Afghan Woman Burns Husband

In Pul-I-Kumri, Afghanistan, Zahra, an elderly woman, reported that she was raped by her neighbor in her home on Friday. She said it was the most painful and humiliating thing that had ever happened to her. After the event and had been as shaken up as she was, she asked her husband to move her and their family so that her neighbor wouldn’t attack her again, but he refused to. On Sunday afternoon, Zahra lit her husband on fire.

Zahra was said to have stepped back and watch him burn.

“I thought, someone was going to die and it is going to be him or it is going to be me.”

Since the burning incident, she has been held at the women’s shelter while investigators study the case a bit more to sort out the facts.

Najibullah, her husband, was critically injured but said in a brief interview, that she believes she is mentally ill, which is why she attacked him. He could only be interviewed for s brief moment due to his condition.

Unsurprisingly, the women of Afghanistan have quietly supported her, as they feel too many women are being abused with no consequences to the criminal. With the support of these women, it has sparked an interest in the Afghan news media. News reporters are said to have been walking in the hospital and inquiring about “the man who got set on fire by his wife”.

The pro to this entire case however, is that years ago this would have more than likely gone unnoticed and through the illumination of this particular case, it is revealing the treatment of many other Afghan women.

Zahra’s case is one of few that have occurred within the past month in the Baghlan Province alone.

On last month, a 13-year-old girl cut the nose and ears off of a local mullah that they accused of attempting to sexually assault her. And on Monday during the confession of Zahra at the police headquarters, another woman ran in seeking protection from her husband, who pounded her with bricks, not for the first or second time, but for the third time. She is now seeking out divorce.

Evidently, Zahra wasn’t the only one, but she too was holding back information that could help in the case. She reported to the police that had endured years of abuse from her husband. She shared an experience where he tried to burn her to induce a miscarriage. She lifted her clothing, revealing multiple scars.

I can say that I am disappointed in how long it took for officials to realize the severity in abuse that these women receive from their boyfriends, husbands, etc. but what I can say I am happy about, is their realization now; better late than never in cases such as these.

Afghan provinces such as Baghlan, now have female police officers who can comfortably take information from women being abused. There are also female lawyers working in the same provincial division.

I pray that the country continues in this direction, so that women can start to actually feel and be treated like women, as opposed to a punching bag or a sex object. 

al Qaeda Makes Threats Towards U.S.

The stream of threats coming in from al Qaeda to attack American and Western targets in Europe and also threats to launch attacks on United States soil, has sparked much worry and concern within the U.S. intelligence. 

Officials are busy trying to find out the extent of which al Qaeda would go and how these threats might be linked to the strength of their own country in other countries. 

According to a senior U.S. official, none of the threats that have surfaced throughout the past 6 months has been confirmed. He also said that “the threats appear to detail “a lot of activity where intelligence suggests there are operational cells,” but so far “we do not see operational cells of al Qaeda inside the United States.” 

U.S analysts and officials don’t appear to be concerned about al Qaeda attacking inside of the U.S because they would have so much difficulty penetrating U.S. homeland security. Though our homeland security might be a bit hard to penetrate, there are still many worries being surfaced, such as:

1.Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

This appears to be the #1 concern due to the efforts being put forth by Yemen-based al Qaeda  within the Arabian Peninsula to form an attack against the United States, Europe and inside Yemen. 

Also, the U.S. embassy was closed several weeks ago and is suspected to be closed for a longer period of time due to the threats being received. 

"officials confirm to CNN that the core al Qaeda group in Pakistan is also seeking to place operatives in places to attack U.S. targets overseas and domestically. U.S. officials confirm an operative who uses the code name Abdullah al-Shami, who is living in Pakistan, may now be heading that group's efforts to plan external attacks."

As stated in the above article, this isn’t the first time nor is it foreign for al Qaeda to make threats towards the United States. However, it is a concern of mine, that the U.S. might not be taking the threats as serious as they probably should. I am pretty sure this is exactly what al Qaeda wants, for us to put our guards down and maybe not ignore the threats, but condone them a lot more than we should be. It worries me that back when 9-11 occurred, the United States received threats, but clearly they were never taken as serious, and look where that got the country. 

Is Hip-Hop Really Dead?

Can we compare Hip-Hop music legends, like Tupac Shakur & the Notorious B.I.G. to rappers of today? Are there any equivalence? Well, I must say, the music industry and especially Hip-Hop has evolved so much throughout the years and some things, including the musical culture of those days are no longer attainable...or are they? That is not to say that we don't have conscious rappers in our most recent years, but most of them, and I know plenty that would agree, that rappers of today have no substance, no message in their music anymore. When trying to compare a rapper such as Tupac, to someone more contemporary, whoever it is would have to be a poet most of all. I don't know about you all, but when I turn on the radio I hear nothing close.

There are artists that can possibly be comparable, but I wouldn't say quite made it to that point as yet; The legendary point. Rappers such as J. Cole and Nas, I would say are the most comparable to Tupac and both of which are still not huge mainstream artists. Why? Are modern day people more prone to listen to the crap that comes on the radio and or TV? Is Hip-Hop really dead because no one is interested in hearing it anymore? For the people who are trying to keep it alive, they aren't being rewarded with much opportunity through their attempts to relive it. So is Hip-Hop something of the past? And what does that say for contemporary music?

Despite the different approaches of Hip-Hop artists back in the 80s and 90s, rappers seemed to be working more together to speak out on the black experience and what was going on within our communities. They had a message and they were heard. Today, the only message being delivered is most of the time, if not all the time, dealing with money, drugs and women.

Bill Stephney, one of the co-creators of Public Enemy, feels that "music has gone so far from it's roots that it is almost a parody at this point", and I agree with him.

He says, "There is an over-representation of the criminal aspects of black youth culture from the videos and the records."

That comment supports my beliefs of the negative influence of our modern day "Hip-Hop culture". I feel music has desensitized our youth and is continuing to desensitize black men and their approach to life. Rapping about "cutting off bitches", "snorting coke and then fucking", "popping mollies and partying" is the message that young kids are receiving now and I am so scared to see what they too grow up and rap about.

So do I believe that Hip-Hop is really dead? Well if it isn't then the music industry is to blame for it's inability to give opportunities to rappers who actually have something to say, a positive message to convey.

Why was the first song that I ever heard from J. Cole, Workout? His most publicized song was the one that talked about what every other rapper is talking about; money, sex, women. Artists such as J. Cole and Nas are considered conscious rappers in my book, but is the pursuit of riches worth the message conveyed through their music? Was Hip-Hop once Tupac's definition of riches and is it possible to get our rappers back to having that same mentality? That would put so much life back into music.

232 People Die In Mine Fire

In Soma, Turkey, at least 238 people were found dead inside of a burning mine and as many as 120 people are still believed to be trapped inside. In efforts to save them, it was widely complicated by the fire, which started on Tuesday after one of the transformers blew up during a shift change. Officials say 787 people were inside the mine at the time. Fortunately, some survivors crawled out of the mine in time, before the entrapment. By mid-afternoon rescuers had brought out the first few people, but their conditions were unclear at the time.

This event has gone down as the worst mine disaster in Turkish history, and has left Soma in shock, although this isn't Turkey’s first mining incident. A similar mining accident happened in the 1990s, taking 260 lives. This one however, is suspected to top

those numbers.

Not only has this been affecting personal lives, but it also has its effects on the political system. Prime Minister, Erdogan voiced to politicians, that they should avoid using this as a political platform, as it gives ample amount of room to do so.

As it appears, coal mines have been catching flames recently, as 2 coal miners in West Virginia lost their lives on Tuesday, May 13^th to a coal or rock outburst. Both men were continuous mining machine operators.

Believe it or not, there have been even worst occurrences concerning coal mines that have taken place throughout the years. Take the story of Centralia, PA, a coal mining town for example. The town now has no more than 1000 inhabitants due to the event of a fire that happened in 1962. The fire was initially started to burn trash in a dump, but the fire inadvertently spread to a coal seam underground, which never stopped burning, not even to this day. The fire has lasted for 47 years so far.

Another event that has stood out in history concerning these mines is known as the Cherry Mine Disaster. The coal fields in Illinois have experienced even more dreadful occurrences besides this one but this stood out quite a lot. On November 1909, the electrical system had been down and the coal mine was lit the old fashioned ay, with torches and such. The miners had been moving hay to feed the mules (that were used to pull little cars), and 15-year-old, Matt Fransesco and another gentleman pushed one of the cars that was filled with hay, over the stable area, which unfortunately got stopped by one of the torches, then catching on fire. The fire had spread rather quickly, trapping plenty of men. Some were rescued but unfortunately there were 259 men and boys who were never saved.

In my opinion, due to the vast amount of coal mining disasters that have taken place throughout the years, and throughout the world, I believe safety practices need to be implemented more. Of course working in an underground tunnel will always be tied to danger, but I do think because all the coal mining tragedies that take place are all very similar, a deeper look needs to be taken to see how we can minimize their occurrence.