Salem-News.com Civil Rights articles Page 33

The Lilies of the Field, and Krista Lynn: A Prescription for Tired Hearts, and Bishops

The tired functionaries of Rome don’t live by the human heart anymore, but like all of us, they once did. I know them, for I was once like them.

(NANAIMO, Vancouver Island) - The first of so many aboriginal friends of mine who have died for speaking up was a young woman named Krista Lynn.

On January 29, 1995 - the Sunday after I was barred from my pulpit at St. Andrew’s United Church in Port Alberni - Krista stood up in my place and did like Jesus did, and caused a riot in the synagogue by calling down the Pharisees.

Methodists Face Moment of Occupation Truth

No matter how you spin it, as James Carville once said in an earlier political conflict, “its the Occupation, stupid”.

(CHICAGO) - The mainstream media does not know it, and far too many high steeple church folk do not want to know it.

But in Tampa, Florida, this week, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church will make a decision.

Petition: Boy Scouts of America: Reinstate Cub Scout leader Removed for Being Gay

I hated feeling that my family had been discriminated against, so I started a petition on Change.org asking the Boy Scouts of America to stop discriminating against gay people.

(TAMPA, FL) - My 7-year-old son, Cruz, loves being a Cub Scout, and he really loved when I got to be his pack's den leader.

But the Boy Scouts of America asked me to step down as the leader of my son's group -- just because I'm gay. Cruz doesn't understand why that matters, and frankly, neither do I.

Anti-Marijuana Attorney General Dwight Holton:
More Dangerous than Any Disease

Will he jail 55,000 patients, or just high schoolers?

(MOLALLA, OR) - I became suspicious of this man when I saw that he was endorsed by 48 Oregon sheriff's and district attorney's.

It is well-known that the latter group are rabidly against marijuana in any form, legal or not.

Keystone XL Pipeline: The Really Really Really Big Lie

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” Dr. Josef Goebbels, Nazi Propagandist.

(LAGUNA BEACH, CA) - The US Chamber of Commerce sent out an email blast on Friday, April 20th urging all Americans to petition the White House directly regarding the Keystone XL Pipeline.

It is filled to the brim with deception and avails itself heavily of the two quoted concepts above.

Emily Herx sues St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School

It is worth knowing that in the early years, the Church did not ban priests from marrying, nor did it exclusively deny women from clergy.

(CLEVELAND) - A former Catholic School English Teacher named Emily Herx, is taking St. Vincent de Paul School in Fort Wayne, Indiana to court for wrongful firing.

She wanted to have a child. As it turns out, the in-vitro fertilization treatments she received are in conflict with the church's teachings... Imagine that.

Editorial: President Must Break his Silence on the Masjid Attack!

It is sad to see the complicity of the Muslims in the failures of Sri Lanka.

(LONDON The Guardian) - The Dambulla Masjid was stormed by the Buddhist monks on Friday the 20th April. It sent shivers through the Muslim community who are collectively a coalition partner in the President Mahinda Rajapakse government.

The attack on the mosque took place when President Mahinda Rajapakse was on an official visit to South Korea.

BANGLADESH: Warn Government to Stop Waging War Against its Own People

Salem-News Human Rights Ambassador William Gomes contacts Hillary Clinton over human rights violations in Bangladesh.

(HONG KONG) - Enforced disappearance has become a matter of everyday life in Bangladesh. The United States is a political ally of Bangladesh.

This is excellent, until one realizes the complicity the U.S. shares in the slaughter and harming of Bangladeshi people.

Balochistan: The Third Kind of Man

The first type of man goes to his death silent, the second goes kicking and screaming...
This is the story of defiance and resistance.

(SALEM) - When I write about Balochistan, I visualize people who are brave and rugged and timeless.

Those who survive in nations or cultures oppressed and occupied, develop the ability to maintain resilience and dignity, it is almost unrivaled.

Islamophobia in the Workplace

There have been cases where an employee was discriminated against because other employees mistakenly thought he was a Muslim.

(SAN FRANCISCO) - Are Muslims discriminated in the workplace?

Given the aftermath of September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the U.S.-Iran confrontation, and the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, and Libya, I assumed there would be some discrimination.