Newsmeat: Celebrity Political Contributions
October 29th, 2006
Who does Diddy support in this year’s elections? Is Eddie Vedder politically minded? How about Vera Wang?
Sure, it’s a little voyeuristic, but if you want to find out the dirt on who’s giving what to whom in Hollywood, check out the full record of celebrity political donations in Newsmeat’s Hall of Fame. (Turns out Eddie Vedder was a Ralph Nader supporter!)
Celebrities not your bag? Turns out you can snoop on business executives, sports figures, billionaires, and your neighbors too! Just type in the name of the person you want to search or a neighborhood zip code and you can find a record of federal campaign contributions stretching as far back as 1980.
Don’t you just love the internet?
Halloween in November
October 29th, 2006
Are you already dreading the sugar hangover on November 1st?
If you wake up on Wednesday with more candy than willpower, why not pack up that candy and donate it to someone who needs it?
Adopt-A-Chaplain is collecting all sorts of goodies to send to chaplains serving overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, and they want to pass along your extra Halloween candy to give them a “Halloween in November.”
To donate your candy (or any of these other frequently-requested items), drop off your contribution at Calvary Church, Los Gatos or send your care package to Adopt-a-Chaplain at the following address:
Adopt-a-Chaplain, 2433 Le Bain Drive, San José, CA 95130-2115
To check out some of the heartwarming thank you notes from the sponsored chaplains, read on!
The Myth of the Virgin Cure
October 26th, 2006
The idea that sexual intercourse with a virgin will cure sexually transmitted diseases is a myth that dates back as far as 16th century Europe. In the AIDS-stricken continent of Africa, the myth leads to the rape of thousands of children, some as young as 2 years old.
In an effort to protect children from further abuse, the Girl Child Network, Zimbabwe’s most prominent organisation fighting child sexual abuse, is using drama to confront the traditional healers they hold responsible for perpetuating the myth.
The BBC reports,
Traditional healers from all of the country’s provinces recently attended a meeting here, along with chiefs, a government minister and religious leaders, where many of the girls stood up and gave accounts of the abuse that they had suffered.
One was raped by her father when she was two years old.
She is now eight, and an orphan, as her father died in prison after the rape was reported by her mother, who has also died.
A 14-year-old told how her uncle raped her and left her pregnant.
She was thrown out of the house by her aunt and had an abortion after six months. There were complications and she has been ill ever since.
“I’m traumatised,” she said, in floods of tears.
According to Science in Africa, 21,000 child rapes, and some 37,000 adult rapes, were reported in South Africa last year. According to the South African Police Service, only one in 35 are actually reported. The actual incidence of rape could well be in excess of a million per year.
And those numbers are only South Africa.
How can you help? Check out Girl Child Network to help change a girl’s life in the following areas: Read the rest of this entry »
Planet Growing “Serious Ecological Debt”
October 26th, 2006
More bad news on the ecological front.
According to a report issued by the conservation group World Wildlife Fund, current global consumption levels are propelling us toward a “large-scale ecosystem collapse” by the middle of the 21st century.
Who’s responsible? The usual suspects.
According to the BBC report,
Under the “business as usual” scenario, the authors projected that the demand for resources in 2050 would be twice as much as what the Earth could provide.
The [WWF report] warned: “At this level of ecological deficit, exhaustion of ecological assets and large-scale ecosystem collapse become increasingly likely.
Though the prediction may sound a bit melodramatic at first glance, the numbers cited by the report seem to bear out the claims.
The report tracked populations of 1,313 vertebrate species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals from around the world, and cited evidence that terrestrial species had declined by over 30% between 1970-2003, suggesting that natural ecosystems were being degraded at an unprecedented rate.
How can you help? Consider supporting the World Wildlife Fund either by donation or adopting an animal. The planet needs your help!
Intermountain Therapy Animals
October 26th, 2006
This idea combines two of my very favorite things: books and doggies!
As a means of helping kids learn to read, the folks at Intermountain Therapy Animals are sponsoring Reading Education Assistance Dogs (READ) where kids test out their reading skills on the most forgiving listeners imaginable — dogs!
While mainly conducted with dogs, the program also uses cats and other animals as well on the theory that children are more willing to risk failure with an animal than with an adult.
According to READ,
Research with therapy animals indicates that children with low self-esteem are often more willing to interact with an animal than another person. Further, during such interaction they are inclined to forget about their limitations.
The premise of the R.E.A.D. program is that children will find reading to an animal less intimidating, a special time for them that is helpful and fun and will become a positive environment in which learning is facilitated.
If you love animals, find out how you can lend a helping paw to the work of the ITA today!