tagged w/ Traditions
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“Arctic Story,” a full-length documentary by photographer Jenny E. Ross, documents the changing lifestyle and environment of the Inuit people of Siorapaluk, the northernmost settlement on Earth. “The sea remains unfrozen along the coast in late fall, at a time of year when it should be covered with ice,” Ross writes on the film’s Vimeo page. “Glaciers are melting, and shedding huge quantities of ice and meltwater into the ocean. The animals inhabiting the land and water are threatened by rising temperatures and loss of sea ice. Greenlanders who have survived for generations by hunting are now losing their prey and their traditional way of life."
You can also view this in the comments below if it will not play here.“Arctic Story,” a full-length documentary by photographer Jenny E. Ross,... more
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Hundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers in southern Africa are adopting fast-growing trees and shrubs to fertilise their fields naturally, for improved yields and incomes, according to a study.
Scientists at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), a non-profit research organisation in Kenya, analysed two decades-worth of efforts to bring 'fertiliser trees' to African farms and announced their findings — which were published in the International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability — last month (14 October).
Fertiliser trees, such as the acacia tree, capture nitrogen from the air and transfer it to the soil in a process known as nitrogen-fixing. This restores nutrients and increases crop productivity, with the potential to double or even triple harvests. They also improve water efficiency on farms and help prevent soil erosion.
"Four hundred thousand farmers in southern Africa [Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe] are growing the trees to boost their farm yields, and there are still millions of resource-poor smallholders who could benefit from them," said Oluyede Ajayi, lead author of the study and a senior scientist at ICRAF.
The study found that maize yields and farmers' incomes are significantly higher in areas where the trees are used. In Zambia, for example, incomes for farmers using fertiliser trees averaged US$230–330 per hectare, while those who did not use the trees earned just US$130. This increase in income provided food for up to 114 extra days.
Ajayi told SciDev.Net that soil fertility plays a critical role in ensuring food security for smallholder farmers in many African countries. Efforts must be made to take advantage of all available options — including fertiliser trees — rather than engage in less useful academic debates on organic versus inorganic fertilisers, he argued.
"Given the wide range of fertiliser trees that have been developed, [support for farmers] is required to ensure the fertiliser trees [are used] in the right locations," said Ajayi.
He called for policy and institutional frameworks that would support their use and for more information dissemination on the need for fertiliser trees.
More at the linkHundreds of thousands of smallholder farmers in southern Africa are adopting... more
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In the agricultural year Samhain designated the first day of winter when cattle and sheep were taken down from their summer hills and pastures to be secured in stalls for the winter while the harvest of wheat, oats, barley, apples and turnips were gathered and baled and stored. It was a time of family reunion, preserve making, and preparing for the winter feasts to come in the new year. It was also a time of divination, when women used certain methods to divine who their lovers would be. One such method was holding a candle in a dark room while looking in a mirror while chanting words that would hopefully show your intended over your shoulder.
It is a magical time of the year when the souls of those departed are given a chance to once again visit those they left behind and loved which spawned many of the customs we still practice today such as carving Jack O'Lanterns and trick or treating.
It was and is above all a time to appreciate the bounty our Earth gives to us.
So happy Samhain/Halloween
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Here is a Chant for Samhain that speaks of the true meaning of this season regardless of your beliefs:
A year of beauty; A year of plenty
A year of planting; A year of harvest
A year of forests; A year of healing
A year of vision; A year of passion
A year of rebirth; A year of rebirth
This year may we renew the Earth
Let it begin with each step we take
Let it begin with each change we make
Let it begin with each chain we break
And let it begin every time we awakeIn the agricultural year Samhain designated the first day of winter when cattle and... more
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A spry 80-year-old cruises through the thick vegetation of western Borneo, or western Kalimantan, as it's known to Indonesians. Dressed in faded pinstripe slacks and a polo shirt, Layan Lujum carries a large knife in his hand. The chief of the island's Sekendal village is making his morning rounds.
Layan is a member of an indigenous ethnic group called the Dayaks, who once had a reputation as fierce headhunters. As on most mornings, his first job on a recent day is to tend to his rubber trees.
He uses a blade to cut a few grooves in each tree, allowing its white latex sap to trickle into a cup. Then he plucks a handful of fern leaves and snaps off the tops of a dozen or so bamboo shoots and puts them in a bucket. In a few minutes, he has enough for lunch. He goes to the river to wash and chop the shoots.
Layan Lujum, 80, Sekendal's village chief, cuts grooves in one of his rubber trees. Indigenous people in Borneo say they can make more money selling the latex sap from rubber trees than working on the area's palm oil plantations.
Andrew Limbong/for NPR Layan Lujum, 80, Sekendal's village chief, cuts grooves in one of his rubber trees. Indigenous people in Borneo say they can make more money selling the latex sap from rubber trees than working on the area's palm oil plantations.
Environmentalists say Layan's lifestyle is a form of "indigenous knowledge" that has allowed the Dayaks to both use and protect Borneo's forests. But those same forests are now a staging ground for a complicated clash. It involves economic growth, land rights and environmental concerns, development and traditional cultures, as well as a broader fight in Indonesia against entrenched corruption.
'This Is Our Sacred Grove'
Back near Sekendal, Layan explains how the Dayaks in his community view ownership of the surrounding land.
"These stands of bamboo don't belong to anyone in particular. Anyone can take some," he says. "The rubber trees belong to me. The bamboo here is very abundant. If you go upstream, there's even more."
This is not virgin forest, Layan says. It's owned by the community, and it's been cleared and replanted with useful flora such as cocoa and rambutan trees. There is one stand of virgin forest left in the area, but it's used for something very different.
"This is our padagi, or sacred grove," Layan says in a hushed voice. "It's been here since the time of our ancestors, and we come here to pray."
Birdsongs resonate through the forest canopy towering overhead. Down below, moss grows on an altar for making sacrifices. The spirits of the Dayak ancestors inhabit this hallowed glade, Layan says, and it is forbidden to take any plants or animals out of it.
"We come here to ask for help in times of trouble, for example in times of war, and then we are victorious," he says. "We ask for bountiful rice harvests. We ask for the sick to heal. We make offerings to the spirits, even though we can't see them."
Conservation Efforts Under Way
Indonesia remains Asia's most-forested nation, but it has suffered serious deforestation in recent decades, contributing to Indonesia's status as the third-largest emitter of carbon after the U.S. and China.
And perhaps there is no starker example than Borneo — roughly three-quarters of which belongs to Indonesia, the rest to Malaysia and Brunei.
Conservationists are urging Indonesia's government to respect the Dayak's rights to their traditional lands and to affirm their stewardship of the forests based on their animist religion. But in much of Borneo, it appears too late.
Where forests once stood, towns now hum with traffic and commerce. According to Indonesian government statistics, 60 percent of Borneo's rainforests have been cut down. Only 8 percent of its virgin forests remain, mostly in national parks. Western Borneo is the most denuded.
Efforts to combat deforestation are under way. In May, the Indonesian government announced a two-year moratorium on cutting down virgin forests. As well, a U.N.-backed scheme will see developed countries paying Indonesia to protect its rainforests.
But it's too soon to say how effective these measures will be, calling into question the sustainability of Indonesia's current economic boom, which is largely dependent on the extraction of natural resources.
Lands Stripped Away
Many Dayaks see it as just a matter of time before paved roads reach their villages and palm oil companies buy their land to convert into plantations.
Farmer Lambai Sudian sold his 25 acres of land for the equivalent of about $1,000. He says the company offered locals jobs on the plantation, water, roads and 20 percent of the palm oil profits. Four years later, none of it has materialized.
"Of course I regret selling," he says. "I regret it because the company didn't do what it said it would. If it did, we would be getting a share of the profits, and we'd be fine."
More at the linkA spry 80-year-old cruises through the thick vegetation of western Borneo, or western... more
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Last week Leland Yee proclaimed that the elimination of shark fin soup as an attack on ancient Chinese culture. The next day he held a conference serving shark fin soup to the media to show how wonderful and delicious it is.
Then apparently, Leland remembered how environmentally friendly the people of San Francisco Bay Area are. He sent out a rather waffly sounding email that says that while he condemns the finning of sharks, he opposes the ban on shark fins.Last week Leland Yee proclaimed that the elimination of shark fin soup as an attack on... more
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Gawain
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12 months ago
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It seems that locks aren’t just simply used to keep property secure from theft and vandalism any more. For decades now a custom has slowly been creeping across the world whereby loving, romantic, and sometimes superstitious couples have decided to write messages on padlocks, attach them to certain landmarks in specific areas - more often than not railings and fences - and then throw away the key. The practice, as well as symbolising a couple’s unending love for each other, is in some countries thought to bring good luck to a relationship.
http://www.lock-master.org.uk/blog/index.php/locks-of-love/It seems that locks aren’t just simply used to keep property secure from theft... more
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Potable water, as it is often said, is life. The lack of it affects all the spheres of human activity - health, social, education, agriculture, politics and economics. The lack of this essential commodity makes life meaningless. Its importance can only be equated to air.
The difficulty in accessing water in Sissala Communities has made young girls and women to ask suitors about the availability of potable water in their communities before accepting their proposals. If the suitor’s community does not have its own water source, they would want to know the distance from the nearest potable water source and if it is far, they would most likely to turn down the proposals.
They would also find out whether the community their lovers are coming from are good farmers and could produce enough food to feed their people.
The accessibility to clean water and food production are the determining factors for winning the love of many a young girl in the area. The reason for this is that the people in the communities are predominately farmers and any time lost in search of water by women will not be tolerated by their husbands, who would need their assistance on the farms.
These revelations came to light at a forum on water and sanitation held in Funsi in the Wa East District of Upper West Region, recently.
Madam Adiata Marifa, a housewife from the Gbantala, told the forum that young men in the village were finding it difficult to get wives to marry because the community does not have potable water source nearby, in spite of numerous attempts by water agencies to provide potable water have failed.
The people have been continuously drinking from unsafe water sources, such as ponds, rivers and streams and during the dry season women in the community have to walk long distance daily basis to fetch water leaving their domestic chores unattended to.
Madam Marifa said many of the women in the community were aged and with young men not getting young girls to marry to replenish the population the future of the community was becoming bleak and appealed to the Government to consider mechanizing water from the Kulun River for the people.
Another woman from Tampaala, Madam Abeta Issahaku, said women spent more hours looking for water from unsafe sources. Besides, one can not go to the pond twice to fetch water because of the distance.
“We are always tired when we return home and sometimes the water we fetch is not always sufficient for cooking let alone bathing. Children suffer a lot because we do not get sufficient water to drink and cook for them. Our men are not helping us to fetch water, they only go to the farm and expect us to come to the farm to help them on their farm work”. She lamented.
Madam Issahaku said women are unable to wash their clothes or clean their surroundings as they have to leave their homes early to go and waste many hours queuing to fetch water. Other community members call people from Tampaala dirty people because they do not bath regularly and also do not wash their clothes frequently.
“We give birth to beautiful and handsome children but as they grow up, they look dirty and are unable to mix with other children. They look inferior before their colleagues from different communities.” Madam Issahaku said.
She said many children are dying in the community as a result of diarrhoeal and other waterborne diseases, adding that the eradication of guinea worm would be a mirage if some communities were still drinking from unwholesome water sources
The testimonies from Chaggu Paani and Jankori Deriyiri communities were not different. Mr Nousah Sobo from Jankori Deriyiri said the people have been drinking from a river and during the dry season the water became muddy and women had to add ash to it for the dirt to settle before they sieve it for drinking.
He said teachers posted to these communities to teach are unable to cope up with the situation and have abandoned the schools. He appealed to the Government and non-governmental organisations in the water sector to find alternative ways of providing potable water for the communities.
ProNet North, a local non-governmental organisation, dedicated to the provision of potable water for communities in the Upper West Region in collaboration with WaterAid Ghana organised the forum.
It was under the “End Water Poverty Campaign” for the often excluded voices, such as women, persons with disability, and children to speak out their minds on how water and sanitation poverty impacts their lives at the local level.
continuedPotable water, as it is often said, is life. The lack of it affects all the spheres of... more
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Parvathy Baul, taken in at the age of 16, is one of the youngest practicing bauls as well as one of the few women who are taught the art. Her music combines recitation, dance, and a one-stringed intstrument called ‘ektara’ – that she plucks with one hand as she drums with the other and whirls around onstage, bells jangling around her ankles. She describes the song and dance of the baul as “meditation in motion.”Parvathy Baul, taken in at the age of 16, is one of the youngest practicing bauls as... more
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TO: All Employees of Santa's Workshop and Associated Businesses
FROM: Santa
RE: Restructuring
As many of you know, our business, once thought to be recession-proof, has been severely affected by the current economic crisis. The worldwide downturn and global changes in manufacturing and transport have led me to a very difficult decision: Effective Dec. 26, 2009, we will be closing the main workshop facility and scaling back or restructuring most of our other operations. While this transition will be painful, I believe it is the best way to stem our losses, reinvigorate the Santa brand and, ultimately, move the business into the 21st century.
The problems we have faced in recent years have proved insurmountable. You're all familiar with our difficulty in obtaining sleigh parts, the increasingly incomprehensible requests from spelling-challenged children and injuries sustained in faux fireplaces, to name just a few.
In the past 12 months, Mrs. Claus and I have worked tirelessly to save the business and avoid cutbacks in staff. We spent weeks working out a merger with the Tooth Fairy, only to have the deal fall through when TF Inc. insisted that I be replaced with a younger, "less cholesterol-driven, more ethnically ambiguous" spokesperson. Company officials also demanded that I retire the phrase "ho, ho, ho" (which they seemed to think was disrespectful toward young women). I of course could not agree to such drastic alterations in the brand.
by-
Julie Winterbottom,..................continued
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/24/AR2009122401567.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns
http://www.funk-the-system.net/images/vischristmasbig.jpgTO: All Employees of Santa's Workshop and Associated Businesses
FROM: Santa... more
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Three high school students from Kwigillingok, Alaska share their stories about how climate change is impacting their lives and futures. They are our future, and they deserve better.
This is what Copenhagen should be about. Climate change is real and is happening now.Three high school students from Kwigillingok, Alaska share their stories about how... more
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We go back in time to the middle ages where the idea for Halloween is first pitched to a group of enthusiastic villagers who quickly turn it into a binge-drinking, slut-fest.
SuperNews! is moving to Thursday nights!
Catch all new half-hour episodes beginning Nov 12 at 11/10c on Current TV.
www.current.com/supernewsWe go back in time to the middle ages where the idea for Halloween is first pitched to... more
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Mexico is filled with history, tradition, and celebrations. In the state of Guanajuato lies the town of San Miguel De Allende. It was recently named a World Heritage site and was directly involved with Mexico's Priest Miguel Hildalgo and General Ignacio Allende finally gaining its independence from Spain on September 16th 1821 after 11 years of war. Local Lorenzo Almaguer explains some of the favorite local traditions, how San Miguel De Allende came to be, and what to expect from the Independence day festivities, one of the most popular in Mexico.Mexico is filled with history, tradition, and celebrations. In the state of Guanajuato... more
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A man walking from Texas to his hometown in Washington state has had a cross to bear for months. James Strickland says he's been dragging a 12-foot cross from Longview, Texas, to his Aberdeen home since May.
The 39-year-old says he was praying about his troubled past when he received a message to start walking on a journey of renewal. He took along the cross, which rolls on wheels with his belongings tied near the bottom.
He expects to reach home Tuesday or Wednesday. Strickland says the trek has taken him through Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Utah and Idaho.
He says he hopes to reconcile with the mother of his two children.
Aberdeen police Capt. John Green told KXRO-AM that Strickland also has several misdemeanor warrants to clear up...A man walking from Texas to his hometown in Washington state has had a cross to bear... more
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Image: A counselor holds up cards used to educate women about female genital mutilation (FGM) in Minia,
Scandinavian courts are taking action against immigrants who still practice FGM on their daughters.When she was 11, a Swedish-born girl was taken on vacation to her mother’s native Somalia. The mother wanted to “make her daughter clean” and paid a man to cut off her daughter’s clitoris and labia while two women held her down.
Afterward, the girl was stitched to her urethra.
No anesthesia was used.
Last year, at age 19, a Swedish court convicted the mother for those illegal acts, awarding the victim record demages.
Scandinavians — rather than quietly recoiling as immigrant mothers take their Europe-born daughters on vacation to Africa be circumcised — are fighting the traffic in female genital mutilation (FGM).
Sweden, Norway and Denmark are doggedly pursuing perpetrators of FGM, practiced by African and Middle Eastern cultures. Those perpetrators are mostly the immigrant mothers of the young girls.
Jail sentences, record damages and controversial immigration laws are Scandinavia’s weapons in this war. Meanwhile Africans — who have immigrated with their families for a better life in northern Europe — wring their hands, imploring Westerners to understand that they are doing what they think is best for their daughters.
“The reasons given for female circumcision are traditional, cultural and religious. It is believed to encourage cleanliness, to control promiscuity, enhance the males’ sexual pleasure, preserve virginity and protect against unwanted pregnancies,” said Timnit Embaye of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Kenya.
But Scandinavian leaders refuse to interpret tolerance of female circumcision as politically correct.
FGM "is a very serious assault on children,” said Norway’s Secretary of Justice Knut Storberget. “It is important that they will be given a chance to value this independently when they are old enough to understand.”
* * * * * Do you think tradition, culture and religion are a good enough reasons for this practice? Should Western countries such as the US interfere with this practice? If so, how can this practice be stopped?
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/europe/090916/scandinavia-female-genital-mutilation?page=0,0Image: A counselor holds up cards used to educate women about female genital... more
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I feel that it is relevant point out that Leonard Peltier has been incarcerated for thirty-three years based upon what your own courts have admitted was fabricated evidence, both withheld, and then later discovered to be tampered with and questionable. These very courts have admitted that Leonard Peltier did not commit the murders of FBI agents at Pine Ridge Reservation in 1976. It is clear Leonard Peltier was upon the peoples at Pine Ridge during that time.I feel that it is relevant point out that Leonard Peltier has been incarcerated for... more
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Greetings friends...
First off - thank you for your efforts. We know that Leonard is scheduled to see a specialist. Excellent news.
Secondly - please take time to listen to our brother Wanbli. Broadcast was yesterday. Web site is: http://www.nativetube.com/video/535/Leonard-Peltier-FIRST-VOICES
Next - hopefully you can join Peltier supporters at Lewisburg on July 28th - the date of the parole hearing and World Day of Prayer for Leonard. If not - please hold something in your own area - even if its just you and a sign at a coffee house. People will ask you about it and you"ll have an opportunity to share. By the way - if you're feeling uneasy about case details - the broadcast above will give you the needed information.
Last - the White House has a comment line. The number is 202 - 456 - 1111. Call and message that you are in support of parole for indigenous political prisoner Leonard Peltier.
Today is July 10th...July 28th is so close...take a moment as you read this to send thoughts, prayers his way. We're so close...freedom. It is time...Greetings friends...
First off - thank you for your efforts. We know that Leonard... more
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