Archive For March 2010
What ‘Pimpin’ Means And Why It Caused A Celebrity Twitter Feud
on March 31, 2010 by Jude Emantsal in Other News, Comments (0)
There’s been a lot of media coverage in the last week of the Twitter ‘feud’ between Demi Moore and Kim Kardashian. Yet, the glaring omission from all the articles, blogs and commentary is any real analysis of Demi’s point — that we glamorize and glorify pimp culture, use terminology that seems to legitimize the practice, and in doing so, ignore the fact that pimps are modern-day slave-owners.
I’m the founder and executive director of GEMS, Girls Educational and Mentoring Services, the nation’s largest service provider to girls and young women who’ve been commercially sexually exploited and domestically trafficked. Every day, I witness the impact that pimps have on the lives of girls in this country. Girls are left with physical and psychological scars from the brutal tactics of adult men who prey upon some of the most vulnerable children in our society and then sell them for profit over and over again.
Before You Accept, Check the School’s Free Speech Record
on by Jude Emantsal in Other News, Comments (0)
Applying to colleges is like going on a bunch of first dates.
The college brochures were trying to impress you, after all. They were filled with pictures of students reading textbooks while sitting on the lawn, statements from faculty and students about how fabulous life is at their institution, and an invitation to visit the campus so that you can see how much you’d enjoy sitting on the lawn and reading textbooks, too!
Jaime Escalante, Teacher Who Inspired ‘Stand And Deliver’, Dead At 79
on by Jude Emantsal in Other News, Comments (0)
LOS ANGELES (AP)– The math teacher at a tough East Los Angeles high school who inspired the movie “Stand and Deliver,” has died. He was 79.
A family friend says Jaime Escalante died Tuesday in Reno, Nevada, where he was undergoing treatment for bladder cancer.
Save the Satos
on by Jude Emantsal in Other News, Comments (0)
Puerto Rico has a stray dog problem. Tens of thousands of homeless canines — hundreds of thousands, by some estimates — live and die on the streets and beaches all over this Caribbean island of almost four million people.
Strays are referred to as “satos” in Puerto Rico. “Sato” is a derogatory term for “street dog” and usually refers to mutts. Purebred dogs are generally more highly valued on the island. Many islanders treat the satos as a nuisance, as pests, vermin to be kicked away. Satos are routinely abused — poisoned, shot, beaten, cut by knives, burned by acid or hot oil or boiling water, deliberately hit by cars — or simply neglected, left to fend for themselves. And, on their own, they breed; strays are born to strays and the problem literally grows.
Washington D.C. Shooting: Multiple Victims, At Least One Dead
on by Jude Emantsal in Other News, Comments (0)
At least eight have been injured and one killed after a mass Washington D.C. shooting this evening, BNO News is reporting.
BNO News cites the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department as saying a call came in at 7:27 p.m. local time and “details were still coming in.” The incident reportedly took place at the 4000 block of South Capitol Street SE.
JP Morgan Bank: Jobless Benefits Causing More Joblessness
on March 30, 2010 by Jude Emantsal in Other News, Comments (0)
An economic analyst for JP Morgan Bank by the name of Michael Feroli, has released an analysis that concludes that unemployment benefits are causing more and longer unemployment.
JP Morgan Bank is the actual inventor of the “credit derivative.” Through its own greed, incompetence and arrogance, this particular institution played a significant role in creating the credit crisis that helped send America into its worst recession in 70 years. For them to imply that eliminating jobless benefits would be good for the country is beyond the pale. Oh, but there’s so much more that is outrageous about this theory, how it was reached, and about what it implies.
Before Rebuilding Haiti, Donors Should Do More Than Consult With Aid Organizations
on by Jude Emantsal in Other News, Comments (0)
Tomorrow’s donor country meeting on Haiti reconstruction should be informed by the field-based knowledge of U.S.-based international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Many have been working in Haiti for more than thirty years providing life-saving services such as healthcare, education, sanitation, micro-loans and agricultural assistance. And as one of third largest donor to the Haiti crisis, right up there with the European Union and U.S. government, NGOs, or aid organizations as many describe us, deserve to be heard.
Just to clarify, the goal and role of aid organizations working in Haiti has been to build the capacity of local organizations and tackle the needs of a population, not to step in for an overmatched or unstable government. Thanks to the generosity of private donors–including the American people–NGOs have been able to mitigate the impact of the instability in Haiti before the earthquake and since, to stay consistent in their presence and focus.
What’s Next: Blackwater Homecare Visits?
on by Jude Emantsal in Other News, Comments (0)
Ever since he took office, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared war on one of the most humane, cost-effective programs in state government–the nationally recognized In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) homecare program.
More than 450,000 low-income elderly, blind and disabled Californians receive care through IHSS, which allows them to stay in their own homes and communities. It costs a little more than $10,000 a year to care for someone under IHSS. Without the program, that individual would be forced into a nursing home or other institution. Cost to taxpayers: $55,000 a year or more.
Rhode Island Flooding: PHOTOS Of East Coast Storm
on by Jude Emantsal in Other News, Comments (0)
Rhode Island flooding continues, and though several parts of the Northeast are underwater this evening, Rhode Island remains hardest hit.
The Associated Press reports:
From ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell" to ‘Do Ask, Let’s Tell’
on by Jude Emantsal in Other News, Comments (0)
Operating in denial is never a great way to resolve a problem. Asking those who choose to put their lives at risk for serving their country to go one step further by asking them to also lie about who they are is simply wrong.
It was a bad idea when it was implemented as a political compromise. It is still bad policy. Our President has had the courage to call it out as such.