Look at this lady – Let us never forget! The world hasn’t just become wicked…it’s always been wicked.

Irena Sendler

Died

12 May 2008 (aged 98)
Warsaw, Poland

During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist.
She had an ulterior motive. Because she was German, she KNEW what the Nazis’ plans were for the Jews.
Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack for larger kids.

She also had a dog in the back which she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants.

She was caught, and the Nazi’s broke both her legs, arms, and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family. Most had been gassed.. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted.

In 2007 Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize. She was not selected. Al Gore won — for a slide show on Global Warming.

In MEMORIAM – 65 YEARS LATER

Now, more than ever, with Iran and others claiming the HOLOCAUST to be a myth, it’s imperative to make sure the world never forgets because there are others who would like to do it again.

http://www.rootstrikers.org/

Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad’s acclaimed play, Incendies is a moving tale of discovery. Two siblings travel halfway across the world to piece together the troubled history that their mother almost took with her to her grave. Jeanne and Simon are young adults living in Canada, oblivious to their mother’s turbulent past. The siblings are set in motion after their mother goes into a catatonic state. Jeanne seeks to carry out her mother’s wishes and her brother seeks to distance himself from what he sees as the final manifestation of his mother’s incomprehensibility.

Visiting Lebanon for the first time, Jeanne discovers the horrors her mother spent her whole life trying to protect her from. Flashbacks to her mother’s youth during Lebanon’s civil war are effectively used to make Jeanne’s journey vivid and revealing. She walks through the same dusty streets and country lanes as her mother had decades earlier. Many are almost unchanged. The scenery is stark and beautiful. A language barrier is the least of her difficulties. She is fluent in two languages, but cannot decipher her mother’s history without significant assistance and determination. The hostility Jeanne encounters from the women of her mother’s native village, is striking for it ferocity. After all those many years, hatreds have not subsided. After discovering part of the riddle, she convinces her brother to join her to locate their missing family members. Although the story they piece together is brutal, it is also filled with love and sacrifice that is not easily forgotten.

THE HELP

Set in the South in the early 1960s, the relationship of a young white society woman, Skeeter, and a friend’s maid, Abileen, provide an important window into the world of discrimination that was at the time, not only condoned, but by some, even encouraged. It was a way of life that was enforced by law. What starts as a relationship of necessity, becomes a friendship built upon mutual respect. Having been waited on all her life by her family’s maid, Skeeter needs Abileen to provide her the how-to for her newspaper’s household advice column. As an aspiring writer, Skeeter longs to tell a far more important story, from the perspective of the maids in her town. As Skeeter becomes more intimate with the struggles of the black women who raised generations of white children, she, together with the audience, begin to lose respect for many of her white childhood friends as they attempt to perpetuate the repressive social structure. The maids, who at their time were seen more like posessions than people, are seen through the eyes of Skeeter to be resilient, loving, and beautiful characters. The richness of these characters and the white women surrounding them make this powerful story one that will bring you to laughter and tears. You can’t help but root for Skeeter and Abileen as they traverse the dangerous terrain that must be passed through to arrive at the truth.

Visit: http://www.googleartproject.com/

I think my favorite websites these days are radio stations. In particular, KCRW for eclectic modern music, particularly Morning Becomes Eclectic, KRCC for eclectic music both new and old, and WXPN’s http://www.xpn.org/streams/xponential-radio

I also like to listen to KCRCC’s HD2 station in the morning. It broadcasts Radio Netherlands news in Spanish,La Matinal

Till recently, I would listen to BBC Mundo in Spanish, but they seem to have gone from a daily show to a weekly show.

Obviously, I love my local public radio stations, but sometimes I need some variety. Which brings me to another topic, National Public Radio (NPR).

Granted NPR has been getting some unfavorable attention recently. However, there is nothing like NPR anywhere on dial, and no better source of news anywhere, far better than anything even on TV for that matter. So why is Congress considering cutting funding for NPR stations? Without a doubt, we need to conserve federal resources, but cutting NPR is like poking out your eye to spite your face. It makes no sense, unless of course Congress wants Americans to be blithering, uninformed, idiots. Is that what they want? NPR’s show called “On the Media,” did a very good job of exposing the conservative activist who is partially responsible for the latest anti-NPR rhetoric. What cannot be denied is that NPR provides high quality news and unbiased analysis, something that is hard to find on radio or TV. It also upholds extremely high standards for journalistic excellence, regardless of what its critics believe.

If you reply upon NPR, to keep you informed and/or entertained (This American Life, Car Talk, etc…), please make sure you speak out and put up some financial support of your own behind your local public radio station. I doubt that the Senate would be foolish enough to cut NPR’s funding, but it would not hurt to let your Senator know how important NPR is to you and your community. Preventing local NPR affiliates from using federal funds to buy NPR programming is a despicable ploy by Congress to pull the rug out from under the American people. Don’t let them do it.

http://www.stacyfranz.com/lj/Bentley/puppy/bb_bentley_rug.jpg

I just donated to a project that is building a water tank at a school in the neighborhood where I used to live in the late 1980s, when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer.  At the time, I took this photo. I wonder what these women are up to now?

The project was funded in advance by Appropriate Projects which is an initiative of Water Charity, conceived to slash through the red tape and get projects done immediately.

Access to safe water is a human right, and they are fighting to achieve this goal for every person on this planet. they don’t sit around while people are dying and suffering from illness due to lack of water, contaminated water, and unsanitary conditions.

They use appropriate technology, meaning that the simplest and least-expensive methods are utilized to bring about the biggest impact at the least cost.

They do not deal with studies, reports, evaluations, nitpicking, reviews, administration, overhead, talk, delays, processes, procedures, format, overseeing, micro-directing, or excuses.

They start with the understanding that there are about 8,000 Peace Corps Volunteers stationed in over 74 countries around the globe. Each Volunteer is living in a city or community making a great contribution toward world peace.

Each Volunteer is competent and dedicated, having gone through a rigorous selection process, and having trained for the tasks to be done.

Each Volunteer has identified crucial projects that will affect the lives of those around him, but remain undone due to lack of funds.

Each Volunteer has the skills and capacity to manage the projects and funds, and complete the projects on time and within budget.

The projects submitted to Appropriate Projects by Volunteers are small, but they indeed have a big impact.

At the same time, there are millions of individuals around the globe who would like to do the right thing, to help those in need, and to make the world a better place to live.

Your contribution will bring to being a needed project in a distant place. It will affect the lives of individuals and communities, by letting them have the necessities of life.

Join The fight. Adopt a project.

This summer, the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) is running a video contest in celebration of the upcoming 50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps. We’re asking you to submit a one- to two-minute video about how the Peace Corps, a Peace Corps Volunteer, or Returned Peace Corps Volunteer changed your life.

• Perhaps it was a teacher whose stories of cultures overseas opened your eyes to the world.
• Maybe it was your co-worker whose unique ability to connect with people made all the difference.
• It could be a Peace Corps Volunteer living in your community who inspired you to dream big.
• Or maybe it’s your mother, whose service overseas proved that you’re never too old to have an adventure.

Whether you served in the Peace Corps or not, we all share its legacy.

Tell us your story. Tell us about your piece of the Peace Corps.

• Grand Prize: $2,500
• Second prize: $1,000
• Third prize: $500

* This contest is generously sponsored by Juliane Heyman, Peace Corps Staff, 1961-66.

How to Enter

Note that you must complete both steps in order to enter the contest.

Step 1:

Upload your video to the NPCA contest group on YouTube. Videos not submitted to this online group will not be eligible to win.  All videos must meet contest requirements below.
Go to YouTube

Step 2:

Submit your completed online entry form here.
Complete and Submit Your Form

Enter now and share your story with the rest of the world!  We look forward to receiving your entry.  The winners will be announced in October 2010.