Kathleen's Sharebook 

Go here to see my news, please: [THANK YOU!!!] http://www.care2.com/news/member?sort=submitted

Mysterious 'Dark Energy' Not as Ominous as Thought
Science & Tech  (tags: astronomy, discovery, environment, history, humans, interesting, nasa, news, science, scientists, society, space, world )

Kathleen
- 19 minutes ago - washingtonpost.com

For the First Time in U.S., Extensive Face Transplant Is Performed
Health & Wellness  (tags: GeneticEngineering, humans, interesting, medicine, news, NewTechnology, science, scientists, society, women )

Kathleen
- 23 minutes ago - washingtonpost.com

Education Pick Is Called 'Down-to-Earth' Leader
Society & Culture  (tags: americans, democrats, government, obama, politics, usa, activists, children, culture, education, family, interesting, philanthropy, rights, society )

Kathleen
- 26 minutes ago - washingtonpost.com

Nominee Is Praised as Collegial Reformer: We need all the education reforms we can get, especially for funding and other constructive actions!!!

Welfare Rolls See First Climb in Years
Society & Culture  (tags: abuse, americans, bush, bushadministration, congress, economy, ethics, government, healthcare, housing, lies, media, military, news, obama, socialsecurity, corporate, corruption, environment, labor, money, activists, children, culture, education, family )

Kathleen
- 30 minutes ago - washingtonpost.com

Job Losses Bring Applicants From Middle Class... Of course, and we must continue advocating for more funding to social programs!!!

Greetings Dear Friends!

Please join me in a discussion concerning helping people improve their lives~~~                             

I am working on a doctorate degree in education and I have also established a non-profit charity which has yet to find donation or funding. My goals include establishing scholarships for low-income young parents who are college students, and ultimately establishing an online academy for teens and adults to prepare them for success before they go on to college or employment.

Our current society is causing the need of pre-life communications skills for many reasons. Pre-life skills refer to those necessary to be an active and successful adult citizen. This is especially true in regions with lower funded school districts due to poverty. Many citizens do not know how to write a successful Letter to the Editor, study political candidates affectively, speak properly in a business environment, write a good essay, do a research paper, advocate to the public, be well informed voters, and, many other such skills that all good citizens should be able to do. Also, they need to have average, or better, reading, writing, and speaking skills, as well as, basic math, science, and geography knowledge, which is a must in post-secondary education and even in many fields of employment, especially with our global cultures and economies now part of everyday life.

Low-income persons and those forced to change careers need pre-life communication skills right away. Many low-income people have not been in school or employment for awhile and so need to update their skills in order to have the chance to get ahead. Our nation has been losing jobs by the thousands and thousands have been laid-off, so they too need to up date their skills and add to their education. Today’s society and economy requires actual life-long learning. Currently, veterans are returning from wars and along with basic adjustments must also seek gainful employment and, therefore, need addition communication skills to be successful. Native Americans, especially those on reservations deserve any educational help we can provide. An online academy could also provide global access.

All constructive suggestions and comments will be very welcomed!!! Our charity is The Angel Power Emporium, Inc. (TAPE). ~TAPE for Cracks in the System~     We are interested in suggestions for all aspects of our projects, and currently are especially seeking ideas for obtaining donations and funding. We want eligible persons to be able to use financial aid, just like adult students at vocational school can do. However we wish to also maintain the flexibility necessary for learning successes. We also need ideas for obtaining laptops & Internet access for low-income academy students. Please, feel free to share any ideas that you might think of because you never know how it may be helpful! Questions will also be appreciated. Thank you!!!

Peace & Blessings, Kathleen 

VETERANS & Folks who care about veterans, PLEASE, check this out and share it forward to all veteran groups, etc.

http://www.freewebs.com/home4avet/

THANK YOU!

Kathleen R

The Angel Power Emporium, Inc.

~TAPE for Cracks in the System!

Hi! I believed this is worth sharing~~~ Kathleen R
With Congress back in session, the Bush Administration is pushing hard to pass another trade agreement based on the failed NAFTA model, this time with Colombia. The Administration is in a race against public opinion, which is quickly turning against the kind of neoliberal trade deals that have worsened poverty and inequality in every country where they have been implemented and led to a massive loss of jobs in the United States. The proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Colombia promises more of the same. The deal will also strengthen Colombia's government, which is responsible for severe human rights violations.

With more and more people--in Latin America and in the US--becoming aware of the repercussions of unfair trade rules, now is the time to take action and demand change.

1. Worsening Rural Poverty and Hunger

The FTA cuts tariffs on food imported from the US but benefits only the few Colombian farmers who export to the US. Moreover, the deal bars the Colombian government from subsidizing farmers, while large-scale US corn and rice growers enjoy billions in subsidies. These double standards guarantee that US agribusiness can undersell Colombian farmers, who will face bankruptcy as a result. Many of Colombia's small-holder farmers are women and Indigenous Peoples who are losing their livelihoods and being forced off their lands.

2. Fueling Armed Conflict and Drug Trafficking

The intertwined crises of poverty, landlessness and inequality are at the root of Colombia's 50-year armed conflict. The FTA will further concentrate wealth in the hands of a few while worsening poverty for millions of people. Many Colombian farmers, whose livelihoods will be destroyed by the FTA, will be compelled to cultivate coca (the raw material for producing cocaine) to earn a living.

Continuing a trend begun in the wake of 9-11, the US has cast the FTA as a matter of its "national security," and the Colombian government has followed suit by treating anyone opposed to the deal as a terrorist. Colombia's workers, Afro-Colombians and Indigenous Peoples have taken a clear position against the FTA. Their peaceful protests have been met with severe repression, including murder.

3. Repressing Labor Rights

Colombia is already the world's deadliest country for trade unionists, with more than 2,000 labor activists killed since 1991. The FTA does not require Colombia to meet international core labor standards; it merely calls on the government to abide by its own weak labor laws. Without enforceable labor protections, the trade deal will put more workers at risk. US workers' power to negotiate better wages will also be weakened by a deal that allows corporations operating in Colombia to keep labor costs down through sheer violence.

4. Exacerbating Climate Change and Threatening Biodiversity

The FTA will increase logging in the Colombian Amazon, weakening the rainforest's capacity to stabilize the Earth's climate. Under provisions sought by the US, corporations that have bought the rights to a country's forests, fishing waters, mineral deposits or oil reserves can totally deplete these resources, with grave consequences to ecosystems and the many species that inhabit them. Small-scale farmers and Indigenous Peoples who depend directly on these natural resources will be the first people to suffer.

5. Subordinating National Sovereignty to Corporations

By allowing corporations to sue governments for passing laws that could reduce profits, the FTA erodes Colombia's prerogative to regulate foreign investment and undermines citizens' chances of improving health, safety and environmental laws. In anticipation of the FTA, the US pressed Colombia to pass a law that would expropriate land from Indigenous and Afro-Colombians and allow multinational corporations to gain control of millions of hectares of rainforest. The forestry law was part of a series of constitutional "reforms" undertaken to meet the conditions of a US trade agreement. In January 2008, Colombian civil society won an important victory: the forestry law was struck down as a violation of Indigenous rights. Had the FTA already been in place, US corporations would now be allowed to sue the Colombian government for "lost future profits."

6. Deteriorating Public Health

By extending patent rights on medicines produced in the US, the FTA hinders the use of far cheaper generic drugs and puts life-saving medicines out of reach for millions of Colombians. Women, who are over-represented among the poor and primarily responsible for caring for sick family members, are particularly harmed by this provision.

7. Loss of Vital Public Services

The FTA requires the Colombian government to sell off critical public services, including water, healthcare and education. Elsewhere in Latin America, this kind of privatization has resulted in sharp rate increases by new corporate owners that deny millions of people access to essential services. Women are hardest hit because it is most often their responsibility to meet their families' needs for such basic services.

8. Harming Indigenous Women

The FTA would enable corporations to exploit Indigenous Peoples' traditional knowledge by allowing companies to patent seeds, plants, animals and certain medical procedures developed and used by Indigenous women over centuries. Under the FTA, Indigenous women could lose access to important medicinal plants and agricultural seeds unless they pay royalties to patent holders. Indigenous women's role as the protectors of their community's natural resources and traditional knowledge would be eroded, threatening Indigenous cultures and women's status within the community.

There Are Viable Alternatives to Free Trade Agreements

Despite more than a decade of failed NAFTA-style trade deals, the US continues to insist that its trading partners adhere to rigid neoliberal economic policies. But Latin America's social movements are articulating viable alternatives for regulating trade and economic integration in ways that benefit women, families, communities and the environment. The women of MADRE's sister organizations in Colombia and throughout Latin America affirm the need for Fair Trade Agreements that: