Blog Contributor:
Malaka Gharib
Malaka is editor of the ONE Blog and writes about a variety of topics on ONE's core issues. Before joining ONE, she was a producer at Al Jazeera English and contributed to the network’s coverage of the 2008 US presidential election and the War on Gaza. She was also a social media strategist at Virilion, a digital media agency, and a daily blogger for political humor website Wonkette.
May 17th, 2012 10:18 AM UTC
By Malaka Gharib
|
In just a few minutes, a few ONE staffers will be delivering your petition signatures and postcards to President Obama to USAID Administrator Raj Shah. Nearly 7,500 US ONE members wrote a heartfelt message to the President (urging him to make agriculture a priority at the G8) on our special postcards embedded with carrot seeds — which is pretty incredible, if you ask me!
But before we leave the office, I just wanted to highlight a few of our favorite postcards from our huge pile here at the ONE office. Some of them will make you laugh!
Direct. We like it!
(more…)
|
May 16th, 2012 3:26 PM UTC
By Malaka Gharib
|
It’s been about two and a half months since ONE delivered 143,863 petition signatures to the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), urging them to stand up to Big Oil by releasing a corruption-fighting rule… and we’ve heard crickets.
However today, Oxfam America, our Publish What You Pay Coalition partner is turning up the heat in a big way. They’ve filed a lawsuit against the SEC for unlawfully delaying the issuance of a strong final rule that would require disclosure of payments to from oil, gas and mining companies to the US and foreign governments. The final rule was due on April 17, 2011.
This was a follow up to Oxfam’s letter of April 16, 2012, asking the SEC to issue a final rule within 30 days or face litigation. And that deadline just expired as of today.
(more…)
|
May 16th, 2012 10:14 AM UTC
By Malaka Gharib
|
Clear some space in your schedule this Friday for the Chicago Council on Global Affairs’ Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security, a discussion on new activities to advance global agricultural development, food and nutrition security in Africa.
Bono and President Obama, at last year’s World AIDS Day event, will meet again at the Chicago Council’s Symposium on Global Agriculture. Photo credit: Ralph Alswang/ ONE.
This event is a dream come true for us here at ONE — we’ve been trying to “plant the seed” in the G8 to put sustainable global agriculture at the top of their agenda at this year’s summit. And now, thanks to this event, President Obama, G8 and African leaders, businesses, international organizations and civil society, Bono and more will have the opportunity to devote time and attention to this topic. Although we can’t be certain it will affect the outcomes of the Summit, we think it’s a great way to kick off the G8.
(more…)
|
May 14th, 2012 12:02 PM UTC
By Malaka Gharib
|
Action: 42. Time: 15 minutes. Level of difficulty: Easy.
Some of you might recognize these quotes…
We’ve posted them on our Facebook wall and Twitter feed to help inspire our ONE members to continue taking action against poverty where they can, in their own ways. People on social media love them — whenever we post them up, they get hundreds and even thousands of likes and shares. And it makes us feel good to know that we’re helping to spread our activist culture with others.
But now it’s your turn. We want to hear a quote that inspires you. It an be a quote from your favorite humanitarian, your mentor, your parents, your own quote, a famous celebrity, the Bible, the Koran, anywhere. One thing — we want to use it to help raise awareness against global hunger and malnutrition. So, any food, agriculture and farming-related quotes are much welcome.
On Friday, we’ll choose our favorite quote and have our graphic designer, Patricia Lavallee, design it into a cool graphic like the ones you see above. We’ll share it on our social media accounts during the G8 Summit (which is this weekend) to help raise awareness for global agriculture.
So, let’s get started! Share a quote with us in the comments section below. Good luck!
|
May 14th, 2012 10:14 AM UTC
By Malaka Gharib
|
Janessa Goldbeck, a longtime advocate against poverty and genocide, wanted to take her fight to the next level. So she decided to do something a little crazy: go on a 4,200-mile journey across America in the name of national security and international development with Make US Strong and the Truman Project. By herself. On a bike.
Traveling through 11 states and 23 cities, Janessa made 24 stops between San Diego (where she’s from) and our nation’s capital to talk with veterans, community leaders, students and members of Congress about the importance of foreign aid in helping to keep America safe.
Her journey took nearly 3 months to complete, but she’s now back in D.C. and is more ready than ever to kick poverty’s butt.
Janessa, 26, swung by ONE’s headquarters last week to chat with me about life on the road. I got a chance to ask her some really juicy questions — like, what was her scariest moment? How many new Facebook friends did she make? She graciously answered my questions, which you can read here, and also gives some really great advice on how to talk to someone about international development.
(more…)
|
May 9th, 2012 4:57 PM UTC
By Malaka Gharib
|
I am so excited to share with you today the work of one of your fellow ONE members, Ahtziri Gonzalez. Ahtziri is a 22-year-old photographer from Mexico City who — according to her blog — “travels… parties… writes… lives,” and above all, takes some beautiful photography. She emailed me 10 of her best photos from Africa, and they’re just stunning. What I like about her photos is that it’s vibrant, colorful and upbeat, but she also has an eye for quiet moments. Scroll through her photos to see what I mean:
Sunrise. Sani Pass, Lesotho-South Africa.
Cultural festival. Mbabane, Swaziland.
Mother and son – Mole National Park, Ghana.
Camel. Sahara Desert, Mali.
Looking for the answer. Al Azhar Mosque, Cairo, Egypt.
Woman. Grand Popo, Benin.
Fisherman. Aheme Lake, Benin.
Girl in the Volta Region, Ghana.
African Village – Tafi Atome, Ghana
Djenné Mosque, Mali.
Want more photos? Take a look at our Amazing Africa series archive.
What do you like about Ahtziri’s photos? Tell us in the comments below. And if you would like for us to share some of your photography from Africa, email me at mgharib@one.org.
|
|
