Humane Issues in the News...

Each week we post links to news about humane education & humane living, and items connected to humane issues, from human rights to environmental preservation, to animal protection, to media, consumerism and culture.

Why do some “trouble spots” get all the attention? - Boston.com (7/19/09)
“The world is all but ignoring the crisis in Somalia, parts of which have worse rates of malnutrition than Darfur, but which receives less than one-tenth the aid that Darfur does. In Asia, though Suu Kyi presents a compelling and tragic case, Washington might well find more success combating human rights violations in Laos, where the aid-dependent government would potentially be more responsive to outside pressure than isolated and xenophobic Burma.”

In Jamaica, people who are gay fear for their lives – AP (7/19/09)
"’The macho ideal is celebrated, praised in Jamaica, while homosexuality is paralleled with pedophilia, rapists,’ Chin said. ‘Markers that other people perceive as gay — they walk a certain way, wear tight pants, or are overly friendly with a male friend — make them targets. It's a little pressure cooker waiting to pop.’"

“Schools foster climate illiteracy” (Opinion) - Oregonian (7/18/09)
“Individual teachers will continue to create imaginative and relevant curriculum in their own classrooms, but teachers alone cannot transform the curriculum. This will require parents and activists demanding that children encounter lessons on today's environmental challenges -- especially climate change -- that go well beyond the biased and simple-minded descriptions in district-adopted textbooks.”
Thanks, Common Dreams, for the heads up.

Woman works to save cheetahs from extinction – ABC News (7/14/09)
"’Their extinction is happening now -- and their problems are a man-made and human-caused problem,’ Marker told a group of students. ‘If we don't move rapidly, the cheetah is not going to be around in 20 years.’"

“Rethinking consumerism” – an interview about changing how we measure “growth” – NPR Marketplace (7/13/09)
”There are lots of things in our society that we need to grow. We need to grow health care, we need to grow education, we need to grow infrastructure, we need to grow an entirely new energy system. But what we probably don't need to grow is the volume of our stuff. We now have . . . the square-footage of the self-storage industry in the United States would now cover all of San Francisco and the entire island of Manhattan combined.”

More youth starting own charity efforts -Washington Post (7/12/09)
“What they are doing goes far beyond the kind of volunteering that an increasing number of young people engage in. Young philanthropists devote hundreds of hours to their causes, making appeals many donors find irresistible even in tough economic times.”

Teen girls seeking image consultants to help boost confidence, image -Washington Post (7/11/09)
"”Girls are identifying with what they see depicted on TV, in the movies and online,’ says Patricia Dalton, a clinical psychologist in Washington. ‘They think, act and talk in ways that make them seem older and more mature than they actually are developmentally.’"

Controversy arises over which historical figures to include in Texas social studies standards – Dallas News (7/9/09)
“The social studies requirements will remain in place for the next decade, dictating what is taught in government, history and other social studies classes in all elementary and secondary schools. The standards also will be used to write textbooks and develop state tests for students.”
Thanks, Feministing, for the heads up.

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