Saturday, May 28, 2011

Malta Votes on Whether to Legalize Divorce


Young women walk past a billboard reading
"Christ Yes, Divorce No" in Sliema, outside Valletta, May 6.


Malta votes on whether to legalize divorce
'The divorce referendum is a vote for modernity and an opportunity for those whose marriage has broken down to be able to start afresh' By Christopher Scicluna

The people of Malta started voting Saturday, May 28, in a referendum on whether or not to introduce divorce.

The Mediterranean island of 400,000 people is the only country in Europe that does not allow the practice.

Only divorce granted abroad is recognized in Malta.

Opinion polls suggest the result could go either way, with 40 percent of the electorate still undecided.

The vote is seen as a test of the influence of the Roman Catholic Church in a country where 72 percent of people still say they go to Mass on Sundays.

I am surprised to learn that a European country is so Catholic that it bans divorce.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

10 Countries With The Highest Growth in Income Inequality


Here is an article, written by Harry Bradford, that reveals the results of an OECD study about the growth in income inequality among nations. 5-24-11

Of all the effects of the economic crisis, perhaps one of the least visible, but most consequential has been the rising rate of income inequality around the world.

A recent report, released by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and entitled "Society at a Glance 2011 - OECD Social Indicators," shows exactly where the gap between rich and poor has grown widest.

Based on a measurement known as the Gini coefficient, which rates countries from 0 to 1, where zero indicates perfect equality and one indicates all wealth goes to a single individual, the report finds growing rates of income inequality everywhere from Oceania to Scandinavia. Between the mid-1980s and late 2000s, the average Gini coefficient for OECD countries rose annually by an average of 0.3 percent, and now sits at 0.31.

High rates of income inequality might be unsurprising in developing countries such as Portugal and Mexico. But countries with historically low levels of income inequality have experienced significant increases over the past decade, too, including Denmark, Sweden and Germany, the OECD recently reported.

Here are the nations with the worst income inequality growth(beginning with highest inequality)according to the OECD. The USA ranks 4th.

1. Chile
2. Mexico
3. Turkey
4. USA
5. Israel
6. Portugal
7. UK
8. Italy
9. Australia
10.New Zealand

Do any of these candidates surprise you? I was surprised that Israel makes the list.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Hasidic press protects men from getting aroused by 63-year old Hillary Clinton.



Actual and photoshopped photos of scene in the situation room.

The AP reports that a Hasidic newspaper removed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and another woman from the now-iconic photo of the Obama national security team watching the raid that killed Osama bin Laden from the White House Situation Room.

The original photo, taken as the raid was occurring, famously shows Clinton in the center of the room, with her hand over her mouth. But the newspaper Der Tzitung, described by the Jewish Week as "ultra-Orthodox," has a policy of never printing photos of women in its pages because it thinks they could be sexually suggestive. Thus, Clinton and counterterrorism director Audrey Tomason, who was seen standing at the back of the room, were removed from the picture.

Here is the question: What would the Hasidic press have done with print and broadcast media if Hillary were POTUS????????????????????


Are they not obligated to report the news?

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

What is the largest ethnic group in the world without their own nation?



What is the largest ethnic group in the world without their own nation?

Answer: The Kurds, who number 20–25 million.

The Kurds have lived in a mountainous, roughly 74,000-square-mile region known as Kurdistan for the past two millennia. Throughout their history they have remained under the thumb of various conquerors and nations, even though they were promised their own country after WWI. Since the early 20th century, the Kurdish region has been divided between Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq, all of which have repressed, often brutally, their Kurdish minority—even banning their Kurdish language in schools, political settings, and broadcasts.