Two American women are facing 12 years of hard labor for their humanitarian efforts, one of them a mother, and yet the national media has not picked up the story with as much enthusiasm as that of Roxana Saberi. Unfortunately, the nature of the relationship between the United States and North Korea lends itself to a muted media response. Additionally, the so-called Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has established a record of unpredictable and hostile behavior, most recently with walking out of UN negotiations, restarting it’s nuclear program, testing new intermediate-range missiles, and detonating its largest-ever nuclear device (and that’s just in the last several months). Join Pledge For Moms in an effort to liberate Euna Lee and Laura Ling – sign the petition today!

This Saturday, May 20th, we had a really great turn-out at the Habitat for Humanity Charlotte Young Professionals build event, allowing us to finish the dry-walling most of the house by 12PM – sincerest thanks to all who came (especially the RedBull marketing team for providing the drinks and support), and I hope to see you all at the next event! Home ownership is one of the most essential aspects of a successful and enduring community and volunteers just like you help make working families realize this dream – great job!

For nailing up sheets of drywall, a drywall hammer is a must. It has a convex head that creates a little dimple around the nail head without breaking the paper on the surface of the drywall. This will allow you to cover the nail head with drywall mud and get a perfectly smooth surface. Using drywall screws can go a lot faster, if you have the right tool. You want to use a special electric drywall screw gun that lets you adjust it to sink the screws a little below the surface, again, so you don’t break the paper. With a regular screw gun you don’t have this control.

Sotomayor was raised in a Bronx housing project and attended some of the nation’s most prominent universities. It’s the kind of feel-good story that makes you appreciate the vast opportunities America has to offer everyone (even poor immigrants like me). Her inspirational life experiences have rendered her a hero as a woman, as a member of the Hispanic community, and as a tough and fair judge. So what are people saying about this nomination? Obama had a very large selection of qualified candidates – Cass Sunstein, Elena Kagan, and Diane Wood…

“If the same number of people were killed for belonging to a certain ethnic group or special group, for being black, Jewish or indigenous, people would react differently. But they are women, and unfortunately people are desensitized,” stated Susan Chiarotty, coordinator of CEVI, in response to one of the questions at a Q&A regarding the womens rights movement in Latin America. According to CEVI, despite 30 years of extensive work in the Latin communities (where women-conscious changes are taking place, albeit very slowly), real progress will happen only when certain aspects of the ‘Hidden Genocide’ are finally publicly acknowledged.

Sexism stems from centuries upon centuries of tradition, entrenched in religion, education, and of course, basic physiology. Technically, the women’s rights and suffrage movement is a really new concept considering how long women occupied their inferior role throughout history. No wonder it has been met with resistance from both men and women since inception; we’re still in the very early stage of making gender equality a reality. Before we can really start making strides, I think we should all take a look at what’s out there and have a good laugh, think, and take action.

This Saturday, April 25th, had one of the most motivated volunteer groups (representing both Habitat Young Professionals and Hands on Charlotte), allowing us to finish the roof sheathing almost 4 hours before the assigned deadline – sincerest thanks to all who came, and I hope to see you at the next event! Home ownership is one of the most essential aspects of a successful and enduring community and volunteers just like you help make working families realize this dream – great job!