Friday, May 9, 2008

DO YOGA, HELP BURMA!!!

The following is from Stella, a Yoga Instructor Friend of mine, I trust her, but check out Avaaz on your own if you feel like sharing...and, please think about global climate chaos this weekend...it will continue to have more human consequences going forward...
 
(((LA Brights bright-286ers- see you SUNDAY!  REALITY NOW!!!)))
 
Dear Yogis,

AS YOU ALL MAY KNOW, SUNDAYS I TEACH A DONATION CLASS AND THE PROCEEDS GO TO CHARITY.  BELOW IS THE CHARITY THAT I AND HOPEFULLY YOU WILL SUPPORT.  COME AND JOIN THIS CONSCIOUS COMMUNITY AND DO SOMETHING GOOD FOR YOURSELF AND SUPPORT THE MONKS EFFORTS IN BURMA. 

PEACE AND LIGHT, STELLA

In the wake of a massive cyclone, a shocking 100,000 Burmese may be dead.
 More are missing. A million are homeless.  But what's happening in Burma is not just a natural disaster--it's also a catastrophe of bad leadership.

Humanitarian relief is urgently needed, but Burma's government could easily delay, divert or misuse any aid. Yesterday the International Burmese Monks Organization, including many leaders of the democracy protests last fall, launched a new effort to provide relief through Burma's powerful grass roots network of monasteries--the most trusted institutions in the country and currently the only source of housing and support in many devastated communities. Click below to help the Burmese people with a donation and see a video appeal to Avaaz from a leader of the monks:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/burma_cyclone/15.php

Giving to the monks is a smart, fast way to get aid directly to Burma's people. Governments and international aid organizations are important, but face challenges--they may not be allowed into Burma, or they may be forced to provide aid according to the junta's rules. And most will have to spend large amounts of money just setting up operations in the country. The monks are already on the front lines of the aid effort--housing, feeding, and supporting the victims of the cyclone since the day it struck. The International Burmese Monks Organization will send money directly to each monastery through their own networks, bypassing regime controls.

Last year, more than 800,000 of us around the world stood with the Burmese people as they rose up against the military dictatorship. The government lost no time then in dispatching its armies to ruthlessly crush the non-violent democracy movement--but now, as tens of thousands die, the junta's response is slow and threatens to divert precious aid into the corrupt regime's pockets.

The monks are unlikely to receive aid from governments or large humanitarian organizations, but they have a stronger presence and trust among the Burmese people than both. If we all chip in a little bit, we can help them to make a big difference. Click here to donate:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/burma_cyclone/15.php

With hope,

Ricken, Ben, Graziela, Paul, Iain, Veronique, Pascal, Galit and the whole Avaaz team

PS: Here are some links to more information:

For more information about Avaaz's work to support the Burmese people, click here:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/burma_report_back 

For more information about the cyclone, the humanitarian crisis, and the political dimension, see these articles:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/PoliticsNation/IMD_issued_specific_and_precise_advisories_to_Myanmar_IMD/articleshow/3016493.cms
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/08/myanmar/?iref=mpstoryview
http://www.irrawaddy.org/opinion_story.php?art_id=11836
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/world/asia/07aid.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7385205.stm

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To contact Avaaz, please do not reply to this email. Instead, write to info@avaaz.org. You can also send postal mail to our New York office:260 Fifth Avenue, 9th floor, New York, NY 10001 U.S.A.

If you have technical problems, please go to http://www.avaaz.org.

Parking in West Hollywood

I parked in the red.
I walked across the street, went up to my apartment, delivered my mother her medication, walked back to my car to find the officer beginning to write his citation.
 
Across the street, parked in the red, was a commercial truck (plumbing).
 
When I asked, the officer said, "They told me they were leaving soon.  If you had had your hazard lights on, I would have thought you were in these apartments and returning soon."
 
I may park for 90 seconds in the red, but I don't put my hazard lights on when it isn't a hazard.
 
Please forgive this ticket, it is obvious that the parking laws are not consistently applied.