The Fabulous Sinead O'Connor

Friday, September 7, 2012

Wikipedia: World Suicide Prevention Day: September 10

The following is the full Wikipedia entry regarding World Suicide Prevention Day as it occurs annually on September 10.

It is used in its entirety, according to Wikipedia's Terms of Service.


World Suicide Prevention Day

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is an awareness day observed on 10 September every year, in order to provide worldwide commitment and action to preventsuicides, with various activities around the world.[1] The International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), collaborates with the World Health Organization (WHO) and theWorld Federation for Mental Health, to host World Suicide Prevention Day.[2] In 2011 an estimated 40 countries held awareness events to mark the occasion.[3] The United Nationsissued 'National Policy for Suicide Prevention' in the 1990s which some countries use as a basis for their suicide policies.[4]
Suicide has a number of complex and interrelated and underlying contributing factors ... that can contribute to the feelings of pain and hopelessness. Having access to means to kill oneself - most typically firearms, medicines and poisons - is also a risk factor.[1]

Contents

  [hide

[edit]Background

As of 2011, an estimated one million people per year die by suicide or "a death every 40 seconds or about 3,000 every day."[3] According to WHO there are twenty people who have a failed suicide attempt for every one that is successful, at a rate approximately one every three seconds.[5][6] Suicide is the "most common cause of death for people aged 15 – 24."[7] More people die from suicide than from murder and war; it is the 13th leading cause of death worldwide.[1][8] According to WHO, suicide accounts for nearly half of all violent deaths in the world.[6] Brian Mishara, IASP president, noted that, "more people kill themselves than die in all wars, terrorist acts and interpersonal violence combined."[9] The number of people who die by suicide is expected to reach 1.5 million per year by 2020.[8]
The UN noted that suicide bombers' deaths are seen as secondary to their goal of killing other people or specific targets and the bombers are not otherwise typical of people committing suicide.[4]

[edit]Pesticides

According to a WHO press release, one third of worldwide suicides were committed with pesticides, "some of which were forbidden by United Nations (UN) conventions."[4] WHO urges Asian countries to restrict pesticides that are commonly used in failed attempts, especially organophosphate-based pesticides that are banned by international conventions but still made in and exported by some Asian countries.[10] From 1996-2006 pesticide ingestion accounted for an estimated 60-90 percent of suicides in China, MalaysiaSri Lanka, and Trinidad.[10] WHO reports an increase in pesticide suicides in other Asian countries as well as Central and South America.[10]

[edit]Country information

Of the 34 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a group of developed countriesthat uses market economy to improve the Human Development IndexSouth Korea had the highest suicide rate.[11] In 2011 South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare enacted legislation coinciding with WSPD to address the high rate.[11]
In some countries, such as China, young people 15-34 years old are more likely to die by suicide than by any other means.[12]
According to WHO, in 2009 the four countries with the highest rates of suicide were all in Eastern EuropeSlovenia had the fourth highest rate preceded by RussiaLatvia, and Belarus.[13] This stays within findings from the start of the WSPD event in 2003 when the highest rates were also found in Eastern European countries.[14] The countries with the lowest rates tend to be in Latin America, "Muslim countries and a few Asian countries."[14] There is a lack of information from most African countries.[14]

[edit]Themes

  • 2003 - "Suicide Can Be Prevented!"[14]
  • 2004 - "Saving Lives, Restoring Hope"[15]
  • 2005 - "Prevention of Suicide is Everybody's Business"[16]
  • 2006 - "With Understanding New Hope"[9]
  • 2007 - "Suicide prevention across the Life Span"[17]
  • 2008 - "Think Globally, Plan Nationally, Act Locally"[18]
  • 2009 - "Suicide Prevention in Different Cultures"[7]
  • 2010 - "Families, Community Systems and Suicide"[19]
  • 2011 - "Preventing Suicide in Multicultural Societies"[3]
  • 2012 - "Suicide Prevention across the Globe: Strengthening Protective Factors and Instilling Hope"[20]

[edit]See also

[edit]References

  1. a b c "Alaska Observes World Suicide Prevention Day and Alaska Suicide Prevention Month"SitNews. 11 September 2004. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  2. ^ "Suicide in the U.S.A. Based on Current (2007) Statistics". American Association of Suicidology. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
  3. a b c QMI Agency (10 September 2011). "Inuit youth celebrate life on World Suicide Day"London Free Press. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  4. a b c "Press Conference by World Health Organization on Suicide Prevention" (Press Conference). United Nations Department of Public Information. 8 September 2006. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  5. ^ Melnick, Meredith (10 September 2010). "It’s World Suicide Prevention Day: What You Can Do to Help"Time. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  6. a b "Suicide every 40 seconds"Daily Mail. 7 September 2005. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  7. a b Fierheller, Lorel (2009). "Suicide Prevention Day coming up"The Beausejour Review. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  8. a b "World Suicide Prevention Day is marked"Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 10 September 2004. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  9. a b "World Suicide Prevention Day" (Press release). Scoop Independent News. 8 September 2006. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  10. a b c "Restrict pesticides to reduce suicides: WHO"CBC News. 9 November 2006. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  11. a b Choi, Jung-yoon (8 September 2011). "South Korea to step up suicide prevention efforts: In 2009, 15,413 people took their lives, a rate that is three times higher than two decades ago. Officials plan to boost suicide prevention funding and install surveillance devices at key sites."Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  12. ^ Reynolds, James (10 September 2008). "Chinese youth 'face suicide risk'"BBC News, Beijing. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  13. ^ "News Roundup: Ljubljana"Slovenska Tiskovna Agencija. 9 October 2009. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  14. a b c d "Celebrating the 1st World Suicide Prevention Day 10 September 2003"Press Release. International Association for Suicide Prevention. Retrieved 12 June 2012. adapted from the chapter on "Self-Directed Violence" from the World Report on Violence and HealthWorld Health OrganizationGeneva, 2002.
  15. ^ "World Suicide Prevention Day - 10 September 2004".Press archive. International Association for Suicide Prevention. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  16. ^ "World Suicide Prevention Day - 10 September 2005".Press archive. International Association for Suicide Prevention. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  17. ^ "UN marks World Suicide Prevention Day"Mathaba News. 11 September 2007.
  18. ^ "World Suicide Prevention Day - 10 September 2008".Event archive. International Association for Suicide Prevention. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  19. ^ "Crist Signs Proclamation Recognizing National Suicide Prevention Week in Florida: Several communities and organizations around the state and country are holding events this week to raise awareness and increase education on the issue."WCTV. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  20. ^ "World Suicide Prevention Day - 10 September 2012".Press archive. International Association for Suicide Prevention. Retrieved 12 June 2012. (After event the website will update and move 2012 information to a new subpage.)

[edit]External links

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Video: Sinead O'Connor Molly Malone

Sinead O'Connor singing Molly Malone---need I say more?

Lyrics


Statue of Molly Malone in Dublin
In Dublin's fair city,
Where the girls are so pretty,
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone,
As she wheeled her wheel-barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!"
"Alive, alive, oh,
Alive, alive, oh",
Crying "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh".
She was a fishmonger,
But sure 'twas no wonder,
For so were her father and mother before,
And they each wheeled their barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!"
(chorus)
She died of a fever,
And no one could save her,
And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone.
Now her ghost wheels her barrow,
Through streets broad and narrow,
Crying, "Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh!"
(chorus)

Monday, September 3, 2012

Troy by Sinead O'Connor (video, lyrics and what it means to me)

Ahh, the song "Troy" by Sinead O'Connor. It's a fabulous song and one in which I blame for shaping (or maybe reshaping) the way I listened to music.

I can't recall exactly when I first heard it, but I'm guessing it was about 89-90. In 86, I was 18-years-old and a teen mom. My daughter was almost 2-years-old and I was trying to forge out some sort of career for myself. It didn't exactly work, and when I look back at those years, I tend to remember more about the fun I had, the dates I went on, and the friends and acquaintances I met, rather than my time working or going to hair school. I was in Boston and "alternative" music was in with the kids defying tradition, only that wasn't what we called it back then. It was just very clear that the music you listened to really defined you- could easily make you accepted or rejected by certain cliques- and for me- my taste of music was definitely cutting edge- indie/college favorites that were viewed as "underground" "rebellious" maybe a bit punk- but those that challenged the rules of society.

And there was Sinead.

Here I am, at 43-years-old, and my choice in music is still "on the edge" I guess you can say. Honestly, I deplore most of what is played on a radio and I really don't like listening to anything considered "contemporary" regardless of the genre--and I guess I can attribute some of that to Sinead.

She was so unique and original, and not just because she was Irish and I was a Bostonian girl trying to figure out who I was- she was genuinely original. It permeated through every song she wrote and unleashed like a tempest on the world. Her uniqueness seeped through every performance. It was rebellious and refreshing. It was a middle finger in your face playing to a background of harmonious melodies that would suddenly turn to growls, then just as quickly return to sugary-sweet smoothness.

It was unlike anything I ever heard before, and honestly, unlike anything I've heard since.

Sure, there have been some that have "arisen from the flames" in some comparison to Sinead. Mostly is Alanis Morissette- and it seems whenever there is a demand for an artist (music or Hollywood) and something knocks that person from their rightful spot, there is always "another" waiting in the wings to take their place.

Don't believe me? Go ask Lindsay Lohan.

So to me, when I listen to "Troy," I am instantly transported back in time- to my youth- to my days of college music and figuring out where I wanted to go with my life- while at the same time embracing this "rebellious" side of me that wanted to give society the middle finger as well.

Sinead O'Connor will always be my favorite artist- and I have more stories to share- many of which may just seem so unbelievable but are a true part of my history.

It's amazing how we mark monumental events in our lives with music, isn't it? For me, I can associate music with different parts of my past- I remember what I listened to when I was a pregnant teen, when I was coming of age and a runaway, when I made it through high school, when I went into the U.S. Army, and when I left at the beginning of the first Iraq war.

For most of it, Sinead has been there. Not in person, but her music has played a significant part in the soundtrack of my life.

Maybe I'll have some Sinead playing during my funeral...how about "Stretched on your grave." That might be a mind-bender and throw things out of whack...lol..

I like it...

Just might do it...


Here is the song that for me, is the epitome of college, underground music in Boston, Massachusetts back when I was young.

"Troy"
Lyrics by Sinead O'Connor

I remember it--

Dublin in a rainstorm, ah.
Sitting in the long grass in the summer,
Keeping warm.

I remember it--
Every restless night.
We were so young then
We thought that everything
That we could possibly do was right.

And we moved,

Stolen from our very eyes.
And I wondered where you went to.
And tell me, when did the light die?

You will rise,
You'll return, ah, ah.
The phoenix from the flame.
You will learn,
You will rise,
You'll return,
Being what you are.
There is no other Troy for you to burn, ah.

I never meant to hurt you,
I swear I didn't mean those things I said.

I never meant to do that to you;
Next time, I'll keep my hands to myself instead.

Oh, does she love you?
What do you want to do?
Does she need you like I do, oh?

Do you love her?
Is she good for you?
Does she hold you like I do, whoah, aah, ooh, oh-oh?

Do you want me?
Should I leave?
I know you're always telling me that you love me,
But just sometimes I wonder if I should believe.

Oh, I love you.
God, I love you.
I'd kill a dragon for you,

I'll die.
But I will rise,
And I will return
The phoenix from the flame.
I have learned,
I will rise.
And you'll see me return,
Being what I am.
There is no other Troy for me to burn, ah.

Well, you should have left the light on,
You should have left the light on,
Then I wouldn't have tried, and you'd never have known.

Well, I wouldn't have pulled you tighter,
No, I wouldn't have pulled you close,
I wouldn't have screamed, "No! I can't let you go"

If the door wasn't closed.
No, I wouldn't have pulled you to me,
No, I wouldn't have kissed your face.
You wouldn't have begged me to hold you
If we hadn't been there in the first place.

Whoa, but I know you wanted me to be there, oh, oh,
Every look that you threw told me so.

Oh, but you should have left the light on.
You should have left the light on.
Ah, oh-ooh, oh,
Ah, oh-ooh, oh,

But the flame burned away, but you're still spitting fire,
Made no difference what you say,

You're still a liar,
You're still a liar,
You're still a liar.