Susan notes: This is a guest blog post by M. V. Thompson, a Christian American who worked in Pakistan as a missionary for 17 years (find out more about her and why she wrote this article at the bottom of the piece). The opinions expressed in this post are those of the author, and not necessarily mine or those of Amazing Woman Rock.
 
A debate about building a mosque on the ground where the Twin Towers were destroyed is going on in the US. As is usual in such situations, people are divided in their opinions.

I have an idea that should settle the issue.

To those who want to build this costly Cordoba Mosque in America, on ground considered hallowed by most Americans and especially by those who lost relatives there, I have a better suggestion for using the millions it will cost: USE THE MONEY TO RESTORE PAKISTAN, and help the suffering Muslims in that devastated country.

Muslims throughout the world should stop to consider how they would feel if this were their plight.

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Susan notes: Karen Middleton, the author of this guest blog post, blogs for The New Agenda, a US-based, non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls by bringing about systemic change in the media, at the workplace, at school and at home. This excellent piece on sex trafficking was originally published on The New Agenda website, where you can read more of Karen's insightful posts. The opinions expressed in this post are those of the author, and not necessarily mine or those of Amazing Woman Rock.

Some people say the United States should solve its own problems with women’s issues before our country criticizes another country. I continue to believe our country is better for women than a lot of other countries are. After all, women are not stoned for adultery in the United States. Nor are they legally denied access to education, careers, and a single lifestyle. However, I admit our country does have a problem with sex trafficking.

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Susan notes: in this guest blog post originally published in the Huffington Post, spiritual author, speaker, teacher and AWR friend and fan Dr. Susan Corso (pictured left) suggests her fellow Americans rethink their collective response to the Ground Zero mosque debate – and I think she’s probably right! Read more about Dr. Curso’s eclectic qualifications below.

Oooh, I am so mad

Every now and again, the universe sends me a special gift.

This morning, as I prepared my latest TED “playlist” from the 170+ amazing TED talks by amazing TED women, I stumbled on this gem: a TEDx talk by creator Amy Rosenthal.

Rosenthal is a truly magical force: a writer, filmmaker, radio host, author of more than 12 children’s books, and creator of The Beckoning: A Feature Film

The woman who was butchered and meat-hooked using photoshop for the ad featured in my last blog post may or may not have known how the image of her body would be used by advertisers.

But Canadian-born actress Pamela Anderson, whose boob-jobbed breasts famously drew millions of viewers to the infamously bouncing-down-the-beach TV series Baywatch, volunteered to be drawn and quartered by anti-fur lobbyists PETA for this protest piece, which was recently banned in Canada:

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So far, Twenty-Three Shockingly Sexist Vintage Ads, posted on AWR last month, has been the subject of a Washington Post survey and has been viewed more than 11,500 times.

Now this...

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TED Global 2010 exceeded my highest expectations, every day in every way. (TED for Dummies here, in case you haven't yet been introduced, and 170+ TED talks by amazing TED Women here.)

Amongst the many pleasures I experienced at the TED Global 2010 conference (held in Oxford July 12 – 16, 2010), some of the most delectable occurred during the performances of these eight incredibly talented women - singers, songwriters, poets, dancers, musicians, and captivating artists all.

Videos of their stage time at TED Global 2010 have yet to be posted online. In the meantime, here’s a recap and samples of their work…

Annie Lennox

Singer, songwriter and HIV/Aids activist Annie Lennox thrilled the TED Global 2010 audience with a spine-tingling solo set on the piano on Day 1 of the conference. (Photo Credit: James Duncan Davidson / TED )

Her singing moved me to tears...

Later in the week, Lennox touched our hearts with the story of seven-year-old AIDS victim Avileli’s transformation, and her own work with HIV/AIDS and The Sing Campaign.

Here’s Lennox performing A Thousand Beautiful Things and Pavement Cracks for a small TV studio audience in Paris in 2009:


Related links:
More About Annie Lennox on AWR
SING: A Voice For HIV/AIDS Women And Children
www.annielennox.com
@AnnieLennox

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We need more positive and powerful female role models.

We need them speaking on world stages everywhere. We need them in politics.

And we need them in the media: online, in books, on TV and radio, and in the movies. ESPECIALLY in the movies.

Sadly, the entertainment industry falls incredibly short with respect to gender equality, as I was recently reminded when I stumbled upon an

Amazing Women Rock went live online two years ago, after one year in development.

It was a dream come true for me - the manifestation of my personal mission to do something concrete to celebrate, motivate and inspire women around the world.

At the time, few people understood my vision - in early 2007, the site was ahead of its time. Open-source technology and community websites were still