All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Former San Antonio Gang Members Give Back to the Barrio

He found love in the gang life, or at least he thought he did, but life changed for Caldera when his best friend was killed in a drive-by shooting. That night Caldera grabbed his gun, hopped in his car and looked for the guy who murdered his friend.

“People started slamming their doors. A mother says ‘get inside,’ started hollering, and I stopped in the middle of the parking lot, and something, probably an angel touched me, and I said ‘what the hell am I doing?’” he said.

Instead of becoming a statistic, Caldera decided to turn his life around. He enlisted in the military, eventually went back to school and earned a master’s degree in social work.

He wanted to do more so he and the former Ghost Town members started a group called Ghost Town Survivors.

“We try to raise money to help some of these families and kids that don’t have the luxury that we have now,” Caldera said. “But they are in need and they are in pain.”

Since 2012, the Ghost Town Survivors have provided scholarships to students and given families on the West Side a Christmas they won’t forget. This year they hosted a curbside Christmas at Good Samaritan Community Center. The Ghost Town Survivors and the Barrio Girls selected 10 families and gave each of them a $300 gift card.

“When we help a family, help a kid, or we have some of these [students] that are going to college, it makes us so happy,” Caldera said.

Source: Former San Antonio Gang Members Give Back to the Barrio

One of the best musicians in Israel sings about the war to liberate Palestine (Dola)- Israel News – Haaretz.com

Amal Murkus. Made some of the best albums to come out in Israel in the past 15 years. “Israel is not mentioned; Palestine is not mentioned,” she says. “Everyone should ask themself, which country expropriated lands? Which country trampled on human dignity? Perhaps it’s Turkey? Perhaps it’s the British Mandate? What other occupying states are there? The United States, perhaps? The song doesn’t say. It’s a fun song, cute, humorous, light, but with a statement. It’s a cabaret-type song, like from Brecht. A satirical song. Who more than the Jewish people understand the importance of satire?” Source: One of the best musicians in Israel sings about the war to liberate Palestine – Israel News – Haaretz.com

Jamaicans Celebrate First Ever ‘Sam Sharpe Day’ on December 27 – Caribbean News

Sam Sharpe was born in 1780, and was the slave of an English lawyer of the same name who practiced in Montego Bay. He was baptized as a Baptist and became a lay deacon and appointed by the English Baptist Missionaries. Sharpe was a member of the Burchell Baptist church and became a daddy or leader in the congregation.

During Christmas 1831, enslaved black workers began demanding more freedom and a proper wage. They took an oath to stay away from work until their demands were met by the plantation owners. Sam Sharpe was the inspiration for the strike.

The uprising started on December 25, but exploded on December 27, when slaves set fire to Kensington estate, in the hills above Montego Bay. The rebellion lasted for 10 days and spread throughout the entire island, mobilizing as many as 60,000 of Jamaica’s enslaved population. It was the largest slave rebellion in Jamaica.

Sharpe was eventually captured and condemned to death by hanging. He was buried in the sands of Montego Bay Harbour but his remains were later recovered and buried beneath the pulpit at the Burchell Baptist Church in Montego Bay.

One year after Sharpe’s death, the UK parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act.

Source: Jamaicans Celebrate First Ever ‘Sam Sharpe Day’ on December 27 – Caribbean News

5 states with highest coronavirus tally: A look at the numbers – india news – Hindustan Times

Amid panic over the new strain of coronavirus, which was first found in the UK and is now spreading to other countries, India’s nationwide Covid-19 tally crossed the 10.18 million mark on Sunday. States with the highest numbers of Covid-19 cases are Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, according to Union health ministry. Source: 5 states with highest coronavirus tally: A look at the numbers – india news – Hindustan Times

From spending 13 days intubated by COVID-19 to celebrating Christmas with his family: this was the extreme experience of an IMSS doctor

The doctor Luis Enrique Campa Jáuregui works at the General Hospital of Zone number 8, in the city of Ensenada, Baja California (Photo: Twitter / @Tu_IMSS)

Ensenada, BC, Mexico

Campa Jáuregui took the opportunity to thank the doctors and other medical personnel whose work saved his life. “I want to thank the Institute and all my colleagues for the care I received, I am aware of everything they did for me to get ahead of this disease and what they are still helping me ”.

The doctor stated feel extremely lucky to be able to spend Christmas at home accompanied by his son and his wife. At home, you will begin the process of physical and respiratory rehabilitation necessary to recover from the consequences of this virus.

Source: From spending 13 days intubated by COVID-19 to celebrating Christmas with his family: this was the extreme experience of an IMSS doctor

Shamanic adventures – “Amazon Rainforest Magic The adventures of Meromi, a Yanomami girl” — Barbara Crane Navarro

illustration from “Amazon Rainforest Magic – The adventures of Meromi, a Yanomami girl » “This second volume of the Amazon Rainforest Magic series is a page-turner and as charming and delightful as the author’s first. The story line continues the thread from the previous book and the characters seem like old friends.  Meromi, a Yanomami girl […]

Shamanic adventures – “Amazon Rainforest Magic The adventures of Meromi, a Yanomami girl” — Barbara Crane Navarro