If Tyra Banks were a man, this would not be headline news:
Table of Contents - Feb. 5, 2007 : AOL Entertainment News
TYRA TALKS BACK
Body by Tyra Banks: Then & Now : AOL Entertainment News
SUMMARY: This article discusses Tyra's weight gain of 30 lbs, and her response to the media regarding her choice to be a normal sized woman.
Sad thing is... I am grateful that she "went public" about this topic.
And so disheartened that such a topic is important for women.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Thursday, January 18, 2007
#59 - I Am Powerful: Helping Women Throughout the World
Take a few moments out of today to visit CARE, and international charitable and advocacy program designed to empower women throughout the world.
Here is a beautiful video clip to interoduce you to their work:
http://www.care.org/features/videogallery/2006/iap.asp
The website is relatively easy to navigate and you can contribute to their advocacy campaigns within the United States with just a few brief minutes dedicated to petition signing and contacting your government officials:
CARE Action Network
Consider this your daily contribution to sending out some good karma!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
#58 - Everyone in Levy County Florida Died this Year
Every single person in Levy County, Florida (population 34, 450) died this year due to war.
Every single individual of Cowley County, Kansas (population 36,685) was injured in the past year from this war.
All citizens were non-combatants.
Do you hate the title of this blog entry?
So do I.
Why would you write such a thing, some may ask.
Here's why.
Huge numbers are incomprehensible to us.
What does it mean when we read 34,452 civilian Iraqis were killed in warfare this past year?
I started thinking about that.
I know Baghdad is about the same size as my hometown city, Buffalo, NY.
So I imagine warfare so close to where I live...
and I am able to just merely scratch the surface of a reality that is so distant from my own.
A reality so far away as to seem unreal.
Here is the headline I received today in my Globe and Mail news update:
globeandmail.com: 34,452 Iraqi civilians killed last year, UN says
I looked at the body count number in that headline and almost closed the e-mail into my delete pile.
I have numbed myself.
Body counts, body counts.
People in my generation grew up with body counts broadcast daily during the dinner hour on the news broadcasts.
That was during the Vietnam War.
And those numbers ticked off enough people to cause the citizens of the U.S. to say, "No more!"
Look, they didn't do a very good job of it.
The outcry made the war "unpopular"... which helped a lot...
BUT,
The military who were doing what their government asked of them got trampled in the melee that ensued.
And I think the same thing is happening now.
I don't have the right words or experience to say NO to war, but that I respect and love soldiers.
I have some incredible family who have served our country.
And one family member who is in the service now.
The youngest being my nephew. He is a Marine.
And he made the Iraq War real for me even though he does not speak of it to me.
I used to babysit him all the time when he was a toddler. Curly headed, mischievious, beautifully wide-eyed blue and so, so very innocent.
When you have tended someone as a baby, you never forget that about them...
even when they are all grown up with babies of their own.
And when my nephew went to Iraq... my heart ripped.
No, please no.
I saw the pain in my sister's eyes as her son went far away...
and that awful silence that ensues for families of the military.
They stay strong, they send only positive thoughts to their loved ones...
no time for grieving, or worrying oneself to tatters.
Keep it together.
Your loved one in the military has to, and you go along for the ride.
So, when I speak out against war...
how to say this?
I am not trying to attack the soldiers.
That would be beyond ridiculous.
What do I know about military life, war, international politics?
I don't.
Except through personal experience.
I know that war killed my uncle, tore away another uncle's legs, permanently changed two of my brothers, and has put my nephew's life in danger many times.
That's what I know about war.
I don't really know war.
I know peace.
So I can only speak of peace.
And on the side of peace, I ask you today to consider this...
This number: 34,452
That is how many people died in their homeland even though they were innocent of any violence. That number is 2 folks greater than the whole population of this place:
LEVY COUNTY FLORIDA.
And those two PEOPLE (not numbers) that did not fit into the population count. Imagine if those two people were your children, or parents, or any loved one.
The numbers 1 and 2 take on a whole new meaning don't they?
Now consider this:
36,685
That is how many innocent civilians were injured in Iraq.
What about OUR people you may ask.
Yes, I have numbers for that also...
but even more to help you understand how bad the Iraq war is.
Set some time aside for yourself before you go to this place.
Because now you will see faces.
You will see all of the young faces of American soldiers killed in the Iraq War. A War that has now lasted longer than the U.S. involvement of WW II (the war to end all wars):
CNN.com - Special Reports
and when you get to the photo of this young woman
Sgt. Cari A. Gasiewicz
28
Company B, 202nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 513th Military Intelligence Brigade
Depew, New York
Killed when two roadside bombs detonated near her convoy in Baquba, Iraq, on December 4, 2004
say a little prayer for her family... my family.
She is related to my neices and nephew.
She was murdered just shy of her time to return home.
Her family planned a "late Christmas" to celebrate her homecoming.
Instead they had to greet her home with a funeral.
RESOURCES
CNN.com - Special Reports
globeandmail.com: 34,452 Iraqi civilians killed last year, UN says
Northwest Florida - Levy County
Bronson
Gulf Hammock
Otter Creek
Cedar Key
Inglis
Williston
Chiefland
Morriston
Yankeetown
Population information for Cowley County, Kansas
http://budget.ks.gov/publications/FY2002/2000_Certification(rev%207-24-00).pdf
Every single individual of Cowley County, Kansas (population 36,685) was injured in the past year from this war.
All citizens were non-combatants.
Do you hate the title of this blog entry?
So do I.
Why would you write such a thing, some may ask.
Here's why.
Huge numbers are incomprehensible to us.
What does it mean when we read 34,452 civilian Iraqis were killed in warfare this past year?
I started thinking about that.
I know Baghdad is about the same size as my hometown city, Buffalo, NY.
So I imagine warfare so close to where I live...
and I am able to just merely scratch the surface of a reality that is so distant from my own.
A reality so far away as to seem unreal.
Here is the headline I received today in my Globe and Mail news update:
globeandmail.com: 34,452 Iraqi civilians killed last year, UN says
I looked at the body count number in that headline and almost closed the e-mail into my delete pile.
I have numbed myself.
Body counts, body counts.
People in my generation grew up with body counts broadcast daily during the dinner hour on the news broadcasts.
That was during the Vietnam War.
And those numbers ticked off enough people to cause the citizens of the U.S. to say, "No more!"
Look, they didn't do a very good job of it.
The outcry made the war "unpopular"... which helped a lot...
BUT,
The military who were doing what their government asked of them got trampled in the melee that ensued.
And I think the same thing is happening now.
I don't have the right words or experience to say NO to war, but that I respect and love soldiers.
I have some incredible family who have served our country.
And one family member who is in the service now.
The youngest being my nephew. He is a Marine.
And he made the Iraq War real for me even though he does not speak of it to me.
I used to babysit him all the time when he was a toddler. Curly headed, mischievious, beautifully wide-eyed blue and so, so very innocent.
When you have tended someone as a baby, you never forget that about them...
even when they are all grown up with babies of their own.
And when my nephew went to Iraq... my heart ripped.
No, please no.
I saw the pain in my sister's eyes as her son went far away...
and that awful silence that ensues for families of the military.
They stay strong, they send only positive thoughts to their loved ones...
no time for grieving, or worrying oneself to tatters.
Keep it together.
Your loved one in the military has to, and you go along for the ride.
So, when I speak out against war...
how to say this?
I am not trying to attack the soldiers.
That would be beyond ridiculous.
What do I know about military life, war, international politics?
I don't.
Except through personal experience.
I know that war killed my uncle, tore away another uncle's legs, permanently changed two of my brothers, and has put my nephew's life in danger many times.
That's what I know about war.
I don't really know war.
I know peace.
So I can only speak of peace.
And on the side of peace, I ask you today to consider this...
This number: 34,452
That is how many people died in their homeland even though they were innocent of any violence. That number is 2 folks greater than the whole population of this place:
LEVY COUNTY FLORIDA.
And those two PEOPLE (not numbers) that did not fit into the population count. Imagine if those two people were your children, or parents, or any loved one.
The numbers 1 and 2 take on a whole new meaning don't they?
Now consider this:
36,685
The population of COWLEY COUNTY, KANSAS.
That is how many innocent civilians were injured in Iraq.
What about OUR people you may ask.
Yes, I have numbers for that also...
but even more to help you understand how bad the Iraq war is.
Set some time aside for yourself before you go to this place.
Because now you will see faces.
You will see all of the young faces of American soldiers killed in the Iraq War. A War that has now lasted longer than the U.S. involvement of WW II (the war to end all wars):
CNN.com - Special Reports
and when you get to the photo of this young woman
Sgt. Cari A. Gasiewicz
28
Company B, 202nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 513th Military Intelligence Brigade
Depew, New York
Killed when two roadside bombs detonated near her convoy in Baquba, Iraq, on December 4, 2004
say a little prayer for her family... my family.
She is related to my neices and nephew.
She was murdered just shy of her time to return home.
Her family planned a "late Christmas" to celebrate her homecoming.
Instead they had to greet her home with a funeral.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE YOUR VOICE TO PROMOTE PEACE?
There are numerous ways to do so.
Peace begins one person at a time. You may choose to create peace in your daily actions. Do something today to lighten someone's burden, choose empathy instead of anger today, say a prayer, meditate... ask yourself what you can do... the answer will come to you.
There are many paths.
Here is one example:
Mother Teresa The Path of Love
Do you feel you would like to participate with others?
There are many oraganizations out there.
Here is one:
Please feel free to comment, add suggestiions... correct me if you feel that I have misspoken.
I am not writing as an expert.
I am still learning.
Loretta Kelly, B.S. Ed., M.S.W.
RESOURCES
CNN.com - Special Reports
globeandmail.com: 34,452 Iraqi civilians killed last year, UN says
Northwest Florida - Levy County
Bronson
Gulf Hammock
Otter Creek
Cedar Key
Inglis
Williston
Chiefland
Morriston
Yankeetown
Population information for Cowley County, Kansas
http://budget.ks.gov/publications/FY2002/2000_Certification(rev%207-24-00).pdf
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)