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A great line from Eunice Kennedy Shriver:

“Let me win. But if I cannot win, then let me be brave in the attempt.”

5/7/13 — 10:52am Short URL: http://tmblr.co/ZIyDlwkRiKQy Filed under: #inspiring 
Baby With H.I.V. is Reported Cured!

This was the first article I read this morning, and it is nice to wake up to some good news.  This could be a game changer in terms of infant health.  Unfortunately, this may not relate to adults living with H.I.V. but any progress in understanding how to defeat this disease is great leap forward!

3/4/13 — 3:39am Short URL: http://tmblr.co/ZIyDlwfUIISE Filed under: #NYTimes HIV 
Israel: Israeli Bus Company Introducing 'Palestinian Only' Buses (via @Gawker)

Shocking article.  History is repeating itself.  Separate is not Equal!

Following complaints by West Bank settlers that Palestinians posed a “security risk” to fellow bus riders, the Afikim bus company will begin running separate buses for settlers and Palestinians traveling into the State of Israel, beginning this Monday morning.

Source: Gawker
3/4/13 — 3:32am Short URL: http://tmblr.co/ZIyDlwfUHaWG Filed under: #Occupation 
Kenya: What went wrong in 2007? - Features - Al Jazeera English
3/4/13 — 3:24am Short URL: http://tmblr.co/ZIyDlwfUGnuN
Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter: International intervention in Mali and its impact on refugees

Please read and repost!

Notes: 1 3/4/13 — 3:13am Short URL: http://tmblr.co/ZIyDlwfUFYk_
On the Map

According to Simon Garfield in his new book On the Map: A Mind-Expanding Exploration of the Way the World Looks, some scientists have suggested that mapping—not language—is what elevated our prehistoric ancestors from ape-dom.  It’s true.  Many species can communicate with one another, but only humans create maps.  

Heard on WNYC: The Leonard Lopate Show

2/27/13 — 4:36am Short URL: http://tmblr.co/ZIyDlwf6V4z5
Noon Pacific

I just signed up for the music playlist NoonPacific on 8tracks.

You can check out their latest playlist, “Fall in California” ~ it’s pretty good!

10/16/12 — 1:58am Short URL: http://tmblr.co/ZIyDlwVOSFd3 Filed under: #Music 
Fahamu Refugee Legal Aid Newsletter: Refugees denied legal rights in Israel

frlan:

Contributed by Amali Tower, a refugee rights advocate currently working in refugee resettlement in Africa. Amali holds a Master of International Affairs focused in human rights from Columbia University.

Race riots, anti-African sentiment, and xenophobic attacks against…

Notes: 4 7/2/12 — 5:34am Short URL: http://tmblr.co/ZIyDlwOXtoZ7
2012 Global Peace Index The Institute for Economics and Peace announced their 2012 Global Peace Index rankings on 12 June and sub-Saharan Africa received some good news - the region is no longer listed as the “Least Peaceful” region on Earth! That distinction now belongs to the lumped together Middle East & North Africa. This is understandable considering that they added nations affected by the turbulent Arab Spring movement, to the perennially least peaceful nations of Iraq (155), Sudan (156) and Afghanistan (157). Syria, Egypt, Tunisia and Oman are listed as nations becoming “less peaceful”. We still have a long way to go, with Somalia (158) and DRC (154) being listed amongst the bottom 5 of least peaceful countries of the 158 countries assessed. For the second year in a row, Iceland was listed as the most peaceful nation, and Western Europe as the most peaceful region. With the end of its Civil War, Sri Lanka made the biggest jump this year, going from 130 in 2011 to 103 in 2012. The good news is that, according to GPI’s Indicators, every other region in the world has become more peaceful by some amount. But is the absence of war really peace? Here are the GPI Indicators that the Institute for Economics and Peace have outlined. It is hard to argue that things like decreased military expenditure, violent crime and number of homicides are not valid indicators of peace. But what about other social structures that can harm individuals? Proponents of the Structural Violence model, like Johan Galtung or Paul Farmer, would probably have us look at a host of more subtle factors when determining the level of peace in the world. For example, we can look at health care most specifically.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                The WHO estimates that 650,000 people died from Malaria in 2010. And most of those deaths occurred in Africa. A lack of enough mosquito nets is a structural violence issue - it is not caused by a man with a gun, or by a lack of police or security forces. It is caused by the invisible societal structures of inequality, yet it still causes injury and death to people.                                                                                                                                                So, for the child that may die from malaria in Africa from a lack of mosquito nets, the GPI data showing their country becoming slightly more “peaceful” is not very comforting.

2012 Global Peace Index


The Institute for Economics and Peace announced their 2012 Global Peace Index rankings on 12 June and sub-Saharan Africa received some good news - the region is no longer listed as the “Least Peaceful” region on Earth!

That distinction now belongs to the lumped together Middle East & North Africa.

This is understandable considering that they added nations affected by the turbulent Arab Spring movement, to the perennially least peaceful nations of Iraq (155), Sudan (156) and Afghanistan (157).

Syria, Egypt, Tunisia and Oman are listed as nations becoming “less peaceful”.

We still have a long way to go, with Somalia (158) and DRC (154) being listed amongst the bottom 5 of least peaceful countries of the 158 countries assessed.

For the second year in a row, Iceland was listed as the most peaceful nation, and Western Europe as the most peaceful region.

With the end of its Civil War, Sri Lanka made the biggest jump this year, going from 130 in 2011 to 103 in 2012.

The good news is that, according to GPI’s Indicators, every other region in the world has become more peaceful by some amount.

But is the absence of war really peace?

Here are the GPI Indicators that the Institute for Economics and Peace have outlined.

It is hard to argue that things like decreased military expenditure, violent crime and number of homicides are not valid indicators of peace. But what about other social structures that can harm individuals?

Proponents of the Structural Violence model, like Johan Galtung or Paul Farmer, would probably have us look at a host of more subtle factors when determining the level of peace in the world. For example, we can look at health care most specifically.      
                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                                    
The WHO estimates that 650,000 people died from Malaria in 2010. And most of those deaths occurred in Africa. A lack of enough mosquito nets is a structural violence issue - it is not caused by a man with a gun, or by a lack of police or security forces. It is caused by the invisible societal structures of inequality, yet it still causes injury and death to people.
                                                                                                                                              
So, for the child that may die from malaria in Africa from a lack of mosquito nets, the GPI data showing their country becoming slightly more “peaceful” is not very comforting.
High-res 6/13/12 — 12:48pm Short URL: http://tmblr.co/ZIyDlwNJVw6G Filed under: #Global Peace Index 
The True Size of Africa

I love this!    

I know it has been floating on the internet for a while, but I think it is brilliant!

5/9/12 — 3:47am Short URL: http://tmblr.co/ZIyDlwL9Rhks Filed under: #Africa  #Maps