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| Guest speaker: Haider Ajina |
Guest speaker: Haider Ajina
◼ September 17 is Constitution Day and Citizenship Day and Haider Ajina has quite a story to tell on this important day. A sought-after speaker, he brings a unique - and often calming - perspective to the topic of the Middle East and Iraq. Around 2003 he began translating and disseminating articles from Iraq into English, to give us a better understanding of what it was like over there. Some of his pieces were featured in the now-defunct Eureka Reporter.
In a 2005 North Coast Journal article he said, "I compared that to what my dad was reading over there -- he went over in January or February of '04. I started asking him what the papers looked like over there, and they were identical. So I said, O.K. -- if I look at the PDF files of these newspapers, that's exactly what the Iraqis are reading. So I started translating those articles."
He was born in Baghdad, Iraq, to an Iraqi father and German Mother. His primary education was in Iraq and Germany and he finished high school and his first year of college in England.
Haider came to HSU to study Environmental Engineering in 1983. He married Claire in 1985 and they have 3 sons: Nyle, 29, Zaid, 27, Hadi, 25, and a daughter Alia, 18.
Prior to starting as a financial consultant with Smith Barney in 1992, Haider's occupation was exporting fresh produce to Europe. In 2009, he and his business partner, Mark Morgan, moved to Wells Fargo Advisors and formed Ajina & Morgan Financial Group, where he is now Vice President of Investments.
Haider is a Rotarian and Past President of The Rotary Club of Southwest Eureka, Past President of the Trinidad Chamber of Commerce, 10-Year Director of the Trinidad-to-Clam-Beach Run & Walk, co-founder and 7-year Director of the Tour of Trinidad (Bike Tour), co-founder and volunteer at The Humboldt Bay Paddlefest, and 5-Year Treasurer of the Humboldt State Alumni Association. He served on the boards of The Greater Trinidad Chamber of Commerce, Humboldt State Alumni Association, Rotary Club of SW Eureka, Eureka Big Brothers Big Sisters, as Treasurer for Humboldt Youth Soccer, and as Treasurer for Rotary District 5130 Youth Exchange.
His joys are being a father and husband, refereeing soccer, doing civic work, and giving talks about Islam and the Middle East, especially Iraq.
JOIN US FOR LUNCH - THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17th
11:30 a.m. Lunch 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. 445 Herrick, Eureka
Lunch & Speaker ~ $14.50 (Tax and tip included)
Beverage & Speaker ~ $4.00 Payable to HRWF
THIS MONTH - Please RSVP to Annette 839-5538 by Friday September 11
Early RSVP lunch reservations are VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!
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| HRWF President Annette De Modena |
It’s in the air! Can you feel it? CHANGE! REAL HOPE FOR A NEW TOMORROW! During the first week of the Humboldt County Fair we registered over 20 Republicans! Last year at the fair, we were lucky if we registered anyone; and did we have fun! The Republican booth was a hive of activity. We conducted our Bean Poll of the Presidential candidates, gave balloons to children, registered Republicans, recruited for California Young Republicans, sold cook books, and visited with friendly, upbeat people who want the right change for America. A huge thank you to those who helped with any aspect of our time at the fair. We can’t do anything without our volunteers; and HRWF women are the best!
The first Saturday in August was the GOP Picnic at the Moose Lodge where Sheriff Mike Downey was our guest speaker. How blessed we are to have had him serve this County as our sheriff. He’s just the best. A great time was had by all. Gary Frank was once again our barbeque chef extraordinaire and Jim Pell graciously gave of his time and energy by donating and operating his sound system for us. Not only do I give special thanks to these three men, but I also once again want to give thanks to all the federated women who participated in the planning, organization, and clean-up, as well as for their donations to the silent auction. Proceeds benefit both HRWF and the HGOP Central Committee. My heartfelt gratitude to all you who attended this traditional event.
The November General Election is just around the corner and we have once again many of us will help support those candidates who support bringing true hope and change to our county. (There are three seats on the five-member Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District (aka Harbor District) Board of Commissioners alone).* Do you have a greater vision, a greater hope, for Eureka? For Humboldt County? It takes time, sacrifice, and unity of purpose. The more who help, the less work for each one of us. Catch the fire! Dream! Unite! Work! Volunteer! Win! I will have sign up sheets available at the meeting.
This month at our HRWF meeting, we will be celebrating Citizenship Day September 17, at the Elks Lodge as usual. We will hear family stories from HRWF women whose families emigrated to the United States as an introduction to Haider Ajina sharing his experiences in his quest for freedom.
Blessings,
Annette
* Remember: There are more than 200 open seats up for grabs Nov. 3 on the boards of schools and special districts throughout Humboldt County. As reported by Jack Durham/Mad River Union, there are several races in which the seats held by board majorities are open, meaning that power structures could shift in communities if residents so desire – assuming there are enough candidates willing to run.
For example, there are three open seats on the five-member Manila Community Services District Board of Directors. There are also three seats – a board majority – open on the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District. There are many more scattered throughout the county, including the McKinleyville Union School District, which has four of its five seats up for grabs.
AMERICANISM REPORT/Chris Wennerholm
...DID YOU KNOW???
◼ IN CHINA, IF YOU ARE ONE IN A MILLION, THERE ARE 1,300 PEOPLE JUST LIKE YOU.
◼ CHINA WILL SOON BECOME THE NUMBER ONE ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.
◼ THE 25% OF INDIA’S POPULATION WITH THE HIGHEST I.Q.s IS GREATER THAN THE TOTAL POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES. (INDIA HAS MORE HONOR KIDS THAN AMERICA HAS KIDS!)
◼ RESEARCHERS PREDICT THAT 65% OF TODAY’S GRADE SCHOOLERS WILL HOLD JOBS THAT DON’T YET EXIST. WE ARE CURRENTLY PREPARING STUDENTS FOR JOBS THAT DON’T YET EXIST, USING TECHNOLOGIES THAT HAVEN’T BEEN INVENTED, IN ORDER TO SOLVE PROBLEMS WE DON’T EVEN KNOW ARE PROBLEMS YET.
◼ THE U.S. DEPT. OF LABOR ESTIMATES THAT TODAY’S LEARNERS WILL HAVE 10-14 JOBS BY THE AGE OF 38. ONE IN FIVE WORKERS HAS BEEN WITH THEIR CURRENT EMPLOYER FOR LESS THAN 1 YEAR. ONE IN TWO WORKERS HAS BEEN THERE LESS THAN 5 YEARS.
◼ THERE ARE MORE THAN 1.3 BILLION ACTIVE USERS ON FACEBOOK. IF FACEBOOK WERE A COUNTRY, IT WOULD BE THE 2ND LARGEST IN THE WORLD (BETWEEN CHINA AND INDIA).
◼ WE ARE LIVING IN EXPONENTIAL TIMES: THERE ARE 5.9 BILLION SEARCHES ON GOOGLE EVERY DAY. THIS IS 100 X MORE THAN IN 2000. (WHO ANSWERED THESE QUESTIONS BEFORE??)
◼ THE FIRST COMMERCIAL TEXT MESSAGE WAS SENT IN DECEMBER OF 1992. TODAY THE NUMBER OF TEXT MESSAGES SENT EVERY DAY IS DOUBLE THE POPULATION OF THE PLANET.
◼ TIME IT TOOK TO REACH A MARKET AUDIENCE OF 50 MILLION:
RADIO – 38 YEARS;◼ THE NUMBER OF INTERNET DEVICES IN 1984 WAS 1,000; IN 1992, 1 MILLION; IN 2008, 1 BILLION; IN 2014, 10 BILLION.
TV – 13 YEARS;
INTERNET – 4 YEARS;
IPHONE – 3 YEARS;
INSTAGRAM – 2 YEARS;
ANGRY BIRDS SPACE – 35 DAYS.
◼ THERE ARE ABOUT 540,000 WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE—APP. 5 X AS MANY AS DURING SHAKESPEARE‘S TIME.
◼ IT IS ESTIMATED THAT A WEEK’S WORTH OF THE NEW YORK TIMES CONTAINS MORE INFORMATION THAN A PERSON WAS LIKELY TO COME ACROSS IN A LIFETIME IN THE 18TH CENTURY.
◼ 90% OF THE WORLD’S DATA HAS BEEN GENERATED IN THE PAST 2 YEARS. THE AMOUNT OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL INFO IS DOUBLING EVERY 2 YEARS. FOR STUDENTS STARTING A 4-YEAR TECHNOLOGY DEGREE, THAT MEANS THAT HALF OF WHAT THEY LEARN IN THEIR FIRST YEAR OF STUDY WILL BE OUTDATED BY THEIR 3RD YEAR.
◼ BY 2019, WEARABLE ELECTRONICS WILL BE AN $18 BILLION INDUSTRY—THAT’S THE SAME AMOUNT THE ENTIRE GLOBAL AIRLINE INDUSTRY WILL MAKE THIS YEAR.
IN 1900, HUMAN KNOWLEDGE DOUBLED EVERY 100 YEARS.MIND-BOGGLING INFORMATION THAT SAYS OUR WORLD IS CHANGING...AND FAST!!
IN 1945, IT DOUBLED EVERY 25 YEARS.
IN 2014, IT DOUBLED EVERY 13 MONTHS.
BY 2020, IT WILL DOUBLE EVERY 12 HOURS....
BY 2017, A SUPERCOMPUTER WILL BE BUILT THAT EXCEEDS THE COMPUTATIONAL ABILITIES OF THE HUMAN BRAIN. PREDICTIONS ARE THAT, BY 2049, A $1,000 COMPUTER WILL EXCEED THE COMPUTATIONAL ABILITIES OF THE ENTIRE HUMAN SPECIES.
Not yet a Member of HRWF?
◼ LEARN MORE ABOUT US ON OUR WEBSITE.
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And, JOIN US FOR LUNCH! We meet on the Third Thursday of the month.
