Culture

Bhopal Anniversary

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By Allison Bloch, Newsdesk.org Intern 
Bhopal, a city in central India, still suffers from a horrific gas leak that occurred twenty years ago. December 3 marks the anniversary for those suffering from breathing troubles and other effects of the deadly methyl isocyanate that seeped out silently into the city late one night. Although the initial death toll was 3,500, more people have died since the leak, and the government and locals are in disagreement over the final amount. Official records state that 15,000 people were killed, while residents double that number. Amnesty International reports that 22,000 to 25,000 people were killed.

Democracy

Women & Politics

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Article research by Allison Bloch, Newsdesk.org Intern 
Simply having the right to vote does not guarantee civic enfranchisement or equal status. A short survey of women’s issues at home and abroad finds wage disparities, lack of political involvement, and, of course, conflict over abortion rights and wrongs. Some articles listed below may move to paid archives over time. To further your own research, we’ve provided links to keyword searches on the topics we cover. -Blue State Blues
-Women Abroad
-Abortion
-Status: Quo?

Democracy

Faith & Politics

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“Values voters” and George W. Bush’s successful election campaign have made religion the hot political topic. Today’s edition of FOCUS surveys the media terrain. -State Sponsored Religion
-Islam
-Europe
-Viewpoints
-Traditions & Trends
STATE SPONSORED RELIGION
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Creationism resurgent
Schools in Ohio, Wisconsin, Kansas and Pennsylvania are at the frontlines of the debate on teaching evolution. The cultural divisions are deep. Editor & Publisher reports that a Gallup Poll found that 35 percent of Americans believe evolution is “well-supported by evidence.”

Featured

NYMHM: Headlines and Undercurrents

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A brief survey of recent news stories from major U.S. and global media outlets. Updated each Monday and Friday. -=E-mail your article suggestions. -=Sign in to post comments at the bottom of this page.  – – – – – – – – – –
A note on premium news services
Many news sites transfer their articles to “premium” archives after several days.

Democracy

Garage Opponents Protest Road Widening / Golden Gate Park construction advances

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By Savannah Blackwell
Two dozen protesters gathered at the corner of 9th Avenue and Lincoln Boulevard in the Sunset last Saturday, in opposition to a planned four-lane thoroughfare leading to the controversial parking garage being excavated under Golden Gate Park’s Music Concourse. The protesters handed out leaflets to passers by, and motorists periodically sounded their horns in response to signs reading “Public Process Steamrolled” and “Honk against widening roads in Golden Gate Park.” Pinky Kushner, a Sunset resident and one of the protestors, said that the garage’s backers — including the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in the Music Concourse, and Wells Fargo heir Warren Hellman, a primary funder of the museum — appear to be on their way to getting the plan implemented by the city. She hopes the protest inspires the same sort of grassroots politics that scuttled a rebuild of the elevated highway along the Embarcadero after the Loma Prieta earthquake, and that blocked a plan to build an elevated highway around the Golden Gate Park Panhandle in the early 1960s. A longtime neighborhood activist, Kushner said that the four-lane thoroughfare “runs counter to everything San Francisco has always stood for,” and that public input into the planning process has been minimal or ignored.

Science

Mad cow scare stirs markets, food safety doubts

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Appetite undiminished
The latest mad cow scare sent markets into a schizophrenic spin, first crashing, and then rebounding on the news that the animal in question was “clean.” Overall, confidence in the market and the product outweighed fears. Ranchers and meat packers across the U.S. were not worried for their fortunes. Overseas, Jamaica chose to not renew a partial ban on U.S. beef. “Cattle prices rise as U.S. finds no evidence of mad cow disease”
Bloomberg, November 24, 2004

Latest mad cow case not causing alarm in Kansas
Associated Press, November 23, 2004
“Nebraska cattle farmers aren’t worried about mad cow”
November 18, Associated Press/OmahaChannel.com
“No plan to reinstate partial ban on U.S. beef”
Jamaica Observer, November 23, 2004
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Canada: Mixed signals
In Canada, farmers literally parked their cattle in downtown Montreal to protest for more financial aid, after an incident of mad cow disease (technically known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy) provoked a U.S. ban on Canadian beef.

Democracy

Gay student t-shirt controversy

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A gay pride t-shirt has renewed the focus on free speech, civil rights and community values, as viewed through the lens of the Joplin Globe in Missouri. Brad Matthewson, a 16-year-old student in Missouri, was chastised after wearing -shirts announcing “I’m gay and I’m proud” and “Make a difference! FHS Gay-Straight Alliance.” After the school refused to change the dress code prohibiting “disruptive” attire, the ACLU filed suit against the district on Matthewson’s behalf. Reaction to the suit and controversy has been mixed.

Democracy

Pinochet: new charges follow abuse report

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A report issued earlier this month in Chile found that 35,000 people were abused by the Pinochet regime. The document also says the junta operated “dozens” of secret facilities, engaged in extreme and varied torture, and systematically targeted civilians. Although the report, which has not yet been made public, was intended as a “historical” document rather than a tool for prosecution, recent developments indicate new action against members of the former junta:
–Pinochet himself was brought up on new charges after losing a battle over amnesty. His former spy chief also faces new prosecution. –Chile has also announced plans to build a new prison that will be almost exclusively dedicated to holding Pinochet-era human-rights abusers.