LIVING ON A SQUARE PLANET

 

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March 17, 2013

 

Phyllis Carter

LIVING ON A SQUARE PLANET

If winter comes, can spring be far behind? In Montreal, Yes !

 

Having visited Florida and Cuba once decades ago, I remember the awesome feeling of travelling by car from winter to summer and back to winter. It's a small, small world - especially if you fly.

 

And yet there are fools who can't relate to people in other countries, people of different races, and they can't open their eyes and see that when you pollute one place, the dirt will come around and land on your doorstep.

 

They live on a square planet in their minds, thinking they can hide around the corner.

 

 

MASSIVE ARRESTS IN MONTREAL ANTI-POLICE BRUTALITY PROTEST

 

Montreal Police have the power to silence protests against their brutality.

They also have the power to help thieves and to cover up crimes in which police participate.

 

Who will investigate the Montreal Police?

Who, in authority, has clean hands and a love for justice?

For detailed reports of the crimes that destroyed my family, join more that 72,000 readers around the world at - The Crimes of Dawn McSweeney and her "Partners in Crime" - http://dawnmcsweeney.blogspot.com.

 

Phyllis Carter

 

The 17th annual protest against police brutality wrapped up in Montreal with more than 250 people arrested and taken away on city buses and in police vehicles.

Police said they also made the following arrests:

• Two arrests for obstructing justice.
• One arrest for uttering threats.

According to Montreal police, the majority of people were arrested under municipal bylaw P-6, which makes it illegal to cover one's face while taking part in a protest and for failing to provide authorities with an itinerary.

In a tweet, authorities also said some people were arrested for breach of peace.

At least 150 people left the protest with a $637 fine because of their participation in the illegal event.

Though Montreal police have not yet confirmed the exact number of arrests, authorities were seen verifying the identities of about 100 people gathered on the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Sainte-Élisabeth streets.

Police officers also rounded up several groups and proceeded with mass arrests throughout the duration of the march.

Most of those taking part had formed smaller groups following police orders to disperse after the protest was declared illegal because organizers had failed to provide authorities with an itinerary.

Protesters had first gathered on the corner of Saint-Urbain and Ontario streets near police headquarters around 4 p.m., where they were met by groups of police officers who tried to get them to disperse.

2 officers taken to hospital

Two police officers were taken to hospital, according to Montreal police spokesman Laurent Gingras.

One of the officers had two broken teeth and another felt unwell.

Anticipating the worst, police say

Montreal police had been preparing for the worst in anticipation of the march. "We're hoping for the best, but we're getting ready for the worst," said Montreal police Cmdr. Ian Lafrenière earlier today.

The demonstrations, which have been held in Montreal every March for the past 16 years, are meant to support International Day Against Police Brutality, but have been known to end with violence and mass arrests.

Last year's march saw 226 arrests.

Lafrenière said the reason for violence in recent years is partly due to fewer activists and more troublemakers hitting the streets.

"It looks like a sport now. Some people are coming to different protests because they want to have a good time," he said.

Police took extra steps on Friday morning to warn the public, handing out flyers at downtown businesses and metro stations.

Authorities warned that large crowds could create issues for public transit, especially during the evening rush hour.

CBC News - Posted: Mar 15, 2013  

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2013/03/15/montreal-anti-police-brutality-march.html?autoplay=true

 

 

FEMALE GENITAL CUTTING - ISLAM AND MATERNAL MORTALITY

 

A young mother at University Hospital in Somaliland. Photo by Nick Kristof.

In many developing countries, pregnancy may as well be considered a death sentence. With the premiere of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide just a week away, we felt it was the perfect time to provide a primer of sorts on the various issues highlighted in this special two-night broadcast event. Throughout this next week, Independent Lens will delve into issues ranging from economic empowerment to inter-generational prostitution, linking many of the problems women face today with the solutions outlined in Half the Sky.

Imagine a world where women are treated as second-class citizens, a world where becoming pregnant is dangerous because women have a 1 in 12 chance of dying from giving birth.

No imagination is required in Somaliland, where problems like these are a reality for many women.

Severe bleeding, infections, eclampsia, and obstructed labor are some of the leading causes of maternal deaths in developing countries. All of these symptoms are increasingly likely with women who have received Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Considered a common traditional practice for many cultures in Somaliland (as well as many areas in the western, eastern, and north-eastern regions of Africa), FGM is commonly performed on girls before they reach puberty. FGM is also performed on women before marriage or during their first pregnancy.

It is estimated that between 100 million and 140 million girls and women worldwide have been subjected to FGC (Female Genital Circumcision). There are more than 3 million girls at risk of forced FGC each year.

Edna Adan, founder of Edna Adan University Hospital in Somaliland, is a women's health advocate who is against FGM. Known as the Mother Teresa of Somaliland, Edna is a woman who has experienced FGM firsthand. As a midwife and nurse, she has witnessed the pain and damaging effects FGM has caused many of her patients.

In order to raise awareness concerning the health problems that endanger women and children, Edna built University Hospital. By donating her UN pension and other personal assets, Edna has been able to fulfill her goal of building a place that not only takes care of women but also educates them.

In the documentary, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, author Nicholas Kristof asks a traditional female circumciser the reason why FGM is practiced. According to the circumciser, the tradition is kept in order to maintain the chastity of girls, lower their sexual drive, and keep them under control.

In Half the Sky, Edna Adan says, "Female circumcision is not an Islamic religious obligation. It's traditional. Our religion Islam does not require it."

FGM is a growing concern that is affecting the female population across the globe, particularly in countries where an education is difficult to obtain.

Many of the families who keep the FGM tradition alive are not educated. Most of the time, they are unaware of the risks and dangers that come with FGM. By educating individuals about FGM, the decisions they make in their own families and in surrounding communities can change the way women are treated.

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Brooke Shelby Biggs

 

 

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/half-the-sky-addressing-maternal-mortality

 

MAJOR ISSUES MADE SIMPLE

  

Take away politics and organized religion,

Take away spin,

And ulterior motives,

Such as

Keeping lawyers and priests employed,

And many things become clear.

 

For example:

 

If you sell illegal drugs,

You are a murderer.

 

If you don't approve of abortion,

Don't have one.

 

 

 

THE PRAYER OF ST. FRANCIS - YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE CATHOLIC

 

 

 

You don't have to be Catholic or even a Christian to share the beauty and truth of the prayer of St. Francis. You just have to be a good person. You can leave out the "Divine Master" and the "Amen" and still benefit fully from the message. As for the "eternal life", we can hope, even if we doubt.

 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.


O Divine Master,

Grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

 

Amen

 

GOING THROUGH HELL ?

 

 

Sir Winston Churchill said,

 

If you are going through hell -

 

KEEP GOING !

 

FIGHT FOR WHAT IS RIGHT - NOT FOR THE RIGHT WING

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March 15, 2013

Cheryl L Bullock shared Freedom From Mental Slavery's photo.