Low Country Legal Aid announces 2 JOB Vacancies:

Since August 2000, Low Country Legal Aid has engaged community volunteers and retired attorneys to provide free advice, education and legal representation to low-income families in Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton Counties. Low Country. Legal Aid is registered with the South Carolina Secretary of State as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

1. Low Country Legal Aid seeks experienced attorney to serve as Executive Attorney. Responsibilities include case management, legal representation, oversight of volunteer lawyers, and legal education.

Please send resume by US. Mail to:

Peter Strauss
55 Hospital Center Common
Suite 300
Hilton Head Island, SC 29926

OR

By Email to pstrauss@thestrausslawfirm.com

2. Low Country Legal Aid seeks experienced leader to serve as Executive Director. Responsibilities include serving as the public voice of LCLA, maintaining the fiscal and operational strength of LCLA, supervising and motivating staff.

Please send resume by US. Mail to:

Peter Strauss
55 Hospital Center Common
Suite 300
Hilton Head Island, SC 29926

OR

By Email to pstrauss@thestrausslawfirm.com

-RFW

P.S. Please pass along to qualified individuals who may be interested in these positions!

The first Spirit of ADA 5K Run is Saturday at Pensacola Beach. The event begins at 7:30 a.m. and benefits the Center for Independent Living/Disability Resource Center in assisting those living with spinal cord injuries.

Spirit of ADA 5K run this Saturday at Pensacola Beach
(author unknown)
Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:03:06 GMT

The purpose of this post is to develop and implement advocacy messages, strategies and campaigns for the WSSCC (Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council) at both global and national levels.

Post Level: P3
Position status: Non-rotational
Duty station: Geneva, Switzerland
Duration: 2 years

Requirements include:

• Significant experience of a minimum of five (5) years in journalism or communications in the water and sanitation sector or related fields, including at least 3 years at the international level
• Significant experience in developing and implementing advocacy strategies
• Advanced university degree (Masters Degree or equivalent) in journalism, communications, development studies or international relations
• Excellent written and spoken English and fluency in written and spoken either French or Spanish.

Application deadline: 31 July 2009

Qualified candidates may submit their application, including a letter of interest, complete Curriculum Vitae and an updated United Nations Personal History Form (P.11), via e-mail to vacanciesgeneva[at]unops.org (replace at with @), indicating vacancy number VA/2009/SWOC/WSSCC/001 and the post title “Programme Officer Advocacy” in the subject line when applying by email.

For full vacancy details go to the UNOPS web site. Do NOT send applications or questions to WASH Vacancies.

Dear All

It’s encouraging that the Court is now accepting Sign Language as a Language  for Deaf People in Bangladesh. Here is a link of the Daily Prothom Alo with news of Narshingdhi District where the Court accepted Sign Language for two Deaf witness. This is not for the first time in Bangladesh. There are few such examples in the past. It actually depends on the desire of the Judge. But this is first time (so far I know) such a news has been published in the leading National Daily.

I am sure that this news will encourage other Courts to accept Sign Language in Judicial System.

http://www.prothom-alo.net/V1/mcat.news.details.php?nid=MTY1ODY3&mid=NQ==

Thanks Masura Apa (the reporter of the news) for your passion and your commitment for Deaf Community, as well as for the disability movement. Bravo Munmun Apa (the interpreter at the Court), you are brave and hardworking. Thanks to SDSL. Special thanks to the President of Nashigdhi Deaf Club Abdul Mabud Bhai. Gratefulness to the Honorable Judge Mr. Anwar Sadat.

Finally salute to a Change Agent who is still invisible but working as a real fighting personality. Salute

–

Azaaz organized several intiatives around the G8 meeting last week aimed at robust targets to tackle climate change. One of interest was hooking into Japanese PM Taro Aso’s love of manga by placing a full page add in his favourite comic book.

Full page ad aimed at Japan's PM in his favourite comic book

Although over the last couple of years I have come across a small number of good campaigns using illustrations / cartoons, they are few and far between. An underused format? If you know of good examples please send my way.

Street racing crash that killed two teens

Sometimes there are crashes that really stick with us. One of them for me is a street racing crash that happened in 2006. Two 18-year-old boys in fast cars with female passengers were racing at high speed down a city street at night.

The cars crested a hill making the new BMW M3 get light. When the weight settled back down the car went into a spin. It hit a wall on the side of the road with so much speed, that it flipped over and landed 30 feet away. The driver and one of the passengers were killed, the other passenger was badly injured. The driver’s parents were later sued by the surviving girl’s family and the driver of the other car was driving with a suspended license because of five tickets.

Tragedies like this happen all the time. They happen because teens think bad things won’t happen to them. That’s the only way I can explain the disconnect between nearly 100 percent of teens thinking street racing is dangerous, but nearly 40 percent doing it. They think that how they are doing it is safer than anyone else, because of xy&z. But it’s not kids, it’s not.

Movies and video games that glorify street racing is one part of the problem. Street racing deaths increased after the Fast and Furious movies came out. The video game Need For Speed where kids can customize and race their cars against others on the street sold 5.3 million copies last year alone. Another problem is the lack of legal drag strips for teens to use instead of the open road. The biggest cause, however, is a lack of maturity, experience and the inability to recognize risk. Teens are prewired to do things like this. In a lot of ways, they can’t help it.

Street racing has been portrayed as cool in movies for decades. Here "Grease Lighting" races in the film Grease.

What is the answer to the problem? I think a lot of it is in communication. Only 57 percent of teens said they would ask the driver to stop if he/she was street racing. Talk to your new drivers about the risks, and tell them if they EVER feel the driver is doing something dangerous to not be afraid to ask them to stop. Being labled a wuss is better than being dead. Not being a passenger of a teen driver is also a good way to reduce the chances of street racing too. A lot of times the new driver is trying to show off to passengers, which is why (I feel) street racing is more likely to happen with passengers.

As for the street racing component, pressing the dangers is important, but I also think it is vital to give teens another outlet. Take them to the drag strip, sign them up for autocrosses. It  gets the speed out of their system. Some people worry that it will make them more likely to be dangerous on the road, but in my experience, it takes away the craving for speed and helps expose the danger of the activities on the open road.

Street racing will never go away. For as long as there have been cars there have been street races. I heard a great old tune the other day called “My Hot Rod Lincoln” written by Charlie Ryan in 1955. The last line is:

They arrested me and they put me in jail

and called my pappy to throw my bail

And he said, “Son, you’re gunna’ drive me to drinkin’

If you don’t stop drivin’ that Hot Rod Lincoln!”

Israel Advocacy straight from the streets of Israel.

Finally, after a roller coaster of a ride for gifted funding in Ohio, the budget is in. As most expected, the Honors Institutes are gone. A new funding formula is in place, and no one is quite sure what that means yet. The Ohio Dept. of Education itself took a 30% budget cut. Not good news, but not as bad as it could have been. Ann Sheldon’s update is very informative. Now we need to thank our representatives for all they did. And hope the economy gets better.

In India they have a social pecking order called a caste system.  The lowest people class is a group known as the untouchables.   Privileges afforded to the higher castes are not accessible to them.   We look at that here in the United States and we think how archaic that is, and  how odd it is in modern life.   We think ourselves to be more advanced,  more educated, and definitely more sophisticated.   I would propose that all of our sophistication and American pride is a smoke screen.  The reality is that we are more backward than they are.

First of all I would observe that human rights and freedom are not accessible to all.  For example, if a rich man gets accused of a felony, he would immediately call the family attorney, make bail, hire expert witnesses to tear down the prosecutor’s case, and either get a greatly reduced sentence or be aquitted altogether.  But, if a poor man was accused of a felony, he stays locked up during the trial,  he gets a free public defender.  I’ve actually observed trials where the public defender didn’t even have a conversation with the accused until minutes before the trial.  Their reputation is that they carry a heavy case load and are forced to do the bare minimum for their clients.   At least they can wave bye to you on your way to the big house.  There is not justice for all – only justice for those who can afford it.

Then there is the credit reporting system.  Once an individual has a tainted credit score, they will have very limited access to housing and to employment.  So, how can someone get ahead if he can’t access housing or get a job?  And to add to the pain of the credit damaged ones, the insurance company will jack up your insurance rates if your rating goes down.  This creates a slippery slope for those who are struggling to avoid homelessness.

My next exposure of the American caste system is our health care system.   I can remember when my wife’s uncle needed a new liver.   He was told that unless he could ante up $6000 to make a down payment on rejection drugs, he could not get on the list to get a new liver.  Uncle Bill died.

Finally there is the matter of how we deal with life.   Medical technology has advanced to the place where people are killing the handicapped before birth and calling it choice.  Already in this country the elderly routinely get overdosed on morphine as a form of mercy killing if the care givers determine that their quality of life is not worth saving.  The systematic killing of the unborn and the elderly is vigorously defended by the liberals.   One of the first presidential orders signed by President Obama was to allow our tax money to be used internationally to kill unwanted children.  Meanwhile there is a huge shortage of babies for adoption, forcing many in North America and Europe to travel to Asia to adopt a baby.   When we were in China adopting our daughter, we met couples from England, France, Spain, and Italy who were there to adopt.  When people ask me why we didn’t adopt an American baby, I reply that the liberal political system is working overtime to kill them all off.

Your value as a human being should not be determined by your checking account, your credit report, your disability, or your age.  Let’s be the civilized society that we claim to be.   That would be true progress and justice for all.

This past week World Vision used one of my photos of my good friend James Pedrick for an article for their website.  The article is called “Voices, together for justice.“  It is a great read…click here to read it.

Irma with her children, Rachel, John Paul and Pete

Irma Olea’s story is one of many reflecting the growing trend of hunger in Central Texas. She has four children and her husband works in construction.  With the poor economy, there are few construction jobs available.

During the school year, Irma’s children receive warm meals because Austin ISD schools provide free breakfasts and lunches to children living in qualifying households. With school out of session, and shrinking family budget, Irma was faced with tough choices. For the first time, she needed to turn to food assistance from a food pantry.
 
“Before the situation got bad, our family was fine with just my husband working,” said Irma. “I considered finding a job, but my paycheck would be the same as it costs for child care. I think our situation will change when the children go back to school in the fall. Summer is the most difficult time of year for me.”

According to Yvonne Seiders, Assistant Director of Nutrition and Food Services with Austin ISD, 63 percent of all students in the district qualify for free and reduced meal benefits. During the summer, all children ages one through 18, regardless of household income can participate in the federally-funded Summer Feeding program.  An area qualifies for a Summer Feeding site if at least 50 percent of enrolled students qualify to receive free/reduced price meal benefits.

“It breaks my heart to hear that parents are worried about providing food for their children this summer,” said Yvonne. “I wish more people knew about our program. The more kids we feed, the better our community will be.”

Transportation is a huge barrier for many families.

Since the feeding program is not offered at every school, families without transportation may choose to pick up bags of food from a local pantry, rather than sending their children twice a day to the specific meal sites. Across Texas, participation in Summer Feeding programs are low because of inconsistent outreach and a lack of organizations willing to sponsor sites.

Summer Feeding programs are up for reauthorization this fall, as part of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act. Ask Congress to support Summer Feeding programs by:

• Increasing reimbursement levels and and assisting in rural transportation costs
• Reducing sponsor paperwork where possible
• Decreasing area eligibility from 50% of the poverty line to 40% (H.R. 540)

Learn More
Austin ISD Summer Feeding program sites

This coming Sunday marks the 19th anniversary of the day the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law by then President HW Bush (July 26,1990). This is a good time to remember what ADA does and does not do for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.ADA is a civil-rights law prohibiting discrimination based on disability. ADA is not an entitlement program and does not deal with financial

Getting to Know.. ADA
Deaf News Today
Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:53:00 GMT