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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 24, 2004)
Page A4 îl?e JJnrtlattb © hseruer November 24. 2004 Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views o f The Portland Observer O pinion Stand Up Against Genocide in Sudan E d ito r's note: The fo llo w inf; p ro cla m a tio n on the crisis in Sudan was p resen ted Tuesday b y A llen Tem ple A M E C hurch P a sto r Dr. LeR oy H aynes Jr. at N orth P ortland B ible C ollege on b e h a lf o f local A frican-A m erican clergy: We stand together today in solidarity w ith o u r brothers and sisters from the Sudan C hristian C om m unity to call upon C o n g res sional representatives and o u r Slate D epartm ent to use political and econom ic pressures on the governm ent o f Sudan to take deliberate and im m ediate action to end the genocide on the indigenous A frican population. W e further call upon the S udanese g overnm ent to end the obstruction o f U nited N ations and international aid efforts to pro vide food, m edical aid and shelter to the refugees, and to end its oppression o f C hristian com m unities in Sudan. A ccording to the U nited N ations, m ore than 1.8 m illion people have been displaced by the tragedy in D arfar. An estim ated 50,000 people have died. A lso, in south Sudan 1.5 m illion have been killed. Secretary o f State C ol in Pow ell in testifying before the U.S. Senate called the atrocities in the D arfar region o f Sudan “gen o cid e” and „.AN i<&* OST ¡H A ¿EAP ûict/E held the governm ent o f S udan responsible. W e call upon the citizens o f O regon and all o f A m erica to jo in us in preventing a new R w anda by con tactin g th eir C ongressional representatives, the State D epartm ent and President Bush to sup port the U nited N ations resolution introduced by Secretary Pow ell calling on Sudan to end the genocide, protect the local resident population from attacks and restore security o r face possible sanc tions against its oil industry. Furtherm ore, w e call upon the citizens o f O regon to pray for peace, reconciliation and freedom for the S udanese people, and to help relieve their physical suffering by sending financial contributions the Sudan E m ergency R elief Fund. in diversity Print Participate in Democracy Kotu (O bscrurr To contact ^‘'^ J o r t l a n b (© b se rü e r Obesity Challenge is about Good Choices Key is smaller sizes, daily physical activity by D r . M ei . K ohn M organ S p u rlo ck ’s film “Super Size M e” w as am ong the y ear’s box office surprises. It grossed several m illion dollars and got O regonians talking about the connection b e tw een fast food and obesity. N oquestion, the prem ise w as a gim mick: Spurlock ate only M cD onald’s fare for 30days. and this formerly active guy also stopped exercising. In one particularly sophom oric scene, we saw him throwing up because he did n ’t have the gtxxl sense to stop eating. But the film did d eliver sensible m essages in a co m pelling way: Food choices and daily physical activity are essential to g o o d health. A nd how food is m arketed can m ake it a lot harder— or easier — to m a k e h e a lth y choices. T hese m essag es are not only s e n s ib le , but a ls o c ritic a l to o u r ability to confront one o f the m ost im por tant em erging public health prob- le m so f o u r tim e. N early tw o- thirds o f A m ericans — and O regonians — are overw eight, and obesity chal lenges tobacco as the n atio n ’s No. 1 cause o f preventable death. O verw eight and obesity are as sociated w ith higher levels o f heart disease, stroke, diabetes, jo in t prob lem s and som e cancers. If w e d o n ’t address this problem it w ill ruin our h ealth an d serio u sly strain our healthcare system . H ere’s a quiz: W hen you order a M cD onald’sdoublequarterpounder instead o f a small hamburger, how m any extra calories are you choos ing? How about the C innabon clas sic instead o f the m inibon, or a m e dium box o f popcorn at the movies instead o f a small one? T he answ ers: asm all ham burger is 280 calories versus 770 for the quarter pounder; the m inibon is 300 calories versus 670 fo r the classic; a sm all popcorn is 4 0 0 calories ver sus 90 0 for the m edium . R esearch show s that if one eats an average o f only 100 excess calo ries a day — far few er than any o f the increases from the choices m en tioned above — he o r she can ex pect to gain 10 pounds in a year. Physical activity is the other h alf o f the equation, and one w here sim ilarly sm all changes add up to w eighty problem s. W e ’re beginning to w ork with local coalitions to support sensible decisions about food and physical activity. T hese include such activi ties as helping em ployers develop w o rk p la c e p ro g r a m s , tr a in in g school staff to increase stu d en ts’ healthy food choices and provid ing city planners w ith inform ation about the im portance o f building com m unities that m ake it easy to be physically active. O besity is indeed a super-size problem th at’s becom ing an urgent health issue. As S p u rlo ck ’s film show ed, we have a responsibility to m ake good food choices for ourselves. A nd we need to dem and environm ents that help us m ake healthy choices, w hether it be food o r physical ac tivity. Dr. M el K ohn is the state ep id e m iologist in the O regon D ep a rt m ent o f H um an Services. ♦•Classes are free for qualified participants! CaCCweCC ’s CoConiaf Chapel African American Health Coalition, Inc. Presents fo r your health, Wellness W ith in REACH Activity Calendar Aerobics Mallory Ave. Christian Church Mon, Wed, frt, 6-7am, Pierce • 5:30-6:20pm, Granville • 6:30-7:30pm, Nickerson Pilates (Contact AAHC) M att Dishman Tue, 8-9pm Stretching/Body Sculpting Low Im pact Aerobics Daniel’s M em orial Church Tue, 7:15-8:15pm, Granville W a te r Aerobics (Contact AAHC) Columbia Pool, M att Dishman African Exercise M att Dishman Sat, 10-1 lam, Addo Tai Chi (Contact AAHC) St.John’s Comunity Center Tue, 6:30-7:30pm Classes W ill Resume Soon W eight Mgnt,/Conditioning W hitaker Track Tue, Thu, 9 -1 Oam, Hasan Kickboxing Mallory Ave. Christian Church Tue, Thu, 6-7pm, Keller Yoga W ild Oats Market Tue, Thu, 7:30-8:30pm, Wren Columbia Pool, 7701 N Chautauqua Daniel's Memorial Church, 1234 NE Killmgsworth Malory Ave Qinsuan Churdi (Gym). 126 NE Alberta Matt Dishman. 77 NE Knott Denyse O. Peterson rf h e P re -a iT ailg e ilieilt C o n c e p t (Class courtesy o f M itt Dishmin) M att Dishman Tue, Thu, 7-8am, Lois W alking Group Peninsula Park Sat, 12:30pm. Woods Lloyd Ctr, 1st FI. in front of Sears Tue, Thu, 6:30pm, Woods Body Conditioning W ild Oats M arket Sat, 9:30-10:30am, Nickerson 20 N.E. 14th Avenue Portland, Oregon 97232 (.503) 232-4111 Peninsula Park 700 N Portland St John’s Community Center, 8427 N. Central Whitaker Track, NE 42nd 4 Killmgsworth Wild Oats Market, 3535 NE 15th D ear Family M ember: Deityse Peterson represents funeral hom es and cemeteries in (he Portland M e tro politan area. Many families have a difficult time getting through all die associated decisions, questions, grief and Financial responsibilities that follow when a love one dies. Denyse’s responsibility is to provide information. Pre-arranging lessens the burden before the time ol death with challenges such as em otional overs,sending, indecision, haste and worry. Out |>ersonal planning guide can he a great benefit Io loved ones. Overall, pre arranging will Ix-nefit families tremendously. file pre-arrangement Dignity M emorial providers are honored to help families in our com m unity with your funeral and burial needs. Representing these fine funeral homes: • Caldwell’s Colonial Chapel • Sunnyside Chapel & Memorial Gardens • 1 jiko I ii Memorial Park 8c Funeral Home • Hennessey, Goetsch & McGee Funeral Directors • Gateway little Chapel of the Chimes • I incoln-Willamette Funeral Directors • Killingsworth Little Cha|x‘l of the Chimes • Ross Hollywood Chapef Skyline Memorial Gardens & Funeral Home **Please contact AAHC before attending the first class and for more information at S03-413-1850 or kdempsey@aahc-portland.org. Please receive approval from your doctor before beginning exercise class. Must be II or older For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call Denyse Peterson at (503) 232-4111. R a c ia l a n d E th n ic A p p r o a c h e s t e C o m m u n it y H e a lt h A Program of the African American Health Coalition, Inc SponKxeo bv the Center» for Control and Prevention (COC) \dvertise with diversity»/ 'r ',r] J n r tla n b (D b a rru t'r Contact AAHC at 5 0 3 -4 13 - 1 ISO or visit our web site at www.aaftc-portland.org ( a ll 5 O 3 -2 S 8 0033 ads@portlandohscrvtT.cotn
