“There are Palestinian women, who defy Israeli occupation”
“Lidia Rimawi wanted a son. Her husband was a political prisoner serving a 25 year sentence in an Israeli prison”
“He would be fifty years old when he was finally released”
“To have a child, she took her husband’s sperm in a plastic bottle and smuggled it out of the prison”
“Lidia took a taxi straight to the Razan Medical Centre in Ramallah, where she was inseminated”
“It worked and months later her son Majd was born”
“Her husband was punished for smuggling his sperm to her”
“His sentence was extended by two months and he was fined 5,000 shekels (about $1,300) as a punishment”
“The Israeli prison authorities still refuse to allow Majd to visit his father, so he has had to see him by photographs”
“It is women like Lidia, who make up the backbone of the resistance movement in Palestine”
“They are the givers of life, keepers of family tradition and the culture bearers”
“They continue to resist in often unreported and unacknowledged ways!”
“Palestinian women believe in being mothers and martyrs, sisters of fighters and daughters of hunger strikers”
“Fulla Jallad does not consider herself to be an artist, but she became inspired to paint the portrait of Samer Huisawai”
“He was a prisoner on an eight month hunger strike at the time”
“She was touched by his act of resistance and she felt compelled to honour him”
“Her paintings have become a powerful tool for resistance”
“Fulla held the painting next to his mother, in front of the Red Cross in Ramallah”
“Samer Huisawai is starving himself, because he is being held with no charge. All he wants is to be treated as a human being”
“Fulla works as a town guide at the Natar Resort, the largest museum in the West Bank”
“This is one part of her struggles to free Palestine”
“She says she shows the world that Palestine always existed. In the war of existence, to exist is to resist”
“In the city of Silwan, which has been renamed the City of David, Wadid refuses to move”
“Her house sits with three others fenced off from what some call Jewish Disneyland”
“Tour guides parade outside her window and tourists from all over the world see the historic areas”
“In her small well-kept home there hangs a painting above the table”
“It shows a young man on the ground with a stab wound in his chest”
“It is Wadid’s son, Yusef, who was murdered by a settler”
“An artist took a photograph of his body and painted the likeness for Wadid and her family”
“Her son’s killer remains free and lives just a few houses away”
“The boy who stabbed her son was not charged or anything as he was a minor”
“Wadid knows the family well”
“The Israeli state tries to offer Wadid cash to move, but she insists she is staying unless they kick her out!”
“Wadid is 78 years old. She was born there and will remain so”
“Her husband’s dying wish while in hospital was, “Never take money for the house””
““If they kick you out, that’s one thing, but don’t take money””
“Her son’s body was taken to the Abu Khbir Forensic Institute”
“There, all his organs, even his tendons, were taken out without the family’s permission”
“They even took his eyes. Wadid later buried what was left of her son!”
““It is very difficult to live in this place”, Wadid says, “but we do not move from here””
““I stay here because it is our land. It is Palestinian land!””
“They live to raise children, teaching the young about the history and all forms of resistance and demonstrations”
“Palestinians have to remain steadfast!”
30th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“China these days has many more women than men due to the one child policy”
“As a result it has caused women, who are still in their late thirties to remain unmarried”
“The parents of these women are extremely worried about their children being single”
“The mothers in Beijing are doing what they call ‘Marriage Markets’”
“Here the mothers of single children gather in the city’s Zhongshan Park in the hope of matching their child up with another desperate parent”
“Twice a week around 30-60 parents meet up in the same spot carrying pieces of paper which hold the relevant information about their child”
“It contains their job information, level of education and salary as well as their physical attributes”
“When these ‘Marriage Markets’ first started, it was primarily the mothers doing the work, now they are dragging their single children along”
“Out of duty, single women accompany their mothers twice a week and stand beside them silently for over an hour at a time”
“This is most humiliating for the single women”
“A term, which depicts single women of a certain age, is ‘Leftover’”
“It was first mentioned in the Chinese Women’s Federation in 2007. It describes young females in their late 20’s that are not married”
“While the label is new, the message isn’t!”
“Marriage in China has less to do with romantic love and more to do with duty and social stability”
“Today, China’s women still face harsh judgements for remaining unmarried past a certain age”
“The stigmatism is that these women have failed and therefore there must be a problem with them”
“A young woman of 27 years old was so desperate to rid herself of the label ‘Leftover’ that she practically stopped eating”
“Chinese men prefer thin women”
“This young woman just wanted to be normal, get married and have a baby”
“Another young woman, now 36 and still not married, spent her life studying and making money and sending that money back home”
“By the time she was 30, she still had no idea about relationships or how to put on make up to make herself look beautiful”
“She had stopped going back home, as her family and the community saw her as a monster because she was single”
“Today, a Chinese journalist called Roseann Lake, who spends most of her time now in the US, travelled for three years all over China”
“There she met and interviewed over 100 women for her book called the ‘Leftover Phenomenon’”
“Lake has made a film getting both men and women to share their stories”
“It gives an insight to the complexities of love, sex, marriage and relationships in China”
“This film also emphasises the unrealistic social pressures and expectations that accompany all these issues”
“The tragedy that makes women feel discriminated against, because of their unmarried status, is that they are made to feel like weirdos”
“It has been said that they cannot do their jobs properly, because they do not have a husband”
“More and more women are slowly changing their minds, especially in the big cities”
“China is becoming more open and the people are starting to talk about being ‘Leftover’ – they can begin to actually laugh about it!”
“There is an article, which sheds light on the human rights issues that surround China regarding their own people especially the young women”
“They are so cruelly stigmatised, just because they cannot get married by a certain age”
“What chance is there for other situations, where the Chinese people are unable to perform in the right way through no fault of their own?”
29th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“The world’s first ‘Indigenous Olympics’ are being held in Brazil”
“Palmas is Brazil’s Amazon city”
“Here the event is held, where archers, wrestlers and runners from ethnic groups from around the world take part”
“This sporting event brings together athletes from over 20 countries and the games opened on 23rd October and run until 1st November”
“These athletes are competing in ten sports, which range from running, swimming, wrestling and football”
“There are also the traditional games like spear-throwing and racing with heavy logs”
“This is Brazil’s first year in opening up what will be an annual Indigenous Games for foreigners to come and experience this amazing event”
“It has been said that it’s a low key version of what will be next year’s Summer Olympics, which are being held in Rio de Janeiro”
“It was the indigenous people from the various ethnic groups and countries that danced during the opening ceremony”
“All danced in their native colourful costumes”
“This multisport event has over 2,000 participants from 23 countries and is a triumphant for the organisers”
“It is also a triumph for the participants, who take part in this glorious event”
“Brazil is home to nearly 900,000 indigenous people that speak a total of 274 languages”
“It has been estimated that there are 370 million indigenous peoples making up more than 5% of the world’s population”
“The number of privileged spectators watching these games is between 10,000 and 30,000 each day”
“We, as people, are privileged to have such rich cultures in our world”
“These games continue to highlight the need to embrace all and to learn from them”
“Everybody the world over has something to offer, either through experience, skills or the gifts we can share with one another”
“We should never fear another’s race, but embrace them as we strive to learn more”
“Then we can become enriched by their knowledge of life, which we all share”
“These Indigenous Olympics will flourish and all will come to enjoy them with an open heart and mind!”
28th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“As we live in an ever-changing world, we have to start to see things differently and to understand that we are all human”
“We are all created from the same source of intelligence that is the balance in all things”
“We, as a human race, are joined together by our spiritual life-force, which is inside all of us”
“It only departs from our physical being at the point of brain death”
“We all arrive from the same creative force and all return to it when it is our time to leave this earthly plane”
“It is important to recognise and understand that we are all people together”
“We all bleed. We cry when we are upset, we get ill and we all strive to reunite with each other to feel and experience love”
“We must, as a human race, stop looking at our colour, where we came from and where we are going”
“We must start to look within and see the God force in each and every one of us and to understand we are all one in his creation”
“Love is the powerful experience, which all understand and desire. To this we all gravitate”
“It is the power of that love that binds us in goodness and is the reason we can all grow and thrive”
“Accept each and every one of you that you were created in love”
“We are watched over in love and will be united in the next dimension in everlasting love after our earthly life is over!”
27th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“The University of Mississippi has stopped flying the state flag on its campus, because it features the Confederate battle emblem”
“Students are mainly young people of conscience and they have come together as a student body, which voted to remove the flag”
“These students were joined by two other student groups reinforcing the same theme”
“It was the University of Mississippi that came to the realisation years ago that the Confederate battle flag did not represent their core values”
“These core values are civility and respect for others”
“The murder of nine parishioners at the historical black church in Charleston, South Carolina renewed their debate”
“This was on the place the flag had in US culture”
“A month after the tragedy, the Confederate flag was removed from South Carolina’s capital grounds”
“At the time of the US Civil War, the Confederate flag became a symbol for southern states fighting to break away from the union”
“Many now see the Confederate flag as an icon of slavery and racism”
“While the US is still coming to terms with its past…”
“…any attempt to bring in reform of togetherness and integration of all its citizens is welcomed”
“It must be remembered that black slaves were brought into the US by force”
“Many were subjected to horrific injustices, which have been well documented”
“It is high time that white people realised that black people have standards, are human with feelings and have their pride”
“Many of the African people came from high places of office in their communities”
“They were treated like less than dogs when they arrived on US soil”
“It is high time that respect was given to these souls and for the white man to be reminded of their hand in all the sufferings that went on”
“In order for the US to survive and thrive, it must move forwards and recognise all its citizens are equal under the law”
“This includes their first nation Americans”
“All must be given equal rights for their advancement and not just for the select few”
“A nation is only great by the reduction of poverty within its subjects”
“Those standards of education should be enjoyed for all, furthering the US in all areas where its citizens can benefit”
“Anything less than that is pure dereliction of the State’s own duty”
26th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“An Indian woman stranded in Pakistan for a decade has finally returned to India”
“Geeta, who has speech and hearing impairments, was about eleven years old when it was believed she strayed into Pakistan”
“Her plight emerged following a Bollywood film, which told the story of a Pakistani girl, who could not speak and was trapped in India”
“All this time Geeta had been looked after by the Edhi Foundation charity”
“It was they who accompanied her from Karachi to Delhi”
“There she was received by officials from the Pakistani High Commission and India’s Foreign Ministry”
“Efforts have been made to find Geeta’s family since August, after India accepted her as one of their citizens”
“Geeta will need to undertake a DNA test to match her up with her real family and where at last she can be reunited with them”
“The Pakistani media have been closely following Geeta’s journey back home”
“Geeta’s homecoming is being seen as a rare example of humanitarian cooperation between the two hostile neighbouring countries”
“Geeta was presented with flowers and gifts before she left Pakistan”
“Faisal Edhi runs the charity that has cared for Geeta all this time”
“He said, “Geeta is not really separating from us. We will keep in touch with her”
“When love, right thinking and action are performed new life is born”
“Then there is a better understanding that we are all human and need help at times”
“It is to be commended that the Edhi Foundation charity has a lot of love in their hearts & are able to help so many people with this love”
“Geeta won’t be the only one who has benefitted from them!”
25th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“Dr Edith Kariko and her colleagues in Papua New Guinea have dedicated their lives to bringing information about family planning options”
“They bring it to the villages in the highland regions”
“It is from these remote villages that the people have to travel long distances to find family planning assistance”
“This results in families being far larger than they can cope with”
“At present having four children is already too many and it increases the risks of maternal mortality”
“It also means that women are less able to get paid work”
“It becomes harder for their children to go to school, as money is needed for this to happen”
“Dr Kariko’s family planning techniques use comedy theatre to get their messages across and to show what options are available to them”
“As a result many of the men end up choosing to get a vasectomy – a simple five minute operation”
“In the past few years there has been a 7,000 % increase in vasectomies”
“Dr Kariko is forging ahead bringing in long term relief to many families, who are already overstretched”
“With her methods it allows families to take an active role in just how many children they are capable of comfortably affording”
“This family planning project has already had an impact on the wider community and the country at large”
“Again it is women fighting for women & to bring in salvation where all are able to gain & that includes the wanted children of this world”
24th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“Thousands of students gathered outside President Zuma’s Pretoria offices saying theirs was a hollow victory”
“It was a peaceful crowd of demonstrators, mainly students”
“But there were others who were black and white, rich and poor, who demonstrated against the rise of student fees”
“The South African Police Services as always go in heavy-handedly spraying tear gas and shooting rubber bullets into the crowd”
“This was shortly after the announcement that President Zuma would not increase student fees”
“This protest is taking the country in a new direction of popular protest, likely to play a part in next year’s local government elections”
“The student protest flourished from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg”
“It grew to a nationwide shut down of the higher education institutions”
“Many students cannot afford the registration fees, never mind the school fees themselves”
“The desperation for these students is unimaginable”
“Protests were the only vehicle that the students had to stem the annual escalation of fees at the higher education institutions”
“This protest had been the biggest student protest to hit the country since apartheid ended in 1994”
“Today’s protest lasted for a whole week”
“As the protests mounted, it forced the Education Minister to issue a 6% cap on all fees for the coming academic year”
“The University administrators thought this was a healthy compromise, the students disagreed”
“The President of Witwatersrand Student Representative Council said the students had three demands”
“These were the outsourcing of labour on university campuses, an end to discrimination of workers on university campuses…”
“…and zero percentage increase in fees for 2016”
“This was to be a step forwards in achieving a free education”
“President Zuma chose to speak on national television rather than to address the students first”
“This showed his political manipulation of the situation”
“This made the students very angry indeed”
“ANC members, who voted for the increase in student’s fees, later join in the student demonstrations in Pretoria”
“They were celebrating the student’s victory”
“This is absurd, as ANC members are responsible for policy decisions advocating the increase in student fees”
“They then proceeded to join the students against the increases”
“These contradictions points to the failings of the ANC identity”
“The ANC enjoy the trappings of their political party with all the decision makings”
“But at the same time they want to be seen as a social movement”
“The student victory in the student’s eyes is already a hollow one and maybe short lived”
“Education for students is the most important tool to addressing inequality and should be accessible and affordable for all!”
“They now have to see if their demands are noticed by the present Government”
“What is for sure is that they will have their voices heard until victory is finally won!”
23rd October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“Forty years tomorrow, 24th October 1975, signifies what Icelandic people call ‘The Long Friday’”
“On that day the women of Iceland went on strike and they refused to work, cook and look after the children for the day”
“It was a moment in history that changed the way women were seen in the country”
“It helped to put Iceland at the forefront of the fight for equality”
“In November 1980, a divorced single mother won Iceland’s Presidency, her name was Vigdís Finnbogadóttir”
“Called Vigdís, she became Europe’s first female President and the first woman in the world to be democratically elected as head of state”
“She held this position for sixteen years”
“As a result many Icelandic children had grown up thinking that being President was a women’s job”
“Vigdís’s Presidency set Iceland on a course to become known as “the world’s most feminist country””
“On that day, 90% of the women in the country decided to demonstrate their importance by going on strike”
“Instead of going to the office and doing the housework or childcare they took to the streets in their thousands”
“They went to rally for equal rights with men”
“It is known in Iceland as the Women’s Day Off”
“The women’s strike completely paralysed the country and opened up the eyes of many men”
“Banks, factories and some shops had to close, as did schools and nurseries”
“This left the fathers no choice, but to take their children to work and later to take them back home to feed them”
“It was a real baptism of fire for some fathers; literally the men had to take care of everything”
“Children’s voices were heard in the background while the newsreaders read the news on the radio”
“It is high time that women start to believe in their own self-worth and the very important contribution they make to all societies”
“It is at times of war when the men are away fighting that women become the back bone of countries”
“They are doing all the jobs that men used to do”
“Women need to stand and unite together in strength to bring about changes, without that unity changes will be slow and protracted”
“It is now that women must gather momentum and believe in their own power and effectiveness in their roles as equals around the world”
“Until this is done collectively, then women’s power will not be sustained and will be seen as a sign of weakness”
“The world is changing and women are starting to realise that they are able to go forwards without the constant battering by men”
“It is the men that continue to put them in their place”
“This change cannot come in soon enough, as many women are subjected to immense cruelty by the dominance of men”
22nd October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“Benjamin Netanyahu has been mocked and condemned”
“He has claimed that Hitler did not intend to kill the Jews until he was convinced to do so by a Palestinian mufti”
“Hitler was already massacring Jews many months before he even met with Haj Amin Husseini”
“As always Netanyahu continues to incite hatred and revenge against the Palestinians for what he sees as his right to do”
“It is now time that world leaders stand united to bring about positive action”
“They must not allow for a hatred deranged person to continue shouting his mouth off”
“Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel needs no reminder of the holocaust undertaken by Hitler at that time”
“Germany’s efforts to bring about solutions to make amends for their failings at that time are ongoing”
“It is high time that Netanyahu learnt from International leaders”
“Israel must start dealing with their own ethnic cleansing that they continue to do in their apartheid state”
“Hatred in this world will never win out”
“The destruction caused by Netanyahu’s extreme hatred is being felt by all Jews around the world”
“It is they who feel the repercussions of his despicable behaviour”
“The hatred of Jews worldwide continues to increase year on year, because Netanyahu refuses to change”
“He thinks he can win by obliterating Palestinians from this world”
“This will never happen and Palestinians will continue to survive”
“This in spite of the International communities shameless burying their heads in the sand and continuing to do nothing”
“As we have said before, it is Israel that rules this world”
“The genie in the bottle has been released and is now so powerful none will stand up to it”
“Even America is embarrassed but does nothing, again shame on them”
“Henry Kissinger once said “Israel won’t exist in 20 years, because they refuse to change their apartheid rogue ways””
“Those words will come true!”
21st October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“Both North & South Koreas have come together to allow for families who have not seen each other for 60 years to have a family reunion”
“A young woman Lee Soon-kyu married at the age of 19”
“She was pregnant and her husband, who worked in the fields of South Korea, simply disappeared”
“The young man, Oh In-she, was supposed to be off for a week’s military training, but he never returned”
“Decades passed and Lee Soon-kyu thought her husband had died”
“She looked after her in-laws and paid annual rites to her husband and kept a pair of his shoes”
“Lee Soon-kyu raised their son, Jang-kyun, as a single mother, never remarrying”
“When Jang-kyun heard his father was still alive in North Korea, he wanted to see him”
“At 64 years old he felt at last he had a father and felt a sense of pride”
“It was arranged for the families to gather together in an immigration building south of the border”
“From there they went on buses to the North Korean resort”
“Lee met her husband with a compassionate smile. He had remarried and has another family in the North, which did not worry Lee Soon-kyu”
“There was little time for these meetings, with only six meetings of two hours each before they all had to say their goodbyes”
“Jang-kyun gave his father a deep bow out of respect to a man he had never met, but still was able to recognise him from across the room”
“Later husband and wife sat at a table feeding each other crackers and laughing like newlyweds”
“This is one story amid tens of thousands of around 66,000 South Koreans, who remain on the register of applicants”
“They wanted to meet up with their families, but many had already died in the waiting”
“The North/South Korean conflict, which shows no signs of abating, has caused deep wounds and scars to its people”
“Perhaps one day sanity will be recognised and peace will finally come to this divided people”
“As with the Berlin Wall, time moves on and a new way of operating becomes possible”
“We all pray for that to happen”
20th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“A story of immense courage and conviction by a movement of 6,000 barely educated women labourers”
“They took on one of the world’s most powerful companies and won!”
“Indian women tea pickers challenged the male dominated world of trade unions and politics”
“They refused to allow men to take over their campaign”
“The women tea pickers work for a huge plantation company Kannan Devan Hills Plantations that is part owned by Tata, the owner of Tetley Tea”
“An incident sparked off this outrage, which had been building up over a long period of time”
“The workers were to have their bonuses cut”
“Tea workers in India are treated appallingly anyway with living conditions of a one bed hut with no toilets or amenities”
“The families are all malnourished and vulnerable to fatal illnesses”
“The women earn only £2.3p a day, which is half of what other tea workers get in Kerala”
“These women accused the male trade unions of being in cahoots with the company’s management”
“They said they were denying the women their entitlements, yet saving their own plum jobs”
“When 6,000 women occupied a main road leading to the headquarters of the plantation company, it was organised entirely on their own”
“They chased away all the trade union leaders and politicians, who tried to support their cause”
“They also pulled down the flag posts outside the trade union offices”
“The women insisted they would continue with their protests until their demands were met
“The plantation company of course were defiant, but after nine days of protests and marathon negotiations the company finally gave in!”
“The women represented the workforce and forced management to accept their demand to bring back the 20% bonus”
“Their pay rise was negotiated by them separately and their increase was not met!”
“Then the unions launched an indefinite campaign to raise the rates from 232 rupees to 500 rupees a day”
“Yet again the women refused to be a part of this union effort and launched their own independent demands for higher wages”
“As they already had nothing to lose, they felt they could hold out even if it meant starving to death”
“They said they would never be exploited again, enough was enough! They have since won again”
“What is so alarming is the abject greed and exploitation by big companies who continue to ride roughshod over people”
“These women tea pickers only wish to earn a living wage”
“Their dignity is taken away by those who sit in luxury in high office drinking their tea”
“They have no qualms about the constant misery they are bringing to their work force”
“Workers the world over are now fighting for their rights”
“These are the women who feel that unless they take a stand nothing in their lives will ever change”
“The global movement of women against injustice imposed on them by their male counterparts is growing”
“Their voices are being heard and nothing will ever stop them, as they have been suppressed for long enough”
“We must congratulate all women who do stand up for their rights”
“They begin to change the male dominated injustice that goes on throughout this world”
19th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“Many children around the world are gaining mentally and physically by playing rugby”
“They not only gain physical fitness, they gain strength and coordination”
“The sport enables children to test themselves, as they must learn to play by the rules, which helps them form a child’s moral attitude”
“Playing in a team, helps them learn social skills like sportsmanship, team spirit and cooperation”
“It allows children to develop self-esteem, which is especially important for those who are not academically minded”
“Children will improve their body image and will come to understand the importance of physical health and fitness”
“By playing rugby it also enhances a child’s concentration, which is a part of life’s skills”
“The sport gives the opportunity for children to develop their own personality and gives them an insight into their own strengths”
“No matter what size a person is, there will always be a position within the team allowing for all shapes and sizes to participate”
“With rugby it shows children how they must respect their opponents on the field, so creating a healthy conflict”
“Children, who play rugby, will benefit throughout their lives with mental and psychological advantages”
“These will be with them throughout their lives”
“Organisations are being formed around the world to help children learn about rugby and to give those children a sense of belonging”
“When you are initiated into a rugby team, you become a part of a family”
“This is supportive and gives the individual a sense of belonging and worth”
“Many children now in North America are being taught the sport of rugby”
“These children often come from deprived areas, where they only have one parent in their lives”
“Anger and a sense of being disenfranchised goes once they become a part of a rugby team”
“These children are able to channel their anger & frustration into this physical game; it’s always positive & enables them to learn from it”
“They become at peace in their hearts and minds and so stronger in their learning that rugby gives to all who play it”
18th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“World leaders are coming together to try to break the deadlock on ideas of self-interest and purposes”
“We are all entering dark and horrific days, as the dogs of war gather momentum and begin to encircle the civilised world”
“There are no winners in these conflicts only hardship, disgrace and discourse”
“A coming together of intellectual minds, who have nothing to gain but can see the broader picture and will express their views to be debated”
“So many solutions need to be found, where history has shown repeatedly that conflict is useless”
“Consideration for Mankind’s welfare must now be taken into consideration”
“There is no longer a so called master race. We are all brothers and sisters together”
“We are united by a common theme of love and expectancy of a life lived in peace”
“All leaders must now look to their own hands in these conflicts and to finally own up to their part in the constant mayhem that pursues”
“The constant warring factions will in time be tamed as one begins to realise the futility of what they have been fighting for”
“At the end of the day there are no winners, nothing is ever gained or resolved”
“The dawn is breaking on a new form of leadership, where the need for power is no longer the objective, but the needs of the people are!”
“Mankind starts to come into his own as the superpowers lose their will and aggression over the people”
“Power is being taken away from all superpowers by The Great Intelligence that sees over us and guides us all forwards”
“No country is great anymore”
“All are vulnerable to earthly/global conditions be it climatic, financial or civil unrest”
“The tide is already turning, whereby enemies of various countries will have to come together in order to secure their own futures”
“Their futures are crumbling around them, exposing them to the elements of uncertainty and fear”
“This is slowly growing and exposing their power-loss, allowing for extreme negotiations to take precedent over their needs for control”
“The hardliners of this world will fall in all directions”
“It will be those whose wisdom and overall forward-thinking will steer this world forwards”
“No one will judge another as all must come to the table collectively to reach concrete agreements towards world safety”
“The new dawn on dialogue is being established where arms no longer play their part, but where trade and common sense is finally realised”
“Peace always comes at a price, but with war the price is always higher and always devastating”
“This world cannot afford any longer to prop up the dictators of war, as their power-loss becomes self-evident”
“It will be those stable countries that will be able to pave the way and where trust and goodwill are once again established”
“A new world order will be formed and this will take many years in the making, but its seeds are already taking root”
“Mankind will eventually rise again from the destruction of the old world order and into the new!”
“For the people it really can’t come in quick enough!”
17th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“How far must Mankind go before it says enough is enough?”
“Fighting on every level is a worldwide disease and there is no let up to this monster of one nation or ideal wanting to crush another”
“In 1937 Pablo Picasso read about the thousands of incendiary bombs dropped by Hitler and Mussolini’s planes”
“They reduced the city of Guemica to ashes. An incalculable number died and were wounded”
“Picasso’s masterpiece evolved under his repugnance of aerial bombing”
“Guemica became the emblem to the horrors of war”
“Picasso’s tapestry facsimile was placed in the lobby of the United Nations in 2003”
“When Colin Powell went to the UN to present the US case for military intervention in Iraq, the tapestry was covered up by a blue curtain”
“Mr Powell couldn’t try to seduce the world into bombing Iraq…”
“…while having the background of the tapestry shrieking with mutilated women, men and children”
“The latest horror is the MSF hospital in Afghanistan by the US’s aerial attack”
“The MSF’s President Joanne Liu has called for a full investigation”
“It has been stated at the Geneva Convention, where the organisation announced that ambulances and military hospitals…”
“…were recognised as neutral and so protected, because they housed the wounded and the sick”
“Despite all the wars this legal situation regarding MSF has not been diluted”
“All know that attacking neutral medical staff and facilities without notifying them in advance are guilty of a war crime”
“It is vital that President Liu’s appeal for an independent investigation by the US’s attack is acted upon and any proven war crimes ensue”
“Our present world crisis is a result of the assault on this world over the last seventy years”
“There has to be an international consensus to bring about judicial process to restore sanity in these global affairs”
“Allowing for this to happen may give the young people of this world hope”
“Especially in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Palestine that the world is not entirely lawless and senseless”
“A strong collective international leadership is required that is bound by due law and process and not by individual country’s interests”
“Just rules on any society worth its weight will be bound by these same rules/laws as the weak”
“It has been said that when Pablo Picasso was living in Nazi occupied Paris, he had his studio searched by the Gestapo”
“Coming across the Guemica the German officer asked the artist, “Did you do this?””
““No,” replied Picasso. “You did!””
16th October 2015 (jandmayers and ladylydialondon twitter)
“Sport is a powerful tool for progress and development”
“In the post-genocide Rwanda, Felicite Rwemalika’s work is an embodiment of this idea”
“Felicite has made opportunities, which have brought increased wealth and skills to women and families”
“All this is done by women playing football”
“Felicite, who ran a beauty salon, came across women who were traumatised by the genocide”
“Women were raped several times, their husbands left them and were killed and sometimes their children were killed”
“They did not have any hope for the future”
“Felicite decided to do something to change these women’s mind-sets. Before the genocide football for women was unthinkable”
“In Rwanda the authorities wanted to support change and so an agreement was made for the city of Kigali to support girls’ football teams”
“The authorities were even willing to pay them a wage which enabled them to stay at school”
“Felicite’s project, AKWOS (the Association of Kigali Women in Sports) is more than just football”
“Rwanda has only 15% of girls attending secondary schools. It has enabled girls to continue with their education”
“Football has given women and girls a safe space to meet and talk and has given them all confidence”
“Women have grouped together to start farming & open up other co-operatives & they are now earning a significant income for the first time”
“Evidence has shown that once women have control over household spending they soon invest in their children and economic growth”
“Far more than men do!”
“Felicite has travelled with a head coach Grace Nyinawumuntu to the town of Gashanda to get more women to start up football teams”
“They also get local primary schools girls to play”
“Football has empowered women in Rwanda”
“It has impacted on the different communities and their benefits have spread across the entire country”
“The AKWOS women now have 1,200 women playing football, with 60 AKWOS teams in the country”
“From that, fifteen players have started co-operatives”
“There have been 200 women who have joined the Rwandan Women’s National Football League since this all began in 2008”
“The city of Kigali supports AS Kigali players coached by an AKWOS graduate to stay in schools furthering their education”
“It is this team sport that has built up the social networks and has successfully built up women’s confidence”
“Rwanda owes all this to the amazing foresight of Felicite Rwemalika, who is an inspiration to so many women”
“It is all about women empowering women in this world, which makes the difference
“It brings them up to what they are worth, which is so much!”
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