Conflict and poverty

Fight poverty not war, on camera: RubyJi / Ruby Sinreich

Author: Mack Brandon

Violence of any kind can make victims of innocent bystanders. Pedestrians are killed in automobile accidents and gang wars have led to the death of ordinary people. War, being the epitome of violence, is no different. Every day, armed conflicts all around the world take their toll on ordinary citizens. The plight of victims of war and conflict is similar, whether CARE is in the Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo or the Swat valley in Pakistan.

Conflict and war causes death and destruction, such as the breakdown of infrastructure. This in turn leads to greater human suffering; increased poverty and a need for aid for the people caught in the crossfire. Providing immediate relief such as food, shelter, clean water, sanitation facilities, medical care, tools and seeds to those who need it most, and helping people rebuild lives and restore livelihoods long after a disaster has struck is essential in fighting poverty and injustice. In addition, longer-term community rehabilitation and strategies to mitigate the impact of future disasters on vulnerable communities must be addressed. CARE is an international humanitarian aid organisation fighting global poverty, with a special focus on working with women and girls to bring lasting change in their communities. CARE is non-religious and non- political, and works together with communities to provide emergency relief and address the underlying causes of poverty. CARE believes that supporting women and girls is one of the most effective ways to create sustainable outcomes in poor communities.

CARE’s long-term development projects help communities break the cycle of hunger and poverty. CARE’s projects support people to take charge of their lives, equipping them with skills and resources so they can work towards a better future. CARE’s long-term projects cover agriculture and food security, education, health, economic development, nutrition, water, sanitation and environmental health. To know more about CARE, CARE’s projects and the countries around the world where CARE works, please visit http://www.careaustralia.org.au.Your support will help to change the lives of women, families and communities.

About the Author:

Mack Brandon has worked for NGO’s around the world and has a special interest in working for the marginal communities in various countries. His articles on his work are both interesting and informative.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Conflict and poverty

Capitalism: A Love Story – Superfast Review

Free Speech Harming the Speechless

"Peace for Animals" by Br Lawrence Lew, O.P.

By: Abigail Taggart

Ten years ago Congress put into place a federal law to make illegal video depictions of animal torture and murder that were made to appeal to “crush fetishists” among others. Crushing is a sexual fetish which generally shows women, often clad in high heals or dominatrix style clothing stepping on small animals or bugs. They occasionally also depict other forms of animal abuse.

In the years since its being put on the books, the law has only been called upon only three times, including the case being heard, United States v. Stevens. While the law was written to crack down on the “crush videos”, all three times its use has been applied to prosecute manufacturers of videos of dog fights. In Stevens, the defendant was convicted of selling recordings of a dogfight that he had made in Japan. His lawyers argued that, as dog fighting is legal in Japan, Mr. Stevens has not broken any law.

The first amendment is a complicated thing. It very clearly asserts our freedom of speech, but since its inception, the courts have added multiple clauses limiting this right. The most applicable to this issue are Miller v. California and New York v. Ferber. In Millier, the court ruled that a work could be banded if it was considered obscene and the standard for judging obscenity would be based on the current societal standards of decency and whether or not the work or statement had merit of a literary, political, scientific or artistic ilk. Ferber made an additional exception. Child pornography would be not be allowed to be produced or possessed in any circumstance. The Court ruled that society’s duty to protect children was of greater importance than protecting freedom of expression. Only the most staunch civil liberties advocates could argue that possession of such filth should be allowed and the majority of society would write these individuals off as overly zealous wackos. Why then is a nation, that is so universally committed to protecting children who are unable to protect themselves, not willing to extend this protection to other living things desperate for care?

It is my sincere hope that when the Court rules on Stevens (which won’t happen for several months) that they will choose common sense over party lines or personal opinion. Crush videos and the like are obscene; that anyone would argue otherwise is appalling. Showing the brutalization and victimization of innocent, and often helpless, animals cannot be seen as art and should not be available to satisfy certain individual’s depraved cravings. Videos that exploit animal cruelty for profit are also obscene, and therefore do not have to be afforded the protection of the first amendment. The Supreme Court should behave responsibly and rule against Stevens in this case. Such a decision could prevent the suffering of more animals at the hands of profit hungry monsters.

About the Author:

Abigail Taggart is one of the founding members of Kristag Design. Her creative spirit is behind much of the work that ends up as the finished product. Abby did her undergraduate work in English and uses her talent for expression for both commercial and non-profit institutions. She is a strong advocate of animal rights and has used her talents to support the efforts of proactive organizations that help this important cause.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Free Speech Harming the Speechless

Hindus & Jews demand probe into excessive exclusion of Roma children from England schools

Romani Mother and Child by Planet Love / Venus

Special to Earthpages.org

Hindus and Jews have demanded a thorough probe into the extraordinarily high rate of permanent exclusion of Roma/Gypsy children from England schools, which is about five times as compared to percentage of all excluded children.

Rajan Zed, acclaimed Hindu statesman; and Rabbi Jonathan B. Freirich, prominent Jewish leader in Nevada and California in USA; in a statement in Nevada today, said that this preposterous exclusion rate was outrageous and unacceptable and needed to be urgently addressed.

Zed and Freirich argued that Roma already faced apartheid conditions in English society and now even their children were not spared from the maltreatment. Instead of working on Roma children to bring them to the mainstream, England schools seemed to have adopted an easier way out—just exclude them.

Rajan Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, and Rabbi Freirich pointed out that despite the potential under-reporting for this ethnic classification, the percentage of exclusions was outlandishly high. This scenario of apparent isolation and discrimination needed to be immediately addressed and England school system needed to create more awareness and celebration of Roma culture and make curriculum inclusive of mobile homes also.

According to latest available figures Issued by England Department for Children, Schools and Families; permanent exclusions from primary, secondary and special schools have dropped to 0.11 per cent of the number of pupils in schools, while for Roma/Gypsy children, this rate was 0.56 per cent.

Hindus & Jews express solidarity with Madonna, who was booed for backing European Roma cause

Photo credit: comicbase / Jeroen Mirck

Special to Earthpages.org

Hindus and Jews have come out in support of entertainer Madonna who was reportedly booed and jeered by thousands of fans in Romania Wednesday night when she sympathized with Roma people, who they say face apartheid in Europe.

Rajan Zed, acclaimed Hindu statesman; and Rabbi Jonathan B. Freirich, prominent Jewish leader in Nevada and California in USA; in a statement in Nevada today, said that Romania and Europe should apologize for blatant show of prejudice shown towards fellow Roma brothers/sisters when Madonna spoke against Roma discrimination during her concert in Bucharest.

Zed and Freirich pointed out that alarming condition of Roma people was a social blight for Europe and the rest of the world as they reportedly regularly faced social exclusion, racism, substandard education, hostility, joblessness, rampant illness, inadequate housing, lower life expectancy, unrest, living on desperate margins, language barriers, stereotypes, mistrust, rights violations, discrimination, marginalization, appalling living conditions, prejudice, human rights abuse, racist slogans on Internet, etc.

It was like an undeclared apartheid and it was almost total societal exclusion of Roma. The maltreatment of Roma was outside even the European Union norms. Roma issue should be one of the highest priorities of human rights agenda of Europe and world, Rajan Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, and Rabbi Jonathan Freirich argued. According to a recent report of European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, one in two Roma considered that they had been discriminated against, at least once, in the previous 12 months.

Hindu and Jewish leaders have urged other Hollywood and entertainment celebrities of the world not to stay apathetic and silent spectators and use their status to highlight the apartheid conditions faced by about 15-million Roma people of Europe. Many Hollywood and other entertainment bigwigs had successfully worked against South Africa’s apartheid in the past.

Cheers reportedly gave way to jeers, when Madonna paused midway before a sell-out crowd of about 60,000 in Bucharest during her song La Isla Bonita in her about two-hour concert, part of her worldwide “Sticky and Sweet” tour,  and touched on the plight of Roma people, showing the deeply entrenched prejudice against Roma in Europe. She reportedly continues with concerts in Sofia and Tel Aviv during the coming days.

Rajan Zed and Rabbi Freirich further said that references to Roma people in Europe reportedly went as far back as ninth century AD. How many more centuries Roma had to reside in Europe to prove that they were “real and equal” Europeans like any other, they asked.

Golden Globe winner Madonna (Evita) is a singer-actress-dancer- songwriter- record producer- film director & producer-author-entrepreneur- fashion designer-etc., and Rolling Stone described her as “one of the greatest pop acts of all time”. Roma are believed to have their roots in the Indian subcontinent.

Hindus criticize Pope for being harsh on atheists

Autonomy/Atheism by Zach Stern

Special to Earthpages.org

Hindus have criticized Pope for rough handling of atheists and humanists in his long awaited encyclical “Caritas in Veritate” (Charity in Truth) issued in Rome.

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI wrote in this letter: “…ideological rejection of God and an atheism of indifference, oblivious to the Creator and at risk of becoming equally oblivious to human values, constitute some of the chief obstacles to development today. A humanism which excludes God is an inhuman humanism.”

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that as Catholics and Hindus and others had freedom of their belief systems and were respected for their respective choices, and so should be the atheists. A religious leader of Pope’s stature should have been more inclusive.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that although Pope talked about “right to religious freedom”, “cooperation of the human family”, “truly universal human community”, etc., in this document, he apparently condemned the beliefs of a considerable chunk of world population called atheists, humanists, etc. Who were we as human beings to judge publicly that other humans’ beliefs different than us were “inhuman”?

We applauded Pope Benedict for his call for the “common good”, greater social responsibility, reform of financial bodies, sharing earth’s resources equitably; for taking a strong stand on environment; for criticism of growing divide between poor and rich and abuse of modern technologies; etc., as mentioned in this document but he need to learn to be more inclusive and large-hearted, Rajan Zed argued.

More than two years in the making, this 144-page and over 30,000-word encyclical letter of the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI to “all people of good will” is considered the highest form of papal teaching.

Atheism is disbelief in the existence of God and atheists argue that there is little or no real evidence for the existence of God. Pope Benedict heads the Roman Catholic Church, which is the largest of the Christian denominations. Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksha (liberation) is its ultimate goal.

Hindus seek European Union intervention in Czech Republic & Hungary to protect Roma

Special to Earthpages.org

history of the Roma people in the Czech Republic by superk8 nyc

Hindus are asking for immediate intervention of European Union (EU) in Czech Republic and Hungary to protect the Roma minorities in view of recent reported incidents of violence.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, urged EU and countries of Europe to urgently take steps to end apartheid of their Roma people, terming it as immoral and a dark stain on the face of Europe.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that it was moral obligation of Europe to take care of its largest minority Roma population and stop human rights violations reportedly regularly suffered by them, who numbered around ten million and were the most disadvantaged.

Rajan Zed further said that references to Roma people in Europe reportedly went as far back as ninth century AD and asked, “How many more centuries Roma have to reside in Europe to prove that they are ‘real and equal’ Europeans like any other.”

Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights of Council of Europe, in his Viewpoint published on April 27 on Council website, said, “Anti-Gypsyism continues to be a major human rights problem in Europe – governments must start taking serious action against both official and inter-personal discrimination of Roma”.

He cited incidents where Roma children were forced to strip and violently slap one another in a Slovakia police station, sudden eviction of Roma families in Belgrade without alternative accommodation, etc. He asks in the Viewpoint, “Would this have happened to non-Roma?”

A joint statement recently released by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, and the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, said

Our organisations are deeply concerned by the continuing discriminatory treatment and exclusion of the Roma, and particularly by the recent escalation in hate motivated incidents and racist rhetoric reported in a number of States.

Their alarming condition is a social blight for Europe and the rest of the world as they reportedly regularly face social exclusion, racism, substandard education, hostility, joblessness, rampant illness, inadequate housing, lower life expectancy, unrest, living on desperate margins, language barriers, stereotypes, mistrust, rights violations, discrimination, marginalization, appalling living conditions, prejudice, human rights abuse, racist slogans on Internet, unusually high unemployment rates, etc., Zed argues.

poverty of the Roma people in the Czech Republic by superk8 nyc

Hindus seek UN intervention as European Roma face apartheid like conditions

Romani Mother and Child by Planet Love / Venus

Special to Earthpages.org

As European Union (EU) and countries of Europe reportedly seemed to lack strong political will to improve the plight of Roma people who were living in apartheid like conditions, United Nations (UN) should immediately intervene, acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, stated in Nevada (USA) today.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that Roma had reportedly suffered maltreatment from centuries in Europe and still continued to face social exclusion and it was apparent in the recently issued Human Rights Report by United States Department of State. According to this Report,  “In a number of countries, including Italy and Hungary, members of the Roma community were targets of societal violence, which in some cases was more frequent and lethal than in previous years.”

This Report says that Albania “did not fund its National Roma Strategy”; in Austria “Roma faced discrimination in employment and housing”; in Belarus “Roma were often denied access to higher education”; in Bosnia and Herzegovina “mainstream society often excluded many Roma from public life”; in Bulgaria “police harassed, arbitrarily arrested, and used violence against Roma”; in Croatia “societal violence, harassment, and discrimination against Roma continued to be a problem”; in Czech Republic “restaurants, bars, and other public places at times refused to serve Roma”; in Estonia “Roma faced discrimination in employment and other areas”.

It further says that in Finland, “discrimination against the approximately 10,000 Roma extended to all areas of life, resulting in their de facto exclusion from society”; in France “Roma faced discrimination in education, housing, and access to government services”; in Greece “Roma continued to face widespread governmental and societal discrimination, including systematic police abuse”; in Hungary “Roma continued to experience widespread discrimination in employment, education, housing, penal institutions, and access to public places”;  in Ireland “Travellers faced societal discrimination and were regularly denied access to premises, goods, facilities, and services”; in Italy  “Roma live in camps characterized by poor housing, unhygienic sanitary conditions, limited employment prospects, inadequate educational facilities, and inconsistent police presence”.

In Kosovo “official and societal discrimination persisted against …Roma”; in Latvia “government acknowledged that the Romani community faced high levels of unemployment and illiteracy, as well as widespread societal discrimination”; in Lithuania “societal hostility toward Roma continued”; in Moldova “Roma suffered violence, harassment, and discrimination”; in Montenegro, “Prejudice against Roma…was widespread, and local authorities often ignored or tacitly condoned their intimidation or mistreatment”; in Poland, there was “widespread discrimination in employment, housing, banking, the justice system, the media, and education”; in Romania “Romani groups complained that police brutality, including beatings and harassment, was routine”; in Russia  “authorities in Chudovo, Novgorod Oblast, demolished the homes of several members of the local Romani community”; in Serbia “Roma were targets of verbal and physical harassment from ordinary citizens, police violence, and societal discrimination”; in Slovak Republic “Roma were particularly singled out for violence”; in Slovenia “Roma continue to suffer prejudice and discrimination, in particular with access to health services, education, and employment”; in Spain “Roma…still faced particular difficulties and discrimination in their access to employment, housing and social services and, reportedly, in the treatment they received within the criminal justice system”; in Turkey “law states that ‘nomadic Gypsies’ are among the four categories of persons not admissible as immigrants”; in Ukraine “representatives of Romani and other minority groups claimed that police officials routinely ignored, and sometimes abetted, violence against them”.

Rajan Zed asked how Europe, which prided itself for its human rights record, was tolerating such widespread prejudice against a segment of its own society. Maltreatment of Roma was simply immoral and a dark stain on the face of Europe. EU should offer “formal apology” for centuries and generations of maltreatment of the Roma, Zed added.

Zed called on all world religions, denominations and religious leaders to show strong will, courage, and commitment in support of Roma cause as they should not stay apathetic to societal truths by remaining silent spectators to the plight of Roma people of Europe. He stressed that it was not moral to remain unconcerned when fellow human beings were facing blatant injustice and discrimination right under our nose in Europe.

Rajan Zed further said that references to Roma people in Europe, who numbered around ten million, reportedly went as far back as ninth century AD. How many more centuries Roma had to reside in Europe to prove that they were “real and equal” Europeans like any other, Zed asked.