Nov 25 2009
“Ilegal en Estyle” Brings Together Artists and Activists on Immigration
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The Obama administration recently announced its intent to push for comprehensive immigration reform in the coming new year. In a speech given earlier this month Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano favored what she called a “three-legged stool” approach involving enforcement, expanded legal channels, and a “firm but fair way to deal with those who are already here.” Before the immigration debate turns to Capitol Hill in 2010, an event this weekend will pair immigrant-rights organizations with popular Los Angeles-based musicians in an effort to raise awareness of the human rights issues surrounding the migration of peoples across the U.S. – Mexico border. On Saturday at the Echoplex, Mucho Wednesdays and KPFK radio will present “Ilegal en Estyle” featuring the conscious immigrant music of Chilean-born and California raised …
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving is when retailers advertise so-called door-busting deals and special promotions to consumers to kick-off the Holiday shopping season. Black Friday as a retailing term goes back to at least 1966 when the Philadelphia Police Department used it to describe shoppers the day after Thanksgiving flooding into the Center City area of downtown. More recently, Black Friday is known for its massive traffic jams, crowded sidewalks, in-store fights, and trampling deaths. Last year at a Long Island, NY Wal-Mart, one stock-clerk died and a woman miscarried when hundreds of Wal-Mart shoppers smashed through the doors of the store. But, there is an antidote to the dangerous super-shopping melee. Global Giving- an internet based philanthropy organization is hosting the 2nd Annual “Great American Sleep-In” this Friday. …
The discovery of 46 bodies of lawyers, journalists and family members of a politician in the Philippines, has caused national outrage, leading to President Arroyo declaring a state of emergency. The victims, more than a dozen of whom were women, were abducted by gunmen on Monday in Maguindanao, a province on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. Many of their bodies were found beheaded and dumped into mass graves. The gruesome violence comes just before a deadline for people to file their candidacy for next May’s election. Relatives of the deputy mayor of the town of Buluan were among the victims who were traveling to file papers. The deputy mayor had plans to run for governor of Maguindanao. All twelve journalists traveling with the group were also killed. President Gloria Macapagal …
A government agency released new guidelines for breast cancer screening last week that have set off a firestorm of debate both within and outside the medical community. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended that getting mammograms later in life, and every other year instead of every year saves just as many lives and actually does less harm. Additionally it recommends against doctors teaching their patients to do breast self-exams, as such exams apparently lead to more imaging procedures and biopsies but do not reduce cancer deaths. The guidelines updated recommendations from 2002, and have touched off emotionally charged discussions with many women writing op-eds of their own personal experiences and testimonies of lives saved by mammograms and/or breast self-exams. Among those who oppose the new guidelines are the American …
As parents and other consumers shop for children’s gifts this holiday season, a new report warns that many toys on store shelves remain toxic and hazardous. Released today, the California Public Interest Research Group’s 24th annual “Trouble in Toyland” survey examines toy safety in three major categories; choking hazards, excessive noise, and dangerous lead levels. Despite unprecedented recalls of 45 million toys in 2007 and the enactment of new consumer product safety improvements in August 2008, the report was still able to identify children’s products sold at major retail stores that breached safety guidelines. Through CALPIRG’s research of purchases made in September and October, some toys and jewelry were found to pose choking hazards, exceed recommended close range decibel meters, and contained levels of lead and phthalates detrimental to developmental …
