海角大神

A new, insider鈥檚 perspective of China鈥檚 mass detention of Uighurs and other minorities in Xinjiang province emerged this weekend. to The New York Times by a member of the Chinese political establishment. The release is further confirmation of听reporting by the Monitor and other news and human rights groups. It shows Xi Jinping鈥檚 campaign to incarcerate more than 1 million people in 鈥渞eeducation鈥� camps since 2014, justified by a 鈥渟truggle against terrorism, infiltration and separatism.鈥� The documents suggest internal dissent among Chinese leadership and reveal the heroic efforts of a few local officials to counter the injustice, including one who released more than 7,000 detainees. In response to the documents, a听Foreign Ministry spokesman told the Times that 鈥減reventive鈥� measures in Xinjiang had helped to prevent terrorist attacks. Some analysts speculate the Times report could undermine US-China trade talks, which have been showing signs of progress.

2. Distrust rises, a blackout follows. The Iranian government shut down internet access across the entire nation this weekend to curb street demonstrations and violence (banks, gas stations, a police station, and stores were vandalized) in more than 100 cities and towns. The protests were triggered by a 50% hike in gasoline prices. US economic sanctions have helped undermine the Iranian economy, and there鈥檚 anger among people who have seen their savings evaporate and the collapse of the national currency.听 The price hike was endorsed Sunday by Iran鈥檚 supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who called the protesters 鈥渢hugs.鈥澨�

3. First, Kentucky. Now, Louisiana. Gov. John Bel Edwards defeated Republican Eddie Rispone in Saturday's Louisiana runoff election. Two Democratic wins in guberatorial races this month in states where Donald Trump won in 2016 by a wide margin have shown the limits of President Trump鈥檚 coattails. The results in these two states may not reveal much about the 2020 presidential election, except this: a strong turnout by black voters helps Democrats, and suburban women voters are also leaning Democrat.听

听

AP Photo/Luca Bruno

A city worker helps a woman across St. Mark's Square on a gangway, in Venice, Italy. The city was hit Sunday by the third flood surge in a week. Tuesday's flood was the worst in 53 years.

Look Ahead

Tuesday, Nov. 19

Impeachment TV: Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, is expected to be the first ear-witness to testify. She listened to the July 25th call between President Trump and Ukraine鈥檚 president.听

British Brexit debate: Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn appear in their first live TV debate ahead of a Dec. 12 U.K. election.

Two bestsellers debut: 鈥淎 Warning鈥� by an anonymous senior Trump administration official, is breaking pre-order sales records. It alleges there鈥檚 a resistance within the White House to the president. 听And former first lady Michelle Obama鈥檚 second book, 鈥淏ecoming: A Guided Journal for Discovering Your Voice,鈥� is released.听听

Wednesday, Nov. 20:听

Impeachment TV: Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the EU, may be the most interesting of at least eight witnesses this week. Expect him to be grilled about a phone call with President Trump in a Ukraine restaurant on July 26, 2019.听

Democrats debate, again: Ten presidential candidates have qualified for this two-hour TV debate in Atlanta, the fifth debate this year.听A Des Moines Register poll, released Saturday, puts South Bend, Ind., Mayor听 in Iowa. Could a Democratic moderate from a Midwestern state be the key to winning key 2020 swing states? Expect this debate to focus on Mr. Buttigieg's views.

Friday, Nov. 22:

Feel-good films: Brace for the opening of 鈥淔rozen 2,鈥� and the return of Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Sven, and yes, Olaf.听 Also opening: 鈥淎 Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,鈥� with Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers.听听

Compassion Watch

Two stories caught my attention this week.听This one: , but were more violent than the previous year, according to an annual FBI report.听

And this one: 鈥溾�� by a Yahoo UK style writer.听

Google Trends data shares there鈥檚 been a more than twofold increase in searches for the words 鈥渒indness鈥� in the past five years.

Additionally, the past year鈥檚 bestselling non-fiction books include Christie Watson鈥檚 The Language of Kindness: A Nurse's Story and Charlie Mackesy鈥檚 The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse, a book that focuses on the power of friendship and compassion.鈥�

The Yahoo article cites such celebrity icons as the musician Pink, who described kindness as an 鈥渁ct of rebellion鈥� in her acceptance speech at the People鈥檚 Choice Awards last week. 鈥淭here is a planet that needs help, it feels good to help. Stop fighting each other and help each other. 鈥�

Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, said it is 鈥榗ool to be kind,' at the British Fashion Awards nearly a year ago.

Arguably, kindness has always been cool - and an effective and contagious counter to hate. Perhaps, it just took awhile for the cool kids to figure that out. Here's to choosing kindness.听

REUTERS/Monica Almeida

Singer-songwriter Pink at the People's Choice Awards in Santa Monica, Calif., Nov. 10, 2019.

听

Hidden gem

Start your week with a recent story that inspired Monitor readers:

Where an ancient Jewish-Muslim coexistence endures

Sneak preview

In tonight鈥檚 Daily Edition, watch for the latest in our series about the 10 Commandments in modern life: A woman's story about honoring her parents.

Finally, the Monitor鈥檚听five best stories听in Friday鈥檚 subscription-only Daily Edition:

1. Who can win in 2020? Voters shift focus toward centrists.
2. From shattered glass and broken tents, Lebanese draw resolve
3. Mini but mighty: How microbes make the world
4. Just the facts, but whose facts? College papers face student ire.
5. TV that takes you from an alternate Oxford to a galaxy far, far away

This is a beta test - an experiment with an early Monday morning news update. Please give us your feedback via the link below and let us know what you think. Thank you!