As a Muslim woman living the US, I found the recent comments by President Nicolas Sarkozy to French Lawmakers highly disturbing.  He stated, "The problem of the burka is not a religious problem. This is an issue of a woman's freedom and dignity.

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It's a funny day in Christianity when a former follower of Sun Myung Moon-turned fallen Catholic Archbishop takes a stand to knock out yet another brick in the wall of the  Church's ideology. Yet that's exactly what happened when Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo ordained two married men, Raymond Grosswirth and Dominic Ricco, as priests in West New York yesterday. According to Milingo, the Church's current shortage of priests could be remedied by allowing Catholic priests to enjoy the comfort of marriage, just as leaders in other Christian sects, as well as Islamic and Jewish orders, do. But his actions symbolize far more for the Church in America than simply a bending of the rules to solve a heirarchical problem. By openly defying the Vatican, who excommunicated him after a previous round of ordinations of married men, Milingo is doing a small part to pluralise Catholicism: to make it, along with other institutions that shape mankind, in some part representative of the plurality of its constituents, or, if you prefer, flock. In short, Milingo is moving towards democratizing Catholicism.

A group of nine activists calling themselves, "Fire UP",  are working throughout the month of November to

support the ongoing efforts at Black Mesa, Arizona to "stop Peabody Coal Company from destroying peoples homes and ancient sacred sights, " says Fire UP member, Charles Williams.  Fire UP is focused on helping local Navajos continue to live on the land. The group's work will be a mix of repairing hogans, planting seeds and herding goats, as well as interviewing folks and making a short documentary. Prior to and at the end of their time on the reservation they will be doing outreach and education in major cities around the US.   Fire UP! goals are: Education - To share information about indigenous struggles in the Black Mesa region. Action - Through physical labor, support Navajo elders and families as they resist being driven from their ancestral homes. Media - Document efforts and create a short documentary summarizing the current situation on Black Mesa. Community Building - Both on Black Mesa and in route, build alliances between individuals and organizations.

To do all of this will cost around $3000 and Fire UP aims to raise an additional $6000 for local Navajo groups to keep organizing for their religious freedom.