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November 24. 2004
Opinion articles do not
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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
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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.
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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