Search Result in All

Friends, let this not come as a surprise to you. This is the reality we are living in where it is ‘estimated that one billion people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition. That’s roughly 100 times as many as those who actually die from these causes each year. About 24,000 people die every day from hunger or hunger related causes… Three-fourths of the deaths are children under the age of five.’ --HOW YOU CAN HELP -- Don’t waste natural resources. Be thankful to God for His gifts and blessings. Be mindful of your responsibility toward other human beings. Think about what the Prophet (saws) would do. Have mercy and compassion toward all humankind. Next time you spend money on those unnecessary luxuries of your life, think for a moment about the plight of the poor and oppressed around the world. Be aware of the materialistic forces and the contradictions of the dominant economic systems that are at the roots of global inequality. Don’t become a part of this system. Don’t become a slave of consumerism and endless materialistic competition. Understand that it is not enough to just keep yourself from engaging in consumerism. It's not always easy to protect yourself and your family against the multi-billion dollar industry of marketing. Join forces with other like-minded people. Strengthen your communities that can serve as a buffer against corporations. Engage in collective action. Transform people's consciousness and hyper-consumeristic lifestyles. Among other things, join a local organization that is working against subtle forms of oppression, like hunger, poverty, illiteracy, domestic violence, anorexia and bulimia, perfect body images, and endless materialistic competition. If there isn’t any, start one today! For ideas, you can look into doing online activism. Check out moveon.org’s work. Some online organizations also invite web surfers to click on their sites regularly. They say every click earns them revenue to support their causes. The Hunger Site is an example. Some may also invite you to buy their T-shirts and other souvenirs. I guess, you can buy these items if you think they can help spread the word and encourage people to join a good cause. But, in general, more shopping and more consumption cannot be a solution to human suffering. Selling consumers to products through clicks or ads is exactly what we need to shun. Because that feeds into the same loop of consumerism. My suggestion: Donate directly! And, encourage others to do the same! Lastly, remember the advice Imam Ali gave in his Last Will: “My advice to you is to be conscious of Allah and steadfast in your religion. Do not yearn for the world, and do not be seduced by it. Do not resent anything you have missed in it. Proclaim the truth; work for the next world. Oppose the oppressor and support the oppressed.” Become a friend and supporter of oppressed people and an enemy of oppressors and all forms of oppression."

Iraqi demonstrators have staged massive anti-US rallies in Baghdad to protest the controversial US-proposed security deal. The rallies were held as the security pact nears its final stages. Nearly a million demonstrators from different cities of the war-torn country participated in the rallies. Denouncing the American occupation of Iraq, the crowds shouted anti-US slogans and called for ending the US presence in the oil-rich country. "Get out occupier! We demand an end to the occupation!" shouted protesters. The move comes a day after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki sent the draft of the security deal to the parliament for final approval. Last week Iraqi clerics including the anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for a nationwide demonstration on October 18. On Friday, several Sunni and Shia clerics spoke out against the deal, as opposition, among Iraqis from all walks of life, was growing against it. The clerics argued that the Iraqi public knew little about the terms of the deal which could change the future of the nation. Meanwhile, Sadr Eddin al-Qzbangi, a confidant of Iraq's most revered Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani said Friday that the Ayatollah has “expressed concerns about the secret provisions of the agreement." Al-Sistani has also said any accord must have national consensus. Al-Qzbangi said that although al-Sistani has repeatedly called for clarification of the deal, the details have not been released. Al-Qzbangi urged the Iraqi parliament to study all the terms of the agreement very carefully. The draft accord includes a timeline for US withdrawal by the end of 2011 and gives Baghdad limited authority to try US contractors and soldiers for major crimes committed off-duty and off-base

OCCUPY WALSTREET IS AMERICAN AWAKENING AND Beginning of the End of American Hegemony. http://occupywallst.org/ On October 05, 2011, at 3:00 in the afternoon the residents of Liberty Square will gather to join their union brothers and sisters in solidarity and march. At 4:30 in the afternoon the 99% will march in solidarity with #occupywallstreet from Foley Square to the Financial District, where their pensions have disappeared to, where their health has disappeared to. Together we will protest this great injustice. We stand in solidarity with the honest workers of: •AFL-CIO (AFSCME) •United NY •Strong Economy for All Coalition •Working Families Party •TWU Local 100 •SEIU 1199 •CWA 1109 •RWDSU •Communications Workers of America •CWA Local 1180 •United Auto Workers •United Federation of Teachers •Professional Staff Congress - CUNY •National Nurses United •Writers Guild East And: •VOCAL-NY •Community Voices Heard •Alliance for Quality Education •New York Communities for Change •Coalition for the Homeless •Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (NEDAP) •The Job Party •NYC Coalition for Educational Justice •The Mirabal Sisters Cultural and Community Center •The New Deal for New York Campaign •National People's Action •ALIGN •Human Services Council •Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State •Citizen Action of NY •MoveOn.org •Common Cause NY •New Bottom Line •350.org •Tenants & Neighbors •Democracy for NYC •Resource Generation •Tenants PAC •Teachers Unite