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activism alerts august
2007 |
- Help Prevent Border Deaths
- Urge Disney to Admit Baby Einstein Does Not Foster Learning
- Baby Einstein Debunked
- Breastfeeding as Art
Article continues below
So far this year, over 200 people have died trying to cross the desert from Mexico into the US. Regardless of your political views on our country's immigration debate, the fact remains that families are splintering and risking their lives to flee economic crisis south of our border. Small amounts of material aid can reduce the risk of death for the men, women, and children who attempt this dangerous journey. A gallon of water, a bag of food, a new pair of sneakers, or a clean pair of socks can truly make the difference that keeps a family together or a person alive. In conjunction with No More Deaths, a non-profit committed to preventing migrant death on the Arizona/Mexico border, schoolteacher and volunteer repatriation worker Allegra Love has organized a drive to gather the following items:
- Socks
- Sneakers
- Basic medical supplies (aspirin, antibiotic ointment, bandages, butterfly bandages, gauze and tape)
- Water
- Rice, beans, granola bars, electrolyte-balancing sports drink powder
- Gift cards (aid workers will use for needed supplies)
- Phonecards
- Money ($20 could purchase many pairs of socks, dozens of gallons of water, 7 Mexican phone cards, medical supplies, or probably 100 granola bars)
These supplies and any financial aid will help reduce the likelihood that the assault on these people's dignity does not extend to them dying to get into our country.
Items are being gathered in Santa Fe and will be driven to the border when a truckload is amassed. Donations, checks, or gift cards can be sent to:
Allegra Love
PO Box 2643
Santa Fe, NM 87504
Please forward this message to any groups or individuals who would be interested in helping with this project. If you would like to get involved on a larger scale with these relief efforts, email Allegra Love at legslove@gmail.com
To learn more about what is happening on the border and related humanitarian aid efforts, check out these organizations:
No More Deaths www.nomoredeaths.org
Derechos Humanos http://www.derechoshumanosaz.net
Humane Borders www.humaneborders.org
Border Action Network www.borderaction.org
Urge Disney to Admit Baby Einstein Does Not Foster Learning
Last week, we told you about a new study by University of Washington researchers suggesting that infants who watch baby media may have a slower rate of language development. The study has generated a lot of media coverage and has created a major headache for industry leader Baby Einstein, whose success depends on fostering the belief that their baby videos are beneficial to infants. Baby Einstein is so concerned about the study that Robert Iger, CEO of Disney (Baby Einstein's parent company), wrote a letter to University of Washington President, Mark Emmert, criticizing it and demanding a retraction of the University's press release.
But there's one thing Disney has never done: produce evidence to support their marketing claims. Given all the damage that's been done to the Baby Einstein brand over the past week, one would think Disney would be anxious to point to evidence that the videos really are beneficial for babies. But so far, not a peep. It's enough to make us wonder if Disney knows there's really nothing Einsteinian about them.
Please take a moment to tell Disney to release research showing that Baby Einstein videos are beneficial to babies or publicly acknowledge that no such research exists.
In 2006, the CCFC filed a Federal Trade Commission complaint against Baby Einstein, Brainy Baby, and BabyFirst for false and deceptive marketing. The number one reason parents allow babies to watch television and DVDs is the belief that the programming is educational and/or good for brain development. Parents deserve honest information when deciding whether or not to expose their babies to screen media. Rather than attacking a university press release about a study designed to help parents make informed decisions, Disney executives should tell parents what they know—or don't know—about the videos' effects.
New research published in the August 8th edition of the Journal of Pediatrics confirms that every hour infants spend watching baby videos is associated with slower language development. According to the study (conducted by Frederick J. Zimmerman, Dimitri A. Christakis, and Andrew Metzoff), video-exposed babies score six to eight words less on a standardized vocabulary test than babies who don't watch.
Despite the growing evidence that television is not a good medium for teaching language to babies, the sale of baby videos persists. Parents cite the mistaken belief that the programming is educational and/or good for brain development as the number one reason they allow babies to watch television and DVDs. Not only is there no evidence that baby videos do any of the things the baby video industry claims they do, but these media actually appear to be undermining the development of the very skills they claim to foster.
In 2006, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood filed a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint against Baby Einstein, Brainy Baby, and BabyFirstTV for false and deceptive marketing. That complaint is under review. If you have not yet done so, please take a moment to urge the FTC to act on this complaint.
Source:
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
Following her successful solo exhibition debut "Road to Reality," the focus of photographer Rachel Valley's work turned to the social examination of the attitudes toward breastfeeding in modern times. "MOTHER.CULTURE.ART" blends the beauty and challenge of establishing and maintaining a healthy dyad and an acceptable outward nursing relationship. The exhibition's subject matter is currently a charged one, with old cultural attitudes clashing with modern sensibility. Rachel Valley's portraits touch upon nursing in public, "extended breastfeeding," the family bed, and the sexualized breast co-existing with the nurturing breast, amongst other timely issues therein. The exhibition will begin August 9 in Auburn, CA and will travel afterward.
Rachel feels fortunate to have been given this platform of art and discussion to widen the eyes of our communities, to the tightrope a mother walks when making the conscious decision to feed her child's nutritional and emotional needs as intended. Given the success of the exhibition, a mother might finally find herself in an environment that allows her to fulfill the needs of her young wherever and whenever necessary, and with the support and sound information from her circle of influence. The exhibition is sure to stir emotions and reactions from participants and patrons alike.
Valley was inspired to use her art to speak to the public from her own not-so-unique experience. "After giving birth to my daughter, I started my journey into mothering and breastfeeding, and I was overwhelmed with conflicting information and hostile opinions," Rachel says. "My initial desire was to talk about it with other women, but constantly found myself in mixed company. In my attempts to receive and share good information about breastfeeding, I ended up stirring feelings of guilt, anger, and disappointment in others. On the rare occasion that I found someone that shared my positive nursing experience, I'd engage in stories and notions, and as a result made others feel left out, and unable to relate," she added. "Feeling frustrated and not wanting to upset, I was on the verge of silence, but my desire to change the "norm" ruled out and I decided to let my art speak for me, and that brings us to "MOTHER.CULTURE.ART."
Opening Reception Thursday, August 9, 2007
The Arts Building/Dorothy Crites Conference Room
808 Lincoln Way Auburn, CA 95603
Select works and additional information can be viewed at VIRB and Rachel Valley's web folio can be seen at NiftyImages.com.
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