Susan notes: I've copied and pasted this biographical information and talk unabashedly from the TED website.
Susan further notes: I am a pacifist; and I try to be apolitical. But I'm for compassion and care for everyone. I published this TED Talk today, November 11, 2009, three years after it was released, to honour all the soldiers past present and future, of all nationaliities, who put their lives at risk fighting for things they believe in, and trying to protect innocent people from evil and harm.
They horrors they experience are unimaginable to the rest of us, who aren't forced to suffer the physical, psychological and emotional traumas they do. Today is one day to honour soldiers. Thank you to Deborah Scranton for this amazing project and this TED Talk.
Filmmaker Deborah Scranton helps real people tell compelling, honest stories. Her 2006 documentary The War Tapes put cameras in the hands of National Guard troops stationed in Camp Anaconda, in Iraq.
Through their raw footage and diaries, they brought home a truth that we at home would never otherwise know about what one soldier calls "the war for cheese."
Deborah has also created the TV documentary Stories from Silence, Witness to War, which tells the stories of World War II veterans in living New Hampshire.
Tags conflict filmmaker love peace success war warrior
2010-11-10
Posted in TED Talks (Individual)
Susan notes: I'm deeply saddened by the death yesterday of one of my heroines, war zone journalist and camerawoman Margaret Moth. She was an amazing woman in every sense of the world. I am grateful for her life so fully lived.
See the three-part CNN docuentatry video of her life here: Margaret Moth (Journalist/Camerawoman); and my September 2009 blog on her story here: The Margaret Moth Story: FEARLESS (or: A Heroine Just Walked Into My Life). This is part of Moth's obituary which ran yesterday on CNN.com; click on the link below to see the complete article.
Simply put, Margaret Moth made an impression.
Given her jet-black hair, thick black eyeliner, black clothes and combat boots (which she often slept in while on assignment), people didn't always know what to think upon meeting her. She was quirky, the sort who excused herself from a social gathering by saying she had to wash her socks.
And she was fearless, the kind of woman who not only kept the camera rolling while under fire, but zoomed in on a soldier who was shooting at her.
Colleagues learned quickly to appreciate all that this CNN camerawoman was. Beyond her rich personality, which included deep optimism and kindness, she brought to her profession top-notch technical abilities, unmatched dedication and an approach to work that inspired others to push themselves.
Tags conflict courage determination Fun goals inspiration journalist media success violence
2010-03-21
Posted in Women In the News
When darkness comes to Congo Town, women in crisp uniforms take the streets, patrolling with Kalashnikov rifles and long, black hair tucked into baby-blue caps.
The brisk sergeant in command, Monia Gusain, matter of factly calls them “my men.” But the stern Indian women facing her are actually wives and mothers who wage peace for a living on the rutted dirt roads of Liberia.
Tags community conflict goals Nobel Peace Prize peace success violence
2010-03-08
Posted in Women In the News