(SkyNewswire.com) --- People staying in hotels in Ubud may well find that they are able to attend a Balinese ceremony to mark the beginning of adulthood during their stay. Between July 1st and July 31st, many communities around the island carry out the Metatah - or tooth filling - ceremony. This Hindu ritual is seen as "an important rite of passage" among Balinese communities, according to OKalpha.com. During the ceremony, six teeth are "filled" because long teeth are perceived as signs of vices within Balinese communities. Each tooth that is filled represents a different vice - greed, lust, jealousy, intoxication, anger and foolishness.


The process takes approximately ten to 15 minutes and often sees several children from one family undergoing the ritual at the same time. Parents of the children must provide offerings at the temples as part of the ceremony. All of the participants wear brightly coloured outfits, which are displayed during the procession that takes place as part of the ritual. The Bali Weekly explains that Metatah symbolises the change from childhood to adulthood, with the ceremony designed to show that "someone should be wiser when stepping [out] as an adult". Prayers by the family mark the end of the ceremony, with both parents and children asking for safety, new life and to be spared from the six evil vices.

(SkyNewswire.com)--- Canadian NGO, The Nancy Nielsen Charitable Foundation, and its Kenyan agent, Cherish Others, a local NGO that opposes female Genital mutilation among the Masai, have organized a demonstration run/walk to protest FGM in the Transmara. The 4 kilometer event will be held in Kilgoris town on Saturday February 6th, International Zero Tolerance of FGM Day. The flag goes down at the starting point, the Losuento Primary School, at 10:30 AM. The run will end at the DEB Primary school. Over 3000 participants are expected. The event aims to sensitize the Maasai community to the dangers of FGM.

Female Genital Mutilation is a thorny issue in Kenya with several communities still hooked on the practice nine years after the government declared it illegal and an abuse of children’s rights.

(SkyNewswire.com)--- There's a new rabbi in town. Rabbi Celso Cukierkorn, who moved to Miami-Dade County in May and has started Adat Achim Synagogue in Sunny Isles, knows a great deal about those who convert to Judaism. Since his rabbinic career started more than a decade ago, Cukierkorn, 37, has converted many of those people himself - in Europe, South America and China. Welcoming new people as Jews is important to him.

"Today, we have as many Jews in the world as there were the day the Americans liberated the concentration camps," he said. "Next generation, we will have negative growth, and we're going to have less Jews in the world. Somebody has got to do something about it. I believe that as a leader of Jewish people, we should put them on the red carpet; we should welcome those people who are legitimately interested in becoming Jewish. It must be offered
to them."

Right Reverend Gene Savoy Jr. and Rajan Zed, coordinators of Gandhi Monument Council (GMC) headquartered in USA, who made this request in a communiqu� to the City of Ottawa, said that they would prefer the name of this proposed street to be �Mahatma Gandhi Marg� (marg means path). While Savoy is Head Bishop of International Community of Christ, Zed is the president of Universal Society of Hinduism.

Mayor Larry O�Brien, in his reply to GMC�s request, also informed that Ottawa City Council just passed a resolution that he fully supported, to raise a statue of Gandhi in a downtown park near Ottawa River. Zed and Savoy have applauded Mayor O�Brien, Ottawa City Council and citizens of Ottawa for honoring the Mahatma.

(SkyNewswire.com)---PHILADELPHIA, PA-- Celebrate the heritage and history of the former Soviet Union's republics during the "Russian Mosaic" Festival at Penn's Landing. For the fifth year, the Russian speaking community of Philadelphia will join together to rejoice in the rich traditions of their culture. This FREE festival will take place at the Great Plaza at Penn's Landing, on Columbus Boulevard at Chestnut Street on Sunday September 7, 2008, from Noon - 7:00 p.m. Independence Blue Cross is the presenting sponsor of the 2008 Summer Season at Penn's Landing.

The festival is named Russian Mosaic because so many different people and businesses from various walks of the Russian community come together on this day. Festival Organizers say each piece of the festival represents a different piece of the Russian Mosaic.

(SkyNewswire.com)--- Denver, CO -- Silent Message, an organization without political or religious affiliations, will be promoting a boycott of all Chinese products for the last week of the Olympic games August 18-24, 2008.

Tibet was invaded in 1949 by China in an unprovoked and unilateral attack that was rationalized by China as an act to reclaim what was rightfully theirs. Nothing in history clearly points to this as both countries have their own unique history and culture, with Tibet restating her independence again in 1911. It is ironic that such a circumstance should befall the peaceful entity of Tibet, with the Buddhist faith as it's moral compass and cultural consciousness. Since China annexed Tibet, the Chinese occupation has destroyed thousands of monasteries, killed and imprisoned over one million Tibetan people, and have profoundly suppressed Tibetan culture.

(SkyNewswire.com)---They inhabit self-imposed ghettoes, subject to derision and worse, the perennial targets of far-right thugs and populist politicians of all persuasions. They are mostly confined to menial jobs. They are accused of spreading crime, terrorism and disease, of being backward and violent, of refusing to fit in.

Their religion, atavistic and rigid, insists on ritual slaughter and male circumcision. They rarely mingle socially or inter-marry. Most of them - though born in European countries - are not allowed to vote. Brown-skinned and with a marked foreign accent, they are subject to police profiling and harassment and all manner of racial discrimination.

(SkyNewswire.com)---The expulsion of Jews from Gaza and northern Samaria is a colossal abuse of human rights.

But as far as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are concerned, these forced removals are simply not taking place. The renowned human rights champions have been deafeningly quiet about the plight of thousands of people being made to leave their homes and places of employment.

While Amnesty International claims it is �working to protect human rights worldwide,� and Human Rights Watch asserts that it is �Defending Human Rights Worldwide,� when it comes to the Jews of Gaza there is no defending or protecting to be done.

Yet this cross-section of the great and good have come to a conclusion which social democrats have long regarded as a self-evident truth. "A narrow definition of equality of opportunity and its related concept, meritocracy, does not take enough account of the constraints imposed on individuals by external factors - being born in poverty or receiving a poor education, for example." Are you listening Tony Blair?

(SkyNewswire.com)-- Many African Americans from diverse fields have contributed greatly in the history of America. Here is the short list of Famous African Americans that influenced America and the whole world and became legends…

There are many African American legends if we explore the history, but here is a short list of famous African Americans. The list of famous African Americans is presented randomly without any particular order of field and without any regard to living and non-living legends.

George Washington Carver
Born in 1864, George Washington Carver paved the way for agriculturists to come. This is one of the greatest examples of dedication in Human History. A single urge of learning has overcome the sufferings and hardships of slave life. He was the second African American to make it into the hall of fame. George Washington Carver, in the end, achieved his goal as the greatest agriculturists and so much more. Everything that he invented, he invented for the benefit of mankind

(SkyNewswire.com)--I admit it! I*m guilty!

My husband has lovingly accused me of taking *nothing* out of the fridge and making something out of it. I transform it into a scrumptious, edible meal, and he shakes his head in wonder. He*s delighted each and every time I pull it off.

And do you know what happens when he grins at me that way?

I keep doing it! Every chance I get. It comes naturally for me. It*s a pleasure, and it*s one of the small ways I save money.

But, not all money-saving strategies come naturally to everyone. For me, there*s one that creates more stress in my busy world. It works for others, but not for me.

I*m talking about collecting and using coupons to save even more money while shopping.

I sat comfortably in the ICE, reading Louis Lomax’s ‘To kill a black man’, as the luxury train made its way through the European continent. My mind strayed once in a while from the book to my seemingly endless list of ‘to dos’, the myriads of political brigandage and abracadabra going on in Nigeria (indeed most of the known black world) and then full circle, back to the beautiful, ordered European countryside flying past outside the window. “German Police, your passport please” I looked up from the book to see two men towering over me, one with an outstretched hand.

As an instructor of English as a second language, you have the option of going abroad and living in one of dozens of countries where there is a high demand for qualified instructors. You may also remain at home, and teach new residents of the United States how to speak, read, and write the language. Either way, you need to be certified to provide instruction. Because there is such a high demand for instructors who are qualified to teach English as a second language, language schools are highly selective when it comes to hiring new teachers. Receiving your certification exhibits your drive to potential employers and shows that you are serious in taking on this challenging new career.

I sat comfortably in the ICE, reading Louis Lomax’s ‘To kill a black man’, as the luxury train made its way through the European continent. My mind strayed once in a while from the book to my seemingly endless list of ‘to dos’, the myriads of political brigandage and abracadabra going on in Nigeria (indeed most of the known black world) and then full circle, back to the beautiful, ordered European countryside flying past outside the window. “German Police, your passport please” I looked up from the book to see two men towering over me, one with an outstretched hand.

Yet this cross-section of the great and good have come to a conclusion which social democrats have long regarded as a self-evident truth. "A narrow definition of equality of opportunity and its related concept, meritocracy, does not take enough account of the constraints imposed on individuals by external factors - being born in poverty or receiving a poor education, for example." Are you listening Tony Blair?