If you lived under constant fear and torture, hunger and pain wouldn’t you want someone to help?
They are calling on the world to notice them - yet eyes travel away, ignoring their right to existence.
Donate as much as you can - every dollar counts. We have to help the future of Palestine - the children are crying for our giving hands. 
I am running the 5k on June 9! The registration fee is the donations! Come out and run if you can!

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/halanuman/GazaSummerGamesSolidarity5K

We frequently hear that imperfections are what make us unique and beautiful. That’s a pretty laughable statement because it’s incomplete. That’s like saying “You’re beautiful on the inside”. Really, it would be offensive to hear that without its counterpart “…and out”. “Imperfections are what make us gorgeous – when we embrace them unconditionally”. However, when we exaggerate the effect of our perceived “flaws” then we have only confined ourselves to a mental disposition akin to slavery. We become consumed with silly externalities that no one actually notices except for our keen eye that is constantly searching for something to be unhappy about.

Your hips are big. Your hips are small. You proceed to love yourself with open arms regardless of your deviant waist-to-hip ratio. You feel that it’s the way you’re supposed to be – completely uniquely you. Then your secretly horned friend steps into your happy frame and makes snide comments stemming from envy simply because you adore yourself. You begin to feel guilt and shame because your surrounding friends all settled with self-hatred whilst you managed to emotionally adorn yourself. All of a sudden, you’re the odd girl out because you take pride in your physical appearance.

It seems like it might be easy to love yourself, I mean, it’s you – right? It’s never that easy. It takes time, patience, and space to foster a healthy confident self-image. However, there is a simple step by step guide to start your self-embracing journey.

Step One: cut out females who call themselves your friends, but constantly smack your self-esteem around.

Step Two: don’t allow the comments of your frenemies or other people to bring you down – it is something they are lacking. They wish they could be as happy about their thighs as you are.

Step Three: if you have friends who are obviously struggling to check “Step Two” off their list then you might need to offer a heaping pile of comfort and support. Be careful, the friends in this step might be taking their discomfort about their own lacking self-image on you. So, deflect their comments with happiness and help them see their own beauty. When helping others discover their beauty you feel happier – which multiplies your already giant confidence streak.

Step Four: Take time to look in the mirror. If you’ve never done this before, try it: wear a bikini and stand in front of the mirror. Then list five things you love about your body. Try not to see what hurts you, but rather that which heals you. Look away from the cellulite and witness your goddess-like body.

Step Five: if you wear make-up don’t see it as a way to cover up your flaws but instead as a way to accentuate your already natural beauty. If you don’t wear make-up then you might like to try it on sometimes just for an extra perk in the morning.

Step Six: whatever methods you attempt to partake in to feel better about yourself make sure you’re doing them only for yourself. At the end of the day, if you’re doing it to make men notice you or women to envy you then you’re doing it for the wrong reasons. All people will never be satisfied with what you look like but you can be satisfied – and really that’s all that matters.

The Two Solutions: “I will never be the woman with the perfect hair, who can wear white and not spill on it” Carrie Bradshaw claims. That may be true to an extent with most women, but there are two solutions to the white apparel quandary. First, you can choose to wear a dark color so the spilled coffee doesn’t ruin your day. Second, you can wear white and when your latte spills you proudly strut your way down the sidewalk smiling at everyone you see. You see, with the first solution, the stain is invisible but the stench is not. You have managed to “hide” your flaw, but you allowed your lack of confidence to attract a host of onlookers. However, with the latter solution you have embraced your clumsiness and the flaws that come with being unique. To the extent that your exuberant self-confidence has actually masked what people might deem a flaw. You might not be the woman who exudes perfection with a white sundress and no spilled Starbucks, but you make spilled coffee look damn good.

Growing up, we were constantly reminded that we are capable of becoming anything our little hearts desired. We were small elementary children frolicking about in a plastic jungle pretending to be cops and robbers; we imagined ourselves to be superheroes and villains. Some desired to be a shiny star, while others were earthier and saw themselves as an oak tree. Then one day, we awaken under the pretense that we are restricted and the ceiling, not the sky, is our limitation. We then proceed to become the average individual with dreams in black and white – not even shades of gray.

Without the impetus of a passion, we become cushioned in our mundane way of life. Consistently, we look to find a means of sustenance instead of filling our souls with what we love most in life. As to quote my fantasy career woman, Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City: “When I first moved to New York and I was totally broke, sometimes I would buy Vogue instead of dinner. I felt it fed me more.” She was hungry and chose to fill her soul. If staying broke to live big is the way that it must be done then by all means feed your overburdened soul. For me, writing is Carrie’s Vogue: it is my reason for being. It nudges me to awaken in the morning and sings me to sleep at night.  Day and night, I silently reassure myself that no one in this world will ever strip my deeply engraved passion to write.

Sadly, many believe that a fiery imagination can be the death of one’s reality because failure is inevitable. When a passion is intact, failure is an opportunity. This perceived failure acts as a revitalizer – refreshing one’s passion to continue dreaming larger than before. However, they must have forgotten what it felt like to be a child and imagine their world as they saw fit. There were castles everywhere and she had long brunette curly hair or a he was dressed to the nine in a business suit with his dad’s briefcase in hand. They felt true to themselves and were liberated from pessimistic outlooks.

In order for you to live your dream you have to be willing to forgo nights of sleep, days of food, and hours of socialization. Perhaps, at times it may be difficult without the support of a cherished one or a group of friends that reiterate their confidence in your hard work, but it can be accomplished because of one reason: believing in yourself. Yes, I know – extremely cliché. However, if you understand your dream, see the journey ahead with optimism and support your passion then no one can deny you the luxury to dream even bigger.

Color your life with the power of your imagination and dare to be a dreamer. Don’t ever allow the pessimism of others to drain your rainbow of its life only to become another gray shade in the paint bucket of society. Don’t mind what the pessimistic ones say; just remember what your 2^nd grade teacher Ms. Molly taught you: “You can be anything you set your mind to”. Look, it’s simple: if you still want to be that oak tree then you better be the best damn oak tree in the forest.

We live in a society where we are constantly bombarded with advertisements, sales and competition. We’re always on the lookout for the next Banana Republic sale and who has the new iPad. We obsess about how skinny Eva Longoria looks in a bathing suit. We judge ourselves and others based on unattainable ideals the media portray as realistic. In reality, these standards are designed to make us mindless consumers. As long as corporations enjoy wide profit margins, they’re not going to do a damn thing about the downfall of our society.

Life is not a business transaction. Being a valuable individual is not about spending time and money accumulating material goods. It is not about saving time and money at the expense of health and happiness. Life is about attaining a balance, about having multiple human experiences as one develops; it is about constantly bettering oneself. But some individuals desire to spend their lives chasing fame and fortune. Honestly, what is wealth without the support and smiles of a loved one? Without the bonds of friendship and love, life amounts to nothing other than empty gestures and artificial relationships.

So you’re at the local Giant and instead of purchasing the organic apples that are obviously not waxed to death, you buy the cheap, toxic alternative. The only reason you do that is because it is economical. In the end, you’re spending your health rather than your riches. What will your wealth do for you when you’re ill having ingested so many poisonous pesticides and hormones? The answer is most definitely not medication. In fact, medication doesn’t cure a person of an illness. On the contrary, it only causes the illness to subside for some time, only to reappear later in another form. Saving that extra dollar at the risk of opening a gateway to a future illness is not a transaction I’m willing to make.

By becoming an individual who demoralizes others only to harass and criticize them, a person is playing by the rules established by corporations. We shouldn’t judge one another by material wealth or by physical weight. We should accept one another and weigh each other’s hearts and intentions. We should purchase food that nourishes us rather than food that harms us. We shouldn’t slave away in the office to inflate next week’s paycheck just so we can buy new Ray-Bans. By all means, buy Ray-Bans — but not at the cost of your time and well-being. We should use that extra time to build lasting relationships with our lovers and friends. Lastly, we shouldn’t ever use the fashion industry’s ideals of beauty as a standard for comparison with our own distinctiveness. The essence of this life is to find a balance that enriches our experience. I can tell you one thing is for damn sure: I don’t owe my money, time or health to Gucci, Kim Kardashian or the food industry’s vile inorganic apples.

Mon, 04-09-12 at 12:30pm, room AA-196 Documentary: Arabs and Terrorism.http://arabsandterrorism.com/project.cfm After the screening, the co-producer/co-director, Dr. Bassam Haddad, will take questions from the audience. Dr. Haddad is Director of the Middle East Studies Program at George Mason University (http://pia.gmu.edu/people/bhaddad) and Visiting Professor at Georgetown University. Dr. Haddad is also the author of Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience. (http://www.amazon.com/Business-Networks-Syria-Authoritarian-Resilience/dp/0804773327/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329569496&sr=1-1) Funding provided by the Division of Liberal Arts. Food will be available in lobby outside of AA-196, funded by the NOVA-Alexandria Provost’s Office.

Tues, 04-10-12 at 12:30pm, room AA-196 Jonathan Lyons Book talk with Jonathan Lyons, regarding his book, Islam through Western Eyes. (http://www.amazon.com/Islam-Through-Western-Eyes-Terrorism/dp/0231158947/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2), Also interesting, his essay, “Islam, Women, and the West.” (http://www.juancole.com/2012/02/lyons-islam-women-and-the-west.html) Funding provided by the NOVA-Alexandria Provost’s Office.

Wed, 04-11-12 at 12:30pm, room AA-196 Professor Adel Iskandar “Of Streets and Tweets: Youth and protests in the Arab revolutions” Instructor at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. Co-author of the book, Al Jazeera: How the Free Arab News Network Scooped the World and Changed the Middle East. http://www.amazon.com/Al-jazeera-Rattling-Governments-Redefining-Journalism/dp/0813341493/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329568278&sr=1-3 Co-editor of the book, Edward Said: A Legacy of Emancipation and Representation. http://www.amazon.com/Edward-Said-Legacy-Emancipation-Representation/dp/0520258908/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329568278&sr=1-1 Contributor to the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adel-iskandar Funding provided by the Division of Liberal Arts.

Thur, 04-12-12 at 1:00pm, room AA-196 Comedy Show by Said Durra, Said’s website: http://www.saidsworld.com/index/Home.html From Said’s website: Said Durrah is an up-and-coming comedian born in Detroit, Michigan. Said grew up in Mayo, Maryland and now resides in Bowie, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC. Said has performed stand up comedy in a number of venues all over the United States. After getting his start in Manhattan, New York, at The Comic Strip, Said quickly climbed the ranks by performing at the famed Town Hall Theatre on Broadway within his first year in comedy. The greatest influence on Said’s comedy career is his parents and their Arab roots; his mother is originally from Gaza, Palestine, and his father is from Amman, Jordan. Said is not just a performer, but a student of comedy. On any given day you will find him playing and then replaying comedy clips from the likes of Robin Williams, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Bill Cosby, Louis C.K, and many, many others. Said’s comedy has been described as an experience of off the wall energy in which he uses different voices, story telling, impersonations, and crazy facial expressions, quickly becoming a favorite among crowds. Funding provided by the Office of the Dean of Students.

Thur, 04-12-12 at 2:00pm to 4:00pm, room AA-158 (after the comedy show) Please join us for a Middle Eastern Cultures event, combining a Middle Eastern Food, music and dance revue with the Arabic Student Talent Show, DJ, and a Belly Dancer. Funding provided by the Student Government Association and the Office of the Dean of Students.

Tuesday, 04-17-12, at 7pm, room AA-196 Karim Nagi, musical performer. From Karim’s website (http://www.karimnagi.com/): Karim Nagi is a native Egyptian drummer, DJ, and folk dancer. He is the creator of Turbo Tabla, and has released two internationally distributed CDs of this unique brand of Arab House/Electronica using acoustic instruments. Karim has authored instructional DVDs for the Tabla/Doumbek and Riqq tambourine, as well as two rhythm compilation CDs. He is also well versed in the ultra-traditional styles of music and dance as the leader of the Sharq Arabic Music Ensemble, and the Arab Dance Seminar. Karim performs and teaches Tahteeb Cane Dance, Dabka Line Dance, and Zikr Sufi Dance. He taught at the New England Conservatory of Music for 5 years, and has lectured and presented at Harvard, MIT, Yale, Bowdoin, Princeton, Stanford, William & Mary, and several Community Colleges. He has recorded music for Bellydance Superstars, Bellyqueen, and the Bellytwins, as well as mainstream artists like Alicia Keys, and The Urban Griot Project. His performances boast a dynamic concoction of live drumming and dance, done in unison. Because of his proficiency in both music and dance, his workshops deliver students to a new physical understanding of the connection between these two disciplines. As a dance and drum teacher, Karim has taught in nearly all major bellydance festivals in the United States and Cairo, as well as all major Arab Culture festivals in the USA. Karim Nagi is a true crossover artist, uniting the Cabaret and Tribal, Traditional and the Modern, the Ethnic and the Urban. Funding provided by the Office of the Dean of Students.

Dear Friend of the Freedom Center, 

Last week we alerted you of the horrible decision made by Mark Martin, a Pennsylvania Magistrate Judge in Cumberland County who dismissed charges against a Muslim man who assaulted another man who was dressed in a Muhammad costume during a Halloween parade. Judge Martin not only did he let off the attacker, he lectured the victim for insulting Islam. 

We wish this was an isolated instance, but sadly, this has become a trend. The voters in Oklahoma, with over 70% of the vote, approved a referendum stating that Sharia Law, or any other law, cannot supplant the U.S. Constitution. The 10th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals overturned the will of the people, and in effect has given a green light for the use of Shariah law in the U.S. Courts. Moreover, a recent study by the Center for Security Policy found that 50 appellate court cases from 23 states that involve conflicts between Shariah law and American state law. The analysis finds that Shariah has been applied or formally recognized in state court decisions, in conflict with the Constitution and state public policy. 

Shariah law is here. We must get the word out to the American people before this Stealth Jihad destroys the U.S. Constitution. That attack is already underway and we must act fast. The Freedom Center acts as the early warning radar in these fights. We are running ads in newspapers across central Pennsylvania to alert the citizens of the Commonwealth to the dangers in their own back yard. We need to expose this Judge and others like him and wake up America to this threat. Our initial ad campaign will cost $50,000. That will get us almost 20 papers and online sites that will be read by thousands in Judge Martin’s backyard. 

We are taking our campaign to talk radio, the internet, sending out alerts to public officials in the hopes of reaching millions of citizens. This threat is very real and these attacks on our Constitution are taking root. We must win this fight. Please help us today by making as generous of a contribution as you can. 

Thank you again for all your support of our efforts. 

Sincerely,
Michael Finch
COO

Sent from my iPhone 

Begin forwarded message: 

From: David Horowitz
Date: March 9, 2012 09:09:46 AM EST
Subject: Sharia Law Takes Root in Pennsylvania

Dear Friend of the Freedom Center, 

Last fall, a Muslim attacked a Pennsylvania man name Ernest Perce who had dressed up like Mohammed for a Halloween parade. The attack was caught on film, witnessed by dozens of parade watchers, and verified by a policeman. 

The Muslim was charged. But when he was brought before Cumberland County Judge Mark Martin, the judge dismissed the assault charges against the Muslim and dressed down the Pennsylvania man for being insensitive to the Muslim religion. Not only did Martin rule in favor of the Muslim attacker, he lectured Ernest Perce for insulting Islam: “Islam is not just a religion, it’s their culture. It’s their very essence their very being… And what you’ve done is, you’ve complete trashed their essence, their being. They find it very, very, very offensive. I find it offensive.” 

Guess what—I’m offended too, but for an entirely different reason. This Sharia law sympathy is part of a pattern. We have identified similar cases in at least 20 states where a full-scale campaign has been launched by American Muslim organizations seeking to push Sharia law ahead of constitutional law. 

Will you take a moment right now and help the Freedom Center fight back by making a tax-deductible contribution of $25, $50, $100, $250 or more? 

Judge Martin, the man who told the attack victim he was “way outside the bounds of his first amendment rights,” was completely out of line. Worse, his behavior sets a horrible precedent. Martin’s blind ignorance of the constitution has opened the door for Muslims to legally attack Americans who they feel offends them on religious grounds. 

That’s why the Freedom Center has launched an information campaign, complete with newspaper ads that we plan to run in select papers in Pennsylvania, exposing Martin’s disregard for individual rights and his work to protect Muslims at any cost. We’ll also run a larger scale campaign to educate Americans about Sharia law and how Muslim groups, including the insidious Muslim Brotherhood, are intimidating local officials in communities and on campuses throughout the country. 

This campaign will cost roughly $75,000 over the next 30 days. So please follow this link right away to make the most generous tax-deductible contribution you can afford to support our efforts. 

How powerful are the forces we face? Judge Martin’s decision shows us how what Robert Spencer calls the “stealth jihad” is working to allow Muslims to give their faith the force of law in America. There are many other courtrooms around the nation where Islam has been allowed to trump the Constitution in taking away Americans’ first amendment rights. 

Please take a moment right now to help the Freedom Center stop this encroachment before it goes any further. We need to draw a line at what just happened in a Pennsylvania courthouse. You have long stood with me and the Freedom Center. I am truly grateful. But we cannot and will not rest. You and I must remain vigilant and ready to defend our freedoms and the American way of life during this trying times. Thank you so much. 

Sincerely,

David Horowitz
President & Founder 

P.S. Help the Freedom Center fight Sharia law from becoming the America’s rule of law bymaking an immediate tax-deductible contribution of $25, $50, $100,$ 250 or more today. Thanks—David 

The world is really cold without a cute pair of mittens. And life is pretty hard without a simple guideline to living happily. No one has all the answers as I sure as hell don’t. However, many things have been whispered down the grapevine and finally - we have answers. What are the eminent rules for brilliant women?

Envy no one. Once a woman begins feeling envy toward another woman that’s the second she has forsaken her ability to support and empathize with her sister. More importantly, when you’re focusing on another individual’s successes and failures you forget to recognize your own. Essentially, you’ve lost sight of what truly matters – bettering yourself. One sentiment to travel with: your life is not a Mean Girls remake.

Write a mission statement. It doesn’t have to be long or short. It could be one word that encompasses your reason for being the brilliant lady you are. It could be an increasingly long poem that represents you. As you grow, your mission statement should be refined to fit your needs and desires. Every woman’s mission statement should have the underlying theme of bettering herself and the world – even if it’s smiling more.

Smile and cry. Do just that. Smile at everyone you see. If they don’t smile back then you just gifted yourself with the release of endorphins – guaranteed to keep you smiling. When you’re at home after a day of smiles, cry. Crying is an excellent way to release pent up stress which can sustain a healthy emotional lifestyle.

Become a yogi. Stretch every morning and every night – even if it’s only for five minutes. Stretching helps your muscles and joints remain in balance and youthful which reflects on your fresh faces ladies. If you want to take it a step further then practice yoga. Yoga is an amazing way to maintain an exercise regimen and feel sexy. If you keep one eye open, you’ll see me flowing through my Vinyasa atop the supple green grasses on campus. If you’re not interested in yoga, then buy a pair of running shoes and beat the floor. I don’t work out in gyms because I love being around nature. But if the gym is for you, then by all means add the weights. Just find something you love and let it make you happy and healthy.

Eat avocadoes and don’t ever forget the olives! In general, change the way you think about food. Food is a source of sustenance and pleasure. It is not, however, a way to fill a void by crunching on Doritos all day. Throughout your day, invigorate your body with fresh fruits and vegetables (especially avocados – they’re very high in monounsaturated fat which helps lower LDL and olive oil is the true hero in this story). These foods keep you lean and feeling like the sexy beast you are. Remember, drink plenty of water and add a lemon wedge for style, class and flavor!

Mirror Snow White. In other words – sleep. A lot. It’s effortless. Just turn off Sex and The City reruns and do it more often.

Devour books. “Read, read and keep on reading” my grandfather’s words will never cease to echo in my heart and mind. He was one of the most amazing scholars and that’s because he was a reader. A book can accompany you in times of heartache, loss, joy and peace. A book is a companion in every essence. Always have a book in your purse. Kindle, nook, and iPad counts too!

Grab Cinderella and the whole gang. Your girlfriends are you’re support system and your gateway to a world of plentiful smiles and laughter. Spend at least one night a week out with your girls or try takeout Tuesdays and play catch-up. After a long week of loony managers and demanding professors, it’s refreshing to kick back with a salad, magazines and gab the hours away with your soul sisters.

Ride on carousels. Do it. It’s fun and reminiscent of a care free childhood. The “ride on carousels” rule is not only confined to carousels – its representative of doing things that are care free that make you feel at peace. If cutting a ticket to California for a week alone is what that means to you – then ride that carousel and laugh the night away.

These are not the only rules I choose to live by but they are a thoughtful starting point. The main point to these rules and the unmentioned others: smile, work hard, sleep much, and witness your life unfold brilliantly.

Never stop living