t r u t h o u t

t r u t h o u t

Just Cause is an initiative to promote awareness in the justice community about the need for blood and blood products.

Chances are that at least one person among your family, friends, neighbours and colleagues has received blood or blood products. This September you’re encouraged to make a donation of blood in honour of that family member, friend, neighbour or colleague. Your donation will help up to three people, and will be appreciated by the recipients and by the people who love them.

You can donate blood at 777 William Avenue six days a week and at mobile clinics hosted throughout Manitoba. Clinic hours and information on donor eligibility are available online at www.bloodservices.ca and by phone at 1 888 2 DONATE.

When you donate blood this September, please add your name to the sign-in sheet at the clinic in support of the Just Cause blood drive. You can also ask the staff at Canadian Blood Services for an “In Honour” card to let someone you care about know that you’ve made a donation on their behalf.

(Manitoba Justice’s participation in Just Cause is being co-ordinated by Mary McGunigal of Civil Legal Services SOA. She can be reached at 945-2834 or mary.mcgunigal@gov.mb.ca.)

HowStuffWorks "How Entertainment Lawyers Work"

Reggae singer, "Sugar" stirred it up in Winnipeg at the Pyramid night club as part of the Winnipeg Reggae-Ska festival that's going on. The place was packed and everyone wanted to meet the guy in the green room afterwards but only a few chosen were able to do so.
The concert was irie man.

Michelle Obama’s Speech at the Democratic National Convention - Election Guide 2008 - The New York Times

Michelle Obama’s Speech at the Democratic National Convention - Election Guide 2008 - The New York Times

Obama Signaled Early That He Was Unlikely To Choose Ex-Rival - washingtonpost.com

Obama Signaled Early That He Was Unlikely To Choose Ex-Rival - washingtonpost.com

Central Park Revival C.P.R. - A Community Event August 30, 2008
The past few years have brought new life and hope to Winnipeg¢s Central Park, an area that had previously been deemed unkept and unsafe. Today, the area is filled with young families and together they have helped to turn a new leaf for this quaint Winnipeg Park. Still, there is a negative stigma associated with the park. We are planning the 2nd Central Park Revival Community celebration, following a very successful event held last summer. The Central Park neighbourhood would like to welcome people from all over Winnipeg to come out and take part in the positive changes that have been and will continue to be seen by both the community and beyond.

Successful community events require a lot of planning and hard work. Volunteers, sponsors and performers are needed to make these events sensational. We are currently looking for donations such as food and/or drinks, prizes and a helping hand or anything else that you feel will make this year¢s Central Park Revival event a success! Any and all forms or donations will be greatly appreciated.


Event Date:

C.P.R. (Central Park Revival)

Central Park - 400 Edmonton Street

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Time: 2pm- 8pm
If you and your organization can donate some food or drink items for this event or if you are able to volunteer your time to help out at this event please contact one of the following C.P.R. Event Committee members:
Othello: 291 1808
Janet: 771 6013
Judy: 925-1685
Britney: 228 0120
Thank you,
S. Othello Wesee
Coordinator: (Central Market / Central Park Resident Assoc).

OFFICIAL STATEMENT:

In a joint statement issued by World Anti-Doping Agency president and Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the following foods have been placed on the list of banned substances issued by WADA: yam, green bananas, cocoa, dasheen, breadfruit, ackee and saltfish, mackerel run down, turned cornmeal, Malta, Supligen and coconut oil. Jamaicans seem to become extremely athletic on diets with these foods. Coming out of WADA labs, one of the major banned substances from Jamaica is the Cassava root, a high fibre, high starch tuber root eaten in Jamaica. It has properties which are said to enhance endurance and cause muscle fibres to twitch faster. This comes after extensive study of the diets of the Jamaican athletes which took part in the Beijing 2008 Olympic games. Though natural foods it is felt by WADA that these foods because of their unique properties give Jamaican athletes an unfair advantage. High concentrations of carbohydrates and other naturally occurring substances are said to be mimicking the effects of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs). Some foods have been noted to in particular cause an unusual increase in the male hormone testosterone. As such WADA has seen it fit to add these foods to the list of banned substances. Given the sensitivity of this issue, Jamaican athletes participating in the current Olympic games underway in Beijing have not been banned but must submit to these new restrictions within the next two years.

(Don't let yuh pressure raise up - have a good laugh - this is the official olympic joke of the day. How come dese Jamaicans breaking records like you breaking a rotten pencil - something's up - CASSAVA ROOT buoy! LOL x2

Sierra Noble, "Single of The Year" Nominee, APCMA's - Final Round of Voting on NOW

Hey Everyone!

I just want to start by thanking everyone who voted in the first round of public voting for the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards, thanks to all of you I made it to the final round and now an official award nominee alongside 4 other talented artists in the "Single of The Year" catagory, Crystal Shawanda, Eagle & Hawk, Shy-Anne Hovorka, and Broken Walls.

This final round of peoples choice voting will determine the winner of each catagory.

My song "Possibility" was submitted for and is now nominated for "Single of The Year"...Winnipegers may have heard it lately on 92.9 Kick FM or on the NCI National Aboriginal Top 30 Countdown, as well as on CBC.
You can also listen to it on the APCMA's site when you go to vote along with all of the other nominee's songs.

I'm really sending this out on behalf of all of the artists in this years awards. There are a lot of great talents from Canada and the U.S. this year so go and listen and vote for who you think deserves it!

1. Go to www.aboriginalpeopleschoice.com

2. (If you didn't vote in the first round and do this step already)
Click on SIGN UP, fill out the form, and you will receive an email with a PIN # and PASSWORD

3. Go back to www.aboriginalpeopleschoice.com
Click on LOG IN and type in your PIN # and PASSWORD

4. Start voting!

REMEMBER: You DO NOT HAVE TO BE ABORIGINAL to vote for these awards. The slogan for the Festival afterall is "A Festival for All Nations"

Pass this on to friends, family members, and co-workers if you have a moment :)

Thank you all so much for the support

With Love

Sierra

PICTORIAL OF THE CARIBBEAN PAVILLION 2008 - HOT HOT HOT

BBC NEWS | Africa | Congo's silent harvest of death

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Passing of a Hero: Alexander Solzenhitsyn

Checks this monster of a fish from the Amazon waters - deadly pirahna

Post-Race - Is Obama the End of Black Politics? - NYTimes.com

Forty-seven years after he last looked out from behind the bars of a South Carolina jail cell, locked away for leading a march against segregation in Columbia, James Clyburn occupies a coveted suite of offices on the second and third floors of the United States Capitol, alongside the speaker and the House majority leader. Above his couch hangs a black-and-white photograph of the Rev. Martin Luther King ... read the article below:

Post-Race - Is Obama the End of Black Politics? - NYTimes.com

Folklorama in Winnipeg
As usual it is hot, hot hot. There is a new crop of dancers in the pavillion - some young children have hit the stage ensuring that the Caribbean will have dancers for some time to come.
It was nice to see some boys getting involved. It is about time. I don't know why Caribbean young boys are shy of dancing. Haven't they seen dancing with the star - who could be more macho than Joshua Allen and he is a dancer just in case they think that dancing is for girls.
Ebony Shades group has two or three male dancers and that's fabulous. Keep it up boys and girls and go all the way.
Folklorama is in its final week and there will be dancing all over the place.

INVITATION TO OPENING CEREMONY OF AFRIKADEY FESTIVAL 2008

Please accept an invitation from the United African Communities of BC, formerly Coalition of African Communities (CAC) to you, your community, and friends to attend the opening ceremony of AFRIKADEY FESTIVAL 2008. We will greatly appreciate it if you could join political leaders and African community leaders at the opening ceremony of the festival at 1 pm on August 16, 2008 at the Serbian Cultural Centre 7837 Canada Way (by 10th Ave).

This year, the festival is special as we consider AFRIKADEY FESTIVAL 2008 to be part of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of our beloved BC. African/Black Canadians have contributed to our province since the days of the founding father of BC, Sir James Douglas, down to Daniel Igala, Olympic gold medallist, just to name a few of the many African/Black Canadians who have made significant contributions to BC and Canada. It is with this in mind that we ask you to join us in celebrating AFRIKADEY FESTIVAL 2008 under the theme: African/Black Contributions to BC, Past, Present, and Future.

AfriKadey festival provides a venue for African/Black roots, world-beat, and urban music in a cultural extravaganza, while heightening awareness and building appreciation for the contributions of African/Black Canadians to the local arts and culture communities of BC. This event brings together African/Black people from all over the world and people from other cultures in one venue for two days of celebration. As we celebrate, we are well aware of the challenges we face as African/Black Canadians in BC.

We look forward to your participation in this great event. Please contact Clement Apaak, a founding member of United African Communities of BC, at 778-895-9242 or by email at caapaak@yahoo.ca to confirm your participation as a community leader so that you can be properly recognized at the event. See details of festival at http://www.africanvibesfm.com/afrikadey/

Sincerely,

Victor E Obosi
President/CEO
African Heritage Society.
Africanvibes fm 102.7fm.
Vancouver, Canada.
www.Africanvibesfm.com
www.Afrikadey.ca
www.Africanradio.ca
Off:778-896-0961
Cell:778-835-4738

UMUNNA (IGBO) CULTURAL ASSOCIATION OF MANITOBA INC.
AND
THE UNIVERSITY OF WINNIPEG’S
GLOBAL COLLEGE

PRESENT


“Brazil in Transition: A New Hope for the Americas?”

in the IGBO EDUCATIONAL LECTURE SERIES
with
Special Guest Speaker

DR. NEIL BESNER
Associate Vice-President (International)
and Professor of English
The University of Winnipeg



ABOUT THE GUEST SPEAKER:
Dr. Neil Besner, University of Winnipeg’s Associate Vice-President (International), was formerly Dean of Arts at UofW. He is a multilingual professor of English at Uof W who grew up in Brazil where he learned Portuguese. He still has Brazilian family there, and continues to visit and work there, frequently teaching, speaking, and recruiting. As an academic, Professor Besner has researched and published very important works in the Portuguese language as well as in English.

Neil is a fervent lover of Brazilian language, music, food, and culture.

His passion for the preservation and utilization of culture for the achievement of development, as well as global peace, stability, and harmony will be made manifest through his talk on "Brazil in Transition: A New Hope for the Americas?"


Friday, September 19, 2008
6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall (3rd Floor, Centennial Hall)
The University of Winnipeg, 515 Portage Avenue

Admission: Free


This is the sixth lecture in the "Igbo Educational Lecture Series" organized by the Umunna (Igbo) Cultural Association of Manitoba, Inc., in partnership with The University of Winnipeg’s Global College.

For more information:
Michael Eze Ph: 786-9946(w); 275.8041(h); m.eze@uwinnipeg.ca
Sherry funk Ph: 789-1439 (w); s.funk@uwinnipeg.ca
Ben Okwudili Ph: 668.8353(h); bennyokwudili@hotmail.com
Paul Osiegbu Ph: 947.9545(w); 999.8298 (c); nnaemeka40@hotmail.com

2008 Folklorama - Africa Pavilion - Check it out for some really hot stuff!

Theme: "How Far Can You Go?...All of Africa"


Kedu, Akwaaba, Enqua Bdehan Mtsakum, Welcome, Karibu, Bienvennue!






These are greetings you would hear at the Africa Pavilion during this year’s Folklorama Festival in Winnipeg. The Africa Pavilion is the only Folklorama Pavilion that represents a continent! The continent of Africa is a beautiful place full of diverse people and we are proud to form a united community to showcase the cultures of dozens of countries represented here in Winnipeg.

The pavilion presents a different show every night; from traditional folk dances to special ceremonies reserved for royalty to the mimicking of wild calls of Africa’s animals…there is something for everyone to enjoy.



At the Africa Pavilion guests are taken on a cultural safari of Africa spanning from East to West and North to South of Africa – as the theme goes, “All of Africa” - with displays of some of the most marvelous and energetic performances you will ever see. As

always, the diversity of performances is astounding. Every show is different and performers are extremely talented, rhythmic and elegant. Some of the early shows feature our young talents - come and appreciate these tiny tots before they become major stars.



The pavilion also features African delicacies, including jolof rice, curry chicken, spicy

samosa, chicken, meat kebab, fried plantain, Chin-Chin, and Africa Dough Balls. Guests can quench their thirst with drinks including some imported from Africa - Castle or Tusker beer (from Kenya, the house specialty); there is also Kalahari Punch, Safari Punch and Njugu, the High Protein Snack

Visitors cannot leave without visiting the extensive souvenir area where one can take a piece of Africa home.



We welcome everyone to experience the African hospitality. This is the pavilion that shows a whole continent, not just a country!



The pavilion is sponsored by the African Communities of Manitoba: www.AfricanCommunites.ca.


Date: August 10-16, 2008



Location: Holy Cross Gym, 290 Dubuc Street in St. Boniface

Hours: Sun-Thu 6:00pm – 11:00pm

Fri, Sat 6:00pm – 1:00am



Show Times: Sun – Thu 6:45, 8:15, 9:45pm

Fri, Sat 6:45, 8:15, 9:45, 11:15pm



Coordinator: Elizabeth Luzige

Adult Ambassadors: Chinyere Asagwara and Adbul-Raheem Olalekan Tijani

Youth Ambassadors: Robel Gebreyesus and Diana Lughas



Late Night Parties: Fri and Sat 12:00- 2am

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Rita Deverell's Big Ease Big Squeeze

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The Trial of Oprah's Staff in South Africa

Equality Rights in Family Law:
Spousal and Child Support

This handy booklet provides a layperson's overview of some of the important changes to spousal and child support laws since the Charter. The booklet can be downloaded from the LEAF website (www.leaf.ca) or contact the national office for printed copies.

Download Family Law Booklet
www.leaf.ca

Police Tough Approach

Winnipeg police appears to be taking no chances with criminals who want to disobey police orders in a confrontational situation. In the past two weeks, two young persons were killed by police in the line of action.

Some people are alarmed by the Police's apparent trigger/taser happy approach these days and feel that Police could do more to handle criminals with knives, than use such strong force that end up killing the criminals. But there is two sides to the issue. If the police does not use tough force and is overtake and killed by the criminal then people will blame police for being too soft with criminals. If your husband/wife was a police officer you would want him or her to do whatever they have to do to protect their lives and return home safely. Police Officers have families too and though their job is riskier than most people we cannot expect them to take unnecessary risk which put their lives in jeopardy. Police officers are trained to use particular kinds of force for particular situations.

Youths have to learn to obey police orders. We hire police to do a certain job and to maintain order. To do so, citizens have to do their part and listen and obey when police tell them to drop their weapon, or lie flat on their face. In that way everyone will be safe. I hope people learn that resisting police orders can cost them their lives life. I hope this is a lesson to those who believe they can resist police orders and walk away every time. You may never walk again.

FOLKLORAMA KICK OFF SUCKS
- Get those little plastic chairs off the dance floor and unto the grass that's where they belong


I felt sorry for the performers who had to watch those fat slobs on their little chairs sitting at the front of the Scotia Bank stage at the Forks during the kick off of Folklorama, taking up space where people could and used to dance. I was trying to show some appreciation by dancing for the musicians who were doing a fantastic job - Sierra Noble, the fiddler extraordinaire, and Limpopo Ukrainian Band - trying to entertain and get those slobs at the front to get off their fat asses but to no avail. I have never seen a ruder or lazier set of people who refused to get off their asses even to humour the musicians a bit. Sierra practically begged them to get up.

But guess what the stupid security guard on the right side of the stage had the nerve to ask me to go on the grass to dance because I was blocking those people sitting and this is just when the Caribbean band was about to come on. I said to him this is the last piece, can't they get off their fat assess - it's not my problem if they don't want to stand up and get rid of some of those calories they guzzled down with those trans fatted fries and mini doughnuts. It's not my problem if they feel sluggish after that. I told the dough head guard that's I'd rather leave than dance on the grass and I left. I kept thinking in the old days when people who knew how to party ran things, the front would be packed with people dancing and having a good
time. Musicians love that, they love it when people respond to their music.

I don't know whose idea it is to make room for people to sit at the front. Isn't Folklorama about having a good time, is Folklorama not all about dancing? Those people who want to be on their asses should be directed to sit on the grass not at the front, embarrassing the musicians who must feel that their music is not good enough to get these folks up.

Why would anyone want to sit there the whole time and not get up and shake their booty? I don't get it. This was not some opera concert or a concert that people paid for. This was free. I think they should ban those little chairs from concerts it just encourages people to me more lazy than we are. Is it any wonder we are becoming a nation of fat unhealthy people?

The Greyhound Killer

Conversations about the Greyhound killer and his victim are heard everywhere - in the news, among friends and even children. The victim, Tim McLean is from Winnipeg and his friends and family mourns his loss.

As usual everyone pours out all that is good about the victim. Why can't we tell people how wonderful they are when they are alive when they can hear it and when it really matters. Have you ever sent an email to a friend or a person whom you think highly of and say, "hey man I think you are just a great person, you are so kind and easy to get along with, so full of life and I admire that" Wouldn't that be nice?

The victim has been identified as 22-year-old Tim McLean of Winnipeg and the killer who beheaded Tim with a Rambo-styled knife is 40 year old Vince Weiguang Li. He lived in an apartment in downtown Edmonton, Alberta and worked at McDonald's restaurant. Everyone described him as a quiet, nice person and a good worker.

We really do not know people as much as we think we do. People show us what they want us to see and except for the exceptionally astute people we never look and listen beyond words people speak in ways and the smiles in ways that cover up their true feelings and intent. Perhaps if we were not so busy with out lives, perhaps if we listened more to each other we could know when trouble is brewing and take action.

For a man to commit such a senseless act, he must be crying for help or attention, he must be crazy, he must have been hurt by society or he must have some connection with this person he killed. People just do not do these things in their right minds.

Li must have felt feeling something as he walked with his head bowed, bound and shackled and refusing to hire a lawyer to defend him. He is prepared to meet whatever fate we have for him. Has he woken up from his stupor, his psychotic craze and guiltridden and so ashamed that he cannot even raise his head to look at his accusers?

The human animal comes out every now and then and we get into that mode of kill or be killed whatever it is that provokes the feeling of such intense fear in us that pushes us to our primal mode of being in the world (flight or fright). It's the human mind that goes wonky. Real human beings are not that cruel.

I always say there are standards for being human, just because a person walks like a human, looks like a human and eats like a human does not mean that he is a human.