June is recognized as World Elder Abuse Awareness Month, highlighting the prevention of elder abuse and promoting the rights and well-being of older adults.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Month is observed throughout June, with the focal day being June 15, known as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD)

The observance was launched in 2006 by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) in collaboration with the World Health Organization, and formally recognized by the United Nations in 2011

The month-long awareness campaign aims to educate communities, policymakers, and caregivers about the prevalence, forms, and consequences of elder abuse, while promoting prevention and intervention strategies 

usc.edu, awarenessdays.com

Most of us recognize music genres like metal, rock, hip-hop, pop, garage, folk, ballads, and traditional or culturally based music. ARIRANG took new and maybe some seasoned listeners to a whole different level, specifically Hooligan. I have to say, for me, listening to the album was and still is an innovative back-to-the-future creation.

The phrase “drop it lower than chopped and screwed” captures the essence of a hip-hop genre that has shaped musical culture.

For new BTS listeners, this is probably their first experience with a unique sound rooted in a region with deep historical roots in the South. The group is definitely known for using trap over the years, as well as a few other styles. The idea to reintroduce a regional Black Southern hip-hop technique to a global audience was an amazing decision.

BTS’s “Hooligan” is a creative and innovative venture — musically, visually, and lyrically. It deliberately breaks structure, bends genre, and weaponizes chaos as an artistic identity. ~ poplyrics

The Fusion we experience in the Hooligan track connects Houston’s rich legacy with K-pop’s expansive reach, creating a powerful cultural narrative. The chopped and screwed technique involves slowing down a song’s tempo to craft a hypnotic, extended rhythmic foundation, enhancing the lyrics and storytelling. Pioneered by DJ Screw in Houston, who tragically passed away in 2000, this style has become a cornerstone of the hip-hop scene, echoing Southern influences.

While BTS doesn’t use DJ Screw’s traditional method—like a full 60 BPM slowdown or extensive chopping—they clearly draw from the aesthetic. Their work features: Slowed vocals, Lowered pitch, Echoing repeats, and Dragged-out transitions. For many, this is might be their first experience with anything resembling chopped and screwed music. This is a back-to-the-future strategy that has and continues to keep everyone leaning forward

In Houston, it’s a whole culture

Chopped and Screwed is everywhere —

• mixtapes
• car culture
• local radio
• DJ Screw’s legacy
• The Screwed Up Click

If you were in Houston, it wasn’t a trend; it was daily life.

Thank you, DJ Screw, for influencing both local and global music!

Connecting Houston’s legacy to K‑pop’s global reach. That’s a huge cultural loop.

Update:

So, after listening to others discuss tracks from ARIRANG… I had to dive deeper into the

Glitch`trap as a cross‑continental hybrid fusion from

• Southern U.S. trap rhythms

• Japanese/German glitch sound design

• Modern global pop production

We recognize the sound: it’s familiar (trap) but also broken, warped, and digital (glitch).

Glitch‑trap production — The track fuses aggressive trap percussion with distorted basslines and glitch-hop textures. Music Analysts describe it as “organized sonic mayhem” built to feel unruly but engineered with precision.

Did you know that while K‑pop didn’t invent glitch‑trap, it turned it into a recognizable, polished, mainstream style — something the U.S. opted out of. K-pop has been using the G/Trap sound for over a decade. It didn’t become a recognizable sound until the mid-2010s, and it didn’t become mainstream until the late 2000s

For many listeners, including older folks like myself, this might be our first exposure to anything resembling Glitch-trap, Chopped and Screwed, and other genres put together so creatively! I don’t know about you … but I might have heard it back in the day, didn’t like it, but it feels different now … which has to do with technique and application …

ARIRANG might symbolize a BTS journey, maybe not. What is quite obvious is that we have our own opinions about this album; we must listen to the words they express to their fans, and continue to be open to . In my opinion, the amalgamation of several genres creates a puzzle made up of different pieces of Korean identity, global influence, and personal storytelling. The magic is that the pieces interlock—they don’t clash.

Thanks to BTS!

The Issue

Bryce Jones ~ Petition Starter

For many of us living on the southwest side of Chicago, the daily challenges we face are growing. We are grappling with increased living costs and punitive policies. Under the current administration, I, like many others, felt the harsh realities of life under stringent immigration policies, with ICE raids affecting our community deeply. And now, with rising gas prices because of a failed vanity war, making ends meet is more challenging than ever. We propose to launch a winning vanity war.

We propose a tribute to a figure who stands for hope and change, Barack Hussein Obama. By renaming Wabash Ave in Chicago to Barack Hussein Obama Ave, we would honor him at the time of his presidential center’s opening. This move resonates with hope and progress, uniting us in the pursuit of a brighter tomorrow.

But more importantly, the renaming carries symbolic weight, as it alters the official address of Trump Tower to Obama Ave. This would send a small message about the values we uphold as a city, those of inclusivity, resilience, and forward-thinking change, and fighting back in any way possible.

We call on Mayor Brandon Johnson and all city council members to consider this proposal seriously, reflecting the community’s voice and aspirations. Please sign this petition to show your support for renaming Wabash Ave to Barack Hussein Obama Ave, and let us immortalize hope, progress, and small acts of resistance in our cityscape.

Follow the progress with us @401NorthObama everywhere 

Bryce Jones~ Petition Starter

“The historical record shows that European colonial powers, Zionist leadership, the UN, the US, and NATO-aligned states each pursued political agendas that converged into the destruction of Palestinian society. Many members of Congress — across parties and religions — have supported policies that enabled this outcome.”

NATO as an institution did not design the displacement of Palestinians, but NATO member states (the US, UK, France, Italy, Germany, etc.) have been central to the military, diplomatic, and economic power structure that protected Israel from accountability.

They armed Israel

funded Israel

vetoed UN resolutions

provided diplomatic protection

blocked sanctions

framed Israel as a Western strategic asset

treated Palestinian resistance as a “security threat”

Britain created the system.

The UN legitimized it.

Zionist institutions carried out the displacement.

The US protected it.

France and Germany financed and reinforced it as a moral obligation.

This was not a single coordinated plan — but multiple state agendas converging into the same outcome.

6–8 NATO countries consistently take positions critical of Israeli policy.

These include: Turkey, Norway, Iceland, Ireland, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, and sometimes Portugal.

Source: The internet and ai research for information

As the major Allied offensive masterminded by Robert Nivelle was failing miserably on the Western Front, British forces in Palestine make their second attempt to capture the city of Gaza from the Ottoman army on April 17, 1917.

In the wake of the failed British assault on Gaza of March 26, 1917, Sir Archibald Murray, commander of British forces in the region, misrepresented the battle as a clear Allied victory, claiming Turkish losses to be triple what they actually were; in truth, at 2,400 they were significantly lower than the British total of 4,000. This led London’s War Office to believe their troops were on the verge of a significant breakthrough in Palestine and to order Murray to renew the attack immediately.

Though the previous assault had caught the Turks by surprise, the second one did not: the German general in charge of the troops at Gaza, Friedrich Kress von Kressenstein, was by now well aware of British intentions. By the time the British launched their second round of attacks on April 17, the Turks had accordingly strengthened their defenses and extended their forces along the road from Gaza to the nearby town of Beersheba.

Still, as in the First Battle of Gaza, British soldiers outnumbered Turkish troops by a ratio of two to one. Moreover, the British employed eight heavy Mark-1 tanks and 4,000 gas shells (used for the first time on the Palestine front) to ensure victory. The tanks proved unsuitable for the hot, dry desert conditions; however, three of them were captured by Turkish forces, which again put up a blisteringly effective defense despite their inferior numbers. After three days and heavy losses—the British casualty figure, of 6,444 men, was three times that of the Turks—Murray’s subordinate commander, Sir Charles Dobell, was forced to call off the British attacks, ending the Second Battle of Gaza with the city still firmly in Turkish control.

As a result of this second failure to capture Gaza, the Allies called in reinforcements, including Italian and French troops, which arrived from Europe in time to join the third and final Battle of Gaza that fall. Under the new regional command of Sir Edmund Allenby, the Allies finally broke through and gained control of Gaza in November 1917, leaving them free to move ahead toward Palestine’s capital city, Jerusalem, which fell into Allied hands on December 9.

Source: history.com