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POPSThe trouble with diversity: celebrating difference doesn't reduce inequality More: If you're worried about the growing economic inequality in American life, if you suspect that there may be something unjust as well as unpleasant in the spectacle of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer, no cause is less worth supporting, no battles are less worth fighting, than the ones we fight for diversity… Our identity is the least important thing about us. And yet, it is the thing we have become most committed to talking about. From the standpoint of a left politics, this is a profound mistake since what it means is that the political left -- increasingly invested in the celebration of diversity and the redress of historical grievance -- has converted itself into the accomplice rather than the opponent of the right.
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POPSThis? You're going to cover this? so, let me get this straight - no single payer, "public" might not be an option, but one of your solutions to the problems we have with health care in this country is PAYING PEOPLE TO PRAY FOR YOU?!?
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POPSParisians ashamed of being from Paris The whole affair came to light when the French authorities decided to introduce new license plates that displayed the symbol of the country's departments, and not only the number of the department as previously. Moreover, the French can now choose any department they like- it does not have to be their actual place of residence. It soon turned out that the residents of Paris preferred to choose plates other than Parisian ones. As a result, the number of Parisian plates has declined by 60% since April 2009. The decline in license plates has also been reported in Hauts-de-Seine department near Paris. It is a place where the richest people in the country live. Also many residents of Seine-Saint-Denis, one of the poorest departments near Paris, have decided to hide their place of residence, as "bad address" often makes it difficult to get a good job.
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POPSExposing the Colour of Prejudice John Howard Griffin was a remarkable man. As a Texan teenager who found himself in France at the outbreak of World War II, he helped to smuggle Jewish children to safety and freedom. He then served with distinction in the US Air Force in the Pacific. And then, after the war - when illness struck him blind for 10 years while he was still relatively young - he became a prolific writer. It was after his sight returned that he hit upon the idea of Black Like Me, the work which is his most important legacy. The whole business of racial impersonation might make us feel vaguely uncomfortable now, but in 1959 a black writer simply could not have found an audience for such a graphic portrayal of African-American grievance. Griffin's grim adventures as a black man in a white man's world are worth reading. They remain a set text for many American high school children.
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POPSStrong link between obesity and depression Overall well being of a person compose of mental, physical and emotional fitness. Science has yet to discover how each relates. Can a person running 5 miles a day happier than a person who sits in front of the tv all day?
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POPSLouisiana JP: Inter-Racial Marriage "Confusing".
A few more quotes from the article follow.. I find this astounding, especially that Bardwell has been permitted by the state, at taxpayer expense, to continue as a public servant. "Louisiana Justice of the Peace Keith Bardwell has refused to grant a marriage license to an interracial couple over supposed concerns as to the difficulties the couple's future children might face due to their parents' differing ethnicity. "Bardwell says his main concern is that, in his opinion, interracial marriages do not last long. He insists he is not racist*, telling local paper the Hammond Daily Star: "I don't do interracial marriages because I don't want to put children in a situation they didn't bring on themselves... in my heart, I feel the children will later suffer." "According to an AP article, which can be found here, Beth Humphrey phoned Bardwell to inquire about signing their marriage license on Oct. 6, but was told by his wife that Bardwell did not sign interracial marriage licens
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POPSStop Blaming Others and Get Involved! I have been involved with Equality Now since I learned of them. If you cannot afford to donate $$ right now, sign up anyway. You will receive action alerts to add your voice to issues involving human rights. Trying to do something is better than pointing fingers while doing nothing. Get involved if you care! Thanks.
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POPSCaste system is still alive in 2009 SHAME!! Caste system supposedly banned, however the TRUTH it's still embedded in day-to-day live all over India. And even rigorously followed in Indian Diaspora's spread all over the world. The nearly 3,000 year old system is followed not by elderly but even young educated Indians so far still haven no clue what democracy stands for..... This article was printed in 2001, at present it is 2009!
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POPSWhy "but it will confuse the children" is an obnoxious excuse for discrimination As the post points out, ou know what else confuses kids? Everything: Time zones. Books without pictures. Cargo pants. Certain hair colors. Jello molds. The magic trick with the quarter behind the ear. Mirrors. Mentadent toothpaste dispensers. Everything confuses kids, because they're kids. So "Will it confuse kids?" is probably not the best litmus test for, well, anything besides toys and Spongebob plotlines (and even then, there's a lot of leeway).
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POPSPenalized At Work For Being A Mom Here's one piece of irony to consider. Research has shown that employers actually prefer fathers to childless men. Unlike working mothers, they are perceived to be more stable.
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POPSThe last untouchable in Europe More: On occasions, the bigotry was brutally enforced: in the early 18th century a prosperous Cagot in the Landes was caught using the font reserved for non-Cagots – his hand was chopped off and nailed to the church door. Another Cagot who dared to farm his fields (strictly verboten) had his feet pierced with hot iron spikes.… Even in death, the discrimination persisted – the Cagots were buried in their own humble cemeteries; there is still one in Bentayou-Sérée, a tiny village north of Pau.… I ask Marie-Pierre if she will let me use a picture of Sylvia – and the rest of her children. She shakes her head. "I'm sorry but no. It is OK for me to admit where I come from. But if people knew about my children's background, it might be difficult for them." She gazes out of the window, at the distant green Pyrenees. "In some places, the hatred lingers. Even now. The Cagots may be silent but I can still hear it."
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POPSJudge to Prop. 8 backers: Hand over your papers More: Although "voters cannot be asked to explain their votes," Walker said, a ballot measure's authors and strategists can be scrutinized to see what their motives were. He cited a magazine article last year by the heads of the public relations firm that managed the Prop. 8 campaign in which they discussed their strategy, including plans to show how advocates of same-sex marriage would indoctrinate schoolchildren. Walker said the article undermined the campaign's insistence that its strategy discussions were confidential.
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POPSIf Islam is a religion of peace, then sticks of dynamite are only candles On July 30, eight people were burned alive in the village of Gojra, also in Punjab, after a purported incident of desecration of the Koran in the nearby village of Korian Wala. Churches were attacked and copies of the Bible and hymn books were burned in both villages. In Korian Wala alone, more than 50 houses of Christians were ransacked. On Sept. 11, a church in a village in Punjab's Sialkot district was burned after claims that a 20-year-old Christian youth had desecrated the Koran. On Sept. 15, a day after his arrest, Robert Masih was found dead in his jail cell. Police reported it as a suicide, but Mr. Masih's family claims he was killed. Joseph Francis, who runs an organization providing legal assistance to Christians, said he saw marks of torture on Mr. Masih's body.
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POPSCheering Over Obama's Failure and the Censorious Head-Shaking Over The Cheering Nearly one year ago, on a clear November night, people from every corner of the world gathered in the city of Chicago or in front of their televisions to watch the results of the U.S. Presidential election. Their interest wasn't about me as an individual. Can't you just see the eyes rolling? Somehow he's President of the whole world. And he's bigger than himself as an individual. Rather, it was rooted in the belief that America's experiment in democracy still speaks to a set of universal aspirations and ideals.... Actually, it's kind of cool to hear him reciting the ideology of "American exceptionalism" he's usually accused of not believing in. But isn't this exactly the wrong place to do it? Is he about Chicago or America or the whole world or does he somehow think it all becomes one... in him?
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POPSAbuse led UK woman to kill disabled daughter, self More: Pilkington's son Anthony, now 19, also was abused over the years. He was once taken to a shed at knifepoint and locked in by the gang — some of whose members were as young as 10. Later, he was attacked with an iron bar. The inquest in Loughborough, in central England, heard that 33 calls to police did not result in any prosecutions for bullying or harassment. In one case police reported back that Pilkington had been "overreacting" — in another case she was simply told to draw her curtains. The inquest — which under British law must be held when someone dies unexpectedly, violently or of unknown causes — ruled that police's failure to respond to the family's pleas for help contributed to their deaths. Related: Did bad care spur a mother to kill her disabled daughter?
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POPSACORN's Corporate Donors Backing Off Banks and other financial institutions have given millions of dollars and other forms of support to ACORN for decades in response to boycott threats from the organization, as well as accusations of racism and other forms of discrimination in granting personal loans and mortgages. The ACORN campaigns followed passage of the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), which was designed to pressure financial institutions to loosen lending standards in order to increase home ownership among poor and minority communities. Legislation strengthening CRA during the Clinton administration greatly encouraged such ACORN activities. Dissident current and former officials of ACORN claim that donations made to AHC and other affiliates are often misappropriated. “There’s no guarantee that any donations are going where they are supposed to be going,” said Ron Sykes, treasurer of the Washington D.C. ACORN and a member of the ACORN 8.
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POPSState Report: Philadelphia swim club discriminated against black children Earlier this summer, a dispute between an affluent, white-dominated suburban private swim club and a camp serving minority children caught the attention of the national news. The camp accused the club of refusing to serve the kids because of members' racial bias. A state report just released bears out the club's claims. In e-mails complaining about the camp's visit, members expressed "racial animus" and "racially coded comments".