I hope this site becomes a place for dialogue and the exchange of ideas. I want to raise consciousness about issues and stories that don't always make the headlines. I believe that global awareness makes a person smarter and ultimately more human. I'm grossed out by what some "news" outlets masquerade as news. Mainstream media seems to cover international stories only when there's catastrophe or war. It's a shame.
There are so many fascinating people doing important things out there. As a journalist I've been blessed with the opportunity to travel all over the world. I want this to be a place for everyone to find out about people and organizations that I've encountered that are doing good work. I'd like to share some of my experiences and invite all of you to share your thoughts and stories you think should be told. Let's expand our horizons together!
North Korea A trip to one of the most isolated countries on the planet
Child Trafficking: India In India, there are millions of children who are being forced to work as slaves.
There is certainly no shortage of issues that should demand our attention, but here’s a list of some that I think are of vital importance. Please share with me your thoughts on these and issues that are of concern to you.
I have been heartsick over the tragedies in China and Burma. This front page article by Jim Yardley in the NYTImes about the tiniest victims of the earthquake in China says it all. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/world/asia/15morgue.html
I have excerpted the first paragraph: The bodies are everywhere. Some are zipped inside white vinyl bags and strewn on the floor. Others have been covered in a favorite blanket or dressed in new clothes. There are so many bodies that undertakers want to cremate them in groups. They are all children.
This link is to one of the most important things I've read in a long time. Please read it and take it seriously. Our news has been filled with tragic news about global disasters. There's something going on folks!!!! It's time that we start taking what's happening much more seriously. In fact, it is dire. Governments need to be doing more. Citizens of the plant, we need to be doing more. After reading, check out: www.350.org
As if the people of Burma weren't experiencing enough hardship...
Many in my life know that I have been on a bit of a soul searching journey. I have wondered: if there's a God, how he can allow these fits of nature to strike the poorest, most oppressed people.
So Sunday in L.A. was "Big Sunday," a day when people around the city
volunteer to give folks a hand. With a small group of people, I spent
Sunday at a homeless shelter in Santa Monica, CA called the Ocean Park
Community Center or OPCC. It was a little funny because the number of
volunteers about equaled the number of residents, but in the end it was
a good thing. We cooked hamburgers, had an ice cream bar and we served
the folks who make the OPCC their home.
While I've always know that the U.S. prison population was huge, I was shocked to learn that it dwarfs all others. We have more people locked up behind bars than anywhere else in the world. China has population 4 times bigger, but is a distant second--of course there are thousands of people in detention for political activisism. At 2.3 million people in prisons, the U.S. has 751 people in prison for every 100,000 people. This surprised me as our news has often carried stories of imprisonment in China.
According to the Government Accountability Office, billions of dollars of taxpayer money specified for Pakistan has not been monitored.The GAO says that Pakistan’s tribal region, which borders Afghanistan, is the biggest haven for Al Qaeda and other Islamic extremist groups.It says that this region poses the greatest threat to Americans both at home and abroad, yet the GAO maintains that the White House’s National Security council has never developed a plan that covers all elements of national power—diplomatic, military, intelligence, development, economic and law enforcement support.
Saw the film starring Ryan Phillipe over the weekend and haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. According to Wikepedia, Stop Loss, in the U.S. military, is the involuntary extension of a service member's enlistment contract in order to retain them beyond the normal end term of service (ETS) or the ceasing of a permanent change of station (PCS) move for a member still in military service.
As we speak, I am in Utah shooting a follow-up a polygamy show that I did for the Oprah Show. Ironically, this story had been scheduled for weeks before the raid on the Eldorado temple went down.
