These thoughts are my own. But thoughts are fleeting. Ideas, even our ideas of self, are transient. I refuse to be defined now or in the future by these things I say. I reserve the right to postulate & contemplate freely, to explore my world and my mind for the "man behind the curtain," and, always, to transition as I see fit.
DJ Shadow: Always B. A.
DJ Shadow - I’m Excited (feat. Afrikan Boy)
The official video for “I’m Excited” by DJ Shadow, Featuring Afrikan Boy, from the album from DJ Shadow “The Less You Know The Better” - Available Sept 26th, 2011
(Source: marcutioisdead, via )
All around the world, governments have justified the ‘war on drugs’ in the name of children. While children and young people are all too visible in prevention campaigns and political rallies, the stories about how the drug war has failed or harmed them as well as their families, have been almost invisible.
If drug policies are to be justified with reference to children and young people, then drug policies must be interrogated with reference to them. It is a question that demands more than discussions of kilos of drugs seized, numbers of people imprisoned, and the numbers of people using drugs.
Turkey opens its eyes to domestic violence
Being a woman in Turkey means living with several contradictions. On the one hand, Turkish women were granted the right to vote as early as 1934, ahead of numerous European nations, and they have been far better off than their sisters throughout the Muslim world. Western visitors to Turkey today frequently express their surprise at seeing women highly active and vocal in all cultural, economic and social spheres. Yet on the other hand, there is a darker side to the story that only now is being openly discussed, openly contested: domestic violence. In recent months, both print and visual media in Turkey have been running story after story about domestic violence: ex-husbands who shoot their ex-wives in front of their children, abusive husbands who come back to kill, boyfriends or fiancés who cannot forgive being dumped and seek revenge.
As disheartening as the situation is, there is also a growing reaction and a grassroots movement to stop it. Nowadays it is widely acknowledged that violence against women is not only confined to a few uneducated families in remote undeveloped regions. More importantly, until today, it was mainly assumed that such cases were a “family affair”. If a husband was beating his wife, this was their problem. Now this assumption is fully debunked. More and more public figures are coming out to say that domestic violence is everyone’s business and we should, as a society, interfere. (via guardian.co.uk)
Geert Cappelaere, a UNICEF representative in Yemen said “Yemen could become the next Somalia as child malnutrition is as big as it is in the Horn of Africa.” And if Africa has indeed now become the media’s poster cry for help, it is important to realize that in Yemen too, a grave humanitarian crisis is unfolding. Thousands upon thousands of children are potentially facing death if nothing is done soon.
…
“My two-year-old son, Zaid, has been losing weight by the day since he went down with diarrhea two weeks ago. He also suffers from dehydration, vomiting and loss of appetite. The only thing he asks me to give him is water, as his throat is often dry,” said Amatalim Saleh, who lost her three-year-old baby girl, last month.
Jose Hulsenbek, MSF Head of Mission in South Sudan.
MSF has treated over 100 people in the South Sudanese town of Pieri following a raid there and in twelve surrounding villages in Jonglei State last week. Many of the injured were women and children suffering from gunshot wounds.
At least one MSF South Sudanese staff member is confirmed to have been killed, along with all the members of her household. Another staff member reported that he buried 16 members of his family. Seventeen MSF South Sudanese staff members remain unaccounted for.
The MSF compound and clinic were also targeted by raiders, who looted medical equipment, drugs, and other valuable items, and burned down parts of the MSF facilities.
MSF Condemns Large Scale Attacks on Civilians in South Sudan
(via doctorswithoutborders)
I particularly liked The Rescue Plan and The Fence, though I’m not sure “liked” is the right word for it.
I just discovered Clay Bennett and his comic strips.
Absolutely worth a look for sense and style.NOTE: If you click on the pics the template will show the gallery with a VERY LOW RESOLUTION (it SUCKS!) - If you want to enjoy the real quality of the pics just “right click” and “open in a new tab/window” et voila’ ! ;)
To see an entire gallery of Clay Bennett cartoons while he worked here at the Monitor, view his gallery. You can even purchase one as a mousepad.
(via utnereader)
Meet Camila Vallejo, president of the Federation of Chilean Students (FECH) and leader of the protests for education reform in Chile. On Thursday, the march she led gathered more than 100,000 people who came in support of students’ rally for free university education. Yesterday, “Families for education”, an informal get together for families with young children, gathered more than 1 million participants. She was the main speaker and organizer.
I am surprised English speaking media is not all over her case already. She has encountered bitter misogyny from government ministers that refer to her as “the bitch”, she has successfully created a political movement that is demanding concrete action and she is extremely media savvy and articulate. Charismatic, young, smart and beautiful, those are not qualities found in many political figures these days.
Fahad Faruqui:
My recollection of the funeral procession that night is vivid. I remember how time seized for me in the midst of that graveyard. I recall the haunting feeling of suffocation and discomfort that kept me awake that night.
Back in the hotel, as I rested my head on the plush pillow, in an arctic air-conditioned room, I thought of the rock-hard walls encircling that meager grave.
We need not reflect on death at all times to keep us on track. Paying attention to life — to the wondrous creations of the universe around us — can always draw us near to God and prompt us to be grateful. But also reflect on death, since it turns you away from the superficiality of the world and curbs your ego.
One of the most common misconceptions is the assumption that if someone is hungry, that means they do not have a job and are living on the streets. What most people don’t understand is that anyone can experience hunger. It is a silent epidemic that affects more than 49 million Americans.
According to the US Census Bureau, in 2008, 19 million people lived in working-poor families. This translates into nearly 9 percent of all American families living below 100 percent of poverty have at least one family member working. i In fact, 36 percent of client households served by the Feeding America network have one or more adults working. ii
"(Source: http)
I don’t think the wealthy consciously believe they’ve done anything wrong, or that the system that helped them gain their wealth is the same system that makes it hard for so many of the rest of us to survive.
But I do think that somewhere inside, a piece of them knows that they prosper at the expense of the tens of millions families and single parents who work long hours for little pay and struggle to put food on the table and stay ahead of their basic bills.
