Between a rock and a hard spot: When horse racing goes against the veterinary oath

 

Only after Bourbon Bandit broke a leg racing last November did his owner, Susan Kayne, learn the full extent of prescription drugs that veterinarians had given him at Belmont Park on Long Island.

Until then, Ms. Kayne had believed that Bourbon Bandit was “sound and healthy,” because that is what her trainer told her, she said. But new veterinary bills arrived, showing that the horse had been treated regularly with clenbuterol, a widely abused medication for breathing problems that can build muscle by mimicking anabolic steroids.  

“If a horse is sound, why does it need all these drugs?” she asked. “I never gave consent.”

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To learn more about the Annual International Social Uprising Resistance and Grassroots Encouragement (S.U.R.G.E.!) Film Festival please visit:  www.WeSurge.org

Shocking studies show school segregation increasing dramatically

 


The Civil Rights Project at UCLA just released three reports — “E Pluribus . . . Separation: Deepening Double Segregation for More Students,” plus two regional studies — that analyzed data from the National Center for Education Statistics and found that segregation is growing based on both race and poverty.

Fifteen percent of black students and 14 percent of Latino students attend “apartheid schools” across the nation in which whites make up zero to 1 percent of the enrollment, the researchers found.

The studies found that in 1970, nearly four out of every five students across the nation were white, but by 2009, just over half were white — and in the South and West, students of color now constitute a majority of public school enrollment.

The research shows that segregation is substantially increasing for Latino students across the country but most significantly in the West, and that for black students, segregation also remains very high and is most severely growing in the South. 

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Portland AIDS walk beats fundraising goal, in the hopes of beating Stigma

 

People packed Broadway curb-to-curb on Sunday, carrying rainbow flair and wearing red and white in the 2012 AIDS Walk Portland in a dramatic display of support for people with HIV and AIDS.
"This is about education and eliminating the stigma," said Andrew Shayde, special events coordinator with Cascade AIDS Project, which provides HIV services, housing, education and advocacy.

He said the group still has clients who are asked to eat on paper plates and drink out of straws "because people still think the disease is spread through saliva."

More than 11,000 participated, raising $525,000 -- the most in the walk's 26 years -- for the Cascade AIDS Project's free testing, support and education services. Gov. John Kitzhaber and Mayor Sam Adams spoke, rallying walkers before the 2 1/2-mile course through downtown.

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Wags 4 Warriors aids veterans with service dogs

 

BRECKSVILLE, Ohio - Many war veterans have returned home facing new challenges. Physical and mental disabilities, like post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, have surfaced.
Medication can help many, but the use of a service dog can make a world of difference. Marine Leo Robinson returned home from serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Robinson suffers from high anxiety.
"Angel allows me to got out in public and not have to worry about watching my back. That's what she does for me," Robinson said.

Angel is a service dog provided to Robinson from Wags 4 Warriors . The Brecksville-based non-profit organization  has been providing service dogs for qualifying veterans free of charge.

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Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Deepens Commitment To Fair Trade

 


Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., a leader in specialty coffee and coffee makers, announced it has increased its impact in coffee-growing communities through its coffee purchasing, community investments and stakeholder engagement, in line with its ongoing sustainability efforts. GMCR continues to strengthen its commitment to fair trade as part of its sustainable coffee sourcing strategy. The company sees fair trade as a way to provide its consumers with high quality coffee, and help ensure a higher quality of life for coffee farmers.

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Mongolian Children's Rights before and after divorce

 


Child abuse is one of many abuses in the world, and one of the many social issues that are ignored in Mongolia. Divorce rates may be up every year but the real victims are not the mothers or fathers but the children. It is not easy for children to find their position in society when they have never experienced the warmth of a loving family or parents; not to mention the severe psychological problems they could develop.

There is a study showing that most divorces are initiated by men. Researchers interpret that young couples separate after marriage because they do not realize their duties as citizens before their society. Once a family is separated, not only does the child suffer psychologically, but with child custody issues, court orders and such, the child’s rights are violated.

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Myanmar's Censor-in-Chief finally caps his red pen

 

His office was once the site of an interrogation center run by Japan’s feared military police during World War II. And that is how U Tint Swe got his nickname: the literary torturer. 

“We didn’t arrest or torture anyone, but we had to torture their writing,” Mr. Tint Swe said, his serious expression yielding to a faint smile. 

Mr. Tint Swe was Myanmar’s last censor in chief, the powerful arbiter of what the public would read — and what was deleted from official history. 

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To learn more about the Annual International Social Uprising Resistance and Grassroots Encouragement (S.U.R.G.E.!) Film Festival please visit:  www.WeSurge.org

 

Celebrating the Family Farm in Hershey, PA.

HERSHEY, Pa. - If you thought Farm Aid went the way of the Sony Walkman or the Grateful Dead, you weren't in Chocolate Town USA on Saturday, when 30,000 people turned HersheyPark Stadium into an organic oasis celebrating the family farm and the healthy food movement - not to mention homegrown American music.

Now in its 27th year, the all-star benefit concert, started by country-music legend Willie Nelson to help farmers survive the mid-1980s foreclosure crisis, is still going strong.
No longer a one-day event, Farm Aid has evolved into a national organization promoting the interests of family farmers.

The event returned to Pennsylvania, where agriculture remains the number-one industry, for only the second time in its run.

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Haworth's Greengrocer John dies at 84

 


A well-known Haworth character has died, aged 84, following a short illness.
John Snowden ran a greengrocers in Mill Hey for 60 years. He died in Airedale Hospital last Sunday evening.

He was born in Haworth’s Main Street to parents who also managed a greengrocers and general store. He began working at his parents’ business then set up his own shop in Mill Hey when he married. He continued working until he was 83.

His partner, Barbara, said: “He was extremely well known and very kind. He’d do anything for anybody – he was a real character.

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Mona Shores starts first district-wide recycling event

NORTON SHORES, MI -- Even though its school colors are blue and white, Mona Shores is going green.

From community gardens to districtwide recycling and kitchen waste composting, Mona Shores Public Schools are embarking on an initiative to raise environmental awareness.

After just three meetings, a “Green Team” of parents, students and staff has established three priorities: districtwide recycling, addressing the use of Styrofoam lunch plates and establishing community gardens at the schools, said Chris Smith, the district’s energy specialist.

“Schools are a great place to do this,” Smith said. “The kids get real excited about it and they then push the adults.”

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To learn more about the Annual International Social Uprising Resistance and Grassroots Encouragement (S.U.R.G.E.!) Film Festival please visit:  www.WeSurge.org

Clean Energy gathering momentum as big business

Judging from the number of financiers, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and corporate managers at this week’s Maryland Clean Energy Summit, the renewable energy business and companies that reduce use of carbon fuels are becoming larger and more profitable.

Bill Van Hoene, senior executive vice president and chief strategy officer for Exelon Corp., which recently purchased Constellation Energy, made this growing importance clear. He told an awards lunch his corporation sponsored that Exelon had proved that a commitment to clean energy is “not just good environmental policy, but good business.”

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To learn more about the Annual International Social Uprising Resistance and Grassroots Encouragement (S.U.R.G.E.!) Film Festival please visit:  www.WeSurge.org

Larry Gibson, W. VA Environmental Activist, dies at age 66

 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A prominent West Virginia environmental activist died at a Charleston hospital on Sunday, a family member confirmed.

Larry Gibson, a vocal opponent of the controversial practice of mountaintop removal mining and organizer of the long-running Mountain Keeper Music Festival, died of an apparent heart attack while working at his cabins on Kayford Mountain, his daughter, Victoria, said Sunday night.

He was 66 years old.

He was working up on the mountain Sunday morning with his wife, Carol, and a cousin. He was moving lumber from a porch when he began to feel odd, Victoria said.

He sat in his truck to rest but still didn't feel right, she said. Family members called for help and emergency crews made the decision to fly him by helicopter to Charleston Area Medical Center's Memorial Hospital in Kanawha City.

He died at the hospital.

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Fracktivism!

Before there was such a thing as the environmental movement, Mohandas Gandhi warned of the dangers of industrialization and espoused living in balance with the earth.

Fittingly, the Rochester-based institute that bears his name is stepping into the fracking debate. From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, September 21, the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence will hold an event to raise awareness of hydraulic fracturing and to inspire people to take a stand against it. The event, which is co-sponsored by the Rochester group of the Sierra Club, is at Cobbs Hill Park.

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Yard Sale to benefit animal welfare group

 

Shoppers scoured through thousands of donated items and purchased truckloads of merchandise Saturday during a large-scale yard sale to benefit animal welfare organizations in Las Cruces.

The Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley (ASCMV) and Animal Welfare and Responsibility Education (AWARE) collaborated to host the sale, proceeds from which will support shelter operations and animal care for canines and felines awaiting adoption.

"It is unfortunate, but there are so many unwanted animals and animals whose owners simply cannot afford to care for them in our community," said Lana Payne, who volunteers with ASCMV. "This sale and the support of the community allows us to provide that care for animals waiting to find forever homes."

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To learn more about the Annual International Social Uprising Resistance and Grassroots Encouragement (S.U.R.G.E.!) Film Festival please visit:  www.WeSurge.org

Sister Helen Prejean - Challenging the Death Penalty

Sister Helen Prejean, an anti-death penalty activist and author whose legal and religious arguments against "state-sanctioned executions" have sparked international dialogue, spoke at Emory's Oxford College campus this week about her life's work.

Prejean began her prison ministry in 1981, when she dedicated her life to the poor of New Orleans. She went on to become a spiritual adviser to Patrick Sonnier, a death-row inmate at Louisiana's Angola State Prison. After witnessing his execution, she wrote "Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States," which has been adapted into an award-winning film, a play and an opera.

She has since served as spiritual adviser to several death-row inmates and has accompanied six people to their executions.

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To learn more about the Annual International Social Uprising Resistance and Grassroots Encouragement (S.U.R.G.E.!) Film Festival please visit:  www.WeSurge.org

Demi Lovato becomes face of the 'Mean Stinks' anti-bullying campaign

Pop mega-star and “X Factor” judge, Demi Lovato has become the new ambassador for an anti-bullying campaign and reveals that she was a victim of bullying at school. Lovato joined the Secret's “Mean Stinks” campaign on September 21, which encourages girls to “gang up for good” to end bullying in schools.

Demi revealed to People magazine: “I had a really tough time when I was in middle school. People would write 'hate petitions' [about me] and send them around to be signed. They'd have CD-bashing parties of my demos. They'd come to my house, stand across the street and yell things. It was a very emotional time for me, and all I wanted to do was get away.”

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To learn more about the Annual International Social Uprising Resistance and Grassroots Encouragement (S.U.R.G.E.!) Film Festival please visit:  www.WeSurge.org

'Poverty Resolutions' for Haiti's poor

 



When the young men first decided to experience poverty by living in earthquake-ravaged Haiti on a dollar a day in 2010, they could not have imagined how transforming the monthlong experience would be.

The trip was more than a heartfelt attempt to open the Doylestown-area men's eyes to the life of the impoverished, it was the beginning of an effort to change the course of poverty in the third-world country.


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Ray Fitz honored for championing social justice on Dayton Walk of Fame

Orville and Wilbur Wright. Paul Laurence Dunbar. Father Leo Meyer, S.M.

Bro. Ray Fitz, S.M., has joined some of the giants in Dayton history on the Dayton Walk of Fame. He is being honored for his lifelong commitment to social justice.

"Bro. Ray's passion for helping the poor and marginalized in our community has never wavered over the years," said Deborah Feldman, former Montgomery County administrator who now leads Children's Medical Center of Dayton. "He has truly been relentless in his commitment to the most vulnerable citizens of our community."

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To learn more about the Annual International Social Uprising Resistance and Grassroots Encouragement (S.U.R.G.E.!) Film Festival please visit:  www.WeSurge.org