Central Park Hosts Bed-In For World Peace

The World March for Peace and Nonviolence is holding a bed-in on August 16 for world peace. The celebration is the 40th anniversary of Yoko Ono and John Lennon’s famous bed-in.

The August event is a tribute to John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s cause for world peace. The event will take place at the Cherry Hill Fountain in Central Park at 1 PM. A “Peace Bed” will be in place for musicians and those in attendance to express their thoughts on peace and violence the same way Lennon and Ono did 40 years ago. Yoko Ono has endorsed the project.

Yoko Ono sent this message to the organizers, “Remember, each one of us has the power to change the world. Power works in mysterious ways. You don’t have to do much. Visualise the domino effect. And just start thinking PEACE. The message will circulate faster than you think. It’s Time For Action. The Action is PEACE. Spread the word. Spread PEACE.“

Press representative for World Peace March Nicole Myers told Digital Journal that a new peace song will be recorded live at the event. We Want Peace on Earth will be performed by Mark Lesseraux. The song will be in a special double CD of peace songs being produced by Sony, Myers said. “The new song was written and dedicated to the World March for Peace,” said Myers. Myers was very excited about the event and the upcoming global march for peace. She said that there will be music at the Central Park event. The World March will be held in seven continents starting October 2 in New Zealand. It will go around the world ending on January 2, 2010 in Argentina. If you’re in New York City on August 16 check out this special and timely event.

The Peace Corps launches YouTube channel

Jody K. Olsen, the acting director of the Peace Corps, has announced that they have their own YouTube channel. The agency is also on Twitter and has a newly designed website.

The Peace Corps channel launched with 45 videos about the agency and their current projects around the world. It also has videos that deal with the history of the organization, founded by President John F. Kennedy and Sargent Shriver.

“The YouTube channel is an excellent resource for anyone considering Peace Corps service to better understand what Peace Corps service is really like on the ground,” said acting Director Olsen.

During the first week the Peace Corps channel had about 1,000 viewers.

Doctors Give Tips For Protesters Safety

Doctors in Iran are warning protesters on conditions from arrest and chemical weapons to stay as safe and healthy as possible. The advice is practical, simple and perhaps something that readers may need to tuck away.
These are some tips if you are planning on attending a protest that has the possibility of becoming violent.

In case you are handcuffed with plastic handcuffs flex your muslces as much as possible to make extra space inside the cuffs. Alert the authorities if you feel pain, numbness or tingling. Those are signals that long-term nerve damage may be occurring.

If you are on medication or have a medical condition make sure you have a note from your doctor on the importance of your medical needs. If it is possible carry your medication on your person so that you will have it with you. Give copies of the doctor’s note to the police, any legal representation and medical personnel.

It is possible that chemical weapons could be used during a protest. If you believe that this is a possible danger wear a waterproof outer layer of clothing with tight cuffs and collar. The most natural materials will soak up chemicals. Before attending the event cleanse with non oil-based soaps to prevent chemical weapons from sticking to your skin. Do not use any type of oil on your skin, this can include perfume, lotion, deodorant and many sunscreens.

Do not shave for at least a day in advance of the event. When you shave your pores are opened and that makes chemical weapons more effective.

Do not wear tampons as they absorb chemical weapons.

Do not wear contact lenses. Chemical weapons can in severe cases causes the lenses to melt.

If you do not have a gas mask carry a bandanna soaked in apple cider vinegar or lime juice with you in a sealed bag and carry swimming goggles.

If you are caught in a chemical attack you can blow your nose, rinse out your mouth, cough and spit. Do not rub your eyes or swallow. If you are wearing contacts take they out as soon as your fingers are clean.

Pepper spray is the most common chemical used by authorities. The pain will last for about fifteen minutes before it starts to fade away.

Tear gas is another common chemical that is used during protests. It can take up to five seconds for the chemical to take effect.

If there is an attack call out for those around you to walk and not run to avoid trampling.

Getting Ready For Toronto’s Pride Week

Every year Toronto hosts Pride Week during June. This year will be bigger than ever with an additional $300,000 from the Government of Ontario to help with the planning. The event this year will be held June 19-28.

Pride Toronto says that the yearly event supports 650 jobs, brings in $18 million in government tax revenue and has a positive $100 million in direct economic impact.

The full-time staff starts planning the next year’s week the minute the non-stop action ends each June. Since the small planned picnic 30 years ago Pride Week has grown by leaps and bounds says Grant Ramsay, media contact for Pride Toronto. The event is now international with people flowing into Toronto from all over the world.

“The work with all of the communities, not just the queer community is one of the most positive changes with Pride Week. We now can offer tourist packages that help the tourism in Toronto which is new. Also working with the government is a very positive change. Government officials are now a part of the week which in the past didn’t happen. That is very positive,” Ramsay told Digital Journal.

This year’s International Grand Marshal will be 33-years-old and transgender, Victor Mukasa. Mukasa is from Africa and has played an important role in the African Trans movement At a LGBTI event in 2007 in Nairobi he initiated the Nairobi Trans Declaration 2007. In 2008 he conducted the first Trans strategic workshop in Cape Town, South Africa, which brought together trans activists from Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.

Mukasa took the Ugandan Government to court in 2006 after his home was raided, documents relating to his human rights work in Uganda were confiscated and his Kenyan friend was arrested. The case was ruled in his and his friend’s favor last December.

“Pride Toronto has become a huge, diverse and multicultural event with great entertainment that draws people from far and wide,” said Tracey Sandilands, Executive Director Pride Toronto. “With over 50% of Torontonians not born in Canada and over 100 languages spoken, Pride Toronto looks forward to continuing it’s growth and outreach into these communities.”

Pride Week is for everyone, families included. There are special areas set up just for children. Mr. Ramsay said that it is absolutely a family event. There is something for every age group.

I, myself have taken my youngest son to the event and can attest that he enjoyed the children’s area in past years. There were craft activities and just plan fun.Some of the special features of this year’s Pride Week include Deborah Cox, Divine Brown, The Cliks, and a live in concert of 80s icons ABC, Wang Chung, Heaven 17 and Cutting Crew performing on Sunday June 28.There have been nine video artists commissioned to produce video for this year’s theme “Can’t Stop. Won’t Stop.”

Grant Ramsay of Pride Toronto told Digital Journal that the theme each year comes from the community. There is a call for the community to come up with a theme. The suggestions are then taken to a community meeting and voted on.Pride Toronto is the not-for-profit organization that hosts Pride Week. The purpose of Pride Week is to to celebrate the history, courage, diversity and future of Toronto’s LGBTTIQQ2S communities (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Questioning, Two-Spirited).

Car Wash Event To Donate To Help Car Wash Employees

Demi Moore’s standing behind the CLEAN (Community-Labor-Environmental Action Network) Carwash Campaign. The non-profit group is committed to improving the lives of working families in great Los Angeles. This project is to benefit car wash workers.

Car wash employees are often paid less than minimal wage and rely on tips to make ends met. The campaign is working jointly with the Carwash Workers Organizing Committee (CWOC) of the United Steelworkers to raise the standard of living for car wash workers and to address basic workplace safety issues.

According to their website CLEAN is committed to:

* Supporting the right of car wash workers to organize a union and bargain collectively.
* Improving working conditions and ensuring that car wash employers meet labor standards and abide by fair workplace practices.
* Demanding environmental clean up to ensure that waste water from car washes does not contaminate our rivers or oceans.

This campaign will not only help the workers but the environment as well. Professional car washes can contain toxic chemicals such as ammonium bifluoride and hydrofluoric acid that if not properly managed can be leaked into the environment. These toxins have been shown to cause kidney damage, increased cancer risk, and developmental delays.

The workers in professional car washes often work 60 hours a week with no overtime pay. Some make as little as $180 a week. They often work without the protective gear that costs as little as $3 enabling chemicals to seep into their bodies.

If you want to help out and are in the LA area the event is taking place on Tuesday afternoon.

Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Time: 2:00pm – 4:00pm

Location: Vermont Hand Wash
Street: 1666 N. Vermont Ave.
City/Town:
Los Angeles, CA

Tristan Anderson Fighting For His Life After Israeli Attack

*warning video is very graphic

Tristan Anderson’s parents are demanding that a full investigation be launched by Israel on why their son is fighting for his life.

On March 13 Anderson was shot in the head with a tear gas canister round at a Arab-Jewish demonstration at the West Bank village of Ni’lin. The American peace activist was with three or four other activists when the attack took place. The canister that was fired has a range of more than 400 metres. It was fired from a mere 60 metres at Mr. Anderson. Those with him at the time say that he was not involved with the main protest.

Tristan was shot by the new tear-gas canisters that can be shot up to 500m. I ran over as I saw someone had been shot, while the Israeli forces continued to fire tear-gas at us. When an ambulance came, the Israeli soldiers refused to allow the ambulance through the checkpoint just outside the village. After 5 minutes of arguing with the soldiers, the ambulance passed.

– Teah Lunqvist (Sweden) – International Solidarity Movement

Anderson is lucky to be alive at all. The canister caused a multiple fracture to his skull, severe injury to the frontal lobe of his brain, and a collapsed eye socket. Anderson has already underwent three operations. One of those surgeries involved removal of portions of his frontal lobe. He remains in critical condition in a medically induced coma at Israeli hospital Tel Hashomer.

Nancy Anderson, mother of the 37-year-old man, flew from California with her husband Michael to be with her child.

The Independent reports:

“We want the Israeli government to publicly take full responsibility for the shooting of our son,” she said.

“I don’t carry any negative feelings towards the soldier who shot our son. All I feel is love for Tristan and fear for his recovery.”

Anderson works seasonally with a trade union in Oakland, California setting up conventions. This was his first time to Israel where he was vacationing with his girlfriend.

In the past Anderson has taken part in peace demonstrations in Iraq before the US invasion in 2003, and in El Salvador and Guatemala. At the time of the incident Anderson was involved with the International Solidarity Movement, a group that brings internationals to the Palestine to support nonviolent resistance against the Occupation. In the past when international figures are present the military is less likely to use lethal force against unarmed protesters.

Michael Anderson said that his son was curious about the root of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to the Guardian:

“Tristan has always been interested in how societies that go through conflict are able to resolve their issues,” said his father. “He came to understand for himself what the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was about. It is ironic that the country in which he was shot is a democracy where it is supposed to be a duty for everyone to follow their conscience. We want to know the truth of what happened and we want justice for our son.”

According to Jonathon Pollack, an activist with the Israeli “Anarchists against the Wall” organisation, the incident took place about a kilometer away after demonstrators had started to leave. In the early portions of the protest it is true stones were thrown but Anderson was not among those being aggressive.

The Israeli military has said that some 400 rioters had thrown a “a massive number of rocks” at the troops. They also state that the protesters threw firebombs and directed burning tyres at the forces. They went on to say that during 2008 73 personnel were injured at or near Ni’lin.

The Guardian reports:

“Israel regrets that the Israeli and foreign nationals co-operate with violent rioters against the building of the security fence, whose purpose is saving the lives of Israeli citizens,” it said. “As such, any Israeli, Palestinian, or foreign national who illegally participates in a violent demonstration takes upon himself the risk of personal harm during the dispersal of these disturbances.”

Press TV says that Israel has offered no sympathy for the Anderson family and in fact have blamed Anderson for participating in the demonstrations as the cause of his injuries.

Attorney Michael Sfard, working for the Anderson family understands that it is doubtful that an investigation will yield a result. He stated that 90 to 92 percent of all launched investigations do not have a result in Israel. Since 2000 only four out of 110-120 court cases have lead to an indictment. Only one lead to a conviction. That conviction was an Arab-Israeli soldier who killed British peace activist Tom Hurndall in Gaza.

ThinkFirst Canada and Aviva Canada Working To Stop TBI In Kids

In Canada minors make up 17 percent of the population yet they account for 30 percent of traumatic brain injuries. On March 24 ThinkFirst Canada and Aviva Canada will be hosting an event to educate students how to not become a statistic.

On March 24 Dr. Charles Tator along with ThinkFirst Canada and Aviva Canada will be hosting an event to help educate elementary students on how to prevent brain and spinal cord injuries.

Injuries that kill or cause serious lingering injuries are almost always preventable. In fact some statistics show that 95% of those injuries could have been prevented. ThinkFirst’s goal is to change the numbers up so that those 95% are at a zero percentage.

ThinkFirst began in 1992 when Dr. Charles Tater envisioned a future free of traumatic brain and spinal injuries among children and youth. Using education as a means to change behaviours about risk taking ThinkFirst is working to achieve this goal.

Every year 390 children die and 25,500 are sent to hospital because of injuries. Many of the 100 people that die as a result of a bicycle accident are under the age of 15. When a bike helmet is worn 85% of the time head and brain injuries can be prevented.

Dr. Tator is a Professor in the Department of Surgery at The University of Toronto. He has worked at some of Toronto’s best hospitals as part of their Neurosurgical Staff including The Toronto Western Hospital where from 1985-1988 he was Neurosurgeon-in-Chief. He then moved on to a ten year term as Chairman of the Division of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto in 1989.

This year ThinkFirst and Aviva Canada will be expanding a program begun called Aviva Brain Day. Last year the program set for grade 5 and 6 students reached almost 6000 elementary students in more than 200 classrooms in 9 cities across Canada.

One of the programs that ThinkFirst has worked on is getting more sports helmets on the heads of kids. From Thunder Bay to Windor more than 4500 helmets have been handed out with with MHP-ThinkFirst Ontario Safe Sport Helmet Initiative. The final phase of this program will be handing out more than 6,000 vouchers for helmets to Ontarian children in need. By contacting your local Public Health Unit parents can find out if they qualify for a voucher.

In 2006 Aviva chose ThinkFirst Foundation Canada as its first signature charity.

Brain damage in children is difficult at times to measure. With adults there are records such as prior academic records, I.Q. scores, and job histories that give a clue to how well a person functioned. With children there often aren’t tools to gauge.

Because of their age some neurological deficits that result from head trauma aren’t manifested until years later. Consider frontal lobe functions which develop later in a child’s growth. These functions control social interactions and interpersonal skills. These skills don’t come into play until school age.

Recent studies have shown that a child’s skull is only 1/8 as strong as an adults making the young more vulnerable to injuries. For this reason alone prevention is key.

Actor Ron Silver Dead At 62 From Cancer

Actor and activist Ron Silver died Sunday at the age of 62 from cancer. He had been battling esophageal cancer for two years.

Silver died at his home with his family around him Sunday morning.

Silver will be remembered not only for his acting skills but also for his work as a champion of free speech and artists rights.

Born in Manhattan on July 2, 1946 he studied acting at Herbert Berghof Studio after graduating from St. John’s University with a Master’s degree in Asian studies.

Reuters reports:

“Ron Silver died peacefully in his sleep with his family around him early Sunday morning,” said Robin Bronk, executive director of the Creative Coalition, which Silver helped found.

He was a staunch supporter of Bill Clinton, Rudolph W. Giuliani and President George W. Bush.

He is survived by his parents, who live in Manhattan; another brother, Keith, of Stamford, Conn.; a son, Adam, of Los Angeles; and a daughter, Alexandra, of Manhattan.

Laura Archer-What An Angel Heart Looks Like

Laura Archer viewed her life in Africa as an eye opening experience when interviewed last August by the Montreal Gazette. She may be free tonight after being a hostage for two days in Darfur where the nurse works with Doctors Without Borders.

Laura Archer, 31, and two other foreign workers were taken by gunpoint on Wednesday at a North Darfur medical clinic.

In an interview last summer with Enterprise magazine she revealed that a horrible car crash on Highway I-40 from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 2002 was her wake-up call. She decided that she wanted her life to mean something.

She decided in 2004 that she wanted to learn about the world outside North America. She sold all of her things and bought a backpack boarding a plane. She was in Thailand when the tsunami struck. Seeing the little that was being done she flew to India and set up a make shift clinic on a beach near a village that has been hard hit by the tsunami. She lived there for three weeks.

She had found her calling.

The Toronto Star reports:

“Through this experience,” she wrote in the alumni magazine article, “the difference between being a tourist and a humanitarian became apparent to me – and I knew which I wanted to be.”

In 2005 Archer returned to Canada to apply to Doctors Without Borders and has never looked back.

Archer has worked in two other African locations in the Central African Republic and in Chad. Both nations take in thousands of refugees from the Darfur region. This is her fourth African mission in three years.

The National Post quotes the young nurse:

“People have asked me if my experiences in Africa have made me more cynical or perhaps jaded,” she said. “I don’t think so. I guess I’ve lost my rose-coloured glasses and now things — both positive and negative – are a bit more clear.”

When she’s at home Archer paints. Last August she was promoting an exhibit of her worked titled Facing Africa. She had 26 portraits of displaced people that she had painted while on the continent. She uses her art to tell the stories of those she encounters; child soldiers stung out on cocaine, pregnant women picking berries to survive.

Archer’s father in Charlottetown said he was still in shock that his daughter was kidnapped. Her boyfriend Carlos Beranquez was also stunned by the news that his girlfriend who has been in Darfur since October 2008 was taken.

Saraf Omra where the Doctors Without Borders clinic is located is one of the most dangerous areas of Darfur.

“She is well versed in the region,” said McHarg, who has herself worked as a nurse in Sudan. “She was working with Sudanese staff to provide basic health care . . . The needs are just amazing and when you’re there, doing the work, it’s so important. The people you meet are so lovely and knowing that such good people are facing such tragedy . . . I think our teams are really dedicated.”

The charity has faced other kidnappings in the past. They have all ended with success for the staff of the group.

Archer is due back to Canada in April.

The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs has been seeking confirmation that Archer and the others are free.

CBC reports:

“Canadian officials are in close contact with Médecins Sans Frontières, the UN, and Sudanese officials,” spokesman Daniel Barbarie said in an email, according to the Canadian Press. “We stand ready to provide consular assistance and support.”

The workers have reportedly been rescued yet the charity has yet to speak to them.

CBC also quotes with a spokesperson with Doctors Without Borders:

“We have not yet seen our colleagues, nor have we had the chance to speak with them since we heard that they were being released,” said spokeswoman Naomi Sutorius-Lavoie.

Prince William Says Mother’s Day Is A Day Of Emptiness For Him

Prince William admits Mother’s Day carries a sense of ‘emptiness’ for him. William was just 16 when Princess Diana died along with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed after a Paris car accident.

Today the future king took the role of patron to The Child Bereavement Charity, which Diana supported.

Nine MSN reports:

“Losing a close family member is one of the hardest experiences that anyone can ever endure,” he said. “Never being able to say the word ‘mummy’ again in your life sounds like a small thing.

“However, for many, including me, it’s now really just a word – hollow and evoking only memories.

“I can therefore wholeheartedly relate to the Mother’s Day campaign as I too have felt – and still feel – the emptiness on such a day as Mother’s Day.”

The charity is launching a Mother’s Day campaign to remind people how hard Mother’s Day can be on children who have lost their mothers and mothers who have lost their children.

The prince has been training to become a search and rescue helicopter pilot in the Royal Air Force.

In Britain March 22 is Mother’s Day.

As William was reflecting on mother’s the news stands have been going crazy with speculations that he will wed Kate Middleton this summer.

The Daily Mail is reporting that the prince proposed to Kate around the time of her 27th birthday in January.

‘She is treated by the staff with the kind of deference reserved for members of the family,’ an insider said. ‘Everyone thinks she and William are a done deal.’

Help PETA Out, Buy a Coffin

Everyone dies sometime and now when you’ve taken that last breathe your coffin can benefit People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The worms may not be able to read the slogans of “Lifetime PETA Member” but they will be proud of you.

“Told You I Wouldn’t Be Caught Dead in Fur!”

The coffins are made in New Mexico with no screws, nails, hinges or animal based glues. They are also cheap, only $620 to $670. That price includes a contribution of $75 to PETA.

Standard wood coffins ranges from $350 for a chipboard coffin to $2500 for a cedar coffin.

A former construction worker, Dienna Genther, assembles the boxes for The Old Pine Box in Edgewood. When PETA contacted her she thought they wanted the special coffins to be for pets, a product she offers.

The Associated Press reports:

“But then they sent the designs, the classic toe-pincher style, and I realized they wanted human coffins,” she recalled. “I told them, `We can do it.’”

Genther is not a PETA member but, “I support their cause.”

With about 2 million PETA millions the partnership could make a tidy little profit for Genther. She already has at least one future customer.

Joan Calpin, a 40-year-old health insurance billing clerk and PETA member in Middletown, Del., plans to buy one.

“It’s a great idea,” she said. “For myself and a lot of my friends who are activists, everybody always says, `All my life, I’ve helped animals.’ Well, now you can say it even after your life is over. You’re still helping animals.”

Are You Planning On Being In The Dark On Saturday?

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Earth Hour is rapidly approaching. At 8 p.m. on March 29 lights across the globe are expected to be turned off for an hour. Are you planning to be on the go green global bandwagon?

The event was created by the World Wildlife Fund to make a statement about climate change. The first Earth Hour happened in 2007 in Sydney, Australia. In just one year the grassroots movement has spread throughout the globe. Millions are expected to turn out their lights for one hour.

In North America there are over 100 cities planning event to highlight the 8 p.m. dimming. The ‘flagships’ for the event in North America are Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix and San Francisco and Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

So what difference does an hour make? In 2007 the hour that Sydney went in the dark if sustained for a year would equal taking 48,616 cars off the road for a year. That’s almost impressive. One night may not in the long run make a bit of difference but changing thought patterns about our planet’s resources and greenhouse gases will make a difference.

To make the hour truly meaningful people have to make real changes in their lives. It takes some getting used to but little steps can easily be made to help take care of our globe. It’s our home after all and just like our houses it needs tending to.

Little things that make a difference also help your pocketbook. Turn off your appliances that you’re not using. Unplug those cell phone chargers when not in use, microwaves don’t have to be plugged in when standing by idle.

If you’re not watching or listening to something turn it off.

A 5 minute shower gets you as clean as a 10 minute shower. That’s something the teens of the world may not understand though.

Say no to plastic bags. Say no to excessive packaging. Carry your own bag with you for shopping. Walk more than you drive. Travel by public transit. Tell your kids no when they want you to drive them a block to a friend’s house, let them run on over.

We wouldn’t let our houses fill up with trash so why do we allow the Earth to have to do the same?

So are you going to be in the dark?

Notre Dame To Honour Martin Sheen

Martin Sheen was honored by the University of Notre Dame with its Laetare Medal for humanitarian work. The medal will be handed to the actor on May 18 during the school’s commencement. Sheen’s character on the show West Wing was a Notre Dame graduate.

The Laetare Medal has been awarded annually since 1883 to a Catholic “whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the ideals of the church and enriched the heritage of humanity.”

Others who have been honoured by the University include President John Kennedy, Us House Speaker Tip O’Neill Jr. and Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr.

Sheen has used his status as an actor to promote peace. He has been arrested for taking part in nonviolent demonstrations against US military policies in the past. He donated money and his time to various causes including homelessness, human rights for migrant workers and environmental protection.

“He has used that celebrity to draw the attention of his fellow citizens to issues that cry out for redress, such as the plight of immigrant workers and homeless people, the waging of unjust war, the killing of the unborn and capital punishment,”President of Notre Dame Rev. John I. Jenkins said.

Model And Activist Katoucha Dead At 47

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Beautiful, graceful and outspoken Katoucha Niane ruled the Parisian catwalk. Her life ended early February 2008 drowning in the river Seine. The native of Guinea was the first black African to become a global catwalk star in the 1980s.

The daughter of author, playwright and historian Djibril Tamsir Niane, Katoucha lived in exile during her childhood after her father came in conflict with Guinean President Sekou Toure. She lived with an uncle in Mali until the age of 12 when she reunited with her family in Dakar. She married her husband at the age of seventeen. After the birth of her first child the family emigrated to France.

In the 1980s Katoucha began her career as a super model working for Thierry Mugler, then Paco Rabanne and Christian Lacroix. She was a “muse” for Yves Saint Laurent. Her latest endeavor was working as the host of the French version of Top Model.

Katoucha was more than a mere model. In 1994 she became a outspoken activist against female circumcision. The cruel rite had been performed on her as a young girl of nine. She started KPLCE, an organisation that battles against the act.

‘One day, mother said we were going to the cinema. And I found myself the victim of a horror movie. ‘An unimaginable trauma that I had never managed to talk about, until I found love and wrote In My flesh,’ she said.

She said she saw her success as a form of revenge for the excision.

‘I embodied the most arrogant and admired kind of femininity, I who was supposed to be diminished.’

Returning home from a party January 31, 2008 it is thought that she slipped into the river Seine where she lived on a houseboat. The police issued a missing person’s report on the 4th of that month. On February 28, 2008 her body was found in the river. The death of 48 year old Katoucha has been ruled an accidental drowning.

She leaves behind three children.

Kenneth Roth Denied Visa To Russia

Russian has denied a visa for the head of the US based Human Rights Watch. Kenneth Roth was refused the visa that he applied for to attend the launch of a report being released from his group.

“It is the first time that a Human Rights Watch official has not been given a visa since the fall of the Soviet Union,” Kenneth Roth told a press conference in Moscow, speaking by telephone from New York.

This refusal highlights the Russian government’s “pattern of harassment” when it comes from non-governmental groups. The study that was completed prior to the refusal had stated that Russian has been blocking independent activism with a series of new regulations.

the study is titled “Cut Red Tape That Stifles NGOs”. It focuses on the lack of freedom of expression within the nation of Russia. According to the study conducted with testimonies from six Russian cities the law is paralysing many organisations.

The report says that the southern region of Chechnya has been one of the areas that has had a major interference with free speech, human rights and opposition politics.

Amnesty Calls For Halt Of Stonings In Iran

In Iran the price for the crime of adultery is being stoned to death as in olden days. A woman caught in the act of adultery is buried up to her breasts and then stoned until she dies of her injuries.

Amnesty International is calling for the nation of Iran to halt this cruel form of capital punishment. The agency is against any form of capital punishment but calls this particular form “grotesque and horrific”.

“Amnesty International is calling on the Iranian government to abolish immediately and totally execution by stoning and to impose a moratorium on the death penalty,” the rights group said in a 30-page report on the practice.

“Iranian law prescribes that the stones are deliberately chosen to be large enough to cause pain, but not so large as to kill the victim immediately … It is a particularly grotesque and horrific practice.”

Iran enforces more capital punishment than most countries. In 2006 117 people were executed alone. Most of those were killed by hanging. The first seven months of 2007 were just as deadly with 124 people put to death.

Amnesty is also asking for the Islamic nation to decriminalize adultery. Most other countries do not consider the act illegal regardless of how it is viewed morally.

Breast Cancer Site Asks For Women To Show Your Tits

Canadian women are being asked to show their breasts online with a new breast cancer campaign. Hundreds of women have already uploaded pictures of their chests including at least 20 breast cancer survivors who have had mastectomies.

“This is a creative, different, bold, a bit in-your-face way of getting young women’s attention,” M.J. DeCouteau, executive director at Rethink Breast Cancer told Reuters.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a lot of women doing it.”

Rethink is a breast cancer charity for young people. The campaign’s purpose is to make young women more aware and to take the fear of cancer away. Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women aged 15 to 40. One fourth of all breast cancers occur prior to age 50.

When breast cancer is caught early there is a 82% five year survival rate.

The campaign is asking women to examine their breasts and then post a picture either clothed, in a bra or topless to boobywall.ca.

The wall is secure, anonymous and confidential according to Decouteau.

“We really believed the benefit of getting information out to young women outweighed any men who were checking it out for their own reasons,” DeCouteau said.

Women of all ages are asked to participate in the project. Have you uploaded your tits yet?

op-ed: Lakota Nation Withdraws From United States

On December 19, 2007 the Lakota Sioux people declared sovereign nation status in Washington D.C. after the withdrawal from all signed treaties with the United States government.

“Today is a historic day and our forefathers speak through us. Our Forefathers made the treaties in good faith with the sacred Canupa and with the knowledge of the Great Spirit,” shared Garry Rowland from Wounded Knee. “They never honored the treaties, that’s the reason we are here today.”

The withdrawal of all treaties was hand delivered to Daniel Turner, Deputy Director of Public Liaison of the State Department. The full document is here.

A four member Lakota delegation, activist and actor Russell Means, Women of All Red Nations (WARN) founder Phyllis Young, Oglala Lakota Strong Heart Society leader Duane Martin Sr., and Garry Rowland, Leader Chief Big Foot Riders traveled to Washington D.C. to claim their people’s destiny.

“In order to stop the continuous taking of our resources – people, land, water and children- we have no choice but to claim our own destiny,” said Phyllis Young, a former Indigenous representative to the United Nations and representative from Standing Rock.
Property ownership in the five state area of Lakota now takes center stage. Parts of North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana have been illegally homesteaded for years despite knowledge of Lakota as predecessor sovereign [historic owner]. Lakota representatives say if the United States does not enter into immediate diplomatic negotiations, liens will be filed on real estate transactions in the five state region, clouding title over literally thousands of square miles of land and property.

Young added, “The actions of Lakota are not intended to embarrass the United States but to simply save the lives of our people”.

After the withdrawal from the State Department the Lakota representatives began the process of meeting with foreign embassy officials to hasten their official return to the Family of Nations. Bolivia and Venezuela both have had positive reactions.

The Lakota people live in the most impoverished area of North America. There has been a legacy of broken treaty promises and apartheid policies between the tribe and the United States. Lakota has the highest death rate in the United States and its male population has the lowest life expectancy of any nation on this globe at the young age of 44. Teen suicide rates are 150% higher than the United States average. 3% of the Lakota nation live above the national poverty line and only 15% are gainfully employed.

“After 150 years of colonial enforcement, when you back people into a corner there is only one alternative,” emphasized Duane Martin Sr. “The only alternative is to bring freedom into its existence by taking it back to the love of freedom, to our lifeway.”

Now the Lakota people are taking stock of their priorities; education, energy and justice. By using solar, wind, geothermal and sugar beets to provide electricity and heat they hope to become energy independent. There are plans to mesh cultural immersion education to protect their language, culture and sovereignty.

One very telling difference is the address of a story, Wounded Knee, Lakotah (formerly South Dakota) that change is in the air. 44 riders began a ride under the weight of United States treaties at Standing Rock on December 15 287 miles from Wounded Knee. They completed the ride 13 days later a new sovereign nation.

“The purpose is to ride the spirit trail of Chief Big Foot,” said Tegihya Kte also known as Garry Rowland, leader of the riders and recent delegate of the Lakotah Freedom effort in Washington D.C.. “The Tree of Life died in Wounded Knee in 1890, and the ride was begun to mend the Sacred Hoop.”

Is it to late though for the Lakota people? Have the decades that they have been opposed be undone? Will they be able to stand on their own two feet without aid? Are their tribal leaders to immersed in corruption to lift all of their people up? Will the mighty reign over those that have lost hope for the future?

Only time will tell.

Tribal Shame: Murder At Pine Ridge Reservation

It is not a secret that the tribal government at Pine Ridge reservation is corrupt. The case of Anna Mae Aquash, a Mi’kmaq from Nova Scotia is just one story about corruption. 33 years ago she was murdered. The man accused will be facing a jury this year.

A long time ago my father told me what his father had told him, that there was once a Lakota holy man, called “Drinks Water”, who dreamed what was to be… He dreamed that the four-leggeds were going back to the Earth, and that a strange race would weave a web all around the Lakotas. He said, “You shall live in square gray houses, in a barren land…” Sometimes dreams are wiser than waking. Black Elk (1932)

At Pine Ridge Reservation speaking out against the corruption in the tribal counsel can be a way to end your life early. Anna Mae Aquash was one who died while trying to improve conditions at the poorest place in the United States. Aquast was an activist working with the American Indian Movement (AIM). Arlo Looking Cloud and John Boy Graham were part of the group that silenced her in November 1975. According to those that live in and near the reservation the corruption of that time period remains today. Looking Cloud was a free man until 2003 when he was finally charged with her murder and put behind bars. But Looking Cloud was not the one who pulled the trigger that took Anna Mae’s life. The finger allegedly belonged to Graham. The U.S. charged him in 2003 also but “John Boy” had fled to Canada where he was a citizen. He has fought for against being extradited since. As of September 25, 2007 had yet again appealed for the order for extradition to the Canadian Supreme Court. Graham was finally returned to South Dakota on December 7, 2007. The now 52 year old plead not guilty to the charges of murder. After 33 years he will face a court room for the charges.

“I’m Indian all the way and always will be. I’m not going to stop fighting until I die, and I hope I’m a good example of a human being and of my tribe.”-Anna Mae Aquash

The case of Anna Mae is chilling. She was accused of being an informant to the FBI in 1975. She was brutally beaten, raped and shoot execution style by the organization she herself belonged to. AIM was filled with members who were corrupt and those who were not.

Anna Mae was from Canada. Nova Scotia to be exact. She was involved in the Teaching and Research in Bicultural Education School Project in Maine. The program is designed to teach young natives their heritage. She was at Pine Ridge with her husband Nogeeshik Aquash during the 71 day armed re-occupation of Wounded Knee happened in 1973. The couple was married by Wallace Black Elk during that period. She also marched in Washington during the 1972 Trail of Broken Treaties marich. In short the woman was a born activist. By the spring of 1975 her role in AIM was increasing. She was close to leaders Leonard Peltier and Dennis Banks. She worked for the Elders and Lakota people of Pine Ridge until her death.

She was found by the side of the road on February 24,1976. She had been there near Wanblee, South Dakota for about ten days. When the first medical practitioner, W.O. Brown examined her body he missed the bullet wound in her skull and listed her death as a result of exposure.

Because she was a Jane Doe her hands were cut off and sent to the Washington, D.C. bureau of the FBI for fingerprinting. There were agents present who knew who she was but they said nothing. She was buried as a Jane Doe. On March 10, 1976 her body was exhumed and a second autopsy conducted. This time the bullet wound showed that the young mother had been killed execution style.

There have been many theories behind the murder of Anna Mae but the one that stands out the most is the thought she was an FBI informant. To this day there has been no evidence that she worked for the FBI. Indeed at times she angered the FBI that were about the reservation after Wounded Knee. She spoke like a militant at times. In 1975 she is quoted as saying:

“These white people think this country belongs to them. They don’t realize that they are only in charge right now because there’s more of them than there are of us. The whole country changed with only a handful of raggedy-ass pilgrims that came over here in the 1500s. And it can take a handful of raggedy-ass Indians to do the same, and I intend to be one of those raggedy-ass Indians.”

The last 36 hours of Anna Mae’s life were filled with the modern ways of many not the tradition ones. She endured violence against women, mental, physical and sexual abuse that many indigenous now face. She was a proud woman. She was a First Nations woman. She was Canadian. She was murdered. For 33 years one who may have been the trigger man has walked free.

I have to admit when I started this article it was to be a broad topic but the story of Anna Mae knocked too loudly. As her daughter stated she was a woman, she was a mother, she was Canadian. It’s time for justice to finally visit her grave.

Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness Giving Does

It’s that time of the year. Charities are out in droves trying to get your hard earned cash. According to the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey those who pull out their wallet just may be a happier lot for it.

PETA Sex Dolls Seized

The Philippines seized inflatable sex dolls at customs Thursday. The dolls were meant to be used for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals international campaign against animal cruelty.

PETA was planning on using their sex toys in their anti-KFC Asian campaign. The group planned to have them in the red light disticts with signs that announced that “KFC Blows.”

The packages were stopped when they hit customs through a US based parcel service.

PETA contends that KFC allegedly scalds the chickens they use to death and cuts off their beaks while they are awake. This allegation has been dismissed in the past by the US firm.

op-ed:War Veteran’s Arrested In Boston For Protesting Iraq War

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Eighteen veterans were arrested in an antiwar protest on Sunday in Boston. They were protesting the exclusion of their message from the Boston’s Veterans Day parade. The vets lined up in front of a podium at City Hall Plaza holding antiwar placards.

As colour guards from Massachusetts military units and JROTC bands from across the state made their way to the Government Centre for a ceremony to honour veterans after the parade they were asked to move. The vets, some of whom were wearing gags in protest refused. The Boston Fireman’s Band played the Marine’s Hymn as several protesters were lead away in handcuffs.

“Our free speech and civil rights are being abridged here,” said Nate Goldschlag, a Vietnam-era veteran who was among those standing in front of the podium. “We are veterans, too, and we should be allowed to express our opposition to this war.”

The group, Veterans for Peace had been denied the right to walk in the parade if they were holding signs opposing the war in Iraq. They had been allowed to march but only if they were silent about their stand on the war.

We were exercising our First Amendment rights,” said Winston Warfield of Dorchester, a member of the group. “The First Amendment protects free speech, even when you don’t agree with what’s being said.”

These protesters were all vets. They have fought and risked their lives for the United States and yet they are told to be silent about their views. That’s not American.

Has the United States lost the war on freedom of speech? When peaceful demonstrators are arrested for being against the war how close is the country to martial law? Although that statement is a stretch but at what point will the population say enough. We want our civil liberties back. We want to be able to protest a war without fear of arrest.

The Slaughter Of The Dolphins

Japanese fishermen slaughter dolphins. Dolphin meat is toxic so why? Why are countless dolphins trapped in nets for slaughter? Pilot whales are also in the carnage. The mercury levels in these two animals making the meat extremely toxic.

This massacre of the dolphins is by no means a new thing. It’s been part of the culture for centuries but prior to the world of the Internet it wasn’t well known. Animal activists have recently given a spotlight on the practice. The activists have used celebrities to help get the word out on the barbaric nature of this type of fishing. The activists have taken measures in their own hands at times destroying the property of the fishermen. It’s been the cause of arrests and bad feelings between the two groups.

“One fisherman told me if the whalers could kill me, they would,” says the best-known protester, Ric O’Barry, who once trained dolphins for the 1960’s TV series ‘Flipper.’ “But I always try to stay on the right side of the law. If I get arrested, I’m out of this fight.”

Dolphin meat has often been used in school lunches. The meat is fairly cheap selling at about $16 US for a kilo. Schoolchildren know the difference between whale and dolphins, it’s not hard dolphin meat smells of the toxins within.

One fisherman compared the “fishing process” to that of the United States slaughterhouses. He wasn’t that far off and he was right in saying that it’s out in the open. Visible. When people see something horrific it stays with them. Slaughterhouses are behind walls.

“If you walked into an American slaughterhouse for cows it wouldn’t look very pretty either,” says one, who identifies himself only as Kawasaki. “The killing is done in the open here so it looks worse than it is.” Most are descended from families that have been killing and eating the contents of the sea around Taiji for generations and reject arguments that dolphins are ‘special.’ Says Kawasaki: “They’re food, like dogs for the Chinese and Koreans.”

In August Assemblymen Junichiro Yamashita, 59, and Hisato Ryono, 51, from the nearby whaling city of Taiji announced the high mercury and methylmercury levels that had been found in samples of the meat of pilot whales that had been butchered. The pilot whale is actually the largest of the dolphin family. Every year 2,300 dolphins are slaughtered in Taiji. The local fishermen herd the dolphins into small coves where they spear the animals and hack them to death. In Japan it is estimated that 20,000 dolphins are slaughtered a year.

Yamashita explained, “We’re not against traditional whaling, but we heard claims that pilot whales are poisoned with mercury, and we discovered that some of this meat from a (drive fishery) was fed to kids in school lunches.”

“We tested some samples — purchased at the Gyokyo supermarket in Taiji and Super Center Okuwa in the nearby city of Shingu,” Yamashita said, adding they were “shocked” by the results.

If the meat wasn’t toxic though would the outrage still be there? Of course it would. But…and by no means am I saying that this practice is right, it is tradition. We in the West do not agree with the slaughter of animals and it happens even here in North America. The clubbing of baby seals is just one instance that comes to mind.

The fact of the matter though in this case is the meat that comes from these slaughters is no longer safe for human consumption. It may have been in the past before pollutants filled the waterways. Now it is not only unseemly to slaughter the animals but by doing so puts a nation’s young at risk when their families prepare it for them to eat. For that reason alone it should be outlawed.

If the people in Japan were more educated by their government on the danger of eating mercury filled meat they would no doubt be up in arms about this practice. The animal activist are right to be outraged at the barbarity of the “fishing” but the key at least to me is the safety issues. Those issues being more in the news have a better chance at stopping the slaughter of the dolphins.

http://www.glumbert.com/media/dolphin