Hasta La Gadget!

Not everyone wanted to give little Herbie the French bulldog a chance at life.

Herbie, now 9 weeks old, was born with hydrocephalus, said Nikki Carvey, who runs the Los Angeles bulldog rescue group Road Dogs & Rescue. The condition means fluid builds up inside the skull, potentially causing issues like head swelling, lack of balance and even blindness.

“His breeder brought him to be euthanized but someone intervened and got him to Road Dogs & Rescue instead,” Carvey told The Huffington Post in an email.

And Carvey didn’t feel the puppy deserved to have his life ended so soon.

“I wanted to give Herbie a chance because when you meet him, you can see he has a feisty spirit,” she said. “When he first saw the neurologist a month ago, they said to see how he did in the next couple of weeks … Herbie has kept fighting so we’ll continue to fight with him!”

She explained that while the condition is usually fatal if untreated, “some dogs with hydrocephalus can go on to live happy lives if they get the care they need.”

Now, Herbie, who suffers from the inability to stand or walk, is undergoing physical therapy with canine rehabilitation center Two Hands Four Paws. He’s on medication to reduce the fluid in his skull and he will also likely need brain surgery when he’s 6 months old.

But despite his disabilities, Herbie has the personality of a totally normal little dog.

“He is a sweet, playful puppy,” Carvey said. “He wants to run around but because he hasn’t been able to stand or walk, he scoots himself along his side.”

Carvey says that Herbie will likely be available for adoption after he’s had surgery. (However, Road Dogs & Rescue has other animals up for adoption, and there are literally millions of pets in shelters around the country looking for homes.)

Herbie exemplifies the issues that can occur when people breed dogs irresponsibly, Carvey said. And bulldogs are especially susceptible to a variety of health problems. As a dog rescuer, she recommends adopting a dog in need of a home. But for people who do go to a breeder, she stresses the importance of making sure they find a responsible one.

“People need to research the breed – and the breeder!” she said. “There are way too many backyard breeders out there who just want to make a buck and don’t care about the health of the dogs,” she wrote.

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Dear Yasir Qadhi, Hamza Yusuf, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) and fellow homophobic Muslim religious leaders of America.

The interview on CNN with Hussam Ayloush (CAIR-LA) and Nihad Awad (National E.D. CAIR) claiming to have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the LGBTQI community is exemplary of your double speak.

Evidence #1: Prop 2008, Marriage Equality act in CA. I remember the Shura Council, an umbrella organization of 26+ mosques in Southern California, posted their opposition on Prop 8, urging members of their congregation to vote against it. It was only with backroom diplomacy with progressive churches and synagogues who argued that discriminating against LGBT people is unacceptable given that they have been in partnership with the very same mosques for Muslim rights in America, that official stance was taken off the website.

Evidence #2: As a faith-based human rights organization, Muslims for Progressive Values (MPV) collaborated with many like-minded faith organizations to have ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) include the prohibition of discrimination in hiring and employment on the basis of one’s sexual orientation and gender identity. Where were ISNA on this? They, along with other religious right organizations worked against the inclusion of LGBTQI folks and would only sign on only if religious institutions were exempted!

Evidence #3: Sumayyah Dawud, a niqab-wearing Muslim woman was harassed by the Arizonian police after a #BlackLivesMatter rally. The American Muslim civil rights organization CAIR took on her case, but quickly dropped it upon learning of her dispute with the Tempe Mosque; a dispute on Sumayyah’ssexual identity,which dictates where Sumayyah stands for prayers, the men’s or the women’s section.

When the Quran speaks of hypocrites, those who pretend to speak of truth, I never thought I would live to see the best of them all. Even Da’esh has more integrity than you. As twisted as Da’esh’s belief system is, they, unlike you, are transparent, honest in representing their true beliefs.

As co-signers of the Orlando Declaration, you claim that as Americans we can only hold two positions: you are either anti-Islam or for Islam. There is a third category sandwiched in between and it is the homophobic category. As a Muslim I will not address the homophobes of other faiths, and will only address those of my co-religionists.

The murderer of 49 party goers at Pulse in Orlando should be attached to your “Islam.” An “Islam” that raised him to believe that homosexuals will burn in hell, that you cannot be Muslim and be gay; and that killing homosexuals is killing out of kindness.

Yes, this is your twisted version of Islam and it is not that much different than Da’esh’s ideology. It is your “Islam” that has traumatized so many gay Muslims, that has alienated, ostracized and demonized them to the point of self-hatred. Self-hatred leads to mental health and suicidal tendencies, not an un-common by-product of your hate-filled theology toward homosexuals, a by-product exhibited in the killing at Pulse.

You don’t get to wash the blood off your hands on this one.

Your Orlando Declaration is clever. You have borrowed from the Israelis who claim any criticism of Israeli policies, even constructive ones, are anti-Semitic. You have learned the art of deflection of responsibility from the best.

You claim to hold Prophet Muhammad’s teaching in high regard. How about living up to it for once?

Spare us the robe, the beard, and the superficial religiosity.

Did Prophet Muhammad ever punish anyone for being gay? The answer is an absolute “no.”

Is there punishment for being a homosexual in the Qur’an? To quote Hamza Yusuf himself , the answer is “no“, although many of you will manipulate the story of Lot out of context to reinforce your homophobic stance. Quoting Qur’an Surah 2:256 — “There is no compulsion in religion” to distance yourself as a homophobe is yet more evidence of your ignorance. Being gay is not a religious choice.

Being gay is also not a lifestyle choice. It has been proven scientifically that one’s sexual identity is predetermined in the womb. Most intuitive parents can spot their homosexual child from a young age. To call it a lifestyle choice is proof you are speaking from heterosexual privilege.

Why would anyone choose homosexuality as a lifestyle given the widespread prejudices against being one? Would you?

You cannot claim to support the American values of equality under the law if your version of Islam instead works to undermine the basis of one’s individual rights and to nurture hate for another.

Can’t you see the fact that only a dismal number of American Muslims see your organizations as representative of their values, it is a clear indication of how out of touch you are of our spiritual needs, and our American (and incidentally Islamic) values of egalitarianism, equality and justice? That we cannot stand the homophobic and misogynistic teachings, the over-emphasis of a culture and tribal-based Islam rather than that of values and principles?

42% of American Muslims agree and strongly agree with the Supreme Court’s decision on Marriage Equality, but yet not a single American Muslim religious leader of your conservative stripe have stepped forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the LGBTQI American Muslims.

MPV will not allow your extremist homophobic teaching to define Islam and we will not allow the 49 lives to die in vain.

Our challenge to Zaytuna Institute, religious schools and imams of every mosques in America — for once and for all: End the teaching of demonizing homosexuality in the name of Islam in your curriculums and your sermons. Teach compassion, mercy, justice and peace. At its core, that is the message of the Qur’an and all its Prophets.

We are watching you.

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Over the past year, I’ve been documenting how to build a suit of Stormtrooper armor, and a little on how to go about wearing it once you’ve completed it. This week, I’d like to close out the column by taking a look at the bigger picture: what have we learned from this little journey?

Read more…

Google’s DeepMind has conquered some big artificial intelligence challenges in its day, such as defeating Go’s world champion and navigating mazes through virtual sight. However, one of its accomplishments is decidedly unusual: it learned how to play…

In the entrepreneurial world, being proactive is incredibly important. One of the best ways to become involved in the community is through events organized and attended by some of the most influential voices of the industry. For education, mentorships, and everything else you need to know about being an entrepreneur, Startup Grind is a fantastic community start. I was invited in their first ever conference in Europe and I immediately felt the great community vibe that every aspiring entrepreneurs would appreciate.

If you are still on the fence about joining the next conference, here are six reasons that might convince you.

1. A global community you can trust
Startup Grind’s community is made up from more than 400,000 founders in over 200 cities and 85 countries. Though it is the largest independent startup community in the world, it’s also a very close-knit one. Its members are actively involved in the community in many different forms. Events, media, and professional partnerships with entrepreneurial organizations are just some of the ways through which Startup Grind brings like-minded people together to share ideas, discuss a variety of topics, and generally foster discussions about the startup community.

2. Diverse speakers with rich backgrounds
Since Startup Grind organizes so many different events, it has acted as host to numerous influential figures including CEOs, investors, and other successful entrepreneurs. Speakers at every conference wish to share their views of the startup world and also aid aspiring startups and entrepreneurs in their difficult road ahead. The resulting discussions are of high quality and largely diverse, allowing everyone to form their own opinions based on their own experience and that of others. One of the most high profile and interesting speaker was Alphabet’s CEO, Eric Schmidt.

Startup Grind Founder, Derek Andersen at the Startup Grind Europe 2016 in London

3. Support and information with real applications
In the information age, it’s often hard to know whose advice you can trust. Of course, that’s not a problem with Startup Grind. The information and experience you will receive from a conference is invaluable as it will always have real applications. Whether you want to ask some questions directly to some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs or you just wish to get a glimpse of their thought process, there’s no better place or time to do it.

4. Getting involved with the community
Being an entrepreneur is undoubtedly a challenge. However, sharing that challenge with others is a great way of alleviating the pressures and hardships faced by aspiring business professionals. One of Startup Grind’s core values is the belief in making friends, not contacts. This philosophy is exemplified in every conference as other individuals who have gone or are currently undergoing a journey similar to yours make for great conversations.

5. Being at the forefront
Resting on your laurels is a tremendously bad idea in the entrepreneurial world. The Startup Grind conference is a great way to stay on top of things and learn more about the road to success. Aside from getting valuable real-world information by successful people, the conference is also one of the few places where you will get to meet so many different people with some incredible stories.

6. An intimate look on diverse companies
A single recipe for success is an item of pure imagination. Success is a goal that can be reached through many different ways and the diversity of startups is a perfect example of that. A Startup Grind conference will allow you to get a close look at just how different companies and their ideals can be. And during that time, you might also find a new approach to any problems that you might be facing or even just a refreshed point of view.

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