Alexia Parks2013-06-19T09:53:04-04:00Alexia Parkshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=alexia-parksCopyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Alexia ParksGood old fashioned elbow grease.The End of Conflict? Time Out for TubeTALKtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.31745242013-04-30T11:57:25-04:002013-04-30T18:05:35-04:00Alexia Parkshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexia-parks/
Now imagine if you shaved your head and walked around without your hair. Would people recognize you? Would you recognize yourself? So let's take this one step further.
What if you were to remove everything that surrounds you -as if you were in a painting where everything above, below and around your shaved head was a blur of color - so that the ONLY focus was on your eyes, your nose, and your lips. To an observer, you would look look more like a face with color around it: a Disney movie "talking flower."
To understand what I'm talking about, follow me as I experience "The TUBE." I'm talking about "TubeTALK" the name I gave to a wrap around colorful scarf -- designed by Denver-based artist, Nicholas Toll.
Because the tube is open on both ends - to facilitate a private conversation - it can be turned into an "ice breaker" between two strangers at a party, used as a highly effective tool for "anger management," or even used as a "one-minute" marriage counselor.
How does it work? Hand one end of the colorful cloth tube to someone, then pull the other end over your head. It's a gesture like pulling on a ski cap. Then, what you see looking back at you from the other end of the cloth tunnel is simply a pair of eyes, nose, and lips. It is the OTHER person, out of context. Surprise! You are too.
The conversation would be conducted by your eyes, your nose, your smile, or frown. Laughter would overpower words. Shyness would have no place to hide.
There are 1,000 ways to say: "Hello." "I'm Sorry." "Hey!" Now there are 1001 ways.
After trying it out at a HUBBoulder "Supercollider #3" event, it took me almost a day to track him down and deliver a simple message: "I want to buy one." Nicholas is part of a four-day festival of performances @communikey that combine sound, design, art & technology. He brought his product to Culture Clash looking for a name and a purpose. He needs to talk to me. His simple idea could go a long way toward resolving a world of conflict.
Is the world ready to turn up the dial on fun, playfulness, and laughter? I am.
Award-winning author, Alexia Parks, has made a new, ground-breaking discovery on the New Science of a woman's brain. She has shown that women's brains are literally hardwired by evolution with exactly the traits that are needed for leadership today.]]>Heroic Women: Judge Debbie O'Dell-Senecatag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.30822652013-04-17T08:44:49-04:002013-06-17T05:12:01-04:00Alexia Parkshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexia-parks/
In uncommonly elegant language, Judge O'Dell-Seneca cites the 1776 Pennsylvania Constitution as she declares:
it is axiomatic that corporations, companies, and partnerships have no 'spiritual nature,' 'feelings,''intellect,' 'beliefs,' 'thoughts,''emotions,' or 'sensations,' because they do not exist in the manner that humankind exists... They cannot be 'let alone' by government, because businesses are but grapes, ripe upon the vine of the law, that the people of this Commonwealth raise, tend, and prune at their pleasure and need.
The judgement came after several Western Pennsylvania newspapers had gone to court to reveal the monies one family had received from Range Resources Corp. and other corporations included in a complaint to settle claims of water contamination caused by fracking. The amount: $750,000.
This ruling by O'Dell-Seneca, which caused a corporate settlement to a single family to become unsealed, will lend strength to 150 cases now being brought in eight other states around the U.S. Calling it "A New Civil Rights Movement," the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (celdf.org/) of Mercerberg, PA documents the victory.
Award-winning author, Alexia Parks, has made a new, ground-breaking discovery on the New Science of a woman's brain. She has shown that women's brains are literally hardwired by evolution with exactly the traits that are needed for leadership today.]]>Youthful and Sustainable, This Innovation Links Technology to Arttag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.30158202013-04-04T13:23:03-04:002013-06-04T05:12:01-04:00Alexia Parkshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexia-parks/
This year, San Francisco Academy of Arts student entrepreneur Seth Olsen has collaborated with Haarburger to create a youthful, sustainable product that links technology to art. In the process, they have created an almost perfect layout for a Kickstarter campaign. Whether one supports the project or not, the campaign layout itself is worth noting.
Olsen calls his classic, high fashion bag, the Aurora. The problem Olsen set out to solve? Weight reduction. Most carrying cases for computers, he says, are far too heavy for today's razor thin laptops and iPads.
So technology and design savvy Olson and Haarburger collaborated via Skype to develop the project. The result, an ultra-light, high fashion "sleeve" or bag for an iPad or lightweight laptop.
If almost 90 percent of the purchases we make are emotional purchases, then this youthful design team should expect success. It also explains why, after I pre-ordered the Aurora, I immediately invested a small amount of money in another wireless project that I know nothing about, in another state.
Coming off the "emotional high" of buying something innovative and elegantly designed, my response was an immediate "yes," when someone sent me a link to a project in Kansas posted on the Civic Crowdfunding Platform called Neighbor.ly .
I bought into the Juniper Gardens: Free In-Home Wireless Project in Kansas City because it was easy to do and because I could see the immediate benefit to the recipients. It also aligns with a personal value as it reminds me: We can create local jobs when we invest in places, people, and civic projects we care about.]]>A Bird, a Dog... An Easter Love Storytag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.29888382013-03-31T11:29:03-04:002013-05-31T05:12:01-04:00Alexia Parkshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexia-parks/Tweetie and Sweetie are parakeets. Sweetie is the one wearing blue feathers. They are love birds who sleep in a cage at night, and fly free in the house during the daytime. When hungry, they hop back into the cage to eat, then out again to fly free.
Tia is the dog. She is also known as Tia-the-Terrorist, and Tia-mi-Amour. She has a sweet side, and the instincts of a hunter.
It's called "Murphy's Law" when something unexpected happens. Today Murphy visited our house.
I opened the door of the birdcage to let the birds fly free. Then walked to the door to let the dog outside. The birds flew out; the dog followed me to the door. Then I bent over to pick up something off the floor, and as I stood up, Tweetie-bird flew past me, and Sweetie flew right into my chest and fell to the floor.
She fell right at the feet of Tia who immediately followed instinct and grabbed the bird in her mouth.
I also followed instinct and began screaming "No..............!" as the dog ran back a few steps with the bird in her mouth, then unexpectedly, while I was still screaming, Tia dropped Sweetie to the floor.
It was Murphy's law in reverse!
Holding the dog by the collar, I led her to the door and OUT, while the bird struggled to her feet and flew free.
And me? If you have ever seen animals shake to free themselves of fear, that's what I did. I went outside and jumped for joy on a mini-trampoline until every cell in my body and brain felt that joy!]]>Could the U.S. Be Facing a Brain Drain?tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.29644592013-03-27T12:59:54-04:002013-05-27T05:12:01-04:00Alexia Parkshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexia-parks/
According to a new report by Grant Thornton/Forbes Insights (PDF) women in senior management roles in "mature" markets around the world has now risen to 24 percent.
With only 21 percent of women in senior management in the U.S., is America at risk of a "brain drain?" The answer is probably "Yes," as corporate executives shop the world for talent to manage their fast-growing businesses. And here's the reason: America lags behind other mature economies with only 21 percent of senior management positions filled by women.
What is even more striking about the "Women in Senior Management" report is the accelerating pace of women moving up the corporate ladder everywhere except America.
The percentage of female executives in China, for example, rose sharply to 51 percent (compared with 25 percent last year). In fact the Asia Pacific region reported a much higher percentage of women at the top, 29 percent, compared with women in senior leadership in the European Union (25 percent) and Latin America (23 percent).
Mei Hui, from the China Financial Futures Exchange offers this key insight for women's success in China:
If there can be more planning and implementation of programmes and policies to offer more opportunities for women, including internships for female students, apprenticeships and promotion structures, this would help women in the corporate hierarchy.
With women now making up 60 percent of the student population at universities in the U.S. and 70 percent at community colleges, America's "best and brightest" young women just so happen to posses the education, talent, and skill sets that are exactly what management around the world wants to hire for today's fast paced IDEA economy.
Award-winning author, Alexia Parks, has made a new, ground-breaking discovery on the New Science of a woman's brain. In Hardwired 10 Traits, she has shown that women's brains are literally hardwired by evolution with the traits needed for leadership of today's complex, interconnected world..]]>This Cancer Therapy Takes a Look at Inner Beautytag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.26170732013-02-04T14:18:15-05:002013-04-06T05:12:01-04:00Alexia Parkshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexia-parks/
Her hands with red-tipped nails, were graceful, and her cheeks had a radiant glow. Yes she was a cancer patient, who had lost her hair while undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, yet in this moment she was Queen for the Day.
And she was not alone. She was surrounded by a "sisterhood" of 10 women who were undergoing cancer treatment at the Ventura County Medical Center in California. They had been invited to take part in a free, three-day transformational retreat called InnCourage at the Lavender Inn.
Many of these women would be considered "under-served," that is, at home they might be facing personal or financial challenges that would make it difficult for them to pay for, or take time off to enjoy such a personal attention.
Over the three days, they would be welcomed at pajama party breakfasts, pampered with manicures, pedicures, massages, and facials, and be invited on mid-day walks in the garden and on local trails. In the spacious kitchen at the Lavender Inn, they could participate in healthy cooking classes using fresh fruits and vegetables provided by local farmers, and prepare meals for each other. Individual counseling and group therapy sessions were interwoven with nap times. In the evenings, they were treated to fine dining at nearby restaurants and fireside chats back at the Inn.
Now in its fifth year, InnCourage is the inspiration of Kathy Hartley, owner of the Lavender Inn. She realized how important it is for people who have been diagnosed with cancer, or who are undergoing treatment, to stay connected to community, family and friends after her own father had cancer. He is a cancer survivor, and she says it was the support they received at the City of Hope in Duarte, Calif., that made her want to do something like this at her inn.
This May, Harley is hosting a 5th Year Reunion luncheon at the Lavender Inn for cancer survivors who have participated in one of her InnCourage retreats during the past five years. The first year, she pretty much paid for the program herself. Now, she relies on donations and small grants from individuals and organizations in the community to help cover the costs.
Hartley plans to share what she has learned with other spa owners and inn keepers. "We all have times of the year when business is slow, and a place with a bed and breakfast type of atmosphere is more conducive to this type of retreat than a hotel or conference center." The ability for it to be close-knit, she says, is crucial to its success.
Alexia Parks is co-founder of a new school of thought based on The Power of 10 -- the 10 TRAITS™ of Women.]]>The CES Firewall for Young Entrepreneurstag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.24495782013-01-10T13:33:27-05:002013-03-12T05:12:02-04:00Alexia Parkshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexia-parks/
The problem? Location, location, location. How does a young entrepreneur under the age of 21 enter the world of CES through the high wattage portal of Las Vegas?
Worth noting: Entrepreneurs under the age of 21 may also find it difficult to rent a hotel room in any Vegas hotel. And worse, since most industry parties -- one of the key ways people connect -- include drinking, how will these underage, low budget tech visionaries get noticed at a giant show?
Is this the time for them to crank up high school style pranks to get noticed?]]>Climate Advice to New York City: Act Like an Islandtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.22319662012-12-03T11:37:31-05:002013-02-02T05:12:01-05:00Alexia Parkshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexia-parks/island owner Sir Richard Branson were to give advice to New York City's Mayor Bloomberg, he might offer him this climate change insight: "Do what I do. First assess your energy needs, then act like an island. Why? When hurricanes like 'Frankenstorm' happen, you're on your own!"
What Branson knows is this: A world that works together is wired together. Right? Wrong. As Hurricane Sandy so clearly showed, climate change, not terrorism, is the big disruptor in our highly wired world. It's the new kid on the block who is big enough and fierce enough to capture everyone's attention at the same time.
Climate change, by the way, is a game changer, not a bully.
So let's take another look at New York City. From the satellite view on Google Earth, it appears as an island. It is an island with a lifestyle that depends upon transportation and communication links to the rest of the world. Zoom in closer and you see bridges. Closer still and you see wires, lots of wires, and the tops of building bristling with cellular antennas and towers above the ground. The wires and power lines disappear into cables under the Hudson River and Atlantic Ocean.
With a close-up view, you see water lapping at the edges of the island of New York City. Lower the island a foot or two on a virtual map, and you can see that water will flow inland and into any "hole" in the ground. Raise the level of the sea by the same amount, and you'll get the same result. Water flows downhill in any direction.
To a water molecule, any garden level apartment, any basement, any underground parking structure is a hole. So are the holes dug in the ground around the World Trade Center in preparation for a foundation.
A foundation for what? For a future based on a continued reliance on overhead wires for electricity and above ground cellular towers for connectivity. But wait a minute....
The two biggest problems New York City faces, says Marilyn Walker, the COO of HOMER Energy, are the vulnerability of the overhead electricity infrastructure, and the threat from rising sea levels. As sea levels rises, New Yorkers will need an in-the-water barrier. On land, they need to "think like an island," which, of course, they are!
In Colorado, after city residents showed a desire to disconnect from the major utility XCEL, in a sense isolating itself from other communities connected to Xcel's electric power grid, the City of Boulder asked the Boulder-based software company for help with its analysis of municipal utility options.
To people like Bill McKibbin, who has been on a "Do the Math" tour for the past two months, it's the rigidity of a mindset locked on fossil fuels that is the root of the problem. Other climate change experts agree. The winds of change won't change the minds of policy makers, until they are trained to think differently about how our world could be wired... "together."
The science analogy here is: "Brain cells that fire together, wire together." To create a different future, one that moves us away from the certainty of a Climate CLIFF and toward sustainability, requires a new set of habits. To move toward sustainability, these experts suggest, we have to rethink our energy needs, and then wire ourselves together, differently.
Imagine, for example, if every hospital, police station, tall building over 30 stories, and school in New York City had its own distributed energy system. Not just generators that rely on a power source from fossil fuels or distant source of electricity. Instead, a built-in command central for energy distribution within the building itself, that kept the lights on, and the batteries charged, based on an algorithm -- or blend -- of energy sources: energy efficiencies measures first, then photovoltaic solar panels, co-generation, wind generation, and other clean tech innovations.
This requires a redesign of NYC -- to keep the lights and power on, just in time, and as needed, when climate disruptors take the power lines down.
With this in mind, and billions of federal dollars flowing toward the shores of New York and New Jersey, isn't it about time for politicians and civic leaders to sit down with the new kid on the block and come to an understanding of who is really in charge here.]]>Here's Why Obama Is Right About Susan Ricetag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.22045942012-11-29T15:20:16-05:002013-01-29T05:12:02-05:00Alexia Parkshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexia-parks/
It doesn't take another crisis in the Middle East to remind us that today's world is far more volatile than it was 20 years ago. Led by Twitter and social media on the Internet, it is now more interconnected than ever. In today's volatile, interconnected world, what is needed is more nurturing and collaboration. This is what women do. It is in women's nature to nurture. Women also excel at negotiation, diplomacy and collaboration.
In fact, over the past 16 years, four highly qualified women have been asked by Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama to become Secretary of State. The first was Madeleine Albright, followed by Condoleezza Rice, Hillary Clinton, and now, Susan Rice. Although targeted for take down by GOP critics, Rice, is awaiting confirmation hearings in Congress.
What makes the confirmation of this Rhodes Scholar, Stanford graduate, former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, and United Nations diplomat stand out is the fact that the on-going resistance to her appointment comes from a contingent of angry Republicans, led by Senator John McCain, who are still coming to terms with the fact that Romney lost the election. In their attempts to discredit her, they're linked together by an election flashpoint: Bengazi.
If anxious Republican Senators were to put their arguments on pause, they might be able to let the words of James Turley, CEO of Ernst & Young sink in. He was not speaking about Susan Rice, Instead, he was talking to Bloomberg news about diversity and gender in the workplace and the changing world we face today. In the interview, Turley reminds: "Seventy-five percent of the workforce of the future will not be white males."
This is the world that UN diplomat Susan Rice now lives in. This is the changing world where future Secretary of State Susan Rice, if confirmed, will interact, on behalf of the United States.
Rice is smart, and highly qualified for the job. She has also gained the trust of friends and mentors in high places. One is President Obama; another is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. And then there is Madeleine Albright, this country's first woman Secretary of State.
Madeleine has been a lifelong mentor to Susan Rice. Did Rice first begin to think about pursuing a career in government, when her mother and a politically savvy woman named Madeleine Albright sat on a local school board together?
Over the years, Madeleine Albright has offered wise counsel to Susan Rice, and even helped in her selection as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, under President Clinton. Rice's academic and career path shows that for most of her life, she has used her leadership skills, and brainpower on behalf of public good.
In the 21st Century, The Economist reminds: "Brains count a lot more than brawn." Was the magazine issuing a timely reminder to the fight club that now defines the male-dominated Republican Party in Congress?
Or was it simply responding to the rising trend on college campuses where almost 60 percent of the student body are women, and 72 percent of class valedictorians were women in 2009, to remind its readers that "shifts happen." In this context, it's worth noting that Susan Rice was also class valedictorian.
Alexia Parks is author of 13 books, including HARDWIRED The 10 Traits of Women.]]>Will Congressmen Now Have to Stand In Line for This?tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.20932552012-11-20T12:52:57-05:002013-01-20T05:12:01-05:00Alexia Parkshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexia-parks/three more women were added to the United States Senate in this month's national elections, and six more women were added to the House. Should we celebrate this political victory for women? Of course, and then we should take a closer look at the seismic shift that is now underway in the halls of Congress.
Take the issue of women's bathrooms, for example. Nearly 100 years ago, when women won the right to vote, it wasn't an issue. Even three years ago, after only 277 women had ever been elected to Congress vs. 12,000 men, it wasn't a big enough issue to move bathrooms up the list of priorities.
Now it matters. Now the Senate has added three more women, including the new senator from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren, and six to the House of Representatives. Add to that number all the women serving on their staffs.
"For the first time, there was a traffic jam in the Senate women's bathroom," tweeted Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)
So there's more good news for women: Some of the men's bathrooms in Congress are being converted to women's bathrooms, and the tile they are using on the floor is pink. At least the tile I saw on the bathroom-under-renovation in the Cannon House Office Building, when I gave a briefing on Capitol Hill last June, was pink.
While the tenacious foreign policy expert and diplomat Richard Holbrooke once reportedly followed Hillary Clinton "into a ladies' room in Pakistan "to make a point," I think the pink tile on the floor will quickly retrain the Congressmen to search elsewhere.]]>Who is Josh Fox? And Why Do Pro-Fracking Politicians Fear Him?tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.16193982012-06-25T16:05:47-04:002012-08-25T05:12:04-04:00Alexia Parkshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexia-parks/Silent Spring, is widely credited with launching the environmental movement in America, who might get the credit for ending the fossil fuel era? Does the name Josh Fox come to mind? The film Gasland? Or the term "fracking?"
Gasland is the name of the documentary by filmmaker Josh Fox that went viral. And fracking refers to the process of drilling for deposits of oil and natural gas using high-volume hydraulic fracturing and toxic chemicals. Fracking, as a new poll shows, is of growing concern to an increasingly informed public.
Take New York State, for example, where Governor Andrew Cuomo is planning to give the green light to fracking in selected areas of the state. According to a major new Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey, more than seven out of 10 New York state voters (72 percent) think that Governor Cuomo should "wait for all the necessary health and environmental studies to be completed first before opening the state to fracking."
For poll-watching politicians, the term "fractivist" now refers to the growing number of activated voters in states like New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado and elsewhere, who plan to vote against pro-fracking politicians.
And, for those politicians running for political office this year who value the vote of this new swing voter, the anti-fracking voter, now might be time to put everything aside and take a look at the latest 18-minute documentary by Josh Fox: The Sky Is Pink.
Like the Dutch boy from Holland, who saved his country by putting his finger in a leaking dike, Gasland filmmaker Josh Fox (37) believes that he is doing the same thing for the world with his latest, fast-paced film. Visually dynamic and engaging, The Sky is Pink plugs what he calls the flow of misinformation from the oil and gas industry with dynamic truth telling about the dangers of fracking from a wide variety of highly respected sources.
Fracking, warns Fox, not only delivers toxic, flammable water into downstream homes, his film also shows how the drilling process can turn the sky from blue, to pink, with airborne pollutants, which can include ozone destroying methane.
In 2010, Gasland was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary. As the film went viral it brought world attention to the dangers of "fracking." In a recent story on Josh Fox, Rolling Stone magazine reports that Gasland II, a sequel for HBO, will be out later this year.
What has citizen "fractivists" across the country in revolt is not just that water from their kitchen sink can be lit on fire when the tap is turned on, or that the highly toxic chemicals from fracking can poison their children. It is their fear that the natural gas industry, including politicians who support it, seem to think that the pursuit of an endless supply of fossil fuels is more important than life itself.
To this end, they intend to vote pro-fracking politicians out of office, starting with the primaries this Tuesday, June 26th.
How widespread is the anti-fracking movement? On May 12th, in a full page ad in The New York Times, titled a "Mother's Day Letter to the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama," more than 200 organizations -- a coalition of mothers -- from around the country signed their names. The coalition was organized over a period of four months by a team of five mothers, including Angela Monti Fox, the mother of Gasland filmmaker, Josh Fox.
Signers included MOMS Advocating Sustainability from Mill Valley, California, with 650 members, the Parents of Park Slope Food Coop, of Brooklyn, New York, with 16,000 members, Kate Bowers, from Long Eddy, New York, of Catskillls Citizens for Safe Energy, with 9,000 members, and Angie Nordstrum, of Erie, Colorado, who co-founded both Erie Rising with 591 members and Boulder Allergy Kids with 200 members. Nordstrum was also a finalist in contest for the Healthy Child Healthy World Mom on a Mission 2012.
"I was riding on my son's coat-tails," Angela Fox, admits. "I had testified earlier at water contamination hearings in Washington D.C. It was our home in Pennsylvania that he was trying to save with his documentary. So, it was because of Josh, and his great sense of justice, that I became more active."]]>This Two-Word Tweet Created a Firestorm in Francetag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.16117342012-06-21T11:41:40-04:002012-08-21T05:12:05-04:00Alexia Parkshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexia-parks/
The tweet created a firestorm of controversy in France, and reportedly led to the defeat of a popular political candidate.
The woman who launched the word bomb just so happened to be First Lady Valarie Trierweiler, the media savvy, celebrity girlfriend of the newly elected French President, François Hollande. The target? Segolene Royal, the mother of Holland's four children, who had formerly lived with him for 30 years.
With just a week left in parliamentary elections, Trierweiler, sent out a two word message offering "Good Luck!" to Socialist dissident Olivier Falorni, the man running against Royal in the elections. Well-timed for maximum disruption of Royal's campaign, it reportedly led to her defeat.
What might have prompted Trierweiler's jealousy? Her partner, Hollande, had promised Royal the post of President of the National Assembly, if she won the election. Trierweiler's message, reported put her at odds with Hollande, and added an element of confusion to the election.
The response from critics was immediate. "This affair makes a mockery of our country and of our head of state," Eric Ciotti of the centre-Right UMP told reporters. Indeed, Hollande, 57, himself, was reportedly furious at the tweet.
Hollande, in frustration, asked his aides to keep her in check. "You must ask Valérie to be careful, she can cause you harm," one is reported as warning him. "You're right," Mr Hollande is said to have replied. "You talk to her."
The disruptive force of the two word tweet, which may have led to electoral defeat is worth noting. It is worth noting because of the pattern of defeats that have eroded the political power of Segolene Royal, over the past five years. Over the past five years, the romantic relationship between Hollande and Trierweiler has become increasingly public.
What critics want to know is this: Over the past five years, has a jealous Trierweiler, a journalist with the Paris Match, been using her knowledge of the political process, and the media, to undermining the success of Royal?
Ever since media savvy Trierweiler took up with Hollande, popular Segolene Royal, who reportedly has almost a "cult-like" following because of her advocacy for the common citizen, has suffered a string of losses in key political elections.
In 2007, for example, French Socialist Party's candidate Royal lost the presidential election to Nicolas Sarkozy. Mid-campaign, as she struggled to maintain her focus, she asked Hollande to move out of the family home because of his romantic involvement with Trierweiler.
In 2008, under what were termed "dubious circumstances," she narrowly lost the Socialist Party's election for First Secretary at the Party's twenty-second national congress. In 2011, a year after Trierweiler's relationship with Hollande became publicly known, Royal lost her second bid to represent the Socialist party in national elections. With Trierweiler at his back, Hollande won.
Recently, Hollande publicly announced his intention to elevate Royal to president of the National Congress if she won her local election. Ambushed by the twitter tossed word bomb, she lost.
Intriguingly, the Daily Mail reports that Ms. Trierweiler did not travel with Hollande to the G8 Summit in Mexico this week, and that her personal biography has disappeared from the Elysee Palace website. An aide confirmed that Ms. Trierweiler was being encouraged to 'remain in the shadows because Mr. Hollande was 'furious' at the way she has behaved so far.
Responding to the humiliating tweet, Royal told loyal supporters, "I did not want to react because the blow was so violent. But that does not mean I didn't feel wounded by it, I am not a robot." At the time she added: "I didn't want to respond in the heat of the moment because I am fighting a tough political battle and I need to stay in a good state of mind."
When asked about her defeat and the now infamous tweet on French 2 television, Segolene Royal quoted writer Victor Hugo saying: "Traitors always pay for their treachery in the end."]]>Hollande, Royal & Trierweiler: Viva La France and the Female Braintag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.15179882012-05-16T19:36:38-04:002012-07-16T05:12:04-04:00Alexia Parkshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexia-parks/
Two days before Hollande was sworn into office, Royal officially announced her candidacy for the post of Speaker of the National Assembly, the French lower house of parliament.
Charismatic, and well loved by the French public, Segolene Royal reportedly agreed to join Hollande on the platform during the final days of his campaign, in exchange for her appointment as president of the French National Assembly, if he won.
True to his word, Hollande, recently announced his support for Royal's appointment. If confirmed, she will become one of the most powerful politicians in France, and potentially, France's next president, after Hollande.
Hollande's leadership will benefit from this powerful combination of female political skill, diplomacy, and media savvy. That is, he and the country will benefit, if these two intelligent women are able to rise above any lingering jealousies that may still exist between the two women.
Trierweiller, as the media has noted, is "the other woman," a younger woman, who drew Hollande out of a 30-year relationship with Royal in 2007.
To me, these connected lives, if lifted to a higher level of political service, contain the seeds of a future model for politics where decision-making is based on a balance between the male and female mind.
And what about women and jealousy? Jealousy ceases, reminds 17th Century French classical author, Francois de la Rochefoucaud, as soon as we pass from doubt to certainty.
With Francois Hollande's presidency now a certainty, politics based on liberty, equality, community, and "service above self", is a trend worth watching.]]>This School Lifts Pakistani Girls Out of Povertytag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.10294252011-11-09T18:29:05-05:002012-01-09T05:12:02-05:00Alexia Parkshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexia-parks/
She could have been me, thought Saba. I could have been her. So I said, "I want to visit the schools and meet the girls."
After graduation, she did this. The organization she visited had been operating for 15 years. The girls were refugees from war. Their families had been living in Pakistan for 30 years or more, and their children who were born in Pakistan, were marginalized by society. Girls had to drop out of school at 10, and go to work for up to 14 hours a day, to help support their family.
So Saba Gul came up with a plan. "We set up a school where the girls could attend classes for three hours a day and then spend the fourth hour in a business and life skills class where they would be taught embroidery, and given fabric to work on.
The embroidery is then sent to manufacturers and placed on handbags that sell for $30 to $100 in the luxury goods marketplace. The girls receive $18 for each completed piece of embroidery. In this way, says Saba, they are able to financially contribute to their families, while gaining an education.
Although Saba's own MIT education had originally led to a software job with Oracle in Silicon Valley, and Thomson Reuters in Minneapolis, her first hand encounters with poverty took her out of her comfort zone. She had grown up in an upper middle class family in Pakistan; her father was a businessman. Although poverty was all around her, as a teenager, she took it for granted. Then she had to confront it.
In creating BLISS, the Business and Life Skills School, and setting up its Bags for Bliss program, Saba says: "It feels good to be doing something real and meaningful for humanity. Something that has real social impact. This is work that moves me!"
The Unreasonable Institute hosts a summer incubator for high impact social entrepreneurs. On the Bags for Bliss blog, Canadian Donna Morton describes her experience at the Institute this way:
It was like 'living in a chocolate fondue.'. It filled up your senses, it was heavenly and when it was over, you were left craving for more."
Saba agrees: "Imagine being put in a house for 6 weeks with 26 people whose ideas, experiences and passion will blow your mind and force you to think about the world in a radically different way."
Lessons learned from her summer Fellowship are now being blended with First World marketing and business techniques. As part of the SEID partnership four first-year Sloan MBAs will devise the strategy for launching BLISS products in the U.S. market. They will work with Saba Gul and Bags for Bliss over the next three months on product placement, pricing, branding and identification of retail partners.
What's next?
"We're raising $20,000 in 60 days," says Saba. "The demand to enroll in the class is growing; and the demand for handbags is growing. At this point, we need to grow the school from 30 girls to 90 girls within one year. The money will go to pay the girls, in advance, to attend school, and for operating expenses."
When the campaign launches, you can follow them here.
Alexia Parks is an inspirational speaker, founder of the Focus on Success mentoring system for schools and business, and author of 12 books including the Amazon business and motivational best-seller, Parkinomics -- 8 Great Ways to Thrive in the New Economy.
]]>Boulder Rolls Out the GREEN Carpettag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2011:/theblog//3.9720302011-09-22T12:38:13-04:002011-11-22T05:12:01-05:00Alexia Parkshttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexia-parks/GQ magazine. Could the GQ tag, "worst dressed," have something to do with the fact that Boulder residents take their active lifestyle seriously and that it also extends into the workplace? If you like to run, walk, or bike to work, what type of clothing are you going to wear?
Fashion industry and GQ take note. Boulder flaunted its green lifestyle last weekend with a GREEN Carpet Fashion Show. Runway models and residents took over a mile-long stretch of Pearl Street that was closed to cars for the day. Innovative fashions seen on the street included recycled, upcycled, adventure-friendly clothing. Barefoot sandals, called the Invisible Shoe, were paired with Verve yoga pants by one local runner. Umba Love clothing, whose style was described by a designer from the collective as "Gypsy Love Pirates," was paired with feather hairpieces and earrings from Revibe Boulder. And Green Guru, flaunted its post-carbon gear, including tote bags and bike accessories, made from recycled rubber.
Founded by entrepreneur Hillary Griffith, Boulder Green Streets mimics the 70-mile long Ciclovia that takes place every Sunday in Bogotá, Columbia. Every Sunday, in Bogotá, cars are blocked from entering the 70-mile long promenade, and the streets are filled with bicyclists, joggers, strollers, and vendors of all types.
While several larger cities in the U.S., including New York City and Portland, offer a once-a-week street closure for pedestrian and sports use, what makes the tiny Boulder Green Streets event a very BIG idea is the fact that Griffith has made it scalable, to neighborhoods throughout the city.
Her vision is to make it easy for neighborhood groups to decide to close local streets to cars a one day and turn the area in front of their homes into a play space for all kinds of sports activities. Having one group, such as Boulder Green Streets, handle all the details related to the permitting process and street closure, makes it easy for residents to create very local events that reflect the best that the neighborhood has to offer.
Griffith has even offered funding for several neighborhoods to do "art in the street" projects -- along with street closures -- in which they create a permanent work of art on the street surface to illustrate what their neighborhood is all about. Is it a neighborhood with a strong focus on community gardens? Children? The Arts? Yoga? Bicycling? Outdoor sports? The artful images will portray in a colorful way what binds a particular neighborhood together.
Last year, Boulder Green Streets was home to the Four Mile Heroes - Fighters Parade. Volunteer firefighters who battled the state's most costly mountain fire marched down the mile-long parade route, to the cheers of citizens who had come out to greet them. Because it was a car-free zone, the firefighters had to leave their fire trucks parked at the start of the parade route. Face to face with a grateful community, and led by several local marching bands, including a Rock 'n Roll choir, they were able to shake hands and gather hugs all the way down the street.
This year, Boulder's "worst dressed" citizens got to celebrate their "anything goes" lifestyle by joining in a one-mile-long BGS People Powered parade.]]>
Tweetie and Sweetie are parakeets. Sweetie is the one wearing blue feathers. They are love birds who sleep in a cage at night, and fly free in the house during the daytime. When hungry, they hop back into the cage to eat, then out again to fly free.