Joe Louis Walker - Change my ways

Joe Louis Walker - Change my ways - YouTube: ""

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East Africa drought crisis still ‘huge’ — SOS Children

I just copied this to help get the word out.

East Africa drought crisis still ‘huge’ — SOS Children:



The size of the humanitarian emergency in the Horn of Africa remains massive, says a British politician.Three months after famine was officially declared in Somalia, hundreds of people, mainly children, are still dying every day, said Britain’s International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell.

The drought and famine have forced thousands of people into refugee camps and left 12 million people in need of aid and 750,000 at risk of death in Somalia, according to the latest figures from the Famine Early Warning System FEWS.
Earlier this week it was revealed that British aid is feeding more than 2.4m people across the region and an appeal by the UK’s Disasters and Emergency Committee has raised £72m, but that is still not enough.

With the rainy season round the corner, people caught up in the crisis are now facing the risk of disease spreading across crowded refugee camps.
More than 400,000 children are still at risk of death, just in Somalia alone, Mr Mitchell notes. British aid pouring into the region has been concentrated on keeping people healthy. About 1.3m people have been given jabs against measles, for instance, and 400,000 doses of anti-malarial drugs are heading for Somalia.

Although the rains look likely to bring with them yet more misery and death, they can also play a part in the region’s recovery from the disaster. Funds raised by British people have helped buy seeds for more than 200,000 people, which they will be able to plant and grow when the weather improves. The biggest problem, however is still actually getting to people in need who are living inside the parts of Somalia worst affected by fighting. Famine was officially declared in the lawless country as far back as July. And because they can’t get aid if they stay put, the number of Somali refugees crossing into south-eastern Ethiopia is on the rise.

Announcing its appeal to help people hit by the crisis DEC chief executive Brendan Gormley said earlier this week: "The incredibly generous support of the UK public for the DEC East Africa Crisis Appeal has made the difference between life and death for many people in the region. But, he warned that "the situation remains grave however particularly in those areas of Somalia where access for most aid agencies remains severely restricted.” The appeal brought in the third highest amount in charity's 45-year history - only the Asian tsunami (£392m) and the Haiti earthquake (£107m) raised more.

Money is inedible

Only after the last tree has been cut

Only after the last river has been poisoned

Only after the last fish has been caught

Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten

~ Cree Indian Prophecy ~

Changing Times

Optimism and Laughter

Positive Attitude Month :

Optimism and laughter, while enjoyable in their own right, bring benefits like health, longevity, and a decrease in stress. You may also know that a positive attitude can be cultivated, meaning even if you're not naturally prone to bright-side looking, you can actively change that.

October is Positive Attitude Month, which reminds you to make the effort to cultivate the attitude that can bring you greater health, happier relationships, and more luck in life. 

It's true that we are all born with a certain "set point" for some traits, such as openness, agreeableness, extroversion, conscientiousness, an neuroticism (known as "The Big Five" in the world of psychology), and these inborn personality tendencies influence our levels of optimism, positivity, and happiness. 

Positive Psychology research has found, we can alter our habitual thought patterns by actively changing the way we choose to see things. 

If we challenge negative thinking patterns, for example, and replace them with more positive patterns, the new, more positive patterns become our habit, and we can actually create a new set-point for happiness.

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle."
~Plato

We are all fighting a great battle in our lives as we seek more happiness and avoid pain therefore, we need to adopt attitudes that buoy us in turbulent moments.  Having a positive outlook is a tool you can use to motivate yourself to find solutions.  Learned helplessness is an attitude to avoid because you are going face daily difficulties.  Deal with the problems as they arise and do not waste energy worrying about the future or regretting the past.  Life unfolds in moments and our power to act is in the now.    

I cannot think of a better way to counteract the pain and uncertainty of living with M.S. than to manage your attitude.  We can choose how we feel about our situation.  Feeling better about ourselves will give us the motivation to take better care of ourselves.  M.S. is a disease with no cause, no cure and no effective treatment which forces us to take some responsibility for our well-being.  Addressing areas of your lifestyle such as, diet can exert many benefits in dealing with chronic illness.  We are fighting a great battle and need a Warrior's attitude towards our enemy within.

Positive Attitude Resources From Elizabeth Scott: 

http://stress.about.com/b/2011/10/02/happy-positive-attitude-month.htm

If Children are the future in China... Why the Smoking?

 For Chinese Students, Smoking Isn’t All Bad - Businessweek:

"In dozens of rural villages in China’s western provinces, one of the first things primary school kids learn is what helps make their education possible: tobacco. The schools are sponsored by local units of China’s state-owned cigarette monopoly, China National Tobacco. “On the gates of these schools you’ll see slogans that say ‘Genius comes from hard work—tobacco helps you become talented,’” says Xu Guihua, secretary general of the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control, a privately funded lobbying group. “They are pinning their hopes on young people taking up smoking.”

Anti-tobacco groups say efforts in China to reduce sales... "


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Blog Philosophy

ALIENATION: FORGOTTEN PEOPLE ARE CREATED BY A WORLD IN A BIG HURRY.
Society is a busy place and often people get lost in the rush and end up in an unfriendly place with no advocates and faced with a real struggle to regain a place in the mainstream. We are told that no matter how far we have gone down the wrong road, turn back. Sometimes this is not so easy and we need help.

Expect to encounter ideas of great thinkers like Erich Fromm, Rollo May, Ernst Becker, Albert Ellis, Martin Seligman, Carl Jung, Victor Frankl and many others.