U.N. Chief calls for Thailand to make reconcilliation

18 September 2012 – The United Nations human rights chief today welcomed the report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Thailand (TRCT) and called on the South-east Asian country to implement its recommendations to advance accountability and understanding among different segments of its society.

“In spite of its limited mandate and initial difficulties, the TRCT has conducted an important investigation into political violence and human rights violations in Thailand,” said High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. “The Royal Thai Government now has the responsibility to act on the TRCT’s recommendations, both in holding State officials to account and addressing the institutional weaknesses identified in the report.”

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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

Human rights begin at home: Start with Occupy

The police crackdown on the Occupy Wall Street movement, since its beginning one- year ago today on Sept. 17, 2011, undermines core American values of freedom in the eyes of the world.

Particularly now, when extremist religious rhetoric is being used (and abused) to spark anti-American demonstrations around the world, this is an especially important time for the practice of respect for freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, freedoms that are indispensable to the freedom of religion and the practice of democracy, to be on display in the United States.

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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

Why repeal of DADT will bolster marriage equality

The perfect success in repealing the U.S. military’s DADT (“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”) policy one year ago now is helping promote marriage equality, as the successful end of DADT has exposed many other ways in which federal law penalizes same-gender couples.

Prior to DADT repeal, a few people claimed that open service would reduce enlistment, ruin military culture, cause assaults and murders among service personnel, and leave the country defenseless. Today, one year after DADT repeal, experience has proven that all those threats were false figments of bigoted imaginations.

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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

Slight decline in hispanic poverty rate

A U.S. Census report released on Wednesday showed a slight decrease for some subgroups living below the poverty line, including Hispanics. Household income showed a slight dip, whereas the number of medically insured slightly rose among a sample of 100,000 respondents from all over the United States.

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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

Asylum Children live in extreme poverty in Ireland

A damning report on the plight of children in the State’s asylum process suggests many families are living in circumstances of extreme poverty in overcrowded accommodation with inadequate food.

The report, published today by the Irish Refugee Council (IRC), paints a grim picture of the State’s system for accommodating asylum seekers, known as direct provision.

It documented frequent instances of malnutrition among children and expectant mothers as well as illnesses related to diet among babies and young children.

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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

'Occupy' celebrates first anniversary today

"I would say that Occupy today is a brand that represents movements for social and economic justice," said Jason Amadi, a 28-year-old protester who now lives in Philadelphia. "And that many people are using this brand for the quest of bettering this world."

Today, protesters will converge near the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate Occupy's anniversary, marking the day they began camping out in Zuccotti Park. Marches and rallies in more than 30 cities around the world will commemorate the day.

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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

Slow Food International to showcase presentation by Oakland Food Policy Council and Acta Non Verba

Starting on October 25, 2012, local food advocates and food justice activists will gather in Bra for Terra Madre & Salone Del Gusto. Esperanza Pallana, who coordinates the 21-member board of the Oakland Food Policy Council, together with Kelly Carlisle, executive director of Acta Non Verba have been chosen to co-lead a workshop,"Innovative Food System Change: Policy and Practice". The Oakland Food Policy Council is a project of Food First.

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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

Reasons to buy Organic

Many people wonder whether or not they should pay the price for organic food. Is it worth the extra dollar? Most people know that organic produce is grown without pesticides, but it means much more than that. The term organic also means there are no synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. It takes three years to convert a farm to organic. Produce cannot be listed as organic until the three years have passed as the soil is free of substances that are not deemed organic. Animal products, such as meat/poultry, eggs, dairy products are antibiotic and hormone free.

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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

California Advocates seeking to introduce Homeless Bill of Rights

Rhode Island blazed the trail in the fight to treat homeless people justly and now one Northern California town is following suit

Back in June, the country’s smallest state passed the first-ever Homeless Bill of Rights, which ensures that people living on the streets aren’t discriminated against. Just last week, the town council in Fairfax unanimously decided to push California to adopt similar legislation, Healdsburg Patch reports.

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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

Baltimore Ravens Linebacker, Brendon Ayanbadejo, talks gay rights

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo is going “full steam ahead” after his battle with Maryland legislator C. Emmett Burns Jr., who last week wrote a letter calling on the team’s owner to silence Ayanbadejo regarding his public advocacy of gay marriage, only to back down amid a national uproar. (Listen to the full interview below)

“The Ravens reached out to me,” Ayanbadejo said. “[Ravens president] Dick Cass and [Ravens] owner Steve Bisciotti said, ‘Brendon, you’re a great person. Keep doing your thing. We believe in you. This is not a team that believes in discrimination in any way, shape, or form. You have this tremendous platform here. Use it. And go ahead and continue to be you, and grow and shape and change the world while you have the ability to do it.’”

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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

Ukranian Journalists protest censorship at World Newspaper Congress in Kyiv.

A dozen Ukrainian journalists stood up and raised anti-censorship banners when President Viktor Yanukovich hailed his country's march to media freedom at the World Newspaper Congress in Kyiv on Monday, Sept. 3.

"Ukraine has made its way, without exaggeration, from total censorship to an open society," Yanukovich told the conference as his security guards ripped banners saying "Stop censorship" from protesters' hands.

Yanukovich did not react to the silent protest.

Ukrainian opposition and Western rights watchdogs have accused Yanukovich of cracking down on media freedom after coming to power in the former Soviet republic in early 2010.

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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

AFL's new anti-racism campaign: Racism - It stops with me

The AFL today joined the Human Rights Commission and the Australian Government in endorsing a new national anti-racism strategy - Racism. It Stops With Me.

Represented by North Melbourne players Andrew Swallow and Majak Daw, the AFL is one of a number of organisations across business, sport and Government who are supporting the campaign on the basis of their long-standing work on combating racism.

The players joined Federal Human Rights Commissioner Dr Helen Szoke, Attorney-General Nicola Roxon, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Sport, Senator Kate Lundy and other business and community leaders in Federation Square, Melbourne as the AFL officially signed up to the campaign.

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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