(10 am. – promoted by ek hornbeck)
Global Exchange (Medea Benjamin’s fair trade cooperative) is having a contest called Human Rights Heroes where progressives can vote on their favorite human rights activist in three categories: Peace, Green Alternatives, and Economic Justice. The winner will receive $1000. You can nominate someone, or you can vote for the folks already listed. The contest ends October 22nd and is also being sponsored by Democracy in Action and Ben & Jerry’s. Nominees will be accepted until October 5th.
The Peace category presented a lot of tough choices but in the end I voted for David Swanson. His tireless work to hold the Bush administration accountable, which would address many of the world’s problems at their root cause, has been invaluable to the peace movement.
I voted in the Green Alternatives category for Svetlana Anosova, who is fighting the pollution and resulting health issues being inflicted upon her community in Kazakhstan by big oil and a complicit government. This is part and parcel of the work of a shaman. It’s not all about dancing around in a funny costume and getting all mystical. Spirit work is still WORK. It’s about taking on any and all threats to your people and your land. This lady may or may not be a shamanic practitioner but she’s sure doing some of what a shamanic practitioner does. I like what this lady is doing on a molecular level – it reflects some of the stuff I have done for my own community and I know how hard and unrewarding that kind of work can be. So I voted for her.
In the Economic Justice category, my vote went for Deelip Mhaske, who is taking on class warfare quite literally on it’s original home turf – India. I mean, dude, taking on the thousands-of-years-old caste system at it’s source?!? That takes GUTS! I LIKE it!
Voters can also enter a raffle ($10 a ticket) to win a one week stay in Paris, a collection of Global Exchange literature, or a $100 gift certificate to the Global Exchange store. The drawing will be held October 21st, winners will be notified by email the following day.
You need to create an account on Strutta to use this system, which simply collects an email address for verification purposes and a password.
So go vote, buy a raffle ticket if you feel like it and who knows, you just might end up singing “I Love Paris In The Springtime”!
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