NEW YORK // At a Brooklyn soup kitchen, the poor and homeless are getting a chance not only to fill their bellies but also learn about community organising and the politics of food.
Last Friday at lunchtime, Michael Paone, an organiser for the not-for-profit New York City Coalition Against Hunger (NYCCAH), stood up to address people eating at a busy soup kitchen run by the St John's Bread and Life Catholic church. He urged the diners to join a meeting of the group's food action board meeting that was about to start.
"We talk about issues in politics and economics that affect you. You can learn to take action," he said before referring to last month's deal that the president, Barack Obama, struck with the Republicans to extend Bush-era tax cuts. "For example, Congress just gave $600 billion (Dh2,200bn) to the rich in tax cuts. What's that about?"
"The rich are getting richer," said a member of his impromptu audience.
Similar food action boards operate at five soup kitchens across the city. Among other things, they run workshops on the basics of community organising - from teaching how legislation is made to drafting letters to city, state and federal representatives.
The NYCCAH says it is the voice of more than 1,200 nonprofit soup kitchens and food pantries in New York City and more than 1.4 million low-income New Yorkers who live in homes that cannot afford enough food.
Philip Malebranche, 52, is a regular at the St John's soup kitchen as well as the advocacy workshops. The professional tutor has a degree in sociology but has had a tough time finding steady work. He is one of millions of Americans whose incomes were hit by the recession compelling them to turn to charitable donations and government assistance.
Thanks to some support from his family, he is no longer drawing upon food stamps, a federal assistance programme that has undergone rapid growth in recent years.
However, more than one in eight Americans, about 41.8 million people, use food stamps each month, according to the department of agriculture. An individual earning no more than 30 per cent above the federal poverty level - about $14,000 a year - can receive up to $200 per month for groceries.
Mr Malebranche, who now spends much of his time alone researching and writing about interests that include Islam and the role of women, said the action board gives him a chance to socialise and learn new skills.
"I've never been involved in community organising before and I appreciate interacting with people, the training in skills like public speaking and getting to know about the issues," he said.
Rollie Hernandez, 62, another St John's regular, says that while the soup kitchen nourishes him literally, the board feeds his mind. "They give us bread but we need life too," he said. "People are hungry but crushed by society, by the big guys with all the money, by corruption and big business that take all the money leaving us with no jobs and we have to suffer."
Despite the thumping Republicans delivered to Democratic candidates across the country in last November's congressional elections, Mr Malebranche remains hopeful that Mr Obama, who worked as a community organiser on the South Side of Chicago in the 1980s, will be "sensitive to social issues that other heads of state would not".
Many people on the left of the political spectrum in the United States are nevertheless disappointed in Mr Obama's presidency, saying he has been too accommodating to Republicans and Wall Street. The conservative Tea Party movement meanwhile continues to attack government programmes, which they claim are dragging down the faltering economy.
But the NYCCAH's activists are undaunted and speak of the challenge of shifting US priorities to include the welfare of the poor.
"In a democracy, there are no permanent victories or defeats," said Joel Berg, the executive director, who also worked as a policy analyst for the administration of the former president Bill Clinton.
"This recession ended a second gilded age and now we need a second progressive era," he said, referring to the first gilded age of the late 19th century, when the US economy grew at record rates and was followed by the progressive era of reform and social activism to try to correct massive income inequalities.
"I was in government for eight years and I know how tough it's going to be. It's a question of values and priorities."
sdevi@thenational.ae
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
A general guide to how active you are:
Less than 5,000 steps - sedentary
5,000 - 9,999 steps - lightly active
10,000 - 12,500 steps - active
12,500 - highly active
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 435hp at 5,900rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,800-5,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Price: from Dh498,542
On sale: now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Company%20Profile
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
Schalke 0
Werder Bremen 1 (Bittencourt 32')
Man of the match Leonardo Bittencourt (Werder Bremen)
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Ballon d’Or shortlists
Men
Sadio Mane (Senegal/Liverpool), Sergio Aguero (Aregentina/Manchester City), Frenkie de Jong (Netherlans/Barcelona), Hugo Lloris (France/Tottenham), Dusan Tadic (Serbia/Ajax), Kylian Mbappe (France/PSG), Trent Alexander-Arnold (England/Liverpool), Donny van de Beek (Netherlands/Ajax), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon/Arsenal), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Germany/Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Juventus), Alisson (Brazil/Liverpool), Matthijs de Ligt (Netherlands/Juventus), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Georginio Wijnaldum (Netherlands/Liverpool), Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands/Liverpool), Bernardo Silva (Portugal/Manchester City), Son Heung-min (South Korea/Tottenham), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich), Roberto Firmino (Brazil/Liverpool), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Riyad Mahrez (Algeria/Manchester City), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City), Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal/Napoli), Antoine Griezmann (France/Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool), Eden Hazard (BEL/Real Madrid), Marquinhos (Brazil/Paris-SG), Raheem Sterling (Eengland/Manchester City), Joao Félix(Portugal/Atletico Madrid)
Women
Sam Kerr (Austria/Chelsea), Ellen White (England/Manchester City), Nilla Fischer (Sweden/Linkopings), Amandine Henry (France/Lyon), Lucy Bronze(England/Lyon), Alex Morgan (USA/Orlando Pride), Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands/Arsenal), Dzsenifer Marozsan (Germany/Lyon), Pernille Harder (Denmark/Wolfsburg), Sarah Bouhaddi (France/Lyon), Megan Rapinoe (USA/Reign FC), Lieke Martens (Netherlands/Barcelona), Sari van Veenendal (Netherlands/Atletico Madrid), Wendie Renard (France/Lyon), Rose Lavelle(USA/Washington Spirit), Marta (Brazil/Orlando Pride), Ada Hegerberg (Norway/Lyon), Kosovare Asllani (Sweden/CD Tacon), Sofia Jakobsson (Sweden/CD Tacon), Tobin Heath (USA/Portland Thorns)
Match info
Uefa Nations League Group B:
England v Spain, Saturday, 11.45pm (UAE)
Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
Fast%20X
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A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
65
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West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes 58-10 Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers 5-39 Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons 16-56 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Pakistan Super League
Previous winners
2016 Islamabad United
2017 Peshawar Zalmi
2018 Islamabad United
2019 Quetta Gladiators
Most runs Kamran Akmal – 1,286
Most wickets Wahab Riaz –65
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
ARM%20IPO%20DETAILS
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