Ireland's head of state has signed the country's first bill on abortion into law, legalizing the practice in exceptional cases where doctors deem a woman's life at risk. [...] Until now, Ireland's only legislation on abortion was a handed-down British law from 1867, outlawing the practice with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The new maximum sentence is 14 years.
Until now, Ireland's only legislation on abortion was a handed-down British law from 1867, outlawing the practice with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The new maximum sentence is 14 years.
At Nautilus, Jonathan Katz applies a systems-level perspective to the problem of food aid. Every year, the United States spends billions (although much less than it used to) sending shipments of food to countries where people are going hungry. The problem: That aid doesn't solve their hunger as a long-term thing, it just creates a stop-gap measure — and we do it in a way that costs more than it would likely cost to support programs that actually help those people change their lives. Why? Katz argues that it's because food aid evolved more for the benefit of American companies than the long-term benefit of feeding people.
A frightening and violent mob swept through the normally quiet seaside community of Huntington Beach last night following a surfing competition in the area. Businesses were vandalized and looted, portable toilets overturned, and brutal fistfights waged right out in the open. It was an ugly display and a sad day for California. But more than that, it was a reminder that we must begin to seriously consider the values of our thuggish white youth. Many people don't want to hear this kind of tough love, of course. They'd like to bury their heads in the sand and pretend that all white children are as sweet and harmless as Taylor Swift. But the reality is that the statistics tell a different story.
Many people don't want to hear this kind of tough love, of course. They'd like to bury their heads in the sand and pretend that all white children are as sweet and harmless as Taylor Swift. But the reality is that the statistics tell a different story.
Apparently, no matter how low the deficit goes or how much the president publicly repudiates the deficit framework, the White House is still offering what it offered back when the deficit was widely considered the greatest threat the world has ever known [...] Here's a little reminder of the deficit hawk record on these projections [of insolvency]: August 28, 1996: "It's one of the cruelest things we do, when we say, Republicans or Democrats, `Oh, we can wait and reform Social Security later,' " [said Sen. Bob Kerrey, the Nebraska Democrat. Mr. Kerrey says that without reform, entitlements will claim 100 percent of the Treasury in 2012.
Here's a little reminder of the deficit hawk record on these projections [of insolvency]: August 28, 1996:
"It's one of the cruelest things we do, when we say, Republicans or Democrats, `Oh, we can wait and reform Social Security later,' " [said Sen. Bob Kerrey, the Nebraska Democrat.
Mr. Kerrey says that without reform, entitlements will claim 100 percent of the Treasury in 2012.
David Nowak, a Forest Service researcher who co-authored the study that estimates the loss of urban trees to be about four million a year, is focused on reversing this trend. “Trees provide multiple environmental and health benefits,” said Nowak. “We want to help community leaders and the public see the whole picture so they can make better decisions and do what we need to do today so we will have a better environment in the future.”
“Trees provide multiple environmental and health benefits,” said Nowak. “We want to help community leaders and the public see the whole picture so they can make better decisions and do what we need to do today so we will have a better environment in the future.”