Words, Music, and White Elephants

Photo

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:01:51 -0400

darksilenceinsuburbia: Osmos Pen and ink on paper | 4x5in |...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:02:03 -0400

darksilenceinsuburbia:

Osmos

Pen and ink on paper | 4x5in | 2013

Ultiearts.tumblr.com

blue-voids: Margarita Georgiadis - Landscapes, 2009 - oil on...

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 16:01:47 -0400

blue-voids:

Margarita Georgiadis - Landscapes, 2009 - oil on canvas

ryanpanos: The Unique Lifestyle of an Orthodox Jewish Surfer...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 16:01:49 -0400

ryanpanos:

The Unique Lifestyle of an Orthodox Jewish Surfer via MMM

Writer and surfer Gai Shtienberg documents the wondrous life of an ultra-orthodox Jewish man’s life as he balances his devotion to religion and his irrepressible affinity for surfing. The images in Shtienberg’s article, originally featured on popular surfing blog The Inertia, show the different sides of 34-year-old Meir’s life. In one instance, he is sporting a wetsuit and catching some waves, while in another he is observing a conservative dress code and engaging in his religious studies. Meir says, “As long as the sea and the waves fascinate me so much, I will keep on surfing…together with studying the bible.”

doctorswithoutborders: Photo: Basra, where MSF established an...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:01:49 -0400

doctorswithoutborders:

Photo: Basra, where MSF established an international team in 2008. Iraq 2009 © Khalil Sayyad

Increased Mental Health Care Needed in Iraq

“Many Iraqis have been pushed to their absolute limit,” said Helen O’Neill, MSF’s head of mission in Iraq. “Mentally exhausted by their experiences, many people struggle to understand what is happening to them. The feelings of isolation and hopelessness are compounded by the taboo associated with mental health issues and the lack of mental health care services that people can turn to for help,” she said.

Since 2009, MSF and the IMoH have introduced psychological counseling services in two hospitals in Baghdad and one in Fallujah. The programs focus on non-pharmaceutical approaches to address anxiety and depressive disorders commonly experienced by people exposed to violence and uncertainty. There are plans to replicate this counseling model across the country, with the IMoH starting programs in Kut, Karbala, and Sulaymaniyah hospitals.

kateoplis: Soyez réaliste demandez l’impossible

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:10:51 -0400

kateoplis:

Soyez réaliste demandez l’impossible

unicef: FACT: 1 in 6 children aged 5-14 are working instead of...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:10:17 -0400

unicef:

FACT: 1 in 6 children aged 5-14 are working instead of going to school

World Day Against Child Labour is observed 12 June. This year’s theme is on the plight of the domestic worker.

Although World Day Against Child Labour is observed 12 June…everyday should be a day to speak out for those 150 million children who miss out on building their futures.

If you agree…speak out and share.

Learn more: http://www.unicef.org/protection/57929_69606.html

csmonitor: Images from Istanbul: Capturing the chaos of Taksim...

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:09:47 -0400

csmonitor:

Images from Istanbul: Capturing the chaos of Taksim Square protests in Turkey

Will Erdogan’s referendum bid be enough to quiet Turkey’s furious crowds?

Tear gas, water cannons end party in Istanbul’s Taksim Square

Photos by Scott Peterson/Getty Images/The Christian Science Monitor (top left) A man draped in a flag rests, while Turkish police firing tear gas battle antigovernment protesters as they try to reestablish police control of Taksim Square after an absence of 10 days in the heart of Istanbul, Turkey, June 11, 2013.

(top right) A man hurls a gas canister back at police, as Turkish protesters set up fires, barricades, and battle Turkish police through clouds of tear gas as they successfully moved to reclaim Taksim Square from security forces, in protest at what they see as increasingly authoritarian rule in Istanbul, June 1, 2013.

(bottom left) Flags bearing the image of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk are carried by a burning bulldozer, in Istanbul, June 11, 2013.

(bottom right) Men drag a potted tree along the road as Turks set up fires, barricades, and battle Turkish police through clouds of tear gas.

vicemag: Witch Hunters in Papua New Guinea Are Still Burning...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 16:01:58 -0400

vicemag:

Witch Hunters in Papua New Guinea Are Still Burning “Sorcerers” at the Stake

For most of us in the West, terms like “sorcery” and “witchcraft” tend to conjure images of delusional, damaged retirees gathering old berries for moonlit séances. However, some of the people who live in the more remote regions of Papua New Guinea possess a more extreme belief in the power of the occult. In fact, they take it seriously enough that, in the past couple of weeks, some of them have formed an armed mob and attacked two women accused of sorcery in PNG’s western island of Bougainville.

Women’s rights advocate and former schoolteacher Helen Rumbali, her sister Nikono, and Nikono’s two teenage daughters were held captive and tortured with knives and axes for three days before the mob beheaded Helen and seriously injured Nikono. Finally, after another fortnight of tense hostage negotiations with members of the local community, police managed to secure the release of the remaining three captives on Monday. Over the past few years, incidents like these have become common in Papua New Guinea. Late last month, six women accused of sorcery were tortured with hot irons as part of an Easter “sacrifice” in a village in the Southern Highlands. Yet despite the growing problem, sorcery-related violence often goes unreported.

“It’s something that has been going on for a long time,” Kate Schuetze, Pacific Researcher for Amnesty International, told me. “But there’s a huge stigma in terms of reporting sorcery-related violence. Those who’ve been accused of sorcery often have to flee the areas that they’re from, which means they might not want to report to the police or the media what’s been happening.”

Although sorcery-related killings are by no means a new phenomenon in PNG, the issue has gained significant attention recently, after images of a 20-year-old woman burned to death over sorcery claims were picked up by the international media in February. Since then, fresh reports of sorcery-related violence have beencondemned by the international community.

Continue