As time passes and new events occur around the world, the urgency once felt about Haiti may seem to diminish. However, for those people in Haiti, the need perhaps is even greater as the sheer extent of the devastation becomes evident.

To help Haiti in it's greatest moment of need, more than 100 artists from around the world have donated over 200 pieces of artwork for the Haiti Art Fund Auction. There are a wide selection of drawings, photographs, paintings, mixed media work, and prints all about 5x7 in (13x18cms) in size. The artists who are participating in this project are listed on the supporter's page, however the works themselves are not attributed. you can only find out whose work it is if you win the bid. There are artists whose works are in reputable museums and private collections. Some have been subjects of documentaries and others have had books devoted to their work.

This is a rare opportunity to obtain exceptional works of art at affordable prices (bids start at US$10) and contributing to a humanitarian effort at the same time.

100% of all proceeds from the winning bids will be donated by the winners directly to their choice of UNICEF, Partner's in Health, Habitat for Humanity of Oxfam.

This will be a silent auction held on line. The auction has already started and will end at 11:59p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on March 31st, 2010.
For more information please go to the Haiti Art Fund website: www.haitiartfund.com
Or contact info@monkdogz.com for more information.

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Artist's inspiration for this piece are current global issues of oppression and environmental
destructions caused by humans. It was born from his frustrations at our planet's citizens for
living our daily lives as though we are oblivious to the consequences of our actions; all of us
caught up in our individual dream state and no longer capable of recognizing the despairing
reality we have all created.
This impressionistic painting was created using an experimental watercolor technique for
subject's face, and his characteristic technique of building layer upon layer of paint for they
globe and surrounding eye area.

Poetry inspired by painting.
Painting and poem available at Hardluck Studios.
Free licensing of image available for causes in support of human rights.
Contact artist at hardlcukstudios@hardluckstudios.net
to request permission.

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Filming Of Congressional Reality Show Disrupts Committee Meeting

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I have to take a moment  to express my disappointment and dismay at the amazing hush involving the Dalai Lama's visit last week with President Obama. It shames me that, according to NBC news, this noble human rights champion was asked to leave the White House through the servants' entrance. You can video of his exit on youtube.
The White House issued this single statement on the meeting:

The President met this morning at the White House with His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama.  The President stated his strong support for the preservation of Tibet’s unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity and the protection of human rights for Tibetans in the People’s Republic of China. The President commended the Dalai Lama’s “Middle Way” approach, his commitment to nonviolence and his pursuit of dialogue with the Chinese government.  The President stressed that he has consistently encouraged both sides to engage in direct dialogue to resolve differences and was pleased to hear about the recent resumption of talks.  The President and the Dalai Lama agreed on the importance of a positive and cooperative relationship between the United States and China.”
Unfortunately, the actions of the White House can speak more loudly than their words, and somehow this statement seems rather hollow after viewing the video of the Dalai Lama walking past the trash on his way out. I can't help but feel that the White House statement is just more talk that won't be followed up with action
The Dalai Lama's response to the situation affirms that President Obama's praise for his “Middle Way approach, his commitment to nonviolence and his pursuit of dialogue with the Chinese government," was 100% accurate:
Beverly Hills, California, USA, 20 February 2010 (By Gillian Flaccus, The Associated Press) - Just days after meeting with President Barack Obama, the Dalai Lama said Saturday that he was not offended by the low-key reception he received and understands that the president must be practical despite his stated commitment to championing human rights worldwide.

Tibet's exiled spiritual leader told The Associated Press that he recognizes Obama must juggle his desire to support the Dalai Lama's push for greater Tibetan autonomy with his concerns about angering China, a growing U.S. economic rival and hoped-for partner. "No disappointment. The last six decades my heart hardened. I do not consider important political gestures. I don't care. The important is meet face-to-face," said the Dalai Lama, who was sometimes assisted by a translator.

As always, I am grateful to the Dalai Lama for his constant commitment to peace, his invaluable teachings on compassion for all, and his ever-shining example for maintaining an enlightened view in the face of diversity.

As just an ordinary being struggling to exist in a country whose leaders increasingly discard the values of freedom for all on which this nation was built, in attempts to gain favor from those who we are monetarily indebted to, I am saddened, disturbed, and  (unfortunately) increasingly convinced that the corruption and incompetence of our leadership cannot be resolved.

Keeping Karmic Time by Dubh of Hardluck Studios

"a reminder to keep vigilant watch of the mind in each passing moment"

proceeds from sale of painting donated to Katog Choling

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Monkdogz Urban Art Inc, a New York Art Dealership just sent me notice that they are hosting this event. I thought I'd pass on the valuable info.

Haiti Art Fund has been set up by Monkdogz Urban Art Inc. a New York art dealership, for the sole purpose of raising funds for Haiti following the earthquake that occurred on the evening of January 12th 2010.
When natural disasters occur wreaking havoc far away, we often feel helpless. On this occasion we decided that we would help as best as we can. Creating art and selling art is what we know best. Borrowing from an annual event held by London's Royal Academy of Art, we decided that small works would be quicker to create and easier to send. Time is of the essence. This is rationale behind the format of flat 5"x7" works.
We believe that the global Monkdogz Family and Friends will come together to create art and raise funds to help the relief agencies in this their important work.
Please send flat 5 by 7 prints to:
Monkdogz Art Inc
Haiti Art Fund
P.O. Box 1440
Port Washington, New York 11050

Phone: 515-665-1000
Please sign print on back if possible and deliver artwork by March 8th. Send jpg. of donated works by March 1 to: info@haitiartfund.com.
See entries at: http://www.monkdogz.com/chelseagallery/intro.htm

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Fourth Amendment: Search and Seizure

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers,

and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be

violated; and no Warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported

by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be

searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Today I'm still on my soap box about the reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act. Why? Because when I turned on the morning news today, the important information CBS chose to air was the Tiger Woods teleconference. I live in the woods in Alaska, and the big switch to digital TV last year left me with only one channel to view. All those trees, it turns out, make the weaker digital signal impossible for us to pick up and we now get most of our news on the web. (Yet another not so well thought out government plan, but that's a whole new topic for a different day.) My point is that as important as the issue of reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act is to each and every individual in our nation because it robs us of the privacy guaranteed us in our constitution, I've not heard mention of it on any of the major networks. I'm disappointed in media that thinks whether or not Tiger will cheat again is more important to me than whether or not my government is listening to every conversation that I have and every website that I visit. For those of you feeling the same way, here's a link to a video news report on the subject posted on Web420:
http://www.web420.com/forum/9-politics/917-patriot-act-reauthorization#918
And a reminder that BORDC (Bill of Rights Defense Committee) is organizing actions against the PATRIOT Act's reauthorization. You can join, or find out more about BORDC at: http://www.bordc.org

Evolution of Freedom by Dubh of Hardluck Studios
Free licensing of image to causes in support of human rights and social awareness.
Contact artist at:

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Article 12.) No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks. (Painters for Human Rights Network)

I thought that the following announcement from BORDC (Bill of Rights Defense Committee) was worthy of passing on. It concerns reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act, and if you're using the internet it affects you and your right to privacy. I strongly recommend following the link to read the full article.

Executive Director Shahid Buttar published a column this month concerning reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act, which he argues has "once again place[d] the Constitution in the cross-hairs of a complacent Congress, acquiescing to another administration whose political agenda lies at conspicuous odds with its leader's oath to defend the Constitution." Buttar concludes that "[t]he federal policymaking process surrounding domestic surveillance....lacks transparency, legislative accountability, and continuity from the prior debate, making a mockery of democracy while dragging our country further down the failed course of the Bush administration—despite the electorate’s resounding mandate in 2008 to reverse that course."

Offering a vivid analogy to help depict the offensiveness of the latest procedural updates from DC, he concludes that "the Constitution appears to have few friends left in our nation’s capital. That’s one reason (among many) to take matters into your own hands and organize to raise rights above the federal floor in your town. Don’t get angry. Get active."

BORDC's mission is to promote, organize, and support a diverse, effective, national grassroots movement to restore and protect civil rights and liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Their purpose is to educate people about the significance of those rights in our lives; to encourage widespread civic participation; and to cultivate and share the organizing tools and strategies needed for people to convert their concern, outrage, and fear into debate and action to restore Bill of Rights protection.

This organization offers a wide array of options to get involved in defending your human rights. It can be as simple as signing a petition or, if you choose to get more involved, you can organize your own grassroots community project with their assistance.

Evolution of Freedom by Dubh of Hardluck Studios

Contact artist for free licensing of this image for causes in support of human rights at:

hardluckstudios@hardluckstudios.net

Hardluck Studios Soap Box

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Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services.
This quote from The Painters for Human Rights Network has been replaying itself to me frequently after viewing Katie Couric's investigation of the overuse of antibiotics in livestock and its link to increasing antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria in humans. You can read the full story at: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/10/eveningnews/main6195054.shtml. The story documents the Danish success story for removal of routine antibiotic use in their nation's pork industry, and includes an interview with a Danish pork farmer who feared the industry would suffer when the routine use of antibiotics was banned in the pork industry there. (Article Excerpt) "We don't want to use more medicine than needed, and a lot of the medicine that is given is not needed," said Soren Helmer. Helmer is a second-generation pig farmer whose sows produce more than 30,000 pigs a year. When the ban started, he and his father thought the industry would suffer. "We thought we could not produce pigs as efficient as we did before," Helmer said. "But that was proven wrong." Since the ban, the Danish pork industry has grown by 43 percent - making it one of the top exporters of pork in the world. All of Europe followed suit in 2006. But the American Pork Industry doesn't want to in spite of the fact that there are numerous scientific studios proving that the health threat to humans from overuse of antibiotics is real: "We have identified here that we're talking about a public health issue, that the overuse of antibiotics on farms does pose a risk to human health," said Joshua Sharfstein of the FDA. The FDA has for the first time come out against using certain antibiotics to promote growth in livestock. And pending legislation in Congress would ban some types of antibiotics used to treat humans from being administered to healthy farm animals. I searched around online today for groups taking action to stop the use of routine antibiotic use in livestock, and while I was unable to locate a specific petition or call to action against the practice, I did find another interesting piece on the subject from the Organic Consumers Association.

If anybody out there knows of any organized protest against this practice, I'd love to hear from you. Meanwhile, there are a couple of things that we all can do to help:
We can write to our state representatives. (Though  we may not get the results we are seeking in a timely and efficient matter given the rampant corruption and inefficiency "our leaders" have demonstrated recently.)
More importantly we can remember that we the people hold the power to make positive changes to human and animal health. Our choices at the supermarket speak louder than any words that are likely to fall on those deaf ears in the livestock industry who see this change as a threat to their bottom line. Meat products that are labeled to be antibiotic (and hormone) free cost only a few cents more per pound. It seems like a bargain when you stop to consider that a couple of dollars more at the meat counter could save you a small fortune in medical bills (not to mention your life) by preventing the contraction of an antibiotic resistant infection due to ingesting and/or handling meat that is not antibiotic free. By choosing to purchase only antibiotic free meat, you are sending them an instant message that you want change now. They may not be willing to listen to reason, but I'm betting they will act quickly to change when our choices at the grocery reduces that profit margin they are trying so fiercely to protect.

Hardluck Studios Soap Box

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We've said it before: it is the compassionate and enlightened actions of individuals who are most effective in enacting positive changes for global peace and human survival. Today we send our gratitude and kudos to artist Victor Vidal for his Flag of the Peace and Love Global Village event. Victor is calling for contributors to draw, paint and/or write expressing their urgent demand for peace and love in the whole World on a piece of cotton (30cm by 30cm). No to wars, crimes, hunger, destruction of our planet, destruction of human beings (special children), etc. In our Global Village we want LOVE&PEACE.
This piece of art can be done by a family while talking about the need of peace&love. Schools may also participate by creating several pieces. Professional painters and amateurs are equally welcome.
In April, Victor will sew together all the paintings he has received, to create a big flag belonging to the Peace&Love Global Village. The flag will be offered to be shown in art exhibitions in Denmark or abroad. Finally, the flag will be donated to an organization working for peace and love.
Find out more about The Flag of the Peace and Love Global Village at the Painters for Human Rights Network, pfhrnetwork.ning.com.

Art is the Heart of the Earth
Hardluck Studios Soap Box

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It's Friday again, and time to share some positive information for living free. This one is a follow-up on our blog post from 1/28/10, Stop bailed out banks from paying excessive bonuses, in which we suggested that you move your money out of big banks that continue to reward themselves with big bonuses.  The Huffington Post has an online article today announcing a terrific tool for freeing yourself from the power and corruption of big banks. The article, Santa Cruz County Thinks Local is centered around the county of Santa Cruz, and reports that moving the county's money out of big banks and into local ones has led to increased lending. The really good news is that a national movement , Move Your Money, was formed just one month ago to assist you in locating local banks and credit unions that are not affiliated with those big bonus-paying, non-lending banks. You can find this organization online at; moveyourmoney.info. Kudos to Move Your Money! I love to hear about individuals creating opportunities for freedom. Move Your Money seems to possess a valuable trait that our government is currently lacking - common sense.
Share your inspiring stories of freedom with us on the Hardluck Studios Soap Box.
"Oil" by Dubh of Hardluck Studios

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