Hasta La Gadget!

Iraqi soccer pitches have emerged as an alternative battleground in the struggle for control of Iraq between the Islamic State, the jihadist group that controls chunks of northern Iraq, and embattled Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Iraqi officials said the broadcasting last Sunday in Baghdad’s Al-Shaab International Stadium of the World Cup final between Germany and Argentina was intended as a show of defiance against the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State in Syria and the Levant (ISIL), which has banned soccer in territory it controls and reportedly ordered the closure of sports facilities and forbidden the wearing of shirts with images imprinted on them, including soccer jerseys.

In addition, Iraqi Football Association (IFA) officials announced that they would be organising soccer matches across areas of Iraq under government control in protest against the Islamic State’s targeting of players and fans. They said they would focus on areas that have been attacked by the Islamic State including:

Diyala province where five people were killed and 17 wounded by a bomb planted under the seats of a stadium in Ballour as boys aged 10 to 17 were playing;

Al Nahrawan where nine people were killed and 21 wounded in a bomb explosion during a soccer match;

Al Madaen where a bomb in a stadium killed one and wounded six others, including an Iraqi member of parliament;

Al Zafaaraniya where a bomb killed four people, including three players, and wounded 11 others;

Al Qalaa where a bomb in a stadium killed one and wounded 11;

Kirkuk where two players were killed and four others wounded;

Al Qaim where police foiled a stadium bombing by discovering a vehicle rigged with explosives.

The Islamic State further signalled its dim view of soccer in a purported letter to world soccer governance body FIFA demanding that the group deprive Qatar of the right to host the 2022 World Cup.

The Islamic State has positioned itself with the spate of attacks and its letter to FIFA squarely in the camp of those jihadists and Salafists, puritan Muslims who want to emulate life at the time of the Prophet Mohammed and his immediate successors, who oppose soccer as an infidel creation intended to distract the faithful from their religious obligations.

Attacks by Boko Haram in Nigeria and Al Shabab in Somalia and Kenya spiked during the World Cup with both groups targeting venues where fans gathered to watch matches on huge television screens.

The anti-soccer jihadists are strengthened in their resolve by fatwas or religious opinions issued by one segment of the Salafist clergy opposed to any form of entertainment which they view as a threat to performance of religious duties. The views of those clergymen are opposed by other Salafist imams who argue that the Quran encourages sports as long as it is in line with Islamic precepts.

They are also opposed by those militant Islamists who recognize the recruitment and bonding advantages of soccer and unlike groups like the Islamic State, Boko Haram and Al Shabab attribute some importance to garnering public support rather than seeking to impose puritan Islamic rule by sheer force.

“In Nigeria, football is a religion. It is one of the few things that brings the country together across ethnic and religious lines… Football is often an escape from the ugliness of everyday life, and that is even more true in a region under a cloud of insecurity for the last few years… (Terrorism) forces a change in lifestyles. Public gatherings in North Eastern Nigeria, even to celebrate a festival of football…are likely to attract a high price. You cannot watch a game without looking around nervously from time to time,” said Nigerian journalist Joachim MacEbong.

Mr. MacEbong could have said the same of Iraq or East African nations where soccer fans are targets.

The Islamic State, despite its anti-soccer campaign has not shied away from using soccer in recruitment and propaganda videos.

And there are signs that opinion about soccer is divided even within its own ranks as well as within the larger community of those who empathize with the views of the likes of the Islamic State, Boko Haram and Al Shabab.

The mosque in Mosul, the major Iraqi city occupied by the Islamic State, where self-declared caliph Ibrahim Bin Awad Alqarshi aka Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who as a student was known as a talented soccer player, made a rare public appearance earlier this month was packed with men, many of whom were sporting soccer jerseys

Similarly, an online review by Vocativ of jihadist and militant Islamist Facebook pages showed that many continue to be soccer fans. They rooted for Algeria during the World Cup but switched their allegiance to Brazil, Italy, England and France once the Algerians had been knocked out of the tournament despite their condemnation of the Europeans as enemies of Islam.

“Jihadis are in some ways like any other fans – they support the local favourites,” wrote Versha Sharama, who conducted the review.

James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies as Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, co-director of the Institute of Fan Culture of the University of Würzburg and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer, and a forthcoming book with the same title.

WASHINGTON — As Republicans blame President Barack Obama’s executive actions for the crisis along the border, the president assured members of his own party Wednesday that he won’t back down from his plans to ease deportations.

Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, meeting at the White House with Obama and Vice President Joe Biden amid the intensifying debate over unaccompanied minors surging across the southern U.S. border, made a two-prong political push, according to attendees. The first was to protect a law that keeps many unaccompanied minors from being rapidly deported. The second was to ensure that the administration doesn’t waver from its pledge to get relief for millions of undocumented immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for years.

A few weeks ago, these two Hispanic Caucus priorities seemed well protected. But both have been imperiled in recent days as Republicans have ratcheted up their argument that the wave of unaccompanied minors — more than 57,000 have crossed the border this fiscal year — has been due in part to Obama’s 2012 policy allowing young people who entered the U.S. as children years ago to remain here.

Some, such as Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), have said Congress should withhold money to handle the crisis until Obama vows not to grant more deportation relief to those already here. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) made a major splash on Wednesday night, demanding that Obama entirely dismantle his policy on undocumented young people in exchange for funding to deal with the unaccompanied minors.

A Cruz spokesperson told The Huffington Post it was “premature” to say whether the senator would lead a filibuster over any funding bill without a repeal of the administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.

“The Senator wants to work with his colleagues on legislation that includes measures to stop DACA as part of any legislation considered,” Cruz’ spokesperson added.

Recognizing the White House’s tenuous political position, members of the Hispanic Caucus urged Obama not to back away from his vow to use his executive authority to make the immigration enforcement process more humane.

They said they were pleased with the response. Obama reiterated his commitment to finding ways he can work within the law to improve the immigration system, caucus members said.

“The president had told us last time we met with him to give him time to work this out with Republicans. … The moment has come for him to act, and he agrees,” Rep. Joe Garcia (D-Fla.) said.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) paraphrased Obama as saying, “I want to be as broad as I can be. I want to be as generous as the law will allow me to be.”

Obama said he was “moving rapidly,” though he didn’t estimate how many undocumented immigrants may be affected or an exact time frame, said Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.). The president has asked that the secretary of homeland security finish a review of deportation policy by the end of the summer.

Hispanic Caucus members have been critical of Obama’s immigration record, and previous meetings have been tense. The president in the past has responded to members’ pleas to slow deportations by asking for time to win approval of reform legislation in the House. But the House never acted, and Obama announced plans last month to do what he can on his own.

Gutierrez said Wednesday’s meeting was free of the uneasiness that colored past gatherings.

“Even though we were raising the issue in the form of a plea-slash-demand-slash ‘We love you, help us, you’re all we’ve got’ — really, it was all of those things — he was not defensive at all,” Gutierrez said. “We didn’t talk about the past, about differences, about the protests, none of that. It was about [how] we’re going to go forward.”

Lawmakers expressed to Obama their opposition to changing a 2008 law meant to protect unaccompanied minors from countries other than Mexico and Canada from being rapidly deported without presenting their case to a judge. Nearly all Republicans and some Democrats have said the law must be changed so that all unaccompanied minors face the hearing process more quickly. The majority of the Hispanic Caucus is adamantly opposed.

There was one exception in the meeting: Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), a member of the Hispanic Caucus who has partnered with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) on a bill that would change the law. Gutierrez said there was no discussion of that specific proposal with the president.

Other members of the Hispanic Caucus told Obama they would not support funding to deal with the border crisis if it undermined protections now in place for minors. The president has expressed openness to changing the law, but also said due process should remain in place. Grijalva said Obama “made no commitment outright … to say, ‘We’re going to be with you in resisting the changing of that law.'”

Sam Stein contributed reporting.

1. It is affordable

I hate the word affordable as it is usually used to describe $300 a night hotels, however in this case it is apt. TDF is the most well-known source for less expensive tickets. 20@$20 is great for certain Off-Broadway shows. Smaller theatre companies often have a pay what you can night, where they literally allow you to give as little as a penny. If you don’t have the penny, volunteer. You can usher or do other work for all kinds of theatre in order to see the show; the Fringe Festival NY is famous for their volunteer program.

2. Small Theatre companies.

The Amoralists have always done interesting work and the Bats at The Flea continue to impress, season after season. I regret not seeing their Bible adaptation. These are not the places one goes to see Our Town revivals. This is interesting and often riveting work being done in these small venues.

3. Elizabeth Marvel and Annie Golden

I ran into Ms. Marvel the other day, some of you may not recognize her name, however the ‘deconstructed’ Streetcar that she performed in almost 15 years ago is still current and fresh in my mind. The moment I saw her, my head was filled with Shakespeare, Hedda Gabler, and at least a dozen other shows. Always visceral and completely memorable. A smart producer would give her Medea. Her ability to be both completely fragile and made of steel in the same moment is something to behold.

Annie Golden is another performer who both in cabaret and onstage can captivate with her beautiful voice. I still remember the first time I saw her perform ‘White Picket Fence’ a song she wrote. Always in the moment and always communing with her audience Annie is quite special. Those of you who are fans of Orange is the New Black saw her sing in the season finale. I’ve yet to binge on the new season but I’ve hopes her character will share the back story.

In movies the thrills come from the effects, in the theatre they come from the performers.

4. Theatre is now, it is only for the moment. Movies and TV shows can be seen on DVD, or screened through your computer. Much of our entertainment is on demand. Theatre is alive, it captivates moments in time. Being part of an audience is a unique and communal experience.

5. Anything can happen

Movies are the same every time you see them, you might notice something new but the film does not change. In the theatre people still talk about the night Patti Lupone (justifiably) went off on a rant against a cell phone user. Sets fall, lighting fails, and exquisite moments are captured in your mind to be savored for years.

When the PlayStation 4 first launched, it was considered by many to be a gimmick at best. Sony’s looking to change that. Now that it’s cleared out some of its more unscrupulous users, it plans to release a free update this summer called “Set Maker.” It’ll let people host their own talk shows.

I love the 3D concept art by Neil Maccormack because it doesn’t look like 3D at all. His renders—which he finishes in Photoshop—feel like acrylics painted with real brushes. His palette—which sometimes reminds me of Ralph McQuarrie’s—is crucial for the painterly feel of his creations.

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