Peacekeeper Truth Serum Blog

Founded in 1987, Domestic Violence Awareness Month is a chance to bring together people around the world to join in the common cause of ending violence against women and their children.

The 2012 Day of Unity was celebrated Monday, October 1, and was commemorated with events across the country. Here are a few of our favorite events, activities, and thoughts about DVAM:

• Hungry for Justice: Food Security and Violence Against Women. Author Sarah Kalloch eloquently discusses the disturbing correlations between world hunger and domestic violence. (Note: World Food Day is tomorrow, October 16th; read this essay to see how you can participate.)
• In Tonawanda, NY, the local YWCA is lit up with purple spotlights to increase awareness of domestic violence and women’s support services.
• Bliss Tree made a list of 8 ways to spot domestic abuse.
• If you’re interested in creating an event of your own, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence has a list of resources and activity ideas.
• And last but not least:  President Obama’s DVAM 2012 Proclamation.

How have you celebrated Domestic Violence Awareness Month?  Leave us a comment sharing your stories.

With Love,
The PeaceKeeper Team
www.iamapeacekeeper.com

PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics is the first cosmetic line to give donations to urgent human rights issues globally.
Want to become a PeaceKeeper too? Take a peek at our products and check out the causes we support.

This week, we’re shouting out to NYC’s hottest new approach to sustainable technology – The Lowline!

Inspired by the success of the High Line (an NYC elevated freight line converted into a stunning public park) a group called The Delancey Underground Project aims to create an underground green space using an abandoned trolley terminal beneath Delancey Street, on New York’s Lower East Side. The designers are planning to use cutting-edge green technology to enable a functional below-ground ecosystem; sunlight, reflected underground, would save electricity while allowing plants, trees, and grass to thrive.

It looks like their dreams may become a reality very soon; The Delancey Underground Project recently had a successful Kickstarter run back in April, and they are hosting events through the month of September to increase community interest in the project. Ultimately, the creators of the Lowline hope to “provide tremendous opportunities for creative expression, while challenging assumptions of the way humans work, live, commute, and interact”; this includes community programs such as art exhibits, farmers’ markets, and educational series. “This space will be more than a space,” says the project’s website. “It will generate community, and it will inspire in the way beautiful environments can inspire.”

We at PeaceKeeper are super excited to have a new park in NYC, especially one that’s using cutting-edge sustainable technology to make the world a greener place! To find out more, you can visit thelowline.org or check out their old Kickstarter campaign.

Image courtesy Delancey Underground Kickstarter.

With Love,
The PeaceKeeper Team
www.iamapeacekeeper.com

PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics is the only cosmetics company to give donations to urgent human rights issues around the world.
Want to become a PeaceKeeper too? Check out our products and the causes we support!

Hi PeaceKeepers,

If your calendar’s anything like ours, it’s packed with amazing Summer events; weddings, birthdays, outdoor concerts, even a block party or two! While you’re out having fun in the sun, you want to look as gorgeous as possible without breaking a sweat, and PeaceKeeper’s got the perfect products to help you out.

Through July 31, check out our Midsummer Sale and get 20% off everything – and we mean everything: our USDA-approved YUM Balms (in four fruity flavors), our shimmery Lip Glosses, and our Vegan Nail Paints – perfect beauty products for a hot day! Use promo code JULY at checkout.

With Love,
The PeaceKeeper Team
www.iamapeacekeeper.com

PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics is the only cosmetics company to give donations to urgent human rights issues around the world.
Want to become a PeaceKeeper too? Check out our products and the causes we support!

Mission:  Possible?  When you’ve got PeaceKeepers, anything is possible!

PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics has a chance to become a finalist in Mission: Small Business, Chase’s competition for a lucky small business to win $250,000 – and we need YOUR help to win it!

We only need 200 more votes by June 30 and EVERY VOTE COUNTS! Here is why you should take the time:

• PeaceKeeper wants to continue to fund women who have been trafficked, indentured or who live in extreme poverty. (Check out our Philanthropy page to see what we support.)

• PeaceKeeper wants to launch a college campus program to help young women engage in activism and learn what real beauty is (which is our philanthropy, humanity and how we give back to the world).

• PeaceKeeper sources certain raw ingredients from developing world farmers gives their families loans when we can. (Read about Sanvardhini Agro, one of the many organic farms from whom we source our ingredients.)

By taking the time to vote PeaceKeeper, you are voting for all companies and founders who try to help heal the world with our buying power.

Here’s How To Vote…

1. Visit www.missionsmallbusiness.com/.

2. Look for “Log in via Facebook to support your community” (the app will not give away your personal information, and you can even remove it from your account once voting has ended).

3. Type “PeaceKeeper” in the Search bar at the bottom of the page.

4. Scroll to the bottom of the page. The VOTE button is on the far right.

5. Click on it ONCE and you are done!  Thanks for helping PeaceKeeper save the world!

With Love,

The PeaceKeeper Team

PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics is the first eco-green cosmetics company to give donations to fund urgent human rights issues.  Want to become a PeaceKeeper too?  Check out our products and learn about the causes we support.

As I type this, two hugely important bills are making their way through state and federal government:

The New York State Workforce and Development Bill, approaching the State Senate floor TODAY;

And the Paycheck Fairness Act, set to arrive on the Senate floor the week of June 4.

The NYS Workforce Development Bill was created by State Senator Joseph Robach and Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee. If the bill passes today, it would require the New York Department of Labor to provide workforce training for women, helping them qualify for higher paying jobs and careers, particularly those that predominantly hire men.  Though the Workforce Development Bill is up for a vote at this minute, you can still learn more about it at the New York Senate website.
The Paycheck Fairness Act was created in 2009 by then-Senator Hillary Clinton and Representative Rosa Delauro to counteract the loopholes in the 1963 Equal Pay Act and close the wage gap between genders (women currently make $0.76 to every dollar that men make). It failed to pass the Senate in January 2009 and November 2010; if passed in 2012, the Act will allow women to receive full compensatory and punitive damages for wage discrimination, require employers to submit any pay data regarding gender or ethnicity, and reinstating pay equity enforcement programs in the Department of Labor.
The Act has become a major factor in the ‘war over women’; GOP presumptive presidential candidate Mitt Romney has refused to comment on its potential passing, while President Obama is a strong supporter.  According to political blogger Greg Sargent, Democrats will move to make the bill a major issue in upcoming Senate races (Washington Post).

In the days before the Paycheck Fairness Act re-approaches the Senate, you can petition your congressman to support it, and check out the National Women’s Law Center for information on how the Act will strengthen current equal pay legislation.  You can even check out our website  for articles on how to research your fair wage and ask your boss for a raise!

To commemorate the Paycheck Fairness Act in 2010, we created the Fairness Gloss, a subtle golden shimmer that’s perfect for daytime.  You can take 20% off its retail price through June 10th with promo code FAIRPAY.

With Love,

Jessica, PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics
(www.iamapeacekeeper.com)

In 1963 Congress passed the Equal Pay Act so that women and men were ensured the same pay rate for the same work; however, almost 50 years later, women are still making 76 cents to every dollar made by a man. The Paycheck Fairness Act was introduced in January 2009 by then-Senator Hillary Clinton and Representative Rosa Delauro to eliminate loopholes in the Equal Pay Act—and to eliminate the wage gap between genders.

 In January 2009, the Paycheck Fairness Act passed in the House of Representatives,  but not through the Senate.  On Wednesday, November 17, the Senate will vote again on this historic bill.

              We at PeaceKeeper are asking you to join us in telling the Senate to “Vote YES!” on the Paycheck Fairness Act.  Because of the pay gap, working women can lose up to one million dollars of hard-earned wages.  The average working woman in America loses $500,000-$1,000,000 over her entire lifetime;  that’s money that could feed an entire family for years, all lost because of wage discrimination.  In the new economy, the woman’s income has become as important as the man’s; without that extra money, entire families are suffering.

With the Fairness Act, corporate pay loopholes will disappear and businesses will need a legitimate reason for paying women less than men. The act will also stop employers from intimidating their employees into staying silent about their wages, so that female workers will understand how their pay corresponds to their fellow employees without fear of losing their jobs.

Here’s what YOU can do to support the Paycheck Fairness Act:

–Sign this petition to tell Congress to make the Paycheck Fairness Act a law!

–You can research more about equal pay advocacy by using this handy Equal Pay Toolkit.

–In support of the Paycheck Fairness Act, Peacekeeper has launched a light golden “Fairness Gloss,” which is perfect for all skin types.  Your purchase is donated to groups for equal pay advocacy!

–Since the Act will take effect 6 months after it passes, you can act now to start your workplace moving in the right direction!  Visit PeaceKeeper’s Paycheck Fairness Act page to find out more about the Act, how to research your fair wage, and more!

              What are some of your experiences with the wage gap?  Have you been a victim of pay discrimination?  Let PeaceKeeper know in the comments section below!

With Love,

The PeaceKeeper Team

(Writer:  Renee Estey.  Editor:  Jessica Smith. 

For more information about PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics, visit www.iamapeacekeeper.com.)

Batter up!  Keep an eye on Eri Yoshida, the hot new pitcher not only known for her incredible knuckleball—50mph!—but for her gender.  Eri is the first woman to play professional baseball in the USA in over a decade!

She started out at age 16 on the Japanese team Kobe 9 Cruise, making history the only female in a league of all-male players.   Her professional debut was the very first game of the Kansai Independent Baseball League—versus the Osaka Gold Villicanes– and was attended by almost 12,000 people at the Osaka Dome, a major stadium in central Japan.  This remarkable opening is enough to have given even the greatest players a bad case of stage fright; Yoshida, though, played a fantastic game, walking one batter and striking out another in a 5-0 victory!

Only a year later, she has advanced through the ranks like wildfire, appearing in a one-inning battle against Japan’s top hitters and pitching four shut-out innings in an Arizona Winter League game against Canada.  In February, she was officially signed to the Chico Outlaws, a California team in the Golden Baseball League (one of the premier minor leagues in the United States).

In preparation for spring training, Yoshida has been training with Tim Wakefield, the pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.  She has stated in interviews that Wakefield is one of her professional idols; though she had been an excellent pitcher before (her fastest clocks in at 63 miles per hour), she only started using her famous knuckleball after watching videos of him playing for the Red Sox.

PeaceKeeper is very excited to watch Eri Yoshida throughout this season.  One more home run for women!

With Love,

The PeaceKeeper Team

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

Mu Sochua, current opposition member of the Cambodian parliament and former Cambodian Minister of Women’s Affairs, is an inspiring example of what it means to be a woman in a man’s world.  She is currently one of the most influential figures in Cambodian politics, despite the endless abuse and discrimination aimed towards her gender.

Sochua was sent away from her home at the age of 18 in order to stay safe from the Vietnamese takeover of Cambodia.  An exile for 18 years, she learned English by listening to the Beatles earned a master’s degree in social work at the University of California-Berkeley.  In 1989, she returned to Cambodia with two small children and immediately set about creating a grassroots movement for women’s rights.  Throughout her political career, she has fought to provide equal opportunity in the workplace and to prevent violence and abuse in the home.  She has also fought against human trafficking, negotiating with several neighboring countries to Cambodia to stop the international slave trade.

Her efforts have gotten her a Leadership award from Hillary Clinton’s “Vital Voices” organization, nominated her for a Nobel Peace Prize, and her one of the most famous women in the Cambodian Parliament, but Mu Sochua’s livelihood has been challenged continuously.  During her 2008 election campaign, she protested a military general using government vehicles to campaign, and during the ensuing scuffle her blouse was ripped open.  Not long after, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen issued a statement about an anonymous woman—clearly referencing Sochua– acting like a ‘gangster’ (in Cambodian, ‘strong leg’, a derogatory term for women), inciting trouble, and provocatively ‘rushing to embrace someone.’

Sochua promptly sued the Prime Minister for defamation; when she lost the case, Hun Sen lifted her parliamentary immunity—an unheard-of tactic—so that his administration could counter-sue for publicly criticizing him.  A court has ruled that she pay USD$4000; she has refused and could face prison.  The case is still in court today, as Sochua has appealed multiple times; the upcoming date for the verdict is April 17, 2010.

We at PeaceKeeper hope that Mu Sochua is able to fight for her right to speak out against the forces of injustice, and that one day soon she will obliterate the tide of abuse and discrimination that she has faced every step of her career.  In the meantime, you can support Mu Sochua and her campaigns at her official website, www.musochua.org.

With Love,

The PeaceKeeper Team

Despite the ever-increasing number of female lawyers and law students in Egypt, several important bodies of Egyptian government have continually refused to allow women into their ranks, disallowing thousands of intelligent, strong women to build a career in politics.  The Egyptian Council of State, a series of courts for settling administrative disputes, recently voted 334-42 against allowing females into the system.  Additionally, out of the 12,000 judges in Egypt’s judiciary system, 42 are women; the first was not even appointed until 2002.

The reasons behind this discrimination are equally reprehensible and assume that a woman’s role in life is inherently domestic.  When the Council of State refused admittance to several female law students, it did so on the grounds that “work in the Council is difficult, and a woman won’t be able to withstand this work, and it will conflict with her duties as a mother and wife.”  Many women have been disallowed from working as judges because Egyptian law requires a six-month maternity leave, and also because they are unable to leave behind their families to move between regional courts.

The response to the Council of State’s decision was overwhelmingly negative; due to the controversy surrounding the vote, the Council has postponed appointing any candidates—male or female—to judicial positions until they can create a committee to find a solution.  Many female protesters of the vote have taken this delay as a step in the right direction, as it is a gender-blind decision, and because they are certain that they can convince this upcoming committee of their skills and abilities in the political realm.

PeaceKeeper wishes these women great luck in their campaign for equal opportunity in the world of politics, and cheer them on for bringing such strength and courage to the fight!
With Love,

The PeaceKeeper Team

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

Obama’s revolutionary new healthcare plan was accompanied by cheers and controversy alike upon its acceptance, but one of its most groundbreaking and cheers-worthy accomplishments is its elimination of gender discrimination in the healthcare system.

For years, insurance companies have been operating under a double standard for women and men.  Healthcare plans for women-even those without maternity leave-have always been more expensive than those for men; as a result small businesses with mostly female employees have been unable to provide healthcare at all to its employees.  With the passage of the new law, however, this double standard is eliminated AND all policies for women employees are required to include maternity coverage, as the birthing of children is an essential health benefit.

In addition, the new law requires that coverage must be provided to domestic abuse victims and women who have had caesarian sections.  In the past, out of a fear of lawsuits and higher expenses, insurance companies have refused coverage to these women.  In a  recent scandal, for example, the high-ranking Golden Rule Insurance company refused coverage to a perfectly healthy woman because of her caesarian; when she filed a complaint, the company replied that they would only provide coverage if she was sterilized (i.e. if she underwent an operation to prevent her having children).

Most of the benefits of this new healthcare bill will not take place until 2014.  However, the federal government has made sure that all gender discriminations have been rendered illegal, and that people of both sexes will be getting the fair coverage they deserve.

With Love,

The PeaceKeeper Team

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