Today I want to turn your attention to all the children around who are suffering because of their parent´s divorce.
The theme of the lyrics "Love for a child" are about what a child is going through in the middle of a divorce. It reflects the experiences of innumerable children with a broken home, which also means a broken heart.
Children are forced to deal with things far beyond their maturity level and because of that many of them develop post traumatic stress disorders or get involved with alcolhol or drugs. Being parents, aunts, uncles, adult relatives we all have to take care for the emotional health of children. Let the children know that they are not alone with their feelings of lonleliness, anger and fear and that you care. Show them your universal unconditional love and that not everything in life is at risk. Children need to know that your love never changes - no matter if their parents living apart.
There's a picture on my kitchen wall
Looks like Jesus and his friends involved
There's a party getting started in the yard
There's a couple getting steamy in the car parked in the drive
Was I too young to see this with my eyes?
By the pool last night, apparently
The chemicals weren't mixed properly
You hit your head and then forgot your name
And then you woke up at the bottom by the drain
And now your altitude and memory's a shame
[Chorus]
What about taking this empty cup and filling it up
With a little bit more of innocence
I haven't had enough, it's probably because when you're young
It's OK to be easily ignored
I like to believe it was all about love for a child
And when the house was left in shambles
Who was there to handle all the broken bits of glass
Was it mom who put my dad out on his *** or the other way around
Well I'm far too old to care about that now
[Chorus]
It's kinda nice to work the floor since the divorce
I've been enjoying both my Christmases and my birthday cakes
And taking drugs and making love at far too young an age
I can´t count how often I have watched the most famous scene from "Gold Rush Rolls" - without growing tired of watching.
Charlie Chaplin - famous all over the world- was one of the very few unique one of a kind artists, always creating something new, bringing joy, many smiles and laughters to the people and influenced with his 'Tramp' character many, many other artists. (It is told Chaplin once entered a "Chaplin look-alike" competition and did not make the final round.)
The tramp character character is possibly one of the most imitated on all levels of entertainment.
picture source:http://1.bp.blogspot.com
Michael Jackson saw himself in Charlie Chaplin....in life- story as well as in star image.
The London Evening Standard reported that Michael Jackson was in the process of rehearsing Chaplin’s song SMILE at the time of his death. Michael´s version of "Smile" was the final track on HIStory. His favorite line from the song was "smile, though your heart is breaking" as it was a mantra he lived by himself. Jermaine Jackson did sing a version of the song at Michael's memorial on July 7th 2009 at The Staples Center.
picture source: http://www.jackson.ch
Charlie Chaplin is mostly well known (and loved!) for his work during the silent film era. In his first talking picture, The Great Dictator, an act of defiance against Nazism, we find one of the most impressing and moving timeless speeches. At the end of the film Charlie Chaplin dropped out of his comic character to address the audience directly in a speech [transscript below] denouncing dictatorship, greed, hate, and intolerance, in favour of liberty and human brotherhood. Chaplin was accused of "un-American activities" as a suspected communist.
"It´s not socialist - its not capitalist - its not communist - its just human."
~ Comment of Youtube user sirwence
on Charlie Chaplin´s final speech in "The Great Dictator"
Charlie Chaplin´s "Speech Of Humanity" in "The Great Dictator",
Below please find the transscript of Charlie Chaplin’s moving oration from The Great Dictator.
"I’m sorry but I don’t want to be an Emperor – that’s not my business – I don’t want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible, Jew, gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another, human beings are like that.
We all want to live by each other’s happiness, not by each other’s misery. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone and the earth is rich and can provide for everyone.
The way of life can be free and beautiful. But we have lost the way.
Greed has poisoned men’s souls – has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed.
We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in: machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little: More than machinery we need humanity; More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.
The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men, cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me I say “Do not despair”.
The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress: the hate of men will pass and dictators die and the power they took from the people, will return to the people and so long as men die [now] liberty will never perish…
Soldiers – don’t give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you and enslave you – who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel, who drill you, diet you, treat you as cattle, as cannon fodder.
Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts. You are not machines. You are not cattle. You are men. You have the love of humanity in your hearts. You don’t hate – only the unloved hate. Only the unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers – don’t fight for slavery, fight for liberty.
In the seventeenth chapter of Saint Luke it is written ” the kingdom of God is within man ” – not one man, nor a group of men – but in all men – in you, the people.
You the people have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness. You the people have the power to make life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy let’s use that power – let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give you the future and old age and security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power, but they lie. They do not fulfill their promise, they never will. Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people. Now let us fight to fulfil that promise. Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness."
Our international It´s-All-For_love-Webteam bows in gratitude to Sir Charles Chaplin, for all the joy, he brought to us through so many years, connecting generations and people all over the world with their laughter and smiles together. He had both:the humour of a young boy and the wisdom of an old man with much experience in life.
We are thankful for the inspiration he was, is and will go on to be.
The latest headlines regarding (alleged) racial profiling really struck a cord with many people across the world -people are angry, confused, heartbroken at the state of human relations.
Trayvon Martin and Shaima Al – Awadhi aren't the first victims of alleged hate crimes; however, these two cases have reopened and expanded the conversation about race, gender, and cultural differences. Since the height of the civil rights movement of the 1960's, we have seen many minorities make progress around the world. It is depressing, in the year 2012, we still ask the following question- "How could this happen?!"
I didn't plan on posting anything about these current events, but I couldn't keep silent. Trayvon, Shaima, and so many others can't speak up for injustice...we must be the voice of unity and love. With that being said, here is a something I put together: let's keep the conversation going and find ways to make the world a better place.
If you see me in a hoodie,
If you see me with tattoos,
If you see me in a store at midnight, does this really give you a clue?
If you see my hair in locks, do I seem unambitious? If you see me in Timberland boots... do I come off suspicious!?
If you see me, you should a reflection:
I'm a dreamer,
I'm a fighter,
I want love and affection.
Look at the reflection, the "Man in the Mirror"-
if you see me looking back at you, the message will get clearer.
So if you see me in a hoodie,
see yourself in a hoodie, too.
If you see me for who I am,
I will see you for you.
Wednesday, March 14th, 2012 a special children's day took place in The Hague, Netherlands. After 10 years (!) the International Court of Justice gave its very first decision focused exclusively on the use of child soldiers:
The International Court of Justice convicted the Congo Child Army leader, Thomas Lubanga Dyilos.
photo credits: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images
Lubanga Dyilos was accused of recruiting and training child soldiers during a devastating ethnic conflict in Ituri, Eastern Congo, between 2000 and 2003. The international criminal court found Th. Lubanga Dyilos guilty of war crimes and that children as young as nine were forced to fight in Congo. Sometimes it takes a long, long time - but this verdict should strengthens our faith that warlords must make atonement for abuse of all those uncounted nameless child soldiers in the long run. Read more about the Lubanga Case.
May Thomas Lubanga Dyilo´s conviction send out a warning to other war criminals! This message has not reached yet another rebel leader: Joseph Kony, the Ugandian rebel leader, sought worldwide. Our webteam wants to turn your attention to the movement "Invisible Children", demanding for justice and intending to finally arrest Kony by making him and his crime famous all over the world.
For more than 25 years Joseph Kony raped and killed men, women and children.
Joseph Kony, sought worldwide...
Now the war criminal himself gets hunted: millions of people all around the globe are "chasing " Joseph Kony, leader of the so-called "Lord's Resistance Army" LRA., by making him and his crime public via their Twitter - and Facebook accounts, blogs and websites.
It is said, that Kony does not use modern media because he is fearing it; ironically it seems that the new media has become a real powerful weapon against him. The organization "Invisible Children", located in San Diego, California, has a lavishly produced film on the Internet. Over a week 80 000 views were counted! In the video clip filmaker J. Russell talks (in a subjective and very emotional way) about the history of the tyrant Joseph Kony, and what to be done about it.
Take half an hour to watch Jason Rusell´s video:
Uganda said that it would catch Kony dead or alive, after the video attracted a wave of international support.
Russell's mission: catching the mass murderer with the help of Facebook and Twitter. The Action Package, which was offered by J.Russell and his team for $ 30 with posters, stickers and wristlets, was sold out within a few days. More informations:
Children of War (2009),a unique and incandescent documentary which follows a group of former child soldiers as they undergo a process of trauma therapy and emotional healing while in a rehabilitation center.
Our plea hasn´t changed since 2010: let´s do something...
let´s
get facts
stay informed
spread the word
sign petitions
shop for the cause
donate
join the movement ....and never forget to care about the "lost children". Thank you for reading.
===============================================
After this article was nearly finished, we had to learn the the filmmaker J. Russell, who has dedicated his complete adult life to the Kony cause, was taken into custody after acting in a bizarr and irrational manner.
His wife stated, that the criticism about the video may have contributed to the behaviour and that he never took drugs . "... Because of how personal the film is, many of the attacks against it were also very personal and Jason took them very hard," said the statement.
The mind is a very fragile thing and people can´t take too much without snapping. The It´s-All-For-Love-Webteam appreciates J.Russell´s dedication to the tortured people of Uganda and sends out heartfelt wishes to get better soon. May mass media leave him alone until he is fully recovered and able to clearify.
No one knows the truth or the cause of Mr. Russell´s bizarre acting, which also could be the result of an attack that made him taking drugs unwittingly, intending to take him down...).
Children's Day on our blog is a place where we want to put a spotlight on children's issues. But most of all we wanted that the 22nd of each month to be a celebration of the children's spirit, the beauty and wonder of childhood. Children are not just the promise of what they might become but also the source of a particular kind of wisdom and love.
"What we need to learn from children isn't childish. Being with them connects us to the deep wisdom of life, which is ever-present and only asks to be lived. Now, when the world is so confused and its problems so complicated, I feel we need our children more than ever. Their natural wisdom points the way to solutions that lie, waiting to be recognized, within our own hearts."
Michael Jackson
Unfortunately, around the world adult actions leave children in harms way, having to fight for their right to live. Reports from all over the world speak of abuse, negligence, poverty, slavery ...
In July 2011 news were showing a story that seamed brought out from archives. Drought and famine in Africa. Without sustained actions from international community to help end poverty and put a stop to conflicts that rage in the area, under severe weather conditions caused a huge humanitarian crisis.
F*****
In October 2011, ONE International organization launched a campaign, following the severe effects of the drought on the people in the Horn of Africa, in trying to gain support from as many voices in the word denouncing the obscenity of what was going on:
30,000 children died in just 3 months
The F Word: Famine is the Real Obscenity
The campaign is aimed at getting people together and speak up. Join our voices and let our leaders know we won't accept people dying in poverty and silence, urge them to act now with much needed aid but most of in getting them to move towards tackling underlining causes of poverty and famine.
This is about suffering, it's about life and fighting for it. In a poverty and conflict torn region, children find themselves struggling for every breath, fighting severe malnutrition and starvation.
If we don't protect our children, we have no future. Without making a better today we will not be able to build a better tomorrow.
"Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of
collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the
most vulnerable citizens in our society,
a life free of violence and
fear."
Nelson Mandela
8 months after the UN declared famine in Somalia a study reveals that a good harvest made possible by good weather conditions and the efforts by aid agencies, organizations and people around the world have improved the situation.
We CAN make a change.
"125,000 no longer face severe malnutrition
– thanks largely to the efforts of the Somalis themselves
and the humanitarian aid they’ve received"
Senait Gebregzhiabher, the head of Oxfam in Somalia
"Hope is such a beautiful word, but it often seems very fragile.
Life is still being needlessly hurt and destroyed."
Michael Jackson
Around 10 million people in the Eastern Africa are still depending on food aid to survive (2.3 million in Somalia alone). aid workers are being attacked, while war is still going on.
West Africa might face a food crisis this year.
Our help is still needed. Can we make this the last famine?
For more information and for ways to help please visit:
Yesterday Cissy Houston shared her daughter with us one final time, selflessly allowing us all to grieve. The homegoing service was powerful, very personal, not staged and brought us to tears. We were blessed and privileged to whitness tears and laughter from Whitney´s family and closer friends via TV or internet - and it was spectacular.
Ebony Magazine tweeted: "This is a global Black moment for the world to see." And yes, it was. It also was a global moment of love, which is always stronger than death.
In case you missed to watch the service or want to rewatch some of the remarkable speeches or tributes from Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, R.Kelly please find some takes on YouTube.
Yesterday was Whitney´s day...
Today , as the world moves on, our prayers go out to Whitney Houston´s family, especially her daughter Bobbi Kristina and her mother Cissy. We are sending out our love to anyone who loved Whitney Houston as a person and feels unable to move on, because they have lost much more than one of the gratest voices ever.
She had to fight against a lot in life - may she now rest in paradise.
Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson were bonded in friendship for over 20 years. May they now continue their friendship in heaven.
Dear visitors, friends and MJfamily, the Its-all-for-LOVE-webteam wants to thank you for constantly supporting us to carry Michael´s vision into the future and for sharing your love with us in 2011.
We wish you that 2012 will turn out to be
a HAPPY NEW YEAR filled with peace, faith, major love and hope
for you and your beloved ones.
May the universal LOVE free you of all weight and pain of life...
How about LOVE as a gift for Christmas? Yes I know is not a new idea. Everybody is saying it. But how about listening a bit?
I talked to some of the children I work with and asked what would they like to receive as an "unwrappable" gift. Some of them avoided at first the answer or responded quickly listing all the toys or other wishes they had. But we managed to get over such conversational stoppers and this is what they answered:
Dinner with their family
Spending (more) time at home (or elsewhere) with their loved ones
A friend (or more if it's possible)
It's not a big list. And is not too complicated to make it happen.
And there is a category of children who do not or cannot communicate with spoken language. I "talk" to them day after day and I know what they would what is for people to see beyond their difficulties and accept them as they are - beautiful and loving.
And maybe these would be the best gifts we could offer ourselves.
And maybe we can all stop blaming the materialist world as being something from outside of us.
I believe that be paying more attention to all these gifts that cannot be wrapped we will be able to find the material gifts more meaningful as we will see the love, care and attention behind them.
I know there is a whole battle out there about Santa and what to tell children, and how all this is just a huge conspiracy to make us buy more and forget our traditions and/or God.
What I believe is that it is each of us' responsibility to teach our children to see the meaning of Christmas.
Or maybe we should allow our children to be our teachers.
This is how a 9 year old student from Germany explains the meaning of Christmas:
"Jesus came into the world in a place where no one ever would have expected him. Christmas shows us that we can find God and his love where we expect it the least."
Tomorrow morning I'll be unwrapping with great joy all the gifts I'll find under the tree. And I know my family will do the same (especially me 3 years old nephew). But what I will love most about it is that we will be together. I know I'll get many hugs and kisses. I know I have the love of my family and my friends.
And I will appreciate even more the gifts I've been given until now.
Millions of people are getting ready to celebrate the birth of achild thatbrought hope and light into thedarkness of the world...
Since the children from today - and sometimes the inner child from adults - still bring back hope, love, faith and peace back into ourworld ourteamwould like toshare with you this meaningful candle story.
Thank you for all of your love and hope you are spreading in your personal life. May you always keep your inner child alive, because WE are the children...
Take our heartfelt thanks for constantly supporting our It´s-all-for-LOVE-webteam and sharing your love with us.
