Dechristo

You might want to reconsider that statement. The term "yellow journalism" was created over one hundred years ago to describe the sensationalizing of news in order to drive up circulation. ...and Jefferson's hiring of a New York journalist to smear Adams took place before the presidential election of 1800.

Do you believe I'm defending Imus?

The Rutgers team response to Imus should have been, "Imus who?"

I submit you display the fruit of the same mechanism. Your posts are rife with the judgement of others; you display what you condemn. Ah, the judgmentless society argument. No values, where anything and everything is simply fodder for derision, scorn, and shock. I argue instead that even using no other moral compass or standard than common sense you'd have to be blind or complicit to not judge certain behaviors and actions as inappropriate to the common good. For example, the Bush adminstration's motives, methods, and actions relative to not only the war in Iraq, but also broad swaths of governmental policy, at nearly every turn, have been dishonest, disenginous, and at times treasonous almost from day one due to their ends-justifies-any-means approach to a 'conservative revolution in government'. In the case of Imus' on-air speech, as a professional journalist his speech was by any cogent standard a textbook example of hate speech pure and simple. He's free to spew his personal biases and bigotry as a private citizen - he has a different responsibility when he's on the air. A whole genre of media talking heads have spawned over the past 20 years which at their core are based on hateful content designed to skirt the edges of legal speech to shock, enrage, and incite divisions among peoples. Hopefully Howard Stern and others of their ilk were awake at some point during this whole pitiful episode. But in the end people get what they accept. Blind judgment rooted in dogma is lamentable, a blind eye to injustice, criminal, and treasonous behavior is stupidity. I just don't mind calling them as I see them when speech and action leave the realm of opinion and private concern to negatively impact public welfare. At one time that's what journalism used to be about - public accountability rather than hate-filled 'entertainment'. No, it's not about being without judgment, but the application of judgment. As an example, it's appropriate that I judge the length to cut a board, but inappropriate to judge myself as wrong, or stupid, should I make an error, unless I want to do it for humor (which, I often do). We have laws to determine "wrong" behavior and I believe it appropriate to petition for the creation or change of laws, but the endless haranguing and bitching on what you think is Right and Wrong sours the giver and the receiver...admittedly, it's a habit hard to break. Lighten up. Your last breath should taste sweet.

wow

Hopefully, you infer "understand" with "get it". No, I don't understand. It almost sounds like you fear you'd imagine you're screwing a guy if you were with a physically fit and strong woman.

will there be an alcohol distillation attachment?

It's where you agree ahead of time to submit, on a certain date of the calendar, to endless requests for editing w/o payment and eventual rejection.

Wow...wish they would do that here. How would you know that you need car insurance, the amount of the Lotto jackpot, or where to buy a mattress? think, Kev, think Edit: you'd better fix your sig line, Oly, and properly attribute the quote to the Hathaway Mustache Ride Co.

yeah, but, Shiro's has the restroom with the Japanese plumbing fixture (you can't call it only a toilet) that gives head.

Bleah! that looks just like my ass, and I am a man... the last thing I want to be pushin' on is some bony or rock hard muscle ass.... It's gotta make a "slap" noise, or it's no good... Otherwise it's just "gay".... I have doubts you'll have a clear view of any woman until you lose the glare of your homophobia

"Required"? nails in the flesh are only big metal splinters. ...interesting coincidental to Easter.

panoramanator

Maybe, it's one of those things where you had to be there. Warm summer night, cruisin' down the highway in a car filled with guy and gal friends, partyin', with the windows down, and the buzz is fine. The radio DJ has been playin' good, but low-energy, tunes when a pause in the conversation reveals the opening sounds of "LA Woman". The volume gets cranked and the party receives a super-charge. Good times. Favorite Doors album:

funny

Loved this guy's hutzpah and verve. One of my all-time favorite rock lead singers.

uber boogers?

sticky boogers are aid

nice

One of my favorite quotes from her was something like, "If I stopped to face every barking dog, I'd never get anywhere". Love that woman! And she has a great ass. that would be "had".

Naw, really, just fukin whichya. 8D that is definitely closer to the truth

April 2007 The Mountain Fund Newsletter The Nepal Report Greetings! I have just returned from a month in Nepal and with so much activity there and news to share with you, we've devoted this month's issue to Nepal. I am happy to report that peace is ruling the country of Nepal for the most part. An interim government has been formed, tourism is up over last month by 60% according to the Nepal Tourism Board and all around the country there are signs of activity, reconstruction, and growth. I want to remind you that Nepal remains, in spite of all the good news we have, one of the poorest countries in one of the poorest parts of the world. We at Mountain Fund are making a real contribution to Nepal, but so much more is needed. Puja opens Volunteer Center mtnfund An auspicious start to an ambitious project puja The Mountain Fund Volunteer Visitor Center had its official opening in March. We started with a puja ceremony to clear any negative energy from the space and make room for all the positive that this center will produce. Two monks performed the ceremony while over 20 guests looked on. Volunteerism is huge for Nepal and accounts for 5% of that countries GNP, a staggering number when you stop to consider it. We think the surface has barely been scratched for what is possible. With peace in the country Nepal can soon expect tourist visits to reach nearly 500,000 people per year. A great many of these visitors come to trek or climb the beautiful mountain regions of Nepal. It seems to happen quite often, however, that once a trekker sees Nepal and enjoys the awesome hospitality of the Nepali people they are suddenly moved and motivated to spend a few days doing some volunteer work. Until the creation of The Mountain Fund Volunteer Visitors Center, finding a short term volunteer position was difficult. There are thousands of NGO's (nonprofit organizations) and it was difficult if not impossible for the short term volunteer to locate, contact and actually give some time to an organization all in one trip. Now, The Mountain Fund Volunteer Visitor Center provides a single source of contact for immediate placement in a volunteer capacity for almost any interested tourist. You can walk into our beautiful center, chose something that interests you, complete an application and be introduced that same day to a local organization that needs your help. The Mountain Fund Volunteer Visitor Center is a truly unique and innovative program we have launched in Nepal with the financial assistance of the Tessa Horan Memorial Fund. Tessa was herself a Peace Corps Volunteer when she died, so helping to fund a project that encourages volunteerism seems a fitting tribute to her. Imagine the possibilities - if 10% of the tourists gave just one day out of their trip as a volunteer to Nepal that is 5,000,000 hours of labor ! Yes, I checked the math on that, it really is that much labor. What could be done with such a huge human resource? We recently contacted the Nepali Tourism Board and proposed a couple of possible projects that could be undertaken with human resources such as this. An article that ran in the newspaper while I was in Nepal pointed out that there were numerous ponds and small lakes throughout the Kathmandu valley but many were polluted, dirty, littered with trash and unfit for any beneficial use. 5,000,000 hours of labor could do a great deal to clean up these areas and create parks, bird sanctuaries or other wildlife areas. In a book I was reading while in Nepal about the impacts of tourism and creating sustainable tourism practices it was noted that 1,000,000 hectacres a year of forest is cut down in Nepal. 5,000,000 man hours (and woman hours) of labor could plant a lot of new trees. Another article in the local paper in Kathmandu pointed out that Nepal needed 60,000 teachers to meet all of the needs of the country. While short term volunteers are not the answer to long term teacher shortages, even a day or two of help in the classroom could help a local teacher to have adequate time to prepare, to work with students needing extra help and to give their class the experience of meeting someone from another part of the world and learning about the geography, language and culture of that part of the world. We are very excited about the possibilities that the Volunteer Visitor Center holds for Nepal. We provide free internet for working volunteers, help finding a suitable short term volunteer placement, Nepali language and culture classes and can arrange for homestay with a local family for those wishing to understand the lives of Nepali people in more depth. Hours of operation in the off season are 10am til 5pm from Monday through Friday. In the trekking seasons we are also open on Saturday. If you are traveling to Nepal, please come by, see our center and say hello to the staff. Short vid clip of puja is here Travel with The Mountain Fund by MF See the World - Trek4Good trek4gooflogo 2007 will be a banner year for volunteer trips with The Mountain Fund. We are hosting two trips to Nepal and two trips to Peru. Check them out. One is sure to be perfect for you. Nepal - KFK Clinic Repairs - November 2007. The Mountain Fund will host a work team for the repairs to the KFK clinic in the Rasuwa District. The clinic serves over 7,000 people and is the only source of healthcare to several Tamang villages in the area. The Mountain Fund work teams will spend two weeks doing both a trek in the Langtang area and making improvements and repairs to the clinic building Cost of this trip is only $1,000 and includes virtually all of your in-country expenses such as hotels, transportation, food, tents, etc. Airfare to Nepal is not included. Our sponsor Himalayan Travel will arrange your flights at very good prices. Nepal - Moving Medical Camp - October 11-24. Rural Nepal is reachable only on foot. 80% of Nepal is rural and an agrarian society. 85% of Nepali people have no access to healthcare. The average income in Nepal is only $200 a year. Constructing physical clinics and staffing them is costly. Finding trained staff isn't always easy, and due to the remote areas in which clinics need to be located, finding staff who will stay and live in rural villages is a challenge. We have organized a moving medical camp to provide basic healthcare and medical treatment, and to begin to survey and collect data needed to ascertain the long term health and public health needs of these rural villages. Our volunteer medical team will trek deep into the rural countryside on the Tamang Heritage Trail and bring along with us the equipment and supplies needed to stay several days in a village and conduct health clinics. The clinics will address simple health matters (i.e. basic eye, ear, nose and throat exams), provide basic treatment on the spot and refer those needing ongoing care to clinics in the region or regional hospitals. Some of the most common health problems in the area are acute respiratory infections and intestinal worms. We will address these issues to the extent possible, and refer severe cases to the clinic or hospital for follow up. We will have a real focus on disease prevention and conduct public health training to the villages as well as hand out soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste and other disease preventing products like these. On this trip, you will see the beautiful countryside of Nepal as well as many of the unique and exciting sites around Kathmandu. Cost of this trip is $1000 and includes virtually all of your in-country expenses such as hotels, transportation, food, tents, etc. Airfare to Nepal is not included. Our sponsor Himalayan Travel will arrange your flights at very good prices. Peru - Micro-finance. - September 12- 25, 2007. The Mountain Fund will repeat the popular Ausangate Trek Fund Raiser for our micro-finance program in Cusco. Last year we had five guests and a great time. All profits go to Aynikuy, the street vendor loan program we have in Peru. This two week trip takes in all of the sites around Cusco and the Sacred Valley including Machu Pichuu. Then, we trek for 7 days in the high Andes around an incredible and sacred mountain. We'll even kayak glacial lakes at 15,000 feet. Cost for this awesome adventure is $2250 per person and includes airfare from Lima to Cusco, transportation, hotels, breakfast most every day and entrance to Machu Pichuu. Of course, the trek also includes guides, horses, all meals, first-class Mountain Hardwear tents, and the best cook and arrerios in all of Peru. See more here Peru - Medical Assistance - July 9 - 22. Not far from Ollantaytambo in the Sacred Valley, The Mountain Fund partner, Reach out Children's Fund, has been key in improving education and educational facilities for the 250 students attending the Huilloc school. Recently, we were informed of the dire medical needs of these children. The following message was sent to us by the Reach Out Children's Fund. "The biggest battle for us is health care. The children never see a doctor and have yet to see a dentist. The biggest issues in the village are: dysentery, broken bones, infected teeth, cataracts and frostbite due to the high altitude." In July 2007, The Mountain Fund will host a trip to Peru to offer medical care and assistance to these children. The 14 day trip will include a tour of the Inca sites, including Machu Pichuu. Cost of this trip is only $1,800 and includes airfare from Lima to Cusco, hotels, transportation, entrance fees to the Inca sites and breakfast most days. Read more about our Trek4Good trips here Volunteer Center Provides Help to Himalaya House mtnfund 5 volunteers to home already! HH Girls Officially open just this month, The Mountain Fund Volunteer Visitor Center has already been able to place 5 volunteers at the Himalaya House for girls in Pokhara. Two Canadians, two Scots and a girl from Sweden have all learned about Himalaya House via The Mountain Fund and have spent time helping there in March. The girls at Himalaya House all have a similar background. Their families could not provide support for them and their siblings so they were taken out of school and sent to work at a remote trekking lodge in what amounts to forced servitude. The wonderful Chhetri sisters found these girls, negotiated with the families (who were often paid for the girls' forced labor) and the lodge owners to secure their release to their custody at the Himalaya House where they are housed, fed, clothed and put back in school. Volunteers referred by Mountain Fund have helped with homework, teaching English and taking the kids out on fun day trips. We've been told that a current volunteer may even be leading yoga classes with the kids. That's cool. For these girls to get this extra assistance and the opportunity to make new friends from around the world is really something special. We are very happy that The Mountain Fund Volunteer Visitor Center has been able to provide this opportunity for both the girls and the volunteers who have been deeply gratified to spend time there. We will be updating our volunteer blog with stories from those volunteers very soon. Watch for it at the link below. Volunteer Blog Empowering the Women of Nepal mtnfund Hi-tech education for EWN ewn big tent Thanks to the generosity of the Mountain Hardwear Gives Back program, The Mountain Fund recently became the proud owner of a Mountain Hardwear Space Station and some Mountain Hardwear Trango tents. This equipment is intended to be used for our Moving Medical Camp program that starts this fall. (see Trek4Good article above) The Mountain Fund couldn't quite stand the idea that all this hi-tech and beautiful equipment would sit idle for the months that we were not using it for the medical trek. So, we came up with a plan. Every year in Pokhara, Nepal, a group of young Nepali women attend an extraordinary training camp to prepare them to work in the trekking industry. This breakthrough training is conducted by our partner in Nepal, Empowering Women of Nepal. What better way for us to help bolster that program but to provide our super hi-tech tents so the women attending the outdoor program would gain first hand knowledge of and experience with using this sort of equipment. There aren't a lot of people in Nepal who have ever set up a Space Station or a PETT toilet system from Phillips. The women at EWN know how to do it and so will future attendees of this outdoor education program. We spent one day working with the current class of women to set up a Mountain Hardwear Space Station, Satellite and Trango 3.1 tents. We also taught them how to use a the Phillips PETT toilet system. This equipment will stay at EWN for training purposes until Mountain Fund needs it for our medical camps, then it will go back to EWN for teaching and training. In much of the developing world, women are considered chattel. One-half of the human resources are prohibited from obtaining an education, holding a job outside the home and making a contribution to society. Programs like EWN provide hope and opportunity. Please support them. Donate to women's programs today at Mountain Fund today. Read about women in Nepal here. Trekking the Tamang Trail with Mountain Fund mtnfund Is it really time to disco? time to disco This past month (March) in preparation for next fall and the Moving Medical Camps, we invited a group of Mountain Fund Volunteers to trek the Tamang Heritage Trail with us. The trail is new and part of the governments program to improve poverty in rural areas through tourism. There are few facilities on the trail to date which meant that the four volunteers and I had to stay in tents instead of trekking lodges. Since we had all these great Mountain Hardwear tents, we were delighted to put them to work on this fact-finding trip. The 7 day trek was to explore the area for the October Medical Camps and help the Medical Trek board better understand and appreciate the conditions they will be working under in this part of Nepal. Volunteers Anna Pettigrew, Mary Cobb, Susan Au and Germaine Bartlett-Graf took this trip with us and I think we had more than a little bit of fun along the way. A couple of these girls love to dance. We'd brought along a few ipods and some portable speakers. The music and dancing eventually spilled over to include our cook (who makes awesome meals) and members of our porter crew, especially Kumar who loves dance. There were some moments that were serious. In the village of Timure and again in Briddam we were called upon to render first aid to two women who had suffered some nasty burns. The young woman in Timure had dropped a pot of scalding water on her bare foot. Most of the foot was covered in blisters and the top of the foot at the arch was a mass of open, red and quite sore flesh. We treated this girl and as you will read in another article below had the opportunity to follow up on that treatment when we met her on the trail a few days later. The food was great and our cook staff even baked us a cake the last night. The company was great, our porters were awesome and the trek through the Tamang Villages was breathtaking. Trek4Good Trips Kul's Coffee - Now Open mtnfund Injured porter to get on the job training kul Kul Bahadur lost half of both feet to frostbite while working as a porter. He has a family, he is a really nice guy. For some time he has been financially supported by the generosity of a friend of IMEC. Kul also has dreams. He doesn't want to be on welfare, he wants to own and operate a little business of his own, as so many Nepali's do, and support his family by the fruits of his own labor. He has limited education and no experience to prepare him to run a business. At the brand new Mountain Fund Volunteer Center in Kathmandu we are changing that. Kul now operates our coffee and tea service where you can get a real cup of coffee made fresh in a French press with Himalayan Java coffee. It's good, really good. The coffee and tea service is much more than a way for Kul to occupy himself and for me to get a decent cup of coffee in Kathmandu. We are teaching Kul basic business principles like how to manage inventory, calculate profit margins and save for future equipment replacement needs. Kul is learning how to run a business and it won't be long before he will have all the knowledge and skills needed to go out and start a business and succeed at it. We hope to take this job training program to the next level in 2008 and open a coffee house that is run as a co-op totally by injured porters who can no longer work in that field. The dream is to use a place like that to teach new skills and train them for a future in owning a shop or small business of their own. Many people in Nepal are small business owners; it's the thing to do. Porters work very hard to make treks and climbs possible for us outsiders. Without them, we couldn't do them, we really could not. When a porter gets injured and can no longer make a living carrying heavy loads up and down hills all day, there isn't a welfare system or a worker's compensation system in place to ensure their future and the future of their family. They are on their own. Our goal of a hands on job training program will give them a future and a present. Now, they'll be able to earn some money selling latte's to tourists. In the future they will be trained enough in basic business principles that with a little micro finance activity from Mountain Fund they can open a shop and have an excellent chance at success. Congratulations Kul on the business you have started and may much success come your way. We are here as your partner to help you and others like you. Thanks for the great coffee too ! Help us Help Porters Couriers needed to Nepal and Tanzania by IMEC Porter Gear Stuck in the US Carry clothing to Nepal or Tanzania: The IMEC Porter Project is always looking for people and companies who will carry clothing to Nepal and Africa, please contact us if you know anyone who can help. You will be met at the airport by a representative and gain a ride to your hotel into the bargain. For more details email info@hec.org. Visit IMEC ClimbHigh Foundation Needs Sleeping Bags ! scott Program empowers women of Uganda The ClimbHigh Foundation is dedicated to teaching women in developing nations the skills that will enable them to benefit from climbing and trekking-related tourism. We focus our work in geographic areas where women have subordinate social status and as a result have little or no access to education, healthcare, or jobs. Our programs enable these women to work as trekking guides and porters in their local mountains and national parks so that they can maintain an adequate, sustainable living wage and can make meaningful, long-term improvements to their quality of life. Our goal is not only to help them achieve financial independence but, also, to provide a catalyst for social change in their communities. Women that ClimbHigh has trained and helped to find jobs for need equipment to do their jobs. We are in desperate need of sleeping bags, preferably synthetic insulated ones. The women of ClimbHigh need clean sleeping bags in good condition so they can go to work in the mountains. Please send sleeping bags to The Mountain Fund 139 Madison NE Albuquerque NM 87108 Watch this great movie about ClimbHigh here Asia's Crushing Poverty mtnfund Why we must help in Nepal map of nepal Everyone knows that parts of Africa are very, very poor. Bill Gates, Bono, and a host of other famous people are making efforts to address the problems that exist in parts of the African continent. But, would you believe that, in terms of real numbers of poor, Asia has more people living in poverty than Africa? No kidding. Asia is home to 7 out of 10 of the world's poorest. In a 2005 issue of Newsweek Magazine an article entitled "Asia's Growing Poor" states that 1.9 billion people are living in poverty in Asia. About 700 million live on only $1.00 a day with even more earning just $2.00 a day. The total population of people in Asia living in poverty, exceeds that of it's entire population at the end of World War II. Poverty in Nepal is a deeply entrenched and complex phenomenon. Approximately 40 percent of Nepalese live below the poverty line of the US $12 per person/per month. Despite some progress in poverty reduction in recent years and declining rates of urban poverty, the problem remains widespread and most indicators suggest that it is on the rise. About four fifths of the working population live in rural areas and depend on subsistence farming for their livelihoods. In these areas food security and poor nutrition are still major concerns. Most households have little or no access to primary health care, education, clean drinking water and sanitation services. Rural poor people are generally illiterate, have large families, and are landless or have very small landholdings. Small, fragmented subsistence farming is a characteristic of Nepalese agriculture, and the average landholding is only 0.8 hectares. Life is a constant struggle for survival. The most vulnerable groups are the lowest social castes, indigenous peoples and women. Asia, in general, and Nepal in particular is in need of help, and we at the Mountain Fund are proud of our contributions. Nearly all of our efforts are based upon helping home- grown initiatives succeed. We have worked hand in hand with our Nepali partners to help their vision for their country to be realized. Our projects are small, but they are effective; we get the job done. Consider our health partnership with Karing for Kids. We have been nearly the sole source of support to the KFK clinic in Goljung. The area where this clinic is located is very poor. There are no major tourist attractions here, though the government is trying to create tourism in the area. Much of the entire population is made up of a marginilized group of people called Tamang. Not only is the clinic flourishing, it is growing. We have just finished training one staff person to work in a laboratory. We are very close to having the funds needed to build a lab at the clinic. We are not aware of any other lab facility in the entire district. We're also preparing a major push for vaccine storage at the clinic for thousands of children. Our Moving Medical Camp this fall will be the first step in our outreach campaign to extend training and support to other health outposts in the area. We will soon begin to plan for a new clinic at Goljung, at the request of the villages and with the help of the villages. We are a Global Community for Change and are getting the job done in Nepal, one village at a time. Help us Help Nepal HERE Mountain Fund Staffer Makes Nepali News mtnfund How the story of one boy motivated someone to move mountains yubaraj The story of a 14 year old teenage boy was published in Yahoo's ‘Hot Zone’ after an International Journalist Kevin Sites, who was riding a taxi, saw Yubaraj Khadka managing taxi parking in a busy street crossing in Thamel. The story which appeard on Kevin's popular website talked about how Yubaraj had to quit his studies and get a job to look after his family. The readers immediately wanted to help. One was Christine Egger, a grant writer for Mountain Fund. Over the past few months she contacted donors through GiveMeaning.com, then traveled to Nepal and met Yubaraj in Kathmandu. She came to Nepal as a backpacker eight years ago and was always thinking about helping people in Nepal. After reading the article about the young Nepali boy, Christine opened a donations page at Give Meaning.com to collect donations from people who were interested helping the teenager. In March, Christine and Yubaraj were interviewed by a Nepali newspaper at The Mountain Fund Volunteer Visitor Center. Christine is a grant writer for Mountain Fund and was also in the country to present a grant proposal on behalf of Mountain Fund/Karing for Kids. The story ran, in Nepali, a few days later. Christine has now received donations totaling over $7,700 ~ in other words, we reached our goal!!! Because Yubaraj's sisters and brother and so many other children in Bethan would benefit from our support donations received after April 4 will be dedicated to funding their school fees (about $12 per month per child). We are proud to have Christine working at The Mountain Fund and proud to have helped in her personal to quest to move mountains. To learn more visit Christine's project on Give Meaning here. Partner Meeting in Kathmandu Draws a Crowd mtnfund Refreshments served and good time had by all. 2007 partner meeting In March, we once again met with all of our partners and friends in Nepal to discuss ways to work together to help the people and the environment of this beautiful country. About 30 Mountain Fund partners and volunteers gathered at the Hotel Tibet for this event. Keep on Keepin on! Welcome New Partners mtnfund Mountain Fund, now more than ever the voice of the outdoor industry global partnership Mountain Fund is THE PLACE TO BE if you are an outdoor person with a cause or a member of the outdoor industry and want to support good people and good deeds around this world. This month, we are proud to announce our newest partners in ongoing efforts to eliminate poverty, it's symptoms, and its causes in the mountainous regions of the world. The Mountain Fund, a global community for change, welcomes these new partners: * Girls Education International * Reach Out Foundation * She Sends * Save Our Snow Foundation Girls Education International is the work of Lizzy Scully and Heidi Wirtz. In November of 2006, after a decade of climbing together throughout the world, North Face climber Heidi Wirtz and writer/climber Lizzy Scully decided to found Girls Education International, a nonprofit that supports the education of young women in Pakistan. Their web site is http://www.girlsed.org/ Anne Beck's Reach Out has been helping the 250 plus children who attend a school in Huilloc, Peru. Anne's efforts have improved the lives of these children in many ways. The school has also benefitted and Anne's group continues to improve the educational opportunities. They have been able to provide electricity to the school and make sure the children have food (especially in the winter months). They are finishing building an addition of 3 classrooms and fixing some of the classrooms in poor condition. In July, Mountain Fund will take a medical team to the school as these children never see a doctor. Welcome Anne and thanks for inviting us. Alison Gannet is an awesome athlete. As a skier her ability to practice her craft depends upon the snow. Alison is rightfully concerned about the snow and global warming and is on a one woman crusade to tell people about practical ways they can help Save Our Snow. Visit her web site at http://www.saveoursnow.com/ to learn more. Over and Around. The goals of Around-n-Over are: * To inspire and to inform young people by developing educational activities based on the realities of human powered exploration and adventure, including, but not limited to, geography, mathematics, natural science, physical fitness and social studies * To inspire and to instill the values of selflessness, sacrifice and perseverance in young people so that they might develop into good citizens, and stewards of this earth * To assist poor communities in their struggle towards self-sufficiency by providing basic educational aid and resources, know-how and facilities A specific goal of this organization will be to support the school that Göran Kropp founded in 1996, the Göran Kropp Bishwa Darshan Primary School in Taptin, Chyangba, Solukhumbu, Nepal, which serves 165 pupils and eight teachers. Welcome to these awesome new programs Sisters Are Doing it For Themselves mtnfund Watch out guys I am noticing a trend lately in charitble efforts and wonder if any of the readers out there have noticed it as well. Most of the efforts and partners at Mountain Fund are women organized and women leaders. * Anne Schimmel Beck's Reach Out Children's * Chhetri Sisters in Pokhara, Nepal continue to be * This month Lizzy Scully * Mountain Fund grant writer Christine Egger * Alsion * Alison Levine's It seems as if women are doing a lot the charitable work these days, especially in the area of programs for lifting women up out of poverty and repression and providing them with educational opportunties. It's a case of sista's doing it for themselves and we should applaud these women and their selfless efforts. We should support them as well. Support them here. Synnott at Harvard for Mountain Fund scott Mountain Fund Benefit Show mark synnott Mark Synott, member of The North Face climbing team, prolific author for Climbing, Outside and National Geographic, mountain guide and expedition leader will make a presentation as a benefit show for The Mountain Fund. Time and place are; April 26th, 8pm at Fong Auditorium at Boylston Hall, in Harvard Yard. More about Mark Porter Research Project Planned mountain fund First Ever Comprehensive View of What the Issues Are. porter annapurna Since 1996 organizations like International Mountain Explorers Connection have been working to improve pay and conditions for trekking porters. More recently several other groups have joined in this work and today there are at least five organizations working in Nepal for porter rights. Why though after all these years and efforts are porters still taken advantage of? As we first reported in our Global Porter Blog and later Anna Pettigrew wrote about in The Mountain Fund Volunteer Blog, abuse of porters by paying less than fairly univerally agreed rates, not providing food and exceeding recommended load limits continues in Nepal and elsewhere around the world. Why is this the case? How can it be that there is still even a question in the industry about paying fair wages, limiting loads or providing adequate food and clothing? These are the questions we have decided to take to task. A Mountain Fund research team is headed by Dr. Kevin Tatsugawa who has just completed a research project in Nepal entitled Perceptions of Environmental and Social Change in the Khumbu Region of Nepal. Dr. Kevin Tatsugawa is an assistant professor at Northern Arizona University. He has been to Nepal six times since 1993. He has traveled to Nepal as a climber, an international mountain guide, a researcher, a guest speaker at an international mountain forum, and as a volunteer educator for the Khumbu Climbing School under the auspices of the Nepal Mountaineering Association. In addition, he was recently named an Honorary Representative of the Nepal Mountaineering Instructors Association to support, train and acquire funds for a Himalayan Rescue Team. All of these activities in Nepal have given him a unique perspective from which to conduct research in Nepal. He has a good understanding of issues in Nepal regarding tourism, trekking and mountaineering especially in the Khumbu area of Nepal. He has also conducted research on resident perceptions in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. We hope to obtain funding for this research in 2007 and begin the project in late 2008 or early 2009. Our objective will be to produce a report to the industry that clearly identifies the underlying issues that stand as barriers to full acceptance of the porter treatment guidelines and recomendations for programs that have the best opportunties for creating an environment wherein those guidelines gain total industry acceptance. If you or your company would be interested in helping to underwrite this research, please contact us. Global Porter Blog Mountain Fund Honored By Village. scott Support of Tamangs praised award2 The VDC, or Village Development Committee, for Goljung, Nepal bestowed honors on The Mountain Fund at their annual meeting with the Karing for Kids staff. Executive Director, Scott MacLennan is pictured here with an award that was presented to him by the VDC. The award reads as follows: The people, particularly from Goljung, Gatlang and Chilime VDC of Rasuwa District are supported by KFK Clinic on the basic health care of Children and Women for the last seven years. It would not be possible without your endeavor, financial support and love of the Tamang community. On behalf of KFK-Nepal, I would like to express my gratitude for your precious effort and worthy cooperation. With the hope of your continuous assistance to these marginalized groups. Signed Pragati Ghale, President KFK. At the same meeting the clinic staff gave a lengthy and thorough report to the villages on the number of people they had treated over the past year, types of treatment that were given and activity at the clinic. The report was very well presented and well received by the VDC. The VDC has offered to give some additional land to KFK if it will consider building a more modern clinic on the site. We will be keeping you informed on the effort to do so. Learn More Here Saving One Life. mtnfund Heart operation funded for little girl. heart patient A couple of months back our Advisory Board Member, Gyanendra Ghale copied me on an email from a Doctor in Nepal. The relevant parts of which are as follows. The female child Rejika Shrestha is just over a year old. She has got severe Atrial and Ventricular Septal defect with left to right shunt and dilated right atrium and ventricle. The case is really serious and needs operation as earliest as possible. I had a talk with cardiac surgeon Dr. Bhagawan Koirala at Ganga Lal Heart Hospital, Bansbari, Kathmandul and told me that it would cost around 130,000.00 PLUS (One hundred thirty thousand Nepalese currency), roughly 1800.00 US$ depending upon the exchange rate. He also assured me that he will try to help in this regard. It would be cheaper to do it in this hospital than the private clinic. I hope to get the reply soon so that I could ask the family to come for the further investigation and repeat of some of those tests. Because some time the tests are necessary to repeat for the assessment of the disease. If it becomes operable then the cost matter becomes important.Even for certain tests, the family would need some money. I had help a few years ago from your organization for a girl, Hasta Maya Gurung, from Bandipur area. She has actually a second life. Last time I met her and has grown taller too. She can run, jump, climb hills and compete with her friends in so many ways. Mr. Gyanendra played a key instrumental role in this case as well, and I had an opportunity to present this in your monthly meeting at your office premises. Mountain Fund and Karing for Kids donated money to get this girl the operation she needs. While the operation itself will be without cost, the hospital stay, medicine, and follow up care are not. One day at a time, one life at a time. Want to help save lives? Early Childhood Education Launched maya Grant from Mountain Fund helps launch program. maya class With assistance from The Mountain Fund, the Maya Foundation has started the Rural Education Development Center Nepal. The REDC is an initiative of a rural community in the heartland of Nepal. We believe that a better future for all of us starts with our children. We believe that children grow up to be healthier happier adults when they receive quality education, meaningful education. Education should not be focused on acquiring knowledge only, on developing cognitive skills only. Education should also include physical (motor skills at young age), emotional and social skills. Our aim is to create a higher standard of education for all our children. We want to update the school system in rural Nepal and bring it into step with the school system that is already in place in the urban areas like the Kathmandu Valley. Since we cannot afford to bring our children to these better institutions, our goal is to “bring” these kinds of institutions to our children. However, we do not literally intend to invite urban schools to set up schools here; we want to improve the local schools already present with extra facilities to upgrade them to a higher standard. Most of all, we want a new type of atmosphere in our schools, an atmosphere of love and care between children and teachers. The beating of children by teachers must stop. Violence in our schools must come to an end. Corporal punishment will never motivate children to perform better in school; it will only create frustrated youngsters whose only answer to problems later on in life will be quarrel and aggression. Our country has seen 10 years of civil war, and it is high time our children learn to know that there is another way and it is high time to help them install love in their hearts and thus in our society and our country as a whole. Peace must start at home! Help change education. Funding Needed for Laboratory by KFK Global Giving Helps Global Giving and Mountain Fund have teamed up to help bring a medical lab to the Rasuwa District of Nepal. Please read about, and support this important project. Basic medical laboratory for rural health clinic Karing for Kids Nepal operates a Mother and Child Health Clinic (MCH-Clinic) in the mountain communities of Rasuwa, Nepal. This project will establish a basic medical laboratory within the clinic. Theme: Health | Location: Nepal | Need: $7,968 Give Now Read on... Hey Buddy, can you spare a dime? by mtnfund Is it worth 10 cents a day to you? a dime We hope you have enjoyed this issue of our newsletter. All of our newsletters can be found on our website. In each issue we've tried to be responsible to our donors and actively demonstrate to you all the good your donations are doing around the world. This month we've focused on Nepal. We hope you can see for yourselves what a huge difference you are making in that country. If we are going to keep making a difference in Nepal, we need your financial support. We need your donations. The Volunteer Visitor Center that you have read about in this issue costs us approximately $4500.00 per year to maintain. That's US, not rupees. The moving medical camp we will conduct this fall will cost Mountain Fund nearly $7,000.00 to host. A great deal of that cost is tents and equipment that we will use year after year as we repeat the camps, still it is a large outlay of cash for us. The money each of the 12 medical volunteers is paying covers only their in-country travel costs and a very small amount from each person to purchase medical supplies. There is no subsidy for our costs of equipment and none for the staff time and travel to organize and lead this important trip. Mountain Fund gives nearly 90% of the money it receives back to our programs as support and grants. Now we need a hand from you to sustain ourselves too. I am asking each of you to donate just one dime a day to help us pay our own bills and allow us to keep doing the kind of good work you see in our newsletters. Is this work worth a dime a day to you? If so, please make a donation of ten cents a day, or $3.00 a month, only $36.00 for an entire year. We need your support, we really do. If all we do is not worth a dime a day to you, please write to me personally at mtnfund@mountainfund.org and tell me why. Please Donate Your Dime HERE Newsletter Sponsor dan mazur This newsletter is brought to you through the generous team at Dan Mazur's SummitClimb.com. Vist SummitClimb today Doctors and Nurses Needed for Peru machu picchu In July we are offering a wonderful trip to Peru that will offer Doctors and Nurses the chance to see all the top sites in the Cusco and Sacred Valley areas. We will also spend several days providing healthcare to the 250 school children at Huilloc, near Ollantaytambo. We need Doctors and Nurses to help ! Please contact mtnfund@mountainfund.org for more info. Learn more here Upcoming Newsletters next issue May - The Environmental Issue will feature the environmental programs Mountain Fund is supporting and popular "Green Gear Guide" from our parntner Sustainable Travel International. June - The Peru Issue will feature our programs, treks and plans for projects and programs in Peru. July - The Women's Issue will feature our women's programs and included feature articles by Lizzy Scully, Lucky Chhetri and more. August - The Anniversary Issue. 2 years of Mountain Fund ! Don't miss any of these issues. Be sure to tell your friends, family and co-workers to sign up today for our newsletter. Special note to our corporate supporters - The three upcoming issues will be important for your employees to read. You suppport us, make sure your employees know what your support is doing. Get them to sign up today for The Mountain Fund News ! Would you rather pull our newsletter using Atom? this is the link Newsletter Sign Up Link Here Contact Information email: mtnfund@mountainfund.org phone: 800-743-1929 web: http://www.mountainfund.org Join our mailing list! - - Your Own Mountain Fund Web Site - FREE You can have a Mountain Fund web site of your very own, and it is totally FREE! Help us help the people of the mountains. FREE WEB SITE - - - - FREE Mountain Fund e-mail account Welcome to The Mountain Fund's free email service for Mountain Fund supporters. As a supporter, you can sign up for a FREE mountainfund.net email account in order to be identified as a supporter during your correspondence with your friends or colleagues. The sign-up process should only take a few minutes. Thanks for supporting The Mountain Fund! 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