Notes from My Not-so-distant Past: March 16, 2008

It's been another whirlwind week at the editor's desk, with lots of challenges, rewards and opportunities.

Here are the highlights:

1. We've removed the general passcode was removed from PulseWire. Now anyone who wants to support us can find us and access the site immediately! Have questions about this? Please email maria@worldpulse.com.




2. I also participated in a panel called "Politics, Publishing and Popular Culture" at Lewis and Clark's Gender Symposium It was a treat to talk with eager, engaged students and my colleagues from Bitch Magazine and In Other Words about feminism in a global context and the challenges of nonprofit media.

After the panel, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Aisha Samad, who directs women's studies, the Human Rights Center and the Somali Association for Relief and Development at City University New York (CUNY). She specializes in refugee issues, including FGM and political asylum. I'm excited to follow up with her as we prepare the next issue of our e-magazine on human trafficking solutions.

1. I'm enjoying two good books this week: Robert McChesney's Communication Revolution: Critical Junctures and the Future of Media and Anne Frith Murray's From Outrage to Courage: Women Taking Action for Health and Justice.

McChesney's book is written for communications students and teachers, but it's still relevant and accessible to the general public. His main point is this:

We have an unprecedented opportunity in the coming generation to create a communication system that will be a powerful impetus to a dramatically more egalitarian, humane, sustainable and creative society, where justice and self-government are the order of the day. This window of opportunity [...] will not be open for long. We will be opposed by very powerful entrenched corporate and political interests. [...] This is a fight we cannot afford to lose.

Murray's words are equally inspiring to me:

Although trafficking is in part a consequence of inequities stemming from capitalism and globalization, it is possible that, working together, women and men can employ some of the benefits of globalization--instantaneous communication, the uninhibited flow of knowledge and ideas, and major upgrades in the technological infrastructure--to prevent trafficking. Globalization of communications is helping women as we unite across national borders to work for human rights and justice.

1. Friend and colleague Cynthia Casas helped me secure an interview with social scientist and activist Riane Eisler, author of The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economy. Good work, Cynthia! Ms. Eisler will be in the Portland area in mid-April... I'd better start reading now!




2. Finally, Goldie Davich showed me a nifty self-assessment tool called the johari and nohari squares. If you know me, please try your hand at rating my strengths and weaknesses. All you do is choose 5-6 adjectives that best describe me. Do it anonymously, or be brave and leave your name! Then try it for yourself... it's free.

   
   
   

   Questions of the week:

*If you were interviewing Riane Eisler, what would you ask her?

*What is the difference between feminist and feminine? Do you consider yourself one and not the other, both, neither? (This is an ongoing discussion around the World Pulse worktable... We'd like to know what you think!)

Thanks for reading,

Maria

(Although I am a World Pulse team member, my opinions are my own.)