Attacks in Egypt felt in SoCal's Coptic Christian community, perspectives from Syrian-American hop hip artist, surfer study examines affects of ocean microorganisms
Egypt church attacks felt in local Coptic Christian community
Egyptian Americans in Southern California are still reeling from yesterday's church bombings in the cities of Tanta and Alexandria. The bombings of the two Coptic churches on Palm Sunday left nearly 50 people dead and over 100 more injured. The group known as the Islamic State - or ISIS - claimed responsibility for the blasts.
Coptic Christians are a minority in Egypt, making up roughly 10% of the overall population. And it isn't the first time Copts have been the targets of violence in the region.
Southern California is home to a large Egyptian American population and many are members of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
Take Two's A Martinez spoke with Father Joseph Boules of Saint Mary & Saint Verena Coptic Orthodox Church in Anaheim. Father Joseph explained how the local Coptic community and their ties in Egypt are processing the attacks.
What is the link between the Coptic community in Egypt and here in California?
We are one church. The Coptic Orthodox Church has the head church in Egypt. Throughout the Coptic Orthodox churches in the world, in Australia, America, Canada, Europe, Egypt, Middle East– anywhere we would be celebrating he same readings and the same events. So, there's a big connection. What we are doing here, they are doing exactly the same thing, just a few hours before us. And of course, many people have connected families. So, they call each other congratulating each other about the beginning of the holy season– of the Holy Week.
Is there any concerns or fear about attending church services?
Christianity has been in Egypt for close to 2,000 years. When St. Mark the Apostle, the one who wrote the gospel and who brought Christianity to Alexandria... and the Coptic Orthodox Church has been around all this time, since he came in year 60 or 70. And we've gone through many persecutions and the church still survived. But we have faith in our Lord that he's protecting his church.
When these things happen, our churches get more packed because people are coming to pray for the souls of the slain victims and to show solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Egypt. I did have a couple of people from the community reach out and lend us their support from Calvary Chapel, from the Catholic Church, from the sister Orthodox Churches. So, it's comforting for our congregation to know people are aware of what's going on and are praying for the families.
How did you address the news at your own church on Palm Sunday?
To be honest, we prayed the liturgy with a very heavy heart and deep sadness because these events tend to happen near our high celebrations. For example, a recent one happened around our Christmas and before that, there was something around the previous new year. And our people are just sad. And my message on Sunday was, we are gathered to celebrate the feast of Palm Sunday. And that's the entry of the Lord into Jerusalem and it was to begin his suffering. So, he allows all of this to happen but he is suffering with us. He's not leaving us alone. So I told the people that we are all in his hands. And what he did on the cross was to give us confidence and trust in him that he's able to take care of us.
Was your family directly affected by the attacks?
My wife's cousins go to the church in Tanta that was hit the St. George Church. Fortunately, they were safe. But the other unfortunate part is this is the church that has the most casualties because the suicide bomber was able to enter into the church. And according to some reports, he went all the way up to the front pew in that church before he blew himself up.
How do you process these events when they happen?
You don't. This is beyond human. We feel very sad for the suicide bomber because sometimes you look at these people before their missions, and they could be your dear friend. They appear innocent. There's no way they are innocent of the blood on their hands. I'm just saying they are so brainwashed, it's hard to reach them. I pray that they awaken at some point and realize the atrocities they're causing to humanity, to all mankind altogether. Not just the Copts.
How do you think these events will influence Holy Week for your church?
According to reports from our sister churches in Egypt, the churches are packed. And people are even standing outside. Usually, this is the time of year when we have a lot of attendance anyways, but it is noticeably more because people are not scared of afraid of these operations. And we're talking gibberish as far as the attackers are concerned. They don't even understand what Christians are charged to do. And that is to love their enemies.
How can someone like yourself foster peace in Southern California?
These times of the year are suppose to be building happy memories. I remember my childhood– I came to American when I was 14-years-old. So, I did attend a few Palm Sundays back home in Egypt and these are happy times. The family is together and we talk into the church the palm leaves and just as the children receive the Lord Jesus Christ with the palm leaves, and just happy memories. We are robbing our children from these beautiful memories. I can't fathom what the children of these two churches and nearby churches are building in the way of memories when they see all of this blood in the street and pieces of flesh. It's just so gruesome. The only comfort we have in all of this is that we are fully, 100% faithful to the Lord. That's he's able to protect his church and there's a plan for all of this, we just don't know it yet. But that's our faith.
What message do you have for your congregation now and in the weeks to come?
Just remember that life on Earth here is temporary. We don't live here forever, we live in Heaven forever. And while we see some heartbreaking images of innocent deacons dressed with their white robes and singing the hymns of the Palm Sunday, and then, seconds later, the church's own broadcast camera just goes to black because of the explosion that just happened. These people, in seconds were transferred to Heaven. And they are standing in front of the ultimate alter of the Lord. This is comforting. At the same time, the human element in all of us– we miss out loved ones. We want to touch them. We want to see them. But hopefully, we will all be united one day together.
Quotes edited for clarity.
To listen to the interview with Father Joseph Boules, click on the blue Media Player above.
Syrian-American hip-hop artist ‘skeptical’ of recent U.S. actions
Syrian-Americans in Southern California are still trying to process last week's U.S. missile strike aimed at a Syrian airforce base.
The attacks came as a surprise to many. President Donald Trump had frequently criticized intervention in the region.
But images of a chemical weapon attack by Syrian government forces triggered a shift in policy for the Trump administration.
From the Syrian diaspora across the world... reactions have been mixed. That includes Omar Offendum, LA-based Syrian-American hip-hop and spoken word artist.
"I'd be lying if I didn't say I felt like a pretty healthy amount of skepticism and just wonder as to,'Why,' and, 'Why now?'"
Offendum has family still in Syria, and a lot of his work is about the ongoing civil war there. He's been critical of the Assad government in the past. But that doesn't mean he approves of the U.S.'s recent actions.
"For me, the focus is who are the most vulnerable parties and how can we serve them?" he told Take Two's A Martinez. "I just don't see something bombing an empty airfield really helping us kind of alleviate any of that."
Offendum says that reactions to the U.S. missile strikes have varied amongst those he talks to. "There are people who say that they wish this is what Obama did back when he drew a red line. There are people who don't believe that the gas attacks were even committed by the people they say they were committed by."
But since this is such a personal issue for Offendum, he tries to channel his feelings into his work. "At the end of the day it's about a rallying point using my art, my music, my activism, my platform ... to bring people together to talk about this in a healthy constructive way," Offendum said.
"To remind people that this is potentially a developmental disaster when you talk about hundreds of thousands of children who have been out of school for this long ... how do we deal with these issues? Those are what are really critical to me."
Offendum is especially disappointed that the money used to carry out the recent attack was not put to the use of activism groups such as Islamic Relief USA and the Karam foundation.
"The ... smiles, just open hearts that you can fill with that kind of money and time and coordination," he said.
"The efforts are not being put in the right direction."
Offendum will next be performing at UC San Diego on April 20th and UC Santa Barbara on May 4th.
To hear the full conversation, click the blue player above
Law enforcement may not be helping immigrant crime victims with visas
If you've come here from another country and you're a victim of a crime, the government wants you to cooperate and help find the perpetrator.
That's where a U visa comes in.
It allows someone to stay in the country as long as they work with police officers to bring about justice. It's also a pathway to citizenship.
But there's a problem.
According to the Desert Sun newspaper, it's not clear whether a majority of law enforcement agencies in California are helping victims with their visa applications.
Michelle Carey, supervising attorney for the LA Center for Law and Justice, joined Take Two to explain what's at stake for both crime and the affected immigrants.
Surfers might have the answer to redefining what being healthy means
There’s something interesting going down in the labs at UC San Diego. A project seeking to determine what "healthy" means by studying surfers.
That video is a trailer put together by Cliff Kapono, surfer, scientist and head researcher of the Surfer Biome project. Kapono joined A Martinez to explain what it is he’s doing with this global study.
What is the Surfer Biome Project?
"Basically, what we're trying to do is investigate the differences between surfers across the world. The differences that we're looking at is in their bacteria and the chemicals that are found on and in their body...
We're really trying to decriminalize the way we look at chemicals or molecules. You know, it's not necessarily always pesticides or toxins, sometimes a chemical or a molecule can be something like caffeine. This is something we're not really used to seeing as a chemical. We kind of just want to be able to show that there's many different types of chemicals, many different types of molecules that are found on and in us and what is their role in keeping us healthy? That's the big question."
Why surfers?
"I mean there's 20 million surfers across the world now, so we're looking at this unique demographic because that's 20 million people who are so diligent in trying to get into the water every day.
Whenever the waves are good or even when the waves aren't good, surfers have a very unique lifestyle, that they're constantly immersed in their environment and there's not too many demographics of population that are so committed to being in their environment, really submersing themselves in that environment. And this demographic transcends races, cultures and geographic space, so this is something that we want to see. Is the commonality of being in the ocean, constantly giving them a unique chemical and biological profile? And can we detect that?"
Sample collection
"I travel with this suitcase of Q-tips and swabs and I ask these surfers if they're willing to let me pretty much rub their faces, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, chest, hands, feet...but the weirdest for sure is when I have to Q-tip the navel. It's just really awkward for everyone in the room to have me Q-tipping someone's belly button, but after that we take the swabs and we put it into a cooler or dry ice and we ship it overnight to California..."
The big picture
"The whole idea is that we're trying to characterize and find empirical evidence to suggest we interact with our environment, or our environment interacts with us...you know you go to the doctor and you take your blood pressure, you take your height, your weight...we essentially want to use the microbiome types of bacterias and chemicals that are found on and in you as another way to illustrate what your health baseline is.
So, if we can establish that through a project like the Surfer Biome project, then we can begin to characterize an interaction with our environment. We can see how we are impacting it and how is it impacting us and I think that's very critical if we want to try to influence decisions whether it's political or local about how we treat our environment and how we treat ourselves."
To listen to the full segment, click the blue play button above.
On the Lot: Writers get creative in labor dispute. Time to retire gender categories like Best Actress?
Negotiators for the Writers Guild of America return to the bargaining table today, after talks with producers broke off last month. The writers' contract expires on May 1, and so far they've been unable to win concessions on pay and help with health care costs. So, they've been threatening to go on strike.
Vanity Fair's Rebecca Keegan says the WGA has also been employing a somewhat unique strategy, contacting shareholders of big media companies. The writers argue that if they are forced to strike, it will be bad for the media companies, and bad for the people who own stock in them.
Keegan also tells Take Two about a trend underway to rethink gender-based entertainment awards. The Grammys eliminated categories like Best Male Vocal in 2011, and now the Emmys is also thinking of eliminating the distinction between actor and actress. Keegan thinks the Oscars will have to grapple with this sooner or later, but she notes that since women have only about one-third of all speaking parts in film, eliminating categories like best actress might actually mean less recognition for women.
Click the blue bar above to listen to the full interview with Vanity Fair's Rebecca Keegan.
LAPD will use first-ever 'pursuit-rated' hybrid patrol cars
Calling it "a greener shade of blue," Ford unveiled the world's first pursuit-rated hybrid patrol car at a joint event with the Los Angeles Police Department Monday. The Police Responder Hybrid Sedan will begin patrolling L.A.'s streets in summer 2018.
“Our mission to create safe and healthy communities in Los Angeles is achieved through sustainable approaches in community policing, and that includes embracing new technologies,” said Charlie Beck, Los Angeles Police Department Chief. “Patrol vehicles are a police officer’s office, and we expect them to not only be economically and environmentally efficient, but also an effective tool for fighting crime in major metropolitan areas.”
Designed to handle long pursuits at different speeds, the Police Responder can drive over curbs and negotiate flooded intersections, Ford says. It automatically goes into pursuit mode when the accelerator is held for five seconds, combining the electric motor and gas engine for maximum performance.
It isn't expected to be as fast as Ford's current patrol car – the Taurus Police Interceptor, which accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds. But it will be faster than the standard Ford Fusion Hybrid, upon which the Police Responder is based, which accelerates to 60 mph in 9.5 seconds.
The Taurus Police Interceptor is rated at 21 mpg combined; the Police Responder has an EPA rating of 38 mpg combined.
Able to travel at speeds up to 60 mph in battery-only mode, the lithium-ion power pack is also used to power many of the vehicle's auxiliary functions that would ordinarily be powered with gas, including the flashers and radio.
Gas-powered police cars idle for about five hours out of every eight-hour shift and are typically used for two shifts per day, logging an average of 20,000 miles per year per car, according to the LAPD. Based on $2.50 per gallon gas and 20,000 miles of driving, each Police Responder could save $3,900 in fuel costs each year, Ford says.
It is unclear how many Police Responders the LAPD will purchase, but the department currently has about 6,000 vehicles in its fleet. Already, the LAPD has conducted short-term pilot tests with various plug-in vehicles, including the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car, BMW i3 all-electric hatchback, Tesla Model S sedan and Zero Motorcycles.