Fireign Blog

I recently finished reading a great memoir, Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, which inspired this blog post. Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in Mogadishu, Somalia and after moving from Somalia to Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia to Kenya she finally landed in Holland. Ayaan was able to gain refugee status and eventually earned her Dutch citizenship after running away from an arranged marriage. In Holland she studied politics and ended up being elected as a member of the Dutch Parliament. She actually became a household name throughout Europe. Of course here in the United States the news didn’t travel that far, at least I had no idea who she was and I felt like I should have known her name. She was a strong force in Dutch Parliament fighting for women’s rights, in particular Muslim women’s rights. One of her platforms struck a chord with me and really made me think.

Holland is a very liberal and open country. When they started granting refugee status to a large number of Muslims the Dutch let them form their own communities instead of forcing assimilation. However, as someone who grew up in these communities, Ayaan noticed that a lot of the violations of human rights, in particular women’s rights, that were happening in Africa and the Middle East were continuing to happen in these small communities in Holland. Young girls were still being circumcised behind closed doors, honor killings were still taking place, and domestic violence was a growing problem. Ayaan pushed parliament to research just how engrained these violent religious roots ran and unveiled that an alarming number of social injustices were being allowed to take place due to the formation of separate communities and schools. She lobbied for integration and assimilation and for this to fully happen Muslim schools had to be disbanded.

Often as Westerners who are “liberal” and champion human rights I think we feel that assimilation is a negative thing because it forces people to give up their own culture in the process. But when that culture has a particularly violent history, is it wrong to request a group of people to give it up in the name of assimilation? Another thing we tend to shy away from is labeling cultures or religions as violent for fear of wrongly stereotyping or appearing prejudice. But when the holy texts are particularly violent and the religion tends to follow the text literally, is it wrong to label the religion as itself as the producer of human rights violations? Ayaan had to go into hiding because of the death threats she received for speaking out against Islam and Muslim communities in Holland. A dear friend and director who worked on a documentary with her, Theo van Gogh, was even brutally assassinated for their work together. Ironically enough many of the death threats she received were from Muslims who were offended because she denounced Islam for its violent tendencies.

There is no doubt that Islamic culture has produced communities with violent tendencies. And if a culture is violent and clashes with Universal Human Rights ideals that we in the West often strive for, is it violating those basic human rights to ask them to give that culture up? I’m personally am not ready to answer that question myself, but I can thank Ayaan for pushing me to truly examine all sides of an issue.

Tags: Alarming Number, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Champion Human Rights, Circumcised, Closed Doors, Cultu, Domestic Violence, Dutch Parliament, Honor Killings, Household Name, Mogadishu Somalia, Muslim Schools, Muslim Women, Refugee Status, Religious Roots, Small Communities, Social Injustices, Strong Force, T Travel, Violations Of Human Rights

Absolutely beautifully written article: How to walk on water. Check it out!

With the nation’s governors and mayors imploring the incoming Obama administration to launch our nation’s largest domestic federal spending program since Eisenhower’s national highway program, I wonder whether this time we’ll get it right. For the sake of America’s cities, I pray that we do because our most recent massive federal spending programs tore America’s cities asunder, destroying homes, neighborhoods and entire communities. Make no mistake, I’m a big advocate of federal investment in America’s cities, but bad projects, like bad plans, are worse than no projects at all. 

Eisenhower’s highway program cut my city, Toledo, Ohio, into four parts, separating neighbors and neighborhoods from one another. While motorists could now speed through Toledo in record time, we who lived here were left with disconnected, desolate, dead-end spaces hostile to homes, businesses and human activity of any kind. Were that not bad enough, the same program that ravaged the city subsidized the suburbs, actively promoting the economic and racial segregation that accompanies suburban sprawl.

 

A highway cuts this Toledo neighborhood entirely in half

Toledo didn’t fare much better under federal programs sponsored by Democratic administrations, for the failure to nurture America’s cities has been distinctly bi-partisan. Under the guise of “urban renewal” and “model cities”, Toledo lost scores of small businesses and solid, traditional neighborhoods. In their place were either vast, vacant spaces or federal pseudo-developments, often in the guise of large, uninspired block buildings termed “community centers.” Far from being centers of a vibrant community, these dreary edifices accurately bespoke the anti-family and anti-community federal programs found inside.

 

The abandoment of public transportation makes a large parking lot necessary for this boarded up building - the streets and sidewalks have been abandoned by both the city and pedestrians

But good news is also to be found in Toledo, where areas like Lagrange Street, the Warehouse District, Uptown, and Viva South are making comebacks. They are doing it with human scale development and attention to seemingly small things like wide, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and attractive streetscapes; refurbished retail storefronts and microloans to local business owners. And neighborhood community development corporations, not administrators of big Washington programs, are leading the way.

 

Hope for Toledo development. Wide stidewalks and restored buildings in the St. Clair Village (left) and the local Lagrange St Development Corp revitalizing an area of Toledo hit especially hard by suburban-friendly and anti-city policies (right)

 

Our challenge with the upcoming recovery program will be to design projects calling for big investments in cities but on a scale sensitive to human needs. Public transit, both inter- and intra-city, must be a priority, but America’s cities can hardly survive another rescue plan that gives us the most efficient transportation facilities imaginable while destroying cities as places where anyone wants to spend time living or working.

If economic history is any guide, then it is likely that our current economic difficulties will pass in a matter of years. The physical results of our efforts for America’s cities, however, will be with us for generations. Encouraged by the positive results I’ve witnessed here in Toledo, and knowing that a community organizer is about to occupy the White House, I’m hopeful that this time we can get it right. For the future of Toledo and other great American cities, we have to.

 

 

Tags: Abandoment, Democratic Administrations, Edifices, Eisenhower, Federal Investment, Federal Spending, Guise, Lagrange Street, Large Park, Mayors, Model Cities, Motorists, Public Transportation, Racial Segregation, Record Time, Sidewalks, Small Businesses, Suburban Sprawl, Toledo Ohio, Traditional Neighborhoods, Urban Renewal, Vacant Spaces, Vibrant Community, Warehouse District

Approximately 1,500 individuals will gather in Bloomington, Indiana on February 13-15 for the 2009 Midwest Bisexual Lesbian Gay Transgender College Conference (MBLGTACC). This year’s conference carries the theme “Living Out Loud: Examining the Past to Enhance Our Future,” and its mission strives to empower all BLGTA individuals with the means to “truly live out loud.” In its 17^th year, the 2009 conference allows the continuation of conversations from prior conferences, and opens the ground for new dialogue.

Yet, the mission of the conference does not begin with the actual conference weekend itself. In fact, the planning process began in 2007 when Indiana University-Bloomington found out the conference would be hosted on its campus.  For the past year I have been volunteering as the Logistics Advisor for this conference, and have had the privilege of working within the BLGTA community in Bloomington.

Indiana University-Bloomington is fortunate to have immense support from its very own Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Student Support Services (GLBTSSS), which has helped to engage students on its campus. The leaders from the GLBTSSS office continuously encourage activism, inspiring future generations to promote diversity, equality, and social justice. I constantly see GLBTSSS professionals step beyond their 8am-5pm office duties and serve as mentors and friends to Indiana University-Bloomington students.

The willingness for experienced BLGTA advocates in a university community to help students understand the importance of promoting and defending diversity immensely improves the campus climate. Additionally, the reciprocal exchange of teaching and learning between GLBTSSS professionals and its students strengthens the impact of advocacy efforts in the community. It is important for other U.S. universities to note the way the GLBTSSS office at Indiana University-Bloomington provides resources and a supportive environment for students to enthusiastically plan one of the largest college conferences in the Midwest.

Many of the social change movements in the U.S. were fueled by the energy, enthusiasm, and passion of young people. Conferences like MBLGTACC 2009 build an activist base for social issues. Coupled with other organizations like Campus Pride, IGLYO, and theNational Gay and Lesbian Task Force, MBLGTACC 2009 provides an opportunity for conference attendees to share their experiences, ideas, and expertise on current issues affecting the BLGTA communities. The conference also provides young BLGTA activists with a wide array of workshops, three keynote speakers, three featured presenters, and two entertainment acts.

This community – comprised of students, faculty, staff, and Bloomington community members – has come together in a remarkable way to coordinate MBLGTACC 2009. I feel fortunate to work among a passionate group of individuals who serve as catalysts for social change.   

Tags: activism, Activists, Advocacy Efforts, Advocates, Bisexual Transgender, Bloomington Indiana, Campus Climate, Continuation, Conversations, Equality, Future Generations, Immense Support, Indiana University Bloomington, Living Out Loud, Mentors, Privilege, Reciprocal Exchange, Social Justice, Supportive Environment, Willingness

Being unemployed (like me) gives you a lot of time for introspection. It also tests your self-esteem, since much of our identity is wrapped up in what we do for a living (as opposed to how we live our lives, how we treat others, or how we act when no one is watching). For now, what I do everyday consists of sleeping too late, Facebooking too much, and networking too little; thus, my sense of self importance has been trimmed like fat from a Thanksgiving turkey to reveal a frighteningly simple portrait of who I really am—just a young man in search of his “true path” (though not so much in the romantic Paulo Coelho kind of way, more in the regular old hand-in-the-underwear couch potato way). Consequently, I have been asking myself a lot lately, “How can I feel more consequential (in the “save the world” sense, of course) even when what I do every day doesn’t amount to a hill of beans?”

The following five steps are my answers to this question (so far). They came to me in a dream one night and, I dare say, might be the universe speaking to you through me…OK, I was really just procrastinating in sending another cover letter, one which I hoped might actually be answered by a live human being on the other end who would realize that, although I don’t have “8-10 years of substantive work experience in the field of [fill in the blank],” I am perfect for the job: smart, nice, hard working…

I’m not sure if these five steps will work for you. If you already have a sweet job with the Obama Administration, good for you. But for the rest of you soul-searching, do-gooders trying to fill the vacuum that exists between your last great adventure and the next, I hope this helps pass the time and invites to share your ideas!

Step 1. Stop talking and listen more, especially to those who disagree with you (Obama says so). Try it for one whole day. Do it when you see your significant others, when you are instant messaging, emailing, or calling an old friend. Do it on your next date, in your next interview, when your boss is breathing down your neck. Do it when you are alone in the quiet of your own consciousness (be careful, you might hear something you don’t like). Now, turn on Rush Limbaugh and try it some more. Breathe deeply, nod, and repeat, “That is so interesting. He is sooo insightful.” Soon, you’ll realize that listening saves energy; and people mistake your stoicism for intelligence, your shyness for mysteriousness. Silence = more friends, less drama.

Step 2. Stop judging and think less. Just empathize (i.e. put yourself in another’s place) throughout the whole day. Do it with that rude cashier, that pushy subway rider, that whiny friend, your dog that just crapped on the carpet, the nagging voice in your own head. Then do something random to make those people smile. For a moment, you’ll feel unattached to life’s trivialities, “above the fray” of the rat race. You’ll appear charming, even enlightened. Some people will secretly think you are an angel. You may begin to radiate light from your head.

Step 3. Learn a shocking new fact from Google each day and use it to scare your friends out of complacency. “Did you know that an area of arctic ice twice the size of the UK just melted this past week; at this rate it will be totally free of ice by about 2030?” The cocktail party guests will gasp in disbelief. The guy bragging about his BMW will look silly. You’ll look brilliant. You might even pull a Sharon Stone ala Davos 2005.

Step 4. Advocate by testing your social network. Instead of forwarding that stupid chain mail to avoid seven years of bad luck, find a new cause on Facebook or Change.org and see how many people you can get to join your cause, how many signatures you can gather, how much money you can raise, etc. in one week. Write: “Dear Friends, this is really important to me and to the world. If you love me, please join/sign/donate.” Hit send. See what happens. You will feel like a change agent, once again, a citizen soldier, a crusader for good. Don’t freak out if no one answers.

Step 5. Express yourself. Think Madonna but with less pantsuit/lingerie combos and more ink. I mean, write something, silly! Anything. Start your own blog and make wild, unsubstantiated claims about the state of the world, propose impossible solutions to unwieldy problems, announce yourself as the expert on some obscure subject and invite discussion. No, really. Just sit down, stare out the window, write down exactly what you see. Now close your eyes and write what you feel—simple, unadulterated, honest feelings. Then, write down what you want from life—not what you “should” or “could” or “would”, but what you really want (e.g. I want to start my own NGO. I want to travel to India. I want to be a wealthy philanthropist. I want to inspire people…and get paid for it). Finally, write down ten things you can this week to start getting there. Writing allows us to name (and thus own) the space in our lives (oooh, that’s deep). Don’t try to be good at it (I’m obviously not!), just be descriptive. Give yourself a gold star.  Now, you’re a writer. Don’t you feel good?

So, let’s recap: Listen. Empathize. Learn. Advocate. Express. After 29 years and two really expensive degrees, that’s all I got for ya. It won’t get us a job in this economy, but it might help us feel a bit more important and lot more engaged while we’re waiting for an answer to those damn cover letters.

Tags: 10 Years, Couch Potato, Cover Letter, Five Steps, Great Adventure, Introspection, Paulo Coelho, Self Esteem, Self Importance, Significant Others, Step 1, Substantive Work, Sweet Job, Thanksgiving Turkey, True Path, Underwear, Vacuum, Work Experience, World Sense, Young Man

That depends on who you ask. Climate change is in fact many issues to many people. As if climate science were not complicated enough, political considerations dominate most discussions.  Climate change is an economic problem to industrialized nations.  It is an environmental problem to the world’s conservationists.  The political majority of developing countries argue it is a (sustainable) development issue, just as Indigenous Peoples declare it to be a matter of human rights.  Now a growing coalition of countries, led by Palau and other Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS), are calling for climate change to be addressed as a security issue. 

Putting aside for a moment the complex reality that climate change is all of the above; do the PSIDS’ have a point?  The strength of their argument has many political implications within the United Nations and its governing bodies. The PSIDS argue that climate change is a security issue for them, and as such, deserves the attention of the Security Council.  Faced with rising sea levels, the salination of farmland, and more violent and changing weather patterns, threat to the Pacific Island states is very real. They must address the forced migration and relocation of entire communities, an increased threat of natural disasters, and in extreme circumstances, questions of their sovereignty as their future existence is called into question.  The PSIDS have drafted a resolution in the General Assembly, GA (press release), asking for climate change to be addressed by the Security Council.  Since decisions made by the Security Council are binding, its treatment of climate change could set a global precedence. Many other countries should join their ranks in support of this issue. Climate change may have disastrous consequences for vulnerable countries around the world. Many reports now classify climate change as a “threat multiplier”. Its impacts amplify existing stresses and can contribute to the breakdown of livelihood systems, exacerbating situations of chronic hunger, conflict and displacement. 

Through the agencies of the United Nations there is great potential to move the world forward toward a more equitable and participatory approach to dealing with the effects of climate change. Major decisions will be made by the end of 2009 on establishing a post-Kyoto framework.  The UN is supposed to serve as a forum where even the smallest and weakest of nations has an equal voice; it is crucial that those voices be heard. Unfortunately, the political jockeying that plagues the UN system in its current state stands ready to derail such an important initiative. The PSIDS and the other countries they represent deserve the full attention of the Security Council in addressing this issue.  Organizations such as CARE International and Islands First have been instrumental in pushing forward this agenda within the confines of the UN. Now the PSIDS and other vulnerable states need the public support of concerned citizens worldwide.

Contact your country’s UN delegation to find out where they stand on the GA resolution on Climate Change and Security.

For More Information check out: 

·         Climate Science from Climate Scientists www.realclimate.org

·         Maldives buys new homeland

·         “Humanitarian Implications of Climate Change”  CARE International and OCHA

·         “National Security and the Threat of Climate Change” – CNA Corporation, USA.  

·         “A Climate of Conflict: the Links between Climate Change, Peace and War” – International Alert 

·         “Strategic Survey 2007” – International Institute of Strategic Studies, United Kingdom.  

·         “Climate Change as a Security Risk” – German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) 

Tags: Climate Change, Climate Science, Conservationists, Disastrous Consequences, Economic Problem, Environmental Problem, Extreme Circumstances, Farmland, Governing Bodies, Indigenous Peoples, Natural Disasters, Pacific Island States, Political Considerations, Political Implications, Political Majority, Rising Sea Levels, Salination, Security Issue, Vulnerable Countries, Weather Patterns

“Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both. ” -Ben Franklin

“Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.” -George Bernard Shaw

“our security emanates from the justness of our cause.”  -Barack Obama, Jan 20th, 2009

Thank you goes out to President Obama for closing the Guantanamo Bay prison.  Like the time after McCarthyism and the Japanese internment camps, let us work towards a place of renewed moral authority and not let fear guide our actions.

Tags: Barack Obama, Ben Franklin, Bernard Shaw, Dread, Fear, George Bernard Shaw, Guantanamo Bay Prison, Japanese Internment Camps, Mccarthyism, Moral Authority

I got this email yesterday, and while I’d by lying if I said I didn’t think it was a little misleading, it’s still an interesting perspective, so I thought I’d share:

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of it’s releases.

A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.

A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.

A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain…let’s take a look at New Orleans….It’s amazing what you can learn with some simple division.

Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D) is presently asking Congress for 250 BILLION DOLLARS to rebuild New Orleans…Interesting number…what does it mean?

Well…if you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, and child) you each get $516,528.

Or…if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787.

Or…if you are a family of four…your family gets $2,066,012.

Imagine, now $700 billion bailing out banks in the US. That’s enough to fund complete medical care for every man, woman and child currently alive in the US for 11 years!! $50 billion to bail out the auto industry???

The next time you hear a politician use the word ‘billion’ in a casual manner, think about whether you want the ‘politicians’ spending YOUR tax money.

Tags: 11 Years, Advertising Agency, Ancestors, Auto Industry, Billion Dollars, Casual Manner, Good Job, Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, Man Woman And Child, Mary Landrieu, Medical Care, New Orleans, Perspective, Politician, Politicians, Senator Mary Landrieu, Stone Age, Tax Money, Two Feet, Woman And Child

Tuberculosis, or TB, is an infectious bacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs. Infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis often causes no symptoms, since the person’s immune system acts to “wall off” the bacteria. 1 in 3 people in the world are infected with TB bacteria, but most don’t become ill until it is active. Tuberculosis is treatable with a six-month course of antibiotics. In the World, tuberculosis is most prevalent in Asian and African countries, encompassing 80% of the cases, while the United States reports 5-10% positive. The main problem lies in mismanaged TB treatment resulting in the development of the deadlier MDR-TB.

Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a specific type of TB that is resistant to isoniazid and rifampicin that develops during mistreatment of fully sensitive TB. It has recently been found to be twice as prevalent in China as in the rest of the world. 10% of Chinese TB cases are MDR-TB. 5.4% of the new TB cases are MDR-TB, and 25.6% of the previously treated cases are also MDR-TB. This reflects the mismanaged treatment of tuberculosis in China such as the inadequate use of anti-TB drugs in public hospitals, lack of supervision of treatment, poor drug-management and absence of infection control measures in hospitals.

TB and MDR-TB are spread through the air when an infected individual opens their mouth. The germs remain in the air for several hours and any individual who breathes the air can be infected. TB is NOT infected by shaking hands, sharing food, kissing, etc.

At the present time, MDR-TB can be treated with second-line TB drugs but issues remain. The major barriers of treating MDR-TB include proper diagnosis of MDR-TB, simplifying the treatments, controlling the spread of infection, enforcement of proper drug treatment. In 2006 the The World Health Organization (WHO) launched the new Stop TB Strategy which takes on those challenges. Initial studies have shown treatment success rates of 59-83%. Internationally, China and Africa lack medical resources and sterile facilities to properly treat tuberculosis. Everybody is at risk because of the turn to globalization, trans-national migration, and tourism. So be careful the next time you travel, and if you do get infected, please get it properly treated.

Tags: Bacterial Disease, Disease Caused By Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, Drug Management, Drug Resistant Tuberculosis, Infected Individual, Infection Control Measures, Initial Studies, Multi Drug Resistant Tuberculosis, Proper Diagnosis, Public Hospitals, Rifampicin, Stop Tb, Tb Bacteria, Tb Cases, Tb Drugs, Tb Treatment, Treatment Of Tuberculosis, Tuberculosis Tb, World Health Organization, World Tuberculosis

A few weeks ago, we finished a new round of interviews for interns and first years. While it’s a fun opportunity for us to meet lots of exciting and excited new young people, it’s also a very reflective time to challenge the norms and paradigms we become so accustomed to in our daily routines. However, there was a part of this round of interviews that took me back a bit. One question that we ask to our candidates is, “what do you think will be the biggest challenge that our next generation will face?” The overwhelming response was: apathy.

Apathy (ap-a-thy) noun: Lack of interest, concern, or enthusiasm

In my opinion, apathy is not the problem. In fact, I’d almost completely disagree with apathy (p.s., we didn’t knock this answer in the interviews, as long as it was well explained). I think as more organizations, like Fireign, Think, Invisible Children and Truth, push to make social issues, in some regards, a pop culture issue, we’ve seen awareness and interest for various causes increase, especially with younger generations. With that said, I think these organizations have been successful due to the increased demands and concern for the well-being of the world, largely due to globalization and centralization of information (a.k.a., the internet).

Here’s the catch: While I think interest, concern, and enthusiasm (apathy) has increased, we face several constant struggles. The first, and largest, is that awareness is not the same as activism and sacrifice. While we’re all quick to join Facebook groups for causes, few are committed enough to make permanent changes to our lifestyles to support these causes. A recent study by Media-mark Research & Intelligence said that 94% of it’s respondents reported that they were willing to change some parts of their lifestyle to help the environment, yet statistics show that only about 26% of consumers are actively making these changes. Yet despite their personal lack-of-commitment to making changes, 85% of respondents said they expect the companies they engage with to be actively socially responsible. It’s interesting how we can so easily defer responsibility like this. In addition, many of the inequalities in the world exist not because of inequities in money or resources, but due to an unbalanced distribution of power (this, in my opinion, is a misunderstanding that steers a lot of organizations wrong), another asset that few aren’t willing to part with just yet.

I think it’s motivating our youth to become active, not apathy, that is real challenge. We saw a great display of youth activation with this recent election, but again, I question whether this activation is the beginning of personal sacrifice, or a fight to elect someone who people hope will fix their problems for them…maybe it’s somewhere in the middle (not necessarily my complete opinion; just food for thought).

Once again, I have digressed far from my original intended path. The thought that I hope to leave you with is to question yourself, your motives, what’s important to you. What tangible changes and sacrifices have you made in your life? Maybe, by being the stopping point prior to activism, apathy is the problem after all…

Tags: activism, Apathy, Centralization, Fireign, First Years, Globalization, Interest Concern, Interns, Invisible Children, Lack Of Interest, Lifestyles, Norms, Noun, Overwhelming Response, Paradigms, Pop Culture, Reflective Time, Respondents, Sacrifice, Social Issues