A little bit of this, a little bit of that. and this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Let’s begin in the Mideast. In Gaza, traditional industries like fishing are dominated by men but one 16-year-old girl is changing that. She has taken charge of her father's fishing boat and the family's livelihood after he suffered an injury to his leg. http://www.newslook.com/...
Meanwhile in Israel proper, an Arab man has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for 'rape by deception'. The convicted man plans to appeal the decision. Even Arab-Israeli couples who choose to have interfaith relationships can face hostility. http://www.newslook.com/...
Remember Eisenhowers warning about the "Military Industrial complex"? Here is a variation on the theme. The man nominated to be the next US director of national intelligence has defended the role of private contractors in the intelligence community after a series of articles revealed the extent of involvement of the private sector in top secret programs. http://www.newslook.com/...
and going back to an earlier war. Agent Orange, used by the US during the Vietnam War, is still poisoning the environment of the country and the health of its people, Vietnam says. The US says that cannot be scientifically proven. US officials are expected to address the issue next week. http://www.newslook.com/...
And from behind the headlines, you would have thought that the NAACP would have thought twice about throwing Shirley Sherrod under the bus. Her husband is quite well known in the African American Community.
"Charles Sherrod was a key civil rights leader in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) whose leadership led to the Albany Movement in southwest Georgia. Born in extreme poverty to his fourteen-year old mother in 1937 in St. Petersburg, Virginia, he worked to help support six younger children. Sherrod worked his way through Virginia Union College, receiving a B.A. in 1958 and a Bachelors of Divinity in 1961. He joined SNCC in 1960, participating in the organization's first demonstrations and voter registration drives.
In October 1961, Sherrod became the first field secretary and SNCC director of southwest Georgia. He and Cordell Reagon opened an SNCC office near the all-black Albany State College. On November 1, they launched a student sit-in at the bus terminal station to test the recently enacted law desegregating bus and train terminals. When local law enforcement officials blocked the demonstrators, the single protest became the two-year Albany campaign. It eventually led to multiple protests by thousands of students as well as the involvement of Dr. Martin Luther King, a public plea from President John F. Kennedy to city officials, and resolution of the issue by local black leaders to resolve the issue. Ultimately the civil rights activists organized by Charles Sherrod would prevail."
There’s been a conference held in Geneva this week which has gone by un-noticed by most of the media. It revolves around the issue of HIV. 400,000 infants each year acquire HIV from their mothers. In an effort to combat this problem, the World Health Organization has released new recommendations - urging all HIV-positive women to receive antiretroviral drugs. http://www.newslook.com/...
Another depressing story continues to effect parts of the third world, although in this country we need to fight obesity while being forced fed on junk food. Malnutrition: how much is a child’s life worth? The silent epidemic of malnutrition is not entirely caused by a lack of food - a lack of the right food is just as bad. US food aid is mostly corn- and soy-based, not what malnourished children need. Doctors Without Borders's Susan Shepherd discusses. http://www.newslook.com/...
If this depresses you, here’s a story that might raise your spirits. The Oakland City Council votes 5-2 with one abstention in favor of a plan to license four production plants where marijuana would be grown, packaged and processed. http://www.newslook.com/...
Yes, medicinal marijuana. In this day and age where we are increasingly suffering the effects of political impotency, there may soon be a drug for that as well. Not to mention glaucoma, the side effects of cancer treatment etc...