Ethiopian's at Peace

The day started out as a most calm, serene and melodious church ceremony. it was attended in Badaro, a district of Beirut with my cousin Anne. I had never seen such a lovely site of people, mostly women, before. It seems that in Ethiopia it is tradition to wear a long white veil/scarf on the head and upper body of the figure while at church...this we may call their sunday best. never had i seen such a beautiful sight.
it was like a sea of white with brown undertones. had the gaze been coming from in front, the perspective of the unseen priest behind a curtain, (or other member of the clergy) colors and brown would have predominated the scene. but it was the sound which was the dominant overpowering part of it. the women would repeat after the voice behind the curtain in unison. their natural unintended harmony created one of the most spectacular sounds my ear has ever known. at one point recognizing the word 'salaaam'. but most pleasant, it must be made clear, was the welcoming nature amongst the sea of those WE were foreign to. as we three stood at the entrance of a church, we were hesitant until one lady said come, and we followed her. she lead us down the center aisle wanting us to go all the way to the very front. we said thank you wisperingly and were satisfied with our places were we stopped, awkwardly next to another lady who did not look Ethiopian and seemingly the only other one like us in the crowd. another lady informing us with discreet eyes and hands when to be seated and when to stand. babies as well as women cried making a tear well up in my eye. maybe the woman behind me was sad, missing her homeland or who knows...there could have been a number of possibilities raising such emotions.
it was spring equinox that day and the time had been moved forward an hour so the masses seemed unusually gathered outside still slowly making their way into the over crowded and only Ethiopian mass Lebanon has ever seen.

since 1951

the Tibetans have suffered an occupation from the Chinese government imposed by Mao. They had been forced into signing an agreement that implied military occupation on them within the Southern region between India and China which used to contain the highest mountainous peak known as mount Everest. if you're a movie type i suggest that you watch Seven Years in Tibet or Kundun which both explain (the first even more)about the situation in Tibet with the Buddhists and the Dali Lama. As a teenager who happened to attend a school only 1 block away form the Chinese embassy in Washington DC every Friday morning as my father was driving me to school we would pass a lady protesting with a Tibetan flag this (also asking the Chinese government to free the next Dali Lama. My father, who used to be a lefty liberal type attending anti-war rallies against what was happening in Iran and Palestine at the University of Wisconsin with my big (then baby) brother on their shoulders, would each time honk for her in support of her cause. i, a naturally born progressive revolutionary (for reasons i WILL NOT go into right now) would always be so excited and happy that he did that after only knowing the little details that he knew about the situation and had explained to me. now i can say that she was a most dedicated woman who wanted what the Tibetans all around the world are being seen at face value for....a FREE Tibet.

the whole world is jealous

"Everyone wants to eat like an American on this globe. But if they do, we're going to need another two or three globes to grow it all. " - Daniel Basse of AgResource, a consultan in Chicago

HAHAHAHA
HEHEHEHE
HOUHOUHOU

how sad is that...right, so we all wish we could be getting fat asses from McDonald's and Burger King's animal fat fried junk that's pumped with chemicals and hormones (watch Super Size Me) so that by the age of 45 we can barely afford any of our medical bills (remember that the US is the only 'western' country in the world that does not have a socialized healthcare system, watch Sicko) and have to start getting hip replacements and kidney dialysis. it's a sad and sick place

Obama for president!

international woman's day - a global visual

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7285141.stmncy

MARCH 8th

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMAN'S DAY to all women of the world!

Carlos Latuff

some amazing cartoons related to the disgusting crisis in Gaza now:

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2008/03/03/brazilian_cartoonist_carlos_latuff_creat