Sunday, July 28, 2013

'Blackfish': The Documentary That Exposes SeaWorld

'Blackfish': The Documentary That Exposes SeaWorld

Gabriela Cowperthwaite's critically acclaimed documentary Blackfish centers on a captive orca named Tilikum. He was torn away from his family and ocean home when he was 2 years old, and out of frustration caused by nearly 20 years of intense confinement, isolation, and lack of emotional and intellectual stimulation, he has killed three humans. Hear what she has to say about her journey, her hope for captive orcas, and how you can help animals in the exclusive video interview below:
In her documentary, Cowperthwaite pieces together Tilikum's story with shocking film footage, expert testimonies, and heartbreaking interviews with the people who know Tilikum better than anyone: his former trainers. Watch the trailer now:

Astonishing Animals

In the wild, orcas swim upward of 100 miles per day. But at SeaWorld and other marine parks around the world, orcas are forced to swim in tiny circles to amuse tourists and spend the majority of their lives virtually motionless in concrete tanks that are the human equivalent of a bathtub. Their important matriarchal bonds are broken when babies are taken from their mothers and sold or transferred to other parks, and captive orcas live only a fraction of their average life span.

See the Movie That Is SeaWorld's Worst Nightmare

Magnolia Pictures and CNN Films will be opening Blackfish in select cities starting July 19. Please go to a showing in a city near you—preferably on opening weekend. Then, go back again and take everyone you know! For a complete list of cities and release dates, please visit the Blackfish movie website.

Pledge to Help Tilikum and Other Captive Orcas

The easiest and most effective way that you can help orcas such as Tilikum is to refuse to visit marine parks. Sign the pledge below and promise never to go to SeaWorld!

Thank You for Your Pledge!

Please help us spread the word about how orcas such as Tilikum suffer at SeaWorld by sharing this information with your friends and family on Facebook and Twitter.

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The Syrian Crisis Is Rapidly Becoming The World’s Crisis

The Syrian Crisis Is Rapidly Becoming The World’s Crisis

The Syrian Crisis Is Rapidly Becoming The World’s Crisis
Syria is a country in crisis, and that crisis is rapidly becoming the world’s problem.
The civil war in Syria began over three years ago, in March 2011, with popular demonstrations that quickly grew nationwide. The demonstrations were part of the wider Middle Eastern protest movement known as the Arab Spring, and protesters demanded the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad, whose family has held the presidency in Syria since 1971.
What Has Happened Since March 2011?
*  More than 100,000 people have been killed, according to United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. That number is 7,000 higher than the number issued by the UN last month.
*  Almost 2 million refugees have fled from Syria in the past two years. This situation is starting to resemble what happened in 1948 and 1967, when Palestinians were forced out of their homeland permanently. According to UN and other humanitarian officials, this has serious implications for countries nearby such as Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, where most of the refugees have found shelter.
*  One in six people in Lebanon are now Syrian refugees, while in Jordan the biggest camp has become the country’s fourth-largest city. This huge number means that these countries are becoming overwhelmed, and Western countries may be asked to accept tens of thousands of Syrian refugees, according to the UN’s refugee chief.
* At least 4 million Syrians have been displaced within the country, in addition to the 2 million who have fled Syria, meaning that a quarter of the population of Syria have now been driven from their homes.
The Syrian Crisis Is Rapidly Becoming The World’s Crisis
From The Guardian:
“We are facing in the Middle East something that is more than a humanitarian crisis, more than a regional crisis, it is becoming a real threat to global peace and security,” [UN High Commissioner For Refugees António] Guterres said.
Guterres compared the Syrian refugee issue to that of Iraqis during the last decade, when more than 100,000 were resettled away from the region. “If things go on for a prolonged period of time then resettlement will become a central part of our strategy,” he said. “We would like when the time comes … to be able to launch a resettlement programme as massive as the one for Iraqis.”
Moving Forward?
Speaking in New York at the United Nations headquarters on July 25, both UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon and U.S. Secretary John Kerry stressed the urgency of finding a political solution to the conflict.
This was Kerry’s first visit to the UN as the top diplomat for the U.S., and he seized the opportunity to call for Syria’s opposition coalition and President Bashar al-Assad’s government to commit to negotiations on a peaceful settlement to the country’s civil war, saying there “is no military solution.”
“There is only a political solution, and that will require leadership in order to bring people to the table,” Kerry told reporters.
However, the Syrian opposition, which remains deeply divided, has so far refused to participate in peace talks without an assurance that they would result in Assad’s exit from power.
But while these negotiations appear to be at a stalemate, is anyone noticing that this is the world’s most serious refugee crisis in a generation?
And as more and more Syrians flee their homeland, the effect on neighboring countries is inevitable. However welcoming they seek to be, the overwhelming influx of people into Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey has put pressure on local services such as schools, hospitals and job markets, and has created tension and hostility.
As a result, these countries are understandably starting to regulate and limit the number of refugees they can accept.
But no one knows when it will end. Have we learned nothing from the past?

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/almost-2-million-refugees-have-fled-syria-this-is-a-world-crisis.html#ixzz2aNNH01VD
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Avenged Sevenfold Announce Tour Dates and Venues with Ghost B.C. and Deftones

Avenged Sevenfold Announce Tour Dates and Venues with Ghost B.C. and Deftones

| Jul 25, 2013 | 1 Comment and 0 Reactions | Tags: , , ,

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Avenged Sevenfold have announced dates and venues for their upcoming tour with Ghost B.C. and Deftones. The dates are below.
Avenged Sevenfold will be releasing their new album, Hail to the King, on August 27. The band appears on the cover of the next issue of Revolver, on newsstands on July 30 and available now from the Revolver online store.


10/3 Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena
10/5 Indianapolis, IN @ Klipsch Music Center
10/6 Cincinnati, OH @ US Bank Arena
10/8 Baltimore, MD @ 1st Mariner Arena
10/9 Boston, MA @ TD Garden
10/12 Bloomington, IL @ US Cellular Coliseum
10/13 Detroit, MI @ Joe Louis Arena
10/15 Atlanta, GA @ Phillips Arena
10/16 Orlando, FL @ Amway Center
10/18 Houston, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
10/19 Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
10/20 San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center
10/22 Omaha, NE @ CenturyLink Center
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Killswitch Engage Premiere New Lyric Video, “Always” Revolver Magazine | Jul 26, 2013 | 2 Comments and 0 Reactions | Tags: Killswitch Engage

Killswitch Engage Premiere New Lyric Video, “Always”

| Jul 26, 2013 | 2 Comments and 0 Reactions | Tags:

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Killswitch Engage have released the official lyric video for the song “Always” from the metalcore stalwarts’ latest album, Disarm The Descent, which is in stores now. Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments.
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Parents Upset Over "My Little Pony" Makeover

Parents Upset Over "My Little Pony" Makeover


It isn't the first time that a girl's toy has received a "makeover" to look sexier. But parents are up in arms over My Little Pony's disturbing changes, the Huffington Post reports. The new "Equestria Girls" are designed to expand the My Little Pony franchise and depict the characters as "glamorous" teenage girls in high school, toy maker Hasbro says. Yet parents say the toys look less like ponies and more like sexified teenage goth girls.
To view My Little Pony's evolution, read the whole story on the Huffington Post.
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Friday, July 26, 2013

Public Stands Against Bobcat Trapping Near Joshua Tree by Alicia Graef July 25, 2013 11:30 am

Public Stands Against Bobcat Trapping Near Joshua Tree

Public Stands Against Bobcat Trapping Near Joshua Tree
Last winter the discovery that bobcats were being targeted by trappers around Joshua Tree National Park ignited a call to ban the practice in the state. Residents who live next to the park are banning together and pushing to protect these cats from the fur trade.
Unfortunately, trapping bobcats in California is perfectly legal from November through January, and while the bobcat population isn’t in danger (yet), the disappearances of some of them from the landscape have saddened and angered those living in the area. However, they have also brought them together in a fight for the passage of a bill that would protect bobcats from trappers.
“It literally became the world against Joshua Tree,” Tom O’Key, who found the first trap on his land earlier this year, told the Riverside Press-Enterprise. “I would say it has been one of the most significant things to come to the community at large, and one of the biggest binders of people of opposite interests.”
In February, park biologist Michael Vamstad told the LA Times that, “Residents have every right to be upset. The fact that there is no limit on bobcats that can be legally taken during hunting season doesn’t jibe along the edges of a national park. It’s a relic regulation.”
The Bobcat Protection Act, AB 1213, would require trappers to stop trapping around Joshua Tree immediately, create a buffer zone around the park and ban traps on private land without the owner’s permission.
While residents are hoping to save their four-legged neighbors, hunters are fighting for their right to continue to kill them and sell their pelts at fur auctions for top markets in China, Russia and Korea, among other places, which can bring in anywhere from $200 to $1,700. State officials believe the number of bobcats killed has risen from around 600 four years ago to nearly 1,500 last year. The rising value of pelts has bobcat advocates concerned that even more will be killed.
Trapping and killing bobcats for their fur isn’t just inhumane, removing a top predator also has the potential to cause a negative impact on the ecosystem. Taking one who is loved by the public could also have a negative effect on ecotourism. An estimated 1.4 million people visit Joshua Tree every year to enjoy the landscape and catch a glimpse of the wild animals who call it home, while only a small handful of individuals have trapping licenses.
Fortunately, the bill is making progress. It passed the Assembly and now goes on to the Senate appropriations committee, which is scheduled to hear it on August 12.
TAKE ACTION!
Please sign and share the petition urging California’s Senate protect Joshua Tree’s resident bobcats by passing AB 1213.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/public-stands-against-bobcat-trapping-near-joshua-tree.html#ixzz2a9T8u5Bh
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What Not to Say When You're Disappointed With Your Child June 7, 2013 by Sharon Silver 32 0

What Not to Say When You're Disappointed With Your Child

What Not to Say When You're Disappointed With Your Child
"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." When I was little that rhyme was the big, bad, powerful statement we used to ward off the vicious attacks of other kids.
That rhyme gave us power but didn't protect us from the sting of the words. It didn't stop the ugly words from sinking in and taking root. It didn't stop those words from becoming the way we saw ourselves or from imagining it was the way others saw us, too.
What got me thinking about this was a parent-child interaction I witnessed this week in the grocery store, and this Circle of Moms conversation about basic needs for healthy relationships, in which a member named Nancy R. shared the thought that "The emotional hurt may be hidden from others, but it plays on your mind, heart, and soul."
If you remember the sting of mean words spoken to you as a child, why would you ever label your kids in ways that could be hurtful to them? I'm not talking about labels like "autistic" or "sensory seeking"; I'm talking about calling your child "sloppy," "liar," "stupid," "awful," etc.
Do parents who do this believe that labeling their child will change something about them or help correct a behavior? Can that ever work?
Here's the real-life incident that caused me to wonder about this question.
 An "Awful" Boy
I was in line at the grocery store when I heard a mom very calmly and very firmly whisper to her son, "Are you an awful boy?" The little one tried to pull his body away from his mom, as if to escape the sting of his beloved mother's words, but couldn't. He very sadly dropped his head and said, "Yes."
This little one's face told the whole story. It was obvious this was not the first time Mom had said those words to him. You could literally see the effects of his mom's words being accepted by his emotional self. You could see the words becoming part of how he will define himself, now, and in the future — I am an awful person.
We've all read that parents need to separate the behavior from the child, that parents should tell a child that his behavior is awful, not that he is awful. I don't agree. I don't believe that children can distinguish between the two, not really.
Think of it this way. A group of little girls are playing. Trish looks at Suzie and says, "Suzie, your hair looks funny!" The other girls laugh. Does Suzie understand that she's just having a bad hair day, or does she translate that comment into "I'm ugly"?
I suppose she could have if her parents had coached her on how to respond, maybe by giving her a one-liner comeback like, "You think my hair is funny today, you should have seen it yesterday!" from Sally Ogden's book, Words Will Never Hurt Me: Helping Kids Handle Teasing, Bulling and Putdowns. But most kids can't deflect labels so skillfully. Labels become deeply rooted in how they see themselves and affect all future decisions about what they are and are not capable of.
Most of us remember the sting and impact of a peer's mean label. Imagine how much bigger the sting is when a parent labels?
When the one person a child sees as always being right, her beloved parent, labels her, she just accepts it and defines herself by it. The wound is so deep that it requires a great deal of reprogramming, if you will, to change it.
Why do we need to use harsh words at all? There are far better words to use — words that can actually motivate a child to change.
 3 Questions That Improve Behavior
When your child behaves badly, try asking her if what she did was kind. Was it safe? Was it respectful? These three questions begin the process of change and teaching — without categorizing or labeling.
As an educator, a mom, a former child, and now an empowered adult, I implore you: stop labeling your child, even if the label accurately describes what he's done. Using words that motivate change will get you and your child where you want to go, faster.
Sharon Silver is the author of Stop Reacting and Start Responding and the Skills e-class. Visit proactiveparenting.net to download two free chapters from her book and learn about other Proactive Parenting programs.
Source: mynameisharsha via Flickr/Creative Commons
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