International Day against Gender Violence

Today is the International Day against Gender Violence. It is terrible that violence still exists in the twenty-first century.

This day was designated in 1999 by the United Nations General Assembly. The date was chosen to commemorate and pay tribute to the lives of the Mirabal sisters from the Dominican Republic who were violently assassinated in 1960. Each year on this day, governments, international organizations and NGOs are invited to organize activities designed to raise public awareness of the problem.

Here is an extract of Ban Ki-moon's message for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women this year:

"Millions of women and girls around the world are assaulted, beaten, raped, mutilated or even murdered in what constitutes appalling violations of their human rights. [...] We must fundamentally challenge the culture of discrimination that allows violence to continue. On this International Day, I call on all governments to make good on their pledges to end all forms of violence against women and girls in all parts of the world, and I urge all people to support this important goal."                                             Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Domestic battery, rape and sexual abuse, mutilation, exploitation, ... Gender-based violence affects us all and we all may know women or girls who have suffered from this kind of violence and for whom violence is a daily reality. It destroys families, weakens the fabric of our society, and takes a heavy toll on our communities.

Today is also an opportunity to remember those who have died as a result of gender-based violence. And finally, it is a day on which communities can consider concrete actions to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. 

Here is a song by Sarita Bhukal, True Beauty. 

It perfectly reflects what gender violence is about. 

Some parts may even hurt your feelings, since they are disturbing. 

You are invited to write your comments after listening to it.

Facebook

We have spent a lot of time talking about social networking sites lately, especially Facebook. I don't want to finish dealing with the topic until you click here and listen to two people doing the same. They are Alex and Katia and they are talking about using social media and how they affect their lives. It's a good opportunity to practise your listening skills and then your writing by posting a comment on it.

If you want to find out more about how this social networking site began, click here and read it. It may well be interesting for you.

 

Are you on Facebook? 

Well, as you should know by now, I'm still thinking about starting to use it myself, but who knows, maybe if you encourage me with your comments, I'll get rid of all my prejudices and one day, I'm likely to surprise you all.

Common, guys, leave your comments now. 

You won't regret it!

Shop till you drop

Shop till you drop, apart from being a website where you can buy the latest products online, is the current trend.

As you all may know by now, after celebrating Thanksgiving Day last Thursday and being stuffed like turkeys with cranberry sauce, yesterday was Black Friday -the busiest shopping day of the year and the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. People queue until shops open and offer good discounts for their products. It's an excellent opportunity to go on a shopping spree.

The thing is that I couldn't wait to Black Friday and I had my own one two weeks ago, when  money was nearly burning a hole in my pocket and I decided to buy new clothes and shoes. I had that wonderful feeling of being satisfied by the amount of times I keyed in my PIN number.

Well, let's comment on consumerism and your habits. 

• Do you particularly enjoy shopping? 
• Are we getting used to spending a lot of money on things we really don't need?
• How often do you use your credit / debit card to pay for your shoppings? Do you think one day in the near future we will be living in a "cashless society" and we will pay for everything with credit cards?
• Have we gone crazy about shopping?

Write your comments about it and then if you want, shop till you drop!!!

How come?

Hi there,

It's been a long time since I last wrote an entry on my / your blog. I've missed it and once that we've got started I really hope that you all join and participate enthusiastically.

Now that is time to think about going back to my "normal daily life" after this holiday which I have been looking forward to for quite a long time and after having enough time to ponder about many a thing, a song comes to my mind and I'll tell you why. Maybe you all know it or maybe not, in any case, I want you to listen to it and write your reflections on it. 

If you are on the intermediate level, we are about to start unit two where we will deal with the topic of how to use social networks to communicate and keep in touch with people as well as having been putting into practice the form "used to" for past habits; whereas if you are on the advanced level, we are having a look on what the future can bring as well as our personal experiences within our families and city life. Paradoxically, this song reminds me of different situations any of us can have gone through at least once in a lifetime.

As I am ALIVE AND WELL (despite catching a cold these days), I would like you to sing along with Gotye, a Belgian-Australian singer, whose single Somebody I used To Know has been awarded all over the world.

Watch the video and listen to the song. I don't particularly like the aesthetics of the video clip but I have to admit that it is somehow striking. What do you think?

Well, this is it. Do you like it? When or in what situations could you say those terrible words? Who to? Why? Please leave your optimistic or pessimistic comments on this song. It will be interesting to know your ideas.