Meet Gabriel McNeal… a pleasant, seemingly “happy go lucky” fellow, with a nice smile and out going personality. A young man who could have taken the “easy way” in life, and cashed in on his basketball talents overseas, in a few different countries, among them Germany. He could have been just another professional athlete, making money by doing what he’s physically born to do, but this 24-year old chose a different path.

“I realized that my life was bigger than the basketball court,” said McNeal. “I want to be remembered as a person who inspired others.”

As things stand today, he will graduate in December from Point Park University (in Downtown Pittsburgh, PA) with a bachelor’s degree in communications. But… what’s his game plan? What tugged at him hard enough to pull him away from the game he loves? Perhaps having a beautiful 4-year old daughter who lives in Texas had something to do with it. Becoming a father can change a man… can often give him a different perspective.

McNeal was born in Richmond, Virginia, and never really knew his mother, who has been in and out of prison his entire life. So, he was raised by his aunt and grandmother. Even though his father was also fairly translucent, and he too was incarcerated a few years ago, in the time he did spend with his son, he left a positive influence on young Gabriel.

“I love my father. He instilled in me a strong reading foundation. This eventually inspired me to create my foundation.” McNeal explained.

So… how did this kid from Richmond end up at Point Park University, in Pittsburgh?

He spent his freshman year of college at Cecil Community College, in Maryland, where he made “All tournament Team”, by averaging 13 pts and 4 assists per game. They also won the Maryland “Juco Tournament”, where the team made it to the nationals in Illinois and was ranked #10 in the nation.

His outstanding play at Cecil earned him a scholarship to Shaw University, in Raleigh, North Carolina (NCAA-2). “This wasn’t a good fit for me,” proclaimed McNeal… “not academically, and not socially.”

So, the following year, he transferred to Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he continued with basketball, but there he also excelled academically. Being happy and in an environment that allowed him to be able to focus on his studies, he started putting together his ideas for his “Go Pro in the Game of Life Foundation”.

“I created this foundation to inspire the youth to be greater than they think they can be.” McNeal went on to say, “I can relate to them and they can relate to me. I’ve been there, I’ve lived through much of what they’re living with, now… and I want to help them to understand what my father taught me. The importance of learning to read, so they can make good life choices. Don’t just become another statistic.”

As of now, McNeal has partnered with 6 low income elementary middle schools in Pittsburgh, where he works his program once a month. His goal is to grow the foundation to the point where this grows city, state and perhaps even nation wide.

“Kids need to understand that they are in charge of their destiny, but to maximize their result, they need to know how to think, and learning to read will allow them to do just that.”

He also has 3 legs to help kids achieve success.

T.E.A.M.H.O.O.P. (Together Everyone Achieves More Helping Others Overcome Pressure)
Our program develops relationships with local inner-city elementary schools with low-performing reading scores; we have our student-athletes perform story-time reading. The student-athletes will act as role models for the young kids and will look to set a good example for academic success. While this program is emotionally fulfilling for the mentors, it will also provide a valuable opportunity for service that will look exemplary on any résumé.

Kool Kat in the Hat Man Entertainment
The Kool Kat in the Hat Man will perform the following three motivational reading songs: “I Will Succeed, I Believe, I Read,” “The Reading Motivator,” and “The Best Rapper In The World.” The songs are a fun way to get kids motivated to read.

Founder and President Public Speaking Message
President and founder Gabriel McNeal will share his testimony with the children and explain how his reading background helped him progress through elementary school, high school and now college. He will go over the importance of setting goals, making the right choices and devising a game plan for life. The talks will stress that these steps are especially important for those children facing difficult circumstances outside of school.

For now, McNeal has been paying for these programs out of his own pocket, but he’s looking for investors, donors, and any available grants. If you have any new or even used books you wish to donate to the Go Pro in the Game of Life Foundation, for now there are two (2) “drop-off zones”.

PO Box 23181 – Pittsburgh, PA 15222
- and/or
Hazelwood YMCA – 4713 Chatsworth St. – Pittsurgh PA 15207

“Basketball is still a big part of my life, but we all can’t go pro in sports, so I want to help kids figure out what THEIR game-plan in life is. My motto ‘Game plan for Life’ is my belief that every child with a solid reading background can achieve success in life, even when facing challenging circumstances.”

That is a very positive attitude from a young man who’s seen his share of hardship.

Story by: Attila Domos

For more information about Go Pro in the Game of Life Foundation, an/or to get involved, please visit the website: www.goprointhegameoflife.org

OPENING MINDS ONE SHOW AT A TIME

BY Attila Domos

I remember the first time I listened to Coast to Cost AM, a 4 four hour late-night syndicated radio show. It blew my mind! I “never thought talk radio could be this exciting”! At the time the show’s host was still the original Art Bell, but Art was on his way to retirement and George Noory became the regular weekday host. The show’s topics range from government cover-ups, UFOs, ghosts and anything paranormal, and helps to open your mind to other ways of thinking. Coast to Coast AM was literally the first radio show I came across which could actually raise a person’s IQ.

Up to then, every radio talk-show I ever heard was pretty much either sports or politics. But not this show! And the best part is that no matter how “crazy” the topic, they always managed to have on experts, who had inside knowledge of the show’s topic. To me, George Noory WAS Coast to Coast AM. But who is this man?

He was born George Ralph Noory, on June 4th (same day as my mother) of 1950.

The portion below is from Wikipedia

Noory grew up in Detroit with two younger sisters, the son of a Lebanese Egyptian who worked at Ford Motor Company and a Lebanese American mother. He became interested with the paranormal and ufology as a child and joined the UFO organization NICAP as a teenager. He attended the University of Detroit, spending two years in the pre-dental program before switching his major to Communications. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1972. Noory served nine years in the United States Naval Reserve as a Lieutenant.

He began his radio career as a newscaster with Detroit station WCAR-AM. From 1974–1978 he worked as a news producer and executive news producer at WJBK-TV in Detroit. He would later serve as news director for KMSP-TV in Minneapolis and as news director at KSDK-TV in St. Louis. He won three local Emmy Awards for his work in TV news.

In St. Louis, Noory formed Norcom Entertainment, Inc., a company that developed and marketed video training films to law enforcement and security agencies. In 1987, Noory and his partners in Norcom Restaurants, Inc. opened the Café Marrakesh and Oasis Bar in Brentwood, Missouri. The restaurant’s theme revolved around a fictional English soldier, Col. William Berry, who opened the establishment following an exciting secret mission to Marrakesh.

In 1996, Noory hosted a late-night radio program called Nighthawk on KTRS in St. Louis, which caught the attention of executives at Premiere Radio Networks, syndicators of Coast to Coast AM. In April of 2001, Noory became a guest host for Coast to Coast AM before replacing Ian Punnett as the Sunday night host. In January 2003, following Bell’s retirement, Noory took over as weeknight host of Coast to Coast AM.

End of Wikipedia

I owe much to my way of critical thinking, to George and Coast to Coast AM. Although in the past few years I haven’t been able to be a regular listener, the show has touched my life on many levels. I hope for a future where more folks listen to talk shows like this, and fewer political nonsense and gibberish. The world needs more George Noorys and fewer flavor of the month teen pop-stars.

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/

Tagged radio talk show

1972 — American Actor Bruce Lee — Image by © Cat’s Collection/Corbis

Mention the name BRUCE LEE, and images of Kung-Fu on the silver screen come to mind. However, Bruce was much more than an action film star ahead of his time. He was a husband, father, philosopher, actor, film maker, excellent dancer, teacher, marshal arts innovator aka founder of Jeet Kune Do, a fitness freak, a writer of philosophy and martial arts books, and much more.

While Bruce lived most of his young life in Hong-Kong, where he was in and out of trouble, and involved in gang fights on roof tops (which was “the thing” for the young gang banger of the city, at that time), he was actually born on November 27, 1940 in San Francisco, to a Cantonese opera star named Lee Hoi-Chuen. In fact Bruce’s real (or Chinese) name is Lee Jun-fan. He got his English name (Bruce) by the physician at the hospital where he was born. Story goes that she (the physician) thought he “looked like a Bruce”.

When Lee turned 18, his father gave him money and a one way ticket to America, so he can pursue higher education at the University of Washington, Seattle. While attending college, Young Bruce started teaching marshal arts to anyone who wanted to learn, which did not sit well within the Chinese community. The elders felt that their way of fighting was not meant to be taught to outsiders. The Chinese have always kept a closed community, and their disagreement eventually came down to a show of fists, where Bruce prevailed. Unfortunately Lee came away from the fight temporarily paralyzed, when his opponent hit him with a dirty blow, as Bruce was walking away from a fight he had won.

Bruce had to deal with many challenges in his short life, all because he was the wrong skin color. Even though he was born in America, he was never truly seen as an equal by many of the whites he had to deal with. While he was the reason people tuned in to watch “The Green Hornet”, he was forced to wear a mask to hide his Oriental appearance. Even though Lee created the TV Show “Kung-Fu”, the lead role was given to David Carradine by the studios, because Bruce looked “too Chinese”.

One little known fact about Lee is that he was one of the first people to create liquefied meals, what we today refer to as “protein shakes”. Though, the varieties Bruce made weren’t powder with a chocolate, vanilla or strawberry flavor. No, these early versions combined things like eggs, meat and other sources of protein thrown into a blender, and blended into a liquid form. I’m fairly certain they must have tasted awful, but who could argue with their success? They worked and these quick meals were way before their time.

Another interesting little known fact is that Lee wrote poetry.

He was able to do one handed two finger push-ups. Now THAT’S SICK!

Bruce was a very generous man, who helped anyone in need. One such story was told by the great Jackie Chan. At that time, young Jackie was an extra in a movie which starred Bruce. It wasn’t unusual for extras to take some real punches and kicks from the film’s stars. After all… this is live action, and misfires happen. However, the stars rarely ever cared if they injured a lowly extra. Bruce Lee wasn’t your average film star, and when in a scene he accidentally injured Jackie, he stopped, helped Chan to his feet and made sure he was alright, before continuing with the shoot. Chan never forgot the kindness Lee showed him on that day, and it’s very likely that he walked away with a lesson in humility, which surely played a part in Chan turning into one of the most beloved action stars of our time.

Lee is best known as a martial artist, but he also studied drama and philosophy while a student at the University of Washington. He was well-read and had an extensive library. His own books on martial arts and fighting philosophy are known for their philosophical assertions, both inside and outside of martial arts circles. His eclectic philosophy often mirrored his fighting beliefs, though he was quick to claim that his martial arts were solely a metaphor for such teachings. He believed that any knowledge ultimately led to self-knowledge, and said that his chosen method of self-expression was martial arts. His influences include Taoism, Jiddu Krishnamurti, and Buddhism. On the other hand, Lee’s philosophy was very much in opposition to the conservative worldview advocated by Confucianism. John Little states that Lee was an atheist. When asked in 1972 about his religious affiliation, he replied, “none whatsoever”. In 1972, he was asked if he believed in God, and responded, “To be perfectly frank, I really do not”.

*Source: Wikipedia

Unfortunately Bruce Lee died on July 20th, 1973 at the young age of 32 of a cerebral edema. He truly was a remarkable human being, who inspired people of all races and color around the world. There’s even a statue of Bruce in Bulgaria!

His famous saying was “Walk On”… in other words… what ever happens in life, just walk on. Thousands of people showed up for his funeral, from actors, actresses, athletes, other martial artists and even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the 7′ 2” center of the Los Angeles Lakers, who was a student of Bruce’s.

There’s way more to this mighty mouse giant, this “dragon” than I could ever put into words, so I suggest going to the official Bruce Lee site, which is run by his daughter Shannon, and/or search his name at YouTube for many incredible videos of Bruce doing incredible things.

Story by: Attila Domos

http://www.brucelee.com/

Tagged Bruce kung-fu Lee martial arts movies

The Labors of Attila

By Rege Behe

Attila Domos is no stranger to adversity. Nor is he afraid of setting lofty goals.
But a quest Domos plans to undertake is comparable to the mythical Labors of Hercules. Domos hopes to swim the Atlantic Ocean, pedal across Europe and Asia, kayak across the Pacific Ocean, then pedal across the US to the East Coast. It’s a daunting schedule for the fittest of athletes, but Domos will be doubly challenged: He’s paralyzed from the waist down.
“I always wanted to do something epic and do a whole lot of good for a lot of people,” Domos says, who intends to raise $100 million dollars for charity on his odyssey.
That’s not a misprint: $100 million is his goal and Domos is sure he can raise that amount in the 4-5 years it will take to circumnavigate globe. If that seems impossible, it’s nothing compared to what Domos has already accomplished in his 47 years.
In 1993, just after his band Big Bad Wolf had signed a recording contract, Domos was paralyzed from the waist down in a falling accident. He reinvented himself as para-athlete and won the 2010 Pittsburgh Marathon in the hand-cycling division. But then Domos was afflicted with a skin breakdown issue related to osteomyelitis and spent much of the next three years in bed.
Even though Domos was bed-ridden, his mind churned.
“I was laying in bed playing Wii and turned it to play golf,” he says. “I noticed the globe (on the screen) was spinning. I thought about if anyone had ever swam the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.”

That dream was changed to kayaking across the Pacific after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. But Domos isn’t compromising anything else. He envisions assembling a team of a dozen or so, including a captain and a first mate to man a support boat on the oceans, a couple of assistants and a nurse. When he reaches Asia he wants to cross the Hindu Kush, the Central Asian mountain range that one of his idols, Alexander the Great, traversed. He also knows he has to cross either Syria or Iraq — neither is a good choice, he admits — but Domos is undeterred by any possible obstacles.
For now, his biggest barrier is finances. Domos estimates he will need $10 million to complete his journey, and wants to avoid corporate sponsorships because “I don’t want to grovel.” Instead, he plans to seeks funding from the film industry, specifically A-list actors.
“This is more of a Hollywood business model,” Domos says. “Those people understand how to think about something like this. What I need to do is get representation and meet people who can connect the dots.”
Those dots are merely pinpricks on a map right now, places Domos wants to pass through on his journey. As a competitive racer, he trains for speed. But this is an entirely different sort of race.
“This isn’t about how fast I can go,” Domos says. “It’s how about how much money we can raise for charities.”

Tagged Attila cyclist disabled Domos handcycling Pittsburgh world record

HUMAN TRAFFICKING OF THE DISABLED

By: Attila Domos

Sounds like the plot to a movie about World War 2 Nazis. I can’t believe that I have to write about this in the year 2015. As beautiful as our planet Earth is, she hides many dark and disturbing secrets, and unfortunately most of them have to do with immoral human behavior.

Human trafficking (modern term from slavery) is nothing new. It’s been a part of man’s history since pretty much the beginning. Due to our insecurity, fear or greed, or even all of the above, we human apes seem to feel the need to give in to these horrible weaknesses, and justify taking advantage of those who’re either born, or find themselves less fortunate through some kind of misfortune. While many of us are sickened to learn that human trafficking is still “a thing”, most of us turn a blind eye, unless it ends up directly affecting us. But the sad reality is that it still is very much “a thing”, right here, today, from the United States to China, Nigeria to Brazil, and even in many of your so called “developed nations” through out the Western world. What is so brutal about today’s slavery compared to the ones from the past?

Believe it or not, human slaves have never been cheaper. I was shocked to learn of this. Where as in the past slaves were expensive, so owners treated them well (for the most part), because of their lack of value, today’s slaves are disposable, and the disabled ones even more so.

While no country is safe from it’s citizens being abducted, taken across borders and sold into slavery, poverty levels of a country has a direct affect to the treatment of its disabled population. In some cases families will give up a child who is born with a disability, because they either can’t or won’t take on the financial burden that may come with raising a child with special needs. In other cases they may sell the child to people, who will then take said disabled child to another city or country, and force him or her to panhandle for them or do even worse.

While forced begging makes up a large percentage of the exploitation the disabled face around the world, sex-trafficking is also a very deeply disturbing reality for persons with disabilities. There are more and more cases where disabled girls and young women are sold into brothels, where they fetch a high price because of their believed virginity, and are often sold to men who have HIV.

The deeper you dig, the more disturbing the stories get. There are may reports of the abuse of deaf domestic workers in the United Kingdom, addicts forced to labor in fields in the United States, people with mental illnesses and developmental disabilities enslaved in Chinese kilns, and persons with developmental disabilities forced to work as peddlers on the streets of India.

Societal barriers in most countries limit the access of persons with disabilities to systems of justice. Lack of training of police, prosecutors, and judges on how to accommodate persons with disabilities (through, for example, sign language interpreters, plain language, and physical access) can leave victims with disabilities unable to provide effective statements and report the abuse they have endured. Laws expressly prohibiting people with disabilities from being witnesses, especially those who are blind, deaf, or have mental or developmental disabilities, leave such victims excluded from processes that should provide them with redress.

The International Labor Organization estimates that 2.4 million people were trafficked between 1995 and 2005. The 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report reports that 12.3 million adults and children were trafficked in 2009, at a rate of 1.8 people per 1,000 worldwide. In 2007, the Trafficking in Persons Report stated that 800,000 people are trafficked across borders every year, of which about 80% are women and girls and up to 50% are children. In the U.S. State Department’s “The Facts About Child Sex Tourism: 2005” it is reported that approximately 1 million children are sexually exploited every year throughout the world.

This statistic, as are most, if not all, is broken down into specifications of age and gender, but there is no specific information as to how many of these individuals have a disability. As defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, a disability is; “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; a record of such an impairment; or a person regarded as having such an impairment”.

Human trafficking and disabilities is a severely under addressed topic in the discussion of human slavery. There are very few reports on its incidence. In 2009, Stop Violence Against Women wrote an article called “Violence Against Women with Disabilities”. They report that children in orphanages are at a higher risk for violence. Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery – Belgium reports that gangs throughout Belgium’s major cities organize begging rings using children and individuals with disabilities, typically from Romania (Patt, 2010). Due to the lack of understanding, financial means and cultural stigmas, discussed further below, children with disabilities are a source of shame to their families.

Research indicates that violence against children with disabilities occurs at least 1.7 times greater annually than for their peers without disabilities (disabledworld). There are many reasons as to why these families give up their children, such as not having the knowledge or financial resources to care for these children. Other reasons are extensions of cultural beliefs. UNICEF reports, “social beliefs about disability include the fear that disability is associated with evil, witchcraft or infidelity, which serve to entrench the marginalization of disabled people” (2008) . As a result, these children wind up in orphanages where they are much more susceptible to violence. Women and girls with disabilities are especially vulnerable to physical and sexual violence which puts them in danger of unplanned pregnancies due to sexual exploitation.

In today’s world, where we’re over a century removed from the industrial revolution, to know that human beings are still used for slave labor, is very disturbing. To know that the same species that created such beautiful things like the works of Mozart, DaVinci, Tesla and Einstein, is the same species that will mistreat and take advantage of its disabled, should be alarming. In fact, there’s so little attention being paid to those born into these horrible situations, that I couldn’t find a video to help illustrate it’s severity. I did, however, find plenty of news articles on the subject, and attached the links to a couple. It doesn’t take much effort to find more stories, simply search Google for stories involving human trafficking, and the disabled.

I am personally going to make this one of my issues in my trip around the world, as I will shine a light on this topic, and make an attempt to enlighten man-kind. There is no reason for any human being to own another. It is out dated, barbaric and an evil practice. Let’s put an end to such shameful behavior.

For direct assistance with a potential trafficking situation please contact the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888.

Sources for this story: “The Human Trafficking Project” and “Conspiracy of Hope: a voice for the voiceless victims of human trafficking”.

http://www.traffickingproject.org/
http://aconspiracyofhope.blogspot.com/2013/04/human-trafficking-of-mentally-and.html

Tagged disabled human trafficking tragedy