Faith Leaders Sign Declaration to End Slavery

www.globalfreedomnetwork.org/declaration

United Against the Taliban

An article posted anonymously to protect her identity, she speaks personally from Pakistan:

kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/23/united-against-the-taliban/?module=BlogPost-ReadMore&version=Blog%20Main&action=Click&contentCollection=Opinion&pgtype=Blogs&region=Body#more-13066

International Human Rights Day

What an appropriate way to celebrate International Human Rights Day - awarding this year's Nobel Peace Prize to Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi.  More details at:

www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/child-rights-activists-malala-of-pakistan-satyarthi-of-india-receive-nobel-peace-prize-285338411.html?cx_navSource=d-more-news

"Love, Kindness, Respect & Forgiveness"

Tears came to my eyes as I watched the video of 16-year old Rinelle Harper address a special chiefs assembly at The Assembly of First Nations today.  I became emotional because I wondered why it takes young ladies like Rinelle and Malala Yousafzai - broken, bruised and left for dead - to get our attention when it comes to issues that affect girls and women.  Why can't we have voices that are proactive in these causes and prevent them from happening in the first place?  Why do we have to talk about "women's issues" when really these are human rights issues?  I thought back to the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre from this past weekend and wonder how long the battle will wage on.  A friend of mine had a baby girl this weekend and it's my hope that Gabbie grows up in a better world, especially for girls and women.  I hope that when she is Rinelle's age, that we can talk about the way it used to be for girls, not the way it continues to be.

I admire Rinelle for the courage she displayed in using her voice to speak for those who can't speak for themselves, specifically missing and murdered indigenous women.  Her words were profound:  "I ask that everyone here remember a few simple words: love, kindness, respect and forgiveness."

winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/rinelle-harper-calls-for-inquiry-into-missing-murdered-indigenous-women-at-afn-meeting-1.2139029

Confronting a Killer

Another article about the Montreal Massacre, this time from the viewpoint of those who were there and survived:

www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/woman-shot-in-1989-montreal-massacre-remembers-confronting-killer-284850021.html?cx_navSource=d-more-news

Tories Insult Victims of Massacre

As the 25th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre approaches on Saturday, December 6, Shannon Sampert writes for The Winnipeg Free Press:

www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/tories-insult-victims--of-massacre-284715411.html?cx_navSource=d-tiles-2

Voluntourists Needed: Apply Within

Leila De Bruyne writes an interesting article about voluntourists (she explains what that means in the article as well):

kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/02/voluntourists-needed-apply-within