Human beings are the 2nd most lucrative commodity after drugs...

I unfortunately missed the Larry King Live special on Modern day slavery, but I did find this clip. As soon as I find a way to share the whole episode, I'll post it. This should serve as a wake-up call that gender inequality lives and thrives in most societies today, but are perceived differently. Most human trafficking victims are women because they are usually more venerable than boys the same age (strength, gullibility, lack of confidence, etc.). The trafficking of boys is also an issue, but I'm going to concentrate on the girls for now. Please watch this clip and tell me how it affects you.

I leave in two weeks for Pattaya, Thailand. The city itself is an attack to the senses. Ever where you look you can see sexual positions to be ordered, girls to be bought, and the robbery of innocence. It's such a sharp juxtaposition against the beautiful nature that exists in Pattaya (an otherwise beautiful place to be). As I prepare for my trip, I want to arm my readers with the reasons why I am fighting this fight. This is just the beginning...

Oh and here is a wonderful protest a friend brought to my attention: Israeli models protest women being sold as commodities.

Help me fundraise for Thailand!

When your eyes aren't set on God, they are always set on something lesser

I would like to SINCERELY like to ask the members of the Westboro Baptist church if they REALLY think that their hurtful protests are lifting up the name of Jesus and going after the heart of God. No matter how you look at this, these people are most certainly not making God smile. I know my God and He is loving and gentle. This resembles more of the "Enemy" than God because it's full of malice, hatred, and completely devoid of love.

My heart just weeps for the families of all the fallen soldiers who have to endure this horror. As if it's not terrible enough that they have lost a love one who fought for the very right to speak freely, they are being tormented by fanatical "Christians". What an ignorant standpoint to blame our troops for the ills of the world! These sins lye deeper than one fraction of the population. The biggest sin committed by dishonoring another human's life and continuing a cycle of hatred, intolerance, and pain. These members of Westboro are no better than the pimp who kidnaps a young girl, rapes and beats her until she is willing to sell herself for sex on the streets. Both groups of people are dishonoring what is most sacred: Another's life.

Our soldiers fight for our country and sometimes end up giving the ultimate sacrifice: their lives. That COMMANDS the respect of every American with a beating heart and blood in their veins. Disrespecting that sacrifice is the MOST un-American act possible. The least everyone can do is give the grieving family some time, space, and respect to burry their child, husband, wife, mother, father. That's a ONE TIME deal, and once taken can never be replaced.

Just like the fanatical "Christians" in Florida who wanted to burn the Quran on September 11th, these people DO NO represent Christianity, the love of Jesus, and the ideals that Christianity has set forth. These people are behaving more like the Pharisees in the Bible; hypocrites to the core. We can't judge others and we most CERTAINLY don't have the right to persecute ANYONE! Westboro, I'm afraid you have your eyes set on something other than God and His plan: pure evil and hatred. All we are asked to do is love God, love each other, be good stewards to the world we live in. They are doing none of this with their hurtful actions. The worst part is that I have to forgive you for these horrific acts.

I forgive you.

Liberals vs. Conservatives- Is the battle really worth it?

There is a constant push and pull of liberals and conservative Christians. It’s always been this way from the conception of the United States of America’s bi-party system. For the most part, we live with each other in relative harmony, but much of the time we also butt-heads on controversial issues… such as abortions. My roommate just showed me this video of a woman who is a servivor of a late term abortion. That it is pretty fantastic that she survived (she discusses the low to little likelihood of this being a possibility). What’s even more fantastic is how she speaks to a room. Please watch this video here and see what I mean.

 Click here to watch.

As you probably know from reading previous blog post, I’m reading the book Half the Sky. What’s interesting is that abortion is one of the issues discussed and I happen to be going through that section right now. It talks mainly about how the liberals and the conservatives are going about the issue of abortion in very different ways, but both want the same outcome: decrease in unplanned pregnancies. The conservative Christian group decided to tackle this goal by introducing a “gag-rule” which would cut off funding to groups that support abortion. In turn, over the course of about 20 years, the US cut off funds to the UNFPA because the organization gave an award to a guy who helped with coerced abortions. The UNFPA didn’t actually use the US’s money to perform abortions, but the fact the UNFPA gave an award and support a guy who did. This resulted in a large increase in unplanned pregnancies. This was NOT the desired result from the conservative Christians. All of those pregnancies makes the effort of getting out of poverty even more... possibly even feeding into human trafficking. A lot of these consequences are speculative, however, it's the reality of some.


The liberals have made their err on the maternal battle just as much as the conservative Christians. Using abortion as a form of birth control is destructive to the woman, emotionally and physically... especially the coerced abortions that happen in China to control population growth. Could you even imagine? Being SO excited that you had conceived a baby but then being forced to have an abortion? How devastating would that be? It happens everyday. In America, it's the woman's right to choose, but in many other countries, it's apparently the GOVERNMENT'S right to choose. How removed!? Also, simply dispersing condoms aren't going to get the job done. Education has to come with that hand-out.

My point is this: to solve this problem, we have to work together. I love it when she said, "Put your politics aside". We both want the same thing: increased value to each life. We want our mothers to deliver healthy babies and be healthy themselves. We want our children to grow up in a nurturing environment, educated, and prepared to go out on their own. We want able bodied people to work and earn a fair wage for their labor. Essentially, we want the decrease the volume of unplanned pregnancies, decrease volume of abortions, and increase the value of life. There is a direct correlation to unplanned pregnancies and poverty, maternal mortality, disease, etc.. So what's the answer? I don't know, but a good start is increasing the availability of contraceptives (condoms, copper T IUDs, etc.) as well as increasing education around sex, family planning, etc. I also believe microfinance is a good way to help this issue because it will help pull an individual out of poverty allowing that entrepreneur's children to get better education, thus decreasing the level of poverty in the next generation. obviously, this can't be done in a day, but we can all work together over the years to find a happy medium between super leftist liberals and very conservative Christians.

Dr Yunus on the SIMPSONS!

My wonderful friend Lindsey led me to this article describing how Dr. Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank and 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate, will be on the Simpsons on Sunday night. This means a few different things:

1. The masses of people who watch the Simpsons will be subconsciously learning about the very principal that has the potential to pull our world economy up to a livable standard
2. Dr Yunus is JUST as awesome as I have imagined him to be! I saw him speak a few months ago about his new book Building a Social Business and he was so intriguing to watch. One second he would be discussing the necessity to be an advocate for the poor but then laughing about the irony of bureaucracy the next. When building bridges like he has, it's an important quality to not take yourself too seriously.
3. I NEED TO BORROW SOME ONE'S CABLE to watch it :) I don't have cable for many reasons. The main reasons is a) I don't want to pay for it and b) it distracts me from productivity too much.

So if you have cable, TV, and want to watch Simpson on Sunday night. Let me know. :)

The Governator strikes again!

California gets it! WOO HOO! Finally! Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is taking STRIDES in California to make it financially inconvenient to traffic individuals... alright, we have 49 more states to go! Read here about how this new law will affect traffickers.

Phil and Dalene Hamer: socially conscious consumer?

Phil and Dalene Hamer: socially conscious consumer?: "Did you know that you could be contributing to slave labor depending on where you shop? That's quite an accusation, and it's true! Do you lo..."