Monthly Archives: November 2010

Civil War Anniversary Ignores Slavery

Time has a way of dulling the senses of those who have committed wrongs against another but for the victims, time appears to sharpen their sense of right and wrong.

Secession Defended on Civil War Anniversary – NYTimes.com:

“That some — even now — are honoring secession, with barely a nod to the role of slavery, underscores how divisive a topic the war remains, with Americans continuing to debate its causes, its meaning and its legacy.

“We in the South, who have been kicked around for an awfully long time and are accused of being racist, we would just like the truth to be known,” said Michael Givens, commander-in-chief of the Sons, explaining the reason for the television ads. While there were many causes of the war, he said, “our people were only fighting to protect themselves from an invasion and for their independence.””

Comment

What is needed now is vigilance to ensure that the hard-won freedoms of American people, black and whites are maintained and promoted. sometimes, it is good to put the burdens of the past aside and look to new horizons.  We have all been and seen and those who have suffered never want to return to that white space of slavery and dehumanization.  Nothing can ever erase what has happened. We cannot change the past but we can affect the future and the present. Keep the focus on now. What do we need to do now to forge ahead to a glorious future. We need to ensure that children are fed properly, educated to think for themselves and to understand that no one is free until we all are free, that there can be no peace in being rich until we all have enough, that we can never know how smart we are until we give everyone a chance to compete, how successful we are until we are faced with the best in our field.  All this means that to be fully human we all have to be the best we can we and we can only be that when we want the best for all.

Patriarchy robs women of their lives

Patriarchy is alive and Fathers benefit from it.  They keep their daughters tied down and subservient and like little puppets – doing what daddy says.  Well if they don’t want to be independent thinkers, no one can make them.  I just want to let them know that everyone has a life to live and all they are doing is extending their father’s lives by letting him live his life and their own too.  Is that fair?  Is that love?  Why the hell were you born then, if it is just to perpetuate the life of a man.
Women and girls, you have to wake up.  Your life is yours to live and do not let anyone take that away from you.  It’s your birthright. We come in this world, we make mistakes and we learn from our mistakes, not the mistakes of anyone else. It is not real education to learn from another person’s experience. We can only learn how heat feels when we touch it ourselves.  Life is for taking risks and for living to our fullest. Do not let an old man rob you from that.  There is so much to discover in life. You can find your own truths, you can dance naked in the rain, you can dream of being the prime minister, or to follow in your parents’ footsteps.
Life is too precious to throw away on selfish people, even your parents. Unconditional love means to support you to live and enjoy the best life you can while you can.  Be who you were born to be girls and women, stop being a perpetual child.

Illegal, Alien, Outsiders, Non-human

The evolution of Illegal.  There is an interesting video in this article.  It is about how people who hate would use any means to continue their hatred of anything that is different. The title of this article is instructive. How can any human being become illegal?  Who owns the world? Doesn’t the world belong to all human beings. Just because some grab pieces of our world and put up a flag on it does not mean they own what God, the Creator of the Universe have provided for all of us. If we lived in a more equitable universe where we took care of each other according to his or her needs and prohibit people from accumulating resources because of greed – resources that they or their families cannot use up in one life time – there will be no shortage, people will be happy wherever they are and they will be well fed and taken care of. We are screwed up, and as a human species, we need to return to our roots and live and let live.  There is room and food for all of us if we take what we need and leave the rest for someone else.
We are all flesh and blood and we all will leave what we have fought to hoard up.  If there is room, welcome the stranger, that is humanity.  Welcome those who need food, water and shelter. It is here for all of us.
It’s time for human evolution that what we indeed are – spirit having a human experience. All the things that we feel we need, we don’t.  As one writer puts it, to think we need more than we need, to be afraid that there will not be enough for tomorrow is a meme – virus of the mind.
 

Streisand speaks out against inadequate treatment of women with heart disease

Singer/actress/producer Barbara Streisand hones in on the attitude towards heart disease.

Streisand: Why Heart Disease Is Treated Like a Boys’ Club AlterNet

Heart disease is the number one killer of women in our country, more than all cancers combined. Today, heart disease kills more women than men. When I started to think about this, it was not surprising. More women are taking on the stresses of juggling household demands, of being wife, mother and breadwinner. All of these modern day strains add to higher blood pressure, lack of physical activity, quick and unhealthy food choices, and weight gain — all major contributors to heart disease.

Despite the statistics, for years, most of the medical community has been treating our mothers, wives, daughters, sisters and friends inadequately because they based their treatment protocols on research outcomes done mostly on male patients. Cardiologists treating women certainly intended to provide their patients with quality care, but they could only depend on the research that was available and known to them.

Pomme is French for Apple – A great show and free Concert

If you enjoyed the performance of Abena and Bahia in Raisin in the Sun you will see a different side to these actresses and the talents they have.  The material is fresh so that should definitely motivate you to check this out if you are in the Toronto area. It sounds like a lot of fun and surprises are in store.  Phone and reserve your seat today. Do it now.

Pomme is French for Apple
Saturday Dec 4 at 10:00pm
Kevin and Roger Garland Cabaret

Creators Liza Paul and Bahia Watson are joined on stage by Abena Malika for a raucous look at the glory of womanhood: its perils, its pleasures, and everything in between.

 

It’s Africa’s turn now to get western investor’s attention

Kenyan intellectual thinks it is Africa’s turn to be the recipient of solid investments by rich westerners. Read the arguments he makes for this:

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2640

Africa today contributes barely 1.5% to world trade, but its future is brighter than that number might suggest. The continent has a growing middle class, institutions that are investing heavily in infrastructure, and in another decade, it will emerge as a market of one billion consumers. Elkanah Odembo, Kenya’s ambassador to the U.S., visited Wharton recently and spoke with Knowledge@Wharton about the potential rewards and risks of investing in Africa.

Jennifer Grey’s consistent high performance pays off

At 50 Jennifer Grey appeared in top form in Dancing with the Stars and she consistently delivered the goods with her partner Derek Hough, week after week to cap the coveted title.  She danced with grace and ease and was one of the reasons I tuned in each week not to mention that her performance in Dirty Dancing is one of my all time favourite. I thought she and her late  dancing partner in Dirty Dancing were mesmerizing in that film.

   In spite of a little disc problem Jennifer still danced last evenings was her usual self – one wouldn’t have known she was in pain but it was sweet pain for it paid off for her – the Mirror Ball Trophy. 

Kyle Massey, Disney star and Bristol Palin, daughter of the famed Sarah Palin, came in second and third respectively which were also great feats for them as they were relatively pretty wet behind the ears when it came to dancing and they rose like the cream to the top, so kudos for them too.

How safe is your “green” products?

Are you into green cleaning stuff?  If so you’d better read this.   What are we doing to ourselves and the environment. It is time to return to simpler days. Use the things your parents or grandparents used perhaps they’d be better than some of the so-called “green organic stuff”.  This is making the consumer insane. Who can they trust.  You read that “Green” products are better for the environment and better for our health only to find out that we are not given the entire story. Green or not, everyone is trying to make a quick buck at the consumer expense. 
I personally, am tired of reading labels and try to simplify life by using simple things – like ordinary soap and water to wash dishes, use arm and hammer to clean my clothes etc. Why pay through the nose for “new and improved” stuff that’s just as bad.  Who is looking us for us the consumer? Who is making sure that we get what we think we’re getting.  It’s time to return to simpler times and let us put a halt to increasing consumerism and product development.  They only get worse not better.