| Friday, December 16, 2005 |  |
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 16 Dec 2005 @ 01:05
"New research shows early humans were living in Britain around 700,000 years ago, substantially earlier than previously thought. Using new dating techniques, scientists found that flint tools unearthed in Pakefield, Suffolk, were 200,000 years older than the previous oldest finds."*
* http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4526264.stm"
The Latest issue of British Archaeology January-February 2006) has a well illustrated 10 page article on the discovery.
OK and this story is also in the January-February 2006 issue for Bunny Hotep:
Britain's first rabbit - and someone ate it
What did the Normans do for us? One traditional answer is bring rabbits. New evidence suggests that Romans had already done it. The butchered bones of a small Mediterranean-type rabbit have been found at Lynford, Norfolk, in a pit dating to 50BC-100AD. Our wild rabbits are thought to have evolved from Mediterranean ancestors. It is likely Romans brought them to Britain to trade, breed and eat. Coincidentally, the dig was close to another ancient butchery site - where Neanderthals had eaten mammoths. Two rabbit bones have also been found at third century AD Beddingham Roman villa, East Sussex.
Back to the story at hand....
Nature had a press conference with for of the people involved in the site:
Interviews are streaming video here:
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 16 Dec 2005 @ 00:01
Every year there seems to be more hip about spending at Xmas. I really like the notion of reclaiming the Spirit of the Season from the comsumer industries. This campaign began in Canada, but has spread globally. Visit the website for resources and suggestions for gift giving alternatives.
What Is Buy Nothing Christmas? Buy Nothing Christmas is a national initiative started by Canadian Mennonites who offer a prophetic “no” to the patterns of overconsumption of middle-class North Americans. They are inviting Christians (and others) all over Canada to join a movement to de-commercialize Christmas and re-design a Christian lifestyle that is richer in meaning, smaller in impact upon the earth, and greater in giving to people less-privileged.
Mennonites are Christians who are community-oriented, counter-culture pacifists (at least in theory — in reality, they span the spectrums of class, economic power, political influence and accommodation to culture). Their organization is egalitarian and inclusive, with an emphasis on welcoming strangers and helping people in need at home and abroad. The life and teachings of Jesus in the New Testament are primary.
They believe Jesus gave fairly clear and prosaic lessons on how to live (see Matthew, chs. 5-7) a radical lifestyle which is profoundly spiritual with a socio-economic impact. Historically, they constitute the radical wing of the 16th Century Protestant Reformation. They were persecuted by both Lutherans and Catholics for their alternative, anti-institutional, community lifestyle, their insistence that the church should remain separate from the state, that people should be baptized as adults, and that personal faith should be evident to others by a communal life that is peace-loving and concerned about the alleviating the suffering of others.
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| Thursday, December 15, 2005 | |
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15 Dec 2005 @ 17:12
"Changing the world for the better takes passion, dedication, information, resources, timeliness and mutual support. Today's activists need to access all that faster than ever before, so Feminist.com puts it at our fingertips.” – Gloria Steinem
A DECADE ON THE INTERNET SERVING WOMEN AND GIRLS FEMINIST.COM CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY DECEMBER 2005
December 15, 2005 - New York, NY – December 2005 marks the 10-year anniversary of Feminist.com, a thriving online community and the definitive hub for resources and information dedicated to women's equality, justice, wellness and safety. Today, Feminist.com maintains an ongoing and growing appeal, welcoming more than 75,000 visitors each month ! from all over the world, and tens of thousands of sites and search engines link to the site. Like a “feminist Google,” Feminist.com facilitates connections between women and the many, varied organizations serving their needs and interests worldwide.
In 1995, at a time when very few organizations - especially women’s organizations - had web sites, Feminist.com was launched by a group of twenty-something experts in the fields of activism, law, television, journalism, music, marketing and communications to initiate and facilitate grassroots mobilization and communication around political, health and educational issues related to women.
“When we launched Feminist.com the Internet was in its infancy and young women had few comprehensive resources to educate themselves about feminist issues and ideas, ” notes Marianne Schnall, Founder and President of Feminist.com. “I envisioned Feminist.com as a user-friendly space on the Internet w! here women could not only find information they were seeking but they could also connect to other women and women’s groups across the country and around the world.”
For the last ten years, Feminist.com has provided a pro bono web presence for numerous leading women’s organizations and continues to provide a web presence for nascent organizations as they launch, playing a vital role as their link to their constituencies and other interested parties. For groups that already have web sites of their own, Feminist.com helps spotlight and promote their specific campaigns and issues.
As a library, a promoter of activism, a networking engine, and an Internet “home” for women all over the world, Feminist.com advances women-friendly organizations, increases civic involvement, and promotes self-sufficiency, spiritual health and general wellness - always in keeping with the spirit of its mission of "Awareness, Education, Activism and Empowerment.”
Feminist.com has won countless awards for its! comprehensive content and resources, and has been reported on extensively in national publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Ms. Magazine for its dedication to promoting and sustaining women's well-being.
What the media are saying about Feminist.com: "FEMINIST.COM+WOMEN=POWER. You're a feminist lost in cyberspace; how do you cut through the endless wilds of data and find womyn-friendly space? Go to [link], the guiding light for progressive women on the Web." -- Ms. Magazine
“Check out Feminist.com for a nicely connected resource on a wide range of issues involving women -- activists or not. You’ll find everything from health and fitness reports to the latest news on what politicians are up to.” -- USA Today Online, “Net Sites of Note”
For more information or media inquiries about Feminist.com, please contact Susan Celia Swan/Mat! t Dunn at swan@swanllc.com or call 212-253-1823. www.feminist.com
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 15 Dec 2005 @ 02:11
Kohenet Priestess Training Intensive
Rabbi Jill Hammer and Holly Taya Shere will be partnering to create a Jewish priestess training program, Kohenet: A Jewish Priestess Training Intensive, to begin sometime within the next year. Women who are interested in applying to the program should write to info@telshemesh.org.
How We Define the Hebrew Priestess:
A Hebrew priestess is a woman who has chosen to serve the Jewish people through the practice of consciously embodying the Shekhinah, the indwelling Divine Presence. The priestess creates wherever she is a mishkan, a shrine of holiness where space, time, and soul come together in unity.
The Shekhinah is the feminine Divine, immanent soul of creation and transcendent womb of the universe. She is described in the mystical teachings of the Zohar as mother and bride, earth, sea, and apple orchard. She has many faces: some have shined in Jewish tradition for centuries, while others have been lost or erased. Through service, creativity, and fellowship, the Hebrew priestess seeks to recover the faces of the Hebrew Goddess and live them into being. She seeks to reclaim women’s wisdom across time, from before the beginning of the Jewish people to the present day.
The original priests of the Israelite tradition cared for the sacred spaces of the people and served as keepers of the connection of earth, season, and spirit. Kohenet seeks to reclaim skills pertaining to sacred space and sacred community . While the women who commit to the priestess way of life may do many kinds of work in the world, they will share the task of bringing together holy space, holy time, and holy ways of being.
The Hebrew priestess acknowledges the earth as her temple, for as the Zohar says, the Shekhinah dwells within the dust of the ground. Though the priestess is rooted in an ancient and specific tradition, she recognizes that she is related to all creation, and seeks to nurture and protect life. She observes the passing of seasons, new moons, and Sabbaths as celebrations of the cycles of nature. The Hebrew priestess, as a keeper of the sacred earth, attempts to reclaim for the Jewish people the nature-based and shamanic elements that lie within Jewish traditions, so that these teachings may serve and guide us.
The Kohenet training program is a two- to four-year course of sacred study through which women engage the Shekhinah’s archetypes through ritual, embodied practice, creative work, sacred story, and community. Initiates will learn traditional priestessing tools including ritual-making, dreaming, spirit-journeying, healing, chanting, divining, observation of the earth and seasons, holiday and Sabbath practice, and traditional mitzvot of lovingkindness. Each initiate will craft from these tools a rich and meaningful spiritual practice and a vision for how she will use her skills to serve others.
Two revelations in the wilderness lie at the core of the Jewish people’s spiritual experience. One is Sinai: the revelation of text, law, and covenant. The other is the mishkan: a portable shrine representing the earth, within which the Shekhinah reveals Herself. Jewish tradition for centuries has given primacy to the Sinai revelation. We believe it is time to re-invent the mishkan. We ask other women to join us on this transformative journey.
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| Wednesday, December 14, 2005 | |
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14 Dec 2005 @ 19:26
The island's earliest known human inhabitants were the descendants of the Chumash Indians who called this island Huima. Although they left no written records of their occupation, their civilization is studied by archeologists through the analysis of that which they left behind. Scientists agree man occupied this island for at least ten thousand years. An additional school of archeologists points to evidence suggesting a far greater antiquity to mans presence, in a setting perhaps contemporary with dwarf mammoths some 29,000 years ago.
The first written record concerning Santa Rosa Island is found in a journal of the expedition of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo who sailed to the coast of Southern California in 1542-1543 for the King of Spain. In the journal however, the island was called Nicalque, where three Indian villages were observed (Nichochi, Coycoy, and Estocoloco). Although Santa Rosa Island had been claimed for the Spain by Cabrillo, it was the 1793 English expedition of George Vancouver which standardized and finalized the names of the eight Southern California islands, including that of Santa Rosa.
Island Chumash society was vulnerable to both diseases and economic changes introduced by European contact, and as a result, their numbers greatly diminished. In 1805, Fr. Estevan Tapis of Mission Santa Barbara proposed moving the remaining Santa Rosa Islanders from their seven occupied rancherias to a mission on neighboring Santa Cruz Island in order to "bring the Gospel to the inhabitants of the Channel Islands." The island mission was never built, and by the end of the second decade of the 19th century, the last of the island Chumash had moved to mainland missions to learn new ways of animal husbandry and agriculture.
For more go here
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14 Dec 2005 @ 19:06
This makes me so Angry!! Please take action now!
Congressman Ducan Hunter (R- El Cajon) is trying to sneak an amendment into the Defense Appropriations bill to give control of Santa Rosa Island (now part of the Channel Islands National Park) to the Department of Defense to use as a Military recreation facility. The public would no longer be able to use the island. This is not a request from the military; it is coming out of Hunter's office. We must stop this!
Please read the attached article from the LA times and the statement from Ron Sundergill, Pacific regional director, National Parks Conservation Association who explains the likely hidden reason for this bizarre transfer of public park land to the Defense Dept.
Get Mad then make the following calls:
Congressman Duncan Hunter (202) 225-5672 - tell his office that you oppose this backroom deal.
Congresswoman Capps(Santa Barbara) (202) 225-3601 - Tell her you support her efforts to stop this
Congressman Gallegley (Mountain communities/Santa Ynez) (202) 225-5811 - Tell him to get on the horn to fellow Republican Hunter and say "back off!"
Tell our senators to stop this amendment:
Senator Boxer (202) 224-3553
Senator Feinstein (202) 224 3841
Senator John Warner (R-Virginia) ( 202) 224-2023 - This is the guy Hunter is negotiating with in the Senate to get this amendment included. Tell him this is sleazy and sneaky and to put a stop to it.
This could happen this week! Thanks for you help. Forward to people you think will be concerned.
Ann Wisehart
December 10, 2005 latimes.com
Military Wants Santa Rosa Island
By Tim Reiterman and Richard Simon, Times Staff Writers
WASHINGTON - A California congressman confirmed Friday that he wants to convert Santa Rosa Island in Channel Islands National Park into a Department of Defense installation for military recreation and special forces training - a move critics say would severely limit public access.
The proposal by Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, is being circulated as an amendment to a defense authorization bill that both houses of Congress began hashing out this week.
Hunter put forward a similar measure in May, but withdrew it after objections from environmentalists and Democrats and after consulting with Republicans.
In a statement e-mailed Friday night by his spokesman, Hunter said the proposed amendment "would broaden the recreational use of Santa Rosa Island to the benefit of wounded and disabled members of the armed services who have sacrificed for our country."
Through the spokesman, Hunter declined to discuss the amendment, citing ongoing negotiations with his Senate counterpart, John Warner (R-Va.). Warner's office did not return calls seeking comment.
Hunter's proposal calls for the Department of Defense to transform the 53,000-acre island into a military operation, effective Jan. 1, 2009. The goal, the proposal said, was to provide "morale, welfare and recreation activities to members of the armed forces and their dependents, veterans, official guests and such other persons as the [Defense] secretary determines to be appropriate, including paralyzed and disabled persons."
The island, according to the proposal, also could provide training areas for special operations forces and would continue to allow deer and elk hunting that is currently permitted.
Critics of the proposal said military personnel already can visit the park, just like the general public.
Rep. Lois Capps, a Democrat whose Santa Barbara district encompasses Santa Rosa Island, said the proposal is a bad idea "that is being pushed in secret negotiations."
"All Americans should have access to the Channel Islands National Park, not just top military brass, members of Congress and folks who can pay thousands of dollars to go on private hunting trips," Capps said.
Santa Rosa is the second-largest of the five Channel Islands that make up the park.
The proposal did not state that the island would be removed from the national park, but said the Defense Department would run the island.
Environmentalists adamantly oppose the proposal, saying it would deny the general public access to a significant portion of a park created two decades ago.
"The public would be completely frozen out," said Ron Sundergill, regional director of the National Parks Conservation Assn. "For all intents and purposes . it would no longer be a national park. It would be a military recreational compound."
A spokeswoman for the Department of Defense declined to comment, saying that it was premature to discuss any proposal that was not formally incorporated into the bill.
National Park Service spokeswoman Holly Bundock said the agency has heard about the proposal and is concerned that shifting control to the military would substantially cut public access to a scenic island with rare wildlife and plants, including the Santa Rosa Island manzanita, the Santa Rosa Island soft-leaved paintbrush and the Island fox.
"Santa Rosa is a public island," she said. "Taxpayers bought the island . and we operate it as a national park."
Beginning in the mid-1800s, Santa Rosa Island was a cattle ranch - and later sheep were introduced. When it was sold to Vail & Vickers Co. in 1902, the island was devoted exclusively to cattle raising.
The federal government purchased Santa Rosa Island for $30 million. In 1986, it became part of Channel Islands National Park along with four other islands in the chain - Santa Barbara, Anacapa, Santa Cruz and San Miguel.
Officials say the park had more than 500,000 visitors last year.
The public can visit by boat and there is an airstrip. Visitors can camp and hike the island, which is 15 miles long and 10 miles wide.
The former owners of the island are permitted to continue operating a deer and elk hunting concession on the island through 2011.
The congressional proposal would allow that operation to continue until then.
CA Republican Duncan Hunter's amendment would deny the public access to Santa Rosa Island within Channel Islands National Park, converting it to Military Uses
By: Ron Sundergill, Pacific Regional Director, National Parks Conservation Association
Published: Dec 10, 2005 at 09:12
Following is a press statement by Ron Sundergill, Pacific regional director, National Parks Conservation Association:
We have learned that Representative Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, is planning to propose an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill that would shift Santa Rosa Island, the second largest island within Channel Islands National Park, to an exclusive recreational outpost and game reserve for armed forces personnel and veterans, eliminating broader public access. In addition, the amendment would allow Special Operations Forces to use the island for military training.
The clearest indication of the intent of this amendment comes from reviewing a similar proposal Rep. Hunter made to a military spending bill earlier this year. He withdrew that highly controversial amendment after objections were raised, and after it became apparent that the Department of Defense had not even asked for it. The first version of his amendment was a bad idea and the new, dressed up version is no better.
We recommend that Rep. Hunter abandon this misguided amendment, which undoes a mediated settlement approved by a court of law in the fall of 1997 to protect threatened resources on the island.
This amendment is an attempt to grab a large portion of Channel Islands National Park and, in part, turn it into an exclusive commercial elk and deer hunting island compound for a small portion of Americans, and would result in a sweetheart deal for a well-connected family that has already sold their estate effective at the end of 2011 for $30 million. The proposal would turn administration of the second largest island within the park, Santa Rosa Island, over to the Secretary of Defense. Santa Rosa Island's land mass is 52,794 acres and it encompasses over 42 percent of the land mass within the National Park.
Islands National Park lands were set aside by our nation for the use and enjoyment by all Americans -- the young, the old, civilians, military personnel, veterans and nature lovers -- who go there to soak in the fresh air and marvel at its beauty. All Americans should continue to fully enjoy the wonders of this park.
Why would Representative Hunter, why would anybody for that matter, want to suddenly restrict a large portion of this beautiful place to a small portion of Americans? It makes no sense!
We can only guess that the reason this is being proposed is to protect the commercial interest that operates the elk and deer hunting venture on the island. The owners of the venture, whose family sold the island to the federal government in 1986 for nearly $30 million, will be required to end their commercial activities in 2011. The timeline for ending the elk and deer hunting results from a legally binding agreement between the National Park Service and the National Parks Conservation Association, but the owners of the hunting venture strongly objected to the agreement.
If Santa Rosa Island is turned over to the Department of Defense for military recreation and other purposes, the permit for the commercial hunting operation is then likely to be renewed. This is especially evident since the proposed amendment requires that the current contract with the commercial hunting operation be honored, and contains no restriction on the renewal of the contract.
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| Tuesday, December 13, 2005 | |
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13 Dec 2005 @ 20:53
There are two events you might be interested in knowing about:
WINTER SOLSTICE RITUAL, SPIRAL DANCE AND FEAST
Join us as we celebrating 34 years of Dianic Tradition in Los Angeles. We will welcome and bless our three newest community members, Jezebel Moon, Sydney Diane and Solea Mai all born this year.
Saturday, December 17 at 7:00PM Topanga Canyon On the longest night of the year, we renew our spirits, celebrate our visions and ideas that give birth to form, and honor the Goddess who carries us through the winter season. Our community will ritually welcome new babies born this year. Mothers with newborns must contact Letecia letecia@seizethemagic.com no later than Dec 13.
Place: Topanga Canyon (Indoors) Donation Requested: $13.00-$9.00 (sliding scale) No woman is turned away for lack of funds. *All proceeds help fund COA's community rituals and special events.
WHAT TO BRING: *Healthy vegetarian food and/or drink to share (absolutely no alcohol please) *Plate, cup, utensils for the feast (In honor of our Earth Mother COA will not provide paper goods) *Wear comfortable festive clothing and supportive shoes (the floor at the Community house is terrible for bare feet) Optional: White candle in jars (fire regulations prevent lighting any not in jars) for our communal altar, donations for BRIGID'S WELL
RSVP: letecia@seizethemagic.com Thursday, December 15, 2004 Please leave a message including your name, phone number and the number of women you plan to bring. Let us know if you or your guests are newcomers,and if you or your guests will be bringing girls under 15. Please do not call COA the weekend of the ritual, as we are extremely busy preparing and will not be able to process your email.
FOR NEWCOMERS: Newcomers are warmly welcomed! We want your experience to be optimal so we have created these guidelines in your interest. Women new to Goddess spirituality must be advised that the ritual is a participatory religious service and is not structured to be an introduction to the Goddess of to Feminist Witchcraft. The following books are suggested reading before attending a public ritual: The Spiral Dance by Starhawk , The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries by Z Budapest , Ariandne's Thread by Shekhinah Mountainwater , 'Invocation to Free Women' (audiocassette) by Barrett and Flowers or Women's Rites Women's Mysteries by Ruth Barrett. These are available at your local book store. If you are planning on bringing newcomers to the ritual, please be responsible to them and COA by preparing your guests in advance. Give your guests a general idea of what to expect so that they can participate in benefit of themselves and all women present. Note: Women born women only.
RITUAL LOCATION: In doors in Topanga Canyon. Women Only Please RSVP letecia@seizethemagic.com including your name, telephone number, and how many women you plan to bring. This is a participatory ritual is for serious seekers only.
Once the circle is cast we cannot admit latecomers, so please arrive on time, Doors open at 6:30pm and will be locked at 7 pm. Carpool if possible.
*** Greetings from Circle of Aradia, your Los Angeles Dianic community! To view a calendar of upcoming Circle of Aradia events, classes and rituals, visit [link] , or visit our website at www.circleofaradia.org .
*************************************************************
Long Beach WomanSpirit and Temple of Isis/Los Angeles invite you to our 2005 WINTER SOLSTICE RITUAL Saturday, December 17th Unitarian Universalist Church 5450 Atherton, Long Beach Doors open at 7:00pm - Ritual begins at 7:30pm $10 donation requested no one turned away for lack of funds
CELEBRATE WITH US AS THE WHEEL TURNS AND WE LEAVE THE DARKNESS BEHIND AND ENTER THE SEASON OF LIGHT. HELP CREATE A VISION OF HOPE AND LOVE DURING THIS TROUBLED TIME IN OUR WORLD. Bring a votive candle in a holder and a potluck dish to share. Also bring a small giftette for the women and children at our local women's sheelter. Either a small toy, toiletry item, or a book. Thank you for helping us support these families. Event not sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Church
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 13 Dec 2005 @ 02:47
Harold Pinter's Nobel Lecture was pre-recorded, and shown on video December 7, 2005, in Börssalen at the Swedish Academy in Stockholm.
Due to heavy visitor traffic at the moment, you may have difficulties viewing the lecture. Welcome back later.
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| Thursday, December 8, 2005 | |
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8 Dec 2005 @ 17:10
I was disappointed to read this article about Wikpedia. What people will do to harm others. I use Wikpedia often to research and review information. Thought you would like to read the article too
A false Wikipedia 'biography'
By John Seigenthaler
"John Seigenthaler Sr. was the assistant to Attorney General Robert Kennedy in the early 1960's. For a brief time, he was thought to have been directly involved in the Kennedy assassinations of both John, and his brother, Bobby. Nothing was ever proven."
— Wikipedia
This is a highly personal story about Internet character assassination. It could be your story.
I have no idea whose sick mind conceived the false, malicious "biography" that appeared under my name for 132 days on Wikipedia, the popular, online, free encyclopedia whose authors are unknown and virtually untraceable. There was more:
"John Seigenthaler moved to the Soviet Union in 1971, and returned to the United States in 1984," Wikipedia said. "He started one of the country's largest public relations firms shortly thereafter."
At age 78, I thought I was beyond surprise or hurt at anything negative said about me. I was wrong. One sentence in the biography was true. I was Robert Kennedy's administrative assistant in the early 1960s. I also was his pallbearer. It was mind-boggling when my son, John Seigenthaler, journalist with NBC News, phoned later to say he found the same scurrilous text on Reference.com and Answers.com More >
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8 Dec 2005 @ 16:36
"The Top-20 2005 is a consensus list of vulnerabilities that require immediate remediation." "We have only listed critical vulnerabilities from the past year and a half or so. If you have not patched your systems for a length of time, it is highly recommended that you first patch the vulnerabilities listed in the Top-20 2004 list"
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| Monday, November 7, 2005 | |
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7 Nov 2005 @ 21:03
I just returned from GABNET's National Confrence co-hosted by UCLA SAMAHANG PILIPINO:
DEFINING OURSELVES, SHAPING OUR REALITY:
THE ISMs THROUGH WOMEN’S EYES
A National Conference for Filipinas and Allies
November 4-6, 2005
UCLA Los Angeles, CA
Where do we fit, how do we see ourselves, how do we navigate as Filipinas, activists and/or allies in America? Gather your ideas, discuss with friends and relatives, and bring them to Los Angeles in November!
From November 4 to 6, 2005, GABRIELA Network and UCLA Samahang Pilipino will host a historic conference that will gather together over 500 women of Philippine ancestry and their allies. The national conference will be at the University of California, Los Angeles. There will be workshops, plenaries and opportunities for networking. At the end of the conference, participants will have the opportunity to take part in forming a plan of action to address specific issues that have been identified.
RELEVANCE OF SUCH A CONFERENCE. Women of Philippine ancestry comprise over 55% of the overall 2.36 million Filipinos in the United States. They tend to fill the ranks of the service industry mainly as nurses, domestic workers, and clerks. With more than half of women being first generation immigrants, there must be a comprehensive understanding of policies that govern migration from the Philippines. An analysis of push-pull forces, particularly root causes of migration, economic development plans, and the concrete situation in host countries like the United States.
Women of Philippine ancestry contribute to American society on a number of levels--political, economic, cultural, and social. Despite these successes, Filipinas have not been without struggle in the United States. Filipinas are still the target of racism, discrimination, sexism, exploitation, and violence. Many women face harsh or unjust working conditions, often being overworked and underpaid, especially for the levels of education they have. For example, although roughly 40% of Filipinas have a college degree, many are unable to find work in their areas of study. Filipinas have some of the highest domestic violence rates in the United States and the highest suicide rate among youth ages 14 to 25. Furthermore, although there is large participation of women of Philippine ancestry in mainstream America, there remains invisibility in terms of representation in media, culture, and education. Thus, given the lack of information on the experience of women of Philippine ancestry in the United States, it is necessary to come together for the purpose of learning and exchanging ideas and histories as well as taking action.
It was great to experience this event with my eldest sister, Carolina. It was our first time with radically political Filipinas.
I hope the keynote speakers:
Ninotchka Rosca
Congresswoman, Liza Lagoza Maza (GABRIELA Woman's Party)
Emmi de Jesus, Secretary General, GABRIELA Philippines
Judith Mirkinson, WAIL
Amirah Lidasan
Dorotea Mendoza, Secertary General, Gabriela Network, USA
Etc.....
Have their presentations up on the net so you can experience them yourselves.
I am still processing all the data shared!
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 7 Nov 2005 @ 23:11
All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena risks losing its tax-exempt status because of a former rector's remarks in 2004.
By Patricia Ward Biederman and Jason Felch
Times Staff Writers
November 7, 2005
The Internal Revenue Service has warned one of Southern California's largest and most liberal churches that it is at risk of losing its tax-exempt status because of an antiwar sermon two days before the 2004 presidential election.
Antiwar Sermon Brings IRS Warning of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena told many congregants during morning services Sunday that a guest sermon by the church's former rector, the Rev. George F. Regas, on Oct. 31, 2004, had prompted a letter from the IRS.
In his sermon, Regas, who from the pulpit opposed both the Vietnam War and 1991's Gulf War, imagined Jesus participating in a political debate with then-candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry. Regas said that "good people of profound faith" could vote for either man, and did not tell parishioners whom to support.
But he criticized the war in Iraq, saying that Jesus would have told Bush, "Mr. President, your doctrine of preemptive war is a failed doctrine. Forcibly changing the regime of an enemy that posed no imminent threat has led to disaster."
On June 9, the church received a letter from the IRS stating that "a reasonable belief exists that you may not be tax-exempt as a church … " The federal tax code prohibits tax-exempt organizations, including churches, from intervening in political campaigns and elections. More >
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 7 Nov 2005 @ 22:39
The PURPLE ROSE CAMPAIGN is an international campaign initiated by GABRIELA to raise awareness on the issue of sex trafficking of Filipino women and children: the brutal control exercised over women and children victims; the high incidence of violence and the tremendous self-sacrifice the women undergo to ensure the economic survival of their families in the Philippines. It shall provide a means by which everyone and anyone can express disapproval and opposition against the use of the sex trade and forced labor as a means of propping up the collapsing economy.
The campaign is also a way to express support for the women and people of the Philippines who seek to change the current situation.
WHY A PURPLE ROSE ICON?
For over 30 years, horticulturists the world over, largely in the West, cross-bred and hybridized roses to create the perfect purple rose. It does not occur in nature and is a created thing. It is no different from any other rose, except it has been exoticized and set apart by human will. It is artificial and yet no different from any other rose: looks the same, smells the same, has thorns, leaves, stems, roots. But it was forced to be different. The purple rose exists not for its own evolutionary purposes but for the pleasure of others.
The same with our women who are forced into becoming a created stereotype (not even a historical stereotype but a deliberately concocted one, to serve the needs of globalization) a thing for other's use. In adapting to that persona, our women suffer immeasurable self denial, as wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, as Filipina women.
Just as the Purple Rose is set apart, isolated and denies, to a certain extent, its self as a rose and its affinity with other roses.
GABRIELA is an acronym standing for General Assembly Binding women for Reform, Integrity, Equality, Leadership, and Action. It also commemorates Gabriela Silang, known as one of the first and fiercest women generals in the Philippines who led the longest series of successful revolts against 18th Century Spanish colonizers.
GABRIELA Network (GABNet) is a US-based multi-racial women's solidarity mass organization. We work with GABRIELA Philippines, a national alliance of more than 200 women's organizations. We work on issues that impact women of Philippines ancestry, but which have their roots in the decisions made in the United States. GABNet is an all-volunteer organization of women with chapters in Chicago, Irvine, Los Angeles, New York/New Jersey, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco/Bay Area, and Washington, DC.
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| Sunday, April 24, 2005 | |
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24 Apr 2005 @ 16:23
I feel rested today after staying in literally for 24 hrs in sanctuary amidst Los Angeles on the Temple Couch at Laura Janesdaughter's house.
With many threads to bring together - Life in Los Angeles, in Ojai, at the UN, and prepare to return to NY in June as a keynote speaker for FAWN2005 gathering of Filipinas on Leadership and Spirituality.
It will be strange to find myself back in the slip stream. Wondering what life continues to flow and what it will bring - what seeds have sprouted, taken root and prepare to blossom in this season of Beltane.
It is time to make change happen. I look forward to it with new eyes and open heart. The tears that gently fell daily as I made my way to the UN has cleared the way for flowing energy. (Each day I marveled at how humans could bring themselves into an urban setting of concrete.)
My good friend Marta lost her father (he lived a good 96 years). Death touches me, brushing ever close to remind me to celebrate this thing called Life.
I was up again at 5AM. Doesn't matter what time zone, by body seems to adjust to the local time. I get to see the sun rise another day with great gratitude and appreciation for all that comes to me.
Off to se what the day will bring.
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"In chaos theory, the edge is the meeting point between order and chaos, between the known and the unknown. In nature it is where creativity and self-organizing happen. It is where new information is created."
Dana Zohar & Ian Marshall
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"Dancing is just discovery, discovery, discovery."
Martha Graham, Blood Memory |
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Morphogenesis - Priestessing on the edge of chaos
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