Listen & Be Heard Weekly Archives

happy new year!

i don’t know if i ever got to greet you and tony a happy new year!
and i miss you all at the cafe, too!

i hope to be able to visit soon and get back to my regular schedule of seeing you all =)

take care!

eileen

Gong Hei Fat Choi 2008!

Friends,
Happy New Year! Wishing everyone “congratulations and prosperity” in the upcoming Year of the Rat. A great year for accomplishments, especially for brilliant overachievers like you all (yeah, my friends are so inspiring!).

THE YEAR OF THE RAT, 2008

February 7, 2008 - January 25, 2009 (Earth element)

According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2008 is a Year of the Rat (Earth), which begins on February 7, 2008 and ends on January 25, 2009. First in the cycle of 12 Animal signs, Rat Year begins the Chinese Zodiac sequence and recurs every twelfth year. It is a time of renewal in many ways. From New Year to Valentine’s Day, to the arrival of spring, may all the blessings and delights of the New Year be yours.

A Rat Year is a time of hard work, activity, and renewal. This is a good year to begin a new job, get married, launch a product or make a fresh start. Ventures begun now may not yield fast returns, but opportunities will come for people who are well prepared and resourceful. The best way for you to succeed is to be patient, let things develop slowly, and make the most of every opening you can find.
In China, the Rat is respected and considered a courageous, enterprising person. People born in the Year of Rat are clever and bright, sociable and family-minded. They are said to be logical realists— shrewd, charming, ambitious, and inventive— with broad interests and strong ability to adapt to any environment and react adequately to any changes. They are gifted with many talents, and have an easy-going manner. They are active and pleasant, tactful and brilliant, and are able to seize opportunities.

So that’s that, you wonderful Year of the Rat!

With love,
Slim
a.k.a. “Jio Ha”

New comment on your post #732 “Speakout May 30, 2007″

http://listenandbeheard.net/2007/05/30/speakout-may-30-2007/
I’ve visited your website thrice so far. Nice blog! Great job done!!
janette

New comment on your post #3181 “Geri Digiorno Featured for the First Time at Listen & Be Heard Poetry Cafe”

http://listenandbeheard.net/2007/11/12/geri-digiorno-featured-for-the-first-time-at-listen/
my mother’s maiden name was Digiorno. Her father’s name Sabastiano Digiorno. He came to America around 1900 AND SETTLED IN Pittsburgh Pa.
Maybe we’ll cousins?
anthony savena

Statement on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor

From my dear friend, Bill Vendley, the Secretary General of this organization. More great work they are doing for this poor wounded planet…

Slim
Religious Leaders of Different Faiths Commit to Advancing
Legal Empowerment for the World’s Poor

—Governments urged to provide legal protection
and economic opportunity to 4 billion mired in poverty—

( NEW YORK, 8 February 2008)‚ÄîReligious leaders of different faiths forged a partnership to help legally empower the poor so they may help raise up themselves from poverty. The religious leaders were convened by Religions for Peace, the world’s largest and most representative multi-religious coalition, in collaboration with Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, an international, independent body co-chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State Dr. Madeline Albright and renowned economist Dr. Hernando de Soto.

The religious leaders‚Äîrepresenting Buddhist, Christian, Jain, Muslim, and Indigenous faith traditions‚Äîcalled on the world’s governments to grant legal identity to 70 percent of the world’s population who are currently excluded from access to legal systems and formal economies. “We find it unacceptable that seventy percent of the world’s population‚Äîfour billion people‚Äîare currently unable to improve their livelihoods no matter how hard they work due to multiple forms of exclusion,” the statement said. “This exclusion is a grave injustice and a violation of the sacred dignity of every human being. Indigenous communities face even greater challenges as they are often deprived of political voice and rights; poor women face a triple threat of exclusion: poverty, gender, and de facto barriers from owning property.”

“Our religious traditions compel us to act to protect the value, dignity and recognition of all people by treating their challenges as our own,” said Dr. William F. Vendley, Secretary General of Religions for Peace. “In particular, we are called to protect and advocate for the realization of rights for the most vulnerable, excluded, and marginalized among us so they can participate fully and be treated as equal citizens before the law.”

A delegate to the high level consultation, Ms. Sofia Painiqueo, Education and Culture Director, Mapuche Artisans Association Folilche Aflaiai in Chile, noted that legal empowerment is not an abstract concept but addresses the most basic and fundamental right of all: the ability to participate on an equal footing and conduct economic activities within the law. “Poor and marginalized people demand to be recognized so they can take advantage of the benefits of the formal economy and fulfill their responsibilities to society as equal citizens,” she said.

Sheikh Shaban Mubaje, Mufti of Uganda Muslim Supreme Council and a consultation delegate, noted that the religious leaders identified the following principles as critical points for the Commission to address:

Advancing legal identity must be based on inviolable human dignity.
Human dignity demands equality before the law.
Advancing social justice must be based on a principle of reciprocity.
Advancing economic opportunities must protect the value and dignity of work.
Advancing the poor’s right to property must also safeguard the common good.
Faith communities are particularly well placed to translate the moral imperatives of legal empowerment into concrete actions, said H.H. Samdech Tep Vong, Supreme Patriarch, Cambodia, a consultation participant. “Faith communities embrace all, including the poor, and are present everywhere,” he said

The Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor aims to make legal protection and economic opportunity the right of all. Hosted by the United Nations Development Programme, the Commission was launched in 2005 by a group of developing and industrialized countries. Its formal study will be released in March 2008.

Religions for Peace is the world’s largest and most representative multi-religious coalition advancing common action for peace since 1970. Headquartered in New York and accredited to the United Nations, Religions for Peace works through affiliated inter-religious councils in 70 countries in six continents.