Friday, August 28, 2009
Ted Kennedy: A legacy of social justice
Ted Kennedy was a champion of social activism. From his life of warm family ties and secure finances, Kennedy devoted himself to agendas that provided the less privileged opportunities to live their American Dreams. His legacy is a source of national pride that symbolizes justice and a progressive future.
In addition to the most popular of Kennedy’s movements, health care, he cosponsored a bill of rights for people with developmental disabilities, which included non-discriminatory accommodations in education, polling sites, and housing, among other areas; he revealed the heroism of military families and granted them due recognition; and Kennedy also developed legislation to reform our bankruptcy laws to protect pensions of workers and retirees by creating worker compensation plans when corporate executives file for bankruptcy.
Here is a link to a long list of Kennedy’s success in advancing civil rights and international human rights.
http://airamerica.com/blog/2009/aug/26/accomplishments-senator-ted-kennedy-1962
In addition to the most popular of Kennedy’s movements, health care, he cosponsored a bill of rights for people with developmental disabilities, which included non-discriminatory accommodations in education, polling sites, and housing, among other areas; he revealed the heroism of military families and granted them due recognition; and Kennedy also developed legislation to reform our bankruptcy laws to protect pensions of workers and retirees by creating worker compensation plans when corporate executives file for bankruptcy.
Here is a link to a long list of Kennedy’s success in advancing civil rights and international human rights.
http://airamerica.com/blog/2009/aug/26/accomplishments-senator-ted-kennedy-1962
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Whipping under Islamic law
The New York Times published Tuesday, "Malaysia Postpones Whipping of Woman Who Drank Beer." = RED FLAG over initial ruling!
Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a 32-year-old Muslim nurse, confessed to drinking beer in a hotel lobby last year, an act condemned by Sharia Law. She paid a fine of 5,000 ringgit, or about $1,400.
Kartika was sentenced to be whipped in September, but the chief judge put the trial on hold because a caning seemed too harsh.
According to The New York Times, Islamic laws are strict in Malaysia and whipping is a common punishment:
Muslims can be arrested and punished for snacking during
daylight hours of fasting during Ramadan, being in “close proximity”
to someone from the opposite sex who is not their spouse, and
drinking alcohol.
Muslims comprise more than half of the nation's population, and non-Muslims,ethnic Chinese and Indians are subject only to civil law, and can consume alcohol.
According to Canadian newspaper The Star, Kartika's case draws international attention and questions about whether a radical brand of Islam, following Sharia law, is emerging in a traditionally moderate country.
Iran and Afghanistan also use whipping as punishment for disobeying Sharia, strict Islamic laws, and some strict interpretations cause the death penalty in Afghanistan. For example, Afghan authorities stoned a woman to death for trying to leave the country with a man who was not her husband in 1996.
Sharia laws and their punishments disgrace humankind.
Although Malaysia's judge in Kartika's case is levelheaded in his current decision, the country still uses caning to punish offenses like entering the country illegally. Human rights movements will always have a place to fight, from women stoned for escaping oppressive regimes to citizens breaching a religious law in a secular democratic nation.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/world/asia/25malaysia.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=malaysia%20whipping&st=cse
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/686476
http://www.religioustolerance.org/isl_adul1.htm
http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/08/24/caning-sharia-law-islam/
Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, a 32-year-old Muslim nurse, confessed to drinking beer in a hotel lobby last year, an act condemned by Sharia Law. She paid a fine of 5,000 ringgit, or about $1,400.
Kartika was sentenced to be whipped in September, but the chief judge put the trial on hold because a caning seemed too harsh.
According to The New York Times, Islamic laws are strict in Malaysia and whipping is a common punishment:
Muslims can be arrested and punished for snacking during
daylight hours of fasting during Ramadan, being in “close proximity”
to someone from the opposite sex who is not their spouse, and
drinking alcohol.
Muslims comprise more than half of the nation's population, and non-Muslims,ethnic Chinese and Indians are subject only to civil law, and can consume alcohol.
According to Canadian newspaper The Star, Kartika's case draws international attention and questions about whether a radical brand of Islam, following Sharia law, is emerging in a traditionally moderate country.
Iran and Afghanistan also use whipping as punishment for disobeying Sharia, strict Islamic laws, and some strict interpretations cause the death penalty in Afghanistan. For example, Afghan authorities stoned a woman to death for trying to leave the country with a man who was not her husband in 1996.
Sharia laws and their punishments disgrace humankind.
Although Malaysia's judge in Kartika's case is levelheaded in his current decision, the country still uses caning to punish offenses like entering the country illegally. Human rights movements will always have a place to fight, from women stoned for escaping oppressive regimes to citizens breaching a religious law in a secular democratic nation.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/world/asia/25malaysia.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=malaysia%20whipping&st=cse
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/686476
http://www.religioustolerance.org/isl_adul1.htm
http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/08/24/caning-sharia-law-islam/
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