Politics: Human trafficking under attack in the House of Representatives
Fantastic! Thank you Republican House for passing several bills preventing human trafficking!! Democrat or Republican, I trust this is an issue we can all agree on. We are most grateful: “Several bills passed the House of Representatives this week to combat human trafficking worldwide. Between Monday and Tuesday, a total of 12 bipartisan bills attacking the issue from all angles—from the demand for sex trafficking to the welfare system’s response to victims—passed the Republican-controlled House.”
Sadly, it seems human trafficking has taken an upturn, and big events like the Super Bowl are prime locations for sex trafficking. It’s “happening right in our own backyard, and more than 80% of sex trafficking victims in America are U.S. citizens,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said. He and several other Senators introduced the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 this past month, and are helping push these bills through the House.
“The bills before Congress address what’s arguably the most maligned form of trafficking—child sex trafficking— and they go pretty far, too. One bill, the Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act, calls on states to provide welfare services including counseling to keep child victims from having to enter the criminal justice system. Another bill, International Megan’s Law, would require the U.S. to communicate about when and where convicted child sex offenders are traveling internationally. One bill would make it a crime to “knowingly” sell advertising that offers certain commercial sex acts, in an effort to stop websites like backpage.com.”
Republican House Takes Aim at Human Trafficking Again by Maya Rhodan. Time.
Politics and Human Rights: Closing the gap in Canada
Human rights. Human rights. Human rights… seems to the theme everywhere across our beautiful world. It’s showing its face nearly daily, and today is no different. One side: It’s very sad that people are denied basic equal rights, and yet the flipside, of course, is nothing less than celebration as inequality is exposed case after case after case. Let’s not slow down now….
“The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal will hear a complaint made by a former Castlegar pulp mill employee who says she and other female supervisors were denied equal pay and promotions. Adrienne McKellar said she rose to a senior position as human resources advisor in a job previously held by a man though his title was human resources superintendent. Despite performing identical duties as the man who retired, Adrienne McKellar said she was paid $35,000 less per year at the mill operated by Zellstoff Celgar Ltd. The investigator found no proof of discrimination and McKellar was fired soon after in June 2012.”
This complaint also identified three other women in the company who faced gender discrimination. “The mill previously sought to have the complaint dismissed, saying each of the women made substantially different allegations, but the tribunal decided there were enough similarities for the complaint to proceed.” While the company reports there are legitimate reasons for the discrepancy in salary, eg, salary is chosen by an external firm looking at varying factors, this case is still significant enough for shedding Light on this pervasive rift of inequality.
It’s essential people are treated fairly and equality, no matter what …skin color, language, occupation, religion, sexual orientation, age, gender, etc. Heading toward a path of full consciousness for “all” of humanity means 100% acceptance of “all” others –no matter what our differences! Love your brothers and sisters for who they are …and not for their learned or inherited affiliations. Universal Law of Attraction: Give love, receive love …that’s our main responsibility. That’s it …how is that so hard?
International Politics & Human Rights: Fearlessly volunteering to be flogged to save another
Where does one even begin to discuss what’s happening within this story? In my perspective, regardless of religious beliefs, I see incredibly courageous human beings finding so much compassion in their hearts that they reach out offering to substitute their own bodies to endure physical torture to save the intended victim. Holy sh-nikies! Where does such humility, courage, and love for your fellow even come from?!
A Catholic professor and six others from his group have made it public knowledge and volunteered to receive 100 lashes on behalf of a Muslim blogger, who was sentenced by his government to be flogged one thousand times. No jokes being made here: “Oh my gosh!” “We are persons of different faiths, yet we are united in a sense of obligation to condemn and resist injustice and to suffer with its victims, if need be. We therefore make the following request. If your government will not remit the punishment of Raif Badawi, we respectfully ask that you permit each of us to take 100 of the lashes that would be given to him. We would rather share in his victimization than stand by and watch him being cruelly tortured. If your government does not see fit to stop this from happening, we are prepared to present ourselves to receive our share of Mr. Badawi’s unjust punishment.”
What comes up for me is this underlying shift away from violence, as we continue our path to Ascension. I’m understanding more and more, living in my own tiny bubble and living vicariously through every global citizen, that we are en route to a zero-tolerance policy of violence …on every level.
From the seemingly smaller instances, such as spankings on a 2 year old’s bottom, to capital punishment –and everything in between– violence of any kind is not tolerated in the Higher Realms. No “whippin’s” that my generation received regularly without the bat of an eye from neighbors or police (back in the day) …no bullies pushing you around at school …no “meet me at the brown house after school (to settle this)” …no bar fights …no girl fights …no muggings …no domestic violence …no rape and murder …not even the flipside of something like police brutality: No violence –period– is what I’m picking up. Even the mentality of “pushing around” one another has got to go in order for us to ultimately respect and love one another.
There is so much happening across our world… everything is so intense. It can be overwhelming if we keep it all separate. But please see and understand: This is all interrelated. We are all interrelated. We are bringing to the surface of our world all the injustices we’ve persevered over eons, saying “no more.” Now it’s all unfolding. Please do not get lost in the details of each story, because individually they are overwhelming and terrifying to witness, and yet know and feel in your heart that we are playing our pre-selected roles to unravel this mess –and we are doing it courageously and just as we contracted in order to change our world.
We all agreed to do this work –and it’s ugly and hard– and yet we’re still doing it. It won’t be long –these current systems we live are unsustainable. We are almost there… don’t stop now.
We Are All One
Gavin