Thanks for All You Do

As this year comes to an end, I can't help but be in awe, and so proud of all we accomplished for reproductive freedom. With your support we made 2008 one of the most successful years for choice in a generation.

Thanks to the ongoing commitment of pro-choice Americans like you, we were able to elect fully pro-choice Sen. Barack Obama to the White House ... gain 20 new pro-choice seats in the House of Representatives ... and move seven Senate seats from the anti-choice column.

The National Journal ranked NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC second among the nation's 21 top political organizations for posting one of the best win-lose records among House and Senate candidates in the 2008 elections. It also credited NARAL Pro-Choice America as a leader among progressive groups that "not only honed their techniques individually but also worked harder to coordinate their efforts." ["Winning the Ground Game," National Journal, 11/8/08.] NARAL Pro-Choice America is the political leader of the pro-choice movement!

None of these accomplishments would have happened without you, so please accept my deepest thanks.

There are still many challenges ahead in 2009. Just look at the new regulation announced by Bush two weeks ago -- this measure allows anyone in the health-care industry, even receptionists making appointments, to deny women access to abortion services or referrals. I believe that with your ongoing commitment we will be able to begin to undo the damage from the last eight years and have a successful year for choice in this country.

Thanks for all you do to protect women's reproductive freedom and privacy, and best wishes for a happy and healthy new year.

Nancy Keenan
President, NARAL Pro-Choice America

Modern Face of Slavery

by: Andrew Buncombe, The Independent UK

Domestic workers face abuse and harsh conditions in India. (Photo: savethechildren.org.uk)

They are lured by the promise of money and training, but end up as domestic workers who endure abuse and beatings at the hands of their masters.

She came to Delhi dreaming of a new start, of escape from a life of poverty and hardship. Yet when she arrived, Sushma Kumari quickly realised she had been tricked.

Far from being trained in the skills of acupuncture, for two years she was forced to work as an unpaid domestic help in the home of the "doctor" supposed to be teaching her. She toiled from 5am to midnight, seven days a week. She was abused and mistreated. Almost certainly she was brought to Delhi by a professional trafficker; what is beyond doubt is that once she got here she lived the life of a slave.

For a woman who has the right to burn with anger, Sushma talks in little more than a whisper. "I really wanted to go home but I was not allowed to talk to my father," she says. "I felt desperate, cheated."

The story of Sushma is a journey to the dark side of the New India, away from the tales of soaring economic growth and gleaming fashion malls, of Western-style coffee shops filled with a newly wealthy class. The two are surely connected; chief among the reasons for the growing demand for young, poor women from places like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and other desperately poor states to come to toil in India's growing metropolitan centres, is that a new generation of professional women entering the workforce no longer have the time or inclination for household chores. Human traffickers fill the gap.

And in a way, Sushma had been drawn by the promises of the New India. After she was forced to leave school early because the family were so poor, her father learnt, through an acquaintance, of an acupuncturist in Delhi looking for a trainee. A middle-man arranged that Sushma could be that person.

"When we left the village, we were taken to another village for a month and then brought to Delhi. In the first weeks there was some informal training but it became obvious we were there to work as domestic servants," she recalls. "After that, we just had to work. When my father called I was told to say everything was fine and that I was doing well."

The reality was quite different. Beaten and abused, accused of stealing and worked to the bone, Sushma wanted to escape but did not know how. She suffered for two years before learning, through another domestic worker, of an organisation that could help. Then she ran away.

The treatment of India's domestic workers is a topic the establishment rarely addresses. Relied upon to cook, clean, shop, wash and iron clothes and even nanny children, they become indispensable for many families. Yet while some employers treat them well, many are remarkably cruel. Stories of abuse abound. Last month, a badly beaten 13-year-old girl was rescued from the home of a professional couple in Gurgaon, Delhi's hi-tech satellite city. The couple told police they beat the child to get rid of their stress.

The charity Sushma ran to for help is called Nirmana. Established 12 years ago, the group uses trained overseas volunteers from a partner organisation, Voluntary Services Overseas, one of the charities being supported in this year's Independent Christmas Appeal. One of the volunteers working with Nirmana is 25-year-old Serena O'Sullivan.

Serena worked for a FTSE 100 company for a year after leaving university but decided she wanted to do something more fulfilling. After working for several charities, she became convinced that governments in poor countries needed to be pressed to include the poorest people in their programmes. "It led me to accept a VSO placement in India with Nirmana. I am able to share my skills in communications and advocacy, but also spend time with rescued workers and help to get their voices heard at a national and international level.

"It is very hard to reconcile your own life and those of the people here. You hear the worst stories you can imagine. You wonder how one person can treat another person like that," she says. "It is as if some people here think that others are not deserving of the same rights."

The scale of the problem Nirmana is trying to deal with is vast. A full 40 per cent of the people involved in domestic work are below the age of 14. And the number of people being trafficked is growing. The agencies which place them are unregulated and unsupervised.

But slowly the country is being forced for the first time to consider the problem. The work of Nirmana and VSO is one factor. Another has been the publication of Aravind Adiga's novel White Tiger, which won this year's Booker Prize with its account of the abuse and mistreatment of servants. Some abused servants are summoning the courage to speak out.

One such is 17-year-old Meena Tirki. Meena says she is 17 but she could be younger. Though Meena tries to smile as she tells her story, her face is impossibly sad. And with good reason. The eldest of four girls from a village near Siliguri in West Bengal, Meena's family could never afford to send her to school. Earlier this year, an agent came to her village looking for girls who wanted to work in Delhi.

Under pressure from her step-mother, Meena agreed. Placed with a family in East Delhi, Meena found herself sleeping on the roof during the blistering summer, rising at 5am to begin a day of exhausting labour. The family said they would not pay her and the abuse began almost immediately. "The husband would hit me. He would accuse me of not working," she says. But Meena heard about Nirmana and she also ran.

With the help of Nirmana, Meena and Sushma have since been placed with other families in Delhi where they are working as domestic help. It would be a lie to say their stories have a saccharine-sweet ending. While they are now being paid, they receive only a pittance - less than £30 a month - and they still work gruelling hours.

But there is the vaguest flicker of hope. Sushma has been attending an open school in Delhi and hopes to complete her exams in April. She says: "Then I will decide whether to go home or not." She has begun to take control of her life.

Does John McCain Understand Women Could Die?

John McCain on NBC’s, Meet the Press, 1/30/00:
Mr. Russert: “A Constitutional Amendment to ban all abortions?”
McCain: “Yes Sir.”
Mr. Russert: “But, Senator, women across the country would say, prior to Roe v. Wade, hundreds of thousands of women a year went to back alleys to have abortions.”
McCain: “I understand that.”
Mr. Russert: “Many died.”
McCain: “I understand that.”

The video speaks for itself.

In only a matter of hours we’ll find out if McCain is going to come clean to the American public about his anti-choice record on birth control, Roe v. Wade, and a woman’s right to choose. But I’m not holding my breath, and would advise you not to either.

McCain won’t talk about his hypocritical opposition to birth control. He won’t talk about wanting to outlaw abortion or overturning Roe v. Wade. But he’s said it. And we have the video to prove it.

Donate now to stop McCain-Palin from winning the White House and endangering women’s lives.

As you read this, NARAL Pro-Choice America is in key battleground states -- including Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia -- getting the truth out about the McCain-Palin ticket.

Election Day is just 20 days away, and I have no doubt that we can make a difference, but only with your continued vigilance and ongoing support.

We cannot give up now.

Help NARAL Pro-Choice America stop McCain-Palin, elect pro-choice Barack Obama, and support our work at every level to protect a woman’s right to choose.

Sincerely,

Nancy Keenan

Nancy Keenan
President, NARAL Pro-Choice America

P.S. Three steps you can take to stop McCain-Palin: Watch this shocking video. Make an urgent online contribution to protect a woman’s right to choose. Forward this message to all your friends.

Is the Economic Recession Getting You Down?

Discover the Secret to Weathering a Recession and Walking Away with Your Bank Account, Your Retirement Fund, Your Investments and Your Pride!

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Never Before Revealed Information!

When you’re unprepared for the impact of recession on your life and your business, the consequences can take you completely by surprise.

The economic recession brought on by over eager lenders, under-prepared borrowers, and overzealous government and an economy that cares more about its bottom line than its citizens has been pummeling Americans from coast to coast, and it doesn’t show any signs of going away any time soon.

Are you sick and tired of counting your pennies? Looking for a way to be free of the constant fear that one day you’re going to walk into your office and find a pink slip sitting there waiting for you? Would you like, just once to be the once sitting back and making a profit instead of the one worrying about whether this will be the week your business is going to have to close its doors?

Let Me Show You How...

Did you know that economic recessions aren’t anything new? The lifecycle of the business world very closely resembles the lifecycle of the average insect-it circles around, and around, and around, and…well, you get the picture. There are many stages inside that circle that keep business flowing smoothly and the wheels of progress turning the way they’re meant to.

An economic recession is only one of these stages.

Economic recessions are a vital part of the well being and health of our economy, and a study into our history will show that they actually happen on a fairly regular basis-and they usually don’t leave much damage behind. Why, then, do we panic so badly at the thought that this time might be our turn to weather an economic recession?

Because we don’t know what to do about it!

Business magnates understand that economic recession, a time when consumer spending is going to decrease for one reason or another and have a negative impact on the life and health of their company, is a necessary stage of life. From the moment they step into their corner office they’re carefully grooming and preparing the company for the moment when recession is going to rear its unattractive head and take a bite out of their profits.

Those of us who haven’t finished our MBA usually aren’t that well informed.

Without being aware of the necessity and the inevitability of an economic recession, most of us don’t realize that sooner or later recession is going to happen, and it’s going to impact all of our lives. We’ve been lulled into complacency by the constant boom and growth of the American economy, and we’re so focused on finding instant gratification for our desires that we don’t see when recession starts to creep up until it is far too late.

• Strings of layoffs
• Dramatic dips in the profits of your company
• An increase in outsourced labor
• The disappearance of expendable cash
• A crashing housing market
• Rapidly falling stock prices
• Decreasing values of 401Ks and other retirement accounts
• Companies going bankrupt

Everyone knows about the negative impacts of an Economic Recession. But what about the positive ones?

When you’ve walked into an unemployment office and seen hundreds of people filling out paperwork in the hope that somehow, someway, someone in that office will be able to help them find a job, it can be hard to believe that there are actually benefits to an economic recession. They are there, however, and if you’re a savvy business person you’ll be able to figure out how to take advantage of them. How do you think so many companies manage to stay in business when recessions happen at least once a decade?

Major corporations around the globe has learned how to weather an economic recession and keep making a profit, and now you can do it too! Regardless of whether you’re an entry level janitor or the CEO of a major corporation, the recession is going to have an impact on your life personally. The question is, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to let the recession bowl you over and leave you struggling for a way to keep your job and pay your bills? Or are you going to look at it as an opportunity to expand your horizons, stretch your wings and show the world what you can really do?

That was a choice I had to make for myself not too long ago

Two years ago I was sitting pretty. I had a good government job working as a contractor for the military, a good retirement plan, a salary that more than met our needs and an insurance program that kept my kids in antibiotics and vaccines.

All in all, life was looking pretty good. Then the recession hit.

I don’t know if any of you out there were unfortunate enough to be a part of this, but over the last two years military contractors have been steadily laying off hundreds of employees in an attempt to trim the fat from their bottom line and help them stay afloat as government contracts began to be canceled left, right and sideways. Because I had just accepted a new position within the company I was considered to be the new kid on the block, even though I had been working for them for years, and my job was among the first to go.

I was devastated.

Suddenly there I was, with a family to support and no income other than what I had coming in from our investments. I’m not ashamed to say I panicked at first. I couldn’t see how, at my age, I could possibly pick up and start all over again in another job. I’d invested too much time and effort to get where I had been, and the thought of having to climb that ladder all over again was enough to make me want to lock my door and hide for a year or two.

My general fondness for eating on a semi-regular basis got me out the door soon enough, however, and it wasn’t long before I was roaming the streets looking for another job. I was fortunate. I had remained in touch with many of my old college buddies, and one of them happened to work for a firm that had just lost one of its key employees and was looking for someone qualified who would be able to fill his place-quickly.

My friend’s recommendation and my own experience had me inside a new job within a month, but over the course of that month I saw hundreds of other contractors I had worked with who weren’t as lucky. They were out of work for months, many of them taking jobs that were far below their skills, their education and their experience just to have a paycheck.

And then there were a few of them that decided to start their own companies and offer their services to the private sector. A few of them started new careers in real estate. When I first heard what they were planning I thought they were out of their minds, but it wasn’t long before they started turning a profit-a big one.

I was astonished. If the U.S. government was losing money hand over fist and having to shut down its operations, how on earth were these little start-up companies managing to not only survive, but to thrive?

They were able to do it because they figured out how to take advantage of the recession!

I would never have believed that there would have been anything about an economic recession that would allow a company or a private entrepreneur to thrive, but as I talked with my old friends I realized that there was a side of the recession that we never saw-and that side could make the difference between surviving and thriving in the middle of an economic recession.

This is the ultimate guide to showing you how to thrive when everything else seems to be falling apart!

It’s really not fair that only a small percentage of the population has the knowledge they need to hang on to their jobs, increase their net worth and help their company thrive-especially when all they really need to do is change their mindset!! That’s why I decided to write Recession Suvival - How To Proft From An Economic Recession. I figured it was high time the rest of the world had the chance to learn what the major players already knew-the secrets for surviving an economic recession without going into debt!

But don’t take my word for it…

I don’t expect you to take my word for it. Hey, a recession can be scary stuff! That’s why I’m offering Recession Suvival - How To Proft From An Economic Recession complete with a 90 day money back guarantee. Buy the book. Read it. Put the strategies I’m going to show you into play in your own life!

• Give investing a try
• Grow your stock portfolio exponentially
• Make yourself so indispensable your boss will never fire you!
• Give your company the momentum it needs to get through the recession and go into the future with a bang

The secrets I’m going to show you in this book are the same business tricks and strategies that major corporations like Macy’s and J.C. Penney have been using to survive economic recessions for decades. Don’t you wonder sometimes why these companies have been in business for years? Wouldn’t you love to know what secrets are keeping their managers in the driver’s seats when hundreds of other companies are closing their doors? Let me show you!

There’s nothing in this book that requires you to throw thousands of dollars into some strange investment opportunity that’s “guaranteed to secure your future”.

Just plain, simple, easy to use tricks and strategies to help you ride out the recession and come out on top on the other side.

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Redundant Women: The Effects of Economic Recession on Women

Economic recession is defined to be a period of time (two consecutive quarters) where there is dismal or negative growth in an economy of a specific region or country. Economic recession has different effects on each sector of a nation. A particular sector could experience an impact that could distinctive only in his or her sector.

Women comprises half of the world’s population. During recessions, there is a relative downturn on women’s employment that ever before. Before the United States’ recession in 2001, women were not greatly affected by the economic recession. However, after the 2001 recession in the United States, omen started losing a lot of jobs.

Women also experience low employment rates. Families rely on women’s employment to boost the family income during a recession. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics:

1. When women lose jobs, families lose a substantial share of the income. Women salaries are said to be one third of the whole family budget.

2. Over the past 30 years, families who have a working wife have seen real increases in family income.

3. During the 2001 recession, women were hit harder by unemployment than men.

4. After the recession of 2001, women were able to get back to their jobs but where unable to gain or experience any increase in their employment rates.

5. Women are said to be harder hit by the 2008 recession since women are disproportionately represented in state and local government services.

Women are also greatly affected by job losses during economic recession. Women are said to be the last person to be hired, but the last person to be fired. Unlike women, men shows stable numbers since United States had experienced the economic recession

Between March 2001 and August 2004, women lost jobs in a number of key industries. Women lost 347,000 jobs in information alone. In retail industries, women lost 367,000 jobs. The biggest lost will be in the manufacturing industry which cost women over a million jobs. These numbers are just in the United States alone.

Unemployment rate among adult women workers rise faster compared to men workers. From 3.8 percent in March 2007 it went up to 4.6 percent in March 2008. There is also a significant effect on the wage of women compared to men. Women’s wages are more unstable than men’s wages.

Women have the tendency or risk of seeing large drops in income than men do. It has been culturally imbedded (based on gender analysis of events) that women’s income just fill in the disparity of men’s wage in terms of providing for the family. Thus women’s wage not being a major source of funds is more at risk of deduction.

In developing countries, women are facing poverty brought about by economic recession blowing out of proportions. With lack of work opportunities and immense poverty, women are forced to enter into prostitution and white slavery.

When economic recession hit in Asia in mid- 1997, women was the hardest hit by the crisis. Many women who have entered these industries come from rural areas because they could no longer sustain themselves and their families. Because of the recession, a lot of employees were released from their work. Women, carrying the burden of providing for their families were provided no other options.

Southeast Asian countries were deeply affected by the financial crisis and were left with social scars. Whenever economic recession or crisis similar to this happens, women and children bear the scars.

Surviving Divorce To Learn To Live Again

Living happily again after divorce can be really a challenge, because separation is one of the most hurting experiences that many families experience. Divorce is not only the end of a wedding, but also the death of some of your hopes and dreams. A divorce can destroy years of shared love with each other in a fraction of a second. Many people find it difficult living again after divorce, therefore here are some tips for surviving divorce to learn to live again.

Learn to Live Tips

* Most often people face difficulties after a divorce, because they never think about life after divorce. One of the best ways to overcome this difficulty is to engage in varied activities. If you try to learn some new activities like music, gardening or drawing, it will definitely help you live happy and contended life after divorce.
* Many people feel awkward to start a new life after divorce and some of them get mad due to this awkwardness. If you feel something like this, do not be afraid, because your friends and family is there with you. They will always support you to overcome this problem and head towards a new life.
* People who are optimistic after the divorce will rarely face many emotional problems. Therefore, optimism after separation is a nice solution for surviving divorce to learn to live again. If you have children, the divorce can cause more disturbing effects in your life. Both of you will have to think about their future life, education and career. You will have to make financial agreements for their future. Some parents have succeeded in providing the necessary facilities to their children in tough economic conditions after the divorce. You can discuss with them about how they managed it.
* While thinking of starting a new life after divorce, you should recognize your loss due to the divorce. The most important thing about recovery is being honest with yourself and you will have to face the actuality of your unsuccessful wedding. You should never run away from this reality and accept it as a natural pain. Sometimes pain too can prove to be a motivator and help you deal with life better.
* People, who suffer from divorce pain, should take care that this pain does not dominate their life and understand the fact that one day this pain will subside. Most often people think that life is over after divorce and they cannot love again. However, if you try to commit yourself to overcome through it, the pain will go away in few days and you will be able to start new life with fresh feelings. You will be able to trust and love again. According to many counselors, divorced people should never waste their time and efficiency in pain. They can invest it in work that can help them in their recovery.

By having a positive attitude and realizing that your entire future lies ahead of you, you can think about surviving divorce to learn to live again. You will have to be much more careful about starting a new life after divorce. So it is better if you think about your new life in advance.

Surviving Divorce Proceedings

Marriage is a serious relationship and therefore a divorce affects the lives of both people. Divorce may give rise to issues related to children, property, etc. Moreover, for many it is a mental set back as well. However, once you have decided for sure that you want to be divorced, you need take care of all important related issues, as doing so will help you in surviving divorce proceedings.

To help with any important issues you may have to face, here are some pointers:

* Whatever the outcome of the divorce may have been concerning children, property, etc, the most important thing is to accept it. The ruling of court that the children should live with your partner instead of you is very heavy decision. However, you should accept it. Feelings of distress over this for a long time will make surviving divorce proceedings difficult.
* Then secondly you have to consider the practical issues because the divorce is about to change your life practically as well. If you were living in your partner’s house then you will need to find a house for yourself. Getting a suitable housing may be a difficult task and you will need to research a bit for this. In the same way, the issues with banks and other kinds of accounts should be resolved as early as possible.
* For surviving divorce proceedings, you should shake yourself free from any guilt of regret. Many people later keep on thinking about the reasons why the divorce occurred. Some of them hold either themselves or their partners responsible for it. They think that they could have avoided the divorce and it was an unnecessary decision. You should not let your thoughts flow in this direction.
* Do not hold yourself or your partner responsible for the divorce. Never develop or keep any frustration in your mind for your partner. Such emotions will only cause unnecessary trouble. Convince yourself that this was the right decision for you as well your partner.
* Convince yourself that whatever has happened was perfectly right and the divorce was a well thought decision. For this, you can reevaluate the conditions and the reasons, which lead to the divorce. Persuade your mind that divorce was the best option for both of you and the situations you were facing.
* Now you should learn to live life without your partner. For this, you need to gain some self-confidence in yourself. You should believe in your capabilities and believe that you can live without your partner both emotionally as well as practically. For surviving divorce proceedings, you can even look at the positive side and the advantages that you will get from the divorce.

For surviving divorce proceedings, you need to continue living your life happily. Getting yourself involved in some kind of activity is a very good idea to get your mind away from what has happened. Friends and family both can play a very important role in such a situation. Therefore, you can spend some time with them. They are always there to help you.

All these things will help you in surviving divorce proceedings. Some people take long time to come out of this event while some are able to adjust quickly to the new surroundings.