Born Into Brothels...

Today I watched a documentary called Born Into Brothels. Photographer Zana Briski traveled to Calcutta and taught the children of prostitutes how to use cameras and take pictures. This documentary shows their lives, and the pictures they take. This is a really good documentary and depicts life in Calcutta, and shows these children's daily lives of hard working, and an eventual future of prostitution for the girls if they don't get an education. It's so nice to see the children getting along and playing together innocently, when unfortuanetly, later in life the men will come to treat the women as less than their equals. There is a part in the documentary where the children go to the local zoo and one boy named Goru speaks of the treatment of the animals, and how they are caged and only fed very little once a day. He also says people feed the elephants plastic bags because they are hungry and do not know it's not food, but this is very unhealthy for them. The children actually come to take some pretty exquisite photographs. I was taken back by how the children were being spoken to by adults. One part of the documentary shows a girl getting water from a well, and an adult who is not her relative calls her some very dirty names, and says some very mean and nasty things to her. Throughout the documentary Zana Briski loses some of the children to whom she's teaching photography, to prostitution. Zana tries to find schools for these children, but many of the schools don't want to take in the children of prostitutes, and sadly it is very hard for the children to not fall into prostitution when their parents, grandparents, and so on have all been prostitutes. These children are amazing, and so creative and full of expression, it's sad t see where they end up in life. One child says something to the effect of "You must just accept that life is sad and full of pain...that's all."

Dominion...

I went to work today and got naptime duty, so I decided to start reading Dominion by Matthew Scully, which I've been meaning to start for awhile but have been too busy. I got through the first few pages and knew it was going to be an impactful read. The first few pages just captured me, it was like someone took all my feelings and thoughts and contemplations about animals and wrote a book. I couldn't put it down, and I was emotional within the first chapter. It really makes you think and makes you feel, and makes you examine the state of humanity and the way we are treating animals.

"Matthew Scully blends philosophy and reportage in considering the various inhumane ways people treat animals. Finding ample evidence in pig factories and artificial wildlife safaris, Dominion calls on humans to reconsider their relationship with the animal kingdom, noting sadly that when we can no longer recognize cruelty in one form, it may mutate and afflict others." (Not my quote)

Waiting For A Friend...

I heard about a great book today, and decided to order it. It's called Shelter Dogs, and it was written by Traer Scott. It is filled with photographs, and the stories of fifty shelter dogs. The book tells of how each dog ended up at a shelter, and what eventually happened to them. Traer Scott started out photographing dogs that were up or adoption, so their photos could be posted. She found some of the dogs were never adopted, but could not erase their pictures since it was all that was left to prove they ever existed. The pictures are touching and the stories are emotional. You will cry for the abandoned dogs whose lives end while they wait for a friend...

News From Home...

Today I heard news from home. Protesting has begun to force the resignation of the Hungarian Prime Minister. It's about time! Evidence has been made public that he has lied about the state of the economy in Hungary, widely misleading the Hungarian people. An estimated 2,000 protesters have gathered in the capital (in front of the parliament building) to protest for the 3rd night tonight, to call for Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany's resignation. Unfortuanetly the protest tonight turned violent, though no-one has been seriously injured thus far, cars were set on fire and the rioting got out of hand. More protests are planned for the rest of the week, the biggest being on Saturday night per protesters, and continuing into early October. The Prime Minister has replied with this statement "I will persist despite protesting." I'm so excited people are finally protesting, this guy is simply an asshole, working only for himself. He was elected into office by the olden minded people of Hungary who were supporters of the Communist rule in Hungary before 1990. It's time for a change, the government in Hungary accomplished nothing for the people, but blindly leading them back to the days of the Communist party which ruled Hungary for so long, before it's fall in the 1990's. If only I could be there, I love a protest for a good cause. The Prime Minister also gloats of how proud he is he managed to cover up his scamming of the Hungarian people for the past 4 years about the budget. Ok, now only Bush is left...I'm just waiting for him to finally come out and admit he is a greedy bastard with alternate agendas, the war in Iraq is about oil and conquering the Middle East, and I just want him to acknowledge that he has been blaintantly lying to the American people, and I want him to write his own speech for that one too...I'd like to hear it. His day will come...The following are excerpts from a leaked video of some of the lies the Prime Minister of Hungary told to cover-up their not doing anything in the past years, and I mean doing nothing whatsoever! And when he talk about the "Left," he is talking about the Communist Party...

"The deal is that in the shortest term we have no choice. (Finance Minister Janos) Veres is right. We can fiddle around a little bit, but not much. The moment of truth will quickly arrive. Divine providence, the abundance of cash in the world economy and hundreds of tricks -- which you clearly don't need to know about -- helped us survive. That's it. No more. ..."

"What we could do secretly during the past months so that no documents would appear in the last weeks of the election campaign showing what we were up to, we did. We kept the secret... knowing that if we won, we would have to really get going, (because) we've never had such a problem..."

"I think there are going to be conflicts, kids. Yes, there will be. There will be demonstrations. They can protest in front of parliament. Sooner or later they grow bored and go home..."

"It's a fantastic thing to be in politics. Fantastic. It's fantastic to lead a country. I was personally able to get through the last 18 months because I had one ambition which drove me -- to give back the Left the faith that it can win. That it doesn't have to lower its head in this damn country. That it doesn't have to soil its pants because of (opposition leader) Viktor Orban and the Right and can learn to measure itself not against them but against the world. This is what gave me faith, that it was worth doing this. It was a great thing. I loved it. It was the best part of my life..."

In Time You'll Wake To Find You're A Little Unbroken...

One day nothing is the same.
Been walking around in circles.
You find that your world is mending.
You do not break a little when you smile.
You don't know where you will be tomorrow.
Can barely remember where you've been.
But you remember laughter.
It's pictures in a photo album, put there long ago.
Took so long to let the hurt come.
The gone away is infinetly distant, but you run.
You don't know about tomorrow, but you run.
You change, but you always go.
You flutter around and never stop.
You never stop.
You flutter...

ZzZzZz...

Roxy taking a well-deserved rest after the Dog Walk this past weekend...

Quailcrest Farms Dog Walk 2006 To Benefit Animal Rescues in Ohio...

Roxy getting her paw print done in plaster at the Dog Walk.

So me and Roxy took part in the Quailcrest Farms Dog Walk 2006, to benefit rescue groups in Ohio this weekend, and we are tired! We spent hours meeting new people, sniffing backsides, being peted, giving kisses, and having fun. We managed to raise some money for JRTCA Jack Russell Rescue (Roxy is a Jack Russell Terrier), and the walk was fun. Long, but fun. Roxy walked up front the whole time, choking herself, and manically sniffing on the trail. We lost shortest tail by about, let's see, a million lightyears. There were so many dogs that had no tails whatsoever...we had no chance, the competition was stiff. Dick Goddard was there, funny guy. We met some really nice people, and just enjoyed being around other dog-lovers. Roxy and I came home, and she was seen sleeping, with her tounge hanging out, shortly thereafter. I am so proud of her, the walk was long, and she never stopped to rest, and thanks to the people who sponsored her to walk, we raised money for a good cause. We are now preparing for our next social event: The Howl-oween Spookfest in October, where she will enjoy Halloween festivities with her friends from The Orrville Pet Spa & Resort Doggie Daycare. Ok, yeah, she's my little honey-bunny, I love her...

Untitled...

So hollow.
Moments are passing, and the days are fast moving.
Still, I am so hollow.
Can't stop the repetition.
Can't stop the repetition.
Smile, and no-one will know.
Not ever.
Just smile, and no-one will know.
Smiling will make everything ok.
If I don't say it outloud, no-one will hear it.
Just won't, not ever.
If I smile a million times, I won't feel it.
Just won't, not today.
But I can't stop the repetition.
Never can I stop the repetition.
Just can't, not ever.
Forget, just pretend it's gone away.
Away, far away.
Run and it won't catch up, it won't catch up today.
Don't look back, not ever.
If I don't remember it, it won't be real.
If I don't think about it, it won't hurt me.
It won't, not ever.
So hollow.
Smile.
Just smile...

Low Blow From High Christian...

So I heard something interesting today. Pope Benedict XVI was in Germany on Tuesday speaking at a university. The pope quoted from a book recounting a conversation between 14th-century Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II and a Persian scholar on the truths of Christianity and Islam. "The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war," Benedict said. He said, I quote, 'Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.'...After a few moments of disbelief, yet not so much disbelief over the ignorance of his statements, it dawned on me. Even the pope is not above insulting and offending millions of people, by taking an indirect shot at the religion of Islam. I view this statement as coming from sheer ignorance. I don't fully know Islam, but I do know some about the prophet Muhammad. Being the most powerful Christian in the world carries a responsibility. The word of God is supposedly to do good, so it's a low blow for the pope to come out and insult Islam. The responsibility of any such powerful position should intale the spreading of good, not the envoking of anger. Sadly, there is enough tension in the Middle East without the pope generating more resentment, while offending the followers of Islam. The Vatican is trying to defend his statements saying he neither agreed or disagreed with the statements he quoted. I think his choice of statements to quote speaks for itself, it's not at all unclear to me how the pope feels about Islam, and the prophet Muhammad. Out of all the statements he could have quoted about peace and unity, in a time when there is great tension in the world, he chose to be ignorant. I briefly talked to my friend Mike about this, and he made a very valid point that the Vatican/and many things coming from Rome have always been political. It's true. Somehow I believe that if you are the most powerful Christian in the world, your faith should be your agenda and your guide, not politics. I'm sorry but how can politics and religion mix, politics these days is just a double edged sword most of the time, though the concept of politics can be good, and very misguided and filled with agendas (that's a whole different blog, haha). Somehow it seems like the pope is using his position as an outlet for his politics. Everyone has a right to their own beliefs, even the pope, but don't mask it with religion. I am very dissapointed that these are the ignorant statements being made to young people today by the highest Christian in the world. Seems the pope is becoming an everyday politician...with a fancy hat...

Today Was A Rainy Wonderful Day...

The skies were gray, drops fell for hours.
Hundreds, thousands, millions of drops.
Falling, falling all day.
It was wonderful.
I smiled.
It was a rainy wonderful day.

In This Skin...

Beautiful.
Love.
Happy.
Stop.
How do I stop this war inside me over this skin?..

A Mourning Light...

Today is a very sad day. As I remember September 11th five years ago today, I look back on what has become a misrepresented and over-marketed tragedy. When I think of September 11th, I think of the countless speeches George W. Bush has given using the events to try to win support for an unjustified war on the Middle East, and how often it has been used to ensue anger in the American people rather than bring unity in the face of such terrible events. Somehow it just seems that is not how such an impactful event should be remembered. I really think this tragedy has been tainted and turned into something the current administration has used for the past five years to mask the truth behind why there is a war in the Middle East. I am sickened by the way that the events of that day have been used to justify the American people's invasion of privacy by the government, a haste and incomplete plan for war, a war that started out as a hunt for a terrorist and has somehow manifested into a war that seems to have no end in sight, and no real purpose anymore, just massacre. I am deeply saddened today that this administration has tarnished the memory of September 11th by using those events to manipulate the American people into willingly giving support to a war that has been so wrong from the very begining, for so long. I am ashamed of the way the government, and this administration, has taken the heartbreak and loss of the people affected on September 11th, 2001 and used it to turn the American peope into pawns. Just goes to show you how some people will use tragedy to manipulate you into giving away your rights, and surrendering to their wills. Sadly September 11th, 2001 is slowly becoming the Iraqi War legacy of George W. Bush's administration. Today is a day to remember how many people have become victims of violence, greed, war. September 11th, 2001 has been another magnified example of what disunity does to the world. It's a day to mourn for the whole world, everyone. It's time to unite and commit to peace. Maybe someday it will be enough. All the wars, the lost people, the destruction. Maybe someday everyone will just say...enough...

(Not my picture)

Disposing In Abundance...

My eyes are open.
My ears listen.
I know things.
I understand little of humanity.
People are suffering.
I look.
People are suffering.
I hear them.
I am standing still.
People hurricane around me.
Faceless participants.
Basking in their victories.
Somehow the cruelty and death has brought them victories.
The mighty bargain of the takers.
I know them.
I know who they are.
They know what they do, but they do not care to see.
They count their victories with blood on their hands.
They are blocking my eyes.
I still see what they are doing.
They are covering my ears, but I hear them.
They don't want me to know.
But I know.
The many faces of the devil is man himself.
The plague of money is the killer of their souls.
Suffering everywhere.
The great victory of man.
It only cost him discarded life.
And of that, there is an abundant supply.
Everyday I know, and I see, and I hear.
The men who sell their souls, do not find it in taste to hand out salvation.
The suffering plagues me.
Someday I will go to where it breeds, as I know it is willed for me.
Seek truth for the payers.
Question the takers.
Ask them what their soul has bought them.
How many cars, how many houses, how many dollars?
And how many discarded people did it cost?...

Slavery: Not Gone, Just Overlooked...

Trafficking in human beings is the commercial trade ("smuggling") of human beings, who are subjected to involuntary acts such as begging, sexual exploitation (eg. prostitution and forced marriage), or unfree labour (eg. involuntary servitude or working in sweatshops). Trafficking involves a process of using physical force, fraud, deception, or other forms or coercion or intimidation to obtain, recruit, harbour, and transport people. (dictionary definition of human trafficking)

So I’ve been very interested in the issue of human trafficking for awhile now, and I decided to do some research on it since the sheer magnitude/lack of government regulation of such dirty profit-making activities fascinates me. It’s not just a miniscule problem; it’s a dirty trade that involves many thousands of willing/profiting participants all over the world. What I have learned over the past few months has been very disturbing, and while I understand that the American government is making an effort to stop the trafficking of human beings, I believe more could be done, and it should be more of a priority. US State Department data “estimated 600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders each year, approximately 80 percent are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors. The data also illustrate that the majority of transnational victims are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation.” (Wikipedia) I also found that trafficking in people is increasing in Africa, South Asia and into North America. I also learned that Russia is a major source of women trafficked globally for the purpose of sexual exploitation/child sex tourism. The majority of child trafficking cases are in Asia, but human trafficking is a global problem. Due to the illegal nature of trafficking and differences in methodology, the exact extent is unknown. An estimated 14,000 people are trafficked into the United States each year, although again because trafficking is illegal, accurate statistics are difficult.” (Wikipedia) I find it amazing that such massive amounts of people are smuggled into this country, sold and exploited, and all this goes mostly un-controlled by the government. With such heightened security on what is entering our country, you’d think they would be able to regulate the selling and exploiting of people with a heightened priority. Human trafficking in the United States is prosecuted through the Civil Rights Division: Criminal Section of the United States Department of Justice. “Section 1584 makes it a crime to force a person to work against his will. This compulsion can be effected by use of force, threat of force, threat of legal coercion or by "a climate of fear", that is, an environment wherein individuals believe they may be harmed by leaving or refusing to work. Section 1581 similarly makes it illegal to force a person to work through "debt servitude". New laws were passed under the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. The new laws responded to a changing face of trafficking in the United States. It allowed for greater statutory maximum sentences for traffickers, provided resources for protection of and assistance for victims of trafficking and created avenues for interagency cooperation in the field of human trafficking. This law also attempted to encourage efforts to prevent human trafficking internationally, by creating annual country reports on trafficking, as well as by tying financial non-humanitarian assistance to foreign countries to real efforts in addressing human trafficking. International NPOs, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have called on the United States to improve its measures aimed at reducing trafficking. They recommend that the United States more fully implement the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and for immigration officers to improve their awareness of trafficking and support the victims of trafficking.” (The previous quatations of information taken from Wikipedia are a brief summarized version of some of the information I have come across, I encourage everyone to research through several sources for more detailed information) The information varies in reasearch, as with anything, but the fact that people are suffering finds no dispute. This is a despicable and disturbing trade. Most of the people sold and exploited are children. These children are sexually exploited, used for cheap labor, and sold like they are something other than human beings. The only thing that disgusts me more than people who are willing to profit from the sale of human beings, are people who are willing to buy other human beings. It sickens me. People are widely misguided if they think slavery has been abolished. It’s alive and well, and many people are profiting and benefiting from it. None of the people who are smuggled into America have a legal identity in the United States, and slip between the cracks when they disappear, making them easy targets for very disturbed people looking to take advantage of children who are vulnerable to their intentions. I can understand the governments tied hands when it comes to the smuggling of drugs that can be hidden in any number of places, but human beings are hard to hide, even harder when they are shipped by the thousands each year. I somewhat understand the impossibility of regulating all the human trafficking from every country, but the regulation of containers coming from certain countries which are known to be vulnerable to human trafficking is just not that difficult. We certainly have the resources being one of the top developed countries. I also understand this would be a distasteful issue for George W. Bush as he prefers to spend the money of the American people on the war in Iraq, and in the words of Kanye West “does not care about black people,” immigrants (I’m sure you know what I am talking about), children (as he takes money from our schools to buy more weapons in his quest to conquer the Middle East, and has given us the hypocrisy of No Child Left Behind which has put many children at a disadvantage). True, throughout his presidency he has demonstrated a general dislike for most anything other than the war in Iraq, and most other people except Texans, but even so…laws monitoring the trafficking of human beings would not be so difficult to achieve with a little money from the fund of “George W. Bush’s Iraqi War Bank Account,” which seems to be a bottomless pit of money. It wouldn’t kill George Bush to give a speech or two on some real issues either, instead of fumbling out the same old crap on his crusade to enslave the Middle East until they run out of oil, throwing in a few words about freedom, terrorism, patriotism, September 11th…well you know, the key words he likes to use to ensue fear and anger in the American people. I somehow always end up talking about George W. Bush, but can you blame me? My future looks anything but green. My planet is slowly catching on fire (well, not so slowly), and I, as well as you, am going to be paying off America’s national debt for the extent of my natural life, because my fellow man elected him TWICE: to raise my taxes, commit me to warfare financially, and bullshit me for 8 years. I’m a little angry. There are plenty of issues and injustices in America that need his attention. He needs to get off his high horse and do something meaningful and worth while in the duration of his presidency…

Here are two sites that have some information on Human Trafficking, but do your own research, there's a lot of information out there:

www.humantrafficking.org
The United Nations: Office on Drugs and Crime

The Just Of Words...

Words only have meaning for moments in time.
When the moments pass, the words become just words.
People always have good intentions.
But when love is gone, the intent does not exist.
Love will change you.
More so when you land, than when you are on the clouds.
In flight, you lose track of the ground.
Lovers promise you their ears and shoulders for all of time.
But you find promises are only to get you through.
Everything is a moment.
Everything goes away.
Love gets lost in translation...

Numb...

I can remember the very first time I cried.
Hid away like the monster that was under my bed as a child.
I stare at the walls, but they are blank.
I still can curl up under my bed, but the monster is inside me this time.
I might have cried a hundred times or two.
But always all alone, you knew I was always smart like that.
The tears were lost inside, far away and quiet.
Always so quiet.
I won’t remember how you’ve made me so numb.
I can't feel it anymore...

Let Him Fly...

Ain't no talkin' to this man, ain't no pretty other side
Ain't no way to understand the stupid words of pride
It would take an acrobat, but I already tried all that
I'm gonna let him fly

Things can move at such a pace
The second hand just waved goodbye
You know the light has left his face
But you can't recall just where or why
I said I'm gonna let him fly

There's no mercy in a live wire
No rest at all in freedom
The choices we are givin'
It's no choice at all

The proof is in the fire
You touch before it moves away
But you must always know
How long to stay and when to go

And there ain't no talkin' to this man
He's been trying to tell me so
It took a while to understand
The beauty of just letting go

Cause it would take an acrobat and I already tried all that
I'm gonna let him fly
I'm gonna let him fly
I'm gonna let him fly...

~ Patty Griffin

A Thousand Bubbles Over Ukraine...

Today I watched a documentary called Chernobyl Heart. It was about a chemical spill that happened in April of 1986 in Ukraine, at the Chernobyl Chemical Plant. This happened less than a year after I was born (in Hungary). It has left the area the most radioactive place on earth. 9 million people were affected, and it's affects are still present today. The number of children born with deformities has increased by 250% since the Chernobyl Chemical Spill. Orphanages and mental asylums are filled with children abandoned because of their deformities. There is no hope for these children. They spend their entire lives living in cribs, and if they survive to be 17, they are moved to an adult mental asylum which also serves as a prison for dangerous criminals, and is a very dangerous place for these children to go. This documentary breaks my heart not just as a teacher, but as a human being. These children have no future, no hope, and are abandoned and locked away from the rest of the world like a disease. One part of the documentary shows a young boy begging for a TV, a radio, anything to pass the time of being confined to a room all day, every day. These children are very difficult to watch, because they were changed forever by something that was out of their control. Areas as far as 150 miles from the most dangerous zones, which are still blocked today, only report 15%-20% of babies are born healthy each year. Watching this documentary, my mother told me that she remembers when the chemical spill happened and the radio was telling everyone to keep their children inside. Most children my age born in the affected areas, are affected by thyroid cancer today. They show the sheer number of Abandoned Babies Homes located in the region in and around Ukraine. Many regions are still contaminated today, and the number of healthy babies being born is only decreasing. The government has deemed some of the contaminated zones as being clean, though they are not, so they would not be obligated to give money to those affected by the Chernobyl Chemical spill. Many people living in the contaminated areas have no money or opportunity to move. I am torn, because I know that the government hasn't the money to forever pay for the effects of this tragedy, and people have no way of moving or changing their children's fate no matter how much they want to. It's a very real moment when a mother and father are crying because they know what will become of their children, but they cannot stop it, and they cannot change it. They just can't. This tragic place on earth, and the locked away children who are forgotten and counted as one of the lost and hopeless, is proof that time does not heal all wounds. There is an open wound on our planet, and it's still bleeding 20 years later. I don't understand, I just don't understand so many things. Like how can there be money in times of war, because for war the money always appears from somewhere, yet when there are people suffering all over the world, there just IS NO money? The children affected by the Chernobyl Chemical spill are deemed as having 'Chernobyl Heart', it is a common thread for all the children and people affected. The radiation levels are hundreds of times higher in the affected areas than what is deemed to be a dangerous level. This documentary has truly touched me and it makes me want to travel to see these children abandoned by the society that has brought this tragedy upon them. My dream has always been to be a teacher of young children, to absorb their laughter, and give them the tools to make the world a better place. This documentary really made me reconsider that. Maybe now is the time to go and give to children who are not being given to. If love is all they need, we have it. We have love. Why should one not be compelled to give love where it is needed the most? They are not a disease, people are not diseases, they need love like everyone needs love to be alive. No-one should be deprived of love because they have been flawed. There is not much doctors can due to help these children, or to save their lives. Only about 300 children will have the necessary heart operation they need to survive, each year. The rest will die waiting. One of the things that stuck out in my mind about this documentary, is that they help children with Chernobyl Hearts by having them blow bubbles...

Rain...

Roxy and I went for a walk in the rain today...