Wonderful Women Of The World
Posted by Michelle Moquin on December 11th, 2010
Good morning!
TEDWomen: Proving That Gender Does Not Determine Great Ideas
Great, diverse women with courage, impressive ideas, grace, beauty, global reach, compassion, gentle but powerfully persuasive voices, bold innovation in the toughest of times, and inspiring, moving stories — this was the force of the TEDWomen conference in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 7 and 8, which featured more than 70 speakers. Many women in the audience (and at the myriad TEDx conferences organized locally all over the world, from Beijing to Doha, Eleventh Avenue to Elm City) could have told similar but innumerable stories of lives as architects of change.
Like countless others who watched the conference from home, it was web-streaming technology that brought the women and girls of TEDWomen, shaping the future with imagination, insight and persistence, into my home. It was quite an experience, but it would have been even better to be there in person to meet other women, have discussions over coffee or wine and follow the admonitions to make this an “immersive experience” and ditch the laptops and Blackberries that tether us to our work life.
There were remarkable A-list headliners who are well-known to Americans — Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, Nancy Pelosi, Arianna Huffington, Jody Williams, Eve Ensler, Madeleine Albright, Hillary Clinton, Donna Karan, Pat Mitchell — but the power of the conference was in the lesser-known prime movers from all corners of the planet.
Some came to speak about a passion I share: creating balanced leadership for better outcomes for companies, communities and countries. Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, and Icelandic leader Halla Tomasdottir of Ardur Capital told us why women’s values and approaches are credited when there are more women decision-makers, and why it matters. In a way, the entire conference added up to why this is true — over and over through the lives and actions of presenter after presenter.
What touched my heart, however, what renewed and stirred me — a phenomenon felt at many women’s meetings — was hearing hopeful voices of lives far different from mine. I’ll remember a Palestinian poet evoking peace instead of “girls spoiled before ripening”; an American philanthropist sharing how investing patient capital with compassion, love, accountability and justice can change lives and build communities; the first Indian woman to be a police chief, who now runs a prison with the tools of education and meditation instead of fear; and a young Iranian filmmaker using her art to show the dynamism of women today.
Their powerful voices echoed a universal lesson: you can refuse to accept the status quo and instead act to solve problems and live out your dreams of a better, more peaceful and just world. The personal message was also clear: don’t wait; you can shape what is to come. As a lifelong activist but a novice at TED events, the concept of being part of a movement to build a global community of innovators, practical idealists creating connections and collaborations for the future, is new to me but is clearly the way of the future.
But here is the challenge for TED: what about men learning from women’s experiences? This conference emphasized that women have “ideas big enough to change the world,” but the reality is that women are still largely without the power to make systemic change. The current world leaders of commerce, government, the arts and media — virtually all men — hold the purse strings and dance to a different vision of power, wealth and dominance. We’re all living in their world. Men would have learned a lot at TEDWomen. Research tells us that there has to be a critical mass of women before power groups can hear, enough women at the table to create an echo chamber so that the ideas, styles and approaches can be seen as important enough to be acted upon.
So, TED, thanks for this wonderful conference, and I hope it happens every year. And now, how about having all TED events have half women and half men as speakers, fellows and in the audience? It would reflect the fact that gender is not a determinant of great ideas and would bring us all closer to that vision of a more just and sustainable world.
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Readers: I missed the live web-streaming. Did any of you get the chance to see it? Something I’ll definitely need to catch up on. Oh, how I wish I could’ve been there amongst all of those amazing, creative, and inspirational women. Did any of you attend? Please blog me. I’d love to hear all about it.
I’m looking forward to a time where we don’t have to create special events for women, because women will be equal, given just as much praise and recognition as men, just as much respect as men, just as much power as men.
Wi: Thank you. I am looking forward to going. That is a very nice offer – thank you. – You never know what life has in mind so perhaps we will meet. It sounds like you have a wonderful career for such a young girl. I wish you luck
Lorraine: Another delightful story to read. Any guy who is an advocate of animals gets high marks in my book. I wish you a long successful marriage.
Rene: Merci. Je ne peux pas attendre pour être là!
Hi Ruth: Sometimes all one needs is to hear it from someone else they respect, besides their mother. I’m sure that once I said something, it just solidified that “mother was correct”. :) I’m happy I could help. I have been known to make a few good suggestions in my time. And I have said things in mistake, in haste, that I must learn to live with too.
Anyway, I am looking forward to designer delirium! I have never been to Snydical Chamber of Haute Couture, but I have spent many a day walking Rue Etienne Marcel and Place des Victoires when I was a fashion designer soaking in all of the creativity. What girl doesn’t love a good discount? I look forward to you showing me around.
Lois: I certainly HOPE so for women’s sake.
Anna of Guam: My pleasure. And you are so correct in your statement. Hafa Adai.
Jake: Don’t be such a silly man. Doug and I aren’t attached at the hip! I enjoy traveling with Doug and I also enjoy traveling alone without him. I used to travel to Asia for months at a time, alone, without him. And in the future I will be traveling without him too. I am an independent woman, not dependent on a man for anything, so why would I need my husband to accompany me?
So in answer to your question, I ask a question: Can one ever satisfy a man? They always want to limit and control our choices. Go figure.
Hi Glenda: Thank you for writing me on your new MAC! How exciting for you and how sweet of Stacy. Your brother Jeff sounds like a gem. I have the same sort of love and admiration for my brother. I too played a part in introducing him to the woman that he married. :)
I HOPE that experimental program works for you. If you truly wish to be a girlz, sight is not something that you would need to be concerned with anymore.
Eila: That is pretty bazaar that a conversation of my blog would come up in your business. I know it is popular but I really don’t feel it here where I live. Still, It makes me smile that you have made some new friends.
Larry: That little glitch was not because I blogged about a man, nor was it intentional. You can blame whoever is messing with my blog because I assure you, it was not me.
Hey ZL: It sounds like you’ve got your Holiday party system down. love it. Me, I’m one of those that never feels like I have to make an appearance because I Iove attending holiday parties; big or small. I just love the vibe, the tree, the decorations, the smells, the tastes, getting dressed up, and of course seeing everyone. The one thing I don’t like is seeing people in santa hats, but I love Christmas wreathes dangling on the front of cars. Speaking of your tree, where’s the pic?
Hello Anonz: Happy to see you are alive and quite well. Well enough to blog and gives us an update on the dirt happening in our country. I can assure you, I won’t be trading in any of my money.
Peter: Thank you. And you as well.
Bob: ahah! This one I like.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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December 12th, 2010 at 12:27 am
Zen Lilly
I will have to make my self scare for a while longer. I do wish you and the little one(not so little anymore) a very happy holiday season.
Anonz
December 12th, 2010 at 12:36 am
Thank you Michelle for bringing attention to the TEDWomen conference. It was an exciting experience for me.
We hope the conference will show how a little inclusion of women in the economic stream of a country can create a huge impact upon the economic status of the entire country.
Vivian
December 12th, 2010 at 12:57 am
Michelle:
Your response to Glenda brought tears to my eyes. My sister, Nancy, has been bind since she was born. She uses Screen Reader to access the net.
I never mentioned your blog to her because your blog features conversations with aliens. She has always been interested in alien visitation to this planet and the possibility of traveling to other worlds.
I didn’t want her hear about the possibility of others becoming a Girlz knowing it would be out of her reach because she was blind.
But your response to Glenda was all I needed to give her your blog address. She is so excited. She was up all day and most of the night “catching up on the latest.”
At first she was very angry with me, but a few minutes ago she called to say, “I love you Sis, this is the greatest.”
Thank you for making another person happy. It is not about whether she will become a Girlz, or even if they exist. It is the fact that you would extend the opportunity to every female.
This gives hope to all.
Sissy
December 12th, 2010 at 1:37 am
Hafa adai
Why is cancer killing so many Guamanians?
The new study is scary. We need to get answers.
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Cancer research shows high rates on Guam
BY ERIN THOMPSON • PACIFIC DAILY NEWS • DECEMBER 3, 2010
Cancer takes lives everywhere. But on Guam, cancer is particularly devastating.
While incidence of cancer in men has decreased slightly in the United States during a period of 2003 to 2007, on Guam, the incidence of cancer rose 22 percent, according to Helen Whippy, senior vice president of the University of Guam and a co-principal investigator of UOG’s cancer research program.
The number of men who died of cancer during that period rose 100 percent. Women die from breast cancer at one-and-a-half times the rate of women in the United States, Whippy said.
“Every week, four men and three women get told they have cancer,” said Whippy. “And every two or three days someone dies from cancer on this island.”
Speaking to an audience at the Unversity of Guam, Whippy and other scientists involved in the cancer research program presented an update on the work being done at the University of Guam Cancer Research Center, in partnership with the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii.
Following a $3.5 million planning grant awarded in 2003, the National Institutes of Health awarded the University of Guam and the University of Hawaii $12.5 million in 2009 to conduct cancer research for the next five years.
The project aims to increase cancer research in the region, increase the number of Pacific Island cancer researchers, and increase awareness of cancer in Guam, Hawaii and other Pacific Islands.
“We want local people solving local problems, using the best science available,” said Whippy.
The goal, however, is to help change cancer-causing habits — everything from smoking to obesity and chewing betel nut — in order to cut down on the disease, she said.
As part of the grant, researchers are collecting data for the Guam Cancer Registry, as well as studying specific types of cancer among Pacific islander populations, and spearheading an outreach campaign to fight the disease.
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We need everyone on the island to be aware of the statistic that every 2 or 3 days someone on the island dies of cancer.
Peter
December 12th, 2010 at 1:48 am
How to Survive Any Disaster
Dorothy Firman, EdD
Union Institute and University
On January 15, 2009, Captain Chesley Sullenberger landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River after a collision with a flock of Canadian geese knocked out his aircraft’s engines.
In what would become celebrated as the “Miracle on the Hudson,” all 150 passengers and every crew member survived.
Sullenberger’s water landing was only the beginning of this incredible story of survival.
The less publicized rest of the story is how the passengers of Flight 1549 reacted to the disaster… and how they rebuilt and reshaped their lives in the months that followed.
Dorothy Firman, EdD, a therapist and professor of psychology, interviewed passengers and rescuers to determine the lessons that Flight 1549 can teach us all…
BRACE FOR IMPACT
Once Flight 1549 landed in the Hudson, people on the plane were forced to make potentially life-and-death decisions and confront their mortality.
Certain actions and attitudes can increase the odds of survival in these situations…
A sense of preparedness. There’s no way to truly be prepared for an emergency as rare as a plane crash.
Still, those who take steps to prepare, however small, and those who can call to mind relevant training or experience from their past tend to feel prepared, improving the odds that they will remain calm and react productively.
Example: Flight 1549 passenger Bill Zuhoski felt prepared for a winter water landing because he had enjoyed bracing winter swims as a boy.
He remained calm and responded well even though he lost his glasses in the crash and couldn’t see the exits.
ACTION PLAN Take a basic safety or survival class. Count the rows to the nearest exit when you board a plane, and read the safety instruction card even if you fly often.
Continually assess and reassess your options. Devise a survival plan as soon as disaster looms, but do not become so wedded to this plan that you fail to reevaluate your strategy as new information becomes available.
When people are under great stress, they become prone to one-track thinking, which can be fatal in rapidly changing emergency situations.
Using an ongoing reassessment thought process also keeps our minds in take-charge action mode, not the deer-in-the headlights victim mode that causes some people to shut down completely in disasters.
And it sidesteps the common trap of feeling hopeless when an initial plan fails.
Example: As Flight 1549 glided toward the river, passenger Mark Hood, a former marine lieutenant, asked himself, “Where are all the exits?
Who around me might need help?” Even after he exited the plane, Hood didn’t stop thinking through his options.
He evaluated the seats available on a life raft and selected one at the rear, where he could keep an eye on his fellow raft passengers and help them stay safe.
ACTION PLAN Continually reevaluate your initial plan. Have alternatives in mind.
Focus on the action-oriented question, “What can I do?” in emergencies, rather than the victim-oriented question, “Why did this happen to me?”
Reflect on your highest priorities to prod your will to survive. In an emergency, take a moment to think about how much your loved ones need you — or the life goals that you have not yet accomplished.
This can reduce the odds that you will freeze up or give up.
Example: In the moments before the crash landing, passenger Brad Wentzell had thoughts about his daughter. The memory made him calm, yet focused.
ACTION PLAN Focus on the important people and goals in your life.
Help others (and help yourself in the process). Striving to assist others in an emergency can prevent you from feeling like a helpless victim yourself, increasing your own odds of survival.
Examples: Passenger Barry Leonard suffered a cracked sternum in the Flight 1549 crash and was near death from hypothermia after attempting to swim from the plane.
He still used his remaining strength to help others climb onto a ferry before exiting the life raft himself.
Wentzell saw that some other passengers were in a daze after the crash and made it his task to get them moving, yelling, “Get up! Come on. Go!” He even grabbed one man’s shirt to shake him from his stupor.
ACTION PLAN Identify someone who is struggling in an emergency, and make it your mission to help him/her.
Postpone the “Phew, I’ve made it” moment. It’s dangerous to celebrate too soon in a disaster.
Flight 1549 passengers felt fortunate to have survived the initial crash, but they still had the difficult job of exiting the plane.
Once out, they had to survive frigid, dangerous conditions on a wing, in a life raft or in frigid water. Those who allowed themselves to feel safe before they were aboard a rescue craft risked losing their adrenaline rush and making mistakes.
Example: Passenger Dave Sanderson found himself in great danger after help arrived, when a rescue boat bumped the plane and he was forced into near-freezing water while others already were boarding the rescue boat.
ACTION PLAN When you think that you have escaped an emergency, ask, “What do I need to do now to further increase my level of safety… and do others still need my help?”
AFTER THE DISASTER
The passengers who spoke with us felt that their lives had been altered by the event. To come to terms with these feelings and move forward…
Find someone you can talk to. Many people think that they must keep their feelings inside. If you have survived a disaster, you almost certainly have feelings that need to be expressed.
Example: The mother of passenger Michele Davis told us that her daughter initially lost her bubbly personality after the crash.
Talking through the experience with us for the book was what finally convinced Davis that it was okay to allow herself to cry.
ACTION PLAN Find someone, such as a therapist or clergy member, who will listen to you without judgment and without offering quick fixes.
Transform your life by moving closer to what you already wanted to be. Many disaster survivors feel driven to abandon their old lives in an effort to seek lives that are more fulfilling or that seem to have more meaning.
Such extreme change usually is not necessary. Instead, reflect on your personal priorities and on how you could integrate these more into your current life.
Example: Flight 1549 passenger Matt Kane now steps in when he sees flight attendants being treated poorly by rude passengers. In the past, he would have just “minded his own business.”
ACTION PLAN Focus on what’s important to you. Often this means spending more time with loved ones… or making an effort to help those in need.
Create a new community. Many of the survivors of Flight 1549 have become close — disaster survivors often feel a strong bond with fellow survivors. These are the only people who can provide complete understanding.
Example: In the year following the crash, passengers Darren Beck and Don Norton — who work together but had not been close — became good friends. Beck says he now discusses things with Norton that he would never talk about with anyone else.
ACTION PLAN For emotional support, seek out others who have survived traumas similar to yours. A therapist or clergy member might be able to help you find an appropriate group.
Also, work on deepening the relationships with those already in your life — friends, family and colleagues.
Personal interviewed Dorothy Firman, EdD, professor in the department of graduate psychology and counseling at Union Institute and University, Brattleboro, Vermont, and psychotherapist at the Synthesis Center in Amherst, Massachusetts.
She has more than 30 years of experience in psychology and counseling. Dr. Firman and her coauthor, Kevin Quirk, interviewed 25 of the Flight 1549 survivors and rescuers for their book Brace for Impact: Miracle on the Hudson Survivors Share Their Stories of Near Death and Hope for New Life (Health Communications) http://www.BraceforImpact.hcibooks.com.
December 12th, 2010 at 1:57 am
A woman seeking a divorce fell in loves with her lawyer even thigh e was a married man. After the divorce decree, she visited him in his office and said, “Isn’t there some way we can be together?”
Taking her by the shoulders, the lawyer said, “Snatched drinks in grimy bars, talking dirty over the phone, hurried meetings in sordid motel rooms—is that really what you want for us?”
“No, no,” she sobbed.
“Well, ” the divorce lawyer said, “it was just a suggestion.”
December 12th, 2010 at 2:01 am
Michelle:
Thanks for the mention. Here is a little puzzle for you and your fans.
How is sex like music?
========check this space for the answer tomorrow=
Bob
December 12th, 2010 at 2:08 am
Anonz:
I wasn’t sure that that was you until you came back in to say hello to Zen Lill.
We have missed you. Glad to hear you are alive and well.
Please contact or is the usual channel no longer effective?
Please forgive the contact here, confusion reigns, this was my only option.
Ruth
December 12th, 2010 at 2:20 am
Thanks Peter, we do need to discover why Cancer is so high on Guam. And as if that is bad enough we have people faking hospitals.
http://www.GuamGeneralHospital.com, lists information and job opportunities for a 988-bed, level-1 trauma center on island. IT IS FAKE! There is NO such facility on Guam.
The Guam General Hospital website uses photos of Naval Hospital Guam and Indiana University Hospital, and the only phone numbers listed go to the Atlanta area.
Some of the text about the “hospital’s” facilities has been copied from the websites of Tampa General Hospital and Rochester General Hospital. Even a portrait of the “hospital’s” chief executive officer, “Dr. Richard Njabulo,” is available for purchase on a website that sells stock photos, listed under the title “male physician.”
the website describes a very impressive — although completely fictional — medical facility. According to the website, some of the hospital’s highlights include:
A 32-bed neuroscience intensive care unit;
Five medical helicopters, which transfer patients from “23 surrounding counties”; and
Status as one of the leading heart transplant centers in the country, which performed the “state’s first successful heart transplant in 1995.”
As if that wasn’t bad enough, now we have a second FAKE hospital listing. This one is called “Western Pacific Hospital.”
The FBI will investigate both websites, which may be part of an unusual Internet fraud scheme, said agency spokesman Tom Simon. The Pacific Daily News informed the FBI about both websites, jumpstarting the investigation.
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Hafa Adai
December 12th, 2010 at 2:29 am
Sex is like music because both are all about the strokes.
December 12th, 2010 at 2:33 am
Sex is like music because the more you practice the better you get.
December 12th, 2010 at 2:36 am
Sex is like music because it is enjoyable whether you are doing it or hearing it done.
December 12th, 2010 at 6:46 am
Sex is like music because good sex like good music is soothing to the soul.
December 12th, 2010 at 7:29 am
Hafa adai
Now that the people of Guam have demanded to be heard, we are hearing of a possible concession on the firing range issue from Assistant Secretary of the Navy Jackalyne Pfannenstiel.
According to current plans, the public couldn’t go to Pågat when some of the gun ranges — such as the machine gun range — were in use, because of the tiny chance a stray bullet could be a danger.
But maybe that could change, Pfannenstiel said.
“If that access was unimpeded, if there was no constraint at all at getting to the caves and the village, would that make an enormous difference?” she asked. “Would that then remove the opposition for using that area for the training ranges?”
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Let’s see what really happens.
Peter