The Gap
29 10 07 15:43 by tamrI usually avoid The Gap. For very obvious, "it's a cliche, conventional store for people who look exactly the same," reasons. And the rumors of sweatshop labor didn't help. But a few months ago I actually was drug in there by someone, and found a few nice shirts. Still not a Gap fan, per se, but not as horrified by the store as I used to be (though Ben nearly dropped his coffee when he saw me with a Gap shopping bag).
So I was reading this article about an Indian (like, from India) sweatshop place that worked for The Gap recently, and I am very pleased with the response:
"Clothing retailer Gap Inc. has fired an Indian company accused of using child labor to make clothes, the company's president said.
"It's deeply, deeply disturbing to all of us," Gap President Marka Hansen said Sunday after watching a video of children at work in a New Delhi, India, sweatshop.
"I feel violated and I feel very upset and angry with our vendor and the subcontractor who made this very, very, very unwise decision," Hansen said.
Hansen blamed the alleged abuse on an unauthorized subcontractor for one of its Indian vendors and said the subcontractor's relationship with the Gap had been "terminated."
She said the garments allegedly produced by the children represented a small portion of a single order placed with the vendor and that the clothes would not be sold in stores."
So, these things still happen around the world, and I am happy to see the business not see it as acceptable labor. But I think it's important for people, especially in Western living, to know what is happening around the globe. America is still reeling from treating Africans/African-Americans like this; yet, the same torments are happening to children in India right now:
"We strictly prohibit the use of child labor," Hansen said in a statement. "Gap has a history of addressing challenges like this head-on, and our approach to this situation will be no exception.
"In 2006, Gap Inc. ceased business with 23 factories due to code
violations. We have 90 people located around the world whose job is to
ensure compliance with our Code of Vendor Conduct."
The Observer spoke to children as young as 10 who said they were working 16 hours a day for no pay. The paper described the workplace as a "derelict industrial unit" where the hallways were flowing with excrement from a flooded toilet.
One 10-year-old boy told the paper he was sold to the company by his parents.
"'I was bought from my parents' village in [the northern state of] Bihar and taken to New Delhi by train," The Observer quoted the boy as saying. "The men came looking for us in July. They had loudspeakers in the back of a car and told my parents that, if they sent me to work in the city, they won't have to work in the farms. My father was paid a fee for me, and I was brought down with 40 other children."
Another boy, 12, said he worked from dawn until 1 a.m. and was so tired he felt sick, according to the paper. But if any of the children cried, he told The Observer, they would be hit with a rubber pipe or punished with an oily cloth stuffed in their mouths.
The children were producing hand-stitched blouses for the Christmas market in the United States and Europe at Gap Kids stores, according to the newspaper. The blouses were to carry a price of about $40, The Observer reported."
So what do you do? It's hard to say, since most of us can't just pick up and transport our lives to India; at least not without a plan and a bucket of money. But if you do want to do something for kids around the globe, try Operation Christmas Child:
Thousands of children are blessed every year through this, and it is very easy for you to contribute. I would encourage everyone to participate, because it falls under "something I can do," which so many of us are searching for. Especially after you have kids, and you see pictures of children who have never had one doll, one truck to play with; their mother died of AIDS and they're orphaned and living in mud. It kills me to think about all those children left alone in the world with no one to hold them when they're afraid. There are many agencies working to help them by building homes and orphanages.
Pastor Jackson Senyonga is one who is doing SO MUCH. I am constantly in awe of what he does for mankind.
Anyway, I could go on and on. There are troubling times out there: but there is hope, which is wonderful.
Night Terrors
27 10 07 15:42 by tamrSo, I just found out/realized the other day that I'm prone to night terrors; and looking back, I've been getting them since who knows when. As long as I can remember. I just had another last night, and I woke up with a headache (yay, excederin with your coffee). I don't know if the two are related, but it feels like it.
Night terrors SUCK. I can't put it any nicer than that. And they're frustrating, because it's not like I can talk myself out of it or walk it off or anything....because I'm sleeping. They're just awful. And most of what I read about them eagerly suggest that it's a childhood thing and you grow out of it. But I still sleepwalk, and I have never grown out of that. Nova sleepwalks in the same way I do, so thank God Ben is here to watch over us (we tend to go to the kitchen and just stand there, and he tells us to go back to bed and we do...after we try to tell him something really important/incoherent).
So, just like everything else that I'm discovering for myself, I imagine there are people who have had this a few times and just didn't know what it was, or brushed it off. I've, apparently, been brushing it off for 28 or so years. Not Queen of Denial...but definitely the Baroness of Substitutionary Explanations.
This is the best definition I've found. Very simple, exactly what it is:
(http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000809.htm)
Definition
Night terrors are a sleep disorder in which a person quickly awakens from sleep in a terrified state.
And that's about it folks. I thought people wake up screaming, which some do; but I wake up terrified and silent. Usually I'll wake up on the other side of the house, because I'm in the middle of a perimeter check to make sure everyone/thing is okay. Sometimes, and this is the one that freaks Ben out the most, I'll just sit up suddenly with this look of absolute horror on my face, and I can't move (mainly because I'm still kind of asleep). It takes a little while to calm down, because my heart rate is just out of control. I had one last night, and I tried going to the bathroom and walking outside, but it still just took some time for my body to calm down. Ben put on Johnny Cash reading Romans. He has an amazingly soothing voice, and I fell asleep. So does Ben, really. I fall asleep all the time when he reads...which sounds bad, in itself. But I have always had trouble sleeping, and we use that as a method to get me to sleep now. I guess putting on a CD saves him the trouble from now on :)
But anyway...
Causes Return to top
The normal sleep cycle involves distinct stages, from light drowsiness to deep sleep. During rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the eyes move quickly and vivid dreaming is most common. Each night there are several cycles of non-REM and REM sleep.
Night terrors (sleep terrors) occur during stage 3 and stage 4 sleep (deep sleep). The cause is unknown but night terrors are often triggered by fever, lack of sleep, or periods of emotional tension, stress, or conflict.
Night terrors are like nightmares, except that nightmares usually occur during REM sleep and include unpleasant or frightening dreams. Nightmares are most common in the early morning.
Night terrors usually happen in the first half of the night. The child often screams, and will usually not remember the details of the scare. You may be unable to talk to a child who is having a night terror. In contrast, nightmares are normal on occasion, especially after someone watches frightening movies/TV shows or has an emotional experience. A person may remember the details of a dream upon awakening, and will not be disoriented after the episode.
Night terrors are most common in preadolescent boys, although they also can occur in girls and in adults. They are fairly common in children 3 - 5 years old, and much less common after that. Night terrors may run in families. They can occur in adults, especially with emotional tension and/or the use of alcohol.
The frustrating part about this is that I can already rule alcohol out, which means I have severe emotional tension. Which is a pain in the neck. It means I'm going to have to start addressing crap from my life that I am very happy not thinking about, or even acknowledging. With panic attacks and depression, I can say, "it could be just a chemical imbalance! It's probably hereditary! It's something I can control!" With night terrors, I don't have that luxury. Which is pissing me off. Frankly. I know some/most women just love talking about their childhood, or their emotions and exploring themselves. I would rather not. Ever. If I never did in my entire life, I'd be happier for it (repress much?). I just got involved with a prayer team at my church, and we split up in small groups on Wednesday evenings for Bible study, and the lady I'm paired up with must be in Heaven; because I think I need to address some things (not all), and she is helping me to find some roots for some stuff. I left the other night and said to Ben, "she must be the happiest prayer warrior on earth right now, finding someone who represses as much as I do."
So who knows where this is leading. I was about to get health care, which was going to be wonderful for obvious reasons; but I was really looking forward to thinking about the possibility of seeing a psychologist for some of this junk. But that isn't happening now. So, I'll just figure this out on my own for the time being. Woo.
Heartbreak
25 10 07 14:52 by tamrSometimes in life you find something (or someone). And when you look at it, you see the future. Sure, there may be some kinks here and there, but you look at the whole and think, "now there is something I would love to be a part of. Something brilliant, something grand. The world will change from this..." And you find paths to walk along...communities, events, evangelism, summits, informal get togethers...
And you laugh at the men on other paths. You think, "those fools. They don't understand what I'm behind. This fortress of ingenuity will bear any fierce wind!"
And suddenly, that fierce wind does come...it came from the west, which you were not expecting. In the past it came from other places, but this time it took you when you weren't even aware of it. And it blew everything over...because no one could have seen where the supports were not laid was where the wind was directed. Wind can be a mighty, and mysterious, thing.
So you ask yourself, "why did I not see this coming? How could I have been so blind from the start? There were forces I thought I was prepared for...and now..." Now everything is gone. Casting blame can only mend so many walls, but it will never build them.
Instead, you stand yourself up. You brush off the festering dirt the wind knocked onto you. You start building again. But this time...this time, you can prepare yourself for the brunt of the wind. And this time, you will not be knocked down. The wind may howl, it may scream in your face; but the fresh anchors will prevail this time.
Sometimes heartbreak can be catastrophic. It can make you hide and quake in a corner. But for the warrior of heart, it will only reinforce your desire to conquer again; but this time, your strategies are not blighted by love. They are diamond-perfect strategies of the soul. And sometimes it is time to pick up the sword and regain yourself, before you were crushed, and stand in the face of wind with a steady mind; because now you know where it is going, and you will not be blown over again.
This is the time.
Migraine
19 10 07 21:42 by tamrMigraines are so horrible. I'm in too much agony to accomplish anything today.
Homeschooling FTW
18 10 07 15:52 by tamrOkay, just had to pass on this person's interpretation of the NEA article. My big laugh of the day!!!
>
> It reads "The National Education Association believes that home
> schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the
> student with a comprehensive education experience.
Read: Parents are idiots incapable of researching curriculums and
making an intelligent choice on their own.
Also Read: The "comprehensive education experience", including
bullying, robotism, and the spewing of ideologies that WE decide FOR
them, destroying all individuality and independent thought.
When home
> schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state curricular
> requirements, including the taking and passing of assessments to
> ensure adequate academic progress. Home schooling should be limited
> to the children of the immediate family, with all expenses being
> borne by the parents/guardians.
Read: Only the wealthy should be permitted to have an excellent
education at home, and if your cousins' parents or best friend's parents
have to work and can't do it for their children, tough luck. You can't
help out. Besides, all others who are not related to you are not
qualified, by blood, to teach. You have GOT to be kidding.
Instruction should be by persons who
> are licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency,
> and a curriculum approved by the state department of education
> should be used.
Read: Only college graduates with a specific kind of degree are
"qualified" to teach. All others are morons, unworthy even of teaching
the alphabet. And if your curriculum choice includes ideologies we
disagree with or disapprove of, tough. It's my way or the high way!
> The Association also believes that home-schooled students should not
> participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools.
Read: Who cares that the tax dollars that student would have used for
their education in our school STILL go to our school. We don't wanna
pay for your kid if we can't have control of your kid. Besides, we are
offended by your not choosing us as your child's educator, so rather
than improve our performance so you will want us to educate your child,
we want to FORCE you to "buy at our store" instead. NO competition
creates job security and better self esteem for us!
> The Association further believes that local public school systems
> should have the authority to determine grade placement and/or
> credits earned toward graduation for students entering or re-
> entering the public school setting from a home school setting."
Read: The kids we are already educating, that don't cut the mustard
according to our testing, still get to move on in grade level, but we
are going to TRY to PUNISH your kid by taking away a year of their life
if they try to re-enter our system, thereby threatening you and your
child in an extortive kind of way, offering the "protection" of our
public brick and mortar school- come on! Not, simply NOT born
yesterday.
> Statistics have shown that homeschooled students do exceptionally
> well. They excel (and win) spelling bees, score high on tests like
> the SAT, and go on to be accepted into many colleges. One Source:
> http://www.chec. org/Legislative/ News/Homeschooli ngStatistics/ Index.ht
> ml
Read: Most national winners of spelling bees and geography bees, etc.,
are homeschooled students. Duh!
>
> Homeschoolers also find benefits in co-op classes contrary to the
> NEA belief that students should only be instructed by their
> immediate families.
Read: Whether or not you are related by blood has absolutely no bearing
on how qualified you are to teach a child. Duh! Apples and oranges.
>
> Take a moment to tell the NEA that homeschooling is a real option
> that does produce wonderfully rounded and educated members of
> society.
Read: Homeschooled kids founded our nation! Duh!
>
> http://www.thepetit ionsite.com/ 1/homeschoolers- against-nea-
> philosophy?page= 51
>
Kinda dumb, isn't it? And they sound so convincing, as if they have the
best interests of the children at heart (threat notwithstanding! ).
There is always someone or something else behind their curtain of
"concern"- wonder if they'll ever reveal who the REAL wizard is instead
of just blowing smoke and fire all over the place. Sheesh!
How Could This Happen
12 10 07 17:59 by tamrI'll just post the article. It's sickening that this could happen, and no one noticed...how could you not notice?! And this is just down the road from us. It's just unreal.Link
" HAYWARD — Thursday morning's commute on southbound Interstate 880 was snarled for several hours after a man was struck and killed on the freeway near A Street.
Officials are still investigating the accident, which was first reported at 5:55 a.m. Thursday, and were trying to piece together information from motorists who may have witnessed the victim being hit.
"We're trying to have people call in after they get off work tonight," said Officer Mike Davis, spokesman for the Hayward office of the California Highway Patrol. "If someone doesn't come home tonight," then investigators will know more about the man.
Officials said the body of a 53-year-old man, believedto be either homeless or a transient because of his clothing, was found on the shoulder of
I-880. The CHP believes he was hit by multiple vehicles on the freeway.
Officials still haven't determined how the man, whose identity has not yet been released, got on the freeway. The incident most likely will be investigated as a homicide, said Alameda County Sheriff's Sgt. J.D. Nelson, but authorities have not yet determined the official cause of death.
According to a CHP dispatcher, the victim's body originally
was thought to be an animal carcass because it had been severed into
pieces and spread out along the freeway. After it was determined the
remains were human, the Alameda County Coroner's Office was called out
to the scene to further investigate, and the CHP closed all southbound
lanes.
The body was found in the roadway just south of West A Street, the CHP reported. Clothing was spotted about 100 yards away.
Investigators treated the area as a crime scene and still had
no description Thursday afternoon of any vehicles that struck the
person. The ensuing traffic gridlock backed up motorists on both
sides of the freeway, from the Oakland city limits on southbound 880 to
Decoto Road in Union City on northbound 880, the CHP reported. Southbound motorists were forced to exit the freeway at the A
street offramp and re-enter the freeway farther south at the A Street
onramp. Truck traffic was temporarily rerouted to Interstate 580. All lanes were reopened at about 10:20 a.m.
The CHP asks anyone who might have information about the accident to call 510-489-1500."
How Could This Happen
17:59 by tamrI'll just post the article. It's sickening that this could happen, and no one noticed...how could you not notice?! And this is just down the road from us. It's just unreal.Link
" HAYWARD — Thursday morning's commute on southbound Interstate 880 was snarled for several hours after a man was struck and killed on the freeway near A Street.
Officials are still investigating the accident, which was first reported at 5:55 a.m. Thursday, and were trying to piece together information from motorists who may have witnessed the victim being hit.
"We're trying to have people call in after they get off work tonight," said Officer Mike Davis, spokesman for the Hayward office of the California Highway Patrol. "If someone doesn't come home tonight," then investigators will know more about the man.
Officials said the body of a 53-year-old man, believedto be either homeless or a transient because of his clothing, was found on the shoulder of
I-880. The CHP believes he was hit by multiple vehicles on the freeway.
Officials still haven't determined how the man, whose identity has not yet been released, got on the freeway. The incident most likely will be investigated as a homicide, said Alameda County Sheriff's Sgt. J.D. Nelson, but authorities have not yet determined the official cause of death.
According to a CHP dispatcher, the victim's body originally
was thought to be an animal carcass because it had been severed into
pieces and spread out along the freeway. After it was determined the
remains were human, the Alameda County Coroner's Office was called out
to the scene to further investigate, and the CHP closed all southbound
lanes.
The body was found in the roadway just south of West A Street, the CHP reported. Clothing was spotted about 100 yards away.
Investigators treated the area as a crime scene and still had
no description Thursday afternoon of any vehicles that struck the
person. The ensuing traffic gridlock backed up motorists on both
sides of the freeway, from the Oakland city limits on southbound 880 to
Decoto Road in Union City on northbound 880, the CHP reported. Southbound motorists were forced to exit the freeway at the A
street offramp and re-enter the freeway farther south at the A Street
onramp. Truck traffic was temporarily rerouted to Interstate 580. All lanes were reopened at about 10:20 a.m.
The CHP asks anyone who might have information about the accident to call 510-489-1500."
How Could This Happen
17:59 by tamrI'll just post the article. It's sickening that this could happen, and no one noticed...how could you not notice?! And this is just down the road from us. It's just unreal.Link
" HAYWARD — Thursday morning's commute on southbound Interstate 880 was snarled for several hours after a man was struck and killed on the freeway near A Street.
Officials are still investigating the accident, which was first reported at 5:55 a.m. Thursday, and were trying to piece together information from motorists who may have witnessed the victim being hit.
"We're trying to have people call in after they get off work tonight," said Officer Mike Davis, spokesman for the Hayward office of the California Highway Patrol. "If someone doesn't come home tonight," then investigators will know more about the man.
Officials said the body of a 53-year-old man, believedto be either homeless or a transient because of his clothing, was found on the shoulder of
I-880. The CHP believes he was hit by multiple vehicles on the freeway.
Officials still haven't determined how the man, whose identity has not yet been released, got on the freeway. The incident most likely will be investigated as a homicide, said Alameda County Sheriff's Sgt. J.D. Nelson, but authorities have not yet determined the official cause of death.
According to a CHP dispatcher, the victim's body originally
was thought to be an animal carcass because it had been severed into
pieces and spread out along the freeway. After it was determined the
remains were human, the Alameda County Coroner's Office was called out
to the scene to further investigate, and the CHP closed all southbound
lanes.
The body was found in the roadway just south of West A Street, the CHP reported. Clothing was spotted about 100 yards away.
Investigators treated the area as a crime scene and still had
no description Thursday afternoon of any vehicles that struck the
person. The ensuing traffic gridlock backed up motorists on both
sides of the freeway, from the Oakland city limits on southbound 880 to
Decoto Road in Union City on northbound 880, the CHP reported. Southbound motorists were forced to exit the freeway at the A
street offramp and re-enter the freeway farther south at the A Street
onramp. Truck traffic was temporarily rerouted to Interstate 580. All lanes were reopened at about 10:20 a.m.
The CHP asks anyone who might have information about the accident to call 510-489-1500."
How Could This Happen
17:59 by tamrI'll just post the article. It's sickening that this could happen, and no one noticed...how could you not notice?! And this is just down the road from us. It's just unreal.Link
" HAYWARD — Thursday morning's commute on southbound Interstate 880 was snarled for several hours after a man was struck and killed on the freeway near A Street.
Officials are still investigating the accident, which was first reported at 5:55 a.m. Thursday, and were trying to piece together information from motorists who may have witnessed the victim being hit.
"We're trying to have people call in after they get off work tonight," said Officer Mike Davis, spokesman for the Hayward office of the California Highway Patrol. "If someone doesn't come home tonight," then investigators will know more about the man.
Officials said the body of a 53-year-old man, believedto be either homeless or a transient because of his clothing, was found on the shoulder of
I-880. The CHP believes he was hit by multiple vehicles on the freeway.
Officials still haven't determined how the man, whose identity has not yet been released, got on the freeway. The incident most likely will be investigated as a homicide, said Alameda County Sheriff's Sgt. J.D. Nelson, but authorities have not yet determined the official cause of death.
According to a CHP dispatcher, the victim's body originally
was thought to be an animal carcass because it had been severed into
pieces and spread out along the freeway. After it was determined the
remains were human, the Alameda County Coroner's Office was called out
to the scene to further investigate, and the CHP closed all southbound
lanes.
The body was found in the roadway just south of West A Street, the CHP reported. Clothing was spotted about 100 yards away.
Investigators treated the area as a crime scene and still had
no description Thursday afternoon of any vehicles that struck the
person. The ensuing traffic gridlock backed up motorists on both
sides of the freeway, from the Oakland city limits on southbound 880 to
Decoto Road in Union City on northbound 880, the CHP reported. Southbound motorists were forced to exit the freeway at the A
street offramp and re-enter the freeway farther south at the A Street
onramp. Truck traffic was temporarily rerouted to Interstate 580. All lanes were reopened at about 10:20 a.m.
The CHP asks anyone who might have information about the accident to call 510-489-1500."