Peacekeeper Truth Serum Blog

On March 19, Elinor Smith, the extraordinary female pilot known as the “Flying Flapper of Freeport”, died in a nursing home at 98 years old.

Born in 1911, Elinor Smith fell in love with flying airplanes as a very young child, and was flying solo by the tender age of 15.  Always a daredevil, she dared to fly her father’s Waco 9 plane up to higher and higher altitudes, eventually setting a record for light plane altitudes of nearly 12,000 feet just three months after her first solo flight.

On a dare at age 17, she flew under the four bridges on New York’s East River, the only person in the world to do so to this day; though she was ‘grounded’ by the Department of Commerce for ten days, her stunt brought in massive publicity; according to legend, the letter of ‘grounding’ was accompanied by a request for her autograph.

In January 1929, Elinor set the record for women’s flying endurance at a groundbreaking 13.5 hours, despite freezing temperatures and what she called “a blend of incompetence and arrogance” in her autobiography.  Three months after she set this record, she broke it again—this time with a 26.5 hour flight.

Within a year of setting her first record for altitude, she broke that with an extraordinary record of 32,576 feet—almost at the cost of her life.  By 1930, before her twentieth birthday, she was called “The Best Woman Pilot in America” and her celebrity and carefree attitude gave her the famous nickname “The Flying Flapper of Freeport.”  In 1934, she became the first woman to be on a Wheaties cereal box, proving that women could be champions just as well as men!

PeaceKeeper mourns the death of such an extraordinary American aviatrix, and is confident that this new century will invite such courageous hearts and minds as Ms.  Smith proved to be in her time!

With Love,

The PeaceKeeper Team

(Writer:  Renee Estey.  Editor:  Jessica Smith.)

Like Malalai Joya (see “Is a Comeback in the Future for the Youngest Elected Politician in Afghanistan?” March 19, 2010), Mai Jori is braving threats of violence and social expulsion in her attempt to make her message heard.  The Pakistani politician recently ran for a seat in the Sindh provincial assembly, despite knowing that she could never win.  Rampant political corruption among her rivals, who ‘bought’ votes for their seats and stuffed ballots, prevented her from being able to take the seat.  The fact that Mai Jori could run for the seat, however, is an astonishing feat, and she knew that her campaign was less about winning than it was about making herself heard to the masses.

Her political message addresses enormous human rights issues, including the availability of fresh water and decent medical care to the poor, a necessity in Pakistan where women in labor have to travel four hours to the nearest hospital.  Her primary campaign goal, however, was fighting honor killings, a troublesome issue which women continue to face worldwide.   In many countries, under many different religions, women are murdered by their own family for any number of things that cause their family dishonor- from chewing gum to wearing make-up. Two years prior, three women were buried alive because they dishonored their families by wanting to marry men of their own choosing.  Mai Jori is trying to provide Pakistani women with proper education and empowerment so that they will fight this unjust system of retaliation—a difficult struggle, as most women refuse to speak up out of fear of getting killed themselves.

Despite the enormity of the issues she has chosen to tackle, and despite the political corruption preventing her from working through the government, Mai Jori is being heard.  During her campaign, her supporters increased from 200 to 5,000—most of them women.  PeaceKeeper hopes that number is growing daily, and hopes that you will join us in giving Mai Jori the support she rightfully deserves!

With Love,

The PeaceKeeper Team

(Writer: Renee Estey.  Editor:  Jessica Smith.)

Today marked the end of the week-long “Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles du Maroc”, a rally/adventure taking place in Morocco’s southern desert. Since 1990, the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles has provided thousands of women with inspiration and empowerment.

Last Wednesday, at the beginning of this amazing adventure, 104 teams of women were equipped with antique maps from the 1950s and compasses to navigate their way through the desert. The goal? Reach each daily checkpoint with the minimum amount of travel needed (the team who travels the smallest number of kilometers wins).

The journey is physically and mentally fatiguing, as the women must navigate traps such as melting dunes and disguised depressions covered with sand, but it is not a question of competition; rather, it is a question of individuals helping each other achieve a major goal, and interteam assistance is common. The prize at the end is not money, but a new perspective-several women, upon completing this challenge, have been empowered to find a new job or remove themselves from toxic relationships.

The slogan for the Rallye is “It is in losing their points of reference that the Gazelles discover their true values. Freedom to choose their route; this is our concept for this adventure.” These women do not follow any route prescribed for them; rather, they choose their own path to achieve a common goal.

The adventure ends tonight with a formal dinner, and every woman has packed, along with the necessities of her journey, a formal dress for this final celebration. We at PeaceKeeper congratulate the winner of the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles, and hope that every participant on this amazing journey discovered their true beauty and power in ‘choosing their own route’!

With Love,

The PeaceKeeper Team

Due to her outspoken opinions (pro-women’s rights and anti-Afghan warlords) Malalai Joya, age 31, has been expelled from the Afghanistan Parliament and survived four assassination attempts. The media keeps her quiet by cutting her speeches on air and even cutting off her microphone during public speeches. Despite everything, though, she still hopes to make a political comeback in elections this September.

Joya plans to run as a candidate in the capital due to safety, because the security in Kabul is much better than the northern areas where the warlords have the ability to eliminate her easily. Already living like a fugitive, moving from safe house to safe house, she is unable to effectively broadcast her views. Without access to the media, Joya has to vocalize her message regarding women’s rights and human rights through meetings in safe houses, telephone, and poster campaigns. This does not leave her with the ability to reach a large amount of people.

Furthermore, even if she receives a large amount of votes, Joya understands that her comeback has less to do with those voting-even if they are doctors and students- than those counting. Malalai Joya faces a lot of challenges; and while 25 percent of the Parliament seats are reserved for women, many are not educated or experienced enough to fill those seats and with a law stating that no seat can be left vacant, those seats may be taken by men. If this happens, women will be pushed out of Parliament again, and Joya is fighting so that doesn’t happen.

Malalai Joya is risking her life to keep warlords from gaining absolute control and providing women with a chance to make a difference. We hope she succeeds!

With Love,

The PeaceKeeper Team

(Writer:  Renee Estey.  Editor:  Jessica Smith.)

Last Sunday, after rowing for 70 days, 5 hours, and 22 minutes on the Atlantic Ocean, Katie Spotz, age 22, arrived in Georgetown, Guyana in South America. Making her start on the West coast of Africa in Dakar, Senegal on January 3^rd, her 2,817 mile journey raised $70,000 for the Blue Planet Run Foundation!

The Blue Planet Run Foundation provides people with safe drinking water. Many underdeveloped countries require their people to walk close to four miles to find safe water. In most cases these people are young girls, who spend most of their day searching for this safe water. Not only does this trek keep them from education, but it also puts them in harm’s way; a lot of girls are attacked and raped because they have to walk through rough areas. So by providing these countries with safe water, the foundation also provides these girls with a chance at an education and safety.

Katie’s solo row is not the first challenge she took on in support of Blue Planet Run: in 2008, she swam the length of the Allegheny River, becoming the first to swim the 325 miles. The latest mission was certainly more dangerous though and took her two years to plan and save for. In the last decade110 rowboats made it successfully, while 102 did not. If it hadn’t been for strong wind and currents upon approaching Cayenne, French Guiana, she would have made it to land eight days sooner. However, in that case, she would have required a tow, and Spotz was determined to make the trip completely on her own.

She rowed eight to ten hours a day to make it across, and because of her strength and endurance, she was able to raise money to help give people fresh water.

Congratulations, Katie, on completing your mission!

With Love,

The PeaceKeeper Team

The beautiful weather is not the only thing to celebrate this week! On Tuesday, the upper house of India’s Parliament passed a new bill that reserves one-third of the seats in India’s national and state legislatures for women. PeaceKeeper is very excited about this bill, as it will provide women with a chance to be more involved in government and take greater action on women’s issues.

However, this vote is only the first of four that must be cleared, and numerous arguments condemning the bill are making it very difficult to get the next three. Some believe that the passing of this bill will only worsen the common problem of powerful men using their wives and daughters as mouthpieces for their own political beliefs. Furthermore, an addendum to the bill states that half of the seats in the lower house of Parliament will be reserved; critics of the bill argue that this will increase competition for the other half, taking power away from poorer areas of India.

As always in politics, however, power goes to the wealthiest bidder; usually, this bidder is male. It makes sense, therefore, to give women, who traditionally are less wealthy and have less opportunities than men, an improved chance of gaining that power which has so long been withheld. Even if most of those seats go to women with highly developed political networks and only a few go to underprivileged women, it is still a step in the right direction; their voices are still being heard. PeaceKeeper hopes that, by the passage of this bill, doors will be opened to new voices and previously ignored issues.

What do you think? Leave a comment below to tell us your thoughts!
With Love,

The PeaceKeeper Team

(Writer:  Renee Estey.  Editor:  Jessica Smith.)

Spring is here in New York City, or at least that’s how it feels with yesterday’s mid-50’s temperatures. Hopefully everyone enjoyed their sunny, beautiful Women’s Day!

In recent news, the U.S. government has decided to deploy 40 female U.S. Marines to Afghanistan. These female teams will be ‘attached’ to the male units in groups of 4 or 5, and will campaign by talking to the women, who, though they have information that could be valuable to the U.S., have shut themselves off entirely from the largely male American troops. Gaining their trust could mean gaining the trust of the entire Afghan people.

The military believes this campaigning will be beneficial, because women are generally recognized as ‘helpers’, while the men are traditionally recognized as ‘fighters’. This does not, however, mean that these women will be safe. They have been placed in communities free of militants and away from combats, but in a war like this, they must still prepare for ambushes and snipers. In order to keep safe they are told to wear their ponytails out of their helmets to be recognized as women, and use indirect tactics of getting information like playing with the children instead of firing off questions immediately.

A lot of the women being deployed feel it is a good deed, because it will give these women a chance to have their voices heard, and provide the government with a fully comprehensive picture of life during wartime. But will these women actually benefit from this mission? Will they receive proper aid, or will their needs be ignored once their ‘trust’ has been gained? The American women who are putting their lives in danger for this mission hope so, and PeaceKeeper will be keeping an eye on the progress of this mission. We wish them luck on their campaign.

With Love,

The PeaceKeeper Team

(Writer:  Renee Estey.  Editor:  Jessica Smith.)

St. Patrick’s Day may be an extremely well-known day in March, but it’s not the only important one to recognize. Monday March 8th is International Women’s Day- recognized all over the world as a day to review how far women have come; it is also a chance for women to network, organize their ideas, and act. March 8th was designated as International Women’s Day in 1977, and since then women have come a long way, but of course more change must be made.

This year’s International Women’s Day was observed yesterday March 3rd at the United Nations Headquarters with a breakfast. Since this International Women’s Day lands on the first work day of the week for most people, this weekend should be a weekend to celebrate our progress, celebrate each other, appreciate the difference we are making, acknowledge our contribution to securing peace and equality, and enjoy the company of our beautiful sisters. And after the celebrating, we can put our minds together to further help women overcome challenges like poverty, violence, abuse so that one day, there really will be equal rights and opportunities for everyone.

This is our time to recognize the women who have made a difference–on international levels, but in our personal lives, as well. Cherish the women around you, because we’re working towards the same goals. And what better way to do that then spend an evening together with martinis and manicures and pedicures?  Wear the color that makes you feel empowered and excited about this Women’s Day and feel pampered and appreciated!

With Love,

The PeaceKeeper Team

(Writer:  Renee Estey.  Editor:  Jessica Smith.)

With the people of Chile having seen their share of earthquakes, this past weekend’s 8.8 magnitude quake has devastated the country. While Chile certainly needs less aid than the recent Haiti crisis, due to sturdier buildings and knowledge of handling quakes, people are still finding themselves without shelter and food. There have been 711 recorded deaths thus far, and considering the country is still shaking, the number is expected to rise. Most people have decided to camp outside while the earth is still unsettled.

On Sunday, President Michelle Bachelet- the first woman to hold this position in the country’s history- issued an order to send 10,000 soldiers into the streets to keep order and provide assistance. She also announced a deal with supermarkets to provide food to the needy. They are trying to prevent fearful people from hoarding gas and food, as supermarkets are now bare. Chile has requested mobile bridges, generators, water filtration equipment, field hospitals and surgical centers to aid in the aftermath of the quake. And the UN is currently taking stock of what they can provide.

President Bachelet has definitely kept things running as smoothly as possible in this crisis. Due to hospital buildings being considered unsafe, patients were being treated outside; and Ms. Bachelet said the military will set up field hospitals. Because cellphone communication, medical care, and water distribution depend upon energy, she has also spoken with power companies to make their repairs quickly. Considering the state of the country, most people are behaving rationally and providing aide to one another. Preparation and order are helping quite a bit in the crisis, but even while things settle, a lot will have changed for the people of Chile.  We ask you to keep them in your thoughts and prayers during this troubled time.

With Love,

The PeaceKeeper Team

(Writer:  Renee Estey.  Editor:  Jessica Smith.)