Paramount Pictures has just announced that they are pushing the release date of ‘The Soloist’ back from Thanksgiving weekend to March 13th.   The news comes as a disappointment for those of us looking forward to the film’s release and the Oscar buzz will have to hold off until 2009, as it will miss this year’s cut-off.   It also leaves me with only two turkey day releases to bring grandma to: a vampire fantasy flick or a Disney dog movie.   I suppose they’re better choices then Blood Diamonds.   Grandma’s reaction: “Mary Poppins it ain’t”.

Check back here for updates, but in the meantime takepart with the social action campaign for The Soloist.

If you love someone, you probably don’t want to give them a gift made under hateful conditions. Sadly, most common valentines day gifts– flowers, chocolate, and jewelry– are likely to involve child labor, child slavery, violence, human rights abuses and environmental degradation. But don’t worry. You don’t have to swear off of gift-giving. Nor do you have to give your valentine a handmade dream catcher, a hemp hacky sack or a recycled nalgene to say I love you guilt-free. Instead, say I love you– and children, and the earth, and workers– by buying fair trade chocolates, flowers, and jewelry. Buy something your valentine can really love you for. And come back next week for my valentine gifts with heart top 10 list.

1. If your valentine is sweet, buy them fair trade chocolates from Global Exchange.
2. If your valentine is full of life and color, buy them pesticide-free flowers or roses from Organic Styles
3. If your valentine has a heart of gold, buy recycled gold jewelry from Green Carat
4. If your valentine is expecting something more than just a valentine, buy them a conflict-free diamonds from Brilliant Earth
5. Now give yourself, and the world a gift and check out Oxfam’s Make Trade Fair Campaign, to see why Coldplay’s Chris Martin is a supporter and made them the music video above. And see how you can by joining Chris Martin and other activists in calling on world leaders to make trade fair!

The first testimony in the war crimes trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor took place in front of an international tribunal at The Hauge on Monday. A video was shown depicting victims’ reports of sexual assault and dismemberment committed by Liberia’s rebel army. Taylor is accused of orchestrating the violence. He confirmed that diamonds may have been smuggled in and out of Liberia, but denied any direct involvement and has pled innocent to all 11 charges.

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By Katie HalperFrance isn’t the only country that knows how to get its strike on. Tuesday, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) of South Africa, announced that 240,000 miners are planning a nation-wide one day strike for December 4, which will be the country’s first industry-wide mining strike. Gold, platinum, and coal miners are protesting over little things like poor working conditions, rockfalls, poisonous gas explosions, flooding and earthquakes, which killed 200 miners last year and already killed 186 this year. A South African commission explained the relationship between mining safety (or lack thereof) and gold: each ton of gold produced in South Africa costs one life and 12 serious injuries.