A Chinese official has held a rare meeting with Burmese opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin says Aung San Suu Kyi has asked several times to meet with Chinese officials. Liu says the Chinese ambassador met her in response to her request, and listened to her [...]
Tag: Society
December 16, 2011
December 8, 2011
This is not about Mumia Abu-Jamal but the death penalty | Teresa Wiltz
It doesn’t matter to me whether Mumia Abu-Jamal is innocent or guilty – though there are those for whom it matters quite a bit, not the least of whom is the widow of the police officer Abu-Jamal was convicted of killing in 1981. And there are those who fought long and hard – celebrities, college [...]
December 8, 2011
Dual Tree Lighting Illuminates Annual Holiday Debate
It’s the Christmas holiday season in the United States, and with it comes an annual argument: Should local, state and federal governments put up Christmas trees, or even call attention to Christmas, in a country that has no official religion? It’s one of the most recognizable symbols of the season. But in the northeastern state [...]
November 27, 2011
Kate Bolick: why marriage is a declining option for women
In 2001, when I was 28, I broke up with my boyfriend. Allan and I had been together for three years, and there was no good reason to end things. He was (and remains) an exceptional person, intelligent, good-looking, loyal, kind. My friends, many of whom were married or in marriage-track relationships, were bewildered. I [...]
November 26, 2011
Kennedy death reporter dies at 85
26 November 2011 Last updated at 01:26 GMT Tom Wicker was born in a small town in North Carolina and became a legend of US journalism A New York Times journalist who witnessed and chronicled the death of US President John F Kennedy has died of a heart attack at the age of 85. Tom [...]
November 15, 2011
Here’s the risk: Occupy ends up doing the bidding of the global elite | Patrick Henningsen
A 21st-century grassroots movement faces many pitfalls. This was as true back in 1968 as it is today. It could be infiltrated by law enforcement and intelligence agencies, or co-opted by a major party. As the state continues to creep further into our lives, activists can expect that it will use all its resources – [...]
November 15, 2011
We need Occupy to help deliver equality | Kate Pickett
When Richard Wilkinson and I sat down towards the end of 2007 to start writing The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone, which was published in March 2009, we had a clear objective. After years of research, and having published a large number of papers in academic journals, we were frustrated that what [...]
November 8, 2011
November 1, 2011
Tunisia Testing Newfound Freedom of Expression
Tunisia’s revolution has exploded longstanding curbs to free expression. Media, civil society groups and political parties are flowering. Journalist and blogger Haythem el Mekki, 29, earns a living poking fun at politicians for Tunisia’s popular Radio Mosaique. It is the kind of free-wheeling satire that did not exist here a year ago. During the marathon [...]
October 26, 2011
Zurana Horton was a hero – she just didn’t look like one | Teresa Wiltz
At first blush, it’s the kind of story made for the insta-news cycle of 21st-century media: a mother picking up her kid up from school in Brooklyn spots a rooftop sniper, throws herself into the line of fire to protect a group of schoolkids and, while saving them, is shot and killed herself. Most likely, [...]
October 20, 2011
Animal welfare group gives Ohio low score in dealing with wildlife
October 19, 2011 by legitgov ShareThis Animal welfare group gives Ohio low score in dealing with wildlife 19 Oct 2011 Even as officials on Wednesday continued their roundup of wild animals released from an Ohio preserve, animal welfare activists said that the Buckeye State has long ranked near the bottom among states dealing with dangerous [...]
October 20, 2011
Ohio police call off hunt for freed wild animals
Police in the US have called off a big game hunt for more than 50 exotic animals freed from an Ohio game reserve, saying they were confident that the last animal unaccounted for, a snow monkey, had been eaten by one of the freed big cats before they were either shot or captured. Eighteen rare [...]
October 20, 2011
Police call off hunt for wild animals released in Ohio
American police have called off their big game hunt involving more than 50 exotic animals freed from an Ohio game reserve, confident that the last fugitive unaccounted for – a snow monkey – had been eaten by one of the big cats before they were shot or captured. Eighteen rare Bengal tigers, 17 lions, six [...]
October 15, 2011
Insurers Review Whether to Still Pay for Routine Screening
Some insurers said they intended to continue paying for the test, while others said they would revisit their policies. Both Aetna and Kaiser Permanente said it was unclear whether they would continue paying for the test. “We are currently reviewing the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s recent announcement on prostate cancer screening,” Jason Allen, a [...]