Category Archives: Rock on-Peace Out

#YouAintNoMuslimBruv: the voice of defiant unity | Remona Aly | Comment is free | The Guardian

As one tweeter pointed out: “Islamophobes and racists are unhappy with #YouAintNoMuslimBruv trending. They want division as much as Daesh does.” The fact that this is trending on Twitter reflects an eagerness for unity. People simply do not want more division. We are sick and tired of it. Londoners, Brits, the French, Americans, Australians, whoever we are, wherever we face the threat of discord, we stand in solidarity.

Source: #YouAintNoMuslimBruv: the voice of defiant unity | Remona Aly | Comment is free | The Guardian

Humans of New York

“Because I’m a refugee, my life is on pause. My studies have stopped. I’m not working. I don’t have a career. Because I’m Syrian, I’m not allowed to participate in society. It’s been years of doing nothing. I used to be a cheerful person. I was always invited to parties. Now I like to be alone. I’ve become more nervous and aggressive. I yell over silly things. I just want to start my life again. I learned last Thursday that I’m going to a state called North Carolina. I’m very nervous. I know nothing about it. More than anything, I want to finish my education. But mostly I hope that whatever is waiting for me there is better than what I’ve gone through.”(Amman, Jordan)

Source: Humans of New York

Humans of New York

“Doesn’t she look like an American? The lady who did our interview said that she looks like an American. She’s very excited. She’s young, so I know she’ll be able to learn English very easily. She’s a very smart girl. She’s already decided exactly what her room will look like in North Carolina. She won’t stop talking about it. She says that she’s going to do a lot of swimming and learn how to use the computer. Someone at her school told her that kids in America can do whatever they want and never get yelled at. So whenever I try to punish her, she tells me: ‘That won’t be allowed in America.’”

Source: Humans of New York

Wampis nation establishes the first autonomous indigenous government in Peru

For most Peruvians it was a Sunday like any other; but in the Wampis community of Soledad, it was a historic day. On November 29, the Wampis nation declared the formation of the first Autonomous Indigenous Government in Peru.Spanning a 1.3 million hectare territory – a region the size of the State of Connecticut – the newly elected government brings together 100 Wampis communities representing some 10,613 people who continue to live a traditional subsistence way of life through hunting, fishing and small scale agriculture.While the newly-formed government does not seek independence from Peru, its main role is to protect Wampis ancestral territory and promote a sustainable way of life that prioritizes well-being, food security and a healthy harmonious existence with the natural world.

Source: Wampis nation establishes the first autonomous indigenous government in Peru

Children drive 35km for help after mother falls into well trying to save father overwhelmed by gas – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Police said the 29-year-old man was installing a water pump at the bottom of the well near Weilmoringle — about 225 kilometres north west of Lightning Ridge in north-western NSW — when he was overwhelmed by fumes, about 5:30pm on Saturday.He died at the scene.The man’s 28-year-old partner started climbing down the well to help, but fell about 30 metres after the rope ladder broke.Police said the couple’s two children, aged 12 and 13, drove 35 kilometres to a nearby road, where they flagged down a passing driver, who phoned emergency services.Superintendent Jim Stewart from the Castlereagh Local Area Command said the incident demonstrated the skills of people in the bush and their ability to survive.

Source: Children drive 35km for help after mother falls into well trying to save father overwhelmed by gas – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Former President Jimmy Carter Says He Is Free of Cancer – The New York Times

The disease is often accompanied by a poor prognosis, but experts said Mr. Carter appeared to have benefited from early detection. He began an innovative treatment regimen in August that involved a highly targeted form of radiation therapy and pembrolizumab, which has been shown to help some melanoma patients live months or even years longer than expected.In November, Mr. Carter said he was responding well to the treatment and that the cancer was showing no signs of further growth.His announcement on Sunday was reported in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Mr. Carter was said to have told the Sunday school class he was teaching at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown Plains, Ga., according to the newspaper.Jill Stuckey, a close friend of the Carters and a church member, told the newspaper that about 350 people, many of them visitors, were in attendance on Sunday.“The church, everybody here, just erupted in applause,” she said.Mr. Carter is the second-oldest living president, behind George H. W. Bush, the 41st commander-in-chief, who is also 91 but almost three months older than Mr. Carter.

Source: Former President Jimmy Carter Says He Is Free of Cancer – The New York Times

Mimi Writes…….: Monday Mimisms ~ Chasing Happy

Happy.

I’ll keep reaching.  But what used to make me happy only scratches the surface these days. What’s underneath in the pages of years gone by is where the real substance lies in all of us. Other people need that Well. And as you age, you learn to keep the sacred parts to yourself for those bubbly moments in the middle of the day that make you smile and give away the residual parts borne of your own struggles to others. You are no longer restless. There’s a contentment that comes with some living.  It doesn’t matter how you lived so much anymore, but why you lived and who you loved.Can I make someone else happy today?I hope so.  That’s the real happy.

Source: Mimi Writes…….: Monday Mimisms ~ Chasing Happy

Humans of New York

“He cried a lot as a baby. By the age of two he wasn’t speaking or eating. Our local doctor didn’t know what was wrong, but we found a good doctor in Damascus, and he told us that our son had autism. The doctor recommended a therapist. On the first day of therapy, he was too scared to even enter the office. But after a few months of treatment, he was able to concentrate and even write the alphabet. He went to therapy every week for the next few years. It was really helping him. He was learning so many things. But when the war came, the roads were closed. We couldn’t go to therapy anymore. The bombs affected him very badly. He gets scared easily. He’s even afraid of the dark. But the bombs scared him very much. He hasn’t been to therapy for years. We have no money or insurance here in Turkey. We are very isolated. It seems that all the progress has been undone. He used to want to learn. He used to get his books out of the bag and bring them to us. But now he just throws them away. He can’t sit still. I’m afraid that we’ve lost too much time now. But my husband is optimistic. He thinks that we will find the right doctor in America.”

Source: Humans of New York

Dear America: Here’s Your Gun Solution — Human Parts — Medium

Here’s some common sense for you. I want gun ownership to be as boring and annoying as car ownership. I want you to go to some Department of Weapons and sit for hours. I want folks who own guns to prove their skill, their mental and physical health, and to be licensed and reviewed over the years just as happens with our driver’s licenses. You earn the right to own and drive a vehicle; earn the right to own and use a gun.Quibble with me over semantics if you want to; what is a “right” vs. what is a “privilege.” I’ll be busy with my friends and colleagues trying to prevent more unnecessary deaths.Gun ownership isn’t some inalienable right granted by God. Remember, the Constitution was written by men coming out of a long and bloody war near the end of the 18th century. It was written for their time.It also included the “right” to own a human being.Things change.Folks evolve.

Source: Dear America: Here’s Your Gun Solution — Human Parts — Medium

Why Feminism Can’t Be Replaced By Equalism Or Humanism. | Rebelle Society

When people say that feminism should change its name to something that doesn’t include fem, it is clear that they have not taken a single hour out of their lives to find out what patriarchy means or what issues women and men face in today’s world.To say that feminism should be replaced by humanism, just because the word offends some people simply because of the feminine connotation of it, is to take away another right from women, and to take away their representation in this movement they have worked for endlessly.To say that feminism should be replaced by humanism shows that you care so much more about the name than the sacred struggle that feminism embodies.

Source: Why Feminism Can’t Be Replaced By Equalism Or Humanism. | Rebelle Society