I expect simple behaviours here. Friendship, and love. Any advice should be from the perspective of the person asking, not the person giving! We have had to make new membership moderated to combat the huge number of spammers who register
Location: US/Canada
Registered: September 2009
Messages: 733
By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Feb 19 | In suburban Ardmore Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia, the Lower Merion School District has admitted to issuing its students laptop computers with webcams that could be remotely activated without the users knowledge. In a letter sent to parents & guardians of students, Schools superintendent Dr. Christopher W. McGinley justified the school district's actions:
"Dear LMSD Parents/Guardians,
Our history has been to go to great lengths to protect the privacy of our students, whether it comes to student health, academic or other records. In fact, many of you may remember the heated debate over whether to have security cameras monitor some of our food vending machines. Privacy is a basic right in our society and a matter we take very seriously. We believe that a good job can always be done better.
Recent publicity regarding the District's one-to-one high school laptop initiative, and questions about the security of student laptops prompted our administration to revisit security procedures.
Laptops are a frequent target for theft in schools and off school property. District laptops do contain a security feature intended to track lost, stolen and missing laptops. The security feature, which was disabled today, was installed to help locate a laptop in the event it was reported lost, missing or stolen so that the laptop could be returned to the student.
Upon a report of a suspected lost, stolen or missing laptop, the feature would be activated by the District's security and technology departments. The security feature's capabilities were limited to taking a still image of the operator and the operator's screen. This feature was only used for the narrow purpose of locating a lost, stolen or missing laptop. The District never activated the security feature for any other purpose or in any other manner whatsoever.
As a result of our preliminary review of security procedures today, I directed the following actions:
Immediate disabling of the security-tracking program.
* A thorough review of the existing policies for student laptop use.
* A review of security procedures to help safeguard the protection of privacy, including a review of the instances in which the security software was activated. We want to ensure that any affected students and families are made aware of the outcome of laptop recovery investigations.
* A review of any other technology areas in which the intersection of privacy and security may come into play.
We are proud of the fact that we are a leader in providing laptops to every high school student as part of our instructional program. But we need to be equally as proud of the safeguards we have in place to protect the privacy of the users, as well as to safeguard district-owned property while being used by students.
We regret if this situation has caused any concern or inconvenience among our students and families. If you have any questions or concerns, please email us at info@lmsd.org. Additional information has been posted on our website, http://www.lmsd.org.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
Dr. Christopher W. McGinley
Superintendent of Schools
Lower Merion School District
301 East Montgomery Ave.
Ardmore, PA 19003
610.645.1800
What forced this letter of explanation was a class action lawsuit filed last Thursday, February 11th, in Federal Court, by parents angry over this invasion of privacy by the schools.
The lawsuit was filed after an incident whereby the issue came to light when the student named as primary plaintiff in the Court Action was disciplined for "improper behavior in his home" and the Vice Principal used a photo taken by the webcam as evidence.
As a parent, as a journalist, and as a member of a supposedly free society, I am appalled by the deviousness of the schools decision to include that type of spy software without any regard to privacy concerns and in fact, possible criminal behaviour on the part of school employees. Let's face it folks, there is too much room for abuse here. Teenagers, or at least mine, hide out in their rooms for privacy and thus with this kind of software would be exposed to persons who logically might take advantage of this with the end results being posted on the web and mostly likely on adult entertainment sites.
That is not the only issue though, the other issue is reasonable expectation of individuals to have the basic right to privacy without intrusion by the government which quite obviously is not the case with those laptops.
The responsible parties here in the school district need to be fired, not disciplined-the offending laptops need to have that software removed, and the superintendent needs to find another career as I would have real concerns about the privacy, security, and integrity of any school system with that kind of clown running it.
Location: USA
Registered: November 2008
Messages: 973
Growing up in a Roman Catholic household, Lent was not a happy time. Mardi Gras wasn't the time of raucous abandon that it is in New Orleans and elsewhere.
It all started with Ash Wednesday when we were to carefully consider how temporary our lives were. Then there were 40 days of religious S&M. One was advised to mortify the flesh during this period. Then it all came to a climax on Good Friday, when fasting and self denial reached a frenzied pitch.
Coming from a church that burned Jews and homosexuals, the lent thing was a relatively good idea in my opinion. I'm not much of a Catholic nowadays and I'm only a nominal Christian. But I think that an institutionalized period of introspection, which Lent is meant to be, is a wholesome idea.
It's good to really stop and think about my imperfections and the work or self control or self mortification that I need to do to make myself a better person. How can I make myself be less self aggrandizing? Who am I hurting, why, and how do I cure myself of that sickness? How can I attain the humility to forget about myself and seek the greater happiness and well being of the world at large.
I read Jack Rowan's 'Story of Tim' recently. It purported to show the benefits of suffering from an S&M point of view. Judaism has it's day of atonement. The need to stop and reflect on one's actions and the impact they have on the world is not just a Catholic or even a religious thing. It's just good living.
So I'd like to start this Lent with apologies and resolutions to search out the instances and the means whereby I bring unpleasantness
to the lives of others and to rectify that.
The path to heaven doesn't lie in magic or 'imaginary friends' or in repetitive rubric. I think a lot of that is akin to Santa Claus. It's to get little children introduced in an idea (charity). As an adult I need to recognize that introspection and monitoring and controlling my actions are germane and necessary to the greater enjoyment of my own life and to the greater good of the world in which I live.
I am not always right. I am not always the best and I do not always do my best. I lack faith in others and hold them back by that, since faith is a creative force. Lack of faith in others also makes my own life smaller because it stymies opportunities for human closeness and sharing.
So lent is assuring myself that there is indeed a heaven, and cautioning myself that it is my job to help build this heaven. Because if my joy is to live for the welfare of others, and that is everyone else's joy too, then we would have a real and genuine heaven right here where we are. We would have a world of peace love and joy.
That's what Lent has become for me today. It used to be a religious thing. Now it's grown into a spiritual thing. It reminds me of the ever existing opportunity to reinvent myself. It reminds me of the fantastic opportunity I have been given to make the world a better place.
Max
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
Ps 133:1 NASB
Location: US/Canada
Registered: September 2009
Messages: 733
Meghan McCain appeared as a guest host on The View Friday and said she was extremely proud of her mother Cindy for posing for the No H8 campaign and showing her support for marriage equality.
Location: Israel
Registered: October 2004
Messages: 1367
I am rather surprised that no one mentioned this horrific story carried by AP. I had heard of such things regarding Palestinian youths but this is the first time I have heard of such an "honour" killing for a 12 year old girl.
J F R
Girl buried alive for having male friends
The father and grandfather of a Turkish teenager are to face trial for burying her alive because her friendship with boys had brought dishonour on the family.
A coroner said Medine Memi's body had been found bound and in sitting position in a two-metre hole dug beneath a chicken coop outside her home in Kahta in southeastern Turkey, 40 days after she had disappeared. The hole had been cemented over. According to a post-mortem examination, the large amount of soil in her lungs and stomach showed she had been buried alive and suffered a slow, agonising death. "The girl, who had no bruises on her body or sign of narcotics or poison in her blood, was conscious when she was buried," said one official involved in the case.
She had tried to report to police that she had been beaten by her father and grandfather days before she was killed. "She tried to take refuge at the police station three times and was sent home," her mother, Immihan, said after Memi's body was discovered in December. Memi's father is reported as saying at the time: "She has male friends. We're uneasy about that."
The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
Location: US/Canada
Registered: September 2009
Messages: 733
Managing Editor of the Bilerico Project-Florida Waymon Hudson is attending the 22nd Annual Creating Change Conference in Dallas, Texas this week. Produced by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Creating Change Conference (as it is affectionately known) is the nation’s pre-eminent political, leadership and skills-building conference for the LGBT social justice movement. Since 1988, Creating Change has been the opportunity for thousands of committed people to develop and hone their skills, celebrate victories, build community, and to be inspired by visionaries of our LGBT movement and allied movements for justice and equality.
The primary goal of the Creating Change Conference is to build our movement’s political power from the ground up to secure our overarching goal of full equality, social justice and dignity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the United States.
[ http://www.thetaskforce.org/events/creating_change ]
During a break between events, he sat down with a friend and discussed a subject that bears repeating here on Tim's 'A Place Of Safety' message board, especially in consideration of some of the conversations in threads here over these past couple of months:
I was having a chat with a friend at the Creating Change Conference where we were catching up, talking about our current projects, and chatting about the community in general. We got into the topic of what we both agreed was a gaping whole in most people's personal activism and community involvement: engaging family, friends and acquaintances in the issues that matter to us.
It's a subject I've written about before, giving it the title "The Everyday Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Basically it boils down to many times the people in our lives don't ask about the important political, social, and equality issues that deeply affect our everyday lives as LGBT people and, too often, we don't tell them.
We may come out, get involved, call our legislators, take to the streets in protest, or push our issues online, but when it comes to the personal connections we can make, we are oddly silent. It often seems easier to sit back, live your life, and not get involved or have the sometimes uncomfortable conversation where you ask the people directly in your life to support you as an LGBT person.
Like they say in community organizing and campaigning, you have to have an "ask"- some direct action and contact to make the people around you begin to understand our lives.
It sounds simple and obvious.
Yet take a minute to look at the people in your life and think if you have ever asked them to not only love and accept you, but also take action for you and vote or stand in real solidarity with the LGBT community.
It's not as easy as it sounds. Many people struggle with coming out and deal with conservative families or communities. They just want to not talk about it or not "force it down" people's throats. But to really get the strength we need to make change and work towards equality and justice, we need to have those conversations. We need to actively engage and educate the people who's lives we touch.
We work hard with our families and love ones when we come out, sometimes in a process that can take months or even years. We try and let them know we are the same person as always, that we are strong and can take care of whatever comes our way. We tell them not to worry about us and work to convince them that nothing has "changed." In fact, we try so hard to not worry them or to be accepted by them that we leave out the hardships we face. We sanitize our life to gain acceptance and they never even realize it.
They need to hear, from our lips, how hard life can be for LGBT people and how they can help. We need to let them know it's okay to ask us how they can help. We need to accept their love and support. We need to ask for it. We have to stop being "strong" for those who might be there for us if we would just ask.
Poll after poll shows that people's general views on LGBT issues get more progressive when they know someone in their life that is part of our community. But this softening can too many times not translate into the votes or political power we need as a minority community. We may know our issues and how to vote, but our loved ones aren't as connected because we shield them from the hardships.
It's our job to be that connection.
Have some anti-LGBT legislation coming down in your state? Have the conversation and the direct ask with your family and friends. Canvass your life like you would canvass a district or neighborhood. It's an integral part of our activism that can make the difference between victory or defeat.
It's something that I've had to do in my own life. For example, my mother is a very conservative, southern woman. She's come to accept who I am and love my husband. But when it came to larger LGBT issues, she was clueless. I had to sit her down and explain why Florida's Amendment 2 (our constitutional ban on marriage equality and relationship recognition) was such a horrible thing- how it directly impacted my life and my family. It wasn't an easy talk and it pushed some uncomfortable buttons, but it opened up a communication between us. That line of communication has continued to this day, where she'll even call me or send me emails about LGBT issues in the news to see how it affects my life. It's personalized an issue for her that she didn't feel a connection to before.
You can have a huge impact on LGBT rights just by being honest with those around you. It's hard. It's often uncomfortable. It can be messy. But it is necessary.
By repealing our self-imposed "don't ask, don't tell" policy in our everyday lives, we can truly create lasting change.
Location: US/Canada
Registered: September 2009
Messages: 733
By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Feb 5 | Judy Lewis, the director the Jewish Gay Network of Michigan, announced today that the organisation is proud to be a co-sponsor of the award winning Israeli film “City of Borders,” debuting as a feature film in this year's annual film festival in Detroit.
It’s a documentary about a gay bar in Israel popular with both Israelis and Arabs. Located in Jerusalem, which is interesting in itself due to the city's rather conservative nature, the bar in the heart of Jerusalem stands an unusual symbol of unity that defies generations of segregation, violence and prejudice.
'City of Borders' goes inside this underground sanctuary where people of opposing nationalities, religions and sexual orientations create an island of peace in a land divided by warfare.
The Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit spokesperson Elizabeth Applebaum, said that each year the Jewish Community sponsors a film festival in April. This year there will be about 40 films on very diverse topics and that the JGNM is proud that 'City of Borders' will be included in this year's line-up.
For more information and the theatrical trailer please visit:
The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
Location: US/Canada
Registered: September 2009
Messages: 733
DADT Hearing: Mullen Says Service In Military Should Be About Integrity & Not Sexual Orientation
By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Feb 2 | In a dual appearance before the United States Senate Armed Services Committee, Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, told Senators that the U. S. defence establishment was ready to move forward on reviewing all of the necessary steps, additionally gathering the information in report form, that would be provided to Congress, should the Congress decide to move forward in repealing the DADT Law.
Both the Secretary and the Admiral acknowledged that today's hearing was only an initial step in a process that would likely last into the next year as the Pentagon sought information from the various service chiefs, combat commanders in the field, and families as well as service members regarding the effects of repealing the law.
Admiral Mullen, in his opening statement, said that he believed that the time had come to remove the law as a barrier to service in the military by LGBT Americans. He said that on a personal level as well as professionally he was more concerned with a person's integrity rather than their sexual orientation. His overall feeling regarding the issue of Don't Ask, Don't Tell was that repeal is the "Right Thing to Do."
Location: US/Canada
Registered: September 2009
Messages: 733
*snicker* Okay, so when the GAY version of this hits the marketplace...hahahahaha
From CNN's Brandon Griggs comes this really funny story, or sad I guess, depending on your take on things like this:
Las Vegas, Nevada (CNN) -- To some men, she might seem like the perfect woman: She's a willowy 5 feet 7 and 120 pounds. She'll chat with you endlessly about your interests. And she'll have sex whenever you please -- as long as her battery doesn't run out.
Meet Roxxxy, who may be the world's most sophisticated talking female sex robot. For $7,000, she's all yours.
"She doesn't vacuum or cook, but she does almost everything else," said her inventor, Douglas Hines, who unveiled Roxxxy last month at the Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Lifelike dolls, artificial sex organs and sex-chat phone lines have been keeping the lonely company for decades. But Roxxxy takes virtual companionship to a new level.
Powered by a computer under her soft silicone "skin," she employs voice-recognition and speech-synthesis software to answer questions and carry on conversations. She even comes loaded with five distinct "personalities," from Frigid Farrah to Wild Wendy, that can be programmed to suit customers' preferences.
"There's a tremendous need for this kind of product," said Hines, a computer scientist and former Bell Labs engineer.
Below; Inventor Douglas Hines with Roxxxy, his computerized sex robot that can carry on a conversation and have a simulated orgasm.
[Photo Courtesy of True Companion Inc. Used By Permission ]
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13751
Grow up in a land where religion comes first and see the difference. See http://tinyurl.com/y9ft5hl a reasonably dull article, but one that shows that things move forward, slowly, yes, but well.
Location: Israel
Registered: October 2004
Messages: 1367
Often - too often? - we read in this forum about stupid Americans. This should even up the score a little. Enjoy! I really LOVED Kor Blimey.
Brains of Britain
Some wonderful moments from British TV/Radio quiz shows ...
UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE (BBC2)
Jeremy Paxman: What is another name for 'cherrypickers' and 'cheesemongers'?
Contestant: Homosexuals.
Jeremy Paxman: No. They're regiments in the British Army who will be very upset with you.
BEG, BORROW OR STEAL (BBC2)
Jamie Theakston: Where do you think Cambridge University is?
Contestant: Geography isn't my strong point.
Jamie Theakston: There's a clue in the title.
Contestant: Leicester.
BBC NORFOLK
Stewart White: Who had a worldwide hit with What A Wonderful World?
Contestant: 1 don't know.
Stewart White: I'll give you some clues: what do you call the part between your hand and your elbow?
Contestant: Arm.
Stewart White: Correct And if you're not weak, you're ... ?
Contestant: Strong.
Stewart White: Correct. And what was Lord Mountbatten's first name?
Contestant: Louis.
Stewart White: Well, there we are then. So who had a worldwide hit with the song What A Wonderful World?
Contestant: Frank Sinatra?
LATE SHOW (BBC MIDlANDS)
Alex Trelinski: What is the capital of Italy?
Contestant: France.
Alex Trelinski: France is another country. Try again.
Contestant: Oh, um, Benidorm.
Alex Trelinski: Wrong, sorry, let's try another question. In which country is the Parthenon?
Contestant: Sorry, 1 don't know.
Alex Trelinski: Just guess a country then.
Contestant: Paris.
THE WEAKEST LINK (BBC2
Anne Robinson: Oscar Wilde, Adolf Hitler and Jeffrey Archer have all written books about their experiences in what? - prison, or the Conservative Party
Contestant: The Conservative Party.
BEACON RADIO (WOLVERHAMPTON)
DJ Mark: For 10, what is the nationality of the Pope?
Contestant: 1 think 1 know that one. Is it Jewish?
UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE
Bamber Gascoyne: What was Gandhi's first name?
Contestant: Goosey?
GWR FM (BRISTOL)
Presenter: What happened in Dallas on November 22, 1963?
Contestant: I don't know. 1 wasn't watching it then.
PHIL WOOD SHOW (BBC RADIO MANCHESTER
Phil What's 11 squared?
Contestant: I don't know.
Phil: I'll give you a clue. It's two ones with a two in the middle.
Contestant: Is it five?
RICHARD AND JUDY
Richard: Which American actor is married to Nicole Kidman?
Contestant: Forrest Gump.
RICHARD AND JUDY
Richard: On which street did Sherlock Holmes live?
Contestant: ..... Er
Richard: ... He makes bread
Contestant: ..... Er
Richard: ... He makes cakes
Conrtestant: Kipling Street?
LINCS FM PHONE-IN
Presenter: Which is the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world?
Contestant: Barcelona.
Presenter: 1 was really after the name of a country .
Contestant: I'm sorry, 1 don't know the names of any countries in Spain.
NATIONAL LOTTERY (BBC1)
Question: What is the world's largest continent?
Contestant: The Pacific.
ROCK FM ( PRESTON )
Presenter: Name a film starring Bob Hoskins that is also the name of a famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci.
Contestant: Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
THE BIGGEST GAME IN TOWN (ITV)
Steve Le Fevre: What was signed to bring World War 1 to an end in 1918?
Contestant: Magna Carta?
JAMES O'BRIEN SHOW (LBC)
James O'Brian: How many kings of England have been called Henry?
Contestant: Er, well, I know there was a Henry the Eighth ... ER. ER ... Three?
CHRIS SEARLE SHOW (BBC RADIO BRISTOL)
Chris Searle: In which European country is Mount Etna?
Caller: Japan.
Chris Searle: I did say which European country, so in case you didn't hear that I can let you try again.
Caller: Er ..... Mexico?
PAUL WAPPAT (BBC RADIO NEWCASTLE)
Paul Wappat: How long did the Six-Day War between Egypt and Israel last?
Contestant: (After a long pause) Fourteen days.
ARYL DENHAM'S DRIVETIME (VIRGIN RADIO)
Daryl Denham: In which country would you spend shekels?
Contestant: Holland?
Daryl Denham: Try the next letter of the alphabet.
Contestant: Iceland? Ireland?
Daryl Denham: (Helpfully) It's a bad line. Did you say Israel?
Contestant: No.
PHIL WOOD SHOW (BBC GMR)
Phil Wood: What 'K' could be described as the Islamic Bible?
Contestant: Er .
Phil Wood: It's got two syllables ... Kor ..
Contestant: Blimey?
Phil Wood: Ha ha ha ha, no. The past participle of run ....
(Silence)
Phil Wood: OK, try it another way. Today I run, yesterday I ...
Contestant: Walked?
THE VAULT
Melanie Sykes: What is the name given to the condition where the sufferer can fall asleep at any time?
Contestant: Nostalgia.
LUNCHTIME SHOW (BRMB)
Presenter: What religion was Guy Fawkes?
Contestant: Jewish.
Presenter: That's close enough.
STEVE WRIGHT IN THE AFTERNOON (BBC RADIO 2)
Wright: Johnny Weissmuller died on this day. Which jungle-swinging character clad only in a loin cloth did he play?
Contestant: Jesus.
J F R
The paradox has often been noted that the United States, founded in secularism, is now the most religiose country in Christendom, while England, with an established church headed by its constitutional monarch, is among the least. (Richard Dawkins, 2006)
Location: US/Canada
Registered: September 2009
Messages: 733
KQED MISSION STATEMENT
Northern California Public Broadcasting (NCPB) provides consistently high quality public media that informs, educates, entertains and engages from a Northern California perspective.
Through the creation and acquisition of programs, the leveraging of our multiple media assets, and strategic partnerships, NCPB delivers television, radio, internet and education network content that makes people think, feel and explore new ideas.
Our programming and services reflect the value we place on human dignity, lifelong learning and the power of ideas, and on the importance of community service and civic participation.
Location: US/Canada
Registered: September 2009
Messages: 733
By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Jan 13 | The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is launching a preliminary emergency appeal seeking a total of 10 million Swiss francs (10 million US dollars/6.8 million euro) to deliver assistance to persons affected by the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on Tuesday.
The earthquake, which reached 7.3 on the Richter scale, has primarily affected the cities of Port-au-Prince, Carrefour and Jacmel, all located in the West Province area which has an estimated population of 2.2 million.
A spokesman for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Jean-Luc Martinage, said, "A massive international aid operation was needed. Emergency stocks are prepositioned in Haiti and will allow us to bring aid to 3,000 families for three to four days," he said. "But we'll have to swiftly bring relief supplies from our regional disaster response centre based in Panama. The most urgent needs at this time are search and rescue, field hospitals, emergency health, water purification, emergency shelter, logistics and telecommunications."
Mr Martinage said supplies in Haiti included kitchen kits, personal hygiene kits, blankets and containers for storing drinking water. Six federation relief experts are due to fly into Haiti from Panama to support the Haitian Red Cross and help coordinate international relief.
A Red Cross team was also due to lead a crucial assessment of the damage in Haiti along with European Union experts that will allow relief agencies to gauge aid needs.
The federation said the area most affected by the 7.0 magnitude quake was Port au Prince, and the West Province with a population of 2.2 million.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs indicated that areas immediately to the west of the capital suffered the full force of the quake.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has staff in the country, said medical needs and clean water supplies would be "considerable in the short term".
"Everything that's infrastructure isn't working," said ICRC spokesman Simon Schorno.
Location: US/Canada
Registered: September 2009
Messages: 733
By Brody Levesque (Bethesda, Maryland) Dec 30 | Word came over the Reuters Wire Service newsfeed earlier tonight that the worldwide Press Corps community had tragically lost another member. Calgary Herald reporter Michelle Lang, 34, was killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan Dec. 30, 2009, while covering the war for the Canwest News Service. Four Canadian soldiers also died in the blast.
Although I haven't lived in Ontario for nearly three decades now, I still maintain a residence there, and still try to get home to Canada at least once every few years if I can. For me, my heart is still very much attached to my country, my people, my home. To lose a young person like Michelle, young vibrant, and I've gathered from phone calls home to friends and professional acquaintances, an award winning journalist that eventually could have ended up being a noteworthy individual in our profession, is more than tragic it's practically an obscene offence.
I too have served in Afghanistan on assignment and know first hand just how dangerous & unstable that country & region are. But it is our job to bring the facts to our readers, to tell the stories as we witness them occurring, and to bring truth & light into places where sometimes it seems that only darkness reigns. I didn't know this young lady, never heard of her obviously, but my heart aches for her family, which also very much includes her professional family of fellow journalists.
I think it fitting that a tribute and eulogy to Miss Lang was this column composed by a fellow Canadian journalist & colleague who I present here in his owns words:
Remembering a fallen colleague, journalist Michelle Lang
By Craig Pearson, Windsor StarDecember 30, 2009 11:06 PM | WINDSOR, Ont. — The war in Afghanistan has hit home for me harder than I hoped it would.
When I heard the news Wednesday that the first Canadian journalist killed in Afghanistan was Michelle Lang — the award-winning Calgary Herald reporter working for Canwest newspapers — my hands began to tremble.
I felt blood drain from my face.
The 34-year-old journalist was killed along with four Canadian soldiers in southern Afghanistan when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb. Five others were wounded.
I did not know Michelle well, but I did complete a three-day war-correspondent course with her last year in Ottawa.
And she contacted me by e-mail last month as she was preparing to head to Canada's most dangerous media assignment. She wanted to talk.
Instantly likable, Michelle did not appear at first like the type to head to a war zone, given that she could seem a little soft-spoken. But as someone who won a National Newspaper Award for exploring Alberta health care, she obviously did her homework.
She was busily speaking with reporters who had gone before her. I worked last June 3 to July 15 as the Afghanistan correspondent for Canwest.
So she called me by phone and we chatted for some time about the dangers of Afghanistan and what to expect. She expressed a little apprehension about her upcoming mission, the same apprehension I felt before shipping out.
Yet she was clearly committed to going, to telling the stories of Canadian soldiers and Afghan people in a hellhole existence of bombs and poverty, so I simply tried to reassure her.
I appreciated it when reporters told me the odds were in my favour as I readied myself for war, so I did the same for her. The irony of that conversation haunts me now.
The truth is, only when you put on a helmet and flak jacket in Afghanistan and venture "outside the wire" — off Kandahar Airfield — can you truly appreciate the danger.
It hangs in the air with the dust, like death.
I had this naive belief that reporters would somehow be safer than soldiers. But we scribes travel in the same vehicles and walk in the same areas as the troops.
All that danger came rushing back to me like a sandstorm when I heard about Michelle, who was two weeks into a six-week assignment.
I saw myself riding in that light-armoured vehicle when the truck behind us hit a roadside bomb that we had somehow missed; I felt myself sitting in that outdoor "office" at a forward operating base when I heard that rocket whistling in and exploding perhaps 20 metres from me; and I heard the gunfire rat-a-tatting in the distance as I walked through the volcanic heat on patrol in rural Afghanistan.
And then I thought of Michelle.
She knew the only way to really cover the story was to go to it. I know how much courage that takes and I respect her for it.
Over the years I have written a number of stories about dedicated police officers and soldiers and firefighters — even athletes — who have died too young.
I always rightly hailed them as heroes.
Because of Michelle's bravery and commitment to her craft, I now know more than ever you don't have to carry a gun to be a hero.
Sometimes you need only carry a pen.
Michelle's employer Dennis Skulsky, President and CEO of Canwest Publishing issued this statement:
This is an unbelievable loss to her fiancé Michael, her family and the countless colleagues and friends at The Calgary Herald, Canwest News Service and across our organization. Michelle was honoured recently with a National Newspaper Award in recognition of her coverage of the Alberta health care system. In all that she did, Michelle exemplified the skills and dedication that have made Canwest a leader in news. She will be deeply missed not only by those who knew her well but also the countless readers who relied on her excellent reporting in the pages of our newspapers.
Michelle took this assignment voluntarily, as do all of our war zone journalists and was two weeks into a six week assignment. Michelle had been filing stories of Christmas with the troops, she had interviewed military leaders about the progress our military had made and written a story about the diverse population of civilians serving in support functions in Afghanistan.
Our thoughts and prayers along with our support have been extended to Michelle’s family.
Michelle Lang Photograph by: Chris Bolin, Canwest News Service
He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake since for him a spinal cord would suffice. Albert Einstein
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13751
I understand the absolute need in soldiery for blind obedience. I see the point of the bull, the drill, the ceaseless cleaning of equipment, the stripping down and reassembly of firearms, the lot. I know why the top of the cupboard has to be so dust free that not a speck shows on white gloves when the hut is inspected, and know why the coal has to be whitewashed.
In short I understand the point of basic training and of the inherent pavlovian urge to accept and perform an order at once, SIR! And doing it without thought,
I understand this so well that I would question the need for every simple order. And yet, because I see all this, and because I have as much idea about military strategy as modern commanding officers and am wise enough to leave tactics to the men on the ground, I would be a great Field Marshall.
But this does not detract for one nanosecond from those whose choice it is to enlist. Conscription is a different, mandatory matter, but the free choice of those who wish for a regulated, secure (except for warfare) military career os a decent free choice and to be applauded, unless one is a dedicated and total pacifist, in which case a different paradigm applies entirely.
And, now, in the UK, one may be gay, out, and proud and still be in the armed forces at a high level.
He lost his reelection campaign. I have to ask what were the people who gave him a say on the radio thinking?
[Updated on: Tue, 29 December 2009 06:57]
He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake since for him a spinal cord would suffice. Albert Einstein
Location: Canada
Registered: December 2003
Messages: 869
... LOL, I simply don't understand what may have gotten into me!
On a more serious note, much has been said about the decidedly horrible goings-on in Uganda, with this phenomenon now apparently rearing its' ugly head elsewhere; and the impact 'collectively' that we may have on our effecting change.
Unless you're a frequent visitor to the parent web-site of the link which I will provide below, you'll probably have missed, as I did, the most truly remarkable "begging-letter" you'll likely ever read, and amazingly enough published in 96-languages World-wide. I 'link' to it for one purpose, and one purpose only, that being to illustrate that impact. If the numbers that the author of this letter quotes are to be believed, and I have no doubt that they probably are, then we can, do and will, have impact on change; because, as the author points out, we can, and do, and will. All that is necessary is the 'collective will' to get the word out, to cite "traceable" references from jurisdictions of competent authority, and to otherwise disseminate that information as widely as possible, far and wide, to any eyes and ears that will read or listen to us.
The appeal (and please do read this) from "Wikipedia" founder, Jimmy Wales:
So folks, if you're feeling a tad disenfranchised, a mite unconnected to the real World, and just itching to for a fight, then become pro-active, join the World community of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgendered citizens, and exercise your right to be heard, and thereby enable all of us, regardless of our age, gender, race, faith, wealth or politics
to become the very best that each of us can be. Not one of us should every have to face that "boulevard of broken dreams", nor fear for our lives, nor lack the necessities of life, simply because it's within the power of some petty despot or another, somehere or at some time, to simply say so.
I sincerely would like to see us 'collectively bury under a veritable tsunami of e-Mail' the Archbishop of Canterbury, The Pope, The Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, The World Baptist Conference, The Aga Khan, Emperors or Empresses (are there any left?), Kings, Queens, Princes or Princesses (pretenders and otherwise), sundry other styled Potentates, The Secretary-General of The United Nations, Governors-general, Presidents and Prime Ministers, your local Members of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies or Members of Congress, or anyone else for that matter that you think carries any clout, and certainly neither limited by their faith nor the organizations that they may represent.
This is not the late nineteenth or early-to-middle twentieth century, and days, if not weeks or the matter of months, for news to travel; this is the twenty-first century and a World of '24-7-366 right now and in your face' and not 'at eleven' film. We can neither afford the luxury of awaiting rulings from the International Court at The Hague, nor can we, nor should we ever have to again, suffer the indignity of another round of Nürnberg Trials. Let the odious malefactors of these recent events suffer at the hands of the 'collective will' of the World's Court of Public Opinion, and for all time squelch their bloodthirsty ways. Never before in the history of Mankind have the World's population held within their grasp the capability to effect change non-violently, and in numbers overwhelming enough to ensure its' success.
Warren C. E. Austin
The Gay Deceiver
Toronto, Canada
I didn't know there was a Christian alternative to twitter until now.
He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake since for him a spinal cord would suffice. Albert Einstein
For love as I understand it, even when rejected, one does not kill the object of that love. I can;t conceive of hurting the boy I loved for too many years.
I also looked at the story and wondered whether it would have got any coverage if the perpetrator was not a lesbian teenager.
Then I looked at it and wondered whether the coverage shows normality of teenage stupoidity or abnormality.
Location: England
Registered: November 2003
Messages: 1756
In her BBC Radio 2 programme this morning Sarah Kennedy invented by a slip of the tongue the word "egotestical" (egotesticle?). I'm looking forward to including it in one of my stories.
Hugs
N
I dream of boys with big bulges in their trousers,
Never of girls with big bulges in their blouses.
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13751
The site homepage is long overdue for a cleanup.
I'm experimenting. The expanded Change Log has gone, but can be found via a link as it always could. So has Haiku of the Moment. I've changed the blurb, slimming it down. The site visitor counter is no longer relevant. It was a conceit only, and we passed 2,500,000 front door visitors a week or so ago with no-one giving a damn. So I no longer give a damn either.
> The next release of the change announcement will take fewer lines. That fie is held on a different client, the one I use as a story uploading workhorse, so I'll do that when I upload more stories
Done now.
In case you are not aware, the site gets just under 2,000 unique visits (as defined by Google Analytics) per day. I want to try to lower the bounce rate on the home page by simplifying it somewhat.
We're keeping the branding - the look and feel - and the separate branding of this forum since it is both part of and separate form the main site.
I will fiddle with it more over the next few days. Suggestions are alwasy welcome, though O will not necessarily act on them!
Location: Canada
Registered: December 2003
Messages: 869
... just itching to be asked, and answered.
Many of these may have, and be of, some relevance to the "advertised" purpose and aims of A Place Of Safety; just as likely many will not, and never will have. This is as it should be. We are a community here; a fellowship based solely upon trust and (hopefully) a collective desire to respond faithfully, and truthfully, to all comers regardless of the nature of the subject matter of the topic or the questions themselves.
As I point out in my earlier thread of this morning "Come out, come out, wherever you are", the intervening 10 years of my participation here has seen much change; both here at A Place Of Safety, and throughout the World in general; and whilst the more prurient, and burning, issues faced by the LGBT community 10 years ago have largely, as stated, been mitigated by the times, and more enlightened attitudes, questions do remain that still need to be asked, and answered. Questions that may be, or may not, suit your, or mine, ideals of a suitable "comfort zone".
Mr. Levesque, this morning, questions his participation here, specifically as a journalist recording events of these times; a journalist who as happenstance would have it, just so happens to be Gay himself, and who through his larger responsibilities as that journalist must report, and comment upon the worst amongst us as well as the best. I say to him: Bring it on. Good, bad, or indifferent, continue to ask the questions, demand the answers, and share your insight driven as it is through your years of studying the many foibles and quirks of the Human Experience. It matters not a jot to me whether those foibles and quirks are specifically LGBT-themed or not; and do continue to share the answers. Today's youth will come to depend upon, learn to rely upon, and profit enormously to their betterment from it.
N.W.®, Nigel®, J. F. R.®, each have unique points-of-view, yielding salient perspective to murky, and oftentimes, alarming and disquieting issues they face or may be being faced by the wider community. So be it. Life is not all about cotton-candy and cuddly plush-toys; although "feel-good" stories do have, and will always have, their place in the schemata of our life experience.
Jamie® holds a special place in my heart at A Place Of Safety; both for his youth and indomitable spirit, and for the miracle of his humour. I simply can't tell you, or him, enough of the so many times of the questions he that had posited which brought me to my knees in gales of laughter, and tears to my eyes. Sadly we seldom see him here anymore, and his questioning soul is dearly missed. As are ThirdFencePost®, and a host of other missing youngsters, each of whom brought to the Forum a varied, and albeit likely unique, perspective on the World at large as they knew and understood it; one that is not often felt as strongly as perhaps it should be. Is this because we elders no longer listen, or is it because, as I suspect, are we no longer relevant to their lives?
My point in all of this being, we are only as strong as the voices being heard here; neither the nature of the question, nor the age and circumstance of the questioner should ever dictate its' relevance in being heard. The voice of each and every visitor to this Forum carries the same weight and degree of importance. All that is, and should ever be, asked of any of us is that we be truthful about ourselves and treat all who seek counsel here with equanimity and compassion.
----------
And now, in what I suppose will likely be construed as being a rather irreverent moment, I provide, one of those burning questions of my own:
"Bravo", the new style Arts and Entertainment cable channel, seen widely throughout the western hemisphere has of late been running a series of stop-motion promos for the often controversial Showtime programme "Dexter".
The promos feature the dimpled and smiling face of the ubiquitous Michael C. Hall upon which is boldly superimposed the series title "Dexter Uncut".
I've never seen the programme, and not likely to either; but for those like me who may not have, according to imdb.com "Dexter" is the seminal story of "A like-able Miami police forensics expert moonlighting as a serial killer of criminals who he believes have escaped justice."
The promo, to be sure, refers to the series now apparently airing for the first time in its' director's intended "true" vision, and not altered one iota by the temper and mores some unseen censor's knife.
Frankly, all I really would, and do, want to know in response to my umpteenth viewing of the programme's promo ... "Is He?"
Warren C. E. Austin
The Gay Deceiver
Toronto, Canada
I am trying very hard to widen discussions onto the world as well as the gay world. This is why I am increasingly using my blog which has a very public face and a wholly different following from the forum. My plea is that, in addition to any comment you make here, in the relative comfort of the forum, you choose whatever pseudonym you wish and post a comment, similar or different, on the blog as well.
Why?
Because here we are preaching to the choir. Of course if we were Roman Catholic Priests we might be doing far more than that with the altar boys. But out there, in the world of non specialist gay conversation, normal discussions are what is needed. They mean it's Thursday.
Location: US/Canada
Registered: September 2009
Messages: 733
This has been a brutal year for LGBT youth. From the vicious murder last week of Jorge Mercado, to the deadly attack on the LGBT Youth Center in Tel Aviv, to the two thirteen year old boys who committed suicide in the spring because of anti-gay bullying in their schools, we see that youth are increasingly under attack by the forces of homophobia.
At the Ali Forney Center we see the cruel effects of homophobia on our youth as hundreds of kids who have been rejected and cast out by homophobic parents flock to us for help. Last year we served over 1000 kids. By housing and protecting them, and giving them the support they need to rebuild their lives, we send out a clear message that the lives of LGBT youth do matter. We show that they are just as deserving of love as anyone else.
In this last year, many blog/internet readers have been very generous to AFC. I am deeply grateful for the support. One very easy way to help us is by casting an online vote for us here. AFC is one of 25 charities nominated by the employees of Liquid Net for an online competition. The ten charities that receive the most votes will receive awards from $10K to $25K. If you could take 30 seconds to cast a vote for us, I would be very appreciative.
Carl Siciliano
Executive Director
Ali Forney Center
The Ali Forney Center (AFC) is the nation's largest organization dedicated to homeless Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) youth.
AFC Currently offers housing to 58 youths in seven residential sites, and also offers two drop-in centers, medical care, mental health treatment, HIV testing and treatment, and educational and vocational assistance programs. AFC's mission is to provide homeless LGBT youth with the support and guidance they need to become healthy, independent adults.
Ali Forney was a gay youth who was murdered on the streets of NYC in 1997 at a time when there was no safe shelter for LGBT youths.
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13751
It's always mystified me, but we have a huge number of registered users here who never say a thing. And this message is to them.
You see I know that none of you is silly enough to register here thinking that you have to just to read the posts. And I know you don't mistake it for the mailing list for stories, so something is keeping yo from asking questions.
I'm not stupid enough to ask what that is, I just want you to know that you are welcome here. This is not a club or clique.
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This Makes You Wonder If George Orwell Had A Crystal Ball 
We Are The World 25 For Haiti - Official Video 
Yeah, so then there's this...... 
Want to Create Change? Take a Look in the Mirror! 
I'm Having A Difficult Time Keeping A Straight Face...hahaha 
Brains of Britain 
KQED in San Francisco explains it all. 
Loss of a colleague who was way too young 
Is it a good idea to give Rep. Mark Foley a radio program? 
