ASKING AND RECEIVING.
Lately, it seems like as soon as I ask for something, it mystically appears. It's mystical, but not a "mystery", because I know this moment, like many others, are what I call "God moments". Moments where in one second, the very thing I wished for, appears.
For example, I knew Fr. John Dear was coming to feature here in Atlanta at The Carter Center, and I could not go because I had to go see my family before returning to Atlanta to prepare for my trip to, and surgery in, Cleveland Ohio.The ache and throbbing in my left side continued to worsen, but I meditated on the concept of "A Persistent Peace", Fr. John Dear's latest book, a memoir of his life as Peacemaker. I began to feel the persistent pain, lessen. I told no one about these moments, and have never revealed them, until now...
I prayed deeply for there to be some way for me to have a contact of some kind with Fr. John Dear--and viola'-- only a few hours after I asked, with much humility, I received an e-mail(and I can now feel tears forming in my eyes.let me take a breath)from a Michelle Halm, and I nearly deleted her e-mail(because I did not recognize the url), but the subject mentioned Fr. Dear, so I clicked it on.....
It seems she'd run across my blog, "Practice What You Peace", and she WORKS FOR THE COMPANY WHICH PUBLISHED HIS BOOK--AND SHE WORKS ALONGSIDE HIM, and she noticed I'd said I was unable to attend his book-signing appearance at The Carter Center, and she wondered, "Could I send you a copy--an autographed copy to you?" My goodness. Goodness. Goodness. Goodness.
Of course I said yes. And I sent her several Thank You's....
I'll be receiving the autographed book, "A Persistent Peace" sometime after my surgery, around Christmas-time.
Thank you, Fr. John Dear, for your lifetime of hard work for Peace, and Ms. Michelle Halm, for your assistance in that endeavor, and for your extreme kindness.
And God, for listening....
Peace, kids.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Fr. John Dear Coming To Atlanta!!
THE CARTER CENTER.
Fr. John Dear, one of the strongest, if not THE strongest proponets of PEACE we have, and a Jesuit priest, will be Featuring at The Carter Center, this Wednesday night, kids.
I'll be unable to go(sigh), but please, if you are able, attend this event!
He'll be speaking, and reading from, and signing--his newest book, "A Persistent Peace". Fr. John Dear has written/edited 25 books, and been nominated(By Archbishop Desmond Tutu) for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Visit his website, at:
www.fatherjohndear.org
Peace, kids!
Fr. John Dear, one of the strongest, if not THE strongest proponets of PEACE we have, and a Jesuit priest, will be Featuring at The Carter Center, this Wednesday night, kids.
I'll be unable to go(sigh), but please, if you are able, attend this event!
He'll be speaking, and reading from, and signing--his newest book, "A Persistent Peace". Fr. John Dear has written/edited 25 books, and been nominated(By Archbishop Desmond Tutu) for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Visit his website, at:
www.fatherjohndear.org
Peace, kids!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
GRATEFUL FOR THESE DAYS!
PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA!!!!!
I have been remiss in posting for nearly a month here. I think we're on a clear, joyous path to peace--or at least--more peace than we've had lately, and I will endeavor to post more regularly here, both on the days when peace looks likely, and as I have in the past, when it seems difficult.
For now, let us pray and thank God for the gift of a truly compassionate, kind leader, and one who is committed to working WITH, not against our friends and allies, and working TOWARDS a future with our "enemies". President-Elect(How I love saying that!!)Barack Obama is going to help us turn this around, so we can look to the future, and go forward into this world. We truly have much for which to be grateful!
Peace, kids.
I have been remiss in posting for nearly a month here. I think we're on a clear, joyous path to peace--or at least--more peace than we've had lately, and I will endeavor to post more regularly here, both on the days when peace looks likely, and as I have in the past, when it seems difficult.
For now, let us pray and thank God for the gift of a truly compassionate, kind leader, and one who is committed to working WITH, not against our friends and allies, and working TOWARDS a future with our "enemies". President-Elect(How I love saying that!!)Barack Obama is going to help us turn this around, so we can look to the future, and go forward into this world. We truly have much for which to be grateful!
Peace, kids.
Friday, October 10, 2008
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE GOES TO.....
_____________________________
__________________
Finland's Martti Ahtisaari wins Nobel Peace Prize
By DOUG MELLGREN and MATTI HUUHTANEN, Associated Press Writers
Finland's ex-president Martti Ahtisaari won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to build a lasting peace from Africa and Asia to Europe and the Middle East.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it honored Ahtisaari for important efforts over more than three decades to resolve international conflicts.
"These efforts have contributed to a more peaceful world and to 'fraternity between nations' in Alfred Nobel's spirit," the committee said in announcing the prize.
By selecting Ahtisaari, 71, for the prize, the Nobel committee returned its focus to traditional peace work after tapping climate campaigner Al Gore and the U.N. panel on climate change last year.
"He is a world champion when it comes to peace and he never gives up," said Ole Danbolt Mjoes, the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel awards committee.
The award, he said, was in line with recent Nobels to other peace mediators, notably Jimmy Carter in 2002 and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2001.
Ahtisaari told AP Television News that while winning the prize would help his future mediation work, he is looking to other challenges, too, particularly youth unemployment worldwide.
But he also conceded that the decades of work have taken a toll.
"I have to start realizing that I am 71" and maybe it's time to stop "traveling 200 days a year outside Finland."
The secretive five-member committee said Ahtisaari's work across the world — Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East — proved that such efforts can have a profound effect on peace processes.
"Through his untiring efforts and good results, he has shown what role mediation of various kinds can play in the resolution of international conflicts," the committee said in announcing the 10 million kronor (US$1.4 million) prize.
"For the past 20 years, he has figured prominently in endeavors to resolve several serious and long-lasting conflicts," the citation said, mentioning his work in conflicts from Namibia to Aceh, Indonesia, Kosovo and Iraq.
Ahtisaari had been mentioned in speculation as a possible Nobel Peace Prize candidate since 2005, just after he negotiated an end to a conflict in Indonesia that began more than 140 years ago, bringing together the Indonesian government and the leaders of the separatist guerrilla movement in Aceh. He initiated and mediated peace talks in Finland, and a peace agreement was signed in Helsinki.
"He has also made constructive contributions to the resolution of conflicts in Northern Ireland, in Central Asia, and on the Horn of Africa," the citation said.
Speaking to NRK Norwegian TV, Ahtisaari said he "was very pleased and grateful" to receive the prize.
Asked what work he considered the most important, Ahtisaari, the first Finn to win the prize, said that "of course Namibia is absolutely the most important because it took such a long time." He also singled out his work in Kosovo and Aceh.
Ahtisaari was a senior Finnish diplomat when in 1977 he was named the U.N. envoy for Namibia, where guerrillas were battling South African apartheid rule. He later rose to undersecretary-general, and in 1988 was dispatched to Namibia to lead 8,000 U.N. peacekeepers during its transition to independence.
Ahtisaari said he hoped the prize would make it easier to attract financing for his peace work.
"There are always many possibilities. I really hope now that I receive the prize that it makes it easier to finance the organizations that I chair," he said. "It's very important to be able to act properly, you need financing and you never have enough."
Ahtisaari has had a broad career in politics and peacemaking.
A primary school teacher who joined Finland's Foreign Ministry in 1965, he spent 20 years abroad, first as ambassador to Tanzania and then to the United Nations in New York.
In 1994, Ahtisaari accepted the presidential candidacy of Finland's Social Democratic Party and won the election. He did not seek re-election in 2000 and has since worked on international peace efforts.
In 2007, Ahtisaari's office — Crisis Management Initiative — started secret meetings in Finland between Iraqi Sunni and Shiite groups to agree on a road map to peace. Those talks, based on the format of peacemaking efforts in South Africa and Northern Ireland, included 16 delegates from the feuding groups. They "agreed to consult further" and begin reconciliation talks.
"He managed to get 36 senior Iraqis to Helsinki in April 2008, and is now working on a next meeting in Baghdad," Mjoes said of the efforts.
Damien Kingsbury, an Australian academic who was part of the Acehnese delegation during the Indonesia peace talks said Ahtisaari started off "from a very naive position. He was, by definition, pro-Indonesia, supporting the integrity of the state and dismissing Aceh's insistence on independence."
The Acehnese vehemently criticized Ahtisaari's position. But Kingsbury, in a telephone interview from Australia, said he "helped broker an agreement between the two parties that has proven to be sustainable."
Ahtisaari was chairman of the Bosnia-Herzegovina working group in the international peace conference on former Yugoslavia from 1992 to 1993, and was special adviser to the U.N. secretary-general on former Yugoslavia in 1993.
Serbia bitterly rejected his attempts to forge a compromise settlement on Kosovo, which declared independence in February, but his blueprint forms the essence of Kosovo's constitution.
Vojislav Kostunica — who led Serbia's government as prime minister during the Kosovo talks — saw the award as political and a sign of further pressure on Serbia to give up Kosovo.
"Serbia must fight for Kosovo even more firmly and strongly," he said.
Ahtisaari's plan also laid down the guidelines for the deployment of a European Union police force in Kosovo and other key aspects of the way today's Kosovo is run day to day.
Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci hailed the Nobel selection as "the right decision for the right man."
"We proclaimed independence of Kosovo in accordance with the document of President Ahtisaari and Kosovo appreciates very much" that he won, Thaci told the AP.
The peace prize is presented in Oslo. Nobel prizes for medicine, chemistry, physics and economics are handed out in Stockholm, Sweden. The ceremonies are always on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death in 1896.
___
Associated Press writer Matti Huuhtanen reported from Helsinki, Finland. Associated Press reporters Slobodan Lekic in Brussels, William J. Kole in Vienna and Louise Nordstrom in Stockholm also contributed to this report.
___
On the Net:
http://www.nobelpeaceprize.org
http://www.prio.no
___________________________________________________
________________________
My own connection with Peace continues to be Pax Christi.
Read more about Pax Christi, at:
www.paxchristiusa.org
www.paxchristiinternational.org
Peace, kids.
_____________________________
__________________
Finland's Martti Ahtisaari wins Nobel Peace Prize
By DOUG MELLGREN and MATTI HUUHTANEN, Associated Press Writers
Finland's ex-president Martti Ahtisaari won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his efforts to build a lasting peace from Africa and Asia to Europe and the Middle East.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it honored Ahtisaari for important efforts over more than three decades to resolve international conflicts.
"These efforts have contributed to a more peaceful world and to 'fraternity between nations' in Alfred Nobel's spirit," the committee said in announcing the prize.
By selecting Ahtisaari, 71, for the prize, the Nobel committee returned its focus to traditional peace work after tapping climate campaigner Al Gore and the U.N. panel on climate change last year.
"He is a world champion when it comes to peace and he never gives up," said Ole Danbolt Mjoes, the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel awards committee.
The award, he said, was in line with recent Nobels to other peace mediators, notably Jimmy Carter in 2002 and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2001.
Ahtisaari told AP Television News that while winning the prize would help his future mediation work, he is looking to other challenges, too, particularly youth unemployment worldwide.
But he also conceded that the decades of work have taken a toll.
"I have to start realizing that I am 71" and maybe it's time to stop "traveling 200 days a year outside Finland."
The secretive five-member committee said Ahtisaari's work across the world — Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East — proved that such efforts can have a profound effect on peace processes.
"Through his untiring efforts and good results, he has shown what role mediation of various kinds can play in the resolution of international conflicts," the committee said in announcing the 10 million kronor (US$1.4 million) prize.
"For the past 20 years, he has figured prominently in endeavors to resolve several serious and long-lasting conflicts," the citation said, mentioning his work in conflicts from Namibia to Aceh, Indonesia, Kosovo and Iraq.
Ahtisaari had been mentioned in speculation as a possible Nobel Peace Prize candidate since 2005, just after he negotiated an end to a conflict in Indonesia that began more than 140 years ago, bringing together the Indonesian government and the leaders of the separatist guerrilla movement in Aceh. He initiated and mediated peace talks in Finland, and a peace agreement was signed in Helsinki.
"He has also made constructive contributions to the resolution of conflicts in Northern Ireland, in Central Asia, and on the Horn of Africa," the citation said.
Speaking to NRK Norwegian TV, Ahtisaari said he "was very pleased and grateful" to receive the prize.
Asked what work he considered the most important, Ahtisaari, the first Finn to win the prize, said that "of course Namibia is absolutely the most important because it took such a long time." He also singled out his work in Kosovo and Aceh.
Ahtisaari was a senior Finnish diplomat when in 1977 he was named the U.N. envoy for Namibia, where guerrillas were battling South African apartheid rule. He later rose to undersecretary-general, and in 1988 was dispatched to Namibia to lead 8,000 U.N. peacekeepers during its transition to independence.
Ahtisaari said he hoped the prize would make it easier to attract financing for his peace work.
"There are always many possibilities. I really hope now that I receive the prize that it makes it easier to finance the organizations that I chair," he said. "It's very important to be able to act properly, you need financing and you never have enough."
Ahtisaari has had a broad career in politics and peacemaking.
A primary school teacher who joined Finland's Foreign Ministry in 1965, he spent 20 years abroad, first as ambassador to Tanzania and then to the United Nations in New York.
In 1994, Ahtisaari accepted the presidential candidacy of Finland's Social Democratic Party and won the election. He did not seek re-election in 2000 and has since worked on international peace efforts.
In 2007, Ahtisaari's office — Crisis Management Initiative — started secret meetings in Finland between Iraqi Sunni and Shiite groups to agree on a road map to peace. Those talks, based on the format of peacemaking efforts in South Africa and Northern Ireland, included 16 delegates from the feuding groups. They "agreed to consult further" and begin reconciliation talks.
"He managed to get 36 senior Iraqis to Helsinki in April 2008, and is now working on a next meeting in Baghdad," Mjoes said of the efforts.
Damien Kingsbury, an Australian academic who was part of the Acehnese delegation during the Indonesia peace talks said Ahtisaari started off "from a very naive position. He was, by definition, pro-Indonesia, supporting the integrity of the state and dismissing Aceh's insistence on independence."
The Acehnese vehemently criticized Ahtisaari's position. But Kingsbury, in a telephone interview from Australia, said he "helped broker an agreement between the two parties that has proven to be sustainable."
Ahtisaari was chairman of the Bosnia-Herzegovina working group in the international peace conference on former Yugoslavia from 1992 to 1993, and was special adviser to the U.N. secretary-general on former Yugoslavia in 1993.
Serbia bitterly rejected his attempts to forge a compromise settlement on Kosovo, which declared independence in February, but his blueprint forms the essence of Kosovo's constitution.
Vojislav Kostunica — who led Serbia's government as prime minister during the Kosovo talks — saw the award as political and a sign of further pressure on Serbia to give up Kosovo.
"Serbia must fight for Kosovo even more firmly and strongly," he said.
Ahtisaari's plan also laid down the guidelines for the deployment of a European Union police force in Kosovo and other key aspects of the way today's Kosovo is run day to day.
Kosovo's Prime Minister Hashim Thaci hailed the Nobel selection as "the right decision for the right man."
"We proclaimed independence of Kosovo in accordance with the document of President Ahtisaari and Kosovo appreciates very much" that he won, Thaci told the AP.
The peace prize is presented in Oslo. Nobel prizes for medicine, chemistry, physics and economics are handed out in Stockholm, Sweden. The ceremonies are always on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death in 1896.
___
Associated Press writer Matti Huuhtanen reported from Helsinki, Finland. Associated Press reporters Slobodan Lekic in Brussels, William J. Kole in Vienna and Louise Nordstrom in Stockholm also contributed to this report.
___
On the Net:
http://www.nobelpeaceprize.org
http://www.prio.no
___________________________________________________
________________________
My own connection with Peace continues to be Pax Christi.
Read more about Pax Christi, at:
www.paxchristiusa.org
www.paxchristiinternational.org
Peace, kids.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
FROM THE BLOG ENTITLED WRITERQUAKE, AND LYDIA, THE BLOGGER WHO CREATED IT, IN THE NAME OF PEACE, KIDS, I GIVE YOU THE FOLLOWING:
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into
fragments
by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms toward
perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its
way into
the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-
widening thought and action—
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my
country
awake.
- Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) Indian poet,
playwright and essayist;
Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913
Peace, kids.
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into
fragments
by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms toward
perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its
way into
the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-
widening thought and action—
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my
country
awake.
- Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) Indian poet,
playwright and essayist;
Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913
Peace, kids.
Friday, October 3, 2008
A LETTER OF THANKS FROM CONDEMNED PRISONER, TROY DAVIS.
I was made aware of this letter by my wonderful Pax Christi group(Pax Christi, St. Jude's, here in the Atlanta area). This was first published online at:
www.bodyontheline.wordpress.com
I am posting it here, and also at:
www.lisananetteallender.blogspot.com/
because it should be seen by as many people as possible.
Thank you for reading this, and for acting on it, too.
____________________________________________
Marcy Newman October 1, 2008
a letter from troy davis
from amnesty international’s urgent action center
read the letter. click the link above. take a moment to work to save this man’s life. make some time to eradicate the barbaric death penalty.
the words below are his. the bold below is mine:
To all,
I want to thank all of you for your efforts and dedication to Human Rights and Human Kindness, in the past year I have experienced such emotion, joy, sadness and never ending faith.
It is because of all of you that I am alive today, as I look at my sister Martina I am marveled by the love she has for me and of course I worry about her and her health, but as she tells me she is the eldest and she will not back down from this fight to save my life and prove to the world that I am innocent of this terrible crime.
As I look at my mail from across the globe, from places I have never ever dreamed I would know about and people speaking languages and expressing cultures and religions I could only hope to one day see first hand. I am humbled by the emotion that fills my heart with overwhelming, overflowing Joy.
I can’t even explain the insurgence of emotion I feel when I try to express the strength I draw from you all, it compounds my faith and it shows me yet again that this is not a case about the death penalty, this is not a case about Troy Davis, this is a case about Justice and the Human Spirit to see Justice prevail.
I cannot answer all of your letters but I do read them all, I cannot see you all but I can imagine your faces, I cannot hear you speak but your letters take me to the far reaches of the world, I cannot touch you physically but I feel your warmth everyday I exist.
So Thank you and remember I am in a place where execution can only destroy your physical form but because of my faith in God, my family and all of you I have been spiritually free for some time and no matter what happens in the days, weeks to come, this Movement to end the death penalty, to seek true justice, to expose a system that fails to protect the innocent must be accelerated.
There are so many more Troy Davis’. This fight to end the death penalty is not won or lost through me but through our strength to move forward and save every innocent person in captivity around the globe. We need to dismantle this Unjust system city by city, state by state and country by country.
I can’t wait to Stand with you, no matter if that is in physical or spiritual form, I will one day be announcing, “I AM TROY DAVIS, and I AM FREE!”
Never Stop Fighting for Justice and We will Win!
– Troy Davis
I was made aware of this letter by my wonderful Pax Christi group(Pax Christi, St. Jude's, here in the Atlanta area). This was first published online at:
www.bodyontheline.wordpress.com
I am posting it here, and also at:
www.lisananetteallender.blogspot.com/
because it should be seen by as many people as possible.
Thank you for reading this, and for acting on it, too.
____________________________________________
Marcy Newman October 1, 2008
a letter from troy davis
from amnesty international’s urgent action center
read the letter. click the link above. take a moment to work to save this man’s life. make some time to eradicate the barbaric death penalty.
the words below are his. the bold below is mine:
To all,
I want to thank all of you for your efforts and dedication to Human Rights and Human Kindness, in the past year I have experienced such emotion, joy, sadness and never ending faith.
It is because of all of you that I am alive today, as I look at my sister Martina I am marveled by the love she has for me and of course I worry about her and her health, but as she tells me she is the eldest and she will not back down from this fight to save my life and prove to the world that I am innocent of this terrible crime.
As I look at my mail from across the globe, from places I have never ever dreamed I would know about and people speaking languages and expressing cultures and religions I could only hope to one day see first hand. I am humbled by the emotion that fills my heart with overwhelming, overflowing Joy.
I can’t even explain the insurgence of emotion I feel when I try to express the strength I draw from you all, it compounds my faith and it shows me yet again that this is not a case about the death penalty, this is not a case about Troy Davis, this is a case about Justice and the Human Spirit to see Justice prevail.
I cannot answer all of your letters but I do read them all, I cannot see you all but I can imagine your faces, I cannot hear you speak but your letters take me to the far reaches of the world, I cannot touch you physically but I feel your warmth everyday I exist.
So Thank you and remember I am in a place where execution can only destroy your physical form but because of my faith in God, my family and all of you I have been spiritually free for some time and no matter what happens in the days, weeks to come, this Movement to end the death penalty, to seek true justice, to expose a system that fails to protect the innocent must be accelerated.
There are so many more Troy Davis’. This fight to end the death penalty is not won or lost through me but through our strength to move forward and save every innocent person in captivity around the globe. We need to dismantle this Unjust system city by city, state by state and country by country.
I can’t wait to Stand with you, no matter if that is in physical or spiritual form, I will one day be announcing, “I AM TROY DAVIS, and I AM FREE!”
Never Stop Fighting for Justice and We will Win!
– Troy Davis
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
PEACE TO ALL HILARY SUPPORTERS. EXCEPT MAYBE ELIZABETH JOYCE.
PEACE TO ALL HILARY SUPPORTERS!
Did anyone catch Larry King Live last night? A large portion of the show was the response of several members of the GOP to Tuesday night's DNC. There was also the tirade of a really, really weird gal named Elizabeth Joyce, who is a member of Just Say No Deal, who repeatedly stated her long term support of Hilary Clinton, while railing about Barack Obama needing "to court [her]vote. I'm a good Catholic girl, I want to be courted; he hasn't done that." She said this at least five times.
When host Larry King responded that since she, the woman in question likes Hilary Clinton, that it made sense she'd support "Hilary Clinton's candidate, Barack Obama.", her voice became tremulous, and filled with emotion. Her eyes sullen, in a dead-stare. Once again, she denied any support for Senator Obama, saying he'd have to "earn" her vote.
In my opinion, this woman was less Hilary-supporter, more infatuated, bat-shit-crazy-stalker-fan.
If ever there was a person on whom Saturday Night Live could base a character, it's this woman. I daresay she's funnier than the female character currently played by Kristen Wiig who constantly one-ups everyone in the room.
But I say, PEACE TO ALL HILARY-SUPPORTERS. It's time to declare a truce, ladies. Please get behind this fellow with whom Hilary agrees, nearly 95% of the time! Because I have supported Senator Barack Obama for a long time now, I certainly understand the Clinton supporters' loyalty. I have loyalty to my candidate, too. But let's not turn loyalty into a caricature of what the political process should be. Let's raise our hands in the air-not with fists clenched, and grim determination-but with palms open, and with a deep breath, a smile on our faces.
Peace, kids.
Did anyone catch Larry King Live last night? A large portion of the show was the response of several members of the GOP to Tuesday night's DNC. There was also the tirade of a really, really weird gal named Elizabeth Joyce, who is a member of Just Say No Deal, who repeatedly stated her long term support of Hilary Clinton, while railing about Barack Obama needing "to court [her]vote. I'm a good Catholic girl, I want to be courted; he hasn't done that." She said this at least five times.
When host Larry King responded that since she, the woman in question likes Hilary Clinton, that it made sense she'd support "Hilary Clinton's candidate, Barack Obama.", her voice became tremulous, and filled with emotion. Her eyes sullen, in a dead-stare. Once again, she denied any support for Senator Obama, saying he'd have to "earn" her vote.
In my opinion, this woman was less Hilary-supporter, more infatuated, bat-shit-crazy-stalker-fan.
If ever there was a person on whom Saturday Night Live could base a character, it's this woman. I daresay she's funnier than the female character currently played by Kristen Wiig who constantly one-ups everyone in the room.
But I say, PEACE TO ALL HILARY-SUPPORTERS. It's time to declare a truce, ladies. Please get behind this fellow with whom Hilary agrees, nearly 95% of the time! Because I have supported Senator Barack Obama for a long time now, I certainly understand the Clinton supporters' loyalty. I have loyalty to my candidate, too. But let's not turn loyalty into a caricature of what the political process should be. Let's raise our hands in the air-not with fists clenched, and grim determination-but with palms open, and with a deep breath, a smile on our faces.
Peace, kids.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
FINDING PEACE
TURNING THEIR PAIN, INTO ACTS OF BEAUTY. AND FINDING PEACE.Here's a bit of news that begins in horror, and becomes uplifting:
___________________________________________________
Pakistan burn victims turn beauticians
By NAHAL TOOSI, Associated Press Writer
Saira Liaqat squints through her one good eye as she brushes a woman's hair. Her face, most of which the acid melted years ago, occasionally lights up with a smile. Her hands, largely undamaged, deftly handle the dark brown locks.
A few steps away in this popular beauty salon, Urooj Akbar diligently trims, cleans and paints clients' fingernails. Her face, severely scarred from the blaze that burned some 70 percent of her body, is somber. It's hard to tell if she's sad or if it's just the way she now looks.
Liaqat and Akbar are among Pakistan's many female victims of arson and acid attacks. Such tales tend to involve a spurned or crazy lover and end in a life of despair and seclusion for the woman.
The two instead became beauticians.
The women can't escape the mirrors or pictures of glamorous models that surround them, but they consider the salon a second home and a good way to make a living. The two also serve as reminders of that age-old lesson on beauty — a lesson that, needed or not, they learned the hard way.
"Every person wishes that he or she is beautiful," says Liaqat, 21. "But in my view, your face is not everything. Real beauty lies inside a person, not outside."
"They do it because the world demands it," Akbar, 28, says of clients. "For them, it's a necessity. For me, it isn't."
Liaqat and Akbar got into the beauty business in the eastern city of Lahore thanks to the Depilex Smileagain Foundation, an organization devoted to aiding women who have been burned in acid or other attacks.
About five years ago, Masarrat Misbah, head of Pakistan's well-known Depilex salon chain, was leaving work when a veiled woman approached and asked for her help. She was insistent, and soon, a flustered Misbah saw why.
When she removed her veil, Misbah felt faint. "I saw a girl who had no face."
The woman said her husband had thrown acid on her.
Misbah decided to place a small newspaper ad to see if others needed similar assistance.
Forty-two women and girls responded.
Misbah got in touch with Smileagain, an Italian nonprofit that has provided medical services to burn victims in other countries. She sought the help of Pakistani doctors. Perhaps the biggest challenge has been raising money for the cause, in particular to build a special hospital and refuge for burn victims in Pakistan.
Her organization has some 240 registered victims on its help list, 83 of whom are at various stages of treatment.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan found that in 2007, at least 33 women were burned in acid attacks, and 45 were set on fire. But the statistics are likely an undercount, as many cases go unreported for various reasons including out of fear of their attackers, or because the victims can't afford the legal bills.
The victims Misbah has helped need, on average, 25 to 30 surgical procedures over several years, but she soon realized that wasn't enough. Some, especially those who were outcasts in their families, had to be able to support themselves.
To her surprise, several told her they wanted to be beauticians.
"And I felt so sad," Misbah says. "Because beauty is all about faces and beautiful girls and skin."
She helped arrange for 10 women to train in a beauty course in Italy last year. Some have difficulty because their vision is weak or their hands too burned for intricate work. But several, including Liaqat and Akbar, are making their way in the field.
The salon in Lahore is not the usual beauty parlor. There are pictures of beautiful women on the walls — all made up, with perfect, gleaming hair. But then there's a giant poster of a girl with half her face destroyed.
"HELP US bring back a smile to the face of these survivors," it says.
Working for the salon is a dream come true for Liaqat, whose mischievous smile is still intact and frequently on display. As a child she was obsessed with beauty. Once she burned some of her sister's hair off with a makeshift curling iron. She still wears lipstick.
Akbar, the more reserved one, also carries out many administrative and other tasks for the foundation. One of her duties is collecting newspaper clippings about acid and burn attacks on women.
Both say they are treated well by clients and colleagues, but Misbah says some clients have complained.
"They say that when we come to a beauty salon, we come with the expectation that we're going to be relaxed, in a different frame of mind," Misbah says. "If we come here and we see someone who has gone through so much pain and misery, so automatically that gives us that low feeling also. They have a point.
"At the same time, there are clients who take pride in asking these girls to give them a blow-dry, or getting a manicure or pedicure taken from them."
Sometimes they ask what happened.
According to Liaqat and a lawyer for her case, she was married in her teens, on paper, to a relative, but the families had agreed she wouldn't live with him until she finished school. Within months, though, the man started demanding she join him.
One day at the end of July 2003, he showed up at their house with a package. He asked her to get him some water. He followed her to the kitchen, and as she turned around with the water, she says, he doused her with the acid. It seared much of her face, blinded her right eye, and seriously weakened her left one.
Liaqat shakes her head when recalling how a few days before the incident she found a small pimple on her face and threw a fit. After she was burned, her parents at first wouldn't let their daughter look at a mirror. But eventually she saw herself, and she's proud to say she didn't cry.
"Once we had a wedding in the family. I went there and all the girls were getting dressed and putting on makeup. So that time, I felt a pain in my heart," she says. "But I don't want to weaken myself with these thoughts."
Her husband is in prison as the attempted murder case against him proceeds. The two are still legally married.
Akbar says she found herself in an arranged marriage by age 22. Her husband grew increasingly possessive and abusive, she says. The two had a child.
About three years ago, Akbar says, he sprinkled kerosene oil on her as she slept and lit it. A picture taken shortly afterward shows how her face melted onto her shoulders, leaving her with no visible neck.
Akbar has not filed a case against her now ex-husband. She says she'll one day turn to the law, at least to get her daughter back.
Both women were reluctant for The Associated Press to contact their alleged attackers.
Liaqat and Akbar have undergone several surgeries and expect to face more. They say Misbah's foundation was critical to their present well-being.
"Mentally, I am at peace with myself," Akbar says. "The peace of mind I have now, I never had before. I suffered much more mental anguish in my married life."
Bushra Tareen, a regular client of Liaqat's, praises her work.
"I feel that her hands call me again and again," Tareen says. She adds that Liaqat and Akbar remind her of the injustices women face, and their ability to rise above them.
"When I see them, I want to be like them — strong girls," she says.
Liaqat is grateful for having achieved her goal of being a beautician. She worries about her eyesight but is determined to succeed.
"I want to make a name for myself in this profession," she says.
Akbar plans to use her income one day to support her little girl, whom she has barely seen since the attack.
"I'm independent now, I stand on my own two feet," she says. "I have a job, I work, I earn. In fact, I'm living on my own ... which isn't an easy thing to do for a woman in Pakistan, for a lone woman to survive."
___
Associated Press Writer Manal Ahmad contributed to this report.
___
On the Net:
http://www.depilexsmileagain.com/
http://www.smileagain.it (Italian only; English version under construction)
_________________________________________________
___
Peace, kids.
___________________________________________________
Pakistan burn victims turn beauticians
By NAHAL TOOSI, Associated Press Writer
Saira Liaqat squints through her one good eye as she brushes a woman's hair. Her face, most of which the acid melted years ago, occasionally lights up with a smile. Her hands, largely undamaged, deftly handle the dark brown locks.
A few steps away in this popular beauty salon, Urooj Akbar diligently trims, cleans and paints clients' fingernails. Her face, severely scarred from the blaze that burned some 70 percent of her body, is somber. It's hard to tell if she's sad or if it's just the way she now looks.
Liaqat and Akbar are among Pakistan's many female victims of arson and acid attacks. Such tales tend to involve a spurned or crazy lover and end in a life of despair and seclusion for the woman.
The two instead became beauticians.
The women can't escape the mirrors or pictures of glamorous models that surround them, but they consider the salon a second home and a good way to make a living. The two also serve as reminders of that age-old lesson on beauty — a lesson that, needed or not, they learned the hard way.
"Every person wishes that he or she is beautiful," says Liaqat, 21. "But in my view, your face is not everything. Real beauty lies inside a person, not outside."
"They do it because the world demands it," Akbar, 28, says of clients. "For them, it's a necessity. For me, it isn't."
Liaqat and Akbar got into the beauty business in the eastern city of Lahore thanks to the Depilex Smileagain Foundation, an organization devoted to aiding women who have been burned in acid or other attacks.
About five years ago, Masarrat Misbah, head of Pakistan's well-known Depilex salon chain, was leaving work when a veiled woman approached and asked for her help. She was insistent, and soon, a flustered Misbah saw why.
When she removed her veil, Misbah felt faint. "I saw a girl who had no face."
The woman said her husband had thrown acid on her.
Misbah decided to place a small newspaper ad to see if others needed similar assistance.
Forty-two women and girls responded.
Misbah got in touch with Smileagain, an Italian nonprofit that has provided medical services to burn victims in other countries. She sought the help of Pakistani doctors. Perhaps the biggest challenge has been raising money for the cause, in particular to build a special hospital and refuge for burn victims in Pakistan.
Her organization has some 240 registered victims on its help list, 83 of whom are at various stages of treatment.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan found that in 2007, at least 33 women were burned in acid attacks, and 45 were set on fire. But the statistics are likely an undercount, as many cases go unreported for various reasons including out of fear of their attackers, or because the victims can't afford the legal bills.
The victims Misbah has helped need, on average, 25 to 30 surgical procedures over several years, but she soon realized that wasn't enough. Some, especially those who were outcasts in their families, had to be able to support themselves.
To her surprise, several told her they wanted to be beauticians.
"And I felt so sad," Misbah says. "Because beauty is all about faces and beautiful girls and skin."
She helped arrange for 10 women to train in a beauty course in Italy last year. Some have difficulty because their vision is weak or their hands too burned for intricate work. But several, including Liaqat and Akbar, are making their way in the field.
The salon in Lahore is not the usual beauty parlor. There are pictures of beautiful women on the walls — all made up, with perfect, gleaming hair. But then there's a giant poster of a girl with half her face destroyed.
"HELP US bring back a smile to the face of these survivors," it says.
Working for the salon is a dream come true for Liaqat, whose mischievous smile is still intact and frequently on display. As a child she was obsessed with beauty. Once she burned some of her sister's hair off with a makeshift curling iron. She still wears lipstick.
Akbar, the more reserved one, also carries out many administrative and other tasks for the foundation. One of her duties is collecting newspaper clippings about acid and burn attacks on women.
Both say they are treated well by clients and colleagues, but Misbah says some clients have complained.
"They say that when we come to a beauty salon, we come with the expectation that we're going to be relaxed, in a different frame of mind," Misbah says. "If we come here and we see someone who has gone through so much pain and misery, so automatically that gives us that low feeling also. They have a point.
"At the same time, there are clients who take pride in asking these girls to give them a blow-dry, or getting a manicure or pedicure taken from them."
Sometimes they ask what happened.
According to Liaqat and a lawyer for her case, she was married in her teens, on paper, to a relative, but the families had agreed she wouldn't live with him until she finished school. Within months, though, the man started demanding she join him.
One day at the end of July 2003, he showed up at their house with a package. He asked her to get him some water. He followed her to the kitchen, and as she turned around with the water, she says, he doused her with the acid. It seared much of her face, blinded her right eye, and seriously weakened her left one.
Liaqat shakes her head when recalling how a few days before the incident she found a small pimple on her face and threw a fit. After she was burned, her parents at first wouldn't let their daughter look at a mirror. But eventually she saw herself, and she's proud to say she didn't cry.
"Once we had a wedding in the family. I went there and all the girls were getting dressed and putting on makeup. So that time, I felt a pain in my heart," she says. "But I don't want to weaken myself with these thoughts."
Her husband is in prison as the attempted murder case against him proceeds. The two are still legally married.
Akbar says she found herself in an arranged marriage by age 22. Her husband grew increasingly possessive and abusive, she says. The two had a child.
About three years ago, Akbar says, he sprinkled kerosene oil on her as she slept and lit it. A picture taken shortly afterward shows how her face melted onto her shoulders, leaving her with no visible neck.
Akbar has not filed a case against her now ex-husband. She says she'll one day turn to the law, at least to get her daughter back.
Both women were reluctant for The Associated Press to contact their alleged attackers.
Liaqat and Akbar have undergone several surgeries and expect to face more. They say Misbah's foundation was critical to their present well-being.
"Mentally, I am at peace with myself," Akbar says. "The peace of mind I have now, I never had before. I suffered much more mental anguish in my married life."
Bushra Tareen, a regular client of Liaqat's, praises her work.
"I feel that her hands call me again and again," Tareen says. She adds that Liaqat and Akbar remind her of the injustices women face, and their ability to rise above them.
"When I see them, I want to be like them — strong girls," she says.
Liaqat is grateful for having achieved her goal of being a beautician. She worries about her eyesight but is determined to succeed.
"I want to make a name for myself in this profession," she says.
Akbar plans to use her income one day to support her little girl, whom she has barely seen since the attack.
"I'm independent now, I stand on my own two feet," she says. "I have a job, I work, I earn. In fact, I'm living on my own ... which isn't an easy thing to do for a woman in Pakistan, for a lone woman to survive."
___
Associated Press Writer Manal Ahmad contributed to this report.
___
On the Net:
http://www.depilexsmileagain.com/
http://www.smileagain.it (Italian only; English version under construction)
_________________________________________________
___
Peace, kids.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
WORDSMITHS' BOOKS DESERVES YOUR ATTENTION--AND YOUR HELP!
WORDSMITHS' BOOKS.
This fine little bookstore with the great big heart needs a bit of help. You can make a huge difference, by dropping in to donate a few dollars. The owner, Zachary Steele, has put out a public appeal for monetary donations to keep this bookstore from closing!
I think Wordsmiths' Books is a treasure. The Pride Events held there over Fourth of July weekend were lovely, and I felt right at "home", wandering through the well-placed shelves of books, listening to local musicians, and perusing the great selection of cards and local poets' and author's collections.
This weekend, you can make a difference--indeed, make history, by helping a local businessperson with their business. Not just any business, but a business that brings internationally acclaimed authors, poets, musicians, and chefs/cookbook authors to you, while supporting up-and-coming poets and authors, too!
We NEED Wordsmiths' Books!
Commit to an act of Peace, and come out this weekend, to Wordsmiths' Books, in Decatur. To read more about Wordsmiths', check out my most recent entry at my main blog, complete with letter from the owner, and all the information on donating, at:
www.lisananetteallender.blogspot.com/
Peace, kids.
This fine little bookstore with the great big heart needs a bit of help. You can make a huge difference, by dropping in to donate a few dollars. The owner, Zachary Steele, has put out a public appeal for monetary donations to keep this bookstore from closing!
I think Wordsmiths' Books is a treasure. The Pride Events held there over Fourth of July weekend were lovely, and I felt right at "home", wandering through the well-placed shelves of books, listening to local musicians, and perusing the great selection of cards and local poets' and author's collections.
This weekend, you can make a difference--indeed, make history, by helping a local businessperson with their business. Not just any business, but a business that brings internationally acclaimed authors, poets, musicians, and chefs/cookbook authors to you, while supporting up-and-coming poets and authors, too!
We NEED Wordsmiths' Books!
Commit to an act of Peace, and come out this weekend, to Wordsmiths' Books, in Decatur. To read more about Wordsmiths', check out my most recent entry at my main blog, complete with letter from the owner, and all the information on donating, at:
www.lisananetteallender.blogspot.com/
Peace, kids.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Peace via Poetry
PEACEMAKING AS AN ART FORM, AND POETRY CAN HELP!
"Peace goes into the making of a Poet, as Flour goes into the making of Bread."-Pablo Neruda
The quote above reflects the kind of sensibility I hope we all can become more familiar with. That we can make important to us.
Earlier today, I called in to read on The Radio Open Mic for Poetry at
BlogRadio. The host is Rick Lupert, the man behind "The Poetry Super Highway" and its' Poet of the Week feature.
I read "For Aunt Carolyn", and I also spoke about how important poetry is, how we need "communion" with one another. I mentioned the day of Peace I attended(months ago) at a Catholic church, where I listened to members of The Parents' Circle-Families Forum discuss the loss of their family members' to the war in the Middle East. And I shared the name of this blog, as well as my website:
www.lisaallender.com
where you can find my blog:
www.lisananetteallender.blogspot.com/
Here's the poem I read:
For Aunt Carolyn
She’s had to photograph bodies
some raped, and
left for dead
others died a quick death in their sleep,
or at the request of some pills,
or on the order
of a stranger’s knife.
I wonder if there have been torsos
bodies with no heads
like the Playboys
she used to collect.
She beheaded those perfect girls
took their heads to the beauty parlors (it was 1965)
and said
Make me look like this
and they did.
I remember the big yard sale
where I peered at perfect torsos
and wondered why it meant so much
to run my hands over their too-full breasts
tanned legs
slim sleek necks
why it felt natural to stare at girls,
who, faceless,
still stare back at me.
Peace, kids.
"Peace goes into the making of a Poet, as Flour goes into the making of Bread."-Pablo Neruda
The quote above reflects the kind of sensibility I hope we all can become more familiar with. That we can make important to us.
Earlier today, I called in to read on The Radio Open Mic for Poetry at
BlogRadio. The host is Rick Lupert, the man behind "The Poetry Super Highway" and its' Poet of the Week feature.
I read "For Aunt Carolyn", and I also spoke about how important poetry is, how we need "communion" with one another. I mentioned the day of Peace I attended(months ago) at a Catholic church, where I listened to members of The Parents' Circle-Families Forum discuss the loss of their family members' to the war in the Middle East. And I shared the name of this blog, as well as my website:
www.lisaallender.com
where you can find my blog:
www.lisananetteallender.blogspot.com/
Here's the poem I read:
For Aunt Carolyn
She’s had to photograph bodies
some raped, and
left for dead
others died a quick death in their sleep,
or at the request of some pills,
or on the order
of a stranger’s knife.
I wonder if there have been torsos
bodies with no heads
like the Playboys
she used to collect.
She beheaded those perfect girls
took their heads to the beauty parlors (it was 1965)
and said
Make me look like this
and they did.
I remember the big yard sale
where I peered at perfect torsos
and wondered why it meant so much
to run my hands over their too-full breasts
tanned legs
slim sleek necks
why it felt natural to stare at girls,
who, faceless,
still stare back at me.
Peace, kids.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
PEACEMAKING AS AN ART FORM!
Please post here, or at:
www.lisananetteallender.blogspot.com/
if you're interested in a workshop on poetry and/or heroes/myth/peace-making at your school, private school, arts center, or house of worship.
Amazingly talented John Stephens(of Theatre Gael, and WorldSong fame, and current Artistic Director of Decatur's Academy Theatre) has a program to best benefit your children!
Peace, kids.
Please post here, or at:
www.lisananetteallender.blogspot.com/
if you're interested in a workshop on poetry and/or heroes/myth/peace-making at your school, private school, arts center, or house of worship.
Amazingly talented John Stephens(of Theatre Gael, and WorldSong fame, and current Artistic Director of Decatur's Academy Theatre) has a program to best benefit your children!
Peace, kids.
Monday, July 28, 2008
WORKSHOPS FOR PEACE!
Workshops For Peace!
Check in here in just a couple of days for info on how your school, your child's school and/or your local arts center can benefit from a special workshop exploring heroes, myth, and PEACE!
Hint: Atlanta's own Theatre Gael's WorldSong has a role in this!
Peace, kids.
Check in here in just a couple of days for info on how your school, your child's school and/or your local arts center can benefit from a special workshop exploring heroes, myth, and PEACE!
Hint: Atlanta's own Theatre Gael's WorldSong has a role in this!
Peace, kids.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
IN THE I-KNOW-SOMEONE-WHOSE-BOOK-DANIEL-BERRIGAN-LIKES-CATEGORY:
Famous priest/peace activist Danel Berrigan
praises new book!
Louise Runyon! You go, woman!
Check out Louise Runyon's effots towards blending poetry AND motion(her dance)from her Home-Page.He entries from the past several months, may be accessed, below:
_________________________________________________
Sunday, June 29, 2008
New Praise for Poetry Book!
LANDSCAPE / Fear & Love - what a treasure!-- Daniel Berrigan--Poet, Activist, and Priest
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▼ 2008 (9)
▼ June (2)
New Praise for Poetry Book! LANDSCAPE / Fear & Lo...
Louise Runyon Poetry ReadingSunday, June 29, 8 p....
► May (2)
Dance Performance! Louise Runyon & Tom Bell ...
Dance Performance May 4 Louise Runyon will present...
► April (1)
Alice Lovelace & Louise Runyon, Revisited!Po...
► March (2)
Louise Runyon Poetry Reading with Rupert Fike! Su...
New honor for Runyon's recent book of poetry, LAN...
► February (2)
Four Fab Women Poets! Interna...
Poetry Reading Thursday, February 21, 12 noon...
► 2007 (3)
► December (1)
Poetry ReadingLouise Runyon & Alice LovelaceThu...
► November (1)
Poetry Reading December 2!Louise Morgan Runyon w...
► September (1)
Just Published! Louise Morgan Runyon's second bo...
Links
Brilliant Photographer
_______________________________________________
______
Peace, kids!
Famous priest/peace activist Danel Berrigan
praises new book!
Louise Runyon! You go, woman!
Check out Louise Runyon's effots towards blending poetry AND motion(her dance)from her Home-Page.He entries from the past several months, may be accessed, below:
_________________________________________________
Sunday, June 29, 2008
New Praise for Poetry Book!
LANDSCAPE / Fear & Love - what a treasure!-- Daniel Berrigan--Poet, Activist, and Priest
Post a Comment
Older Post Home
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
Blog Archive
▼ 2008 (9)
▼ June (2)
New Praise for Poetry Book! LANDSCAPE / Fear & Lo...
Louise Runyon Poetry ReadingSunday, June 29, 8 p....
► May (2)
Dance Performance! Louise Runyon & Tom Bell ...
Dance Performance May 4 Louise Runyon will present...
► April (1)
Alice Lovelace & Louise Runyon, Revisited!Po...
► March (2)
Louise Runyon Poetry Reading with Rupert Fike! Su...
New honor for Runyon's recent book of poetry, LAN...
► February (2)
Four Fab Women Poets! Interna...
Poetry Reading Thursday, February 21, 12 noon...
► 2007 (3)
► December (1)
Poetry ReadingLouise Runyon & Alice LovelaceThu...
► November (1)
Poetry Reading December 2!Louise Morgan Runyon w...
► September (1)
Just Published! Louise Morgan Runyon's second bo...
Links
Brilliant Photographer
_______________________________________________
______
Peace, kids!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
PEACE UPDATE. A list of things to do, before November's historic election, to advance Peace.
1) Watch CNN's new series "Black in America" (check your local listings)
Next Wednesday and Thursday, it will detail how some executives have stated they will hire a white man who is a convicted felon, with no high-school diploma, OVER a black man with NO criminal record, who has a four-degree. Sound unbelieveable? Tune in to see how this kind of bigotry, still goes on. Awareness creates power which can then create Peace.
2) Aim to meet different people, people outside your "comfort zone". I am a very left-leaning young woman, but I can honestly say I have several cherished friends who happen to be far to the right. Though we don't discuss politics, we hold many values in common: a love of family and friends, a love for our home, a sense of faith, a celebration of the arts, a strong work ethic.
Learn to be open to others who may disagree with you. You can find common ground. And that is what Peace is all about!
3) Extend a hand through volunteerism. There must be something you feel strongly about. So, go out & support it!
1) Watch CNN's new series "Black in America" (check your local listings)
Next Wednesday and Thursday, it will detail how some executives have stated they will hire a white man who is a convicted felon, with no high-school diploma, OVER a black man with NO criminal record, who has a four-degree. Sound unbelieveable? Tune in to see how this kind of bigotry, still goes on. Awareness creates power which can then create Peace.
2) Aim to meet different people, people outside your "comfort zone". I am a very left-leaning young woman, but I can honestly say I have several cherished friends who happen to be far to the right. Though we don't discuss politics, we hold many values in common: a love of family and friends, a love for our home, a sense of faith, a celebration of the arts, a strong work ethic.
Learn to be open to others who may disagree with you. You can find common ground. And that is what Peace is all about!
3) Extend a hand through volunteerism. There must be something you feel strongly about. So, go out & support it!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Backrubs offer Peace.
Backrubs.If you have a partner, offer to give one.This is a small courtesy to extend, but one that is greatly appreciated. I love Young Living Essential Oils, in Lavender.
To learn more about essential oils, and to order:
http://www.youngliving.us/
I do NOT accept money or any swag for endorsing products; if I mention a product or service, it's because I know it's good quality, and a good deal!So, put a few drops in your palm, and whisper softly to your beloved. Heat the oil in your hands for a moment, then apply. Smoothly. Softly. I promise things will only stay quiet, if you want them to. Sometimes, just after making love, there is a special kind of Peace.
To learn more about essential oils, and to order:
http://www.youngliving.us/
I do NOT accept money or any swag for endorsing products; if I mention a product or service, it's because I know it's good quality, and a good deal!So, put a few drops in your palm, and whisper softly to your beloved. Heat the oil in your hands for a moment, then apply. Smoothly. Softly. I promise things will only stay quiet, if you want them to. Sometimes, just after making love, there is a special kind of Peace.
Monday, July 14, 2008
ADOPTION.
Adoption and Peace? How are they connected? Well, adopting a doggie, a kitten--or child--who does not have a home, provides Peace for that individual, and for you.
How do I know? "Louie", our Golden-Retriever-Mix whom we adopted many years ago has and continues to, bring love and Peace into our hearts. Won't you consider adopting or fostering a pet, or if possible, a child?
The Golden Retrivere Rescue, Austrailian Shepherd Rescue, German Shepherd Rescue, Good Mews, The Humane Society, are all good resources for animals as companions. The Christian Children's Fund is a responsible agency which sponsors children(of ALL countries, cultures, and faiths!) through your donations.
Consider a gift of time at your local animal shelter, too. Even though many are "no-kill", the animals often languish, withlittle or no attention....So drop in and walk a dog, or cuddle a kitty. You won't change the world, but for a lonesome animal, you'll change their world, and increase your own level of kindness. I call it raising my "kindness quotient"!!
Adoption and Peace? How are they connected? Well, adopting a doggie, a kitten--or child--who does not have a home, provides Peace for that individual, and for you.
How do I know? "Louie", our Golden-Retriever-Mix whom we adopted many years ago has and continues to, bring love and Peace into our hearts. Won't you consider adopting or fostering a pet, or if possible, a child?
The Golden Retrivere Rescue, Austrailian Shepherd Rescue, German Shepherd Rescue, Good Mews, The Humane Society, are all good resources for animals as companions. The Christian Children's Fund is a responsible agency which sponsors children(of ALL countries, cultures, and faiths!) through your donations.
Consider a gift of time at your local animal shelter, too. Even though many are "no-kill", the animals often languish, withlittle or no attention....So drop in and walk a dog, or cuddle a kitty. You won't change the world, but for a lonesome animal, you'll change their world, and increase your own level of kindness. I call it raising my "kindness quotient"!!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Yikes! As I've been remiss in not posting for several days here is a"Phrase of the Day" for several days:
Peace(as a verb, here) by not engaging in retaliation, even when provoked, or frightened.
See article below, and then scroll on down, for more on "Phrase of the Day".
__________________________________________________
Woman overpowers thief with tea and sympathy
Tue Jul 8, 10:26 AM ET
A Japanese woman and her six-month-old baby escaped unhurt from a knife-wielding thief this week after the mother calmed him down with a cup of tea and a chat.
The 30-year-old Tokyo woman was walking along a corridor in her apartment building with her daughter Monday when a man brandishing a knife demanded money, the Asahi newspaper said.
When the housewife told him she had none, the man barged into her apartment. Hoping to calm him, the woman made the thief a cup of tea, whereupon he put his knife away and began a 20-minute monologue about his life.
The woman then gave the man 10,000 yen ($93.34) and ran outside to call the police from a pay phone, the report said.
Police rushed to the scene, but the thief had fled and is still being sought.
(Reporting by Mari Saito)
_______________________________________________
More "Phrase of the Day":
Read poetry, everyday.
Poetry forces you to slow down, absorb the imagery, the emotion, whatever has been conjured. And usually--in the best poetry--it reveals a truth. At least one truth. And often, a big, universal one, which leads to a "communion" with others. Which leads to--you guessed it--a kind of Peace.
Take five minutes to smile at someone, and say something kind. This is not difficult. Here's an example: Each time I'm in an airport, I usually see several young men and women in uniform(military) headed overseas. I could shudder(and often do, imagining what they may face, what they may have to do), but I make a point of saying "Thank you for your service." Why thank those enrolled in the military when I am a pacifist? Because they risk their lives. Because they often don't have much choice in careers, and/or they want an education. Because politics don't matter when it comes to service. Because no one says Thank You. And because guess what? THEY want all the war in this world to end soon, too!
Reach out to someone you have not spoken to in, in many months(or years). Call that Great-Aunt. Write a letter to that long-lost friend. People often regret what they did NOT do, but I've never heard someone say they were sorry that they were able to reach someone they care about!
Pray. Even if you DON'T pray, pray, meditate, ask for goodness from God. Or the Universe. The Universe is listening. So pray with it. For it.
Inhale lavendar oil, or add lavendar-water to your laundry-detergent. It is immediately calming, soothing.Peaceful.
Eat avocadoes. Proven to be calming because of their effect on the brain, and filed with "good fat", too. Enjoy some guacamole'.
Organize your phone numbers/addresses in one neat place. This is one I need to work on, as I know how UN-peaceful it is to have disarray in this. The result when you are organized? Peaceful moments, peaceful life!
Enjoy your Wednesday.
Peace, kids.
Peace(as a verb, here) by not engaging in retaliation, even when provoked, or frightened.
See article below, and then scroll on down, for more on "Phrase of the Day".
__________________________________________________
Woman overpowers thief with tea and sympathy
Tue Jul 8, 10:26 AM ET
A Japanese woman and her six-month-old baby escaped unhurt from a knife-wielding thief this week after the mother calmed him down with a cup of tea and a chat.
The 30-year-old Tokyo woman was walking along a corridor in her apartment building with her daughter Monday when a man brandishing a knife demanded money, the Asahi newspaper said.
When the housewife told him she had none, the man barged into her apartment. Hoping to calm him, the woman made the thief a cup of tea, whereupon he put his knife away and began a 20-minute monologue about his life.
The woman then gave the man 10,000 yen ($93.34) and ran outside to call the police from a pay phone, the report said.
Police rushed to the scene, but the thief had fled and is still being sought.
(Reporting by Mari Saito)
_______________________________________________
More "Phrase of the Day":
Read poetry, everyday.
Poetry forces you to slow down, absorb the imagery, the emotion, whatever has been conjured. And usually--in the best poetry--it reveals a truth. At least one truth. And often, a big, universal one, which leads to a "communion" with others. Which leads to--you guessed it--a kind of Peace.
Take five minutes to smile at someone, and say something kind. This is not difficult. Here's an example: Each time I'm in an airport, I usually see several young men and women in uniform(military) headed overseas. I could shudder(and often do, imagining what they may face, what they may have to do), but I make a point of saying "Thank you for your service." Why thank those enrolled in the military when I am a pacifist? Because they risk their lives. Because they often don't have much choice in careers, and/or they want an education. Because politics don't matter when it comes to service. Because no one says Thank You. And because guess what? THEY want all the war in this world to end soon, too!
Reach out to someone you have not spoken to in, in many months(or years). Call that Great-Aunt. Write a letter to that long-lost friend. People often regret what they did NOT do, but I've never heard someone say they were sorry that they were able to reach someone they care about!
Pray. Even if you DON'T pray, pray, meditate, ask for goodness from God. Or the Universe. The Universe is listening. So pray with it. For it.
Inhale lavendar oil, or add lavendar-water to your laundry-detergent. It is immediately calming, soothing.Peaceful.
Eat avocadoes. Proven to be calming because of their effect on the brain, and filed with "good fat", too. Enjoy some guacamole'.
Organize your phone numbers/addresses in one neat place. This is one I need to work on, as I know how UN-peaceful it is to have disarray in this. The result when you are organized? Peaceful moments, peaceful life!
Enjoy your Wednesday.
Peace, kids.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
WORKERS' RIGHTS
And another thing, for Peace sakes...
from http://www.peta.org/
Worker Rights
The Most Dangerous Job in America
Slaughterhouses and animal-processing plants are among the most dangerous places to work in America today. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor, nearly one in three slaughterhouse workers suffers from illness or injury, compared to one in 10 workers in other manufacturing jobs.11 Slaughterhouse workers are also 35 times more likely to suffer from repetitive stress injuries than their counterparts in other manufacturing jobs.12 The rate of injury to slaughterhouse workers is most likely even higher than the official numbers because many workers have trouble communicating with human resources staff, plant management is often dismissive of worker claims (making it difficult to file an official injury complaint), and workers are pressured to refrain from reporting work-related injuries to keep the plant’s insurance costs low. The Human Rights Watch report “Blood, Sweat, and Fear: Workers’ Rights in U.S. Meat and Poultry Plants” states, “Almost every worker interviewed by Human Rights Watch for this report began with the story of a serious injury he or she suffered in a meat or poultry plant, injuries reflected in their scars, swellings, rashes, amputations, blindness, or other afflictions.”13
The workers who kill animals are at constant risk of being hurt as the animals fight for their lives. Chickens and turkeys peck and struggle to escape: One researcher in a slaughterhouse reports that as chickens are being hung by their legs to be killed, “The birds, weighing approximately five pounds each, fight back by pecking, biting, and scratching the hangers …. Then, as workers finally hoist the birds onto the hooks, the chickens urinate and defecate out of desperation, often hitting the workers below.” Many cows and pigs are still completely conscious when they are hung up by their hind legs and their throats are slit, and they kick, thrash, defecate, and vomit as they die. Killing animals who do not want to die is inherently dangerous work, but the ever-increasing line speeds, repetitive motions, filthy working conditions, and other hazards mean that employees are putting their lives on the line every time they clock into work. 14
Struggling to Keep Up
One of the most serious hazards for slaughterhouse workers is the high line speed. Roughly 10 billion animals are killed in our nation’s slaughterhouses each year, and slaughterhouses are constantly increasing their line speed to meet this demand. Workers are handling frightened animals—many of whom weigh hundreds of pounds—along with knives, hooks, and heavy machinery, and all the while, they’re under constant pressure to kill more animals in less time. Slaughterhouse employees must hoist, kill, or cut several animals each minute, usually with few breaks and no time to stop to sharpen their knives. Sometimes workers aren’t even given time to relieve themselves during their shift: One Teamster investigator reports that during meetings with slaughterhouse workers, “People were crying, talking about being covered in diarrhea the entire shift because the supervisor wouldn’t let them go to the bathroom.”15
This frantic and fast-paced environment does not provide workers with any opportunity to slow the line to make sure that they are following proper safety precautions—in fact, the line moves so quickly that animals aren’t even allowed enough time to die, so workers are often forced to hack them apart as they are still struggling to escape. One worker says, “The chain goes so fast that it doesn’t give the animals enough time to die. People don’t have enough time to wash their knife if it falls on the floor.”16 Martin Fuentes, a slaughterhouse worker in Oregon, has been injured three times by cattle who were struggling against death, including a kick to his arm by a struggling steer that plunged a knife into his wrist. “The live cows cause a lot of injuries in there,” he says.17
A worker told Gail Eisnitz, author of the widely acclaimed book Slaughterhouse, that employees are routinely forced to cut animals up while the animals are still conscious, saying “[Our legger] gets beef that’s still conscious all the time. Sometimes almost every one … I’ve seen beef still alive at the flankers, more often at the ‘ears and horns.’ That’s a long way.”18 In The Washington Post article about slaughterhouses—entitled “They Die Piece by Piece”—former animal-processing plant employee Tim Walker says that he was fired after complaining to the Humane Society that animals were cut apart while they were still alive. “I complained to everyone—I said, ‘Lookit, they’re skinning live cows in there.’ Always it was the same answer: ‘We know it’s true. But there’s nothing we can do about it.’”19
Amid the commotion and the struggle to keep up with the speed of the line, workers’ knives inevitably slip, and people are injured or even killed. A former slaughterhouse nurse says, “I could always tell the line speed by the number of people with lacerations coming into my office.”20 A poultry plant worker from Arkansas told Human Rights Watch, “Everybody is on top of each other, so a lot of people get cut, especially their hands. Blood and flesh fall into the meat. The birds just keep going.”21 Another worker says, “The line is so fast, there is no time to sharpen the knife. The knife gets dull and you have to cut harder. That’s when it really starts to hurt, and that’s when you cut yourself.”22 Despite the fact that workers are getting hurt because they’re struggling to keep up, the farmed-animal industry continues to put profits over people by continuing to demand faster line speeds.
The fast line speeds also make it difficult for the workers to take the time to remove contaminated animal carcasses from the line. David Carney, chair of the National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals, has seen meat go down the line that is “contaminated with feces, abscesses, tapeworms, hair, hid buckshot, chewing tobacco, and even cactus thorns … cattle heads so disgusting that contamination oozes out of their skulls.”23 According to Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, “The same things that contribute to the contamination of the meat are what make it more likely that people are going to get hurt. The only reason it’s been allowed to continue is that people don’t know. Even if you have no compassion for the poor and the illegal in this country, if you eat meat, or the people you love eat meat, you should care.”24
Read more about the hazards of working for the animal industry.
11 Schlosser 172.12 Schlosser 173.13 Human Rights Watch 29.14 Russell Cobb, “The Chicken Hangers,” In the Fray 2 Feb. 2004.15 Karen Olsson, “The Shame of Meatpacking,” The Nation 16 Sep. 2002.16 Olsson.17 Jim Lynch, “Workers’ Safety Also an Issue at Meat Plant,” The Oregonian 25 Feb. 2001.18 Gail Eisnitz, Slaughterhouse (Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books 1997) 215.19 Joby Warrick, “They Die Piece by Piece,” The Washington Post 10 Apr. 2001: A01.20 Gardner.21 Human Rights Watch 38-9.22 Human Rights Watch 24.23 The Center for Public Integrity, Safety Last: The Politics of E. Coli and Other Food-Borne Killers, Center for Public Integrity, Washington, D.C., 1998, 17-8.24 Olsson.
from http://www.peta.org/
Worker Rights
The Most Dangerous Job in America
Slaughterhouses and animal-processing plants are among the most dangerous places to work in America today. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor, nearly one in three slaughterhouse workers suffers from illness or injury, compared to one in 10 workers in other manufacturing jobs.11 Slaughterhouse workers are also 35 times more likely to suffer from repetitive stress injuries than their counterparts in other manufacturing jobs.12 The rate of injury to slaughterhouse workers is most likely even higher than the official numbers because many workers have trouble communicating with human resources staff, plant management is often dismissive of worker claims (making it difficult to file an official injury complaint), and workers are pressured to refrain from reporting work-related injuries to keep the plant’s insurance costs low. The Human Rights Watch report “Blood, Sweat, and Fear: Workers’ Rights in U.S. Meat and Poultry Plants” states, “Almost every worker interviewed by Human Rights Watch for this report began with the story of a serious injury he or she suffered in a meat or poultry plant, injuries reflected in their scars, swellings, rashes, amputations, blindness, or other afflictions.”13
The workers who kill animals are at constant risk of being hurt as the animals fight for their lives. Chickens and turkeys peck and struggle to escape: One researcher in a slaughterhouse reports that as chickens are being hung by their legs to be killed, “The birds, weighing approximately five pounds each, fight back by pecking, biting, and scratching the hangers …. Then, as workers finally hoist the birds onto the hooks, the chickens urinate and defecate out of desperation, often hitting the workers below.” Many cows and pigs are still completely conscious when they are hung up by their hind legs and their throats are slit, and they kick, thrash, defecate, and vomit as they die. Killing animals who do not want to die is inherently dangerous work, but the ever-increasing line speeds, repetitive motions, filthy working conditions, and other hazards mean that employees are putting their lives on the line every time they clock into work. 14
Struggling to Keep Up
One of the most serious hazards for slaughterhouse workers is the high line speed. Roughly 10 billion animals are killed in our nation’s slaughterhouses each year, and slaughterhouses are constantly increasing their line speed to meet this demand. Workers are handling frightened animals—many of whom weigh hundreds of pounds—along with knives, hooks, and heavy machinery, and all the while, they’re under constant pressure to kill more animals in less time. Slaughterhouse employees must hoist, kill, or cut several animals each minute, usually with few breaks and no time to stop to sharpen their knives. Sometimes workers aren’t even given time to relieve themselves during their shift: One Teamster investigator reports that during meetings with slaughterhouse workers, “People were crying, talking about being covered in diarrhea the entire shift because the supervisor wouldn’t let them go to the bathroom.”15
This frantic and fast-paced environment does not provide workers with any opportunity to slow the line to make sure that they are following proper safety precautions—in fact, the line moves so quickly that animals aren’t even allowed enough time to die, so workers are often forced to hack them apart as they are still struggling to escape. One worker says, “The chain goes so fast that it doesn’t give the animals enough time to die. People don’t have enough time to wash their knife if it falls on the floor.”16 Martin Fuentes, a slaughterhouse worker in Oregon, has been injured three times by cattle who were struggling against death, including a kick to his arm by a struggling steer that plunged a knife into his wrist. “The live cows cause a lot of injuries in there,” he says.17
A worker told Gail Eisnitz, author of the widely acclaimed book Slaughterhouse, that employees are routinely forced to cut animals up while the animals are still conscious, saying “[Our legger] gets beef that’s still conscious all the time. Sometimes almost every one … I’ve seen beef still alive at the flankers, more often at the ‘ears and horns.’ That’s a long way.”18 In The Washington Post article about slaughterhouses—entitled “They Die Piece by Piece”—former animal-processing plant employee Tim Walker says that he was fired after complaining to the Humane Society that animals were cut apart while they were still alive. “I complained to everyone—I said, ‘Lookit, they’re skinning live cows in there.’ Always it was the same answer: ‘We know it’s true. But there’s nothing we can do about it.’”19
Amid the commotion and the struggle to keep up with the speed of the line, workers’ knives inevitably slip, and people are injured or even killed. A former slaughterhouse nurse says, “I could always tell the line speed by the number of people with lacerations coming into my office.”20 A poultry plant worker from Arkansas told Human Rights Watch, “Everybody is on top of each other, so a lot of people get cut, especially their hands. Blood and flesh fall into the meat. The birds just keep going.”21 Another worker says, “The line is so fast, there is no time to sharpen the knife. The knife gets dull and you have to cut harder. That’s when it really starts to hurt, and that’s when you cut yourself.”22 Despite the fact that workers are getting hurt because they’re struggling to keep up, the farmed-animal industry continues to put profits over people by continuing to demand faster line speeds.
The fast line speeds also make it difficult for the workers to take the time to remove contaminated animal carcasses from the line. David Carney, chair of the National Joint Council of Food Inspection Locals, has seen meat go down the line that is “contaminated with feces, abscesses, tapeworms, hair, hid buckshot, chewing tobacco, and even cactus thorns … cattle heads so disgusting that contamination oozes out of their skulls.”23 According to Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, “The same things that contribute to the contamination of the meat are what make it more likely that people are going to get hurt. The only reason it’s been allowed to continue is that people don’t know. Even if you have no compassion for the poor and the illegal in this country, if you eat meat, or the people you love eat meat, you should care.”24
Read more about the hazards of working for the animal industry.
11 Schlosser 172.12 Schlosser 173.13 Human Rights Watch 29.14 Russell Cobb, “The Chicken Hangers,” In the Fray 2 Feb. 2004.15 Karen Olsson, “The Shame of Meatpacking,” The Nation 16 Sep. 2002.16 Olsson.17 Jim Lynch, “Workers’ Safety Also an Issue at Meat Plant,” The Oregonian 25 Feb. 2001.18 Gail Eisnitz, Slaughterhouse (Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books 1997) 215.19 Joby Warrick, “They Die Piece by Piece,” The Washington Post 10 Apr. 2001: A01.20 Gardner.21 Human Rights Watch 38-9.22 Human Rights Watch 24.23 The Center for Public Integrity, Safety Last: The Politics of E. Coli and Other Food-Borne Killers, Center for Public Integrity, Washington, D.C., 1998, 17-8.24 Olsson.
No, I don't want to watch any video highlighting pain and suffering. But it's important--in the interest of creating a possibility for Peace for animals--maybe especially those used by many for food--to inform you of what they suffer, on a daily basis... You'll notice I put pork recipes and bacon recipes in the technorati tags for this post at Practice What You Peace. Why? Because if someone clicks on this, hoping for a pork recipe, I'm hoping they'll see (and understand!) that pork comes from a sentient, smart, cute, feeling creature called a pig. Read about why charges are being filed against workers and a supervisor at a factory "farm" which houses pigs.
Scroll down the PETA.org page I copy-n-pasted for your knowledge, below.
Learn even more at:
www.peta.org
Cruelty to Animals
Amazing Animals
Health Concerns
The Environment
World Hunger
Worker Rights
Poisoning Communities
Government Regulation
Meet the Animals
Chickens
Cows
Fish
Pigs
Turkeys
Ducks and Geese
More »
Resources
Get Active
Recipes
'Meet Your Meat'
Pledge to Be Veg for 30 Days
Famous Vegetarians
Books and Web Sites
Literature and Merchandise
In the News
Investigations
Photo Gallery
Charges Filed After Investigation Reveals Torture of Pigs
Mother Pigs and Piglets Tortured in a North Carolina Factory Farm
Other viewing options
Update: North Carolina officials have filed six cruelty-to-animals charges against one of the individuals documented dragging and beating pigs and abusing them in other ways in a 2007 PETA undercover investigation of a sow farm. Charges are pending against a second man who has apparently fled the state.
Video footage obtained in the investigation revealed horrific cruelty to mother pigs and their piglets on a farm owned by Murphy Family Ventures, LLC, which supplies the largest pig-killing company in the world, Smithfield Foods.
In addition to the confinement of mother pigs to cruel "gestation crates" so small that the animals can't even turn around or lie down comfortably, the following cruelty was documented at Smithfield supplier Murphy Family Ventures, LLC:
Workers dragged injured pigs out of the facility by their snouts, ears, and legs before killing them with a captive-bolt gun. Some of the pigs had "KILL" spray-painted on their backs.
A farm supervisor admitted that he violently beat pigs, saying of one that he "cut the sh** out of his God damn nose with a f***ing gate rod."
Workers cut off piglets' tails and pulled out piglets' testicles—without using any pain relief—as the baby animals screamed in pain in front of mother pigs.
Two workers and a supervisor hit and jabbed pigs—sometimes in their faces and near their ears—with 2-foot-long metal gate rods on 31 of the 41 days that PETA's investigator worked.
A worker gouged the eyes of four pigs with his fingers. Pigs suffered from ailments including cysts, sores, and a uterine prolapse for which they were denied treatment.
View the video footage taken by PETA's undercover investigator for more examples of the horrific cruelty to animals at Smithfield's supplier.
Every vegetarian saves more than 100 animals a year from abuse by the meat industry. To learn more about going vegetarian, order PETA's free "Vegetarian Starter Kit" today.
Smithfield claims that it has fired workers as a result of the investigation, but the company has not yet provided any details.
Take action: Complete the form below to urge Smithfield Foods to demand that Murphy Family Ventures fire all the workers responsible for this cruelty and work with PETA to enact meaningful animal welfare reforms. Also, tell Smithfield that while it's good that it has promised to phase out the use of gestation crates at its own farms, the company needs to make the transition faster and require independent suppliers to phase out these cruel devices too.
Take Action on This Issue
Subject:
Dear [ Decision Maker ],
(Edit Letter Below)I was horrified by the shocking undercover video footage shot by PETA at your supplier Murphy Family Ventures, LLC. I urge you to cut all ties with this supplier until it fires all the workers responsible and works with PETA to create and enforce meaningful animal welfare reforms.
In addition, please phase out gestation crates in a shorter time frame than 10 years and require your independent suppliers to get rid of these cruel devices too.
Sincerely,[Your name]
By signing up here and giving us your details, we're taking that as acknowledgment that you've read and agreed to our privacy policy.
Scroll down the PETA.org page I copy-n-pasted for your knowledge, below.
Learn even more at:
www.peta.org
Cruelty to Animals
Amazing Animals
Health Concerns
The Environment
World Hunger
Worker Rights
Poisoning Communities
Government Regulation
Meet the Animals
Chickens
Cows
Fish
Pigs
Turkeys
Ducks and Geese
More »
Resources
Get Active
Recipes
'Meet Your Meat'
Pledge to Be Veg for 30 Days
Famous Vegetarians
Books and Web Sites
Literature and Merchandise
In the News
Investigations
Photo Gallery
Charges Filed After Investigation Reveals Torture of Pigs
Mother Pigs and Piglets Tortured in a North Carolina Factory Farm
Other viewing options
Update: North Carolina officials have filed six cruelty-to-animals charges against one of the individuals documented dragging and beating pigs and abusing them in other ways in a 2007 PETA undercover investigation of a sow farm. Charges are pending against a second man who has apparently fled the state.
Video footage obtained in the investigation revealed horrific cruelty to mother pigs and their piglets on a farm owned by Murphy Family Ventures, LLC, which supplies the largest pig-killing company in the world, Smithfield Foods.
In addition to the confinement of mother pigs to cruel "gestation crates" so small that the animals can't even turn around or lie down comfortably, the following cruelty was documented at Smithfield supplier Murphy Family Ventures, LLC:
Workers dragged injured pigs out of the facility by their snouts, ears, and legs before killing them with a captive-bolt gun. Some of the pigs had "KILL" spray-painted on their backs.
A farm supervisor admitted that he violently beat pigs, saying of one that he "cut the sh** out of his God damn nose with a f***ing gate rod."
Workers cut off piglets' tails and pulled out piglets' testicles—without using any pain relief—as the baby animals screamed in pain in front of mother pigs.
Two workers and a supervisor hit and jabbed pigs—sometimes in their faces and near their ears—with 2-foot-long metal gate rods on 31 of the 41 days that PETA's investigator worked.
A worker gouged the eyes of four pigs with his fingers. Pigs suffered from ailments including cysts, sores, and a uterine prolapse for which they were denied treatment.
View the video footage taken by PETA's undercover investigator for more examples of the horrific cruelty to animals at Smithfield's supplier.
Every vegetarian saves more than 100 animals a year from abuse by the meat industry. To learn more about going vegetarian, order PETA's free "Vegetarian Starter Kit" today.
Smithfield claims that it has fired workers as a result of the investigation, but the company has not yet provided any details.
Take action: Complete the form below to urge Smithfield Foods to demand that Murphy Family Ventures fire all the workers responsible for this cruelty and work with PETA to enact meaningful animal welfare reforms. Also, tell Smithfield that while it's good that it has promised to phase out the use of gestation crates at its own farms, the company needs to make the transition faster and require independent suppliers to phase out these cruel devices too.
Take Action on This Issue
Subject:
Dear [ Decision Maker ],
(Edit Letter Below)I was horrified by the shocking undercover video footage shot by PETA at your supplier Murphy Family Ventures, LLC. I urge you to cut all ties with this supplier until it fires all the workers responsible and works with PETA to create and enforce meaningful animal welfare reforms.
In addition, please phase out gestation crates in a shorter time frame than 10 years and require your independent suppliers to get rid of these cruel devices too.
Sincerely,[Your name]
By signing up here and giving us your details, we're taking that as acknowledgment that you've read and agreed to our privacy policy.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Register To Vote
PHRASE FOR THE DAY: REGISTER TO VOTE!
How is getting registered to vote, practicing what you Peace?
Because it is you choosing to become active in the voting process, where you may choose to vote for Peace.
And don't let the article I found, which I have reprinted below, scare you off. Although genetics plays a huge role in whether you will vote, you can choose to become involved...My own conclusion from the study cited is that those same elements of sociability which determine if you are likely to exercise your right to vote, are the same factors which make you more likely to be outgoing, be more positive, less prone to depression. Indeed, I suspect if they do a follow-up study, they'll discover folks who suffer from depression are less likely to register to vote. After all, when one is mentally ill, depression is likely to say "why bother?". The healthier folks are likely to vote, and more likely to be healthy in other ways, too!
Evolutionarily speaking, it makes perfect sense.
My personal bit of advice is: even if you suffer from a "why bother?" mentality, register anyway. And read, learn. About the issues, this country, the world, the candidates. And then, vote! The act of choosing positive behavior will, I believe, influence future personal positive behavior(and outcome!).
Here's that article:
Genes Get Out the Vote
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, July 1 (HealthDay News) --
Heading to the polls on Nov. 4? If so, your genes may be driving you there, a new study suggests.
In fact, as much as 50 percent of whether you vote or not may be genetically determined, says a team at the University of California, San Diego. Genes may even be more important to your tendency to cast a ballot than family political history.
"Both nature and nurture play a role in voting," said lead author James H. Fowler, an associate professor of political science. "We expected genes would play a little bit of a role, but we were surprised how strong [a] role they played."
Previously, experts primarily focused on the environmental factors that pushed people to vote. "For a long time, they thought that parents and children have pretty much the same behavior when it comes to voting," Fowler said. "If they voted, it's likely you will go to the polls as well."
But, rather than transmitting ideas, "parents are transmitting genes," Fowler now believes.
He co-authored a report on the issue, published in July's The Journal of Politics.
In the study, Fowler and Ph.D. candidate Christopher T. Dawes drew on voter-turnout data in Los Angeles. They matched that data to a registry of identical and non-identical twins.
According to that analysis, 53 percent of the variation in voter turnout is due to differences in genes.
In fact, family upbringing appears to have little effect on how regularly offspring participate in elections. "The other half of the voting behavior was mostly attributable to the unshared environment between the two twins," Fowler said.
To try to replicate the findings more broadly across the country, Fowler and Dawes looked at nationwide voting patterns using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which ran from 1994 to 2002.
Using the genetic data in this study, Fowler and Dawes found that 72 percent of differences in voter turnout among identical twins can be accounted for by genes.
Genes also play a significant role in political participation, including giving money to a campaign, contacting a government official, running for office and attending political rallies, the two researchers found.
Fowler and Dawes also looked for specific genes involved in the decision to vote. They found that two genes that influence the brain's serotonin system, called MAOA and 5HTT, were also associated with a person's inclination to cast a ballot. The serotonin system helps regulates trust and social interaction, the experts noted.
In fact, they found that people with more efficient versions of those genes were about 10 percent more likely to vote.
"It's not just the gene that makes you vote, but it has an impact on how susceptible you are to different kinds of environments," Fowler said. "Depending upon what kind of environment you are in, it is going to activate those tendencies you might have to cause you to participate in politics or not."
To thoroughly understand politics, one has to include genetics, Fowler now believes.
"To study politics without genes is to miss half the story," he said. "To really get an understanding of what people are doing and why they are doing it, we need to integrate both nature and nurture into the study of politics," he said.
According to John T. Jost, a professor of psychology at New York University in New York City, this article is another in a growing list of studies suggesting that political orientation is partly heritable.
"In some ways, this conclusion is not so surprising, given that we have known for over 50 years that there are basic cognitive, motivational, and behavioral differences between leftists and rightists," Jost said.
"Unless one believes that basic psychological characteristics have no genetic antecedents whatsoever, one would have anticipated these results on the basis of the psychological literature," Jost said. "Still, it's quite important that these researchers appear to have identified specific gene combinations that are linked to political orientation," he said.
More information
There's more on how the brain works at Harvard's Whole Brain Atlas.
____________________________________________________
Peace, kids.
How is getting registered to vote, practicing what you Peace?
Because it is you choosing to become active in the voting process, where you may choose to vote for Peace.
And don't let the article I found, which I have reprinted below, scare you off. Although genetics plays a huge role in whether you will vote, you can choose to become involved...My own conclusion from the study cited is that those same elements of sociability which determine if you are likely to exercise your right to vote, are the same factors which make you more likely to be outgoing, be more positive, less prone to depression. Indeed, I suspect if they do a follow-up study, they'll discover folks who suffer from depression are less likely to register to vote. After all, when one is mentally ill, depression is likely to say "why bother?". The healthier folks are likely to vote, and more likely to be healthy in other ways, too!
Evolutionarily speaking, it makes perfect sense.
My personal bit of advice is: even if you suffer from a "why bother?" mentality, register anyway. And read, learn. About the issues, this country, the world, the candidates. And then, vote! The act of choosing positive behavior will, I believe, influence future personal positive behavior(and outcome!).
Here's that article:
Genes Get Out the Vote
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, July 1 (HealthDay News) --
Heading to the polls on Nov. 4? If so, your genes may be driving you there, a new study suggests.
In fact, as much as 50 percent of whether you vote or not may be genetically determined, says a team at the University of California, San Diego. Genes may even be more important to your tendency to cast a ballot than family political history.
"Both nature and nurture play a role in voting," said lead author James H. Fowler, an associate professor of political science. "We expected genes would play a little bit of a role, but we were surprised how strong [a] role they played."
Previously, experts primarily focused on the environmental factors that pushed people to vote. "For a long time, they thought that parents and children have pretty much the same behavior when it comes to voting," Fowler said. "If they voted, it's likely you will go to the polls as well."
But, rather than transmitting ideas, "parents are transmitting genes," Fowler now believes.
He co-authored a report on the issue, published in July's The Journal of Politics.
In the study, Fowler and Ph.D. candidate Christopher T. Dawes drew on voter-turnout data in Los Angeles. They matched that data to a registry of identical and non-identical twins.
According to that analysis, 53 percent of the variation in voter turnout is due to differences in genes.
In fact, family upbringing appears to have little effect on how regularly offspring participate in elections. "The other half of the voting behavior was mostly attributable to the unshared environment between the two twins," Fowler said.
To try to replicate the findings more broadly across the country, Fowler and Dawes looked at nationwide voting patterns using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which ran from 1994 to 2002.
Using the genetic data in this study, Fowler and Dawes found that 72 percent of differences in voter turnout among identical twins can be accounted for by genes.
Genes also play a significant role in political participation, including giving money to a campaign, contacting a government official, running for office and attending political rallies, the two researchers found.
Fowler and Dawes also looked for specific genes involved in the decision to vote. They found that two genes that influence the brain's serotonin system, called MAOA and 5HTT, were also associated with a person's inclination to cast a ballot. The serotonin system helps regulates trust and social interaction, the experts noted.
In fact, they found that people with more efficient versions of those genes were about 10 percent more likely to vote.
"It's not just the gene that makes you vote, but it has an impact on how susceptible you are to different kinds of environments," Fowler said. "Depending upon what kind of environment you are in, it is going to activate those tendencies you might have to cause you to participate in politics or not."
To thoroughly understand politics, one has to include genetics, Fowler now believes.
"To study politics without genes is to miss half the story," he said. "To really get an understanding of what people are doing and why they are doing it, we need to integrate both nature and nurture into the study of politics," he said.
According to John T. Jost, a professor of psychology at New York University in New York City, this article is another in a growing list of studies suggesting that political orientation is partly heritable.
"In some ways, this conclusion is not so surprising, given that we have known for over 50 years that there are basic cognitive, motivational, and behavioral differences between leftists and rightists," Jost said.
"Unless one believes that basic psychological characteristics have no genetic antecedents whatsoever, one would have anticipated these results on the basis of the psychological literature," Jost said. "Still, it's quite important that these researchers appear to have identified specific gene combinations that are linked to political orientation," he said.
More information
There's more on how the brain works at Harvard's Whole Brain Atlas.
____________________________________________________
Peace, kids.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
PRACTICE PATIENCE.
PHRASE FOR THE DAY: PRACTICE PATIENCE.
I have been unable to post here, or at Lisa Allender Writes for a few days now(sigh), and am still unable to send or receive e-mails. Feeling very un-connected, disconnected. But this, too, shall pass.
Patience.
Peace, kids.
I have been unable to post here, or at Lisa Allender Writes for a few days now(sigh), and am still unable to send or receive e-mails. Feeling very un-connected, disconnected. But this, too, shall pass.
Patience.
Peace, kids.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
MULTIPLE IDEAS FOR PEACE
Today I'll outline a few different ways you can personally increase Peace within, and outside of, yourself.
First, Meditate. If you are not comfortable with the idea of "prayer", start with meditation. All you need do is breathe. Which most folks do, believe it or not--incorrectly!
Sloooowwwwly. In, deep breath, (inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth. Your tummy should expand when you inhale, and collapse when you exhale)hold. Release. Do this three times, and keep your eyes lightly closed, your palms up and open. Breathe. Listen to sounds within the room you are in, then the sounds outside the room. I like to listen to my body, too. If you are really still, you can even hear your own heartbeat, which is pretty amazing...It helps to repeat a word, something simple, like Peace, or Love, or Jesus, or even the name of your beloved. Do this, several times. With each breath, you'll feel your body become more centered, focused. Human beings are actually "hard-wired" to do this. In studies of our brains, it has been discovered that we function at a "higher"(please forgive the somewhat awful pun, here!) level when we meditate, or pray. That's because we calm, and can concentrate more fully. On our blessings. On our goals. On Peace.
Next exercise:
Try Walking. This may sound like it has nothing to do with Peace, but it does. In our cars, segregated from one another, we do not "interact", we "react". I've given this a great deal of thought, and I fully believe that a tremendous amount of rage in society is not merely "road rage", it's rage that builds up, over time, from a variety of sources. "Road Rage" is the symptom, not the cause. (Although I'm sure there are folks out there driving--I'd be one of them--who probably go so slowly, that it could enrage someone!) One way to reduce that rage, is not merely to lessen time driving(where we may likely feel able to take it out on someone), but to increase interaction with others. When walking, we look up, we say hello, smile, meet others' eyes. It's impossible to both look into someone's eyes, see them as a fellow human being, and say Hello, and still be angry, rage-filled. What may follow, is Peace. Or, we may simply become preoccupied with our errands, etc. But Peace is the possibility, and the eventual PROBABILITY, of walking. It's also a "greener" thing to do, which aids in the causes of Peace & Social Justice. So go outside. And WALK!
Finally, Smile. Did you know that the mere act of forming a smile, causes endorphins(the so-called "feel good" chemical) to be released by your brain? It's true. And it's impossible to feel anger, while smiling(unless you're a sociopath/psychopath)...Actors often will commit to an action, in order to create the inner emotional state. For instance, if I pound loudly on a door, screaming, eventually, my face will redden, my hands will hurt, I will become angry--my voice will get louder, blood pressure will rise, etc. I will have CREATED anger and rage. Conversely, if I smile, and greet others with respect, not only will I create an environment likely to respond positively towards me, but I create those same feelings of love, inclusion--and yes, Peace--within me--that I look for in the world.
I'm telling you, kids, this all works. Even if you're a skeptic. Heck, especially if you're a skeptic, try it. You'll be pleasantly surprised!
Peace, kids.
First, Meditate. If you are not comfortable with the idea of "prayer", start with meditation. All you need do is breathe. Which most folks do, believe it or not--incorrectly!
Sloooowwwwly. In, deep breath, (inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth. Your tummy should expand when you inhale, and collapse when you exhale)hold. Release. Do this three times, and keep your eyes lightly closed, your palms up and open. Breathe. Listen to sounds within the room you are in, then the sounds outside the room. I like to listen to my body, too. If you are really still, you can even hear your own heartbeat, which is pretty amazing...It helps to repeat a word, something simple, like Peace, or Love, or Jesus, or even the name of your beloved. Do this, several times. With each breath, you'll feel your body become more centered, focused. Human beings are actually "hard-wired" to do this. In studies of our brains, it has been discovered that we function at a "higher"(please forgive the somewhat awful pun, here!) level when we meditate, or pray. That's because we calm, and can concentrate more fully. On our blessings. On our goals. On Peace.
Next exercise:
Try Walking. This may sound like it has nothing to do with Peace, but it does. In our cars, segregated from one another, we do not "interact", we "react". I've given this a great deal of thought, and I fully believe that a tremendous amount of rage in society is not merely "road rage", it's rage that builds up, over time, from a variety of sources. "Road Rage" is the symptom, not the cause. (Although I'm sure there are folks out there driving--I'd be one of them--who probably go so slowly, that it could enrage someone!) One way to reduce that rage, is not merely to lessen time driving(where we may likely feel able to take it out on someone), but to increase interaction with others. When walking, we look up, we say hello, smile, meet others' eyes. It's impossible to both look into someone's eyes, see them as a fellow human being, and say Hello, and still be angry, rage-filled. What may follow, is Peace. Or, we may simply become preoccupied with our errands, etc. But Peace is the possibility, and the eventual PROBABILITY, of walking. It's also a "greener" thing to do, which aids in the causes of Peace & Social Justice. So go outside. And WALK!
Finally, Smile. Did you know that the mere act of forming a smile, causes endorphins(the so-called "feel good" chemical) to be released by your brain? It's true. And it's impossible to feel anger, while smiling(unless you're a sociopath/psychopath)...Actors often will commit to an action, in order to create the inner emotional state. For instance, if I pound loudly on a door, screaming, eventually, my face will redden, my hands will hurt, I will become angry--my voice will get louder, blood pressure will rise, etc. I will have CREATED anger and rage. Conversely, if I smile, and greet others with respect, not only will I create an environment likely to respond positively towards me, but I create those same feelings of love, inclusion--and yes, Peace--within me--that I look for in the world.
I'm telling you, kids, this all works. Even if you're a skeptic. Heck, especially if you're a skeptic, try it. You'll be pleasantly surprised!
Peace, kids.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
BIG NEWS!!!
Now, for some exciting news:I had posted in April at my Lisa Allender Writes Blog about the wonderful encounter at St. Jude The Apostle Church where Rami Elhanan and Mazen Faraj spoke on Peace & Reconciliation...My entry is entitled:"Reconciliation", he said.
I discovered that The Parents Circle-Families Forum has ADDED MY BLOG POST FROM THAT DAY, TO THEIR "What's new?" Page!!! I am so honored, and deeply humbled by this. I am included alongside great authors, and many beautiful, inspiring stories of courage, and peacemaking! Here's the link, below, which you may click on here, or copy-n-paste to your browser, and/or send to all your Peace-loving pals!http://www.theparentscircle.com/News.asp
Go out and make it a great Tuesday!
Peace, kids.
I discovered that The Parents Circle-Families Forum has ADDED MY BLOG POST FROM THAT DAY, TO THEIR "What's new?" Page!!! I am so honored, and deeply humbled by this. I am included alongside great authors, and many beautiful, inspiring stories of courage, and peacemaking! Here's the link, below, which you may click on here, or copy-n-paste to your browser, and/or send to all your Peace-loving pals!http://www.theparentscircle.com/News.asp
Go out and make it a great Tuesday!
Peace, kids.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Peace Poets
PHRASE FOR THE DAY: Poets For Peace...
Remember their website, and visit it often:
http://apjpoetsforpeace.blogspot.com/
Hope your Sunday was a sacred one.
Peace, kids.
Remember their website, and visit it often:
http://apjpoetsforpeace.blogspot.com/
Hope your Sunday was a sacred one.
Peace, kids.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
SLOOOOOOW DOOOOOOWN.
Odd coming from me, Ms.-I-can't-fathom-moving-or-speaking-slowly-woman.
But slowing down is important. The next time every fiber and cell in you wants to rush, don't.Take a breath, and feel what's there. That nervousness? It's anxiety, and it's part of life.
What does this have to do with Peace?
In slowing down, your heart rate returns to optimal, your breathing is less labored, and more on-target, and you will calm. Now, that's Peace!
Odd coming from me, Ms.-I-can't-fathom-moving-or-speaking-slowly-woman.
But slowing down is important. The next time every fiber and cell in you wants to rush, don't.Take a breath, and feel what's there. That nervousness? It's anxiety, and it's part of life.
What does this have to do with Peace?
In slowing down, your heart rate returns to optimal, your breathing is less labored, and more on-target, and you will calm. Now, that's Peace!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Be Blind
Phrase For The Day: Be Blind.
This day is nearly over, and I'm just getting around to posting.
I want you to pretend for a moment that you cannot see. At all.
Why? Because the sudden darkness, new dependency on others, and intuitive senses that would sharpen as a result of blindness, would also cause you to be blind to many negative things. Like judging someone, based on gender, sexual orientation, faith background, race, looks, etc., etc.
So pretend you are blind. Do this for one day. Everytime you "see" someone, instead I want you to only LISTEN to them. You might be surprised what you'll hear.
Peace, kids.
This day is nearly over, and I'm just getting around to posting.
I want you to pretend for a moment that you cannot see. At all.
Why? Because the sudden darkness, new dependency on others, and intuitive senses that would sharpen as a result of blindness, would also cause you to be blind to many negative things. Like judging someone, based on gender, sexual orientation, faith background, race, looks, etc., etc.
So pretend you are blind. Do this for one day. Everytime you "see" someone, instead I want you to only LISTEN to them. You might be surprised what you'll hear.
Peace, kids.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
PHRASE FOR THE DAY:
Include others. I really cannot tolerate the use of the word, "tolerance". It sounds like something one can barely do, without heaving in illness(as in, "I can't tolerate this medicine." etc, etc...)
So the next time you want to learn to "tolerate" someone different from you, say to yourself instead that you will INCLUDE this other person(s), not merelty tolerate them. Actions are a result of thoughts--and spoken thoughts are our words. Let's choose them carefully, in service to PEACE.
Peace, kids.
Include others. I really cannot tolerate the use of the word, "tolerance". It sounds like something one can barely do, without heaving in illness(as in, "I can't tolerate this medicine." etc, etc...)
So the next time you want to learn to "tolerate" someone different from you, say to yourself instead that you will INCLUDE this other person(s), not merelty tolerate them. Actions are a result of thoughts--and spoken thoughts are our words. Let's choose them carefully, in service to PEACE.
Peace, kids.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
PHRASE FOR THE DAY:
Lavendar Oil can bring you Peace....This essential oil calms and soothes. Try a bit on your pillow, for a relaxing bedtime. Drop some in your tub, for a sweet-smelling bath.And try deep-breathing the oil at bedtime, for ten minutes, and five minutes each morning, to relieve anxiety, and/or depression. Add peppermint oil in the morning, for a "lift". If you pray--or meditate--do it at these times. Even saying Thank You for a beautiful day, is enough. Every day, I'll post a simple way to bring Peace into YOUR life, and someone else's... Coming soon: Links to various Peace sites...
Peace, kids.
Posted by Lisa Allender at 7:25 AM 0 comments
Labels: Anxiety, Deep-Breathing, Defeating Depression, Essential Oils, Meditation, Peace, Relaxation
PHRASE FOR THE DAY:
Lavendar Oil can bring you Peace....This essential oil calms and soothes. Try a bit on your pillow, for a relaxing bedtime. Drop some in your tub, for a sweet-smelling bath.And try deep-breathing the oil at bedtime, for ten minutes, and five minutes each morning, to relieve anxiety, and/or depression. Add peppermint oil in the morning, for a "lift". If you pray--or meditate--do it at these times. Even saying Thank You for a beautiful day, is enough. Every day, I'll post a simple way to bring Peace into YOUR life, and someone else's... Coming soon: Links to various Peace sites...
Peace, kids.
Posted by Lisa Allender at 7:25 AM 0 comments
Labels: Anxiety, Deep-Breathing, Defeating Depression, Essential Oils, Meditation, Peace, Relaxation
Monday, June 16, 2008
Peace As A Verb!
So I am trying to get a few words and phrases into the accepted vernacular....For example, we may use "war" as both a noun("This war is called the Iraq War.") and a verb("Do not war with your neighbor."), but we never do this with the word Peace. My theory is that unless we make Peace a viable "action-word", or verb--we won't be moved to act on it!
Hence, I must practice what I Peace.
Another word I want put into our everyday vocabulary is a word to substitute for self-less: I suggest it be "self-free". Self-less sounds as though one is made "less than" by being unselfish, when the opposite is true. It is only when one is generous, and giving, that one is able to be set free, and be truly "self-free"--free of ego and superficial measures; free to be open to others, and to be in touch with one's own spirit.
Come to think of it, "child-less" needs to go, too. "Child-less" implies that without children one is "less" because of it. I think "child-free", while possibly controversial(currently, we only say we're "free" of something which is considered bad, as in "fat-free", "cancer-free", etc.) makes the point that some of us choose to focus on other concerns and issues, and are not defined by our ability or propensity to create offspring.
How about you? Can you thinkof a way to use PEACE, AS A VERB? Let me know!
Read more about Lisa Allender, and "Practice What You Peace", and "Lisa Allender Writes".
Check out:
www.lisananetteallender.blogspot.com/
and
www.lisaallender.com
Peace, kids.
Hence, I must practice what I Peace.
Another word I want put into our everyday vocabulary is a word to substitute for self-less: I suggest it be "self-free". Self-less sounds as though one is made "less than" by being unselfish, when the opposite is true. It is only when one is generous, and giving, that one is able to be set free, and be truly "self-free"--free of ego and superficial measures; free to be open to others, and to be in touch with one's own spirit.
Come to think of it, "child-less" needs to go, too. "Child-less" implies that without children one is "less" because of it. I think "child-free", while possibly controversial(currently, we only say we're "free" of something which is considered bad, as in "fat-free", "cancer-free", etc.) makes the point that some of us choose to focus on other concerns and issues, and are not defined by our ability or propensity to create offspring.
How about you? Can you thinkof a way to use PEACE, AS A VERB? Let me know!
Read more about Lisa Allender, and "Practice What You Peace", and "Lisa Allender Writes".
Check out:
www.lisananetteallender.blogspot.com/
and
www.lisaallender.com
Peace, kids.
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