I have a couple of updates. I figure putting them all into one blog post would be more consolidated, less to read & click on. Hence the title, the kitchen sink.
The news I have to share are on these two websites:
- The Women’s Sports Foundation is a non-profit organization, of whom WSF Senior Director of Advocacy, Nancy Hogshead-Makar, commented and advocated on my behalf before the IWF meetings. She is mentioned and gave comments in the MSNBC article by Kari Huus, see here. Please go to this link to read the letter of thanks they posted and you can check out what their organization does for women and sports.
- The Times Union published a well edited version of my blog post about Ramadan fasting & weightlifting here: http://bit.ly/n4PR9e
Now, the news in my words: I have been invited to a reception at the State department in DC to celebrate Eid Al-Fitr by Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State. Eid Al-Fitr is a Muslim holiday is celebrated on the first day of Shaw’waal, at the completion of the Ramadan month of fasting. This year Eid Al-fitr is estimated to be August 30th. The reception will be Wednesday, September 7th at the Department of State building. The invitation states “This year, Secretary Clinton is very much looking forward to honoring the contributions of Muslim American athletes and their ability to inspire young people around the world. Your presence at the event will provide an opportunity to honor your achievements as athletes and role models.”
A childhood friend of mine from Okeechobee, Sarah Kureshi, has been invited as well so I am looking forward to having her there with me. I am also looking forward to Ayesha Khalid from VOA Urdu service being there to cover that event as well.
I would like to visit CAIR national, the new MLK memorial (I have been to DC before, so need to check on anything else I have not seen yet), the VOA studio, Georgia Congressional representatives or staff that are available, and the Pakistani Ambassador to the USA. I also hope to see and catch up with a few friends who live in the area (shout out to Salma Riaz and Sameen Piracha and will edit this of anyone else I have missed).
This trip is a possible chance for me to make contacts for my professional aspirations. I am exploring research/career options too right now. (I will write a separate blog on my current research & research interests.) Because of my story, the IWF decision & the media help, I hope my research can also be geared towards helping women and girls. One such research topic I had spent almost one year on was on child/human trafficking work as it relates to the Internet and mobile technology. Based on what I researched and from talking to those in Georgia law enforcement, the biggest issues are finding location/source based on real time or historical data such as with cell phones, other mobile devices and the use of wifi hot spots. Perpetrators often use these devices to advertise and communicate with clients. I hope I can find out what areas in the current tools need to be addressed and find others to collaborate with.
Al-Hurra, who did a live interview (via satellite in Atlanta) with me after the IWF decision, has invited me to interview in thier DC/VA studio, so it will be nice to meet them in person.
Here is a link to that previous interview: Al Youm 609 – Hour 2 http://t.co/ebBoalX, fast forward to 31:25, it is in Arabic, my portion was translated.
**UPDATE: OUTLAW CROSSFIT is going to let me drop in and lift!!** Last but not LEAST, is I need to find a gym that I can get to in the area that I can do my weightlifting workouts at. So far I have contacted a few I came across. If anyone out there can suggest any, please contact me.
Some new media content:
VOA Urdu video
This aired on Geo News in Pakistan 8/18/2011 5pm.
I put up 2 pictures (Mario Romero took these pictures & they appear in the VOA Urdu news clip) and 2 video clips from Taekwondo here: http://www.liftingcovered.com/taekwondo-media/
I found out my story was released in the Indonesian press. I have not yet updated the non USA press coverage of my website yet but here are 2 videos below.
WSB Atlanta news video clip with Indonesian voice over, original link here: http://bit.ly/qZgmll
Translation in Indonesian of the VOA report by Tala Hadavi is on my youtube channel. link to original page: http://bit.ly/qkAzDw with the video shown there as well.
Another set of video clips of my lifts @ USAW 2011 Nationals 7/15/2011 by Jim Schmitz, better lighting & different angle.