What Is Totalitarianism? – Part I

• What is totalitarianism in theory? If the United States came under the control of a totalitarian regime, would we recognize it?

What Is Totalitarianism? – Part II

• What is totalitarianism in fact? How does totalitarianism assert itself throughout the world? What ideologies support its growth?

A number of criticisms of this piece rest on misunderstandings of the definitions of the words I used. It’s not that the words are complex-the problem is that many of these words were once used specifically and are now used generally. I use their specific and historical definitions in order to be as precise as possible. So when I say “Unlike the three political parties of North Korea , political parties in the United States are not united in a common front” I mean something very specific. I do not mean that the Democrats and Republicans never cooperate, share common interests, shut out third parties, or aren’t often greased from the same source. A “front” refers to a political coalition or movement to achieve a particular end. That is its own type of animal. Wikipedia has some historical examples.

The question of totalitarianism is a serious one, and one about which we need to be more educated here in the United States. It would be a shame if we fell into totalitarianism without actually ever knowing what it was. That was the purpose of the question with which I opened the piece: If the United States came under the control of a totalitarian regime, would we recognize it?

The answer to that question for the average American is, of course, no. Many Americans might even cheer its onset, not understanding what it was. There are elements in the totalitarian system that appeal to everyone. The problem arrises when those elements are combined, and once they are combined, there is very little the common man can do to throw off its yolk. That was the tragedy of the Russian Revolution. They thought they were ending a tyranny, but what they brought about was 100 times worse than the monarchy ever was.

In our political struggle, whatever side you are on, we need to be very careful that we don’t let political rivalries destroy the precious little freedom we have left. Scoring points against your opponents should never come at the expense of our liberties-something that has happened all too frequently in American history. We so frighteningly close. It’s time to start backing away from the brink…

If you enjoy my writing, you should order One Voice,  a collection of my earlier columns and editorials. You can order it from Amazon.com or from the website Raiseyourvoice.us.

Topics include Consumerism and its harm to our society, The importance of individual liberty, The importance of individual responsibility to family and community, Victim-mentality and why it is harmful to the individual, How to solve drug abuse without throwing everyone in prison, How we can apply ancient wisdom to modern life, And much more!

At the end of my short run this afternoon I walked home listening to the last song on the Wailin’ Jennys CD, Live at Mauch Chunck Opera House, One Voice. I felt the presence of my Boo-Hoo Crew, strong and clear. It was a beautiful moment.

Verse one, I sang alone. Verse two, I felt Marie join in. Verse three, Jayne. Verse four I heard all the voices of all the women that I am blessed to know today.

Thank you for loving me, I love you too.

(Click here to watch the video on YouTube website.)

This is the sound of one voice
One spirit, one voice
The sound of one who makes a choice
This is the sound of one voice

This is the sound of voices two
The sound of me singing with you
Helping each other to make it through
This is the sound of voices two

This is the sound of voices three
Singing together in harmony
Surrendering to the mystery
This is the sound of voices three

This is the sound of all of us
Singing with love and the will to trust
Leave the rest behind it will turn to dust
This is the sound of all of us

This is the sound of one voice
One people, one voice
A song for every one of us
This is the sound of one voice
This is the sound of one voice

“That man over there say a woman need to be helped into carriages and lifted over ditches and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helped me into carriages or over mud puddles or gives me a best place. . .
And ain’t I a woman? Look at me, look at my arm! I have plowed and planted and gathered into barn and no man could head me. . .And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much as a man—when I could get to it—and bear the lash as well and ain’t I a woman? I have born 13 children and seen most all sold into slavery and when I cried out a mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me. . .and ain’t I a Woman? That little man in black there say a woman can’t have as much rights as a man, cause Christ wasn’t a woman. Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman. Man had nothing to do with him. If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down, all alone, together women ought to be able to turn it right side up again.”
Sojourner Truth, ca. 1797-1883

Born a slave in Ulster County, New York, Isabella Baumfree, eventually gained her freedom and, when she did, changed her name from Isabella to Sojourner Truth. Truth transformed herself from a domestic servant into an itinerant Pentecostal preacher; her words of empowerment have inspired black women and poor people the world over to this day. Truth believed she was chosen by God to preach his word and assist with the abolitionist effort to free her people. She is an inspiration for all women. Although born into slavery, by her strength of character and strong will, became the voice of courage for all people.

She grew to six feet. She was strong. She was smart. She was a valuable property. She grew up on a Dutch-speaking farm. They sold her to an English-speaking farm. There she was whipped, married off, and separated from husband and children.

New York slaves weren’t freed until 1827. Soon after that, some inner voice spoke to Isabella. She packed her bags and set out to be free—a 32 year old field hand with no means –only a driving and inexplicable inner fire.

The state of New York began in 1799 to legislate the gradual abolition of slaves, which was to happen July 4, 1827. Dumont had promised Isabella freedom a year before the state emancipation, “if she would do well and be faithful.” However, he reneged on his promise, claiming a hand injury had made her less productive. She was infuriated, having understood fairness and duty as a hallmark of the master-slave relationship. She continued working until she felt she had done enough to satisfy her sense of obligation to him—spinning 100 pounds of wool—then escaped before dawn with her infant daughter, Sophia. She later said:

“I did not run off, for I thought that wicked, but I walked off, believing that to be all right.”

She finally wound up in New York City. She worked at a menial job and through some friends came under the sway of a religious fanatic named Mathias. Eventually disillusioned by her life in New York and by Mathias, in 1843 she left on what she termed a pilgrimage to spread the truth of God’s word. She assumed the name Sojourner Truth, which she believed God had given her as a symbolic representation of her mission in life. Soon her reputation as an orator spread, and large crowds greeted her wherever she spoke.

The six-foot spokeswoman worked tirelessly for emancipation, desegregation, and women’s suffrage. To Truth, the race and gender movements were both of highest importance. With each speech, she broke societal conventions for women, fending off stones, beatings, and hecklers in the process.

Once, a proslavery heckler told her, “Old woman, why I don’t care any more for your antislavery talk than I do a bite from a flea.“

Truth smiled and replied, “Perhaps not, but the good Lord willing, I’ll keep you scratching.”

She found time to desegregate trolley cars. First she asked the president of the street railroad to eliminate the “Jim Crow” car. When she sued a belligerent conductor, resulting in his arrest for assault and the loss of his job, the rest of the D.G. trolley staff practically invited Blacks into their car.

She was a complex woman who was born into slavery and died a legend. Inspired by religion, Truth transformed herself from a domestic servant named Isabella into an itinerant Pentecostal preacher; her words of empowerment have inspired black women and poor people the world over to this day.

Sojourner Truth was in her sixties when the Civil War began. By then her powerful lean figure had touched America. She’d sung and spoken the evils of slavery with first-hand eloquence. Like Martin Luther King’s message, hers was also bedded in inescapable Biblical imperatives.

She met Lincoln during the Civil War. He was honored, he told her. He’d known her work for years. After the war, she continued fighting for the rights and well-being of freed slaves. She went to Kansas to work for the resettlement of slaves there.

Sojourner Truth was 83 when she died. She’d never learned to read and write. But she had a mind and she’d learned to trust that mind. She’d used it to change herself and to change America.

Sojourner Truth is one exceptional example for all people who still have the boot of oppression placed firmly on the back of the neck, whether from unfair corporate leadership, fair and equal pay; 2010 rules, regulations and laws still on the books that belong to 19th century mentality; outdated, and serving only 1% of society. Because of the courage of people like Sojourner Truth, we know for sure, that “we, the people” have a unique voice and that one person really can make all the difference and change the course of history.

Open up your mind and damn, you’re free. NM

Resources:

YouTube: Ain’t I a Woman?

Women in History

Womens History

Diary of an anxious black woman

Africa Within

The Black Collegian Online: Super Hero Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth: The Libyan Sibyl (Article written by Harriet Beecher Stowe)

God bless this psychologist – this is a perfect example of why educators are afraid to advocate for children with special needs.

Psychologist: Newton schools lax on special education evaluations

By By Dan Atkinson/ Staff Writer
WickedLocal Newton, January 27, 2010

NEWTON-A Newton school psychologist has filed a civil suit against the School Committee and several current and former administrators — including former Superintendent Jeffrey Young — charging they discriminated against him and retaliated unlawfully after he tried to bring problems with the department’s special education testing to light.

“This is affecting the lives of adolescent children,” said Anthony LaVerde. “If you miss it, it gets worse.”

LaVerde filed the suit last year, naming the 2008-09 School Committee, Young, Assistant Superintendent Paul Stein, Therapeutic Services Coordinator David Gotthelf, former Assistant Superintendent Margery Daniels, psychiatrist Michael Kahn and Newton Public Schools, as defendants. The defendants were subpoenaed at the end of December, and the case is currently under review.

Young and School Committee Chairman Claire Sokoloff referred comment on the case to the city’s legal department. Acting City Solicitor Donnalyn Kahn said she’s sent LaVerde’s attorney a motion to dismiss the case.

“We plan to vigorously defend the suit … we don’t believe it has any merit,” Kahn said. “It’s an unfortunate situation with an employee we’ve been trying to work with and engage over a long period of time; it’s a difficult situation not worthy of a lawsuit.”

About 22 percent of the past year’s budget, or $36.8 million, is devoted to SpEd instruction and transportation.

According to LaVerde’s suit, he came into conflict with Young and Daniels, his immediate superior, during the 2006-07 school year. LaVerde and administrators disagreed about the department’s response to a parent of a special needs child, with Daniels saying that LaVerde’s support of the parent caused the parent to reject the school’s proposed Individualized Education Program — the SpEd plan created based on each individual student’s needs — for her child.

The episode led to a written reprimand for LaVerde that the suit claims was improper; in spring 2007, he was assigned to evaluate another student.

But when he was evaluating that second student, who he said was depressed and suicidal, LaVerde said he discovered that the student had not received a social/emotional evaluation when her IEP was created. In an e-mail to Daniels and Stein, LaVerde wrote that he was being asked to “ignore poor case management on the part of several [schools] personnel and the risks it presents to future students.”

LaVerde said he was reprimanded again after a follow-up e-mail about the case and in October 2007, he alleged that Stein shouted and shook his finger at him in a meeting to discuss LaVerde’s assignments. Shortly afterward, LaVerde filed two complaints against NPS with the Office of Civil Rights, one regarding the initial dispute over working with the parent and one regarding the improper assessment of the second student, who had twice attempted suicide, according to the suit.

In an interview, LaVerde said special needs students are required to have a social-emotional evaluation as part of their overall determination of special needs to establish whether a student has a specific learning disability such as dyslexia or another disability. Doing so not only properly identifies the cause of a learning disability, but can identify emotional stress early on before it gets worse. Many girls have low self-esteem issues in elementary school, LaVerde said, and that can lead to serious problems later on such as self-mutilation or eating disorders.

“If you get treatment to deal with it, it might not reach that next stage,” he said. “Or you can find out about an eating disorder when the student stops coming to school.”

LaVerde said that as he’s examined other cases, he’s seen the evaluations ignored again and again. The evaluations themselves do not cost the department a lot of money, and school psychologists are qualified and able to give them. But while NPS has good in-house resources for cognitive disabilities, socio-emotional testing could lead to an IEP that requires therapy.

“The parent might tell us we have to pay for it,” LaVerde said. “The schools are defensive about paying for anything.”

LaVerde said it makes more sense for parents to go through their own insurance to pay for such therapy. However, out-of-district placement, the most expensive special education option for a school system, was not out of the question. While he does not believe the school department’s policy is to neglect socio-emotional testing, it’s more likely to happen when parents are unaware that it exists. That frequently happens with parents of METCO and low-income students, he said.

But the testing should be part of what every special ed parent demands for their child, he said.

“It’s more than good practice; it’s a standard parent expectation,” LaVerde said.

Lucie Chansky, a Newton parent who advocates for people with developmental disabilities and has worked with special needs families going through NPS, said she’s seen an attitude of distrust toward the schools. Chansky, who had two children go through special education at Newton schools, has criticized the program in the past and said problems remain.

“I don’t think parents trust the system,” Chansky said. “I think the system tries to do as little as possible for the child, and I think parents feel that.”

In 2008, the school department and the School Committee placed LaVerde on an involuntary medical leave of absence and required he be examined by an outside psychiatrist as a condition of returning to work, the complaint stated. LaVerde returned to work in June 2008.

In the interview, LaVerde said the evaluation focused on his OCR complaints rather than job-related matters and was purposefully antagonistic, mixing serious questions about LaVerde with cognitive exercises such as counting backwards.

“It was incredulous,” he said.

The situation worsened, with LaVerde being given a Plan of Assistance to lay the groundwork for his contract to be terminated, he claimed. He’s seeking compensation lost due to “discriminatory and retaliatory actions” and punitive damages in the lawsuit.

But he’s also hoping to shine a light on the “pervasive” lack of socio-emotional evaluation in the special education program, and that would require looking at students’ IEPs and status.

“That’s something they’re reluctant to do — they would have to recognize it is a problem,” LaVerde said. “It could be they’re worried about more lawsuits.”

Please comment below if you have any thoughts on this story – I would LOVE to hear from educators on this!  Remember, you can post anonymously or email me directly at onetownonevoice@gmail.com

On Tuesday, February 9, 2010, at 9 PM Eastern US time, Tom will interview Mike Kleen from Black Oak Media. Tom and Mike will discuss the ideas contained within his insightful book One Voice and other issues vital to “Middle America.”

How to listen and/or download the show for free is listed at the bottom of this page.

Topics for discussion will include:

• Postmodern deconstruction of Western Culture and how it de-beautifies a people’s art, architecture, towns, homes and their very lives. Mike discusses ways to add verve and vibrancy back to America’s local communities.
• The unique Midwestern brand of legends and folklore, the messages among them and their effects on the local culture.
• How self-reliance can be a repelling force to the continuing encroachment of the federal government into the lives of ordinary people.
• The persistent threat of totalitarianism. How it creeps into a population’s mindset and takes over its organic institutions.
• Self-sufficiency as a way out of America’s current economic-cultural malaise or what Mike describes as “Modern Feudalism.”

Listening and download instructions:

It will air on the Voice of Reason Broadcast Network.  To tune in to the live feed for this and all VoR programming, click here to use Windows Media Player or here for Winamp.  For iTunes:  open iTunes, press Ctrl+U on your keyboard, copy/paste http://208.110.82.50/vor_high.pls into the Open Audio Stream dialog box, then click OK (you will now be able to listen to VoR live on iTunes any time by clicking on ‘Voice of Reason Broadcast Network’ in your music list).  If you cannot catch it as it airs on Tuesday, the interview will be archived in mp3 format for download on Tom’s page at the VoR site soon after the show ends (archived shows are listed on the right side of page).

“Life itself is precious…”

Another year is upon us and soon for me there will be another birthday on the horizon.  Ageing itself does not bother me as much as the idea that life itself is precious and you only get one chance to live it, and one voice to speak with. Words can be the hardest things to take back, so it is best to choose what you say carefully.  In the same way as Artists God has given us an extra voice with which to communicate with. Whether or not He gives us control over what our art will say I don’t know but the wonderful thing about art is that it is an international language that can whisper it’s message into the heart of a person.  It works on a subconscious level that only God can understand.   As recipients of someone else’s art we receive the experience.  As Artists all we can hope for is that our art sends out a good message or ‘feeling’  to others and provides them with some sort of inner calm in the tornado of life.

On that note, ‘if I have one life to live to the full, one chance to get it right and one artistic voice with which to speak then it’s time, I think, that this bird began to really sing!’

photo of candle above by www.pdphoto.org

I’m really looking forward to this!  Listen in if you can – these programs are often also available through the WGBH website if the “morning edition” time slot is inconvenient for you.

Starting January 11,  WGBH Radio,  89.7 FM,  will begin airing a series on the struggles that parents encounter in the special education system.  The series will be broadcast during the station’s “Morning Edition” program which runs from 7 – 9 am each weekday morning.

This is an outgrowth of a similar series done by WCAI radio on Cape Cod a few months ago called Educating Everybody. That series can be heard here  http://wwb.wgbh.org/cainan/article?item_id=4337142

There will be 10 stories featured. Some from metro Boston, some from Cape Cod. This series breaks the old media mold of covering special education only within the context of cost.  What will be broadcast starting next week (and what was broadcast in the Educating Everbody series) is thehuman side of the special education story.  WCAI and WGBH are breaking very valuable ground here. For once, a major media outlet is grabbing hold of the “ugly underbelly” of our special education system.

-Excerpted from SpedWatch announcement, 1/7/10

After all these years I still love it!!!

TOMS Women's Vegan Wrap-Boot $98 - tomsshoes.com

Maybe she’s on a mission to stop world hunger, or to save cuddly creatures from becoming fur coats, or to prevent the destruction of rainforests. Whatever the cause is, I have some philanthropic gift ideas for her that are people-, animal- or earth-friendly. And who says you can’t look good while you’re doing good? 

Check ‘em out, after the jump.

For the earth-conscious, try one of these yummy smelling handmade soy wax candles by Tatine, selling at Anthroplogie for $30. According to Apartment Therapy, where I first read about these candles, Tatine uses earth friendly ingredients, essential oils, cotton wicks and recycled packaging with vegetable-based inks. No petroleum-based waxes, soy wax only, which is cleaner burning, longer lasting, biodegradable and water-soluble. 

I love, love, love this MATT & NAT handbag, available on Shopbop for $165. Its color, hardcore detailing, and ability to go from clutch to handheld strap to cross-body strap – perfection. Here’s the crazy part: it’s vegan (PVC, not leather), with 100% recycled faux suede lining. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out MATT & NAT’s very cool, eco-friendly handbags. 

Dogeared carries a wide assortment of cause-centered products, from recycled organic jewelry rolls to soy candles to breast cancer awareness necklaces. But I chose this gold-dipped heart necklace ($52) because it’s simple, sweet and 100% of its net profits go to One Voice, a nonprofit that helps poverty-stricken families.  

With these TOMS wrap-boots ($98), you’ve got a double whammy. Not only are they vegan friendly – no animals harmed making these velcro, elastic, cotton canvas, rubber soled boots – with every pair of TOMS shoes sold, the company gives a pair of new shoes to a child in need. It’s the gift that REALLY keeps on giving! 

I have faced many struggles as a parent of two special needs children with the elementary school over the past several years. I have taken my struggle through the channels of school district protocol (on more than one occasion).  After the relationship between my family and the School deteriorated, I took my concerns to the Superintendent, trying to help him see that most parents either don’t have the information or the means to fight these kinds of battles or that they are afraid of retaliation from the School if they do. When the Superintendent failed to see my point, and told me that my situation was “unique”, I appealed to a School Committee member for help. I have been told that “this won’t happen again” [to me] and though I have indicated that perhaps the policies need to change that are allowing this to potentially happen to other parents (i.e. SPED Building Based Administration), I have been told that my personal story is not enough to present to the School Committee.

You might be an educator who just doesn’t understand why this “crazy parent” is acting the way he or she is.  Or perhaps you want to communicate with a parent, but feel that your job will be in jeopardy if you do.  Many teachers need to be educated about special education policy and procedure, and what their rights and responsibilities are as well.

We’re locked into a polarized system where everyone loses – most of all the children.

I know many of you have personal stories of struggles with special education issues, or know someone who does.  This initiative is called “One Town, One Voice”. I am setting up a web site where parents and educators can come and share stories anonymously and without fear of retaliation.   Let’s find some common ground and perhaps, a place to begin.

If you or anyone you know is affected by these issues, please email me at onetownonevoice@gmail.com.

Speaking in one uniformed VOICE is key to ensure your message is not diluted. This is something I witnessed tonight at a dinner function. Although each speaker had a different angle of approach, their key messages were delivered succintly as they had all kept to the same tone and messaging – to highlight the faults of their competitors, thus implying their own superiority.

With a 10X increase in transmission speeds and a significantly lower cost per bit, Long-term Evolution (LTE) represents a tremendous opportunity for operators given the prospect of converting more than 4 billion mobile subscribers worldwide to 4G or fourth-generation technology. The evolution in wireless communications is driving operators to change the way voice services are delivered.

Voice over LTE is an important topic for providers today. LTE is all about data so trafficking circuit-based voice services onto IP networks is a big issue. There are a number of technical and business challenges associated with Voice over LTE. While there are questions over when Voice over LTE will be deployed, one of the big technical impediments until recently was a unified standard.

A few weeks ago a consortium of service providers, equipment vendors and device manufacturers came together in support of a standard for delivering voice and SMS services on LTE networks, One Voice. The One Voice specification will use components of the existing IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) framework (which already defines how to provide data, voice and multimedia content over IP) to route voice calls between circuit switched and IP networks…meaning LTE mobile calls will become VoIP calls.

Prior to One Voice, a competing approach — the VoLGA (Voice over LTE via Generic Access) initiative — was put forth as an interim LTE voice solution using existing circuit-switched networks …instead of IMS. VoLGA supporters claim this would allow operators to get there sooner rather than later. While we understand the problems VoLGA attempted to address, we think they’re greatly exaggerated. Since the One Voice announcement, many in the industry are now questioning the livelihood of VoLGA.

In our opinion, VoLGA’s time has passed. Here’s why…

• T-Mobile is the only operator backing VoLGA. Now compare that to the list of heavy hitters behind One Voice…AT&T, Orange, Telefonica, TeliaSonera, Verizon, and Vodafone.
• The addressable market for VoLGA is minuscule compared to that of One Voice. Handset manufacturers and network equipment vendors follow the lead of service providers. Given the first point, it is obvious where the opportunity is.
• Given VoLGA is a temporary solution, vendors are not likely to invest in it — innovation will occur with One Voice though.
• IMS is MORE mature than what VoLGA proponents pushed. BroadSoft has more than 50 live IMS deployments worldwide and with an inside view of 450+ providers’ network roadmaps, we can validate this is real. Many carriers in the US and most European providers have already deployed IMS.

As providers continue to lose landline assets and look to collapse their networks into one, IMS is critical. Since IMS simultaneously serves broadband wireline and LTE wireless networks, this provides operators with a path to service convergence. Fixed-line providers have been moving in this direction for some, and now converged and mobile operators need to follow suit. This is huge opportunity for them.

BroadSoft believes One Voice is the best approach for delivering voice and SMS services on LTE networks and will help accelerate the process of moving to all-IP. Providers should not be sidetracked with an interim solution that doesn’t address the primary goal.

UPDATE – It’s really dead now – Ericsson leaves VoLGA Forum, from Unsprung: http://bit.ly/4nSnAI

Whether you focus on kicking & punching, locks & throws, in my opinion there are different styles within the one martial art. This thinking unifies all styles with the philosophy of the martial art which we all know, love and practice…

I’ve recently finished filming a documentary about the lives of some of the worlds top martial arts ‘Masters’, and after spending extensive time with them and their students I’ve now think that we have all been asking the wrong question!

What I now believe (and it’s only my opinion), is that a good fighter quite simply is a good fighter regardless of what style or system they are trained in. It’s the instructor’s ability to adjust their teaching skills to match each students learning needs that makes all the difference.

So I guess now the question that should be asked is ‘who is the best instructor?’

So, I have a Twitter account (http://twitter.com/Katiedora) but really only use it to follow celebrities because I’m ridiculous like that.  Although I have a few exceptions, but whatever.

But, my favorite singer OF ALL TIME just got a Twitter.

Billy Gilman/my future husband, that is.

I am so excited.  Not that I even expect him to tweet much, because he’s resisted things like Twitter and Facebook for awhile (though he does have a MySpace – which is the only reason I have one still).  But basically he is this amazing country singer from Rhode Island (so he’s practically my homeboy, since I’m in Massachusetts) and had this huge hit when he was a kid called “One Voice” and it was really inspirational.  He also made an album called “Music Through Heartsongs” based on the poetry by Mattie J.T. Stepanek, and as a result of that, he has worked with the MDA for the past 6 years or so and is a Celebrity Ambassador for them and co-host during the MDA Telethon every Labor Day.  But now his voice has changed and he’s writing his own music and it’s so incredible and I can’t wait till he comes out with his next album.

But anyway, you should follow him here: http://twitter.com/bg524

Also, his MySpace is: http://www.myspace.com/billygilman

And to get the full effect, his fansite: http://billygilmanfans.com/

EOSTRA c’est une gamme complète et claire. Chaque femme est différente. En concevant sa gamme, EOSTRA s’est attaché à penser à chacune d’elle. Peaux grasses à imperfections, Peaux sèches, Peaux sensibles et réactives, Tous types de peaux.

Eostra une gamme 100% certifiée BIO

Gamme 100% d’origine naturelle, sans conservateur

Eostra innove et offre des soins 100% d’origine naturelle, c’est-à-dire des formules uniques sans conservateur.

Des formules “0% chimique”

La totalité des éléments composant les produits Eostra sont issus des plantes ou du travail animal d’où l’appellation “les soins 100% d’origine naturelle”. Il ne contiennent ni ingrédients de synthèse, ni conservateurs. Ce sont sont donc des soins “0% chimique”.

Un tube “High Tech”

Eostra a ensuite tiré le meilleur de son expertise pour offrir à ses soins, un tube unique digne de leur qualité exceptionnelle. Sa triple séquence de parois hermétique vous garantit un soin protégé de l’air, de la lumière et d’éventuelle contaminations microbiennes.

Mon avis–>Souffrant régulièrement d’allergies, dont je ne sais toujours pas à quoi elles sont dues, j’ai aussi une peau hyper sensible et ultra réactive.

C’est ce qui m’est d’ailleurs arrivée cet été, impossible d’utiliser mes soins du moment, sauf ceux là, qui m’ont réglé le problème en 1 semaine.

Vous pouvez y aller les yeux fermés.

C’est une marque de très haute qualité.

Entre 17€ et 19€

En magasin bio, pharmacie, parapharmacie, sur le net.

The communications profession is in the midst of a revolutionary change (you might have noticed). In my mind, it boils down to a simple concept:

Old model = company has one voice

New model = company has many voices

Mr Conductor sez: we can make beautiful music together!

Ah, the good old days. It used to be easy to go to the “official company spokesperson” to get the scoop on what “the company” was thinking. Now, with the advent of Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and a bunch of other stuff that probably hasn’t even been invented yet, and the blurring lines between people’s personal and work lives (damn you, Google!), it’s a lot harder for us communications folks to stay in control of how the corporate message comes out.

If you are the head of communications for your company, what should you do? Lock all the doors, scare the employees into online silence, and continue the status quo? This is what some companies are doing. There are very real concerns with how and when employees use social media tools in a work setting.

But ultimately, the shift toward a company of many voices rather than one voice is going to happen whether you like it or not. As Bob Dylan said, “You don’t need a weather man to know which way the wind blows.”

So rather than forcing yourself into a sucker’s choice of “Should I communicate my corporate story well or allow my employees to be using social media at work?” perhaps there is a better question:

“How can I communicate a consistent corporate story AND take advantage of the social media revolution to amplify it?” You can do both!

Looking at old vs. new another way for a second:

Old model = maintaining control

New model = becoming a catalyst

That’s the real question– how can you as a communications expert be the catalyst for a symphony of clear communications coming from every corner of your company?

Think like you are the conductor of an orchestra. My cousin Andrew is a conductor, but he was once just a talented violinist. Now when he goes on stage he doesn’t even have to bring an instrument, but can still make beautiful music with some of the most successful symphony orchestras in the world. He takes a large group of musicians, each playing their own parts, and gets them to do so in a way that makes the whole orchestra create a symphony of music, rather than 100 individual parts. That’s his job.

In the new world, that’s your job too. Figuring out how to conduct an orchestra of talented musicians on behalf of your brand. Not by controlling them. Not by playing every instrument yourself. But by getting people to want to be a part of amplifying the corporate story. You must be a catalyst.

Here are some Dark Matter Matters posts that might give you some ideas on how to do this:

• Why did I just write a post about Viking Longships?: How to get everyone in the organization rowing together.
• Get the organization aligned: The role of vision and strategic internal communications.
• Sharing your brand story (and here’s ours): How to tell your brand story in a compelling way.
• The role of film at Red Hat: Using digital media to bring the story to life.
• Brand and human resources in one department? Are you nuts?: Can changes to your organizational structure help?

The move from control to catalyst? Some of the best minds in the communications industry are thinking this way. As a final resource, I urge you to go read this report, entitled The Authentic Enterprise: Relationships, Values, and The Evolution of Corporate Communications. If you are a communications professional, reading this report may be the most important thing you do this year.

Here is a taste, directly from the report:

The argument of this paper is that the future of the profession – and the challenge that will define the emerging role of the chief communications
executive – is to guide the corporation in influencing and transforming not just perceptions, but the company’s behaviors, as well as the self conceptions and actions of those external constituencies themselves. Going forward, it will not be sufficient to shape perceptions within narrowly defined contexts. It will be necessary to demonstrate authenticity in radically open environments.

As we have shown, instead of “putting a message out” to influencers or into a channel, we must understand the diverse backgrounds and mindsets of our stakeholders and facilitate communications among audiences. Our job is no longer simply making “them” think well of us, nor is it even about building two-way dialogue. Now, it’s about nurturing relationships among others – including relationships that don’t necessarily directly involve our own company. Today, we’re growing a multi-faceted, networked ecosystem, and we’re seeking to influence its priorities and actions to benefit our enterprise.

The people who signed their name to this report include Jon Iwata, SVP of Communications at IBM (co-chair of the task force) plus a number of other Fortune 500 communications executives and field and academic experts. As a final point, watch this short video of Jon Iwata talking about the use of social media inside IBM.

If IBM can figure out how to conduct a symphony in one of the largest companies on earth, you can, too!

Label attribué et contrôlé par l’association One Voice, représentant français de l’ECEAE (la Coalition européenne pour mettre fin à l’expérimentation animale). Premier groupe français œuvrant en faveur des droits des animaux « de laboratoires » ou à fourrure, l’association One Voice, créée en 1995, lutte aussi pour les animaux de cirque, d’élevage et de compagnie.

Le Leaping Bunny signifie que le fabricant n’a pratiqué, commandité ou accepté aucun test sur des animaux ni durant l’intégralité du processus de fabrication du cosmétique, ni sur les ingrédients qui le composent. Pour pouvoir l’apposer sur l’étiquette d’un de ses produits, il doit en faire la demande à One Voice, présenter un dossier comprenant des attestations de non-tests de la part des fournisseurs de toutes ses matières premières (aucune exception n’est acceptée), puis être audité par

qui contrôle l’exactitude et l’exhaustivité de ces déclarations, l’ensemble du processus pouvant prendre un à deux ans.

À noter que pour l’instant, les garanties apportées par ce label ne portent que sur les expérimentations animales, et non sur la présence d’ingrédients issus d’animaux.

Today I found out some interesting (and honestly not surprising) things about #7 which has made me ‘throw’ him aside as well. My mom’s cousin lives in a city near where he does… and has friends in his city and has friends that go to his city often. So before we’d heard that he’s a decent guy and his only downside was that he wasn’t really religious. Today my mom’s cousin called and said that she had another friend look into it and he actually has a pretty bad reputation. He’s loose and had a live in girlfriend for almost 2yrs. He was already getting kind of clingy and wanted to talk daily which I was not liking. The girlfriend thing is a total dealbreaker… especially since he was already lacking in pretty much all other areas. Now, to tell him to not call me ever again… I think I’m going to have to block him from my im but how to get him to stop txting? I guess I’ll just stop responding. So bye bye #7… you’ve just been rejected and kicked to the curb.

This weekend, my dad caught up with one of his friends and was talking about me getting married (of course) and his friend mentioned that his nephew is smart, religious and also looking to get married. So, my dad sent off my biodata and all I know is that this guy lives in Australia. I’m considering him as #9 because my biodata was sent. I figure if mine has been sent or a guy’s has been sent to me… there’s a slight possibility of things going further. I don’t know what’s going to happen or how things are going to turn out… but I guess I have to have faith that everything that happens will be what’s good for me. I’m so ready for the next part of my life to begin. I want to move on. I want to be living on my own and making my own decisions. I want to live with total freedom, or as much as possible. Unfortunately the only way that is going to happen is if I get married. That’s one of the reasons why I’m totally fine with my parents finding me a guy. I know marriage shouldn’t be a solution and there’s really no guarantee that it’s going to be a solution but I kind of feel like at this point, it’s better than where I am currently. I just wish the change would come soon! I’ve been incredibly stir-crazy for over a year and I’m totally craving change.

Current Song: One Voice by The Bilz & Kashif

Billy Gilman (tên khai sinh là William Wendell Gilman III) sinh ngày 24/5/1988 vốn là nhạc sĩ-ca sĩ dòng nhạc đồng quê khi còn rất trẻ. Năm 2000, cậu xuất hiện lần đầu tiên trước công chúng với single “One Voice“, top 20 bảng xếp hạng Billboard nhạc đồng quê. Khi single được phát hành, cậu mới 12 tuổi và trở thành ca sĩ trẻ nhất có ca khúc được xếp hạng trong top 40 hit của bảng xếp hạng dòng nhạc đồng quê. Album cùng tên sau đó được phát hành cùng năm và đạt đĩa bạch kim tại Mỹ.

Single đầu tiên của Billy, “One Voice” được phát hành ngày 20/5/2000 và nhanh chóng vươn lên vị trí #1 trên bảng xếp hạng Billboard Country Singles Sales trong vòng 5 tuần. Single tiếp theo “Oklahoma” cũng đạt top 40 hit.

Tháng 20/6/2000, album ra mắt của Billy cũng với tên gọi “One Voice” được phát hành. Khi album được chứng nhận đạt đĩa vàng bởi RIAA (Hiệp hội công nghiệp thu âm Mỹ) vào 19/7, Billy trở thành nghệ sĩ nhạc đồng quê trẻ nhất đạt danh hiệu này. Vào 12/9, album ‘One Voice‘ đạt chứng chỉ đĩa bạch kim và điều này làm cậu trở thành nghệ sĩ solo trẻ tuổi nhất trong tất cả các dòng nhạc đạt danh hiệu này. Album này cuối cùng được chứng nhận đĩa bạch kim lần thứ 2 và kiếm về cho Gilman 1 đề cử giải Grammy. Tháng 1/2001, cậu được bình chọn là nghệ sĩ mới dòng nhạc đồng quê được yêu thích nhất cho giải thưởng American Music Awards, trở thành ứng cử viên trẻ nhất từng đoạt giải thưởng này. Cậu cũng được ghi danh vào sách kỉ lục thế giới Guinness là ca sĩ trẻ tuổi nhất đứng #1 trên bảng xếp hạng Billboard Top Country Albums, phá vỡ kỉ lục được thiết lập vào năm 1960 của ngôi sao Brenda Lee.

Album cho kì nghỉ “Classic Christmas” được tiếp tục phát hành vào cuối năm 2000 và đạt vị trí thứ 4 trên country charts. Album chính thức thứ 2 của Gilman, “Dare to Dream” xuất xưởng năm 2001 và đạt vị trí thứ 6 bao gồm 2 hit “She’s My Girl” và “Elisabeth“, một bản ballads tràn đầy cảm xúc về một cô gái đang phải chiến đấu ở giai đoạn cuổi của căn bệnh hiểm nghèo. Chủ đề này trở thành nền tảng cho album thứ 3 của Gilman khi cậu gặp nhà thơ trẻ có tác phẩm bán chạy nhất – Mattie Stepanek – một bệnh nhân của căn bệnh teo cơ  trong một chương trình truyền hình với Larry King. Gilman quyết định thu âm các bài thơ của Stepanek dưới dạng ca khúc và một vài nhạc sĩ của Nashville được đặt làm để đưa nhạc vào thơ. Kết quả là “Music Through Heartsongs: Songs Based on the Poems of Mattie T.J. Stepanek” được phát hành vào mùa xuân năm 2003. “Everything and More” tiếp tục sau đó vào năm 2005 và “Billy Gilman” vào năm 2006.

Track listing

1. “What’s Forever For” (3:27)
2. “I Think She Likes Me” (3:07)
3. “One Voice” (4:10)
4. “Spend Another Night” (3:46)
5. “Little Bitty Pretty One” (2:32)
6. “The Snake Song” (3:12)
7. “I Wanna Get To Ya” (3:37)
8. “Oklahoma” (4:04)
9. “Little Things” (2:25)
10. “There’s A Hero” (3:26)
11. “‘Til I Can Make It On My Own” (Bonus Track) (3:10)

Download full album (33.31Mb)