Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: PEACE FIRST AWARDS PRIZE TO 5 YOUTH WINNERS, Sylvi...

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: PEACE FIRST AWARDS PRIZE TO 5 YOUTH WINNERS, Sylvi...: Peace First Awards Prize to 5 Youth Winners PEACE FIRST AWARDS PRIZE TO 5 YOUTH WINNERS Home About Peace First Our ...

PEACE FIRST AWARDS PRIZE TO 5 YOUTH WINNERS, Sylvia Lydia Morelos...10/28/14...5:42 p.m.

Peace First Awards Prize to 5 Youth Winners

PEACE FIRST AWARDS PRIZE TO 5 YOUTH WINNERS

PEACE FIRST AWARDS PRIZE TO 5 YOUTH WINNERSWinners Ages 12-22 Receive $25,000 Fellowship to Further Peacemaking Work

Washington D.C. – Peace First, a national nonprofit dedicated to creating the next generation of peacemakers, today announced the five winners of the 2^nd annual Peace First Prize at a press conference at the National Press Club. The Peace First Prize is a national award recognizing youth peacemakers, ages 8-22, who are leaders focused on making lasting social change in their communities. The winners will receive a 2-year, $25,000 Fellowship to further their peacemaking work.

“We have been teaching peacemaking in schools for 20 years and know first-hand that young people can make a real difference in their communities. The Peace First Prize is our way of celebrating youth peacemaking in action,” stated Eric D. Dawson, President and co-founder of Peace First. “We are proud to recognize our extraordinary Prize winners and are excited for them to join our growing number of young peacemakers and to invest in them as national peace leaders.”

At a time when violence among youth permeates the news, the Peace First Prize celebrates young people’s achievements and shares their impressive work with the nation. “I commend these extraordinary young people who are doing great work and making a real difference in their schools and communities. They inspire hope in all of us,” U.S. Secretary of Education of Arne Duncan said. “As we can see from Malala Yousafzai, the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner, efforts to lead social change can begin at any age. The work of these students has far-reaching effects. Through their service to others, they are not only changing their schools and communities, they are helping to change this nation and the world.”

The five inspiring young people were selected as 2014 Peace First Fellows because through their compassion, courage and ability to collaborate with others, they have been the driving force behind positive changes in their communities. Some winners are evolving their projects into nonprofit organizations, while others are cultivating change through campaigns and grassroots efforts. The five winners are listed here:

Amit Dodani, age 16, West Hills, CA: Amit’s organization, My Name My Story, inspires empathy by hosting events in schools to allow students to discuss issues around friendship, unity, family, and passion.

Eli Erlik, age 19, Claremont, CA: Eli founded Trans Student Equality Resources, an organization dedicated to improving the educational environment for transgender and gender nonconforming students.

Imani Henry, age 12, Wilmington, DE: Imani’s organization 100 Men Reading fills a need for non-traditional literacy programs for young children who are struggling with reading.

Matthew Kaplan, age 17, Phoenix, AZ: Matthew started the Be ONE Project, a bullying prevention program for middle school students that hopes to harness the power of peer pressure for good.

Amanda Matos, age 22, Bronx, NY: Amanda founded WomanHOOD, an organization that hosts workshops to teach high school girls in the Bronx the skills to become social and political activists in order to increase the representation of women of color in government, higher education, and the workforce.

###

PEACE FIRST

Peace First, www.peacefirst.org, is a nonprofit (501(c)(3)) public benefit corporation that exists to create the next generation of peacemakers by teaching, modeling and valuing youth peacemaking.

PEACE FIRST PRIZE PARTNERS

Prize partners include: lead investor, The Pershing Square Foundation; media partners USA Network and CNN; Presenting Nominators: American Association of School Administrators, America’s Promise Alliance, American Federation of Teachers, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys and Girl Clubs of America, The Bully Project, Campus Compact, City Year, Communities in Schools, generationOn, Girl Scouts, Mentor, Teach for America, Young Women’s Christian Association and the 4-H Council; legal partner: Goodwin Procter; general partners Drew A. Katz Foundation, 1440 Foundation, Babson Capital, and NTT Data; and celebrity ambassadors: National Spokesperson America Ferrera, Board member Rashida Jones, Monique Coleman, Rachel Crow, Vera Farmiga, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Kat Graham, Ian Harding, Avan Jogia, Debra Messing, Daniella Monet, Rosie Perez, Amy Poehler, Mark Ruffalo, Andy Samberg, Peter Sarsgaard, Cody Simpson, and Sofia Vergara.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 27, 2014
Contact:
Karen Grant, (617) 261-3883 x310
kgrant@peacefirst.org
Melissa McNamara (917) 374-3084
m mcnamara@globalstrategygroup.com
###

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: Department of Homeland Security Kicks Off National...

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: Department of Homeland Security Kicks Off National...: Skip to main content Official website of the Department of Homeland Security User menu Contact Us Site Map A...

Department of Homeland Security Kicks Off National Cyber Security Awareness Month 2014, 10/5/14...5:45 a.m. Sylvia Lydia Morelos

Official website of the Department of Homeland Security

Homeland Security

Department of Homeland Security Kicks Off National Cyber Security Awareness Month 2014

Release Date:

October 2, 2014

For Immediate Release
DHS Press Office
Contact: 202-282-8010
WASHINGTON - The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced yesterday the beginning of National Cyber Security Awareness Month 2014, an effort to increase the American public’s understanding of basic cybersecurity practices and the role each of us plays in keeping cyberspace safe and secure. Cybersecurity is a critical component of the nation’s economic wellbeing and has become an integral part of our collective national security. Both essential services and critical infrastructure increasingly rely on cyber networks and systems. Improving the security and resilience of these networks is one of DHS’s core missions.
“Today our nation’s cyber networks are as much a part of the American homeland as they are indispensable to modern life in America – the very backbone of our 21st century economy and a major nerve center of our national security,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson. “Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility. Every one of us must practice basic cyber security because an intrusion into one computer can affect an entire network.”
Yesterday, DHS also joined the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) for a formal kick-off of National Cyber Security and Awareness Month in Nashville, Tenn. The Department and its partners will host additional events throughout the month around the country to promote cybersecurity awareness.
National Cyber Security Awareness Month reflects our shared responsibility to secure cyberspace, and looks ahead by engaging all members of the community in an ongoing dialogue about emerging cybersecurity issues. DHS works year-round to increase cybersecurity awareness through its Stop.Think.Connect.™ campaign, which encourages Americans to practice safe online behavior. The campaign offers the following tips to stay safe online:

Set strong passwords and don’t share them with anyone.
Keep your operating system, browser, and other critical software optimized by installing updates.
Maintain an open dialogue with your family, friends, and community about Internet safety.
Limit the amount of personal information you post online and use privacy settings to avoid sharing information widely.
Be cautious about what you receive or read online—if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

For more information about National Cyber Security Awareness Month 2014, visit here.

###

Review Date:

October 2, 2014

Affirmations, October 08, 2011...Sylvia Lydia Morelos....( 10/05/14...5:00 a.m.). Sylvia Lydia Morelos

Affirmations, October 08, 2011...

Affirmations:

"I claim my own power."
"I AM not afraid of people."
"Don't be afraid to be alone - it can mean freedom to be."
"I have a strong sense of self, value myself intrinsically, am confident and show up authentically."
"My self worth is not tied to the approval or thoughts of those around me."
"I come from a position of strength and confidence."
"I am completely confident and full ...of courage."
"I am sure of myself, and I am not afraid to stand up for myself."
"This is the moment that I take my power back. I choose to develop the positive habit of knowing that life is here for me."
"I know I am worth healing."
"I am one with the Father, the divine Principle of my being and of all being and all the Father, divine Love posseses belongs to me as His complete expression.."
"I know that I count and I act as if I do."
"GOD gave me security, and nobody can take it from me!"
"Myconfidence is always greater than any kind of fear."
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
"No matter how old I am, I can always learn more and I choose to do so with confidence...[and I have]."
"Be your own best friend.."
"I am headed in the right direction.."
"I am strong and confident; I will fight fear and hate with ultimate diligence determination and a balanced mind, knowing that "evil never fights." "it conquers, but it doesn't fight."
"Stay Confident."
"I am willing to release the patter in my consciousness that is creating criticism."
"I lways remember i feel confident."
"My faith lifts me above my fears."
"My faith in God sets me free from all worry, anxiety and doubt."
"My vision is focused, my focus is faithful, my faith is steeped in gratitude."
"Christ is my peace, he loves and cares for me."
"My body has a remarkable capacity for healing."
"I accept blessed, timeless, sacred healing."
"Truthful expression is a healing and strengthening force.."
"I ask that the divine, universal spirit bring total healing into my life.."
"Creativity is the healing balm for the frantic mind."
"My body is continuously working on righting itself, healing itself."

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: Letter from Thomas Jefferson - "I Have Sworn Upon ...

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: Letter from Thomas Jefferson - "I Have Sworn Upon ...: [ Back to Homepage | Back to Literature Links Homepage ] Letter from Thomas Jefferson - "I Have Sworn Upon the Alta...

Letter from Thomas Jefferson - "I Have Sworn Upon the Altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." --Thomas Jefferson. Sylvia Lydia Morelos, 10/05/14...2:04 a.m.

[Back to Homepage | Back to Literature Links Homepage]

Letter from Thomas Jefferson - "I Have Sworn Upon the Altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."

To Dr. Benjamin Rush - Monticello, Sep. 23, 1800

        _To Dr. Benjamin Rush_
        _Monticello, Sep. 23, 1800_


        DEAR SIR, -- I have to acknolege the receipt of your favor of
Aug. 22, and to congratulate you on the healthiness of your city.
Still Baltimore, Norfolk & Providence admonish us that we are not
clear of our new scourge.  When great evils happen, I am in the habit
of looking out for what good may arise from them as consolations to
us, and Providence has in fact so established the order of things, as
that most evils are the means of producing some good.  The yellow
fever will discourage the growth of great cities in our nation, & I
view great cities as pestilential to the morals, the health and the
liberties of man.  True, they nourish some of the elegant arts, but
the useful ones can thrive elsewhere, and less perfection in the
others, with more health, virtue & freedom, would be my choice.


        I agree with you entirely, in condemning the mania of giving
names to objects of any kind after persons still living.  Death alone
can seal the title of any man to this honor, by putting it out of his
power to forfeit it.  There is one other mode of recording merit,
which I have often thought might be introduced, so as to gratify the
living by praising the dead.  In giving, for instance, a commission
of chief justice to Bushrod Washington, it should be in consideration
of his integrity, and science in the laws, and of the services
rendered to our country by his illustrious relation, &c.  A
commission to a descendant of Dr. Franklin, besides being in
consideration of the proper qualifications of the person, should add
that of the great services rendered by his illustrious ancestor, Bn
Fr, by the advancement of science, by inventions useful to man, &c.
I am not sure that we ought to change all our names.  And during the
regal government, sometimes, indeed, they were given through
adulation; but often also as the reward of the merit of the times,
sometimes for services rendered the colony.  Perhaps, too, a name
when given, should be deemed a sacred property.


        I promised you a letter on Christianity, which I have not
forgotten.  On the contrary, it is because I have reflected on it,
that I find much more time necessary for it than I can at present
dispose of.  I have a view of the subject which ought to displease
neither the rational Christian nor Deists, and would reconcile many
to a character they have too hastily rejected.  I do not know that it
would reconcile the _genus irritabile vatum_ who are all in arms
against me.  Their hostility is on too interesting ground to be
softened.  The delusion into which the X. Y. Z. plot shewed it
possible to push the people; the successful experiment made under the
prevalence of that delusion on the clause of the constitution, which,
while it secured the freedom of the press, covered also the freedom
of religion, had given to the clergy a very favorite hope of
obtaining an establishment of a particular form of Christianity thro'
the U. S.; and as every sect believes its own form the true one,
every one perhaps hoped for his own, but especially the Episcopalians
& Congregationalists.  The returning good sense of our country
threatens abortion to their hopes, & they believe that any portion of
power confided to me, will be exerted in opposition to their schemes.
And they believe rightly; for I have sworn upon the altar of god,
eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.
But this is all they have to fear from me: & enough too in their
opinion, & this is the cause of their printing lying pamphlets
against me, forging conversations for me with Mazzei, Bishop Madison,
&c., which are absolute falsehoods without a circumstance of truth to
rest on; falsehoods, too, of which I acquit Mazzei & Bishop Madison,
for they are men of truth.


        But enough of this: it is more than I have before committed to
paper on the subject of all the lies that has been preached and
printed against me.  I have not seen the work of Sonnoni which you
mention, but I have seen another work on Africa, (Parke's,) which I
fear will throw cold water on the hopes of the friends of freedom.
You will hear an account of an attempt at insurrection in this state.
I am looking with anxiety to see what will be it's effect on our
state.  We are truly to be pitied.  I fear we have little chance to
see you at the Federal city or in Virginia, and as little at
Philadelphia.  It would be a great treat to receive you here.  But
nothing but sickness could effect that; so I do not wish it.  For I
wish you health and happiness, and think of you with affection.
Adieu.