dont want to give them what they want.

this video is talking about how do kids live in child labor and how are they addicted to it.

\

[spokanefavs]

APRIL 21, 2024

Statement from President Joe Biden on Passover

Tomorrow night, Jews around the world will celebrate Passover, recounting their miraculous Exodus story from hundreds of years of enslavement in Egypt and their journey to freedom. This holiday reminds us of a profound and powerful truth: that even in the face of persecution, if we hold on to faith, we shall endure and overcome.   As Jews mark Passover with storytelling, songs, and rituals, they will also read from the Haggadah how, in every generation, they have been targeted by those who would seek to destroy them. This year, those words carry deeper resonance and pain in the wake of Hamas’ unspeakable evil on October 7th – the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. More than 1,200 people were brutally massacred. Women and girls were subjected to appalling sexual violence. More than 250 innocents were taken hostage, including Americans. We can never forget the horror of Hamas’ despicable atrocities.   Jews around the world are still coping with the trauma of that day and its aftermath. This Passover falls particularly hard on hostage families trying to honor the spirit of the holiday – a story centered on freedom – while their loved ones remain in captivity. Our hearts are with all the victims, survivors, families, and friends whose loved ones have been killed, taken hostage, wounded, displaced, or are in harm’s way.   My commitment to the safety of the Jewish people, the security of Israel, and its right to exist as an independent Jewish state is ironclad. My Administration is working around the clock to free the hostages, and we will not rest until we bring them home. We are also working to establish an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza as a part of a deal that releases the hostages and delivers desperately needed humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians. We will continue to work toward a two-state solution that provides equal security, prosperity, and enduring peace for Israelis and Palestinians. And we are leading international efforts to ensure Israel can defend itself against Iran and its proxies, including by directing the U.S. military to help defend Israel against Iran’s unprecedented attacks last weekend.   The ancient story of persecution against Jews in the Haggadah also reminds us that we must speak out against the alarming surge of Antisemitism – in our schools, communities, and online. Silence is complicity. Even in recent days, we’ve seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant Antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous – and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country. My Administration will continue to speak out and aggressively implement the first-ever National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, putting the full force of the federal government behind protecting the Jewish community.   This year, let us remember the central Passover theme that even in the darkest of times, the promise of God’s protection will give us strength to find hope, resilience, and redemption. To all those celebrating this Festival of Freedom: Jill and I wish you a Happy Passover, Chag Sameach.

[seethesound]

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

[jcmarchi]

Shadi Rostami, SVP of Engineering at Amplitude – Interview Series

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/shadi-rostami-svp-of-engineering-at-amplitude-interview-series/

Shadi Rostami, SVP of Engineering at Amplitude – Interview Series

Shadi is SVP of Engineering at digital analytics leader Amplitude. She is a passionate, seasoned technology leader and architect experienced in building and managing highly proficient engineering teams. Prior to Amplitude, she was VP of Engineering at Palo Alto Networks. She has innovated and delivered several product lines and services specializing in distributed systems, cloud computing, big data, machine learning and security.

Amplitude is built on modern machine learning and generative AI technologies that enable product teams to build smarter, learn faster, and create the best digital experiences for their customers.

What initially attracted you to computer science and engineering?

I grew up in Iran and originally pursued a high school path that would enable a career in medicine, which was the path my father wanted me to take and the one my brother did. About a year and a half in, I decided it was not the path for me. Instead, I pursued engineering and ended up becoming the first girl in Iran to go to the Informatic Olympiad (IOI) and won the Bronze medal, a yearly competition for high school students around the world competing in math, physics, Informatics, and chemistry. That led me to pursue engineering at Sharif University of Technology in Iran and later get my Ph.D. in computer engineering at the University of British Columbia in Canada. After that, I worked for startups for a few years and then spent a decade at Palo Alto Networks, eventually becoming a VP responsible for development, QA, DevOps, and data science. Five years ago, I moved to Amplitude as the SVP of Engineering.

Could you discuss Amplitude’s core AI philosophy that AI should aid humans in improving their work rather than replacing them?

AI is quickly transforming almost every industry, and with the transformation comes questions about how companies will use the technology. We feel strongly about getting AI right. This belief led us to develop our customer-centric AI philosophy, which stands upon five main principles: (1) collaborative development and thought partnership, (2) data governance and user data protection, (3) transparency, (4) privacy, security, and regulatory compliance, and (5) customer choice and control. We know these principles are key as companies continue to adopt and test AI and eventually become truly data-driven. For our purposes, this means building AI tools that help people get to insights faster. When harnessed properly, these insights lead to faster, better decisions that drive bottom-line results. Using AI as a tool to complement human intelligence and creativity is where I see AI having its greatest impact.

Can you explain the concept of ‘data democracy’ in the context of today’s AI-driven business environment?

“Data democracy is driven by the knowledge that teams function better, faster, and more efficiently when they can access the right data insights at the right time. In today’s rapidly advancing AI-driven environment, teams can’t afford to wait days or weeks for data pulls. To mitigate this, companies must empower their teams to leverage data in a self-service way. Now, this doesn’t mean data chaos with no parameters. At the end of the day, bad data leads to bad AI. But with the right tools and processes in place, businesses can balance data democratization with data governance, enabling better business outcomes.”

What key shifts in organizational culture do you believe are essential for enabling true data democracy in the age of AI?

Establishing a true data democracy within your organization starts with two foundational culture shifts: providing the right, most accessible tools and conducting organization-wide efforts around data literacy. This means adopting self-service tools that allow non-technical team members, such as marketing or customer success teams, to not only access data but also analyze and take action on it. I believe self-service data analytics can and should fuel collaboration across teams, inspire curiosity and exploration, scale data literacy, and place a bias on action and impact.  Also, it is important to spend joint efforts between the central data team and line of business teams to do continuous data governance to make sure data quality does not degrade over time.

In your experience, what are the most significant challenges organizations face in achieving data democratization, and how can they overcome these obstacles?

In the past, companies have tried to centralize data within one team of experts, leaving the rest of the organization reliant on this team to deliver analysis and key insights that may be critical to their day-to-day operations and decision-making. While democratizing data access is critical to solving this bottleneck, it can also be challenging. When I speak to data leaders about operationalizing self-service, it’s clear there is a spectrum. On one end, you have low setup tools for non-technical and line-of-business teams. Ultimately, these tools do not give the depth and breadth of answers that these teams need. On the other end, you have more technical tools for more technical teams. They are much more flexible in terms of analysis, but they are slow, and likely very few people can even use them. We refer to these tools as creating a “data breadline” … you’re always waiting for answers. Teams need a solution in the middle. Think out-of-the-box solutions that encourage, not inhibit, exploration and experimentation. With the proper tooling and team education, companies can more easily bridge the data democratization gap.

How crucial is data literacy in the process of data democratization, and what steps should companies take to improve it among their employees?

Fostering an environment of data democratization across your teams is a cultural challenge that requires education and company-wide buy-in. In my experiences with teaching data processes to non-technical members, the best way to develop these skills is through a combination of training and hands-on learning. I recommend developing a comprehensive training program to ensure employees feel comfortable and confident in the insights they’re pulling from their data. Make sure you are using a tool that does not prohibit non-technical users: for example, any tool that requires knowledge of SQL would marginalize folks without programming expertise. From there, provide opportunities for employees to dive in and start playing around with the data. Finally, implement a tool that fosters exploration and collaboration. The less people are working in silos, the more they can bounce ideas off of each other, leading to more illuminating insights. If you are a data professional teaching a non-technical team member, remember that you have spent years learning how to obtain and use data, so you think about it differently from the casual user. Be open to teaching others rather than doing everything yourself. Otherwise, you’ll never have any free time to do anything aside from answering people’s questions.

With the rapid evolution of data tools and generative AI technologies, how should companies adapt their strategies to stay ahead in data management and utilization?

Data governance is one of the main challenges companies still face, and it’s something every organization must nail down to empower meaningful AI and data experiences. AI is only as good as the data that powers it, and clean data leads to more impactful insights, happier users, and business growth. In this way, companies must be proactive about data cleanup and taxonomy, and there are opportunities to use generative AI to manage your AI governance and quality. For example, at Amplitude, we launched our AI-powered Data Assistant product last year, which offers intelligent recommendations and automation to make data governance seamless and help users take charge of data quality efforts.

How does Amplitude enable enterprises to better understand the customer journey?

Building great digital products and experiences is hard, especially in today’s competitive landscape. Today, many companies still don’t know who they’re building for or what their customers want. Amplitude helps businesses answer questions like, “What do our customers love? Where do they get stuck? What keeps them coming back?” through quantitative and qualitative data insights. Our platform helps businesses better understand the end-to-end customer journey by surfacing data to help drive the customer acquisition, monetization, and retention cycle. Today, more than 2,700 customers, including enterprise brands like Atlassian, NBC Universal, and Under Armour, leverage Amplitude to build better products.

Thank you for the great interview, readers who wish to learn more should visit Amplitude. 

[merrock]

CHARACTER INFORMATION

face claim: Nikohl Boosheri

full name: Leyla Tehrani

nickname(s) / goes by: Ley/Leyla

pronouns & gender: cis woman, she/her

sexuality: bisexual

birth date: May 23, 1988.

birth place: Canada.

arrival to merrock: May 2023 (but has been back and forth for months prior)

housing: coastal area.

occupation: entrepreneur/business owner.

work place: mawk tales.

family: Anahita Aziz (mother), Rahim Tehrani (father)

relationship status: single.

PERSONALITY

Positive: Devoted, Good Listener, BrilliantNegative: Controlling, Vindictive, Cold, WorkaholicGirl boss. Totally Type A/Control Freak. She desperately needs to be in control of her life and her plans, and she can be a bit testy when she's not. She's got a good heart but also has a wall up made of solid steel now. Pulling people close only to push them away is her M.O.

WRITTEN BY: Kam (she/her), est.

BACKGROUND / BIO

triggering / sensitive content: eating disorder.

Born in Canada to Iranian parents, Leyla has pretty much always dreamed of being an entrepreneur. Watching Shark Tank as a kid, she would wish for the day when she could be in one of those chairs. Writing full business plans by the time she was 8, her future seemed on track. Until the train came fully off the track in a blaze of fiery non-glory...

She was always a perfectionist, the overachiever, Most Likely to Succeed. No one knew just how good she was at it, though. The sharp, subtle jabs from her mother where she was lacking, the snide remark from the popular kids when she looked too long at the quarterback, the whirlwind in her own head when she looked a bit longer at the cheerleaders. She could control her world...if she could control her food. The elusive goal of perfection always seemed just out of reach of her fingertips. A collapse sent her into a treatment center. Her dreams would wait on her health. She would 'get better' then she would slip, in a vicious cycle. Finding a few years of relief from her disorder, she entered business school in NYC in hopes to one day to build that empire she used to dream of as a bright-eyed girl.

Her late teens-20's were full of treatment centers, a summer in Iran with relatives, a school year in Paris, romances that were wild and all-consuming. She ended up having a habit of putting everything she needed in one person. Sometimes this ended in her partner feeling suffocated and leaving, or in the worst incident, being cheated on. This would bring out her vindictive side, and she would end up surrounded by toxicity. In the end, she could only be found behind a wall of vibranium steel. No one would ever get close again, she swore. No one was going to protect her, so she'd protect herself.

Arriving at her 30's, she discovered that she'd become lost, drifting farther and farther from those dreams and goals. It was time to fix that. Big cities weren't good for her, so she did some research and found a growing small town in Maine. Buying a space in Merrock, Maine, Leyla wanted to create something untraditional, something safe. A place where friends can gather, enjoy some drinks and each other without a hangover or any regrets in the morning. Back and forth between Merrock and NYC for a few months during construction, she moved down full-time in May in time for the grand opening of her first real business: Mawk Tales, a non-alcoholic bar where all are welcome with a variety of drinks to enjoy by the beautiful Maine coast.

Finding a room available for rent, she reached to the group of three with interest in the spot available in a nice home next to the coast. Though she's here to work not make friends, she doesn't do all that well on her own.

Everyone in town is so close, so warm, but she doesn't know how to feel that anymore. Her life continues to be cold as the coming winter.

[newslime]

Crisis over suspected Iran schoolgirl poisonings escalates

It remains unclear who or what is responsible since the alleged poisonings began in November in the Shiite holy city of Qom.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: A crisis over suspected poisonings targeting Iranian schoolgirls escalated Sunday as authorities acknowledged over 50 schools were struck in a wave of possible cases. The poisonings have spread further fear among parents as Iran has faced months of unrest.

It remains unclear who or what is responsible since the alleged poisonings began in November in the Shiite holy city of Qom. Reports now suggest schools across 21 of Iran’s 30 provinces have seen suspected cases, with girls’ schools the site of nearly all the incidents.

The attacks have raised fears that other girls could be poisoned, apparently just for going to school. Education for girls has never been challenged in the more than 40 years since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran has been calling on the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan to allow girls and women return to school and universities.

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi on Saturday said, without elaborating, that investigators recovered “suspicious samples” in the course of their investigations into the incidents, according to the state-run IRNA news agency. He called for calm among the public, while also accusing the “enemy’s media terrorism” of inciting more panic over the alleged poisonings.

However, it wasn’t until the poisonings received international media attention that hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi announced an investigation into the incidents on Wednesday.

On Sunday, Raisi told the Cabinet, following a report read by Intelligence Minister Ismail Khatib, that the root of the poisonings must be uncovered and confronted. He described the alleged attacks as a “crime against humanity for creating anxiety among student and parents.”

Vahidi said at least 52 schools had been affected by suspected poisonings. Iranian media reports have put the number of schools at over 60. At least one boy’s school reportedly has been affected.

Videos of upset parents and schoolgirls in emergency rooms with IVs in their arms have flooded social media. Making sense of the crisis remains challenging, given that nearly 100 journalists have been detained by Iran since the start of protests in September over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. She had been detained by the country’s morality police and later died.

The security force crackdown on those protests has seen at least 530 people killed and 19,700 others detained, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran.

The children affected in the poisonings reportedly complained of headaches, heart palpitations, feeling lethargic or otherwise unable to move. Some described smelling tangerines, chlorine or cleaning agents.

Reports suggest at least 400 schoolchildren have fallen ill since November. Vahidi, the interior minister, said in his statement that two girls remain in hospital because of underlying chronic conditions.

As more attacks were reported Sunday, videos were posted on social media showing children complaining about pain in the legs, abdomen and dizziness. State media have mainly referred to these as “hysteric reactions.”

Since the outbreak, no one was reported in critical condition and there have been no reports of fatalities.

Attacks on women have happened in the past in Iran, most recently with a wave of acid attacks in 2014 around the city of Isfahan, at the time believed to have been carried out by hard-liners targeting women for how they dressed.

Speculation in Iran’s tightly controlled state media has focused on the possibility of exile groups or foreign powers being behind the poisonings. That was also repeatedly alleged during the recent protests without evidence. In recent days, Germany’s foreign minister, a White House official and others have called on Iran to do more to protect schoolgirls — a concern Iran’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed as “crocodile tears.”

However, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom noted that Iran has “continued to tolerate attacks against women and girls for months” amid the recent protests.

“These poisonings are occurring in an environment where Iranian officials have impunity for the harassment, assault, rape, torture and execution of women peacefully asserting their freedom of religion or belief,” Sharon Kleinbaum of the commission said in a statement.

Suspicion in Iran has fallen on possible hard-liners for carrying out the suspected poisonings. Iranian journalists, including Jamileh Kadivar, a prominent former reformist lawmaker at Tehran’s Ettelaat newspaper, have cited a supposed communique from a group calling itself Fidayeen Velayat that purportedly said that girls’ education “is considered forbidden” and threatened to “spread the poisoning of girls throughout Iran” if girls’ schools remain open.

Iranian officials have not acknowledged any group called Fidayeen Velayat, which roughly translates to English as “Devotees of the Guardianship.” However, Kadivar’s mention of the threat in print comes as she remains influential within Iranian politics and has ties to its theocratic ruling class. The head of the Ettelaat newspaper also is appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Kadivar wrote Saturday that another possibility is “mass hysteria.” There have been previous cases of this over the last decades, most recently in Afghanistan from 2009 through 2012. Then, the World Health Organization wrote about so-called “mass psychogenic illnesses” affecting hundreds of girls in schools across the country.

“Reports of stench smells preceding the appearance of symptoms have given credit to the theory of mass poisoning,” WHO wrote at the time. “However, investigations into the causes of these outbreaks have yielded no such evidence so far.”

Iran has not acknowledged asking the world health body for assistance in its investigation. WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.

However, Kadivar also noted that hard-liners in Iranian governments in the past carried out so-called “chain murders” of activists and others in the 1990s. She also referenced the killings by Islamic vigilantes in 2002 in the city of Kerman, when one victim was stoned to death and others were tied up and thrown into a swimming pool, where they drowned. She described those vigilantes as being members of the Basij, an all-volunteer force in Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

“The common denominator of all of them is their extreme thinking, intellectual stagnation and rigid religious view that allowed them to have committed such violent actions,” Kadivar wrote.

[chessinventor]

There is a picture floating around on the Internet claim that Muhammad as the proherent of Muslim faith has taken the virginity of his wife at 9 after she had her first period then it followed that Muslim is a religion of pedohile all loving to fuck children as young as nine, it allowed man marrying the girl which is the grandaughter’s age thus it is as sicko as it could be as a religion. And when Iran national guard shot a lady refuse to wear her haji that is anti human rights, along with the banning of Facebook online social media thus it is prohibiting freedom of communication and with religious school and moral police controlling the thought and the mass via imposing moral values to the mass. Without freedom of thought and freedom of communication and deprive female of the right to wear their clothes it is thus America as leader of free countries is obliged to overthrow this sick regime.

If this argument then US should not stop it's military campaign at liberating Iran but also to remove Saudis from the Saudi arabia when it is also a country adapting Muslim moral values and women can't go out without accompanying but male relatives. Iran and Iraqi is the most liberate of all Muslim countries in the Arabic peninsula when female had equal rights of education and work, and all protected under consitution in the form of a Republic instead of an Emirate. While there are moral police there are some freedom of thoughts and academic freedom as well as freedom of communication while the Internet is censored. It is quite ironic that USA wage war and overthrow the most liberal of Persian Gulf that is Iraqi then economic blockade another which is also the most progressive in terms of human rights while leaving those ruled by dynasty such as the ruling family of Saudis and Kuwaiti intact. So no wonder Indonesia start a law to prohibit sexual behavior of non married couples and laws interfering with experssion of political thoughts when he is against the state ideology and insulting the prime minister. It maybe it is learning to the Lee’s in Singapore but it may also learning a valid lesson from the interaction of America with the Muslim countries in the Middle East: The most liberal of all get overthrow first. Thus in this prespective that is the USA which had hardcore liberal values at its heart overthrowing less than perfect Muslim countries so in order to survive one must stay pure and completely adhere to the Muslim tradition.

[qqueenofhades]

Okay, I’ve read Joe Biden’s plans.

I’ve just sat down and spent several hours actually reading all the damn plans on his website, the whole thing, so you don’t have to. And here’s the conclusion:

They’re pretty good.

Are they absolutely everything we want immediately? Maybe not. Are they a solid Democratic agenda anyway? Yes they are. Are they better than Trump?

Light years!

His Violence Against Women plan is lengthy, detailed, and pays specific attention to violence against Native, lesbian and bisexual, low-income, disabled, rural, transgender (especially trans women of color) immigrant, domestic abuse victims, and other vulnerable women. He calls for replacing and expanding Obama-era policies and funding for campus sexual assault programs that DeVos trashed, and for providing money for culturally specific services that are sensitive to the diverse backgrounds of survivors. He also notes that sexual assault, while it predominantly affects women and girls, needs to be taken seriously and addressed for people of all gender identities.

His gun safety plan is forceful and lays out several steps for banning assault weapons, taking existing weapons from offenders, closing gun purchase background check and other legal loopholes, addressing the intersection between domestic violence and weapons ownership, and reducing or eliminating weapons and ammunition stockpiling.

His plan for tackling climate change and creating green jobs is also lengthy. He makes the connection between economic, environmental, and racial justice. He pledges to immediately rejoin the Paris Agreement and restore American leadership on the issue in pushing for even stronger climate standards, make climate change a central part of our trade, international, and justice goals, demand a worldwide ban on fossil fuel subsidies and tax breaks (!!!) and if the Green New Deal is passed, to sign it, as well as for the U.S. to achieve 100% clean energy and zero percent net emissions by 2050.

His healthcare plan is decent. It offers an immediate public option for all Americans regardless of private, employer, or no coverage, and generous new tax credits to put toward the cost of coverage. It strongly protects abortion rights and federal funding for Planned Parenthood, as well as rescinding the “gag rule” that prevents U.S. federal aid money from being used to provide or even talk about abortions in NGOs abroad. It attacks generic and drug price gouging. It calls for doubling the capital gains tax on the super-wealthy (from 20% to 39.5% paid on capital gains by anyone making over $1 million) to help fund healthcare reform. He also has a separate plan on the opioid crisis in America, and on older Americans and retirement, including the protection and re-funding of Medicare and Social Security.

His immigration plan is lengthy and detailed. He apologizes for and acknowledges the excessive deportation that occured during the Obama-Biden administrations, pledges to do better, and attacks Trump’s current inhumane acitivities on every front. The policy of children in cages, indefinite detention, the metered asylum system, and the Muslim Ban are gone on day one. In this and his LGBTQ plan, he notes the vulnerability of LGBTQ refugees, incuding LGBTQ refugees of color. He proposes streamlining of visa applications and prioritizing the immediate reunification of families. It also specifically states that ICE and CBP agents will be held directly accountable for inhumane treatment.

Speaking of which, his LGBTQ plan is comprehensive. It pays attention to multiple intersectional issues, down to the high rates of incarceration among trans people of color. (He also notes the rates of violence against trans women of color particularly.) He calls for a complete ban on conversion therapy and the discrimination against HIV-status individuals, as well as removing the ban on blood donation from gay and bisexual men. He will remove the transgender military ban immediately. He calls for funding for mental health and suicide prevention among LGBTQ populations.

His plan to empower workers calls for raising the federal minimum wage to $15, as well as indexing this to median hourly wages to ensure that working-class and middle-class wages grow closer to parity, and implementing strong legal protections for unions. He expresses support for striking workers and to empower the National Labor Relations Board in workplace advocacy. Farmworkers, domestic workers, gig economy workers, and other non-traditional labor groups are included in this. He will restore all Obama-Biden policies related to workplace safety and regulation.

His plan to restore American dignity and leadership in the world calls for immediately investing in election security and reform, restoration of the Voting Rights Act, immediately restoring White House press briefings and other Trump refusals of information, tackling criminal justice reform and systematic racial discrimination, calling for campaign finance reform, and basically blowing up all the stupid things the Trump administration does on a daily basis. It also calls for an end to all ongoing wars in the Middle East, restoring the Iran nuclear deal, and new arms control treaties with Russia, among general repairing of international alliances.

His plans for K-12 education and post-high school education call for greatly expanded funding across all levels of 2-year, 4-year, and other educational options. There will be no student loan payments for anyone making under $25,000 a year; everyone else will pay a capped amount and be completely forgiven after a certain period. Public servants qualify for up to $50,000 in loan forgiveness. This is not total loan forgiveness for everyone, which is obviously important for me and many of us, but it’s acceptable to start with. Additionally, his wife is a teacher and has a proven track record of calling for education investment and supporting public school funding.

His plan for housing addresses the needs of formerly incarcerated, LGBTQ, veteran, low-income, sexual assault survivor, black and Hispanic, and other vulnerable populations at risk of losing housing. It calls for a tax on companies and corporations with in excess of $50 billion in assets to fund comprehensive new housing initiatives, including $100 billion in accessible and low-income housing development. It includes extensive investment in public transportation and a high-speed rail system. This ties into his plan to repair infrastructure and invest in new technologies across the country.

His plan for criminal justice reform calls for the end of mass incarceration, the decriminalization of marijuana, the automatic expunging of all cannabis convictions, and an end on jail sentences for drug use. It highlights systematic institutional racism and the impact on black and brown people particularly. It calls for an end on all profiteering and private prisons. It focuses on reintegrating offenders into society and funding the needs of people released from prison. It proposes to “expand and use the power of the U.S. Justice Department to address systemic misconduct in police departments and prosecutors’ offices.” It broadens funding for social services and other programs for people who are otherwise placed into the prison pipeline.

There are more plans, which you can find here. These are the ones I read top to bottom. I am not by any means a Joe Biden fangirl; he was not my first choice, my second choice, or really anywhere on my list. However, having carefully read through his policy documents, I can say that:

He has at the least a good team of advisors who are keenly aware of the political climate, and is willing to both restore Obama-era standards and to improve on them where necessary. Obviously, all politicians’ promises are politicians’ promises, but this is a solid Democratic platform with obvious awareness of the progressive wing of the party.

If progressive legislation is passed in the House and Senate, he will sign it, including the Green New Deal.

He represents a clear and definite improvement over Donald Trump.

Is he everything we want? No. Are his policies better than I was expecting? Yes. I advise you to read through them for yourself. It has made me at least feel better about the likelihood of voting for him.

I realize it’s an unsexy position, especially on tumblr, to advocate for an old centrist white man. I’m not thrilled about having to do it. However, speaking as someone who was very resistant to Biden and still doesn’t agree with all of his previous legislative track record, that’s my consensus. He is a candidate who broadly aligns with values that I care about. His policies represent a concrete end to the damage of the Trump administration and gets us on the right track again.

Joe Biden, if he is the Democratic nominee, will receive my vote on November 3, 2020. I urge you to consider what I’ve laid out above and join me.

[narrie]

via Guardian

I am an Afghan woman in my 20s, living in Kabul. I have five sisters. My oldest sister completed elementary school. The second one is a midwife, and my third sister is doing her PhD. My younger sister is a film-maker. And my youngest sister, she is a high school student and a member of a volleyball team. And I myself am doing my bachelor in one of Kabul’s universities. Although my parents are uneducated they have tried their best for their children to earn an education.

I have been working for a western NGO for two years advocating for women and working towards a stable, sustainable and equal society. When I heard the Taliban was taking over, I was worried about my future and about every single Afghan’s future, especially women and youth. It was a sad moment to think we women will return to the 1990s, and will live behind the closed doors and Burqa.

I am also frightened about what will happen to me. Because I work at a western NGO, my colleagues and I thought that we would be helped. But when we asked our foreign boss for assistance, she said that nothing will happen to us and she will stay here with us, and she refused to refer us for any visa.

When I heard about Taliban taking young girls and forcing them to marry their soldiers, I was worried for my family and me and so shared my concerns with a western women’s rights activist in Afghanistan to get help. She said no, I can’t help you. You can get a pretend husband, she said. It was so sad to hear this from a feminist. She didn’t explain why she couldn’t help me. It was as if it wasn’t serious for her.

For the past two days, I haven’t left my house. I don’t even go near my window. I feel like a prisoner. I have lost so much freedom already, and I fear I will lose even more. When we were evacuated from our office, some of my male Afghan colleagues joked saying, ah, it’s the last time we will ever see you again! Now, we will have to get permission from your brother to see you, and he will say no! They found it funny. They thought life will stay the same for them, but will change for me. They don’t care.

Many men think that way. The day that I left my office for the last time, a man on the street approached me and said it’s my fault, the fault of women – they are becoming too liberal, and too shameless, so that the Taliban have come to discipline them. He said he’s not scared, since Taliban has not come for men, but women.

It has been years that my sisters and I are working to contribute to our society and make our future and our children’s future in Afghanistan better. Leaving was not an option before, as we did not want to leave our country. But now that we don’t feel safe, we have to make it an option.

It is sad to think about seeking refuge, but we must. I know what it’s like to be a refugee; to be homeless and face discriminations, to be called a dirty Afghan. That’s what we experienced 25 years ago, when we escaped the war in the 90s and briefly lived in Iran.

In the past I thought that, if worst came to worst, the NGO would protect me. Now I think they have forgotten me. My colleagues also feel the same way. One of them drove to the airport to try to flee the country even though she had no ticket and no visa. We are furious, mad and hopeless. Our madness is on President Ashraf Ghani and his allies. They made the wrong decision, but we are paying the price. Their wrong decision cost us 20 years of struggle advocating for women’s rights, independence, democracy and freedom, and sadly it cost lives of loved ones, it cost lives of Afghan men and women.

Because of commitments by international allies, at least we should have the chance to apply for a visa. It is not yet clear whether I will get one or not. But I worry for my sisters who are young and vulnerable, since they don’t have any connection with the international community and will be left behind. In sadness I say my life is worth more than my sisters’. But now, our fate lies in the hands of western governments. They will decide who to save, and who to ignore. And that breaks my heart.