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LIGHTWEIGHT, PORTABLE, POWERED BY THE SUN I will update as I learn more about these inspiring tents. It'd be wonderful to see a non-profit project launched where thousands of people sign up to weave these tents and send them to the Syrian refugees. "Design is supposed to give form to a gap in people’s needs. This lightweight, mobile, structural fabric could potentially close the gap between need and desire as people metaphorically weave their lives back together, physically weaving their built environment into a place both new and familiar, transient and rooted, private and connected. In this space, the refugees find a place to pause from their turbulent worlds, a place to weave the tapestry of their new lives. They weave their shelter into home." From Abeer Seikaly's website.  click to detailed images and more information about these amazing tents. I came across this article when I was reading about the Syrian refugee crisis. According to Stephanie Nebehay, as of Aug 29 (Reuters) three million Syrian refugees will have registered in neighboring countries. "Many remain trapped by the advance of Islamist militants or are having difficulty in reaching open border crossings," the United Nations said. "Syrians desperate to leave their war-engulfed homeland are forced to pay hefty bribes at armed checkpoints proliferating along Syria's borders, or to smugglers, the U.N. refugee agency said." This was reported by Stephanie Nebehay. The record figure is one million refugees more than a year ago, while a further 6.5 million are displaced within Syria, meaning that "almost half of all Syrians have now been forced to abandon their homes and flee for their lives," it said. "The Syrian crisis has become the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era, yet the world is failing to meet the needs of refugees and the countries hosting them," Antonio Guterres, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said in a statement. Today, I wrote to the designer of these tents and asked where they are made available to purchase and if they are available for the Syrian refugees.  read all about these tents "Drawing inspiration from traditional basket weaving techniques and the flexibility of snake skin, the designer uses weatherproof fabric drawn between durable, curved plastic tubing. This creates a structurally sound tent that can handle both compression and tension loads. The double-layered fabric tent skins are also hollow, allowing for weatherproof entrances and for water piping and electrical cables to run between the layers. While the design is scalable, the models shown are five meters in diameter and 2.4 meters high." Quoted from: http://inhabitat.com/weatherproof-woven-refugee-tents-get-their-power-from-the-sun/   READ MORE BY CLICKING
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 "Silence has long been confused with neutrality, and has been  "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." - Edmund Burke  There are times when people don't want to get involved, don't want to take a stand, or don't want to speak up, and they mistakenly believe their silence makes them neutral. While most people don't enjoy conflict, there are many who loathe it to a detriment. Conflict is part of being human, yet it doesn't seem to come natural to be good at facing it. And when conflict comes with injustice, some people often back off even more. I have a difficult time relating to those people. I was raised to voice my opinion and I'm wired to speak up. Keeping my mouth shut is much more challenging. Make no mistake. There's a time for silence and it has tremendous value. But timing is key. It's much like the Serenity Prayer: 'Accept the things you cannot change; change the things you can; and have the wisdom to know the difference.' The point here is to have the patience for silence when it will not improve upon understanding, yet the strength to be a voice when it must be heard, and know when it's best for each. Many a heart has been broken by words left unspoken. I read that somewhere and it stuck with me. The next time you choose to look the other way, not wanting to get involved, I hope you remember the words of Dr. James Obrinski, "We are not sure that words can always save lives, but we know that silence can certainly kill." Let that soak in.  This article was inspiring. While I don't see much of this type of journalism in the United States, it's exciting to know it's happening else where around the globe. The author of this article, Anya Schiffrin, has written a book called GLOBAL MUCKRAKING, which looks like an interesting read. See link to the book below. From the Huffington Post article: "For investigative reporting, injustice is the gift that just keeps giving. While so much of the business side of journalism remains in flux, fine reporters with an investigative urge are finding ways to shine much needed light into the parts of our global lives that the powerful would rather keep in the shadows. These may be tough times, lean times, difficult times, but don’t be fooled: they’re also boom times. There can be no question that, if you’re a reader with access to the Internet, you’re living in a new golden age of investigative journalism." READ FULL ARTICLE  Click link to reach Amazon and look inside the book. As I was reading excerpts from the book, Global Muckraking, I was inspired to google Nellie Bly and read her story about infiltrating the Blackwell's Island Insane Asylum in the late 1800's. Her story was first printed in the World and later made into a book that is available free in its entirety online. The link is provided below or here.  click to read about Elizabeth Jane Cochrane aka Nellie Bly 
 "..... in what can only be described as an utterly cynical marketing campaign, ASDA are now selling bee-killing neonicotinoid pest sprays – but promoting their sale by giving away free packets of ‘bee friendly’ garden plant seeds," wrote Simon Mitchell on his website.
So what did Simon do? He produced free stickers that say THIS PRODUCT KILLS BEES. His hope is that you will download and print onto self-adhesive stickers " to ‘correct’ this disinformative marketing ploy in ASDA and other shops and gardening centres that abandon responsibility to the environment in preference to profit." The idea is to simply stick these stickers onto products in shops that kill bees, in order to inform other customers who might not realize that this is what they are doing by purchasing the product. GO HERE FOR YOUR OWN FREE STICKERS  People have asked me how I came up with the name ‘livehonestly’ for a website. It was the summer of 2006. My brother had just died of cirrhosis of the liver. I was visiting my mother, helping her with all that follows a death in the family. Dealing with the loss of a talented, intelligent brother who got lost in a bottle for his whole life left me heavy-hearted while examining my own life. There are many ways to waste away. My brother did it with booze. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to do it by inaction, by not going after some of my dreams. And I had a long list.
I’d given up my apartment the month before and was looking for something exciting, if not also meaningful to do with my life. I bought one of those everything-you-always-wanted-to-know books about volunteering overseas. I devoured it in two days. Between that book and pouring through the internet I found it. I found the place I would begin my journey: a trek to the base camp of Mt. Everest while raising money for orphanages in Kathmandu. I didn’t know what I would do after that or where I would go or even how long I would be gone. But I had a starting point. I was headed to Nepal. (I actually had to find it on the map first.) I was floating with excitement. My to-do list seemed unending. One thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to design a website where I could record my travels. Ultimately, I was hoping my journey would help me discover what kind of non-profit I could start. I was interested in stopping human trafficking, particularly helping children being sold into sex slavery. I asked myself many questions and the one that seemed to resonate most deeply was: What is most important to you? It was simple. Honesty. I learned it from my parents. They taught honesty in everything they said and in everything they did. They walked the talk. So, it became my epicenter and my compass. To live honestly means much more than just truth in words. It’s a whole way of life. It’s about honoring the path you’re meant to take and taking responsibility for the choices you make. It's about being self aware, and always wanting to learn more. It’s about getting back up when you fall no matter how often or how hard. It's being strong enough to ask for help and caring enough to give without being asked. It’s respecting yourself and all other living creatures. And your word is who you are. It has to be unconditionally trustworthy. Living honestly is about recognizing when ego might steer you off course and when fear is blinding you or stopping you. It's about a life that lives WITH the land not OFF the land. It's about balance, fairness, and treading lightly on this planet. It's caring that products are made by slaves and caring that people are starving and not turning a blind eye to children abducted for sex or forced into being soldiers in a war they don't want to fight. It's caring more about people than money and offering a helping hand when it's not only Christmas or Thanksgiving. Living honestly makes for the best relationships, the best work product, and it breeds all things good. It’s the most nourishing way to live for yourself, for others and for the planet. The caption for my website was inspired by two other aspects I believe are critically important for living a good life. That's when I coined: Live fearlessly, compassionately, and honestly. Feel free to email me your thoughts about what 'living honestly' means to you. _________________ About the photo: I took this picture of my 7-year old elephant, Gao, at my 3-day mahoot elephant training in Thailand. He was so adorable. When we traveled through the jungle down steep slopes he would pin his ears back to hold me on!! On April 23, 2009, I emailed Supat the Director of the conservation camp where Gao lives to see how "my elephant" was doing. Supat wrote back that he "is greatest and calmest tusk elephant at the camp". He also corrected my spelling: Kaew (pro: Gow).
Finally, Colorado gets a chance to require labeling on foods containing GMO. It's nonsense that we have to fight to know what's in our food. It shows the power of money.  GMO food labeling initiative approved for Colorado ballot proposition
By Jesse Paul The Denver Post POSTED: 08/20/2014 12:16:42 PM MDT UPDATED: 08/21/2014 08:24:54 AM MDT A proposition seeking the labeling of foods containing genetically modified organisms will be on the November ballot, the Colorado Secretary of State said Wednesday. Signatures were verified for the ballot initiative — Proposition 105 — according to the group, meaning the question will go before voters in this year's elections. "We did it!" Right to Know Colorado, which is backing the effort, said in a Facebook post. The proposition is now one of four that will be on the November ballot, including one asking voters to recognize unborn children as persons and another establishing an education fund financed by expanded gaming at horse racetracks. READ MORE |
 Betsy Seeton
I'm an artist, writer, photographer, private investigator and an activist in small ways.
"Turning indifference into making a difference."
MY PHOTO BOOK
GETTING IN TOUCH WITH NATURE is my new website devoted to my photography, books, and art.
  My LADYBUG book is filled with beautiful images & inspiring quotes. Click here for more info.
 All photos are for sale at Betsy's Art Gallery  Email Betsy   Amely-James KOH BELA is fighting child trafficking in Africa and throughout several continents. Read my interview with her.  CLICK FOR BEE PHOTOGRAPHY  Mahoot Elephant training in Thailand with Kaew,  Adorable French girl growing up in Africa with wildlife photography parents - more pictures of Tippi Degre  I visited the Tiger Temple in Thailand & later found out it is under investigation for tiger trafficking and animal abuse. Read full story. In 2015 it was raided. More than 100 tigers and protected bird species in Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua, popularly known as the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi province were impounded by authorities following complaints that the temple was alleged to engage in illegal wildlife trading.    photos for sale as greeting cards and framed prints or posters. Click to go to my online Art Gallery  "The moment one gives close attention to anything,
even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself." ~ Henry Miller  FREETHEBEARS.ORG - Learn about bear farming and bear paw soup. This torture must end! DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS helps people worldwide where the need is greatest, delivering emergency medical aid to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters or exclusion from healthcare.
 Connect with Jasper, The World Ambassador of Animal Rights & Welfare on Facebook! Read about life in the woods with Chippy & the crew...
What greater atrocity is there on this planet than to sell a human life and brutally force him or her into a life in the sex trade or endless labor? And how dare we abuse, kill and traffic animals in the name of profit... in the name of anything for any reason!
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