May
23
2013
On Tuesday, the Louisiana Senate passed a bill that would imprison and fine journalists who intentionally publish information about the state’s concealed-carry handgun permit holders. Reporters who violate the law would face penalties of up to $10,000, six months in jail, or both; public safety officials and police officers who leak permit information to the press would face penalties of up to $500, six months in jail, or both. Journalists in Louisiana say the bill …
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May
23
2013
Dubai, United Arab Emirates – A strike by low-wage workers at Arabtec – the construction giant building the Louvre museum in Abu Dhabi, a branch campus of New York University and a series of other megaprojects – has ended after police entered labour camps and immigration services issued a series of deportation notices.
United Arab Emirates security forces converged on camps operated by Arabtec on Monday, workers told Al Jazeera, and labourers continue to receive deportation …
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May
23
2013
KARACHI, Pakistan — There’s no shortage of sunlight in this city. Overcast days are rare, and the mid-afternoon sun is so searingly bright, I actually have to wince my eyes shut and wait for the sunspots to clear before I can see again.
So imagine my surprise when a recent blood test showed that my vitamin D levels are so low my doctor called for injections.
“Vitamin D shortages can cause muscle failure, bone decay and serious …
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May
23
2013
BRUSSELS – Several EU countries abuse the rights of migrants and ethnic minorities, while others are not doing enough to combat homophobia, Amnesty International has said.
The British-based NGO named 24 EU states in its annual report on rights abusers out on Thursday (23 May).
Rough treatment of refugees from Africa and Asia, harsh enforcement of counter-terrorism laws against Muslims and naked racism against Roma people emerged as systematic problems in Europe.
Despite previous promises to the European …
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May
23
2013
BRUSSELS – An anti-Semitic and Roma-bashing TV broadcaster in Hungary has received the country’s top journalism prize.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s right-wing government awarded Ferenc Szaniszlo the Tancsics Prize for journalism on Friday (15 March).
Szaniszlo works at the pro-government Echo TV channel.
He was fined €500 by the state media regulator in 2011 for calling Roma people “apes.” He is also known for spreading anti-Semitic conspiracy theories during his TV shows.
Hungary’s minister of resources Zoltan Balog handed …
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May
23
2013
The benefits of eating Greek yogurt for breakfast have been widely documented, but the liabilities to the environment are little known.
A by-product of Greek yogurt, called acid whey, is causing a world-wide toxic waste problem, and scientists are scrambling to find a way to fix it.
For every four ounces of milk used in the production of Greek yogurt, only one ounce becomes creamy, edible yogurt. The other three ounces transforms into acid whey, a fast-growing …
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May
23
2013
The Woolwich attack in the UK has already been branded as the latest manifestation of global Islamist terrorism. However, it has also been suggested the attack was backlash for the UK’s history of colonialism and intervention in the Middle East.
The UK government has branded the brutal attack on a soldier in Woolwich, East London, as a “sickening and barbaric” act of terrorism, although the terror allegation has not been officially confirmed. In video footage of …
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May
23
2013
Does your mouth water at the thought of corn that’s engineered to produce a poison that kills insects? If not, Connecticut might be the place for you.
The state’s Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed legislation that would require food manufacturers to label products that contain genetically engineered ingredients such as GM corn. The bill sailed through on a 35-1 vote, and now moves to the state House.
From the Connecticut Post:
Speaker of the …
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May
23
2013
First lady Michelle Obama and President Barack Obama were the respective featured commencement speakers this year at Bowie State University and Morehouse College—two historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) founded nearly 150 years ago. While the Obamas could have taken the opportunity to inspire black graduates entering an uncertain future, both chose, instead, to pepper their remarks with problematic and unobliging stereotypes about black youth. While doing so, both also conveniently neglected to call attention …
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May
23
2013
America is experiencing a rare and dramatic moment of grassroots advocacy for fundamental reform of our elections.
Unfortunately, the political and media elites that define our discourse are doing their best to ignore it.
So it remains in America as it has ever been; Thomas Jefferson was indeed right when he suggested to George Mason that: “More attention should be paid to the general opinion.”
And the general opinion is that the money power, while has come to …
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