Peacekeeper Truth Serum Blog

Good news for women who are battling menopause today! The pharmaceutical company Wyeth has developed a compound called Aprela that has been shown to reduce hot flashes, trouble sleeping without a significant amount of breast tenderness. The company reports also that in some of their later studies, the drug has been shown to increase bone density and reduce vaginal dryness. Finding alternatives to hormone replacement therapy has been a priority for women due to the associated higher risk for breast cancer. Want more information on menopause? The American Menopause Foundation has incredible information on the subject and also works to raise awareness through symposiums and other events.Peace,Alice

It’s not very hard to find reasons to admire Daryl Hannah. Her beauty and talent has allowed her a longevity in Hollywood that is not allowed most celebrities. But what I admire most about Daryl is her dedication to a passion besides acting: activism. Not only is she a human rights activist (check out our video to hear her thoughts on PeaceKeeper!), but she is truly passionate about the environment. While many corporations and products are attaching themselves to the green movement, Daryl Hannah challenges the eco-conscious to question before buying

There are no set standards associated with the word “green.” No governing body assuring the integrity of the interpreted meaning. The newfound popularity of this word has led so many companies to adopt and co-opt it solely as a marketing tool.

Click here to read an interview she did recently with Eco-Stiletto about her green-dreams.

Peace,

Alice

Here’s a story for you, PeaceKeepers that found its way into my inbox earlier this week. A ten-year-old girl from Kenya was killed on August 18th. It wasn’t from malnutrition. It wasn’t a result of violence. This little girl bled to death after her family brought her to a circumciser to have her genitals mutilated. Her parents buried her that day. But for the first time, according to Kim Rosen (who works with V-Day campaign), the circumciser was arrested after an anonymous informer called the authorities. Women’s rights activists like Agnes Pareyio working on the ground throughout Africa have been battling cultural practices of female genital mutilation (FGM), which can vary from removal of the clitoris to the extreme practice of the removal of the labias and sewing the reminisce together. FGM has serious medical complications including death through shock, excessive bleeding and infection. Long-term complications can lead to infertility.

UNIFEM estimates that upwards of 130 million women and girls living today have undergone some form of FGM. The UN Trust Fund to Eliminate Violence against Women is working with local projects to work with communities to educate and address harmful attitudes and practices. Show your support for Agnes and UNIFEM by signing the Say NO to Violence against Women petition, which will bring the world one step closer to ending issues like FGM. Tell the world that one death is one too many.

Peace,

Alice

The economic cost of violence against women is considerable — a 2003 report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the costs of intimate partner violence in the United States alone exceed US$5.8 billion per year: US$4.1 billion are for direct medical and health care services, while productivity losses account for nearly US$1.8 billion?

Does that bother you? It bothers me. Sign UNIFEM’s petition to say NO to violence against women!

In an election year, it’s not uncommon to see domestic issues taking over US news channels. I’ve been watching CNN’s incessant coverage of Wall Street issues and quite frankly, I’m a little frustrated with the lack of attention being paid to some of the international victims of the recent tropical storms and hurricanes. In the past three weeks, the island nation of Haiti has been devastated by four tropical storms. Haiti is considered to be the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, where an astounding 80% of the population lives under the poverty line (54% living in abject poverty). These storms have left an estimated one million Haitians homeless in the midst of hurricane season. The political structure in Haiti is incredibly fragile, these storms in addition to economic pressures threaten the government’s existence. While some of the destroyed cities in Haiti such as Gonaives have received help from the international community and celebrities, there is still an incredible amount of aid needed for the Haitian people.

Much of the damage inflicted by the tropical storms is a result of the lack of any prevention programs, mainly due to other more immediate needs, such as hunger and poverty. Most of the information available for hurricane preparation are designed for people who have sufficient funds to be able to store away rations of food. In the midst of all the destruction, Haiti has the chance to rebuilt communities that will be better able to withstand tropical storms and hurricanes in the future. This, however, will not be cheap, development never is. It is critical that aid continue to be sent to the Haitian people, even after the storm passes. Staying informed on international events is the first step to addressing issues.

Peace,

Alice

Hello PeaceKeepers!

Getting back to school is always a bit of a stressor, but in an exciting way. Who doesn’t love the feeling of a batch of pens and some clean notebooks? So here’s a lesson for you, PeaceKeepers on UNIFEM. UNIFEM, which stands for United Nations development Fund for Women. UNIFEM works all over the world to fight gender based violence through addressing gender inequality. UNIFEM works with governments to create policies to protect women and children. Similarly, the UNIFEM is one of the best resources for finding statistics on violence against women and children. They’ve got an incredibly important petition that ALL of your should sign. It’s called “Say NO to Violence Against Women”. Click on the link to learn more and add your name to the petition!

Peace,

Alice

Hi Folks!

Sorry for the laps, PeaceKeeper and I have been quite busy as of late. As some of you know, it’s Fashion Week here in the Big Apple, so I thought I’d talk about how green is totally the new black. Designers all over the world are making their designs more eco-friendly. My roommate works for a PR firm that represents some of the most prestigious designers (the initials DVF sound familiar?), and she told me that the gift bags given out at the shows as well as the after parties to celebrities are getting more and more green. For our vegan readers, Stella McCartney never uses fur or leather in any of her clothes. John Patrick Organic is a great find, his mantra is: “ I envision a world in the near future where people won’t ask ‘Is it organic?’, but say ‘yes, of course it’s organic!’”.

I think that it’s really important that the fashion world is paying attention to our growing eco-needs. Maybe it will trickle down to the “little” people soon… Just kidding. Last week I did my civic duty and helped the new freshman class move in to the dorms. I can’t tell you how many 24 packs of water I carried up three, four, five flights of stairs. Bringing bottled water to college just doesn’t make any sense to me. I know our school is in the Bronx, but New York wins awards for our tap water all the time. Besides, I doubt my university would allow mommy’s precious little snowflake to imbibe anything harmful. It’s so much cheaper in the long haul to buy a good water bottle and refill it. Even better- it saves space. And believe me, you need all the space you can get when it’s 4 girls to a room with no air conditioning.

Peace,

Alice