Daily Archives: August 5, 2010

Asia, Environment, Japan, Peace, USA

US to Attend Hiroshima Memorial for First Time

Common Dreams
by Shingo Ito
HIROSHIMA, Japan – Sixty-five years after a mushroom cloud rose over Hiroshima, the United States will for the first time send an envoy this Friday to commemorate the bombing that rang in the nuclear age.

Its World War II allies Britain and France, both declared nuclear powers, will also send their first diplomats to the ceremony in the western Japanese city in a sign of support for the goal of nuclear disarmament. Continue reading US to Attend Hiroshima Memorial for First Time →

Racism, USA

The real story of racism at the USDA

Institute for Southern Studies

Chris Kromm
Right now, if you do a web search of the words “racism” and “USDA,” the majority of links will steer you to coverage of this week’s Shirley Sherrod affair, in which the African-American U.S. Department of Agriculture staffer based in Georgia resigned after a conservative website reversed the meaning of a speech she gave last year to imply she would deny farm loans to whites. Continue reading The real story of racism at the USDA →

Brazil

Cleaning up: A campaign against corruption

The Economist
ORGANISED crime takes several forms in Brazil. One is politics—a lucrative trade. Of the 513 members of the lower house of Congress, 147 face criminal charges in the supreme court or are under investigation, and the same goes for 21 of the 81 senators, according to Congresso em Foco, a website that acts as a watchdog. Some—nobody knows quite how many—have already been convicted in lower courts. Most of the crimes involve either violating campaign-finance laws or stealing public money. Continue reading Cleaning up: A campaign against corruption →

Church, Congo

DR CONGO: Cardinal Joseph-Albert Malula proclaimed “National Hero”

KINSHASA, July 30, 2010 (CISA) -Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, the Catholic Archbishop of Kinshasa, has voiced the gratitude of the Catholic Church in Congo to the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila, for having proclaimed Cardinal Joseph-Albert Malula (1917-1989) a ‘national hero’. Continue reading DR CONGO: Cardinal Joseph-Albert Malula proclaimed “National Hero” →