Andy Kondrat:
Katie Halper
May 22, 2008 | 6:38 pm EST
The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!
Katie Halper:
Necklacing Returns to South Africa, Tutu Calls for Peace, and History Repeats Itself
Ted Kennedy’s Malignant Brain Tumor: Sad News, But the Work Goes On
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Nicole Hughes:
Bush’s Food Aid Package Promotes Use of GMOs
Gas Prices Exceed Those of 1973 Oil Crisis
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Greenhouse Gas Emissions Could Cost US 38 Trillion Annually
USDA Budget Squeeze Forces Agency to Stop Tracking Pesticide Use
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Jon Popham:
Brooklyn Bridge Birthday Celebration!
Smokey the Bear: Environmental Icon
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Giulia Rozzi:
Suicide Tourism in New York City
Kristin Davis and Her Solar Powered Home
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Gina Telaroli:
Media That Matters Film Festival Premieres on May 28th
Top 10 Ways Indiana Jones Saved the World: Part #1
Read the rest of this entry »
Necklacing– in which a rubber tire, filled with kerosene, is forced around a victim’s chest and arms and set on fire– was a common form punishment imposed by “people’s courts” Apartheid-era South Africa. The practice was first captured by the late photographer Kevin Carter. And Archbishop and peace activist Desmond Tutu once intervened to stop a man who was about to be necklaced. Tragically, nearly 20 years later, Tutu must, once again, call on South Africans to stop this brutal practice. Before the victims were suspected collaborators (with the apartheid regime) and criminals. Now refugees from Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique, who flee violence and poverty in their own countries are the victims. They are being blamed for taking jobs and driving up crime rates. 42 people have been killed, 28,000 people have been displaced by the violence and more than 400 have been arrested.
Actors Courteney Cox and David Arquette, have co-designed a necklace with a butterfly, a symbol for hope and freedom, etched onto a small silver pendant, to benefit the Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation (EBMRF). The necklace on sale at SATYA boutique in New York and online at www.satyajewelry.com
Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) is a genetic condition that causes skin and linings to break and blister at the slightest touch. Sufferers battle daily with fluid loss and
infection of the open wounds. In worst cases, they’ll die of skin cancer before the age of 40, many in infancy.
This rare skin disease is affecting someone near and dear to both David and Courteney prompting them to get involved with EBMRF. 
and buy the necklace for yourself or as a gift, it not only looks good but it’s for a good cause.
Our second installation of the TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is here give you the very best of Katie, Nicole, Giulia, Gina and Kerry! More blogs means more to love this Valentine’s Day week, and more social action means a healthier and happier world for everyone. Check out our most popular posts of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.
Katie:
5 Ways to Take Action and Get Action On Valentine’s Day
Top 10 Guilt-Free Valentine’s Day Jewelry Gifts: Show Your Valentine You Have a Heart
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Nicole:
Kiva: Microlending to Change Lives
Top 10 New Releases to Inspire Social Change
Alicia Keys Uses Grammys to Help Keep a Child Alive
V-Day Celebrates Its 10 Year Anniversary!
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Gina:
Top 10 Movie Characters That Make A Difference
Art As Politics In “The Silence Before Bach”
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Kerry:
This Valentine’s day, as I promised readers last week, you don’t have to choose between buying your loved one a diamond necklace made by enslaved children, or a hemp necklace made under humane conditions (probably in Berkeley). And if you’ve seen Blood Diamond, whose trailer is above, or Gem Slaves, or Congo’s Curse, both made by IRIN, I have a feeling you’re not going to want to taint your valentine with blood-made jewelry. So here is a list of 10 great Valentine’s Day jewelry gifts that will let you glitter guilt-free. Make sure you come back tomorrow to check out my next top 10 Valentines Gifts with Heart list. For now, let’s talk about jewelry, starting with the most affordable and working our way up:
