Up And Rise

Please skim the article above. In short, U.S. Army soldiers faked situations so that they could murder innocent Afghan civilians and then posed for pictures.

“In a statement, the army said it apologised for the distress caused by photographs ‘depicting actions repugnant to us as human beings and contrary to the standards and values of the United States’.”

If these actions supposedly run against American values, I want to know how the army would approach explaining the mass amount of atrocious, inhumane, and injust violence (HELLO BULLYING) that take place in our schools and on our streets daily in the United States. While trying to understand how this could happen in Afghanistan, we need to contextualize these disgusting acts performed by members of our military and ask ourselves this: “WHY does this happen?” Let’s also not forget that this isn’t the first time soldiers have committed this type of war crime.

It is easy to blame our military, the commanders, and individuals. And that should carry some blame. But, we need to start this process by questioning our cultural values and norms and the ideological apparati that bear them. Human beings don’t simply act as isolated agents of bad-will. The men who acted out are products of a culture that vilifies those who are different; they exist in a culture that refuses to imagine and contextualize different personal perspectives both culturally and historically; they learned their values and morals in a culture that relies on hate, othering, and alienation to further imperialistic causes like war and capitalist globalisation; AND they come from a culture with uncomplicated, overly simple, misguided and misplaced assumptions about war and why people resort to terrorism.

Is it suprising, then, that these men would create ”trophies” of their kills? To use a very simplified comparison: it seems like a cat bringing a mouse to its master.  

ourcatastrophe:

leonineclaire:

“1.   Always say “no” first.  Do not allow “yes” to be your default answer.  It is easier to go back later and say yes, than it is to go back later and say no.

2.  Never agree to do something on the spot.  Always take some time to think about it and consider whether or not it is going to be an imposition.  If it is, say no.

3.  Limit yourself on how many things you agree to do (beyond your comfort zone) every month/semester/year, etc.  I say “yes” to three things beyond my regular responsibilities every academic semester.  After that, I almost always (depending on the request) say no.  NOTE:  I said beyond my regular responsibilities, which already leave me with limited personal time.

…”

so overcommitted right now.  just deleted a huge paragraph justifying my sense of overcommittedness

anyway this is really good + helpful

I am pretty sure my yearly goal is to say “no” and ask for help more… 

Hi friends. I am part of the Habitat YP team that is raising funds (our goal is atleast $1000) to help us work on a habitat home during Women Build week. Any little bit helps ($5, $10, $15…). Click the link above to make a quick and secure donation that is tax deductable.

The Women Build program is REALLY cool because it gives women a safe and comfortable space to learn construction skills while helping other women. This program empowers homeowners AND volunteers.

The home this year will be for a single mother and her children. Through Habitat, she will become a homeowner with a flat, fixed-rate mortgage and access to homeowner education and other benefits.

If you are interested in joining the Habitat Young Professionals team, donating, or want more info about Habitat and Women Build, feel free to get in touch with me. THANK YOUUU!!!

Come check out a great event. This Friday, 7pm, Baobab Cultural Center (which I didn’t even know existed!!) at 728 University Avenue.

“…a collectively-created image event commemorating the murder of thousands of youth killed in inner city violence in Toronto’s Caribbean diaspora. Bringing together the messages from the dead and media reports on violence, and the losses of living, the performance traces one woman’s attempt to bury her grandson and convey his demands for justice in the present.

In addition to the performance, York University professor Honor Ford-Smith will be on art and anti-violence activism”

Cuz NPR loves everyone and Republicans love no one.

According to this NYT article, there is a new weight loss craze for women that involves injecting HCG, a fertility drug. The injections are paired with a starvation diet (500 calories/day). Why? Supposedly the hormone decreases “discomfort and hunger” while causing more “attractive distribution of fat.”

Uhhhm… BULLSHIT ALERT. The hormone, according to the article, hasn’t been proven to be effective. Moreover, I wonder how in the world anyone could be okay injecting themselves with excess hormones every month. I barely feel comfortable with the hormonal birth-control pill that I take.

To illustrate further about the way women think about this hormone, I’ll pull a quote from the NYT article: 

Ms. Brown, a theater administrator who is 5-foot-8, said she was thrilled to lose six pounds in seven days, and hopeful about reaching her goal of losing 30, which would bring her close to her ideal weight of 135. She said she did not feel hungry and did not obsess about food as she had years ago, when suffering from anorexia.

Wait. Wait a second. Ms. Brown is a recovering anorexic. She is currently on a 500 calorie diet. How is this not anorexic? This is very, very troubling to me.

“A lot of people have a lot of opinions,” Ms. Brown said, “but I don’t want to be a person who feels like my weight is not under my control.”

Eeeep. Shame on the author for not bringing up the way this diet feeds off of “self-control” and starvation in the context of Ms. Brown.

To me, if anything, this phenomena speaks to both the instant-gratification culture that we live in as well as the realities that still exist for women (and men, also): look good - and get their faster - at all costs.

I wonder if Republicans will cover this in their health-care bills. Oh, and if you are wondering… the drug is derived from the urine of pregnant women.