Someone to be Thankful for: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Someone to be Thankful for:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“One world does not have to mean one religion, just one belief in living in peace.” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

     Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of  the greatest basketball players of all time, as most people are well aware. However, not everyone knows that he is also an intelligent, eloquent, and prolific writer who strives to enlighten and educate with his articles on race, religion, equality, and community activism. He is also a best-selling fiction writer and his Mycroft Holmes novel even led to a comic book series! He was appointed the U.S Cultural Ambassador in 2012. He is also a spokesman for his chosen religion, Islam. President Obama would probably have awarded him the Medal of Freedom just for his amazing basketball career. As a convert to Islam, he also is an ambassador for his faith.

“Part of my conversion to Islam is accepting the responsibility to teach others about my religion, not to convert them but to co-exist with them through mutual respect, support and peace"

     The recent elections have created new focus on what it means to be a Muslim-American. Hate crimes, calls for bans on all Muslim immigrants, and talk of registries (Kobach had it in full view on his “to-do” list when he met with Trump) have become the center of attention.

“The acts of aggression, terrorism and inhumanity committed by those claiming to be Muslims have made the rest of the world afraid of us. Without really knowing the peaceful practices of most of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims, they see only the worst examples.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Why I converted to Islam

     Clearly, the time to listen to Abdul-Jabbar is now. Maybe he can be the ambassador who builds a bridge for those who have a generic fear of Muslims. His latest book, Writings on the Wall: Searching for a New Equality Beyond Black and White explores other pressing issues that must be addressed in our country. Taking on these huge issues, Abdul-Jabbar has some big shoes to fill. But he's a big man and is up to the challenge.

Congratulations to a National Treasure. May his words touch many hearts.

View of the Week: On this eve of Thanksgiving Day 2016

On the eve of Thanksgiving 2016, we wanted to share this just received in our Virtual Studios on some interesting insights from +Stratfor as America and the World awaits profound changes in the aftermath of the election of Donald Trump (a focus of ours here at Outisders) and Brexit.   As we went to press, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minsiter) announced that the United Kingdom will be faced with a 122 Billion Pound "black hole" due to Brexit as it begins the process of exiting the European Union--and the challenges in China:

China's Economy: Living on Borrowed Time

A looming debt crisis could make for a difficult year ahead for Chinese leaders. Sluggish construction growth and skyrocketing debt, coupled with sharp reductions in debt maturity periods, could cause corporate defaults and bankruptcies to spike next year. Although 2016 has brought stronger-than-expected growth to China's property sector, it has largely been concentrated in the country's wealthiest cities and has come at the expense of creating more available credit.

POLITICS

U.S. Foreign Policy Implications of a Trump Presidency

Two of Stratfor’s lead analysts, Vice President of Global Analysis Reva Goujon and Vice President of Strategic Analysis Rodger Baker, sit down to discuss what a Trump presidency could mean for U.S. foreign policy.  

Listen for free here.

  

MILITARY

Conversation: Trump and the Iranian Nuclear Deal

Stratfor Middle East Analyst Emily Hawthorne and Energy Analyst Matthew Bey discuss the constraints facing U.S. President-elect Trump in renegotiating the nuclear deal with Iran.

Watch this video for free here.

CRISIS WATCH

Hopes of a Cease-Fire Are Quickly Dashed

Though Yemen has always suffered from instability, its recent history has been especially violent. The Hadi's government has rejected talks with Houthi representatives over a peace deal.

ECONOMY

Cashing in on India's Black Economy

Modi decides the chance to reclaim tax revenues with a bold banknote swap is worth the political and economic risks. 

On This Thanksgiving Week (with an update on the Presidential Medal of Freedom 2016)

Please enjoy these courtesy of +Pandora --We wish you and your families the most joyous of Thanksgivings:

Traveling this holiday season? Make the most of your journey with these very merry stations.

Comedy Commute Family Christmas

We also wanted to share this as President Obama presided over his final Medal of Freedom ceremony as 21 leading Americans were awarded the Medal of Freedom courtesy of the +Washington Post :