TOGETHER WE CAN BLOG

Today I saved a life

2009-09-27T09:43:00.003+01:00

Hey guys, today I decided to make an entry that's a little more personal.
Last monday I was out of school and I was waiting for the bus and suddenly I saw a baby cat. I don't know why but something told me that I had to grab him and take him home. Knowing that I already have two cats and this little kitten could be sick I could be taking a huge risk, so my aunt decided we should go to the shelter I volunteer at and try to leave him there. I didn't agree but I could do nothing, and besided I knew that there he was going to be taken good care of. When we arrived the people responsible for the shelter weren't there, so I had to talk to another volunteer who was extremely rude. I started to be worried because I didn't know what I could do so I took him to the vet. On my way there I called my mum and she said she could have the cat for a few days untill we found someone who could keep him. When we arrived he was instantly seen by a doctor who was so lovely and nice. His condition was not the best! He only had a few inches of tail, and it had no hair and was bleeding. Someone had cut his tail. He was full of fleas, had eye diseases and so many other things. The doctor said he was 4 months old and then asked what I was going to do with him. I instantly said I was going to keep him at my mum's house and she was very happy. At the end of the appointement we had to go pay. He had so many meds, so many stuff it got very expensive. The receptionist knowing that I was going to stay with the cat made me a huge disccount as a way to thank me. I started crying because I could not believe someone could be that good to me.
I got in the car and then arrived to my mum's. She doesn't like cats but when she saw him she fell in love despite his terrible look and condition. She said she was going to keep him, she didn't want to give it someone else and she said he would be named Nick, after Nick Jonas. I was so happy that I could keep him. We went quickly to do everything the vet had said. I could see he was scared but he behaved very well.
He is now very well and always playing and running around. I am very proud to say that I saved him from the street. He gives us joy and happiness and so do we to him. I need to thank God for putting the little kitten in my way that day and giving me the chance of saving him.
I want to ask you all to look and not ignore this situations and that way you can help healing the world.
Be good and be happy!

New goals!

2009-09-07T13:19:00.007+01:00

Hey everyone. Sorry I haven't updated in a while but I haven't had internet. Now I finally do, so I come with a new challenge for you. Every week we have to establish a goal. This week's goal is to do something nice for someone else everyday. It doens't have to be something hard, sometimes small gestures mean a lot. This idea was originally started by Oprah at her show so now let's follow her example, and remember, a small gesture can make someone else's day!
Ok, so now are some ideas:

Give an honest compliment to 5 people you meet today.
Every night, for a week, write down 10 things that you are thankful for that happened during the day. Photocopy this list and give to random people at the mall. Inspire gratitude :)
Share a book.
Make encouraging bookmarks and leave them inside books of a public library.
Email someone you admire and tell him/her why.
Write a letter to your public official and express your suggestions for the community.
Write little notes of thanks and give them to waiters at random fast food chains.
Cook a meal for your family.
Make a really good sandwich and give it to a street vendor.
Buy flowers for your mom.
Buy flowers for your dad.

These ideas were taken from HERE

"Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day." H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Be selfless, above all.

2009-08-16T01:14:00.003+01:00

Hello everyone. Today I will leave you with a very important thought. This is my favourite sentence of all:

"Who is more important, you or others? The conclusion is clear; even if minor suffering happens to all others, its range is infinite, whereas when something happens to me, it is limited to just one person. When we look at others in this way, oneself is not so important."

Dalai Lama

The great humanitarians of our World!

2009-08-15T11:47:00.007+01:00

Princess Diana

Starting in the mid- to late 1980s, the Princess of Wales became increasingly known for her support of numerous charities. This stemmed naturally from her role as Princess of Wales—she was expected to visit hospitals and other state agencies in the 20th century model of royal patronage. Diana, however, developed an interest in serious illnesses and health-related matters outside the purview of traditional royal involvement, including AIDS and leprosy. In addition, the Princess patronised charities and organisations working with the homeless, youth, drug addicts and the elderly. From 1989, she was President of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. Diana was most famously, in the last year of her life, the most visible supporter of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, a campaign that went on to win thw Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 after her death, which many believed was a posthumous tribute to the Princess.

AIDS awareness

In April 1987, the Princess of Wales was one of the first public figures to be photographed touching a person infected with HIV. She contributed to changing the public opinion of AIDS sufferers during the subsequent years, as her involvement with a variety of AIDS charities, not only in the United Kingdom but in North America, Africa and Asia as well, was a consistent public role she embraced.

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson wrote “We Are The World” with Lionel Richie in 1985 and performed it as part of an all-star single to raise money for Africa in 1985.

The Millennium-Issue of the “Guinness Book Of Records” names Michael as the “Pop Star who supports the most charity organizations”, according to JacksonAction.com, which has an extensive timeline of Jackson’s charity work.

In 1984, Jackson equiped a 19-bed-unit at Mount Senai New York Medical Center. This center is part of the T.J. Martell-Foundation for leukemia and cancer research. Later in the year, he visited the Brotman Memorial Hospital, where he had been treated whe

n he was burned very badly during the producing of a Pepsi commercial. He donated all the

money he received from Pepsi, $1.5 million, to the Michael Jackson Burn Center for Children.

In 1986, he set up the “Michael Jackson United Negro College Fund Endowed Scholarship Fund”. This $1.5 million fund is aimed towards students majoring in performance art and communications, with money given each year to students attending a UNCF member college or

university.

He donated the proceeds from the sales of The Man In The Mirror to Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, a camp for children who suffer from cancer.

Jackson donated tickets to shows in is 1989 Bad Tour to underprivileged children. The proceeds from one of his shows in Los Angeles were donated to Childhelp USA, the biggest charity-organization against child-abuse. Childhelp of Southern California then established the “Michael Jackson International Institute for Research On Child Abuse”.

In 1992, he established the Heal The World Foundation, whose work has included airlifting 6 tons of supplies to Sarajevo, instituting drug and alcohol abuse education and donating millions of dollars to less fortunate children.

Mother Teresa

On September 10, 1946, Teresa experienced what she later described as "the call within the call" while traveling to the Loreto convent in Darjeeling from Calcutta for her annual retreat. "I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them. It was an order. To fail would have been to break the faith." She began her missionary work with the poor in 1948, replacing her traditional Loreto habit with a simple white cotton sari decorated with a blue border, adopted Indian citizenship, and ventured out into the slums. Initially she started a school in Motijhil; soon she started tending to the needs of the destitute and starving. Her efforts quickly caught the attention of Indian officials, including the Prime Minister, who expressed his appreciation.

Teresa wrote in her diary that her first year was fraught with difficulties. She had no income and had to resort to begging for food and supplies. Teresa experienced doubt, loneliness and the temptation to return to the comfort of convent life during these early months. She wrote in her diary:

“

Our Lord wants me to be a free nun cov ered with the poverty of the cross. Today I learned a good lesson. The poverty of the poor must be so hard for them. While looking for a home I walked and walked till my arms and legs ached. I thought how much they must ache in body and soul, looking for a home, food and health. Then the comfort of Loreto [her former order] came to tempt me. 'You have only to say the word and all that will be yours again,' the Tempter kept on saying ... Of free choice, my God, and out of love for you, I desire to remain and do whatever be your Holy will in my regard. I did not let a single tear come.

”

Teresa received Vatican permission on October.

7, 1950 to start the diocesan congregation that would become the Missionaries of Charity. Its mission was to care for, in her own words, "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone." It began as a small order with 13 members in Calcutta; today it has more than 4,000 nuns running orphanages, AIDS hospices, and charity centers worldwide, and caring for refugees, the blind, disabled, aged, alcoholics, the poor and homeless, and victims of floods, epidemics, and famine.

In 1952 Mother Teresa opened the first Home for the Dying in space made available by the City of Calcutta. With the help of Indian officials she converted an abandoned Hindu temple into the Kalighat Home for the Dying, a free hospice for the poor. She renamed it Kalighat, the Home of the Pure Heart (Nirmal Hriday). Those brought to the home received medical attention and were afforded the opportunity to die with dignity, according to the rituals of their faith; Muslims were read the Quran, Hindus received water from the Ganges, and Catholics received the Last Rites. "A beautiful death," she said, "is for people who lived like animals to die like angels—loved and wanted." Mother Teresa soon opened a home for those suffering from Hansen's disease, commonly known as leprosy, and called the hospice Shanti Nagar (City of Peace) .The Missionaries of Charity also established several leprosy outreach clinics throughout Calcutta, providing medication, bandages and food.

As the Missionaries of Charity took in increasing numbers of lost children, Mother Teresa felt the need to create a home for them. In 1955 she opened the Nirmala Shishu Bhavan, the Children's Home of the Immaculate Heart, as a haven for orphans and homeless youth.

The order soon began to attract both recruits and charitable donations, and by the 1960s had opened hospices, orphanages, and leper houses all over India. Mother Teresa then expanded the order throughout the globe. Its first house outside India opened in Venezuela in 1965 with five sisters. Others followed in Rome, Tanzania, and Austria in 1968; during the 1970s the order opened houses and foundations in dozens of countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and the United States.

Her philosophy and implementation have faced some criticism. David Scott wrote that Mother Teresa limited herself to keeping people alive rather than tackling poverty itself. She has also been criticized for her view on suffering: according to an article in the Alberta Report, she felt that suffering would bring people closer to Jesus. The quality of care offered toterminally ill patients in the Homes for the Dying has been criticised in the medical press, notably The Lancet and the British Medical Journal, which reported the reuse of hypodermic needles, poor living

conditions, including the use of cold baths for all patients, and an approach to illness and suffering that precluded the use of many elements of modern medical care, such as systematic diagnosis.Dr. Robin Fox, editor of The Lancet, described the medical care as "haphazard", as volunteers without medical knowledge had to take decisions about patient care, because of the lack of doctors. He observed that her order did not distinguish between curable and incurable patients, so that people who could otherwise survive would be at risk of dying from infections and lack of treatment.

The Missionaries of Charity Brothers was founded in 1963, and a contemplative branch of the Sisters followed in 1976. Lay Catholics and non-Catholics were enrolled in the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa, the Sick and Suffering Co-Workers, and the Lay Missionaries of Charity. In answer to the requests of many priests, in 1981 Mother Teresa also began the Corpus Christi Movement for Priests, and in 1984 founded with Fr. Joseph Langford the Missionaries of Charity Fathers to combine the vocational aims of the Missionaries of Charity with theresources of the ministerial priesthood. By 2007 the Missionaries of Charity numbered approximately 450 brothers and 5,000 nuns worldwide, operating 600 missions, schools and shelters in 120 countries.

Angelina Jolie

Goodwill Ambassador fof UNHCR.

Jolie is on the board of advisors for the Yéle Haiti Foundation, and with Brad

Pitt took time to help Wycleaf Jean with his Clean Streets project. Jolie also arranged a deal with People Magazine allowing them to print the first picture showing her visibly pregnant in exchange for a $500,

000 donation to the charity.

Angelina has been travelling to refugee camps around the world since filming Tomb Raider. During her missions she has visited places including Sudan’s war-torn Darfur, Sierra Leone, Cambodia and Tanzania. She also visited Afghan refugees in Pakistan and donated $1 million to help.

Jolie is known to cover all of her costs while on missions, and shares the working and living conditions as the UNHCR field staff.

Jolie published Notes From My Travels, a collection of journal entries that chronicle her early field missions (2001-2002) with proceeds benefitting UNHCR.

According to tax records, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt donated more than $8 million to charity in 2006 alone.

In January, 2008, Jolie and her brother, James Haven, marked the first anniversary of their mother’s death from ovarian cancer by making an undisclosed donation to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

For further information on Angelina's charity work click HERE.

Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor says she wants to be remebered for her work in the fight against AIDS. The postal address for the charity is:

The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation
P.O. Box 55995
Sherman Oaks, CA. 91413

Elizabeth Taylor has supported the following charities:

Sources:
http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/45-elizabeth-taylor
http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/113-michael-jackson
http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/2-angelina-jolie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa

Animals have feelings too

2009-08-15T02:01:00.003+01:00

Hey guys, this is just a small post for awareness.

Now that everyone is on vacation, please DO NOT leave your pets alone and please DO NOT abandon them on the streets.

Before getting a pet see if you have the right conditions to do it, if not, don't do it.

Adopt rather than buy!

Treat your pets well. They also have feelings. They like being spoiled and getting atention. Make sure they always have food, clean water and a comfortable place to sleep in. Don't lock them in a house division. Let them sleep wherever they feel most comfortable.

DO NOT EVER FOR ANY REASON leave your pets locked somewhere. They need space to be happy.

If they do something bad, don't spank them EVER! Simply yell at them to let them now they did something bad.

And last but not least: Never run over an animal with your car. By this I mean cats, dogs, birds, any animal!

If you see an animal is not being treated correctly let an animal shelter know. They will try to solve the situation. Follow this tips and make the difference!

Ban Cluster Bombs

2009-08-11T12:22:00.002+01:00

DID YOU KNOW THAT A HAPPY EVENT TOOK PLACE ON JUNE 25TH, 2009?

Read this...

Millions of Cluster Bomb Submunitions Ready for Destruction

(Berlin 24th June 2009) – The new international convention banning cluster bombs is already delivering results as signatories plan the destruction of these indiscriminate weapons even before it has entered into force. On June 25th and 26th, delegations from more than 80 countries will meet in the German capital to discuss plans for stockpile destruction.

Since the Convention on Cluster Munitions opened for signature in December 2008 in, 98 countries have already signed and 10 have ratified it. The treaty will enter into force 6 months after the 30th ratification is deposited at the United Nations in New York. Early initiatives on the implementation of the treaty are very encouraging.

“As representatives from civil society, we are thrilled to witness the continued momentum behind the ban and the desire from many countries to relegate cluster bombs to history,” said Thomas Nash, Coordinator of the CMC. “This meeting in Berlin and the attendance of so many countries show that the treaty is more than words on paper. Signatories are determined to implement it.”

Read more... http://www.clusterbombs.us/latest-news/

The banning of cluster bombs all around the world is an issue I've been following for years and that became really important to me. I signed the petition years ago, and spread the word countless times to convince more and more people to sign it too.

I thought if the world managed to get together to ban antipersonnel mines in the past, there was a hope we could ban cluster bombs too.

In December of last year, we could really start to hope when nearly a hundred countries gathered in Oslo, Norway, to sign the Convention on Cluster Munitions, to permanently prohibit the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions.

But many countries, including the USA and Russia, didn't sign it, so there's still a lot to do to raise awareness on cluster bombs so that people of these countries can convince their governments to sign the Convention too.

(Click here to find out if your country has signed and ratified the Convention.)

More than 800,000 people around the world signed petitions, and the governments of 98 countries heard them. But in the USA, for example, less than 2,000 people signed the two biggest petitions to ask for the banning of cluster bombs.

Yet, I believe there's a hope American people can convince President Barack Obama to stop the use of cluster bombs if they raise their voice and let him know they are against this!

But it will take much more than a couple hundreds people to reach that goal! We need you to sign the petitions and spread the word, whether you are American or not, you can make a difference.

What are cluster bombs?

Cluster munitions are large weapons which are deployed from the air and from the ground and release dozens or hundreds of smaller submunitions. Submunitions released by air-dropped cluster bombs are most often called “bomblets,” while those delivered from the ground by artillery or rockets are usually referred to as “grenades.”

Air-dropped or ground-launched, they cause two major humanitarian problems and risks to civilians. First, their widespread dispersal means they cannot distinguish between military targets and civilians so the humanitarian impact can be extreme, especially when the weapon is used in or near populated areas.

Many submunitions fail to detonate on impact and become de facto antipersonnel mines killing and maiming people long after the conflict has ended. These duds are more lethal than antipersonnel mines; incidents involving submunition duds are much more likely to cause death than injury.

The weapon caused more civilian casualties in Iraq in 2003 and Kosovo in 1999 than any other weapon system.

Cluster munitions stand out as the weapon that poses the gravest dangers to civilians since antipersonnel mines, which were banned in 1997.

98% of known victims are civilians.

Children represent 27% of the victims of non-exploded submunition bombs. Attracted by their bright colors, children sometimes mistake them for food rations or toys.

Sign the petitions NOW and Make it happen!

ENGLISH
http://www.clusterbombs.us/sign-the-petition/
http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/peoplestreaty/

FRENCH
http://www.sousmunitions.org/je-signe/
http://www.minesactioncanada.org/peoples_treaty/index.cfm?lang=fr

ESPAÑOL
http://www.minesactioncanada.org/peoples_treaty/index.cfm?lang=es

ARABIC العربية
http://www.minesactioncanada.org/peoples_treaty/index.cfm?lang=ar

DEUTSCH
http://www.streubomben.de/aktiv-werden/petition-unterzeichnen/petition.html

GREEK, PORTUGUESE, ROMANIAN, TURKISH
http://www.minesactioncanada.org/peoples_treaty/index.cfm?lang=en

What more can you do?

First of all... SPREAD THE WORD and convince more people to sign the petitions.

You can use social networking sites to do so and reach your friends and followers.

Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=37244892264
Twitter: http://twitter.com/banclusterbombs

TAKE ACTION and help bring the Convention into force:

Remember the victims of the cluster bomb attacks in Georgia and Lebanon

Mid-August is a time to remember of the victims of cluster bomb strikes by Georgia and Russia one year ago and by Israel and Hezbollah in South Lebanon three years ago.

Take action on or around the 12 August to remember the victims of the cluster bomb attacks in Georgia and Lebanon and to urge all governments to prevent future casualties by signing and ratifying the Convention on Cluster Munitions:

1. Write letters to Georgia, Israel, and Russia urging signature of the Convention;

2. Issue a press release urging action by these states and/or your own government;

3. Take a creative action to remember the victims. For example, light a candle, plant a tree, hold a minute’s silence, sign the People’s Treaty - http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/peoplestreaty/

Other actions: http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/take-action/

Thank you...

How 5 minutes of your life make the difference to others

2009-08-08T20:27:00.004+01:00

Hello again everyone! I decided to make a post about one of the 5 ways to "heal the world": volunteering. Today when I woke up I just thought "oh no, not again, just 5 more minutes". But I had to get up. I volunteer every saturday and every other tuesday at an animal shelter where many cats and dogs can find a home. Our job is to make sure they have food, water, clean beds and some human company to play with. Everyone that volunteers there must have a huge heart in order to give animals what they need. I am with the cats. To me, they mean the world. Of course I get to play with the dogs a little too. Cleaning the beds, giving food and playing with like 100 cats at the same time is not easy, I must tell you! But the happiness...oh my God...the happiness in their eyes is just what counts. What if I had stayed those 5 more minutes in bed? It would be 5 minutes without making others happy! 5 more minutes not giving them a safe home. 5 more minutes not giving them love. To be completly honest, volunteering isn't easy. At the shelter I work 3 hours non-stop. It is hard, but let me tell you, there is no happier moment in your life than seeing sparkling eyes of the ones you help. So, just use those 5 minutes when you have nothing to do and go put a smile on someone else's face and at the end of the day your heart will happily say "I made the difference."

Join RAINNMAKER!

2009-08-08T20:21:00.001+01:00

Hello everyone. Looking for a good action? Join RAINNMAKER.

What is a RAINNMaker?

"A RAINNMaker is a person or group of people dedicated to spreading awareness about sexual assault and committed to raising the much needed funds for RAINN to operate and expand its programs and services. Nearly 35% of RAINN’s funding comes from supporters like you."

Why they need your help!

To make the Online Hotline available 24/7.
To maintain the operation and expansion of our programs and services.
To continue to educate over 130 million Americans each year about sexual assault.

Visit http://rainnmakers.rainn.org/index.cfm and donate!

5 suggestions to help "Healing the World"

2009-08-06T00:06:00.003+01:00

Hey everyone! Here are some very simple suggestions to help making the world a better place.

Here is something easy to start. Look at everyone that is with you every single day like your family and friends and do something that will make them smile. A small gesture can make someone else's a better day.
Donate. You don't need to donate money. Everyone has some toys, clothes or even books they don't use anymore. Give those to someone who might appreciate it.
If you feel bored and have nothing to do go to a hospital or an animal shelter and volunteer. It will make the difference.
Don't you ever see homeless people ask for money and your heart aches? Don't just give them a dollar. Do more! You can bring them a nice hot soup or a sandwich and just talk to them. They are also people and need company and comforting.
And last but not least, smile. Simply smile! Sometimes when you pass by someone, smile and greet them it makes the difference. When someone is giving out publicity just accept it and thank politely. Your smile can make someone else's day a whole lot better.

Now just follow this advices and help "Healing the World"

Free Tibet

2009-08-05T18:37:00.002+01:00

" Tibet was an ancient country the size of western Europe when it was invaded by the People’s Liberation Army of China in 1950. A place with a unique culture, history and identity, Tibet has been changed dramatically by the Chinese invasion and occupation. Not only have many Tibetan lives been lost, Tibetans in Tibet do not enjoy basic human rights and the Chinese government have introduced policies by which Tibetan culture, language and natural resources are being systematically and irrevocably eroded."

At: freetibet.org

It is OUR time to help Tibet! Here is a little bit more about this situation:

During Tibet's history, it has been an independent country , divided into different countries, and a part of China each for a certain amount of time.

Tibet was first unified under King Songstän Gampo in the seventh century. A government nominally headed by the Dalai Lamas, a line of spiritual leaders, ruled a large portion of the Tibetan region at various times from the 1640s until 1950s.

The 13th Dalai Lama proclaimed Tibet independent in 1913, but this declaration was not accepted by China, nor recognized by any country as a de jure independent nation.

The Communist Party of China gained control of central and western Tibet (Tibet area controlled by the Dalai Lama) after a decisive military victory at Chamdo in 1950.

Today, Tibet is administered by the People's Republic of China (PRC). Beijing and the Government of Tibet in Exile isagree over when Tibet became a part of China, and whether the incorporation into China of Tibet is legitimate according to international law.

Tibet under the People's Republic of China

Many innocent people have been killed since China gained control over Tibet. Unfortunatly there isn't much we can do to help this situation but if we help each other helping we can surely make this better!

YOU can help by joining freetibet.org and take part in their Urgent Action Campaigns.

"Urgent Action Campaigns is a system by which supporters are contacted about cases as they happen in Tibet, and advised about how to speak up about the detention of political prisoners, the decisions of political figures and new policies which damage the Tibetan people and culture. We will let you know what is happening, who to write to and what to say to urge for action on issues which affect Tibet. Signing up for Urgent Actions is easy and can be done online using the contact box below. You may specify whether you wish to recieve updates by post or e-mail, but we ask you to donate to this scheme if possible, as these donations not only pay for postage costs, but also allow us to get more information out of Tibet and accurately challenge cases which come to light."

Urgent Action Successes

Urgent Action Campaign successes, along with other work, include:
* Golog Jigme being released and stating that his torture ended when campaigning in his name began
*Jigme Gyatso, reporting that due to campaigning, he was treated well during his second period in jail
*Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche's sentence being cut from death to life.
*Phuntsog Nyidrol being released early from her sentence.
*Gordon Brown agreeing to meet the Dalai Lama.

Recent Urgent Action Campaigns:

23/06/09: Lama Phurbu Rinpoche awaits trial
19/04/09: Stop the executions!
20/03/09: Inquiry into UK government's Tibet policy
24/02/09: Mass Lobby for Tibet on 10 March 2009
04/01/09: Tell Gordon Brown he has failed the people of Tibet
27/11/08:British Government must explain its change of position on Tibet
30/10/08: British Government must show more support for Tibet
17/10/08: Campaign Success!Filmmaker Jigme Gyatso is released

Please go to www.freetibet.org to help!

Michael Jackson and Kim Jong Il

2009-08-05T18:25:00.001+01:00

By Gotham Chopra

Posted Sun, 07/05/2009 - 19:03

The last time I spoke to my friend Michael Jackson was about a month ago, 3 weeks before his shocking death. He had called me late one night to ask about another of my close friends who he had read about in the news. Laura Ling, a former colleague and friend, was detained originally by North Korean border guards along with her colleague Euna Lee on March 17th. Since then, they have been imprisoned, had very little contact with their families or western officials, and endured a secretive trial at which they were sentenced to twelve years hard labor. At this present moment, it is unclear where Laura and Euna are – whether they remain in a government guesthouse where they were originally held, in a hospital (due to medical problems for both of them), or moved to the infamous North Korean labor camps that many do not survive.

Michael had read some of the details regarding Laura and Euna’s predicament. As was often the case with him and global events he read about – from famine in Africa to victims of natural disasters in far off countries, to orphans created by wars – he felt a deep sense of empathy for Laura and Euna. When I shared with him that Euna had a four-year-old daughter, he was even more anguished.

He asked me whether I had had any contact with Laura. I told him I had written her a few letters and had been assured they were getting through. Outside of that, her own family had only heard from her twice – brief monitored phonecalls – in the over three months they had been imprisoned. When I told him that, Michael paused.

“Do you think,” he said hesitantly, “that the leader of North Korea could be a fan of mine?”

I didn’t really know how to respond. Not much is known about the reclusive Kim Jong Il or “Dear leader” as he is called in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Over the years it’s been alleged he has a thing for Hollywood, certain NBA stars, Elvis, and specific liqueurs. Still, I’d never heard about any connection between Michael Jackson and Kim Jong Il.

Michael said he had seen some pictures on the internet of the Dear Leader. “You’know, he wears jackets like mine.”

I couldn’t help but laugh a little. It’s true. Michael always had a fascination with military-like jackets, the types with markers and badges on the collars and shoulders. If you search it online, you will indeed find a lot of images of Michael and Kim Jong Il, similarly bedecked in analogous outfits.

“I don’t really know,” I answered Michael. “But I can try and find out.”

“Please,” Michael responded without hesitantly, “because maybe if he was a fan, I could help get those girls home.”

I explained to Michael that there were larger geo-politics involved, nuclear programs, a new administration trying to assert its foreign policy strategy (Obama), and another one in NK possibly going through some sort of transference of power.

“Yeah,” Michael said wistfully, “but if someone wants to do something good, they just can. They don’t really need to worry about all that other stuff.”

And that was really the end of that conversation. I kept my promise and tried to see if I might find a connection between MJ and KJI, but sadly I wasn’t able to. Before I was able to get back to Michael, the news regarding his tragic passing broke. The tributes and commemoratives began in earnest and have not stopped.

Then the irony occurred to me, the far out bizarre seemingly impossible possibility: there is really only one person in the world today that could make a truly meaningful tribute to Michael Jackson. If indeed Kim Jong Il ever was a fan of Michael Jackson, ever gasped at Michael’s moonwalk, smiled at Thriller, hummed along to the Jackson Five or any of Michael’s countess hits, his pardoning of Laura Ling and Euna Lee and sending them home to their families would be a profound act of compassion, a true tribute to a man whose death has left the entire world in mourning. What a better way to re-invent himself and his own conflicted image than for Kim Jong Il to send a message of hope, forgiveness, and empathy as a commemoration of possibly the greatest icon of our times. It’s an act that would be historic, covered by every news organizations in the world, and be immortalized in the annals of time.

Alas, maybe I’m naïve to have such dramatic hopes for my friend and her colleague, to think that leaders of nations may be influenced by the dying wishes of great artists. Or…maybe not. To me, Michael’s memory will always be as a great friend and mentor. To many around the world, it will be as an iconic and brilliant musical artist. Wouldn’t it be staggering if one Kim Jong Il were to honor him – post-death – as a truly great humanitarian?

- Gotham Chopra

Source: Intent.com

U.S. reporters freed from North Korea return home

2009-08-05T18:15:00.001+01:00

Wed Aug 5, 2009 9:51am EDT

By Steve Gorman and Dan Whitcomb

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two American journalists freed by North Korea after months of detention returned home to a tearful family reunion on Wednesday accompanied by former President Bill Clinton, who secured their release in a meeting with the reclusive state's leader Kim Jong-il.

Laura Ling, 32, and Euna Lee, 36, reporters for an American cable television venture co-founded by Clinton's former vice president, Al Gore, arrived with Clinton at Burbank airport near Los Angeles aboard a private jet from North Korea.

The two Current TV journalists were arrested on March 17 for illegally crossing into the North from China and had been reporting on the trafficking of women. They were both sentenced to 12 years hard labor in June.

Ling raised her arms in the air as the two women descended from the plane for a tearful reunion with their families inside the airport hangar.

Ling said she and Lee both feared they could be taken at any moment to a hard labor camp when on Tuesday they were led instead to a location where Clinton was waiting for them.

"We knew the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end," she told reporters.

Ling thanked all those, known and unknown, who had campaigned for their release. "We could feel your love all the way in North Korea. It is what kept us going in the darkest hours."

Clinton was received with a round of applause and an embrace from Gore.

"President (Barack) Obama and countless members of his administration have been deeply involved," Gore said.

A White House spokesman said the Obama administration is "enormously pleased" at the safe return of two journalists.

U.S. officials said North Korea was not promised any rewards for their release and there was no link to nuclear non-proliferation talks.

Clinton's wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, told reporters in Nairobi she was happy and relieved. She added that there was no connection between the effort to free the two journalists and the thorny nuclear issue.

"We have always considered that a totally separate issue from our efforts to re-engage the North Koreans and have them return to the six-party talks and work for a commitment for the full, verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," she said.

"The future of our relationships with the North Koreans is really up to them. They have a choice," she said.

A U.S. official said the former president talked to North Korea's leadership about the "positive things that could flow" from freeing the two women, who had been held since March.

The official said North Korea would face deeper isolation if it continued "provocative behavior" that has included nuclear and missile tests. Washington would maintain efforts to enforce U.N. sanctions imposed on North Korea over its May 25 nuclear test, the official added.

WHAT WAS DISCUSSED?

The U.S.-North Korean encounter in Pyongyang marked the highest-level contact between the United States and the reclusive communist state since Bill Clinton was president nearly a decade ago.

In North Korean media photographs of the meeting, Kim was smiling and looked in reasonable health after speculation he was seriously ill. Kim was suspected of suffering a stroke last year.

"Regardless of what the U.S. administration says, the Clinton and Kim meeting signals the start of direct bargaining ... It's a matter of time when U.S.-North bilateral talks begin," South Korea's Chosun Ilbo daily said in an editorial.

Pyongyang, craving the recognition that direct negotiations with the Obama administration would bring, painted the meeting between Clinton and Kim as high-level talks which the North Korean leader will certainly use to boost his image at home.

Financial markets in Tokyo and Seoul largely ignored the visit, though some South Korean traders said it did add a more positive atmosphere to what has been a string of negative reports over the North in recent months.

There were questions about what North Korea might expect in return. The U.S. official said Clinton likely expressed his view on North Korean denuclearization in talks with Kim.

"It's hard to believe that North Korea released the journalists just on humanitarian grounds. It probably had something to do with a package deal with the United States, to resolve the issues of denuclearization and normalization of ties," said Tadashi Kimiya, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo.

(Additional reporting by Steve Gorman in California, Jack Kim in Seoul, Lucy Hornby in Beijing, Chisa Fujioka in Tokyo, Sue Pleming in Nairobi; and Ross Colvin, Matt Spetalnick and Paul Eckert in Washington, Editing by Anthony Boadle)

Source: Reuters

Together we can - Welcome

2009-08-05T18:03:00.002+01:00

Hello everyone and welcome to the "Together We Can Blog". Here I will post info on how you can help "healing the world" as well as current situations that need your help! You can also send your stories on how you made a difference in the world to whatwilltheneighbourssay@hotmail.co.uk .
I hope you all enjoy helping to make the world a better place.