eman al-obeidy: a woman in libya

this past weekend, a brave libyan woman stormed into a hotel where journalists were staying and began recounting her exerperience with gahdafi's regime. she had bruises on her body, and media personnel said you could see what looked to be rope burns on her wrists. the woman said- she was raped by 15 men - and while she was telling her story, a waitresses and government minders at the hotel tried to cover her head, shut her up and dragged her away.
 
a bbc reporter was punched in the face, trying to protect her. cnn reporter, nic roberston and his crew were on the scene and their cameras were taken and destroyed.
 
what we know about the woman is that she is 29 years old, engaged to be married and working at a travel agency. government officials tried to pass it off as if she were a prostitute or drunk and such accusations carry the weight of shame. her family is outraged. and no one seems to know exactly where she is.
 
my heart is outraged over this situation. it's true the story can't be directly verified -- but why would a muslim woman in a conservative country- dare to risk her life to tell a story if there wasn't something to it?
 
and it begs the question, how many women are being mangled and assulted -- and because their "society" or government shames or dismisses them -- never talk? it's not the religion's fault. it's culture of "authority" figures who corrupt it. and i pray deeply for her safety, the fate of her honor among peers and...that she will soon be returned to her family.
 
the outbreak of the people in libya is an important one. it builds on the revolution in egypt and tunsia. you see, people in these arab countries want freedom. they know they can have it. they should have it. and they are showing the world they can be muslim and be free. i believe whole-heartedly, they can be muslim and be free. they deserve to have a government they choose, leaders that will help them have a successful economy, and flourishing communities. 
 
democractic ideals do not belong to western-judeo-christian people. nor is the responsibility of western nations to force it upon any nation. such freedom belongs to anyone who finds it. i think egypt, tunisia, yemen, and libya...are showing us just that.

The Yes Team, Stills --

As I'm wrapping up pictures from The Yes Team photo-shoot and starting on their video, I thought I would share a few of my favorites: 

when in march: yes to l.a.

the month of february came and left and many of you probably are wondering where i went. well --certainly between the world exploding in the middle east (and wisconsin) and keeping up with the band: the yes team, it's been busy. but here we are and ready to step up the month of march.

a few words about the yes team:

this past weekend, i joined them in l.a --.in preparation for their show at molly malone's near beverly hills. i took a train from san diego to union station ...for the glorious price of 23 dollars. yes, that's right, i refused to drive in downtown los angeles, california.

my groupies picked me up in what they call - "purple reign," and truly it's royal, - a rather unsensible color of violet that just overpowers you. the trusty dodge van safely shauffered 5 dirty hippies (myself included) to a nearby hole-in-the-wall mexican joint for breakfast burriotos. talk about full.

after the tasty eats, we rushed off to a studio for a band rehearsal - and-it-was-solid. the yes team picked up jackson price on electric, ben "skinny" cummings on violin along with a drummer and bass player. the other musicians picked up the music quickly and they rolled through the music while i snapped pictures in a timely two hour rehearsal.

but it was a newer song --for the band, that had us all heavy hearted...emotional, creative and connected, so much so, that afterward we all needed a break and kinnie suggested, none other than beverly hills park.

so off we went - to find a patch of grass in the sun. the afternoon could be described as playful...and simply -rest. lazy acoustic songs rose melodiously from carefree friends - while a little yoga engulfed the souls of some and well then there was the shirtless kid with the hair...and we all had a hearty chuckle.

finally - dinner and show ~ we stopped in with angie, an old friend of tj moss and kinnie dye, who made cheese ravioli, salad and ...."crack" cheesy garlic bread. no, i'm not kidding. watch out kids: this stuff was explosive - you've never had cheesy garlic bread until you've had manufactured kraft dinner dried cheese on top. that's right, powdered cheese, fake, in all its glory and...yum: so much so, it was wrong. between that and trader's joes iced tea, we were geared up for the evening.

the yes team definitely brought in the biggest crowd of the night. friends, families and friends of friends all showed up to show their support. everyone had beer in hand and a few of their best screams handy for tunes. jonathan even got the crowd around their folger's commericial...live and in concert. the day was a success - for the yes team, for their music and for me.

sunday only proved to be an extention as we made our way home in the purple reign --of course, not before we swerved through an l.a. maze, only to settle on mc'ds coffee, sing a few tunes around a hippie fire pit in hunnington beach and or course - settle in with a little swell season.