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Naomi Ragan (right), a New York City-born Orthodox Jew, is taking on the ultraconservative Haredi sect in Israel after a group of Haredi men tried to force her to sit at the back of a sex-segregated Jerusalem bus.
Photo source: naomiragen.com
Important but overlooked news from around the world. THIS WEEK:
Global warming goes green (as in “growth industry”), a monster mud volcano is blamed on botched gas drilling, the Mahdi Army may only gain from a surge, Australians dispute their flag’s role in recent ethnic rioting, Indian police discover an illegal kidney transplant trade, Zimbabwe’s health care system grinds to a halt … and gay marriage makes estranged bedfellows of clerks in Canada and California. QUOTED:
“They’ll wave at us during the day and shoot at us during the night … People (in America) think it’s bad, but that we control the city.
Africa’s Urbanization Struggle
In Lagos, Nigeria, waste produced by 13 million residents fills up canals and spreads disease and contaminants into the soil and waterways. Despite a $20 million World Bank loan, the city’s poorest residents live in shacks next to illegal dumps and burn garbage to make room for more housing. A Maid’s World
A program to make Filipino domestic workers more competitive has backfired, advocates say, by mandating costly training programs even for veteran maids. Delays caused by the new regulations are prompting clients to hire Indonesians instead, a blow to Philippine workers that pay huge job placement fees. Saudi Sectarian Crackdown
A human rights group has accused Saudi Arabia of a “grave violation” of religious freedom by arresting and/or deporting dozens of Ahmdai muslims. A religious minority predominant in India and Pakistan, Ahmadis follow a different spiritual leader and are considered heretics by the ultraconservative Saudi regime.
Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet has issued an executive order legalizing free “morning after” contraception to teens without parental consent. The issue has split the ruling party in a socially conservative nation where divorce was only legalized in 2004. Supporters say the new rules will provide equal access to contraception for low-income Chilean women, according to the Santiago Times. In North Dakota, the legislature overwhelmingly passed a “trigger ban” on abortion that would take effect the instant Roe v. Wade were overturned. A second bill, which was defeated, would have banned abortion immediately and prosecuted women for seeking the procedure, the Bismarck Tribune reports.
The coastside town of Pescadero worries that new immigrant restrictions will stifle the economy, and cost its schools as much as 60 percent of their students. Family farmers there are already losing workers to the higher- paying construction industry, the San Mateo County Times reports, and fear the new rules will put them out of business. In San Diego, competition is stiff for a pool of up to 400,000 undocumented workers in restaurants, construction, agriculture and childcare. The underground economy produces affordable services and housing, KPBS TV reports, driving a regional biotech and telecom boom. And at nearby Pitzer College, protestors say the arrest of 761 immigrants under “Operation Return to Sender” unjustly targets “good people” who contribute to the community, according to the San Bernardino County Sun.
Florida Gun Licensing: Off Target? Carry a gun into a courthouse or airport in Florida, and you’ll get off with a misdemeanor if you have concealed-weapon permit. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that such loose regulations and a four-person licensing office for over 410,000 gun owners have enabled hundreds of convicted criminals to retain their gun permits. Guns or Butter for Turkey, Kurds
A secret meeting by the Turkish parliament has sparked fears of possible border-crossing military action against Kurdish rebels based in Northern Iraq. But experts say it’s election-season bluster at a time when trade between Iraqi Kurds and Turkey is reaching highs of $3 billion annually, Al Jazeera reports.
Carry a gun into a courthouse in Florida, and you’ll get off with a misdemeanor if you have concealed-weapon permit. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that such loose regulations and a four-person license office enable hundreds of convicted criminals to retain their guns.
Photo source: Holsters.org
Important but overlooked news from around the world. THIS WEEK:
Florida gun licensing goes astray of the mark, Turks and Kurds ponder butter or bullets, California’s undocumented economy runs deep, birth control battlefronts open in Chile and North Dakota, populations and poverty swell African cities, Philippine domestic labor laws backfire … and Saudis deepen a sectarian divide. QUOTED:
“When it rains our homes are often flooded because garbage blocks the canal, making it difficult for the water to flow. And we have to sweep up plastic bags and other trash that washes into our rooms.”
Citizens Secure Schools in Afghanistan
The Taliban denies responsibility for arson attacks that have destroyed more than 100 Afghan schools, a huge setback in a nation where only half of all children attend classes. Some communities are even closing new schools in fear of vengeful militants, but a new government program has citizens banding together and sometimes arming themselves to successfully fend off attacks. U.S. Weapons Disappear in Iraq
Corruption infests Iraq’s Ministry of Defense like “termites,” reports The Times of London. As many as 14,000 U.S. guns have been diverted to insurgents, Iraqi Army officials steal the salaries of “ghost” soldiers who appear on the roster but are absent from the ranks, and efforts to audit the total number of troops have proven futile. A Digital Revolution for India Farmers, With Risks
Illiterate Indian farmers will now be able to access government subsidies through a fingerprint-scan ATM without sacrificing a percentage to corrupt middlemen.
Germany hopes to use its E.U. presidency to push through a controversial law criminalizing Holocaust denial and incitement to hate crimes in all 27 European member states, many of which oppose the measure on free speech grounds. Hate-based crime is on the rise in Germany. Religious groups in five countries also oppose the law, saying its ban on swastika displays will affect 2.5 million European Hindus who still regard it as a sacred symbol. Sources:
“Germany pushes for E.U.-wide law on Holocaust denial”
Deutsche Presse-Agentur (Germany), January 19, 2007
“Hindus oppose swastika ban in E.U.” Press Trust of India, January 18, 2007