Why I will not vote in this US presidential election
Why would anyone want to vote in this toxic and ignominious US presidential election? Participating in a democratic process is a privilege that must restore one’s trust in public good. This particular election is the epitome of a disgraceful public spectacle of corruption on one side, and neo-fascism on the other.
The US homeless camps offering a lesson in democracy
Portland, Oregon, United States – When Marge Pettitt’s seven-year-old daughter broke down in tears in a homeless shelter in 2009, she made one of the hardest decisions of her life: Sending the child to live with her father, who had married another woman and moved into her apartment.
Muslims Targeted In Florida
Amid a national climate of tension and fear surrounding Islam in the United States, vandals reportedly spray painted signs outside of a Florida Islamic center Wednesday early morning with anti-Muslim messages. “F*** Islam,” the vandals wrote in all caps on the Alamin Center in Palm Beach. “F*** ISIS.” Officials told local news outlets that they […]
CoverGirl Names Hijab-Wearing Blogger As Ambassador
Nura Afia, a practicing Muslim, has been named as the brand ambassador for CoverGirl, one of the largest cosmetics companies in the United States. The beauty blogger will feature in a new CoverGirl commercial and a huge billboard in New York City’s Times Square wearing a hijab.
Trump Has Unleashed a Wave of Anti-Semitic Hatred
As a middle-class, white Ashkenazi Jew living in California in 2016, I’ve been privileged to avoid the systemic, cultural and interpersonal racism faced by many Muslims, immigrants and people of color across the U.S. today. However, my uncle was not as fortunate. He was a Holocaust survivor who saw his entire family killed in front […]
Indonesia: Thousands rally against blasphemy in Jakarta
Tens of thousands of protesters called for Jakarta’s governor to be prosecuted for blasphemy in a massive demonstration in the Indonesian capital as police fired tear gas and water canon to disperse the crowd. A sea of protesters wearing white robes took to the streets on Friday in a huge show of force against Governor […]
Graphic Pictures On Cigarette Packs Would Reduce Death Rate
Smoking cigarettes is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States. Each year, cigarettes are responsible for more than 480,000 deaths — or 1 of every 5. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 16 million Americans are currently living with a smoking-related disease.
S. Sudan Humanitarian Crisis Worsening as Famine Looms
U.N. aid agencies warn the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan, already one of the biggest in the world, is getting worse as famine looms and growing numbers of refugees flee to neighboring countries. The World Food Program reports a 38-truck convoy, carrying food for about one month, arrived in the South Sudanese town of Yei […]
Pakistan to deport Afghan who was once refugee icon
Sharbat Gul – the green-eyed “Aghan girl” whose portrait featured on the cover of a National Geographic magazine in 1985 became a symbol of the refugee crisis caused by decades-long conflict in her country – will be deported from Pakistan to Afghanistan after a court found her guilty of obtaining a fake Pakistani identity card. […]
A 105-Year-Old Feminist Discusses the Election
Previously: A 103-Year-Old Feminist Critiques the 2016 Presidential Candidates Ruth Littman has lived through 26 presidential elections. She’s been voting since 1932, when Franklin D. Roosevelt clobbered Herbert Hoover. She is as old as one Ted Cruz plus one Marco Rubio plus five North “Nori” Wests. Littman is 105. (Last week, she celebrated her birthday […]