Category Archives: Rock on-Peace Out

Parkinson’s: Woman who can sniff out disease inspires new research – Telegraph

Scientists have begun research into if a person’s odour can be used to diagnose Parkinson’s after a “supersmeller” detected the disease by sniffing T-shirts.Researchers from the University of Manchester will analyse skin swabs taken to discover if the debilitating disease changes chemicals found in the skin, according to Parkinson’s UK.The study was launched after a Scottish woman, Joy Milne, successfully identified sufferers by smelling T-shirts they had slept in. She could even detect subtle changes in smell in people who had not yet developed the condition.

Source: Parkinson’s: Woman who can sniff out disease inspires new research – Telegraph

Direct from Cuba: Buena Vista Social Club put on historic gig for Obama | Music | The Guardian

The Buena Vista Social Club started as a members’ only venue in the Marianao neighbourhood of the Cuban capital of Havana for musicians and performers based on the island nation between the 1940s and early 1960s. In its heyday the club encouraged and continued the development of traditional Afro-Cuban musical styles such as “son”, which is the root of salsa.In the 1990s, after the club had closed, it inspired a recording made by the Cuban musician Juan de Marcos Gonzalez and American guitarist Ry Cooder with traditional Cuban musicians.After the death of some key members, Cuban singer and dancer Omara Portuondo; guitarist and vocalist Eliades Ochoa; Barbarito Torres, who plays the laud; trumpeter Manuel “Guajiro” Mirabal; and trombonist Jesus “Aguaje” Ramos began spreading Cuban music internationally as The Buena Vista Social Club.

Source: Direct from Cuba: Buena Vista Social Club put on historic gig for Obama | Music | The Guardian

“I work at the UNHCR, but I have a quite junior position. I…

“I work at the UNHCR, but I have a quite junior position. I have a desk job where I reach out to job candidates and try to get them to consider UNHCR. But whenever there’s an emergency, anyone who has a useful skill is sent to the field. This is my first emergency mission. My father is Iranian so I speak a little bit of Farsi. I didn’t realize how useful that could be. Yesterday I was helping an Afghan woman carry her child across the Serbian border, and I was explaining to her what she could expect when we arrived. She was so comforted by the little information I could offer. I’ve seen so many faces light up just because they heard “Welcome To Croatia” in their mother tongue. I’m thankful for my desk job, but this is why I joined the UNHCR.” (Tovarnik, Croatia)

Source: “I work at the UNHCR, but I have a quite junior position. I…

Mimi Writes…….

Here’s my challenge to you.As we previously announced here, our theme this year is Peace and The Power of Love.I challenge you to write down at least one loving act or thought each day and post it.  Copy the graphic at left and display it with your posts. That’s easy! We change the molecular atmosphere around us many times each day by giving away the best of who we are and keeping the energy positively charged around us. We all do much more than we give ourselves credit for. Being loving brings peace to our circumstances, peace within our relationships, peace in our neighborhoods, peace to the world. The Peace and The Power of Love Challenge ~ For the next 30 days from Oct 4 – Nov 4 ~ let’s be present for love.  Let’s consciously and with purpose and intent NOTICE the ways we express love to one another and then AFFIRM the peace it brings into our lives. Let’s record it. Write it down. And share our findings with each other. It may be in the way you cook a special meal for someone (or an ordinary everyday meal!), the way you play with your pets, starting your spouse’s car on a cold morning, really

Source: Mimi Writes…….

On the Pope and a Prisoner Holding Hands in PhiladelphiaReading the Pictures

So, yes, extend a helping hand for the man going down in flames. And yet, with gentleness in the Pope’s grip reciprocated, what we’re seeing—and what the Pope’s visit to Philadelphia’s correctional facility is all about—is less Last Judgement and more Sistine Chapel: sometimes the ultimate act of grace is simply to reach across the divide and make contact.Certainly that gesture of grace is part of why Pope Francis’s visit has shaken up the story line in US politics. The art of compromise just doesn’t play well politically these days, as if “reaching out to the other side” is just one step away from a deal with the devil.

Source: On the Pope and a Prisoner Holding Hands in PhiladelphiaReading the Pictures

Afghan Women’s Writing Project | Taliban! Leave My Country

Taliban!

My poem is for you!

For your generation of fear and panic

You are fathers of killing, blood, pain and sorrowI remember you

I still remember

That day you stoned Zarmena

And hanged Doctor Najib

I remember you beat me with cables

Because I dressed in men’s clothes

Taliban!

After those twenty bloody years

I tried to forget you and your wrongdoings

I tried to remove those thorns in my body

I tried to heal

You are back now in Kunduz

You attacked the city

But I knew you were there

I knew how you hid in other provinces

You killed people the same way

You were cruel the same way

You were against humanity and good life

The same way

Taliban!

You make women your slaves

You hide us under the worst thing

The burqa

I am free from that burden now

Free of slavery now

And I care for my people and my country

My country is not for you

You don’t deserve Afghanistan

You deserve hell

As you make us live in hell

Taliban!

As long as I and the Afghan people are alive

We will fight against you

We won’t sit silent

We want our freedom

You do not belong in Afghanistan

Go away

Taliban!

You hid me under the blue burqa

You didn’t know, I became a fighter

But I don’t fight like you

Killing people to accept your outdated ideas

Taliban!

I fight against you, not with bombs and rockets

Not with fire, blood, darkness and tears

I fight you with my voice

You don’t dare to listen

You are blind to reading my words

Your mind is empty

You live in the cemetery of history

I fight with my poems, my words

I throw them like a hammer

Into your thoughts

I think differently

I believe in change,

I believe in freedom and love

By Pari

Source: Afghan Women’s Writing Project | Taliban! Leave My Country

Empowering Youth in Palestine and the Arab World: Q&A with Tafeeda Jarbawi | UN Dispatch

What attracted us about CGI is the fact that it is a platform for creative ideas. CGI members are looking for solutions to challenging problems all over the world, and with Palestine being one of the most vulnerable countries, we have many challenging problems. Specifically, we are working to support Palestinian steadfastness and empowering Palestinians by fostering excellence and nurturing talent, so that they can stay in their country and they can help develop their community, and develop the future Palestine we all aspire to, a democratic state where all Palestinians live in dignity and prosperity.Attending CGI is a chance to meet with other members to talk about Palestinian problems, and to talk about these same problems at a global level. It helps us to develop programs that will reflect on the development of Palestine and fulfill our organizational goals, and will also allow us to fulfill our commitment to the world in terms of cooperating with other countries.We are coming to CGI with a commitment to enhance the employability of Palestinian youth, and also in Tunisia. This is the first work that the Welfare Association will do beyond the borders of Palestine, and the idea came from being engaged in and attending CGI, which is a platform for inspiration, dialogue and discussion. It gives hope, and we feel that we are contributing to humanity at the global level.In addition, the Welfare Association is also hoping to strengthen existing and create new partnerships with other members. It’s really the way forward, if we’re thinking about better impact. It’s also very important for us to find people who will support this initiative in-kind, and through financial contributions, in order to reach our goal.

Source: Empowering Youth in Palestine and the Arab World: Q&A with Tafeeda Jarbawi | UN Dispatch

 

Good on you Tafeeda!

An Important Announcement about Guernica Daily – Guernica / A Magazine of Art & Politics

Dear readers, contributors, and friends,For more than ten years, with your generous support, Guernica has grown and thrived. It has not always been easy, but it has always been exciting. No

Source: An Important Announcement about Guernica Daily – Guernica / A Magazine of Art & Politics